Super-rich tycoon decides to fund his own crewed Mars mission in five years’ time - because he can.
Unfortunately, it seems only old married heterosexual American couples need apply.
Thursday, 28 February 2013
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
Doctor Who game adventures that could have been
Preparing for Conpulsion, I find I may soon have a chance to meet Simon Burley, creator of Golden Heroes, from my Golden Age of GW RPGs and White Dwarf support and adventures.
I borrowed Crossfire, the Golden Heroes introductory adventure, for Doctor Who a while back - an intro adventure with the PCs stumbling into a key battle in a three-way interplanetary war happening in the middle of modern London, the kind of big wild idea perfect for (a) superhero comics and (b) Adventures In Time And Space.
And that got me thinking. Around this time GW was importing FASA’s Doctor Who, which thus merited a single one-page article in WD as well as reviews, and also printing Chaosium’s Call Of Cthulhu and Runequest and producing new supplements, articles and adventures for them too, as books and in WD.
So it seems like a great missed opportunity that they never did the same for FASA.
Because I suspect that Doctor Who adventures by the writers of mid-80s GW would have been fantastic.
(For a taste of what we missed, an adventure for Time Lord by Marcus L. Rowland.)
I borrowed Crossfire, the Golden Heroes introductory adventure, for Doctor Who a while back - an intro adventure with the PCs stumbling into a key battle in a three-way interplanetary war happening in the middle of modern London, the kind of big wild idea perfect for (a) superhero comics and (b) Adventures In Time And Space.
And that got me thinking. Around this time GW was importing FASA’s Doctor Who, which thus merited a single one-page article in WD as well as reviews, and also printing Chaosium’s Call Of Cthulhu and Runequest and producing new supplements, articles and adventures for them too, as books and in WD.
So it seems like a great missed opportunity that they never did the same for FASA.
Because I suspect that Doctor Who adventures by the writers of mid-80s GW would have been fantastic.
(For a taste of what we missed, an adventure for Time Lord by Marcus L. Rowland.)
Monday, 25 February 2013
Nostalgia alert: 70s Doctor Who toys
I’ve mentioned them before and more than once, but here goes:
And yes, this echoes a similar article by Stuart Flanagan in Behind The Sofa, I’m sure we’re not the only ones:
Christmas, probably 1977 so I was three and a half, I believe...
I got the Tom Baker Doctor, the big cardboard TARDIS with the disappearing trick, K-9, the Cyberman with a nose and the Palitoy Talking Dalek from a few years earlier.
They were huge and glorious things, big enough to be balanced by one hand. They were incompatible with the little Star Wars figures, and the bigger Action Men, and that didn’t bother me at all, I knew these were different universes. The TARDIS in particular had a size and a weight that impressed and delighted, and the Dalek talked (at least for a while) and rolled around on wheels.
And like Star Wars, the Doctor and K-9 were off having continuing adventures in the comics even in the gap between series and films, and there was plenty in my head for them to do as well.
Possibly the best Christmas special ever.
And yes, this echoes a similar article by Stuart Flanagan in Behind The Sofa, I’m sure we’re not the only ones:
Christmas, probably 1977 so I was three and a half, I believe...
I got the Tom Baker Doctor, the big cardboard TARDIS with the disappearing trick, K-9, the Cyberman with a nose and the Palitoy Talking Dalek from a few years earlier.
They were huge and glorious things, big enough to be balanced by one hand. They were incompatible with the little Star Wars figures, and the bigger Action Men, and that didn’t bother me at all, I knew these were different universes. The TARDIS in particular had a size and a weight that impressed and delighted, and the Dalek talked (at least for a while) and rolled around on wheels.
And like Star Wars, the Doctor and K-9 were off having continuing adventures in the comics even in the gap between series and films, and there was plenty in my head for them to do as well.
Possibly the best Christmas special ever.
Sunday, 24 February 2013
Friday, 22 February 2013
DIY Sonic Screwdriver
Instructions and results.
