Christian Cawley's Blog, page 32

Sherlock: Benedict Cumberbatch Reveals How Long He Plans to Stay

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.

Benedict Cumberbatch is about to make your day.

In an interview with the Radio Times the actor revealed that he has no plans to depart the role of Sherlock.

Benedict has confirmed that he wouldn’t walk away from the show anytime soon, saying that he’s ‘pretty determined’ to keep playing the detective.

“I’m still enjoying it,” he told the magazine. “We’ll see how the next series goes, but I’d love to keep ageing with him. Martin and I started this relatively young compared to a lot of Holmes and Watsons, so why not?”

While it’s not a solid confirmation, more of a quick glance towards his ever growing schedule (Doctor Strange,  coming to a cinema near you soon!)  it is a sign that Sherlock is very much a part of his future.

However, just how often he returns to Baker Street remains to be seen.

Looking towards the immediate future, this year’s festive special The Abominable Bride, sees Sherlock and Watson return to their more traditional Victorian time period; a move which Benedict had some reservations about.

“I genuinely didn’t understand how they were going to get away with it,” he said. “And then the more detailed pitch came – we were talking about series four as well, and I went, ‘OK, this is going to be great fun’, and it really is.”

Sherlock: The Abominable Bride airs New Year’s Day on BBC One at 9pm.

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Rare Doctor Who Items Up for Auction

Simon Mills 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, we have a little over two weeks to go until Christmas. Oh, did you not notice? It’s not like they mention it very often on TV. Or the radio. Or on billboards. Or the sides of busses. Or the papers. OR EVERY DAMN WHERE YOU LOOK! Are you looking those last minute Christmas gifts for the Doctor Who fan in your life? Or are you like me and not even started shopping yet?

Well, despair not, for we have news on just the items you are looking for! Over at Bonhams on Thursday 10th December they are holding their traditional December Entertainment Memorabilia auction where you can get your hands on memorabilia from the entertainment industry, such as props, scripts, and costumes, etc. from various film and TV show or musical artists Of course, Doctor Who is well represented in the auction with such gloriously juicy beauties as a range of costumes as worn by John Barrowman as Capt Jack Harkness in Torchwood and a large collection of costume pieces from The Sarah Jane Adventures, including many worn by Elisabeth Sladen – some items are as worn by stunt doubles, but they are all genuine items from the world of Doctor Who!

Also on offer are a yeti homing device from the 1968 Patrick Troughton story The Web of Fear and an eggshell photon drive from the 1979 story The Creature from the Pit. Other auction lots available include scripts, posters, designs and other paperwork from Doctor Who, Torchwood and SJA.

If none of that takes your fancy, how about some parts from Pete Townshend’s smashed Gibson guitars? Or a blouse made for Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz? It certainly is a broad spectrum of items included in this auction!

Why are you still here? The auction will start soon (or ended ages ago if you are reading this from far in the future), so head over to Bonhams to view the full list of items available and maybe put in some bids yourself? You can get the full listing directly from here if you’re in a real hurry. Although, doctorwhonews.net have saved us a lot of trouble by listing the items of interest here.

I take a 32” waist in case anyone wants to buy me a pair of trousers, by the way.

The post Rare Doctor Who Items Up for Auction appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Titan Comics Announce Ongoing Ninth Doctor Series

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.

Titan Comics and BBC Worldwide have announced the ongoing Ninth Doctor comics series.

Thanks to the overwhelming popularity of the Ninth Doctor, the series will join Titan Comics hugely popular and critically acclaimed Doctor Who comics line with a 5-part mini-series in 2015 – which already includes Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors as a monthly ongoing titles.

The Ninth Doctor comic writer, Cavan Scott (Who-ology) will continue to work on the series.

 “It’s absolutely fantastic that the Ninth Doctor is returning for more adventures with Rose and Captain Jack,” he said. “The new ongoing series kicks off a new era and a new mission for this much-loved TARDIS team. Along the way they’ll encounter old friends and foes as well as startling new faces. I’ve been blown away by the love for Doctor Number Nine that I’ve seen at comic cons and signings over the last year. It’s a real privilege to be continuing the Ninth Doctor’s story. It really is the trip of a lifetime.”

The first in the brand new Ninth Doctor ongoing story arc will hit shelves in April 2016, with interior art on the opening three-parter by Adriana Melo (Miss Marvel).

The post Titan Comics Announce Ongoing Ninth Doctor Series appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Doctor Who 2015: Four Doctors Signing Event

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.

Join artist Neil Edwards and writer Paul Cornell at Forbidden Planet’s London Megastore on Shaftsbury Avenue for an exclusive Four Doctors signing event.

