106 Newly Found Doctor Who Episodes Prove Time Travel Exists. Sort Of.

Doctor Whaaaaat“Are we going to Addis Ababa, Mr. Luthor?”

OK, this is weird, folks. Hmmm. Remember that classic Doctor Who episode where they bury a box of mysterious and seemingly random stuff in the desert in Africa in the distant past and the Doc says (with a grin, of course) “Now, this will be REALLY important one day in the future!”?

Anyone? No?

Well, that’s probably because that episode is most likely in this set of 106 formerly “lost” Who shows found by fans in Ethiopia recently. Longtime fans know a good chunk of the 1960’s shows were erased or taped over “lost” by the BBC, but according to The Daily Mirror website, 106 shows from between 1964 to 1969 ended up being sold to the Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency. Why? Ask the Doctor, I say. I’ll bet he knows. Anyway, I’m gathering BBC will no doubt be getting these cleaned up and re-aired (and sold on DVD) sooner than later, as the historical value on these is probably going to be ratings platinum for the network. I’m hoping they run them here in the US at the same time on BBC America, as it’ll be annoying hearing spoilers and such spill out from over the pond from overly giddy fans there.

Edit: Aha. the Beeb will be airing these shows starting this week. Yay and boo, as we BBC America viewers haven’t a clue as to when we’ll be seeing them. Still, I’m a happy and patient camper, so I’ll wait until these eventually make the trip over and stay away from forums discussing the new old shows.

“I wonder what they’re wearing in Addis Ababa?”

Looks like a burnous, Miss Tesmacher. Looks like a burnous.

(Hmmm, someone better tell Miss Tesmacher and Otis that not only are we NOT going to Addis Ababa, they’re completely in the wrong post…)

More Endings! Doctor Who Reminds You It’s Soon Time For A Big Change…

OK, so this teaser is ten seconds of “just you wait and see what’s coming”, but oh well. That holiday show should be a doozy, as each new Doctor means we lose an old one and it’ll probably be in some not too amusing manner given the path this past season has taken. I wonder who, if anyone from this arc will be around with the next Doctor, but on the other hand… change is good in this series if the proper cast is round up. Alrighty then… 33 minutes to Breaking Bad (and hell if I’m going to be online while that’s on).

If You Have to See NINE Doctors, It’s Serious… Or You’re a WHO Fan…

Well, we’re almost to that new Doctor reveal and number nine is for many modern fans, where the real fun begins. I’ve actually NOT seen any of the ninth Doc’s adventures thanks to me being occupied with other stuff during those years, but I did catch a few episode snippets of Torchwood and hoped to hell that show would get on disc along with the Ninth Doc’s shows so I could watch them all together and see how things fit. I’ll get to that soon enough, but I want to catch this latest BBC special and the episode they run just to whet the appetite a wee bit. One of these days I’ll do the binge-watching thing with a few seasons of the show just to get it set into the gray matter. I’d make it a party, but my TARDIS has room just for me and a stack of discs. It’s a HUGE stack of discs and my TARDIS is closet sized and constantly malfunctioning. It doesn’t go anywhere, but keeps coughing up stuff from the past I’ve never seen before (or don’t recall buying, ha, ha)…

A Little Doctor Who Primer For the New Folks…

DR_WHO_101 

Someone sent me this image a few days back but didn’t tell me where it came from but fortunately, some digging reveals it’s from this site packed full of memes and such. I didn’t poke around there at all, as it looks like a serious time trap, a black hole of clock eating madness that will suck you in and make your productivity disappear faster than a roll of quarters going into a slot machine in Vegas. Although… the last time I was in Vegas (Classic Gaming Expo 2007 I think), I think I only spent ten bucks gambling and won seven or eight back. I wanted to throw more money away, but I held out because I needed that cash to blow on a few games for the library. But I digress (as usual). Hopefully that cheat sheet above gets some of you not into the good Doctor to start tracking down episodes to watch before that new Doc makes his appearance. Just don’t try and watch TOO many episodes in one shot. You’ll either hear that main theme in your sleep or the sound of that TARDIS parking brake grinding away burrowing into your skull…

The Eighth Doctor Returns For Another One Night Stand…

Sure, some of the more negative longtime fans of the show didn’t care for this one-shot TV movie that popped up on TV in 1999 with a new Doctor (played by Paul McGann) for the first time since the show was canceled ten years earlier, an American setting, main villain played by Eric Roberts (!) and a plot considered “lacking” by a few of those aforementioned followers of the series. On the other hand, the Doctor was BACK and like it or not, number eight is part of the long history of the character. Of course, as he only appeared in that ONE reboot, it’s going to be shown right after the special. Check it out if you’ve never seen it – it’s not bad for what it is, and hey – it also helped a little bit in getting the Doctor back on TV as a regular show, right?

