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What you may have missed in the world of Doctor Who. 2018-10-08T14:54:29+01:00 2018-10-08T14:54:29+01:00

The highlights of all things Doctor Who happening this week. 2018-09-28T13:57:01+01:00 2018-09-28T13:57:01+01:00

Bigger and bolder than ever, this series marks the arrival of Jodie Whittaker, the Thirteenth Doctor - a super-smart force of nature, alongside a team of new and delightful characters. This series is full of action and adventure, humour and thrills - an unmissable drama everyone will enjoy. 2018-09-18T09:38:24+01:00 2018-09-18T09:38:24+01:00

Doctor Who to land on Sunday 7th October 2018. 2018-09-05T10:36:29+01:00 2018-09-05T10:36:29+01:00

Production designer Michael Pickwoad has died at the age of 73. One of Doctor Who’s main contributors, he was the man behind the shows new look over the last 7 years. 2018-08-28T10:04:07+01:00 2018-08-28T10:04:07+01:00

Showrunner Chris Chibnall introduces the team behind the new series launching this autumn on BBC One. 2018-08-20T12:52:44+01:00 2018-08-20T12:52:44+01:00

CBBC Summer Social have announced Doctor Who Executive Producer Chris Chibnall as part of their jam-packed line-up. 2018-08-02T12:47:28+01:00 2018-08-02T12:47:28+01:00

Watch the first teaser footage for the brand new series of Doctor Who, featuring Jodie Whittaker, Bradley Walsh, Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole. 2018-07-19T20:45:00+01:00 2018-07-19T20:45:00+01:00

New Doctor Who, New friends, New Adventures. Doctor Who Series 11 is coming soon! 2018-07-15T16:44:45+01:00 2018-07-15T16:44:45+01:00

The World Cup may not be coming home but the TARDIS is on its way. Tune into the World Cup Final this Sunday on BBC One or come back here for the exclusive first look of new Doctor Who and friends. 2018-07-13T13:31:31+01:00 2018-07-13T13:31:31+01:00

Launching this autumn on BBC One, the highly anticipated new series of Doctor Who will be scored by burgeoning composer Segun Akinola. 2018-06-26T22:00:00+01:00 2018-06-26T22:00:00+01:00

Doctor Who fans excited for the highly-anticipated new series this autumn are in for a treat this summer, as every episode since the 2005 revival will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer from Monday 4th June. 2018-06-04T12:00:00+01:00 2018-06-04T12:00:00+01:00

A new logo for the new Doctor... 2018-02-20T20:15:46+00:00 2018-02-20T20:15:46+00:00

There’s something special about adventures that feature the Doctor regenerating. The stories are often emotional rollercoasters, even bigger and more dramatic than other episodes… And as we prepare for the Twelfth Doctor’s regeneration on Christmas Day, a whole bunch of them are now available to... 2017-12-16T13:15:00+00:00 2017-12-16T13:15:00+00:00

Having trouble keeping up with the latest trailers, clips, pics and need-to-know facts about this year’s Christmas Special? Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place! So, with fair warning of spoilers ahead, here’s a round-up of what’s what and who’s Who… 2017-12-15T12:37:31+00:00 2017-12-15T12:37:31+00:00

I recently took my backer draft copy of the DCC Lankhmar set out for a few adventures. It's been fun - I find DCC to be a pretty good system for the setting.

This got me thinking of my own history with Lankhmar - an experience which, judging by articles and interviews, is similar to DCC Lankhmar author Michael Curtis'. I first encountered Nehwon, the world of Lankhmar, in the pages of AD&D's 1st edition Deities and Demigods. It gave stats for Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, the gods of Nehwon, various creatures, and gave an extremely high level overview of some of the organizations to be found there. It also mentioned the books these stories could be found in. Books I could not find.

A few years later TSR came out with a Lankhmar: City of Adventure supplement for AD&D. I loved it - a guide to Lankhmar and Nehwon. Lots of new rules for PCs. Looking back it did have the oddity of re-skinning white magic to be clerical magic and black magic to be standard magic-user magic. It greatly hobbled such characters with much longer casting times. But I really liked the idea of a low-magic setting for adventurers. Unfortunately I still couldn't find the darn books.

In the 1990s White Wolf began publishing hardcover editions of the Lankhmar novels. I was finally able to read the books. I did indeed enjoy them for the most part - they were uneven, with some fantastic stories and some that were... ok. Overall I really enjoyed them. I was pretty spoiled from having read the TSR sourcebooks but I still enjoyed the reading. I was a bit surprised by some heavy doses of BDSM in some of the stories. I think, overall, I enjoyed the fun the two had in their adventures - and misadventures. They messed up a lot - they lost their trueloves while they were making a drunken raid on the Thieves' Guild. There was an undercurrent of the protagonists doing what they wanted to be doing, something I didn't always find in swords and sorcery fiction.

Lankhmar has a bit of a mixed record in RPGs. I liked the AD&D Lankhmar, especially for non-magic characters. When Mongoose Publishing had the RuneQuest license they published some Lankhmar material. I think RuneQuest is a great fit for Lankhmar but I found the Mongoose lacking in quality. Pinnacle has done a series of Lankhmar books for Savage Worlds - I'm not intimately familiar with them but they seem to be of good quality.

Overall, I probably consider DCC and RuneQuest the best possible matches for Lankhmar. DCC is awfully close to what I'd consider the perfect system for Lankhmar out of the box - it doesn't require extensive modification. It does include rules for luckier and more bad-ass characters, dispensing with the zero-level funnel. It also makes it easier for characters to heal without the benefit of clerics. Adventures are designed for parties of varying sizes, including very small parties of two or three characters, very much in keeping with the setting.

