Being a Doctor Who fan...

Someone told me that the BBC Doctor Who website has a trailer for the new series starting at Easter. It puts me in the mood to see this new series. Which is a shame as I probably won't be able to see much of it this year due to the move... but more about that in another post.

Thinking back six years to when the Russell T Davies revival was first announced, I felt ambivalent about the revival. Russell was a good writer and loved the series. I'd seen his Channel 4 series, and heard good stuff about the serials he did for children's TV.

I was prepared not to like it. As a thirty-something male fan of the original series I realised that I had no right to like it- it would have to primarily grab the attention of the younger audience. If us old school fans liked it too, that would be a bonus, if not then we still had the tapes of the old series, and the CDs made by Big Finish.

But the younger audience liked it. And I got my bonus- I thought it was great too. It was better than anyone had any right to expect. What's more to cap it all it all, lots of other people liked it and it became incredibly popular.

It doesn't always hit the mark. But, by and large, it has a better hit rate than the old series, and you need your rose tinted glasses to pretty deeply coloured to think otherwise.

Doctor Who has just come to the end of a golden age, and is entering a new one, with a new chief writer, and lead actors. It may not repeat the success of the Davies-Tennant era, but five years of top-notch TV was more than any fan had any right to expect.


Anyway- talking of Doctor Who nostalgia: Prior to the move I'm trying to flog as much of my stuff that gathers dust in attics as possible. I don't think it's fair to ask my parents to store more stuff while not doing anything with all the boxes that have remained untouched for five or more years.

My old New Adventures seem to have gone like hot cakes on Amazon marketplace, and the few ten to twenty year old copies of Doctor Who Magazine that were still intact have found new homes courtesy of eBay. Who would have thought it.

I'm having more difficulty getting rid of the remainants of my collection of video tapes. Who fans are typically quicker to adopt new technology than people in general, so have no desire to pick up episodes on an old format. I got rid of a few tapes at work to people wanting to show their kids what they used to watch back in the day, but I think I'm going to have to take drastic action with the rest.

The life laundry is therapeutic. It feels better to know this stuff is with people who will appreciate it, rather than just taking up room or being pulped to become part of next weeks Daily Mail.

Spot the human?

I have proof that David Cameron is in league with...

OK, let's look at the facts.

The image on the left was taken from a campaign poster. The image on the right, just a regular photograph. Spot the difference?

The one on the left, so smooth, almost plasticy. It's an auton replica!!

David Cameron is in league with the autons and is using at least one of them to help him out with his campaigning. Must be.

Or it's the result of over done make-up, or even a photoshop job.

Nah.

It's the end, but the moment had been prepared for.

I had most of the end of 2009 off work, and happily spent it with my lovely wife and son. And we did have a nice time.

Things I have not been doing included:

• Blogging


• Decorating


• Reading discussion forums

So... anything happen over Christmas? The main thing, according to the BBC was the finalé of the Russell T Davies era of Doctor Who. I don't think the climax to a TV series had ever had so much build up. The two-parter over christmas seemed to be the now traditional series finale and the Christmas episode.

I enjoyed it. I thought the end was overblown and self-indulgent, but I enjoyed that too. Russel and David had certainly earned that self indulgence.

So, for Doctor Who, it's the end of an era. Wonder what the new one will be like?

De-cluttering

I've been decluttering.

Mostly this has meant putting Books, CDs and VHS tapes up for sale on Amazon. Given I'm not a completeist and rarely read any fiction twice, keeping the lot seemed an extravagance.

On top of this I cleared out boxes of old letters and paperwork. 10 year old credit card and bank statements from accounts I no longer have are now shredded and added to the compost bin. My uni notes are on their way to be next week's newspapers. I figured these were papers I would only re-visit for nostalgia purposes, and nostalgia as they say ain't what it used to be.

One side effect of this decluttering is a Doctor Who morning marathon. In the half hour before his breakfast, Matthew and I watch an old episode of Doctor Who. Mostly these are off-air copies from UK gold circa 1999, so they will be watched and thrown away. So far I've watched Spearhead From Space, Day of the Daleks, Carnival of Monsters, and the end of The Space Museum. And then the tape itself will sadly have to be binned.

