Guests: Michael Craze, Anneke Wills, Philip Segal, Yee Jee Tso, J. Michael Straczynski, Ed Wasser, Julie Caitlin Brown, John Levene, Gary Russell, David A. McIntee, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Spice Williams, Richard Herd, Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz, Charlie Dierkop, Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier, Eric Hoffman, Mark A. Altman, Mike "Amberwolf" Elliott, Paul Simpson, Robert Burnett, Amanda Finch.  (Invited guests Chase Masterson and Matthew Jacobs both had to cancel at the last minute. Jon Pertwee was the invited guest of honor, and accepted only weeks prior to his death.)

The summer of 1996 saw the Gallifrey community inundated with the mire of post-Worldcon Los Angeles; almost all of local fandom, from the Gallifrey group to the Time Meddlers, LASFS and other fan clubs around the city, had been put through the wringer during the 1996 World Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim (indeed, nearly every single member of the committee worked on the Worldcon in some capacity). The post-Worldcon swirl of activity that would later become Gallifrey One Across the Eighth Dimension had already received bad news anyway: within a week of receiving a letter that he would be delighted to return to Los Angeles as our Guest of Honor, Jon Pertwee, the Third Doctor, on holiday in New England in May, had passed away. His words on paper were not read by chairman Christian McGuire until after we had received word of his death; it was ironic that it was also around the time that the new Dr. Who movie would be airing. Yet none of this would stop the committee and crew from creating the eighth annual convention some months later; with renewed interest in Doctor Who, that was inevitable. Interest, it seemed, was at an all time high, judging by the fact that (a) the at-convention attendance was normal despite lack of a Doctor guest, (b) the high velocity of phone calls from spontaneous news coverage of the convention by KNBC and KCBS-TV, local radio stations and the Los Angeles Times, and (c) the turnout despite a lack of publicity and publications pre-convention spurred on by the Worldcon situation.

Indeed, it was the crest of the wave of Who fandom self-promotion that the convention would experience, and was the first Gallifrey convention that truly experienced the awesome informational power of the World Wide Web (with membership at 430). Program director Shaun Lyon had created a website nicknamed Outpost Gallifrey in February 1996 as a personal page and a Doctor Who information page; along the way, the website would grow substantially as a promotional tool for Gallifrey, the Time Meddlers (and in 1999, a second group, the L.A. Doctor Who Viewing Society) and Ambrosia Books. Eventually, Outpost Gallifrey would become one of the internet's top Doctor Who sites, giving Gallifrey a unique and powerful marketing aid continuing to this day.

Anneke Wills and Michael Craze were reunited for only the second time on the American continent; indeed, this was only Craze's second trip to the United States in his lifetime. From the moment they arrived, it was obvious that two life-long friends and colleagues had been reunited, and they were overjoyed. Likewise, Yee Jee Tso had all of the energy and enthusiasm that people expected, and turned out to be -- despite his lack of knowledge about Doctor Who itself -- a very popular and exciting guest. Philip Segal was back, this time as the honored guest of Gallifrey, to accept what would amount to be a show of thanks from attendees for his tireless work in returning Doctor Who to the airwaves, albeit briefly. The charity auction for Segal's target charity, the Juvenile Diabetes Association, raised a Gallifrey record of nearly $4,000.00.

The face of Doctor Who guests at Gallifrey was changing a bit, too. Two guests joined the convention from the UK under their own auspices; novelist and former Doctor Who Magazine editor Gary Russell, who had been a guest at the preceding Visions convention, contacted Shaun just before the event, while novelist David A. McIntee had been persuaded by an attendee to make the journey. They were to be the first two of a long list of Doctor Who authors who would eventually come to make the Gallifrey voyage each year.

Also on the writing side of things, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, writer/producer for "Deep Space Nine," paid us a visit. Actress Spice Williams made a return trip, bringing her friend Charlie Dierkop (a long-time character actor from "Star Trek" and other shows) along, and also returning was Richard ("V") Herd, Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz (now with "Star Trek Voyager's" effects), and the always wonderful Lofficiers. Also represented was "Sci Fi Universe" magazine with former editors Mark Altman and Robert Burnett and associate editor Amanda Finch; and Paul Simpson from "Dreamwatch" magazine in the U.K. Sadly, John Anthony Blake elected to announce that it would be his final Gallifrey appearance, as he had done eight years in a row and felt it was time to move on.

The Babylon 5 contingent was also well-represented, with Joe Straczynski making a standing-room-only appearance on Sunday afternoon, immediately preceded by a smiling Ed "Morden" Wasser, who had wowed the audience with his quips during the afternoon. Jim Lockett of the Babylon 5 fan club was on hand as well. But the B5 presence at Gallifrey was most felt through Julie Caitlin Brown, who had been a regular (as Na'Toth) during the show's first year and was only now joining the convention circuit. Brown ended up staying over Saturday night and finishing off the Cabaret with her friend, composer/director Buddy Bregman, in a half-hour musical session from her upcoming one-woman show that many at the convention have stated was one of the most powerful highlights of eight years of Gallifrey cabarets. (Star Trek actress Robin Curtis and her husband made a surprise visit to enjoy the Cabaret.)

Speaking of which, the Cabaret featured Anneke & Michael in a duet, a reading by Gary Russell of the lost passages of his novelization of the TV movie, a performance by Yee Jee Tso of his best Bono impression from "U2", and a final duet by John Levene and Linda Rose. Further presentations by the UCLA Enigma Players, Mike "Amberwolf" Elliott and several fans including Arlene Satin & River Sing and Rainy Smyth would highlight the popular cabaret of this year.

Other highlights of the weekend included the premieres of "Red Dwarf VII" (at least the first half of it!) and the Neil Gaiman series "Neverwhere," and the annual Ice Cream Social which took the place of the Gallifrey high tea at the end of the weekend and was patterned after “The Wizard of Oz”. Likewise, the popular Monte Carlo casino on Friday night was nicknamed “Vegas in Space,” with the convention turning the Pilot’s Lounge room into a seedy extraterrestrial gaming chancery.

Likewise, Gallifrey’s video program this year – always a staple of the convention – featured for the first time the Telesnap reconstructions. Based on missing Doctor Who episodes that were “reconstructed” using off-television stills married to crystal clear audio recordings, the telesnap reconstructions were provided by Midwestern fan Robert Franks, one of the group that puts them together, who would later join the Gallifrey committee as head of video programming (along with Minnesota fan Greg Bakun).

The only downside of the con’s events & programming was a murder mystery entitled “Who Killed Doctor Who?” which depended largely on the attendees’ paying attention through most of the weekend; sadly, most didn’t, though an eventual winner was selected – Ruth Leventhal – who had indeed determined the true killer(s) but for the wrong reasons!

Committee members Tony Benoun and Alan Hale created the fantastic wraparound color cover of this year’s program book, based upon the Buckaroo Banzai poster. (It’s so fabulous, as a matter of fact, that it’s featured on the back cover of this book.)

As expected, Gallifrey '97 was dedicated to the memory of Jon Pertwee, who had passed away the previous May just as the Doctor Who movie had taken center stage. To remember Pertwee's contributions, Eric Hoffman, Philip Segal and others had taken part in several panels over the course of the weekend to honor his memory. Sadly, he would not be the only Gallifrey guest of honor to pass away; a year later, Michael Craze would die from injuries suffered during a fall a year later. Gallifrey 8 would be his last North American convention appearance.