Christian Cawley's Blog, page 363

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.

The Doctor’s seventh life is given the spotlight in the latest release from Big Finish and AudioGo in Destiny of the Doctor: Shockwave.

The Seventh Doctor was one of the most enigmatic incarnations of our favourite Time Lord and it’s the turn of Sophie Aldred, former companion 80’s Ace, to narrate a story that best represents her particular era of Doctor Who.

In the far future, the inhabitants of Tarsus Six face a desperate struggle to evacuate their world before their sun, Tarsus Ultra, collapses into a cataclysmic spatial anomaly.

When the Doctor navigates the TARDIS to a space station orbiting Tarsus Six, Ace assumes that he intends offer their assistance. But it soon becomes clear that the Doctor has an agenda of his own.

With the TARDIS immobilised, Ace realises that their own lives are as much in danger as those of the fleeing inhabitants. The race is on to escape the destruction of Tarsus Six and the devastating shockwave that will follow, reaching out and destroying everything in its wake.

Expect twists and turns, a darker version of the Doctor and a very probably chance for a cameo from the Eleventh Doctor in this story written by James Swallow and co-starring Ian Brooker.

Destiny of the Doctor: Shockwave is available on CD now for £10.20 or via download for just £3.99, please note that the CD release does not include a free download of the story. Head over to www.bigfinish.com to order your copy.

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Doctor Who at the Proms Hits BBC One!

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.

For the fans who were unable to attend the 2013 Doctor Who Prom back in July, despair not – you can catch it on BBC One next week!

Photo Credit: Matthew Charlton

On Monday 26th August (a Bank Holiday in the UK), BBC One will be airing the event in its entirety from 4pm.

The Prom was a musical celebration of the show’s 50th anniversary, featuring Murray Gold’s work from the revival of the series, as well as music from the classic series, featuring the legendary BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Several special guests also made an appearance at the concert, including current Doctor and companion, Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman. The event also marked the debut of Gold’s brand new composition, Song for Fifty, his musical tribute to the past 50 years of Doctor Who.

The reactions to the song have been mixed, but I thought it was a moving addition to a stellar evening of music. Will you be tuning in on Monday?

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Moffat: Capaldi is “Brilliant”

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.

Perhaps the main reason to buy Doctor Who Magazine 464 this week (besides the comic strip) is to find out more about Peter Capaldi’s casting.

Steven Moffat is at hand to introduce the new Doctor to readers of DWM (the magazine will probably use the expected “Peter Capaldi IS the Doctor” headline to herald the actor’s first episode) and even he seems as excited as the rest of us.

“The moment you say his name, you go ‘Of course!’. He’s got the hair, he’s got the look. He’s brilliant. Of course it’s him!

“The Doctor’s always said he is thousands of years old and suddenly he is going to look closer to what we know he secretly is.He won’t be the dashing young man he was a minute ago.”

Want more? Go buy the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine, out Thursday!

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Reviewed: Spearhead from Space Special Edition

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.

One of the big bonuses of working on Kasterborous is the review copies of current and upcoming Doctor Who DVDs. When it is something as delicious as the special edition Blu-ray release of Spearhead from Space, the 1970 introduction to Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor, however, things take a different direction

After all, this is a well-watched serial. What could anyone possibly find to say about it that hasn’t been written or uttered before?

Well actually, you would be surprised.

Once I had overcome the problem of not owning a Blu-ray player, I too was surprised. Reviewing the disc meant heading to my parents’ house and sharing the experience with my dad, a long-term viewer of Doctor Who but one who missed the entire 1970 run what with being in the Royal Navy and everything (don’t worry, dear reader. I wasn’t dragged up by an exasperated mother in a fatherless home; he left active service before I was born). Dad on this occasion was a fascinated observer with which to share the extras!

Spearheading the High Def

I would like to say that the main reason to watch Spearhead from Space Special Edition is to enjoy the story, but as it is one of the most repeated on TV and released on VHS and DVD, this might be tough for some fans. This is certainly a problem that I faced, but fortunately was able to quickly get over by first looking out for scenes and shots that had obvious improvements to them. By the time the Brigadier was marching up the corridor of the hospital, the story had suddenly come alive.

