Who Reviews The Eleventh Hour by S.F. Cambridge

 

Staring Matt Smith as The Doctor & Karen Gillan as Amy Pond (Caitlin Blackwood as young Amelia Pond) 

The Doctor: “Can I have an apple? All I can think about is apples. I love apples. Maybe I’m having a craving. That’s new. Never had cravings before” (Takes a bite out of an apple and spits it on the floor) “That’s disgusting. What is that?”

Amelia: “An apple?”

The Doctor: “Apples are rubbish. I hate apples!”

Amelia: “You just said you liked them!” 

After the Tenth Doctor's regeneration and David Tennant’s dramatic exit from the show, the TARDIS suffers some major internal damage from the regenerative fallout and falls out of the time vortex and flies erratically all over the place, very nearly colliding with Big Ben in London, until it crash lands on its back in the garden of a house in Leadworth. The house belongs to a 7-year-old Amy Pond who lives with her aunt Sharon after she “loses” her parents and who at that precise moment was saying her prayers and asking Santa to help her with a rather disturbing crack in her wall. Seeing the TARDIS is actually a police box, she thanks Santa and runs outside to greet the policeman hoping he has come to help her. The Doctor who is now soaking wet and still wearing 10’s ragged torn clothes, climbs out of the swimming pool, which was in the library at the bottom of the TARDIS and drags himself out of the TARDIS looking dishevelled and disorientated because he is “Still Cooking” and after sitting with Amelia in her kitchen and trying out various foods he finds disgusting, he comes to the conclusion that fish fingers and custard is by far his favourite thing to eat. He then contemplates Amelia and after a discussion about her life, family and the crack in the wall concludes that it must be a pretty scary crack as she’s happy to sit with a strange man who fell out of the sky and eats fish custard in her kitchen rather than face what is going on upstairs. The Doctor eventually examines the crack closer and hears a voice on the other side of the wall transmitting the message, "Prisoner Zero has escaped” 

The Doctor uses his sonic to open the crack further and it is revealed that an alien prison lies on the other side with the guards taking on the appearance of a giant eyeball.  He then gets a message on his psychic paper which reads "Prisoner Zero has escaped." He then concludes that the prisoner must be in Amelia’s house somewhere but before he can help her, the Cloister Bell inside the TARDIS chimes signalling to him that there is a major problem and he runs off telling Amelia to wait for him and that he will be back in 5 minutes.

12 years later he returns to the house thinking he has only been gone 5 minutes and is greeted by a grown-up Amelia now calling herself Amy who hits him with a cricket bat when she thinks he’s an intruder. 

It turns out that the TARDIS was more damaged than the Doctor thought and it took him longer to stabilize her within the time vortex where there is no real concept of time. Things have changed a lot in 12 years. Amy is now a kissogram and she has a boyfriend called Rory who is a nurse at the local hospital. The Doctor finds out that as Amelia was growing up, she was referred to several doctors because she kept telling the story of her imaginary friend, the raggedy doctor and her aunt thought she was suffering some trauma from losing her parents. 

Upon meeting Rory, The Doctor finds out that there are several coma patients in his hospital who all seem to have fallen ill at the same time and the prisoner who had escaped 12 years ago was still on the run from an alien race known as The Atraxi. The prisoner was able to hide himself all those years by disguising himself as people within the town, the people who had been placed in a coma and when the Atraxi finally realised that prisoner zero was still on earth, they gave the doctor a 20-minute ultimatum. Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence, or the human residence will be incinerated. Meaning they would incinerate the earth.

Knowing he doesn’t have long and even though he’s still recovering from his last regeneration, The Doctor hatches a plan using all the scientific boffins across the world with the help of Amy’s neighbour Jeff and his laptop, and sends them all a computer code for them to upload at exactly the right and same time, this would set all the clocks in Leadworth to zero, highlighting the prisoner to them. His plan works, Prisoner Zero has been recaptured but as it is taken away back to its prison, it tells the Doctor a secret. “Silence will fall”, leaving him confused as to its meaning. The Atraxi leave satisfied that they have finally caught their prisoner but the Doctor isn’t happy that they thought to invade the earth in the first place and calls them back. He tells them off for thinking they could just blow up earth and that they are too scan him and see who he really is. They do and all 10 of his regenerations appear on screen which is a nice kind of homage to all the past Doctors and to the fans themselves and the Atraxi run away. 

The Doctor: “C'mon, then! The Doctor will see you now!”

Atraxi: [after scanning The Doctor] “You are not of this world.”

The Doctor: “No but I've put a lot work into it.”

Atraxi: “Is this world important?”

The Doctor: “Important? What's that mean, important? Six billion people live here, is that important? Here's a better question: is this world a threat to the Atraxi? Oh, come on, you're monitoring the whole planet! Is this world a threat?”

Atraxi: [after looking at a montage of world events] “No.”

The Doctor: “Are the peoples of this world guilty of any crime by the laws of the Atraxi?”

Atraxi: [after viewing another montage about earth] “No.”

The Doctor: “Okay. One more, just one: is this world protected?”

[as the Atraxi views a montage of all the aliens who have attacked humanity in some way]

The Doctor: “You're not the first to have come here. Oh, there have been so many. And what you've got to ask is, what happened to them?”

[Atraxi looks at a montage of the past ten Doctors. The Doctor steps through the montage when the 10th Doctor is shown]

The Doctor: “Hello. I'm the Doctor. Basically. Run.” 

This is my favourite Matt Smith episode and a very brilliant introduction to the new 11th Doctor and of course his bow tie. What starts off as a man unsure of who he really is, still ends up as a man doing everything he can to protect the planet he loves. His new companions are Amy with Rory joining them at a later date and unknowingly at this point we have a lot of plot twists and emotional heartbreak coming our way, making the 11th Doctor one of the most successful Doctor Who storylines which I think goes a long way to soothing the uncertain thoughts most of us Whovians had when David Tennant announced he was leaving as to who could take on such a prevalent role. WHO, indeed!

Interviews Caitlin Blackwood aka Amelia Pond by DJ Forrest

Amy Pond has been a regular face on Doctor Who since the start of the 5^th series with the 11^th Doctor.  We saw her from a child making the Doctor fish fingers and custard in the kitchen of her home and followed her life right through to her final scene in a grave yard in Manhattan, New York, where she was touched by an ‘Angel’. 

Amy first appeared on our screens in ‘The Eleventh Hour’ broadcast 26^th June 2010, written by Steven Moffat, directed by Adam Smith, produced by Peter Bennett.  Amy (Amelia) was seven years old and for years had been plagued by the crack in her bedroom wall that over time had grown wider and wider.  It played on her mind, and it affected her thoughts, and fed on her memories, so much so that she couldn’t remember her parents, she knew they weren’t there, but she didn’t know why.  She lived in the house with her Aunt Sharon, who worried about her niece and had had her at psychiatrists for years after her talk of her imaginary friend, the raggedy man, and the stars in the sky, that didn’t exist, either.

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When the Doctor crashed the TARDIS in her front garden in the dead of night, it was the start of many adventures.  The child Amy told the Doctor about the crack in her wall of her bedroom that she wanted the Doctor to look at.  He said he would just as the TARDIS alarm went off.  He promised to return in 5 minutes, however it was twelve years later and young Amy was now 19, and played by Karen Gillan.

Caitlin Blackwood was 9 years old when she played the younger Amelia Pond in the episode ‘The Eleventh Hour, it was her first ever acting role.  She later went on to appear in four more episodes - ‘The Big Bang’, a non speaking cameo role at the end of ‘The Angels Take Manhattan’, was the TARDIS interface in ‘Let’s Kill Hitler’, and appeared in one of the rooms in ‘The God Complex’.

Off screen Caitlin is like any other 13 year old, she goes to school, goes to the cinema, has favourite bands and singers and favourite actors.  In her spare time, Caitlin makes jewellery that is featured in her mum Linda’s Etsy shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lilybethandco

The online shop began trading on the 27^th October 2013 and has already made 25 sales.  Its biggest seller for the Doctor Who fans is the TARDIS Blue bracelet http://www.etsy.com/listing/167328616/sci-fi-slogan-bracelet?ref=shop_home_active but there are also signed photos of Caitlin in her role as Amelia Pond.  It’s a wonderful little shop selling vibrant coloured jewellery, warm woollen fashion scarves, and delightful little cushions one of which I’ve got my eye on. http://www.etsy.com/listing/171469616/scotty-dog-cushions?ref=listing-shop-header-4

It has a five star review rating and has already at time of this article, gained 3,163 followers of which I’m one.  They ship worldwide.

Recently I caught up with Caitlin as she returned home from the ‘Day of the Doctor’ Convention at the Excel in London. 

Hi Caitlin, what an awesome weekend, I’m sure for you as much as from every fan of Doctor Who.  I’m still coming down from it. 

Are you involved in any new acting projects at the moment that you can share with us?

Caitlin:  Nothing at the moment.  My mum insists that I get an education first and then decide.  I do make and sell jewellery and I love doing that.

Although you’ve worked with Matt Smith, who is your favourite Doctor?

Caitlin:  My Dr is David Tennant.  I met him at a convention once and my mum fangirled!!!!! 

What is your favourite piece of jewellery that you’ve made?

Caitlin:  My fave piece was the two hearts one TARDIS set I made.  Can’t remember what I first made cos I’m always making stuff.  It’s my Mum’s shop but I asked her to put my stuff on.  Now sell more than her J

http://www.etsy.com/listing/169224025/fandom-jewellery?ref=shop_home_active

Do you visit the cinema a lot and what was the last film you saw?

Caitlin:  Love going to the cinema and saw Hunger Games with my friend Rebecca.  Going to see Anchorman 2 with my family at Xmas.

Are you a Hunger Games fan, have you read the books too?

Caitlin:  Yeah I loved the books.

Who is your favourite actor or actress and if you had the opportunity to act with any movie star, who would it be?

