Christian Cawley's Blog, page 169

Sylvester McCoy Is Excited About Damaged Goods Adaptation

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.

Ooh, now this is a nice treat for Big Finish fans and those drawn to the work of former showrunner, Russell T. Davies: the audio company spoke to Sylvester McCoy, iconic comedian, actor, Seventh Doctor, and spoon-player extraordinaire, about an upcoming release.

He’s starring in the adaptation of the RTD novel, Damaged Goods, brought to audio by the considerable talent of Jonathan Morris. The interview with McCoy was conducted at Dimensions 2014, and McCoy announces that Damaged Goods is “a great story – obviously it would be! It’s written by Russell T. Davies, who’s one of the great Doctor Who writers!”

Here’s the synopsis:

“As the Seventh Doctor, Roz Forrester and Chris Cwej arrive at a housing estate, they find a perfect storm arising of alien technology, physic powers and a terrible bargain made long ago… The story stars Sylvester McCoy, Yasmin Bannerman, Travis Oliver, Denise Black and Michelle Collins.”

This is the second time for both Bannerman and Oliver to have worked on a Who by Russell, having starred in 2005′s The End of the World and Gridlock (2007) respectively.

Sylv’s obviously proud that he’s the only Classic Doctor RTD has written for… so far.

Oh, what’re you reading this for? Just play that video, won’t you?!

Looking forward to Damaged Goods? How about another novel adaptation, The Well-Mannered War? Let us know below!

The post Sylvester McCoy Is Excited About Damaged Goods Adaptation appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

What The BBC Thinks About Dark Water Complaints

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.

For the fortunate amongst us, who have never suffered through the heartbreak of losing someone through our formative years, drama helped normalise death.

It gave our inevitable decline a redemptive quality; be it following a character who set in motion his/her own end through their own misguided actions, and the inevitable brushes with salvation along that journey, or the near brush with death that lead to a watershed moment for a lost soul – it all served to make that final moment seem less frightening through exposure.

We got to see the impact of death as though we were ghouls at our own wake. The drama continued in spite of a characters demise or to those who could distinguish the inner workings of television; it gave us the sense that it wasn’t so much the end of a person, more the end of an entire way of looking at the world.

Each show has a point of view and it’s in the final moments of a characters onscreen life or the closing of one outlet of this business we call Show, that the artifice seemingly faded away; and that in itself could be a frightening, and occasionally frustrating business – especially if you’re a fan of The Sopranos.

Writers talk about it all the time: ‘We owe it to our viewers to give the show a proper send-off’.

There’s a complicit contract here. Production staff, bound by longevity and the conventions of drama, must create a satisfactory ending on both counts and we, the audience, demand a death befitting the lives we have seen play out before us, be it character or show.

That’s not to paint all viewers as spoilt roman emperors itching to downturn our thumbs at every weak-willed character we grow to hate but in some ways, that’s where teledeath can take us.

It allows our complicity in the very act itself because we have decided what form our drama takes by the very act of making a choice to view it and, with the predominance of Social Media, the very notion of ‘interactivity’ with a show has changed.

Almost instantly, we can register a complaint and have it justified by the number of others who share our opinion.

So when we are confronted by a concept of death that chills us, that genuinely frightens us like the frankly brilliant idea that the dead can feel pain and therefore beg to be buried in Dark Water, we can feel betrayed.

For a start, it breaks what we expect when it comes to Saturday night telly and death. This isn’t an orderly from Casualty putting an arm around our shoulder and telling us, thanks to an accident at the Deptford All Women’s Clay Pigeon Shooting Finals, Auntie Beryl won’t be making it to our third wedding anniversary celebration, nor is it DCI Barnaby giving us a sense of closure by capturing the increasingly desperate Pinking Shears Slasher in the murder capital of Britain, Midsomer.

If anything, it leaves us with a sense of hopelessness – there is no silver lining (unless you count the shiny new bodies handed out by Missy), the afterlife has been breached and the dead are in pain. This is not a concept we were prepared for. This is not an idea we find palatable. This is cause for complaint.

As of writing, the BBC have received 124 complaints directly to the corporation with a further 9 submitted to Ofcom – all about the scene in Saturday’s Dark Water suggesting the bodies of the dead could feel pain while being cremated.

