Christian Cawley's Blog, page 155

December 22, 2014

Reviewed: The Widow’s Assassin

Meredith Burdett 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.


Closure.


If there’s one thing that Doctor Who fans enjoy, it’s closure. Whether it’s the neat wrapping up of a story arc, the final words of a particular Doctor or the departure of a companion from the safe dwellings of the good ship TARDIS, an end is needed to hold hands with the beginning.


Nowadays, especially when it comes to the departure of one of the Doctor’s close friends, everything is tidied up into a neat little package in order for the viewer or listener to feel satisfied by. Rose, Martha, Donna, Amy, Rory and even Adam have all been given the full circle treatment. Goodbye, good luck and thanks for all the good times.


Doctor Who of yesteryear didn’t handle goodbyes to well however (and who does then they’re young, just as the show was back in the day) Dodo, Liz Shaw, Sarah Jane Smith (the first time round) Kamelion, these friends were hurried out of the front door and onto pastures new without so much as a Helmic regulator to call their own.


And then there’s the confusing issue of Peri, travelling companion to the Fifth Doctor at the end of his life and the Sixth Doctor for a great chuck of it. Peri’s seeming end came about in the flawed epic The Trial of a Time Lord part Eight (or Mindwarp part Four if you want to be all proper about things) as she was apparently gunned down by a warrior king after having her mind taken over by a vicious alien slug. During the final part of The Trial of a Time Lord, we discover that that was not the truth and Peri lived. She even married the warrior king who appeared to kill her and lived happily ever after, apparently in a pink 1980’s style heart. The Sixth Doctor, being the type of man he was, never bothered to go and check what had really happened. Or did he?


The Widow’s Assassin finally has the answer to the question that many have been asking for nearly thirty years and some have even tried answering. Peri lived, she married the warrior king, the Doctor came looking for her and there was no mention of a big pink heart.


This particular story has all the key attributes from writer Nev Fountain that prove he is the daddy when it comes to writing for the Sixth Doctor and, more importantly, Peri. Following on more-or-less directly from events earlier this year in  March 2014’s Scavenger, the Sixth Doctor decides that it’s high time he finds out what exactly happened to Peri and if he can put things right. What follows is a solid example of the wonderful Doctor Who stories that Big Finish offers the world.


Peri’s all grown up now and is playing widow to a murdered king. On her request, the Doctor upon arrival is promptly locked up for five years, which he duly accepts as part of his penance to Peri for not coming back to her a hell of a lot faster. But as much as they try, an assassination attempt is afoot and of course only the Doctor can help to save Peri’s life, drawing her in to his wonderful world once more.


Fountains script has his trademark comedy moments but nothing is overtly comic about this story. The plot twists and turns and even weaves in references to previous Fifth and Sixth Doctor television stories with remarkable ease. The eventual repair of the Doctor and Peri’s fractured relationship leaves the listener breathing a sigh of relief, bridging a gap that has previously felt difficult to cross. There’s another present for regular listeners of the Big Finish Doctor Who range as the Sixth Doctor gives some resolution towards another plot strand from a previous story, one that will leave a smile on the face and a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.


With The Widow’s Assassin, we can all finally move forward with the Doctor and Peri and enjoy their new adventures with their eyes slightly more open to the world around them as well as to one another.


Closure is a wonderful thing and in the story, we’re treated to it in abundance.


The Widow’s Assassin is available on CD or via download from www.bigfinish.com now.


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Published on December 22, 2014 02:16

December 21, 2014

Massive Doctor Who Cast Appearance on Children In Need 1985

Christian Cawley 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.


Here’s a gem from 1985 – a whole host of Doctor Who cast members, stars and companions, turning up on the BBC’s Children in Need show! It’s all in a good cause, and you’ll be astonished by the number of big names from the show who pour out of the TARDIS, with a roll call provided by CiN stalwart Terry Wogan.


Presenting a cheque from the Doctor Who Appreciation Society, the names on show include a bickering Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee, List Sladen, Adrienne Hill, Michael Craze, Caroline John, Nicholas Courtney and Ian Master, all of whom you will notice are sadly no longer with us. We should also mention Patrick Moore too, thanks to his performance in The Eleventh Hour back in 2010.


