Coming Up Soon - The Girl Who Died

This week's episode of Doctor Who, The Girl Who Died, is starting in just over twenty minutes on BBC1. Almost half way through Series 9 already. It only seems like a week or two since it started!

The Girl Who Died is of interest to me because it is written by Jamie Mathieson, the same guy who wrote Flatline and Mummy on the Orient Express, two of my favourite episodes from the last Series. I make a point of looking out for anything written by this guy now. The fact that the story features Maisie Williams of Game of Thrones fame is good enough, but the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and Clara (Jenna Coleman) get to fight some nasty aliens alongside Vikings. Yes, Vikings! Should be fun. :)

There's some confusion over whether or not this story is the first part of another two-parter. The title of next week's episode - The Woman Who Lived - definitely implies some connection. Time will tell. It always does. :)

ADDENDUM: So, it's a two-parter without actually being a two-parter. Two self-contained stories in a prequel/sequel format. Sneaky one, Moffat.

Before the Flood Starting Soon!

Only a few minutes left before the start of Before the Flood, the second part of last week's opener, Under the Lake. I can't believe we're at episode four of Season 9 already!

Under the Lake was a pretty good start, a nice homage to the classic Doctor Who "base under siege" theme. Hopefully Before the Flood won't let us down as a climax to the story. We all know that the Doctor/Peter Capaldi won't really get killed, but let's see you wriggle your way out of this one with good storytelling, not sonic sunglasses pseudononsense.

Come on guys, let's give us a first in NuWho - not one, but TWO good two-parters in a row!

Under the Lake Starting Soon!

Under the Lake, the third episode of of Series 9 of Doctor Who will be airing on BBC1 in about ten minutes, at 8.25pm. I know nothing about the story (I've been avoiding spoilers like the plague) other than what I've seen in the trailer, which looks suitably spooky.

Under the Lake has a lot to live up to, following on the heels of the cracking two-part opening story. I'm really looking forward to it, but after such a great start, I hope it's not a matter of "the only way is down". Here's hoping that Moffat & co. can keep the momentum going for the rest of Season 9.

ADDENDUM: Now THAT was a surprise. I was never expecting another two-parter right on the heels of the first one. It looks like Steven Moffat has been taking on board comments from fans wanting longer, better-developed stories, which has always been my main beef with the modern series. I definitely approve.

This was a nice, creepy one, another classic "base under siege" Doctor Who story. Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman are on fine form as the Doctor and Clara, and, in my opinion, are really clicking together as a fine Doctor-companion team. Capaldi is becoming a very fine Doctor indeed, just as I knew he would.

Here's hoping that next week's Part Two is as good as the first one.

The Witch's Apprentice is On TV Tonight!

The Witch's Familiar, Part Two of the Doctor Who season opening double-parter, airs on BBC One at 7.45pm tonight. It'll be interesting to see how things turn out for Clara (Jenna Coleman) and Missy (Michelle Gomez), and how the complex relationship between the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and Davros (Julian Bleach) may or may not have begun. And the Daleks. Oh, yes, let's not forget the Daleks! :)

Given how good Part One, The Magician's Apprentice was, I'm really looking forward to tonight's episode, while hoping that it lives up to the potential of the first one. In general, I greatly prefer two and three-parters to single episodes, as they are less rushed and give a lot more scope for story and character development. However, an unfortunate tendency of the Moffat-era two-parters is that they have great first parts, but slightly disappointing second parts, which almost always fail to live up to promise of the first episode.

Here's hoping that The Witch's Familiar does not fall into that trap, and turns out to be a cracker.

New Series 9 Episodes Listing

Saturday past gave us the first episode of the new Series 9 of Doctor Who, The Magician's Apprentice, and a cracking start it was too. Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman reprise their roles as the Doctor and companion Clara Oswald, and this first episode alone gave us a cracking story and a whole bunch of guest stars, including Missy (played by Michelle Gomez), Davros and Daleks. Lots of Daleks. How's that for a great start?

