Christian Cawley's Blog, page 355

Reviewed: The Dalek Contract/The Final Phase

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.

Whilst the finale to 2012’s run of Fourth Doctor adventures ended on an excellent high, it was only a self contained adventure. In 2013, writer and Executive producer Nicholas Briggs clearly wanted the Fourth Doctor and Romana to have more of a ‘series arc’ that we’re used to watching in the new era of Doctor Who on television. Seeds that were sown in The Sand of Life and War against the Laan are finally paid off in The Dalek Contract and The Final Phase and upon this reviewers word, the latter two are some of Briggs’s best ever work.

First things first, The Dalek Contract and The Final Phase are one big story that pits the Fourth Doctor against the Daleks. Yes, that’s an obvious statement but also an important one when considering whether you’ll purchase this particular adventure. Put simply, the two stories will need to be bought as one to be fully enjoyed, hence why this review is for both plays rather than just the one. But don’t worry; because the rewards will speak for themselves, this is Doctor Who storytelling at its most fun. The mad fourth Doctor, the resourceful and elegant Mary Tamm incarnation of Romana, K-9 finally getting to fight the Daleks, the return of the megalomaniacal Cuthbert and his lizard-like assistant Mr Dorrick and, of course, the Daleks. If you take all of these wonderful characters and place them in a rather epic plot then The Dalek Contract/ The Final Phase is what you end up with.

The Doctor and Romana finally find themselves in the Proxima System, first mentioned back in The Sands of Life, where Cuthbert’s mysterious ‘experiment’ is reaching its final conclusion. The ramifications of said experiment have had an adverse affect on the planet Proxima Major and the locals are none too happy with the company responsible of the foot soldiers that Cuthbert’s hired to keep everyone in line, of course it’s the Daleks.

What Briggs has cleverly done is make the Daleks cunning in this story, Cuthbert believes that they work for him; the listener (and the Doctor and Romana) know very well that this isn’t the case and that the tin pepper pots have their own agenda but the drama is in the finding out. Cuthbert truly believes that the Daleks are nothing more than his foot soldiers, mercenaries for hire but those who know the Daleks realise early on that its Cuthbert’s enigmatic experiment that they wish to hijack. As to why the Daleks want to do this is not revealed until the end of episode 3 but you won’t mind waiting to find out as this adventure is littered with moments of greatness that will keep you thoroughly entertained.

From K-9 bravely facing off against Skaro’s finest, Romana advancing her relationship with the Doctor by admitting that she’s grown quite fond of him (an excellent bit of writing from Briggs that also gives older Doctor Who fans more of a reason as to why Romana never went back to Gallifrey straight after all that business with the Key to Time), the Fourth Doctor on tremendous form against the Daleks with far more vitriol and venom towards them then he had in 2012’s Energy of the Daleks and last but not least, the Dalek Supreme. Briggs clearly demonstrates that he’s learned plenty from the school of Russell T Davies here; his version of the Supreme Dalek is stubborn, arrogant, clever, deadly and downright cunning. You can truly believe that this is the same Supreme Dalek who later ends up in a red casing and steals planets from the sky.

Where The Dalek Contract/The Final Phase really impresses is in its final episode. Cuthbert’s plans have been revealed and they’re not your typical megalomaniacs’ plans (or rather, they are but they’re presented in a new and interesting way), of course the Daleks have their own intentions and intend to use what he has achieved to facilitate their own plans. This reviewer won’t spoil anything for you but will conclude that it’s a powerful and satisfying ending to the 2013 run of Fourth Doctor Adventures that sets up a few more storylines along the way.

Forever though, this year’s series will always be about the wonderful Mary Tamm. Throughout the reviews of the Fourth Doctor Adventures, we’ve kept references to her sad passing out of the equation and focused on each of her new stories as they’ve been released so that her work can be celebrated rather than mourned. Now that these stories have finished their release cycle it has to be said that there is a final mourning period to be had as Tamm was simply beautiful with her portrayal of Romana in each of these stories. Her incarnation of Romana on audio was just as elegant, brave, witty, sexy and charming as when she played the role over 30 years ago on television. These treats (for treats they are) that Big Finish have captured are not only a huge step forward for her character after her one and only year on Doctor Who but also a wonderful set of examples of how to play a Doctor Who companion without being in love with the old Time Lord. Tamm will be sorely missed but thanks to these seven stories, we can enjoy more than just one encounter with Romana I.

