Doctor Who: The Vault: Treasures from the First 50 Years by Marcus Hearn

Celebrating everything Doctor Who, just in time for it's 50th anniversary- which occurred 6 years ago!

I got this amazing book right around when Doctor Who turned 50th. I was born on November 24th. Doctor Who's first appearance on TV was November 23rd, 1963. So this was a birthday present. 

I remember that I read it through Christmas of 2013. But sometime in early 2014, I got off track and put this book away in my reading cabinet. I promptly forgot about it. that was until about a week ago.

BBC America was showing a massive marathon of Doctor Who episodes as a sort of countdown to the New Year's Day premiere of the newest season (12th) of the long-running time travel series. Around this same time, I was organizing my reading cabinet and I came across this book again. Seeing that I had made a pretty big dent, and I was excited for more Who after a year without any new episodes, I dug back in.

I've read several VAULT edition books. While the format of the Doctor Who vault is petty similar to them, there are some big differences. Most VAULT books have 'artifacts'; removable items that readers can examine. These are things like stickers or blueprints or even scripts. The Doctor Who book has tons of images of a lot of cool stuff. However, there is nothing removable here.

Another difference is the formatting itself. Most VAULT books are separated into chapters that resemble a museum exhibit. But here, each chapter is broken down by year or season. However, there are not 50 chapters. As there was little to no Doctor Who from 1990 until the early 2000s, those 'wilderness years' are lumped together. (Only 1996 in which the movie debuted on national TV is given a separate year entry.) Still, this is a pretty lengthy book about about 40 chapters. I think the shear volume was why I put this book aside for a while.

This is a must for fans of Doctor Who. It's very British. But then again, so is Doctor Who itself. One thing that's a bit aggravating is how much detail is devoted to the show's ratings. I understand that the show spent a long time on the brink of cancellation. But couldn't all of that have been combined into one or two chapters and not spread out throughout the book? I found the production and fun facts parts of this book very interesting. But the devotion to viewership was a bit mind numbing. 

Maybe THAT"S why I put this book away for a while.

Lots of fun but sometimes bogged down in some boring details.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars. 

Doctor Who: The 12th Doctor #16

The Doctor and Clara are about to celebrate the holidays whether they want to or not. In classic fashion, the TARDIS has taken her crew to the most mysterious setting of all- festive holiday party. Everything looks straight out of a Hallmark Channel Movie. That is until Susan, the long lost granddaughter of the Doctor appears bearing a cup of eggnog and Christmas cheer.

Found in a grab bag, this comic book was a pleasant surprise. A perfect read, especially for fans of both the classic and modern series. Mariano Laclaustra was on point with the artwork in this special. There's so many Easter eggs, you forget it's a Christmas special!

Cavan Scott (Star Wars Adventures: Tales From Vader's Castle) and George Mann (Tomorrowland) pull out all the stops in this story which is a sequel to a First Doctor story. Nope- I'm not telling which. 

In a year which will not see a Doctor Who Christmas special, this 2015 adventure is a much needed boost of Time Lord holiday fun!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars!

Doctor Who: The Lost Dimension Book One (Family Comic Friday)

Welcome to Family Comic Friday. 

Every week, I review books that are fun for the whole family. Not every book I review is rated E for Everyone. But that doesn't mean that the books I review for FCF can't be enjoyed by all. 

Case in point is today's book selection: Doctor Who: The Lost Dimension, Book One. This book from Titan Comics is based on the long-running British television show of the same name. When Doctor Who debuted in 1963, it was intended as an educational kids show. The formula for the show varied every other story between historical tales and wild science fiction adventures. The historical episodes would teach children about Marco Polo, the Roman Empire, and other historical figures. The sci-fi episodes would have the Doctor fighting scary monsters with science, math, and technology. 

The monsters episodes proved to be more popular pretty quick. History would still play a factor since this was a show about time travel. Only now instead of visiting Winston Churchill to help defeat the Nazis, the Doctor would go back in time to 1944 to help save England from the Daleks. 

With all the monsters, over time, Doctor Who would garner a reputation of being scary. But that hasn't stopped the beloved series from being a weekly treat for family Saturday night viewings. As former Doctor Who show-runner Steven Moffat puts it, 'of course Doctor Who is a children's show but that doesn't mean that it's childish.' With testimony like that from one of the experts, I made my decision- this is a perfect read for a Family Comic Friday!