Look out for Matthew Waterhouse, too, still looking youthful (and as if the 1970s never ended), and marvel at Tom Baker’s absence…


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Published on December 21, 2014 23:49

Tell Us YOUR Very First Doctor Who Story (or, How You Fell In Love With The Doctor)

Rebecca Crockett 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.


Firsts.


We humans like to measure moments in our lives by how often we’ve done something, and usually the most important “time” we’ve done or experienced something is the first time. Whether it’s as monumental as a baby taking it’s first steps unassisted, to the first time we try a new food to the first time we go someplace, our firsts are important.


And of course, we Whovians wouldn’t be here if there had been no First Doctor and if all of those that had a hand in making the show back in 1963 hadn’t had the idea in the first place!


Now as another year comes to a close, we here at the K are looking back on life, as one tends to do at this time of year, and wondered about our own firsts, at least, our Whovian Firsts.


What was your first Doctor Who story? (Or in some cases what was the first story that “grabbed” you and made you feel that you just had to keep watching?) What about the first story you owned in any format – dvd, vhs tape, book, etc? Or how about the first bit of merchandise you bought – was it that same dvd of the first story you owned or was it a book, a t-shirt, or a collectible figure?


In my case, the first DW show I ever remember really seeing was a small bit of Flesh and Stone, near the end, where Eleven and River are on the deck of the ship. I didn’t know what show I was watching, but I immediately recognised Alex Kingston since I had seen all of her episodes of the US medical drama ER. I’ll be honest here – it didn’t really hook me. I had been channel surfing and come upon it and only watched for a bit because of Kingston. I had no clue what was going on, so I didn’t stick around once a commercial came on. (Gotta love those US commercial breaks.) I’d guess this was some time in early 2012.


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It would be more than a  year later, after I met Kasterborous’ own Brian Terranova and his cosplaying friends at the comic con in Philadelphia in 2012, before I sat and watched Doctor Who in any real way – and even then, I didn’t watch much! At some point in March 2013, BBC America ran series 7.1 in preparation for series 7.2, which began that April. I watched all of 7.1 on a day when I was bored and looking for something interesting to watch. It would be a month later (April 12, 2013 to be exact) when I began my epic 8 day Who watching binge and caught up to the first-run episodes. The Doctor grabbed my hand, said RUN! and the rest, as they say, is history!


The first story I ever owned was an e-book copy of the Tenth Doctor novel Beautiful Chaos, one of the novels re-released for the 50th Anniversary. When I found out that there were not only the television episodes, but books, audio dramas, and comics, I knew I was going to be hooked for the rest of my life!


 


The first bit of merchandise I ever owned was a t-shirt with each of the Doctors drawn as an owl. I’d seen this prior to being a fan and thought it was cute so when I officially became a fan, I had to have it!


I polled the rest of the lovely staff here on Kasterborous for their own firsts and got a variety of answers. All of us have come to love Doctor Who in our own unique way. Here are just a few.


For Brian, the memory isn’t so much of a story, but of Doctors – “No idea what my actual first story was but my oldest memory is Tom Baker in a dark cave, falling to his death from a satellite dish tower and regenerating into Jon Pertwee. Imagine my confusion years later when I realized my childhood memory jumbled up the regeneration scenes of Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker and Peter Davison.”


Fourth-doctor-regenerating


For Gareth Kavanagh, it was a bit of the ‘ole corpse-looking Master – “The Deadly Assassin, on original transmission back in 1976 blew my tiny 4 year old mind. It seared into my consciousness. The Matrix Dreamscape and in particular the jungle hunt, the rotting Master with bulging eyes, the grandiose Time Lords. I was hooked for life.”


DA_Master_close_up


For Drew, he, too, has memories of the Fourth Doctor, like I vaguely do, but more so – “I remember seeing Tom Baker episodes in the early 80s when my cousin would watch them at my grandparents’ house, but I was too young to know what was going on. About 1989 or so, Silver Nemesis was the one that actually grabbed me as I tuned in just as Ace was mowing down the Cybermen with her slingshot and gold coins. Wicked!”


