Christian Cawley's Blog, page 199

Why Are Space Elevator Singing About Doctor Who?

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.

The skin-tight PVC catsuit is an under-represented item in modern si-fi and fantasy’s televisual wardrobe. Since the futuristic stylings of Emma Peel in The Avengers and our own Zoe Heriot in a particularly daring 60s number (sequins), the humble catsuit has been sorely neglected…

Righting this wrong is sassy Rock songstress, The Duchess who fronts the band Space Elevator. The group is formed from ex-members of the West End musical, We Will Rock You which came to an end earlier this year after an impressive twelve-year run at the Dominion theatre. They claim past involvement with such legendary figures as Brian May (Queen), Eric Clapton and Black Sabbath.

It takes a special person to *rock* talc-and-shoehorn gear and she most certainly is. In an article in the Oxford Mail she talks about her love of the show and lists music stars who are fans including Meatloaf and Noel Gallagher. Music inspired by the series is touched on from the classic “One of These Days” by Pink Floyd to the less salubrious “I’m Gonna Spend My Christmas With A Dalek”. Duchess describes the former as having a bass line “that hits you in the groin”. I’ve always thought good music should have a beat that hits you in the face but she might be on to something… Takes a while to warm up though – cut to 3m35s for an alieny sounding voice and the Who-like base:

“Doctorin’ the TARDIS” is “fun but naff”… True say, Duchess:

We previewed Space Elevator’s track, “I Will Find You (Gallifrey Dreams)” some months back and hot on the heels of Series 8 they have just released the single on iTunes for 99p and at a whopping 5:25 it’s a proper song like songs used to be before they started being made by robots and voting…

It seems The Duchess is a true devotee of the Doctor, growing up with the show and dedicating this song to the wandering Time Lord. In fact the band think this is the THE FIRST LOVE SONG ever written exclusively to the Doctor. After a quick mind probe (still recovering) I think they might be right! Anyone find other suitors to the title?

And she shares some Gallifreyan qualities with the Doctor, not least her choice of a singular title not unlike Doctor, Master, Omega or The Monk! In fact she seems to have hit upon a shared trait amongst Time Lords and rock stars who’ve taken on a mononymous cipher – Prince, Madonna, Cher and Sting come to mind…

Check out the new video above and if it’s your cup of cha, head over to iTunes and show them some love. The full album is also available on CD and Vinyl. More importantly – are there any other love songs addressing our hero? The closest I can think of is Jon Pertwee’s I Am The Doctor. And might there be a line of Gallifreyan renegades hammering out classic tunes in a secretive Earth-bound exile?

Is the Duchess in fact the Rani…? And if she is, then just who is Missy?

More of their tracks can be found at their official website, www.spaceelevatorband.com.

The post Why Are Space Elevator Singing About Doctor Who? appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Doctor Who Series 8 Guest at NOR-CON!

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.

News reaches us from Norwich that it’s almost time for the city’s premier sci-fi event – NOR-CON is coming!

And, in a coup for the organisers, Ben Miller will be making his first appearance at a Doctor Who signing - the day after his appearance as the Sheriff of Nottingham in episode 3 of the new series, Robot of Sherwood!

Taking place at the Holiday Inn, Norwich Airport on Sunday September 7th 2014, NOR-CON aims to please all lovers of TV, film, sci-fi, fantasy and comics whilst raising money for some great causes, both locally and nationwide.

So what else is there to look forward to besides the Sheriff? Well, other guests with Who links are Dan Starkey (Strax) and Kai Owen (Rhys in Torchwood), who are both always good value at this kind of thing.

Collectors of rare items of memorabilia will be interested in the charity auction, with the standout lot being the Doctor Who ‘Signature Diary’, packed with dozens of autographs by the programme’s stars including Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman and Tom Baker. The book, described as ‘a definite wanna have object for the serious Whovian’, has taken two years to fill and includes signatures of no less than seven Doctors and way too many companions to count!

