Christian Cawley's Blog, page 351

Moffat: “Matt’s at the Height of his Powers.”

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.

Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, has been filming his swansong, the 2013 Christmas special, since Sunday.

It’s an excruciatingly sad time – but showrunner, Steven Moffat has said that our leading man has remained very positive so far:

“It’s fine. I mean it was an emotional start to the week, but he’s actually been incredibly cheery. He’s a fantastic leading man from that point of view. He bounds on set and gets everyone laughing and moving.”

Talking to Entertainment Wise at Monday’s TV Choice Awards, Moffat admitted that the Fall of the Eleventh is an emotional time:

“He’s so heartbreakingly good. You get all excited about the new Doctor and then you go back and you see Matt on his first day back on set and you think ‘oh my God that’s what we’re losing’… He’s so brilliant and he’s at the height of his powers in the part, he’s so funny, so clever, so inventive.”

It looks like there will be tears at Christmastime. However excited we are about a certain Mr. Capaldi, no one wants to see Matt go. He’s just too good and has been since his first full episode, The Eleventh Hour (2010).

Matt was seen hugging his co-star, Jenna Coleman, on location yesterday and walking arm-in-arm with her to the TARDIS. It looks like Matt’s putting on a brave face; does he really want to leave all this behind…?

Matt, it’s not too late – come back to us! (Okay, so it probably is too late, but still…)

(Via Entertainment Wise.)

The post Moffat: “Matt’s at the Height of his Powers.” appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Terror Of The Autons Prop Fetches Over £5000 at Auction!

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.

Did The Master compel him to do it? An Australian collector reportedly has paid over £5000 for an original Auton mask from the 1971 Doctor Who story Terror of the Autons.

The mask was sold on eBay by Chris and Tim Smith, who actually played with it as children. The mask was given to them in the late 70s by their father, who worked for a trucking company that moved props for TV and movie studios. He received the piece of Doctor Who history from his manager at the company.  Said Tim Smith:

“One day the boss told my dad, ‘You’ve got kids. Why don’t you have this and scare them with it?’”

On eBay, the mask piled up a whopping 51 bids and went for a final price of 5154 pounds on the night of September 5th.

Besides just being very cool, the painted fiberglass Auton face which you can still see on eBayactually is of some historical importance to Doctor Who fans and collectors. The story in which the mask appeared, Terror of the Autons, was a sequel of sorts to the Third Doctor’s well-received debut story, 1970′s Spearhead from Space.

Terror featured only the second appearance of the Autons–most recently seen in 2005′s Rose and 2010′s The Big Bang — and kicked off Season Eight for Jon Pertwee’s Doctor. More importantly, it also introduced several long-standing and beloved characters, including evil nemesis The Master (Roger Delgado), companion Jo Grant (Katy Manning), and UNIT mainstay Captain Mike Yates (Richard Franklin).

So, Kasterborites, do you see the cheery-yet-creepy Auton mask as historically important, or will it just make the best (and most expensive) Who-inspired Halloween costume ever?

The post Terror Of The Autons Prop Fetches Over £5000 at Auction! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

A Masterful PodKast!

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.

On this week’s Kasterborous podKast (with a “K”) we’re discussing the classic era versions of the Master, namely Roger Delgado and Anthony Ainley – plus a little bit of Peter Pratt, Geoffrey Beevers and Eric Roberts!

If you’re a fan of the modern era, though, don’t worry – Professor Yana himself gets a mention, as does the John Simm incarnation,

In fact, we even go the whole hog and cover the Paul Cornell version of the Master – also played by Derek Jacobi – in The Scream of the Shalka!

Listen as we also discuss the recent TARDIS Environmentals news story and the absurd email we received in connection to it, Peter Davison’s 50th anniversary project and our recommendations for this week!

