I found myself thinking during Chicago TARDIS, why am I here? Why am I excited to be here before it happens and why do I always want to come back? For those who know me, this might seem odd. "Doesn't Mike love Doctor Who more than just about anything else?" you may say to each other. "Wouldn't a Doctor Who convention be perfect for him?"
Well, yes. And no.
Because my love of
Doctor Who has always been a very personal thing for me. I introduced it to my friend Brad growing up, but since, living on the dead end of Postlewait Street, we were living in each other's back pockets all the time, that is no surprise. This, of course, had the benefit of not having to buy every
Target novel I found because I could borrow his. And it was his dad who took us to my first sci-fi convention. (We were there to see Colin Baker and Terry Nation; I'm pretty sure, beyond him being a great dad, he was also intrigued to see Nichelle Nichols - as would any heterosexual man of that age.)
But other than Brad and since then, my fandom has been a private thing. I wouldn't necessarily say that I've been in the Doctor Who closet. I wear my fandom on my sleeve (quite literally if you've seen the patch used to cover the whole in my jacket), but I've never felt the need to reach out to others and share my opinions on the show.
Especially, because, you know, everyone else is wrong.
So, besides the extremely comfortable Westin beds, why did I end up going? I don't dress up in costumes, though I appreciate the effort. I don't even really like meeting people who make the show. "Celebrity" makes me uncomfortable in person, even though everyone is always charming. I don't even really like getting autographs of my purchased stuff because it requires an interaction that can only be some form of "I really liked [x] that you did in Doctor Who." No shit, Sherlock, you're standing in line; I didn't think you thought I was the loo (as they say).
And even if I were to get over, you know, everyone else being wrong, I'm not particularly outgoing with my fellow fan. It's not really because I'm the same shy boy I used to be, but because I think every next stranger could turn out to be really annoying and stuck I am, unable to be polite. (Doctor Who fans should not take offense; I feel this way about people in my day-to-day life as well... bars, meet-ups, anything else.)
So why spend the time and money to go to Lombard for a convention and not convene. Wandering down the halls between events, I realized it in five fantastic words:
Kids loving my favorite show
Seriously, watching boys and girls (and adults) absolutely losing their shit when the (incredibly impressive) Dalek moves down the hall or running away from their parents so they can pet the (equally impressive) K-9. It fills my sometimes two-sizes-too-small heart with an immense amount of pleasure. Like cosplayers and fan fiction writers and maybe any other fan, I am not appreciating the show in the same way that they are. But I like seeing it in action.
I like it a lot.
Other weekend highlights, in chronological order (somewhat, it's all timey-wimey)
- Freaking out as the Metra pulled into Lombard because, well, dumbass, you can't just get a cab in the suburbs the same way you can in the city. You'd think City Mouse But Former Country Mouse me hadn't grown up in a town where cabs only exist as things on your truck or tractor or combine. Unfreaking out because the shuttle to the hotel was there because someone on the train had arranged for them to meet them. Thanks, stranger couple who I never managed to see again all weekend to thank again properly.
- Being able to check in early even though we hadn't officially asked to do so earlier.
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Waiting at the elevators for Andy to come down from our room and seeing an enthusiastic, event-badged youngster bound from the elevator and realizing after he'd walked by that it was Tommy Knight from the Sarah Jane Adventures with whom Andy'd shared the lift (as they say), Andy, who has seen as much SJA as I, having no idea who the boy in the elevator had been, and both of us realizing over the weekend that many pre-teen girls would have killed for the moment that Andy had been oblivious to
- Hearing one of the panelists (who shall remain nameless) tell a story that I have heard (through fan legend) that he tells at conventions even though it can't possibly be true and sighing with relief that everyone has the good taste not to correct people about their own lives.
- Sitting in on some really intriguing "alternative" panels about costumes and fan fiction and other ways that people approach shows I love in ways I don't fully understand and getting an understanding -- or even an appreciation -- of it. That's not to say I'm going to show up in Doctor-garb next year (unless I finally decide which pattern I want Andy to knit for my Fourth Doctor scarf) but I definitely feel like I understand the impulse of those who do more.
