Are You Awake? Prepare for Sight Unseen

Many, many, many moons ago I did some fan-fic writing and thought some sequels to The Next Generation episodes.

One of those episodes was a follow up to a rather bizarre episode from The Next Generation entitled Schisms and I had a crew being kidnapped and having to fend off the unnamed assailants once again. 

Sequels to TV stories also seems to be the order of the day with Simon and Schuster as The Savage Trade, Takedown and now Sight Unseen have all chosen to revisit events and races from the franchise's past. Just as a matter of course though I'm going to be dropping a few spoilers!

James Swallow's last novel was the brilliant The Poisoned Chalice, part of the rather epic The Fall quintilogy and my favourite of the whole series. In that respect this novel, which also focuses on the Titan, had one hell of a lot to live up to and I was a little concerned it wouldn't. Would Sight Unseen have the great story and lots of things blowing up that I hoped it would...???

Managing to hold on to his admiral's rank following The Fall, William T Riker gets his ship back as a mobile command centre and takes the USS Titan out to transport him as a new sector commander. His former first officer, Christine Vale finally gets a full promotion to captain and there are two new faces to join old familiars including Tuvok and Melora Pazlar. 

Both, of course, have their suspicious pasts whether from the planet featured in Enterprise's North Star and the new XO allied on the wrong side during the Nana Bakku assassination furore. Investigating the disappearance of a merchant ship and the Saber Class USS Whitetree it becomes quickly apparent that the Solanae are back.

The who? OK - remember I mentioned Schisms? Well these are the creatures from that story - one of the show's weirder moments and responsible for the amazing changing holodeck table because they're back, appear to be kidnapping sleeping crew and performing their experiments once again. Both the Dinac ship and the Whitetree have become victims to the creatures and it's not long before James Swallow ramps up the action to 11 and sees the Titan in seriously grave danger. Fair to say that she takes a lot of punishment during this book as the Solanae advance. Indeed their "second wave" is a mark of enemy brilliance by using the ship against the crew - almost a bit A-Team there Mr Swallow.        

As we said there are two significant new characters here. The first officer, Dalit Sarai is one whom you should despise but the wonderful thing is you just don't. She's brilliantly described early on in the story to make you look at her as an outsider and potential traitor however when we see her facing off against Captain Vale we begin to understand a whole lot more about her reasoning and why she is seen as a "supporter" of fake-President Ishan Anjar. Building the picture of an untrustworthy officer from the threads of The Fall is a sweet continuation of the story in a new manner and I found that Sarai was actually one of the best things about Sight Unseen; I believed in her conviction. Also new is Lieutenant Ethan Kyzak from North Star - y'know, the planet from Enterprise. 

The Skagaran officer is a bit of a loner too and his journey through this story only really kicks into gear in the later sections of the book. He's just as out of place as Sarai but both of them seem to find their way by the end of the adventure in sub space. Where this character could be taken I'm not sure as Sarai's arc does offer much more potential as you will discover in the course of the book. Let's just say that there are a few layers to this individual and it's not as clear cut as you may be lulled into believing towards the end. The crew does include Tuvok and also Melora Pazlar but one more notable returnee is Sariel Rager. 

Now a lieutenant commander she was one of the crew exposed to the Solanae in Schisms and was rescued by then-Commander Riker. In The Next Generation she was just another handful-of-episodes conn officer but here her life since then is mapped out a little and we get to see how this individual has developed since her tie on the Enterprise. That experience has shaped her life and almost determined a change in career. Her inclusion in Sight Unseen is very welcome and honours not just The Next Generation but that specific sixth season episode in all its obscure glory.  While the main story pits the Titan crew against the Schisms aliens, an equally interesting exchange is between Admiral Riker and his chosen successor for the ship captaincy, Christine Vale. 

