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Gallifrey Archives
The Seventh Seal of Gallifrey One
February 16-19, 1996
The Airtel Plaza Hotel, Van Nuys

Guests: Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Philip Segal, John Anthony Blake (Levene), Terry Walsh, Patricia Tallman, Spice Williams, Aron Eisenberg, Richard Herd, Jonathan Haze, Ray Ferry, Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz, Henry Vanderbilt, Eric Hoffman, Larry Stewart, Mike "Amberwolf" Elliott, Lou Anders, John McElroy, Tom Beck, Steven Stockbarger, the UCLA Enigma Players, and Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier.

Retrospective

"And so, it begins..."

The Seventh Seal of Gallifrey One marked the beginning of the 'second era' of the Gallifrey conventions... a turning point from the local feeling of a handful of Doctor Who fans, to a crossroads of international fandom that felt more familial than occasional. But it wasn't only because of that; it was also the first convention at the Airtel Plaza Hotel in Van Nuys, Gallifrey's permanent home. It was because of the focus of the guests. And becaues of a renewed sense of purpose, as well as its name in the headlines... not to mention the February 1996 foundation of a little corner of the newfangled World Wide Web, an Outpost if you will.

Throughout its first six years, Gallifrey had been focused primarily on its guests of honor, to the exclusion of much of its secondary program. With year seven, there was a new focus on events, secondary guest speakers and unifying themes that would come to play in years to follow. It was the first with a single convention logo; the first with three full tracks of programming (or more); and the first that truly reached out to greater American Doctor Who fandom in other parts of the country to invite it to join us for what had been almost exclusively a Los Angeles event. As an indicator of its new status, like the first and fifth conventions it was also a four-day affair, and as such was attended by 461 people.

It certainly was helped by the long-awaited double-billing of Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred, both of whom had expressed interest for several years in coming back to Los Angeles. Sophie arrived first, and proved to be just as wonderful as everyone remembered; her enthusiasm carried over into her socializing with many fans, including staying for an extra week like she'd done before. McCoy, on the other hand, was quite different than his last appearance in 1991, where he'd had a bad cold and was subdued; he entertained fans, especially in a brief appearance playing the spoons during the Cabaret.

Nobody could have expected the surprises in store that took place on Saturday, which kicked off with Philip Segal’s presentation of the making of the new Doctor Who movie. Sylvester McCoy joined him to reminisce about the taping of the film. Actress Patricia Tallman of Babylon 5 had been contacted months before but even up to the event itself, it wasn't certain that she would be able to make it. Tallman (and a word from Eric Hoffman) had brought fellow actress Spice Williams down; Williams, who had appeared in Star Trek V and was a recognized body builder, seemed to have more fun traipsing through the small but sold-out dealers' room than anyone else on site. Likewise, Richard Herd, who had taken a variety of SF roles including “V” and “seaQuest DSV” appeared, including on the Monday of the convention. Terry Walsh, a former Doctor Who stuntman, had surprisingly been in town and, on the behest of Bob McLaughlin, showed up to do a panel with Eric and Jonathan Haze, who had been in the original "Little Shop of Horrors" film in the 1950's. Committee member Cathy Beckstead, meanwhile, had discovered that an old friend from high school, Aron Eisenberg, was now on Star Trek: DS9 (as Nog) and persuaded him to speak at the convention as a surprise guest star. Also joining us once again were John Anthony Blake (who finally announced that he was indeed married to long-time sweetheart Jennifer Woods), Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, Eric Hoffman, our Canadian whirlwind Larry Stewart, and Mike "Amberwolf" Elliott, who this time was treated as a special filk guest. Finally, it was the last appearance at Gallifrey of Larry Stewart, who had been with us the first seven years; Larry had decided the annual trip was simply too much to undertake.

Probably the most popular event of all during the weekend was the Great and Glorious Game of the Seals of Gallifrey One. Convention attendees were able to collect "seals" (or stickers) from various locales. What had started off as six seals and then a final, seventh seal (a stamp from Christian McGuire) turned into several extra seals and a few "unofficial" ones created on site in the Ops room. Still, the entire event proved to aid both the convention and the Time Meddlers, whose new membership tally was also boosted by the fact that it had a seal as well.

There were many first-time activities and popular returns: the banquet finally made its long-awaited return to the convention with a brunch on Sunday with Sylvester, Sophie and John, one that actually sold out over five months before the convention. The convention’s Friday night fun surrounded the Gallifrey Match Game, which made a very popular debut at the convention; committee member Matt Mitchell became the star of the evening doing a mix of John Nathan-Turner and 1940's cigar-chomping producer, with other celebs including Bill Watson as the Master, Ingrid Oliansky as Peri, Arlene Satin as Mel, Cathy and Patrick Beckstead as Ace and the Seventh Doctor, and Jim Terry as the Sixth Doctor. The Time Meddlers also sponsored the $25,000 Pyramid of Mars game on Sunday. Also taking place was the usual Gallifrey One Coffee House, though now at the Airtel Plaza Hotel the annual filksinging event (with the Cabaret, the only event that has taken place throughout all 10 conventions) became a popular singing fest, guided by new regular Rainy Smyth. The weekend also held many interesting panels and productions including a screening of the first episode of the as-yet-unaired ABC series "Hypernauts" . In addition, the Friday night festivities that had started at the sixth convention continued, though it was reduced to a much smaller room because of hotel contractual problems with serving food; the event, “The Metebelis Mixer,” took place in the Pilot’s Lounge room. In honor of the Metebelis 3 crystal that Jon Pertwee’s Doctor had located, everything was blue . . . and decorated as a crystal cave, with aluminum foil on the walls, cobwebs and other trappings (which took a crew of 12 nearly 3 hours to complete!)

