DOCTOR WHO FAQ - All That's Left To Know About The Most Famous Time Lord In The Universe by Dave Thompson

It may have escaped your attention, but the BBC TV series DOCTOR WHO celebrated its fiftieth birthday recently. This was as good a reason for a few million more words to be written about what must be one the most written about television series of all time. What, indeed, can there be left to know?

Quibbles first - title and subtitle. This is not a book of frequently asked questions. And as for its claim that it contains 'all that's left to know' about the Doctor, well that's just nonsense. 'All that's left to know' after what?

Don't get me wrong, author Dave Thompson knows his stuff and certainly has opinions on his stuff, but there is very little here that even a semi-knowledgeable viewer like me didn't already know, or certainly couldn't have found out pretty quickly on the internet. True enough, the chapters on the Big Finish audio productions and the music inspired by Doctor Who were news to me, but then I did say that I was only semi-knowledgeable.

What this book really is, is a comprehensive overview of the show for someone who knows a little and wants to know a lot  more. This is for people who are new to the series in its modern incarnation and want to be indoctrinated in the history.

It is also, make no bones about it, for Americans. The opening chapter is entitled 'The TARDIS in America'.

It is also out of date, containing nothing of the fiftieth year's celebrations, but that's a minor point since any book like this is out of date as soon as it's printed (if it's lucky).

So, what's good about it? Well, if you don't already have an overview of the show then you could certainly do worse than this and it does cover those Big Finish audio productions and books and music as well. There's a comprehensive listing of TV episodes, audio productions, original books and even comic books featuring the 'most famous time lord in the universe'.

It's also pretty easy to read. Thompson has a clean style and isn't shy about coming forward with what he thinks. That he didn't like Adric or Mel is no surprise to any right-thinking individual, but his views on the Moffat era might not go down so well with some others.

There's an eclectic mix of illustrations (black and white) to break up the text and at 258 pages of history and opinions, there ought to be something for everyone to find of interest.

We're back, though, to that thorny question of who exactly this book is for. Completists will want it for, well, completeness, but there's very little in it to make it indispensable. Then again, after so much has been written about the show, what on earth could there be left to know?

Unique But Similar: The Prisoner Compared by Andrew K Shenton

Much has been written on the subject of THE PRISONER, Patrick McGoohan's elliptical, surreal cult fantasy show first broadcast in 1967-8. Much of that can be boiled down to the fact that there was nothing like it ever before and there has been nothing like it since.

That, though, is apparently a fallacy, as this book by Andrew K Shenton sets out to demonstrate.

Taking the major themes of the this landmark show, Dr Shenton shows how they have been used in other shows such as DOCTOR WHO, BLAKE'S SEVEN, UFO, JOE 90, CHILDREN OF THE STONES, THE OMEGA FACTOR and others either before or since, rustling up an impressive array of references from other commentators on the show and the genre in general to back him up.

There is always room for another book about THE PRISONER, especially by such a scholar as Dr Shenton, but I am hard-pressed to see who this particular book is aimed it. It reads like a textbook and might be immensely useful for anyone studying a course in comparable Prisonerology (assuming there is such a thing), and Prisoner completists will, of course, want to see what he has to say, but it's hardly the most entertaining presentation for someone wanting a little light reading.

You also have to question the subject matter. It's true that the themes of THE PRISONER have cropped up elsewhere, not least since they first appeared in the show, but every influential show is going to leave a legacy. An informed examination of that legacy would be interesting, to be sure, but that doesn't seem to be what Dr Shenton is trying to say. What he is trying to do is to challenge the popular perception of THE PRISONER as something quite unique.

The success of that will depend on whether you agree with him or not, but having some chapters devoted to a single episode of another show does weaken his case. I mean one single episode of THE CHAMPIONS sharing some ideas doesn't exactly bring down the walls of the case for THE PRISONER 's reputation.

If you want to see what the talking points are then head over to Amazon.co.uk , Amazon.com, or all good bookstores.

Review of The Name Of The Doctor

Trenzalore is the most dangerous place in the universe for the Doctor, the one place that he must not go. Clara, the impossible girl who has been in his life forever, must go with him there when his friends are taken prisoner. Someone has a dastardly plan that might end the Doctor before he even began.

We've been critical of these last set of episodes, and of Steven Moffat's reign in charge if truth be told, but the man does know how to write a good episodes and with The Name Of The Doctor, he remembers that fact. 

True, we don't get to know the Doctor's name (which is a promise broken) and true it features the Keystone Cops trio of Vastra, Jenny and Strax (look, if the BBC haven't commissioned a spin-off yet, just give up on it will you?), but those quibbles aside, there was very little you could say was wrong with this episode.

The atmosphere of impending doom was brilliantly portrayed, with Matt Smith's Doctor breaking down into tears and showing real fear at what lies ahead for him at Trenzalore. Richard E Grant is back again as the Great Intelligence and this time he is given something to do. His plan really is nasty and, more importantly, it is the cause of Clara.

Yes, Steven Moffat has made good on his promise to explain Clara and it is an excellent explanation that has been carefully crafted and starts delightfully here with Jenna Louise Coleman appearing alongside almost all of the previous Doctors. The tease of this leads onto the revelations about what happens after a Time Lord dies and how the Great Intelligence intends to strip away the Doctor's entire lives.


Add to that a wrenching goodbye to River Song (as if she will ever really be gone) and some killer one liners and this is the best episode of DOCTOR WHO since ... well since The Doctor's Wife.

But even that wasn't enough. In the dying seconds, the conundrum is set up for the big 50th anniversary episode and now we just can't wait for that to roll around.

We haven't had much cause to say it recently, but Bravo, Mr Moffat, Bravo.

Cowboys vs Time Lords - DOCTOR WHO PREVIEW

This is it! The first preview of the coming series of DOCTOR WHO and there's a lot of fun looking cowboy stuff going on.

We've been underwhelmed by Steven Moffat's reign so far, but this might the series it all comes good.

New DOCTOR WHO companion announced

The BBC has announced who is going to be the new DOCTOR WHO companion replacing Amy Pond and she is Jenna-Louise Coleman, an actress who previously appeared in the soap opera Emmerdale.

Let's just hope that we can get move away from the Rose Tyler feisty girl-next-door types. It's good to have a strong female role model, but they've been a bit samey in the new incarnation.

Oh, and can she please not be in love with the Doctor.

New Dr Who Episodes Found

Fans of DOCTOR WHO have been given an early Christmas present this year with the announcement that two episodes of the classic series thought to have been lost forever have been found in Australia.

Coming from the stories Galaxy 4 and The Underwater Menace, starring William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton as the first and second incarnations of the peripatetic Time Lord.

The loss results from the early practice of wiping videotapes to be used again at a time when the idea that fans would want to rewatch this material in their living rooms forever wasn't even considered and videotape was expensive.

The full story can be found here.

Doctor Who stole my award

Whilst it's usually the misfits ASBO offenders that are doing all the stealing, it has been reported that they had an award stolen out from under them at the Royal Television Society Craft and Design Awards. The prize they should have received was handed to Doctor Who instead.

Apparently there was a 'human error in data entry'. That's a hell of typo from 'Misfits' to 'Doctor Who'. Perhaps it was just a fan making their own judgement call. If so then the 'steps have been taken to ensure thatit cannot happen again' means that someone got sacked for liking Doctor Who over Misfits.

The whole story is reported on the BBC News website.

DR WHO Christmas special press release

Images and a press release are available on the BBC website regarding the DOCTOR WHO Christmas special. Here's the press release

 

 

"Date: 21.09.2011

Category: TV Drama; BBC One

Production has started on the 2011 Doctor Who Christmas Special in which the Doctor (Matt Smith) finds himself in war-torn England embarking on a magical and mysterious adventure with a young widow and her two children.

A stellar guest cast including Claire Skinner (Outnumbered), Bill Bailey (Black Books), Arabella Weir (The Fast Show) and Alexander Armstrong (Armstrong & Miller), join Matt Smith in the emotional festive special, packed full of Christmas thrills and chills.
Steven Moffat, Lead Writer and Executive Producer, commented: "The Doctor at Christmas – nothing is more fun to write. Maybe because it's so his kind of day – everything's bright and shiny, everybody's having a laugh, and nobody minds if you wear a really stupid hat. Of all the Doctors, Matt Smith's is the one that was born for this time of year – so it's the best news possible that he's heading back down the chimney."

