The Twelve Doctors and the TimeHorse

Doctor Who: 57 Years Young

The Twelve Doctors and the TimeHorse
A version of the 50th Anniversary background with the TimeHorse Logo. Hence, some currently beloved Doctors are missing.

Today is Doctor Who Day, the anniversary of the first ever episode of Doctor Who. And seeing as it’s also the day that my Reston Writers’ Review meets, I decided I should try my hand a fan fiction once again.

Yes, I did say once again. In fact, my first ever written work was from when I was 14 or so years old, and a huge fan of the program. Colin Baker was the Doctor back then and his companion was Perpugilliam ‘Peri’ Brown. I wrote it to take place during the mysterious disappearance of the Roanoke Colony in Virginia (Modern North Carolina) and involved the Terrible Zodin, a character never appearing on camera, created by Terrance Dicks. Indeed, the character is only mentioned in two off-handed comments in The Five Doctors and Attack of the Cybermen.

For 2020, I wanted to use the Sixth Doctor again only this time with his second companion, Melanie ‘Mel’ Bush, a software engineer—and in my story, a cyber-security expert. I teamed her up with Yasmin ‘Yaz’ Khan and the Thirteenth Doctor. And for fun, I had them fight Missy, with cameos from all the other Masters. Of course, I did need one final cameo to make the multi-Doctor story complete. I added the Doctor’s Granddaughter, Susan Campbell and her husband David as well.

But, let me be honest. The story was total rubbish. I rushed to write the whole thing on my phone on Sunday night just to get it uploaded in time, and like my feeble attempt at a Halloween story with only 101 words, it sunk like a lead balloon. I guess I’m just not on my writing A-game these days. I just need to find the time… does anyone have a TARDIS!

EDIT 2020-12-10: Forgot to post this on Doctor Who day. It was originally scheduled for posting on Monday, 23 November, 2020. Sorry for the delay.

Jeffrey’s Jammin Birthday Bash

Join me to find out how I like my new job, the exciting plans I have for the upcoming year, and so I can give a personal thanks for your personal friendship!

Please note, the official start time is 20:00 because I want to make sure not to start it before I finish my first full day of work at the new job. If I finish sooner, I will open the room earlier. This is, after all, an exciting time for me. My first new job in 18 years, and the first of four steps on the route to make me a better man, and much, much happier!

This event is opened to everyone who claims to know me! All of my software colleagues, all of my fellow authors, fellow science readers, fellow Doctor Who fans, fellow cosplayers, fellow Electric Car drivers and enthusiasts, all of my Equal Rights Amendment sisters and brothers in arms, all of my National Popular Vote Interstate Compact supporters, all of my avid gaming friends, all of my friends abroad except those in Europe—have your kip, mates—all of my fellow Toastmasters, all of my fellow aviators, all of my fellow musicians, tous mes amis qui parle français oder Deutsch или по-русский o italiano, my acting friends and my friends who eschew meat!

The only thing I ask is you be respectful, kind, and know that I hope you all consider any friend of mine a potential friend of yours!

There is a password to this event. It’s not hard to guess if you know me but if you want to know, and you are reading this on from Twitter, message me, on Tumblr, message me, on LinkedIn, again, message me, or join me via the Facebook event. Or, just comment on this blog, with your email address, and I will mail it to you.

See you all next Wednesday!

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Tesla OS 2020.16.2.1

Finally!

TeslaFi had been spamming me with news about TeslaOS 2020.16 for a while and I’ve been itching to see what, after giving us the amazing stop at a stop sign in the last minor update.

Turns out, not much. I am mostly unimpressed by Tesla with this update, though nonetheless very appreciative. Autoformatting a DashCam drive—I wonder if it supports 2TB yet—and a better layout for Easter Eggs are, after all, improvements, even if the Easter Eggs aren’t really hidden gems anymore.

The coolest new feature, though, is the new SuperCharger filter, allowing the driver to only see Version 3 stations and filter out all the slower ones. I love the fact that I have free, lifetime SuperCharging, and one of these days, I’m gonna cross the continents with that perk.

