Doctor Who - fandom notes and queries (and scarves)

[raven]

I've been meaning to make this post for a while because, really, one of life's great pleasures is a new fandom. And one shared with other people - in this case a quarter of the British population - is the best type of all.

Anyway, firstly a GIP, for which we must all blame eternalwings. I was talking about scarves for some reason, and if you would like to know (and I don't see why you would) I own eight scarves. I think this is because my mother once realised I liked them and decided to give them to me at every possible opportunity; not that I mind, because I now have loads. There is my favourite, the red and black that you have all seen, a black and white that is similar, a black and brown that is similar again, a plain red fleece one, a plain cream one, a pink and black that matches the gloves Hannah gave me, another ancient (well, fifteen years old) cream one, and a cashmere one I stole off my mother. Anyway, Sam happened to mention the red-and-black looks like something the Doctor would wear, and one Google-image-search later, she was proved distressingly right.

So I now have an icon of of the Fourth Doctor and his scarf (yay) to use when I, too, am feeling particularly gormless. I blame Sam.

Talking of the Doctor and Google search (I was, a minute ago!), the Mirror today decided to evaluate the various search engines in its online section. They chose to search for Doctor Who as a test - unsurprisingly, Google was the best, but on the whimsical side; it brought up something about how to knit scarves. I was amused.

Anyway! Also on the fandom side, the preparations for Collectormania 7 have begun. Some of the guests I wanted to see have dropped out, but actually, I don't care; I go to cons for the people more than anything. We're planning a new_who meet-up at some point, because several members and all the three mods, hathy_col, amchau and me, are going. We should also meet mettanna, whom I haven't seen in ages, and from this end it's going to be the usual double date situation - Clare&Colleen, Hannah and me - plus Enid, hopefully, and Am-Chau should be meeting us there. It will be, in the words of no-one in particular, fantastic.

So fandom life is all yay, and it's only in real life that people are throwing chairs at me. I'm writing fic at the moment, and need a quick canon question answered - simply, was the First Doctor ever a child? I mean, did he have a Time Lord mum and dad and play hide-and-seek and have an idyllic childhood, or is it, as it so often is, much more complicated?

That is me done. GIP.

Comments

[beccaelizabeth]

I think I remember references to Gallifrey using gene banks. I've been googling and the quote I'm thinking of is from "The Creature from the Pit"
http://www.drwhoguide.com/who_5g.htm
The Doctor tells him the sign of Crossed Computers was what the Doctor was born under -- the symbol of the Maternity Service on Gallifrey.

I thought there was something more direct but I haven't found it yet.

And this doesn't answer your question.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

It helps! Thank you.

[And what's the deal with the half-human thing?]

[beccaelizabeth]

The half human thing seems to be an American invention for the TV movie.
Tho there has been some argument about it since, and attempts at retcon in the books if I understand it correctly, and arguing about what previous comments might have hinted at the same thing.
One site I read said that maybe the Doctor was confused after his regeneration, which would fit with series canon, or maybe it was because his genetics got tampered with in one of the books and no previous Doctor had been human, or maybe... a bunch of maybes.

One thing I should mention about the Doctor's early years is there was a lot of hinting around that he might in fact be older than the other Time Lords, be one of the ones along with Rassilon and Omega that made them Time Lords in the first place. What I got from the series, mostly 7th Doctor, was that he would talk about the early days of figuring out time travel as 'we' and react as if it were personal, then correct himself like it was species-we. 7th got a lot of 'dark' hints, attempts to add depth. I liked.
http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/o/origindr.htm
Lists 'The Other' as kind of a 0th incarnation, with a bunch of detail about Gallifrey and loom born and all. Which would be handy if I knew where it was taking the information from.
*googles*
probably the book Lungbarrow, which is serialised on the BBC website. The summary makes it sound very odd.

[beccaelizabeth]

Lungbarrow has a lot of stuff about Gallifrey, like there are no parents, and stuff about the Houses they grow up in. Apparently it was written to answer a lot of questions, many about the Doctor's family.
I'm up to chapter six and only medium confused.

I don't consider the books to be canon tho, so it doesn't necessarily answer much.

[beccaelizabeth]

book also says
'They are all born from the Family Loom as full-grown adults. They are like children at first and have to learn like children. Andred calls that time brain-buffing.
there's lots of stuff. is interesting.

[mettanna.livejournal.com]

Ooh yes, definite need to meet up :D To be honest, i don't think there's a single guest i'm really keen on seeing, but like you said, it's the people that make it fun, and i'm really rather looking forward to it all *g*

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

It's going to be fun. *g*

[amchau.livejournal.com]

This comment is just to remind us that tonight, when you've called me and we've finished the DW squee (or whatever related fannish noise we turn out to be making), we must discuss C7 properly. I'm going to look at the train times later today, and stuff. I'm going to try and make Saturday as long a day as possible, but I can't commit to staying over-- schoolwork, family, etc.

[eternalwings.livejournal.com]

Oh you cannot blame me!!
I simply made an intelligent observation nyah!

[bekkypk.livejournal.com]

"doh" goes especially well with the 4th doctor's face in that icon :D
If you see my scary boi (hes over 6 foot tall, he's gone grey since he met me, and may or may not have a scary beard dependant on if it's grown back after he's been to see me this weekend) run. Because he is mad. *nods* utterly barmy. Like me.

And he has photos of me. One of which may be scary. *shifty eyes*
xx

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I look forward to meeting him!

[Though I did want to meet you...]

[bekkypk.livejournal.com]

I'd have liked to go, my fave companion is supposed to be there (though i already have his autograph i'd like to see him IRL) but I'm still knackered from work and I have no transport, waaaaaaiii :(
xx

[bekkypk.livejournal.com]

Also the doctor definately had a young-adult hood, but what age they come off the loom at, I don't know.
xx

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

"Come off the loom?"

omg. Explain!

[bekkypk.livejournal.com]

I know very little about it, but Gallifreyans (at least the posh ones who come from certain "houses" - like our posh families and such, I don't think the normal ones do) aren't made by teh uber-l33t s3x0r or anything, they're made on the "loom". I know very little other then this. But theres some ponderings over it because according to the boi the Doctor actually has a bellybutton (which he wouldn't have if he was loomborn, 'cause theres no cord)
Its confusing. I'm just going by what I've picked up from reading the novels and stuff.
xx

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow. That is crazy. But the navel suggests the Doctor was born from a womb, I suppose? And what's with the half-human thing?

[bekkypk.livejournal.com]

The half-human thing in the movie has been largely disregarded (it was a crap movie, the best bit was paul mcganne/sylvester mccoy, the doctor are they! *glomps them*)
TBH I have very little idea myself about whats going on with the Doctor. I could ask the boi tomorrow I suppose (not worth getting him to ring me from the bath for...)
xx