Kasterborous Magazine Sampler

14
ISSUE 0 - WINTER 2013 - KASTERBOROUS.COM Remembering the Official Doctor Who Convention 2012 In this issue: John Guilor IS the Doctor! Audio Reviews Build Your Own Dalek! Asylum of the Daleks New York Preview NEW - and devoted to Doctor Who fandom!

description

Doctor Who fanzine

Transcript of Kasterborous Magazine Sampler

Page 1: Kasterborous Magazine Sampler

ISSUE 0 - WINTER 2013 - KASTERBOROUS.COM

� Remembering the Official Doctor Who Convention 2012

In this issue:

� John Guilor IS the Doctor!� Audio Reviews� Build Your Own Dalek!� Asylum of the Daleks New York Preview

NEW - anddevoted toDoctor Whofandom!

Page 2: Kasterborous Magazine Sampler

2

It’s January 2013 as I sittyping the editorial to thisfree sampler edition of whatwe hope will be many issuesof our new fanzine,Kasterborous Magazine.

The name has gone througha few changes, and thepersonnel involved havechanged several times sincean in-depth discussion with

Vworp Vworp! editor GarethKavanagh in the tea-drenched snug of hisManchester pub.

Thankfully, the idea remains– to be a Doctor Who fanzine

that does things a littledifferently.

Sure, there are other DoctorWho fanzines out there, notleast the wonderful Vworp

Vworp!. But what we’retrying to achieve here issomething a little different.

Most of those othermagazines – even the daddy,DWM – focus on the TVshow, and rightly so. Afterall, there is plenty to talkabout when your focus is 50years of time travel on TV,books and audio.

Kasterborous Magazine, onthe other hand, has decidedto take a different spin onthings. We all love Doctor

Who, that’s a given. We’re allmassive fans of the show, aphenomenon that hasspawned comic strips, videogames, stage productions,several revivals andmagazines and books – not

to mention two films (todate).

However, we’re not reallyhere to talk about “Doctor

Who the show”. Instead, it’stime for you guys to takecentre stage.

Yes you, the fan reading this‘zine. Perhaps you’ve

recently madearrangements to attend aconvention; you might havearranged some adjustmentsto your cosplay outfit. Isthere a story dying to getout of you, or are you a propbuilder? Perhaps your loveof Doctor Who is expressedin comic strip or short storyform, or maybe you just lovethe books.

Either way, this new fanzineis about you, the people withDoctor Who close to yourhearts.

Why?

Well, there are two reasons.The first is that thismagazine’s parent website,www.kasterborous.com,was started by two fans, oneof whom has gone on todecorate Doctor Who DVDcovers and inserts.

Of course, the second reasonis obvious: Doctor Who fansnow run the show, from BBC

Wales all the way over to BigFinish and Doctor WhoMagazine, the show islooked after by true fans,people just ike you.

So, let’s kick off our newmagazine with a toast to you,the fans!

Watch out forthe firstcompleteissue ofKasterborousMagazine,coming soon!

EDITOR: CHRISTIAN CAWLEY

ART EDITOR: JAMES MCLEAN

With thanks to EltonTownend-Jones, John Guilor,Mez Burdett, Scott Varnham,Philip Bates, Brian A.Terranova and GarethMugridge

We are pleased to announcethat we’re just days awayfrom the release of the firstfull issue of KasterborousMagazine!

Featuring full versions ofsome of the previews you canfind in this sampler,

For updates, please see theKasterborous.com website!