TORCHWOOD: Miracle Day (Finally!) Makes it To BBC America

For those of you who don’t have Starz! as part of your cable package and didn’t get around to buying the Blu-Ray/DVD yet, if you happen to have BBC America on your tube of choice and are planning to be alive say, around September, you’re going to get to gorge on TORCHWOOD until you keel over. On Friday, September 13 at 11pm/10c, BBC is presenting is presenting an all-day marathon of TORCHWOOD Season Two and TORCHWOOD: CHILDREN OF EARTH, then on the 14th, TORCHWOOD: MIRACLE DAY gets a 9pm/8c premiere as part of the channel’s Supernatural Saturdays programming.

Sure, some cranky fans thought this series had a few too many episodes and tended to drag on a bit, but I say don’t invite them over to hang out on your couch and eat your food. It’s definitely worth a look if you’re new to the series and sure, you’ll probably like the older shows better (COTE is especially remarkable). On the other hand, you might find MD hits the right notes and like what you see as the series progresses. It’s got plenty of twists and turns in its wild plot and a few new characters you might get attached to. Which, by the way is a REALLY bad idea in this particular universe…

Doctor, Doctor… Give Me The News (In a LESS Contrived Manner Next Time)…

OK, I don’t like this live event announcing the new Doctor Who at all as it reminds me of that basketball special I didn’t watch because I’m not a sports fanatic (but couldn’t ignore because it was ALL some were babbling about for days before and afterward). Whatever happened to a simple surprise in the upcoming last season episode or a simpler press release or even better, a simple press conference that doesn’t require much in the way of expense or overblown wind up to a three-second reveal? Eh, whatever – I’ll be out and about tomorrow and not able to catch the special when it runs, but I bet it gets rerun later in the day on BBC America. I’ll be home around 6 or 7pm, so I’ll just tune in then. Or since I’ll be online all day, maybe I’ll just see all the comments and fan gushing all over facebook and twitter…

All that said, MAN, there are some awfully sexist fans out there! I’ve overheard a few conversations where there’s actual outrage expressed if the new Doc turns out to be a female. I say that would make for a super season that shakes things up quite a bit and if it happens, it’ll make the writing quite interesting. Anyway, we’ll see in less than 24 hours, right?

Orphan Black Season One: I Hope Tatiana Maslany Has A Lot of Shelf Space…

If you missed out on BBC America’s incredible sci-fi drama series Orphan Black because you were unsure about whether or not it would be any good, go find out how to (legally) check this show out and prepare to be amazed. Maslany’s portrayal of (so far) seven different cloned characters is amazing, especially in scenes she shares with herself (through some excellent CG effects and body doubling). It’s not just the different hairstyles, wigs and makeup either. Each of the clones has a separate personality and life which the actress does a remarkable job of portraying to perfection.

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Doctor Who Revisited: Tom Baker Is MY Doctor (And He Doesn’t Charge A Thing)…

I’m ancient enough to remember seeing Tom Baker as Doctor Who on PBS here and wondering what the hell was up with that scarf and crazy behavior. Of course, next week I was back for more and so forth and so on. I still think he’s the best of the Doctors (and Sarah Jane Smith was the best sidekick in my opinion), but of course, everyone has a favorite depending on when they stepped into the series. Hell, I’m old enough to remember those movies from the 60’s, but they didn’t leave much of an impression until I decided to sit down with them again about a year or so ago. Anyway, happy 50th, Doc!

Humor: Doctor Octoroc’s Doctor Who “Game” NEEDS to Get Made. Seriously.

 

OK, I usually don’t fall for goofy videos on sites like College Humor, but a friend sent me this link and it made me crack up, so here you go. Philadelphia-based artist/musician/pixel genius Doctor Octoroc rocks, I say. Speaking of “say”… say, If you just so happen to see a TARDIS pop up in your neighborhood, keep this link handy so you can show the Doctor (who’s bound to be amused) and maybe ask him to take you for a spin so you both can go on an adventure of your own back to… oh, say 1992 or so and try to convince some game publisher to make this a reality. Then again, I can just see you getting arrested and tossed in a mental hospital like Bruce Willis’ character from 12 Monkeys if you go around telling people you’re from the future. If that doesn’t get you committed, whipping out a thin laptop, tablet or phone will DEFINITELY land you in a rubber room. “Suuuuuurrrre, you can watch movie quality videos over an online connection… O-K, now… Hands up and drop the plastic toy, buddy… NOW!” Or something like that.

Oh well… I guess there’s always RPG Maker for the more talented and impatient types out there…