Thursday, December 31, 2009

On the stroke of 2010 0000 GMT...


On the stroke of 2010 0000 GMT... I took this picture!
Happy New Year on behalf of all at The Doctor Who Zone!

The Doctor Who New Year Party starts in 10mins.. on Gallifrey!

DJ Kat Kassner has left us exhausted but ready for more, and who comes along? It's DJ Sin - he's back for New Year again and will take party through into 2010 for the UK. Come on down - wherever you are in the world






DJ Oscar "Strangely Sober" Rascon has left the stage and rolled out the door leaving the DJ desk open for DJ Kat Kassner to start bombarding those party beats.

Theme for this next 2 hours? "Best in Tennoob!" Yes you know what it means - but be creative! Best avatar will get a K8-T and.. a golden ticket for a secret prize to be released in 2010!

So come on down - landmark attached!

Up after - DJ Sin!













Join us for our all night New Years Eve party to welcome 2010! We are hosting it our brand new Time Lords club on Gallifrey! Yes Gallifrey comes to the Doctor Who Zone as it has to End of Time!

Kicking off we have DJ Oscar "It's not required to drink to work here, but it schelps" Rascon!

We have a competition! Win a New London System Screwdriver of your choice (Hydro, Toxic, Victoriana or Steamdriver) plus 500L - for best avatar representing the Tennant Era! Most wowing/amusing will win!

We have DJ Kat Kassner and DJ Sin to follow! Photos will be blogged - come down to get a look - in on our last blog of 2009!

CLICK THE LINK


Two new End of Time part 2 clips!

Two new clips of End of Time Part 2! Thanks to Kasterborus.com and BlogtorWho! Enjoy - particularly the first clip - fantastic!



Wednesday, December 30, 2009

High Appreciation for End of Time and Too Much Tennant?

Too Much Tennant?
Source: Kasterborus.com

Excerpt from Kasterborus.com:
"The BBC has come under attack from The Mail this week under accusations of populism as the public service broadcaster utilized the services of several actors in more than one show, including Doctor Who star David Tennant.

In the article entitled “How Doctor Who (with a little help from Hamlet) took over the BBC” (which interestingly took 3 people to write) the fascist rag noted that Tennant will have made 75 appearances on TV and radio by the end of the Christmas period December 14th to January 3rd, 2010. Interestingly many of these appearances are repeats, rather than Doctor Who promo work." Read more...


End of Time All Time High?
Source: The Doctor Who News Page:

"The End of Time Part One
received an AI figure of 87. The Appreciation Index, or AI, figure is a measure of how much the audience liked a programme. A score over 85 is considered excellent. Doctor Who had the highest score of the day on BBC One or BBC Two. The only programme to score higher on the main five channels was the film Gladiator on ITV1, which scored 89 with a much lower audience."

While it seems fan reaction was a little mixed, for those the show was made for, RTD's epic first part finale was a GREAT success!


Will the real new TARDIS console room please stand up?

With Smith meant to bursting onto the scene at the end of the New Years day episode, it seems a good idea to turn eyes to the TARDIS. Thanks to Sinji for the link. These were posted up in October according to the source, but I imagine there are many (including myself) who haven't seen these - and even more who'd like to debate or take a closer look!





Plus some more creatures and shots of the TARDIS - not looking very bright blue/white windos there!


All very exciting!

Source:
Scootyboy

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Saturday, December 26, 2009

End of Time: Second Life Who Fans speak their mind!

A selection of opinions from a variety of Second Life Doctor Who fans on episode one of End of Time. Thanks to those who submitted their thoughts!









Gryphon Dix:
I loved it :) The Master's powers were very cool and well done, and the return of the Time Lords at the very end brought a tear to me eye ;) I loved the scenes between the Doctor and the Master. You could really tell they used to be friends before the Master went nutty :) Heh, and the Doctor casually mentioning he didn't go straight to the Oodsphere was good - will let them do 'missing' 10th Doctor novels and other stories to fill in all the undetermined time between Waters of Mars and End of Time... probably including River Song, I would hope...











Rowan Thursday:

It's interesting to note that, in Last of the Time Lords, a small but vocal group of fans were decrying the Doctor for using temporary super powers to break the Master's day. Now, in The End of Time, the roles are temporarily reversed, and we get to see the Master in this position, his biology altered by a botched resurrection, flying through the air and flinging lightning bolts at his foes.

One of the undercurrents of the new series has always been the 'godlike' status of the Doctor. We see a man who stands in three places at once- a threefold man- "John Smith", the mortal man, who is afraid of death, who loves but dare not love, who is petty and funny and angry, the man who his companions befriend, the man who needs comfort. The Doctor, the force of nature unleashed, the final authority, who locks people behind mirrors and strides across time, who is like fire and ice, and the storm at the heart of the sun, and eats unlimited rice pudding for breakfast... and Doctor John Smith, the man between the two, our hero, the complete 'person' of the Doctor. Separate the three, and you risk unleashing the Doctor.

