Warning: this Doctor Who review contains spoilers.
As the middle child in a run of Doctor Who specials, ‘Legend of the Sea Devils’ finds itself in something of an unenviable position. Much like Easter 2009’s ‘Planet of the Dead’, the episode can’t rely on the star power of foes like the Daleks or Cybermen, and people are already looking past it in anticipation of upheaval and an upcoming regeneration later in the year.
Of course, the same was true of ‘The Waters of Mars’, and that more than earned its place in fans’ hearts thanks to its great premise and performances, so it’s still possible for a stand-alone story to surprise us if it’s told well. ‘Legend of the Sea Devils’, it must be said, is not a surprising story, although the tone it takes is rather unexpected.
When hearing that Doctor Who would be tackling its...
As the middle child in a run of Doctor Who specials, ‘Legend of the Sea Devils’ finds itself in something of an unenviable position. Much like Easter 2009’s ‘Planet of the Dead’, the episode can’t rely on the star power of foes like the Daleks or Cybermen, and people are already looking past it in anticipation of upheaval and an upcoming regeneration later in the year.
Of course, the same was true of ‘The Waters of Mars’, and that more than earned its place in fans’ hearts thanks to its great premise and performances, so it’s still possible for a stand-alone story to surprise us if it’s told well. ‘Legend of the Sea Devils’, it must be said, is not a surprising story, although the tone it takes is rather unexpected.
When hearing that Doctor Who would be tackling its...
- 4/17/2022
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Warning: contains spoilers for Doctor Who: Flux Episode 5 ‘Survivors of the Flux’
The first Master story my son ever saw was ‘Spyfall’, last year. A bit later we finally began the pilgrimage and watched the entire New Series over the space of eight or nine months. ‘Spyfall’ clearly had an impact, because every time a new character in a suit turned up, he’d immediately point to the screen and tell me “That’s the Master!”
So, when a mysterious, arch, obviously evil figure in a dapper black suit shows up and people begin to ponder whether he could, in fact, be our favourite renegade Time Lord (now that the Doctor doesn’t count) my first response is scepticism. And yet the recurring and oddly superfluous seeming character of The Grand Serpent does seem to have an awful lot of evidence stacking up against him.
Exhibit A: The Look
For...
The first Master story my son ever saw was ‘Spyfall’, last year. A bit later we finally began the pilgrimage and watched the entire New Series over the space of eight or nine months. ‘Spyfall’ clearly had an impact, because every time a new character in a suit turned up, he’d immediately point to the screen and tell me “That’s the Master!”
So, when a mysterious, arch, obviously evil figure in a dapper black suit shows up and people begin to ponder whether he could, in fact, be our favourite renegade Time Lord (now that the Doctor doesn’t count) my first response is scepticism. And yet the recurring and oddly superfluous seeming character of The Grand Serpent does seem to have an awful lot of evidence stacking up against him.
Exhibit A: The Look
For...
- 12/1/2021
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
It was announced last week that Russell T. Davies is returning to show run Doctor Who for the show’s 60th anniversary series and beyond. If that’s news to you, I refer you to my previous sentence. All the information is there. After a weekend to absorb the news and read takes of various temperatures, there’s still plenty to be positive about. There are potential negatives though, so let’s examine these first.
It’s true that Russell T. Davies burnt himself out at the end of his initial run (2005 – 2010), and felt there was nothing more he could do on the show. Some elements of Davies’ writing are difficult to watch.
Recent reports of inappropriate behaviour from actors on set during the tenure of Davies, Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter have also raised questions regarding working practices and safety in the production. Assurances will be sought that there...
It’s true that Russell T. Davies burnt himself out at the end of his initial run (2005 – 2010), and felt there was nothing more he could do on the show. Some elements of Davies’ writing are difficult to watch.
Recent reports of inappropriate behaviour from actors on set during the tenure of Davies, Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter have also raised questions regarding working practices and safety in the production. Assurances will be sought that there...
