Dr. Jack Beven's Images of Visions '97

I. Introduction

The Visions science fiction convention used to be held annually at Thanksgiving Weekend in Chicago, Illinois. I've been lucky enough to attend five of the last six Visions. Here's some pictures I took at the 1997 Visions.

By the way, I apologize for some of the problems in a few of these pictures that look like they have dust on them. Something showed up during the scanning that wasn't visible on the original prints. It's either from the scanner or from my camera lens. :-(

II. The Opening Ceremonies of 1997

Visions had an opening ceremony to introduce the guests, usually with some sort of little gags. These two sequences show various guests during introduction.


Jeremy Bentham (39K JPG)	Joe Nazzaro (41K JPG)	Dave McDonnell (31K JPG)	H. Ed Cox (42K JPG)	Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz (28K JPG)	Gary Lockwood (29K JPG)

The first picture (39K JPG) of this sequence is of Jeremy Bentham, the founder of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society. I didn't see any of Jeremy's presentations during the con, but I did hear him comment at the closing ceremonies that his presentation of DW film locations would probably cause a tourist stampede.

The second picture (41K JPG) is of Joe Nazzaro, author of several books on Sci-Fi TV series and writer for several fanzines.

The third picture (31K JPG) is of Dave McDonnell, the editor of Starlog magazine. He wasn't too pleased when I told him at an autograph line that I didn't subscribe to it! :-) He's also contributed to several other fanzines as both writer and editor.

The fourth picture (42K JPG) is of H. Ed Cox, Visions' artist guest of honor. I didn't see much of Ed during the con, but he did the cover art of this years' con program.

The fifth picture (28K JPG) is of Adam "Mojo" Leibowitz, who is a special effects wizard who's credits include work on Babylon 5 and Star Trek: Voyager. I think Mojo was spending a lot of his time as a fan, because I saw him running around the con quite a bit, and he didn't make many of scheduled autograph and photo sessions. However, he did come up and say hello to a group of us on Thursday night.

The last picture (29K JPG) in this sequence is of Gary Lockwood. He has numerous TV and movie credits, with the most notable sci-fi-wise being Frank Poole in 2001 and Gary Mitchell in the second Star Trek pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before".


Frazier Hines (40K JPG)	Julie Caitlin-Brown (40K JPG)	Sally Knyvette (40K JPG)	Sheelagh Wells (43K JPG)	Peter Davison (39K JPG)

The first picture (40K JPG) of the second sequence is of Frazier Hines, who played the 2^nd Doctor's Scottish companion Jamie. In addition to his role on Doctor Who, Frazier has many other appearances on British stage and screen.

The second picture (40K JPG) is of Julie Caitlin-Brown, who is best known to sci-fi fans for her portrayal of Na'Toth on Babylon 5. Julie is also an accomplished singer and acoustic guitarist, as she showed at the Celebrity Cabaret on Saturday night.

The third picture (40K JPG) is of Sally Knyvette, who portrayed Jenna on the British sci-fi drama Blakes 7. Sally also has a great number of British TV and stage appearances, including one opposite Frazier Hines in the show Emmerdale Farm.

The fourth picture (43K JPG) is of Sheelagh Wells, who is the wife of Joe Nazzaro. Sheelagh is a make-up artist and costumer who has worked with many British entertainment productions, including Doctor Who and Blakes 7. At the Cabaret, Sheelagh showed a video of a meeting she arranged at an awards show between J. Michael Stracynski (producer of Babylon 5 and admirer of Blakes 7) and Gareth Thomas, who played Blake. I thought it was a wonderful moment!

The last picture (39K JPG), but certainly not least amongst the guests, is of Peter Davison, who played the 5^th Doctor Who and Campion on the Mystery TV series. Peter has numerous other stage and screen credits, including playing Tristan Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small and a cameo in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy as the Dish of the Day.

III. The Celebrities and Me '97


Sally Knyvette (54K JPG)	The B5 Bunch (39K JPG)	Peter & Frazier (54K JPG)	Gary Lockwood (43K JPG)

Visions featured many chances to get your picture taken with the celebrities. This sequence shows myself with some of the guests. The second picture (39K JPG) requires some extra explanation. Two of the Babylon 5 guests, Jeff Conaway and Patricia Tallman, didn't make it to the Opening Ceremonies. Thus, this was my first meeting with them. Jeff plays Zack Allen on Babylon 5 and is perhaps best known for his role as Bobby on the show Taxi. Patricia has numerous roles in stage and screen (including movie stuntwork) and is best known in sci-fi fandom as Lyta Alexander from Babylon 5.

