Christian Cawley's Blog, page 49
October 30, 2015
A Brief Note: The Mysterious Affair of the Vanishing Comments
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.
Many of you have quite rightly be worried about our comments section, so we’d just like to clear things up somewhat.
Yes, we’ve had a little trouble recently, and we’re still tidying K Towers back up, so we can deliver great content about everyone’s favourite show.
Turns out, WordPress has been filing some of your comments away, waiting for us unsuspecting fools to approve them. We wondered what that red bit on the control panel was, but figured it would go away if we ignored it. It didn’t go away, no matter how much we yelled.
We took some advice from the Tenth Doctor: we saw a big red button and pressed it. With horror, we realised we were inadvertently silencing our audience. Oops. Sorry about that.
You’ll likely notice a few of your past comments popping up now. Please accept our apologies. We’ll try to keep on top of it from now on. To highlight the point to anyone whose comments have disappeared – that You Are Not Alone – former editor, Christian Cawley has also been commenting and those, too, had vanished. We don’t like to censor anyone, especially not Christian, unless it’s with gaffer tape.
However, I’d personally just like to point everyone back to our comments policy: it’d be great if everyone could still adhere to them. Essentially, be nice. It’s fine if you have a criticism, but think about the way you’re expressing it. We’re not random robots: we have emotions and if we dedicate a large amount of time to writing something for your entertainment, it feels pretty awful to be torn to pieces for it. Similarly, if any robots out there want to complain about me calling them emotionless, please email me. You’ll need to do a CAPTCHA first.
Furthermore, we’re not sure what we’re doing about comments, but it’s fairly likely we’ll be reinstating Disqus sometime in the future. Yay!
Thanks, too, for your comments saying you’re glad we’re back, that you’ve missed us. We’ve missed you too. We’ll get back on track. Thanks for your patience.
Geronimo…!
The post A Brief Note: The Mysterious Affair of the Vanishing Comments appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
October 29, 2015
Osgood and the Zygons Return in these Preview Clips!
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.
The Zygon Invasion airs tomorrow, and if you’re any sort of self-respecting Whovian, you’re very excited. To get you even more excited, the BBC has thrown two preview clips into the midden. Hold onto your seat because Peter Harness’ two-parter looks a scary one…
Billed as a sort of sequel to The Day of the Doctor (2013), the alien shape-shifters are among us. Who do you trust?
I’m calling it now: that first clip is the pre-titles sequence, at least according to my “Giant Book of Doctor Who Presumptions That Are Quite Safe Bets But Let’s Not Go Mental Here” (available from Amazon, possibly). The second, however, is something a little bit different…
Yep, the Doctor comes face-to-face with the Zygons, this one secured to a chair by a bit of duct tape. Totally safe.
Ham? Perhaps. Cheese? Maybe. Ham and cheese? Mmm. Anyone else fancy a sandwich?
The Zygons Invasion hits BBCOne on Saturday 31st October at 8:15pm. Doctor Who on Hallowe’en? It was meant to be!
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Listen to David Tennant Read Gothic Horror Tale Carmilla
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.
Listen to them, the children of the night. What sweet audiobooks they produce!
The Tenth Doctor himself David Tennant and Game of Thrones star Rose Leslie certainly know how to bring the chills with a brand new recording of Sheridan Le Fanu’s gothic horror novella Carmilla.
Released just in time for Halloween by Audible, Carmilla, which was first published in 1872, is considered one of the first instances of Vampire literature and pre-dates Bram Stoker’s Dracula by two decades.
First published as a serial in literary magazine, The Dark Blue, Carmilla is narrated by a young woman who is preyed upon by the titular female vampire – who is seen as the original prototype for a legion of female and lesbian vampires.
The novella has been adapted numerous times including the 1970 Hammer horror film, The Vampire Lovers, featuring Ingrid Pitt, who appeared in The Time Monster and Warriors of the Deep, and Dr Who and the Daleks/Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. star himself Peter Cushing, and 2013s The Unwanted, which, rather unsuccessfully relocated the action to a contemporary southern United States.
