Book Review: 'Doctor Who: Lights Out' by Holly Black

The 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who was widely celebrated last year and the Beeb teamed up with Penguin to release 11 short stories celebrating 11 Doctors. A year later and a Doctor later they have teamed up again to provide a new short story featuring the Twelfth Doctor.

The authors of these stories were a selection of high profile childrens authors and the latest is written by Holly Black who has written The Spiderwick Chronicles which I hear is quite well-loved. To tell the truth I did have a mixed response to the previous stories ranging from the utter brilliance of Neil Gaiman's 'Nothing O'Clock' to the utter embarrassment that was  'A Big Hand For the Doctor'. While I do appreciate the Beeb trying something new with written Who, there are already plenty of tried and true Who writers out the who could have done a much better job of the whole enterprise. 

So for completist sake, natural curiosity, hope and love for my Doctor I approached this new volume with some trepidation. How good could a writer capture the new Doctor when we have only just seen him unfold on-screen? And how would they go writing for one of the most complicated Doctors that we have met? There certainly no longer remains the facade of an upstanding moral fighter. There is a lot more ambiguity in the Doctors motivations these days.

Surprisingly 'Lights Out' is firmly set within the series with the Doctor travelling to a famous coffee-specialising planet in search for a couple of cups for himself and Clara after the events in Deep Breath. The Doctor soon finds himself a suspect in a hideous murder and meets a being called '78351' who was also witness to the murder. 78351 becomes his companion for the duration of the story.

While the plot itself is by no means new or original, Holly does manage to bring in some aspects of the Twelfth Doctor and more than just the physical eyebrows joke. The Doctor does seem morally ambiguous and does let events take a different course to what another Doctor may have done. He does seem nonplussed at the deaths themselves. There certainly is the Twelfth Doctor within these pages.

So while this is a light and unsurprising read, the surprise is in how the Twelfth Doctor comes across on paper - much like he does onscreen thankfully. While I have not had a chance to read the three full-sized novels  recently released featuring the Twelfth Doctor, I can say to anyone looking for some Twelve in print that you have come to the right place.

Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't: Doctor Who 'Kill The Moon'

The Doctor has certainly come a long way. From the Fourth Doctor's dilemma in Davros' bunker; does he, the Time Lords or anyone have the right to decide upon genocide for the greater good? To the Tenth Doctor in Water of Mars having an egotistical view that since he is the last Time Lord he has the right and privilege to rewrite time. Both of the actions taken had their consequences, especially those of the Tenth Doctor.

"I don't want to go."

Damned if you do.

This weeks episode, Kill the Moon, sees the Twelfth Doctor in a similar dilemma. The moon has gained mass (handy for the BBC budget) and is causing widespread destruction on Earth due to increased tidal activity. NASA, in it's death throes, sends one last mission to the moon that has a cargo of nuclear weapons in the aim to blow up the moon and reduce it's mass.

Meanwhile the Doctor is in trouble from Clara for telling Disruptive Influence, hang on I'll Google her name, Courney, that she is not special. Courtney being a teenager is upset, as a teenager might be, but Clara is angry at the Doctor for telling the girl this. Why? Protection. I have no idea. So right from the outset the Doctor is in strife for pointing out the truth.

The Doctor attempts to make Courtney special by making her the first female on the moon and lands on the surface in 2049. There they intercept the NASA mission and the Doctor learns the truth of what is happening to the moon. The moon is an egg and it is about to hatch. What does this mean for the Earth? Well possible destruction from the shell fragments, which the Doctor points out may not be harmful at all and any mass that does approach the Earth will burn up on entry.

Here the Doctor does something that he hasn't done very often at all. He gives the power of the decision whether to destroy the moon and the lifeform and the knowledge that Earth is definitely safe or whether to risk the unknown to the three human females present; Clara, Courtney and the astronaut. He even leaves in his TARDIS abandoning them to their decision.  And while Clara umms and ahhs over the decision getting angrier and angrier at the Doctor, the astronauts sets the timer for the nuclear arsenal making her argument clear, while Courtney is on the side of letting the lifeform hatch. It's obvious what side Clara picks, and the Earth is all OK due to the egg disintegrating and the life form laying a new egg is it's place.

This is definitely a bold a new move from the Doctor. And I am sure his motivations of letting the humans take control of their own future also has a large part of letting Clara mature and make the right decision. And she does eventually. But this results in her being angry at the Doctor because she felt abandoned and in charge. Something that she has never felt with the Doctor before.

The final scene consists of Clara yelling at the Doctor to get out of her life and that she never wants to see him again. It is reminiscent of when the Doctor was helping Ace mature in season 25 and 26. And the thing is that the Doctor is astounded. He stands back with a look of lack of understanding and astonishment. He is quiet. 

Damned if you don't.

Last week's Caretaker revealed that the Doctor was stand offish towards Danny not only for him being a soldier, but also for his care of Clara and wanting whoever Clara loved to be good enough for her. This week we see the Doctor trying to make Clara grow up a bit more and make the tough decisions. But she failed. And he failed. And Clara has left the TARDIS in a huff and a bit of a childish tantrum.

Many have said that the Twelfth Doctor is too alien, rude and not likeable. I think he is the most human. Unlike his predecessors it seems like Twelve is striving for more than a play-date. 

Van Gogh Painting Found: Confirms Doctor Who Exists in the Real Universe

Remember that wonderful season 5 episode, "Vincent and the Doctor", where the Doctor and Amy visit Van Gogh to discover his mental state was under alien influence? Sounds lame, but it was a highlight episode of the season.

Meanwhile in the real universe (this one), an original Van Gogh has been recovered from sixty years in an attic and recently confirm by experts. "Sunset at Montmajour" was placed by it's owner and collector in his attic in 1908 after being told by an art authority that it was a fake. It turned up in an estate sale in the seventies and has only now been confirmed as a real Van Gogh.

So what does that have to do with Doctor Who? Well remember how the episode features a Van Gogh with the TARDIS? Take a look at the recovered painting.

No that isn't a nearby abbey. That's the TARDIS dammit!

Book Review: 'Doctor Who: The Ripper' by Tony Lee, Andrew Currie, Richard Piers Rayner, Tim Hamilton

This collection proved to be a great little distraction when putting in long hours in the lab this week. I could dip in and out of these stories in between various tasks.

The first story is a fun little romp where Rory gets his hands on that mobile phone that works throughout space and time and downloads spam into the TARDIS. The situations are quite hilarious.

The second story deals with the Jack the Ripper murders. In the outset this annoys me as it has already featured twice before in Doctor Who print and will probably come up again and again. By the way, I think "Birthright" did the Ripper murders best.

So this story doesn't feature the best of plots, but again, it fits in with the TV series well as each character is consistent and the words that come out of their speech bubbles seem entirely plausible.

So while this is a slight dip in quality for the IDW Who comics, I'm still a convert and a fan.

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special Poster Released

 

No spoilers. 

The Beeb released a poster and running time details for the 50th Anniversary episode yesterday. Tennant's hair is not right. It may be more now, but he was more then.

Below is a closeup of the non-Doctor Doctor, with some hints surrounding him.

The Try-Out Outfits for the Eleventh Doctor

The Doctor Who Tumblr has revealed photos from the Eleventh Doctor costume fitting back a few years ago. How different could the Eleventh been with a different outfit?

Also, this is what Peter Capaldi is probably doing right at this moment.

Sherlocky

Hipster Piratey

Rockabillyey

Formalley

Geronimoey!

Dear Steven Moffat

Dear Steven Moffat,

No, this isn't going to be one of those letters about how you are the Antichrist and you are ruining Doctor Who. Because on both counts you are not. Instead this is a letter about how I am ruining Doctor Who.

The measure of how big a fan you are seems to be how many spoilers you know. If that is true I want to be a lesser fan. I'm all spoilt out. Here you are trying to create a stories full of mystery and intrigue and your biggest fans are discussing possibilities to the nth degree, exposing spoilers and generally removing any air of mystery that you have built.
I want out of the endless cycle of speculation, blurry on location photographs and talk about leaked BBC documents. It's driving me crazy and making the show less fun. My constant obsession with checking the Doctor Who news sites is giving me a little daily thrill at the expense of actually enjoying the show I love.

I know who the John Hurt Doctor is, I know some locations for the 50th Anniversary episode. I know what recurring characters we are likely to see. I can make a good prediction as to what the story will be about. But the thing is that if the story is different I may be disappointed because I felt I have missed out on something. If the story is the same as what I predicted I feel disappointed that there was no surprises. It's a lose/lose situation.

All this happens while you are expending a huge amount of resources to keep secrets in the aim that we fans have something to amaze and shock us.

I need to stop this bad cycle and not visit these websites.I've deleted the links. I can do this. We can all do this. We need to embrace the mystery of Doctor Who again.

Doctor Who Exhibition: ABC Ultimo Atrium, Sydney, Australia

From the ABC

The ABC and BBC Worldwide ANZ join forces to celebrate 50 Years of Doctor Who with a special Commemorative Exhibition to be held at the ABC Ultimo Centre, Sydney. This exhibition event is open to the public from 15 August until 31 January 2014.
Come along and see original props from the show's 50 year history including William Hartnell's cane, a Tom Baker scarf, monster costumes and of course the iconic Dalek and TARDIS and much more. Exhibition open Mon-Fri 9am – 5pm and selected weekends, see below for details.
Details: Exhibition: Doctor Who Celebrating 50 Years of Adventures in Space and Time
Duration: Thursday 15th August – Friday 31st January 2014
Location:
ABC Ultimo Centre Atrium
700 Harris Street, Ultimo, Sydney NSW
Open Days/Times: Weekdays (Mon to Fri – 9am to 5pm)
NB: Exhibition unavailable from Monday 2nd September – Sunday 8th September due to election coverage
Selected Weekends (Sat & Sun – 10am to 5pm)
Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th August
Saturday 31st August & Sunday 1st September
Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th October
Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd November
Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th November
Saturday 25th, Sunday 26th & Monday 27th January (Aust Day public holiday)
Admission:
Free to the public. Open to all ages.

How exciting! I know I'll be dropping in one weekend to check it out.

The Twelfth Doctor: Peter Capaldi

 

4 am Monday morning. Here is the face that you will come to adore.  To associate with intrigue, adventure and mystery. To be added into montage posters, plastered on lunchboxes and grace covers of books, DVDs and comics.

I may sound rather dramatic, but that is essentially what it means to me.

The casting didn't shock me as I had been keeping up with the casting rumours last week, albeit sceptically. So it was only a slight surprise that the bookies were correct. I remember googling his name last week and seeing that he was that mad guy from "The Thick of It", and he had previously been in Who; "The Fires of Pompeii" (I need to re watch this episode). 

Personally I am very happy with the casting. I was hoping for an older Doctor as I really do think the age of Matt Smith was pushing the envelope. We haven't had a decently aged looking Doctor since Sylvester as Seven, who, even though early episodes were terrible, came to portray the Doctor in such a dark and enigmatic way. So the older Doctor box was thoroughly ticked. Between knowing his acting talent and the talent of Moffat and the crew, I am certain that we will see another successful Doctor.

It's funny seeing all of Peter's past Doctor Who fandom coming out of the woodwork. Old letters, drawings and articles from 70s and 80s fanzines. This man grew up adoring this show and possibly is acting due to it's influence. Contrast this to Smith, who had not watched an episode before being cast. Smith is also young in his career, he wants to try different things, break into the US movie market. Here we have Capaldi, a fan who has acted for years. Nothing to prove, has already made a name for himself. Are we going to get a longer term Doctor? One who is happier to take on the gruelling schedule for more than three seasons?

Even though his first full episode is more than likely a whole year away, I sit daydreaming about what he'll be like, what he'll wear. Will he be funny, angry, stern, flippant? I just have to reassure myself that whatever he'll be, he'll be the Doctor and he will be fantastic.

Doctor Who 4 am wake up call

So for those not in the know, the identity of the actor who will portray the 12th Doctor will be revealed live on Sunday night GMT. Thankfully the ABC will be simulcasting the event, which occurs at 4 am Monday morning my time and they will replay the program at 8:30 pm Monday night. Three cheers for the ABC.



So am I getting up at 4? Hell yes! I cannot wait any longer and if I don't I'll only get spoiled by some post on the Internet later in the morning. And why would I not want to experience this event live with the rest of the fans? It is the first opportunity I have had to do this. The last couple of times anyone outside the UK has had to deal with finding out online.

The program is only a half hour long and there will be Moffat and Smith along with Peter Davison and Tom Baker. Yes it will be 28 minutes of fluff, but it's 28 minutes of Doctor Who fluff!

So to all the analytical chemistry students who will be in my Monday morning class, I do not apologise. I'm tired. Shut up and do some UV Vis spectroscopy.

Doctor Who Rumours Are Driving Me Crazy

For the past couple of months Doctor Who rumours have started to niggle at my mind, but today I have hit an all new level of craziness.

Amazingly, it's not even on the casting of the Twelfth (13th?) Doctor. I find that speculating on the casting is a bit of a waste of time as I trust Moffatt and the crew to select someone fit for the role, and I recognise that it will unlikely be someone I know.

So what is driving me crazy?

Is the Eighth Doctor in the fiftieth?

 

Well according to rumours, yes Paul McGann has filmed SOMETHING for Doctor Who. The involvement of McGann in this episode means a lot to most fans and he only appeared on television once as the Doctor. And he was a magnificent Doctor despite a poorly written script and a crazy producer trying to change the direction of the show. McGann has since proved his value as the Doctor by starring in many Big Finish audio releases.

My wishful thinking is saying yes he is going to be in the special, with the fact that John Hurt is the Time War Doctor who succeeded McGann. Maybe he only filmed a regeneration sequence.

We need to see the Eighth Doctor again.

• Those pesky found episode rumours won't go away.

 

If you have no idea what is "missing" go here.

Months and months of "Yes there are episodes, but shhhhhh", "actually all rumours are false. There are no episodes".

The latest is that the BBC is making all Who crew and ANYONE involved sign non-disclosure agreements about the supposed found episodes.

All other episode finds in the past have been announced as soon as the BBC has their hands on the print with a huge fanfare. Why would they keep this quiet?

• As a surprise for fans on the fiftieth? Well they should have known there would be leakage. And why not announce and keep number and title reveals until later? Announce one each month if it is true that they now have multiple.
• They are dealing with some snide business people who have their grubby hands on the prints and are in some fierce negotiations. In this case I can kind of understand the reluctance.
  
  
  
  Anyway these two rumours are driving me crazy as they are toying with my heart. I wish so much that the Eighth Doctor was on screen again, and that we could watch some lost episodes.
  
  I guess I'll know something on the Eighth Doctor front on the 23rd of November, but who knows about the missing episode rumours.

Book Review: Doctor Who: Series 3 Volume 1: The Hypothetical Gentleman

Thank you to Netgalley and IDW Publishing for an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review. 

It is easy to write and produce bad and mediocre Doctor Who and there is an awful lot of it out there. I am a very devoted fan and I can admit that readily. But not in this case. 

Collected in this volume are two 11th Doctor story lines originally published as monthly comics in the IDW Doctor Who range. The first story, "The Hypothetical Gentleman"  sees the Doctor trying to visit the Crystal Palace in London for the Great Exhibition. The Doctor, Amy and Rory encounter a strange machine that is on display and get caught up in an adventure that is more than what it seems.

The second story, "The Doctor and the Nurse", is a comedy where Amy, frustrated that the Doctor and Rory seem to bicker with each other a bit too often, orders the two to spend some quality "guy time" together in a Victorian pub. However the Doctor and Rory have other ideas.

I did go into this read with low expectations. I have rarely encountered good Who comics beyond certain good runs in Doctor Who Magazine, and the recent "Prisoners of Time" releases ,which now that I look at the details are also IDW produced. And as you can tell from the score, I was pleasantly surprised. The quality of both stories were high, the artwork was great and the main thing was that it felt like Doctor Who, especially the latter half of Season 6 Who.

"The Hypothetical Gentleman" felt like a Mark Gatiss historical through and through with an intriguing premise and some good one liners. The mannerisms and speech of Matt Smith's Doctor were captured brilliantly, all backed up by spot on yet stylistic artwork.

"The Doctor and the Nurse" is written purely as a comedy. Dangerous, but it works. The sequence of The Doctor and Rory getting deeper and deeper into trouble is hilarious, yet it does not feel contrived or forced. It does parallel comedy sequences from the TV episodes, but here we a given one whole story dedicated to a laugh.

I'd recommend this collection to any Doctor Who fan, especially one who has never picked up a tie-in comic or book before. The style and quality of both stories closely mirror that of the TV series and it would be a great introduction to the world of non-television Doctor Who.