Was it the Rolling Stones who once sang ‘you can’t always get what you want’? Yes Peter, it was. Be that as it may, we here at ZeusBlog Terraces say there’s no harm in a little festive hand-wringing, and in the spirit of all those packs of handkerchiefs consigned to the bottom drawer of last year’s Christmas presents, we say – why not hope for the best, even if it’s a hope against hope? ‘Where there’s hope there’s life’, as the Third Doctor could have said (but didn’t), and so with thoughts of life in the old new series yet, we present a few choice snippets from our wish list to Santa for 2008:

Al writes:

“My Christmas wish is that Series 4 can do for the Sontarans what Series One did for the Daleks. Don’t treat them with over-familiarity – that only breeds contempt.  This is an opportunity to give a ‘classic monster’ a fresh new start and show the Nu-Who viewers why us old buggers loved them so much.  Granted, the press call for the new look Sontarans was a bit of a mis-fire, but I’m betting they’ll look a lot better in the flesh.  So don’t weigh them down with pointless continuity (I’m looking at you, Rutans) or allow the script to be written by someone who is well over them(Sorry Mr Holmes, you were brilliant in most other cases). Let’s have more Linx then Stor, more Styre than Stike, in a thrilling adventure in time and space!”

As for me I say:

“I’d like a new story arc please. The previous ones have been good, but they’re starting to get a bit whiskery, and with the promise of [REDACTED] returning to the series and the knowledge that one solitary surviving Cult of Skaro Dalek out there could still spoil things for everyone, and that there’s probably a bit more about the Time War we could hear about despite the angsty Northern Doctor leaving the show for good – not to mention that Ring, I reckon it’s time for a new direction – particularly if as suggested recently, [REDACTED] might be thinking of moving on soon. So, that and giant robots, please.”

Finally from us, here’s Jamas:

“Stephen Fry. I don’t care if he writes an episode or stars in one or… whatever, just get this man associated with this programme! There are not words enough to describe how necessarily and brilliant this obvious move would be. The production team tried for Series Two, but managed to shoot themselves in the foot before getting too far into sensibility. This is Stephen Fry we are talking about! Why hasn’t he appeared already? Come on, people, I’m sure I’m not the only one wanting to see a large bulging package under the tree this year…”

So what about you, readers? Yours please…

PA

Not content with his triumph earlier this year with a unique spin on the Five Doctors, Farmergeddon is back with another loving impaling of the Davison Era.

October 2007 marked the tenth anniversary of Christchurch fanzine Reverse the Polarity!  -not bad for what used to call itself the  ’alternative’ zine in this country. While it has also just hit issue 25, ten years’ survival is more than noteworthy – after all, its nearest counterpart in longevity was the same age when RTP! began.

In honour of this, and of its diamond year, here are ten factworthy notes about RTP! associated around the number 10…

1. Ten years old. Hard to believe that the venerable TSV itself was only ten years old in 1997. RTP! started life trailing its older sibling by fifty issues and, unbelievably, has maintained that distance to this day. Decade – TSV’s tenth anniversary issue was reviewed in RTP! issue 1, as was the final issue of Telos (which reached a final score of 15 issues)…

2. …which means that beyond initial editors Matt Kamstra’s and Wade Campbell’s desire to beat Telos‘ run, RTP! has – as of issue 25 in fact done so by ten.

3. Issue 2 saw the debut of Brendan Gibbons’ wonderful Cyberguy, which ran for a glorious ten installments before disappearing forever. Ahh, shame.

4. Issue ten saw the debut of Alex Ballingall’s first solo cartoon series, Aquaman

5. And we are now ten issues since the debut of stablemate Bob the Suicidal Dalek.

6. Ten cartoons. Not comic strips, no sir – so besides the ‘serious’ fare of Pulp Who, Cydonia, Myrhh and others the roll call follows: Birdy, Saucer, Cyberguy, Spliff and Nutmeg, Ergon, Aquaman, Bob the Suicidal Dalek, Teletubbies in the Death Zone, Unconvincing the Animatronic Cat and – just about to make his feature debut, Cyberman the Kroton.

7. And speaking of hiatuses, ten issues ran in slick timing before RTP‘s own period of silence, with the departure of Alex Ballingall to Japan, and the disappearance of Matt Kamstra, who would not return to the editor’s chair after issue 11. 

8. But back to Cydonia for one more time. 2007 marks the tenth anniversary of Cydonia last appearing in Telos. At (ahem) twelve years old, Cydonia is surely NZ’s longest-running Who comic strip. And it’s about to finish at last. In the pages of RTP!

9. Issue 25 is ten issues past the conclusion of Pulp Who (from issue 2) the longest serialised comic strip to date.

10. Finally, ten years since TARDIS Tales ended, and its star Saucer Smith launched RTP! as its first cover star. A full retrospective has just finished on the strip series in issue 25, with a new collection out soon through RTP!

PA

News this week of a license for Cubicle 7 to produce an official Doctor Who role playing game (RPG)  is a more than mildly interesting development. RPGs based on the series have been attempted twice before, almost at either end of the game format’s Eighties heyday.

US company FASA were first off the block with Doctor Who, based around existing rules (and artwork…) they’d developed for their Star Trek game. While not relying on the polyhedral dice of other contemporary RPGs, FASA’s game stuck to the basics with options for playing any either a Time Lord or Companion, and using the Deadly Assassin conceit of the Celestial Intervention Agency to set ‘missions’ for its players. Also, like many systems of its time there were lots of rules and tables and charts. Doctor Who the RPG was very much action oriented, earning it the amusing nickname on RPG.net of ‘The A Team in Space’. It had its fans – and still does, but the license was short-lived.

Post-Classic series the most recent attempt was Time Lord, a much-stripped down version offered in a novel-sized book of the same name written by Ian Marsh and Peter Darvill-Evans. Once again utilising old school six-sided dice and your actual pens and paper, Time Lord was self-contained and brought gaming the series up to date with the last of the original series – all seven Doctors, companions and a generous bevy of classic monsters. If simplicity was part of its appeal, then the rest would have had to have been the faithful way it used the series’ non-violent agenda – battles with aliens were often one-sided and deadly to the player characters, so clever thinking was the order of the day. Additionally, the skills of ‘Bench Thumping’, ‘Screaming’ and ‘Bottomless Pockets’ were a fine acknowledgement of the series’ quirks and strengths. If anything though, Time Lord probably failed by arriving late in the day for the RPG fad. Computer games were becoming more sophisticated for a start, and latching a game on to a programme that was assumed dead and buried probably did the rest.

Fast forward to today, and while role playing games remain, their format  and mechanics have undergone a great deal of revival – the d20 system, a sort of open source gaming option based around a twenty-sided dice, is the most popular format, although it has its detractors as well. In aditon to this, the marketing of an RPG in this day and age is not without its challenges – a significant number of posters on the Doctor Who Forum thought that the game would be computer-based and were scratching their heads for a while. According to Cubicle 7 the game will be based on the new series first, with development to take in the classic series further down the track. D20 may not be used, but, cognisant of the awkward fit of FASA’s version the developers are keen to have a game which is not based on another franchise’s conventions and game mechanics. Playing the Doctor is a tricky ask, and even human companions are cut from different cloth than your typical skills-specialist RPG character, so it will be interesting indeed to follow their take on the character, the series and just how playing the Universe’s greatest smart-alec (new series version especially) can work.

[Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space's developer Dave Chapman has a blog dedicated to the game's creation: Heart of the TARDIS]

FAMOUS LAST WORDS? 
“she’s gone, Al – let it go!”
( Peter Adamson, September 2007)

WHO NEEDS FAN SPIES TO SPOIL FUTURE DVD RELEASES…
…when you can do it yourself, right Colin? (2entertain must be fuming!)

DOUBLE BEAT
Is it just a coincidence that Christmas Special guest star Kylie Minogue’s new number one hit is called Two Hearts?

THE COVER LOOKS GOOD ONLINE…
…but we bet TSV 75‘s wraparound looks even better in person.

JOIN THE CHAPTER, STAY FOR BREAKFAST
Anyone…? No…?

LDN CALLING
Forget the ’three companions for the price of one’ breaking news… the story we loved was that pop sensation Lily Allen was going to be the Doctor’s travelling companion. So is the rule of the new series companions ‘chav on, chav off, chav on….’?

And finally…

WE’D NEXT LIKE TO RUSSELL TO SAY…
“Paul McGann return to the series? It’ll never happen.”

The sudden deaths of two significant names in Doctor Who fandom last week merit more attention – even local attention, than has perhaps been given. Any fan will be able to tell you that Verity Lambert was the series’ first producer, the BBC’s first female producer and held both titles at a relatively tender age (27) in what was itself a young industry. The series’ popularity and formula, BEMs included, owe an insurmountable debt to her influence and guidance.

