Christian Cawley's Blog, page 86

Doctor Who Comics Day: Win Doctor Who Prizes & A FREE Advert For Your Local Comic Store!

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 Doctor Who Comics Day, Saturday August 15, you can win Doctor Who prizes for you and a FREE advert for your local comic store thanks to Titan Comics.

All you need to do to be in with the chance of winning a bag full of Doctor Who comics, including rare collectible covers, signed items and Doctor Who merchandise, including SDCC items, is send Titan a picture of yourself holding up a copy of Doctor Who: Four Doctors #1 outside your local comic store on Doctor Who Comics Day – Saturday August 15.

The winner will also win a FREE advert for their local comic store to run in a later issue of Doctor Who comics. Photos must include branding of their local comic store.

Entries can be submitted via Twitter and must include the Titan Comics Twitter handle @ComicsTitan or Doctor Who Comics Day handle @DW_ComicsDay. One winner and their local store will be picked after the submission deadline: Midnight EDT, Saturday August 15.

Remember to follow those accounts on Twitter as the winner will be contacted directly via Twitter.

The post Doctor Who Comics Day: Win Doctor Who Prizes & A FREE Advert For Your Local Comic Store! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Ending Today on eBay: A Doctor Who BMW!

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.

As unusual fan art goes, this takes some beating: a BMW 323i coupe with airbrushed Doctor Who artwork of the Eleventh Doctor and Clara on the bonnet!

eBayer bikermark2011 is “reluctantly” giving up the car – with almost 129,000 miles – and has listed it with a starting bid of £450, which still stands. With the auction closing at 3.19pm UK time, there’s an opportunity for a Doctor Who fan to get themselves a bit of a bargain!

The car is 20 years old and is MOTd until January 2016. You can place your bid on the car’s eBay listing page.

The post Ending Today on eBay: A Doctor Who BMW! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Titan’s The Eleventh Doctor #8 Reviewed!

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

Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor #8 finds the Doctor and his ragtag collection of a Time Team (shape-changing humanoid Jones, liquidy alien intelligence ARC, and down-in-the-dumps human Alice) caught up in a continuation of events from the previous issue.

And, just as I singled out Rob Williams’ writing last issue, Al Ewing takes over on scripting duties for this story. Ewing was the co-writer of issue #1, among others, and the transition is pretty seamless. Warren Pleece continues as the artist, as does Hi-Fi on colors.

Issue #8 goes by the very Moffatian title of The Infinite Astronaut and sees the return of the warring alien races from issue #7, the Amstrons and the J’arrodic Federation. Or, as I like to refer to them, the fish bowls and the big birds.

This issue (slight spoiler if you haven’t read #7!) also sees the return of Alice’s dead mother… who apparently isn’t so dead. But we, the readers – and the Doctor as well – know that there is much more to her return than it seems. Is she an alien? Is she a shape-changer like Jones? Is she some sort of Time Lord in disguise? I know one thing: Alice cannot keep going in her role as The Most Depressing Companion Ever. Eventually, she has to change and start enjoying her adventures with the Doctor… or does she?!

The story also finds the other companions, Jones and ARC, in sad shape. Jones is suffering from acute stomach pains, apparently a mysterious reaction to the tense situation between the warring aliens. And poor ARC seems to be so afraid of it all that he is stuck as a basketball-sized sphere.

The Infinite Astronaut mainly deals with Alice and Jones having to act as astronauts and fly a spaceship into another dimension, with the fate of the Earth – and the Amstron-J’arrodic war – hanging in the balance. We finally get some background information on the eons-long war, which lightly touches on themes of religion and space-race-style exploration. And, of course, the Doctor tries to save the day by keeping everyone above board.

It’ll be interesting to see where the Eleventh Doctor adventures go after this issue. I was slightly let down by the artwork this time around, and had to re-read a page or two because I almost missed a large twist in the story. Overall, though, The Infinite Astronaut was an entertaining, if not extremely memorable, issue that a person could almost imagine being an episode of the TV series. Almost. Darn birds.

