What Fun Awaits Us In 2014?

Robocop

There is no hiding my love of Robocop. I've seen the first (and best) movie too many times to count. This year a remake is coming.

Am I excited? Yes, of course. Sure the original Robocop design was iconic and this new design is a bit of a departure. And I'm sure the storytelling style will be a radical departure from Paul Verhoeven's. But it is new Robocop, and I have high hopes it'll at least partially live up to my expectations.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a stonking good movie. I've always had a soft spot for the Planet of the Apes series, but Rise was vastly superior to all its predecessors. And now Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is coming and I cannot wait. The story of how the apes take over is one that has been crying out to be told in a more realistic fashion than the original series managed... and I think Rise, Dawn and whatever comes after are looking like they might just manage to make us all believers.

Transformers: Age of Extinction

Shia LeBeouf was not the only thing I didn't really like about the first Transformers trilogy. The distinct lack of Dinobots was a definite mark against those movies. Well both of these downers are out, and I cannot wait to see what the Dinobots look like on the big screen! This is the moment I've been waiting for since about the age of 5. The only thing that Hollywood could do to top this would be to have a shower scene in a new He-Man movie.  

Comic Book Movies 

Captain America: The Winter Solider. Not exciting but I'll watch it.
Amazing Spider-man 2. Meh.
Guardians of the Galaxy. I'm still a Guardians of the Galaxy virgin, so I'll reserve excitement judgement until I've read a few of the comics. But... Rocket Raccoon looks awesome.
X-Men Days of Future Past. I LOVE the X-Men. I really do. They are MY comic book heroes. But I'm not, strangely a Wolverine fan. And now I know this is a Wolverine heavy movie I'm feeling sort of "Meh" about the whole thing. Plus Fox's screwing up of continuity still annoys me.

TV

A new Doctor! Wow. And, perhaps, a properly different sort of Doctor. I cannot wait to see what adventures the 12th/13th Doctor takes us on. That is my main excitement for the coming year.

But in new stuff that tickles my fancy...

Westworld. Yes, there is a new TV series coming based on Michael Crichton's Westworld. As a lover of Michael Crichton's writing, and the less said about Jurassic Park the better because I might wet myself with excitement, I cannot wait to see where they go with this show. So many possibilities.
Gotham. A police procedural set in Batman's Gotham City? Do I really need to sell this to anyone? We're there.
Star Wars: Rebels. Star Wars. That is all.

Oh, as always, GAME OF THRONES!

Comics 

The X-Men have been so strong in 2013 that I am just stoked, so stoked, to see where they go this year. With weaker titles like Astonishing gone and the formerly great but getting slightly iffy Wolverine and the X-Men getting a new number 1, I am hoping this year is even better.

And finally.

GODZILLA!

There is a time and place for a reserved British outlook on life. This is not that time nor is it the place. GODZILLA! is coming. It has been 10 years since the last Toho movie and 16 years (year, 16!) since the watchable but cringe-worthy American version. Now, finally, Godzilla may rise again into a post-Avater cinematic world. I have all my fingers crossed that this will blow us all away. Even if it doesn't... it is still new Godzilla!!

The Doctor's 50th: How Was It For You?

Something has been very wrong with the universe of late. I've not been that into New Who. It would be unfair to say that it was Steven Moffat's fault. However, I've found the disjointed, long-form, timey-wimey nonsense has gotten a little much when it came to the "Impossible Girl" stuff. That isn't to say I didn't love Clara. I just didn't love the Clara story. I felt it was an attempt to do something different, which should never be discouraged, and that it failed.

By the end of series 7 I was contemplating whether my 20 year love affair with the Doctor was coming to an end. "I'll always have Big Finish", I comforted myself. But then...

Night of the Doctor came along. What a beautifully tight 7 minutes of perfection. Paul McGann! As the Doctor. Maybe Steven Moffat had a plan... I was intrigued, excited and I couldn't wait for the 50th anniversary special. Did it live up to that prequel?

YES!

There was plenty of "fanwank", as they say. The opening titles, the shadow of the police man, Foreman's yard, Coal Hill school (with one "I. Chesterton" as head Governor), UNIT (and a reference to the 70s/80s controversy), all 13 Doctors (yeah, 13!) and... well there's more. So much more.

