Christian Cawley's Blog, page 347

Talk Like a Pirate Day, Doctor Who Style!

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.

From the Blackadder II episode Potato back in 1985, here’s Tom Baker as Captain Rum, greeting the lordly Edmund Blackadder as he attempts to hire Rum to helm a voyage to the New World…

After all, it IS International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Find out more: www.talklikeapirate.com

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Hulu Gets Doctor Who!

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.

Doctor Who is coming to online streaming service Hulu Plus in a new deal with BBC North America.

The subscription service, available to viewers in the United States, has signed a non-exclusive, multi-year agreement with the BBC’s US arm, reports The Slanted.

As well as some 170 episodes of Doctor Who, the deal will also make Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures available. Other genre shows subscribers can enjoy on Hulu Plus include Life on Mars, Primeval, Day of the Triffids, Red Dwarf, Survivors and The Fades.

It looks increasingly like this kind of online subscription service is encroaching on the territory of the box set. Like a lot of people I subscribed to Netflix recently so I could watch the last series of Breaking Bad (and we won’t go into the trauma served up by this week’s episode…).

What do you think? Still a place on your shelves for box sets? Or will streaming send them the way of video cassettes?

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Five Doctors Talk to Doctor Who Magazine 465

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.

Not one but five Doctors talk in the new edition of Doctor Who Magazine (465) – that’s right, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann all in one issue!

This November sees the release of The Light at the End, a very special audio drama produced by Big Finish, which unites FIVE Doctors and a host of companions. DWM was present at the recording and spoke to the cast…

“It’s very important to celebrate 50 years of Doctor Who,” says Sylvester McCoy, “and it’s so exciting, too. It’s really nice that people treat you in a very loving and caring way, and they like to see you. And it’s great to come together with the other actors who played Doctor Who.”

“You’re guaranteed that… that energy, and that presence, and that sense of humour,” adds Paul McGann, about Doctors uniting.

“To have us all together is a kind of critical mass of uranium,” Colin Baker smiles, “that should produce something pretty explosive!”

“I think it’s very important that we do something to commemorate the 50th anniversary,” agrees Peter Davison, “It’s very nice to be a part of something that’s been running for 50 years and is still going strong.”

“In Waitrose,” adds Tom Baker, “a certain kind of old lady finds me quite interesting…”

ALSO THIS ISSUE:

START WITH A BANG!

Doctor Who‘s showrunner and head writer, STEVEN MOFFAT, answers DWM readers’ questions. So how and why did the TARDIS explode in THE PANDORICA OPENS? Find out Steven’s reply in his exclusive column.

DEEP, DEEP TROUBLE

The Third Doctor and Jo encounter creatures from the bottom of the ocean in one of the best-loved stories of the 1970s. Discover fascinating new facts and intriguing new insights into the adventure, as THE FACT OF FICTION digs beneath the surface of THE SEA DEVILS!

BLOCKBUSTERS

DWM rolls back the clock to 2012 – five adventures, each of which could have been a movie! Stand by for action, as DWM takes a nostalgic look at a season filled with dinosaurs, Angels and Daleks as COUNTDOWN TO 50 continues.

THE RIDE OF A LIFETIME?

The Doctor and Clara visit a futuristic amusement park – one which holds a horrifying secret beneath the veneer of fun. The terror behind the rides is revealed in a brand new comic strip, WELCOME TO TICKLE TOWN, by SCOTT GRAY with art by ADRIAN SALMON.

CHANGE, MY DEAR…

Seasoned viewers of Doctor Who are used to the idea of the lead actor changing from time to time. But what’s it like from the perspective of  a child? JACQUELINE RAYNER shares her experience of how her kids reacted to the announcement of Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor in RELATIVE DIMENSIONS.

WHO’S ON THE STAGE

DWM talks to actor, comedian and dedicated fan TOBY HADOKE about his candid interviews with the stars of the series, and the forthcoming West End double-bill of his acclaimed one-man shows, MOTHS ATE MY DOCTOR WHO SCARF and MY STEPSON STOLE MY SONIC SCREWDRIVER.

PLACE OF PERFECTION?

The Time Team – Emma, Chris, Michael and Will – see the TARDIS take the Doctor, Martha and Jack into the far, far future. What will they make of the mysterious Professor Yana? And will they manage to find UTOPIA?

SPEAKING DOUBLE DUTCH

The mysterious Watcher provides an elegant explanation of rural accents, champions another Supporting Artist and challenges readers with the Six Faces of Delusion in the most unpredictable page in DWM: WOTCHA!

PLUS!

All the latest official news; DVD, CD and book reviews; the latest merchandise previewed; prize-winning crossword and competitions; and much, much more!

Get together with the Doctors in DWM 465, on sale Thursday 19 September priced £4.75.

