Christian Cawley's Blog, page 59

Hits and Misses of the Doctor Who Series 9 Publicity Tour

Richard Forbes 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 months now fans have been waiting anxiously for the return of Doctor Who, patiently (and for some, impatiently) counting down the days before the Doctor would return to their screens with Doctor Who Series 9’s The Magician’s Apprentice. That wait now is nearly over now, making it an opportune moment to look back on these past few months and overview some of the highlights of this publicity tour – along the way, the show’s producers have being working hard to drum up interest and anticipation for the new series, which means experimenting with new marketing techniques, flooding magazines with interviews and blasting the airwaves with their latest trailer – it’s time to consider now what worked and what didn’t.

Personally I am excited about the new series which means ultimately all of this publicity was a success as far as I am concerned. However, that doesn’t mean that along the way there haven’t been gaffes and missed opportunities which have beleaguered the show’s publicity and self-promotion. While my hotline to Steven Moffat’s home is still in the process of being

installed (The Moff-Phone?), I’ve intended this review to be constructive and offer alternatives to some of the decisions made this publicity tour which have had me scratching my head.

Let’s start off with the bad and the just plain ugly, shall we?

Misses
Teaser Trailer

By the time June rolled around fans were getting pretty antsy about the possibility of a trailer, many suspected the first trailer would land during the Women’s World Cup finals but that trailer never materialized (tournament was good though!). Then, in a moment of shining glory, the BBC saved its loyal fans from despair: dropping a little “teaser” during Orphan Black’s finale to whet the appetite of fans. Oh and what a teaser it was. If you’ve ever wanted to see someone zooming the camera into the TARDIS door and spinning around gleefully while another person goes “vvvvvvwwwooorrrp! Vworp!” behind them, this was the very moment you were born for.

It was a disappointing teaser at best which could have been put together using a single photo of the TARDIS and Adobe After Effects – and before you say “but… it did confirm when the show was coming back,” let me remind you that it didn’t even do that: the trailer simply said the show would return in the fall. Something we already suspected and had been told. There was nothing new about the teaser, it was just a seven second clip intended to drum up some cheap interest for the new series and squeeze a mention of Doctor Who back into The Guardian’s entertainment section. The teaser was widely mocked by fans for its empty content – Kasterborous’ Philip Bates called it “pointless” and another fan site actually did a hilarious full breakdown in slow-motion presumably so we could be disappointed by the trailer for even longer.

Guest Stars

Publicity for The Girl Who Died came with a surprise announcement: Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) would be joining the show for a guest appearance in Doctor Who Series 9. Certainly it was a major coup for the show given the talented young actress’s career has been red hot lately. But I can’t help but wonder if this particular guest star was mishandled by the BBC’s publicity; like the terrific Rebecca Front, Maisie was one of the returning stars where no excerpt or glimpse at an interview was shared from the BBC, unlike Rufus Hound and Reece Shearsmith and others – so what little of what we’ve heard from Maisie on her experience in Doctor Who so far has been from questions tagged on at the end of other interviews she’s being doing to promote other works.

More problematic is how they’ve promoted her character, the first trailer for Series 9 ended with a scene teasing that the Doctor knew Maisie’s character, the message was clear for fans: who is Maisie Williams playing? And so began the great mystery … “Is she Romana?” … “She’s gotta be Susan!” … “She’s the RANI, you dumbo.” Fans mused away, considering every time lady and time lord from River Song to the Meddling Monk, until only a couple of weeks later when Moffat finally commented on these grand theories: “erm yeah, no.” Weeks of mystery wasted with a single comment. At the time one of the biggest points of speculation for Doctor Who Series 9 was Maisie Williams … and after that comment? Nothing, nada, zilch. This was, as far as I am concerned, a communications about-face: the message was initially “try figuring out who she’s playing” and then shortly after that it was “you haven’t met her anyways, so why try?” which defeats the purpose of speculation.

Love it or hate it, star casting has become an important part of Doctor Who’s publicity and when producers mishandle the publicity surrounding their guest stars or misjudge the interest in them (looking at you, Mister Rigsby), it can hurt the show. And, while we’re on the subject, I can’t help but wonder if the BBC had made a mistake in underpublicizing Bethany Black, the show’s first transgender actress – who knows, perhaps she only has a bit part in the episode – but for saying programs often are keen to make a point of how they are embracing diversity, it was some time before journalists noticed the significance of the casting on their own.

Comic-Con

I didn’t attend Comic-Con (SDCC) but I sure was excited for it because, while I missed Doctor Who’s attendance the year before, it’s always a good opportunity for a summer deluge of interviews and goodies from the cast and crew. Shortly before Comic-Con we were even told that, in an unprecedented move, filming for Doctor Who would be put on hiatus too – allowing Peter Capaldi, a Comic-Con virgin, to attend the panels and festivities. What transpired at Comic-Con, however, was a largely uninspiring media event as far as Doctor Who is concerned and it was for the most part, a waste of time and resources for the show to commit when it was still deep in the middle of filming. First, it should be said that the fault doesn’t necessarily lie with Doctor Who, it could lie (or partly lie) with Comic-Con and its subsidiaries for mistreating the Doctor Who franchise. And second, it should be said, I’m sure the fans, all 7,000 of them, who attended Comic-Con were excited to see their Whovian idols in Hall H and that, perhaps, made the misadventure to San Diego all worthwhile.

