Who Party 14

[rusty_armour]

On Saturday, bakerybard and I went to Who Party 14, which was held downtown at the Best Western Primrose. As we were there from beginning till end, it was a long but fun-filled day. After we had both registered, we headed for the Dealer's Room to check out all the cool Doctor Who merchandise. We saw big and small Daleks, glossy photos, magazines, books, action figures and even Adipose, though this last item was $40 and a bit more than either bakerybard or I were willing to spend no matter how adorable they were. Fortunately, the Master action figure was available at a much more reasonable price, so I forked out the money. It's pretty sad, but finding a Master action figure was one of the highlights of the con for me. I'd been trying to get my greedy little hands on one for almost a year without any success!

After squealing in geekish glee over my purchase, I accompanied bakerybard to an interesting panel entitled "What's To Come With Moffat and Matt Smith," which had James Strong (director of episodes such as "The Impossible Planet," "Voyage of the Damned" and "Partners in Crime"), Rob Shearman (writer of "Dalek" and some Big Finish Doctor Who audio productions), and Lance Parkin (author of eight Doctor Who novels). The session was entertaining, informative and pretty amusing at times.

If memory serves*, bakerybard and I left the hotel in search of food after that first panel. As we didn't know when we might be able to squeeze in another meal, we went to the Elephant & Castle for a high-carb lunch. I'm ashamed to say that I actually managed to leave my new purchase behind at the restaurant afterwards. Luckily, I realized this before we'd gone too far, so the Master was right where I left him. I made sure I kept my bag clutched tightly in my hand after that!

I just had to take a picture of this fan as she was dressed as my favourite Doctor, the Fifth Doctor

The rest of the afternoon involved a lot of sitting and a numb bum, but it was totally worth it! We caught most of an interview/Q & A session with Colin Teague (director of "The Sound of Drums," "Last of the Time Lords" and "The Fires of Pompeii") and a hilarious game of Doctor Who Jeopardy with Rob Shearman, Tony Hadoke (the genius behind Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf), and Cameron Dixon (a contributing member). As you might expect, all the questions (or, rather, answers) were related to Doctor Who. Tony Hadoke, who has a frightening memory for all Who-related trivia, pulverized his competition and ended up with a total of over $18,000!

The last two sessions we took in before grabbing supper at Subway were the James Strong interview/Q & A and the live commentary for "The Fires of Pompeii" with Colin Teague and Jeopary champion, Tony Hadoke. For those of you who are curious, the live commentary was almost like a regular DVD commentary, except that the people giving the commentary were in the same room as us. In fact, there were times when I actually managed to forget that I was in a room full of people and hearing the commentary live!

While finding a Master action figure was very exciting, the true highlight of the con had to be Tony Hadoke's Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf. I'd heard great things about it from bakerybard, who had seen this production at the Edinburgh Fringe, so I knew it would be good. All the same, I was blown away by just how good this show was! It was not only hilarious but charming and touching as well. And as it was the first time Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf had been performed in Canada, it was a privilege to be able to see it at all.

As I have absolutely no shame at all, I took pictures of my Master action figure as soon as I got home. I'm probably the only person who will find these of interest, but it's my LJ so tough.



Here's the Master while he was still in his package.
You see, I have some control.



Yes, you guessed it. Here's the Master out of his package.



Of course, it wasn't long before he had his laser screwdriver out.



But then he tried to allay my suspicions by
pretending to be all sensitive and brooding.



The Master decided to practice his wave as he's toying with the idea of adopting a French Canadian accent and running for Prime Minister. I think he's planning a Canadian invasion of America, though I'm not sure how. This Canadian political career certainly isn't on the same level as his Saxon campaign. However, we are talking about an action figure (and an insane one at that), so baby steps, eh? Anywaaaaaaay, while the Master was practising his wave who should appear but the Doctor. The Doctor had instantly sensed the presence of the only other Time Lord action figure in the apartment as soon as I stepped through the door with my new purchase...



Unable to contain his joy at seeing another Time
Lord action figure, the Doctor hugs a horrified Master.



Breaking free of the Doctor, the Master brandishes his laser screwdriver.



Left with no other choice but to defend himself, the Doctor whips
out his sonic screwdriver and both Time Lords have a showdown.



Who will win this deadly battle of screwdrivers and, more importantly, will my apartment ever be the same again...?


