Kaldor City News

Alistair Lock in Kvetch

2012-01-19T05:38:00.000-08:00

Alistair Lock will be appearing in Steven Berkoff's play Kvetch at the New Venture Theatre in Brighton from 21-28 January. For more information or to book tickets, click here.

Liberation on Kindle

2011-12-22T07:58:00.001-08:00

Attention ebook fans: Our best-selling guide to Blake's 7, Liberation, is now available as an ebook! Click here to order it in Kindle UK and Kindle US formats.

Holiday schedule

2011-12-18T08:46:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update: we will be shipping CDs up until Wednesday 21 December, then we'll be taking our usual break until the New Year (you can still order them, but they will be sent in early 2012). We'll be back in January with more exciting news about future productions!

New Kaldor!

2011-12-18T08:36:00.000-08:00

This week recording was completed on Kaldor City: Metafiction, the short play first performed to a great response this summer at the Sci-Fi London Film Festival by Paul Darrow and Patricia Merrick. We also recorded two new original stories with strange links to "Metafiction": "The Time Waster" starring Paul Darrow, Trevor Cooper and Robert Barringer-Lock, and "Radio Bastard" with a large ensemble cast. We'll be revealing more about these productions in the new year, but until then, here's a couple of pictures:

Christmas Memories

2011-12-18T08:33:00.000-08:00

Our featured article for Christmas is a transcript of my very first Interview with Nicholas Courtney, conducted in 1987, and previously published in Celestial Toyroom's Nicholas Courtney tribute issue (#400).

Iron

2011-11-20T14:17:00.000-08:00

Alistair Lock is currently appearing in the play "Iron" by Rona Munro at the New Venture Theatre in Brighton, from 19 to 26 November at 7.45 PM, with a matinee on Sunday at 2.30. For tickets, please visit www.newventure.org.uk/tickets.

Peter Tuddenham Interview

2011-10-30T05:37:00.000-07:00

Continuing our series of archive material, we bring you a 1991 interview with the late Peter Tuddenham, in which the voice of Zen, Orac and Slave described his adventures with Charles Hawtree, Ivor Novello, Terry-Thomas, and the interesting people one meets at SF conventions!

David Bailie at Time5

2011-10-15T05:55:00.000-07:00

We're pleased to confirm that David "Taren Capel" Bailie will be appearing at the Doctor Who Appreciation Society's annual convention, Time5, at Riverside Studios on 29th October, along with Paul Darrow and a variety of Doctor Who and Torchwood guests including Richard Franklin, Gareth David-Lloyd, Andrew Hayden-Smith, Christopher Guard and Mike Tucker. Click here to register!

The Metaphor

2011-10-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

The current issue of Interzone magazine contains "The Metaphor," a new short story by Fiona Moore. You can read a preview and buy a copy by following the link.

Silence Will Fall

2011-10-01T10:48:00.001-07:00

As a companion piece to last month's Interview with Alwyn Turner, this month Alan Stevens delivers an autumn ghost story, an introspective and atmospheric personal reflection on themes of silence and isolation in Terry Nation's writing, in the form of a review of Turner's new biography of the Dalek creator.

Time for Time5

2011-10-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

Just an early reminder that Time5, the Doctor Who Appreciation Society's annual convention in the beautiful and historic Riverside Studios, will be taking place on 29 October this year, and Paul Darrow will be there, along with many others from the classic and new Doctor Who series. Register now!

Dale Smith on Kaldor City

2011-08-31T14:03:00.001-07:00

An expanded version of Doctor Who books author Dale Smith's in-depth review of Kaldor City is now online-- you can read it on his website, here.

The Fate of Nations

2011-08-31T13:59:00.000-07:00

This month's new feature is an interview with Alwyn W. Turner, author of the critically acclaimed biography of Terry Nation, The Man Who Invented the Daleks, discussing how the book came about, Nation's relationship with the other Doctor Who writers, the abortive Dalek spinoff series, and whether Roj Blake has anything in common with Survivors' Jimmy Garland.

Silver Medal

2011-07-31T04:55:00.000-07:00

This month, a new take on the Doctor Who anniversary special everyone loves to hate, in 27 Cool Things About Silver Nemesis (and 23 Stupid Ones). It's got more Cool than Stupid, who knew?

