After Thoughts: Doctor Who Screening/Q&A

UPDATE: BBC America has posted the entire half-hour Q&A session online! Glad I didn't transcribe it all.

Surprise! It's an After Thoughts! Not a surprise: it's Doctor Who related. Tonight BBC America held a screening and Q&A session in New York City for the latest series of Doctor Who, starring the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, and his new companion, Amy Pond, played by Karen Gillan. Both were in attendance for the event, as was new lead writer and show-runner, Steven Moffat. [Note, all links will go to an image in my Twitpic account]

The screening wasn't starting until 7 PM at the Village East Cinema here in Manhattan, but I actually got there at 9:30 this morning, waiting over 10 hours, and yes, there were even people that came earlier than me. But why did I arrive so early? Well, I found out last week that the screening would be in Village East's largest theater, 379 seats, but the Event page on BBCA's Facebook had over 600 people claiming to be going, so, I just wanted to make sure I could get in. Plus, I was already out because I had to pick up comics and the Flash ring.

So, the bulk of my day today was spent waiting in a line, reading comics, amusingly observing the fanatic Doctor Who fans with their Tom Baker scarves and remote-controlled Daleks, and telling curious passers-by that we were actually waiting for ZunePad and other Zune related products, because, that's just hilarious.

But, yeah, I won't bore you with stories of waiting, but come 6:30 PM, Matt and Karen arrived via taxi, and because my friend and I were near the front, we managed to get quite close to the new stars. I even got my crappy bag signed, because that's all I had, and Matt was like, "You want me to sign your bag?!" and I replied with what I told you already. Fun stuff: [Achievement Unlocked - Converse with The Doctor].

Soon after, we were in, I finally got to use a bathroom, and after a brief introduction and a BBC America programming trailer, the new episode, "The Eleventh Hour" started. And 65 minutes later, we were stunned; simply an awesome episode. But I won't give you a fully review here, I'll wait to post my full review this Saturday after it airs on BBCA at 9 PM EST.

The Q&A was really good. There were around 10 questions asked, none of which I completely remember (sorry), but the things Matt and Steven had to say were either really interesting and/or hilarious. Not to many questions were focused at Karen, so it didn't seem like she got to say much... but one creepy Who-fan did ask if she was a "chubby-chaser"... so, thanks for keeping her and/or BBCA from ever coming to America again, creepy Doctor Who fan. But, regardless, the experience was pretty awesome, and it was great that BBCA did this completely free, I just wish I had my actual camera with me, and an actual piece of Doctor Who merchandise that would've been worth signing... Next time? I can only hope!

I'd love to show you my photos, but sadly, I forgot my camera in New Jersey, so I was stuck with my crappy cellphone camera that can't zoom. And to top it off, I left my SD card adapter at home so I can't even upload my photos from my phone. So for now, check my Twitpic for some stuff, I'll try to get photos from the Q&A itself online at a later date.

Oh, and check out this other blog, where you can see me, my friend, and some far more devoted/crazy Doctor Who fans...

Zune HD

Because I just realized I made mention of it in the E3 post, and noticed that I never actually posted it; and I'd rather not get angry e-mails about how I cover new iPods and not new products from competitors.

Yes, Microsoft has decided to up the anty on its Zune line in order to compete with Apple's iPod touch and various other touch screen portable media players. The Zune HD will feature a true 16:9 OLED touch display with the capability of 720p output. The device will continue the Zune tradition of including radio, although this time around it will be the first portable device capable of using HD Radio. Also, it will include a browser ... based on Internet Explorer.

Design wise, I personally think the industrial-esque design is more appealing than the bulky, matte design of early Zune models, or the overly glossy look of recent designs. I'm almost expecting this thing to be a Transformer, and I guess that's always neat to have in the back your mind when you listen to music or watch movies. But, this of course isn't Mac compatible, and I already have an iPod.

What does everyone else think? And how soon do you think will we see Microsoft pushing gaming on the Zune HD?

via Zune HD page at Zune.net