By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
We meet the various zombies that appear in the Zombie Blues books and learn the story behind their inclusion. This time up Dog Lover Zombie.
The thing about being a zombie is that like all evil, it takes the cocoon of normality and twists it into something the darkness can use against us.
In the first Zombie Blues book Dog Lover Zombie, it takes one of the most normal things in our lives and changes its meaning completely.
Most people have dogs or like dogs. YouTube is filled with dogs being protective of their families or sleeping beside new born babies. We have dogs risking their lives for the police and armed forces and we have guide dogs performing a life giving service. There is no doubt that dogs are part and parcel of our lives to the point where they are seen as family members.
We are a world of dog lovers; indeed the very phrase conjures images of happy families with kids cuddling their pet. No one can question that. However in Zombie Blues land that phrase becomes something quite different.
The zombies in Zombie Blues are programmed to eat anything that moves and that includes our pets. So from the undead perspective being a dog lover becomes something quite unsettling. Now imagine loving dogs was not only your business but part of your very psyche.
In Dog Lover Zombie we meet our first celebrity zombie, Canine Ken. Ken has a successful show dealing with unruly and nasty dogs which is global hit.
He grew up in a home in Kansas where dogs were part and parcel of family life. His mother from an early age saw his gift with dogs which went beyond the norm. Ken had a psychic link with them bar one type in particular. He hates Chihuahuas. They have their own level of thought that goes beyond any other canine and Ken gave up on them after he was attacked by one on his show; his only failure but also his highest rated one ever.
When the apocalypse hits Ken immediately springs to save his animals. His deep love for his animals is returned when he is saved from being bitten by a zombie by Lucy one of his rescue dogs.
In real life Lucy was my son’s dog. She was everything this story projects about dogs; loyal and protective especially of him. It was only right that she feature in this story.
Will the Zombie apocalypse destroy the millennia old bond between humans and their dogs? Has Mother Nature underestimated the strength of something that may well play a part in beating the armies of the undead?
Posted by Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Craig, a journalism graduate trying desperately to get a foothold in a fading industry, is going nowhere fast. While searching for a project to occupy himself, he stumbles across a blog written by a girl called Kami about internet rituals – challenges undertaken by those seeking to make contact with ghosts or other supernatural entities. Craig becomes obsessed, and when Kami suddenly disappears he goes in search of her. From there he is powerless to prevent his life spiralling out of control as he is drawn deeper and deeper into a dark, dangerous world where nothing is quite what it seems, a world populated not just by urban myths and hearsay, but by real-life killers. He thinks he is in control, but nothing can be further from the truth.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
What am I? I mean I know what a vampire is. A vampire drinks blood. But a vampire is immortal. I certainly am not immortal. Am I just a killer? Am I a serial murderer? That can’t be. I crave the blood. And sometimes I even need the blood. So what does this make me?I didn’t ask for the craving, but it is there. I didn’t ask to be this mortal who needs blood like a vampire in a storybook. Maybe this is what a vampire really is, someone like me. Maybe a vampire is only a mortal with an unnatural need to feed on the blood of humans. And how do I deal with this now? Do I continue to be a cold blooded killer? Or do I kill people who deserve to die? God knows there is no shortage of those in the world.
Posted By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Jerrad Haines has been dreaming about killing his wife, Jackie, for a year. His fantasy is the only thing that gets him through each day of his broken marriage. But one day on his commute home, something happens that can make his dream a reality. Now he has to decide whether to act on it or let it go.
Posted By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
From the dark, unhinged recesses of Jim Goforth’s mind, emerges another gruesome collective of stories delving into extreme realms. The world is full of monstrous people, monstrous things, monstrous deeds. What happens when you become involved, hopelessly ensnared in a nightmare world from which there is no escape? What happens when a lifetime of bad decisions comes back to haunt you? What happens when you are pushed into the darkest of corners, when the world you thought you knew becomes something else? Something horrifying, something ugly? The latest volume in the Extremes series assembles more horror tales that wallow in filth and fear, in perversion and pain, monstrosity and mayhem. All manner of things can drive a person to extremes. And beyond. You can go to Extremes; you can even go to More Extremes. Now and then, Greater Extremes are called for.
