We'll See The Doctor Now -- A Preview of "Doctor Who" Series Six

“Look: there’s a blue box, it’s bigger on the inside, it can go anywhere in space and time, sometimes even where it’s supposed to. There’s a bloke in the box, he’s called ‘The Doctor’ and when he gets where he’s going there’s going to be a problem and he’ll try to solve it and he’ll probably succeed because he’s awesome. Now shut up and go watch ‘Blink.’”
-- Neil Gaiman discussing “Doctor Who” at WonderCon 2011

Gaiman’s summation of The BBC’s “Doctor Who” is simple and effective. It’s a television show that can go anywhere at any time. You don’t need to watch it from the beginning in 1963, or watch Tom Baker in the role from 1974 (like me), or even start from David Tennant’s run in 2005. Most tv shows have a “been there, seen that” feel after a few years (see NBC’s “Chuck”), but because of its premise, the new series* of “Doctor Who” (which starts tonight) seems fresher than ever.

A large part of this crisp feel is the show’s ever-changing cast. Matt Smith, the 11th actor portraying the last of the Time Lords, plays The Doctor as an old soul with boyish charm. Add the amazingly sexy Karen Gillan as his capable companion Amy Pond and the not-so-impressive Arthur Darvill as Amy’s faithful husband Rory and you have a potent mix onscreen. This dynamic was summed up best by Gaiman when he talked about a scene he wrote for an upcoming episode:

"Amy tells Rory off for leaving the Doctor on his own, and Rory says, 'Well, he's a Time Lord, he'll be fine.’ And she looks at Rory with infinite compassion and says, 'Rory, it's just what they're called. It doesn't mean he actually knows what he's doing.’”

The series starts off as The Doctor, Amy and Rory team up with the enigmatic River Song (Alex Kingston) take on the underlying villain(s) of last year, The Silence, in the 1969 America of moonshots and Nixon. With the added budget for this year, “Doctor Who” actually got to film in America, with English viewers finally discovering that America actually IS bigger on the inside!

While I’m not crazy about the producers plan to split this year’s series in two (seven in spring, six in fall), I do like Steven Moffat’s (“Doctor Who’s” showrunner and head writer) track record on the show. And if this year’s slogan says “Trust Your Doctor”, then I guess I can this once!

* The English say tv series while Americans say tv season.  Yet another reason why Americans declared independence!

People In Motion -- WonderCon 2011

I arrived for WonderCon 15 minutes before the show started last Friday. I wasn’t going to miss Opening Day at Dodger Stadium for a simple comic book show…

San Francisco’s WonderCon could be considered Comic-Con Light, but to me it became much more than that. It is operated by the same people that handle Comic-Con; however, the vibe is different. Attendees are more discerning, more open, and yes – more friendly.

I was with Bare Bones Studios (as usual) and its bunny-eared leader, Mike. With Sandra having her own table at artist’s alley, Rob saving homeless dogs and Carlos who-knows-where, Mike and I partnered with Dave, a writer from the San Francisco area.

I brought revised copies of Pretty Vacant: Vegas Showcase while Dave offered posters and Savior, a full-throttle sci-fi prison break comic book. There was the recognizable assortment of Bare Bones books (including “the worst comic book ever”), but the big surprise was that Mike actually sold his own product: T-shirts with sarcastic musings. There were humorous sayings as THE ONLY STUPID QUESTION IS THE ONE YOU JUST ASKED or ZOMBIES EIGHT MY FRIENDS BRAIN BUT KNOT MYNE? and I DON’T LIVE WITH MY MOM, SHE LIVES WITH ME.

We tried giving away free stickmen on the first day but attendees were reluctant to take them. Mike and I rethought the strategy over dinner at Subway and reorganized the table for Saturday, emphasizing our favorite T-shirts on the table while keeping the other shirts on a display rack that was visible to people walking by. I wore the “MOM” shirt in support. We developed our own style to show off the T-shirts: Mike motioning to the shirts on the table like “The Price Is Right” ladies while I underlined the shirts on display mimicking the hostess on “Wheel of Fortune.”

It worked.

The proceeds Mike made were the most he had from any show! There were times where I felt that Dave’s stuff was selling better than mine despite Dave constantly leaving the table to show publishers Savior, but I started with 95 issues of Pretty Vacant: Vegas Showcase and ended up with four at WonderCon’s end, so I had a very good show as well! I was especially pleased that I was able to sell a good number of books simply by explaining Pretty Vacant’s premise.

Sandra and I at WonderCon.  Never take a picture on the last day of a show!

Hanging out with friends is always fun (especially when Sandra wore an outfit similar to Cara from the late, lamented “Legend of the Seeker”), and I got the one thing I wanted to buy at WonderCon for free: a Doctor Who T-shirt, courtesy of BBC America! Being fortunate enough to attend the “Doctor Who” panel on Sunday, it was astonishing that Who panelist Neil Gaiman summed up my favorite television show in 30 seconds!

Other comic shows leave me worn and battered, but WonderCon was an uplifting experience for me! Sure it’s in a beautiful city and it’s only three days instead of five, but the one thing that struck me was the number of people who came up to me who wanted to do his or her own comic book! I have felt that once I was gone, the comic book tradition would go with me. Yet seeing these kids (anyone younger than me is now a “kid”) wanting to create comic books makes me happy beyond belief!

And maybe next year I’ll skip opening day to arrive early. After all, the Los Angeles Dodgers are just a simple baseball team…

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