This time last year TSV began its regeneration from its former chatty self. Issue 74 features the latest change to the zine, the removal of a series news page, similarly the length of reviews (although still the largest component of the zine) has been reduced. So what’s making up the issue nowadays?

Let’s begin with the cover. A good, central image and focal point, although it does strike me as a tad generic; the third consecutive one in fact to scream ‘this never happened on the telly!’. No bad thing, but having done my fair share of illustrations like this, I’ve the feeling I’ve seen it all before. The back cover however is just lovely, and would have been a welcome front piece for a Survival review – hopefully earmarked for TSV 75 or, dare I say it, any feature on the McCoy Era.

Inside the illustrations are a step up from the wobbly lines of fanzines past, although the ‘Nth generation xerox-like’ Series 2 accompaniments lack any impact whatsoever, and Amy Mebberson’s cartoons for editorial and inside back cover, while very charming, needed some explanation on the message board as to who they represented, which is a pity following such a stunning online debut.

Beyond this the content is actually pretty varied once you take the reviews out: perhaps befitting the editor’s UK location and access to some of the show’s personnel there are two interviews, one of which could be reasonably filed under: Curious – but not earth-shattering. There’s also the continuing saga of David Lawrence’s long excursion through the EDAs. To call this a review would be to diminish it unnecessarily, as it’s David’s prose which keeps it moving along, and while they’re not my cup of tea, it’s good that the zine is still acknowledging other media this way. Audio reviews feature – although Paul McGann’s recent radio adventures are curiously overlooked, and Jon Preddle brings back Doctor’s Dilemma after a long absence, though it’s a quiet slip through the door rather than a fanfare and red carpet. Back in the ’90s you could be assured a little controversy with Jon’s regular piece, but I wonder whether in this age of Google and Wikipedia the reign of any Who oracle has passed? And speaking of such, Andrew Pixley gives us another of his exhaustive Missing Moments, this time from The Sea Devils. Not a story I’m greatly engaged by, and it’s telling that one of its excised scenes reveals the thrill of someone getting up from a chair, checking a monitor and sitting down again. Maybe my concentration span wasn’t built for such articles; but I did like the illustration Al! And Jamas’ drabbles were fun for me, a person with a limited attention span for fan fiction at the best of times.

The rest of TSV can be reliably summed up as reviews. There’s no way twenty years ago that even a six-monthly fanzine reviewing contemporary episodes would have been lumbered with twelve separate stories, so it must be acknowledged that some of TSV‘s repetition of these (the series, followed by the DVD releases) has to do with new series format. But something should address this in itself. TSV Being a bi-yearly zine we can expect this sort of carry-on every second issue. The zine is clearly swamped with the weight of new series material, edging out in this issue the original series DVD releases for one, but even this controlled pulling back is making reading a challenge, and if personal elements like a letters page and club update are being withdrawn to make room for reviews, then this can not be a good thing. A national fanzine has a responsibility to inform fans, document its achievements and help maintain its community. TSV won’t do this by series reviews and story files alone.

I see an occasion in a few years’ time where this issue of TSV might be looked at in retrospect to see what local fandom was busying itself with, and that investigation coming up rather lean. In fact, over the last twelve months of the life of the NZDWFC a reasonable amount has happened – a pretty serious dust-up on the message boards, the appearance of Zeus Plug and accompanying it the revival of the main centre chapters and fan gatherings. In short, we fans actually got together and did what you’d expect healthy creative fans to do. Six months down the track, and you’ll find no mention of this in the national fan club journal. Seemingly in dumping the new series news page TSV has also done away with the local news and sport.

So it’s another gradual shuffle forward. If the new series hit us like a double decker bus then TSV is gradually regaining its ability to walk. It will be a slow recovery. Next issue is the celebratory 75, surely an occasion to look back and tell that story about running issue one off on the University photocopier again. To paraphrase another thing that screened (and was overlooked) between issues, TSV 76 is where it’ll all happen, and the zine had better be ready.

PA

THERE WILL BE BLOOD
A golden rule has been broken! There was blood! On screen! We saw it!
Poor Anne Reid – what with this, and Hot Fuzz, she’s kind of become
synonymous with the stuff this year.

OTHER THINGS WE THOUGHT BOE’S FOUR WORDS WOULD BE
“Where are my toes?”
“Gherkin in a Jar”
“It IS the Rani”
“Love the new costume!”

CAN’T WE KEEP HER ON, SIR? SHE’S MUCH PRETTIER THAN A COMPUTER!
These days you’d think we’d seen it all and read it all thanks to the twin colossi of Outpost Gallifrey and the BBC’s own Doctor Who site. But what’s this? Spoilers? Exclusives? Screencaps and free-to-anywhere rips of the new series trailer? No, it’s not a fan site. Well, it is actually, but not what you’d think. Step up http://freemaagyeman.com/- the new First Site To Visit in Who fandom!

UNHOLY CYBERCRUCIFIXION COVER BATMAN!
We have to ask…Was the TSV 74 cover especially chosen for an Easter unveiling, or what? A Mel Gibson editorial’s surely just an issue away.