Overall, I’m not disappointed despite being underwhelmed. And one rumor is that this, or a soon to be released version will add V2G to the Tesla. I can’t wait until that rolls out as the Tesla Battery Pack may make for a new, mobile Powerwall. Mind you, even if #CO2Fre could do V2G, my house isn’t equipped for it anyway. So, even if it doesn’t have V2G, it’s still a cool update!

Tesla OS 2020.16.2.1
Tesla OS 2020.16.2.1 adds a new toy box interface, a SuperCharger filter, and auto-formatting of DashCam media. © 2020, Jeffrey C. Jacobs

Gentle reader, if you have been keeping up with me since 11 February of this year, you know that I have been posting once a day since then. As such, today marks a hundred days of a hundred daily posting. Through that, I’ve shared with you exciting electric car news, updated to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, my struggles to get the Equal Rights Amendment to be our Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, written about my many works of fiction, and the many books of nonfiction I voraciously read to be a better scientist. I’ve shared with you my cosplay adventures, and my love of Doctor Who, my love of games, and a bit of my speaking in tongues as well as delivering speeches and singing to my heart’s content. I’ve talked about international travel and how I love to fly there in my own plane, discussed my acting and my dietary needs. And most of all I’ve told you I’m an excellent coder who is always keen for new work. Thanks for riding with me as we cruise upon the cloud to another one hundred posts!

An Unearthly Child

I’ve been so crazy-busy on I’m Running Late today that my computer locked up and I was bored so I decided to watch some Doctor Who, which is what everyone should do when they’re waiting for a computer to behave.

I could have continued on with The Mutants, but I was feeling nostalgic to see again how it all began and see the source of my first cosplay, Ian Chesterton. I love Ian because he’s a Science Teacher and that suits me as a Scientist who runs The Science Book Club. Plus, I was enthralled by my very dear friend Ilona, who cosplays a simply smashing Susan! I must admit, I’ve been thinking about Ilona a lot recently so I guess it’s no coincidence I pulled up the first Doctor Who story ever, which of course features Ian and Susan.

Of course, Ian was always fond of Barbara and we’ve had a lot of trouble finding a Barbara cosplayer but I’m always happy to have find someone cosplaying The First Doctor for photoshoots. But usually it’s just me and Ilona and I have always felt we make a great team. That’s why she’s my cosplay bestie.

Meanwhile, not much actually happens in the story. A student is acting queer, the teachers investigate, and the Doctor kidnaps them. Not much more to say to that. Or maybe I was just too busy reciting the lines with the actors, I’ve seen the episode so often. Overall, a fun story, with light bits and campy students. I always enjoy that one and will watch it again… and again… and again…

Susan with Radio
“It’s John Smith and the Commonmen, they’ve gone from nineteen to two.” Susan is enjoying some tunes on her transistor radio. From An Unearthly Child © 1963, British Broadcasting Corporation

Will you watch Doctor Who with me?

Lessons in Biology with the Daleks

My good friend Gordon Rutter has started a new series of Doctor Who oriented Science Videos. Learn about Diversity and Variation in the evolution of the Daleks. Yes, I did say Evolution of the Daleks because they may be psychopathic killers of all that’s different but there is variation in the species—or at least fashion in its preference of casing, but let’s not pick nits, shall we?

Gordon give a great little overview of the basic ideas of individual differences, and how that relates to speciation. Have a watch and enjoy some science presented by the DAL-EKS!

YOU WILL O-BEY! YOU WILL O-BEY! WATCH IT!

Okay, I better get back in the TARDIS before these guys EX-TER-MIN-ATE ME!

Bessie with #CO2Fre

Twice the Electric Car Fun

Today, I attended two, virtual Electric Car events. First, my friend Mark Czajka hosted the first MDVolt virtual meetup. We met Tom Moloughney from InsideEVs. Unfortunately, I was multitasking though this meeting as I also host the Loudoun County Writers Group (LCWG) on Saturday mornings. Normally, I would skip my writing group on Saturdays for one of Mark’s MDVolt events, but this time, I could cheat and attend both, because they were both virtual.