- Finding out that Rob Sherman and Toby Hadoke had written a book in which they documented re-watching every episode of Doctor Who from beginning to end -- especially focusing on, in a very non-stereotypical-fan way, the good parts and peppering it with personal stories. As this was an idea for a blog I was considering (beyond considering, I've taken notes for the first 3 seasons), this might not seem like a personal highlight, but Running Through Corridors is a good idea done better than I probably would have done by people who will actually be read, so it lets me off the hook, and their panel about it was charming. The book seemed like a good purchase for someone like me, who prefers his fandom solitary; I can watch the episodes, develop my own opinions, read what someone I respect says about them, but not have to actually argue with them when and if I disagree.
- I was reminded again about Big Finish. (This is one of the problems with solitary fandom; there's just so much going on.) Well, it's not that I'd ever forgotten them just how much I like them. Though I'd heard many good things about their officially-licensed line of audio stories starring past Doctors and companions, I'd never actually bothered with them until my first Chicago TARDIS a couple of years ago and was charmed (there's that word again) by the creators and stars of the work. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised at them and couldn't believe what I'd been missing. Logopolis readers who can read between the lines (or actually know us personally) know that money has been a little (read: a lot) tight as of late, but one of the main reasons I'm glad that it might be slightly looser is because I'd like to spend more of it on the awesomeness.
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Saturday afternoon, I found myself sitting in a panel about Doctor Who role playing games. I was a big, big fan of the 1980s FASA game (pictured delightfully right), even though I'd never been much of a gamer. Though I didn't have much chance to actually play them (again with the solitary fandom theme), they were among my most prized possessions and I often used their character and creature creating rules to spurn my imagination. This panel spoke both of them and the new(ish) RPG Doctor Who - Adventures in Time and Space, which had been on the horizon at my previous Chicago TARDIS. I was delighted to learn that it was well-received and a great gaming system, and since nothing was sheduled (as they say) in the room after the panel, those leading it led a rather mad-capped short demo game (or as short and demonstrative as you can do with 7 people playing.) Even under those constraints, it was fantastic and I really hope that I can do it again for real soon.
- Later that evening the aforementioned Mr. Hadoke performed his show Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf, and it was definitely worth the weekend. Funny, sweet, and the type of thing that might make a grown man a little teary.
- Saturday evening, I drank a few beers with Terrance Dicks. That's just a good story right there if you know have any clue who he is. But if you don't, then he was a script editor and writer of the classic series, and, most importantly (at least to me), the writer who adapted many of the original scripts for their Target novelizations. So in other words, he's probably the person who has written more words that I've read than anyone else other than myself. Everyone should be so lucky to drink a beer with this person in their life.
Somewhere along the way, I heard that there were still seats at Sundays brunch with the guests. For all the reasons I've detailed above, this is the opposite of the type of thing I would normally attend. However, since Andy had to leave on Saturday morning for work, I decided to get my name on the list (especially since room service breakfast was so pricey, it seemed silly not to just eat the same thing, but with unlimited bacon and in person.) Despite my apprehension, I'm glad I did.
Upon entering the dining room, I took a seat at the first open table, which just so happened to be at the aforementioned-on-Logopolis Simon Guerrier's table. For those who aren't Andy, once upon a time,
we mentioned we thought he was cute and funny. To my (definitely not our, because Andy thinks it's hilarious) everlasting embarrassment, he discovered this and mentioned it on
his blog, a fact I have never mentioned here because I wanted it to die, so obviously, despite seeing him over the weekend (though not actually speaking to him, as I don' believe I ever had previously), I didn't mention it (though, of couse, Andy thought I should.)
So, of course, I'd arrive at brunch and be seated next to him. It did not get mentioned again. (Until now.) Fortunately, we had much more to talk about - like the difference between writing screenplays (like I've been trying to do lately) and his actual professional work writing audio scripts as well as his work with
Doctor Who Adventures magazine (which I didn't know he actually he did - so obviously, that proves, despite how someone could ungenerously read this portion of my weekend description, I am not a stalker.)
As folks moved from table to table, I also talked about why Big Finish is so awesome compared to other media with the talented and far more lovely (sorry, Simon)
Lisa Bowerman (short version: they get to do stuff that they love without lots of artistic interference), tell
Gareth David-Lloyd which CTA lines to take to various locations in the city, and listen to Rob Shearman talk about the state of New Who (or more accurately, watch him listen diplomatically to someone who doesn't like it and even more diplomatically tell him why he is wrong and/or it didn't matter.)
So yes, the brunch was pretty awesome.
As was the whole weekend. If you like Doctor Who (in any of its incarations) and are near the Chicago area in Thanksgiving 2012, I really suggest you check out Chicago TARDIS next year.
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