Their relationship really is tested within Sight Unseen with boundaries pressured and lines still clearly in need of defining. It can't be easy for Vale to have her former commander onboard as a sector chief and still have a hankering for the centre chair. Swallow's work on their conversations and attitudes is perhaps the bigger draw for me with this story and kept me reading.  Yes, there are some great additional characters in Sarai and Kyzak but the wealth of backstory that is drawn on here to escalate the personal conflict especially from Riker's perspective is exemplary. 

I was always a fan of the bizarre nature of Schisms and this sequel asks just as many questions as it answers and luckily there's not even a hint of a holographic examination table anywhere to be seen. I don't want to blow too much smoke but I would go as far to say that this has been one of my favourite Star Trek novels for some time and recommend it to anyone who is familiar with The Next Generation and (but not essentially) that classic weird episode. Perhaps the only thing that was missing was a sequel to Ode to Spot?  Good stuff Mr Swallow (sorry it took a while to get this read) and I look forward to your new The Original Series outing!

Sight Unseen is available now from Simon and Schuster priced £7.99 ISBN 9781476783161. Are you a fan of the Titan series? Is this what you expected from their latest mission?

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FCD Reviews and Announcements!

A couple of months might have slipped past since First Contact Day 2015 but there's no moss gathering for the organisers as they're already making a big impact with plans for the 2016 event.

From my perspective it was a brilliant event which we now know will be back in 2016. Just to wrap everything up, I grabbed some time for a chat with Wil Ross and David Limburg one more time to get their thoughts on the 2015 event.

"It was absolutely fantastic," recalled David, "One thing springs to mind [as a highlight] was the anti-bullying talk and it was amazing that Laura came forward to talk about it. We had such an amazing response from people to that. [They were saying] no-one's ever done anything like that before at an event and we really think it's an amazing thing you've done to come forward and talk about it and involve us in your experiences and what you intend to do about it.

"The guests were wonderful, Garrett was incredible and the auction was great. We raised a fortune for charity and that says something for such a small event. Thank you to everyone for their contributions."

Wil echoed David's thoughts; "It was great to see everyone and how much fun they were having. It was a completely crazy weekend. So much going on and we had to make some last minute changes but no-one seemed bothered. The only thing they were interested in was having a good time. 

"There are always going to be issues, things that throw you but aside from a few minor hiccups everyone have such good fun and the fact they're still going on about it today just speaks volumes and is more than we could have asked for."

The gents are still waiting for confirmation of their world record for the biggest single gathering of Redshirts which topped out at just over 100. "They [Guinness] have everyone's names, copies of the certificates we printed and we're just waiting for the photo file," explained Wil, "Then we can get confirmation."

For myself Una McCormack and James Swallow's talk, compared by Michael Clark from Visionary Trek was fantastic as was Garrett Wang's session later in the day.

For 2016 there will be a different, as yet to be confirmed, venue. But what else can we expect? Is there anything they'll be taking into that event from 2015? In fact the team are already getting emails asking what they're planning and has really stunned Wil and David.

"Everything worked for 2015," said David, "There wasn't anything that we won't be doing next year. Everything we did is being repeated and being talked about and being compared to other events. In fact we're being compared to some of the much larger events and if we could do stuff why can't they do it?"

"In taking it forward we just want to do more and the first thing that will be notable will be more guests and therefore a bigger venue. That's an immediate thing going forward."

Wil woke up on the Sunday morning to be faced with some issues around the previous night's catering which was out of the organisers' control; "Now we have something in place with a different venue we are going to do food which will be more cocktails and canapes."

The issues with the catering were one of the issues that mean that First Contact Day will not be returning to its venue of the last two years - and it also means that the event will be across two venues with the evening festivities taking place at a hotel because the team want to ensure they are set up properly for the day and for the Admirals' Party (keeping with the 50 years of Star Trek theme) which couldn't happen effectively otherwise.

While I was putting this piece together further progress meant that the venue for the event is now confirmed as Leicester City Football Club. This keeps First Contact Day in the city and offers the organisers a lot more opportunity.

