4 Days to Go…More News Bits

4 days to go before Christmas.

The Doctor has been voted the greatest sci-fi character of all time!

In a poll by the BFI, the Doctor topped the poll which also included characters from franchises like Star Wars, Blake’s 7, and Star Trek. But the Time Lord only just pulled it off: there were just 110 votes between him and runner-up, Ellen Ripley from Alien, played by Sigourney Weaver! Mind you, 110 is still a fair amount of people…

Here’s the Top Ten of sci-fi:

1. The Doctor

2. Ellen Ripley (Alien)

3. Darth Vader (Star Wars)

4. Kerr Avon (Blake’s 7)

5. Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly)

6. G’Kar (Babylon 5)

7. HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)

8. Rick Deckard (Bladerunner)

9. Han Solo (Star Wars)

10. Spock (Star Trek)

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The Paddington Who? statue designed by Peter Capaldi is currently available to bid on in an auction by Christies in aid of the NSPCC and ChildLine. The auction runs until just after 3:00pm on the 7th January, and at the time of writing is at £2,800.

The auction notes report:

Peter Capaldi, the current Doctor Who in the hit BBC TV series, also stars in the new Paddington movie as Mr Curry. He has combined the bear with The Doctor to create a thrilling marmalade-eating time traveller. Has there ever been a more intrepid, daring and sure-to-find-trouble combination? One word of warning though: beware of the Dalek on his back!The TARDIS is known to transport The Doctor and his companions through time and space on the TV series, so where better for Paddington Who to end up than right where time begins and ends each day: on the Prime Meridian line? From here there are a number of ways to explore the world’s history, and possibly its future, with attractions to enjoy such as the Royal Observatory, the National Maritime Museum and Queen’s House. Just make sure you pack enough sandwiches under your hat before you leave home.

The statue is still available to view outside the Peter Harrison Planetarium at the Greenwich Royal Observatory until 4:30pm on the 30th December.

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BRAND-NEW 5-PART MINI-SERIES STARRING THE NINTH DOCTOR AS PLAYED BY CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON.Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor #1
Writer: Cavan Scott
Artist: Blair Shedd
Number of Issues: 1 (of 5)
Page Count: 32pp
Publisher: Titan Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 11, 2015
Diamond Order Code:​ JAN151599​

The Ninth Doctor is BACK with a brand-new miniseries: WEAPONS OF PAST DESTRUCTION!

Leaving World War II behind, The Ninth Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack discover that Time Lord technology, lost in the wake of the Time War, is being sold on the intergalactic black market!

Now the threat of a NEW temporal war brews on the horizon. Can the Doctor stop history repeating itself?

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Twelfth Doctor fans in the US who fancy taking in a bit of culture will be interested in a (limited) series of cinema screenings of art history doc Inside the Mind of Leonardo da Vinci.

Recorded shortly before Peter Capaldi took up the role of the Doctor, the film is based on Da Vinci’s private journals, notes and drawings. The word ‘genius’ really doesn’t do justice to the great inventor, philosopher and artist who famously painted a picture over the Doctor’s ‘this is a fake’ scrawl in the Italian Renaissance.

The documentary uses 3D techniques to bring Da Vinci’s work to life, combined with appearances from Capaldi, complete with long scarf, who narrates key passages and monologues. Judging from the clips available online it’s a thought-provoking, atmospheric production which brings the great artist’s creations to life in a way that makes full use of the technology.

Current screenings in US theaters are listed for December and January as follows:

December 26th
Living Room Theaters, Portland OR

January 2nd
Angelika Film Center, Washington DC
Living Room Theaters, Boca Raton FL
AMC South Barrington, South Barrington IL

January 23rd
SIFF Cinema Uptown, Seattle WA

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