With the launch of the Big Finish audio drama The Rapture, Joseph Lidster burst onto the scene.  It was a debut no-one could ignore at the time and many more audios, short stories and novels duly followed.

A decade later he is still going strong with a CV now boasting contributions to official websites, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, the BBC Classic Doctor Who DVD range and Russell T Davies and Phil Ford’s upcoming new series Wizards Vs Aliens.

OMG! Daleks! has been lucky enough to grab a window in Joe’s busy schedule to ask him a few questions about his career, his thoughts, his future… and what, apart from ice cream, makes him go OMG! in relation to Doctor Who.

[photograph (c) Joseph Lidtser 2012]

Joseph Lidster, OMG! Daleks thanks you for taking the time to take part in this interview.

No worries.

Starting at the beginning, when did the writing bug first grab you?

At first, I wanted to be an actor. As a kid, I was in a couple of drama clubs and did well in a couple of national competitions but then, as I got older, I just began to lose confidence in my own abilities really. At around the same time, we did a school production of Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus in which I played Salieri. It was an amazing production – superbly directed with excellent sets and lighting and costumes and so on – but what I really got from it was just how fantastic the script was. I’d always enjoyed writing but I started to realise that I wanted to be able to give other people the chance to perform a part like Salieri. I wanted to make people cry and laugh and for them to be scared and gripped and desperate to know what would happen next and I realised that I’d have the opportunity to do that more as a writer than as an actor.

What was your first commissioned “gig” and how did it feel to know that someone not only valued your work but was actually prepared to pay you for it?

It was The Rapture for Big Finish back in late 2001. I’d always been a fan of Doctor Who and had collected the New Adventures and so on. After university, I wasn’t sure how to get a job doing what I wanted to do but I was aware of Big Finish and I had this idea that I thought would work really well on audio. So I wrote it up and sent it off. I genuinely didn’t expect to hear anything back. I’d spent the last couple of years being rejected for all kinds of media-related jobs and I certainly didn’t think I stood a chance of being employed as a writer. When Gary Russell replied, saying they’d be interested in taking my idea further, I was just overjoyed really. And terrified. It was such a big deal for me as, in some way, it validated everything I’d done up until then. The idea that someone wanted to employ me as a writer (let alone as a writer for Doctor Who) was just mind-blowing.

What has been your favourite writing experience?

They’re all my favourite to begin with. It would be impossible to pick a specific piece of writing, but, yeah, that initial period of time where you suddenly remember again that you can do anything you want – you can create characters, create a world, anything – is the best. After that, that’s when the real hard work begins.

In various ways you’ve worked for the trinity – Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. Did you find yourself consciously adjusting your tone and style between shows or was it “business as usual”?

No, it’s all business as usual really. You deal with a lot more people, and there’s a lot more pressure, when writing for television as opposed to writing for audio but you still just have to sit down and do your best. And while Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures are obviously for different audiences, you’re still trying to tell a good adventure story with strong characters and so on.

For the Big Finish audio Terror Firma you created a whole new TARDIS crew, pairing McGann’s Doctor with unknown companions Gemma and Samson. Did you find this a daunting task or a liberating challenging? Were you given an outline for them or allowed a free reign?

I was asked to include a previous companion called Sam which, in a story with so much else that needed to be included, wasn’t easy! I decided that he needed to be an integral part of the story and not just someone that the Doctor randomly bumped into. It was my idea to give him a sister, Gemma, as I wanted to create a TARDIS crew that was fun and innocent and playful. I was maybe trying to recapture the John and Gillian vibe. To be honest, I’m very lucky that they’re played by two excellent actors as they’re there as plot devices really. I did my best to make them fun and bouncy so that they contrasted nicely with Charley and C’rizz (who both had a lot of baggage) and, obviously, to make what Davros does to them just so much crueller. It was fun coming up with their previous adventures and making it all fit with Storm Warning and I’m really quite chuffed that they haven’t been forgotten.

A lot of actors state that they find it difficult to watch their own performance. Do you, as a writer, find it hard to revisit something after the project is over?

I usually watch them a couple of times as, to be honest, I’m just proud of having written a script that’s been made and it’s exciting to see what the cast and crew have done with it. The day that I don’t feel like that is the day I should stop writing. And, yeah, it is handy to watch them back and look out for things that haven’t worked. After that, though, I tend not to – at least not for a long while. It’s better to be working on new ideas and thinking about the future rather than dwelling on what you’ve done.

While I have always enjoyed your writing, it’s fair to say that people have, at times, had a Marmite reaction to some of your work. Is it hard not to take that personally?

