What Happened at Wondercon, 2019? -- Part One

For the past few weeks, the buzz in Stargate fandom has all centered around the Stargate Superfan Project and whether this means a new series might be in the works. Gate fans from around the world were asked to submit short films on Tongal's site telling what makes her/him a Superfan. Nine fans were originally chosen and announced on Stargate Command on March 5, 2019. An additional Superfan was added to the group just prior to Wondercon, bringing the total to ten.

Everyone has been asking me whether or not MGM will be making a new series. All I can tell you is this: no official announcement was made at Wondercon. But that does not mean we should give up hope on that score. By assembling a Superfan group, MGM certainly appears to be feeling us out. Seeing if the audience size and level of interest are large enough to support... something new. I asked Jenny Seelman Stiven of MGM and David Read of Stargate Command whether they could comment on what the future might hold. They told me they can not officially say anything about possible plans at this time. I asked how optimistic they were and they agreed that I could use the phrase, "guardedly optimistic." They also said that we the fans can best help by showing our interest in all things Stargate. I take that to mean fans showing up for conventions, visiting and posting on Stargate-related websites, even writing to MGM to tell them that we hope this big anniversary year brings something new. I encourage all of you to add a daily visit to the Stargate Command website to your normal fannish activities. Increased numbers there are guaranteed to be noticed. I'm really enjoying the content on the site too, but that's a blog for another day.

Did I apply to be a Superfan? Yes, but alas, I was not amongst those chosen. When I met the Superfans, it was easy to see why. The Superfans are all amazingly talented and have had a visible presence in our fandom for quite some time. Having just spent the weekend getting to know and photograph them all, I can also vouch for the fact that they are incredibly nice people as well.

Here is the list of Superfans as published on Stargate Command,with a couple of minor corrections, and the tenth fan added on:

The Official Stargate Superfan Panel:

Yvonne Cahill, Australia
Nicole Rodrigues Galdo, United Kingdom
Sonia Melinkoff, USA
Marcia Middleton, USA
Noah Miller, USA
William Murphy, USA
Nicole Saelzle, Germany
Bra'zat, France
Taylor Underwood, USA
Sommer Roy, USA

The Superfans were seated on the panel in more or less alphabetical order by first name. The three professionals Jenny Seelman Stiven, from MGM,  Kieran Dickson, from Stargate Command and Stephen Iwanyk, from Tongal, were seated closest to the podium. The pros spoke briefly about the selection process and showed clips from the Superfans' videos. Each of the Superfans was then introduced and and given a few minutes to talk about their contributions to Stargate fandom.

Over the next few posts, I will be introducing you to each of the Superfans. I am currently in the process of copyrighting my 700+ photographs from Wondercon and will begin posting those as soon as possible. I plan to come back to these first few posts and add pictures the second I'm able.

More very soon,
GraphicNovelGirl