Posted by Owen Quinn author of he Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
As a child, did you hide under your blankets when you were scared?
After reading some of the scariest stories from new up-and-coming authors, we won’t blame you if you start hiding again. Take a journey with us into the twisted mind of horror and Editing Mee’s first horror story collection.
“The Fallout” travels through the unknown, while “Feast” will make you never want to love again.
Collective Darkness isn’t for the faint of heart. Read… if you dare.
She was the first companion to ever oversee a regeneration in Doctor Who, she epitomised the swinging sixties in the Tardis and she is still going strong today. The Time Warriors is proud to chat to Polly, Anneke Wills. She tells us about th day Patrick Troughton arrived, what she really thought of William Hartnell and how the seventh Doctor found her living on an island. With the Cybermen returning to Doctor Who this weekend, we thought we’d chat to the lady that saw them first time around…
TW: Anneke , thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule. Can I start by asking how did you get into acting?
AW: I went up for a part in a film when I was 10 years old. I didn’t know what an audition piece was – so I told the director to close her eyes and did an imitation of the Queen; her coronation speech which we all learnt at my village school it was 1951. From there I went to London Drama School and then to RADA.
TW: How did you land the role of Polly?
AW: My agent called and sent me up for an interview with Innes Lloyd (producer at the time) and (director) Michael Ferguson at the BBC. A few hours after I got home they called to say I’d got the part. But it wasn’t unusual as I more often as not got what I was sent in for! I was a BBC favourite!
TW:You were in fact the predecessor to Rose as Polly was the first companion to be grounded in reality. Were you aware of her cultural significance at the time?
AW:No! How could I know that 46 years, 6 months, 3 weeks and 3 days, I would be so remembered that I would be asked to the set of Mark Gatiss’ film!
It wasn’t unusual as I more often as not got what I was sent in for! I was a BBC favourite!
TW: You faced the first Cybermen, what did you think of them at the time?
AW:We thought they were marvellous. Revolutionary! Inspiring – frightening! They were Kit Pedler’s brilliant creation.
TW: Did you think they would be the next big monster?
AW: We had an inkling they may become popular- but nothing could replace the Daleks of course!
We thought they (the Cybermen) were marvellous. Revolutionary! Inspiring – frightening! They were Kit Pedler’s brilliant creation.
TW: Which version do you prefer? The more human ones in the Tenth Planet or the Moonbase Ones?
AW: We thought the original ones were more spooky, being closer to being human. The gaping holes for their mouths; their distorted voices were better then, I think.
TW: You were there for the first ever regeneration. What was it like on set that day? Was there a fear it wouldn’t work?
AW: Of course there was an anxiety about the Doctor being replaced but Mike and I so believed in Patrick that we were sure the public would love him. Filming the last episode of the Tenth Planet was tiring because we took ages to do the ‘bleach out’ from Bill to Pat and then we had to finish the rest of the story so it was very late at night. And we were exhausted when we finally done.
TW: You also became the first companion, along with Michael Craze, to bridge the birth of two Doctors. Was that daunting as it all depended on Ben and Polly’s reactions to the new Doctor?
AW: Not really; we just took it in our stride; relieved to be finished with grumpy old Bill and hoping to join up with funny sweet talented Patrick Troughton! Over the weeks of working with Bill, we had so much difficulty – stand ins- and having to take over his lines at the drop of a hat but hey, we were actors! We just got on with it!
Of course there was an anxiety about the Doctor being replaced but Mike and I so believed in Patrick
TW: You all seemed to have a lot of fun on set. What’s your fondest memory of Patrick and Bill?
