Monday, December 13, 2010

Kopic's Doctor Who & Torchwood News

Kopic's Doctor Who & Torchwood News


Doctor Who: Podshock Live Show Reviewing 'A Christmas Carol' Scheduled

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 04:48 PM PST

Doctor Who: Podshock will be once again be taking to the net on Boxing Day, Sunday (26 December 2010) for a live-over-the-net show reviewing the latest episode (special) of Doctor Who, A Christmas Carol

Doctor Who: Podshock Live Show Reviewing A Christmas Carol

He's back… and it's about time! We return with our live-over-the-net review, this time talking about and reviewing the Doctor Who adventure starring Matt Smith as the Doctor premiering on BBC One and BBC America on the 25th of December, Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol

read more

The 2010 How-Do Media 100 - How Do

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 04:32 PM PST


The 2010 How-Do Media 100
How Do
New commissions this year included a drama about Boy George, Single Father a four parter starring David Tennant and Suranne Jones, Exile - commissioned ...

The Doctor to take on flying shark - The Press Association

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 03:25 PM PST


The Doctor to take on flying shark
The Press Association
The Doctor will take on his most unlikely foe yet in this year's Doctor Who Christmas special. The Time Lord (Matt Smith) has to battle with a flying shark ...

and more »

'Torchwood': Mekhi Phifer joins the team - Zap2it.com (blog)

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 02:03 PM PST


Zap2it.com (blog)

'Torchwood': Mekhi Phifer joins the team
Zap2it.com (blog)
... who "become[s] embroiled in the Torchwood legend and investigate[s] what Torchwood is or was," as creator Russell T. Davies put it last summer. ...

Mekhi Phifer joins Torchwood

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 01:47 PM PST

TorchwoodDeadline is reporting that American actor Mekhi Phifer is to join the cast of Torchwood: The New World playing Rex Matheson, one of the three leads, alongside John Barrowman and Eve Myles.

Mekhi Phifer is best known for his role as Dr. Gregory Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama ER.

Born in New York, his acting career began when he was selected for the leading role in Spike Lee's Clockers a role for which he won critical acclaim for his performance as Strike, a young New Jersey drug dealer involved in a murder cover-up. He later appeared in the comedy spoof High School High, in the Columbia/Tristar thriller I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and in Soul Food. In 2002, Phifer starred as Future, opposite Eminem, in Curtis Hanson's film, 8 Mile. Phifer's other television credits include leading roles in MTV's film Carmen: A Hip Hopera and in A Lesson Before Dying a role which eearned him an NAACP Image Award Nomination. He was a regular on the Fox crime show Lie to Me.

REX MATHESON
He's 28, the golden boy.

Has been, all his life. Harvard education, fast-tracker in the C.I.A., destined for success. Though he's never taken it easy – Rex hustles, seduces and campaigns to get where he is today. He can talk his way into anything, then charm his way out, fast. He's made a lot of enemies, but his friends and lovers would defend him to death. His choice of career is significant. Someone like Rex could make a fortune in Wall Street, or Hollywood. But choosing the C.I.A. says a lot about him: that for all his swagger, he does believe in justice. And will fight for it.

Slowly but surely, we see him make friends. He's thrown together a bunch of people known as Torchwood, the only people who might have the answer to a global mystery. To Rex, at first, they're a bunch of freaks. Welsh women and World War 2 Captains, what's that about?! But as they race from one crisis to another, dodging assassins, blackmail, corruption and conspiracy, from Washington to Wales and the slums of Shanghai, Rex forges friendships in the heat of fire. He learns to trust his new colleagues. And they realize that this dangerous, dazzling, reckless man is the best friend they could ever have, in a world going to hell.
They frighten us, men like Rex. We wish we were him; we never will be.

This Week In Doctor Who - December 13, 2010

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 11:34 AM PST

This Week In Doctor Who – December 13, 2010
Section A
By Benjamin F Elliott

Welcome to the weekly guide to Doctor Who and spinoffs. Sarah Jane, K9, and the PBS Doctor Who broadcasts are in Section B. Torchwood schedules are in Torchwood This Week.

Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol
Christmas Day:
UK - BBC One/BBC One HD – 6PM GMT
USA – BBC America – 9PM, Midnight, 3AM EST/6PM, 9PM, Midnight PST – unedited version
26 December:
AUSTRALIA – ABC1 – 7:30PM
UK – BBC Three – 7PM GMT
Canada – SPACE – 9PM EST/6PM PST – probably repeats as well, but schedule not up at press time
27 December:
UK – BBC HD – 8PM GMT
1 January:
USA – BBC America – 8PM, 11PM, 2AM EST/5PM, 8PM, 11PM PST – 1 hour slot, so presumably a bad 46 minute edit
3 January:
UK – BBC One/BBC One HD – 4:10PM GMT – unconfirmed, but should be A Christmas Carol based on repeat run
Still to be announced – New Zealand premiere date

read more

Character: The Pandorica Wave

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 11:15 AM PST

Forbidden Planet have revealed their next exclusive set of Doctor Who action figures, this time themed around the Pandorica.

There are six figures to collect, and each one comes with a MP3-CD with an audio adaptation of a Doctor Who novelisation (previously released on CD by BBC Audiobooks/AudioGO):
  • The Doctor wearing a Fez (Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion - Part One)
  • Roman Auton (Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion - Part Two)
  • Amy Pond (Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters - Part One)
  • Silurian Warrior (Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters - Part Two)
  • Angel Bob, with jacket (Doctor Who and the Giant Robot - Part One)
  • Damaged Cyberman (Doctor Who and the Giant Robot - Part Two)
The six CDs cases themselves join together to make up the sides of the Pandorica cube itself.




As well as the individual releases, the figures can also be purchased as a complete set.

The Pandorica Wave is due to be released on 20th December 2010.

Final word: Christmas: too cool to waste on kids - New Zealand Herald

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 10:21 AM PST


Final word: Christmas: too cool to waste on kids
New Zealand Herald
Any device that you can wave at stuff and it makes a cool buzzing sound, then you look at it and somehow (it's never entire clear in Doctor Who) it tells ...

Doctor Who to face flying shark in Dickensian Christmas Day special - The Guardian

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 10:17 AM PST


The Guardian

Doctor Who to face flying shark in Dickensian Christmas Day special
The Guardian
The show marks Matt Smith's first Christmas Day special as Doctor Who. "I've always wanted to do a Doctor Who Christmas special. It's wonderful, It's been ...

and more »

Collectable Pandorica action figure set revealed

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 09:53 AM PST

A fantastic new Pandorica action figure set has been revealed today! The set is made up of 6 Doctor Who 5-inch figures, each of which comes with a piece of the Pandorica loaded with an audio CD of a classic audio adventure. The 6 figures (each with a RRP of £9.99) include the Doctor in his fez, a Roman soldier, a screaming [...]

Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol spoiler-free review - Den Of Geek

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 07:16 AM PST


Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol spoiler-free review
Den Of Geek
Can Steven Moffat weave the foundations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol into a Doctor Who Christmas special? Here's our spoiler-free review. ...

and more »

More Lost Stories Coming to CD

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 07:16 AM PST

image

Big Finish have recently announced that there will be a third season of audio plays based on scripts originally written and submitted for the classic series but which were ultimately not made. The first season was released from November 2009 through to May 2010 comprising stories that were written for the Colin Baker era (including several stories that were intended for the original Season 23). The second season has just started, with the release of Farewell, Great Macedon last month (a story originally written for the first season ever of Doctor Who, and pictured above), to be followed later this month with The Prison in Space (originally intended for Season Six in the Patrick Troughton era), before four stories (to be released in the first half of 2011) that might have been made for the original Season 27 in 1990 or 1991 (had there been one) with Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor.