But it wasn't too fanwanky. That was the beautiful part, everything was so subtle and completely devoid of heavy-handedness that I thought maybe we were watching a different show.

And the story. For a show about time-travel and science fiction, the story was solid, straightforward and lacking any unnecessary baggage. Zygons, Daleks, Gallifrey, UNIT, Doctors, moral decisions. It was all in there and it was all good.

And the jokes. Oh the jokes! John Hurt did a wonderful turn of being "that fan" using his position as a "classic" Doctor to mock all the foibles of New Who in a way that wasn't cruel. Tennant and Smith made a wonderful double-act too.

And Billie Piper. I dislike Rose Tyler and when I saw Billie Piper was in it, I sighed my "It's all going to be about her. Again" sigh. But it wasn't Rose and Piper was amazing! The Moment was her best part yet.

AND TOM BAKER! Tom isn't one of "my" Doctors. I'm a wannabe 80s fan. And because of his perceived reluctance to be part of Doctor Who (see his Five Doctors snub et al.) I've always had a little niggling downer on him. But oh wasn't he good? A future Doctor with an old face. SQUEE

It was just so right. Not perfect, nothing ever is, but right. So many more things I could write about but there just would never be an end to this post.

Goodness it was good.

Then came the After Party on BBC 3. It would seem the BBC realised fanboys wouldn't be able to cope with near-perfection. They'd need a scapegoat for their fanboy rage. And so they presented us with one of the worst live shows of recent memory, car crash telly in which the highlight was Bernard Cribbins stealing cake from Sylvester McCoy. It was truly awful. Thank you BBC, you know just what we need. You always do.

But there's MORE! Peter Davison, being the ever awesome man he is, wrote and directed a small little tribute to Who. The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot was the best thing on TV last night. That takes nothing away from the 50th special. Nothing. But this, this was sublime. Hilarious. I want a series! The three 80s Doctors were amazing, the cameos superb (Janet Fielding ending Peter Davison's dream stands out). And the ending... oh that ending. I don't care, whatever the truth may be, the "statues" in The Day of the Doctor will always be the three Doctors. Oh so excellent.

We were spoilt. Spoilt like we never have been before and may never be again. What a treat!

Amaze-balls.

My Top 5 Favourite Doctor Who (TV) Stories

Today is the day we've all been waiting for. Doctor Who is 50 years old!! And the internet is awash with lists. Especially those ranking episodes. Hats off to those who've ranked EVERY episode of Doctor Who, and even to those who just ranked every New Who episode. Of course these lists come with one great big disclaimer: every episode of Doctor Who means something to someone. I read those lists with a sense of wonder that there are so many to choose from and annoyance at slights against episodes I quite enjoy (and the fact Time and the Rani 4 places from bottom, it deserves to fall off the list completely...)

I've not seen every episode, despite being a fan for 20 years!, and admit I'm totally top heavy interms of 1980s Doctor Who (those were what was being repeated on UK Gold when I first got into Doctor Who at the age of 10 years old). But I thought I just pay tribute to my favourite TV episodes of my favourite show! 

1. Survival 

When I became a fan of Doctor Who this was the end of it all. But in reality, I feel like it was the beginning of Doctor Who as we know it today. The Seventh Doctor and Ace (my absolute favourite TARDIS team) arrive in Perivale, Ace's former home, and find all is not as it seems. So far, so Doctor Who. Except its suburban setting, its focus on Ace's friendships and its general overall feel seem like a soft run for the sort of Doctor Who Russell T. Davies would sell us in 2005. It even had cat people, one of RTD's reoccuring themes! It felt so different to what had come before (though well in keeping with the general Ace character arc) that it is quite unforgettable. Sure some of the acting is truly appalling but I just loved it. Even the Ainley Master seemed to be more than just a pantomime villain for once. 