Check out Entertainment Weekly’s exclusive sneak peek of the audiobook and download your copy of Carmilla today.
The post Listen to David Tennant Read Gothic Horror Tale Carmilla appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
Should You Be Worried About Series 9’s Ratings?
Katie Gribble 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.
So we’re half way through the latest series and some of the overnight and final ratings have not been particularly encouraging. Should we as fans be concerned about the dropping ratings or is it nothing to worry about?
Below are the Series 9 ratings and AI for the episodes aired so far.
The Magician’s Apprentice 4.58m (overnight) 6.54m (final) AI 84
The Witch’s Familiar 3.7m (overnight) 5.71m (final) AI 83
Under the Lake 3.7m (overnight) 5.63m (final) AI 84
Before the Flood 4.38m (overnight) 6.05m (final) AI 83
The Girl Who Died 4.85m (overnight) 6.56m (final) AI 82
The Woman Who Lived 4.34m (overnight) TBC (final) AI 81
The Appreciation Index or AI is a measure of how much the audience enjoyed the programme. The score, out of a hundred, is compiled by a specially selected panel of around 5,000 people who go online and rate and comment on programmes.
While the appreciation figures for each episode has been high, as I think they deserve to be, the numbers watching the episode as it airs are quite low. None of these figures take overseas or online consumers into account so there is the opportunity for episodes viewing ratings to rise significantly. However, the initial figures are certainly a cause for concern with articles from BBC News actively reporting a severe drop in audience numbers.
The Doctor has already been confirmed to return to our screens in another series, but there is certainly doubt that the series is maintaining interest. However, with it’s massive popularity worldwide, I don’t see how the BBC could afford to simply abandon it.
Do you think Doctor Who is at risk of cancellation? What would we all watch on Saturday evenings?
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New 5.5″ Doctor Who Figures at Toys ‘R’ Us
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.
Yay! Hello, you sexy thing. No, not you – I was talking to this action figure (specifically the Amy Pond one, but let’s not get into that).
Toys ‘R’ Us stores across the UK will stock eleven 5.5″ figures, including Doctors Eleven, Twelve… and Eight! This is certainly welcome news to anyone who has suffered the 3.75″ toys which are an abomination to mankind. (A fourth series of these will also be forthcoming, made just for sadists.)
Most exciting is the Eighth Doctor figure, based on Paul McGann’s incarnation of the Time Lord in Night of the Doctor (2013). Indeed, Al Dewar, Product Development Director at Character Options, says:
“This collector’s series is really special. The fans have been requesting a return to the 5.5 inch format for a long time and in producing this collection I feel we have brought to them exactly what they have been demanding. The most exciting part for me however, is the creation of the Eighth Doctor figure, which is often seen as the missing piece for the true Doctor Who collector.”
Okay, so what else is coming to a store relatively-near you? There will be four versions of the Twelfth Doctor, each with a change of shirt – white, black, purple or polka-dot – and three variations of the Eleventh Doctor: one in a cowboy hat (from The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon primarily, but also A Town Called Mercy); one in the purple Series 7b – aka him alongside Clara Oswald – outfit; and the classic look, accompanied by a large sonic screwdriver.
There will also be a Clara Oswald action figure, a New Earth-esque Rose Tyler with K9 set -the pair met in School Reunion (2006) – and Amy Pond in a police uniform from The Eleventh Hour (2010) – down, boys!
Mike Coogan, Toys ‘R’ Us’ Marketing & eCommerce Director, said:
“Toy ‘R’ Us has a particular affinity with the Doctor Who fan and each year we like to bring to them something that they could not get anywhere else. This new series is exceptional and I believe one of the most comprehensive collector’s series to date – It will be an instant hit with all collectors.”
But yes, I know. Enough talking – you want hardcore action (figures) in full colour! Well, I guess we’ll have to oblige.


















You might notice that all of these apart from the Eighth Doctor figure are just rereleased ones, albeit some with new paint jobs. The Clara one, for example, looks to be her as Oswin, in that red dress from Asylum of the Daleks (2012). But it is, after all, a start. Better than nothing.
