Last weekend was the the last con of the year and one fo the funnest, Starfury presents Midnight a con dedicated the the Doctor Who universe, with Actors from Doctor Who, Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood and writers of novels, comics and the shows themselves.
The Guests were David Tennant, Billie Piper, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd, Dan Starkey, Barnaby Edwards,Annette Badland,Anjli Mohindra, Tony Lee, James Swallows, Gary Russell and Phil Ford.
Alas due t the wonders of public transport i missed the opening ceremony on the friday night but i heard good things especially in regards to Eve diving about fighting a dalek on stage. From the get go these guests were up for fun and was going to be a fun weekend.
This con was busy, one of busiest i have been to mainly due to the two head line guests of David and Billie so the organisation and planning of the day was a bit different then it usually is with photo shoots on the sat only for all the other guests. As per usual these ran well but due to the sheer number did take longer but thats to be expected and they ran smoothly and well. The staff in photo room have got it down to a fine art and even tolorate my insistant to have a fun photo with at least one guest. This time my prey was Gareth who seemed up for a laugh.
on to the talks, the first one i was able to see due to the photo shoots was Dan, Annette and Barnaby. I was only able to catch the last half of it but what i could tell it was full of silliness and behind thescenes info one comes to expect from a starfury talk. Having seen Dan at the previous event i know that he has fun stories and anecdotes and likes to show off his range of sontaran voices and skills- he has a great way of entertaining you and yet giving you alot of infomation all at once. What could pass for a "bit" or comedic skit usually holds much about the process of the make up and what actually goes into a scene and creation of a character its always a delight to see him break loose and entertain. Annette was a nice suprise as having seen her on televison for years playing figures of authority or serious roles to see how bubbly and out going and generally silly was fun and she can bring a smile to anyones face. I always appreciate an actor who can make fun out of themselves and what they do, makes them seem more open and outgoing and you can see that they relaxed and can get more exciting discussions going. If im honest i didnt expect alot to come from Barnaby yes he been with the show along time but i assumed being a dalek operator that he wouldnt have alot to add to the discussion, i was of course wrong beign a fan of the show he knew so much abou the history and i leant alot and that he had alot of involvment with the audio books and that world.
Points to take away from the talk include Annette being comfronted by her own face replicated for her fake skin and it looking like a death mask, the slitheen had to fake fart sounds in thier heads, its very hard to walk through doors in full sontaran costume and running in heels on cobbled roads not advisable.
The next talk was for sarah jane with writers Gary Russell Phil Ford and Anjli Mohindra i not seen many episodes of the show so alot of the talk was lost on me but you could hear how proud they were of the show and how shocked they were at the lead actress Elisabeth Sladens passing and how they couldnt carry on with out her. How she was a practical joker and full of fun and made it a good work atmostphere. It did leave me wanting to watch the show. Both writers came across very well and Anjli was very down to earth.
The last talk of the day Eve Myles and Gareth David Lloyd this was one of the most fun and outragous talks i have seen in quiet a while. Gareth and Eve seemed to have no boundries of comedy self deprication and shame. Telling stories and jokes about thier time on the show- nothign was out of bounds from sex gas noises to John barrowmans penis.
Some of the questions asked were a bit over the top from the guy who told Eve that he was banned from taking her action figure to bed now which lead to a very shocked face by Eve. But a fun talk none the less. So some of you regular readers may know that at the last Doctor who event my group entered the fancy dress comp as the 11 doctors so this year we got as many of the band back to enter again our new theme was 11 other famous doctors.
