Sunday
I woke up right on time
Sunday morning. I had plenty of time to shower, take the bags I
didn’t need down to the car, and have a morning snack. I ate the
junk out of the TimeGate gift bags because I didn’t know where the
con suite was and I didn’t feel like paying whatever the Holiday
Inn Chambodia charges for runny eggs and toast. So after a meal of
BBQ Lays, peanut butter and Cheez™ crackers, and Cool Ranch Doritos
I realized I was going to have the worst breath ever. I had foolishly
brushed my teeth before eating and had packed up my toothbrush.
Thankfully I had some industrial-strength Crest mouthwash in my
backpack, so I drowned my mouth in that and swished for about five
minutes. After that I basically couldn’t feel my mouth, so I
figured it must be sterilized.
When I got to the little
room where they were storing the Time Lord he looked up and said,
“Oh, it’s you again,” with a smile. Two other dudes were in
there finishing up their business and Mr. Baker told one of them he
wanted some entertainment and to say something nasty to me. I grinned
and said to go ahead, it was cool – we should put on a show for the
Doctor. The guy was clearly uncomfortable. Not in a horrible way, but
in a, “Why are you asking me to do this, Mr. Celebrity?” kind of
way. I gave him a pat on the arm and laughed it off, then turned to
conduct my business.
There was one price for
having something signed, but for a donation to a charity Colin Baker
was sponsoring you could also take a picture with your own device.
This was perfect, as it meant I wouldn’t have to stay too late to
get my picture with Sawbones Hex. I handed my figure to the man and
he asked if I wanted it signed to anybody. I told him “Phantom
Troublemaker” and he made the same face that all of the famous
people do. I laughed and said, “Yeah, I’ve seen that look plenty
of times.” He smiled and signed, not requiring the spelling
assistance that many celebrities do.
Then it was picture time.
I asked a nearby fan if he could do me a favor and handed him my
camera. As Colin stood, he said, “Wait – should we do a wrestling
hold?” and I said, “Of course
we should do a wrestling hold!”
I went for a
half-assed-collar-and-elbow tie-up. I didn’t want to actually lace
knuckles with the man and the pose still had to be photo-friendly. So
aside from our aggressive poses and facial expressions it kind of
looks more like we’re dancing. But it was still about the best
thing ever:
The fact that the Doctor
had volunteered for it was so awesome. And then he double-awesomed me
by suggesting we should get one with a regular pose as well.
I thanked him profusely
for being at TimeGate and went on my way. What an extraordinarily
pleasant man Colin Baker is. Also, please note that he was wearing a
purple shirt in my honor. Okay, maybe not in my honor, but how
perfect is that?
After that I ran over to
the Vendor Room to see if there were any deals and take some
pictures:
As you can see, the
Vendor Room was somewhat underwhelming. There was the same massively
overpriced toy dealer from last year, four or five jewelry tables, a
game dealer, and a couple of other things. There was also an artist
named Hashim Clark who was very cool and who should be turning up here in a
Q&A sooner or later.
I’d say the vendors
need more room next year, and I’m not sure where they’re going to
find it. I’d hate to think that TimeGate won’t be in the Holiday
Inn Chambodia, but we need more space. Grated, this year we had a
Doctor and it is the 50th
Anniversary, but I think the con will only get bigger. Next year is
the 20th
Anniversary of Stargate SG-1 and I bet they’re already hard at work
on some special guests and possibly even another Doctor. Time will
tell.
I stuck around the table
for a whole and talked some more with Director Faber. All of the
people we had seen and met over the weekend seemed to turn up at some
point to say goodbye. I told Director Faber the true story of
Saturday night – one you will never hear from me unless you ask in
person – and it took about thirty minutes to do so because people
who did not need to hear this story kept walking up.
Lieutenant Moxie showed
up, looking just as bright and happy as ever. I told her she did an
outstanding job at the Masquerade and I was really impressed with how
she had handled everybody.
And that was pretty much
that. I told everybody goodbye, loaded my still-full merch box back
into the car, and headed home.
All in all I have to say
it was a great TimeGate. Probably my favorite convention so far. If
you’ve never been and are any kind of sci-fi fan, you have
to go. It’s such a good crowd of folks and everybody is so
supportive of everybody else’s dorkery. There is no snark
whatsoever. It’s fun and laid back, but at night you can still
party if you want.
Oh, and hopefully Doctor
Q will be back next year.
-Phantom
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