Christian Cawley's Blog, page 262

Former Doctor Who Star Matt Smith Shows Off Football Skills On Stage

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.

If you weren’t convinced by Matt Smith’s football skills in 2010′s The Lodger (why not?!) or just wanted to see more of the former youth team player in action, here’s a great clip of the Eleventh Doctor actor playing keepy-up!

Seemingly recorded at the big Doctor Who Convention in March 2012 (although I’ll happily be corrected on that) Smith is on stage with Steven Moffat, Caro Skinner, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill.

It’s a nice moment – perhaps Matt could be persuaded to repeat the feat for Children in Need…?

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Fifth Doctor and Nyssa Set for Big Finish’s Masquerade

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’ve found yourself with a jonesing for some sweet, sweet Peter Davison action, I have some fantastic news for you!

As part of their Doctor Who main range, Big Finish is set to release a new Fifth Doctor adventure, Masquerade, this June. Masquerade finds the Doctor and Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) in France:

“France, the year 1770: by special invitation, the famous ‘Doctor’, friend of Voltaire, arrives at the lonely estate of the lovely Marquise de Rimdelle – once a hostess to the highest of high society, now isolated by the strange, pernicious mist that lingers round the countryside.

But there’s more in that fog than mere vapour, confesses the Marquise’s strange niece to the Doctor’s ward, Nyssa. She senses some uncanny machine circling the fringes of the estate, in the space between the shadows. Watching. Always watching. She’s given it a name: ‘The Steamroller Man’.”

Big Finish has also released an excellent trailer, giving us a small taste of what’s to come in a couple of months. The trailer can be heard here. Masquerade is available for preorder now.

What say you, Kasterborites? Are you down for a Masquerade?

(Via Facebook)

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Karen Gillan’s Lady Macbeth Ambition

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.

Karen Gillan’s recent Reddit AMA has revealed a few secrets about the flame-hearied ex-Pond, most notably that she has desires to play Lady Macbeth!

First off, for those Kaserborites of my ilk, who might be less internet savvy than they could be and perhaps reading this by virtue of a chunky desktop hooked up to a pedal-run generator (keep going, nearly through the intro…) 1) Reddit is a social networking site for news, entertainment and discussion that bills itself as “the front page of the internet” – basically a massive fan forum minus the *fan * part, and 2) an AMA is a subreddit (a thread) standing for “ask me anything” where a person devotes themselves to an online Q&A on a particular theme e.g. “my life as a horse whisperer” or “hello, I’m Karen Gillan”…

Sure enough it sparkles with Karen’s unique and wonderful madness. The AMA was to promote her new horror flick, Oculus, but true to type, Karen and her audience quickly diverged into the alternative question-list. Peruse at your leisure to warm your inner ginger! Number 6 conjures a particularly vivid and somehow plausible mental image…

Karen notes her keeness to portray Lady MacBeth on stage one day and this isn’t the first time she’s mentioned it – way back before Series 7 ago she and Matt Smith as good as made a pact to play the Scottish Play’s murderous married couple.

What do you think? There’s a precedent with Tennant and Tate performing troubled lovers in Much Ado About Nothing in 2011. Would you like to see the Eleventh Doctor and Pond One get up to bloody mischief on stage?..

(Via Flavorwire)

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Mark Gatiss Pens Two Episodes For Doctor Who Series 8

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.

It’s the news that will shock no-one, yet will cause debate for months to come. Mark Gatiss, the man who gave us the triumphant return of the Ice Warriors and the not so triumphant (though in my eyes at least, still very enjoyable) arrival of the new paradigm Daleks, is returning to write two episodes for Series 8.

The former League of Gentlemen star made the announcement while on a promotional tour of Brazil for BBC Worldwide.

On the whole I find this to be rather good news as I’m a big fan of Gatiss’ work both on and off Doctor Who (if you haven’t read his Lucifer Box novels I highly recommend them) and after his work on Series 7 (Crimson Horror was the highlight of the second half in my opinion) he seems to have hit his stride and with the opportunity to write for a new, older Doctor, who has been hinted at being darker, could we perhaps see a glimpse of Mr Gatiss’ love for all things macabre creep into the writing?

