Goes Somer * Goesomer * Gossamer

The Doctor Who panel was a blur of bliss for me: David Tennant makes the most amusing facial expressions, and in every illegal photo of the screens I took, his face is just plain interesting. Not to mention makeoutwith-able. I’m declaring that a new word, fyi. 

 

I’d arrived early, given the panel started at 10 AM. I wanted to be near the doors when they opened. Since the convention hall hadn’t opened until around 9:15, 9:30 all the previous days, I aimed for an 8:30 arrival time. When I arrived according to the plan, the doors were already open. Oh noes! I raced to the toilet (hey, it was going to be a long wait any which way you cut it), then got in line. My heart sank. The line already wove from one end of the balcony to the other. I was in the far corner. 

 

I did what anyone panicky in their misery would do: called my best friend, effex, to bemoan my worry and hoped that there weren’t more than 2000 people in front of me. It was all for naught—I got in with plenty of seating to spare the poor sods behind me.

 

I took the few minutes before the event started to call Chrissy and find out if she’d be coming, or pussied out to her husband. 

 

She pussied. 

 

In her defense, our parents were coming down that Friday for the baby shower which would be on Saturday, and Raphie’s siblings were coming down too. She wanted to clean and get ready—she wouldn’t really have a chance to during the week, as she had to go back in to the navy office for three days before signing out and becoming a civilian Friday morning. She really was pressed for time, and I’m sure Raphie was pissed and guilt-tripped her about wanting to spend time with her after his long week at work.

It sort of was a downer, because I wanted her to have a good time at the Con. 

 

Anywho, Doctor Who! 

 

Julie Gardner was back for panel duty. New this year was RTD, Euros Lyn, and, YAY!, David Tennant. I love that man. 

Before questions got put forth, The Guiness Book of World Records named Doctor Who the Most Successful Sci-Fi TV series, to which RTD accepted the award. His speech was mostly, “TAKE THAT STAR TREK!” and “EAT IT, SUPERNATURAL!” 

 

Questions: 

 

Someone made a comment on how much it seemed like everyone on set actually liked each other. This inspired the whole panel to confirm that they loved each other, and to prove the point, everyone began—you know how in the episode with New, New Earth at the Cat nurse hospital when all the sick people began touching each other reverently? That’s what the entire panel started doing, with David ruffling up what little hair RTD has and ghosting a hand over Julie’s face and then it was like a toast, where everyone’s trying to clink glasses with everyone else only with touching. Julie went for David’s hair (I would soooo go for his hair, too). Because I was trying to conserve my camera battery for the long day ahead, I didn’t have my camera ready to go and missed THE BEST PHOTO OP OF THE CON. *sigh* 

 

Someone wanted to know if any of the panelists had ever stolen anything off the set, and if so, what; to which everyone, with great exaggeration, denied they’d ever stolen anything, ever, no way, never. David went into more detail, saying that he had a very dedicated ‘mistress of his wardrobe’ (I don’t remember the name) who meticulously kept track of all of his props, especially his several jackets, but on this last shoot one of the jackets mysteriously disappeared. He denied stealing it, wished he had, and warned everyone that they had a team scouring ebay as he spoke. Julie answered the question by saying John was the most successful thief, as “John steals things because he likes to be strip-searched.” 

 

Another wanted to know, now that David is leaving Doctor Who, what was the most amazing moment for him. He hemmed and hawed for a moment—David listened attentively to the questions and more than anyone I’ve seen since John Barrowman, seemed to want to give the absolutely right, honest answer to the question, hence the facial expressions. Then his eye lit up and told us this story: 

He’d been cast, an almost nobody, for THE DOCTOR. It was his first read-through and when he shows up, THE ENTIRE BBC IS THERE. All the executives, famous BBC TV actors were milling around the water cooler (whom he realizes are the line-up of his replacements if he blows this), hell, even SARAH JANE SMITH is there. They’re going to read Christmas Invasion, the school teacher episode with Sarah Jane in it, and one other episode (I can’t remember which). David said he was just trying not to shake from nerves through the Christmas Invasion, and then, just as they were starting to read the school episode, he heard his eight-year-old self call him the Doctor. 

 

David: “And then I was the Doctor.” 

 

Then Sarah Jane called him the Doctor, and that was pretty cool. 

 

The next person up to the mic told David he was her Doctor. 

 

The love was loud as the cheers. 

 

More fun: The Doctor will show up in an episode of the Sarah Jane Chronicles called “Sarah Jane’s Wedding”. Squee! 

 

Someone congratulated David on his driving skillz on Top Gear, to which David thanked him, but said the title he won was bitter-sweet, since Billie Piper had him beat by one point. He declared her placement unfair, as she’d been given a five point handicap at the start, not because she deserved it, but because she was wearing a see-through shirt, and “if she didn’t have such great tits, I’d be on top!” 

 

LOL! 

 

The whole group commented on all the absurd rumors they’d heard while at the Con, and then David began making up rumors—he was playing a role in The Hobbit, among others. 

 

Lucy Saxon will be back. 

 

DONNA IS BACK!!!! DONNA IS BACK!!!! 

 

Second to last question was a two-parter. The lady asked David, as a fan who’d suffered through the traumatic death of his Doctor, she wanted David to give everyone advice on how to cope with losing OUR Doctor, and what advice David had for the next Doctor, Matt (given all the attention he’ll have heaped on him, as well as the weight of a torch bearer). David sort of made a little whiney noise that said, “Awwwwe, I dooon wanna answer thaaaaaaaaaaat” without so many words, but he was determined to answer every question so dove in like it was a really, really cold pool. It went something like: 

 

David: I was, like eight, and—

Julie: *surreptitiously pulls out camcorder to record David who is so intent on answering this question he doesn’t notice there is a camera a foot away from his earnest face*

AUDIENCE: *shhhhhh, don’t say anything, sush!!!*

David: —and to me, Tom Baker was The Best Doctor Ever,

AUDIENCE: *Cheers for Tom Baker*

David: and then he died and it was horrible. I cried and it was miserable, and then the next week, Peter Davison was the Doctor, and then he was The Best Doctor Ever.

AUDIENCE: *LOLs*

David: So I don’t know what to say other than get your tissues ready, and you’ll be sad, but then you’ll get Matt and you’re not even going to miss me—

AUDIENCE: *TOTALLY DISAGREES, LOUDLY*

David: Look, guys, Matt is really awesome. Everyone who’s ever worked with him, directors, actors, they like him. Gets on with anybody, and he’s got his head on straight so he’s not going to be stupid about the stupid media. He doesn’t need any advice from me. He’s really good. *grumbles a little to himself* Really annoyingly goo—ARE YOU RECORDING THIS?

Julie: *puts on deceptive, innocent face*: It’s for Confidential.

David: *Face falls*

Julie: And I’m giving it to Matt.

David: *FACEPLANTS ON TABLE* 

 

The very last question was the most adorable thing ever. A little eleven-year-old girl came up to the mic and said she had a question for Mr. David. It went something like this: 

 

Little Girl: Hi Mr. David, I’m adorable and I’m eleven-years-old.

AUDIENCE: Awwwwwwwwwwww

David: *Leaning forward to listen because this is the most important question, ever*: Hello!

Little Girl: My question is, um, you know the episode when the Doctor is a school teacher?

David: *Nods encouragingly*

Little Girl: Um, I really like that one and wanted to know if you were a school teacher, what class would you teach and why?

AUDIENCE: Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww

David: *befuddled* You saved the hard questions for the end didn’t you? I . . . I have no idea, was rubbish in school. Ummmmmm. I suppose if I had to teach anything, it’d probably be English.

AUDIENCE AND nepenthe: YAY!!!!

Julie: And you have met Shakespeare.

David: Why, yes I have! 

 

Okay, that wrapped the Doctor Who panel. 

 

The panels in between varied from okay to kinda sucking. Will be checking out the film Paper Hearts, possibly. 

 

Once again left Ballroom 20 with my Monopoly ticket to check the Art Auction and 

 

I was the final bidder! I obtained the painting! I win! VICTORY IS MINE! 