And for James Lomond, well, I’ll let him tell it – “This is long forgotten misty history, but I *think * it was Revenge of the Cybermen at a friend’s house back in the early/mid 80s. Clearly I had developed language and colour vision so some time after 1983 when the VHS was released. Captivated. Loved Sarah and thought the snake-Cybermat was terrifying. Death To The Daleks followed shortly after and Tom Baker’s description of Pertwee glittering “like a light bulb” was spot-on…Death grabbed me – the Doctor and Bellal being chased through a booby-trapped maze by two Daleks is one of my favourite childhood memories. Beyond that I remember the sudden sting in The Five Doctors opening titles after Hartnell’s prologue farewell to Susan being one of the most exciting things in the UNIVERSE. First broadcast I ever saw was Remembrance of the Daleks. Sophie and Sylv were my Doctor-companion pair and I re-enacted the aerial slide into the Dalek shuttle with string, a Dapol Doctor and blue-tac in my room for weeks afterwards…”


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So what about you, dear readers? What was your first story or episode? Your own first memories of Doctor Who? Share your memories below…


 


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Published on December 21, 2014 13:45

Doctor Who Minecraft Skin Pack II Released for Xbox

Drew Boynton 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.


Those crafty guys at Minecraft have come up with a second Doctor Who skin pack… and it is now available! Just in time for Christmas (and just in time for Last Christmas!), Doctor Who Skins Volume II is the perfect gift to get for your favorite Xbox 360 or Xbox One!  What more could a little Xbox ask for?


As the Xbox webpage says, “…[Volume II] provides more than 50 new character skins, including the classic Seventh Doctor, Donna Noble, Captain Jack Harkness, monsters and Cybermen.” This Doctor Who Minecraft update also has the Second, Third, Fifth, Eighth, and Tenth Doctors, and popular companions such as Ace, Liz Shaw, Jamie McCrimmon, Tegan Jovanka, Martha Jones, Mickey Smith, Jo Grant, and The Brigadier.  (Maybe they can do a Cyber-Brig for Volume III?  Or not.) Here’s the full list:



The Tenth Doctor
The Tenth Doctor – Suit
The Eight Doctor
The Seventh Doctor
The Fifth Doctor
The Third Doctor
The Second Doctor
Donna Noble
Martha Jones
Captain Jack Harkness
Liz Shaw
Jamie McCrimmon
Ace
Jo Grant
Tegan Jovanka
Wilfred Mott
Mickey Smith
The Master 2007
Sontaran 2010
K9
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
Bannakaffalatta
Judoon
Sycorax
Cyberking/Miss Hartigan
Racnoss
Slitheen
The Beast
Rassilon
Heavenly Host
Scarecrow
Cybershade
Azal (the Daemon)
Axon Monster
Omega
Alpha Centauri
Gell Guards (Plasma Creature)
The Nimon
Sutekh
Sea Devil
Ood
Saturnynian – Fish form
Cyberman 2012 (non-Cybus)
Cybermen 2013
Cyber-Lord
Cyberman 2006 (Cybus)
Black Cyberman 1980s
Cyberman 1980s
Cyberman 1970s
Cyberman 1960s
Cyberman 1960s

Naturally all of this means that BBC Worldwide and Xbox are both pretty darn excited about the second skins pack and Xbox has announced that it “…[is] available on the Xbox Store worldwide on Dec. 18 for $2.99/€2.99/£2.39″.  Not a bad price for 50 new skins!



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Screenshot-X1-DrWhoPack2-004
Screenshot-X1-DrWhoPack2-005
Screenshot-X1-DrWhoPack2-006
Screenshot-X1-DrWhoPack2-007
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Screenshot-X1-DrWhoPack2-008_Resized
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Kasterborites, are you ready for some new Doctor Who-inspired Minecraft action, or would you rather be crafty in some other way?


 


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Published on December 21, 2014 12:30

Build A Better Kasterborous In Our Reader Survey

Christian Cawley 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.