Kasterborous Series 3 Episode 32 Shownotes

Peter Davison/McCoy/Baker 50th film
BBC vs TARDIS Environmentals
TV Movie
The Deadly Assassin
The Scream of the Shalka
Geoffrey Beevers stars in Master  from Big Finish
Anthony Ainley in Destiny of the Doctors
The Keeper of Traken, Logopolis and Castrovalva in the New Beginnings DVD box set
The Mind of Evil
The Sea Devils
Frontier in Space
Terror of the Autons mask on eBay
Enemy of the World audiobook
The Doctor: His Lives and Times
An Unearthly Child/The Tribe of Gum

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!

The post A Masterful PodKast! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

The Day of the Doctor Poster Gallery

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.

With all of the excitement of yesterday’s slightly confused announcement of Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary celebrations on radio and TV (since clarified, to exciting effect) we forgot that the following images were going to be made available by the BBC.

Below are the four available “iconic images” designed for The Day of the Doctor, including the now-obligatory movie poster.

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Head to our Facebook page (and don’t forget to click LIKE!) to view the hi-res versions of these images.

So, how excited are YOU?

The post The Day of the Doctor Poster Gallery appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

BBC Announces Full Doctor Who Anniversary Celebrations!

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 on from yesterday’s leak, the BBC has released full details of the Doctor Who 50th anniversary programming – and it’s good; basically, eat my TARDIS, BBC America!

The full details are in the reproduced press release below…

With special programmes planned across the BBC, the celebrations will peak on 23 November with the anniversary episode, revealed as The Day Of The Doctor. Starring Matt Smith, David Tennant and Jenna Coleman with Billie Piper and John Hurt, the special for BBC One has been confirmed as feature-length, with 75 minutes of adventure.

Matt Smith, who plays the Doctor, says:

“The Day Of The Doctor is nearly here! Hope you all enjoy. There’s lots more coming your way, as the countdown to the 50th begins now.”

Each channel will be home to unique content, celebrating the wealth of history and talent from the last 50 years.

BBC Two will broadcast a number of new commissions, focusing on telling the story behind the show. For one night only, Professor Brian Cox will take an audience of celebrity guests and members of the public on a journey into the wonderful universe of the Doctor, from the lecture hall of the Royal Institution of Great Britain (1×60 minutess). Drawing on the latest theories, as well as 200 years of scientific discoveries and the genius of Einstein, Brian tries to answer the classic questions raised by the Doctor: Can you really travel in time? Does extra-terrestrial life exist in our galaxy? And how do you build something as fantastical as the TARDIS?

In an hour-long special, BBC Two’s flagship arts programme The Culture Show presents Me, You And Doctor Who (1×60 minutes), with lifelong fan Matthew Sweet exploring the cultural significance of the BBC’s longest running TV drama, arguing that it’s one of the most important cultural artefacts of modern Britain. Put simply, Doctor Who matters. He’ll examine how the show has become a cultural force in its own right and tell the stories of some of the unsung cultural heroes, who pioneered its innovative music, design and storytelling.

BBC Two wraps up its coverage with the previously announced An Adventure In Space and Time (1×90 minutes), which will tell the story of the genesis of Doctor Who and the many personalities involved. Written by Mark Gatiss, the drama stars David Bradley (the Harry Potter films); Brian Cox (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Identity), Jessica Raine (Call The Midwife) and Sacha Dhawan (History Boys, Last Tango In Halifax).

Steven Moffat, lead writer and executive producer of Doctor Who, says:

“Fifty years has turned Doctor Who from a television show into a cultural landmark. Personally I can’t wait to see what it becomes after a hundred.”

BBC Four will introduce audiences to the first Doctor, William Hartnell, with a special re-run of the first-ever story, which marked the start of 50 years of history. The four episodes are being shown in a restored format, not previously broadcast in the UK.

There will also be programmes across CBBC with 12 Again (1×30 minutes) bringing together CBBC’s super-fan Chris Johnson, impressionist Jon Culshaw, Tommy Knight (Luke Smith), Warwick Davis (Porridge), Neve McIntosh (Madame Vastra), Dan Starkey (Strax) Louise Jameson (Leela) and the seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy, to share their memories of watching TV’s top Time Lord when they were young.

