REDEFINING THE SUPERFAN

Above: Doctor Who memorabilia, image credit The Doctor Who site.

Is Superfandom money and talent-centric?

By Mélissa M Azombo – Support the author

I’m on the set of Doctor Who during one of those lulls when we are waiting to be called in for the next scene, when one of the other extras told me he had been in the newspapers as a kid for owning the biggest Doctor Who collection.

“Impressive!” I thought. “That’s really cool,” I responded. He must really like Doctor Who and it is amazing that he not only enjoyed the show enough to want to collect so much, but that he was able to. He is what the media would have termed a “Superfan”. Unfortunately, his name escapes me. This was way back in the summer of 2016, after all. While I wish him well wherever he is, I also wonder whether he would have agreed with that terminology.

See, I have seen many examples of fans photographed with their collections and artwork and called superfans but I wonder if this always feels like an accurate fit. Do they, themselves feel like superfans or regular fans? And what makes the distinction? I wanted to unpack what it meant to be a Superfan a bit further.

Above: Snapshot from BBC documentary Tom Felton Meets The Superfans

The best place to start when you want to know the meaning of a word is always of course, the dictionary. The Oxford online dictionary defines a Superfan as “a fan especially of a sports team, who admires somebody/something or enjoys watching or listening to somebody/something, more than usual.” While Doctor Who may not be a sports team, instead the longest running sci-fi TV show, I think I can still use this definition as a barometer against which to calibrate Superfandom.

First, I need to set a baseline for “usual”. Is this Countdown? Because off we go to the dictionary corner again. According to the same dictionary, usual means “that happens or is done most of the time or in most cases”. This sets the baseline for usual fandom at: ways of enjoying a franchise that are the most accessible. In the case of Doctor Who for example, that would be simply watching each episode from when it aired. Anything beyond that, such as watching episodes multiple times or investing further in the show in other ways, would bring you towards the Superfan side of the spectrum.

Above: A Doctor Who collection of Daleks, a TARDIS, figures and more. Image credit: The Doctor Who site.

This means that my fellow extra from earlier would categorise as a superfan. Does this mean that anyone who does not own even one Doctor Who Funko Pop, could never dream of qualifying as a superfan? Owning a huge collection is in large part, money based. Whilst it is arguably unfair to dismiss those who would never be able to afford such a collection, it is also not right to dismiss the passion for the show someone must have, to want to do this in the first place. The collector has rightfully earnt their place as a superfan (as long as it’s not just because they couldn’t shift the latest limited edition blu-ray for £1000 on e-bay, after all). Perhaps this just seems like the main representation we get of the superfan. Others are acknowledged in media, though.

Above: Cosmic Doctor: The 11th Doctor fan at by Alice X. Zhang.

The superfan is sometimes in the media for their fan art. With Doctor Who’s deep history, there is lots to draw inspiration from to create hand drawn, painted or even digital artwork. Spend just a few minutes scrolling through Twitter and you will see a plethora of talent emanating from your screen.

Above: A work of art: A pen drawing of Vincent Van Gogh as portrayed by Tony Curran in Doctor Who episode Vincent and The Doctor. Artwork by BethanApple on Instagram.

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The talent of Doctor Who fans will astonish you. These fans show that their enjoyment of the show sparks their creativity, prompting them to take their fandom beyond just watching the program.

Above: The Doctor Who Series 4 steelbook cover artwork designed by Sophie Cowdrey (@sophiecowdreyart on Instagram)

From The Doctor in her various incarnations to her companions or cross-era mash-ups, for example The 8^th Doctor with Bill Potts, there is an array of fantastic artwork from fans. This can give them more material to practise their craft enough to even work on the show one day in an artistic capacity, as Sophie Crowdrey who designed the Doctor Who Series 4 Steelbook did.

There is no way in which these fans have not earnt the “Superfan” title. It’s still important to note though that artwork is money & resources dependent. It also depends on being able to draw. The concept that someone who does not have the funds or resources to produce this art or can not draw could not be a superfan, just does not ring true.

