Jodie Whittaker!

Whittaker’s credits, which include Broadchurch, Attack the Block, and Black Mirror, prove she’s no stranger to both sci-fi and Chris Chibnall’s work. 

Chibnall will be taking over as show runner after the upcoming Christmas special, and the addition of him as well as the new 13th doctor will be a much needed breath of fresh air into the series. 

‘I’m beyond excited to begin this epic journey – with Chris and with every Whovian on this planet,” says Whittaker, “It’s more than an honor to play the Doctor. It means remembering everyone I used to be, while stepping forward to embrace everything the Doctor stands for: hope. I can’t wait.”

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m about to go binge watch all her previous work while creating a new cosplay in anticpation.

DOCTOR WHO Season 10, Episode 1 ‘The Pilot’ Executive Produced bySteven Moffat; Directed by Lawrence Gough; Written by Steven Moffat; Starring Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie, Matt Lucas; Rated TV-PG; Airs Saturday evenings on BBC1 / BBC America, Original airdate April 15, 2017.

FINALLY, Doctor Who is back. This newest episode finds Twelfth Doctor (Capaldi) teaching at a university aided by Nardole (Lucas). He takes on cafeteria worker Bill Potts (Mackie), who has been attending his lectures, to be her personal tutor. 

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Time is discussed. Chips are discussed. Joy Division is heard. And it seems Miss Potts is taken with a young girl named Heather, who seems to be obsessed with a puddle whose reflections aren’t quite right? “Pilot Selected” a scary voice says from the puddle.

And time travel wackiness ensues.

Several of our robots want to discuss this show, so we’ll be convening a weekly roundtable to talk out the most recent episode:

Andy: Some people have complained about these Capaldi episodes for being too slow. And, granted, they are. But there’s something about a show willing to be methodical. It’s especially good that this time travel show actually decides to be about time travel every once in a while. And Capaldi lecturing about the nature of time while Joy Division plays may be one of the best things I’ve seen on Doctor Who since the glory days of Amy and Rory.

It’s also spooky. There’s a definite It Follows / Terminator 2 vibe going on with Heather through the second act. There’s something wrong with her, and we can tell from the very beginning. I like that it’s willing to be scary without being gory. The fact that it’s got all the water-flowing-from-possessed-peoples-mouths going on hearkens back to “Waters of Mars.”

Speaking of hearkening back, it’s worth noting that for all of the previous arcs where we introduced companions, there’s been a definite pattern: you solve an alien invasion in Earth’s present, you travel somewhere else on Earth, you go into the far distant future of Earth, you go fight the Daleks. . . and that’s your first half of the season. Instead we do all of it in this first episode. I like that– we’re only getting 12 episodes, so I certainly hope we only spend this first episode treading over old ground. Although, it doesn’t bode well we’re going into the far future in the next episode. . .

Also, I instantly love Bill.

Rebecca: I have a firm theory that Moffat writes episodes based off something that happened to him that morning. “The Pilot” has me thinking he took his niece outside, she jumped in a puddle, and wouldn’t stop copying him.

Now that I’ve got my Moffat-hate out of the way, I adored this episode. Specifically, I adored Bill. Her introduction was so casual, immediately adventure-ready. The Doctor even makes a comment about her ready attitude, she doesn’t frown when confronted with something she doesn’t understand; she smiles.

Andy: That was one of the things about her character that I instantly loved. I also love the bit about her giving extra chips to the girl she thinks is cute. First, that’s awesome that it’s just so normal that it’s a girl she has a crush on. Second, how insanely normal and awesome is that? And then to have the self-awareness that maybe her actions have consequences. That kind of awareness was so lacking in Clara– it’s possibly that this is why the Doctor is willing to take her on.

Rebecca: The fact too that her sexual orientation isn’t a big deal. It drives plot forward, not in a negative way, but in a, you know, plot driving way.

Andy: Yeah, like any other character. Funny how that happens when we accept and normalize something, right?

Rebecca: Sooo weird…

This was also the first time I didn’t totally hate Nardole. I’ve found his character overplayed in his previous appearances, but this episode had just the right amount of him.

Andy: Absolutely true. I’ve been dreading him being in this season so much, but if they just give him the junk to do so Bill can have more of the adventure, I’ll take it.

Rebecca: About halfway through every episode, I usually think, “well, this is a silly plot.” But the minute the show ends, I shout at the top of my lungs, “I LOVE THIS STUPID SHOW!” I’m incredibly excited for the rest of the season, not excited to lose Capaldi though.

