TARDIS 204

Fan Club
Name:	TARDIS 204 (as of 1990, began as "Whovians of Winnipeg")
Dates:	1987 to at least 1995
Founder(s):	Laurie Smith
Leadership:	Anna Boudreau
Country based in:	Montreal, Cananda
Focus:	Doctor Who and other SF shows
External Links:
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TARDIS 204 is/was a Canadian Doctor Who fan club originally based in Winnipeg. It was founded by Laurie Smith.

a 1995 flyer

Publications

• a newszine
• a fiction zine called Badlands
• a fiction zine called Spacerunners Redux
• some chapbooks called "Whetstone"

From a 1995 Flyer

TARDIS 204 is a non-profit club based in Winnipeg, to promote and appreciate British and Canadian science fiction, fantasy and horror in film, television and print. Everything from Doctor Who and Blake's 7 to Seeing Things and The X-Files. We look for the alternate stuff. The obscure, the quirky. The hidden gems and undiscovered treasures.

History:

TARDIS 204 was started in Winnipeg in 1987 by a group of fans of the classic British SF series. Doctor Who. The club was originally called WOW (Whovians of Winnipeg) (we know it's dumb, that's why we changed it). Meeting regularly at the library it showed rare episodes of Doctor Who not available on television.

In 1989, Doctor Who began to appear on a number of television channels. The Club broadened it's appeal to include other shows such as Star Cops, Blake's 7, Red Dwarf and eventually The X-Flles.

In 1990, the club changed it's name to TARDIS 204 and began to publish a newsletter which became a newzine. TARDIS is the name of the time machine that Doctor Who uses to travel to other worlds and times. 204 of course, is the Manitoba area code.

Meetings and Activities:

TARDIS 204 holds two annual formal meetings at the Centennial Library, 2nd Floor Auditorium. At these meetings, guest speakers are invited, rare video is shown, news and announcements to club members are provided, social activities are discussed and a variety of material is made available to the members.

The club also holds irregular informal meetings at members residences. Less structured, these are much more social directed, with many of the same activities taking place. Once a year in July the club holds a picnic in Assiniboine Park. We've also held bake sales, flea markets, garage sales, and a wide variety of social and fundraising events.

Publications:

Ten times a year we publish the 24 to 36 page TARDIS 204 Newszine, which features an extended roundup of literally everything going on in film and television. It has featured in depth interviews with such people as cult vampire writer P.N. Elrod, and Winnipeg film maker P.M. Stratychuk. It continues to provide interviews with writers and artists in the field, and detailed features covering the shows you already know like Blake's 7 and X-Files, and discovering lost cult classics like Sapphire and Steel.

Members of TARDIS 204 also offer other publications, including fanzines BADLANDS I, BADLANDS II, SPACERUNNERS REDUX and chapbooks such as WHETSTONE.

Membership:

Members attend for free at all formal and informal meeting, picnics and activities, and receive the newsletter. Membership participation is welcome and encouraged.