Regenerations 2011 in Swansea
As an apology for my much-longer-than-expected delay in getting The War Games done (still got 5 episodes to go, but my days are annoyingly packed), here's my full report of my very first Doctor Who convention from last weekend, edited from my Study Abroad blog.
(Note: this post was typed separately over the course of about 9 days, starting Sunday September 18, because I just had that much to talk about. Also, I’ve been out and about a LOT this past week.)
I’m actually typing this in Word on the train from Swansea, Wales, to London’s Paddington Station because I don’t have internet but I do have a power outlet and I’ve been falling far behind again on my posts. This one actually isn’t going to start where I left off last time because this weekend is something that I really want to write about while it’s still fresh in my memory.
Something I’ve been wanting to do for almost a year is go to a Doctor Who convention. The two big ones in the US, Chicago TARDIS and Gallifrey One, always get rave reviews from my friends who go there, both in terms of the presentation and content of the conventions events and the fun, friendly atmosphere they always find there from mingling and making new friends. Unfortunately, Chicago TARDIS (while somewhat reachable from Wooster) always seems to fall on Thanksgiving weekend and Gallifrey One is all the way out in LA and would cost me quite a pretty penny, even though I’d know a bunch of people who would be there (online friends and such.) Now, I’d actually never heard much about British Who conventions, although I knew they existed.
After a bit of research, I found out that there was not one but three Doctor Who conventions happening in the UK while I was out here. The first, Whooverville in Derby, was something I wanted to go to, but that didn’t happen because the National Express bus website waited until the last minute to tell me that the coach I was aiming for was full. The second, Regenerations in Swansea, had a lot of guests that I wanted to meet and was conveniently scheduled the weekend I finished up my pre-session at Lancaster. On the other hand, it was a bit pricey (80 pounds for the weekend.) Still, after Whooverville fell through, I figured I’d give it a shot anyway. This was my first time planning a multi-day cross-country trip all on my own: registering for the event, booking accommodations, working out a travel schedule, etc, so naturally I was bound to make at least one major slip-up. I booked my train ticket and hotel through the Lancaster University travel office, which conveniently neglected to tell me that my hotel booking was uncancelable and nonrefundable. So when mom convinced me to find accommodations for two nights instead of one (long story), I tried to cancel my first hotel booking and found myself out $100. As you can probably guess, that’s the last time I’m booking rooms through the travel office (I might even book the trains on my own from now on too, just to be safe: I found a great discount website that’s getting me to London right now with no trouble.) So after a long and mostly uneventful ride down to Swansea on Friday night, I settled down in a nice little bed and breakfast and rose the next morning preparing to meet my heroes.
For the price, I was initially a tad disappointed at how small the space really was, but the cozy atmosphere wound up making up for that considerably (and very fast.) There were several main rooms: the main hall (where Big Finish and all the people selling books were doing signings), a large panel room, an autograph room, a dealer’s room, and a photo room (where you could pay a fee for professional photos with certain members of the cast. I took the option of taking my own pictures for free in the main hall, which was one of the only places where that was allowed.) I spent most of the convention either in panels or in the autograph room. Something I’ve decided to make my tradition for Who autographs is to do fan art of the appropriate characters and have their actors sign those. The panels were very interesting, even though there were a few where I’d heard all the casts’ stories before (but they never really get old, especially the pranks with the Second Doctor and his companions.) I wound up asking a question in nearly every Q&A section at the end and I can’t help wondering if the people who were at the back with the big camera recording every panel were thinking “who’s that American girl who keeps talking every other panel?”
Now I’m going to get a little unconventional with the layout of this post and, instead of listing my experiences in chronological order, I’m going to group things by the people involved. The only regret I have this weekend is that I barely did any mingling with the other attendees and making friends with them (that was just me being my usual introvert self, though), but I’m more than okay with that thanks to the overall positive attitude exuded in tremendous abundance by the main guests. One of the things I keep hearing about the cast of Doctor Who, especially in most segments of the Classic series, is how much of a family they are. Even years after the show is done, they stay very close friends and share a strong mutual love and respect for each other as people as well as actors.
If there’s one thing I learned and experienced this weekend, it’s how very true that is.
