Bob Greenberger

The cast is made up of stage veterans all of whom have impressive credits. To me, though, the most noteworthy member of the ensemble was Simon Jones, the original BBC incarnation of Arthur Dent. Jones looked older but was exactly the same, entertaining man. I had the fortune to interview him for Starlog some 23 years ago so that was very neat.

With the renovations, the Playhouse is now ready to grow and they will begin year-round programming starting this winter with a three-show package. Deb and I will be subscribing.

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July 24, 2005

Taking Stock

So, today I’m 47. I’m taking quick stock of the day and where I am in the world.

The sun is shining, the humidity is low. The Final Frontiersmen are in first place, as they have been all month, and the Final Projections Calculator points to my finishing in first.

Deb went out and bought me some lovely jelly donuts and then she and Robbie did the laundry, saving me from chores. Later we’ll go out for a barbecue dinner.

Robbie gave me two new Corgi Batmobile diecast replicas while Deb gave me a new wallet made from genuine Rawlings baseball glove rawhide, complete with some decorative glove stitching. Kate’s gift is en route.

I have my health (more or less).

I have a steady job, current freelance and potential work on the horizon.

I have friends and family.

Overall, not a bad place to be in the world.

Posted by Bob Greenberger at 10:27 AM | Comments (13) | TrackBack

July 21, 2005

Vote for me!

After flirting with politics for a while, I accepted the opportunity to sample elected office by filling out the term on our Representative Town Meeting. I’ve attended the monthly meetings since March, served on the Finance Committee and gotten a mere taste of what it’s all about.

In my four meetings we tackled the budget and wrapped up some old business so I’ve been playing some catch up. I am still not entirely certain what we, the legislative body, are capable of doing to improve things in town.

Well, I’m going to find out.

Last night I officially became a candidate for a full term, running in the November election.

District 8 runs a full slate of five candidates, four of whom are incumbents. One serves as chair of the Democratic Town Committee and another is Majority Leader on the RTM so I’m in veteran company.

The challenge of running, and the possible fun involved, has been blunted a bit by our opponents. It seems the Republicans in town are having a wee bit of trouble finding full slates of candidates to run in our ten districts and, going into their own caucus Tuesday night, had no one (zero, zip, nada) running against us. So, our campaigning will be a little lighter and speaks to the strength of the people running I suppose.

Our Democratic Caucus last night was a good learning experience. While not my first, I’m more aware this time than two years ago. Heck, I even stood and seconded a nomination in perhaps the briefest speech of the night. Which reminds me, people who do first and second nominations for a candidate really need to coordinate their efforts so we don’t get the same laundry list of accm0plioshments again and again. I could have gone home at least 45 minutes earlier had people been briefer and repetition was removed.

In many positions, we had the exact number of candidates as were eligible and to save time, I would have had them lumped together, unanimously nominated seconded, and approved by acclimation. That would have left us with just three or four spots requiring any balloting (selecting two from a field of three, for example).

I know the caucus is the kickoff to the campaign and it’s a chance for the party faithful to get revved up for the campaign season (which really gets underway in earnest after Labor Day), but I have little patience for belaboring the obvious and wasting time. At least they supplied us with cookies and coffee to keep us awake during the three-plus hour ordeal.

My political career has begun. You have been warned.

Posted by Bob Greenberger at 09:50 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

July 20, 2005

In Appreciation

Jim Aparo

When I first looked at Jim Aparo’s art, I thought he was inspired heavily by Neal Adams, but it was just a coincidence. I liked his Aquaman and loved his Phantom and when Jim got to handle Batman team-ups in The Brave and the Bold, I was thrilled. He not only made each character look great, his backgrounds were filled with details and little cameos from film stars. His storytelling was top-notch, his Batman dark and moody. Jim excelled at super-heroes, supernatural, westerns, just about everything.

During my days editing Comics Scene I commissioned an interview with Jim simply because I hadn’t read one before and wanted to learn more about him.

