A Journey Through Time and Space: The Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Convention

Thomas Davies travelled to London this weekend to join hundreds of other Whovians in celebrating Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary. He tells Screen what the Doctor-studded event was like.

5:45am, 23^rd November 2013, Reading. I wake up after 6 hours sleep groggy but eager in anticipation. In two hours I would be on the train to London to the Doctor Who 50^th Anniversary Convention at the ExCel Centre and I was ready.

Image credit: BBC

When I got there I was glad to see I wasn’t only one dressed up: various incarnations of the Doctor, companions, Daleks, TARDISes, K-9s, even a Weeping Angel all featured amongst the crowd. There was such an amount of licensed merchandise on sale that it was bordering on ridiculous: T-shirts, action figures, mugs, costume, even full size Daleks.

There were small shows running during the convention displaying aspects of the show, like how to walk like a Silurian, how to jump away from an explosion and how monsters are made, which gave some intriguing insights into the world of the Doctor. There was also a multitude of costumes and props from Doctors, companions and monsters old and new. Guest panels, showings of Doctor Who episodes and even some audio dramas were going on throughout the day and it was impossible to do it all.

But the main events were what we were all waiting for. The first of the main shows was called ‘Regenerations’ and was a panel session with four classic Doctors: Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker, Peter Davison and Tom Baker. Chaired by the voice of the Daleks Nicholas Briggs, it focused on their views of the modern show and their regenerations into one another.

The classic doctors answered fan questions.
Image credit: Getty

They were all complimentary to the current series – Colin Baker in particular expressed his thanks to Russell T. Davies who ‘knocked on the right doors’ to get Doctor Who back. Davison, on the subject of the Doctor’s limited regenerations explained that the Doctor ‘absorbed all of River Song’s regenerations’, and that he saw no reason why it couldn’t continue, much to our collective relief.

The audience questions ranged greatly. The two Bakers’ favourite part of Doctor Who included running down corridors that looked the same (because they were). One particular question aimed at Tom Baker was what he remembered of his predecessor Jon Pertwee. The response turned out to be not a lot, although ‘he never bought [him] a drink’ which he described jokingly as ‘alien hand syndrome’ because he couldn’t get his hand into his pocket.

They left us by telling of The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot that the younger Baker, McCoy and Davison had done for the 50th anniversary. McCoy described it, touchingly, as ‘a gift from us to the fans’ which got quite a bit of applause.

Then there was the much anticipated ‘The Eleventh Hour’ chaired by Radio One’s Jo Wiley. Another panel session, this time with more modern panellists: producer Marcus Wilson, head writer Steven Moffat, current companion Jenna-Louise Coleman and current Doctor Matt Smith.

Steven Moffat, Jenna-Louise Coleman and Matt Smith.
Image credit: The Telegraph

Moffat told a very interesting story of his inspiration for the iconic Weeping Angels: he saw a statue of one that he has never seen again (suspicious much?) Wilson took a back seat in this panel when compared to the other three but they all talked about Matt Smith’s eventual exit this Christmas and in vaguer terms of Peter Capaldi’s arrival.

When the audience asked about the future, Coleman was rightly evasive. Of Clara’s future in the show she said only that she had a script and left it at that. But the audience’s questions were mostly aimed, unsurprisingly, at Smith.

He described his inspirations as a mix of Einstein, Inspector Clouseau and Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em’s Frank Spencer and said that the famous person he’d want most in the TARDIS was his co-star Coleman (although he mentioned the possibility of Jennifer Lawrence being around…).

The final show, ‘The SFX Show’ was more of a show and tell then a panel session. Bang Goes the Theory’s Dallas Campbell and the special effects team of Doctor Who led by Danny Hargreaves took us behind the scenes to show how a variety of special effects were performed.

After blowing up a Dalek and giving a group of kids a chance to shoot a Cyberman, one of whom looked quite intimidated by the idea, they showed us how to control weather through paper snow, sprinkler rain, fire bars and giant fan blown wind. It was also said Matt Smith is notorious for not doing what he’s told, look out for the screwdriver explosion in the Eleventh Hour: real pain.

50th Anniversary episode The Day of the Doctor.
Image credit: The Mirror

But it goes without saying that the highlight of the day was when with Whovians across the world I sat down popcorn in hand to watch The Day of the Doctor.

I cannot even begin to describe the feeling in cinema, we were roaring with laughter, tense as a bowstring and just spellbound by what we were watching. It was by far the best doctor who episode I had ever seen, better than The Eleventh Hour, better than Blink, even better than Doomsday.

We were left pumped by the end, eagerly awaiting the next instalment at Christmas.

It was day not devoted to the new or old but to The Doctor and the show as a whole. Despite a saddening lack of Christopher Ecclestone it was a fantastic day where fans of many generations could gather and embrace a historic milestone in the show’s history.

After a whirlwind weekend, I just want to sleep… after several Doctor Who marathons of course.

Thomas Davies

Review: Doctor Who – The Day of the Doctor

50 years on, Carmen Paddock finds Doctor Who as strong as ever.

Following an unbelievable day at the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Convention at London ExCel, I headed into the Surrey Quays Odeon with a crowd of other excited Whovians of all ages and all varieties of fancy dress (I myself was wearing a Dalek skirt and a TARDIS knit hat).

Image credit: The Mirror

As the lights dimmed, I recalled Steven Moffat’s frustration at spoilers and those who leak them during an earlier panel.  I hope this review honours his request (to the furthest possible extent) not to ruin key plot points for those who may not have seen it quite yet.

