T-Minus One Month

Okay, so the whole "reviewing every episode of Doctor Who ever, starting in February" thing is obviously not going to work out, so I've picked a day to begin my year-long odyssey to bring you my thoughts an opinions of each episode (as I'm sure you're all waiting with breathless anticipation).

March 26. Why March 26? Well, if I was smart, I would have thought up this crazy (and not very original) idea of mine to coincide with November 23, the anniversary of the premiere brodcast of the first episode ever in 1963. But March 26 seems to be just as important a date to NuWho fans, as it was on that day that "Rose" first graced our screens, wowed a nation, and proved to everyone that Doctor Who could be as vital again as it was in its heyday.

So - watch this space on March 26 for my review of "An Unearthly Child", and possibly a couple others if the day goes well enough!

Gallifrey '09

Golly. What an insane weekend. It's been so much fun, yet it has been SO incredibly busy! We've talked to so many people, had so much.....well, if you read the website (www.radiofreeskaro.om), you've seen how much we've done in the past 48 hours.

I swear - Saturday consisted entirely of leave room, wait for the elevator down, go down to the convention, interview the nicest possible Doctor Who person (I hasten to not use the word "celebrity" here, because that usually conjures up the more negative aspects of the entertainment industry), wait for the elevator up, edit the interview, post it, bask, wait for elevator down, interview etc...

More later (our ropey internet connection has thwarted us on this trip), but I will write more later.

Cheers, all, and I hope you've been listening to and enjoying what we've done, as it has beena complete gas.

Missing, Presumed Wiped

Well, after Chris's misgivings about his flight from London being possibly delayed, it is, in fact, I who have been thwarted by Mother Nature, as fog as stranded me in Edmonton until at least 1:00 PM (1300 hrs for you in the airline/TV/military business). Thus, the one panel on Friday at Gallifrey that I really was looking forward to will pass me by.

The panel is titled Missing, Presumed Wiped, and it's being put on by some of the cats who are with the Restoration Team. Mind you, the missing episodes debacle is a bit of a pet interest of mine when it comes to Doctor Who, so it's not like they could tell me anything I didn't already know, but considering it's these very people on the panel who originally told me all I know about the missing episodes, it would still have been neat to have seen.

At this rate, too, I'll miss all the initial Q&A sessions with the headlining guests, including Phil (Hooray!) Collinson - boo! I reckon I will need several stiff drinks by the end of this day, and my wrath will taken out on Radio Free Skaro listeners when we do our first podcast of the weekend. be warned!

Gallifrey '09 - The Lead Up

I'm now two sleeps (three, if you include the inevitable dozing on the plane ride down to LA) away from being at Gallifrey '09, and the excitement and anticipation is building. I've already packed my carry-on (it's been ready since Monday night!), and I'm almost completely ready to begin the trek. Others - including the Podshock gang, amongst many others, no doubt - have already arrived in SoCal. Warren, Chris, and I will be arriving at differing times throughout Friday, although it seems that I will have the most amount of sleep out of the three of us.

This is my first ever Doctor Who convention and, having grown up and spent most of my adult years thus far as a lonely Doctor Who fan, with no community to call my own, it will feel quite weird to be in a room (or rooms) full of people who actually share the same passion for this crazy, amazing show we call Doctor Who.

I'm also looking forward to meeting our fellow podcasters in arms, Podshock and Tachyon TV, both of whose charter members will be at Gallifrey and, indeed, on the same panel at the convention as us (which, unsurprisingly, will be about podcasting Doctor Who). It will also be cool to finally be in the same room as my partners in crime, Warren and Chris. Any combination of the two of us have been within handshake distance (and no closer, please) in the past three years, but not all three of us. We'll probably fight.

Believe it or not, the one aspect that has been surprisingly far from my mind is the fact that so many Doctor Who luminaries will be there. I grew up watching Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant. What can I possibly say to them? Oh, I hope I don't come across as a nervous, sycophantic nerd in front of them....

Anyway, now the long wait until my Friday flight begins in earnest...