Cardiff Convention - BBC news report

With the convention drawing to a close, there has been a number of articles appearing online covering the event.

I found the following reports:

The Independent
Doctor Who convention attracts hundreds of fans

Wales.com
First Official Doctor Who Convention in Cardiff

SFX.com
Official Doctor Who Convention: The Verdict

Metro.co.uk
Doctor Who convention brings thousands of fans to Cardiff

One of the best – naturally – is by the BBC itself, on the BBC News Website.

They also had a slideshow of images from the weekend.

I was just thinking, who’s that handsome fella growing out of the Silurian’s neck?

Cardiff Convention - Matt Smith ganger

As well as wanting to get to meet Matt Smith, there was one other Matt I was looking out for tho weekend – Matt Elliott.

“Who?”, I hear you ask. Well, he’s someone you’ll be seeing a bit more of in the future, as he is a dead ringer – or ganger – for Matt Smith.

The first I became aware of him was when a friend linked me to his Facebook page, and I saw some of his great pictures taken at the Waring House housing estate, as seen in Night Terrors.

He was photographed with Lisa Baxter, who you may recognise from the Entertainment Media Show I attended in October.
She was the superb Amy cosplayer, wearing the handbook armour from The Girl Who Waited.

Anyway, I had been wandering around all day Sunday and hadn’t spotted him, so stepped outside after the final event to get some air and maybe some exterior photos before the convention finally started to wind down.

THAT was when I spied Matt, not far from the Torchwood watertower.
I went over and introduced myself and he knew of my blog, being a regular reader.
he was with his girlfriend, her brother and Lisa, who was in one of her Amy outfits.

It didn’t take too much persuading to get them to pose for me, with the Millennium Centre as a background. We did a couple of shots of Amy and Matt together, before I got Amy to drop back a bit, giving some more dynamics to the composition.

My favourite image from this set-up is below.

Cardiff Convention - Sunday signings

Having given myself the luxury of a ticket for both the Saturday AND Sunday of the convention, it means I could focus on different things each day.

Yesterday I made the effort to be as close to the front as possible for the three panels, and got some great pictures in the process (see left).
I attended the SFX demo; prosthetic demo and Restoration Team lectures in the lobby, so by the end of the day I felt I had got my money’s worth there.

Today my focus is elsewhere, and although I will attend the panels again, I’m less concerned about being first through the door.

This morning I took the TARDIS set visit, which was seriously the coolest thing ever (see right). It topped anything that happened yesterday, and I can’t see much exceeding it today, but we’ll see.

We got back from Upper Boat in good time, and I joined the queue for the Meet The Stars panel. This time I was near the back, which was fine. The discussion was amazingly similar to yesterday, so I was able to soak up the atmosphere of the event.

This view gives you some idea of the size and grander of the venue, as well as the size of the audience.

So today I decided I’d spend a lot more time autograph chasing. Later I’m due to meet Matt Smith for both photo and autograph, but in the meantime I’m after some of the other guests.

These were signing for free in the lobby, with a regular circulation of guest on offer.

I had a real nice chat with Nicholas Briggs, who I had previously seen at both Chicago TARDIS last November and again at Gallifrey One in February. I said how we have met more than once and tried not to sound like a stalker!

Cardiff Convention - TARDIS set tour

Yesterday was a surprisingly smooth event. I got in on schedule and pretty much everything ran like clockwork throughout the day.

First on my schedule for today is the TARDIS tour. I elected to go early on Sunday morning to minimise it clashing with any of the main events.
There is a coach to take us to and from the studios, and I have an allocated place on the 8.15am departure, so I don’t need to rush down to the Millennium Centre like I did yesterday. The clocks go forward today as well, so by doing this tour it gives me a more relaxed start to my second day.

Well that was the original plan.

A few weeks before the event everyone had an email that the coach would leave at 8am rather than 8.15am, which was okay.
I got there in good time and the queue had already formed so I found the end and was quickly checked in by the waiting crew.

8am came and no sign of the bus.

Time was ticking on and 8.15am was not far off. Looks like I didn't need to rush after all.

8.20am and still no sign of the bus.

One of the crew came to apologise, as the bus was delayed due to road closures in connection with the Sports Relief Charity Mile, which starts and finishes right by the Cardiff Bay water tower.

8.30am and still no bus, but we were now asked to walk around the corner to meet the bus.

8.40am and in the distance we glimpse the bus. It can be seen two blocks away - being stopped by security who seem to be asking it to turnaround!

The bus doses a three-point-turn, and starts reversing down the road towards us. We then all move down the road to meet it, and FINALLY we we off - 45 minutes late.


It takes a good 30 minutes to get to the Upper Boat Studios, which are some non-descript units of an industrial estate.
We are divided into two groups, to make our on set time more comfortable.

I'm in the red group - the second to get on set - so while we wait we have a coffee in the Blue Box Cafe, often seen on Doctor Who Confidential. It sounds glamorous, but it's more of a Welsh version of The Apprentice Bridge Cafe.

