Who North America Convention

We have been thinking about hosting our own Who North America Convention for some time now and seek you input in the following topics:

1) Will you attend?

2) What would be a good day for this Convention? Obviously Thanksgiving Weekend (Chicago TARDIS) and Valentine's Day Weekend (Gallifrey) are out of the question.

3) Who would you like to see?

4) What type of programs would you participate in?

5) What price range for the tickets would be good for you?

6) What would you like to see in the dealer's room?

7) Should we include other shows besides Dr. Who?

.... Any other input?

Obviously we will need lots of help putting this Convention together. If you would like to volunteer to help out at the Convention, or getting your Fan club organized for the Convention, please let us know. I am thinking - drama skits anyone??

At the moment we have not decided on the date or year, but we want to get this started as soon as possible.

Looking forward to your input....

Jany Bradbury
Who North America

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It has been years since I went to any Doctor Who Conventions -- I went to both WhosierCons and to Visions 92 and Visions 93; then after that I had my fill.

I think if you have a convention, I might attend, but only if it is a time I can visit my family back in Indianapolis or not. It would also depend upon who you could get.

Is Chris an option now that he lives in the US? Paul McGann would be another one I would love to meet; but besides Doctors, I think some people involved with the new series is a must, and a couple old timers would be nice (for the old timers, I would suggest Lala Ward or Mary Tamm).

I'm new to Who with the latest series, so I'd be interested in seeing folks from the new show.

That said, some "historical" stuff would be fun too, to get caught up. :-)

And I'd be very keen on coming if there were some things that were "kidcentric" to make it worth bringing my family along.

If Christopher Eccleston is there then so am I. Don't care where, don't care when.

Other than that I'd like to see Steven Moffatt and Russell T. Davies. My sons have votes in for Billie Piper. ..and Leonard Nimoy, as Spock. [/img]

1. The Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal couldn't keep me away from attending.
2. I'm open-ended for the date of the con.
3. Having met most, if not all, of my favorites of the original series, I would stump for supporting characters from the new series.
Being something of a practical realist as to con guests, a character trait I'm not overly familiar with, I am foregoing the obvious choices and will not utter the name Billie Piper nor the names David Tennant and John Barrowman.
This due to the fee equal to the GNP of quite a number of Third World countries, I would imagine, it would cost to get them to sign a contract.
Adding to the fact that David and John are still filming their respective series nine months of the year.
The same applies to the rest of the Torchwood cast and crew.
How about Gareth Thomas and Paul Darrow reunited again as they were at Visions '95?
4.One of the highlights of Visions was the Variety Show, where in the words of the immortal Brian Blessed "you got to see the guests as they really are, completely dirty and dreadful, much like yourselves really."
The Banquet was always nice to as you got to mingle with the guests and have chats with them.
5.The price for the tickets ties in directly with the guest list, doesn't it?
I am amenable to paying a good month's wages if the guest list warrants it and even paying it if there are more guests but of supporting roles.
6. Dealer's Room-lots of Doctor Who stuff, Torchwood, Blake's Seven, Red Dwarf, t-shirts, scarves, sonic screwdrivers, K-9's,. photos of the guests,
7. I would keep it focused upon British sci-fi/fantasy, as there is now a renaissance of it due to the success of the revamped Who.
9. I would be happy to volunteer in some capacity as I have been involved in the Moonlight Rising convention for the BTVS/Angel/Firefly verse since its inception in 2003.

I'd LOVE to attend a WHO convention, but if it's outta the state of FL then count me out.

I am not sure where you are located/where it would be held, but I am from MA and I am game. I used to build a lot of costumes for the contests back in the 1980s and am dying for a good con.

I think most fans want to see guests from the new series, and to get that to happen, you need to have it when they are not filming, in late spring/early summer.

I wouldn't mind paying up to like $35 but over that gets crazy, especially if I have to travel.

I also get turned on by a really good merchandise room! I hate merchandise rooms that are small, and out of all their stock on the first day. Spring is also a good time for that this year - I mean look at everything that is coming from CO! Out of control! lol

I also like small events, like costume contests and fun inexpensive stuff, especially with prizes. Also, video viewing is very cool.

The one thing I HATE is all these special grades of ticket prices - gold circle and special seating and all that BS. It brings a mean spirit to a con. One price fits all!

1) Most definitely! I'd love to attend a Who convention. I've never been to one.

