Christian Cawley's Blog, page 235

You Deserve Better, Doctor Who Fans

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.

Running a website these days is insane. With a bulging inbox, a team of contributors to manage and 24 hours in a day you might think that it’s actually quite simple; not so. Some days there is a lot of news, while on others, there isn’t so much, and this can wreak havoc on our content levels.

Over the past few years we’ve been enjoying increasingly high reader numbers, but it’s all been a bit of a rush. Very often running Kasterborous is very fulfilling, such as when we record the podKast. Just as often, however, it seems a little empty and vapid. Over the past few years we’ve found ourselves dealing with more and more news, sometimes to the detriment of giving you something decent to read.

With 50 years of madmen in boxes to talk about, this really shouldn’t happen.

So, we’ve come to a decision: we’re pulling back on the news content. We’ll still be bringing you regular daily updates, but they will largely be in summary form, single posts accompanied by more varied content elsewhere on Kasterborous.

When we founded the site in 2005, the aim was to give our readers something interesting to read. We’ve been producing feature-style articles in Kasterborous Magazine: now it’s time to produce them for Kasterborous.com!

Over the coming days, you’ll see a reduction in single news items as we prepare to refocus the site. We’re really excited about this, so look out for some great new articles.

The post You Deserve Better, Doctor Who Fans appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Reviewed: Doctor Who – The Evil One

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

Some Doctor Who stories are so ambitious in plot that it’s a wonder they ever get delivered to our doors for us to devour. Some Doctor Who adventures are so small and introspective that it’s hard to believe that any budget was really needed to make them (apart from the salary for the actors performing). The Evil One lands in a firm position between these two camps as it takes broad, embracing set pieces in part one to heavy, drama ridden rooms in part two.

The Master may have taken over the Earth for a year, created the Master race, stolen Concord and tried to strangle the Doctor to death with a telephone wire but the assault that he plays out in Leela’s mind is the character at perhaps his most insidious.

You might say, that the entire plot for the whole of the story is somewhat perfunctorily as the Doctor and Leela arrive on a luxury space cruiser where the crew and passengers are mysteriously missing only to be attacked Insurance agents and then praying mantis-like robot creatures. Their combined running leads them straight into the devious arms of the Master (Geoffrey Beevers), who has been plotting a revenge on the Doctor since last they met. If this had been the sole highlight of the script, it might have been a very straightforward and somewhat uninspiring play indeed.

But where writer Nicholas Briggs really piles on the charm is the secondary strand of the story with Leela. Over the last few installments of the Fourth Doctor Adventures, we’ve been learning more about the savage, what makes her tick and what she’s come to learn whilst travelling with the Doctor. As stated in a previous review for this third series of Tom Baker tales, Big Finish have been offering more character background for Leela and precious insights into her thoughts and feelings. This culminates in a ‘mid season finale’ of sorts via her possession by the Master and her facing up to the guilt she feels over her father death.

Leela’s family and backstory were somewhat sidelined in her television stories but in the Big Finish Universe, they’re being faced head on. The Master, in his ongoing quest to quell the cosmos of the Doctor has been manipulating Leela since they last met in The Oseidon Adventure and has used her repressed feelings to guide her down his evil path to do his bidding. He turns her against the Doctor by twisting her beliefs as to who she is and what role she plays in the Doctor’s life.

He takes her religion and her moral compass and turns them around to spite and confuse her at his indulgence. We’ve encountered some completely ruthless plans by the Master in the past, present and future but seldom has he got to this personal a level with one of the Doctor’s best friends. He may have taken over the Earth for a year, he may have created the Master race, he’s stolen Concords, he’s tried to strangle the Doctor to death with a telephone wire but the assault that he plays out in Leela’s mind is the character at perhaps his most visceral.

With the Master defeated and escaped for more skulduggery at the end of the tale, Leela and the Doctor sum up. To her, this is an ultimate betrayal to her friend but to the Doctor it proves that, even though the Master had been using her own mind against her for some time, she overcame his grasp via her own strong will and came to the aid of the Doctor, proving just how wrong she was about herself and just how much she’s grown as a person since stepping into the TARDIS all those years ago. Perhaps now, we can finally see an even more ferociously tenacious and intelligent Leela that we’ve been waiting for.

Let’s just hope that the poor old Master doesn’t try and get in her way again.

