The Brigadier Dies! The Memoriam Post

Nicholas Courtney

1929-2011

Rest In Peace

Goodbye Brigadier. You were a splendid chap. Goodbye (goes to sob uncontrollably)... I don't know what to say. Nicholas Courtney is Doctor Who. He is the only person to have met almost all of the Doctors. It is just such a loss. It is impossible to put into words the amount of sorrow and sadness that I feel. The Brigadier's confrontations with the Third Doctor were a treat. I cannot say much more. I just want Nicholas Courtney to know, that, wherever he is, whenever he is, he will always be loved. And even though he might be gone, his legacy will live on and on and on. You will be missed. I wish his friends and family all the best in this extremely difficult time. Rest In Peace, Brig.

PDA01 - The Devil Goblins From Neptune

The Devil Goblins Of Neptune

Reflections

I’m not a fan of the Third Doctor. His era is too much like James Bond; action-orientated. It would therefore make sense if I didn’t like The Devil Goblins From Neptune, a homage/kiss to the era it’s set in. I thought the same going into the novel. As I read along, I found myself being pleasantly surprised. Here was a book that understood character, action and storyline. A book with multiple layers is a good book. This book is chock to the brim with them. Deception upon deception upon deception, the hippy era of the seventies and the development of Mike Yates are all facets of the book.

Let’s focus on the good bits. It’s fun. The reader loves reading this book, because it is so similar to the era in which it is set. The characterisation of Liz and the Doctor is spot on. Liz being an intellectual on par with the Doctor, and the Doctor softly taking on authority are all reflected with great gusto. The character of Shushkin is a wonderful creation. At first you think she wants to destory everyone’s favourite Time Lord, but it turns out that it is quite the opposite – she needs him to save the Earth. The Nedenah are a brillaint race, the perfect invision of the “greys”. They are characterised wonderfully. Take the scene where the plane,that they and the Brigadier are aboard, is about to crash. The Nedenah calmly state “we’re going to crash.” Hillarious and wonderfully tongue-in-cheek.

But the real reason that this novel exists is because of Mike Yates. Mike Yates is a character I knew little about. The problem with Doctor Who on television is that we rarely get to see any characters in a great deal of depth. Mike Yates is a soldier who goes bad. Why? This book goes some way to explaining Yates’ attitude and behaviour. He can’t handle the stress of taking over and gets increasingly frustrated with his UNIT job. He is shown at times to be a male chauvinist and protective of Liz. At the end of this book, I knew who Mike Yates was. The essence of his character and I disliked it immensly. Mike Yates is not a nice person and it shows.

This leads me to the more difficult to leave areas of the book. The hippy pastiche was clever, but I got fed up with it very quickly. The beginning of the book is slow and difficult to get into. The ending is rushed and does not leave the reader entirely satisfied. There were loose ends that weren’t tied up. Who are the CIA? And what are their motives? These questions are never truly answered. A book needs to summarise and end properly and I felt Devil Goblins failed spectacularly on that part.

One could never call Devil Goblins thoughtful or beautiful. But what it does succeed in doing is telling a cracking good tale. The ending is annoying how it leaves so many ends untied, which is frustrating in the extreme. This is the book to read when the weather is warm. A Summer book.
Verdict: 6.5/10

The Series Six/Seven Guessing Post

Hello,
I just watched A Christmas Carol again, which was highly enjoyable. Expect a review sometime next week. Until then, a few thoughts on the Arc Plot for Series Six. Some readers may remember the post a did for Series Five basically thinking about the Silence and the Pandorica. This is in the same sort of style. I have no conclusions but it may help get the brain thinking about what may happen in Series Six/Seven.
- It is basically a fact that we will find out who River is this season. One thing that keeps sticking out at me is the rumour that Father Octavian put forward in Flesh and Stone. He said that River had killed a good man, leading to her imprisonment in the Stormcage Facility. When River is later questioned she replied "the best man I've ever known." We all assume that it is the Doctor. But isn't that far too obvious! Surely, the Moffster wouldn't give us such an obvious clue as to the future of the Doctor. More clues are given to us as to River's identity in The Big Bang. When the Doctor is removed from Space and Time, it is made very clear that River, Amy and Rory will forget the Doctor.
TO BE CONTINUED.... (Some person has booked the computer I'm on, and my session will end in two minutes!)

