Christian Cawley's Blog, page 88

Doctor Who’s Professor Stahlman, Actor Olaf Pooley, Dies at 101

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.

Olaf Pooley, whose portrayal of the single-minded and slightly unhinged scientist Professor Eric Stahlman in 1970’s superb Inferno made him a favourite with Doctor Who fans, has sadly died at the age of 101.

As shared by actor, writer and comedian Toby Hadoke, the veteran died on July 14th. Olaf Pooley was born in Parkstone, Poole, Dorset, England to an English father and Danish mother on March 13th, 1914, four months before the First World War. His acting career gained traction throughout the Second World War, where he worked extensively in rep, and appeared in his first movie Penny and the Pownall Case in 1948. he went on to appear in a number of distinctive roles on TV and in movies all the way up to 2005 (in shows as diverse as LA Law and Rainbow), when Pooley appeared in a short movie, Fellini’s Donut, as the baker.

It is his appearance in Doctor Who that we’re most interested in, of course, and Pooley made Stahlman a compelling and dangerous character without every overstepping the mark into caricature and camp. Consider the whithering putdowns in Don Houghton’s script and you’ll recognise what an achievement this was! Even with the Primord makeup in the final episode, Pooley maintains the menace of the character, and this is despite his transformation following the slightly surreal and at times comical metamorphosis of John Levene some minutes earlier.

Having trained as an architect, Olaf Pooley was a talented artist and spent much of his time in his studio in Santa Monica after emigrating to the USA in 1986. He also enjoyed work as a writer and director, combining the roles on 1971’s The Johnstown Monster, which was aired on BBC TV occasionally into the 1980s (here’s a clip from YouTube).

Pooley’s 101st birthday earlier this year left him as both the oldest surviving cast member from Doctor Who and Star Trek; he had appeared as the Cleric in the Star Trek: Voyager episode ‘Blink of an Eye’ in 2000, which was directed by his second wife, Gabrielle Beaumont. Olaf Pooley is survived by his Beaumont (although they had been separated for some years) and his daughter from his first marriage to Irlin Hall, Kirstie Pooley.

Pay tribute to this most extraordinary character, not just by watching Inferno (or, indeed, Blink of an Eye or any other show or movie Pooley made) but also by having a read of this recent interview with Olaf Pooley.

RIP.

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Reviewed: The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who

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.

Scientific accuracy within Doctor Who tends to matter only if it illuminates something about the human condition – the show, while occasionally wearing it’s credentials as a hard science fiction on its sleeve, has always leaned more towards Twilight Zone style exploration of technology’s ever encroaching grasp on our lives as a springboard for the kind of fantasy that tends to make a mockery of the very definition itself.

So when episodes like Kill the Moon ask an ethical question about our place in the universe but place freewheeling imagination ahead of at least a hat tip towards the definition of science fiction, and the rigour that entails, we end up wondering at what point did we decide the show was sci-fi and not simply out and out fantasy?

In the past, during the Hartnell/Troughton era, explanations came rooted in scientific fact – or at least a close approximation – now, we tend to solve matters with things like love and instantly birthed moon babies.

Well, there’s no need to worry – the book is delightful. A beautifully packaged, endlessly entertaining look at our universe through the eyes of various incarnations of the Doctor.

At first glance, the book has all the hallmarks of the kind of portentous tome that you glance at once and then cast aside forever – or give to the grandkids to fill their stockings – but thanks to its straight forward, ever- inquisitive prose, these potentially dry lessons covering everything from A.I., regeneration, entropy and death, the multiverse and time travel are given a fresh spin through examples from the entire history of the show.

The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who is one of the best Doctor Who nonfiction books you’ll read this year.

So you have to wonder at the kind of uphill struggle both writer Simon Guerrier and astronomer Dr Marek Kukula faced when they sought to put the science back into science fiction with The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who.

Learning from the mistakes of the hit and miss anniversary special with Dr Brian Cox, the book never makes assumptions about the readers knowledge or even the extent of their interest in the subject matter; there’s never a condescending word or an over reliance upon technical, textbook examples. As an introduction to the wider world around us; you’ll be hard pressed to find a better guide.

