Fast Return May 2009
JINGS!
And so the Scottish Invasion of Doctor Who continues. And we approve, even if we know a little less about Karen Gillan than some of her predecessors. It might be no bad thing – after PiperTategate fandomia didn’t exactly distinguish itself with good behaviour based on preconceived notions. Mind you, we knew so very little about Freema, didn’t we? But so long as Karen doesn’t have to film a scene where a fish drowns she should be fine.
TENNANT’S EVICTED
A surprisingly muted farewell last week with the last of the Tenth Doctor’s scenes having been shot (bar the odd pick-up post production – still time for another “Whatwhatwhat” Russell!) And so a dignified, muted that’s yer lot – au revoir, Doctor, it’s been fab!
MORE TENNANT TO COME YET
Except to say that there was also that special segment he shot for John Barrowman’s dreadful variety show. Nothing wrong wiv dat, Sylv did it for the kids, and Jon made a post-telly career out of it. All the best, David.
TENNANT CLINGING ONTO ROLE LIKE A LIMPET
Coming later this year of course is Dreamland, the new animated Who special, featuring David Tennant as the Doctor. Well, these are tough times and the money will be handy whilst one is in LA perusing the Hollywood dailies, right?
“…FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS” – TENNANT
A Doctor Who movie rumoured to be in the works, scripted by RTD and starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor? Cheese and crackers, man – run for your life! Did Eccleston teach you nothing?
PIPER RELIEVES BLOGGER
Hmm. If latest rumours are to be believed then the Rose’s return might not be that gratuitous. As you were, everyone.
TOBY HADOKE: “KIWIS FED MY DOCTOR WHO HABIT”
Amidst the local excitement of Toby Hadoke’s award-winning Clayton Hickman impression came related news that during the performer’s own ‘wilderness years’ his hunger for old school (i.e. not yet released) Who was fed by, shall we say, buccaneers of the south seas in Australia and NZ fandom. Cribbins! Can you imagine the tripe he must have got from here then? Nth generation copies of something so ridden with dropouts and static it resembled little more than a blur in a smudge factory. I wonder if he ever met Chr*s M*****y?
LATEST ISSUE OF MAG REACHES LETTERBOX. STOP PRESS!
Thanks guys, that sort of news completes our day every bloody single time you post it.
DWM 405 ODDLY NOT THAT RARE, COLLECTABLE ANY MORE
In fact we hear they’re going for a song on Ebay these days. Right, Jono?
and finally…
THE CLINTON EFFECT
You know, we have been cads when it comes to fan message boards, linking to the ridiculous and sometimes pathetic for a cheap laugh. As if we know any better. But message boards and fora are, largely, homes for the most drossful waste of time and bandwidth in christendom; wretched isles upon whose shores are daily swept tides of frippery, bile and squee.
But the recent and untimely passing of Clinton Spencer, observed with sensitivity and some sentiment recently on the NZDWFC Message Board provided an opportunity to see such devices work well, perhaps even fill the function for which they were originally intended. With a (likely) end of year date of the next TSV being probably too late to mark a notable fan’s passing (although a suggested obituary would still in our minds be wholly appropriate) the immediacy of these online communal spaces provides the perfect space for coming together and, well, sharing. We’ve said this numerous times, but fandom is community first and foremost, and despite being for the least happy of reasons, it was good to see local fan media being used for the best as well.
All the best, everyone.
June 1st, 2009 at 8:37 pm
No mention of Tennant’s upcoming role in SJA? Tut tut, dear boy.
June 1st, 2009 at 11:04 pm
I have DWM 410. What do I win?
I also would like to swap some old VHS recordings…what ever happened to that guy CM? Did things get naughty because transactions became of a financial nature? Where did it all go wrong?
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:12 am
What leads you to the conclusion that the tapes Toby Hadoke got from New Zealand were “Nth generation”, “tripe” and “ridden with dropouts and static”?!
In the 1980s Toby got hold of off-air VHS copies of stories which were then currently screening on Australian and New Zealand television. They were, by his own account, perfectly watchable and highly treasured in the days before UK repeats and VHS releases.
June 2nd, 2009 at 7:16 am
Re: LATEST ISSUE OF MAG REACHES LETTERBOX. STOP PRESS!
Thanks guys, that sort of news completes our day every bloody single time you post it.
Well you don’t have to read it!
Just like I don’t have to read the rest of your f****ing nonsense.
cheers
Jon
June 2nd, 2009 at 7:58 am
Dammit, you’re right! Why didn’t I think of that?
Oh, that’s right. Because the subject line doesn’t say anything beyond the name of the issue most of the time. So until I click through for all I know those messages could have been about an interview inside the issue, or the comic strip, or the cover, or the editorial, or anything else besides the variance of DWM’s subscription service or the NZ postal system. Of course sometimes those messages are about something, but it’s a lottery innit?
At least with Fast Return you know you’re going to get nonsense.
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Gentlemen please!
There is a scantily clad lady present.
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:47 pm
I’m sure a feisty redhead knows how to look after herself, Dave!
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Also, I do believe she is looking at me.
June 2nd, 2009 at 11:45 pm
She looks awfully pale – fix the poor woman a strong cup of tea.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:59 am
With a patriotic quaver in my voice, may I just say:
“Wa-HEY! Scotland the Hot!”
Oh, the other stuff was good too, Peter.
June 3rd, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Any moment now fans will be up in arms about the ‘Scottish agenda’ creeping into the series!
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Well I for one welcome our new Caledonian overlords.
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Huh, I posted a comment and it hasn’t shown…what’s going on?
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Well, that worked…
What I had tried to say was:
“There is NO Scottish agenda, Doctor Who can be enjoyed by both Scottish and non Scottish viewers alike”.
Damn, that was funnier the first time I wrote it.
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:47 pm
But will she play her ethnicity to the same celtic excesses as David Tennant?
June 4th, 2009 at 9:39 am
I’d love to see Karen play her character as a Scot complete with native accent, but I suspect that this sadly won’t be the case.
June 4th, 2009 at 10:34 am
The thing I found odd about the above exchanges is that the thing that really should’ve prompted discussion i.e the last note – the thing that would tie into what is fandom doing and where is it going prompted nary a jot of comment, and even more surprisingly not because of scantly clad lady at the front.
As noted elsewhere there is an Outpost Gallifrey shaped hole on the fan community, and what are the implications for that here and abroad (and as Foo asked is there anything we can do as a result – other than point people elsewhere?)
June 4th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
I read the last note as an approving nod to the tone of the postings in the Clinton Spencer thread on the Message Board and that it was a great example of how the fan community could pull together online. To this, all I have to say is that I agree wholeheartedly.
Dave, are you suggesting that the local fan community needs a larger online presence than it has at the moment? Is there a need, in your view, for a fully functional sectioned forum rather than the message boards currently in place…? Do you believe that we ought to be establishing an international online presence on the scale of the Outpost Gallifrey/Doctor Who Forum?
June 4th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Paul,
I didn’t have an agenda for asking the questions I did, nor was I trying to steer the conversations on this and the NZDWFC board to the conclusions you suggest. In fact both trains of thought were arrived at separately, and any cross-pollination was the result them co-incidentally starting from separate posts at roughly the same time.
Here I was more initially surprised at the (shall we say “passionate”) responses to the usual “topical satire” of Fast Return, and when editorial comment was made as a serious aside it didn’t promote any further discussion or even comment of approval. Like you I thought it was great that the fan community could pull together at this time, it’s just sad that it took such tragic circumstances for it to happen.
With the NZDWFC thread, it was Foo in his first post who raised the question/point:
“this could be a BIG opportunity for the NZDWFC board”.
And I though it was an interesting and valid idea, and though it would be worth nudging the discussion, particularly after your observation;
“New Zealand online fandom isn’t large enough to support multiple Doctor Who forums.”
And you were good enough to clarify your opinion of this.
I just find it interesting that with TSV’s production schedule being as it is, and focus of the community aspect shifting from the “official club zine” to the message boards that, as Peter noted, it very rarely fills the function of a community forum, and if we are honest, a significant proportion are simply messages about what people have received in the mail, timings for other fan events, plugs for trademe auctions, or links for other places to go. I just find it ironic that to have this type of discussion we end up having it here, in the comments section of the opinion driven “online pub zine”. (and for example that there has been significantly more traffic about the new companion here than there.)
When I was asking on the boards if we were being a bit parochial in our online outlook I could’ve really extended the question to: “do we actually have any forum discussions anyone else would want to read?”
On the other hand if it was turned into a global community (which as Foo notes, could be possible) the “Club Message Board” aspect may be swamped, but conversely as you also point out, the friends you make globally can be just as immediate as the ones up the road.
What are the Pros and Cons? Is there something that could even be attempted? I was not aiming for particular answers; I was genuinely interested in the possible discussions the questions would generate. But sadly there don’t seem to be that many places locally where anyone has that kind of discussion.
June 4th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
I agree. The NZDWFC message board is often lacking in meaningful comment. I think the difference is that here on Zeus Blog the comments section discussion is inspired by editorial content that is undoubtedly intended to be slightly provocative.
In contrast, the NZDWFC message board is effectively a notice board for fans to post anything of interest to them, and these posts can sometimes tend toward the blandly informative, with notable recent exceptions such as the Clinton Spencer thread, and currently the discussion about the impending closure of the DWF. Yet there was not a single comment posted in response to the Monday night screening of ‘Planet of the Dead’ on Prime.
I’m not sure what the answer is to engage the local fan community online. Is a larger, more developed forum the right way forward? I’m interested to read what others think about this.
June 4th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
I would suggest “opinion driven” may be more accurate than “slightly provocative.” (will leave that up to Peter)
But with all due respect, shouldn’t that question be raised there rather than here? It might at least get them talking.
June 4th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
I used ‘slightly provocative’ quite deliberately (and good naturedly, I should add), in the sense that I suspect there’s often an intention to stimulate a reaction. If this isn’t Peter’s aim, then he’s still doing a good job of achieving this, judging by the selection of comments on here.
June 4th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
Yes, I did pick up on your deliberate use of words and hence my equally deliberate correction. Unfortunately labelling something as “provocative” is an easy way of misrepresenting (either consciously or unconsciously) what could be honest dissent, no matter how good natured either comment may be. It is belittling what could be genuine concern in something is mutually cared about into “the other guy unreasonably needling me to get a response.”
I’ll leave any formal reply to Peter, but would observe that historically there does appear to be only one reaction regularly stimulated.
On the other hand I would clarify/reiterate my note above that if you have genuine interest in people’s opinions about the development of the NZDWFC forums it would probably be better to raise that as a discussion point there.
Leaving the subject languishing here waiting for comment is about as circularly obtuse as specially commissioning nice artwork (saying “we want you”) to advertise a competition for specially nice artwork to advertise membership to the club (effectively saying “we want you” to join us), and just as likely to provoke a stunted response and wasted opportunity.
Adieu
June 5th, 2009 at 2:07 am
Getting back to more important and complex subjects – she’s got pretty eyes, hasn’t she.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Hey Peter,
is that enough responses for ya? :p
June 5th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Let’s hope she is in costume in this photo.
June 5th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Thanks guys for your comments to date. I have had an article brewing away for a while about the shape of online fandom locally, and I think this is as good a time as any to put it to paper, as it were. Watch this space!
Re: ‘Slightly Provocative’ – I have no problem with the blog and its content being described that way as it is intended to invite comment and even criticism. There’d be no point to this part of the Web if all there is to read is received knowledge and well-worn arguments. That’s what ‘slightly provocative’ means to me. I think fans distinguish themselves from the casual viewer by having a bit of grit and steel to their preferences and loves, and it’s that to-ing and fro-ing between fans that interests me.
June 5th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Or in other words, expect more f****ing nonsense in the future!
June 6th, 2009 at 8:53 am
Watch out Jono, Dave’ll get his pointy stick out
June 6th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Careful, you’ll hace someone’s eye out with that…
June 6th, 2009 at 10:58 am
Actually, things seem to be ticking along nicely on the NZDWFC forum, and there’s a bit there that I would have said myself. I think it’s best that rather than potentially split such an important discussion I’ll leave it to the NZDWFC board.