By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Owen looks back at a classic encounter that helped inspire him and shape his love of writing.
There is something about sci-fi fans that keeps them young, not in a Cliff Richard way but in a Peter Pan way and if you could bottle it you’d make a fortune.
Maybe it’s memories of happier times that make us love what we love or maybe the quality of having that part of us that remains an eternal child helps us stay young. It allows us to excitedly anticipate every new movie and TV show and settle down just as we did as kids. In this day and age team ups are a dime a dozen. For every Superman vs Alien there’s a Batman vs Predator. Indeed in comic land entire universes crossover. But count your chickens and hold them close people because I remember a day when such things were a rarity and with no video or DVD or internet, you just saw them the once unless the corporations decided to repeat them to fill a gap in the Sunday afternoon schedules. (Yes, peeps, there was a time when no one worked on a Sunday, swear to God). And I take my hat off to anyone who dreams of a super team up and in the seventies, the world was captivated by bionic men and women. Steve Austin battled agents, deadly space probes and lots of Russians but who could possibly give him a run for his money? Well, the legend of Sasquatch aka Bigfoot was big news especially with the Patterson film, which by the way has been proved to be 100% real so the producers decided there was only one thing that would give Steve a run for his money and to take his mind off his girlfriend Jaime Sommers’ memory loss about their love for each other- Bigfoot. The episode called The Secret of Bigfoot, aired on 1st February 1976 and it proved to be a ratings smash which delighted everyone and Bigfoot came back for two appearances, one of which saw him battle the Bionic Woman who on meeting him did the one thing I would have done, jump into the highest tree, something Steve didn’t think of. And I for one jumped for joy. So if you meet Bigfoot, survival rule number 1; climb the nearest tree. In the Return of Bigfoot, renegade aliens from the previous story were controlling Bigfoot to steal equipment they needed for a deadly plan to take over the world. Steve’s memories are restored, having been wiped at the conclusion of the first story and when none of his friends believe him about the Bigfoot, he is forced to go it alone resulting in nearly being killed by the Sasquatch. Jaime discovers the aliens have a serum that cures anything and goes off to the forests to find them but is attacked by Sasquatch. And by the end of the story all three team up to prevent an exploding volcano by accelerating it through time itself. His final appearance was in Bigfoot V which revealed in had been left behind in stasis by the aliens and had been photographed by a female explorer leading Steve to come to his rescue. In the end, the television version dovetailed into legend as a lone creature that walked the mountains guarding the forests. In many ways it was a tragic end for such a popular character. He had forged a strong friendship with both bionic parties especially Jaime that such an ending seems an easy way out but to keep the legend alive, the only way to end it. Such was the success of Bigfoot in the show, Sasquatch was forever cemented into the public consciousness and the world exploded with Bigfoot sightings. They even produced an action figure so kids could have their Steve figure battle Sasquatch in their own living rooms. Unfortunately, my Steve figure, dressed in his best red tracksuit, was left on one of those old style shelf radiators and a few hours later, I found him melted. I don’t think I ever got over that. But anyway there is no one of my generation that have ever forgotten the fight between Steve and Bigfoot, it really was that momentous. The build-up was similar to the appearance of the T-rex in Jurassic Park, that steady thump thump of huge feet, branches breaking as Steve tries to see what is making them. And when Bigfoot, played by Andre the Giant, is revealed it’s no fist fight. Boulders and tree trunks galore are smashed as they battle. And the reason Bigfoot has bionic sound effects is a shocker when Steve rips his arm off to reveal Bigfoot is actually a cyborg, later shown to be the guard dog of a group of aliens that have been living in the Oregon forests for centuries. They exist in a different flow of time which explains how Bigfoot was seen for centuries explaining Bigfoot’s appearances in Native American folklore. Bigfoot can jump across a lake even with one arm but Steve barely makes it before he is trapped by the aliens and examined. Needless to say they become friends but no one will forget the moment Bigfoot was catapulted into our physce because he could beat up the Six Million Dollar Man. And for once you can actually believe Steve is going to be defeated. The build-up cannot fail to impress even to this day as hidden point of views and Bigfoot kept to the shadows in silhouette ramped up the tension along with the deep roar that echoes around the forests. And as silly as it seems, I still cannot fail to be entertained by the showdown which is also helped by the cracking music, a mix of primal sounds mixed with the theme tune. And it actually looks like the fight is rough when Steve is grabbed by the monster and thrown about like a rag doll. And in all sci-fi, unless there’s a realism to such sequences then they will ultimately fail but in this case, the battle has lingered in so many fans’ memories because it really is a classic. It’s right up there with the Hulk facing down the Thing, Batman fighting Bane and that’s where the magic lies. You can honestly believe that Bigfoot fought the Six Million Dollar Man as sightings continue to this day in that ocean of dark forests that house the legends of time and you will never look at the Oregon forests in the same way ever again.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
copyright BBC
From 1978 – 1981, British science fiction fans had a delicious alternative to the time travelling antics of the Doctor. And surprisingly it came from the pen of the man who created the Daleks, Terry Nation, who also wrote Survivors about an Earth trying to survive after a virus wipes out most of the population.
Essentially, Nation offered a show which he described as the Dirty Dozen in space and thus Blake’s 7 was born. It became an instant hit with 10 million viewers and made household names of all its stars. Nation had wanted to include the Daleks in the show but this never happened.
For its time, the concept was not the cosy world of the starship Enterprise. Roj Blake (Welsh actor Gareth Thomas) was a political dissendent until the day he was framed for child molestation by the authorities, the all-powerful Federation. Brutalized, he finds himself on a prison ship with a bunch of criminals en route to a prison planet. On their way there they stage a mutiny that fails and suddenly they find a spaceship in their way, a deserted ship of a design completely alien to the Earth.
