LadyKayoss said:
Who actually arranges these things, anyway; the fans, or the people who make the shows? And who pays for them? As a college student living on loans I'll be stuck paying back for the rest of my life, I can't imagine funding something like this. But I'd love to participate, to be more than just someone who attends the convention.
Back in the good old days, a lot of conventions were fan run affairs, with any profit going to a nominated charity. Nowadays, any con you go to is most likely organised by a professional company such as Creation.
I tried to put on a convention 3 years ago with two friends. We had a hotel (In Birmingham, UK), guests, a website, a schedule - but, with only 3 months to go, only 14 attendees. We had no choice but to cancel. The remaining pool of UK/European fans just wasn't big enough to support a convention, and the American fans that had said they'd attend when we announced the convention at Orlando Leap in 2001 (the last time a Quantum Leap convention was held) didn't hold to that promise.
The big 'event' conventions have killed off the little, fan-run conventions. I adore Quantum Leap, but unfortunately, it's just not enough of a draw that Creation or the like would be interested in putting on a con. It wouldn't be a money maker, and that's what conventions are about now.
All a fan-organised con needs is around 50 attendees to make it financially viable. Guests are great, but expensive - you don't always have to pay an appearance fee, but at a minimum you have to cover all flights and costs incurred by the guest. If you stage a convention in Los Angeles, then great - a few dollars for petrol money and you're set - but put on a convention anywhere else, and it becomes expensive.