Doctor Who Review Of The Year: 2014

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.

So, that was 2014, the year in which Doctor Who moved into an exciting new era with the arrival of the Twelfth Doctor, a move that shunneed some of the more human characteristics of his three predecessors for a more “classic” approach from actor Peter Capaldi.

Also, Missy.

But were these the topics that got Kasterborous readers clicking? Was 2014 really the story of the CyberBrig, an ineffectual Doctor blundering through his two part finale at the behest of the most unlikely Time Lord returning villain reveal, or was the real conversation taking place on different topics in Doctor Who fandom? Before we get to the 2014 memories from some of the Kasterborous team, here’s a collection ofour 10 most popular articles from January 1st to December 31st 2014, with some results that may surprise you somewhat…

10. Sylvester McCoy Knows Who The Next Master Is

Back in March, when we thought that the new Master would be Charles Dance, Sylvester McCoy teased fans at the Newcastle Film and Comic Con with the news that he knew who had been cast as the new batty Time Lord incarnation and that they would be ‘Very, very scary.’ Looking back, it’s not a close match; also, Sylvester apparently said “he” so perhaps he was misinformed… or perhaps someone else was originally cast, Penny Carter-style?

9. Doctor Who Sites Produce A Great April Fools’ Day

Continuing the theme of the Master’s return, April 1st saw a slew of rumours revealed as jokes, as both Peter Capaldi’s Doctor and a returning Arthur Darvill were claimed to be the new Master in various April Fool’s jokes from around the web (and at least one of these was taken as fact by a couple of less reliable news sources!)

8. Series 8 Goes Into A “Raw, Different Direction”

At the end of December 2013, Steven Moffat claimed that Doctor Who Series 8 would quite different to those that have come before, noting that it was necessary: “It happens on every show – you get good at it and ‘good at it’ is the enemy in the end.”

7. Doctor Who And The Curse Of The Porn Parodies

It wasn’t just April Fool’s Day that kept fans chuckling in April. We brought a new porn parody with the non-PC title of “Doctor Whore”. There’s little more to say on this; the post was remarkably short, with no filler. We suggest you grab the bull by the horns if you want read the article, one of the most embarrassing produced by this usually upstanding organ.

6. Doctor Who Gets New Four-Legged Friend!

Of particular interest to Kasterborous readers in 2014 was the news that the Doctor was to be joined on his travels by a new four-legged friend, a cat called Fuzz-E. Yep, we’re back with April Fool’s Day. Special mention should go to Drew Boynton who conceived and produced this post after I’d already decided to skip the annual trickfest – it was good enough to convince me and seemingly entertaining enough for you lot!

5. Barrowman’s River/Jack Spinoff Dreams – What Do You Think?

Captain Jack has been missed from Doctor Who since the travesty of Miracle Day, and frankly it’s about time he was back as an occasional companion for the Doctor once again. John Barrowman has other ideas, however – he wants Jack to team up with River Song for some sort of entendre laced alien shooting fun. Hey, who can argue with that?

4. Here It Is: Doctor Number 12’s Sonic Screwdriver!

Fans were astounded to see that merchandise focus the Sonic Screwdriver was not getting a serious overhaul for the arrival of the Twelfth Doctor. With a determination to avoid snogging and overusing his once universal key, Peter Capaldi instead resisted attempts to update the device. In fact, his Doctor barely used the sonic screwdriver throughout Series 8…

3. Moffat Explains: Why The TARDIS Dislikes Clara

Back in Series 7b it was established that the TARDIS isn’t keen on Clara. Could this have been because of her presence on Gallifrey as a splinter when the Doctor stole the TARDIS? Or could it be because Clara was leading the Doctor to his death on Trenzalore?

Nothing so interesting, according to the Moff, who said that the TARDIS was suspicious of the companion, feeling that “clever, sceptical, hard-to-impress Clara might just cause trouble.”

2. Whoniverse Con Cancelled As Matt Smith Forced To Withdraw

There have been a few Doctor Who conventions cancelled in 2014, but most notable was Whoniverse, an Australian event that folded after first Karen Gillan, then Matt Smith, withdrew, the latter citing a “personal family emergency”.

1. Karen Gillan’s Naked Selfie

Oh you naughty Kasterborites. The most popular article on the site during 2014 was the one that carried an image of Karen Gillan wearing very little in a snap from the doomed Selfie, a show that attempted to bring the Pygmalion story up to date, but really only succeeded in drawing ire (admittedly at everyone in it except Karen). We can only suppose the high visitor rate on this post was because you were supporting Karen in her first US TV role…

The Kasterborous Team Recall 2014

With a new Doctor, new series, new Master and a world tour, there has been a lot to talk about in Doctor Who fandom. I decided to ask the Kasterborous team for their favourite moments of being a fan in 2014.

Nick Kitchen

I’ve got two moments from Series 8 that stand out for me (remarkably, they have little to do with Capaldi!). The first is the Matt Smith cameo from Deep Breath and the following dialogue from Peter Capaldi. I was terribly on the fence with him as the Doctor until that sequence, and I think Moffat knew there would be many like me that needed that handoff. Second, the line heard around the Whoniverse: “Well, couldn’t very well keep calling myself the Master now, could I?”

We suspected it was coming, but what a moment!

Joe Siegler

For the show having the stones to cast and implement an older Doctor in this day and age. I honestly didn’t think they’d ever do that, and was something I’d been hoping they’d do for a really long time.

Drew Boynton

I’d say getting The Day of the Doctor on Blu-ray for my birthday. Also, getting Web of Fear on DVD and finally getting to see those lost episodes.

Becky Crockett

I had an ultimate Whovian moment – meeting my Doctor in person! Plus his companion. Got pictures with both Matt Smith and Karen Gillan when they were here in Philly and saw both Arthur Darvill and Alex Kingston at NYCC. I was side hugged by Matt and mere steps from Arthur. *fangirl swoon*

Jonathan Appleton

Tom Baker at Big Finish Day. He may be 80 but give him a microphone and an audience and it’s like it’s 1975 again… Check out the BF Tom Baker at 80 interview; he’s in reflective mood for much of it but still plenty of fun to be had – his tale of teasing Jon Pertwee about money is a hoot.

Patrick Riley

Seeing Deep Breath at the cinema was a nice moment. It was nothing compared to doing the same for The Day of the Doctor last year, but it was still a good highlight.

James Lomond

The moment that the Doctor put the bereaved woman’s psychological condition into his own mind in Mummy on the Orient Express and the next 66 seconds of Capaldi’s performance as the Mummy advanced on him and he solved the mystery and freed that ancient soldier. 66 Seconds in which the Doctor came back, properly, for me for the first time since 1989. Perfect.

Simon Mills

Taking m’daughter to see Deep Breath on the big screen with both of us wearing our scarves and getting really excited at the new title sequence. Marvellous stuff. Next year I want to get a hug from Sophie Aldred at the Sci Fi Weekender!

A Big Thank-You To Our Readers & Commenters

Of course, absolutely none of our success in 2014 would have been possible without you, the readers. You’re all flipping brilliant, scouring our website 24 hours a day, reading and sharing what you find on Facebook, Twitter and by email, and we wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t for you. Actually, we would, because we’re all obsessive Doctor Who fans, but the difference is that knowing you’re reading makes us try harder.

Your comments are a massive boost too. Over the past 12 months, Donna M, CastellanSpandrell, TimeChaser and TonyS have raked up around 1500 commen ts between them across all manner of topics on Kasterborous, and this quartet has perhaps played as big a part as the contributors. A big thank you goes out to them!

Finally, it’s a thank you to you for reading this, and sticking with the site we affectionately call The K. We’ve got a few interesting new things coming up in the next few months, so stay tuned, and keep clicking and sharing. Your support means everything.

Happy New Year!

The post Doctor Who Review Of The Year: 2014 appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.