Also featuring Michael Keating and Nicholas Briggs, The Evil One was released in April 2014 and is available to purchase on CD and download from www.bigfinish.com.

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Humble Bundle Competition: The Winners!

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.

Earlier this week, we announced a special giveaway offering worthy winners the chance to access over 60 Doctor Who comics from Humble Bundle. We posed a question and entrants needed to post their responses in the comments section. The question:

Which writer would you like to see pen an ongoing Doctor Who comic series – and why?

The winners: very hard to pick.

So we came to the conclusion that simply picking five winners was too tough.

We’ve got five codes to give the main winners, but what to offer five runners-up? Well, how about a free digital copy of Kasterborous‘ very own Who comic, Time Leech, written by Christian Cawley, one of the best writers I know.

The winners – and rationalisation – follow, as do the list of runners-up. If you are one of either party, PLEASE email us using the address you used to comment ASAP: christian@kasterborous.com. Include your details, noting too the name which you used to comment.

If you didn’t win… As I say, it was incredibly tough. You all did brilliantly. Thank you.

Winners (in no particular order)

janny van dorst who wrote:

“I’d love to see an episode written by Jim Butcher. His The Dresden Files are so much fun to read, and there sort of are similarities with Doctor Who. Harry Dresden is a wizard, in a world with wizards, vampires, trolls, you name it. But most ppl don’t know those things exist. But Harry, who is kind of a black sheep in the wizard community, is in the phonebook and even advertizes. Not that ppl believe he really is a wizard, more of a quirky detective. Anyway, the characters are very well written en likeable, and everytime Harry sets out to help someone, he gets into all kinds of trouble. Ending up having to save the world.(again) Not an easy task when your fellow wizards dont trust you(backgroundstory). Its filled with wonderfull characters and monsters. And it’s serious and exciting, but also filled to the brim with humour. I often find Harry using quotes of Princess Bride, Star Wars, etc. The similarities with The Doctor, who is also a bit odd, but gets the job done, who has companions he goes on adventures with, who gets into all kinds of trouble without wanting to, can be found if you want to. The things I love about The Doctor are similar to the things I love about Harry Dresden.

I would love to see Jim Butcher come up with an adventure for The Doctor and new ppl or monsters for him to meet. The way he lets Harry find solutions to his problems could be really fun and intresting to see with The Doctor. “

A very interesting choice; certainly not a writer I’d really considered – but yes, why not? And it’s a really well-thought-out suggestion.

Moritz Weckbecker who wrote, or nearly wrote:

“!Spoilers, sweetie!

Does contain tiny, tiny spoilers for Sherlock Season 2, Episode 3.

I know that Stephen Thompson and [Neil Gaiman] both write an episode, but I would love to see them writing one together. Here’s why:

[Neil Gaiman] was the writer of ‘Nightmare in Silver’ and I actually don’t have to add that it was such a brilliant episode. That the Eleventh Doctor had to fight the Cybermen (or at least the head of them) in his brain was so ingenious. I like battles in the mind way more than a real fight (even more in Doctor Who, because he is the most clever man in the universe and suddenly he faces someone as smart as him).

Stephen Thompson wrote my most favourite episode – of ‘Sherlock’. Of course I mean ‘The Reichenbach Fall’ (I’m so mainstream, I know…). What was so good about this episode was that you began to doubt the main character. Keep that in mind.

So that’s my idea. Lately (more or less) the rumour popped up that Peter Capaldi is actually playing the Master. Does that remind you of something? You could easily create an adventure similar to ‘The Reichenbach Fall’, but this time you wouldn’t ask yourself, whether the protagonist invented the antagonist or not, you’d ask whether they were the same person! [Neil Gaiman] could invent a story serving as the basis for this plot, maybe even something with the Cybermen, because I love them and they were quite rare lately.

Although this is very unlikely to happen, it would be absolutely fantastic!

Yep, so a writer’s name was wrong (we knew what you meant, anyway) but honestly, we love that you even hinted at a storyline. Many suggested Gaiman – he’s an obvious choice, having written both for screen Who and the comic book world – but we found the idea of those two writers working together as one a simple but genius move.

Cara Katzbeck who write:

“I would really like to see Jacqueline Rayner pen a series. She has written novels for a number of different Doctors, and her novels are by far my favorites. I believe she would do an excellent job, and there frankly aren’t enough women writers writing for Doctor Who in any capacity.”