- 9/28/2021
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Have you heard? If not, let Steven Moffat be the first to tell you: Whittaker’s Doctor is “going to fight The Weeping Angels!!”
Moffat, who invented the Weeping Angels, has every right to be proud of his creation. Few would dispute that the Weeping Angels are NuWho’s break-out monster. In a 2020 poll of scariest Who monsters of all time, the angels ran away with the vote. Modern viewers might not retreat behind the sofa anymore when the Daleks roll in, but “Blink” had people giving cemetery statues a nervous second look. There’s a delicious fright to the idea that an innocent stone statue might begin to move the moment you look away.
But the promised return of the Weeping Angels begs the question: are the Weeping Angels the kind of monster we want to see again and again? After all, some foods get better with age. Others just get stale.
Moffat, who invented the Weeping Angels, has every right to be proud of his creation. Few would dispute that the Weeping Angels are NuWho’s break-out monster. In a 2020 poll of scariest Who monsters of all time, the angels ran away with the vote. Modern viewers might not retreat behind the sofa anymore when the Daleks roll in, but “Blink” had people giving cemetery statues a nervous second look. There’s a delicious fright to the idea that an innocent stone statue might begin to move the moment you look away.
But the promised return of the Weeping Angels begs the question: are the Weeping Angels the kind of monster we want to see again and again? After all, some foods get better with age. Others just get stale.
- 8/30/2021
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
This isn’t news. This is a public service announcement in the interest of popular morale, a snapshot of a world that once was and could be again, if only we dare to dream.
In 1979, the Canadian Television Network revived 1960s series The Littlest Hobo, a half-hour family show about a German Shepherd dog who drifts around rural Canada helping folk in need. Don’t worry about why the dog does it. We don’t need to know. The desire to have a psychological origin story for every paper boy or nail technician ever to appear on screen is a 21st century weakness. In the 1970s and 80s, TV audiences enjoyed Zen acceptance of outrageous premises from Manimal to Help!… It’s the Hair Bear Bunch! without any irritable reaching after fact and reason. The dog is a good dog. He wants to help. That’s all there is to it.
In 1979, the Canadian Television Network revived 1960s series The Littlest Hobo, a half-hour family show about a German Shepherd dog who drifts around rural Canada helping folk in need. Don’t worry about why the dog does it. We don’t need to know. The desire to have a psychological origin story for every paper boy or nail technician ever to appear on screen is a 21st century weakness. In the 1970s and 80s, TV audiences enjoyed Zen acceptance of outrageous premises from Manimal to Help!… It’s the Hair Bear Bunch! without any irritable reaching after fact and reason. The dog is a good dog. He wants to help. That’s all there is to it.
- 7/7/2021
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
This article has been kept as spoiler-free as possible, but since it discusses differences between the Discworld books and The Watch TV show, there will be discussion of changes to characters and setting, and some vague allusions to plot.
Let’s say one thing first and foremost: if you’ve never read any of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books, and you like quirky, funny Sff television, you’ll probably enjoy BBC America’s new show The Watch. It’s genuinely funny, well-acted, and well-made, even if it does have an obviously-television-sized CGI budget.
Here’s the problem though: if you are a fan of Pratchett’s Discworld books, on which the show is (very loosely) based, you’ll spend most of your first watch-through scratching your head in confusion.
The level of controversy around this new adaptation is unusual. Any book to screen adaptation always involves a certain amount of changes to the source material,...
Let’s say one thing first and foremost: if you’ve never read any of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books, and you like quirky, funny Sff television, you’ll probably enjoy BBC America’s new show The Watch. It’s genuinely funny, well-acted, and well-made, even if it does have an obviously-television-sized CGI budget.
Here’s the problem though: if you are a fan of Pratchett’s Discworld books, on which the show is (very loosely) based, you’ll spend most of your first watch-through scratching your head in confusion.
The level of controversy around this new adaptation is unusual. Any book to screen adaptation always involves a certain amount of changes to the source material,...
- 1/2/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
The BBC confirmed in November that New Year special ‘Revolution of the Daleks’ would see the departure of two of Doctor Who’s current companions. And so it went. Bradley Walsh’s Graham and Tosin Cole’s Ryan have now left the Tardis, and we already know who’ll be taking their place. Actor and comedian John Bishop has joined the cast for series 13.
54-year-old Bishop will play new character “Dan”, a role that executive producer Chris Chibnall says was built specifically for the stand-up and actor. “As he becomes embroiled in the Doctor’s adventures, Dan will quickly learn there’s more to the Universe(s) than he could ever believe,” says the BBC press release.
Said release stops short of using the word ‘companion’ to describe Dan but confirms that he’ll be “travelling through Space and Time alongside the Doctor and Yaz,” when “he’ll face evil...
54-year-old Bishop will play new character “Dan”, a role that executive producer Chris Chibnall says was built specifically for the stand-up and actor. “As he becomes embroiled in the Doctor’s adventures, Dan will quickly learn there’s more to the Universe(s) than he could ever believe,” says the BBC press release.
Said release stops short of using the word ‘companion’ to describe Dan but confirms that he’ll be “travelling through Space and Time alongside the Doctor and Yaz,” when “he’ll face evil...
- 1/1/2021
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
It’s been confirmed that Doctor Who is saying goodbye to two of its companions – Tosin Cole’s Ryan Sinclair and Bradley Walsh’s Graham O’Brien – both of whom will leave the show in New Year’s Day special ‘Revolution of the Daleks.’
Though not as dramatic as the announcement of a new Doctor, the departure of a companion always signals a shift into a new era for Doctor Who. It heralds a change in dynamic, a change in story arc and the potential for the Doctor to show a new side. Sad as it can be, it means renewal, a theme that runs through the heart of the snow.
Along with almost everything in pop-culture these days, giving the brand-new Doctor no fewer than three full-time companions was something of a divisive choice. The merits and drawbacks of the decision, from showrunner Chris Chibnall, to surround the Doctor with...
Though not as dramatic as the announcement of a new Doctor, the departure of a companion always signals a shift into a new era for Doctor Who. It heralds a change in dynamic, a change in story arc and the potential for the Doctor to show a new side. Sad as it can be, it means renewal, a theme that runs through the heart of the snow.
Along with almost everything in pop-culture these days, giving the brand-new Doctor no fewer than three full-time companions was something of a divisive choice. The merits and drawbacks of the decision, from showrunner Chris Chibnall, to surround the Doctor with...
- 12/1/2020
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
This Muppets Now review contains spoilers.
Muppets Now Episode 4
I should have seen the warning signs when I found out that Muppets Now was produced in six days. It’s easy to crank out several episodes so quickly when you’re filming the same segment over and over again in one go. The farther the show goes, the more annoying the lack of variety is.
As “Sleep Mode” is the fourth episode of Muppets Now, that means that there have been sixteen total segments so far. Of those sixteen, there are seven types of segments. That’s it. Only the “Muppets Masters” bit hasn’t been revisited. Meanwhile, we have had four installments of “Okey Dokey Kookin’” and “Lifestyle with Miss Piggy.”
I’m getting flashbacks to Mad TV, when they didn’t just have recurring sketches, but recurring characters who appeared to show up every single week no matter how tired their acts got.
Muppets Now Episode 4
I should have seen the warning signs when I found out that Muppets Now was produced in six days. It’s easy to crank out several episodes so quickly when you’re filming the same segment over and over again in one go. The farther the show goes, the more annoying the lack of variety is.
As “Sleep Mode” is the fourth episode of Muppets Now, that means that there have been sixteen total segments so far. Of those sixteen, there are seven types of segments. That’s it. Only the “Muppets Masters” bit hasn’t been revisited. Meanwhile, we have had four installments of “Okey Dokey Kookin’” and “Lifestyle with Miss Piggy.”
