Christian Cawley's Blog, page 376

Matt Smith Chats at Comic Con

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.

Don’t miss Doctor Who star Matt Smith chatting in this video from last week’s San Diego Comic Con International.

Conducted by the popular IGN website, the interview runs to a mammoth 11 minutes (appropriately enough!) so make sure you have time to watch…

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Drive a Dalek at York Maze this Saturday!

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.

York Maze is looking for the best dressed Doctor Who or Sci-Fi fan, and is offering a unique prize of taking the controls of a Dalek for the winner, as well as £100 cash prize!

This year York Maze celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who with an amazing Dalek shaped maze. Visitors to the maze will hear the Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker read out clues as they try to conquer the maze and find the TARDIS.

On Saturday 27th July York Maze is hosting a Doctor who and Sci-Fi characters costume day. Come dressed as your favourite Doctor Who or other Sci-Fi show character and enter the competition. There will be a fancy dress parade at 2.30pm and the winner will get the chance go inside a Dalek and threaten to EX-TER-MIN-ATE their friends, family and anyone else at the maze!

Says Tom Pearcy, owner of York Maze:

We are inviting children and adults visiting the maze on Saturday 27th July to get into the spirit of this year’s maze theme by dressing as their favourite Doctor Who or Sci-Fi character. As well as the drive a Dalek experience the winner will also get £100 cash prize. Second place £50, third place £25, with a York Maze goody bag for all children who enter.

York Maze is open to the public daily until Monday 2 September. See www.yorkmaze.co.uk for details.

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Doctor Who 50th Anniversary: British Icon Dalek

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.

With the royal bambino (sorry, I mean future king, mam) comes a swell of national pride; a pride that can only find solace in commemorative plates.

But amongst those seeking to validate their existence with pillboxes, embossed teddy bears and shortbread tins; there is another, more deadly threat.

A stranger amongst us has taken our very flag – the preserve of naval ships and pub car parks alike – and used it to integrate and indeed eliminate those looking for a royal trinket or those looking to celebrate the legacy of his most fearsome enemy.

The design maybe new but its patter remains the same; no rather than joining in for a rousing chorus of God Save the Queen (John Bull or John Lydon) or moaning about the most humiliating way to travel known to man, the bus, this enemy can be heard spouting eight original phrases:

Seek, Locate, Annihilate

-Seek, Locate, Destroy

-You will obey the Daleks, obey, obey!!

-Halt or you will be Exterminated!

-You are an enemy of the Daleks!

-We are the Supreme Beings

-Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate! + Gun SFX

-Exterminate! + Gun SFX

Don’t be fooled by his lively livery because this is one guest looking to ruin everyone’s celebrations.

This limited 50th anniversary edition free-wheeling Dalek invader features poseable arm, head and eye for extra dastardliness and is available to pre-order now for £35.99 from Forbidden Planet for release on our blessed plot, this earth, this realm. This England, this nurse, this teaming womb of royal kings on the 23rd August.

Gentlemen, England expects that every man will do his duty, Godspeed.

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Big Finish Wins Scribe Award!

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.

Recently at the San Diego Comic Con event, the convention hosted the annual Scribe awards. Many were nominated but only a few won.

We’re delighted to tell you that not only were Big Finish productions nominated 3 times for some of their various works, they also managed to get a win for their story Dark Shadows: The Eternal Actress.

Also nominated for the title of Best Audio were Dark Shadows: Dress Me in Dark Dreams and Doctor Who – The Companion Chronicles: Project: Nirvana. There can only be one winner but in our eyes, any one of these titles is a sure thing!

As a result of this excellent news, Big Finish have opened a limited time offer for you to purchase these award nominated, and in one case award winning, stories at a very affordable price.

All 3 adventures can be found on the company’s website to be purchased on CD or via download for the very low cost of £5.00 each. That’s 3 brilliant stories for less than £20.00.

But hurry hurry, because this pricing won’t last forever and you won’t want to feel like you’ve missed out on the bargain of a lifetime.