Yes! Of course Jac Rayner should write a comic! And quite aside from that, we concur: more women writers please.

David Younger who wrote:

“I’d like to see Matt Smith write his own episode.

He is obviously a talented actor but we would then find out just how talented he really is.

I know this is ridiculous but surely after so many episodes, something must have rubbed off.

It would also be funny to see Peter Capaldi playing a role written by Matt Smith. A clash of styles.”

Matt studied English and apparently does want to write Doctor Who, so giving him the chance to do a comic version is a tantalising idea. How strange would it be for the Doctor to write for another Doctor? Hmmm… The possibilities…

Trevor V. who won’t see this until tomorrow but wrote:

“I’m of the mindset fantasy authors have a slight edge when writing Doctor Who, especially good fantasy authors. I guess the obvious choice is Neil Gaiman, but he’s had a stint on the show, so I’m more inclined to let someone else wield the pen. One of my favorite modern-day fantasy authors to emerge is The Kingkiller Chronicle author, Patrick Rothfuss. One of Patrick’s many gifts is his ability to engage both young and old alike. Doctor Who should be accessible to a 10-year old as well as someone who was around back when Hartnell episodes were still premiering, and is with that in mind that I nominate Patrick Rothfuss.

AnyWHO, that’s my 2¢.”

And this is for a perhaps selfish reason: Trevor did something I wasn’t expecting. He just introduced me to a mainstream writer I’ve never heard of before. That’s good going.

Congratulations to our five winners! Email Christian ASAP please using the address you used to comment; the Humble Bundle codes have to be redeemed before Tuesday 28th May 2014 at 11:00am.

And now onto our five impressive runners-up.

Runners-Up (in no particular order)

Email Christian and you’ll get access to Time Leech on your computer and/or e-reader!

david who wrote:

“Philip bates.”

Because flattery goes a long way.

jrodlivewire06 who wrote:

“I’d like to see Nicholas Briggs of big finish write some comics about the 8th doctor and lucie. I love the 8th and his audio adventures with lucie were amazing. Would love to get some visuals to the stories.”

Briggs should 100% write a Doctor Who comic, true, but we also didn’t mention which Doctor/companion team the comic would focus on. This suggestion of the Eighth Doctor and Lucie is perfect, frankly.

Time Lord Enthusiast who wrote:

“I think it would be interesting to see Scott Snyder take a crack at a Doctor Who ongoing. While I have yet to read his American Vampire series, his work on Batman has been outstanding. He’s been able to add more to the mythos, but without corrupting the past. We’ve seen Gotham transform into a living, breathing entity, a character unto itself. His creation of the Court of Owls has allowed him to seep this illuminati-style organization into Gotham’s history and make it feel as if they’ve always been there, hiding in the shadows for these past 75 years. He is the light to Frank Miller’s dark.

Snyder might be the best person to tackle the War Doctor’s life throughout the Last Great Time War. It’s an area of the Doctor’s life that I’ve never wanted to learn much about. I find that finding out too much would ruin both the majesty and the horror that such a widespread conflict entailed. Someone like Snyder could give us a good taste of how such events played out, but without destroying what RTD and Moffat have been able to create over the past decade.”

Snyder’s a brilliant writer (he actually made me pick up Batman, which I’ve never done before). The suggestion of a Time War-focused series is an obvious one, but we feel, like Time Lord Enthusiast, that we should never find out too much about it. Snyder does have that finesse.

Elena who wrote:

“I would love to see Stan Lee write a Doctor Who comic story. Seeing the Generalissimo himself tackling another icon of the ages would be absolutely amazing. Plus I would love to see a crossover between the two, maybe with Cap meeting the Doc?”

Stan’s my hero. Calling him the “Generalissimo” easily pushed this suggestion into the “potential winner” category.

Janet Morrissey who wrote:

“I’d love to see one by J. Michael Straczynski. As far as I’m concerned, he has it all – great characterization, great stories, and an edge when it’s needed. (Have you seen Dream Police #1? I rest my case.)”

Straczynski is one of my favourite writers – his Spider-Man run is my ideal era for the character – so this suggestion was always going to be in the running.

Thank you all for entering. We thoroughly enjoyed reading all your ideas. And if you didn’t win, well, there’s always next time.

The pay-what-you-want comics lots from Humble Bundle all benefit charity, so if you didn’t win, you’d be doing a great thing by donating and getting some quality time-travelling action in return!

Thanks to Humble Bundle and IDW.

The post Humble Bundle Competition: The Winners! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Kasterborous Magazine Video Games Issue Pre-Orders Open!

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.

The time is almost nigh, dear reader, when we unveil our second issue of Kasterborous Magazine. This time our fanzine is a video games special, looking at all of the Doctor’s published digital adventures from 1983 to 2014!

In the next issue of Kasterborous Magazine you will find a considerable volume of exclusive material:

The most in-depth feature on the development of Return to Earth you will ever read
Interviews with developers on The Adventure Games and Doctor Who: Legacy
Features on Doctor Who: Worlds in Time (RIP) and The Eternity Clock
Reviews of all classic and modern Doctor Who games
Previously unseen photographs and concept artwork
Doctor Who in Second Life
Doctor Who mobile games
A look at what is wrong with Doctor Who video games. Why haven’t they been as good as we would expect them to be?
PLUS: columns from the Valeyard and Elton Townend Jones

Contributors to this issue include Christian Cawley, James McLean, Mez Burdett and Phil Bates.

As with Issue 1, our video games special will be available digitally and in print. However this time around, we’re doing things a little differently.

There will also to be a PDF version that you can buy and download instantly from Kasterborous for just £1.99, compatible with any reading device you care to mention. In addition, you’ll receive issue 1 free, just in case you missed it.

Other digital versions will be available, which we’ll update you on closer to the event – digital copies should be available mid-June.

This print version is available to pre-order today, for just £9.99 from the Kasterborous Store.

 

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Rare 16mm Film Doctor Who Episode “Wheel In Space” #3 On eBay

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.

While not a missing episode, this rare 16mm Doctor Who of part 3 of 1968′s The Wheel in Space available on eBay right now is sure to attract interest.

Says the seller:

16mm film. DOCTOR WHO tv episode “Wheel In Space” Part 3. Starring Patrick Troughton as The Doctor. This is episode 3 from a 6 part story. From what I know, only this episode and episode 6 exist at the BBC. As the Beeb have their own copy of episode 3, I’m only selling my copy on this basis.  Condition: Excellent Print…no scratches, didn’t notice splices, picture and sound very good. This episode looks complete from the beginning to the end with all credit titles, black and white. Film will be posted by Special Delivery.  Please Note: UK BIDDERS ONLY.

However, if you want it, the price will be high. Over on eBay the bidding starts at £799.00!

Does a rare 16mm film version of a 1960s episode interest you?

Update: Item Withdrawn!

At 12.20pm the auction was ended by the seller, several days before its intended time…

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Gallifrey Calling: Is Peter De Jersey Returning To Doctor Who?

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.

If you enjoyed Peter De Jersey’s turn as Time Lord Androgar in The Day of the Doctor, you’ll be pleased to know that the actor did as well and is keen to return to Doctor Who!

Speaking in an interview with Flicks in the City, De Jersey had this to say about the 50th:

“It was too exciting and a great honour. I was thrilled with the way it all worked out and working opposite Ken Bones was great.”

He also speculated about a potential future appearance:

“Now that myself and Ken Bones are on Gallifrey and frozen in time I hope very much that someone might unfreeze us one day so we can join forces again.”

A couple other items of note:

- De Jersey is also set to return with David Tennant in Series 2 of Broadchurch.

- He is also “immensely looking forward to Peter Capaldi…he is timeless.”

What say you? Fancy De Jersey’s return? Or is it too soon to bring back Gallifrey and the Time Lords?

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Reviewed: The Crooked Man

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

Fiction can be a funny old thing, a book or a short story or a novella can transport us to a world where the unreal and unimaginable can be perceived as entirely more tangible and real. Characters and emotions that many don’t ever get to meet or feel can suddenly be only a fingertips reach away and this makes fiction, for many, a suitable alternative to harsh realities.

John Dorney, writer of The Crooked Man, is a person who seems to understand this only too well. His story, whilst beginning as a simple and supposedly alien murder mystery for the Fourth Doctor and Leela in a quiet seaside town, fast becomes a (almost) parable about the human condition and how sometimes, facing reality is not something that one wishes to choose.

