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Tag: Gallifrey One

Confession #168: I Have Mixed Feelings About Quitting

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Last week, Gallifrey One announced their first block of guests for next February’s convention. Obviously, the headliners are yet to come, but the fact that they started out with Alex Kingston (aka River Song), Lalla Ward (Romana II), and Whittaker-era composer Segun Akinola bodes well. It’s especially nice that they were finally able to book Kingston again after she had to cancel her 2015 appearance at the last minute.

However, thinking ahead to the next Gally has reminded me of the blog’s planned obsolescence, which is causing me to experience some mixed feelings. I was less than a year into my blogging career when I first heard about Gallifrey One and decided that it sounded like a cool thing to try. When the call for panelists came, and I threw my hat in the ring, I was extremely gratified that my credentials as a blogger were enough to help them decide to let me sit on a panel. I even made ribbons—at my first con!

I have never attended Gally when I wasn’t an active blogger. It has been my habit for over a decade to slip out of my hotel room in the morning (time zones are such a pain in the ass) to sit in the Lobby with my Starbucks breakfast and type out a blog post about the preceding day. It serves as much as a diary for me as it does as a way to share the con experience with my readers, but it’s also kind of a grounding ritual. Sitting quietly and reviewing the awesome things I experienced the previous day helps me stay in the present moment of Gally.

The prospect of a Gally without a blog is… perplexing. On one hand—as I’ve alluded to above—who am I at Gallifrey One if not a blogger, a journal-er, a reporter of my experiences? On the other hand, the prospect of being free from that obligation, of having one less task hanging over my head, buoys my spirit more than I had realized it would. I’m simultaneously sad at the thought of no longer having that record and relieved that I can just relax and enjoy the con.

Maybe that’s natural, though. Change is generally hard for humans, and transitions are particularly difficult for those of us with some kind of neurodivergence. So I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that I’m finding the prospect of doing something differently at Gally to be challenging. I just have to embrace the novelty, and celebrate a new chapter. Even without my readers.

More than two years ago, I shared that I was to have a part in a project that let me explore a different angle on a Classic story. I’m pleased to announce that Outside In Regenerates, in which I have an essay, is now available for pre-order at ATB Publishing. Fittingly, it is due to be released on 23 November 2023, the 60th anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who.

The essay is in no way perfect—among other things, I could probably have gone on longer about the somewhat controversial premise I was arguing if I’d had the space—but I hope that at the least, it gives readers something different to think about. I hope you will consider supporting ATB in both this and its other wonderful publications.

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Gallifrey One 33⅓: Long Live the Revolution — Day Three

Despite the frenzy of the lines for Jodie, this was probably the most all-around low-key Gally I’ve ever had. Never before have I had so much time completely unscheduled from con events.

For example, this year’s final day was the latest Sunday start for me ever. Since we’d scored seats for Jodie’s Saturday interview panel, I made no plans to go see her again on Sunday morning, even though (I’m told) there was still plenty of room to do so. I didn’t think there would be enough different about the panel to make it worth my while (though they did have Janet Fielding and Sophie Aldred on stage with her at the end, which I might’ve enjoyed).

Instead, Kiddo and I met up with some of our friends to peruse the Art Show and wander the Dealers Room again. It was all incredibly casual. The first thing I had scheduled in any way was a brief meet-up with a friend while Kiddo and I ate food-truck lunch on the patio.

This leisurely pace continued until 2:00—absolutely unheard of for me—when our little gang convened in Program A (in the center section, only about seven rows from the front!) for the live commentary on “The Halloween Apocalypse.” Moderator Adrienne Enderle was joined on the couch by Chris Chibnall, director Jamie Magnus Stone, and actor Craige Els, who played Karvanista. I was extremely grateful that the episode was run with captions (in part because that’s how I always watch TV these days), because it made it much easier to follow both the episode and the commentary. Good banter, good details, good fun.

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Gallifrey One 33⅓: Long Live the Revolution — Day Two

It has become almost a tradition at Gally for me to spend the majority of the day on Sunday camped out in Program A. This year, weirdly, that was my Saturday instead.