The third season (for 2012) will apparently be a smattering of scripts from all sorts of different eras and different Doctors. Big Finish have announced that the 8 story season will star William Russell, Carole Ann Ford, Frazer Hines, Deborah Watling, Wendy Padbury, Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding, Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant. From this we can deduce at least one 1st Doctor story, two 2nd Doctor stories, at least one 5th Doctor and at least one 6th Doctor. The stories have not been announced just yet, which gives us a bit of time to guess what they might be. So without further ado, here are my hopes/picks for the 8:

1st Doctor - The Masters of Luxor (another story intended for Season One, written by Anthony Coburn (writer of An Unearthly Child), the script for which was published decades ago by Titan Books.

2nd Doctor - The Rosemariners - a story originally written for Season Five (and would feature Frazier Hines and Deborah Watling) by former script editor Donald Tosh.
- Aliens in the Blood - a story outline written for Season 6 (thus would feature Frazier Hines and Deborah Watling) by the late, great Robert Holmes. It was never completed for Doctor Who but was later adapted for a non-Who radio play in 1977.

5th Doctor - May Time (aka Children of Seth) - an un-used Christopher Bailey (of Kinda and Snakedance fame) story
- The Torson Triumvirate - an un-used Andrew Smith storyline (see The First Sontarans below)
- The Rogue TARDIS - an un-used story outline from Enlightenment writer Barbara Clegg (another un-used idea of Cleggs was developed for the 1st season of "Lost Stories" audios by Marc Platt)

6th Doctor - The Children of January - the one script from the original Season 23 that they were unable to do for the first season of lost stories because of a lack of time for the original writer (Michael Feeney Callan) to adapt to audio. (Other stories for that season haven't been done for audio, but not because of a lack of time but either a lack of script or the unwillingness of the original author).
- The First Sontarans - an unused story idea from Andrew Smith (of Full Circle fame) for Season 22 due to the decision to include the Sontarana in The Two Doctors. With Smith now writing new stories for The Companions Chronicles for Big Finish, I think we will see at least one un-used Smith idea for this series, if not two.

For a great run-down of un-used Doctor Who stories, check out Shannon Patrick Sullivan's site

Mara Tales Images Released

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 07:15 AM PST

Images of the DVD release of the Mara Tales- the double disc set containing Fifth Doctor episodes Kinda and Snakedance- have been sneaked onto the Classic DW twitter page.

The picture contains both the individual Snakedance cover as well as the boxset cover – both featuring the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) along with Tegan (Janet Fielding), Lon (Martin Clunes) and the Mara.

Drawing heavily on both buddist teaching and Christian parables, Kinda and its sequel Snakedance first introduced the Mara, a manifestation that feeds on the misery and suffering of other beings through possession.

In Kinda, Tegan falls under the spell of the Mara, tormenting a team of scientists studying the naive but telepathically gifted inhabitants the Kinda, who eventually free a scientist from the Mara after it jumps from Tegan, and with the Doctor banish the mara, now in the form of  a giant snake, by using a ciicle of mirrors.

Snakedance sees Tegan hijacking and landing the TARDIS on the planet Manussa after become possessed by the Mara, where the Federator's son Lon and his mother are preparing celebrations marking the five hundreth anniversary of the its banishment, seeking to manipulate the inhabitants minds in order to find the blue crystal- the device that first brought it into existence.

Recently Piers Wenger spoke of Snakedance's influnce in the new series plans to create new monsters.

Mara Tales will be released on March 7th, 2011 and can be pre-ordered now from Amazon for £22.49!

Collect and Build the Pandorica!

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 06:04 AM PST

Is this great or is this great?! A Doctor Who Pandorica set featuring six figures and a Pandorica that can be bought as a set or individually!

Doctor Who - The Pandorica Opens toyEach 5-inch action figure includes a MP3 CD with audio book instalment and one piece of the Pandorica! Collect and build your own Pandorica CD cube case! There are three complete classic stories across 6 CDs. One CD supplied with each figure – or just order the set to get the entire collection in one!