AW: Fondest memory of Bill was saying goodbye! And too many of Patrick to recount. He was simply inspiring to work with! And we now know how much in his personal life was going on! It’s amazing with all that pressure he was under from all sides that he was able to be so sweet and kind and also filled with humour (something that had been absolutely missing in the last run of Bill Hartnell!). Mike and I knew we were privileged to be his supportive companions. And we all drank like fishes!
TW: What story remains close to your heart?
AW: Having just finished reading the ‘Highlanders’ for BBC audio – I loved this story – it really goes to show how funny Pat could be and the relationships between the characters really insightfully written. It was dark and funny, witty and gripping all at once.
TW: Your exit was badly handled. I feel it disrespected not only you as an actor but the audience who had emotionally invested in Polly and Ben. Did that leave a bitter taste?
AW: They thought I would stay on, after they let go of Mike. You can see in the Tomb of the Cybermen, Kit Pedler was still writing for Polly! So they rather got rid of us, but I was happy to leave. It had been my decision because I wanted to go on to other parts. In those days if you became too identified with a character you didn’t get work easily. It’s all SO very different today.
TW: How did you discover that fandom still loved the characters and wanted to meet you?
AW: Stephen James Walker of Frame magazine called me up on the tiny island I was living on in British Columbia and talked for an hour. Then he invited me back to the UK. I was absolutely astounded, having had no idea that the show was still so popular with the fans. I’d become a Star trek fan in the meantime!
TW: Sylvester McCoy (the seventh Doctor) came to see you while they were filming the Doctor Who movie for his video diary. Was that a fun day?
I so enjoyed popping out of my shop in a mini skirt with ‘Oh Doctor! How wonderful to see you!’ and later of course I met the gorgeous Paul McGann.
AW: Hugely! I so enjoyed popping out of my shop in a mini skirt with ‘Oh Doctor! How wonderful to see you!’ and later of course I met the gorgeous Paul McGann. They took me out to dinner (the film producers). So kind.
TW: You of course came back for the Big Finish series of stories where Polly was centre stage. How did that come about? Is it a harder medium as an actor as the performance lies in the vocals completely?
AW: No, it’s lovely because you can focus entirely on the story and not have to worry about how you look! Wrinkles in HD! Oooer!
Also, of course, it’s wonderful to play Polly again and this time she’s empowered! In Charge! It was inevitable that I would be included in the astounding volume of work that Big Finish puts out and I have so enjoyed the Companion Chronicles and certainly hope to do more.
TW: Was an autobiography always something you wanted to write? Do you still have stories to tell?
AW: I had been thinking I did have a story to tell because what with one thing and another, I’ve had quite a life! So when the fans all cheered and said they wanted to read about it, on January 1st, 2007, I sharpened my pencil, lit a candle and began. And also because I wanted to tell my mother’s brave story, about my beautiful brother who was murdered and of course my lovely Polly who tragically left us when she was 18. So I was honoured to be able to write about their lives and share it with you all. Fantom Films are talking about bringing the two books out in a single hardback volume with up to date stories and lots of new photos! Coming soon! Watch out for it!
TW: Anneke, thank you for this. It s an honour for us here in Ireland.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues from the archives originally carried out with FTN
Copyright Disney
Sam Witwer is a 35-year-old American actor who has pretty much featured in a lot of shows we love in the last few years. Appearing in Battlestar Galactica and Being Human (US) is bad enough, but when you also include the fact that he was in The Mist, directed by Frank Darabont and based on Stephen King’s short story, Dexter and CSI then he becomes something of an icon. Then you add on the fact that he’s been a zombie in The Walking Dead, is the voice of Darth Maul and the Son in Clone Wars and on top of that is a bona-fide part of the Star Wars universe with his portrayal of the apprentice, Galen Marek, in The Force Unleashed games as well as Supergirl and Doomsday in Smallville and suddenly you have an actor who has been on our list of ‘must interview’ for a long time now, so as you can imagine, it was our absolute pleasure to sit and talk to him…
TW: Sam, before we begin, I just want to tell you that we all at Time Warriors are really big fans of your work and this has been something we’ve looked forward to for a long, long time. Before you landed the role of Doomsday in Smallville, were you a Superman fan?
