Christian Cawley's Blog, page 254

Radiophonic Workshop Plays at Chichester University [VIDEO]

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 University of Chichester recently hosted The Radiophonic Workshop in Conversation and in Concert event with the remaining members assembling for a series of panels and performances.

Now – forgive me – I’ve always been a little confused as to how a Radiophonic workshop ensemble would do a live performance of the Doctor Who theme as arranged by Delia Derbyshire. Given that she spent weeks cutting, splicing, reversing, slowing down and speeding up various sounds to get the diddlee-dums and the whooo-oooos of the familiar original, they must use an entirely different technique to deliver them. Delia’s version can’t be performed live as it were but what they deliver (amid pre-recorded segments) captures that Radiophonic creepiness we know and love.

Aside from the above video posted by Radio Skaro, there’s also a series of photos from the organisers to check out!

Were any Kasterborites there? Favourite moments, favourite tracks, favourite version of the theme song? And does anyone else think the drumming in the clip above is reminiscent of Dominic Glynn’s Terror Version…?

 

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Moff on Doctor Who’s “Bad Ratings” Press Reports

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.

So, there’s an old business saying that goes something to the effect of, “All publicity is good publicity,” and maybe there is a little truth in that (unless, of course, you happen to be US Airways today…I digress).

However, there is hardly anything more frustrating for a fan to swallow than constant negative rumblings about the show they care so much about. It’s especially true in Doctor Who’s case; after all, poor ratings and bad leadership ended up seeing the show cancelled for many years. That being said, we Whovians may be a little more sensitive to headlines that make it sound like our beloved show is in the tank. Have you ever wondered how those headlines affect those who work tirelessly on the show?

A reader in the most recent issue of DWM certainly did and in a letter to the Moff, he expressed his frustration with the “quick win” negative headlines and asked showrunner, Steven Moffat for his opinion on them:

“‘Doctor Who continues to be a massive hit’ is not a headline. ‘Doctor Who in ratings crisis’ is. Perversely, so long as Doctor Who is huge, those newspaper stories will continue. I’ll start worrying that there’s a problem when people stop trying to pretend that there’s a problem. So long as we’re click-bait for the papers and bloggers, we’re just fine. Highest rated drama of the year – highest rated drama on Christmas Day. Only the insane would quote that as evidence for decline.”

Hard to argue with that; after all, Monday screenings of the Day of the Doctor was only eclipsed by the cinema juggernaut known as the Hunger Games. All that being said, I pose a question to you, dear reader: does the negative headlines help generate positive buzz for Doctor Who? Let us know in the comments section below!

The post Moff on Doctor Who’s “Bad Ratings” Press Reports appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Did YOU Win Our Toy-Mad Doctor Who Giveaway?

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.

Last week, we gave you the chance to win a huge selection of Doctor Who toys and games. This week (as soon as we hear from the winner) they’ll be shipped out to a location in the UK.

But who won?

To find a winner, we posed this challenge:

You are the Doctor! You’ve just regenerated and you have all of time and space to explore – where do you go?

Entrants had to share their answers, and my word, we had some crackers! To be honest, it seemed to morph into a flash fiction competition, so a very big thank you to everyone who took the time to enter here on Kasterborous and on Facebook. Wonderful!

Before we announce the winner, there are a handful of notable entries.

First of all, we urge you to take a look at this post by Rory, in which he describes changing identify with a Chameleon Arch and explaining one of the biggest enigmas of the post-Renaissance era.

Meanwhile, we had considerable sympathy for ParadoxRemnant’s observation: “I’d go back in time and see if I could assist in crafting something decent out of Time and the Rani; if not, erase it from all time!” Meanwhile Peter Collins wryly confessed that he would travel back in time just a few hours: “This morning. To see where I put my damn keys.”

On the other hand, Tom Baines’ optimism is somewhat awe-inspiring: “would be the world cup final in Brazil in 2014 to rewatch England score the winning goal, and steven gerard lift the cup” although Patricia Avery is similarly positive with “I would go forward in time to the near future whenever this competition is judged to see if my grandchildren (big Doctor Who fans) are going to win this fabulous giveaway.”

There can be only one winner in all of this, however, so step forward FrancoPabloDiablo and his daughter…

I’d go forward in time. Forget all my wishes and when and where I’d go! If life goes according to plan then I will hopefully die before my daughter (lets say Susan for the purposes of the question). I would travel to her future after I’m long gone just to make sure she has made good choices and decisions in her life. If not, maybe my knowledge of her future can help me steer her in the right direction in life! I can’t lie, If i had that ability and chance I would use it to make sure my daughter has the best life possible. She’s a Doctor Who fan though so I’m pretty confident she won’t need my intervention anyway! I’d just like to make sure!

