OK, so this ranks right up there on the "um, ok" meter.  io9.com, that bastion of the odd, nerdy and interesting, brings us what is one of the more interesting stories about the weird things people are willing to pay for.

For $25, you could be hearing Isaac Asimov and Douglas Adams in a whole new way, if you happen to be in New York on March 5. The Pinchbottom Burlesque is organizing "Naked Girls Reading Science Fiction."

The event takes place at "the plush and decadent upstairs lounge at Madame X in Greenwich Village".  Among the readers is Nasty Canasta, who has been known to dress up as a naughty version of both the fourth and tenth Doctors from Doctor Who. (Now, this monkey is a big fan of Looney Tunes and a mental image of the original Nasty Canasta nude is a positively flacid thought. But I digress. As usual.)

According to i09.com, the event is an offshoot of Naked Girls Reading, a series started in Chicago and featured on various TV shows. Besides Asimov and Adams, they say featured authors will include Aldous Huxley and H.G. Wells.

I don't imagine that there will be a lot of note taking going on.  Read more here.

See larger image Doctor Who: The Complete Specials (The Next Doctor / Planet of the Dead / The Waters of Mars / The End of Time Parts 1 and 2) (DVD) Starring: David Tennant, David Morrissey, Michelle Ryan, Lindsay Duncan, Bernard Cribbins Rating: NR (Not Rated) List Price: $49.98 USD New From: $27.00 In Stock Used From: $22.69 In Stock Released February 2, 2010.

Tags: asimov, Doctor Who, nude reading, sci fi, science fiction

The BBC have issued a press release confirming that the next Doctor Who special, 'The Waters of Mars', will air on BBC One in the UK on Sunday November 15.

'The Waters of Mars' is the second of four specials that will see David Tennant ultimately move on, to be replaced by Matt Smith as The Doctor.

Mars, 2059. Bowie Base One. Last recorded message: "Don't drink the water. Don't even touch it. Not one drop." And so begins what is being billed as one of the most scary Doctor Who episode yet as a creeping infection from below the surface of Mars threatens both the human race and the Doctor's most fundamental beliefs (whatever that's going to mean).

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Tags: Doctor Who

Yes, it's confusing.  It seems few people know what the next series (or season) of Doctor Who actually is.

First, in the US each new batch of episodes are called a "season".  In the UK each new batch of episodes are called a "series."  In the US this is confusing because a season takes place within a series, but in the UK a series takes place within a series.  Yep, damn confusing.

Further, David Tennant's reign as The Doctor took the current new TV episodes of Doctor Who to series 4 in the UK (season 4 in the US).  But since then Tennant has also appeared in a number of "specials" which some fans classify as being a self-contained fifth series (or 5th season in the US).  But of course all this talk of series/seasons doesn't take into account the series/seasons of Doctor Who right back to the beginning.

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Tags: Doctor Who

If you didn't already know, Matt Smith takes over as The Doctor in the next series of Doctor Who and when he does he'll also get a new companion by the name of Amy Pond (played by 21 year old Karen Gillan).

Details about Gillan's character are being kept very guarded, but recent images are fueling a wave of speculation that The Doctor's new companion is a stripper.

Check out the image above.  Do you think she's a real Police Officer or, perhaps, on her way to a different kind of party when she meets The Doctor?

Oh yeah, I should add that the general reaction to these images has been, unsurprisingly, extremely positive...

Images courtesy of (and there are more at) Thal Footsoldier on Flickr.

Tags: Doctor Who, Karen Gillan

There are those who think David Tennant's version of The Doctor in Doctor Who is the best ever.  He's been voted as such in Doctor Who magazine amongst other places multiple times.  Then there are those who are probably too old to care about voting but who, if you cornered them at the coffee shop one Sunday morning, would happily argue that Tom Baker is the man.  As of this moment in time, I'm definitely on the Tom Baker side of the fence.

Don't get me wrong, David Tennant is great as the Timelord but let's be honest, he does overact at times.  I've had plenty of 'arg' moments when watching him as The Doctor, but I can't say I ever had one of those moments with Tom Baker.  Baker was, consistently, awesome.  For my money Tom Baker is the best ever, and Tennant is a close second.

Which brings me to the point of my article.  When Matt Smith was announced as David Tennant's replacement, a lot of fans cringed.  Apart from being relatively unknown, few could believe that The Doctor would now be portrayed by a 26 year old.

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Tags: Doctor Who, Matt Smith