What are your thoughts, are you pleased to see him back or would you rather have seen the back of him? Do you think his writing style will be better suited to a darker Doctor? As always use the space below to give us your thoughts, views, opinions or simple mad rants.

(Via Radio Times)

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Nine Years Ago Today: “Run!”

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.

Today is March 26th, and long-standing fans will know that this is the day Doctor Who returned in 2005! To celebrate this, we’ve got a video clip for you to enjoy above.

It seems crazy to think of now, after a worldwide box office smash and eight full series of the show, but nine years ago, Rose was not only the Doctor’s first real appearance on TV since 1989, it was considered a massive risk for the BBC and for everyone involved, from Russell T Davies, Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper all the way down to the ladies making the tea.

History often smiles fondly on risk takers, however, and a few days later the return was considered triumphant (incidentally, you can relive the emotions of those days in Ultimate Regeneration, available in the Kasterborous Store in eBook and print format).

Meanwhile, BBC Worldwide’s DoctorWho.tv website has commissioned three exclusive new images of the era from Doctor Who illustrator Lee Binding, whose work you will have seen in the Series 7 movie-style episode posters and The Day of the Doctor art, as well as most of the recent classic DVD covers. We’ve shared the image of the Ninth Doctor below – head to DoctorWho.tv’s wallpaper downloads page to see the Rose Tyler and Jack Harkness images, which can be enjoyed on your PC desktop, tablet, smartphone or Facebook cover!

So, while we’re reminiscing, why don’t you think back and recall your thoughts and emotions as you sat there on that fateful Saturday night nine years ago, as the Doctor returned to television for the first time in 16 years?

Then, share them below!

The post Nine Years Ago Today: “Run!” appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Doctor Who Adventures Wants Your Favourite Matt Smith Episode Votes!

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.

BBC Doctor Who Adventures magazine wants readers to vote for their ultimate Eleventh Doctor story in the current issue of the magazine for young Doctor Who fans.

Actor Matt Smith appeared in 44 exciting stories as the Doctor – but which one will receive the honour of being known as the Doctor Who Adventures reader favourite?

In this issue, also check out the following:

Loads of Ood facts and how to make an Ood mask.
Sontaran Strax with his guide to the Doctor.
Facts about a Dalek invasion on television in 1964.
Win a huge bag of Doctor Who goodies – including sonic screwdrivers and mini-figures.
Cyberman secrets from Nightmare in Silver.
 An exciting comic strip featuring an unseen adventure with the Eleventh Doctor and Clara – and use the free app Blippar to bring the comic strip to life!

All this, plus posters, puzzles and loads of monster fun…

Issue 342, on sale 26 March – 8 April, priced £2.99. The issue comes with three free Dalek gifts. Don’t miss it!

 

The post Doctor Who Adventures Wants Your Favourite Matt Smith Episode Votes! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

PodKast Catchup – James & Brian Talk Doctor Who News

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 last week’s fascinating but silly shenanigans with John Guilor, the PodKast with a “K” gets down to business with James McLean and Brian A Terranova discussing some recent news without the formatted interjections of lead host Christian Cawley.

The result is a laid-back chat about some recent Doctor Who news. Some items you may have already heard discussed on the podKast, but not with Brian, so you’ll be getting some all-new thoughts and a very different feel to the usual show.

For the optimum enjoyment of this week’s podKast, we recommend some comfy slippers, a nice chair and a warm drink. Imagine yourself sat watching James and Brian as they chat, eavesdropping on their thoughts and opinions on recent Whovian topics.

Kasterborous PodKast Series 4 Episode 06 Shownotes

Paul McGann – Quick Decision
BBC Three to go online
The Smugglers found?
The old Doctors “excited” by Capaldi
Keeley Hawes in Doctor Who
Capaldi’s Sonic
Recommendations:

RubbertoeReplicas.com
The Musketeers


The Saint

(Roger Moore)
MacGyver


Farscape

 

The Kasterborous PodKast theme tune is arranged by Russell Hugo.

Listen to the PodKast

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

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

Meanwhile you can use the player below to listen through Audioboo:

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

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

The post PodKast Catchup – James & Brian Talk Doctor Who News appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

McGann On Class Divide: No Money, No RADA For “likes of me”

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.