In this collected work from Titan Comics, when a mysterious ship crashes in London, the 12th Doctor rushes to the scene- only to come face to face with his daughter, Jenny! The Doctor's daughter has sought him out to warn him of a mysterious white hole of light that has swallowed up one of the Time Lord's former companions, Captain Jack Harkness. 

If appears that this mysterious energy source isn't just gobbling up former travelling buddies of the Doctor. It's also turning the Doctor's friends into monsters. From all of the Doctor's timelines, none of the Doctor's friends and enemies such as Madame Vastra, Rose, Bill, even the Cybermen are safe from this anomaly of space and time! But what if the Doctor falls victim to this strange force? If one of the 12th Doctor's former selves succumbs to this white hole, is that the end of him as well?

You don't have to be a long-time fan of Doctor Who to fully enjoy this volume. But it really helps. I am not as knowledgeable in the Titan Comics adaptations. So my familiarity with the comics only companions was pretty weak. I guess that balances out in the long run.

I've read a couple of Doctor Who crossovers in which he meets some if not all of his former selves. They're pretty good but they don't have the heart, humor, or fun as The Lost Dimension does. This first volume collects the first 6 chapters of The Lost Dimension was written by a trio of different writers. Nick Abadzis (Laika), George Mann (Warhammer 40,000), and Doctor Who journeyman, Cavan Scott each craft a pair of stories. Yet, I felt like each chapter was seamlessly crafted by just a single writing entity. That's a sign of a great story-writing team.

I felt the same way about the artwork of this book. Motherlands' Rachael Stott and Adriana Melo (Witchblade) trade off on the art duties and it was flawlessly good. 

There's a lot of questions that remain such as who is behind this time anomaly? Can the Doctor's friends be cured? And when does Book 2 come out?

I can only answer the last question. Doctor Who: The Lost Dimension Book 2 drops on March 20th, exactly one month after Book 1. So I don't have to wait very long to find on what happens next. All of the individual issues that make up volume 2 have already been released. I could get those, but I think that would be a little bit of a cheat. 

The comics that make up The Lost Dimension are not rated. However, in the spirit of the television series in which in is based, this book is for suitable for kids but it's not an immature book. The action, thrills, and humor can be enjoyed by all ages. Some of the science and physics might need an adult to help interrupt. As for the monsters, it's a tad scary but so are other family classics like Snow White and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Doctor Who: The Lost Dimension Book 1 debuts in stores on February 20th, 2018.

This volume reprints the following: 

Doctor Who: The Lost Dimension Alpha, The Ninth Doctor Special, The Tenth Doctor #3.9, The Eleventh Doctor #3.10 and Jenny, The Doctor’s Daughter Special #1 & #2.


Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Riffing on the TARDIS: A Review of Rifftrax Live The Five Doctors

For many it was a weekly ritual. You grab a bag of cheese popcorn, some generic version of Dr. Pepper, dim all the lights in your house, and watch Mystery Science Theatre 3000. If you were a super-fan of the show you called it MST3K. Then you allowed hosts Joel or Mike with their robot sidekicks to take you on a cinematic journey. Mocking some of the worst films ever made, the gang would point out plot holes, continuity errors, and bad acting all the while making you laugh.

Currently MST3K has returned for a new season on Netflix. While this series has garnered some very high praise in its revival, the reboot doesn’t have any of the original cast. For many, that can be a major bummer. Not having Netflix is another a huge downer, but that’s a discussion for another article. Thankfully, for those fans devoted to the original series there’s Rifftrax.

What's a Rifftrax?

Rifftrax takes what MST3K did best- finding cheesy movies, the worse you can find (La lala), and tearing them to bits. Second MST3K host, Mike Nelson started Rifftrax in 2006. But it wasn’t until 2012 when Bill Corbett ("Crow" MST3K seasons 8-10) and Kevin Murphy ("Tom Servo" MST3K seasons 2-10) became partners in the company that Rifftrax really took off.
On its website, Rifftrax has an impressive selection of films that they mock. There’s classic B-movies such as Samurai Cop and the Brian Bosworth bomb, Stone Cold. Thanks to Kickstarter, Rifftrax has even been able to obtain rights to films like 1998’s version of Godzilla. Along with the a large portion of the original MST3K shows, Rifftrax’s also provides commentaries you can listen to in conjunction with watching blockbusters such as Rogue One and even the original Mothra. But let’s get back to their Kickstarter projects.