"There will be more guests," reaffirmed Wil, "It has been mentioned to us about quality rather than quantity, well we have quality and it will blow peoples' minds. There are a few "i"'s to dot and "t"'s to cross but we're there or thereabouts. James (Swallow) and Una (McCormack) want to come back and everyone loved them. Alan (Flyng) is also checking his diary."

Having good feedback and all the guests from the 2015 event wanting to return is a sign that the team hit the mark with the two day meet at the Leicester Space Centre. Just from an observational point of view it seemed that everyone - both guests and attendees loved every second and I would think a lot of those who travelled to be part of it will be coming back next year.

In relation to guests, those who attended will remember that Babylon 5 actress Claudia Christian had to cut short her appearance due to unforeseen circumstances. However, David has said that anyone who attended the event and did not get her autograph can contact FCD Events to see about receiving one for a minor donation to the C3 charity supported by Claudia.

Across the two days there were around 900 people who attended the First Contact Day event in Leicester and the team is gearing up for 2016 to be bigger and better. With the names yet to be announced as guests it's more than likely going to top those numbers.

Thoughts for what could happen additionally in 2016 to the already superb event of 2015 has thrown up possibilities of an Attack Wing competition (which was up for this year but had to be abandoned due to a lack of space) and also a retro gaming area. "We have some good contacts who can supply gaming equipment and as many consoles as we want," explained Wil, "I think that would be cool but the big thing to keep with the theme of FCD celebrating Star Trek is to get a replica bridge set."

This is more likely to be an Enterprise bridge from The Original Series rather than The Next Generation with a photo opportunity to be a lot less than was being charged at other events in 2015.

What we can confirm that has already been announced is that Larry Nemecek will be in attendance next year which is a big leap from his Skype appearance this year and Garrett Wang, Voyager's Harry Kim will be acting as MC for the whole weekend. 

Oh and if that wasn't enough did you all spot the out-of-this-world news that the UK will be getting a visit from the Klingon High Chancellor himself?

In the last few weeks the First Contact Day team have been raising money for the victims of the Nepal earthquake through a raffle and this week they hit their £1,000 target meaning that a third guest was announced. We discovered just last night that this is going to be Martok aka J G Hertzler. I utterly flipped in a good way. A lot and annoyed the wife for a good hour. And my dad. And anyone who would listen. Martok is one of my favourite characters of all time and this will is one chance I will not be missing. (JG if you are reading this, I am super-excited!!!)

If you're interested in the raffle it's £2 per ticket and you can take a look at the great prizes on offer by following this Facebook story link right now as it's been extended due to demand. It's for an excellent cause and with nearly £1,100 raised, the team are looking to smash £1,200 very soon. Help them do it!!!

It also seems that next year we'll be manning our own table so you can come and talk Star Trek and help us put together some video materials for the weekend. There might be some other bits we're thinking about but there's a year to go yet! Add into that the generosity of the team from First Contact Day that we will also be given the chance to make one announcement about next year's event before you'll see it anywhere else!!!

Ticket prices will be announced shortly and we'll continue to provide updates on the event as and when we find out more details. Thanks also to Wil Ross and David Limburg for their time.

Looking forward to FCD 2016? Who do you think should be on the guest list or what activities would you like to see included? Why not suggest it here!

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FCD: Meeting James and Una

Following on from their excellent Q&A session at First Contact Day I was gifted the chance to talk to authors Una McCormack and James Swallow for 20 minutes. Just beware there might be a couple of unintentional SPOILERS in here...

We'd already discovered Una is a massive Deep Space Nine fan - especially anything Cardassian-related and that James is the reason David Mack's Section 31 novel, Disavowed turned out (to some degree since he broke Bashir out of prison!). From the question I asked we also know that they didn't make the novels end in such a way to "screw over" the one following - there was a much bigger plan...but what else could we find out?

Well, Garak's assension to Castellan wasn't spur of the moment for one thing; "I've long harboured ambitions to do that," explained Una, "It's something I've had in the back of my mind for a very long time. It always seemed like the natural endpoint for Garak's story nut to make him have to do it legitimately."

Una needed Garak to acheive that power - in fact he had always been pretty powerful - "but within the constraints of democracy and I thought that would be the real test for the character; to use power but in a moral way."

Turns out there were some good chats about this move and how it could affect writers in the future; "David R George and I had some debates about it.....It is the end of his story in a way but I think there's still some life in the old dog yet!"

James was keen to note that each of The Fall series is about taking the characters out of their comfort zones and it wasn't something that was evident during the writing but seems to have come about much further down the line. "It's a great idea where we have this character (Garak) who has been all these things and done all of this stuff is suddenly put into this position where he has to be the moral and upstanding citizen and it grinds with him. It's so cool when you put a character in that position."

Una actually finished The Crimson Shadow before any of the others in the series were complete; "Una's book pops in my inbox and I was like oh - I'd better write the book!" revealed James. He knew he was in for a good read; "Una's book exists within it's own bubble of Cardassian-ness," he noted, "but there are still a lot of threads that are dropped in and then pulled back out. There were no overt plot threads but there was a sense of massive political wheels turning and the sense of a world on the verge of a dynamic shift...Every book in The Fall has that feeling that big things are happening and you'd better not get crushed underneath it."

The tasks were handed out and Una snapped up the Garak and Picard two-hander while James looked at the section he had taken in a very different way; "I wanted to do an espinoage thriller but I also wanted to do something that's got some doors being kicked in and stuff blowing up."

In fact the author of The Poisoned Chalice had just finished reading No Easy Day which is about the SEALS who go after Bin Laden. "The idea of the Black Ops and the hunt for a terrorist dovetailed perfectly with the stuff that Una set up with who's to blame for the crisis."

James wanted to push the boundaries on what could be done with the "hawkish" Federation that is evident in the series. He wanted to ask awkward questions "and have some kick-ass stuff too."

While The Crimson Shadow plays with a small deck of characters, The Poisoned Chalice takes a very different approach taking names from The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager; "It was funny trying to put all those characters together," recalled James, "I found that I was writing some of the very first meetings between some of those characters and I didn't realise it. I did a scene where Deanna Troi meets Julian Bashir and I wrote it and thought 'have they actually met?'"

As it turns out they hadn't and James had to go back, tear the entire scene out and retool it. "I realised I couldn't do it as a throwaway it had to be a thing and it was the same when I did the scene when Tovok meets with Nog. That was a lot of fun because it almost became a comedy double act with the two of them playing off each other."

With Nog, James saw that he had been played for laughs on occasion but there was a darker side which came out through his experiences in the Dominion War and with Tuvok there was an experienced officer who had done the black ops work and seen a lot; "And I wanted to bring all that out in these seemingly polar opposites. and then seeing them almost bonding...It wasn't a conscious decision it just evolved out of the story."

Una's latest addition to the Star Trek literary universe came out very recently in the form of The Missing (which I haven't read yet) which carries the moniker of a Deep Space Nine novel even though there are a few characters from elsewhere in the universe who drop by. Good news is that there seems to be a renaissance on Deep Space Nine novels as David R George has just announced The Ascendence and we have Sacraments of Fire in July from the same author. Una would love to do some more which I can firmly say is a Good Thing.

Of course, The Fall in some way has to have influenced the thread of The Missing and the book does indeed acknowledge the series in its opening pages. James however managed to remain tight-lipped on just how much The Poisoned Chalice had influenced the yet-to-be-released The Sight Unseen which focuses on the good ship Titan.

I managed to get a "Yes" from James on the subject; "There have been a couple of books between The Fall and the Titan novel," he explained referring to The Next Generation's Takedown and Absolute Enemies from John Jackson Miller. "There's a lot of stuff going on," continued James Swallow, "and I've got to be careful of spoilers here; situations have changed, people are in different places and things have happened not just within the Federation but to the Titan and the people on board the Titan. There will be some new characters, someone will die and Titan will have a brand new mission. It's the fallout from all of that which will take it in a new direction."

James assured me that it will still be a traditional Titan story about the ship going off and exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new civilisations but maybe not in the same format as the original series of Titan."

For me as a reader, the end of The Fall seemed to mark a return to basics for the literary Star Trek universe as the Enterprise returned to its core mission of exploration and the universe seemed to have a minor reset. After all the arcs and series such as Destiny, Cold Equations and The Fall, it appears that the galaxy is settling back into a more singular way of telling stories. I asked the two authors if it was a good way to go forward with the franchise.

"I think it is," said Una, "We were telling a lot of very, very complex stories and it's nice to give your brain a rest. It can't always be about saving the Federation or saving the quadrant or saving the universe or saving reality as we know it. Think how beautiful an episode like The Inner Light is and that's just the drama of a man's life passing and that is as much Star Trek as kicking down doors and blowing things up."

Have to say I did then support James on that very point because we always need doors being kicked in and things blowing up. 

In terms of First Contact Day the two authors were really impressed with the event; "It's been a really friendly, warm convention," said Una who is from the north west, "It's nice to be back amongst my people!"

James was clearly enjoying being at the event too, "Star Trek has been very kind to me," he said, being the only UK writer to provide concepts for Voyager's One and Memorial. "To me that was like winning the lottery."

Getting that second shot at Voyager was all that James needed to know that this was the job he wanted to do for life, "...and the energy from that still propels me forward. Star Trek has given me so much love and enjoyment and it's great to be able to give back to that."

Thanks to Una McCormack and James Swallow for their time at First Contact Day.

Have you read either of these authors? What did you think of their work and are you looking forward to their next novels?

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First Contact Day: LIVE

Morning everyone!

Yes, the day is here and as a first for Some Kind of Star Trek we're going to live blog from First Contact Day at the National Space Centre in Leicester. Keep dropping by during the day to see who we meet, what's happening and what we get to see.

9:31 and we're parked up. Very quiet here at the moment so relaxing for a sec with a brew. English Breakfast not Earl Grey I'm afraid. Spotted a few redshirts not to be confused with the staff. 

10:11 all open and had a breather in the Captain's chair! 

10:36 Getting busier as the fans arrive for the 11am kickoff. Lots of uniforms and hopefully a ton of redshirts for the record attempt.

10:50 settled in ready for authors James Swallow and Una McCormack after the 11am kickoff. Great to see Continues' first episode Pilgrim of Eternity to get us all ready for the days events.

Room's filling up nicely ahead of the start...lots of red which is a good sign. Grabbed a seat behind the Visionary Trek team one of whom will be calling the shots with James and Una.

And just to prove they did turn up, here's the Risa gents at their stand. Definitely worth grabbing a chat with them if you're here or going tomorrow.

11:05 A slight delay to proceedings. Nothing to worry about but it does mean more Continues... crowd really looking forward to the talks and intro now.

Chad and Wil kick us off with Garrett: "Happy to be here. I had a lot of messages on Twitter when Leonard passed....The way you can pay tribute by watching your favourite episode or movie...Without Spock would not be what it is today."

And with that a superb Nimoy tribute including those great Audi commercials.

11:50 Welcome to James Swallow and Una McCormack with Michael Clark from Visionary Trek. We like Una because she's a big Deep Space Nine fan. James got into reading Star Trek through those James Blish novels. He's the only Brit to provide the concepts for two Star Trek episodes. 

"I devoured Deep Space Nine" reveals Una who got into the show through The Way of the Warrior and Garak. Most of her works do tend to follow Cardassians and seizes the chance to write about Garak - hence The Crimson Shadow."

James has just dropped The Sight Unseen - a Titan novel and he's just finished writing The Latter Fire based during The Original Series five year mission.

This year apparently is going to be a lot more standalone rather than The Fall-esque arcs according to the two authors. To be honest they like writing cool stories but there are challenges especially if they get things wrong!

"Big challenge is coming up with a new story" says James. "I want to do something interesting and compelling."

If you want to start reading Una McCormack, James Swallow recommends Hollow Men as your initiation.

Apparently though it turns out that James didn't know where David Mack was going to go with Bashir in his Section 31 novel and chose to break him out of prison - so there's a missing Section 31 novel out there! David also created a huge spreadsheet that detailed where everything lay within the framework of The Fall series - who wouldn't love to see that?! 

13:30 I'm lunched out. Big queue for the cafe (30 mins for a bottle of water???) which I'm not heading into at this late stage. Back into the main room for a bit of Phase II while we're waiting to kick off again and attempt the Redshirt Record Attempt! Will they beat the current 57? We'll find out soon enough! 

13:37 The sea of red is growing!

13:52 Still clocking those red shirts through! Looks like that 57 target is getting annihilated! 

14:02 and there's the record - smashing it with 107!!!

14:45 and Garrett Wang is on stage. Did you know he went to a British private school? 

He's pretty funny and is commanding the stage already - his impression of Sulu/George Takei is one of the best.

Only four actors from Trek are sci-fi fans, reveals Garrett - Wil Wheaton, Tim Russ, Garrett and Karl Urban! 

Garrett had six auditions for Voyager and he nearly ran over Harrison Ford in a parking lot when he was on the way to get his uniform fitted. Also turns out that Ensign Kim didn't know until this moment that Harrison crashed his plane. Priceless OMG face.

President of CBS isn't a fan of Star Trek explains Garrett - which might explain why it's not back on air yet. There will be some kind of Star Trek in the future he continues. Garrett loved the 2009 movie but not with Star Trek into Darkness. Loved the pacing, young Kirk and Spock... Never looked away from the screen. 

"What was unfortunate that apart from Nimoy he had no-one else from Star Trek on board... and didn't invite from the Star Trek world to the premiere."

Amazing to think Garrett saw the '09 movie 14 times in the cinema. He loves the newness of the reboot but felt JJ rushed the sequel...running to Star Wars perhaps? Garrett thinks Naveen Andrews from Lost would have been a better Khan. Not that Benedict is a bad actor. 

15:15 Garrett has a raft of great stories and you just gotta hear about the Power of DeLauncie. It's like He-Man but a lot better with more theatrics.

Favorite episode of Voyager? For Garrett it's the pilot that had the most fun and the chance to meet everyone for the first time. Took 30 days to film - fact! 

16:00 BRILLIANT chat with James Swallow and Una McCormack away from the stage. Great authors and you need to read their books. Even managed a quick snap and got The Crimson Shadow and The Poisoned Chalice signed. More detailed breakdown of our chat will be coming in the next few days! 

16:36 and the auction's over now we can have a last session chat with Larry Nemecek about Enterprise in Space! Lots of signed goodies, action figures and even a Star Trek Online uniform topping out the bidding. Lots of support for the First Contact Day charities.

End of the day also brings in the winners of the costume competition. A Borg comes in third, second goes to a Seven of Nine cosplayer and topping the bill is a Battlestar Galactica Colonial Warrior.

16:40 Missed a bit of the Larry talk but did manage five minutes aside with the more than accommodating Garrett Wang - this guy will literally do anything for fans and knows know to treat people! He even took part in the record attempt earlier.I'll be putting up the chat as a separate piece but here's one of Garrett as a redshirt to bide you over.

17:15 all done and homeward bound. Wonderful day at the venue and brilliant to touch base with Visionary Trek and the team from Risa. Same again next year?

Did you enjoy First Contact Day weekend? Were you there? How do you think it went? (second day on Sunday 5th but we couldn't attend)

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Making First Contact

We are just under three months away from one of the UK's most well-known Star Trek events and Some Kind of Star Trek will be there!

April 4th and 5th 2015 will be the annual First Contact Day convention at the National Space Centre in Leicester with Babylon 5's Claudia Christian, Voyager's Harry Kim, aka Garrett Wang in attendance as well as representatives from our friends at Risa and Starbase 31 who we can't wait to meet face to face.

A little more local than Destination Star Trek, this will be my first time at First Contact Day and the Leicester Centre even though, oddly, I worked there for a year just under a decade ago.

While First Contact for us Star Trek fans immediately conjours up images of Zephram Cochrane, Borg and the Vulcans it's important to note, as organisers Wil Ross and David Limburg indeed did, that a lot of shows have some form of first contact protocol such as Babylon 5 and Stargate SG-1 - something that both organisers were keen to point out although there had been some discussion over it's apparent "Star Trek-ness" (makes perfect sense in the bigger picture!)

With the event just under a month away, I managed to grab an hour with Wil and David to understand just how preparations were going and also a bit more about the background to First Contact Day. 

"It originally started off two years ago as an event called Dawn of the Federation;" explained Wil, "It was the brainchild of former CBS Action host Raules Davies who was running an events group in Manchester and a few members of his team came up with an idea to celebrate First Contact Day. Unfortunately due to his commitments with other events and CBS he didn't have the time to run it so he asked me if I would organise and get it up and running."

Wil said yes to what was supposed to be a one-time deal and over the following six months he realised that it was capturing the imagination of more and more people and the closer the date came he could feel the rise in excitement, "I said to Raules at the time this could be something pretty big...this could be a bigger event."

The event, of course, was a massive success "...and immediately after people were asking me are you going to do it again?" said Wil. Initially he wasn't sure what to do but after discovering that Raules wasn't looking to continue the venture, Wil decided to go it alone which led to the second event being double the size of the first. "Everyone loved it and we got 99.8% positive feedback...it was truly amazing. At the end everyone was clambering  to say we needed to do it again and that we needed to make it bigger and better and do it with guests. That's exactly what we've done this time."

For 2015 there's a bigger convention-style format to the previous two years. The venue is the same (Leicester Space Centre) but the First Contact Day organisers are looking to make this different to any other event out there - not just a signing, not just a meal, not just an evening party - "We want to mix it all together and have some fun." continued Wil. The team are very grateful to the Space Centre especially as Easter weekend is it's busiest time, potentially seeing 4,000 people passing through its doors on both days.

"A personal feel." added David, "It gives you a better connection to the people there and we're all in it together."

David had been looking for someone to join up with in the convention circuit for some time having been involved with them on both sides of the stalls so to speak since the late '80's and early '90's. He was growing disheartened with how events were being run as the years went on, concerned that fans were being taken for their money and herded through events without that key personal touch.

The team don't want you just to have 15 seconds and a signing by the guests. At First Contact Day you'll be able to mingle with them too. "They're there and you can talk to them. It's about interaction. It's all about quality and value for money." said David.

Fans will certainly get that with this being the first time First Contact Day has welcomed guests.  In fact originally they had only planned for Claudia Christian (minimal sales pitch to my dad to get him there when I mentioned this guest) to attend but matters escalated rapidly and soon Garrett was added to the list then another and another until the event reached its current number of headliners.

However, First Contact Day isn't just about the guests. From my chat with Wil and David it became evident that it's about an all-encompassing experience. Notably the event has gone from being a one day event attended by 200 people up to five times that amount anticipated for this year across the two days. 

Checking out the event's website you get a very good picture of exactly what's going on. Yes there will be the range and of dealers selling assorted memorabilia however there's a packed itinerary to keep fans enthralled for two days. 

Talks with authors Una McCormack and James Swallow - who both had entries in the recent The Fall novel series - as well as stage appearances from Garrett Wang and Claudia Christian are already locked in plus a session with Larry Nemecek via Skype on both days who is sure to talk about the mesmerising Enterprise in Space project. There is one thing that David is especially looking forward to; "The Red Shirt record attempt!"  which will be taking place on the Saturday afternoon plus there's the sure-to-be hotly contested costume competition a couple of hours later. 

