Story Submission: A Dream within a Dream

Posted by Allison Rose

My friend Lily and I co-wrote this fanfiction early on in our Whovianism.  We finally got the finished draft out this afternoon, and she suggested that we feature it here.  And so we are!

Craft: Fourth Doctor Scarf

Posted by Allison Rose and Nina Avalon

In his seven year long tenure from 1974 to 1981, the Fourth Doctor, played by the marvelous Tom Baker, was famous for wearing his extremely long, multi-coloredscarf.  Nowadays, it is possible to buy replicas from all over the web, but wouldn't it be so much cooler to say that you made it yourself?


For this craft, you'll need the following supplies:

 - Yarn skeins in seven colors:

1. Purple
2. Red
3. Beige
4. Brown
5. Yellow
6. Dark green
7. Gray

 - Nifty Knitter loom and hook
 - Crochet hook
 -  Scissors
 - Ruler
 - DVD case (optional - the authors recommend using a Doctor Who DVD case for optimal enjoyment of project, as they're fun to watch while looming)

Courtesy of Amazon

 Yarn looming is a much easier and quicker way to knit than using traditional needles.  This three-part tutorial will explain how to use the loom, as well as how to add on other colored stripes of yarn.  The tutorial uses the smallest loom, which has 24 pegs.  This loom will make a narrower scarf than the original, so if you're particular about this, you can use one of the larger looms.

Speaking of stripes, each stripe on the Doctor's scarf has a specific length.  For this craft, we recommend heading over to DoctorWhoScarf.com for some excellent scarf patterns.  This pattern, for example, is for the original scarf, as in subsequent seasons, new ones were made.

Now, let's get started!

Scarf

Using the looming method shown in the tutorial, you can add on as many colored stripes as you want until the scarf is at the length you would like.  Use your ruler to measure the stripes.  (Unfortunately, this looming method won't give exact stripe lengths, but they'll be pretty close.)

Allison's scarf got to be about eight feet before she was satisfied with the length.  At that point, she decided to finish off the scarf with the last three stripes, 2 inches of brown, 6.5 inches of beige, and 1 inch of purple.

Decorating with Tassels

The third part of the aforementioned tutorial shows how to decorate the scarf with tassels.  The scarf that Tom Baker wore originally had twelve tassels on it, each tassel using a strand of each yarn color.  Because our scarf is narrower, you might want to use half the amount of tassels.

The video tutorial recommends wrapping the yarn around a plastic DVD case to get the right length.  That'll give you approximately 14 inch strands.  (Now that you know that, though, you don't really need the DVD case anymore, unless, of course, you're going to watch the Doctor Who episodes inside. :P)

When you're done, this is what your scarf will look like:

W is for Who
Scarf made by Allison Rose

Recipe of the Month: Dalek Cake!

I'm pretty sure we all had our fair share of fish fingers and custard during YouTube's Geek Week and Fish Fingers and Custard Day, but this recipe's awesome outawesomes all that.  In fact, it's absolutely supreme!

I'm proud to share with you, a Dalek cake from YouTube's Ann Reardon of How To Cook That!

Familiar Faces, Double Identities

Posted by Allison Rose

Peter Capaldi isn't the first actor (or Doctor, for that matter,) who has had previous roles in Doctor Who:

1) Karen Gillan
Like Peter Capaldi, Karen Gillan played one of the eery, red-robed soothsayers in Series Four's episode, "The Fires of Pompeii."  Whovians know her better as Amy Pond from Series Five to Seven.

2) Colin Baker
The actor who so colorfully (pun intended) portrayed the Sixth Doctor in classic Who first appeared as another Time Lord, Commander Maxil, in a Fifth Doctor story arc, "The Arc of Infinity," which, ironically, did not contain an infinite amount of episodes, although fans of the Fifth Doctor would have most likely enjoyed that quite thoroughly.

3) Freema Ageyman
We know her as the Tenth Doctor's companion, Martha Jones, but before that, she played a character who is revealed to be Martha's cousin, Adeola.  Adeola worked for Torchwood, an organization which Martha later worked for as well in its eponymous spin-off series.

4) Chipo Chung
Chan-- Chung played Chantho in two episodes of the finale arc of Series Two, "Utopia" and "The Sound of Drums," a blue-skinned insect-like alien who worked with Professor Y.A.N.A. (you can figure out what that stands for).  The actress returned in Series Four to play the fortune teller who forces Donna to explore a disastrous alternate timeline.

5) Eve Myles
She's Gwen in Torchwood, but she also played a character named Gwendolyn back in Series One of the rebooted series, in the episode "The Unquiet Dead."  There's plenty of speculation as to why Gwen and Gwendolyn look the same, such as Gwen traveling back in time under an assumed name....

6) Bernard Cribbins
Remember Donna's sweet old grandfather, Wilf?  He had the honor of being the Doctor's companion in The End of Time, when David Tennant (sniff) regenerated into Matt Smith, but this is not the first time the actor has played a Doctor's companion.


Check out this trailer for the 1960s movie, Dr. Who and the Daleks.

"It's a flying saucer!"  Oh, Donna would be so jealous!

Source: http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2012/01/doctor-who-and-the-reusable-actors-parts-1-10/

It's September!

Posted by Allison Rose, Editor-in-Chief

Hello Readers, and welcome to our second issue of TARDIS Magazine!

"I'm bored!"

  So much happened last month, with the announcement of the 12th Doctor, Peter Capaldi, and what I learned was a Whovian holiday, Daaaaalek Appreciation Day.  This month might seem a bit boring by comparison.

  But fear not, through rain, sleet, hail, and school (hopefully,) we'll keep you guys un-bored!

  (If you'd like to help us help you stay un-bored, though, feel free to stop by our group and apply for a job.  Our fashion columnist position has opened back up - if you're interested in continuing it, please contact us!)

  Oh dear, that sounded so gloomy.  I suppose having a picture of Sherlock up there didn't help matters much....  Well, look to the bright side - only two months to go now until our favorite BBC shows return!

Sincerely,
Allison

The Comics Page

Posted by Allison Rose

Here's this month's Comics Page!  If you'd like to see your comic featured in next month's collection, please visit our Figment discussion page (yes, you'll need an account to post).

Created by Allison Rose and Tetra M.

Recipe of the Month: Still-Not-Gingerbread Cookies

Posted by Allison Rose

To celebrate the arrival of the Twelfth Doctor, and the (unfortunate?) fact that he still isn't a redhead, I scoured the web for a good recipe of what I call "Still-Not-Gingerbread Cookies!"  This one is from Martha Stewart's website, and it's fairly simple to do.

Gingerbread Cookies

 

Everyday Food, December 2004 http://www.marthastewart.com/343445/gingerbread-cookies

• Prep Time 40 minutes
• Total Time 3 hours 30 minutes

Yield Makes 36

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for rolling
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1 large egg
• Decorating sugar or sprinkles (optional)

Read the rest of the recipe here.

Uncanny

Posted by Allison Rose

  I'd been pretty surprised to learn that Peter Capaldi had been in Doctor Who before, as Caecillius in "The Fires of Pompeii," but I hadn't expected this fan letter from ~1973:

Courtesy of Tumblr

Wow.

Fifth Doctor: "I know who you are!"
Tenth Doctor: "Oh yes...."
Fifth Doctor: "You're a ... fan!"
--"Time Crash," Doctor Who Children in Need Special, 2007

 How many fans are lucky enough to land a part in their favorite TV series?  And the lead part at that?  I can say "Congratulations, Mr. Capaldi" with even more meaning now!

PS. Roger Delgado, the first actor to portray the Master, died at the age of fifty-five -- the same age as Peter Capaldi is now, forty years later, when he is playing the Master's archnemesis.  This gets uncannier and uncannier!

Doctor Who Fanfic Submission: My Dad the Time Lord

Posted by Allison Rose

  I'm super-excited to share our first fanfic submission, My Dad the Time Lord, by Carleigh Campbell!  This awesome story is about Jenny, the Doctor's daughter, whom we met in Season Four's eponymous episode, and how she returns to her father after an encounter with death.  Thank you, Carleigh!

Heavy traffic!

Posted by Allison Rose

This is what happens when you try to log onto the official Doctor Who website looks like right now:

"This might be because we are experiencing abnormal traffic to our network...."  You don't say!

I wonder what side of the road this traffic is coming in on...?

Best of the Web: "I Am the Doctor" fan cover

Posted by Allison Rose

 One of my least favorite Doctor Who scores is the Eleventh Doctor's theme, "I Am the Doctor."  It's very repetitive.  I don't begrudge people who enjoy it, although I think it's a bit strange to listen to it for, say, forty minutes straight!  All the same, I came across this really cool video a few weeks ago of one girl playing the entire song all on her own.  She recorded herself probably as many times as the Doctor has years in his life -- check it out!

Welcome to the TARDIS Magazine!

Posted by Allison R.

I'm super-proud to announce that TARDIS Magazine, an online fan-made magazine about the BBC sci-fi serial Doctor Who, is now up and running!

This year is a really pivotal time for the Doctor Who series, as we celebrate fifty years of Who and usher in the Doctor's new incarnation.  Saying goodbye to David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor was hard enough for so many fans -- now we must do the same for Matt Smith's Eleventh.

The big announcement will be made tomorrow night at 7 PM, British time, on channel BBC One.  If you have access to this channel, tune in.  If not, rest assured, Ewan, our Scotland-based Whovian News reporter, will tell all in his first news report.

Also coming soon will be our Fan Art page, featuring drawings sent in via our Figment group, episode recaps as of November, a fashion column with tips on how to incorporate your favorite characters' dress styles into your everyday fashion, and much, much more!

Oh, and check out this article from Doctor Who's official website for a chance to have the mysterious Doctor Twelve answer your question on the air!

Images courtesy of the BBC website.