The Whofolk really are one big happy family. This is a strong vibe I got throughout the convention, but it reached its pitch during something I probably wasn’t supposed to be at. The panel room was going to be screening this week’s new episode of Doctor Who (I should probably note at this point that the vast majority of the cast guests were from Classic Who and not New Who), but I got there a bit early. The door was open so I went inside and saw some scattered cast and crew sitting around and chatting, so I thought “wow, this is it? Cool, we’re going to have a nice small intimate screening.” But it turns out all the guests were gathering for the big cast group photo. I didn’t realize this until they were actually called up to take their places on stage, but in the meantime they just sat and mingled, talked, laughed, hugged, kissed, and most importantly loved. There was just such a wonderful outpouring of love these guys had for each other; if you walked into that room knowing absolutely nothing about Doctor Who, you would’ve thought it was a family reunion for the least dysfunctional family ever (despite playing characters who travel all over time and space.) The companion actors present spanned about five Doctors between them, but any Whovian watching them could’ve sworn they’d all been in the TARDIS together at the same time the way they got along so well. I considered getting some pictures of the more touching moments, but it ultimately felt too invasive. They were minor TV celebrities before I was born and part of one of today’s greatest sci-fi canons, but seeing them there in such a pure natural state of love and friendship drove home harder than anything the whole “they’re people too” mantra that far too few fans of anything have towards their idols today (granted, I’ll admit that there was an advantage in the fact that they’re all a lot older now and thus easier to separate from my mental images of their characters from the ‘60s and ‘80s.) The next best thing about this was that they weren’t just like that to each other, but they were so friendly and welcoming to all the fans as well. Everyone was lovely and nice and nobody was rude or snarky (one or two guests were a bit passive at the signings, but those were the only remotely negative reactions I got from any of them and they were still a joy to watch at the panels.) Even when I accidentally walked in on the prep for the group photo (hey, the door was open), nobody shooed me out or told me “excuse me, miss, but you’re not allowed in here yet,” for which I was extremely grateful because it allowed me to witness the greatest behind-the-scenes magic I’ve ever encountered in my life.
Anyway, I should probably start talking about things that actually happened:
Anneke Wills
This woman is sweet as pie (all of the pies), but dear god did she have the most epic entrance. Hers was the first panel of the convention, right after the opening ceremony and the tributes to Nicholas Courtney and Elisabeth Sladen and she spent the first five minutes clearing up a couple of nasty rumors and then firing her publisher who’d been blocking her fan mail and swindling extra cash off the people who were buying her books. This was met with great applause and left me with a considerable amount of great respect for her. I didn’t actually get to meet her until the second day (I kept going to her booth on Saturday but she wasn’t there.) While I was waiting on line to go in the autograph room for my next batch of signings, I saw her go by and I said “Anneke, can I just say, this is my very first Doctor Who convention and I could not possibly have asked for a more amazing opening act than what you gave us yesterday.” As I started saying this I reached out to shake her hand, which she responded to by taking both my hands in hers and giving me one of the most heart-melting smiles ever the whole time I was talking. She thanked me and asked if I was enjoying the convention and I said it was wonderful, then asked her if she was still doing signings (because after this venture into the autograph room she would be the last person I needed to get all my art signed), and she said yes, she’d be there all day. When I did make it to her booth she adored the art (Polly on left.), asking who’d done it (I proudly replied “I did”) and quipping “you even got the colors right!” (referring to Polly’s dress.)
My question: “If you could save one of your stories wiped by the BBC, which one would it be and why?” (The Power of the Daleks, because it was the Patrick Troughton’s first story.)
Frazer Hines
Before this convention, Frazer was the only Who actor I’d met, so I felt surprisingly comfortable going up to him at the autograph booth and saying “Frazer Hines, we meet again!” I don’t know if he remembered me specifically from the show, but he did remember the event. I told him I was reading his book and loving it and I got two pieces of art signed: one from me (Frazer enjoyed the stabby gag), and one from my online friend Kaleigh, who’s one of the most devoted Second Doctor-era fans I know. Much to my delight, Frazer said “oh, she’s very good!” So now I just need to send it to her. Also, Frazer now has the distinction of being not just the first Who actor I’ve met, but also the first one I’ve hugged. The rumors are true: he’s very cuddly.
