A New Record For Rifftrax Kickstarter, And The Secret Show IS.....

Well, they almost made it, but George Bailey is still safe.

The annual Kickstarter campaign by Rifftrax collected $430, 620 from more than 8600 backers. That's a new record for both, but some fans were hoping to hit nine thousand backers to get the next Star Wars movie riffed and ten thousand to finally take on It's A Wonderful Life. Considering the holiday movie has been a steady source of riffs from MST3K and Rifftrax over the years, people were really hoping the holiday classic will finally get the treatment. The Last Jedi may wind up being riffed anyway next year if Rogue One is still on the list of possible future riffs, but It's A Wonderful Life will stay a dream target for now.

Still, backers, even those who paid a buck, will get a nice bargain. Everyone will get ten shorts, and riffs on Batman V. Superman (just in time for Wonder Woman), Mothra, and the first episode of Westworld. The BvS riff will involve everyone who has ever riffed, kind of like a 40x4000 meter relay race. Considering how tragically bad this movie is as a missed opportunity (except you, Diana), it could be too much for three people anyway.
Others who gave 75 bucks will get "The Rains of Castamere" from Game of Thrones (now THAT is a challenge to riff) and Final Justice Redux (or the first time a SyFy-era episode of MST3K is re-riffed), while 100 dollar backers will get DVDs of the June live show and the best of the Riffing Housewives, Bridget Nelson and Mary Jo Pehl.

The only question is what will be the "target" for the August 17th show. Some Facebook fans have unearthed the name thanks to a movie theater and Fandango jumping the gun. In the special countdown show, the gang hinted it could be Ice Castles and La-La-Land (the latter very unlikely).

Actually, the movie will be.....

Remember when this was once considered a major PBS event? The TARDIS upgrade? Tegan's new look after a year in a stewardess uniform? Seeing a new guy be the original Doctor, #2 in color, and some companions we've never even met?

HOW????

Well, somehow Rifftrax used its connections with Fathom Events and BBC America to pull off this miracle after riffing on the two Peter Cushing movies, where the TARDIS looks like the basement of a Hewlett Packard building.
Not here, though. This must have been in the works for some time, because look where they make the big announcement....



For those who don't remember the story, "The Five Doctors" involves someone on Gallifrey grabbing the Doctor in all of his incarnations. They're all guided into something called "The Death Zone", where they figure out the main bad guy wants something very special from there. Thing is, the Master is not behind this for once, because the Time Lord Council asks for his help.

If you clicked the link, you'd know they had to rewrite the plot because Tom Baker, #4, decided not to be part of it. Technically, he is, thanks to use of footage of the famous unfinished episode, "Shada". The story is actually the first time people have seen certain characters from the show. Back in 1983, the Doctor had been a staple of PBS programming for ten years or so. Showing the episodes before Baker became #4 was still a rare treat for some stations. It was the first time for many to see Jamie and Zoe from the late 1960's or Liz Shaw, the Companion before Jo Grant. It was also a rare chance to see #2, Patrick Troughton, in color. That hadn't happened since "The Three Doctors".

When it was shown, this was considered to be a big deal, and was used as a pledge break feature. It's available on DVD, but in an interesting way. The 2008 DVD version has the original cut plus an upgraded version. As for me, I have the "special edition" and the broadcast version back when KTEH in San Jose was Who Central for me. (Update:  After that KTEH DVD no longer worked because of age, I got a newer version of "Five Doctors" which has lots more extras).

Now, it's going to be mocked  by three old fans.
Couldn't they have mocked "The Gunfughters"? Now THAT episode stunk on ice.
Well, it should be interesting to get Peter Davison's response to all this.

All we can do is quote the Doctor's farewell message to Susan in "Dalek Invasion of Earth" that was used to start the show:  "One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all you beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine."
If that's the First Doctor's message to what Rifftrax will do this summer, it's a lot better to what he thinks about his next two forms ("a dandy and a clown").

If nothing else, pulling this off proves Rifftrax has more than earned the right to go after sparkly vampires someday.

How Many Doctors Do You Have?

There are two types of Doctor Who fans: those who have discovered the show when it appeared in PBS stations around the mid 1970s, and those who discovered him when he returned in 2005.

Thanks to YouTube, DVDs and BBC America,  those who say their first Doctor was Nine can discover who their favorite Time Lord was like long long ago. Remember, he was off the BBC for 16 years, not including Fox's attempt to revive him through Paul McGann and (unwisely) Eric Roberts as Master 3.0.

My first Doctor that I saw in the flesh was Jon Pertwee. He visited San Jose back in 1984. One thing I will always remember is seeing dozens of fans following him as he walked near the Hotel Saint Claire where the con took place.

Actually, KRON in San Francisco showed Doctor Who in the early 1970s, but it started with Pertwee's second episode when he encountered the Silurians. It would have been better if they showed "Spearhead from Space," which would have been a nice entry point for the uninitiated. Well, he didn't catch on until Tom Baker arrived, but Pertwee was a big hit in San Jose. Showing him a picture of the soon-to-be Sixth Doctor, then getting his reaction, was something I won't forget.

It was also back in the days when local fan clubs met to see bootleg copies of fresh episodes from the UK. A bunch met in a small room near San Jose's KTEH.  It was also where I saw my first Pertwee episode in more than ten years, "The Time Warrior". Ah, the popularity of circulating the tapes. I also helped out in a couple of Who-themed pledge drives for KVIE in the late 1980's.

Anyway, that led to the BBC and other groups bringing Doctor Who cast members, including Time Lords past and present, to the U-S and a a grateful public. It also led to a shrinking time gap of getting fresh shows. Thanks to those cons, I got the autographs of Pertwee, Patrick Troughton, Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. They're all in the BBC's 20th anniversary book for the show. It also includes several companions, the Brigadier and the Master 2.0. If only I started taking pictures back then.

The book also has this postcard that was signed by McCoy. Using my status as a news director for a small radio station, I asked him if and when his unique sweater would be available. I actually got a response

Of course, thanks to the internet, people can sell such homemade versions of those sweaters, or even extra-long Tom Baker scarves. It can also lead to fans no longer having to wait until July to see the Christmas specials.

When I finally got to see a Time Lord in the flesh with David Tennant at Comic-Con four years ago, it was a fantastic feeling. I only wish I could have shaken his hand. Then again, it's not every day you get a taco served by Eleven a couple of years later....at Comic-Con of course.

Since then, I have been lucky to get some autographs of companions including Elisabeth Sladen, Caroline John, Katy Manning, Wendy Padbury and Sophie Aldred (in the form of a first-day cover). I would love to get a 21st Century Doctor, but thanks to the internet (again) and big business, it's not as easy as it used to be. If I had steady paying work, I'd pay 100 bucks for Matt Smith or David Tennant's signature. That's unlikely right now, but I can always hope.

Still, I'm very satisfied and proud of my collection of Doctor Who autographs, plus some other relics of old-style Who fandom. It sets me apart from those who have recently discovered Doctor Who. I can say that I always knew him, even back when he had a mop of hair and a really long scarf. In a way, that was cooler than a bowtie and a fez---mostly.

Doctor Who's Past and Future Anniversaries

As Doctor Who's 50th anniversary gets closer, people are deciding whether to see "The Day of the Doctor" at home, at a pub, or in 3-D in selected theaters in the UK and America. Others are probably taking out their homemade DVDs or even old VHS cassettes, looking at really old Doctor Who episodes shown on PBS way back when. 

It's easy to forget that the BBC has honored the Doctor with big anniversary episodes in the 1970s and 80s. Never mind the dream matchup of David Tennant and Matt Smith, and their respective sonic screwdrivers, there was a time when three Doctors had to work together...and later four.

This is from "The Three Doctors", shown from late December 1972 to January 1973 in honor of the show's tenth anniversary. It was back in the days when stories lasted a month and were shown 30 minutes at a time.  An alien force kidnaps a scientist, while a black hole threatens the Doctor's home planet (which wasn't named Gallifrey until "The Time Warriror" a year later). It forces the Time Lords to have the Doctor get some unwelcome (he thinks) help from his second form. Between trying to explain this to Jo Grant and the rest of UNIT, and clashing personalities, they have to figure out who is responsible. The original Doctor was supposed to be in the TARDIS as well, but William Hartnell's health limited him to extended cameos in this story. Still, it's a hoot seeing Jon Pertwee as Three literally beside himself with his previous self, played by Patrick Troughton. It's also responsible for the classic line "You've redecorated, haven't you? Don't like it." It'll be said again next weekend, according to the trailer.

The Doctors and their friends find out they were kidnapped by Omega, who worked with Rassilon to develop time travel. Omega was thought to be dead, but he was alive, and demanding revenge upon his fellow Time Lords. This episode was important not only for having more than one Doctor, and getting a look at his planet, but it also freed him from his exile on Earth. The Time Lords admitted that having someone helping them out in the universe would be a good idea. Besides, the Master was still out there somewhere. 

