When the Doctor met his two greatest enemies outside York Minster, there were bound to be fireworks. Which was handy, because Guy Fawkes was there too.
Tourists photographing the Gothic cathedral turned their cameras on a sarcastic dalek, a silent cyberman and someone resembling the tenth Doctor Who (aka David Tennant).
Meanwhile cyclists had to make a sudden diversion to avoid the Tardis. It had not so much materialised on the Minster cycle path as been rolled there on a barrow.
While York-born Guy Fawkes grumbled to the cyberman about being “upstaged by a talking dustbin”, the dalek trundled about the place threatening to exterminate all those whose fashion sense he disliked.
So why had these time travellers assembled in the heart of York? Not to battle for the very survival of the universe, but to publicise this November’s Kaboom firework spectacular.
Staged again at Rawcliffe Country Park, it has a sci-fi and superheroes theme as it takes place in the month of Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary.
Last year’s Kaboom extravaganza was the first of its kind in York. With a James Bond theme, the pyrotechnics exploded in time to a selection of classic 007 themes.
3D fireworks
Visitor numbers were not released for that event, but this year organiser Mark Brayshaw, of Rockin’ Horse Promotions, hopes to attract 10,000 people.
He says the November 3 event will be bigger and better, complete with “3D” special effects.
“From my research I believe there’s only been one instance of a fireworks display that’s used 3D glasses in this country,” Mark said. “It’s a first for our region and the north.”
The glasses act to refract the light from the fireworks into “all the colours of the rainbow” making for a more immersive experience, Mark said. Lasers will also illuminate the night sky.
The fireworks will again be choreographed to a special soundtrack, this time featuring the themes from Star Wars, Terminator, the Marvel films and, of course, Doctor Who. “I have remixed my own version so it fits with the timings we need,” said Mark.
More family friendly
Having listened to feedback from last year, Kaboom will include more for the youngest viewers. As well as the return of the funfair, a “sparkler park” has been introduced where children can safely light and wave their sparklers.
And at 6.30pm there’s a junior firework display – which Mark described as “gentler” and so more tot friendly.
By contrast the main display, staged by leading pyrotechnician Jitu Desai, will be as bright and loud as they come. It will culminate with the detonation of the largest firework allowed in Britain.
This 22kg monster has to be transported to the site in a separate vehicle. It will shoot 1,200ft into the air and explode across a distance of 1,400ft – able to be seen seven miles away.
That sounds enough to even make a dalek jump.
The doctor’s visit
- Kaboom takes place on Sunday, November 3, 2013. Tickets start at £12.50 for adults and £9.50 for children with up to 40% discounts available for early purchase
- Tickets must be purchased in advance via the Kaboom website or at the Visit York Information Centre, Museum Street, York