In the spirit of avoiding spoilers, I'll leave a more detailed analysis of the story until a later date. I'll say only that it was the first episode of a two-parter (unusual in itself, as two-parters are almost always season-enders - I don't recall any season ever beginning with one), and to say that I'm REALLY looking forward to Part Two is putting it mildly. I hope that it lives up to the first episode, as these two-parters have an unfortunate tendency to start off brilliant in the first episode, but fade away disappointingly in the second.

I've been going out of my way to avoid seeing any spoilers on the internet, on TV or in magazines, which can be incredibly hard to do, especially when you spend as much time online and read as many magazines each month (including Doctor Who Magazine) as I do. I've been trying to come to the new series knowing absolutely nothing in advance, for maximum impact and surprise. Until I saw it on television, I knew absolutely nothing about the first episode, other than it had the Doctor, Clara, Missy, Davros and the Daleks. I don't want to know the storylines or synopses in advance. So I'm trying to avoid anything like that like the plague.

Anyway, here's a listing of the episode titles for Series 9, with zero spoilers.

Episodes:

• 01. The Magician's Apprentice
• 02. The Witch's Familiar
• 03. Under the Lake
• 04. Before the Flood
• 05. The Girl Who Died
• 06. The Woman Who Lived
• 07. The Zygon Invasion
• 08. The Zygon Inversion
• 09. Sleep No More
• 10. Face the Raven
• 11. Heaven Sent
• 12. Hell Bent

Roll on Saturday and The Witch's Familiar!

Series 9 Starts Today!

I'm looking forward to the rest of this evening, just sitting here, eagerly awaiting the start of The Magician's Apprentice, the very first episode of the new Series 9 of Doctor Who, which begins very shortly, at 7:40pm, on BBC1.

Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman return as the Doctor and Clara, and I won't give away much, other than to say that this one features both the Daleks AND Missy/The Master, and the Doctor goes missing, leaving Clara forced to do the almost unthinkable - team up with Missy to find him! So it should be pretty interesting, to say the least.

Roll on 7:40! :)

Series 8 DVD Box Set (Part One)

I've just recently gotten my hands on the Series 8 DVD Box Set of the new Doctor Who, and I'm about to give it the once over. I'll be posting my opinions here, quick, general impressions first, followed by more in depth thoughts on each episode as I watch them.

I've only ever seen these episodes once, back in 2014, when they originally aired on BBC One here in the UK. I recall being quite impressed with the performances of Peter Capaldi in his first season as the Doctor, and companion Clara Oswald, played by Jenna Coleman. I also remember liking most of the the twelve stories (although some more than others), with the exception of The Caretaker, which I didn't see at all first time around for some reason or another. It'll be interesting to watch The Caretaker for the very first time, and. I wonder if my opinions of any of the other eleven episodes will change on viewing them second time around.

I'll be making comments on individual episodes in a follow-up post, but here is a listing of the total contents of the box set.

Episodes:

• 01. Deep Breath
• 02. Into the Dalek
• 03. Robot of Sherwood
• 04. Listen
• 05. Time Heist
• 06. The Caretaker
• 07. Kill the Moon
• 08. Mummy on the Orient Express
• 09. Flatline
• 10. In the Forest of the Night
• 11. Dark Water
• 12. Death in Heaven

Special Features:

There are two long featurettes, and a number of shorter ones. Obviously, I haven't seen any of these before, so at least that's some more new material for me to watch. Starting off with the two longer featurettes, followed by the other shorter featurettes :

Doctor Who - The Ultimate Timelord
Doctor Who - The Ultimate Companion
Inside the New Tardis
Casting Peter Capaldi
Writing the New Series
What Is Doctor Who?
Why Watch Season 8?
Music video of Foxes performing Don't Stop Me Now

There are five discs in all, which should provide a lot of good viewing for several evenings at least. Further comments will be coming soon, as I actually watch the contents.

Doctor Who - The Beginning (DVD Box Set)

Recently, I decided to conduct an interesting experiment in total immersion in classic Doctor Who, go right back to where it all started, and start watching my Doctor Who DVDs in order, starting with the earliest episodes first.

Well, you can't get any earlier than The Beginning three-disk DVD Box Set, which contains the first three Doctor Who adventures, starring (of course) William Hartnell as the First Doctor, his granddaughter Susan (Carole Ann Ford), and the very first companions, Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill).

