WonderCon programming director Eddie Ibrahim (who becomes something of a celebrity by the end of a Comic-Con weekend) noted that fans started lining up at 6 AM for the 11:30 panel at WonderCom's Esplanade Ballroom. I'd never seen so many bowties in all my life
Even in the world of Sci-Fi and Fantasy fandom, there's something a little off about Doctor Who fans. Watching PBS or BBC America? That's almost like doing your homework. But the fans had the room to themselves and had a high concentration of people in costume. A man dressed as an angel statue (a "Weeping Angel," io9's Charlie Jane Anders told me) had throngs of people absolutely freaking out. So by the time we saw a 60-second sizzle reel for the new season, the crowd was jubilant.
As a respectful non-fan (I've watched maybe ten episodes, all pre-Christopher Eccleston) I had no idea what the heck was going on, but when the skinny runt Doctor played by Matt Smith wore a cowboy hat said "trust me, I'm a doctor," I cheered right along with them.
In the new season, the Doctor comes to America. For the first time. There are images of him in the expanses of the west as well as in 1970s Washington D.C. (Richard Nixon is involved in this story.)
Also on the panel was Neil Gaiman who has an episode ("The Doctor's Wife") coming up in the next season.
This is not what Doctor Who looks like anymore. I know.
Gaiman's episode was originally going to air last season, but, being blunt, he told us how they just ran out of money. The episode they shot in replacement was "The Lodger," as that was one that could be made "in a flat 'round the corner." For this season they "took other episodes 'round the bike shed, beat them up and took their money to give to my episode."
Since the episode is running later than he originally thought, he had to make tweaks that, ultimately, he's trilled with. Since Rory is no longer in "non existance" he could write for him, giving him a back and forth he is most proud of. Apparently Rory and Amy have a big throwdown, Amy upset that Rory leaves the Doctor all alone. "He's a Time Lord," he replies "he'll be fine." "Rory, it's just what they're called," Amy responds, "it doesn't mean he knows what he's doing."
The crowd went ballistic for this, as well as Gaiman, a true Doctor Who fanatic, discussing his Doctor (Patrick Troughton) though remembering seeing William Hartnell when he was three-and-a-half. He explained how he stayed up late as a child, thinking about Daleks, and how if they couldn't see the color red, what they saw when they saw Red Daleks. We then saw a clip from his episode.
The TARDIS is on a burnt-out planet and the Doctor's pals are talking to a woman in ripped-up Victorian dress and a 19th century soldier. Also: a green space creature with a squid face and glowing green eyes.
The Doctor takes an orb from him, opens it, pushes some steampunk-y looking buttons and hears a scramble of voices.
He gets all spooked and says "somewhere, near by, there are Time Lords."
Gaiman continued delighting the fans, explaining that despite loving the four decades plus of Doctor Who lore, his episode, and all episodes, can't intimidate new fans.
He summed up all Doctor Who thusly: there's a big blue box. It's bigger on the inside than the outside. It can go anywhere in space and time, sometimes where it is supposed to go. Something will go wrong, and there's some bloke called The Doctor who'll make it all right because he's awesome. Sit down, shut up and watch Blink."
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