Next week, “Smile”:

Luke Skywalker Can’t Read: And Other Geeky Truths. Written by Ryan Britt, 2015 Plume Books. 210 pages, softcover. (9 out of 10)

Sometimes a title just grabs you. And when it’s about a character I’ve identified with for nearly as long as I can remember, I notice. So when I saw “Luke Skywalker Can’t Read” — I grabbed it. I hadn’t heard of author Ryan Britt before, but as I read his book, I felt like I’ve known him forever. The collection of a dozen or so essays is all about how Ryan processes different parts of geek culture, ranging from his childhood through his teen and college years, and up through the hype for “The Force Awakens.”

The best thing I can say about “Luke Skywalker Can’t Read” is that it feels like your very best geeky conversations with your best geeky friend. A friend you don’t always get along with, a friend that you’re sure is an idiot half the time and a genius the other half, but a friend who you love to stay up late talking about the minutiae of geeky fandoms with. If you’re reading this, you probably know what that experience is like. Some of us have those conversations daily, but others…you look forward to them every time you can have them. And this book collects several of them.

The titular essay is one of my favorites. It’s not about Luke Skywalker per se, but about the whole Star Wars universe that we visit as observers through the movies, cartoons, and books…but mostly the movies. His argument is essentially that where characters in other franchises (Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek) make reference to real and imagined literature within their respective universes, Star Wars does not. Hermione will consult books in the library, a trusted source of knowledge that helps Hogwarts students overcome evil. Gandalf and company consult books, and Bilbo even writes “The Hobbit” as a book in itself. Captains Kirk and Picard quote Shakespeare, Dickens, and Melville. In the Star Wars movies on the other hand…books are almost entirely absent. Characters have an oral tradition handed down from generation to generation, but there don’t seem to be written records. Britt poses this as one of the reasons that the entire galaxy who has seen thousands of Jedi Knights in action right up through “Revenge of the Sith” can forget about them to the point that Jedi are myths and legends within nineteen years (by the beginning of “A New Hope”). We see this happen again in the period between “Return of the Jedi” and “The Force Awakens” — Han Solo has to convince Rey and Finn that “it’s real, all of it.” Britt spends about twenty pages on this idea, and does it in a better way than I’ve summarized here…but it becomes a solid, interesting argument. It takes the text of those movies, which at this point is imprinted on my DNA, and makes me look at it completely differently. I value those kinds of geeky experiences. 

Another excellent essay is “Nobody Gets Mad About Hamlet Remakes: Rise of the Relevant Superheroes,” and how we all just need to chill out with our freakouts over superhero remakes and reboots. About the idea of these characters as a shared text that grows and changes over time to include more than what they were first imagined. At this point we’ve had our oldest superheroes (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain America) for 75 years and more…and each generation is getting to put their mark on the characters. If that means my Superman isn’t the same as your Superman, it’s okay. It’s the nature of a transgenerational text to do that. Britt’s comparison to Shakespeare is apt, although truthfully, people do get pissed about Hamlet remakes. The Mel Gibson one was the best, you guys. 

In each case, Britt sheds new light on geeky truths

There are essays on “Barbarella,” on Sherlock Holmes, and “Back to the Future,” and in each case, Britt sheds new light on the characters, movies, or books he’s discussing. And these are topics that I overthink about and process and want to talk to other geek friends about…reading these essays relieves some of that pressure. Besides the topics themselves, the way Britt writes is very engaging. He puts his personal experiences in, framing the geeky episodes at a particular time in his life, and connecting them to friends, and family members. We get a more full picture of why he thinks the way he does about Doctor Who because of what he was going through at the time; we appreciate the barrage of F-bombs in a certain chapter because that’s how we expressed ourselves at that stage of life too. Enjoying Britt’s voice becomes a big part of enjoying the book, and by the end of the essays, I felt like I knew him, liked him, and wanted to read more. 

If you’re a fan of Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes, Back to the Future, Lord of the Rings, Dracula…okay, just about anything geeky, chances are good you’ll find an essay at least touching on it in “Luke Skywalker Can’t Read: And Other Geeky Truths.” I liked it more than I expected to–and I expected to like it. I didn’t expect it to make me think. Read it so we can talk about it. It’s good. 

After six seasons as “Doctor Who” head writer and showrunner, Steven Moffat will step away from the TARDIS and hand over the keys to Chris Chibnall. Chibnall had previously served as a head writer for Who spinoff “Torchwood” as well as several Who episodes himself. Most prominently, he’s been the showrunner for “Broadchurch” which is nearly universally acclaimed and showcases former Tenth Doctor David Tennant in one of its lead roles.

For Moffat fans, his departure will not be exactly swift. We will get an entire tenth season, but not until Spring 2017, after which Chibnall will take over the series for 2018. In 2016, the only new Who we’ll get is a Moffat-penned Christmas special. We will, however, be getting eight episodes of the new spinoff “Class”, set in Clara Oswald’s former school, sometime this year.  

