New York Comic Con kicked off with a delightful Doctor Who panel called “Tales from the TARDIS,” a retrospective that featured Matt Smith, Alex Kingston, and Jenna Coleman. The trio took the stage to thunderous applause and instantly began to charm the audience.
Probably the biggest charmer was Alex Kingston. She won a ton of love from the audience when she began to talk about children’s television in Britain. She believes that one of the great things about Doctor Who becoming a phenomenon in the States is that it offers a lead character who uses his brains to solve problems instead of weapons. She feels that so much of American children’s fiction is built around violence and consumerism while also not really challenging children’s ideas and views of the world. She’s so happy to see Doctor Who take over the States and the audience totally agreed.
She also made reference to her role on Arrow which features John Barrowman, a former inhabitant of the Doctor Who universe as Captain Jack Harkness. She says she’s trying to get the writers to pair together Malcolm Merlyn and Dinah Lance. She also says that Barrowman is trying to get Torchwood rebooted and that River Song should totally show up in that. Can you guess the audience’s reaction?
The most heartwarming moment was when a fan asked everyone what their favorite episode was. Unanimously, they all agreed that the Van Gogh episode is an all-timer. Kingston elaborated that the finale of Matt Smith’s run is one of the most beautiful and powerful moments in the show’s history.
Maybe the biggest laugh of the panel came when everyone was asked how their character would act as a teacher. Kingston said, “She’d be like Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus. In fact, I think she is Ms. Frizzle.” It was a wonderfully nerdy moment that brought the crowd’s passions together and reminded us that Comic Con is a place where everything you love informs each other thing.
