I spent my Sunday afternoon at the Chicago TARDIS. For those not in the know, it is a fan convention for Doctor Who, which is the longest-running sci-fi show ever. If you have never heard of it (which I actually had not until earlier this year) that is because it is from Britain. New episodes run on BBC America, and reruns play on PBS (WTTW in Chicago; Sunday nights at 10). Do yourself a favor and check it out! If you need info on Doctor Who, check out the TV Tropes page (WARNING: TV Tropes is highly addictive. Proceed with caution) or read the AV Club primer.
I was hoping to get some good costume pictures, but there actually were not very many people in costume. This was probably because we came at the tail end; I expect there were some good costumes on Saturday. Jason and I wore our matching Doctor Who shirts, featuring David Tennant and most of the Tennant-era villains. Our first stop was the dealer room, where we found some great stuff. I got a Cyberman figure for my brother (who claims to not be a Who fan, but I think he's coming around), a Dalek pen for Jason, and a keychain for myself that plays some sound bytes from the show (two catchphrases each for the Daleks and Cybermen, one from K-9, and the TARDIS sound). Jason got me a Matt Smith figure; Tennant will always be my favorite Doctor, but Matt Smith is very good. I like him almost as much as Ten.
We skipped over the panel discussions and went to the screening room, where they were running episodes on a giant screen. I had planned to watch all of season 5 before we went to the con. I almost succeeded; all I had left was the two-part season finale. Jason and I got to the screening room just as they started Part 2, so we decided to sit in.
SPOILER ALERT: A discussion of the ending of "The Big Bang" follows.
At first, I just thought the scene where the Doctor was describing the TARDIS to Amelia was kind of cute. It was nothing I hadn't heard before: the paradox of it being both old and new; how he stole (or "borrowed") it; how it was "the bluest blue you'd ever seen." Then, when Amy puts the pieces together at the wedding, I was kicking myself for not figuring it out myself. The TARDIS fits all four conditions for the old wedding good-luck charms: Something old, something new, something borrowed, AND something blue. Brilliant! And thus, she saves him from being trapped on the other side of the cracks in reality. Then she and Rory fly off in the TARDIS for their honeymoon. Okay, I want like season 6. Right now. Especially because Neil Gaiman wrote one of the episodes!
Steven Moffat has officially stolen the title of "Evil Genius" from Joss Whedon in my mind. Evil because he scares the shit out of the audience, and genius because it somehow works out in the end. And he is a brilliant writer. I suppose there is room for more than one Evil Genius television writer, but I think "Magnificent Bastard" fits Joss Whedon better anyway.
After "The Big Bang" finished, we went back to the dealer room and met up with our friend Liz. Liz is awesome. She was there because she works for the prop-building company that had provided a life-size model of the TARDIS. Like I said, awesome. I got one picture of that, but it came out blurry.
There is one picture really I wish I had gotten. There was a girl waiting in line for an autograph with her mom, and she had a knitted Dalek plushie! I also saw someone with a knitted K-9; I think it might have been a purse. As soon as I finish some of my other knitting projects, I shall have to raid Ravelry for that Dalek pattern. The world needs a Dalek plushie. Also on my list of stuff to knit from Doctor Who: a 10-foot Tom Baker scarf. Anyway, I had a great time. This is the third con I went to this year, and Jason and I already have plans for another. Coming in March: C2E2!
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