Hey, Phantomaniacs! It’s
time to give a little love to my personal favorite sci-fi convention
– TimeGate! I had never been to a TimeGate before last year and I
had no idea what to expect. I ended up having an absolutely awesome
time, made some new friends, and once again learned that Dragon*Con
is not the be-all, end-all. I also got to be on my first-ever panel,
which is one of the best times I’ve ever had and led to my
inclusion on a couple of Dragon*Con panels later in the year. There’s
definitely a lot to be said for smaller, more intimate cons. Go ahead
and check out my recap of TimeGate 2012
while you’re here.
Colin Baker has been one
of the most enthusiastic supporters of Doctor Who over the years. I
don’t think any other actor that has played the Doctor has as much
love for the franchise (well, maybe David Tennant) or has put so much
effort into promoting it. Over the years Mr. Baker has maintained a
presence in the Whoniverse like no other. He has appeared in multiple
extracurricular productions, starred in Big Finish audio dramas, been
a constant presence in DVD releases of Classic stories, and even
written stories of his own. In my opinion, Colin Baker is the
official Ambassador of Doctor Who.
Okay, before I get any
further into the con, let me handle a little bit of Phantom Business.
I will be around and
about all weekend and manning the Earth Station One table meeting and
greeting. More importantly, I will be premiering the first-ever
Needless Things merchandise live at TimeGate 2013! I’ll have some
neat-o vinyl stickers available as well as an extremely
limited run of Needless Things t-shirts, designed by me and printed
by HeadNorth.com:
There are only
twenty-two of these available and once they are gone they will never
be printed again!
Finally, I also have
8x10 prints from BelligerentMonkey.com. These are prints of the original
painting “Phantom Troublemaker Versus Zombies” that Monkey
painted for yours truly:
I will be charging for
these items, but all of the profits will go right back into Needless
Things and future merchandise. In all honesty, if I could just get
the ball rolling to create a source of income solely to continue
producing merchandise I’d be happy. I’m not really worried about
profit at this point, though a couple of extra bucks to cover site
and podcast hosting would be swell.
However - mention you
read this post and I’ll give you a free Needless Things sticker!
I will also be appearing
on several panels this weekend, as well as performing at the TimeGate
Masquerade if they’ll have me. If you want to know what I’ll be
doing, you’ll just have to show up. But if you know me, you know
it’ll be foolish. If I can I’m also going to try and organize the
first-ever on-site Needless Things podcast. That will all depend on
who I can gather together and when. Here’s my panel schedule as of
this moment:
Friday 7 PM
– Fan Fave Faceoff: Marvel vs. DC Comics
– I volunteered to represent whichever side needed it. I have a
feeling I’m going to be playing Devil’s Advocate and defending
DC. That’s fine – I’m always up for a challenge! I'll be joining Adam Thorne and Director Faber for this discussion of funnybooks.
Friday 9 PM
– The Future of Star Wars
– I think this is pretty self-explanatory. We’ll be speculating
about Episode
VII and
everything else. I'll be interested to see what Adam Thorne and Matt Sweatman think of the future of the franchise.
Saturday 1 PM
– Celestial Toyroom
– This one was a surprise. I’m not sure how it came about and I
have no idea what, exactly, I’m going to do. But it’s about toys,
so obviously it will be great.
Saturday 3 PM
– Elementary
– I volunteered for this one on a lark. It’s going to be
all-spontaneity, all random here. I’ve only watched the season
once, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and wanted to talk about it. I hope Louis Robinson, Matt Sweatman, and Jen Wood are detail people, because all I'll do is ramble.
Okay, enough about me
(like there’s ever enough). Let’s talk about the rest of
TimeGate.
I mentioned Colin Baker,
but there is a nice selection of other guests from the various
corners of sci-fi. Here’s a link to the full list and bios:
I think there is a great
and exciting assortment this year and I look forward to interacting
them and watching their panels. The ESO Network is going to have a
quite a presence and it’s going to be great seeing all of the folks
I met for the first time last year and have been talking to since
once again.
Obviously I am not the
only one that is going to be on panels. All of the above folks have
stuff going on and quite frankly every panel on the schedule sounds
pretty cool. I, of course, won’t be able to make every panel, but
here are the ones I am considering a priority:
Friday
7 PM – Fan Fave
Faceoff: Marvel vs. DC Comics– This is mine, so I might be biased on how good and important it’s
going to be.
9 PM – The Future
of Star Wars
– Again, bias. But it’s Star Wars and there is a ton of stuff to talk about right now.
10 PM – Moxie
Magnus
– Lt. Moxie runs one of the most hilarious sites I’ve read –
the journal of the USS Enterprise’s Chief Cosmetology Officer.
Seeing her perform live and in person is going to be a hoot.
11 PM – TimeGate
Karaoke
– I won’t be hanging around Friday night, so I’ll miss this.
But if I were going to be there, this is where I’d be.
Saturday
10 AM – Q&A:
Doctor
Who – The Forgotten Doctor
– If you know me, you know I am not going to be back at the hotel
in time to catch a 10 AM panel. But I highly recommend you make it if
you can. We had the pleasure of interviewing Jevocas Green and
Richard Hempton on Earth
Station Who
last year and I even did Q&As with Richard and Java
here on the site. They’re fun, fascinating folks and The
Forgotten Doctor
is so brilliant that Stephen Moffat is in the process of ripping it
off for the 50th.
