Glasgow Who | Doctor Who Blog

With the imminent re-release of Remembrance of the Daleks I was wondering what the state of play was with the DVD releases. Did a bit of checking and, if you disregard the titles that have already been announced then what we have left to look forward to for each Doctor [other than Colin] is as follows:

Bill - 8

Pat - 3

Jon - 13

Tom - 13

Peter - 6

Sylv - 6

I think it`s safe to assume that DVD will follow the VHS release pattern in that the incomplete stories will come out towards the end of the schedule, but given that we`ve already had The Invasion, you never know!

War Games edit

Well, I finally finished my re-edit of The War Games and it came in at three 45-minute episodes. That`s the equivalent of a six-part story, which means I managed to lose around 4 episodes worth of padding! It`s been an interesting exercise as it highlights the difference between how much time you really need to tell a story and having to tell a story over a pre-determined length.

Any other budding re-editors out there? Why not knock up your own version of the Troughton to Pertwee regeneration for us to enjoy at one of our upcoming screenings!

And am I the only one who thinks that The War Chief is really The Master? And speaking of Edward Brayshaw…

Poirot & The Professionals

Last Friday I was channel-hopping [as you do] and caught an episode of Poirot on ITV3. The episode was “Problem At Sea” and featured real-life husband-and-wife Caroline John & Geoffrey Beevers as Mr & Mrs Tolliver, along with Ben Aris from Invasion of the Dinosaurs. He was Leiutenant Shearer in episode one, the officious army bloke who convicts the Dr & Sarah as looters.

Meanwhile over on ITV4 David “Poirot” Suchet was in an episode of The Professionals called “Where The Jungle Ends”. He was the leader of a gang of mercenaries, one of whom was Del Henney from Resurrection of the Daleks. He was poor Colonel Archer, who got cloned by The Daleks.

As I think I`ve mentioned before, the funny thing about what DWM called The Pip Torrens Factor is how this recognition thing only works one way. I spot actors who`ve been in Who in other things but I never spot actors that I`ve seen in other things in Who. I never say “oh look, it`s that bloke from Casualty!”

It took me ages to realise that Edward Brayshaw was Mr Meaker from Rentaghost but if I`d caught a re-run of it, I`m sure I would have said “oh look, there`s that bloke from The War Games!”

In honour of dear departed Ed I hereby christen these actorly observations as Mr Meaker Moments.

Stand by for the Forum Thread!

War Games

Well, is that a stonker of a DVD or what? [or maybe you think it`s a stinker!] Great upgrade in picture and sound quality as always from the RT and a nice package of extras. OK, the Sylvia James interview is a bit of a filler and the easter eggs are a bit bizarre but overall this is one of the most enjoyable DVDs 2E have put out in ages.

As for the story itself, it doesn`t really drag that much over the ten episodes although there are a lot of what are referred to as “loop stories” [captured, escape, captured again]. But it`s a very enjoyable way to pass 4 hours… I`m working on a re-edit at the moment to see how quickly you can actually tell this story. So far I`ve managed to condense the first 5 episodes into 1 hour 15 minutes. That`s not bad when you consider that that`s the equivalent of losing two whole episode`s worth of padding! Try it yourself, just as an editing exercise, and see how much you can lose and just how much you have to keep. It`s not as easy as you might think! 

Next - The Black Guardian Trilogy!

Old Familiar Faces

Caught old Rog M yesterday on ITV4 in a colour ep of “The Saint“. The episode was “The Scales of Justice“, written by Robert Holmes and featured Jean “Masterplan” Marsh and Victor “Fury” Maddern. It`s always fun spotting Who actors in other things and straight after The Saint it was The Prisoner and “It`s Your Funeral” featuring that Marco Polo double act of Mark “Polo” Eden and Derren “Tegana” Nesbitt. Surely there must be a database somewhere on the Net for this sort of thing…?

Torchwood

Well, three episodes in and so far #2 is my fave. Nice mix of action, adventure and banter. Can`t really watch Peter Capaldi`s Mr Frobisher without thinking he`s suddenly going to switch into full-on Malcolm Tucker Mode though… 

Yesterday 

Well that was fun last night wasn`t it? I`ve posted my thoughts on last night`s meeting in the Forum so head over there and check it out!

The Crystal Palace was like an oven last night and they really need to do something about it. I was sweating like a pig, never mind the nerves of having to be Bamber Paxman for Whoniversity Challenge and hoping that the whole thing didn`t fall flat on it`s arse! Luckily it didn`t.

Bit disappointed that John Hughes & David Cherry weren`t there you naughty,naughty boys tsk tsk - but great to meet Clarkie and his missus. Let`s hope we get to see some new faces next month!

Today 

Well my copy of The War Games arrived bang on midday today so as soon as I finish this I`m off to watch all ten episodes! Really looking forward to this and a bit surprised that only me, Clarkie and Raymond were looking forward to getting this today. I got mine from Play.com for only £12.99, which for three discs is a bargain and a half!

