Christian Cawley's Blog, page 157

Two CyberBrig Spoof Spinoffs

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.

So there are pretty much two groups of people – those who thought bringing back Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart as one of the resurrected Cybermen was a wonderful tribute, and those that loathe it, think it a sacrilegious, and can’t believe that Moffat would stoop so low and ruin the legacy of a great man.

Whatever group you fall into,  you’ll have to admit that there has been quite a bit of funny commentary on the return of the Brig since Death In Heaven aired. I’ve lost count on the jokes about him being Doctor Who’s answer to Iron Man.

Wait…here’s another one.

Guess that tells you what camp I’m in then?

Others have proposed actually going forward with the character of CyberBrig in his own adventures. Below, we have two of those visions for CyberBrig. First, another take on the aforementioned Iron Man idea:

This second imagines him as a new Sarah Janes Adventures-esque superhero for kids:

Weeks after his reveal in Death in Heaven, how do you feel about this curious renewal of the Brigadier? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

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Doctor Who Christmas Special Anticipation, Appearances & Tom Adams

James Lomond 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.

Put down that mulled cider and fix your peepers on today’s Doctor Who News Blast – bursting like the most generous of Christmas Stockings there’s no tangerine here, but News News News all the way down… Commence unwrapping!

Are You Anticipating The Doctor Who Christmas Special?

OnePoll (who? – Ed) have concluded with their Great Measuring Stick that among shows worthy of Christmas specials – we’re talking Downton Abbey, Top Gear, Mrs Brown’s Boys and Miranda sorta thing - Doctor Who has come out on top as the most anticipated by audiences. Natch. WorldNewsHound also comments on the result of a top Doctor poll – take a look to see who got 25% of all votes…

National Elf Service

Meanwhile Dan Starkey of Strax fame, has talked to DenofGeek about appearing as another character in the Christmas Special. Starkey plays one of the two elves accompanying Father Christmas, named Ian and the Wolf (eh?). Meanwhile incumbent Time Lord Peter Capaldi revealed that Santa has crashed into Clara’s roof (she’s clearly climbed the property ladder since we last saw her!) but this turns out to be “a nightmarish development, and only the Doctor knows why!”

Not long til we find out more…

Oh and Starkey would be up for a Paternoster spin-off. No really. I know – who’d have guessed?

Colin Baker, Billie Piper & John Barrowman Hit Dallas Fan Days Expo

This coming February 7-8th is the Dallas Fan Days Expo at the Irving Convention Centre in Texas. And today is the day I discovered there’s a place called Irving in Texas. Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker and former NuWho companion, Billie Piper will be in attendance alongside John Barrowman and a host of other sci-fi stars.

More God, Less Doctor

Caroline Symcox was the co-author of the brilliant Big Finish Audio, Seasons of Fear, and wife to Human Nature/ Family of blood author, Paul Cornell. She’s also one of the growing number of CofE lady Vicars, and just landed herself a post at St Mary’s Church in Fairford. An Oxford graduate in theology, she also penned Fifth Doctor audio The Council of Nicea… Sadly for us her new duties as a Vicar and ongoing duties as a mum mean more sci-fi is on the back burner. Via the Gloucestershire Echo.

Steve Thompson Talks Doctor Who & Sherlock

Turning our News Blast attention to the Other Place, Cambridge-based play write Steve Thompson was interviewed for Cambridge 105’s Leigh Chambers about writing for two of the BBC’s most internationally successful shows – Doctor Who and Sherlock… He talks about the different sizes of the production teams and how that affects the experiences of writing for each show. Sadly we don’t find out how Sherlock survived his Reichenbach fall but we do learn who Thompson’s favourite Who-baddie is. And it’s a good choice:

Warriors Of The Deep‘s Tom Adams Passes

Today we end on a sombre note as the star of TV and film, actor Tom Adams has passed away at 76. His most famous role was opposite cinema greats Richard Attenborough and Steve McQueen in 1963’s prisoner of war classic, The Great Escape but Classic Who fans will remember him as the commander Vorshak, of Sea Base 4 in 1984’s Warriors of the Deep. His television career included familiar mainstays of British drama including Z Cars, Casualty, Lovejoy and shipping drama the Onedin Line.

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Doctor Who: Monopoly 2014 Now Available At Forbidden Planet

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.

Hopefully by now your Christmas shopping is well under way, though if you’re anything like me most of your shopping will be done in the week before if not days before!