I’m getting flashbacks to Mad TV, when they didn’t just have recurring sketches, but recurring characters who appeared to show up every single week no matter how tired their acts got.
- 8/22/2020
- by Gavin Jasper
- Den of Geek
It’s February and I’m at Capital Sci Fi Con in Edinburgh, sitting next to Colin Baker. The day before, I’d brought my young sons to his table for an autograph, where he’d entertained them with all the bluster, bombast and larger-than-life loquaciousness we’d all come to expect from the Sixth Doctor, even if the man in whose gaze they were held transfixed was wearing a slightly older face, and a significantly less colourful jacket than they were accustomed to seeing.
For today’s interview, Baker is thoroughly shorn of his Sixth-ness, and seems more like the lawyer he once trained to be. He’s engaging, generous and attentive, and clearly has a mind like a steel trap. I wouldn’t have liked to have found myself opposite him in court.
We find ourselves reflecting on Baker’s deep connection to Doctor Who, and the legacy of the show itself.
For today’s interview, Baker is thoroughly shorn of his Sixth-ness, and seems more like the lawyer he once trained to be. He’s engaging, generous and attentive, and clearly has a mind like a steel trap. I wouldn’t have liked to have found myself opposite him in court.
We find ourselves reflecting on Baker’s deep connection to Doctor Who, and the legacy of the show itself.
- 7/28/2020
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
When you’ve had a big hit, it’s often all anybody wants from you. To artists, that level of success can feel like a trap. Fearful that the breadth of their creative genius may go unacknowledged, a singer might spend years trying to shake off a number one single, turning their back on requests for the old stuff and attempting to captivate fans with their Fresh New Sound. In such instances, results vary.
A saner alternative is to embrace what made that success happen, and try to repeat it. That’s what The Inbetweeners creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris have done in new BBC sitcom The First Team. Bar the cast, they’ve got the old band back together – the same writer-directors uniting with the same script editor and executive producer under the same comedy controller. Instead of breaking the mould and wasting energy simply to demonstrate versatility,...
A saner alternative is to embrace what made that success happen, and try to repeat it. That’s what The Inbetweeners creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris have done in new BBC sitcom The First Team. Bar the cast, they’ve got the old band back together – the same writer-directors uniting with the same script editor and executive producer under the same comedy controller. Instead of breaking the mould and wasting energy simply to demonstrate versatility,...
- 5/28/2020
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
In Doctor Who terms, Douglas Adams will be forever remembered as the co-writer of ‘City of Death’. To fans, he’s the purveyor of undergraduate humour, a man who despaired of actors doing funny walks and silly voices when presented with jokes in a script. Thanks in part to an extreme and vocal reaction against Adams’ comedy from the production team that followed, his reputation is one of rampant silliness that made it hard to take the show seriously.
And yet, in his first ever script for the series, Adams wrote about a vampire planet that materialised around other planets and drained them of all their resources, killing the entire population. In a particularly vicious detail, the remains of the planets are kept in a trophy room. This wholesale slaughter founded a life of comfortable complacency for the unquestioning citizens. The whole point of this, it transpires, is to keep...
And yet, in his first ever script for the series, Adams wrote about a vampire planet that materialised around other planets and drained them of all their resources, killing the entire population. In a particularly vicious detail, the remains of the planets are kept in a trophy room. This wholesale slaughter founded a life of comfortable complacency for the unquestioning citizens. The whole point of this, it transpires, is to keep...
- 5/27/2020
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
We’re all in need of a treat at the moment, and for Doctor Who fans, the universe has provided in spectacular fashion. To mark the 15th anniversary of ‘Rose’ airing on BBC One, creator Russell T. Davies will be leading fans in a mass re-watch accompanied by live Tweets from 7pm UK time tonight.
Not only that, but here on the official BBC Doctor Who website, you can read a Russell T. Davies-written prequel to ‘Rose’ about the last days of the Time War, beautifully styled as a Target novelisation.
A never-before-published piece of Doctor Who written by @russelldavies63 “Doctor Who and the Time War”.
Not only that, but here on the official BBC Doctor Who website, you can read a Russell T. Davies-written prequel to ‘Rose’ about the last days of the Time War, beautifully styled as a Target novelisation.
A never-before-published piece of Doctor Who written by @russelldavies63 “Doctor Who and the Time War”.
- 3/26/2020
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Andrew Blair Nov 26, 2019
Overlooked and underrated - here are 10 standout performances that deserved more love and shiny statues.
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
Awards ceremonies exert their own influences on cinema. Films are made that feel intrinsically like Oscar-bait, their marketing and release schedules influenced by a desire to clean up during award season. There’s the confirmation that your work is well-regarded, one that most artists seek, but also there’s a useful publicity boost to help with the bottom line, especially when the films that do well tend to have, shall we say, a literary bent to them? In the same way as book awards tend to go to literary fiction titles rather than that Chris Brookmyre book you’ve read 18 times and opens with a big jobbie on a mantelpiece. It’s not unheard of but rare for big populist blockbusters to win outside of effects categories.
Overlooked and underrated - here are 10 standout performances that deserved more love and shiny statues.
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
Awards ceremonies exert their own influences on cinema. Films are made that feel intrinsically like Oscar-bait, their marketing and release schedules influenced by a desire to clean up during award season. There’s the confirmation that your work is well-regarded, one that most artists seek, but also there’s a useful publicity boost to help with the bottom line, especially when the films that do well tend to have, shall we say, a literary bent to them? In the same way as book awards tend to go to literary fiction titles rather than that Chris Brookmyre book you’ve read 18 times and opens with a big jobbie on a mantelpiece. It’s not unheard of but rare for big populist blockbusters to win outside of effects categories.
- 11/26/2019
- Den of Geek
Andrew Blair Nov 13, 2019
Andrew argues that one of the most influential episodes of Classic Who can act as a litmus test for the show's fandom...
This Doctor Who article originally appeared on Den of Geek UK.
Doctor Who contradicts itself. It contains multitudes. Thus, not everyone likes it for the same reasons, and one of the best examples of this is "The Moonbase." Broadcast in February - March 1967, this is the fourth story to feature Patrick Troughton in the lead role and the second ever Cyberman story (broadcast only four months after their debut). Two episodes of it exist in the BBC archives with the missing episodes animated for DVD release.
There are plenty of reasons to enjoy "The Moonbase." There are a few reasons to roll your eyes at it too. This article will look at the different aspects of the story and how fans respond to them.
The...
Andrew argues that one of the most influential episodes of Classic Who can act as a litmus test for the show's fandom...
This Doctor Who article originally appeared on Den of Geek UK.
Doctor Who contradicts itself. It contains multitudes. Thus, not everyone likes it for the same reasons, and one of the best examples of this is "The Moonbase." Broadcast in February - March 1967, this is the fourth story to feature Patrick Troughton in the lead role and the second ever Cyberman story (broadcast only four months after their debut). Two episodes of it exist in the BBC archives with the missing episodes animated for DVD release.
There are plenty of reasons to enjoy "The Moonbase." There are a few reasons to roll your eyes at it too. This article will look at the different aspects of the story and how fans respond to them.
The...
- 11/13/2019
- Den of Geek
Andrew Blair Dec 4, 2018
Which lessons might Doctor Who Season 11 have learned from Classic Who? Andrew considers some of the similarities between now and then...
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
Doctor Who Season 11 has echoed aspects of the show from the early '60s and '80s, specifically with its three companions, near pure-historicals, grisly bouts of violence and cynical characters. What has it learned from these eras?
Until the end of its second seasons, Doctor Who featured three companions, and briefly did so again in its fourth and nineteenth seasons. However, in those cases, Jamie and Nyssa’s status as companions wasn’t confirmed until late in the day, with the following stories being hastily rewritten to accommodate them. In 1983, Doctor Who briefly returned to stories planned for three companions for eight weeks, but wouldn’t feature three regular companions traveling in the Tardis again until 2018.
Part...
Which lessons might Doctor Who Season 11 have learned from Classic Who? Andrew considers some of the similarities between now and then...
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
Doctor Who Season 11 has echoed aspects of the show from the early '60s and '80s, specifically with its three companions, near pure-historicals, grisly bouts of violence and cynical characters. What has it learned from these eras?
Until the end of its second seasons, Doctor Who featured three companions, and briefly did so again in its fourth and nineteenth seasons. However, in those cases, Jamie and Nyssa’s status as companions wasn’t confirmed until late in the day, with the following stories being hastily rewritten to accommodate them. In 1983, Doctor Who briefly returned to stories planned for three companions for eight weeks, but wouldn’t feature three regular companions traveling in the Tardis again until 2018.
Part...
- 12/4/2018
- Den of Geek
Andrew Blair Sep 23, 2019
Had Joss Whedon's Firefly been renewed for multiple seasons, would it have retained its cult appeal?
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
For those of you who didn’t know, it is my solemn duty to inform you: Firefly got cancelled in 2002.
I’m sorry you had to find out this way. We had one (short) season and a movie, guys, but it was fun while it lasted.
On the bright side, the film was made after fan response to the cancellation convinced Universal to make Serenity (TV broadcasters Fox owned the rights to the name Firefly). Plus, there’s a comics series! Ten thousand people queued to see a Firefly panel at the 2012 San Diego Comic Con. This series inspires devotion, and its cancellation became a rallying cry. Fox didn’t so much as cancel Firefly as martyr it.
What if, then, Firefly...
Had Joss Whedon's Firefly been renewed for multiple seasons, would it have retained its cult appeal?
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
For those of you who didn’t know, it is my solemn duty to inform you: Firefly got cancelled in 2002.
I’m sorry you had to find out this way. We had one (short) season and a movie, guys, but it was fun while it lasted.
On the bright side, the film was made after fan response to the cancellation convinced Universal to make Serenity (TV broadcasters Fox owned the rights to the name Firefly). Plus, there’s a comics series! Ten thousand people queued to see a Firefly panel at the 2012 San Diego Comic Con. This series inspires devotion, and its cancellation became a rallying cry. Fox didn’t so much as cancel Firefly as martyr it.
What if, then, Firefly...
- 3/21/2017
- Den of Geek
Feature Andrew Blair 21 Nov 2013 - 07:00
In this celebration week, Andrew tips his cap to just a few of the people whose hard work and talent made New Who what it is today...
After writing about the Classic Series production crew, we take a look at some of the people whose hard work, talent, and ability to fib have worked wonders behind the scenes in the twenty-first century.
5. Jane Tranter
In the late Eighties, Jane Tranter could be found marking out rehearsal rooms with tape as part of her job as an Assistant Floor Manager. She worked on shows such as Eastenders, Bergerac, and Doctor Who.
In 2000, she became Head of Drama Commissioning at the BBC. Like the Seventh Doctor, she had a long-term planny-type thing. Unlike the Seventh Doctor, Tranter did not actively seek out conflict by immediately announcing that Doctor Who would come back, waiting until she had...
In this celebration week, Andrew tips his cap to just a few of the people whose hard work and talent made New Who what it is today...
After writing about the Classic Series production crew, we take a look at some of the people whose hard work, talent, and ability to fib have worked wonders behind the scenes in the twenty-first century.
5. Jane Tranter
In the late Eighties, Jane Tranter could be found marking out rehearsal rooms with tape as part of her job as an Assistant Floor Manager. She worked on shows such as Eastenders, Bergerac, and Doctor Who.