When I joined DC, it was a delight to be able to call and offer him a story or cover. He was gracious and self-deprecating, and a thorough professional. He never missed a deadline nor complain about the work. In 1988, I had a chance to have Jim pencil the final three Spectre stories that never got done back in the 1970s, which was a particular highlight for me. (And here, 17 years later, I recently had the chance to collect all of Jim’s Spectre work in one volume, which was overdue if you ask me.)

I had heard he was ill and was warned the time was coming. You never want to hear it. You want to imagine the retired gent is in his Connecticut studio, doodling and handling the odd commission.

You’ll be missed, Jim.

Jimmy Doohan

Another of the original cast is gone and this one hurts.

While I loved Star Trek and thrilled to Jim Kirk and Spock’s exploits, I always found myself fascinated by Scotty, Sulu, Uhura and Chekov. My one and only fanzine article about Trek was entitled “It’s the Clerks who run the Government” – in praise of the supporting characters.

Jimmy’s Scotty was a caricature to be sure, especially as he got older and writers played to the hammy side of the actor, but he was also a pro. You could rely on Scotty in ways you couldn’t from other engineers.

Over the years I heard Jimmy speak and his life in the Canadian Air Force and early radio career and he was fascinating. He did any accent or voice at the drop of a hat and delighted in being with an appreciative audience. I managed to interview Jimmy a few times, first in college and then for Starlog and he always gave a good quote.

The last time we spoke was at a Shore Leave con some years back and we chatted for a bit about his new RV and how much more enjoyable that was for criss-crossing the country.

Jimmy was amiable and friendly and I suspect Star Trek curtailed a career that could have been richer in variety but did provide him with a following that he likely would not have had otherwise. In the final years I suspect he was content with that trade off.

We should all be so lucky.

Posted by Bob Greenberger at 01:03 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

July 17, 2005

At the Movies

Since I didn’t get to attend the San Diego Con, I managed to accomplish some stuff at home. I’m eight chapters in on the Organizing book, five to go so I think I’ll be fine on the deadline. Got some stuff done on a new spec project that is just getting started. Didn’t work on the sample chapter for another spec project as I had hoped. Did get some stuff done around the house so all in all, I didn’t waste my time.

And to fight the heat and humidity, I went – where else? – to the movies.

Saturday night, Deb and I finally caught Mr. and Mrs. Smith. In many ways it was a companion film to True Lies, with an almost scary look at domesticity. As the tension rose, the current film made domestic life seem down right deadly. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were terrific; they have undeniable chemistry and were well matched for the film. We both enjoyed it but both wanted more from it, perhaps a little deeper characterization or backstory. Speaking of backstory, I gather the DVD will include scenes that are clearly missing such as who assigned Adam Brody the initial decoy mission; why is he always behind closed doors. In the trailers we saw someone say, “It’s the Smiths, send everybody.” I figured out, from that, the plot involved them figuring out they were set up and they exacted revenge on the speaker. We didn’t get that storyline. It sort of ended prematurely although the final scene with the therapist was sweet. (And Peter David is right: Jolie should be Modesty Blaise and that movie needs making…now.

Sunday afternoon, Robbie and I treated ourselves to Fantastic Four. I’m not like some who refuse to see the movie because it veered away from the Lee-Kirby origin. OK, so Doom went along for the ride and also got powers. From a Hollywood standpoint, I can see why they do that. However, the relationships between Doom, Reed and Sue are awfully thin and clichéd. In fact, much of the film felt thin with uninspired directing and set design. Reed was not the polysynonimous egghead he should have been in contract to Von Doom’s equally brilliant but ego-driven counterpart. There just weren’t enough variations in the characters to bring either to full life. Johnny translated the best followed by Ben. But, Tim Story’s direction and the script gave us a lot of shouting without much rationale behind it. And the set piece on the Bridge just didn’t ring true to me. It was certainly a better movie than the Hulk and Robbie’s right that it was a better adaptation that Daredevil but this could have been great – it fell shorter than it should have.

