Christian Cawley's Blog, page 76

Toby Whithouse Talks Series 9 & Showrunner Speculation

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.

Toby Whithouse has responded to rumours he’ll be the next Doctor Who showrunner.

The Being Human creator has long been a fan favourite to take over when Steven Moffat vacates the role but with the current showrunner signed up until at least Series 10 and with the airdate of that series currently rumoured to be 2017, interest in the show’s future has been high on the agenda.

Whithouse is no stranger to the show, having cut his teeth writing favourites School Reunion, The Vampires of Venice, The God Complex and A Town Called Mercy – as well as this year’s upcoming two-parter for Peter Capaldi’s Doctor.

Now, Whithouse has been asked directly if there is any weight to the rumour that he’s next in line to the throne.

Speaking to The London Economic, Whithouse said:

“No-one at the BBC has ever had this conversation with me! No-one has asked me, no-one has approached me about if Steven [Moffat, the current showrunner] leaves, when Steven leaves. These are conversations that happen purely among fans, not on any official level.”

That sounds pretty definite; however Whithouse has said before that it’s ‘definitely something I’d be really tempted by’ so there’s no reason to count him out when Moffat decides to step aside with no concrete plan in place (or at least no public indication of a plan).

Moving on to this series and Whithouse told TLE just what a pleasure it is to return to the TARDIS:

“There is something so magical, so ludicrous about that show! We’re all quite established writers, but we all go back, we all keep doing it! It’s ridiculous, and it’s brilliant, and you get to work with some of the best actors in the industry. The appeal never fades: I’m 45 now, and writing: ‘Interior: TARDIS’ at the top of a scene is still really, really exciting.

“You also get to tell these extraordinary stories that you couldn’t write for any other show. I’ve written for three Doctors now, and with David [Tennant], Matt [Smith] and Peter [Capaldi], you can throw the most convoluted dialogue, the subtlest gag, at them and they will get it because they are brilliant. Watching your ridiculous, strange stories get realised by these people is a wonderful thing.”

As for what he’s writing for Capaldi, Whithouse would not be drawn:

“No! Steven would come round here and kick me in the shins! I like to know as little as possible, actually, as I really enjoy watching the show as a punter. Spoilers – that’s exactly what they are. So I have no idea what happens after my episode.”

It’s the experience of watching for the first time, as a fan with his daughter that keeps Whithouse from teasing for more secrets. “I could find out relatively easily, but I don’t want to, I want to sit on the sofa with my daughter and watch it for the first time, not knowing what’s going to happen,” he recalls. “Actually, just before Peter [Capaldi] was announced, I was with Steven and I said: ‘Look, I’ve just got to know: who is it?’ And Steven said, ‘Well, I could tell you, but then if it gets out… it’s your fault.’ Of course my response was: ‘Oh for God’s sake – don’t tell me!’”

Should Moffat stand down soon, would you like Whithouse to take over? Many of us at K Towers would!

 

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Retrospective: BBC Books’ Players

Simon Danes 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.

There was a wheezing, groaning sound…

This was the noise made by me as I heaved myself out of my armchair and lurched across the room to the bookshelf to fetch down my dusty copy of Players, so I could re-read it for this review.

Actually, it’s pretty clear that someone was ribbing writer and Legend, Terrance Dicks at the time – 1999, in fact – about his standard description of the TARDIS’ demat noise (which, when all’s said and done, is still a lot better than ‘Vworp! Vworp!’). We get a couple of variants in this novel. The first is during the prologue, when the Doctor and Peri take off from a particularly muddy planet, and we have: ‘With a sucking, squelching sound the TARDIS disappeared.’ Later, it’s, ‘The TARDIS dematerialised with a grating, grinding sound.’ Finally, right at the end of the novel, Terrance has got fed up with the whole thing and writes, ‘with a defiant wheezing, groaning sound, the TARDIS dematerialised’ (subtext: sod you, that’s the noise it makes, so there).

Well, you’ve got to laugh.

The last three novels I’ve reviewed for Kasterborous have all been very dark, with the Doctor battling some really malevolent and nasty forces who cause immense suffering. This one’s altogether lighter: not without a fight against evil, but the baddies’ main interest is in having fun rather than hurting people. And it’s a bit of a runaround, too, with the Sixth Doctor visiting various time zones.

Three, to be precise. And, given that the new Big Finish series starring Ian McNiece about to start, it’s good that the linking figure for all three zones is Churchill. Players is an earlier take on the Doctor’s friendship with the great man and, as far as I can see, it fits in well with established continuity.

For those of us who grew up with Terrance Dicks’ novels, it’s hard to deny that he’s a fine writer who can tell a rattlingly good story. (I can still remember finding The Auton Invasion and The Cave Monsters – yes, I know the second’s by Hulke – in WHSmith when they first came out.) Not necessarily the most original and imaginative, perhaps, but an exciting yarn that keeps you turning the pages.

The Players of the title owe something to both the Eternals in Enlightenment, and the War Lords; their creed, which opens and closes the book, runs:

Winning is everything – and nothing

Losing is nothing – and everything

All that matters is the Game

They’re never really defined (and they don’t need to be); all we need to know is that they’re immortals who while away eternity by obsessively playing war games, but using real human beings instead of dice and rule books. Like the Monk, they’re perfectly happy to change history for their own amusement, though in their case, it’s in the service of the everlasting Game. People get hurt on the way, but they’re really just out to amuse themselves. (That’s a form of evil in itself, of course; indifference is just as wicked as deliberate malice.)

The playing piece they’ve fixed on is Churchill. We meet him in three time periods: first as a young man, then when he’s middle aged, and finally in his prime. Terrance has done his research well and Churchill’s very much the real thing; Terrance clearly admires him hugely, which is, I suppose, the standard British viewpoint. (My late father-in-law, who served in the Indian army during the Second World War, hated Churchill and thought him a bigoted warmonger; that view used to be quite prevalent once.) Churchill is charming, bullish and charismatic, but stubborn and prepared to push people aside when they stand in his way.

