So much stuff I want!!! According to BBCShop.com tho, it is on preorder for 62.99 GBP (British pounds). Which is roughly $94 USD currently.
With a limited run of 5,000 units, The Fourth Doctor Time Capsule also includes:
• An exclusive post-regenerative Fourth Doctor action figure, wearing Jon Pertwee’s trademark frill-fronted shirt
• A Fourth Doctor sonic screwdriver
• An audio version of classic Tom Baker story “Genesis Of The Daleks”
• The novel “Tomb Of Valdemar” by Simon Messingham, set during the Fourth Doctor’s search for the Key to Time.
• Art cards of all the Fourth Doctor’s companions.
• A letter from Tom Baker himself.
The Fourth Doctor Time Capsule will be released on 29 July.
Oh man, I love the "box" it comes in and just all the swag that comes with it!! Wishlist!
Fans of Her Universe and The Walking Dead, look no further to be the best dressed when the zombie apocalypse happens!
Her Universe just announced these amazing Walking Dead tees, hoodie, dresses and more!
...featuring images, characters and phrases from “The
Walking Dead” series on fashion tops, leggings, hoodies and dresses,
will be available online at HerUniverse.com, San Diego Comic-Con and
select retail outlets beginning this summer.
“There is certainly an expanding fan base of women who
faithfully watch ‘The Walking Dead’ and this collection of unique
apparel and merchandise is targeted just for them,” said Her Universe
founder, Ashley Eckstein. “I am a huge fan of ‘The Walking Dead’ and I
was thrilled with the opportunity to design Zombie fashion for fangirls.
The story lines on this show are very emotional, compelling and
addicting! As a fan, I am excited to have more apparel options made for
women.”
Giant robots and Kaiju! Let me tell you, I went into this movie thinking it was going to be another Cloverfield. Not that that movie was terrible or anything but it's not my kind of movie. I'm not into alien takeover movies or apocalyptic movies where humans are the ones to suffer and ultimately die. I hadn't watched many trailers - maybe none even save a few that were on my tv while watching other programs, to which I still ignored anyway. So I totally and completely did not know or chose not to know, that Guillermo Del Toro directed the film and co-wrote it with Travis Beacham. Had I known, I would have gone in with a completely different attitude. But as it was, I'm kind of glad I went in not knowing that. I had far more surprises and added suspense thanks to my ignorance. Actors Del Toro always uses, show up in the film which is fantastic! And I cheered when I saw one person in particular! (You can probably guess who, he does show up in trailers tho again, I'm ignorant to that fact). And he's just as brilliant as ever without much makeup or prosthetics wooo! He played his role perfectly. The reality of the movie is really good. The first 10-15 minutes of the film is basically a recap of what's been happening to the world at large with these kaiju. So you don't spend an hour of the film bored or saying "when is the action going to happen?" or "when does this movie really start?" You get into the nitty-gritty very early on and characters are established early on. So it makes a cohesive storyline mixed with enough action, sci-fi and adventure in the entire movie. It really is a continuous, easy to follow film with tons of excellent special effects and visually stunning scenes. My companion that night said whenever she looked over at me, I was pretty wide-eyed and mouth agape at the scenes! HA! Which is pretty accurate. I really was amazed at the visuals Del Toro put out there. His characters and their choices made sense. His story telling is always pretty brilliant. And he fulfills that void that most movies these days lack. He has every element of a good film in one film. And he does NOT make this into a love story either. I was very proud that Del Toro took the characters and made them individuals who become a team. But not in any sexual way and no fulfillment of sexual tension or even one kiss scene! I was surprised but praise Del Toro for that. He made this a humanitarian movie without needing a sex object. The main female lead Mako, played byRinko Kikuchi is her own person. With her own baggage and emotions. Yes, she seems to fancy the male lead Raleigh Becket za bit, played by Charlie Hunnambut Del Toro never plays her as the sex object. They are partners and can be friends without a nude scene, without