The Wall of Lies

Number 153 Newsletter established 1991, club formed June first 1980 The newsletter of the South Australian Fan Club Inc., also known as SFSA

Final STATE Adelaide, March--April 2015 WEATHER: Damp, warm, occasional meteorite Free LEGO Doctor has the eyebrows! by staff writers

Doctor Who to materialise in LEGO “before end of year”.

From the LEGO universe comes the LEGO in his LEGO Tardis! Who concept from fan Andrew Clark received the 10,000 votes requisite for The LEGO Group to consider it for production. BBC Worldwide enthusiastically supported the idea and anticipate the entire range to be unveiled later this year. Doctor Who ©2015 BBC. LEGO, the LEGO logo and the Minifigure Marcus Arthur, President of BBC Worldwide UK O are trademarks of the LEGO Group. ©2015 and ANZ said, “I can’t wait to see what LEGO u N t The LEGO Group. No produce.” Emma Owen, UK spokesperson for ow LEGO agreed: “Watch this space for the final ! details!”. BBC press release on the SFSA site.

The K-9 book is essential by staff writers Does K-9 want his book? “Affirmative!”

The producers of K-9 are writing a book with all the art, comic strips, 50th Programme cutaways, behind the scene images and details available. It is called The Essential Book of K-9. They have decided to self publish, and turned to the power of crowd funding to make this happen. The cam- paign is run through site indiegogo.com, with the goal of £5,000. The O u N t campaign is due to run to 23 March. No ow ! Rewards for pre-investing are as follow; £1 gets you a screensaver, Thumbnail cover of The £5 a postcard and screensaver, £25 includes the book, overseas Essential Book of K-9 (to postage plus postcard and screensaver, £50 an autographed book, be confirmed). plus postacard, screensaver and a K-9 badge, and £100 includes being written into a text story in the book (this has sold out at time of printing).

Paul Tams, producer of the series said “This volume will be a tribute to everyone who has worked with all the K-9's since 1977 and there will be two very special reveals in the book regarding his future!” The show returns to production in Australia this year. SFSA magazine # 31 q Continued Page 2

Desert Island Season 23, page 4. Doctor, page 2. The K-9 book is essential

q from Page 1

ABC begins its tenth year of repeats of the new series. Series one to eight and specials are scheduled on ABC2, 19.30 Monday to Friday. The associated Doctor Who Confidentials are available on ABC iView after the episode is broadcast. ABC Managing Director Mark Scott con- firmed there was no pre-publicity from the BBC, and a spokesperson said they would “make a decision about scheduling (when) we have news on a new series.” The BBC has thanked this club for our participatipon the the touring Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular, saying “We were pleased that the (show) delighted so many fans across Australia and we look for- ward to welcoming the Doctor back to our screens later in the year for The Ceres bright spot (centre), 19 February 2015. series nine.” The BBC premiere is set for “Autumn 2015”. The first two Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA. episodes are titled The Magician's Apprentice and The Witch's Familiar, and written by Steven Moffat. Sky Watch UKTV conitnues the new series from 6.20 Sundays, Syfy has the new series and Torchwood daily and the classic series on Sundays. Ceres and Vesta revealed