Unless anyone still has use of blank video tapes?

Matt Smith is The Doctor...

Interesting choice.

Funnily enough while half the world seems to be going "Matt Who", both here and across the Pennines Matt was recognised as "the bloke from Ruby in the Smoke".

We liked him in that and are optimistic about his casting.

One reservation I have is that, superficially, he has some similarities to David Tennant, and there won't be enough of a contrast. But I trust the new team at BBC Wales to know their job better than I do!

Out of the shadows

One of the things we don't usually watch time-shifted, is Doctor Who. Well last Saturday's we watched on Sunday, but we usually watch it near enough at the time of broadcast.

I've not blogged much about this series, but I have been enjoying it immensely. Last Saturday was the first of a two parter by Stephen Moffatt, the man who will be steering the Doctor Who ship in 2010's fifth series of the revived show. It was unbelievably excellent with more than a hint of the lovely "Time Traveller's Wife", as he runs into someone who he has never met, who turns out to know him very well indeed.

The story is set in a deserted library, in the 51st century, with a weird and wonderful subplot involving a little girl and her psychiatrist in a twentysomethingth century flat to give it a lovely large dollop of "what on earth is going on here"?

The characters are great, even including something rarely seen in drama, but often in real life, two people with the same first name: "Proper" Dave and "Other" Dave. This, despite merely reflecting reality, is hilarious on screen.

There was a point in the episode when The Doctor uses the library systems to determine how many people are in there. 2, humanoids, but a million million lifeforms. 1,000,000,000,000 lifeforms equal 1 terralifeform. But given this is the Vashta Nerada, pirhana like creatures that resemble shadow, perhaps that should be one terror lifeform.

It goes ping when there's... stuff

Great episode. Particularly identified with the bits where the Doctor stuggles to explain things he obviously understands, to other people. That's so me.

Best line "The windows are too big". An in joke at the fact the Tardis prop isn't an exact replica of an old London Police Box!

Paul Cornell Made Me Cry

No, this isn't another post about bullying, but one about Doctor Who.

The end of the latest Doctor Who two parter left me with moist eyes, right from the point where Latimer and Hutchinson survive the war. Sarah reckons I'm a wuss.

We got to watch part one (Human Nature) on Thursday, in time for Saturday's part two.

The weekend was packed with preparations for our own adventure, two weeks today we will be off to Manchester airport for our trip of a lifetime! We also managed to pack in a visit to a coffee shop.

Who to believe?

Yesterday the Sun carried a story about the fact David Tennant, Russel T Davies, and other key members of the Doctor Who production team are moving on after the 2008 series. Only the spin was that they would all walk out at the same time and this was a plot to axe the show.

Today the Guardian have their own unnamed source, said that RTD was always going to move on after a while, and that the work schedule is too gruelling. Their source recons the BBC will not let Doctor Who disappear now it's so popular and will look for replacements for the key players.

Speculation among online Doctor Who fandom reckon that the Sun's source is none other than their own wild and fevered speculation on Doctor Who fan boards. The Sun has got it right, but fans put this down to the infinite number of monkeys using typewriters theory.

Politics?

I know he's got a lot of support these days, but this man worries me.

It's official!

Reading between the lines in interviews over recent weeks it's been clear, but now the news is out in the open.

Doctor Who is back at 7pm on 31st March, for thirteen episodes. It will also be returning at Christmas and for a fourth (new) series in 2008.

Is it canon?

Paul Cornell takes nearly 3000 words to explain why in Doctor Who "there's no such thing as canon".

It's a good and eminently sensible read, and I agree 100%. Jonn Elledge, (a decent chap I haven't spoken to in years), sums up my perspective on this. Many of us who enjoy Doctor Who pick up knowledge of the series through osmosis, and see it as something as a curse, a by-product of obsession rather than something to aspire to. Others see knowledge as a badge of honour and seek to classify what they don't know or want to know about as wrong and "unofficial".

And yet I think the rest of us can be a little too scornful of those who seek to define canon because they feel to get full enjoyment they have to know everything about the whole story there is to know, so feel the need to limit the story in order to limit the task. I certainly have little tollerance for such people, but perhaps for a quiet life should hold my (virtual) tongue more.

I think canon is used more as a weapon to exclude things that people don't like. You will for example get far fewer people who are fans of the books arguing that they are 'canon' than those who argue it's silly to say they aren't. But in the end most of us have moved on and let those interested in the silly term preach to their own choir.

Because at the end of the day, who in their right mind cares?

Mind the gap

So after the Doctor Who Christmas episode, fast becoming a tradition to rival Morcame and Wise, we may be thinking we have a few months before any new Doctor Who crosses the airwaves?

Not so. Two weeks ago BBC7 started broadcasting all new episodes featuring the Eighth Doctor and a new companion played by Sheridan Smith from Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.

BBC7 is so called because you don't just listen to it through digital radio. Although the meaning of the word Radio has expanded to include audio broadcasts over the Internet, the BBC don't seem to want to sully themselves with this new usage of the word. And so it's BBC7 and not Radio7.

Which is fair enough, as most of my listening is of already broadcast shows using "Listen Again". For example
Clicking here will launch the BBC7 player and play the latest episode of Doctor Who. I think.

Ugh wash my ears out with bleach

As part of an ongoing clear out I'm listening to those things that I picked up over the years and not listened to. This time up it's Flip Flop, listened to Friday night and this morning.

It made me want to change my name. Not my real name of course, which is never mentioned in this blog, but my pen name.

Flip flop is written by my former acquaintance Jonathan Morris (Erasure's webmaster, not the bloke out of Bread or Animal Magic).

The story comes on two linked CDs which the author claims can be listened to in any order. What this ultimately meant to me is the story is unresolved. It's a clever concept let down by some dodgy dialogue, performed by dodgier actors, and underlined with some dodgier political satire. Imagine force feeding someone the more factually inaccurate "the immigrants are out to get us" stories from the Mail and the Express, and depriving them of all other information and this is the sort of science fiction you'd get. The villains are a race of aliens posing as asylum seekers who take over through a sick person's version of political correctness.

Or maybe he was just doing a very clumsy satire at the expense of the sort of person who says things like "they're trying to ban Christmas" or "it's one rule for them and one rule for us". After all the things are no better when the aliens are defeated than when they take over. However if the story is anti-bigot, it is done very badly and is open to misinterpretation.

Oh Nice!

Eddie Robson has a CD out.

I was there when he received his first professional writing payment from Gary of Big Finish. Now I know some people don’t like Big Finish very much, but I still think it’s nice to see people I know "in print".

Eddie's story along with several others will be on BBC7 this Christmas.

Doctor Who News

With 27 double sized Doctor Who episodes under her belt Billie is the longest serving Doctor Who companion since Janet Fielding, who played Tegan the Australian air hostess in the early 80s.

She's also beaten by Liz Sladen as Sarah Jane and narrowly by Katy Manning as Jo Grant.

Rose's week off

Anyone notice that Billie had a week off during the filming of Saturday's episode of Doctor Who. The role of companion being played by Tommy Connolly. Great feel, loved all those valve and Bakerlite gadgets, and Maureen Lipman was fab as the wire.

Some nitpickers have pointed out that the simulated 50s TVs obviously have 00s tubes in, and that you could see UPVC windows in some shots, but I will also point out that at standard definition you're not supposed to sit closer than 6 screen diagonals to the TV set.

The Countdown has begun

Good news, shame about the coverage!

Doctor Who is back on 15th April.

2 Weeks to go

I need to organize how I am going to move to Steeton from here, there is a van hire company locally who charge the same basic rates as the one we used to use in Leeds, and the cheapest over in Manchester. So if anyone's available on 3rd December or anytime in the week following please let me know and I will be gratefull. I will probably be only moving small items on the 3rd.
The precice day of moving the big stuff is dependant on when the electrician can do his bit, if I have time to let him fix the consumer unit and kitchen before I move in fully, I'll do that, otherwise it'll probably be the Monday.

I have been doing further maintainace on my PC, the Firefox plugins were causing me some problems, but I fixed it by changing some registry values.
Suffice it to say its been a real learning experience in how Windows XP/2000 works, which on top of the virus that AVG and Spybot combined couldn't fix... I am looking for a free development environment which will allow me to write programmes for windows. (OK non-technical types can now continue reading).

Other maintenance done includes having fixed the curtain rails, one of the brackets had broken and several runners were missing. I ended up putting all the runners I bought back on as someone in the past has used the wrong ones, which was what was causing the curtains to snag.

Friday was children in need and we got a filler scene from the Doctor Who team. I enjoyed it and was assured by my sister Anna that non-fans also thought it entertaining. If you missed it, go to the BBC Doctor Who website and click on the link. Oh and give some money to Children In Need while you are there. It's a good job they weren't soley relying on the standard of the entertainment to raise the cash, which typically consisted of actors you don't know for their singing doing a musical number and later on west end shows doing a few songs to plug their existence, I mean entertain the masses.

Last week's news round-up

So last week. The BBC unveiled the new face of the cybermen. And Billie Piper is rumoured to have handed in her notice on Doctor Who.

On and the Prime minister lost a vote.

Forgive me for being dismissive of the 40-odd Labour MPs who caused their leader a headache by standing up for democracy rather than their party, but life will go on. I mean if we're really making a song and dance about MPs standing up for the intersts of the people of this country we're in deep trouble. My new (Labour) MP voted alongside my current (Conservative) MP, and the ones I helped get elected in Leeds and Manchester. Perhaps some people will learn that there must be more people running the country than one man at the top.

What did go almost unnoticed was a few weeks ago when Claire Short drew to our attention just how much power is in the hands. A few years ago the King ruled by Royal prerogative. Now we have a parliamentary democracy, and the powers have merely been transferred to those in government. Claire Shorts private members bill attempted to put just one of those powers under proper scruitiny, the power to ignore parliament and take the country to war. The bill was defeated by lack of time of course, but brought these powers to the fore. The main problem is that with an uncodified constitution, we have no record of the extent the powers the Government has under the Roayl Prerogative, or who is qualified to wield them.

Over a lovely evening meal, one Sunday evening in Blackpool, some nice people tried to convince me of the importance of this issue, and as "homework" we were asked to write to our MPs. Well I can't help but hope this is one issue our elected representatives have a chance to return to.

Last Doctor Who post for a while

Note, in case someone stumbles on this who hasn't seen the episode, there is spoiler protection. Highlight the blank spaces to read the text.

I really enjoyed "The Parting of the Ways" last night. Thousands of Daleks swooping through space, death, destruction, heroism, love, comradeship. It was all there. I am assured (by Outpost Gallifrey) that Captain Jack will be back on board the TARDIS next year, just not in "The Christmas Invasion".
And David's Tennant's first lines (the title of the previous post) were fantastic too.

Favourite moments

• Chris addressing the Daleks behind him on how many languages he can speak before turning round and yelling at them, making them wheel back half a metre.
• Chris again in the TARDIS, resting his head against the doors with his eyes closed.
• Billie's ethereal yet scared acting at the denoument
• Chris's "I'm dying, yet breaking it gently to Rose" performance.
  

Only dissapointment was that Mickey didn't stow away with Rose, but i'm sure it made more dramatic sense for him to suddenly decide he wanted in, only to be cruelly denied by Bad Wolf. Oh and yes Bad Wolf turned out to be an amalgum of Rose and the TARDIS, so in any sweepstake I would pay out on both. The Bad Wolf Message was a message from Rose to herself to encourage her to become Bad Wolf.

Some people have expressed incomprehension at elements of the episode, but having seen it again I feel that some fans have a seriously restricted imagination. Either that or the lack the ability to pay a-sodding-tention.

One element that has gone virtually unremarked were the kisses. OK more spolier protection, highlight the text to read it. When he's leaving the Doctor and Rose to lead the space station staff to their deaths, Captain Jack kisses both Rose and the Doctor on the lips. Later in the episode the Doctor kisses Rose, ostensibly to suck out the vortex energy that's killing her, but from the scene there is a little more emotion than that. Given the furore certain aspects of the 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie caused, it's remarkable as to how far we have come as a society that only a tiny minority of fans on a message board have said anything about it. OK, according to MediaWatchWatch one of their spokespeople was provoked into a tizzy by the Star, but there's nothing on their own site so perhaps they're trying to pretend he didn't say anything.

If you're after a decent review try my mate Eddie on Shiny Shelf. Or if you want a place to express your views on "The Parting of the Ways" they have a poll for you. Do check it out, it's ace. Nick also has a review.

Spoiler Space

If there's one thing hard core Doctor Who fans get all jittery about, it's spoilers.

While a sizable minority are in secret locked messageboards trading any advanced titbits about how tomorrow nights episode will pan out, the rest are paranoid about having the episode "spoilt" for them.

This concept has really grown up on the internet, where fans of several nations meet together to discuss their favourite shows, which is fine when its been over for years and everyone's seen it, but not so for a currently running show, which may have been shown in, say the USA before the UK. So it was invented the concept of the "spoiler"- information that may spoil your enjoyment of a TV programme, and the spoiler space with which to protect the unwary

Fans have somehow managed to turn spoliers- in both the seeking and avoidance of- into a religion. I'm told it's a good job that I've not read any newspapers this week as many have contained inconveniently placed spoilers.

Tomorrow nights episode has already been spoilt in some sense, by the press getting hold over casting information for series 2. So we can guess at what might happen, if not predict the entire plot.

I suppose its the price you pay for liking somthing popular.

Doctor Who - Series Three!

Like BBC1 showing a new trailer for Saturday's Doctor Who every day, I seem to be doing the same blogwise.

Woke up this morning to recieve an email with the news that the BBC have announced that a third series of Doctor Who has been commissioned, alnog with a second Christmas special and a second series of Doctor Who Confidential to run alongside the second series of Doctor Who.

Read more here. Or the article on BBC News. I did smile when I saw that Doctor Who appears to have brought the concept of "spoiler space" to a mainstream news organisation like the BBC!

Well, for those of you that aren't Doctor Who fans, or at least "like Doctor Who, just not that much" it will be off the air after Saturday until Christmas. So I'll be back to talking about Scouting, politics, and the general egg and chips- yay!

Bad Wolf Warning

And so the rollercoaster of a ride that's been Doctor Who 2005 reaches its conclusion. On Saturday we found out what the whole "Bad Wolf" mystery was about.

Well we did and we didn't. We found out that the Bad Wolf Corporation was the media in 2002nd century Earth, when the Doctor, Rose and Jack are drawn into three of the corporation's deadly game shows. But the corporation is a front for something darker, hiding out on the edge of the universe. It turns out that the terrific trio were kidnapped by the controller of the station herself, in a last desperate attempt to defy her masters and save humanity from the plight it is blind to.

Why am I bothering summarizing this? Odds are you've either seen the episode yourself, or that you're not in any way interested. Anyway Bad Wolf was the first of two parts, so I'm probably best waiting until the weekend to say how brilliant it was. If you want a review now, read Nick, but I warn you he's a tad enthusiastic.

In my opinion we're just coming to the end of 13 weeks of excellent Saturday night TV. It certainly seems to have captured the imagination of most of my friends, and has spread its tendrils halfway across the internet. Ditching the technobabble and padding for adventure, wild concepts and silly names. Say after me, "The Mighty Jagrafess", "Blaidd Drwg", "Raxacoricofallapatorius." Brings something back to me, although I'm not sure what.

People who know me know I'm a Doctor Who fan. My name, Biscit, first appeared in a Doctor Who novel way before I started using it on the internet myself. But my interest has waned over recent months, I don't buy the books any more (save of course those written by my friends), have stopped purchasing DWM, and like my Doctor Who friends had become jaundiced towards the group of people mysanthropically referred to as the "Big Finish Mafia".

But then out of the blue, in late 2003, it was announced that it was coming back. Not only that, but the show would be shaped by TV god, Russell T Davies. Perked my interest, but only slightly. But then my friends started to get excited, and I couldn't work out why, having almost forgotten why we were friends.

