Glasgow Who | Doctor Who Blog

Hi everyone!

Sorry I haven’t got round to blogging for a while. I’ve been busily beavering away, making sure by the time May comes around we give you all the best Doctor Who convention ever seen in Scotland!

And I’m now quite remarkably excited to be able to announce our 11th guest for this year’s event.

Quite probably the most popular producer in the history of Doctor Who, the man behind the first “Golden Age” of Doctor Who, none other than Philip Hinchcliffe has kindly agreed to join us in May for a rare convention appearance, subject to work and personal commitments.

Philip was producer of the show between 1974 and 1977 and oversaw Tom’s first three years as the Doctor, producing some of the show’s most iconic and popular episodes during that time.

Our guest list, subject to work and personal commitments, is now;

• Tom Baker - The Fourth Doctor
• Colin Baker - The Sixth Doctor
• Sylvester McCoy - The Seventh Doctor
• Sophie Aldred - Ace
• John Leeson - The voice of K9
• Richard Franklin - Captain Mike Yates
• Philip Hinchcliffe - Producer, 1974-1977
• Andrew Cartmel - Script Editor, 1987-1989
• Tom Goodman-Hill - The Reverend Golightly / The Vespiform (The Unicorn and the Wasp)
• Michael Cochrane - Lord Cranleigh (Black Orchid) - Redvers Fenn-Cooper (Ghost Light)
• Prentis Hancock - Reporter (Spearhead from Space) - Vaber (Planet of the Daleks) - Salamar (Planet of Evil) - Captain of the Guard (The Ribos Operation)

This event marks Tom Baker’s first Doctor Who convention in Scotland since 1993 and will be the first time a Scottish convention has ever had three Doctors on the same guest list!

Add in a rare convention appearance by one of the show’s most popular producers, Philip Hinchcliffe, and a Doctor Who convention debut for Tom Goodman-Hill, along with many huge names from throughout the history of Doctor Who, and it’s an event not to be missed!

Tickets are still available from www.glasgowwho.co.uk/aog4.html and the sooner you buy yours, the sooner we can tell how many more guests we can go for… and how big they’re going to be!

I think we have a truly great guest list shaping up here… it would be a shame for any of you to miss out!

Cheers!

Al.

As you probably know, we will be manning our usual tablefull of Doctor Who goodness at this year’s fabulous Collectormania at the Braehead Arena on 29 and 30 August (that’s next weekend, fact fans!)

We’re fully covered for the Sunday but we need one or two brave souls to help man our table on the Saturday…

If you think you have what it takes to help us sell the group (plus our Nabil Shaban event and a few photos,) let us know!

Ideally, we’re looking for someone who can be there for the whole day… but if you can only make it in the morning, or just in the afternoon, we may be able to fill our slot (ooh err missus!) with two people rather than one! (Yikes!)

Just let us know on this thread (or by PM if you’re shy!) and we’ll let you know the arrangements!

(Please don’t be offended if you ask to help and you’re not chosen - we will hopefully find someone to fill the gap quickly and we’ll have to get arrangements made as quickly as possible… so don’t hang about if you want to help us out!)

Cheers!

Al.

To quote the opening line of Dragonfire - you lucky, lucky people!

 Glasgow is awash with events and activities for the discerning Doctor Who fan over the next month or so.

 We kick off with the next meeting of the local Torchwood fan club this Thursday evening, run by the lovely Leigh. Just pop along to the Crystal Palace from 7pm and look out for people talking Torchwood at the comfy couches by the window. Beers will be imbibed, chat will be partaken of and a good time will generally be had by all comers. Lovely!

Then, a little over a week later, the sheer loveliness of Collectormania Glasgow once more descends upon those of us lucky enough to be in the vicinity of the Braehead Arena over the weekend of 29 August. Doctor Who guests confirmed to date include Peter Davison, Mary Tamm, Sophie Aldred and Dave Prowse… (I’m led to believe the latter has also appeared in some film series or other but I wouldn’t know about that. Star Warts or something. I think it’s the shocking story of celebrities in space contracting a variety of disfiguring carbunkles.) It’s well worth popping along as, apart from anything else, your very own local Dr Who group will once more have a table at the event, plying our wares. (That’s us, by the way, in case you hadn’t guessed…) We should hopefully have some exciting news by then so please pop over and have a chat!

Meanwhile, over in Edinburgh, there’s still time to catch the lovely Katy Manning in her one woman show at the fringe, hot on the heels of the wonderful event Martin and the Edinburgh group arranged at the start of the month.

Then we high tail it into September (already?! It feels as though May’s Army of Guests were only yesterday…) And week one, as always, sees our triumphant return to The Crystal Palace from 7pm onwards on Sunday 5 September. I’m sure uncle Bryan has been slaving away in his meetings lab, concocting something exciting for us all to partake in amidst the booze and chatter… but I shall leave it to his good self to reveal the results of his dabblings…

And, of course, the end of September (the 27th, to be precise) sees our next event of our very own, The Whole Shaban - An Afternoon with Nabil Shaban, between 14:30 and 19:30 at Trader Joe’s on Hope Street. Amidst the traditional blend of interviews, autographs and photographs, we have one or two very exciting little additions… which we can’t tell you about just yet! And all this for just a tenner! Bargain! Buy your tickets quickly or you will miss out on a fantastic day!

And, not wishing to go too far into the future just yet, but fans of the recently released Delta and the Bannermen will be interested to hear that Agent Hawke himself, Morgan Deare, will be appearing in The Stripper at the King’s Theatre in the first week of October. Ticket prices for the play start at a very reasonable £14.75.