Yeah but, to be fair, it’s my own fault for reading what they have to say. In some ways I was lucky that The Rapture got the response that it did as it threw me in at the deep end and I quickly learnt how to deal with it. And, to be brutally honest, I realised that I didn’t really care about it. I learnt that a lot of fans have preconceptions and that you’re often being judged on aspects of a script or production that have nothing to do with you. It was far more important for me to listen to, say The Rapture, and work out myself where I felt I needed to improve. The only time it can be hard is when it’s personal. I’m just someone doing a job and if you don’t like what I do then fair enough. When people are wishing me physical harm or making snide comments about how I get employed, that’s when it’s difficult. But even then you have to realise that such comments say far more about them than about a script you’ve written. And I have to stress that it’s a sadly-vocal minority who say such things. Most fans, even on forums and messageboards, are lovely and say what they feel about a story – whether they like or not – politely and in a constructive manner.

As a writer and as a fan, why do you think Doctor Who is so popular?

It’s just the greatest idea ever really, isn’t it. You can tell pretty much any story you want. It manages to be both a series of lovely small-scale adventures stories and also something really quite epic. It’s not about a big shiny spaceship or a superhero. It’s a bloke. In a police box that’s bigger on the inside. And it all started in a manky old junkyard. That’s magical, really. It’s unique and wonderful.

What are your plans for the 50th anniversary year?

I suspect I’ll be watching a lot of Doctor Who!

Have you any upcoming projects you can mention or even tease us about?

My story for the first series of Wizards Vs Aliens is now in post-production which is very exciting. There’s a series to watch out for! I’m also writing a film script for Tom Guerrier and continuing to produce Dark Shadows for Big Finish. I’ve written a script for Scott Handcock’s forthcoming Dorian Gray audio series. And I’ve a few other telly and film things which I can’t talk about at the moment – if people are interested then I’m on Twitter (@joelidster) and I usually announce things there. It’s been an incredibly busy year which is nice.

Are you still buying me that pint the next time I’m in London?

Ha!

Finally, OMG! Daleks would like to know what was your most memorable OMG moment from watching Doctor Who? Ever!

There are two really. The most shocking moment was when Judson stood up in The Curse of Fenric and said “We play the game again, Time Lord” which was just mind-blowing and terrifying and so brilliantly done. But the moment that I love the most is when, in Terror of the Vervoids, the Doctor stops the action and asks if anyone in the Trial room had spotted the reason why one of the Mogarians had died. I remember watching it with my brother and sister and we had absolutely no idea. My mum though, standing there doing the ironing, had noticed what the Doctor had noticed and told us how one of them hadn’t pressed his communicator thing. And to me that sums up Doctor Who – it’s an adventure series that a family can watch and enjoy together.

OMG! Daleks can only concur with that sentiment and wish Joe all the very best for his personal and professional future.

Keep writing, Joe!

Matt Smith says he has no plans to play The Doctor for as long as Tom Baker – who starred as the titular Timelord for 7 years. 

The longevity of Baker’s tenure meant the actor would never find himself free from the role in the public consciousness.

Speaking to American magazine Entertainment Weekly, Smith was sked if he knew when he would be stepping aside from the iconic role. He replied:

Not really, no. We’ve got too much to plan in the meantime. We’ve got the 50th anniversary stuff next year. I take it year by year. Because it’s such a commitment on your life.

I don’t think you could do it for 7 years, like Tom Baker did. It would age you too savagely.

The great thing about the Doctor is that there’s no stop sign. He can keep going and keep evolving and he can surprise you and the moment he stops surprising you is probably the moment that you should hand it over. But he still surprises me, so I’m still hanging in there.

Could this point to an epic 50th anniversary departure?

Styled after the Cybermen model features in 5th Doctor story Earthshock, this 80s Cyberman is stupendously detailed.

He comes complete with helmet, costume, boots, gloves, chest unit and light-up Cybergun.

Cybergun. A real life-sized cybergun. 

This Cyberman outfit (for yes, it can also be worn!) was produced as part of a range of Who-related props and items in the 1990′s by now-defunct comany Sevans.

Sevans produced replica props of ‘excellent quality’ which the seller of this item claims ‘were far better than the screen used props.’

I can’t help but drool over this – it would make the ultimate show piece for Who fan to have.

But, with a starting price of £2000 I’d need to rob a few dalek money boxes first…

If you want it you’ll find the all the listing details (and more drool-worthy photos) over on eBay.co.uk

Prepare to get excited: a new trailer promoting series 7 of Doctor Who has gone online.

The frenetic 90-second long spot boasts plenty of previously unseen footage – including those mammoth ‘Dinosaurs on a Spaceship’ - from the five episodes that make up the first half of Series 7.

Daleks; angry robots; Queen Nefertiti; Rory’s Dad; shouty cyborg; and so very much more…

If you’re trying to avoid spoilers you will most certainly want to avoid this trailer…

Could the 9th Doctor return for a multi-doctor special during the 50th Anniversary? Quite possibly.

