Fanholes Episode # 249: Doctor Who - The Celestial Toymaker

 Justin and Derek are joined by special guest, Shagg from the Fire & Water Network, to discuss the animated adaptation of Doctor Who - The Celestial Toymaker!

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Fanholes Episode # 229: Doctor Who Animated Reconstruction 60th Anniversary! The Abominable Snowmen!!

 Join Justin, Derek and special guest The Irredeemable Shagg to discuss "The Abominable Snowmen" Animated Reconstruction on the 60th Anniversary of Doctor Who! 

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Fanholes Episode # 182: Proper Ladylike!

Join Justin, Derek and Special Guest Zach Dyer (Board With Friends) as Attack of the Killer Blue Cupcakes Month Begins! On this episode, they take a look at two super-weird episodes of Doctor Who: 

"Edge of Destruction"

and

"Ghost Light"

Fanholes Episode # 173: Am I Pretty?

Justin and Derek are joined by Zach Dyer of Board With Friends, to talk all about the 12th Doctor!



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Fanholes Episode # 110: IDW Comics That Are Not Transformers

The Fanholes discuss the IDW Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic series, as well as the Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who crossover "Assimilation2".



Fanholes Episode # 110: IDW Comics That Are Not Transformers

Fanholes Episode # 87: Happy Birthday Doctor Who!

Whovian's everywhere rejoice! It's the Doctor's 50th Anniversary! As such, the Fanholes will be talking all about Doctor Who and its myriad incarnations over the last 50 years!

Fanholes Episode # 87: Happy Birthday Doctor Who!

Also, if you can't get enough of Doctor Who podcasts or love Ultraman, check out Doctor Who X Ultraman: Big Dueling Showdown Across Time And Space: The Appearance of Time Lord Alien "The Doctor!" mentioned on the podcast!

Top Ten Doctor Who Episodes

The 50th anniversary of Doctor Who is finally here.

To celebrate, I(Grimlock) will present my top ten episodes.

10. The Faceless Ones.

I know this may seem like an odd choice. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this story on any top ten list. I really enjoy this story though. Most of the episodes are missing however. Even as a diehard fan of the series, I sometimes find the reconstructions a bit tedious to sit through. The plot involves aliens kidnapping people from an airport so they can hijack their image. Think Invasion of the Body Snatchers only set in an airport. This story is also notable because it is the last adventure for Ben and Polly.

9. The Face of Evil.

After Sarah Jane left viewers were introduced to Lela. The complete opposite from Sarah Jane in almost every way. A savage prone to killing with the deadly Janis thorn. And...scantily clad. This episode has one of my favorite moments when the Doctor threatens several savages with a 'deadly' jelly baby. Also, the reveal of just who the face of evil belongs to is quite interesting as well. No spoilers from me.

8. Inferno.

The first (and also one of the few stories) to deal with parallel reality. The Doctor, in an attempt to fix the Tardis, slides into an alternate world where everyone is...EVIL. The Brigadier has an eye patch and Elizabeth Shaw...evil too.

7. The Hand of Fear.

"Eldrad MUST live!" Immortal words to fans. One of the best, in my opinion, of the 4th Doctor era. It begins with the Doctor and Sarah Jane landing on Earth in a rock quarry. Which, if you know anything about the series, you know that rock quarries often stood in for alien planets. After an explosion Sarah Jane is found with a severed silicon hand. She begins to act very strange and the Doctor must stop Sarah Jane and Eldrad.

6. Attack of the Cybermen

I’ll be blunt...I’m not a fan of the 6th Doctor. Or I should say, I don’t care for the majority of his television stories. Audio books...now that’s another story. Anyway, Attack of the Cybermen is not only one of my favorite Cybermen stories but its also my favorite 6th Doctor story. This story has several nods to previous Cybermen tales. A majority of the action takes place on Talos, taking us back to the setting of Tomb of The Cybermen. We also see the Doctor fix the chameleon circuit with hilarious results.

5. The Doctor’s Wife.

It's no secret that I’m a huge Neil Gaiman fan. When I found out he was writing an episode, I was excited to say the least. I was not disappointed. This episode is extremely fun, well written and hilarious. You watch it once and you want to immediately re-watch it.

4. The Talons of Weng-Chiang.

Doctor Who; Sherlock Holmes style. This reminds me of some of the Holmes pastiche stories that incorporate steam punk or famous characters. It has the feel of a pulp story from the 30's as well, with all the fantastical elements thrown in.

3. Genesis of the Daleks.

One of the most infamous episodes. Mostly due to the moral quandary it places the Doctor in. Sent back in time by the Time Lords the Doctor has the task of preventing the creation of the Daleks. All he has to do is connect two wires and boom, no more Daleks. But, as he puts it…’Do I have the right?’

2. Blink.

When asked to recommend episodes to those curious about Doctor Who this is my top choice. And the Doctor doesn’t even show up that much. Also the first appearance of the Weeping Angels, who would become more prominent during the 11th Doctor’s run.

1. The Caves of Androzani.

The swansong for the 5th Doctor. The Doctor and Peri are caught in the middle of a war and infected with a virus. A virus for which there is no cure. The question is, how far will the Doctor go to save his companion? This was especially important to the 5th Doctor as he had lost companion Adric early in his tenure. The 5th also recently lost the android Kamelion. All of whom taunt the Doctor at the end of the story...along with The Master who commands the Doctor to Die.

