Voyage of the Damned - Aftermath

Pity the Peth - poor Astrid (an excellent and very alluring Kylie Minogue) might have been atomised by an understrength transmat, but her spirit lives on, and perhaps one day she might even return.

But what of the anagram? With fandom expecting the Astrid/TARDIS play to be significant - a move that would hardly have excluded the general public - Russell T Davies seemed more intent on giving the viewing public a big, brash rollercoaster of a ride in which the Earth itself was once again threatened.

And yet... ever heard the phrase "less is more"? While the production values cannot be questioned, Voyage of the Damned left me feeling a little empty.

With a template of stock Christmas special items to cram in (iconic Christmas symbolism gone bad, OTT master villain dispatched far too easily...) Davies might well have given us a set of touching characters (in particular Clive Swift's aging faux-Earth historian) and set events in place for Series 4 (Bernard Cribbins, no less, appears in the trailer) but there was little warmth, with Astrid's death being a little meaningless now that she's floating around the universe as particles.

The Christmas Invasion might have been less ambitious, but it benefitted from a warm, family atmosphere that The Runaway Bride and Voyage of the Damned just couldn't achieve.

And Christmas is a time for warmth and families.

Still, 13.8 million viewers tuned in - Doctor Who's highest viewing figures since its return, and since 1979's City of Death...

Forum Back Online!

Following a brief Christmas hiatus, the Kasterborous Forum is now back online!

We've changed webhosts for the Forum following the frankly unacceptably poor level of support I received from the old hosts. Another bonus is that both Kasterborous and the Kasterborous Forum are now hosted in the UK.

Some of you may have a few teething issues opening the Forum - this will be down to your ISPs DNS, and should resolve over the next few days as soon as we get "www.doctorwhoforum.org.uk" moved over to the new hosting.

Emailing support staff who don't seem to understand that the problem is at their end is not the best way to spend Christmas, and even an apologetic email admitting culpability wasn't enough to put that right.

However let's look to the future - the Forum should experience far fewer issues, better support and there's more space to host podkasts!

Ready when you are, Brian!

Forum Offline

Well chaps, this may seem pretty poor form for Christmas Day, but I'm afraid the forum is again out of action.

At the moment I don't know the precise cause of this, but rest assured I am doing everything I can to resolve the issue, which is kind of mucking up Christmas Day for me...

Also at this point in time, I wouldn't like to apportion blame; however I will be making huge efforts to avoid this situation in future. As such this may result in some scheduled downtime over the coming days.

So if you've come online to chat about Voyage of the Damned and how wonderful it was, please accept our apologies. Feel free to contact me on MSN (atomickarma@hotmail.com) if you're desperate for some Christmas Doctor Who-themes interaction.

Other than that, I hope you're enjoying Christmas Day in the best way possible.

Come On!

Well that was a strange few days, with David Tennant leaving, then staying, then not being asked yet to stay for Series 5... And all down to Catherine Tate saying too much to overpaide celebrity kiss ass Jonathan Woss.

I'm delighted that Tennant has confirmed that he is staying on for the 2009 quartet of specials, for many reasons.

Main amongst these however is the way in which he plays the Doctor, illuminating every scene with his presence. Having rewatched Human Nature this week and re-evaluated his turn as Dr John Smith, I can't help but be impressed by the differemces between Tennant's two characters in that story.

When the time really does come for him to leave, I suspect mischief makers like Catherine Tate will see a real reaction of fan upset and sadness. Tennant has done stirling work in doctor Who both audio and television, and long may he continue to do so.

We're Jammin'...

Ohhh I hope you like a-jammin' too...

Welcome indeed to the Kasterbaraoke Evening, our annual get together with drinks, food, song - and not a mention of Doctor Who to be heard!

Next up is your friend and mine, Brian Atticus Terranvova with his very own version of Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer", which has to be beter than Anthony Horatio Dry's earlier attempt at "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls.

Later on, we'll be taking a tour of Kasterborous Towers and unveiling a new vidkast that we've been planning for months now... It's set for a release on Kasterborous in due course, so you lucky, lucky guests, enjoy the rest of the evening.

Brian - take it away!

Here it comes...

There's a storm brewing... Can you feel it?

Something in the air.

Perhaps it's the impending excitement that is Doctor Who, and the next thrilling installment that we'll be watching (says Ms Perceived Wisdom of Brighon) in just 25 day time.

Being a big fan of Kylie (more looks than musically, of course) and Doctor Who (!) as well being an admirer of many of the cast, I can only expect the following from Voyage of te Damned:

Excellent guest turns
Kylie
Monsters
Some series-long theme or undercurrent being established
Kylie
Inexplicable andoids
Christmas fluff
Kylie

How can it go wrong?

Strange Old Week

It's strange talking about people who have given you such enjoyment, or affected you life in a huge way, with such affection that you feel that you might personally know them to some degree - when of course you don't.

The loss of Verity Lambert this week however at such an untimely point really knocked the wind out of my sails.

It seems strange as to why, and the only reason I can think of is that perhaps a part of Doctor Who itself died. I've never been a huge fan of the Hartnell era in the way that I enjoy the Tom Baker years - although I appreciate the wonderous experimentation and development of the show in the early days, it's rarely an era I revisit on DVD,

Funny too, that Doctor Who fandom might be witness to two passings that have affected the show in such strong fashion, yet at completely opposite ends.

Peter Haining's great Doctor Who - A Celebration was written to celebrate 20 years of adventures in time and space. It contains the odd era, but in the days of Peter Davison and little Doctor Who on VHS it was a vital addition to any fans' collection of knowledge.

It wasn't until recently that I acquired my own copy, having utilised the local library's copy almost constantly throughout the mid 1980s. The book opened up an insane world of regeneration, Time Lords, Daleks and companions in such detail, and it brings a tear to my thinking about the way I used to pour over it on a weekend before and after Doctor Who.

Both sad losses, and both will be missed.

Time Crash Bang Wallop!

Ah you can't beat a bit of Children in Need, newsreaders making complete pratts of themselves, cheesey musical numbers (thank you John Barrowman) and the cast of soap opera's murdering classic Beatles standards.

And of course this year we got Time Crash, a semi-canonical 7 minutes in which a TARDIS malfunction caused the Fifth and Tenth Doctors to share some time together, and break the laws of time (and the plot, folks) in fixing said Time Crash.

Other than the lovely Fearne Cotton and Kylie Minogue's presence in the evening, Time Crash was pretty much the highlight (other than the excellent fundraising figure of £19m - well done all concerned!) of a fast paced evening whose best moments are invariably those points when the West End saunters over to BBC Television Centre to do their thing for free.

And of course Doctor Who's relationship with Children in Need continues, and rightly so.

One other thing:

Massive congratulations to Lord Kopic of Kopic's Doctor Who News Service - this excellent blog-cum-RSS-linkfest pulls all of the Doctor Who news from around the web, from Kasterborous, Doctor Who Online, Outpost Gallifrey and all of the Torchwood and Sarah Jane blogs, as well as media outlets and Google News.

So why the congrats? Well, Kopic's site has moved on to page one of Google for the search term "Doctor Who News". Sure, he pushed Kasterborous off the front page on his way to greatness, but we'll be back up there soon.

Well done Simon.

Gahhh! Technology - I hate it!

Sunday night - happily typing away on developing my wife's website (www.fairytalemail.co.uk - for all you personalised Santa letter needs) when :
"DUUUNnnnnnnnn" The power went off.