Blake and two other prisoners – computer genius Avon (Paul Darrow) and smuggler Jenna Sally Kynvette) – are sent abooard because the Federation’s people died soon after entering the ship. Blake manages to commandeer the ship which they christen the Liberator and the war against the Federation begins. Blake is joined by some of his fellow prisoners as a crew which will be completed by the telepathic Cally (Jan Chappell), Orac (voiced first by Derek Farr then Peter Tuddenham) a box like super computer that can be carried about and the Liberator’s own onboard computer Zen (also voiced by Peter Tuddenham). By the end of the first three episodes, the crew was in place and we would engage on a journey that would end on a cliffhanger so huge that it is talked about to this day.
Chris Boucher who created Leela for Doctor Who and wrote the classic Robots of Death, was hired as script editor because, although Nation had written all thirteen episodes of season one which would see a cliffhanger that showed the Liberator exploding and ensured fans return for the second season, he didn’t write great dialogue. And writing all of the first season solo was a hard task for any writer and he cut back for season two, allowing new writers to come aboard.
Although the series lost some of its initial ‘Dirty Dozen in space’ flavour, it remained firmly on good guys and bad guys ground. Although perceived as terrorists, Blake’s gang were the heroes and the baddies were represented by Servalan (Jacqueline Pearce), the ruthless female power god over the Federation and her henchman Travis, a one-eyed villain played by both Brian Croucher and Stephen Greif in different seasons and interestingly enough horror star Ingrid Pitt was considered for the role of Servalan. But as history shows, only Jacqueline could play that role. Sexy, beautiful, speaking eloquent evil, Servalan was as tough as any man on the show. She became an icon as much as the others and is a regular convention circuit attendee. Rounding out the crew were Gan (David Jackson), a man with an implant in his head to control his violence and the cowardly lock picker Vila ( Michael Keating).
Cally was an alien, an Auron and was supposed to have coloured eyes and alien make up to give the series a more sci-fi feel but this was abandoned due to budget. Special effects were handled by the BBC inteam and included Mat Irvine who oversaw many episodes. But the Liberator itself was designed by Roger Murray leach who also did the interior decks. Ian Scoones then added to the details. There was simply nothing like the Liberator on television before. Its unique trident formation made for a visual beauty and it was filled with technology beyond that of the Federation and that made Servalan want it for herself. As well as super speed, Zen the onboard computer took up one wall with its hexagonal design which lit up when he spoke and a hologram-like screen to show exteriors. But the best thing was a teleport in which the characters literally broke apart to the sound effect of a drum symbol to reform on a planet surface in a compressive white line. To use it, a character had to wear a teleport bracelet which Blue Peter then showed viewers how to make their own homemade version (below).
copyright BBC
Some of the shots of the ship were actually matte-like drawings which were effective for their time mostly because the design was so classic and stood out among other sci-fi ships.
The show would see Blake and his comrades fighting to being down the Federation which was corrupt and controlled its citizens via drugs in their food. Avon was the thorn in Blake’s side. Avon always worked to his own agenda, only helping if it suited him. He wanted the Liberator and its massive power for himself and he and Blake butted heads on many occasions. The rest of the crew followed Blake but not without question and Vila was the lazy slob of the group which endeared him to both fans and the rest of the crew. Jenna was a strong woman in character but the writing didn’t always portray this. Cally joined Blake with her mental powers coming in handy from time to time. Gan however did very little and come the second season, David Jackson decided he had enough. he once handed the producer a piece of paper with the number 4 written on it. When asked, he told them that was the amount of lines he had in that week’s script. He was killed off in a heroes death, saving his friends in the episode Pressure Point. Orac was an invention that Servalan also wanted but Blake got to first.
At the end of season one Orac predicted the future and showed the crew the destruction of the Liberator but it tuned out that the original aliens that built the ship, The System, want it back and they discover a sister ship which is the one that is destroyed in Orac’s prediction. Aliens were few and far between in the show but they did appear from time to time in episodes such as The Web, Duel, Harvest of Kairos, Animals and Ultraworld.
Season two would see a story arc where Blake sought out Star One, the centre of federation power and highly ultra secret as to its location. When they eventually discover it, they find aliens had duplicated the personnel and are in fact plotting an all out invasion helped by Travis who at this stage has been exiled by Servalan for his constant failures.
The series turns everything on its head as Blake’s 7 and the Liberator are all that stands between the destruction of their civilization, corrupt as it is. In a cliffhanger that wouldn’t have been out of place in Star Trek, the show ended its second season as the alien armada bears down on our heroes and the Federation forces. Think the cliffhanger to Best of Both World’s as Riker says ‘Fire!’ but on a lower budget. The alien fleet looks like it has been put together with washing up bottles, tins, sauce pan lids and anything that has been lying about but it kept viewers gripped. However, with season three both Gareth Thomas and Sally Kynvette decided they had had enough and left the show. Although it retained the title of Blake’s 7, Avon was now the Blake character, achieving what he had wanted from day one but as we would see, Avon wanted Blake back. As the Liberator limps from the battle which saw the aliens repelled, the crew are scattered in life pods and Jenna and Blake are believed dead. The Federation is in tatters and everything has changed.
New characters Dayna (Josette Simon), a black weapons expert who is brought into the conflict when Servalan, who has also survived the battle, murders her father. Del Tarrant ( Steven Pacey) also joins the crew as an ex-federation officer. He would knock heads with Avon just as the latter had done with Blake. By the end of this season Avon falls into a trap by Servalan who lures him to an experimental world Terminal where he believes Blake is being held alive and well. But in a drug-induced vision he sees Blake trapped in a life support machine and it has all been for nothing as Servalan reveals herself. She finally has the Liberator but unknown to her, it has passed through a strange cloud in space which is now dissolving the ship in space. She strands the crew on Terminal and thinks she has won. She orders the engines to full power but the Liberator spectacularly explodes in space and it seemed that was the end of the show.
However, a fourth series was ordered, so the producers and writers had to figure out a new ship and how to get them off Terminal. Only this time, Cally is killed when they spring one of Servalan’s traps.
copyright BBC
So in season four we had a new ship, the Scorpio, which had a working teleport and another computer named Slave which fulfilled the same function as Zen. Scorpio did not have the beauty and classic style of the Liberator but it did have a handy underground base in which they find a new hiding place from Servalan who survived the Liberator’s destruction and is now out for them again.
