Christian Cawley's Blog, page 11

What to Watch When Doctor Who Leaves Netflix UK

Jonathan Appleton is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

There was disappointment for British fans who get their fix of the Doctor via Netflix recently when it was revealed that, mirroring the series’ withdrawal from the streaming service in the US, subscribers won’t be able to watch Doctor Who for much longer on this side of the pond either. Netflix UK’s current deal with the BBC expires on May 1st meaning that, unless there’s a late reprieve, Series 1-7 will no longer be available. Whether this is part of a BBC plan to launch its own streaming facility on the back of its new digital archive BBC Store is unclear, although the corporation had previously denied that the new service would affect which shows would be sold to Netflix and its competitors.

All very frustrating for fans, particularly with no new series to look forward to until 2016. But maybe (a sacrilegious thought, I know…) having a Who-free year will free up some time to get into something new? Or discover an older classic you’d somehow never managed to catch first time round? There’s no shortage of genre content available so let’s take a look at what else is worth watching when Doctor Who leaves Netflix UK…

Jessica Jones

The superhero series for people who normally wouldn’t watch that kind of thing, this Netflix original is set in the same universe as Marvel’s Avengers but is a million miles away from Saturday night popcorn movie fare. A dark drama revolving around flawed, damaged characters who can’t escape the past, its success is in no small measure down to the performances of leads Krysten Ritter as the rough-around-the-edges private detective Jessica and David Tennant as the terrifying Kilgrave, able to control people’s behaviour to horrific effect. It’s recently been renewed for a second series, though it looks unlikely that Tennant will appear. It’ll be no small task to find a replacement to match him.

Life on Mars

Hard to believe it’s ten years old now, Life on Mars was set in the 1970’s but this time travelling police drama felt wonderfully fresh at the time. John Simm’s Sam Tyler (apparently named after Doctor Who’s Rose) is injured in an accident and wakes up in 1973, part of CID serving under Philip Glenister’s Gene Hunt, a man firmly of his time who isn’t afraid of roughing up a few suspects if it gets the job done. Soon-to-be Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall penned a couple of the scripts and there are some hard-hitting storylines in the show’s all-too-short two series run featuring IRA bombings, football violence and the heart-breaking tale of what happens when Sam meets his father…

Fringe

Although it lasted for five seasons this US sci-fi drama, co-created by JJ Abrams, somehow passed by largely unnoticed and unheralded. Perhaps that was because its premise (an FBI unit dedicated to unexplained phenomena) seemed so similar to earlier mega-hit The X Files that it was dismissed as a rip-off. That’s a shame and it deserves to reach a wider audience now because, after a slow start, it managed to forge its own identity thanks to its often quirky tone (lead scientist Walter Bishop still displayed the effects of overdoing it with mind-bending drugs in the 1960s…) and the ongoing parallel universe story arc. Plenty of sci-fi shows have had a go at this latter trope, of course, but Fringe really went for it, devoting entire seasons to its boundary hopping alternative timeline.

Battlestar Galactica

So much better than anyone could possibly have expected when it was announced that there was to be a remake of the 1970s camp classic, BSG was proper hard-as-nails sci-fi, unafraid to punch viewers in the gut in its depiction of the last survivors of humanity following a sudden attack from forces they themselves had unleashed. Unafraid to place its topical real-world influences front-and-centre (9/11, the ‘war on terror’, Guantanamo Bay) the series put its characters under pressure each episode and ramped it up to see how much they (and the audience) could take as they struggled to survive. A fracking classic.

Danger Mouse (Original Series)

Okay, I know it’s a stretch to class this as genre telly in the same way as the other selections but anyone who, like me, rushed home from school in the 1980s to catch this animated classic will understand. Brilliantly witty with great voice performances by David Jason and Terry Scott as DM and his cowardly assistant Penfold, this was the kids’ programme that adults happily owned up to watching for its silly humour, knowing references and madcap James Bond spoofery. The recent revival had its moments but somehow couldn’t quite live up to the original. You can catch all ten seasons on Netflix.

Also worth a look: Daredevil, another Marvel show – this one about the blind lawyer who fights crime by night; Sense8, a world-spanning sci-fi series from the Wachowski brothers featuring Doctor Who’s Freema Agyeman with an alarming haircut; Merlin, the best of the BBC’s attempts to fill the Doctor Who slot when the Time Lord was off the screen; Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Russell T Davies acknowledged the debt he owed to Joss Whedon’s hugely influential cult hit.

So what have we missed? Which series will you be watching in the long interval before the next series of Doctor Who? Let us know!