In 2000, she became Head of Drama Commissioning at the BBC. Like the Seventh Doctor, she had a long-term planny-type thing. Unlike the Seventh Doctor, Tranter did not actively seek out conflict by immediately announcing that Doctor Who would come back, waiting until she had...
- 11/20/2013
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Feature Andrew Blair 3 Jul 2013 - 07:00
Time for a bit of Who-related silliness now, as Andrew lists the things that, once spotted in an episode, you won't be able to ignore...
The other day someone pointed out to me that Matt Smith has no eyebrows.
As a seasoned professional, I immediately did some research. Turns out he has quantum locks – sometimes they are there, sometimes they are mysteriously absent, and sometimes they are sort of there but ghostly, like his lower forehead's being haunted by caterpillar spirits.
Then, that weekend, it was all I could see during Nightmare in Silver. I couldn't tell you anything about the episode other than there were lots of Matt Smiths and I kept staring at the void where his eyebrows should be, were, and sort-of-were-if-you-squinted. Consequently I had to use Twitter as a barometer for the episode's quality. Some seemed to think it was...
Time for a bit of Who-related silliness now, as Andrew lists the things that, once spotted in an episode, you won't be able to ignore...
The other day someone pointed out to me that Matt Smith has no eyebrows.
As a seasoned professional, I immediately did some research. Turns out he has quantum locks – sometimes they are there, sometimes they are mysteriously absent, and sometimes they are sort of there but ghostly, like his lower forehead's being haunted by caterpillar spirits.
Then, that weekend, it was all I could see during Nightmare in Silver. I couldn't tell you anything about the episode other than there were lots of Matt Smiths and I kept staring at the void where his eyebrows should be, were, and sort-of-were-if-you-squinted. Consequently I had to use Twitter as a barometer for the episode's quality. Some seemed to think it was...
- 7/3/2013
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Feature Andrew Blair 2 Apr 2013 - 08:30
Andrew offers up ten screenwriting names on our wishlist for appearing on the front of future Doctor Who scripts...
Gone are the days where you could send a letter to Peter Darvill-Evans and write a New Adventure. Big Finish will occasionally hold a writing competition, but for most of the time your examination of what it truly means to be an Ogri will be returned unopened. Fan-fiction will never surpass the heights of Ben Chatham's adventures (apart from all the many times it will), and so it came to pass that Doctor Who writing became something of a closed world. The positives of this outweigh the negatives.
To get a job writing for televisual Doctor Who, you have to be an experienced pro with television experience who can turn in a script on time, not minding that their work might be tampered with by...
Andrew offers up ten screenwriting names on our wishlist for appearing on the front of future Doctor Who scripts...
Gone are the days where you could send a letter to Peter Darvill-Evans and write a New Adventure. Big Finish will occasionally hold a writing competition, but for most of the time your examination of what it truly means to be an Ogri will be returned unopened. Fan-fiction will never surpass the heights of Ben Chatham's adventures (apart from all the many times it will), and so it came to pass that Doctor Who writing became something of a closed world. The positives of this outweigh the negatives.
To get a job writing for televisual Doctor Who, you have to be an experienced pro with television experience who can turn in a script on time, not minding that their work might be tampered with by...
- 4/2/2013
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
It seems like an obvious question that Andrew Blair asked yesterday at Den of Geek!, but perhaps it’s not so clear-cut: Steven Moffat has explicitly stated in Doctor Who Magazine that the show is for everyone, from the casual viewer to the hardcore fan. It's a difficult balancing act, but one that the show largely maintains. However, I would say it is definitely skewed towards the family audience, as it was at its height during the seventies. In fact, to find any evidence of a Doctor Who skewed intentionally towards geekdom, we have to go back to when it wasn't even on television. We have to visit the 1990s. ... The New Adventures did contain some stunningly good stories, incredibly earnest political beliefs, and some utterly terrible drawings of Sylvester McCoy on their covers. They were definitively not for children. Some writers even incorporated the Cthulhu mythos into the Whoniverse.
- 4/6/2011
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
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