F-ZeroOne

So when I said I hoped the next one would stretch the boundaries a bit... 😅

That was... to borrow a phrase... fantastic!

And yes, RTD is going to continue to troll the entire internet... 🙂

Hmm, wonder if the MoD will be interested as well? I don't think theres currently even a defence suppression weapon in the RAF inventory since we got rid of ALARM. I always liked that missile though I've never been able to find out how effective it was.

In more tragic news, an Osprey has been lost off Japan:

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-67563915

Doesn't sound hopeful for survivors... 😔

I felt the overall plot was a bit weak, though that may be a fault of the story is was based on (as someone who grew up reading British comics, I did a bit of a double take at the story credits in the opening titles!) but yes, this very much felt like a reunion tour. It does feel some like some change has been deposited in the BBC SFX meter.  Not sure about the new TARDIS interior, it feels a bit too "clean" for me (I would love it if this was just a prank on the audience and that it gets trashed later, though I doubt thats likely - please note, I don't hate it, but I did almost expect the TARDIS to start singing "Let It Go"... 😄). Apparently the next episode has been kept under lock and key and is going to be a bit more out there...

By that definition... all bombers are fighters... 😉

So... turns out the colourised "The Daleks" was part of the 60th anniversary celebrations (look, I knew it was the 60th anniversary of "Doctor Who", I just didn't quite grasp it was the 60th anniversary... the definite article, you might say...😉). Its a 75 minute long "movie" version, with a modern score added (which sometimes works, but does also have a habit of intruding).

Following that, there was a repeat of "An Adventure in Space and Time", the docudrama about the creation of "Doctor Who" from 10 years ago. However, they made a little change. You'll find it on the interwebs, I won't spoil it... 

I don't know if this was previously released on DVD or Blu-Ray, or if it will be available via iPlayer/Disney + but one of the BBC channels is currently broadcasting "The Daleks" - the Hartnell era story that introduced the world to Skaros murderous pepper shakers - in glorious BBC-O-Colour! (and thats Colour" with a "U", by golly chaps! 😉).

As is traditional, last night was the BBCs annual “Children in Need” charity event, which included a short sequence introducing the 14th Doctor (who looks very familiar… 😉). All I’m going to say is that the arguments over whether this “story” counts as canon are going to rage on for decades… 😅

The Mk.II, in Titans Blue, is one of my favourite Gundam designs and that release timing is going to... work out for me. 🙂

One final treasure...

Part of the same clear out, look what I found...!

Take this with a huge pinch of salt, as I read it in one of the lower-end British newspapers (kids, ask your... grandparents now?), but they ran a story stating that Disney were interested in a couple of "Who" spin-offs - one about UNIT, and the other starring Paul McGann. As the Eighth Doctor. 

Hmm. You may recall similar rumours swirled about when he made his re-appearance for the 50th anniversary.

And whilst having a clear out of a relatives house, also found this (art looks familiar, where have I seen that before?😉)

Seeing this reminded me I have a couple of related items lying around. First, a "Complete Vocal Collection Vol. 1" (not sure if I ever had "Vol. 2"):

I think its reasonably well known that "Bubblegum Crisis" took inspiration from a whole slew of other works, though one of the lesser known ones may be "Streets of Fire", which I got to watch a couple months back. Made by the same guy that made "The Warriors", it wasn't very successful on release but was apparently very popular and influential in Japan. The opening sequence in particular might seem a bit familiar to "Crisis" fans (with not as many killer cyborgs, admittedly... this isn't the full opening, which if anything feels even more, er, "inspiring").

That is such a bizarre combination of properties but also so right! 😃

Christmas Specials are back and will mark the debut of Ncuti Gatwa:

https://gizmodo.com/doctor-who-christmas-special-2023-date-streaming-disney-1850995557

Well, the Doctor has already had a Mickey as a companion... 😉Just to be clear, currently things like "Tales of the TARDIS" are only available on the BBCs iPlayer. Its unclear whether or not they will be made available if or when the series comes to Disney + in other territories.

Dalek "Walker Tanks" were one of those concepts that seemed to come up every time there was talk of a new "Who" show during its "hiatus". Various concept art would pop up from time to time.