 

The post What to Watch When Doctor Who Leaves Netflix UK appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

First Pictures of David Tennant In R.D. Laing Biopic Mad To Be Normal

Andrew Reynolds is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

A doctor in the past who specialises in saving people with the odd bit of mind-manipulation –  no, David Tennant isn’t melding together the Tenth Doctor and Kilgrave in some unholy, tonally suspect, drama series. Rather, it’s the first official images from Mad to be Normal, the biopic of psychiatrist R.D. Laing, currently filming with Tennant in the lead role.

Laing, a Scottish psychiatrist in the 60’s and 70’s whose unconventional methods – including giving his patients LSD and encouraging them to “embrace their madness” – was condemned by his peers but now, he’s praised in some circles for his sympathetic attempt to crack the minds of those who sought his help.

However, those unconventional methods led to at least two patients throwing themselves off the roof of his facility as well as raids by the drugs squad, with much of the psychiatric community disagreeing with methods and his theory that schizophrenia was a logical response to trauma (they considered it purely medical).

Speaking to Screendaily (via the Radio Times), Tennant said he has long been fascinated by the life and work of R.D. Laing.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and discover this important man and I am honoured and thrilled to be involved in telling this story,” he said. 

Writer and director Robert Mullan, who is something of an authority on Laing after publishing several books about him, will be marshalling an impressive cast, including: Elisabeth Moss, Michael Gambon, Gabriel Byrne and David Bamber (who you’ll remember played Captain Quell in  Mummy on the Orient Express).

Mad to be Normal will be released later this year.

The post First Pictures of David Tennant In R.D. Laing Biopic Mad To Be Normal appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Doctor Who Named Favourite Show To Watch On The Go

Andrew Reynolds is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Oh, the daily commute to work: the cramped train compartment, the endless traffic jams, that one person who thinks their bag deserves a seat on the bus. Pure nightmare fuel but, it seems, travellers have been remedying the misery with a dose from the good Doctor.

Research carried out by O2 on behalf of the BBC Store has found that as many as 1 in 3 workers watch TV on their public transport journey to their desks.

With half of Brits now thought to be watching on-demand TV more than live broadcasts the morning commute is now seen as a golden opportunity to catch-up on favourite shows – with Doctor Who topping the list of over 2000 respondents, followed by The Office, Planet Earth, Only Fools and Horses and Little Britain completing the top five.

I’m Alan Partridge and The League of Gentlemen are also proving popular, alongside dramas Orphan Black, Poldark and Call the Midwife.

It isn’t just the Doctor that’s livening up commuters, on no, research also found that 78% of respondents aren’t too embarrassed to watch sex scenes on their mobiles or tablets on-the-go. Yes, not even a crowd of people all clutching disposable coffee cups and the Evening Standard will embarrass us into fast forwarding through the mucky parts.

Anyway, the study comes hand-in-hand with O2 Priority’s new partnership with BBC Store, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Google Play, which gives customers a wide range of content through the loyalty scheme.

“BBC Store is the largest collection of BBC content that has ever existed available to download, buy and keep,” said the BBC Store’s Sara Holt.

“We are delighted to be giving the O2 customers some of the best of the BBC as a free download to take with them on the go.”

Well at least we can savour the old episodes as we wait for spring 2017 to roll around.

 

The post appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

The Long Way Round: An Intrepid Fan Puts Every Episode In Chronological Order

Andrew Reynolds is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Now, as we wait for more episodes to come and completely mess this list up, an intrepid fan has taken it upon themselves to put each and every Doctor Who episode into chronological order – stretching as it does from the early formation of Earth in 6 billion BC (as seen in 2013 episode Hide) to the last days of humanity in 100 trillion CE (as seen in 2007’s Utopia).

Madness, I hear you cry, but, there’s a method here too. It’s clear from the list, lovingly presented by the Radio Times – which contains the classic, modern and spin-off series such as Torchwood – that the Doctor does favour the late 20th and early 21st century, but a close second seems to be the period around World War II – it can’t be too long before he accidentally runs into himself.

It’s an impressive undertaking and, you too can help by adding the last few episodes or by filling in the odd missing date here and there.

You can check out the list so far here.

The post The Long Way Round: An Intrepid Fan Puts Every Episode In Chronological Order appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Beat by Beat: The Mystery At The Heart Of The Doctor Who Theme

Andrew Reynolds is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

There’s a mystery hidden at the heart of the Doctor Who theme, a mystery that, well, we weren’t exactly looking to solve but anyway, it’s fascinating nonetheless: Could there be a hidden message, past from theme to theme, foreshadowing future events?

