Of Doctors and Demon Hunters

Almost every year my kids and I head off to a Doctor Who convention in California (Gallifrey One) where for 3 1/2 days we have a blast listening to actors, directors, showrunners and other folks talking all about one of our favorite shows of all time. We get autographs and have photos taken, and trade fun ribbons with quotes from the show on them. We order in pizza to the room or walk to In-n-Out Burger. We ooh and ahh over the cosplayers who never fail to impress with their creativity and amazing construction skills. Price of admission is $80 per person, and it is well worth every penny, even when you add in hotel and airfare. We’ve never been disappointed.

This year we managed to talk my sister into going with us, and while I don’t know that she’ll ever go again, she picked a good year to come because we had some amazing panels featuring a wide array of actors as well as showrunner Steven Moffatt.

So one of my daughter’s favorite shows is “Supernatural,” about two brothers who are demon hunters. It’s one of the longest running shows on American TV and has quite a following. Not as big a following as “Doctor Who,” but just as rabid. The other day we watched the “Scoobynatural” episode wherein the brothers are sucked into an episode of the Scooby Doo cartoon (it was a great, fun episode), and during the commercial break they announced that a Supernatural fan convention is coming to Charlotte this summer.

“Mama,” Cootiegirl said quietly, but urgently. “MAMA.”

“I know, I saw,” I said, laughing.

“MAMA! MAMA!” she repeated.

“Fine, let’s look and see how much it cost, but if it’s more than the Doctor Who convention, we’re not doing it.”

People. A SINGLE DAY’S TICKET starts at $125. And goes up from there if you want to select your seat. And doesn’t include the ability to get the autographs of the two main actors. Really? REALLY? I was shocked when I saw the price.

“But Jaynee,” I know you’re thinking, “It’s still cheaper than the entire Doctor Who convention if you count the hotel and airfare.”

Yes, I know this. But this convention is LESS THAN AN HOUR FROM MY HOUSE. And my daughter wouldn’t even be able to GET THE AUTOGRAPHS SHE WANTS. No, because THAT ticket price starts at over $500 per person. And doesn’t even include the additional $179 you have to pay to get the autograph. The $500+ ticket just gets you the OPPORTUNITY to purchase and obtain the autograph. Photo op with both brothers is another $300. WHO LIKES THIS SHOW THAT MUCH THAT THEY ARE WILLING TO PAY THESE RIDICULOUS PRICES???

I’m so disappointed because I know she would have loved being able to score their autographs and a photo with Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki (after all, one whole wall in her room is dedicated to photo ops and autographs from the Doctor Who and Walking Dead conventions we’ve attended).

Alas, she’ll have to content herself with just watching the boys on TV instead.