Re-Generation Who convention
So I went to two out of the three days of this con. It was very nice, well run from my point of view. A small crowd (this is only the second year for the con), which really helped with the atmosphere.
I don't have photos to post since I'm at work. (but I really didn't take many photos anyway)
I had a VIP ticket, but I can't say I really got any use out of it. I got an extra t shirt and a cute print because of it! LOL! Maybe if I had plans to attend with someone else, we could have done more, but ah well... My only complaint is that there were no free lanyards given out with the badges.
I was able to get into the vendors room early with my VIP pass. I bought like 7 (8?) of the pop vinyl figures. I LOVE those things!
Panels didn't start until 3:00 on Friday. The first one I went to was with the couple who runs the convention. It is truly a labor of love for them, they've been involved with cons for years, have this other one they run, too. Fan run cons (with zero corporate involvement are SO MUCH NICER than ones run by...oh, let's say Creation Entertainment). More of a family atmosphere, no one is there to make any money off it. James and Oni put on this con because they love Doctor Who, they make zero profit, all the money received goes directly to con expenses.
Next panel was with Frazer Hines, who played Jamie, one of the 2nd Doctor's companions. He goes to Doctor Who cons a lot these days and it's obvious he loves attending and meeting the fans. He's very animated and tells great stories!
After that, I went out and got something to eat because I was STARVING!
At 6:00, I went to the Peter Davison panel (moderated by Nicholas Briggs). This panel was great! Nick ran through the audience with a microphone taking questions and Peter just told great stories (some about The Five(ish) Doctors -- but not much since there was going to be a separate panel for that on Saturday). Peter is just great...I SERIOUSLY need to watch his 5th Doctor episodes).
Next panel I went to was called "Man about the TARDIS" -- it was going to be discussing the male companions. I thought "what a great idea for a panel!" But everyone must have been going out for food because -- there were five panelists and three audience members! ACK! I couldn't leave...that would have been rude. It was still a nice discussion, though.
After that, I went home. I could have gone to the VIP only party...but I just didn't feel like it.
Saturday --
Panels started at 10:00 a.m. but I wasn't interested in any -- plus, I wanted to sleep in some! I arrived at noon, and went to The Five(ish) Doctors panel with Peter Davison. And this was great! That film was truly a labor of love for him, and he had so many great stories...from getting everyone to participate to his writing process, dealing with the BBC, etc. He got asked about making another short film like this and said only if he could do it and not have to pay anyone. lol. Then added that he figured he could at least wrangle David into being part of it! It was sooo fun and interesting.
After that panel...I ran into a former co worker who I hadn't seen in like 20 years! AMAZING! This is the magic of conventions! It was so much fun catching up. She's only been into DW for about a year, so she was soaking everything up.
We went to this panel called "WHAT IF: Doctor Who America" where all the Doctors (and the Masters) were recast with American actors in an American setting. (I should have taken notes at this panel). This was a really fun panel.
Next panel we went to was called the "Classic Doctor Who Immersion Course." Since I haven't watched a WHOLE LOT of the 'classic episodes' (I've seen most of One, most of Two, a lot of Three -- and a small handful of Four), I wanted to go to this panel. What the moderator did was -- he took 'modern' episodes and paired them up with a classic episode in the same theme. This time I did write down the classic episode titles so I can now go and watch those. The guy who moderated this panel had his son with him. This kid (Will) couldn't have been more than 7 or 8 but he was AMAZING. Very articulate, and boy does he know his Doctor Who! Much better than I ever could!
Next panel Denise and I went to was called the Doctor Who Travel Guide. She wanted to go to learn of where to go in the UK (and the few USA locations) where DW was filmed. I've done some of them, and Denise was very impressed with how much I've seen. This was a nice panel. Other folks who attended told of their experiences on their travels to DW sites.
After that panel I went and got something to eat because I was hungry. Denise went to this Art and Sculpture panel.
At 5:00 I went to this panel called "The Best Dalek Panel Ever" and it was AWESOME!!