Kickstart those Laughs

Earlier this year, Rifftrax held a mystery Kickstarter project. Due to terms of the licensing agreement, Nelson and company were forbidden to reveal what the film they were going to be skewering unless they obtained complete funding for their project. Well, the Rifftrax guys destroyed their goal and the project was revealed- the guys would be putting their comedic spin on a classic episode of Doctor Who! The BBC apparently did not want to get any hopes up until they knew that the Rifftrax folks could obtain funding for the licensing rights. As a result, Rifftrax put on a special show live last week from Nashville TN where the episode was aired in theaters around the country. Last night was an encore performance of that classic Doctor Who event.

The episode in question was "The Five Doctors"- the 20th anniversary episode of the long-running BBC series. That episode has a slew of classic Doctors and companions joining forces against a rogue Timelord who is stealing all of the Doctor’s past regenerations from the time stream. The 1983 episode stars Peter Davison, Jon Pertwee, and Patrick Thornton as the Fifth, Third, and Second Doctors. 

Blake’s 7 actor Richard Hurndall assumed the role on the First Doctor for the late William Hartnell. Meanwhile, Tom Baker decided to forgo his chance to reprise the role of the Fourth Doctor. So never before used footage from the abandoned episode "Shada" was used instead.

The Rifftrax guys did a fantastic job allowing the fans to laugh at the episode and follow along more of what was happening at the same time. Occasionally, the screen would cut in half allowing viewers to see the episode while watching the shenanigans of Mike Nelson and company. Thankfully, these cuts all happen during lulls in the action. Every once in a while, you hear the commentators giggling at their own jokes but for the most part, it ran rather smoothly.

Technical Difficulties

That wasn’t the case with the opening act. On some episodes of MST3K, they would start off the show by viewing a classic educational film and mock it. Being that Doctor Who is British, the Rifftrax folks went across the pond to bring us Play Safe. According to Kevin Murphy, in the early 70s there was a big problem with kids playing near power lines and inside of substations. So the British government created this film as a way of warning kids of the dangers of high voltage. While there were plenty of laughs made at dumb kids playing with electricity for the first 2-3 minutes, the Rifftrax guys had trouble seeing the monitors and kept asking the tech crew for help. But once it was cleared, it was smooth sailing the rest of the night. Needless to say, the electrocution of little Timmy was a running joke for the duration of the event.

It was great getting to laugh without being reminded of all the crap going on in the world. Only a few jokes were topical.  There was one joke about the next Doctor being cast as a woman. Several jokes about the quality of 2017 summer blockbusters came at the expense of features like The Dark Tower. But the Trump/ Clinton jokes were kept to just one! The Five Doctors was a great event to just escape everything for a little bit. Even my wife said that for 2 solid hours she forgot about work.

Coming Attractions

The next big Rifftrax event is in the fall. On October 25th, theatres nationwide will be airing the Rifftrax Halloween Special showing of the original Night of the Living Dead. Until then, if you need some laughs, you can view a number of features and shorts in the Rifftrax library at prices ranging from $1.99 to $9.99 per episode. Just don’t forget your cheese popcorn and Dr. Pepper knock-off sodas.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The 4 Stages of Breaking in a New Doctor Who Lead

Who Are You?

  Well it finally happened. Months of speculation are finally over as the BBC announced just who would be replacing Peter Capaldi as the Doctor. So what happens next? If you’re new to Doctor Who, let me, a 37-year super fan of the series, walk you through a regeneration as a Whovian.

The Four Whovian Stages of Grief

     Stage 1: Shock. The initial reaction when the actor playing the Doctor says that it’s time to quit is to scream ‘Noooooo!’ For a show built change, no true Whovian really wants their Doctors to go.

     Stage 2: Denial. The next stage is absolute refusal to like the new Doctor! ‘Nope! Nada! Noway!’ Fans will absolutely deny that the new actor playing the Doctor is actually the Doctor. ‘They’re not worthy.’ He doesn’t even look like the Doctor.’ ‘This is an impostor acting like the Doctor.’ By the way, the above are actual sayings are ones I have heard from fans after Peter Capaldi was announced as Matt Smith’s replacement four years ago.

Stage 3: The Trial Tun. Despite these vehement misgivings, all Whovians willengage in stage three. Doctor Who is such a beloved show that even though you’re mad as heck that your favorite Doctor is going away, there’s no way you’re going to miss the replacements first episode. Besides, how best can you criticize this pseudo Time Lord if you don’t watch their premiere performance?

      Stage 4: Acceptance. The final stage all Whovians go through with a new regeneration is acceptance. By the end of the new Doctor’s debut, The average Who fan might not be won over to the new owner of the TARDIS but they have changed their tune- somewhat. Phrases like ‘he’s not a bad as I thought they would be’ are begrudgingly thrown about. Usually by the end of the season, almost all fans agree that the new Doctor is pretty awesome. 

A Big Announcement

  As mentioned, earlier today a new actor was announced to play the iconic science fiction character. But there was a twist to this announcement. For the first time in the show’s 54-year existence a woman would be taking over the role of the Doctor! Actress Jodie Whittaker was revealed as the 13th Doctor.

The news came in the form of a minute long announcement on the BBC right after the completion of the Wimbledon Men’s final. But because the next Doctor is to be a woman, should she get a pass from typical Whovian scrutiny? On the flip side, are fans who react in normal fashion sexist if they resist Whittaker’s selection as the next Doctor? I think the answer to both questions is no!

Rules of Regeneration

     Over the past 7 years, we’ve been building up to such a radical change in the Doctor. In the Neil Gaiman penned episode ‘The Doctor’s Wife’ we learn that Time Lords can change sex. A few episodes later, in a twist on River Song’s origin, we learned that Time Lords can change skin color as well. Being a long established Who fan, this all made sense to me.

 When I experienced my first generation, I was 5. During my first week of watching Doctor Who on American public television, Tom Baker fell off a radio tower and morphed into my Doctor, Peter Davison. Since that day, the idea of beating death by changing into a new body was just what the Doctor did.

Sadly not everybody has this reaction to change like 5-year old me did. For several years, some very vocal people have been accusing the BBC and showrunner Stephen Moffat of being discriminatory for not having a female Doctor or one of color. Initial fan reaction I have seen so far on social media has been either A) positive, B) joking that the Doctor is ‘still not ginger’ or C) scared to make an opinion out of being attacked. C has been the dominant response. Not liking the new Doctor has been a tradition for over 50 years. It’s really sad that people are are nervous of keeping that custom going out of fear of being called sexist by internet trolls.

Change Doesn’t Always Work

Change is good. But it’s only good if you admit that it’s a mistake when it doesn’t work. Pressing on out of a stubborn belief that change is good can backfire. I really hope that the decision to make the Doctor a woman was because the powers that be found the right thespian for the part. Please don’t have made the decision just to appease social media haters who called for change.

    Placating the loudest (and often the meanest) voices that could go wrong for the BBC. If the selection of Jodie Whittaker is a one-and-done kinda media stunt, people are going to figure it out quickly. I feel a little bad for Jodie Whittaker. She’s the outlier in a role historically portrayed by men. There’s going to be a lot of pressure on her. I really hope the BBC doesn’t treat her like they did Colin Baker.

The Ratings Blame

   Just like in the mid-80s, the ratings for Doctor Who currently have been slipping. Some say that the lack of a diversion Doctor is the reason. (Honestly, I think it’s because Stephen Moffat has admitted to getting burned out with the series.)  So, the BBC in typical business fashion is making a change to fix those poor showings. But let’s say that next season the ratings keep tumbling like they did during the Colin Baker years. I’m afraid that the BBC will throw Whittaker under the double decker bus faster that you can say Sylvester McCoy (Baker’s replacement!)

 The next 6-12 months is going to be a do-or-die moment for Doctor Who. I would’ve liked Whitaker’s Broadchurch cohort, Olivia Coleman, to have been the Doctor. But that’s my opinion. Just remember that the fandom of Doctor Who is one of initial uneasiness to change. If a fan criticizes Whitaker as the next Doctor, look for context. If it’s because they don’t want Calpaldi to go- then that’s perfectly acceptable Whovian backlash. But if it starts to involve talk of Whitaker’s sex or makes jokes about PMS, bras, or her place is in the TARDIS kitchen, then yeah, tell that jerk to shut the hell up!

