Off the cuff

Just a little something I’m working on right now.

The velvet underground

Anyone who’s spoken with me in person about the Twelve Doctor’s look will know that although I respect what the costume designer came up with, I was never truly taken with its overall appearance.
As series eight progressed I increasingly was uninspired by the dilution of the design and its unnecessary embellishments. There's Cosmic Hobo and there’s Space Tramp.

So it’s with some glee a friend sent me some candid pictures of today’s location filming for series nine.

Peter now sports a smarter look with a dress (Budd?) shirt and waistcoat.
But it's the coat that's finally got me excited. Although it appears to be the same cut at the series eight Crombie, it’s in an eye catching deep burgundy velvet.

I’ve read a lot already that it is very Pertwee in appearance - but I’m getting much more of a Pyramids Of Mars vibe!

This new look is coming quite late into the filming arc of the upcoming series, but I hope it's not just a one-off appearance.

Eitherway, I’m looking to my velvet suppliers already and how quickly they can deliver!

Wales Online - Report on Cardiff filming 10th June 2015

Ticket BREEZE - Radio Times Festival

Today I heard about a three day event being run by the Radio Times.

Radio Times Festival
24 - 27 September 2015

Taking place in the tranquil surrounding of Hampton Court Palace, the Radio Times Festival is the first such event and has attracted a Stella list of celebrities and powers that be to give a range of talks and seminars.

With the Radio Times' close association with Doctor Who down the years, it goes without saying there are two seminars of particular interest, both on the Friday of the event:

DOCTOR WHO - 2:30-3:30
Doctor Who holds a unique place in British popular culture. Here, the Doctor himself, Peter Capaldi, is joined by creative chief Steven Moffat and executive producer Brain Minchin to talk Time Lords, Daleks and Cybermen. Together, they will reveal the inner workings of the Whoniverse.

RUSSELL T DAVIES - 4:00-5:00
From busting social taboos with dramas such as Queer as Folk to inspiring the reboot of Doctor Who, Russell T Davies is one of Britain's most innovative screenwriters. Here he explains how he made the journey from Swansea schoolboy to one of the leading creative voices in television.

As a subscriber to the Radio Times, I get the chance to book my tickets early, so I went on the website; choose the two events; paid my money; got my email confirmation. That was painless.

Why can't all events with headline names like this be as easy to book?


UPDATE
An extra seminar has been added to the programme. I may as well book for this too!

THE SCIENTIFIC SECRETS OF DR WHO - 5:30-6:30
Join Simon Guerrier and Dr Marek Kukula, authors of The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who, as they explore the possibilities of time travel, life on other planets, artificial intelligence, parallel universes and more. Using clips from the acclaimed series, they will show how science has inspired Doctor Who, and how, on occasion, it has come remarkably close to predicting future discoveries.

Doctor Who Festival - cosplay comes of age?

Today the BBC announced a new official “convention” - they don’t like using that word, the 50th Anniversary event was a CELEBRATION and this year it’s called a FESTIVAL.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10am - so precious little notice as usual - expect the traditional ticket scramble.

I’m sure you have read all about it on the various news feeds and forums, where there are a plethora of opinions and speculation - which I have no intention of adding to.

But the things that’s catching my eye is the costume display - someone likely to be akin to what was set up at the 50th Celebration exactly two years prior to the Festival - and the Cosplay Showcase.

I’m hoping the Cosplay Showcase is the BBC finally taking the cosplay community seriously and not just using them as the geeks in silly costumes. Here’s hoping.