Big Picture Big Sound

Several fun surprises were in store for lucky fans who attended NerdHQ's Saturday morning Doctor Who panel during this year's Comic-Con, including the arrival of genre hero and all-around good guy Nathan Fillion ("Firefly") as moderator, and an unexpected drop-in from the current Doctor himself, Peter Capaldi. Originally the panel was scheduled to include writer/producer Steven Moffat and stars Jenna Coleman and Michelle Gomez; and just those three would have been enough of a treat for fans. But following an exciting trailer, the panel kicked off with the usual Q & A format, and the first question from an audience member went something like this: "I've heard that Peter Capaldi is a wonderful fellow to work with... can you talk about that?" Mr. Moffat's response - "Well, he's rubbish at disguising his voice!" gave the game away, and Mr. Capaldi revealed himself and took to the stage to join his colleagues for a rousing hour of conversation with the very enthusiastic crowd of fans.

An early question addressed the show's relationship with its home network, the BBC. "Has the show's popularity since its reboot affected the kind of support you get from the BBC? For example do you get more notes, fewer notes?" Mr. Moffatt addressed it thusly: "The BBC is incredibly supportive. Of course we could always use more money (laughter) but the BBC is currently under threat (of losing funding), in case you didn't know that, as is all of broadcasting. Generally the more successful you are (as a show) the more notes you get. But overall, the BBC is wonderful for Doctor Who."

Mr. Moffat is a deft and funny presence onstage, and he joked around when actress Jenna Coleman, who plays the current Doctor's companion, Clara, asked if it was true that he had chosen her character's name "...because it sounds good when it's shouted?" "Yes, that's true", the writer confirmed. "(When selecting a name) I was going around the house shouting: 'Abigail!' 'Clara!' Oh, Clara, that sounds good! 'Claire!' - no, that won't work...'

The panelists talked about growing up watching the show, and about their favorite Doctor. Steven Moffat: "I've always thought that the best one was the current one. You get attached to one and then they're going to go away and you think, 'No, I'll never like another one as well', and then the new one comes along..." The Doctor himself, Peter Capaldi, talked about being a fan of the venerable series since the age of five. He noted that actor Christopher Eccleston, who was the first to foray the role when the series rebooted in 2005, deserves a lot of credit. "Christopher Eccleston was most courageous (in playing the Doctor); he was willing to put his acting cohones on the line when people didn't know if Doctor Who was going to be a great big turkey."

Everyone was asked to talk about their favorite episodes. Peter Capaldi: "Every episode has something that makes it different and exciting. I loved "Listen" when we got to see what the Doctor does when he's not having an adventure. It set up his relationship with Clara and furthered her understanding of him." Jenna Coleman: "I loved "Robin of Sherwood" - it was fun to film and I loved being outside." Steven Moffat: "Day of the Doctor", and "Listen". Also "Robin of Sherwood" - I enjoyed watching it, and I kept rewinding and rewatching certain bits. Not everyone liked "In the Forest of the Night" but it was really lyrical, had some extraordinary dialogue from writer Frank Boyce. It's definitely worth a second watch." Michelle Gomez: "Not to sound like a narcissist, but...(my favorites are) the ones I'm in (laughter). Seriously, I still can't believe I'm in it. The first day on set, my pulse was racing, my heart was pounding. I grew up with "Doctor Who", I'm a massive fan of the show. It's a joy to work on it, and I'm terribly grateful."

A question came up that sounds like it's been asked a lot: "Are there any plans to bring back the Doctor's daughter?" Mr. Moffat joked, "Well, we're not at all prepared for that question. We didn't expect to hear that question." And his response: "There are no plans as yet. And even if I had plans, I would still say, 'no plans as yet'. Or maybe I'm lying. (Laughter) You know, telling the truth is easy; making it up takes effort."

Everyone had fun with a question about the Doctor's most famous prop, the Sonic Screwdriver. An audience member asked, "Do you ever catch anyone playing with it on set? Are there any funny moments where you see someone actually trying to use it to open something?" Host Nathan Fillion chimed in at this point: "I want to know too! Do you ever forget and take it home?" Peter Capaldi had a lot to say on the subject: "It's quite a handsome-looking prop, and it's much heavier than the toy ones. But it's got these jagged metal edges that will cut your thumb open if you're not careful, so it's not a prop that people throw around casually. My first day on set I tried to use it (mimics a waving gesture) and the end came right off. And I had a prop guy grumbling because he had to go and find it in the bushes. So they told me I couldn't do that (repeats gesture) with it anymore." Some prompting from Ms. Coleman also reminded the actor of a humorous wardrobe malfunction: "Becaue of the metal edges it can put holes in your wardrobe, and one time it created a hole in my jacket and it fell down into the lining. And I went to use it in a scene, and..." Mr. Moffatt compared the prop screwdriver to the toy versions that are available to the public: "We saw the toy version and it has all of these features, compared to the prop ones where we need to have three separate versions depending on what we need it to do, so we asked why we couldn't do what the toymakers do. And the prop guys' response was, 'We haven't got their budget.'

The final question of the hour was about Clara, who has been the Doctor's Companion for several seasons and has been able to observe the process of his transformation. An audience member asked, "There's always discussion about the impact that the Companions have on the Doctor; what kind of an impression do you think Clara will have?" Ms. Coleman offered a brief response - "It's not really for me to answer. Clara's been around, and she's been through a lot of different incarnations (of the Doctor)..." Mr. Capaldi took up the thought: "I think Clara has helped the Doctor to know himself, to undestand humans in a more generous way, to understand love and compassion and the depth of the human soul. And in the form of Jenna (as a colleague), in this first season I've found comfort and happiness from her; she's a class act, a star, and an incredible person. She's fabulous."

The panel ended to raucous applause from the audience and a cheerful goodbye from Mr. Fillion, who noted that the sellout event had raised approximately $4,000 and "paid for about 15 surgeries" for Operation Smile, which is the cause that NerdHQ was founded to support. NerdHQ, an offshoot of actor Zachary Levi's organization The Nerd Machine, has made a temporary home outside Comic-Con each July for the past several years. NerdHQ's ongoing series, "Conversations for a Cause", small panels with capacity for about 200 fans to converse with actors, directors, and pop-culture personalities, have become highly sought-after experiences that serve as a unique supplement to Comic-Con's yearly programming.