Chicago Movie/TV Fandoms (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, BSG, Trek, Gen Scifi)?

May 15, 2007 11:49 AM

How can I get in touch with television and movie fandom in Chicago?

I wanted to follow up on an earlier question of mine in which I asked for Chicago geek group activities/social events. Although I got a satisfactory bunch of answers, I thought I might expand on it a little more and see if I might get some additional pointers that weren't touched upon in the original question's answer.

Specifically, I'm wondering about Chicago geek culture as it centers around some television and movie fandoms — for example, Buffy, Angel, Firefly/Serenity, Battlestar Galactica (current series), and Trek — and/or general science fiction/fantasy fandom (such as those who like Asimov, Bradbury, etc.).

Essentially, if you think of the wide array of geekdom that you might find at a science fiction convention, that's the kind of groups and people I'd like to meet up with. (Similarly, if there's a website which offers a good, thorough listing of upcoming Chicago conventions, that'd be cool, too.)

(I'm interested in non-fandom Chicago socialization, too, but I've found good resources about that, including my own earlier question, this Ask Mefi question, and a few good Chicago resources (example). I'm just having some trouble digging stuff up on those particular areas. Although Meetup.Com has yielded some leads to follow, I'm thinking Ask Mefi's wisdom of the commons might yield some more reliable suggestions and or tips.

posted by WCityMike to society & culture (4 comments total)

Cruise the TWOPCon forum at Television Without Pity. Here's the link for the Chicago thread.
posted by macadamiaranch at 12:14 PM on May 15, 2007

I've got a couple friends who're into TV fandom, etc. Email me privately and I'll put you in touch.

There's a dating group called Nerds at Heart that meets at Guthrie's in Wrigleyville; it's a low-pressure thing where groups of people play the bar's many boardgames, and it seems many of the folks who go are after friends more than dates. A cursory search also turned up the Chicago Sci-Fi Meetup.
posted by me3dia at 12:32 PM on May 15, 2007

also, most Sci Fi Fandom Cons have message boards etc. One could to the website of a convention and volunteers or just chat
posted by Megafly at 1:12 PM on May 15, 2007

A quick google turned up Chicagoland Browncoats - for the Firefly/Serenity fandom. Sadly you just missed a mini-shindig, but I'm sure there'll be more. If I were you I'd go and hang out on their board for a while, Browncoats are generally pretty nice folks.
posted by featherboa at 1:52 PM on May 15, 2007