Caitlin:  My favourite actor is Jim Parsons (Sheldon) and I would love to work with him on anything.

Which monster scares you the most on Doctor Who?

Caitlin:  It’s the Weeping Angels or the Oods.  The Oods cos they have all that dangly stuff on their face and the Angels cos they’re scary.

Fans Questions

Robbie Crossan:  Would you ever ask your agent to get you a casting interview when the Doctor is looking for a new assistant?  You could be Amy’s cousin, or the Doctor and River’s daughter!

Caitlin: I would definitely try to audition for a companion’s role!!

Pauline Howard: What was it like playing Amelia, and did you enjoy working with Matt Smith?

Caitlin:  Matt was brilliant and so much fun.  Amelia was a pretty cool role to play and very different from Amy!

Kirsty Price: What’s next for your career?

Caitlin:  I think I want to keep acting but I do want to think of other things.  I also make jewellery

Mickie Newton:  If you had the chance to return to Doctor Who as young Amy, would you?

Caitlin: Think I may be too old now but I’m sure Mr Moffat could explain it somehow so yeah, I would.

Eilidh Barn:  Did you enjoy playing Amelia and do you enjoy watching Doctor Who?

Caitlin:  I don’t watch Dr Who every time but I do catch up sometimes.  I really enjoyed acting on the show and it was a great first acting experience.

Nikki Forrest:  How did you feel when you got the part of Amelia?  What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Caitlin:  I was soooooo excited and nervous.  I think my whole family were hyper for about a month after we heard.  I go to Air Cadets and make jewellery.

Mickie Newton:  Although you’re still very young, do you have a dream role?

Caitlin:  A dream role would be to star in a film with Anne Hathaway as she is so talented.  If not then maybe as the first female Doctor Who....;)

  

Photo source:

©BBC Doctor Who 1963

Permission from Caitlin Blackwood over jewellery

Who Reviews Summer Falls by DJ Forrest

Read by Clare Corbett

Written by Amelia Pond

Running Time: 1hrs 57min

Publisher: AudioGO Ltd

Number of CDs: 2

Kate Webster and her mum have moved to Watchcombe, it’s a busy little seaside town with shops and cafes, and a museum and railway station.  The bay is full of boats where day trippers row out a little bit then row back.  Kate thinks that the town of Minehead was much better. 

Kate is a youngster that I’m putting at about 11 or 12 going by the way Clare Corbett portrays her in the narration.  She has made a new friend called Armand Dass who lives next door to her, his father works at the local pharmacy but he’s not a man to be trusted as far as the townsfolk appear to think.  He’s also keen to retrieve the painting entitled 'The Lord of Winter' that Kate bought in a local charity shop.  It’s covered in mould and on touching the painting, Kate’s fingers tingle.  From the moment she brings it into the house, the temperature in the room drops, and strange things begin to occur inside and out. 

The curator of the museum she discovers after following a grey cat through a hedge, is a tall thin man with the kind smile, who lives in the shed at the bottom of her garden.  It has a striped canvas cover over it and garden tools propped outside and prevents her going inside, telling her it’s undergoing repairs.

The man also said he was in-between names so Kate called him Barnabas after her old teddy bear.  She thought everyone should be called that.

He talks about his museum and also says he’d like to open a shop with an E “Love a little Shopp-e” he said.

It’s 3^rd of September and when yesterday there was sunshine and people on the beach digging sandcastles and rowing out to sea, today there’s several feet of white snow coating the entire region and its ever so cold in the house. What could have caused this? And why is the cat that doesn’t belong to the curator, nor to Kate for that matter, concerned that Kate does as it asks? What does the cat know?

And why when she uncovers the ring under the floorboards with the grey cat’s help must she after reading a note tucked under the joists “Keep it safe.  He must not find what the old lady holds!”  Who is it who must not find it? What is the link with the painting and the ring, and does that mean that Mr Dass is the man who wants the painting, or could it mean it’s the curator, who she showed the painting to.  And what danger lies in wait for Kate and her two new friends?

The first time I heard the story I couldn’t get into it, I couldn’t understand why a children’s story was involved in Doctor Who.  I looked at the title again, I viewed the illustrations of the children, and I listened to it again.  Then it made sense.

The story was written by Amelia Pond in 1954 and was when Amy was sent back in time, putting her in her 50’s by then.  It was the book that Clara had in her bedroom, and it was one that she would read to the boy that she was looking after. 

There are many links connecting Doctor Who to this story, and although the first book released by the BBC about the detective novel, that had Melody Malone going to the apartment in “The Angels Take Manhattan” that merely read as a detective novel with no mention of the Doctor, this story does cover elements of Amy’s time with the 11^th.

But I’m not going to spoil the book by pointing them out.  You have to listen to the story, and not solely to hear about the various telltale signs that point you to a Doctor Who fact or moment. When you accept that this is a story of a young girl on an adventure and many wonderful things happen on her journey, and she meets some incredibly wonderful people along the way, you’ll love it as much as I did.

And as Clara said.  “Watch out for the 11^th, it’ll make you cry.”

Shh Spoilers!