So, FrancoPabloDiablo, PLEASE get in touch ASAP by emailing christian@kasterborous.com with your details.

Congratulations!

The post Did YOU Win Our Toy-Mad Doctor Who Giveaway? appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Review: The Silurian Gift

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.

I have a confession to make.

Whilst I love the Silurians (and by association, the Sea Devils), I find their stories a bit of a dead-end. If the world the Doctor lives in remains as similar to ours – but with added alien incursions – then the Silurians simply can’t take over the Earth. Logistically, it doesn’t bear thinking about either. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship added something new to the mix, but generally, their stories can only really reach one conclusion.

Boom.

So it must always fall back on what Agatha Christie says: “the thrill is in the chase; never in the capture.” The Silurian Gift¸ then, fares wonderfully well.

It naturally feels like a sequel to Warriors of the Deep, but also has hints of The Tenth Planet, Inferno and Planet of the Ood – and not just because of the icy climes the Doctor finds himself in. As a Silurian tale, there’s a moral dilemma sitting at its heart and genuinely feels like a Malcolm Hulke-penned book. This isn’t just because it stars Homo Reptillia, but also as it reflects the concerns of this generation.

We all know there’s a fuel crisis and The Silurian Gift revolves around the Fire Ice, a miraculous new power source, originally stored by the former inhabitants of the planet. It adds weight to Eldane’s argument in The Hungry Earth/ Cold Blood (2010) that in return for space on the Earth, the Silurians can give humanity technology beyond our wildest dreams.

Writer, Mike Tucker, packs in a lot of narrative; it helps that the pace is fast, the prose very enjoyable and grabbing, and the characters all well realised. He’s got the Doctor down to a tee. Lizzie is, in some ways, a traditional would-be companion, but in other ways is pleasingly different. There are hints of Ace in there, certainly, but she doesn’t spend enough time with the Doctor to actually feel there’s a genuine connection.

The big news, however, is that the Myrkas are back!

Who groaned? The race of cybernetically-altered wee beasties may not have been realised fully in their sole TV outing, but the idea works. Tucker uses them fleetingly but well nonetheless. It’s great that their part in the Silurian-Sea Devils mythos isn’t ignored. After reading The Silurian Gift, I genuinely feel they could make a solid reappearance in modern Who. That’s an achievement in itself!

The book still manages to deliver a surprise or two, even if it’s a short burst of Doctor Who to fill the gap between series.

Yes, it’s a Quick Read. Yes, you can read it within an hour or two. But it’s without doubt one of the strongest Doctor Who books in the Quick Reads range.

Pick up The Silurian Gift from Amazon now for just £1.00!

The post Review: The Silurian Gift appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Was Matt Smith Disappointed By Later Doctor Who Scripts?

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.

What’s your favourite run of episodes in the Matt Smith era of Doctor Who? Perhaps you’re a fan of the “fairytale” Series 5, or the mindbending/stealing Series 6? Alternatively, you may prefer the cataclysmic events that comprise Series 7 and its various specials.

Speaking to fans at the Wizard World Con last week, (via DoctorWhoTV) Matt revealed his thoughts on what he considered “the best storytelling” during his run on the show.

Series 5… had great adventure and great clarity and I loved that whole idea about the Pandorica and the Big Bang. It was the one I connected with most.

Looking back I think some of my best work was in my first series because I was actually taking real risks and that was a real moment.

Whereas when he recalled Series 6:

I think in terms of revelations River being Amy’s daughter was a bit ‘what the hell?!’

These comments might come as a bit of a surprise so close to the actor’s departure, but do you agree or disagree? The sensible thing to do at this stage would be to throw it open to a poll!

Take Our Poll

We’ll revisit these results midweek, so let us know what you think in the poll and the comments below.

The post Was Matt Smith Disappointed By Later Doctor Who Scripts? appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Fourth Doctor 1:6 Scale Collector Figure Sells Out!

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.

Crafted lovingly in plastic the Fourth Doctor 1:6 Scale Signature Edition Collector Figure from the peerless Big Chief Studio is such a great likeness of the irascible, quicksilver Doctor that you can’t have it.

