Thursday night, I drove through tornado-threatening thunderstorms just for a chance to get up close and personal with Russell Tovey in Orlando.

You should know who he is, especially if you've been watching "Being Human" on BBC and BBC America. If you haven't, shame on you (and really, shame on me, too, because I'm so far behind in my television watching), but you might also remember him as Alonzo in the "Voyage of the Damned" Christmas special of "Doctor Who," and a small cameo in David Tennant's finale.

Tovey is making his first trip to Florida since he was a young boy, attending MegaCon in Disneyville this weekend. But first, he had a very intimate evening with a small group of fans at Cricketers Arms Pub, part of a special event hosted by the same people who do the Hurricane Who conventions.

This was an event that was selling a lot of tickets and doing well. Not because of Tovey, but because the event originally had Nicholas Courtney, who played Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in the classic "Doctor Who" series. He had to back out a few weeks back because of health and travel concerns, so event organizer Jarrod Cooper made a quick switch and brought in someone I think is even better, Tovey.

To be honest, driving 175 miles roundtrip on a night I have not only Alpha Waves Radio but work the next morning is not something that I would just do for fun. Since I was too young for the classic "Doctor Who," I can tell you I definitely would not have gone if Courtney was there. But once Tovey was announced, I was excited, and even bought a ticket.

I just wish fans were more enthused about Tovey. I know he's still up and coming, but he's done amazing work in the little bit I've seen of "Being Human," and I absolutely enjoyed him in "Doctor Who." When he first arrived, attendees at the pub were in another room watching an episode of "Being Human" and I was at a table in the main dining area chatting it up during the Alpha Waves Radio broadcast.

Tovey came over and sat next to me, and didn't seem to mind that my eyes were more glued to the computer screen than him, knowing work is work. But he was a very pleasant guy, fun to talk to, and smiled when I said I always wanted to live in England, but have never even been there.

The fans that attended the event had a blast. They had a chance to hear some of the great things about Tovey and his career, and many of them had one-on-one time, sharing stories, taking pictures, getting autographs. Tovey even talked briefly with Tony Tellado during the live broadcast of Alpha Waves Rewind following our show with "Destination Truth" host Joshua Gates.

I just feel bad that this event wasn't as well attended as Courtney's appearance was. I have never been the biggest fan of conventions, especially ones that seem to pump as much money out of their attendees as possible. But there are some conventions that are real good conventions, who put the fan first, and try to make it an enjoyable experience.

Hurricane Who is one of those conventions. It's still a smaller event overall, because it's still pretty new. But the people who organize this convention each year love "Doctor Who," they love science-fiction, and they love fans and being fans themselves.

To me, these are the type of people we should be supporting. And to be honest, I should support them, too, even if I am not that familiar with Nicholas Courtney.

They work real hard to put on events like this, and I want them to do more. It's not very often you can have such a close encounter with the talent that makes the shows we love even more wonderful, and I want these Hurricane Who events to succeed.

So you'll definitely see me at the next one, and I hope I'll see you there, too.