All night. Despite an hour hunting around the house with my niece's pumpkin lantern torch I found neither the culprit appliance or the trip switch that would have let me put the power back on...

And then on Monday my wireless routr decided that it didn't like transmitting wifi anymore and would on accept a physical cable connection.

So apologies to all of you for the sparsity of news this week when there is so much to talk about. Normal service will be renewed as soon as Professor Solon repairs the lightning harness above the south parapet of Kasterborous Towers...

Mastering the Myth

You know this thing called "stardom"?

It's all about egos, backslapping, bitching, snorting, fornicating... Or so the press, PR and entourages would have you believe.

And yet here we are, a little Doctor Who website at the center of the cosmos, running an interview with a man regarded as being "difficult".

So who do you believe?

As with so many things, I think the path to truth is to read between the lines. Eric Roberts is real, proud of his work, his family and his part in Doctor Who.

I'm really proud of this website, of the work Nick Brown did in bringing you the interview, and the interview itself, and to discover that Eric Roberts is just a normal guy with respect for his profession and his audience, and not the character of myth that had developed over the years.

Our TV Movie articles continue later this week with a new article from Brian A. Terranova... keep'em peeled!

The TV Movie - Reappraised

In 1996, the culmination of years of development finally hit our screens, as an American production of Doctor Who starring Paul McGann, Eric Roberts, Daphne Ashbrook, Yee Jee Tso and Sylvester McCoy was broadcast.

Since then, and despite its disappointing reaction, the TV Movie became a template for Doctor Who novels, audio adventures and Doctor Who Magazine comic strips. The Eighth Doctor has had more adventures than any other incarnation, and he's still going strong.

To celebrate the TV Movie, (unofficially titled The Enemy Within), we're going to spend the run up to Christmas looking at what many people consider a failed attempt to bring Doctor Who back; and we will all see by the end that while it was a relative failure on television (despite UK audiences of 9 million) these 90 minutes reinvigorated the franchise for an amazing 9 years, to such an extent that eventually, Doctor Who came back to our screens with a ready made audience.

We kick off this series of articles with our biggest ever interview with the Master himself, Eric Roberts.

Editorial Change...

Due to a variety of reasons, regular readers will notice a change to the Kasterborous news pages - indeed the changes have already occurred.

While not something that will cause a major shift, it is worth reporting to our readers as something that will impact on Kasterborous' performance, and hopefully improve our positioning with the search engines still further.

Traditionally, news items have comprised of one (on occasions two) main items, to be followed by a pile of other less important news items. Of course, this isn't perfect...

Readers miss information, and to get it all they need to make an effort to read a whole page of text... not a perfect way to dig out the relevant details, is it?

We've also used this approach until now in order to even out the page layout, but thanks to the upcoming Kasterborous redesign, we don't need to worry about this fact too much.

So from now on (well, for a few days, in fact), news items are about what they headline reports (unless otherwise titled as "Roundup", etc).

I and the rest of the Kasterborous triumverate are sure this will improve your experience of our news page, and hope you have a nice weekend.

podKast 4 is available to download if you haven't heard it yet, with podKast 5 due very, very soon... Forum members can listen here, or visit our FanZone

podKast 4 Is HERE!

That's right, Brian Terranova and Christian Cawley are back for the fourth Kasterborous podKast (with a "K")!

The fourth podkast is clad in a pair of checked trousers, a shirt, scarf and brown jacket, and the whoel ensemble is completed with a soft brown hat and unfeasibly long scarf.

It has big, mad, bulging eyes.

Starring in podKast 4 are:

Christian Cawley & Brian Terranova - podKasting from a creepy dark castle near you
Their trusty butler, Gerald Slitheen
And this week's very special guest star...

Scaroth, last of the Jagaroth!

That's right! Scaroth will be in the studio casting his eye over Series 3 episodes 42, Human Nature/Family of Blood and Blink, as well as revealing his hand in the making of some of Doctor Who's greatest ever stories!

You can download the fourth Kasterborous podKast (with a "K")! here, or visit our Fanzone for older podKasts!

Sarah... Is that really you?

And so one wonders after two episodes of Sarah Jane Adventures - it's definitely for kids, you know - exactly who this new Sarah Jane is...

Such character development on television is rare. The only place that comes close is Soapland, in which people swing from alcoholics to vicars that sleep with call girls and then decide they'd rather cruise public lavatories (ok I'm exagerrating; but if I ever see that storyline on TV we'll know where I came from...)

The point is, although different - radically different in some ways - she is still Sarah. This has only been mde possible however by 30 years of cultural memory, reappreciation of classic Who and of course her appearance in School Reunion, as well as the vrious audio plays Lis Sladen has appeared in giving the character a new leqase of life.

Frankly, you couldn't have done "Leela Adventures", anymore tan you could have done "Rose Tyler: Earth Defender."

I want Billie!

Yep you guessed it - I changed my mind.

As I have a thing for Billie Piper - a very successful young actress who is set to marry later this year - I've decided that I can't wait to see her back in Doctor Who.

Let's face it, it's a year for returns, with Donna and Martha confirmed along with the Sontarans, so why not go the whole hog and bring back Rose, Mickey (as hinted by Noel Clarke in the summer), Jackie and Pete?

We could also bring back Captain Jack, Sarah Jane and K9.

I wouldn't be surprised either to find out that the Master, Daleks and Cybermen are all returning as well as the Fifth Doctor.

In fact, why don't we just get Terrance Dicks to write the whole lot...?

Eternal War!

With the news that Doctor Who fan are set to welcome a return to the Whoniverse by the Sontarans, it has to be said that this really is a case of "Not before time".

Robert Holmes' finest creation found themselves underused and slightly underwhelming, particularly in their last 2 (of 4) appearances in the clssoc series.

For me, the Sontarans are the only alien race that comes close to the Daleks in terms of culture, single-mindedness an design, and it's a shame the Doctor didn't come up againt more of them and more often.

In fact I'd even go so far as to say that had the Daleks not made it in S1 and we'd got the Toclafane instead, then we would hve been sold short.

The Sontarans would have been a better option.

Tamm-tastic 2

Oh yesh, if there was som sort of duel for the top rated Doctor Who actress, it would be settled with a jelly fight between the two finalists, Mary Tamm and Nicola Bryant.

Bonkers fantasies aside, Mary Tamm is a smashing looking (Time) ladyand I for one am looking forward to the upcoming Key To Time season boxset, which features commentaries from Ms Tamm and he costar (some bloke called Tom).

She's had a varied and diverse career, surprisingly successful compared to most Doctor Who actresses, and of course she still looks fantastic. And she's got huge following among straight Doctor Who fans (there's more of us you know, we're just not as noisy as the other lot), headed by Kasterborous' own Anthony Dry, who even has a Mary Tamm tattoo!

Oh and visit www.marytamm.com, you know you want to.

Sarah Who

So - a result of the Time War was that the Doctor was left without any other Time Lords to talk to other than the Master, the Daleks somehow survived (three cases so far) and Sarah Jane Smith (or Sarah as we used to call her, regardless of her Sunday name) turned into a female version of the Doctor.

Sarah Jane Adventures is with us from Monday 24th September, and it's interesting to see how the series is being marketed. First off, let's look at the obvious bit - Lis Sladen returns to play Sarah Jane Smith, who has gone from companion of days of yore to a female microcipher of the Doctor. How has this happened? Why does she need a "Sonic Lipstick"?

Then we've got "Mr Smith" the battle computer which plays such a part in the BBC's Sarah Jane Adventures website. That must have been like a dream come true at first for the website designers, until they realised that the site would have to be redesigned as a web based Mr Smith is just too unwieldy.

SJA is part of the CBBC imprint of BBC One, which also has it's own channel, so don't expect to miss any of it - although the CBBC budget may well begin to tell by episode 3.

Of course, placing the Slitheen into their rightful home is a masterstroke by Gareth Roberts and RTD, who seems to be having better luck in measuring the tone of this series than he did Serioes 1 of Doctor Who.

Try to ignore the fact that a 57 year old lady playing what is basically a female version of the Doctor completely laughs in the face of Davies' assertion that an over 40 male couldn't lead Doctor Who in this day and age...

The Doctor's Rocket

Since Doctor Who returned, it has been repeatedly suggested that he had a "thing" for Rose Tyler.

Without stepping on the toes of the chaps who debunked the asexual nature of the Doctor following the TVM, the Time Lord has ben a long term fan of nookie.

Exhibit A - his granddaughter, Susan
Exhibit B - his reaction at Jo Grant leavinghim for a "younger version". She'd hardly be so hot for Clifford if the Doctor had no idea how to set himself to vibrate, would she?
Exhibit C - Sarah Jane Smith and the Fouth Doctor were best friends - but she would hardly have hung about on busy busy Earth for 3 decades if he wasn't givn her regular tours of his fluid links.
Exhibit D - Romana II and the Fourth Doctor were clearly at it, as evidenced in Warriors Gate, and going all the way back to City of Death.
Exhibit E - we jump forward to the Eighth Doctor, the dashing, girly poet looking one who just wanted that pretty blonde Doctor to hold his hand. And his neutron ram.

Rose wasn't the first, and she won"t be the last...

The 11th Doctor

It's that time of year again - guess the 11th Doctor!

With no confirmation of David Tennant appearing in Series 5 coming from the BBC, the press have been tossing names around.

But what do they know? That's right! Nothing!

We on the other hand are a Doctor Who website so we can answer all of the important questions - and this is one of he biggest. So hold on to your hats for our Top 10 choices for the 11th Doctor...

10. Roland Rat - already has a trademark pink Ford Anglia, his catchphrase "Yeaaaahhh!" would be preferable to "That's IMPOSSIBLE!"

9. Edward Scissorhands - early screen tests revealed that the stainless steel fingered one had difficulty with the TARDIS door, the TARDIS controls, the sonic screwdriver...

8. Lis Sladen - appears to be playing a female Doctor in Sarah Jane Adventures...

7. Paul Daniels - only joking.

6. David Beckham - his posh sidekick would be a major diversion for a companion since... well, Rose.

5. Jeremy Vine - the BBC news man would be excellent in the TARDIS, with his strong opinions and complete lack of technical nuance the time machine could end up anywhere

4. Tony Blair - unfortunately, the former PM has a date with history/destiny/bible prophecy, and is thus too busy.

3. Benny Hill - sadly now deceased, if ever there was a time for more naked lady flesh in the TARDIS, it was now. That closing titles speeded-up chase around the TARDIS console would be the highlight of the week.

2. Jon Bon Jovi - the gobsh*ting rock singer with the crap hair, I don't know why the two-faced, lying little nob is in this list. Bed of Roses my arse - you take girls firmly up the rear.

1. Sean Connery - the former James Bond has already played an immortal in Highlander, and his aging take on the ancient Time Lord would be the stuff of legends.

So there you have it. Sean Connery for Doctor Who!

Well we got our wish...

That's right, the BBC have finally come clean and although I'm desperately unhappy about 2009, at the moment it isn't disastrous.

However how fans can claim to be "happy" is beyond the pale. 10 episodes short in 2009 and you claim to be satisfied. What the hell is wrong with you people?

It's nothing to be happy about. Having the show back from the abyss is great, sure, but that doesn't mean Russell T Davies and the BBC are necessarily serving us and Doctor Who well. The very notion of reducing the series to 3 specials in 2009 is ridiculous. It places the subsequent series in jeopardy before scripts are even written.

So have a bloody word with yourselves. Wake up and smell the coffee, open your eyes and stop living in the insane, blinkered world where TV execs are gods and you are their blind followers.

The world doesn't work like that, it works on a foundation of power and money, and with three episodes of Doctor Who in 2009, how is a high media profile going to drive merchandise sales?

If no one is buying the toys, then the core audience has evidently stopped watching - do we want that?

I suspect it is too late to ask for a rethink, but I can at least ask all you half-full fans who insansely label this as "good news" to actually try thinking about it, what the news actually means and be honest with yourselves instead of pretending it is A Good Thing.

It is A Bad Thing.

Rusl? I that you?

As you might have seen in the news section, we've found a letter in an old copy of DWM that appears to have been written by Russell T Davies back in 1981. He signs it "Rusl Davies, Glamorgan" - evidently a shortform or Welsh spelling of the name.

So in effect Russell T Davies uses a pseudonym - as we know the T is made up to distinguish him from the radio presenter Russell davies - but how many other Doctor Who personalities over the years have used nom de plumes?

Most obvious would be current Doctor David Tennant, who is of course really called David McDonald, and Fifth Doctr Peter Davison, known to his family as Peter Moffett.

Conversely, Lalla Ward (Romana II) was of course a Lady, and used her family name rather than title on stage and televsion.

And of course my real name is Bigby Marilyn...

I need your help...

Kasterborous has had its current look for over 18 months now, and we've decided that it is time for a change.

As such, Anthony Dry will be embarking on a redesign when the series 4 boxset is out of the way, and redesigning Kasterborous. I've also got a very tsty forum redesign in mind...

However, Kasterborous needs to continue growing and developing which is why we're asking you, our readers, for your suggestions to make te site more relevant.

You might think a brief preview of the forum on the front page of K would be better, or a greater focus on news. Whatever you think of drop int the forum and let us know, and if we like it (and we're liking them all at the moment) we'll use it!

Spiders from Mars?

Excellent news – the latest Doctor Who rumour from The Scum claims that Thin White Duke and supermodel husband David Bowie is being lined up to play a villain in Series 4.

 

Will he be playing an alien prince who steals Agatha Christie?

 

Is it even true?

 

And how seriously should we take rumours printed in a “news”paper as ridiculous as The Sun?  Should we even bother repeating them, let alone believing them?

 

We all seem to want something newsworthy where Doctor Who is concerned, more information in order to attempt to satiate our information lust. This way, every topic can be pulled, twisted, turned inside out, and thoroughly digested and discussed.

 

I wonder where this leaves our descendants, knowing that we were fed on a diet of misinformation?  Will they know – will they even care?

 

And will they be watching lost episodes of Doctor Who starring David Bowie?

 

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If it keeps on raining...

Funny old weekend. A Bank Holiday without rain, it nevertheless seemed that if the amount of work that I had given myself to complete didn't start to go down, the levee might just break.

It seems that I'm not the only one. Just one year on from relenting to the voice of fans, Shaun Lyon has finally decided the time has come to radically change Outpost Gallifrey, and minimise his input to the most famous of Doctor Who fansites.

Without OG there would be no Kasterborous, and very little else that was visually appealing for Doctr Who fans online. It is at the very hub of Doctor Who fandom, and is tus a very important entity.

Best of luck to the chaps looking after the surviving parts of Outpost Gallifrey, and to Shaun in everything he has planned for the future.

Totty

You know I get amazed that we don't come in for any flack with Kasterborous' "bordering on the sexist" attitude to women.

