Doctor Who 50th anniversary: fan round-up

Read our first fan round-up of Doctor Who 50^th celebrations, here. 

We’re keeping an eye on what fans are doing to celebrate a half century of Doctor Who this year, from publications, to stage shows, exhibitions, quizzes, fan-made trailers and more. Here’s the product of our latest trawl through creative Who fandom…

Fan-made trailer

For anyone who missed this tremendous piece of work released on YouTube by “John Smith” at the end of last month, here’s a fan-made trailer for the fiftieth anniversary episode. Made using material taken from the likes of The End of Time, The Rings of Akhaten, and filming for the fiftieth anniversary episode combined with some SFX jiggery-pokery, we think you’ll agree this more than does the job a teaser trailer should do. It’s even available in 3D if you have the specs to hand.

Thank you, Mr Smith.

Books & Comics (and this time, scripts)

This little gem arrived in our inbox last week. Having read it and greatly enjoyed it, we’re sharing it with you and hoping you do too. It’s a script for a Doctor Who special written by fan Mark Renshaw, for fans. Here’s the blurb:

“A 50th anniversary special episode of Doctor Who starring every incarnation of the Time Lord. An ordinary day finds Mark in a cafe eating breakfast when in walks Matt Smith dressed as the Doctor. Bemused and starstruck, Mark plays along until Matt insists on a tour of his TARDIS to prove he is the real deal. Realisation soon hits home – This is no ordinary day, Mark is in very real danger and the only person who can save him is a fictional mad man in a box.”

Make yourself a cup of tea, source a biscuit or two, and settle in for a fun, free read, here. If you enjoy it, why not let the writer know on Twitter: @markyrenshaw

Here’s another great fan project, and as all of its profits go straight to Children In Need, it’s also one that’s doing good work. The team behind the You and Who fan anthologies has produced two new volumes documenting fans’ experience of fifty years of Doctor Who, with a huge range of contributions from across Who fandom. Visit the website here, and read about the latest publication, You and Who: Contact Has Been Made, below:

“Very few television programmes make it to their fiftieth birthday. But then, Doctor Who is just a little bit special.

From its humble beginnings being recorded in a tiny studio on 405-line black and white video cameras with a minuscule budget, to its latest incarnation on HD as one of the BBC’s flagship dramas, Doctor Who has always moved with the times, and often reflected them. For the last five decades, the series has inspired and engaged audiences in a way that no other television programme has ever managed.

For more than 26 years, the original series delighted children of all ages with its unique blend of sci-fi and horror, excitement and scares, cliffhanger storytelling and, above all, monsters. As the programme grew, so we grew with it, absorbing its pleasures in diverse and changing ways.

You and Who: Contact Has Been Made is a record of how that relationship began, of how we experienced those fifty years, as written by the show’s own fans.”

Events

“Do you have a Doctor Who chess set?  Ever knitted your own Dalek? Have you still got that Cyberman helmet in the attic?” The National Media Museum in Bradford is asking fans to share stories and memorabilia to contribute to its Fifty Years of Doctor Who Fans exhibition, being held between the 12^th of November 2013 and the 2^nd of March 2014. Here’s what the press release tells us:

“The exhibition Fifty Years of Doctor Who Fans (National Media Museum, 12 November 2013 until 2 March 2014) will explore people’s devotion to Doctor Who – what the programme means to the fans, what makes a fan, and how they demonstrate their affection.

To help answer these questions the Museum is appealing to owners of Doctor Who collectibles and souvenirs, and people who have interesting stories relating to the programme, to get in touch by email at drwho@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk

We would like to use examples of Doctor Who memorabilia from the past fifty years – both official merchandise and more personal homemade objects – the kind of things which show a fan’s love for the Doctor.  We want to know why you have this object, when you got it, and your feelings towards Doctor Who then and now. We would really appreciate as many fans as possible getting in touch to help shape this exhibition, which will be highlighting the people who watch the show.”

Organisers are collecting offers of contributions until the 9th of August, before making a selection for the exhibition.

Read more about the exhibition, here. 

This looks like fun; a Doctor Who-themed musical is playing at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, entitled, “I Need a Doctor: the unauthorised Whosical adventure”. Here’s the official run-down:

“Jamie and Jess love the Doctor so much they wrote a whole musical about his adventures. Together they will combat monsters and save the world. All they have to do is dodge BBC copyright and perform 50 years’ worth of characters between the pair of them. What could go wrong? “I Need A Doctor” is a parody musical with original songs including ‘Phonebox of Love’, ‘Companion’s Lament’, ‘Master Rap’ and ‘I Need A Doctor’.”

The show will premiere at the Pleasance Courtyard for a three week run at the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Further information is available, here.

We’ve bought a ticket, so perhaps we’ll see you there.

Games and quizzes

To round off this bulletin, here’s a fun quiz game created to celebrate the 50th anniversary year, originally for the LA Gallifrey One Convention. It has twelve categories with ten questions each, on topics from the Companions, to the Master, the Daleks, and more. It’s not for profit, just-for-fun, and available to play free, here. 

Do get in touch at geekcontent@gmail.com if you’re planning a fan celebration of your own. Big or small, created using egg-boxes and sticky-back plastic or not, we’d like to hear about it. Until next time.

Please, if you can, support our charity horror stories ebook, Den Of Eek!, raising money for Geeks Vs Cancer. Details here.