I’ve got m’self a nice new shiny ‘The Angels Have The Phone Box’ t-shirt inspired by the comments of Larry Nightingale from the episode Blink.

Making a dark coloured t-shirt proved a bit of hassle… but, I got there in the end. Mind you, I did have to do a little handcrafted augmentation work to get the lettering to stand out better – as, after the application of two ink-laden, best quality transfers, the words didn’t quite have the oomph to show up from a distance.

Next t-shirt – something with the Fruit F*cker from Penny Arcade.

Stating simple facts about the future of Doctor Who and the certainty of continuation, Jane Tranter, Controller, BBC Fiction, nevertheless highlighted that the series would only broadcast in the form of three specials during 2009, effectively introducing a bit of a gap between Series Four (2008) and Series Five (2010). The information provided, however, did indicate that the specials would star David Tennant in the role of the Doctor, placing in dispute any rumours or Press coverage suggesting he might depart the role soon.

Instead of keeping the information very slight – and making for a sudden panic amongst fans on the future of the show – the news item could have mentioned that the 2009 hiatus relates to a compromise agreement between Tennant and the BBC to allow him time to tread the boards. David will play Hamlet at Stratford from July to November next year (2008) and, therefore, will have limited time for TV work.

Perhaps allowing for this easing of the Doctor Who schedule will allow the associated team to put more time and effort into ensuring the ongoing quality of Torchwood and Sarah Jane.

There have been comments that spokespeople at the BBC have said it’s too early to confirm whether David will return to the role of the Doctor for the 2010 fifth series – but… well, it seems to me if it’s so uncertain, why come up with a compromise of a break year? Why not just replace him? More to this than meets the eye, me thinks…

Noted the recent release of the Doctor Who: The Key to Time – Complete 7 Disc Box set) and have every intention of getting it the moment I win the lottery (yes, that soon!). I can see it’s one of those shameless money-grabbing re-releases with a smattering of additional material – but, considering I don’t have any of those earlier releases, now seems as good a time as any.

I think I may be suffering with Who withdrawal symptoms and I haven’t a clue how to handle it. While I have Season One on DVD and a few scattered ‘classic’ stories, I don’t think this will suffice to quell the hunger. It would have been nice if they’d had Torchwood ready for the Autumn, but it definitely still feels very 2008 to me. So, I suppose the only hope will be recording episodes of the Sarah Jane Adventures when they finally air… which is no bad thing. I maintain warm and fuzzy memories of the pilot episode at Christmas and if they can maintain that level, I’ll be a very happy chappy indeed.

I keep intending to pull my roleplaying boxed sets out of the cupboard to continue my study of the differences between the FASA Doctor Who RPG editions. Yes, I can imagine people have been sitting on the edges of their seats waiting for me to get on with it and finish… so, sooner rather than later would be best to put you all out of your misery. I have to admit the sense of guilt that weighs on my shoulders over this makes it very hard to maintain good posture at the best of times.

Finally, I seem to have found a way to categorise this posting under five different headings… neat, huh? No? Hang on… Stop pointing that laser screwdriver at me in that threatening way!