Deborah Watling
She didn’t show up until the second day and was one of the only guests charging for autographs (they have to do that with everyone who’s sponsored at an event), but meeting her was still very much worth it. She had probably the best reaction to the art, being more or less blown away by it (Victoria center.) Her agent even asked if I did art professionally, which is probably the most flattering response I’ve ever had for any of my drawings. I also got a small Yeti-themed poster, which was included in the charge. Deborah seemed a pleasantly surprised when I told her I loved the Yeti, so I went on to tell her about how I’d watched the Yeti commentaries with her on the Lost in Time DVDs after Lis Sladen died because listening to Debbs talking about Yeti cuddles was really what I really needed then.
My question (a joint question for her and Wendy Padbury since they were on the same panel): “I know what Frazer’s favorite prank is that he’s played on you, but what’s your favorite prank that was played on you?” (Getting her handkerchief swapped for a pair of knickers during rehearsal, causing Jamie to remark “that IS Victoria’s!” with too completely different connotations, much to the amused chagrin of Debb’s father who was acting in the same serial.)
Wendy Padbury
I actually saw her first come into the hotel with her suitcase and everything, but she wasn’t at any panels or signings until the second day. The first thing I noticed about her was that she still technically has the same hairstyle as Zoe, it’s just aged and changed color. I didn’t really have any interaction with her aside from getting my art (Zoe on right) signed, but seeing her walking into the panel room for the group photo on Frazer’s arm was just too adorable.
(Her favorite prank was getting her kilt snapped off during rehearsal at a church.)
Louise Jameson
Brief, but very sweet, she was only there the first day for some reason. I got her to sign the other half of The Stabby Companions, all the while she was convinced she’d met me somewhere before. I was flattered, but I explained that the only person from Who I’d met before this was Frazer. Still, she was lovely, and I’m a bit envious of that epic flower she had in her hair during her panel with John Leeson.
John Leeson
I think it’s remarkable how this guy sounds NOTHING like K-9 when he’s not doing the voice, but he graced us with a bit of it at the panel and it was a pretty awesome moment (he said he liked pulling that stunt on children and watching their faces light up.) He was a great panelist and regaled us with plenty of stories, including the time he was outdone in an anonymous K-9 sound-a-like contest. He was the last person I got to sign my Nyssa-Adric-K-9 ensemble art and rather liked it.
Matthew Waterhouse
Well, now I know: when you’re at your first Doctor Who convention, don’t go to your favorite companion right away before you’ve had proper time to settle down and compose yourself because otherwise you will be a bit of a jibbering shaking mess and the whole meeting will be really awkward. So yeah. Matthew Waterhouse is someone I’ve wanted to meet for a while, but I didn’t think I was going to since he’s been off the convention circuit for years and only recently came back after publishing his Doctor Who memoirs. I think he liked the art, I was too busy being starstruck (yes I am aware of how strange it sounds for someone to be starstruck by Matthew Waterhouse.) I also bought his first novel, “Fates, Flowers,” partly on impulse to take the edge of the awkwardness of the initial handshake where I couldn’t even look him in the eye (my Aspieness was kind of exacerbated by this meeting), but it was something I genuinely wanted to read. So yeah, given my rushing and lack of composure, this was the only moment from the con I’d really consider uncomfortable, but I made up for it later by going back a few times after I’d had a good while to compose myself. I went back that afternoon to get a soundbite for the TARDIS Tavern podcast (their co-host Sean is a fellow Adric supporter and is pretty sure that Matthew was making eyes at him at the Gallifrey One convention this year), again the next afternoon for a photo, and again outside the hotel for a hug. Anyone who’s been friends with me on Tumblr for a while knows about my burning need, mainly from earlier this year, to give Adric a hug, and if I had a TARDIS I might just go back to tell myself from February that I would get to meet Matthew Waterhouse and hug him a lot sooner than expected, despite not being able to go to Gally. Turns out he’s as good a hugger as Frazer Hines and even thanked me afterwards and said it was sweet. Ideally I would’ve like to’ve hung around and chatted with him for a bit, especially since his booth wasn’t getting that much attention, but that didn’t happen. Oh well, I can certainly be grateful for what I did get. Besides, meeting people is a kind of craft and I’m not someone with a complete instruction manual.