If you’re still looking for a gifts, don’t forget to check out the Kasterborous 2014 Gift Guide…but keep reading this post! We’ve got something new!

Last year, Hasbro added to their collection of themed versions of popular board games with a new Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special edition of Monopoly.

But since we’ve now got a new Doctor, it was time for the game to regenerate as well!

We now have the Monopoly Doctor Who: Regeneration Edition, complete with a new game board, new graphics, and six new collectible tokens!

While the 50th Anniversary edition last year featured iconic items from the Doctor as it’s tokens, including a bow tie, a scarf, and a celery stalk, the six new tokens appear to be the TARDIS, the Moment, what looks like the War Doctor’s sonic screwdriver, a fez and bow tie, the U.N.I.T. emblem, and River’s diary!

For the new board, it looks like you can try to own every Doctor, with the traditional Boardwalk and Park Place spaces being the Twelfth and Eleventh Doctors respectively. Though I’m not sure I’d agree with the Kate Stewart and Osgood being so low on the board – they’re worth more than that!

Should you like to own either this version of the game, or last year’s edition, there are a number of places online that carry them.

For this new edition, if you’re in the UK, you’ve got a number of options on where to buy – Forbidden Planet has it listed at £29.99, (as does Amazon UK)  however the BBC Shop is also currently listing it at £31.49.

If you’re in the US, at least online there are a only a few places to find the new edition, with Amazon having the best deal at $47.55.

To pick up last year’s edition, the BBC Shop has it listed for £38.99, Amazon UK has it at £39.99. In the US, it’s available on Amazon for $39.95.

I’d love to have either version of the game, as well as those other Who-ized games that have come out like Risk, Trivial Pursuit and Yahtzee. But then I’d also need the time to sit down and play them! Board games are no fun if you don’t use them!

UK buyers – today is the last chance to get an order in on time for a Christmas arrival, so don’t miss out!

The post Doctor Who: Monopoly 2014 Now Available At Forbidden Planet appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Free Comic Book Day Hints At Summer Doctor Who Event

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.

Is this a First Ever? Next year, Doctor Who will be joining the ranks of quality storytelling on Free Comic Book Day!

On 2nd May 2015, select comic stores will give away free titles specifically made for the purpose of entertaining and drawing in more readers. It’s a lovely little initiative, and this year, thanks to Titan Comics, Doctor Who will be taking part – with not one, not two, but three Doctors!

David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor, Matt Smith’s Eleventh, and Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth will all feature in their own separate stories, written and drawn by their usual creative teams, including writers Al Ewing and Nick Abadzis. Here’s what’s coming up in May:

Doctor Who Special​ ​FCBD 2015 EDITION

Take a blistering trip through time and space with three stunning all-new short stories featuring the Tenth Doctor, the Eleventh Doctor and the brand-new Twelfth Doctor, written and drawn by the ongoing Doctor Who comics creative teams.

PLUS: A sneak peek of the Top Secret Summer 2015 event! Be the first to get a hint of the epic that will shake the Doctor to his very core! It’s a must-read for fans, and the perfect primer for anyone looking to jump on board the TARDIS!

Ooh, a Top Secret Summer Event? Sounds like a cross-over arc to me. These summer events have been a big part of recent comic storytelling, perhaps largely due to the success of Marvel’s Civil War tale – though this owes credit to The Infinity Gauntlet!

I wonder what these three short stories have in store for us. We’ll just have to wait and see…

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What Would Be The Ultimate Doctor Who Crossover?

James Lomond 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.

Recently a Film & TV student posted their ideas for a Doctor Who crossover with Harry Potter. Freeing himself from the constraints of brand management, budget and -um- plot, he waxed lyrical on the MA-HOOSIVE fangasm something like this would cause.

And in fairness to him, Russell T Davies did consider something vaguely along these lines back in the early years of the NuWho revival – he went as far as asking J. K. Rowling whether she’d like to pen an episode and wanted to have her star in it as herself… He said himself, “that’s either brilliant or more like a Blue Peter crossover…”

While this scheme to team-up Missy and Voldemort against any number of Doctors may lack some of the substance that the license holders would be looking for, it does raise the question of how and when a crossover could work…

The two most speculated crossovers into the Whoniverse seem to be Moffat’s Sherlock and America’s archetypal sci-fi show, Star Trek. The reason for Sherlock seems partly to do with the fact that the same people make both shows which might remove some of the hurdles along the way. Beyond that they’re both shows with a quirky clever lead, fighting bad guys with a companion in tow. And there seems to be a curiosity about how solitary, powerful personalities like the Doctor and Sherlock Holmes would react to eachother should their paths meet.