Let’s hope that in 2014’s Fourth Doctor Adventures we get more of the series arcs that we’ve been given this year as it helps to give Tom Baker’s new ear on Doctor Who a far more epic feel and if the Dalek Supreme wants to menace the Fourth Doctor in the future at Big Finish, that would be no bad thing at all.

The Dalek Contract/The Final Phase is available from www.bigfinish.com now on CD for £10.99 each or via download for £8.99 each.

The post Reviewed: The Dalek Contract/The Final Phase appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

8th Doctor Dreadnaught Strip Animated!

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.

Ever wanted to see an animated version of the Radio Times Eighth Doctor versus the Cybermen comic strip Dreadnought? Well now you can thanks to super-fan and voice of the Doctor Andrew Merkelbach!

Dreadnought was part of a series of five comic stories featuring the Eighth Doctor, printed in the Radio Times, which ran for forty-two issues after the premiere of the Doctor Who TV Movie in 1996.

Each one was scripted by Gary Russell with art by Lee Sullivan, colour by Alan Craddock and lettering by Elitta Fell.

The series was prematurely ended by the Radio Times before its planned 60 issue run could be completed.

Back in 2009, Andrew – who has been the voice of the Eighth Doctor in both the official Doctor Who Online Adventures series and various fan productions since 2005 – started work on the first part of his adaptation, which so far has attracted over 40,000 views online.

Now, he’s aiming to complete the second of two six minute episodes just in time for the 50th anniversary.

Starring Lesley Lyon as companion Stacy Townsend, Dan Armitage as her fiancé Bill and Andrew Merkelbach as the Eighth Doctor, the project has already garnered praise from Big Finish and the artist on the original strip Lee Sullivan.

You can view the first part here. Be sure to check out the Facebook fan page and Andrew’s twitter page @8thDoctorVoice for all the latest news on the project. And you can read the latest in our Whispering Gallery series, in which Lee Sullivan guides us around ten pieces of art, here!

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Paul McGann Performs in Dublin

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.

Eighth Doctor extraordinaire Paul McGann can currently be found treading the boards in his debut role at Ireland’s famous Abbey Theatre in Dublin where he is appearing in a production of Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara.

Regarded as one of Bernard Shaw’s most intelligent and witty plays, this bittersweet comedy reveals the conflict between power and poverty.

Major Barbara is a woman on a mission to save the poor of society. She is a devoted officer in the Salvation Army until a reunion with her arms-manufacturing, millionaire father, Andrew Undershaft, shakes the foundations of her beliefs

Paul McGann is playing the role of the millionaire father Undershaft, a part that has previously been played with award winning gusto in 2001 by fellow Doctor Who Alumni David Warner who was most recently seen as Cold War‘s Professor Grisenko, not to mention two outings as an incredible alternate Third Doctor in Big Finish’s Unbound range amongst other appearances.

To promote the show, Paul gave a wonderful in-depth interview that covers the role, the play as a whole and dips into some wonderful other bits and pieces like Withnail and I and yes, he briefly touches on Doctor Who: The Movie too. It can be found on the Abbey Theatre Sound Cloud page.

The show is running until September 21. Tickets (€13-€45/conc. €13-€23) can be booked at the theatre’s website or (01) 878 7222.

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Philip Hinchcliffe: “RTD is a Genius.”

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 Talons of Weng-Chiang. The Deadly Assassin. Pyramids of Mars. Producer Philip Hinchcliffe oversaw one of the most successful periods in Doctor Who‘s long history: the mid-1970s. It was during this time, with Tom Baker taking over as the Fourth Doctor, that the show reached peaks in both popularity and creativity.

Den of Geek recounts a recent Q & A evening with Hinchcliffe, as organized by the arts and entertainment group Space, in Brighton.

During the talk, the former Who-producer touched on a variety of topics related to the show, from how he got the job, to his relationship with Tom Baker (he’s delighted by him!), to his thoughts on the Russell T. Davies years. He said:

“I think Russell T Davies is a genius. He really is, because bringing the programme back could have been a total disaster. It had fizzled out, let’s be  honest, and why would they bring something back that could be so catastrophic? But he took everything that was good in the formula and moved it on into a  modern idiom in the way it was written, acted and produced, and then with all  the special effects and the action that could now take place, he could make  mini-movies each week, essentially. I think he did a fantastic job. He put in  more of an emotional tug in the relationships which we didn’t do that much. It  wasn’t the formula really and so I think he reinvented the show brilliantly, but  it could have been a total disaster. Now, I think Steven Moffat has taken on  that mantle and has done a good job.”