It’s a bit of a stretch and, to be clear, no one is suggesting that each set of creators passed on the code as they departed the show – that’s just silly. No, where this mystery intrigues the most is in the idea that it may have been noticed and then applied to future episodes – which is a very modern and quite a plausible idea considering we’ve had many episodes, both classic and new, based around the question: Doctor Who?

So let’s take this particular mystery beat by beat via the Radio Times.

Cast your minds back to 2010 episode The End of Time, which saw the Time Lords embed a message within the subconscious of the neophyte Master – a simple four beat rhythm used to facilitate their return from the Time War.

The hidden tub-thumping drove the Master insane but, as was noted at the time, the pounding beat bore a resemblance to the basic structure of the Doctor Who theme (yes, we know lots of music themes are based around four beats but bear with us).

Reddit user killgrim67 reckons that considering the Doctor Who title sequence also depicts the Time Vortex (where the rhythm was sent), the opening sequence and its four-beat rhythm may have been a warning about the Time Lord’s plan for the Master right from the start, echoing back through time and becoming louder and more insistent as the critical event got closer.

“What if the iconic theme song is just an echo of the drums implanted in that child’s head?” he said. “What if that beat has been present since the very beginning of the Doctor’s adventures lying semi-dormant but slowly awakening?”

While I can see Russell T Davies intentionally mimicking the theme (or at least planting the idea through enhancing the sound of the drums for that series) the theory falls apart when it tries to retroactively apply it to previous themes. There’s no real reason for the drum sound to echo back to from the present to the very beginning of the show or even, if taken to its logically conclusion, do all the title sequences show the Time Vortex where the message was relayed – some are quite abstract by design.

He goes on to add.

“As we hear in the Hartnell era [below] the theme is quite whispery and quiet but as we near the end of the Pertwee years and the dawn of the Tom Baker it grows more distinctly and begins to awaken… now as we begin Nu Who we hear it clashing, crashing and booming throughout as the echoed object nears.”

Then, as we pass beyond the events of The End of Time, the drums remain prominent during Matt Smith’s first season due to the damage inflicted by Gallifrey’s return before gradually receding into obscurity as the we move further away from the end of series four.

It’s a cool theory and, I personally, love the idea of Russell T Davies perhaps picking up on the changes to the theme and applying it to The Masters arch.

What do you think of the musical theory?

The post Beat by Beat: The Mystery At The Heart Of The Doctor Who Theme appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Coming Soon – Strangeness in Space Episode Three

Andrew Reynolds is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Sayle-ing into space, comedian, author and questionable landlord Alexei Sayle will star in a brand new episode of Strangeness in Space, the free fan funded sci-fi comedy audio adventure, starring Ace herself, Sophie Aldred and Saturday Morning TV legends Trev and Simon, which will be released on Saturday 13th February at 9.30am.

In the episode, entitled Step Back in Time, Sayle, the godfather of alternative comedy, makes a cameo appearance as an unhinged and unpredictable security guard called Keith Keys. Clearly delighted to be involved Sayle had this special message for the ever-growing ‘mirthling’ fanbase, ‘you’d better listen to it, you wazzocks!’

So consider yourselves told!

Revealing the secret origins of just how Sophie, a space centre gift shop manager, wound up being stranded in space; orbiting planet Mirth, in a broken down spaceship, with wannabe synth pop heroes Trev and Simon, Episode 3 is a highly amusing, family friendly comedy adventure, featuring laugh out loud moments and surreal songs from Trev and Simon’s 80s styled synth pop duo Pink Custard (“we’re a bit like Blancmange”).

What’s more, episode 4 is currently in pre-production with an appearance by very special celebrity guest star!

The series also stars Doon Mackichan (Toast of London) as the narrator Bounty Flightingale, Barnaby Edwards (Doctor Who, of course) as the computer robot L.E.M.O.N., Sarah Madigan (The Gingerbread Men) as the voice of M.A.D.I and David Annen (An Adventure in Space and Time) as the show’s host announcer, Jeremy. Other episodes have starred comedian Rufus Hound (Celebrity Juice and one-time Doctor Who guest star), Peter Guinness (Alien 3) and Carol Cleveland (Monty Python’s Flying Circus).

All episodes of Strangeness in Space are available to listen free via their site or as a free download on iTunes.

The series is crowd-funded and reliant on word of mouth so please share news if you enjoy it via Twitter and Facebook.

The post Coming Soon – Strangeness in Space Episode Three appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Capaldi & Hurt Support Junior Doctors: This Is Why You Should Too

Philip Bates is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

GUEST POST BY JAMES MAIN.

Hello Doctor Who Fandom!

The lovely Supreme Editors (‘ello Andy and Phil) have allowed me to pen a few lines about a collaboration between Junior Doctors and THE Doctor late last month…

I’m a Junior Doctor, which means anything before a consultant (lots of us are in our 30s with families). I work in the NHS which is the only place Doctors can train in the UK. Recently I and my colleagues have felt as though we’re fighting for the future of our profession in this country leading to the first strikes in over 40 years…

I’m also a MASSIVE Doctor Who fan. A couple of weekends ago I tore up my bucket list when the Doctor (!!) took time out from saving planets to help out the UK’s Junior Doctors.

Peter Capaldi volunteered his time on a Sunday afternoon to lend support to the #WearYourNHS campaign, founded by (my mate) Dr Lauren Gavaghan. The campaign is raising awareness of the contract that the government is threatening to force onto UK doctors which we believe will be unsafe for patients and unfair on medical staff. And yup that’s me checking on his heart(s) – I can confirm both are in fine working order and soundly in the right place(s)!

Doctors (both terrestrial and from further afield) are concerned because the government wants to remove safeguards on over-working medics (tired doctors = dangerous mistakes) and to get us to work longer hours for less pay depending on our specialism. For me, it brings THIS to mind!

On top of this, the government has misrepresented scientific data in the media to justify changes we think are unjustifiable. And we’re not alone. Peter Capaldi has voiced his support for the NHS before and came to stand alongside Junior Doctors for the #WearYourNHS campaign in specially-designed Vivienne Westwood T-Shirts… And, Kasterborites, it was glorious.

Surrounded by skeletons, scrubs, and various medical paraphernalia, Capaldi was going Full-Eyebrow in front of the camera, posing with a syringe and a stethoscope. He paused, looked thoughtful then asked for a SECOND stethoscope. The Doctor had arrived.

First off, I can confirm a few snippets:-

After a series of poses involving surgical masks and stethoscopes, I can confirm he has two hearts. That’s me in the photo up top. I can confirm both hearts are in fine working order and soundly in the right places.
The beard will not make it into Series 10.
The search for the next companion is ongoing (!).
Capaldi is an absolute gentleman. He was charming, very generous with his time and talked to the Junior Doctors present about their concerns regarding the new contract.

And as you can see, Capaldi isn’t the only Time Lord to support our efforts. The War Doctor himself, Sir John Hurt is sticking up for the worthy cause. Fortunately, Capaldi and Hurt didn’t do a photo together, so we’re not in immediate danger of the time differential shorting out and causing any further disturbance.

There’ll be more of Capaldi’s photo shoot alongside Junior Doctors shortly, so “Like” the page on Facebook and follow the campaign on Twitter too.

If you’d like to know more about why doctors think these changes need to be fought, take a look at these videos explaining what the changes would mean and why we’re setting the HADS on the NHS…

This chap explains things better than I can:

Here the strike action, which is taking place today, is explained:

Finally – to any of you in the UK – you can be certain that emergency care is provided 24/7 wherever you are, free at the point of delivery. Hospitals are OPEN on weekends, the emergency service is FULLY STAFFED and the worst thing you can do is delay getting treatment.

Without presuming your views on healthcare, if you do want to show your support for the Junior Doctors you can find out more and pick up a T-Shirt designed by fashion legend Vivienne Westwood, another supporter of the medics, at WearYourNHS.com and post a selfie! If you’re using Twitter, use the hashtags #WearYourNHS and #JuniorDoctorsStrike to show your support.

Thank you, Kasterborites!

Photos © Sarah Sheldrake, sarahsheldrake.co.uk

By James Main.

The post Capaldi & Hurt Support Junior Doctors: This Is Why You Should Too appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Maisie Williams Wants Idris Elba To Play The Doctor – If Not, She’ll Do It!

Andrew Reynolds is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Maisie Williams is down to play the Doctor, that is, if Idris Elba isn’t busy. The Game of Thrones and Doctor Who guest star, who was named this year’s Rising star at the Evening Standard British Film Awards, thinks that it would be ‘cool’ to take over from Peter Capaldi, but unfortunately is busy with other projects…and, you know, Capaldi hasn’t left yet…

“Yes it would be cool but right now I’m locked into some other things. I think a female doctor would be incredible,” she said. “I think a black doctor would be incredible. I’m all for Idris Elba – but if not I’ll take it for the team and do it!”

Elba has already long been amongst the favourites to take on another British icon in the martini swilling form of James Bond – and he could be about to take on the role of gunslinger Roland Deschain, in Stephen King’s The Dark Tower adaptation – so it doesn’t look like he’ll be boarding the TARDIS anytime soon.