There’s a precedent for this in the superhero/ caped-crusader comic world where DC’s Batman/ Superman and Marvel’s Avengers characters can share adventures and interact outside of their own individual franchises. And now both are being realised on the big screen… It almost feels like that “who would win out of a werewolf and a vampire” mentality from high-school conversations across the world. Oh, and the Underworld franchise [ahem].

Personally I think this is a risky business. Studios might be keen because, as our Film & TV student notes, LOTS of fans would be interested. And as you and I know (our bank accounts bear the scars) fans will part with MONEY. Lots of it. But every series is set up the way it is, with the characters, rules and world it uses for a reason…

Take an example: If Sherlock and the Doctor were to meet it would (usually) imply that their narrative *worlds* had also met and the kinds of things we expect to happen, the kinds of explanations that are used in each world are very different. If an hospital turned up on the moon in Sherlock, the narrative world would require it to be something vaguely plausible without resulting to the science-fantasy plot devices of Doctor Who. As with the apparently super-natural events in The Hound of the Baskervilles episode, it would usually be some kind of deception, hallucination or other non space opera event… You couldn’t have intergalactic Rhinos behind it.

The second problem is the bringing together of lead protagonists. I’m not saying this would necessarily get in the way but the Doctor and his interaction with the companion is at the heart of the show, as is the Sherlock/Watson relationship. When you bring multiple lead characters together you have to find a way for them both to be the hero and the “most interesting thing on the screen” without stepping on each other’s toes. Not impossible – as multi-doctor stories and the Avengers Assemble demonstrate. But tricky. You certainly need to find a way where neither of the heroes loses face to the other, unless it’s to bring out their individual character traits and foibles.

That said Doctor Who arguably has a rich history of cross-overs. Every multi-Doctor story, while using what are notionally the *same* characters and taking place in the same narrative world, they do involve bringing two different versions of that world together. And I think that’s what makes The Day of the Doctor, The Five, Two and Three Doctors exciting, is that characters (or different versions of the characters) get to interact. Seeing what the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors make of each other does for Who-fans what Superman and Batman meeting does for DC fans.

And then we’ve had the re-uniting of Who spin-offs like Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures with the parent show. Both series crossed over back into Doctor Who in Series 4’s Journey’s End and Martha Jones popped up in both Doctor Who and Torchwood, spanning the watershed…

But could a crossover with an unrelated franchise work? Are there narrative worlds out there where it would tell an interesting story to have them come together with the Whoniverse? Could we see the TARDIS materialise on the Bridge of the Enterprise (not just in comic book form) or a fugitive named Blake turn up in Who? Or is this a disaster waiting to happen? Tell us your thoughts below…

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Learn More About Colonel Lethbridge-Stewarts’ New Adventures…

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.

An item of news that’s had a seemingly universal welcome in recent days has been the announcement of a new series of novels to feature that noble defender of the Earth from alien attack, Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart. In an intriguing twist, the books will fill us in on the dear old Brig’s career as a thrusting young officer following his first meeting with the Doctor in The Web of Fear but before he got the job with UNIT which would see him become a legend.

Seriously exciting news for the Brigadier’s army of fans, made possible by publisher Candy Jar Books by arrangement with the Executor of the Haisman Literary Estate, Mervyn Haisman’s granddaughter Hannah Haisman, and endorsed by Henry Lincoln.

In an informative interview shortly before this news became public, Hannah Haisman fills in some fascinating background on her relative, his difficult relationship with the show’s producer and how the Brigadier secured his position as one of Doctor Who’s most enduring characters.

“My grandad was a truly amazing person. He was one of the most important, special and influential people in my life… I used to love sitting in grandad’s study whilst he worked. I would spend hours looking at the hundreds of books on the shelves and admiring his RADA certificate hanging on the wall, the Onedin Line flag, the photograph of the Yeti from Doctor Who, the huge poster of Jane and the lost city and various family photographs and portraits.”

