Watching Doctor Who

My Trip to Gallifrey One 20 - A Photo Tour:

This is what the Grapevine on the 5 looked like on the way down to Los Angeles. I couldn’t take the 5 on the way home as is was closed due to snow. I can’t say that I was too surprised given what you see above. I could have done without the solo 9.5 ish hour drive back in the rain on 101, but at least it runs right past my place.

On the first day of the con we arrived, got our badges sorted out and immediately got in the autograph line. The room for autographs was much larger this year which worked out quite well. As we went through the line Phil Collinson mentioned that he didn’t have a copy of the program. It struck me that were I a producer, it would make me mental not to know what was going on, so I gave him mine. I hope that it helped. Afterward, we popped into the Kai Owen/Gareth David-Lloyd Q&A, but sadly had to go eat, and thus missed the surprise drop in of Naoko Mori. *sob* Luckily, someone filmed it so I will post it here a bit later this week for all and sundry. After our meal (which included watching poor Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines having their lunch interrupted by a lady coming to tell them they were supposed to be at a Q&A) we went to the Nicola Bryant, Wendy Padbury, and Frazer Hines Q&A. (Pictured above)

This is a picture of folks getting ready for the Opening Ceremonies, which happen in the evening of the first day of the con. What was I doing while they were getting the TARDIS lights set up?

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Gallifrey One

Gary Russell and Wendy Padbury

Hello again. I survived the second day of Gallifrey One, and let me tell you, it is so very packed this year. Wow. Last year seemed busy compared to the year before, and indeed last year showed record attendance. That record was broken by Friday at 6pm this year. The photograph line this morning went down the hall on one side then wrapped down to the end of the hall on the other side. That made the hall a bit too crowded for me, actually. Luckily, I was bound for the podcasting panel instead.

Once again, I’m posting this after a long day, so here are some quick notes on what I encountered during today’s con visit.

The Lurk Report:

- I started out the day with a cup of chai and a pastry keeping Erik company in the muckle huge scary line mentioned above. The podcasting panel I went to instead of doing pictures was very interesting. The Vig? I think I’ve got some ideas for how we might start out.

- Rob Shearman (Hello! Oh, and squee!), who has now commented a couple of times on this blog, was at the con signing autographs. I didn’t manage to get a photograph with him, but I did get him to sign my copy of the series one script book. I told him who I was, and he remembered that I’d said something about squeeing for him…so, I did. I wish we’d had more time to talk. Oh, well. There will be other Gallifrey One cons.

- Gareth David-Lloyd would love to dress up as the Predator, if given a chance. He told us in the Q&A today that series four hasn’t officially been commissioned at this time, and he expects that the decision to continue will be influenced by how well the short series three does. Mind you, they’re all ready to go when the word comes to start.

- The “Something Borrowed” commentary was hilarious. Kai Owen seems to have a fascination with the words “Gay” and “Fit,” but he also has a great deal of insight into the episode, as did writer Phil Ford.

Rob Shearman

(A Dalek Driver?)

Howdy all! Today I drove for six hours (well…slightly longer) solo down to my friend’s place in Southern California. Well…I say solo, but as you can see above, I have brought a small Dalek along with me for the ride. He actually belongs to my husband, but said hubby kindly lent him to me for my trip. I have decided to name him George, and you will be seeing way too much of him over the next few days.

Today started much earlier than I wanted it to. I had to get up and ready to go before the mechanic shop opened, so I could get my brakes fixed before I left the Bay Area. Surprisingly, to me at least, I actually managed this. I had breakfast while I waited, but finally I was on my way…two hours later. I made one stop at my favorite Pea Soup Andersen’s, and one to refuel near the 46 but mostly I drove straight through…which, of course, means that I arrived in L.A. during rush hour. Oh, the fun. But eventually I arrived at my destination. Tomorrow, Erik and I will be headed out to Gallifrey One. I will arrive armed with my camera and my phone, so be warned that I shall be tweeting from the event (if I can get a signal) and trying to get a decent photo or two to share with you all.

Well, it’s off to bed for me. It’s amazing how much your arms hurt after all of that driving. Night!

Gallifrey One

Hello all! I’m back. I don’t want you all to think that I’ve forgotten about you, so here is my annual picture of me in front of the TARDIS to prove that I did in fact go to Gallifrey One 2008. This year I even remembered to take my hair down for the picture, so that I don’t look like I haven’t got any. Fabulous convention, by the way. I’ve already signed up for next year (and saved a bunch of money by doing so.) The Con reports shall begin tomorrow once I get home from work, but for now, I’m exhausted after driving for seven hours to get home. So, I’ll leave you with a picture of Five Doctors Dancing (thanks to Erik for this pic, as mine didn’t turn out.) I did take lots of pics, so I’ll sort through them and be sure to post the best.

Gallifrey One

(I’m away on vacation, so DaveP of Pop Buzz UK was kind enough to write a guest post for me. Enjoy!)

Dr Who Up Close Exhibition
by DaveP of http://www.popbuzzuk.com

I recently holidayed in Cornwall, right down in the southwest corner of the UK. As everyone who goes to Cornwall does, we took a trip to Land’s End one day, the most Westerly point in Britain. To be honest, there’s not much there, just an end to the land and that’s about it. But no, not this time. We walked in to the visitors centre and the first thing to catch my eye was a huge tardis shaped building. My mouth gaped open and I was excited already. About 3 months ago, your local Dr Who junkie and expert Elisa had mentioned the Dr Who exhibition that had opened in Manchester, and I tried to get tickets but there’s a waiting list. Now I find out, I’ve travelled halfway across the UK, and there’s a similar (although admittedly smaller) version in Cornwall. So I paid my money and had a look around.

On the way up the stairs, they have all the doctors in order from William Hartnell on, just to get you in the mood. The actual exhibition is like a maze, with a new creature or gadget from the series around every corner. There are aliens, or rather full-scale models and costumes used on the show, video screens playing classic clips, and stage models and props. The exhibition is obviously a year or two old as it was mainly focussed on the first season of this new incarnation, with the Eccleston episodes prominent. The creatures seemed to improve as I moved through the exhibition with no sign of the big, notorious aliens until right at the end. I saw Cassandra, the face of Boe, and a member of the Ood, which was impressively big and scary. I knew we were reaching the end when I turned a corner to be faced with a cyberman. They have always been the creatures from the Dr Who universe that have frightened me the most. Whether it’s the fact they are almost human but without the personality (think Matt Damon) or that their only aim in life is to make more cybermen, a bit like the Borg from Star Trek. Coming face to face with one is something I’ll never forget, even if it wasn’t real. So there was only really one place to go from there, no not the exit, but to the Daleks. Sure enough, I clicked a button, and a door slowly opened to reveal a full-scale dalek. The sounds of “Exterminate, exterminate” played loudly through the speakers, and I admit, I was more frightened than the 6 year old girl who was behind me.

Overall, it was a great exhibition and I’d recommend it to any Who fans. It’s a fraction of the size of the Manchester exhibition and I’m now even more determined to get tickets for that.

Pop Buzz UK, Dr Who, Up Close Exhibition