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Gallifrey One 2011: Wrap-Up From The Trenches

It either lasted 30 years or ten minutes; I’m having trouble deciding.

Last weekend’s Gallifrey One (or 22 if we’re going by theme and year) was nothing but wall-to-wall awesome, and not all of that was specifically because of Doctor Who. Quite simply, Gallifrey One is one of the best run and operated conventions I’ve ever been to and, frankly, blows San Diego Comic Con out of the water in terms of specificity of fun. Sure, Gally is only a fraction of the size of SDCC, and only caters to one specific show, but within the nearly 2000 people who attended the festivities at the LAX Marriott are varied and diverse kinds of fans, and each of them were well-represented at the con.

The cornerstone of any convention: People Milling About

Having only ever gone to the larger conventions, I was shocked and eternally pleased that all of the convention-goers were so friendly and welcoming. Really knowing no one who likes Doctor Who in real life, I slowly started making friends via Twitter and the like who were going to the convention. I figured we’d all shake hands and maybe see each other in passing, but I fully expected to be on my own most of the weekend. In actuality, I’d say it was rare that I wasn’t hanging out with at least one other Whovian, usually a whole group. Most of these people live in other parts of the country and world and only see one another at Gally each year, so, on top of it just being a Doctor Who convention, it’s a place where friends can be together.

Daleks on patrol. Nobody seems particularly worried.


There’s a phenomenon that happens the day before Gallifrey One officially begins and goes until the Sunday night after it ends, and the name that has been given to this is LobbyCon. People just instinctively know what this is, it seems. For the uninitiated, this is the time when people staying in the hotel (or not) hang out in the lobby of the LAX Marriott and just be social. There’s a sports bar (which is badly overpriced so I will refrain from naming it, but it knows) in the lobby and people will wander in and out of it all night with their various alcoholic beverages and bits of greasy, fried food. There is no set beginning or end to LobbyCon, but like a coral reef of nerdiness, it develops and and maintains itself totally unspoken; an ecosystem all its own. It’s a group of Doctor Who fans hanging out and allowing themselves to be as geeky as possible and nobody fears judgement.

The Third Doctor and Jo Grant stumble out of the TARDIS

Another facet of the convention is that the star guests, usually comprised of cast and crew of the various DW properties, stay in the same hotel as the attendees and that means everybody hangs out together. And gladly so. Unlike the larger cons, the celebrity guests aren’t there to pimp a specific new product, but to pimp a show that’s been on for 40 years and the love people genuinely still have for it. Peter Davison, the Fifth Doctor, was in the role from 1982-1984, yet his live interview was packed and people lined up around the whole convention floor to get his autograph and picture, young and old fans alike. He’s still adored by fans, but that didn’t stop him from casually chatting with people in the lobby or getting a beer at the aforementioned overly-priced sports bar. There’s very much a sense of us all being in this together.

The Radio Free Skaro lads interviewing writers Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman

Now, for the actual programming of the weekend: Shaun Lyon and his crew went to great lengths to make sure there was a wide array of panels and shows to appeal to every different type of fan there is. Aside from the official “Hour With…” panels featuring specific people, “Radio Free Skaro” and “Doctor Who: Podshock,” the Batman and Superman, respectively, of the Doctor Who Podcasting community, each had a live show providing interviews with a number of the convention’s guests in more of a talk show setting.

A panel of weirdos.

There were also a number of panels featuring both experts and fans (and experts who are fans) that delved into every aspect of the show or fandom you could want to know about, including costuming, prop making, writing, podcasting, etc. One panel I particularly found interesting was a panel about composer Murray Gold and the history of music in the show. Another good one discussed and deconstructed Matt Smith and the 11th Doctor in general but ended up delving into predictions about the show’s future. I was also on two panels, one regarding great moments in the series and other on the use of Earth history as a setting or plot device. Anyone at these panels will tell you: I said things.

Amazing Vashta Nerada costume

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was seeing all the crazy and spectacular costumes people have. Some people go all out and the results are incredibly impressive. There were Doctors galore, mainly Smith and Tennant, a heap of Amy Ponds, a plethora of striped scarves, and tons of clever variations on old themes. There were even guys dressed like Master Chief and Ash from Evil Dead for no reason at all. Good costumes, but seriously, why, guys? Also impressive were the lifesize Daleks people built and operated. There’s truly nothing as awesome as walking around while a Dalek threatens to kill someone. Ah, good times.

Chris Hardwick was immediately hailed as a God. No surprise.

It wasn’t all play, though most of it was. On Saturday, Mr. Hardwick came to shoot his “Late Late Show” segment, which I’ve heard through the grapevine is airing this coming Monday, February 28th. He and I were both interviewed for episode 240 of Radio Free Skaro, which you can listen to right here. I also spent a good amount of time speaking with podcasters about fans and fandom, which is a post that will be appearing in the near future.