Interview with Donald Tosh

2011-07-02T06:23:00.000-07:00

A major 9,500-word interview with Doctor Who story editor Donald Tosh, is now up. Hear what he has to say about shaping history, losing companions and dark political manoeuvrings, both behind as well as in front of the camera.

The Surgery: The Epilogue

2011-06-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

If you thought last week's episode of The Surgery was the last.... well, you're right. But there is an epilogue! Click the link to find out what happens to the budding romance between Chelsea Morgan and Doctor Blake...

The Surgery: Mexican Standoff

2011-06-12T03:48:00.001-07:00

In the penultimate installment of The Surgery, Doctor Jamirez takes on the CIA and the Yakuza, aided only by a greengrocer from Halifax. Is this the end for the medical profession's most successful arms dealer? Guest starring Peter Miles.

The Surgery: Brain Surgery

2011-06-05T03:31:00.000-07:00

Episode thirteen, for luck, of The Surgery is now online. Click the link to find out how a jumble of random letters spells "death" for PC Fenton!

Kaldor City Convention Update: Paul Darrow at Time5

2011-06-05T03:28:00.000-07:00

We can now announce that Paul Darrow will be attending the Doctor Who Appreciation Society convention Time5 this October. Check the link for details, plus announcements and updates regarding other guests.

The Surgery: Night of the Living Zombie Death

2011-05-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

Uploading early for the bank holiday weekend... Episode Twelve of The Surgery brings sex, lies and overacting to a humble medical practice.

Interview with Peter Miles

2011-05-23T02:32:00.000-07:00

Recently-released video interview with Peter Miles, where he talks about new Doctor Who, his memories of Lis Sladen and Nick Courtney, and of course his continuing involvement with Magic Bullet Productions.

The Surgery: Fighting at Brighton

2011-05-22T04:17:00.000-07:00

The Surgery marches on with Episode Eleven, which introduces a mysterious lady with a shady past to our medical rogue's gallery. Guest starring Peter Miles once again.

The Surgery: The Midnight Raid

2011-05-15T12:41:00.001-07:00

The Surgery continues to lurch towards its thrilling climax, this week with a special guest appearance by Rick Astley.

The Daleks' Master Plan: The Unfolding Text

2011-05-08T03:58:00.000-07:00

With the publication of Alwyn Turner's new book The Man Who Invented the Daleks: The Strange Worlds of Terry Nation, we're making available our article The Daleks' Master Plan: The Unfolding Text, which is a companion piece to our earlier review of The Daleks' Master Plan written for a Celestial Toyroom special on members' favourite stories. As the book makes reference to it on p. 315, we thought we'd better put it up....

The Surgery Episode Nine: Lethal Telephony

2011-05-08T03:56:00.000-07:00

Don't miss this week's The Surgery, in which Mrs Pearce strikes a blow against the military-industrial complex.

The Surgery: Welcome to the Nineties

2011-05-01T03:39:00.000-07:00

This week's installment of The Surgery is now up. You know how a single topical reference can really date a series and remind us that it was written and produced in 1995? Here's a good example.

London Comics Festival

2011-04-28T15:35:00.001-07:00

Love comics? Want to meet some of the people behind the scenes? Then drop round the BFI this weekend for the London Comics Festival-- affiliated with the Sci-Fi London Film Festival!

Post-play post

2011-04-26T02:16:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to say hello and thank you to everyone who turned out to the performance of the new short play "Kaldor City: Metafiction" at the Sci-Fi London Film Festival yesterday. For those of you who didn't get a chance to see it, though, Paul Darrow and Patricia Merrick have agreed to record the play later this year... so stay tuned! In the meantime, check out SFL's website for many more exciting things on their schedule.

The Surgery again

2011-04-24T03:45:00.000-07:00

In this week's episode of The Surgery, will hairy nipples and an appendix scar be enought to save Doctor Flask from a charge of murder? Download Episode 7 to find out!

Also, don't forget to come by the Apollo Cinema at Piccadilly Circus tomorrow at 5 to see a new Kaldor City short play starring Paul Darrow and Patricia Merrick!