What I will say is that what fans watching from home received from Comic-Con were, essentially, two very awkward panel interviews with the cast and crew and a few interviews with fan and mainstream media – all of which contained the same tidbits of information (i.e., Clara and the Doctor are close, Missy is evil and fun and Maisie is a brilliant actress) – there was little in the way of new revelations or the comedy that comes with actors and actresses discussing their experiences in working with the show; the questions were either so unoriginal and trite (e.g., When are we getting a female Doctor!?) or mad fluff (e.g., What’s a movie line you quote often?) that those responding rarely had more than a nervous titter of a remark or a prepared boilerplate to regurgitate. I think what was especially challenging the crew during Comic-Con was that they weren’t finished the series yet or really ready, for that matter, to begin discussing details of the episodes which meant the quality of the panels suffered.

Nerd HQ was one case for example where if you compared Nerd HQ’s set-up in 2013 to 2015, the difference was obvious: in Nerd HQ’s 2013 panel with Matt Smith, Jenna and Steven, the room was large, open, comfy and the mood was relaxed and funny (giving them one of their best group interviews – hilarious stuff), in Nerd HQ’s 2015 panel (aka Hell edition), the cast and crew were smudged between a blue curtain of death and an audience of over-adoring fans with approximately two mouthfuls of breathing room – everyone looks cagey and unnerved in that video and few answers go without being pried from the speakers. It’s uncomfortable to watch and it’s representative of Doctor Who at 2015 SDCC: a small, overlooked venue with nothing much to say or deliver to onlookers.

Perhaps the only panel that mattered was Star Wars’s, whereas Doctor Who’s was an afterthought, or perhaps it was just too soon in the show’s filming schedule for the cast, crew and producers to deliver a proper showing for more casual interviews, but either way, if I were the executive producer (and thankfully for many Comic-Con attendees and fans, I’m not), I would be sitting down after this is all over and thinking: “what was the point of all of that? Was it worth delaying filming?” With the other events at Comic-Con washing over the entertainment news cycle, Doctor Who revealed little about Series 9 and was subsequently cast aside shortly after their panel finished so we could all enjoy Harrison Ford hamming it up with a lightsaber – better timed events like the early screenings in Edinburgh and Cardiff this year as well as 2014’s World Tour with its massive, glittery London premiere dominated the news and had people buzzing about the rave reviews that its premieres received while showing off Doctor Who’s global scale and reach in a way that properly suited the program. Doctor Who doesn’t need to immediately cancel its Comic-Con attendance for next year but it does have to decide whether it is really has anything major to offer fans in the heat of July or risk tarnishing its reputation with poor media events (granted, Steven Moffat’s best interview was on a couch in what looks like some dude’s flat – but nevermind that).

Dark Water/Death in Heaven

Fans were hit with a surprise announcement this summer: Doctor Who would be screening in theatres (“yay!”) … the season finale (“oooooh!”) … for Series 8 (“huh?”) … in 3D (“cool?”) … exclusively in America (“what?”) … and Russia. Suffice to say these screenings were a multidimensional disappointment – multidimensional not simply just in terms of its 3D format but also in the myriad of ways it found how to disappoint fans internationally. First, there’s the obvious problem of these screenings causing a regional divide between American fans and the rest of the world, including British fans who were told (in the most bizarre reasoning so far from Doctor Who’s press team) that because they could see the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular and the (notoriously expensive) Official Doctor Who Festival that a theatrical release in Britain was not necessary. This reasoning, likely comforted no person paying a license fee. Regional divides are a product of a traditional marketing strategy not sensitive to the globalized reality of contemporary television and in the case of these screenings, the decision not to bring the finale to theatres outside of America was a black mark on the event which overshadowed it and probably killed the attention it would have otherwise received.

The other serious issue with the theatrical release was a problem with the content – even if every fan who wanted to attend got the opportunity to attend, the content itself was an odd editorial decision. Nobody was asking for a theatrical release for last year’s season finale – it’s an obvious stand-in for the main event (the season premiere) – and it thus comes as no surprise that whereas Deep Breath’s theatrical run was received positively by adoring fans, Death in Heaven’s theatrical run was scarcely covered because media attention has largely been focused instead towards the upcoming series. That’s the issue with trying to bring attention to yesterday’s news. If the producers so desperately wanted another theatrical run they could have chosen their content more wisely: the two-part premiere? Doctor Who Series 9’s finale perhaps? Or how’ll about a Christmas special screening in January? Additionally, while I cannot personally attest to the quality of the screenings, there have been a number of comments raised by fans that the interview conducted by Wil Wheaton was poor and the 3D format was obviously a retroactive addition that appeared choppy and poorly realized.

Mini-Episodes

Fans were promised back in 2013 after the success of The Night of the Doctor and Pond Life that there would be more mini-episodes for Doctor Who – while the absence of mini-episodes in 2014 could have been excused because of the new Doctor, there was an obvious lack of mini-episodes in 2015 too. What we did receive was a very short “prologue” to The Magician’s Apprentice and a prequel entitled The Doctor’s Meditation – both the prologue and the prequel were released within a week of the premiere and, in my mind, missed the mark, delivering instead an underwhelming couple of shorts for its viewers.

The prologue represented the worst of the two mini-episodes: shot entirely in what looks like the backlot of a quarry, the prologue looked like a scene that had been deleted from The Magician’s Apprentice for being unnecessary and (at times) dull. By this point, fans already knew the Sisterhood of Karn was back, so their return in the mini-episode was not necessarily surprising for viewers. Meanwhile, the prequel was certainly more interesting than the prologue, showing us some fun comedic banter but still suffered from being filmed in another old (woefully reused) shooting location, Caerphilly Castle and featured little new developments and like the prologue, by taking the Doctor out of the context of The Magician’s Apprentice and showing audiences scenes essentially without knowing their context, the stories themselves were more or less vague platitudes which recycled notable lines, themes and music from Moffat’s era without giving audiences any real substance.

The mini-episodes could have been improved by running earlier in the “off-season” of Doctor Who to carry audiences over to the premiere and featuring new content that didn’t rely on the plot of an upcoming episode so that it could present audiences with an interesting story (as The Night of the Doctor did) instead of being forced to dance around spoilers.

Hits
Doctor Who Filming Spoilers

If this article wasn’t controversial enough, let’s step deeper into the controversy, shall we? I would argue filming spoilers played an integral and central role in the publicity for Series 9, in fact, I would go as far as to suggest that the producers are now keenly aware of this and in doing so have shrewdly used it to their show’s advantage. Historically, the packs of eager fans which organised in Cardiff to catch blurry pics of the show’s filming were considered by the crew to be nuisances and denounced as such by producers in various interviews for spoiling the series for fans. Interviewees would reminisce of the good old days when audiences would tune in to watch Tom Baker and not know a damn thing to expect except that Tom Baker was (probably) in it. We’ve moved past this attitude, in my opinion. Those attempting to capture spoilers from film sets are no longer the enemy, they are unknowingly members of Doctor Who’s unofficial publicity team.

Think about it: the vast majority of stories in the news covering Doctor Who Series 9 have been about what blurry picture from afar had been captured recently of the Doctor (wearing new pants!) or Clara (with a rocket launcher! And dressed as a waitress!). The crew have shrewdly crafted a series this year where the exterior shots done in public areas provided fans with innocuous yet exciting new images which revealed very little about the new series but teased us with just enough visual information to get us speculating about what the future might hold for Doctor Who and the TARDIS crew. Gone are the days where pivotal moments (like the Doctor’s phone call from Trenzalore or Danny’s Cyber-conversion) are spoiled by fans with smartphones – the show’s crew were keenly aware that such onlookers would be watching such scenes from afar and prepared the series in such a way that it took in account their presence. Going into Series 9, I know far less than I did about Series 8, yet each couple of weeks we were treated with new puzzling images from shooting which gave us enough to get excited and not enough to spoil really anything. Job well done, team.

Trailers

This year we received two traditional trailers for Doctor Who Series 9 – one landed in July and another in August – and then a smaller trailer for The Magician’s Apprentice came in September. Trailers are the bread and butter of marketers and while a traditional technique for raising interest and promoting a show, they still remain even today in 2015, the predominant way that Doctor Who creates a buzz around its new upcoming series – I’m not sure why trailers are so successful at raising our interest: is it the fast-pace? The music? The visuals? Or perhaps it’s all down to the same bodily temptation that makes a free sample of an eighth of a dry raisin muffin so damn irresistible. I dunno! What I do know is that trailers work. They get people excited, they get them talking to others and they dominate headlines when they land.

Fortunately for Doctor Who, this year’s trailers were excellent. In a year where trailers have been decried by critics for showing too much, too little or being poorly mixed and edited or not setting the right tone for their products, Doctor Who showed us all how to make a great trailer (twice). The Series 9 trailers were balanced in tone, both dark and fun and showed off a more cinematic and deeply majestic look for the show which was found to be compelling for fans and critics alike. We didn’t learn much from these trailers but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, the trailers instead provided us with a kaleidoscope of images and visuals which got us excited and that’s what counts.

Kasterborous, if you were wondering, did extensive breakdowns for both Doctor Who Series 9 trailers.

Instagram

One of the quiet and largely unpraised successes of the BBC publicity machine this year was Instagram; Doctor Who’s growing use of social media to promote its new series was especially prominent and I would argue Doctor Who’s official account on Instagram was one of the standout features of this year’s publicity even if at times its presence was low key and innocuous.

Every day the official account for Doctor Who would post a picture – often from Series 9 – a little tease at what we could expect. Sometimes they were pictures of script covers from read-throughs, sometimes they were pictures of set props, or pictures of pieces of litter left behind by the crew (okay the last one was a slight exaggeration) – but the key is that nearly every day, the Instagram account provided us with something to talk about and speculate about and if nothing else it gave us a beautifully shot image of the console or some other identifiable part of Whovian lore with a compelling, uniquely close-up.

Doctor Who’s use of Instagram demonstrates just how well they know their fans. We’ll shameless get excited about a script on a table with everything but the date censured because we’re fans and the production process is naturally interesting to us. Kudos to everyone manning the Doctor Who Instagram account for making the wait for the new series that much more enjoyable.

Interviews

Interviews are still a critical part of the show’s publicity and this year there were some good interviews and some weaker interviews – naturally the closer we got to September, the better the interviews were. Some of the stand-out interviews, in my opinion, came from professional magazines like Doctor Who Magazine and Entertainment Weekly as well as fandom sites like Blogtor Who and Den of Geek. Most interviews with the cast and crew were far too short and trite to be worth mentioning here but Blogtor Who’s interview with Peter Capaldi on set in Wales from June and Michelle Gomez’s interview with Den of Geek are both worth mentioning here as examples of longer more personable interviews that did a good job giving its readers a casual look at what they can expect from the new series and an insider’s take on the production process.

Radio Times also deserves some praise from another sure-to-become classic photoshoot of the TARDIS team with the show’s stars toying around in a hall of mirrors looking cool and hip as ever:

Michelle Gomez

And finally: the secret sauce of this year’s publicity tour, it has to be said was Michelle Gomez. She may only appear in two episodes in Series 9 (as far as we know) but Michelle Gomez’s presence here in the endless rounds of interviews and panels was a positive addition. With her charming brogue and her wit and zany, filterless humour, Michelle was one of the centres of attention for every interview, every panel and every video from set. She’s been hard at work doing interviews for the show with an interview coming out nearly every week showing her discussing her character and her enthusiasm for the show with a style and a sense of humour that makes every interview unique and personable.

You never know quite what to expect when you ask her a question and even if we didn’t learn much from the interviews with Michelle about Doctor Who Series 9, they were always entertaining and intriguing. The producers would be very silly indeed to let this talent slip away without a fight.

The post Hits and Misses of the Doctor Who Series 9 Publicity Tour appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Dalek SOS for Series 9: But Where’s the New Paradigm?

Jeremy Remy 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.

According to Peter Capaldi, the number of Daleks present in Doctor Who’s Series 9 opener, The Magician’s Apprentice / The Witch’s Familiar, necessitated an SOS to add to their numbers: “We sent out a distress call. We’ve been working to pull Daleks from different sources. A few have been taken from the Doctor Who Experience.”

The Daleks brought in to challenge the Doctor include the Emperor Guard from the 1960s and the Renegade Dalek from the 1980s. However, one type of Dalek was conspicuously absent: the New Dalek Paradigm.

Introduced in Victory of the Daleks, the New Dalek Paradigm returned the Daleks to their pure, unadulterated xenophobic roots. As of Asylum of the Daleks (an episode which previously brought the numbers of our favorite mutated Kaleds to the level of Dalekmania), the New Paradigm also provided a specific chain of command within Dalek hierarchy alongside the more Time War-style bronze Daleks, who now functioned as drones. Those bronze-style Daleks will be returning to our screens, but where the Supreme, the Strategist, the Scientist, the Drone and the Eternal.

Those who have visited the Doctor Who Experience may already know the answer (and if you haven’t, here’s where I insert a warning of spoilers ahead). The Dalek exhibition within the Experience includes an interactive element, where visitors experience a battle aboard a Dalek ship. Just as the New Dalek Paradigm is preparing to take on the Doctor and the “shoppers” in the Experience, the ship is attacked by the Children of Davros—a group of bronze Daleks who claim to be the one true master race. The Supreme Dalek of the New Paradigm pronounce the Paradigm’s own genetic purity, and determines the need to exterminate the Children of Davros. At this point, the leader of the Children of Davros announces they are at war, and one of the New Paradigm announces an attack from “rebel” Daleks. Ultimately, the Doctor rescues the shoppers before the outcome of the battle can be determined.

Civil war is nothing new for the Daleks, be it the Humanized Daleks against the non-processed Daleks from Evil of the Daleks, or the Imperial Daleks against the Renegade Daleks across Resurrection of the Daleks and Revelation of the Daleks (with a few audios, comics and books in between). So, what do you think? Is the absence of the New Dalek Paradigm indicative of a new Dalek civil war? Is the Parliament of Daleks still hiding somewhere in the background?

Have we seen the last of the New Paradigm?

The post Dalek SOS for Series 9: But Where’s the New Paradigm? appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Spoilers or Hints? Series 9 Previewed in Radio Times

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 Radio Times’ preview of Series 9 is in-depth, teasing, and wonderful – as good as previous years, that’s for sure.

If you’ve not picked it up, we won’t spoil it too much – but let’s take a look at some of the quotes from each episode and mill over exactly what they could mean. Of course, we might be hugely wrong and people might kick off and there may be riots in the street and calls for the Prime Minister’s resignation… but that’s something we’ll just have to deal with.

The Magician’s Apprentice

“What’s a confession dial?”

“In your terms, a will. This is the last will and testament of the Time Lord known as the Doctor.”

Yep, this is the bit we’ve seen on the trailer, but interesting that the Time Lords call it a confession dial. Colour us intrigued.

What do we think he’ll be confessing? Showrunner, Steven Moffat further teases that it might just be why he originally left Gallifrey, all those years ago…

The Witch’s Familiar

“The Doctor is trapped. He’s a prisoner of the creatures who hate him most in the universe. Between us and him is everything the greatest warrior race in history can throw at us. We, on the other hand, have a pointy stick.”

And now we’re getting into some details! Minor spoilers ahead, guys and gals!

The Doctor, it seems, is trapped on Skaro – without his TARDIS, without his sonic screwdriver, and without Clara Oswald. Moffat also teased: “He’s more relaxed about certain things, more relaxed about his relationship with Clara… So, now that he’s acknowledged that, he’s more relaxed. And he’s no longer worrying about whether he’s supposed to be a good man or whatever. He’s just an idiot with a box and he’s trying to have as much fun as possible. Still in his grumpy, unsociable way.”

But surrounded by Daleks, we don’t think the good Doctor will be too relaxed.

Under the Lake

“It’s impossible! It’s evil! I hate it! It’s astonishing! I want to KISS IT TO DEATH.”

This was a quote that shocked many fans when it accompanied the Series 9 preview trailer. Perhaps the Doctor is talking of the rumoured Fisher King, a being that writer Toby Whithouse describes as having overcome the usual limitation of the universe: death.

Before The Flood

“Doctor. Hello. Can I just say: huge fan.”

I think this could be the Doctor actually praising the monster, not anyone appreciating the Time Lord. It depends how you stress it, really.

Set in an underground base and surrounded by ghosts – well, okay, the Doctor says they’re not ghosts, but they’re certainly apparitions of some description – the two-parter is set to be a scary one.

The Girl Who Died

“There’s going to be a war tomorrow. And here’s some news, this just in – we are going to win the hell out it!”

Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones), it sounds, plays Ashildr, a young girl who decides to declare war on the Mire, which Moffat describes as the “deadliest mercenaries in the galaxy, famed fro being unstoppable and without mercy.”

In a small Viking village, the Doctor and Clara must turn a few peaceful farmers into warriors. Somewhat reminiscent of The Daleks, no…?

The Woman Who Lived

“Ninja, nun, surgeon, scientist, composer, inventor… it’s a fantastic CV.”

Written by Catherine Tregenna (Torchwood), and directed by Poldark‘s Ed Bazalgette, this is the second of two linked stories, both with Maisie Williams in.

You have to wonder whose CV that is. The Doctor’s – ?

The Zygon Invasion

“Operation Double is a covert operation, outside of normal UNIT strictures, to resettle and rehouse an alien race, in secrecy, on planet Earth.”

Ah, so this is what deal was on the table in The Day of the Doctor (2013)! The Zygons return – twenty million of them. They’re in amongst us, peaceful and undetectable. Who can you trust?

Actually, can you trust UNIT’s Scientific Advisor, Osgood? She’s supposed to be dead.

The Zygon Inversion

“Humans cannot accept us the way we really are. If we cannot hide, we must fight. You’re going to be the first. You’re going to be the first to make the humans see.”

There are echoes of The Rebel Flesh/ The Almost People in this quote, don’t you think? That “us and them” idea?

It does seem a great notion to be explored again, this time by Kill the Moon scribe, Peter Harness, especially with the shape-changing Zygons involved. Once more, a Flesh quote comes to mind: “Who are the real monsters?”

Sleep No More

Ooh, no quote for this Mark Gatiss-penned episode. Just this:

“This is footage collected from a space rescue mission. If you value your life, your sanity, and the future of your species, DO NOT WATCH IT.”

Filmed last, there’s a lot of mystery about this episode, particularly as we’ve never had a ‘found footage’ story before.

Face The Raven

“There have always been rumours. Stories passed from traveller to traveller, mutterings about hidden streets, secret pockets of alien life right here on Earth.”

Written by Sarah Dollard, Joivan Wade reprises his role as Rigsy from last year’s hit story, Flatline. A secret alien world is folded into our reality, and the Doctor, Clara, and Rigsy must come face to face with the mysterious raven. Moffat promises that “not all of them will get out alive.”

Could this be the episode Jenna Coleman leaves…?

Heaven Sent

“When, at last, you rise to go, there will be another shadow next to yours. And your life will then be over.”

Director, Rachel Talalay returns for this series’ finale, just as she helmed last year’s Dark Water/ Death in Heaven. Might the ‘Heaven’ be a further reference to Missy’s Promised Land, aka the Nethersphere?

Very little is known – is Michelle Gomez even in this one?! – so please do speculate away.

Hell Bent

“Is it a sad song?”

“Nothing’s sad till it’s over. Then everything is.”

“What’s it called?”

“I think it’s called Clara.”

“Tell me about her.”

Well, if Face the Raven isn’t Clara’s swansong, this one likely is.

The Doctor’s confession might just be this year’s arc, teased in The Magician’s Apprentice and this Series 9 finale. Moffat further hints: “If you took everything from him, and betrayed him, and broke both his hearts… how far might the Doctor go?”

How far might Steven Moffat go, in fact? He says there’s a fine line to tread:

“You have to treat the show like you own it. I don’t just mean me – I mean every writer, every director and every actor that comes onto this show. I’m always saying, ‘It’s not a fancy heirloom. You’re not carrying this carefully to the next room. You’ve got to engage with it like you own it, otherwise it’s not a TV show, it’s a perfectly tended mausoleum.’ At the same time I actually feel quite strongly that there is only so far you can go. Secret incarnation of the Doctor? That’s the one that gave me an anxiety attack! The moment I pitched it, everyone else involved in the show immediately leapt up and down and said, “This is great! You can do this! This is the thing that can make the 50th special!” And I was the one going, “Oh no! I’m changing the numbering! What are we going to do? What if someone’s got tattoos with numbers on them of all the Doctors? What’s going to happen to them?” [laughs]. I sweated blood over that one!”

We don’t know what’s coming, but one things for certain: Doctor Who is back and we can’t wait for the next twelve weeks to unfold.

The post Spoilers or Hints? Series 9 Previewed in Radio Times appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

What Is Your Most Anticipated Doctor Who Series 9 Story?

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.

It’s almost here. Doctor Who Series 9 hits screens at 7.40pm UK time (9/8c in the USA – check local listings elsewhere) on Saturday evening and the excitement is building. But which episode are you really looking forward to? I asked some of the Kasterborous team to hit me with their thoughts.

Heaven Sent – Alex Skerrat

I think my most anticipated Series 9 story is Heaven Sent, because I understand it features just Peter Capaldi and nobody else? I am curious to see how the Moff and the production team will pull it off – although I’m sure they will. It’s always interesting when TV shows play with formulas in potentially ‘dangerous’ ways. That’s what I admire about Peter Kay’s Car Share, which mostly consists of just two people travelling in a car, talking to each other, on their way to work! Or even early Doctor Who like The Edge of Destruction, where the entire story takes place within the TARDIS. Or the fantastic Blake’s 7 episode Sarcophagus. So yes, Heaven Sent is one I am very, very excited about.

As long as it doesn’t end with something ridiculous. Like Sergeant Benton coming back as a Cyberman.

Although, actually…

The Magician’s Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar – Joe Siegler

I’m looking forward to the first story, The Magician’s Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar. Mostly because I’m a nutter when it comes to self referential stuff. And in particular the Daleks. If this story does what it’s supposed to do with history, it could be QUITE interesting. I already spotted Daleks from about four or five different Doctor eras in the trailer, so I’m way up for that. Plus, Missy. I’m still not sold on her as “The Master”, but I can’t deny her performance, which was quite good.  Plus, it’s the first story of the season.  That’s always something to look forward to!

I also am not sure about the rest, as I’ve tried to avoid spoilers as much as possible.  Also, Maisie Williams, depending on who she turns out to be.

The Girl Who Died/Woman Who Lived – Tony Jones

With all the reveals, hints and now the titles themselves it’s become hard to know where to turn with series 9. Part of me wants to make a clever answer along the lines of ‘I’m most looking forward to the one that focusses on telling a good story rather than trying merely to look good’. On a more serious, and useful, note the answer has to be The Girl Who Died/Woman Who Lived pairing. The reason is the obvious one – I wan’t to see how well Maisie Williams performs. Unlike many I’m not a Game of Thrones fan (I’ve only seen one episode), but I have seen Maisie act. I happen to have seen the film The Falling in which Maisie plays a huge part. When I got home and reflected on the film (the reviewer’s curse) I couldn’t escape from the fact that at a relatively young age she is incredibly talented. Whether it is a precocious beginning to a career that will fade away or the first calling cards of a future legend I don’t know, but under the right direction she is astonishing.

I’m ambivalent about the promise of Vikings, Norse gods and even a dragon, but I hold out hope that under the style will be a well crafted, engaging tale.

Hell Bent – Drew Boynton

Probably in vain, I have been trying to hold out as long as humanly possible and avoid spoilers of all kinds (including the just-announced episode titles).  But, I have to say, my most anticipated story of Series 9 is the series finale.  I believe at some point Steven Moffat said that the finale was going to be something new and different–something that had never been done before in the history of Doctor Who.  I believe he also said that it was one of the most difficult things he’s ever had to write.   I’m not sure when or why (or if!) he said actually said all of that, but it’s stuck in my head, so I hope I’m correct.  These (hopefully not imagined) comments, combined with the very real possibility of Jenna Coleman leaving, the return of director Rachel Talalay, the ever-present “the guy who plays the current Doctor is leaving” rumors, the Series 10-as-a-set-of specials rumors, and the announcement of Alex Kingston’s appearance in the upcoming Christmas special all make me wonder what in the universe is going to happen in the finale!  To paraphrase the Eleventh Doctor, it may be a whopper!  Hopefully it will live up to the hype that is going on in my head!

Programme Name: Doctor Who – TX: 12/08/2015 – Episode: n/a (No. n/a) – Picture Shows: Doctor Who Series 9 trail – 12.08.15 – (C) BBC – Photographer: N/A

Face the Raven – Richard Forbes

While I don’t particularly care about the return of Flatline’s Rigsy (Of all of the characters… Rigsy? Really!?), the idea of a little world tucked in behind all we take for granted is one that gets me

excited because I spent my entire childhood imagining exactly that – from Narnia’s Wardrobe to Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley – it’s a reoccurring theme in fantasy that our urban landscape may hold secrets beyond what we might expect, but it’s also an idea with untapped potential for Doctor Who. I’m also just frightfully intrigued by the episode’s villain, ‘the Raven’ – which we know nothing about, currently. Birds are scarcely used in Doctor Who lore and yet are such unearthly creatures, omens of worse things to come. Steven Moffat writes that Sarah Dollard, with Face the Raven, has written what will soon become a fan favourite and I hope he’s right.

The Magician’s Apprentice / The Witch’s Familiar – Jeremy Remy

One of my favorite variations of the TARDIS crew is the Richard E. Grant Doctor and Derek Jacobi Master in Scream of Shalka. For some reason—which, I’m sure was in no small part due to the quality of the acting—the use of the Master as a companion worked fantastically.

For this reason, I’m very much looking forward to The Magician’s Apprentice / The Witch’s Familiar (the first two-part episode of the series). Missy will team up with Clara to search for the Doctor, in what we can only assume will be some version of Skaro. I typically prefer the evil mastermind/Moriarty version of the Master over the evil madman/the Joker version of the Master. Yet, Michelle Gomez won me over with her interpretation of Missy. Seeing Clara, Missy, and the Doctor all working together against the Daleks (and, dare I hope, Davros) already has me on the edge of my seat.

So, those are the episodes that the Kasterborous team are dying to see. Now it’s your turn – what stories are you most looking forward to? Time to click your answer below… don’t forget to tell us in the comments!

Take Our Poll

(Forget that we don’t really know which are two parters, three parters and one parters…)

The post What Is Your Most Anticipated Doctor Who Series 9 Story? appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

PodKast Goes Live for Doctor Who Series 9!

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.

In exciting podKast-related news that you might have missed, what with all of the goings on this week, the podKast team Christian Cawley, James McLean and Brian A Terranova will be going live this Sunday at 3pm – and every subsequent week for Series 9 to give their feedback on the latest episodes!

We’ll be live on Google Hangouts (where you can take part in the conversation by offering your thoughts in the conversation box), and you’ll be able to watch proceedings live on our KasterborousTV channel on YouTube if you prefer not to engage with us in real time. Naturally, you can also get in touch with us, either by tweeting (@kasterborousdw or @christiancawley @terranova and @jamessmclean) as well as email.

We’re intending that this will be a weekly live show, with our usual polished presentation (…), so if you’re around at 3pm UK time on Sunday, we’d love you to join us as we discuss The Magician’s Apprentice!

The post PodKast Goes Live for Doctor Who Series 9! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Karen Gillan Stalked by Police Box!

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.

A story about a beautiful actress being stalked is fairly common place. What about when your stalker can take you any where in time and space? A bit creepy potentially, but not if your most famous role is that of an companion to our favourite Time Lord!

As pictured on Instagram, former Doctor Who star Karen Gillan found herself being stalked by a familiar object while on set of her new movie, The Circle. The Guardians of the Galaxy actress tweeted this image:

Just saw this on day 2 of shooting The Circle and got very confused. pic.twitter.com/RGiqETnKA2

— Karen Gillan (@karengillan) September 14, 2015

Why is there a TARDIS? The mystery may never be solved. Gillan is currently on set filming the upcoming movie with Emma Watsom, Tom Hanks, and Patton Oswalt, which by all accounts indicate this is going to be “whopper” of a movie.

For now, let’s get your opinions on the matter: was this a a good prank or will this TARDIS serve another purpose? Sound off below!

The post Karen Gillan Stalked by Police Box! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Watch The Doctor’s Meditation Now!

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.

Forget about not being able to see the Doctor Who Series 9 prequel “because you’re not American” or “because you couldn’t see a screening of Death in Heaven” – the BBC has released it for you to watch today.

It’s right here, above: click play to enjoy.

To find out what happens next, tune into Doctor Who at 7.40pm tomorrow, Saturday 15th September 2015 for The Magician’s Apprentice, the first episode of a two part adventure…

The post Watch The Doctor’s Meditation Now! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

BBC Confirms: Jenna Coleman is Leaving Doctor Who [UPDATED]

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 months of speculation, the BBC has finally confirmed that Clara Oswald actress is to leave Doctor Who.

Curiously, however, the BBC’s official Doctor Who page doesn’t state that she will leave at the end of Series 9. Instead, the term used is “during the new series.”

They continue:

“However, it’s not been revealed exactly when Clara leaves and the question many are already asking is how will she part company with the Doctor?”

As you’ll recall, Jenna Coleman made her debut on 1 September, 2012 as Oswin Oswald in a surprise appearance in Asylum of the Daleks – she hadn’t been expected by fans until Christmas Day of that year, playing Victorian Clara in The Snowmen. Months later, modern Clara appeared in The Bells of Saint John and stayed on board the TARDIS to date.

Says star Peter Capaldi: ‘Jenna has been absolutely brilliant. I think she’s wonderful in the show, and she’s my favourite companion.’

Update: Jenna is “in denial”

Jenna Coleman appeared on Nick Grimshaw’s show on Radio One this morning, starting: “I have left the TARDIS. It’s happened, I’ve filmed my last scenes.”

She also explained a little about the process of how it game about. “It was emotional but it’s been in the works for a long time. Steven [Moffat] and I sat down a year ago and decided the best way to tell the story and that’s what we’ve done.”

No doubt she’s looking forward to her next role as Queen Victoria, but Jenna admitted: “I’m in denial, it doesn’t feel like I’ve left. I did get emotional, I tried to fight against it but you can’t help it. It’s been my life for the last three years.”

If there is any silver lining, it’s that Jenna will apparently miss her co-star, Peter Capaldi. “He’s so funny, he’s absolutely hilarious… I’d love them to release an outtakes – we’re like two school children!”

The speculation about Jenna’s departure has been long, drawn out and a topic of considerable press attention. Just a few hours ago, The Mirror attempted to spoil her departure, although we wond’t know for some weeks how accurate they were.

So, it’s time to prepare for the departure of the Impossible Girl…

The post BBC Confirms: Jenna Coleman is Leaving Doctor Who [UPDATED] appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Mirror Claims Huge Doctor Who Series 9 Clara SPOILER

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.

Oh no. If the following is true, it’s a massive spoiler for Doctor Who Series 9. As such, we suggest you hit the Back button on your browser if you prefer to avoid all of this nonsense.

Of course, there’s no way to know if what follows is true or nonsense, so even if you do feel the need to keep reading, it is worth taking the claim with a huge pinch of salt.

Doctor Who Series 9 Spoiler - Click with Care!

Red top The Mirror has claimed today that Doctor Who star Jenna Coleman is leaving the show after her character, Clara Oswald, is killed towards the end of the new series, which starts on Saturday.

The episode in question is apparent Face the Raven, the tenth in the new run. Quoting yet another loose-lipped insider, The Mirror “reveals”: “It’s the first time since the show came back that a companion has been killed off. It’s going to be a horrible shock for everyone, as Clara is loved by the fans.”

The Mirror then goes on to claim that the following episode, Heaven Sent, which we know is a single hander, will feature the Doctor mourning Clara. Naturally we have no real way to confirm the veracity of any of this, but the fact that The Mirror has opted to go public with it is particularly worrying. On the other hand, claims that previous companions were to be killed off have really lead to nothing more than ingenious writing (such as Rose being trapped in a parallel world, Donna “reverting” following memory wipe and Amy and Rory being thrown back into the past by Weeping Angels to die of old age).

So, the potentially spoilery claim is out there. Will Clara be the first companiojn to die since Adric in 1982’s Earthshock? Or has Steven Moffat got something very clever up his sleeve?

[collapse]

Please beware of the following comments, which will be discussing a potential Doctor Who Series 9 spoiler.

The post Mirror Claims Huge Doctor Who Series 9 Clara SPOILER appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Death in Heaven ReKapped! (Part Two)

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.

(Missed Part One? Find it here!)

UNIT Extract 4:

4.1 Records indicate that Boat One was attacked by a squadron of air-born Cybermen. The craft was literally disassembled from the outside while in flight with the crew still aboard.

4.2 CCTV footage indicates that when the craft was destroyed, both Extraterrestrials were in the hold. Missy stated to the President of Earth that she had visited a number of points on his timeline, “meeting all those silly people who died keeping you alive.”

4.3 The TARDIS phone is known to have rung and the Doctor’s associate, Clara is believed to have contacted the TARDIS remotely.

4.4 Hostile, Missy, referenced a UNIT Incursion Event file involving the Great Intelligence infiltrating the wi-fi, where Clara was first put in contact with the Doctor. She also referenced a pre-UNIT Torchwood file regarding reports of a dinosaur and clockwork men in London in the 19th Century. It is believed that the hostile had arranged for Clara and the Doctor to meet and remain in contact. Her intent and risks of these two remaining together remains uncertain.