Blue Peter will launch an exciting new competition giving viewers aged between six and 14 the opportunity to design a new gadget that will become part of the iconic science fiction series. Two live Blue Peter specials will see presenters Barney, Lindsey and Radzi joined by aliens and monsters, with viewers challenging Matt Smith to answer their Doctor Who questions.

BBC Three will be home to several exciting entertainment commissions. Audiences will be encouraged to get involved and vote in Doctor Who: Monsters And Villains Weekend, as we countdown to the top Doctor Who monster. For those less familiar with the show, Doctor Who: The Ultimate Guide will introduce fans and viewers to a wealth of archive material and act as a guide to all things Who. A further exciting commission to be announced later this year will see the celebrations finish with a bang.

Danny Cohen, Director of BBC Television, says:

“Doctor Who is a titan of British television and I’m incredibly proud to have it on the BBC. It’s an astonishing achievement for a drama to reach its 50th anniversary. I’d like to thank every person – on both sides of the camera – who has been involved with its creative journey over so many years.”

It’s not just TV where audiences will be able join in the celebrations; programming across Radio 2, Radio 1 and Radio 4 Extra will also mark the 50th.

BBC Radio 2 will ask Who Is The Doctor? in a 90-minute documentary featuring newly recorded interviews and exclusive archive material. The programme will look at the lasting appeal of Doctor Who and ask how much of its continued success can be attributed to its basic formula.

In The Blagger’s Guide To Doctor Who, David Quantick will give the iconic Doctor the Blagger’s treatment. He’ll be finding out the answers to questions such as, why do Americans think Tom Baker is still Doctor Who? How many Doctors have there really been? Were the Daleks really named after an encyclopaedia?

Finally, Graham Norton will be broadcasting his weekly Radio 2 show live (Saturday 23 November, 10am) from the Doctor Who Celebration in London. In a special three-hour show, Graham will take a ride in the TARDIS and will also be chatting with some of the series’ stars and fans.

Music is a key part of Doctor Who, from the famous theme tune to soaring melodies, but the show has also inspired a whole new phenomenon – Time Lord Rock (TROCK). Radio 1 will look at this genre of music inspired by the Doctor and his journeys through space and time with a 60-minute documentary.

Meanwhile, Radio 4 Extra travels back to 1963 with a three-hour special programme, Who Made Who?, to look at the world that inspired the television series. Doctor Who may have come from other times, but his roots were very much in the present of 1960s Britain. This distinctive programme combines audio from the archive, new interviews and extracts from audio versions of Doctor Who. Additionally, the station will broadcast readings and dramas featuring the great Doctor.

You know how Steven Moffat said Doctor Who would take over television? I’m starting to believe him…

The post BBC Announces Full Doctor Who Anniversary Celebrations! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Captain Jack of Hearts T-Shirt One Day Only!

Rebecca Crockett 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.

Jack: Captain Jack Harkness.

The Doctor: Stop it!

Jack: Can’t I say hello to anyone?

- Utopia

You’ll be well suited in this look! Everyone’s favorite captain is going to be appearing for a limited time on a shirt at TeeFury. But you’ll have to act fast as it will only be available for one day.

Artist WinterArtwork has created some memorable designs of the Doctors as playing cards (with the Tenth Doctor interestingly looking quite a bit like Kasterborous’s own Brian Terranova) and is now adding Captain Jack Harkness to the collection. The design will only be available for one day though, Wednesday, 11th September, so you’ll need to act fast to get your hands on Captain Jack!

(And you know just how much he would like that…)

Mickey: That old lady’s staring.

Jack: Probably wondering what four people could do inside a small wooden box.

Mickey: What are you captain of? The innuendo squad?