It’s fair to say there was no love lost between Mervyn Haisman and story editor and producer Derrick Sherwin, and Hannah has strong opinions on Sherwin’s disparaging criticisms, recently aired in print, of Haisman and Lincoln’s writing. It seems however that with the return of Lethbridge-Stewart in The Invasion, Haisman had the last laugh:

“I know grandad was pissed off with him (Sherwin) using the Brig and that he had to fight with the BBC for many years to secure royalties. I’m over the moon that by doing this, bringing the Brig back, Sherwin secured Grandad’s legacy, and I know grandad would be chuckling about it.”

Perhaps surprisingly, Hannah says she was moved rather than perturbed by the resurrection of the Brigadier as a Cyberman in Series 8 finale Death in Heaven (“I was so proud that grandad’s character was still being used”).

Now the custodian of her grandfather’s literary estate, Hannah Haisman displays an admirable ability to tease the reader with the promise of further adventures for UNIT’s finest officer:

“I have high hopes for the Brig and I’m sure this won’t be the last time you see him… The Brig will always be around, if I have any say in the matter, and I do. There is a time in his life that nobody knows about…YET!”

Worthy of JN-T or RTD at their best! Roll on February and the launch of the Lethbridge-Stewart novels!

To read the full interview head over to type40 – you really, really should!

The post Learn More About Colonel Lethbridge-Stewarts’ New Adventures… appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

You Are Planning A Modern Doctor Who Audio Series…

James Lomond 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.

Reddit’s Gallifrey section has held a discussion on what one would do if given PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWERS and free reign over the Big Finish audio range with rights to all of the NuWho world and characters…

That means ANY story you want to tell about the War Doctor through to Capaldi’s can be realised in glorious 3D, technicolour audio without the constraints of a budget, set or dodgy CGI.

Predictably ideas for exploring the Time War were popular and people when hunting for the gaps and spaces where we don’t know what the Doctor got up to. Though people were also rather keen on what BF are doing already approaching a near-Time War Eighth Doctor with their Dark Eyes series.

The Ninth Doctor’s time between losing his memory Day of the Doctor and saving Gallifrey and Rose where the guilt sets in was popular and probably carries the most potential for character-exploring stories. The Eleventh Doctor’s time on Trenzalore is another obvious window…

Lots of ideas are thrown around and some of the most interesting are with the characters you might not immediately think of – and that’s something Big Finish has excelled at in their Companion Chronicles particularly.

There were suggestions for uniting UNIT across the Classic-New divide, bringing Captain Yates and the Vault characters together with Osgood and Kate Stewart (in fact it was considered whether Kate counts as a NuWho character at all – she originally appeared alongside the Brig (played by Beverley Cressman) in fan-made (but Virgin novelised) spin-off Downtime.

I digress…

One of my favourite suggestions was for a thoroughly Victorian Classic-New mash-up with a Pater Noster gang crossover with the well established Jago & Litefoot daring duo. If you’ve not seen Talons of Weng-Chiang and haven’t heard their audio adventures they come HIGHLY recommended…

Another obvious avenue to explore is the multi-Doctor story, given that BF started out all those years ago with the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors joining forces in Sirens of Time…

What would you do, Kasterborites, if the story-gun was handed to you with the safety catch off and limitless ammo? (Yeah. A bit tenuous that one but I like it). We’d like you to tell us what characters, times and unexplored avenues are WORTH exploring?

Feel fre to let your imagination run riot but also to be realistic as a Big Finish showrunner. Ecclestone is unlikely to ever make any more Doctor Who going by the evidence to date – how would you get around that? Hurt is unlikely to be available and while Tennant and Smith have a lot of warmth for the show, they’re busy actors pushing ahead with careers overseas at the moment. Who COULD you get?

Also think about who would work well together and specifically in the audio format. Think distinctive and contrasting voices – characters that might have a lot to say that we’ve never heard (and not just the mouthy ones…) One of my favourite suggestions was to find a way of bringing Suranne Jones back as Sexy/TARDIS perhaps for a companion chronicle?

If the NuWho audio Story Gun was in my trigger-happy hands (give me a break and go with it…) I’d be looking at:

Camille Corduri and Noel Clarke having their own crazy adventures in a parallel universe, with or without Rose and the 10.5th Doctor…
The surviving crew from The Satan Pit had some gutsy and richly acted characters I wouldn’t mind hearing in action again…
Jenny from The Doctor’s Daughter is ripe for more adventures and audio seems the ideal format…
In the shape of Hugh Bonneville, the newly space-bound pirate crew from Curse of the Black Spot could do with an audio outing…
The paranormal pair from Hide?
Even Rory’s dad, Brian, has oodles of potential for stories to expand the edges of the NuWho universe.
And then there are the potentially infinite splinter-Claras scattered thoughout the Doctor’s timeline. Room for some more Classic-Nu crossovers?..

