(originally
published 2002, zine unknown)
The familiar purple robed
and golden masked figure of Heironymous strolling about in the road outside
Manchester's Palace Hotel is a bit of a giveaway really. Skirting past in case
there's a video camera lurking, I'm met by a Sea Devil taking the steps surprisingly
well and once inside there's a Voc padding around the lobby. Yes, it's twenty five years since the very first Panopticon was held in a
church hall in London and nowadays it seems to have relocated to a gothic hotel
oop North. The umpteenth event was a surprise addition to 2002's convention
calendar and, as it turned out, rather a disappointing one. The two main
attractions had to pull out, leaving a void that was difficult to fill not
least because the main hall had very little atmosphere and echoey sound that
seemed out of sync with the big screen. Then there was David Bickerstaff whose
interviewing style was off-putting and often unsupportive of the guests (nobody
paid to see him). Nevertheless a lot of the audience seemed fairly happy, though many who
attended June's big shouty SFX Event have commented on the relative lack of
atmosphere at Doctor Who events.