 

Pretty, pretty dragon water color—from the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew we were meant to be, my precious. I will frame you and hang you next to my Chinese calligraphy of the phrase, “there is no try”. 


 

Argh, do I want to go over the Torchwood panel? 

 

*sigh* may as well get it over with . . . 

 

I got the feeling that someone had asked John Barrowman to be Better Behaved due to possible under aged audience members (so no dry humping or snogging on stage this year). It was also a little . . . tense? Strained. The air was a little strained. So with John on his Best Behavior (at one point he made an inadvertent double-entendre, and when the audience cracked up, he said, dramatically overdoing it of course, “Guys, I’m trying to be good this year!”), and with the audience saddened over losing Ianto and the heavy topical matter in Children of Earth and NO OTHER cast members aside from John—the panel wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t any fun. The only person I can imagine John having any banter with was Julie, and she was atypically quiet. Dunno why—she might not have had anything to add other than what was said. 

 

It was, in the end, mostly RTD answering to the fans for tossing out four-fifths of the show’s cast within the span of, what? Seven episodes? (No, you don’t get to ignore the fact Jack LEFT THE SHOW just because you suspect he’d going to come back. Right now, I wouldn’t put it past RTD to leave him out a few episodes in the name of ‘serving the story’. Let me tell you, Gwen, Rhys, fucking ANDY, a pot of beans and a baby in the oven does not a Torchwood Team make.) 

 

So, vital statistics: 

 

John expressed his worry that after what Jack did, we wouldn’t love Jack anymore. As soon as he said is, there was the sound of denial from the audience, and a raised voice that shouted, “WE BLAME DAVIES!” to which there was wide-spread sounds of agreeing. RTD waved his arms to settle things, saying that was fine, that was true. It was all him. We could blame him. 

 

So I do, you fucker. 

 

Then RTD said some shit about believing the Paper Pusher ‘Was a Good Man’, showing that RTD actually believes his own press he had the creepy secretary espouse about John Frobisher which is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. 

 

But that is a rant for another day. 

 

I’m not sure why, but what disappointed me most was that Julie chimed in with agreement on Frobisher being a good man. 

 

You disappoint me, Julie. You’re supposed to be Den Mother of all these boys, keep them in line, set them straight when they’re WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. That’s the Julie I know! (but not actually know, in, like, reality; shutting up now.)

RTD’s given reason for doing Children of Earth, with its heavier material, was because they were moving from BBC 2 to BBC 1 and I suppose he felt that meant the show being Torchwood wasn’t good enough anymore. 


 

There was Buffy: Once More, With Feeling later that night. I could have attended after Torchwood, but that panel had made me disgruntled enough I figured it best just to go on home and rest. 

 

NOT the best way to end what was otherwise an absolute joy; a memorable geektastic circus for me to cherish in my mind for the rest of my life. 


 

Other Loot: Err. Let’s see. Got an awesome Psych t-shirt and Magic Psych Ball, which answers my queries with such phrases as: “True as Toast,” “Noppers,” “Wait for Iiiit,” “Absolutely-ish,” “Lookin’ good,” “No. I mean yes,” “Definitely dude,” “Outlook: Ghastly,” and the ever more helpful, “Ask Gus.” I managed to find all of the 9 cards (You know, the new movie, 9, not to be confused with District 9 or Lord of the Rings even if both star Elijah Wood) EXCEPT FOR 9, which is sort of annoying. But I wanted the 3 and 4 card most of all sooo. Got a new comic-book, Rex Libris: I, Librarian. Fucking rock-solid. Got Cora, parts one and two. Signed. Picked up Kat Richardson’s Greywalker, signed, on a whim since Kat was there. I got a few Coming Attractions-type DVDs, CD, and books that look promising, but I haven’t gone through them because later that week eczema bubbled up all over my hands and it was painful and I didn’t want to fuck up my pretty new books with goopy eczema lotion. 


 

Now, if only I could get certain other people to experience Comic Con with me, they wouldn’t have to be totally jealous.