I declare war on the moon!

November 16, 2012 5:26 PM

It's November, and that means Children In Need, and that means new Doctor Who. Which this year sees the return of everyone's favourite Victorian great detective Madame Vastra, her beautiful companion Jenny, and their ugly manservant Strax. And, of course, that serves as a lead in to The Snowmen.
posted by Mezentian (27 comments total)

Let me be the first to say I'm nervous about the new direction.
posted by gerryblog at 5:35 PM on November 16, 2012

MOONITES!
posted by Dr. Zira at 5:43 PM on November 16, 2012 [2 favorites]

I'm sure someone said that when Susan left.
I have faith.
And I dig the idea of killer snowmen.
posted by Mezentian at 5:43 PM on November 16, 2012 [3 favorites]

did somebody say Mooninites?
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:45 PM on November 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

Terrestrial colonialism at its worst. "We're Earthlings, let's blow up Earth things!"
posted by Lemurrhea at 5:59 PM on November 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

*passes out from the excitement and the leering menace of Richard E. Grant*
posted by Kitteh at 6:16 PM on November 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hey, that's the Shalka Doctor. He's been known to hang around with the 8th Doctor.
posted by cazoo at 6:34 PM on November 16, 2012 [2 favorites]

damn moon.
posted by capricorn at 6:38 PM on November 16, 2012 [3 favorites]

So does Aled Jones put in an appearance?
posted by arcticseal at 7:08 PM on November 16, 2012

I'm going to guess without googling that this was written by the same imbecile that wrote Dinosaurs on a Spaceship.
posted by varion at 7:09 PM on November 16, 2012

And now I'm hopinh for a spinoff featuring Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax solving crimes in Victorian London.
posted by nathan_teske at 7:23 PM on November 16, 2012 [7 favorites]

I'm going to guess without googling that this was written by the same imbecile that wrote Dinosaurs on a Spaceship.

No, Moffatt surprisingly enough.
posted by Mezentian at 8:02 PM on November 16, 2012

Incidentally, and I believe it was posted here before ages ago, but the Eight Doctor, should he ever hang out with the Shalka Doctor, would look like this now, because he's all dark and the Daleks killed everyone he cared about... and they haven't even gotten to the Time War.
posted by Mezentian at 8:06 PM on November 16, 2012 [2 favorites]

Spinning Christmas trees of death, shrieky spider lady, Space Titanic, air sharks... never judge modern Doctor Who by its Christmas specials :P Killer snowmen ain't no thang.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:00 PM on November 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

There's a really peculiar back story to this Christmas Special. They actually had to do it five times, the first one with Richard A. Grant, whose scenes all had to be redone when he underwent spontaneous molecular dissolution in the middle of production. They then restarted with Richard B. Grant and so forth. On the assumption that this could continue indefinitely, a Richard F. Grant was formulated by BBC biofactors, but it was not necessary to decant him, so he remains in aqueous suspension within an unbreakable crystal cylinder in a mothballed underground wartime laboratory somewhere near Peterborough.
posted by George_Spiggott at 9:11 PM on November 16, 2012 [6 favorites]

George_Spiggott, now that is what I call loading a canon.
posted by Catblack at 9:38 PM on November 16, 2012 [3 favorites]

And now I'm hopinh for a spinoff featuring Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax solving crimes in Victorian London.

I've been hoping for that since they first appeared.
posted by immlass at 9:46 PM on November 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

In line. Some of us are hoping for Jago and Lightfoot first.
posted by Mezentian at 10:00 PM on November 16, 2012

I'd never heard of the Shalka Doctor before.

Apparently he was an animated character originally intended to be the ninth doctor, but when the return to TV was announced in 2005 the Shalka Doctor was sidelined. The joy of Whovian continuity is that now that I've heard of him I can't write him off. However poorly he fits, he's part of the story.

You can watch the Shalka Doctor in the original Flash animations (!) here or on youtube. From what I've seen so far he may be the most arrogant, high-handed incarnation of the Doctor I've ever seen, like a young #1. There's a nasty edge on him. I was pleasantly surprised when the Doctor's fundamental decency poked through ("I'm a homeless person myself, it's the first thing I am."). I would have liked to have seen more of this one.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 10:35 PM on November 16, 2012

There's a novelisation of the Shalka Doctor and his robot Master too by Paul Cornell. There was also a single short story. He's like the Peter Cushing Doctor, an anomaly.
posted by Mezentian at 12:03 AM on November 17, 2012

the Peter Cushing Doctor

Stop, you're killing me. I'd ask how many of these fringe Doctors there are, but I suspect there's always one more.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 12:23 AM on November 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

Mr. Bean Doctor. I still argue that one is a legit regeneration and should be counted.
posted by Artw at 12:40 AM on November 17, 2012

Oh man, I wish Rowan Atkinson would get more chances to play the doctor, if just in audiobooks.
posted by BYiro at 1:18 AM on November 17, 2012

I thought this was the new advert for Doctor Who. I thought, they've really managed to make the Weeping Angels extra scary this year.
posted by zoo at 4:00 AM on November 17, 2012

Mezentian, you know about this, right?
posted by jbickers at 4:50 PM on November 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

I do indeed. And I covet them. Unfortunately the power of Tom Baker compels me.
posted by Mezentian at 6:52 PM on November 17, 2012

Hey justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow, keep searching until you come to Barbara Benedetti, and then you can stop there.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 11:59 AM on November 18, 2012