SW: Certainly. Of the Christopher Reeve movies, that is. When I was a little kid, the only way my parents could get me to put on a suit was if I could wear my Superman shirt underneath, cuz then I wasn’t wearing a suit… I was Clark Kent. As for the comics, I’ve read more now, post-Smallville, than I did before.
TW: Were you aware that Doomsday was the one that Killed Superman. Was that daunting in any way?
SW: I hadn’t read it, but yes I was aware and yes it was daunting. This stuff is beloved by a lot of people and you certainly don’t want to let anyone down. I knew the idea about giving Doomsday a human alter-ego was not going to be popular once announced, but if we did it well we might just come out looking good on the other side.
So yes. I was hired to mess with something that was very important to a lot of people, and somehow I got away with it.
Copyright Disney
TW: Were you worried about fan backlash when you killed Jimmy Olsen?
SW: I was. I was not happy with how the arc ended. It’s not that what they wanted to do was impossible, it’s just that we hadn’t earned it. We hadn’t created a character that would do what he did in the way he did it. I felt it was an artificially dramatic left turn.Having said that, TV is hard. Everything is done on tiny schedules and tiny budgets, and one moment the network/studio wants this, and the next moment they want that. I think the writing team did me far more credit than disservice.
On killing Jimmy Olsen: “I was not happy with how the arc ended… I felt it was an artificially dramatic left turn.”
TW: Have you watched the British version of Being Human and what did you think of it?
SW: I have. I love that show and recommend it unreservedly. It’s really wonderful.
TW: How did you approach bringing your own spin to the vampire mythology as Aidan in Being Human?
SW: When we started Being Human, we stayed away from the BBC original entirely. We had to make our own characters and seeing someone else’s take on similar material was only going to muddy the waters. When we wrapped season one, I bought everyone the boxsets and we became fans.
As for the mythology – Well, I originally turned down the audition. I read the word “Vampire” in the first three pages and immediately thought, “Oh man. Why do we need another one of these guys?” I then closed the script. Thankfully, a very smart friend of mine named Laura Terry shamed me into going back and actually reading the material. To my horror I saw a really cleverly told story about a drug addict trying to go clean. I loved that.
So my first task in approaching Aidan was to create a recovering drug addict. That’s what I think I’m doing. Everything else is just letting my mind run wild with what it must be like to be 260 years old, etc. I haven’t watched much Vampire stuff so I don’t know how other people are doing it.
TW: You were also in the movie adaptation of the Mist. It had one of the most shocking endings ever. Were you a Stephen King fan?
SW: I was a casual King fan. Funny thing is, my buddies back in Chicago had been complaining to me that no one had ever made a movie adaptation of the Mist… This was two years before I got the audition. How did I get the audition? A woman dropped a bag of stuff in the middle of the street and I helped her gather her things. She was a casting director and asked me if I wanted to read for something. She gave me 15 minutes with some pretty difficult material, put me on tape, and next thing I know, Frank Darabont hires me. It was very strange, and I’m damn glad I didn’t know I was auditioning for Frank.
What I value most from that experience is my friendship with Frank.
TW: You were a zombie in the Walking Dead. You’re a vampire. All you need now is to be a werewolf and you’ve completely the big three. Are there days when you wake up and as a normal person think, that is so cool?
SW: It is definitely a bizarre job. As for the “this is so cool” factor, that’s the Star Wars stuff. I was a huge fan when I was a kid, so it’s fun to now get to play around in that universe.
TW: You have done a lot of voice-over work for computer games etc. Do you find that a harder medium given the performance is all in the vocals?
