An Interview With Walking Dead Actress Amber Dawn Fox

Another day, another interview and this time it’s the turn of Amber Dawn Fox. I met Amber on Twitter and we got speaking as we both share the love for many of the same fandoms. I was kinda surprised that Amber was speaking to me as she is a well known and upcoming actress, but I’m glad she did to be honest as she’s one of the coolest people out there. Amber has agreed to do an interview for skatronixxx.com

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1) How did you get into acting?

I started out doing some background acting in 2009. I saw an ad online for a casting company needing people to work as background in One Tree Hill. So, I responded and sent in my info to them. But, I didn’t take acting classes or start auditioning for speaking roles until the beginning of 2014.

2) What’s it like being in ‘The Walking Dead’ and how would you describe your character Officer Bello to someone who has not watched it before?  

Being on The Walking Dead is surreal. It is such a huge deal and the fans are incredible.  I would describe Officer Bello as a member of the most recent group of survivors that could be considered villainous to someone who has not watched the show before.

There’s Amber on the bottom left as Officer Bello

3) If I remember right you had appeared in ‘Vampire Diaries’ what was that like and are you Team-Stefan or Team-Damon?

I loved working on The Vampire Diaries as well! I really enjoy going to work on shows that I already watch, it is fun to get thrown into a world you watch on TV. I am totally Team-Damon!

Let’s face it ‘The Vampire Diaries’ is all about Damon, like Amber are you Team Damon?

4) I saw online that you were a fangirl before you got into acting other than ‘The Walking Dead’ what are your other fandoms?

Yes I was, very much so! I am a fan of most of the supernatural and sci fi shows, along with The Walking Dead. I love The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and The 100.

5) I heard you have a role in the upcoming TV movie ‘Realm’, can you tell us a little about this?

Yes, Realm is actually going to be a TV series. It fits into my genre of shows I enjoy. It is very much a supernatural drama/horror. At the same time, it will be very different from what is out there now. I will be playing a witch from the immortal realm named Agnes. Realm is set to premiere this fall.

6) If you could be in one existing film, what film and character would you choose and why?

I would have loved to play the lead in The Notebook. I love romance movies, and it is something that I haven’t gotten to do a lot of yet. I seem to keep getting casted as the “bad guy” which is fun though! The Notebook would be the ultimate romance movie to be a part of.

7) Can we expect to see you at any conventions this year in the US or UK?

Yes, I will be at several in the US. Some of the dates are still being finalized. But, so far I have dates in NC, SC, TN, and FL announced here in the US. If you like my facebook page  www.facebook.com/amberdawnfox , I am keeping a list of appearances pinned to the top for reference.

8) What can we expect to see from you in 2015?

Realm will be premiering in the fall, so look out for that. Also, as many conventions as I can do..I really love to get out there and meet the fans as much as I can.

9) Tell our readers one fun fact about yourself that they may not already know? Oh good question!

I am terrified of almost any type of bug. I usually have to get someone else to kill one if I see one in the house. It is pretty bad!

10) Finally what advice would you have any advice for an upcoming actress or actor?

Never give up if it is truly what you want. It is a lot of hard work, and a lot of building your resume up with little to no pay. In the end, however, it will all be worth it. It may not be easy to see, and everyone’s journey will take a different amount of time, but if you give up, then you will never know how close you were to seeing your dreams come true.

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There you go readers Amber Dawn Fox! Look out for Amber i got a feeling 2015 is going to be a big year for her and I wish her all the best 🙂

Be sure to follow Amber on twitter she’s https://twitter.com/amberfox86

 and on facebook www.facebook.com/amberdawnfox , don’t be shy go say hi and tell her ‘Skatronixxx Sent Me!’

My Thoughts On Spiderman And Andrew Garfield’s Possible Replacements

OK for my next feature I decided to do a story on Spiderman and more so the decision to drop Andrew Garfield as Spiderman. Why did I choose this I hear you ask? Well the answer is simple other than Adam West’s incarnation of Batman, Spiderman has been my fave superhero. The retro Spiderman cartoons were some of the first cartoons I ever watched on my old childhood VHS tape. VH-what??? Yes I’m old I know it lol. I used to love Spidey and what’s more HE HAS MY NAME!!! Well not exactly but he has my first name, now to a lot of people that’ll be a shock as I skatronixxx do not reveal my secret identity to only but a few of my closest friends. Any who I digress, back to my Spidey love lol.

Who doesnt love retro Spidey???

I still remember where I was the day they announced who would be playing Spiderman. I was in a newsagents not far from my school, and they had the radio on. The fact I had watched ‘Pleasantville’ the previous night was a thought still fresh in my head. So when they announced Tobey Maguire as Spiderman I was like ‘what are the odds’. For those of you who haven’t seen ‘Pleasantville’  it’s a film where Tobey Maguire plays a nerd who loves a fictional 50’s sitcom before being transported into it via a freak weather storm. It’s a comedy but also has thought provoking ideas about racism I’d definitely recommend it. I thought Tobey Maguire would be a good Spiderman if his character in ‘Pleasantville’ was anything to go by. He was a shy slightly reclusive nerd these were all qualities that were echoed in Peter Parker.

A young Tobey in ‘Pleasantville’

I waited eagerly being a comic nerd at thought of a Spiderman film being released and my thoughts flashed back to the reruns of the 1960’s retro cartoons and the more edgy cartoons of the mid 1990’s. Which Spidey would we get, which theme tune, what outfit? Then when the film came out it had a Kirsten Dunst portraying a redheaded Mary Jane Watson. I still believe that part of my love for a feisty redhead comes from this film. As for Tobey I believe he played the part perfect he was just the right edge of nerd, humour and heroism. Luckily for me the film was a huge box office success and two further films were made. Unluckily the third film was made, this flopped and thus Tobey’s reign as Spiderman was over.

There was a couple of years before talk of a ‘Spiderman’ reboot surfaced, quite a few famous people were up for the role and hot favourite was local lad Aaron Taylor Johnson. Yes the same one from the Kickass franchise. I for one was psyched at this prospect I thought he fitted the part perfectly like Tobey had done so before. Then Spidey was announced it was ‘Andrew Garfield’ I’m sorry but Andrew WHO-field??? Prior to this his biggest role was in the film  ‘The Social Network’ based on the real life story of Facebook. Straight away I was disappointed, no gutted that ATJ had not been cast.

Seriously Andrew what’s going on with the hair?

When the film came out I decided to give it a chance and to be fair it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be but I still didn’t like it. Why I hear you ask the answer was simple, he was too cocky, too full of himself, too good looking, gone was the humble nerdy Maguire replaced by a brash cocky Garfield who looked more like the kid who would have picked on you at school rather than the other way around. Some may argue that he was more true to the comic Spiderman than Tobey Maguire but for me it just didn’t work. So when the news came out that Garfield had been dropped I was curious as to who might replace him. Some old names cropped up, some new so let’s go through the candidates.

DYLAN O’BRIEN

 

Dylan ‘Stiles Stilinksi’ as Spidey??? I could see it work

Dylan is a good actor in my eyes and those of you who watch Teen Wolf will know that he portrays the hapless yet nerdy sidekick hero Stiles. Arguably Dylan other than the actor who plays Derek who’s name has escaped me right now are the stars of the show, more so than Tyler Posey. Fans love his combination of sarcasm, wit, gritty determination and quest to do what’s right quite often at his own expense and for that reason I think he would make a perfect Spiderman. When you throw into consideration that he has already done an action film in ‘Maze Runner’ he for me would bring us back to the believable nerdiness of Tobey Maguire mixed with Andrew Garfields brash and cocky Spidey I for one would like to see this. Also if you are able to cast Holland Roden who is also in Teen Wolf as Mary Jane YES!!!

Holland Roden as Mary Jane??? Yes please *drools*

LOGAN LERMAN

Logan Lerman as Spidey??? Hmm I’m not sure

Logan, Logan, Logan. Where to start to be honest I’m a little conflicted on this one. For me I love and I mean LOVE the Percy Jackson series more so than the Harry Potter series. I was thrilled about the films and I do rate them highly and for me Logan is perfect as Percy but when I think back and remember that the series was put on hold so Logan could do the ‘Four Musketeers’ I’m kinda like MEH. Part of that is me sad that they left it too long between the Percy Jackson films to make anymore but part of it is also down to his performance in the ‘Four Musketeers’. In Percy Jackson, Logan was great as the nerdy helpless loner turned hero and saviour and these are qualities I think he could bring to the role but in the Four Musketeers his performance was just well kinda flat. I don’t know if that was the script writing or not but I think Logan would be a good choice if they decided to continue with the Andrew Garfield kinda Spidey, but if they are after a return to the Tobey Maguire Spidey I’m sorry I just don’t see it. Interestingly enough I do see him as a good fit for Robin or Nightwing!

JOSH HUTCHERSON

Josh as Spidey??? Hell Yes!!!

I like Josh and I could see this fit to be honest. Josh has a good background in films that have die hard followings for example ‘Bridge To Terabitha’, ‘The Vampires Assistant’ and of course ‘The Hunger Games’. His acting résumé contains the necessary experience in action films and comedy films alike. I like the way that Josh gets you rooting for the characters he plays, the lovable underdog who you want to see come good. What’s more he’s one of us he’s a fandomer, maybe I’m biased but he’s the one I want to see get the role other than Dylan. He also auditioned for the role last time so we know he wants it! I think he’d be great as a return to the Tobey Maguire nerdy Spidey role.

Josh’s Spiderman audition from 4 years ago

SHAMEIK MOORE

Who I hear you cry? Well he’s my rank outsider. To be honest not many people will have heard of him and if you say you have I reckon 90% of you are lying. Why would I say that well to be honest his only major acting credit to part is in this year’s Sundance breakout  film ‘Dope’. This is a film that follows a normal honours kid like you and me but hes also kinda geeky who gets caught up in a crazy life changing adventure. I mean who else does that sound like to you?

There we go that’s my four picks for a new Spiderman, personally I’d go with the order of Dylan, Josh, Shameik then Logan but I know everyone has their own opinions and views if you can think of a good one let me know!

 

An Interview With Top Fantasy Author James Brogden

Another one of the people I wanted to interview for skatronixxx.com was another one of my good friends and top fantasy author James Brogden. We first met at London Film and Comic Con, when myself and my author client RJ Truman were at a trade stand and got chatting to an author who was friendly. This turned out to be James! The next year both James and RJ Truman were lucky to enough to be guests together and we all had a great time. James has agreed to do an interview for skatronixxx.com

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1) How did you get into writing?

Someone accidentally left the door open and I sneaked in when they weren’t looking. If you mean how did I get published, the answer is sheer bloody-minded stubbornness and the conscious decision to adopt a professional mindset about it. Basically this meant a) listening to people when they told me what sucked and doing something about it, b) deciding that it was also okay NOT to listen to them, and c) not taking any of it personally. Also having a Plan: building up a CV of short work so that the longer work gets taken seriously. Not that it’s actually happened that way, mind you, but I still think a Plan is a good idea, regardless of whatever kind of profession you choose to enter.

2) How would you describe your writing style to the casual reader?

Unable to take itself seriously, despite my best intentions. I’m an Australian; irreverence is part of the cultural DNA, especially towards oneself.

3) If I remember right you’re also an English teacher, how do you find that compares to being an author? Do you find that the children you teach are less or more passionate about reading, compared to previous generations given all the other options available e.g. social networking/online gaming?

Well it certainly pays better, but the hours are crap. The biggest thing I found when I actually started to think about how I was writing, was that I stopped telling the kids that they had to plan their creative work, because I certainly don’t. I’ve tried, and I can’t. I’ll plot a novel and set myself a schedule to write a certain scene at a certain time and that goes right out the window as soon as I start because I’ll immediately think of something really cool that I hadn’t planned but which just demands to be written. So I tell my students: write the coolest moment you can imagine, and then work backwards, forwards and sideways from that until you have a story. Some of them think it’s very impressive that their teacher is a writer; some of them frankly couldn’t care less if I turned up to school riding a flaming unicorn. The thing with kids being passionate about reading is that up until about the age of fourteen they seem quite able to balance a digital existence and be rabid bookworms at the same time – just look at the huge success of some YA authors out there. Then for a few years they go into their adolescent cocoons and it’s not considered cool to be a reader, and when they come out again in the Sixth Form maybe a tiny percentage have grown that passion into a desire to study Literature. I know a lot of students who drop English in favour of all Maths  & Sciences at A-level still love their SF and Fantasy, which is nice. It gives me hope that I haven’t killed it completely for them with the GCSE. I know from my own daughters’ experiences that social networks are allowing them greater opportunities to connect with their fandom tribes and explore links and connections to other genres and writers. They’re much more widely read than I was at their age, but then their Dad’s a teacher, poor little sods, so maybe that’s not such a surprise.

4) Perhaps your most well-known books to date are ‘Tourmaline’ and ‘The Narrows’, how you would describe these book to someone who has not read them yet?

I love ‘most well known’. A more accurate word might be ‘only’, since you’ve just described my entire literary output to date. The Narrows is urban fantasy, about ley lines, arcane acupuncture, and monsters in the back alleys of Birmingham. Tourmaline is, again, urban-based fantasy, with stronger horror elements, a parallel-steampunk-world, tentacled beasties, dreams intruding on reality, and the crucial importance of extra-strong mints when dealing with demon-possessed children. I refer you back to my answer to Question 2.

5) If a film was made of either ‘Tourmaline’ or ‘The Narrows’ who would you like to play the main character and why?

I’m afraid I honestly have no idea. I watch so little actual TV and go to the cinema so rarely that I don’t know the names of anybody currently in the public eye who might suit, and I don’t want to embarrass myself by name-checking somebody decades out of date. I come from a background of hardcore role-playing gamers, so I tend to imagine my characters as played by my mates – apart from anything else it helps me keep their reactions a bit more grounded.

The front cover to James’s book ‘Tourmaline’

The front cover to James’s book ‘The Narrows’

6) We first met at London Film and Comic Con back in 2013, do you do lots of conventions and can we hope to see you at LFCC again this year?

I will definitely be at LFCC this year, pimping my new book – the sequel to Tourmaline, called ‘The Realt’. That’s the only convention I go to where I’m actually selling stuff, though. I’m trying try to get to more of the various genre cons like Fantasycon, and such like, to meet up with fellow writers and pick up advice from the panels. I’ll also be at Edge Lit 4 in Derby this year, hopefully launching my first collection of short stories courtesy of the Alchemy Press.

7) I read online that you say that HP Lovecraft was one of your early inspirations, he’s an author that today’s generation may not necessarily know much about, what book would you recommend to read by him and why?

I’d actually suggest that if someone wanted to get a handle on Lovecraft, they go out and read the Laundry Files series of books by Charles Stross, which have a  modern and much more approachable take on the same mythos coupled with a dark and uniquely British sense of humour. They follow the career of a computational demonologist called Bob Howard who works for a government agency called the Laundry which deals with occult threats. It’s a bit like the X-files but with added bureaucracy, and no David Duchovny, which is also good. Get addicted to that as an entry-level drug and progress to the hard stuff.

8) What can we expect to see from you in 2015?

Sorry, I’ve already spoilered that: Tourmaline Book 2: the Realt, and a short story collection (I’m still hovering indecisively about a title). My current work-in-progress is a novel about a bog-mummy found in Birmingham’s Sutton Park, and the supernatural wackiness which ensues.

9) Tell our readers one fun fact about yourself that they may not already know?

I have more Lego than is reasonable for any grown man, and every Christmas I build a winter village on my desk.

Everything is awesome when you like Lego like James

10) Finally what advice would you have any advice for an upcoming writers?

Write the things you like to read; there’s a pretty good chance that there’s an editor out there who likes it too. Do your research; find out who those editors are. Finish things; even if you think they’re rubbish. Do not take rejection and criticism personally; if you want to identify that closely with your own work, become a starving poet. And when you finally get published, send a thankyou card to your English teacher.

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There you go readers, James Brogden! A fantasy author, teacher and lego-phille. Be sure to check out James’s books ‘Tourmaline’ and ‘The Narrows’ they are available on Amazon now.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1/277-2064183-9796546?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=james%20brogden

Follow him on Twitter he’s https://twitter.com/skippybe

 

A Guide To The Doctors In Doctor Who From A Whovian

All of the Doctor Who intro’s from start to finish

So what is a Whovian I hear you cry? The answer is simple it’s a fan of Doctor Who! What’s Doctor Who? Well put quite simply it’s a television show (although some would argue it’s real) about an alien timelord who travels through time and space, saving aliens, fighting baddies and what’s more he does it in an English Victorian police phonebox? Why a phonebox isn’t that a bit Bill and Ted=ish or Superman-ish? Well that’s to do with the ships chameleon chip breaking but that’s a story for another day. Oh yeah one more thing, he can’t die! What???? Yes he can’t die, just as our Doctor is about to meet his timely demise BOOM he regenerates into another Doctor, that’s a pretty cool way to outsmart the bad guys eh? Why is he called Doctor Who though? Well that’s easy no one knows his name and as he has a knack for saving the day he’s called quite simply the Doctor. So just to summarise, he’s a timetravelling timelord alien who travels round the universe fighting baddies in a Victorian English police box who can’t die. If you weren’t interested or a Whovian before reading this you gotta admit you’re at least a little bit interested now.

Every Whovian can remember where they were when they first watched Dr Who, who their first Doctor was and so on. My first Doctor was Sylvester MccCoy in the early 90’s. I used to remember being little seeing these crazy looking aliens trying to take over the world and hiding behind the sofa in terror but ultimately they were thwarted by a guy who could only be described as a mad school science teacher and I was hooked.  I was quite lucky as I live close to a big regal house called Longleat House and for years it was home to the ‘Doctor Who’ exhibition. This was a collection of props from the tv series that Longleat had acquired as a tourist attraction. One day I went to the exhibition when I was about 5 or 6 and when we got to the tardis console (the interior of the ship) my mum said to me ‘You know Grandad helped build this’. What??? My granddad helped build the tardis? Was he one of the Doctors assistants? Am I an alien timelord too? In reality my granddad was the head electrician at Longleat House and it was his job to get the props repaired and moving but as a young kid I was awestruck at my granddad the Doctor’s assistant! That helped explain where my family’s love for Doctor Who came from and how it was ultimately passed on to myself to pass on and pass on. What do I mean by pass on and pass on? Oh yeah I sould have mentioned this Doctor Who is the longest running sci-fi program of ALL TIME, yes ALL TIME!!! 51 years and still going strong.

Ok now you know what Doctor Who is about and how I got into it I think probably the best way for me to explain Doctor Who to you is to go through each one of the versions of the Doctor and offer my thoughts on them.

1.Wlliam Hartnell

How would I describe William Hartnell as the Doctor? Terrifying, crazy,and an exasperated genius. William Hartnell was the first Doctor and as such he had by far the most creative control and scope to play with. The best way to describe him would be as your great granddad, crazy and fun one moment but terrifying and authorotive the next. You knew there was a line with this Doctor but you didn’t know when you had crossed it but once you had you certainly wouldn’t do it again. I never liked the first two Doctors much growing up but as I’ve got older I’ve come to see the first Doctor for what he was and appreciate it in a different light.

2. Patrick Troughton

How would I describe Patrick Troughton as the Doctor? Well his nickname was ‘The Cosmic Hobo’ for his often scruffy appearance, however I would describe him more like the grumpy elf from Snow White! Often clever but he frequently played the bumbling fool to get his enemies to under estimate him and more often that not it worked. He was one of the first Doctors to have a catchphrase such as ‘When I say Run, Run’ and ‘Oh my giddy aunt’. How would I sum up the second Doctor? Well quite simply he was an enigma wrapped in a cocoon inside a rubix cube. You never knew what kinda Doctor you were going to get and that’s what made it exciting.

3. Jon Pertwee

How would I describe Jon Pertwee as the Doctor? Well quite arguably he wasone of the ones I grew up with and that makes him one of my favourites. He was a kung fu master and had a dashing sense of style. He very nearly didn’t get the role as Ron Moody, yes ‘Fagin’ from Oliver Twist was the first choice but was unavailable. Jon re-invigorated the program with his fast packed action scenes quite simply the best way to describe his run would be like if James Bond met aliens!

4. Tom Baker

How would I describe Tom Baker as the Doctor? He was and forever will be the Doctor like Adam West is Batman (sorry Batfleck fans) Tom Baker will forever and always be the Doctor. He was quickly well known for his trademark outfit, his long flowing rainbow coloured scarf, hat and trench coat This was about as far away from any of the previous Doctors we had seen so far and tbh where you could imagine the previous Doctors as Doctors, Tom was different he reminded you more of that eccentric uncle. What’s more he would often offer his companions jelly babies when they were in moments of dire peril, who wouldn’t want a jelly baby to calm your neveres whilst being chased by a dalek I know I would!

5. Peter Davidson

How would I describe Peter Davidson as the Doctor? Hmm he’s kinda like that character Matthew from Downton Abbey.  He was well known for his female companions thinking he was well rather dashing and sporting a cricket jumper that made him seem even more like the upper class incarnation of the Doctor. What’s more he was a radical step in a new direction with this Doctor being the youngest by far yet at only 29.

6. Colin Baker

How would I describe Colin Baker as the Doctor? Well put quite simply he is no relation to Tom Baker and that’s where the similarities stopped. Colin was only the Doctor for 2 years and unfortunately it did not give me enough time to warm up to him. Alas Colin’s run was trimmed down by the then BBC director advising the problem was too violent and demanded the show took an 18 month hiatus. What was the most memorable thing Colins run other than the lack thereof it? It had to be his pre-Justin Timberlake era noodle hair and his technicolour dreamcoat that only rivalled Jason’s. A note aside I have met Colin Baker the most out of all the Doctors and he is by far with the exception of Tom Baker the nicest and most passionate Whovian Doctor.

7. Slyvester McCoy

How would I describe Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor? Well he was my first, the Doctor that popped my Doctor Who cherry. I have to admit when I was first watching Doctor Who I was more drawn to the monsters rather than the Doctor. Sylvester McCoy was more known as being a comedy actor rather than a serious actor and that’s how he portrayed the role, injecting the humour element that had been missing since Tom Baker. However as the series progressed he moved further and further away from this comedy element and more into a sinister and manipulative Doctor using people for his own gains and goals. Again he was a victim of circumstance like the previous Doctor Colin Baker and unfortunately due to internal politics at the BBC his run was ultimately cut short just as he was discovering himself within the role.

8. Paul McGann

How would I describe Paul McGann as the Doctor? Well this is a hard one it had been several years since Doctor Who was last on our screen and BBC decided they wanted to reboot it and reboot it in style. Unfortunately for Paul this was in the form of a Hollywood style made for tv movie. With Fox and Universal studios contributing toward the film, it was Doctor Who but Doctor Who on a big budget. Gone were the tacky homemade monsters made of loo roll tubes and bubble wrapped replaced by CGI but alas it did not work and Doctor Who was shelved AGAIN! As for Paul McGann? He played the role to the best of his abilities however his clothing attire was terrible he looked like a cross between Beethoven, Mozart and something from ‘Interview With The Vampire’. As for his personality it just did not stand a chance due to the politics behind the scenes.

8.B John Hurt

Why have I put 8B for the role of John Hurt? Well to explain this you’ll have to read on that’s all I can say for now.

9. Christopher Eccleston

How would I describe Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor? He was a conundrum he looked like your dad who had just split from your mum and was having a midlife crisis, he sported a leather jacket, clean shaven look and was very serious with a dry witted sense of humour. This was an attempt at rebooting Doctor Who again as we had not seen the show for 9 years due to BBC waiting that long to pick up the contractual rights to produce it again from Fox. He was often very serious and very scary but he had a humourus side. Imagine Jack Dee as Doctor Who and you would get Christophers version of the Doctor.

10. David Tennant

How would I describe David Tennant as the Doctor? Well he was my favourite since Tom Baker. I initially had my doubts as he was an actor who was most famous role to date was as ‘Casanova’. He was also another young Doctor.  But why did I like him so much? The answer was simple he was the Doctor who was most like myself, quirky, eccentric, caring and charismatic. He was a runaway success the ladies loved his good looks, the guys like his character. For me other than Tom Baker, David Tennant is THE Doctor.  What’s more he got into acting to play the Doctor for that he earned many Whovian title as the best of the best because he was one of us.

11. Matt Smith

How would I describe Matt Smith as the Doctor? Well to be honest I was unhappy with his casting for a variety of reasons he was 26 years old when he got the part, I’m sorry but Doctor Who should not be younger than me. Also the other reason was I was unhappy was due to the actors who got turned down for the role who could have been far better, imagine any one of the following actors as Doctor Who (Paterson Joseph, David Morrissey, Sean Pertwee, James Nesbitt, Russell Tovey Robert Carlyle).  So you can now understand that when he was cast like many other Whovians I was left thinking Doctor Who???? Matt was an ok Doctor I argued that he was only cast to save money and reintroduce Doctor Who to a younger audience and it worked however it did kinda alienate myself a bit.

12. Peter Capaldi

How would I describe Peter Capaldi as the Doctor? Well I was happy he was a Whovian like us he had been in previous episodes of Doctor Who and Torchwood and he brought back what we needed, age. True when Peter’s promotional photo’s came out he looked like a magician with a suit and cape but he was more like the Doctors of old. Think a mix of Patrick Troughton, Tom Baker and Christopher Eccleston and you got Peter’s version of the Doctor.

NOW FOR JOHN HURT!

I bet you thought I forgot about John hadn’t you? Well no I hadn’t the reason why is because he technically didn’t have a run as the Doctor. It was a well-known story that between Paul McGann and Christopher Eccleston there was a mysterious Doctor. One that was filled with pain and misery and tasked with having to make a difficult choice. Enter John Hurt, to be honest John Hurt is one of my favourite actors and I was psyched at the prospect of him being the Doctor but alas it was a one-time deal to bridge the gaps between Paul and Chris. As for his character he would best be described as a broken man, a man who had to make a choice to destroy his home planet and race of people to save the universe.

There we go that’s the Doctors all of them from start to finish, I know I’ve left some of the ones out who had played various incarnations of the Doctors in one time episodes or spin offs or spoofs or tv movies ala Count Who (Peter Cushing). I hope after reading this if you weren’t a Whovian before you will at least give it a try now and open your mind to one of the longest running and successful science fiction shows of all time.

A Royal Rumble Review From A Casual Viewer

Ok a couple of you have asked me for my thoughts on the latest Royal Rumble from WWE. I thought I’d give it a shot as 3 out of 4 of my best friends are die hard wrestling fans so it comes up in conversation quite a lot when we hang out so I know my fair bit plus I used to watch it when I was younger. I know some of you may consider wrestling ‘lame and fake’ but tbh I don’t look at it as real I’d go and watch UFC if I wanted to see men punch the s*** out of each other. I treat it as a soap opera for guys I mean would you rather watch Dot Cotton washing her granny pants on Eastenders or guys beat each other up with steel chairs and barbed wire? I know what I would prefer. Anyway I digress it’s time for my review.

Dot Cotton or WWE the choice is simple really

The Royal Rumble has been around almost as long as me and it was my favourite yearly event from the then-WWF I mean what other chance would you get to see 30 of your favourite superstars battle it out for a chance to be in the Wrestlemania main event? It had everyone from your Rock’s, Triple H’s to your Doink’s and Brooklyn Brawlers, everyone was in and everyone had a chance. The aim of the rumble is easy be the last remaining and throw as many people over the top rope as possible. Now I’ve explained the concept to my non wrestling fans I’ll get down to my review.

The preshow featured the tag team bout of Cesaro and Tyson Kidd squaring off against ‘The New Day (Big E Langston and Xavier Woods)’. The match was a solid preshow warm up but a couple of things stood out to me. The first being they don’t know what to do with either Cesaro or Kidd who are both largely talented but arguably both have the charisma of my socks, the answer is simple, ditch Natayla and bring in a decent mouthpiece and have them as the anti-americans, they’ll get over as heels, win the fans over with their decent in ring ability and their manager can do the talking. As for The New Day I have one word and one word alone LAME. For weeks management had been teasing a the group as a modern day version of ‘The Nation Of Domination’, which in my eyes would have succeeded instead they debut as some happy clapper cult, once again this is poor booking and I unfortunately see them headed down the job squad route now that 66% of 3MB were released.

The first match up featured the teams of The Ascension versus The New Age Outlaws and this match was essentially a squash match for The Ascension but my thoughts were this. The Ascension will flop, I bet you’re thinking why is a team that is being pushed to the moon and back gunna flop, again the answer is lazy booking. In NXT the team was a mysterious broody almost vampiric group but when they got called up the debuted as a loud, brash, post apocalyptic mix of The Road Warriors and Demolitions. The team built up a following based on what they had done in NXT, note to WWE writers don’t change a successful gimmick that’s like having Brodus Clay a badass bruiser in NXT debut as a modern day pimped up version of The Godfather! Why did they face arguably one of the biggest teams from the biggest era of modern professional wrestling? Again the answer was simple lazy booking, for weeks the team had been facing jobbers then when it was realised they had no match for the rumble they shoot an angle of Raw when they mixed it up with The New Age Outlaws, APA and NWO and hey presto a match was made. If it was up to me I would have had The Ascension face the The New Age Outlaws, APA and NWO in a 2 on 6 handicap match where the Ascension essentially destroys the other teams. I mean what other way to give a new team a rub and show their dominance then beating 3 of the biggest teams of all time at once, it wouldn’t look bad as everyone in those teams is pushing 50, but hey that’s my thoughts on this match.

Spot ‘The Ascension’

The next match was a tag team, championship match between The Uso’s and The Miz and Damian Mizdow. The match itself was won by The Uso’s but it was essentially a look into the crystal ball teasing a face turn from the exceptionally talented Mizdow. The Miz refused to tag Mizdow into the match creating tension between the two, for the third match in a row I thought the story played more of a part than the actual match and this is how I see it going down. Mizdow is a great comedian he plays the role well, it’s one that has been missing since Santino retired but he’s also a great wrestler (you’re welcome) but his problem was his connectability with the audience. When he debuted he portrayed a character similar to one in the 1980’s dubbed ‘The Genius’ where he would talk down to people and believe he’s better because well quite simply he’s smarter. He went on an undefeated streak for months until those script writers again lost direction and turned him from a character gaining momentum to essentially a jobber and that’s where he entered an agreement with The Miz. He is The Miz’s stunt double in other words he does his dirty work, takes the hard hit’s whilst The Miz gets the glory. Why were they paired up the answer was simple, the help get Mizdow over with the audience and with the tease of tension between the ranks I wouldn’t be surprised of a Mizdow face turn followed by a match at Wrestlemania 31 between the two.

Miz-Pac

The next match was a match between ‘The Bella Twins’ and Paige and Natayla, I’m not gunna lie this match SUCKED, the words toilet break came of mind. Why do you ask that? The answer is simple it’s not because it’s a diva match it’s because once again we see The Bella’s who are only being pushed to the moon and back because of who their boyfriends are (John Cena and Daniel Bryan) triumph over a much more talented duo. I would have rather have seen a match between Paige and Natayla then this, don’t get me wrong if The Bella twins improve in ring I’ll eat my words but for me they should stick to appearing in music videos looking broody.

The Bella’s doing what they do best

Finally we move on to the one match that was about the wrestling. It was the WWE championship match between Brock Lesnar, John Cena and Seth Rollins. I would strongly recommend this match for anyone who isn’t into wrestling, which you may think surprising as it features John ‘5 moves’ Cena and Brock ‘meathead’ Lesnar. This match in my eyes saved an otherwise poor rumble. The main talking points from this match was Rollins, Rollins, ROLLINS! Seth Rollins formally Tyler Black in ROH has had quite the push in the last couple of months going on from being an afterthought in The Shield to being Mr Money In The Bank and headlining the rumble. I for one knew what how talented Seth was from seeing him years ago in ROH so I knew this would be good. It surprised me how insane everyone went over his phoenix splash on Cena, then I realised that’s because the WWE has banned so many move these days when someone pulls out a move like this it’s gunna steal the show. The only thing I was disappointed about was Brock running in to break up the count, if it was up to me I would have the ref count to 2 the have Brock run in that way everyone would be on the edge of their seat to see if Seth could win. The match itself flowed very well and I believe that was down to Seth being the speedy glue that held the two bruisers of Cena and Lesnar together. I expect big things from Seth and I predict he will be WWE champion this year, I predict a cash in on the new WWE champion at Wrestlemania 31 to further get him over and cement his status as a main event player.

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Bring back more moves like this

The last match was the rumble, who was going to win and face Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 31? It started off with The Miz and R-Truth neither of who were going to win but at number three the first entrant was Bubba Ray Dudley! The crowd marked out for this seeing one of their ECW heroes back in Philly and he did not disappoint dispatched Truth and The Miz in quick succession. Bray Wyatt entered at five and showed his promise eliminating most of the existing participants in quick fashion. Then the rumble progressed at a relatively steady pace with a nice surprise return from The Boogeyman until Daniel Bryan entered at number 10, how would the crowd favourite fare? After being screwed out of the rumble last year would this year be his year? . At number 14 was the ledge that is DDP, I’ve met him in real life and he is by far the nicest wrestler I’ve ever met so I was happy to see him for a quick nostalgia trip. Back we went to Daniel Bryan before he was swiftly eliminated by Bray Wyatt! WHAT??? Daniel Bryan eliminated already? What the f*** was that, one of the favourites the crowd favourite gone already? I was not happy but I understood the logic it was to get publicity and it worked, it helped to set up the possibility of a Wrestlemania match between Bray Wyatt and got a piss poor rumble trending. As evident by the fact that #cancelwwenetwork was trending on Twitter this was the only smart booking move of the night in my eyes. As the match went on the crowd grew hotter arguably booing all the entrants since their favourite had gone out, the most hostile reception was for Roman Reigns, the crowd only really cheered for Dean Ambrose at 25 and Dolph Ziggler at 30. By now I had an inkling who I thought was going to win (Reigns) but I was hoping either Ambrose or Ziggler would win when in reality I knew that I had a bigger chance. Towards the end of the match the lazy booking came into play the heels Big Show and Kane decided to team up and eliminate both Ambrose and Ziggler leaving me even more pissed. The last four came down to Rusev who had been hiding outside the ring for large parts of the match, Kane, Big Show and Reigns. If you didn’t know Reigns was gunna win before it was obvious now. Reigns hulked up ala Hulk Hogan and threw Big Show and Kane out, he had done it, he had won the rumble!!! WRONG!! Enter Rusev before swiftly being dispatched and Reigns being crowned the winner.

