Christian Cawley's Blog, page 333

Trailer & Artwork Released For Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special!

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.

The BBC has announced this morning that a trailer for the 50th anniversary special of Doctor Who will air on BBC One tonight!

Celebrating the last 50 years of Doctor Who, the specially created trailer – which contains no actual footage from The Day of the Doctor – will air after Strictly Come Dancing tonight on BBC One and will be also be available on www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho.

Accompanying it is the exclusive image above which was released today and features the 11 Doctors.

Travelling through time fans will be taken on a journey from the very beginning using state of the art technology. The special trailer is set to show all of the Doctors as they first appeared on screen, including William Hartnell in high res colour for the very first time, as celebrations ramp up to the 23 November.

As an official kick-off for the run up to the 50th anniversary episode, (starring Matt Smith, David Tennant and Jenna Coleman with Billie Piper and John Hurt), this trailer has been a long time coming. The Day of the Doctor will form the centrepiece – along with An Adventure in Space and Time – of a whole range of shows that have been commissioned across TV and radio to mark the anniversary.

The post Trailer & Artwork Released For Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

A Right Royal Party for 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.

In news that is sure to feature in every satirical news programme on the planet, Doctor Who is to receive royal recognition in the form of a special reception at Buckingham Palace.

The Countess of Wessex, understood to be a keen fan of the series, will host the party on November 18 2013.

The long-standing royal banishment of the Doctor, imposed by Queen Victoria, has been lifted in time for the 50th anniversary and present and former cast and crew members are expected to be invited.

It’s not clear if the Queen will be present but she surely won’t want to miss it, given she’s reported to enjoy nothing more than an evening at Balmoral with her Ninth Doctor box set.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall showed their affection for the programme in July, undertaking a visit to the BBC Roath Lock studios where the Prince had a go with Nick Briggs’ legendary ring modulator.

What do you most want to see from this auspicious occasion? Matt Smith doing the ‘giraffe’ dance with the Countess? Tom Baker recounting tall stories to Her Majesty? Katie Manning receiving a Damehood? Tell us below!

(Via Radio Times.)

The post A Right Royal Party for The Doctor appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Doctor Who Autograph Faker Jailed

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.

The man responsible for selling forged autographs of Doctor Who stars has been sentenced to time behind bars.

According to a report from BBC News, Norfolk resident Andrew Sullivan has received a 21 month stay in prison. The sentence was handed down by the Norwich Crown Court. Sullivan pleaded guilty back in September.

From 2009 to 2011, Sullivan forged 3,500 autographs and fake certificates of authenticity. Selling them primarily on eBay, he earned a cool £35,000 during that same time period. The fakes were of many Who stars (270 of Tenth Doctor, David Tennant, alone!), as well as celebrities from other sci-fi programs.

The whole situation is rather disconcerting; as an autograph collector myself, I would be appalled and full of rage had I been found a victim of this scheme. Indeed, prosecutor David Wilson stated that “the commission of these offences undermines the trust in this market and those who legitimately operate in it.” A true statement, as this occurrence my cause collectors to think twice before purchasing an autograph from eBay or other online marketplace.

What do you think? Will this keep you from buying autographs online? Do you think Sullivan’s 21 month sentence is enough?

The post Doctor Who Autograph Faker Jailed appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Jenny Colgan’s Favourite Doctor: David Tennant

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.

This past weekend the Sunday Express gathered four of the countries leading literary lights and asked one question of Earth shattering importance: Who is your favorite Doctor?

Well, one of those four was one of our own, certified Whovian Jenny Colgan (AKA JT Colgan, author of the novel Dark Horizons) made her case for her favorite in the form of David Tennant.

He combined everything you already loved about the Doctor – his wit, his brains, his joie de vivre and usefulness in a tight spot – and added the cherries on the top: dashing black eyes, a heart-melting grin and really, really good hair.

Jenny’s case covers the fact that Number Ten was the Doctor who really broke the pattern for anything other than friendship in the TARDIS when it came to companions (Paul McGann and that kiss not withstanding)

They tried to play down his instant chemistry with Billie Piper, but it simply could not be denied. She fancied him because you fancied him, your mum fancied him, your granny fancied him, everybody fancied him.

Now, I can hear a million fans screaming that isn’t a legitimate reason for a favorite Doctor, that there is more to it than being cute, and fear not, Jenny agrees with that too.

But there’s another reason Tennant is my favourite Doctor, which is that he starred in some of the greatest episodes there have ever been of Doctor Who, or in fact any television series.

Quite frankly I find that a hard point to argue with. Personally I think that there has yet to be a story to top Midnight, and as such I find that while David isn’t my all time favorite Doctor (an honour that is currently held by Doctor number two- though it does vary from month to month) he is my favorite modern era Doctor, though I refuse to comment on whether his hair has anything to do with that…. well okay, maybe a little bit.

But what do you fine folks feel? It Ten the tops or do you feel that there has been a massive miscarriage of justice here? Leave us a comment below and let us know your number one.