SW: It’s getting easier. Some people say voiceover is easy… Well, I’d say that’s not true. If you wanna do anything really well, it’s difficult. There’s a lot to learn. The voice actors I’ve worked with are, quite honestly, better at that stuff than I am. Now, I may bring my own unique talents to it, but there’s a whole skillset that the best voice actors have to draw on, and I’m just trying to make a really good wrench… OK, maybe now I’m working on a screwdriver as well.
The only thing I have to fall back on is my taste and my dramatic sense. The vocal stuff is coming, and it’s getting a little bit easier.
TW: Galen Marek is honestly one of my favourite Star Wars characters, certainly in the EU, how does it feel to be such a strong and unique character in the Star Wars universe?
SW: Well there was another daunting role. To create a Star Wars protagonist for a project that had a budget more on the scale of a feature film, that was pressure. Star Wars fans are not shy about telling you when they think you got it wrong. So I worked hard. Very hard. Did a lot of homework. What homework? Well, I already knew the Star Wars stuff… but what I wasn’t maybe AS familiar with was Flash Gordon 1930s serials, Kurosawa films, 70s acting styles, Wizard of Oz, etc. I thought it was important to reflect on the influences that MADE Star Wars and not just Star Wars itself.
What did I learn? A lot of things, but chief among them? Star Wars is better when it’s bigger, performance wise. Subtlety doesn’t read, because it’s shot in masters and two shots like an old film. You have to fill that frame with personality. Also? If you’re gonna say it loud, might as well say it fast. The joke that people level at George Lucas is that he only ever gave the direction, “Faster, more intense” to the actors.
Well, guess what? Faster, more intense works quite well in a Star Wars movie. … Watch 1940s movies to get a feel for what I’m talking about.
TW: Galen’s Story was left open-ended at the end of Force Unleashed II. Do you think we’ll see him again?
SW: You never know with the Mouse now running stuff. If they crack the books and see what the biggest financial hits are, they’ll see Battlefront and Force Unleashed topping the list, so there’s always hope.
On Dave Filoni: “He is the real deal and I truly hope Disney understands what they have there in him. I wanna see him to get a shot at a live action feature.”
TW: When you were cast as Darth Maul were you as hesitant as the fans to embrace this character again? Obviously we love him and he’s been brought back to great effect but there was some worry…
SW: Well, it was Doomsday and Starkiller all over again as far as pressure. Here we were doing an idea that would not sit well with the fans – we were bringing back a character everyone was pretty damned sure was dead. It was George’s story. The only way we were gonna get away with it is if we did it really well… not just did it well… but told some deeper mythological elements of stuff like the force… ya know? How was this even possible? How could this guy who was cut in half survive?
Well, I approached it like, “Hey, if you saw Revenge of the Sith and ended it when Vader was cut up and burned to a crisp, you’d think it was impossible for him to survive too!” What’s the answer? Well, the Sith do not conceive of anything beyond their life. There’s no life after death. When Alec Guinness says, “if you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine” that doesn’t make ANY sense to Vader. These guys hold on to what they have because, well, you can’t take it with you. Death? That’s it. That’s the end.
So these sick jerks use all of their resources and powers to unnaturally preserve themselves. In the case of Anakin, he kept himself alive when his body died. In the case of Darth Maul, he did something similar… But in his case, he’d been crawling around in the garbage for 10 years, long enough for him to go quite mad, and long enough for the dark side to cause pieces of garbage to stick to him, eventually creating these spider legs.
What does it all mean in the larger mythology? It’s Star Wars goes to hell. It’s showing the audience for the first time what the Dark Side really is, and it’s madness, despair and grief. What Darth Maul is on screen is what Darth Vader experiences underneath the mask and in his private moments.
So if you tell THAT story, the audience tends to forgive little things like, “but he was cut in half.” …And then you get an Emmy nomination.
TW: Because of the roles you play, do you worry about fandom and its reactions,?