2. Earthshock 

Nobody splits fans quite the way Adric does. I started watching Doctor Who properly with The Keeper of Traken, so Adric may not be my favourite companion but I do still have a soft spot for him. Meanwhile... I LOVE THE CYBERMEN! So an episode that makes Adric into somebody truly likeable whilst making the Cybermen seem properly menacing for the first time in a long time (and so far this has been unrepeated since) was always going to make my list. Of course the heartbreaking conclusion was, that the dinosaurs were killed by the Cybermen, was almost too much to bear. I jest, I jest. Poor Adric. (P.S. I love Tegan...) 

3. The Dalek Invasion of Earth 

An epic tale with some fantastic shots of Daleks in London. The First Doctor at his finest with a heartbreaking speech to Susan as he leaves her behind. This is a solid story with a grand scale that I couldn't possibly leave off of my list. 

4. The Doctor's Wife

How could you not love this episode? The TARDIS has been the constant companion/owner of the Doctor, never failing to get the Doctor and friends into (and then out of) trouble. Here she is made flesh and given a voice. And didn't it work well? Heartbreaking and joyous all at once, and House is actually quite a menacing villain as he torments Rory and Amy.

Idris: There's something I didn't get to say to you.
The Doctor: Goodbye.
Idris: No. I just wanted to say, Hello. Hello Doctor. It's so very very nice to meet you.
The Doctor: Please. I don't want you to.
Idris: I love you.

*cue sobbing off screen in the living rooms of the nation*

5. Remembrance of the Daleks

Ace. With a "magic" baseball bat. Versus the Daleks. They didn't stand a chance really. I love this episode, the hat-tips to An Unearthly Child, the supporting cast and the great cliffhangers of episodes one and two. Hovering Daleks, the Special Weapons Dalek, Davros in moderation, companion in need of rescue but only because she was about to use an anti-tank weapon to destroy a Dalek. If you like Doctor Who but are "Meh" about this episode then I'm sorry but you are wrong!! ;) Plus it, rather heavy-handedly, deals with racism and hatred. EPIC.

I want a rematch of Ace versus a Special Weapons Dalek. I've always wanted to see a Dalek look scared...

Losing My Faith (In Doctor Who)

I've been a Doctor Who fan since the early 1990s, which was an odd time to become one given it was on a hiatus that seemed like it'd never end. I've loved it in all its form since; the New Adventures, the TV movie, BBC Books, Big Finish and New Who. I've enjoyed it even when I've not liked the Doctor (number 9) AND the companion (Rose Tyler). The writing has always kept me interested.

I liked Amy and Rory enough that last series I overlooked how convoluted and forced the series 6 arc felt. And now I like Clara as a character. She's bubbly and just mad enough to fit Matt Smith's Doctor. But I'm absolutely not interested in her backstory which appears to be serving as this series' arc. And to make matters worse, the individual episodes are suffering from what, in my opinion, seems to be some of the worst writing/plotting since the series returned.

Last week we saw singing and a leaf defeat a "God". Yes. Singing. This week we had some fantastic moments with an Ice Warrior stalking a Soviet sub but the ending again fizzled out. I didn't even enjoy the Christmas special. The series feels childish, in a way it hasn't since... well since forever. Even when the series was made for children it seemed more mature than it does at the moment.

And thus I've made a horrific discovery... I no longer look forward to episodes. Oh I still watch them, 20 years of fandom doesn't just disappear over night. But I'm pretty depressed that something I've loved for a very long time is just no longer doing it for me. Maybe I've just moved on.

Game of Thrones on the other hand...

So... Last Weekend's Telly Was Pretty Good Wasn't It?

First up was the return of series 7 (is this season 33?) of Doctor Who. For some reason I've been gradually losing heart with the direction of Doctor Who. It's becoming too clever for it's own good, in my opinion. Sometimes I just want a story with character development but not too much timey-wimeyness. Don't get me wrong, there's obviously place for timey-wimeyness in Doctor Who. But not all the time. So I started watching The Bells of Saint John more out of duty than pleasure and was not expecting to like it quite as much as I did.

Best episode ever? Hell no. But solid, enjoyable and rewatchable? Absolutely. Celia Imrie was an excellent villain, the episode sort of had thematic similarities to "Partners In Crime" and I'm liking the emergence of a proper "Big Bad" for the series in the form of the Great Intelligence. It hasn't made me fall completely back in love with the Doctor's adventures but it gave me a big slap in the face and told me to stop moaning and just bloody enjoy them!

Second came the season 3 finale of The Walking Dead. Here's another show I've fallen out of love with. It's not that it isn't following the comic storyline close enough; I quite enjoy the "surprise" of things going differently. But it just seems to be too decompressed. They could develop the characters just as much and tell the same story but in far fewer episodes (and I'm never usually one to call for less episodes). And whereas I was hoping for a final climatic battle, or at least some solid conclusion to this chapter of the story, all we got was a bit of a damp squib. Plus this series they first ruined and then in this episode killed my favourite character. There wasn't even a cliffhanger, just a set up for the next series. *sigh*

And then finally came the series 3 opening episode of Game of Thrones. There was no trepidation on my part in watching this, I've been waiting for this way too eagerly to be totally healthy. And it delivered, excellent story as ever and I'm (not having read the books) putting my flag firmly in Daenerys corner. Awesome, awesome, awesome. I just want more and more!

And this week, on a Twitter recommendation, I decided to watch the 3-parter "In The Flesh". My geeky love of zombies meant I'd heard about it but every blog post I saw on it as about how it was some lovey-dovey zombie story and I wasn't into that. How wrong those previews were. It was fantastic take on a less explored area of zombie lore... what happens if the zombies (or "rotters") are "cured"? Emotional and dark, the final minutes of the last episode had me quite teary. I cannot recommend this enough.

Genre TV is good these days :)

Review: A Big Hand For The Doctor By Eoin Colfer

A Big Hand For The Doctor was a good opener for the 50th Anniversary series of Doctor Who e-books written by children's authors.

But it was marred by one annoying little thing... it had three or four pop culture references (all from the 21st century) that just seem so forced (Oooo... Hogwarts) that it was actually pretty jarring. Here's this nice little tale set in Victorian London featuring the First Doctor and Susan and suddenly BAM you are taken out of the story by an unnecessary reference.

Anyway, enough grumbling, it was a lovely little tale with some disturbing villains and a fantastic ending that I did not see coming (but once you know what it is, it is pretty obvious!).

Do Doctor Who Fans Really Have Anything To Worry About In This 50th Anniversary Year?

Much has been made on fan forums of this picture of a BBC Worldwide promotional poster taken at a toy convention.

After Steven Moffat suggested Doctor Who would take over TV for the anniversary I would say fans could be justifiably miffed at the paltry offerings on display. But I'd caution that 1) Doctor Who producers are infamous liars and should never be trusted and 2) we don't know that that is everything on offer. 

Unfortunately a lot of fans seem to be losing their heads over this. I suppose, because I became a Doctor Who fan in the wildnerness years of the early 90s, I'm a little more willing to accept whatever I'm given. But even if we get nothing more than what has already been announced I really don't think Doctor Who fans have anything to be complaining about. 

So we've got 8 standard episodes of Doctor Who series 7 to come. A 50th anniversary special and An Adventure in Space and Time which dramatises the production of the first series of Doctor Who. Plus we get  11 Doctor Who audio stories in the form of the Destiny of the Doctor (starting this month with Hunters of Earth). And we get a Big Finish multi-Doctor story The Light At The End featuring all 5 surviving "Classic" Doctors and multiple other Doctor Who stars. 

Big Finish are also giving us, in their main Doctor Who range, a trilogy of stories set in 1963 with the final story featuring a return of the stars of the 25th anniversary! Meanwhile their Companion Chronicles series will feature another trilogy starting in November with the first story telling the tale of the Doctor and Susan on Gallifrey before they began their adventures. 

Meanwhile in the world of books... Each month between now and November Puffin are releasing a short story by e-book written by well known children's authors. I read the first one last night, A Big Hand For The Doctor, and was suitably impressed. 

Plus IDW are printing a special 11 part series of comics featuring every Doctor and the Doctor Who Magazine has just started its own Doctor Who anniversary special comic story. 

And on top of all this we are getting other Doctor Who books, the usual Big Finish output (which is considerable) and the new IDW Doctor Who volume 3. 

So no, I think content wise this year is going to be mammoth!!

I Will Miss The Ponds: Doctor Who

When David Tennant left Doctor Who, I went through a bit of a sulk. He had been a superb Doctor, one of the finest performances of the lot. So I admit that when Matt Smith took over, I wasn't completely fair in my assessment of the 5th series. And Amy, the Doctor's new companion, irritated me.

She was too cocky, too pretty and, later in that series, when she tried to get off with the Doctor the night before her wedding, too cruel. I'll admit to feeling more like a casual viewer through much of the 5th and 6th series than a Doctor Who fan. I just wasn't getting it. But the gap between series 6 and 7 was filled with me revisiting the episodes. I grew to like Amy, her confidence and her loyalty. And I grew to believe that her husband Rory was one of the best companions of all time.

Their banter, their love affair, their crazy acts of devotion to each other. How could you not, ultimately, end up falling in love with the Ponds?

Now sure, there are still some things I find annoying about Amy's characterisation. Her actions in dumping a man who waited 2000 years for her just because she thought he might want more children which she could not give him seemed truly heartless. But these things are forgivable.

They spent a long time in the TARDIS (on screen that is, by the sounds of things they spent years travelling in it off screen!) and feel like such an integral part of Doctor Who that it's going to take a while to get used to it without them.

But what a way to go, eh? Brilliant stuff. Fare ye well Ponds!

Things I'm Looking Forward To In 2011

1. Primeval

Well at least I don't have to wait long for this one; the series 4 opener is on the 1st of January and the second episode is shown the next day! Not only do we have the best characters returning (Lester being the most awesome) and the worst characters written out but we get two series in 2011. The first will premiere on ITV and the second will be shown towards the end of the year on Watch (all thanks to the unique joint funding that has brought Primeval back from cancellation).



It looks like the special effects budget has been improved, although the first few episodes seem very reptilian heavy. Despite having been rather sceptical when Primeval first arrived on our screens, it's grown on me and I think it can be excellent with the right people behind it. I'm quietly confident it finally has the right mixture of people and money to be a success.

2. Terra Nova

The pilot is due out in May, and I've been looking forward to it for a while. Steven Spielberg, Brannon Braga, time travel, dinosaurs and a family in peril?? How can I not get excited?

I don't know any of the cast and the plot is a little vague but I'm still eagerly awaiting our first look at this show!

3. Movies

Lots of movies to get excited about, but here are a few of the one's I'm looking forward to.

The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn - Tintin. I mean, you have to see it don't you??
I Am Number Four - Only interested because everyone else keeps telling me about it.
Battle: Los Angeles - Really excited about this
Scream 4 - 1990s retro.
X-Men: First Class - I'm an X-Men completist. I suspect this will be shite.
Green Lantern - I don't know why but I think the trailer for this looked awesome. (Muscles I suspect ;) )
Rise of the Apes - I LOVE the Apes movies.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - I was disappointed by the last movie. Let's hope they've learnt their lessons.

4. Doctor Who Series 6

I'll admit I was extremely lukewarm towards Matt Smith but the Christmas Carol episode and a rewatching of series 5 has made me rediscover my love for Doctor Who and with the following trailer how could you not get excited??



5. Torchwood: The New World

After the amazing Children of the Earth I am very excited to see what the 10 part story they are dreaming up at Torchwood towers is about!

6. Falling Skies



Steven Spielberg. Aliens. How can you go wrong??

7. The Walking Dead

Both the second series of the TV series and the continuing monthly comic series make The Walking Dead a highlight of 2011. You simply must check both out.

A Christmas Carol: 2010 Xmas Doctor Who Special

It just wouldn't be Christmas Day without a Doctor Who special! I imagine in a hundred years it'll be as much a part of the Christmas holiday as the Christmas tree and mince pies are today. Alright, a boy can dream can't he?

I was only saying to my better half today, whilst watching Scrooged, that A Christmas Carol must be the most adapted novel in all of history. So there was a big concern that Doctor Who's take on it might be dry, boring and old hat. Surely there's only so many ways to tell a story, after all. Yet I felt that this episode took the heart of the traditional Dickens story, and put a wonderful twist on it meaning it seemed fresh, and unpredictable.

