Cosplaying- Costume Play

It has come to my attention that this subject is, to my mind, divided into to camps. The first of these camps feature those of us that Cosplay for the fun of it, the joy of dressing up as the Doctor, or as Amy etc. We care not that the jacket is not the right colour, or that the shirts not the right pattern.

The second camp, however, while most likely doing it for the fun of it as well, also see it as job I believe. They are accurate to the degree of it being obsessive. Everything has to be perfect for them, the coat must be the right colour, and the right make, and have the right buttons. Everything must be screen accurate.

Now I myself fall somewhere in between these two camps. I do like items and clothing to be as screen accurate as I can make it, however, I'm not going to lose sleep over it if they aren't. Take, for example, my Harold Saxon PM cosplay. Now you see he wears a ring on his right wedding finger, but do I? No I don't, I wear on my left index finger, where it feels the most comfortable and right.

Now then, the real reason for this post. I, myself, have no problem what so ever with those people who reside in the latter camp, those who need all aspects of their outfit to be perfect. The problem I do have with said group, and this does not include everyone in that group mind you, is when people look at those in the former group, who do it for fun, and criticise and generally look down their noses  at them. So what if it's not the right jacket or the right shirt! People are doing this for fun! And for someone to take one looks and just dismiss the outfit infuriates me to such extremes.

So to end this post I will send out this quite clear warning. Woe betide anyone that see's a cosplay costume and then when the cosplayer has departed say that it's shit or something and I am in hearing distance. I shall unleash a fury upon you that has not been seen for long time.

The Master

So, after a lengthy absence, sorry about that by the way, I am back and back to my little poems. This time I'd like to talk to you all about the Master, the Doctor's arch-nemesis. This was the first time that another rogue Time Lord was introduced and re-appeared in numerous stories, in fact he he would appear in at least one story for each of the Doctors from the third to the eighth. However, this was not the plan at first. Oh no no, the Master was originally planned to die in the last of Jon Pertwee's stories where he would die to save the Doctor and be revealed as the Doctor's brother. However this was not be as the actor, Roger Delgado, sadly died before the story could be shot. Since then the Master has popped up continually to be a pain in the Doctor's backside before finally seeming to die to save the Doctor in David Tennant's last story, however it is likely that he will return. The Doctor and the Master have always seemed to be intertwined  as well, it is widely accepted that, even if they are not related, they knew each other at the Time Lord academy and were in fact friends. In fact on particular book (Divided Loyalties) describes this friendship, and the Doctor's friendship with other rogue Time Lords, as being part of a group called the Deca. Also, in Planet of Fire, when the Doctor has a chance to save the Master from certain death, although he did escape somehow, the Master declares 'would you do this to your own'. Sadly we never hear what the last word would have been; friend maybe? Or maybe brother? Whatever the Master's relation to the Doctor it can be assured that he will always return.

The Master

The Moriarty to the Doctor’s Sherlock

A member of the Doctor’s own race; the Time Lords

A suave psychopath with a mutual respect for the Doctor, seeing him as almost his equal

Became obsessed with survival towards the end of his life, willing to destroy the Time Lords to gain it.

Stole a body and became more flamboyantly evil and bombastic. More charismatic, deadly and sophisticated.

Resurrected to fight in the Time War but fled

Became more sadistic and manipulative, shared many traits with the Tenth Doctor

Apparently sacrificed himself to save the Doctor against Rassilon; Lord President of the Time Lords

Memorabilia 2011- Saturday

Memoriabilia. The last con, for me, of the year. Set at the Birmingham NEC, it hosted all manner of different guest from T.V shows and films. Once again there were many different cosplayers from different genres of shows. Sadly there was a large contingent of the 501st, the large Star Wars cosplayers who are so far up their own arse!

The Saturday started off rather well, we had all arrived the previous night, apart from our Rory, at the Travel Lodge at the airport and in the morning we all piled into a taxi and got to the NEC around half eight. We were all dressed up as different characters from Doctor Who. We had a Donna, a ninth Doctor, a eleventh Doctor, Miss Frizzy was Lucy Saxon and I was, once again, Harold Saxon. Once we got in we headed quickly over to the photo area and got all the pictures we needed for the day. After that it was just a matter of having a nice wander before it filled up. Once the photos started I for one, was rushed off my feet. Everyone I had a photo with was lovely though; ranging from Kai Owen (Rhys from Torchwood) to Sir Derek Jacobi (The Master). They were all lovely people. My only problem is that the Only Fools and Horses photo shoot was held up by over half an hour due to the staff not capping the autograph ques for ages.