It was seen in Last of the Time Lords - in a scene chillingly glanced back at in Water of Mars, the Master seals his fate with the line "I'm a Time Lord; I have that right." By making it explicit that he, the Master, is entering the arena as a Lord of Time, he grants the Doctor the moral right to face him on the same terms. Now, we return to that scenario. Witness the battle of the desolation. The stakes; nothing. At this stage the Doctor and the Master are playing for nothing, neither yet holds any cards- and yet, all the grammar of the scene shows a meeting of gods, not of mere men, towering on the horizon, one striking at the other with eldritch energies, the other weathering the storm... and the only end to the contest of gods comes when they are unceremoniously struck down and drawn apart by mere mortals, seeking to harness the gods to tamper with forces that they, as usual, do not understand.

The theme comes full circle. Time Lords have great power- but, without we lesser beings, they are Lords of the Desolation, their battles meaningless, until life, little human beings, arrive and give shape to the struggle.











Hoipoloi Gurbux:

I got shivers at the end seeing Gallifrey - Dalek ships crashed into the dome and the return of the Time Lords. Part two is going to be a roller-coaster ride I am certain! :)











Snake Sos
a: People will view the latest adventure of the Doctor in many ways, but the most interesting one is the remnants of the Time Lords - especially their feelings and motives for coming out of hiding. Two possible theories on their survival of the Time War - one answer might be something other than the Daleks entered the Time War and pulled some Time Lords out, or there were Time Lords living in exile - only to return when their numbers had risen. All this is still speculation and within the week we will have our answers - but there will be more questions!

Whatever the reason the Time Lords return, what will they do with the Doctor - who had left them? If they had lived in exile, could they be against him for turning against their race? What is the Time Lords true motive and reasoning for return? So we wait in time, for the end of time.











Laredo Lowtide:

To be fair, Water Of Mars made such a mark on me, very little could follow that would compare, and End of Time didn't quite hit the mark in comparison. The story didn't feel quite as structured, rolling back and forth through a mass of ideas, serial exposition and new characters as Waters of Mars, though the nuances of what makes the new show great nevertheless shone through. The scene between Wilf and the Doctor in the cafe was both touching and revealing, Simm's Master returned with the same intensity and passion we'd seen in the Series 3 finale (and there was that wonderful moment between the Master and the Doctor in the wastelands) and the return of the Time Lords was most welcome under the deep, visceral intonations of Timothy Dalton.

For me the weakness was it simply was trying to do too much while giving away as little as possible. Perhaps a little too much of an attempt to weave the Master back into the story while trying to juggle new characters into the same events. Wilf's friends were a nice touch, adding a little depth to the show's day players, but at the same time felt mildly distracting.

It wasn't bad in any way, just felt a little rough in comparison to Waters of Mars (but twenty times more interesting than Planet of the Dead). The story direction seemed a little uncertain, the reveals a little convoluted and the final moments a mix of amusing epic absurdity and gigantic epic revelations that left me a little confused whether I should be in awe or laughing (perhaps that's exactly where I was meant to be left!) I suspect it will sit together better on a second watch, or even more so on a full sitting with its second part. As it was, I enjoyed this - especially Bernard Cribbins! This is an epic idea - and I'm not certain even two episodes was enough to let this idea breathe as it desired. Best to watch episode two before casting any final judgment on this. Never fair to judge a two part story singularly on one part!











Garf Serpente:

My feelings on The End of Time Part 1. Well it was good, it just didn't seem to get going until it was nearly through though. For an epic two parter this is a bit of a failure. The pacing was, to be fair, crap. I wasn't totally sold on the Master's plan either, it seemed too comically silly despite it's diabolical reality. The score also got my nerves with every scene being drowned out by a huge orchestral crescendo, although as most of the first 20 minutes were so light on dialogue I guess this filled the silence.

However when Tim [Dalton] appeared and I clocked his Gallifreyan robes from the collar alone I suddenly became excited again and when the final scene arrived I was ecstatic. I now cannot wait for the next part - sod the Master's story, I want to see what the return of the rest of the Time Lords will bring!

Doctor Who 3rd in Overnight ratings for End of Time

Overnights for top 3 shows of Xmas day were:

Eastenders: 10.9 (million)
The Royle Family: 10.2
Doctor Who: 10

Seems there was a drop in the overall numbers given Doctor got 13 million last year, but no show rated as highly this year. Still, third ranking with less than a million between it and the country's most popular soap isn't too bad at all!

These figures are only overnight ratings. Expect rating updates in a few days - and the all important appreciation figures!

Source: BBC

Tate and Tennant stand in for Wossy on Radio 2!

It's the last 20 minutes of Tate and Tennant standing in for Jonathan Ross on his Radio 2 show. Listen to the end now http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/jonathan-ross/ - and then UKers can listen to the whole thing on Iplayer for the whole of next week.

