Christian Cawley's Blog, page 255

Fantom Films Upcoming Books Round Up

Alex Skerratt 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.

Brainy specs at the ready, book fans! Fantom Films has a range of titles coming up that are bound to send shockwaves through the Whoniverse, (or, at the very least, get bookmarks flapping!)

First up is the second part of Mary Tamm’s (Romana’s) Autobiography. Titled Second Generation, it picks up where First Generation ended, talking about her final work on Doctor Who, followed by details of her subsequent TV and stage roles. Tamm also describes her ventures into the bizarre old world of Who fandom, as well as the “personal joy and fulfilment brought to her by the birth of her own ‘second generation’ – her daughter, Lauren.”

This one is out now and materialises in two different versions: a standard paperback edition for £12.99, and a special hardback edition for £24.99, which will be limited to 200 copies and will contain extra photographs.

Keep reading, autobiography fans – next we have the memoirs of former producer Derrick Sherwin, whose contributions to the Whoniverse began in 1968 as an Assistant Story Editor for the Second Doctor. As many of you know, he subsequently went on to become Script Editor and then finally Producer, commissioning stalwart scribe Robert Holmes’ first Who script, assisting the series’ transition from black-and-white to colour, and overseeing the Third Doctor’s debut adventure and first season. This volume is also available in hardback from April 2014.

If you’re in the mood for a good yarn, however, you might be interested to know that the Master himself (Geoffrey Beevers) has written his own novel! Called The Forgotten Fields, it tells the story of a young monk who discovers a secret doorway buried beneath the fields of a monastery, which leads to the discovery of secrets and surprises from a different time and civilisation! This is Beavers’ first novel, and it’s available now for a very reasonable £14.99 in hardback.

Finally, Ice Warriors creator Brian Hayles is enjoying something of a renaissance at Fantom Films, with the posthumous publication of his novel The Moon Stallion, based on the 1978 BBC series of the same name, (starring former Nyssa actress Sarah Sutton no less!) It tells the story of the Purwells’ hunt for the beautiful but dangerous eponymous beast, charting their struggle against the “dark forces of myth and magic which still exist among the Berkshire hills.” This one’s out in hardback in May 2014, so start saving those pennies.

All we need now is an Omnirumour novelisation and the bookshelf will be just about complete! Any volunteers…?

(Via DWM)

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Doctor Who Series 2 Hits DVD Again In USA With New Material!

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.

Most fans of Doctor Who have one actor who they feel is “their” Doctor, usually the one they first saw in the role or the one they consider to have played the part the best. For many fans, at least according to various non-scientific polls, that Doctor is the Tenth Doctor, played by David Tennant.

American fans of Tennant’s turn as the Doctor can now pre-order from Amazon a new DVD edition of the second half of his first series as the Doctor (Series 2, Part 2) that includes all new bonus material. The two-disc set includes the episodes The Idiot’s Lantern, The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit, Love & Monsters, Fear Her, and Army Of Ghosts/Doomsday.

Doctor Who Series 2, Part 2 is currently listed for a pre-order price of $14.18.

Doctor Who Series 2, Part 1 was released on 8th April and is also available from Amazon.

(via Tennant News)

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Doctor Who Writer & Actor Glyn Jones Dies

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.

On April 2nd Doctor Who‘s oldest surviving writer passed away.

Glyn Jones was the man who gave the world what is, in my opinion, one of the more underrated stories – The Space Museum (most noted as being the first appearance of actor Jeremy Bulloch in the show, who would reappear as Hal the archer in Third Doctor story The Time Warrior and more famously as Boba Fett in Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi).

The story itself had a superb premise: the TARDIS crew arrive in a museum in the future only to discover themselves as an exhibit and their attempts to avoid that outcome lead them closer to that same fate.

Not only did he write the scripts, in 1987 he was commissioned to write the target novelization of the story and took the chance to reincorporate all the humorous elements that incoming story editor Dennis Spooner had removed from the episodes.

Jones was also one of a small group who could boast both writing for and appearing in the show, as he latter stared in one of my favorite stories, the two part Tom Baker tale The Sontaran Experiment as Krans, a role that suited him perfectly thanks to his South African origins (in the story the stranded survey team, returned from an old Earth colony, all speak with South African accents).

Beyond Who Glyn had a successful career in writing including work on Oscar winning documentary A King’s Story (1965) as well as releasing a series of detective novels featuring his own creation Thornton King.

What are your thoughts on Glyn’s work on Doctor Who, are you, like me a fan of The Space Museum, would you have liked to see him return and have provided more adventures? Drop us a message below and share your thoughts.

The post Doctor Who Writer & Actor Glyn Jones Dies appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Philip Morris Breaks Silence On Doctor Who Missing Episodes

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.