Dear reader, we’ve brought you comic strips and magazines, podKasts and interviews, and regular news since 2005. Much of our content has been inspired by you and the feedback from our Facebook and Twitter accounts, and to get a better idea of what you would like to see on Kasterborous, we’ve compiled this very quick, 15 question survey.


We’re talking multiple choice for almost every question, so please click to start below and leave us your feedback. We know that you feel passionately about this site, and we want to make sure that we’re on the same page, so vote, comment and rate as you see fit.




Take Our Survey

Thank you for your feedback!


The post Build A Better Kasterborous In Our Reader Survey appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

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Published on December 21, 2014 08:38

Big Finish News: Locum Doctors, Briggs is God, and More!

Nick Kitchen 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.


Interested in seeing the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Doctors stand in for Hartnell, Troughton, and Pertwee? How about Nicholas Briggs playing God? Or maybe, just maybe, you fancy a brand new adventure with a brand new Rani? The Kasterborous Big Finish News Roundup is here with all the details you need to get your audio adventure news on!


The Year of the Locum Doctors

2015 brings us an anniversary year for the Big Finish Doctor Who main range and the fine folks at Big Finish has some great and different things in store from us. While multi-Doctor stories or reunions with companions are often typical anniversary celebration fare, a new trilogy of adventures is blazing a new and exciting path. The question is simple: what if the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Doctors had to stand in for the first three Doctors in previously unknown adventures, with companions in tow? From the mind of script editor Alan Barnes, the question will be answered:


“For some time, I’d been thinking it was a shame we couldn’t make more use of the first three Doctors’ companions in the Main Range. Continuity permitting (or even not!), we can always have the Fifth, Sixth or Seventh Doctors meeting up with friends they said ‘goodbye’ to years before… but there have been a fair few School Reunion-type stories now, and they’re great, but I couldn’t help wondering: can’t we do something different? Then I thought: what if the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors turned up bang in the middle of earlier, unseen adventures – standing in for their ‘proper’ selves, who’ve gone AWOL for some reason or other…? Locum Doctors, if you will! And that’s what we’ve done!”


Beginning in April 2015, the trilogy will begin with Nicholas Briggs’ The Defectors, which will find the McCoy Doctor teaming up with Third Doctor companion Jo Grant and Captain Yates. May’s release, The Last of the Cybermen (penned by Alan Barnes), will see Colin Baker joining forces with Jamie and Zoe, in the Second Doctor’s stead. Finally, the trilogy will end with the June release of the The Secret History, finding the Fifth Doctor trapped in Constantinople with Vicki and Steven.


Will there be repercussions for their actions while in place of their former selves? Only a few short months until we find out. You can preorder the releases now at the links above.


Nicholas Briggs Cast as the Voice of God in Good Omens

You’ve heard him voice the infamous pepper pots and the army of steel, but now’s your chance to hear him take on the voice of a higher power. Radio Times is reporting that Big Finish producer and Doctor Who‘s voice of the Daleks and Cybermen, Nicholas Briggs, has been cast in the BBC Radio 4 production of Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens as Metatron, or the Voice of God.


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The production also features Colin Morgan, Charlotte Ritchie, Louise Brealey (of Sherlock and Ripper Street fame), and others. The good news is that there isn’t much of a wait until the premiere broadcast, as Good Omens is set to launch Monday evening at 11:00pm. If only I could find a way to listen here in the States…


The Rani…Released!

The day has finally come, dear readers! Available for your listening pleasure, at this very moment, is December’s release, The Rani Elite, which as we’ve reported previously, features Siobhan Redmond as the brand new incarnation of the calculating Time Lady.


In case your seeing this for the first time, here’s what to expect in the new adventure:


“The TARDIS arrives in the CAGE – not a trap, but the College of Advanced Galactic Education, one of the most prestigious academic institutions in colonised space. Not a trap. Or is it? The Doctor’s here to receive an honorary degree in Moral Philosophy. But there’s something rotten at the heart of the Medical Facility. Someone is operating on the students. Someone without a conscience. Someone with access to a Sidelian Brain Scanner – a technology that hasn’t been invented yet. That someone is the ruthless Time Lord scientist known as the Rani – in her new incarnation. But will the Doctor and Peri recognise the Rani’s hand before her trap is sprung?”