Moffat was as eloquent (overwrought, his critics might say) as ever in announcing his departure: “Feels odd to be talking about leaving when I’m just starting work on the scripts for season 10, but the fact is my timey-wimey is running out. While Chris is doing his last run of Broadchurch, I’ll be finishing up on the best job in the universe and keeping the TARDIS warm for him. It took a lot of gin and tonic to talk him into this, but I am beyond delighted that one of the true stars of British Television drama will be taking the Time Lord even further into the future. At the start of season 11, Chris Chibnall will become the new showrunner of Doctor Who. And I will be thrown in a skip.”

Those unfamiliar with Chibnall really ought to check out “Broadchurch.” At least the first season is well worth your time. His Who-niverse writing credits include real time spaceship falling into the sun episode “42“, underground reptilian race episode arc “The Hungry Earth” / “Cold Blood“, the aptly titled “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship“, and the Amy-Rory domestic comedy about evil omnipresent tech “The Power of Three“. He also wrote some of Torchwood’s best episodes, “Day One“, “Cyberwoman“, “Countrycide“, “End of Days“, “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang“, “Adrift“, “Fragments“, and maybe the best episode ever “Exit Wounds“.

As for what this means for the future of Who, tell us what you think? Love him or hate him, Moffat always elicited a reaction.

For more discussion and coverage of this, please stay tuned to the Doctor Who Virgin podcast, where we dissect all aspects of the show and are sure to dive into this head first. We’re never short of opinions on Moffat.

“Doctor Who” episodes 9.7-9.12 (9 out of 10) Starring Peter Capaldi and Jenna Louise Coleman.

Series 9 of “Doctor Who” has come and gone, which means Tyson “Arsebot” and I sat down to talk about it! Check out the video below!

“Doctor Who” episodes 9.1-9.6 (9 out of 10) Starring Peter Capaldi and Jenna Louise Coleman.

We’re about more than halfway through this series of “Doctor Who” and so far it has been…different. Good different! Tyson “Arsebot” and I sat down to discuss the first six episodes of this series, check out the video below!

We’ve known for a while now that there would be a “Doctor Who” LEGO set coming in 2015. Today LEGO showed us everything in their press release:

You might have thought it disappeared into a crack in space and time, but today we’re excited to finally share pictures and details about the LEGO® Ideas 21304 Doctor Who!

AndrewClark2’s Doctor Who and Companions was too great for just one Doctor, who we decided to include two! You can buy yours  December 1st, in time for the Doctor Who Christmas Special, for a recommended retail price of USD $59.99 / EUR €59,99. You might want to keep an eye on that Weeping Angel though….

Here is the official product description:

Construct a stunningly detailed LEGO® version of the iconic TARDIS® and role-play the Doctor’s time-travel adventures! Created by fan-designer Andrew Clark and selected by LEGO Ideas members, this set is based on the BBC’s popular and long-running television series about a Time Lord – the Doctor – exploring the universe in a blue police box. Due to trans-dimensional engineering, the TARDIS is bigger on the inside than the outside and this cool multifunctional set includes the console room that houses all the flight controls. Regenerate the Doctor and defeat the evil Daleks™ and a Weeping Angel with the help of his extraordinary companion Clara. Then close the doors of the TARDIS and launch into another dimension! Includes 4 minifigures with assorted accessory elements: the Eleventh Doctor, the Twelfth Doctor, Clara Oswald and a Weeping Angel, plus 2 Daleks™.

The likenesses of the characters are good — and it just makes me want more “Doctor Who” characters in LEGO form. Doctors, companions, aliens, frigging K-9 — I want it all. Sigh. 

BBC Three announced today a new show from current “Doctor Who” and “Sherlock” showrunner Steven Moffat and young adult writer Patrick Ness called “Class.” Based in the same Coal Hill School where Clara Oswald currently teaches, Moffat promised it will focus on students’ adventures “growing up in modern Britain – but with monsters!” and will draw heavily upon other similar ideas, such as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Said co-showrunner Patrick Ness, “I can’t wait for people to meet the heroes of Class, to meet the all-new villains and aliens, to remember that the horrors of the darkest corners of existence are just about on par with having to pass your A-Levels.” Yup. High school is murder. 

The series will have 8 hour-long episodes in its season, begin filming in the spring of 2016 and air later that year. It will join previous spinoff series like “Torchwood” and “The Sarah Jane Adventures.”

While Moffat is a known quantity for Whovians (and you likely either hate him or really hate him), Patrick Ness is likely lesser known. So who is he? Born in America, degree from USC, he moved to Britain in 2005, where he is now married to his partner and a dual British/American citizen. Ness won back to back Carnegie Medals for his books Monsters of Men and A Monster Calls in 2011 and 2012, awarded by the British Librarians association for the best childrens/YA book published in Britain for the year. He is one of only seven writers to win two medals — and no one has won three. He shares the distinction of winning consecutive medals with Peter Dickinson, who won in 1979 and 1980.

The second of the two books he won for, “A Monster Calls”, is currently being filmed for release next year, with Liam Neeson playing the eponymous monster, who visits a young boy’s room every night at 12:07 to tell him stories to comfort him about his mother’s fight with terminal cancer. Ness also wrote the adapted screenplay, and someone must have liked it very much to give him the reins to work in the Whoniverse.

Ness is also no stranger to Doctor Who, having contributed the novella e-book “Tip of the Tongue” featuring the adventures of the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa to a collection of stories celebrating the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.

It will be interesting to continue to watch the rest of Season 9 and see what breadcrumbs Moffat leaves behind to tease the premiere of “Class.” Also, the fact that the show is set in Clara’s school but Jenna Coleman is not in the show leads us to believe that her ending is going to be oh-so-tragic. Perhaps this is what precipitates the events of “Class”? We’ll have to wait and see.

For more analysis and news about the upcoming show and Season 9 reviews of Doctor Who, keep watching here at Big Shiny Robot! and also listen to the Who Virgin Podcast, brought to you by Big Shiny Robot, chronicling my first journey through Doctor Who (I’m finally caught up now! Yay!) Next week’s episode we promise to bring you lots of analysis over “Class” from an actual young adult librarian, one of my co-hosts for the show. See you then.

Everyone’s favorite original S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent and Dubsmash champion Hayley Atwell set Twitter on fire earlier today with a tweet design to make Whovians’ heads explode.

When asked if she’s like to be on “Doctor Who” she replied, “I’d like to BE Doctor Who.”

Now, to clarify, she just said she wants to be Doctor Who. No one has contacted her about a role, no one from BBC or Steven Moffat’s office has asked her about being on the show. She just said she wanted to.

And then Twitter, Facebook, and news outlets everywhere exploded in support. 

This makes a lot of sense. After so many regenerations, isn’t it time to regenerate as a woman? Or perhaps let the moniker of The Doctor fall to a female Timelord who takes up his mantle and shares his memories and consciousness the same way Donna Noble briefly did? As a science-fiction show that constantly re-writes its own rules and mythology, this shouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility.

In fact, in a moment of prescient brilliance, we discussed this very thing on an episode of the Who Virgin podcast, where I watch Doctor Who for the first time. And when we talked about fan-casting a female Doctor, I had one suggestion: Hayley Atwell. 

Ok, maybe this isn’t totally genius of me that “I called it,” but it’s just that it’s such a no-brainer. 

We’re only one month away from the Series 9 premiere. And already we have to wonder what the future holds for The Doctor. We’ll definitely be there, and we’ll be there if Hayley Atwell shows up in a Series 10, 11, 12, or anytime in the future. The talented and beautiful Ms. Atwell next appears in a second season of “Agent Carter,” premiering on ABC in early 2016.

What do you robots think? Hayley Atwell yass? Or Hayley Atwell nawwwww?

The Sci-Fi Fantasy Network is reporting that, at a Doctor Who event, the fourth Doctor himself, Tom Baker, announced that he would be doing a voice in “Star Wars.” 

The quote from their report of the Day of the Doctor’s convention:

“I’m going to be in this new Star Wars thing, you know?” he told eager fans as he signed his autograph. “I’m going down to recording some voices for this new character they’ve created for me, very soon.”

The report goes on to speculate that he would be voicing a character on “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” though that show has been cancelled for some time. Although it’s possible he could be recording a role for “Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens,” it seems much more likely that he’d be recording a part for “Star Wars Rebels.” At this point, though, it could be nothing more than the ramblings of a wizard, just a crazy old man…

It wouldn’t be the first time “Doctor Who” and “Star Wars” crossed over. 10th Doctor David Tennant won an Emmy for his part on “The Clone Wars.” He played Huyang, a robot employed by the Jedi for most of a millennium to teach the skills required to build lightsabers.

Other actors have crossed over between the two series over the years, even from the Tom Baker era. One of Tom Baker’s most formidable foes in “City of Death” turned out to be General Veers, played by Julian Glover. Captain Panaka (Hugh Quarshie) was featured in Doctor Who. Even Grand Moff Tarkin, Peter Cushing himself, played the Doctor in two movies. 

It’s an important reminder that this news is not confirmed and no official announcements have been made.

[Source: Bleeding Cool and Sci-Fi Fantasy Network]