I particularly liked the fact that as Kazran Sardick (this episode's Scrooge) was changed through the "Ghosts" process, there were unintended consequences blending the best of the old with the best timey-wimeyness one can expect from Doctor Who.

The acting was initially worrying but got stronger and stronger as the episode went on, the flying fish were an excellently alien but still charmingly kitsch addition and the flying shark was basically added just to please me. Surely a flying shark in a Christmas themed Doctor Who episode is as close to realising my ultimate dream as there can be?

The romantic/depressing subplot was played out with an unfamiliar subtlety. Whereas Russell T. Davies would have bashed us round the head with it, here it was allowed to just be and was all the more touching and upsetting for it.

And, as someone who hasn't particularly warmed to the Eleventh Doctor during the fifth/two hundredth and ninty first/twelth series of Doctor Who, I was mightily impressed by Matt Smith's performance and finally feel like I can accept him as our favourite Time Lord.

All in all an absolutely top notch episode of modern Doctor Who with the series 6/five million/-5 trailer looking totally epic!

Doctor Who: The Beast Below

The Beast Below was the second episode of Matt Smith's first series of Doctor Who and, as a Whovian, I have to say I bloody loved it!

Firstly... how eighties was this episode? Dark, industrial, a little quirky with a Doctor who is a pronounces words a little funny and is a bit disparaging of the human race occasionally. As a Seventh Doctor obsessive (BRING BACK ACE!) I smiled.

Secondly... Star Wars references. We'll take the 10,000 smileys I could just put here as read.

Thirdly... the story wasn't all that bad with the Doctor hot on the trail of a nasty little secret whilst Amy is trying to forget it.

Fourthly... Amy and the Doctor work very well together.

Fifthly... the end scene (not related to main story) in which Amy picks up the phone to Winston Churchill was awesome... DALEKS!!

I'm way too excited about next week now!!

A Weekend Of Sci-Fi

Despite the unwelcome absence of Caprica following last week's awesome episode, us sci-fi geeks were not without our pleasures. In fact, this week saw the welcome return of several US shows that been on hiatus and one British show which has the status of most eagerly awaited new season of the year!

Fringe - Peter

An episode of awesomeness. We are treated to flashbacks into Walter and Peter's past. Excellent acting from John Noble who really captured the youthful, sane Walter and his feelings over the death of his son. Tough choices and some wonderful little pieces of information drip dropped throughout and it was one hell of a return for Fringe. Sadly it looks like it wasn't so lucky ratings wise, which is a real shame.

Stargate Universe - Space

Space battles, new aliens, political intriuge aboard the Destiny. This was a great start to the second half of the series and adds some much needed extra excitement to the formula.

V - Welcome To The War


I have been trying to give this series a chance, and episode 5 marks it's return to our screens... it's good but it just isn't holding my interest. There's enough to keep me watching right now, but I'm a sci-fi geek. I don't know if there is enough to keep the main bulk of the audience interested. However the liberal use of half naked men throughout the episode may keep certain elements glued to the action!

Doctor Who - The Eleventh Hour 

OMG! That is of course, my obligatory statement. A new Doctor. A new companion. A new adventure. Let's go. And this episode was excellent, awesome and amazing. Matt Smith will be a great Doctor, Amy will be an interesting companion and a little sneaking part of the Time Lord Victorious shone through in the moment the Doctor stares in the giant Eye of the alien ship and simple state "Run". :)

And there was an epic moment when all the past Doctors were shown, and past enemies too, and I couldn't help but squeal with joy like some schoolgirl seeing her crush for the first time.

But... it's a minor thing but I always find the first episode of a new Doctor Who series to be a bit of a let down. Mainly because I've built it up so much, and it can never met my inflated expectations. As this happens every series, I know now it's me and not the episode that is the problem so I look forward to next week with my expectations firmly grounded in reality (i.e. no original series Cybermen, no half naked muscled adonis drapped over every scene nor Daleks in World War II.... ;) )