"I have noticed that you make appearances at many conventions and even
went overseas but I have yet to hear you make an appearence in Toronto or
any other part of Canada. Is it a matter of being invited or is it a lack
of free time?"

Yes, no, and none of the above.

There is a time question, in that that's a LONG flight from L.A., and
getting away is tough. I do happen to like Toronto, I was there several
times while working on Captain Power and The Twilight Zone, and when I was
nominated there for a Gemini Award (the Canadian equivilent of an Emmy).
I've always enjoyed my time there, so it's nothing against the city,
believe me.

The other problem is venue. I've been invited by Toronto Trek, for
instance, by some very nice people there...but I have kind of a standing
policy about not going to any conventions whose names relate to Star Trek,
because when I did them I always got gigged for "poaching" by many ST fans
who still perceive this as a zero-sum game. I don't put this onto my
cast, who can go as they choose, but again they don't have the same onus
in this regard that I do.

Aside from that one, I haven't heard from any cons of sufficient size to
make the long trip worth doing. Going that far for less than about 1500
people is hard to justify in the midst of filming. (That's turned into
one of my few rules about conventions...the further away it is, the more
there has to be a goodly number of people to justify it...because I *hate*
traveling, and really long trips also cut into my work on the show...so
the more time away from the show, the more I have to justify it
logistically.)


jms