Guests: Colin Baker, Terrance Dicks, Barry Letts, John Levene, Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier, Larry Stewart, Eric Hoffman, Forrest J. Ackerman, Jonathan Glassner, J. Michael Straczynski, Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz, John McElroy, Chris Chulak, Mike Moore, Paul Schmid, Steve Stockbarger.

After a wonderful first year and a few stumbling blocks in subsequent years, Gallifrey finally began to hit its stride with A Fifth of Gallifrey One. This, by circumstance, was actually the lowest attended Gallifrey convention in its history, topping out at 302 . . . even though it was the first convention since the first year to take place over four days instead of three. The reason: the Northridge Earthquake, which hit the area some four weeks before the start of the convention. Indeed, the earthquake hit the con's preparations quite hard as well; much of the committee had been based in and around the San Fernando Valley. Additionally, the convention was forced to shrink on its final day due to Red Cross activity in the hotel, which made for an unusual environment.

Colin Baker was finally able to make it to Los Angeles, but was unable to stay for the entire convention due to the birthday celebration back home for his daughter; nevertheless he put in a terrific performance during his panels and co-hosted the Costume Contest with the again-returning guest John Levene. Sadly, however, Colin had to miss out on the Cabaret on Sunday. The convention considered swapping the Saturday and Sunday night events to accommodate his schedule; unfortunately, such a move was not to be, though Colin would later be able to perform at Gallifrey Nine. At Colin's behest, Gallifrey also reinstated a charity auction, which would continue to be dedicated to the target charity of each subsequent guest of honor; this year's auction, a benefit for the Foundation for the Study of Infant Death (Colin's charity), raised over $1600, a donation gratefully accepted by the Foundation and Colin himself, and firmly established the annual Charity Auction event that would proceed every year subsequent to this.

Terrance Dicks, the long-time Doctor Who script editor and novelist, was suggested as a guest by Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, who had been friends with Dicks for some time. In turn, Terrance suggested that he bring along Barry Letts, who had produced the series during Jon Pertwee's run in the 1970's as well as had recently written a radio drama, "The Paradise of Death". Both men came to the convention, and proved to be two of the most popular con guests in the event's history. As such, the focus of the convention's tribute panels was on the UNIT years, with Dicks and Letts joined by John Levene and Eric Hoffman to celebrate that era. Eric Hoffman also led a presentation on Colin Baker's career.

Also joining us for the weekend was Joe Straczynski again, whose "Babylon 5" series was now in production and was becoming very popular in fandom, and for the first time packed the room for his presentation; he spoke and showed part of the episode "Parliament of Dreams" (the full version was shown in a separate event courtesy Lee Whiteside). Likewise, the con was visited by Jonathan Glassner, who along with co-producer Chris Chulak were filming a television film called "Island City". (Sadly, "Island City" would only air as a one-shot TV movie, though Glassner and Chulak would later go on to create and produce the series "Stargate SG-1".) Making his first-ever appearance at the convention was Mojo, aka Adam Lebowitz, who at the time was designing visual effects for Babylon 5 at Foundation Imaging (and who would make many returns in the con's future). Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, who had graciously brought Terrance and Barry to Los Angeles, stayed for the entire weekend; also, John McElroy, who had edited the DW script books and had been a dealer (from year one through year 10, actually) spoke about the series. Mike Moore and company from Proper Effects, a local effects & props company, also visited, as did propmaker Steve Stockbarger, who had been coming to Gallifrey since its inception. Legendary fan/writer/historian Forrest J. Ackerman made a special appearance Saturday afternoon on "Famous Monsters of Filmland" magazine, the publication he had founded many years before.

Although lacking Colin Baker, the cabaret was quite delightful. John Levene did a terrific job hosting it for the first time. Shaun Lyon presented his opening monologue, "Twas the Night Before Gally", and also presented three humorous interludes featuring "The Good News & The Bad News about Doctor Who" written by David Keller & Deanna Bayless. Linda Harpe presented a solo routine called "Queen Gally-tifah" and also performed with John and Rainy Smyth, who also did two solo numbers. Arlene Satin performed a rendition of "Follow Me," accompanied by Linda Harpe on guitar. Michele Hoffman and Patsy Rethore performed "How to Handle the Doctor," a reprisal of their performance from Year Two. Eric Hoffman did a short piano solo, "The Master's Gonna Get You With His Gun," and also performed with his UNIT Tabernacle Choir (repeating the song "UNIT Life"). Christian McGuire led the "Time Meddler Irregulars" in an offbeat rendition of "The Twelve Days of Gallifrey", and of course Larry Stewart did a stand up comedy act and read from "The War of the Worlds" in his marvelous impersonation of Richard Burton. The event was capped with a group song, "I Want To Know What Love Is" led by John and Linda and using a mirror ball and printed words on the viewscreen for people to sing along. It was, in many minds, the first "real" Cabaret of the conventions (barring the performance of Jon Pertwee during year one) and would set the stage for future events.

Gallifrey Tonight was co-hosted by Shaun Lyon and Christian McGuire, and featured interviews in a talk-show setting with all the major guests, Colin, Terrance, Barry, the Lofficiers and John Levene. It turned out surprisingly well, focusing largely on the guests' activities outside the realm of Doctor Who; over two hundred people attended the event. There were three dances, one for each of the evenings, although one ended very abruptly. The music was once again a very eclectic and popular program. Also a highlight: the end of the weekend in the Con Suite, which was located in the top of the hotel with a panoramic window view of the western horizon; most of the con's attendees at the very end of the weekend were present here as the lights were turned off to enjoy the sunset.

The convention also featured a "Listening Post" audio room which played a number of audio presentations including "Doctor Who" shorts, "Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy" and "The War of the Worlds." However, due to the small size of the weekend, attendance in the Listening Post room was almost nonexistent, and so it was retired. Meanwhile, the USS Alliance presented a party called "Shore Leave". Dean Kaufman, a local trivia expert, presented his "Quiz of Rassilon." Steve Stockbarger and several locals presented "Props by the Professionals." Some of the panels this weekend included "Time Machines & How to Build Them 101," "The Doctor: Boxers or Briefs," "Is Dr. Who Dead?," "Horror in the Comics" with Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier; a Blake's Seven vs. Star Trek debate and a B5 vs. Deep Space Nine discussion; "What If?" (a strange panel with all the major guests); "SF TV 1993: The Year in Review," and finally, Larry Stewart actually conducted a faux-séance. Eric Hoffman also presented several retrospectives including "The Man in the Technicolor Nightmare Suit" (a tribute to Colin Baker); a UNIT Years slide show; and a tribute to Jacqueline Hill, who had played Barbara Wright, one of the original Doctor Who companions, who had died shortly before the convention.

Originally, the convention would be titled "Gallifrey One Takes the Fifth". However, a Midwestern convention, DemiCon, chose the name publicly several months prior, taking a clue from our naming conventions. There were some problems with the hotel this time around, too. The Glendale Red Lion did not feel obligated to honor the reduced rate of the convention for people who had not made reservations. Because of this, as well as a problem on the part of the hotel's interpretation of the contract (they did not include Monday as an operating day of the convention until well after the contract's signing), the convention missed its room night pickup. Nevertheless, the resulting hotel bill was rather small and the convention was actually in the black at the end. Though there were still some growing pains on its committee, Gallifrey Five turned out to be quite a wonderful weekend for so many people.

And, unbeknownst to the convention at the time, there was something else happening that weekend: a "spy" in our midst, a producer from Lakeshore Television attending as an observer alongside Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, slowly seeking out fan opinion on the television show we were celebrating. One year later, this man would make a stunning revelation...