While I'm in there one of the tour guides, who are all Upper Boat staff, remarked on my tweed, noticing it was more accurate than most she had seen, which was flattering.

Finishing my tea it was finally time go on set!
We walk around to the main entrance, and down some corridors before turning into the studio. To a collective gasp we are confronted by the back of the set, constructed of wood and scaffolding, with a bright internal glow.

Around the side there is a series of ramps up to the TARDIS exterior doors, and following a quick briefing we were invited in.

WOW!

Cardiff Convention - cosplayers

The costuming part of conventions are very different on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

Halloween in America is almost as big as Christmas, and there has developed a modern tradition of dressing up in all manner of costumes, not necessarily as witches, ghosts or vampires.
I think it is this ethos that has permeated into the costuming side of American Doctor Who conventions.

In the UK, on the other hand, we don’t have the ingrained desire to dress up, so our conventions have a much lower percentage of cosplayers in attendance.

Until recently,  I hadn’t actually done that many Doctor Who conventions in the UK. In fact, I’ve been to more in the US than home-grown ones!

So it was this months Official Cardiff Convention was a contrast to Gallifrey One a couple of months back.

That said, I saw a number of Amy Ponds, but here are my two favourites.
As it happened I caught up with them later in the day for a great photo shoot outside the Millennium Centre. Check out Matt Smith Ganger.

Wherever there is an Amy Pond, there is sure to be an equal number of Matt Smiths, and Cardiff was no exception.
Bow ties and tweeds were out in force, along with the obligatory sonic screwdriver.

Cardiff Convention - Costume exhibition

The Cardiff Millennium Centre is a pretty big building once you are inside, and the organisers made good use of the facilities.

Tucked away in a room near where the SFX Demo took place was a cut-down version of the exhibition, last seen as part of the Doctor Who Experience at Olympia.

The experience had close in late February 2012, and is due to reopen at a purpose-built venue in Cardiff Bay later this summer.

This has left the contents of the exhibition in storage while the new building is constructed, so for the Convention as much as possible has been put on display here for everyone to see.

Here is what was on show.

In the centre of the room was a display of mainly Doctors and companions.
The first thing you could see was the Matt Smith TARDIS, flanked by his series five costume (without the creepy head) along with the David Tennant and Christopher Ecceslton.

Next to them stood The Silence, Davros and a Cybershade with a Cyberman on each side.

Around from the Cybermen was a cryogenic cabinet from A Christmas Carol, followed by a line of companion costumes.

On show were Rory from The Hungry Earth; Any Pond’s outfit from Victory Of The Daleks; River Song’s dress from The Time Of Angels; Donna Nobel’s trademark brown leather coat; Martha Jones’ iconic burgundy leather jacket outfit; Captain Jack Harkness; Rose Tyler from Stolen Earth; and Sarah Jane Smith from School Reunion.

Coming back round to the Matt Smith TARDIS, the line up was completed with K-9 from School Reunion.

Cardiff Convention - Saturday afternoon

I have to say I have been very impressed with how well the convention has run so far. It has been slick and well timed and as a group we have been moved around the Millennium Centre with ease and not missed any headline timetable event. Bearing in mind there are 1,500 people here, I think that is saying something.

So far I’ve seen the Creators And Directors panel; the VFX demo by Danny Hargreaves; part of the Millennium FX prosthetic demo; and a talk by the Doctor Who Restoration Team.

Having grabbed some lunch while taking in the last of these, I wandered through the reception area, seen in New Earth and The Girl Who Waited, and realised the queue for the next big panel, Meet The Stars, had hardly begun to form, so I join the line, only a dozen or so from the front.

It was a good 45 minute wait, but once we were allowed in I managed to grab a seat on the second row, right at the front - prime position! Result!!

I wasn’t too long before the panel was ready to start, moderated by Jason Mohammed, a Welsh sports reporter, who has the distinction of appeared in Doctor Who as a news anchor in Voyage Of The Damned.

After some cheap patter to arm us up he introduced the panel, made up of executive producer Caroline Skinner; lead writer Steven Moffat; the ever popular Arthur Darvill; Karen Gillian; and the man everyone had been waiting to see, Matt Smith.

The packed auditorium erupted into cheers and applause for everyone as they came on stage, moreso for Matt.

Once everyone was settled it was time to start grilling the panelists, asking them first when they became aware of or watched Doctor Who.

Steven had been watching the series from a young age, and had even been writing his own short Doctor Who stories. Look at him now.

Cardiff Convention - Saturday morning

So the day has finally dawned. Booking opened on the ticket back on 14th November last year, so it’s been over four months coming, so I can’t believe today is the start of the first official Doctor Who convention.

The convention opens at 9am, with the first timetabled event at 9.30am.

I don’t want to be stuck at the back, so I got up bright and early and was down at Cardiff Bay by 7.30am.

The queues had barely begun to form, so it looks like getting up early has been worth the effort.