I haven’t spoken much about the Mini-E — so far only in my EVSE installation post — but this car has been on my mind a long, long time.  When the leases were announced for 2009, I jumped on the chance to get one of the 500 East Coast orders.  But alas, my region wasn’t one of the privileged ones, so there was no Mini-E for me.  On the bright side, at least I saved over $800 per month for the last 2 years!

Two Years and 119 Cars! (Today)

I’m so jealous Tom got one of those Mini-Es. I was very desperate to get one back in 2011, when I wrote about it on the Affordable Electric Car Now site, as you can see from the quote above. Tom and I have both been writing about electric cars since 2009 so it’s nice to hear from a kindred spirit. One of these days, I hope he invites me to one of his barbeques.

It was also wonderful seeing my friend dear friend Vanessa Thomas at Mark’s event. She was nice enough to come to my virtual demonstration of #CO2Fre and it was wonderful seeing her here, even if it was hard to see anyone on my tiny phone—LCWG got the computer. Fortunately, Mark uploaded to YouTube, so I could finally the event and focus fully on the content. Check me out in the Pinball video.

Pity I couldn’t show off Bessie with #CO2Fre.

Bessie with #CO2Fre
Picture is #CO2Fre with the Doctor’s car, Bessie © 2020, Jeffrey C. Jacobs

Mark and I agreed we’d not embed the video here, but if you’d like to watch it, you can find it here.

Electric Car Event Number 2

Then, in the afternoon, my friend Charles Gerena from Drive Electric RVA hosted an event with Phil Englander at Hart Nissan in Mechanicsville. Phil gave a great walk-through of the latest Nissan LEAF. Great presentation, Phil and great seeing you again Vanessa. She and I were the only people to join both events!

Phil Englander at Hart Nissan in Mechanicsville walks us through the newest iteration of the Nissan LEAF, which has been sold globally since 2010.

Posted by Drive Electric RVA on Saturday, May 2, 2020

So nice to talk about electric cars since it’s been far too long for me since I was able to cruise on the cloud.

Doctor Who: The Mutants—Racism Through Metaphor, Part 1

Last time I did a review of the entire The Ark, and this week I was hoping to do the entire Pertwee story, The Mutants in one go, but time got away from me, not to mention that Weather and Safety Leave scare I still am not ready to talk about. So this time, I’m just doing part 1, with other parts to follow.

We start out with what looks like a fox chase. Yet, we see a terrified, middle-aged gentleman and no fox. He’s human—or at least mostly human, apart from the chitinous, jet-black spine along his back.

The bombastic Marshal and his two less-than-willing lackies, Stubs and Cotton are on a Mutt Hunt. They are giving chase and when the Marshal finds the poor, beleaguered, heavy-backed soul, we find him already dead. Clearly, the Marshal takes no prisoners. One is, naturally reminded of a 1930s Lynch Mob, all the more poignant as Cotton, played by Rick James, is clearly an Antiguan with African roots.

Meanwhile, on Earth, Jo Grant is rather peckish. Of course, the Third Doctor is, as usual, totally oblivious to his companions needs, instead tinkering with some device that will give Bessie faster breaking. Suddenly, the Time Lords give the Doctor a rejected, black football, as Time Lords are want to do, and send him to Solos.

The Doctor and Jo land on Skybase 1 with their charcoal football and puts around a bit, examining a clearly bland and empty storage room. Come on, Doctor, where’s your get up and go? Has it got up and went?

Finally, we meet Ky, a charismatic freedom fighter. Now we get to see the racism at play, Ky has to take the Solonian transport (fountain for coloreds) and one for Overlords (whites). The Overlords are clearly the Human colonists. It looks like the British empire is subjugating native peoples even in the thirtieth century. Ky doesn’t get along with the Uncle Tom, like Varan, working for the Overlords.

As the Solonians leave, one Uncle Tom remains behind. At first, all seems normal until the human examines the Uncle Tom, and notices the same chitinous shell around his hand and calls him a Mutt. The Uncle Tom goes crazy and attacks a human guard, killing him, then flees.