2) Can we avoid holidays? I never go to Chicago TARDIS because it's THANKSGIVING. I love you all, but to me that's a time when I'm supposed to be with my family. There's a major one in February, and another in October... what about something late May or June? Do people go to summer conventions?

3) I think a good mix of people from in front and behind the camera and from the old and new series would be great. I think getting stars from other shows is okay, but wouldn't be my first choice. Sometimes I think conventions do it just to fill out the roster a bit. Especially in America. It'd be nice is it was casual too, and not just filing into a room, listening to a quick chat, and getting into a line for autographs. Not sure how you control that, though!

4) Panels! I think panels of people talking about their experiences are great. But I also think they require a great moderator to keep them going well and to keep the pace up. I think things like plays or MST3K-like screenings are fun. I always thought some sort of gameshow would be fun, or maybe even a trivia night with teams of people competing for DW swag.

5) I think $30 - $50 is a good range. It all depends on who's there. If there are bigger names, I think you can get away with charging more money (and probably HAVE too to cover costs).

6) I think a very robust dealer room selling wares from all kinds of shows is great.

7) I think including other shows is okay. Sometimes it seems like conventions drift a bit too far in this direction, but I think it's a good way (especially for a newish convention) to get some good guests and programming.

I'm a graphic designer & an illustrator by trade, so I'd be willing to help out in that area if you need something.

Doctor Who seems to be at an all-time high right now. A convention should churn out a full crowd, even state-side where the show isn't as well known. Sci Fi and BBC America (I think) have been running Series 1 & 2. With enough advertising, a convention should be a hit! I'm guessing a convention would have to happen later this year or sometime next year, in order to line up guests and plan it out.

As for guests, anyone involved with the new and old series would be great. Bringing on guests from other shows would be alright, especially since a show like Doctor Who shares fans with, say, Red Dwarf. You bring someone in like Tom Baker, and it's going to sell out. Not sure what the logistics are, like what was said earlier about the GNP of a thrid-world country and all.

Here's an idea for a contest that I thought of: a Dalek voice over! If you could bring any of the Dalek voice actors from the entire series' run, they could double-duty as a judge for this. I grabbed a screen shot from the Series 2 DVD of Nicholas Briggs with his Dalek-voice gear... and to my surprise, he uses something I have myself -- a Moogerfooger Ring Modulator! If I could make it out to a convention, you can bet your sweet Dalek that I would bring my Ring Mod with me for such a contest. It's just a matter of setting up the Ring Mod properly...

And in that fashion, you could also have K-9 and Cybermen voice over contests. The prize could be an RC K-9 or Cyberman helmet, respectively.

Costume contests... fan art gallery... question & answer sessions with the guests...

What I loved about the conventions of the 80s was the sense of a community event. I liked that the show's stars were there, but there is something basic to the experience of just sitting there watching videos with the whole crowd.

That being said, there were good events that had many rooms at the same time. So, there is no set formula.

... however ...

Just to reiterate FUNCHOMCLALA's point about the "special rates" ... one of the things that I find annoying about the LA conventions (and part of why I didn't go this year) is the cliqueish quality they have. Only later did you discover that everyone had such a marvelous time in another part of the hotel that you weren't invited to. Mean spirited is right.

Doctor Xombie wrote:

I'd LOVE to attend a WHO convention, but if it's outta the state of FL then count me out.

A Florida convention would be great

1.yes
2.Obviously not this year but how about st.paddy's? or any non-holiday weekend.
3. anyone from the series, how about Mickey he seems to be an unsung hero.
5.$20-30?
7.If it helps make it happen, keep as a who focus though.

I would gladly like to help with a logo design,especially for a st.patrick's theme.

Well, as money is always tight with me, I don't know that I would be able to travel out of state for a convention. On the other hand, if you had some really, really good people, I'd see what I might arrange. Good people for me would include Paul McGann, Daphne Ashbrook, Chris Eccleston, David Tennant, John Barrowman, Camille Corduri, Shaun Dingwall, or Billie Piper. I would also try to get there if you got Peter Purves, William Russell, Lalla Ward, Nicola Bryant, Jean Marsh, or Maureen O'Brien. Oh, and Tom Baker!

Realistically, I don't know if you could get any of these people, as they all would probably cost a fortune and/or be unavailable.