(Via TennantNews.)

The post Jenny Colgan’s Favourite Doctor: David Tennant appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Waris Hussein on Doctor Who’s Early Days

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.

Doctor Who‘s first ever director, the prolific Waris Hussein, has spoken candidly about his time on the show in an interview with the Radio Times.

Back in 1963, having only just graduated from Cambridge, the young director discovered he had his work cut out for him when he was presented with a bizarre set of scripts about cavemen. With no real budget to speak of, and lacking support from the higher echelons of the BBC, there was no guarantee of success for this new Saturday tea-time show.

And even when the programme’s producer, Verity Lambert, struck on the idea of casting the respected British actor William Hartnell in the title role, their troubles were far from over.

As Hussein explains:

When we approached him, he didn’t want to do it because he was doing well in films. Why would he want to commit to a series? … When we met him he was not only reluctant but had to be persuaded after two very expensive lunches and he was bewildered by having a woman producer. He was dyed-in-the-wool Conservative British. So when you think he was being produced by a woman, directed by an Indian and the idea came from a Canadian [BBC drama head Sydney Newman] … Talk about three aliens. I said, ‘This is Doctor Who versus the aliens.’

Fortunately, it did not take Waris Hussein long to form a healthy working relationship with the First Doctor.

There was a wonderful moment when we were rehearsing in a hall somewhere and the outline of the sets had been marked on the floor in yellow tape. He watched me setting it up. I said, ‘I’d like you to move here and there,’ and he said, ‘What will happen if I move over there? I think I’d like to move over there.’ I said, ‘Oh, interesting, Bill… Because there’s no set there and I won’t be able to see you, but you’re welcome to move there if you want.’ I had to counteract him patiently. Gradually, despite his irritable external self, he came round to liking me a lot.

Hussein’s anecdotes are both frank and fascinating, and provide a real insight into the early days of a children’s science fiction show that has gone on to become a cultural phenomenon. The events he describes, and many more, have been dramatised by writer Mark Gatiss in An Adventure in Space and Time, which is due to transmit in November.

Should be good!

(Via Radio Times.)

The post Waris Hussein on Doctor Who’s Early Days appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Is There A Dalek In Your Attic?

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.

If so, and if you can bear to part with it, you could make some serious money when Doctor Who items next come up for auction at Bonhams Auctioneers in December.

It seems the £36,000 paid in 2005 for an original Dalek used in the series is still a record, according to journalist Emma Simon’s research.

That’s not to say that any old bit of tat relating to our favourite show will prove to be your pension fund, though. It’s all about provenance and condition, apparently. And don’t be too trusting of eBay descriptions!

The Who Shop’s Alexandra Looseley-Saul says:

If you can verify that an item appeared on screen, then this is likely to appeal to collectors. If it was worn or connected to one of the main actors or assistants, this will add to its value.

Other fascinating facts in a well researched exploration into how to track down the rarest Doctor Who pieces include:

Be wary of William Hartnell autographs – his wife Heather often used to sign them for him.
The 1964 Scorpion Automotives Dalek playsuit is so rare because the factory burnt down.
When it comes to which Doctor’s items are the most popular, Tom Baker “shines head and shoulders above the rest”.

It’s not about the money, of course, but it is undeniably fun to ponder on what your own stuff is worth. Rarest item on my shelves is probably the first Jon Pertwee annual from 1970, although I can’t claim it’s mint as the puzzles are filled in.

What about you?

The post Is There A Dalek In Your Attic? appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Reviewed: Destiny of the Doctor 7 – Shockwave

Meredith Burdett 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.

Warning: spoilers…

When listening to Shockwave, one must remember that the seventh incarnation of the Doctor was the most manipulative of the bunch. Those of you that are new to the world of Doctor Who may only at the moment know one or two of the Time Lords incarnations but there was a time when the Doctor had more than just then secret of his name to worry about. From 1987 to 1989 on television as well as many books, comics and one final appearance for the 1996 TV movie, Sylvester McCoy offered Doctor Who fans a far more mysterious and controlling Doctor who was always one step ahead and would use others to achieve his goals. So when it comes to Destiny of the Doctor: Shockwave, it comes as no surprise that writer James Swallow has kept this devious version of the Doctor as the main protagonist.

When the Doctor and his friend Ace arrive on Tarsus Six, they find the inhabitants in a state of emergency. The sun is about to collapse and panic has arisen in a massive way. But Ace, only seeing the positive in her Doctor, believes that the Time Lord has brought them along to help. Little does she know that he has an altogether different motive for his arrival at this convenient time.

What’s especially clever about Shockwave is the Doctor’s own use of himself. The Seventh Doctor believes that he’s arrived to further his own ends and receive a mysterious call that has summoned him; little does he know that he’s only half right. Because the master manipulator has in fact been manipulated, in a fun way, by the Eleventh Doctor, who needs a job done as part of his ongoing story that we’ve been piecing together for the whole of 2013. Never say that Doctor Who doesn’t show character growth, the Eleventh Doctor knowing exactly how to draw his former incarnation’s interest is particularly clever and also very satisfying.