Having the Doctor become a woman is not the worst thing he could change into. Should ratings and popularity sink, believe me, the BBC is going to place blame as to it being the reason. But there are really some dumb regeneration that the producers could have everyone’s favorite Time Lord make. At least they didn’t make the Doctor a Dalek!

This opinion piece, written by me was originally published July 16, 2017 on outrightgeekery.com

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor Adventures, Year Two, Volume 7: War of Gods

The Year Two Adventures of the Tenth Doctor comes to a close in War of Gods.

Time Lord Troubles

I’ll admit, when IDW lost the rights to the Doctor Who franchise in 2014, I was upset as were a number of fans. Yet, I think the BBC did the right thing by switching Doctor Who over to Titan Comics. IDW’s writers had a bad habit of taking established stories, place them in a different setting, and pass them off as all-new. The publisher had an even worse habit of having each version of the Doctor regurgitate their most popular catchphrases ad nauseam.

If a Dalek was attacking the Eleventh Doctor, he’d yell ‘Fish Fingers and Custard!” for no reason at all. Everything was ‘Fantastic’ to IDW’s version of the Ninth Doctor- even a plague of oozing boils and foot fungus. Yet, the worst offender has to be the writers of the Tom Baker comics and their excessive love for Jelly Babies

Maybe the reason IDW had to go crazy with the tag lines were that the art wasn’t all that good. Almost all of IDW’s artwork on the Doctor Who franchise was poorly drawn. If not for the photos of the Doctor on the cover, you couldn’t tell which regeneration the book was about.

I am happy to say that bad writing and lousy art is not an issue with this collection of Tenth Doctor tales.

A Classic Who Villain Returns

While continuing the Anubis story from Volume 6: Sins of the Father, this book also acts as an unofficial sequel to the 1975 classic Who episode Pyramids of Mars. Eisner Award winning writer Nick Abadzis (Laika) pits the Tenth Doctor against one of the classic foes of the Tom Baker era: Sutekh.

Sutekh or Set is the Egyptian god of disorder. He was last seen by Who fans in England attempting to rule the universe with an army of robot mummies. The Fourth Doctor developed a process to destroy the Egyptian deity. Surviving the Doctor’s assault, Sutekh spent quite some time in a pocket universe. It is during this banishment that the villain manages to recruit a new of foes to the Doctor in order to destroy the Time Lord. Featuring a number of memorable baddies  from the TV series and Titan Comics, the Doctor and his companions Gabby and Cindy must stop the army of gods and monsters. Should they fail, Sutekh will achieve his ultimate goal: complete annihilation of the universe.

Feel The Doctor’s Pain

The soul and two hearts of the Tennant Doctor is very real here. You can feel his anger, sadness, and quirks throughout the book. Although this story is about a classic foe of the Doctor’s, it is a completely fresh feeling story. It also helps that the Tenth Doctor looks like the Tenth Doctor. Aiding Nick Abadzis in this feat are artists Giorgia Sposito and Warren Pleece.

Even the backup short (by Supergirl’s James Pleety) that features a gallery of Companions was exciting and new. Pleety’s story just didn’t dig deep enough into the loss the Doctor has felt over losing Donna or Rose. Plus, it would have been a nice twist to have Ten meet a future companion that he doesn’t know yet- like Amy or Bill.

If you were hesitant to give the Doctor Who Titan Comics a try- STOP! The company is really holding it’s own. The writers, artists, and editors truly seem to love and care for the franchise. The BBC was wise to trust Titan with the keys to the TARDIS.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 105

 

  It's a very happy day here at Casa Madman- Doctor Who returns today!

  I've been watching Doctor Who since I was a little guy. I'd come home from pre-school or kindergarten and every day at 5pm on PBS, I'd watch the adventures of the Doctor and his TARDIS as he battled monsters, robots, and baddies galore.

   So in honor of tonight's season premieres, let's look at Doctor Who in the year I was born.

