How do you top the Daleks? Don’t try. Go a different route.
If you ran a huge epic space adventure last week, run a creepy little haunted house story next week. or a Big Emotional Story. Or a musical. Anything except a slightly less huge epic space adventure. The wide variety of options the Whoniverse provides is your ally. And then, in a few weeks’ time, you can run another huge epic space adventure without the players comparing it so closely to the last one.
Inspired by, of all things, a series of cereal adverts in which an idiot is unable to resist eating cereal when he needs to be quiet, dooming himself and an innocent bystander. They started hiding from an allosaurus-type in a ripoff of Jurassic Park, then screwed up first contact with aliens, then were caught by the French Revolution and are now being pursued by an annoyed king with a crossbow. An annoyed king with a crossbow may be dangerous, but he’s no allosaurus. Diminishing returns for sequels, and a failure to grasp the sorting algorithm of danger. Yes, it makes a change from power creep, but I find it too jarring...
Friday, 7 March 2014
Thursday, 6 March 2014
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Marked by a Google Doodle for her 208th birthday, the poet, author, campaigner against slavery and child labour, and inspiration to Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allan Poe among her many other accomplishments.
Saturday, 1 March 2014
Titan Comics' first Doctor Who series
Miniseries for Ten and Eleven, with creative teams announced on the preview covers. I know the writers Nick Abadzis from Deadline, particularly the “road movie” strip Hugo Tate, and Al Ewing from 2000AD, notably the comedy gorefest Zombo.
It is a bit early for comics featuring Twelve, I guess. (Although they come out in late July, so not that early...)
And the classic Doctors are busy starring in audio plays. But maybe we’ll see Nine or even a War Doctor story somewhere along the run? They have at least some plans for earlier Doctors too, apparently. (In related news, the short DWM run of Nine comics, featuring Gareth Roberts’ dry run for The Shakespeare Code, is to be reprinted in their collected run. Which is nice.)
It naturally has me wondering what I would do with a miniseries (five issues, likely to cover about as much ground as a TV two-parter I’d guess) about a specific Doctor - including the tendency to focus on the differences for the specific era and play them up. Will the Ten story feature romance, animal-headed aliens or pop culture gags, and will the Eleven one be timey-wimey? All IDW’s Eleven comics and most of DWM’s came out while he was the current incumbent, without the hindsight of having seen his era to the end.
It is a bit early for comics featuring Twelve, I guess. (Although they come out in late July, so not that early...)
And the classic Doctors are busy starring in audio plays. But maybe we’ll see Nine or even a War Doctor story somewhere along the run? They have at least some plans for earlier Doctors too, apparently. (In related news, the short DWM run of Nine comics, featuring Gareth Roberts’ dry run for The Shakespeare Code, is to be reprinted in their collected run. Which is nice.)
It naturally has me wondering what I would do with a miniseries (five issues, likely to cover about as much ground as a TV two-parter I’d guess) about a specific Doctor - including the tendency to focus on the differences for the specific era and play them up. Will the Ten story feature romance, animal-headed aliens or pop culture gags, and will the Eleven one be timey-wimey? All IDW’s Eleven comics and most of DWM’s came out while he was the current incumbent, without the hindsight of having seen his era to the end.
Friday, 28 February 2014
Enterprise Of The Daleks
What if, in trying to sell Daleks in Hollywood, Terry Nation has gone to Star Trek with them?
The thread probably says more about Star Trek than Daleks, as it mostly concerns the Enterprise crew dealing with this new threat, but never mind.
The thread probably says more about Star Trek than Daleks, as it mostly concerns the Enterprise crew dealing with this new threat, but never mind.
Wednesday, 26 February 2014
Lego Doctor Who - coming soon?
Someone with sharp eyes at Bleeding Cool has noted that the list of licences Lego cannot pursue for its fan-voted line has been updated - and Doctor Who is now a possibility. Does this mean the end of the Character Building not-Lego toys? Perhaps...
Monday, 24 February 2014
New companions inspired by past companions
Following the announcement of a second teacher from Coal Hill School becoming a recurring character in the new series, which characters or groups of characters from the series’ history could you reference or draw inspiration from without copying exactly?
(Thinking about this recently as a friend started running the Dragonlance adventures for D&D with the players creating new characters, with some intentional similarities and some strong differences.)
What kind of character would you create from a brief of “investigative journalist” or “U.N.I.T. soldier” or “refugee from a famous battle in British history” or “stranded astronaut” or “lost heir to the throne of a pseudo-mediaeval planet” or “robot in disguise” or “shop assistant”?
(Thinking about this recently as a friend started running the Dragonlance adventures for D&D with the players creating new characters, with some intentional similarities and some strong differences.)