We had a nice slow start to the day, chilling in the Lobby for nearly four hours before programming began. Then we met up with our friends to get into the Diamond Pass line for photos with Jodie. (I have learned that for a popular guest, the lines will be ridiculous, and unless I’m willing to wait interminable hours, a TARDIS Tag (which goes for an insanely large amount of money) or a Diamond Pass (still large, but not as insanely so, amount of money) is really a necessity.) Even so, the scrum in the hallway was both large and confused. It eventually got sorted, though, and the process was relatively smooth. We got out the other end in decent time with photos we actually like.

Our first dip into Program A for the day came as we recovered from the photo op experience, sitting at the very back of the room for the end of “The Second Doctor Era” and beginning of “The Third Doctor Era” Big Finish panels. Mostly that involved Frazer Hines being very Frazer, Katy Manning being very Katy, and Jon Culshaw demonstrating what an incredible impression of the Brigadier he does.

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Gallifrey One 33⅓: Long Live the Revolution — Day One

It’s here again! The most wonderful time of the year, Gallifrey One, is back in swing. This year one of my daughters has come along, which is lending an extra special something to the experience.

We arrived Wednesday evening and crashed early. Thursday morning we slept in a lot (for us), and got up early (for the time zone). The Lobby was still filled with a slight majority of non-Gally folx, but as the morning wore on, there were more of us here.

It was a nice, slow, ramping-up day. The rest of my close Gally friends arrived (some with significant others who are now my new acquaintances), we got our badges (and Diamond Passes! I’ve learned the hard way that I don’t want to wait in a line as long as I’d have to without those), went to dinner at my traditional Thursday-night place (Aliki’s Greek Taverna is fabulous; both the food and the service are top-notch, in my book), and attended the ice cream social (I got a new folding fan!).

Friday morning rolled around, and Kiddo and I were up (local) early again. Bonnie Langford went through Starbucks as we were finishing our own coffee, which set a Gally tone for the day. She was also the first one we saw in the Dealers Room for autographs. We managed to get Bonnie, Katy Manning, and Sophie Aldred all checked off our list early in the day, and wander the Dealers Room for a casual Friday morning.

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Welcome to Year Thirteen

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Triskaidekaphobes may not care for the idea that I’m highlighting this as the thirteenth year of the blog, but in my household thirteen is actually one of our favorite numbers. Further, we’ve just ended the Thirteenth Doctor’s era, and I can look forward to meeting Jodie Whittaker herself at Gallifrey One next month. I’d say Year Thirteen is worth celebrating.

This year will, as I’ve hinted before, be the last for the blog. Now that I’ve finally sold some fiction (you can find my first published story here, if you’re interested; I use a pen name), I want to focus more of my time and energy on that kind of writing. There are also several other personal stressors that have ramped up recently, and I simply have less energy to dedicate to blogging.

That’s not to say this year will be lax. I hope to be able to announce my part in that project to which I alluded a couple of years ago. I’ll be reporting on my experiences at Gally as usual, with the bonus of having one of my kiddos with me to provide fresh eyes. And I will finish up my Everything Else series of reviews of the Classic adventures.

Given that there are only five of those left, the blog schedule gets a bit loose around mid-year. But here is the schedule for those final five stories:

  • Jan 25: The Dalek Invasion of Earth
  • Feb 08: Enlightenment
  • Mar 22: The Invasion of Time
  • Apr 26: Frontier in Space
  • May 24: The Pirate Planet
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Confession #159: I Am Excite

It’s been a heckuva week! First, and relevant to the usual content here, Gallifrey One announced last Friday that their headline guest for the 2023 convention would be none other than Jodie Whittaker herself!

That’s quite the feather in Gally’s cap! Not only will it be Whittaker’s first-ever dedicated Doctor Who convention (we’re going to set her standards high), but it’s amazingly fast turn-around between final on-screen appearance and first convention appearance—less than four months! She’s also only the second modern-era Doctor to appear at Gally.

I had thought three years ago that I was getting spoiled by Gallifrey One’s excellent connections in the Doctor Who scene when they brought Christopher Eccleston to LA. (And, indeed, I was.) He had been notoriously hesitant to take part in the convention circuit at all, so when Gally brought not only its first modern-era Doctor, but a somewhat reluctant one at that, I didn’t think that feat could be topped.

But here we are.

