Author Archives: P G Bell

About P G Bell

P. G. Bell (Peter to his friends) is a writer, reviewer and life long fan of sci-fi, fantasy and horror. Born in South Wales, he began watching Doctor Who when he was still crawling and became a proper fan just in time to see the show disappear from the airwaves for 16 years. Needless to say, he was rather chuffed when it reappeared on his doorstep in 2005. Peter has been a regular contributor to The Western Mail newspaper and reviews website Beyond Fiction. He has also had several short stories published, including ‘The Trinket’, a dark fantasy tale from Morrigan Books. He is currently working on a full-length novel.

Trials & Triumphs – A Review of the SFX Weekender 3 Event

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The dust has settled, the hangovers faded and the cosplay has been packed away for another year. But was this year’s SFX Weekender – one of Britain’s biggest sci-fi and fantasy conventions – worth the trip?

It’s safe to say that not everything went according to plan, but did the stellar guest list make up for the freezing temperatures and interminable queues? P.G. Bell shares the high and low points with Caleb Woodbridge and Sarah Burrow. PLUS! a report on the inaugural cosplay competition and interviews with a few of the participants. Click on the jump below to find photos of some of the people we spoke to, but head on over to our Facebook page to see a complete gallery of the weekend’s events!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:15 — 41.4MB)

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P.S. The excellent ‘Transdimensional Mix’ of the Doctor Who theme music comes courtesy of HardWire.

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Brian Blessed Q&A – SFX Weekender 2012

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“The greatest danger in life is not taking the adventure…”

The loudest man in sci-fi (or any other genre, for that matter) was guest of honour at last week’s SFX Weekender in North Wales. P.G. Bell was there to record the action and we’re very pleased to bring you Brian’s complete Q&A session, conducted on Saturday 4th February, in front of a capacity crowd.

Brian explained his passion for science fiction, outlined his plans to bump off old friend Patrick Stewart and revealed why he calls Her Majesty the Queen “Knuckles”.

Most importantly, he publicly announced two very important projects for the first time – one in the realm of science fiction, the other based firmly in science fact. Seriously, this is pretty big.

He also uses some rather salty language at times, so be prepared!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:24 — 40.7MB)

If that’s not enough for you, stay tuned for our full review of the SFX Weekender experience, including a gallery of this year’s cosplay event and interviews with the participants. PLUS! Full Q&As with Sylvester McCoy, Eve Myles and Colin Baker! Coming soon to Impossible Podcasts!

Doctor Who Commentary – 5.01 ‘The Eleventh Hour’

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Remember all those commentaries we never got round to in Series 5? Well, here they come!

The team take advantage of Doctor Who’s extended leave of absence to fill in some of the gaps in their back catalogue, starting with Matt Smith’s debut adventure. Click below to find out what Caleb Woodbridge, Swithun Dobson, Sarah Burrow and P.G. Bell make of the newly regenerated series. Does the shadow of Russell T. Davies still loom large? How does Amy keep up her mortgage repayments on a kiss-o-gram’s salary? And when will the show ever get round to a Groundhog Day episode?

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:17:37 — 71.1MB)

Book Review – ‘The Whisper Jar’ – Carole Lanham

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Some secrets are kept in jars – others, in books.

It’s book review time again, so join P.G. Bell and Olivia Cottrell as they tackle a collection of short fantasy tales from acclaimed author Carole Lanham. In The Whisper Jar, you will encounter a Blood Digger who bonds two children irrevocably together; a young woman who learns of her destiny through the random selection of a Bible verse; and a boy whose life begins to reflect the stories he reads…

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:38 — 12.5MB)

Doctor Who Commentary – 7.0 ‘The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe’

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Merry Christmas! Caleb Woodbridge, Sarah Burrow and P. G. Bell go through the wardrobe to discuss this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe!

In our latest podcast commentary, we discuss the influence of C S Lewis on Doctor Who, whether Matt Smith should have a child as a companion, the criminal underuse of Bill Bailey, Steven Moffat’s gender politics, the place of fairytales in Doctor Who, the extraordinary in the everyday and much more.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:11:08 — 32.6MB)

What did you think of this year’s Christmas special? Did it enchant you, or did you feel it could have been better? What other classic Christmas stories would translate well to Doctor Who?

Doctor Who Commentary – 3.0 ‘The Runaway Bride’

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Our Christmas countdown continues as Sarah Burrow, Swithun Dobson, James Willetts and P.G. Bell revisit Catherine Tate’s fan-baiting debut as companion-to-be, Donna Noble. “For better or for worse…”

There’s no denying that comedian Catherine Tate is the heart and soul of the 2006 Christmas special. But did we love her or hate her? Join us as we pick sides and discuss other noteworthy aspects of the show’s second festive outing, including: cliffhangers, cleavage, Gallifrey, and why Torchwood would need Segways.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:12:09 — 66.1MB)

And there’s still more to come! Visit again next week when we’ll be discussing ‘Voyage of the Damned’. Was it really a disaster in every sense? Until then, head down into the comments section and let us know what you thought of this latest podcast.