AtoZ2017 - K is for Kastrian & David Kessler #AtoZChallenge

Welcome to Day 11 of the AtoZChallenge and the letter K. Every day in April (except Sundays) I will be making a post about shapeshifters of all kinds. Check back to see my choices and, from time to time some flash fiction too.

K is for 

Kastrian (Eldrad)

Back to my childhood we go, although I have to admit I don't actually remember ever seen this Doctor Who episode at the time since I was only 4. It is called The Hand of Fear.

The Kastrians are a silicon based lifeform and the one we meet is called Eldrad. Although not technically shapeshifters of the can-change-form-at-will kind, Eldrad regenerates into a female form from just a hand and then, later regenerates again back into his male form. Destruction of the previous phsical form is required first and regeneration takes an emormous amount of energy.

This makes them very hard to kill. In fact Kastrian execution is called Obliteration and involved blowing up a spacecraft in the vastness of empty space. Eldrad only survived because his execution had to be done early before the spacecraft had reached position and the hand landed on Earth.

Kastrians also appear to have the ability to control human minds.

Eldrad is definitely not someone to mess with if at all possible.

Werewolf of the Day

David Kessler (An American Werewolf in London)

So I've talked about the sequel for A, so let's talk about the original for K: An American Werewolf in London. David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman are American backpackers trapsing across the North Yorkshire moors when they come across The Slaughtered Lamb pub. Here they meet very weird locals who warn them not to leave the path.

Unfortuneately they don't heed the warnings and Jack is killed which David is infected by the bite of a werewolf.

David wakes up three weeks later in hospital in London with no memory of the attack. Things are quickly explained, however, when Jack appears to him as an animated corpse and tells him he's a werewolf. He also urges him to kill himself so he doesn't kill anyone else, which is not so good.

David does not believe what he is seeing and hearing until he turns into a werewolf and does exactly what Jack told him he would.

There is no doubt aAWiL is a classic black comedy horror. It's dark and bloody, but very funny at times too. Well worth seeing.

Thank you all for any comments, I hope you liked today's choices.

• Do you have a favourite silicom based lifeform? Xenomorphs? Gorignak? Tholians? etc
• What is your favourite comedy horror film?

See you soon. Have fun with the other AtoZ sites.

Click here and here to find other AtoZ posts.

Original Doctor Who did it BEST! - #MonsterMonday 16

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Greetings and welcome to my blog on this raining Monday, today I have chosen some of my favourite monsters from original Doctor Who for Monster Monday 16. I hope they bring back good memories like they do for me.

Monster Mondays posts may be fiction, film reviews, book reviews or me waxing lyrical about a particular monster. Monsters can be paranormal, sci-fi, fantasy or even simply human. So basically, anything monster goes. I also invite anyone who would like to, to join in with their own post. (See end for details).

Original Doctor Who did it BEST!

When I think monster few things bring back more childhood memories than Doctor Who. I grew up with Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy as my doctors and I love them all. Yes the monsters are often cheesy and look a little silly next to modern special effects, but they scared the beejeesus out of me as a child.

The one who springs to mind instantly is Davros. Now the Daleks frightened me, but they were never quite as bad as their creator, Davros, because he still had a humanoid face. That almost made is worse somehow.

Davros is a scientist with a great mind who set out to save his people, but he forgot about conscience and caring and everything that makes people great. His megalomania took over. He created Daleks to be the best, to be conquerors and he left out all emotion and mercy because he believed it made them weak. In his frenzy of creation he forgot everything good. I remember seeing him when I was very small and his face and his semi-human voice seemed to be showing the death of the Kaled man he once was. The above image is from Genesis of the Daleks.

Another Doctor Who original I remember trying to make a mask of was the Fendahleen from Image of the Fendahl.

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These are part of the Fendahl, a creature that travels from planet to planet destroying all life on it. There is the Fendahl core, the intelligence behind the creature and the twelve Fendahleen, worm like creatures that end up about human size and are the vessels for the Fendahl to feed. They can freeze other creatures with their psychic power and feed of their psychic energy. I didn't actually remember the story of the Fendahl at all until I saw it again on DVD, but the Fendahleen stuck with me over time. Their form really wormed into my brain.

Sticking with the idea of snakelike monsters, another one I always liked was the Mara from Kinda and Snakedance.

The Mara manefests as a giant snake when it is forced to, but it is so dangerous because it mostly lives unseen in the minds of the unwary. In Kinda the Mara uses Tegan to cross to the real world from the void where it is trapped, possessing her and using her until it finds a more useful host in the form of Aris, one of the natives of the planet they are on. The hosts of the Mara are marked by a snake symbol on their arm and if they cover it up there is no way to tell they are possessed. A lot of people don't like Kinda, but it was one of my fav episodes.

Finally I have to mention the Haemovores from The Curse of Fenric. I adored this episode when I first saw it; not only does it make the Doctor far more interesting, but it also has vampires, okay Haemovores, but same difference.

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The Haemovores are such interesting monsters. They are the cursed, living under the sea until the release of Fenric calls them to the surface to hunt in the open. the older they are, the more hideous they become, changing from human form to something much more monstrous, killing without mercy.

I think what I liked most was they weren't the ultimate baddies either. They were monstrous and could only be defeated by a psychic shield created by absolute faith in something, but they were being used as well. They were scary and yet sad as well. The perfect monster.