Unlike the previous three-discer Lost In Time, WG is in a normal sized case with the two discs covering the story either side of one of those hinged flippy things. [Ok a poor description I know, but you`ll know what I mean when you see it]. The great thing about this is it means you are saved the hassle of taking out one disc to get to another, a great layout idea so bonus points to 2E for that. Don`t forget you can post your reviews over at the Forum.

Tonight

Torchwood: Weans O` The Errth is oan the nicht oan BeeBeeSeeWan at nine o`cloak. Mind and tell ua a` whit ye think oh it ower oan thu forum, ken.

 Next Time

The next meeting is Sunday August 2nd, same time and place as usual. Under discussion will be :

• The Edinburgh Katy Manning event earlier in the day
• Torchwood: Children of the Earth
• War Games/Remembrance of the Daleks on DVD
• The start of filming for Series Five
• Matt Smith in costume
• The name of Karen Gillan`s character
• Whatever is in the latest DWM
• Anything else we can think of!

Well guys, our next meeting is just around the corner and I hope to see you all there!

But before I come to that…

Murray!

Well, what a match between Murray and Vavrinka wasn`t it? Watched the whole thing - all nearly 4 hours of it - and was mightily relieved when Murray finally won. Let`s hope this sunday doesn`t bring a repeat performance. But more of that later…

Zaroff!

Did anyone else catch Joseph “Profesor Zaroff” Furst in The Champions earlier this week on ITV4? The episode is called “The Search” if you`re interested, though why you would be… Lots of Who actors crop up from time to time in these old ITC shows. Contrary to his performance in The Underwater Menace he wasn`t bad actually. Not exactly good either, but not bad nonetheless…

Glasto!

Watching Status Quo and Madness at Glastonbury last Sunday on BBC4 I was struck by the comic parody potential of the former. Status Who anyone? Surely Uncle Alan can come up with some Who-parodies of The Quo`s hits? And wouldn`t it be blast to have a Status Who gig after AOG10? Well I think so… 

War Games!

Got an email on Thursday from Play.com saying that they`ve posted my order for The War Games DVD! Hooray! really looking forward to this and hop it arrives Saturday, although given Play`s recent performance, Monday seems more realistic. If anyone gets a copy over the weekend, be sure to gloat over me on Sunday! Speaking of which… 

Sunday!

We`ve got aberdeenscifi coming down to join us from the granite city and he`s kindly bringing us a goodie bag! What a nice man. I`m sure you`ll all help me to make him feel welcome. And to all those of you who`ve just joined us here at our lovely new site, it would be great if you could come along to. We don`t bite - well I don`t anyway - and we`re really quite sociable. You`ll have some fun and hopefully make some new friends too!

As for the meeting itself, well you`ll recall I went round the table asking for suggestion for things we could actually DO? Well, the first of those ideas will take place on Sunday. What is it I hear you cry?

[cue drumroll]

This Sunday will see our first ever edition of…

Whoniversity Challenge.

Yes that`s right, our first Quiz Night is just two days away. So dig out your Programme Guides, scan your DWM Archives, trawl the Net and get ready for a fun night as we find out just who the real Fanboys and Fangirls are!

Two teams of Glasgow Whovians will pit there wits against each other for the title of Whoniversity Challenge Champions 2009! And who knows we may even discover enough talent to mount a team challenge against that Edinburgh mob!

And I did I mention there will be prizes? Oh yes, there will be PRIZES!

So get yourself down to the Crystal Palace this Sunday for some Fab Fan Fun! 7pm. Upstairs.
See you then!

Bryan McCormack, Meetings Coordinator, Glasgow Who

ps

potential Quiz Kids should note that there is always the remote possibility that there may be a slight delay to proceedings if a certain Mr Murray does actually find himself in a somewhat lengthy final against some swiss chappie at that whatsitcalled tennis club dahn sarf in SW16…

Just been having a quick look at what`s coming up in the next few months. Here`s what I found :

JUNE

Monday 22nd - Delta And The Bannermen [DVD]

Thursday 25th - DWM 410

Monday 29th - Planet of the Dead [DVD/BluRay]

JULY

Thursday 2nd - Happiness Patrol [Audio Book]

Sunday 5th - Glasgow Who 

Monday 6th - The War Games [DVD]

Monday 20th - Remembrance of the Daleks [DVD]

Thursday 23rd - DWM 411

Monday 27th - Torchwood : Children of Earth [DVD/BluRay]

AUGUST

Sunday 2nd - Katy Manning/Glasgow Who

Thursday 6th - The Mind Robber [Audio Book]

Monday 10th - The Black Guardian Trilogy [DVD]

Saturday 15th - Doctor Who Annual 2010

Thursday 20th - DWM 412

SEPTEMBER

Thursday 3rd - Hornet`s Nest #1 - Tom Baker [CD]

Sunday 6th - Glasgow Who

Monday 7th - The Twin Dilemma [DVD]

Monday 21st - The Keys of Marinus [DVD]

Thursday 24th - The Dalek Project [Graphic Novel]

Wednesday 30th - Mary Tamm Autobiography

OCTOBER

Sunday 4th - Glasgow Who

Thursday 8th - Hornet`s Nest #2 - Tom Baker [CD]

NOVEMBER

Sunday 1st - Glasgow Who

Thursday 5th - Hornet`s Nest #3 - Tom Baker [CD]

Looks like it`s going to be an expensive few months, and that`s in the run-up to Christmas! Some overtime will be required, methinks. Really looking forward to War Games and the Special Edition of Remembrance. And Twin marks Colin`s last DVD release. Still, there`s always Big Finish!

