aybe the only thing colder than the early rising of a rain-soaked, frostbitten English morning is the black heart and corrupted soul of an associate from the multi-dimensional offices of the law firm, Wolfram & Hart. Three of its shrewdest and most devious employees met in London recently as Christian Kane (Lindsey McDonald), Stephanie Romanov (Lilah Morgan) and Thomas Burr (Lee Mercer) joined forces once more to meet with fans as part of Starfury's Senior Partners event. They were not alone however and had brought further reinforcements with them in the shape of Charmed actor, Neil Roberts and KANE guitarist Steve Carlson. As the prospect of an outstanding weekend was put on trial, approximately 350 attendees acted as jury and sat in judgement to make sure that very thing happened. Spoiler Warning: For readers who have not as yet seen Season 5 of Angel, this feature does include Spoiler info.
Stephanie Romanov greets the fans with her infectious enthusiasm
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COURT IS NOW IN SESSION
Billed as a celebration of the 'evil lawyers of Wolfram & Hart', Senior Partners took place at the Thistle Hotel near Heathrow over the weekend of 28th to the 30th November and was actually the brainchild of one its star attractions, Stephanie Romanov. Stephanie, attending her third UK convention after previous appearances at Bad Girls & Wild Boys and the extremely successful End of Days, had spoken to Starfury's own Sean Harry about putting together an event that she could bring her good friend Christian Kane to. Sean duly obliged extending the invitation out to the other lawyers that had walked the corridors of the L.A. branch of W&H in search of power. Originally on the Senior Partners line-up but now conspicuous by their absence were Sam Anderson (Holland Manners), Daniel Dae Kim (Gavin Park) and Season 5 new girl Sarah Thompson (Eve). All were scheduled to make an appearance but unfortunately had been unable to journey across the Atlantic due to work commitments.
The overwhelming theme that ran through the entire weekend was how easy and relaxed everyone felt. It seemed like a reunion of old friends rather than a formal convention and with only 350 attendees, the atmosphere was intimate and had a real community feel about it. The room was littered with familiar faces and the easy-going attitude of the guests only enhanced the feeling that this was the getting together of a true 'Angel' family. The opening day of the event reflected this laid-back trend, as it was a completely casual affair with no 'official' opening ceremony. Instead, the first 185 ticket holders were invited to a 'meet and greet' with the VIP guests in a bar away from the main hall whilst the remainder were offered the opportunity to watch the Season 5 episodes of Angel yet to air in the UK. As an added bonus, the opening two episodes of Tru Calling, the new series starring Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel guest star Eliza Dushku were also shown and quite well received. As if that wasn't enough, there was also the 'chance' (pardon the pun) to sneak out for a while and go and spend a couple of hours in the company of Buffy star Amber Benson who just happened to be hosting an evening of her own in a venue not far from the hotel.
Fans present their best Cops & Robbers attitudes for the party!
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At the VIP meet and greet, Christian entered sporting a heavy-duty body-warmer, woollen hat, and finger-less gloves accompanied by his friend and fellow musician, Steve Carlson who was just as heavily attired. The first thing that strikes you is how similar Christian and Steve are in appearance; so similar in fact that it is possible they could be mistaken for brothers. Stephanie looked as beautiful and as elegant as ever and Thomas was smartly dressed but seemed a little over-awed by the whole occasion. Initially the guests just seem to hover in the doorway before finally making their move towards the waiting few. Christian and Steve were the first to introduce themselves, "Hi, I'm Christian," he announced with an outstretched hand and a smile as sweet as the Carolina rain. Steve followed suit, even taking the time to comment on how nice CoA's Nicola Jones looked. There were three girls sitting at one table who were quite clearly fans of the band KANE and who seemed a little nervous at coming face to face with their idols. Liz especially seemed rooted to the spot, unable to move or say anything for fear that it might be the wrong thing. Christian and Steve couldn't have done more to put them at their ease.
Stephanie was the next to the table and she greeted everyone as if they were long lost friends. A smile is never far from her face and she truly is someone you will never tire of being around. Just like Christian & Steve before her, she made a point of getting everyone's names as she shook their hands. Stephanie had kindly taken part in an interview with CoA a couple of weeks earlier and so we wanted to take the opportunity to thank her for the time she had extended to us. We then went on to tell Stephanie that it was wonderful to welcome her back to England and that her company was always a pleasure and never a chore.
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"I have lost count of the number times I have chosen a role for myself and those around me would shake their heads and go, 'Uh-uh, this one ain't for you.'" ~ Thomas Burr
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"Could you tell my husband that," she joked, "I think he forgets that sometimes." Last, but by no means least, was Thomas Burr. Senior Partners would be his first convention experience and he seemed a little bit nervous at the prospect. We asked him about his first impressions of the event. "It's all a little strange and daunting," he admitted. "In The States, fans are not as eager to show allegiances to shows as there are so many of them being aired and in L.A. especially, 'celebrities' can be seen almost every day. It's nice to meet people who are so supportive of the show and everyone here seems really nice." We then asked if he was looking forward to the next couple of days. "I think it's going to be quite an experience," he replied honestly, "but I'm sure you'll be gentle with me."
