Long Island gets its first Doctor Who convention, LI Who!

Fans of the British sci-fi show Doctor Who materialized in Ronkonkoma, New York on Long Island this past weekend for the island's first Doctor Who convention, L.I. Who. The convention was held at the Clarion Hotel on November 8-10th and as this is right around the corner from me there was no way that I was going to miss it! Just like the TARDIS (the show's spaceship that can travel through time and space) the convention appeared small on the outside but was a lot bigger on the inside. I was pleasantly surprised to see how much there was to do throughout the weekend.

The convention housed a small vendor room but what it lacked in quantity it made up for in quality. There were about 14 vendors in the actual vendor room and about 5 in the hallway. I must say that for a small vendor list they did a great job at selecting the vendors as everything you could want was covered. You could have purchased various kind of shirts, cosplay pieces, art, jewelry, audio CDs, toys, patches/pins, and more.

The convention's guest line up was also impressive, especially for a first year convention. The highlight guests were Sylvester McCoy (Seventh Doctor), Ian McNeice (Winston Churchill), Simon Fisher-Becker (Dorium Maldovar), Daphne Ashbrook (companion Dr. Grace Holloway, '96 film), Frazer Hines (companion Jamie McCrimmon), and Chase Masterson (Big Finish audio adventures.). Also in attendance were a number of Doctor Who authors, artists, and podcasters.

Sylvester McCoy speaks to his fans.

The panels at the convention were great and spanned many different topics from LIVE episode commentaries and how the guests managed to work for the show to cosplay tips and Doctor Who style game shows. The speakers were great and it's always fun listening to funny anecdotes. Simon Fisher-Becker, who played Dorium Maldovar in the recent seasons, had one inspiring panel in which he gave fans an autobiography or sorts. As a person and an actor he has been through so much and he gave such great advice on both life and being an actor. The panel was extremely inspiring. Sylvester McCoy shared some great stories from the set and told fans how during the 1996 movie it was the first time his Doctor ever used a sonic screwdriver and during the scene he was actually holding it backwards! Another great piece of information that I had never known was shared by actress Daphne Ashbrook about how close Doctor Who had been to being picked up by FOX in 1996. She explained to fans that she was told that if FOX did not pick up a second season of the show Sliders then Doctor Who would definitely be getting picked up. As we all know, Sliders was picked up instead of Doctor Who and FOX must be kicking themselves right about now for that decision. However, Doctor Who is in good hands at the BBC so it all worked out in the end.

Simon Fisher-Becker, Ian McNeice, Frazer Hines, and Daphne Ashbrook.

LI Who brought out some fantastic cosplayers who got to show off their amazing costumes. I was truly impressed with what I of course had to run around taking pictures of everyone. You can see all of my LI Who photos in my Flickr set. I could write a whole other post just on the cosplays that I saw but for times sake I suggest everyone look at my photo album. One cosplay worth mentioning however was an amazing Silence cosplay that looked perfect. Not only did this person have the perfect mask, rubber hands, and suit but they had a sound box that played the creepy chittering sounds that the Silence make! The spent most of Saturday eerily creeping up on people and scaring them. It was amazing. There were also some fantastic family cosplay groups that I loved to see (Cybermen/Weeping Angel family and a family that consisted of a Nine, Eleven, a dalek and a TARDIS (Dad, son, daughter, Mom)). There were some fun cosplay shoots throughout the weekend as well. Plenty of people showed up to support them. Some points I might change are better utilization of the room provided or better locations. This would eliminate the appearance (or actuality) of disorganization. But this is just my personal opinion.

Overall, the convention was an absolute blast and I recommend everyone come to this convention next year. The atmosphere was warm and inviting and there was plenty to do! Thank you to everyone who helped put this convention on! I cannot wait till LI Who 2 (November 7-9, 2014)!

Check out the official LI Who website and my LI Who Flickr album for more photos!

My girlfriend and I with Simon Fisher-Becker, Ian McNeice, and Daphne Ashbrook.

Myself cosplaying as the Tenth Doctor.

All 11 Doctors! Sylvester McCoy as 7 and myself as 10!

The Doctor (me) and his many companions.

My photo with Sylvester McCoy!