Glasgow Who | Doctor Who Forum

On Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 May 2010, Glasgow Who, the Glasgow Doctor Who Society, proudly present Army of Guests 4!

Thanks to the overwhelming support and positive feedback from our previous events, we are expanding to a full two day convention over the late May Bank Holiday weekend in 2010!

The event will take place at the fabulous Glasgow Trades Hall, 58 Glassford Street, Glasgow, G1 1UH and will feature our usual blend of fabulous guests from throughout the history of the show!

Tickets will be available very soon from our website at http://www.glasgowwho.co.uk, with Standard Adult Tickets just £70.00 for the full weekend and Standard Child Tickets just £40.00. All ticket prices include 2 free autographs per guest!

Upgrades to Gold Tickets (front row seats, first place in all the day's queues and an extra autograph from each guest plus more benefits to be announced) will be available for an extra £25.00 and we hope to have one or two very special offers available, too!

Stay tuned for full details of the event and for our first guest announcements, coming soon!

Cheers!

Alan G McWhan
Events Coordinator
The Glasgow Doctor Who Society

Well,

I'll need to start saving up me pennies to get the ticket(s)

I've paid for mine already. Can you see the smug glow as I dodge the bank manager.

R

Alan keeps dropping hints but he is not saying yet. Probably shouldn't say until they are confirmed but judging from the one day conventions this will be good.

R

Looking forward to this event. Al has consistently given us a good (and wider ranging) list of Guests and am sure that AoG 2010 will be no exception.

Hey there, folks.

I can only echo the enthusiastic sentiments expressed above.

I know the sheer amount of hard work and effort that Alan puts into these events - all through love of the programme, and a desire to bring great Who folk to Glasgow, while at the same time raising money for a very worthy charity (Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths).

Alan has given me some hints as to his hopes and dreams for this year's Guest list and, I tell you, if just one of the names he's hoping to tempt agrees to attend, then A.O.G. IV (I prefer Roman numerals!) will be phenomenal.

The last 3 one-day events have been simply fantastic and this 2-dayer can only build on that, while at the same time acting as a great publicity machine for the Group.

I proudly have my Gold Ticket booked and look forward to enjoying another great Bank Holiday convention.

Fondest regards to Alan, the Team and to you all!
JOHN

Should be a great weekend if AOG 3 was anything to go by!

In the immortal words of JNT "Stay Tuned", when Uncle Alan has some deffo guests on board, he will take great pleasure in telling you all who they are.


You may believe that I know who they potentially are, but I couldn't possibly comment...

I'm not saying that I know anything, but I might drop a hint or two. I'm just waiting for the right price...or for Alan to actually tell me. Either way I'm girding my loins for a fun packed, exciting May bank holiday.

R

Sorry for the delay to the announcement of our first guests - I had hoped guest number 4 might also be on the cards for today but, sadly, it wasn't to be.

I am, however, delighted to announce our first three guests for next May are;



Michael Cochrane

It’s a pleasure to announce that popular classic series guest , Michael Cochrane, will be joining us in May!

Michael appeared in two memorable roles in Doctor Who in the 80s, in the classic adventures Black Orchid and Ghost Light, as well as reading Black Orchid for the BBC talking books range and playing the part of Brook in Seventh Doctor adventure No Man’s Land for the Big Finish Doctor Who audio range.

Outside Doctor Who, Michael is probably best known a Sir Henry Simmerson in Sharpe and as the voice of Oliver Sterling in The Archers, amongst many other roles.



Prentis Hancock

Prentis is no stranger to fans of 70s Dr Who, as he made a remarkable four guest appearances in the show - two with Jon Pertwee (Spearhead from Space and Planet of the Daleks) and two with Tom Baker (Planet of Evil and Ribos Operation.)

Beyond Doctor Who, Prentis will also be familiar from his iconic starring role as Paul Morrow in Gerry Anderson’s classic space adventure series, Space : 1999.