My question: “You mentioned in Blue Box Boy that you would’ve liked Adric to have left the TARDIS by hooking up with someone instead of getting blown up, but that pre-watershed television in the 80’s wasn’t ready for a boy who kissed boys, and you’ve also mentioned in a number of interview the chemistry with Nyssa. So if you could choose between Adric leaving with Nyssa or with another boy, which would it be?” (Another boy, because that would’ve had the same shock impact as what actually happened to Adric.)
Sarah Sutton
(I didn't actually get a good picture of her, so here's a Nyssa.)
I don’t remember ever seeing her away from the Big Finish table, except for the Big Finish panel, but she was quite lovely when I went up to her. To get her signature I needed to buy a Big Finish audio she was in (which wasn’t a problem since they had Circular Time right there on the table), but she loved the art. It crossed my mind to try and get a picture of her and Matthew together, since I ship Adric/Nyssa like burning and they were sitting right across from each other in the main hall, but eventually I decided against it. I know that Matthew wasn’t particularly popular with his costars when he was on the show and even after reading so much about it I’m not completely sure how good his standing is with them today (although everyone I’ve heard who’s spent sufficient time with him lately says he’s just as lovely as the rest of them.) But I digress. I was actually surprised with myself at how quickly I went from “hi, I’m meeting one of my favorite Who companions!” from “so this thing happened to me the other week…” They were having a 2 for 20 deal at the Big Finish booth, so after I picked out my Nyssa audio I decided to get another story I’d been meaning to listen to for a while (Peri and the Piscon Paradox.) When I got it, Sarah said I’d have to get Nicola to sign it sometime and I briefly told her the story about almost going to Whooverville and meeting her but getting a little screwed over by the National Express bus.
Sophie Aldred
While I was waiting on line for yet another round of autographs, I saw a woman and her son coming down the stairs and the son said “mummy, is this the first floor?” After a tiny double-take, I realized the mom was Sophie Aldred. Turns out both of her sons were there and they stood scribbling off to the side on some loose paper while Sophie did her autographs. When I got up to her I showed her my art, which she loved so much she called her kids over to see it, saying “look, she’s juggling nitro-9!” Then she asked the spelling of my name for the autograph, which I gave as per usual, which prompted her to turn to her kids and say “and what is that, boys?” They replied in unison “a palindrome!” Seriously, Sophie Aldred’s kids are adorable. They were even called up to help co-moderate her panel a few hours later, in which she gave us a nice impression of Karen Gillan. I don’t think I saw her much, if at all, the second day, which is a shame because she was particularly sweet. Still, she had kids to look after.
My question: “If Steven Moffat asked you to come back as an older Ace for the 50th anniversary special, would you?” (Absolutely.)
Sylvester McCoy
Sylv was the first Doctor I’ve ever met, and also the first Doctor I almost met (there was a Doctor Who NY event last year that hosted him, but I couldn’t go because it was in a pub and I was under 21.) I shook his hand, told him he was the first Doctor I’d met, which he received warmly, and then became the only person there to spell my name wrong on the art. Fortunately he was just missing the H at the end, so it was easily remedied. The big treat was his panel, which opened with an amazing remastered version of his Eleventh Doctor speech recitation from a previous convention. Unfortunately this came BLARING out of the speakers, so when he first cried “HELLOOOOOOO STONEHENGE!” it was right in my ear. I have to say, the man’s a real showman. He was delightful and slapstick through the whole panel, including covering his mouth very animatedly whenever he was about to mention The Hobbit (which he’s going to be in) and singing one of his numbers from The Mikado (which he’s also going to be in.) Even off-stage I saw him press the elevator button with the end of his cane which, small as it sounds, was a real treat to see just because of how Doctor-ish it was.
My question: “Which of your Big Finish stories would you like to be able to do as an actual episode of the show?” (Colditz, and I agree that this story would translate to the screen very easily.)
Robert Shearman
I’d heard a lot about this guy from friends of mine who’d met him at other conventions, so in the end it shouldn’t surprise me much that he was the one person I made repeated extended visits to throughout the convention. In other words, I feel like he was the only person I really chatted with that whole weekend. Sometimes when there was a lull in activity, I’d go over and shoot the breeze with him for a bit, talking about writing, our favorite Doctor Who stories, mutual friends from other conventions, and the exchange rate, among other things. He’s a really friendly and accessible guy and seems to have no ego at all about being arguably one of the best Doctor Who writers out there right now. I wound up picking up one of his short story collections primarily because that was the only way he was allowed to give a signature, but I know it’ll be a fun, if dark, read.
(Note: this post was typed separately over the course of about 9 days, starting Sunday September 18, because I just had that much to talk about. Also, I’ve been out and about a LOT this past week.)
I’m actually typing this in Word on the train from Swansea, Wales, to London’s Paddington Station because I don’t have internet but I do have a power outlet and I’ve been falling far behind again on my posts. This one actually isn’t going to start where I left off last time because this weekend is something that I really want to write about while it’s still fresh in my memory.
Something I’ve been wanting to do for almost a year is go to a Doctor Who convention. The two big ones in the US, Chicago TARDIS and Gallifrey One, always get rave reviews from my friends who go there, both in terms of the presentation and content of the conventions events and the fun, friendly atmosphere they always find there from mingling and making new friends. Unfortunately, Chicago TARDIS (while somewhat reachable from Wooster) always seems to fall on Thanksgiving weekend and Gallifrey One is all the way out in LA and would cost me quite a pretty penny, even though I’d know a bunch of people who would be there (online friends and such.) Now, I’d actually never heard much about British Who conventions, although I knew they existed.
After a bit of research, I found out that there was not one but three Doctor Who conventions happening in the UK while I was out here. The first, Whooverville in Derby, was something I wanted to go to, but that didn’t happen because the National Express bus website waited until the last minute to tell me that the coach I was aiming for was full. The second, Regenerations in Swansea, had a lot of guests that I wanted to meet and was conveniently scheduled the weekend I finished up my pre-session at Lancaster. On the other hand, it was a bit pricey (80 pounds for the weekend.) Still, after Whooverville fell through, I figured I’d give it a shot anyway. This was my first time planning a multi-day cross-country trip all on my own: registering for the event, booking accommodations, working out a travel schedule, etc, so naturally I was bound to make at least one major slip-up. I booked my train ticket and hotel through the Lancaster University travel office, which conveniently neglected to tell me that my hotel booking was uncancelable and nonrefundable. So when mom convinced me to find accommodations for two nights instead of one (long story), I tried to cancel my first hotel booking and found myself out $100. As you can probably guess, that’s the last time I’m booking rooms through the travel office (I might even book the trains on my own from now on too, just to be safe: I found a great discount website that’s getting me to London right now with no trouble.) So after a long and mostly uneventful ride down to Swansea on Friday night, I settled down in a nice little bed and breakfast and rose the next morning preparing to meet my heroes.
For the price, I was initially a tad disappointed at how small the space really was, but the cozy atmosphere wound up making up for that considerably (and very fast.) There were several main rooms: the main hall (where Big Finish and all the people selling books were doing signings), a large panel room, an autograph room, a dealer’s room, and a photo room (where you could pay a fee for professional photos with certain members of the cast. I took the option of taking my own pictures for free in the main hall, which was one of the only places where that was allowed.) I spent most of the convention either in panels or in the autograph room. Something I’ve decided to make my tradition for Who autographs is to do fan art of the appropriate characters and have their actors sign those. The panels were very interesting, even though there were a few where I’d heard all the casts’ stories before (but they never really get old, especially the pranks with the Second Doctor and his companions.) I wound up asking a question in nearly every Q&A section at the end and I can’t help wondering if the people who were at the back with the big camera recording every panel were thinking “who’s that American girl who keeps talking every other panel?”
Now I’m going to get a little unconventional with the layout of this post and, instead of listing my experiences in chronological order, I’m going to group things by the people involved. The only regret I have this weekend is that I barely did any mingling with the other attendees and making friends with them (that was just me being my usual introvert self, though), but I’m more than okay with that thanks to the overall positive attitude exuded in tremendous abundance by the main guests. One of the things I keep hearing about the cast of Doctor Who, especially in most segments of the Classic series, is how much of a family they are. Even years after the show is done, they stay very close friends and share a strong mutual love and respect for each other as people as well as actors.
If there’s one thing I learned and experienced this weekend, it’s how very true that is.