MISTER DAVIES – YOU’RE SPOILING US!

It’s a commonly held fanboy belief that things just aren’t the same with the new series than the old. The Doctor’s younger, there are fewer cliffhangers and the stories aren’t made to please just us anymore (dammit!) But gor’bless that Rusty Davies for not only sabotaging his newest writer’s cliffhanger with a Radio Times cover, but allowing, for just a few days, some fan outrage at the supposed casting of Kylie Minogue. And he made Fairfax media look like a bunch of twonks. It’s like the 1980s all over again – the man’s a genius!

and finally…

THE LONELIEST CHAPTER REPORT IN THE WORLD

Some are classics, some are dogs, some are wildly different. But when it comes down to it, which season shines through as Doctor Who’s Best. Season. Ever?

WILDCARDS

So there haven’t been 32 seasons… to make this crazy game work, 3 seasons get a free pass to round 2. Here’s what was chosen and why:

SEASON 16 – This season was a wonderful idea for Doctor Who. Yes, there is still basically the same structure as in other seasons of differing stories, but they are all tied together under one ‘arc’ that has varying impacts on the stories involved. It added a nice extra layer to the stories (the Doctor had to do more than just ‘win’ the story, he had to get the next puzzle piece), as well as providing an important ethical moment in the last third of The Armageddon Factor which revealed a nice humanistic touch in dealing with Astra’s life. JE

SEASON 20 – Season 20 is often maligned for not bringing anything new to the table – most of its stories are sequels in one way or another and the season relies on the return of several villains – the Black Guardian, Omega, the Daleks, the Mara. The stories are fine, and some of them have some great moments, but to a good number of reviewers the season is seen as being somewhat less than the sum of those parts, and just too self-indulgent by far. It would be a tough call for any season to bear that sort of reputation, so I thought it needed a leg up. PA

SEASON 25 – It may not quite have delivered on its anniversary season promise, but Season 25 shouldn’t be hampered, just because it contains Silver Nemesis! Leaving that little nugget of joy aside, in terms of diversity, you can’t really beat it. Greatest Show is still in my mind a hugely underrated gem, and Happiness Patrol for all its faults was suitably bonkers. As an example of improvement on the season before it, Season 25 deserves a free run. The ride ahead may not be so smooth though… JP

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I’ll admit that when I first read on Outpost Gallifrey this week that Kylie Minogue was to star in the 2007 Christmas Special, my heart did sink a little. I mean, the idea of a pop star with little acting experience having a major role on Doctor Who is just inconceivable! Oh yeah… that’s right…

Thinking about it a little further though, whilst all the predictable calls of ‘stunt-casting!’ scream out from the message boards, perhaps, my fellow fans, it really wouldn’t be as bad as all that. We’ve had former Top of the Pops and Blue Peter hosts turn up and the sky hasn’t fallen in. We’ve had high-profile comediennes taking centre stage and the show hasn’t suffered (well.. some people think so, but I loved Ms Tate’s appearance).

We’ve even had the ultimate in Billie Piper – who would have thought, bar her turn in the The Canterbury Tales, that the same person who once sang the words ‘Honey To The Bee, That’s You For Me’ would be a hugely important part of the success of the new series.

So if, as unlikely as it may seem, Ms Minogue does end up having a role in the Christmas Special this year, Cyberwoman or otherwise, let’s hold fire on heralding the apocalypse until we actually see her.

And yes, I’ve seen Biodome.

JP

I’m loving the new series, but since The Runaway Bride I’ve had a vague feeling of sameness. Specifically – reheated final acts usually involving thwarted villainesses screaming their way into oblivion amidst Mill-concocted pyrotechnics, as panicked crowds point skywards.

So it was with some joy that I found myself surprised, absorbed and exhilarated by Gridlock, despite last years’ series opener leaving me wishing never to return to New Earth. Not only does it break the final act mould of the last three stories but reintroduces an environment and threat which feel real. Previously, fresh air had thoughtfully been provided in deep space, the lunar surface and apparently even surely-pungent Elizabethan London; whereas the first thing that happens to the Doctor and Martha on New Earth is a heavy shower of rain. The environment immediately impresses itself upon them and continues to do so. Smog replaces smug as the Doctor and Martha are both swiftly relegated to the status of helpless passengers, deprived of the TARDIS, one another and their own independence. There’s a true sense of desperation – Tennant even out-does McCoy in bellowing his companion’s name in one scene! Pleasingly, his Doctor initially seems less in control than usual, regretting ‘showing off’ and caught up in another of the new series’ ‘dead-end future’ scenarios.

But it’s not all grim and dystopian, in fact ‘road trip’ perhaps describes this stories ‘genre’ best. The plethora of eccentric characters and locations encountered along the way charm and engage as only Doctor Who at it’s very best can. As bizarre as many of the New New York inhabitants seem, they also present a very believable humanity – never more so than in the moving ‘hymn sequence’. Accompanying visuals are consistently good, including a truly thrilling ‘crab race’ and an arrival at the final destination straight from the Star Wars prequels.

