10 Things you didn’t know about the TARDIS (From the Type 40 Instruction Manual)

Think you know everything there is to know about the Doctor’s space-time machine? The TARDIS Type 40 Instruction Manual details exactly how the ship works and its entire history – including the low-down on the 13th Doctor’s TARDIS. To celebrate, we got hold of ten exciting facts from the book to tantalise your taste-buds, including previews of some of the pages!

1 – The name ‘TARDIS’ was given to the space/time machine by the Doctor’s granddaughter Susan. The word is an acronym, standing for ‘Time and Relative Dimension in Space.’ As the capsule The Doctor and Susan stole happens to be the mostly widely used TARDIS in the universe, the term has been taken and spread among the stars as the official name for the ship.

2 – When properly maintained, the TARDIS is indestructible.

3 – The TARDIS uses Artron energy generated by the eye of harmony in order to travel through space and time.

4 – The 13th Doctor’s TARDIS is the first to feature the reverse of three sides of it’s exterior on the inside of the ship, making it look like almost the whole box is attached to the interior.

5 – The TARDIS has a bathroom that features a hologram of a leopard, with toilet facilities located just past the macaroon dispenser.

6 – The TARDIS also features a karaoke bar, a swimming pool, an art gallery and a Green house, among other infinite rooms

7 – Although it never appeared on screen, Missy travelled in a type 45 TARDIS with a dark purple desktop theme.

8 – The ‘wheezing, groaning’ noise that can be heard when the TARDIS materialises is down to the ship being ripped out of or forced into normal space.

9 – Despite the Chameleon Circuit being broken and the TARDIS being stuck as a police box, periodic software patches have updated specific design details of its appearance. This occasionally means that features such as the windows and light can change, as well as the shade of blue on the outer shell of the police box design.

10 – The telepathic circuits inside the TARDIS can be used to gather extra data about a destination and calculate an optimum point to land, as well as being used to send psychic messages within the space-time vortex.

The TARDIS Type 40 Instruction Manual is available now

Jenny Colgan: The Christmas Invasion Q+A

Today marks the launch of 5 new Doctor Who target novelisations, featuring new series episodes for the first time! We spoke to Jenny Colgan about her Christmas Invasion novelisation, her favourite female Who character and more…

How does your version of The Christmas Invasion differ to the television episode?

We go a little deeper, both into how the Guinevere space programme works and meet some of the people behind that, as well as more into what life is really like for Jackie. If everyone is the hero of their own story, Jackie’s is utterly heartbreaking, certainly for the first couple of series. And Daniel Llewyllen gets a lot more screen time in the novel, I liked him a lot in the show.

How did you find writing an adaption of a pre-existing story?

Oh, brilliant! It was writing with all the difficult bits taken out! RTD is of course a genius and he’d done all the hard work for me. All I had to do was add a few ‘she saids’ onto his brilliant script (more or less :)).

How does writing for Doctor Who differ to writing your other novels?

Well you have a very clear set of physical characters and lots of established rules. But in a funny way that makes it more fun; you have to be more creative. I’ve been doing it for a while now, and I never lose the joy of someone standing at a TARDIS console.

Can you share your first memory of Doctor Who, and what is it that makes you love the show so much?

My first memory is of City of Death, seeing the second Romana’s face being drawn as a clock at the end of the episode and being immediately sucked in and fascinated by this amazing show. I must have been about 7 and I’ve loved it ever since.

What is your favourite female character in Doctor Who?

The Doctor!

Finally, could you tell us what having a female Doctor means to you?

It means this to me: it means absolutely nothing to my children (two boys and a girl). They shrugged their shoulders and will watch regardless and consider it no more extraordinary than their female doctor at the local GP practice. That’s what it means.

A massive thanks to Jenny for speaking to us about her book, the Target Collection is available now!

10 Times Women Saved The Doctor

To mark International Women’s Day, BBC Books have released
The Day She Saved The Doctor – an all-female penned anthology of short stories. Including Doctor-saving adventures from Sarah Jane Smith, Rose Tyler, Clara Oswald and Bill Potts, it’s an amazingly empowering book from our heroes to be released on
such a day!

