Doctor Who at Comic Con 2015

Doctor Who has become a staple of San Diego Comic Con in recent years and this year was no different. Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Michelle Gomez and Steven Moffat were all in attendance and we were given some real treats. 

First up was more details on Doctor Who's role in the upcoming Lego Dimensions game. I think most people who knew about it were quite excited about the prospect, but this trailer really blew us all away:

The game sees a Lego version of the Doctor interact with a crowd of other famous characters, like Batman, Scooby-Doo and Homer Simpson. Capaldi, Coleman and Gomez all lend their voices and you can play as all thirteen incarnations of the Doctor. The attention to detail is superb as the TARDIS interior will change depending on which version of the Doctor you are playing as.

There are a number of Doctor Who levels in the main game and an additional level pack, and fun pack, will be available to purchase separately. The game is released across all the main consoles on 27th September.

 

Then the excitement grew when we were treated to a trailer for Series 9 at the Doctor Who panel. It looks like the BBC has listened to criticism from previous years and has released the trailer shown at the panel online and given us a firm airdate, September 19th. 

It all looks very exciting, although frankly gives very little away. I've taken the liberty of taking a few screenshots of some of the most interesting moments.

The Doctor rocks out!

A daleks are back!

We are told that a dalek city appears in Series 9 and given that this resembles the dalek city seen in the original 1963 dalek story, we'd guess this is it.

We don't know what this is, but it's terrifying!

We get a few glances at Missy

Maisie Williams in Series 9

The moment that caused the most speculation is the final scene featuring Maisie Williams. "You!" exclaims the Doctor. "What took you so long, old man?" says the mysterious character. But who is she?

Potentially she could be a new character but the dialogue and the fact we are teased at the very end of the trailer suggests differently. Now given that Maisie Williams hasn't appeared before it seems likely this is a character in a new regeneration. The number of female Time Lords that have appeared is pretty small so let's speculate:

- Susan, the Doctor's granddaughter. Last seen left on Earth to start a new life and clean up after a dalek invasion. The age works well- you can imagine Williams as Capaldi's granddaughter. She was also present in the original dalek city, so given that the city is being revisited why shouldn't the character too.

- Jenny, the Doctor's (accidental) daugher. Last seen flying off in space, believed dead by the Doctor. She's a more recent character which may be in favour. However, although we know Jenny can regenerate life-force as she does at the end of The Doctor's Daughter, we have no evidence that she can regenerate into a new body. I think. And I suspect if Jenny does ever appear, Georgia Tennant nee Moffat would be the one to play her!

- The Rani- A female evil Time Lord. Unlikely, given the Master now fills that role, that Williams is very unlike Kate O'Mara and that Steven Moffat has said he doesn't want to bring the character back.

- River Song- As far as we know we have seen all of River's regenerations- small child, then Mel, then Alex Kingston. We don't know for certain that the child did regenerate into Mel but that seems likely.

- Romana- Companion to the Doctor. Given that Jenna Coleman is likely to leave in the near future this is the other possibility for Williams to take on a companion role. Williams doesn't come across like the well-spoken, elegant Romana we know and love though. And as far as we know Romana is still on Gallifrey, wherever that is these days.

- Another Doctor relation- Given we don't know who Susan's mother and grandmother were, could Williams be playing one of them. It would be a bit weird if she played the grandmother, considering then she would have a romantic connection to Capaldi. But the Doctor's original daughter, mother of Susan, is possible, if unlikely.

These have pretty much been ordered in terms of likelihood. I still think Susan is the best bet.

I guess only time will tell...

Lethbridge-Stewart: The Forgotten Son

The first in a series focussing on Doctor Who's legendary Brigadier, this story follows shortly after the character's first appearance in Doctor Who, The Web of Fear. Still only a Colonel, Lethbridge-Stewart is tasked with returning everyone back to London. But when a body goes missing he soon realises the Great Intelligence is still at large and up to something in the town Lethbridge-Stewart grew up in. But why can't he remember his childhood clearly. 

I thought this book did many things well. It is a decent sequel to The Web of Fear and tells Lethbridge-Stewart's backstory, something we have never had before. I wasn't entirely convinced on the Great Intelligence being at all involved with his childhood but it was just about explained through timey-wimey stuff. Without wanting to spoil things, the Great Intelligence plotline is closely linked to the modern episodes to feature the 'creature', especially The Name of the Doctor. I thought this was a good idea as it means this book is accessible to fans of New Who as well as the classic series. 

There were a few problems though. I wasn't keen on the way the book was set out, lots of switching between scenes. I felt it would have worked much better with shorter chapters which focused on one group of characters rather than continually switching between perspectives. And for a short book, I think there should be lots of short chapters rather than only a few long ones. 

I also wasn't entirely enamoured with the writing style. It read very much like it was written in the late 1960s, feeling almost like a Target novelisation. I liked the period details but the style felt old fashioned and along with the long chapter and switching of perspectives made the pace feel slower than it could have been. 

I thought this was a really good story which was not written as well as it deserved to be. Great to have a series focussing on Lethbridge-Stewart and I look forward to the next few books!