On a Thursday night at the Nerdist theater in the back of Meltdown Comics, the Create Now charity group brought together a time-traveling alien and an orc assassin to help raise money with laughs and the chance to win prizes all in the name of helping Southern California youths get involved with the arts. I was able to make it there and take some shots of what was going on there where iO West‘s Doctor Who Live and Drunkards and Dragons were performing. The bright side of this event is that while it may be over, the charity is ongoing so you can still give and help out.
To host the event, Asterios Kokkinos was on hand to remind the audience that had we been selfish nerds, we’d have gone to see Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes on the big screen, but we were the nerds who give to charity. He asked the audience some “Troi-via” (Counselor Troi-based Star Trek trivia) that was pretty much some of the best trick questions around. It’s not his fault you didn’t realize what season his questions were coming from, nor if they were actually deep-seeded hopes, well maybe, but I’m kind of siding with him on this one. He also had a great story about how Captain Picard helped save his grade point average; it’s too long to tell here, guess you’ll have to ask him sometime.
The first improv group to take to the stage was an episode of Doctor Who Live. They brought about the Spaceships of Cattarak for the first and only time. It seemed that the Doctor went and found a fully grown Stormageddon (Alfie Owens from a previous episode of the BBC version) whose home life left much to be desired. His father is an alcoholic, and Alfie is in love with the idea of guns and the use of them. The Doctor takes the boy with him to explore the Spaceships of Cattarak, a place where war is a game and it’s been going on for years and years. Things go bad when suddenly people who were dead don’t stay dead, and it’s people from all over Earth’s history, oddly enough.
The Doctor and Alfie meet a man with the odd name of Herb Cyberman, and as the story unfolds, learn he may be the most important person in this madness. Turns out that one man’s obsession with getting his money for an unpaid meal, leads to the resurrection of Nazis, Samurai, Pokemon, and more. Alfie nearly becomes a Cyberman, and in the end, Herb Cyberman saves the day.
Asterios came back out to choose the winners of the raffle that was also going on; contestants put in some cash for tickets for a chance to get a $40 gift certificate at Meltdown Comics. I’m pretty sure everyone there chipped in for a chance to get one of those certificates.
Drunkards and Dragons showed up to end the night, and the gang of adventurers had to deal with the Glen of the Reckoning Spoon! Turns out that in a very dangerous glen is a spoon with all sorts of power, but the finger bowl is utterly useless. So naturally you get a bunch of different folks seeking it out, such as the Necromancer whose poetry is just Fiddler On The Roof songs and his German swordsman, an Orc Assassin who shouts his name for every kill (Bingo!), and a young couple who just want to get away from the Necromancer and get married.
The crowd got to throw the giant, inflatable twenty-sided die around to help choose how the show went. It was probably at its best when the whole show came to an end due to a roll of the die. It’s a great way of showing that while it may look like an epic adventure, it’s still all just a game of pretend.
The night was a lot of fun, and Create Now was able to raise some money to help kids. You should give them a look and help them help out young people. They do a great service and deserve as much aid as they can get for helping these kids out. Today’s help might give some kids chances they never had. Also, if they have another show like this you can come laugh at a bunch of fun, nerdy improv.
Alexander Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
