Fish custard and bedtime stories

Last Saturday Doctor Who S5 concluded on UK television! There'll be no spoilers per se, but I'd like to muse on Steven Moffat's first season at the helm.

You had me at fish custard. Matt Smith has given a virtuoso performance in the titular role and is, arguably, the most compelling Doctor Who casting in years! A complex hero wrapped in a riddle.

Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) are worthy companions aboard the TARDIS despite my initial reservations regarding the latter! To be fair the former's characterisation was puzzlingly slight, and with good reason.

Familiar foes returned with a twist, and the enigmatic River Song (Alex Kingston) appears to be an integral part of Moffat's masterplan. What is her relationship with the Doctor?

It's no panacea prior to the Pandorica opening! The Dalek redesign isn't eminently successful and has been the object of much Renault-inspired ridicule! The concept is cool, but the realisation less so. Why fix what wasn't broken? The season has suffered from a few narrative missteps, which is endemic to new Doctor Who. However, Matt Smith and Karen Gillan have remained engaging throughout.

Steven Moffat's Doctor Who is less concerned with bland spectacle, deliberating on the wonder and danger of Grimm folklore told at bedtime. I'm still haunted by visual motifs that wouldn't look out of place in Tim Burton's best work. For this I thank Mr Moffat and his rendering of Verity Lambert's tenure as the series' inaugural producer back in 1963.

Despite BBC scheduling, Doctor Who is stronger than ever.

What lies within the Pandorica?

This weekend the first episode of a two-part season finale of Doctor Who begins on BBC One and BBC HD in the UK.

So as not to alienate international readers, I thought it maybe fun to use this opportunity to list my favourite episodes of S5 (in no particular order):

*The Eleventh Hour
*Victory of the Daleks
*The Time of Angels
*Flesh and Stone
*Vampires of Venice
*Amy's Choice
*The Lodger

With that out of the way...

The Pandorica is described as "A box, a cage, a prison of fairytale...", the realm contains what is described as "the most feared being in all the cosmos." The clues sprinkled throughout the season make for Grimm tidings, and I'll leave it there for now!

Doctor Who authors at Forbidden Planet

Bringing down the barriers of Space Time - FORBIDDEN PLANET are delighted to be hosting a triple DOCTOR WHO signing with Una McCormack, Gary Russell and Oli Smith on Saturday 17th July 1- 2pm at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8JR.

In McCormack’s The King’s Dragon, the Doctor and Amy discover a city of secrets. In dark corners, strange creatures are stirring. At the heart of the hall, a great metal dragon oozes gold. When the battle begins only the Doctor can save the city from being destroyed in the crossfire of an ancient civil war.

In Russell’s Glamour Chase, it’s 1936 and an archaeological dig unearths relics of another time – and another planet. But if Enola Porter, noted adventuress, has really found evidence of an alien civilisation, howcome she isn’t famous? Howcome Amy’s never heard of her? Come to that, since she’s been travelling with him for a while now, how come Amy’s never even heard of the Doctor?

In Smith’s Nuclear Time, Doctor and Amy arrive in Appletown, Colorado, 1978 – where the arrival of a mad scientist heralds death falling from the sky. The Doctor is trapped, the TARDIS is damaged, and Amy is being hunted through the streets of the Doctor’s own future. He must unravel the secrets of Appletown before time runs out…

For more news about our signings please go to: http://www.forbiddenplanet.com/Signings.html.

Al Williamson: 1931 - 2010

Al Williamson, the award-winning comic book illustrator, has passed away aged 79.



Al Williamson's distinctive style inspired a generation of artists including Dave Gibbons. His legacy lives on in Flash Gordon and Star Wars comics (amongst others).

Doctor Who action figure set: 11 Doctors

Massive collectors set of all 11 Doctor Who incarnations packaged in a great TARDIS box with a small bio on each Doctor.



Includes...
William Hartnell 1963–1966
Patrick Troughton 1966–1969
Jon Pertwee 1970–1974
Tom Baker 1974–1981
Peter Davison 1981–1984
Colin Baker 1984–1986
Sylvester McCoy 1987–1989, 1996
Paul McGann 1996
Christopher Eccleston 2005
David Tennant 2005–2010
Matt Smith 2010

Pre-order from Forbidden Planet International today.

Enter the City of the Daleks in Doctor Who Adventure Games

The BBC TV Blog has just published another Doctor Who-related post. This one's on the interactive games that have just been launched on the Doctor Who website. Of great interest will be City of the Daleks, which will also be available to Mac users soon.



Simon Nelson, the controller of interactive, talks about how the adventure games sit in with the TV show and why they commissioned them. For further information, and to comment, click here.

Ray Harryhausen - Myths and Legends

On June 29th 2010 the London Film Museum will open its latest exhibition.



Entitled "Ray Harryhausen - Myths and Legends" - the exhibition will be focusing on the work of Ray Harryhausen and showcase the techniques he used to bring his 'Dynamation' creatures to life.

The opening of the exhibition coincides with Ray’s 90th Birthday.

For further details please visit the London Film Museum.

Hat tip @giagia.