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What about something more inexpensive like running a blog or a successful YouTube or Vimeo channel? Possibly even a successful social media account? Blogs not only take a lot of time and effort to run and promote, they employ a vast skillset. Bloggers need to research and innovate to come up with original articles you will enjoy reading. In the case of writing about a topic the rest of the Doctor Who fandom is already aware of, they need to be quick to beat the rush of every single other Doctor Who Blog writing about it or use a different angle that would warrant a later publishing date.

There is a lot to take into account from photography to logos and website design, as well as interviewing people, given the chance. This is definitely something not done lightly. Most times, this is a hobby fans are trying to squeeze in around their day job that they do not get paid for, with no guarantee anyone will read it at first.

Similarly, YouTube channels and social media accounts have no guarantee of ever being viewed by anyone. The amount of time, energy and creativity fans put into editing videos for, be it YouTube or DailyMotion and perfecting posts for Instagram or Twitter, is definitely a match for a superfan. But when it comes to success, this is tied to likes & impressions in the mediasphere. It’s a numbers game! By that logic, this level of dedication to the show means nothing to your superfan status if you don’t have thousands of likes and followers. Ouch! Sounds harsh.

Also a numbers game and perhaps the most symbolic of a superfan, is autograph & photograph collecting. The autograph & photograph hunters have been synonymous with the term superfan for ages and it’s quite an expensive hobby to keep up.

With conventions increasing in price, along with auto and photo prices, this is not exactly accessible to everyone. But it doesn’t actually have to be expensive. You can go to stage door for free and try to get a photo or auto from your favourite actor if they come out. You might be able to do the same outside red carpets, some of which are wrist-banded to restrict the number in fan areas.

Of course, if you are just after an autograph, you might actually be able to get one for the price of a stamp – well, 2 stamps. You can send fan mail to the agency of the actor of your choice and enclose a stamped SAE (self-addressed envelope), so that they are able to send you a response, including an autograph, if you request one!

While these last methods dramatically take the cost of this activity down, it is still exclusive. The latest figure from l’INSEE (L’Institut National de Statistiques et des Etudes Economiques) reflects that the amount of people in poverty is 14.2%. For such people, the cost of a stamp may be too much, let alone 2 stamps or trying to get into a convention. Unfortunately, being a Doctor Who fan does not automatically grant someone a magic money tree from the Universe.

Just finished working on an article for you all that should be out next week. That can only mean 1 thing… time to get to work on the next one! For this, it will be so much better with YOUR participation, so RT & answer below:

👇What is a Superfan?#DoctorWho #Fan #Fandom #HP

— Un Temps de Fraises – Time Made Of Strawberries (@GoldenWho) April 30, 2020

So, who is the superfan in all of this? Is it the collector? Is it the artist? Is it the fanfiction writer or is it the person who has watched lots of episodes multiple times and can tell you a thing or 2 about them from the top of their heads? It turns out that the superfan is all of these examples. As far as being a superfan goes, you don’t have to have all the money in the world to collect every photograph, autograph or figure. You don’t have to be able to draw or write or even have defined success on your Doctor Who social media account. You just have to enjoy the show, in a more than usual way. There is more than one way of being a superfan, even a free one…

 

DOCTOR WHO NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM

Above: The Natural History Museum where the Doctor Who science night took place. Credit: Mélissa Azombo

Science Fun At the Natural History Museum’s Doctor Who Night

by Mélissa M Azombo

In October 2019, Whovians and science enthusiasts alike descended on the Natural History Museum Doctor Who night at the London venue, which coincided with their monthly Lates.

The popularity of the event was shown via the mass queue that formed outside its TARDIS & Moon room before its 18:30 start. Once inside, visitors could marvel at the TARDIS in front of them and the scale modelled lit-up moon from a more permanent exhibition, which hung over it. Typical of a Natural History Museum (NHM) Lates event, there was lots more to explore. These nights are designed for adults to explore science, from stands with museum scientists to panels and screenings.

