Christian Cawley's Blog, page 302

Tasha Lem: Friend Or Foe?

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.

She’s mysteriously “from the Doctor’s past” and is “a descendant of humans”, but who is Tasha Lem? In a recent interview the actress who plays her, Orla Brady (Fringe, Sinbad), tries to explain her character without spoiling the surprises of Christmas.

Although she watched Doctor Who as a child, she had not seen it since. How did Ms. Brady research the storylines, including one in particular?

I asked the script editor to recommend what he thought I should watch, and said ‘I’m happy to watch as much as you like’, and he gave me [laughing] truly a stack of DVDs from my feet up to my shoulder and …I just stayed in and had this Who-fest, where I watched Christopher’s and David’s and Matt’s of course, a lot of Matt’s, because I was catching up on particular story strands.

When asked if those strands dealt with Trezalore, she replied simply, “Yes.”

And Ms. Brady seems to have scenes with both the Doctor and at least one of his enemies:

There were a couple of moments between Tasha and the Doctor that made me laugh out loud, but she’s not a particularly funny character…

I did have a scene with one of the above (Daleks or Cybermen)…when I did stand in front of them I did think ‘ooh, I’m slightly scared and nervous.”

When questioned about the tone of the special episode, she tried not to steer into spoilers:

Several of the writers of the series have managed to weave things together. There’s a very strong spirit of Christmas in this woven together with an element of dread, ending, and what looks like a death. That’s coming up…it has been predicted that this is a death, an ending, and it’s coming down the line pretty rapidly, so there is that element, but also, woven through that dark element is a very beautiful Christmas spirit.

So, Tasha Lem is someone who the Doctor apparently already knows, has something to do with Trenzalore, and may be there as he dies (or regenerates?). That all seems to bring up more questions than it answers–but at least we’ll find out soon when The Time of the Doctor airs on Christmas Day.

If a person rearranges the letters of her name, it’s pretty obvious that Tasha Lem is really “Tame Lash” or “Aha! Melts!” Kasterborites, who do you think she really is?

(Inspired by Den of Geek)

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Colin Baker Is Abanazer in Aladdin!

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.

It’s that time of year again! Regal wigs are being donned, opulent frocks are being laundered, and gender roles will be well and truly reversed – it’s panto season!

Colin Baker will be making his now traditional appearance in a Christmas production, this time as Abanazer in Aladdin at The Anvil in Basingstoke. Here’s an announcement from The Anvil’s Twitter account:

Colin Baker (@SawbonesHex) as Abanazer in Aladdin – Tickets here: http://t.co/yF50e2ha5m #panto pic.twitter.com/0GvzDVfvrG

— Anvil Arts (@AnvilArts) December 12, 2013

We’re promised that the Sixth Doctor, in his guise as a wicked sorcerer, is trying to “get his hands on the fabled magic lamp and rule the world”… and only Aladdin can stop him.

Aladdin runs until Sunday 5th January 2014. More details can be found at the Anvil Arts website.

Colin does this every year, of course, but which Doctor Who star would you most like to see do panto?

 

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The War Doctor’s Regeneration Improved [VIDEO]

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.

There were some of us–and you all know who you are–who held our collective breath when John Hurt started to “wear a bit thin” and gloriously started glowing near the end of The Day of the Doctor.

Had Steven Moffat pulled another one? Had Christopher Eccleston secretly agreed to make a cameo appearance as a newly-regenerated Ninth Doctor? Well, as we now know, the answer was sadly no. The scene does come tantalizing close, though, as the glimmering War Doctor’s eyes and ears seemingly start to morph…and CUT!

Well, some fan out there just couldn’t take not seeing a full regeneration scene, and created some wizardry on his or her computer. As seen on this very well-done video, the skilled fan has added just a few scant seconds, but it’s just enough to see the Ninth Doctor’s face fully regenerated in all his glory. It’s like years of waiting have finally come to an end.

Now, if the fan could just do something about those ears…

The post The War Doctor’s Regeneration Improved [VIDEO] appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

BBC America’s “Farewell to Matt Smith” Doctor Who Special

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.

US viewers can look forward to an extra treat this Christmas, as BBC America announce an all new special documentary bidding farewell to Matt Smith.

Airing on Christmas Day immediately before The Time of The Doctor, the special behind the scenes programme will feature highlights from Matt’s run with interview footage from the man himself, his cast-mates, writers, producers, guest stars and celebrity fans.

A trailer can be viewed for the doc (above), which will have Alex Kingston on narration duties.

Since the demise of Confidential it seems viewers stateside are being better served for this kind of thing than in the UK. The recent The Doctors Revisited series was well put together, with some good guests and a nice balance to keep the casual viewers and the fans engaged.

Farewell to Matt Smith can be seen on BBC America on December 25th at 8pm/7c.

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ChicagoTARDIS Convention Highlights!

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.

The ChicagoTARDIS convention was held on Thanksgiving weekend in the US, November 29-December 1. The line-up of guests was pretty spectacular, with no less than three Doctors (Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Paul McGann) and many companions (Freema Agyeman, Dan Starkey, Daphne Ashbrook, Frazer Hines, Sarah Sutton, Nicola Bryant, Louise Jameson) and many other guests.

Thanks to the great guests and the 50th anniversary, the convention had a record number of attendees – something like 2700 compared to 1200 in past years.

Here are some of the things that were highlights for me over the three days:

At his standing-room-only panel, Paul McGann said that he was driven to The Night of the Doctor set in a car with tinted/blacked out windows and was like something out of a spy movie.
Peter Davison was asked what he thought about the Doctor possibly being out of regenerations. He said that Steven Moffat had mentioned River giving the Doctor all of her regenerations in Let’s Kill Hitler. Truth or Moffat misdirection?
Colin Baker likened the Sixth Doctor to Pride and Prejudice‘s Mr. Darcy, in that, like Darcy, his Doctor would appear to be selfish and unlikeable at first, then would be revealed to be the most upstanding person in the story.
Several women – and at least one man – praised Louise Jameson’s portrayal of Leela to be greatly inspiring to them.
Dan Starkey entertained the audience with a humorous question and answer session of his panel, and did his Strax voice several times: “I am not a performing monkey!”

Baker and Jameson enchanted the audience with a performance of “Love Letters” to a nearly full house on Friday night. It was a perfect occasion for a convention date night and nice to see a great non-Who performance from the two stars.
*Michael Jayston seemed a little miffed that he hasn’t been asked back in light of the Valeyard’s name being mentioned in The Name of the Doctor. He also compared the Valeyard to John Hurt’s War Doctor as each being a “dark side” of the Doctor.
All of the guests seemed very nice and comfortable on stage. I was especially impressed with Richard Hope (The Hungry Earth), Sarah Sutton, and Nicola Bryant.
Sunday morning was the highlight of the convention for me, as Night and Day of the Doctor were screened in the Grand Ballroom to a packed audience. Peter Capaldi and Tom Baker’s appearances on screen resulted in huge cheers from the convention goers. Then, shortly afterward, there was a screening of The Five-ish Doctors Reboot, and Peter Davison made a surprise appearance on stage to introduce the show and take questions after. Fantastic!
Two video rooms screened many episodes, etc. I was able to catch the first episode of the now-found The Enemy of the World, as well as An Adventure in Space and Time, and countless others.

Overall, it was a great convention. I had not attended a ChicagoTARDIS since 2006 and it was just amazing to see how big this year’s con turned out to be. Not to mention seeing all of the families, women, and children who were in attendance – and many of them dressed as their favorite characters!

Here’s to 50 more years!

(Thanks to Sara Robbins and Matt Craemer for their photos!)

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Matt’s Last Line Planned “For A Long While”

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.

At least it won’t be “Carrot juice”!

Steven Moffat has said that the departure of Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor has been planned out for some time – right down to his last line of dialogue. Recently, the secretive Scottish showrunner let loose a few tiny details about the upcoming Christmas special, The Time of the Doctor:

“Before I wrote it, I did say to Mark [Gatiss] that I thought I knew what [Matt's] last moment would be – and indeed his last line. I’ve had the vague storyline in place for a long while.”

And it sounds like we may possibly – possibly! – get some answers to things like cracks in walls, exploding TARDISes, and all-expenses-paid trips to Trenzalore:

“It’s his final battle and he’s been fighting it for a while. There are… elements from every series of Matt’s Doctor, which will come to a head in this special.”

Reading Moffat’s quotes, it very well appears that the Eleventh Doctor’s exit might have been planned even before he made his first entrance… a perfect example of the devious timey-wiminess of the showrunner’s brain.

We’ll soon find out if Matt Smith doesn’t wanna go – or is sort of OK with going? – in less than two weeks! The Time of the Doctor airs on Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25th.

Kasterborites, how long do you think Moffat has had Matt’s exit planned? And how many charts and graphs do you think his plan involved?

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The Moonbase DVD Artwork Revealed

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.

Clear some space on the DVD shelf: The Moonbase is finally getting its own DVD release! Sporting some rather gorgeous sleeve artwork from the estimable Lee Binding, The Moonbase looks to be similar in appearance to the ‘rebranded’ The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear DVDs, deprived of the usual TARDIS roundels that featured on previous releases, but looking good nonetheless.