Sophie Aldred performs the narration from the Doctor and Ace as well as a few other characters; she is of course a delight. Her interpretation of the Seventh doctor may be a bit more Scottish than we’re used to but she has all of McCoy’s mannerisms down to a tee and she’s able to switch from the actor’s quiet self reflective side to his fiery rage in a heartbeat. Ian Brooker provides the voice of Captain OhOne and offers a proud and noble character for listeners to respect and enjoy.

Some of the most rewarding scenes in Shockwave are from the prose itself, Swallow is able to offer grand and detailed descriptions of horrific infernos and plays well with large space opera, making it as realistic and fascinating as possible. He never loses a step and keeps the drama turned up to eleven the throughout the entire piece.

Shockwave provides a great snapshot of who the Seventh Doctor was, perhaps not so much encapsulating his television era as much as proving just how different the Doctor used to be.

You can purchase the story on CD or via download from www.bigfinish.com (please be aware that the CD release does not come with a free download copy). You can also purchase from Amazon for just £5.82!

The post Reviewed: Destiny of the Doctor 7 – Shockwave appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Doctor Who Missing Episodes Infographic!

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.

The recent recovery of nine Doctor Who missing episodes has alerted fans new and old to the continued plight of most of the Patrick Troughton era of the show – but how bad is the situation, really?

Well, thanks to this infographic, you can find out!

With the recovery last week of two Second Doctor stories from Nigeria, how do these additions to the archive affect the holding of Doctor Who’s black-and-white era?

This infographic compares the state of 1960s Doctor Who in the BBC archive between its setup in 1978 and now, examining how it has changed over the last 35 years of hunting for missing episodes.

How much of the era now survives, who has returned episodes, and where have recoveries most commonly been made?

The infographic is also online at www.wonderfulbook.co.uk/data/foundeps.jpg.

See more Doctor Who data graphics at www.wonderfulbook.co.uk/data.

(With thanks to Paul)

The post Doctor Who Missing Episodes Infographic! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Hallowe’en Scares at the Doctor Who Experience!

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.

Fear is the life-blood of Doctor Who and in Cardiff, this Halloween, the Doctor Who Experience will be upping the fear-factor for some half term terror! The Experience recently received the beautiful reproduction original TARDIS console from docu-drama An Adventure in Space and Time, but is choc-full of sinister beings from the show’s recent and distant past – an ideal setting for Halloween horror…

“Held amongst the largest collection of Doctor Who monsters and props ever assembled, enjoy monster making classes, freaky face painting and pumpkin carving this October half-term. …Transformed into a haunted wonderland, the Doctor Who Experience will be the scariest place to be this half-term.”

Halloween will be taking over the permanent exhibition of all things Who from Saturday 27th October to Sunday 4th November. Activities include monster face-painting with the show’s prosthetic artists and learning to walk like a Peg Doll from Night Terrors or a Scarecrow from The Family of Blood. And on Halloween itself further surprises are promised – methinks there may be more life in the monster exhibits than an ordinary night.

Various question and answer sessions with production staff are also being held and more details can be found on The Doctor Who Experience website. Tickets can be booked online in advance at a reduced price of £13 per adult, £9 per child (5 – 16 years) and with family and merchandise packages available. The exhibition is open for an extended period on Thursday 31st October for Halloween itself, from 10am til 7pm. But better book quickly as places will be in high demand among the fear-hungry younger Who fans!

The post Hallowe’en Scares at the Doctor Who Experience! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Doctor Who Theme Tune Reworkings

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.

Fans of the Doctor Who theme tune (and that’s most of us, I’m guessing!) will be chuffed to hear that some rather funky re-arrangements have surfaced on SoundCloud.

One particularly interesting piece has been performed by a chap called Lins Honeyman, who has gone back to basics with a version that strongly evokes that swinging sixties psychedelia. As Lins explains:

…in true BBC Radiophonic Workshop fashion, [my version uses] a chest of drawers, a bass guitar, some Hammond sounds and a sweeping broom (backwards.) Hats off to Ron Grainer, Delia Derbyshire and William Hartnell.

You can listen to Lins’ ethereal theme tune reworking here.

Some of his fellow musicians, under the ‘Tunesmiths’ banner on SoundCloud, have also had a stab at recreating this iconic piece of music. Iain Young’s version has been arranged using rather dreamy electronica, whilst Mary Keith’s rendition is performed almost entirely on the accordion, and would work great alongside a viewing of Season 17′s City of Death. Finally, there’s Ken Patterson’s quite eerie take on the theme, created using a tuba and what sounds like a piccolo (to my unmusical ears, at least!).

Be sure to check out these pieces on the Tunesmiths SoundCloud page.

The post Doctor Who Theme Tune Reworkings appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.