Saturday Night Showcase> Doctor Who & The First Rani Appearance

I hear that the Rani made her debut in the current series calling itself Doctor Who, but with not much explanation as to who she is. Russell T. Davies seems to be using classic Who to push the idea that his show still fits the rest of the series. It hasn’t done that since Chris Chibnall took over.

So some of you may have made the mistake of watching “The Wish World” and wondering what the deal is with this Rani, who also bigenerated because Russell has a new playtoy he wants to abuse. Well, the Rani is one of the other Renegade Time Lords, or Time Lady in this case, who the Doctor has run into. In addition to his usual nuisance, the self-styled Master, the Doctor’s first opponent, as the first Doctor, was the meddling Monk, then the War Chief in the episode that introduced Gallifrey and the Time Lords while sending away the second Doctor. He’s dealt with a few bad apples among his people, including the embodiment of evil between the 12th and 13th lives of the Doctor going by the Valeyard…though given the fubaring of the number system your guess is as good as mine which Doctors he’s actually between. The Rani is the only one besides the Master to make another appearance, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

“Mark Of The Rani” is a Sixth Doctor adventure, travelling with Peri (short for Perpugilliam–a totally American name honest wouldn’t the Brits know) Brown. Drawn to the time at the start of the Industrial Revolution, someone is out to stop the event before it happens, thus altering history. The Master is somehow also involved, but this time it’s the Rani that the Doctor and Peri must be on the lookout for. The Master isn’t the only one who breaks out disguises, but what is the Rani’s endgame and how is the Master involved? The Doctor and Peri will have to protect George Stevenson and his inventions to find out. The following video contains both episodes separated by intros and end credits. Enjoy.

Continue reading

BW’s Saturday Article Link> Peter David Passes Away

Sept. 23,1956-May 24, 2025

Word came early this week that novelist and comic writer Peter David, who has worked for DC and Marvel, adapted movies and comics, wrote his own novels, and had been suffering from health issues, passed away at 68 years old. Here’s a look at his official and very long bibliography, and a here’s a look at his career and health issues. He leaves behind along with a legion of fans in novel and comic circles, having done everything from the Hulk to Star Trek in both media and in the Star Trek audio drama Cacophony, which I actually own but didn’t know he wrote. He also wrote for TV and video games, but comics and novels will be what he’s most remembered for.

Many of us will never get to meet him, but his large body of work lives on. He understood how to fashion a story in the media being used, and even wrote the same characters in both books and comics, and used their strengths to their fullest, a rarity even at his peak and even less so today. My condolences to his family and friends he also left behind who knew and loved him best.

Doctor Who: 1963 BBC Reports & Notes> The SF Report part 1

Before we can get to 1963, the first two reports in this series (see last week’s prologue for the full details and where to download these reports to read along) from 1962 had to exist.

In 1962, the BBC’s Head Of Light Entertainment, Eric Maschwitz commissioned reports on science fiction from the Head Of Serials at the BBC Drama Department. From there the reports were given to Donald Baverstock, Controller of BBC Television until 1995, who then commissioned Sydney Newman, Head Of Drama at BBC, to make a science fiction series. The end result was Doctor Who. Geez even in 1962 there were a lot of sub bosses. Also, funny to see how many heads we’re going to be dealing with given how little brains the BBC seems to have a times, especially here in 2025.

Two reports were commissioned, the first by Donald Bull & Alice Frick, which we’re looking at today, and the other by Alice Frick and Donald John Braybon, which we’ll get to when we’re done with this one. I have no idea who they are. There’s no entry for them in the TARDIS Fandom wiki. Science fiction was still happening on British television thanks to Out Of This World, a sci-fi horror anthology on BBC, and the early “Supermarionation” productions by Gerry Anderson for competitor ITV. Movies and novels also scratched that itch, so I wonder what they were curious about? If those shows were doing well, and any American imported sci-fi also did well, you should already have your answer. That’s the government for you. Anyway, let’s see what was in that first report.

Continue reading

“Yesterday’s” Comic> Space Adventures #40

More Captain Atom I can handle. It’s more Space Adventures that bothers me.

Space Adventures Vol. 3 #40

Charlton Comics Group (June, 1961)

The sooner we get through this series the better. I’ve already read some issues of Captain Atom while reviewing Ted Kord’s run as the Blue Beetle before he got his own solo comic. With more time it’s possible the Captain Atom stories improved, but these are still written like an anthology, and the stories have not been good. The one non-Captain Atom story in the past few issues were boring and I’m guessing that’s the norm. I won’t be coming back to this series once we’re done, and I’d stop now if there weren’t so few with the good captain left.

Enough intro padding. On to the reviews.

[Read along with me here]

Continue reading

BW’s Daily Video> Indie Games Causing “Deprofessionalization”?

Catch more from Legendary Drops on YouTube

 

[FILLER VIDEO] The Many Lawsuits Tied To Shazam!

Premiering in the first issue of Whiz Comics (listed as #2 because of those weird publishing and mailing issues we keep coming across in the Golden Age comic reviews), the original Captain Marvel was on his way to becoming more popular than Superman, the hero that predated him. Unfortunately, National Comics (like a lot of publishers at the time–even the Comic Code was designed to hurt a rival publisher) decided to sue Fawcett Comics…and from there I get confused because I’ve heard multiple versions of what happened next:

  • National Comics, the future DC Comics, won and Fawcett was forced to drop all the Marvel Family titles
  • Fawcett won but National lost on appeal
  • various other takes on what happened with the original case and appeals
  • either way, the superhero downturn led to Fawcett shutting doors, DC buying those characters, and while they tried it’s possible they made sure Captain Marvel didn’t overshadow Superman ever again.

There is more to the story. Multiple characters, lawsuits, fights over the Captain Marvel name after Marvel Comics got a bug up their butt and decided “we’re Marvel, WE should have that hero’s name”, and the fallout even hit the UK. Comic Drake has an updated compilation of all the various legal nonsense that went on, all tied to Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, and Captain Marvel Junior, all versions of characters ruined by DC comics in their various reworks, 52, the New 52, and the Geoff Johns reimagining. Prepare for a good dose of how dumb and self-interested publishers can be when they have corporate bucks backing up their tomfoolery.

Continue reading

Today’s Comic> Kanga-U: Tests And Tournaments FCBD preview

“Maybe I can take turns riding you.”

Kanga-U: Tests And Tournaments 2025 FCBD Special Edition

DC Comics (June, 2025)

WRITER: Sholly Fisch

ARTIST: Yancey Labat

COLORIST: Monica Kubina

LETTERER: Wes Abbott

There’s also a preview for Matthew Dow Smith’s Misfits Of Magic, but it’s only three pages, the only character of the trio that’s named is Boston Brand (renamed Deadkid because these are kids versions of DC’s mystical heroes), and just has them walking down a hallway to the basement. I know who Blue Devil is, but unless the girl is supposed to be Zatanna I have no idea who else she could be. It’s not a very good preview, but the art style’s neat. Let’s focus on the main graphic novel preview.

Continue reading