a kissing scene, without a gratuitous undressing scene (looking at you Star Trek!) She truly is an intelligent human being who happens to have a male partnerand works well with him on an intelligent level. A few times I found she looked kind of pouty though. That would be my only gripe about either the actress or the character. I will say his kaiju do look a lot like the hellhounds did in Hellboy. Very much that same muddy grey, four-legged squishy buddha beasts with lots of eyes and same screechy roars. Del Toro likes the same creatures. Tho there are some variations in the heads of these kaiju but I can't tell you why without spoiling the plot. And I will say that one of the scientist characters, played by Charlie Day, just kept feeling like a smarter Rick Moranis in Ghostbusters. Are you the keymaster? I've never seen this actor before so I can't say anything about his acting but my companion said this was his role - that this is the kind of eccentric, spastic roles he tends to play. I didn't like his character much I guess. But ok then! One of his scenes didn't make much sense or wasn't really followed up on. But I think that's more Del Toro then the actor/acting. Idris Elba is fantastic. I never really watched any of his movies either, tho he is a hot commodity these days. The only thing I can recall him in was Thor as Heimdall which isn't a big role. But he was pretty good in this movie. The military guy in charge with some baggage that unfolds later in the film. Del Toro made all the right choices in this film. From the story, to the visuals, to the effects, to the casting, to the non-love-love story. I loved it! I am glad I actually got to go to two screenings of this! I would gladly pay money to see it again though! It definitely holds up even after two viewings. Oh and stay til mid-credits as there is something there. Nothing at the end though. Teehee!
It's that time again! Hallmark will unveil the Christmas ornaments for 2013 holiday season, this weekend, July 13 and 14th at your local Hallmark stores! So many awesome ornaments!!
A few that I'm looking forward to:
1) Jabba's Palace: Squee!
The first dress Cinderella gets thanks to the lil mice and bird friends! I loved this dress as a little girl! Moreso than the ballgown she eventually gets from the Fairy Godmother. ($19.95)
Lego Yoda!!! ($14.95)
Leia rescuing Han Solo in carbonite at Jabba's Palace (left) : ($14.95)
Jack Skellington on a sleigh: ($19.95)
Wicket and Teebo!! ($17.95)
Iron Patriot: ($14.95)
So look for them at your local Hallmark store, starting this weekend! Happy shopping!
Dan Starkey may not be a household name, but to Doctor Who fans, he's been integral to the portrayal of the Sontaran race in the last few seasons. He's most known for his role as Strax nowadays. But he started off as Sontaran Commander Skorr in 2008 in the episode "The Sontaran Stratagem". Then was cast as Commandar Jast in "The End of Time: Part 2" with David Tennant. Then finally coming back as Strax in "A Good Man Goes to War" with Matt Smith as the Doctor. This would be his iconic role in Doctor Who and the one now many rumor and fans want as a spin-off with Strax, Jenny and Madame Vastra. More on that later...
photo courtesy of BBC
So at the last minute, seeing a tweet from the Nerdist, Chris Hardwick, last Tuesday I was able to meet the amazing Dan Starkey!
He was in town for that Friday's, WhoYork event signing and q&a. I hadn't realized not only was he in town for the whole week prior to, but also had an interview and live podcast planned with the Comic Book Live crew. Whom, honestly I hadn't really heard of before since I don't listen to many podcasts.
Either way, I was eager to see Dan. So, I called my friend and told him to drop what he was doing, we were going to meet Strax!
Soooo glad I did. The podcast gang was so much fun! So funny. And they interviewed Dan. There was only a handful of us in the audience. So it was nice to be able to talk to Dan after the podcast and get a pic with him.
Because we asked questions to Dan, my friend and I won a stack of comics from the group (Thank you!) And then my friend won for best question, a superhero walking tour in the city. Sweet!
But back to Dan... He explained how in the beginning of being asked to be a Sontaran how he went into the audition as a normal actor, using his normal voice and acting skills. But they wanted something more "alien" so he went with the voice we hear today.