And that’s not nearly all! With a TV career beginning in 1969, Prentis is a truly fascinating guest who we’re over the moon to have with us for Army of Guests 4!



Andrew Cartmel

We are also absolutely thrilled to have Script Editor Andrew Cartmel on board!

Overseeing the scripts for the final three seasons of the original run, Andrew guided the show in an exciting new direction at a difficult time and helped to create some of the series’ fans’ all-time favourites, particularly in the form of Remembrance of the Daleks, Curse of Fenric and Ghost Light.

Andrew also went on to write three of the best Virgin Doctor Who novels in the “War” trilogy - Warhead, Warlock and Warchild, as well as writing Winter for the Adept for the Big Finish Doctor Who audio range.

Tickets are available now from http://www.glasgowwho.co.uk/aog4.html and don't forget that if you buy a ticket for our event and for Who at the Fab Cafe 3 you get a whopping £15.00 off the two events!

What's not to love?

Cheers!

Al.

Just checking through and suddenly realised there are guests up. Actually an interesting bunch to start with. Well done Alan. Looking forward to seeibng the rest as they come up.

Rintu

Hello, everyone!

Hope you all had a lovely Tennantmas and are looking forward to a Matty New Year!

Just a quick word of warning to any Doctor Who fans putting off buying a Gold Ticket for Army of Guests 4 until the New Year - there are now only 4 Gold Tickets left so you'll have to be quick!

Both Gold Tickets and Standard Tickets are available now from http://www.glasgowwho.co.uk/aog4.html

Cheers!

Al.

Today, I listened to The Armageddon Factor commentary on DVD and Tom Baker said he likes Glasgow!

So, why not book him? Or Mary Tamm (she loves Glasgow!)

I feel (speaking for Alan here, maybe) that Tom could be a wee bit out of the price range - besides, he'd probably only come if it was in a pub!!

Mary was scheduled to come to the event last year but couldn't make it due to other commitments. Maybe she'll venture up here in the future, though.

Am looking forward to it already good guests Alan, it will good to see Kate O'Mara brother In Law again Michael C.

Graham

Just a quick note to let you all know that, subject to a few dotted "i"s and crossed "t"s, we should have a pretty major guest announcement forthcoming.

And there may or may not be a cryptic clue somewhere in this message.

Let the guessing begin...

Hello there!

I hope this message finds you in good health?

I think I might just have figured out the cryptic clue.........

Alan, you're a marvel.
IF the forthcoming name(s) are who I think they might be, well all I can say is "thank you" to my friend Mr McWhan for arranging something very special indeed.

I look forward to the Official Anouncements, and hope to see you all on Sunday.

Fond regards to all!
John

Just a quick ticket sales update.

Gold Tickets are now SOLD OUT!

Hello one and all and greetings from a fabulously busy Crystal Palace!

I have just made the live announcement of our current lineup for AOG4 and have to say how overwhelmed I am by the positive response!

For those of you not lucky enough to be able to join us "live," as it were, our current guest list (subject to work and personal commitments and finalised contracts) is;

Tom Baker - Yes, you read that right! The 4th Doctor himself will be joining the fun! Don't miss his first Scottish Doctor Who convention in almost 20 years!

Colin Baker - We're very pleased to be able to bring one of my favourite people in the history of the show back to Glasgow to talk about the hugely successful missing stories from Big Finish, amongst many other things!

Sylvester McCoy - Yes, a third (count 'em - three!) Doctor and we're delighted that Sylvester has agreed to take time out of his busy schedule and return to Glasgow!

Sophie Aldred - The lovely Sophie will also be joining us - Ace!

Richard Franklin - We're delighted to bring Captain Yates himself to meet the fans, fresh from his recent success with Tom Baker in the hugely successgul Hornets' Nest series.

And of course there are also our previously announced guests - Andrew Cartmel, Michael Cochrane and Prentis Hancock!

And more still to come!

Don't miss out - visit www.glasgowwho.co.uk to buy your tickets NOW!!!

Cheers!

Al.

My, what a line up! Well done Alan! I'm totally GUTTED that I'll be missing it, especially since you've secured Tom Baker but unfortunately I've already booked my flights to Dublin and, as anyone who has ever flown with Ryanair knows, its impossible to cancel. Ah well, there's always next year (sigh!)

Px

My apologies to anyone who has sent an individual query on various aspects of the event.

For purely time reasons, I cannot answer everyone's questions individually. I would be hugely grateful if anyone who has questions about the event could firstly read the info on the website to see if their question is already covered and, if not, post their questions in this thread.

That way, I can answer each question once rather than a dozen people all asking the same question! I'm run ragged! LOL

Cheers!

Al.

Hi Alan

Have you got any tickets left fot the AOG event on May? I am looking for two, as I will be bringing my friend, Senga. (Hope that is ok)
Will you phone me on xxxxxxxx when you read this, and let me know about the tickets.
Thanks.
ttfn
Christine.

Hi Christine

I've sent you a reply by PM.

There are plenty of tickets left at the moment but they are selling quickly. Full details of how to buy are available at http://www.glasgowwho.co.uk/aog4.html - the page will be updated as soon as we sell out!

Cheers!

Al.

I bought my two to tickets for the AOG. Yipeeeee. I am bringing my friend. She is a huge Tom Baker fan, and would never forgive me if I let this go. It will (to quote my fave Dcotor's catchphrase) fantastic.
ttfn
Christine.

So glad I bought my ticket a while back. Just shows it's worth having faith in Alan and his events.


R

Are you still dodging the bank manager Rintu, becouse now I am as well. My friend and I will be at the AOG after all. Senga has been to a Dr Who convention before, I haven't. I'm so exicted, it will be great. I can't wait.
ttfn
Christine.

Anyone see Andrew Cartmel on Newsnight? he was great. I think we should also invite Tim Collins the ex-Tory MP, he'd be good value as well.

Hi Alan
Is it possiable to buy TARDIS Tearoom tickets just now, or do you have to wait and do that on the day?
I received the two tickets, thanks. They are saftly locked up for the present.
ttfn Christine.

Hi Christine

As the timetable will be in flux until the guest list is complete it's impossible to know when each TARDIS Tearoom will take place or who will be taking part. As soon as the timetable is sorted, I'll let everyone know when each session takes place.

Cheers!

Al.

Hi, all.

This is the first chance I've had to just say a huge and public "thank you" to Alan for working so incredibly hard to negotiate a deal with the legend that is Tom Baker!

Tom, as most of you know, is certainly my favourite Dr. Who, and it will be an absolute joy to see him back in Glasgow.

Let the "new starts" not forget it was Tom that made a certain Mr. Tennant fall in love with the show, and without that we would not have had the success of the last 4 years.

I have no doubt that Tom will be thoroughly entertaining and as "barmy" as ever. Make no mistake, his appearance - along with that of 2 other Dr. Whos, don't forget - will elevate the Army Of Guests brand (and Glasgow-Who) to a different level in Fandom/convention terms.

It is a real coup to obtain Tom's services and is just reward for Alan's hard work over the years.

The fact that we have "old friends" Sylvester, Colin and lovely Sophie also coming back shows what a great time the Guests have had over the years.

Frankly, I think for a 2-day event with 3 Doctors, 3 companions (so far..) and such significant other names on the Guest List, we're getting a bargain!

Fond regards to you all, look forward to seeing you at the March meeting.
JOHN HUGHES

Here we are once more via hyper-expensive satellite link-up from the Crystal Palace!

(OK, so it's a Wi-Fi connection on Barry's laptop... is there no romance in your souls???!!!)

I'm pleased to announce that our latest guests are;

John Leeson - The voice of K9 in the original series, and in the new series, and in Sarah Jane Adventures, and the new adventures of K9, premiering soon on Disney... as well as numerous other roles. We're delighted to welcome John back to Glasgow after his appearance at our first full convention 3 years ago!