The younger or newbie among you might not realise this, but Spearhead from Space is the only classic Doctor Who that can (with current technology, somewhat limited by the laws of physics) be upgraded to high definition. That this happened was a complete accident, caused by industrial action at the BBC forcing the new in-colour series being filmed entirely on 16mm cameras as opposed to the usual videotape. Lighter cameras mean more interesting shots and a uniformity across studio and location footage that wouldn’t be seen again until Robot in 1974 (this serial’s studio and location scenes were recorded entirely on videotape).

Naturally you’re going to need a decent HDTV to really appreciate the upgrade, and there is some feeling among certain fans that some of the polishing work found in the Restoration comparison extra could have been performed for a DVD release. Nevertheless, it is 2013, and what better way to celebrate our favourite show’s birthday than with a Blu-ray release?

All in all, this is like watching a brand new classic episode in many ways. The cinematic quality of the serial is vastly enhanced, and whether your Doctor is Sylvester McCoy, David Tennant or even John Hurt, you won’t want to miss this.

Blu-ray Extras

The collection of extras on this one-disc special edition are modest in number, but just wait until you start watching them…

A Dandy and a Clown is described as an “exclusive documentary looks at the life and career of Jon Pertwee.” Sadly completed before the secret service shenanigans of the most action-oriented incarnation of the Doctor yet came to light, this is nevertheless a fascinating account of his life, covering everything from HMS Hood to The Navy Lark, through Doctor Who, Worzel Gummidge and beyond. Jon was clearly a well-loved man among his friends, some of whom (such as Geoffrey Bayldon and David Jacobs, appear here) and this look at his incredible life is among the very best extras I’ve seen on anything anywhere. Excellent work by Chris Chapman and team!

Remarkably, the other main extra is more or less of the same high quality. Carry On: the life of Caroline John is a tribute to the actress who played the Third Doctor’s companion. Featuring her husband Geoffrey Beevers and other family members, this is a touching biography of an actress who seemed to have been just a jolly nice lady who was well loved and respected by her peers. In many ways Caroline was the complete opposite of her one-season co-star, and while the contrast is barely stated you come away from these two extras seeing both actors in a new light.

Now, I mentioned above that I watched Spearhead from Space and the extras with my dad, a film buff with a love of classic movies and DVD extra features. He was completely astounded by the quality of these features (as well as being puzzled by his inability to remember the story and Caroline John until he lined up his dates) but was slightly less impressed by the Title sequence raw material, one of the more hardcore features to have appeared on any Doctor Who disc yet. This is essentially 30-odd minutes of test footage for the Jon Pertwee era opening titles. Even the most ardent opening titles fans might find this heavy going, although there is plenty here that some fan films might like to borrow…

The Restoration comparison, mentioned earlier, completes the extras. All in all this is a unique release from Doctor Who‘s classic era, and if you haven’t bought it already then you should seriously consider doing so, or at least drop hints to your family…

Released on 15th July Spearhead from Space Special Edition is available now from Amazon for just £12.80  - don’t miss it! 

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Is John Hurt’s Doctor ‘The Renegade’?

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.

This article contains possible spoilers about the 50th anniversary episode – be warned!

Has IDW’s Doctor Who comic given the game away as to the John Hurt Doctor’s place in the series’ lore? That’s the verdict of Bleeding Cool, based on issue 12 of the US publication.

Always up for a bit of fun speculation about all things sci-fi and fantasy, the site reckons the current issue’s strip, depicting Gallifrey’s moment of destruction in the time war, drops a heavy hint that Hurt is, in fact, the ninth Doctor, responsible for his home world’s end.

This would mean, of course, that all of the twenty-first century Doctors are to be effectively renumbered, making Eccleston the tenth, Tennant the eleventh and Smith the twelfth.

Bleeding Cool features some panels from the strip, which depict some seriously worried Time Lords facing up to their doom…

What do you think? Is Hurt really ‘The Renegade’ in question? Will Peter Capaldi be the unlucky thirteenth? Most importantly, can anyone come up with a better description for this whole business than the ‘Hurt Insert’?!

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Neil Gaiman Wants to Write for Capaldi!

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 Doctor’s Wife and Nightmare in Silver writer Neil Gaiman has revealed he is excited about the prospect of Peter Capaldi as the new star of Doctor Who.

Speaking to Doctor Who Online, Gaiman revealed first and foremost that he would like to write another episode, and that although he may not have a contribution until Series 9, he hasn’t gone away.

Absolutely, I don’t want to be coy!

They would like to have me [and] I would like to do more. The only problem I’m having right now is the time that I probably would’ve spent writing a Doctor Who script this year suddenly got eaten by going on [a book] tour.