(Thanks, as ever, to Tom Spilsbury)

The post Five Doctors Talk to Doctor Who Magazine 465 appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

PodKast with Animated Recons

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.

There is much to talk about in this week’s Kasterborous podKast (with a “K”) as Christian, James and Brian turn their attention to the phenomenon of animated reconstructions of missing episodes.

Note: we’re not discussing the ongoing missing episodes rumour in this podKast.

Over the past few years, BBC Worldwide have released several Doctor Who DVDs from the classic era with animated episodes to replace those lost to time. These have been well received on the whole, but we thought we’d mull over some of the differences in approach from the animators, in amongst discussing some of the recent 50th anniversary and Christmas special news.

Want to know more? Click play!

Kasterborous Series 3 Episode 33 Shownotes

The War Chief and the Master
Peter Davison’s 50th anniversary script
Christmas special clip
TARDISBuilders.com
Official animated recon DVDs

The Ice Warriors
The Reign of Terror
The Tenth Planet
The Invasion
Planet of Giants


1963: Fanfare for the Common Men
Doctor Who: The Vault
WhatCulture’s Audience Analysis
John Guilor: TimeWide

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!

Incidentally, if you are listening on iTunes, please take the time to leave a rating and review and help us to bring in new listeners to the podKast!

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Doctor Who: Harvest Of Time – Audiobook Review

James Whittington 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 love audiobooks, mainly because I spend so much time in my car taking my daughters to various places that I rarely have time to sit down and read a novel! Anyway, Harvest of Time is a cracking story from Alastair Reynolds and one of the best of recent months thanks to the effortless way he captures the Third Doctor’s era – not to mention a faultless reading from Geoffrey Beevers.

After billions of years of imprisonment, the vicious Sild have broken out of confinement. From a ruined world at the end of time, they make preparations to conquer the past, with the ultimate goal of rewriting history. But to achieve their aims they will need to enslave an intellect greater than their own… On Earth, UNIT is called in to investigate a mysterious incident on a North Sea drilling platform. The Doctor believes something is afoot, and no sooner has the investigation begun when something even stranger takes hold: The Brigadier is starting to forget about UNIT’s highest-profile prisoner. And he is not alone in his amnesia. As the Sild invasion begins, the Doctor faces a terrible dilemma. To save the universe, he must save his arch-nemesis… The Master.

Reminiscent of a classic Third Doctor six-parter, Harvest Of Time contains a masterful plot that could easily slide into the official canon of stories. It oozes with nods to the classic series without suffocating the listener with smartass references. It’s a slow burner with plenty of prose without feeling watered down with the Doctor, Jo and UNIT family all having equal input into the story without being cast just for the hell of it. Reynolds picks up each of our heroes’ ticks such as the way Pertwee’s Doctor used to rub his neck and chin when thinking and Jo’s scatty but lovable innocence. The Master himself comes alive with the smouldering menace Roger Delgado gave the much-loved character. To give it the authentic 1970s setting the supporting cast are given archetypal Scottish names and the alien race has a heavy presence.

The story is accompanied by subtle and impressive sound effects that keep the reading from Beevers clear and at the front, only turning up to emphasise endings of chapters. Talking of Geoffrey Beevers he brings the whole piece to life, injecting an infectious feeling to the piece by mimicking rather than impersonating the better known characters. His take on the nasty Sild is wonderfully surreal and sombre with just a slight touch of knowing humour.

Running just 15 minutes shy of 12 hours the audiobook is best enjoyed over a few sittings so you can allow the strong characterisation to sink in but its time wisely invested. If you’ve never experienced a Doctor Who audiobook then start here and work backwards.

Alastair Reynolds’ Harvest of Time read by Geoffrey Beevers is out now and is available for just £7.84 from Amazon! A print version is also available – read our review before buying.

The post Doctor Who: Harvest Of Time – Audiobook Review appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Voice of the Daleks Joins Infinite

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.

Our man behind the “Wobulator”, the voice of the Daleks and Cybermen, Nick Briggs, is to take a turn in front of the cameras in a new sci-fi series. Infinite, will be available online early next year. Briggs plays military commander General Richter, heading a crew including an android and a “brooding cyborg” into a black hole. See the rather secretive teaser trailer below…

 

 

A behind the scenes blog will be available this Autumn (which, judging by the weather outside my window, should be any time around now…) and you can sign up for updates here http://www.infinitewebseries.com/

 

Of course this won’t be Briggs’s first on-screen appearance in scifi. A long time ago, during the Great Hiatus, he wrote, directed and starred in several unofficial fan spin-offs. Like Moffat, Davies and Tennant he is another fan-turned-professional. And like them he seems to be a thoroughly decent chap (as we all are, natch). Take a look at Briggs on being a life-long-fan in this interview snippet from the 1998 spin-off Auton 2: Sentinel (written and directed by Briggs).