The post Titan’s The Eleventh Doctor #8 Reviewed! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Tales from the Red Planet: Welcome to Mars

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

At first glance it could have been mistaken for an especially bright star. It wasn’t until the sentry’s scanner lingered slightly longer than it should have that the object’s true nature was revealed – an unknown spacecraft carrying uninvited, and possibly unwelcome, guests.

The sentry smiled to himself. He had presumed this was going to be a day exactly like every other; long, uneventful and spent surrounded by more miles than he cared to count of red desert sands. He waited a few moments more, until his scanner was able to determine a like landing site, and then gathered his equipment and set out to meet the craft.

His journey across the barren landscape of his home world was hampered by a minor sandstorm. He took solace, however, in the fact that his guest’s arrival would also be hampered, probably more so, by the same storm, and used the additional time to martial his thoughts.

A reprimand from his Superior Officer for not signalling for reinforcements was almost certain. But five hundred and forty two days alone in his single roomed barracks had left the sentry eager to explore.

When the lost star finally found its way through the unexpected sandstorm, its passengers found the sentry waiting for them at the landing site. His head was bowed and his muscular frame seemed improbably frozen in the midst of the red sands. He looked up only once the hanger doors were fully opened to reveal his unexpected guests and only once they were in earshot did he issue three words in greeting.

“Welcome to Marssssss.”

The post Tales from the Red Planet: Welcome to Mars appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Michael Gambon Unhappy with Kazran Sardick Performance

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.

In what I can only call a moment of madness, Michael Gambon has said he wasn’t very good as Kazran Sardick.

The Fortitude actor appeared in the 2010 festive special, A Christmas Carol, playing a Scrooge-like miser whose life the Doctor changes. But speaking at the London Film and Comic Con this previous weekend, he admitted that he wasn’t happy with how he’d portrayed Kazran. Naturally, and quite rightly, the crowd kicked off, to which he replied:

“No, I wasn’t very good! I tried hard, but I couldn’t quite get it.”

This might mean that he hadn’t fully grasped the timey-wimey element to the story, but he nonetheless said it was still “good fun.” And what did he think of our leading man, the brilliant Eleventh Doctor?

“Oh, [Matt Smith]’s a great bloke, isn’t he? I loved him. And who was that beautiful girl in it? Katherine Jenkins.”

He went on to joke: “Ooooh, Katherine Jenkins – I tried it on with her. No, too old. No hair.”

This comes as quite a surprise to me: I firmly believe, alongside many other people, I’m sure, that A Christmas Carol is the best Christmas special we’ve ever had. Gambon played a key part in that. He gave a stunning performance, as did, it must be said, everyone involved.

It’s been recently announced that Danny Horn will return to that same role for Big Finish’s Doctor Who: The Churchill Years: most likely, the Doctor takes Sardick back to meet the famous Prime Minister during A Christmas Carol.

Gambon also stated that he hasn’t been invited back to the Harry Potter franchise for either the spin-off film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (for which Matt Smith’s name was mooted in the lead role, but which has since gone to Eddie Redmayne, riding high on the success of the excellent The Theory of Everything movie), nor the stage play, The Cursed Child. Daniel Radcliffe hasn’t been invited back as Potter either – not that that should come as any surprise. JK Rowling said Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows would be the last novel to feature the character, and I think that’s just.

So what did you think of A Christmas Carol? And of Gambon’s performance?

The post Michael Gambon Unhappy with Kazran Sardick Performance appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Fan Fiktion Arrives At Kasterborous!

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 is a subject we’ve been toying with ever since Kasterborous first climbed out of the deranged minds of its creators: should we include regular fan fiction or not?

Ten years’ later, the decision has finally been made (Time Leech comic strip notwithstanding!) and so we called upon our regular contributors to help us out with the first phase of stories. These are ultra-short tales (as such known as flash fiction – flash, not slash) and will appear daily until Friday so that we can gauge interest. Here’s how we announced this to our team:

Hey everyone. It’s time to announce the Doctor Who flash fiKtion water-testing initiative.

The rules are very simple:

250 words long
Does not feature the Doctor or companions (peripheral presence is okay)
Is set on or around Mars

The aim is to run these stories in a single week, Monday to Friday, which is why we want FIVE. 

How you do this is your choice. Immediately inspired? Whisk off 250 words and send them over to me via email, or submit in WordPress. If you’re a little hesitant, then drop me a line with a one-line pitch and we’ll go from there.

So, basically, the fiction is now open. There’s one final thing to now: the mission statement, if you will.

“Well-written, compelling short stories from the Whoniverse.”

Go write

Big Finish Reveals Details of Theatre of War New Adventures Adaptation

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.

Later this year, a special treat involving the Seventh Doctor will arrive!

As announced before, Big Finish is continuing their range of fantastic adaptions of the Virgin New Adventures. More recently, however, the full cast has been revealed!

Coming up in December, Theatre of War (written by Justin Richards, published in 1994) will get the special treatment of audio adaption.

With Justin Richards himself adapting the audio play from his original novel, Theatre of War features the TARDIS crew land on the planet Menaxus, where a dangerously real adaption of a Shakespearean tragedy is playing out. The Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy), Ace (Sophie Aldred), and Bernice Summerfield (AKA “Benny”) (voiced by Lisa Bowerman) are put right in the middle of danger itself.

Although the audio drama will serve as the introduction for the mischievous character Irving Braxiatel (voiced by Miles Richardson), it is not Richardson’s (or Braxiatel’s) first appearance in the audio dramas. Producer Cavan Scott addresses this:

“Theatre of War is a book that would prove incredibly important for Big Finish. Justin’s novel introduced the character of Irvin Braxiatel, who, played by Miles Richardson, would go on to be a major player in both the Bernice Summerfield adventures and Gallifrey. It only seemed right to invite Miles to return for Benny’s first meeting with the great man. Of course, in typically timey-wimey style, it’s not the first time that he has met her. Then, there is Brax’s long rumoured history with the Doctor to deal with…”

Director Scott Handcock adds to this, saying:

“…it’s a joy to go right back to the beginning and establish his (Richardson’s) most notorious character! Miles knows Brax inside-out, has a fantastic dynamic with Lisa, and is simply a joy to work with. So if you’ve never heard any Braxiatel before, watch out! You won’t know what’s hit you!”

The Big Finish audio adaption of Justin Richard’s Theatre of War will be released this December, but is available for pre-order. The original Theatre of War novel is available on Amazon.

So, what do you think about Who novels being adapted into Big Finish audios? Will you be listening when Theatre of War drops? What about Who novels being adapted into TV episodes? Tell us in the comments.

The post Big Finish Reveals Details of Theatre of War New Adventures Adaptation appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Peter Capaldi Bumps Into Sean Pertwee & David Bradley at Comic Con! [NEWSBLAST]

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.

San Diego Comic-Con wrapped up recently, and several Doctor Who alumni were in attendance. As previously reported, Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman were joined by Michelle Gomez and Steven Moffat for a Doctor Who panel, where the Season 9 trailer was unveiled. Yet, there was even more of interest to Whovians going on behind the scenes.

Pertwee and Capaldi Meet

Sean Pertwee was in attendance to represent FOX’s Gotham, in which he co-stars as the stalwart Alfred Pennyworth. Doctor Who fans are sure to recognize Pertwee as son of the late Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee, and for his appearance in The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot. Pertwee and Capaldi met backstage, taking a few moments to pose for a selfie and a classic Who shot.

The delightful talented Mr Peter Capaldi #DrWho #ComicCon

A photo posted by Sean Pertwee (@seanpertwee) on Jul 11, 2015 at 1:02pm PDT

Peter Capaldi and Sean Pertwee pic.twitter.com/dugDuNb4dw

— Capalgrid (@OsgoodandTwelve) July 12, 2015

Capaldi’s Fanboy Photo With David Bradley

David Bradley—Abraham Setrakian on FX’s, The Strain—attended with cast and crew to discuss the upcoming second season of the adaptation of Chuck Hogan and Guillermo del Toro’s vampire horror novel series. Doctor Who fans may know Bradley better from his portrayal of First Doctor, William Hartnell, in the docu-drama, An Adventure in Space and Time. Still, his Who roots go even deeper: as Solomon in Series 7’s Dinosaurs on a Spaceship and Shansheeth in The Sarah Jane Adventures’ Series 4 story, Death of the Doctor. The First and Twelfth Doctors met each other backstage, and Jenna Coleman kindly took a picture of the pair for a seemingly chuffed Capaldi.