IV. The Masquerade

Visions had an annual Masquerade and Costume Contest on Friday night. These four sequences show the participants.


A Visitor or Dwarf? (51K JPG)	Klingon Priest (52K JPG)	Klingon Hockey Warrior (59K JPG)	Erin Tumilty (54K JPG)	Buffy Gets FLATtened! (50K JPG)

The first picture (51K JPG) in this sequence is a costume that I'm sure of the identity of. Various people have told me it's either from the series V or from Red Dwarf. The second picture (52K JPG) is a Klingon priest from one of the Star Trek series. The third picture (59K JPG) is also a Klingon, but this time it's a Klingon Hockey Warrior! (I'm not sure I'd want to meet one of them on the ice!) The fourth picture (54K JPG) is of Erin Tumilty (from the newsgroup rec.arts.drwho in a 5^th Doctor costume doing her musical rendition of the obsessed fan. The last picture (50K JPG) in the sequence is of costumes from the series Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. The punch line: Buffy can't beat the Lord of the Dance!


John Steed (56K JPG)	CONversion at Visions (53K JPG)	Centauri Priest (56K JPG)	Bill Rudloff (52K JPG)	Jennifer Tifft (54K JPG)

The first picture (56K JPG) of this sequence is a costume of John Steed from the series The Avengers. The second picture (53K JPG) is of a Star Trek officer and Princess Leia (Star Wars) being converted to Doctor Who fandom at the Visions con. The third picture (56K JPG) is of a Centauri priest from Babylon 5. The fourth picture (52K JPG) is rec.arts.drwho participant Bill Rudloff in his composite Doctor costume. Last (54K JPG) in the sequence, but certainly not least, is Jennifer Tifft (another online acquaintance) in her Ranger costume from Babylon 5 performing 'Requiem for a Ranger'.


C-3P0 (51K JPG)	The Great Rassilon (44K JPG)	Maleficent (44K JPG)	Felicity Kusinitz (42K JPG)

The first picture (51K JPG) of this sequence is C-3P0 doing the Star Wars version of 'The Night Before Christmas'. The second picture (44K JPG) is of The Great Rassilon, a Doctor Who version of a magician's act specializing in bad puns! The third picture (44K JPG) is of Maleficient the witch from Sleeping Beauty. The last picture (42K JPG) of the sequence is of Felicity Kusinitz (yet another online acquaintance) in her Romana costume from the Doctor Who serial 'The Androids of Tara'. (My camera failed while Felicity was on stage, so she was nice enough to let me take a photo later.)


Group Shot I (50K JPG)	Group Shot II (49K JPG)

Last, but not least, are two group shots showing all the participants. The left-hand picture (50K JPG) includes the Master of Ceremonies Steve Hill, who is an online acquaintance. Steve is also seen behind the podium in several other pictures.

Among the awards I can remember: Jennifer Tifft and The Great Rassilon tied for first in the Audience Choice award, with Felicity Kusinitz finishing third. Jennifer won the Best in Show in the Masters Division, while Felicity won for best in her class (which unfortunately escapes me). Erin Tumilty won an award for Best in Class for Musical Performance. Congratulations to everyone who won, and to everyone else who participated.

V. A Few Panel Shots


Peter & Frazier (44K JPG)	Jeri Ryan (23K JPG)	Jeri & Borg (26K JPG)

Visions' panel sessions were somewhat similar to "Meet the Press" - the celebrities come out and answer questions from the audience about themselves, their careers, and the shows of interest. I didn't attend many panels as I was busy trying to get autographs and photos. However, I did get to a few and took these pictures.

Jeri Ryan, who plays the ex-Borg character Seven-by-Nine on Star Trek: Voyager, was another of the guests who didn't make the Opening Ceremonies. She also drew such long lines for photos and autographs that I couldn't get through them. So, this panel session was about the only time I saw her. The second picture (23K JPG) is of Jeri, while the third (26K JPG) is Jeri with a fan who came dressed in a full Borg costume, complete with working appendages and lights!