Elisabeth Sladen

2011-04-19T12:17:00.000-07:00

We were very sad to hear just now about the death of Doctor Who actress Elisabeth Sladen. Our thoughts are with her family and friends.

New Kaldor City play at the Sci-Fi London Film Festival!

2011-04-17T04:07:00.000-07:00

At this year's Sci-Fi London Film Festival, the panel We Are All Cylons: Dystopian TV Revisited on Bank Holiday Monday, 25 April at 5 PM will include a performance of a brand new twenty-minute Kaldor City playlet written by Alan Stevens and Fiona Moore, starring Patricia Merrick and Paul Darrow as Justina and Kaston Iago, in which Iago reveals his true name and identity! Blake's 7 and Kaldor fans can follow the link to sign up, but tickets are not unlimited!

The Surgery Sings

2011-04-17T03:49:00.000-07:00

This week on The Surgery, we encounter the Singing Man. Every town's got one; those men who wander around the high street singing at the top of their lungs. But most don't seek therapy, and especially not with Doctor Flask. Get Episode Six here.

Blake's 7 Survey

2011-04-17T03:00:00.000-07:00

There's a new survey up for Blake's 7 fans, where you can rate not only your favourite episodes, but your favourite audios and comics as well. Visit powerful52, and don't forget to vote for The Logic of Empire and The Mark of Kane!

The Surgery, guest starring Peter Miles

2011-04-10T04:36:00.000-07:00

Episode 5 of The Surgery is now available here. Featuring the very first guest appearance in the series by Peter Miles, reprising his role from Colditz, and revealing the unexpected linguistic talents of Chelsea Morgan.

Latest The Surgery episode

2011-04-02T04:22:00.001-07:00

Episode 4 of The Surgery is now available here. Josie Witherington has a fungal infection, causing Doctor Blake to stare into the abyss....

The Surgery Episode 3

2011-03-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

New episode of The Surgery available here, in which trainee receptionist Chelsea Morgan reveals her fruit and veg fetish, while PC Fenton administers to the sick.

New special offer: Buy the first, get any other half price

2011-03-26T05:06:00.000-07:00

At Magic Bullet, we believe that if you hear the first CDs of our Kaldor City and Faction Paradox series, you'll want to hear more. So, we've got a new special offer on our Orders Page: Buy the first CD in either series (Occam's Razor or Coming to Dust) and get any of our other CDs, in either series, for half price (excluding The Actor Speaks: Paul Darrow). Just specify which other CD you want in the little text box on the PayPal order page, and we'll send it to you.

New Feature: The Surgery!

2011-03-20T09:45:00.000-07:00

Written, produced and first aired in 1995, and now available here for the first time as a free download! The Surgery is a fifteen-part comedy-drama series featuring several of the people who would go on to become stalwarts of Magic Bullet Productions, such as Alan Stevens, Alistair Lock, and, in front of the microphone, Peter Miles, Tracy Russell, Robert Lock and Patricia Merrick. The Surgery has been played on several radio stations, and you can access it here. We've posted the first two episodes to start with, and will be updating with more as the year progresses.

Wendy Padbury Interview

2011-03-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

Conducted by Alan Stevens and Alistair Lock in 1991, we add to our collection of rare and archival material a extended version of an interview with Wendy Padbury, the last Doctor Who companion of the 1960s, that previously appeared in TV Zone Special #3.

Classic Jacqueline Pearce Interview

2011-02-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

This month's addition to our series of classic Blake's 7 content is an extended version of an interview with Jacqueline Pearce conducted for TV Zone in 1991, discussing her time on Blake's 7, Doctor Who and Moondial. Includes extra material not published at the time.

Nicholas Courtney 1929-2011

2011-02-23T02:17:00.000-08:00

All of us at Magic Bullet are very sad to hear about the death of Nick Courtney yesterday. As well as being admirers of his work in Doctor Who and elsewhere, we have fond memories of working with him on the Kaldor City stories Hidden Persuaders, Taren Capel and Checkmate, where, in a serious deviation from his familiar role as The Brigadier, he played the unhinged Kaldor City News presenter Packard. We will miss him, and our thoughts are with his family.

UPDATE: Alan has written up a small reminiscence about his time working with Nick, you can read it here.

