New Companion Announced

Jenna-Louise Coleman has beaten hundreds of hopefuls to become the new companion to Doctor Who, it was announced by Steven Moffat.

Twenty-five year old Jenna from Blackpool will star alongside the 11th Time Lord, Matt Smith, to mark the biggest year in the show’s history.

Best known for her roles in Emmerdale (Jasmine Thomas) and Waterloo Road (Lindsay James), Jenna will replace Karen Gillan when she and Arthur Darvill bow out of the show in a heartbreaking departure after one final series of rollercoaster voyages later this year on BBC One.

Jenna says: “I’m beyond excited, I can’t wait to get cracking; working alongside Matt I know is going to be enormous fun and a huge adventure.”

The Doctor will meet his new friend in a dramatic turn of events as the show builds towards its enormous, climactic 50th anniversary year – full of thrills, adventures and big surprises. Series seven is currently filming and comprises 14 big, blockbuster-movie episodes – each a brand new epic adventure featuring new monsters and some familiar foes as you’ve never seen them before.

Lead writer and Executive Producer, Steven Moffat, says: “It always seems impossible when you start casting these parts, but when we saw Matt and Jenna together, we knew we had our girl. She’s funny and clever and exactly mad enough to step on board the TARDIS.

“It’s not often the Doctor meets someone who can talk even faster than he does, but it’s about to happen. Jenna is going to lead him his merriest dance yet. And that’s all you’re getting for now. Who she’s playing, how the Doctor meets her, and even where he finds her, are all part of one of the biggest mysteries the Time Lord ever encounters. Even by the Doctor’s standards, this isn’t your usual boy meets girl.”

Danny Cohen, Controller, BBC One, adds “As we approach Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary it’s great to welcome a new companion to the TARDIS. I feel confident the Doctor will look after her in his own very unique style.”

In 2011 Jenna made her big screen debut in Captain America: The First Avenger and is soon to star as Annie Desmond in ITV1’s Titanic. She has just finished filming on Stephen Poliakoff’s Dancing On The Edge for BBC Two.

Doctor Who is a BBC Cymru Wales Production for BBC One.

Nov 14 2011

Issue 22 Now Out

JUST PUBLISHED!

Editorial: A Kind of Menace – Jez Strickley
Pride and Cyberprejudice – Michael S. Collins wades in with an epic analysis of the Cybermen
Chris Boucher Interview – Jez Strickley talks with the man behind Leela, Taren Capel and the Fendahl, not mention his influence on a certain rival sci-fi series
Quite Masterly – No Doctor Who rogues gallery would be complete without the Master, Gary Phillips investigates
The Sylvester McCoy Villains – Ian Wheeler examines the villains who menaced the Seventh Doctor
The Villains No One Remembers – With the Eighth Doctor in mind, Jake Johnson considers some of the least talked about villains
The Most Wacky Monsters – Bob Furnell asks what the designers were thinking when they conjured up some of the series’ more unusual monsters
Torchwood Series 4 Overview – Craig Charlesworth gives us his take on the first five episodes of the latest instalment of RTD’s brainchild
The Weeping Angels – perhaps the series’ most frightening monster since 2005, Emily Jones takes a look and tries not to blink
Dalek’s Advocate: The Case for the Foamasi – Those Mafia-esque bad boys take some defending, Bob Furnell tackles the challenge
Wholife: Music and Villains – Grant Bull comments on a certain Beach Boys song as the soundtrack to the Doctor’s life
Fanzine Corner – In this ongoing series of fanzine reviews, Bob Furnell continues his voyage into fan writing
Newish Adventures: Final Frontier Review – AJ Gulyas returns with another look at the New Adventures book series
Target Trawl -Nick Mellish uncovers a renegade Time Lord, anti-matter monsters and mutan as he presents three more Target readings
Screwdrivers, Scaries and Scarves: The Monster Revealed – Jez Strickley considers one of the series’ staple scare-making devices

And much more… All in issue 22, now available to download in PDF format from the Whotopia website

May 26 2011

Vancouver Doctor Who Convention?

Hi all. We have a question for you, and before you answer yes or no, here’s a little background info.

It’s been years – well, the last Doctor Who event with a guest in the Vancouver area was A Day With Anneke Wills in the mid 1990s and before that Who Party West 3 in 1990 with Nicola Bryant, so its been at least 15-20 years since any kind of event was held locally. Anyway…

This question probably applies more to Canadian Doctor Who fans, and nearby American Who fans, but how many people would in theory be interested in attending a Doctor Who convention in Vancouver BC Canada? I know it would depend on the size, the guest(s) (if any), price and dates of the event, but if a Doctor Who convention was held in Vancouver, would you be interested in attending? Would anyone be interested in helping organize such an event? Would you attend a smaller event without a guest, or would you prefer it to be a larger event with a guest?

Nothing has been planned definitely yet, no dates set, nothing concrete and carved in stone. We’re just put the ‘feelers’ out to gage interest in the possibility of an event. Your thoughts on this is appreciated. Drop us a line in care of the Whotopia editorial address whotopia[@]whotopia.ca and let us know what you think.

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