Their full response reads:

“Doctor Who is a family drama with a long tradition of tackling some of the more fundamental questions about life and death,” said the statement. “We were mindful of the themes explored in Dark Water and are confident that they are appropriate in the context of the heightened sci-fi world of the show.

The scene in which a character reveals 3W’s unconventional theory about the afterlife was preceded by the same character warning the Doctor and Clara several times that what they were about to hear could be distressing.

When the Doctor does hear these claims, he immediately pours scorn on them, dismissing them out of hand as a ‘con’ and a ‘racket’. It transpires that he is correct, and the entire concept is revealed to be a scam perpetrated by Missy.”

Here, context is everything. While it may seem strange that 124 complaints from a show that regularly has up to 7 million viewers has garnered a response from the BBC, those were direct complaints to a public body – they are duty bound to address them.

The more pertinent question would be: How do these numbers compare to other shows? How many direct complaints do other shows get? Is this out of the ordinary? What do numbers like these mean in the age of Twitter and Facebook?

In terms of death and drama, the most interesting point here is despite characters acting as proxies for our own concerns about the issue and explaining that it’s not only a gruesome idea but, as pointed out later, a bit of a scam; we still felt the urge to complain about it.

There are always going to be unpalatable themes but there’s no reason responsible dramatists shouldn’t be able to approach them and satisfy those two previously mentioned terms: longevity and dramatic conventions.

Doctor Who has always been even handed when it comes to presenting disturbing ideas in a tasteful, satisfying way – it just seems odd that we still feel the need to complain even when due care has been shown. That’s not to say its right to challenge viewers more that nothing should be off the table if it is handled tastefully and due care is shown.

An Ofcom spokesman also commented that the regulator was “assessing the complaints before deciding whether to investigate”.

So is the idea of the dead feeling pain too much for a Saturday night? Is it justified by the conventions of the genre? Were you perturbed by the idea?

(Via DrWhoNews.)

The post What The BBC Thinks About Dark Water Complaints appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Ten Well-Known Authors Who Have Penned Doctor Who Books

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.

One of the more noteworthy ways in which the Doctor Who extended universe has expanded in recent years has been the gathering of best selling authors who have put pen to paper to give their take on the series in print. It seems there’s no end to the list of successful writers who clearly harbour fond memories of the programme and are only too happy to pen a story for their favourite TARDIS crew, whichever era that may be.

Perhaps it’s something to do with the programme now having been around for so long that people under a certain age have grown up with it, but it’s a development that would have been unthinkable in the classic era (although I like to think that there’s a parallel universe where the likes of Frederick Forsyth, Barbara Cartland and Harold Robbins gave their take on, say, Hinchcliffe era gothic horror or late 70s Williams/Adams vintage whimsy).

People who have written for Doctor Who often comment afterwards on what a difficult format it is to write successfully for and it’s fair to say that, just because someone has a string of top credits to their name, it doesn’t necessarily follow that they’ll turn out Gallifreyan gold when it’s their turn to put words in the Doctor’s mouth (ahem, In the Forest of the Night, clears throat…).

So join us as we present the Kasterborous guide to those top well known authors who have taken up their pens to write Doctor Who books!

 Alastair Reynolds

A proper big name in British science fiction, Reynolds has a huge back catalogue of novels, novellas and short stories. With the Revelation in Space and Poseidon’s Children series to his name as well as standalone titles such as Century Rain and House of Suns, Reynolds has a reputation for hard SF but that didn’t stop him producing Harvest of Time, a novel featuring the Third Doctor complete with UNIT back-up.

Well received on its publication in 2013, the book was said to capture that early 1970s feel (complete with dastardly plan from the Master) extremely successfully.

Mark Gatiss

It’s worth remembering that, long before becoming one of the driving forces on Sherlock and his regular appearances in the Doctor Who credits, even before he and his League of Gentlemen colleagues were sending viewers to bed with some extremely disturbing images in their heads, Gatiss was strapped for cash, hoping against hope that his Doctor Who novels would be accepted to help him pay the rent. Perhaps best remembered of these is the New Adventures’ atmospheric Nightshade from 1992 which sees creatures from a Quatermass-inspired series somehow coming to life in late 1960s Britain.

Russell T Davies

Okay, okay, RTD is, of course, much better known as a screen writer rather than a published author but it’s worth casting your mind back to late 2003 when, with the return of Doctor Who just announced, fans were virtually trampling over each other to get hold of copies of his sole New Adventures effort Damaged Goods, so desperate were they to pick up clues was to what to expect from a series with the big Welshman at the helm.