I love original Doctor Who, I think some of the stories are absolutely amazing. I like some of New Who too, but I'm not so completely attached like I am to original Who. Yes the monsters were people in rubber suits, or glowing balls surrounded in bubble wrap, or giant rubber snakes or metal work and silver painted plastic balls, but the stories were all better for it. With limited special effects the story has to convince the audience to believe and believe we did.

Are you a Doctor Who fan? Do you miss the days of bubble wrap and light-bulbs or do you prefer CGI and moulded latex? What is your favourite Doctor Who monster?

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Monster Mondays #16 Links 

If you would like to join in, please feel free to make your Monster Monday post and add it to the list.

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A is for Android (and a thank you) - Blogging from A to Z April Challenge

It's the 1st April and that means a go for the A to Z Challenge, however, before we start A is also for ARLEE BIRD who founded this whole thing. This is a BIG THANK YOU for all the hard work. It is such a great concept and wonderful for getting everyone connected.

Now, on to the meat of today's post.

Okay, so I know there are some geeks out there who are now thinking of their phone, but when I think android, I still imagine Data or The Androids of Tara. I suspect I probably saw my first android when watching Dr Who, since that show had many things like that, and I grew up watching it. So today I will take you through some of the most memorable androids I have come across from film and TV.

Data (Star Trek: TNG)

Now Data is very close to my heart, because I became a huge Trekkie through Star Trek: The Next Generation and I remember watching Encounter At Farpoint, where we were introduced to this strange android-man, who could not whistle, like it was yesterday.

Brent Spiner plays him with a childlike humanity as he moves his way through the world of Starfleet with competence and sometimes wonder. His character grew through all the seasons of the show and on through the movies and I still adore Data.

My favourite moment from him has to be when Tasha Yar asks him if he is fully functional; it is just so perfect.

Twiki (Buck Rogers)

I have to say I don't love Twiki the way I love Data. He is a small mechanical man from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and he's a little bit annoying. Now, don't get me wrong, Buck Rogers just wouldn't be the same without Twiki, but sometimes, especially after they changed his voice, I just wanted to throw him in the nearest trash compactor :).

When we first meet Twiki, he is Dr Theopolis' ambuquad, in that he carries around the member of the Earth computer council so that Dr Theopplis can be mobile. However, Twiki soon becomes Buck's firm friend and totally ready to get into any trouble Buck can find with him.

D84 (The Robots of Death, Doctor Who)

One of my favourite episodes of Doctor Who is The Robots of Death, which originally came out in Jan 1977. Now I was only four and a bit when this originally aired, so I didn't see it then, but it is one of my favs to rewatch.

Leela and the Doctor land on a sandminer that is run by a decadent crew and a whole bunch of human-like robots. The problem is, people are dying, so the Doctor gets the blame. Of course it's not him and central command also think something iffy is going on, because they've put D84 on board.

Now D84 looks like a Dum, one of the lowest forms of robot, who can't speak and only carry out menial functions, but he's a lot brighter than that. I love the way the robots speak, with a lilting voice, and I love D84 because he's badass :).

Bishop (Aliens)

Now, no list of memorable androids would be complete without Bishop. Firstly, I love Lance Hendrickson as an actor and he's as good in this as everything else and Bishop is superbly kick arse.

I love the way he tries to put Ripley at her ease and is still totally ready to back her up even though she is hostile. He's intelligent, fast and could probably take out the whole squad of marines if he wanted to. Bishop is an  android to look up to.

Roy (Blade Runner)

I remember watching Blade Runner as a teenager and I always wanted the replicants to survive and thrive. Their lot in life is not a happy one and the way Roy brings them together and looks after them is so poignant. All they really want is to live and they are doing the best with what they have been given.

Roy is something of a psychopath when it comes to humans, but that is because he has no choice. He wants to protect his own and extend his own life in an impossible world. I never wanted him to kill Deckard, but I kind of wanted him to win the fight at the end. If you have never seen Blade Runner and don't want to know what happens at the end, stop reading this part now.

The moment when Roy saves Deckard just before he dies is one of the most memorable moments in cinema as far as my mind is concerned. The raw emotion has stayed with me ever since I first saw it. It is a true moment of directorial and acting brilliance.

David 8 (Prometheus)

I know some people really dislike Prometheus, but I think is it superb film. In fact I wrote a glowing review of it here if you would like to read it.

As far as I am concerned David 8 is one of the best bits of the movie. He is creepy and yet attractive at the same time, giving a whole contradiction vibe that is simply superb. David 8 is totally amoral, he simply does what he has been told to do and the more we, the audience, see of it, the worse it gets.

When we see him bleaching his hair and watching Laurence of Arabia, it is utterly bizarre. He is possibly the freakiest android I've ever seen on film and that makes him simply perfect. He looks human, but he so totally isn't. Kudos to the director and Michael Fassbender.

So, there you have it, my most memorable TV and Film androids. What are yours?

If you enjoy androids in fiction, Soph and I have some short stories with androids/cyborgs in them. You can find them in the following anthologies:

       

If you would like to see what all of my posts will be about in advance, click here to see my theme post.
My twin and I are also doing the A to Z Challenge over at our fantasy erotica blog: http://fantasyboysxxx.blogspot.co.uk/