Oh, By The Way...

...According to the always reliable, often drunk and very lovely Simon (@simon_watkins) the title to episode 12 of Doctor Who 2010 is "The Pandorica Opens". We seem to have an insider sourcing this too so it's fair to assume this is 100% correct, (we have NO reason to disbelieve Simon).

Nice title, now what the hell does it mean? Pandorica = Pandora or something related? Pandora's Box, mysterious museum etc. Sounds good to me! Roll on "Spring 2010"...

Doctor Who 2010 Merchandise Revealed

Okay, the BBC are taking their time giving us information about the new series, considering it's going on air in the next few months...

Okay, so they haven't really... we're just over-enthusiastic about what's to come. We can't wait. Any little snippet will do for us. It's true! We're actually not that hard to please! Ben Cook posted an AudioBoo featuring a five minute exert from his DWM interview with Matt and Karen and that almost gave me... well... I was excited. I need Doctor Who again. NOW! Luckily for us, this image (left) was released showing an example of the new Doctor Who 2010 merchandise. And I have to say I like it a lot! The blue star scape design is lovely, makes me thing of the old '80s intro sequence, that can only be a good thing! Matt looks incredible as The Doctor, Karen look amazing as Amy and the Weeping Angels look as terrifying as ever! BUT this was not the only Doctor Who product to be talked about. This is the only one available for pre-order (apart from the End Of Time figures - which are, shockingly, sold separately!) from sites like Amazon and Play.com, but there are other products which were mentioned. Like the must have for every Doctor Who collector (in my opinion), a box set featuring newly designed figures of all eleven Doctors, selling together at a staggeringly fair £50. THAT is on my Birthday list, if only it was out in time...

We will also have the chance to buy a die cast scale replica of Matt's new Sonic Screwdriver, complete with flashing GREEN light and sound effects. But the quirk with this item is - I love this bit - the business end can be removed and replaced with a selection of REAL screwdriver heads! SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY SCREW DRIVE THINGS WITH IT! This may be a nod to the new series in which, presumably while fixing up the TARDIS' new interior, the Sonic is used as an actual screwdriver for the first time in a long time! We've also been told that there will be a "Timewars" board game, a series of Desk Patrol characters (Daleks and K-9 at present) who will "move around your desktop without bumping into things or falling off the edge" which sounds lovely for the bored office worker (like I was!) who covers their workspace with Doctor Who toys!

The most popular item however, which will more than likely be the one in the box set, is the Matt Smith Doctor figure, complete with tweeds and new sonic. It's design is being kept under wraps for now, but I hope the face looks more like him than that of the End Of Time Matt Smith Regeneration figure... Yes, it seems that the "Brand" (sorry Simon) is still strong as Doctor Who ventures into it's most mysterious stage since the TVM. I just hope that this behemoth of a show can spawn much more over priced kid's stuff for me to waste my money on... Two more figures and I'm going to need another shelf!

The State Of Fanfom

Occasionally, Doctor Who fandom enters a stage of boredom. When there isn't much to talk about people like me will talk about ANYTHING! And the sad thing about that is that the boredom turns to aggression and frustration and then to all-out insults.

Dare you venture onto Gallifrey Base and tell anyone you'd prefer the new Cybermen to the old ones? Will you risk dropping the odd spoiler into the Set Report thread? Could you give a shiny shit either way?

No, nor me. However this week has been one of the harshest in Doctor Who fandom in a while. Not since Matt Smith (who everyone seems to have changed their tune about now, for what it's worth) was announced as the Eleventh Doctor have the boards on Gallifrey Base been so heated! It seems that currently it's impossible to put an opinion across without someone disagreeing for the sake of it. People, myself included, have lost the plot. AND that's the problem! We've been beaten by the production team. We know small piles of information and as of yet don't have the frame to pour them all into to make a coherent image of what Series 31 has to offer!

The latest thing is the sightings of Nick Briggs and Barnaby Edwards (the voice and body of the Daleks, respectively) entering the location for the finale. From this - and not unjustly - we have surmised that the Daleks must play a part in the finale. And why not?! But this alone isn't enough! Other speculation includes the return of the Cybermen!

No, not THE Cybermen we've become accustomed to in the last five years, the ones kids know and love to hate! No. The MONDASIAN Cybermen! You know, the ones from the old series... SORRY! Telosian. Mondas was destroyed, along with all of it's cyber-inhabitants. As if it makes a difference to the 8 year-olds who put their posters on the wall. Just like the "are they or aren't they" nonsense about the new Silurian design (they are, by the way) seen in the 2010 trailer a vocal minority - again, myself included, sadly - just cannot agree on whether bringing back Cybermen not seen since the mid 80s would have ANY relevance with a young audience.