Page 3: Kasterborous Magazine Sampler

Elton Townend Jonesspends time with hisgood friend, JohnGuilor…

This week sees the DVDrelease of the 1964 WilliamHartnell story Planet ofGiants. As you may know,this story was originallyrecorded as a four-parterand – to add pace – almostimmediately truncated tothree parts. That edited

material was apparently ‘junked’ at the time of thatdecision, but one of the much anticipated, discussed andintriguing aspects of the DVD release is a special featurein which the story is once again re-instated to four parts,utilising existing footage, animation, the vocal talents ofsurviving cast members and modern voice artists. It is toone of these voice artists that the weighty task ofrecreating William Hartnell’s Doctor has fallen. That manis John Guilor, a jobbing actor and lifelong Doctor Whofan. He is also my mate; we met in 1989 at a screening of

Tim Burton’s Batman and we’ve known each other eversince. So, as Kasterborous’ man on the inside, it seemedonly right that I get together with John and find out whatit was like to become the new old Doctor and how toavoid being poisoned by DN6…

ETJ: I've known you for almost quarter of a century, butfor those who haven't... Who is John Guilor?

JG: Good grief! Now that's a difficult opening question.John Guilor is a forty-year-old man – currently – born in

Wakefield, West Yorkshire in 1972. Those are the facts.Open to conjecture is the following: he is an actor andvoice artist. Anything deeper, and you'll have to delve…

ETJ: We were born in the same hospital, as I recall. Weeven went to the same school for a time – not that weknew that then – and we both became actors. What Inever did that you did was only go and be bloomin’ Doctor

Who on a DVD. So how did you come to be involved inPlanet of Giants?

Read the rest in Kasterborous Magazine #1, comingsoon!

3

Page 4: Kasterborous Magazine Sampler

4

On March XXth, 2012, the first official, self-organized Doctor Who Convention was opened for the first of twodays at the jaw-droppingly awesome Millenium Centre in Cardiff.

Since Doctor Who’s return in 2005, the BBC had steered clear of presenting any opportunities to fans in the UKto see their heroes in the flesh. Contracted stars seemed to have been blocked from attending conventions,leaving the likes of ex-companions and occasional actors such as Camille Coduri and Noel Clarke to fill in thenuWho gaps alongside classic era stars.

However, pricing was high. Was it too high, perhaps? Could the price structure (£99 per day, no concessions)have excluded fans from poorer backgrounds?

When the Doctor Who Convention was announced, I was invited by BBC Worldwide to attend, take photos, chatto people and spend a few moments in the company of the show’s stars. Not in the slightest bit intimidating,then.

Remembering the Doctor Who Convention 2012

It was the chance to visit the heart of the revived Doctor Who - an official convention held in Cardiff in 2012.

Combining props and costumes with talks, demonstrations and even video games, the highlight for many wassurely the surprise inclusion of a special trailer for the new series which wouldn’t air for another six months.

With the chance to meet new people, see the stars of the show in the flesh and even spend a few moments atIanto’s Shrine, it’s just a shame that it all went by so quickly…

Page 5: Kasterborous Magazine Sampler

It was all a long way from queuing in a Leeds bookshopin 1997, waiting to have my copy of Who On Earth IsTom Baker? signed by the man himself (for only thecost of the book). In fact, it was also a long way fromattending the Dimensions convention in 2005 and 2006,the latter involving an attempt to prize Paul McGannaway from signing photos to watch Liverpool attempt tobeat Arsenal (they failed).

This time, two key things were different: first, theconvention was in Cardiff and I live in the North East,so there would be a lot of travel involved. Second, Iwould be on my own…

Getting there was tricky: as father to nine-month-oldtwins, relying on your better half to perform all of theparenting for a full day is taking things too far. As aresult I opted to travel via London, leaving Ceri and thechildren at my sisters. The original plan had been todrive to Cardiff on Saturday morning, but thankfully Iavoided the horrific fog in the south west by booking areturn train at the last minute.

(I should add that thanks to socialising with an oldschool friend the evening before and the dislike of theLondon Underground, I ended up with a terriblehangover that remained until I was able to grab a baconroll at Bristol Temple Mead. Thanks Richard…)

What this meant was that I turned up a little later thatintended, but thankfully all of the attractions werestaggered throughout the day, leaving plenty of time tocatch up.