VI. Lots and Lots of Friends!

One reason for attending this convention was to meet in person the people that I'd been acquainted with from the USENET newsgroup rec.arts.drwho, as well as from several other parts of online DW fandom. Over the years, this has grown from just a few to a large number of acquaintances. Here's are a couple of sequences of pictures of them:


Lobby I (58K JPG)	Group Shot I (65K JPG)	Lobby II (64K JPG)	Dinner I (71K JPG)	Dinner II (47K JPG)

The first lobby shot (58K JPG) features (from left to right): unknown (man's face at left), Chrissy Hennessey, unknown, Sarah Crozier (in wheelchair in front), Trina Short, and Nicky 'Suki' Adams.

The first group shot (65K JPG) features: (front row) Marilyn Martin, Trina Short, Judi Grant, Elsa Frohman, (middle row) Chrissy Hennessey, Marion Saunderson, Chris Sweitzer, and Meg Lahey (in back behind Chris).

The second lobby shot (64K JPG) features: Unknown (obscuring three other people on the left), Felicity Kusinitz, Jason Miller, and Robert Franks(?).

This is the first (71K JPG) of two pictures taken at a Friday night dinner. Starting from the left edge going clockwise around the table are: Meg Lahey, Stephanie Linz-Gould, unknown, Chrissy Hennessey, Trina Short, Michelle Berman, Judi Grant (obscuring someone behind her), Marilyn Martin, Diane Warfield.

Here's the second dinner picture (47K JPG) featuring (from the left clockwise around the table): Judi Grant, Marion Saunderson, Marilyn Martin, Diane Warfield, Lori Summer, Chris Sweitzer (the somewhat-bald head), Stephanie Linz-Gould (in red, obscuring Meg Lahey), unknown, Chrissy Hennessey, Trina Short (the hair at the bottom of the picture).


Lobby III (69K JPG)	Lobby IV (34K JPG)	Lobby V (33K JPG)	Lobby VI (29K JPG)	Closing Shot (60K JPG)

The third lobby shot (69K JPG) features (from left to right): either Donald or Daryl Gillikin, Marsha Twitty, Jon Blum, Amy Steele, Michael Lee, and Neil Marsh.

The fourth lobby shot (34K JPG) features (from left to right): Stephanie Linz-Gould, Chris Sweitzer, Marsha Twitty, and Greg McElhatton.

The fifth lobby shot (33K JPG) features (from front to back): Meg Lahey, Elsa Frohman, Judi Grant, and Trina Short.

The sixth lobby shot (29K JPG) features (from front to back): Judi Grant, Trina Short, and Michelle Wolf. By the way, the Nutcracker statue in the background is an annual feature of the Hyatt's Christmas decorations.

The last picture (60K JPG) is a group shot taken just before the closing ceremonies. Not everyone in the picture is an acquaintance, but in the middle of the front row are (from left to right) Chris Sweitzer, Elsa Frohman, and Judi Grant. In the next row are Andy Stabler (at the far left) and several other people I don't know. In the third row are: unknown in the black shirt at the far left, Lori Summer, Marion Saunderson, Trina Short, and Michelle Wolf.

If anyone I couldn't identify sees these pictures, please drop me a line and let me know who you are. I'd forget my own face if I didn't see it everyday!

VII. Closing Ceremonies


Mojo (23K JPG)	Paul Simpson (25K JPG)	Peter shoots back! (45K JPG)

Visions' closing ceremonies were a way for the staff and fans to say good-bye to the guests. Here are a few shots I took at those ceremonies:

First is a rare sighting of "Mojo" Lebowitz (23K JPG). Since he didn't make his scheduled autograph and photo sessions, this was about the only time I saw him. The second picture (25K JPG) is of Paul Simpson, the managing editor of Dreamwatch Magazine. Paul served as the Master of Ceremonies for many panel sessions during the con. Finally, there is a group shot (45K JPG) of the guests departing. Peter Davison is taking a picture of the fans, after which he shouted "How do you like it?"!

VIII. Some Miscellaneous Images


Costumes (56K JPG)	K-9 I (42K JPG)	Memorobillia (51K JPG)	K-9 II (38K JPG)

Here are a few other pictures I took at Visions. The first (56K JPG) is of several costumes from sci-fi TV and movies that were on display. The second (42K JPG) is a rather realistic looking K-9, the robot dog from Doctor Who. The third (51K JPG) is a collection of various props and memorobillia. Last (38K JPG), but certainly not least, was a fan-made version of K-9 that roamed the corridors of the Hyatt during the con.

Visions '96 Pictures

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