The pair will be signing an exclusive edition of Four Doctors – the crossover event which saw the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth incarnations of the Doctor come face to face!

When an unseen enemy manoeuvres the three Doctors into an impossible meeting, the future of the universe itself is put at stake. It will take all of the Doctor’s innate cunning and adaptability to team up with his past and present selves to uncover the immensely powerful culprit.

You can see the official trailer for the whole shebang below.

The comics served as a three-way crossover between Titan Comics ongoing series Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor, Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor and Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor, uniting the three Doctors and their companions, as well as marking the Titan Comics debut of the War Doctor. It also saw a cameo of the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler.

You can order the collected Four Doctors graphic novel from Forbidden Planet now for £10.99 for release on Wednesday 13th January either by mail order or to picked up and signed at the event itself on the same day.

The post Doctor Who 2015: Four Doctors Signing Event appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Out Now: Torchwood – One Rule [TRAILER]

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.

She did her duty for Queen and country – and now Yvonne Hartman is back.

Well, technically, she’s not. She’s probably still in the Void or destroyed in The Next Doctor or something, but Big Finish takes us back to when it all started, in more ways than one! The latest Torchwood audio adventure, One Rule time travels back to 2005, the year Doctor Who returned to screens, and Cardiff is looking for a new Mayor…

It’s been three weeks since the Mayor of Cardiff was killed by a shop dummy and the fight is on to see who will replace him.

Yvonne Hartman is visiting the city to retrieve an invaluable alien device. She’s in charge of Torchwood One, she’s saving the British Empire and she doesn’t care about local politics. But she is going to find herself caught up in that fight. There’s a bloodthirsty alien stalking the streets and there’s a special offer on at the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet.

It’s the 26th of March 2005 and it’s the day that everything changes.

Tracey-Ann Oberman is back as Yvonne, a role she last played nearly a decade ago, and she’s joined by Catrin Stewart (better known as Jenny Flint of the Paternoster Row gang), Dan Starkey (various Sontarans, but notably Strax), Gareth Armstrong, and Rebecca Lacey.

Written by Joseph Lidster, this new tale of Torchwood One, Canary Wharf, is available now from Big Finish.

The post Out Now: Torchwood – One Rule [TRAILER] appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Why Peter Capaldi Thinks a Male Companion is a Bad Idea

Katie Gribble 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 Clara’s off travelling the universe with less than a heart beat to live. Her and Me have left an amnesiac Doctor very much alone, free to traverse the universe and be a Doctor again. So the next question on every fans lips: who will replace Clara Oswald?

We know that in the forthcoming Christmas Special, The Husbands of River Song, we will have the plucky archaeologist as a temporary companion, but after River goes on her way, who will accompany our Doctor then?

Steven Moffat has said that he has some ideas about the next companions, revealing that:

“I’m beginning to have an idea of the kind of person, specific ideas but not a specific actress…We’re definitely looking for a different dynamic.”

But otherwise, there is no hard information on who the next companion could be. In a recent interview with the Radio Times, Peter Capaldi revealed his own thoughts about what kind of companion he would and would not like to work with. As a life-long fan of the show, Capaldi’s knowledge of what has come before and what works is certainly something to consider when pairing his Doctor up with someone. Despite how well Clara and the Twelfth Doctor worked together, Jenna was a product of Matt Smith’s era and it always felt like Peter’s Doctor was being forced into continuing a form of relationship with which he was not entirely comfortable.

However, Peter has certainly made his opinion clear:

“With the best will in the world, I don’t want a bloke, because I’m frightened that they’ll give him all the action and I’ll be standing around spouting scientific gobbledygook… ‘Oh, Peter’s not up to chasing those Zygons down the corridor, let the chap do it.’ And that would be awful. I want to chase the Zygons!…I’d like a bit of Jon Pertwee karate. A bit of Venusian aikido.”

Who do you think should be the next companion? Should they be brand new or someone we’ve met before? Male or female? Human or not? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Doctor Who returns on Christmas Day at 5.15pm on BBC One in The Husbands of River Song. 

The post Why Peter Capaldi Thinks a Male Companion is a Bad Idea appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Coming Soon – Doctor Who: The Legends of Ashildr: Never-Before-Told Stories of The Woman Who Lived

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.

BBC Books have announced details of Doctor Who spin-off novel, The Legends of Ashildr, telling the never-before-told stories of The Woman Who Lived.

Ashildr, played by Maisie Williams, a young Viking girl, died helping the Doctor and Clara to save her village. Brought back to life by the Doctor using alien technology, she is now immortal – The Woman Who Lived. Since then, Ashildr has kept journals, detailing her extraordinary life.

The Legends of Ashildr is a glimpse of some of those stories: the terrors she has faced, the battles she has won, and the treasures she has found. These are tales of a woman who lived longer than she should ever have lived – and lost more than she can even remember.

