Wonderings In The Fourth Dimension has been going from strength to strength recently. We just broke 100,000 page views and last month had the most page views in a month we've ever had. It's all thanks to you wonderful people and your patronage.
In order to celebrate the site's increasing popularity and status we're moving to a new, independent, slightly less long winded and more memorable domain name:
Thank you for all your suport and remember to keep telling your friends about Wonderings In The Fourth Dimension or Fourth Dimension as we're now also known.
Go on over to The Gallifrey Times and check out my review on the Planet Of Giants DVD which is released in the UK on 20th August, in Australia on 9th September and in the US on 11th September.
On Thursday night I had the good fortune to attend the very first preview of the follow up to Mr. Toby Hadoke's Sony Gold nominatedMoth's Ate My Dr. Who Scarf. For those of you that don't know Toby Hadoke is a comedian and actor closely affiliated with Doctor Who. A lifelong fan, with an encyclopedic knowledge, Hadoke has worked for Doctor Who audio producers, Big Finish, leant his expertise to several classic range Doctor Who DVD commentaries, staged a successful Doctor Who-themed comedy show and also co-written a book detailing the exploits of a chronological marathon-watch of the entire Doctor Who oeuvre which inspired this very blog. Basically he's a bit of a legend. Although he'd never permit it.
Hadoke's self effacing, grumpy old man comedic style serves him well, as he shares with us his love of Doctor Who, mocks Meglos, rallys against a post 2005 all-purpose sonic screwdriver, and finally acknowledges the giant rat in the room. My Stepson Stole My Sonic Screwdriver tells the story of the trials of losing a partner and the joy of gaining a stepson. Hadoke rewards fans with many peppered references but also welcomes relative Doctor Who novices, with corduroy-jacketed open arms. The show has the same unexpected heart-warming charm as Moths Ate My Dr. Who Scarf and certainly appeals to audiences universally.
At first preview, and I believe, sixth draft stage, the show is in incredibly good condition. Some laptop issues and moments of forgetfulness will doubtlessly be ironed out as the show grows and changes. Regardless of a few minor technical hitches, Hadoke makes his audience chuckle, chortle, laugh, and guffaw whilst also charming and moving us with his struggles with Separation, Psoriasis, and a Sonic Screwdriver Stealing Stepson.
You can still catch a few more previews of My Stepson Stole My Sonic Screwdriver at the following venues before it heads to Edinburgh for it's run at the Gilded Balloon 1 – 26 August.
After a fun filled day of Doctor Who Cardiff location sightseeing I headed to Chapter where BAFTA Cymru & BBC Wales arranged a special, exclusive screening of two recently rediscovered
episodes of 60’s Doctor Who. The episodes were found last year and shown at the BFI’s annual “Missing Believed Wiped” event at the National Film Theatre Londonin November. I was thrilled when I learned that these two episodes had been
found and was instantly desperate to see them. Initially it was announced that
they would get a DVD release later this year, but that was quickly corrected to 2013.
When this special screening in Cardiff was announced I knew I had to go, I was
able to secure a ticket through a friend at BAFTA and the rest is history.
"How could this possibly get
better?" I hear you ask. How about being joined for the viewing by actors, Peter Purves (Steven Tyler), Anneke Wills (Polly), Fraser Hines (Jamie
McCrimmon), current series producer Caro Skinner and show runner Steven Moffat. Edward Russell, the
Doctor Who Brand Manager, excitedly introduced the episodes and also gave us a little ray of hope. For those of you, who couldn’t
make it, couldn't get tickets or like me couldn’t wait to see the episodes, you may not have to wait
until 2013. Edward Russell alluded to a possible iTunes release of both Air Lock and Episode 2 of The Underwater
Menace in the coming months. Nothing has been officially confirmed, but this certainly sounds hopeful.
Air Lock (Episode 3) from Galaxy 4
When Air Lock started I had a
child sitting behind me, who had clearly come as a fan of the new series with
her mother. She kept asking her mum whispered questions: "Who’s that?
What’s that thing? Where are they going?" At first I was annoyed by this but she
quickly quietened down, apparently engrossed.