Upon entering the Millenium Centre, I was greeted bysomething of a carnival atmosphere, with older, singlemale Doctor Who fans, cosplayers, families,combinations of all three and the sight of Neill Gortonslapping a liquid latex solution over one of hiscolleagues’ faces as part of a demonstration (relayed tothe audience via a big screen, just in case you were toofar from the stage). Discovering that their techniquesare borrowed from other industries (such as dentistry)was quite an eye opener.

A quick word about the now-obligatory cosplayers:they’re amazing, aren’t they? The effort these fans go toin order to look the part is considerable. Within a fewmoments of entering the venue I had counted WeepingAngels, countless Tenth and Eleventh Doctors and someladies who made very imaginative use of some bluefabric to design their own police box dresses.

5

Page 6: Kasterborous Magazine Sampler

Meanwhile, the event itself was seeded with fascinatingmaterial. Steve Roberts and his Restoration Teamcolleagues presented a fascinating talk (which I enjoyedtwice) which featured the results of some cleaning upwork on recent DVD releases. Curiously they werebanned by the BBC from discussing Shada andAmbassadors of Death, something that perplexed thoseof us in the audience hoping for hints on either or both.Finding a home on the disused Millenium FX stageteam every other hour, it remained a compelling talk oneach occasion.

The arrangement of the ground floor area of the venuesaw the majority of regular talks taking place in thelarge space there, while one side-room was packed withPlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita devices for attendeesto sample the impressive gameplay of The EternityClock. The room was packed throughout the day, andSteven Moffat and his family also popped in for a playlater on.

As a fan who can live without autographs, I'm afraid Ididn't join the queue to chat to people such as NickBriggs or Simon Fisher-Becker. Although the signersseemed to rotate throughout the day, Mark Sheppardmust surely be awarded some sort of gold medal forautograph endurance - I swear the guy was signing allday long!

The first full session I attended was Danny Hargreavesvery demonstrative display of special effects - all thebangs, X Factor smoke machines and gunshot FX thatyou see on TV - and it was absolutely great stuff.Hargreaves is a compelling presence on the stage andwas clearly as thrilled to be there as he was to be doingwhat he so obviously loves.

A vast costume display took quite a bit of time to getround and was pored over by endless, passionate andexcited fans, with or without their cameras. Near to theentrance to this room was a case with genuine sonicscrewdriver props and TARDIS keys, occasionallyopened by the prop curator. He seemed somewhat…honoured to have the role – as any fan would be!

As the day went on and I popped out for lunch, I gotchatting to various people but nothing could prevent mefrom getting excited at the thought of being in the sameroom as Matt Smith and Karen Gillan - not to mentionSteven "The Grand Moff" Moffat, a man whose writinghas had me in literal stitches of laughter for over 20years. The fact that he has since received a much-deserved special Bafta proves just how good he is.

6

Page 7: Kasterborous Magazine Sampler

Fortunately, other than the fact that both questions I had planned were asked by other attendees, I still managed tofind out how they were enjoying the convention (after all, the stars of the show had been to the USA the previousyear, where fans tend to be a lot more… enthusiastic) and whether Arthur Darvill hoped to make any other filmsfollowing Pelican Blood (no, he plans to retire to a cheese making farm in Shropshire, duh) it was a very relaxedsession, ending with Matt talking to a small boy accompanying one of the press Q&A attendees. He's a genuinelynice guy, and it was a thrill to get a glimpse of that side of his job.

Interestingly, Matt is also a little shorter than I expected! Having met Tom Baker and been certain that he's notmuch different in height to me (I’m a little over 6 foot), I had expected Matt to have a "presence". Tom Bakerseems to draw the focus of any room he is, a gift that not all actors have. Paul McGann has it (in a ratherunderstated way), as does Sylvester McCoy, although I suspect they can switch if on and off very easily. Mattseemed more like you and I, which is quite strange given how wonderful he is on TV.