To answer your questions in order:

1. Maybe.
2. Holiday weekends are best, but not big holidays. I suggest Memorial Day.
3. See above.
4. It's difficult to say what programs I might participate in when I don't know my choices. I certainly would be open to anything on the plate.
5. Tickets that start at $35 and eventually move to $65 seem the standard. Having paid $400 dollars recently for tickets to see The Police, I am not anxious to go that high. After renting a hotel room and paying for all the usual fees, I will probably pay that much anyway.
6. I say get 10th Planet and perhaps Galaxy 4 in the Dealer's Room. And yourselves, of course.
7. I'm open to other shows. I don't know if you can get any Star Trek or Star Wars people. I'd be happy with Torchwood folk, Lost in Space (movie or telly), Blake's Seven, Hitchhiker's, and Red Dwarf.

Hope this helps.

1) Defiantly

2) I think Holiday weekends should be avoided. Working in retail that's some of the biggest shopping days and therefore are exceedingly difficult to request off

3) Anyone, but a mix of old and new would be nice. It might be interesting to keep it even like 1 new series guest and 1 old series guest or 2 new and 2 old etc. That way fand of just the new series have someone to meet. Fans of just the old series have someone or if your a fan of both you can get it all.

4) Never actually participated in a convention only been an attendee so I don't know what there is to do.

5) Start at $30 and as time gets closer to the convention slowly raise the price until ti gets to $60

6) More Doctor Who toys and collectables (old and new) than I can shake a stick at.

7) Yes. You can get more people and money that way. Doctor Who can get top billing but you ought to throw in a few other programs too. Like whona.com itself you have a huge selection of Who stuff but there is also the Red Dwarf, HHGTTG, Blakes 7 etc. stuff also

i went to one convention when i was younger. the best part i remember was a free theatre room they had set up. all day long the played the classic doctor who's. i sat there for about 3 hours watching william hartnell in a movie theatre. it would be great to have something like that, but maybe playing the new series.
i got to meet jon pertwee, r.i.p. . it would be nice to meet any doctor again (sylvester mccoy would be a personal favorite to meet). the actor who played mike yates was there, and although a side character, told lots of stories. so even if you can't get big name guests, some of the lesser known people can be quite entertaining.
and if you include other sci-fi shows, you might be able to get other guests, and not just rely on big name dr. who stars.
the only thing i had to complain about was that the convention took place at a big hotel, and you couldn't leave the hotel without paying to get back into the convention. the food prices at the hotel were out of the world(even for dr. who). i went 8 hours that day without anything to eat, and only water to drink. if you make sure you have a good food-court, i couldn't see why it couldnt' be a great convention.

Thanks for all the responses. We are compiling data for when we do hold our first Convention. Meanwhile, if anyone is interested, we have secured a booth at the upcoming GenCon convention this August (still waiting for booth number). Hope to see some of you there!

Jany

love to go to a convention... the main reason I go is for the toys.
The second reason is I like the video rooms and watch odds n' ends to the wee hours of the night. An art show like they used to have in the ol' Visions Cons was fun. It is so nice to meet people that have something in common with and have a generally good weekend geeky getaway. I also agree that holiday weekends are tough.

I think props and actors are hard to get, but make a con. I have only went to one, and there were alot of "fan celebrities" people who wrote unofficial guides and made fan films etc, I didn't get that.

1) I'd love to, but it will depend on date/location. I'd be more likely to go if it's somewhere central that's easy to drive/cheap to fly to, like St. Louis.

2) Anything but a holiday weekend!

3) A huge dealer room. Panels. Maybe MST3K and old episode. It would be nice to have a recognizable actor, but I understand they aren't easy to get (especially your first year). Props!

4) $10,000 Pyramid of Mars for neat prizes.

5) All depends on the program. I'd pay plenty to meet a Doctor, but I can't stand the idea of paying for the privilege of buying something from a dealer.

7) If you're going to include other franchises, I'd be more interested in "British Stuff" over yet another Trek/Gate/Wars convention add-on.

Here at Stony Brook, I-Con has been going on for more than a decade now and they usually bring in B list cast members. This past April, they had Ray Park (Darth Maul), Timothy Russ (Star Trek), and the person who played Fry in Futurama to name a few. These are the biggest names that went to the convention. So I can imagine how hard it would be to attract big names to come especially if we're narrowing to one to three television shows.

I think we should bring in other shows like Stargate and Battlestar Galactica to name a few. The convention would probably be too small to only have DW related stuff.

Farscape and Firefly people would also rock.

what about red dwarf, or lexx? or are those two shows too far away from "mainstream" science fiction?

I would love to see you guys host a convention! Some time during the summer months would probably be best, so that younger fans who go to school can come, and a few people are off of work too.

Could anyone name off a few conventions that are near Indiana? I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks