Well, hello.

So, naturally, we went quiet again. It was always meant to be this way, really – in an ideal world, there’d be enough of us with enough time to make URP! an ongoing concern, all-year round. But really, this place is here for us to talk about the series while it’s going on (and in the buildup and immediate aftermath), but we don’t really have the time/inclination to turn it into a full-on news/discussion site for the rest of the year (apart from the odd time when it strikes us to write about something). If you’re fine with this, then so are we.

But! Doctor Who is coming back! Very soon! We don’t have a definite date, but it’s reckoned to be the Easter weekend – so probably Saturday 23rd April – which is also confirmed as the US broadcast date for the still-untitled Episode One. So now that it’s nearly back, I thought it was about time to start kicking the site back into gear. As we get closer, we’ll start to actually report and comment on any news or speculation that comes out, and we may even do some general features to take advantage of a hopeful resurgence of interest/readership. Won’t that be exciting? And as well, if anyone reading would like to join our lovely team, do get in touch.

Oh, and sorry we didn’t review “A Christmas Carol”, but none of us could really think of anything to say about it. It wasn’t bad, like, but nor was it particularly memorable. So, yeah.

Really not very much more than can be said about this at the moment. RIP Brigadier Sir Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart.

Nicholas Courtney 1929-2011

Hello everyone. Been a while, eh? Well, the intent of this site was always to be active when the show was running, and kinda dormant when it wasn’t, so I suppose this is the first time we’ll find out whether the experiment’s worked – i.e. if people come flooding back to chat Who with us now that it’s ON TELLY AGAIN.

So, yes. Merry Christmas Eve, and in honour of the festive occasion, and the Eleventh Doctor returning to our screens, I thought I’d get in early with the discussion post – so, feel free to post your hopes and thoughts and speculation about the episode in the buildup, and comment on it during (if you really are sitting there on Christmas Day with your laptop in front of the telly) and afterwards. But remember, if you’ve read about the episode or even seen it at the recent screening, please don’t post any spoilers/details until the episode has aired.

Fans on forums that pretending that the reason they want to buy this boxset:

… is because they’ve been waiting ages for a Sil figure.

Also born on this day: Miley Cyrus, Zoe Ball, Ross Brawn, Joe (Parting of the Ways) Ahearne, Kelly Brook and Billy the Kid.

As you’re doubtless aware, Doctor Who has a longstanding association with Children in Need (ah, who can forget… actually wait, no, that’s better). The link with tonight’s edition of the annual telethon is that the opening of this year’s Christmas special (we never got round to mentioning the news of its title, did we? Oh well, it’s called A Christmas Carol, in case for some baffling reason we’re the only Doctor Who outlet you ever read) will be shown (as with The Next Doctor two years ago); but there’s something else that I thought was worth flagging up.

Writer of the IDW comics series, Tony Lee, is selling his own copies of issues #1-16 of the series (the entire Tennant run – the Smith comics kick off early next year with a brand new #1), all signed with a personal message to the winning bidder. Tony is a massive supporter of Children in Need himself, for reasons outlined on his blog, and this gesture is particularly apt given the existing link between CiN and Who. As it happens, if you’ve never read them, the IDW comics are pretty darned good – and the single issues are generally quite tricky to get in the UK (though the auction is open to anyone, Tony will ship ‘em worldwide), so this is well worth a look, and it is – of course – in a good cause to boot.

Incidentally, I was pondering sitting and liveblogging CiN – including the Who segment – for your pleasure tonight. But I’ll probably just end up playing Pro Evo instead. We’ll see what I feel like when I get home.

Yes, alright, slightly slow on posting these – but if you haven’t yet bought the series five boxset (or you don’t want to out of general principle based on the addition of a fucking stupid animated BBC logo to the opening titles), you may well want to watch the two Meanwhile In The TARDIS insert scenes. Just two little extra pieces, written by Moffat, that bridge the gaps between eps one and two, and then eps five and six. They are, of course, utterly wonderful – and each involves Moffat being far more fanboy than one suspects he’d ever be allowed to be in the main show…

Thanks to Hendiadys for sticking the links in comments DAYS ago.

Have two people ever enjoyed quite such diverse career trajectories in such a small space of time?

Well, isn’t this odd. Matt Smith isn’t the only one getting a new coat this year – apparently the Eighth Doctor has a brand new costume. He’s got a big shiny naval jacket with brass buttons, and – er – a bag. Oh, and a new sonic screwdriver that’s sort of a bit like the Eleventh’s, but with more wood involved. Lookiesee:

There are two ways of looking at this, really. The first is that they’re finally tired of using all the fourteen-year-old publicity pictures of McGann for the Big Finish covers, and wanted to take some fresh ones to more accurately reflect how he looks now – and at the same time, he decided that he didn’t want to wear (or couldn’t fit into) the old costume, and if they were changing it anyway, they might as well take the chance to be a bit more drastic with it.

The second is that they’re finally tired of using all the fourteen-year-old publicity pictures of McGann for the Big Finish covers, and wanted to take some fresh ones to more accurately reflect how he looks now – and at the same time, he decided that he didn’t want to wear (or couldn’t fit into) the old costume, and if they were changing it anyway, they might as well take the chance to be a bit more drastic with it and also the Eighth Doctor is going to appear in New Who in a new costume at some point.

I’ll leave it up to you to decide which you think is more likely.

Remembrance of the Daleks Forbidden Planet Exclusive set.

With FOUR Daleks in it. A grey Renegade, a white Imperial (as already released with Sylv in the two-pack), the black Supreme (!!! favourite Dalek ever!!!) and the Special Weapons Dalek.

Thirty-five quid is a lot of dosh, but by CHRIST I have to have this. I only hope I can actually get hold of one of the things…

THIS IS THE BEST THING CHARACTER OPTIONS HAVE EVER DONE.