So hit us, Kasterborites, what would you do if you were running the Big Finish show with all of NuWho to play with?

The post You Are Planning A Modern Doctor Who Audio Series… appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Steven Moffat Explains Doctor Who Series 8 In DWM Letters

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.

When not writing to Santa, Terry Wogan or indeed Graham Cole (Did you get my Melkur drawing? Please say yes!) Doctor Who fans also tease answers, ease worries or indeed, send comically oversized pictures of Traken’s finest rendered in blue crayon (I ate the brown one), to Steven Moffat – who once again has been debunking fan theories left, right and centre in this month’s issue of DWM.

First up, the fate of Ingrid Osgood who, after making her debut in the 50th Anniversary episode The Day of the Doctor, was briefly replaced by a shapeshifting Zygon.

Osgood then met her maker at the hands of Missy during Doctor Who Series 8 finale Death in Heaven.

Answering a fans suggestion that the real Osgood is still in fact alive, Moffat told DWM: “Nah. If it had been a Zygon, she wouldn’t have been killed so easily… Dead, I’m afraid.”

Which, even for someone who liked Osgood, feels like the right decision. Of course it could all be a cunning ruse but in terms of story, where Osgood added little to the admittedly meandering masterplan, she had to be off – even if it was quite a shock.

Moffat then got his debunk on again; turning his attention to the Orson Pink conundrum following the death of Danny Pink in Death in Heaven.

Here things are a little more oblique. Addressing fans concerns, Moffat commented: “I can think of several explanations, but the obvious one is that Orson comes from another branch of the family.”

He explained: “[Orson] knows about Danny’s heroic sacrifice, because Clara got in touch with the Pink family after the events of ‘Death in Heaven’ (because you would, wouldn’t you?), and told them what he did, and why. And she gave them the little soldier, as a keepsake of a great man and a great soldier – and because she knows the toy soldier has to remain in the Pink family line.”

“Now all that strikes me as pretty inevitable – that’s what would have happened – but I’m not saying it’s right. Nothing is actual till it’s in the show. Knowing how the season would end, we were careful, in ‘Listen’, never to define exactly what the connection was.”

Of course it doesn’t explain why Orson makes a reference to his grandparents being ‘time travellers’ unless it’s an honorary title given to Clara and the fabled Doctor – it’s not like that idea hasn’t been used before. Although, you can almost imagine this creating more questions than answers in the, by now, rather confused Pink household.

Despite Moffat’s insistence on its obviousness, it still doesn’t rule out the idea that Clara was pregnant during the events of Death in Heaven and, at some point after, she met with the Pink household and handed them the toy solider… along with a lot of outlandish explanations that, despite being necessary aren’t the most compelling thing to dramatise considering the audience would know this information already.

Perhaps, and this is way out there, this is one way the story was altered to accommodate Jenna Coleman’s delayed exit. After all, once she has handed the solider over; her story is effectively over. By not explicitly airing a conclusion, could her exit revolve around the birth of the next Mr Pink (No, not the one who doesn’t tip. The other one. The cyber one).

What do you make of Moffat’s conclusions? Should Osgood be an Osgoner? Is that the most obvious explanation for Orson’s familiar appearance? What else should I send Graham Cole?

The post Steven Moffat Explains Doctor Who Series 8 In DWM Letters appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Where You Can Catch Last Christmas This, Um, Christmas

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.

We’ve reached that stage in December when office parties are in full swing, turkeys are starting to think something’s up and Christmas TV guides are thunking onto doormats. Got yours yet? Circled your festive favourites? The Great Escape again?!

Just in case you haven’t yet caught up with where and when you’ll be able to watch Last Christmas (you gave me your heart…) check our listing guide (via Doctor Who News)!

UK – BBC One, 25th December as you’d expect, this year at 6:15pm. Just time for that post-lunch snooze. Should you oversleep there’s another showing on Boxing Day at 8:00pm, with a signed repeat on Wednesday 31st December at 3:35am. UK viewers will be able to catch up, of course, on BBC iPlayer for 30 days after transmission.

USA – BBC America is where you need to be on 25th December, 9:00pm EST to make your Christmas night.

