If John Simm’s brief appearance in the Doctor Who episode 11 trailer wasn’t enough Master for you, then we have good news – because there’s a new teaser making the rounds that shows off even more of World Enough and Time with new evil Time Lord action.
The new footage (which comes from a special BBC America teaser) features Pearl Mackie’s Bill lost in a terrifying hospital where the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) may be no more than a hallucination, the origins of the Mondasian Cybermen and a spaceship where time itself is counting against our heroes, and it all looks very exciting.
However, we’re betting fans will be most intrigued to see our first on-screen meeting of the Masters, which seems to involve Simm and Gomez’ incarnations pulling their best Strictly and ballroom dancing their way to acts of even more evil.
As the old saying goes, the Devil has the best tunes – so who’s to say the bad guys wouldn’t have the smoothest moves as well?
Doctor Who continues on BBC1 this Saturday 24th June at 6.45pm
Modern Cybermen will join the Mondasians in the Doctor Who two-part finale
For weeks fans have been excited to see the much-heralded return of the Mondasian Cybermen to Doctor Who, with the oldest version of the series regular villains set to appear in all their cloth-faced glory for the first time since 1966 in this Saturday’s episode.
However, it’s now emerged that they won’t be the only Cyber-kids on the block for the epic two-part finale, with new preview pictures revealing that both generations of modern Cybermen (introduced in 2006 and 2013 respectively) will also be playing a role in the story.
A Mondasian Cybermen
Character portraits show the various generations of Cybermen standing tall, showing off their weapons and generally being intimidating while stills from the episodes show all three iterations prowling the streets at night, and while we’re not entirely sure how the multiple versions will fit into the finished episodes it’s great to see so many different designs getting their time in the sun.
And we’re keeping our metallic fingers crossed that all this means we could also be seeing some other versions of the Cybermen walk the streets, perhaps from Doctor Who’s classic series heyday. Hell, if they could bring back old Daleks in 2012 and 2015 (for Asylum of the Daleks and the Magician’s Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar), who’s to say now isn’t the Cybermen’s turn for a little trip down memory lane?
Doctor Who continues on BBC1 this Saturday 24th June at 6:45pm
First look at John Simm’s Master in his new Doctor Who costume
This Saturday’s Doctor Who will see the return of John Simm’s evil Time Lord The Master, and perhaps to keep up with his younger successor (Michelle Gomez’s Missy, who plays a later incarnation of the character) the villain seems to have completely updated his sartorial style.
In a new picture that gives us our best look at him yet, we get a decent impression of his new goatee (which seems to pay homage to classic series Masters Roger Delgado and Anthony Ainley, who had similar facial fuzz) as well as the rather snazzy new outfit he’s sporting, which is a far cry from either of his previous looks (sharp-suited New Labour type or hoodie-wearing bleached-blonde tramp) in the sci-fi series.
The Master’s former looks in 2007 and 2010
Instead, it looks to us like his new unusually-cut coat is something of a play on Peter Capaldi’s own dark-suited Twelfth Doctor costume, with the merest hint of a red lining in Simm’s collar recalling the similarly vivid interior of Capaldi’s own suit jacket.
Oh, and Simm also now looks a bit like Jonathan Pryce’s version of the character from 1999 Red Nose Day spoof Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death, a sketch penned by current series showrunner Steven Moffat (though as far as we can tell, Simm’s Master still lacks the ‘Dalek bumps’ of Pryce’s, below).
Look at the “Dalek Bumps” on that!
But fans of Simm’s Master need not worry that it’s all change, because one popular feature of the character’s former appearances is making a comeback (and can be seen in his right hand in the new image). Yep – it’s his laser screwdriver, created by former showrunner Russell T Davies for use in 2007 two-parter The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords and not seen in Simm’s later 2010 appearances.
Created by the Master from Earth components to rival the Doctor’s trademark sonic screwdriver, this weapon can shoot a concentrated energy beam that kills or destroys whatever it touches, and was also previously equipped with artificial ageing technology that could rapidly cause victims to grow older.
