Fan Expo rolled through Toronto this past weekend, and brought with it all the Jokers, Darth Vaders and anime characters you could handle. Even the cabbie that drove me down to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre was talking about the 'devil people' he saw on the street. The comic book culture is taking over, and this sci-fi convention is proof positive.

There were several noted speakers, including juggernauts like Brent Spiner (Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation), Edward James Olmos (Admiral Adama from Battlestar Galactica), Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway from Star Trek: Voyager). Less popular - but of course still ridiculously popular amongst sci-fi fans - were Renee O'Connor from Xena: Warrior Princess and Kristy Swanson from the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie.

Walking among the die-hard fans was like traipsing through Wonderland on Halloween. It didn't matter if you were elderly or an infant - nearly everyone had some sort of costume-y addition to their outfit. My 'So Say We All' button (from BSG) garnered some wee bits of attention, but nothing compared to the exact replica of Darth Vader, the huge guy dressed as a minotaur, or the dude dressed up as Barf from Spaceballs (my personal favourite).

To top it off, there was a warehouse full of merchandise. And I don't mean 'full' in some abstract sense. I mean FULL. Literally, displays would reach halfway to the ceiling. Every T-shirt design imaginable was available, not to mention any figurine you could ever want. Most impressive? A $600 autographed photo of the Star Trek: Generations cast. Just the thought of Patrick Stewart attending one of these things sent my heartbeat into rapid mode. Or Lucy Lawless. Now that would be something.

On the recommendation of several journalists and many articles that I'd read, I specifically made sure to attend the Masquerade, which is basically a showcase of all the costumes at Fan Expo. People enter as contestants and compete against one another in specific categories. For example, there was a World of Warcraft segment, which was won by the minotaur.

I'm not sure if it was just a lame year or what, but it was a complete waste of time. Other than a few gems and interesting designs, it was an embarrassing spectacle. Most of the contestants didn't even bother showing up, so the poor host (who looked mortified and intoxicated) would constantly say, 'And the next contestant...is not here.' No exaggeration, he said it about 30 times. It seemed like nothing more than an outlet for bored teenagers to go on stage and give shout-outs to their friends. There was even some bad mini-plays and terrible singing - the worst of which was an awkward lip-synching by a woman dressed as Ariel from The Little Mermaid. About five minutes later, I left. It was too much.

Thankfully every other part of Fan Expo was satisfying, on a grand scale. When Edward James Olmos said, "Captain Kirk never had to deal with this s--t," I died and went to geek heaven. I'll see you there next year.