Perhaps of more general use, what to do with monsters that haven’t put in an appearance? Reviving a weird or obscure race, and bringing them up to Big Two-Parter status at least, is certainly tempting.
Sea Devils
Go a bit Deep One and a bit The Fog with them. Rising out of the water on foggy nights, draped in seaweed, attacking coastal towns and too-close oilrigs, armed with tridents, disguising themselves with sou’westers and the like. Yes, I’ve run this episode.
Ice Warriors
Big green lizard-men with a colony on Mars. Who are actually pretty sociable as long as they aren’t at war with you. I’d probably drop the thick pincers, and I’d naturally want to see what’s under the helmets. And maybe give them different weapons? Ice axes seem like a sensible start...
Rutans or Zygons
(Not counting The Gunpowder Plot for the sake of this lineup.)
Shapeshifters with an agenda which isn’t directly inimical but no interest in preserving human life. A Secret Invasion in a small, sleepy town perhaps. But with an added threat of taking it to the heart of the nation.
Axons
Greeting Earth neighbours! We are the Axon and we’re here to help! Oh, you’re not doing anything important with all that crude oil, are you?
Movellans
(I’ll get to them one of these years.) Created with one driving purpose. They will destroy the Daleks. And they don’t care about who gets in their way. They could stay as androids, be humans or aliens, but androids suits their unstoppable Terminator attitude to things. (If the Movellans ever show up, you’ve got two problems. One, you’ll be bloody lucky if you can get on their good side, because if you can they’ll help you fight the Daleks. Two, if they’re here at all, that probably means DALEKS!)
Krotons
Crystal intelligences building or taking over robot bodies, threatening a future Earth colony? Hey, why not? Heck, give them swords!
Monday, 30 January 2012
Reboot That Monster!
Since Kit asked, let’s throw some ideas into the pot.
The Time Lords
Do we need them? Russell T Davies got rid of them (and then brought them back and promptly got rid of them again) because The Last Of The Time Lords is more interesting than The Most Human-Friendly Of The Time Lords. Likewise, the Doctor doesn’t need to be a Time Lord - the original plan was that he be a human from a dystopian future trying to stop it happening.
Humans
We should probably keep these guys. Historicals would be a lot harder without them.
Daleks
Merchandising would never forgive us. But we can certainly mangle their history. Maybe they aren’t from Skaro, or maybe we’re there at a new version of their Genesis. Maybe the Kaleds and Thals are still kicking around. As long as you keep the EXTERMINATE! attitude, anything goes. Maybe they hover by default, having round bases. Maybe they’re totally round, just folding out weapons and eyestalks as needed. Or they’re ten feet tall! And make more variants! Merchandising would love us!
Cybermen
It’s been done. But it could be done again. They could be former humans from a nightmare future, travelling back to make themselves possible. Mr. Davies had already had the idea for the Toclafane in case they couldn’t secure the rights to the Daleks, so that idea could fit the Cybermen. Or indeed the Daleks! Consider a puppet/CGI version in the style of The Flood. See BOTIS for modular Cybermen design ideas. But anyway, make more variants! Merchandising would love us!
The Master
Where to go with him that we haven’t before? Depends on the Doctor, really, as the Master is ever his shadowy reflection. One option noted waaaaaay back is to make him a professional but callous Time Lord agent who clashes with the Doctor over their methods. Or like one iteration of the Leekley series, he’s in charge of Gallifrey and only the Doctor opposes him. Or a great thief or assassin, but who is he working for if not his own amusement? Or he’s like a more vicious Meddling Monk, playing with time because who can stop him?
Sontarans
Let’s make them even shorter! Four foot two, about as wide, keen on charging at opponents and knocking them over like battering rams. Little Juggernauts with something to prove to the entire universe.
Silurians
No more sneaking around and grabbing people - the invasion of the surface world is achieved with mole machines!
The Time Lords
Do we need them? Russell T Davies got rid of them (and then brought them back and promptly got rid of them again) because The Last Of The Time Lords is more interesting than The Most Human-Friendly Of The Time Lords. Likewise, the Doctor doesn’t need to be a Time Lord - the original plan was that he be a human from a dystopian future trying to stop it happening.
