Dragoncon is the largest pop culture convention in the USA, offering a wide range of programming for fans of multiple genres. Every year they make it a point to offer a fan friendly experience loaded with guests, panels, parties, dances concerts and much more.
Dragoncon 2014 was held at multiple venues from August 29 to September 1, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia.
As we get ready for a thrilling 2015 edition here’s another look back and last year’s show.
For Whovians, Dragoncon is a good place to get your fix while supplementing it with other great shows and topics of interest. There is more to see and do than you could possibly imagine and it is a really great play to meet others who love Doctor Who.
Doctor Who themed events are planned and organized by the Brit Track, who incorporate the show into their Anglophile friendly schedule. Brit Track programming mainly is run from The Sheraton with large panels placed in ballrooms throughout the convention. The arduous task of mixing Doctor Who with a wide range of other cool things is not an easy task to organize, yet in 2014 their balance was perfect. Panels were heavy with professional writers, bloggers and podcasters and sprinkled with a knowledgeable staff with a real passion for Doctor Who.
We’ve covered some of this before but here’s another look breakdown at 2014’s show.
A preview of Doctor Who programming for 2015 will be featured in the coming weeks.
PANELS
If you ever go to the con and want to get oriented with all Doctor Who programming then do not miss the opening panel which serves as an intro to your own adventure in time and space. This one was fun, informative and filled with lively cosplayers and a really warm ‘get to know you’ feeling.
Welcome to Brit Track is an overview of all the events scheduled for the track and this is where you get the lowdown on Doctor Who programming. it’s also a great introduction to the track and the people you’ll be spending the weekend with.
Ask The Experts covered the entire new series and afforded fans the opportunity to ask questions to a panel of working professionals. The end of the Matt Smith era was a popular topic as was the possible return of the time Lords and the introduction of Peter Capaldi. The panel had a lively discussion about where the show was headed and also touched on the 50th Anniversary programming offered by the BBC.
Farewell Matt Smith looked at the end of the 11th Doctor era while framing it in the context of the entire history of the show. The obvious takeaway from this panel is that there was a lot of love for his Doctor and people hated to see him depart. The panelists were engaging and informative, especially Kelly Yates, who worked on the Doctor Who comics.
For the last few years Brit Track has hosted a Steampunk Themes In Doctor Who panel. It’s always been an interesting topic since the new show has implemented many of the genre’s theme’s into its aesthetic with regard to sets, costumes, characters and story lines. It’s remarkable how much of an influence Steam Punk has had on the show since 2005. However, as noted in the panel tree were elements of Steampunk in the classic series as well. Once again panel.this was a lot of fun!
Saturday morning offered a panel examining the new series. The panelists took questions from the audience about what to expect in the coming season and discussed what aspects of the new show they enjoyed.
The morning also offered one of my favorite annual panels, one focusing solely on the Classic Series. This panel is a loveliest for anyone who spent their formative years watching Doctor Who on PBS or via some other noncommercial station. There is a glow to the panelists as they talked about their favorite Doctor and stories. Advice was also offered on which classic series episodes to watch.
The crew of Earth Station Who beamed down for an afternoon panel, Doctor Who: Past, Present and Future.
Recorded live for podcast their panel focused on the program, hitting on all of its legacy moments and brilliant bits while looking ahead for what may come next.
In the evening Dragoncon and BBC America teamed up for a massive live screening of Into the Dalek, the second story of the season.
There was a long line for this sold out event as fans enthusiastically anticipated a new story. the payoff was great. There was an energy in the room that only being with a community of others can provide.mIt’s not easy to pull off an event like this. It takes a ton of work and the people at Dragoncon and Brit Track did a great job of keeping the lines going and making sure those in line felt welcome.
This year there was a lot more late night programming with adult themes. Romance in Doctor Who is one of the panels featured. Since 2005 there has a bit lot more canoodling and snagging in the show. The added attention to romance has, in many ways, changed the dynamic of the show, much to the chagrin of longtime fans. This panel dealt with the topics of romance in time and space in greater depth. Both Robert Allsopp and Ken Spivey did a great job of steering the panel, creating a really interesting dialogue on the subject.
Sunday offered a plethora of solid choices for Time Lord programming. The day opened with a look at Peter Capaldi’s new Doctor with a group of panelists talking about their first impressions of him in the lead. They believed he was a promising actor for the role but hoped he would have better scripts to work with in the new season.
As the session went on they also chatted on what they wanted to see happen with an older Doctor taking over the reigns. This was a highly interactive program with many great questions coming from the audience. One of the things that came up was what the panelists wanted to see with Clara or even a new companion. It was pretty much agreed upon that a male companion would be a nice change of pace.
I was very excited for the Missing Episodes Panel that afternoon. The last few years have seen flurry of rumored discoveries of missing episodes and it seemed only right to sit down with a team of other Whovians to try to sort it all out.
The recent discoveries of The Web of Fear and Enemy of the World have ruled the excitement that other stories are still out there. The panel also gave a great overview of how episodes of the program went missing in the first place.
Running at the same time was Torchwoood and Other Spinoffs which looked at that series and The Sarah Jane Adventures, while also looking into what other potential spinoffs the fans would love to see.
The Time Lord Fest featured Ken Spivey and his band entertaining fans with some early afternoon music.