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Confession #157: I Like a Silver Lining

My family recently had an experience that I think can safely be classified as a Major Bummer. Both of my kids had qualified for a state-level activity that involved a week-long summer camp where they would have the opportunity to train with top-level instructors and spend a lot of time making new friends and honing their skills. Unfortunately, when it was time to go, one of them had minor symptoms of illness.

While fortunately all home COVID testing has remained negative in our household, the organizers nevertheless made the difficult (but correct, in my opinion) decision per their policy, and erred on the side of caution. The symptomatic kid wasn’t allowed to attend camp; the asymptomatic one was.

I’m sure you can imagine how fraught such a situation could be, especially when there are twins involved. The non-participant kid had an especially hard time of it at the end, when families were invited in to watch the end-of-week performance, and she had to witness exactly what she’d missed. I don’t think it had really hit her fully until then.

However, there was still a bit of a silver lining.

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Gallifrey One: Thirty-Second to Midnight — Day Three

Thankfully Sunday got off to a smoother start, and I didn’t feel even slightly rushed as I had on Saturday. As is often the case, with extras like autographs out of the way, my final day of Gally was slated to be a day of panels, spent mostly in Program A.

We began with “Remembering Elisabeth Sladen,” where moderator Steven Schapansky interviewed guests Gary Russell, Sadie Miller (Lis Sladen’s daughter), and Tommy Knight. I figured beforehand that I was going to cry a lot in this one, but it never really drifted into the maudlin at all. At worst, there was a vague sense of sadness at the thought that she’d never really believed she deserved to have the success she’d had as Sarah Jane. It is simultaneously encouraging and heartbreaking to realize that even those we look up to suffer from the kind of imposter syndrome that plagues all of us.

Speaking of imposter syndrome, the next thing on my agenda was the panel about the Master, which I moderated. I swear when I first looked at “You Will Obey Me!” there were five panelists and I was not the mod, so I’m really glad I decided to look over the schedule and make some panel notes on Thursday morning! At any rate, there were three of us on the day, and I feel like I did a serviceable job. The audience seemed to enjoy it, and nothing ever went completely off the rails. Maybe I’ll put my name in the hat to moderate again another year.

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Gallifrey One: Thirty-Second to Midnight — Day Two

Saturday got off to a bit of a rough start, as I slept about two hours later than I had anticipated. Things worked out in the end, though, as (aside from getting my blog post up on time), I still managed to do everything I’d hoped to do before I needed to be anywhere in particular.

Before I was quite ready to move on my own, though, ConBuddy texted to say he’d already gotten in the autograph line we’d agreed to meet at, because it got long really fast. So I saddled up and headed down to the patio to wait together.

In fact, waiting in autograph lines took up pretty much the entire morning. Things thankfully ran more smoothly than they had on Friday morning (I think the con staff was finally up to speed on what did and didn’t work well), but there were still just a lot of folks who wanted these big-name autographs. There were a couple of panels I’d considered going to, but neither was compelling enough that I felt sad to miss them in order to get the autographs I really, really wanted.

Similarly, there was an early afternoon panel I’d been considering, but lunch ran well into that time slot, and I wasn’t feeling any urgency to get to the panel. So my friend group decided to have a little down time before meeting up again later.

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Gallifrey One: Thirty-Second to Midnight — Day One

After two years of essentially holing up inside my house, it feels weird to travel, and I’m suffering some serious cognitive dissonance on this trip. On the one hand, it’s a freaky step outside my COVID comfort zone (people? setting foot in buildings that aren’t my house for more than a couple of hours? madness!). On the other, it feels familiar and joyous.

From waiting at the gate to get on my outbound plane, where I came across a local(ish) Doctor Who friend, it’s felt almost like a regular Gally. The roommate situation is a little sparser than usual, but after I arrived on Wednesday, I got in my visit with my SoCal-based friend whom I only ever get to see when I come for Gally, and the Lobby already had that good ol’ LobbyCon feel.

Thursday my primary ConBuddy arrived, and as he is one of only two close friends who are attending this year (the other didn’t arrive until Friday), and there are no official con events until the opening social on Thursday evening, it was a pretty low-key day of hanging with ConBuddy in between stretches of chilling in my hotel room. We even managed the now-traditional visit to Aliki’s Greek Taverna! Then it was time for the Social.

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