After I had all the photo shoots done me, Miss Frizzy and Uncle-of-Mine rushed out of the hall and headed towards where a load of different Doctor Who cosplayers were filming a 500 Miles music video. With that done we made our way back inside the main hall and killed the time a little until it closed. At that point we departed back to our hotel for food, drink and general merriment. After we'd had food we all decided to do a little fan-filmed episode featuring the Doctor, Rory (who joined us that day) and the Master with a cameo from the 9th Doctor and Donna. Much amusement was taken from the filming and I'm sure the bloopers will far outstrip the actual finished product.

Dimensions 2011- John Levene. 'Sergant Benton got me drunk!"

Well as promised, a bit later then it should be, I can present you with a post about the wonderful John Leven.
As we all know John Levene played Sergant Benton in the 70s during Jon Pertwee and, to  a lesser extent, Tom Baker's time as the Doctor.

Until recently he had lived in America but he has finally returned and he is a absoloute delight to be with and to talk with. On the Saturday of Dimensions me and Miss Frizzy attented the Celeb Gala meal as MR and Mrs Saxon and had the honour of having John at the table. He was an absoloute delight to eat with. He kept us all entertained throughout the meal and...well he got me very drunk. :P Both me and him seemed to take it in turns to fill each others glasses up as soon as it got a little low. This then resulted in me invading the stage to dance during Barry Noble's singing.

On the Sunday I went to see John and to get his autograph, once again we got talking and had a brilliant time. The photo he signed was brilliant and his autograph was so personal that it has to be my favorite autograph ever and I don't think anything will ever surpass it. After the autograph I asked if he wouldn't mind speaking into my video camera for a bit. He said he would and gave a magnificent little talk about a number of thing. You can find the video on youtube under the title of 'Dimensions 2011-John Levene'.

John has have been one of the best people I have had the privilege to meet. John if you do end up reading this blog, and this post in particular, that it was an honor to meet you and I look forward to seeing you again!

Dimensions 2011

Yesterday I returned from up north, Newcastle in fact, where I had attended a Doctor Who Convention known as Dimensions. Now I’ll be honest and say that I was apprehensive about this Con as my standards were pretty high due the excellent Regenerations Convention I attended in September. Initially things did not go according to plan as I had a hell of a time getting there due to late trains and cancellations. Eventually, though, I arrived at the Holiday Inn at around eleven o’clock on Thursday night, had a quick drink in the bar and then retired to bed. I woke up on the Friday feeling refreshed and looking forward to the day, and weekend that lay in front of me. Due to me choosing to share a room for the weekend with a friend, Miss Frizzy, I checked out of my room and spent most of the day in the bar, having some drinks, reading and finishing off my drawing for Arthur Darvill to sign at Memorabilia next weekend, now this coming weekend.

Eventually people started to arrive and my friend did as well, we checked in, took our stuff to the room and returned to the bar where I met some of her friends, including a lovely couple who had their little girl with them; Freyageddon. Freyageddon was an absolute delight to be around, she particularly loved the Daleks and dragging Daddy Doctor all over the hotel. Anyway, getting back on track, during the night I was accosted by someone with long hair and a goatee, to my shock it was someone I met at Collectormania in October, I just didn’t recognise him out of his Master outfit, he cosplays the Ainley Master. Eventually we made our way over to the main hall where the Con was officially opened, followed by John Levene (Sergent Benton) doing a funny little stand-up act. After John a Doctor Who quiz was held and I was shanghaied into being on my friend’s team, we cam second place which was ok. Afterwards we retired to the bar for a few more drinks before heading up to our room.

