SFX Weekender - 5th/6th February 2010, Camber Sands (Part 2)

After a good nights sleep and a beautiful fry up, courtesy of my girlfriend (Cheers babe!) it was time to return to the festivities. First up was the Being Human Q&A featuring the shows creator Toby Whithouse and the Producer (Matt Bouch?). After a bit of a slow start things really warmed up when the subject of Bristol was mentioned and the shows imminent move to Cardiff. To be honest I was rather gutted when this was announced as being a Bristolian I feel a special connection with the show, especially as I actually live about a 10 minute walk from their house! Apparently The decision to move the show is purely a political one and Toby Whithouse said that while he wouldn't have moved the show if it was his decision (and was initially very annoyed) he does like the challenge the change of setting poses. Anyway they did confirm that the 3 main characters would be moving to Cardiff by the end of Season 2. The other main topic was the difference in tone between the Pilot and the first season and their decision to take the look of the vampires in a different direction. There were some rumours that some of the cast members would make an appearance but unfortunately this did not happen.

After a quick pastry to recharge the batteries and a pint to shake the feeling of impending alcoholic doom it was back to the 'Main Void' for another panel Q&A. Now it was time for some true legends of the comic book world to hit the stage and discuss the growing influence of comics on films. The panel consisted of Al Ewing, Paul Cornell, Dez Skin and Dave Gibbons (of Watchmen fame).Understandably quite a lot of the questions were aimed at Dave seeing as The Watchmen film was finally released after years in development hell. while there was some intelligent discussions surrounding the state of the comic industry and the issue of the lack of female representation in the comic book industry (eventhough girls/women now make a large part of the reading audience whereas historically it was male dominated past-time and industry) this was infact one of the funniest panels with some witty banter amongst the 4 guests. A particular comedy highlight was Dez Skins obsession with the apparent S&M elements of Wonder Woman and his disappointment at why it hasn't yet been made into a major studio film.

The afternoon was finished off with a drawing masterclass by Dave Gibbons in the 'Screening Hall'. After discussing the art of drawing using a computer he finished with proceedings by knocking out a picture of one of his most famous creations, Rorschach. It was generally quite cool seeing a master at work!

In the main afternoon slot was the one and only Tom Baker. The main hall was rammed full with Dr Who (or Little Britain?) fans trying to get a glimpse of Rye's most famous inhabitant. Tom Baker was wonderfully eccentric and everything you'd have expected him to be, entertaining, funny and seemed genuinely happy to be there. (He put in the hours too...2 signing sessions and his time on stage). Over the course of 40 minutes Tom recollected various stories from his personal life and career. He told a very witty, if tad bizarre, story about a guy he use to know when he was a monk, who hadn't ejaculated for almost 30 years (due to his vow of celibacy/chastity), and when he lost his faith and decided to...."Stroke the Wookie" the force of it pushed him backwards and out of a window! This was followed by another story regarding a rumour that he had died following a mis-understanding regarding a grave-stone he owned in his local cemetery. During his time on stage he also discussed that he doesn't like watching his own stuff (a common complaint amongst the acting community) and William Hartnell was his favourite Dr Who. However he said that this is probably due to them being friends.


After some grub (a very tasty jacket potato and tuna if i remember rightly) it was time for the main event, the SFX 2010 Sci-Fi awards. The formalities started off with a hypnotic performance from the Globot and the LED Dancers. In the dark it was quite impressive and a good way to open the event (and get everyone back from the bar and into their seats!). The host and compere for the evening was Robert Rankin and, like the evening before, he was very entertaining.

The winners at the awards were as follows:

Best Film = Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Best Director = JJ Abrams for Star Trek (There was video acceptance message from JJ Abrams and he said he hopes to be there next year)

Best TV Show = Supernatural

Best TV Episode = Children of Earth, Episode 5/Torchwood

Best Sci-Fi Actress - Eve Myles for Torchwood

Best Sci-Fi Actor - David Tennant for Dr Who

Best Novel - The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (via the acceptance letter Neil Gaiman let it be known that he has written a Dr Who episode entitled "House of Nothing' and that it would air in '14 months' - You heard it hear first!)

Best Comic - Batman: What ever happened to the Caped Crusader? By Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert (Titan)

Best Video Game - Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady)

Best Collectible - Dr Who: The Journal of Impossible Things (Character Options)

The following awards were Selected by SFX and not the readers:

SFX Sci-Fi Phenomenon - True Blood (The award was collected by Michelle Forbes on bahalf of everyone involved in the show)

SFX Breakout - Being Human (Award was collected by show creator Toby Whithouse)

Cult Hero - Gareth David Lloyd

Hope for the Future - Stephen Moffat (New lead writer of Dr Who)

...and Finally...

SFX Lifetime Achievement Award - Gerry Anderson (Thunderbirds, Stingray, Joe 90 etc)

The awards ceremony was finished off with a UK exclusive clip from Iron Man 2 (War Machine!)

Once the formalities of the awards was over it was time to move en masse back to the bar to top up and wait for the sci-fi party of the year to get underway, the SFX Masquerade. This was the part of the inaugural SFX weekend where anything goes, dress-wise that is! Upto to now everyone had been in 'civvies' but once the awards were done the Cosplay addicts showed their true colours. While me and my party didn't bother with the fancy dress, sorry Cosplay (unless you include my '2nd skin' of denim, leather, shorts and T-shirt as 'fancy dress'), there were plenty of people who did and some of them were awesome. My personal favourites were Optimus Prime and Dr Manhattan, who in particular really did let it 'all hang out'! ;o). While everyone was partying and soaking up the atmosphere one Mr Pat Sharp was spinning the wheels of steel. The formal festivities came to an end in the form of several 'rock' bands. I must say after many a go on Guitar Hero: Arcade and lots of beer/whisky I was set for some serious metal/hard rock. However its fair to say that neither of the two bands I saw floated my boat, to be honest I cant even remember what either of them were called. However while I was intrigued to see Neil Buchanon's Marseille but by the time they were due on stage I was having too much of a good time in the bar with the various artists, authors, party dwellers and festival goers. Following a conversation with Dez Skin about Forbidden Planet and a very garbled chat with a very well respected, yet slightly inebriated Mr ****** (The name has been deleted to protect the innocent!) it was unfortunately time return to our my quarters and get at least a few hours sleep before the brutal drive home. With that the curtain came down on what was an amazing weekend and one that I won't forget for a while. While some people may complain that the calibre of star (excluding James Marsters and Tom Baker) may not have been up there with the likes of Collectermania, and of course not Comic Con, I genuinely think all the guys on the various panels/Q&As were very interesting and in many respects that's just as important as 'headline' stars. I am definitely considering returning to Camber Sands again next year. See ya guys there!