· The Eleventh Doctor includes CD 01 – Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion Part 1

· Roman Auton includes CD 02 – Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion Part 2

· Angel figure includes CD 03 – Doctor Who and the Giant Robot Part 1

· Cyberman Pandorica Guard includes CD 04 – Doctor Who and the Giant Robot Part 2

· Amy Pond includes CD 05 – Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters Part 1

· Silurian Warrior includes CD 06 – Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters Part 2

Here's a nice gallery of all 7 options:

This is potentially Character's most genius idea to date – you can pre-order the full set from Forbidden Planet for £53.94, with earliest dispatch expected to take place on Monday, 20th December 2010.

K9 comes to DVD and Five in the UK

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 05:46 AM PST

The first part of the Park Entertainment series K9 will be released on DVD in the United Kingdom on the 31st January 2011.

The cover for the release specifies this as the Complete Series 1; however, this is attributed to Channel Five splitting the series into two halves, and will actually only have the first run of episodes broadcast on the channel (see below); a second DVD (the Complete Series 2) is expected to be released on 7th March 2011, containing the rest of the episodes from the series.

The complete series was released as a single boxed set in Australia at the end of September.
 

K9 was first transmitted in Australia on Network Ten and in the UK on Disney's digital channel XD (though the UK run was incomplete); a second series of the show is currently in development.

Transmission on Channel Five kicks off this coming Saturday from 10:00am, and is expected to reach a wider audience for its 'terrestrial' broadcast. The show will be shown daily over the Christmas period until New Year's Eve - this includes both the first and second episodes Regeneration and Liberation, which were only shown on XD as a compilation in a half-hour slot for Halloween 2009. As noted above, the channel is broadcasting the series in two halves, with the rest of the series due on air around Easter 2011.

Five have a special trailer for the series, featuring a voiceover by John Leeson (in his own voice, not K9's!). You can also find the original series trailer from 2009 on YouTube.



Doctor Who complete reviews: The Keeper Of Traken - Shadowlocked (blog)

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 04:53 AM PST


Shadowlocked (blog)

Doctor Who complete reviews: The Keeper Of Traken
Shadowlocked (blog)
But as ever, Tom Baker effortlessly steals the show. You sense that he's managed to get away with a few more ad-libs here and there. ...

Preview & Clip of A Christmas Carol

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 03:35 AM PST

A clip of Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol was shown on BBC Breakfast this morning as part of a festive TV preview. It features new scenes with Amy and Rory on a crashing space liner. Unfortunately, you can't actually hear anything because of the TV critic (Alison Graham) talking over it. Hopefully, there will be a clean version soon.

Read more ...


Voyage of the Damned for 13p!

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 03:14 AM PST

Anyone desperate to watch the 2007 Doctor Who Christmas Special Voyage of the Damned on their PC right now should head over to www.seesaw.com

The popular online streaming service is currently making the episode available for 13p as part of its Advent Calendar feature, which means if you watchVoyage of the Damned – which starred David Tennant as the Doctor and Kylie Minogue as Astrid Peth – then you will only splash out 13p

That's less than the price of a tabloid newspaper; in fact its less than the price of a Cadbury's Animal Bar in this day and age. So not a bad deal at all!

(Via Twitter)

Doctor Who Pandorica Action Figures

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 02:40 AM PST

Forbidden Planet have announced the Doctor Who Pandorica action figure wave.

The new range, pictured below, features 5 inch figures from Series 5 including Silurian Warrior, Angel Bob with Jacket, Roman Auton, Amy Pond, The Eleventh Doctor (with Fez!) and Cyberman Pandorica Guard.

Each figure includes a MP3 CD with audio book Read more ...


Oi! Where's My Book?!

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 02:36 AM PST

Regular readers of Kasterborous will know that we are releasing our first book based on 60 reviews from the first 5 years of the site covering the Russell T Davies era of Doctor Who. Ultimate Regeneration was due to be released this week.

However we have run into a small problem with the printing and supply of the book. Despite our best efforts to resolve this (and ignore the effect of the unusually severe weather on our plans) and push on with distribution of the book, we are sad to announce that this problem is going to result in a delay.

Obviously at this stage so close to Christmas we can no longer guarantee that all copies will be received in time for the big day, so if you are a pre-order buyer and wish to claim a refund on your purchase then please see the email that has been sent to you this afternoon.