Perhaps if there’s enough interest, the 5.5″ line will return en masse…
The majority will be on sale for £14.99 from the Toys ‘R’ Us site.
(Thanks to DW News, and The Doctor Who Site.)
The post New 5.5″ Doctor Who Figures at Toys ‘R’ Us appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
Firing Loose Canons – Valeyard Rising
Alasdair Shaw 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.
Where to begin?
The Valeyard obviously. You never forget your first.
Now you would think it would be quite easy to gather all the material I need to write about the Valeyard, pick up a copy of Trial of a Time Lord and Bob’s your uncle. Except it’s not quite as simple as that.
For starters I’ll need to pick up a Target copy of The Ultimate Foe as it has slightly altered dialogue from the Master’s reveal of the Valeyard. A quick check of Amazon reveals that a copy’ll set me back over a tenner. The box set of the entire Trial of a Time Lord costs only a pound more, just to give you context.
So between them and my newly acquired copy of The Gallifrey Chronicles that’s his appearances in the Classic series covered. Or it could be, but I’ve acquired a few other reference books that’ll probably get thumbed through whilst writing up the Valeyard.
The Handbook: The Sixth Doctor by Howe, Stammers and Walker. The Discontinuity Guide by Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping. About Time Volume 6 by Tat Wood and The Television Companion by David J Howe and Stephen James Walker. With the exception of About Time Volume 6 I was able to acquire most of these from second hand sources reasonably cheaply. Granted The Discontinuty Guide didn’t get much change from a tenner and I was a little irked to discover a £1 sticker on the back of it, but still.
Up next is the 1991-2005 books and this is where it gets slightly problematic as aside from Matrix it’s all cameos and obscure references. David McAtee has confirmed that Mr Zimmerman from Mission Impractical is the Valeyard under an assumed name, but the reveal is so subtle that most fans missed it on it’s first release. But I’ll be using if for no other reason than my Best Man, Andrew, was having a clear out of his old books whilst he was visiting from the States and as a result I’ve inherited a bunch of books including Mission Impractical and The Eight Doctors.
I’m keen to revisit The Eight Doctors, it was the first 91-05 book I ever read and I remember really enjoying it at the time, although I also recall being slightly confused by the Valeyard scenes towards the end of it. I’m hoping I can make more sense of it this time around. I lost my own copy of it years ago when I lent it to a friend to read who then accidentally donated it to a charity shop with a big pile of his own books afterwards. I’ve been meaning to replace it for years now, in fact, Andrew and I had a minor scuffle when we discovered it in a charity shop a good few years ago, if I’d known I’d eventually inherit it I might not have fought quite so hard.
The books will take time. I’ll scour charity shops, Ebay and Amazon on regular basis and hope that some of the them make it into the growing list of reprints.
But the real issue with the Valeyard seems to lie with Big Finish. He Jests at Scars is pretty easy to get hold of. As is Trial of the Valeyard these days, but I had to wait an entire year to be able to buy it by itself as it was initially a bonus disc available only to subscription holders. I really enjoyed listening to it, even if it doubled back on itself with a few of it’s revelations. In fact, I was really quite hopeful that The Last Adventure might have expanded on the ideas presented in Trial of the Valeyard, but there was all of one line which was frankly disappointing.
Getting hold of a copy wasn’t easy either. It’s a bit pricey at £40 straight from Big Finish or £30 from Amazon. I could have gone for the £20 download only option, but I’m old fashioned and prefer physical copies of things where possible. I’d usually wait to drop a bit in price before purchasing, but Nicolas Briggs has hinted in DWM that it’ll resolve a lot of Valeyard issues, and I suppose when you consider it contains four different tales the price is actually quite reasonable. Although as it turned out my friend Jamie (a fellow member of the Glasgow Doctor Who Society) is a massive Big Finish fan and was more than happy to lend me his copy.
