Sci-Fi Storm

At least he has a contract in hand, at least…but it seems neither the Doctor or the Daleks can interrupt him long enough to sign it, especially if The Walking Dead is on…

…but did you notice the book on the table, with the Post-It tabs marking pages? Hmmm…

Last year we attended Rhode Island Comic Con – “The Biggest Show in the Smallest State”, and there were a number of issues relating to its explosion in size, but aside from capacity related issues it was still a fun time. This year they expanded to make use of space at the connected Dunkin’ Donuts Center (a hockey arena) to hopefully spread things out, which would also come with more entrances, more concessions – but above all, more space for celebrities (and the lines of fans), vendors, photo ops and more. But they are still learning how to deal with their own size. Nothing as serious as last year, but more things that hopefully will be addressed for next year.
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[WARNING: Marked Spoiler below for the two recent Doctor Who episodes]

It’s really not surprising given the way they’ve set up her character, but Maisie Williams is not done yet with her appearances on Doctor Who.

The Game Of Thrones star just recently appeared in the double episodes “The Girl Who Died” and “The Woman Who Lived” as the Viking girl Ashildr who the Doctor [SPOILER ALERT]makes immortal to save her life, and later encounters her in 17th Century England, and sees what she has become.[END SPOILERS]

Williams will return in the 10th episode, “Face The Raven”, according to writer Sarah Dollard speaking at a panel at MCM London Comic Con, where showrunner Steven Moffat also insisted that Williams is not becoming the new companion with the upcoming departure of Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman). However, it seems apparent that she is set up as a recurring character, ala Captain Jack Harkness and River Song. In fact, in the Doctor even addressed the issue of Harkness, the other character that became immortal because of the Doctor, in “The Woman Who Lived”, informing Ashildr (now going by “Me”) that she may come across him in the future.

Fun fact – the Doctor even made a deeper reference to the Great Fire of London – which in the episode “The Visitation” during the Fifth Doctor’s reign was started by the Terileptils. “The Visitation” is currently available on Netflix.

BBC Three just announced Class, a spinoff of Doctor Who aimed at the Young Adult (YA) audience, being led by YA author Patrick Ness ([asin=0763676187]Chaos Walking[/asin] trilogy, [asin=0763660655]A Monster Calls[/asin]).

“Class is a YA series set in contemporary London. Incredible dangers are breaking through the walls of time and space, and with darkness coming, London is unprotected. With all the action, heart and adrenalin of the best YA fiction (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Hunger Games), this is Coal Hill School and Doctor Who like you’ve never seen them before,” according to the release.

“No one has documented the dark and exhilarating world of the teenager like Patrick Ness, and now we’re bringing his brilliant story-telling into Doctor Who,” said showrunner Steven Moffat. “This is growing up in modern Britain – but with monsters!”

“I’m astounded and thrilled to be entering the Doctor Who universe, which is as vast as time and space itself,” said Ness. “There’s so much room there for all kinds of amazing stories, and to work with Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin to find a place to tell one of my own has been an absolute joy. I can’t wait for people to meet the heroes of Class, to meet the all-new villains and aliens, to remember that the horrors of the darkest corners of existence are just about on par with having to pass your A-Levels.”

Class will be an 8 x 45 minute series produced by BBC Cymru Wales in association with BBC Worldwide for BBC Three. The series will film in and around Wales from Spring, 2016 and be on air next year.

With Season 9 poised to start, companion Jenna Coleman, who currently plays Clara Oswald on Doctor Who, will be leaving at some point, likely before the Christmas Special.

What was apparently a tightly-kept secret, Coleman was given the starring role in ITV’s eight-part, £10 million drama Victoria, about the 19th century (and until recently the longest-serving) British Monarch.

Her three years opposite both Matt Smith and now Peter Capaldi has made her the longest serving companion to the Doctor since the show was revived in 2005.

Thanks to reader Chris for pointing out that the BBC has released a prologue mini-episode for Season 9! It’s just two minutes long but with greater implications. The Doctor is seen speaking with Ohila, the High Priestess of the Sisterhood of Karn, who we last saw in the “Night of the Doctor”, where she convinced the Doctor he needed to join and fight in the Time War…

The time traveling teaser is returning – River Song, played by Alex Kingston, will appear in the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas episode, for the first time opposite Peter Capaldi, and the third incarnation of the Doctor that she’s appeared with.

River’s appearances in the Doctor’s timeline is very twisted. The two encountered each other in opposite directions. In her very first appearance in “Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead” (with David Tennant), it was the first time he met her – but in her case, it would be her last (sort of). They then successively encounter each other in reverse order – as the Doctor sees her more and more, it is earlier in her timeline, but we learn more about her mysterious past, such as that she’s been in prison for killing a “good man”, which we later learn is the Doctor himself. Finally we learn the meaning behind her name and who she really is.

When we last saw her, her “ghost” self from the Library speaks to the Doctor via a telepathic connection, as he himself approaches his own ending.

Is she still a memory? A ghost? Who knows. Time travel is involved and we know she has knowledge of some of the Doctor’s incarnations. We could encounter her somewhere in between previous appearances. Even showrunner Steven Moffat says, “So how can he be seeing her again? As ever, with the most complicated relationship in the universe, it’s a matter of time…”

Alex Kingston is scheduled to appear at Rhode Island Comic-Con in November…I hope I have the chance to interview her…

Showrunner Steven Moffat and stars Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman along with Michelle Gomez (The Mistress/Missy) were at SDCC in the massive Hall H yesterday to talk about the upcoming Series 9 in a panel moderated by The Nerdist’s Chris Hardwick. Series 9 will begin on September 19th.

It was the first time Capaldi was in front of that many people who cheered for him.

Check out the trailer below, and read more after the break…

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Disney XD is taking aim at SF fandom, and Doctor Who is the ammo of choice…the channel announced yesterday that it has picked up Series 2-4 of the rebooted BBC show featuring one of the most popular Doctors, David Tennant.

The show will start with a special airing of “New Earth” on May 9th, and then run in a daily strip from June 13th through the 20th. No word when more episodes will air yet. It also isn’t clear yet if the Christmas specials (includng Tennant’s debut in “The Christmas Invasion”, which is obviously being skipped over to start with) or the series of specials that followed the 4th series that led to Tennant’s departure, are part of the deal. Time, as always, will tell.

Maisie Williams, who plays the diminutive but fiery Arya Stark on Game of Thrones, will guest star on the upcoming season of Doctor Who. The award-winning actress went straight from a U.S. tour to the TARDIS to film her guest role.

“I’m so excited to be working on Doctor Who as it’s such a big and important part of British Culture,” Williams said. “I can’t wait to meet the cast and crew and start filming, especially as we’ll be shooting not too far from my home town.”

“We’re thrilled to have Maisie Williams joining us on Doctor Who,” Producer Steven Moffat added. “It’s not possible to say too much about who or what she’s playing, but she is going to challenge the Doctor in very unexpected ways. This time he might just be out of his depth, and we know Maisie is going to give him exactly the right sort of hell.”

Hmm…I’m not really sure the Doctor is up to dealing with a teenager…especially one who carries Needle…