Notable non-Doctor Who guests to look out for include Chris Barrie (Red Dwarf) and Alice Krige (Star Trek), and those who were children, students or just hungover in front of the TV on a Saturday morning in the 1990s won’t want to miss Trev and Simon, late of Going Live! and Live and Kicking.

Other attractions besides the usual photo shoots, signings and Q&A sessions include a Cosplay party on the evening of Saturday 6th September, Cosplay competition on the day of the convention, and a chance to have your photo taken in the TARDIS control room (green screen trickery may be involved).

Tickets can be bought from NOR-CON’s website (£9 adults, £5 children online, rising to £10/£6 on the door).

The folks at NOR-CON have been doing sterling work to raise money for charities for five years now, and if you’re in the area it’s sure to be a great event, well worth your support.

(With thanks to Mark)

The post Doctor Who Series 8 Guest at NOR-CON! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Coyness, Excitement, Love, Music & TARDIS Toilets

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.

Kasterborites! Today’s news blast comes complete with coy rumours, sweary Doctors and even a very special convenience from somewhere in time and space (Bristol).

Coy Clara

First up, shortly before wowing us all with a stellar performance in Deep Breath (seriously, how good was she?) Jenna Coleman sat herself down on the This Morning sofa where she continued to play coy with the rumour that she’ll be departing the TARDIS this Christmas: “The truth is, I don’t want to tell you the truth,” Coleman said.

“I quite like these rumours. People don’t have any idea [if I'm staying or going]. I think people can watch the show, not knowing whether I am [going] or not, and I think that’s exciting.”

Speaking about working with new Doctor Peter Capaldi, Coleman claimed that her new leading man had a “glimpse of naughtiness”, and that the pair had been laughing continually since the third day on set.

Peter Capald-Squee

He might just be settling into the character of the Doctor but, when confronted by the sight of a Dalek on set (for this week’s Into the Dalek), Peter Capaldi suddenly came over all Malcolm Tucker once again. Speaking to the New York Times about his favourite moment from Series 8, Capaldi said: “I actually swore with delight!”

The Twelfth Doctor also went on to elaborate on the new dynamic between himself and Jenna Coleman’s Clara: “They sort of hurt each other in a way I haven’t seen them do before and they can’t understand why.”

Coleman also added that the new Doctor was ‘unapologetic’ and despite being joyful, he lacked ‘patience’ to continue saving the world in quite the same way; which if you just happen to be a clockwork droid, you’ve already had quite the hands on demonstration.

Moffat Loves Fans

You people are amazing. No, really. Don’t take my word for; ask Steven Moffat – who’s been gushing in this video from the US premiere about just how stunning your Doctor Who inspired fan art, fiction, videos, and title sequences. In fact, he reckons you’re some of the most talented, unique viewers in all of Tellyland, and we just happen to agree!

Porta-Blue Box

How do you go the toilet in the TARDIS? Well first you travel to Bristol where a TARDIS-style toilet has appeared alongside a café on the Bristol to Bath cycle path.

The toilet, which materialised outside the Warmley’s Waiting Room Café after the public toilets opposite were closed for three weeks last summer, is the brain child of owner Justin Hoggans: “We thought, if we’re going to have it let’s make a feature of it.”

The toilet comes complete with all amenities plus something a little extra (no, not time travel with a hint of pine): “We’ve got a doorbell we can press in the cafe that makes the sound go off, so we do it when someone’s having their photograph taken outside – which is quite often,” said Mr Hoggans. “The light is operated off a motion sensor so as someone goes into the toilet, the lights inside and on top of the box go on to indicate the toilet’s in use.”

So if you happen to be a companion of the Doctor and the light atop the box suddenly glows; I’d give it five minutes.

Steve Thompson’s (Not That One) Dubstep Who Theme

And finally, how about some music? More importantly, how about some music and lasers? Even more importantly, how about some music, lasers and Doctor Who? Well, get ready to tick all those boxes with this, a dubstep Doctor Who theme performed by legendary laser harp musician Steve Thompson.

Steve originally performed his rendition at the Geek House Grand Opening Extravaganza for Geektopia and now, he’s made it available to purchase now from iTunes, Amazon and a host of other services in aid of the Geek House Wall of Fame fundraiser.