Congratulations as well to writer Nev Fountain who penned the award winning story Dark Shadows:The Eternal Actress.

Visit http://www.bigfinish.com/ranges/released/special-offers for more information.

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Iwan Roberts: Taking Who to North Wales?

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.

Cardiff has been the home of Doctor Who for about a decade now, but is it time the series moves further North? Location manager, Iwan Roberts, seems to think so! And you can probably guess from his name that Iwan doesn’t mean Yorkshire or Scotland – but North Wales!

Talking to Daily Post’s Richard Beech, Iwan admitted to his desire to take the TARDIS to Snowdonia:

“It’s a beautiful place, and I think the cast and crew would really enjoy it actually, it would be something different.”

The Doctor has visited Snowdonia before, though naturally, it was disguised as – you guessed it! – Tibet, where he faced off against the Great Intelligence for the first time in The Abominable Snowmen. Nonetheless, Roberts says he still loves filming in and around Cardiff, due to its stunning and varied environs:

“We’re bang in the middle of a city, but within 10 minutes you have beautiful countryside or coastline. It’s such a versatile place to film; in London it could take you two hours in the morning just to get to a location, but luckily we don’t have to battle with traffic too often in Cardiff.”

He cites two places in Cardiff as his amongst his favourite locations: the City Hall, which he notes was used extensively in Victory of the Daleks, and the Coal Exchange:

“We used the Coal Exchange for the Christmas special in 2010 with Katherine Jenkins and Michael Gambon [A Christmas Carol]. There was probably about four or five days set building. But it’s a location we use quite often.”

When Beech speaks to him, he’s searching a database of location photos for a “top secret project”. He says experience is key in his job:

“I have a huge database of pictures on my laptop, from parks and woods, to residential houses, just so many of them. And you use that as your library, so you look at a Doctor Who script when you get sent it, and think to yourself ‘I’ve got that location’, ‘I know a great place for this scene’… Some scripts, though, you need to do a lot of leg work: the Doctor Who Christmas special in 2011 [The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe], we had to find a wood or a forest, and it took us so long to find the right woods for that episode.”

He also has to consider the logistics of getting cast and crew in each location:

“The inside of one of the Ponds’ houses was in Grangetown, and the exterior we actually showed on Doctor Who is from a different house elsewhere in the city, because the director wanted a Georgian front and the inside of the Georgian house we found wasn’t actually big enough to film in.”

It’s a really interesting interview with a vital member of the crew: often overlooked but without his realisations, Doctor Who certainly wouldn’t look so spectacular each week! Head over to Daily Post to read more.

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How Grade Almost Scuppered Doctor Who’s Return in DWM 463!

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 Magazine picks up the baton from the occasional DVD feature Doctor Forever this month to look deeper into the story of the show’s return in 2005…

Click for hi-res version!

The next instalment of Doctor Forever (found on The Green Death) explains how Russell T Davies was approached by the BBC and eventually got to work on Doctor Who in 2003 – but it wasn’t long before the bogeyman Michael Grade began to prepare his knives. Doctor Who Magazine 463 looks deeper into the story…

In the first part of a look back at how and why Doctor Who was recommissioned back in 2003, DWM talks to the people who ensured its successful comeback, including the then BBC Controller of Drama Commissioning Jane Tranter, BBC Wales’ Head of Drama Julie Gardner, and writer Russell T Davies. Says Tranter:

When Michael Grade arrived back at the BBC as Chairman, Mark Thompson was back as Director General. Michael Grade [who had been BBC1 controller in the 1980s, and tried to cancel the show] didn’t like Doctor Who at all. Mark Thompson actually asked me if we could stop. I said, no, we couldn’t!

Also in Doctor Who Magazine 463

NEXT PLEASE!

Doctor Who’s showrunner and head writer STEVEN MOFFAT presents the three pieces that he wrote for the actors that have auditioned for the role of the Twelfth Doctor – and presents them exclusively for DWM readers!

TALKING TO A MAN ABOUT A DOG!