From a toy builder and customiser who has also made, among other things, an Aliens Nerf pulse rifle, Fallout 3 props, and this steampunk robo-bobby who will be going into my folder of monster ideas...
From a toy builder and customiser who has also made, among other things, an Aliens Nerf pulse rifle, Fallout 3 props, and this steampunk robo-bobby who will be going into my folder of monster ideas...
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
"RUN!"
Kinect reverse-engineered so that mannequins move and imitate passers-by.
Not Autons. Absolutely not. No indeed.
Not Autons. Absolutely not. No indeed.
Tuesday, 19 February 2013
The Eleven Doctor PDFs
Subscribe now and get them for ten quid each
Which is quite a deal if you want them all, or even more than about half of them.
Which is quite a deal if you want them all, or even more than about half of them.
Another range of miniatures-ish...
Collectible figurines partwork. Almost the same scale as the new action figures. The monsters look pretty good, let down by a wonky Doctor likeness. And after the first issue these always get crazy expensive. (Not compared to the silver and gold ones, but still...)
Copernicus
Another lovely animated, Google Doodle today, for the 540th birthday of Nicolaus Copernicus.
I don't need to explain this Celebrity Historical, do I?
I don't need to explain this Celebrity Historical, do I?
Monday, 18 February 2013
Indomitable vs. Possess
Quoting Rose Bailey:
Watching the trailer for The Host, I’m reminded that there are a lot of movie premises that I don’t much care for in and of themselves...
...but which would make lovely Doctor Who adventures.
“You mean they steal bodies, Doctor?”
“Worse than that, Charlie. Cliovores take over the body, yes, but that’s not everything they do. They take over entire species, assume and devour their destinies. Everything good and evil these people were, everything they would have become... it’s just food to them.”
You can thank Stephenie Meyer, whose movie inspired me to ask “but why would you possess an entire species?” Because if you think about it, that involves putting your own people to work in all of the unpleasant tasks. So there’s got to be a motive besides conventional conquest.
Watching the trailer for The Host, I’m reminded that there are a lot of movie premises that I don’t much care for in and of themselves...
...but which would make lovely Doctor Who adventures.
“You mean they steal bodies, Doctor?”
“Worse than that, Charlie. Cliovores take over the body, yes, but that’s not everything they do. They take over entire species, assume and devour their destinies. Everything good and evil these people were, everything they would have become... it’s just food to them.”
You can thank Stephenie Meyer, whose movie inspired me to ask “but why would you possess an entire species?” Because if you think about it, that involves putting your own people to work in all of the unpleasant tasks. So there’s got to be a motive besides conventional conquest.
Sunday, 17 February 2013
Dalek Invasion Of Earth 2150 / 1964 / 2013
Mark Gatiss can be seen just managing to stop himself squeeing as they shoot a bit for An Adventure In Time And Space (that shows it goes further than An Unearthly Child).
Need some miniatures? These might be a tad expensive.
Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Jewellery.
The Daleks are miniatures scale. And a mere £250 for a silver one. The silver TARDIS is sadly a bit small.
This may be the post that the Mad Notions label has been waiting for.
The Daleks are miniatures scale. And a mere £250 for a silver one. The silver TARDIS is sadly a bit small.
This may be the post that the Mad Notions label has been waiting for.
Saturday, 16 February 2013
Best Of All Time. See what they did there?
The Best Doctor Who Episodes Of All Time on the Guardian blog.
Quite a claim (and appears to actually be stories rather than episodes, but never mind...) but starting with An Unearthly Child is a fair bet.
And at the bottom in Further Reading, there’s a link to the BFI’s screening Q&A video.
Quite a claim (and appears to actually be stories rather than episodes, but never mind...) but starting with An Unearthly Child is a fair bet.
And at the bottom in Further Reading, there’s a link to the BFI’s screening Q&A video.
Friday, 15 February 2013
Aaaagh
Meteor hits Russia, almost a thousand people injured by damage caused in the shockwave. May or may not be connected to the expected near miss this evening. Rather nearer a miss than I’d like if so.