Humans
We should probably keep these guys. Historicals would be a lot harder without them.
Daleks
Merchandising would never forgive us. But we can certainly mangle their history. Maybe they aren’t from Skaro, or maybe we’re there at a new version of their Genesis. Maybe the Kaleds and Thals are still kicking around. As long as you keep the EXTERMINATE! attitude, anything goes. Maybe they hover by default, having round bases. Maybe they’re totally round, just folding out weapons and eyestalks as needed. Or they’re ten feet tall! And make more variants! Merchandising would love us!
Cybermen
It’s been done. But it could be done again. They could be former humans from a nightmare future, travelling back to make themselves possible. Mr. Davies had already had the idea for the Toclafane in case they couldn’t secure the rights to the Daleks, so that idea could fit the Cybermen. Or indeed the Daleks! Consider a puppet/CGI version in the style of The Flood. See BOTIS for modular Cybermen design ideas. But anyway, make more variants! Merchandising would love us!
The Master
Where to go with him that we haven’t before? Depends on the Doctor, really, as the Master is ever his shadowy reflection. One option noted waaaaaay back is to make him a professional but callous Time Lord agent who clashes with the Doctor over their methods. Or like one iteration of the Leekley series, he’s in charge of Gallifrey and only the Doctor opposes him. Or a great thief or assassin, but who is he working for if not his own amusement? Or he’s like a more vicious Meddling Monk, playing with time because who can stop him?
Sontarans
Let’s make them even shorter! Four foot two, about as wide, keen on charging at opponents and knocking them over like battering rams. Little Juggernauts with something to prove to the entire universe.
Silurians
No more sneaking around and grabbing people - the invasion of the surface world is achieved with mole machines!
The Eighth Doctor: Season One...
An episode guide that never was
I largely knew this already from Regenerations but it may be of interest to y'all.
As found while looking for something like it to respond to this thread on rebooting Who.
I largely knew this already from Regenerations but it may be of interest to y'all.
As found while looking for something like it to respond to this thread on rebooting Who.
Friday, 27 January 2012
A rules issue!
Siskoid asks: Do we have too many Story Points?
As also asked here.
Possibly. Especially when there's more than a couple PCs with no point-eating powers at the table.
In The Door In Time Kai and Effie spend them so sparingly that I could probably replace "you have this many per session" with "per series" and they'd still go at the same rate, but if they decided to start burning through them how might I stop them?
Simplest trick would be to halve them. Or halve what they do, so they get you 1D6 instead of 2. Or put a group cap on them. Or a GM gets one for every one spent, although that would lead to the GM having an end-of-session Story Point hammer, which is suitable only for cliffhangers.
As also asked here.
Possibly. Especially when there's more than a couple PCs with no point-eating powers at the table.
In The Door In Time Kai and Effie spend them so sparingly that I could probably replace "you have this many per session" with "per series" and they'd still go at the same rate, but if they decided to start burning through them how might I stop them?
Simplest trick would be to halve them. Or halve what they do, so they get you 1D6 instead of 2. Or put a group cap on them. Or a GM gets one for every one spent, although that would lead to the GM having an end-of-session Story Point hammer, which is suitable only for cliffhangers.
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Steampunky fighter pilots, some more monster-y than others
And while looking around Retronaut, I wouldn't like to meet some of these guys in a dark alley. Or the cockpit of a space fighter.
Nor indeed the Jack Daniels swigging Viking from a 60s issue of Analog.
Nor indeed the Jack Daniels swigging Viking from a 60s issue of Analog.
A Space-Age Christmas from before I was born
Space-Age Christmas, The Doctor Who Annual 1974
I wish I'd known about this before doing a Who Christmas Special set on a colony spaceship in the future.
"If pollution and the effects of the population explosion go on at the present rate, there will probably be very few trees left in the world, and any forests which do still exist will be protected by stringent laws." Yikes!
"But let’s hope that all that’s best about our traditional Christmas will stay, and that it will still be the same festival of happiness and goodwill that it is today." Ahh...