It was great to see the visuals of a story which until recently was almost completely unrepresented in the archives, bar a short section from the first episode, Four Hundred Dawns. There’s a
beautiful flash back sequence where we see Margaa, commander of the evil/sexy Drahvins, killing one of her own injured soldiers all from the point-of-view of one of
the kind/hideous Rills. Stephanie Bidmead who played Margaa has a very impressive 2-minute
monologue which is delivered directly to camera. It's is just so impressive, especially when you
consider it was all done in one take. The episode is solidly directed with some
impressive fades and camera work. I felt particularly privileged as we got to
see the whole episode, of which only a section was shown at the “Missing
Believed Wiped” event.
Stephanie Bidmead's impressive direct to camera monologue.
The episode has a classic cliffhanger, where Steven is
locked in an Air Lock with the oxygen slowly seeping away. The little girl
sitting behind me was so scared as she asked her mum, “Is the Doctor’s companion going to be okay?”
Even though she was watching a 47 year old episode, totally out-of-context from
it’s story, she invested in it, got scared and was genuinely worried for Steven's safety; even though she didn’t even know his name. It was thrilling to see one so young
totally loving and buying into this vintage episode. I don't know who you were but I assure you Steven was fine, he got freed by the Chumblies and went on to run his own planet, so never fear.
Will Steven survive the Air Lock?
Episode 2 of The Underwater Menace
The picture in this episode was
excellent as it had already been vid-fired and had it's censored clips reedited
back in. This is now the very first complete
Troughton episode in the archive. It’s great to see more of Joseph Furst
playing the “mad as a hatter” Professor Zaroff, but the real joy here is getting to see Patrick Troughton still really playing with his
interpretation of the Doctor. He makes so much of what is really no more than a fairly adequate script. Like Steven Moffat said “It’s all in the spin he puts on it.”
Troughton loving his rhubarb hat.
The current show runner also shared with us his two favourite moments from this episode: when the
Doctor is warning King Thous about Zaroff and says, “Have you noticed his
[Zaroff’s] eyes recently? They’re like this!” and then doesn’t do anything with
his eyes. The second is when the Doctor is given an Atlantian priest’s garb to
disguise himself and perhaps enjoys it a little too much. It really is brilliant to see
Troughton trying everything under the sun with the part; too often I forget how brilliant his
early stuff is because there’s so little of it remaining in the archives.
The mercurial Patrick Troughton with guest star Joseph Furst.
Afterward we were treated to a Q+A panel with the three actors and Steven Moffat moderated excellently by Gary Russell.
The three actors shared their experiences and memories of these episodes. Peter Purves
talked in an incredibly articulate way about his time on the show, Frazer Hines was, as always, very funny,
and Anneke Wills was beautifully inappropriate. All three expressed their
interest to return to Doctor Who for the 50th anniversary next year. Steven
Moffat put on his metaphorical crazy fan hat and spoke for everyone in
attendance by admitting that he couldn’t impartially judge old episodes like
these, in the same way “normal people” woud. Like everyone there, he was just so thrilled to see new old Doctor Who.
Me with two legends Frazer Hines and Peter Purves.
Once the event had finished I had
the good fortune to get to meet Peter Purves, Fraser Hines, and Anneke Wills in
person, all three were incredibly charming. I also got to have a brief chat
with Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spillsbury; who kindly shared some of his experiences of working for the iconic publication. He's a very nice chap indeed.
Me with the lovely Anneke Wills.
I would like to say a big thank
you to BAFTA Cymru, BBC Wales, Chapter, Edward Russell and Gary Russell for organising the event,
to Paul Vanezis and Peter Crocker for their work on the restoration and finally
to Mr Terry Burnett for giving us the episodes themselves. It was a fantastic event, enjoyed
by all in attendance. I feel incredibly privileged to be one of the lucky few who got to attend this very special occasion that I won’t soon forget.
Hello blogland, I have two exciting titbits to share with you from my rather eventful Wednesday. Firstly, way back in July I was interviewed for a special edition SFX Collection titled: Doctor Who The Fanzine. The 180 page issue was finally released on Wednesday 23rd November and is available here.
The article is called The Battle of The Superfans, and here are the overview and my bits for your perusal.
They even kindly gave this very blog a shout out!
As you can I see I scored 6. I came third out of six, and as the youngest fan I think that isn't half bad. The winner was Peter Trott and second went to Keith Lloyd. The six of us are now all acquainted through the joys of Twitter and Facebook and I must say I am very proud to be in such good company as an SFX Doctor Who Superfan. Thanks SFX!
Secondly, I went to the University of Hertfordshire's Doctor Who Symposium: Visions From Behind The Sofa.