Christopher Eccleston, who played the 9th Doctor for 13 episodes of its first ‘revived’ series has spoken of ‘more to do’ with his incarnation of the famous Time Lord.

Eccleston, who is notoriously cagey when asked about his time on Doctor Who, was speaking at a Q&A session at the National Theatre earlier this week where is starring as Creon in the play Antigone.

When asked by an attendee whether he felt he had taken the character of The Doctor as far as he could Eccleston is reported as having said, somewhat surprisingly, ‘no.’

A Doctor Who fan who was present wrote about the event:

[He] felt that one series isn’t enough to get under the skin of the character and that if he’d had two or three series he’d have developed the role considerably.

He said that if you looked at the other Doctors (with the exception of Tom Baker) you can see them working out how to play the character through their first series because it’s such a complex and challenging role.

He said several times that there was more for him to do with the character…. 

With the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who airing next year (with a slew of specials in place of a regular series) I can’t help but hope (in vain, most likely) that the 9th Doctor is somehow featured.

The 90-second spot, which is expected to cover all of the episodes making up the first half of series 7, will appear on the official Doctor Who website at 6am (BST).

“You’ll be able to watch [the trailer] as often as you like, pause it on those moments that require a little extra attention and you don’t need to worry about missing it as it will remain online up to and beyond Asylum of the Daleks.” ~ BBC Press Release

Television viewers will be treated to the teaser the very same day at around 8pm on BBC One.

Excited?

To fantasy and sci-fi fans he’s better known as Argus Filch from Harry Potter series, or as Walder Frey from HBO’s epic Game of Thrones.

But from this autumn actor David Bradley will be known to millions of Doctor Who fans as a villainous ship captain ‘Solomon’ in series 7 episode ’Dinosaurs on a Spaceship’.

‘Rusty Robots’

So what do we know about his character? Thus far not a lot.

But in interview with Warwick University students, Bradley has revealed some further information on the character he plays.

Spoilerphobes should hit the back button now – no, really, do it now – but for anyone curious this is what he had to say:

‘Solomon’ is actually a space pirate who is modeled on a well-known nightclub owner with long hair and he has lots of scars.

He wears head to foot in black leather. He’s an old space pirate who runs a space ship the size of Canada. He has two giant robots who are a bit rusty, and he got them both two-for-one at some robot convention.”

Extras to appear on the forthcoming DVD release of Terror of the Zygons have been cleared the BBFC (British Board for Film Classification).

No release date has been given for 1970′s serial, which sees the 4th Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith encounter the Loch Ness monster, and it should be noted that extras often clear well in advance of final release.

The extras cleared thus include a 30 mins long ‘making of’ featurette titled ‘Scotch Mist in Sussex’; the third and final part of the UNIT Family documentary; and a tribute to director Douglas Camfield.

In full:

• The UNIT Family – Part Three (26mins)
• ‘Merry-go-round – The Fuel Fishers’ (19mins)
• Photo Gallery (5.06mins)
• ‘Scotch Mist in Sussex’ – Remembering Terror of the Zygons (32mins)
• Doctor Who Stories: Tom Baker (22 mins)
• Doctor Who Stories: Elisabeth Sladen (20mins)
• Remembering Douglas Camfield (30mins)
• “Easter Egg” (1.47mins)

‘Directors Cut’

Alongside the above ‘special features’ is also listed a ‘directors cut’ of episode 1, running almost 2 minutes longer than the broadcast episode.

Mary Tamm, known to Doctor Who fans for her role as Romana I alongside the 4th Doctor, has passed away at the age of 62.

Tamm had been battling cancer for the last 18 months. She died in hospital in London earlier this morning.

Her agent Barry Langford is reported as telling The Daily Mirror: ’She had a great zest for life. She was a fantastic actress – she played stage parts of such range, parts that would take your breath away.”

‘She could play any role, and do so wonderfully.’

Actress

A RADA trained actress, Tamm starred in many British shows outside of Doctor Who, including Eastenders, Jonathan Creek and, more recently, Wire In The Blood. 

But for many she will be remembered for her legacy as Romana I.

Tamm played the first incarnation of Romana (‘Romanadvoratrelundar’ to give the character her full name) in Season 16 – collectively as ‘The Key to Time‘.

Notching up an impressive run of 26 episodes, Tamm’s portrayal of Romana was weighty, considered and every-bit the intellectual equal of the Doctor.

Amongst them are ‘The Science of Doctor Who’, ‘The Women of Doctor Who’, and ‘The Destinations of Doctor Who’.

It’s unlikely that any of these documentaries will include the classic series in their scope.

US air-dates, choice quotes, and some overly 10th Doctor focused pictures, can be seen below.

The Science of Doctor Who:

The Women of Doctor Who:

The Timey-Wimey of Doctor Who:

The Destinations of Doctor Who: