Misc

On this week’s Friday Night Who, we jump foward to David Tennant and Series 2. We’ll be watching and live tweeting the two part episodes “Rise of the Cybermen” and “The Age of Steel” as homework for this week’s Podcast. We start at midnight, CST (which yes, we realize actually the next day, but “Saturday Morning Who” doesn’t have the same ring to it.) And then next week we have an Advasary Achive for the Cybermen, detailing Patrick Troughton’s “Tomb Of The Cybermen” and “The Invasion”, and Peter Davidson’s “Earthshock.” We’ll let you know which one of those episodes will be featured on next week’s Friday Night Who …on saturday morning. 🙂

As you all know, we are big fans of the shirt of the day sites, ESPECIALLY when they feature Doctor Who threads. But nothing is more heartbreaking than realizing you missed the sale! Weather you got busy, or forgot, or didnt have the cash the first time around, seeing that shirt relegated to the gallery instead of in your closet really sucks. Recently, I found this site: Red Bubble which features art and tshirts and somehow has managed to offer former deal-of-the-day T-Shirts! Now, the good news is they have a wide selection of these babies, the better news is you can select your own color! The bad news is they dont have all of them, so you run the risk of not getting one if you dont order it immediately when you do see it, (I’m still trying to find the Stargate/Who mash up for Mel) and the worse news is the shirts are a bit expensive, averaging $25. BUT for second chance at a classic, it might be worth it… Oh, and the WHO shirts are here.

Sorry for the delay, but I finally have the photos downloaded off the camera and posted to our FACEBOOK site from our recent trip to the Kansas City Planet Comic Con. Here’s one of the group, and one of me and Mel with guest Jeremy Bulloch, who played the original Boba Fett and Hal The Archer in the Doctor Who episode “The Time Warrior”.

Click HERE if you’d like to see the rest of them!

In keeping with Glenn and my fond remembrances of watching Doctor Who at midnight on Fridays on our local public television station, we’ve decided to reinstate the practice! Join us on twitter tonight for “The Time Warrior” for live tweets as we watch the introduction of Sarah Jane Smith. (Coincidentally, this ties in with our upcoming Sunday recording of our first Companion Archive. It’s like a homework study group!)

Each Friday night, we’ll catch another episode. Sorry for those across the pond who may not be awake by the time Midnight rolls around here in the midwest, but we wanted to keep the ambiance from our youth.

A Wichita newspaper is reporting that a large cache of Doctor Who stories, once thought lost in the BBC archive purge of the late 60’s and early 70’s, have been found in a vault in the Morton Salt mines in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Parts of the excavated mine are currently used by a company named Underground Vaults and Storage has been storing films for major studios for years. Just a year ago seven minutes of lost footage from Stanly Kubrick’s 1969 film 2001: A Space Odyssey was found in the vault.

It’s believed the lost Doctor Who stories are video taped copies of the program sent to the PBS station KPTS in the 1970’s to be shown to American audiences.

Some of the stories recovered include: from the first Doctor’s era – Marco Polo, The Daleks’ Master Plan, The Tenth Planet, and from the second Doctor’s era The Highlanders and The Wheel in Space, among several others.

Doctor Who fans worldwide should be rejoicing over this wonderful find.

Oh, by the way, Happy April Fools Day.

Yesterday, Keith posted the newest trailer for Series 6 from the BBC. Today, BBC America released another trailer exclusive to it’s site for the new series.

Well we’ve been a little lax on posting some recent stuff that has been release…so first off as you heard us discuss in episode 13 of Traveling the Vortex…a prequel video was released….click here if you haven’t watched it yet.

And today a new Full Length Trailer has been released for season 6. Beware of spoilers!

What do you think of these videos? Let us know!

The hosts (and friends) of Traveling The Vortex will be attending this years Planet Comicon in Kansas City, the areas largest nerdfest. While we are not there in an official capacity, (we thought getting a table for our 12 episode strong podcast was a bit pretentious) but if you are in the area and planning to attend on Saturday, please say hi! We’ll be the ones dressed like geeks. (should be very easy to spot in this crowd!)

http://www.planetcomicon.com/

Thanks to the Doctor Who News page for alterting us that Starz has annouced the premire date for the fourth season of Torchwood will be 7/8/2011 in the states.