Introduction/Welcome

Doctor Who is a brillaint program. Don’t let anybody tell you any different. Okay, so it’s not perfect. The early stories may drag on and the effects may be a tad unconvincing. But name one thing that is perfect. You can’t. But Doctor Who is as close as you’ll get.
But what makes it so good? I have already highlighted the more negative aspects. But even when there is a story that is not so great, there are still aspects that make the program shine. A light in the darkness. But I’m getting from the point. There has been much written on Doctor Who, from behind-the-scenes books to a knitting book, the sheer popularity of the program is outstanding. But why is it popular. What is the one thing that makes Doctor Who more amazing than anything else? Due to the very nature of the program this is a very difficult question to answer. To one person, it may be the “behind the sofa” cliché, or it may be the characterisation, or it may be the realisation of the monsters, or the music, or the sheer absurdity of the concept of a man travelling in time and space in a box, or it could be so many more.
To me, the appeal of Doctor Who is all these and more. It’s the combination of genres, the concept of space-time travel. But to me, the biggest factor, that made me love the program, was the twinkle in the eye. Every Doctor, every companion has a moment where they can shine and show their character. It’s the fact that Doctor Who can have you crying, laughing and raging all at the same time. Only a special program can change a life, can save a person, can give a person hope, and to give a person comfort. I have never been a “popular” person, quite the opposite, in fact. I don’t know why. It may be to do with the fact that I read a lot, that I like facts, or that I need a tan. Such matters seem mundane to me, but to others they can be a deadly weapon to use against others. It’s hard to think that these things can affect a person so much, but they can. A couple of years back, I hated my life, I didn’t think there was any way out. But in late September, my family was channel flicking and I just happened to catch an episode of Doctor Who (Voyage of the Damned, by the way!). There was nothing else on, so I sat down and just watched. It was brillaint. It gave me hope. It made me realise that there were people who cared and who always will.
Part of the reason, I started this site, was to get some people that I could talk to and befriend. As you know, things got hard for me earlier this year. And then I realised that people cared about me, not just about the comics, about me and who I was. I can’t thank you enough for that. Thankyou Mindz and anyone else who offered me a hand when I had fallen. It’s because of you, that I am here typing this. Thankyou.
So, this site is open for business. I will be opening the site’s remit to reviews of all Doctor Who items, not just comics. But books, audios, magazines and any other thing I can think of. Oh, and there may be interviews with a couple of people you’ll know. I look forward to the coming months. I look forward to your comments and your reviews. And I look forward to your support and to supporting you.
Thankyou,
Hartnellfan2

Sorry!

I would just like to apologise. This blog has fallen into disrepair, with only one post. I did plan on doing more reviews, really I did. But then a lot of things happened. Here is the approximate order...
-Sickness
-Exams
-SJA Se4
-An interest in BF audios
-The Coming Of The Terraphiles
-Gallifrey Base
So, I have been incredibly busy. But, this is not the end. I promise to you that within two weeks I will have an in-depth review of one thing or another. I am broadening the blog's spectrums to audios, TV and comics (the focus) and closing Theta Morbius Times. I am probably getting rid of that unless something really interesting happens, which it could.
Thanks for your patience

Welcome To The Doctor Who Comics Database!

Hello All!

The blog has had a major overhaul and know has a new name, the Doctor Who Comics Database. But more has changed than the look and feel of the site; the whole site’s remit has changed! The new site’s remit is too, basically: “to provide a single internet site, that analyses all Doctor Who comics, the good and the not so good.”

This simply means a website for Doctor Who comic fans. For the fans who can call themselves experts in the fields, and for the first-timers who read a single comic in DWM once, and everyone in between. The way that this will happen is that over a series of posts a comic strip is analysed on all the key aspects, which include production credits, companions, Doctor, synopsis, publication and date. Often these details tell more about the story, than the story itself! The order of this will look a little like this:

EndGame
Writer:
Artist:
Doctor:
Companions:
Notable Features:
Synopsis:
Print Updates:
Links to the series:
Breaks from the series:
Review:
Rating:

These will likely be accompanied by images from the strip, key panels that show greatness. The synopses will not be incredibly detailed. There are other sites for that (most notably Altered Vistas) and if you are a first-timer to the blog and Doctor Who comics, you do not necessarily want the ending spoiled. In saying that, some knowledge of the strip would be good, as some spoileration is necessary to provide an accurate and proper review of a strip. The links with the series is basically, the continuity elements and how closely it follows the series (for example, the Celestial Toymaker’s return in EndGame). The breaks with the series is when the strip cuts itself off from the series which can be a very good thing, or a very bad thing, depending on your point of view (for example, the Doctor telling a Spider to “Die, hideous creature, Die!” in Master of the Spiders). A review follows that. The reviews are highly detailed, but keep in mind; all people view a comic strip in different ways, so these reviews will be taken from my perspective. I will try to keep an open mind whenever possible, but I can’t guarantee anything. And a rating out of five will follow that, with a short comment summing up.

But, what about the fanzine, Theta Morbius Times? Well, for those who are uninitiated, it was a fanzine I ran with the old Comic Fun. For those of you who enjoyed that, don’t worry, TMT will return! But, again changes are in the air. The issue numbering will revert to Issue One and the fanzine will have a small focus on comics, but it is a complementary piece to the site. This means that more of the television series will be covered, and other aspects of spin-off fiction.

But I can’t do this all alone. It takes a long time to read a comic and write a detailed article on it. This is where I need YOUR help. I would be very interested in seeing anything you have done, but specifically I would like to see reviews or artwork. You can help keep the blog running, just send me an email with your work, letters, comments, whatever to JameGardiner@gmail.com I look forward to seeing your talent! Oh, and that is not all. I have managed to secure a number of coveted interviews with comic strip writers and artists and more. From as well known as Adrian Salmon, to the fan made film producer Babelcolour, these interviews aim to be the ultimate, the only interview you ever need to read with these brilliant people. Also on the blog will be profiles, overviews and news from the comic strip world. Welcome to The Doctor Who Comics Database, may it live long and prosper!

NEXT: A look at Doctor Who Comics: What makes them so special?

Oh, and I will be changing the blog's web address to:
http://www.doctorwhocomicsdatabase.blogspot.com/
very soon, so tell everyone otherwise you won't know where to find us!