Taking a step back from my own insanse creation, it would seem on first impression that Kasterborous is "that Doctor Who site with the nice art, news and opinion pieces and totty".

I would feel that it was a mixed opportunity however to report about Kylie Minogue or Nicola Bryant without slipping in a picture of their lovely faces. Similarly, you don't get many chick pics on Outpost Gallifrey or unitnews.co.uk because the site owners aren't interested in doing that.

You could say then that we're fulfilling a niche which strangely hasn't been touched by anyone else.

Come on DWM! You did an interview with McFly - let's have a burlesque Kylie centre pages pullout!

Modded World

As I posted in the Kasterborous Forum today, I discovered some mods for various popular games to give them a Doctor Who theme.

For instance years ago someone made a Doom 2 DW mod, complete with sound effects, which was pretty cool. There have also been Quake mods, Jedi knight and Star Trek mods (go figure) but nothing that really, trulycaptures the spirit of Doctor Who.

I can't help thinking that a Civ 3 based mod might offer a plyable time war, but at the end of the day these mods are done BECAUSE THERE IS NO COMMERCIAL ALTERNATIVE!

So come on BBC, give us the Doctor Who video game we want, NOT "Snap in Space"!

Board

The weather recently has turned bizarrely wintery, leading kids to start playing indoors and spend time preparing their Christms lists (or is that just me?)

One thing I always used to love receiving at Christmas was a good board game. Not your MONOPOLY or CLUEDO but a good one, like Game of Life... Something with depth.

This year however it seems that despite my protestations I am going to be the otherwise willing recipent of DALEK OPERATION !

It's not quite RISK, you'll agree.

Back In Time(Lords)

One of the great things about a more regular blog is that I can squeeze in stuff I wouldn't say in the news items; they can be difficult to angle in the right way when there is lots to get through.

The touted return of the Fifth Doctor and the Rani, however, is another mattr entirely. I have loads to say on the matter, more than I could squeeze into a news report. For instance, are they related castings, if both true? If the Rani story is false, who in the press is sad enough to want to see a retun of the big shouldered one? Who is this 'Peter Jackson' Sylvester McCoy referred to? The director? The writer? The rugby player?

Peter Davison might look good for mid fifties, but how is the Fifth Doctor's aging going to be explained? Perhaps the tale will take inspiration from The Dark Dimension?

As for the Rani, well, Doctor Who was never camper than when Kate O'Mara appeared. I had reservations about the return of the Master... The Rani in comparison is such a non-entity that I don't want to even entertain the idea.

The Meddling Monk would be preferable...

Farewell WhoCentral...

There seems to be loads more Doctor Who websites around these days, but the departure from the web of www.whocentral.co.uk Is a sad one.

Whocentral was one of the fledgling Kasterborous' reference points back in 2005, being as it was the only source of interesting, well written opinion pieces and articles.

Updates had been fantastically rare in the meantime, however, and even an offer from Ksterborous to republish and link back to the originals was met with wall of silence.

So farewell WhoCentral. You may have gone largely unnoticed, but Kasterborous will always remember you.

Who knows, they might come back one day...

Game of the Summer

Charlie Croker in the Kasterborous Forum has unearthed the very first Doctor Who computer game thanks to http://www.justyce.org/atari.html.

I'm proposing a mass download of the game, with reports back and assistance posted in the forum.

Maybe it *is* 26 years old... It will still be better than a videogame Top Trumps...

Is Fanfic Dead?

Doctor Who in the 21st century is, it's fair to say, built on both the fandom and the potential of the original run.

These two things were developed and maintained to an extent from 1991 to 2003 by two long-running series of original adventures from Virgin Books and later BBC Books.

They took the Doctor and companions to places new and old, in both physical, mental and emotional terms, and many of the authors were first time writers.

With the arrival of twenty first century Who, however, I find that the current run of novels that accompany the series lack spark and imagination. In fact they're a pretty turgid and disappointing companion to the Doctor's on-screen adventures.

My attempts to find anything of interest online have also proved unsuccessful as I have no interest in reading about the return of the Ninth Doctor or what happened when the Doctor met Rose again.

So in time-honoured manner, I'm planning my own series of spin off stories set in the Doctor Who universe.

Stay tuned...

Doctor Tube

Exactly how much rubbish is there on YouTube? I was watching a selection of "classic" adverts the other day, before stumbling into a Harry Sullivan-starring fan edited video to The Village People's "In The Navy." Camp doesn't cover it.

It is reassuring to know however that fans love the show so much that they spend time and effort creating such work, desperately editing clip selections to fit the chosen tune. Or not, as the case may be.

There are also countless fan movies/adventures on YouTube, as well as the first Kasterborous vidKast. Brian and I are currently developing a follow up, you might be interested to know - stay tuned...

What on Earth is Happening?!

Back in the real world, it seems that things aren’t what they seem.

Apparently, Ben Kingsley is to appear in Doctor Who Series 4 (30). Ben, who prefers “Sir Ben”, is touted as a potential Davros, creator of the Daleks, although at the moment it is unclear whether this would be a pre-disfigurement or post-desperate escape from the mothership in 1963 Davros. The former would avoid messy prosthetics work for the Oscar winner, currently on his third wife. (When I say “currently on”, I don’t mean… oh forget it…)

Meanwhile, we’ve got good word that the Doctor and Donna and perhaps Martha (hey why not get Rose back too?) are set to visit both Agatha Christie and ancient Rome. Which era of Rome isn’t clear, but as a fire has recently devastated the HBO/BBC set for the series Rome in Italy, which is used for many a Roman visual (Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, CBBC’s The Fall of Rome…) we suspect it might be the age of the Emperor Nero.

So far, despite the Tate announcement, Series 4 is looking interesting. Perhaps we’ll get a slick combination of Series 2 (28) and Series 3 (29).

Actually, on this matter, you might see fewer references to “Series 1, Series 2” etc in Kasterborous.com from now on. Let’s face it, it is the same show. If the series is still going in 15 years time, a fiver says they retroactively rename the series/seasons in line with the classic format.

So let’s start now.

Shakespeare's Stamp

There seems to be much to-do about the potential casting of Sir Ben Kingsley in a possibly prominent role in Doctor Who Series 4.

Some fans think it's highly unlikely that the Oscar winner would trouble himself to portray the insane geneticist Davros after delighting us all with his perfect interpretation of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. However, despite other successes (Schindler's List, for example) it's worth pointing out that Kingsley enjoys his work, and needs to earn money.

I would refer you all to exhibits a, b and c: BloodRayne, Species and Thunderbirds.

So now we've established why Sir Ben would bother his arse appearing in Doctor Who without mentioning Sir Derek Jacobi.

Of course I could have gone on to mention Kenneth Branagh, a man once heralded as the "New Olivier". A role for this particular thesp could be even more interesting for the young'uns watching Doctor Who as none of them will know Sir Ben, or Gandhi - but they all know Harry Potter...

Aha! I caught you looking!

A colleague pointed out that the previous post was rather near the knuckle.

It was meant to be - there is no excuse for resting on your laurels, and accepting hand-fed scraps when the real meaty stuff is published elsewhere.

A case in point - Mr Dry and myself were involved in a proposal to produce an unlicensed Doctor Who calendar and magazine (I can hear eyebrows raising around the web. This would have been completely legal, let me assure you, pay no heed to those that say the BBC has a firm grip on everything Doctor Who. No logo, no Doctor Who in the title, no grief. It's UK law, look it up.)