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July 15, 2005

They Wuz Robbed

In general, I have no problems with the people who were nominated for Emmy Awards. In fact, I was pleased to see newer shows and performers get nods, especially House since all the attention has been focused on Desperate Housewives and Lost.

I did look at the list and scratch my head at Stockard Channing, who had nothing to do this season, getting another nod.

However, once more the Emmy people overlooked anything of value on the WB and UPN, refusing to acknowledge them as legitimate networks. There's no other reason why Lauren Graham and Kelly Bishop were ignored for their superaltive work this past season on Gilmore Girls. This was not only a turnaround season for the series creatively, but both women let their characters, grow and develop and we watched them struggle with serious heartache as well as joyous times. It's a terrific ensemble overall (and something should be done to recognize Scott Patterson's work, too) but virtually ignored.

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July 14, 2005

Celebrity

It used to be, meeting a celebrity was a big deal. It didn’t happen often and when it happened it was something special. Back in the 1970s, at the first of the Star Trek conventions, it was such a thrill to get to meet the likes of George Takei and Jimmy Doohan. While I didn’t get to meet him, I certainly was willing to risk my life to stand between the stage and the hordes when Leonard Nimoy made a surprise appearance. Later, Nimoy did an appearance at Gertz, a Long Island department store, promoting one of his albums. My best friend Jeff and I stood on line to get an autographed picture and after what felt like forever, a store employee handed everyone a 5”x7” picture with the autograph printed on it and then Nimoy followed, grasping hands and working the line so he had maybe 1-2 seconds contact with everyone. And then he was gone. What a gyp.

I got to interview several celebrities for school newspapers, starting with Harry Chapin when he did a benefit at the high school. In college I managed Doohan, William Windom, Mel Blanc and others. And it was very, very cool to meet people whose work I admired.

As a comics fan, the “celebrities” of the day worked the aisles looking for back issues and were very accessible. I was pleased to get to meet and know a lot of the New York-based writers and artists over the years and that was a separate kind of thrill. Especially the first time I met the people at the top of the business, guys like Jack Kirby, Steranko and Neal Adams.

When I got to work at Starlog Press, I did a ton of interviews for them, so meeting celebrities was becoming a commonplace occurrence. As a result, I was able to tuck away the gosh-wow fanboy into a corner of my brain and not get overly excited during the interview itself. Deb can tell you, though, when someone made an impression on me such as the time I floated home after interviewing Carrie Fisher, since she gave me a kiss on the way out.

And today, I still get a charge seeing some of these folk at conventions, getting a chance to say hello and express my appreciation for their work, as I did this past weekend at Shore Leave. At the office, I also think it’s really cool I can call up someone like Brian Bolland and commission a cover. You don’t want to totally lose that admiration for the person and their value to the work.

My kids, though, they’re another story.

Having grown up at my side, they have been exposed to stars and celebrities almost from birth. At Kate’s first Shore Leave, when she was a mere four months old, Robin Curtis practically adopted her. When they run across each other at cons these days, Robin is amazed by how she’s grown and Kate is amused. Every so often, they meet someone from the pop culture zeitgeist that really excites them such as Kate meeting James Marsters a few summers back.

This week, she had a nice dinner with Danny Strong in Washington. After Shore Leave, he headed down for some sight seeing and took Kate and Rachel to dinner which was sweet of him. And she was very comfortable with this.

The same night, Robbie had his own encounter of a special nature. Fairfield’s Community Theatre hosted a special premiere of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a private fund raising showing. Robbie, as a veteran volunteer, was asked to work the event and got to show people to their seats. Along the way, he met Paul Newman, who lives one town over. Rob knew him from The Sting so that was cool. But after the screening, he got to meet Johnny Depp and had enough of an opportunity to proudly discuss his participation in Depp Charge, the award-winning Masquerade entry just days earlier. Depp seemed amused by this. And he was very comfortable with this.

My, how times change.

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July 11, 2005

Con Report

Back from the road and here’s the detailed report complete with observations for this interested.

Friday

Robbie and I hit the road around 6:30 a.m., partly to avoid traffic, partly to avoid some of the storm and partly because he likes when he arrive early enough to have free time in the afternoon.

Despite the horrendous rains, especially driving through Delaware, we made the trip in 4:25, which is pretty damn good.

We unloaded the car, with help from Jim McCain, and stowed the goodies away until the con got underway. He went off to play cards with some of his con friends and I snuck out for lunch with Steve Lesnick, a long-time con pal and honorary parent to Kate.

By 2 p.m., several of the celebrity guests were positioned to sign and sell autographs so I got a chance to meet Malachi Throne and we chatted about many of his 1960s TV roles, where I was first exposed to him (yes, we talked about his playing False Face, deal with it). I also re-met William Windom and I mentioned I had interviewed him when he visited college with his one man show back in the 1970s. He smiled and asked, “Did I give you straight answers and was I sober?” I admitted yes to the first and had no clue about the second, which is how it should be. I visited with people for the rest of the afternoon until we drove into Baltimore itself to collect Kate and Deb from the train station. We got there in time, the train was on schedule and we were reunited. Back to Cockeysville and dinner with our friends, Jim and Paula Rhule, who weren’t able to attend the con this weekend.

We returned in time for me to join my fellow authors in heckling Marco Palmieri, who did the Pocket Books presentation, aided by Elissa Kassin, who made her first convention appearance (I’m not sure if she’s ready for more or not but I think she had fun once she relaxed). From there, it was straight to the Meet the Pros party, which was wildly successful as all the authors signed stuff until nearly midnight. I was seated next to Jeffrey Lang, so we talked comics and Trek and had fun.

Saturday

The con schedule is fairly straight forward and regulars know that I kick things off with an hour, starting at 10. I mix in news from DC, news about me, and show a ton of trailers, courtesy of Jeff Walker, film publicist and long-time pal, plus take Q&A. We never have enough time for any of the above.

(After I showed the trailer for Stealth, I quipped that in the original script, the robotic aircraft was originally named M-5, and was pleased that people immediately made the connection. There are times I wonder if having an encyclopedic knowledge of Star Trek allows for immediately recognizable commentary. At least this weekend it did.)

Once done, I ceded the stage to the Boogie Knights, including Katie, and they performed a nice mix of some really old material plus stuff as fresh as last week. After performing for 23 years, they have a deep repertoire of songs to pick from and it keeps things fresh.

As the day progressed, I made a point to chat with as many of my fellow authors as possible, since this is generally the only place I see them. Kevin Dilmore satisfied my Kansas BBQ sauce cravings with a fresh bottle of Arthur Bryants’ and something new to sample so I am thrilled. I got to reacquaint myself with his partner Dayton Ward, Robert Jeschonek, Greg Cox (who has been tremendously helpful with a pitch I’m developing) and newcomers such as Kirsten Beyer. I also did panels on Alias and Media Tie-Ins. The rest of the time was spent shuttling on and off the main stage as I played Emcee. It meant I got a chance to meet people whose work I have enjoyed through the years such as Joanna Cassidy and Danny Strong. Due to a last minute filming schedule change, Mary McDonnell had to stay in Toronto to film Battlestar Galactica so they sent Tricia Helfer in her place, and she couldn’t have been more relaxed or gracious considering she had no idea she was spending the weekend at Shore Leave until late Thursday. Steve Basic (of Andromeda) had the most fun teasing me throughout his chat – although I wasn’t there for most of it.