To join in the celebrations for International Women’s Day, we’ve picked ten moments when our favourite women saved The Doctor…

1 – Rose Tyler

Rose Tyler saved The Doctor in more ways than one. From helping him grieve after the Time War, to battling creatures and villains, there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do to help him.

Top Time Lord saving moment: Becoming the Bad Wolf

After the Daleks make their evil plan clear, Rose, after despairing that she has to do something, crucially looks into the heart of the TARDIS. Using its energy she saves the Doctor, turns the Daleks into atoms and even brings Captain Jack back to life, saving the universe all by herself! Her fearless courage to get back to the Doctor and save him is incredible, proving once again that a shop assistant from a council estate can do anything a thousand year old Time Lord can.

2 – Leela

Nicknamed ‘savage’, there’s not much that gets past Leela. Always ready to help those she feels are in need, she is steadfast and loyal to the end. From her upbringing, she can smell danger in the air, and has her knife ready, always.

Top Time Lord saving moment: Saving the Doctor from the Time Cabinet

At the end of The Talons of Weng Chiang, the Doctor and Leela are at a stand off with Magnus Greel, the war criminial known for killing houndreds of thousands of people. (This confrontation is all whilst being shot at by lasers from Mr Sin, yikes.) Knowing that the Time Cabinet would implode if used, Leela fires a gun at the laser and disables it, meaning the Doctor can stop Greel. We all know who the real hero in that scenario was, our Queen Leela!

3 – Martha Jones

Martha Jones saved The Doctor many times. She was there for him whilst he grieved the loss of Rose and helped him to save the universe over and over. One of the bravest women in Doctor Who, she used her medical student instincts and strong will throughout her travels with the Doctor. This continued when she left the TARDIS to pursue her career with UNIT.

Top Time Lord Saving Moment: The year that never was

When the Master took her family and the Doctor prisoner whilst taking over the earth, Martha travelled the world for a year to spread the story of the legendary Doctor and save the planet. Pursuing a fake weapon to kill the Master, she fought and helped all by herself to save The Doctor and take down The Valiant. After being treated unfairly by the 10th Doctor, she proves her worth once and for all, saving planet Earth and The Doctor from a disastrous fate.

4 – Donna Noble

Donna, as the Doctor’s best friend saved him probably more times than he realised. And not only in a big ‘saving the day’ statement, but emotionally too. In her first story, she saved the Doctor from himself by reminding him to stop, to not go too far.

Top Time Lord Saving Moment: The Doctor Donna

In one of our favourite companion moments Donna, about to plunge to her death, touches the Doctor’s spare hand and bam, the Doctor Donna was born! Fully embracing her new role in the universe, Donna flies back to the Doctor and Davros, using her unique mix of human instinct and time lord brain. With this came the biggest sacrifice, losing all her memories from the best times of her life. We salute you Donna.

5 – Clara Oswald

Clara Oswald might just be the ultimate Doctor-saver. After jumping into his timeline and splintering herself into millions of echoes, she used her bravery and wit to save the day on many occasions, sacrificing herself hundreds of times and dedicating her life to helping our hero.

Top Time Lord Saving Moment: Jumping into The Doctor’s time stream 

After the Great Intelligence infected The Doctor’s timeline and tried to destroy all his lives at once, Clara bravely jumps in and gets splintered into millions of echoes of herself – each to save The Doctor.  This brave sacrifice meant she saved the lives of every incarnation, as well as living and dying thousands of times. Now THAT is friendship.

6 – Ace 

Always handy with a baseball bat or an explosive, Ace doesn’t need anyone to watch her back. She manages to get herself and The Doctor out of many scrapes using her skill and wit, with effortlessly cool ease.

Top Time Lord saving moment: Rescue from A Dalek

In one of her most iconic, feisty stories, Ace rescues The Doctor from a terrible fate when he’s locked inside a basement with the most evil creature in the universe in Remembrance of the Daleks. Not only does she save him from being exterminated, but she also bashes up a Dalek with her trusty baseball bat, which takes some guts if you ask us!

 7 – Bill Potts

Bill’s loyalty and dedication to The Doctor is unfaltering during her time in the TARDIS, resulting in her saving his life on many occasions. Her tragic death was not in vain when you count how many times she helped save the day. Smart, brave and kind, she’s the hero Doctor Who deserves.

