My Saturday was panel-rich. I jumped in right at the beginning of programming with “The Gallifrey Genderbend,” a panel discussing the pros and cons of a future incarnation of the Doctor being (or at least presenting) female. There was some rich conversation, including a rapid shift near the beginning from “should it happen” to “who should be cast.” Later, the panelists conducted an informal poll asking who thinks the Doctor should at some point be a woman—yes, no, or don’t care. There were some hands for each option, but the solid majority voted “yes.” Time will tell.

Next I sat in on the interviews of Carole Ann Ford (the Doctor’s granddaughter Susan) and Wendy Padbury (Second Doctor Companion Zoë). Each of them had some fabulous stories about things besides their time on Doctor Who. Carole Ann talked about her early career in a rambling, roundabout way that included getting in a cage with a tiger at the London Zoo, among other things. Wendy talked a little about her time as an agent, including how she became Matt Smith’s first agent (and got him his first job within days of first seeing him). Both are delightful people.

I took a short break to grab lunch and get Carole Ann’s autograph in the dealers’ room before heading to the next panel to meet some of my friends there. On my way into the dealers’ room, I ran across said friends, though. One of them was still shaking from the adrenaline rush of getting her photo taken with John Barrowman. For the past three years, since she first made her 60’s style TARDIS costume, she’s wanted this photo, and she finally got it. I have to say, “Captain Jack” clinging to the TARDIS is among the best celebrity/fan photos I’ve ever seen. She had every right to be excited.

I did eventually make my way to the panel, which was a talk given by another friend, Dr. Anita Sengupta of JPL. Anita talked about how the JPL team landed the Curiosity rover on Mars, and the science they’re doing. Her role in the EDL (entry, descent, and landing) team involved design of the supersonic parachute. It was interesting to hear her explain the science in layman’s terms, though I must admit I had an almost post-traumatic reaction to one of the supersonic flow slides, as I flashed back to my own master’s degree project. Thankfully, it passed quickly…

There was just enough time to return to my room and get a second wind before Barrowman’s panel. As one might expect, the is just one big ball of energy. He was naughty and irreverent, but conscious that there were minors in the audience, so it was probably dialed back a little (despite his declaration that he doesn’t tone it down for anyone). Aside from keeping the audience in stitches, he had some tender moments, encouraging others to be proud of who they are and remembering his “biggest fan,” his grandmother.

Although he went a little past time, there was still plenty of time for his costars to get on stage for their own panel next. A few of the same stories as yesterday came up, but there were many new ones. Most of what I got out of this particular panel was that filming Torchwood was a helluva lot of fun (though I think that was obvious already).

The end of my regular programming day was spent back in Program B watching two more kick-ass Companions be interviewed by Verity! podcast moderator Deborah Stanish. First came Janet Fielding, whose Tegan Jovanka may have been ahead of her time. Much of what fans objected to about Tegan (attitude, primarily) seems common in modern Companions. Janet herself comes across much like her character in terms of take-no-prisoners self-confidence, and I adore her.

Of course, the second interview in the block was Sophie Aldred, who played my all-time favorite Companion Ace. Having had the opportunity to see her last May, I knew I would love her (and I do). One of the highlights, though, was actually hearing one of my friends tell Sophie how much Ace meant to her as a young teen. I know Sophie appreciated it, and so did many of the rest of us.

Dinner and drinks before the Masquerade were crazy as usual, and the Masquerade itself was a great deal of fun, as usual. I was much too far back to get any decent pictures of the costumes myself, but I highly recommend searching for photos of the group dressed as Barbara and a pair of Menoptera, of the minotaur creature from The God Complex, of older Amy from The Girl Who Waited, and either of the Queens Elizabeth I. All won well-deserved awards.

The Masquerade finished me for the night, and I headed upstairs. In the elevator, though, I got an “Oh,  you’re Neowhovian! I read your stuff,” which resulted in an almost comedic frenzy of ribbon trading and hopping on and off of the elevator. It really put a smile on my face, and made for a lovely way to cap of a very full day.

We’ll see if I can fit everything else I want to do into the final day.