The post Coyness, Excitement, Love, Music & TARDIS Toilets appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

So Just Who Is Missy, Gatekeeper of the Nethersphere?

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.

The game is afoot!

One of the best/ worst things about Moffat’s writing, depending on what kind of viewer you are, is the complexity he works into his stories. Some feel the mysteries themselves are better than the eventual pay-off, some live for the intrigue! One thing you can say about the Grand Moff is he certainly plans ahead – and I’m already sucked in…

Peter Capaldi’s debut episode, Deep Breath, aired Saturday and was packed with new mysteries. Top of the list is the identity of “Missy”, who welcomed the aptly named half-face-man to “Heaven” at the end of the episode…

There’s a precedent for a cameo from mysterious women foreshadowing perils-to-come. Back in Series 4, Rose made a surprise appearance at the end of the first episode, Partners in Crime. She cropped up several times throughout the series before returning from a parallel universe for the Dalek-fuelled finale. Then there was Madame Kovarian in Series 6, who kidnapped a pregnant Amy in order to train her daughter as the perfect assassin. She kept popping up in break-through hallucinations that Amy’s remote avatar had when Corvarian spoke to the real Amy – a sedated captive. Not at all mysterious!

In fact Moffat has a real thing for mysterious women driving the plot – arguably both River Song with her “spoilers” and Clara as the Impossible Girl appearing in various different times and places were similar devices. It looks like Michelle Gomez, stand-up comic and actress of Green Wing fame is another such teaser. So what do we know about Missy so far?..

She welcomed a partly-human clockwork droid to a place she called “Heaven” and “paradise” after he landed awkwardly on the spire of Big Ben’s clock tower. She knew about the Doctor, knew he had either pushed half-face-man or convinced him to jump, and referred to the Doctor as her “boyfriend.” She also sounds Scots, likes his new accent and says “I might keep it”. So whoever she is she’s been keeping tabs from afar.

From the official synopses we know her character is called the “Gatekeeper of the Nethersphere” and she plays an important role in the finale two-parter Dark Water/ Death in Heaven alongside the Cybermen. And from last night’s teaser we know she does *bonkers* as only the wonderful Michelle Gomez can. So let’s take the bait and go THEORY MAD…

1. Mistress/Master

Missy is a recurring character from way back in the show’s history and top of the list is The Master. The idea is that if the Master took on female form, he might refer to himself as The Mistress (despite the slightly naughty connotations) it’s a short Scots hop to “Missy”. Hmm, perhaps.

The theories go further to suggest that “Heaven” with its circular ornamental garden might be the control room of the Master’s -sorry- the Mistress’s TARDIS. There is a precedent for this kind of thing. Perhaps the Master/ Mistress has set up a fake “Heaven” for duping people into thinking they’re in the afterlife as part of some of some appropriately devilish scheme. TARDISes have been used to create controlled environments before especially in the Virgin New Adventures published in the 90s which inspired a lot of NuWho. In Blood Heat the Doctor materialised his TARDIS around the whole of the Earth and in Interference it transpired that the junkyard the TARDIS first appeared in in Totters Lane was in fact a TARDIS belonging to a Time Lord named I.M. Foreman (!)..

Anyhow, the Master/ Mistress theory gets a Kasterborous red-card. This is too easy for Moffat, and we know he prefers to create his own mythos and ideas for the show rather than to hark back. Move along…

2. Could she be the Rani?

Renegade Timelord and amoral scientific genius who exploits “lesser races” for her own nefarious ends. The Sixth and Seventh Doctors fought her back in the Classic series when she was played by the late Kate O’Mara, oozing 80s glamour from every pore. The Rani might fit the bill – she’s a lady Timelord, though we know that Gallifreyans can change gender when they regenerate so that needn’t sway us. The problem is fans of old have been shouting “Rani!” every time a mysterious woman appears in Doctor Who – and there have been a few…

This gets another K-red card. If the Rani was returning, Big Finish almost certainly would not be allowed to bring the character back in their own audios. Siobhan Redmond is due to re-create the role on audio this December in Rani Elite.

3. River Song.

Yes the forums are buzzing with RIVER ALERT. The lovers and the haters are champing at the bit… Is this a sinister version of the Eleventh Doctor’s Mrs Robinson? In favour: She referred to the Doctor as her “boyfriend” (husband, surely?), at a time when he’s pointing out that he’s too old and alien to be a squeeze for a mere human – is Missy someone who might have a more legitimate claim to being his better half? Someone closer to a Time Lord than human?

Those putting this theory forward point out that River’s final resting place was the Library database where she exists as a digital consciousness. She and her archeology pals were last seen all wearing white in a sort of stately home simulated Paradise in angelic whites. Could she have turned evil and converted the Library into a sort of e-Afterlife, collecting lost souls and amassing a “Nethersphere” army? The Doctor did kinda abandon River. And she was originally brain-washed into wanting to kill him. Could her murderous programming have been reactivated after years trapped in the Library?

Again, I call foul. Moff is trying to move away from the romance side of things with Capaldi’s Doctor and what can be gained from returning to a character that he’s just finished with? To bring River back to explain where an evil bonkers lady has come from seems completely unnecessary. Backward rather than forward. She’s as likely to be the little girl from the library. No.

4. Is Missy not his “other half” but his other half?

Might she be a Dreamlord-style amalgamation of everything evil in the Doctor? It’s been hypothesised that she might be the sum of all the Doctor’s past misdemeanours – apparently based on the line that it’s time he did something about all the mistakes he’s made over 2000 years. My feelings in brief are: 1) Yaaaawn, 2) already been done (Dreamlord, Valeyard, the “dark side” of the Doctor’s mind in a skin-tight leotard from The Three Doctors). As theories go it’s a bit under-developed. How did these mistakes combine to make a demon-nanny custodian of the pearly gates?! Not enough to go on. This theory FAILS.

5. Cyberspace

We know, again from official filming photos, that Missy is somehow involved with the Cybermen in the series finale. Is the Netherspere somehow linked to the Cybermen? A part of the Cyberiad hive-mind or waiting station before being full convertion? Could Missy be left-over from Mr Clever in Neil Gaiman’s Nightmare in Silver?.. An insane yet calculating recruitment consultant for the Cyberiad? I’m again skeptical about this one. Who tradition would have the Cybermen teaming up with someone independent with mutual backstabbing intent.

So let’s summarise. Moff might be bringing something old back, but he tends to create new characters and ideas. Missy knows a lot about the Doctor. She is linked to a place called the Nethersphere which is somehow related to the idea of an afterlife and may be linked to the Cybermen. There’s also the possibility that her character will solve another mystery. Way back in The Bells of St John, modern-day-Clara phoned the Eleventh Doctor in the 13th century, to get some Internet advice. When asked where she got the number for the TARDIS from she said…

“The woman in the shop wrote it down. It’s a help line isn’t it? She said it’s the best helpline out there – in the Universe, she said.”

Hmm. In Deep Breath the Twelfth Doctor brought this woman up again and implied she was the same person that planted the Impossible Girl advert which got Clara and the Doctor to meet at the Clockwork Droid’s organ-donating restaurant. Might Missy be an arch-manipulator behind both events? Why would she be so keen to keep the Doctor and Clara together?

We also have a quote from the finale synopsis:

“You betrayed me. You betrayed my trust, our friendship, and everything I’ve ever stood for. You let me down.”

But we don’t know exactly who says this. Is it the Doctor addressing Missy – might she be someone from his past who we’d never come across before? Or is that Missy addressing the Doctor? We know he’s made “many mistakes” in the past and might Missy be mounting her revenge for a wrongdoing far in the Doctor’s past? Is she in league with the Cybermen? Is she manipulating them too? And what does she want with half-face-man? Is she recruiting those who die by the Doctor’s actions or inactions, massing an army with a ready made vendetta against him?

Two things are certain. It looks like the relationship between Clara and the Doctor has more behind it yet and there is a lot that has happened in those 2000 years that we don’t know about…

But enough of my wild fantasies – what do you think Kasterborites? Who, when, why and how – tell us your thoughts below.

The post So Just Who Is Missy, Gatekeeper of the Nethersphere? appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Into The Dalek Image Gallery Released!

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.

Following the previously released trailer and synopsis, we’ve got a collection of images from Doctor Who Series 8′s second episode Into the Dalek, written by Phil Ford and Steven Moffat.

The gallery can be viewed via our Facebook Page, below.

Post by Kasterborous Doctor Who News.

Into the Dalek features the first appearance of Samuel Anderson as Danny Pink, who will be joining Peter Capaldi’s Doctor and Jenna Coleman in the TARDIS for adventures in Series 8 (so we’re lead to believe…)

The post Into The Dalek Image Gallery Released! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Press Reaction To Peter Capaldi’s Debut in Deep Breath

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.

The reviews are in, and the critics have had their say on Capaldi’s debut in Deep Breath. Time to find out what those who are paid to give their opinions think of the new Doctor and the show’s new era.

Four stars from The Telegraph, with Michael Hogan full of praise for Capaldi:

“A blend of Doctor Doolittle and Sherlock Holmes, he crackled with fierce intelligence and nervous energy. Whether riding a horse in his pyjamas or dismissing Earth as “planet of the pudding brains”, he was a class act. His unpredictable air added dramatic tension. Twice he abandoned Clara and it was uncertain whether he would come back for her.”

“In some ways, this episode resembled Moffat’s other show, Sherlock, with its twisting plot, cryptic newspaper ads and London landmarks. Although the pace sagged in places, as a debut for a new Doctor it worked well with some old-style behind-the-sofa scares and sly humour… It all augurs well for Capaldi’s stint at the control console of that famous blue box. A Doctor who is older than the show itself? It adds another dimension. About time.”

In The Observer, Euan Ferguson echoed both the plaudits for Capaldi and the doubts about the story:

“This was a wise and thoughtful opening gambit from Moffat, and from the wonderful Capaldi – if you can utterly disregard the demented plot. Granted, this might be like saying “apart from that, 6 August was a typically pleasant day in Hiroshima”, but the underlying, and cleverer, theme was of age, and ageing, and looks, and perception, very nicely summed up when Clara (Jenna Colman, in a performance of great nuance if you can forget that last faux-Scots diphthong) asks the pretty lesbian lizard-lady, “When did you suddenly stop wearing that veil?

Peter Capaldi absolutely failed to nail the character completely, and for that we should be immensely heartened.

“Capaldi has spoken now of his desire to fail to nail the character completely, to instead imbue it with a sense of freshly wayward surprise. In this opener, he absolutely failed to nail the character completely, and for that we should be immensely heartened, given how much good it bodes for the rest of the series (and I am looking forward in particular to the Frank Cottrell Boyce episode about trees).”

SFX’s Dave Golder writes on his blog that the episode “was overlong and a bit flabby” but is intrigued to see where Capaldi’s Doctor is heading:

“I like this uncertainty. It’s thrown me out of my comfort zone and it makes me genuinely curious about where the show is going. Plus, if Moffat has the balls to go against the pretty-boy young Doctor flow and cast Capaldi, I also trust him to let Capaldi off the leash. What’s the point in casting him, otherwise?”

“I keep wondering, though, if in a classic piece of Moffat misdirection, Capaldi may the first Doctor with a built-in expiration date? I’m not saying I’d want that, but it wouldn’t surprise me.”

SFX’s Nick Setchfield notes a change of tone for the series:

““Deep Breath”. Is it a title? Or a statement of intent? Armed with “attack eyebrows” and a taste for the grisly, the Peter Capaldi era arrives with a tale that delivers a literal change of pace for Doctor Who, trading the giddy, pirouetting, breathless energy of Matt Smith for something slower, darker, altogether more considered – a tumbler of fine Scots whisky in place of a long, tall glass of pop.”

“There’s a sense in which this feels like a restatement for Doctor Who, a return to earlier principles, to the dark teatime shudder of the early Tom Baker era. The gaslit Victoriana helps, of course – hello, “The Talons Of Weng-Chiang” – but there’s a newfound edge to the threat, a blood and thunder sincerity powering this ripping yarn.”

Den of Geek’s Simon Brew says Capaldi is “really rather great”:

“It’s too early to call definitely, of course, but on the evidence of the (surprisingly) limited screen time he’s given in Deep Breath, Capaldi is the Doctor we wanted him to be. Steeped in the tradition of the older Doctors, from his costume to his demeanour – noting himself that he’s not got a very long scarf – he’s a slower, slightly grumpier, and far less romantic Doctor. As a consequence, he feels a less predictable one. When he says to Clara at the end “I’m not your boyfriend”, that noise you heard was a bunch of hardened Who fans clapping their hands.”

Radio Times‘s Patrick Mulkern reckons Capaldi is “terrific throughout” and that Jenna Coleman “proves she’s a natural, with impeccable comic timing, great at chippy dialogue” but has his doubts about the Matt Smith cameo:

“Did you blub? Or did you feel, as I did, that this moment subtly renders Smith the interloper, the old man, yesterday’s Doctor?”

Did this moment render Smith the interloper, the old man, yesterday’s Doctor?

Heading over the pond, Variety’s Geoff Berkshire thinks switching to an older Doctor won’t be an issue:

“What Capaldi lacks in youthful energy, he more than makes up for in gravitas and wry eccentricity, whether marveling at his “independently cross” eyebrows or gleefully embracing his Scottish accent as a license to complain. And, since being fiftysomething isn’t what it used to be, Capaldi eagerly throws himself into the action, confirming his Doctor won’t miss a beat when it comes to a smashing fight or chase sequence.”

The LA Times’s Mary McNamara is pleased to see the episode confront one of the essential home truths about the Doctor:

“And there it is, right up front, what so many previous episodes have danced around. The Doctor is a Time Lord, more than 2,000 years old. He has saved humanity countless times but he has also killed and banished and damned. He has (or thought he had) destroyed his own planet for the good of the universe.”

It seems the critics are united in praise for the show’s leads, intrigued by the different direction the programme is heading, if doubtful about the storyline we were presented with.

But enough from them! What did you think of Deep Breath?

The post Press Reaction To Peter Capaldi’s Debut in Deep Breath appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

3 Unmissable Doctor Who T-Shirts Today Only At RIPT Apparel!

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 is a trio of Doctor Who t-shirts that you will not want to miss, available today only from RIPT Apparel!

The designs are “The Monolith” “Who Loves Rose” and “The Crack in the Wall” by illustrators alex.pawlicki and cs3ink and wirdou. They each cost just $10 plus shipping and are also available as posters, placemats, hoodies and more. T-shirts are sized for men, women and children.

Here are the designs:

The Monolith

Who Loves Rose

The Crack in the Wall

Don’t miss this offer, which ends at 12 midnight PST!

The post 3 Unmissable Doctor Who T-Shirts Today Only At RIPT Apparel! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Next Time On Doctor Who: Into The Dalek

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.

You may have already seen the trailer for the second episode of Doctor Who Series 8, Into the Dalek, but if not, here it is again!

Written by Phil Ford and Steven Moffat, and again directed by Ben Wheatley, the episode introduces Samuel Anderson as Danny Pink. In case you missed the earlier synopsis, here it is again:

A Dalek fleet surrounds a lone rebel ship, and only the Doctor can help them now…

With the Doctor facing his greatest enemy, he needs Clara by his side. Confronted with a decision that could change the Daleks forever, he is forced to examine his conscience. Will he find the answer to the question ‘Am I a good man?

Into the Dalek stars Peter Capaldi as the Doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara, with Laura dos Santos , Ben Crompton, Bradley Ford, Michelle Morris, Nigel Betts and Ellis Ford. Barnaby Edwards moves Daleks and Nicholas Briggs voices them!

The post Next Time On Doctor Who: Into The Dalek appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Billy Hanshaw Discusses New Doctor Who Title Sequence

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.