In the first episode, Rescue, a mysterious stranger called Dorian comes to save them and offers them a home in his base. However Dorian tries to feed them to an alien(in reality a recycled Sea Devil from Doctor Who) so he can stay young forever. They manage to kill the beast and destroy Dorian in the process who ages to death before them. His companion, Soolin, played by Dempsey and Makepeace and Emmerdale star Glynis Barber, joins them.
The fourth season was generally lacklustre but the episode, Sand, sees Tarrant and Servalan trapped by living sand and we learn of Servalan’s tragic past. It is a master class in character writing and stands as the best of the season until we reach the final episode, Blake. Wanting closure to the character, Gareth Thomas returns to the series.
We learn Blake is very much alive, scarred but working again against the Federation under the alias of a bounty hunter. When the Scorpio is attacked and crash lands, an injured Tarrant is rescued by Blake who refuses to reveal his identity. We learn Jenna is dead and Avon has tracked Blake to this world. Separated by the crash the crew finally end up face to face with Blake who Tarrant says is responsible for their being here. It’s a Federation trap but not of Blake’s causing. One of his new band of allies is in fact a federation agent and has alerted their forces to their location. Avon is devastated that the man he trusts has betrayed them and he guns Blake down. the sight of Blake’s stomach exploding in a bloody mess is a shocking image as Avon stands, stunned, over his former friend’s body. Federation troops swarm in and one by one our heroes are gunned down in a fantastic slow motion sequence that leaves no doubt they are dead. Avon is left alone over his friend’s body, surrounded by troops. There is no dialogue and the only sound is the alarm. The red lighting dims as Avon looks up, raises his gun and smiles. the screen goes black and the sound of gun shots ring out.
Having fallen out with producer Vere Lorrimer, Jacqueline Pearce was not in the final episodes and how fitting would it have been to have her present to see her enemies slain before her eyes? Executives wanted a fifth series but it never materialized. presumably it would have shown the crew were stunned and not dead but we will never know.
Blake’s 7 stands as a classic show that got the nation talking and the final slaughter is akin to the Great Escape. No one expected them to die and Terry Nation never thought when he created the show that we would still be talking about that ending. Although in a novel it shows Avon is a prisoner in a top security prison and Vila returns, having survived being shot. There have been rumours that the show was to be remade for television, even as late as 2012, but still no sign of confirmation. Big Finish did recast and remade it as audio plays and are currently doing the Liberator Chronicles which sees the old cast return to their roles. But for now, savour the old series; four brilliant years that defied budget and brought to life characters that have stayed with us. A true classic.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
copyright Big Finish/BBC
This story is the penultimate one in the new fourth Doctor series of Big Finish plays and is filled with nice little nods to the past and the present.
It’s the seventies and, as we open, the Tardis materializes in a field full of cows, a nice reference to the start of Image of the Fendahl, including a joke about stepping in something nasty. But what the fourth Doctor and Leela step in is nothing a cow has produced. They find a huge trail of mucus and immediately are set upon by a hunting party; a party hunting “you know what”, again a nice nod to Harry Potter. They are trying to rescue a missing girl, Julie, who apparently was stolen from her bed by the giant worm. We learn the legend goes all the way back to the Roman Empire and somehow it is all too real. Leela is attacked by a Colonel Spindleton, played by Michael Cochrane who appeared in the Sylvester McCoy television story Ghostlight, where he played a mad safari hunter. I met him years ago at a convention and his love of the show was obvious, so it’s nice to see him back in top form and I mean, way over the top. His chasing Leela in his tank to protect his property is hilarious and yet, as we soon learn, hides a darker secret. Leela was always the one companion for me that could stand against anything and survive and the scenes when she is taken to Spindleton’s manor and discovers the secret in the cellar are magic. For waiting in the cellar, where the floor is cracked, is the Master. I loved the way Leela calls him the Cowled One and is completely unafraid. But her innocence over his identity may be her undoing, especially when the worm rears up and drags her into the depths of the crack. Doctor Who has always done the gross and the disfigured well and this decayed incarnation of the Master, first seen in the Deadly Assassin, is an all-time classic, the image of which burned into the minds of viewers and has never been forgotten. Indeed it was one of the first six releases in the classic Doctor Who action figure range. Imagine that glaring down at you from Tesco’s shelves; fabulous. In that story, the Master has used up all his regenerations and become a decayed husk, a living vampire that needs the power of the Eye of Harmony on Gallifrey to keep him alive as he hunts for a new body. Here, fan fiction stepped in; in the novel Legacy of the Daleks where the eighth Doctor battles the Master in the twenty second century in the wake of the Dalek invasion seen in the second season and where the Doctor left his granddaughter Susan. As the Master tries to revive hidden hives of Daleks, it is revealed that Susan caused his disfigurement as she flew off in his Tardis leaving his burnt body to be found by his Time Lord ally in the Deadly Assassin. He was played then by Peter Pratt. but when it was decided the Master had to come back, his new decayed form was played by Geoffrey Beever in the Keeper of Traken. And there was always a fear when the Doctor confronted him and in the middle of his quips and jokes in this play, Tom Baker has lost none of this frightened tone. The fact that these two men are from the same species, yet one is so severely disfigured, you wonder if it is a fate the Doctor fears may happen to him. And there is nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal. Beever has the beautiful voice that evokes Clive Barker’s comment that all villains and monsters should speak an eloquent evil and here he does in spades. And I for one would like to have seen this version continue in the series rather then turn into Anthony Ainley, good though he was, a few more adventures examining the walking dead Master would have been fun. That aspect is not used here though as we learn the Master is controlling the worm, a bio-organic machine – or so he thinks – in order to create worm holes in reality, but why? The play ends on a cliffhanger which leads to the season finale the Oseidin Adventure. Overall, this has its enjoyable moments but feels like the build up to the finale and we have a new era Who type cliffhanger. The only thing I would say isthat this version of the fourth Doctor feels like his later years; jokes and quips every two minutes which wasn’t evident when he and Leela travelled together. There he was much darker Doctor, showcased best I think in Talons of Weng Chiang where he balanced danger and humour perfectly. But then again, the fourth Doctor is back in new adventures, something fans have dreamed of for years, bringing us such lines as “Don’t blow up the cottage, she’s just had her curtains dry cleaned!”. This Doctor may confound and confuse all those around him fooling them into thinking he’s stupid, but remember, nobody is as stupid as he seems. There are extras in the form of cast interviews which are worthwhile listening to. Roll on the finale because the Master isn’t the only old enemy returning…
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Best friends Zach (Joel Courtney), Randy (Calum Worthy), and Kayla (Andi Matichak) discover that their neighbours are being killed and replaced by perfect copies of their victims. Their only chance to survive is to covertly record the invasion in a desperate attempt to warn the world.
Directed by John Murlowski and co-written with Steven Palmer Peterson
Starring Joel Courtney, Calum Worthy and Andi Katichak.
Sometimes a movie comes along that not only hits you from nowhere but is so good you have to wonder why it isn’t up there with the classics.
For me, I first became aware of Assimilate through a YouTube trailer and thought it looked pretty good. This would be right up my street but little did I know how much. A little voice in the back of my head whispered that there was something familiar about it but I never gave it a second thought.
When I got the chance to watch it I was not only blown away but got reacquainted with a remake of an old friend. This isn’t going to be a review where you have to wait until the end to find out if I liked or not; I loved it!
Not only is it perfect in every department but delivers a shock ending right up there with the original Planet of the Apes.
Zach (Joel Courtney) and Randy (Calum Worthy) who live in the quiet town of Multon, Missouri and the boys intend to show the world that their town is not as dull as it seems by vlogging.
Unfortunately, things go sour as they find that their neighbours are not who they once were as silent spores drift from the sky and a new type of vermin seems to have infested the area biting people. Together with their friend Kayla (Andi Matichak), they discover the truth. People are being replaced by soulless copies. The race is on to save the world and everyone they love before Pastor Greg and his army convert the world too.
It wasn’t until part way through the movie did I realise that this was in fact a remake of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers.
Remaking a classic is a risky thing (Yes I’m talking about you Psycho, Dirty Dancing, Pet Semetary and Star Wars The Force Awakens.)
But when it is done right then you get Assimilate.
This movie is as effective as the original adding in the alien spider like creatures as a new slant. We still get shots of spores floating down from the heavens and some beautiful nods to the original and its remakes. But it is all spliced together with teenagers of today making it feel like it could happen now just as the original reflected its time.
As I said we have some beautiful nods to the original such as the little kid being dragged along the street by his mother and him crying out that she is not his mummy. This is a nice reflection on society today where if a child is seen in the street doing this most people will do something but here the residents of Multon ignore it, a clue to how many have been converted. The internet and all forms of communication to the outside world are gone. This reduces the movie to the original’s truly small town roots. The only option is to head to a communication station on the outskirts of town and upload Zch and Randy’s video proving their story is real. But hunted as the last of the humans in Multon, Zach and Kayla may not make it.
When Zach and Kayla pretend to be zombified to walk through the alien hordes is classic Bodysnatchers fear fest that was used to similar fashion in the Faculty. Also when Zach and Randy are locked in a barn with spiders and they witness Zach’s mother’s conversion is truly brilliant. As his wheelchair bound father walks, Zach then sees his mother murdered before him. There is no blood just screeching as the alien takes her memories to complete itself. Murlowski truly knows how to work the audience anticipation and makes the locked in the dark with a monster scenario fresh and new. Allowing a man to walk again is a miracle but the price is his soul; his love for his wife and son; everything that made them a family.
Anticipation of what is coming and the scares are beautifully crafted all through the movie from the discovery of Kayla’s dad mother in a bathroom cupboard to Kayla being held down to be converted.
Similarly when the alien Kayla and Zach’s naked selves come screaming like banshees to steal their memories is terrifying. Gone is the subtle pod conversion only method; now we have the silent invasion which then becomes a living breathing screaming nightmare. Making the hosts screaming maniacs here intensifies the scares because the residents of Multon are literally fighting themselves to keep their souls. Souls absorbed by mere touch is bad enough but when your evil mirror self is responsible for it then it takes horror to a whole new level. Worse still they then steal your clothes and throw you on a bonfire.
We see children being lined up by their parents to be infected so we can only imagine the terror these kids will experience in their dying moments when their new selves come to drain their minds. Losing yourself is bad enough but to stand by and watch your children being taken is chilling.
What all the Bodysnatchers movies share is showing us the conversion process and its aftermath to chill us to the bone. In previous versions we have had the human body being drained and crumbling to dust. You are brushed up in a dust pan then placed in a bin bag and dumped in the trash.
Assimilate makes it even scarier this time round.
This time you get bitten by the arachnid creatures that scurry away like rats. Biting the host gains them access to their DNA which allows them to copy their victims perfectly. In a nice twist these new ‘humans’ hunt their victim down to grab them by the head to absorb their memories. The host dies and the body burned. The person you were is gone replaced by another you with all your memories but with no idea of why you did anything. This is demonstrated when Zach and Kayla meet the alien Randy who recalls them fishing at a creek but never catching anything. Alien Randy cannot fathom the purpose to that. There is no purpose; it was kids being kids enjoying their summers. They are perfect in every way except for the lack of a soul.
The tragedy is the Randy we know and love is being burned on a bonfire in the town square which in itself is a horrifying scene. We know that every person, men, women and children converted end up here and seeing bones through the flames is something almost satanic. It is literally Hell on Earth. Everything that makes us unique and spices up our world is gone in these symbolic pyres.
But it is the ending that subverts all our expectations which I can’t give away as it wouldn’t be fair and kicks us in the balls. Pet Semetary could have used the touch of Murlowski and Palmer Peterson instead of the pile of shit we were given. Assimilate delivers horror that is familiar but with a subtle new spin that makes it make us step back once more and think.
There isn’t a wooden performance or shot that doesn’t mean something here. The whole story is crafted to rip out our souls by the end by which time we realise too late and to our cost, we have been watching Assimilate with the eyes of the original.
So the question is; is Assimilate going to have a space on Owen’s Blu Ray shelf? Is it rewatchable like the Thing and Halloween?
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Video copyright Disney
Twelve new episodes, twelve new slices of the Star Wars universe in the building of a revolution.
As you know from the Time Warriors universe anything is possible. Time travel doesn’t exist in the Star Wars universe but that doesn’t mean you can’t go back and play with the timelines. Rogue One was a one off movie but now we are getting a brand new series based on Cassian Andor played by Diego Luna.
Yes everyone died in Rogue One but here we get to see how Cassian Andor became involved in the rebellion against the Empire. Now Disney have released a sneak peek trailer which has actually got me pretty excited.
For ages I’ve been wondering who would I cast as Varran if the Time Warriors ever made it to a movie or TV show. Someone suggested Michael Fassbender but it wasn’t until I watched this trailer that I realised Tom Hiddleston would be a perfect Varran. All they’d need to do is dye his hair white. So I cant really wait until they release the new Loki television series. Watch the new trailer below starring the potentially new Varran….
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
We’re back, looking at the vast history of characters both major and minor who populate the world of Doctor Who… this week, the great Bernard Cribbins as Wilfred.
Who would have thought that a simple news vendor alone on the streets of a deserted London on Christmas Day would become the most important figure in the tenth Doctor’s life?
Played by the superb Bernard Cribbins, Wilf was brought in as Donna Noble’s grandfather when the actor playing her father passed away from cancer. Bernard had previously played the Doctor’s policeman companion Tom Campbell alongside Peter Cushing in the movie version of the Dalek Invasion of Earth 2150AD in 1966. Surprisingly he never appeared in the television series then but he was born to play Wilf.
The bond between him and Donna brought some of the most heart-warming and heart-breaking scenes ever in the show’s history. Wilf was a dedicated star gazer, always up on his allotment with his telescope. Secretly he wanted to travel among the stars and thought everything was the fault of aliens. But he never spoke of his meeting with the mysterious Doctor. He missed Donna’s wedding due to Spanish flu so neither he nor Donna knew about each other’s meeting the Time Lord. Despite seeing his granddaughter fly off in the blue police box, he never made the connection until the Sontaran Stratagem when the Doctor arrived at his house with Donna to see what exactly the Atmos device was. He always worried about Donna and where she was and what danger she was in. So when he saw her walking up the street while putting out the rubbish it nearly broke both their hearts. Donna’s because she had just witnessed the deaths of thousands in Pompeii and Wilf because he was just delighted to see his granddaughter safe and well. For me though there was always a touch of jealousy that Wilf wasn’t in the Tardis experiencing all these amazing things for himself. Like many grandparents he was living his dreams through his granddaughter.
Wilf almost died from gas poisoning when the Sontarans launched their Atmos weapons, saved only by his daughter Sylvia smashing the windscreen with an axe. He was always the go between between his daughter and granddaughter but always came down on Donna’s side. But the story Turn Left took the entire Noble family centre stage when history changes as Donna never meets the Doctor when he is killed during their first meeting battling the Racnoss under the Thames. As history unravels and the world falls apart beneath all the threats the Doctor saved us from like the Adipose, Wilf is still there with his telescope. He is the first to see the stars going out which we later discover is due to Davros’ reality bomb. He is devastated to see England introduce labour camps for anyone not born in Britain, the one thing he fought against during the war.
Ever the old soldier, Wilf takes to the streets when the Daleks shift Earth across space in the Stolen Earth. Armed with a paint gun, he manages to blind a Dalek but is horrified when it clears its eye stalk. He and Sylvia are saved by Rose who blows the Dalek apart. Rose has come to find him as he is her only link to finding Donna. When Harriet Jones reunites the Doctor’s old companions through their computer terminals via the Copper network, Wilf reveals he isn’t allowed a webcam and Sylvia reveals he didn’t vote for Jones in the election despite Wilf’s claims to the former.
Donna’s secret is revealed at that moment to her horrified mother but Wilf leaps to her defence. When the Doctor returns Donna minus her memories of her travels, Wilf salutes the Time Lord. He trusts the Doctor completely and knows he did what he had to to save his granddaughter.
But in the tenth Doctor’s final hours Wilf is the keystone upon which everything lies. He is drawn to a church where the Tardis is inscribed in a stained glass window and a mysterious woman appears to him to tell him of the Doctor and his fate. Wilf mobilises the local pensioner network and finds the Time Lord via someone peeking from behind net curtains. The human race is suffering bad dreams showing the Master. Somehow Donna is acting on a subconscious level as she gives him a book of one Joshua Naismith who has kidnapped the Master to fix a piece of alien tech. The mysterious woman once again visits him appearing during the Queen’s speech to tell him he must take arms. Pocketing his old revolver, Wilf sees the Doctor and shows him the book. Wilf takes his last chance to travel in the Tardis.
Bernard Cribbins could bring a tear to a stone and in his one to ones with the Doctor, he begs him to take his revolver and kill the Master before the prophecy of his death comes to pass. Wilf sees the universe in ways others can’t and trapped aboard the Vinvochi ship above Earth, he gives a beautiful speech about his wife being buried down there and how even she isn’t safe from the alien threats that come to pass. He breaks down calling the Doctor the most wonderful man and telling him he must be saved. He feels the Doctor must see humans as insects but the Doctor stuns him by saying he sees them as giants and he would be proud to have Wilf as his dad.
In the final battle, Wilf gets his Star Wars moment and fights in an air battle akin to Luke and Han’s TIE fighter escape from the Death Star. But it is in the face off between the Time Lords, Doctor and Master, that Wilf finds the real reason he has been brought to the Doctor’s side.