The only other thing to bother me about The Last Adventure is where it’s going to fit in with other media. This is the fourth time the Sixth Doctor’s regeneration has been tackled. Admittedly it happened so early in Time and the Rani that it’s really quite easy to precursor it with other material, but there’s been two books tackle the subject since then. Time’s Champion‘s unofficial status means that it’ll probably be the first to get shuffled out of the way when conflicts arise, but Spiral Scratch is different matter. The Last Adventure and Spiral Scratch both seem to cover an identical section of time, the moments leading up to the sixth Doctor’s regeneration in Time and the Rani. Given that Big Finish was recently made canon by The Night of the Doctor and Spiral Scratch has an Official BBC stamp on it and came out after the New Series had started I was more than a little curious to see how (and if) they meshed. I was more than a little disappointed, but that’ll keep until another column…
Sometimes it seems like the Valeyard causes continuity issues merely by turning up.
The post Firing Loose Canons – Valeyard Rising appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
October 28, 2015
Sherlock: The Abominable Bride is “Proper Gothic Horror”
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.
Tis the season to be terrified as spooky goings on are the order of this Yuletide season when Sherlock returns in what’s been called ‘proper gothic horror’.
Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy after their panel at this weekend’s MCM London Comic Con, Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, Sue Vertue and Amanda Abbington talked about drawing inspiration from Arthur Conan Doyle for The Abominable Bride, the one-off 90 min special due to air New Year’s Day.
Stepping out of canon and into the past, the special, which draws its title from a line of dialogue in Conan Doyle’s short story The Musgrave Ritual, is an original story with loads of nods to other Sherlock Holmes cases – and in Gatiss’ eyes, another chance to tell a Christmas ghost story after Crooked House and, rather fittingly, A Ghost Story for Christmas.
The very definition of a Christmas treat, The Abominable Bride will air on January 1 on BBC One and on PBS Masterpiece, and will be also be released in cinemas across the UK.
The post Sherlock: The Abominable Bride is “Proper Gothic Horror” appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
Moffat and Capaldi Confirmed for Series 10?
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.
It’s by no means confirmed but could Steven Moffat be working on more Doctor Who beyond the current run?
In a wide-ranging interview, Moffat was asked by The Observer what he was particularly proud of in the shows current run.
“I’m proud that we get to the end of the series and it all looks pretty and is nice,” he said “I’m just embarking on the new one and it’s terrifying. I have to make all that again.”
What form this ‘new one’ takes is very much open to speculation. A new series has been on the cards since July where at BBC Worldwide’s Annual Review references were made to “investments in The Musketeers S3 and Doctor Who S10″.
However since than Private Eye have alleged that there would be no full series in 2016, with a BBC spokesperson insisting that it was ‘too early to confirm the schedule for future series’.
Rumours have hinted that the show will be reduced down to three feature length specials, very much in the mould of Sherlock, whose tight schedule is said to one of the reasons for another year of specials.
What isn’t up in the air is the Christmas special, where, returning to the Doctor Who fold, River Song will be joining the Twelfth Doctor.
“That’s been a riot to do,” Moffat said. “That’s been sort of a big fun chase episode, really. Just Mr and Mrs Who battling their way past nonsense and that’s been great fun. Alex [Kingston] is always great value.”
As for Capaldi’s own involvement in the new series, an unnamed source at the BBC has said Capaldi has allegedly agreed to ‘a new one year deal with a further one-year option’.
The source said: “Peter has made it clear he is happy playing the Doctor for as long as the BBC – and viewers – want him … Peter is keen to complete three years playing the Doctor to round off his storylines. That will take us until the end of next year. After that, who knows?”
Who know indeed? So after a strong first half to Series Nine are you happy Moffat is staying on? Do you want a year of specials? Does Doctor Who need a change of format and some time away from viewers to regenerate?
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Reviewed: Doctor Who – The Complete History Issue 3
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.
It’s no secret: I’m no big fan of Doctor Who Series 8, the first with Peter Capaldi. He’s a great Doctor, but that run of episodes didn’t do him many favours, trying too hard to be controversial. This third issue of The Complete History, covering Deep Breath and Into the Dalek, was never destined to be a favourite volume.
But I was pleasantly surprised.
