Category Archives: Series 8

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

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

Aug4

The bookmakers were right. Peter Capaldi is the 12th Doctor.

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The 55 year old Scot, Peter Capaldi, has just been revealed as the 12th Doctor. I can’t describe how pleased I am that the next Doctor will be older than me. There’s been a great deal of age bias surrounding the conjecture on the new Doctor’s identity. Comments to the effect that any person over the age of 40 would find the filming schedule too rigorous have absolutely astounded me.  This smacks of ageism and clearly exhibits the rampant discrimination which is the cause of such high unemployment for anyone over the age of about 45. The Australian Government runs the Experience + initiative to assist more mature aged people to enter and remain in the workforce. I wonder if there are similar initiatives in the UK and the US? I only hope that the anti-Capaldi crowd aren’t, or don’t ever become, employers or people whose job classifications involve recruitment.

Peter Capaldi is the Twelfth Doctor

Peter Capaldi is the Twelfth Doctor

With Capaldi’s appointment as the next Doctor one quarter of all Doctors have been Scottish.  As show runner Steven Moffat is also a Scot we can only hope that Capaldi isn’t compelled to adopt an Estuary English accent like the last Scottish Doctor, David Tennant. The opportunity to escape from the Londoncentric Doctor Who of the last  seven odd years is upon us. Here’s hoping the opportunity isn’t lost. 

Vivien Fleming

Aug4

Stellar Line-Up for 12th Doctor Announcement Special

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ImageThe BBC has announced a stellar line-up for Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor which will be simulcast on ABC1 at 4:30 a.m. tomorrow (Monday) morning. Here are the details as posted on the BBC website:

Anyone shouting, ‘Is there a Doctor in the house?’ during tonight’s Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor won’t be disappointed…

Peter Davison (the Fifth Doctor) will be there in person and Matt Smith (the current Doctor) and Colin Baker (the Sixth Doctor) will also be contributing.

The marvellous Bernard Cribbins (Wilfred Mott) will be there in person and there’ll be contributions from former companions including Anneke Wills (Polly), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Janet Fielding (Tegan) and Bonnie Langford (Mel). Writer and actor Mark Gatiss also features in the show by way of a specially recorded video.

Celebrity fans in the studio include Rufus Hound, Liza Tarbuck and from Outnumbered, Daniel Roche. There’ll also be video contributions from Professor Robert Winston, Jo Whiley, Bruno Tonioli and following his appearance in The Power of Three, Professor Brian Cox.

And, of course, the next Doctor will be there…

Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor is hosted by Zoe Ball and begins on BBC One tonight at 7pm.

Aug3

ABC to air Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor at 4:00 a.m. Monday Morning

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The ABC has made an official announcement concerning the broadcast of Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor.  This one-off special, in which the Twelfth Doctor will be revealed, will be aired live on ABC1 at 4.00 a.m. on Monday 5 August 2103.  The show will be available on iview throughout the day and will be repeated on ABC2 at 8:30 p.m. on Monday night.  Here’s the ABC’s announcement:

ABC1 is set to simulcast LIVE to Australia the one-off BBC television special Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor, in which the next Doctor will be exclusively revealed to the world, this Monday August 5 at 4am EST.

Following the ABC1 broadcast the half-hour show will be available to watch on iview throughout Monday, and replayed at 8.30pm Monday evening on ABC2. Brendan Dahill, Controller ABC1 says: “We are extremely excited to be able to reveal the highly anticipated next Doctor to Australia as the breaking news happens live, direct from the UK – a first for the ABC.”

Regarded as one of the most hotly contested roles in British television, the 12th Doctor will be unveiled during their first ever interview, in front of a live studio audience set against the backdrop of a swirling vortex, amongst Daleks and the TARDIS.

The special will also include live special guests, Doctors old and new, as well as companions and celebrity fans, and will feature clips and moments from across the show’s 50 year history.

Current Doctor Matt Smith and lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat will both give interviews about one of the biggest roles in TV and set out just what it takes to be the Doctor.

Steven Moffat said: “The decision is made and the time has come to reveal who’s taking over the TARDIS. For the last of the Time Lords, the clock is striking twelve.”

Keep up to date with all the latest news about the show and special guests by following facebook.com/ABCTV and twitter.com/ABCTV#doctorwho

Aug3

Australia to Get Live 12th Doctor Reveal

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Get your alarm clocks set because ABC TV’s website has listed Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor for 4:00 a.m. on Monday 5 August.  Without fanfare our national broadcaster is giving all Australians the opportunity to “participate” in this global event as the next Doctor is revealed.  How many of you will be up for it?

You can check out the ABC programme guide here

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Aug1

Who’s the next Doctor?

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Since the news was released on 1st June that Matt Smith is leaving Doctor Who all number of names have been suggested for the Twelfth Doctor. According to an article in yesterday’s Radio Times the bookmakers’ current favourite, at odds of 2-1, is Peter Capaldi.  The 55 year old Scot is most well known for his role of Malcolm Tucker in the BBC sitcom The Thick of It. Like the Tenth Doctor, David Tennant, Capaldi is a genuine fan of Who and even had a letter published in the Radio Times when aged 15.  The thought of an older Doctor is extremely enticing, although I wonder how an actor who’s the same age as William Hartnell was when he first played the Doctor would fare with the fan girls?  Perhaps a young male companion, preferably in a skirt like Jamie McCrimmon, would satisfy the younger female viewers?

Peter Capaldi is the current bookies' favourite to play the Twelfth Doctor

Peter Capaldi is the current bookies’ favourite to play the Twelfth Doctor

A rumour is currently flying around Twitter that an announcement will be made by the BBC about Doctor Who at midnight tonight (Thursday) UK Time.  That’s 9.00 a.m. today Eastern Australian time. Whether the announcement will be the name of the new Doctor, or an announcement of a forthcoming announcement, remains to be seen.  The Radio Times had previously said that the new Doctor would be announced on a special edition of Doctor Who Confidential. A special edition it would certainly need to be given that DWC ceased production at the end of 2011.  Further rumours have suggested that this special edition will be aired in the UK this coming Sunday.

Bleeding Cool and Metro are now reporting that a one-off Doctor Who Live will be screened on the BBC this Sunday at 7.00 p.m. The Twelfth Doctor will be unveiled and interviewed on the show, it has been stated.  More information on this latest rumour can be found at http://metro.co.uk/2013/08/01/new-doctor-the-next-doctor-who-lead-actor-to-be-unveiled-this-sunday-on-bbc-one-3908220/

You can read the latest  Radio Times article at http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-07-31/doctor-who-read-the-fan-letter-bookies-favourite-peter-capaldi-wrote-to-radio-times-aged-15 and check out the Doctor Who Tweets on Twitter at #DoctorWho

Vivien Fleming

©Vivien Fleming, 2013.