Here's a little treat we've unearthed from the archives: Stewpot's Fun Book from 1977 by Look-In featured jokes, stories, riddles, limericks and comic strips (including one based on Doctor Who, which we've scanned in for your 70s nostalgic pleasure!).
Ever wondered when someone is finally going to get around to staging
Doctor Who burlesque show? Come on, we all have.
It’s a programme that so readily lends itself to a burlesque
interpretation. Well, good news; the wait is over; Don’t Blink: A
Doctor Who Burlesque is performed by the Tango Gorilla Theatre, the
Chicago-based troupe responsible for the critically acclaimed The
Empire Brings Sexy Back.
The show follows the Doctor who – see what I did there? – is trying
solve the mystery of why he has suddenly become a she. Along
the journey there are rollerskating Daleks, Cyberwomen and the odd naked Ood.
Hurry though, as the
last show is on the 31st of May; tomorrow evening. Face it;
opportunities to see a naked Ood are very rare - and perhaps that’s something
we need to look at as a society – so if you’re in Chicago then go see it - just
try not to choke on a jellybaby.
Doctor Who has come under
attack, not from Daleks or Cybermen this time, but rather from academics who
claim that the show – which celebrates its 50thanniversary this year – is racist. In
a collection of essays titled Doctor Who and Race, the show is criticized for having
archaic attitudes, with a few of the 23 authors who contributed stating that
the lack of a black or Asian actor in the main role highlights recurrent racism
within the programme.
Lindy Orthia, an Australian academic who compiled the anthology,
said, ‘The biggest elephant in the room is the problem privately nursed by many
fans of loving a TV show when it is thunderingly racist.’ One of the
contributors, an American professor named Amit Gupta, writes that the
cricket-loving Fifth Doctor – as played by Peter Davison – harks back to the
‘racial and class nostalgia’ of British Imperialism. Other criticisms include
the casting of white actors in ethnic roles – as in The Talons of Weng-Chiang,
where John Bennett was cast as a Chinese villain – and the ‘slapstick’ manner
in which Hitler was portrayed in an episode last year; detracting from any real
understanding of the Holocaust. A general consensus among the book’s authors
appears to be that primitive cultures are usually depicted as ‘savages’.
Fans in online Doctor Who forums are, on the whole, incredulous
at the comments and view them as having absolutely no validity. Many argue that
imposing twenty-first century
ethics on the older shows is ludicrous and unfair. The editor of Doctor Who
online, Sebastian Brook, told The Mail on Sunday: 'I think the suggestion the
show is racist is ridiculous.’ The BBC stated: 'Doctor Who has a strong track
record of diverse casting among both regular and guest cast. Freema Agyeman
became the first black companion and Noel Clarke starred in a major role for
five years [Mickey Smith]. Reflecting the diversity of the UK is a duty of the
BBC, and casting on Doctor Who is colour-blind. It is always about the best
actors for the roles.”
In another controversy regarding the show, actor John Simm, who
played the Master in five episodes, is upset at - allegedly - being quoted out
of context by the Radio Times in a recent interview in which he said, ‘It's
great to be into something, but for goodness' sake, really? I'm not the Master,
I'm not that evil Time Lord who rules the galaxy, I'm just in Tesco with my
kids. Leave me alone!’ On first reading it appears that the actor is ‘doing a Shatner’
but perhaps it’s not quite as straightforward.
If you've seen the the Season 7 series finale, you might have wondered how Clarence the prisoner came into the possession of the the Trenzalore coordinates. Well, the BBC have come to the rescue, releasing a bonus scene that tells us all we need to know – enjoy!
Ever wondered how many times each Doctor encountered the Daleks? Or which Doctor first encountered the Brigaider? Or, the greatest mystery, just how old is the Doctor?
Wonder no more. We've added a new feature to the blog - The Doctors 101.
According
to this week’sPoints of Viewthere’s been a ‘growing mailbag
of disappointment’ directed at the BBC concerning the latest series ofDoctor
Who. In truePoints of Viewstyle we get some examples, the first
being from a rather weary looking schoolboy named Oliver Sutton:"I think
it’s been boring; the stories have been unrealistic and it hasn't been very
scientific at all."
Oliver is
joined by Andy Smith, another disgruntled viewer who adds: "I'm finally starting to think it’s about time this classic Sci-Fi show hung up its
hat before it totally destroys the legacy of such a BBC classic."
While fan,
Craig Jenkins, is clearly unimpressed by the new-look Daleks: "It’s to
the point that I don’t want to see any classic enemies in it...for fear of them
being turned pink and fluffy."
In
reply the BBC issued a statement on the subject:
"Doctor Whogets over 8 million viewers a week
and, out of all the dramas on any channel so far this year, it gets the highest
audience share.The response to
this series has been ‘fantastic’ and it is the top rating programme for both
males and younger viewers, including children."
In
conclusion the BBC said that: "Doctor
Whofans are among
the most passionate in the UK",
which, in the context, sounds like a very nice way of saying they complain a
lot.
The
Beeb had better be careful though; just look at what happened in Norwich recently!
Doctor Who was the third most popular programme on TV last night with a 5.5 million viewers. This is a slight increase on recent figures. It was beaten by Britain's Got Talent with 9.2 million viewers. This figure will increase when timeshift figures are included. The Eurovision Song Contest had an average audience of 7.7 million viewers. Bad luck Bonnie!
Our review of The Name of the Doctor, series seven's finale episode, is now live. But beware - there be spoilers ahead! If you've not watched the episode, do so first. You have been warned!
Teaming up with our friends from Candy Jar Books, we've been given permission to post the following short story by Andy Frankham-Allen. Originally published by Big Finish in their 2004 anthology Short Trips: Repercussions and reprinted later in their best-of collection, Re: Collections, this is Andy's first piece of professionally published fiction, and is now out of copyright (which enables us to post it). Andy is, of course, the author of Candy Jar's forthcoming unofficial guide to Doctor Who companions called Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants, and he has written three short stories for Big Finish anthology series, as well being the series editor of Untreed Reads Publishing's Space: 1889 & Beyond, for which he wrote (among others) Conspiracy of Silence with New York Times best-seller Frank Chadwick. Click below to read: http://type40ukfeatures.blogspot.co.uk/
After seeing the Doctor reading a copy of The Beano in the recent
episode, The Rings of Akhaten, Doctor Who fans have flooded the comic’s
offices with enquiries about the issue used in the scene; a 1981 Summer
Special. Such is the overwhelming response that staff at The Beano have decided
to reprint the original 32-page kids’ favourite and include it in a special
edition which goes on sale today.
Mike Stirling, Editor-in-Chief of The Beano, stated that the comic
would stay faithful to its original appearance, saying, ‘Some of the strips are
colour while some are black and white – we’ve stayed true to the original
summer special so that our readers can really find out what The Beano was like
more than 30 years ago.’ On the issue’s appearance in Doctor Who he said, ‘Everyone
at The Beano was delighted to see one of our summer specials appear on Doctor
Who. We’re big fans of the show, and so are our readers – who haven’t stopped
talking about it. We decided to travel back in time and get a copy of the 1981
Summer Special, which we’ve reprinted inside the latest issue – in time for the
last episode of the season.’ He added, ‘We’re all really excited about this
issue and thrilled that Doctor Who is one of our fans
Matt Smith joins Jessie J, One Direction and Olly Murs who all
received a Beano makeover for Red Nose Day’s 25th anniversary
earlier this year, a year which also sees The Beano celebrate its 75th
anniversary and the Doctor Who special is one of a number planned by
publishers DC Thomson.
A Sonic
screwdriver may be just the thing to sort out Dennis the Menace. Who knows?
Sci-fi fans are a passionate bunch, and this was evident last Sunday during the Norwich Sci-Fi and Film Convention on Sunday when rival fans clashed, prompting a visit by local police to calm things down.
The BBC reports that one member of a Doctor Who club, Jim Poole, visited the University of East Anglia to collect autographs from Who actors Graham Cole and Jeremy Bulloch - there for a Star Wars convention. Arriving at the venue, Poole received verbal abuse from a Norwich Star Wars Club member and subsequently called the police.
"I was put in a police car. We were both interviewed by the police and told to stay away from each other," he said.
Mr Poole said two other members of his club, one dressed as the 10th Doctor and the other as Judge Dredd, had waited outside the venue.
"This wasn't a fight between Star Wars fans and Doctor Who fans with lightsabers and sonic screwdrivers drawn," he said.
"It's a bit sad and pathetic. We're all in the same boat. We're not in competition." Thankfully, it seems that balance has been restored to the force and time streams have been re-aligned. Apparently, both clubs were planning to meet up to resolve their differences.
Have you ever experienced any kind of rivalry like this? Shouldn't sci-fi fans all be in it together?
Her first experiences with
the intrusive nature of tabloid reporting are touched upon in the interview, in
which her family’s financial troubles became fodder for the Daily Mirror, an incident which
compounded her already-existing wariness
regarding outside attention, going against her natural inclination to be a
‘chatterbox', as she describes herself. More comfortable behind a script and a
character, she finds it difficult to improvise when attending press conferences
and TV appearances with Matt Smith. She adds that playing Clara is somewhat
exposing, stating that the character is; ‘the closest thing to me I’ve ever
played – especially over the last few years – and I find that’s hard. Doing an
accent is much easier.’
When she was fourteen Ms Coleman
persuaded her parents to move her to nearby public school, as the small
Victorian secondary she had attended offered nothing in the way of
opportunities to develop as an actress. She attributes her cautiousness
regarding press attention to this move, saying that it was both the best thing
to happen to her but also the worst.
Describing herself as ‘quite a nervous person’, particularly when on a
one-to-one basis, she says that she’s never been on a date. With age though she
says it’s becoming easier to relax in social situations. ‘I’m making myself
sound socially inept here and I’m absolutely fine in a group of people but I am
quite shy,’ she says.
Speaking about this week’s
episode, The Name of the Doctor, she
gives little away, saying; ‘in the beginning we see a Clara in the '60s, '70s and the '80s, so there are a lot of costume
changes, which I love.’ On working with
Matt Smith she describes the experience as being one that she loves. ‘His first
advice was never Google yourself and, now that I’ve got a three-month break, he
said take your time and choose your next role carefully.’ So Ms Coleman is off
for a holiday in Croatia once filming is complete, leaving the rest of us
waiting till Saturday to find out not only the name of the Doctor, but also the
answer to the question: who is Clara? We get to know Jenna-Louise Coleman a
little better after the Radio Times
interview but the Impossible Girl remains a mystery, for the moment.
Steven Moffat has confirmed that Doctor Who will return for an eighth series. Speaking at the BAFTA TV Awards at London's Royal Festival Hall on Sunday, he told BANG Showbiz: "Series eight of 'Doctor Who' is absolutely, definitely confirmed. It is real and it's happening." While Matt Smith has previously declared he has no intention of leaving the show just yet, so far there has been no official confirmation that he will return.
Moffat also commented about the various rumours that had been flying around about the forthcoming 50th anniversary episode: "Normally I'm responsible for the disinformation and the rubbish rumours about Doctor Who episodes, but I haven't needed to for the 50th anniversary episode. People are spinning off the most amazing things – it's quite incredible! Some of them are actually quite good ideas, I might use them in the future. There have been some very creative rumours but I can't say which ones I'm actually going to use."
Well, we can't say we're surprised to hear that the Doctor will be returning. Given the appetite for the 50th episode, along with strong ratings for the current series it would seem madness for the Beeb to halt the show. Of course, no show is automatically approved for a new series – even Who has to get clearance!
What do you think about the next series? Do you think Matt with be back? What enemies would you like to see?
Saturday
night’s episode of Doctor Who, Nightmare in Silver, drew an audience of
around 4.7 million viewers, with a peak of 5.6 million. Final figures will, as
usual, be released next week, these often see an increase in the audience,
factoring in those who reschedule their viewing. The show received 21.4% of the
total TV audience. The nation, it appears, still loves its fix of celebrity
chumminess, dancing dogs and crying, camera-fodder folks, as Britain’s Got
Talent topped the ratings again with 10.9 million, a 47% share of the
audience. Meanwhile BBC’s top show for the evening was another regurgitated
holiday-camp talent show, The Voice, which saw 7.4 million. I know what
Britain’s got, but let’s not go there...
Our friends at Candy Jar Books are making a special offer to anyone who pre-orders a copy of their 'Companions' book between now and 17:00 tomorrow (Thursday 8th May).
All you need to do is pre-order a copy from the Candy Jar website, and your name goes into a raffle; the winner will get their copy of 'Companions' a month before general release (27th June), AND the original annotated and signed manuscript!
Candy Jar Books is taking its first step into the world of Doctor Who publishing at the end of June, with the ultimate guide to the companions of Doctor Who, aptly called Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants. We managed to track down the author, Andy Frankham-Allen, to answer a few questions about his view on Who and the importance of his book. Read the interview HERE!
Cover by Terry Cooper, Copyright Candy Jar Books 2013
Some wonderful new images for the next episode have been revealed by SFX, including this stylistic shot of the Cybermen emerging in a scene very reminiscent of 1967's Tomb of the Cybermen.
Copyright BBC 2013
Tomb of the Cybermen, Copyright BBC 1967
One of the most intriguing images is, however, this shot of the Doctor talking to... the Doctor! One of whom has some sort of cybernetic prosthesis attached to his face.
Doctor Who was the fourth most popular programme on TV last night with 4.61 million viewers. It was beaten by Britain's Got Talent with 9.52 million viewers. This figure will certainly increase when timeshift figures are included. Once again the audience for The Voice remained roughly the same with 7.99 million viewers. To read a review by Richard Kelly click below. http://type40reviews.blogspot.co.uk/
A couple of pictures have been leaked from the upcoming anniversary episode. No past Doctors, alas, but still a little something that will please long-term fans of the show.
This first picture depicts the sign of Coal Hill School, which the Doctor's granddaughter Susan attended in the very first episode of Doctor Who in 1963. It is also the place the Doctor's first two companions, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton, worked. Note that the Chairman of the Governors is 'I Chesterton', while the Headmaster is 'W Coburn' - the surname of the author of An Unearthly Child, which launched the series on 23rd November 1963.