Dr. John A. Zoidberg - Me
Col. Samantha Carter Ph.D. - Corinne Brown
Dr. Teeth - Bebe Welch
Dr. Emmett Brown - Jimmy McPaul
Dr. Beverly Crusher - Tony Bufton
Dr. Frank N Furter - Susannah Owens
Dr. Constantine - Steve Owens
Dr. Strangelove - Helen Walker
Witch Doctor - Mair sheppherd
Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. - Pete Woolman
Dr. Claire Saunders/Whiskey - Laura Kinsella
I had help from my SFX friend LukeSmith (www.facebook.com/undeadmouseyfx ) to build my face piece whilst i worked on the claws. we were very pleased on how it came out and the rest of the groups entrys were so good special mention to Bebe Welch as the Muppet Dr Teeth one of best costumes i have ever seen at an event and to Laura Kinsella who was drafted in at the 11th hours to fill a spot ( ps she makes great cakes check her out http://www.facebook.com/kinsellacakes#!/kinsellacakes )
There were alot of entrys this time -55!! so was all a bit rushed once it started but we went out there and each acted a little bit like our characters me with my crab walking and silly face lapping up as much attention as possible. Suprise suprise we won best group again yes i will brag we are that good champions 2 dr who cons running have to be very special to get the hat trick I usually dont discuss the parties much as they are usually where i spend all the time with my friends and having silly fun and if a celeb does atend its all off the record and not want to risk them not coming back .. but i want to do two quick mentions one to Barnaby Edwards who owned that dance floor and was the life and soul of that party and Eve Myles who spent a long time havign as much fun as possible dancing away and entertaining the crowds. Two genuinely fun people who we all want to see back again.
The Sunday -
I'll skip discussing the talks again as they were very similar pairings and the similar topics discussed all were very good but the nigth before did prey heavily on alot of people which still lead to amusing storys and Eve didnt let the late night stop her being fun.
so about a thousand people wanting David and Billie in one day this sunday could have been a total distaster...it wasnt. the photo queue was nice simple and reasonably quick even got a nice hug out of Billie which you cant go wrong with - im sure david was jealous but if he wanted a hug he should of just grabbed me really
The auto session again was very fast only took about half hour to get through bith of them..Was again very fluid and worked very well
On to thier talk, they both came out full of life and energy even though they had been signing for hours just before. refusing to take chairs they spent most of thier talk on thier feet bouncing around and discussing old times. There was a few inoppropriate questions regarding if they would ever sleep together and things like that. They were great together and were a delight to watch. Alas no tidbits on the 50th anniversay rumours other then deniel but can we really be sure? can we? The closing ceremony was a quick wrap up from all involved except annette and Eve who had to leave early. The energy was still buzzing having not disapated all weekend.
This con was a great event, even with the large amount of attendees it never felt much busier then any other event. All the guests were fun outgoing and seemed to really enjoy themselves. Overall this was one of the best events i have been to in 2012 and cant wat till the next one
The Guests were David Tennant, Billie Piper, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd, Dan Starkey, Barnaby Edwards,Annette Badland,Anjli Mohindra, Tony Lee, James Swallows, Gary Russell and Phil Ford.
Alas due t the wonders of public transport i missed the opening ceremony on the friday night but i heard good things especially in regards to Eve diving about fighting a dalek on stage. From the get go these guests were up for fun and was going to be a fun weekend.
This con was busy, one of busiest i have been to mainly due to the two head line guests of David and Billie so the organisation and planning of the day was a bit different then it usually is with photo shoots on the sat only for all the other guests. As per usual these ran well but due to the sheer number did take longer but thats to be expected and they ran smoothly and well. The staff in photo room have got it down to a fine art and even tolorate my insistant to have a fun photo with at least one guest. This time my prey was Gareth who seemed up for a laugh.
on to the talks, the first one i was able to see due to the photo shoots was Dan, Annette and Barnaby. I was only able to catch the last half of it but what i could tell it was full of silliness and behind thescenes info one comes to expect from a starfury talk. Having seen Dan at the previous event i know that he has fun stories and anecdotes and likes to show off his range of sontaran voices and skills- he has a great way of entertaining you and yet giving you alot of infomation all at once. What could pass for a "bit" or comedic skit usually holds much about the process of the make up and what actually goes into a scene and creation of a character its always a delight to see him break loose and entertain. Annette was a nice suprise as having seen her on televison for years playing figures of authority or serious roles to see how bubbly and out going and generally silly was fun and she can bring a smile to anyones face. I always appreciate an actor who can make fun out of themselves and what they do, makes them seem more open and outgoing and you can see that they relaxed and can get more exciting discussions going. If im honest i didnt expect alot to come from Barnaby yes he been with the show along time but i assumed being a dalek operator that he wouldnt have alot to add to the discussion, i was of course wrong beign a fan of the show he knew so much abou the history and i leant alot and that he had alot of involvment with the audio books and that world.