Unsurprisingly, with its surprised expression, its host of signature accessories including the iconic long scarf and idiosyncratic bag of Jelly Babies, its interchangeable hands, the Hand of Fear, The Key to Time, the Time Tracer, the ever reliable sonic screwdriver, Yo-yo, cravat neck tie and tartan waistcoat; the figure has sold out.

Even at the pre-order stage; you still can’t have it! What a tease!

But don’t let that stop you from admiring the work that’s gone into creating this fantastic collectable.

To develop the most accurately scaled collector’s figure, artists at Big Chief Studios studied countless reference photographs, to create a realistic and authentic character portrait of the Fourth Doctor, including hand-tailoring the Time Lords trademark costume in exact detail.

Officially licensed and authorised by BBC Worldwide, each figure is numbered, includes a hand-signed autograph plaque, display stand and an accompanying certificate of authenticity.

…When it’s available of course.

The Fourth Doctor 1:6 Scale Signature Edition Collector Figure is/was available to pre-order from Big Chief Studios for £189.99.

The post Fourth Doctor 1:6 Scale Collector Figure Sells Out! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Subscribe to Titan’s Doctor Who Comics 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.

Who else is looking forward to the upcoming Doctor Who comics from Titan? Well, if you’re chomping at the proverbial bit, you can pre-order the first issues right now – or subscribe at special early-bird rates!

The Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor and Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor series are released on 23rd July, and here are the synopses:

The Tenth Doctor #1

Regular cover by Alice X. Zhang

Eisner Award-winning writer Nick Abadzis (Laika) and fan-favorite artist Elena Casagrande (Angel, Suicide Risk, Doctor Who, Star Trek) take control of the TARDIS for their first five-issue arc with the Tenth Doctor! And don’t miss the second arc, by fellow series architect Robbie Morrison (Drowntown, Nikolai Dante, The Authority)!

The Eleventh Doctor #1

Regular cover by Alice X. Zhang

THE ELEVENTH DOCTOR RETURNS IN AN ALL-NEW ONGOING SERIES, WITH A TIME-TWISTING LEAP INTO THE UNKNOWN! GERONIMO!

Series architects Al Ewing (Loki: Agent of Asgard, Mighty Avengers, Trifecta) and Rob Williams (Revolutionary War, Ordinary, Miss Fury, The Royals: Masters of War, Trifecta) kick off a whirlwind adventure through eternity for the Eleventh Doctor, with artist Simon Fraser (Nikolai Dante, Grindhouse, Doctor Who)!

… Okay, so we don’t actually know much about them yet – but I’m actually very excited about a new set of adventures for Sandshoes and Chinny!

The thing is, we might not properly see them in the UK, except digitally. Shoppers at Forbidden Planet should be able to get them – but it’ll take some time.

Titan are currently offering great deals on year-long subscriptions, notably:

The Tenth Doctor series

US Residents: Get 15 issues for $53.99 – saving 10% off the cover price. Plus receive a FREE Tenth Doctor Titan figure!
Canadian Residents: Get 15 issues for $63.99 – saving 10% off the cover price.
New Zealand and Australia Residents: Get 15 issues for $153.99 – saving 10% off the cover price (includes $100 shipping and handling fee!).

The Eleventh Doctor series

US Residents: Get 15 issues for $53.99 – saving 10% off the cover price. Plus receive a FREE Eleventh Doctor Titan figure!
Canadian Residents: Get 15 issues for $63.99 – saving 10% off the cover price.
New Zealand and Australia Residents: Get 15 issues for $153.99 – saving 10% off the cover price (includes $100 shipping and handling fee!).

So why should you pre-order any comics? They will, after all, be on the shelves, right? Well, Titan warns that you might only be able to get them:

“if your local comic store has ordered enough copies!

 

It’s a weird quirk of the Direct Market that all comic store retailers have to be both time travellers and psychics.

 

Every comic that they order is non-returnable, so if they don’t sell them, they’re left holding onto stock they have already paid for.

 

(This is a different model to local bookstores, which are able to return unsold books and get money back for them).

 

So comics retail is a risky business, full of high-wire balancing acts between ordering too many copies, and too few.

 

Every pre-ordered comic means a guaranteed sale, and every pre-order they get means they can order more copies for the shelf – in confidence that the demand is high!”

Plus, there are some really cool covers, so the only way you can guarantee getting any of those is to pre-order, which you can do in the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in print. Head over to Titan to find out how to pre-order and/or subscribe!

The post Subscribe to Titan’s Doctor Who Comics Now! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Pre-order Titan’s Doctor Who Comics 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.

