PBS, 11.2 - WTTW Prime Time . . . Doctor Who?

I could Not have thought of a better way to cap off the holiday week other than Doctor Who Saturday night and all day Sunday.  Channel 11, WTTW (11.2 for us free digital TV viewers) gave the region what we have always asked for, a come back of Doctor Who in Chicago.

The lineup of the new series episodes started Saturday night at 7:00 PM and it did not end until Monday morning at 2:00 AM.  It was fantastic!  I have all the episodes available to mankind, so it was not like I needed to sit and watch, however I did for most of it.  It brought back the feelings of fun times sitting in front of TV in the late '70's when I found out about Doctor Who, and the mid '80's when my son became interested in Doctor Who at age 5.  In 1989 the main stream for the family started when we went to see the 6th Doctor Collin Baker, at what was once the Harvey Holiday Inn.  Then the list of years go on for almost every year on Thanksgiving weekend.

Nick and his mom Katie meeting Collin Baker, 1989

My son and I have met a lot of the actors from Doctor Who, and specifically all of the Classic Series Doctors starting with 3rd Doctor John Pertwee.  If I had known about cons when I started watching Doctor Who, I would have gone to meet the 2nd Doctor Patrick Troughton who seems to be the actor's favorite (and the fans who knew him).

During the television marathon these two days, I saw the scenes of Winston Churchill played by Ian McNeice.  My son and I met Ian at the 2010 Chicago TARDIS con and thought he was a delight to listen to, telling stories of his career and life in general.  To really appreciate this actor you need to know what he has done, and it is A LOT.  IMBd is a good source (click here for IMBd).

Below is a photo I took of Ian on stage during his panel.  As usual, click on the photo to enlarge, and click on the photo again to index through the compilation.

This next photo is of Ian in his character "Winston Churchill", of the episode "Victory of the Daleks".

Ian was very appreciative of the collage of photos I put together from his acting career.  I do this every year for the actors, and many of them enjoy that someone had enough interest in them as an actor, other than just getting an autograph.  The photo below is Ian's collage I made.

Ian was also the actor that my son and I chose to sit and have Sunday brunch with.  A great time with a great man.

The reason my son and I follow Doctor Who is for the friendship of everyone we meet (along with the script writing).  All of us are in need of entertainment of some sort.  For some it is a chance to become an artist and "act a part" during the cons, where nobody judges you for what you deem as fun.

Fan Dressed as TARDIS

It is also a time to make it reality, meaning one can watch their favorite show or movie on TV and get carried away relating it to real life.  Being able to meet and talk to the actors, knowing it is a career and a struggle for them, makes our own lives and theirs that much more interesting.

Writer Simon Guerrier and Actress Laura Doddington in their Panel

Actress Ciara Janson in her Panel

Laura and Ciara sitting with my son and I after Brunch

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