Prolific Doctor Who author BOB BAKER looks back on his career in an exclusive interview with DWM and speaks proudly of his most famous contribution to the Doctor Who universe: K9, the Doctor’s robotic dog.

WHO’S SHE?

As we await the announcement of the new star of Doctor Who, journalist Claire Budd and novelist Una McCormack go head-to-head to debate the burning question: IS IT TIME FOR THE DOCTOR TO BECOME A WOMAN?

AFTER THE FLOOD!

Arriving in the far future, the Fourth Doctor, Harry and Sarah discover that the last survivors of mankind are about to face the deadly, parasitic Wirrn! The Fact of Fiction looks back to one of Doctor Who’s all-time great adventures – THE ARK IN SPACE – and reveals some surprising new facts.

EVERYTHING IS NEW AGAIN!

It’s 2010, and the dawn of a new era as Matt Smith makes his début as the Eleventh Doctor. The show may have a new leading man and a new style, but it’s still Doctor Who in the latest instalment of DWM’s ongoing cruise through Doctor Who history in COUNTDOWN TO 50!

ANOTHER LIFE!

THE TIME TEAM take a trip to pre-war England as Chris, Emma, Michael and Will settle down to watch the two-part Tenth Doctor story HUMAN NATURE/THE FAMILY OF BLOOD and find that the formidable Family of Blood and their sinister Scarecrow servants are following the Doctor’s trail. What will the team make of it all?

SAND STORM!

Clara’s lunch date with the legendary pilot, Amy Johnson has been rudely interrupted by two identical copies of themselves… made from sand! Meanwhile, the Doctor is having trouble with his own doppelganger, and the real enemy is about to make its entrance. The latest astonishing comic strip adventure A WING AND A PRAYER – written by SCOTT GRAY with art by MIKE COLLINS – continues…

NOTHING STAYS THE SAME…

Change is an essential part of Doctor Who and has allowed the series to constantly reinvent and reinvigorate itself for 50 years. And, as JACQULINE RAYNER tells us in this issue’s RELATIVE DIMENSIONS, this means that the series can be a useful tool when teaching children that nothing lasts forever…

AUTONS IN HIGH DEFINITION!

Jon Pertwee IS the Doctor, as former Doctor Who Script Editor ANDREW CARTMEL reviews the new Blu-ray release of the Third Doctor’s classic 1970 début adventure SPEARHEAD FROM SPACE.

COLOURFUL ENCOUNTERS!

The Watcher takes a look at Doctor Who episode titles in A History of Doctor Who in 100 Objects, and discovers that the names of colours have become a recent trend; he runs down the charts with Doctor Who themed titles in Top Ten Reality TV; the long suffering Professor Rubeish presents another joke of dubious quality; The Six Faces of Delusion has Jim Henson’s movie Labyrinth as a theme and asks you to spot the odd one out; and there is distinct Gallic flavour to this issue’s ousted Supporting Artist of the Month… 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!

Check out Doctor Who Magazine 463, on sale Thursday 25 July, priced £4.75.

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Cybermen Invade via Heathrow Airport!

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.

Been travelling lately? Had to catch a plane from London Heathrow? If that’s the case then you may have noticed some rather Doctor Who-related activities taking place around the airport!

To celebrate 50 years of time travelling fun with the 900 year old madman, Heathrow airport invited a few familiar faces from the Doctor Who Universe to pop by and try their best to take over.

The TARDIS was there in all its resplendent glory, the was a Time War Dalek, author Jenny Colgan (Doctor Who novel Dark Horizons) and even the London Philharmonic Orchestra set up a small performance to play some of Doctor Who’s best music.

Colgan said a few words to the press to describe the day’s events and also talk about the plot of her novel as well as explain the origins of her very special TARDIS dress that had been exclusively made for her.

Kids were able to pose as the Doctor and Clara as well as stand next to the new Cyberman design that we were introduced to in Neil Gaiman’ s Nightmare in Silver.

As the Cyberman stalked the airport, the emotional music that the orchestra were playing became too much for him and he ended up taking over conducting duties for a while. If you want to see the Cybermen do something new, you need to see this!

