Category Archives: Twelfth Doctor

Aug25

After a Break in Transmission Service has Resumed

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Regular readers of the Doctor Who Mind Robber would be aware of the paltry output from this esteemed blog in recent months. Whilst roughly correlating with the eight month absence of the Doctor from our television screens, the cause of this tardiness is much deeper and sinister than that. In Australia our community has been confronted by an evil arguably greater than that ever encountered by our hero and his companions. More malignant than the Cybermen and with less empathy than the Daleks, Tony Abbott’s Coalition Government is seeking to restructure the very fabric of Australian society by the decimation of our Social Welfare System and the redistribution of collective wealth to their Master, Big Business.

Here is a meme the author created not long after the September 2013 Federal election.The text quoted are the words of Davros, the creator of the Daleks, in Part 5 of The Genesis of the Daleks (1975) (with slight amendment) to Tony Abbott. The similarities between Davros and Abbott are most striking. Enjoy!

Here is a meme the author created not long after the September 2013 Federal election.The text quoted are the words of Davros, the creator of the Daleks, in Part 5 of The Genesis of the Daleks (1975) (with slight amendment) and now attributed to our “Esteemed Leader” Tony Abbott. The similarities between Davros and Abbott are most striking. Enjoy!

The author of the Doctor Who Mind Robber has been caught in an abyss of political activism against this creeping fascism and has been known to surface occasionally to blog on this terror at The Abbott Proof Fence. The return of Doctor Who with the magnificent Peter Capaldi at the helm is a most welcome respite from the terrors that confront Australian society daily. Whilst it is unlikely that much progress will be made on our Ultimate Doctor Who marathon in the short term (we are ready to meet the Third Doctor in Season 7), the Doctor Who Mind Robber will nevertheless provide weekly reflections on Series 8 from the perspective of an old series fan with a fetish for history and continuity.

Sit back, adjust your sets and await the recommencement of transmission. Enjoy the ride!

 

Vivien Fleming

Jun11

Doctor Who World Tour

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The BBC has just announced a 12 day Doctor Who World Tour commencing on 7 August 2014.  Covering five continents and seven cities, the tour will conclude in Brazil on 19 August. The Twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi, Companion Jenna Coleman (Clara) and Executive Producer Steven Moffat will visit the cities of Cardiff, London, Seoul, Sydney, New York, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro.

Full details of the tour have yet to be released, however it has been confirmed that the Tour will land at Cardiff and London on 7 August and conclude in Rio de Janeiro on 19 August. Further itinerary details will be released soon and will be available from the dedicated tour website http://www.doctorwho.tv/worldtour/

In the meantime check out the World Tour promotional video below.

Season 8 of Doctor Who will commence screening on a date to be advised in August 2014.

 

Vivien Fleming

©Vivien Fleming, 2014.

Mar21

Dogtor Who?

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I couldn’t resist sharing this Wales Online article which features the fantastic artwork of 35 year old American Christie Cox. Cox has reimaged all 13 incarnations of the Doctor as dogs.  You can read the article and view all of the artwork here.

Feb24

Samuel Anderson Joins Series 8 as Danny Pink

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The BBC has announced that former Emmerdale star Samuel Anderson will join Doctor Who in Series 8 as a recurring character. Details on the role are scant with the only confirmation being that Anderson will play Danny Pink, a teacher at Coal Hill School.  In the 50th Anniversary Special, The Day of the Doctor, companion Clara Oswald was also shown to be a teacher at the school which started it all off for Who in 1963.

Whether Anderson will be a companion is unclear. Which of the Doctor’s male companions would you most like Danny Pink to be modelled on?  Vote in the Doctor Who Mind Robber’s Poll and share your thoughts in our comments section. We’ve excluded UNIT characters, Kamelion and K-9 from the Poll, however please feel free to discuss them in the comments.

Vivien Fleming

Feb6

Let the Marathon Recommence!

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With the hysteria of Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary behind us, and Peter Capaldi’s debut series as the Doctor at least six months away, it’s time to recommence the Doctor Who Mind Robber’s ultimate marathon. Before the unrelenting barrage of Golden Anniversary publicity and hype derailed the writer’s quest to view and review all 800 episodes of Doctor Who, this humble blog had chronicled the Doctor’s adventures from William Hartnell’s debut serial, An Unearthly Child, to Patrick Troughton’s penultimate outing, The Space Pirates. Although the final serial of the monochrome era, The War Games, had been viewed several times, the review has yet to grace the pages of this blog. It’s almost as if I couldn’t bare to make the final break with my favourite doctor, Troughton. Alas, it’s time to move on. Peter Capalid’s channelling of Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor in his costume publicity photos has reignited my passion to explore the tenure of our first full colour Doctor. Please join me for the journey!

Patrick Troughton

Vivien Fleming

©Vivien Fleming, 2014.

Nov26

“The Time of the Doctor” – BBC Confirms Christmas Special Title

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The BBC has officially confirmed that the Doctor Who Christmas Special, in which the Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith will regenerate into Peter Capaldi, will be titled The Time of the Doctor. The title suggests that the special is part of a trilogy – the Season 7 finale, The Name of the Doctor, the 50th Anniversary Special The Day of the Doctor, and the Christmas Special, The Time of the Doctor.  The Name, Day and Time of the Doctor – it all appears preordained! Whether Peter Capaldi is to be titled the Twelfth Doctor, or even the Fourteenth Doctor, remains to be seen.

In an article in the UK’s Mirror newspaper, Steven Moffat is said to have confirmed that Smith is the 14th incarnation. The additional two Doctors are John Hurt’s War Doctor, which The Night of the Doctor confirmed is between the Eighth and Ninth Doctors, and an extra regeneration of the Tenth Doctor.  In The Journey’s End David Tennant’s Doctor used up a further regeneration to save himself. Doctor Who mythology has long held that the Doctor can only regenerate 12 times.  On this perplexing problem the Mirror has quoted a show source as saying:

The riddle of the regeneration problem, something fans have talked about for decades, will be faced head on at Christmas. There is going to be another huge cliffhanger and somehow Peter Capaldi has to join and the series has to continue.

The show’s big fans, known as Whovians, won’t believe their eyes at Christmas.

A screen cap from Peter Capaldi's brief cameo appearance in The Day of the Doctor

A screen cap from Peter Capaldi’s brief cameo appearance in The Day of the Doctor

Steven Moffat is quoted as saying:

The 12 regenerations limit is a central part of Doctor Who mythology – science fiction is all about rules, you can’t just casually break them.
So if the Doctor can never change again, what’s Peter Capaldi doing in the Christmas special?

The Synopsis for the Time of the Doctor is as follows:

Orbiting a quiet backwater planet, the massed forces of the universe’s deadliest species gather, drawn to a mysterious message that echoes out to the stars.  And amongst them – the Doctor.  Rescuing Clara from a family Christmas dinner, the Time Lord and his best friend must learn what this enigmatic signal means for his own fate and that of the universe.

Vivien Fleming

©Vivien Fleming, 2013.