‘AN ENGLISHMAN ON GALLIFREY’

Please feel free to comment on my review.

Tim Bradley’s DVD cover of ‘An Englishman on Gallifrey’/’The Home Whovian’ signed by Sarah Sutton, Mark Strickson and Colin Baker

Tim Bradley with Mark Strickson at ‘Fantom Events at Memorabilia 2016’ at the NEC in Birmingham, March 2016

Tim Bradley with Sarah Sutton at ‘Fantom Events at Memorabilia 2016’ at the NEC in Birmingham, March 2016

Tim Bradley with Mark Strickson at ‘Fantom Events at Memorabilia 2016’ at the NEC in Birmingham, March 2016

Tim Bradley with Sarah Sutton at ‘Fantom Events at Memorabilia 2016’ at the NEC in Birmingham, March 2016

In 2014, I purchased a double bill DVD from the worlds of BBC TV’s ‘Doctor Who’. Made by Reeltime Pictures, who’ve done the ‘Myth Makers’ interviews with the ‘Doctor Who’ stars, the DVD included ‘An Englishman on Gallifrey’ and ‘The Home Whovian’. I found it a unique, fascinating DVD experience. 🙂

The two special features are essentially behind-the-scenes documentaries that look into ‘Doctor Who’ in America. ‘An Englishman on Gallifrey’ is a convention diary by Mark Strickson in Los Angeles whilst ‘The Home Whovian’ is a special documentary featuring interviews with the classic Doctors. 🙂

According to the back of the DVD, the running length of the two special features in total is about 90 minutes approximately. I’ll share each in turn how much I’ve enjoyed ‘An Englishman on Gallifrey’ and ‘The Home Whovian’ and whether they’re worthy in terms of viewing for a ‘Doctor Who’ fan. 😀

I’ve had my DVD cover of ‘An Englishman on Gallifrey’/’The Home Whovian’ signed by Sarah Sutton and Mark Strickson when I met them at the ‘Fantom Events at Memorabilia 2016’/’MCM Birmingham Comic Con’ in March 2016. I’m really glad Sarah and Mark signed my DVD cover of that.

I purchased the ‘An Englishman on Gallifrey’/’The Home Whovian’ DVD on Amazon.co.uk after meeting Mark Strickson for the first time at the ‘Time Warp’ convention in Weston-super-Mare, July 2014. It was a pleasure to meet Mark then, especially as I learnt how intriguing and clever he was. 🙂

As of 2021, I’ve met Mark at four conventions – the ‘Time Warp’ event in Weston-super-Mare, July 2014; ‘Dimensions 2015’ in Newcastle, October 2015; the ‘Fantom Events at Memorabilia 2016’ event in Birmingham, March 2016; and the ‘London Film & Comic Con’ in July 2017. All good events! 🙂

Mark Strickson is well-known for playing Turlough in ‘Doctor Who’ with Peter Davison’s Fifth Doctor. In 2001, Mark attended the twelfth ‘Gallifrey One’ convention in Los Angeles. With Reeltime Pictures, Mark filmed a personal diary of himself attending that convention, which was enlightening.

I’ve had my fair share of conventions over the years. I’m pretty experienced in how they work in the UK. This was an interesting insight by Mark Strickson in how a USA ‘Doctor Who’ convention works. In this review, I hope to share my insight and experience of conventions compared to ‘Gallifrey One’.

‘An Englishman on Gallifrey’ is Mark’s show, and he’s an experienced producer in making documentaries in New Zealand. At the convention, Mark is joined by two more ‘Doctor Who’ stars. They’re Bonnie Langford, who plays Melanie Bush, and Sarah Sutton, who plays Nyssa of Traken. 😀

Sarah’s appearance in ‘An Englishman on Gallifrey’ was the reason why I purchased the ‘An Englishman on Gallifrey’/’The Home Whovian’ DVD in the first place. 😀 It was surreal to see Sarah attending a US convention in 2001 and this was way before I’d even met her at conventions in 2010.

