Doctor Who Out Of the House

Earlier today, I posted my review of Doctor Who and Spyfall Part Two.   This post is about how we saw it.

 

Being in the United States, I am fortunate that BBC America is an outlet for current Doctor Who, showing the episode the same day it debuts on the BBC in the UK.

 

On the negative side, being in the United States, I am plagued by constant commercial interruptions when Doctor Who airs on BBC America, unlike my brethren Whovians across the pond in the UK.

 

Yesterday, I got to see both parts of Spyfall sans commercials and on a movie screen.

 

As a last minute idea for a Christmas Day stocking stuffer for my wife Andrea, I went online to get tickets for her and I along with our daughter Randie to see the Fathom Events presentation on January 5^th which included a replay of Spyfall Part One and also Part Two hours ahead of when it would be available on BBC America.  Also we got to see a live Q&A featuring Jodie Whittaker, Mandip Gill and Tosim Cole after the two episodes. 

 

The Q&A was a fun little trifle with no serious information revealed under threat of death by Chris Chibnall. But Jodie is always a delight in these interview situations, radiating pure joy at the very idea that she is the Doctor and gets to be part of this crazy enterprise known as Doctor Who. I’ve seen Jodie on Graham Norton and Stephen Colbert and she is always a hoot to see and listen to. 


Also, near the end of the Q&A, hats and noisemakers were withdrawn from under seats to sing happy birthday to a very surprised Mandip Gill.  

 

Regards to the episodes, Spyfall looked like it belonged on a movie screen. Sleek and stylish, this double barreled episode played out like a motion picture, looking and sounding like a movie. 

 

Fathom Events is a cool way to see Doctor Who, on a big screen with no commercials and in the company of fellow Whovians. It’s an expensive outing, costing far more than a regular movie at the cinema. So we don’t see every Fathom Event for Doctor Who but this one was a worthwhile investment. Two full hours of Doctor Who with one of those hours being the new 2nd episode of Series 12,  


We saw a young woman there with a nearly perfect cosplay of the 13^th Doctor. I saw nearly perfect: she had the rainbow striped shirt, suspenders and the blue coat. But not the capri pants. Most of the time when I see women cosplaying as the current Doctor, they get everything to match except the pants.  

 

We used to venture forth from the Fortress of Ineptitude to go see Doctor Who at Geeksboro, a local establishment catering to all things geeky and nerdy. Sadly, that business went under last year.  We still miss Geeksboro and it still feels weird to watch new episodes at home instead of at Geeksboro.

At least through Fathom Events, we have an occasional opportunity to get out of the house to see Doctor Who.