While waiting for the delayed press Q&A, it turned out that almost everyone else in the building was enjoying aspecial screening of the teaser trailer! I suspect some people around me were quite miffed, but there was little needto worry as after the questions ended we were directed to the huge main room in which the Uncut talk - hosted bythe amiable, polished and Dalek-obsessed Barnaby Edwards - took place. With Caro Skinner (the oddest shortenedform for any Christian name ever, surely?), Steven Moffat, Andy Pryor and Michael Pickwoad among the panel,there was plenty to learn as Barnaby guided them through the process of bringing Doctor Who to TV. A screeningof the trailer followed, then a big question and answer session, before another screening.

To be honest, I was all but Who'd out at this stage, but there was time to hook up with Connor and Georgia fromzConnection to check the Ianto Jones/Torchwood memorial wall on Cardiff Bay. Not long after that my time wasup - I headed back to London after an awesome day of Doctor Who wonderment.

Now, there is a problem with this wonderful event, something that BBC Worldwide need to recognise for next time.Shy of £100 per ticket is tantamount to daylight robbery in the current economic climate. While the scale andbreadth of the event should not be overlooked (it really was quite fantastic) there is an access issue. How is a familyof four Doctor Who fans from a down-at-heel urban area supposed to afford entrance?

7

Page 8: Kasterborous Magazine Sampler

Let’s cast our mind back to 2005, and the Ninth Doctor. Christopher Eccleston talked in interviews about how as achild growing up he never recognised Doctor Who as having any relevance to his world. Everyone in the show wasposh or middle class.

The success of the returned show is something that fans have wanted for years, and while its current success hasseen fandom expand and television audiences attracted, the BBC could be in danger of putting fans of the show intoa very difficult position by charging ridiculous prices to official events.

So what is the solution? Of course, it is expensive to setup and run a vast event like this, but engagement withyounger fans that might come from disadvantaged backgrounds is vital for the show’s long-term success. Theanswer is to run the event longer, beyond the initial weekend, with school parties being brought in from around thecountry at a greatly discounted rate.

I've been to a fair few Doctor Who conventions over the years of different sizes. Each has had a different focus andattracted different types of guest, and, by extension, audience. None of them have managed to attract such a perfectmix, however, an exceptional distillation of every sub group in fandom.

Although a great day out, the official convention proved that organizers seem to think that fans only live in affluentareas. As we know, fans come from all parts of the UK (and beyond), rich or poor.

I wouldn’t say the pricing excluded anyone, but it certainly made travelling to what remains a remote part of the UKa challenge.

8

This is an exclusive feature that you won’t find in the full Kasterborous Magazine on release. See page 14 for more details!

Page 9: Kasterborous Magazine Sampler

9

The Jupiter Conjunction by EddieRobson, starring Peter Davison, JanetFielding, Mark Strickson and SarahSutton

Ah, the middle of a Big Finish trilogy ofFifth Doctor stories. The point where thefirst adventure has already burst on thescene in an extravagant manner and thelast in the trilogy is yet to come butsounds amazingly exciting.

The Jupiter Conjunction offers listenersthe chance to ride with the Fifth Doctorand his rag tag bunch of travellingcompanions on the back of a meteoritethat’s being used as a cheap transportdevice as it flies through the depths ofspace. Shopping precincts and the likehave been erected to let passengersspend their hard earned cash as the flyon the back of some hard packed ice. No,it’s not “Dragonfire 2: The Return ofKane” (although strangely, I’m ready forthat) but this story is nevertheless anintriguing, slightly political thriller thatwraps itself in some established Doctor

Who mythology and delivers its owntightly packed story.

What starts off as standard stuff, theTARDIS four are split into two teams

with Nyssa and Tegan going for a spacewalk and encountering trouble whilst theDoctor and Turlough and framed fortheft and are also in trouble, soon turnsinto an interesting story about humangreed and necessary sacrifice.

What is slightly different about this storyis that the aliens that we encounter areset up as the villains of the piece but asevents unfold they are soon revealed tohave been duped into their actions bythe far more nefarious scheminghumans staying on the comet Eight slashQ Panenka. It’s nice to encounter a racethat are not just stone cold evil but are asfallible as the rest of us.

