Gene Smith of Alien Entertainment Company in Lombard, Illinois attended the recent San Diego Comic-Con and is please to note the increased popularity of Doctor Who at the show:

 

I've looked over many of the reports and articles on the San Diego Comic-Con and finally there was some press coverage for Doctor Who, which is long overdue.

 

The BBC was there in force to promote it along with Torchwood, Primeval and Spaced (with Simon Pegg).  Huge lines were all over the place for the autograph sessions with producer Julie Gardner, writer Steven Moffat, Torchwood stars John Barrowman, Gareth David-Lloyd, and Naoko Mori, who were in Ballroom 20 on Thursday and filled it to capacity (it is one of the two largest programming rooms used at the SDCC).

The crowd was very excited during the presentation and it was announced that Steven had just started writing the first episode of Season Five on the plane.  Julie showed a promo clip for the Christmas special "Return of the Cybermen," which looked really good and when John Barrowman took the stage, during the Torchwood portion, he was in top form and the fans loved it. 

 

As a Comic-Con exhibitor and long time seller of Doctor Who merchandise, I remember being the only vendor with any Doctor Who merchandise just a few years ago.  Last year there were a few more.  This year everyone and their mother wanted to have something and the toy line from Character Options was the big success.  Underground Toys had two exclusives and I'm told they sold out of them (3,000 units each) so not bad considering how many exclusives were at the show that did not sell out.

 

Torchwood is BBC America's most successful show ever and has brought a new crowd into the world of Doctor Who.  Both of the long established Doctor Who conventions in America (Gallifrey in LA and Chicago TARDIS) had increased attendance at their last events and will do even better at the next ones.

 

Doctor Who is back and bigger than ever.

 

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