Thursday 31 January 2013

Doctor Who: Prisoners Of Time

Prisoners Of Time is IDW’s 50th anniversary all-Doctors story, written by Scott and David Tipton with art by Nikolai Dante co-creator Simon Fraser. Fairly big preview of issue one in the link.

The introduction of a mysterious SOMEONE trying to work out the Doctor’s weaknesses points to an ongoing story that will feature all the Doctors in turn, one of the ideas appearing in several of the fiftieth anniversary celebratory series.

Which points to another approach to an anniversary game. Play previous incarnations of your Time Lord characters and their now-departed companions? Perhaps dealing with previous and future enemies rather than their own? Of course, this would work most naturally if the characters’ original players return as well.

Wednesday 23 January 2013

Save the day

Quoting the official Who Facebook:

Exciting news - we can confirm that Doctor Who will return to screens on Saturday 30th March (Easter weekend) on BBC One!

And what else is coming? Doctor Who TV has the lineup.

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Tiny Clara and tiny 2013 Cyberman figures

First proper look at the new scale Doctor Who toys and they look pretty nice. And a tiny Dalek hoverbout! Vehicles and the like are a smart addition taking advantage of the new scale.

Still sad about the shrinking, however.

Hmm. Is Hydrospan available in the UK?

And the real question is... why is one of the squeezy cute head Mashem things an Ice Warrior?!

Monday 21 January 2013

The Dalek Caan Fun Page

- is a glorious thing, particularly the crossword.

A spinoff from Worst Of The Time Lords, a webcomic about how the Tenth Doctor really needs a hug.

“People have theorised that the TARDIS can sense when there’s trouble in a place, and takes me there so I can help. Personally I think it’s just trying to get me killed.”

Sunday 20 January 2013

The Fiftieth Anniversary

...is still ten months (and three days) away, but the celebrations are already under way. Eoin Colfer writing the first of the children’s author short stories, the Big Finish and AudioGo collaboration Destiny Of The Doctors, the start of a six-issue story in the DWM comics (with quite a cliffhanger, let me tell you)...

So are you gearing up already? What do you have in mind?

It’s a good time for a big adventure, maybe a big crazy one-shot with a large cast and a time-threatening apocalypse to deal with.

A celebration of the show’s heritage seems natural. Something with multiple Doctors, or your game’s Time Lords? Maybe a crossover appearance by the Doctor in a game he normally doesn’t star in? A visit to Coal Hill in 1963, or perhaps the site of your game’s first adventure? Daleks, Cybermen, the Master, Davros, Time Lords, Weeping Angels, all of the above? Or maybe something to do with anniversaries?

For instance, we’ve been back to Effie’s local area in The Door In Time often enough that it wouldn’t feel very special. And the clockwork Romans are cool but not really suited to a return appearance. But celebrating her 63rd birthday (while looking all of 19 - 1963!) could provide an interesting insight into how it feels to be old and young at the same time. Or a trip a few years back in time intrudes on the last anniversary she shared with Ron before he died...

And then the session after that, something completely new.

Friday 18 January 2013

We apologise for the delay...

“Delay? But we’re in a time machine?!”

(Written before my dad, who was supposed to be flying from Edinburgh to Sydney via Heathrow today, discovered this afternoon that he has to wait till tomorrow and fly from Glasgow via Dubai instead...)

Being British, I sometimes talk about the weather. Right now, there’s snow on the ground outside but none falling. It’s coming down hard on Wales and the south (a shot of Number Ten on the news looked like the start of a Yes, Prime Minister Christmas special) and shutting schools and disrupting flights and the like.

(And now I’m wondering what a Yes, Prime Minister Christmas special would be like... Sir Humphrey as the ghosts of past, present and future?)

I’ve addressed this before. (Killer snowmen in Doctor Who? What an extraordinary notion!)


So this time let’s look at the disruption such events can cause. With a TARDIS it’s usually the mechanics breaking down, of course. Enforced separation from the TARDIS is a classic technique to raise the stakes of an adventure, although best used sparingly as it’s likely to annoy. But there are still plenty of chances to strand the PCs in isolated areas, aboard local forms of transport, or in a Base Under Siege.

And what could disrupt normal TARDIS use? I can imagine Gallifrey’s “absolute time” would - so you can’t jump the queue for repairs.

Eoin Colfer video interview

Cool. I hope we get one for all the other (still unrevealed) authors.

Wednesday 16 January 2013

Eight Women-Lead Historical TV Series That Would Totally Work

Which are also great female Celebrity Historical options, including Nefertiti but otherwise generally not yet covered. Complete with fan casting suggestions. Your humble correspondent’s perennial favourite Grace O’Malley only gets in on the comments. I admit I had never heard of Fu Hao, or Miss Jenny.

Sunday 13 January 2013

More on Eoin Colfer's First Doctor story

An interview mentioning the enemies the Doctor and Susan will face as well as how and where Mr. Colfer became acquainted with the Doctor.

And a two-page extract.

Following from here.

“... the Doctor and Susan travel to Victorian times hot on the trail of a band of Soul Pirates who are harvesting human body parts to prolong their own lives.”

This may lead to the “big hand” of the title being a somewhat guignol pun.

Hmm, seems a bit derring-do for the First Doctor judging from that extract, but never mind.

Saturday 12 January 2013

Alien Versus Skynet

R'ha is basically that, as an effects showreel, and a rather pretty one.

Thursday 10 January 2013

The Vampires Of Sunnydale

Thinking in rather a lot of detail about the influence of Buffy on the return of Doctor Who, not merely the done-in-45-minutes but the connecting of the personal and the epic, the way of playing an idea totally straight and then sending up and then managing to get it to work straight again...

Monday 7 January 2013

Eoin Colfer writes for the First Doctor

Eoin Colfer is the first of author to be confirmed, as he’s the author of the First Doctor story in the anthology mentioned here.

A sound choice, as the Artemis Fowl adventures and his following up Hitchhiker’s show.

The Guardian interviews him - in the future, apparently.

The story is called “A Big Hand For The Doctor”.

Which makes me think of this bit of surrealist nightmare fuel but it’s probably a coincidence.

"Can we see a baby picture of you?" "No."

Steven Moffat interviewed by Twitter people, selected by his son.

Doctor Who has lasted as long as it has because it makes you want to join in. The Doctor probably goes to the toilet. And yes, we can see a baby picture.

Saturday 5 January 2013

Really Obvious Alien Visitors

Linked by Angus Abranson: The day UFOs hovered over Fiorentina’s Stadium in 1954. That’s one way of getting a good seat for the match...

More, including reports of sticky “angel hair” falling on the city before evaporating, like Spider-Man’s webbing, as well as tales of hauntings and hexes in other stadia.

Normally Unidentified Flying Objects that stay Unidentified are reported over Nowhere In Particular (Population Three) which is why something like this is still worth noting sixty years later.

As discussed on DWAITAS lately, alien incursions and UNIT activity were out in the open in the Davies era, although often conveniently denied, but now they’re largely secret again as the Doctor and his world retreat into the shadows.

So you can still have the “whoa” moment of first contact when alien craft appear over our famous landmarks... even though first contact has happened loads of times now.

Having Londoners shrug it off like it’s nothing special (until it starts shooting lasers) can work just as legitimately, but mass panic is still an option.

Author Who?

BBC gathering children’s authors for a big Who short story ebook collection for the 50th anniversary. But not saying which ones...

In news that may or may not be related, Neil Gaiman spotted looking up The Curse Of Fatal Death.

Friday 4 January 2013

The Doctor's Daughter

It has come to my attention that I never posted my stats for Jenny here.

Here she is, complete with argument about whether or not she can regenerate. Predates the TTC by three years, so some Gallifreyan traits may not be as published there.


Thursday 3 January 2013

Movie or Doctor Who episode?

Snowpiercer

Based on a French graphic novel.

A planet gripped by an Ice Age where the survivors live on a giant train run by a feudal system. That really sounds like something the Doctor would solve in 45 minutes.

(And kind of like this idea I had two years ago too.)