The feature picks up sometime after the conclusion of Series 7 and does not take long to launch straight into another mysterious adventure involving UNIT and a spectacular, if unanticipated, flight across London. A painting conjures a flashback to the Time War and the beginning of John Hurt’s Doctor’s catastrophic actions.

A rent in time (and the red fez) soon brings the Eleven face-to-face with Ten and the Warrior, where the three of them – aided by Clara and the Bad Wolf – seek to solve the current crisis and that of the Time War, which so strongly shaped the latter Doctor’s identities.

Matt Smith and David Tennant are exactly the Doctors beloved by millions, and they play off each other’s mannerisms and pet peeves brilliantly.  Their abilities to be so whimsical and yet so haunted by their past actions is captivating to watch.

Jenna Louise Coleman’s Clara proves a match not just for one Doctor, but for three, with her snappy dialogue and initiative – quite a feat!  Billie Piper may not be the expected Rose Tyler, but her appearance here helps explain the Series 1 finale with Christopher Eccleston.

Last but not least, John Hurt manages to seem younger and less worldly than both Smith and Tennant, convincing the audience that despite his aged appearance he alone does not know the consequences of ending the Time War.

John Hurt seems “younger and less worldly”
Image credit: BBC

Foreshadowing is cleverly used throughout – the audience is regularly introduced to a conundrum only to have it be solved in a simple yet perfectly plausible way (well, plausible for the Doctor’s universe).

At the risk of massive spoilers, a major element of Doctor Who lore undergoes some changes over the course of the action.  Whilst not affecting previous Doctors’ actions, the future of the character is altered by the change in the past.  What this may mean for the series is unclear and is sure to generate controversy.

References to past incarnations and episodes, notably those of Tennant and Smith, abound.  The red fez, famous last lines, and dozens of cameos combine to create a delightful nostalgia.  One gets glimpses of the past in archive footage of previous Doctors – plus some surprising live appearances – and even a sneak peek at the future with one brief shot… but as River Song says; spoilers.

On the whole, The Day of the Doctor delivers in spades on the momentous fiftieth anniversary. The entire packed cinema cheered and applauded at its conclusion, and the overwhelming atmosphere was one of intense anticipation for the Christmas-time continuation of the Doctor’s story.

If today is any proof, Doctor Who may be around for another fifty years to come, and that would certainly be welcome.

Carmen Paddock

What did you think of the anniversary episode? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter or by commenting below.

Doctor Who…50 Years too Many?

With doubt cast over the future of Doctor Who after the announcement that Matt Smith is leaving his role as the titular time-traveller, Leah Devaney questions whether the format can ever regain its original freshness.

You may ask me why I see myself as qualified to talk about and judge a TV show with such a rich and formidable history as Doctor Who.

Image credit: The Independent

With the exception of a handful of Tom Baker episodes and the Paul McGann film, I came to the 2005 revival with absolutely no expectations.

Of course I was aware of what it was, but as far as I was concerned my parents’ generation spent their childhoods scared of tinfoil monsters and giant pepper shakers that were beaten by a bit of shagpile carpet.

My obsession began thanks to Russell T Davies and his genius reincarnation of a franchise that had basically died a slow, painful and public death a decade earlier.

Yes, the alien planets still looked suspiciously like a quarry in South Wales and despite all the special effects the twenty-first century has to offer you could practically see the string and staples holding the entire thing together.

None of that mattered when, at its heart Doctor Who again became a classic human interest story about love, loss, hope and grief… with a little time travel thrown in for good measure.

Doctor Who is still basically the same, but somehow it’s all gone sour.

Image credit: Indiewire

Matt Smith should’ve been a no brainer because generally he’s brilliant (seriously, with both Matt Smith and Andrew Buchanan how was I the only person ever to watch Party Animals?!) but after the mighty talents of his predecessors he just didn’t measure up.

I’m not much of a crier but in its seven year reincarnation Doctor Who has made me weep like a little girl twice. The first time was the fateful Christmas of 2009, when David Tennant’s Doctor uttered the heart wrenching words “I don’t want to go” and an entire generation suffered an emotional breakdown.

The second time was this Christmas, but these were no tears of sorrow. No, as 2012 came to an end I cried in joy and relief because finally, after three long, painful and bitter years Amy Pond had done the decent thing and died.

Up until this point its beauty was always in its subtlety and simplicity; bad wolf, Torchwood, Harold Saxon, the Doctor Donna, “there’s something on your back”, “he will knock four times” were all story arcs you kicked yourself for not getting sooner.

Image credit: Slant Magazine

The Pandorica and the Impossible Astronaut however are ridiculously complicated yarns which I still can’t get my head around. Doctor Who had become as complex as Inception and nowhere near as fun.

There are, however, three little words which have lit a glimmer of hope for its future in my heart. They are Hurt, Tennant, and Piper, and between them they mark everything that Steven Moffat is doing right with the anniversary of Doctor Who’s half century.

The news of what’s in store practically made me wet myself in excitement, but unfortunately it’s not forever. When the credits have rolled on November 23rd, after the tears have dried and we’ve all recovered from the most exciting thing that will happen on TV in 2013, the question remains… will the continuation of Doctor Who be worth it?

Leah Devaney

What are your predictions for the new Doctor Who? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter or by commenting below.