Whilst The Jupiter Conjunction is astandalone story in a loosely linkedtrilogy of plays for the Fifth Doctor, thereis an ongoing Nyssa plot which is quite arewarding one if you pay attention to it.Not so much for revelations but more forthe fact that this is Nyssa after she hasleft the TARDIS in Terminus, herestablished continuity only took her thatfar and it is in this adventure that youstart to realise how vulnerable hercharacter really is. There’s no end ofstory reset for her anymore, no get outclause because we know that sheappeared in Snakedance on TV, this is a

new Nyssa, after the fact. She’s alreadyleft the TARDIS and her friends a longtime ago and now absolutely anythingcould happen to her. It’s a smallrealisation that hits you towards the endof this story but also a credit to Big Finishand their team of writers that this plotpoint has made the stories that bit morereal.

Overall, The Jupiter Conjunction is by nomeans a revelatory story but it is a solidone. Its only real downfall is the fact thatthe name of the story doesn’t exactlymake you want to leap out of your chairand race to shop to pick up a copy of itimmediately, it’s like naming (Fox TVseries) 24 “Government Political Thriller

TV Series” and hoping that the rest willsell itself.

Next time Big Finish, can we have somesexier titles please?

The Jupiter Conjunction is available fromwww.bigfinish.com now.

We’re huge fans of Big Finish atKasterborous, so enjoy this selection ofrecent releases that we think youshould be listening to.

Some of these reviews may haveappeared on Kasterborous.com -others may not…

Page 10: Kasterborous Magazine Sampler

10

The Oseidon Adventure by AlanBarnes, starring Tom Baker and LouiseJameson with Geoffrey Beevers as theMaster

And so we find ourselves here already;the first series of Fourth Doctor

Adventures have come to an end. Butdon’t worry, the moment has beenprepared for, there are plenty morestories to come and Tom Baker isfinally back, for at least two more years,as the Doctor.

But what of the Fourth Doctor rightnow? What’s going to happen to himafter events of Trail of the White Worm?

Well, it’s very simple really, he’s goingto shine. Shine so brightly that, mydears; you’ll wonder how we ever dealtwith him being away for so long in thefirst place.

The Oseidon Adventure is exactly what itsays on the tin, an adventure. It picksup the cliffhanger from Trail of the

White Worm and then storms aheadwith action scenes and funkyexposition without getting involved intoo many emotional or heartwrenching scenes. If you’re a fan ofserious, doom laden drama then thismay not be your exact cup of tea, this isa story that is unashamedly fun withwriter Alan Barnes clearly relishing infor the Fourth Doctor and the Mastertogether and in the same room.

The Master’s plan, which is asgargantuan and as insane as always, isalso layered and effective. It capturesthe essence of this incarnation’sdesperation and the levels that he willgo to in order to secure his dreams. Italso helps that the Fourth Doctor’sloopiness (as opposed to the sombreversion that the Master encounters in

and ) seems to put theMaster off his game somewhat. LouiseJameson also gets a bit of one on onetime with silk voiced Geoffrey Beeversand suddenly you can think of all thepossibilities of the Master trying tosway her over to his side, it’s crackingstuff to listen to the two of themverbally have at it and there’s even acameo of a set from the third Doctor’sera (that’ll make sense once you listento the story).

loaded finger being fired brings up awave of nostalgia as great as hearingthe ominous “Dalek heartbeat” we alllove.

Overall, The Oseidon Adventure is agreat end to a great series ofadventures for the Fourth Doctor andLeela; everything is wrapped up in anice neat package with the promise ofmore tales to come.

The Oseidon Adventure is available fromwww.bigfinish.com now.