Finally, the Doctor gets out his trusty Sonic Screwdriver and leaves the storage closet.

Meanwhile, the Marshal is asking Varan for a patsy. Varan offers his most loyal subject as tribute, his very own son. This even startles the Marshal since he knows just what’s going to happen to his patsy.

Stubbs and Cotton are playing Chess with Windchimes. When the first door fault goes off, they say bugger it, who cares about his nibs.

The Doctor and Jo are attacked by the Uncle Mutt, and break into yet another storage room, setting off a second alarm.

When the second one goes, Stubbs and Cotton realize they’d better get a move on. They find the Doctor and Jo and Stubbs shoots the Uncle Mutt, killing him. Then, for once, some characters in Doctor Who do the logical thing: they arrest Jo and The Doctor.

The Administrator is looking to retire. Earth has no more interest in Solos and all he wants is to leave the planet to its own devices. He’s bored, but decides to meet with the Doctor anyway. The Doctor gives him the charcoal football, and then the Marshal takes it. It opens for no-one. The Marshal tries to blast it opened, and, failing, rolls his eyes, and then leaves with the Administrator. Stubbs is left to guard them.

In the Marshal’s office, the Administrator is trying to give the speech of his life, announcing that Earth is giving Solos its freedom. Too bad he’s such a blowhard. He has to get through every word of his speech before he can make the announcement. Ky is right impatient and starts heckling. In the chaos, the Marshal smiles, waiting for Varan’s son to pull the trigger and assassinate his boss—that’s one way to get ahead.

The Doctor does some Venusian Aikido and he and Jo escape without the Socic. You’d think they’d have locked them in, but I guess after one logical move, they were done.

Varan’s son shoots the Administrator and pandemonium ensues. Of course, as the Martin Luther King, Jr. of Solonians, Ky high tails it out of there, just as the Doctor and Jo arrive on the scene. In the corridor, Ky runs into the Doctor and… the charcoal football finally opens.

Jo and the Doctor chase after Ky, and Ky takes Jo hostage, down to the surface of Solos and its semi-toxic atmosphere.

The Doctor, Jo, and Stubbs watch the Independence Conference
The Doctor, Jo, and Stubbs watch the Independence Conference, from Doctor Who: The Mutants. © 2020, The BBC

Next up, The Mutants, Part 2…

The Music of Tristram Cary

For once, I wish to channel my musical esthetics and talk about one of the absolute most sought-after albums I have ever pined for. Which is to say, when it was released I was just starting a new job and on a tight budget, but by the time I’d established myself, it was already grossly out of print.


To be sure, as a musician, I don’t know if I could ever play any of Tristram Cary‘s music, but like Delia Derbyshire, I find the kind of organic sound they used in the mid 1960s was unique and something I’d love to try. I would love to have high-fidelity digital tape loops of ordinary, everyday sounds.

Cary’s music was itself bombastic and brutal in a fresh, naturally bassal way. I was reminded of this, but didn’t have a chance to cover it, during my discussion of Doctor Who: The Ark. The Ark is filled with the classic themes and tones from Cary’s earlier work on The Daleks. Cary actually contributed music to a number of Doctor Who stories during the Hartnell era of the show, as well as in the early 1970s with the Pertwee story, The Mutants.

The album is so rare, it often goes for, from $80–$130, which is well beyond my price range. Especially considering it originally retailed for about a quarter of that. It’s not that I don’t think it’s worth it, but it’s not the media I care about, it’s the music and surely if it was just a digital copy of the music, it could be re-released as streaming for little to no cost, and thus all profit to the Cary estate.

Tristram Cary died in 2008, so he was around when the album was released. I can only assume he was happy with it. I hope he would want more people to hear it, but I am hesitant to look into the grey recesses of the Internet to procure his music. I want so badly to buy a legal copy. I just wish I could get it for a fair price.

But that music, it’s just, so, good!

Doctor Who: Devils' Planets: The Music of Tristram Cary
This is the long sought after, albeit maybe only by me, album of the amazing Tristram Cary’s music. Cary was one of the major incidental musicians of the Hartnell era, from The Daleks to the Ark and even the Pertwee story, The Mutants. © 2020, BBC Music

Doctor Who: The Ark, a.k.a. Dodo gives the Monoids SARS-CoV-13

Well, no new Doctor Who for a while now so I thought it might be fun and topical to review a story from the third series in the classic run as a tie-in with the modern Covidapolis. The Ark was is the modern name for the collection of 4 stories which ran in March 1966, pretty much 54 years ago from today. In a sense, though, it is precinct because in The Steel Sky and The Plague (parts 1 and 2 of The Ark), Dodo Chaplet gives a race of humans and Monoids a coronavirus. Yes, technically that’s exactly what she had since the common cold is a coronavirus. But it’s easy to speculate the variety she has is actually some form of SARS-CoV-2, so let’s just say it’s SARS-CoV-13—we’re skipping 3–12, which is just as well as SARS-CoV-7 was really nasty. But I digress.

The Steel Sky

Doctor Who: The Steel Sky
This is a scene from the first episode of the Doctor Who serial known collectively as The Ark. The Leader is tended to by his daughter as he meets the Doctor. © 2020, The BBC

The story starts out with the TARDIS landing in a jungle with a mix of animals from Central America, South America, and India. The Doctor, Steven Taylor, and Dodo Chaplet even pet an Indian Elephant’s trunk.

The problem is, Dodo has SARS-CoV-13, or so I assume. The story takes place four billion years, or ten million years, or whatever this story misinterprets the age of the Earth to be at the time the Sun becomes a Red Giant (hint: it’s four to five billion). In that time, the human race has lost all immunities for most illnesses, having long ago eradicate them.

Meanwhile, the rather docile Monoids have also lost their home planet and are friendly companions to the last humans. The do act subserviently but the humans also see the Monoids as friends and defend the Monoids when, Niash, a human, is negligent in the beginning of the story and sentenced to suspension for seven hundred year of miniaturization. Strangely, this red herring is never seen again, even in the later episodes that take place when his sentence would have been served.

Also, why do they all drive hovercrafts on a spaceship? Wouldn’t an electric car work better? But I digress.

The Doctor and his companions—we called them companions in those days, though I’m sure they were friends—are brought by the Monoids to meet the humans. The leader of the humans welcomes them. However, Zentos—the Freshmaker—remains uneasy and fails to trust the travelers. Zentos is the second in command, and was the prosecuting attorney in the trial above.

The Leader takes a shining to the strangers and even shows them a statue they’re building of a human holding a globe. The statue, though, is barely built, with only its feet complete.

So Dodo goes around touching a lot of things, failing to wash her hands, sleeping with her head on the table, spreading her SARS-CoV-13 everywhere. Eventually, the leader gets the virus and the Zentos hears the Doctor tell Steven he feels guilty for bringing the virus there. Heck yeah, Doc!

The Plague

Doctor Who: The Plague
This is a scene from the second episode of the Doctor Who serial known collectively as The Ark. Suddenly Zantos is all chummy with the Doctor. © 2020, The BBC

As if things weren’t bad enough, the Doctor, Steven, and Dodo are put in jail and forced to watch a sham trial lead by Zantos. Everyone seems to be coming down with SARS-CoV-13, Monoids and Humans alike!

When Steven is called to the stand, he is shown—having clearly touched Dodo too much—to have contracted SARS-CoV-13. He collapses on the stand. Zantos assumes this to be an admission of guilt but saner minds agree that the Doctor wants to help cure the plague and they agree to let him try to experiment with a cure on Dodo.

Meanwhile, the Monoids start stroking animals in order to get samples for the Doctor to formulate his cure.

One wonders just what form of virulation he was trying to conduct. After all, can Iguanas get SARS-CoV-13 even? But I again digress.

Some timey wimey jiggery-pokery stuff happens and the Doctor’s cure works. First, Steven thrashes about, but then he his fever is down and he’s alright. The Doctor then orders the virulation to be performed on everyone.