Canada – same time as your neighbours to the south so no getting jealous: 9:00pm EST, 25th December on the Space channel.

Australia – ‘fraid you’ve got to wait until Boxing Day evening, 7:30pm AEDT on ABC. Should go well with a cold turkey sandwich.

New Zealand – get one over on the Aussies by watching the special on Boxing Day morning, 9:00am on Prime. If that’s too big an ask there’s a repeat that evening at 7:35pm.

South Africa – a couple of days’ wait but let’s hope it’s worth it: Saturday 27th December, 7:05pm SAST on BBC Entertainment. Or get up early (or stay up late) to watch at 4:40am SAST on Sunday 28th December.

Germany – a primetime slot on Christmas Day, 9:30pm CET on Fox.

Denmark – a subtitled showing on 26th December, 7:00pm on DR3, repeated on Saturday 27th December at 1:05pm.

Finland – a longer wait than most: Sunday 28th December, 7:10pm EET on YLE TV2.

There you go; no excuses for missing Last Christmas now! Where will you be watching?

The post Where You Can Catch Last Christmas This, Um, Christmas appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

The Ultimate Christmas Gifts for Doctor Who Fans in 2014

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.

Still looking for something for a fellow Whovian for Christmas and need a few good ideas? Or maybe looking to get yourself a nice little something this year? Then read on! And welcome to the 2014 Kasterborous Gift Guide. Herein you’ll find a wide assortment of great Whovian and related merchandise, sure to please any fellow fans on your Christmas gift list! We’ve broken them all down into categories and added links to where you can purchase all the items listed so you’ll want to bookmark this page for your online holiday shopping!

Christmas Decorations

Let’s start things off with some new additions to your Chrimbo decor collection? How about a Fourth Doctor or Clara ornament for your tree?

Newbury Comics has two shatterproof globe ornaments available right now, one featuring the Fourth Doctor Tom Baker, and the other featuring Clara Oswald, Jenna Coleman. And both are available in either the US or the UK for a quite reasonable price!

The Clara Oswald ornament is red and features Victorian era Clara spying on a bubble with an image of the Doctor in his own Victorian era outfit. The reverse side of the ornament bears the Doctor Who DW/ TARDIS shape logo.

The Fourth Doctor ornament is blue and features Tom Baker in his iconic floppy hat and long scarf. The reverse of this ornament also bears the Doctor Who DW TARDIS shape logo.

Both ornaments are available from Newbury Comics via and . They’re in limited quantities and ship from the US; both have estimated delivery times of before Christmas so you’ll want to order as soon as possible!

The Beeb is even getting in the holiday spirit with their own line of decorations for the tree. Among others are a set featuring the Eleventh Doctor in his purple coat and his sonic screwdriver.

The BBC Shop has this set for the great price of £6.99 and it’s available in the US from a number of retailers including

 

Figures and Toys

For the action figure and sculpture collecters, Harrop Figurines has a new line of solid pewter cast figures coming out, all of which are limited to an edition of only 100. The line is an homage to the classic era of Who, and includes a 1970s Silurian, Cyberman, Ice Warrior, Sontaran and a lovely Fourth Doctor figure as well.

Each figurine is cast of solid English pewter by A.E. Williams, who have been in business since 1779. The collection ranges in prince from £110 to £150 each. If you’d be in the market for one of these for the Whovian in your life, act now though – each one is made to order so fulfillment takes a bit of time! Check out the Harrop Figurines for more info and details on limited edition hand painted versions that will be available in 2015!

Underground Toys is well known for their lines of Doctor Who action figures. This time around, they are adding to the 5″ scale line with new Fourth and Tenth Doctor figures.

The new Fourth Doctor figure shows him in his first appearance post-regeneration, still clothed in the Third Doctor’s get-up. The new Tenth Doctor figure is of the Doctor hologram seen aboard the TARDIS in times of extreme need when the Doctor is otherwise indisposed. Underground has tried to show the translucence of a hologram combined with the familiar brown and blue pinstripes that Ten favoured.

These new figures have great detail and Tom Baker has never looked better as an action figure! Personally the holo-Doc is a bit odd looking though, but it is a cool version to add to the line.

These figures will have to be an IOU for the collector on your Christmas list as they are only currently available from Entertainment Earth for pre-order at a cost of $15.99. Both are set for retail release in February 2015.

How about something for the younger Whovian?