Preservation Issues TWO STAPLES IN science fiction have been resolved as real worlds complete with geography, surface dust William Hartnell radio show recovered and even geysers. NASA’s Dawn probe sent back by staff writers remarkable images from asteroid Ceres on 19 Contacts ON 29 JANUARY 2015, the BBC February 2015, since then going into orbit where it announced recovery of part of an may remain forever. Martin Dunne (Editor): edition of Desert Island Discs with Dawn was launched by NASA in September 2007, [email protected] William Hartnell. Since 1942 the to investigate the two largest bodies in the asteroid radio show has asked guests what belt. It uses an ion drive which gives a low thrust for records and luxuries they would like Postal address: slow continual acceleration. This was demonstrated to take if they were castaway on a on NASA’s Deep Space 1 probe, which flew by two PO Box 870 desert island. asteroids and was shut down in 2001. North Adelaide Doctor Who star Hartnell Dawn orbited Vesta on 16 July, 2011, finding an SA 5006 Australia appeared on an episode broadcast oblate spheroid with low density, craters and peaks. on 23 August 1965, choosing luxury It is composed of iron-nickle, has a ten kilometre “cigarettes!” and book GM Email list subscription: crust and surface regolith (dust). Scientists believe it Trevelyan’s English Social History. to be the the earliest protoplanet examined and may [email protected] His favourite track was The Spring be the source of many smaller asteroids. The probe Song from A King in New York by entered Ceres orbit on 6 March, 2015. This is a rocky Twitter: Charlie Chaplin. Hartnell was a life fully rounded body and thus fits the definition of a long fan, it is noted in his grand SA Dr Who Fan Club dwarf planet. Ice and a bright spot had previously @SADWFCinc daughter Jessica Carney’s biogra- phy that he would like nothing bet- been detected, now resolved as a crater basin. The Wall of Lies ter than to skip school and watch Ceres was discovered on 1 January 1801 by @WallofLies Chaplin films. Giuseppe Piazzi, acting independently of a group The BBC describe the episode as seeking a planet between Mars and Jupiter. An The Hourly Telepress having been returned by the - observation on planetary orbit placement called @HourlyTelepress er who recorded it. A spokesperson Bode’s Law (1772) predicted a large body there. This told The Wall of Lies while they no is now regarded as defunct as it does not hold true to Facebook groups: longer have all of the recordings, a the outer planets and large Kuiper Belt objects, how- ever the Nice Model (2005) suggests orbital reso- South Australian Doctor Who list of guest choices is available on nance may have been a significant factor in the Fan Club Inc. and SFSA. their site alongside the recovered 16.06 fragment. development of the outer solar system.

This is a publication of SFSA: the South Australian Doctor Who Fan Club Inc., a non profit organisation. No attempt has been made to supersede the copyright of any holders of trademark or copyrighted 21/3, 18/4, 16/5, 20/6 images, text, or information. $5.00 $4.00 Whilst every care has been taken to ensure that the contents of the newsletter is accurate at the time of printing, SFSA cannot accept any liability for inaccura- cies that may appear. Meeting details are subject to change at short notice.

2 www.sfsa.org.au March-April 2015 Printed by the Federal Printing House March 7 Pub meeting 17.00 lucky enough to read recent Venue: Buckingham Arms copies of “Times” and “Guardian” newspapers at the Adelaide University library, we Transmission schedule March 21 General meeting 15.00 Venue: Adelaide High School can see that this decision was March-April 2015 somehow influenced in a stunt Doctor Who Monday to Friday 19.30 April 4 Pub meeting 17.00 by the BBC to get a £65 mil- ABC2 Venue: Buckingham Arms lion increase in its television licence or something like that - Rose 30/3 April 18 General meeting 15.00 and there has been even The End of the World 31/3 Venue: Adelaide High School pressure put on the BBC by The Unquiet Dead 1/4 Mrs Thatcher for them to have Aliens of London 2/4 May 2 Pub meeting 17.00 commercials to solve its own World War Three 3/4 Venue: Mawson Lakes Hotel money problems. I simply believe those responsible for 6/4 May 16 Pub meeting 17.00 the axing decision should be The Long Game 7/4 Venue: Buckingham Arms EXTERMINATED - slowly, or Father's Day 8/4 defend their case before some The Empty Child 9/4 June 6 Pub meeting 17.00 not very amused and trigger The Doctor Dances 10/4 Venue: Buckingham Arms happy Cybermen! Yours sincerely June 20 Annual general meeting 15.00 Boom Town 13/4 Phillip Thomas Bad Wolf 14/4 Venue: Adelaide High School The Parting of the Ways 15/4 [The cancellation story broke The Christmas Invasion 16/4 Archive in the UK media on 27 New Earth 17/4 February 1985, the BBC Chamelleon Factor 26, responded it had only ever Tooth and Claw 20/4 School Reunion 21/4 APRIL 1985 been an 18 month hiatus.] The Girl in the Fireplace 22/4 Rise of the Cybermen 23/4 COMMENTS FROM THE VOID The Age Of Steel 24/4 To the Chameleon Factor, The Idiot's Lantern 27/4 Like all Doctor Who fans, I was shocked The Impossible Planet 28/4 by the decision of the BBC to Axe “Doctor The Satan Pit 29/4 Who” for the 1986 season, particularly as Love & Monsters 30/4 this may influence the ABC not to consid- Fear Her 1/5 er taking up the option of buying future episodes of the programme, if its future is Check local and daily program listings insecure for a lengthy time. Having been

