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L.I.S.A. CONVENTIONS
THREE
DAYS IN NOVEMBER
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Preparations
for the day started early with one committee member (me) arriving
at the Emile McDonald 
Room, 8 Greenfield Parade Bankstown at 5 a.m. ready to help
set up the room for the Convention.
The room had recently been refurbished and featured a new arrangement
for the placing of a stage and chairs for events such as these.
Lost in Space Australia was hosting the event and within a
few hours several of the committee and club members were on hand,
arranging chairs, setting up tables and checking equipment for the
day. This was going to be a long day and spirits were high. Procedures
were checked and double-checked so that the day would run smoothly.
Both the ‘B9 Robot’ and ‘Robby the Robot’ were
un-crated and assembled while a table containing the extensive Lost in
Space Collection of LISA member Colin Hawkes was set up
for the perusal of fans.
(A detailed article covering the Colin Hawkes Collection can be
found in
Alpha Control Issue 26 – 27).
The first fans began to arrive at 10:30 a.m. and were invited to enjoy the Bankstown Sports Clubs many world-class facilities. By eleven thirty a large crowd had formed outside the Emile McDonald Room and the Committee closed off the room so that final checks could be made. At twelve the doors opened and fans were greeted by Committee members and, after being shown to their seats, invited to have a look at the Colin Hawkes Collection and to purchase items from the LISA table for Marta to sign. Also on display were a variety of prizes for the events Raffle – plush toys and LIS items. Of special interest, items donated to the raffle by Committee members Steven Cateris – T-shirts of Judy Robinson; and Chris Ramos – two large framed poster collages, one of general LIS and one of Marta in various poses. In addition, Steven Cateris later presented Marta’s family with Judy Robinson T-shirts. Many fans inspected the futuristic stage that had been prepared for the convention.
While this was happening various clips from Lost In Space were
shown on the Big Screen. At
twelve forty five Triple M Radio Station personality ‘Sando’
took to the stage and welcomed everyone, announcing that the
Convention had attracted fans from all over Australia.
This was followed by a club produced video introduction to the
day featuring HAL 2000 from 2001 A space Odyssey and a computer
generated Jupiter 2 flying over and entering the Black Monolith from
that movie. The
introduction ended with the face of 2001’s Starchild being mirrored
by the face of Judy Robinson.
At
12:50 the first screening of the day was shown.
This was “Attack
of the Monster Plants” in which Marta Kristen played both Judy
Robinson and her ‘plant-like’ doppelganger.
At the conclusion of the episode the fans showed their
appreciation by applauding loudly.
Once
again ‘Sando’ took to the stage and the first raffle
of the day was held. At
1:40 a short break followed and then the second screening of the day
began. Fans were advised
to take their seats and the lights dimmed.
This screening was titled ‘Marta Kristen Today’
and featured a
variety of clips showing Marta’s appearances on talk shows with other
members of the LIS cast. During
this time Marta’s husband and family were escorted to their seats.
After ‘Marta Kristen Today’ had concluded a special
feature titled ‘Lost In Space - Reflections in Today’s Society’
was screened. This was
a compilation of Australian comedy skits that viewed contemporary
events through the eyes of the Lost In Space world.
Marta’s granddaughter, Lena, found these clips very funny.
At
2:20 p.m. the final raffle was held and at the conclusion the
committee gave Lena a plush teddy bear.
At 2:30 the lights again dimmed and a montage of Marta
Kristen’s extensive career as an actress was shown.
This was followed by the arrival on stage of the Robinson Robot
who introduced the star of the show – Marta Kristen.
Marta was given a rousing standing ovation and was
genuinely moved by the admiration showed to her by the crowd.
Once the applause died down
Marta entered into a banter with the Robot that had the crowd in stitches.
The Robot then moved off stage and Marta took centre stage
and talked for an hour on her career before, during and after Lost
In Space. Throughout
the presentation Marta was active, bright and bubbly making the crowd
laugh and at one stage, while talking about the death of her mother,
crying. Marta shared
with the crowd the fact that she is very emotional and protective
of her family and that one of the greatest moments in her life was
meeting her ‘real’ family. This includes her brother, Seppo, who now resides in Australia.
Family means a lot to Marta.
Question
time began at 4:00 and Marta fielded
questions on all aspects of her
life and announced that a new series had been signed up by NBC.