I think it’s important to stop here and get a little sciency for a moment. Virulation is a form of early vaccination and vaccines only work on people who don’t yet have the virus. or who are at an early stage of infection such that the antibodies for the virus can have time to build up before the virus reaches a critical threshold. If someone is already at an advanced stage of SARS-CoV-13, like the leader, would the virulation even work, or would the disease have progressed too far already.

Anyway, the Doctor’s cure works and Zantos is not longer getting fresh with the time travelers. He thanks them and a Monoid takes them back to the TARDIS.

The Doctor, Steven, and Dodo are off on their next adventure, which just happens to be the same jungle environment from before. They’re back on the Ark. Only this time, the that statue of feet is complete. The whole body is as normal and originally designed, but the head is the head of a Monoid.

The Return

Doctor Who: The Return
This is a scene from the third episode of the Doctor Who serial known collectively as The Ark. Juan is lording over his domain. © 2020, The BBC

We learn that the Doctor and his companions have arrived seven hundred years later, when the Ark is near its destination of Refusis-II. We don’t know where Refusis-II is as the story Refuses tell us, but we guess it’s close to Spiradon. Niash is nowhere to be seen. He must have been trapped in a plot hole.

The Monoids can talk now, and they have taken over and are lead by a ruthless leader, Juan. Juan wants to claim Refusis-II for the Monoids and leave the now enslaved humans on the Ark to wither and die. Juan captures the Doctor, Steven, and Dodo and puts them to work in the kitchens, the most menial of slave labor jobs. Apartnely, the Monoids have huge appetites. Then again, cooking seems to simply consist of a bullion cube being dropped in water to turn the contents into potatoes or chicken. I guess Rey had the same thing on Jakku. But I again digress.

Some humans are considered collaborators and work more closely with the Monoids. The regular humans don’t like them.

Steven tries to attack Monoid number 2 but fails and a human dies. The Monoids are brutal since they stopped using Sign Language.

Juan is worried about landing on Refusis-II, so he sends a collaborator, Monoid-, the Doctor and Dodo to the surface to make contact with the natives and figure out if they will be easy to subdue.

The Refusis-II people though, you never see them. Turns out, they’re invisible. Monoid-2 is no match for the Refusian and is easily disarmed, though he escapes and tries to warn Juan and the others. Unfortunately, the collaborator human dies in the struggle.

Monoid-2 makes it to the shuttle only to have the ship detonate with Monoid-2 on board.

The Doctor and Dodo are stranded. And Juan has left a bomb on the ship, to detonate when all the Monoids have left and only humans remain.

The Bomb

Doctor Who: The Bomb
This is a scene from the fourth and final episode of the Doctor Who serial known collectively as The Ark. The Doctor saves the day, as usual. © 2020, The BBC

Juan is suspicious and he and Monoid-3 decide to execute the Monoid Evacuation plan. They’re convinced the bomb in the head of the statue will never be discovered.

Juan’s personal servant hears about the bomb and decides to join the resistance. Steven uses him to help him and the other humans escape from the kitchens.

Meanwhile, Monoid-4 is not happy with Juan’s leadership. When all the Monoids get to Refusis-II, they try to find the Refusians but they only find the Doctor and Dodo. Juan is irate but Monoid-4 rebels and takes half the Monoids back to the ship to return to the Ark. Juan warns them about the bomb but Monoid-4 doesn’t care.

Juan decides to ambush Monoid-4’s party on the way back to the ship and a civil war erupts. Monoids are dying left and right. Eventually, only Monoid-4 is left. The Doctor, Dodo, watch the battle and find out the bomb is in the head of the statue. They return to the ship and message Steven, then return to the ship.

The thing you need to know about Refusians, they’re hecka strong. The Refusian lifts up the megatonne statue and chucks it in the airlock, then the prop just sort of teeters out of the ship, falling down toward Refusis-II before exploding in space.

On the ship, all is well. Juan is dead, and Monoid-4 and two of his companions are captured. The Refusian chastises the humans for enslaving the Monoids and the humans agree to treat the Monoids as equals.