It was a great day, full of Doctor discussion with a panel of experts including documentarian/director Kevin Davies, ultimate DW authority/comedian Toby Hadoke, Who Visual Effects Supervisor and K9 wrangler, Mat Irvine and online blog sensation Blogtor Who, Cameron K McEwan.
Throughout the day, topics of discussion included: the inception of the show, the role of women and the companion, the wilderness years when the show was cancelled and the programme's return.
We met K9 and a Dalek and as a highlight we were made privy to the world premier of Chris Chapman's documentary Taken Out Of Time which looks back on the making of the famously unfinished 1979 Doctor Who story Shada.
It was filmed in Cambridge, and includes interviews with Tom Baker, Daniel Hill, Ralph Wilton, Les McCullum and Olivia Bazalgette.The documentary will be included on THE LEGACY BOX, which includes Shada and the documentary More Than 30 Years in the TARDIS. It's a very funny and heartfelt piece. It was wonderful to get this exclusive chance to view this brilliant documentary so far in advance of it's release. Big thanks go to the documentary's excellent producer Chris Chapman.
I also had the serendipity to be sitting next to an illustrator, Emily and I are currently discussing plans on how we might be able to work together in the future. Hat's off to Howard Berry and Ivan Phillips for organising and running a very successful event. I went for food and some drinks with Cameron, Kevin, Howard and few other lovely people I met on the day. I had a great time, talked a lot of Who, and made some new friends, all in all a pretty good wednesday.
Hello faithful bloggers. Firstly welcome to my new followers, and I also wanted to apologise again for my lack of blogging. I have been very busy, which is certainly a good thing. I recently started rehearsals for a new musical and I simply haven't had enough spare time to dedicate to you all, and for that I am sorry. However I am now going to share with you the wonderful way I spent my sunday.
I returned to my birthplace of Hammersmith and arrived at Riverside Studios under some fairly heavy rain at about half one, a little damp but very excited as I found myself the lucky recipient of a much sought after ticket to the Doctor Who Appreciation Society's (DWAS) preview screening of the new 2|entertain Special Edition DVD of the Jon Pertwee Classic: Day of The Daleks. The edition has clearly been a labour of love for producer Steve Broster, who was influenced by previous releases like The Ark in Space and Earthshock which both featured new effects shots and has worked on the project for over a year. And what better place to hold this excellent event than Riverside Studios where scores of Hartnell and Troughton Who was actually filmed.
I soggily trudge up numerous flights of stairs and enter a swelteringly hot cinema auditorium and locate the best empty seat my eye first falls on. I can hear the group of people to my right discussing favourite episodes and the pair to my left talking about current Big Finish audio releases. You can practically see the nerd sweat dripping from the walls, but I don't care. I'm here to see a new version of an old Doctor Who story that I love, and best of all along with this throng of fellow Whovians I get to see it first, before it's released and review it for you.
First we were treated to a Prologue specially arranged just for this launch event. It was a Dalek transmission linking the continuity between the later filmed adventure Destiny of the Daleks to it's story sequel, which was actually made before it. It explained that the reason for the Daleks Invading for a second time was to mine Earth's resources to fuel their endless battle with the Movellans who we wouldn't meet until about 7 years later.
The Day of The Daleks is the perfect story for this kind of overhaul with some famously bad line fluffs and missed opportunities like an unfortunate invading 'army' of only three Daleks. Without further ado we launched right into parts 1 and 2. I simply enjoyed getting to experience the story on the big screen. The one dampener on my day aside from the rain, was the guy sitting beside me, who felt the need to audibly tut each time we reached an amendment in the story. If you knew you weren't going to like it why did you come? Oh well. I notice a couple of line changes. When the Brigadier is speaking to the Minister he doesn't say "rather" a million times any more. Steve Broster has also decided to lose the most unintentionally funny moment in the whole story, when the Controller asks, "Where there any complications?" and an over-eager Ogron actor replies just a little too quickly, "No Complications." Funny stuff, but not in this version.
There are apparently something like 250 amendments throughout the whole edition, the more obvious ones are: lasers that fire from the guns, the time machine effects are greatly more impressive, and the exterminations are up to a modern standard. There are also some little trims to cut out some sticky moments and conversely allow for new footage of 22nd century Earth. There are some wonderful scenes, which feature the "obey" logo and you can also see the Dalek saucers flying about as well.