Be looking for our own review of the audio soon. The Rani Elite is available for purchase here.


Are you excited for the new Big Finish audios and the upcoming release of Good Omens? Do let us know, won’t you?


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Published on December 21, 2014 01:26

December 20, 2014

US Fans: Don’t Miss Peter Capaldi’s ‘Inside the Mind of Leonardo da Vinci’

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.


Twelfth Doctor fans in the US who fancy taking in a bit of culture will be interested in a (limited) series of cinema screenings of art history doc Inside the Mind of Leonardo da Vinci.


Recorded shortly before Peter Capaldi took up the role of the Doctor, the film is based on Da Vinci’s private journals, notes and drawings. The word ‘genius’ really doesn’t do justice to the great inventor, philosopher and artist who famously painted a picture over the Doctor’s ‘this is a fake’ scrawl in the Italian Renaissance.


The documentary uses 3D techniques to bring Da Vinci’s work to life, combined with appearances from Capaldi, complete with long scarf, who narrates key passages and monologues. Judging from the clips available online it’s a thought-provoking, atmospheric production which brings the great artist’s creations to life in a way that makes full use of the technology.


Current screenings in US theaters are listed for December and January as follows:


December 26th

Living Room Theaters, Portland OR


January 2nd

Angelika Film Center, Washington DC

Living Room Theaters, Boca Raton FL

AMC South Barrington, South Barrington IL


January 23rd

SIFF Cinema Uptown, Seattle WA


UK viewers with the right Sky subscription and 3D televisual equipment can view the film on Sky 3D, where it crops up from time to time.


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Published on December 20, 2014 12:01

December 19, 2014

Invest in The Minister of Chance Movie!

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.


How is your risk appetite? Are you a bull or a bear? Do you look good in a pinstripe suit? Well if the answers are ‘yes’, ‘no, I’m more of a swan’ and ‘I making anything look good’ then you just might* be the kind of sharp suited, no nonsense investor the people behind The Minister of Chance are looking for.


The crew behind the award winning audio series which stars Paul McGann, Julian Wadham and Lauren Crace, are looking for suitable investors to buy shares in The Minister of Chance Movie.


The plan is to raise £100,000 in order to make episode 1 – which will be made available to view online by backers, and will then, along with 3 more episodes, form the final product.


Okay, let’s get down to the brass tacks, most investments will not result in earning you any spondoolies. There is always risk involved, so, if you choose to do so, it’s best to bear in mind that you should only invest what you can afford to lose and, that once you have purchased the shares, they are yours to sell on if you no longer wish to own them.


But there are also benefits. Investors get unique access to the behind-the-scenes footage, photos and interviews through The Ministry during and before production.


Moguls also get a beautiful personalized hi-res digital share certificate that can be printed and framed, and, if you are a UK taxpayer, there are substantial tax advantages to investing.


To invest, simply request a brochure from The Minister of Chance site. Once you have, you’ll be asked a few standard legal questions to make sure you understand the basic risks. You’ll then be sent a brochure with instructions on how to invest and all the information you will need. The minimum investment is £20.00 (20 X £1 shares).


However if all this investment talk sounds too scary, fear not. You can just donate money towards the production and, if you part with £10 or more, you’ll get your name on the end credits too.


So far, The Minister group have raised £2210.12 of the £100,000 target.


For a complete breakdown of the movie, investing and the process involved, head over to The Minister of Chance site.


* This article does not constitute sound financial advice. Swans are notoriously poor investors. Sharp suits do not indicate sharp minds. Please do not fill up on the risk buffet – it will ruin your risk appetite.


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Published on December 19, 2014 23:24

What You Can Expect From Last Christmas, The Doctor Who Christmas Special 2014 (Spoiler-Free)

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.


Get ready for an early Christmas treat as the largely spoiler free reviews of this year’s Christmas special, Last Christmas, have praised the episode for being the perfect sign off for what has been a strong year for the show.