Top Time Lord saving moment: Giving herself up to the monks

When The Doctor reveals he is blind and cannot save himself, Bill immediately takes action without hesitation. She bravely gives herself up to the monks, knowing full well she may die in the process and saves him. Her good intentions means she survived the monks as well as keeping The Doctor alive. This pure act of selflessness is one of our favourite Doctor saving moments, leaving us a bit teary over her eventual death and departure from the TARDIS.

8 – Amy Pond

Amelia Pond saved The Doctor many times and in many ways, from helping him save the universe, to helping him become a better person. Her incredible heart and fiery soul came in handy during her time in the TARDIS, along with her constant loyalty and willing to help people.

Top Time Lord saving moment: Saving his soul

Quite a different way of saving our hero, this moment in The Beast Below shows that The Doctor must be saved from himself sometimes. Convincing him to free the star whale instead of killing it, she saved everyone on Starship UK as well as the innocent star whale’s life. In turn, she saves The Doctor from living with yet another murder and more blood on his hands.

9 – River Song

Unapologetically badass, brave and smart, River Song saves the love of her life with style and sass. With her whole life dedicated to him, he can always count on his wife to save the day.

Top Time Lord saving Moment: Dying for The Doctor

River shockingly sacrifices herself the very first time The Doctor meets her (that he knows about, anyway), in a timey wimey twist that means their timelines don’t match up. The encounter is her very last with the Time Lord whom she has known since birth, and she dies to keep him safe. Hooking herself up to CAL, the library computer, she takes The Doctor’s place and saves his life. Zapping herself out of existence, she then saves everyone from the simulation they were destined to be stuck in.

10 – Sarah Jane Smith

Our beloved Sarah Jane saved more than one Doctor, and several times! We love nothing more than seeing her using that wonderful journalistic brain, or alternatively climbing through vents and hiding from monsters really well.

Top Time Lord saving moment: Freeing the Doctor from the Sisterhood of Kahn

After the Doctor has been put on a stake to burn to death, with multiple sisterhood members crowding round him chanting, there really does seem to be no escape. But here comes Sarah in a wonderfully simple disguise! She followed the Doctor taken prisoner to their shrine and with the magic of a red blanket and some trusty wire cutters she frees him whilst no one’s looking. Huzzah for Sarah!

It’s small moments like nearly being burnt at the stake which make you realise how lucky the Doctor is to have his friends around.

Let us know your favourite moments on Twitter and keep an eye on our social media channels for celebrating all things #IWD2018!

The Day She Saved the Doctor
is out today and can be bought in all good book stores and online (RRP £12.99)

 

 

 

Review: The Missy Chronicles

Missy is one of our favourite female characters in the Doctor Who universe. As well as proving how well a male to female regeneration can work; she’s a bold, hilarious and well-rounded character that makes us proud to love Doctor Who. Today is the launch of her very own book, The Missy Chronicles, featuring six of her adventures throughout time and space. So, what’s our verdict? Here’s the run down on each short story inside:

Dismemberment 

by James Goss

James Goss works his magic on our favourite evil time lady, with this adventure set right after her regeneration. As an introductory story, this one hooks us in straight away. After being kicked out of her favourite place to relax for being a woman, Missy decides to take revenge on all of the men that belittle her for her ‘gender’. It’s so exciting to find out more of her backstory from before series eight, and this story does a great job at both developing the character and leading in to what we see on screen. Missy is captured effortlessly with great dialogue and deaths aplenty, and an ending that brings us straight into series eight and her cunning plan for the nethersphere…

We love: The fun plot, spot on characterisation and the way it ties into the Doctor Who canon!

Lords and Masters

By Cavan Scott

Cavan Scott delivers us a classic Who style action packed adventure in Lords and Masters. Highjacking the TARDIS, The High Council rope Missy into completing a deadly mission. Getting her own feisty companion, we get another fabulous female character in the form of Yayani, a Gallifreyan prisoner doing time for her crimes. This story feels the darkest of the collection, with deep undertones and conversations between our main characters. It’s worth noting the empowering way Yayani and Missy are written, underlining the adventure with a wider subtext than first thought. Scott does this brilliantly whilst keeping it exciting all the way through.

We Love: Yayani as Missy’s companion, more evil Time Lord backstory and the continuation of Missy’s development!