Thursday, 14 February 2013
All the obscure monsters you could ever need
From SFX, even more than DWM - 52 of them, in fact!
Most of them one-shots until we get to the higher ranks.Though starting with the Ergon is a bold move...
Maybe skip to the top eleven for sanity’s sake...
Most of them one-shots until we get to the higher ranks.Though starting with the Ergon is a bold move...
Maybe skip to the top eleven for sanity’s sake...
Three Or Four Hearts Beating As One Or Two
I took an ancient plot hook - love potions and the like - from today’s Google Doodle and generalised it enough to put it on TWH.
But I wouldn’t want you to feel left out, so consider how that might work in Doctor Who as well - maybe a visit to Ancient Greece complete with a hit from Cupid, or an alien pheromone effect (being marketed as the latest scent) or...
(Update: Guess what this week’s Doctor Who Adventures comic is about.)
And in case that isn’t silly enough, I just read SFX’s review of The Nameless City and it reminded me of skiing Cybermen.
But I wouldn’t want you to feel left out, so consider how that might work in Doctor Who as well - maybe a visit to Ancient Greece complete with a hit from Cupid, or an alien pheromone effect (being marketed as the latest scent) or...
(Update: Guess what this week’s Doctor Who Adventures comic is about.)
And in case that isn’t silly enough, I just read SFX’s review of The Nameless City and it reminded me of skiing Cybermen.
Tuesday, 12 February 2013
Monday, 11 February 2013
Spoilers on a cold winter night
The anniversary special is to be shown in 3D, high-end 3DTV rather than blue and red special-glasses 3D, but still, could be lovely, but also a chilling reminder of a previous anniversary... and if they work it out in cinemas too!
And... proper spoilers now... an old foe returns in an episode coming very soon. Roll over and you’ll see who. I had rather suspected based on a bit of merchandising as mentioned previously, but there we go, confirmation...
And... proper spoilers now... an old foe returns in an episode coming very soon. Roll over and you’ll see who. I had rather suspected based on a bit of merchandising as mentioned previously, but there we go, confirmation...
Sunday, 10 February 2013
So after Alasdair's article went to io9...
literally minutes of work went into producing this image.
literally minutes of work went into producing this image.
Saturday, 9 February 2013
Scream Of The Shalka: coming soon
“... on September 16th, BBC Worldwide will be releasing my Richard E.Grant/Sir Derek Jacobi -starring animated Doctor Who serial from 2003, 'The Scream of the Shalka'. It'll be a stand alone release, with lots of extras. I'm really pleased I can finally tell people about that!”
Paul Cornell.
Paul Cornell.
Thursday, 7 February 2013
The Eleven Doctors - coming soon to your game shelf
The Eleven Doctor sourcebooks coming this year, among other things.
So I guess the discussion of how wild they can go with the Eighth Doctor book was answered with “pretty darn wild” then!
So I guess the discussion of how wild they can go with the Eighth Doctor book was answered with “pretty darn wild” then!
The Second Doctor story and the Eleventh Doctor books
The Nameless City, the Second Doctor story in the eleven stories series, written by Michael Scott, in which he and Jamie stumble across a copy of the Necronomicon. That will end well, I’m sure...
Meanwhile, a new (and rather Brilliant Book -y) look for the current Doctor novels from BBC Books, starting with Shroud Of Sorrow, set on November 23rd 1963 and partially around Totter’s Lane (and partially around Dallas, Texas) along with new meetings with the Daleks and Cybermen.
Meanwhile, a new (and rather Brilliant Book -y) look for the current Doctor novels from BBC Books, starting with Shroud Of Sorrow, set on November 23rd 1963 and partially around Totter’s Lane (and partially around Dallas, Texas) along with new meetings with the Daleks and Cybermen.
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
The Thirtieth Anniversary
... was covered by Radio Times rather well, especially considering BBC One only managed Dimensions In Time. The spot illustrations for the A-Z of monsters are nicely creepy, high-contrast and a bit Mike Mignola.
Monday, 4 February 2013
Return Of The One-Shot Monster
The new Doctor Who Magazine has a poll up for which one-shot monsters readers would like to see return.