Capaldi and Coleman On Speaking to Fans

After the Doctor Who Hall H panel, Capaldi and Coleman shared some thoughts with BBC America about appearing in front of fans. While both mentioned their nervousness being in front of 7,000 fans, Capaldi also noted that Doctor Who is “a good thing in the world,” and having the opportunity to speak to so many people that love that good thing was something “quite special.”

Capaldi Makes His Mark On the House of Blues

Finally, Capaldi was sure to leave a permanent mark on San Diego, signing the wall at the House of Blues. He was sure to add a reminder of his punk band roots (as guitarist and lead vocals for Dreamboys, along with Late Late Show host, Craig Ferguson), by adding a quick sketch of a Dalek singing and strumming on its own guitar.

This year’s San Diego Comic-Con is wrapped up, but more Doctor Who news is always on its way. If you were one of the lucky folks to attend this year’s SDCC, tell us about your experience in the comments below. If you didn’t attend, but have been keeping track of all the goings-on, tell us what Doctor Who-related news you found most interesting from this year’s event.

The post Peter Capaldi Bumps Into Sean Pertwee & David Bradley at Comic Con! [NEWSBLAST] appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Stunning Doctor Who 2015 “Title Sequence” by NeonVisual.com

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.

The creativity of Doctor Who fans never fails to thrill us here at Kasterborous, and when the results are as stunning as this, well, they have to be shared, don’t they?

Back in 2014 Billy Hanshaw’s astonishing title sequence was adapted and adopted by BBC Wales for Doctor Who Series 8. Here, another regular faker of title sequences, NeonVisual, lends his spin on the the TV version of those titles, and the results are interesting (as well as extremely polished and accompanied by very crisp captions/credits).

So sit back and enjoy another superb fan built Doctor Who title sequence from NeonVisual.com.

The post Stunning Doctor Who 2015 “Title Sequence” by NeonVisual.com appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Frontier in Space Actor Michael Hawkins Dies

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.

Michael Hawkins, who many of our dear readers may recognise as General Williams from Doctor Who’s 1972 epic Frontier in Space, sadly passed late last year in October; news of his death was rather slow to reach the fandom, first breaking only this past week.

General Williams, who Hawkins played triumphantly in Frontier in Space alongside Jon Pertwee and Roger Delgado), was a flawed, mistrustful warhawk, responsible for the Earth-Draconia war.

Tody Hadoke, writing an obituary for Hawkins, paints a picture of an underappreciated talent:

A handsome actor with a refined air about him, he was more versatile than the parts he usually got suggested – note his turn as Beavis, the beleaguered subject of cruel mental conditioning in the Doomwatch episode Hair Trigger (1972). He had previously appeared in the very first episode of that series, The Plastic Eaters (1970), and his other genre roles included an aristocrat in the early scenes of Hammer’s Hound Of the Baskervilles (1959), The Avengers (3 roles from 1961), Out Of This World (1962), as a regular in R3 (1965), Thirteen Against Fate (1966), The Baron (1967), Man In A Suitcase (1968), and another military type in Survivors (1977).

He enjoyed a busy time of it on television all through the 60s and 70s in everything from Z-Cars to George And Mildred, via I,Claudius and Crown Court, with decent stints in Brett (1971), season one of The Brothers (1972), The Scobie Man (1972), King Cinder (1977) and The Devil’s Crown (1978) propping up a hefty roster of one-off guest stints.

If you’re interested in learning more about Frontier in Space and its stars, Kasterborous recently reviewed and discussed the history of the story in depth for our 50th Anniversary series.

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