ICYMI – This Week in Skatronixxx!

Hello Skatronixxx followers and Occasional Readers!

For your reading pleasure this week we have started to cover the run up to the San Diego Comic Con – the literal Mother (and Father!) of all Cons taking place this year from July 20 to 24. In our daily posts we will bring you breaking and confirmed news and all the juicy rumors of what to expect from this years SDCC.

So far, some of the news includes Funko Pops SDCC exclusives. The Bossman will be keeping us updated on those, since he has a deep-seated love for the little critters.
concreteshawzee did up an article on Alex Ross Art Exclusives.
awesomect98 has found out that OUAT will be doing a panel, featuring the members of the cast.
Alexmi6 posted some news about upcoming SyFy show Van Helsing.
FranPan shares what she has found out about upcoming Netflix series Luke Cage.

In regular Skatronixxx articles, this week saw:

Doctor Who: Is Gita Chandra returning?

Actor Mina Anwar has recently been cast in the latest series of Doctor Who, as a character called ‘Goodthing’. Many Whovians will remember Mina Anwar from the Doctor Who spinoff The Sarah Jane Adventures, where she played schoolgirl Rani’s mother Gita Chandra.

So could Gita Chandra be returning in Doctor Who?

Well, first you have got to ask why she would be returning. What importance could Gita possibly have to the plot of a Series 10 episode?

If the Bannerman Road Gang (consisting of school kids Sky, Luke, Clyde and Rani) were to return in Series 10, then it is possible they would bring Gita back in order to explore the domestic theme often present during Russell T Davies’ era of the show. The Moffat era has brought back the focus on domestic life before – for example, in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship and The Power of Three with companion Rory’s father Brian Williams. Gita could fulfil the role of companion mothers Jackie Tyler or Francine Jones if the Bannerman Road Gang (or at least her daughter Rani) were to become guest companions for an episode.

Bringing the Bannerman Road Gang back would also be a nice way of continuing the late Elisabeth Sladen’s legacy, given that they were a part of a gang led by her character Sarah Jane Smith. It would be a nice tribute to such a brilliant and well-loved Doctor Who actor to have these characters appear in the main show. Sarah Jane may no longer be able to appear in Doctor Who but there is no reason why her presence can’t be felt with the appearance of her spinoff characters.

The one thing that may support this idea is the weird name given to Mina Anwar’s character. ‘Goodthing’ is far from a traditional name and reads more like a codename for something than what they would actually call a character. Doctor Who has had a long association with codenames; the revival of Doctor Who was initially referred to as ‘Torchwood’ and auditions for Amy Pond were talked about by the production crew under the name ‘Panic Moon’. ‘Goodthing’ may be another of these codenames to keep the return of the Bannerman Road Gang secret. After all, Steven Moffat is famously fond of keeping secrets; he kept the return of Davros in last years’ The Magician’s Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar hushed up for one.

I think enough people care about the Bannerman Road Gang to warrant it being kept a secret. Many Doctor Who viewers have grown up with these characters and there is a sufficient demand to see the likes of Luke Smith and Clyde Langer return to the Whoniverse. The latest Doctor Who spinoff Class could always be used to remind viewers of the gang; maybe Luke could be a teacher at Coal Hill Academy, for instance?

Of course, it is equally possible that I could be wrong and Mina Anwar’s character is actually called Goodthing. The other members of the cast have also been given odd character names – Ralf Little is playing Steadfast and Kaizer Akhtar is Praiseworthy. Maybe the Doctor and Bill arrive on a planet where these names are commonplace? But it does seem suspect that the actor known for playing Gita Chandra has been cast in the show for the series of Doctor Who that will air ten years after The Sarah Jane Adventures began. Surely The Sarah Jane Adventures’ 10th anniversary would be the right time for a nod to the show?

The Perfect LEGO Doctor Who Videogame

In a time where LEGO Doctor Who is a thing, it’s hard to imagine now that at one point it seemed pretty unlikely to happen. Eleven years ago, despite the hugely successful revival the show just didn’t have the global reach. Fast forward eleven years and Doctor Who is talked about everywhere, from the pizza heaven of Italy to the McDonalds’ country of America. Doctor Who even got a level pack in the hugely popular toys­to­life game LEGO Dimensions. Yet there’s still no LEGO Doctor Who videogame…

So how would a LEGO Doctor Who videogame work? In this article, I will break it up into four areas: the hub, characters, vehicles and narrative (including gameplay).

The Hub

 

In a LEGO Doctor Who videogame, what else could the main hub be other than the TARDIS? The TARDIS is the show’s one remaining constant throughout its entire fifty three year history. Companions come and go, Doctors leave…but the TARDIS always remains. Imagine being able to explore the TARDIS corridors, enter the library or take a dip in the TARDIS swimming pool. In the control room, the central console should allow you to change the TARDIS’s desktop theme as well as travel to six hub worlds: Gallifrey, Skaro, Present Day London, New Earth, Victorian London and the Cavemen Era.

Gallifrey being the Doctor’s home planet would offer a fun place for Whovians to explore. I would want to be able to visit iconic places like the Time Lord Academy, the Citadel and the Death Zone. Skaro, meanwhile, would give you the other edge of the coin as the home of the Daleks. We’ve already seen the potential of an explorable Skaro in the Doctor Who Adventure World on LEGO Dimensions but there is one notable thing it misses out: the Dalek City. I want to be able to explore the Dalek corridors and maybe even stumble across a certain Barbara Wright who needs rescuing from them.

Present Day London of course would need to be a hub world given its importance in the new series. The majority of the new series companions are from London and only one is from anywhere other than the present day (Captain Jack Harkness). Whilst it doesn’t seem as exciting a place to explore as the previously mentioned hub worlds, it could be made more exciting by the ability to enter UNIT’s headquarters in the Tower of London and explore the Black Archive.

The only Earth location as prominent as Present Day London in Doctor Who is arguably Victorian London. Victorian London is something the show has explored as far back as 1967’s The Evil of the Daleks. Possibly the most famous Victorian London serial is 1977’s The Talons of Weing Chang, featuring two of the show’s most popular supporting characters in Jago & Litefoot. Victorian London could give you the chance to meet Jago & Litefoot at the Palace Theatre…or those other popular Victorian ­based characters Vastra, Jenny and Strax at 13 Paternoster Row.

As for The Cavemen Era, whilst admittedly it would a little limited in its potential as a hub environment it would make for a nice callback to the very first serial. The cavemen could give you various quests to complete such as making fire or helping an injured caveman.

New Earth would offer a larger variety of things to do. One of the things I would find fun in this setting would be trying to find a cure for the injured patients (maybe as part of a hub world quest). Flying through the Macra­i nfested motorway of Gridlock would be hugely enjoyable and being able to visit the hospital from New Earth would make for a nice bonus.

The Narrative

 

Okay, so we’ve covered the Hub…but what should the narrative actually be about?

Well, for a start I don’t think I’d want to see a LEGO version of already­ existing Doctor Who stories with the first LEGO Doctor Who video game. That could come with a later game, akin to how LEGO Marvel’s Avengers followed LEGO Marvel Superheroes. The first LEGO Doctor Who game should be an original storyline that pays tribute to the show’s entire history.

The best way to do that would be through a Multi­Doctor adventure. If the TV series can’t give us all thirteen Doctors onscreen at the same time, then let’s see LEGO do it. Better yet, let’s see LEGO actually bring together the surviving actors to voice their Doctors. William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee could be voiced by David Bradley, Reece Shearsmith and Sean Pertwee and if Christoper Eccleston can’t be enticed, Nicholas Briggs did a pretty decent impression for the Destiny of the Doctor audiobook Night of the Whisper.

And what of the companions? Well, I would like to see some of the most iconic companions joining the Doctors but it would be a bit much to expect every companion to appear in the main narrative. Mary Tamm, Nicholas Courtney and Elisabeth Sladen are sadly no longer with us and their deaths are too recent for their characters to be recast so sadly they can be ruled out. There’s no reason why Ian, Jo Grant, Ace or Leela couldn’t be a part of the narrative though and I would be open to Jemma Powell reprising her role as Barbara Wright from the Big Finish audios. Rose, Captain Jack, Mickey, Donna, Amy, Rory and Clara I would like to see a part of the same narrative also.

One thing I wouldn’t do is have the companions stick with their respective Doctors. Part of the fun of LEGO Marvel Superheroes was seeing the various characters from Marvel’s comicbook history interact with one another. I loved the bizarre combinations of Captain America and Mr Fantastic or Wolverine and the Human Torch. I would therefore want to see strange combinations like the first Doctor and Donna or the 11th Doctor and Zoe Heriot.

I would also want the iconic LEGO brick to be a big part of the story. My storyline would be as follows:

The Master is searching for the legendary Time Brick; a brick which grants its user the ability to erase time periods from existence. In order to help him claim the brick, the Master has teamed up with some of the Doctor’s deadliest enemies including the Daleks and the Nestene Consciousness. In order to combat this threat, Kate Lethbridge-­Stewart brings together every Doctor and a few of his most loyal companions. Can they get to the Time Brick before the Master?

One of my favourite things about the gameplay of the LEGO videogames are the puzzle­solving mechanics. My idea for a LEGO Doctor Who videogame therefore would see a large focus on solving puzzles in order to progress the narrative. Of course, the story would still see you fighting the Dalek Emperor or fending off the Wiirn but rather than achieving this through brawn you would be required to solve various puzzles such as mesmerizing a button pattern or solving a Pac­Man style maze. The Doctor has never been a fan of using fists and a LEGO game would have to reflect that as much as it can whilst maintaining the traditional LEGO formula.

Characters

 

Earlier in the article, I mentioned how including Sarah Jane, the Brigadier and Romana 1 in the main narrative would be unrealistic due to their unfortunate deaths, however their inclusion would be possible through characters that can be unlocked by completing quests in the hub worlds. The LEGO games generally don’t tend to give characters who aren’t in the main narrative dialogue (unless it’s LEGO Dimensions) so if they were to be included as playable characters outside the campaign recasting wouldn’t be required. In fact, it could make for a nice tribute that their characters live on through other mediums.

As well as Sarah, the Brigadier and Romana 1 I think it would be a good idea if the game allowed the other companions not in the main narrative to be unlockable also. I wouldn’t just want a handful of companions playable, I’d want to be able to play as them all. Every single one of them has played a big part in the show’s history (yes, even Adam Mitchell) and the LEGO games tend to have huge rosters anyway so I’m sure Traveller’s Tales would be able to find room to fit them all in.

Of course, no good hero would be complete without his enemies. And the Doctor is a good hero. There is therefore no way I would want to see a LEGO Doctor Who videogame

without a few of the Doctor’s enemies as playable characters. The Daleks would simply have to be playable – could you imagine a LEGO Doctor Who game where they aren’t? – but preferably as characters this time. I don’t like Traveller’s Tales’ decision to make the NFC Dalek in LEGO Dimensions a vehicle. Sure, the actual ‘Dalek’ is the Kaled mutant inside but the prospect of driving the travel machine is not as much fun as the idea of actually playing as a LEGO Dalek. Other villains I would want to play as include the Ice Warriors (I mean, they even have the LEGO hands), the Vashta Nerada and the Axons.

Something that many complain about when it comes to the LEGO rosters are the inclusion of generic characters like ‘Angry Cannibal’ from LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean or ‘Gryffindor Boy’ from LEGO Harry Potter Years 1­4. Doctor Who, being the marvelous show it is, has many infamous background characters though who would be fun to play as despite appearing generic. The Policeman from An Unearthly Child is one example. Or how about

Man Eating Chips from The Bells of Saint John? Perhaps the most popular inclusion would be Pigbin Josh from 1971’s The Claws of Axos. Simply put, LEGO Doctor Who: The Videogame would make the generic characters fun.

Vehicles

None of us think of Doctor Who for the vehicles but there are still a number I’d want to see. I particularly would love to be able to drive Bessie around Gallifrey as the 11th Doctor. Bessie had a small cameo in the LEGO Dimensions Doctor Who level pack The Dalek Extermination of Earth and it would be nice to be given the option to drive her around next time round.

Speaking of Pertwee Era vehicles, wouldn’t it be fun to pilot the Whomobile? Just imagine flying it above the fields of New Earth. What would make it even more fun is that you could be the Celestial Toymaker piloting it around. Imagine the Celestial Toymaker piloting one of the Doctor’s most well­known vehicles! Try telling me you wouldn’t want to see that.

Go on. Try.

You can’t, can you?

Because it would be undeniably awesome.

There aren’t really many other vehicles to mention, other than a UNIT Jeep. Spaceships would offer the most variety – not really surprising for a sci­fi show. You could have a Dalek spaceship, the Valiant, a Sontaran Battlecraft Pod, Cyber­ship…the list is endless. I’m sure if Traveller’s Tales were to release a LEGO Doctor Who game, the number of spaceships would be higher than the number of Earth vehicles. There would likely be a number of generic vehicles to make up the numbers (a random car here, a random bus there…) but from a LEGO Doctor Who game I would expect a higher emphasis on spacecraft overall.

Having said that, driving a UNIT Jeep around the Cavemen Era would be fun.

So those were my ideas for a LEGO Doctor Who videogame. We can only hope that one day Traveller’s Tales and LEGO will announce plans for a Doctor Who game. Doctor Who

would make the perfect LEGO videogame that I am sure many would buy and if it were to be as good as LEGO Marvel Superheroes, then one thing’s for sure: we’d be in for a trip of a lifetime.

OOOPS! Peter Capaldi’s Slip of the Lip!

Recently at Awesome Con, Washington DC, during a panel featuring Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman, Peter C may have said more than he intended.

‘I’m not sure how successfully Clara was able to wipe his mind. I just…. I was about to tell you something I can’t tell you…’

Jenna Coleman’s character Clara, The Impossible Girl, may be returning for Season 10. Fans will remember that she and Ashildr (Maisie Williams) have wiped the Doctor’s memory of Clara and are wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey wending their way around the galaxy in a second TARDIS. This leads to all sorts of possibilities. Maybe she will appear as a memory fragment. Or maybe in the flesh. Who knows? Capaldi declined to answer any further questions on this.
That being said, there is a Doctor Who spinoff in the works. Class, an eight episode series, is scheduled to air on BBC Three in the UK, and on BBC America in the US, this year. It is a joint production of BBC America and BBC Cymru Wales, and will be filmed in Cardiff. This spin-off, written by YA author Patrick Ness, will be about Coal Hill School, where of course, Clara taught.

Video clip of the slip of the lip below:

And meet the Doctor’s new companion Bill (Pearl Mackie)!

What are your thoughts on the possibilities for Clara’s reappearance?  And what do you think about the Doctor’s new companion?  Let me know!  And as always, show Team Skatronixxx some love!