You would think this would be the end of it, right? Well you’re wrong. Big Show and Kane who I’ll call Bane from now on entered the ring and proceeded to beat down a weary tired Regins. WHY??? Well done script writers you had made the winner of the rumble look weak and built him up and knocked him in down in 10 seconds, you silly silly writers! Just as I was about to switch it off, enter THE ROCK. Can you smellllllllllllllll, who doesn’t love The Rock? I mean if you hate wrestling you’ll still love his movies. Cue The Rock clearing house and saving his cousin from a further beating.

So what was my opinion on the rumble from a non die hard wrestling point of view? The answer was frustration, frustration at the lazy booking, I mean I could write a better product. Pushing the wrong stars (except Seth) and wrong gimmicks (The New Day), change these things and I may come back and watch you, if not I’ll just nod my head politely as my friends discuss it pretending like I it’s the best thing since sliced bread!

New Fantastic Four Teaser Trailer Launched

 

Well the new ‘Fantastic Four’ teaser trailer has been released so I thought why not make this the first official post on Skatronixxx.com. Those of you who know me know that I’m a massive comic book fan, I’ve been into comics and superheroes since before they were cool and tbh one of my faves was the ‘Fantastic Four’. Why I hear you cry? Well the answer was easy it had a stretchy man, a man who could turn to fire and a man made of rock, what 10 year old boy wouldn’t like that?? The answer no one.

So as you can imagine I was psyched when the first ‘Fantastic Four’ film came out all those years ago the casting seemed perfect if you ask me, plus it had Jessica Alba in a tight fitting outfit 😉 The only one I wasn’t sure on was Julian McMahon as Doctor Doom. Up until then I had only seen him in Charmed playing a Darth Maul lookalike. I watched the film and tbh I didn’t mind it, but it flopped and flopped BADLY!! When people talk about the original they immediately say it sucked but can provide a logical enough agreement, I think the problem was it was before it’s time if you had the same cast now the film would probably be received a lot differently now. I mean it can’t be worse than Spiderman 3, am I right people? Or even David Hasslehoff as Nick Fury 😛

 

I for one was curious when I heard about the Fantastic Four reboot all those months ago and tbh I was even more curious when I head of the casting. For one it had Jamie Bell a.k.a Billy Elliot as ‘The Thing’ how would that work?? I mean could you imagine this guy made of stone?

 

 

I decided to give him a chance after all he was pretty good in ‘Jumper’ another vastly underrated film if you want my opinion but hey that’s a story for another day! As for the controversy surrounding the human torch, at first I was like hmmm but we are in the 21st century after all so I decided to give it a chance.  The things I was dead against was the casting of Miles Teller who had only previously been in Whiplash and Divergent and the change of name from ‘Dr Doom’ to ‘Victor Domashev’ I mean come on people!!!

 

So I watched the trailer nervously to see what the months of anticipation regarding this film had been about and here’s my opinion…..

 

It looked dark and gritty not like previous films we’ve seen, perhaps to appeal to a wider market we are slowly seeing the films move further away from what we know and love and more towards a gritty realistic approach to appeal to the casual viewer. Hardcore fans will watch it for it being the film it is but I’ve noticed this approach on the last couple of films. It could have been worse it could have been ‘Disney-fied’ ala Iron Man 3 with an annoying child sidekick.

 

Kate Mara ‘WOW’ she looked perfect as Sue Storm and my doubts were immediately blown away , again ‘WOW’ is all I can say *think I found a new candidate for Woman Crush Wednesday*.

 

It’s going to be more science than science fiction, as the originals were created in the 60’s alot of the original aspects would seem more farfetched in today’s society so look for a modern approach as highlighted in my first point.

 

The new Thing looks more like he should then in years, gone are the previous orange blocky versions of Thing

And in is the more earthy elemental Thing

 

 

I’m curious to see how this plans out.

 

All in all I think that the new film unfortunately will not be a success for one thing, the stigma still associated with it from the previous movie. People seem like they want to slate this film from the onset and want it to be gritty and realistic but still be a classic superhero move. That will take a lot to live up to and I for one will be there to see it, when it comes out and cheer it on. Plus if it has this song in it, it’ll be a hit in my eyes 😉