Teddy Sparkles Must Die!

By Paul Magrs 

Missy dealing with children is always hilarious to read, and this story works with that brilliantly. Making full use of her Mary Poppins look, Paul Magrs gives her a governess role… but only so she can fulfil her genius plan of taking over the world. A smart, timey-wimey tale, it’s a concept that fits Missy perfectly. Using her great powers of manipulation, she designs a future for the poor children that will help her master the earth! With a talking teddy bear and a 1920’s setting, this story is an evil fairy tale perfect for cuddling up with a cuppa.

We Love: Mary Poppins Missy, a 1920’s backdrop and a talking alien teddy bear!

The Liar, the Glitch and the Warzone

By Peter Anghelides

Possibly the most timey-wimey story in the collection, Peter Anghelides brings us Missy on the run… between two time zones! She collects another unwanted companion whilst battling the Gryphons through Venice, as well as getting hundreds of innocent people killed – all in a days work for her then. In this story we’re really given a taste of how uncaring she can be, especially in comparison to the other stories where she almost shows slight empathy. An exciting tale with Missy at her most savage, the most shocking part is a surprise cameo… from the 13th Doctor herself!

We Love: Venice, exciting new aliens and THE DOCTOR!

Girl Power!

By Jacqueline Rayner

Possibly one of our favourites in the collection, Jacqueline Rayner brings us a fun, empowering tale taking place during Missy’s time in the vault. Bored with not a lot to do, Missy has some requests for The Doctor. Books, hairspray, a small campfire… After finding out about the treatment of women throughout history on Earth, Missy takes it upon herself to do something about it. With a particularly interesting format and cameo’s from The Doctor and Nardole, this story is a lovely insight into how Missy started to change during her time in the vault, and just what she did with herself for all that time.

We Love: Badass Women, Nardole and general hilarity!

Alit in Underland 

By Richard Dinnick

The last story in the collection brings us to World Enough And Time, and features not one, but two masters. Richard Dinnick brings the two to life beautifully, highlighting the differences between their characters and giving us more of an insight into the events of that adventure. Overall this is a character piece – an analysis of Missy and The Master’s relationship and where it’s going. Knowing the events that unfold by the end of World Enough and Time make this mini prequel particularly poignant, making us wish we had hundreds more adventures with ‘good’ Missy.

We Love: Missy/The Master’s banter, Topknot the Cyberman and how it leads into World Enough and Time.

This gorgeous book is a new firm favourite in our book collection, and we LOVE Lee Binding’s astonishing work for the book jacket. Focussing completely on a female character having her own adventures, it’s empowering, beautifully written, designed and fits perfectly alongside the show.

The Missy Chronicles is available now!

13 Ways To Fill The Hiatus

It’s been over a month since the latest episode of Doctor Who and if you (like us), are already desperate for more, then look no further! We’ve compiled a list of 13 ways to fill the hiatus until the 13th Doctor lands on our screens…

Discover the Classic Series 

I’ve recently begun my journey into the world of Classic Doctor Who, starting right at the beginning with An Unearthly Child. Having seen bits here and there and constantly being told how brilliant it is by Kezia, I finally decided to give it a go, and I’m kicking myself for never doing it before! It feels as though I’m re-discovering my favourite show and although the episodes are over 50 years old, it’s all brand new! Start from the beginning or dip in and out with different Doctors, we promise you won’t regret it.

You can buy The Beginning boxset here

If you’re unsure of where to start, or want some recommendations from the many classic series, you can watch Kez’s Classic Who Guide on the first two Doctors
(more coming soon!)

Kezia’s Classic Who Guide: The First Doctor
Kezia’s Classic Who Guide: The Second Doctor

Rewatch

If you’ve already seen the Classic series, why not give it a re-watch? How about starting post-2005 with Rose and re-living your favourite adventures? We love a good re-watch – discovering episodes in a new way or seeing things we didn’t notice before. Grab a friend and watch with them or blog it as you go along, the fun is endless!