SW: Always. Always. But the fans have been quite kind and generous in accepting these curve balls, which makes me wanna take on more challenges.
On the roles he plays: “the fans have been quite kind and generous in accepting these curve balls”
TW: In the Mortis trilogy you play the son, part of a trio of characters who really get to the heart of the Force. Being such a big Star Wars fan, did you know how massive the role was going to be? How did you feel on first reading the script?
SW: I really didn’t know until I got there and discussed the situation with Dave Filoni. The Son character was meant to be the ghostly embodiment of the Dark Side of the Force, so… no pressure. It was pretty intimidating to have to play an iconic element of that mythology… a theme really. I’d never played a THEME before… AND to be new to voice acting. The first day, I was a worried. We were doing the first episode and The Son didn’t have much to say. I asked Dave, “Are we worried this guy is gonna sound too much like Starkiller?”
Dave responded: “Well, Starkiller had a connection to the Dark Side, and this character IS the Dark Side, so he can sound a little like him.”
That got me thinking… If that’s the way it can work and we can hear some Starkiller in there, should we not hear ALL of the villains of Star Wars in there? Should we not dip into Vader, Dooku, Palpatine, Maul?
So I came back the next day to do an episode where the Son had a lot to say, and I started doing executing on this crazy theory. Filoni stopped the session and hit his talkback button: “I think I know what you’re doing.” … And I said: “Um… so should I do it less?” He says: “Do it more.”
Before I move on, a word on Dave Filoni. You work with a lot of people in this business. Some are competent, some are sadly not, and some have half the skillset but are sadly deficient in some ways. TV/Film is hard and it’s a miracle that anything at all turns out good. Having said that, I’ve found Dave Filoni to be among the most talented, most intelligent, most motivated people I’ve ever worked with. He is the real deal and I truly hope Disney understands what they have there in him. I wanna see him to get a shot at a live action feature.
“The Son character was meant to be the ghostly embodiment of the Dark Side of the Force, so… no pressure.”
TW: You’ve done them all at this stage, BSG, The Walking Dead, Being Human, appeared in a good Stephen King adaptation – directed by the legend that is Frank Darabont, played the man/creature that would kill Superman, owned the Darth Maul role and lived an integral Star Wars character in Galen Marek… is there anything left that you would really like to do?
SW: Indiana Jones. … Or a hard boiled 1940s private detective. …Or hey… Why not Corwin of Amber? I am now officially throwing that out there.
On roles he’d like to play: “Why not Corwin of Amber? I am now officially throwing that out there.”
In THE SNOWMAN AND THE SCARECROW – the closest the author will ever come to writing a ‘family’ story – young Joe’s grandfather collapses as they’re building their traditional Christmas snowman. (Always a festive downer when that happens.)With Wilf in hospital, and as a way of coping, the boy searches for the now inexplicably missing ‘Mr Wonky’; it’s a small town, how far could he have gone? Before long, Joe runs into an out-of-town drifter who promises to help … but does the old vagrant have ulterior motives?
Death can be a real downer. Just ask Stanley McCloud. The ancient and inveterate gambler has just found out he hasn’t long to live. Refusing to believe his prognosis, though, Stan places a massive bet that he will reach his next birthday. Surely, his run of bad luck can’t last!Unfortunately for Stan the independent bookie he uses grows nervous as the big day approaches and decides to bump him off with one of her many fun, but ever-so-slightly fatal, high-odds proposition bets – aka Maggy’s Specials.Will Stanley McCloud make it, ruining Maggy McCulloch in the process; or will the heartless bookie have her evil way, ‘accidentally’ kill him, and save her business? Perhaps Stan’s womanising, alcoholic old pal Dougie can be of some help? Yeah, right! Good luck with that. Oh, and there’s a whole secondary storyline about The Head Honcho, a serial killer who leaves his victims’ torsos in one place, and their heads in another. Yikes!
The Time Warriors and Beyond 