And this second picture shows the way to the junkyard at Totter's Lane, the location in which we got our first glimpse of the TARDIS on that foggy evening in November 1963...
Not only are these the fictional locations used for the first episode of Doctor Who, but they also served as the locations for several key scenes twenty-five years later in Remembrance of the Daleks. And now, a further twenty-five years on, the series returns there once again.
As we draw near
to the end of series seven, DWM takes a look at the final three episodes
leading towards the anniversary adventure coming in November. It seems all we
have left this year are ‘event’ episodes; The
Crimson Horror is the one hundredth episode since Doctor Who returned in 2005, Nightmare
in Silver is the triumphant return of both the Cybermen and author Neil
Gaiman, and The Name of the Doctor is
the big series finale that’s set to shake up the universe of Doctor Who to its very core. Following
these, of course, we have an anniversary and Christmas special to look forward
to.
The magazine
features a wonderful interview with Mark Gatiss where he talks about writing The Crimson Horror, likening it to his
successful Lucifer Box series of
novels, calling it ‘the campest thing I’ve ever written – and that’s saying
something!’ Of course, the high point of The
Crimson Horror is the first appearance of Dame Diana Rigg in Doctor Who. Known to fans as Mrs Peel in
the 1960s television show The Avengers,
she is also well remembered as Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the James Bond
film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,
the only woman to whom Bond gets married.
After series six’s
award-winning episode, The Doctor’s Wife,
which did more for the TARDIS than any episode has before or since, Neil Gaiman
returns to pen Nightmare in Silver
because, in his words, ‘I set the bar high. But that’s why I came back. Not to
top The Doctor’s Wife, but to at
least come close.’ He promises that the Cybermen in this episode will be
scarier than ever!
One of the most
interesting reveals in this issue of Doctor
Who Magazine is Steven Moffat explaining that River Song who appears in Name of the Doctor is a post-Silence in the Library River, a story in
which she died.In his interview about The
Name of the Doctor, Moffat goes to great lengths to not really tell us
anything. No real spoilers to be gleaned here.
Speaking of
Moffat, there’s a wonderful section in the magazine in which he answers
questions put to him by readers of the mag. One such question ‘how did the
Statue of Liberty make it to Winter Quay without being seen?’ is something I’ve
been debating with people since The Angels Take Manhattan aired last year. His answer is
mostly okay, but the only part worth repeating here is; ‘Also, it tiptoed!’
Quite.
Doctor Who Magazine issue #460, £4.75, now available from all good retailers.
Yesterday we
reported the sad news revealed in DWM that no old Doctors would be returning
for the anniversary special. But, if it makes all you fans who decry this
revelation feel a little better, the old Doctors are also disappointed. Says
Sylvester McCoy, the Seventh Doctor, ‘all of us want to do it, just for the
fans – because that’s what they want’.
So, although it
seems as if the BBC are focussing on celebrating the past EIGHT years of adventures,
audio producers Big Finish are at least planning on celebrating the past FIFTY
years. Their anniversary special, The
Light at the End, will not only features all the past Doctors (Tom Baker,
Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann) but also
companions Leela, Nyssa, Peri, Ace and Charley. On top of that look out for
small ‘kisses to the past’ with cameos by Susan, Ian, Vicki, Steven, Sara,
Polly, Jamie, Zoe, Jo, Tegan and Turlough! A veritable cornucopia of old
Doctors and companions!
The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine (issue #460 - on sale tomorrow) confirms that the only Doctor returning for the Fiftieth Anniversary episode is David Tennant. '...The other old Doctors will not be taking part,' the mag reports. It also confirms that, although Christopher Eccleston was approached to return, he turned the offer down. In conjunction with this from Steven Moffat, 'it is important you don't turn it into a fanfest. We can't make this all about looking backwards', it seems long-time fans of the show are in for a major disappointment.
So, is this to be a celebration of FIFTY years or just the last EIGHT? The latter is looking more and more likely...
According
to this week’s Points of View there’s been a ‘growing mailbag
of disappointment’ directed at the BBC concerning the latest series of Doctor
Who. In true Points of View style we get some examples, the first
being from a rather weary looking schoolboy named Oliver Sutton: "I think
it’s been boring; the stories have been unrealistic and it hasn't been very
scientific at all."
After seeing the Doctor reading a copy of The Beano in the recent
episode, The Rings of Akhaten, Doctor Who fans have flooded the comic’s
offices with enquiries about the issue used in the scene; a 1981 Summer
Special. Such is the overwhelming response that staff at The Beano have decided
to reprint the original 32-page kids’ favourite and include it in a special
edition which goes on sale today.