Panelists were Nicholas Briggs, Terry Molloy, Rob Shearman and John Peel. Nicholas Briggs of course had the microphone so he could talk in the Dalek voice. He and Rob are great friends (Rob was Nick's best man at Nick's wedding!) and they were bickering like old friends do. Terry and John gave a lot of history of the Daleks from a writing, acting and design perspective. I loved this panel!!!
I met up with Denise again at the end of this panel (the crowd was so small, that even in the big panel room, it was easy to find your friends!). So we stayed in that room for the Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant panel. This was another great panel. Colin discussing his love of musicals (he even sang part of Modern major general from The Pirates of Penzance). (Oh, his favorite musical? Les Miz). I need to see their episodes now. And they still work together today on the Big Finish Audio stories.
After that panel, Denise and I went to the restaurant in the hotel for dinner. I wasn't really hungry, I only ate half the sandwich I ordered (took the rest home). But it was great just sitting and chatting.
Then it was back down to the large panel room for "The Davros Variety Show." I was looking forward to this. Terry Molloy (the original Davros) hosted and it was singing, dancing, Hannah Harkness doing her comedy..and some skits. On the program it was blocked for two hours, but it only lasted about 50 minutes. So that was disappointing. And my phone was being weird, it wouldn't let me record videos. I think I have a 23 second one, though.
And exiting the room, everyone else was disappointed saying the same thing, that it was blocked for two hours.
Now it was 9:00...and still panels were going on! We went to one discussing the Matt Smith era. It was really crowded! (in one of the smaller panel rooms). This was a good panel. But I was really getting tired at this point.
When this panel was over, Denise and I left the con, even though there was plenty still going on. I'm just not as young as I used to be! I can't party all day and half the night anymore! LOL!
So I drove home, brushed my teeth, put my pj's on and CRASHED!
Sunday I woke up feeling kind of yucky. There were only two panels I was slightly interested in going to -- okay, three. One at 10:00 a.m., one at 11:00 a.m. and one at 2p.m. But I just didn't have it in me to drive back to the hotel again and deal with it all.
Rachel and I talked about going to the movies on Sunday to see the new Allegiant film, but she was sick all weekend. (so we're now doing that on Friday the 25th).
I was kind of glad I stayed home yesterday. I ended up watching five episodes of season two of Daredevil.
Now it's back to work!
I don't have photos to post since I'm at work. (but I really didn't take many photos anyway)
I had a VIP ticket, but I can't say I really got any use out of it. I got an extra t shirt and a cute print because of it! LOL! Maybe if I had plans to attend with someone else, we could have done more, but ah well... My only complaint is that there were no free lanyards given out with the badges.
I was able to get into the vendors room early with my VIP pass. I bought like 7 (8?) of the pop vinyl figures. I LOVE those things!
Panels didn't start until 3:00 on Friday. The first one I went to was with the couple who runs the convention. It is truly a labor of love for them, they've been involved with cons for years, have this other one they run, too. Fan run cons (with zero corporate involvement are SO MUCH NICER than ones run by...oh, let's say Creation Entertainment). More of a family atmosphere, no one is there to make any money off it. James and Oni put on this con because they love Doctor Who, they make zero profit, all the money received goes directly to con expenses.
Next panel was with Frazer Hines, who played Jamie, one of the 2nd Doctor's companions. He goes to Doctor Who cons a lot these days and it's obvious he loves attending and meeting the fans. He's very animated and tells great stories!
After that, I went out and got something to eat because I was STARVING!
At 6:00, I went to the Peter Davison panel (moderated by Nicholas Briggs). This panel was great! Nick ran through the audience with a microphone taking questions and Peter just told great stories (some about The Five(ish) Doctors -- but not much since there was going to be a separate panel for that on Saturday). Peter is just great...I SERIOUSLY need to watch his 5th Doctor episodes).
Next panel I went to was called "Man about the TARDIS" -- it was going to be discussing the male companions. I thought "what a great idea for a panel!" But everyone must have been going out for food because -- there were five panelists and three audience members! ACK! I couldn't leave...that would have been rude. It was still a nice discussion, though.
After that, I went home. I could have gone to the VIP only party...but I just didn't feel like it.