 

 

He comes across as so much of a gentleman I’m having difficulty picturing him as the staple hard-nosed “military commander”. But then this is the man who gave us Dalek Caan, the Judoon and Grand Marshal Skaldak. Could we be in for a surprise? We’ll have to wait till 2014 to see if his vocal talents translate to an on-screen appearance…

(Via SFX.)

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Vote Doctor Who in the 2014 National Television Awards!

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.

It’s time once again to represent Doctor Who in this year’s National Television Awards.

With the shortlist announced for the entirely voted for by the public awards, Doctor Who, and those associated with the show, need your nimble voting fingers at the ready to guarantee the Doctor some gongs!

Doctor Who faces stiff competition in the Best Drama category from the likes of Broadchurch, Call the Midwife, Downton Abbey, and Lewis while Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman are both shortlisted in the Best Performance category.

What’s more the Tenth Doctor himself David Tennant has been nominated in the Best Detectives category for his role as DI Alex Hardy in Broadchurch (one of several recent nominations for the actor) where he’ll be attempting to out-sleuth Doctor Who guest stars and fellow TV detectives Lesley Sharp, Olivia Colman, and Suranne Jones.

Fellow Doctor Who guest star Lesley Dunlop (Frontios) has been nominated in the Serial Drama Performance category for her role as Brenda Walker in Emmerdale while Pointless host and voice of Mr Smith Alexander Armstrong is nominated in the Entertainment Presenter category.

To vote, head over to the NTA website for full details of all the categories and nominations.

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The Lost Stories Return with The Dark Planet

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.

We welcome back to the Big Finish range this month the Doctor Who Lost Stories series that have been missed during the past year.

To start things up in September is a long forgotten First Doctor tale that never made it to the small screen called The Dark Planet. But don’t fret, because now we can all experience it.

Somewhere far back in the early days of the universe the TARDIS lands on a world lit by a dying sun. Missing from the Doctor’s star maps and dotted with strange crystalline statues, it is a world ripe for exploration. But it is also a world of destruction.

Venturing out onto its surface, the time travellers find themselves drawn into an age-old conflict between the two species residing on the planet – people of Light and Shadow. Proving a catalyst for the escalation of the conflict, the Doctor and his friends need either to create a peace or to pick a side.

Because in times of war, nothing is ever black and white.

Originally written by Brian Hayles and adapted for audio by Matt Fitton, The Dark Planet is performed by William Russell as Ian Chesterton, Maureen O’Brien as Vicki and is supported by John Banks and Charlie Norfolk.

You can order The Dark Planet from www.bigfinish.com on CD for £16.99 or via download for £14.99.

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Awesome Fan-Produced 50th Posters Appear on Twitter

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.

Doctor Who fans eager for more of the 50th anniversary episode The Day of the Doctor might be thrilled by these stunning posters – but where did they come from?

NEW DOCTOR WHO
POSTERS FROM THE 50TH !!! pic.twitter.com/1L6pqeiw0C

— Smith & Tennant (@WhovianWithABox) September 17, 2013

As you can see, the images feature the Eleventh Doctor against a London backdrop, and the John Hurt Doctor against an exploding backdrop, presumably Gallifrey.

All we’ve managed to ascertain so far is that they originate on Twitter and may well, if genuine, be posters for the cinematic release (the details for which continue to remain sketchy, as far as we’re aware).

But hey, they’re rather spiffing; genuine or not, some full-size versions would be nice, right?

The post Awesome Fan-Produced 50th Posters Appear on Twitter appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

The Tenth Planet DVD Release Rescheduled

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 news that will do nothing to assuage theories about rumoured missing episodes being released on DVD for Doctor Who‘s 50th anniversary, The Tenth Planet DVD release has been rescheduled.

Originally slated for release on 18th November, the BBC tell us that the First Doctor’s swansong versus the newly discovered Cybermen is now due out on 14th October. Whether the rescheduling – first rumoured last night on Twitter when Sainsbury’s altered their listing – is due to the surprise release of anything newly discovered is of course, up for speculation…

The rearranged release schedule is as follows:

Doctor Who: The Monster Collection – 30th September 2013.
Doctor Who: Terror of the Zygons – 30th September 2013.
Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet – 14th October 2013.
Doctor Who: Complete Series 7 – 28th October 2013.
Doctor Who: Complete 1-7 Blu-ray – 4th November 2013.
Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor Anniversary release – 2nd December 2013.

You will notice that September and October each has two releases, while November and December both feature just the single DVDs issues. Plenty of space, a cynic with an interest in these things might think, for at least one more unexpected disc to be added to the schedule.

Until we know more, you can order The Tenth Planet from Amazon now for just £13.50 !

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