I would love to write an episode for season 8, it may well be that I’m over in season 9, but I promise I haven’t gone away.

Most crucially, however, is his enthusiasm for the new Doctor, something we at Kasterborous reckon is shared by many other show writers, past, present and future.

The idea of writing for Peter Capaldi’s Doctor is one that I find so thrilling and exciting.

Incidentally, you can catch Neil chatting to broadcaster Stuart Maconie on the Radcliffe and Maconie show on BBC Radio 6 Music on Friday from 1pm.

Head to Doctor Who Online’s YouTube page to watch the full interview, in which Gaiman is promoting his new book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

Would you like to see Neil Gaiman back working on a new Doctor Who episode, or was Nightmare in Silver enough for you?

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Peter Capaldi Stars in DWM 464!

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 month, Doctor Who Magazine goes behind the scenes of Doctor Who Live, the special show which finally revealed the identity of the Twelfth Doctor. The mag features interviews with the people who made it happen, including show runner STEVEN MOFFAT, presenter ZOË BALL and producer RUSSELL MINTON… and there’s also has an exclusive letter from PETER CAPALDI himself!

Steven Moffat tells DWM, “He’s always looked like Doctor Who, how has this taken us so long?! Because the moment you say his name, you go ‘Of course!’ Because he’s got the hair, and he’s got the look, he’s brilliant, he’s known to be a fan, of course it’s bloody him!”

ALSO THIS ISSUE:

WAITING IN THE WINGS…

STEVEN MOFFAT writes exclusively for DWM about how Peter Capaldi came to be chosen as the Twelfth Doctor.

NO HIDING…

The author of the recent episodes The Rings of Akhaten and Hide, and the creator of the acclaimed drama series Luther, NEIL CROSS talks exclusively to DWM about how he came to fulfil his dream of writing for Doctor Who.

OUT OF THE WILDERNESS…

In the second part of The Way Back, we continue to examine the rebirth of Doctor Who in the 21st and take a look at the other Ninth Doctor whose life was cut short after just one animated adventure, Scream of the Shalka – with contributions from RUSSELL T DAVIES, JULIE GARDNER, JANE TRANTER and many more…

BACK TO THE SIXTIES

The Seventh Doctor and Ace take a trip to 1960s London where the Doctor hidden a dangerous Time Lord artefact. Unfortunately, two opposing Dalek factions also want to get their suckers on it… REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS from 1988 takes its turn under the scrutinising lens of FACT OF FICTION, which reveals new and fascinating facts about the production.

DEAD MAN WALKING

The Doctor is killed by an impossible astronaut – and that’s just the start of his problems! DWM’s journey through Doctor Who’s long history arrives at 2011 and the thirty-second series, as COUNTDOWN TO 50 continues.

BLINKING MARVELLOUS?

Chris, Emma, Michael and Will are keeping their eyes open as they watch the award winning DOCTOR WHO episode Blink from 2007. What will our fearless TIME TEAM make of Steven Moffat’s ‘Doctor-lite’ episode, and will they escape being sent back in time by the Weeping Angels?

FIGHT AND FLIGHT!

The Doctor’s bug problems are bigger than ever as the over-sized insect Koragatta’s plans come to fruition and the Prime Mother and her swarm threaten the Earth, in the exciting final episode of the DWM comic strip A WING AND A PRAYER, written by SCOTT GRAY, with art by MIKE COLLINS.

THE BEST OF THE BEST

The votes have been counted in the 2012 DWM readers merchandise poll and the winners are revealed, including your favourite fiction and non-fiction books, audios, and DVD releases. Plus, we also reveal the top features, covers and interviews from DWM itself.

AIN’T MISBEHAVING…

Mother of twins and devoted fan JACQUELINE RAYNER shares those occasional embarrassing moments when Doctor Who has let her down in the company of friends and family, in this issue’s RELATIVE DIMENSIONS.

DOCTOR BLUE?

The Watcher takes his cue from the casting of Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor and selects the TARDIS Swear-Box as this issue’s A History of Doctor Who in 100 Objects; presents a Capaldi-themed joke in What a Load of Rubeish; and celebrates another extra in Supporting Artist of the Month. Plus regeneration forms the basis of the brain tease in The Six Faces of Delusion and a Top Ten Fine Wines with a Doctor Who vintage are revealed. All in this issue’s WOTCHA!

PLUS! All the latest official news, TV and merchandise reviews, previews, competitions, a prize-winning crossword and much, much more!