All dates are of course, subject to change.

Except the really important one, which is the first Sunday in the month! 

Taking a break from contacting everyone [all 168 of `em!] on OG who lists their location as Scotland, I popped across to Eye Of Horus, as you do. But only really for advance DVD reviews, the rest of the site is pretty dull and a bit hard to navigate to my mind..

And what do I find but a review for the upcoming 3-disc release of The War Games! Hooray! [in best RTD voice] I`ve pre-ordered mine from Play.com for £12.99!

Now I dunno about you lot, but I`m really looking forward to this release and not just for the usual canonicity reasons. I genuinely like it and even at ten episodes it doesn`t drag at all. OK, I must agree with Alan and admit that you could  watch episodes 1,2,9 & 10 and not really miss out on anything but the journey wouldn`t be nearly half as much fun!

Funny thing is, I`d been watching TWG for several eps before I realised that the bloke playing the War Chief was Mr Meeker from Rentaghost! Why does that actor recognition thing [see DWM 403 for details] only work one way - ie spotting actors from Who in other things and not actors from other things in Who?

Weird. Anyway, it`s a pretty good review and helpful if you`re swithering about whether to get this or Delta And The Bananamen with your pocket money. But if you like hunting for Easter Eggs, be warned that their content is described, though not their actual location on the three discs.

http://www.eyeofhorus.org.uk/content/classicseries/02-troughton/thewargames.html

I don`t know about you, but I`m kinda ambivalent about spoilers.

Part of me wants to enjoy the episodes free of prior knowledge, the other part of me wants to know everything it can. I suppose it`s the actor in me, wanting a backstage pass.

Anyway, as far as David`s Final Story is concerned I really made an effort this time to stay spoiler-free and was doing quite well up until the point where RTD himself told us that Bernard Cribbins was in it.

I mean, the very man who warns us continually to avoid spoilers in DWM, goes and drops a huge one himself, without any prompting. I suppose he was so excited he couldn`t help himself, poor love.

Anyway, after that I gave up and now I don`t give a Bandril`s Bum about spoilers. It`s the same information, just a bit early that`s all.

So linked to below is something I found about five minutes ago [10.30am].

Now I don`t know what other people`s position is on spoilers [Barry, maybe we could clear that up?] so I don`t want to ruin anybody`s Christmas unless, like me, they`ve given up trying. For that reason, I`ve posted this here on the Blog instead of the Forum, on the assumption that less people will read it!

So, below is a link to a Spoiler for DT`s last story.

If you want to see it, click on it.

You have been warned!

Are you sure? Ok, here it is:

http://io9.com/5291509/your-first-look-at-doctor-whos-next-big-guest-stars

And remember, I did warn you!

And what a week it`s been!

MEMBERSHIP

Over thirty members have been added to the Forum, which is a great. Thank you to all of you for your support and enthusiasm for the site. There are some great threads underway and I`ve put up some polls for you to choose your Favourite story for each of the Doctors. So get voting and keep posting - especially the ten of you who haven`t made your first post yet - come on in, the water`s lovely. And we don`t bite, honest!

On the membership front, there are over 160 users on Outpost Gallifrey who say they are from Scotland and I`ll be contacting them all, inviting them to join us here during the coming week. But numbers aren`t everything of course. In my view, having 50 active members is much better than having 200 members, 150 of whom are lurkers. Which is where you all come in!

DVD

The rest of the month sees Delta and the Bananamen and Planet o` the Deid out on DVD. I`m not in any great hurry to buy either of them to be honest and will probably wait until they`re on Play.com for a fiver!

DWM

The next issue of DWM comes out a week on Thursday - did anybody else forget to send in their Mighty 200 survey, rating every story? I did. By the time I remembered Alan and I were in the pub and by then  it was too late…

NEXT MEETING 

Plans are underway for Something To Do at our next meeting, which is only 3 weeks away today. More details nearer to the time. Clarkie from Aberdeen will be visiting us so please do all you can to make him feel welcome, especially as he`s bringing us a goodie bag! What a nice man! If you`re reading this Clarkie, you should have got my email by now. Looking forward to seeing you and thank you once again.

Ciao For Now,

Bryan McCormack, Meetings Coordinator, Glasgow Who

So this morning I`m checking my emails and catching up with the latest goings-on in the online Whoniverse when I come across THIS:

http://io9.com/5283524/a-funeral-for-a-time-lord

A very touching story and how great of his friends and family to organise something like that, right down to a Tardis-coffin. Nice to know that, even in death, someone can inspire people.

When I go, I`d like to a send-off like that please.

Condolances to Seb`s family and friends.