Manopticon 4
After buying my first issue of Doctor Who Magazine in a lonely Manchester
train station on the way home, it was perhaps appropriate that I returned
there to attend my first Doctor Who convention. Yes, my first. Here, your
humble editor takes you through the highlights of this event that took place
over the Easter weekend of this year at the hotel Piccadilly.
Coming up here on the train, munching on some sandwiches I had hastily
prepared at the last minute, I went through my mind all the things I had heard
about conventions (and Manchester) and couldn't help feel I was making a
mistake. I had been frequently warned off going to conventions, mainly from
what I'd seen of Star Trek ones on telly and from what I'd been told about
Longleat. Still, I felt that the chance to see Colin Baker, Jon Pertwee and
such rarities as Sarah Sutton was too good to miss.
Well, of course, I was wrong. Not only was this a well-organised convention,
the location was more than large enough for the numbers attending. Perhaps
less people had come this year, but there seemed to be ample chairs in the
main hall. The guests were by and large well-behaved, although there was a
certain amount of formality. It was almost as if the guests were kept in
glass boxes, brought out to go on stage only. If you passed one in the hall,
you were too surprised to react before they were hurried away by an attendant.
No pint-drinking with Colin and Jon, or story swapping with Nick. On the other
hand, this must have given the guests a tremendous sense of security, as I'm
sure they've all had their fair share of weirdos.
The two days consisted of Main Hall guest panels, Autograph signing, a dealers
room, a video room (which struck me as rather anti-social), and a Virgin,
Marvel and Reeltime pictures room, where amongst other things Sophie and Mike
Tucker were signing copies of ACE!
Here's a run down of the first days guests and their main panel appearances:
Louise Jameson
Was as charming as ever, mainly talking about her career in the theatre,
writing and directing. The crowd roared with laughter when Paul Cornell, the
interviewer, asked Louise where she would rate Tom Baker between charming and
gentlemanly and nasty old git. Louise responded with the fact that git means a
pregnant camel and then very politely explained Mr. Baker swung from one
extreme to the other. She complained about being typecast as a glamorous
middle-aged housewife and then went on to talk about sex rather a lot,
including about how sensual Shakespeare is (eeerrrr, yes Louise...) and then
the time where she wore no underwear under a rain coat in a theatre production
and... well, I'm sure you don't want to here about that. Let us just say I'm
sure many an anorak dived under the cover of his souvenir program in
embarrassment.
It's little wonder that her character was the one who ran around in a tiny
leather leotard...
David Prowse
After probably the best film-introduction, David Prowse - the body of Darth
Vader - walked on stage with his left foot encased in what the interviewer
described as a 'Darth Vader boot.' The remaining interview time was taken up by
his career history and the story behind his foot injury. The story went all the
way back to his feet as he told the audience how he had been told that despite
his physique in the 60's, he would never win the Mr. Universe competition
because of his toes.
Then he explained how he went on to do Death parts in theatre and Frankenstein
parts for many horror films in the pre-Star Wars era.
He told us about how he was given the choice between Darth Vader and Chewbacca
and how he quite rightly picked the villain in order to be remembered.
He also reminisced about his Green Cross Code days as none other than the Green
Cross Code man, this being his best job ever in his opinion - even over Darth
Vader!!!
Sophie Aldred and Mike Tucker
Came to talk about their new book, ACE! which I'm sure you all know is out now.
Sophie, naturally, did the majority of the talking, leaving Mike Tucker to
mention his proposed Red Dwarf book and his numerous jobs on the set of Doctor
Who such as operating the light on the TARDIS! Wow! Can I try, please?
Apparently the TARDIS got a little cramped in those days. Sophie talked a lot
about Sylvester McCoy and his work on the new movie, including the Irish bar
that he took the entire crew down to one evening! Apparently he thought Paul
McGann was too nervous and needed to let his hair down.
Colin Baker
Seemed a little laid-back and offhand, but his jokes and sharp wit soon charmed
the audience and certainly suggested why JNT and made the decision to make him
the sixth Doctor. Out of all the Doctors, it seems he is the most eager to
continue to contribute to the programme, as long as the money justifies the
work. His appearance was a little unusual as he had long hair from playing the
part of Magwich in Great Expectations.
Phillip Segal
Bought the house down with a number of statements that the fans loved. Apart
from technical problems with the slide projector, Segal and Gary Russell
presented a breath-taking display of the new sets, costumes and characters.
The new theme music was also played, and after a rather 'Star Trek' beginning
burst back into the tune we all know and love, with a heavy kick to the
drumbeat. The bass has always been an essential part of the tune, and so lends
itself well to the popular musical styles of the mid-nineties.
Most people walked out of this presentation with a feeling that not only was
Doctor Who in safe hands, but that it was going to be more spectacular than
ever.