Peri and the Doctor – both effortlessly well drawn by Dicks – first meet Churchill as a young reporter in the Boer War; he and his new friends are captured by the South Africans and imprisoned but eventually make their separate escapes. Then, in the TARDIS, the Doctor dusts down the gizmo that his second avatar used to show Zoe the repeat of The Evil of the Daleks when the cast went off for their summer holidays; here, Peri watches the Second Doctor meet up with Carstairs and Lady Jennifer from The War Games, once the Time Lords have transported them home. (They’ve let the Doctor out for a bit during his trial, you see.) Churchill’s there in occupied France. So are the Players. Finally, the Sixth Doctor and Peri meet up with Churchill for the longest section of the book, during the Abdication Crisis of 1936.

By which time, Carstairs has been promoted to General (huzzah!), and is still at Churchill’s side. The aliens are trying to ensure that Churchill never succeeds to the premiership, and employ various strategies to stop him. Though I’m not a historian, I’m better on this period than on the Boer War, about which I know nothing whatsoever – except that we British distinguished ourselves during that conflict by inventing the concentration camp – or the First World War. The historical background’s accurate and well evoked. There are walk-on parts for Hitler and Bormann, and a slightly bigger role for Von Ribbentrop, who’s accompanied by a squad of bone-headed cretins from the SS. Edward VIII – that’s the Queen’s uncle, you know – and Wallis Simpson are major characters in this section.

Mrs Simpson deservedly gets no favours from Dicks: she’s a gold-digging, manipulative, calculating harpy with few redeeming features; alas, so was she in life. I think Terrance is too kind to Edward VIII, though; we’re presented with him as spoilt and silly, though that’s in part because we see him as Churchill sees him (and the real Churchill was sympathetic to the King, too). The real Edward VIII was appalling: totally selfish, insatiably greedy, and possessed of a boundless self-importance – in inverse proportion to his talent. Ziegler’s biography of the man shows that he was also a racist (when he was governor of the Bahamas, he thought there was no point in consulting the black population about anything) – and far too sympathetic to Hitler. A man without redeeming features, he and Mrs Simpson were welcome to each other; a match made in hell, to be sure.

(Okay, a bit of a digression there. Here’s another one: my mum was taken on a school trip when she was at primary school to see Edward VIII on a walkabout. Her brother, now aged 85 and still going strong, was too little to go and he cried because he didn’t get to see the King.)

(It’s these personal snippets that make these reviews so enjoyable, don’t you find?)

Back to the book: the Players turn up, manipulate Mrs Simpson and Von Ribbentrop, try again to shoot Churchill… and Churchill starts to wonder whether the man he met all those years ago in South Africa, the little man who helped him in No Man’s Land in France, and his current friend the Doctor, could somehow, incredibly, all be the same person…

He, and the Players, will be back.

In sum: great fun. A lighter read than many of the other original novels; an engaging story with a strong cast of characters; and, like all Terrance Dicks’s stuff, very well written. Recommended!

And just one more thing: lots of people today know about Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson from The King’s Speech, and that’s no bad thing. In the late ’70s, the best known dramatic presentation of the story was a superb ITV drama series called Edward and Mrs Simpson, starring Edward Fox and Cynthia Harris. The names of some of those connected with this series may be familiar. The producer was one Verity Lambert, the director was Waris Hussein, and the music was by someone called Ron Grainer.

And Clement Atlee, the leader of the Labour Party, the politician whose brilliance surpassed even Churchill’s, the greatest Prime Minister this country has ever had, was played by…?

Why, Patrick Troughton. Of course.

NB The political views and opinions expressed in this article are solely the verbal flatulence of the reviewer. Kasterborous takes no responsibility for the content of the ravings expressed herein or for the fact that Simon Danes is out of his tree half the time.

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John Hurt Recalls “Louche, Creative” Contemporaries

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.

You’ll be pleased to know that Sir John Hurt, praised for his turn as Doctor Who‘s War Doctor, of course, says his “treatment is going terrifically well” and that he remains ‘optimistic’ about his recovery. The 75-year-old may have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in June but he told Radio Times although he may think about death, he does not fear it; “I can’t say I worry about mortality,” Hurt said. “But it’s impossible to get to my age and not have a little contemplation of it. We’re all just passing time, and occupy our chair very briefly.”

Hurt also spoke about his latest project, a rendition of Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell for BBC Radio 4; Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell tells the real life story of a columnist, locked in his favorite pub overnight, musing about anecdotes from his life. Jeffrey Bernard was a real life drinking companion of John Hurt. Hurt would add that drinking at the time, although he may have drank to excess at times, was really about heightened conversation, saying:

“I had endless conversations with Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Jeff and others. People go out today with the intention of getting smashed. We never had that intention, although it might happen. We hated binge drinkers. They were boring and if you slipped into it, you’d be told to pull yourself together. We wanted to seek, to find, to be interested, heighten awareness, talk.”

Bernard was apart of what Hurt called a culture of “louche, creative people.”

Today’s world simply isn’t as free as the story’s setting of 1951, Hurt finds, arguing “Society is much more homogenised, and we’re all supposed to conform.” An interesting argument to make of a pre-sexual revolution, pre-civil rights, pre-Stonewall world, but he continues, rejecting ‘political correctness’ especially, saying:

“People are censorious but the pendulum will swing back, as it always does. There were difficulties in those days obviously, but life was more fun.”

Part of this fun and freedom for Hurt that’s been lost surrounds alcohol, despite alcohol-related cases costing the NHS over £3.5bn a year according to an agency of the UK Department of Health, he argues, “We’ve become obsessed with the dangers of alcohol – you get newspaper articles that are entirely over the top,” but Hurt also decries political correctness, saying “I wonder what instigated that. Where does it come from, and who says what is or is not politically correct?”

Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell plays on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday at 14:30.

The post John Hurt Recalls “Louche, Creative” Contemporaries appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

NuWho 10th Anniversary: What Is Series 5’s Most Underrated Story?

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.

This year, Doctor Who has been back on our screen ten whole years. It feels like yesterday that the TARDIS materialised once more; suitably, it also feels like forever.

So join us as we celebrate a decade with the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Doctors. Let’s find out which serials are our favourites, and shine a light on the underrated ones too. Watch us run.

And then vote on your favourites. At the end of the year, we’ll find out which serials showcase our beloved show at the height of its game.

