Christian Cawley's Blog, page 9

Covers & Details Revealed for Big Finish’s The Tenth Doctor Adventures

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.

2016 is here: the year the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble make their Big Finish debut!

The audio company has released the cover art for the three adventures announced, Technophobia, Time Reaver, and Death and the Queen – and they all look rather great!

While we’re very much looking forward to all three – and the Limited Edition boxset that collects them together – my favourite cover is probably for James Goss’ Death and the Queen, which looks perfectly moody and ominous.

Technophobia

Written By: Matt Fitton;

Directed By: Nicholas Briggs.

Starring David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Niky Wardley (Bex), Rachael Stirling (Jill Meadows), Chook Sibtain (Brian), Rory Keenan (Kevin), and Jot Davies (Lukas).

When the Doctor and Donna visit London’s Technology Museum for a glimpse into the future, things don’t go to plan.

The most brilliant IT brain in the country can’t use her computer. More worrying, the exhibits are attacking the visitors, while outside, people seem to be losing control of the technology that runs their lives.

Is it all down to simple human stupidity, or is something more sinister going on?

Beneath the streets, the Koggnossenti are waiting. For all of London to fall prey to technophobia…

Time Reaver

Written By: Jenny T Colgan;

Directed By: Nicholas Briggs.

Starring David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Alex Lowe (Soren), Sabrina Bartlett (Cora), Terry Molloy (Rone), John Banks (Gully), and Dan Starkey (Dorn).

Calibris. The spaceport planet where anything goes. Where anyone who doesn’t want to be found can be lost, and where everything has its price. Where betentacled gangster Gully holds sway at the smugglers’ tavern, Vagabond’s Reach.

The alien Vacintians are trying to impose some order on the chaos. Soon the Doctor and Donna discover why. An illegal weapon is loose on the streets. A weapon that destroys lives… Slowly and agonisingly.

Death and the Queen

Written By: James Goss;

Directed By: Nicholas Briggs.

Starring David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Blake Ritson (Rudolph), Alice Krige (Queen Mum), Beth Chalmers (Hortense), and Alan Cox (Death).

Donna Noble has never been lucky in love.

So when, one day, her Prince does come, she is thrilled to have the wedding of all weddings to look forward to. Though the Doctor isn’t holding his breath for an invitation. And her future mother-in-law is certainly not amused.

But on the big day itself, Donna finds her castle under siege from the darkest of forces, marching at the head of a skeleton army.

When it looks like even the Doctor can’t save the day, what will Queen Donna do to save her people from Death itself?

These three titles are released in May, and can be pre-ordered from Big Finish now!

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Suzie Costello Returns to Torchwood This Summer

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.

They might’ve kept killing her, but you can’t keep a good member of Torchwood down! Suzie Costello is returning to the franchise for Big Finish’s second series of tales from the Hub.

Introduced (and subsequently killed off – for a while) in the first TV episode, Everything Changes, and portrayed by Indira Varma, Suzie was the second-in-command until certain secrets of hers were revealed. Now the fourth story in Big Finish’s Torchwood Series 2 takes us back to a year before her encounter with Gwen Cooper, when, for her, everything really did change. Producer, James Goss says:

“We still can’t believe Indira said yes – but she did, and she’s been utterly delightful. We were dying to bring back Suzie as soon as we started – she’s such an interesting character, and giving her a solo adventure provides us with a chance to explore what makes her tick. Amazingly, this is a story where she’s the hero. Or the nearest thing to it.”

Since Torchwood, Indira has starred in various shows including Luther, Game of Thrones, and Moses Jones (with the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith).

Written by Guy Adams and directed by Scott Handcock, Moving Targets explores her bleak outlook on life – while pitting her against hunters from beyond the stars:

One morning, Cardiff just stops. The rain hangs in the sky, the traffic doesn’t move on its streets, the people are frozen like photographs.

Alien eyes have set their sights on our world and won’t leave until they’ve blood on their hands.

The Hub is in lockdown, only one member of the team free to move.

It’s time for Suzie Costello to save the world.

That comes out in June, and we can’t wait!

Suzie’s return will come a month after Tom Price takes on a starring role in Ghost Mission once again portraying Sergeant Andy. James Goss adds:

“We brought Tom back for a little cameo in Series 1, and just couldn’t resist the chance to bring him back properly. Tom Price is lovely, and threw himself into an adventure all of his own. He made an instant double act with Samuel Barnett, playing the enigmatic Norton Folgate, a Torchwood agent with his own agenda.”

