Christian Cawley's Blog, page 359

Peter Jackson Not Directing Who

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.

At least not any time soon anyway.

While it is well documented that the Middle-Earth mastermind is an avid fan of the show and would jump at the chance to direct an episode of the show, Deadline have commented that it’s unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future.

 The director is completely engrossed in the second and third installments of The Hobbit trilogy, and he will not be emerging from Middle Earth for the better part of two years.

But don’t let that dampen our collective spirits; remember that this is the director who has said that he would direct an episode in return for a Dalek. He may be a little preoccupied at the minute, but that wont always be the case and as we know, Doctor Who fans are nothing if not patient.

And let’s not forget that this is by no means a quiet time for the show with a 50th anniversary special, a Christmas special, a new Doctor and a new series next year to look forward to - its not like we are going to be short of things to enjoy while Peter Jackson finishes up with his dwarves and dragons trilogy.

So what do you think: is Peter Jackson worth waiting for or do you think its all just so much hype? Comment below and let us hear what you have to say on the subject.

The post Peter Jackson Not Directing Who appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

The Twelfth Doctor Illustrated!

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.

We could be forgiven for thinking we’re looking into the untempered schism as we gaze at the first ‘comic book’ images of Twelfth Doctor, hoisting his sonic screwdriver aloft.

Alas, these are not cuttings from the year 2014, but rather snazzy pieces of fan art created by Doctor Who fans from all walks of cyberspace. And they’re good. Really good, actually.

Some have been created as part of Down The Tubes’ online competition (open until 12 noon UK time on September 5th), whilst others have been realised just for fun, as speculative enthusiasts try to envisage how Peter Capaldi might look in his illustrated adventures.

The most interesting aspect is the Twelfth Doctor’s costume. With Capaldi being one of the most senior actors to have been cast in the role, the consensus in the world of fan art is that his garb will evoke flair and sophistication, harking back to the Edwardian feel of the Jon Pertwee years. Only time will tell if these predictions turn out to be true.

One thing is for certain, though. In each and every one of these illustrations, Capaldi fits the part like a glove. Whether slumped over the TARDIS console or leaning against the phone box with a wide-eyed grin, his face oozes Gallifreyan mystique, reassuring us that the Time Lord’s future is in very safe hands.

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It’s Time for 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.

Big Finish keep the Doctor Who fun coming this month with the finale of the second run of Fourth Doctor adventures starring Tom Baker and Mary Tamm, The Final Phase!

First up is the Series 2 finale of The Fourth Doctor Adventures, The Final Phase, starring Tom Baker, Mary Tamm, John Leeson, David Warner and Nicholas Briggs as the Daleks. It follows on from its first part, The Dalek Contract, and promises an explosive finale to the Fourth Doctor’s latest series:

Cuthbert’s plan for the Proxima System is reaching its final phase.

The Doctor and Romana have been separated. The Doctor is aiding the Proximan fight-back. Romana and K9 are prisoners of the Daleks.

And as the countdown to the opening of the Quantum Gateway begins, the Daleks reveal their true intentions.

Written and directed by Nicholas Briggs, The Final Phase is available on CD for £10.99 or via download for £8.99 now from Big Finish.

The post It’s Time for The Final Phase! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

New Burgundy Fourth Doctor Scarf from Lovarzi!

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.

We’ve already brought you news of the Seventh Doctor scarf and jumper/tanktop from Lovarzi, but to build upon the success of their  Fourth Doctor Replica Scarf, the clothes company have made Doctor Who cosplayer dreams come true by releasing this new burgundy variant from Season 18!!

While the majority of Doctors stay in one outfit during their time onscreen, Tom Baker’s

Fourth Doctor swapped his brightly-coloured scarf in his final set of stories. Lovarzi’s Season 18 Fourth Doctor Scarf in Burgundy is made from Acrylic Chenille. It was first seen in The Leisure Hive (1980) and was designed by June Hudson under instructions from producer, John Nathan-Turner. The scarf was utilised extensively until the Fourth Doctor’s swansong serial, Logopolis.

The scarf was even used in publicity shots for the 25th anniversary special, The Five Doctors (with the Fourth Doctor represented by a waxwork destined for Madame Tussauds!) before retiring to Blackpool’s Doctor Who exhibit, which operated from 1974 to1985, and 2004 to 2009.

Tom Baker actually wore scarves of various lengths, depending on what each scene entailed – one even measuring three times his own height – but Lovarzi’s is 13ft/ 3.96m in length, including tassels, and 10” (28cm) wide.

The Season 18 Fourth Doctor Scarf in Burgundy and the previously reported Seventh Doctor scarf and tanktop will all be available for pre-order from Lovarzi.co.uk, Forbidden Planet and the Doctor Who Experience from September 2013.