Of course, Williams, who played Ashildr/me during Series 9, was last seen gallivanting around the galaxy with Jenna Coleman’s Clara in a freshly stolen TARDIS, and, it’s not unheard of for the Doctor to adopt faces from his past so…no, it’s not happening. But still, at least she’s game.

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Coming Soon – New Tenth and Twelfth Doctor Comics

Andrew Reynolds is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

The dawn of modern humanity and a sinister private school are the order of the day as Titan Comics release new issues from their Tenth and Twelfth Doctor range.

In Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #2.6 – written by Nick Abadzis with art by Elena Casagrande – the Doctor and Gabby (and a certain handsome time agent) are still caught between two factions as modern humanity is born. Neanderthals and Cro Magnons clash, and their actions will shape the direction taken by humankind in the millennia to come! Plus: Cindy discovers an alarming secret back in NYC… and in deep space, Anubis grows impatient!

There are also alternative covers (one of which is a nod to The Smiths – adding them to a list of musical comic book nods which so far has included David Bowie and Blondie) for the issue by Alice X Zhang and a photo cover from Will Brooks.

While in Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor #2.2 – written by Robbie Morrison with art by Rachael Stott – Clara and the Doctor go undercover at the school of death! The gothic, sprawling Ravenscaur is the top private school in the UK, educator of the children of royalty, politicians and celebrities, and epicentre of generations of power and influence. When an old friend of Clara’s dies at the school under mysterious circumstances, she and the Doctor go undercover to investigate…

This issue also boasts alternative covers from the likes of Alex Ronald, Rachel Stott and, of course, a photo cover from Will Brooks.

Both comics are on sale Wednesday 10th February 2016.

The post Coming Soon – New Tenth and Twelfth Doctor Comics appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

What The Heck is Cubicle 7’s Doctor Who Range?!

Katie Gribble is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Cubicle 7 has created a Doctor Who role-playing game (RPG) to help us increase our nerd. They describe themselves as a creative team who ‘make clever games for awesome people.’ Over the years they have made a Doctor Who Card Game, Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space, The One Ring, World War Cthulhu and many other role playing games for us to enjoy. Check out a list of the other games that they make here.

Of course, our interest concerns the Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space which has recently been updated to include our favourite grumpy Scotsman. But what on Gallifrey is Adventures in Time and Space and what does it bring as a Doctor Who-based RPG?

Their website describes Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space as:

[A] roleplaying game set in the universe of the world’s longest-running science fiction show on TV: the BBC’s Doctor Who. In it you take on the role of the Doctor (any one of his twelve incarnations!) and his companions (any one of them too – or you might make up your own one) and embark on your own adventures across time and space.

Or you might decide to make up your own Time Lord and their own companions too, and see what happens when they set off in their own TARDIS, or create a rag-tag bunch of time agents lost in time, or a UNIT base tasked with protecting their corner of the Earth. With the Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space roleplaying game, the power is in your hands!

The whole of time and space is out there, full of new places to see and adventures to be had – what are you waiting for?

My first main concern considered the system that it would use in play and how simple or difficult it might be to implement. However, according to Cubicle 7:

[It] uses a quick and easy set of rules that encourage quick thinking, puzzle solving and a sense of adventure – all you need is a couple of normal, six-sided dice and some friends to play with.

The system is simple enough to pick up in moments – roll two dice, add them to a skill + stat and compare the total to a difficulty number. The more you beat it by, the better you did. Throw in Story Points, which allow you to escape the villain’s traps, introduce your own story elements, invent crazy gadgets and save the day in spectacular fashion, and the system really encourages the sort of adventures you see on the show.

For fans of both New and Classic Who, there are rulebooks for RPGs of each Doctor’s era (excluding the War Doctor at present). On Cubicle 7’s website, they are offering the complete set consisting of Volumes One through to Eleven (the Twelfth Doctor book was not available at the time the offer was created) which catalogues every single televised adventure the Doctor has ever had. Every single adventure write up is accompanied by ideas and tips on how to run something similar in your own Doctor Who RPG games.

But now, this new edition of the rulebook, fully updated with imagery from the Twelfth Doctor’s adventures, presents all the rules and background you need to have your own adventures in time and space in a single volume. Even if you are not into your RPGs then they’re an invaluable collection of Doctor Who lore. They are a great read for any fan of the show.

Check out this free taster of the Twelfth Doctor All of Time and Space Volume 1.

If you liked what you saw, then head to the Cubicle 7 store to browse and purchase what the company has on offer for us Doctor Who fans.

So what are you waiting for? You’ve got an awful lot of running to do.

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