Wish World

15.2.7 Wish World

After a What The beginning, the classic reality is not as it seems to torment someone. And Conrad was already a prick, but even for a fascist that really leaned on retrograde thinking for a guy in his twenties these days. Bowler hats?

Although of course his Doctor Who book looks like that.

Regeneration surprises

For obvious reasons I was thinking about regeneration episodes, and how the last time one surprised me was Four to Five, when I was six. These days they’re hyped up immensely. Or spoiled by newspapers, like Nine leaving so early.

The closest we got was Ten not quite regenerating a year early. For a week, we were wondering if they’d actually done it - I guessed not as I’d seen press coverage of filming The Next Doctor, but it was fun to speculate.

Ncuti Gatwa is the Doctor!

Ncuti Gatwa is the Doctor! One of the stars of Sex Education, interviewed here for it. And here for Doctor Who!

“It was our last audition. It was our very last one. We thought we had someone, and then in he came and stole it. I’m properly, properly thrilled. It’s going to be a blazing future.”

Russell T Davies

“There aren’t quite the words to describe how I’m feeling. A mix of deeply honoured, beyond excited and of course a little bit scared. This role and show means so much to so many around the world, including myself, and each one of my incredibly talented predecessors has handled that unique responsibility and privilege with the utmost care. I will endeavour my upmost to do the same.”

Ncuti Gatwa, talking to the BBC

A perfect demonstration from a Sex Education clip.

Also, save Channel 4 and the licence fee.

The Master at 50

The Master first appeared at around 5:15 p.n. on this day fifty years ago, at the beginning of Terror Of The Autons. It also introduced Jo Grant and Captain Mike Yates.

(I just got that the radio telescope in Logopolis ten years later may be a callback to the Master’s first act here. Or maybe he just really likes radio telescopes.)

Sunday adventure hook: Those Old Familiar Faces

Inspired by Freaky, Doctor Who has done some body-swapping episodes now and then, but never, as far as I know...

Those Old Familiar Faces

Investigating an alien artefact, the Stranger is struck by a flash of artron energy and wakes to find herself in a previous incarnation.

On the day they die.

“Oh, this can’t be good. How did I die this time? It’s on the tip of my tongue...”

Sunday adventure hook: Please Look After This Time Lord

Inspired by the return of The Mandalorian: 

Please Look After This Time Lord

The travellers have to get into a fortress held by alien invaders, to find the thing they came to take.

It’s a baby.

It’s a Time Lord.

“Do they normally burp regeneration energy?”

Sunday adventure hook: Faces From My Past

Faces From My Past

Inspired by the trailer for No Time To Die: 

The Stranger wakes to find herself in one of her previous bodies.

“Well... huh.”

Time Lord Victorious Timeline

Time Lord Victorious now has its own site, including timeline. There really is quite a lot. It is a bit weird seeing the listings go Book, Audio, Short Story, Comic, Escape Room...

Sunday adventure hook bonus round: Blaze Of Glory

An alternate idea for My Light Shines On:

Blaze Of Glory

The Stranger starts to regenerate for no apparent reason. Not going full supernova flame, but definitely lighting up with a golden glow now and then, letting out a little misty light with a heavy breath, and perhaps it’s getting brighter...

“Thing is, I feel fine. Apart from the glowing.”

Save The Day

A mass watchalong of Day Of The Doctor. Featuring a new introduction by Strax.

Edit: and a commentary via brief Twitter return by Steven Moffat.

The Timeless Children

“Don’t tell me what I can’t do!”
Not Terry O’Quinn

Regeneration

To quote Cameron McEwan at BBC Worldwide on Twitter:

50 years ago today, Doctor Who fandom was truly launched with fans moaning, “The new guy isn’t as good as the one before!”

It’s the idea that let this show run for half a century, especially when Patrick Troughton didn’t just play a rejuvenated version of William Hartnell’s Doctor but the role changed to suit him.

It’s very obviously an idea brought into the fiction from practical concerns, but it has come to matter to the story, especially with other Time Lords changing as well - and usually being better at it than the Doctor, as they can stay similar across regenerations more easily in smaller roles. I’ve run with that in RPGs, where recasting isn’t necessary - Kai in The Door In Time is really good at regenerating under stress, for example.

And I’ve used regeneration as a plot hook a few times. Its power can ignite dying stars, save (and change) other lives, burn, and more, and it allows a skilled user to become someone else even if they don’t need to heal...

Happy 45th anniversaries to the Master and Jo Grant!

They both made their first appearances in Terror Of The Autons on January 2nd, 1971.

And I had to change this entry title from “anniversary” to “anniversaries” because it looked like they were married!

Which would have been a slightly odd plot hook at the time, but far from the oddest...

The Faces Of The Doctor

Paul Cornell begins his annual Twelve Blogs Of Christmas by wondering where the Doctor gets his faces from, pointing out that Twelve is the second Doctor to have met someone who looks just like him before, and One and Two had lookalike humans as well...

Hell Bent

“Have you been travelling?”
“From time to time...”

The Witch's Familiar

Missy is the Witch, one presumes...

Missy The Action Figure(s)

In a startling development, Character Options to release non-companion female character. Available in purple suit and bonnet and black suit and Terrifying Grin variants.

The Doctor is neither 100% male nor female - like all of us

Steven Moffat adjusts his answer to the question of a female Doctor in a rather interesting way.

“In my head, rationally, it seems to me - you know how human beings are never completely male or female; you’re mostly a woman, I’m mostly a man? - that maybe a male Time Lord is someone most of whose regenerations are male,” Moffat continued. “Maybe he’ll have a couple of female ones. The science-fiction of that would make sense to me. Otherwise I think life might be a little bit complicated on Gallifrey - or would it? I don’t think they’d care.”

Doctor Who Series 9 Trailer

Stop what you’re doing and click this link. CLICK IT. Unless you want to avoid spoilers, of course.

Steven Moffat on changing the Time War

New DWM! And comments from Steven Moffat getting into the genre newsfeeds, such as io9.

“My defence, however feeble, is that given the chance, the Doctor would do exactly that.”