- Boom Town

Head on over to TeeFury to pick this up for just $11 and don’t forget to have a look for the 9th, 10th, and 11th Doctors of Hearts!

The post Captain Jack of Hearts T-Shirt One Day Only! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

The Day of the Doctor Poster Released

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 released a superb poster image teasing the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor.

There is, of course, little to add at this stage, only to suggest that you gorge your eyes on Matt Smith, David Tennant, John Hurt and the destroyed Daleks, quiz over the relevance of Bad Wolf and wonder just what is happening to the TARDIS…

All the while looking forward to November 23rd, 2013!

The post The Day of the Doctor Poster Released appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

TV Choice Honours 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 has bagged two prizes at the TV Choice Awards, picking up the Best Drama Series award for the fourth year in a row and also being recognised with an Outstanding Contribution to TV award.

The Doctor busks – is it his Tommy Cooper routine?

The latter was awarded in honour of the programme’s fiftieth anniversary, and, a nice touch this, Steven Moffat was on dickie bow and dinner suit duty to pick it up on the night from Peter Davison.

Doctor Who beat a strong field of popular returning series for the Best Drama Series gong, coming out ahead of Call The Midwife, Downton Abbey and Waterloo Road in the readers’ vote.

Elsewhere in the awards, Ten beat Eleven as David Tennant came out ahead of Matt Smith to be named Best Actor for Broadchurch. Also in the acting stakes, Jenna Coleman lost out for Best Actress to Miranda Hart for Call The Midwife. A good night for Chris Chibnall’s hit ITV drama saw Broadchurch named Best New Drama.

You’ll find a full list of winners at TV Choice, and in the new edition of the magazine.

Could the programme be in line for other awards in this anniversary year? BAFTA fellowship? Special Emmy? George Cross?

The post TV Choice Honours Doctor Who! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Support #AnimateCrusade for an Animated Restoration!

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.

A Facebook page has been created to rally support for animating the two missing episodes from the First Doctor serial, The Crusade.

We’ve written often about the controversy surrounding the alleged finding of long lost Doctor Who episodes, so it will no doubt always be of interest any time an effort to restore what has been lost comes about.

The second season serial found the First Doctor and his companions in Palestine during the Third Crusade. The Facebook page, at the time of writing, has 358 likes and the page creator is trying to get enough likes to obtain attention from the BBC.

Along with animated versions of The Reign of Terror and The Invasion, an animated version of the final episode in Hartnell’s last outing as the Doctor was commissioned for the DVD release of The Tenth Planet. The group’s goal is to get similar treatment for The Crusade.

If you want to help champion the cause, you can join them on Facebook and on Twitter @AnimateCrusade.

The post Support #AnimateCrusade for an Animated Restoration! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Don’t Be Fooled By Anniversary Photo Fakes

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.

Two intriguing new pictures from the 50th anniversary special have emerged, one showing a morose David Tennant standing in front of an explosion, the other showing John Hurt surrounded by bodies.

Alas, they are both fake.

No, they didn’t have the words ‘THIS IS A FAKE’ written under the paintwork in felt tip. Rather, some beady-eyed Doctor Who fans noticed an almost identical snap of the Tenth Doctor in the publicity shot for 2009′s Planet of the Dead, and the story has been unravelling ever since.

Whilst it can’t be proved that the image of John Hurt is a computer-generated fabrication, (or that it is, indeed, John Hurt in the frame), it came from the same source as the Tennant picture, and therefore its integrity is in doubt. Nevertheless, these images demonstrate the immense wonder and speculation that currently surrounds the upcoming special, of which we still know surprisingly little.

It puts one in mind of the rather smashing video trailer – although of course the creator of that particular forgery came clean to demonstrate his/her genius.

There’s only 74 days left to go though, folks. So give that Helmic Regulator quite a turn, and set co-ordinates for 23 November 2013. The Day of the Doctor is going to be a belter!

The post Don’t Be Fooled By Anniversary Photo Fakes appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.