Torchwood Miracle Day brings the Doctor Who spin off stateside, focusing on a more international feel. There is no word yet on when the show will premire in the UK.

Returning to the show are John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness and Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper. Joining them this time out will be Mekhi Phifer (“ER,” “Lie to Me”), Bill Pullman (Independence Day, The Grudge), Wayne Knight (Juassic Park, “Seinfield”) and, in an extended guest role, Lauren Ambrose (“Six Feet Under,” The Other Woman).

More details to come…

Okay, in case you missed the madcap recap within episode 12, here’s what’s on tap for us to review in the up coming weeks:

Episode 13 this coming week will see Keith’s proper introduction to David Tennant, with the 1st Children in Need Special, The Christmas Invasion, New Earth, and Tooth And Claw.

The following week episode 14 is special because it will be our first Companion Archive. (or should that be Chronicle? Companion Chronicle. I like that. [shouts over shoulder] “Glenn! Does ‘Companion Chronicle’ belong to anybody? If not, copywrite it!” Anyway, our first companion focus will be on the ever popular Sarah Jane Smith and K9. So, we need to know what episodes we should watch! We’re pretty set on The Hand Of Fear and The Invisible Enemy, Sarah’s swan song and K9s introduction stories, (this will also (finally) introduce Keith to Tom Baker). We’re also gonna try and throw A Girl’s Best Friend into the mix, the pilot episode for the unrealized spin off series K-9 and Company. But we need one more good Sarah Jane adventure. What do you think of these:

The Time Warrior
Robot
Pyramids Of Mars
The Android Invasion

Be sure to vote in the poll and let us know which one to add!

Episode 15 has all the homework with Sarah Jane and K9 pay off, as we jump back to David Tennant’s series 2 for School Reunion, The Girl In The Fireplace, Rise Of The Cybermen and The Age Of Steel.

Then, the following week brings us episode 16 and another Adversary Archive, this one featuring of course, The Cybermen. And what better way to do the Cybermen than with Patrick Troughton stories Tomb Of The Cybermen, The Invasion, and Peter Davidson’s Earthshock?

And then FINALLY, Episode 17 becomes primed for the RETURN OF MATT SMITH IN SERIES SIX. Happy viewing!

(and please bear in mind this schedule is subject to change without notice. The time vortex is not always predictable. :))

If you’re tired of hearing about the boatload of awards the talented folks involved with Doctor Who continue to win, skip this article. 🙂

The Official Doctor Who Website reports that Steven Moffat came up big at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards earlier this week, winning a prestigious Judge’s Award for his “outstanding contribution to television” and “incredible range” for show running Doctor Who.

The RTS panel said a few words about Steven Moffat’s accolade, noting, ‘The Judges’ Award is given for an outstanding contribution to television, and there are few screenwriters in the world whose work boasts the same incredible range as tonight’s recipient. Equally at home with horror, detective stories, situation comedy, action adventure and sci-fi, this year’s winner is an author in the truest sense of the word… Channelling all that he had learned about structure into shaping mind-bendingly brilliant sci-fi and thriller plots, as well as placing a funny man/straight man pairing at the centre of extraordinary and impossible circumstances, with his friend Mark Gatiss he invited an entirely new audience to claim Holmes and Watson as their own. And in his downtime reinventing Doctor Who to overwhelming critical and ratings success from the get-go.

There are few writers who would trade Steven Spielberg and Hollywood to work with the Daleks in Wales but this man did. Indeed, with a seemingly inexhaustible resource of utterly distinctive plots and the ability to use comedy liberally to form a devoted connection with the audience, our winner is living, typing proof of why television remains THE writer’s medium.’