Ten years later, the BBC made "The Five Doctors," a one-off story that also had what most would call an all-star cast.

Instead of all the Doctors working together from start to finish, they're kidnapped individually. First, the original Doctor (Richard Hurndall) is grabbed by something, then Two and Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart, Three while driving Bessie, and then Five (Peter Davison) with Tegan and Turlough. It would have gotten Four, and to some people the real Doctor, but Tom Baker balked at the project. The special used clips from the unseen story Shada to "include" him. His decision also affected the story, although that works out in the end.

What makes this special is that we see someone who makes an unexpected return after 18 years...Susan, the Doctor's granddaughter played Carole Ann Ford. After escaping a Dalek, they're the first ones to figure out they're in Gallifrey. Sarah Jane Smith is also back, but she is paired with Three. The Master 2.0 (Anthony Ainley) is also involved, to rescue Five of all things. The Cybermen also show up, and a Yeti, apparently kidnapped as well. 

It winds up as a menacing version of The Wizard of Oz, as everyone has to approach a Tower, where it's revealed someone on Gallifrey wants immortality. 

We also get surprise appearanes by some of the Doctor's old aquaintances, like Liz Shaw, Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Herriot. That may not mean much to those who discovered the show in 2005, but look them up. 

From what has been revealed, we know we'll get at least two Doctors in "The Day of the Doctor" on November 23rd. However, this webisode released by the BBC suggests two things: Eight (Paul McGann) should have had a longer run (thanks loads, Fox) ,and the final shot from "The Impossible Girl" didn't lie. 

By the way, the Doctor was on Karn. and it wasn't his idea. Stephen Moffat has more on the web prequel in this BBC blog.
If we got this, what else, or who else, will we get?

Amazon, of course, has The Three Doctors and The Five Doctors for sale, plus the time he was on Karn.

Bigger Than Lebron: BBC Unveils 12th Doctor In Worldwide Special

ESPN's overblown special on whether Lebron James will play for the Miami Heat had nothing on this.

Literally millions of people around the world tuned into the BBC and several other cable channels Sunday to find out who will be the next Doctor Who after Matt Smith exits the role on Christmas Day.
Speculation ranged from Helen Mirren (probably because of Red 2) to Idris Elba and everyone else in between.

The choice was Peter Capaldi, familiar to sci-fi fans as the reptilian Frobisher in Torchwood: Children of Earth, or the foul-mouthed Malcom Tucker in The Thick of It and In the Loop. Some fans may also say, "Wait, wasn't he in "The Fires of Pompeii" as Lucius Caecilius?
He sure was:

It's the second time an actor played a different role on Doctor Who before becoming a Time Lord. Colin Baker, who was Maxil in "Arc of Infinity," was the other.
Oh, and he's an Oscar winner. He wrote and directed Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life, which won Best Short Film in 1995. He also was in a band with Craig Ferguson, which means Capaldi may find himself on The Late Late Show very soon.

The BBC special had some special guests including two past Time Lords, Baker and Peter Davison (who's also the father-in-law of David Tennant), some companions, and even Professor Stephen Hawkins. It was surprising to see Anneke Wills, who played Polly back in 1966, and witnessed the first regeneration to Patrick Troughton. It was also good to see old friends like Janet Fielding (Tegan), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), and Bonnie Langford (Mel, who's busy with the audio drama versions). Jenna Coleman was interviewed as well, and hopes Clara and Twelve can be good friends. That depends on how much "Malcolm" will be in the new Time Lord.

Already, some people are predicting what the transition will be like:

That will work for the first 15 minutes, but we may have to say so long to the fez and bow tie before too long.

The special was short and entertaining, and the final reveal was what a lot of people expected. Some had hoped to get a female Doctor, but the hopes of seeing Helen Mirren in the TARDIS will have to be set aside again. We can always hope she could be a Time Lady who didn't disappear along with Gallifrey, or maybe an older version of River Song. It's safe to say the special will find its way into the Blu-ray season set, or maybe part of the Christmas Special DVD.

It's not the first time the identity of the next Doctor has been done in a special interview. Sylvester McCoy was introduced in 1986 at several PBS stations. Back then, it included Jon Pertwee, plus a reminder for people to contribute to your local public TV station and keep Doctor Who on the air. It was a different time. Here's both halves of that interview:

One thing is for sure: the NFL draft, Heisman Trophy announcement or even the choice of the host city for the 2020 Summer Olympics will never compete with what the BBC did to introduce a new hero, and keep Doctor Who in our minds for the rest of the year.