1 PM – The
Celestial Toyroom: Doctor Who Merchandise
– A discussion of Doctor Who toys through the years, led by me with
my lovely assistant, Director Faber. I have plans here, people. I did
research.
This will be the greatest and best panel of all time.
2 PM – Q&A:
Colin Baker
– This is a must-see. Regardless of Colin being the top-billed
guest at the con, this will be a fantastic panel. I would rank this
as a must-see at any con in the country. Mr. Baker is a tremendous
speaker and has an engaging and enthusiastic style that makes an hour
seem like five minutes. I guarantee you’ll leave this panel begging
for more.
3 PM – Elementary
– I think I might be a little bit in love with Johnny Lee Miller.
I’ll talk all about it at this panel.
5 PM – Live
Commentary: “Revelation of the Daleks Part 2 w/ Colin Baker and
Colin Spaull
– I love the idea of watching these two provide running commentary
on an episode. This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime panels. Can’t
miss.
6 PM – Star
Trek: Into Darkness
– Thanks to my work schedule I was not able to take part in the ESO
Network or RevCast’s episodes about the new Trek
movie. I am brimming with commentary about this movie, so I am hoping
to crash this panel. I need to have discussions. However, if I cannot
partake here, I will be attending
6:30 PM – Live
Concert: Ken Spivey Band
– In the long and storied tradition of Celtic Time Lord Rock, there
is one band that stands head and shoulders above the rest. This is
that band.
9:30 PM –
TimeGate Masquerade
– This appears to be a talent show of sorts. I have a plan for a
bit if I can get in the list. Again, the only way to find out what I
do is to BE THERE.
10:30 PM –
Atlanta Radio Theater Presents Doctor
Who: The Enemy Within
– I would love
to see a live performance of a Doctor
Who
radio production. But chances are I will be in drinking and partying
mode at this point and will not have the mental capacity to sit down
and enjoy such a thing. So chances are I will be at
10:30 PM – Live
Concert: Go, Robo! Go!
– I’m not familiar with Go, Robo! Go!, but I’m going to check
them out. I’ll let you know what I think.
11:30 PM –
TimeGate Dance
– The honorable Doctor Q will set up his steam-powered Vitrola Mark
XXIV Portable Sonic Distribution Apparatus and kick out the jams late
into the evening. The good Doctor had quite the astounding playlist
last year, including some of the most original and entertaining
mash-ups I have ever heard. I highly recommend you make it to this
one.
5 PM – Live
Commentary: “Revelation of the Daleks Part 2 w/ Colin Baker and
Colin Spaull
– I love the idea of watching these two provide running commentary
on an episode. This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime panels. Can’t
miss.
6 PM – Star
Trek: Into Darkness
– Thanks to my work schedule I was not able to take part in the ESO
Network or RevCast’s episodes about the new Trek
movie. I am brimming with commentary about this movie, so I am hoping
to crash this panel. I need to have discussions. However, if I cannot
partake here, I will be attending
6:30 PM – Live
Concert: Ken Spivey Band
– In the long and storied tradition of Celtic Time Lord Rock, there
is one band that stands head and shoulders above the rest. This is
that band.
Sunday
12 PM – Q&A:
Colin Baker
– Yes, my day on Sunday will likely begin at noon. But I will
definitely be attending this Q&A. The opportunity to see Mr.
Baker speak twice is awesome.
1 PM – Dr. Geek
Live! The Science of Stargate
– I can’t wait to see Dr. Geek and company perform live.
4 PM – $25,000
Pyramid of Mars
– I missed this one last year for one reason or another. I think
the title explains it all. Definitely want to catch it this year.
That pretty much lays out
my plans for the weekend. To check out the full schedule and decide
what you want to do, go here:
There are tons of panels
to enjoy with much broader ranges of dorkery than I have covered
here. You could spend the whole weekend immersed in Stargate, check
out some Harry Potter stuff, or just stick to Doctor Who. There’s
plenty to choose from.
And of course, there’s
the atrium – the center of activity where you can find tables with
all of the various guests, artists, and other folks to chat with and
get to know. The ESO Network will have one of those, so please come
and let us entertain you over the course of the weekend. Myself,
Director Faber, Jennifer, and many other ESO/ESW regulars will be
rotating throughout the event.
Finally, there’s that
staple of the con world, the Dealers’ Room. I just realized that
“Vendor’s Room” is probably a much better designation, as
“Dealers’ Room” could have a slightly negative connotation.
Anyway, last year’s
Vendor Room was tiny but paced full of sci-fi merchandise,
particularly Doctor Who, which is still not easy to find in the
States. Ordering online is just not the same as inspecting an item in
person and transacting with a human being. The Troublemakers spent a
fortune in there last year, so I plan on avoifding it entirely this
year.
Ha! Of course there’s
no way that
is going to happen.
I am totally stoked about
this weekend. If you’re in the area, come on out Saturday afternoon
and see what you think I guarantee there’s a little something for
every nerd to enjoy. At the very least you can check out what I’m
doing.
1 PM on Saturday is going
to be awesome.
-Phantom
No comments:
Post a Comment