Netzozo: Paying the price to be the Doctor, Birmingham man invents Dalek iPhone app....

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Paying the price to be the Doctor, Birmingham man invents Dalek iPhone app....

Editor's bit...

Todays picture is Daemons redux by Harnois75, "the Brigadier calls on the RAF to drop test cannisters over the village of Devil's End, to see if the invisible heat barrier that is surrounding it is open at the top or enclosed."

The News...

Herald Sun has Paying the price to be the Doctor, "Thirty quid for a fried breakfast!" Matt Smith screeches down the phone from a "very posh hotel" somewhere in London. "Can you believe that?", we've called to chat about the Doctor Who Christmas Special and how Smith is keen to "embrace the madness" inherent in the Doctor and further explore the role's eccentric side. But the breakfast that's just arrived has grabbed his attention, amid a clang of cloches being ditched and cutlery taken up against heavy-set china....

IDW Publishing has Doctor Who Named "Best Licensed Series" by MTV Splashpage, editor Rick Marshall, a fan of all things Who, Doctor Who Annual 2010 coveroffered high praise for the series: "Sure, I'm a big fan of "Doctor Who," but you can count me among the skeptics when IDW first announced its "Doctor Who" comic book series. However, writer Tony Lee proved himself time and time again over the course of 2010, and gave anyone who longed for more time with David Tennant's iteration of The Doctor a wealth of wonderful stories....

SFX has 12 Ice Planets and coming in at Number One is 'The Oodsphere', the icy home world of the Ood, located in the Horse Head Nebula, near to the Sense Sphere (the Sensorite home planet). Considering the Ood carry their brains outside their bodies, you’d presume someone on the planet makes a killing selling customised, heated mind-cosies.

Birmingham Mail has Birmingham man invents Dalek iPhone app, Tom Fenn, from Balsall Heath, has made the iExterminate! software using a ring modulator – the original piece of sound kit behind the Doctor’s robotic enemy, at least ten per cent of end of year profits from sales of the 59p app will go to the UK Alzheimer’s Society,so far more than 1,000 have sold, with most bought in Britain and America and some in Saudi Arabia....

Digital Spy has Moffat: 'Tennant exit inspired Xmas Who', Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has revealed that this year's Christmas episode was inspired by David Tennant's final episodes, he told the New York Times that 'A Christmas Carol' would balance out the "dark" nature of 'The End of Time'.....

Pick of the Blogs...

Silva Screen Blog has Doctor Who Christmas Soundtrack, and they are proud to announce the February album release of the soundtrack to Doctor Who - A Christmas Carol, the soundtrack features classical music superstar Katherine Jenkins. "Katherine is both part of the cast and singer on “Abigail’s Song”, the music is composed by now Doctor Who composer of choice Murray Gold and performed by the excellent BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Crouch End Festival Chorus....."

Caption Who has posted "we kick off the start of a HUGE gallery for "The Sontaran Stratagem" (starting on page 1026)! How huge? We'll be enjoying that story for the next update or two before even getting into the second part! In any case, there's lots of fun in this one, including: flashbacks to earlier episodes that DON'T include Big Ben, a Gray in UNIT, Martha's heartfelt reunion with the Doctor... and say, have you noticed her..."

Geeks of Doom has Just In Time For The ‘Doctor Who’ Christmas Special: Gingerbread TARDIS!, when it comes to gingerbread, the only thing I excel at is in eating it. But there are people out there who are incredibly artistic with gingerbread houses and other concepts, and this Gingerbread TARDIS is of no exception....

PaulCornell.com has The Twelve Blogs of Christmas: Nine, "..today's offering is something I've been looking forward to for ages: a collection of our readers' fan fiction featuring characters I created. (Any copyright holders reading this, please note, it's all done for love, there's no money involved.) Everyone, please do take a look at some of these links and tell us what you think. I got my start as a writer with Doctor Who fan fiction in the fanzine Cygnus Alpha (I really hope nobody's got a copy). It's both a tremendous proving ground, and/or tremendous fun, depending on how much critique the writer seeks or is offered....

Podcasts...

The Happiness Patrol has Episode Forty Nine: Hello Daphne Ashbrook, "we celebrate the season this week with our first companion ever, Dr. Grace Holloway, better known as the fantastically nice Daphne Ashbrook, she joins us with her partner Vito Gregoli as we discuss her latest CD, 'Grace Notes', Knight Rider's David Hasselhoff, Deep Space Nine, and share ghost stories with Tara and Dale....

Tid-Bits...

TARDIS Scanner - Who Tube has Merry (Doctor Who) Christmas From MDWTV.

Who Fix has The Invasion of Pine, Doctor Who Chocolate Christmas Tree Decorations from the late 80s (submission by Tim Cook), and Christmas Club, whatever happened to Denis Alan?

David Tennant News has David Tennant 2011 Calendar, "as an early Christmas gift to all our lovely visitors we have this gorgeous David calendar for you to all download....."

eBay items of interest...

Sterling Silver Seal of Rassilon Ring End Date: Thursday Dec-30-2010 3:44:36 GMT

Dr Who Typhoo Tea cards from 1976 (immaculate condition) End Date: Monday Dec-27-2010 8:59:16 GMT

Review's Roundup...

Shadowlocked reviews Four To Doomsday, a giant frog with delusions of grandeur? Nope, you haven't stumbled upon an episode of Dangermouse in which our hero's arch enemy - and dead ringer for Ann Widdecombe - Baron Greenback is plotting revenge, but in fact an episode of Doctor Who called Four To Doomsday.....

Unreality SF reviews Doctor Who: The Resurrection of Mars, "...wants to be a really important story, in terms of really big plot events as well as significant character moments, but it never quite hung together for me..."

Classical Gallifrey has Serial 143: The Mysterious Planet - The Trial of a Time Lord Part I, at the end of Colin Baker’s controversial first season, BBC head honcho guy Michael Grade leveled his sights at Doctor Who and took the first shot he could at a show that had fallen considerably in the ratings in the previous several years. He thought the show was silly and stupid and started talking about cancelling it.

The Edwardian Adventurer has 050 – The Waking Ally (The Dalek Invasion of Earth Part 5), our parties converge on the Dalek mining camp and we finally learn of The Dalek’s diabolical plot, the Dalek plan is finally revealed, they have been mining to the Earth’s core, not because there is a special mineral, but because they wish to remove the magnetic core of the planet and replace it with an engine....

Podcast Review's...

The Krynoid Podcast has 015: Attack of the Cybermen, Jim and Martin head back to 1985 to take a look at Colin Baker's second outing, Attack of the Cybermen - a violent tale involving comets, diamond heists and time travel. And behind it all is a big fat man in a garish costume - no, not the sixth Doctor, we do of course mean the Cyber Controller...

Arrow of Time has 011 – The Donna Noble Experiment, we soldier on with this heavily edited look at “The Runaway Bride,” in which we mock Catherine Tate a bit more than she deserves, and mock Russel T. Davi(e)s just about as much as he deserves....

Pick of the Tweets...