The post New Burgundy Fourth Doctor Scarf from Lovarzi! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Here They Are: The Three Doctors, 2013 Style!

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.

Ahhh, a person can almost hear the voices emanating from the faint image:

John Hurt-as-The-Doctor: “What I did, I did without…”

Tenth Doctor: (under breath) “Oh dear, here we go again.”

Eleventh Doctor: (straightening bow-tie) “It’s his thing. I think he’s very cool.”

John Hurt-as-The Doctor: …peace and sanity–and for a time, as a big dragon on Merlin!”

But seriously, a lucky (lucky for the rest of us!) and quite sneaky fan reportedly got this quick snap of a scene from the 50th Special as it was shown at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival a few days ago. It shows Matt Smith, David Tennant, and John Hurt all standing in some kind of brightly-lit control room.

True, it’s a bit blurry but it is apparently real–as can be seen on the Tennantnews.blogspot.co.uk–and is the first image of the three Doctors together. The photographic evidence of a legend–three legends!

And as stated by Tennantnews, editor Boyd Hilton of Heat Magazine tweeted the ACTUAL dialogue that is said to go along with the scene:

John Hurt's Doctor to Matt Smith & David Tennant's Doctors: "I'm looking for the Doctor"; Tennant: "Well you've come to the right place"

— boydhilton (@boydhilton) August 22, 2013

Now, I truly want this photo to be real. I really do. But after being burned by that fake 50th special trailer online, my mind just can’t fully commit. I keep getting that creepy “digitally inserted Tennant” vibe.

What do you think Kasterborites? Are you happy just to take it at face value as amazing evidence of the three Doctors together again for the first time…or can you not quite shake the feeling of it being like one of those old grainy “confirmations” of the Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot?

(Via On Screen Images Of The Three Doctors In The 50th Anniversary Special.

TennantNews)

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Introducing: Wirrn Dawn

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.

As part of our 50th anniversary celebrations, we’re looking back at some of the pivotal tales of all of time and space, taking on one Doctor each month, running up to November – and An Unearthly Child…

The Eighth Doctor only appeared once on-screen (besides some flashbacks, montages and a brief sort-of-cameo in The Name of the Doctor). But that never stopped Paul McGann’s brilliant incarnation of the Time Lord from facing down foes like the Daleks, Cybermen, Morbius, Spring-Heeled Jack and Zygons; befriending Charley, Destrii, Molly, C’rizz, Izzy, a Cyberman named Kroton and an Ice Warrior named Ssard; and expanding his corner of the Whoniverse through novels, short stories, audios, comics and, of course, fan fiction.

He may have only appeared once in an English-American hybrid 1996 movie, but this Doctor is loved. And the reasons for this are more than evident in 2009’s Big Finish audio, Wirrn Dawn.

Stranger in a Strange Land

After their first appearance in the blindly-good Ark in Space, the Wirrn were an obvious choice for return. But, discounting the dead one in The Stones of Blood and two not-quite-official BBV Productions, the parasitical aliens only cropped up once before Big Finish got their hands on them: in the BBC Book, Placebo Effect. The novel, written by Gary Russell, saw the Eighth Doctor with his Radio Times companions, Stacy Townsend and Ssard, arrive at the Intergalactic Olympic Games in the year 3999. But a new drug offers athletes a greater skill set than ever before… and the Wirrn wait in the darkness.

Wirrn Dawn finds the Doctor and Lucie Miller (Sheridan Smith, who debuted in Blood of the Daleks) in less hospitable circumstances: in the middle of an epic and bloody war between Wirrn and humankind on the planet Carista VII. The GalSec colonists are fighting against all odds (and their inclusion wraps up some questions raised in The Sontaran Experiment) and there are two main themes explored: survival of the fittest and don’t judge a book by its cover.

Obviously, both topics were also raised in 1975’s The Ark in Space, a story that Big Finish Executive Producer, Nick Briggs (best known for voicing the Daleks and Cybermen) watches regularly:

“In a way, Wirrn Dawn is a marrying of my old desire for slick action-adventure and the whole fantastic idea of the Wirrn coming together – because essentially what I’ve done is dropped the Doctor in the middle of Starship Troopers, really!”

Weird in the Extreme

Wirrn Dawn does indeed take a lot from Starship Troopers, a 1959 novel by Robert A. Heinlein and subsequent 1997 film which tells the story of a galactic war through the eyes of idealist, Johnny Rico, as he and his fellow infantryman hunt down alien insects that threaten the human race’s very existence. But then, the controversial book has influenced many notable works.

Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War and 1968 are both slight responses to the book, the former particularly accused of being reactionary with heavy anti-war messages. The latter even includes warped versions of reality in which a soldier battles alien insects. (Whilst Haldeman admits that Starship Troopers influenced him, the two books are really about his time fighting in Vietnam.)