Big Finish

If you can’t get enough of your favourite Doctors and companions, Big Finish is the one for you. Featuring brand new stories for every Doctor, there’s enough to fill the next 3 Doctor Who Hiatuses! And as they are audio adventures, you can listen to them any time and anywhere! Here are some of our favourite recent Big Finish Releases to get you started:

The Tenth Doctor Adventures

Classic Doctor’s New Monsters

The Time War

The First Doctor Adventures

Doctor Who Magazine

Doctor Who Magazine is available every month to satisfy all your Who needs. This is one of our favourite ways of finding out the latest news about the show. With fantastic interviews, comic strips, episode previews and features, it’s a must for every Doctor Who fan! Find the latest issue and the Doctor Who Magazine Year Book in bookshops and supermarkets now.

You can also read our interview with Editorial Assistant Emily Cook here!

The Fan Show

Now, if only there was a show for Doctor Who fans to discover more behind the scenes content, features and to celebrate the fandom… oh wait, there is! Recent episodes include a massive in-depth interview with ex-showrunner Steven Moffat who answers never before asked questions and gives the low down on his time as show runner. Check out every episode of Doctor Who: The Fan Show here.

Cosplay

There’s nothing better than dressing up, right? Try your hand at becoming your favourite characters with clothes, makeup and props! We’re loving everyone’s 13th Doctor outfits and with conventions happening throughout the year, it’s the perfect excuse to get yourself cosplay ready. Check out some of our cosplay posts:

Rose Tyler Tutorial

Bill Potts Look Book

Books

We love a good Doctor Who book, and boy are there some brilliant ones out in 2018! Kicking off the year is the brilliant Krikkit Men, a lost Douglas Adams adventure lovingly written by James Goss. There’s also a regenerated version of Who-Ology, covering every side of Doctor Who from 1963-2017. As well as these, there are some beautiful books celebrating our favourite women of Doctor Who with The Missy Chronicles and The Day She Saved The Doctor. We absolutely adore these stories, and will be talking about them in more-depth this year. They’re a must for every Time lady!

Us

Now, we can’t give you ways of filling the Doctor Who hiatus without mentioning ourselves, could we? With over 50 posts to read and daily updates on our Twitter account, we’re a must follow in the run up to the first series featuring a female doctor!

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Doctor Who Party

Throw a viewing party for your favourite episodes or Doctor’s and invite all your friends for a perfect night during the hiatus. Dress up, create decorations, bake cakes and celebrate Doctor Who! Check out our guide on how to create Dalek cakes here.

Visit Locations

Visit the locations where your favourite episodes were filmed and re-live the best on-screen moments! London and Cardiff have some brilliant iconic locations which are easy to get to, so why not make a day of it and get some exciting photos?

Check out our London Location Guide.

Who Merchandise

Kit yourself out with all the latest Doctor Who merchandise, from DVD’s to props, costumes and toys, if you want it, chances are it probably exists. Here are some of our favourite products out at the moment:

Her Universe TARDIS blouse

Dr Men Figures

Twice Upon A Time DVD

Time Ladies T-Shirt

Her Universe T-shirt

Blogs, YouTube And Podcasts

There’s no one more creative than a Doctor Who Fan, and we LOVE following Who blogs, YouTube channels and on social media. Here are some of our faves for you to follow and get great content from:

Epic Who

Whovian Feminism

Lippmannette

FiveWhoFans

DWPoop

ChiqueGeeks

Listening to other fans give their run down on Who is a great way to keep the excitement alive for the show, there’s always a conversation to be had. Get these podcasts in your ears to fill the days until the TARDIS lands back on our screens:

Galactic Yo-Yo

Verity Podcast

Creating Your Own

Fan art, stories, videos and more, they’re all out there. Why not have a go creating your own Doctor Who adventure?

Here are some of our fav pieces of fan art at the moment! Thanks to Aaron Lowe (@Aaroonio), Sophie Cowdrey (@sophiecowdrey), Sophie Iles (@stuffsophdoes) , Valentina (@MarshCaps) and @heloiseCapaldwi for contributing!

And there we have it, plenty to be getting on with until the 13th Doctor lands on our screens. How are you spending the hiatus? Tweet us at @thetimeladies_ and let us know!

All I want for Christmas is Who! (Gift guide)

Stuck for gift inspiration? Do you have a Whovian relative or friend and you can’t think WHAT to buy them? Or better still, are you a Doctor Who fan with a Christmas list to write?