One visitor said “I love Doctor Who and for the first time I was able to see the TARDIS to take a picture and to see the monsters – how they create everything and the effects.”

Above from left: Doctor Who monster prosthetic heads of Tritovore, Silurian, the Minotor and Judoon lay on a table next to Tim Berry and Charlie Bluett from the Doctor Who Special Effects team, Richard Sabin, scientist at the Natural History Museum.

This was the Naturally Monstrous talk, which proved very popular with audiences. There, Charlie Bluett from the Doctor Who special effects team revealed that the Cybermen were probably the most expensive creatures to make. He also took the time to explain how he got into his Doctor Who career.

“Creative studies, Art & DT & being on the sports field were the areas I excelled in, so finishing school, I worked at Pizza Express to save some money to put together a portfolio and contacted a guy called Dick Smith,” he said. The late Dick Smith of the Godfather trilogy had recommended him for his first job. From there, he started working on music videos before eventually working at Millenium FX, where his first job was to make a pig head, presumably for the Daleks In Manhattan series 2 episode.

Above: Doctor Who’s Tim Berry and Charlie Bluett demonstrate Judoon animatronics.

Tim Berry, also on special effects, talked about the animatronics of creatures like the Judoon and building monsters, showcasing a quick demo. NHM’s own Richard Sabin discussed the science behind the creatures.

In another room, Doctor Who Series 3 episode Smith and Jones aired in rotation to give more fans the opportunity to catch the screening.

Visitors could enrich their experience at pop-up stations. They gathered to hear more about Mars and find out more about rocks from space called chondrites and tektites.

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“Chondrites are a type of meteorite and tektites are an example of a way of identifying that there’s been an impact,” Natural History Museum PhD student Helena summarised. “If you imagine you drop a pebble into water, and you get a splash of water, if you “drop” an asteroid into the Earth, you get “splashes” of Earth. So basically, it melts everything so then that material will splash out and as it’s travelling through the sky, it will solidify. So, you get these really bizarre droplet shapes.”

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For a more hands-on approach, the opportunity to take part in the Large Mission to Mars workshop was on the table. Participants could code a rover using Lego robotics to journey through a large scale replica of the red planet’s surface.

The night was not complete without the opportunity to look down a microscope. Natural History Museum scientists gave visitors the opportunity to see just how large grains of sand really are.

A visitor at the event said “I loved it. There was so much to do.” The BBC Doctor Who – Natural History Museum event was a huge success, where visitors could pre-book tickets for a silent disco that followed.

DOCTOR WHO: THE EDGE OF TIME

Above: Doctor Who: The Edge Of Time logo from an earlier trailer.

An Inside Look At The Brand New Doctor Who VR Game

One sunny August evening, Product Manager Quin escorts me to the Maze Theory London headquarters. Through the high-end secure entrance and the lobby which exudes comfort, we make our way to the bright, spacious Maze Theory office. Dedication, hard work and positive energy in the air, ingredients of the new Doctor Who VR game “The Edge Of Time”.

At this stage, the game development is still in progress. Nevertheless, the game that I test is extraordinary. When I put on my VR headset, I am immediately transported to another world. I feel the nature around me, the tension of hurrying to save the day and the fear of monsters. As far as I am aware, there is no screen separating me from this captivating, time-sensitive world. This time, I am living in an episode of Doctor Who.

The Maze Theory team had taken us through their work on the game, on a widescreen TV. They were also keen on feedback from the eyes of avid Doctor Who viewers. This, an illustration of the passion, drive and painstaking detail they were putting into launching Doctor Who into the world of VR in perfect fashion.

The Edge Of Time is the first VR game to enter the Doctor Who universe.

With Monsters and threats to confront, Doctor Who fans take charge of defeating Daleks and Weeping Angels alike, by stepping into an adventure of their own.

Given some guidance at intermittent points in the game by The Doctor herself (voiced by Jodie Whittaker), players essentially become The Doctor as they are put in charge of their own destiny.