Anyway, the product would have been heavily based on Kasterborous tonally and visually, and things looked pretty tasty. Except that time scales were being cut, promises being forgotten, questions being ignored, that kind of thing.

So you see, we dumped the idea, and got out while we could, and soon discovered that it was probably best that we did so.

The point? Well, we were offered what seemed perfect, but what's being thrown at you isn't always what you want or need...

Extra Time!

I've been meaning to start these extra posts for some time now, squeezing in stuff that I wouldn't normally brooch on Kasterborous.

First off (and I might well derive a Kasterborous article from this at some point in the future) I'm going to talk about Doctor Who Magazine.

Or what's left of it, anyway.

If you don't buy DWM, you won't know what I'm talking about here, but that's OK. You can hang fire until further notice, because frankly the magazine Isn't What It Was.

You see, annoying cliqueyness of the editorial team aside, DWM fails on a regular basis to reach the heights it scaled between 1996 and 2004 - the period between the failed TVM and the launch of the new incarnation.

In those days, articles would draw you in, teach you something new, with honesty, passion and a friendly tone that meant you, the reader, were part of the team. We had wonderful (classic, in fact) comic strips, thought-provoking articles and a nice focus on the novels and audios that wasn't in-your-face, nor too reserved.

It was, in fact, the model that Kasterborous adopted in 2005 (I'm still waiting for the comic strip, although there may be something in the offing). As such, it is a shame to see the magazine now dancing with adjectives such as "cliquey", "smug", "sychophantic" and "lazy".

Save a recent issue that featured a Pixley special picking through the bones of the much vaunted (but in the end probably best taht it was never produced) Tom Baker and Ian Marter-penned "Doctor Who Meets Scratchman", there is nothing to talk about in DWM. The strip has seen better days, RTD's column is getting samey (the following three words will appear in the next Kasterborous news item: "the", "a" and "Doctor" - can't you feel the excitement? Brrr, I'm bristling with it!) and the letters page is weighed heavily towards new, "squeee" or equally sychophantic fans (and if I have to type "squeee!" ever again I will never watch the series again). As for Time Team - are we nearly there yet?

Sadly for DWM, it has seen better days. Currently however it is dancing in a kind of mire of unrivalled love of the current series that embarrassed many fans in the 1980s...

Who Do YOU Want?

If - and as yet there is no confirmation of ANYTHING - we were to get a new Doctor at the end of Series 4 (and I'm more than happy with David Tennant), there's quite a lot of choice out there.

I'm not a personal fan of James Nesbitt, and while I'm happy about that particular theory being debunked, it would have been quite a piece of casting.

But, if RTD is to leave, and Steven Moffat is to take over, there are certain things that need to be addressed to maintain the series' long term survival and elevate it from the spot-the-celeb-fest that RTD likes to turn it into when really, I feel, it's those moments that need to make real statements about our lives in a way only the very best fiction can.

Foremost, no more Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson camping their way through Doctor Who Confidential. It grates big time, and detracts from an otherwise interesting show.
We should also have a long think about how Doctor Who refreshed itself in the past, and hope for a new title sequence. It's about to see its fourth series, more than any sequence in the shows history save the Tom Baker era.

We should also - if David Tennant is to leave, and he's never said how long we will stay in the role (and why should he?) then we need a Doctor who is radically different. He must be different in order to further the character and underline the risk of regeneration. I'm not suggesting that the 11th Doctor should be manipulative or slightly psychotic, traits that severely hampered the Sixth and Seventh Doctors, but he should definitely play to the strengths of the actor concerned - whoever he may be.

Thankfully we don't have to worry about the next Doctor being The Hoff or Paul Daniels - but let's have some fun speculating, eh?

My personal favourites:
Richard E Grant - there was something quite wonderful about the original Ninth Doctor as seen in Paul Cornell's Scream of the Shalka, and he deserves another chance
Kris Marshall - best known as My Family's bonkers Nick, Marshall has quite a reputation on stage, and wouldn't look out of place with his Tom Bakerish eyes. Oh and he's ginger (ish).
John Nettles - completely a long shot as I'm not convinced about the younger actors claim, Nettles carries episodes of the wonderful Midsomer Murders with an air of tranquil calm, and could provide the same influence on Doctor Who if teamed with a dynamic younger pairing.

Howabout we carry this on elsewhere, such as in the Kasterborous Doctor Who Forum?

Keep 'em Peeled

Oooh, nice cuppa Gerald, thanks… so how have things been, I wonder? Let’s have a look at this editorial Brian wrote last week.

“Football”, eh?… “full bloom”?... “Ant”?... he’s taken leave of his senses, surely? It hasn’t stopped raining! As for the Dryzer… well, less said the better, but I find an image of the K Towers crew playing football in the forecourt with Gerald Slitheen in goal to be a bridge too far, to be honest.

Anyway, I’m back, and it’s been a very busy two weeks, despite my lack of activity here. Massive thanks go to Simon R. Mills for his News Round, a successful down-time filler that I think we might well use again…

In the meantime we’re back in the business of preparing, scheduling and writing articles for your delectation, and coming soon is another piece from the almost-prodigious Nick Brown, as well as some new article threads.

We might even manage a redesign over the next few months, but I don’t know why I’m rambling on about that. I know what you want.

You want another podKast.

With a “K”.

Well, keep your eyes open…

Dear Diary...

This is the second Saturday without Doctor Who. I feel cold, so very cold. I can still hear the TARDIS engines wheezing as it leaves me behind. I know it is a space time machine, but I fancy myself a bit of a clairvoyant and I know it won’t be back until December 25, of 2007. But what am I to do until then?

Kasterborous Towers is still in full bloom. Writers writing away while happy thoughts of companions old and new dance in their heads. (But Christian just reminded me that this is a clean site so we’ll move on from those thoughts.)

Anthony has got the gang to head out to the Kasterborous grounds for a round of Football, so we’re all gearing up for that and it should help take our minds off of the void that Doctor Who left. But still I sit here looking at my rather blank and dull TV screen wondering what it is about this show that has us so captivated that we miss it like a long lost friend when it’s gone.

And then it hits me. It is like a long lost friend. It’s always there to cheer us up or entertain us when we need it. Even now we have 40 odd years of it to enjoy and in many ways catch up with.

Sure it’s not on the TV right now, but it is in a book, a comic strip, an audio, or even a DVD.

Suddenly I feel warm again. No not with happy thoughts, I just stepped outside and Ant must be mad to have us play football on a day like today! Still the gangs all here and we need to be entertained. But don’t worry Doctor Who, we’ll be there for you when you need us.

See you Soon.

Brian Terranova

Slitheen Airwick

Suddenly Saturdays have become boring.

The week is spent with all the usual thoughts minus one: “What will happen in Doctor Who on Saturday?”

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like our lives revolve around Doctor Who, we do have lives out side of this show. But from March to June Doctor Who is a major part of our Saturdays and when it’s gone it’s time for the team to take break. The “Doctor Who Sugar Rush”, as it were, is over for a few months and we can all focus our attention on some of the things we’ve been neglecting just a bit.

With that said, Christian is taking a much deserved break. He has to focus on tearing down the equipment for his zany time experiments he’s been tinkering with in his back yard for the past few months, as we’ve discovered that our Toy Dalek infestation has gotten worse. It would seem that they use this equipment to travel back to the sixties and recruited some of the original Dalek toys to join in an attack sometime in the coming week.

We’re watching our backs!