After the end of part two, everyone applauds apart from the man sitting next to me who just looks disappointed. We get a short panel from producer Steve Broster and graphic designer Michael Dinsdale. Broster tells us how he wanted to try to recreate the version of Day of The Daleks that he thought he saw as a six-year-old.
A comparison of versions, old and new.
We learn that the project all stemmed out of the idea to replace the somewhat stilted Dalek voices with ones more fitting and in keeping with other classic Dalek stories. And who else would a self respecting Doctor Who producer turn to? Why, none other than Dalek Voice man and Big Finish producer Nicholas Briggs. After the suggestion of new Dalek voices, new footage seemed like an obvious step.
Broster also explained that for the most part he had tried to create what might have been possible in 1971, if the production had had more time and money. For the most part the team has stuck to this creating not a version with obvious modern special effects, but an elaborated and more streamlined version of the original.
We then got an extra special treat. One of the DWAS leaders came forth and announced Nicholas Courtney's successor as president of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society and welcomed, Colin Baker to the stage.
We then had a break, and I had the good fortune to finally get to meet the wonderfully talented, true gentleman: Toby Hadoke. We had spoken a bit on Facebook and Twitter in the past, but it was really great to speak to the Doctor Who aficionado and Knitter himself. After a good chat about all things Who, I returned to my seat and the 'tutter' and we continued with parts three and four.
There was some more good changes and additionally filmed footage; shot on a vintage Arriflex 16BL camera and de-graded to give it that matching 'washed out' film look. The footage was filmed at Dropmore House, the location originally used for Auderley House, and consisted of: a new sequence of a soldier witnessing the arrival of the Ogrons, the Daleks and the Ogrons approaching the house, Daleks attacking, some exterminations, and Daleks and Ogrons entering the house. These were integrated expertly and I often couldn't tell what was original and what was newly added.
When the Special Edition came to a close, we all applauded, even the tutter. We were then treated to another panel, this time with Scott Fredericks who played Boaz, Richard Franklin who played Captain Mike Yates and the lovely Katie Manning who played Jo Grant.
Afterwards I had a good chat with Richard Franklin who has just finished "The Tempest" with Shakespeare troupe Antic Disposition along with my best friend and fellow actor, Robin Rightmyer. I chatted to Ogron and Dalek builder and operator Toby Chamberlain. I was also able to snap this little beaut with the glamourous Katy Manning. I can't believe she's 62. She looks amazing.
All in all I had a great day, met some nice people and throughly enjoyed the Special Edition of The Day of The Daleks. The DVD is released on monday 12th September and amongst various special features contains both the original un-edited version and on a second disc the special edition. I highly recommend it to any fan, old or new. It's an essential for die-hard fans and would make a great introduction to the classic series for noobs. Thanks to 2|entertain and the Doctor Who Appreciation Society on a successful product and event.
Thanks to some urging for my lovely readers I decided to go ahead and book a ticket for The Crash of The Elysium. The Manchester International Festival collaboration between the BBC and theatrical experience producers Punch Drunk, penned gloriously by series writer Tom MacRae. I took the train, alone, from London which took about three and a half hours. The ticket was about £25. It had been described as a 'Live Doctor Who Adventure for children aged 6-12' and some adult performances had been added due to popular demand. It was going to be just one hour in duration. I was so unsure about this whole venture, but I couldn't miss a Doctor Who event. And was it worth it? Boy, was it!!
(If you are planning to attend the Crash of The Elysium, please don't read on. Spoilers!)
There were 17 of us. We gave in our tickets and signed a sort of disclaimer. The staff kept calling it an exhibition. I really wasn't expecting much at all. We were walked to a near-by building and taken into a very normal, boring room with some artifacts from a real ship called the Elysium. A stuffy looking curator showed us some slides about the ship and Valentini's circus which had pitched near the ship. It was going to be an exhibition and nothing to do with Doctor Who. I thought it was going to be terrible. Here are some of the pictures the man showed us:
Then we heard a large explosion or crash and two soldiers showed up, made us line up and run along the riverside, until we reached a small porta cabin. Inside the soldiers introduced themselves as Captain T Solomon and Corporal Albright and made us suit up in white sterile body suits and surgical masks.
The Crash site.
They were going to take us on a mission. We were given the name Alpha team, taught some basic hand signals and given numbers from 1-17. Throughout they frequently made us sound-off to make sure everyone was present and correct. Then the soldiers broke us in to three groups. Tech team, Data team and Patrol team. I was in the patrol team. The Captain gave us a rousing speech and we did some call and response (Are you ready? Yes. I said, are you ready? YES!) all to some awesome Doctor Who music.