A gangly bloke in a tweed jacket has more than filled David Tennant’s considerable sandshoes, and a beautiful redhead in ever-short skirts has joined him in the TARDIS. They bring along a mysteriously compelling woman who might just the Doctor’s wife, and a brilliantly funny but wise man who might just be Amy’s fiancé. Series 5 is here, and it’s brighter than sunflowers.

You know our favourites of Series 5, but what’s the most underrated serial…?

Katie Gribble: The Beast Below

I want to state from the beginning that this episode is absolutely stunning. It was a real toss-up between this and what I chose as my favourite Series 5 story. However, what I really want to talk about for The Beast Below is the setting of the story. Starship UK is introduced as ‘An idea. A whole country, living and laughing and… shopping. Searching the stars for a new home.’ Yet its explorative pursuit is counteracted by the cramped conditions on board with the constant reminders that the residents are on a life raft hoping their prayers will be answered.

Coming to rewatch the episode, I marvelled at how stylised and clever the design of Starship UK actually is. I think the environment mirrors the beginning of this new era of Doctor Who. At the start of Series 5, it was still recognisably Doctor Who with the Doctor and companion righting wrongs, but there was still a lot of uncertainty about whether the show would last beyond its fifth season. In the same way, The Beast Below is set in a version of London, a city which fans had become used to as an identifiable anchor of Britishness and ultimately where a lot of Earth bound stories had been set. It’s the tube and streets signs which sell the setting as London; otherwise there’s something in the corner of your eye which seems out of kilter about a society consumed by fear. It’s the removal from the accepted form of ‘modern day’ London which makes the story seem so familiar and yet so distant; reducing Great Britain to the form of a tug boat in space, bolted together to escape the solar flares roasting Earth in 29th Century.

The story also raises questions about where everyone else is. Obviously the episode itself only focuses on one part of one ship, but apparently the whole Earth packed its bags and moved out. What led to that being the best decision for the Earth? Were there people who stayed behind? There were whole nations migrating to the stars: where are they and what happens on board those ships? There is certainly a great deal of potential for stories on board the other countries. This is what this era does so well; creating a situation which an audience can believe goes on further than the confines of the episode. For the audience though, there is only ever one concern. The presence of the mechanicals in the booths brings to mind images of a carnival-esque funhouse with the sinister laughing policemen always watching but never able to get out. Only in Doctor Who, they can.

Thomas Spychalski: Vincent and the Doctor

I have always enjoyed those moments in Doctor Who lore where the good Doctor name drops some of the famous humans he has bumped into on his travels. Richard the Lionheart, Da Vinci, Houdini, Alexander the Great… the list could go on and on.

I was especially excited when I found out the Doctor and Amy Pond would be mingling with my favourite artist of all time, Vincent Van Gogh. Unlike a majority of the ‘confirmed’ historical celebrities the Doctor has met, the interactions between the two were not left up to the viewers’ imaginations. Instead, we see firsthand how the Doctor’s visit affected the painter’s life and also how Van Gogh himself makes a real impression upon both the Doctor and Amy.

Vincent and the Doctor shows us that no matter how small and foolish your passions and endeavours seem, you can never be sure of their value to others over the course of time. In that mindset is almost stands as a testament to the person sitting in a small hovel of a room somewhere with an empty belly and bottomed out bank account, writing the next great novel in perfect and terrible isolation.

Additionally it addresses the silent horrors of depression and mental illness and how even the greatest men and women in their respective fields might harbour something dark that stalks their psyche. Not many television shows, especially fiction based, focus on these aspects of some of our most beloved artists and it is a shame. When you show the glory instead of the toil people can begin to have a mindset that doing anything creative and becoming successful is easy and indeed more fun that what they are doing day to day. If we do paint artists in any medium in a negative light, we never stop to think if the madness is a by-product of the mind that could convince such beauty. That maybe it is the madness itself that inspired such original and ground breaking art.

Even the Doctor himself is perplexed to a degree by this affliction of the mind and seems also to get a reminder that even with all the knowledge at his disposal there are times when even his influence is not enough to save everyone.

When Amy finds that showing Van Gogh just how influential his work has become is not enough to save him from taking his own life, the Doctor’s speech gives some advice that should be remembered by everyone who has had times of hardship or loss:

“Every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things but vice versa the bad things don’t necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant.”

Sadly this episode in my opinion did not get as much credit as it should have done, not only for being a fine historical adventure but also for bringing forward important messages about the delicate balance between genius and madness. Something the Doctor himself embodies and exhibits with pride…

Jeremy Remy: Victory of the Daleks

I’ll admit, Victory of the Daleks is one of the weakest episodes of the 2010 season. Yet, Series 5 was arguably the strongest overall season of NuWho, and certainly Moffat’s most consistent season – Victory retains this quality of storytelling. Understandably, there is something disappointing about a re-emergence of the Daleks after yet another, final, certain and complete annihilation. The Dalek(s) who somehow survived the Time War became a tired trope in the Davies’ Years, which ensured they felt like less and less of a threat through their many appearances in the Tennant Era. By the time they reappear in Victory of the Daleks, it’s easy to see how fans could feel a bit oversaturated with the production team’s apparent Dalekmania.

However, Victory of the Daleks succeeds on several fronts. It eliminates the need to revisit the Time War survivor device by creating the New Dalek Paradigm, which also returns the Daleks to their xenophobically pure roots. It revitalizes the Daleks as an organized threat, providing a specific chain of command. Of course, there were early complaints—obviously forgetting Classic Who episodes like Planet of the Daleks or their Dr. Who and the Daleks cinematic inspirations—regarding the brightly coloured and larger Daleks. Yet, once they are seen in episodes like Asylum of the Daleks, the splashes of color reflecting higher ranking Daleks works really well alongside the sea of bronze drones. Not to mention the fact that, as the eyestalk was built to line up with 5’11” Karen Gillan’s gaze, rather than 5’5” Billy Piper’s, the New Paradigm Daleks are a much more foreboding sight than their colour-scheme may initially indicate. Further, Victory re-introduced the claustrophobic feel of Dalek architecture. In early years, the doors seen in The Daleks were clearly made to fit an alien species, not humanoid. Likewise, the Paradigm Ship feels unnatural for the Doctor to walk around, but eerily perfect for a Dalek.

