BAFTA preview - ticket canter!

I was browsing some of the Doctor Who news websites and came across something that caught my eye.

Well they had kept this a bit quiet!

I had heard of a preview of just the first episode taking place today at the Edinburgh International Television Festival - but I didn’t fancy travelling that far for only half the opening adventure. This, however, is both parts - so I’m relieved I didn’t try to book for Edinburgh.

I clicked the link to the BAFTA website and found that tickets were still on offer - and only £9.50 each!

Without too much effort I grabbed myself a ticket and am now plotting a trip to Cardiff for the preview and to visit the Doctor Who Experience while I’m there.

Now, need to book my train tickets....

Ticket BREEZE - Radio Times Festival

Today I heard about a three day event being run by the Radio Times.

Radio Times Festival
24 - 27 September 2015

Taking place in the tranquil surrounding of Hampton Court Palace, the Radio Times Festival is the first such event and has attracted a Stella list of celebrities and powers that be to give a range of talks and seminars.

With the Radio Times' close association with Doctor Who down the years, it goes without saying there are two seminars of particular interest, both on the Friday of the event:

DOCTOR WHO - 2:30-3:30
Doctor Who holds a unique place in British popular culture. Here, the Doctor himself, Peter Capaldi, is joined by creative chief Steven Moffat and executive producer Brain Minchin to talk Time Lords, Daleks and Cybermen. Together, they will reveal the inner workings of the Whoniverse.

RUSSELL T DAVIES - 4:00-5:00
From busting social taboos with dramas such as Queer as Folk to inspiring the reboot of Doctor Who, Russell T Davies is one of Britain's most innovative screenwriters. Here he explains how he made the journey from Swansea schoolboy to one of the leading creative voices in television.

As a subscriber to the Radio Times, I get the chance to book my tickets early, so I went on the website; choose the two events; paid my money; got my email confirmation. That was painless.

Why can't all events with headline names like this be as easy to book?


UPDATE
An extra seminar has been added to the programme. I may as well book for this too!

THE SCIENTIFIC SECRETS OF DR WHO - 5:30-6:30
Join Simon Guerrier and Dr Marek Kukula, authors of The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who, as they explore the possibilities of time travel, life on other planets, artificial intelligence, parallel universes and more. Using clips from the acclaimed series, they will show how science has inspired Doctor Who, and how, on occasion, it has come remarkably close to predicting future discoveries.

Doctor Who Festival - cosplay comes of age?

Today the BBC announced a new official “convention” - they don’t like using that word, the 50th Anniversary event was a CELEBRATION and this year it’s called a FESTIVAL.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10am - so precious little notice as usual - expect the traditional ticket scramble.

I’m sure you have read all about it on the various news feeds and forums, where there are a plethora of opinions and speculation - which I have no intention of adding to.

But the things that’s catching my eye is the costume display - someone likely to be akin to what was set up at the 50th Celebration exactly two years prior to the Festival - and the Cosplay Showcase.

I’m hoping the Cosplay Showcase is the BBC finally taking the cosplay community seriously and not just using them as the geeks in silly costumes. Here’s hoping.

Ticket scramble - ODEON Leicester Sq 23rd August 2014

Will it never end?

As well as the preview screening around the globe as part of the Doctor Who World Tour, the BBC have announced that Deep Breath will also get a simultaneous cinema outing on the 23rd August.

It was fun seeing Day Of The Doctor at the BFI in 3D, but I wasn’t overly fussed about a cinema trip to see Deep Breath again.

Well, that was until they announced that the ODEON Leicester Square will play host to the screening along with another live panel discussion and Q&A session.

I gather some other cinemas are showing a live feed of this session, but it is at the ODEON Leicester Square that it is happening in the flesh, so to speak.

SO yet again its refresh buttons at the ready for a 10am release of tickets.

I’m registered on the ODEON website, so a few minutes before 10am I logged on to speed up my checkout time.
Clicking on the page for the screening I found tickets were open - and it wasn’t 10am yet! So I was straight in there and got some prime seats a few rows from the front, dead centre.

It was surprisingly easy.

I was curious as to how tickets were selling after 10am so I checked back to find the website had seriously fallen over!

I felt relieved I had grabbed them when I could - and lucky that I do so before the official on-sale time.

Hopefully that’s it for ticket scrambles for a while. Not sure I could handle another anytime soon!