Rare Vintage Chris Boucher

2011-01-27T13:46:00.000-08:00

Continuing our series of rare, unpublished and/or archival material relating to Blake's 7, we present an Interview with Chris Boucher which was conducted for DWB in 1992 by myself and Anthony Brown, where the author gives his usual frank and opinionated take on his work on Blake's 7, Doctor Who and Star Cops.

Happy 2011!

2011-01-06T03:26:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to say happy new year to all our supporters, that we're back from our holiday, site and blog updates have resumed, and all orders received over the Christmas period have now been dispatched.

Christmas Bonus

2010-12-05T06:21:00.000-08:00

As usual, we're taking a bit of a break from site updates for the holidays; orders will be processed as normal up till 17 December, then we'll be taking a complete break until January 4, at which point normal delivery will resume (i.e., get your pre-Christmas orders in ASAP!).

However, before we do, we'll leave you with a special festive double-lengh edition of 50 Things About...: 56 Stupid Things About "The Trial of a Time Lord" (and 44 Cool Ones). Yes, that's a full hundred Things to enjoy... including a Christmas panto, potted plants, toys, games, Eighties nostalgia hits-- and a jolly fat man with a beard.

Sally Speaks

2010-11-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

Continuing our series of rare or unpublished Blake's 7 content, this month we bring you an Interview with Sally Knyvette, in which she talks about Blake's 7, intensive farming, blowing up parliament and her favourite chalk pit.

Dale Smith on Kaldor City

2010-10-23T02:58:00.000-07:00

Doctor Who books writer Dale Smith has written a brillant essay on Kaldor City, exploring what it is, and could be, all about. You can read it on his website.

Post convention post

2010-10-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to say hello to everybody at the Time and Space convention this weekend, and a special thanks to all the organisers, volunteers and guests who made it such a great time! And of course, thanks to everyone who turned up for Alan's interview sessions! Here he is with Donald Tosh and Andrew Cartmel:

Late Convention Info

2010-10-08T14:07:00.001-07:00

A last-minute Kaldor City guest has been added to the list for the Doctor Who Appreciation Society convention tomorrow-- the charming and versatile Peter Miles, who always delivers a scintillating interview.

Time4 update

2010-10-03T04:50:00.000-07:00

Elisabeth Sladen will now be making a rare appearance at the DWAS convention Time4-- Time and Space, raising money for the charity Help for Heroes. As if you didn't already have enough reasons to attend!

New article: Olag Gan-- Gentle Giant or Sex Killer?

2010-10-03T04:16:00.000-07:00

Continuing our series of rare and unpublished articles on Blake's 7, we include here Olag Gan: Gentle Giant or Sex Killer? Intended for publication in Scorpio Attack!, this piece expands on the case made in The Mark of Kane and Liberation, that Gan has a deeply ambiguous past, the exploration of which tells us many interesting things about crime, punishment and rehabilitation in the Federation.

October events

2010-09-20T06:50:00.000-07:00

Events Page updated, with more details of the DWAS' Time and Space convention, plus Ian Rakoff's latest lecture, in Oxford on 15th October.

More Counterattack

2010-08-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

Part Two of the Blake's 7 comic Counterattack, by Alan Stevens and Jon Helm, is now up. You can read it here, or start from the beginning here.

New Magic Bullet forum

2010-08-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

Magic Bullet fan Kevin Richardson has created a new forum for people who like our CDs, books, comics and/or articles; you can visit/join at http://magicbullet.proboards.com.

Counter Culture

2010-08-01T07:14:00.000-07:00

Following on from last month's unpublished Blake's 7 comic script, this month we present Part One of Counterattack, a fully-illustrated comic by Alan Stevens and Jonathan Helm, set between the episodes "Star One" and "Aftermath," and previously published in Scorpio Attack! issue 2.

Together in Electric Dreams

2010-07-11T05:20:00.000-07:00

Continuing our series of unpublished Blake's 7-related material, we present Electronic Dream by Alan Stevens, a brief script set between "Terminal" and "Rescue," and featuring Cally. Originally meant as the basis for a comic which was to appear in Scorpio Attack! with artwork by Jonathan Helm (as a follow-up to his and Alan's earlier collaboration, "Counterattack"), it is reproduced here for the first time.

Siren FM radio today

2010-06-09T04:23:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to UK listeners (and international ones as time zones allow) to tune in to Siren FM from 5.25 BST tonight, as their drivetime programme will feature not only myself (Alan Stevens), but also Daniel Blythe, author of Virgin-era and RTD-era Doctor Who novels, and Richard Martin, director of such classic Doctor Who serials as The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Web Planet and The Chase. You can listen live to Siren here.

New article: Spiral Conflict

2010-06-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

This month, we begin a new series of additions to our on-site Features. Some time ago, Alan wrote two articles and a script for a short comic for the Blake's 7 zine Scorpio Attack!, but unfortunately it ceased production before they could be published. We have obtained the editor's permission to include these pieces on kaldorcity.com, and will do so over the coming months. We start with Spiral Conflict: Blake's 7's Galactic and Intergalactic Wars, an insightful piece for fans of the series arguing that what is sometimes taken as a script editing error is in fact a complicated political arc running through Seasons Three and Four.

Post-Sci Fi London

2010-05-03T14:26:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to say hello to everyone we met at the Sci-Fi London Film Festival and, if you're visiting this site for the first time after seeing the Doctor Who panel, welcome! We had a great time, and everyone we met there was having one too. Looking forward to next year's festival!

Kaldor City at Sci-Fi London

2010-04-22T02:56:00.000-07:00

On 2 May, Alan will be appearing at the Sci-Fi London Film Festival, on their The Birth of the Modern Doctor Who panel (click for summary). We'll also be visiting the festival on Thursday and Monday as well-- so if you see one of us, please come over and say hi.

The Eleventh Hour

2010-04-04T06:44:00.000-07:00

A big hello to everyone we met at the Eleventh Hour screening in London last night; we had a great time, the episode was fantastic, with generally good work on both sides of the camera, and Matt Smith looks like he'll be a refreshing change from the last four years. Looking forward to next week!

Rise up, rise up

2010-03-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

With the new season of Doctor Who on the way, we thought it was time we revisited some of the memorable moments of the reimagined series, starting with 45 Stupid Things about "Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel" (and 5 Cool Ones). Are we human.2... or are we dancers?

Faction Paradox is Well

2010-03-14T08:50:00.000-07:00

Excellent review/overview of the series at orsonswell.com.

Peter Miles Interview

2010-03-02T08:50:00.000-08:00

Peter Miles will be interviewed about his work for Magic Bullet, among other things, at 6:15 PM tomorrow (Wednesday) on Siren FM-- you can listen live by following the link.

Palare the Carni?

2010-02-28T11:22:00.000-08:00

This month's "50 Things..." is 32 Cool Things about "Carnival of Monsters" (and 18 Stupid Ones). Just to get you in the mood for a bit of popular entertainment...

Contest Winners

2010-02-28T11:21:00.000-08:00

We're delighted to announce that the winners of the The Judgment of Sutekh script signed by cast members are Kathleen Jackson of Canada and
Anthony Zehetner of Australia! Thanks to everyone for taking part.

And Stay Tuned

2010-02-06T11:25:00.000-08:00

We'll be announcing our competition winner at the end of this month, so keep buying!

Dancing on Ice

2010-02-06T11:23:00.000-08:00

In honour of the coldest winter in Britain for decades, our first "50 Things..." of the New Year is 26 Cool, So To Speak, Things About "The Ice Warriors" (and 24 Stupid Ones).

Happy Holidays

2009-12-23T11:28:00.000-08:00

This is our last post for 2009, so we'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and leave you for the moment with an interview with Edward de Souza (Geb, Father of the Osirians, in The True History of Faction
Paradox).

Pyramid Power

2009-11-23T11:32:00.000-08:00

The latest 50 Things About... naturally, features 34 Cool Things About "Pyramids of Mars" (and 16 Stupid Ones), for you to remind yourselves of how it all began...

Sutekh Released

2009-11-23T11:29:00.000-08:00

The Judgment of Sutekh is now in release! And, as we promised, all CDs ordered from this site are autographed by Sutekh himself:

We've also included a new pdf Press Release on the CD's page, for anyone who wants to download and give to your friends (or customers, if you're a retailer) to explain what it's all about.