The Master’s plan, which is asgargantuan and as insane as always, isalso layered and effective. It capturesthe essence of this incarnation’sdesperation and the levels that he willgo to in order to secure his dreams. Italso helps that the Fourth Doctor’sloopiness (as opposed to the sombreversion that the Master encounters in

The Deadly Assassin, The Keeper ofTraken and Logopolis) seems to put theMaster off his game somewhat. LouiseJameson also gets a bit of one on onetime with silk voiced Geoffrey Beeversand suddenly you can think of all thepossibilities of the Master trying tosway her over to his side, it’s crackingstuff to listen to the two of themverbally have at it and there’s even acameo of a set from the third Doctor’sera (that’ll make sense once you listento the story).

The Kraals provide little more thanfodder in this tale; their presencemerely there to grab our attention butto be honest, with the promise of theDoctor and the Master facing offagainst one another, our attention isalready well and truly grabbed. Theydo serve well to evoke memories ofrunning through the woods with SarahJane Smith and the Doctor and thesecond that you hear an android’s

Page 11: Kasterborous Magazine Sampler

11

Doctor Who has for many years fedon itself. Since the late stages of the

Tom Baker era, fans have beeninvolved with the creation of theshow and their involvement took ona new meaning with the New

Adventures books from Virgin in the1990s. Russell T Davies and StevenMoffat were both big long-term fansof Doctor Who, and the majority ofthe show’s writers have affection forthe travels of the mad man with thebox.

But there is more to it than that.Since that policeman first wanderedthrough the fog in 1963, Doctor Whohas caught the imaginations ofmillions of children and adults.Some have scrawled Daleks,

TARDISes and scarves in the back ofexercise books while others haveaimed higher with far moreambitious and impressive creations.

In the Shed hopes to find the mostaccomplished fan creators out there,whose immense dedication to thecraft of building, stitching, recording,painting and making artefacts thatdemonstrate their love andinspiration for Doctor Who willhopefully spur our readers ontofollow them – with a few useful tipsto get started.

Gareth Mugridge is one such fan,obsessed by the design and detail ofDaleks he has built his own; in facthe did such a good job that it hasbeen used on screen in the show!

Dalek Addiction

Gareth recalls that “initially I was

looking for something to do as acreative thing. Doctor Who had notlong returned to our screens and thestudio moved from Newport to halfa mile from my house so I think thatplayed a part, initially I was going tobuild a TARDIS, but didn’t knowwhere to start.”

“While working for a bookstore chainas events co-ordinator, we werealways looking for ways to engagekids, particularly with reading. Wethought a Doctor Who day would bea good plan given our closeproximity to the studios and thepopularity of the show.” Naturallythis was the last piece of the jigsawfor Gareth, who then decided totake the plunge.Fortunately the Internet played apart and Gareth was able to find awebsite crucial to his developmentas a Dalek Builder. “I discovered awebsite, www.projectdalek.com,where I saw what I can only describeas works of unparalleled genius. Icouldn’t believe that “fans” had builtthese things, they looked utterlyamazing! I guess from that point Iwas hooked.”

Doctor Who fans have of coursebeen building Daleks and otherprops for years, and Gareth hadstumbled upon a fantasticcommunity of guys who were happyto share information and help himwork out just how hard it might beto build one. “I have that websiteand in particular, Mark Dando, JohnDarley and Alan Clark to thank fordragging me into the murky worldof Dalek creation...”

Read more in KasterborousMagazine #1, coming soon!

Page 12: Kasterborous Magazine Sampler

12

Dr What! (CRL 1984)

Doctor Who is a very difficultconcept to translate into avideo game. Being such a non-linear concept, it probablyrequires a more sandboxapproach than possibly eventhe current era of technologycan offer, let alone the 1980s8-bit wonders. It is hard now,near impossible then, to createa Doctor Who game thatcarries the authenticity andtone of the BBC franchise.This is made harder still whenyou don't actually have accessto any of the product rights.Defying all these odds, DrWhat!? does a damn goodnaughty knock-off job; itmanages to copy the familiarelements of Doctor Who justright and carries an almost pre-sandbox non linear explorationgameplay that, say, TheEternity Clock, did not.