Finally, here is a small gallery of shots from Heathrow’s Terminal 5…

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Remember: This Man Lies

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 Who panel at the recent San Diego Comic Con celebrated 50 years of Time travel with the Doctor with an audience Q&A.

Hosted by Craig Ferguson, a self-confessed Doctor Who fan, the panel included Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, Jenna-Louise Coleman, David Bradley, Marcus Wilson and for the last time ever (sob!) Matt Smith.

Moffat came up with the most enigmatic and rewarding comments when talking about the impending 50th anniversary special starring Matt Smith, David Tennant and john Hurt and suggested that the end of a long game is approaching in the episode:

There are certain things we’ve been setting up for a very long time and they will be resolved in the 50th anniversary.

After being asked about John Barrowman’s involvement in the special, something that was denied by the actor himself, Moffat intrigued the audience and indeed the entire world when stating:

lied my arse off for months.

But what exactly about? Barrowman’s involvement? It does seem rather odd that the actor stated he was talking to the BBC regarding Doctor Who and then did a complete U-turn to say he would be having no involvement.

So, if Moffat has got Barrowman involved and then asked him to deny this, what else could we expect in terms of surprises? It’s clear that Christopher Eccleston won’t be involved but could there be a fleeting appearance from another Doctor that we don’t know about?

Rule number one: Moffat lies. But that makes the reveal when you’re watching his episodes all the more satisfying.

(Via Radio Times.)

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The PodKast that Wasn’t at SDCC

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.

Curious things took place at the K Towers virtual studio this week, resulting in an hour long podKast that somehow went unrecorded! Being the passionate Doctor Who fans that we are, of course, we pushed on, recording an approximation of the original that attempts to be as honest and genuine as possible.

Sadly, one key result of this is the minimal presence of Brian Terranova, who could only hang around as long as the intro. However, we think you’ll agree that his intro is perhaps one of our best yet, and is one that sets up the rest of the show perfectly. This week, we cover the San Diego Comic Con, namely the trailers for An Adventure in Space and Time and the Doctor Who 50th anniversary – and the crucial matter of Karen Gillan’s newly-shorn locks.

Useful links for this week’s podKast:

Kasterborous Series 3 Episode 25 Shownotes

The *Other* Comic-Con Trailer…
What We Learned About the 50th Anniversary at Comic Con…
Karen Gillan’s Shaved New Super Villain Look!
Issue 7 of FANWNAK
Achieve It! 50th Anniversary Magazine

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”.)

You haven’t clicked play yet?! What are you waiting for? As well as our new Stitcher 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!

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!

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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Series 7 Boxset Released September!

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.

Doctor Who: The Complete Series 7 boxset is expected to hit shelves in September, according to Blu-ray.com.

Blu-ray.com report that the set will be released on 24th September, presumably as both Blu-ray and DVD. Though it’s an American site, the UK should expect a similar release date – or if not, things are going to kick off.

The set includes all the episodes from The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe through Asylum of the Daleks, seeing the Ponds off in style in The Angels Take Manhattan, onto Clara’s ‘proper’ debut stories, The Snowmen and The Bells of Saint John, and concluding with The Name of the Doctor. The stories were only previously released as a vanilla release (in the case of the 2011 Christmas special) and two smaller boxsets – Series 7, Parts 1 and 2 – with limited extras.

The boxset will also include:

Audio Commentaries;
Behind the Scenes Featurettes;
Episode Prequels ;
Doctor Who on The Nerdist;
Doctor Who in the U.S. ;
Last Days of the Ponds;
Pond Life;
The Science of Doctor Who;
The Companions;
Doctor Who at Comic Con.

That last one sounds interesting, eh? I wonder if trailers for the 50th anniversary special and/or An Adventure in Space and Time will be included as part of that?

Without a doubt, this boxset has been a looooong time coming – but with quality stories like A Town Called Mercy, Hide and The Crimson Horror (and then some!), it’s worth the wait!

(Find out more at Blu-ray.com. With thanks to Joe.)

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