As it got closer and closer to 26th March, and the anticipation grew. I told myself, I can take it or leave it, I'm too old to care too much. If I didn't like it, Doctor Who would be there for a new generation, and I could revisit the classic series whenever I could be bothered. I didn't expect, aged 32, to get this excited about a TV programme. I certainly didn't expect it to become must see TV.

So now 12 weeks in of some of the best TV in ages reaches its climax on Saturday. It's been fantastic. I'm going to have horrible withdrawal symptoms.

Update 14/06/2005: According to the Times the identity of "Bad Wolf" is yet to be revealed! See also today's post.

The Blaidd Drwg of Raxacoricofallapatorius

Just seen this weeks Doctor Who, more of a character piece than an adventure, but still very good. One niggle though: if The Doctor, Rose and Jack can understand Alien languages through the use of the TARDIS' telepathic abilities, why can't Rose understand Welsh?

Now the cat is out of the bag, The Doctor has drawn the viewers attention to the Bad Wolf References. Will we find out what it all means before this series ends? Well next week's episode is called "Bad Wolf".

Russell T Davies, in TV & Satellite Week, has this to say on the whole "Bad Wolf" thing and this weekend's reveal:

I didn’t think people would notice, but I should have known that science fiction fans would spot it blindfolded from 300 miles! All will be revealed next week. A lot of people think it’s a super-villain, though I can’t imagine why he would graffiti his name all over the place! It’s a bit subtler than that. It’s a lovely pay-off. But there’s no big panto villain.

(As spotted by Scott).

Protecting the splendid chaps of the world from the scum of the universe since 1968

Some of my readership watch Doctor Who might in interested in the fact that you can actually access UNIT's website on the Internet. UNIT are a United Nations section dedicated to protecting the world from alien incursion. They mostly appeared in early 70s Doctor Who episodes, and were last seen being electrocuted by the Slitheen on Saturday night last April.
Oh and I hacked the site- the password to the secret secure section is "badwolf". Unless you're the doctor, then it's "buffalo". I is l33t.

It's not the only website dedicated to aspects of new Doctor Who. Clive's site featured in the first episode whoisdoctorwho is still up and running, and is apparently being run by Rose's boyfriend Mickey. Henry Van Stratten's Geocomtex site is still running, but then his Dalek doesn't run amok until 2012. Oh and for those of you who've been noticing all the references to Bad Wolf, there's a site that tells you, well not much more than you already know if you've been observant.

Someone at BBCi has been having a lot of fun it seems.

Apologies

I didn't make the following post last Saturday:

For those who haven't been paying attention, Doctor Who is on at 18:30 tonight, not 19:00, so don't tune in late and miss it.

I've lost count of the number of people who've asked me what happens.

'The Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe' I call him Max

Doctor Who was good again this week. I think it was subverting expectations to have Adam survive the episode, but also good to see a companion not make the grade.

And yes I did only make this post so I could put "The Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe" in my blog.

Dalek!

Nothing much to say about this episode, except it was excellent.

According to Doctor Who confidential there were about 5 people operating the Dalek at one point. That's far more care than they ever got in the original series.

World War III

was great.

The Doctor Who episode broadcast tonight called World War III that is.

There were some particularly naughty political allegories in both episodes that had me giggling like a loon. For example the cliffhanger to Aliens of London had the Depty Prime Minister misusing ID cards to deadly effect. And this episode had some rather more obvious parallels to British premiers warning of threats from non-existant weapons of mass destruction.

So the moral of the tale is vote Lib Dem. As well you should.

"Gentlemen..." part II

David Tennant has been confirmed as the new Doctor in Doctor Who. He'll be in the Christmas special and the next series, as will Billie Piper.

As anticipated by Nick

Only the biggest news stories for my blog

Christopher Eccleston is new star of Doctor Who. I was really surpirsed to hear this casting on the radio just now, a weightier talent than even all the names optimisitcally bandied about by the press.