That night, Deb and I had our annual dinner with Howie Weinstein and his adorable wife Susan. From there I went to help judge the masquerade along with Mike Friedman, Malachi Throne, Alexis Cruz, Steven Basic and others. It was one of the better, more competitive masquerades in quite some time. Katie and Robbie were part of a group skit, along with Kate’s pal Rachel and Peter David’s Daughter Ariel plus their friends Danicah and Marina. The six trouped out in outfits crafted with love by Kathleen David, representing six different characters played by Johnny Depp and once they took the stage then did a routine to the Village People’s “In the Navy.” It was very well received and the troupe took first in their category plus Best presentation with Kathleen netting a workmanship award. (For those wondering, my score was actually the average of the other judge’s numbers so there was to be no bias here.)

Once the Masquerade ended, Peter, Mike and I headed off for a final run through of Mystery Trekkie Theatre. We were joined by Alan Chaffin, who good naturedly plays our Mad Scientist, year in and year out (and he usually gets the best lines or actions). The rehearsal ran long so I went to bed, skipping the Ten Forward dance.

Sunday

Yes, at the crack of 8:30 a.m., we were back in the bar. This time, though, for an Author’s Breakfast, giving us all a chance to be together, to table hop and chat, to exclaim our jealously of one another’s recent assignments and to enjoy the company.

At 10, most them were in the audience for this year’s absurdity. For Mystery Trekkie Theatre, we threw the audience for a loop by skewering the unsold ABC pilot, Alexander the Great, starring not only William Shatner, but Adam West. It took the audience about 90 seconds to figure things out – once they saw Shatner, we had them. It is truly wretched and we got off many good lines despite some sound problems. The one that got the biggest laugh was when the enemy’s troops rode into a solid wall of Alexander’s men with full-sized shields to turn the cavalry away. Of course, the horse broke through here and there to which Peter commented, “Cap'n, the shields cannae handle the strain!” (Maybe you had to be there.)

The afternoon zipped by, with some overdue one on one time with Kate as we wandered the dealers’ room. I also participated in the Voyager panel discussing the 10th anniversary celebration. Later, we put a cap to programming with the Bob & Howie Show. We had a packed room and the time flew by so even after all these years, we can still find ways to keep audiences interested and that’s pretty gratifying.

One of the things I noticed this afternoon was how many of my Shore Leave friends are now adults, married and with children. Many of the children are between birth and 5 and they truly are forming the core of the next generation of fans and it’s very, very cool. At one point, I stole Olivia Bergstrom and took her for a walk and she chatted on about this and that and it was very cool.

The Showcase concluded the con and this year the fan-produced play skewered the formula of the five Harry Potter novels and I was proud to see Robbie play Draco Malfoy with skill. It was a very nice way to ring down the curtain on another successful con.

That night, Deb and I stole away for a private dinner since we hadn’t seen much of each other for the week. We then went to the Dead Dog Party for a bit, congratulating the Committee on another fine weekend. The cap to the evening came with the Davids and the Greenbergers enjoying a drink in the lobby bar. After a while, Danny Strong (he of Buffy and Gilmore Girls fame) joined us and the five of us discussed theatre, Washington D.C., comics, movies, acting, writing and baseball. Very, very nice. At midnight, we collected out kids, who were having their own annual tradition, an end of the con poker tournament.

Monday

Pack the car. Check. Breakfast with the Davids (plus Danicah). Check. Hit the highway. Check.

Got home just after 3, unpacked, did some laundry, bought some groceries, sorted mail, did e-mail, and assorted housekeeping things and now this. A fine weekend and a good con with good friends. You can’t ask for much more than that.

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July 06, 2005

Shore Leave schedule

I’ve been attending Shore Leave since their third show and haven’t missed one since their fifth. And look, it’s year 27 already. Where does the time go?

The schedule got finalized and I now know where I’ll be throughout the weekend. In addition to the below, I’ll be doing some Emcee duties with a stellar line-up of guests, many of whom I have yet to meet.

For those attending, I look forward to seeing you there.