Points to take away from the talk include Annette being comfronted by her own face replicated for her fake skin and it looking like a death mask, the slitheen had to fake fart sounds in thier heads, its very hard to walk through doors in full sontaran costume and running in heels on cobbled roads not advisable.
The next talk was for sarah jane with writers Gary Russell Phil Ford and Anjli Mohindra i not seen many episodes of the show so alot of the talk was lost on me but you could hear how proud they were of the show and how shocked they were at the lead actress Elisabeth Sladens passing and how they couldnt carry on with out her. How she was a practical joker and full of fun and made it a good work atmostphere. It did leave me wanting to watch the show. Both writers came across very well and Anjli was very down to earth.
The last talk of the day Eve Myles and Gareth David Lloyd this was one of the most fun and outragous talks i have seen in quiet a while. Gareth and Eve seemed to have no boundries of comedy self deprication and shame. Telling stories and jokes about thier time on the show- nothign was out of bounds from sex gas noises to John barrowmans penis.
Some of the questions asked were a bit over the top from the guy who told Eve that he was banned from taking her action figure to bed now which lead to a very shocked face by Eve. But a fun talk none the less. So some of you regular readers may know that at the last Doctor who event my group entered the fancy dress comp as the 11 doctors so this year we got as many of the band back to enter again our new theme was 11 other famous doctors.
Dr. John A. Zoidberg - Me
Col. Samantha Carter Ph.D. - Corinne Brown
Dr. Teeth - Bebe Welch
Dr. Emmett Brown - Jimmy McPaul
Dr. Beverly Crusher - Tony Bufton
Dr. Frank N Furter - Susannah Owens
Dr. Constantine - Steve Owens
Dr. Strangelove - Helen Walker
Witch Doctor - Mair sheppherd
Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. - Pete Woolman
Dr. Claire Saunders/Whiskey - Laura Kinsella
I had help from my SFX friend LukeSmith (www.facebook.com/undeadmouseyfx ) to build my face piece whilst i worked on the claws. we were very pleased on how it came out and the rest of the groups entrys were so good special mention to Bebe Welch as the Muppet Dr Teeth one of best costumes i have ever seen at an event and to Laura Kinsella who was drafted in at the 11th hours to fill a spot ( ps she makes great cakes check her out http://www.facebook.com/kinsellacakes#!/kinsellacakes )
There were alot of entrys this time -55!! so was all a bit rushed once it started but we went out there and each acted a little bit like our characters me with my crab walking and silly face lapping up as much attention as possible. Suprise suprise we won best group again yes i will brag we are that good champions 2 dr who cons running have to be very special to get the hat trick I usually dont discuss the parties much as they are usually where i spend all the time with my friends and having silly fun and if a celeb does atend its all off the record and not want to risk them not coming back .. but i want to do two quick mentions one to Barnaby Edwards who owned that dance floor and was the life and soul of that party and Eve Myles who spent a long time havign as much fun as possible dancing away and entertaining the crowds. Two genuinely fun people who we all want to see back again.
The Sunday -
I'll skip discussing the talks again as they were very similar pairings and the similar topics discussed all were very good but the nigth before did prey heavily on alot of people which still lead to amusing storys and Eve didnt let the late night stop her being fun.
so about a thousand people wanting David and Billie in one day this sunday could have been a total distaster...it wasnt. the photo queue was nice simple and reasonably quick even got a nice hug out of Billie which you cant go wrong with - im sure david was jealous but if he wanted a hug he should of just grabbed me really
The auto session again was very fast only took about half hour to get through bith of them..Was again very fluid and worked very well
On to thier talk, they both came out full of life and energy even though they had been signing for hours just before. refusing to take chairs they spent most of thier talk on thier feet bouncing around and discussing old times. There was a few inoppropriate questions regarding if they would ever sleep together and things like that. They were great together and were a delight to watch. Alas no tidbits on the 50th anniversay rumours other then deniel but can we really be sure? can we? The closing ceremony was a quick wrap up from all involved except annette and Eve who had to leave early. The energy was still buzzing having not disapated all weekend.
This con was a great event, even with the large amount of attendees it never felt much busier then any other event. All the guests were fun outgoing and seemed to really enjoy themselves. Overall this was one of the best events i have been to in 2012 and cant wat till the next one