The collection of tales is set between her first two encounters with the Doctor, as shown in the 2015 episodes The Girl Who Died and The Woman Who Lived.

Authors include: James Goss (City of Death with Douglas Adams), Jenny T. Colgan (Dark Horizons), David Llewellyn (The Taking of Chelsea 426) and Justin Richards (Apollo 23).

Doctor Who – The Legends of Ashildr is published on hardback, Dec 10, priced £9.99.

The post Coming Soon – Doctor Who: The Legends of Ashildr: Never-Before-Told Stories of The Woman Who Lived appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Three-ish Questions We’re Left With After Hell Bent

Simon Mills 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 we have it! The season 9 finale has come and gone, bringing with it the answers to some questions we’ve been pondering since episode 1 of this series and some questions that have been bothering us for a Hell of a lot longer, but we won’t get Bent out of shape worrying about the questions that still aren’t answered or totally new questions that have cropped up? or will we…?

Reactions to Hell Bent have been somewhat mixed, I’d say. Definitely mixed in my own head, at least, and the various heads that are laying around at K Towers. Some of those heads are even still attached to bodies, which is a plus.

I, for one, enjoyed the episode. It was fun. It made me laugh and (almost) cry. There were some fantastic set pieces with great acting from Capaldi. The Gallifreyan landscapes were gorgeous, especially the wide shots. I loved seeing the classic white TARDIS interior and learning more about the Matrix and the wraiths.

…BUT…

…and please don’t get me wrong. I did really enjoy it…

BUT there were quite a few inconsistencies and unanswered questions and pointless plot threads that niggle at me, somewhat. We’ve had a bit of a chat here at the Towers (those of us that still have heads attached, anyway) and here, in no particular order are some thoughts we have on those unanswered questions.

The big question for me, is why were the Sisterhood of Karn on Gallifrey and how did they get there? I like Ohila, she’s a great character, but was her presence in the story merely a tick in the box? How would the story have played out any differently if she hadn’t been there? Mind you, she was a useful foil for the equally redundant Rassilon to argue with and complain at.

There were some nice new dangling plot threads left in the barn, though. Who was that woman – a former nursemaid or maybe even a relative? And why did she say something about “keeping things here in case the boys…”? She was probably referring to the Doctor and… a mysterious other? Is this other a brother? Or a brother from another mother? I like this little story – it doesn’t mess up any continuity and could tie into another dangling thread from waaaaay back in the Peter Davison story Planet of Fire when the Master is burning up and cries out “you would do this to your own…AAARGH!” I think it is widely believed that the AAARGH could be substituted for “brother”. Anyway, that’s just me speculating wildly!

The Hybrid. Did we really get a satisfactory conclusion to this season long plot thread and subject of Time Lord prophecy? I don’t think so. The Hybrid is supposed to threaten the whole of time and space – I didn’t feel much threat from either of the prime candidates (the Doctor and Ashildr – I won’t call her “Me”, as that is the most contrived name I have ever heard purely so the Doctor can be vague, enigmatic and ambiguous, stating that “the Hybrid is Me”) although I do get that The Moff probably intended The Hybrid to be both the Doctor and Clara and it is their obsession with each other that puts the universe in dire peril. I just don’t get where the peril comes from – how can the universe and all of time space come to an end by extracting someone at their time of death and letting them go free? Mind you, one of the talking heads at K Towers did point out that this is a Moffat thing – at the end of the day, the questions we thought were important and wanted answers to didn’t really matter. It’s all about the characters and their interactions – it’s this that keeps us coming back. Probably!

One other comment I have, more like a question, really… is all about the regeneration of the general from a man (back) into a woman. I know this is a divisive issue, but this is the first time we’ve seen it happen and it certainly seems to me as though The Grand Moff did this just to bait the fans who are against “this sort of thing”. Fair play, says I! And here comes another but…

…BUT…

…it just didn’t seem to serve any PURPOSE in the story, and for that reason, it just felt crammed in and awkward and shouldn’t have been there. I liked the General as he has, seemed like a nice fairly honourable chap, so why change the character part way through the story when it doesn’t serve the narrative? Also, with all the HOOHA about the gender-bending regeneration, did anyone notice that s/he changed colour? It occurs to me that this may have been a clever way of sneaking a colour changing regeneration into our psyches while we were all focussed on a different aspect. Well played!

The post Three-ish Questions We’re Left With After Hell Bent appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Sherlock Introduces The Abominable Bride with Cool Retro Posters

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.

Now this is cool. The BBC have released a brief teaser and two retro posters for the upcoming Sherlock festive special, The Abominable Bride.