There's a few things that I've found a bit rough with DCC Lankhmar. It's been a lot harder on PCs than I'd've expected. There's been no fatalities yet but some pretty major/permanent style injuries. The rules do have some options for a bit less deadly game. I'd glossed over them, deciding to try the rules as written, but I think should we do some more adventures I might try them out.

As a huge fan of Nick Spencers series the Superior Foes of Spider-Man I was understandably excited when it was announced that he would be taking over The Amazing Spider-Man after Dan Slott’s historic run with the character. I was also a bit apprehensive as his previous take on the spider universe was so damn awesome and I did not want to be let down due to overextended expectations. Well, I am pleased to say that after seven issues of the run I can honestly say that he has met and maybe even exceeded my expectations.

Peter and Mary Jane are getting serious again. Peter has a new roommate who also happens to be a super-villain. The Kingpin continues to be Donald Trump-like as the mayor of New York City. This seventh issue sees Peter and Boomerang trapped in the Bar With No Name surrounded by some of Spider-Man’s greatest C-level enemies as trivia night has been interrupted by an offer from the Kingpin to take them out so large that the villains (gasp) break the rules of the bar.

Nick has a great grasp on the characters and the dialog is spot on, funny without being strained. Some writer’s try too hard to make Peter’s words come across as humorous but often it just feels forced. Not so with Nick who gives everyone a natural speaking voice and the series is so much better off for it. I am enjoying The Amazing Spider-Man more than I have in years and am looking forward to seeing where the story goes from here.

The artwork from the team of Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba and Edgar Delgado is also great with relaxed looking characters that seem to flow with the action. Sure there are some slight hiccups (see Peter’s left hand when Boomerang leaps in front of him on page seven for example) but everyone looks natural and not stiffly posed as is often the case these days.

With the Venom movie breaking records, the Spider-Man movies tied in with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and an animated movie coming soon this may be one of the best periods to be a Spider-Man fan since the release of the original Sam Raimi film. It almost feels like a golden age with an embarrassment of riches and I, for one, hope it continues for quite a long time.

The Amazing Spider-Man #7 (Legacy #808)
Marvel Comics – $3.99

Cryptozoic Entertainment's second DC Deck-Building Game Organized Play Kit for 2018, featuring the Gypsy Promo Card, will be hitting stores at the end of October, along with the upcoming DC Deck-Building Game: Rivals — Green Lantern vs. Sinestro! Fans can reach out to their local retailer to pre-order the OP Kit from their games distributor now!

 

(OCTOBER 11, 2018 – New York, NY) – Eaglemoss Hero Collector, designers, manufacturers and publishers of high-quality collectibles from across the many worlds of pop culture, including DC COMICS, STAR TREK, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and BACK TO THE FUTURE, is proud to add two new popular universes to their roster – each revealed to the public this past weekend at New York Comic Con.

Shown for the very first time at NYCC was the WWE CHAMPIONSHIP COLLECTION, a comprehensive magazine and statue collection showcasing the greatest superstars in the history of the WWE. Featuring Champions from every era, including Superstars The Rock, John Cena, The Undertaker, AJ Styles, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Triple H, Finn Bálor and many more, each expertly sculpted polyresin statue presents the superstar in a fixed pose on a base and has been produced at 1:16 scale (approximately 4-1/2 to 5 inches tall). The accompanying magazine features a history of the superstar and chronicles their championship reign, greatest matches and top rivalries. This new collection will be available beginning in early 2019 via subscription, through select specialty retailers and online in the Eaglemoss Shop.

Also joining the Hero Collector lineup is the WIZARDING WORLD FIGURINE COLLECTION, launching in Novmeber 2018. Bringing together characters from the entire Wizarding World, including the HARRY POTTER™ and FANTASTIC BEASTS™ film franchises, this officially authorized collection features the most famous witches, wizards and magical creatures. Every figurine is meticulously sculpted in a classic pose at 1:16 scale and cast in a specially formulated resin. Each also comes with a guide to the character, profiling their magical adventures and how they fit into the Wizarding World.

The first episode sucked from the fight choreography to the frightening slow plodding screenwriting. In my head, oh no, they’ve Jessica Jonesed the series and nothing will happen for 8 episodes. Luckily from episode 2-9 it’s pretty engaging.

Ward and his sister’s plotlines seem superfluous. You could remove them and their stuff without impacting the plot although it would then move along quicker which means they’re basically tacked on filler. The acting is good, they’re just unnecessary in this season.

Colleen and Daniel are great together and the actors have chemistry. Misty, not so much. She’s more fish out of water in this season. While she does add a dues ex machina here and there, she mostly exists to slow things down and could also be removed without any real loss to the story.

The rest of the cast are commendable and each have important roles. The villain is fantastic as are all the support roles.

Typhoid Mary is easily the best part of the season and in some way because she was my favourite Daredevil character in the comics. She’s portrayed perfectly by Alice Eve (the hottie from Star Trek: Into Darkness) who is stunning and impactful. She makes this season dramatically better than the first. Her skill at playing this dynamic and difficult character are certainly on full display. No double meaning there as she never strips down like in Star Trek. She is the highlight of this whole series.

The plot is simple enough with no real twists but this time around it’s quite entertaining.

I would say this is the best storyline to come out of Marvel TV so far.

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