Naoko Mori also returns to her role of Toshiko Sato in the next series of audio tales, which starts next month with The Victorian Age starring John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness.

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Matt Smith & David Tennant To Appear At Convention Together

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.

David Tennant and Matt Smith will be appearing together for the first time ever at a convention.

This April, the Eleventh and Tenth Doctors will team up to defeat a wizard! No, wait, that’s not right. They’re actually attending the Wizard World in New York on Saturday, 16th April at the PlayStation Theater, Manhattan.

The pair will take part in a panel, and there’ll also be photo and autograph opportunities. But it’ll cost you.

Fans can purchase either a Solo (including a photo with one of the Doctors, one autograph, and admission to the Q&A), or a Dual VIP ticket, which covers photos and autographs from both Doctors, and admittance to the Q&A for two. Tickets start at $150, while a VIP pass could set you back a massive $850. Plus booking fees. Yep, mental amounts. These sort of events are known for being very costly, I’m afraid.

John Macaluso, CEO of Wizard World, says:

“Our fans have been clamoring to see David Tennant and Matt Smith, two of our most popular guests, together, and Wizard World is proud to have brought them to this unique event, Wizard World NYC—The Doctors is a significant addition to our schedule of pop culture and gaming conventions that will be one of the highlights of an exciting year.”

Here’s hoping further (cheaper) convention appearances for both Doctors together will be soon…

The post Matt Smith & David Tennant To Appear At Convention Together appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Out Now: Torchwood – More Than This

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 final release of Big Finish’s Torchwood Series 1 is out now, fronted by Eve Myles’ Gwen Cooper. And she’s on a mission to bring back the Hub.

Despite being destroyed by the Government, Torchwood has long been forgotten – except by Gwen. Following on from Forgotten Lives, the third story in the series, More Than This shows Gwen determined to get things back to how they should be.

Gwen Cooper has triumphed against impossible odds before, but now she’s finally met her match: Roger Pugh, Planning Officer for Cardiff City Council.

Mr Pugh doesn’t believe the world needs Torchwood. Gwen sets out to prove him wrong. For Mr Pugh, it’s a day that’ll change his life. If he can survive it.

Something tells me he’s not just going to come up against a Weevil or two…

Written by Guy Adams (who also plays Coachman), More Than This stars Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper, Richard Nichols as Roger Pugh, and Tom Price in a special appearance as Sergeant Andy Davies. Big Finish also teases a top-secret cameo from a Torchwood legend!

If rumour is right, this might be the last time Eve plays Gwen…

More Than This is out now, priced £9.99 for a CD or £7.99 for download, while Series 2 launched next month.

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Lethbridge-Stewart: Moon Blink Cover Art Revealed

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.

Candy Jar Books have unveiled the cover art and synopsis for the next instalment in the Lethbridge-Stewart series, Moon Blink, which is set for release in April.

Written by Sadie Miller – who’s perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for her role in two series of Sarah Jane Smith audio dramas produced by Big Finish in 2002 and 2006 – with a forward by Gary Russell, the book also boasts a brand new logo for 2016.

The full synopsis for Moon Blink reads:

“July 1969, and mankind is on the Moon. Both the United States and Soviet Russia have lunar bases, and both are in trouble.

 Back on Earth, Anne Travers has learned she is about to be visited by an old friend from America, Doctor Patricia Richards. Lance Corporal Bill Bishop is aware of the visit, and is on hand to meet Richards.

 She brings with her a surprise, one which the Americans and Russians wish to get their hands on. But the only man who can truly help Anne, Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart, is away in Scotland.

 It’s a game of cat and mouse, as Anne and Bishop seek to protect the life of an innocent baby – one that holds the secrets to life on the Moon.”

The stunning cover art was provided by Adrian Salmon, who, as well as designing the artwork for last year’s The Schizoid Earth and Mutually Assured Domination, also drew The Cybermen for Doctor Who Magazine, where he’s worked for the last 20 years.

“It was an honour to be chosen to draw Sadie’s cover for Moon Blink,” said Salmon. “We went for something emblematic echoing the great Target covers of yore. I ended up sending two colour versions which Shaun brilliantly combined to make the final cover.”

Series Editor Andy Frankam-Allen praised Salmon’s masterful work while sharing a few details about the upcoming title.

“…Not only do we highlight our co-stars Lethbridge-Stewart and Anne Travers, but we get to show the world Lance Corporal Bishop, a fan favourite from three of last year’s titles, now a regular in the series.”

For 2016, the range also sees a revamped logo; said Shaun Russell, head of publishing said:

“We wanted to do something different this year, and the revamped logo and background colour reflects that. Colin Howard has done a fantastic job of giving Simon Williams’ original design a bit more weight.”

Moon Blink headlines the 2016 series of Lethbridge-Stewart novels, and is available to pre-order from the Candy Jar Books website. It is followed later in the year by The Showstoppers by Jonathan Cooper and The Grandfather Infestation by John Peel, with a further three novels due to be released in the autumn.

The post Lethbridge-Stewart: Moon Blink Cover Art Revealed appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Naturally, Michelle Gomez’s Favourite Missy Moment Involves Death

Katie Gribble 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 think it will come as an understatement when I say that Missy has enjoyed a considerably chaotic and throughly evil time on Doctor Who since she made her first appearance during series 8.  She’s done everything from getting restrained by UNIT, tampering with Daleks and impersonating Mary Poppins, but what is her best moment.

In a recent interview, Michelle Gomez revealed her favourite Missy moment and, as we have come to expect from our new Master, it’s suitably evil. Her favourite moment was the completely unnecessary murder of everyone’s favourite cosplaying scientist Osgood. Her death came as quite a shock during the series finale Death in Heaven. It was made even worse by the Doctor and Osgood’s quick conversation in the hold where he essentially offered her time and space in a box. Something all Doctor Who fans dream about was offered to someone we liked and then it was all taken away.

In an interview with Doctor Who Extra , Steven Moffat revealed why fan favourite Osgood had to die.

“When we brought back to the Master in the form of Missy, one thing I was very determined about was that the Master/Missy would have to kill somebody we liked in the most cruel, heartless and terrible way. To absolutely say that this person is shockingly evil. Osgood was the one we flung on the fire to make the Master burn brighter.”

So, yes. Apparently the death of Osgood was necessary and I understand why it was done. But as we all know, Osgood’s story didn’t end there. Her reappearance in The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion episodes during Series 9 displayed what Doctor Who is so very good at, keeping its audience guessing.

Do you agree with Michelle’s choice or do you have a different favourite? Let us know in the comments below and let’s look forward to the next appearance of the oh so fine Missy!

The post Naturally, Michelle Gomez’s Favourite Missy Moment Involves Death appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Doctor Who Fourth Most Loved Show on BBC iPlayer

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.

Number four with a bullet? Doctor Who has artfully avoided all that podium nonsense after being voted the fourth in a list of the most loved shows on the BBC iPlayer.

The list was collected by viewers clicking on the heart button on the BBC iPlayer. The button was introduced in March 2015, and allows the audience to instantly show love for a programme: Remember all those ads featuring The Beatles All You Need Is Love?

Top of the list was the soap opera EastEnders with children’s drama The Next Step, which charts the lives of a group of young dancers as they make their way through dance school – so for anyone my age, kinda like The Biz – coming second.

Two of the most popular dramas of the last year the *squints soulfully to the horizon* incredibly handsome Poldark and Russian sex ’em up War and Peace make the list alongside established audience favourites Sherlock and Casualty.

The list is as follows.

EastEnders
The Next Step
Match of the Day
Doctor Who
Strictly Come Dancing
Casualty
The Great British Bake Off
The Apprentice
Poldark
Sherlock
Council House Crackdown
War and Peace

It’s a strange old list; being as it contains programmes that are currently in the spotlight alongside long cherished favourites (and Council House Crackdown – which I’m going to assume has something to do with not weeding common land properly; leading to an outbreak of newly sprung council houses – they pop up everywhere!)

Jane Lingham, BBC Director of Brand Strategy says:

“It’s no surprise that audiences are telling us they love EastEnders, Doctor Who, Strictly and The Great British Bake Off. But it’s also clear that the Next Step keeps teenagers hearts beating, whilst for daytime audiences there is a lot of love for Council House Crackdown. The more we find out about what audiences love the more we can recommend new programmes that they will enjoy.”

Being a heart symbol, may be we all pressed it twice for two hearts and cancelled each vote out – damn our slavish devotion!

 

The post Doctor Who Fourth Most Loved Show on BBC iPlayer appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Has Eve Myles Just Said Goodbye to Torchwood’s Gwen Cooper?

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.

Has Eve Myles told fans that she’s played Torchwood’s Gwen Cooper for the last time?

Speaking on Twitter to fans discussing author Guy Adams – who penned 2002’s Torchwood novel, The House That Jack Built by Guy Adams and the upcoming Big Finish audio adventure Torchwood: More Than This – Myles seemed to go from being unsure of Gwen’s future to making a definitive statement (or as definitive as Twitter gets) about moving on from the role she’s inhabited since 2006.

@HThorrington_ the man is amazing,& I am honoured to have worked with him.But I don’t know about doing anymore. It’s so bitter sweet.#truth

— Eve Myles (@TeamEveMyles) February 13, 2016

Followed by…

@HThorrington_ yea. well Iv made my mind up and GC is now Laid to rest..thanks guys for living/hating her… Nightnight.

— Eve Myles (@TeamEveMyles) February 13, 2016

Then…

@CazieW well my love I’m stopping! I’m never playing my lady again. Thankyou all.

— Eve Myles (@TeamEveMyles) February 13, 2016

And finally, a goodbye from Eve to Gwen…

Thankyou. Massive goodbye GC.

— Eve Myles (@TeamEveMyles) February 13, 2016

So, if it turns out to be true, where does this leave Torchwood? With the old gang going their separate ways, a new TV series seems further and further away from becoming a reality. Although we can perhaps see Myles changing her mind if we get a big budget return for Cardiff’s finest.

Perhaps, the show has found its ideal partner in the infinite possibilities of Big Finish? Where the atmospheric horrors and creeping terrors that haunt our intrepid heroes are limited by the confines of a TV budget.

The underlying message of Myles potential departure is that Torchwood will continue and, like the show that gave birth to it, it will change and evolve with every incarnation.

But for now, let’s celebrate Eve Myles and her signature role: What are Gwen’s finest moments? What are your go-to Torchwood episodes? Will you miss the chemistry between her and John Barrowman?

(Thanks to Jonathan)

 

The post Has Eve Myles Just Said Goodbye to Torchwood’s Gwen Cooper? appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Titan Comics Announce Doctor Who Comics Day 2016

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.

Titan Comics have announced that this year’s global Doctor Who Comics Day event will take place Saturday 9th July.

The event, which celebrates the panel and speech bubbled adventures of the Doctor through various incarnations, is in its third looks set to be the biggest yet, with new comics and collections, signings and events planned across the globe.

Last year, the event tied-in with a special, brand-new, five-part weekly Doctor Who comics cross-over series by Paul Cornell and Neil Edwards, and saw comic readers get the chance to celebrate Doctor Who Comics Day at over 2900 locations including comic shops, bookstores, retail chains and libraries.

Ricky Claydon, Direct Sales & Marketing Manager at Titan Comics, said:

“We’ve got some great things planned for this year’s 2016 Doctor Who Comics Day event. As well as working closely with stores and libraries to develop events for the day, for 2016 we’ll be supplying Doctor Who fans with event kits to hold their own reading group events.”

To sign-up your store, library, or register for an event kit to host your own reading group event on Doctor Who Comics Day, visit ​Titan-Comics.com​

The post Titan Comics Announce Doctor Who Comics Day 2016 appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

ReaKtion Round-Up: The Shape of Series 9

David Power 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.

Hah! Bet you thought you had seen the last of me, right? But just like Clara I don’t seem to know when to stay gone. (Oh come on, I have to get a few more jokes in before I go.) So, since we looked at each of episode of Series 9 individually, how about we look at the series as whole. We’ll examine Series 9 under four categories, character development, story arc, story range, and ratings. Lets go!

Character development

The Doctor: Like most people predicted, the Twelfth Doctor followed the route of the First Doctor and mellowed out in his second season. The Twelfth Doctor’s edges have been smoothed out, and now that the Doctor’s done debating whether or not he’s a good man he can finally relax. The Series 8 version of the Twelfth Doctor always seemed to me as one recovering from 900 years on Trenzalore. 900 years of being forced to tell the truth means he was instinctively prone to harsh honesty, mostly at Clara’s expense. 900 years of constantly outliving everyone around him also made him disconnected and desensitised to the tragedy of mortality, like when he quickly realises he can use Ross’ death to his advantage to track the antibodies in 2014’s Into the Dalek.

At the beginning of Series 9 the Doctor believes he’s going to die, and this belief kicks him into what seems to be a mid-life crisis, including the staple acquiring of mid-life crisis toys. Even when the Doctor doesn’t end up dying, he still keeps these toys, a new Yamaha SGV800 and a pair of sonic shades. Re-affirming his close friendship with Clara Oswald has allowed The Twelfth Doctor to become more approachable (while still not as quick to warm to others as other incarnations), and return to exploring universe purely for the fun of it. I’m on board with this more laid back Twelve, as to me it feels like natural character progression, and to be honest Peter Capaldi simply looks damn cool playing guitar.