You play four Doctors in DrWhat!, each looking almost likea classic Doctor, and almostjust about more than acollective of simplistic pixels.You have a Trydis, which isbigger on the inside, and looksremarkably like a TARDISactually, which is good forDoctor Who fans, if a littlevexing for copyright holdersperhaps. In fact, each Dr hashis own Trydis, each with

different places it can jumpbetween – so in a way, it'sreally like Doctor Who gamesshould be – hell, it's what TheFive Doctors should have been.

The graphics are simplistic, thepuzzles are key, as is jumping.It is, as most were in this era, a2D platform, but the puzzlesare layered between eachDoctor's “zones” so successdepends on Doctors workingtogether – which itself is verynon-canon, I'm sure you'llagree. Joking aside, all thesecomponents pull togetherrather well.

As games goes, this actuallydoes battle rather successfullyagainst the duration of time,befitting of a game starring anot-quite-Time-Lord. Thepuzzles still work, thesimplicity makes it interesting,and its humorous hijack of theBBC franchise is quiteendearing. When youencounter Pruneface, asomewhat similar character tothat dude in the show whocreated the Daleks, you'll knowwhy – and no, I don't refer toTerry Nation.

Continued in KasterborousMagazine #1, coming soon!

Funnily enough, the 80s spawned as much“What” as “Who” in the digital realm. Therewere two Doctor Who homage games given theless lawyer hounded monikers of “Dr What” -One What of which could be considered moreWho than What, what means Who could look toWhat to see who really understood Who; thatWhat knew Who better than the Who games did.In the 80s, anyhow. Do you see? Chew onthat sentence.

Page 13: Kasterborous Magazine Sampler

13

Kasterborous at the Asylum of the DaleksPremiere!

Back in August, Kasterborous’ Americaneditor Brian Terranova was invited to theAsylum of the Daleks premiere in New YorkCity. As you’ll soon see, he was thrilled…and that was before he got to chat withMatt Smith and Karen Gillan!

First off I want to start by saying thatthis has been the most surreal experiencein my life so far. Since becoming acontributor and then co-runner to the K,fantastic things have happened in my life.I’ve met great friends and done greatthings. But this... this definesAwesomeness.

As a fan of Doctor Who, the idea of goingto New York to see the premiere of Asylumof the Daleks on the big screen isappealing enough. Sadly, I was on vacationwhen the screening was announced, withnothing but my iPhone to connect me to thewebsite. Naturally, I failed to gettickets.

So imagine my delight when I was invitedas a member of the press to not onlyattend the premiere but to also take partin a round table interviewing the starsbehind the show!

Arriving in New York – a city I’ve visitedmany times – seemed so different. I had tobe at a certain place at a specific timeto watch Doctor Who. Oh, and I wastechnically working – this trip wasn’tjust fun, I had a job to do. Writing abouta show that has provided me with endlesshours of entertainment on and off screenjust seems natural and very rewarding. Butthis time, I would be meeting the starsand writing about that too.

That’s the bit I still find surreal.Upon arriving at the BBC America offices,things started to feel real. I gave myname to the security guard and he said “ohyes, right this way” –• I was truly meantto be there! The offices themselves seemlike an ideal working environment. Theywere hip, very stylized and they even hada snack bar/lounge area. The staff andeveryone we met were so nice and friendlyand seemed like they were enjoying beingthere as much as we were. In fact theywere talking about the events and thethings going on behind the scenes with asmuch excitement as we were talking aboutbeing there!

Alexis was our BBC America rep and wassimply one of the friendliest and kindestpeople I have ever met.

Read more in Kasterborous Magazine #1, coming soon!

Page 14: Kasterborous Magazine Sampler

COMING SOON…

Heading your way soon is the full Kasterborous Magazine, featuring over 60 pages of interviews,features, reviews and the all important guide to building your own Dalek!

We’d love to know what you thought of this sampler, so please drop us a line [email protected] and give us your feedback!

14