Meet the new Doctor in Doctor Who Magazine 464 on sale Thursday 22 August, priced £4.75

The post Peter Capaldi Stars in DWM 464! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

DWM Enjoys Increased Distribution!

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.

BOOM. Sales of Doctor Who Magazine are UP! In fact they’re up by nearly a fifth since last year. If, like me, you enjoy the odd list of numbers, you’ll be getting fidgety from a lack of viewing figures to obsess over. Fear not. Relief is here – the publishing stats for DWM are out. Of course the next question is why the boost? And why is its youthful counterpart, Doctor Who Adventures not fairing so well?

Tom Spilsbury, the editor of DWM, (who is rightly chuffed) explained to Doctor Who News what this means and suggests why the official magazine is doing so well,

…even holding steady is always a major achievement in the current magazine climate. For us to have increased by more than 10 per cent since the last report is staggering, and also highlights our strong sales in North America, due to the increasing popularity of Doctor Who there.

So are the bumper sales are down to our trans-Atlantic cousins getting in on Who’s official periodical? A quick nosey at the certificate from the Audit Bureau of Circulations reveals that around a third of all DWM sales were overseas…

It does raise an eyebrow (my left one) that DWA is falling behind while DWM is doing so well. Again, a quick glance at the certificate shows that DWA isn’t sold overseas which would make sense if the boost is coming from American interest. Moffat’s era has embraced the American audience in a big way with The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon giving a yank-soaked love-letter to 1960s USA and the Ponds’ farewell set in film noir Manhattan.

Or could it be that American sales are steady and more older fans in the UK are enjoying the show while *yoofs* are leaving it behind? What do you think- is the show becoming more ‘grown-up’, or are we seeing a rise in overseas appeal? Or both?…

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The Light at the End in Limited Vinyl Edition!

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.

As Doctor Who’s 50th birthday bash gets ever nearer, we’re offered more tantalising information on events surrounding the anniversary hootenanny. Big Finish has kindly filled the gap away from TV celebrations by creating a story for the first Eight Doctors, The Light at the End.

With only a few months to wait until release, the clever people at Big Finish are keeping quiet regarding larger plot details for the adventure apart from the fact that it has a lot of Doctors, a lot of companions and Geoffrey Beevers as the Master. For further information, we’ll just have to wait until the time is right.

However, the company has released a tantalising image of the front cover for The Light at the End’s special vinyl release that you’ll be lucky to get your hands on!

The four-disc limited special edition vinyl release will come in deluxe premium packaging which will also include photos of the cast as they create 50th anniversary magic in the studio.

The first three discs will contain the story itself and the last disc will include a 40 minute documentary on the making of the story. There will also be an exclusive lenticular image for those who decide to purchase this very special set. You’ll have to order fast though; they’re limited to only 500 in total.

You can find out more by visiting www.bigfinish.com – and we’ll close with this very cool image of the five Doctors together…

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Tennant Recalls Relationship with Matt Smith

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.

David Tennant has chatted recently about filming for the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, recalling the way he and successor Matt Smith got on.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the Scottish actor (promoting Broadchurch in the USA) says of his time on set with current Doctor Matt Smith:

I suppose you’d expect me to say we’re new best friends and I love him like a brother. But that is sort of how it was. I had a fantastic time and that wouldn’t necessarily have been the case.

One can easily imagine that coming back to any job would potentially be an awkward situation. Tennant goes on -

I’m coming back onto a show that’s effectively somebody else’s show and used to be mine and that’s potentially quite a weird situation to be in. Going back to something I knew so well and had such fun memories of might have backfired. It’s a quite rare set of circumstances: Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig don’t get to play James Bond next to each other. But actually it felt familiar enough that it was like coming home and working with Matt proved to be a real joy. I hope I’m speaking for him when I say we really enjoyed bouncing of each other and playing sort of two aspects of the same character. It was everything that I hoped it might be and nothing that I feared it could be.

It’s wonderful to know that Tennant and Smith got along so well given the potential for problems between actors essentially playing the same role, given they both have their own ideas of what that character should be.

The Doctor Who 50th anniversary episode is set to air in several countries worldwide on November 23rd. Meanwhile Tennant can currently be seen in the sensational crime drama Broadchurch on BBC America (out on DVD in the UK) and is set to begin rehearsals in his turn as Richard II with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

(Via EW.com | Thanks to Joe)

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