Gallifrey One – 21 (BlackJack)

Officially, Gally (as it’s affectionately known) was a Doctor Who convention at Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel that ran from about midday Friday, 26 February 2010 to the early evening of Sunday, 28 February 2010. The reality saw a good number of folks from all over the world arriving on Wednesday and congregating in the lobby until the Monday and some were there Tuesday morning. People that first Wednesday afternoon greeting each other warmly – friends they may have seen only a week before, others years or decades ago, and some who had bought tickets and made hotel reservations alone who were busy making new friends.

Welcome to one of the long-running Doctor Who conventions I’d known about for the two decades it’s now been playing to ever-growing attendee lists. But I’d never been. I’d never really been able to afford it in either money or time, or a mix of the two. It was a good friend who in 2009 bought my ticket for 2010; I did the rest, booking time for a holiday in the USA around the convention “weekend”.

On the first evening of the pre-con party I was chatting to American fans, all of whom made me feel very welcome, and I had to say to them while this was the first Gally I’d attended physically, I felt as though I knew it very well. That came from a combination of having been to quite a few different conventions in my native Australia, and my adoptive home in the UK. I know a lot of people who go to Gally and other US conventions regularly, and when I was researching and writing my Masters thesis back in the late 1990s I was reading up on the event. Other US cons, too, and I do want to visit some of them, too. It’s just many of my British friends go year after year after year to Gally: they love the vibe. Just something about how it is… I can’t comment on the others, and please don’t read that as dismissing those other conventions. I’m not.

I was one of those people who waited in the large lobby pretty much from Wednesday afternoon after we’d checked into our room. I met English friends there and made plans for the next day to see at least some of LA. I saw a long-time friend from Australia who has made good in Canada, and now has a Canadian accent. I met some of his friends, learning that actually some I had met at English conventions over the years. I met some Americans who I didn’t know at all, and others whose names I knew. There were some other friends from Australia who had crashed so I missed them that first day. It was a party that kicked in by the time dinner was being sought by some of us in the Sports Bar. Some of the old stars of the series arrived, and because some of us have become pretty good friends over the years it was lovely to catch up with what they’ve been doing. That’s the pay-off for having been involved in running conventions yourself, just so you know. A world-wide network of friends.

Thursday dawned what I was told was a pretty normal LA winter’s day – sunny, clear (ish), and not too hot. A group of us from the UK made a trip to the Getty Center, which was perfect for the day. That’s a separate entry.

Back at the hotel, more folks were turning up ready to party. The bars, restaurants and lobby were again the favoured places for people to mingle. We were certainly starting to out number the not-we in the lobby, but we all seemed to co-habit the space quite happily. The Marriott is a large hotel with constant traffic from the airport and various conventions, not just science fiction / fantasy ones.

Friday, as I said before, the convention started officially. There were just over 1,200 pre-registrations and many of them had shown up. We started to fill the cavernous areas downstairs. I watched the opening ceremony, which included a video message from Steven Moffat and another from Peter Davison. Both lovely, but Davison’s involved a delightful skit incorporating the West End musical reasons why he couldn’t make it to LA. The twist at the end was fabulous, and I’m not going to spoil it for you just in case.

I can’t really tell you about the panels and interviews because it’s never really been my habit to attend those events at conventions. To me, it’s always been about the social aspect, the conversations with people on an individual or small group level. But, I did end up sitting through the hastily organised live commentary of The Doctor’s Daughter by Georgia Moffett and Alice Troughton (this replaced a scheduled interview with Sarah Sutton, who at the last minute was unable to attend due to family illness). I am in the minority of people who enjoyed that episode, and I’ve always said it was because of Georgia but actually I think it stands up quite well on a second viewing… even with the flaws being pointed out by both the director (who was marvellous!) and the leading guest actor. I also caught Scott Handcock interviewing Tommy Knight (who plays Luke in the Sarah Jane Adventures), which ended up being an entertaining and interesting hour or so. The crowd were responsive and I noticed that people who were just checking out what was going on ended up staying.

Three panels ended up getting on to my agenda. One was a lively discussion about slash fiction, which did cover very familiar territory but also some wildly funny moments. For me, though, one of the fascinating moments was a discussion about Midwest conservatism, particularly of the religious kind, and why a few of the writers of slash started to explore things in their fantasy worlds which found an audience first in fanzines and then online. I had never heard that articulated before. The second panel I attended was about the book to be published mid-March (advance copies snapped up at Gally – I got one, and I’ve reviewed it elsewhere) – Chicks Dig Time Lords. A diverse number of women, and one man (I read about some people being annoyed by that, which I think missed the point about what the book and these women are about – celebrating the diversity of Doctor Who fans). They were from all over the USA, Canada, Australia and Britain. They were young and older; some had been fans since their childhoods, others came to it late. They were artists and writers, and costumers. They were a diverse bunch, and I know I won’t agree with them about every little thing and that really was the point they were all saying: Doctor Who is huge. There’s nearly 50 years of material to draw on and play in, so why not just do that?

Somehow I ended up being moderator on a third panel, which for me was on a topic I’m very familiar with: gay fandom. The room was full, with people standing up the back. My fellow panellists were three men I didn’t know but instantly took a liking to. Again, we were a mix of backgrounds, as was the audience, and the panel ran itself. There was a range of opinions, all respectfully given, and some thought-provoking observations.

Unfortunately I missed the official costuming event, but I was amazed by the number of people doing it. During the day I’d seen quite a few of the costumes on display and a few of us who simply aren’t used to costumes – cosplay – at Doctor Who events were commenting about how there was the mix of those who’d essentially just wrapped a scarf around their neck or donned a RAF great coat, those who had recreated costumes from the original series (I was impressed by a girl who had worn the Nyssa of Traken outfit two days, and then the Nyssa on Terminus outfit the other day, but also by various Doctors, Captains Jack, one Dr10 with a giant wasp worrying him, a Sam Sparrow with a vicious weeping angel menacing her, and many others), and those who had taken from the original and created their own. There were women who had adapted the typical Doctor costumes into skirts – the one that most of us commented on was a Dr6. Extraordinary. The creativity on display.

A revolution is occurring out there.

Or maybe it never really went away but my fandom changed. Whatever, I think it’s excellent that people are expressing their creativity in so many different ways. Not just their prowess with thread and materials, but sheer imagination. A friend commented to me how having Louise Page, new series costumier, as a guest was brilliant. It’s not my thing, but I love the way Gally is making the space for it. And there are other spaces out there – one of my new friends was excited about the possibility of a panel on race and Doctor Who, and there are so many other things to explore.

All too soon the convention was over. The official parts, that is. Of course there are the off-scheduled parties. I’d been told about quite a few traditions developing, and partook in what was called LobbyCon – when slowly but surely the convention attendees return upstairs to the hotel lobby and continue the party into the wee hours.

One last thing I need to mention. The Marriott is huge, as I‘ve said. Over the weekend other large events were running, with some rather bizarre juxtapositions. My favourite was what turned out to be a sorority’s charity event. The whole downstairs was taken over by hundreds of tall, mostly blonde (some were brunette – they all wore their hair long and straight), young women wearing little black dresses and bright red high heel shoes. Some varied the outfit by reversing the colour scheme; some others seemed to lengthen the dresses they were parading in. I couldn’t help it: I dubbed them Moffat Era Drahvins.

I will be back. Probably not next year, but the next.