Guests Cribbins and Peter Davison! Lots of fun!

Have a great Boxing Day!

... and for the K8-t Limited Edition winners... well done. Hope you're loving them - seems they're finding some Christmas love themselves..

Thursday, December 24, 2009

A Merry Christmas to all Doctor Who fans!

A merry Christmas to all in the Doctor Who communities from The Doctor Who Zone. We hope you all have a great Holiday - but don't forget we're not done for 2009 yet. We have our New Years Party on New Years Eve which if the Christmas Mega Party was anything to go by, will be a lot of fun!

In the meantime, watch out for the usual news. We'll be throwing up some comments from the Second Life Who Zone community after the End of Time part 1 airs - so watch out for that!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Water of Mars US Rating hit!

As reported by The Doctor Who News Page:

"The Waters of Mars helped BBC America achieve its highest ever rating last Saturday.

Over 1.1 million watched the Doctor Who special on the channel giving it its highest ever prime time rating and making it 13th highest amongst advertising supported cable networks for ages 25-35.

Richard De Croce, Senior Vice President Programming, BBC AMERICA said
"The final specials starring David Tennant have opened the door for new audiences to this iconic series while taking longtime fans on an incredible journey, Tennant’s remaining two specials, The End of Time, Part One and Part Two, are the most anticipated episodes in the history of the series – which is why we’re airing them just a day after their UK premiere."

The End of Time airs on BBC America over the next two Saturdays, with Part One at 9pm ET on the 26th followed by Part Two at 8.30 ET on 2nd January. To mark the importance of the programme to the channel, Doctor Who has taken over the front page of the BBC America website, with video clips and images from the specials.

BBC America has already confirmed that Series One, Matt Smith's first series as the Doctor will air on the channel in the Spring. Previous series have aired first on the Sci-Fi channel, where they got ratings of around 1.5 million."

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Dinosaur love!


Something you don't see everyday. The excitement in the possibility of winning a Limited Edition K8-t was just too much for one dinosaur, and a visiting reptile seems to have suffered as a result.

More information on the post below!

Competition in SL to win a free Limited Edition K8-T!


Come in-world to Second Life's Doctor Who Zone and win a Limited edition gold K8-T. The Limited edition K8-T has unique gold colouring, and features that are not (yet) available for the K8-T on sale.

Entry is free, and the 4 entrants with the most votes at 1pm SLT on Christmas Eve will win!
Click enter on the contest board at the Ice Rink, and you're in the game

http://slurl.com/secondlife/TARDIS/165/167/23

End of Time images and will the REAL Mk1 K-9 please stand up!

K9 - The TV Series has its full 26 episode listing. A new picture too. Also, if you go into their exclusive slideshow gallery, you'll find a picture of John Leeson and the orginal K-9 Mark1 who it looks like appears in the first episode prior to "regenerating"! In fact, check out the episode one photo gallery and indeed you see the original prop making an appearance!

Source: TheDoctorWhoSite

Some spoilerish pictures from Sky on End of Time. Quite few in slideshow form. Look if you dare!
(thanks to Dexter!)

Source: Sky.com

Monday, December 21, 2009

Repeats of End of Time/Dreamland will have commentaries

Lifted word for word from the awesome Doctor Who News page:

"The BBC has revealed that BBC Three repeats of The End of Time will have available an audio commentary from outgoing executive producers Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner.

The commentary for part one will be available on Freeview, Virgin and Sky on Sunday 27th December at 7pm, while the commentary for Part Two will only be on Virgin and Sky on Sunday 3rd January at 7pm. Neither commentary will be available on Freesat.

The commentaries are expected to be broadcast on BBC Radio 7 and thus will be available worldwide on the BBC i-player. Part One had been scheduled for 3am on 26th December, but Part Two has yet to be scheduled.

In addition, the Christmas Eve, 9am, BBC Three repeat of Dreamland will also have a commentary, this time with writer Phil Ford and the director Gary Russell."

Sunday, December 20, 2009

News round-up: Tate, Davies and Simm interviewed!

A new clip with Catherine Tate speaking of her role in End of Time and the future for her career!



Plus Newsround interviews RTD and Simm!



Thanks to Dexter Ellison for these prompts

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Mega Party - Into The Morning.....!


Now come dance with Kelley the Mousey Boyed and listen to his christmas party tunes! Best in sexy holiday attire gets a free Gallifur console room and exterior set! Come on down! Join us for the last few hours!

Thanks to all who took part!


Mega Party gets the Kassner treatment!

Congrats to Nyx for her great costume! She won!


Another set! This time Kat Kassner takes to the decks and we have a host of pop, anthem, Christmas and Doctor Who belting out of the speakers!

COME ON DOWN!

Contest is Best in Victorian! Winner gets a K-8t and a Hydrodriver!