The Doctor has been told ‘he will knock four times’ before he dies and he thinks it is the Master that will do the knocking but, surprised to find himself still alive, the Doctor’s face falls when he hears Wilf knock the door of the radiation chamber he is trapped in four times.
The system is on overload and will flood the chamber with lethal radiation within minutes, killing Wilf instantly. David Tennant gives a stunning performance as he rants against the injustice of it all. Wilf says to let him die as he has had his life and the Doctor agrees, making us hate him in that moment because we love Wilf so much. But with a final tear, the Doctor looks Wilf in the eye and tells him it would be his honour to take Wilf’s place.
Despite all his love and respect for the Doctor, Wilf has caused his death but it is not over yet. On Donna’s wedding day, Wilf meets the Time Lord one last time. They both know it is this but the Doctor has a gift for Donna. He gives Wilf a lottery ticket bought with a pound he borrowed from her late father, Geoff, in the past. With a final salute, Wilf breaks down as the Tardis dematerialises from his life for the last time.
For me Wilf embodies the beauty of modern day Doctor Who. He is an old man who thinks his life is over but discovers life is still full of possibilities no matter what age you are. His faith, passion and love of his granddaughter make him real and a superb addition to any series of Doctor Who.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
copyright BBC
So when the Doctor went to Lake Silencia, a mysterious astronaut rose from the depths and shot him dead. Well, shot him and repeatedly shot him when he began to regenerate. We see him looking back at Rory, Amy and River just as the familiar golden glow of regeneration begins to consume him. Well, he solved that particular mystery only to be poisoned by a newly regenerated River Song. She kisses him with lethal lipstick which prevents the Doctor from regenerating. Our hero is only saved when River fills him with regeneration energy in Let’s Kill Hitler to heal himself thus setting her on the path to find the love of her life. While this is all exciting stuff but there’s a slight problem.
As we discovered in the Time of the Doctor, the 11th incarnation was in fact his last body and he spent his days fighting on Trenzalore to protect the town of Christmas. So how then could the Doctor have possibly been about to regenerate when shot at Silencia? But to add even more confusion to the recipe we now know that the Doctor is in fact a being from another dimension who can regenerate an infinite number of times but had his/her memory wiped. Yeah, sometimes you should really leave things alone. Thoughts anyone?
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Long before the latest exciting book in the Time Warriors series debuted in full length novel form, it was almost a very different animal. At one point it was going to be a comic strip in one of Lightning Strike’s comic books. Alas due to various reasons it never happened.
There are some differences to the published book. The main change was the setting. Originally it was going to be a small town setting in modern day. It was still the Mentara who harvested the entire town’s population just as they did in the book. I changed it to the Wild West for the book so we got to see a bit more time travel and to give us a different perspective. I’ve always been fascinated by the Old Wild West and how it faded away to become the America we know at the turn of the century. In the comic version. It would have been a commentary on how we do not look round us any more and how the disappearance of an entire town either goes unnoticed or becomes the subject for a YouTube video. Who really looks out for their neighbours when how many likes we can get on social media is much more important than the welfare of others.
copyright Owen Quinn Scythe Mentara concept art by Stephen Mooney
Writing the comic script was my first time doing something like that so it was a real lesson. The dialogue had to be much sharper to allow the panels to flow better into each other. A good example of that is the sudden appearance of the town’s sole survivor jumping from the fountain just as Michael says ‘Nothing surprises me any more.’
In the book this role was taken by Elijah, the town’s resident gambler. Having grown up on comic books and shows like Doctor Who, cliffhangers have been a part of what draws me back to something whether it be comic strips or television. Who didn’t tune back in each week when the Doctor was in trouble? Let’s face it ‘I am Locutus of Borg’ left you you breathless for more as the end credits rolled. So we had to end it on a cliffhanger big enough to get the fans to buy the following issue. So the supermarket setting was replaced 2ith the horse stables for their shock appearance.
So I had the appearance of the Mentara in its full tarantula centaur form. I couldn’t wait to see if the artist caught what I saw in my head. It wasn’t to be sadly. It wasn’t until I met local artist Stephen Mooney. He has come closest to what I see the Mentara to be which to be honest was a god send. Hence I commissioned him to do the book cover. More than that he got what the Time Warriors were all about.
Copyright Owen Quinn Mace swinging Mentara concept art by Stephen Mooney
So here it is folks. The unmade first part of the Time Warriors The Belbridge Mystery. Oh and if any comic book companies out there want to adapt it drop me a line.
LIGHTNING STRIKE PRESENT
THE TIME WARRIORS
THE BELBRIDGE MYSTERY
WRITER: OWEN QUINN
PAGE NUMBER 1
Full page split into four images, lightning separates each one.
Image 1 Varran, mid thirties, thin face, sapphire eyes, white hair, short, dressed in black jumper, image is from the chest up portrait type. Image of an exploding planet in the background.
Worded like so: Varran, a scientist from a dead world, Xereba. He unlocked the secret to time travel, brought to Earth by a vision. He cannot age yet doesn’t know if he is immortal.He stands as the silent guardian angel of Earth.
Image 2: Jacke, black girl very beautiful, 24 years old,would remind you of Beyonce, again chest up portrait,long dark hair, almond eyes
Worded like so: Jacke (short for Jacqueline) Baker, an Irish girl descended from the survivors of Xereba. She is the calm in the storm and is a sensitive.
Image 3: Michael, stocky, brown hair, 20 years old, would remind you of Tyrone from Coronation Street, chest up portrait wearing an open necked checked shirt
Worded like so : Michael, an orphan from London, also a Xereban descendant, the dreamer who now lives the dream
Image 4: Tyran, girl of about 19, another child of Xereba, short bobbed hair dyed pink, pretty features, aquiline,
Worded like so: Tyran, the daughter of a multi millionaire, spirited and a technical genius.
They came from a world torn apart in a time experiment. They key to infinity became their death knell. The last survivors, huddled together in the Juggernaught, a military base craft, were led to Earth by a vision. Varran, the man behind the destruction, had seen the future. A darkness was coming to consume creation itself and the last battlefield lay on a blue green planet in a system of nine; Earth. Now they live among us, living by our laws and rules since the 19th century while Varran watches from above. They could be the lollipop man, your best friend, the banker or the old lady that watches the world from behind net curtains. Waiting for the call to battle when darkness falls. Now Varran along with Jacke, Michael and Tyran, descendants of the Xereban race are the guardian angels of Earth. They don’t know when or what form it will take but it is coming. Earth must be protected. They are the Time Warriors.
PAGE TWO: 4 panels
Panel 1 close up of a pair of frightened male human eyes
They used to say in space no one could hear you scream…
Panel 2 Man running down a dark alley in his dressing gown
They lied….
Panel 3 Same man cowering behind bins expression of terror as shadows close in around him
On Earth no one can hear you scream amid a thousand others…
Panel 4 Something large and dark’s shadow falls over him, he is still cowering but is partially looking over his shoulder, terror etched on his face as he sees what looms up over him as the bins are scattered by something.
Because when the darkness came, our screams fell like angels from heaven as the darkness swallowed us all
Page 3: 5 panels
Panel 1: Widescreen shot of a street, papers blowing in a breeze as four figures materialize Star trek style; the beams are a double helix of blue energy. It’s Varran, Michael, Jacke and Tyran half formed as their bodies solidify in the beams. Varran dressed in black v neck jumper, three quarter length black coat and grey trousers with lace up brogues. Jacke in jeans, trainers, half jacket and top. Tyran is black top and bottom with black trainers. Michael is in t shirt and hoodies, again jeans and doc martins. The streets are littered with dead birds.
Wording: Welcome to Belbridge, population…god knows.
Panel 2
Medium close up of Varran as he looks about.
1 Quiet. Jacke, anything?
Panel 3 Jacke and Tyran standing by a parked car, Jacke holding a hand unit that resembles a mobile phone (in the overall story they take the place of tricorders and portable scanners. They are disguised as mobiles to prevent drawing attention but if stolen they self destruct if someone hacks or tries to use it). She looks puzzled. Tyran pokes a dead bird with her foot.
1 Jacke: I’m not getting anything. The town’s empty. And dead birds freak me out.
Tyran: Very Resident Evil. First zombie has a go at me, it’ll wish it were dead.
Michael: Zombies are dead as in walking dead
Tyran: Details, details
Panel 4 Michael trying the door of a pet shop, it opens for him.
1 I can tell you this for nothing. Whatever happened, happened fast. Bunny got fried.
Panel 5: Wideshot of the inside of the pet store. Every animal is dead.
Page 4 4 panels
Panel 1 All four together now
1Varran: The Juggernaught systems picked up some bizarre readings from here five hours ago.
2 Tyran: Five hours? We’re a bit late then
3 Jacke: Wouldn’t like to send you for a midwife
Panel 2 Varran: You don’t understand. Somehow, the energy wave didn’t register in normal time until well after the event.
Panel 3 Michael looking mischievous
Michael : Timey Wimey?
Panel 4: Varran looking grim.
You need to stop watching those sci fi shows but essentially yes. Question is how does a town full of people just disappear without a trace? We need a vantage point.
Page 5: Six panels
Varran and Jacke standing on top of a building looking down over the Town Square in which Tyran and Michael are standing. There is an angel fountain and Michael is standing on it. Jacke is scanning with her hand unit, a dead pigeon on the ledge before them while Varran is looking perplexed deep in thought.
1 Jacke: Much as I feel sorry for them, I’m glad the streets aren’t full of dead humans.
Varran: Must be some sort of temporal sonic boom. Kills animals instantly. Never seen anything like it.
Panel 2: Wideshot of something watching the Time Warriors from the shadow of an alleyway. Only a distorted shadow is seen, so you don’t know whether it’s human or not.
Panel 3: Michael and Tyran at the fountain. Tyran sitting on the edge, Michael tossing pebbles into the water.
Michael: It amazes me.
Tyran: What does?
Michael: They say the world is small with the net yet nobody’s even noticed this place has gone quiet.
What does that say about us?
Tyran: My dad once said the world exists in mobiles and laptops. People have forgotten how to even say hello. They could walk over a dead body just to make sure they don’t miss the latest celeb gossip.
Michael: End of the world for fifteen minutes of fame. Nothing ever surprises me anymore.
Panel 4: The water erupts as a figure jumps from the water smashing into Michael. It is covered in a black tarpaulin tied at the wrists and ankles with eyes and a mouth cut for air. Tyran caught in the tussle.
Panel 5: Jacke close up as she looks down at their cries.
Jacke : Jesus!
Panel 6 : Tyran face down as she grabs something the figure has dropped from beside her. It’s a straw. Her expression is a mixture of alarm and puzzlement.
Page 6 4 panels
Panel 1:Tyran and Michael in pursuit of the figure. Tyran has a weapon drawn and fires succession of laser bolts as she runs. They miss.
Panel 2: Jacke and Varran running across the square. Varran tracking the others with his hand unit.
1 Varran: Take the next left Jacke. We’ll head them off!
2 Jacke: So much for no one left. These hand units suck!
Panel 3: Figure disappears into a store with large glass panel window just as Michael and Tyran round the corner.
Panel 4 Michael and Tyran flatten themselves either side of the door. Tyran has weapon raised as has Michael.
Michael: Love it when we go all Starsky and Hutch
Tyran: Did I ever tell you you’re a knob?
Michael: On many occasions but you love me really?
Tyran: Not if you were the last man, maybe second last.
Page 7: 6 panels
Panel 1 Wideshot, Varran and Jacke arrive. They have their backs to the reader facing toward Michael and Tyran.
Tyran: About time. It’s in there.
Jacke: Is it human? I can’t get proper readings. Area is drenched in temporal fallout.
Varran: Did you get a good look at it?
Michael: No too busy chewing grass at the time. It would have been really cool if our alien ancestors had gotten super powers like Superman when they go to Earth. All we get is blisters and sunburn.
Panel 2 Varran leads the way, silhouetted in the doorway, no weapon as he doesn’t believe in them.
Varran: Hello? We’re here to help. We won’t harm you.
Panel 3: It’s a grocery store so moving along the aisles. Shelves packed with food.
Michael: Whispers: Where the hell is he?
Panel 4 The figure leaps from cover at Varran but he puts him down.
Panel 5: They pull back the hood to reveal a black woman , short hair and unconscious.
Varran: What the…
Panel 6: Medium close up of Jacke as she hears something, a clik, clik, clik
Her expression is filled with fear as she sees something.
Jacke: Varran…..
Page 8 full page one panel
The window explodes inwards as a creature burst through it.
This is the Mentara, one of the big bads from the books.
It has the body of a tarantula but is the size of a race horse. Six powerful legs hold its bulbous body up and it is covered in thick spiny hair with red colourings along the body.Worst of all is there is a human like torso at the front as if someone grafted the upper half of a human body to the tarantula body but it is arachnoid also with mandibles and compound eyes. The red colouring running from the bulbous part of the body also run along its barrel chest. It has four arms, same covering as the rest of its body with a spear in one of its hands. It rears above them glaring down evilly.
(When you picture this it’s as if someone crossed a centaur with a giant spider.)
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
copyright Owen Quinn
I read an interview with Neil Gaiman recently in Doctor Who magazine. Now everyone knows Neil, author of Neverwhere and Coraline and a vast array of material which has made him one of the most respected guys around and, like me, he’s a huge Doctor Who fan. Unlike me, he has written an episode, the Doctor’s Wife. Any of you unfamiliar with the episode should really take a look.
In it the eleventh Doctor comes face to face with the Tardis in human form when it is captured by a mysterious entity that exists outside space and time, House. It feeds on Tardis artron energy and as the last living Tardis, The Doctor really is in rouble this time. The Tardis soul is transferred into a woman called Idris. It’s a cracking episode allowing for some wonderful dialogue. In it Idris says she stole the Doctor rather than he stole the Tardis. She took them deliberately where to where he needed to be which explains how the Doctor always lands where the adventure is. Although she also says he has been opening the Tardis doors wrong since it says ‘Pull to Open’ and as we all know the Tardis doors always push open. This is a mistake since the ‘Pull’ on the exterior refers to the little compartment containing the phone originally used when the police boxes were in use in the sixties to phone the emergency services. And better still it is clearly seen as so in the episode The Empty Child when the ninth Doctor answers the phone, a phone that doesn’t work. He opens that little panel as it says; ‘Pull to open.’ This episode was written by Steven Moffat who now runs the show and should have known better. Shame on you Neil and Steven for letting this mistake slip through. Don’t you guys know your Who?
BUT that’s not what this letter is about. In the interview Neil says he thought the tenth Doctor swansong the End of Time did not need the last twenty minutes where he visited all his previous companions. He regards it as sentimental and over indulgent.
You are so missing the point. The End of Time is a celebration of the tenth Doctor’s time and in this era the rules of regeneration had been rewritten. Did you forget the cliffhanger to The Stolen Earth where a fatally injured Doctor must regenerate to save his life from a Dalek attack? He stops it by channelling the energy into his severed hand from the Christmas Invasion, using just enough to heal himself rather than change into a new body. Similarly in Turn Left, he is killed outright before the regeneration cycle can kick in. Nothing we knew before applies. We don’t even know if the Doctor really has thirteen bodies. In the Sarah Jane Adventures the Death of the Doctor, Clyde asks him how many times he can regenerate and the Doctor answers 507 so nothing is set in stone anymore.
But I digress. AS I said the End of Time was a celebration for the tenth Doctor’s time on the show which lets face it cemented it in our culture once more. But for me it isn’t an indulgence to hold the regeneration off so he can travel to visit his former companions. In fact for me, it is akin to a terminally person who knows their time is finite and are going to do exactly what they want to do before they die. What the Doctor wants to do is see if he has been right to involve others in his life and if their time with him has made a positive contribution to their lives. He knows time is running out and we discover in Death of the Doctor that he in fact visited all of his surviving companions, not just the ones that travelled with the tenth incarnation. He knows he is dying and with everything that has happened to him especially his guilt over Donna Nobel’s fate where he had to take away all the positive change her travels gave her by wiping her mind. This also applies to his rant at the end of Waters of Mars when he thought he was Time Lord victorious and Adelaide committed suicide to keep the time lines in order. He was filled with doubt and remorse so it was only logical he find some sort of peace before he passed. Given he rarely dips into companion’s lives after they leave this also shows a maturity that comes with age despite his youthful appearance. So for me the extra twenty minutes were by no means self indulgent tosh just to celebrate the tenth Doctor but a vital part of the Doctor’s continued development as a flesh and blood character. This is borne out by his returning the Pond’s to their normal lives at the end of the God Complex. Better that rather that than standing over their dead bodies he tells Amy and with the loss of their baby Melody, he has had a devastating enough effect on their lives. And that is a direct knock on effect from the End of Time as he is proud of everything his old friends have achieved after they have left him. It was fitting this should happen in Death of the Doctor, a former companion’s spin off show. He gets to tell Jo Grant to her face of all the wonderful things she’s done in defending the Earth and Sarah Jane rhymes off a list of former companions that are all defending the Earth in one way or another because of him. Ace raises billions through her charity A Charitable Earth, Ian and Barbara are still on the go, Tegan fights for aboriginal rites in Australia, Ben and Polly run an orphanage in India while Harry Sullivan has cured many diseases. All this because they dipped into a Time Lord’s life. So that proves conclusively that the End of Time was right to bend the rules and delay the regeneration which acted in that instance as a degenerative disease allowing the Doctor to find peace of mind
The Time Warriors and Beyond 