The Beginning is an excellent box set, and the three stories it contains - the first thirteen episodes of the classic series - are, fortunately, complete, with no episodes missing. It's the fourth Doctor Who adventure, Marco Polo, before we run up against the first of the Missing Episodes. Unfortunately this classic Doctor Who historical adventure is entirely missing from the BBC Archives, although it still exists in audio format.

The three stories in the box set - An Unearthly Child, The Daleks and The Edge of Destruction - lay the foundations of everything that came afterwards, from the first appearance of the mysterious Doctor and his granddaughter, to the first appearance of his most iconic adversaries, the Daleks. There are also quite a few fascinating featurettes on the three DVDs, a few of them oriented around the behind-the-scenes developments during those dim and distant days when the series was first created. Fascinating stuff!

I will be posting my thoughts here in this blog about each individual story as I watch the DVDs. I would also recommend that anyone who considers themselves a serious Doctor Who fan should do the same as I'm doing, and watch these earliest episodes, in sequence, maybe one a day to get more of the feel of their original appearance on television. Sure, these old stories can be a bit slow and are radically different from modern frenetically-paced Doctor Who, but they're also the well from which all modern Doctor Who springs.

I find these early classics absolutely fascinating, both as television and as historical artifacts, and I strongly believe that they are required viewing for all true Doctor Who fans.

Plaything of Sutekh #4 Is Now Available

As a follow-up to my last post, I'm now happy to report that Plaything of Sutekh #4 is now available, after what seems like an eternity since the last issue. :)

As the details on the Plaything of Sutekh blog state, the new issue features articles on:-

• Pacifism in Doctor Who - a look at how The Daleks and The Dominators gave turning the other cheek the thumbs down.
• The Ark vs The Ark in Space - David Rolinson looks at the similarities between these two stories.
• RTD & Religion - Sean Alexander examines a key aspect of the series under Russell T's tenure.
• E-Space - Jez Strickley spies a dystopian slant in this Season 18 trilogy.
• Secret Who - we look at two underrated stories The Claws of Axos and The Time Monster
• Changing Times - a look back at Peter Capaldi's first season.
• Doc Top Ten - one writer looks at his favourite Who comic strips.
• Gateway Drug - Stephen Wood confesses how it all started with him and Who…

For those who aren't familiar with it, Plaything of Sutekh is a professionally produced, traditional A5 print Doctor Who fanzine - yes, a real paper zine, not an electronic download, a website or a blog. It is brought to you by Richard Farrell, John Connors and their Merry crew - Richard also edits the very excellent Gerry Anderson fanzine Andersonic. Both zines are among the best fanzines currently available, especially considering that the traditional print fanzine is an endangered species in the increasingly electronic and online modern era.

Issue 4 is 36 pages, fully illustrated with colour covers and black & white interiors. It only costs a mere £2.20, which also includes free postage within the UK (check the blog for postage outside the UK).

To find out more details or order the zine, either go to the Plaything of Sutekh blog, or simply send a Paypal payment directly to playthingofsutekh@mail.com - with your address in the 'notes' section. You can also pay by cheque, please email for the payee details.

Issue 3 is also still in print. All self-respecting Doctor Who fans should run along sharpish to the Plaything of Sutekh blog and buy these two issues before they're sold out.

COMING SOON! Plaything of Sutekh Issue 4

I've recently heard some very good news on the Doctor Who fanzine front. Richard Farrell and Co. have been very busy bees, and Plaything of Sutekh Issue 4 will be with us any day now, as soon as it arrives back from the printers. It's been quite a while since Issue 3, so this is welcome news indeed.

Plaything of Sutekh is one of the very best Doctor Who fanzines available, covering all eras of the show from over the past fifty years or so. And, like Richard's other top-notch zine, Andersonic, Plaything is a real, paper/print, high-quality A5 publication, not an electronic fanzine.

I have no details as yet, other than the above cover and internal page spread screenshot below from the Plaything of Sutekh blog, but I'll post anything I find out, as soon as I find it out.

Can't wait for this!