Philip Morris and his T.I.E.A has been receiving a bit of negative attention from bolshy Doctor Who fans of late, with some doubting the existence of further missing episodes while others think the researcher has the BBC over a barrel.

Whether as a result of Ian Levine’s recent debate challenge, Philip Morris has been good enough to take to Facebook to release the following statement:

T.I.E.A understands the passion felt by Doctor Who fans and that looking for missing episodes of Doctor who plus many other shows is an important but tiny part of the work that T.I.E.A does.The main aim of this organisation is to assist those archives whose own cultural heritage is under threat.If any programmes do still exist T.I.E.A will endeavor to recover them safely as with web of fear and enemy of the world.T.I.E.A are not sponsored by any organisation we are a completely independent body we work alongside many organisations such as the B.F.I .

 

However as much as people want specific programmes found wishing them into existence or starting rumors will not magically return them .Individuals trying to extract information which does not exist or is commercially confidential will be deleted unread any legitimate inquires for T.I.E.A LTD services are welcome.

 

Stay Tuned..

Executive Director

Philip Morris.

There has been much whispering about Marco Polo potentially being rediscovered and prepared for release by the BBC (April Fool’s notwithstanding) but to date the omnirumour of missing Doctor Who episodes continues to be limited to just two success, The Web of Fear and The Enemy of the World.

Let us not forget that Philip Morris was responsible for recovering those episodes.

We reckon this is all starting to get a little out of hand, and the fact that Morris has felt the need to respond to recent unfair comments saddens us. After all, he’s kind of busy tracking down lost TV shows and probably doesn’t want this distraction.

But what do you think?

The post Philip Morris Breaks Silence On Doctor Who Missing Episodes appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Arthur Darvill In Surprise School Visit!

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.

Arthur Darvill is apparently as loveable in real life as he was playing the Eleventh Doctor’s companion, Rory Williams.

Darvill recently came through in a big way for a group of young fans at the University College School in Hampstead by meeting with the school’s Doctor Who club.  Matthew Seaman, the 13-year-old founder of the Doctor Who Society, e-mailed Darvill’s agent several months ago to see if the busy actor could visit the group:

At first Arthur was a bit unsure if he would be able to make it, but when he’d confirmed the dates then we all started preparing and everyone was helping me.  One of my friends helped me make a poster, while another sorted out sandwiches.

And Darvill’s day proved a roaring success as the Society’s attendance numbers nearly doubled from 30 members to 60.  The former Mr. Pond delighted the boys with stories of his acting career, his time on Doctor Who, and most of all, how hard life is for the Dalek operators.

The young Mr. Seaman has great ambitions on who he might try to get for the group’s next celebrity guest:  the Twelfth Doctor himself, Peter Capaldi!  Although… it might have to wait for a bit:

It’s probably unlikely as he’s filming at the moment.

Kasterborites, if you would have had the chance to invite any Doctor Who celebrity to your school, who would it have been?

(Thanks to the Hampstead and Highgate Express.)

The post Arthur Darvill In Surprise School Visit! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Watch This Clip From Doctor Who: Farewell Matt Smith [VIDEO]

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.

Eleventh Doctor fans, you may want to grab a box of tissues and your fez for this one!

Radio Times has shared an exclusive clip from the upcoming Watch special, Doctor Who: Farewell Matt Smith, highlighting Smith’s gratitude to the fans.

Probably the most heart-tugging moment comes when Smith expresses his affection for the children fans:

I like children. They are always excited to meet the character. Sometimes with adults it’s not always about meeting The Doctor, it’s about ‘Oh there’s that guy from Doctor Who’, but kids, they are like, ‘Wow, The Doctor’s there!’.

In true Eleventh Doctor fashion, Smith goes on to say that “children are cool.” Indeed, one of Smith’s incarnation’s defining attributes is his concern for children and it can be seen in the massive number of Whovian children who would claim Smith as their Doctor.

The special originally ran on BBC America prior to the 2013 Christmas special (and Smith’s swan song), The Time of the Doctor. Narrated by occasional Eleventh Doctor companion and wife, Alex Kingston (River Song) the show looks back over Smith’s tenure in the TARDIS.

The special is set to air on Good Friday (April 18th) at 5pm on Watch. Will you be tuning in? Sound off below!

(Via Radio Times)

The post Watch This Clip From Doctor Who: Farewell Matt Smith [VIDEO] appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Watch This Clip From Doctor Who: Farewell Matt Smith

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.

Eleventh Doctor fans, you may want to grab a box of tissues and your fez for this one!