He also explained how the makeup process is for him. It's several hours of prosthetic being placed on his entire head. He says it's like a giant thumb with a hole for the face! HA! Dan is hilarious. But it does go all the way down to his shoulders. (see pic below) He has about seven inches of the prosthetic over his ears so he can't hear much. Which not only proves challenging to hear his directions and cues from other actors and the director but also to know how loudly he is speaking for his own part.
A pic of Dan inside his "thumb" costume.
Dan mentioned that the actress who plays Madame Vastra, a lizard-like creature also has the same problem, though, her prosthetic isn't quite as thick so she can hear a bit more than he can. But they both get into the chair a few hours before anyone else needs makeup to have their prosthetics put on. Dan's learned to meditate and even fall asleep as the makeup people slap on the glue and makeup for his character because he's so used to it now.
Dan and his alter ego Strax
Since the podcast was also mostly about comics, Dan was asked if he read comics as a kid growing up in London since nerdom wasn't that prevalent there. But he did say he did read a few comics over time but not a lot.
Dan has heard the fans wanting a spin-off series with Strax, Madame Vastra and Jenny but there are no confirmed talks or anything from the BBC and he hasn't been asked to do anything else with Strax at the moment, but fans will keep hoping... He did say if it ever happened, he believes it would be well-received.
Madame Vastra, Strax and Jenny
So then I saw Dan again on Friday night, at the aforementioned WhoYork event. It started with a nice long q&a with Dan where he discussed the obvious prosthetic process again and what it was like to be Strax. He talked about the audition process as well. Once the questions got a little looser, Dan laughed and made more jokes. Even to the point of singing holiday tunes as Strax, to which we all said we'd buy our copies that day!! It was hilarious. Here's some video to prove it! The video is dark, apologies. But you can at least listen to it.
video of Strax/Dan Starkey singing Christmas carols. Sorry it's so dark.
Dan with our host Barnaby who runs WhoYork events in NYC
Dan talked about his time on Sarah Jane Adventures and being around the wonderful and professional Elizabeth Sladen to which we all tipped our invisible hats to at the mention of her name. (I almost want to say that last part like River Song/Alex Kingston did when she talked about the Doctor in "A Good Man Goes to War")
He also discussed ripping his rubber pants of the Sontaran outfit (hey, that's what he calls them! haha) He took great long strides as Strax but that proved to be a disaster at one point when the crew quickly stopped the scene and the makeup and prosthetic folks whisked him away to patch up his crotch area where the rubber pants suit had ripped.
You can find Dan on Wizards and Aliens now, which he plays a hobgoblin. I need to check out this series still. He wishes one day the world will know who he is by playing a human or at least someone with his own face and body. But for now he's ever so grateful for all the press as Strax and the doors Doctor Who has opened for him.
And lastly, here's me and Dan! Thanks for a great week Dan! Hope to see you again soon!
As per Playbill.com, the TKTS booth in Times Square will now offer a 7-day fast pass for returning customers.
The TKTS 7-Day Fast Pass permits TKTS patrons to
return to the discount ticket booth within seven days of their TKTS
purchase and walk up to Window #1 with their TKTS ticket stub, avoiding
the longer lines at peak hours.
"All you have to do is bring your ticket stub to
Window #1, within seven days of that ticket's date, and you may
purchase full- or discount-priced tickets to the available Broadway or
Off-Broadway shows of your choice. TDF feels that this will help
visitors who are in town for a limited period of time enjoy more theatre
during their trip and save some of their time for more sightseeing."
This sounds like fantastic news as the lines for TKTS booth during peak hours can be pretty long. It moves for the most part but it can be daunting. Now I wonder how long the window #1 line will be tho--if this will really create a fast pass for returning patrons or not. Window #1 is mostly used to shows marked as plays only and doesn't get used as often as a line by itself--instead the normal musicals line usually gets bumped to window #1 quite often. Time will tell!