Treading perilously close to becoming one of the ‘old hams’ he rallied against as a young actor, Paul McGann has attacked the BBC for become less vital.

In a lengthy interview discussing the modern adaptation of Chekov’s Three Sisters (one of those Russian plays that are “…always full of women staring out of windows, whining about ducks going to Moscow…”) at the London’s Southwark Playhouse with The Independent, the Eighth Doctor himself bemoaned the lack of support for real drama; recalling the days when sterling writers such as Dennis Potter (The Singing Detective) and Alan Bleasdale (The Monocled Mutineer which featured McGann) could shake the powers that be during a time of increased Tory scrutiny at the Beeb:

They were mad days. The unions and the left were doing their thing, Mrs Thatcher was in power, it was all crazy. The BBC in particular was getting a lot of stick from the Tories. It was the second or third time Mrs Thatcher had a go at them. She went for the Today programme as well.

What especially riled the Tories were the adverts for The Monocled Mutineer, showing McGann, and a statement claiming it to be historical fact – the drama, which has never been rebroadcast was accused of rewriting history and displaying left-wing bias -which turned out to be wrong.

Those ads weren’t the BBC’s finest. Overall, I was amazed and amused by it. I was just a kid, really, but I felt very relevant… [it was] the same old, same old from a Conservative government about perceived political bias…

Looking around at his chosen profession nowadays, The Withnail & I star has so little hope for any actor born on the wrong side of the class divide that he couldn’t imagine himself getting the break that he had:

…the class divide is even stronger today. I wouldn’t get a start today. There’d be no grant money, no place at RADA for the likes of me… by definition, we’re denying openings to generations, to the children of half of the population; we’re denying chances for all that talent to flourish. Me, my brothers [he’s got three brothers, all of them actors], we would struggle to get started. It’s 10 times harder today. We’re denying so much hope to so many people.

But it’s not all destitute actors; he also talks about Withnail & I and its enduring, prescient appeal:

Because there is something believable about it. Everybody knows someone like that, or they’ve met a fantastically talented person who turns out to be a waster or they’ve lived like that, in a shit hole away from home. Fundamentally, it’s about being students, which a lot of people can relate to.

For more on McGann’s thoughts on Chekov, the Beeb and Withnail’s legacy head over to The Independent.

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Noel Clarke Talks Future Ambitions

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.

If you’re looking for the actor that played Ricky…err…Mickey in any more Hollywood blockbusters, you might just have to keep looking for a lot longer.

Noel Clarke, who most recently played a pivotal role in last years megablockbuster Star Trek: Into Darkness, recently revealed that he really isn’t looking for any more big budget work, especially coming out of Hollywood.

I wouldn’t mind it, but I’m not going to chase it. I’m definitely not someone who spends their time trying to figure out how to do that. I just want to try and do good work.

Since his time on-screen in Doctor Who, Clarke has found more work behind the camera, directing projects like Adulthood and 4.3.2.1. 

While the behind-the-scenes work hasn’t all come as easy, Clarke wants to continue to challenge himself with his work.

Adulthood was a very, very difficult and a real learning experience. I guess luckily it was something that came out well, and then I directed another film but since then I haven’t found something that I wanted to do.

I feel like you get to a stage in your career where people take you for granted or you plateau and so you’ve got to choose whether to coast along at that level, or start taking risks to elevate yourself.

Take the risks, Noel!

(via What’s On TV)

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Here It Is: Doctor Number 12′s Sonic Screwdriver!!

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.

While rest of the world sleeps, filming on Doctor Who Series 8 continues and footage has emerged of Peter Capaldi brandishing his sonic screwdriver in episode 3!

Captured during a night shoot on Monday of this week in Cardiff, Doctor number twelve can be seen seemingly using the device to take some crucial readings, or perhaps just to find his way in the dark.

Difficult to be sure but it looks to be the same sonic Matt Smith used. In a new variant on the Doctor’s costume, Capaldi is wearing Arthur English’s coat from Are You Being Served? (Ask your parents…)

Excitingly, the clip also gives us a glimpse of a fearsome new creature (or maybe it’s a robot?) with glowing blue eyes being wheeled into shot for what looks like a dramatic reveal.

What can all this mean? Is the Doctor going undercover again, this time as a factory supervisor? Let the speculation begin!

 

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