Other panel guests in the afternoon included Geoffrey Beavers, Jon Pertwee
and Liz Sladen, but most of the time I was busy lining up for Louise Jameson's
autograph and not getting it. Still, you can't have everything...
Virgin conference
This was kept pretty hush hush, but I walked in on it by accident and hung
around, not sure whether I was welcome or not. It mainly consisted of New and
Missing Adventure authors discussing various topics with Virgin's editor,
Rebecca Leverne. Nothing much of any real importance was discussed, other than
Rebecca's opinions and attitudes on controversial issues in the novels.
However, this was an excellent opportunity to catch my victim, Paul Cornell, a
full interview of which can be found elsewhere in this 'zine.
John Leeson
This interview was a rare gem at the very end of the first day. Leeson is a
true eccentric and surprisingly entertaining for someone who looks more like a
Doctor Who fan than most Doctor Who fans. His recollections of playing K-9 and
Bungle from Rainbow, although not new, were funnier live and his impression
of his agent explaining the part he was to play in Doctor Who was hilarious:
'Listen here, John. Got this part for you. Going to play a tin dog and a virus.
I think my secretary got that down correctly.'
Of course, the thing that got everyone jumping up and down was his
still-loveable K-9 voice, which he used repeatedly.
It was enough to bring a tear to your eye.
The Second Day
On the second day, most of my time was spend queuing like an idiot for Sarah
Sutton and Caroline Johns autographs - the line of people stretched down four
levels of the main hotel stairwell - and that was before you got to the
interview room! It caused more commotion than either of Jon Pertwee's sessions,
mainly because Sarah Sutton has not made a convention appearance for quite
some time now. She seemed a little bewildered by all the attention, and was
probably as uncomfortable as I was when I approached the table!
So, what can I tell you of the second day, bar the queue? Well, I can tell you
that Caroline John did a panel that day. Her and her husband, Geoffrey Beevers,
struck me as the sort of couple you'd want as your parents. Very kind and
friendly. In fact, they brought their two teenagers along, who looked as if
they were used to the convention routine. I'm not sure what they think of us
Who fans!
Other rare, chance, moments included Liz Sladen near the autograph queue
with her daughter (Liz was giving her some money to go and enjoy herself
in the dealers room while she did her next panel!) and Nicholas Courtney
auctioning some Brigadier momentos for charity.
Sarah Sutton
When Sarah Sutton came to do her appearance near the end of the day, she seemed
a lot more relaxed and happy, despite the huge hoard of photographers that
descended down the aisle as she walked on stage.
She is a lot more down to earth than Nyssa (naturally) and while she speaks
with a Surrey(ish) accent, it is a more causal and looser dialect than Nyssa's
or even Ann Talbot's. She revealed how she has continued with her life after
Doctor Who, and talked about some of her other childhood roles, including the
blind girl in the Moon Stallion, Baby Roo (her first role) and a psychotic
child on drugs!
The subject soon came around to her family, her daughter, Hanna particularly.
"My husband thinks you're all mad!" was all she said about her other half, bar
the fact that he was a doctor... (!?!?).
It was hard to imagine that this was the same actress who had played Nyssa all
those years ago. Age has not necessarily changed her for the worse, and she
is much thinner than she appears on Dimensions in Time, but age has indeed
changed her appearance drastically, as opposed to Caroline John who is still
recognisable as an older Liz Shaw. Perhaps it was just her new haircut, who
knows? The painful distinction between fantasy and reality was slowly forming.
Then, just as I came around to reality and accepted that she was not Nyssa,
she exited the stage with a Nyssa-style curtsey that screamed of stories such
as Snakedance. The applauding crowd went wild. Typical, eh? And I'd run
out of film, too!
THE END
Then, all of a sudden, it was over. Mike and Sophie had brought the day
to a
close while I'd been wandering about trying to make sense of my mixed emotions
about meeting all these people for real. Colin, Paul, Liz, Caroline, Sarah,
John, Nick, Jon, Dave, Louise, Sophie... That was a lot of reality to catch
up with in two days.
With a sudden surge of horror I realised I hadn't interviewed Gareth Roberts.
I hadn't seen him all day and was meant to be interviewing him. Sorry, Gareth.
Well, it was too late now. He was probably glad he'd escaped me! All that was
left now was the lonely walk to the station.
With a heavy sigh, I left the hotel, my mind still churning. I stopped to
compare notes with Nigel before crashing at a friends house. There's only one
cure for reality crisis: Pizza.
At the end of the day, I would recommend Manopticon for those people who want
to see lots of stars at a large but uncrowded venue. If you want the personal
touch, a smaller, more exclusive event might be better. If you want to remain
in the state of mind where the characters are more real to you than the actors,
avoid conventions at all costs - you won't be able to handle the emotional
trauma.
There. That's my two grotzits.
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