So keep your eyes peeled for even more Dalek-table goodness and we’ll see you at one (if not all!) of these fabulous events!

Cheers!

Al.

Hello, hello, hello you lovely, lovely people!

Hot on the heels of the frankly fabulous Katy Manning event which was hosted by our friends at the Edinburgh local group this past weekend (what do you mean you weren’t there? You missed a fantastic day…,) we’re pleased to announce that the events bandwagon is rolling once more in a Glasgow-wise direction.

In fact, with so many brilliant guest events this year in Scotland (what do you mean you weren’t at Army of Guests in May either??!! You didn’t know about Collectormania next month??!! You’re just not trying hard enough..!!) you could even say it’s a bit of a Sil-ly season for Scottish fans…

Especially when, on Sunday 27 September 2009, from 14:30 to 19:30, Glasgow Who, The Glasgow Doctor Who Society, proudly present The Whole Shaban, a unique chance to meet actor, writer and director Nabil Shaban, the man behind the most iconic villain of the 1980s, Sil, the profiteering Mentor from the planet Thoros Beta.

Nabil made two appearances in classic Doctor Who - his debut in 1985’s Vengeance on Varos, followed by Mindwarp, part of the following season’s epic Trial of a Time Lord.

So Varos, so goodos!

Nabil has had a fascinating career, ranging from Dr Who to films with Patrick Swayze and Clive Owen to competing with David Tennant for the 2005 Theatre Critics of Scotland Best Actor award, and we’re delighted to be able to welcome such a fascinating guest to Glasgow.

The event will have the usual blend of interviews, photo opportunities and autograph sessions, along with competitions and much, much more! You could even say it’s an event the way they’re Mentor be…

Standard Tickets are just £10.00 and include admission and one free autograph. Gold Tickets are also available for £20.00 and include front row seats, an extra free autograph and first place in all queues. (NB - There are only 6 Gold Tickets available and 2 have already been sold! So Nab yours before they’re all gone!)

To buy your tickets by post, send a cheque (made payable to “Glasgow Who”) to Alan G McWhan, Top Right Flat, 12 Percy Street, Cessnock, Glasgow, G51 1NY along with details of where to send your tickets

To buy in person, come along to our next regular meeting at the Crystal Palace, (Sunday 6 September 2009 from 7pm,) or keep an eye out for additional meetings

To buy online, visit http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/glasgowwho/nabil.html or visit our main website at http://www.glasgowwho.co.uk and follow the links

There are also places for just 4 lucky attendees to join Nabil for lunch before or dinner after the event! Attendance at each of these exclusive meals costs just £5 per person plus the price of your meal! (NB You must have a ticket for the main event in order to book a place at either meal. We cannot guarantee the availability of Marsh Minnows at either meal.)

As there are only 4 places at each meal, you’d (Thoros) Beta be quick if you want to take part…!

Full details are available, as ever, from our main website at http://www.glasgowwho.co.uk, and you can join in the discussion of the event on the forum at http://forum.glasgowwho.co.uk

So join us on 27 September 2009 for The Whole Shaban!

Go on - give us your Sil of approval!

Cheers!

Al.

(This announcement has been sponsored by The Glasgow and Surrounding Areas Awful Pun Society.)

Hello, hello, hello, my fluffy little fellow fans.

I trust you’re all feeling better than I am today. (Bit of a stomach bug. Quite nasty. I’ll spare you the details.)

The more observant of you may have noticed the start of our new Randomiser section last week on our forums. I suspect possibly I’m feeling a little timesick, having travelled all the way back from Tooth and Claw to Ambassadors of Death in under a week.

“What’s the Randomiser?” I hear you all cry in unison. Or whichever trade union of which you are currently a member. Ho ho.

Well, it’s quite simply a random journey through the entire history of Doctor Who, discussing each story in turn, spotting connections to other stories and letting everyone know our favourite bits. (Who said, “you’ve knicked Enlightenment from Doctor Who Forums?” Get out! We haven’t knicked anything… it’s an homage…)

The difference between Doctor Who Forum’s Enlightenment section (and, for that matter, the new Timelash section at the equally lovey Gallifrey Base) is just as simple as the idea itself - The Randomiser is a chance for Glasgow Who to throw its own opinion together and hurl it into the face of fandom’s “received wisdom” (with which we as a group seldom seem to agree…) or what Charlie Brooker slightly less charmingly describes as “another belch in the swirling online guffstorm.”

Well, we can belch away with the best of them here at Glasgow Who and we’re aiming to prove it.

All we need is for YOU to join in the posting over at our fabby forums, where the sky is made of diamonds… Oh, hang on a sec, that’s Utopia.

Never mind, I’m sure our sky is made of something equally lovely. Like Anthea Turner.

Now, I’m not saying for one second that we’ve kidnapped, killed and skinned Anthea Turner just to make a roof for our forums. That would be mental.

That’s what felt’s for.

(And I’m not talking about Vanessa Feltz, although I’m pretty sure there’d be a little more material available from that particular source, if you know what I’m saying.)

Anyway, I’m drifting.

What I’m trying to say is get yourself over to the Glasgow Who forums and illuminate us with your own thoughts on Doctor Who.

We’re on Ambassadors of Death this week, with Destiny of the Daleks coming next week. If you have any thoughts at all on either of them, we’d like to hear them.

So I’ll see you over there. Just watch out for the radioactive blokes and mind you don’t fall in the weir…