   In 1977, the Doctor was the bohemian Tom Baker. With his unruly hair, wicked sense of humor, and extremely long scarf, Baker was and still is a fan-favorite. (His replacement, Peter Davison is MY Doctor. But Baker is clearly in my top 5!)

    The Fourth Doctor's companion in 1977 was the warrior Leela. Played by Louise Jameson, she added a bit of sex appeal to the series as she ran around most of the time in a leather bikini. But she was fierce and could kick serious butt.

    Another companion of the Doctor was his robot dog, K-9. He was oh so faithful to the Doctor, calling him master and using his lasers to save the Doctor when the chips were down.

    One of my favorite things about the show was the theme song. I'm addicted to every version and variant of it. So before I go, I just had to share with you the theme as it would've been in good ole 1977.

    Enjoy...

   

Countdown to New Who: Advent 2016: Day 25

A Who-ville Celebration! A DOCTOR Who-villed Celebration!

  Well, this is it. 
  It's Christmas!
 That means in just a few short hours the Doctor will return after a very long 1-year absence. 
    So for my final Advent gift to you this year, I'm getting you all warmed up. It's a short story from Titan, the good folks who do the Doctor Who comics. Starring the 9th Doctor, Rose Tyler, and some Slitheen. 
  
   Enjoy!

Countdown to New Who: Advent 2016: Day 19

    A couple of years ago, the BBC created the Doctor Who Experience. It's an interactive museum dedicated to the over 53-year history of the longest running science-fiction series in TV history. Set in Porth Teigr on the iconic Cardiff Bay, near where many modern episodes of Doctor Who and it's sister series, Torchwood have been filmed.
    If only I had the money to fly to Wales...
    So my Advent gift to you today is a link to the Doctor Who Experience website. Give it a very long tour. It's the next best thing to actually being there and the folks behind this do an excellent job making you feel as if you are there. And if you can get across the pond, there's a link to buy tickets! 

   Enjoy...

Countdown to New Who: Advent 2016: Day 18

   David Tennant, the Tenth Doctor, is arguably the best modern version of the Doctor (my wife would argue for Tennant's replacement, Matt Smith, which is her Doctor.) Tennant's version is also said to surpass that of Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, whose classic series portrayal has often been the benchmark to which all previous Doctor's aspire to achieve.
    My Doctor has always been Peter Davison: the Fifth Doctor. I starting watching Doctor Who at age 3 or 4 right as Tom Baker left. The first episodes I watched were the multi-parters of Logopolis, which said goodbye to Baker and hello to Davison.  I ended up watching his entire run. So, for me, Peter Davison is my first Doctor, though I was briefly exposed to Tom Baker for a couple of days. At that time, PBS would sow 2 episodes back-to-back and by Day 2, Peter Davison had regenerated into the role...
    Anyways, Tennant is very similar to the Davison Doctor. It was the actor's favorite Doctor when he was young. Plus, Tennant ended up marrying Davison's daughter- who played the daughter of Tennant's Doctor in series 4. 
   I wonder how confused they all are during the holidays...

    So, my gift for today's Advent is a double dose of the Doctor. It's a mini-episode called Time Crash in which Tennant's Doctor meets Davison's Doctor for a 2007 BBC Children in Need special.  Then, scroll down for another treat, a rarely seen Christmas commercial starring the Tenth Doctor.

  

Enjoy...

Countdown to New Who: Advent 2016: Day 17

   Besides the TARDIS and the Doctor's Sonic Screw Driver, the most iconic item in all things Who has got to be the scarf worn by the Forth Doctor, Tom Baker. The thing was made of almost a dozen colors, was made of fluffy wool and a good 12 feet long! 

The Tom Baker Doctor cautiously contemplating his recent
holiday gifts...

    Rumor has it that producers of Doctor Who sent a garbage bag full of wool samples for this lady to make Tom Baker's Doctor a scarf for his costume. However, she mistakenly thought the producers wanted her to use the whole bag which she did. Thankfully, Baker loved it and history was made. 
    For my Advent gift to you today, here's a link to the BBC's official directions on how to make your our Fourth Doctor's scarf from the 80s. (Click here to view the list from a recent Mental Floss Article)

A certain Madman,
wearing his Doctor Who
Pajamas as a fashionable scarf...

   Enjoy...