What used to be my favourite thing to talk about is quickly becoming just another place to get shouted down by people who's opinion is JUST AS VALID as my own, I'm not innocent of the "shouting down" myself! Egos flair, virtual punches are thrown and then the mods get involved. Until the next time. Remember when we were one? When Doctor Who fans were collectively berated for liking "that shit sci fi show"?

I liked being the minority! Now it seems that people who have seen some old Cyberman stories or those who are simply stuck in the past have much to say about this new and constantly evolving show! This is NOT Doctor Who of old, as much as it is marketed as such. The show is faster, bigger and more complex. As are the audiences! Kids these days don't want complicated multiverse contradictions. They've been given Cybermen from an alternate world. THEY are now the Cybermen. Nobody complained when the Daleks from The Parting Of The Ways were scavenged genetic mutant-humans! It was hardly mentioned as I recall! But still, grown men cry. Nothing will solve the civil war that has sadly broken out on my favourite website of all time, Gallifrey Base. Like Northern Ireland or Israel, Gallifrey Base has a future to suffer. And I only hope that Messrs Moffat, Smith and Wenger can bring peace to this otherwise intelligent and loving community.

I'm not holding my breath.

DOCTOR WHO Series 31 - What We Know So Far...

So as the weeks keep coming the hints about what we'll see in the next series of Doctor Who dribble out. THE FOLLOWING POST FEATURES BOTH SPOILERS AND SPECULATION FOR THE UPCOMING SERIES! BE WARNED!

SO! thanks to the brilliance of key individuals on Gallifrey Base and the efforts of the Commando-like set reporters who keep those individuals topped up with information and sightings from set, we know a fair bit about each episode of Series 31. The basics, obviously, are that there is a new Doctor in the shape of Matt Smith and a couple of new companions, namely Karen Gillan as Amy Pond and, some of you may NOT be aware of, Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams! We have a new, 60s looking TARDIS with a brand new interior (spotted briefly in the trailer) and a new sonic screwdriver (as seen on the cover of the latest Doctor Who Magazine.

But, we know more! So, broken down by episode:

EPISODE ONE

Title: The Eleventh Hour (?)

Writer: Steven Moffat

Director: Adam Smith

Synopsis:

An opening story where the Doctor meets Amy Pond while battling post regenerative trauma and the Face Tendrils!

EPISODE TWO

Title: ?

Writer: Steven Moffat

Director: Andrew Gunn

Synopsis:

This story features "monks wearing keys" as seen in the trailer. Not much else is really known though...

EPISODE THREE

Title: ?

Writer: Mark Gatiss

Director: Andrew Gunn

Synopsis:

Daleks in World War II! 'Nuff said!

EPISODES FOUR & FIVE

Title: The Time Of Angels/Flesh And Stone

Writer: Steven Moffat

Director: Adam Smith

Synopsis:

This one features Weeping Angels, River Song and the crash of the Byzantium! As promised by the Moff in his two parter from series 4!

EPISODE SIX

Title: Vampires Of Venice

Writer: Toby Whitehouse

Director: Johnny Campbell

Synopsis:

Mutant canal Vampires in 16th Century Venice.

EPISODE SEVEN

Title: ?

Writer: Simon Nye

Director: ?

Synopsis:

This is seemingly the one where Rory joins the TARDIS crew full time... Little else is known about it however.

EPISODES EIGHT & NINE

Title: The Ground Beneath Their Feet/Cold Blood

Writer: Chris Chibnall

Director: Ashley Way

Synopsis:

Apparently a story featuring the return of the Silurians and dealing with global warming. Although we're fairly certain they ARE Silurians the debate still rages on over at Gallifrey Base!

EPISODE TEN

Title: Vincent And The Doctor (?)

Writer: Richard Curtis

Director: Johnny Campbell

Synopsis:

The Doctor meets Vincent Van Gogh! The Question is how will he pronounce that name?!!? Oh, and Vinny stabs a yellow alien!

EPISODE ELEVEN

Title: ?

Writer: Gareth Roberts (?)

Director: ?

Synopsis:

Who knows... Maybe Amy-Lite?

EPISODES TWELVE & THIRTEEN

Title: ?

Writer: Steven Moffat

Director: ?

Synopsis:

Gah! Next to nothing is known about this. Maybe that's a good thing though.

Check the 'Spoiler and Speculation Thread' on Gallifrey Base (link to the left) to find out what we

DO know about the finale! And thank you very much to Pseudo on there and the fantastic

Spoiler Chart that has been lovingly compiled by him.