The Whofolk really are one big happy family. This is a strong vibe I got throughout the convention, but it reached its pitch during something I probably wasn’t supposed to be at. The panel room was going to be screening this week’s new episode of Doctor Who (I should probably note at this point that the vast majority of the cast guests were from Classic Who and not New Who), but I got there a bit early. The door was open so I went inside and saw some scattered cast and crew sitting around and chatting, so I thought “wow, this is it? Cool, we’re going to have a nice small intimate screening.” But it turns out all the guests were gathering for the big cast group photo. I didn’t realize this until they were actually called up to take their places on stage, but in the meantime they just sat and mingled, talked, laughed, hugged, kissed, and most importantly loved. There was just such a wonderful outpouring of love these guys had for each other; if you walked into that room knowing absolutely nothing about Doctor Who, you would’ve thought it was a family reunion for the least dysfunctional family ever (despite playing characters who travel all over time and space.) The companion actors present spanned about five Doctors between them, but any Whovian watching them could’ve sworn they’d all been in the TARDIS together at the same time the way they got along so well. I considered getting some pictures of the more touching moments, but it ultimately felt too invasive. They were minor TV celebrities before I was born and part of one of today’s greatest sci-fi canons, but seeing them there in such a pure natural state of love and friendship drove home harder than anything the whole “they’re people too” mantra that far too few fans of anything have towards their idols today (granted, I’ll admit that there was an advantage in the fact that they’re all a lot older now and thus easier to separate from my mental images of their characters from the ‘60s and ‘80s.) The next best thing about this was that they weren’t just like that to each other, but they were so friendly and welcoming to all the fans as well. Everyone was lovely and nice and nobody was rude or snarky (one or two guests were a bit passive at the signings, but those were the only remotely negative reactions I got from any of them and they were still a joy to watch at the panels.) Even when I accidentally walked in on the prep for the group photo (hey, the door was open), nobody shooed me out or told me “excuse me, miss, but you’re not allowed in here yet,” for which I was extremely grateful because it allowed me to witness the greatest behind-the-scenes magic I’ve ever encountered in my life.
Anyway, I should probably start talking about things that actually happened:
Anneke Wills
This woman is sweet as pie (all of the pies), but dear god did she have the most epic entrance. Hers was the first panel of the convention, right after the opening ceremony and the tributes to Nicholas Courtney and Elisabeth Sladen and she spent the first five minutes clearing up a couple of nasty rumors and then firing her publisher who’d been blocking her fan mail and swindling extra cash off the people who were buying her books. This was met with great applause and left me with a considerable amount of great respect for her. I didn’t actually get to meet her until the second day (I kept going to her booth on Saturday but she wasn’t there.) While I was waiting on line to go in the autograph room for my next batch of signings, I saw her go by and I said “Anneke, can I just say, this is my very first Doctor Who convention and I could not possibly have asked for a more amazing opening act than what you gave us yesterday.” As I started saying this I reached out to shake her hand, which she responded to by taking both my hands in hers and giving me one of the most heart-melting smiles ever the whole time I was talking. She thanked me and asked if I was enjoying the convention and I said it was wonderful, then asked her if she was still doing signings (because after this venture into the autograph room she would be the last person I needed to get all my art signed), and she said yes, she’d be there all day. When I did make it to her booth she adored the art (Polly on left.), asking who’d done it (I proudly replied “I did”) and quipping “you even got the colors right!” (referring to Polly’s dress.)
My question: “If you could save one of your stories wiped by the BBC, which one would it be and why?” (The Power of the Daleks, because it was the Patrick Troughton’s first story.)
Frazer Hines
Before this convention, Frazer was the only Who actor I’d met, so I felt surprisingly comfortable going up to him at the autograph booth and saying “Frazer Hines, we meet again!” I don’t know if he remembered me specifically from the show, but he did remember the event. I told him I was reading his book and loving it and I got two pieces of art signed: one from me (Frazer enjoyed the stabby gag), and one from my online friend Kaleigh, who’s one of the most devoted Second Doctor-era fans I know. Much to my delight, Frazer said “oh, she’s very good!” So now I just need to send it to her. Also, Frazer now has the distinction of being not just the first Who actor I’ve met, but also the first one I’ve hugged. The rumors are true: he’s very cuddly.
