Greetings and salutations, fellow Fridge Nukers! Bradfield here, with “all the Who that’s fit to print.”
Happy (belated) Birthday to Two Companions
While I was working out the bugs in this column, two of the Doctor’s most memorable (albeit recent) companions had birthdays: the Tenth Doctor‘s (David Tennant‘s) second companion, Donna Noble (better known as actress/comedienne Catherine Tate) on May 12th, “The Impossible Girl,” Jenna Louise Coleman (Doctors Eleven and Twelve) on April 27th.
Regeneration Is Only The Beginning
Before he was cast as the Twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi had a recurring role as villain, Cardinal Richleu, in the upcoming BBC/BBC America series, The Musketeers. [Yes, those Musketeers!] The Musketeers premieres, in the States, Sunday, June 22nd. As previously reported here on Nuke the Fridge, Matt Smith has joined the cast of the upcoming Terminator sequel. He also has a major role in Ryan Gosling‘s upcoming writing/directing debut, Lost River. Smith may also be reprising his role as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho: the Musical. It has been playing in the UK for several months to sold out audiences and positive reviews, and there are rumors of bringing the show to America. David Tennant is currently shooting an American remake of the UK series, Broadchurch called, Gracepoint for Fox. Speaking of “Rivers,” Alex “River Song” Kingston will be playing James Franco‘s mother in the upcoming Beat-poet biopic, Bukowski. In addition to her role as Nebula in the upcoming independent film, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Karen Gillan‘s pilot for the comedy, Selfie, has been picked up by ABC. Another of the Tenth Doctor’s companions, Billie Piper, is in the new Showtime series, Penny Dreadful.
New Merchandise
BBC America’s Doctor Who Shop is finally offering merchandise that was offered previously only on the BBC site in the UK. The prices were not so much the problem – the prices are about the same – it was international shipping. Entertainment Earth is still a great goto as well, offering much more in the way of merchandise, including exclusives for the most discriminating of Whovians. BBC America’s Shop means… well, more merch – and isn’t that what we really want?
Tennant On The Big Screen
Fathom Events – the team behind the theatrical screenings of The Day of the Doctor – is once again partnering with BBC Worldwide North America to bring Doctor Who to the big screen, if only for two nights. Nationwide. June 16th will be a new, theatrical cut of Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel. Though not a Doctor Who event per se, Wings 3D, which will be shown on the 17th, is narrated by Tennant.
Titan Comics’ Teaser Trailers
As announced earlier this year, Doctor Who Comics joined, via Titan Comics, Doctor Who Magazine and Doctor Who Adventures in the Who family of periodicals distributed by Panini Press. The series is set to debut on July 23rd, and will – so far – be the further adventures of Doctors Ten and Eleven. See the trailers here.
Have Another Panini
There is no shortage of information when it comes to news in the world of Doctor Who. However, sifting through the (often fan generated) conjecture, rumors and constant stream of fan art is another story altogether. So to that end, I recommend Panini Press’ Doctor Who Magazine. As BBC’s official Doctor Who news source (in print), no other fan mag has everything a DW superfan wants to know, and more, including a chapter of a comic in every issue. Even more impressive, they manage to do a rather sizable issue every month, not including specials like episode guides, and this year, special commemorative issues devoted to DW villains and monsters such as this month’s The Essential Doctor Who – The Cybermen: Inside the World of the Ultimate Machine Creatures.
The only problem is that, at least until the show gains even more ground here in the US (?), its release schedule is, to put it euphemistically, on the unreliable side. To make matters more frustrating, we are generally two months behind the magazine’s release schedule in the UK – a month at best. So if your biggest concern is the latest information, it really isn’t the best source. However, if current events aren’t your biggest concern, its features, interviews, reviews and regular columns are definitely worth the time. Subscribing to it might cut a little time off the delivery date, but unlike a lot of magazines, at least in the States, there is no discounted rate for subscriptions, meaning it costs $120 per year – not including special issues.
And Of Course…