As a result of this, the pre-order stage for Ultimate Regeneration has been re-opened, with the intended date of dispatch now the second week in January, with a week later for buyers in North America, Australia and further afield. We will keep you up to date in the event of any further delays.

Sadly this delay has been unavoidable and we are aware that there might be some of you out there who are disappointed. However there is no way we would rush through the final stages of producing the book and risk a sub-standard product.

Pandorica Collection Action Figure and MP3 Audio Wave

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 02:01 AM PST

Character Options have announced a new wave of Doctor Who Action Figures.

The Pandorica Action Figure and MP3 Audio Collection consists of the following:

&iddot; The Eleventh Doctor includes CD 01 – Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion part 1

&iddot; Roman Auton includes CD 02 – Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion part 2

&iddot; Angel Bob includes CD 03 – Doctor Who and the Giant Robot part 1

&iddot; Cyberman Pandorica Guard includes CD 04 – Doctor Who and the Giant Robot part 2

&iddot; Amy Pond includes CD 05 – Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters part 1

&iddot; Silurian Warrior includes CD 06 – Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters part 2

Each 5-inch action figure includes a MP3 CD with audio book instalment and one piece of the Pandorica! Collect and build your own Pandorica CD cube case! There are three complete classic stories across 6 CDs. One supplied. For ages 5 years and over.

Enlarge Image Enlarge Image Enlarge Image
Enlarge Image Enlarge Image Enlarge Image

The Pandorica Collection Action Figures are released Late December, priced &ound;9.99 each.

Order these Toys at Forbidden Planet, for just &ound;8.99 each!

[Source: Character Options]

New documentary chronicles Lennon's love of New York - Madison.com

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 02:00 AM PST


New documentary chronicles Lennon's love of New York
Madison.com
The film is clearly a sensationalized account, but benefits from an uncanny performance of the Beatle by Christopher Eccleston, best known as the first ...

and more »

The BBC's Official Press Release for 'A Christmas Carol' on DVD and Blu-ray Disc - TVShowsOnDVD.com

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 12:32 AM PST


TVShowsOnDVD.com

The BBC's Official Press Release for 'A Christmas Carol' on DVD and Blu-ray Disc
TVShowsOnDVD.com
Doctor Who had a year for the ages in 2010 with a new lead writer and executive producer in Steven Moffat (Sherlock, Coupling), a new Doctor (Smith) and a ...

and more »

New Christmas Carol Clip

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 12:09 AM PST

Continuing their considerable service to fans everywhere, Blogtor Who have uploaded a short clip from A Christmas Carol to YouTube!

Taken from BBC Breakfast this morning, the clip sees two of our heroes on board a crashing space craft…

The clip features Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill as Amy and Rory – somehow back in their policewoman and centurion outfits – not to mention some vague waffling by Radio Times' Alison Graham over the top of the dialogue.

Still, it looks nice:

Now, be polite and head over to Blogtor Who to say "thank you!"

Mervyn Haisman

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 11:53 PM PST

Unfortunately we must report the passing of Mervyn Haisman, who suffered a heart failure and died at 82 years old.

Haisman and partner Henry Lincoln were responsible for writing three Troughton stories.  Their first, The Abominable Snowmen, featured the first appearance of the Yeti.  The Web of Fear, their second story, saw the return of the iconic Himalayan robo-monster, as well as the first appearance of the Brigadier.

Their third and final story, The Dominators, was broadcast under the pseudonym of Norman Ashby, particularly because of the lack of love it received from various crew members, including Haisman himself.  Despite this, The Dominators will forever be remembered by Whovians as 'the one with the Quarks.'

The number of Haisman's contributions to Doctor Who as a whole may have been relatively small, but the impact of those contributions still affect us today.  Yeti and Quarks are two of the most-loved classic robots, and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, whose repeated Whoniverse appearances have extended as far as The Sarah Jane Adventures, is easily one of the Doctor's most notable companions.