I went more than twice as far into the future to be on the safe side. And I don’t remember specifying if the tree on the colony ship was real or plastic - real could work considering the need for air cleaning and such, although they’d probably focus on more multi-purpose plants than fir trees.
I wish I'd known about this before doing a Who Christmas Special set on a colony spaceship in the future.
"If pollution and the effects of the population explosion go on at the present rate, there will probably be very few trees left in the world, and any forests which do still exist will be protected by stringent laws." Yikes!
"But let’s hope that all that’s best about our traditional Christmas will stay, and that it will still be the same festival of happiness and goodwill that it is today." Ahh...
I went more than twice as far into the future to be on the safe side. And I don’t remember specifying if the tree on the colony ship was real or plastic - real could work considering the need for air cleaning and such, although they’d probably focus on more multi-purpose plants than fir trees.
Nations
Tonight is Burns Night. Celebrity Historical, trying to pull the companion, Tam O'Shanter, Sycorax. Have we seen any Doctors in kilts, or just Jamie and the Brigadier? And the Judoon.
It's also the first Tahrir Square anniversary. Struggling against dystopian tyranny, still an ongoing thing in this day and age.
It's also the first Tahrir Square anniversary. Struggling against dystopian tyranny, still an ongoing thing in this day and age.
They're Major Gadgets for PCs. Or something.
So as to not just be a miserable old sod, let's look at the new prop toys which are presumably (like the DIY Sonic screwdrivers) not actually going to be in the show. what could one do with them?
The Trans Temporal Sonic Screwdriver
is, well, a sonic screwdriver. In this case it's intended to blend in with 19th Century Europe, looking like it was cobbled together from bits of a Victorian bathroom suite. So perhaps it's an emergency replacement for a traveller stuck in the time.
The Dalek/Cyberman Anti-Time Device
"Use scavenged Dalek and Cyberman technology to wipe your enemies from time!" That doesn't sound like something the Doctor would approve of, not without offering them a chance to give up at least. So maybe it's in the hands of a survivor of a terrible Cyber-Dalek-Human war, fighting to stop it ever happening.
The App-Gear Blaster
Rebuilt without the Dalek eyestalk, making it a bit smaller, perhaps intended for a stealth operation. The designers have added a cradle for "leading smartphones" which connects to the alien device to let the carrier detect and target otherwise invisible aliens. It appears a Secret Invasion is afoot!
The Personal TARDIS
"Set the Time Coordinates, flip up the Time Rotor, then prepare for time travel!"
Most mysterious and powerful of all, a TARDIS worn on the arm, clearly salvaged from various sources including an 80s home computer, perhaps based around a rebuilt Vortex Manipulator? Compatible with the Trans Temporal Sonic, so very possibly the creation of the same stranded traveller trying to force his way home.
So who created these things? A brilliant technician, obviously, on a desperate mission across space and time.
The Trans Temporal Sonic Screwdriver
is, well, a sonic screwdriver. In this case it's intended to blend in with 19th Century Europe, looking like it was cobbled together from bits of a Victorian bathroom suite. So perhaps it's an emergency replacement for a traveller stuck in the time.
The Dalek/Cyberman Anti-Time Device
"Use scavenged Dalek and Cyberman technology to wipe your enemies from time!" That doesn't sound like something the Doctor would approve of, not without offering them a chance to give up at least. So maybe it's in the hands of a survivor of a terrible Cyber-Dalek-Human war, fighting to stop it ever happening.
The App-Gear Blaster
Rebuilt without the Dalek eyestalk, making it a bit smaller, perhaps intended for a stealth operation. The designers have added a cradle for "leading smartphones" which connects to the alien device to let the carrier detect and target otherwise invisible aliens. It appears a Secret Invasion is afoot!
The Personal TARDIS
"Set the Time Coordinates, flip up the Time Rotor, then prepare for time travel!"
Most mysterious and powerful of all, a TARDIS worn on the arm, clearly salvaged from various sources including an 80s home computer, perhaps based around a rebuilt Vortex Manipulator? Compatible with the Trans Temporal Sonic, so very possibly the creation of the same stranded traveller trying to force his way home.
So who created these things? A brilliant technician, obviously, on a desperate mission across space and time.