What kind of character would you create from a brief of “investigative journalist” or “U.N.I.T. soldier” or “refugee from a famous battle in British history” or “stranded astronaut” or “lost heir to the throne of a pseudo-mediaeval planet” or “robot in disguise” or “shop assistant”?
A new... well, some sort of recurring character anyway
Samuel Anderson joins the cast as Danny, a fellow teacher at Coal Hill School.
So an older Doctor, the first of his regeneration cycle, played by an actor previously best known as a scary authority figure in a comedy show and who first appeared in the role on November 23rd, may be joined in his adventures by two teachers from Coal Hill School. Hmm... there’s some kind of pattern there...
So an older Doctor, the first of his regeneration cycle, played by an actor previously best known as a scary authority figure in a comedy show and who first appeared in the role on November 23rd, may be joined in his adventures by two teachers from Coal Hill School. Hmm... there’s some kind of pattern there...
Sunday, 16 February 2014
Friday, 14 February 2014
My hearts belong to you
Or, love in the Whoniverse, and specifically in DWAITAS.
Not even starting on the origins of Valentine’s day, it’s all too weird.
“Is there a lot of this in the future?”
“It does start to happen, yeah.”
The War Doctor asking the Eleventh about kissing, studiously ignoring his immediate predecessor and Grace, Day Of The Doctor
Love can lift you up, knock you down, inspire you, break mind control, raise the dead and defuse android bombs. There’s no Trait for it, but it could do with its own category for Story Point expenditure. Most of all, it can really drive a plot.
Do your characters find love, with other PCs or with NPCs? A connection of this level can be a great source of Big Emotional Episodes. It wouldn’t suit every game, but it can certainly add to one if it doesn’t become too scene-steal-y. Easier with, say, two players around the table than six.
And love that only involves NPCs can be a great plot device as well even if the players don’t get mixed up in it directly. Could the travellers save a pair of star-crossed lovers, or stop someone messing up the space-time continuum in order to get a first date to go well?
Not even starting on the origins of Valentine’s day, it’s all too weird.
“Is there a lot of this in the future?”
“It does start to happen, yeah.”
The War Doctor asking the Eleventh about kissing, studiously ignoring his immediate predecessor and Grace, Day Of The Doctor
Love can lift you up, knock you down, inspire you, break mind control, raise the dead and defuse android bombs. There’s no Trait for it, but it could do with its own category for Story Point expenditure. Most of all, it can really drive a plot.
Do your characters find love, with other PCs or with NPCs? A connection of this level can be a great source of Big Emotional Episodes. It wouldn’t suit every game, but it can certainly add to one if it doesn’t become too scene-steal-y. Easier with, say, two players around the table than six.
And love that only involves NPCs can be a great plot device as well even if the players don’t get mixed up in it directly. Could the travellers save a pair of star-crossed lovers, or stop someone messing up the space-time continuum in order to get a first date to go well?
Thursday, 13 February 2014
American Doctor Who Outrage (again)
As a result of a joke fan cast list.
Personally I’m outraged that Burgess Meredith is in the wrong place on the list. Although I can get behind some of these.
Personally I’m outraged that Burgess Meredith is in the wrong place on the list. Although I can get behind some of these.
Thursday, 6 February 2014
Another Doctor sourcebook sample - now in colour!
From the Fourth Doctor sourcebook, all six pages of it's only the Pyramids of bloody Mars!
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
Don't let people review something that hasn't been made yet
The results may look like this. I for one am looking forward to Indictment Of The Daleks.
(The open review box for the full-sized Iron Throne replica from Game Of Thrones had a similar effect. Hodor.)
(The open review box for the full-sized Iron Throne replica from Game Of Thrones had a similar effect. Hodor.)
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
Like a red rag to a Nimon
I wouldn’t be surprised if, at some point, the red lining of the Doctor’s new coat is referenced in-character. Like so!
Saturday, 1 February 2014
An inevitable result of revealing the Doctor's new look
... is that sales of the coat rise overnight.
The reference at the end of the article to “so-called “cos-play” enthusiasts” is hilarious. I can just hear the hyphenated gap between syllables in a 1960s BBC News tone, as imitated by Graham Chapman.
The reference at the end of the article to “so-called “cos-play” enthusiasts” is hilarious. I can just hear the hyphenated gap between syllables in a 1960s BBC News tone, as imitated by Graham Chapman.
Repost from TWH:
Via Bleeding Cool: Vote on which TV show from these isles goes on the list of things Captain America missed during his time asleep.
Shockingly, Doctor Who is not yet winning.
Same gag for celebrities at Empire.
Shockingly, Doctor Who is not yet winning.
Same gag for celebrities at Empire.
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