The next day, Saturday, we got up bright and early ready for the days events. Overall the day was rather busy with me getting the majority of my autographs, from people like Caitlen Blackwood, Peter Purves and Frazer Hines and more. There were also many professional photos that had to be taken with the guests like the ones mentioned above and others. I’m happy to say that everything was organised fantastically and there were no problems at all. However, as good as the day was it was at night where the weekend took a turn for the better, or worse depending on how you look at it. Me and Miss Frizzy had tickets for the Gala meal that was held on that night, in which you had a celebritiy guest at your table. Well we dressed to the hilt I can say, me in a lovely River Island suit and Miss Frizzy in a breathtaking red dress that I’m sure had everybody drooling. We had the honor of having the wonderful Mr John Levene on our table and he was a delight to talk to and meet. In fact he does in fact warrant his own post on this blog which will follow this one. The meal was simply divine and me and John could do nothing but sing the foods praise to the waiters and waitresses. Afterwards many of us headed to bar and then to the main room where Mr Barry Noble was doing some singing for us. By this point I was quite drunk and most of the night is a blur, however I do know that I got up on the stage many a time during Barry’s singing and danced, getting a number of people up on the stage with me. I eventually dragged myself to bed and collapsed on it, sleeping soundly.

Needless to say that I woke up early on Sunday morning with a banging headache, all I wanted to do was just sleep. However, Miss Frizzy dragged me out of bed and down to breakfast, which helped immensily. Luckily the Sunday was much more laid back compared to the Saturday and I only had one photograph to attend, Colin Baker, and four autographs to get. One of these autographs was from the lovely Ian McNeice who plays Churchill in the two most recent series of Doctor Who. In my photo with him yesterday we both wore each others hats and he asked about how it had come out when I got his autograph. Sadly, I had not obtained the photo at the point and told him as much. When I did get the photo I took it to him so he could see, I must say it was rather amusing to look at. I told him that I had finally got the photo and he held out his hand so he could look at it. Naturally I gave it to him, after a few minutes of looking at it, laughing and talking about it he put it down and signed it , free of charge! I was absolutely delighted and couldn’t stop thanking him. Then he told me and Miss Frizy, who was with me, that he was in the stage play of The King’s Speech and that we should go and see it and then see him after the show, which we now plan to do in February. Moving swiftly on I moved over to John Levene’s table and got a autograph from him which turned into a lovely video message from him. Once again, more detail of this in the next post. As the night drew in we retired to the main room for the closing ceremony and then to the bar where we had tea and then whiled the night away chatting, which gradually became more and more filthy as the night drew on, in fact the Sunday night must be in a separate post due to the nature of the conversation. At around one in the morning me and Miss Frizzy said out good byes and departed for bed. 

There really isn’t much to tell about Monday as it was devoted to returning home so I shall move onto the other things at Dimensions. There were plenty of cosplayers out and about during the weekend, numerous fourth Doctors were spied, as was a femme sixth Doctor and a first Doctor. As can be expected, there were a number of eleventh Doctors, myself included, and even some Masters, once again myself included. There were also two fully working Daleks, Bruce and Mac, who were brilliant to talk to and have photos with. Then there were the dealers rooms, where I procured an eleventh Doctor who had been knitted, he was absolutely lovely and I had to have him. I also bought myself the second book in the fantastic author Ruth Wheeler’s trilogy of books, and two Big Finish audiobooks. This also led to me getting my hand drawn Dalek being signed by him.

Overall, the weekend was a massive success and I made loads of new friends, had a brilliant time and it even surpassed Regenerations!

Davros

Davros, we all know him course as the creator of the Daleks. Originally a Kaled scientist who was confined to travel machine due to war injuries , a travel machine which resembled the lower half of a Dalek. Like the Daleks, Cybermen and the Master, more on him soon, Davros was an enemy who would not die. Despite being stranded on Earth, apparently being on an exploding ship, captured by humans and also his own creation, even being exterminated by his own creation did nothing to stop this evil genius.
When the Daleks returned in 2005, many thought that Davros would also make a return, despite being stranded on Earth at the end of his last story from the Classic series, Remembrance of the Daleks. However, this proved false and it was not until 2008 that the last of the Kaled race would make a return to the show. Once again, though, it appears as if Davros is gone, supposedly choosing to remain on a space station that then proceeded to blow up.
Is he dead though? He has shown us that he is not the easiest person to get rid of, will we see him again? I deem this very likely.

