Guests of Honour
RICHARD ASHTON (VIRTUAL on SATURDAY, JANUARY 22 ONLY)
Richard has been a regular face on UK and US TV since the 90s (sometimes covered in prosthetics or fur, sometimes more Human looking!) In Doctor Who, he was Friday the Ice Warrior in the "Empress of Mars" episode in Peter Capaldi’s last season as the Doctor, an out of this world experience! He has also appeared in FIFTH ELEMENT ( Mondoshowan), SPACE PRECINCT (Alien Ambassador), THE NEW ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (Little John), KEEPING UP APPEARANCES and DON'T TELL FATHER ( Garth Bancroft), OUTLANDER (Marley), VIKINGS (Thorvard), all three A CHRISTMAS PRINCE movies ( Mr Little), and DRAGONHEART VENGEANCE (The Wolf).
A native of Manchester, England, Richard spends his time between LA, London, and Europe looking for interesting stories to tell, fascinating people to meet, and new apple trees to graft.
JOHN PEEL (IN PERSON)
John Peel was born in Nottingham, England, and grew up hearing stories about local hero Robin Hood. This may have influenced him to start making up his own tales. To date, he’s written over 120 books, mostly fiction. His books include TV tie-in novels for shows like “Doctor Who”, “Star Trek”, “The Outer Limits” and “The Avengers”. He has created the fantasy series “Diadem: Worlds Of Magic” and “Dragonhome”. He’s also written a number of horror novels for young adults, including “Talons”, “Shattered” and “Dances With Werewolves”. From time to time he also writes short stories, many of which have been included in various anthologies.
He has more recently been penning novels, short stories and audios set in the worlds of Lethbridge-Stewart. With the well-known artist Andrew Skilleter, he has been writing the “Doctor Omega” novels. With Dacre Stoker (great grand-nephew of Bram Stoker) and Chris McAuley, he has written “Dracula’s Bedlam”, the first in a new series of horror novels.
He moved to New York in 1981 to get married. He and his wife still live there, accompanied by the rescue dog, Dickens, and 17 lovebirds.
You can find him at www.john-peel.com and at www.Facebook.com/JohnPeelAuthor
MARK STRICKSON (VIRTUAL on FRIDAY, JANUARY 21 ONLY)
Mark was born in 1959. He attended the same school as William Shakespeare, in Mark’s local town of Stratford-upon-Avon. At 18 he went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art to train as an actor. For the next ten years he worked on stage and screen, most notably as Turlough in the BBC’s Dr Who and as the young Scrooge in the film of A Christmas Carol starring George C. Scott.
At the age of 30 he left England for Australia. There he read zoology at university gaining a First Class Honours. Some five years later he returned to the UK to forge out a career in natural history filmmaking. He was soon back in Australia directing Steve Irwin’s first film for Discovery. It was a massive success and the rest, as they say, is history.
Mark has held many senior positions with leading UK broadcasters such as Granada and ITV. For several years he was Head of Programmes at world-renowned Oxford Scientific Films.
For the past 14 years he’s been working out of Dunedin in New Zealand, when not staying on his boat in London! He’s also worked for two years in the Middle East and a year in Scotland. He’s currently working with Emporium Productions in London producing Rich House Poor House for C5. He’s also just produced a crime series for CBS, Released to Kill. Next year will bring more of the same but he’s not complaining. It’s good to be busy!
Featured Guests
GREG BAKUN
Greg Bakun lives two lives. One as a researcher and enthusiast for British Television and as a researcher and investigator of the Paranormal. Greg has spent most of his life researching British television with his specialty ranging from 1950s-1990s. He started “From the Archive: A British Television Blog” in 2007 that has reached over a million views. He has also contributed writing articles to many other web sites including the BBC and BBC America. In 2016, Greg started working with the British Television Preservation Society, Kaleidoscope based in Birmingham, United Kingdom. He has helped recover a number of missing British television episodes that have been returned to ITV and the BBC. Greg started, with Kaleidoscope, a popular British television podcast “From the Archive: A British Television Podcast” focusing on interviews about missing & archive British television. In 2018, Kaleidoscope started a successful DVD range using the name “From the Archive”. In 2019, Greg has started a successful Vlog that focuses on reviews of British television releases and a nostalgic look at Doctor Who on VHS.
Greg’s other life is his work in the Paranormal. Greg has been fascinated by theory and study of the paranormal for years. He hosts a weekly Paranormal radio show locally on AM950 Radio that not only focuses on the Paranormal but also Cryptozoology and Ufology. Greg broadcasts on Facebook a series called “Living Paranormal” that is a broadcast of a live paranormal investigation that allows viewers to join in “virtually” and tell us what they see or hear. Finally, Greg does a weekly Facebook series called “GhostBox Live with Greg Bakun”. Greg uses Paranormal equipment to reach out to viewer's loved ones that have passed.
JUSTINE MASTIN
Justine Mastin, MA, LMFT, LADC, E-RYT 200, YACEP is a therapist, yogi, writer, podcaster and educator. As the owner/clinical director of Blue Box Counseling, and the creator/fearless leader of YogaQuest, narrated yogic adventures, Justine specializes in creating a unique healing environment for clients and students who self-identify as being outside the mainstream.
Outside of the "office," Justine literally co-wrote the book on Therapeutic Fanfiction–Starship Therapise: Using Therapeutic Fanfiction to Rewrite Your Life–and has contributed to numerous other books on pop culture and psychology. Justine is a TEDx speaker, and co-hosts both the Starship Therapise podcast, and the Dark Side of the Mat podcast.
And in her "free time," Justine is an adjunct instructor at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota in the Marriage and Family Therapy Master’s program, and she appears at pop culture conventions teaching yoga and speaking on fan-wellness topics. Justine takes a holistic approach to healing: mind, body, and fandom.
MISS SHANNAN PAUL
Miss Shannan Paul is a Comedian, Speaker, Radio and Television Host, Actress and Social Instigator. Miss Shannan was named "Best Stand-up Comedian" by City Pages Magazine in their "2020 Best of the Twin Cities." She has appeared on “Nick Mom’s Night Out,” “Laughs TV,” and Hulu.
Plus, Miss Shannan is a regular contributor on TV talk shows speaking on diversity and pop culture. See her as a regular on "The Jason Show" and her streaming comedy, variety show, "Comedy Through The Chaos." Hear her weekly on MyTalk 107.1 hosting the "Health and Wealth Show," and her podcast called "Be Our Geek." Learn more on her website www.missshannan.com. F
SLYTHERPUFF
SlytherPuff is a Twin Cities-based musical duo that writes original nerdy/geeky music. Maren is the cunning Slytherin and Morgan is the hard-working Hufflepuff. They wrote their first song back in 2010, but didn't officially form SlytherPuff until Convergence 2017. They are beyond excited to be Feature Guests for the second time at CONsole Room. They have also performed at Convergence, Fearless in 4/4, and at Die Laughing. SlytherPuff released their first album early 2019, featuring songs from their favorite fandoms such as Harry Potter (duh!), Doctor Who, and Marvel. Shoutout to their Merch Gurl, Galen!
TC TREK TRIVIA
TC Trek Trivia was founded in 2013 by a group of lifelong Trekkies & Whovians. Since then, it remains the only, monthly recurring pub trivia in the Twin Cities, dedicated solely to Doctor Who and Star Trek!!! The crew is beyond ecstatic to be returning to CONsole Room, with a whole new batch of questions, games, and challenges, to test your knowledge of all things WHO!!!!