Toys. Grrrr.
London Toy Fair, and naturally Character Options have a few things to show... and... well...
Summary, big photos, etc.
What appear to be prop replica toys of props that don't exist!
A personal TARDIS worn on the arm, a Dalek/Cybermen Anti-Time Device zap gun, an even-more-steampunk-than-usual "Trans Temporal Sonic Screwdriver"?
Yes, they all look really nice. But still.
Talking versions of existing and one new-ish Dalek 5" figures.
And more Character Building figures - racing ahead of the "main" 5" line with the Doctor in his green coat, Madame Kovarian, a Handbot and another Rory.
There had better be another table of action figures which we haven't seen pictures of yet...
Summary, big photos, etc.
What appear to be prop replica toys of props that don't exist!
A personal TARDIS worn on the arm, a Dalek/Cybermen Anti-Time Device zap gun, an even-more-steampunk-than-usual "Trans Temporal Sonic Screwdriver"?
Yes, they all look really nice. But still.
Talking versions of existing and one new-ish Dalek 5" figures.
And more Character Building figures - racing ahead of the "main" 5" line with the Doctor in his green coat, Madame Kovarian, a Handbot and another Rory.
There had better be another table of action figures which we haven't seen pictures of yet...
Monday, 23 January 2012
Aliens Vs Wizards
More on Aliens Vs Wizards discussing its plot and characters and things.
Also, a big chunk of cheese.
Also, a big chunk of cheese.
The Eternity Clock preview
Well, we get one new story around Easter. In a video game. And not a free one.
The Eternity Clock video of monsters and gameplay and oh my it's a side-scrolling platform game.
Still, at least this time he's got River to shoot monsters instead of doing it himself.
The Eternity Clock video of monsters and gameplay and oh my it's a side-scrolling platform game.
Still, at least this time he's got River to shoot monsters instead of doing it himself.
Happy Chinese New Year
It's the Year of the Dragon. This means something to do with astrology, dividing people by the year they were born. The Sarah Jane Adventures managed to get a plot out of astrology already...
A visit to a Chinese-colonised planet, as seen briefly in Turn Left and obviously Firefly? Maybe patches and banners marking their positions in the traditional Chinese constellations? With people who look like this and maybe this.
And a plot that isn't actually connected to the Chinese antecedent of the setting, any more than The Impossible Planet is about the Britishness of the crew there.
A visit to a Chinese-colonised planet, as seen briefly in Turn Left and obviously Firefly? Maybe patches and banners marking their positions in the traditional Chinese constellations? With people who look like this and maybe this.
And a plot that isn't actually connected to the Chinese antecedent of the setting, any more than The Impossible Planet is about the Britishness of the crew there.
Saturday, 21 January 2012
Making Our Own Whoness: Because Someone Has To
With Doctor Who away till autumn (not even an Easter special!) and Torchwood inconsistent and The Sarah Jane Adventures sadly retired, there's a gap for something Whovian on the tellybox. Being Human is back in a few weeks, and we're still waiting on the rest of Primeval, so it's not like we're entirely lacking in genre stuff, but nothing where it might turn out to be Sontarans. And RTD's new Aliens Vs Wizards CBBC show is a long way off, and Sherlock's off too.
So what would we tune in for?
(Well, I'd tune in for Wilfred Mott Tells Off Alien Invaders but I acknowledge the concept might wear thin.)
Of course, I've been thinking about this since week one of this blog thingy.
And... who'd like A Series-Ful Of Spinoff Show?
So what would we tune in for?
(Well, I'd tune in for Wilfred Mott Tells Off Alien Invaders but I acknowledge the concept might wear thin.)
Of course, I've been thinking about this since week one of this blog thingy.
And... who'd like A Series-Ful Of Spinoff Show?
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Thirteen Who monsters due another go
Note, it's out of date by two entries (I'm counting the Nimon) and the death of Michael Gough.
As referenced here.
No, I really do have an idea for the Movellans.
Note, it's out of date by two entries (I'm counting the Nimon) and the death of Michael Gough.
As referenced here.
No, I really do have an idea for the Movellans.
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