Club Chameleon Factor 26, April 1985. Membership Annual membership rates are $20. This entitles you to one year’s subscrip- Fandom tion to the club’s publications: bimonthly Australian Natcon 2015 The Wall of Lies and SFSA magazine, and the Doctor Who themed yearbook Chameleon Factor. Also included are SWANCON 40 discounted entry fees to SFSA meet- ings, and discounts at various stores 40 years of Swancon around Adelaide. Guests: John Scalzi, Kylie Chan and Discounts Anthony Peacey Pulp Fiction 10% off comics and graphic novels Pan Pacific Hotel, Perth 2 to 6 April 2015 Events [email protected] In January we enjoyed our picnic! https://2015.swancon.com.au/ In February we played Galaxy Trucker. The Wall of Lies 93, March 2005.

www.sfsa.org.au March-April 2015 3 Subscription due if The Watcher a red dot appears Season 23 in Review in this box By Stephen Lord

Story Ratings Chameleon Factor 68, January 1995. 1 - 4 by Robert Homes *** Perhaps not Robert Holmes’ best ever script for the programme (everyone knows that’s The Two Doctors) but still very enjoyable, if you can ignore Joan Sims hamming it up like mad. Glitz and Dibber are an exam- ple of the typical Holmsian pairing, particularly bearing in mind the exchange about Philanthropists. Balzaar is quite amusing, as is the Inquisitor when she complains about unnecessary violence (one of Michael Grade’s ‘reasons’ for suspending the programme in the first place.) Dratho’s attitude to human kind and the concept that “water is life” are quite intriguing. To coin a phrase to this story “I thought it was very good”, but by far the best thing about Trial so far is the new version of the theme music, Groovy!

5 - 8 by Phillip Martin **** Not being a big fan of Vengence on Varos, I didn’t expect to enjoy this story as much as I did. A relentless morality tale that shows us the possible consequences of genetic engineering taken too far. (a bald Peri is a bigger turn off than Maggie Thatcher in a spa) There is also the added suspense of the Doctor acting as the vil- scenes set in the are some of the best in the lain of the piece. I still detest the Mentors, particular- entire season, where the tension between the two Time ly, with that annoying laugh of his, but Lords almost reaches fever point (and what a relief it is provides some light relief as the very loud King to finally see the without that ridiculous hat Yrcanos. on!) Glitz’ appearance, as always, is good for a few laughs, and it’s wonderful to finally see the Inquisitor 9 - 12 Terror of the Vervoids being nice for a change, though I wouldn’t offer to vote by Pip and Jane Baker for her if she’d roared at me to sit down and shut up! *** Perhaps the best way to describe this story is as a I really can’t recommend this story highly enough, and cross between The Seeds of Doom and an Agatha the only real problem I have with it are the ‘tacked on’ Christie novel. A very classy who-dunnit (Pun intended, appearance of , and the Doctor’s final words. after all, they did accuse the Doctor didn’t they?) and Nothing very memorable about “Carrot Juice, Carrot quite scary in places, especially at the first cliffhanger, Juice, Carrot Juice” is there? where Mel uncovers the half human/half vervoid. In short, very stylish, and it is hard to believe that the team Overall Verdict responsible for it also gave us Mark of . I would have rated this story higher, but Mel was in it and Colin **** wasn’t wearing his usual cravat. A very high quality season, but like Season 18, best judged as a whole rather than four individual segments. 13 - 14 What else is there to say apart from, watch and enjoy by Robert Homes & Pip and Jane Baker it! **** An excellent way to wrap up the season, which painstakingly takes the time to explain being altered, and the matter of who the Valeyard really is). The From Chameleon Factor 68, January 1995 4 www.sfsa.org.au March-April 2015