Entertainment Earth has a new Fourth Doctor talking plush available for pre-order. (Which means this might have to be a gift for…Lent?) He’s done up in iconic Fourth Doctor style with a slightly manic look, big head of curly hair, long trench coat and really long scarf. If that’s not enough, he also says 3 of his most well known phrases!

No word yet if he’ll offer you a Jelly Baby at a completely inappropriate time, however. The pre-order for this handsome fellow is set at $24.99US and will be released in April 2015. It doesn’t seem to be available to order in the UK as yet, either, although there are plenty of other Doctor Who plushes (with sound) that are.

Gadgets and Useful Gear

This next one is not only collectible, but useful at the same time! While a lot of documents are stored out on the Cloud these days, sometimes it’s still nice to have a more permant, local copy of whatever documents or digital files you need. So why not have your USB flash drive show your Whovian spirit?

Take a look at this great little TARDIS light-up USB drive available for the on-the-go Whovian!

As you can see from the image above, the top of the TARDIS comes off to reveal the USB drive hidden inside. And when you plug it into a computer, the TARDIS light turns on!

This one is available in the UK from Amazon with 8GB of storage for £19.99(note that a 4GB version is also available) and from ThinkGeek in the US with either 4 or 8GB of storage for $29.99.

For the techie geek on your list, how about a TARDIS or Dalek Bluetooth speaker?

Massive Audio has pair with the BBC to create TARDIS and Dalek speakers that not only provide great sound but that also light up and make their associated iconic sounds. What would a Dalek be if it couldn’t tell you that it wanted to Ex-ter-min-ate you?

Check out the TARDIS, Dalek Sec and Assault Dalek model all available for a pre-order of $99.98US at Massive Audio.

Now you and I know that time isn’t a straight line, but that doesn’t mean that while here on Earth we can show up late. Maybe a Doctor Who inspired watch might help?

ThinkGeek has some wonderful collecter’s edition Whovian watches available for both men and ladies, so there’s one all the fans on your list.

These limited edition stainless steel watches feature the Gallifreyan script from the Doctor’s own fob watch on their face, and the St. John’s emblem and door sign on their leather straps. They would be a great looking addition to any wardrobe without standing up and shouting I’M A WHOVIAN! Both retail for approximately $179.99 – to $199.99 and come gift boxed. UK readers can snap one up from Amazon for just £150.00.

Christmas is one of the few times it’s more than OK to gift someone pajamas and sleepwear, so why not some Fourth Doctor scarf patterned pajama pants?

Another ThinkGeek item, these comfy pajama pants are great for cozying up under a blanket by the fire on those cold winter nights. Maybe you should get a pair of these for yourself too?

Multiple designs are available including an all-over TARDIS or Weeping Angel print. They retail for $19.99 stateside, and don’t currently seem to be available in the UK

 

Books and Gaming

Books, books, books! It’s amazing how many books related to Doctor Who are available on the market. In fact, that was one of the things that turned me into such a fan of the show! Whether you’re looking for stories of the Doctor’s off-screen travels, tales of the origins of the show’s most famous monsters, or something to test the knowledge of your fellow fans, there is a book for you!

First up, the 2015 Doctor Who Annual!

These might officially be for the children on your gift list, but as an adult, I love them! I’ve got every Annual since becoming a fan and I love the fun they bring. The 2015 Annual featuring Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi on the front is no different!

Thankfully this is available in both the US and the UK from Amazon. Here in the US, it’s currently available for 0.49 and in the UK, it’s currently available for £3.99 as part of a deal for  3 Annuals for £10! So act now! (This reminds me I still need to get my own copy!)

Are you into role playing or looking to get into it and want to try your hand at a Whovian RPG? Cubicle 7 has the books you’re looking for!

They’ve got a great line of RPG source books, currently featuring the First through Sixth Doctors available in print, with the Seventh Doctor’s book currently available as a PDF, and the Eighth Doctor coming soon!

Also available is a book for those that want to be the Doctor’s companion. Traveling alongside the Doctor is always an adventure!

Cubicle 7 Doctor Who source books (most also come with PDF version) start at £23.99 and are available at your local gaming shop as well as their online site.

Want to know the Doctor’s own thoughts on being a Time Lord and how to survive time travel? Then check out How To Be A Time Lord! Written as a secret letter from the Eleventh to the Twelfth Doctor, this book features Eleven’s notes on life as a time traveler and even a scrap book from his adventures.