Anthony is a bit tied up with real Doctor Who work (Sorry Christian, but he gets paid!). Apparently the real Doctor has him designing new desktop wallpapers for his TARDIS scanner.

And me? Well I’m here writing this. That and I have the fun job of teaching Gerald (our Slitheen butler) why it’s so important not to under order the air freshener.
Kasterberous Towers is empty for a week or so. It’s just me and Gerald. But the Forum is still in full swing, Doctor may be off the air, but the fever never stops. Donna is back. Kylie really is a part of Who lore and Dennis Hopper may or may not be part of it as well. What do you think?

Suddenly Saturdays aren’t so boring anymore.

Brian A. Terranova

Good Luck In Your Exams

And as swiftly as I was arrested, I was released.

I can barely remember it, in fact, it went so quickly, almost as if it had never happened at all.

So Mr Saxon is no more, shot by his bonkers wife we’re told, who no doubt planned the whole think from the start. And sadly the US President really was on board the cloudbase or whatever that white elephant was really called.

So that’s it for another year – Doctor Who is over and leaves us hanging on for more. It also leaves us chatting in quite bewildered tones, too, for the first time since Love & Monsters. I for one wasn’t really expecting a Doctor-lite episode for the Finale, but it was of course executed in the most astonishing way. Conversation on this matter continues in our ever-expanding Forum, where registration is required to view.

With no Doctor Who to keep us occupied until Christmas, newcomers might think we’ve got nothing else to talk about. Oh how wrong can you be! A break in the series once more affords opportunities to expand the fanfic section and knuckle down to what Kasterborous does best – providing you with interesting, thought-provoking discussion pieces on anything and everything from the past 44 years of Doctor Who. We might even give you one or two more podKasts, too...

I’m just finishing off the plans for the next 6 months, which should take us onto Christmas, stopping by Sarah Jane Adventures on the way. Torchwood is due to return in the New Year, no doubt leading us up to Doctor Who Series 4.


While we’re on the subject – well done Martha Jones! You saved us all and we don’t even know it, and you were strong enough to stop travelling with old blind-as-a-bat.

Good luck in your exams.

Cellular Orbit

I'm writing this editorial from a police cell after having being arrested at the behest of Mr Saxon's supporters.

At the very least, I am being fed, although I suspect that there is something in the food to make me more open to "suggestion" - I even smiled at a photo of Mr Saxon in yesterdays reappraisal.

Anyway, a big "Hi" to all of you out there, especially Ant and Terra. There are loads of big globey things flying around outside, I hope they aren't causing anyone too much distress. I used to get angry about this kind of political interference in our lives, but now I can see that it realy is for our own good.

I'll have to stop soon, anyway, as I'm not feeling that well. The drumming in my head has started again. I don't know where it came from - perhaps they'll get me a Doctor?

In the meantime, there's a brand new interview with Terrance Dicks from the Black Scrolls team for you to peruse, plus Terra and I did the first vidKast before I was installed here (you can also view it in the Forum).

I'm hoping to avoid any extraordinary rendition, or even ordinary rendition, although exactly what they expect me to admit too I don't know.

I long for the days of Tony Blair...

Master Who

Well it’s been a funny old weekend, with prominent Doctor Who fans up in arms about the return of Captain Jack and the Master – and whether or not the “viewing public” would know or care who the Master is.

There’s some “names” here, too, voicing their “concern”. Concern at what, though? The Master is an integral element of Doctor Who’s success, and has been since his introduction in 1971. He’s the perfect antidote to the Doctor – the Roger Delgado version was a superbly urbane counter to Jon Pertwee’s establishment-friendly Doctor; the Tony Ainley version was similarly designed to pose a threat to both the superior intellect of the Fourth Doctor and the reluctant Fifth Doctor of Peter Davison. Fast forward 16 years and the Eric Roberts incarnation of the Master was the diametric opposite of the 8^th Doctor.

Key period in Doctor Who’s history there – the UNIT era, the end of the long-running Fourth Doctor and the attempt at a US produced series – all relying on the presence of the Master to present the Doctor with a clearly equal rival, as evil and malevolent as the Doctor is benevolent.

I am baffled, really, at why anyone should think the Master is an unknown element from the past, relying on too much backstory that the casual audience is excluded. As Utopia showed us, only two things are necessary – that the Master is a rival Time Lord, and that he is terribly evil.

That’s all that any new viewer needs to know – he’s a rogue Time Lord with a line in arch plots to usurp power and use it to his own ends. He’s an archetype, and he’s (debatably) the last instantly recognisable emblem from classic Doctor Who.

So welcome back, Master. Enjoy your theft of the Doctor’s TARDIS, enjoy your political life, and enjoy your brief moment of glory…

Get Back Jack

He’s back – Captain Jack Harkness is on the scene again, with a long coat, backpack and an inconvenient case of immortality.

But does the Doctor actually want him back?

The trailer broadcast on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross - which Jack Harkness actor John Barrowman guested on a few weeks ago - suggests otherwise. A glance at the TARDIS viewscreen while parked on the Cardiff rift, a quick pull of a lever, and off the time ship goes, into the vortex – with a very determined Captain Jack hanging on to the facia.

Why would the Doctor not want to see Jack, however? What did Jack do wrong? And who exactly is Captain Jack Harkness, really?

Perhaps the Doctor wants to avoid any further mentions of Rose Tyler; perhaps he wants to avoid any mentions of Torchwood in front of Martha, whose cousin died at the hands of the Cybermen; perhaps something else is going on, something which we don’t know about yet...

One thing is for sure – whatever happens in Utopia, the Doctor is going to need all the help he can get to overcome the dark forces of Mr Harold Saxon and the Toclafane.

It’s going to be a fascinating close to Series 3, one which I’m sure we’ll remember for years to come – and one which the Doctor himself will never, ever forget...

SUN EXTINGUISHED!

Bonkers UK rag THE SUN is set to be glanced at for the last time, report insiders.

The comic, bastion of white van men across the UK and Spain, is set to be pensioned off as its editor can’t think up any more rubbish.

A close confidante of owner Rupert Murdoch told us
“They just can’t keep to the standard. Years of revealing soap and drama plots, living up to the plot of a James Bond movie, following Billie Piper, the Royals and Skeletor have started to take their toll.”

It seems editor Rebekah Madely and senior staff have hatched a plan to make the last issue – Friday June 1st – the greatest yet, with the following insane stories:

• England Manager Steve McClaren to remain coach for next 10 years
• Wayne Rooney to appear as a SONTARAN in series 8 of Doctor Who
• War on Terror admitted to be a HOAX as US forces hire terrorists to fight for them on Iranian soil
• Nadine from Knaresborough has 3 breasts, ALL OF THEM 36DD!

TYPE PHWOARTY!

Mr Doctor, sir!

Ah... Human Nature - I've been looking forward to this one, with its rich colours, lush sets and David Tennant apparently in his element (and native accent).

And then I look at the episode count - this is Episode 10! Where have the last 10 weeks gone?!

Still, it could be worse - we could be about to see the last episode of Series 3... a series which has trounced the two previous ones in terms of consistency and quality of stories. A series which has seen David Tennant shrug off the shadow of his predecessor's relationship with the Companion Who Should Remain From This Moment Onwards Nameless, a series which has seen a dark conspiracy (well, dark for Doctor Who) interwoven into several stories creating an atmosphere... a new layer... n almost tangible semblance of fear.

