Thursday 25 July 2013

the duke box

a bit late in the week i know but my life has been hectic :).

Session 3 in the DWBar duke box is taking place on Monday. and for this session seen as its the last Monday in month 7 i thought we'd do a purely 7th doctor tale.
this Monday's story will be 45 by Big Finish productions. you can join in if you have the story on CD or a digital copy. here is link to the buying page of Big Finish's website for those who don't have it and want to join in.
http://bigfinish.com/releases/v/forty-five-281

As a post script me and the rest of the bar are strongly against audio piracy, so if you don't have this story buy it. don't torrent it.
At the bar have the upmost respect and support for BBC worldwide, AudioGo and Big Finish productions.
take care all

Wednesday 24 July 2013

The Daleks return in the Anniversary Special


Everyone's favourite pepperpots are back in the Anniversary special!  The Doctor's greatest enemies the Daleks are back in scenes which will leave Doctor Who fans awestruck.  For these Daleks are believed to hail from the Time War, and it's a sure bet that we'll also get to see flashbacks of the Time Lords home planet heavily under siege from the might of the Dalek fleet!!

What more could a Doctor Who fan want? Well some classic Doctors in the Special would be good, and there are rumors that there is one Doctor pre-Eccelston in the Special!  Who could it be?

The imminent arrival of the Anniversary date would be good, but we're all gonna have to wait until 23rd November 2013 to watch it and find out!

Monday 22 July 2013

The Dukebox

A reminder that our new trial session of The Dukebox is taking place on Monday nights at 8pm BST.

These either take the form of the recovered audios of a William Hartnell or Patrick Troughton missing serial or a Big Finish Audio Story.

Of course with the missing Hartnell or Troughton adventures there is also the ability to watch the Loose Canon Reconstructions, which are not for profit "fan-produced endeavours".

If you are interested in these (which in my own personal opinion are very good) then we of course still recommend purchasing the official audio as well. These are usually narrated by a member of the serials cast or a fellow Doctor.

I closing I would like to remind you all that The Doctor Who Bar fully support the BBC/AudioGo and Big Finish Releases.

We hope you can join us in the bar for these sessions.

Tuesday 16 July 2013

Duke Box No 2.

Monday saw the 1st session of the Duke Box, the bar's new session for BF Audio's and missing serials.

Next Monday will see us having a missing serial. This serial will be the William Hartnell adventure The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve.

You have 2 choices with this. You can listen to the audio or if you have the LC Recon then you can watch that.

If you don't have either and want to join then you can purchase the audio as part of Doctor Who The Lost TV Episodes Collection No. 2

This is available from Amazon, BBC Shop and other places.

The bar opens at 7:45pm and the session will begin at 8pm BST.

As always everyone is welcome to join us even if you have only just started following us on Twitter.

Saturday 13 July 2013

Update to the Doctor Who Bar Duke Box

Just a quick update 1 and all. The audio session that was going to run tomorrow evening has been moved to Monday at 8.pm play time. Bar will open at 7.45 pm.
all times in British Summer Time (BST).
Take care all and hope to see you all there.

Thursday 11 July 2013

Five Reasons to Watch 'Fear Her'... and Enjoy It!


Fear Her has quite a distinguished reputation in the Whoniverse. Fandom generally perceives it as the wooden spoon, the pits, the dregs, the standard by which all 'bad' Who should be measured, (some subsequent stories have been awarded the unfortunate accolades of Fear Her Part 2 and Fear Her Part 3...) But is this torrent of negativity justified? Is there no good to be found in this quirky little number from 2006? If you sense a little reluctance every time you reach for that season two box set, here's a few reasons why you should give the lonely Isolus one more chance...

1) "Not you too, Bob...!"
Almost everyone loves the Olympics, (even me, the least sporty person in the world!) Fear Her is set against the backdrop of the London 2012 Olympic Games, and adds some wonderful (and unique) moments to the Who canon. Who didn't punch the air when the Doctor swooped in to retrieve the torch from the fallen athlete? And what's not to like about Huw Edwards' questionable, yet highly amusing, performance as the BBC commentator?
 
2) "I was a dad once..."
The Doctor and Rose's scene in the TARDIS is a historical one, because it is the first time the Doctor has ever admitted he was a father. Did this finally end the debate as to whether Susan Foreman was his biological granddaughter...? I love the fact that this game-changing revelation was slipped, so sublimely, into a good old-fashioned "romp." It's worth watching the ep for this scene alone.

3) "Cake...?"
One of the things that makes the episode - and the closing scene in particular - is Murray Gold's amazing score, conveying all the hope, joy and love that's prevalent in Fear Her, such as Rose's love for the Doctor, and the Isolus' love for Chloe Webber. It really makes that simple moment on a housing estate look, and feel, like the stuff of a Hollywood feature. It's just a shame that piece didn't make it on to the official soundtrack. An outrage!

 4) "Put it in a big book about tarmacing..."
An oft-forgotten player in the Fear Her saga. Kel the tarmacer, played by Abdul Salis, turns in a wonderfully comical performance as the eccentric man from the council. His scene with Rose, in which he declares the magnificence of his beautifully smooth tarmacadam, is amusingly written and very well acted. Nice one.  

5) "If living things can become drawings, then maybe drawings can become living things..."
This episode would probably have frightened the life out of me had I watched it as a kid. Fear Her is quintessential Who, harking back to the shop window dummies from Spearhead from Space and the troll doll from Terror of the Autons. The idea that something very ordinary and real can suddenly become a major threat is the stuff of nightmares. Although the idea isn't as well executed as it could have been, (owing to the constraints of time and money), I think the concept deserves an appreciative nod.

Really, Fear Her struggles from the fact that it was written at the last minute, (with virtually nothing in the way of sets, budget, or CGI to help it along), and that it lives in the shadow of the epic two-part finale that followed, (featuring Daleks, Cybermen, Torchwood, Rose's departure AND Catherine Tate no less!) There is much to enjoy in those 43 minutes, and whilst it may never be anyone's Desert Island Who, there's something oddly reassuring about it... If this is as "bad" as the new series can get, then, really, we have nothing to worry about.   

Alex Skerratt

Monday 8 July 2013

Introducing The Doctor Who Bar Dukebox

I'm writing to promote a small experiment I am running for the bar this coming Monday.
On Monday at 8.00 pm BST I am hosting the first experimental session of the Doctor Who Bar Dukebox (name probably to change in future) this session will be focusing rather than on a televisual story but that of an audio story. Rather than loading your DVD, iTunes or time space visualiser. we will be listening and discussing one of the many many many Doctor Who Audio stories produced by many different companies over the years. As its the first in the session and somewhat of an introduction, we shall be listening to the first ever Big Finish release. "The Sirens of Time" Starring Doctor number's 5, 6 and 7, released way back in 1999. you can partake in this session by either listening via use of a CD if you own it or Big Finish now offer sales of just downloads if you don't have the story.
I do hope to see you all there on Monday, but until then may you all live well. Take care.