Christian Cawley's Blog, page 267

McGann’s Quick Decision For Night Of The Doctor

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.

Paul McGann has revealed how he was forced to make his mind up quickly when it came to appearing in the special 50th anniversary mini-episode The Night of the Doctor. It appears there was no room for any dilly-dallying where setting up the Eighth Doctor’s final adventure was concerned:

“It was a quick decision. Steven Moffat got in touch and said ‘If I were to write it, would you do it?’ I asked could I think about it and he said ‘Think about it now… because we want to do it next week.’ I had such a quick decision to make and I’m glad, because sometimes when you do things quickly, it’s better.”

His comments provide an insight into the breakneck pace at which key decisions concerning the series can be made, and provide an interesting counter to the common assumption we tend to make that these matters are all part of some intricate master plan, mapped out months or even years in advance.

“I felt when I arrived in Cardiff that [Moffat] had probably written it the day before. That was the only gap he had, on that Sunday, because they were trying to finish the big 50th. We arrived and it was next to the set of the 50th and [the actors] had all left. They’d had the party the night before and they’d all just left. We arrived the next day and shot the mini-episode.”

Paul seems to have enjoyed the big 5-0 as much as anyone connected with the programme and his brief return, agreed at short notice, certainly made for a memorable highlight of a very special year.

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Keeley Hawes & The Twelfth Doctor Run A Hotel (With Help From Eight)

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.

Channel 5, Earth, 2001. Not space-time coordinates you’d enter for the absolute pinnacle of televisual programming. But hot on the heels of the announcement that smart and gutsy Keeley Hawes (Spooks, Ashes to Ashes) will be starring alongside Peter Capaldi as a Series 8 villain, the Radio Times has uncovered some intriguing clips…

Hotel! was a comedy TV movie that attempted zany laughs somewhere between Faulty Towers and Naked Gun but seemed to miss the mark somewhat. However, it did assemble a portentous cast list that had Keeley sharing the screen with Doctors Eight and Twelve in the form of a younger Paul McGann and Peter Capaldi.

The Radio Times has assembled a series of highlights for your viewing pleasure (alternatively, watch the whole thing above). In brief they are as follows: Paul tries to reverse Keeley’s refusal of marriage; Paul’s character imagines a saucy evening with Keeley [this is almost funny – the “Nice Plaice” gag in particular tickled me]; the Eighth and Twelfth Doctors argue over a woman with a slapstick backdrop; more arguing in a different room; an ill-judged but enthusiastic musical number from the Twelfth Doctor; Keeley with Capaldi in drag; Keeley snogs the Eighth Doctor – memories of the TV movie are stirred…

It’s a shame the film didn’t seem to quite find its comedy feet despite the wealth of talent in front of the camera. Here’s a wee slice of Keeley in something (that I think is) funny with Dinosaurs on a Spaceship’s Mitchell and Webb and a mini-Sherlock reference at the end for you…

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Matt Smith Signed For Soccer Aid 2014!

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.

This summer, Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith joins a whole host of stars for Soccer Aid.

The bi-annual event raises money for UNICEF, pitching (see what I did there?) two teams of celebrities, England vs. The Rest of the World, against each other in a football match at Old Trafford. This year’s match will be held on Sunday 8th June, and Matt will be facing Soccer Aid veteran and voice of House in The Doctor’s Wife, Michael Sheen.

Matt originally wanted to be a footballer until suffering from spondylosis, but we’ve still seen some of his skills in 2010′s The Lodger; he described the scene – pairing two of his favourite thing, playing the Doctor and playing football – as the best day of filming for Series 5.

It must’ve been terrible for a young Matt, having his dreams dashed, so it’s genuinely wonderful that he gets to play at Old Trafford at last. Have a great time, Mr. Smith!

Other celebrities taking part include X-Men star, James McAvoy; singer, Olly Murs; comedian, John Bishop; and Automated Swearing Machine, Gordon Ramsey. Matt’s team will be led by Robbie Williams, who isn’t that legend who played Mrs. Doubtfire, but that guy who sung Angels.

And a brief warning to the Rest of the World: don’t underestimate our Doctor.

Better book your tickets sharpish!

(A tip of the hat to Digital Spy.)

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Doctor Who Named TRIC’s Programme of the Year

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.

Doctor Who has won the TRIC award for HD Drama Programme of the Year!

The Television and Radio Industries Club has held award ceremonies to encourage TV and radio stars since 1969, and this year’s saw two members of the Paternoster Gang accepting the gong on Doctor Who‘s behalf at the Grosvenor House in London. Neve McIntosh (who has played various Silurians since 2010, but notably Madame Vastra since A Good Man Goes To War) and Dan Starkey, best known as Strax – though he first appeared in Who in 2008 – picked up the award alongside members of the show’s extensive crew.