Radio Times has shared an exclusive clip from the upcoming Watch special, Doctor Who: Farewell Matt Smith, highlighting Smith’s gratitude to the fans.

Probably the most heart-tugging moment comes when Smith expresses his affection for the children fans:

I like children. They are always excited to meet the character. Sometimes with adults it’s not always about meeting The Doctor, it’s about ‘Oh there’s that guy from Doctor Who’, but kids, they are like, ‘Wow, The Doctor’s there!’.

In true Eleventh Doctor fashion, Smith goes on to say that “children are cool.” Indeed, one of Smith’s incarnation’s defining attributes is his concern for children and it can be seen in the massive number of Whovian children who would claim Smith as their Doctor.

The special originally ran on BBC America prior to the 2013 Christmas special (and Smith’s swan song), The Time of the Doctor. It’s is narrated by occasional Eleventh Doctor companion and wife, Alex Kingston (River Song) and looks back over Smith’s tenure in the TARDIS.

The special is set to air on Good Friday (4/18/14) at 5pm on Watch. Will you be tuning in? Sound off below!

The post Watch This Clip From Doctor Who: Farewell Matt Smith appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Doctor Who to Air in North Korea?

Alex Skerratt 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.

Negotiations are underway for the TARDIS to make a North Korean landing, it has been reported.

Doctor Who is apparently one of three shows being considered for distribution in the region alongside other BBC favourites Top Gear and Teletubbies. There are only six and a half hours of broadcasting each day in North Korea, with a third of this content dedicated to Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un and his government, so the Time Lord would face stiff competition.

According to the International Business Times, discussions between the UK’s Foreign Office and North Korea began last year, with the office being asked to compile a list of programmes which might be suitable for the North Korean audience. After a “long, arduous process,” the North Korean envoy eventually settled on these three shows. However, the individual episodes will probably have to endure a further round of scrutiny before they make it onto the air.

Complications aside, it’s exciting news. This could be the start of a whole new Korea for the good Doctor…!

(Via International Business Times)

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We’re Giving Away This Doctor Who Toys Bundle! [UK Only]

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’s the Easter holidays, so what better time than to give away a bunch of Doctor Who merchandise?!

The prizes listed below will be sent out to one lucky (UK-based) winner as soon as the competition closes on Sunday, April 13th, just in time for the second week of the Easter break.

To enter, all you need to do is leave your answer in the comments box below to the following question:

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

Keep your answers inventive – let’s have some fun with this!

You’ll notice we’re using Facebook comments for this competition. This is due to the ease with which Facebook makes it possible to contact winners; we’ve had some no-shows in the past, and don’t want this happening again.

So, what about those prizes?

The winning entrant will receive:

AppGear QLA Device & App Wars mobile game for iOS or Android
Tenth Doctor replica Sonic Screwdriver
Series 7 Figure Collection: The Doctor
Series 7 Figure Collection: Cyberman
Character Building Cyberman vs Dalek Strategist Temporal Blast Combat Set (Dalek included)
Character Building Dalek Drone Army Builder Multi Pack
4 random Character Building Micro Figures
Character Building Dalek Progenitor Room Mini Set
The Character Building Dalek Factory Set
A box of Cybermats
The Top Trumps Turbo board game
The Daleks 300 Piece Puzzle
The Doctors 500 Piece Puzzle
2x packet of Bassett’s Jelly Babies

This is – put simply – our biggest ever giveaway, and we’re offering it to you.

Remember, competition closes on Sunday, April 13th so get your entries in now!

The post We’re Giving Away This Doctor Who Toys Bundle! [UK Only] appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Doctor Who Adventures’ Egg-cellent Monster Madness!

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.

In the latest issue of Doctor Who Adventures readers can learn how to make the perfect monster egg for Easter. You’ll be able to scare your mates with a rotton Zygon egg or a cracking Weeping Angel. Or perhaps you’d prefer to make a Dal-egg to egg-sterminate your enemies?

The team has come up with some eggs-cellent designs to inspire young Doctor Who fans during the holidays – and want to see what readers come up with. So, hard-boil some eggs and check out the latest issue, out now!

You’ll also find:

· Fun with the Alien Babies!

· Pictures from filming the new series.

· Strax’s guide to the Daleks.

· Remember the Scarecrows? Find out all their secrets!

· Learn how to draw the Doctor.

· Win loads of cool things!

· A pull-out puzzle section.

· Behind the scenes on The Name of the Doctor.

 

· An exciting comic strip featuring an unseen adventure with the Eleventh Doctor and Clara.

· All this, plus 3 posters and loads of monster fun…

Issue 343, on sale 9 April – 22 April, priced £2.99. The issue comes with three free monster bouncers and 25 stickers – don’t miss it!

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