5 min readReview by Dr Sorcha Ní Fhlainn, Reader in Film Studies and American Studies, Manchester Metropolitan University.
Following the wildly successful For the Love of Horror event in November this year, Monopoly Events and Andy Kleek presented the 6th and final convention (for now) at For the Love of Sci-Fi on 2 – 3rd December 2023 at Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Trafford. It was a fantastic weekend, packed with superb cosplayers, traders’ stalls overflowing with every conceivable collectable on display, and special guests from the world of Science Fiction and Fantasy film, television, and culture.
As I have come to expect from Monopoly’s superb events in previous years, there were open Q&A interviews with stars (Nick Frost and Anthony Starr, among many) and fan favourites (Billie Piper and Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor Who panel proved to be particularly popular!). Participants of all ages queued to get autographs, ask questions and participate in discussions on plot points, further episode arcs and ongoing existing franchises, ranging from The Boys to The Mandalorian and beyond. As ever, these brilliant open talks appealed to the casual attendee and die-hard fan alike and provided an excellent opportunity to hear behind-the-scenes stories and insider knowledge alongside the more traditional joys of autograph hunting and coveted photo opportunities at conventions. While the tempo and staging of this event seemed slightly more intimate than the frantically busy For the Love of Horror convention, the love of the sci-fi and fantasy genres was nonetheless highly evident, mainly due to the glammed-up fans that underpin the success of the convention!
The convention guests were, of course, the main attraction: the Q&As all featured informative live discussions about their latest projects (The Boys) and the Marvel Universe and from where they take their inspiration in their careers (both Piper and Eccleston spoke emphatically about their family support throughout their illustrious careers, and Eccleston in particular of his proud Salford heritage and struggle as a working-class northern actor). Nick Frost had the crowd in stitches at his answers about working with Simon Pegg, his rejection of a small role in the Star Wars sequel trilogy (2015-2019), and how he refuses to be a ‘dancing monkey’ at requests for recitations of his most infamous lines and Anthony Starr, Cameron Monaghan and Clark Gregg charmed the audience, as expected!
I am always astounded at the creative artistry on display for cos-playing at these events, perhaps because I am not a cosplayer but do admire the effort and ingenuity on display every year; that said, judging by the spectacular displays from all ages in the cosplay competition, it seems like so much fun. I was chased by a menacing Empire Droid from Star Wars and ran straight into Bumblebee from Transformers. I consulted with Obi-Wan Kenobi about lightsabre training (from Grey Jedi Order party planners) in Jabba’s palace, spotted Luke Skywalker boarding his life-size model X-Wing in the centre of the convention centre, and hid as Kylo Ren and the Mandalorian stalked through the crowds all weekend. Other fandoms were, nonetheless, equally in evidence: to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who, several doctors were spotted next to the TARDIS throughout the weekend, as was the T-Rex from Jurassic Park… looking for a tasty snack.
Other props from sci-fi film and television included the Ghostbusters’ paddy wagon, the clockface of the Clock Tower from Back to the Future, Han Solo in Jabba’s palace from Return of the Jedi, still frozen in carbonite, and a wall from the iconic Death Star, at which I witnessed an intimidating Darth Vader. I encountered Eddie with his axe fighting off demobats from season 4 of Stranger Things, jamming to the sounds of Metallica in the Upside Down. Kudos again must be given to the set builders who put a tremendous amount of effort and detail into the work. The centrepiece installation was Luke’s X Wing (Red Five) from Star Wars, which dominated the coveted central display space in the arena. My favourite activity was lightsabre training, with beautifully crafted and screen-accurate lightsabres provided by Padawan Outpost. With a host of cosplayers and combat artists, kids of all ages got to train and have a lightsabre duel with their favourite colour lightsabre; I got to peruse the lightsabre hilts on display (from all across the Jedi/Sith divide and the entire Star Wars saga) and may ask Santa for one of my own, too!
As with other Monopoly/Kleek events, the trader’s hall always promises to be a particularly apt place to get those necessary pop culture gems and stocking fillers for Christmas. Consisting of a superb array of collectors’ items ranging from t-shirts, costumes, pop vinyls and posters to craft works, sculptures, paintings, original artistry and collectable, rare posters, it’s a perfect place to find that rare or surprising artefact. This year, I was able to hunt down some rare pop vinyls thanks to Stuart and Jenny at Clecktibles . As ever, beautiful gothic jewellery was in evidence with Goth and Silver designs. The Geek Monkey had beautiful graphic poster images complete with bespoke sound waves customised into the picture from the film and framed Lego figures to make fans of all ages happy. From young to old, new fans to die-hards, there was definitely something for everyone, and from nearly every major franchise and collectible culture.
The convention is on hiatus in 2024, according to a recent announcement by Monopoly, as they plan bigger and better conventions for 2024 and 2025; keep an eye on their social media and website for conventions in Liverpool, Glasgow, Manchester and more from March 2024. Further information is available from their site, Monopoly Events, here.
