Christian Cawley's Blog, page 70

Kansas’ Time Eddy Convention Updates!

Josh Maxton 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.

Hello, dear readers!

We’ve reported several times on the Time Eddy convention in Wichita, Kansas, simply because the guests and plans set out scream “great success”. With stars like Colin Baker (Sixth Doctor), Nicola Bryant (Peri Brown), and Peter Purves (Steven Taylor), the event has a lot of fans excited, including yours truly.

Speaking of the guests, it was announced on the Time Eddy Facebook page earlier this week that Jo Grant herself, Katy Manning—who was all set to have a Q&A session at the event as well as participate in the improv-acting shenanigans—has landed a key role in a play that starts in the UK late September. However, not all hope is lost! Although it hasn’t been finalized, Kieran Kinsella (showrunner of Time Eddy) and his crew are putting plans together to set it up so that Katy can still interact with the fans via Skype! Kinsella explains this to the fans over Facebook:

“…her Q&A panel at Time Eddy will have to take the form of a Skype interview as she will be unable to be physically present. She is very disappointed to miss out on being here in person and will be providing us with some autographed items to accompany the interview. However, we still have a fantastic line up of other guests who will be here in person all three days.”

In our exclusive interview with Kieran, he told us about the core idea behind Time Eddy:

“I don’t like these mega-cons, where you go and you wait in line for three hours and pay $200 just to get a signed photo of someone who you see for two seconds. Time Eddy’s going to be a bit more old school. There will be a lot of guest interaction with the attendees. For example, we’re going to do a version of Whose Line is it Anyway?. We’re going to do that with attendees, but also some of the guests — Katy Manning — have said that they’re going to participate as well. It’ll kind of give it more interaction with celebrities than you would get at a typical convention.”

Also this week, it was revealed that an additional guest from the classic series will also be attending the convention. Details on that will drop this Friday at 6:00pm CST via the Time Eddy website and Facebook. Kieran Kinsella also has said that Nev Fountain, writer for Big Finish, will be in attendance!

Time Eddy is looking for volunteers! There will be opportunities to get involved with security, registration, administrative roles, set up, and much, much more. Specifics on jobs and schedules will be rolled out over the coming weeks; for now they are just collecting information. If you’re interested, visit the volunteer page for info on what to do next!

Early bird prices for Time Eddy are on until August 31st! To get 15% off tickets, visit Time Eddy on the web!

Will I be seeing you at Time Eddy?  Let me know in the comments!

The post Kansas’ Time Eddy Convention Updates! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Armando Iannucci Says Creatives Like Moffat Should Decide BBC’s Future

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.

Armando Iannucci, the man behind such shows as Veep, The Thick of It (starring Peter Capaldi), and I’m Alan Partridge, says the UK Government should consult creative types, including Doctor Who showrunner, Steven Moffat, about the future of the BBC.

Aunty Beeb has been the victim of a number of attacks by the Government just in time for the BBC’s Royal Charter renewal next year, and Iannucci used his talk at the James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture during the Edinburgh Television Festival to demand that important writers and showrunners be consulted to a greater extent when deciding on broadcasting policy. He also described the panel set up to investigate the corporation’s efficacy and future as too narrow.

(Personally, a word I’d use is ‘biased'; among the panel are Dame Colette Bowe, a former chairwoman of the regulator Ofcom who previously suggested that BBC funding should be shared with others; Dawn Airey, former boss of Channel 5 and executive of Yahoo – thus a competitor of the BBC’s news output – who has previously called for the licence fee to be cut; and Stewart Purvis, a former editor-in-chief of ITN.)

At his lecture, We’re All In This Together, Armando said:

“When I see the panel of experts who’ve been asked by the Culture Secretary to take a root and branch look at the BBC, I don’t see anyone who is a part of a cast and crew list.  

“I see executives, media owners, industry gurus, all talented people; but not a single person who’s made a classic and enduring television show, not a presenter, a writer, director or creative producer, no Moffat or [Last Tango in Halifax writer, Sally] Wainwright or [producer, Jimmy] Mulville or [Line of Duty scribe, Jed] Mercurio, nor do I see anyone from our world-class post-production industry or from design or drama, no-one from the enormous world-beating service of day-to-day production, to give their views, to offload their expertise on the difficulties and the joys and the challenges of making world standard public service broadcasting… Oh, and no viewers too. Just people from the executive branch of television.”

Doctor Who "You don't just give up, you take a stand, you do what is right, you fight when everyone has run away" Could be Anti-Tory speech

— BlueCollarDoctorWho (@BlueCollarDrWho) July 19, 2015

In my defense of the TV license, I noted that, “born into a society whereby TV is paradoxically very important and entirely trivial, being asked to fork out £145.50 a year is going to cause a bit of cognitive dissonance. It doesn’t help that even the Establishment tells us there is something inherently wrong with paying for television.” And it sounds like Ianucci is on similar lines, that story-makers are undervalued because hey, that’s all they do:

“Are they more wary of us because we deal with intangible stuff, made up stories, unquantifiable and unpredictable entertainments that make us interesting but not really serious, the sort of person it’s good to be photographed chatting to at a Thank You Reception for the Arts, rather than properly engaging with at a boardroom meeting deciding how a crucial segment of the arts should be run?”

And he concluded:

“No one comes into contact more regularly with the hard economics of making a budget work than a production team. Every time I make a show, I’m a small businessman, responsible for hundreds of employees, in charge of a budget of millions of pounds. And of course if the project isn’t successful, the work won’t come back… But believe me, saying tonight ‘We’re All in This Together,’ I’m not being ironic. Playful, maybe, but deadly serious. British television needs to be at its strongest: with a big global fight ahead, we need to consolidate all our talent and expertise.”

He, of course, makes very apt points. We at the K acknowledge that the BBC isn’t perfect. It needs to strive for better, as we all should. But we can’t let it be damaged irreversibly.

Watch the full lecture above, and if you agree, (as noted by BackTheBBC), Google “BBC charter public consultation” or look on 38 degrees or Change.org for petitions that feed directly into the Government’s review.

However, perhaps the best argument for the BBC’s continued existence came from The Christmas Invasion director, James Hawes…

pic.twitter.com/hjleQyngRz

— James Hawes (@JamesEHawes) July 18, 2015

The post Armando Iannucci Says Creatives Like Moffat Should Decide BBC’s Future appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

BAFTA Cymru Screening Doctor Who Series 9 Premiere

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.

A special preview cinema showing of the opening two-parter of Series 9, The Magician’s Apprentice/ The Witch’s Familiar, will take place at Cineworld, Mary Anne Street, Cardiff.

The only advanced screening of both episodes, this will show on 10th September, nine whole days before it’s transmitted on BBC One, and presented by BAFTA Cymru. Written by showrunner, Steven Moffat, the two episodes stars Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor, Jenna Coleman’s Clara Oswald, and Michelle Gomez as Missy. Moffat previously teased:

“It features lots of Daleks and this time we mean it! Clara receives a mysterious summons and has to team up with Missy to search for the Doctor in a very, very old place.”

Naturally, there’s loads of speculation – no doubt fueled by our Series 9 trailer breakdown!

The double-bill screening will be followed by a panel Q&A session with Peter, Jenna, and Steven, as well as Executive Producer Brian Minchin, and hosted by broadcaster, Jason Mohammad.

Directed by Hettie McDonald (Blink), and produced by Peter Bennett, a cinema screening for The Magician’s Apprentice starts in… ooh, about half an hour at Edinburgh’s International Film Festival! However, this Cardiff screening is the first to pair the debut Series 9 episode with its concluding half, The Witch’s Familiar.

You can book tickets via their official site! C’mon then – who’s going?

The post BAFTA Cymru Screening Doctor Who Series 9 Premiere appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Titan Comics’ Twelfth Doctor #7 Reviewed!

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 Twelfth Doctor #07 has been spoiled by its own recap!

Not majorly, but certain spoilers about this issue can be found by glancing at the ‘Previously’ paragraph right at the start. The debut part of The Fractures left questions about what the titular creatures were, who this seemingly-resurrected Paul Foster character is, and why the monsters are guzzling up reality. Brief explanations are info-dumped before the comic even takes up where it left off!

It’s, frankly, bizarre. It’s not something anyone picking up the eventual TPB graphic novel will notice, but it remains a niggle in an otherwise pleasing book.

There’s a touch of Pete’s World from Doomsday (2006) about this second part of The Fractures, as well as something of the Reapers (from 2005’s Father’s Day). Writer, Robbie Morrison mulls over the Void and the potential of the multi-verse, but it’s all done very succinctly and smartly: you won’t nod off, or suffer from scientific-theory-fatigue.

It helps that it’s largely delivered by Martin Freeman. At least, that’s who Paul Foster (now-possibly-deceased member of UNIT) is presumably based on. Artist, Brian Williamson introduced characters that looked like George Osborn and Boris Johnson last issue, so why not Martin Freeman too? It actually works well – almost like Williamson is casting for the show (but knows the Sherlock and Hobbit star is too busy for Doctor Who).

It’s a great-looking story that is more realistic in its visuals than even The Tenth Doctor series, but still combines some solid comic trappings: in particular, Foster recalling the events of his alternate Earth is reminiscent of 2000AD storytelling, the Void-bending psychedelia is a slice of Jim Steranko’s Dr. Strange, and the Voidsuit reminds this reader of the Beetle (villain in The Amazing Spider-Man).

His depictions of the Twelfth Doctor and Clara Oswald are great throughout, but the former is definitely more accurate than the latter. Both are nonetheless impressive – as is their characterisation. Morrison has a particularly good grasp of this TARDIS team, and Peter Capaldi’s incarnation of the Time Lord is an ideal choice for this story: there’s a moral dilemma at its heart, and his unpredictability keeps it engaging. Capaldi recently said you shouldn’t trust the Doctor, and he’s right; you can’t guarantee he’ll see this from the same POV as most humans. Is the happiness of one family just as important as the safety of the entire universe?

I guess we’ll find out next issue…

The Twelfth Doctor #07 is out now, priced $3.99.

The post Titan Comics’ Twelfth Doctor #7 Reviewed! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Russell T Davies Adapts A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Doctor Who Crew

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.

Great news for fans of William Shakespeare, and Russell T Davies: the former Doctor Who showrunner will be adapting the comedy play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream for BBC One!

The story, likely written between 1590 and 1597, focuses on a large cast of characters and ventures into the supernatural world as fairies (notably Oberon, Titania, and Puck) manipulate tragic humans drawn together by forbidden love triangles. Despite primarily considered a comedy, it’s a surprisingly dark tale – but then so are other Shakespearean ‘comedies’ like The Merchant of Venice.

Russell will bring this play to generations new and old in a 90-minute adaptation, set to air next year.

The news was announced at the Edinburgh Television Festival by BBC One controller, Charlotte Moore, who said it will be:

“[the] truthful version of the play – the original play, the original words, the original Shakespeare… [It] will have as much attitude and invention as any theatrical interpretation.”

Further described as “warm and funny”, the story is yet to be cast, but it’s been confirmed that A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be filmed with the Doctor Who crew at Roath Lock in Cardiff! This might be a reason Russell was spotted in the Welsh city – but doesn’t explain what the Tenth Doctor, David Tennant was doing there too.

Russell told the Radio Times:

“I’ve wanted to make this for the BBC for my entire adult life – and only the BBC can put on a play like this, for all the family, smack-bang in the heart of primetime. With a riot of prosthetics, CGI, magic and action, it needs the brilliant Doctor Who team in Cardiff to bring it to life.”

A recent stage production featured Eighth Doctor companion, Sheridan Smith (Lucie Miller) as Titania, Queen of the fairies, and The God Complex‘s David Walliams as Bottom.

Some are decrying this, saying that there are many other plays left largely unexplored on television. Why A Midsummer Night’s Dream? They’re wrong. It’s one of Shakespeare’s more accessible works, a great introduction to the mad, intense, and captivating world of the Bard, and this adaptation might just inspire some to go see a live play – or even go to a National Theatre Live screening at cinemas worldwide.

And schools study this play too: RTD’s take on it could engage students like never before. And that’ll make it more than worthwhile, if nothing else.

The adaptation is yet to be cast, but we’re already looking forward to it! Are you…?

The post Russell T Davies Adapts A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Doctor Who Crew appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Is the Twelfth Doctor Drinking from Eight’s Regeneration Chalice?

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.

Well, well, well, what have we here? Is this a chalice of significance I see before me, or simply a reused prop?

The fortchoming prequel for Doctor Who Series 9, The Doctor’s Meditation, will accompany screenings in the USA of Dark Water/Death in Heaven next month, but first glimpses at the trailer for the prequel (no, really) reveal the self same chalice the Eighth Doctor drank from to save his life and regenerate into the War Doctor in Night of the Doctor…

Of course, it might just be a massive, budget-related, prop-reusing concidence, but as we’re Doctor Who fans, we’re not going to accept that far-more-likely explanation, right?

The post Is the Twelfth Doctor Drinking from Eight’s Regeneration Chalice? appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Coming Soon: The Time Lord Letters!

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.

Released on September 24th 2015, The Time Lord Letters is a unique collection of over one hundred letters, notes, and jottings both by and to the Doctor – correspondence by turns entertaining and inspiring, funny and flippant, brilliant and incredible.

From the Doctor’s plea to the Time Lords to help end the War Games to an extract from the written defence he submitted at his subsequent trial; from his application for the post of Caretaker at Coal Hill School to his apology to the Queen for missing dinner; from telepathic messages to the High Council on Gallifrey to his famous letter to Santa Claus – like the Doctor himself, the mood can change in an instant.

The Time Lord Letters captures the best and most dramatic moments of an impossible life. You’ll never see the Doctor in quite the same way again.

About the authors:

The Doctor was born on Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous, and graduated from Prydon Academy when he was an older man than he is now. After spending some time as a wanderer in the fourth dimension together with his granddaughter Susan, the Doctor came to regard himself as a citizen of the universe. He has travelled extensively through time and space, as well as spending a period as Scientific Advisor to the secretive UNIT organisation. Now in his twelfth incarnation (or possibly his thirteenth – accounts vary), the Doctor has been saving the Universe for as long as he can remember. Possibly longer. His real name – if he has one – is unknown.

Justin Richards has written for stage and screen as well as writing novels and graphic novels including The Suicide Exhibition and The Blood Red City. Justin currently acts as Creative Consultant to BBC Books’ range of Doctor Who titles, as well as writing quite a few himself.

Published 24th September from BBC Books, Doctor Who: The Time Lord Letters is a hardback title available for $16.49 from Amazon and £16 on Amazon UK, although the book has a £20.00 RRP.

The post Coming Soon: The Time Lord Letters! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Comic Soon: The Time Lord Letters!

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.

Released on September 24th 2015, The Time Lord Letters is a unique collection of over one hundred letters, notes, and jottings both by and to the Doctor – correspondence by turns entertaining and inspiring, funny and flippant, brilliant and incredible.

From the Doctor’s plea to the Time Lords to help end the War Games to an extract from the written defence he submitted at his subsequent trial; from his application for the post of Caretaker at Coal Hill School to his apology to the Queen for missing dinner; from telepathic messages to the High Council on Gallifrey to his famous letter to Santa Claus – like the Doctor himself, the mood can change in an instant.

The Time Lord Letters captures the best and most dramatic moments of an impossible life. You’ll never see the Doctor in quite the same way again.

About the authors:

The Doctor was born on Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous, and graduated from Prydon Academy when he was an older man than he is now. After spending some time as a wanderer in the fourth dimension together with his granddaughter Susan, the Doctor came to regard himself as a citizen of the universe. He has travelled extensively through time and space, as well as spending a period as Scientific Advisor to the secretive UNIT organisation. Now in his twelfth incarnation (or possibly his thirteenth – accounts vary), the Doctor has been saving the Universe for as long as he can remember. Possibly longer. His real name – if he has one – is unknown.

Justin Richards has written for stage and screen as well as writing novels and graphic novels including The Suicide Exhibition and The Blood Red City. Justin currently acts as Creative Consultant to BBC Books’ range of Doctor Who titles, as well as writing quite a few himself.

Published 24th September from BBC Books, Doctor Who: The Time Lord Letters is a hardback title available for $16.49 from Amazon and £16 on Amazon UK, although the book has a £20.00 RRP.

The post Comic Soon: The Time Lord Letters! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Will Hath and Judoon Appear in Doctor Who Series 9?

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.

Overwhelmed with press releases and incoming interviews from Doctor Who star, Peter Capaldi and executive producer, Brian Minchin, you may hath, erm… have missed some exciting news about Doctor Who series 9 that broke last week: the Hath and the Judoon are set to make a return!

If you’re scratching your heads trying to recall who the Hath and the Judoon were, think ‘bubbly rainbow turkey’ and ‘bossy rhino’ and you’ll probably figure it out. The Hath were introduced in Series 4’s The Doctor’s Daughter and the Judoon barked their way onto our screens with Series 3’s Smith and Jones; the Judoon were last seen in A Good Man Goes to War (2011) and the Hath, The End of Time (2008), although the Judoon were already set to appear in Big Finish’s Classic Doctors, New Monsters set (for those eager to listen to 75 more minutes of the Judoon).

This announcement has some fans wondering if perhaps we’re in for a return of Jenny from The Doctor’s Daughter or the Shadow Proclamation with whom the Judoon were affiliated-? Alternatively, perhaps the reappearance of these ‘B-Monsters’ from the Russell T Davies era might be the silver lining of a possible ‘celebratory’ episode marking the new series’ tenth anniversary? It’s also possible that we’re in for another ‘cantina’ scene and the Hath and the Judoon were cheap, convenient alien extras. If that’s the case, perhaps it’s best for the Hath Appreciation Society to hold off on the (extra bubbly) champagne just yet – wouldn’t want to get your hopes up, after all.

While singing the praises of the Hath and the Judoon to the Daily Star, Brian Minchin also shared some tantalizing details regarding Mark Gatiss’s episode. Episode Nine has been shrouded in mystery, previously being heralded as “unlike any Doctor Who story broadcast before,” now we’ve learned that Mark Gatiss’ episode will only use footage captured from old camcorders and cellphones, in a style not unlike Cloverfield (2008) – the episode will see fans of the Doctor capturing his attempts to stop a monster on video and documenting his activities.

Minchin defends the episode, arguing experimentation is natural for Doctor Who.

“Doctor Who has always been about taking risks,” said Minchin, “It’s never sat down and done a normal episode. It’s always done something extraordinary. Our audience likes to be challenged.”

The show’s executive producer and former Doctor Who and Torchwood script editor went as far as to suggest that it was still under consideration whether to run the show’s traditional titles and a cold open with Mark Gatiss’ episode or have the episode begin with no titles whatsoever.

Are you excited about the Judoon and the Hath returning, or is it more nonsense from the Daily Star? And how about this Mark Gatiss episode? Kasterbourites, hath your say in the comments below!

The post Will Hath and Judoon Appear in Doctor Who Series 9? appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Lethbridge-Stewart Pre-Order Customers Get Exclusive Short

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.

Pre-order The Schizoid Earth, the next installment of the excellent Lethbridge-Stewart novels through Candy Jar Books, and you’ll receive a free exclusive 34-page story, Legacies.

Written by Norma Ashley (The Missing), Legacies poses the ultimate ‘What if?’ for fans of the exploits of the Second Doctor and the Colonel; what would happen if they had failed to stop the Great Intelligence?

The Schizoid Earth, written by David A. McIntee and cover art by Nathan Hudson and Adrian Salmon, sees Lethbridge-Stewart plagued by nightmares and trapped in a past that never happened: Can he unravel the mystery of a man ten years out of his time? Why do the ghosts of fallen soldiers still fight long-forgotten battles against living men? And what is the secret of the rural English town of Deepdene…

Lethbridge-Stewart is a new series of novels set just after the events of the 1968 serial The Web of Fear which tell the story of the then colonel’s rise from the Scots Guards to his beloved office as the brigadier and head of the UK branch of UNIT by the time of The Invasion.

The series is based on the characters and concepts created by Mervyn Haisman & Henry Lincoln. The series is published by Candy Jar Books, and fully licensed by the executor of the Haisman Literary Estate, Hannah Haisman, and endorsed by Henry Lincoln.

Lethbridge-Stewart – The Schizoid Earth by David A McIntee is released on September 25th 2015. The Legacies offer ends September 24th 2015, and only applies to pre-orders for the paperback.

The post Lethbridge-Stewart Pre-Order Customers Get Exclusive Short appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.