It's Who, You Know

A Time Lord came to Times Square, making his only United States appearance, so naturally, you know what that means, right?
Time for father and son to hang out with Batman, of course.

Wait a minute....

This was supposed to be all about the United States premiere of the premier, half-century old television show about everyone's favorite time-travelling Time Lord, the good Doctor himself

Doctor Who, you ask?

Funny you should ask, it's the first question, the oldest question in the universe.

And that's not Who Are You?

Since 1963, the BCC has been bringing the world serial stories of the greatest Time Lord of them all, Doctor Who, whose adventures have spanned as many centuries as they have galaxies, all to the delight of science fiction fans worldwide.  And among their numbers are a slew of my friends, as well as my co-workers at Middlesex Community College, but most of all, my two favorite travelling companions, my daughter Heather and my son, Andrew.

So when word came out that tickets would be on sale for a New York City appearance of the next Doctor, Peter Capaldi, his current travelling companion Jenna Coleman, and showrunner Steven Moffat, I knew it was time to grab a seat in the TARDIS, the doctor's iconic blue police box that serves as his vehicle of choice to explore the universe.

(That's the Time And Relative Dimension in Space, for you non-Whovians.)

After somehow, and surprisingly being able to secure a pair of tix for the premiere, Andrew and I embarked on our second road trip of the summer season.  (You may recall our historic Bruce Springsteen pilgrimage of a few months back.)  Heather chose to stay home and bond with her non-Whovian mom.

Andrew and I made the trek to the Big Apple in no time, and arrived early enough to check out some of the sights in nearby Times Square.

That includes, of course, getting photo-bombed by Spongebob Squarepants 

Hanging out with an ass-kicking Raccoon

And of course, sizing up to the Incredible Hulk

Andrew seems rather non-plussed about all the super-hero action taking place around him.

Not so for the topless women who paraded around the crowd, rubbing shoulders and other body parts with the likes of Dora the Explorer, Super Mario, and Captain America.  You'll have to trust me on this one, it's a Times Square thing.  But seeing as this is a family blog, you won't be seeing those pics here.  If I had taken any, that is.

Happily, there were no Daleks to be seen.

We can only assume this was a Weeping Angel working the NYC Streets, because if this was the real Lady Liberty, she was nowhere near as inspiring as one would be led to believe.

Even in the dead of summer, there's nothing quite like the olfactory pleasure of chestnuts roasting on an open foil, an aroma usually reserved for the Christmas shopping season

Finally, it was showtime and on to the Blue Carpet over at the historic Ziegfeld theater

Andrew took his turn on the Blue Carpet, before the celebs made their runway twirls 

The Good Doctor and his Good Companion

I tried to Delete this picture, but somehow couldn't.

I tried to strike up a conversation with the metal man, but he just kept on repeating "You will be upgraded, you will become like us, upgrading is compulsory."  Blah, blah, blah, heard it all before.

Saw our share of cosplaying Doctors while waiting in line before the show

Did I mention there was a line?  Yeah.  (And somewhere in this crush of humanity is Amazing Spider-Man scribe and uber Whovian, Dan Slott.  Tried to find him, but alas, no Spidey-sense tingling.

Because geekdom runs in the genes

Inside the theater, we nabbed seventh row seats, and sat through Deep Breath, Peter Capaldi's first episode, which debuts this Saturday on BCC America.  (Check your local listings.)  You won't unearth any hints about the show's content here, just Silence, because, you know, spoilers, sweetie.

After the show, the Doctor, his companion, and their puppet Master took to the stage for a question and answer with fans and the Nerdist himself, Chris Hardwick.

At show's end, they all took a selfie in front of the packed house.  And when I say packed, that doesn't count the hundreds of fans OUTSIDE the theater who never even got through the front doors! 

Before leaving the theater, Andrew bounded to the stage and took a turn in the Doctor's chair.

Yeah, I know it's a silhouette shot, but damn, doesn't he look cool?  Kind of like another iconic silhouette making its rounds this week.

Outside the theater, like any A-list celeb, Andrew had a spin at yet another press interview, this one with six-year-old Lindalee Rose, who was conducting fan interviews for the Doctor Who Review.

She seemed impressed with Andrew's answers.

Not, however, as impressed by HIS interviewing skills. 

Not sure she's even listening to him rant on anymore at this point, because it was past her bedtime, but she gets high marks for trying. 

Another historic road trip in the books, this time for an historic geek outing.

Truly a great time.

And what is time, after all?

People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobby, time-wimey....stuff.

But in the meantime, don't blink.  Blink and you're dead.  They are fast.  Faster than you can believe.  Don't turn your back.  Don't look away.  And don't blink.  Good luck.