Of course, it helps that these books are stunningly presented, and as I’ve mentioned before, you get a new appreciation of the stories. Nonetheless, it’s not inspired me to watch those two episodes – though I will do as part of a Who marathon.
I thought this would be a good time to re-evaluate why these stories don’t sit well with me. I know some of my distaste for Deep Breath is the result of missing Matt Smith. I still miss him, but that shouldn’t detract from Capaldi, who is perfect for the role. Missy plays a part: Michelle Gomez is great as the character, but that character isn’t the Master – not to me.
Similarly questionable territory is this series’ arc: the Nethersphere. The whole idea makes me uneasy.
Why choose now to mull over my feelings for Series 8? This issue includes an analysis of the 2014 series, pulling apart its themes and looking at how the Twelfth Doctor and Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) develop. It’s an interesting read, not especially casting the run in a new light but still making you refocus. It does view the 12 episodes as wholly positive – however, that’s to be expected. This isn’t a partwork full of reviews; it’s in praise of the show.
I’m in favour of heaping praise on Doctor Who because it is my favourite TV series, negativity is rife anyway, and that no one sets out to make bad television. This means the analysis glosses over the sections of fandom that had a problem with Missy and with Danny Pink (Samuel Anderson). The latter really wasn’t a fan favourite – not Anderson’s fault; he did brilliant work as Orson Pink in Listen (2014) – but here he’s viewed as a solely good thing. Calling him “charming” and “popular” is a bit much.
The same round-up helps, however, to put this series and this Doctor into context with previous ones, noting the similarities with the First and Third Doctor especially. That’s certainly something we can all appreciate: it’s very fitting for this collection as a whole, actually. It’s what The Complete History should be good at, particularly when all 80 volumes have been released.
Ah yes! Now that’s something to think about. The 2014 series feature lists the volumes each episode appears in, so Robot of Sherwood, Listen, and Time Heist will occupy Volume 77, for instance. Volume 78 covers The Caretaker, Kill the Moon, and Mummy on the Orient Express, and the penultimate book has write-ups of Flatline, In the Forest of the Night, and Dark Water/ Death in Heaven.
Wait, what? This is an 80-volume set, right? Presumably, then, Volume 80 covers Last Christmas – but does it then continue with Series 9? Has this series already been extended?
Some will complain about this, but they shouldn’t be surprised really. It’s common practise. What’s more, if you’ve collected 80 books, it must be something you enjoy – what’s the harm in a further few issues? Personally, this speculation is more than welcome. I’ve really liked Series 9 so far and would love to find out the behind-the-scenes details of, for example, Under the Lake/ Before the Flood.
Bring it on!
Back to the matter in hand: this isn’t the thickest of books, but there’s still a wealth of information inside, a great deal of which is dedicated to Deep Breath. It occupies a good 69 pages of the 128-page count, and while its Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production sections are impressive, this episode’s guide is perhaps most notable for its thorough Publicity segment.
This 12-page chunk is the most extensive we’ve seen so far, covering not just immediate coverage in the press – interviews, column inches, trailers, documentaries – but also the World Tour, which encompassed cities like Rio de Janeiro, New York, and Seoul. This is accompanied by gorgeous photos, including a stunning one of Coleman looking beautiful in a stark red dress and Capaldi looking every bit the Doctor against a background of Cardiff Castle.
The minutiae of The Complete History remain exceptional, taking care to note how characters were originally described in the script, the duration of each trailer, and scenes that were cut during editing. The section devoted to Into the Dalek features the latter quite heavily.
The feature covering Into the Dalek might’ve been overshadowed by the breadth of detail for Capaldi’s debut episode – except for the fact that it feels very fresh. You still get the same amount of detail, of course, but the design of the book is really engaging. The pages and images are cast in variations of deep blues and purples, a stark contrast to the greens of the previous episode.
These two tales, I felt, were badly directed, a shock seen as Ben Wheatley is such a big name. The Dalek story, though, was a slight improvement – and that’s largely due to the set design and colours used, so it’s nice to see that reflected in the book.