Haisman's credits outside the world of Who included Howard's Way, Jubilee, The Onedin Line, Sutherland's Law, and Hammer Horror's The Curse of the Crimson Altar.

(Via GallifreyNewsBase and the Gallifreyan Embassy)

Voyage of the Damned for 13p

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 11:50 PM PST

For today only you can rent Voyage of the Damned for 13 pence from online video catch up and rental service SeeSaw.

The deal is part of the site's Christmas Advent Calendar which offers episodes at reduced price for one day only. You can rent the episode by clicking here. You get 30 days to start viewing the episode after you purchase it.

You can also rent two other Christmas Specials, The Christmas Invasion (£1.19) and The Next Doctor (99p). SeeSaw also offers some Classic Series episodes for free including The Tomb of the Cybermen.

Take a Peek at BBC's Christmas {TV} - Frost Magazine

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 10:11 PM PST


Take a Peek at BBC's Christmas {TV}
Frost Magazine
... see Matt Smith as the ghost of Christmas past in Doctor Who – A Christmas Carol, laugh as the Royle's prepare for Christmas day in The Royle Family and ...

Dirk Gently: Douglas Adams' Holistic Detective Comes to the BBC - Suite101.com

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 09:54 PM PST


Suite101.com

Dirk Gently: Douglas Adams' Holistic Detective Comes to the BBC
Suite101.com
More recently, she was Mrs Randall in two episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures and Queenie in Jam & Jerusalem. Darren Boyd plays Richard MacDuff. ...

and more »

The Twelve Blogs of Christmas: One

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 09:18 PM PST

Things yet to do.

Yes, it's that time of the year again. Already. Consider this a nudge about getting your Christmas shopping done. (And while you're at it, check out the latest episode of The Flashing Blade Podcast, in which I'm interviewed in a festive manner.) This yuletide the Twelve Blogs are going to be slightly more informal. I realise that, this year, mostly under the influence of Twitter, I've tended to write less for the blog, so I'm hoping that many of these will be pieces from me on things that I've noticed or appreciated during the year. However, we do have a quiz tomorrow with an amazing prize, your fan fiction (only one day left to submit it) and a couple of other surprises, with regulars like Laurie Pink and Penny Andrews popping in as we go.

Today, I'd like to begin by talking about things I haven't done, and may never get to do. This year has been a very successful one for me, creatively, but that success means that my choice of projects has narrowed, because I've got less time. I've made the decision, for example, to move away from television a little, because I'm tired of spending months on projects that nobody ends up seeing, even though one is richly rewarded for that invisibility. Working in comics feels to me like being in the business of serial fiction, connected to Conan Doyle, Dickens and the pulps; it's got to be delivered on Thursday, it'll be out in four weeks, there'll be an instant audience reaction and (mostly) you're left alone to get it sorted, sacked if it doesn't work. That feels immediately satisfying. Working in prose is the aim of my life, so that's the marathon. Television still feels awkwardly in the middle, and though there are some interesting things which might happen (a couple of which have popped up very recently) I think leaving that media fallow is still the most likely course of events next year.

So, given all that, I thought I'd list a few things that I'd like to do, but may well not get the chance to, at least not for a long time. Long term ambitions, dreams, things I could do in another life. Some of these would need powerful people to agree to them, and are staggeringly unlikely. Some of them I could start on tomorrow if I was able and willing to drop something I've prioritised.

Edit a Science Fiction/Fantasy anthology. It's top of the list because I hope to find a space to do it, and a publisher willing to take me on, in the next few years. I have a broad theme in mind, and the address book to do it. I'm in awe of people like Jon Strahan and Lou Anders, who do what seems to me to be a monumental undertaking all the time. Getting a big name to write for you, and then having to say to them 'well, I have a few notes...', that takes doing.

Run a series for Big Finish Productions. I'd love to show run one of BF's ongoing series of audio dramas, especially a spinoff from the main Doctor Who range. I imagine that bringing in one's own choice of writers, casting, and doing all the organisation of studio and production must be tremendously hard work, but also tremendously satisfying. I suspect, though, that this is now something that I could have done, past tense, because the time commitment involved is enormous, and I've moved on. Still, if time stops and we all get an infinite holiday to do as we like, I'll be banging on Jason Haigh-Ellery's door.