Deborah Watling
She didn’t show up until the second day and was one of the only guests charging for autographs (they have to do that with everyone who’s sponsored at an event), but meeting her was still very much worth it. She had probably the best reaction to the art, being more or less blown away by it (Victoria center.) Her agent even asked if I did art professionally, which is probably the most flattering response I’ve ever had for any of my drawings. I also got a small Yeti-themed poster, which was included in the charge. Deborah seemed a pleasantly surprised when I told her I loved the Yeti, so I went on to tell her about how I’d watched the Yeti commentaries with her on the Lost in Time DVDs after Lis Sladen died because listening to Debbs talking about Yeti cuddles was really what I really needed then.
My question (a joint question for her and Wendy Padbury since they were on the same panel): “I know what Frazer’s favorite prank is that he’s played on you, but what’s your favorite prank that was played on you?” (Getting her handkerchief swapped for a pair of knickers during rehearsal, causing Jamie to remark “that IS Victoria’s!” with too completely different connotations, much to the amused chagrin of Debb’s father who was acting in the same serial.)
Wendy Padbury
I actually saw her first come into the hotel with her suitcase and everything, but she wasn’t at any panels or signings until the second day. The first thing I noticed about her was that she still technically has the same hairstyle as Zoe, it’s just aged and changed color. I didn’t really have any interaction with her aside from getting my art (Zoe on right) signed, but seeing her walking into the panel room for the group photo on Frazer’s arm was just too adorable.
(Her favorite prank was getting her kilt snapped off during rehearsal at a church.)
Louise Jameson
Brief, but very sweet, she was only there the first day for some reason. I got her to sign the other half of The Stabby Companions, all the while she was convinced she’d met me somewhere before. I was flattered, but I explained that the only person from Who I’d met before this was Frazer. Still, she was lovely, and I’m a bit envious of that epic flower she had in her hair during her panel with John Leeson.
John Leeson
I think it’s remarkable how this guy sounds NOTHING like K-9 when he’s not doing the voice, but he graced us with a bit of it at the panel and it was a pretty awesome moment (he said he liked pulling that stunt on children and watching their faces light up.) He was a great panelist and regaled us with plenty of stories, including the time he was outdone in an anonymous K-9 sound-a-like contest. He was the last person I got to sign my Nyssa-Adric-K-9 ensemble art and rather liked it.
Matthew Waterhouse
Well, now I know: when you’re at your first Doctor Who convention, don’t go to your favorite companion right away before you’ve had proper time to settle down and compose yourself because otherwise you will be a bit of a jibbering shaking mess and the whole meeting will be really awkward. So yeah. Matthew Waterhouse is someone I’ve wanted to meet for a while, but I didn’t think I was going to since he’s been off the convention circuit for years and only recently came back after publishing his Doctor Who memoirs. I think he liked the art, I was too busy being starstruck (yes I am aware of how strange it sounds for someone to be starstruck by Matthew Waterhouse.) I also bought his first novel, “Fates, Flowers,” partly on impulse to take the edge of the awkwardness of the initial handshake where I couldn’t even look him in the eye (my Aspieness was kind of exacerbated by this meeting), but it was something I genuinely wanted to read. So yeah, given my rushing and lack of composure, this was the only moment from the con I’d really consider uncomfortable, but I made up for it later by going back a few times after I’d had a good while to compose myself. I went back that afternoon to get a soundbite for the TARDIS Tavern podcast (their co-host Sean is a fellow Adric supporter and is pretty sure that Matthew was making eyes at him at the Gallifrey One convention this year), again the next afternoon for a photo, and again outside the hotel for a hug. Anyone who’s been friends with me on Tumblr for a while knows about my burning need, mainly from earlier this year, to give Adric a hug, and if I had a TARDIS I might just go back to tell myself from February that I would get to meet Matthew Waterhouse and hug him a lot sooner than expected, despite not being able to go to Gally. Turns out he’s as good a hugger as Frazer Hines and even thanked me afterwards and said it was sweet. Ideally I would’ve like to’ve hung around and chatted with him for a bit, especially since his booth wasn’t getting that much attention, but that didn’t happen. Oh well, I can certainly be grateful for what I did get. Besides, meeting people is a kind of craft and I’m not someone with a complete instruction manual.
My question: “You mentioned in Blue Box Boy that you would’ve liked Adric to have left the TARDIS by hooking up with someone instead of getting blown up, but that pre-watershed television in the 80’s wasn’t ready for a boy who kissed boys, and you’ve also mentioned in a number of interview the chemistry with Nyssa. So if you could choose between Adric leaving with Nyssa or with another boy, which would it be?” (Another boy, because that would’ve had the same shock impact as what actually happened to Adric.)