And don’t forget The Writer’s Tale, which brought together his lengthy correspondence with Ben Cook to produce surely the most revealing behind-the-scenes Doctor Who book ever, one which showed Davies to be a much more complex, often melancholy figure than the cheerful, cheeky character we regularly saw promoting the series.

Paul Cornell

Ebook version from the BBC website, artwork by Daryl Joyce.

Another name from the New Adventures era, a good case can be made for naming his Human Nature as the most influential title to be published during all those years when the programme was off our screens. An examination of what happens when a Time Lord gives up the very thing which makes him what he is, the story would later be turned into a two-part classic for David Tennant’s Doctor full of loss, longing and characters unable to say who they really were or how they truly felt (I’m welling up just thinking of it, sniff…).

Cornell currently divides his time between writing highly regarded comic titles such as Captain Britain and his Shadow Police urban fantasy series of novels. High time this guy got to have another go at a Doctor Who script…

Eoin Colfer

A former primary school teacher, now best known for his sell ‘em by the truckload Artemis Fowl series, Colfer gave his take on the First Doctor in A Big Hand for the Doctor, the first of the 50th anniversary series of short stories first published as an ebook but later released in the Eleven Doctors, Eleven Stories collection.

Said by SFX to be “like an anime adaptation of the First Doctor’s era, hyper-paced, action-packed, but very funny”, Colfer’s contribution was felt by reviewers to be one of the better attempts in a not entirely successful series which saw big name writers penning a story for each of the Doctor’s incarnations in his special birthday year.

Michael Moorcock

Moorcock is one of the true big beasts of SF, hailed in 2008 by The Times as one of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945. He started writing as a teenager in the 1950s and has won a host of honours and awards over the years. His most popular works are probably the Elric of Melnibone series, which presents an anti-hero who contrasts with the tropes of fantasy fiction’s many clichés.

When it was announced that Moorcock would be writing The Coming of the Terraphiles, an Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond novel published in 2010, it was one of the first indications that writing Doctor Who books was now open to some very big literary names indeed.

Stephen Baxter

Doctor Who: The Wheel of Ice by Stephen Baxter

Just about the biggest name in British SF for a decade or more now, Baxter has done it all: hard SF, future history, alternate history, even a sequel to The Time Machine. Another writer with a mantelpiece groaning under the weight of his awards, since 2010 he’s produced a series of collaborations with Terry Pratchett.

His Doctor Who contribution was 2012′s The Wheel of Ice, a Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe story which saw a mining colony plagued by problems with strange creatures. The Doctor and his friends uncover a mystery which goes right back to the creation of the solar system…

Jenny Colgan

A writer of popular romantic comedy fiction, Colgan’s titles include Amanda’s Wedding, Sixteen Again and Operation Sunshine, so it may not seem that she’d be the most obvious candidate for writing duties for Doctor Who. But in fact she admits she badgered BBC Books to get the gig and, writing as JT Colgan, has produced full-length novel Dark Horizons and more recently the Time Trips short Into the Nowhere, both featuring Matt Smith’s Doctor. Such is her love of the show she even posed for a photo shoot with a Cyberman wearing a very stylish TARDIS-themed top (Jenny, not the Cyberman…). We like your style, Jenny.

Joanne Harris

Another name that may surprise some, the former modern languages teacher had her breakout hit with Chocolat, the novel later filmed starring Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche which was responsible for legions of holiday makers over-eating on trips to France. Her Time Trips instalment The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Time Traveller displays an impressive grasp of Doctor Who continuity, set as it is in the gap between the Third Doctor receiving that fatal dose of radiation on Metebelis 3 and his return to the home counties to collapse on the floor of his UNIT lab. Doctor Who Magazine has described it as ‘truly exceptional’.

Ben Aaronovitch

One of that generation of young writers who gave the programme a much needed shot in the arm in the late 1980s, Aaronovitch novelised his stand-out classic Remembrance of the Daleks and would go on to pen three New Adventures novels, one of which was co-written with Kate Orman.

A period writing scripts for cheap sci-fi soap Jupiter Moon was followed by some rather lean years during which he worked in a book shop and concluded that writing original novels was the way to go. In recent years he’s had a big hit with his Rivers of London series which features Peter Grant, London police officer and trainee wizard. A comic adaptation is expected next year.