This brought thunderous applause from the crowd.
This revelation has surely sparked off discussions on what and
when the show will be aired. One
thing that is certain is that the deal has only just been signed so
there is still a long way to go.
A special presentation by Andrew Newport commemorating Marta’s 40 years in show business. The presentation aspect of the day ended at 4:30 and Marta took a fifteen-minute break before coming back on stage to sign autographs.
Here both the crowd and Marta showed incredible stamina as it took two hours for the line of fans to approach Marta for a few photos and autographs.
One fan had
even recreated ‘Nic – The Parrot ‘ from the LIS
episode ‘Sky Pirate’ for Marta to sign.
Marta signed everything from photos and caps to posters and
videos. The crowd was
well behaved considering the amount of time it took for people to be
photographed, as Marta was only too pleased to take multiple photos
and speak at length with each one of her fans. 
Committee Members Anne McClenahan, Chris Ramos and Kevin Pellew made sure that the line flowed smoothly and Marta thanked the three at the end of the day with bid warm hugs. Marta left around 6 and Club President Glenn thanked all in attendance for their help and input on the day.
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After packing away the stage and the Robots, The Committee and a few helpers proceeded down to ‘Greenfield Station’, Bankstown Sports Club’s fancy Restaurant for a meal and a post mortem on the day. All involved agreed that it had been a fantastic day and that Marta was quite an amazing woman.
Sunday
4th November saw LISA head out to Parramatta for the Parramatta
Collectables Fair. Greeting
the attendees of the Fair was a huge replica of the LIS Robot that had
originally been built for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gra
and later purchased by LISA. 
This
thing is nearly two and half metres high and around a two metres in
diameter. Look out for it on Ebay as it is to be auctioned. The
Collectables Fair caters to a wide range of tastes and many of the
dealers tables featured Lost In Space memorabilia, along with general
Sci – Fi merchandising. Tables’
featured Star Wars merchandise, additionally contemporary and
nostalgic comics and trading cards.
A two-foot high remote control LIS Robot was on sale for
AUS$800! At 12 noon Marta took to the stage and was again greeted to
thunderous applause, this time by around a thousand or so fans.
Marta talked for 45 minutes before sitting down to sign photographs. Although scheduled for a break Marta signed on and in the end had been signing autographs for just over four hours. Once the general public had been satisfied Marta then signed articles for the many dealers who had worked hard on the day. On the whole the fans on the day were again well behaved and courteous.
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Monday saw the Committee and a few helpers attend a harbour cruise and lunch with Marta and her family. The cruise was a ‘rocket tour’ that took in the many sights of Sydney Harbour.
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Throughout the trip Marta asked about various sites and the committee members present answered them as best they could. The trip was also a great chance to take photos of Marta and to have personal conversations with her. Marta and her family have become enamoured with the harbour city and there is talk of them returning to Sydney for a few months of the year. If this happens it will be the city’s gain.
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The party then moved on to Blackbird Restaurant for lunch. Marta and her family are completely disarming showing none of the habits or mannerisms one usually associates with movie star types. They talked endlessly over lunch about a variety of subjects – Marta’s Husband Kevin was involved in a rigorous discussion on politics with club members Steven and Roman while Marta smiled and commented that her husband loved that type of discussion. Kevin does a lot of work for underprivileged people in the U.S.
Marta’s favourite subject is her granddaughter, Lena who she adores and co-parents with her daughter Laura. She spoke about the recent American elections and laughed when it was explained to her that in Australia voting is compulsory. When it was added that it was possible to have voting forms as large as a tablecloth Marta shook her head and laughed. Marta was also puzzled by the television that was in the Ladies Toilet at the Restaurant and in particular with the show that was being televised – Beauty and The Beast. This is a panel show where a group of woman, the Beauties, discuss topical subjects with a single man, the Beast. It is a loud and riotous show and was made all the more intriguing, as it was their Melbourne Cup Day edition. Marta knew of the Melbourne Cup but did not know of the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the event. In the end she agreed that Aussies love their gambling!
The three days of Marta ended at three thirty Monday afternoon with Marta hugging and kissing those in attendance and thanking them for a wonderful time. Many thanks to Marta and her family for coming to Australia and giving the fans a wonderful time.
On to Sydney
2000 Olympic Convention