Finally, Victory of the Daleks introduces a version of Churchill that remains loyal to novelized appearances, as in Players, while allowing for future encounters (as will soon arrive through Big Finish’s The Churchill Years). It also provides significant inspiration to fans—bringing about one of the best Dalek fan films to hit the internet (and a personal headcannon), Dalek Tales: The Dalek That Time Forgot. Created by Lee Adams, a.k.a. Timelash, TDTTF fills in some of the gaps Victory leaves to the imagination of the viewer, and ties together 50 years of Dalek history. Ultimately, while Victory of the Daleks isn’t my favorite 2010 episode, it should be recognized for serving to improve the Daleks and the Whoniverse, overall.

Richard Forbes: The Eleventh Hour

It’s always difficult to say what it means to be underrated; does it mean it was under-appreciated or wrongfully panned? The Eleventh Hour may not be a widely disliked episode but it’s not always the first episode that one thinks of when they talk of Series 5 or even the Matt Smith era – but perhaps it ought to be? Opening with a crash landing, The Eleventh Hour is a television event full of magic and fantasy – it introduces to the Doctor as a fairytale might.

With The Eleventh Hour, Doctor Who doesn’t simply just reintroduce the Doctor for new audiences; it’s totally reinvented itself: its look, its tone, feel and scope as well as its characters and in doing so it lays down the groundwork for the entire Moffat era here. An imminently brandable series, The Eleventh Hour launches the first of the series’ ‘memes’ like ‘Fish fingers and Custard’ – a cruel joke to play on unsuspecting American fans, unfamiliar with custard. I still remember gagging down said dish before The Day of the Doctor aired (amusingly my late grandpa gulped it down as if the Great Depression had returned, asking ‘is there any more?’).

The Eleventh Hour really isn’t a story first and foremost. The Prisoner Zero plot is a side story – the episode serves principally as a touchstone, an introduction to the world of Doctor Who and what viewers could expect from the new series under Steven Moffat as showrunner. It’s compelling, it’s dream-like – filled with a child’s enthusiasm and imagination, determined to make Whovians of every viewer with its wholesome humour and brazen cleverness.

Tony Jones: The Vampires of Venice

On the whole, I felt this series tried too hard and this story marked a change in pace that felt more comfortable. Instead of the continual focus on Amy and the Doctor, Rory was allowed to develop and take more of the action. The setting helps; for me there is something about Venice and the Doctor. Much as he is at home in London (or the English countryside, or the battlegrounds of World Wars I and II), Venice is a setting with a charisma of its own. With rare exceptions the Doctor has avoided Europe and stories like this help redress the balance. There are a lot of elements – tunnels, explosions, thunderstorms – and it might benefit from some turning down a notch, but it entertains. It also gives some insights into what the mystery crack might be about, even if they are at odds with later explanations.

The so-called vampires are also distinctive, oozing a dark seductive sexuality and help distract the viewer as the true plot unfolds. There is a lot going on with perception filters, weather control and even the shenanigans with the wedding of Amy and Rory don’t dominate too far and the TARDIS crew end in a good place. There are clunky moments (the creepy silence moment at the end, which doesn’t actually link The Silence when we learn about them) but I for one would be quite happy to have more stores set amongst the city’s canals. This episode has its flaws, but I believe it is better for them, concentrating on story-telling and entertainment.

Joe Siegler: Victory of the Daleks

I know this story takes an awful lot of grief (mostly over the new Daleks), but I didn’t have a problem with that. I never really figured the old Daleks would be gone forever, and I was looking forward to seeing what the different colours meant. They were all designed to be something else, and I thought it could have been a plot point that worked going forwards. However, too many fans grabbed their pitchforks, and while we have seen the new Daleks since then, it mostly has been in the background, and they didn’t factor into anything.

However, in THIS story, I got a big kick out of the Dalek pretending to be nice. “Would you like some tea?” was a line I never thought I’d hear a Dalek say, and I had to laugh when I first heard it. However, of course, the Daleks are merely pretending, and biding their time.

I particularly enjoyed the Doctor being friends with Winston Churchill, and the performance by Ian MacNiece I liked. I’ve seen him in a few other things (a favourite was the Lenny Henry sitcom Chef!), but I thought he worked well here. The robot scientist part I didn’t care much for, especially the way they defused the bomb in him. But that’s a nitpick; I’ve liked far worse plot points in other stories over the years.

And of course, this American was introduced to Jammy Dodgers in this story!

James Lomond: The Lodger

This was partly a process of exclusion as there’s too much plaguing other stories that makes me feel they deserve any quibbles that target them (Amy’s Choice, for example – conceptual panto villain and MORE trouble in Pond Paradise: bored).

But The Lodger won me over because it managed to break new ground (the Doctor playing football?!), and didn’t overdo the alien-in-a-domestic-setting but did have the most lyrical and intimate story tied in with a very sci-fi plot. Just like The Doctor Dances (nanogene recognition of hereditary position and family dynamics). I approve!

James Cordon ably ticked the everyman box and hit his mark with the bewilderment then jealousy of the Doctor. Matt Smith went to town but, to my mind, didn’t overdo the wackiness which was always the biggest risk in a story like this. Then we have the very DW mystery upstairs with a ship (an alien TARDIS, no less) doing its best to trick passers-by into being its pilot. Turning the usual virtue of a companion hankering after the universe on its head, Craig saves the day by wanting to STAY and loving both his home and his flatmate. I thought that was fantastic – giving the less adventurous among the audience a bit of glory for once!

Then we have the non-technological technology of Lammasteen which immediately improved EVERY piece of modern art in the WORLD by making it simultaneously a super-cool alien device. Bravo.

In fact, the only thing wrong with The Lodger is that we never really find out much more about the mischievous TARDIS upstairs other than that it belongs to the Silence. Here’s hoping if they ever return we get to find out where/ when it came from.

…Oh no the other thing wrong with The Lodger is that it paved the way for Closing Time. But that’s not really this ep’s fault.

Alasdair Shaw: Amy’s Choice

Yes, I know I covered Amy’s Choice last time, but there’s a whole plot thread that tends to slip under the radar that needs covered.

This could be the Valeyard’s origin.

Think about it. When we first met the Valeyard we were told he fell between the Doctor’s twelfth and final incarnations, then the Dream Lord pops up during the Eleventh’s run. Except once you factor in the War Doctor and the Tenth’s double tenure, the Dream Lord actually turns up during the thirteenth incarnation, which is technically between his twelfth and last.

That and the antagonistic nature of the Doctor and Dream Lord’s relationship is pretty reminiscent of the Sixth and the Valeyard’s.

But what really sells it for me is the way the Dream Lord teleportation round the artifical landscapes. Seriously, watch the Valeyard jump around the artificial backdrop of the Matrix. It’s so similar that I refuse to believe it’s accidental.

The Valeyard’s name check in The Name of the Doctor also confirmed his place as still canon within NuWho. Suddenly, Amy’s Choice seems like foreshadowing on a grand scale.

The Dream Lord is the Valeyard, whether you like it or not.

Josh Maxton: Victory of the Daleks

In episodes where a big villain is involved, it’s often very hard for everyone to cheer as the credits roll – such is the case with Victory of the Daleks. To some, this episode was a poorly written mess that had good ideas but was executed terribly. Many give this episode a low ranking because of the introduction of the multi-colour Paradigm Daleks. Others think that Matt Smith acts too much like his predecessor in the serial. This episode really has some gold though (outside of the gold colours on some of the Daleks) that some people miss.

First off, the episode concept really is a great idea for a second adventure for Amy Pond. What better thing to do after you’ve ran away with a madman and saved Starship UK in your nightdress than to meet Winston Churchill? Although no one can ever portray a historical character one-hundred percent accurately, Ian McNeice didn’t do half of a bad job getting the Prime Minister unto the small screens.

Once the Doctor and Amy arrive during the London Blitz, Winston takes them up to the roof to show the Doctor their new secret weapon to use against the Nazis. After greeting Bracewell, the Doctor and Amy look over war-torn London. A bomb drops nearby, and the Doctor and Amy watch, slightly shocked. This whole scene is truly golden because as they continue staring out on the city, you can see their sadness, and their utter respect for Churchill and the others who fought and died – who saved the world in a way the Doctor never could. The dialogue here is magnificent.

And then we have the big reveal: the Ironsides. Smith’s acting here is also excellent.

As the episode progresses, we get some great dialogue between the Doctor and Churchill. The Prime Minister weeps for his empire, and feels desperate. The Doctor reminds him that he doesn’t need the Ironsides because he is a “beacon of hope” (as he says).

Later on, the Doctor makes his way to the Dalek ship and is told that a new race of Daleks is about to be born. Back on Earth, Churchill and Amy Pond come up with a scheme, but it’s one they need Professor Bracewell for. And here, Winston crops up: “What you are, sir, is either on our side or theirs. Now, I don’t give a damn if you’re a machine, Bracewell. Are you a man?”

Phew. Good words by Churchill.

Back on board the Dalek ship, the evolution of the Daleks has reached a new level. The Paradigm Daleks have arrived. Plenty of people don’t like these Daleks because they’re colourful. The fans’ reaction was so strong that Steven Moffat and co. decided to make these Daleks solely the highest-ranking (generals, lead scientists, or the Supreme). I think they would’ve worked if they had stayed in their originally intended place in Who canon (a replacement of the bronze/gold model Daleks). We’re talking about writers that make the simplest things into scary monsters. Plus, the classic series Daleks were typically colorful too. So, why can’t we have some colours in our Daleks today?  The new Daleks were bigger and had deeper voices – scarier than the bronze Daleks.

Asylum of the Daleks is easily Matt’s best Dalek story, but Victory is by no means as bad as some say it is. There are plenty of brief moments, as well as longer ones, that make it shine.

Philip Bates: The Time of Angels/ Flesh and Stone

The problem with Series 5 is that it’s almost too good. The Eleventh Hour, Vincent and the Doctor, The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang: these are the episodes that stand as obvious highlights in a run that is actually full of highlights. They somewhat overshadow the best series of NuWho.

So yes, an underrated series. I could’ve very easily gone for The Beast Below, an episode that was an immediate breath of fresh air, full of incredible imagery, and even better (often heart-breaking) ideas. It alludes to The Ark and The Ark in Space, but feels like a lost Seventh Doctor story too. Or what about The Vampires of Venice, a stunning tale with uniquely haunting music, gorgeous design, direction, and lighting, and always captivating performances? And let’s not forget Amy’s Choice, with Toby Jones adding to the already-strong wealth of actors to run around that TARDIS. I stand by the fact that the episode has some of the best dialogue to ever grace Doctor Who.

But instead, I’ve gone for the first two-parter of the Eleventh Doctor era, unfairly overlooked because it’s a sort-of sequel to Blink. You know what? The Time of Angels/ Flesh and Stone is better than Blink.

Steven Moffat adds extra nuances to the Weeping Angels: this bunch aren’t the race that kills you nicely. They’re vicious and cut-throat – literally – and seemingly unstoppable. It raises questions about whether the Angels have sects or a similar division in their species, perhaps agendas separated by time: this lot are desperate; Blink‘s were almost merciful; and The Angels Take Manhattan clan were systematic killers.

I love the Angels. Their potential is limitless. The exploration of their images, and that reveal – that the Maze of the Dead is actually full of them – is glorious.

And we have Iain Glenn too, providing one of the best guest performances in Doctor Who. Father Octavian’s death is wonderfully sad, as he tells the Doctor he is, in fact, at peace.

But what really makes this serial stand out, as ever, are Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and Alex Kingston.

Wow. This was the first story Matt and Karen filmed, and already they’re the Doctor and Amy Pond. 100%. I don’t think any other team have completely grasped the dynamic and Who They Are from the off quite like these two. Having Alex reprise her role as the enigmatic and compelling River Song just adds to this. Honestly, they cannot be underestimated – neither can Arthur Darvill, who really joins the TARDIS in the following episode.

Oh, the glory days. The truth is, I love Series 5, completely. The Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond, and Rory Williams in the TARDIS, with River Song in tow. Just as it should be.

That’s what we think. Now it’s your turn! Vote below for the most underrated serial of Series 5, and we’ll find out the overall winner later this year…

Take Our Poll

The post NuWho 10th Anniversary: What Is Series 5’s Most Underrated Story? appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

▶ Steven Moffat & Brian Minchin on Getting into TV

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 BBC has been releasing some really interesting interviews with a couple of core members of the creative team: showrunner, Steven Moffat and Executive Producer, Brian Minchin. In this latest chat with the pair, they’re asked how to get into television.