More futuristic fights of which Heinlein’s novel is a forerunner include the anime, Mobile Suit Gundam, Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game stories and the popular Halo video games.

Importantly, the 1986 film, Aliens, takes some inspiration from Heinlein’s story – some actors were even instructed to read the book before filming – and many fans see The Ark in Space as ‘Doctor Who does Alien before Alien.’

The insectoid aliens of Starship Troopers, Pseudo-Arachnids (or Bugs), do share traits with the Wirrn: they have a caste system, ruled over by Queens and have hive minds. Heinlein describes his alien life as “a madman’s conception of a giant, intelligent spider”; the Wirrn could be described similarly. And both fictional species pose credible threats to humanity.

The Wirrn next appear in last year’s Wirrn Isle, opposite the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and Big Finish-created companion, Flip Jackson (Lisa Greenwood). Considering that both Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat hold The Ark in Space in high esteem, it’s a surprise they haven’t returned to our TV screens…

“But that was the way it used to be.”

1983’s Season 20 celebrated the show’s 20th anniversary by bringing back classic elements, like the Brigadier, the Mara, Omega and the Master. The Black Guardian also stalked the Doctor and tried to convince new companion, Vislor Turlough, to kill the Time Lord. The season concluded with The Five Doctors.

And in this 50th anniversary year, we asked you how you’d feel about a 13-episode series of returning elements. Over 500 of you voted, but, whilst there is a clear winner, the topic is a controversial one!

With 229 votes (44.47%), it seems most of you would love to see old friends and foes return. Frazer Hines’ Jamie McCrimmon seems a popular choice, with ‘Bradondo’ noting:

“The intervening years were historically terrible for the great clans, so it would be fascinating to see a harder and somewhat dispirited Jamie holding his people together as best he can when the Doctor arrives. I think quite a lot could be done with this regarding how Jamie’s suppressed memories of his time with the Doctor – eventually revealed to him in the course of the episode – gave him the strength and resourcefulness to lead his clan.”

‘HC’ agrees, but would also like to see Katy Manning as Jo Grant (a possibility considering she reappeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures: Death of the Doctor), and ‘TimeChaser’ wants Janet Fielding to return… alongside the Mara and the Wirrn!

A considerable 131 people (25.44%) concur that it doesn’t actually matter – as long as the stories are good. A healthy 97 readers (18.83%) like the series just as it is: a pick-and-mix of old and new. ‘Geoff’ elaborates:

“When I look back over the last 7 or 8 years of Doctor Who I find the stories I have enjoyed most each series were the ones featuring new enemies, or no distinct enemies, or barely even the Doctor sometimes. So I’m veering towards saying I’d like a few nods to the past but generally keep moving forwards. Just the odd clip like in The Eleventh Hour and The Next Doctor will do me. And frankly I like Matt Smith so much I could watch him reading a bus timetable and enjoy it.”

A surprising 9.32% (48 votes) question whether the returning elements should just be contained to one series; conversely, 10 people (1.94%) would like to see a whole series with no Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, Silurians, Wirrn or UNIT – in fact, they don’t want to see any returning characters at all! ‘Orcrest’ notes:

“The problem with being too self-reverential is that you can dilute the story. Yes, Doctor Who has a rich and [varied] history, but do we need to see old companions galore?”

“Survival First; Questions Later.”

It seems that most of you love to indulge in Doctor Who’s past… as long as the story solicits it. A similar attitude is shared by Steven Moffat! Maybe the return of the Wirrn isn’t completely off the cards; they’re just waiting for the right tale.

Of course, the Wirrn aren’t the only familiar thing about Wirrn Dawn. The Sarah Jane Adventures’ Daniel Anthony (Clyde Langer) plays the ‘filthy indig,’ Delong, and Dr. Moon actor, Colin Salmon (who appeared in 2008’s Silence in the Library/ Forest of the Dead) is the prejudice Trooper Salway. Nick Briggs also crops up briefly, and Beth Chalmers stars as the Wirrn Queen a few years before Big Finish picked her as the Seventh Doctor’s companion, Raine Creevy in The Lost Stories.

But aside from these stellar cast members, Wirrn Dawn is all about one of the best Doctor-companion teams: Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith at the height of their powers.

But then, when wasn’t that the case…?

The post Introducing: Wirrn Dawn appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

PodKast Live: It’s Doctor Who!

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.

This week, the podKast went live on Google Hangouts for a second time. You can catch up with the event by heading to the Kasterborous YouTube page and watching us – or if you prefer, listen right here!