David is also keenly awaiting the auctions which will be happening over the weekend; "Some people are bringing some really interesting bits which we hope will raise some money for our charities."

For note, the two charities this year are Help for Heroes and the C3 Foundation which helps 3.3 million people a year with alcohol-related injuries or diseases and is backed by First Contact Day guest Claudia Christian.

While the record attempt is purely on the Saturday the costume competition as well as the charity auction will be happening on the Sunday as well although we suspect there will be a few bleary eyes after the Saturday Night Disco with live music from the Smithemen. Heck, with this much going on you're guaranteed to need both days to ensure every box is ticked.

The two organisers met at an event and have a like-mindedness that is making this year's event a total success. David was invited along to the 2014 event by Wil to see what it was all about; "I was blown away," recalled David, who had been searching for an event to be involved with for over five years; "Everyone worked with him...it was a well oiled ship! At that moment my search was over."


The Leicester Space Centre has been the venue since the event was known as Dawn of the Federation but due to ever increasing numbers, doubling the number of days and also a lack of engagement from the local area, it may be that this is the last time First Contact Day lands in the city. Both Wil and David are quick to praise the hospitality of the centre but only five people came from Leicestershire last year and the current demographic suggests the average attendee is between 25 and 45 from somewhere slightly to the north of Birmingham. Sadly Leicester's largest potential convention centre only holds a maximum of 1100 people which would also rule that out as a future venue.

Wil Ross

Cautious over being able to crawl before they can walk (so to speak), Wil and David are already thinking ahead to spectacular ideas for 2016 - but for now the big focus is just a matter of weeks away.

"Our plans for 2016 we're going to need a venue that will hold many more than that because it is Star Trek's 50th anniversary and we do plan on holding something quite special for that year." said Wil. 

Having such great guests - due to some very strong friendships with the organisers has certainly helped promote First Contact Day. "I don't think Garrett needed to hear the end of either my or Wil's pitch," recalled David, "He was there, he said he'd do it for us and I was taken aback."

David Limburg

They specifically wanted guests who craved the interaction, would look up and chat during an autograph signing session and wouldn't have the conveyor-belt arm for fan photo sessions. They're confident that with all the people coming to First Contact Day this won't happen and that they will be approachable even if they're having a coffee from the cafe!

Sharing a couple of "interesting" celebrity stories, it was clear to me that Wil and David really have a keen sight on what they want and what they want fans to get from the weekend - they want attendees to come away with good memories and great stories.


One of the tragic points about First Contact Day is that a Skype session had been in the early planning stages with Leonard Nimoy however following his loss the team are looking to create a special memorial to the Star Trek actor over the weekend. "We were well on the way to organising it." recalled Wil, "but then events took a turn for the worse. I'm now looking forward to doing a celebration of Leonard Nimoy the person and of Spock the character and it seems that, given their Star Trek roots "we're determined to do it well," explained Wil, "Spock was where it all began; before Kirk. In the first pilot Spock was there...this is something that should definitely be done."

And I absolutely agree - and the feeling from both parties is that it's a well-presented celebration as part of the event and that it is important to remember the great things he did.

First Contact Day is an immersive event where fans, dealers, cosplayers, guests and all points in between can meet and revel in the brilliant universes created for our entertainment and enjoyment. I'm thoroughly excited to be going and getting to chat with people face to face. This will also be the first event that Some Kind of Star Trek will be blogging LIVE from and there might be a line or two from a guest or three - at least we hope that this might happen. We're also intending to talk to some guests and our friends from Risa during the weekend and get to the heart of the experience. Let's hope that this breaks all their records, raises more money than ever for charity and is easily the best First Contact Day the universe has ever seen.

So if you're wandering around and you happen to spot a guy with a camera and his dad (who's secretly going because he wants to meet Claudia Christian) then come over and say hello. I won't bite but I'm not sure I can vouch for my dad on that one....

You can buy your tickets RIGHT NOW at the FCD website and we'll see you at First Contact Day on April 4th and 5th.