For those who don't know, Doctor Who Live is a stage show based on the series, featuring a wide array of monsters that have featured in recent years, and wrapped up in a loose plot to bring them all together. Plus lots of music from the series!

It actually works rather well! Don't set your expectations too high, obviously, as it is aimed for children of course and has to work in a live environment, but the basic premise of using the concepts from the classic story Carnival of Monsters to present the monsters was a great idea.

Nigel Planer was great as the main protagonist, and Nick Briggs did a great job as Churchill, as well as the voices of several of the monsters of course. And the monsters did their thing, wandering through the audiences, too. Plus of course the Doctor himself, virtually.

Generally this came across very prom-like, and I think that's probably the main gripe in that it is way more expensive to see than the proms (even the most expensive tickets). So is it worth seeing? Well, if you enjoy the Who music and seeing the monsters then a definite yes!

A few photos here, there are many more on Facebook!


A little bit of audience participation!

BBC America have confirmed the rumours from earlier this week that Doctor Who will be off to film in America this series. In fact, Utah for the first two episodes! You can read the press information on Doctor Who in the Media, but here's BBC America's teaser video for the news:

... well as it might look in the future, if the Preston Police have anything to do with it!

This video is an interesting collection of clips to represent the song, but what is far more entertaining is the 'slightly' inaccurate translation of the lyrics that accompany it!

Another wave of figures invade the premises ...

YOU WILL BE LIKE US!

Less than a week to go, and here's a more extensive preview for the series:

For those that missed them, here are the original CBBC clip and then teaser trailer:

Of course, which version of the series on television will be the best to watch - we'll have CBBC, BBC1 and BBCHD to choose from? The HD version will of course be the best quality picture, but there's the danger of DOGging for the "kept" version. CBBC will almost certainly be DOGged, so mayhaps the BBC one will be cleanest - though of course they all might be prone to verbal diarrhea!!!

Also next week there's a special showing of "Death of the Doctor" at the BFI which I've got tickets to go to - I know it'll be a couple of weeks before transmission but it feels like a "can't wait" story!

Well here we go, the first volume of the Eleventh Doctor's adventures in pure Pixleyvision will be out on Thursday, featuring the first six episodes from the 2010 outing of the Time Lord.

I'm still a little cynical of the way the series is being released in two parts, but with 100+ pages in this volume it could mean the in-depth information is as extensive as ever, and hasn't been padded out with light-weight articles like the first volume for Eccleston was.

Whilst listening to Galaxy 4 I suddenly realised that another milestone was approaching...

I completed the visual adventures last year, when I finally sat down and watched The Reign of Terror. I'd left the story on the shelf for many years as I knew it was the last one I would be able to watch "as new" - well unless we're really lucky in the forthcoming years. But I got the recon for the two missing episodes and so decided it was time to take the plunge. I was pleased it was a good story at any rate!

Audio-wise, I've had all four of those stories sitting on the shelf for a while now, but once I started my listening-fest a few weeks back I've now reached the cellophane-wrapped remainders, and it has dawned on me that it won't be long before I will finally have listened to every Doctor Who story. There's only four left to go, including Galaxy 4 itself, all First Doctor adventures: The Myth Makers, The Massacre and The Savages.

It'll feel strange that there'll be no new stories to experience - until Christmas at any rate! I guess there are still the recons of the missing episodes still to watch, but it won't be quite the same as the first experience of those stories coming up in the next few days!

Here's hoping they are an enjoyable final adventure ...

 

It isn't long now until Doctor Who Live launches its tour - have you booked up?

Meanwhile, Matt Smith tell SFX about his excitement at the show:

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin ...