1. The prolonged period of roadworks in Manchester is coming to an end!

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/mancunian-way-hole-initial-work-9926966

As well as that whacking great hole on the Mancunian Way being repaired, direct trams are running through the city again from Friday. NO MORE REPLACEMENT BUSES!!

2. Manchester Pride is celebrating it's silver anniversary. 

It may have changed a lot over the years and people can have polarising opinions of it, but the fact that this event is now 25 years old is definitely something to celebrate! I hope that everyone attending has a great time and bucket loads of cash are raised for a great cause.

3. Jess Glynne 

4. Antony Murphy on Gaydio

Most radio now has become very safe and generic with no sense of fun anymore, so it's always pleasing whenever I hear this guy with his 90s show on Sunday nights. 

http://uk.gaydio.co.uk/on-air/antony-murphy/

So many great songs from the best decade of music! It really has been a perfect way to close the week :)

5. Pixar has got its mojo back!

The last few years for Pixar haven't really been the best. There have been too many sequals not really reaching the high standar set by film like Up and Wall-E. So when I saw Inside Out for the first time I was absolutely elated! It already is a true classic and, for me, the best film of the year so far. 

6. Who's Back

 Do I need to say more? Like most Doctors, Mr Capaldi has had an uneven first series, but I have every faith that now he has settled in to the role that things are going to be marvellous!

 So these are so of my reasons to be cheerful at the moment. Is there anything else that deserves a mention? Please let me know and have a great Bank Holiday!

BBC to reveal a number of missing Doctor Who episodes

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24448063

Could it be true? Could it???

One of the most frustrating things about being a Doctor Who fan is the knowledge that over 106 episodes of the greatest sci-fi show on Earth are missing. We have audio recordings, telesnaps, novelisations and more recently animated reconstructions of what we never got to see but it just isn't the same as seeing it for real

As of today [8th October 2013], this is the list of missing and incomplete stories:

First Doctor

Marco Polo
The Reign of Terror
The Crusade
Galaxy 4
"Mission to the Unknown"
The Myth Makers
The Daleks' Master Plan
The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve
The Celestial Toymaker
The Savages
The Smugglers
The Tenth Planet

Second Doctor

The Power of the Daleks
The Highlanders
The Underwater Menace
The Moonbase
The Macra Terror
The Faceless Ones
The Evil of the Daleks
The Abominable Snowmen
The Ice Warriors
The Enemy of the World
The Web of Fear
Fury from the Deep
The Wheel in Space
The Invasion

Completely missing from the BBC archives is the first regeneration and the Second Doctor's first story! Also missing is what could possibly be the scariest Doctor Who story ever - Fury From The Deep - all I have seen is the below clips and it looks bloody terrifying!

I could make a list of what I would like to see but, lets be honest, I wouldn't be completely happy until I finally saw every episode ever made!

When I get more information about what has actually been found I will update you here, but in the meantime I'll just get very excited....!

Part of the excitement of the show though, is the transition period between Doctors, starting with the speculation on who the next actor or actress is going to be. This time around there were some weird and wonderful names like Dawn French, Dominic Cooper, Ben Wishaw and even Billie Piper being speculated about in the press until the bookies suspended bets as they had become almost certain who the actor was going to be.

Peter Capaldi "almost certainly" new Doctor, say bookies

For a change, it looks like they were right this time!

To me, this is a very bold decision, when I saw Peter Capaldi's name being mentioned on these bookies lists I thought to myself that would be a great idea but for some reason I just didn't see it happening as the actor is so different from anyone that has gone before him.

I know I should only really judge him when I have seen some episodes with him as The Doctor, but when the announcement was made by Zoe Ball on Sunday night I have to admit I did let out a bit of a scream of pleasure.

I am just so very, very happy with this decision and here are the reasons why:

1. He's a great actor Take a look as his CV [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0134922/], he has been in so many great things and he is never less than great im them. Notably four series of the intensly funny "The Thick of It", the surreal and magnificent "Neverwhere" and a very good guest appearance with David Tennant and Catherine Tate in the excellent "Fires of Pompeii"

On the subject of him being in Doctor Who and Torchwood before, people really shouldn't make and issue of it. Doctors and assistants have been appearing in the show as guests before their main roles from as early as 1965 when Peter Purvis played an American tourist only a couple of episodes before he played Stephen. After this, Harry, Martha, Gwen Cooper and Amy have done the same thing. The best example of this was Colin Baker turning up as a bit of a bastard in the Fifth Doctor's "Ark Of Infinity."