I really like how honest and up-front Mark Strickson is when describing the trials and tribulations of conventions. I know a lot of hard work goes into the organisation of these conventions. Mark goes to great lengths to explain why stars can be tired and drained in attending them, especially in the US. 🙂

I found it interesting how a US convention is organised. I’ve not attended one yet and I know how ‘crazy’ they can be. The ‘Gallifrey One’ conventions used to be small and intimate at the time this diary was filmed. Now they’ve become bigger. I think I’d be pretty overwhelmed going to one now. 🙂

It was interesting how Mark arrived in L. A. and the weather conditions were terrible. He also depicts what happens on each day, with sight-seeing in L. A. on Friday and attending the convention from Saturday to Sunday. I need to save plenty of time and money in order to attend the US conventions.

Actually, upon reflection, the ‘Destination: Star Trek’ conventions must be intense events, since the one I attended in Birmingham, October 2018 was full-on busy with so many guest stars attending. I wonder if that’s how the ‘Gallifrey One’ convention are organised with plenty of guests attending. 😐

I really like how Mark interacts with the US fans at the ‘Gallifrey One’ convention he’s at, getting to hear their feedback on what makes a good convention. It’s interesting how US and UK conventions are different to each other. The UK ones I’ve attended so far have been amazing and thrilling for me.

It’s also intriguing that Mark, Bonnie and Sarah were the only three main ‘Doctor Who’ stars in attendance. I felt Bonnie and Sarah were overshadowed by Mark who took centre stage in the documentary. Some ‘Doctor Who’ book writers and Big Finish members also attended that weekend.

Authors like Justin Richards and Peter Anghelides were in attendance as well as Big Finish people like Lisa Bowerman and India Fisher. Members from BBV like Bill Baggs, Nigel Fairs and Jo Castleton were also in attendance. You would need to freeze-frame each shot to confirm who was at ‘Gallifrey One’.

At the time of viewing ‘An Englishman on Gallifrey’ in 2014, I hadn’t met Bonnie Langford at a convention then. Now I can happily say that I’ve met Bonnie at the ‘Bournemouth Film and Comic Con’ in August 2015. I had a nice time meeting Bonnie at a convention and she was really nice to me.

She does come across as an amazing person with an amazing personality, especially in ‘An Englishman on Gallifrey’. At the ‘Gallifrey One’ convention, Bonnie demonstrates her talents as a star in the cabaret session on the Saturday night. She has a bubbly sense of humour doing panels. 😀

Sarah Sutton is someone I’ve met a lot at conventions. She’s my favourite ‘Doctor Who’ star! I love meeting Sarah and it’s very interesting how she attended the ‘Gallifrey One’ convention in 2001. I imagine Sarah finds the US conventions more tiring than the UK ones. I’m sure she still likes them. 🙂

I really felt for Sarah when she became tired and drained towards the end of the weekend. It was amusing to see Sarah having a cup of peanuts when she was interacting with Bonnie and Mark. Sarah clearly gets on well with people like Bonnie and Mark when attending conventions in the US. 🙂

The cabaret session on the Saturday night was interesting. I enjoyed Mark’s contribution. I don’t really do late night evening entertainment at conventions unless Sarah attends them, which she rarely does. It’s clear that Sarah prefers to keep her personal life private, which is pretty fair enough.

‘An Englishman on Gallifrey’ is a pretty enjoyable convention video diary by Mark Strickson on the hard-workings and goings-on at conventions, especially in the USA, from an actor’s point of view. Having met Mark at conventions, I greatly appreciate his insight here and he’s clearly a friendly chap.

It was also lovely to see Sarah Sutton and Bonnie Langford in ‘An Englishman on Gallifrey’ with Mark Strickson and how they handled attending a convention in the US. Seeing ‘An Englishman on Gallifrey’ makes me want to attend another convention, especially with Sarah as one of the guests. 🙂

‘An Englishman on Gallifrey’ rating – 8/10