BBC America continue their series The Doctors Revisited with a look at The Eighth Doctor on August 31 at 8/7c. It will be followed by an airing of the Paul McGann "TV movie" which also gets a screening in the UK at the BFI in London - details HERE.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
North America: Sept 17
Review by Emrys Matthews
STORY
The Ice Warriors is Patrick Troughton’s tenth story as the Doctor and unlike so many of its fellows has only two episodes missing, which have been lovingly animated for this DVD release. It was last released back in 1998 on VHS and this marks the story’s first time on DVD, leaving only one complete story and three incomplete stories still to come [at the time of writing - Ed.].
Review by Emrys Matthews
STORY
The Ice Warriors is Patrick Troughton’s tenth story as the Doctor and unlike so many of its fellows has only two episodes missing, which have been lovingly animated for this DVD release. It was last released back in 1998 on VHS and this marks the story’s first time on DVD, leaving only one complete story and three incomplete stories still to come [at the time of writing - Ed.].
The story is set in Earth’s future, during a new ice age. The TARDIS crew land beside Brittanicus base where a group of humans are attempting to halt the advance of a glacier. A huge armored reptilian being is discovered beneath the ice. Once thawed, the creature is revealed to be Varga, captain of a Martian spacecraft that landed on Earth centuries ago and is still buried in the ice. Varga frees his companions, who were also frozen and go about attempting to free their ship and leave Earth.Rather unusually these Martian creatures aren’t bent on world domination, but simply want to return to their home of Mars. Writer Brian Hayles breaks the mould of so many other base-under-siege stories, by giving his “monsters” a legitimate and unselfish task. But in order for the warriors to return home they must disable and cannibalise the Earth base's reactor which would leave the humans without heat or power and allow the massive ice glaciers held at bay to break across the Earth.
The only real fault with this story lies in its length, there are lots of good ideas in the mix, however they are stretched so thinly over the six episode structure it is hard for the tension to really build. As a four-parter this would be a tight, and exciting story, but as a six-parter it’s a little lackluster.There's a strong moral argument weaved throughout the story, voicing the misgivings of our constant and ever-growing reliance on technology which is perhaps even more relevant now than it was back in 1967.
I have to admit, though, The Ice Warriors is overlong and at times wanders the wrong side of dull, but there are some truly wonderful moments and, of course, the introduction to the massive Martian Ice Warriors.
ANIMATIONOne of the biggest boasts of this DVD are the two newly animated previously missing episodes 2 and 3. The animation is good but a little too reminiscent of Captain Pugwash in the jittery movement of the characters. However the faces and specifically the eyes of the assembled characters have very good attention to detail. It is wonderful to be able to see these lost episodes in moving action and effectively return another complete story to the collection.
EXTRAS
The DVD also boasts some excellent special features. The Audio Commentary includes cast and crew for the existing episodes One, Four Five and Six with Frazer Hines (James), Deborah Watling (Victoria), Sonny Caldinez (Turoc), Jeremy Davies (Designer) and Pat Heigham (Grams Operator). The assembled group seem to remember the story fondly and Frazer keeps the face-wincing puns coming thick and fast.
The DVD also boasts some excellent special features. The Audio Commentary includes cast and crew for the existing episodes One, Four Five and Six with Frazer Hines (James), Deborah Watling (Victoria), Sonny Caldinez (Turoc), Jeremy Davies (Designer) and Pat Heigham (Grams Operator). The assembled group seem to remember the story fondly and Frazer keeps the face-wincing puns coming thick and fast.
For the missing episodes Two and Three the commentary takes the unusual form of archive recordings, readings and interviews with Brian Hayles (writer), Derek Martinus (Director), Martin Baugh (Costume Designer), Bernard Bresslaw (Varga), Peter Barkworth (Clent), Wendy Gifford (Miss Garrett) and Sylvia James (make-up supervisor). This is a wonderful addition that adds a real insight into the people who worked on this story who were unavailable for the commentary or who are sadly no longer with us. There is also an alternate commentary track for episode Three with Patrick Troughton’s son and biographer, Michael. The whole thing is moderated by Toby Hadoke.
Cold Fusion is another wonderful making of documentary compiled by Who doco numero Uno Chris Chapman. It’s a particularly informative documentary and fills in lots of gaps in the background of this story and in the creation of the Ice Warriors themselves. The foremost question of the discrepancy in the size of the Ice Warrior helmets was due to a last minute redesign due to a lack of mobility and also of comfort for the actors in the suits. The doco also reveals that Bernard Bresslaw who played Varga was the one who originated the Martian’s hissing voices, for which they are famed.
From Beneath The Ice is a short documentary of the making of the two animated episodes. It details the lengths to which the animators and other team members went to to produce the animation as accurately as possible. The animators intentionally limited themselves in terms of how each shot would appear to the boundaries of the possibilities of the late 1960s. The documentary casts some light on the tireless efforts that went in to bringing the Ice Warriors back using telesnaps, the original shooting script and some guess work too. In the end Chapman states that he feels like “you forget you’re watching animation. You’re not distracted and genuinely feel like you’ve watched the story.” His remarks are certainly accurate and the hard work of everyone at Qurios will be greatly appreciated by Who fans everywhere.
Also included is the original VHS "links" from the video released in 1998, covering the missing episodes and featuring Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling. This is a good way to view the less exciting Episode Three, but the animated version of episode two is not to be missed.The Blue Peter: Design-A-Monster segment and competition acts as a fascinating doorway into 60s children television and we get to see some of the odd choices of winners that fortunately never made it into a fully-fledged episode. Doctor Who Stories - Frazer Hines concludes the interview with the actor which contains an hilarious section where Hines remembers the almost forgotten Who-themed acid rock song Who is Doctor Who? released by Frazer and written by Barry Mason and Les Reed.
The wonderful people at Qurios have also created a short animated reconstruction of the Original Trailer for The Ice Warriors which included some extra footage shot of Clent and Penley. It makes a really nice prologue to the story - I heartily recommend watching this first. The DVD also boasts the usual, and always excellent, Production Notes, the Photo Gallery, Radio Times Listings and a Coming Soon trailer for the web animated adventure Scream of the Shalka.
All in all this is a very strong and well rounded release. It includes everything that you would expect or could hope for and is produced to a high standard.
BLOGTOR RATING 8/10
Thanks to BBC Worldwide
Review by Emrys Matthews
BLOGTOR RATING 8/10
Thanks to BBC Worldwide
Review by Emrys Matthews
Friday, August 16, 2013
The first four Doctor Who revisited specials from BBC America will air this Sunday, August 18 from 4:30pm on UKTV in Australia and New Zealand. These programmes provide an introduction to each of the previous incarnations of the Doctor and are designed to work alongside a specially curated selection of stories. These specials feature:
· interviews with key cast and crew,
· classic clips,
· a montage of the Doctors’ key moments, iconic lines and monsters andcontributions from Steven Moffat, John Barrowman, David Tennant, Caroline Skinner and Neil Gaiman, among others.
The first four Doctor Who revisited specials, featuring William Hartnell through to Tom Baker, air this Sunday, August 18 from 4:30pm on UKTV.
Thanks to BBC Worldwide
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Comedian and Doctor Who fan Frank Skinner will be discussing the importance of improvisation and spontaneity in Steven Moffat's work as well as all things Peter Capaldi, 50th Anniversary and future Who too in an appearance by the current showrunner at AdLib at this year's Edinburgh Festival.
The event promises to be a fascinating insight into his creative process and also a chance for fans to take part in a live Q&A as part of the show. This is Steven Moffat's only Edinburgh festival appearance this year so it's a real must-see. Moffat will be appearing on Wednesday August 21 at 22.30 - buy tickets HERE.
AdLib presents unique EdFest-exclusive live shows where some of the nation’s most creative minds engage in surprising conversation with some of the sharpest comedians in showbiz!
Wed Aug 21 - Steven Moffat
Sat Aug 24 - Neil Gaiman
PLEASE NOTE: it's NOT an improv comedy show
Don't forget that Blogtor is also at the Edinburgh Festival this year, starring in a comedy all about Doctor Who and its fans. Read more about Who Are You Supposed To Be? HERE. It runs until Aug 26, everyday at 3.40 at C-Venues C-Aquila. Buy Tickets HERE.
Our buddies over at RIPT Apparel have got another two great Doctor Who designs for sale - for 24 hours only! Titled Angels Strike Back and Return of the Doctor the tees are available worldwide for $10 - visit the site HERE! They're also available in kids sizes, a fleece hoody, a onesie and in prints, coasters and iPhone cases!
AND Our chums over at TeeFury have got another also have another TWO great Doctor Who t~shirts for sale - for 24 hours only! The tees are available worldwide for $11 - visit the site HERE.
AND Our chums over at TeeFury have got another also have another TWO great Doctor Who t~shirts for sale - for 24 hours only! The tees are available worldwide for $11 - visit the site HERE.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
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| Click for a bigger version |
WHO ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE?
Edinburgh Fringe, C Venues, Aug 14 to 26
You are hereby invited to join the Doctor in the TARDIS. Her TARDIS!
There are four Doctor Who-themed shows at Edinburgh Fringe in 2013 - this is the only one starring a female Doctor. See Jennifer Lusk (Photographing the Dead, Edinburgh Fringe 2012) playing Ash Williams playing the Fifth Doctor, originally played by Peter Davison.
“The Doctor is an alien with two hearts, why can’t she be an alien with two hearts and two breasts,” she asks, a week out from the opening of Who Are You Supposed To Be? – an off-beat romantic comedy about two science fiction fans who meet at Nerd-vana, a convention in London. Lusk will be joined on stage by Doctor Who fan and Doctor Who news blogger, Cameron K McEwan – better known as Blogtor Who. “Don’t we all want to be the Doctor? That’s part of what the play addresses.”
There was some consternation about maybe having to re-write the play, after Matt Smith announced his departure. So what do these Who fans think of the casting of Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor? “It’s hard to be disappointed when an actor of Peter Capaldi’s character is cast in such an iconic role,” said playwright, Keith Gow. "It's actually really exciting."
“Our show addresses the controversy over wanting to cast a female Doctor, but that spins into a wider discussion about how even in a place where we meet people we have a lot in common with, sometimes we’re not as inviting as we think we are,” Lusk explains.
Who Are You Supposed To Be? is a romantic comedy about two nerds who meet at a science fiction – and wonder if they’ve found the right time and the right space to fall in love. They’d be star-crossed lovers (Wars and Trek, obviously) if they weren’t already so drawn together by their love of science fiction, fantasy and being such big fans of... each other.
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| TARDIS suitcase prop produced by IssyVB |
by Keith Gow
Starring Jennifer Lusk and Cameron K. McEwan
Directed by Emrys Matthews
C Venues – C Aquila, August 14 to 26, 15:40
PLEASE NOTE: This show is NOT suitable for under 12s
The BFI have announced the guests who will take part in their screening of the Ninth Doctor episodes, Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways which takes place on August 24. Confirmed names are: Dave Houghton (Visual Effects), director Joe Ahearne, producer Phil Collinson and actor Bruno Langley ("companion" Adam).
Next month will honour the David Tennant years with The Stolen Earth/Journey's End on Sept 29 at 2pm (this is a Sunday screening) whilst the Paul McGann TV Movie, Doctor Who, will be shown on Oct 5 at the earlier time of 10am. So far no guests have been announced for these three screenings (will keep you updated).
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