One minor niggle, then, is confusion on my part. Explaining the narrative of Deep Breath, this volume states that the Half-Face Man’s balloon was made of human skin; I had gathered it was from the tyrannosaurus-rex, its skin salvaged from the burnt mass in the Thames. Did the droid merely use the dinosaur for its optic nerve? I suppose so, as this partwork obviously has access to script. Still, I like my version better. That’s the good thing about many elements of Doctor Who, though: it’s open to interpretation.
Profiles, this time, are for Peter Capaldi and writer, Phil Ford: the latter’s entry is a brief but solid detailing of his portfolio, while Capaldi’s is a far more thorough affair. With snatches of interviews, publicity shots, and a mix of work and personal life, it’s a very interesting feature: fans will know the actor’s dedication to the world of Doctor Who, but The Complete History also shines a light on the hard times. Certainly this reader never realised the struggle he went through to finally get into the acting limelight.
This is as good a time as any to review just a few things I learnt from this book, then:
Jenny Flint (of the Paternoster Gang) referred to the Conk-Singleton Forgery and the Camberwell Poisoning Case, both of which were mentioned in Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories;
Capaldi spent much of 2004 out of work;
The notion for Into the Dalek originally came when Steven Moffat was asked for ideas for Doctor Who: The Adventure Games;
Phil Ford wrote the first four drafts for 2009’s The Waters of Mars before Russell T Davies contributed to the special.
While I wasn’t especially looking forward to this issue, its appeal is nonetheless strong. It’s another fascinating volume in a series that’s already proving that a lot of love goes into each and every episode of Doctor Who.
NEXT: AN UNEARTHLY CHILD AND THE DALEKS (OR 100,000BC AND THE MUTANTS, IF WE MUST).
Want to subscribe? Head over to the Doctor Who: The Complete History site – and don’t forget about the premium subscription offer too!
The post Reviewed: Doctor Who – The Complete History Issue 3 appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
What You Thought of Before the Flood: Reaktion Roundup
David Power 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.
It’s finally time to see what you all thought of the conclusion to Toby Whithouse’s murky madness. First off, the poll results!
Dam, that was great! 42.52% (145 votes)
Top-quality Who! 27.57% (94 votes)
Not quite as good as Under the Lake 20.53% (70 votes)
Big let down 7.92% (27 votes)
Switched off 1.46% (5 votes)
You guys seemed to be pretty into that episode. Personally I enjoyed it, but I do have some qualms with certain things. But first the good. It feels absolutely right that the Twelfth Doctor has become one of the three Doctors to completely break the fourth wall on televised Who. This incarnation is 100% rebel Time Lord after all.
Visually this episode was rock solid. The town of Краснодар (pronounced “krasnodar”) was striking, and gave the episode it’s own personality quite different than what we’re normally used to in Who. The Fisher King was also a major triumph for the both the design team and Millennium FX. A genuinely intimidating monster that feels like an actual threat to our group. Small thing though, I really felt that the blaster was unnecessary. I feel like they could’ve combined his left hand and the blaster to turn his entire arm into a sort of claw-like weapon that would’ve benefitted the almost crustacean look of the King.
Besides the design I unfortunately feel like the Fisher King fell a bit flat for me. The Fisher King’s voice, while acted well by Peter Serafinowicz, didn’t really match the Fisher King I had built up in my head. Having the hyped up Fisher King be another of the Doctor Who baddies who loudly stomps around and says “Time Lord” menacingly was pretty disappointing if I’m honest. Also the ending seemed rushed to me. Only in looking stuff up for this Reaktion am I learning that apparently the King’s plan was to turn people into ghost transmitters so he could lead his people to him, which completely flew over my head. Maybe I was just unlucky and missed the key line of dialogue.
Thankfully the ratings improved considerably for this episode, with the overnight viewings increasing from 3.74 million for Under the Lake to 4.38 million for Before the Flood. Overall figures also improved from 5.63 million to 6.05 million. It got an Appreciation Index score of 83, one less than Under the Lake.
So, what did you K readers think?
So, what’s next? Oh yes, about time we sort out this Maisie Williams business…
The post What You Thought of Before the Flood: Reaktion Roundup appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
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