I'm wondering about credentials. What makes this fan more qualified than me to talk about a subject about which I know an awful lot.
As O6 put it, not all fans are created equal.
You yourself admit to not knowing the names of the people who make the comics/toys/whatever. Hell, I am only vaguely aware of who specifically designs specific toys and I pay attention to stuff like that. A fan who makes some piddling effort at research is going to be more qualified than you are to speak at a panel.
And, I would still want such information to come from an official source.
If the guy running the panel is quoting an official source, that is good enough.
But here's the thing, all fans *aren't* created equal, at least when it comes to knowledge. I would love to see a panel run, for example, but Fred, who (used to?) run Fred's Variants, where he could talk about all kinds of obscure shit.
Never. Ever. Going. To. Happen.
Just saying.
On the other hand, you could see about setting up and Dairy Con, and getting Fred's blessing to run that panel yourself.
Hydra did a similar panel at BotCon 2000(?), focusing on rare toys. It was actually pretty good. (Hydra had a good number of the toys he was talking about. But, he relied on slides and pictures for most of the panel, for obvious reasons.)
My take on O6's ideas:
1) Aformentioned Beast Machines debate panel: Expect trouble. Expect to throw people out. Rephrase as "Beast Machines Discussion", and it would not be a bad idea.
2) European Exclusives G1.5: Yes. It would take research to really stand out. But, yes, it could work.
3) Headmasters - Zone panel: Or even a general "Japanese cartoon/comics" panel. How many years has it been since anybody ran one of these?
4) History of Marvel TF panel: Not for BotCon. Focusing on non-FunPub comics would arguably draw attention to how bad Fun Publications' product is.
5) The Greater Movie Universe: Not at an official convention. "The center-piece of the property is really kind of crap." That would not go over well.
6) Drift Appreciation Panel: This could go badly.
7) Bruticus Hates You All: Yes. Excellent. This could run nicely in an hour or so.
8) Obscure Non-Toy Transformers Panel: Yes. This could be greatly enhanced by having quotes from interviews with the writers and such.
9) Transformers in Music (songs about Transformers, bands that have made TF-related songs, etc.): Again, have interviews with the musicians, especially the guys who have done stuff other than TF music.
10) TF Licensed Crap: This would do better with props, meaning that it would require that people who had the items in question were willing to bring them to the convention to be displayed.
Based on my own experience, "history of" panels are more labour and time intensive than you might reasonably expect. Even phoning them in requires stamina and a willingness to tread over basic information that you may not really care about while making it seem new and exciting.
If possible, I would argue that we should go to Mirage's convention in KS next year. (I most likely will not be able to do this.) We could do a couple of these in the space of a few days.
Other ideas:
-customizing tips and ideas.
-profiles of writers and artists who have gone on to other things.
-general history of the property.
-who is really the good guy? (This sort of thing gets controversy and attention.)
-discussion of specific episodes and series: What are the best/worse high-concepts and McGuffins?
Dom
-needs to head for Kansas if at all possible.