Discussions this week span off from topics as interesting as whether Russell T Davies might have ever cast Peter Capaldi, the happy news that Paul McGann and David Tennant are both attending BFI screenings of their episodes, Christopher Eccleston’s own, odd message to the BFI and asking where the flip our 50th anniversary trailer is.

I mean, come on BBC!

The podKast this week features no house band, but you’ll be happy to know that Brian A. Terranova, James McLean and Christian Cawley are all in attendance.

Kasterborous Series 3 Episode 30 Shownotes

Capaldi casting YouTube reaction 
Christopher Eccleston’s BFI message
Paul McGann and David Tennant confirmed for BFI screenings
Moffat underlines Rose Tyler’s importance
The Reign of Terror
The Five Doctors
The Web of Fear
The Key to Time
The Scream of the Shalka
AHistory by Lance Parkin and Lars Pearson

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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Rock Doctor!

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.

This will blow your mind – an extra on the new DVD release of The Scream of the Shalka reveals that singer Robbie Williams was approached to play the Doctor!

Back in 2003, The Scream of the Shalka was (the then) BBC Online’s attempt to produce a 40th anniversary story. Eventually starring Richard E. Grant, Sophie Okonedo and Derek Jacobi (later nuWho’s Great Intelligence, Liz 10 and Professor Yana/The Master), the finished story is an interesting rebirth for the ongoing Doctor Who text – one that was ultimately overwritten (albeit retaining certain elements) by Russell T Davies’ revived TV series.

But before Grant was cast, occasional Take That vocalist Robbie Williams – then Britain’s biggest singing star – was apparently considered and approached, as related in the extra titled Carry on Screaming (appropriate given the various problems the production experienced).

Says writer Paul Cornell:

Because we were reaching for the mainstream, I actually thought, ‘He’s one of the most famous people in Britain’ – it would actually get us an enormous kick of attention.

Producer James Goss, who presents the documentary, adds:

Think about it – if you really wanted to bring Doctor Who to a whole new audience, it would have been the most popular, talked-about thing the BBC website ever did.

The Scream of the Shalka and its now-alternative Ninth Doctor is something of a fascinating footnote in Doctor Who history – but what might have happened if Robbie Williams had been cast? Could it have scuppered the upcoming TV series?

The post Rock Doctor! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Moffat in the Writer’s Room

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 a Weeping Angel at the bottom of the garden of his new house, Steven Moffat has, for the first time in his life, a proper office for writing.

This snippet, and more (including how he deals with Writer’s block, how Blink and A Scandal in Belgravia were both filmed in the same house and an explanation of how the showrunner job doesn’t actually exist), can be gleaned from a new interview with the Doctor Who and Sherlock chief over at the BBC Writersroom, a place where people like me and assistant editor Phil Bates spend far too much time dreaming of doing something that isn’t copywriting.

Running to just over eleven minutes, this is an interesting look into how Moffat works, why he writes and what he would take should he ever be stranded on a desert island (and let’s face it, how likely is that?). You’ll also learn that Moffat is absolutely aware of how television is about to change (and is changing) due to things like Netflix and tablets.

Head over to the BBC Writersroom to watch the full interview…

The post Moffat in the Writer’s Room appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

New Seventh Doctor Jumper and Scarf from Lovarzi

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.

After the success of their Fourth Doctor Scarf, Lovarzi, the UK’s leading online scarf retailer, is releasing five more unique Doctor Who products in partnership with BBC Worldwide to celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary.

 

The range is essential for fans of the Seventh Doctor – Sylvester McCoy – but there’s something new for everyone, including a specially-designed Dalek Scarf.

The Seventh Doctor’s Jumper and the incredibly-detailed Silk Scarf are ideal for cosplayers, and the 100% cotton Hanky finishes off the look perfectly.

The Seventh Doctor’s iconic appearance was designed by Ken Trew in April 1987, ready for McCoy’s debut in Time and the Rani. He battled Daleks and Cybermen, braved Paradise Towers, played chess with Fenric, and performed at the Psychic Circus for the Gods of Ragnarok until the costume made its last appearance in 1989’s Survival.

Maninder Singh Sahota is Director of Lovarzi:

After the success of the Doctor Who Scarf last year, it is great to offer Doctor Who fans some other classic products. We are dedicated to providing fans with fine quality products which I’m certain they’ll love.

Alex Carter-Jones, Business Development Manager from Forbidden Planet says:

Following on from the hugely successful Fourth Doctor Replica Scarf this range of new scarves and knitwear for the Seventh Doctor looks set to be a real fan favourite. Alongside this the addition of the burgundy Fourth Doctor scarf to the range makes for a great way to continue upon the line from last year.

The Seventh Doctor Jumper, Silk Scarf and Hanky will all be available for pre-order from Lovarzi.co.uk, Forbidden Planet and the Doctor Who Experience from September 2013.

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