However, that’s just one aspect of the book. To sweeten the deal, 15 short stories which cap each chapter off from some of the best Doctor Who writers working today including Jenny T. Colgan, Jonathan Morris and Andrew Cartmel.

Although they’re no longer than ten pages, each serve to either set up the next field of inquiry with a splash of colourful prose or act as a break for when the lessons begin to verge towards the ponderous. It’s a winning pay off for those not particularly interested in the science (although one would question why you would buy such a book if science isn’t your bag) or for those who want to see some of the lessons brought to life.

Particular highlights include Jonathan Morris’ Ninth Doctor adventure The Hungry Night, George Mann’s Fourth Doctor/Sarah Jane tale The Lost Adventure (with a little nod to The Face of Evil), Una McCormack’s bittersweet Eleventh Doctor story In Search of Lost Time, and Mark Morris’ Third Doctor and UNIT tale, The Piper.

The bundling together of fact and fiction does raise a few questions. Some may baulk at having to wade through chapters of scientific inquiry to get to the relatively scant short fiction goodness while others might find little that’s new in the scientific sections to warrant forking out for less than half a books worth of new prose.

Ultimately The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who, with its mixture of engaging, straightforward and rewarding inquiries into the fascinating science behind the show and some equally entertaining short stories, is one of the best Doctor Who nonfiction books you’ll read this year.

The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who is available in hardcover, paperback and Kindle from Amazon.

The post Reviewed: The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Doctor Who Series 10 Confirmed in BBC Worldwide Annual Review Document

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.

DoctorWhoNews has spotted something important – the confirmation of Doctor Who Series 10! Largely ignored by BBC News and the press (and, it seems, the official website) the information can be found on page 32 of the BBC Worldwide Annual Review (a link to which you can find at the end of this report).

We’ve previously heard that Steven Moffat has been preparing Series 10, but this is the first mention of the run from the BBC itself.

During the year matters under review included plans to launch the global genre brands BBC First in Australia and New Zealand on Foxtel and BBC Brit and BBC Earth in Poland; and investments in The Musketeers S3 and Doctor Who S10. Additionally, during the year WEx reviewed people policies and development opportunities across the company.

 

Meanwhile, other information in the document reveals the success of the 12 day Doctor Who World Tour in 2014, mentions the partnership with LEGO, and how Series 8’s launch saw the show enjoy 19.7% growth on the previous run.

The BBC Worldwide Annual Review is available to download from the organization’s website. But hold your horses! Doctor Who Series 9 hasn’t aired yet, and you can catch it from September 19th on BBC One and BBC America.

The post Doctor Who Series 10 Confirmed in BBC Worldwide Annual Review Document appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Is Steven Moffat Right to Bemoan Twitter’s Audience Research Capability?

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 you might have read, Doctor Who chief Steven Moffat thinks Twitter is useless for gauging true audience reaction. Well, of course it is! Christian Cawley, James McLean and Brian Terranova discuss the insanity of this comment, plus, the latest Doctor Who and wider news from the San Diego Comic-Con and our weekly recommendations.

Kasterborous PodKast Series 5 Episode 23 Shownotes

New Doctor Who Series 9 trailer
Sherlock Christmas special trailer
Are You Being Subjugated?
LEGO Dimensions Doctor Who trailer
Steven Moffat: Twitter is bad for audience research (no, really?!)
BBC Licence fee threat
Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer
Recommendations: Terminator Genisys, Comic Misconceptions, Dial-a-Song from They Might Be Giants, Terror In Resonance , The Dalek that Time Forgot on YouTube

The rather wonderful podKast theme tune is by Russell Hugo.

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The post Is Steven Moffat Right to Bemoan Twitter’s Audience Research Capability? appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

When the Doctor Chases New Horizons…

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.

Pluto, the red planet? The first images from the New Horizons probe’s historic flyby of Pluto and its moons have materialised, travelling over 5.3 billion kilometres to Earth to be received by Australia’s own Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex. Take a good look, folks! The world is party once again to one of those rare moments when our view of the solar system is forever changed.

Personally, I wasn’t much older than twelve when I first heard about the New Horizons mission to Pluto, then soon to be launched. Now, more than nine years later, I would experience the flyby as a University graduate, myself. It’s been a long wait for me and I’m sure, a far longer wait for the crew behind New Horizons, like Alan Stern, the mission’s leader, or Alice Bowman, Mission Operations manager; the latter was first on the scene when the probe’s telemetry was lost briefly (but terrifyingly) on July 4 due a computer glitch – a setback which left staff camping out on the office floor that night.

By popular demand, the SETI Institute has proposed a list of names to the IAU for the naming of geographic features on Pluto and Charon, including ‘Tardis’ and ‘Gallifrey’.

Those sleepless nights would soon pay off however with the probe returning online and carrying on with its extraordinary mission to capture images and collect data from Pluto, billions of miles from Earth, while hurling past the icy world at over 49,600 km/h (30,800 mph). Despite all of those times you may have spent pondering as a child about what Pluto might look like when your school textbooks only ever had ‘artist’s depictions’ of Pluto… neither our personal perception of Pluto, nor our textbooks shall ever be the same. Like those who remember the Apollo moon landing or Voyager 2’s flyby of Neptune, you (may) be a part of one of the last generations on Earth to live before the ‘face’ of this mysterious ‘dwarf planet’, one of the universe’s many secrets, became public knowledge, before it became ingrained in our collective memory as just another ‘fact’ to learn. We learnt it here, now, right then as these first pictures arrived.

When I thought about that, part humbled, part awestruck, I wondered if this is what it might feel like for the Doctor. In some ways, it’s hard to relate to a character who travels light-years across the universe to visit faraway worlds at the drop of a hat – our own vacations, at the very least, my vacations can often feel far more rehearsed and commercial.

Perhaps best put as Donna mused in Partners in Crime, with regards to her recent trip to Egypt: ‘I was going to go barefoot and everything. And then it’s all bus trips and guidebooks and don’t drink the water, and two weeks later you’re back home. It’s nothing like being with [the Doctor]. You may have felt the same at one time too. How, after all, can tourist trips to well renowned locales taken by millions each year, over as quick as they begin, ever compare to an adventure in the TARDIS? I doubt it could. But that doesn’t mean that we’re hopeless in understanding the Doctor, I’d argue.

Originally K9 was to be named ‘Pluto’ after the Disney character, but Disney refused to grant permission.

Nay, I’d say it’s moments like these where we understand what it’s like to live the Doctor’s life… traveling from planet to planet… to discover new worlds and lay his eyes on them for the first time. These are Taleb’s ‘black swan’ moments, when a new fact emerges… a new visual… and our understanding of the universe is never the same. The Doctor runs towards these moments with childlike enthusiasm – see, Mummy on the Orient Express, for example, as the Twelfth Doctor rambles on with praise for a planet ‘made entirely of shrubs’ – his enthusiasm for the world reminds me of us today; that same passion to experience the universe anew shines through the hundreds of tweets, articles, posts and casual banter about the New Horizons mission.

After all, the Doctor’s character was never written in a vacuum. If you want to understand the Doctor better, all one ever needs to do is look at the world which inspired him. The space race kicked off with Sputnik’s iconic telemetry signals; from 1957 to 1963, I can only imagine how different our world must have felt in such a short time with each milestone: the first man and woman in space, the first piece of human technology to impact on another celestial body than Earth (Luna 2), the first images from the far side of the moon… etc.

Why did we travel to the stars then?

Beyond simple nationalism, the obvious answer is curiosity… a strong will to discover the final frontier. That desire to explore, to touch down on alien land and experience the unknown, is at the heart of our latest mission to Pluto – a way of life, Series 7’s The Power of Three reminds us, we share with the Doctor. ‘This is one corner of one country in one continent on one planet that’s a corner of a galaxy that’s a corner of a universe that is forever growing and shrinking and creating and destroying and never remaining the same for a single millisecond. And there is so much, so much to see,’ says the Doctor to Amy. He adds, ‘I’m not running away from things, I am running to them before they flare and fade forever.’

Today we’ve visited Pluto with the same kind of passion to experience the great unknown. It makes me wonder if the Doctor, the hero we all know and love, isn’t simply a distillation of all the great mortal heroes of our own race to space… Valentina Tereshkova, Neil Armstrong, Margaret Hamilton, the crew at Space Center Houston … the astronauts, the boffins and wonks, the visionaries … everyone in those teams who made those voyages a reality.

The Doctor last visited Pluto in Robert Holmes’ The Sun Makers (1977).

I hadn’t thought of it that way before, to think of Doctor Who, not simply as an exploration of one alien’s travels abroad, the silly old buffer in a box, but a celebration of our own curiosity and our own industriousness – those values came from somewhere and it’s no less apparent today than ever. Remember, after all, that this whole elaborate flyby, a ‘great spirit of adventure’ in and of itself, begun just as the Doctor’s journey did as a mild curiosity in a junkyard tiny observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, when Clyde Tombaugh, no older than twenty four years old himself at the time, found Pluto, having scavenged thousands of images of the night sky – all part of the observatory’s mission to find the ninth planet and resolve Percival Lowell’s quest for ‘Planet X’. Today, some of Tombaugh’s ashes fly aboard New Horizons; inscribed on the canister reads ‘interned herein are remains of American Clyde W. Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto […]’

Indeed, Tombaugh’s incredible work then, and all of the crew at New Horizons today help remind us that at the centre of Doctor Who lies a very real, profound and uniquely human interest in exploring new worlds and advance our understanding of the universe.

As for New Horizons? The little probe that could is expected to carry on through the heliosphere and beyond.

The post When the Doctor Chases New Horizons… appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Out Now: Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London #01 Comic!

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 brand new tale for Peter Grant and co. is released today, written by Seventh Doctor crew, Andrew Cartmel and Ben Aaronovitch.

Body Work, set in the magical world established in the 2011 novel, Rivers of London, is published by Titan Comics (licensed also to do the ongoing Doctor Who comics starring the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Doctors), and comes directly from its creator.

Cartmel, Script Editor during Sylvester McCoy’s tenure on the TARDIS, stayed friends with Aaronovitch since the writer scripted Remembrance of the Daleks and Battlefield, and worked alongside him for this new five-part series, set between the fourth and fifth books. Here’s what issue 1 promises:

Peter Grant is one of only two members of a very special branch of London’s Metropolitan Police. He is, in fact, pretty much a wizard and it’s his job to investigate those shadowy crimes that involve urban vampires, weird folk in the underground and, in this case, why cars are suddenly taking on lives of their own and killing innocent folk!

The pair are also joined by another Doctor Who alumni: Lee Sullivan, who provides all the art! Titan has also released a great trailer for the comic.

The novels have sold over 1 million copies worldwide, while a sixth installment, The Hanging Tree, is expected later this year.

Rivers of London: Body Work #01 is out now, priced $3.99.

The post Out Now: Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London #01 Comic! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Luther’s Neil Cross Reviving Sapphire and Steel for 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.

I’m a big fan of Neil Cross, writer of The Rings of Akhaten and Hide and creator of Luther, so rumours that he’s reviving the cult classic, Sapphire and Steel, is certainly welcome news!

And where did this rumour begin? Well, from Neil himself! He said:

“I am planning – it looks very much like I’m going to – relaunch a show called Sapphire and Steel… Sapphire and Steel is a late ‘70s science-fiction horror show, which had an incredibly low budget, so every single episode was a bottle episode where the enemy is time itself … so it would tell ghost stories and monster stories but in every episode somehow time was the villain.”

The original starred Joanna Lumley as Sapphire, and David McCallum as Steel, and ran between 1979 and 1982. What’s more, the series was created by PJ Hammond, writer of two episodes of Torchwood: Small Worlds, and From Out of the Rain.

Indeed, back in 2010, Kasterborous editor Christian Cawley speculated that Steven Moffat had watched the show and based elements of Doctor Who Series 5 on it:

“Youngster(s) left alone. Empty house. Disappeared parents. Tear in time. An old folk rhyme to resolve things.

“So – Amelia Pond and her mysteriously empty (too big) home, the crack throughout time and space and the famous “something old, something new” rhyme that is something of a tradition for weddings across the western world.

“It’s all there!”

Cross, whose novels include Captured, Burial, and Mr. In-Between, further teased:

“There’s a broadcaster in the UK that’s very, very keen to do it.”

The original show aired on ITV, but it’s likely the BBC would be keen to keep hold of Cross, as his own show, Luther remains such a big hit (and we’ll be getting two new one-hour special this year).

His 2013 episode, Hide, though based largely on Nigel Kneale’s The Stone Tape, perhaps owes further debt to Sapphire and Steel, seen as the ‘ghost’ turned out to be a quirk of time.

Though he said he misses Matt Smith desperately, Cross hinted that he had further ideas for Who, so he’s looking to be incredibly busy these next few years!

The post Luther’s Neil Cross Reviving Sapphire and Steel for TV? appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

We’re All Going on a Summer Holiday: 12 Times the Doctor Took a Break – Part Two

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.

No more working for a week or two; fun and laughter on our – – c’mon everyone! Join in!

No? Okay, so maybe you need a bit of inspiration, get you into the summery mood. Yeah, I prefer winter, but taking a break from things can be good for you.

Yesterday, we looked at how Doctors One to Six kicked back, soaked up some rays, and took advice from Frankie (relax, for those who need it spelling out).

And with a long, hot couple of months staring at us before the show returns to our screens, why not revisit the times the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Doctors enjoyed a few days off, entirely free of monsters. Maybe…

Delta and the Bannermen

Well, this is all very unexpected, isn’t it? Ken Dodd, Wales, Shangri-La, Don Henderson, screaming, an intergalactic tour bus: Malcolm Kohll’s surprising four-parter cropped up between Paradise Towers and Dragonfire. Some might call it cheesy; others filler. But actually, this Seventh Doctor story, like many where the Doctor is paired with Bonnie Langford’s Melanie Bush, is greatly underrated.

Let’s address the elephant in the room first: Ray’s accent is painful. It’ll hurt more than a Chimeron’s scream. But after that first watch, hands clamped around your ears and begging for the sweet release of dismemberment, you should rewatch it, and listen to what’s going on elsewhere.

It’s chock-full of great ideas: from the Nostalgia Tours bus whizzing through space and crashing into an artificial satellite, to the Navarinos, a race evolved to have shape-changing abilities seemingly only so they can blend in with the locals on holiday; the Doctor helping sooth a broken heart by dancing at a disco, to Gavrok and his Bannermen, a group of would-be assassins who dress as if they’re part of Fifty Shades of Grey.

Set in Shangri-La, this serial indulges in its, uhm, campness. Cheesy? Perhaps. Filler? Maybe. But fun too, and with Sylvester McCoy and Bonnie Langford being utterly superb. I like to think Russell T Davies watched Delta and the Bannermen and said to himself, ‘yes. The future of Doctor Who lies in Wales.’

The TV Movie

I couldn’t go for Night of the Doctor now, could I?!

Fortunately, the Seventh Doctor’s regeneration into Paul McGann was a bit of a holiday; not for the Time Lord, no, but for the fans.

The 1990s were a wasteland. No Doctor Who since 1989, and no hope for the BBC bringing it back. So the TARDIS threw two fingers up at the Beeb and went to America instead. Nice for some, eh? Okay, so not nice for the Doctor who, in turn, was shot, went in for some shoddy surgery, had his sonic screwdriver stolen by a punk kid, died, woke up with amnesia, and then couldn’t find any comfortable shoes. It sounds like your typical coach trip affair to me.

For Whovians, it might not have been Doctor Who at its best, but it wasn’t Doctor Who at its worst either – its worst, of course, being off air. The Doctor was back, and he was played by Paul McGann, which is just one of the greatest things ever. McGann had previously starred in Withnail & I, Empire of the Sun, and Alien³, and has since appeared in Luther, Ripper Street, and Jonathan Creek, but he’s stayed loyal to our fandom, revisiting his role as the Doctor for Big Finish and that aforementioned 2013 short. Oh, and having a laugh in The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot too.

Really, we should all be very glad we have this brief sojourn in San Francisco.

The End of the World

The Ninth Doctor didn’t have a particular holiday: following the Time War, most things must’ve seemed pretty relaxing for a while – and yes, that includes possible incineration.

The Doctor wanted to impress the blond 19-year-old girl he picked up on a night-out in London, so where does he take her? To see her planet die, duh.

Platform One was a viewing post and a nice quiet place to wait for the sun to expand and destroy our beloved Earth in the year 5.5/Apple/26. Talk about soaking up some sunshine. But more than anything, The End of the World was a statement of intent, just as much as the previous episode, Rose. Rose said this revival would be the same show as it was before; The End of the World amended this slightly: it would be even more spectacular.

We often go to foreign climes to see amazing scenery, and this episode, written by RTD and directed by the ever-reliable Euros Lyn, definitely showed some incredible views. And it showed us that we don’t have to look elsewhere to see beauty, whether that’s going abroad or travelling into space. We need only look at where we are now.

If that’s not a heartening thought, I don’t know what is.

The Unicorn and the Wasp

I’ve long loved Agatha Christie. Just like the Doctor, I bet she’s brilliant.

David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor had had a hard time of it of late, facing up to Sontarans, fighting the flab, and accidentally having a daughter. I reckon the TARDIS thought about this, looked at the darkness to come (poor, poor Donna), and, remembering what he had said to Martha Jones, decided he was owed a bit of a break.

The Unicorn and the Wasp might never be hailed as a classic tale, ranked alongside The Caves of Androzani, Robots of Death, and The Day of the Doctor, but I bet it’s better than you remember. Despite all the murders, the amnesia, and the Vespiform, everything’s so bally cheery. There’s just so much to enjoy.

Watching the 2008 story takes me back to watching The Romans, where the grimness is laced with wonderful puns, fantastically-realised sets, and memorable and loveable characters. All have dirty little secrets, and that’s just perfect for what is essentially a classic murder mystery, but then there’s that added element of sci-fi. “What the blazes are you doing, boyssszzzzz?”

In the end, I guess you could say I like the cut of its jib, chin chin. Grab a glass of lemonade and plonk on that Series 4 DVD now.

The Vampires of Venice

Venice! Venezia! La Serenissima! Series 5 was such a strong run of stories, many forget about this lavish production, set in an impossible, preposterous city but filmed in… Trogir, Croatia. And yet it’s very important and really quite unsettling too. Frankly, it’s art.

This was supposed to be a holiday for Amy and Rory, introducing the latter to life in the TARDIS, but let’s face it: the Doctor was the one who wanted to go specifically to Italy. This TARDIS team already seem so joyful and fully embrace the experience – even Rory, who’s rightly miffed that: i) his wife ran off on the night before their wedding; and ii) the Doctor was the stripogram. In the face of the possible plague, sexy fish vampires, and a very smelly city, these three are a pleasure to behold.

The Doctor prances around like he owns the place, and you really know that he can bring the whole house of Calvierri down just because Rosanna didn’t know Isabella’s name.

In fact, Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor is written perfectly, and naturally Matt does something brilliant with every line. Those confrontations with Helen McCrory – ! Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill are already on fire too. And while Toby Whithouse remains one of my favourite writers, I think it’s the direction that makes The Vampires of Venice so excellent.

Jonny Campbell was in charge of this one and Vincent and the Doctor, and both have such stunning visuals. He plays with colour superbly, and it’s all framed like a Hammer Horror film. As I say: art.

Robot of Sherwood

The Twelfth Doctor’s only just got here! What does he need a holiday for?

Maybe it’s Clara Oswald who needs a break. She’s witnessed some devastating things on Trenzalore, had to come to terms with regeneration, and then met Daleks again. She needed a treat, so the Doctor takes her to see an entirely fictional character.