It’s a discussion many of us will be intrigued by – after all, Doctor Who has given many of us, myself included, an ambition to work in film and TV.

Moffat sums this up simply:

“The art of writing is to write sentences that make people want to read the next sentence! There is not a lot else to it. There really isn’t. If you can do that, you’ll never starve.”

Moffat praises former-Doctor Who showrunner, Russell T Davies, and Minchin heaps further compliments on the entire Roath Lock team, the BBC Drama Village in Cardiff, South Wales where on-set work is filmed for the show. It’s actually right by the Doctor Who Experience, which is ideal for those supremely enjoyable TARDIS tours!

Brian adds:

“It’s not about aiming for a particular position; it’s about working out what you want to make, what type of thing you really love, and trying to get as good as you possibly can at that. And then, if you’re lucky, and things go right, then you might end up having the opportunity to do that.”

Minchin’s had a very interesting path to Who, having script edited Torchwood, and acted as producer on The Sarah Jane Adventures, as well as having written audio, comic, and novel adventures for the Whoniverse.

What will you take from this expert advice? Personally, I think just ploughing ahead, determinedly, is the way to go.

The post ▶ Steven Moffat & Brian Minchin on Getting into TV appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Out Now: Titan Comics’ UK Doctor Who #7

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 latest installment of Titan Comics’ UK anthology series is out today – and this issue is a 100-page bumper special!

The Doctor Who Comic UK #07 stars Doctors Ten, Eleven, and Twelve in three separate adventures. Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor is back on Earth in the second part of The Fractures:

When the Doctor returned Clara to Earth, she expected a brief respite from adventure. Instead, a crack has formed in the Void between universes – and trouble is spilling out. 

In our world, UNIT scientist Paul Foster was killed in a car crash, while his family survived – in his, it was his wife and daughters that perished. Now, this alternate Paul Foster has made the leap through the Void to reunite with his family. But he doesn’t belong in this dimension, and a menacing group of body-hopping entities known as the Fractures are hunting Foster to stop reality from rupturing!

Can the Doctor save the universe AND bring a family back together – or will sacrifices have to be made?

Meanwhile, the Tenth Doctor and Gabby Gonzalez are battling Weeping Angels – during the First World War!

The Doctor and Gabby are trapped in the chaos of World War One, where trench foot is the least of their worries. With the TARDIS seemingly scattered across No Man’s Land and the Sonic Screwdriver in the hands of the military, the Doctor and Gabby must now convince the skeptical Captain Fairbairn that they are not spies – or face the firing squad! Far from the trip to paradise Gabby was hoping for, they’re stuck in a desolate wasteland where even the statues are deadly. Can the Time Lord’s new companion make it out alive?

In our review of the original American release of this comic, we were more than pleased with The Weeping Angels of Mons:

“It’s engaging and exciting. It makes you think while moving those statues on, figuratively speaking.

“Actually, you can see it as a TV episode. More than that – I’d love to see this on the idiot’s lantern!”

And we get a double-dose of the Eleventh Doctor, Alice Obiefune, Jones, and ARC, as this comic collects together The Eternal Dogfight and The Infinite Astronaut:

Alice, Jones and ARC have joined the Doctor aboard the TARDIS. During a time-twisting adventure where the flow of time reversed inside the vortex, the Doctor succeeded in preventing Jones’ death and the destruction of an entire planet.

Now Alice must return to London and confront the challenges of everyday life. With her landlord in the process of evicting her, and as she mourns the loss of her mother, the last thing she needs is to face a sky full of alien fighter pilots. But travels with the Doctor never do turn out quite as you’d expect…

In our review of the initial Eternal Dogfight story, we were particularly impressed with how the Eleventh Doctor is portrayed:

“Writer Rob Williams’ strongest area, for me, is his dialogue. I can often hear Matt Smith’s voice in the Doctor’s word balloons, which probably isn’t as easy to achieve as it seems. Williams also wrote an inspired sequence in this issue involving the Doctor and Co. jet-packing their way around the Amstrons’ spaceship. It’s kind of like The Rocketeer in space.”

What’s more, the UK iteration of the comic offers you the chance to win one of fourteen sets of three Wave 4 Doctor Who Figures!

Doctor Who Comic UK #7 is out now, priced £4.99, and available from most newsagents and supermarkets.

The post Out Now: Titan Comics’ UK Doctor Who #7 appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Second Doctor Who Series 9 Trailer Breakdown

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.

The BBC harketh thy calls for more trailers and the BBC delivereth. You’ve seen the new trailer and now you’ve come for the trailer breakdown.

Eating my dinner and watching this trailer for the first time proved to be a real challenge – never mind the food slopped across my lap: food, it was always going to end like this. This second Doctor Who Series 9 trailer followed the first trailer with the same engrossing, strikingly cinematic look; the trailer’s appearance is often dark, moody but it impresses along the way with a majesty, an awe-inspiring look that should make any good Whovian take a step back, breathe deeply and watch the trailer once more for another glimpse to look for clues, hints, whatever we can discover about the upcoming series.

If you haven’t yet watched the trailer, there’s no sense in reading a breakdown first, so watch it for yourself! It’s spectacular! Book a day off, put your feet up, relax and place this baby on ‘repeat’:

We begin with a few reused shots of the TARDIS interior; the Doctor appears, dashing to the console. Over this: ‘Sorry I’m late!’ (An aside: Who is he talking to? The TARDIS?).

He’s wearing that snazzy new red velvet coat which we know from various spoilers makes an appearance in Sarah Dollard’s Episode 10, although other parts of this trailer have me wondering whether maybe the (already quite popular) coat might be appearing elsewhere in the series, like Mark Gatiss’ Episode 9, such that it could be impossible to place this scene.

0:07

Clara looks onward with Game of Thones‘ Maisie Williams’ character. Clara looks rather enthusiastically, whereas Maisie looks far less enthused. I suspect Clara is consoling her that the Doctor has a plan to save her. They’re both wearing very simple tunics, likely from The Girl Who Died, Series 8’s Viking themed episode.

Over this Clara speaks: ‘He hasn’t got a plan yet. But he will have. And it’ll be spectacular.’