Sarah Sutton
(I didn't actually get a good picture of her, so here's a Nyssa.)
I don’t remember ever seeing her away from the Big Finish table, except for the Big Finish panel, but she was quite lovely when I went up to her. To get her signature I needed to buy a Big Finish audio she was in (which wasn’t a problem since they had Circular Time right there on the table), but she loved the art. It crossed my mind to try and get a picture of her and Matthew together, since I ship Adric/Nyssa like burning and they were sitting right across from each other in the main hall, but eventually I decided against it. I know that Matthew wasn’t particularly popular with his costars when he was on the show and even after reading so much about it I’m not completely sure how good his standing is with them today (although everyone I’ve heard who’s spent sufficient time with him lately says he’s just as lovely as the rest of them.) But I digress. I was actually surprised with myself at how quickly I went from “hi, I’m meeting one of my favorite Who companions!” from “so this thing happened to me the other week…” They were having a 2 for 20 deal at the Big Finish booth, so after I picked out my Nyssa audio I decided to get another story I’d been meaning to listen to for a while (Peri and the Piscon Paradox.) When I got it, Sarah said I’d have to get Nicola to sign it sometime and I briefly told her the story about almost going to Whooverville and meeting her but getting a little screwed over by the National Express bus.
Sophie Aldred
While I was waiting on line for yet another round of autographs, I saw a woman and her son coming down the stairs and the son said “mummy, is this the first floor?” After a tiny double-take, I realized the mom was Sophie Aldred. Turns out both of her sons were there and they stood scribbling off to the side on some loose paper while Sophie did her autographs. When I got up to her I showed her my art, which she loved so much she called her kids over to see it, saying “look, she’s juggling nitro-9!” Then she asked the spelling of my name for the autograph, which I gave as per usual, which prompted her to turn to her kids and say “and what is that, boys?” They replied in unison “a palindrome!” Seriously, Sophie Aldred’s kids are adorable. They were even called up to help co-moderate her panel a few hours later, in which she gave us a nice impression of Karen Gillan. I don’t think I saw her much, if at all, the second day, which is a shame because she was particularly sweet. Still, she had kids to look after.
My question: “If Steven Moffat asked you to come back as an older Ace for the 50th anniversary special, would you?” (Absolutely.)
Sylvester McCoy
Sylv was the first Doctor I’ve ever met, and also the first Doctor I almost met (there was a Doctor Who NY event last year that hosted him, but I couldn’t go because it was in a pub and I was under 21.) I shook his hand, told him he was the first Doctor I’d met, which he received warmly, and then became the only person there to spell my name wrong on the art. Fortunately he was just missing the H at the end, so it was easily remedied. The big treat was his panel, which opened with an amazing remastered version of his Eleventh Doctor speech recitation from a previous convention. Unfortunately this came BLARING out of the speakers, so when he first cried “HELLOOOOOOO STONEHENGE!” it was right in my ear. I have to say, the man’s a real showman. He was delightful and slapstick through the whole panel, including covering his mouth very animatedly whenever he was about to mention The Hobbit (which he’s going to be in) and singing one of his numbers from The Mikado (which he’s also going to be in.) Even off-stage I saw him press the elevator button with the end of his cane which, small as it sounds, was a real treat to see just because of how Doctor-ish it was.
My question: “Which of your Big Finish stories would you like to be able to do as an actual episode of the show?” (Colditz, and I agree that this story would translate to the screen very easily.)
Robert Shearman
I’d heard a lot about this guy from friends of mine who’d met him at other conventions, so in the end it shouldn’t surprise me much that he was the one person I made repeated extended visits to throughout the convention. In other words, I feel like he was the only person I really chatted with that whole weekend. Sometimes when there was a lull in activity, I’d go over and shoot the breeze with him for a bit, talking about writing, our favorite Doctor Who stories, mutual friends from other conventions, and the exchange rate, among other things. He’s a really friendly and accessible guy and seems to have no ego at all about being arguably one of the best Doctor Who writers out there right now. I wound up picking up one of his short story collections primarily because that was the only way he was allowed to give a signature, but I know it’ll be a fun, if dark, read.