One fascinating aspect is how, even though the ratings were high, Hinchcliffe became one of Doctor Who‘s youngest producers:

“They couldn’t get a producer from the BBC… It was such a difficult show to produce that they couldn’t get producers to produce it… so little did I know I was walking into the lion’s den!”

And like Verity Lambert, Hinchcliffe was also 29 years old when he started the job.

The former producer also shed light on how the ‘showrunner’ position was approached in those days:

“Someone has to be the guardian of what the show is about. In my case, it happened to be the two of us (writer Robert Holmes) together. I think Bob Holmes and I sort of gelled and we both brought something to that role.”

Hinchcliffe’s continuing affection for Doctor Who shines through in the talk. He’s still a fan of the Doctor (“He’s just an old-fashioned hero really, isn’t he?”) and maybe an even bigger fan of Tom Baker (“He was fabulous, absolutely wonderful… I think his enthusiasm was the main thing.”)

So, Kasterborites, who would you rather see follow Steven Moffat when the time comes? A young upstart like Hinchcliffe was when he took over, or a seasoned vet?

You can read the full interview here.

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Smith in BBC Olympic Ticket Controversy?

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.

Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith’s name has been mentioned in connection with a mini-controversy brewing with the BBC. Tim Walker of The Telegraph is reporting that the BBC has come under scrutiny for giving sporting event tickets as gifts to TV stars, sports personalities, and business executives as thanks for exclusive interviews and personal access.

The Telegraph states:

“…passes to the Olympics, the FA Cup final, and Wimbledon – worth thousands of pounds – were handed out to, among others, Doctor Who‘s Matt Smith….The BBC gave out a total of 344 tickets for top sporting events last year…”

The Eleventh Doctor got tickets to the Wimbledon finals. Other famous names specifically pointed out in The Telegraph’s story as recipients of these gifts include US movie star Bette Midler and Ireland rugby player Brian O’Driscoll.

Smith (whose name is surely being bandied about because of Doctor Who‘s status), Midler, and the others really did nothing wrong or illegal. The controversy is whether or not a public entity such as the BBC should be giving away tickets worth thousands of pounds as gifts. To be fair, it appears the Olympics tickets are the main source of the controversy, as those were the ones the BBC apparently paid for with license fee money. A total of 74 tickets to Olympics events, at a cost of 5000+ pounds, were given to executives and others.

A BBC spokesman replied:

“At London 2012, a small amount of the tickets the BBC purchased were used for business purposes, such as hosting other international broadcasters, as is standard practice.”

So, Kasterborites, do you think the publicly-owned BBC should be giving out sports tickets to TV stars and others? Is the BBC feeling pressure to compete with the privately-owned perks-happy Hollywood studios, or did the BBC see this as a harmless way to thank or impress some high-profile people?

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Gaiman: “The Doctor’s Wife could’ve worked for any Doctor.” [VIDEO]

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.

In a recent interview with a local Portland, Maine television station, Neil Gaiman spoke about the power of Twitter, the advice he’d once gotten from Stephen King, and how long he’d wanted to write for Doctor Who as well as what writing the episodes was like.

So just how long had the Stardust author wanted to work on Doctor Who?

Let’s see so what am I now? Fifty-two? And I saw my first Doctor Who when I was three? So forty-nine years, I guess?

The writer of Nightmare in Silver also has a controversial opinion about his most-acclaimed episode for the series…

Is it easier when you’re writing for Doctor Who and you know the established actor or its easier when that actor hasn’t been cast yet?

 

You write for the Doctor. The weird thing, you know in people’s heads the Doctor is very, very different. The truth is when I wrote The Doctor’s Wife, I went through that first, the first draft of the script, imagining any of the Doctors and realized that it would have worked for any of this from the Second on could’ve done that. I don’t think the First could’ve done it, but it would’ve worked for all of them.

It’s interesting that Gaiman thought any of the previous versions of the Doctor could’ve been in The Doctor’s Wife aside from Matt Smith’s Eleventh. Personally, I think it fit Eleven’s personality and I don’t think it would’ve had the same charm it had if it had been say, the Tenth or the Third Doctors.

Do you think there was any other Doctor that would’ve had the same reactions to meeting his TARDIS in human form?

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Christmas Special Filming Starts Sunday

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.

Matt Smith has confirmed that he starts filming for the 2013 Christmas special, his swansong as the Doctor, this Sunday (8th September).

ITV morning show, Daybreak, attended last night’s GQ Men of the Year Awards ceremony, and Matt exclusively revealed that, yes, he’ll be wearing a wig! Entertainment correspondent, Richard Arnold, quizzed him about his newly-cropped hair, to which the actor responded:

“I did it for a film [How to Catch A Monster, directed by Ryan Gosling], but it means I have to wear a wig in Doctor Who which is a nightmare. I’m excited, I start shooting the Christmas Special Sunday. It’ll be sad – the end of a wonderful era!”