Fanholes Episode # 40: Brian's Pain, Tony's Brain

This week, the gang takes up a challenge from their fellow Fanholes! Each Fanhole was dared to watch a TV show suggested by another. The results may SHOCK YOU! Or not.

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Fanholes Episode # 40: Brian's Pain, Tony's Brain

Fanholes Side Story #13 Doctor Who VS Jack The Ripper

'Ripper’s Curse' is a three part story that runs through issue #2-4 of IDW’s ongoing Doctor Who series. Our story begins with the Tardis landing in London, 1888. The Doctor ventures out and quickly finds that things are not as they seem. After detecting radiation that should not be present in Victorian era London he leaves Amy and Rory, his current companions, to investigate on their own. Amy finally puts things together and realizes they are in the middle of the Jack The Ripper murders. Furthermore, she figures out that they have arrived on the night of the double murders and takes off in an attempt to save the second victim.

The Doctor tracks the source of the radiation, which is actually a person using a shimmer suit, a kind of camouflage that allows him to look human. Amy arrives too late though, as the second victim has been killed. She finds a lizard like alien standing over the body and is hit with a paralyzing dart. The Doctor arrives and is discovered standing over the body of Amy by the police, who arrest him for being Jack The Ripper.

As issue three begins Rory and Detective Abberline arrive and have the Doctor set free. The Doctor is surprised to see that Abberline is not taken in by the psychic paper. Psychic Paper is something the Doctor frequently uses to go anywhere and investigate. It projects whatever credentials he needs for any situation. The alien is, the Doctor suspects, a Ju’Wes Hunter. Anyone who knows the details of the Ripper case will see this as a clever way to tie directly into the facts of actual history. Which, pays off when we see...

Later, the Tardis crew discuss saving the Ripper’s final victim. The Doctor is very much against saving her, something that Amy and Rory don’t understand. This is a nice discussion of how the Doctor can seemingly alter time, yet on the same hand adhere to not changing fixed moments in time. As we've seen in the series, anytime a fixed moment in time is altered it usually has dire consequences.

Amy disregards everything the Doctor says and tries to warn Mary, the final victim, that she will be killed by the Ripper. Mary simply laughs it off, thinking herself an unlikely victim. The Doctor then travels a few weeks into the future when Mary will be killed, only to find that the wrong Mary has been murdered. Amy did change time and now anything can happen. Issue three ends with Amy being captured by the Ripper.

Issue four opens in the present day as the Doctor and Rory attend a tour of one of the Ripper murder sites. The tour guide tells them that Amelia Marple, the fake name Amy gave to the police, was killed after Mary. They immediately hop back in the Tardis to stop Amy's death. Back in 1888 Amy wakes up in the basement of a house, a captive of the Ripper. The other Mary is there, the one that should have died but didn’t. Eventually Amy and Mary are able to escape from the house and The Ripper faces his hunter. The hunter is also an alien who has been tracking the Ripper. The Ripper is an alien war criminal and is doing these murders in order to blame them on the Ju’Wes. He sees them as monsters who committed atrocities against his people.

Eventually, both aliens are pulled into a rift and blown into space. In the end the Tardis crew travel to present day London. Time has changed, as Amy is no longer listed as a Ripper victim and the Mary that should have died lived on borrowed time, having died a year later. Time, the Doctor tells us, has set things right.

These three issues are fairly simple, yet fun. Having always been fascinated by the Ripper case myself, I can appreciate what the writer was trying to do here. We get references to 'From Hell', not only the film but the graphic novel as well. Amy and Rory identify themselves as Inspector Clouseau and Miss Marple of CSI. I do wish the idea of the Doctor being mistaken for Jack The Ripper had been exploited a bit more.

An interesting side note is that a recent episode of Doctor Who, 'A Good Man Goes To War', actually made a reference to the Ripper murders. This reference actually negates the comic story. Doctor Who cannon is somewhat tricky. You have audio stories and comics and novels that often conflict with one another. Though sometimes the show will reference these stories. Unlike Star Trek, where none of the comics or novels are cannon.

The only negative thing I have to say about these comics is the art. It is simple and does suit a Ripper tale...but I’m not sure it suits a Doctor Who comic. It reminds me of artwork from the Topps X-Files comics. Those comics were somewhat notorious for bad artwork. Though here, the Doctor, Amy and Rory at least like they should.

Fanholes Episode # 10: GuestTinction Agenda Part 2, Featuring Kevin Rich!

Fanholes Episode # 10: GuestTinction Agenda Part 2, Featuring Kevin Rich!

This episode, the gang speaks with guest Kevin Rich about his experiences with living in Japan. Being a collector, a gamer, a fan, and just going about one's day-to-day...how does it differ from being in the States? Then the Fanholes participate in two roundtable discussion segments that cover their favorite Godzilla movies and their favorite animes.

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Fanholes Episode #8: Odin's Monster Truck Rally!

Fanholes Episode #8: Odin's Monster Truck Rally!

This episode the gang talks about their favorite actors who have portrayed Batman or Superman, discuss the cartoon Batman Brave & Bold, relive the Worst Superman and Batman Video Games they've ever played, and in the segment For The Fute-Cha! disclose the things they are most looking forward to from the 2011 Toy Expo!

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