Tom Goodman-Hill - I'm absolutely thrilled to announce Tom as a guest as I think he is a fantastic actor and anyone who has seen his appearance in Doctor Who, and on Confidential after, will understand why I feel he is going to be an absolute hoot! Throw in his brilliant guest appearances in Hustle, Jonathan Creek and Moses Jones (with Matt Smith) and I'm sure you'll agree Tom is a guest well worth waiting for!

We've extended the deadline for buying at the original £70 priceline until 1 April - but after that they WILL go up to £80! So don't miss out on the bargain price!

Tickets are still available from http://www.glasgowwho.co.uk but they're selling fast - so you'd better be quick!

We're still working on even more guests... but how many, and how big, is entirely down to YOU!

Cheers!

Al.

I've said it before but I'll say it again Alan - thanks for all your hard work in getting all these wonderful guests to come to Glasgow!

It looks like it's going to be the best Event you've held yet - and all the others were superb!

I'm remarkably excited to be able to announce our 11th guest for this year's event.

Quite probably the most popular producer in the history of Doctor Who, the man behind the first "Golden Age" of Doctor Who, none other than Philip Hinchcliffe has kindly agreed to join us in May for a rare convention appearance, subject to work and personal commitments.

Philip was producer of the show between 1974 and 1977 and oversaw Tom's first three years as the Doctor, producing some of the show's most iconic and popular episodes during that time.

Our guest list is now;

Tom Baker
Colin Baker
Sylvester McCoy
Sophie Aldred
Richard Franklin
John Leeson
Philip Hinchcliffe
Andrew Cartmel
Tom Goodman-Hill
Michael Cochrane
Prentis Hancock

Tickets are still available from www.glasgowwho.co.uk/aog4.html and the sooner you buy yours, the sooner we can tell how many more guests we can go for... and how big they're going to be!

I think we have a truly great guest list shaping up here... it would be a shame for any of you to miss out!

Cheers!

Al.

I just posted on our Blog about Tom Baker's first Doctor Who convention appearance since 1993...

http://blog.glasgowwho.co.uk/

Please visit the post, even if just to make me think someone has read it...!



Cheers!

Al.

It may be of cold comfort and maybe I'm not the best person to be posting first about this since I keep an eye on the blog but I've seen it.

I had a look at the blog, but then again i'm nosey. Elevan guests, it gets better every time you look at it. Conventions are new to me, but this sounds great.
ttfn
Christine.

I'm dead chuffed to hear that Tom Baker himself gives us a plug on the latest Dr Who Online podcast.

Lovely stuff!

Some quite distressing news has just reached me.

I have been advised that a "short, fat, balding man," accompanied by "a woman with a pronounced lisp," who claim to be the organisers of Army of Guests 4, have been telling people that the 3 Doctors on our guest list are not included in our free autographs allocation.

This is quite simply not true.

For a start, I'm not short (although I (sadly) cannot disagree with fat or balding... )

Secondly, I'm rarely, if ever, accompanied by lisping women.

And thirdly, and most importantly, I am categorically and unequivocally NOT charging extra for the autographs signed by Tom, Colin or Sylvester, unless attendees go over their standard allowances of 2 free autographs per attendee per guest for a Standard Ticket or 3 per attendee per guest for a Gold Ticket.

Let me assure you all right here and right now - EVERY advertised guest on our guest list is included in the free autograph allocation.

And even additional autographs signed by our three Doctors will not be charged at the quite simply ludicrous rate of £20 per autograph claimed by our short, fat "friend." ALL autographs signed after the free allowance has been used will be charged at a standard rate. Although this has yet to be finalised, it will almost certainly be just £5 per additional autograph, and will absolutely definitely be no more than £10.

It pains me that someone would attempt to put people off our event in this manner and I'm sorry to have to send this message to clarify what should already be obvious after over 5 years of my running of events here in Glasgow.

When I say free, I mean free.

Alan I've read this post by u, I did'nt know about this post untill ur short fat balding friend, phone me to tell me about this post u put up here. He has had not said any of these thing's about ur Doctors and autographs, and running ur event.

They not happy reading ur post, they may might be going to a LAWYER to what u have said.

Just letting u know. I'll contact u soon.

Graham

Hi Graham

I stand by every word in my post above. As far as I'm concerned, the source of our information is beyond doubt.

I'm not surprised your caller was not happy reading the post - it's never pleasant being found out when doing something wrong.

And, legally speaking, with three reliable witnesses to the activity described, I hope they enjoy being kicked out of their lawyer's office.

For a start, why does the person who has contacted you think I'm talking about them? Could it be that they recognise the activity described, perchance?

Cheers!

Al.

Hi everyone

For reasons which will become clear soon, could everyone who intends to come along in May but has yet to buy their tickets please let me know before 14 April?

Cheers!

Al.

Hi everyone

I'm sorry to announce that due to work commitments Michael Cochrane will no longer be able to join us for AOG4.

More news soon.

Cheers!

Al.

Awww - that's a shame, Alan, but we do still have some great guests to look forward to.

We need your support.

Events like ours live or die on the strength of their advance sales.

At the moment, we are a little way short of our target sales for this stage in proceedings.

All we need to give us the confidence that we can meet our final target numbers is just under a dozen extra sales by lunchtime on Wednesday.

Sadly, if we don't get those extra sales, we will have no option other than to cancel AOG4.

So if you are thinking of arriving and buying on the day, please consider buying now instead. Because otherwise there won't be an event to buy on the day.

We need your support.

Thank you.

Al.

Hi everyone

Sadly, we have now reached a position where we believe there is no option other than to cancel Army of Guests 4.

We could blame so many different things for this.

We could probably blame the fact that we've effectively only had three months to promote this year's event, against our usual run-up time of nine months, due to delays in locating a suitable venue and booking the best guests for our starting line-up.

We could definitely blame the fact that we simply underestimated the number of people who have previously supported us, and who we know from their kind words would join us for another one day event in a heartbeat, but who quite simply cannot take part in a two day event at the moment, no matter how good the guest list, whether for financial reasons or other pressures on their free time.

We could also blame a prevailing "I'll just buy on the very last day of advance orders" or, even worse, "at the door on the day" attitude with which most organisers are no doubt familiar. Basically, events like ours live or die on the strength of advance sales and, sadly, we haven't sold the number of tickets we feel we need to at this point in proceedings for an event of this scale. (BTW, if you're an "on the day" kinda guy yourself, please bear in mind that it only takes a shortfall of 12 tickets on a 2 day event like this to leave the organisers themselves picking up a thousand pound tab. And even if those 12 people do turn up on the day, buying in advance could have put an extra guest on the bill. So advance sales are not only vital to give the organisers the confidence to keep going but they can actually improve the event as well. And an early sell-out is even better!)

We could certainly blame the very real threat that both British Airways and Network Rail may well call renewed industrial action over the dates of the event, leaving us in the impossible situation of having no means of getting our guests here.

We could oh so easily blame the fact that there are an incredible EIGHT other Doctor Who events happening up and down the country in the month of May. Or the fact that a staggering THREE of those events are taking place just on "our" weekend. Or the fact that one of those events on "our" weekend is the largest signing session in the UK, down in Milton Keynes, which has effectively taken the majority of our previous support from "dahn sarf."

Or we could simply blame the general mess in which the country's economy finds itself.

Yes, we could easily blame any or all of those things, and they certainly all have their part to play in the unenviable situation in which we find ourselves.

However, when it comes right down to it, it's our job to manage all those variables as well as we can. And we just haven't been able to. For which we're sorry. For whatever reason or combination of reasons you like, despite our best efforts, at the end of the day we simply haven't sold enough tickets in advance to justify the risk of continuing beyond this point.