It might not be ideal, but at least this means that Matt hasn’t already filmed his regeneration scene, so will definitely be in the special, expected to be an hour in length and aired on Christmas Day. What a perfect time to break our hearts, eh!

Matt, who showed up on the red carpet with his sister, Laura Jayne, has worn a wig in Doctor Who before, notably in The Wedding of River Song.

(Thanks to Doctor Who News.)

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Meet the Lords of Time in Australia!

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.

The Aussies know how to show love. Following hot on the heels of the Lords of Time event last April is this December’s Lords of Time 2 event, again celebrating 50 years of Doctor Who! Strong. Work. And among an already impressive guest list there’ll be a special pairing in Australia this Winter (…or, um, their Summer…).

It’s confirmed that Paul McGann will be appearing alongside Daphne Ashbrook who starred as his companion, Dr Grace Holloway in their only on-screen adventure. And what a pair! They pre-empted the saucy modern format for the relationship when the show came back in 2005, kissing and all. Even to the point where the New Who indicated the closeness of the Ninth Doctor and Rose with an homage to an exact shot of the Doctor and Grace holding hands as they run either side of the camera. (Compare the clips below if you don’t believe me!) Even though it took another nine years to come back as a series, these two are where the excitement and optimism of our current show started.

They’ll appear with further companions like Second Doctor assistants, Deborah Watling, Wendy Padbury and Fraser Hines; Mark Strickson, who played Turlough; Richard Franklin (better known as Captain Mike Yates); and Nicola Bryant, who appeared as Peri opposite Doctors Five and Six.

Meanwhile, Winston Churchill actor, Ian McNiece has also recently been confirmed for next month’s Lords of Time 1.5 min-event, alongside that loveable head, Simon Fisher-Becker, who plays Dorium Maldovar in episodes like A Good Man Goes to War and The Wedding of River Song.

So if you’re in Australia this December, coming down from the previous month’s anniversary special, you know where the love is.

New Year’s yomping:

Vs.

Rose race:

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Dorium Comes to Long Island

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.

What is the first question? The question everyone should be asking? It should be: How do I get to L.I. WHO, Long Island, New York’s Doctor Who Convention?!

That talkative big blueberry of an alien, Dorium Maldovar – well, actor Simon Fisher-Becker – has just been added to the already impressive list of names appearing at the three-day event.

Time is running out; the convention, which serves the Long Island and greater New York area, will be held in just about two months time! Taking place at the beautiful Clarion Hotel and Conference Center (formerly the Holiday Inn) in Ronkonkoma NY, L.I. WHO runs the weekend of November 8-10, 2013.

Room rates are $89 (plus taxes) per night at the hotel and a 3-day pass to the convention is $75.

Other one-day passes are available. In addition to newly-announced guest Fisher-Becker, the convention has an impressive line-up, including: Seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy (in his first Long Island appearance since 1999), Frazer Hines (Second Doctor companion Jamie McCrimmon), Daphne Ashbrook (Eighth Doctor lady friend Dr. Grace Holloway), First Doctor director Waris Hussein, and the busy (cough cough) Ian McNeice (Winston Churchill).

Many other guests, such as writers John Peel and David J. Howe, are also scheduled to appear.

If you will be in the Greater New York area on the second weekend in November, L.I. WHO sounds like a fun-filled convention to crash. For even more information, go to their official website or to the L.I. WHO Facebook page.

(Via The Knights Fan Club.)

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Help This Academic Doctor Who Survey

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.

Attention all Kasterborous readers!

We’ve been contacted by a pair of researchers looking in to the phenomenon that is Doctor Who who would love to have the insights of our readers as to how long they’ve been watching the show and why they enjoy it so much.

[We] are conducting a survey into Doctor Who audiences. The purpose is for academic research, but we hope to put together a website when we’re finished that will allow anyone to access the results. Our interest is in people’s first memories of the show, and we’re particularly keen to hear from people who first watched the programme outside of the UK (as well as British viewers). It only takes a few minutes to complete the survey and gives all participants an opportunity to re-live their Doctor Who memories!

 

Claire Jenkins

Lecturer in Film and Media Communications

Bath Spa University

Sound interesting? If you’d like to fill out their survey, head on over to The First Question: An Exploration of Doctor Who

It’s fast and doesn’t take much time at all to fill out – unless you want to give long answers!

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