Become a columnist again. I feel I rather failed with my column in SFX Magazine. It was sarcastic, confrontational, bratty, and, reading them again, I feel that I spent most of my time trying to almost deliberately alienate the readership. If I had my time again, I think I'd do something much more inclusive, but these days those evenings on Twitter where we're all talking about the same thing, and I get to both talk and re-post, interacting with the audience, does this sort of thing just as well and so much faster.

Be a judge for the Clarke Awards. I'm pickled in British SF, I love the Clarkes almost as much as the Hugos (check out a piece from organiser Tom Hunter on the way forward for the Clarkes here) but do I have time to read an entire sackful of novels sent in by publishers within one year? It'd be good homework for one's own adventures in the field, but at the same time, to fail would be to let down a lot of people. Maybe when I retire? Let's hope the Clarkes are still healthy then.

Present the Hugo Awards. While we're on the subject. And actually I could do this one. Tomorrow, if, weirdly, required. Worldcon could be coming back to the UK soon too. Oh, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on!

Create a game universe. The idea of people playing in a world I created... oh, I like the sound of that! Particularly if there are, you know, many sided dice and massive multiplayer PC games involved. But again, that would have to be my entire world for years.

Write the book for a musical. I have a very particular idea for a musical in mind too, and every now and then I mention it to someone, and they get a glazed look in their eye and stumble off, glancing back over their shoulder at me every now and then, as if in fear I might pursue them.

Write erotica. I had a go once, back when Virgin's Doctor Who and erotic fiction lines ran out of the same office, and I was run out of that same office, shamed by the laughter. If I ever got the time, it would be something I'd slip to people under the bar at conventions, and never tell the world about. After all, Caroline may one day become an Archbishop.

Write a James Bond movie. I calculate that I'm in the top couple of thousand of the writers in the queue. And many of those have movie experience. And currently there's no vacancy. And no series. But apart from that...

Write a book for children. I started one this year, and it fizzled within a few pages. It wouldn't be YA, but for younger readers. There's something getting in the way right now. I think I'll have to first write the three novels I've got planned.

So there we go. Sheer pie in the sky, most of them. I haven't mentioned any ambitions where there are actual meetings going on and actual progress being made. The above are, if anything, a worrying indication that I'm still a jack of all trades, whereas I hope that, by 2011, I'll have settled on something to be. I suspect that one of the many sacrifices that really successful writers make is to drop all these might have beens, stop sighing after them, and concentrate on what they're best at. So that's my aim. Consider them exposed to the air and thus exorcised (apart from that Hugo one, that's still on!) I'm sure many other writers have a similar list, and I wonder if they might share it with us?

Tomorrow is our Christmas quiz, with a truly amazing prize. Until then, Cheerio!

Top Blue Peter award for blind youngster who pens poetry in blink of an eye - Herald Scotland

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 08:41 PM PST


Top Blue Peter award for blind youngster who pens poetry in blink of an eye
Herald Scotland
... driver Jenson Button, athletes Usain Bolt and Jessica Ennis, Take That's Gary Barlow, Lenny Henry, actor David Tennant and Olympic diver Tom Daley. ...

Doctor Who tops 3D Poll - ATV Today

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 08:09 PM PST


Doctor Who tops 3D Poll
ATV Today
More recently fans of the BBC series got another taste of 3D when a trailer for the fifth season featuring Matt Smith and Karen Gillan was launched in ...

Advent update: Day thirteen

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 06:41 PM PST

Check out our Day 13 of our advent calendar by heading over to the home page!

Torchwood: The New World casting latest - Den Of Geek

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 06:33 PM PST


Torchwood: The New World casting latest
Den Of Geek
Who will be joining John Barrowman and Eve Myles in the upcoming Torchwood: The New World? A few details have been emerging… ...
"Torchwood" Casting One Night Stand for Captain JackAfterElton.com

all 2 news articles »

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