An Ood, either ready to kill me or sing me to my death. I don’t want to go…

And now, already a week after day one, the experience of Gallifrey One still can’t truly be put into words. The things I’ve mentioned are merely the tip of the fun iceberg. There were certainly parts of the weekend that don’t belong in this blog, good and bad, but let me assure you, no matter what kind of fan of Doctor Who you are, you’ll find something to enjoy. I’m already looking forward to Gallifrey 23, and that’s really the mark of a good time. Every single person I met has become a friend and I look forward to spending time with them again next year.

 

 

 

Images: Kyle Anderson, Gallifrey One

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Comments

  1. Andrea Shelton says:

    Kyle, It was great to hear you on episode 240 of RFS! What a spectacular syzygy of my favorite things! Also, a very well written review as always.

  2. Elaine says:

    You got Gallfrey exactly right.

    This was the third year I’ve attended, and while I go to panels and am a huge Doctor Who/Torchwood fan, the best things about Gally are 1) getting to see friends I only get to see once a year and 2) how everyone is so nice, from the average attendee to the official guests of the con. The first year I, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the people responsible for putting together my favorite shows are really nice, down-to-earth people who love the shows as much as I do, and I haven’t been disabused of that impression in the following years I’ve been at Gally.

  3. Daisy says:

    Couldn’t have put it better myself. This was my first Gally, tho not my first con, and I had more fun at Gally than at any six of the others combined. Made more friends than this shy girl by rights should. And I’m seeing them all again in Chicago!

  4. Frank Romero says:

    I was looking for you Chris! Where were you hiding?

  5. Feliopolis says:

    Excellent recap of the weekend. You hit all of the highpoints. And it’s a great convention to go to by yourself.

  6. Ben Adams says:

    The guy dressed as the green Master Chief was the very same guy dressed as Ash. Apparently he’s being shipped overseas quite soon, and this was his last chance to cosplay. When someone asked, “Hey, Master Chief, why are you here?” this fellow replied, “Because I’m AWESOME.” And so he was, just for that.

  7. emily says:

    Yes! You go for the panels, yet it’s the people that really makes the weekend awesome. I’ve said this elsewhere: it’s like having 1000+ (or 2000+ this year!) best friends for a weekend. Already counting down the days to Gally 23.

  8. Lincoln says:

    Maybe I can go with some year.

  9. Coconutphone says:

    Damn that sounds like fun! definitely going to go in the next year or two.

    Now to think of fun but less obvious costume ideas…

  10. kskryptonian says:

    JoshZ said it well.

    I like Kyle now, Kyles are cool.

    Great to meet you and look forward to meeting you again!

  11. JoshZ says:

    I like Kyle. Kyle is cool.

  12. strutterms says:

    Wonderful article, Kyle. And once again, THANK YOU for all your Who pieces, especially your series on all the previous Doctors. Being a Who neophyte, it’s events like this and great writers such as yourself that make me eager to explore more of this amazing show and even more amazing fandom.

    See you next year! 😀

  13. AJ says:

    It seemed like it would be a fun con, and something that all DW fan can enjoy. Your write up has made Gallifrey a MUST for me next year.

    Thanks for sharing your experience.

  14. Tammy says:

    Hey, dude, we met briefly Sat? Sun? Mon? all all blur. Chris from RFS introduced us LOL.

    Apparently Lobbycon is starting earlier and earlier… I hear it started like Tuesday evening. It was going in full swing when I got in Wednesday night, and going strong when I left on Monday. That thing’s kind of off the hook 🙂 It’s nice, though, for the price of contributing some manner of booze to the mix, you can usually drink the entire weekend without actually stepping foot into the bar. Yes, it’s overprice. And Yes, it’s bad for you. Somehow we managed to hit a grocery store and eat relatively healthy the entire weekend. I think eating in that bar reduces immunity and increases the likelihood of contracting Con-Crud 🙂

    If you have time (and no family obligations), Chicago Tardis is over Thanksgiving weekend. It’s a little smaller, and so everyone knows each other a little better, and there’s even MORE hanging out with the guests, which is lovely. At the last few cons he’s been at, Colin Baker has said hello to me, as a familiar face, before I even noticed he was there 🙂

    Totes looking forward to Chris Hardwick’s segment on Monday… I was running a panel on fans behaving badly when he was out and about, so I totally missed The King of the Nerds as he walked among his people 😉

    -Tammy

  15. Red Stapler says:

    There are a lot of kids there!

    Gally is one of the more family-friendly conventions I’ve been to.

    Also, little kids dressed up as the Doctor is kindof the greatest thing ever. 🙂

  16. Kyle Anderson says:

    There were definitely kids! There’s plenty of fun things to do and see for kids.

  17. Deanna says:

    Where there any kids there? My kids, 10 and 13, love Dr. Who and I was wondering if it would be fun for them.