Bereft of a genuine female Doctor, Verity Lambert is- was, the programme’s elder stateswoman. In a way she never truly left the series; for like the Doctors who followed Hartnell and reprised their roles in various guises, her connection with Doctor Who was concreted by fandom, fan press and fan conventions and media. But fandom, as we all know, carries its own memory, some of it false and some of it selective. While we can issue forth the Received Knowledge of identities like Verity Lambert solemnly and with a little authority, it doesn’t get us any closer to who she was before and after the series, how it influenced her, and the true legacy she leaves behind. Make the time and read some of those obituaries outside of the DW blogs and websites and rediscover a remarkable woman who not only produced the first ever Doctor Who with no series bible, heritage or fan audience, but also ventured into sitcoms, crime thrillers, whodunnits, soap opera and film. Who also resurrected Quatermass and launched the careers of Lynda la Plante and Sam Neill, and who for her sins, gave the world Eldorado.

The Times and The Guardian give great kudos to Lambert’s contribution to television especially without dwelling on the Who hagiography, but for a change of pace Janet Street Porter’s personal memories of Lambert as printed in The Independent offer something quite diferent and quite worthwhile. Who knew the series’ original guardian angel to be so prickly and obstinate? A testament to her early success, one can imagine – and more than likely, to the Doctor’s also.

The passing of Who biographer Peter Haining may have been felt more keenly several years ago while his works were still very much in circulation. As it is one would be hard-pressed to imagine the likes of The Key to Time or The Time-Traveller’s Guide on bookshop shelves now amid the multiple garish ‘official’ series guides. It’s true that even in the early works Haining’s books appeared alongside those by Jeremy Bentham, Howe Stammers and Walker, and of course John Nathan Turner; but to a good number of fans of a certain age, Haining was the big name, and his books were the gateway into fandom – especially for those not readily able to engage with other fans. My first and only Haining book is 25 Glorious Years which I saw advertised, saved up for and ordered from an Oamaru bookshop, and pored over intently during the series’ silver jubilee year, comparing what little I’d seen of Colin Baker to the photos inside, and wondering what the new Doctor, Sylvester McCoy would be like. As other creative fans have doubtless done I studied the artwork within and attempted to equal Colin Howard’s still masterful pointillistic portraits, and whole fanzines could be filled with the hand copied images of rare or destroyed episodes from an age when there was no Internet, no Wikipedia, no Image Archive to draw from.

Haining’s works became decreasingly influential and necessary as new names entered the arena, but those books were the groundwork for what followed, and beyond Who his cult and telefantasy influence was felt in similar regular guides to the canons of Sherlock Holmes, James Bond and Dracula, and a reliable run of classic ghost stories. As regular and reliable as the typeface titles on those volumes, Peter Haining was fandom’s collator before fandom took over the job and improved on the format, and his presence in the pages of a plethora of fanzines – New Zealand ones included, is a truth seldom acknowledged.

PA

The Krotons is one of my [JE’s] favourite stories of all time, and that alone means it should be released on DVD (although that’s not likely for any time soon, given the current focus on completing seasons). There are some great performances in this story by all the actors, Philip Madoc makes an appearance, and Wendy Padbury avoids flashing her knickers is a rare moment of modesty.

And there are the Krotons themselves. Whilst not mentioned as often as the Quarks, they still get mocked by the fans, and yet their costumes are rather good… at least the top half, the lower half are just pants… or rather, a bad cardboard skirt, but still. They are a rather unique enemy in Doctor Who, being largely crystal based, and have managed to set themselves up quite the society.

On the features side, aside from the usual talking heads, this is obviously a perfect point for (another) Robert Holmes documentary, as this is his first story and all. (And maybe an anti-documentary on incidental music?) Another possibility for a decent chance at doing something different, this story was a replacement for the supposed leaving story for Jamie, Dick Sharples’ The Prison in Space, so could develop that into a feature, maybe even a reading (the story summary has been given in DWM), perhaps even read by Frazer Hines? Alternatively, a look at the unmade Robert Holmes story Aliens in the Blood.

They (well… he) said it would never happen, but finally we get our first multi-doctor story of the new series in the form of the Children in Need special, Time Crash.

And what a lot of fun it was too. Davison stepped back into the role effortlessly, and he and Tennant obviously enjoyed firing off each other. The conundrum of how to explain away the age-old old-age question got sorted with a throwaway line, the half-moon glasses made a welcome comeback and continuity references abound (is the second mention of the Mara a subtle hint…?).

