doctor who convention!

http://news.thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/official-doctor-who-convention-full-press-release/

Looking at the con site... its actually kind of vicious.

Limited to 1500 general tickets per day. Period. They haven't sold out yet from what it looks like (tix went on sale last Saturday), but limiting people that just want to show up and look around? I've never seen a con that put a cap on general admission.

The price of a general admission ticket is 99 GBP. So that would be like asking me to pay 100 bucks just to get into a show for one day, and that's all. Not a weekend pass. Not giving me any extra priority for autographs. That's a bit pricey just to get in the door.

Auto ticket- 25 GBP for Matt (don't know if that will be the standard cost for every star, since it looks like they will be adding more as they go). That's actually a pretty fair price for Matt, no problems with the cost there. The problem is feeding frenzy with the tix since those will probably be in very limited supply considering the general admission is already limited. (No Matt auto tix left of course as of today.) I assume since the auto ticket has to be purchased for each guest, that all the way up to a 'finalized' guest list, convention goers wanting autographs will be having to go through a frenzy every time they add someone to the attendee list.

Now I know this is a classic Who convention, but just for comparison grins... look at Dimensions (held just last weekend)

The standard adult weekend pass- 84 GBP. That not only gets you both days, but TWO autographs from EACH guest. One day pass- 50 GBP (and you still get two autos from each guest). No limits on these tix. Kid ticket- 29 GBP for the weekend, and they get 5 autos with that. Under 7- FREE.

Definitely a lot less stressful and way more for your money.

For me, I want to meet the stars and get an auto pic from them. No way I would pay that high of an admission ticket and go to the show if I wasn't able to get the auto ticket from who I'd want to see.

Indeed. Way too pricey.

Even Star Wars Celebration was cheaper than that($75)for one day. But all the Autographs were extra, and Mark Hamil and Carrie Fisher were over $100 for their autographs. They were even blocked off behind curtains so you could not even see them. But there were a lot of activities and things to see that were included, not just a room of vendors selling stuff.

Megacon was $60 for a Sunday, and the major autographs were extra. Some comic artist autographed for free. William Shatner was $75 for his autograph.
So, while the admission price seams high, extra for autographs is not unusual.

Ronpur wrote:

Even Star Wars Celebration was cheaper than that($75)for one day. But all the Autographs were extra, and Mark Hamil and Carrie Fisher were over $100 for their autographs. They were even blocked off behind curtains so you could not even see them. But there were a lot of activities and things to see that were included, not just a room of vendors selling stuff.

Megacon was $60 for a Sunday, and the major autographs were extra. Some comic artist autographed for free. William Shatner was $75 for his autograph.
So, while the admission price seams high, extra for autographs is not unusual.

I know... I think the complaining parents are newbies as far as sci fi conventions go. However, I think the BBC is trying to do too much by having all that programming and wanting to limit the number of attendees period, then limit the auto tickets even more.

With as high demand as Matt Smith will be, they should have just done the show like they do most of the cons over here. If you want to do a panel/ Q and A with Matt, fine. Limit it to just 30 min, then whatever other time you have from opening til closing, he is at the auto tables signing away. No limits on number of attendees. No auto tickets... maybe a limit of one auto per person. Autos are first come, first serve to the people lining up for them. They just have to be told that there is no guarantee due to time constraints that everyone that goes to the show will be able to get an auto. Get in line as soon as the doors open, and stay there. If you want to walk around and look at all the exhibits and such, that's your call. I am to the point myself where I don't even care about checking out panels or Q & A. Doors open, I am hitting the auto lines and trying to get everyone I want as fast as I can so I can get back on the road home.

If they really want to make some extra money and insist on the photo ops, BBC can make that available too, but again, they would need to limit the amount of time it would be taking away from the autos. I know at the Wizard World comic cons the photo op sessions only run 20-30 min per day per guest. People wanting photos get the same rules- first come first serve, no guarantees. Parents with their kids would have to make a choice, get out of auto line to get to the photo line, or not. Matter of priority.

Mark isn't surprising, Carrie is a bit though. From what I have seen on net forums and when he does the OPX SW shows and signings, 100 is his going minimum rate. Carrie is 60. They personalize also, which is in contrast to when they get Harrison to sign. When he does signings for OPX, its just signature only, and a pic typically costs 400+.

Shatner at 75 is par for the course. Him and Nimoy are around that range.

I think there are lots of artists that sign for free. They make their money at shows for sketches and commissions, and selling prints and original work. I bought two Kabuki prints from David Mack and he seemed pleasantly surprised when I asked him if he would sign them for me. I got a print from a Star Wars artist and he asked if I wanted him to sign it as well. I've never brought a comic or poster for an artist to sign, so not sure if the sign for free thing would hold in those cases. I'd much rather buy a 11 x 17 print or poster to display the art on my wall than get a comic cover signed and have it sit in a comic box in my closet

I am not a big autograph person,myself, but Shatner, I could not pass up. Especially since he was not supposed to be there Sunday, but had some time before his flight,and had so much fun Saturday, he came in for a few hours. At the Star Wars show, I only got Jeremy Bulloch on a Doctor Who Target novel of Time Warrior. He signed it "Hal the Archer" and was thrilled to see something not Boba Fett to sign! And he was an awesome guy!

Ronpur wrote:

At the Star Wars show, I only got Jeremy Bulloch on a Doctor Who Target novel of Time Warrior. He signed it "Hal the Archer" and was thrilled to see something not Boba Fett to sign! And he was an awesome guy!

He sure is. I got to meet him at a show earlier this year, and he's standing in front of his table, greeting and talking with the fans, having a blast. I go up to him and his first words are "Hi! Come on over to the dark side here!'

I love Boba Fett too much to not have gotten a Boba picture signed (especially by him, the REAL one, before Lucas jerked with the prequels). However, if I can ever make it to a show with Sir Patrick, I'd rather have a pic of Gurney Halleck in his Atreides dress uniform

Cruel Angel wrote:

Ronpur wrote:

At the Star Wars show, I only got Jeremy Bulloch on a Doctor Who Target novel of Time Warrior. He signed it "Hal the Archer" and was thrilled to see something not Boba Fett to sign! And he was an awesome guy!

He sure is. I got to meet him at a show earlier this year, and he's standing in front of his table, greeting and talking with the fans, having a blast. I go up to him and his first words are "Hi! Come on over to the dark side here!'

I love Boba Fett too much to not have gotten a Boba picture signed (especially by him, the REAL one, before Lucas jerked with the prequels). However, if I can ever make it to a show with Sir Patrick, I'd rather have a pic of Gurney Halleck in his Atreides dress uniform

That is what he was doing at SWV, standing in front of his table, shaking everyone's hand and hugging the kids!

Sir Patrick was awesome in Dune...and Excalibur!