There’s an applause-worthy moment in The Five(-ish) Doctors Reboot where Sylvester McCoy pauses the action and asks fellow former Doctor Peter Davison, “Why are we doing this?” At first, Davison seems perplexed.

Then, he realizes the obvious answer and resolutely states, “For the fans!” Well, now that seems to have gone both ways, as the new opening titles sequence for Series 8 was designed by one of those very fans!

Whovians have contributed to the show before, of course, from teenager Andrew Smith’s script being used for 1981′s Full Circle, to the design for Love & Monsters‘ Abzorbaloff, to even the devices seen used by the Paternosters in Deep Breath. But, with respect to Strax’s magnifier, arguably the biggest fan contribution came at the beginning of last Saturday night’s show.  With the new Doctor came new fancy opening titles–designed by 46-year-old Billy Hanshaw of Leeds–with their clock gears, swirling Roman numerals, and time-bending TARDIS. As we all witnessed, it marked a unique and different take on the show’s introductory 40 seconds– in with time, and out with space. (It can also be argued that the clockwork gears and sprockets theme also fit in nicely with the revealed villains of Peter Capaldi’s first full episode.)

Above, Billy Hanshaw talks to BBC News about the new Doctor Who title sequence, in a clip that begins with his original version.

Hanshaw, besides being a fan, is a professional designer of motion graphics. He posted his video last September, and made his version of the titles to show off some of his skills to potential clients. As we now know, it ended up doing more than that… like completely winning over head honcho Steven Moffat.  “Hanshaw created this title sequence, put it up on YouTube,” Doctor Who executive producer Steven Moffat explained at a recent fan event in New York. “I happened across it, and it was the only new title idea I’d seen since 1963. We got in touch with him, and said, ‘OK, we’re going to do that one.’”

A few changes were made to Hanshaw’s original video, including the deletion of the Seal of Rassilon titles motif (sadly) and the Doctor’s fob watch (made famous during David Tennant’s Series 3) which was shown before and after the trip through the cogs and gears. Additions include a different font for the actors’ credits and Peter Capaldi’s eyes (and independence-seeking eyebrows?) appearing in space right before the close of the titles.  But the clock theme and most of the timey visuals remain the same.  “The Doctor is a Time Lord, he’s not a Space Lord,” Mr. Hanshaw reasons.  “A lot of people have said that cogs and clocks are an obvious metaphor to use. But if it’s so obvious, why hasn’t it be done before?”

Hanshaw is right, but it’s still a bit sad that the opening used in Series 7 has been put away so soon. It was an exciting voyage through space–with planets, asteroids, and exploding sparks–and re-established the classic theme of putting the current Doctor’s face in the titles, with Matt Smith’s face emerging from the stars and space clouds. But with a new Doctor, a new year, and a new series, has to come new credits.

On a personal note, I like the new opening titles. I saw Hanshaw’s video several months ago on YouTube, and although they didn’t win me over completely at the time because of their clocky uniqueness, I was impressed by Hanshaw’s ideas and skills. Like the designer says, the “time” aspect of the Doctor’s travels had never really been explored in the openings, well, outside of the “time tunnel” of the Tom Baker years and the “jetting TARDIS” through the vague timey-wimey reds and blues of the Russell T. Davies era.

What do you think, Kasterborites? Do you like the new “timey” opening titles or do you yearn for more “space”?

The post Billy Hanshaw Discusses New Doctor Who Title Sequence appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Watch The PodKast Live Right Now!

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.

Press play above to watch this week’s podKast, live, as we discuss Doctor Who Series 8 opener Deep Breath and Peter Capaldi’s first appearance as the Doctor!

Recorded on Sunday, 24th August it features Christian Cawley, Brian A. Terranova and James McLean and comments from some of the Doctor Who fans who watched us on Hangouts or on YouTube.

The usual audio podKast will be along in due course, essentially a trimmed down audio version of the live webcast.

To everyone who viewed and messaged us, a big thank you!

The post Watch The PodKast Live Right Now! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.