"River Song" Spotted Filming Series 31 Finale

Thanks to the wonderful people who spend hours on end hiding behind cars and cameras to bring US the pictures we want of the starts filming the new series of Doctor Who we now have PROOF that Alex Kingston will be returning as Professor River Song in the Series 31 (for, on here, that is what it will be called) finale.

All credit goes to one of Gallifrey Base's fantastic set reporters, "Asti", who took this photo of the crew filming at Swasnea's Guildhall. You can see more photos by Asti in the Set Report thread on Gallifrey Base by following the link on the left of this page.

We've already had pictures of her filming on a beach wearing a very nice evening dress and, later, army camouflage. The trailer shown after Matt's first performance also shows a very brief glimpse of River falling ONTO The Doctor inside the newly designed TARDIS console room (I think). This lends to the rumour that River will be more than just a guest star for her two parter, which set reports suggest feature the return of another of Steven Moffat's creations, the Weeping Angels, last seen in Blink, RTD's third series 'Doctor-Lite' episode.

Also spotted was Gavin and Stacey's "Gwen", Melanie Walters, although as of yet we have no information on who she is playing...

More to come on this, no doubt! So stay tuned!

And With A Few Changes, We're BACK!

Firstly, my sincere apologies for the lack of a review of 'The End Of Time, Part Two'... I meant to write one but outside factors and treacherous technology conspired against me to assure that it would not be so.

BUT we're back to bring you the usual spoilers, set reports and gossip on the WHO front.

Secondly, as you can see, the NAME of this Blog has changed AGAIN! I'm very sorry for this. I really am...

I just thought, superstitiously, that after all the fuss with the "old" blog a change of look and name may benefit. Rest assured it will STILL have the same ol' stuff. Although this time you may find, interspersed within the WHO stuff, some personal ravings on other topics. I have differentiated between Doctor Who posts and General posts in the "labels" section. So if you're only interested in my Doctor Who stuff, then just read that!

Thirdly! This time I will be keeping the 'look' of the blog very simple. This makes it faster to load and easier to maintain. I hope you don't mind.

If you have anything you want to ask or say then please feel free to drop me a message on my Twitter feed HERE (Follow me too!) or comment on any of the posts...

Thanks for listening.

TECHNICAL PROBLEMS

SOL 3 IS SUFFERING SOME TECHNICAL PROBLEMS AT PRESENT

*** SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE ***

WHILE YOU WAIT FOR THINGS TO RIGHT THEMSELVES PLEASE FEEL TO BROWSE THROUGH MY PREVIOUS SOL 3 BLOG POSTS USING THE LINKS IN THE SIDE BAR.

Gareth Bundy

Ignorant Shit-Stirrers Blow Up A Fuss Over A Reference They Don't Understand

The following story appeared on Heatworld.com recently;

New Doctor Who slammed for ginger comment
New Doctor Who star Matt Smith hasn't even appeared in a full episode of the hit show yet, but he's already managed to enrage a number of fans. When Matt made his debut as the Doctor on New Year's Day, one of his first lines as he checked out his new appearance was, "Still not ginger." The comment, which is clearly a harmless joke, upset a number of mums who fear their kids will be bullied at school as a result. One angry viewer said, "I think it's totally inappropriate for the Doctor to make fun of people with ginger hair - I think it will encourage bullying." Erm, really? Show insiders and fans in the know are adamant the comment is an in-joke that is actually meant as a compliment. Sounds like a lot of fuss about absolutely nothing to us.

Am I the only one who wishes that those who complained about the "Tesco Ginger Christmas Card", that are back out in force, would do their homework before jumping? I just wish they would stop being so bloody tetchy about the ginger thing!

I have ginger hair, I was NOT offended by the Christmas Card thing and I'm certainly not offended by this! My nephew used the Tenth Doctor wanting to be ginger against his school bullies (he's 10 and also ginger). They were calling him ginger-related names and he said (because he knows the bullies loved Dr Who too) "the Doctor wanted to be ginger, you gonna pick on him?!" and they thought about it and left.

I'm just glad that Heatworld.com put the record straight and mentioned it was meant as a compliment.

Out With The Old, In With The New! The Regeneration!

Take another look at the regeneration while you wait for me to post my review of

The End Of Time, Part Two

The End Is Just The Beginning - Series 5 Preview

SO! Tennant is gone, Smith is here... I will be posting the review for The End Of Time, Part Two soon (it's positive) and then the last part of 'The Tenth Doctor' soon after that.

But, for now, ENJOY THIS:

Happy New Year!

Hope this decade treats you all well... Lots of love from Gareth Bundy and Sol 3!