Column | The Rage In The Kage Vol. 4
Written by: Kage Alan
Vol. 4 Artisan, PFE and Conventions...Oh, My!

Okay, a bit of catch-up here in this edition.  First, however, I hope
everybody had a great 4th of July.  For those not celebrating the Western
holiday, obviously Hallmark Cards hasn't invaded your country yet, but
hopefully you had a great day anyway.  As I understand it, Independence Day
isn't a really big holiday in other parts of the world, like Britain.  That's
okay, though, since "Look, the Queen!" has an entirely different meaning over
here.  Funny that.

So, regarding some old business, Artisan finally sent a replacement disc for
"The Mangler 2" and it has the same exact problem my first disc did.  The
largest jump cut I've ever seen still appears halfway through this turkey and
a character disappears with no explanation.  There's even a glitch in the
commentary where the flow of conversation in that same area doesn't quite
fit.  Artisan doesn't seem to be particularly concerned, though, and the
well-informed rep on the phone (you got that little bit of sarcasm, right?)
suggested the director was merely attempting to use his artistry in that
section.  Riiiiight.  If the director actually had any artistic ability... 
Never mind.  The movie, in a word, sucks.  Avoid it anyway.  Case closed.

What else?  Oh, yeah.  Before I get to the convention photos, I did want to
make one little request to anybody else out there who got suckered into
buying "The Final Countdown" DVD from Pacific Family Entertainment.  If you
were given a reason as to why the disc delivered wasn't what was promised,
please drop me a line.  For anybody wanting to own the movie (and it's pretty
cool), I urge you to read my review and NOT give PFE the business.

Now the fun stuff!  I attended a Sci-Fi convention a few months back with the
dominating Miss Jen-Jen and had the opportunity to chat with a few really
cool people.  Oh, who am I kidding?  These people are absolutely fabulous.


[Note: Click on picture to enlarge]
The first person I headed for (and the reason I was there) was the beautiful
Virgina Hey.  Most of you will know her as Zhaan, the blue alien priestess
from "Farscape" while others may remember her from Mel Gibson's vehicle "The Road Warrior".  Spiritual and thoughtful are two words that come to mind about Virginia, but she is just as sweet and cuddled right up to me for a
pic, which really took my by surprise in the nicest way possible.  She has
recently finished recording her voice for a new "Farscape" game coming out
and hasn't ruled out making future appearances on the show if they can find
some way to bring her back with her hair intact.  For those of you who were
registered on her website, there was a problem and most of the names were
lost.  She asks that you please reregister and wishes all of her fans well.
Now if she can just finish putting together her meditation CD...


I had the pleasure of meeting Claudia Christian last year from the "Babylon
5" TV show.  What a hellcat!  This year, Jerry Doyle, who played Mr.
Garibaldi, filled a group of us in on some veryג€¦ahemג€¦interesting
behind-the-scenes stories about Claudia that I'm sure had her ears burning
wherever she was at the time.  The great thing about Jerry is that he is as
down-to-earth and tell-it-like-it-is as anyone I've ever met.  Mira Furlan
(Delenn) is much the same way, only a bit quieter.  Okay, a lot quieter,
though still very pleasant.

                        
There was also a spin off of "Babylon 5" called "Crusade".  It only lasted
about 13 episodes thanks to TNT's lack of commitment, but remains a great
deal of fun to watch.  I always thought Carrie Dobro's character, the thief
Dureena Nafeel, was quite tall.  Imagine my surprise when this woman who beat the living daylights out of aliens stood up and I found myself towering over
her.  This woman had more positive energy bursting within her than I've seen
in a long time.  It took me a little while before I could begin to keep up
with her, and when she found out I was coming out with my first book this year
ג€¦look out!  She was more excited than I'd been and insisted I write her when
it comes out so she can buy a copy.  Like I'm going to forget an offer like
that?  If all goes well, Carrie has a TV pilot out there that may get picked
up.  Hopefully we'll be seeing more of her again very soon.

                          
"Star Trek: Voyager" may have ended, but the cast lives on and Roxanne Dawson has been as busy as ever.  Not only was she on a celebrity edition of "The Weakest Link" (which she cleared up that she and Wil Wheaton were NOT really at odds with each other), but she's also just finished writing the third book in her "Tenebrea" trilogy.  Yes, yours truly plunked down $100 for all three books, autographed Collector's Limited Editions whose proceeds all go to charity.  It's impossible for me to pass up the opportunity to support a
local or celebrity author.  Anybody interested in the books can find them
listed on her website.

                        
Does this guy look familiar?  Aside from starring in several horror films
like "Dawn of the Living Dead" and "From Dusk Til' Dawn", Tom Savini's the
man responsible for creating the first incarnation of Jason and all the
effects in "Friday The 13th".  I saw him last year, but felt too intimidated
to go up and talk to him.  I was still intimidated this year, but really
wanted to get a picture, so I stood in line.  If ever there was anybody not
to be intimidated by, it's Tom.  Despite the nature of his work, he's as warm
and well adjusted as anyone.  My mother is still glad I never grew up
creating gruesome make-up effects like he does, though.

                          
Oh, yes.  There was one more picture, but I had to get Miss Jen-Jen's
permission to use it, which I did secure.  Here she is with Marjorie
Monaghan, who played Number One on "Babylon 5".  The first thing I noticed
about Marjorie was how friggin' tall she is.  Carrie made me look tall, but
Marjorie made me feel short.  I didn't like that feeling.  Well, she's still
busy performing on television and hopefully getting picked up by a series
sometime in the near future as well.

And with that, a long update on the part of yours truly has come to an end.
I'll be back in a month or so with some words about special features on DVDs. What makes something a special feature or standard feature?  Hopefully I'll find out before then.

Previous installments:
Vol. 1 - Critic Kage Alan rants about dvds and Warner Bros.
Vol. 2 - Railing on Region Coding
Vol. 3  - Widescreen Vs. Pan And Scan

Kage holds degrees in Creative Writing, as well as Film & Video. He has been featured in a Life Journey Tele-Course, published poems in several national anthologies, been a contributor to The Third Coast Magazine and written several novels. kage@modamag.com

COMMENTS
Date/Time of Posting:  Jul 21 2002 / 20:38:07
IP Address:  12.249.10.19
name = Marianne
where = mlabahn13@hotmail.com
comments = Very nice. Great pictures.