Mr Saxon's presence seems to hang there in every episode, and was particularly well executed in last week's 42, as shady agents attempted to trace Martha's call. The phonecall itself was an interesting parallel to the one made by The Companion Who Should Remain From This Moment Onwards Nameless in The End of the World - with very different reactions from the individual mothers, despite their initial similarities.

Of course, this parallel can also be drawn with real life. Two years ago there were soldiers descending on the Powell Estate to grab the Doctor and utilise his skills. Now we see shady agents and machiavellian intrigue. All very post 9/11, and all very true of the current geo-political climate...

So thank goodness for some post-Edwardian escapism this weekend!

And Relax...

...as there’ s no Doctor Who this weekend, we can enjoy the weather, our gardens, online games, cleaning the car, taking the kids to the pool, walks in the country, knocking through walls in new houses, looking for someone (anyone?) who believes Gordon Brown should be Prime Minister and rocking out to some monster riffs.

Or perhaps that’s just me.

It does offer us several opportunities to judge the series so far, with this halfway stage of an exciting season posing questions about Mr Saxon, the Face of Boe’s legendary last words, whether Mrs Jones deserved her husband to leave her for a younger model as well as whether a sexy female twosome might be better than just Martha – why not let lovely Tish into the TARDIS too?

I'd like to close this news item with a mention of the Who at the Cavern event which I attended on Saturday. While there were several events - also of note was the Forbidden Planet signing attended by Justin Richards and Steve Cole - Who at the Cavern is an event that possesses a certain feeling of optimism.

After the pushme-pullyou of Dimensions (a wholesale event with huge swathes of consumers being pushed fom one room to another and then back into queues for autographs) Who at the Cavern was a total breath of fresh air. A lovely atmosphere, 20something totty, a bar and a sense of history made this an event not to forget. Add the fact that I spent an hour in the immediate presence of Anneke Wills then this is possibly the best few hours I've spent away from home, worth the 36 hours away from Ceri (she's coming next time!) and the 9 hours on National Express (I'll be driving next time!).

If they can get Daphne Ashbrook next time, it would be perfect...

Doctor Who fandom is a funny thing. Every one of the fans love this show so much that we feel so very protective of it.

All over the internet you will see people ranting and raving about the new series. There will be complaints and there will be praise. There are factions who agree with each other ready to start a war with the factions that think differently. Then you have the other groups ready to convert those who disagree or they will be sure to get their accounts “DELETE”-ed.

But the beautiful thing about fandom is the diverse opinions. Sure it’s nice when someone agrees with you, but if that were always the case, what fun would there be in chatting about the show?

What gets me though are the people who watch the new series every Saturday only to come online and post about how bad it is. If it’s so bad, then why are you watching it? Clearly it has captivated them in some way that they can’t stop watching it. Perhaps these are the “The glass is half empty” fans?

Either way it’s just one more group of opinions towards a show that has the magic to bring people together.

Were it not for Doctor Who and the fans’ ability to chat about all the different aspects of its many facets I would never made new friends across the Atlantic. Christian, Anthony and Kasterborous would never have existed to me. I would never have made it to England for a second and third time were it not to see them.

This is the power of Doctor Who and it’s fans.

I am very proud of our forum, for the years it’s been up it has been a brilliant place to chat about the show, share all sort of opinions, but without the wars or the factions ganging up on each other. Every day there are new members and new opinions and everyday they are welcome.

So, if you’re a fan and you have opinions come on in, the door’s open.

Brian Terranova

Christian Cawley is watching YOU

Pre-Bake Mix

It seems that the Doctor Who team has found their footing. The 45 minutes time frame seems to be enough to get a full story crammed into and most people can only praise the show lately.

This isn't to say that the past two years were bad, I could never say that, but I can they could have been better. This is true of most anything. Everything takes time to get it right.

You start a TV series up again after 16 year and there's bound to be some bump. You start a website devoted to the same show, new and old, and you'll hit the same bumps. In many ways it is our survival instinct that drives us to press on through all the negative responses and it seems that the new series persistence is paying off.

I like to think that we at Kasterborous have hit our bumps some time ago. Don't get me wrong, there are always ways to improve things and with those improvements come more ways to be criticized. With that Christian and I have made our second podKast (with a "K") and as much fun as they are to make, it is, in a way, just like learning how to walk again.

Kasterborous has walked into the next phase of online fan sites. To us it's a strong start, much the same way the Who production team must have felt during series one and who can blame them. But as we all know there are just as many critics as there are fans.

I never understood before why Russell T. Davies said – and I paraphrase - as long as he was happy with the show then he did something right, until now. With all those people to please, you just do your best for you and hope that others will get to share in the enjoyment process.

Now as I said, Christian and I have a new podKast up for our and your enjoyment, so listen, have fun and feel free to let us know when we reach our "Third Series perfect mix."

By Brian A. Terranova

Christian Cawley is Absurd

Doctor Who is Back!

I remember way back in 1996 when we heard that said and it was like a dream come true. Even though it was only one movie it was still a brilliant time to be a Who fan.

Then in 2005 we heard it again. The feeling was much the same. Fans everywhere flocked to the Internet and started speculating and mouthing off as they do about this and that and loving every minute of it.

Nowadays it seems like a common phrase "Doctor Who is back!" yet, unlike a common phrase, it still brings the same grin to all of our faces. We still have the same conversations about this and that and the energy of the show is as strong as the day it captivated our hearts.

Saturday the 31 of March, Doctor Who was Back. Again. It was brilliant and it got us thinking about all the wonderful things to come.

We were also introduced to a new friend, Martha Jones, who gets to discover what we love so much about this show as she sees all the wonders time and space has to offer.

Martha Jones may be the second full time Companion of the new series, which will be a huge thing for new fans, but really she is just another wonderful character in the shows long history for us to get to know and care about. Something that used to happen more often all those years ago when they could say that common phrase at each new season, "Doctor Who is Back!"

By Brian A. Terranova

Christian Cawley is Asleep

OutKast

The world is changing. There's no two ways about that. But then that's what it has always done. We just hope it's for the best and try to put our best foot forward to help nudge it that way.

Change, as they say, is a constant part of life. Everything changes, from people, to the weather, to technology. Just a few short years ago the idea that I would be running a Doctor Who website with two friends from the UK would have been the furthest thing from my mind. But as time moves on and things change, the world gets smaller.

Computers are getting smarter everyday, and people are finding more fun and entertaining things to do on computer every minute. Websites used to just be text that you needed a PHD to be able to read, then they got pictures, then style, they audio, then video, live feed and the list goes on!

They even give things fancy names like "Pod Casts." And this is where we will stop for a moment. Christian and I decided some time ago to do our very own Pod Cast, but the road would be a long one. Why? Because I am a bit lazy sometimes, but then that's why Christian is the head editor on the site. He never lets me be lazy for too long.

With that, we did it. We made our first podKast (with a K) and it's right here for your listening pleasure. So sit back, relax and enjoy the ever changing world with us.

By Brian A. Terranova

Christian Cawley is Away

Other Projects

So there was this artist guy who walked into a chat forum, set up a website and a few months later was producing artwork for a major DVD release. Meanwhile his collaborator – some say a master of the written word, but such a proclamation is in the eye of the reader – carried on regardless with a set of his own plans to work on.

Beavering away on his own, stopping only to issue news updates, write interesting features and hammer down a format for the podKast (grrrr), the aforementioned literary guru worked every day and night on his new website while the artist attended gala luncheons and DVD signing events and conventions (well the last one is true…).