The subject of Steven Moffat’s writing and character development was the focus of Needcoffee VS. The Whoniverse. The panel featured the Needcoffee.com examining the previous season while looking ahead to the Capaldi era.
Robert Allsopp is a prop master who has worked on the series. His panel, Doctor Who Costumes and Prop Designs was magical. His knowledge of how the show is created was insightful and he was a terrific speaker. This technical panel was one of the best presentations on how the show is made I’ve ever seen.
The evening brought more adult themed programming with Gay Themes In Doctor Who, a session that examined gender roles in time and space.
The next Brit Track After Dark panel looked at all rings Rose Tyler. Whether she was Bad Wolf, the Moment or just a girl from London, Rose remains a controversial character whom is loved and hated by fans.
This duality makes her an interesting character study and the subject of lengthy discourse for fans who like or dislike this companion.
Monday afternoon featured a look back at the 50th Anniversary of the show. A great group of panelists talked about Day of the Doctor and the telefilm, An Adventure In Space And Time. Opinions on the celebration varied with some folks liking the anniversary festivities, while others thought something else may have worked better.
This final Doctor Who panel of the convention acknowledged that the 50th Anniversary was a milestone achievement that brought with it two returning new series Doctors, one new one and many surprises. The panelists also bantered about the surprise return of Paul McGann and Tom Baker.
Each of the panelists talked chimed in on what they liked and didn’t like about the special and a very active audience there also was some contention about how to tie up the many loose ends the 50th created.
DOCTOR PUPPET
Alisa Stern’s Doctor Puppet is now a thing. Basically it combines the artistry of puppetry with Doctor Who. The result is a fun adventure in time and space that is touching, funny and hilarious, instantly becoming a massive success with fans!
Those who attended their Friday panel had a lot of fun!
More info here: http://doctorpuppet.tumblr.com
COSPLAY
The Brit track participated in two dances, an Arthur Dent Birthday Party and a Heroes and Villains Ball. While of these parties had people getting down they also had some serious Doctor Who cosplay going on. There were a lot of 10th and 11th Doctors in the house along with some other really amazing costumes.
The best place to see the cosplay up close was in the panels themselves. Although Dragoncon has some serious costuming in full effect all weekend long, the Doctor Who cosplay has grown year after year.
Many times as we sit on panels we notice people in the audience with great costumes. You also can see some while you are waiting in lines to get into a room for a panel. @014 left a lot of folks with stiff necks and hundreds of photos.
Not only was there more Doctor Who cosplay this year, the quality of the work and the ingenuity of the work has also gone to another level as well.
TONY CURRAN
Tony Curran played Vincent Van Gogh in Vincent and the Doctor. He’s also been a ton of other great movies and tv series. Brit Track had Mr. Curran for a Friday panel which was loads of fun.
Curran talked about making the episode and mentioned how much fun he had working with Karen Gillan and Matt Smith. He also talked about how he prepared for the part.
Curran is a versatile actor who has been in loads of things. He talked about Scottish independence, his film work and his current show, Defiance.
He was terrific with the audience, spending a lot of time fielding questions as he talked at length about his roles.
Despite only appearing in one story, Curran definitely left his mark on the new series, establishing himself as one of the new series most beloved guest characters.
COLIN BAKER
Although Colin Baker was a Dragoncon guest for the first time, he definitely left his mark on the con.
During his Friday session Baker reflected with moderator Alan Siler on his time on the show while also talking about how the Big Finish audios really helped him develop the character as he intended. He also talked about his own favorite episodes and moments as the 6th Doctor.
Colin Baker’s Saturday afternoon panel focused on his career, covering why he decided to become and actor, his early career and his stage training. He went into great length to talk his television work as The Doctor and his work in The Brothers and Blake’s 7. He pointed out that while on The Brothers he was voted The Most Hated Man In Britain.
Colin was also asked about working with Kate O’ Mara who appeared with him in The Brothers and also in Doctor Who. He noted that she was a great friend, mentioning how great it was to work with her and how much they enjoyed playing off of each other’s characters.
The 6th Doctor’s costume was also discussed with Baker pointing out that he wanted something along the lines of what Christopher Eccleston had for a costume. He also talked about making his episodes, including The Two Doctors with Patrick Trougton. By all indications he had a grand time making that one.
A highlight of the panel was his chatting about his participation in The Five(ish) Doctors Rebooted and how he gets along with the other actors who have played The Doctor. He told a fun story about he and his family have gone on holiday with Peter Davison.
Sunday morning saw Colin Baker’s Greatest Hits, a panel with accompanying video that looked at Baker’s work visually with him adding commentary to about the clips shown.
On Monday Baker had one last panel. Here he talked about writing, his future projects and how proud he was to have ‘old Sixy’ around on audio. Baker also discussed his early career as an actor and took questions from the audience with great relish.
DRAGONCON 2014 IN THE TARDIS
2014 was another stellar year. Both Colin Baker and Tony Curran were wonderful guests who really put themselves out there for the fans. They enjoyed their debuts at the con and went out of their way to be gracious to fans.
While not solely focused on Doctor Who exclusively, Dragoncon holds its own in providing Doctor Who fans with a place to meet, greet and share their love for the Whoniverse.
Being a fan-centric convention has allowed its Doctor Who programming to grow every year. The programming covers a wide range of pursuits without pandering to the obvious or simple. Borusa himself would be proud!
For more information on Dragoncon, visit their main site at www.dragoncon.org
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