Lively Doctor Who podcast commentaries, plus reviews and discussions of science fiction and fantasy in books, TV, films and more!

Sylvester McCoy Q&A – SFX Weekender 2012

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“They went and cast a 12 year old as the Doctor…”

It’s time for some words of wisdom from the Seventh Doctor himself, Sylvester McCoy – recorded live at last February’s SFX Weekender. Sylvester was on typically lively form, swapping the safety of the stage for a roving microphone and getting up close and personal with his public.

And what a show he gave us. Not content with revealing a few secrets of his time in the TARDIS, he explained the origins of his stage name (be warned: it involves a rather naughty joke), why he used to set fire to his own head for money and what he really thinks of Matt Smith’s performance as the Doctor. Even more excitingly, he revealed how he won the role of Rrrrrrrrradagast the Brrrrrrrown in Peter Jackson’s forthcoming Hobbit movies. This one’s not to be missed!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 53:02 — 48.6MB)

What was Sylvester’s greatest Doctor Who moment? Head to our Facebook page and have your say!

Random Encounter #1 – Girls, Guns ‘n’ Games

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Welcome to the very first edition of Random Encounter. Running as a counterpoint to our retro games column Visual Memory, this new monthly feature tackles the issues facing gamers in the here-and-now. Podcaster, reviewer and hardcore gamer Olivia Cottrell kicks things off with a matter very close to her heart…

All the Mass Effect news lately – especially the trailer featuring the female version of Commander Shepard – has gotten me thinking about the first game in the series. Mass Effect introduced me to gaming as a hobby (some might say an obsession), but why did I latch on to that particular game when I had played others before it and have enjoyed others since? What made Bioware’s space opera so special? Which buttons did it press that others didn’t?

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"Rayguns and Rocket Ships" – Can Books Save Space Opera?

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When you think of sci-fi, the chances are you’re thinking of Space Opera. But as television turns its back on tales of “shooty-death-kill in space”, will the sub-genre continue to thrive on the printed page?

A stunning line-up of top sci-fi authors assembled at the recent SFX Weekender to confront this very question. Paul McAuley, Peter F. Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds, Dan Abnett, Jaine Fenn, Mike Cobley and Aaron Dembski-Bowden reviewed the current state of literary science fiction and raised some tantalising questions of their own. Have the harsh realities of modern life killed our dreams of exploration? Does it still count as Space Opera if the story’s set on Earth? And just what the frack is Space Opera anyway? All this and more, in the latest Impossible Podcast!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 54:36 — 50.0MB)

Merlin – Review and Discussion

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It’s time to ride to Camelot in our second podcast of the day…

Caleb Woodbridge, Sarah Burrow and Olivia Cottrell discuss the fourth series of the BBC’s other big telefantasy success – Merlin. Does it pay to play fast and loose with Arthurian myth? What direction could the show take next? These and other searching questions are answered in our latest podcast. Click below and listen!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:53 — 27.4MB)

NB: This podcast was recorded via Skype so the audio quality does vary in places.

Visual Memory #1 – ‘The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap’

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The Legend of Zelda celebrates its 26th anniversary next week but Christopher Bell is looking back, not forward, in the first edition of Visual Memory – a brand new monthly column exploring classic games on extinct systems…

Legend has it that the kingdom of Hyrule is protected from an ancient darkness by the Picori Blade, a sacred sword entrusted to the royal family by the Minish – a race of Borrower-sized folk who can only be seen by children. Every century, the people of Hyrule celebrate their victory over the forces of evil by holding a royal tournament, at which the winner is allowed to touch the sacred blade. It just so happens that this year’s winner is an evil sorcerer by the name of Vaati, who shatters the sword, unleashing a tide of monsters on the land. To make matters worse, he turns the young princess Zelda to stone. It’s up to her young friend Link to track down the mysterious Minish, re-forge the Picori Blade and restore the princess…

 

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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)

(right click and “Save Target/Link As…”)

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

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