To maximise the number of people through the door, but keep a cap on crowds, they are running two identical programmes in parallel, with the same event taking place at different times.

These tracks are labelled OOD and SILURIAN. Today I’m Ood (tomorrow I’m Silurian) so I found the right queue I was only 14th in line for entry! That’s a relief, but a long wait ahead.

While waiting for opening time, we were kept entertained by the obligatory costumed Ood and Silurian who peered at the waiting fans and posed for photographs.

At the side a queue for the TARDIS tour formed, and off they went in their coach - that will be me tomorrow!

Slowly the queue built up behind me, snaking off around the corner of the Millennium Centre and out of sight.

About 20 minutes before opening, the event crew started moving down the line and checking tickets, compressing the line as they went.



Then it was time - the doors opened and we were ushered in. We were quickly guided up to the Donald Gordon Theatre, the largest auditorium in the venue. Being so closet the front of the queue, I was able to get a front row seat.

Console room - here I come!

As you may haver read in my blog, I booked my tickets for the Official Doctor Who Convention taking place in Cardiff in late March.

Now, I was none too impressed with their charging structure, so had to book for both days so I could get my photo taken with Matt Smith, as well as get his autograph.

The organisers did see the error of their ways (partly) and refunded those who book for Steven Moffat’s photo and autograph, changing the policy on the add-ons.

We this morning I had an email in my inbox announcing a further add-on - this time for free - and something WORTH having!

A FREE TOUR OF THE TARDIS CONSOLE ROOM SET AT THE UPPER BOAT STUDIOS!

And Who wouldn’t want to see that!!??
They even give you a complimentary bus between the convention venue and the studios, departing hourly, with ten tours on each day, plus some on the Monday after the event too.

Chicago TARDIS - Sunday The Day Of The Daleks

Following the excitement of last night and winning the Masquerade award for Best In Show: Workmanship, I kick my day off by going to the Sunday Brunch with the guests. This was a ticket only affair and I luckily picked up entry to it earlier in the weekend.

It was an interesting exercise in the different approaches the UK and US take to breakfast. I would never have fruit and fried food on the same plate; the bacon is sliced real thin, making it very brittle; the presentation of the pastries are very sickly-sweet – but hey – when in Roman!

The guests entered the room, and dispersed to tables to sit with everyone.

I have to say I didn’t enjoy the brunch at all. The company on my table, although nice, insisted on taking American politics throughout; we didn’t get a guest; and it cost $50 for a self-service, when I had been paying $20 for table-service previously. I didn’t stick around – I’d rather be off costume spotting.

In the lobby I found some UNIT guys, both old and new keeping everyone in check.

I had a particular interest in these military SWAT uniforms – but more on that soon . . .

I do love the diversity of costumes that are worn at this event. They are not limited to the New-Who, with a lot of Classic-Who on show.

I found a group straight out of The Hand Of Fear, as well as a great Seven and Ace.

The attendance of Peter Davison naturally encouraged the Five cosplayers, and I found a number of Adrics, Tegans, Nissas and Fives, both male and femme!

Chicago TARDIS - Saturday Day Of The Award

After chatting away to the small hours with friends last night, I’m up again bright and early to discover the news that although Sarah Sutton was forced to drop out due to a family illness, filling her place at short notice is Matthew Waterhouse!

Knowing what Janet is like, I feel a little sorry for Matthew, though also some respect, cos it’s gonna be like lamb to the slaughter!!

I started my day off in my series five Donegal tweed and blue Paul Smith shirt (see right). Personally I prefer the look of the Shetland tweed, but have been finding the Donegal a comfortable fit.

Heading back down in the lobby area I caught up with Kevin again, who was now in his second costume of the weekend, his Satan Pit spacesuit.

He bought the suit from SpaceToys, who supplied the originals to Louise Page for use in the series, but found, as Louise had before him, that it required substantial reworking before it was wearable as it was quite shabbily made.

To complete the outfit, he tracked down the correct gloves, climbing harness and boots.

Chicago TARDIS - Friday

Having landed safely and on time yesterday afternoon, I am now refreshed after being awake for 25-hours straight and ready for what the convention has to throw at me.

After a hearty breakfast of poached eggs, I spent some time catching up on blogging from the hotel lobby.

I really like wearing the Shetland tweed these days, so to start the day off I wore it with my Utah shirt (see right).

Slowly the hotel came to life, with more attendees, fezzes and stetsons evident.

There were some great improvised costumes around, and I especially liked a group who were doing the Fifth Doctor TARDIS crew (see below).

There is a lot of new-Who cosplay (see below), so it’s refreshing to see some classic series costumes for a change, and even more so if they are worn by younger fans, proving the older episodes haven’t lost any of their appeal.

Chicago TARDIS is nowhere near as big as Gallifrey One, with only around 800 people due to come this weekend.
It is, however, well organised and put together with the experience of the fans in mind.

This morning I went through the process of getting my photocall with the principle guests: Janet Fielding, Andrew Hayden-Smith and Peter Davison.