Oh, there have also been a couple programmes popping up on various BBC sub-channels relating to "Who". Theres footage of the 60th anniversary performance of various music from the show and "Talking TARDIS", hosted by David Tennant, which is mostly archive footage of various interviews with the Doctors from the classic series. If you have access to iPlayer and ever wanted to see the Third Doctor disassemble a caravan, Peter Davison and Patrick Troughton using each other as a cushion or a very bemused local watch the Fourth Doctor and a couple of Cybermen walk into a pub, nows your chance...  the highlight is probably very rare footage of Sylvester McCoys audition for the role, which he pretty much nails from the moment he walks in.

Wow, the "Tales of the TARDIS" are much longer than I thought they would be, even the shortest is about 90 minutes long! I haven't had a chance to watch more than a few minutes of each, and to be honest I'm not sure I'm going to able to fit them in for at least a good while (though much of the content is going to be made up from the "classic" episodes") but just the first few minutes of each are... thats not a tear, I'm allergic to... er... giant robot toys. Yes. That must be it.

Also, its being speculated that after the November specials, the 15th Doctors run will represent a "soft" reboot of the series. Exactly what this means for continuity is unclear, though I personally have my doubts a fan as big as RTD is going to completely let go of everything that came before. Presumably Disney want something more "marketable" without a lot of "baggage". Hmm. That sounds like another Disney-owned property that has a similar issue, something about space wizards with... lazer swords? 😉 Maybe all the Mickey dollars might mean we'll finally see that long-held dream of SFX concept artists everywhere, walking Daleks...

“One day I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back… “ Well, he never said which and for whom… (iPlayer only sadly, AFAIK):

https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/welcome-to-the-whoniverse-and-tales-of-the-tardis

Classic "Who" was often accused of having bargain basement production, but for that trailer it looks like they hired a real Mickey Mouse outfit to make it... 😉

21 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

 

Well, yes... though Revell's "Robotech" is a completely different and almost entirely unrelated project from Harmony Gold's Robotech.

Revell's Robotech predates Harmony Gold's.  It was a name shared by two separate robot model kit lines - the Robotech Defenders and Robotech Changers - which were repackaged Japanese model kits from Dougram, Macross, and Orguss.  The Robotech Defenders limited comic from DC was an attempt to market the kits better by attaching a Transformers-esque storyline to them.   It didn't work out, and the premise was abandoned as Revell pivoted to partnering with Harmony Gold's nascent Macross dub to save its kit line.

The Robotech we know came after that and has no real relation to it save for the name appropriated from Revell's kit line.

Okay, I knew a bit of the story but not the full thing. I do realise, of course, that Revells "Robotech" really only shares a name and some of the mecha designs (which clearly is because they're from the same source material) with the "Robotech" that came later. Though I do wonder if there was perhaps a little bit more potential for one of the "big" publishers as "Shogun Warriors" was supposedly pretty popular for Marvel a bit earlier on.

Er... just regards Marvel or DC picking up the "Robotech" licence, didn't one of them actually release a "Robotech: Defenders" comic, from when Revell or someone was trying to market the model kits? Or am I getting mixed up with some other property? ("Mantech"?!).

On 10/22/2023 at 5:07 PM, Big s said:

I don’t know, I haven’t actually known a single person that remembers Ulysses 31. But Thunderbirds was a different story. Although most people knew as the weird puppet show.  I think having an odd style of tv show made it more memorable 

Er... oops. I was talking about a different "Thunderbirds", one made through the magic of international licencing deals that were only possible in the 80s and never, ever came back to haunt the people that signed them. 😉 (in Japan I believe this series was called "TechnoVoyager", and the happy coincidence that due to a language quirk the vehicles had "TB" on the side suggested an English-language title with some resonance... ).

My view of "Robotech" and its effect is a bit skewed by being on the opposite side of the Atlantic; "impact" is a comparative term, it clearly was never as big a franchise as something like "He-Man" or "Transformers". Here, more people probably remember "Ulysses 31" or even "Thunderbirds 2086" than "Robotech", if they weren't introduced to it through the RPGs/comics.