The special, set during the Second World War, sees Madge Arwell and her two children, Lily and Cyril, evacuated to a draughty old house in Dorset, where the caretaker is a mysterious young man in a bow tie, and a big blue parcel is waiting for them under the tree. They are about to enter a magical new world and learn that a Time Lord never forgets his debts.
Claire Skinner said: "I am thrilled to be in Doctor Who playing Madge who is a bit of super-mum. It's a magical part."

This marks Matt Smith's second outing as the Doctor at Christmas time and will follow hot on the heels of the successful 2011 series, currently airing on BBC One until October.

The Christmas Special was commissioned by Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama and Danny Cohen, Controller BBC One. Steven Moffat is Lead Writer and Executive Producer with Piers Wenger and Caroline Skinner, also executive producing.

Filming on the Christmas special will continue until mid-October 2011. "

Let's hope the Steven Moffat can come up with something better than last year's THE CHRISTMAS CAROL which was good without being great.

Daleks invade London (again)

Do you remember this?

Way back in 1964 this was the image that scared the living daylights out of a generation. The daleks had taken over the planet and to prove it were parading through the city of London.

The episode was The Dalek Invasion of Earth and starred William Hartnell as the first Doctor. It's available on DVD and it hasn't lost any of its power to shock.

Now look to the right. No this isn't the horror that is colorisation visited on the classic Dr Who adventure, but a restaging of the event in aid of publicising The DOCTOR WHO EXPERIENCE in London, which runs through to November.

There are four generations of dalek here frome throughout the show's run including the triumphant copper-coloured recreation for Christopher Ecclestone's ninth Doctor and the much more controversial multicoloured version that greeted Matt Smith's eleventh Doctor. Whichever is your favourite, it cannot be argued that the daleks are the quintessential Doctor Who alien and a truly iconic science fiction creation.

Anyone who disagrees will, inevitably, be exterminated.

Steven Moffat Unhappy about Dr Who Leaks

Steven Moffat is reported on the BBC news website as being unhappy about fans who blogged details of the latest series opening two parter after having been invited to a showing of the stories at the official launch of the series.

It strikes us as being somewhat naive to think that you can invite fans to such an event and not expect them to leak spoilers. Is the Moffster playing publicity-raising games? He certainly uses some unfriendly language, calling the offender a twit and hoping that he goes and watches something else instead.

You also have to say that accusing someone of having 'ham-fisted english' when you're a writer is opening yourself open to all kinds of criticism when you yourself are a writer, no matter how successful.

We loved Moffat's work in the Russell T Davies era, but have been disappointed since he took over. We won't be accusing him of 'ham-fisted showrunning' any time soon, though.

We really enjoyed last Saturday's episode though.

Genre Icons We Love - Elisabeth Sladen RIP

I was in the land of no internet access when I heard the news that Elisabeth Sladen had died on April 19th and so this planned icon piece has become an epitaph.

I had the fortune of meeting this lady twice and lady is the only word that can adequately express the manner in which she treated not only myself, but others that shared the experience. The first time was at a time when the classic series of DOCTOR WHO was over and the new series that now rules the airwaves wasn't even a twinkle in Russell T Davies' eye. An artist who had painted an image of her from the classic show's story THE SEEDS OF DOOM (now out on DVD) was trying to shift them at a genre show and she had turned up without billing or pre-notification to help him out. She was approachable and chatted for simply ages. Had I not already been smitten by her from an early age then I certainly would have been after this encounter.

The second time that I met her was only days after her triumphant return in School Reunion and the queues to her table were miles long. Even so, she took time with each person, especially her new younger fans and treated everyone as thought they were special and not just a means to make some extra cash.

When DOCTOR WHO first returned to our screens, I had two thoughts in my head. They were 'make it good' and 'bring back Sarah Jane'. Sarah Jane Smith was the first female character that impacted on my younger self and her impact was so strong that my daughter's first names are Sarah and Jane (my wife refusing to double barrell it because her surname is already double barrelled). Well it came back and it was better than good and they brought back Sarah Jane Smith.

Not only did they bring her back, but they gave her a spin off series that was way better than the lacklustre TORCHWOOD.

THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES gave Elisabeth another chance to shine as an actress and she took the chance with both hands, showing that she was every bit as capable of the modern style of more subtle performance as the older style from the classic series of DOCTOR WHO. There can be no-one who wouldn't want a neighbour like Sarah Jane Smith.

Sarah Jane Smith may be the only role that Elisabeth Sladen will be remembered for by her fans, but it is a character that featured in some of the very best episodes that the show ever produced (GENESIS OF THE DALEKS anyone) and she is, above all, the companion who will be remembered. Amy who?

Elisabeth Sladen is no longer with us, but the pleasure that she brought will remain with us for as long as her shows continue to captivate new audiences. I will always remember her, though, as the charming, warm and thoroughly lovely woman that I was lucky enough to meet twice.

BAFTA nominates a few genre shows

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts TV nominations are out and there are some genre nominations to be pleased about.

Misfits has a number of nominations, cementing its place as the country's favourite genre show (at least in the eyes of the industry). These include Robert Sheehan for best supporting actor, Lauren Socha for best supporting actress, Best Drama Series and New Media.

BEING HUMAN's scorching third season also gets a nomination in the Best Drama Series category and Matt Smith is nominated for his performance as the 11th Doctor in DOCTOR WHO in the Best Actor Category.

Surprisingly, there are no nominations for either THE DEEP or OUTCASTS (this last bit is ironic).

Nicholas Courtney Dies

We could not let the news of the passing of Nicholas Courtney go past without adding our appreciation of the man to the many that will be made on fan sites all over the world.

As someone who grew up with the third and fourth Doctors, Courtney's role as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in DOCTOR WHO has a place of fondness in my heart. His was a difficult job as the character was often used as someone for the Doctor to ridicule and belittle for his faith in superior firepower, and yet Courtney managed to make his underwritten military commander into a fan favourite and gave the character a sense of honour and nobility.

Be honest, would UNIT have ever become such a major part of the show without him?

DR Who Does A Dickens

"Amy and Rory are trapped on a crashing space liner, and the only way The Doctor can rescue them is to save the soul of a lonely old miser, in a festive edition of the time-travelling adventure, written by Steven Moffat. But is Kazran Sardick, the richest man in Sardicktown, beyond redemption? And what is lurking in the fogs of Christmas Eve? "

That's the synopsis of the Doctor Who Christmas special, the first to presided over new showrunner Steven Moffatt. Since Dickens and crashing space liners have already been covered during Russell T Davies' tenure as the master of the TARDIS, we can't help but wonder what the Moff is up to.

I guess that we'll find out on Christmas Day when the BBC's flagship science fiction show once again anchors the festive programming.

The last versio of this tale that the BBC produced was a comedy  version starring Doctor Who actress Catherine Tate Nan's Christmas Carol in which previous Doctor David Tennant also appeared.

Red daleks in Doctor Who Season 4 finale

There's been a lot of speculation about whether Davros was going to crop up in the season 4 finale of Doctor Who, but the possibility of that being the case was made all the closer for us when we were told by a reliable source that the Mill FX house that does the effects work for Doctor Who has been playing around with daleks that are to appear in the finale of the current season, daleks that might (for some reason) be red.

The details are up for question, but the fact that the daleks are to appear in the finale now seems to us to be a fact.

Mind you, it wouldn't be the first time we've been wrong.

Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf

Today we went to a one man stand up show by a bloke called Toby Hadoke which was entitled 'MOTHS ATE MY DR WHO SCARF' at the Playhouse Theatre in Oxford. It was brilliant - a comedy romp through one man's obsession with the premier science fiction show the UK has ever produced.

If you are a Doctor Who fan, and especially a Doctor Who fan who can remember back as far the early years of Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, then you absolutely have to see this show. Hadoke's routine is funny enough for all, but for those who went through the same experiences that he did (and I personally can relate to just about every one) then it is downright hilarious.

An intimate knowledge of Doctor Who is advisable to get the absolute best out of the show, but if you know nothing about the show at all it is still money well spent as anyone who has ever had an abiding interest in anything will be able to understand what he's talking about.

But it's not just Doctor Who. Hadoke's journey takes in boarding school, bullying, university, sex, marriage, fatherhood, the British National Party, Casualty, Margaret Thatcher, terrrorism and a whole host of other current day concerns.

Rarely has a man been able to take utter geekdom and make it not only so accessible, but downright bloody cool.

For that alone, he deserves you as an audience. There's not one person who walked out of the show that we attended that didn't walk out without a smile on their face.