Until eventually, there was an actual shaft of light at the end of the tunnel. Yes, from the vacuous recesses of the writer’s vast mind grew an idea… a concept… a state of being, almost. Quintessential Comedy was born!

“Ha!” Cried the writer triumphantly, “He thinks he can outsmart me with his vector lines and cheeky-chappy Scouse wit?! Think again – for I will collect before me the ultimate British Comedy tribute site! A bit like Kasterborous in content – but about British Comedy, even perhaps going as far back as Shakespeare himself!”

Of course people shunned the writer in the street for talking to himself, but the cast was die! (See what I did there?) So it came to pass that while Mr Anthony Dry impressed with his Doctor Who eyecandy (www.gravisart.com, unbelievers!) Christian Cawley begat www.quintessentialcomedy.com!

In its first week it promised original features, reviews and comment on the work of Monty Python – surely too much for one man to cope with…?

Bring it on Home

By my reckoning, at the time of writing there are 27 days to Series 3. And I'm sick of waiting.

I wasn't overly impressed with The Runaway Bride but then it seems the series producers have a different idea to what a Christmas Doctor Who adventure should be than I do. Which is fine as they're being paid for it and I'm not, so I should stop worrying about it.

The largely spoiler-free world in which we seem to be living at the moment is pretty neat, and I'm high on expectation for Series 3. With a new companion who will hopefully be a little less intense than the last, I can see myself preferring Martha Jones considerably over Rose Tyler (and I have had a crush on Billie Piper for a while now).

Captain Jack's return should be fun too, while the guest casting seems to have stepped up a notch from Series 2. No more hairdressers - HURRAH!

So, come on BBC, don't keep us waiting. March 31st is simply too far away, so at the very least you could start giving us radio promos or even the odd radio documentary!

On the plus side however, at least Life on Mars is on for another 5 weeks...

Proper Site

When I first discovered Doctor Who online fandom, one of the first stops was the Doctor Who webguide. I have vivid memories of downloading Doctor Who-themed desktops, files to mod Doom 2 with Daleks and Ogrons and wonderful tinny midi arrangements of the theme tune.

Over the years, the Doctor Who Webguide became a must-see for all fans of the show, and became as vital to fandom during the wilderness years as Outpost Gallifrey; indeed Outpost Gallifrey carries the most used mirror of the webguide.

While Kasterborous has its own Beginners' Guide to Doctor Who on the Internet, the Doctor Who Webguide - started by Jeremy Rayner and driven for many years by Paul Harman - is a vital resource, featuring links to the online efforts of Doctor Who fans around the world. From scarves to K9s to slash fiction to retro games, the Doctor Who Webguide is always worth a read to turn up something new.

And now, it's here too, on Kasterborous...

To be honest, when the current keeper of the Webguide Kenny Davidson first got in touch, I almost fell off my chair. (Actually, that's a slight exaggeration. I deleted the email as it went into my spam filter. Luckily Ant kept a copy.) Seriously though, to me hosting a mirror of the Webguide is something that proper, established Doctor Who sites do, which means that now, finally, we are a proper site.

Which I suppose means I'll have to get that book written!

Seriously though, you can view the Kasterborous Mirror of the Webguide as of today, with a permanent link appearing in The Fanzone later in the week.

Land of Fiction

Well, it’s been a strange couple of weeks. I’ve never – Kasterborous work included – worked so intensively over a piece of writing as I have for a couple of pretty blind stabs in the dark as the Big Finish competition (subsequent email of confirmation leads me to suspect winning involves visiting Big Finish Castle and burning every bit of paper…) and a writing fellowship I have submitted a sample for.

You all know by now that Kasterborous has been a smashing springboard to other work (yeah, OK, so Ant has benefited more but then he’s a better artist than I am a writer) but never have I felt more comfortable writing fiction as I have since approaching these two pieces of work. As such expect a completed version of Dreamcatcher to appear in the Fan Fiction section in the near future (a sample exists in the Forum).

Doctor Who news-wise – as Phil Lynott once sang – “don’t believe a word” of it. Especially when someone tells you “he” is back. Not until you’ve seen him with your own eyes. I don’t have insider information, I might add, simply downplaying it after we ran a story called Simm-Master with the first line reading “SPOILER”. As if the headline hadn’t given it away all ready…

Finally in this ever-so-muted editorial (having spent 36 hours repairing my wireless network only to discover my ISP had gone down at the point when it should have been working… I’m just too tired for venting spleen) thanks to everyone who has voted in the What Doctor Who DVD Should I Buy? poll. I really cannot decide myself, and although the poll is edging towards The Invasion there is still time to sway my purchase…

Who Are You?

In the name of open debate, honest opinion and comment, Kasterborous has maintained a stance since Series 1 of New Who that while the new material is good (let’s face it, the lead performers always do a good job), some of it isn’t quite what a Doctor Who fan or even a generic television fan would expect from the show.

Naturally, I’m talking about the treatment of historical figures (Rose being cheeky to the most powerful woman on Earth), oral copulation with paving stones, the 2012 Olympics and nonsense that was New Earth.

These however are my opinions, and my opinions only – other fans have differing views on Series 1 and Series 2 and how they feel about them in relation to the “classic series” (the BBC’s own divisive term).

Let’s face it; Doctor Who in all of its forms is the best thing ever. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a fan who likes all 43-and-a-bit years of it. The great thing about being a Doctor Who fan is that the show changes, fans change, and not liking all of it is alright - it is not a problem!

So feel free to join the debate in the Kasterborous Forum and offer your thoughts on the best and the worst of Doctor Who’s TV episodes, and remember that although the new series is good, and it’s back soon, the Doctor Who Police don’t operate in these parts…

Nurse Trumps

I’m feeling a bit off at the mo, so I’ve been taking it easy with updating the news and stuff while it’s quiet. In fact it’s more than “off” more “poorlyillandsick”, and as such I reckon I need a nurse.

Such medical phrasing naturally got me thinking about Doctor Who, and the Doctor’s various companions – which of them would be my ideal nurse at the moment?

So hold onto your hats (and suspend any concept of sexism for a few moments) for the 2007 Doctor Who Sexy Nurse list…

10. Lovely Liz Shaw would be acting slightly below her training, but with such nice legs it would be a crime not to see her in a nurses uniform.
9. Similarly, there’s something very nursey about brainbox Zoe. The way that shiny catsuit clings to her would send any redblooded male into a quick recovery.
8. Sarah Jane Smith would in most of my lists be #1 or #2. Here, however, I reckon her nursing skills would be pretty poor in comparison to some of the other girls, although I’m certainly not adverse to the site of her in a white apron – although she’d more likely be baking cakes.
7. Rose might look great in a nurses’ uniform but I don’t suppose her bedside manner would be that much to write home about.
6. Dr Grace Holloway would wear a nurses’ outfit for me. FACT.
5. Romana II with her hair up in that little nurses hat, taking your temperature. It works, doesn’t it…?
4. I’m not against a bit of exercise to help feeling better, and who else to give me a push in the right direction but enthusiastic nurse Mel Bush?
3. Jo Grant was an excellent nursemaid in The Daemons so one is left to imagine her in a nurses outfit.
2. Romana I was rarely seen out of a sophisticated outfit but I’m certain she could do more than a little justice to a blue minidress with those legs.
1. Peri has the best all round assets for any fantasy nurse – looks, legs and, um, curves in the right place. I don’t know how she is at a bed bath, but as a botany student she knows all about handling wood.

Or stalks.

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