Countdown to New Who: Advent 2016: Day 16

  The Ugly Christmas Sweater- it's a fairly old Christmas tradition that has suddenly become trendy in the past few years. I love it. I'm not really a sweater person but I do love looking at the designs. Plus, for people like me that are more into cotton (as opposed to wool) there are now tee shirts with ugly designs.

The Seventh Doctor Sporting the original Ugly Doctor Who Themed sweater!

My Advent gift to you for today is a link to the 2016 Geek's Guide to Ugly Christmas Sweaters. It's a fun gallery to look at or maybe even shop by...

For more Ugly fun, click here...

Enjoy!

Countdown to New Who: Advent 2016: Day 12

   The Doctor in his TARDIS has traveled to many fantastic events and era in history- the signing of the Magna Carta, the moon landing of 1969, and World War II. But there are 2 great events that I wish he'd travel to: the JFK assassination and the birth of Christ. 
    Well I don't have a way of making either trip possible. But I have the next best thing! My advent present to you today is a look at some really awesome, really funny, and somewhat silly nativity scenes (some of which star a certain Timelord.)
    
    To view- click here!!!

    Enjoy...

Countdown to New Who: Advent 2016: Day 11

    
   Sometimes you guys have to get your Doctor Who fix from other TV shows. For today's advent present, here's a look at popular TV shows where the Doctor has popped up...

   Enjoy...

Countdown to New Who: Advent 2016: Day 9

    We're at Day 9 in my Advent and today, the BBC released a new trailer for the Doctor Who Christmas Special : The Return of Doctor Mysterio. Now remember, this is a trailer for England's BBC One premiere, so don't think I've been all excited for something that won't be seen in the States. It will be on BBC America on Christmas. So just sit back and relax and then enjoy a cute little cartoon with the 11th Doctor, Rory, and Amy (see below...)

    Enjoy...

Countdown to New Who: Advent 2016: Day 6

 

 Thanks to Doctor Who, you never look at Snowmen the same way ever again... 
    Or cemetery angel statues...
    Or Christmas tree...
    Or people dressed as Santa...

    Let's face it folks, England is not where you want to spend a Christmas.

     Don't believe me? Well, for my advent present for you, why don't you click on this link and examine the Many Christmas Disasters of Earth courtesy of the Doctor!

Doctor Who #16 (2011-2012)

  The final issue of this series ends with the Doctor saving the day and then giving one of his signature speeches on peace and togetherness. It's a classic ending but the pacing is all wrong.

  Each story is set up like a modern Who tale, which is an hour long. But see, with each issue needing a good cliffhanger, the write way to pace these issues should be like the classic Who series which was rife with dramatic cliffhangers. Another reason why I think IDW lost the rights to Doctor Who.

  A  very good series that could have done so much more.

    

   Worth Consuming

  Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Countdown to New Who: Advent 2016: Day 5

     You can't have a modern day Christmas without Christmas Specials. Though the one I am looking forward to the most is the Doctor Who Christmas Special, I have fond memories of some classics over the years. A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Grinch, and of course, the puppet classic, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer which is essentially the granddaddy of them all.
    So for today's advent, I present to you a Doctor Who version of the account of the massive snow storm that spawned the need for Rudolph to guide Santa's sleigh: 'How the Puppet Doctor Saved Christmas.'
   Enjoy...

Doctor Who #15 (2011-2012)

  The penultimate issue of this series of Doctor Who. It's not without thrills, chills, laughs, and a shocking twist or two. Unfortunately, the twists were telegraphed a mile away...
   But hey- Nazis and Silurians!!! 
   Worth Consuming!

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Who #14 (2011-2012)

Variant Cover C, an example of the artist's
abstract style. Here, the Doctor looks like
Ebeneezer Scrooge instead of Matt Smith. 

    Nazis... Poisonous fog... assassination plots...Silurians... Fezzes! It's an adventure that could only star the Eleventh Doctor and his companions Amy and Rory.
    The second chapter of 'As Time Goes By' was as good if not better than chapter 1, but that artwork is lousy. It looks hardly anything like Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, or Arthur Darvill. The Silurians however, actually look pretty sweet in the Picasso abstract fashion. But that's the only plus to it. Weird how the artwork of Matthew 'Dow' Smith can have both pluses and minuses in the same frame...

  Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.