By the time I checked out and got all my bags to the convention centre it was pushing lunchtime, so I spent most of the early afternoon chatting to various people and stealing chips from Crisetta MacLeod (thanks, Cristetta!). I wasn’t too fussed about getting to panels, I just wanted to take the chance to spend as much time with everyone as possible before the end of the convention. In hindsight, I do regret not making it to at least the “What does an Editor do?” panel, because the feedback was that it was excellent.
Before long, it was time for the final panel, both for me and of the whole convention.
Monday 2:30pm – Melrose Room
“Drop the Dead Donkey” Panel.
Have all the shows that have been rebooted, revised, resurrected been a waste of time? Was the original better than the remake?
Panellists: Conor Bendle, Mik Bennett, and David McDonald.
A very seedy looking panel, from left to right David, Mik and Conor
I am sure that Mik and Conor were sick of the sight of me by this point, it was our third panel together, but it also meant that we were familiar with one another, and it could be a pretty casual atmosphere. Because it was the final panel I didn’t expect we would have many people turn up, but it turned out to be the best attended of all the panels I had been on.
It was a very participative atmosphere, with lots of input from the audience which was wonderful. The conversation was wide ranging, from things that we thought should have been left well enough alone, to things that hadn’t been revisited and really deserved a second chance because they had been done so badly the first time (the Phantom!). That led to ideas that had been done well, but perhaps it was time for a new version as to share them with new audiences (my example was a vampire miniseries called Ultraviolet).
I think everyone found common ground with the idea that American remakes of British shows were generally of the Devil (with one or two exceptions). We also talked about how long running characters had so many incarnations that reboots were almost necessary to let all their iterations see the light of day.
It was a lot of fun, and surprisingly engaging considering the energy levels of us all at that end of the con. And, it was my first experience of a panel I was on being live tweeted (thanks, Jodi!)! Kind of scary, but very cool.
After the panel we had the closing ceremony, which quite rightly celebrated the hard work of all the organisers. It was bittersweet, because we all knew it was almost time to say goodbye. There was a mass exodus to the bar and every one hung around and chatted for a while, but gradually people began to disperse. I hate goodbyes.
Tim Reddan was good enough to drive me out to the airport, and as I flew out of Canberra I reflected on an amazing time. Next post I will share my thoughts on why I thought Conflux was such a success, and why I am hoping to go again next year.