The fact that the story concludes with the least surprising revelation in the new series’ history hardly matters, this journey hasn’t been so much about the destination as having fun getting there. So say what you like about Rusty Davies, and at Zeus Blog we always do, but at his best he is, to quote a certain Gridlock character:

“Insane and a little bit magnificent”.

AH

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Yeah, alright.

Our second story is a tale quite fair
To satisfy Jon Preddle’s wishes yet
As our heroes journey to meet Shakespeare
And duly help him out with his Hamlet

But this is not the play our tale concerns
Love’s Labours Won instead is the subject
And through the episode’s chicanes and turns
The Doctor strives its performance to eject

Martha is also active in the plot
Aiding the Doctor in defeating witches
She casts her own spell on the Bard so hot
To find the means to get into her britches

As story two’s always historical
‘Tis odd to see some magic in the mix
The power of words is metaphorical
And so the Doctor’s wise to these same tricks

But I foresee a rocky road ahead
A TARDIS friendship surely to be vexed
As Martha and the Doctor share a bed
He clumsily compares her to the ex

But still the visuals do please the eye
Elizabethan London looked a treat
With lovingly attended CGI
To outshine any 1980s feat

The nation’s history teachers will rejoice
To see such visual dedication here
And as a certain sexy theory’s voiced
Numerous scholars may well punch the air

Though it’s no Stoppard I’ll not make a fuss
There’s wit and wisdom evident in score
To such a balance guaranteeing thus
That Roberts will be back for Season Four.

PA

Don’t scroll to the post after this one if you’re wanting to remain spoiler free. (In fact, don’t even read this one!)

One week old, and already Zeus Blog is in hot water for publishing a major spoiler for the upcoming Daleks In Manhattan episode. It wasn’t our intention to create a furore so early on (that was going to be saved for next month), and our sincere apologies to whoever got their Episode 4 spoilt in our rush to get a quick joke online!

In our defense, it was pretty hard to miss. Apart from being all over the official website, thumbnails sprung up across the net before you had time to say ‘where’s its nose?’. Pity the poor ‘spoiler-free by choice’ folk in the UK who have to see it every time they go into a WH Smiths.

You have to ask – what were they thinking?! The publication of an upcoming monster on the front of the Radio Times is nothing new, but to give away the cliffhanger from an upcoming two-parter a week before the episode airs is pretty out of the box. There’s publicity and then there’s ‘spoil the ending’ publicity, which seems to go against what the production team have been trying to achieve this season, with their ‘wall of silence’ pact.

But maybe it’s just us fans once again getting precious about the little things when, in the scheme of things, it’s probably an excellent move on RTD’s part to get the public interested again, even if he himself seemed to think that he’s ruined the ending a little…

Oh and we promise not to spoil anything ever again. Not even the return of the Master.

JP

Poor Pertwee has taken a bit of a beating in recent years. Perhaps it is the Earthbound nature of the stories, or the repetition of UNIT or the Master, or maybe it’s just the lisp and the hair.

But amongst all this The Curse of Peladonis a bit of an oddball, not only for the season, or the Pertwee Era, but for Doctor Who as a whole. It is a political adventure, years before the likes of

Curse of Peladon is four episodes worth of good script and characterisation, on an alien world that is very well realised, with monsters who’s motivations are far more modern than there costumes, and tells a story that thoughtful without being preachy.

As for extra features, I’m not sure if there really is much to add, in fact it is an ideal candidate for the new stripped down, modestly extra-ed, near vanilla releases, although I’d love to see David Troughton sat down in front of a camera and asked about his recollections of his father and his time on the series. They could even push the boat out and do a joint release with the Doctor’s other adventure to Peladon, but the joy of this first story will be at the expense of it’s more bulky and unwieldy (more traditional) second.

It’s a little early this time round, perhaps, but confirmation came last month that yes, a fourth series of Doctor Who has been commissioned. And David Tennant will, apparently, feature for the whole run. There are some who might applaud the first announcement but cry foul at its corollary. Here at Zeus Blog Terraces we say yah boo! Sucks to them! The really good news attached to this is that they are clearly in the minority.

This isn’t just an attempt to downplay the refined palette of a few individuals disillusioned with the current state of the show, it’s a simple fact. The series is doing very well indeed, and despite their minority report, there’s all evidence to suggest that in fact not only has the sky not fallen in since the departure of Christopher Eccleston, but the show has survived, carried on, made people laugh and cry, sold more annuals than the former reigning champion (The Beano) and clearly has a new, young audience who will with luck grow with the show and carry the flame on. Hopefully they’ll also grow old with the show; remember it fondly and long after its run ceases, one among those many might just rise up and start the ball rolling once more, win BAFTAs and Nebulas, and create a certified hit from a load of old cult. It’s the natural order of things. Our baby is doing well. It has a charismatic lead and a confident and powerful producer, both of whom deserve to return and entertain the kids for another year. Good on them and good luck to them for 2008.

On a more local note, you’ll notice that activity has returned about the blog and quite probably in not too tidy an order. We’ll run the broom around soon, and have a nice new logo to boot, but in the mean-time bear with us – the chaos is merely the product of enthusiastic minds at work!