Having made they agreements and prepared their landings, they take a hovercraft back to the TARDIS and get on their way. Steven wears my favourite striped shirt, and Dodo wears her zero camisole and skirt. But the Doctor disappears, captured by The Celestial Toymaker…

Another Missed Munchie Squad

I got in to cosplay a number of years ago. I was aware of it for quite a while but I really started to take an interest on a trip up to Connecticut to visit me mum. Back then I was in #CO2Fre3 or #CO2Fre2 and in those Nissan LEAFs, I had to stop a number of times to get enough electricity to get to my destination.

So, I stopped a Hotel in Baltimore to use the CHAdeMO charger and get some fuel when I passed some cosplayers going to a convention. I asked to get a picture and kept it as part of my trip log memories on Swarm, as I used to do back then.

Of course I was intrigued so when I heard about this new group, D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoot, forming on Facebook, I joined right away, getting in on the ground floor. I remember that phone call very well as I was driving #CO2Fre home from work. Sarah Brice, an amazing cosplayer in her own right, was there with the other founders. That’s when we planned out what the group would be and how it would be organized. In those early years I was more of a lurker rather than a participant.

I started going to a local Doctor Who convention, ReGeneration Who, now defunct. Seeing all those Whovian cosplays, I decided it was time for me to start building my own cosplays. That’s where I met one of my very best friends in the entire world, Ilona Hull Berberich, who is a dead-ringer for Susan [Foreman].

I was finally ready to attend my first D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoot event. I invided Ilona so I would have someone I met there and we made a great team, having a number of photos taken of us.

From that point I attended a number of D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoot events, building my cosplay database up from a since Doctor Who companion to various other media franchises, getting some great photos and making some great friends.

One of the best parts of all from those events was the Munchie Squad. After an afternoon of posing and snapping picture, we’d all gather and have a friendly meal together. I so enjoyed chatting with my very dear friends Rachael S. Norberg, an amazing cosplayer, and Kevin K. Nguyen, an outstanding photographer, and so many others! It was the perfect capstone to a great event.

But then I got burned.

Back in 2018, Regeneration Who was in its fourth year and they had an amazing lineup. The actress who played Tegan Jovanka, an Australian air hostess, Janet Fielding, was going to be there. Janet, in fact, is one of only a half-dozen my official Twitter aggregators. She’s wonderful! Mark Strickson, who played Vislor Turlough, was also coming. As was Matthew Waterhouse, who lived at the time in Connecticut, where I was born. And also Sarah Sutton, who is the sweetest, and Peter Davison, who was a wonderful Fifth Doctor, and the amazing Nicola Bryant.

I was going to do a Tegan crossplay for the convention. Ilona was coming and would be in a Turlough crossplay. We were both very excited.

I had commissioned a Tegan crossplay months before the convention. I obtained all the COTS elements of the cosplay: blouse, pantyhose, pumps, wig, and purse. I just asked the commissioner for a skirt, a belt, a jacket, and the pill-box hat. I hoped it wouldn’t be too hard. I would have done it myself but I didn’t feel up to the measuring and sewing, especially by hand.

Days before the convention my commissioner said she couldn’t do it. She really, valiantly tried, but it was just beyond her. I hold no ill will and have not asked for my money back but the whole event soured me to cosplay. I prepared and prepped for this perhaps once in a lifetime photoshoot and to come up short. It still hurts, to this day.

Tegan and Turlough meet the 1980s Doctor Who cast
My dead friend Ilona and I are cosplaying Vislor Turlough and Tegan Jovanka as the now-defunct Regeneration Who convention’s 4th and last year. Pictured with us are, in order, top to bottom, left to right, Mark Strickson, Peter Davison, Matthew Waterhouse, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, and Nicola Bryant. © 2018, Bryan Humphrey

All that said, Bryan Humphrey took a wonderful photo!

Today there was a D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoots event in Leesburg, VA. I haven’t been to a photoshoot in years because I have no new cosplays to share but I really wanted to go to the Munchie Squad! I miss all my cosplay and photographer friends, like Rachael, and I go to Leesburg at least once every fortnight, so it would have been no big deal.

But I forgot.

I really miss cosplay. What will you see me as next?