Who else is looking forward to the upcoming Doctor Who comics from Titan? Well, if you’re chomping at the proverbial bit, you can pre-order the first issues right now!

The Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor and Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor series are released on 23rd July, and here are the synopses:

The Tenth Doctor #1

Regular cover by Alice X. Zhang

Eisner Award-winning writer Nick Abadzis (Laika) and fan-favorite artist Elena Casagrande (Angel, Suicide Risk, Doctor Who, Star Trek) take control of the TARDIS for their first five-issue arc with the Tenth Doctor! And don’t miss the second arc, by fellow series architect Robbie Morrison (Drowntown, Nikolai Dante, The Authority)!

The Eleventh Doctor #1

Regular cover by Alice X. Zhang

THE ELEVENTH DOCTOR RETURNS IN AN ALL-NEW ONGOING SERIES, WITH A TIME-TWISTING LEAP INTO THE UNKNOWN! GERONIMO!

Series architects Al Ewing (Loki: Agent of Asgard, Mighty Avengers, Trifecta) and Rob Williams (Revolutionary War, Ordinary, Miss Fury, The Royals: Masters of War, Trifecta) kick off a whirlwind adventure through eternity for the Eleventh Doctor, with artist Simon Fraser (Nikolai Dante, Grindhouse, Doctor Who)!

… Okay, so we don’t actually know much about them yet – but I’m actually very excited about a new set of adventures for Sandshoes and Chinny!

The thing is, we might not properly see them in the UK, except digitally. Shoppers at Forbidden Planet should be able to get them – but it’ll take some time.

So why should you pre-order any comics? They will, after all, be on the shelves, right? Well, Titan warns that you might only be able to get them:

“if your local comic store has ordered enough copies!

 

It’s a weird quirk of the Direct Market that all comic store retailers have to be both time travellers and psychics.

 

Every comic that they order is non-returnable, so if they don’t sell them, they’re left holding onto stock they have already paid for.

 

(This is a different model to local bookstores, which are able to return unsold books and get money back for them).

 

So comics retail is a risky business, full of high-wire balancing acts between ordering too many copies, and too few.

 

Every pre-ordered comic means a guaranteed sale, and every pre-order they get means they can order more copies for the shelf – in confidence that the demand is high!”

Plus, there are some really cool covers, so the only way you can guarantee getting any of those is to pre-order, which you can do in the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in print. Head over to Titan to find out how to pre-order!

The post Pre-order Titan’s Doctor Who Comics Now! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Matt & Karen Set For Doctor Who-Flavoured Calgary Expo!

Danny_Weasel 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.

Oh to be in Canada for the Calgary expo. Four four days at the end of April Stampede park will host the convention and the line up of stars is quite frankly staggering.

Chief among the list of guests are non other than the good Doctor himself and the first face those eyes saw, Amy Pond. Yup, Calgary gets Matt Smith and Karen Gillen, not to mention a host of hobbits, elves, dwarves and robots to mention but a few (seriously they have over 50 very impressive guests going to this thing!)

As part of the festivities there will be a special photo op with the Doctor Who stars, this is your chance to get a professional pic taken of yourself, Matt and Karen for the princely sum of $145 (Canadian, roughly £79) which when you consider that the solo shoots are $60 for Karen (£32) and $110 for Matt (£60) it’s not too bad a deal, though still a little steep in my opinion.

It’s good to see that Matt is now available to travel to international events again after the recent troubles that caused Australian events to be cancelled, fingers crossed this means they can be rescheduled in the future.

Are you planning on heading to Calgary for this event? Will you be paying to get snapped with the Doctor and Amy? Or are you, like me, stuck on the other side of the world going a lovely shade of Slitheen green at missing out on this event. Gloat or rant in the space below.

(Via Calgary Expo)

The post Matt & Karen Set For Doctor Who-Flavoured Calgary Expo! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Dalek Enjoys Robolution on New T-shirt!

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.

Time for another great t-shirt offer, one that closes at midnight US time – so act quickly!

In Robolution by Samiel, you’ll spot a Dalek lining up alongside C-3PO from Star Wars, Transformers‘ Optimus Prime, Bender from Futurama and many others.

Available in light grey for men, women and children as t-shirts, hoodies, baby grows and even as coasters and laptop sleeves, the price starts at $10 plus shipping, so head to RIPT Apparel and place your order now!

 

The post Dalek Enjoys Robolution on New T-shirt! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.