Doctor Who saw off competition from Downton Abbey and Call the Midwife.

Broadchurch, penned by Chris Chibnall (42; Dinosaurs on a Spaceship) and starring Tenth Doctor, David Tennant, and The Eleventh Hour‘s Olivia Colman, beat Luther and Silent Witness to win the award for Crime Programme of the Year.

It’s a great testament to Doctor Who‘s ingenuity and innovation that, even after 50 years, it’s still winning awards and is enjoyed by millions across the world!

(See a full list of this year’s winners at Unreality TV.)

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Arthur Darvill is Victor Frankenstein!

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.

Since they began in 1999, Big Finish has brought us a lot of great Doctor Who stories – but they haven’t stopped there! Following their adaptations of classic novels like The Picture of Dorian Gray and Treasure Island, the audio company is releasing Frankenstein in September… starring some very familiar, uh, voices!

Arthur Darvill, best known to all and sundry as Rory Williams, leads the cast, with Daleks, Cybermen and Judoon voice, Nick Briggs, as his monster. The pair are accompanied by Davros himself, Terry Molloy (who many will recognise from The Archers); Geoffrey Beevers, aka the Master; and Georgia Moffett, daughter of Peter Davison, wife of David Tennant, and the titular role in 2008′s The Doctor’s Daughter!

Here’s the official synopsis:

“When the crew of the Oceanus rescued a man close to death, its captain could barely have guessed at the incredible story that man would come to share. This is the story of Victor Frankenstein: a man obsessed with discovering the secret of life and cheating death; a man who brings to life to a body built from corpses; and a man who rejects this would-be child…

Soon, Victor and his creature are entangled in a dangerous game of cat and mouse across Europe. But who is truly the monster?”

There are numerous editions you can snap up, including a 5-disc set for £25 and an extra special Limited Edition, priced just £35, with exclusive art cards signed by Messrs Darvill and Briggs! I know which one I’ll be ordering…

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Cubicle 7 Entertainment Updates Doctor Who RPG

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.

Break out the bow-ties, set up the card table, and replenish the stash of Jammie Dodgers – the newly regenerated Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space role-playing game is now available for download!

Cubicle 7 Entertainment has updated the game through The Day of the Doctor and is now selling it as a PDF for $29.99.  A limited edition hardcover book version (actually printed and made of paper!) will be released in April.

As listed by Cubicle 7, the updates and special features include:

Ready-made character sheets for three incarnations of the Doctor – including the War Doctor for the first time – as well as many of his companions past and present.
A complete set of rules for playing the game.
Rules for creating your own characters, gadgets and more.
A guide to creating your own adventures, including new adventure seeds.
All-new imagery, including The Day of the Doctor.
And much more besides!

Adventures in Time and Space is also supposed to be playable by beginner or expert-level gamers, and is suggested for “players aged 10 to 1200″.  So if you’ve ever wanted to BE the Doctor or one of his companions, now is your chance!  Just purchase the RPG PDF ASAP!

Kasterborites, if you could walk in the shoes of one character in the whole Doctor Who universe, who would it be?

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Fans Re-Enact Their Favourite Doctor Who Moments

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 2013, website CultBox asked fans to re-enact their favourite Doctor Who moment to celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary.

With a remarkable response, hundreds of fans from over 30 countries sent in their videos, a compilation of which you can view here thanks to CultBox.

Find out more at www.cultbox.co.uk.

 

 

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Who’s Changing: An Adventure in Time with Fans

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.

I’ve been eager to get my hands on new Doctor Who documentary Who’s Changing: An Adventure in Time with Fans since I first stumbled upon the Kickstarter for it. And now that I have seen it I can say safely that it is one of the finest documentaries I have seen on the subject of the culture of fans within Doctor Who, and I have to say it was worth the wait.

Directed by Cameron K. McEwan, better known to many as Blogtor Who, one of the web’s foremost authorities on all things Who and author of the book The Who’s Who of Doctor Who this is fun and engaging at all times and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the show.

Taking us from the earliest days of the first convention in a church hall in London back in 1977 right through to the epic 50th anniversary celebrations last year it is packed with footage from various con’s and a wealth of interviews with stars and fans alike.

My first thought when watching it was that there is no way Neve McIntosh (Madame Vastra) is old enough to remember watching Planet of the Spiders and that really sets the tone for this documentary, its like the best conversations you have had with all your Whovian friends but without them actually being there. More than once I found myself declaring my agreement out loud to statements from various interviewees and proclaiming others to be jammy so-and-so’s (or words to that effect) for being at various events and wooping with glee at the inclusion of clips from Chameleons Circuit’s video for ‘An Awful lot of Running’ and proclaiming to the telly that ‘my mate made that video!’. On top of that the various chapter titles are ingenious and guaranteed to raise a giggle at the very least, personal favourites include ‘Planet of the Conventions’ and ‘The Romance of Doom’.