Davros

A crippled Kaled scientist

The final creator of the Daleks due to Time Lord interference

Originally exterminated by his creations

His subsequent refusal to die led a Dalek civil war

A depraved and insane megalomaniac but still retained his brilliant mind

After the Time War, became more defeatist after realising the Daleks had moved beyond him

The Cybermen

Oh crikey! Now then, here's an interesting lot. The Cybermen, originally from the Earth's twin planet of Mondas, and then from Telos, this enemy of the Doctor has been through a few design changes in their time as the world advanced. Originally human like us as their bodies began to die they replaced their limbs with cybernetics and gradually did away with emotions as well, becoming heartless killers who also became age old enemies of the Doctor.
With the new series of Doctor Who well under way the Cybermen made a return in David Tennant's first series, and the revived series's second, on a parallel Earth where they were created to save a dying man live forever. Now personally I despise the new series's take on the Cybermen, to me they look too robotic. In the old series it was obvious that these creatures used to be human, not so now.

The Cybermen

Two versions of an ancient foe of the Doctor’s; our universe and an alternative one

Survival is their main objective

Gradually replaced their flesh with metal

Tended towards covert action, scheming from the shadows

Upgrading is the main objective of the alternative Cybermen

Created to save an insane genius from death

Less emotional then the original version

The Daleks

And so we have reached another staple in the wonderful show of Doctor Who; the cockroaches. I do of course mean the Dalek. these creatures have been round for as long as the Doctor and the TARDIS, appearing in the second ever story, Created by a gentlemen named Terry Nation these creatures have had similarities drawn between them and the Nazis with their desire to be the master race and their obsession with purity. More then any other enemy of the Doctors the Daleks have changed the appearance, gaining new colours, sligtht modifications to their overall design and, most recently, a radical overall of themselves, but more on the new Daleks in another post. Their origins have also altered radically throughout the years, handily being explained away due to the interference of the Time Lords.
It was during the 1975 episode Genesis of the Daleks, when the Doctor was sent back in time to prevent the Daleks creation, that the Doctor faced one of his biggest moral dilemmas; did he have the right to end the Daleks before they could be created? In the end the Doctor failed to do what he had been sent to do, however he wasn't displeased by this. As he explained to his companions, although the Daleks would bring great evil and suffering into the world they would also bring goodness as well as people united against the menace of them. I could go on an on about the history of the Daleks but then this post would be too long so it'll have to wait till another time. Until then we leave the Daleks with this poem.

The Doctor’s oldest enemy

Their origins are shrouded in the mysterious of time

Reborn time and time again, a cockroach of the universe

A strict hierarchy with little individuality

An unquestioned belief in their own superiority

Everything that the Doctor despises, ‘the absolute worst thing in creation!’

The TARDIS

Ah ha! You thought you'd seen the last of me didn't you? Now that I've done all the Doctors you thought I'd fade away into nothingness didn't you? Well you were wrong! For I have other things to talk about, other poems to release. And we start these new poems, looking at the main staples of Doctor Who, with the Doctor's dearest and oldest friend; the TARDIS.
Standing for Time and Relative Dimensions In Space this ship has forever made the olden days police telephone box one of the most iconic images in the world. While it's exterior has largely remained the same throughout the shows 48 years it's interior has been subject to much change within the last 30 years. From it's original beginning transmission up until it's original cancellation in 1989 the interior stayed, largely, the same. Come 1996 however and we were shown a much bigger and more gothic interior. Once the revived, not rebooted, series came along we were subjected to a large, coral style design until now we have a interior which completely compliments the 11th Doctor's persona.
The TARDIS has always been, and will always be, the Doctor most trusted and closest friend. Companions may come and go but the one constant in the Time Lord's life is his ship. He stole her and she stole him, both creatures that wished to travel the stars together.

The TARDIS

A thing that looks like a police box.

It can travel through time and space.

‘Borrowed’ by the Doctor; always meant to return it

Stuck in its iconic image back in 1963, few have ever fixed it.

It goes on and on, infinite in its capacity

The Doctor’s greatest and oldest friend, the last of its kind