Released in November, the immersive experience filled with thrills, puzzles and tension is available worldwide to all owners of a VR headset via Steam, Oculus and PlayStation store at An RRP of £20 or $25 USD.

Above: Neil Millstone, Lead Developer at Maze theory, pictured here at the Doctor Who: The Edge Of Time stand at London Comic Con MCM Expo in May 2019

Players should “come out thinking they’ve just had an adventure through space and time,” Neil Millstone from Maze Theory tells me.

As a fan of the show, he described working on The Edge Of Time as feeling “like a responsibility… Games based on movies and TV don’t have a great history and… we all wanted to make sure that we did right by the fans. We didn’t want to make a generic game that just happens to have the Doctor Who branding on the top. We wanted to make something that fans and people who knew the series, would identify with and see as part of the Doctor Who world.”

Above: A Dalek from Doctor Who: The Edge Of Time.

In the initial planning stages, Maze Theory made sure to centre some vital elements in the world of the game. When considering which famous Doctor Who monsters to feature, the Daleks reigned supreme.

Having selected the Daleks as iconic monsters to include and Weeping Angels, they knew they needed to consider the types of environments that would be good to explore next.

“The plot mostly came first and then the gameplay fitted around that.” Neil tells me about the game development process. The balance of the plot and the environment was a key component of constructing the worlds in the game. Neil got an insight into the sheer scale of the game when he was asked to join the project, by being shown a demo of the game featuring the Weeping Angels.

“I was amazed by the Weeping Angels demo,” he told me. “The environment, the look and feel of it. There was something about the demo they showed me that made me think ‘If we can make something Doctor Who that looks like this, then we’re gonna do very well out of it.’”

Above: Don’t blink. A Weeping Angel, as seen in Doctor Who: The Edge Of Time VR game

This really emphasised that Maze Theory had put a lot of work into crafting every detail to build up the perfect fan experience. I very quickly learnt that this has been consistent over the course of the project, which started with a request sent out by the BBC. Since Maze Theory is a recent addition to Output Group, which had worked with the BBC before, this helped them get on the list when the BBC sent out a request for who would be interested in producing a VR game. Marcus Moresby (VR Director at Maze Theory) put together the demo which landed them the project. Project landed, they set to work!

Above: Marcus Moresby, Creative Director at Maze Theory created the demo which landed them the project.

“We worked very hard to make sure that everything felt Who-y and it felt like something that would appear in the series,” Neil told me. He described every detail the team kept in mind while making the game, to make that world feel authentic.

“The intro sequence is designed to look like the intro to the TV series and getting elements like the TARDIS and the Daleks to be super accurate. All of these things are very important to us. Every module on the Dalek and every dial on the TARDIS is exactly where it should be.”

It is clear that the team knew just how important it was to get every detail right to create the perfect world. Maze Theory enlisted the help of some very knowledgeable Doctor Who cast members to get this spot on.

Above: Nicholas Briggs, the voice of the Daleks pictured here at microphone with ring modulator. Image courtesy of the BBC Doctor Who website.

Above: Jodie Whittaker, the current incarnation of The Doctor pictured here at a Build interview, lent her voice to Doctor Who: The Edge Of Time.

“Obviously, we enlisted the help of Nicholas Briggs and Jodie Whittaker to do the roles that they’re famous for in the series. As soon as we got the voices in, it felt much more like a part of the Who Universe.”

The game development process took about 14 months to complete, from building the team to the final completion stage.

This 14-month process led Maze Theory to an authentic Doctor Who game, in which players will find references to the Whoniverse throughout. This includes the laundrette representing the Totter’s Lane Junkyard and the time cabinet referencing Classic Doctor Who episode Talons of Weng Chang. It is no secret in the worlds of fandom, how dedicated fans are to the show, and how important this accurate detail and authenticity, which remained a constant theme throughout the game’s creation, can be to them. It strikes me that Doctor Who: The Edge of time is not only a chef d’oeuvre and labour of love. It is a love letter to the show itself, to the fans. VR headset firmly in place, I’m sure that fans can only be filled with joy and a sense of adventure.