With a storyteller as adept as Dorney, this is no mere two-dimensional sidestep into the land of fiction versus the land of fact but a gut wrenching, fast paced and thrilling leap into the unknown and the terrifying. The eponymous Crooked Man is a monstrous creation for the Doctor to face off against, his voice and manner and cold viciousness are incredibly disturbing-his plan to take over this reality by killing human beings one by one to replace them with forgotten fictional characters is delivered as unsympathetically as the Dream Lord’s plight. Enjoying this story is easy but listening to this vacuous construct is anything but.

Not content with creating a creature of terrifying magnitude for the Doctor to deal with, Dorney also knows at exactly which points to tug at the heart-strings of the listener. Frantically paced scenes of action are interlaced gently with more tender scenes such as Leela remembering her long dead father or the final twist at the end of the tale, which for many, should bring a tear to the eye or a lump to the throat at least.

This reviewer will happily admit that he may be ever so lightly bias to this tale as Dorney is a personal favourite when it comes to the regular Big Finish writing team for The Fourth Doctor Adventures, but make no mistake-if a story doesn’t work well then you will know about it from these reviews. The Crooked Man can be safely described as one of the jewels in the crown of the (hopefully ongoing) ongoing Fourth Doctor Adventures.

The Crooked Man is about facing up to the harsher realities of life and embracing them, not denying them or sidestepping the issues that you have. In many ways, we all have a crooked man or woman somewhere in the deeper reaches of our consciousness but maybe, just maybe, this story might help you to understand that you’re never alone.

The Crooked Man is available from www.bigfinish.com now on CD or via download.

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Four Doctors and Captain Jack Come Hit Houston!

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.

Comicpalooza in Houston, Texas is happening this weekend… and Whovians should be very excited!  No less than four Doctors will be appearing… not to mention a certain time-jumping omnisexual companion…

Yes, Peter Davison (writer and director of The Five-ish Doctors), Colin Baker (the new star of Star Wars?), Sylvester McCoy (obviously, the star of the Hobbit films), Paul McGann (well, he’s in just about everything!), and Captain Jack Harkness himself, John Barrowman (the new star of TV’s Arrow), will amazingly all be at the three-day event!

Comicpalooza is taking place right now, May 23rd through 26th, which is the Memorial Day holiday weekend in the USA.  It is being held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.

For more information and ticket prices, please visit comicpalooza.com.  Online tickets are no longer available, but tickets can be bought at the door for about $30 each day.

If you happen to be in the neighborhood, there’s no better chance to see all four of these great Doctors all in one place.  And I’m sure if you beg him and beg him again, Barrowman might even sing a show-tune or two [noooooooooooooooooooooo! - Ed].

(Thanks to the Houston Press.)

 

 

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Dan Starkey Becomes A Monster Hunter Hunter!

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.

Dan Starkey, aka everyone’s favourite Sontaran, Strax, has joined the ranks of The Monster Hunters!

The Monster Hunters is a free-to-download audio series, and Starkey plays Sir Princely Mothman in Destroy All Monster Hunters, the first episode in the new 2014 series. But what’s it actually about? Well…

London. 1971. The forces of evil, so long lying dormant, are about to emerge to bring chaos and fear to the swinging streets of the Big Smoke. Who can stand in their way? Roy Steel, professional alcoholic, unprofessional womaniser & ex-big game hunter, and Lorrimer Chesterfield, Professor of occult studies at London University and owner of the 2nd largest brain in Britain. Mix one part “Dracula: AD 1972”, one part “The Beast Must Die”, with a dash of “The Persuaders!”. The result: “The Monster Hunters!”

Mothman is, you guessed it, a villain, hunting down the Monster Hunters!

Geek Syndicate called the series “crazy and hilarious.” Sounds just up my street!

Download the first two series (including Hallowe’en and Christmas specials) at their site.

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Doctor Who August Return Confirmed In Teaser Trailer!

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.

It seems as though we have been waiting since the dawn of time, but at last the word is out – Doctor Who returns in August!

While full details of the scheduling are yet to be announced, we reckon that Series 8 will commence on the August Bank Holiday weekend, on Saturday 30th.

Over the past few months we’ve brought you a succession of news items about the filming of Series 8, the first to star Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor. We’re sure that like us you’re hugely excited about this new start for Doctor Who in the show’s 51st year, and while this teaser trailer gives little away I for one was wearing a Meglos-like collection of Goosebumps.

But what did you think?

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