Saturday --
Panels started at 10:00 a.m. but I wasn't interested in any -- plus, I wanted to sleep in some! I arrived at noon, and went to The Five(ish) Doctors panel with Peter Davison. And this was great! That film was truly a labor of love for him, and he had so many great stories...from getting everyone to participate to his writing process, dealing with the BBC, etc. He got asked about making another short film like this and said only if he could do it and not have to pay anyone. lol. Then added that he figured he could at least wrangle David into being part of it! It was sooo fun and interesting.
After that panel...I ran into a former co worker who I hadn't seen in like 20 years! AMAZING! This is the magic of conventions! It was so much fun catching up. She's only been into DW for about a year, so she was soaking everything up.
We went to this panel called "WHAT IF: Doctor Who America" where all the Doctors (and the Masters) were recast with American actors in an American setting. (I should have taken notes at this panel). This was a really fun panel.
Next panel we went to was called the "Classic Doctor Who Immersion Course." Since I haven't watched a WHOLE LOT of the 'classic episodes' (I've seen most of One, most of Two, a lot of Three -- and a small handful of Four), I wanted to go to this panel. What the moderator did was -- he took 'modern' episodes and paired them up with a classic episode in the same theme. This time I did write down the classic episode titles so I can now go and watch those. The guy who moderated this panel had his son with him. This kid (Will) couldn't have been more than 7 or 8 but he was AMAZING. Very articulate, and boy does he know his Doctor Who! Much better than I ever could!
Next panel Denise and I went to was called the Doctor Who Travel Guide. She wanted to go to learn of where to go in the UK (and the few USA locations) where DW was filmed. I've done some of them, and Denise was very impressed with how much I've seen. This was a nice panel. Other folks who attended told of their experiences on their travels to DW sites.
After that panel I went and got something to eat because I was hungry. Denise went to this Art and Sculpture panel.
At 5:00 I went to this panel called "The Best Dalek Panel Ever" and it was AWESOME!!
Panelists were Nicholas Briggs, Terry Molloy, Rob Shearman and John Peel. Nicholas Briggs of course had the microphone so he could talk in the Dalek voice. He and Rob are great friends (Rob was Nick's best man at Nick's wedding!) and they were bickering like old friends do. Terry and John gave a lot of history of the Daleks from a writing, acting and design perspective. I loved this panel!!!
I met up with Denise again at the end of this panel (the crowd was so small, that even in the big panel room, it was easy to find your friends!). So we stayed in that room for the Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant panel. This was another great panel. Colin discussing his love of musicals (he even sang part of Modern major general from The Pirates of Penzance). (Oh, his favorite musical? Les Miz). I need to see their episodes now. And they still work together today on the Big Finish Audio stories.
After that panel, Denise and I went to the restaurant in the hotel for dinner. I wasn't really hungry, I only ate half the sandwich I ordered (took the rest home). But it was great just sitting and chatting.
Then it was back down to the large panel room for "The Davros Variety Show." I was looking forward to this. Terry Molloy (the original Davros) hosted and it was singing, dancing, Hannah Harkness doing her comedy..and some skits. On the program it was blocked for two hours, but it only lasted about 50 minutes. So that was disappointing. And my phone was being weird, it wouldn't let me record videos. I think I have a 23 second one, though.
And exiting the room, everyone else was disappointed saying the same thing, that it was blocked for two hours.
Now it was 9:00...and still panels were going on! We went to one discussing the Matt Smith era. It was really crowded! (in one of the smaller panel rooms). This was a good panel. But I was really getting tired at this point.
When this panel was over, Denise and I left the con, even though there was plenty still going on. I'm just not as young as I used to be! I can't party all day and half the night anymore! LOL!
So I drove home, brushed my teeth, put my pj's on and CRASHED!
Sunday I woke up feeling kind of yucky. There were only two panels I was slightly interested in going to -- okay, three. One at 10:00 a.m., one at 11:00 a.m. and one at 2p.m. But I just didn't have it in me to drive back to the hotel again and deal with it all.
Rachel and I talked about going to the movies on Sunday to see the new Allegiant film, but she was sick all weekend. (so we're now doing that on Friday the 25th).
I was kind of glad I stayed home yesterday. I ended up watching five episodes of season two of Daredevil.
Now it's back to work!