The delightfully retro designs harken back to touchstone for Sherlock’s inception, the classic Sherlock Holmes films of the 1930’s and 40’s, only with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in the places of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce respectfully.

The posters, which promise ‘Friendship, Adventure, Murder’ also give us our first look at the titular bride, the enemy ‘seemingly beyond the grave’ who certainly does look abominable.

 

The official synopsis, which is a tad spoilery, reads:

We’ve been here before – but what if this wasn’t the modern day but the late Victorian period? What if the world’s most famous consulting detective and his best friend lived in a Baker Street of steam trains, hansom cabs, top hats and frock-coats?

Welcome to ‘Sherlock’ in 1895!

Some things, though, remain reassuringly the same. Friendship, adventure and especially, MURDER…

Why is Thomas Ricoletti a little surprised to see his wife dressed in her old wedding gown? Because, just a few hours before, she took her own life…

Mrs Ricoletti’s ghost now appears to be prowling the streets with an unslakeable thirst for revenge. From fog-shrouded Limehouse to the bowels of a ruined church, Holmes, Watson and their friends must use all their cunning to combat an enemy seemingly from beyond the grave and the final, shocking truth about… the Abominable Bride!

Sherlock: The Abominable Bride airs New Year’s Day on BBC One at 9pm.

 

The post Sherlock Introduces The Abominable Bride with Cool Retro Posters appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Could Blink Be Cleverer Than We First Thought?

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.

How clever is Blink? Very, there you go, thanks for your time…No, wait. Really just how clever is Blink – is it even smarter than we first thought? Is there a secret buried at its terrifying heart? Or Is this new theory just a coincidence?

Well, fan and blogger JenneralGeek seems to think we’ve all missed something hiding in plain sight; something that can be explained in three words…

Sally Wainwright Shipton.

Confused, well remember the moment when, all aflutter, Sally Sparrow, as played by the now Oscar nominated actress Carey Mulligan, accidentally calls herself ‘Sally Shipton’ in front of flirty police officer Billy Shipton?

A funny, enduring Freudian slip in the midst of a lovely meet-cute? Well, maybe not: What if it was a little bit of timey whimey magic?

Going back a little further in the episode, JenneralGeek reminds us that Sally brought her pal Katherine Nightengale to Wester Drumlins, home of the Weeping Angels, in 2007. It was there that Kathy fell victim to their powers and was transported back in time to 1920.

Then back in the modern day, Kathy’s grandson then turns up at the Weeping Angels abode with a letter from Katherine which reveals that she married a man called Benjamin Wainwright and had three children – the youngest of which, she named Sally.

Now given that we know that Kathrine lied about her age to Benjamin (as Sally notes, she wasn’t 18 as her gravestone suggested), JenneralGeek guesses that Sally Wainwright could have been born anywhere from a decade to two decades after her mother arrived.

So what is the connection between Sally Wainwright and Billy Shipton?

We know that, thanks to the Angels intervention, it wasn’t meant to be for Billy and Sally Sparrow but what about Billy and Sally Wainwright?

You see, if you take into account both Billy’s age at the time he was sent back to 1969 – say, and these aren’t accurate but, going from appearance, he was in his twenties – and Sally Wainwright was born late (and that’s a little unlikely in the 1920’s and 30’s); and her eldest son, as seen in the picture was provided by Kathy’s grandson, was 11 and you gave it a little bit of wriggle room – could Sally Sparrow have inadvertently set up Billy with Kathy’s daughter and his future wife?

We’ll let JenneralGeek take it from here:

“I know that there are a lot of variables, hence my excessive usage of the word, “about.” Now this isn’t factual information and we don’t know enough to affirmatively verify most (if any) of these claims. Also, there is the question of who Kathy’s grandson’s parents are. He does not say, but since Kathy had three children, there is a 66% chance that Billy Shipton is not the father. My point is this, wouldn’t it be crazy if this theory was true? That would mean that Sally Sparrow in a sense created and crafted Sally Shipton’s life. Think about it, Kathy would have never gone to Wester Drumlins if it wasn’t for Sally sparrow, meaning Kathy would have stayed in 2007, and Sally Wainwright would never have existed. Also, if Billy Shipton had not showed Sally Sparrow the Tardis, The Weeping Angels who were following Sparrow would not have sent Billy to 1969 where he could have potentially met Sally Wainwright. All of these potential happenstances make it extra crazy that Sally Sparrow accidentally says, ‘Sally Shipton’.”

Mind. Blown.

There are a lot of coincidences at the heart of this theory but it is curious to think that one key element of Blink – an episode beloved by pretty much every Doctor Who fan – was missed by everyone.

So what do you think? Is it too far-fetched? Has it blown your mind? Does it make sense?

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