But it’s not just a casual chat with folks, it’s really quite informative too. It covers the rise of the fan from the beginnings of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society and those early cons to the mega U.S cons that attracted all the big names while simultaneously making things tougher for the U.K con hosts (leaving them to compete with the lager wallets of the American organisers and the steady increase in the level of activity fans would go to including cosplay and cross dressing “crossplay”). It also tackles the sometimes thorny issue of ‘hardcore fans’ those who feel that newer fans aren’t ‘doing it properly’ and the responses of those who aim to dispel the idea. Mention is also given to the gradual shift in fan gender, from the mostly male audience at the earlier cons to the now almost 50/50 split and the reasons for this, including the appeal of “sexier” Doctors such as Tennant and Matt Smith.

The interviews with the stars of the show such as Louise Jameson (Leela), Sophie Aldred (Ace), Simon Fisher-Becker (Dorium Maldovar), Neve McIntosh (Madame Vastra), Catrin Stewart (Jenny Flint), Caitlin Blackwood (Amelia Pond), Dan Starkey (Commander Strax) as well as faces from behind the scenes such as script editors Gary Russell and Eric Saward and scriptwriters Andrew Smith (Doctor Who, Full Circle), Jane Espenson (Torchwood: Miracle Day, Buffy, Battlestar Galactica) and James Moran (Doctor Who, The Fires of Pompeii) are all informative, clever and really show that there is no gap between those involved in the show and the fans, these people are just as besotted as we are and that love really comes across.

Many of the interviews are also available in their full form as extras on the disc, with a run time almost equal to that of the main feature so you get really good value for money with this release.

Overall this release really is a lot of fun and is deserving of a place on any and every Whovian’s shelves. Its well made and never slips into being anorak-y in its devotion or in its portrayal of the fans. Here’s hoping that this will not be the last such production from the good Blogtor and co.

Head to www.whoschanging.co.uk to order the DVD or stream online.

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Big Finish Adapts The Highest Science!

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.

Exciting news for New Adventures fans with the announcement from Big Finish that they’ll be releasing an audio adaptation of The Highest Science later this year!

Dating from 1993, Gareth Roberts’s novel (available on Amazon) was his first to be published by Virgin and introduced recurring monsters the Chelonians. Sylvester McCoy will be the Doctor, joined by Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield.

Following the success of 2012′s Love and War, Jacqueline Rayner will again be on scripting duties with Cavan Scott producing and Scott Handcock in the director’s chair. Handcock promises an intriguing tale of “temporal disturbances, warmongering commuters and murderous cybernetic tortoises”.

‘Sakkrat. Many legends speak of this world, home of an ancient empire destroyed by its own greatest achievement: the Highest Science, the pinnacle of technological discovery.

When the TARDIS alerts the Doctor and Bernice to the presence of an enormous temporal fluctuation on a large, green, unremarkable planet, they are not to know of any connection with the legend.’

The adventure will be one of Big Finish’s special Doctor Who releases and is available for pre-order now.

Readers of a certain vintage are sure be all dewy-eyed at the prospect of another New Adventures adaptation and will be eager to snap this one up. Which other novels (“too broad and deep for the small screen”) do you think would make for great audio releases?

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Has Missing Doctor Who The Smugglers Been Found?

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.

That’s the intriguing question posed by blogger Chris Swanson, who claims that it’s been ‘personally relayed’ to him by a ‘confidential source’ that this late era First Doctor story has been recovered.

Important for us to stress that the usual health warnings apply to this the same as any other missing episodes information; indeed as Swanson himself says, he hasn’t been able to find any additional confirmation.

 The Smugglers is perhaps best remembered for being exceptionally bloodthirsty with various gruesome acts of violence. 

As with so many of these rumours this is frustratingly inconclusive, of course, and fans will have to make their own minds up as to how much credence to attach to an unconfirmed story with no supporting detail.

With all of its episodes missing from the archives, The Smugglers is perhaps best remembered for being, as described by Jonathan Morris in Doctor Who Magazine‘s Missing Episodes First Doctor Special, ‘exceptionally bloodthirsty’ with various gruesome acts of violence. A surviving clip from part 3 was unsurprisingly excised by an overseas censor, who took exception to Pike doing away with the unfortunate Jamaica with his spike.

The Smugglers may not be the most fondly remembered story of its era but the censor clips and behind the scenes footage are surely enough to make the prospect of seeing it for what would be the first time for most of us enticing, if irritatingly out of reach. What do you think? Time for an extra rum ration?

Or should we stand fast?

(Via WhatCulture)

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