UPDATE

Checking back a week or so later, I see that although the cinema is basically sold out, there are some seats left in the Rear Circle. They’re a bit in the Gods, but still seats!

Ticket scramble - Symphonic Spectacular UK Tour May 2015

After the frantic scramble for tickets to the first two legs of the Doctor Who World Tour, today tickets for yet ANOTHER event are going on sale.

This time the BBC are bringing the Symphonic Spectacular - an event which has run in Australia and New Zealand for the past couple of years - home to the UK.

I always felt the events on the other side of the world were a form of compensation for not having the Prom concerts we have enjoyed in the UK. So it’s a bit like shipping coals to Newcastle!

Ironically Newcastle is one of the venues, along with Cardiff (obviously); Birmingham; Leeds; and Glasgow (home town of Peter Capaldi).

The SSE Arena, Wembley, London

Sat 23rd May 2015 (3pm / 7:30pm)

Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff

Mon 25th May 2015 (3pm / 7:30pm)

Nat Indoor Arena, Birmingham

Tues 26th May 2015 (3pm / 7:30pm)

First Direct Arena, Leeds

Weds 27th May 2015 (3pm / 7:30pm)

Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle

Thurs 28th May 2015 (3pm / 7:30pm)

SSE Hydro, Glasgow

Fri 29th May 2015 (3pm / 7:30pm)

Still, it’s taking in a number of UK venues, including the Wembley Arena which isn’t too far from me - so you’ve got to, haven’t you?

This time, as a subscriber to the BBC’s email newsletter, I get a link to pre-sales a day before the tickets go on general public sale.

With so many venues it proves a doddle to get the tickets I want for the afternoon performance at the Wembley Arena.

Job done.

Ticket scramble - London BFI preview 7th August 2014

Well isn’t this annoying.

A few days ago I got an email from the BFI announcing their Days Of Fear And Wonder season, which includes the second leg of the Doctor Who World Tour - taking in London.

It consists of a preview of Deep Breath with a panel discussion afterwards.

And the date? The SAME DAY as the Cardiff event!

BFI - Doctor Who: Deep Breath + panel discussion and Q&A with cast and production

I do enjoy going to these events, and try to get myself along to as many as feasible.
So it’s within my mind-set to go to both - if I hadn’t already booked my return trip to Cardiff to include a visit to the Doctor Who Experience the following day, meaning I’m staying overnight.

Tickets, like most of last year’s BFI screening for Doctor Who at 50, are allocated by ballot, so I’ve got nothing to lose entering to see what happens.

The ballot ran from 17th - 20th July, with the results announced to the lucky ticket winners today.

Sadly I didn’t get a ticket, which is a relief in a way as it would have ruined my plans for Cardiff, which I’ll now make the most of.

CARDIFF HERE I COME!

Ticket scramble - Cardiff preview 7th August 2014

No matter how well planned, these things are always seem to turn into a scrum and the hosting websites fall over with the level of demand. Do they never learn?

Following the leisurely stroll then mad dash for ticket to the Doctor Who: Live event at Elstree Studios, today saw the release of tickets to a preview of Deep Breath at St Davids Hall, Cardiff.

St David’s Hall Cardiff
Doctor Who World Tour

The event marks the start of a The Doctor Who World Tour (literally) taking in SEVEN cities over FIVE continents.

This will become the biggest series launch of Doctor Who - ever!

CARDIFF - 7th Aug
LONDON - 7th Aug
SEOUL - 9th Aug
SYDNEY - 12th Aug
NEW YORK - 14th Aug
MEXICO CITY - 17th Aug
RIO DE JANERIO - 18th Aug

At this point news is scarce about what form the events will be taking place, and the dates are not being full released (the list about has been assembled retrospectively).

For now only the details for Cardiff have been released, so like everyone else I’m poised on my computer for 10am this morning waiting for the tickets to be come available.

It took almost half an hour for the website to open the bookings, and then promptly fell over wight he demand.

I took to using my desktop AND laptop to try to get in, and on several occasions I did, only to find either the seat I selected was strangely unavailable when it can to adding it, or an internal system error threw me out.

In the end I managed to secure a seat in Tier 11, which although quite far back, is at least pretty central.

Checking back  I found that the whole venue was SOLD OUT, so I was relieved I managed to grab the seat I got while I could.

It just remains for me to get myself a cheap return train ticket and look to arranging a final visit to the Matt Smith Doctor Who Experience before it closes to be revamped and relaunched with Peter Capaldi as the incumbent Doctor.