Shortly after the guests departed, leaving the small privileged group to disperse and get ready for first of the three infamous Starfury themed parties to be held over consecutive nights. The theme for the first night was 'Cops & Robbers' and led to conventioneers appearing in all kinds of attire from prison inmates to judge, jury and executioners. The parties thrown at these events are almost legendary and are certainly an integral part as to why conventions are so enjoyable and the dance floor is filled with people all ready to join in and dance some familiar steps. Although most people partied until 2 in the morning, the real crux of the event began on Saturday with the photograph & autograph sessions, and guest talks. During registration the previous day, conventioneers had the option to purchase photographs with a guest of their choice. Individual photos could be purchased or alternatively, group photos of all the W&H lawyers or photos of Christian and Steve together as 'KANE' could also be bought. As the number of people attending the event had been quite low, the queues for photos moved quickly so it was no hassle to have a photograph taken with Christian then rejoin the queue to meet up with Stephanie. The photographer on call for the weekend was a very familiar face, Dave Sumner, who is a regular at Starfury events and is the man responsible for the record breaking 1,000 photos in 2-hours feat during the Andy Hallett (dressed as Lorne) session at End of Days in May 2003. Sean Harry liked to joke with Dave that he wasn't indispensable though and on more than one occasion threatened to replace him with a digital camera and printer.
Neil Davidson and Christian Kane
~ photo by Dave Sumner
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The autograph sessions were held over Saturday and Sunday afternoon once the photo sessions and guests talks were over. Christian held his own session and was separated from his fellow guests on Saturday whilst the remainder of the cast gathered together and split their session over the remaining two days of the weekend. All attendees will have left with an autograph as once again the relaxed atmosphere shadowed these sessions. Instead of being rushed through, there was enough time to chat with the guests and maybe steal a kiss or two whilst gathering signatures. Conveniently situated right next door to the auto room was the dealer room and it was fully stocked once more with things to entice the purse strings just before Christmas. There were the usual posters and books, authenticated autographs of Hollywood celebrities as well as trading cards, board games and the obligatory fake stake!
WITNESSES FOR THE PROSECUTION
Throughout the weekend, each guest took to the stage to face a jury made up of the Angel faithful on a set that was made to look like the mysterious White Room from the Wolfram & Hart L.A. offices. Most stepped into the limelight on both Saturday and Sunday with the exception of Christian.
~ Thomas Burr
Thomas Burr is a little bit of an enigma in the way that not much is actually known about him. To viewers of Angel of course, he is easily recognised as weasel lawyer, Lee Mercer, the man who's promising career was cut short by a gun shot to the back of the head. It isn't surprising, that most don't recall his roles before Angel as Thomas didn't actually get into acting until a little later in life. "I didn't have any interest in acting at all when I was younger," he recalls, "and it's only when my friends suggested it in college that I decided to give it a go." He's since made a couple of TV appearance, his most notable, (Angel aside), was the pilot episode of the series, Fame L.A., which starred his future comrade-in-law, Christian Kane as the lead. His real love is theatre however and in order to indulge in his passion as well as to present other actors with opportunities, he formed his own theatre company. With this in mind, the obvious question was asked as to whether Thomas handpicks the roles that he would like to play and if he ever pulls rank to make sure that he gets them. "Actually, I'm exactly the opposite", he confesses, "I am terrible at choosing the right roles for me. I have lost count of the number times I have chosen a role for myself and those around me would shake their heads and go, 'Uh-uh, this one ain't for you.' I really don't have the nose for it!"
Thomas Burr relaxes and tells fans of an awe-inspiring moment
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Some of the roles he has accepted however, have seen him take to the stage dressed as a transvestite straight though to playing a frat boy in the production, Boy's Life. Thomas is clearly an intellectual man who cites authors as some of his biggest inspirations but is he ever overawed or stage struck with other actors in Tinsel Town? "I remember once being in an ice-cream parlour with my dad," he says, "and there's this guy in there who doesn't have enough change for his ice-cream. He was a big guy, huge guy and all he kept saying was that he had money in his car and that he would go and get what he needed. For some reason, this caused a bit of disturbance, so my dad offered to give him the money he needed as it was only a couple of bucks or so. Anyway, once my dad suggested this, the big guy was all, 'I'm gonna pay you back, give me your address, I'm gonna pay you back,' and my dad gave it to him even though he really never expected to hear from him again. Sure enough a couple of weeks later, Dad got his money. I never really got the significance of that story until one day my dad told me that the guy in question had been Marlon Brando. That was pretty awe-inspiring!"
A part of the conversation turned to preparation for a role and Thomas was asked if he was any good at doing accents. In a perfectly toned English brogue, Thomas hinted that he was 'not too bad' and challenged anyone to give him an accent to try. Of course, with representatives from all across the United Kingdom, Thomas was asked to try out both his Scottish and Irish accents, which he managed to do, although the Irish accent was a little suspect (but no worse that David Boreanaz'). He was then asked if once again, in the English lilt he does so well, to speak three of the most famous words ever uttered on film. Thomas instantly knew which words were being referred to, and with a deep breath and a look of intensity, he stared directly into the camera and said, "Bond. James Bond!" Of course, no first-time con guest could ever make an appearance without a little bit of humiliation. Professionals to the circuit like Julie Benz, Stephanie Romanov, or J. August Richards know never to mention anything that can be used against them, but unfortunately nobody told Thomas that. In his previous Q&A session, Thomas had inadvertently mentioned a famous song that he used to sing. To his utmost dismay, the very crafty technicians crew had not only managed to get a copy of the song in question, but surprised Thomas with the words also. As a hapless Thomas could do nothing to reverse his fate, the rest of the attentive Senior Partners audience were treated to a very special rendition of The Devil Went Down To Georgia as only Thomas could sing it!
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