This early Cyberman adventure starring Patrick Troughton will feature animated reconstructions in lieu of episodes 1 and 3, with episodes 2 and 4 included in their entirety. There will also be an audio commentary and a making-of featurette.

Here’s the official synopsis:

In 2070, Earth’s weather is controlled with ease from the Moon. When the TARDIS arrives at the Moonbase, the Doctor, along with his friends Polly, Ben and Jamie, is accused of starting a plague that is killing off the base’s crew. It’s not long, however, before the time travellers discover the true cause of the deaths – a powerful, unstoppable race that the Doctor has met before: the Cybermen.

Due for release in January 2014, this classic ‘base-under-siege’ adventure is a welcome edition to the classic series collection. Want to find out more about the menaces from Mondas’ second story? Well, Kasterborous has a handy guide…

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Matt Smith: Doctor Who Departure “bittersweet… emotional” [VIDEO]

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.

Matt Smith has described how he feels about leaving Doctor Who, in advance of his final appearance as the Eleventh Doctor in the Christmas special, The Time of the Doctor.

The interview is available as a short video above, and the outgoing-outgoing actor discusses everything from his feelings on reading his final script to possibly breaking his mother’s heart!

When asked what he wanted from his final episode, he responded:

I think it’s good for the Doctor to go out with a bang, a crash, and a wallop. I’m pleased, it’s really funny and mad. When I got to the last 20 pages and it was quite a hard read for me, but I hope it’s going to be a belter.

Asked about the feelings he experienced in his final (for now!) appearance as the Doctor:

It felt very emotional to be doing my final episode. My mother is mortified, honestly she was at the front of the campaign for me to stay and wasn’t happy when I said I was going to leave. But when you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go.

Will he continue to watch the show, even when he’s gone?

Yeah, absolutely. I’ll be a fan. I’m very grateful to Steven Moffat and that whole team up in Wales for the past four years, and you know I want the show to go from strength to strength, which it will.

And what about The Time of the Doctor, soon to be shown?

With Doctor Who, you’re always looking back and forward at the same time, because you tend to be jumping around. I don’t want to give too much away, but obviously when you look at my tenure over the last four years, there are stories and plot-points and villains in there that are particular to my Doctor and I think he’s got to face all that.

Sounds ominous and fun at the same time–and you can’t help feeling a tiny bit bad for Matt, even though he’s probably going on to be a big time movie star!

Kasterborites, if there was one thing that you’d like to see the Eleventh Doctor do for one final time at Christmas, what would it be?

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Tom Baker Recalls Relationship With Jon Pertwee

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.

When asked during the recent Doctor Who Celebration what he remembered about meeting Jon Pertwee for his regeneration scene, Fourth (and arguably most popular) Doctor Tom Baker said that he remembered nothing!

“Absolutely nothing at all. He didn’t speak to me. Maybe he was grieving. I don’t remember anything about him at all.”

Baker then had a little bit of fun at the late Pertwee’s expense:

“I do remember he never bought me a drink. He had – we call it on Gallifrey – Alien Hand Syndrome. His hand wouldn’t go where the money was…I remember nothing except anticipating future glory.”

All joking aside, grief may very well have played into how Pertwee interacted with Baker. We know from previous documentary interviews that Pertwee’s decision to leave the role was largely due to the leaving of Barry Letts and the death of actor Roger Delgado (the Master), who had been a close friend. And perhaps deep down, like the Tenth Doctor’s last words, he truly didn’t want to go.

Baker, as we all know, certainly did go on to achieve “future glory,” and Pertwee did reprise his role in the 20th Anniversary special, The Five Doctors, as well as a few audio adventures in the ’80s. However, it is surprising to learn that they had no interaction at all during the filming of Pertwee’s last and Baker’s first scene. Dear readers, what do you think? Did Pertwee’s grief cause him to stay silent? Or is time playing tricks on the Fourth Doctor’s memories?

via DoctorWho.TV

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December’s Daily Dalek Mug Of The Month!

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 the excellent reaction to our previous Mug of the Month competitions, here’s another opportunity to win a great Dalek-themed coffee or tea chalice (okay, it’ a mug)!

This time it is a wintry scene appropriate for the time of year – a Dalek robin admiring a Dalek snowman…

If you like the design on the mug, it is one of many excellent images from The Daily Dalek, which you can check daily at www.tonecartoons.co.uk/blog. Artist Tone himself has supplied us with this mug – which you can win!

This time, in keeping with the theme of the mug, we’re suggesting that you tell us which Doctor Who character you most like to make out of snow with the hope that he, she or it would come alive and take you “walking in the air” on Christmas Eve night.

One condition, however: you can’t choose the Doctor!

Leave your suggestions in the comments below and we’ll choose a winner from them next Thursday, December 19th

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