The screwdriver was also designed to be isomorphic, meaning it only worked for the Master himself, and all in all it was a pretty deadly device that we can’t wait to see back in the hands of evil.
It’s a little unclear how the Master got it back, whether he built a new one that looked that same or why he didn’t just pack the awesome Tissue Compression Eliminator instead, but hey – if we could make our own versions of the sonic screwdriver and carry them around, we would too.
Doctor Who continues on BBC1 this Saturday 24th June at 6:45pm
Doctor Who – The Eaters of Light had an Audience Appreciation or AI figure of 81
The Appreciation Index in an indication of how much viewers enjoyed the episode. It is based to the reactions of a selected panel of viewers, who rate the episode shortly after transmission.
The highest score for the evening on the two main channels was for Casualty, which scored 85
Peter Capaldi on leaving Doctor Who: “I want to always be giving it my best and I don’t think if I stayed on I’d be able to do that”
After three series and four years as the Doctor, Peter Capaldi is soon to film his last episode of Doctor Who. For a lifelong fan of the show, leaving can’t be easy and yet the actor says his decision is based on his determination to only give his best to the part.
“I love this show, but I’ve never done anything where you turn up every day for ten months,” says Capaldi in the new issue of Radio Times magazine. “I want to always be giving it my best and I don’t think if I stayed on I’d be able to do that. I can’t think of another way to say, ‘This could be the end of civilisation as we know it.'”
Capaldi adds that the cyclical structure of Doctor Who means that it is not necessarily something that an actor seeking new challenges would want to work on indefinitely.
“With episodic television of any genre, the audience wants the same thing all the time,” he says. “But the instinct that leads the actor is not about being in a groove.”
Read the full interview with Peter Capaldi – as well as his co-star Michelle Gomez and Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat – in the new issue of Radio Times magazine, on sale from Tuesday in shops (UK Only) and via iTunes
The Gallifreyan Newsroom today received the sad news that Doctor Who Adventurers is to cease publication. The title today put out the following statement:
“We are pausing the publication of Dr Who Adventures magazine and will not be publishing regular issues in the near future. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your loyalty to the magazine, which we greatly appreciate and we hope that you have enjoyed the title as much as we have. Current subscribers will be contacted in due course with regards to refunds”.
Just in time for Halloween is a collection of twelve illustrated terrifying tales from the TARDIS written by six different authors.
Doctor Who: Tales Of Terror features twelve original stories by six authors, with twelve original black and white illustrations to sit alongside them.
The six authors featured are Jacqueline Rayner, Mike Tucker, Paul Magrs, Richard Dungworth, Scott Handcock and Craig Donaghy. The illustrator is Rohan Eason.
Check out the cover art and details below.
Tales Of Terror
A new spine-chilling collection of twelve short illustrated adventures packed with terrifying Doctor Who monsters and villains, just in time for Halloween 2017!
Each short story will feature a frightening nemesis for the Doctor to outwit, and each will star one incarnation of the Doctor with additional appearances from favourite friends and companions such as Sarah Jane, Jo and Ace.
DOCTOR WHO ACTRESS: ‘YOU DON’T ALWAYS HAVE TO BE STRONG TO BE A GOOD ROLE MODEL’
This week’s Doctor Who: The Fan Show – The Aftershow takes a look at the latest episode of Series 10, The Eaters Of Light, with its guest star Rebecca Benson.
Rebecca, who plays the strong-willed Kar, was asked by The Fan Show host Christel Dee on the importance of positive female role models in Doctor Who, the actress replied:
“Oh, it’s so important.
It’s really important to have representation for little girls to feel like they can do something better or do something more, or do something bigger.
It’s not just about having strong female role models, it’s about having women who are real that you can actually go, ‘You know what, if I were in her shoes, I’d feel that way too.
You don’t always have to be strong to be a good role model.”
Benson, also a guest star in hit shows such as The Crown (with former Doctor Who Matt Smith) and Game Of Thrones, spoke of her joy when the part was offered, she said:
“When Kar came through, I was just thrilled to get to play a warrior and I was so happy to get a sword, and run around and scream and do all those really heroic stuff that you always really want to do when you want to become an actor!”
Rebecca also chats about keeping her casting in Doctor Who secret from her family, working with fellow Scot Peter Capaldi and, as always, hairstyles…
Watch Doctor Who: The Fan Show – The Aftershow episode 10 in the player below.
Brian Cant was a famous face in the 1970s and 1980s
Children’s presenter Brian Cant has died at the age of 83.
He was best known for presenting BBC’s Play School for 21 years from 1964, and Play Away from 1971 to 1984.
His agent said he had been living with Parkinson’s disease and died at Denville Hall, a retirement home often used by those in the entertainment industry.
A statement from the family said: “He lived courageously with Parkinson’s disease for a long time.”
Cant was also a guest presenter on Jackanory and appeared on ITV’s Dappledown Farm, which ran from 1990 to 2003.
He got his big break when he auditioned for Play School, when part of the audition required him to climb into a cardboard box.
His voice was known to millions in shows such as Trumpton, his most famous line being the fire brigade call-out: “Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grub.”
Brian Cant with Humpty and Chloe Ashcroft with Jemima. two of the Play School presenters
For millions his voice immediately evokes childhood.
In the early ’60s – an audition in which he was asked to sit in a cardboard box led to a job on a new programme called Play School.
Born in Ipswich, he trained as a printer before having a go at acting. In 1965 Cant appeared as Kert Gantry in the epic Doctor Who: The Dalek Master Plan (Pictured)
Brian Cant as Kert Gantry in The Dalek Master Plan
The warm, friendly voice was perfect for another children’s venture – Trumpton, Camberwick Green – and the slightly more industrial Chigley.
If it sounds as though it was recorded in a cupboard, it’s because it was.
Along with Play Away, Bric a Brac and other programmes he was part of children’s TV for more than 20 years.
He wrote and appeared on stage, but more than anything he was – for many – a much loved part of childhood.
Cant was honoured with a special Children’s Bafta award in 2010.
In a BBC interview, he explained that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1999.
He said the one thing he wanted children to take away from his work was “that I made them laugh, I made them feel happy”.
On receiving his Bafta, Cant said: “One of the main rules of those Play School days was that we should play to the camera as though we were talking to one child, in whatever circumstance.
“It could be somebody in a tower block, a nice semi-detached somewhere, or a Royal palace. You had to phrase everything so, whoever was watching it, they felt you were talking to them.”
Doctor Who series 10 to conclude with feature-length finale
It looks like this series of Doctor Who is set to end with a bang, with the sci-fi drama’s upcoming final episode The Doctor Falls now announced to be a specially extended hour-long episode.
This is in keeping with showrunner Steven Moffat’s last two series finales (2014’s Death in Heaven and 2015’s Hell Bent) which were both similarly extended, and means that fans will be treated with even more action and adventure for Moffat and star Peter Capaldi’s penultimate adventure before they leave in December’s Christmas special.
Starring Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor, Pearl Mackie’s Bill Potts and Matt Lucas’ Nardole, The Doctor Falls will be the second part of a double story stating with next Saturday’s World Enough and Time, which will also see the return of John Simm’s evil Master alongside his later incarnation Missy (played by Michelle Gomez).
And to mark the occasion of both Simm’s return after over seven years (he last appeared in 2010 special The End of Time Part 2) AND the first ever onscreen multi-Master story, the BBC has also released a special image (see main picture) of the two Masters back-to-back around the Doctor, which the corporation says is intended to be a dark twist on the poster used in 2013 anniversary special The Day of the Doctor (see below).
The Day of the Doctor
So that’s an extra-long finale with THREE Time Lords, two Masters and an invading force of Mondasian Cybermen, themselves not seen in the series for 50 years. Sounds like the past really will be coming back to haunt the Time Lord in this one.
Doctor Who continues on BBC1 next Saturday 24th June at 6.45pm