4.5 The final transmission record from Boat One indicates Officer, Kate Stewart was ejected without landfall equipment when hostile, Missy, blasted open the hold door.

4.6 The President of Earth was believed to be the last remaining passenger when the craft exploded.

Extract ends.

Missy has transported herself inside the data-cloud and watches the Doctor skydive towards the falling TARDIS and the ship rise above the clouds as he gets to the controls just in time.

The TARDIS homes in on Clara’s call and the Doctor reaches her in the graveyard trying to activate Danny’s emotional inhibitor.

She asks him to help her activate Danny’s inhibitor because of the pain he is in. The Doctor warns again that without emotions Danny would kill her and many more. Danny responds, “I will not harm her.”

The Doctor regards Danny’s converted body with horror and tells him that the pain he has is what makes him human. “Pain is a gift, without the capacity for pain, we can’t feel the hurt we inflict.” He asks Danny to access the Cyber-hive mind and tell him what the clouds are going to do next.

Danny bitterly explains that he can only find out Missy’s plan if his emotions are removed. He taunts the Doctor calling him a blood soaked general. “And didn’t all of those beautiful speeches disappear in the face of a tactical advantage, Sir?”

The Doctor is trapped between what he believes is right for an individual and his hopes of defeating Missy’s invasion. “I need to know.”

“Yes, you do.” Danny replies. The Doctor cannot activate the inhibitor and effectively kill Clara’s boyfriend. Clara tells him to hand over the sonic screwdriver. “Do as you are told.” The Doctor slips away between the graves with his head lowered while Clara points the sonic probe at Danny’s chest. “It feels like I’m killing you.”

Danny, looking her in the eye tells her, “I’m already dead.” Clara activates the inhibitor. Emotion drains from Danny’s face and Clara runs to him and embraces the Cyberman that used to be Danny. He doesn’t harm her but is able to tell the Doctor in a monotone voice that the rain will fall again but this time will convert the living into Cybermen.

Missy suddenly appears, transporting herself to the graveyard. The Doctor disarms her as she makes to kill Clara. She tells him that she is there to give him a gift.

Missy speaks into her wrist-band and demonstrates voice control of every Cyberman in sight, enacting an airline pre-flight directions. “You see, Doctor, the power to slaughter whole worlds at a time, then make them do a safety briefing.” She calls them an indestructible army where the more they kill, the more they recruit.

Wishing him a Happy Birthday, she slips the wrist-band onto the Doctor’s hand. And giving him control. “I don’t want an Army!” he shouts.

“That’s the trouble, yes you do. You’ve always wanted one.” She goads him that “good men” think they know what is right and now he has the power to force his morality on the universe. If he doesn’t “conquer the universe” she will kill all the living humans with a second rainfall.

The Doctor is horrified. “What’s the matter, Mr President, don’t you trust yourself?” Doubt shows on the Doctor’s face as he struggles with the idea of being a hero or a villain until something dawns on him. Missy is confused as he thanks her and says with confidence that he is neither a good man, a bad man, a hero, a president nor an officer. “I am an idiot, with a box, and a screwdriver. Passing through, helping out. Learning.”

Explaining that Danny was the one soldier not under Missy’s wrist-band control and that his love for Clara is a promise, not an emotion, the Doctor throws the device to Danny.

Danny already knows what he must do and leads the worldwide army of resurrected corpses into the sky to sacrifice themselves by burning the deadly clouds. The Cyber-Army set alight and the clouds are gone.

The Doctor, Clara and Missy are left alone in the graveyard. Missy quotes the original coordinates for Gallifrey, “Ten zero eleven zero zero by zero two.” And tells him that his lost home planet has returned to its original place. She bargains with him that they can both go there.

Clara interrupts, pointing Missy’s own weapon at her, “Doctor, I’m assuming you’ll remember those coordinates.” The Doctor says he won’t allow her to kill Missy. Clara replies, “If you let this creature live, everything that happened today is on you.”

The Doctor takes the device and points it at Missy to save Clara from that responsibility. Before he can shoot, a blast vaporises the Time Lady from a single Cyberman standing some way off among the graves.

It gestures over to a body on the grass. The Doctor and Clara run over to find Kate Stewart confused but alive. The Doctor realises that the Cyberman is the remains and transplanted consciousness of his old friend and Kate’s father, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. The Cyberman salutes and flies away.

We join Clara some time later in her flat. A light appears in the corridor and Danny’s voice beckons. The bracelet allows one person to be manifested in the real world from inside the Gallifreyan hard-drive. Clara speaks to Danny and asks him to come back. But the figure that emerges from the light is the young boy that Danny accidentally shot when in active service. “One trip, one person.”

Clara realises that the man she loved is not coming back from the dead and has sacrificed himself so that the boy could have his life back.

Two weeks later Clara and the Doctor meet in a café. He sees the wrist-band on her and assumes that Danny returned. He believes Clara will want to remain with Danny and stop travelling with him. To stop her from feeling torn, he tells her that he has found Gallifrey – but in reality, he was in the TARDIS staring at the empty space where Gallifrey used to be. He breaks down and slams his fist into the console in despair.

Clara, believing he has found his home tells him that she and Danny “will be fine.” Clara asks for a hug. The Doctor agrees.

“Why don’t you like hugging, Doctor?”

“Never trust a hug,” he replies. “It’s just a way to hide your face.” And neither can see the pain in the other’s face.

They say goodbye and as the TARDIS dematerialises, the emotion drains from Clara’s face.

NEXT: “EVERY CHRISTMAS IS LAST CHRISTMAS – AND THIS IS OURS. NOW IT’S TIME TO WAKE UP.”

The post Death in Heaven ReKapped! (Part Two) appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.