Children of Mirth: Day Two [The Gallifrey One Report]

Saturday was busy, manic, and every bit as awesome as the day that had preceded it. The number of attendees was much higher than the previous day, such is the magic of the weekend. Stuff sold quicker, seating in panels became harder to find, and there were so many costumes. Saturday is the day that Gallifrey One really exploded – not just in scope, but in my own personal perception.

Friday had shown me that not every fan was that guy from the Gallifrey Base. Saturday took that even further by showing me just how diverse a fanbase there is for these shows. There were men, women, the socially outgoing and the socially awkward, technicians, engineers, fashion designers, old people, young people… with the success of Doctor Who in the UK it’s sometimes difficult to imagine it having a mainstream appeal in the US, and while it’s not quite there yet the sheer scope of American fandom is something wonderful. It’s a cult show, but with such a unique following. I don’t know another show that airs on this side of the pond, American or otherwise, that has the kind of fanbase here that Doctor Who has. Quite extraordinary.

Saturday’s Events

I didn’t attend every event I had planned to, but I got a good spread of stuff in. I was torn between attending “Where The Hell Can Torchwood Go From Here?”, a panel which included Torchwood: Children of Earth co-writer John Fay, and “The Directors Roundtable” with Graeme Harper, Alice Troughton, Colin Teague and Gary Russell. I opted for the Torchwood panel for reasons I can’t quite remember, but had a lot of fun. The panel started off with fans mostly saying what they’d like to happen to the characters (oddly no one demanded Ianto’s return, which means that the backlash against his death in Children of Earth was either grossly exaggerated or largely manufactured, or possibly a third thing). With people talking mainly about people, no one was prepared to ask the important question. So I did. I raised my hand and asked the panel: After Children of Earth, can Torchwood really go back to a monster-of-the-week format?

The conclusion the panel seemed to reach is “Yes, provided it’s all part of a bigger arc.” The problem is that they tried that with series two and I don’t think it worked particularly well. There has to be a fine balance, and even Buffy the Vampire Slayer struggled with it.

The Georgia Moffett interview was a lot of fun. She’s chatty, witty, clever and, without wanting to sound pervy, remarkably beautiful in person. She was asked a variety of wonderful questions, but I think my favourite moment is when a young girl behind me lept up onto her chair and shouted “WHAT’S! YOUR! FAVE-RIT! COLOR!” and Georgia, equally loud, yelled back “PINK!”. It was a silly, small moment, but it seemed to define the interview nicely – Georgia took everything in her stride and above all was a lot of fun to listen to.

But we learnt other things about Georgia Moffett too. She was taught to juggle by Sylvester McCoy, she’s scared of the new series Cybermen and the Empress of the Racnoss, and… well, this treat:

“My best friend was Colin Baker’s daughter, Lucy, so I thought that everyone’s dad played the Doctor.”

You can’t not love that.

The TARDIS Wardrobe

Saturday was also the day of The Masquerade of Mandragora, Gallifrey One’s costume contest. And blimey, the costumes were out in full force. The number of Torchwood Lesbians tripled, with a lot of Captain Jacks and two or three Iantos. I thought that there was an unusually high number of Ianto Jones cosplayers until I realised that they actually worked in the hotel.

As well as the various female Doctors who made their presence felt on Friday, there were some fantastic newcomers – not one but two Sally Sparrow cosplayers, one going as far as having a Weeping Angel fitted on her back, and a Tenth Doctor who had a Vespiform on his back. I thought it was a marvellous coincidence, but it turns out they were entering the Masquerade together. They won an award too, which was well-deserved.

There were two Madame de Pompadours, both in gorgeous hand-made dresses that made me wish I were a woman. I don’t usually get all geeky about dresses and clothes and so on, but this was an absolute work of art, a stunning garment that the cosplayer had sewn from scratch. It was definitely a labour of love.

There was a fantastic skit put on by a small group of cosplayers about the trials and tribulations of the Brigadier. It’s difficult to describe, especially when you’re as tired as I am, so I’m hoping a video pops up on YouTube later this week because it was absolutely cracking.

The costume contest was broken up with a halftime game of “Just A Minute…” hosted by Paul Cornell and featuring Tony Lee, Katie Manning, Phil Ford and a fourth American contestant whose name I have completely and utterly forgotten, oh God, I’m horrible, kill me now. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in a half-hour period in all my life.

Lobby-Con

“Lobby-Con” is the affectionate nickname for what happens after Gallifrey One closes up for the day. Con goers and guests alike sit in the lobby with a plethora of alcoholic beverages and have a whale of a time. It is for this reason that I didn’t get to bed until 7am on Sunday morning, and for this reason that this con report is a day and a half late. During Lobby-Con I had a chat with the wonderful Gary Russell, I mocked the Americanized English language with Tony Lee, and I had long and wonderful conversations with a plethora of people about the Time War.

And then I went to bed at 7am.

And now I’m going to take a nap because I’m still so very, very tired.

Tags: Alice Troughton, Colin Teague, cosplay, gallifrey one, gary russell, georgia moffett, Graeme Harper, john fay, katie manning, paul cornell, phil ford, tony lee

This entry was posted on 1st March, 2010 at 1st March, 2010 and is filed under Conventions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.