“In DWM 457 we asked which of the Doctor’s memorable monsters you’d most like to see make a comeback. All of these monsters only appeared once, but are fondly remembered by fans. Would you like to see the Zarbi scuttle back on screen? The Axons back to fight another battle? Or are the villainous vegetable Vervoids deserving of another helping? Make your choice!”
Zarbi, Quarks, Axons, Zygons, Terileptils, Vervoids, Haemovores, Reapers, Sycorax, Saturnynes.
At the moment, the Zygons have half the vote. I for one thought the Axons would be making a better show of it. The villainous vegetable Vervoids aren’t quite last, somehow. Oddly no Krotons...
There have been a few more options down the years, from murderous Mechanoids to malignant Mandragora to killer Krillitanes to the awesome Adipose. Well, one appeared in The End Of Time, but only for four seconds before he fell off the bar...
Naturally, Axons and Zygons and the like have popped up again in the novels, comics and audio plays - the Axons were the first big threat to Eleven and Amy in DWM’s own comics - so there’s plenty of source material to draw from if you want to set up a rematch with an old favourite.
Of course, this does run the risk of a reaction like this.
“I plotted to destroy the Earth!”
“Doesn’t really narrow it down, sorry...”
So consider what would make this reappearance exciting, surprising, different perhaps. A new spin, a reappearance in a different era maybe...
--
Example: Cold As Crystal
A new acquisition for the Crown Jewels by George VI, a diamond-like stone that is said to have fallen from the stars. A target for the greatest jewel thief in the world. And the electrical devices around it seem strangely unreliable - almost like something wants it to be stolen. To escape. Almost like there is an unknown intelligence connected to this stone from another world...
“In DWM 457 we asked which of the Doctor’s memorable monsters you’d most like to see make a comeback. All of these monsters only appeared once, but are fondly remembered by fans. Would you like to see the Zarbi scuttle back on screen? The Axons back to fight another battle? Or are the villainous vegetable Vervoids deserving of another helping? Make your choice!”
Zarbi, Quarks, Axons, Zygons, Terileptils, Vervoids, Haemovores, Reapers, Sycorax, Saturnynes.
At the moment, the Zygons have half the vote. I for one thought the Axons would be making a better show of it. The villainous vegetable Vervoids aren’t quite last, somehow. Oddly no Krotons...
There have been a few more options down the years, from murderous Mechanoids to malignant Mandragora to killer Krillitanes to the awesome Adipose. Well, one appeared in The End Of Time, but only for four seconds before he fell off the bar...
Naturally, Axons and Zygons and the like have popped up again in the novels, comics and audio plays - the Axons were the first big threat to Eleven and Amy in DWM’s own comics - so there’s plenty of source material to draw from if you want to set up a rematch with an old favourite.
Of course, this does run the risk of a reaction like this.
“I plotted to destroy the Earth!”
“Doesn’t really narrow it down, sorry...”
So consider what would make this reappearance exciting, surprising, different perhaps. A new spin, a reappearance in a different era maybe...
--
Example: Cold As Crystal
A new acquisition for the Crown Jewels by George VI, a diamond-like stone that is said to have fallen from the stars. A target for the greatest jewel thief in the world. And the electrical devices around it seem strangely unreliable - almost like something wants it to be stolen. To escape. Almost like there is an unknown intelligence connected to this stone from another world...
Sunday, 3 February 2013
What If The Next Doctor Had Been About The Actual Next Doctor?
Episode ideas featuring future Doctors, for reals. Some depend on having the next actor already in place, and some don’t - a far-far-future Doctor, or a non-regeneration like the Valeyard trying to make himself happen, or not happen...
Saturday, 2 February 2013
Friday, 1 February 2013
On Elisabeth Sladen’s birthday, Sarah Jane’s character sheet by Siskoid, as of her departure in The Hand Of Fear, the series shown by BBC4 as a tribute to her.
And the story goes on... forever.
And the story goes on... forever.
Sherlock Figures
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