Fan discussion programming really kicked off at this convention. "Thoughts and Theories on Babylon 5" and "Doctor Who Fandom Online" were the first panels early Saturday morning, and both were well attended. "Meet the Chairman" was attended by, well, you probably know who. Some of the other discussion programs at this con included "Doctor Who: My Favorite Companion," "Joining a Convention Committee," "Is Star Trek Dead?", "You're Taroting Us Apart!," "Doctor Who in the Media," "Counting Down to Star Wars," "Classic Comics," "Lois & Clark: Mainstreaming the Superman Mythos," "The Best and Worst of SF Television," "Mulder & Scully & Aliens, Oh My!" and the "Doctor Who New & Missing Adventures Roundup" discussion.

Lots of pro panels as well. Space enthusiast Harry Vandervilt presented "What's New in the Sky" on Saturday. Eric Hoffman had several presentations including a tribute to actor Michael "Davros" Wisher, the Companions of Doctor Who and a retro on Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred. Jonathan Haze and Eric Hoffman were joined by Terry Walsh to discuss cult films, while Patricia Tallman appeared solo on stage (canceling the planned Sound Off Contest, which was gratefully retired the previous year.) Mojo presented the first of his many special effects panels, mostly on Babylon 5, while Ray Ferry and Eric Hoffman presented a panel on "Famous Monsters of Filmland" Magazine. The Time Meddlers of LA also got into the act, presenting their tenth anniversary party at the convention (as well as the aforementioned game show) and a discussion panel. Cabaret fun kicked off with a parody of the "Absolutely Fabulous" series (with Shaun Lyon and Matt Mitchell playing Edina & Patsy, doing a Colin Baker-ish makeover on an unsuspecting Jim Terry), the highlights of the cabaret included Sylvester McCoy playing the spoons on several members of the audience as well as Sophie Aldred; Sophie's superb rendition of two ballads; another set with Amberwolf on keyboard; Larry Stewart's annual stand-up; the return of the Gallifrey All-Kazoo Band (who "attempted" the Classics); Arlene Satin and Rainy Smyth performing "In His Kiss"; Linda Harpe doing another solo on guitar; and several comedic spots with the UCLA Enigma Players. Also, Matt Mitchell, Christian McGuire and Steve Smyth performed an "aria" by Deanna Bayless as the Three Tonners, and Kory Doyle, David Keller and Shaun Lyon as the "Duelling Rednecks," performing the "You Just Might Be a Fan If..." sketch that has since made its way across America to various Who clubs' publications and even into the Spring 1996 issue of "Friends of Doctor Who".

The charity auction this year took place for Sylvester McCoy's charity (the War Child Fund). One of the major items in the auction was the shooting script for the Doctor Who movie autographed by the cast, writer and Philip Segal the producer. Con special projects organizer Alan Hale, with a lot of help from friends, put up $1,000 -- to date, the most paid at a Gallifrey auction for a single item. Segal's request that the shooting script be kept tightly under wraps was honored.

Gallifrey '96 was many things to many people. But to its committee and crew, it was the dawn of a new age, not unlike the themes of Babylon 5 that were well represented at the convention; it was the first time Gallifrey was on the national stage... and to emphasize that, with the May 1996 debut of the Doctor Who film, Gallifrey was featured in a sidebar article in none other than the bestselling TV Guide magazine. Gallifrey '96 was the location of the first glimpse of the new Doctor Who series... and more than anything, the convention that established the event as a formidable force in Doctor Who fandom.

Photo Archives

The convention signboard; the $25,000 Pyramids of Mars game; Sophie Aldred sings in the Cabaret; Sophie smiles; Sylvester creates his new 'robot' Sophie; Sylv and Sophie together on stage... notice where our Dalek model's sign has ended up!; Sophie with fan Johnny Takenaga; Amberwolf hits the keyboards; Christopher Britton's second and final Cabaret; the Cabaret opening: Patsy (Matt Mitchell) and Edina (Shaun Lyon) give a makeover to Jim Terry; John Levene and Shaun tango in the cabaret; a young fan at the dance.

Costumed Dan Murphy and Susan Gleason clown around; masquerade competition including Corey Klemow, Jacqueline Watson, Jennifer Tifft; two shots from Gallifrey Tonight hosted by Shaun & Christian McGuire, including Larry Stewart, Henry Vanderbilt; Jonathan Haze; Richard Herd; John Levene; Match Game shots: testing with Jill Sherwin, Carol Loessin, Shaun Lyon; Ingrid Oliansky as Peri, Bill Watson as the Master, Cathy and Patrick Beckstead as the Seventh Doctor & Ace, Matt Mitchell as John Nathan-Turner, Arlene Satin as Melanie, Jim Terry as the Sixth Doctor; John Levene and Jenni Woods cut their wedding cake; Sylvester with Howard the Dalek.

Two shots of Sylvester McCoy; Patricia Tallman; Pat Tallman with Spice Williams and Bill Watson; Philip Segal and John Levene; Sophie Aldred with Julie Scott; Spice Williams; at the ice cream social with Dan Sandifer and Diane Elliott; the late Terry Walsh.

Artwork and Illustration

The cover of the program book (and T-shirt design) by Tony Benoun; "Universe Today," the daily newsletter by Deanna Bayless & David Keller; the convention flyer by Shaun Lyon; banquet ticket by Tony Benoun; the convention's colorful logo; the "Gallifrey 7" logo, keeping in tune with the Babylon 5 theme of the convention; artwork used in the program book by Larry Stewart.