Moffat’s “Sherlock” took home the prize for best drama, while Doctor Who spin-off “The Sarah Jane Adventures” won for best Children’s Program. The CBBC series stars Elizabeth Sladen as the Doctor’s former companion. The RTS panel said, ‘The winner was emotional and incredibly engaging – a wonderful drama that stands on its own as a terrific piece of storytelling. The cultural diversity of the cast, its high production values and creative storyline made it a joy to watch and kept you intrigued.’

Congratulations to Steven Moffat, the entire team behind The Sarah Jane Adventures and all the winners at this year’s RTS awards.

Just noticed that several Doctor Who DVDs are sporting lower prices. I hadn’t heard of a scheduled price drop, so this may be a temporary sale, but check out the Amazon store to see what’s what. I personally just snagged the Tom Baker introductory story, “Robot” and the Sylvester McCoy epic “Remembrance Of The Daleks” and paid $26 for both! (Not bad considering the MSRP for Remembrance is normally $30!) Happy shopping!

I’m taking a quick break from homework to give you, valued reader, a glimpse inside the workings of my tortured mind. I’ve always joked that if a human can have a train of thought, my train is the one from the end of BACK TO THE FUTURE III. I’ve gone over the trestle, left the tracks and am in a constant state of free fall. That’s my train of thought. I’m pretty sure I have ADHLAS. That’s Attention Deficit-HEY LOOK, A SQUIRREL!

– Hurray for tax return money! I finally ordered the “Key To Time” box set I’ve always wanted to order, but never have.

– And “Genesis Of The Daleks“

– And I pre-ordered “The Seeds Of Doom” (Which releases here in the states on Tuesday, 3/8/11.

– and then I saw the Borders store in Lawrence was going out of business and had a discount on all their stuff, so I picked up “The Invasion Of Time” and “Black Orchid”.

– I am sad to see a book store close.

– I am not bothered all that much that it was a conglomerate mega store, since Lawrence has many small, independent book stores I enjoy browsing in.

– Also hit up BRITS in Lawrence, a shop that does nothing but import items from the British Isles. Bought some more Jelly Babies.

– Mmmmm… Jelly Babies.

– I’m thinking that perhaps I need to curb my Doctor Who spending a bit.

– Did you know that Jelly Babies are actual JELLY BABIES? I mean, they’re shaped like little kids!

– Suddenly that joke with Leela saying the evil one eats babies makes a lot more sense.

– Mmmmm…. Leela.

– Did you know that “The Daleks” with William Hartnell is like, 7 episodes long? Cause we didn’t when we started watching it at midnight!

– Kansas City Planet Comicon, the area’s largest comic book convention is coming up at the end of the month. We have made plans to go and drum up some local support for Traveling The Vortex. I wonder how much Doctor Who stuff they’ll have?

– I want to build a Dalek.

– I really should be getting some homework done.

– Speaking of homework, I have 2 more episodes of “The Dalek Invasion Of Earth” to finish before we record the podcast tonight.

– I wish I understood twitter better.

– Then again, if I understood it, I probably wouldn’t get much homework done.

– I think I need a sandwich.

– Of course, “need” is relative.

– Kinda like time.

– So if the translation circuitry in the TARDIS can translate any language for you during your travels with the Doctor, does that mean that companions who have left the ship suddenly have access to Spanish and Greek and Russian and all the standard “Earthbound” languages? Is it like a Rosetta Stone, only cooler?

– Oh, I picked up “Destiny Of The Daleks” too.

– Whoops, I should have said “Is it like a Rosetta Stone, only more bow tie?” We’re starting a movement to replace the word cool with bow tie. Cause you know, bow ties are cool.

– Okay, back to homework. Homework is so NOT bow tie.

A beautiful video tribute was posted recently on YouTube.com.

It’s is by BabelColour, and really captures the essence of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart the much loved roll played by Nicholas Courtney in his many years on Doctor Who.

From BabelColour:

A personal and affectionate tribute to a wonderful man who sadly passed last week and to the timeless character he created. A huge presence in my childhood – the Brigadier was just as much a part of me as the Doctor was. And with the death of Nicholas Courtney a little bit of my childhood died with him. God bless Nick and a heartfelt salute to the Brigadier. Lest we ever forget….