Quite what non-fans would have made of it I don’t know, but based on the audience figures, this potentially could be the biggest story of the new series. which means that mentions of Tegan, Nyssa and Time Lords with weird collars  obviously didn’t stop the general public from lapping up the first new story in 5 months.

But damn you Steven for making me get misty-eyed again (though not to the extent of the last 5 minutes of School Reunion thank god… don’t want to go through that experience again anytime soon).

And so now we wait for Miss Minogue and an iceberg. Fingers crossed.

JP

WHERE’S JONO?
Er, we’re not sure. Didn’t your holiday end a month ago, matey? 
(Thanks, incidentally, to Jamas who did report for duty) 

TSV 75
Talk about turning up late to your own party…

FANDOM IN NEED
We were told the Master would never come back. It happened. We were told that Kylie was just press speculation. It happened. Now the last ‘it’ll never happen’ statement has been ripped up with the news that we get our first multi-Doctor story! Now if only they’d got back Mary Tamm and Lalla Ward, we could have made all Aarronn’s fanboy dreams come true all at once.

SJS SOS
We’ve managed to catch the first episode – usually we’re champions for any new Who, rallying against the fandom screeches of dismay… but we’ve gotta join you lads. it’s pretty bad… especially as kids tv!

“WANTED – VHS COPY OF INVASION OF THE DINOSAURS”
WTF? Are you mad, Jonathan Lawson? You want to show it to a child? A CHILD??? May we suggest Barney instead. It’s much less likely to cause permanent damage, and the dinosaur effects are much more convincing.

[Spoiler warning...ON!] Read the rest of this entry »

Guest reviewer: David RonayneThe Sound of Drums really is a guilty pleasure.  I watch, and on some critical level I’m sucking air through my teeth thinking “ooh, this really is a bit sloppy and pandering to the fans”, but on another, more basic one, I’m going “yeee-haa!”

From the almost casual dismissal of the previous episode’s cliff-hanger to the fanhappy shots of Gallifrey (new CGI, old costumes) the episode does suffer from Empire Strikes Back syndrome.  Quickly clearing the decks, and exposing Saxon – all  before the opening credits, followed by a quick run-around to set up McGuffins (TARDIS keys, Jack’s teleporter) and the cliff-hanger for next time. It doesn’t really stand as a story in its own right, but it does it all in such a classy fan-tastic way.  I say classy, because while I was grunting and smirking at the screen my wife loved it, but didn’t any of the references.  I’m not sure I could handle this every week, but just for once it is nice to see them “let the docs out.”

RTD takes his usual swipe against American politics and populist spin (looks nice but no actual policy) with blasts from the past all along the way; Little Britain; Out of the Unknown; “falling from the skies” – a possible Wormwood reference;  jelly babies and chips; the Master’s “hypnotic voice”; the Teletubbies/Clangers; the Sea Devils; a faithful human companion (name checking the old “Doctor’s wife” joke from the JNT era, just like the “secret brother” story); the TARDIS keys emit a Douglas Adams SEP field; nice big red Warner style sticks of dynamite; the Doctor previous dealings with PMs (Cabinet rebuilt, Harriet Jones) as well as mention of every present day invasion since the series rebooted; the “you did this – you voted Saxon” reminiscent of the speech in V for Vendetta; numerous plugs for Torchwood; the Valliant confirming Jack’s place as the new Captain Scarlet, with the TARDIS hidden behind the door with the big Thuderbird 4 logo; the End of the World (again) and for once it’s not the Doctor telling everyone to “Run!”

Even the Master’s laser screwdriver looks good – who’d have sonic? (Although the point of the Lazarus system was that it was based on sonic technology, oh well.)

All this, and tantalising hints of a past we haven’t seen – what did the Master do for Lucy’s father; and what happened to his other blonde from the security service; the Time War, the Dalek Emperor at the Cruciform.  I worked out who the spheres were fairly late into the piece – the irritating child’s voice of one of them being a little too reminiscent of the cute kid last week, especially with the talk of the impending darkness.

Ultimately a good setup with some nice character pieces.  Jack’s “you too, huh” line continues the trend of adding more to his character in throwaway scenes that was ever revealed in his own series, though the Doctor’s line about fancying someone a little too aware.  Again Martha shows great gumption, but John Simm steals the show with the perfect balance of brilliance, evil and craziness (and lets be honest, the best lines, and nifty red lined jacket).  All that’s missing is someone to make a joke about the Master’s “balls of steel”… well, maybe not.

DR

Reprinted with kind permission from Reverse The Polarity! issue 25