That’s our list – but what do you think? Which authors have impressed you with their Doctor Who books? Give us your nominations below!

(Thanks to Novelicious Picks.)

The post Ten Well-Known Authors Who Have Penned Doctor Who Books appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

What’s Coming Up From Titan Comics: November/ December 2014

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.

The lovely folk at Titan Comics are doing a grand job with their Doctor Who comics: they’re exciting, they’re fresh, they’re well-plotted. And with three ongoing titles (and a limited miniseries starring the Ninth Doctor coming up next year too), they’ve not NewWho well and truly covered.

So what can we expect over the next month? Let’s find out…

The Twelfth Doctor #2

Written by Robbie Morrison, with art by Dave Taylor.

Journey beyond the astounding new series of the TV show with award-winning writer Robbie Morrison and New York Times bestselling artist Dave Taylor!

On a frozen planet spinning around a dying star, the Doctor and Clara stumble across the lone survivor of a species that once conquered the galaxy. Is it a prisoner? Cryogenically suspended pioneer? …Or something altogether more sinister?

Caught in a deadly mystery, Clara and the Doctor’s actions will have scorching repercussions for the universe!

Comes with three covers to collect – art cover by artist Coal Hill Wall (cover A), subscription photo cover (cover B) and a Clara photo cover (cover C).

Release Date: 19th November.

The Eleventh Doctor #5

Written by Al Ewing, with art by Boo Cook.

DYING SPACE STATION! SHAPESHIFTING HORROR! ALICE’S LAST BREATH?

Still trapped aboard the SERVEYOUinc research satellite, Alice and the Doctor must unravel the mystery of the creature codenamed ‘ARC’ – while staying one step ahead of its whisper-quiet rampage through the station!

But there’s something essential the Doctor’s missing – something he’s overlooked.

Can Alice help him see it, in time to save her life… or is the story of the Doctor’s favorite sarcastic library assistant doomed to end in the icy depths of space?

Writer Al Ewing (Loki: Agent of Asgard) and artist Boo Cook (2000AD, Elephantmen) invite you to a high-tech race against time, with everything to play for!

Comes with two covers to collect – art cover by artist Verity Glass (cover A) and a subscription photo cover (cover B).

Release Date: 3rd December.

The Tenth Doctor #5

Written by Nick Abadzis, with art by Elena Casagrande.

With the Doctor half the man he should be, under the draining influence of an alien tourist trap, Gabriella is left to shoulder the burden of saving him, the planet, and the future of art in our galaxy – and all on her first off-world trip, no less!

Trapped in a terrifying creative retreat, where what was once beautiful has been rendered corrupt and horrifying, is Gabby strong enough to reverse whatever has been done to the Doctor and save an intergalactic artistic community from itself? You’d better hope so!

And who, or what, are the deadly Consultants… and what plans do they have for the Doctor?!

Nick Abadzis and Elena Casagrande pull out all the stops for the latest explosive twist in the Tenth Doctor saga!

Comes with two covers to collect – art cover by artist Verity Glass (cover A) and a subscription photo cover (cover B).

Release Date: 10th December.

It all sounds great, doesn’t it? Kasterborous is very much enjoying Titan’s runs on each Doctor – keep an eye out for more reviews very soon!

The post What’s Coming Up From Titan Comics: November/ December 2014 appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

The Tenth Doctor #2 Reviewed: Getting to Know You!

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.

Every end is a new beginning, so they say! It’s never truer than when it is applied to the Doctor and his companions. After all, we say goodbye to one (and most of us shed a tear) only to be greeted with the replacement in short order (for us, anyway; narratively speaking, it is usually a longer period of time for the Doctor). If Titan’s Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #1 served as an introduction to Gabby and her life, then surely issue #2 begins again the age old song and dance between the Doctor and his Companion as we move into proper introductions between the Doctor and Gabby. Let’s recap the story, shall we? (Spoilers, sweetie! Read the issue before proceeding.)

We left off with Gabby being chased by a monster on a subway train. We pick up there as the Doctor arrives to help save her and begin the tumble down the rabbit hole, so to speak. He opens her eyes to the unseen world and she is introduced to the inhabitants of the Pyschosphere – the Pranavores and the Cerebravores. The former are relatively harmless and feed off good emotions. The later, not so much, feeding off of our bad emotions.

Oh, and they’re invisible to the naked eye.

To make matters worse, the Cerebravores have learned how to latch themselves to a human – hence Gabby’s monster assailant – and of course lead us to the Doctor’s investigation into them and their origins. The other aspect you may or may not care for with this story is the Doctor’s reluctance to open up to Gabby and keeping her at a distance. It felt very reminiscent of the Eleventh Doctor and Victorian Clara, or even slightly the Twelfth Doctor and Journey Blue. Given the losses at the end of Journey’s End, this isn’t all that surprising, but it does feel a bit off putting. The investigation keeps bringing them back together and leads to the Doctor learning that the portal these creatures have used to get into Gabby’s world is in the very laundromat that Gabby works at. The issue ends on a great cliffhanger – but we’ll leave you to discover exactly what that is.

This second installment of the Revolutions of Terror story arc is well written and feels truer to the Tenth Doctor era than issue #1 did. Nick Abadzis has crafted an interesting and engaging narrative and seems to have a good feel for the character of the Tenth Doctor. I look forward to seeing how that progresses. Gabby’s character development is also top notch and she is also extremely well written. It makes this reviewer wonder what it would be like to see her in Doctor Who proper. The artwork is also exquisite, especially the cover by Alice X. Zhang. As a long time comic reader, I had feared that perhaps the artwork wouldn’t match the scale of Doctor Who in live media and I am happy to find my fears were unwarranted. Casagrande and Florean are the artists for the second straight issue and they’ve done a great job of visualizing the story and the writing.

I am slightly disappointed with the use of laundry machines as entrance to alien sphere, and I’m not sure why. It is a very Who-esque plot device, and it’s not by far the worst there’s ever been (aliens hiding in farting human suits, anyone?). The show does take normal, mundane things and create wonder and terror through them, but something just doesn’t sit right with me; perhaps I’m drawing too literal a tie between them and the title of the arc, Revolutions of Terror. Perhaps it will grow on me as the story progresses.

All in all, this second installment is a great step in the right direction for this comic series. If the quality stays consistent, in both story and artwork, this is really going to be something fantastic. Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #2 is out now, priced $3.99.

The post The Tenth Doctor #2 Reviewed: Getting to Know You! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

What You Thought Of Doctor Who Finale Part 1, Dark Water

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.

Series 8 is nearly over and it’s been quite a ride. But nothing could have prepared us for Dark Water kicking off the series finale with that Big Reveal…

We saw Danny “die”, Clara taking control, and a Gallifreyan hard-drive posing as the afterlife. We were left with Cybermen swarming the streets of London, Clara trapped and Missy detonated one enormous Mystery Bomb in the Doctor’s face.

The Master has returned. And she’s SCOTTISH!

Oh and she’s a she. …Surprises are all well and good but how did Dark Water do in the ratings? The overnight viewing figures were up at 5.27 milllion compared to last week’s 5.03 million for In the Forest of the Night. In fact this is the highest overnights we’ve had barring the series opener, Deep Breath at 6.8 million.

Just over a fifth of the available TV audience were watching and the final figures (factoring in repeats and catch up) will be higher as will the BBC’s Live+7 that adds on iPlayer views. e usually see around 2 million added on and given the excitement around the finale word of mouth is sure to bump that up.

Votes for Women!

And what did viewers think? The Audience Appreciation figure (AI) is rated out of 100 and gives an indication of the average viewer’s enjoyment. Dark Water scored an AI of 85, which the BBC considers “excellent” – only two other stories in series 8 have had an AI that high – Jamie Mathieson’s winning streak of Mummy on the Orient Express and Flatline.

But what about YOU? The Kasterborous Appreciation Index (KAI) is a similar score out of 100 extrapolated from your poll votes. We can’t compare it directly to the general public’s AI but you gave it a KAI of 78.2 which was a whopping increase compared to last week’s KAI of 49.4 for In the Forest etc.. For a bit of context that puts it easily in your top 5 of the Twelfth Doctor’s run so far. We’ll take a look at the series as a whole after the final episodes votes are cast…

However there was a split – while the vast majority of you voted Dark Water as “Superb…” , there was a second small peak of 11% who thought it was “not good enough.” Going by the comments that had something to do with the Master’s new look…

Re-genderation…

Thanks to Gruff for coining that one. While it’s been dropped in to dialogue before, Dark Water was the first time we’ve actually seen a Time Lord/Lady played by an actor of a different sex to the one we’re used to.

Some of you loved it.

Some of you hated it.

Let’s be clear – the response to Dark Water was very positive. But for a some, it hit a raw nerve. Spleens were emptied and vitriol ran down the walls as you thrashed out sex, gender and character-identity…

My all-out favourite was Simon Magellan’s rejoinder to one contributor,

“You have succeeded in creating a complex argument based entirely on sand”

…which is impressive whoever you are. FrancoPabloDiablo (FPD) in particular was not a happy bunny,

“R.I.P The Master: 1971 – 2010. That was just a shocking cheap victory for the noisy minority of crazy militant feminists.”

Vortexer felt the casting of a woman was,

“…the final nail in the coffin of the universal Moriarty known as the Master. Steven Moffat you are insane. …we know have a female Mistress to make me feel sick in the mouth.”

Blimey! Some suggested that the kiss represented a sexual “frisson” that had long been there between the Master and the Doctor. One nay-sayer asked,

“Have I missed some sexual undertones since 1971? WTF?”

To which Al replied,

“Uh, actually, yes, very much you have… People have been playing the “ho yay” card (google it) since 2007.”

And good lord, he/she’s right!

Tempers flared and accusations were made – you even got a telling off from the Boss! On the more positive side, DonnaM (who is unfailingly always on the more positive side – I’m fast falling in love), said of the two leads,

“oh, we are so lucky to have those two! …the bond between the Doctor and Clara absolutely crackles. It’s neither romantic or sexual but it lights up the screen, and never more so than tonight”

And David F paid tribute to the writing behind the betrayal-forgiveness scenes,

“‘Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?’ This sentence punched me in the gut, and I welled up. All the Doctor-Clara tensions of the last three months, paid off in one genius line.”

The sex/gender debate raged on with some accusations of homophobia and sexism and even God cropped up! There were comments so inflamed they seemed to melt logic…

Clearly this topic brings out strong feelings in us and we’re glad that you’ve made efforts to listen to each other and to be respectful. We’re not so pleased about the name-calling – let’s keep it clean this Saturday. The best thing you can ever do when you disagree with someone is to try to understand why. Nicely.

The last word goes to FDP,

“…if nothing else, the debate this episode has sparked is at least exhilarating and a good thing. I vehemently disagree with a lot of what some people say and vice versa but that’s what it’s all about.”

Good lad.

Suck deeply on your orange slices, Kasterborites. It’s only half time…

The post What You Thought Of Doctor Who Finale Part 1, Dark Water appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Davison To Host Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular UK Dates

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.

Since 2012, the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular has been delighting audiences in Australia and New Zealand with the music of Doctor Who from composer Murray Gold. The show featured many fan favourites and also saw appearances from various Doctor Who villains like Daleks and Cybermen, as well as messages from the cast along with a number of videos of scenes from the show that were synced to the music.

Due to popular demand – I daresay sold out shows indicate how popular the events were – the Spectacular is coming back in the New Year, and this time, not just Down Under! The BBC has confirmed that not only will the show play in Australia and New Zealand, but that it will also tour the UK!

As previously announced, Peter Davison will be hosting the Spectacular in Australia and New Zealand, which will again include many fan favourites, new and classic footage, and some specially edited footage of new Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi’s debut.

 

If this wasn’t enough, the BBC have now also confirmed that Davison will continue to host the show when it hits the UK! The UK shows will feature the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and members of the BBC National Chorus of Wales. It will be conducted by Ben Foster.

Dates Down Under include stops in Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, and Auckland. Dates in the UK will stop in London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, and Glasgow. Check out these places listed for information on how to purchase tickets.

Can an American hope that maybe in 2016 they might bring the show to the US too? I’d LOVE to be able to attend and I know some non-Whovians that would love to be part of a night of good music and entertainment!

(via DoctorWhoTV)

The post Davison To Host Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular UK Dates appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Doctor Who: The Exxilons Cover Unveiled!

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.

It’s a pretty great week to be a Whovian. In the middle days between what has been and appears to be an incredible Series 8 send off, there is other excellent happenings around the fandom. Not of the least of them, Big Finish is beginning to pull back the curtain and give us a glimpse of what they’ve got in store for us in 2015.