We ran through some spherical tented tunnels (very E.T) and entered a large white surgical tent. We were faced with the hull of a huge crashed spaceship called the Elysium. The soldiers produced an envelope containing a DVD and showed us a short message left by the Doctor.
They told us he was believed dead. In the message he warned us about some escaped 'art' aboard the ship and shockingly ordered us to find the TARDIS aboard the Elysium and destroy it. He also tried to give us some advice should we come face to face with the escaped art, "Whatever you do, don't bl...." and the message cut out. We were then informed that we would be the first humans aboard the crashed ship.
Corporal Albright hacked the door with an electric saw and we entered the Elysium. We ran through many corridors, until we came a cross a Weeping Angel. None of us blinked and we managed to survive.
We then entered a room which a large square mark on the floor where the TARDIS had clearly been. We then had to hunt around the room for clues and attach some wires in a specific pattern to activate another message from the Doctor. He told us that the TARDIS had disappeared because something bad had tried to get in. The TARDIS had gone to a friend of his for safe keeping. Also in the soldiers envelope was a scrap of paper with a picture of a girl and a message, "Dolly - accidentally the first woman on the moon 1888. Love, The Doctor" and also the TARDIS key.
We ran through some more corridors and faced another Weeping Angel. Which actually moved towards us as the lights flickered on and off. We ran on and it got very dark. We huddled together, the walls seemed to disappear and we found ourselves in Valentini's Circus 1988. We had traveled in time.
The girl from the picture: Dolly, appeared and told us the story of when she first met the Doctor. How he had taken her to the moon for her 21st birthday. She also told us that he had made a promise to him. That one day the TARDIS would appear to her and she should take care of it. She asked for the key and got two of us to hold it up to the light. She said that alone the key was nothing special, but that we were time travellers now and infused with artron energy. We all had to touch the two key holders or someone touching them and link together to power the key. Dolly then told us that we were not going to destroy the TARDIS but send it to save the Doctor.
On we ran again to find the TARDIS. This time through a hall of mirrors until we reached a round room with many alcoves shrouded by red curtains. We found the TARDIS behind a red curtain and one of our group put the key into the lock. The curtain closed. A few seconds later the curtain was opened to reveal that the TARDIS had disappeared. Sitting on the floor where it had been was a fez with a note and a vortex manipulator.
We ran on and found ourselves back in our time aboard the Elysium. We received a video thank you message from the Doctor for saving him and now he had to save us from the Angels who were coming for us. We were trapped and the Angels were outside the door trying to break it down. Again we used our artron energy and all joined hands around the central column of the ship. Together all at once we touched the column filling it with the energy causing the angels to be sucked into the walls. We had done it. The Captain told us that we had saved the Doctor and the world and although the world didn't know us, or even know our names, he did and so did the Doctor and none them would ever forget us. The two soldiers congratulated us as we ran out past the in-walled and now harmless Angels. Back outside in another porta cabin we de-suited and were each given a personalised letter from the Doctor, himself. One hour? It felt like four. And I didn't want it to be over.
A letter from the Doctor. I can't wait for my birthday.
So, was it worth it? Uh, YES! It was awesome and so worth the trip. I was excited, scared, exhilarated, surprised, moved, and thrilled. The small team of actors were great. It somehow never managed to feel stupid or forced and everyone really went for it. The music which underscored large parts of the experience was so good. The actor's were expertly well timed and it just took the whole thing to an even greater level of excitement.
The three actors in rehearsal.
The only time I was pulled out of it a little was in one of the Doctor's messages he said something about, 'only a human child could achieve... something.' And Dolly kept calling us the 'children of earth." That aside it was great. There were lots of running and scares. Any concerns I had that it wouldn't work so well for adults totally evaporated. What a great experience it was. It's certainly the closest thing you could ever get to being in an episode of Doctor Who. Crash of The Elysium runs at Media City, in Manchester until 17th July. If you can get there and get a ticket I couldn't recommend it more highly. I sincerely hope that it goes elsewhere or that Punch Drunk and the BBC work on similar experiences in time to come...
I had some adventures in the third dimension this past weekend as I visited the London Film and Comic Con at Earl's Court. This was my first time at such a big convention. I had a great time and I thought I'd share some of the Doctor Who related pictures from my experience:
