Several of the stars of Doctor Who have retired themselves from attending conventions, arguing that they don't have anything new to say about the programme. If you read interviews with them, you certainly come across a steady repetition of anecdotes. If you watch the stories on DVD which have Terrance Dicks on the commentary panel, you'll similarly hear an almost standard set of remarks - having the Brigadier wish for a foe that wasn't immune to bullets, "his" giant robot, inventing the rule that out-going script editors were commissioned to write the next story, adding the line about freak weather conditions in The Claws of Axos, Doctor Who being the only place you got time added on for good behaviour, telling what season you're in from the size of Pertwee's bouffant, etc., etc., etc.
He's not the only person to repeat himself on these commentaries - but he's certainly the worst.
Someone who never turned down the offer to attend a convention was Nicholas Courtney, and he became famous for one anecdote in particular. Sometimes he told it, but a lot of the time it was his co-stars who told it, as they found the incident funnier than he did himself.
Apologies if you've heard this before, but...
... when we first meet the Brigade-Leader in Inferno, he is sitting on a swivel chair with its back to us. He swings round and we see that it isn't our Brigadier but a nasty-looking doppelganger. He has no moustache, and a scar runs down his face, over which he wears an eyepatch.
The story goes that when they were rehearsing this scene in studio, Courtney spun round - only to find that everyone was wearing an eyepatch (Pertwee, John Levene, Caroline John)... That was supposed to be the joke - but the really funny thing was that Courtney took this in his stride and carried on with the rehearsal without batting an eyelid - which everyone found hilarious.
Courtney didn't attend the very first convention - at a church hall in Battersea during Graham Williams' tenure as producer. Williams was there, along with two Doctors - Pertwee and Baker - as was Mat Irvine, Louise Jameson and Terrance Dicks. (The guy on the door didn't recognise Williams and nearly denied him entry - and he was bringing Baker and Jameson with him. They and Dicks had all been to the pub before attending).
The Brig only came to conventions later, being talked into attending by Pertwee. The golden era of fan events for many was the JNT era, when there seemed to be a convention every week. Most of these took place in various American states - and led to a considerable amount of antagonism between British and American fan groups. The US conventions basically paid guests to attend, as well as providing gratis travel and hotel stays. The poorer UK groups (mainly the DWAS) simply couldn't compete.
The UK got the big Longleat event in early 1983, but for the actual 20th Anniversary itself, everyone headed for Chicago. British events planned for that weekend had to be cancelled for lack of participants. (Both anniversary events became infamous for their organisation / running).
These US conventions allowed frustrated light entertainer JNT to come out from behind the scenes and perform to what he thought to be an adoring public - and the American fans certainly loved him more than the British ones did. One of the regular events at these conventions was a cabaret, at which all the guests were expected to perform a party piece. The quality of performance was embarrassing, but people seemed to like them.
Personally, I was never interested in attending any of the UK conventions. Either they were too far away, or I didn't have the time off, or I didn't have the money. There was also a touch of the Groucho Marx about me - not wanting to join any group that would have someone like me as a member.
I finally attended the 2012 BBC-run convention in Cardiff Bay, just before I started this blog. It was a business-like affair, with panels and displays, but no stupid cabarets. I would have gone to the 50th event, but the tickets had gone by the time I got through. The last event I attended was the "Festival" which took place in November 2015. It was very similar to the 2012 Convention.
I have noticed that there are quite a few smaller scale events taking place through the year, and would certainly think of attending one or two of these, now that my health issues are resolved, but the bigger ones still don't appeal.
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