Tales from the TV & Movie Store: April 2008

Saturday saw the seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy, visit for the day at the store. Facing more eager fans than he's faced Daleks, Sylvester signed for most of the day and entertained the crowds.

Sylvester was joined by not one, but THREE Daleks trundling around outside the store, and a cyberman. Luckily, UNIT was on hand to keep the crowds safe. Sylvester took the opportunity to sign the head of one of his enemies, an Imperial Dalek.

A good time was had by all, and we managed to get home in time for "Fires of Pompeii", the latest episode in Series 4. A darn good story we thought, with Catherine Tate improving dramatically from a rather shouty first half to a particularly moving final few scenes. Can't wait for "Planet of the Ood", but once again it's going to be a rush getting home in time for that ridiculously early start time!

Hopefully, we'll be able to announce another signing soon, but let's just say that the gears are turning to get another great celebrity in for a signing at the store.

Well, Series 4 of Doctor Who is nearly upon us, just a couple of days to wait now. Of course, we'll be manning the store until the last minute so we'll have to watch it later on Saturday night on our videos, relaxing with a nice cup of tea. Just watch the trailer and tell us you're not excited!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pkgVNbg4Zo

While we're waiting, Saturday will also host another of our Trading Days, when you can come along and swap your Battles in Time cards or Micro Universe figures. It'll be running between 2-4pm this Saturday the 5th April.

The following Saturday, as if all this excitement isn't enough, we've managed to rebook Sylvester McCoy (the 7th Doctor) for a signing. He'll be here from 10.30am, signing merchandise from the store.

Besides that, we've just had the three new Doctor Who novels arrive:

Martha in the Mirror
by Justin Richards

Castle Extremis – whoever holds it can control the provinces either side that have been at war for centuries. Now the castle is about to play host to the signing of a peace treaty. But as the Doctor and Martha find out, not everyone wants the war to end.

Who is the strange little girl who haunts the castle? What is the secret of the book the Doctor finds, its pages made from thin, brittle glass? Who is the hooded figure that watches from the shadows? And what is the secret of the legendary Mortal Mirror?

The Doctor and Martha don’t have long to find the answers – an army is on the march, and the castle will soon be under siege once more...

Snowglobe 7
by Mike Tucker

Earth, 2099. Global warming is devastating the climate. The polar ice caps are melting.

In a desperate attempt at preservation the Governments of the world have removed vast sections of the Arctic and Antarctic and set them inside huge domes across the world. The Doctor and Martha arrive in Snowglobe 7 in the Middle East, hoping for peace and relaxation. But they soon discover that it’s not only ice and snow that has been preserved beneath the Dome.

While Martha struggles to help with an infection sweeping through the holidaymakers the Doctor discovers an alien threat that has lain hidden since the last ice age. A threat that is starting to thaw.

The Many Hands
by Dale Smith

Edinburgh, 1759.

The Nor' Loch is being filled in. If you ask the soldiers there, they'll tell you it's a stinking cesspool that the city can do without. But that doesn't explain why the workers won't go near the place without an armed guard.

That doesn't explain why they whisper stories about the loch giving up its dead, about the minister who walked into his church twelve years after he died…

It doesn’t explain why, as they work, they whisper about a man called the Doctor. And about the many hands of Alexander Monro.