Clara Oswald: Clara Oswald’s attempt in Series 8 to live both a normal life and a life with the Doctor ended in the death of her boyfriend Danny Pink. Her memories of meeting Orson Pink now teases of a future she never lived, Danny’s death flings Clara in what seems to be a life 100% revolving around the Doctor. This, combined with how long Clara has been travelling with the Doctor, leads Clara down a reckless path that eventually results in her death. Yet again, in Series 9 Clara’s character development makes sense and plays quite well into the overall events of the series.

Story arc

The Hybrid. Now this one’s tricky. When the story arc is introduced at the end of The Witch’s Familiar, Davros states there’s an ancient Gallifreyan prophecy that implies in the future there will be a Dalek- Time Lord Hybrid, and that this prophecy is why the Doctor actually fled Gallifrey. While this pushed some peoples buttons, even ignoring the expanded universe Cartmel masterplan, the Seventh Doctor serial Remembrance of the Daleks already confirmed that the Doctor had ulterior motives for leaving Gallifrey that faithful day.

The Doctor flees Skaro, and we see shots of Daleks covered in regeneration energy, the prophecy seemingly coming true. From here onwards the arc begins to feel clunkier and clunkier. Three episodes later, at the end of The Girl Who Died, the Doctor gravely notes Ashildr is now technically a hybrid, and suddenly we have a story arc. Even though it looked like we got confirmation about the Hybrid a couple of weeks ago, since it was mentioned recently by Davros the Doctor begins to toy around with the idea of anyone being the notorious Hybrid, tossing out Ashildr and Osgood as potential candidates.

A big problem with this arc is that it’s not retconned into the show’s mythos particularly well. The First Doctor didn’t seem to recognise the Daleks when he first met them in their eponymous story in 1963, making the Dalek Time-Lord prophecy feel not thought out. Then the Doctor suddenly starts theorising that others are the Hybrid, suddenly deciding now is the time to deal with this. This prophecy never seemed to ring any bells when the Doctor interacted with River Song, or Captain Jack, or even Dalek Sec Hybrid. It’s in Sec’s name for heavens sake!

Then we get to Hell Bent and the whole thing just collapses in on itself. Supposedly now no-one really knows who the Hybrid is. Some interesting theories are thrown out, Ashildr, the Doctor (with a cheeky wink to the TV Movie), the Doctor and Clara, and the Doctor and The Master, but it’s here at the very end of Series 9 when we realise that this “arc” didn’t matter at all. It didn’t have the slightest effect on the overall story, bar the Time Lords trapping the Doctor in his confession dial to find out what he knows, only to stop deciding it was important once he got out. Just a couple of nods at the very end almost as if the writers forgot about it. All this hybrid business didn’t actually tie the season together in the slightest. We spent Series 9 with random bits of confused build up, with an actually interesting idea, for a complete lack of any resolution, unfortunately resulting in a disappointing mess of a story arc.

Story range

Series 9 had a challenge facing it. Give how the series was mostly two parters, the amount of places we would travel to over the course of the series was reduced. Series 9 compensates for this by giving us quite a variety of locations and time periods. Over the course of the series we’ve seen England in three different centuries, a rebuilt Skaro, an underwater base, a mock soviet city, New Mexico, a 38th century space station, and wouldn’t you know it, even Gallifrey!

In terms of the stories themselves we’ve had first person horror stories, political thrillers, character pieces, the return of fan favourite characters, and the pay off of a story line building up since the 50th anniversary. For a season with a limited amount of stories, this season contained more than enough variety to keep the season interesting week in and week out.

Ratings

I’d assume you all know by now, but those for who don’t; the ratings haven’t been very good for Doctor Who this season. Only two stories this season, excluding The Husbands of River Song, have achieved a higher rating of people watching than the lowest rated episode of Series 8. 2014’s Flatline reached an initial audience of 4.6 million people, with only The Girl Who Died and Hell Bent surpassing that at 4.85 and 4.8 respectively.

As many have theorised before me, there could be many reasons as to why the ratings were lower than average this season, rugby matches playing concurrently, Halloween parties taking priority, later time slots meaning kiddies can’t stay up and watch. Should we worried about these low ratings? To be honest I don’t think so. Critically this season has done remarkably well, and with the news of a new companion and then a new showrunner around the corner, I don’t know how people wouldn’t watch.

What did you guys think of Series 9 as a whole? Do you agree with me? Disagree? Let all your feelings out now when they’re still relevant!

So here we are then, it’s the end, but the moment’s been prepared for. Without repeating myself from last week, thanks for reading these, and see you all when I see you.

 

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