Because this week is a truly pivotal point in those proceedings - the point of no return, as it were. This is the point at which we either become so financially committed to the event that there really is no turning back whatever happens... or we can walk away now with our personal losses substantial but still manageable.

If we could give the event another couple of weeks to see whether sales turned around then rest assured we most certainly would - we have well over a thousand flyers in circulation, posters in high street retailers, weblinks on dozens of Who related websites, press interviews coming up left right and center, Tom Baker himself giving a "big shout out to the Glasgow massive." (Sorry, I don't know what came over me.)

And our total target for the guest list to date is just 150. Hardly an over-ambitious number but it should hopefully put our decision into perspective.

But this week is the point at which all those expenses start to "get real," as I believe the modern parlance would have it. It's this week that everything starts to become non-refundable. Where whether we go ahead or not we still have to pay substantial fees to our venue. And our hotels. And our travel suppliers.

Not in a couple of weeks. Right here, right now.

And that's one of the many reasons advance sales are important to an event of any kind, and absolutely vital to an event of this scale. Because to go forward without them would not be based on facts but on a leap of faith that "if you book them, they will come."

And not only is it "getting real" time for us - it is for some of our ticket-buyers, too.

Because even if we were willing to batton down the hatches and take our chances, and possibly end up cancelling the event a few weeks down the line anyway, it wouldn't be fair to those of you who are also travelling to the
event and staying overnight to lose your own ability to claim refunds on your own travel and accommodation before entering "the penalty zone."

So we have chosen to cancel the event for all of these reasons and more.

We hope you understand and we hope that you won't hold this cancellation against any future events that we at The Glasgow Doctor Who Society or other fan groups may hold.

Because we may be back. Oh, yes. We may be back. Until then, there must be no tears, no...

Well. I suspect you know the rest.

A full refund will be issued to all current ticket holders within the next two weeks.

Cheers!

Al.

Very disapointing

Really sorry to hear about this, Alan. You should be hugely proud of what you have managed to achieve over the last few years, though. Maybe thing'll change in the next 12-month and a AOG5 (or 4.1) will rise from the flames?

I'll buy you a pint on Sunday.

I'm so sorry. I'm on my phone or I woukd say more. You've acheived so much Alan and I know AoG will be back.

Just like to echo the sentiments above.

I was sooo looking forward to this event.

Hello there, everyone, on this sad day.

As most of you know, it's not often I am lost for words.

But I am genuinely finding it difficult to know what to say here - both to offer my sympathy to Alan, encouragement for the future and to express my sheer frustration with those "On the day" buyers and those who felt 2 days was just "too much" to give to what would have been a fantastic event.

Through Alan, I knew that cancellation was a strong possibility, but it is still a great disappointment to see that, through lack of support, that it has come to pass.

I KNOW that Alan (and the team) did not make this decision lightly -as the perfectly-worded Notice of Cancellation clearly shows. Right up until the last second last night, Alan was still trying to work out ways of going on. I know this for certain.

Ultimately, though, it has proven impossible to do so.

For what it is worth, I do completely understand and support the cancellation - Why should anyone on the team have to endure potentially crippling financial losses for an event that, particularly in Glasgow, has not been given the support deserved in pre-sales?

This despite the fact that so much effort had been put into securing the services of TOM BAKER, for goodness sake! Not to mention 2 other Doctors, 3 companions and some other truly unique names for the guest list.

Over the past 3 years, the Army of Guests brand has built up a great reputation for events, for attracting fabulous guest and for being something that people enjoyed.

I only hope that those who did not show pre-support remember this when wondering what to do over the Bank Holiday in late May

Should Alan decide to arrange any future events - be they 1 Guest, 2 Guests or a mini-con (AOG 3.5?) - I will most certainly be there and offer any Group organisers my full support and assistance, as ever.

So, while I am greatly saddened by the loss of AOG IV, I know that this will not be the end of events run by the Group in Glasgow. I only hope that we can get better support next time...

Good wishes to the AOG4 team.
JOHN