Radio Times called the episode an ‘emotional sleigh ride’, praising the ‘compact’ storytelling and renewed focus on the Doctor and Clara: “One of the most pleasing things about Last Christmas is its compact, self-contained nature. It is complex in its own way but it restricts itself to a handful of supporting characters – the most memorable being Faye Marsay’s Shona, who adds a touch of real-world melancholy, as well as a few laughs – and in the end it does what all the best Doctor Who episodes do: focuses on the relationship between the Doctor and his companion.”


Faye Marsay (Pride) and the rest of the supporting cast, including Santa himself Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz) are also singled out for praise by Den of Geek: “Watching Nick Frost’s Santa leaves you thinking that he could have a second career just travelling the world as Father Christmas if he so wanted.”


But what of the episode itself? For what seems like a holy, jolly knock-a-bout with old Saint Nick; the special has something more sinister at its heart – Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic Alien to be precise: “We’d suggest that this is a surprisingly scary episode of Doctor Who. And that’s not in the context of when it’s been scheduled on Christmas Day, but also in the broader world of Doctor Who. Director Paul Wilmshurst, who helmed series 8’s Kill The Moon and Mummy On The Orient Express, successfully fused horror elements into his earlier Who work.


Here, the references are even more overt (in fact, rarely has Who so directly referenced at least one influence), and really quite scary. It’ll be interesting to see how younger children in particular react to it, certainly.”


What may come as a surprise is that along with the balance of scares and yuletide joy there’s also the small matter of resolving the dangling threads of Series 8: “Last Christmas, though, could effectively be classed as episode 13 of the series just gone. That’s what it pretty much is of course, but specifically it’s a lot less standalone than we’ve had in recent years. That’s not to say it doesn’t work as a one-off episode, but it’s also continuing to explore some previous narrative threads.”


So a Christmas episode that’s filled with horror and a standalone episode that continues events from the previous series? No wonder Steven Moffat called the episode ‘the strangest bloody thing I’ve ever written’.


The post What You Can Expect From Last Christmas, The Doctor Who Christmas Special 2014 (Spoiler-Free) appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

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Published on December 19, 2014 11:05

Watch Peter Capaldi’s Oscar Winning Movie, ‘Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life’

Drew Boynton 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.


When a person thinks of Christmas cheer, the stories of Franz Kafka don’t immediately spring to mind.  Kafka, who was born in Prague in 1883, must have found a fan in Peter Capaldi, though, because he made the author the main character of his 1993 short film, Franz Kafka’s It’s A Wonderful Life.  Capaldi wrote and directed the film, and even won an Oscar for his achievement.  The quirky short is now available in its entirety on Youtube–and even though it is noirishly lit (Fritz Lang would be proud) and full of dark humor–the story ends on a note of Christmas-inspired happiness.


The 23-minute film features Richard E. Grant (who voiced the alterna-Ninth Doctor in the web series Scream of the Shalka and was seen in Series 7 as Dr. Simeon/The Great Intelligence) as Kafka, as he struggles to write his most famous story, “The Metamorphosis.”  Bugged by neighbors and friends, he almost comes to the end of his sanity while trying in vain to write the opening lines.  And just when everything seems at its darkest, Christmas saves the day.  Yes, complete with snow, good friends, and singing.  (The only things missing are George Bailey, an angel, and a bell ringing!)


Capaldi’s creation really is worth watching, especially since it’s just the right time of year.  It also can’t help but make a Whovian wonder if Peter Capaldi couldn’t pull off a first for Doctor Who: a lead actor directing an episode.  Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life shows that the Twelfth Doctor has a good eye for atmosphere, lighting, emotion, character, and, of course, humor.  And why not a mini-reunion while we’re at it, with Richard E. Grant making a return appearance as the embodiment of The Great Intelligence… in a Christmas special that ends with snow and singing?


So, Kasterborites, if you haven’t seen Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life, click play above to watch it right now.


So, do you think that Peter Capaldi could pull off double-duty on an episode (perhaps a Doctor-lite one?) and make it a classic, or did his short film just bug you to death? 


 


 


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Published on December 19, 2014 09:31

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