Friday 10 p.m. – whenever
Meet the Pros Party
Wherein all your pals sit at tables, poking fun at one another and signing books

Saturday, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Solo hour where I’ll talk about my current writing projects, my current collections at DC Comics and show movie trailers (don’t know which ones yet since they haven’t arrived).

Saturday, 1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
The Giant Red Ball: Four Years of Alias
Greg Cox, Keith R. A. DeCandido, and yours truly babble about a favorite show.

Saturday, 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
The Process of Tie-In Novels
Greg Cox, Howard Weinstein, Susan Wright and yours truly simply babble.

Saturday, 8 p.m.
Masquerade, with yours truly as a judge

Sunday, 10 a.m. – 12 noon
Mystery Trekkie Theatre
Peter David, Mike Friedman and yours truly poke fun at something truly wretched or truly great.

Sunday 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The Bob and Howie Show
A perennial favorite, we’re now slotted as the Showcase pre-show and we’re fine with that since the crowds need a diversion while the stage is dressed.

And let me plug my kids:

Saturday, 11 a.m. – 12 noon
Boogie Knights. The quintet perform some old time favorites and if you’ve never sampled these guys, make a point of checking them out. Katie is now in her third season with the group.

Sunday, 6 p.m.
Harry Potter and the Half-Brood Prisoner of the Sorcerer’s Secret Goblet of the Phoenix, the parody Showcase written and performed by the fans. Robbie will be one of the many silly participants.

Posted by Bob Greenberger at 10:37 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

July 04, 2005

Why I Love Living Here

Here are some more reasons why I enjoy living in my town.

Every June, the Greater Bridgeport Symphony plays an outdoor concert on the great lawn at Fairfield University. It’s a free concert and the program always mixes classics with movie/Broadway music. The current winner of the Jenny Lind competition (Jenny Lind being the Swedish nightingale brought to America by the great Bridgeport impresario – P.T. Barnum), a soprano with a great set of pipes, comes out to sing a few songs with the Orchestra. And they conclude the night with a rousing performance of the 1812 Overture.

Deb and I love going and last weekend, after our journey to Gotham City, we arrived for the 10th anniversary concert. While the day was a sweltering 90 something, we got there around 6:30 and could already tell things were cooling off. One of the nicest parts of attending this concert is that the field is a 10 minute walk from our home.

One of the other nice parts is that we usually attend with friends, as we did last night. Everyone brought foods to share and we sampled goodies each other found at marketplaces around town. The great lawn area is spread before the campus library and ideal for the event. Estimates state there were between 10-11,000 people attending last night’s performance.

From 6:30-7:30 or so, we treated to a warm-up band that did standards to keep people entertained as we arrived, set up and played catch-up with friends.

The Symphony, getting started pretty much on time at 8, sounded wonderful as they opened with the theme to Raiders of the Lost Ark. We were then treated to excerpts from Opera, Ballet, some obscure showtunes, two selections from the Harry Potter movies and more. There was an oft-requested piece, “The Typewriter,” that made a return to the program. Our conductor did a great job with that one, right up until the keys stuck together but he got right back into the rhythm after a few beats.

What impressed me was that during the performance, people remained quiet. And when it was over around 9:45 and the floodlights allowed people to pack up, the fields were clean. After all, we want to be invited back.

We strolled home, not rushing, and appreciating all over again how nice our home life can be.

Today, being Independence Day and all, we'll be heading for the local beach. Now, I normally hate beaches and wouldn't go on a bet, but tonight is different. Tonight, around 9, a barge will launch about 25 minutes' worth of fireworks. Seeing them high in the night sky, with reflections off the water, is always a treat.

And every year we camp out at the same spot, meeting up with 2-4 other families. It's become base camp for the kids who wander off with their peers. We bring picnic-type foods and eat, sit, chat, stroll the shoreline, and settle back in time for the show.

A happy fourt to one and all.

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