Gallifrey 2008 Guest Update

I've grabbed the following from Outpost Gallifrey. This may officially now be my dream guest list and quite frankly what a lovely birthday gift I'm giving myself.

Gallifrey One -- North America's annual Doctor Who celebration in Los Angeles -- is announcing several new guests for the February 15-17, 2008 event, Gallifrey One's Nineteenth Symphony.

In conjunction with the Seventh Doctor theme of the weekend, Gallifrey One is delighted to welcome three guests who played an active part in the era: Andrew Cartmel, the script editor for the entire Sylvester McCoy years, who charted the course of the stories and character development from 1987 to 1989; Mark Ayres, the composer who contributed the incidental music for "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy," "Ghost Light" and "The Curse of Fenric"; and actress Lisa Bowerman, who guest starred in "Survival" before becoming the voice of spinoff companion Bernice "Benny" Summerfield for Big Finish productions. Meanwhile, Bowerman will be accompanied by the return of Jason Haigh-Ellery from Big Finish Productions, who will preview the company's 2008 Doctor Who releases. Also joining the convention for the weekend are writer/editor Simon Guerrier, whose work includes novels and short fiction for the Doctor Who lines as well as editing the "Short Trips" anthologies, and Steve Roberts of the Doctor Who Restoration Team, the group that for over a decade has remastered classic Doctor Who serials for the video and DVD era and produced many terrific extra features for the DVD sets. Gallifrey 2008 is also pleased to welcome back science fiction writer David Gerrold and actor/speaker/dealer Bob May from "Lost in Space"... with many other guests to be announced soon!

They join a lineup which already includes the seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy and his companion Ace, Sophie Aldred; the 1996 TV movie companion Grace Holloway, Daphne Ashbrook; Doctor Who series writers Steven Moffat ("Blink") and Paul Cornell ("Human Nature"); writers Caroline Symcox, Keith Topping, Scott Alan Woodard, Dr. Arnold T Blumberg and many more. For more details on the convention, visit the convention website at gallifreyone.com/gallifrey.php.



----------------
Now playing: Tiefschwarz - Issst
via FoxyTunes

Making Up For Lost Posting Time

I just can't get enough tonight.

A little trip through technorati shows me that the ATT has been getting some love on other posts.

This first one may be the oddest thing I've seen. No clue how it happened or why, but my side trip post concerning The Coup has been translated into German. If anyone knows German and can tell me the point of the blog in general and why we got chosen that would be cool.

Second, we've been memed. I'm all about being referred to as a Gestalt Entity. I don't know about the others, but I have a warm fuzzy feeling inside now.

Anyway I (Redo) shall give this a try and maybe in a later post get the rest of the ATT gang to do so as well. The meme in question asks for 'five things about myself that other people may consider lame, but I'm actually proud of’

1. I haven't fallen for the Harry Potter mania. I can remember when the books first came out and co-workers at University of Houston couldn't put them down. I just looked at the books and thought, "wow, those are big for kids to read". To this day I haven't spent one penny on anything Potter related and I get the feeling I may be the only person left on the planet who can say that.

2. Speaking of things I refuse to buy into, Starbucks. I will purchase a cup if I'm in dire need of coffee and I have no other options. But I blame them for the decline of coffee in Western Civilization. What happened to just drinking a plain black cup of coffee? When did we need mocha choca kefir infused double no caf lattes among other frou frou versions of coffee?

3. I love Xanadu. It's cheezy and downright horrid when Gene Kelly sings, but harmless fun. I own the soundtrack on vinyl and cassette. I have roller skates because of this movie. Which I didn't hear about until I was in college.

4. 70's music. Can't get enough of it. Stuff like Dan Fogelberg, Gilbert O'Sullivan, and Barry Manilow to name a few. (Though the song, Clair, by Gilbert O'Sullivan is rather creepy)

5. I'm a huge fan of the Golden Girls and A Different World. I would be perfectly content to sit all day and watch episodes. I am quite shocked at my own knowledge of episodes and characters from each show.

I shall pass this on to the TARDIS Guy, Amy, and Global Girl.

We're Baaack!

Yes, after a two month hiatus we've gotten the band back together for another thrilling Time Team installment. Nothing exciting on the food front this time, just pizza. Beer supplied by Shiner, the Dunkleweizen version. It looks like we're just doing two today which sadly ruins my grand plans for what would'be been a Fewell double feature in January with Red Dawn and Just War. That makes me sad, but I'll survive.

We start off with the Land of the Dead with Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton in her first audio as Nyssa.

Tim and I note that Lucy Campbell sounds a bit too much like Janet Fielding.

Tim: Why did it take like fifteen minutes for the TARDIS to land? We've been hearing that sound off and on from the beginning.

I note that it's only been like six minutes, but it doesn't bode well if it feels like fifteen.

Tim: Have you noticed that a lot of Davison's adventures spend the first episode or so in the TARDIS? Maybe it's a style choice.

We can't figure out if a character is supposed to be Eskimo or Korean. In either case the voice is hardly believable as either. And what kind of name is Johnny Old Man anyway? They couldn't come up with something better?

Then we get more history lessons from the 5th Doctor regarding the discovery of Alaska and ravens. I decide the name of the tribe would be cooler if it was called donkey kong.

Our minds all hit the gutter when Nyssa exclaims that the beast they encounter is so massive.

Tim: I'm just seeing giant penis monsters. Thanks.

Angelie: You're welcome.

Me (as Gary Russell): Yeah, Sarah, even though the giant penis monster is chasing after you just play this bit bland.

Tim: Nyssa was the cool, calm, collected one. Davison had way too many companions and if I had to pick one I'd pick Nyssa. Imagine how their stories would've been without Tegan and Adric.

All the voices sound too similar to one another. If they weren't saying each other's name every other sentence we'd have no clue who was who. We hit the first instance of Big Finish's poor casting of American voices as we listen to Tulung talk about his dad and Brett's dad.

Tim: It's a shame John Barrowman wasn't living in the UK during this time.

Today's audio is brought to you by Al Gore and Greenpeace as we listen to the debate versus drilling for oil and leaving the tasty sea creatures alone. Mmm...them's good eatin'.

We hit the end of the first episode and afterwards Tim asks if anyone actually knows what's going on. We all agree that they're in Alaska, Americans are ruining the land, there's something massive running around, and they just uncovered a fossil.

And once again I decide that the direction for this scene must've been bland, just play this scene with no sense of urgency.

Tim: At least she's not screaming.

And we have title!

Angelie: What?

Tim: Land of the Dead. The mink are revolting.

See, I like to eat animals way too much to care about the faux eskimos and their love for the land. The Doctor becomes the tea bitch for Nyssa and Monica as we discuss whether sex attracts evil or not in these type of shows. Monica enquires if the Doctor and Nyssa have anything going on and the Doctor says they're just friends. I note that this is because it's Classic Who and not New Who.

Sweet! If I wanted I could buy this as a cassette still from the Big Finish site.

Near the end of the second episode I ask if this is where the velociraptor eats the fat one. Tim nods his head and then sure enough Gaborik becomes dinosaur chow. I love it when I'm right.

Nyssa explains that the Doctor told her that the dinosaurs went extinct nearly 65 million years ago. Tim says that that is when they had Tegan and I note that the dinosaurs died when Adric crashed into the planet.

The second episode ends and we take a quick break. Angelie goes for a diet coke to try and stay awake. Thank god for the Benny's because this one's another dullard.

Angelie: We put a different tone to it. We made it sexual so we have to let that die off. I am trying to pay attention.

Tim: This would've made an okay television episode.

Nyssa asks how velociraptors could've cut the phone line.

Tim and Me: Have you not watched Jurassic Park?

The sexual innuendos continue and it seems we've decided on sex for the tone. Really, the jokes just write themselves. "His name is Tulung? It's so tulung it's massive!" See?

Towards the end of the third episode Brett takes Nyssa hostage and threatens to break her neck. Which as we all noted would ruin the plan to use her to protect them from the velociraptors.

Tim: Is this over yet? Oh no it isn't! See, this is weird but I really would've liked this as a tv show. See them in Alaska and the dinosaurs.

Angelie: As an audio I just can't see it.

The fourth episode finishes and there's much rejoicing. Ya! Time to put in Walking to Babylon, the first part of the Time Ring Trilogy.

Angelie: I hope it's massive for Benny.

Tim: As in "Oh, Jason, it's so massive?"

Benny and Jason exchange sexual barbs and it's clear the tone will continue to be sexual in nature.

Angelie: I think he's trying to get her to use the rings.

It doesn't take long for Jason to get himself into trouble and it's up to Benny to save him. Again. She ends up in Babylon and comes upon Ninan, played by Lis Sladen. Or as a whole generation of male Who fans call her, Sweet Sweet Sarah Jane.

I guess it's not so vital to find Jason and the People if Benny has time to shag Lafayette. Or it was a quick shag. Either way, doesn't really reflect well on Benny. Lafayette begins to apologize for having unwed sex with Benny.

Angelie: Wait! I fell asleep. Did they do it?

Me: Yeah.

Lafayette busts out a gun to protect Benny and oops, there's go the future. We get a quick reunion between Jason and Benny before he's knocked out and Lafayette busts a cap in someone's ass. And why does the drone make noises like R2-D2?

Benny wonders why Lafayette had to be the hero when Sweet Sweet Sarah Jane tells her he's gonna die.

Me: It's because Jason was knocked out cold.

Tim: People that have sex with Benny always end up in danger.

Angelie: No sex with Benny. Oh my god! Precious moments. (insert choking noises as Lafayette and Benny share a schmaltzy moment as he's dying)

Me: This Hallmark moment is brought to you by...

Angelie: Die already!

Tim: He's been talking for a long time. Shouldn't he be dead by now?

The Drone shows up to save Lafayette and it starts channeling Twiggy from Buck Rogers in between channeling R2-D2 and Max Headroom. Benny gets excited about Lafayette living and I point out that her ex is still around. And sure enough we get a round on who's Jason/who's John Lafayette as each man gets pissed about finding out about the other.

Angelie: Shut up, Jason! You stole her rings.

One of the People is killed when they touch John and we learn that not only should you not have sex with Benny but you shouldn't touch Lafayette. And knowing is half the battle!

Jason starts to teach women's lib as he empathizes with Miriam's plight. Can I just say that Miriam so does not sound like she's 14. And apparently the story of he and Benny hooking up is enough to get Sweet Sweet Sarah Jane to leave the temple and help Benny save the world in the nick of time. And then the tunnel explodes with Benny and Jason in it.

Tim: Was that a cliffhanger?

Me: I'm sorry. Did I forget to mention that this was part of a trilogy?

Tim: Bastards!

We keep the disc going and listen to the behind the scenes interview Nick Briggs did with Lisa Bowerman and Stepen Fewell.

As we look at our calendars check back here to see when we get together in December for The Fearmonger and Birthright.

Will Wonders Ever Cease?

Now normally I could care less about the People's Choice Awards. But as you might've noticed I suddenly have a reason to care.

Who thought we'd ever see the day when Doctor Who would reach a point where it would be up for awards in America, even if it is the People's Choice Awards?

So, people, rise up and choose.

And the best part, much like voting in Chicago in the early part of the 20th century you can vote early and often.

Sidenote: Time Team will be back in action tomorrow as a full unit so check back tomorrow evening for our next installment.