Currently this book is available in the UK from Amazon for £6.99 but if you are in the US, you’ll have to do a bit of looking online to find it now as it won’t be available from Amazon until early January 2015.  Amazon’s current pre-order price is $13.59.

Last year, the BBC released a new e-short story for each Doctor in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the show. Recently, they released a new story for the Twelfth Doctor to add to the collection. These stories are now all available in print in a gorgeoues new edition set featuring images of each Doctor’s costume on the cover of their respective volumes.

I personally read all the stories as they were released, and they are all worthy additions to the adventures of the Doctor in all his incarnations. So why not pass them on to a fellow fan in this gorgeous addition? Amazon UK has the set for £12.91 and Amazon US lists them for 8.99.

 

If you’re looking to have a viewing party or just want to have some friends over for some Whovian fun, why not have a timey-wimey quiz book on hand?

This official BBC Doctor Who quiz book is chock full of questions for every level of fan, from the casual viewer to the hardcore since ’63 fan. And with some 3,000 questions that cover every single episode of the show in the last 50 years, you might want to plan for more than one game night!

This one is available from Amazon UK for £6.99 and Amazon US for 10.77 (subject to change) but if you are here in the US and have an awesome Wal-Mart near you, you might be able to find it in-store. If not, they have it at Wal-Mart.com for $9.86, so if you’re having a bunch of items shipped from them online, you might want to throw this in your order!

The last book we have for you is one that I can attest is absolutely gorgeous – I personally had it in my hands at New York Comic Con this past October.

Doctor Who: The Secret Lives Of Monsters is everything you ever wanted to know about your favorite DW baddies – and more. There are loads of pictures and facts, so much information that it will make the head of any Whovian spin!

I love these massive books of illustrations and pictures and get many hours of enjoyment out of them, and I’m guessing I’m not alone. This would make a great Christmas gift for even a casual fan of the show as it’s a great book to have on the shelf or sitting on the coffee table for guests. It might just get someone new intrested in the show!

This one is currently available from Amazon UK for just £9.00 and Amazon US for $33.34 in the hardcover edition. A Kindle edition for e-readers is also available.

 

Everything Else!

Christmas is also just about the only time it’s more than normal to gift people a calendar for the coming year. Calendars are something that everyone needs and we all usually have more than one since they are useful in so many places! Because they are so useful, there are so many different kinds and DW themed calendars are no exception! You’ve got wall calendars, desk calendars, poster sized calendars…there are too many kinds to list.

Notable among them all is a calendar that for the first time can feature a different Doctor for each month! Each month features the corresponding numbered Doctor along with someone or something iconic of their era. And since the Eighth Doctor has had limited screen time, he is joined by the War Doctor so the calendar features all 13 official Doctors!

Since there are multiple calendars available, we’ve got a link to a list of them from Amazon UK and Amazon US for you to make your shopping a little easier!

Have a fan on your list who is a lover of music on vinyl? Then you’re in luck!

Silva Screen Records has just released  the soundtrack of the 2010 Christmas Special on a white vinyl LP. The special, a favourite among fans that featured Michael Gambon and Katherine Jenkins, is one of the most beloved specials of Matt Smith’s era. It featured Katherine Jenkins’ performance of “Abigail’s Song (Silence Is All You Know)”

This vinyl is a limited edition pressing of only 500 copies so if you want to get this for someone on your list, you’d better act fast. It’s available from Silvascreen for £16.99.

Doctor Who Complete Series 8

And for the completist on your list, the Series 8 complete dvd collection is now available in both the UK and the US. The set features all 12 episodes of Peter Capaldi’s first series as the Doctor as well as a number of extras including the cinema panel from the Deep Breath showing and the music video of Foxes’ song from Mummy On the Orient Express.

Amazon UK has the DVD for £34.99 and the region-free Blu-ray set for £39.75. Amazon US offers the Doctor Who Series 8 DVD set for $54.96 with the Blu-ray edition available for $64.96!

Wow. So, if this hasn’t filled your gift list, then I think I missed something! I want one of  everything listed here and can’t wait to see what Santa leaves for me this year. Plus I can’t wait for this year’s Christmas Special! What are you hoping the Jolly Old Elf leaves in you’re stocking this year? Anything Whovian on your wish list?

 

The post The Ultimate Christmas Gifts for Doctor Who Fans in 2014 appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.