Doctor Who News

I don't know if this shows how much the new Doctor Who series is anticipated, or the higher profile writers get, or how easy it is to bang news items on to a web based news service, but there's an article on BBC News about the new writers of Doctor Who.

All the people mentioned are fans of the show and have written Doctor Who in book or audio form before.

Should be something to set the video for or even stay in for.

Understanding and enjoying Doctor Who - a lesson for non-fans.

Some facts dredged up by fans of the classic series of Doctor Who for your enjoyment.

2 - While watching any story whose title contains the phrase "Of The Daleks", it is customary to express surprise at the episode one cliffhanger arrival of a Dalek.

3 - Contrary to popular belief, Tom Baker stayed on for seven years because BBC Contracts transposed his telephone number with his salary.

7 - The plot ideas of Charged Vacuum Emboitments, N-Space and E-Space were in fact stolen by Script Editor Christopher Bidmead from Christopher Biggins during a drunken encounter in 1980. In revenge, Biggins often ad libs about 'recursive occlusion' and 'chronic hysteresis' in his role as Mother Goose during panto season.

8- Doctor Who was not above tackling big topics of social and political importance - pollution and ecological disaster in The Green Death, Thatcherite persecution of gays under Clause 28 in The Happiness Patrol, the assassination of John F. Kennedy in The Deadly Assassin and the ideological conflicts of the Mensheviks with the Bolsheviks complicit with the dismantling of the Russian Imperial caste system in The Sea Devils.

11 - With the advent of cost-effective CGI, any new series of Who can be filmed entirely against blue-screen in the studio with the gravel pit dropped in digitally during post-production.

12 - The BBC are reported to be planning to cast the next incarnation of the Doctor during a six-month public-vote elimination show, Who Idol.

13 - For the 1998 Xmas edition of Auntie's Bloomers, they screened all four episodes of Doctor Who story, Image of the Fendhal.

14 - Many stories feature Hitchcock-style cameo appearances by production staff. These scarcely-noticed and barely-distracting novelties include the Producer in Silver Nemesis and Arc Of Infinity; almost everyone behind the scenes in The Brain of Morbius and Sylvester McCoy from 1987 to the end of the regular series in 1989.

So... now you know.

(Courtesey of Henry Potts).

Doctor Who - Scream of the Shalka

It's 40 years since the assassination of John F Kennedy, which must mean... yet another Doctor Who anniversary

So just in time he's back. Online at least until the new TV series in 2005. The BBCi/Cosgrove Hall version is voiced by none other than Richard E Grant.

Sadly for those with fond memories of Dukula and Dangermouse only the visuals have been provided by CH, while the soundtrack was specially recorded by BBC radio type people. A slow start to what promises to be an interesting experiment.

He's back- again

The BBC have announced that they're bringing back Doctor Who. While I'm beyond getting too excited about this, the series is being written by Russell T. Davies. So it should be good and fill the gap Strange failed to.

And it's being produced by BBC Wales, which sounds good too!

Review: Shakedown

Doctor Who: Shakedown- Terrance Dicks (ISBN 0-426-20459-X)

I enjoyed Shakedown, Dreamwatch media's hastily produced video film, so wondered how old Uncle Terrance had gone on with adapting it as a new adventure. It was with no surprise I found that he had expanded on Shakedown, the video only comprising of a small middle section to the book, having read about it millions of times in the pre-publicity.

The basic story of Shakedown is great, I really enjoyed it. It is well plotted and shows all Mr Dicks skills as a master story teller. All the major characters are three dimensional. Unfortunately, they're not all that well rounded (described by a friend of mine as "square and fleshy"). Dialogue seems very forced and hammy, cartoonish even. Benny comes off worse, portrayed as an alcoholic failed academic, rather than someone who couldn't be doing with the academic system and likes the odd drink. Cewj and Forrester only work slightly better. The Doctor seems to have regressed to his second incarnation, with only the rather forced lack of confidence and Doctorish masterplan indicating that this is indeed a New Adventure. I'd like to see Terrance write a missing adventure where I'm sure he'd work better.

I'm sorry, but although I enjoyed it, for me Shakedown is a letdown.