Today, we share with you the cover and details from the first story in the Fourth Doctor range, Doctor Who: The Exxilons.

Here’s a taste of what the Doctor, Leela, and K9 will be up to:

“Planet E9874 supports a developing civilisation known as the Tarl. The peaceful, technologically advanced Locoyuns are helping the Tarl develop rudimentary technology. What could be more innocent than that? When the Doctor, Leela and K9 arrive, they find the delicate balance in the relationship between the two cultures reaching an unexpected crisis point. The spears are flying and the threat of all-out war is in the air. The Doctor must use all his guile to tread a careful path with Tarl leader Ergu, while Leela and K9 discover an ancient power of unimaginable strength which threatens to tear the minds out of its victims.”

All in all, it appears to be a solid start to next year’s Fourth Doctor range. The audio is set to release in January, but is available for preorder now.

What say you, dear reader? Will you be checking out Doctor Who: The Exxilons? Let us know!

The post Doctor Who: The Exxilons Cover Unveiled! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Doctor Who Finale: Master/Missy Flip Splits The PodKast!

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.

A two-part Doctor Who season finale?! It’s like the halcyon days of the RTD era, with Cybermen and the Master wandering around, isn’t it?

Except, of course, the Master has a new name, and a brand new look, and the Kasterborous team isn’t quite unanimous on the gender switching of the Doctor’s Time Lord rival. Join Christian Cawley, Brian Terranova and James McLean as the discuss Dark Water, the Master/Missy transition and give their recommendations for stuff to enjoy between episodes.

Kasterborous PodKast Series 4 Episode 39 Shownotes

Dark Water review
Dark Water Poll results
Ben Miller at Nor-Con
Recommendations: Eighth Doctor adventures Zagreus through The Next Life, Neighbours vs Zombies, NaNoWriMo

Introduction by John Guilor; podKast theme by Russell Hugo.

Listen to the PodKast

There are several ways to listen. In addition to the usual player above, we’re pleased to announce that you can also stream the podKast using Stitcher, an award-winning, free mobile app available for Android and iPhone/iPad. This pretty much means that you can listen to us anywhere without downloading – pretty neat, we think you’ll agree! (Note that it can take a few hours after a new podKast is published to “catch up”.)

What’s more, you can now listen and subscribe to the podKast via our Audioboo channel! Head to http://audioboo.fm/channel/doctorwhopodkast and click play to start listening. You can also comment and record your own boos in response to our discussions! Meanwhile you can use the player below to listen through Audioboo:

You haven’t clicked play yet?! What are you waiting for? As well as our new Stitcher and Audioboo presence you can also use one of these amazingly convenient ways to download and enjoy this week’s podKast.

Use the player in the top right of the Kasterborous home page, or visit the podKast menu link.
Listen with the “pop out” player above, which also allows you to download the podKast to your computer.
You can also take advantage of the RSS feed to subscribe to the podKast for your media player, and even find us on iTunes, where your reviews will help the show considerably.

The post Doctor Who Finale: Master/Missy Flip Splits The PodKast! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

The Tenth Doctor #4 by Titan Comics Out Now!

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.

The new ongoing comic series starring David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor storms ahead with new companion, Gabriella Gonzalez’s first trip in the TARDIS.

Looks like he’s doing to her what he did to Martha Jones, however: just one trip and then home again!

Written by Nick Abadzis with interior art by Elena Casagrande, here’s what you can expect:

In exchange for the invaluable assistance she offered defending New York – and to say sorry for dropping into her life like a tornado! – the Doctor has promised Gabby one trip – just one trip! – in the TARDIS.

With the whole universe laid before her, all of time and space, where will Gabriella Gonzalez choose to go? What will they find when they get there… and can one trip in the TARDIS ever be enough?

More importantly, the Tenth Doctor has been hurt by the fate of his companions before – and recently! With Donna still fresh in his mind, can Gabby convince him that he shouldn’t travel alone, for just a little while longer?

Nick Abadzis and Elena Casagrande take the new Tenth Doctor era to the next level!

Plus: every packed issue includes bonus humour strip content!

There are three covers to collect too: the main one by Verity Glass (and it’s a beaut), a subscription photo variant, and a final one by Casagrande.

Priced $3.99 (about £2.65 from Forbidden Planet in the UK), The Tenth Doctor #4 is out today!

The post The Tenth Doctor #4 by Titan Comics Out Now! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.