0:09

Stomp, stomp! Here come the series’ new baddies – likely from The Girl Who Died again – they appear later on this breakdown to act as guards. They‘re very lumbering characters, well armoured and interestingly enough, one armed. Not so sure what’s up with their face mask with the portions indented in. The appearance of these monsters however is very impressive – my first impression was ‘is that a costume or wholly controlled!?’

0:09

As the Doctor and Clara back away in terror, a Viking watches on in the background.

0:10

The monster holds up its right arm, pointing what looks like a flamethrower perhaps-?

0:11

The Doctor stands in wonderment, looking deep into a corridor or some kind of alleyway; the background is hard to pin down, non-descript even. The background almost looks like it is alive, moving, bit cavernous – it’s gold and very bright with backlighting. I believe he’s wearing his red velvet coat once more – take from that what you will.

0:15

Here be dragons! A green serpant-like dragon moseys its way into a loft, presumably unannounced. To the left is a shield with a Celtic triquetra on it, to the right, a five-fold; the former symbolises the holy trinity while the latter symbolises the balance of the four elements (Fire, Earth, Air, Water). There are lots of dragons in Norse mythology like Jörmungandr, a sea serpent at war with Thor, and Níðhöggr, a kind of punisher of evil – I’m no expert on Norse mythology (yet) but with the looks of this scene, I might have to brush up on it before Doctor Who Series 9 begins…

0:16

Hands appear from the muddy ground, as those hands twist their palms in view, we see: an eye on the palm of a hand! Earlier when I had seen these hands in the first trailer, I suggested from the look of the foggy, muddy plains that this scene might be from the season premiere – to add to that, I found the greenish skin and that bright, oddly familiar green eye, reminded me of a Dalek. This, to me, begs the question: what if this is how the Daleks are born? The Daleks are supposed to be mutations. What if this is what the first of the mutations looked like!?

0:16

Whoo! Rigsy’s back! Rigsy (Joivan Wade) first appeared in Doctor Who last season in Flatline. This looks like a scene shot for Episode 10. He’s horrified at something…

0:18

An angry Zygon – and beside him? A UNIT guard looking oddly composed. Presumably this scene is from Peter Harness’ Zygon two-parter.

0:18

Also from Harness’ two-parter, Clara calmly assembles a rocket launcher.

0:19

Maisie Williams’ character turns, looking concerned. Her outfit and hair has changed; she’s now wearing a red dress and stands beside a carriage with an odd-looking creature. The creature in question reminds me of New Earth’s catkind, but more lion-like with bronze skin and a strong headpiece. This may be the odd ‘yeti-like’ creature I noted, backlit, in the first trailer – at the time I attributed it to Episode 6, The Woman Who Lived simply based on some wood paneling in the background (yes that sounds utterly ridiculous when you read that out loud). Given the change in attire and time periods, I’m inclined to say that my earlier prediction was right and that this scene is also for The Woman Who Lived (but perhaps the wood paneling will let me down in the end).

0:21

A stunning sequence, panning across what many have speculated is Skaro’s Dalek City. Rising from the ground, looks to me, like thousands upon thousands of Daleks.

0:22

Enter a bizarre (and unidentified) laboratory of sorts. There’s a screen to your left, center is some sort of holding tube and to the right is indiscernible. I have to admit, looking closer at that golden ‘tank’ in the far back on the right, it does remind me of the same texture we saw earlier behind the Doctor when he looked out towards a corridor with a gold background behind him. The arches in the interior is gothic but the equipment looks cartoonish; a bit Loony Tunes-ish – I’m reminded of Pinky and the Brain.

Or is it a TARDIS?

0:23

Water comes rushing from a dam breaking (I believe). The boxes to the right, on the ground, may be ammunition tins which suggests an army base. An educated guess leaves me thinking this scene could be our first glimpse at the rumoured Fisher King from the Toby Whithouse two-parter. Whoever it is, they have arms spiked like lobsters and no left hand; they’re also wearing a cape of seaweed.

0:25

From either The Magician’s Apprentice / The Witch’s Familiar (according to Clara’s outfit and hair), Clara points at Missy (or someone wearing a purplish coat with padded shoulders) with what looks like a wooden, honest-to-god wand. This is virtually the first sign so far that we’ve been given that suggests magic might play a role in the season premiere, despite the names of the episode. It’s such a game-changer of scene in fact, I’m now confused as to how wand magic gels with an episode full of Daleks, Skaro and technical wonders. Huh?

0:26

Missy, tilted slightly, in a cave (?). She gives a brief ‘Hello!’

0:27

An unidentified creature sweeps its arm and slaps the Doctor across the face. The Doctor, seen here in that red velvet coat once again, is caught by surprise. The hand looks earthy; covered in mud and roots, perhaps.

0:29

The money shot! The TARDIS and Clara caught in the middle of a Dalek knitting club in what looks like 1960s Dalek City, Skaro. Some sort of death ray is attached to the roof, pointed towards the TARDIS. Presumably this scene is once again from the season premiere.

Our news team as analyzed this shot with a fine comb, spotting a number of different Daleks from the ages. Kasterborous’ Joe Siegler has identified the Emperor’s Supreme Guard from The Evil of the Daleks, the Special Weapons Dalek, Dalek Sec and others.

0:31

A ghoulish figure walks down a tight corridor, as that scene continues his hands appear to be gloved and oddly deformed – reminds me of Danny DeVito’s Penguin.

0:32

A ghostly apparition of a man with no eyeballs in a tophat rises; he stands in a watery underground base. From the last trailer, we deduced that he’s likely a character from the Toby Whithouse two-parter.

0:33

Another glimpse of a mysterious character, last scene in the first trailer, hanging around with the Sisterhood of Karn. Some have suggested that he might be a young Davros, others have suggested he might be another incarnation of the Master. I’m sure others think he could be the Rani too.

0:33

A Norse god-like character stands, his fist clenching something. Beside him are two of those familiar guards. It looks like they’re standing in some kind of steampunk spaceship interior.

Then we are greeted to a quick series of shots of the Doctor riding a horse intensely which looks to be from The Woman Who Lived; I suggest that solely because of the hoodie and the dark (as opposed to light) shirt, plus a horse is a conventional mode of a travel for the old England that The Woman Who Lived –seems— to be set in.

0:36

A frontal view of that nasty looking creature from earlier that was standing in front of the flooding dam. Again, my guess would be that this is the Fisher King, or otherwise, another pivotal character from the Toby Whithouse two-parter.

Over this, the Doctor says ‘here, now, this is where your story ends.’

0:38

A barrel explodes! A castle in the background. The Doctor stands with Maisie Williams’ character – the period, plus Maisie’s red dress and the Doctor’s dark shirt, suggests this busy scene is from The Woman Who Lived. Maisie looks around, panicked.

0:40

Osgood, back from the dead, runs towards a police office – chased after by Zygons through the dust rolling past. The police office looks distressed as though the area has been attacked.

0:42

We then see another shot of the Doctor playing guitar with his cool shades, before a shot of Missy cackling in the face of a Dalek, pinned against a cavernous wall. Then we see another shot of the Doctor and Clara running through the watery army base of Toby Whithouse’s two partner being chased by an eyeless man once more.

0:43

The lion-like creature from earlier breathes fire at a crowd.

0:43

The Doctor, red-velet coat and all, turns away from the monster we saw earlier wearing robes with penguin hands. He dives through a window – the curtains are elegant with fleur de lis on them. Because of the serious change of time here between the period curtains and the urban landscape we saw Rigsby in, I do wonder if this scene might be from Gatiss’ Episode 9, not Episode 10. This would mean: (1) the Doctor wears his red velvet coat in Gatiss’ episode, (2) parts of Episode 9 were filmed early enough to make it into this trailer. I certainly don’t know if either of those points are true, however.

0:46

Another great shot of Daleks in what looks like the Dalek City. The Doctor speaks to them and Clara turns to him with a smile forming. Note the Doctor’s got his sunglasses in this scene.

The Dalek leader, sensing another epic defeat, asks ‘What is happening?’ to which the Doctor replies, ‘Same old, same old.’

0:46

The Doctor puts his arms up before entering a plane, channeling his inner Nixon; UNIT guards standing around. Now, do your best ‘VICTORY!’ with a growl and follow it with an indiscernible burr.

0:50

Clara embraces the Doctor. How sweet. I’m guessing this is from, perhaps, the closing moments of The Woman Who Lived (again due to the Doctor’s shirt) – is Clara then, the Woman Who Lived?

This cozy final moment, underscored with the line, ‘Just the Doctor and Clara Oswald in the TARDIS,’ gives us a glimpse of what Series 9 might hold for Clara and the Doctor. This trailer, especially, suggests Doctor Who Series 9 could be their golden years – a ride full of adventure and fun between the best of friends enjoying the universe, all of time and space, together in the TARDIS.

The post Second Doctor Who Series 9 Trailer Breakdown appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Discussed: Doctor Who Series 9 Rumours, David Tennant & RTD in Cardiff

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.

Christian Cawley, James McLean and Brian A Terranova head to the news well for this week’s podKast, in which they cover everything from crazy rumours to odd casting and ask questions of Big Finish’s classic/nuWho mashups.

On top of that, we have completely innocent speculation about the Private Eye rumours and the presence of David Tennant and Russell T Davies in Cardiff as well as all of the usual recommendations, pulled from our team like a dentist with pliers.

Kasterborous PodKast Series 5 Episode 27 Shownotes

PodKast: Female Doctor Who
PodKast: Fan Ownership
Ant-Man
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Lily Arwell cast in The Churchill Years
Big Finish NuWho mashups announcements
Tennant and RTD in Cardiff
Lack of Doctor Who episodes in 2016?
Reece Shearsmith in Doctor Who Series 9
Flash Gordon sequel
Doctor Who Series 9 Paul McGann rumour
Custard creams: the Doctor’s new nemesis?
Recommendations: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , The Dæmons , Ripper Street Series 3 Episode 2, Whitechapel Series 2, Peter Serafinowicz, The Chronicles Of Riddick (2 Disc Directors Cut)
The Model Unit – Ten Years

The podKast theme tune is by Russell Hugo. It’s good, isn’t it?

Listen to the PodKast

There are several ways to listen. In addition to the usual player above, we’re pleased to announce that you can also stream the podKast using Stitcher, an award-winning, free mobile app available for Android and iPhone/iPad. This pretty much means that you can listen to us anywhere without downloading – pretty neat, we think you’ll agree! (Note that it can take a few hours after a new podKast is published to “catch up”.)

Stitcher

Audioboom

What’s more, you can now listen and subscribe to the podKast via our Audioboom channel (formerly Audioboo)! Head to https://audioboom.com/channel/doctorwhopodkast and click play to start listening. You can also comment and record your own boos in response to our discussions! Meanwhile you can use the player below to listen through Audioboom:

You haven’t clicked play yet?! What are you waiting for? As well as our new Stitcher and Audioboo presence you can also use one of these amazingly convenient ways to download and enjoy this week’s podKast.

Use the player in the top right of the Kasterborous home page, or visit the podKast menu link.
Listen with the “pop out” player above, which also allows you to download the podKast to your computer.
You can also take advantage of the RSS feed to subscribe to the podKast for your media player, and even find us on iTunes, where your reviews will help the show considerably.

The post Discussed: Doctor Who Series 9 Rumours, David Tennant & RTD in Cardiff appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Doctor Who Series 9 Trailer #2 Gallery

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.

Thanks to the BBC we can give you this superb gallery of key images from the new Doctor Who Series 9 gallery. We’ll be bringing you a full breakdown of the trailer later, but for now, here’s the gallery, via our Facebook page.

Doctor Who Series 9 Trailer #2 Gallery!

Posted by Kasterborous Doctor Who News on Windsday, Arrrrgust 12, 2015

As if you needed reminding, Doctor Who Series 9 kicks off on September 19th on BBC One and BBC America.

The post Doctor Who Series 9 Trailer #2 Gallery appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Doctor Who Series 9 Trailer #2 Released – It’s a Stormer!

Christian Cawley is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

This evening the BBC released – as promised – the second full Doctor Who Series 9 trailer! If you missed it somehow, you can click play above to enjoy it.

The next series of Doctor Who is just a few weeks away, and we fully expect an avalance of press coverage in the days to come. We hope you’re ready too, because September 19th will come very quickly.

Whaddya think?

The post Doctor Who Series 9 Trailer #2 Released – It’s a Stormer! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.