* Actually memory didn't serve. About twelve hours after I wrote this, I remembered that bakerybard and I caught the "Growing Up With Doctor Who" panel with Lance Parkin, Rob Shearman, Taza McDoom, and Cadence Gillard. Everyone on the panel had great stories to share about their first memories of Doctor Who, especially Taza McDoom, who caught the very first Doctor Who episode in 1963. When Rob Shearman said that Taza was old enough to have seen the first episode, I thought he was joking because Taza looked like he was only in his late thirties or early forties at most. However, it turned out that Taza was 53 and had very vivid memories of early Doctor Who. He also had some kick ass collectibles, including a Dalek toy he won in 1965 for a contest associated with the release of the first Peter Cushing film! And the Dalek still worked! It could move along a table and had these wonderful flashing blue lights! It was fan-freaking-tastic!

Comments

[boobamiaow.livejournal.com]

hehehe that made me giggle. I miss fandom!

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

I'm glad it gave you a giggle, boobamiaow. Thanks for reading. :-)

[pyrateanny.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you had a great time, Rusty!

The fan dressed as the 5th Doctor did a great job on her costume! Did many other people dress in costume?

And I'm sure your tiny plastic Master and tiny plastic 10th Doctor will have many exciting adventures together around your apartment.

BTW, do you have a tiny plastic 5th Doctor?

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you had a great time, Rusty!

Hi, pyrateanny! Yes, I did have a great time! :-)

The fan dressed as the 5th Doctor did a great job on her costume! Did many other people dress in costume?

I think I saw at least a few people in costume. There were at least three guys dressed as the Tenth Doctor. I also saw someone putting on the costume for a classic Who alien I've forgotten the name of. Oh, and there were at least a couple of people with Tom Baker scarves. There was one group that wore t-shirts they had made. One said, "Are You My Mummy?" The second said, "VOTE SAXON," and I think the third said, "Angels Stole My Tardis" (e.g. a "Blink" reference).

And I'm sure your tiny plastic Master and tiny plastic 10th Doctor will have many exciting adventures together around your apartment.

If they don't kill each other first! I'm hoping my other action figures will help keep the Master from getting into too much trouble.

BTW, do you have a tiny plastic 5th Doctor?

No, I don't, though I've been tempted. They had one in the Dealer's Room yesterday, but it was $25, which is more than I was willing to spend.

[bakerybard.livejournal.com]

Hurrah! And, what makes you think he's planning a Canadian invasion of America? Makes much more sense to me that if you'd want to launch a(nother) takeover of Britain, of course you'd work your way up through the Commonwealth, all sneaky-like! And who in the Commonwealth is having elections practically every frickin' year? Canada!

Plus, our money's prettier...

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Well, I think his ultimate plan is to take over the entire planet...then the galaxy, and so on. I was only speculating on the American invasion. I thought he might want to gain control there and then take over other parts of the world. However, it's entirely possible that the American invasion plan is just a ruse and the real plot will involve working his way up through the Commonwealth. In any case, he'd do well to run for Prime Minister considering that we're having elections practically every frickin' year. He'd also look pretty good compared to Harper...despite being an insane sociopath. *g*

[canadianlemming.myopenid.com (from livejournal.com)]

Hi! Cameron Dixon here, just popping in to make a correction: I was not in fact one of the con organizers, just a contributing member. The organizers -- Mike Doran, Graeme Burk, Scott Clarke, Gian-Luca DiRocco, Rod Mammitzsch, and Nina Kolunovsky -- did a tremendous job, and I'm rather embarrassed about being given credit for their fine work when all I really did was have a great day out.

(If you really want to show your appreciation for what they did, pop over to www.dwin.org and become a member of the Doctor Who Information Network. Shill shill shill.)

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Hey, Cameron. Sorry about that. I wrote this late last night when my brain was shutting down. *g* I've now gone in and made the correction. Thanks for taking the time to point this out and give credit where credit is due. :-)

[dubghall.livejournal.com]

I must make a fan-girl confession. When I saw the picture of the Fifth Doctor fan, and the listing of rooms above her head, my brain thought "Is it also a dueSouth convention"?

*hangs her head* Yes, I know who Diefenbaker was. I even know why he'd be in list with Borden, Bennet and Mackenzie. I just think of the wolf first when I hear the name ("you pay, and you pay, and you pay").

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

LOL! That's okay! I'm sure there are a number of Canadians who think of Benton Fraser's dog before they think of the Prime Minister! *g* Actually, I'm impressed that you know who he is in the first place and why he's on the same list as Borden, Bennett and Mackenzie. :-)