Geronimo! (No spoilers for The Eleventh Hour)
So Saturday, scant hours after the UK saw Matt Smith's first episode, Tom Heaton and I were on our way back to Wonder Con, intent on seeing the US premier of THE ELEVENTH HOUR. And while Tom popped off to the bathroom, I sought the end of the line....only to find it several hundred people back in line. In a back hallway.
I'm no stranger to the back hallways of convention centers, obviously. But usually I'm not sitting in line. (One gets spoiled running cons.) All day long I'd been unable to switch off "con mode" completely, noting the things that Wonder Con *should* have done for better line and crowd control and the many little planning failures. (Here's a big one: all the celeb autograph tables were in two rows, opposite each other, with no attempt to sort out lining or give extra space for the crowd.)
Anyway, the big fear I had all day was that they'd seriously underestimated the crowd -- and I was kinda right. It was shortly clear that they'd need to expand to three showings (they'd planned two). A bit of mental math told me that we were about 500 people back -- and with an 800-person room and the unknown factor of how many folks would have stayed from the previous panel, it wasn't clear if we'd be able to get into the first showing. As it happened, the line cut off about 15 people behind us, though we were left with no clue where to sit because of minimal direction. Eventually we located seats separately. But we'd made it!
The BBC America guy who introduced the screening was practically giddy -- and so was the room. When the personalized message from Matt and Karen came on screen, the cheer was palpable. The cheer continued anew through the new title sequence. (Withholding judgement; it may grow on me.)
Seeing Doctor Who first, even alone, is awesome. Sharing it with friends has been even more awesome. But seeing it in an audience of 800 enthusiastic fans? Wow.
The episode itself? Fairly brilliant, if I'm honest. Clever, touches of poignancy, all the bits you want to see in a regeneration episode: watching the new Doctor find his personality, choose a companion, choose his outfit, and in general find himself, while saving the day. Doing it without aid of TARDIS or sonic screwdriver. Doing it by being clever, by being lucky, by avoiding violence, and by talking the villain down. Making mistakes and then making things right.
So far, I'm loving Matt Smith -- or at least, I'm fascinated by him. There's an assured core there, and an interesting physicality to his performance. He's conveying the Doctor's alienness brilliantly, and I can't wait to see the next unusual choice he'll make. I can't quite figure him out or predict him. Which is frankly brilliant!
Whoops and cheers throughout. Moments of awesome. The TARDIS rebuilding itself; the sequence establishing the Doctor's history. A feisty companion we all seemed to adore, who isn't going to put up with the Doctor's usual nonsense. Starting to see Matt, starting to see the show's new style assert itself -- and never for a second losing site of the fun.
The applause was thunderous, and 800 smiling folks left the theatre, eager to tell friends about the awesomeness of the new show.
If it lives up to the promise of this first episode, it's gonna be one hell of a ride this season!
I'm no stranger to the back hallways of convention centers, obviously. But usually I'm not sitting in line. (One gets spoiled running cons.) All day long I'd been unable to switch off "con mode" completely, noting the things that Wonder Con *should* have done for better line and crowd control and the many little planning failures. (Here's a big one: all the celeb autograph tables were in two rows, opposite each other, with no attempt to sort out lining or give extra space for the crowd.)
Anyway, the big fear I had all day was that they'd seriously underestimated the crowd -- and I was kinda right. It was shortly clear that they'd need to expand to three showings (they'd planned two). A bit of mental math told me that we were about 500 people back -- and with an 800-person room and the unknown factor of how many folks would have stayed from the previous panel, it wasn't clear if we'd be able to get into the first showing. As it happened, the line cut off about 15 people behind us, though we were left with no clue where to sit because of minimal direction. Eventually we located seats separately. But we'd made it!
The BBC America guy who introduced the screening was practically giddy -- and so was the room. When the personalized message from Matt and Karen came on screen, the cheer was palpable. The cheer continued anew through the new title sequence. (Withholding judgement; it may grow on me.)
Seeing Doctor Who first, even alone, is awesome. Sharing it with friends has been even more awesome. But seeing it in an audience of 800 enthusiastic fans? Wow.
The episode itself? Fairly brilliant, if I'm honest. Clever, touches of poignancy, all the bits you want to see in a regeneration episode: watching the new Doctor find his personality, choose a companion, choose his outfit, and in general find himself, while saving the day. Doing it without aid of TARDIS or sonic screwdriver. Doing it by being clever, by being lucky, by avoiding violence, and by talking the villain down. Making mistakes and then making things right.
So far, I'm loving Matt Smith -- or at least, I'm fascinated by him. There's an assured core there, and an interesting physicality to his performance. He's conveying the Doctor's alienness brilliantly, and I can't wait to see the next unusual choice he'll make. I can't quite figure him out or predict him. Which is frankly brilliant!
Whoops and cheers throughout. Moments of awesome. The TARDIS rebuilding itself; the sequence establishing the Doctor's history. A feisty companion we all seemed to adore, who isn't going to put up with the Doctor's usual nonsense. Starting to see Matt, starting to see the show's new style assert itself -- and never for a second losing site of the fun.
The applause was thunderous, and 800 smiling folks left the theatre, eager to tell friends about the awesomeness of the new show.
If it lives up to the promise of this first episode, it's gonna be one hell of a ride this season!