Search no more! We’ve compiled a gift guide covering all bases… and you’re all on the nice list this year.

Books

Doctor Who Annual 2018

Christmas isn’t complete without curling up on the sofa with a cuppa and the Doctor Who annual, right? Packed full of games, stories, facts and more, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was bigger on the inside. There’s something inside for everyone and is just the gift to prepare you for the event of the day: The Doctor Who Christmas special!

Dr. Tenth’s Christmas Surprise

This adorable book is great for any Who fan and will warm your insides more than a mug of hot chocolate. Go on an adventure with the Tenth Doctor as he tries to give Donna the perfect Christmas surprise, bumping into some snowy trouble along the way…

From the brilliant Dr Men range, this is the first of the selection to feature the Tenth Doctor and comes with a special hardback cover. Treat yourself or your friends to this perfect stocking filler!

Drama and Delight: The Life and Legacy of Verity Lambert

Want to know more about the life of our hero Verity Lambert? This biography is perfect for the Time Lady in your life, be it they want to work in television or they crave some feminist inspiration – Verity’s got it in shell loads.

Book of Whoniversal Records

Always wanted to know the most goals scored in Doctor Who? How about the most dangerous weapon in the universe? The book of Whoniversal records includes the highs and lows of Doctor Who history, all in one handy book. Ponder over facts and figures this festive period and learn things even WE didn’t know about our favourite show!

Listen and Watch

Series Ten Boxset

As well as the annual, Christmas isn’t complete without receiving a Doctor Who Boxset, right? Re-live this year’s astounding series and prepare yourself for the 12th Doctor’s last story on DVD or Blu-Ray. You can even choose a beautiful steelbook version, just to make your shelves look pretty! We can’t wait to join The Doctor, Bill and Nardole on their epic adventure all over again…

The Christmas Specials

Tis’ the festive season after all! Once you’ve finished sobbing over our beloved Twelfth Doctor departing, you’ll want to watch a more jolly episode of Who whilst eating your yule log. Our shout is popping on Voyage of The Damned and munching your way through a cheese board.

Shada

It’s finally finished! After 37 years with books, audio and Tom Baker narrating the gaps in the story, we get to see a finished product… and from the trailer, it looks fab. Purchase it purely for the cycle chase through Cambridge, watch out for the flying orb and keep your eyes peeled for a special surprise at the end! Available on blu-ray, DVD and another pretty steelbook (we’re a sucker for em’).

Big Finish

There’s nothing more exciting than a new Doctor Who adventure to enjoy – and Big Finish has HUNDREDS. From the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler’s return to the story of the Time War, don’t let the adventure end just because Who is off air. Get this in your ear holes and experience a new version of our beloved show!

Clothing

Socks

Being given socks at Christmas is a tradition but they needn’t be a boring gift – give passers-by a flash of TARDIS ankle in these beauties.

Cat Badge

Change my dear, and it seems not a purr too soon… okay so we couldn’t find a way to get a cat pun in a Colin Baker quote but these badges are adorbs.

Christmas Sweatshirt

There’s no such thing as an ugly Christmas jumper – we LOVE a festive knit, but this is as cool as can be. Wear it all the way through to new year and if someone says it’s not Christmas anymore, say “wibbly wobbly, timey wimey” and stroke your nose knowingly.

Fourth Doctor Scarf

The ultimate accessory… those iconic stripes though. This scarf is the shorter version if you want to style it for the everyday or you can purchase the full length, go all out for your devotion to the fourth Doctor like our girl Osgood and rock the loopy look.

13th Doctor Tee

Get 13th Doctor ready with a t-shirt inspired by her costume! We’ve squeed and purchased already – swan into work or college knowing you’ve got a bit of the Doctor on you.

Gifting

Adipose Stocking

What better way to start Christmas than to open your presents from a blob of fat? Really though, how adorbs is this stocking.

Tea Pot

Does your tea go ‘vworp vworp’ when you pour it? Thought not! (Note: neither does this one until you make the noises yourself, but it does look more effective).

Smartphone-operated K9

Do you want a little K9 pottering about your house being generally adorable? Affirmative! Mini K9 is operated by your phone via an app: you can control his movement and he can ‘bark’ various phrases. Good dog.

