Can a con get any better than this?
I’ve had a week to process my experience at Lords of Time 2 and I can honestly say it was the best convention, Doctor Who or otherwise, that I’ve ever been to.
Being only my second Doctor Who convention - and first as a VIP attendee - I wasn’t sure what to expect from the guests in attendance. For those of you at home, those guests were: Frazer Hines, Deborah Watling, Wendy Padbury, Charlie Hayes, Richard Franklin, Mark Strickson, Nicola Bryant, Nev Fountain, Daphne Ashbrook, and Paul McGann. Every single one was an absolute delight. Despite the jetlag and need for coffee, they were wonderfully charming and upbeat. On the Friday night, 40 VIP attendees were treated to a special cocktail party with the guests. At a ratio of one guest to every four attendees, this afforded some quality time for my partner and I to relax and talk to some of these guests. Deb regaled us with some stories and Richard was an especially funny man. Wendy and Charlie were just divine. This mother and daughter unit are the most amazing people. Talking to Wendy has solidified my view that Zoe is the best ever Doctor Who companion.
Following the cocktail party, Daphne Ashbrook performed a few songs from her new CD, Grace Notes. This mini concert was open to all attendees though surprisingly very few, if any non-VIP’s were in attendance.
The following morning we arrived at the convention a little bleary eyed to begin the day’s proceedings. Photo and auto tokens were collected promptly before the start of the photo sessions. Given that there were 10 guests in attendance, the photo sessions ran quite smoothly. A credit to the convention organisers and volunteers. During the photos, Charlie Hayes and Nev Fountain got on stage and discussed their careers and their experiences with Doctor Who.
Once the photo sessions were complete, Frazer, Deb and Wendy began their panel. I can see you now asking – “What did they say? What did they say?” I’m hesitant to reveal specifics of what any of the guests said during their panels as this should be experienced by each fan on a more personal level rather than reading about it online. I will however say one thing that was essentially the elephant in the room at the time, and naturally the first question asked – missing episodes. Frazer and Deb told the audience about how they first came to know of the return of The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear. Deb was first told by (an official) someone at a Swansea convention that two of her stories had returned. She was however sworn to secrecy. Frazer found out by accident when Deb called him a few days before the October 10 reveal to see if he was going to the press conference. It was the first Frazer had heard about it. Neither Frazer, Deb nor Wendy implied during the panel that more had been returned. They were hopeful though. While some fans in attendance may have interpreted Debs’ retelling of her favourite story, Fury from the Deep as evidence that she had seen it recently; this would really be clutching at straws.
Lunch followed this panel. Lucky VIPs were able to share a special lunch and birthday cake with the guests (I’ll let you figure out whose birthday it was). This was yet another perk of the VIP ticket and well worth paying the extra. If any readers are in doubt, and you can afford to, buy a VIP ticket for your next convention experience.
After lunch, Richard Franklin headed his own panel, followed by the lovely Nicola Bryant and Mark Strickson. Mark did hilariously re-enact an infamous scene from Frontios. Paul and Daphne then rounded out the final panel of the day.
The autograph session was the final item on the agenda for the day. As the guests had to get on a plane to Adelaide that night, there was a strict deadline to complete all autographs. As VIPs we were given an autograph from each quest. I happened to have my DVD copy of The Enemy of the World on hand for Frazer and Deb to sign. I also bought Deb’s book; ‘Daddy’s Girl: the Autobiography of Deborah Watling’. She was quite happy to sign this. Other attendees bought and had signed Richard’s book ‘U.N.I.T’ and Daphne’s ‘Dead Woman Laughing’. Sadly there was no ‘Hines Sight’ or ‘Fifty Shades of Frazer’. I did thank Paul for ‘Night of the Doctor’ to which he replied “That was your Christmas present.”
My partner and I left the convention exhausted but very happy. We had made some new friends amongst fellow attendees and enjoyed our time with the guests. I hope many of them return to our shores one day, especially Wendy and Charlie. Meanwhile, I’ll be counting the days until Lords of Time 3 in 2014.
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