2. He's an older gent

I know the actor's age shouldn't make a difference as the timelord is over 1,000 years old and has taken on many appearances, but I think with him being played by an older man this time there will be less speculation about any sexual tension between himself and a the attractive young assistant. I was never comfortable with The Doctor snogging every companion!

3. He's a lifelong Doctor Who fan

This article in today's Independant backs up my point: http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2013/08/05/peter-capaldis-letter-in-praise-of-doctor-who-to-radio-times-aged-15/

'After news that Peter Capaldi was chosen as the new Doctor yesterday, it has emerged that the Thick of It star has been a fan of the show for over forty years.

The actor, 55, wrote an enthusiastic letter to Radio Times magazine aged 15 in praise of the show. In a letter entitled ‘Dalek-builders’ he said:

“May I congratulate you on your excellent Dr Who Special. The articles, photos, and especially the Terry Nation Dalek story with the twist in the tail, were excellent.

The Dalek construction plans will have no doubt inspired many a school to build their own Daleks. Who knows, the country could be invaded by an army of school Daleks! Ah, but we’d be sage, as we’d have Dr Who to protect us!

Your Special has certainly made the year for Dr Who fans. A rather sad year due to the un-timely death of the Master, alias Roger Delgado. But I hope that in 15 years’ time, in 1988, you will publish another Special to celebrate 25 years of wandering in time with the Doctor.”

Peter Capaldi (aged 15)

Today it emerged Capaldi’s love for the series was a major factor in the creator’s casting choice.

Doctor Who creator Steven Moffat said: “I happen to know Capaldi is a big fan. There’s something very seductive about an utterly brilliant, arresting looking leading man actor…who you happen to know is a big fan of the show.”'

4. He's a man

This is not a sexist thing, but the character of The Doctor is a man. Why should this change? No one ever starts campaigns about the next James Bond being a woman do they? That's all I'm saying on the matter as to me it's a point that is not even worth debating...

5. He physically looks the part

There are some actors that just look perfect for the part, take a look at this brilliant clip someone has made on youtube:

It all works doesn't it?

Of course, I could be completely wring about all this, as the Seventh Doctor said, "Time will tell, it always does..." For the moment though, the signs are extremely promising.

The episode started with a spooky warning that there may be a living enitity inside your Wi-Fi connection. From that moment I was immediately on board with the premise that something that is all around us could be dangerous - very much like Blink.

Matt Smith and Jenna Louise Coleman are now rock solid together, having him meet her a few times before was a pretty good idea , although there are still many many questions that need to be answered. One thing that intrigued me was her problem with numbers - did anyone else notice her issues with the number three?

I think i'm going to really like Clara. How could you not love someone who takes a cup of tea into the TARDIS as she hadn't finished it yet?

In addition to this the whole thing just looked amazing, the London skyline looked wonderful. Was it filmed in London or was Cardiff doubled up with bit of CGI? Either way it looked stunning, especially when The Doctor rode up the Shard!

Celia Imrie was as good as ever and there was also a suprising cameo who I won't reveal as I know not everyone has seen it yet.

My only niggle, and its a very small one, is that the episode could have been about 5 minutes longer. As with many stories in this series, the resolution was too quick and I wanted to know more about what happened to the office workers.

Other than that it was business as usual and a great opening to what looks like is going to be a great run of episodes

The whole episode was a joy to watch from beginning to end with it’s dark film noir style perfectly directed to the excellent Steven Moffat penned script which will packed with sadness and irony. Matt Smith was, as always, brilliant as Doctor 11, Alex Kingston was reassuringly good but the stand out actor for me was Karen Gillen, she was just amazing and her last few minutes on the screen were heartbreaking.

This was a woman who had just lost her husband, the true love of her life, and she was going to do anything to get him back, even if that meant never seeing The Doctor again…

Amy and Rory got the send off they deserved. After all, they were excellent companions.

People will be sad to see them go, but this is something that we can’t be shocked or surprised by though as, as explained in last week’s brilliant episode, The Doctor loses all his compainions at some point and Amy and Rory have had a much longer run with him than practically anyone else.

What sets these two apart from all the other companions though is that for the most of the time The Doctor sought them out rather than them being with him all the time. How many other times can you say that The Doctor actively looks for people on his adventures? It seems like at this stage in his very long life, The Doctor needed them more than they needed him.

Jenna Louise Coleman has got a massive task ahead of her, she has massive shoes to fill here. If she is only half as good as Karen Gillen, then she will be fantastic