After sublime tales like Cold War and The Crimson Horror – not to mention An Adventure in Space and Time – this episode from Mark Gatiss might’ve been a bit of a disappointment to some, but on a rewatch, you might be pleasantly surprised. The actual robots were fantastically-designed, as are the sets. Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman are on fine form, and it’s full of witty quips, my favourite probably being Robin incredulously questioning: “Soiled myself?!” To which the Doctor responds, “Did you? That’s getting into character.” Yep, it’s banter, even though the Time Lord says he’s totally against bantering.

And then there’s Ben Miller’s turn as the Sheriff of Nottingham. I still wish he were the Master. Cross our fingers that the Master crops up in the coming decades with a familiar face, just as this Doctor has.

As the Doctor notes, despite it Dame Autumn draping her mellow skirts about the forest, this is an evergreen tale, ideal for a summer evening’s viewing.

And there we have it. The Doctor on holiday. Or as close as it gets, anyway. Now off you go. The sun is out. What are you young whippersnappers doing inside on a day like this? Watching Doctor Who¸ you say? I ought to give you a clip ’round the ear!

Have a fantastic summer, ladies and gentlefolk.

The post We’re All Going on a Summer Holiday: 12 Times the Doctor Took a Break – Part Two appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Ingrid Oliver & Michelle Gomez Announced For Doctor Who Festival

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.

Ingrid Oliver and Michelle Gomez, both of whom shall return to Doctor Who in Series 9 as their respective characters, Osgood and Missy, will be appearing at this November’s Doctor Who Festival.

They’ll be joining Twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi, and showrunner, Steven Moffat at the ExCeL, London, on the 13th, 14th and 15th November 2015.

The weekend Festival offers an exclusive look behind-the-scenes: to discover the inspiration behind the Doctor’s recent adversaries, the imagination required to create whole new worlds and the ingenuity that goes into designing and making the beautiful backdrops that give Doctor Who its unique look. It’s perfect for all Whovians, and those interested in getting into the TV and film industry.

There’s also the chance to have your photo taken on set, a look around the costume department, theatre shows about translating an initial idea onto screen, and a drama school, with more announcements to come.

Standard tickets start at £65, though admission for a child costs £30, and the special TARDIS tickets (including additional brochure, lounge access, front block theatre show seats and a Limited Edition Doctor Who Festival 2015 T-shirt) are all sold out already. Nonetheless, a standard ticket includes day entry to the Festival, access to three theatre shows, lanyard, and show planner.

Gomez has been confirmed to return in the Series 9 two-part opener, The Magician’s Apprentice/ The Witch’s Familiar, while Oliver will be back opposite UNIT and the Zygons later in the run. Both on-screen characters appear to have cheated death.

The Doctor Who Festival will also be coming to Australia a week after (21st-22nd November 2015), with both Peter Capaldi and Steven Moffat attending. No news on other guest yet, but as ever, we’ll keep you posted!

To get tickets to London’s event, head over to their official site now.

The post Ingrid Oliver & Michelle Gomez Announced For Doctor Who Festival appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Titan Comics Confirms Eighth Doctor Mini-Series

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.

Fans of the Eighth Doctor rejoice! Titan Comics has revealed a trio of covers from the forthcoming and heavily rumoured Eighth Doctor series by George Mann (Engines of War) and Emma Vieceli.

First up is this stunning photo cover, with Paul McGann in his last-days finest.

Check out the photo cover for the Eighth Doctor #1 by @george_mann & @Emmavieceli. pic.twitter.com/3Zb4YlPWDT

— Titan Comics (@ComicsTitan) July 12, 2015

Along with that is this the obligatory Alice X Zhang art cover.

Coming October! Eighth Doctor miniseries by @george_mann & @Emmavieceli. #1 comes with a gorgeous cover by @alicexz ! pic.twitter.com/PqUytIO0eG

— Titan Comics (@ComicsTitan) July 12, 2015

We’re rather impressed by the other illustrated cover, however, which evokes the original look and the Doctor’s appearance in the Doctor Who Magazine strip until 2005 and in the Radio Times’ much-missed strip illustrated by Lee Sullivan.

We’re expecting a full press release soon, so keep your eyes out for more details!

The post Titan Comics Confirms Eighth Doctor Mini-Series appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.