Doctor Who Trivial Pursuit

Got your friends round and a few wines down are having a heated discussion about Clara Oswald? Just us? What better way to lighten the mood than some healthy competition! This trivial pursuit covers both old and new Who which is fab for all fans – just don’t get dragged into a game with a mansplainer and all will be well.

Calendar and Diary

If you don’t have a TARDIS to get you to every appointment on time, it can be pretty hard to remember everything you have to get done. Organise yourself in style with the official Doctor Who calendar and diary! With several designs to choose from, you can pick one to suit you and all your organisational needs.

That’s it for our gift guide!

Be sure to tweet us with all your amazing Doctor Who presents on Christmas Day, we love sharing in the joy.

Wholloween: Trick or Treat with Tales Of Terror

What are your plans for Halloween? Are you dressing up in our Rose Tyler cosplay and heading out? Or getting some friends round to watch some of the scariest Who stories? We think there’s nothing better than spooking yourself silly with a good book, by yourself or with friends! So when we were sent Doctor Who: Tales of Terror we set up our own mini Wholloween party.

With twelve short stories – one for each Doctor, you have a whole host of chilling tales to choose from. So light those candles, turn off the lights and get stuck in. When reading aloud with your friends (or cats) at your Wholloween party, impressions of each Doctor are absolutely essential. Kinda.

We don’t want to ruin the monster surprises but expect some your favourites: Carrionites, Daleks and… no we’ll stop, shhh. Reading these monsters written into new worlds, being discovered by Doctors they haven’t met or meeting one-story only companions is so thrilling. There’s something about reading Doctor Who fiction that’s pretty magical – you can see the episode it would be in your head, know exactly what shots would look like and feel the pacing of the episode. Your imagination is the director and it can take the words on paper to whole spin-off series!

We particularly loved re-visiting The Family of Blood with the tenth Doctor, and the illustration wins the prize for both the most stunning and unnerving.

‘How could anything live in a mirror?’ 

The illustrator of these wonderful stories is Rohan D Eason. To me, his drawing feels very reminiscent of dark fairy tale illustrations – ever read a Brothers Grimm fairy tale and the imagery was stuck in your mind for years after? I’m still terrified of Baba Yaga and her house with chicken’s legs (Russian fairy tales are next level).

Read Rohan’s interview with Doctor Who Comic Art here to learn more about his work as an illustrator, his process and what inspires him!

If the scary stories are the trick… we need the treat!

I made some Dalek-esque cakes to incentifise those friends dreading your David Tennant impression… ahem.

Here’s what you’ll need (for around 12 cakes)

150g Marg/slightly salted butter
150g caster sugar
125g self-raising flour
3 eggs
50g ground almonds
2 tsp almond essence
cake cases (silver if you can find them unlike me!) and case cases tray

150g marg/slightly salted butter (softened)
250g icing sugar
black food colouring
blue chocolate beanZ (I found mine in Sainsburys’ baking section)
black/near enough gummy sweets (I used jelly tots as a vegetarian)
candy sticks
silver balls
silver spray (optional! But also in baking section)

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180c/350f/gas mark 4 and place cake cases into tray.

2. Beat together the butter and sugar till light and fluffy, then add in the eggs and flour gradually whilst mixing. Add the ground almonds and almond essence and mix till light and creamy looking (it should smell v. almond-y and yum).

3. Divide the mixture between the cake cases, filling around 2/3rds of each case. Put them in the oven for 16 mins (although they might need up to 20). The cakes should be firm but bouncy to the touch and golden brown. When they’re done pop them on a cooling rack for a while till cooled (duh.)

4. Mix together the butter and icing sugar to create a buttercream, then add the black food colouring till your desired Dalek grey! Then spread onto cakes.

5. Squash your gummy sweet onto a candy stick and place the stick in the cake. Then cover half the cake with the blue chocolate sweets in a a Dalek pattern. Place silver balls on top and spray the other half of the cake with the edible silver spray.

6. Exterminate by eating.

This was an altered recipe from the official Doctor Who Cook Book since I couldn’t find half the ingredients/mini cup cases, boo.

Get your own copy of Doctor Who: Tales of Terror here and let us know what you’re doing for Wholloween – we’d love to see any Rose Tyler cosplays or Dalek-inspired cakes!

– Kez