Nothing says "I love you" like a TARDIS Ring

So quick bit of back story,

My wife and I were married some years ago BUT at the time I wasnt working (wasnt allowed due to lack of work permit for the US) so I wasnt able to get her a proper wedding ring.  However it wasnt about the ring to her or me for that matter.  It was about us spending the rest of our lives together and growing old with one another.  Little did she realise what she was really getting herself in to.  None the less Marfi has been at my side and supported me in what I do even when she dosnt like it, she is one in a million and for that I am very lucky.


With that said, on to the purpose of the post.  So about a month ago, will doing my usual scouting the internet for Doctor Who stuff I came across a unique piece of jewelery, a TARDIS ring designed by Gino Arizmendi.

The three round stones is the Police Box sign, the two sets of four baguettes symbolize the windows, and a small princess cut below that to symbolize the instructions found on the front of the Police Box..... Perfect.

Immediately I email Gino and made some inquiries, very quickly I got the price list, and had to figure out how I was gonna afford it.  After again talking to Gino he and I organised a sort of payment plan in which I could pay for the ring in installments, once the balance was paid he would send out the ring...

heres the price list (as of April 2012)

EGL Certified Center Diamond, with diamond sides in 14K White Gold:

1.00ct center Princess Cut Diamond G-HSI1 quality is $9950.

0.75ct center Princess Cut Diamond G-HSI1 quality is $6670.

0.50ct center Princess Cut Diamond G-HSI1 quality is $3650.
 

Authentic Sapphire Center (5x5mm), with Sapphire side diamonds and one

princess cut stone (as the instructions) is $1940. 
 

1.00ct center Princess Cut Cubic Zirconium equivalent set in Sterling

Silver is $380.

Created Sapphire Princess Cut stone set in Sterling Silver is $410.

 

 

I did it, I saved up a little each week from the sales of my Cybermat Earrings and my IR Illuminators as well as other stuff and over the course of a month and a bit I was able to finally afford to buy my wife something that is unique, special and beautiful, much like herself.

It arrived only a few days after the final payment was made and its fantastic, truly a work of art and something that is personal, something that will stay in our family for generations I'm sure.

As my wife puts it, shes a Whovian by marriage, I think this kinda sealed that deal.  

 
You can find more details on the ring as well as a way to order your own here: http://artgemsjewelers.com/

If you do contact Gino, do let him know you heard it from me

Episode Review: Tooth and Claw

Episode:                      Tooth and Claw

Original Air Date:        April 22^nd 2006 (UK)

October 6^th 2006 (US)

Directed by:                Euros Lyn

Written by:                  Russell T. Davies

Starring:                      David Tennant, Billie Piper and Pauline Collins

Our story starts with the Doctor attempting to take Rose (his companion) to see Ian Dury and the blockheads in concert in 1979 however, the TARDIS has other plans and they land in the Scottish moors in 1879 where they encounter a carriage and armed guard, due to a fallen tree on the train line Queen Victory is forced to take the roads to Balmoral Castle.  This is actually the third time the Doctor has encountered Queen Victoria, in the television story ‘The Curse of Peladon’ , the third Doctor mentioned having been in attendance at Queen Victoria's coronation, and in the novel ‘Empire of Death’ the Fifth Doctor met Queen Victoria and was even appointed her Scientific Advisor. None of this however is mentioned within this episode.  The Doctor claims to have been appointed the royal physician and joins Victoria to her overnight stop, The Torchwood Estate, home of Sir Robert MacLeish and his wife lady Isobel (interestingly, the Doctor introduces himself as James McCrimmon which was actually the name of the Second Doctors Companion Jamie.)  At this time the Royal party are all blissfully unaware that the house has been overrun by a brotherhood of monks whom tuned from God to worship the Wolf.  The monks force Sir Robert to play into their ruse as they take the place of the house's servants and guards. It was in fact these same monks who arranged for the fallen tree in order to direct the Queens travels to the Torchwood Estate where they intend to infect her with the curse of the werewolf.  With them the Monks have brought a ‘person’ already affected with lycanthropy, hoping to pass its nature to the Queen and create a new "Empire of the Wolf”. 

As the Doctor, Sir Robert and Queen Victoria sit down to dinner the Doctor becomes aware that this is all a trap, that the Monks led by Father Angelo have drugged the Queens guards and imprisoned the house staff and Rose in the basement with the affected ‘person’.  As the moon initiates this creatures transformation from man into beast Rose and the others break free of their shackles and escape into the estate.  Joining the Doctor, Rose, Sir Robert and Victoria take refuge in the estates library, armed with books the Doctor and others set about trying to find more information of this beast and more importantly how to fight it.  While there a question arises as to why the Werewolf hasn’t attempted to break into the library, what is it about this place that halts the creatures attack?  The Doctor discovers that the woodwork surrounding the room is coated with mistletoe.  Mistletoes use as a Werewolf repellant dates back to the fourth and fifth century were ‘magicians’ would not only sell the repellant but also herbs that “guaranteed” the werewolf transformation.  During their study of the libraries books, they discover evidence collected by Sir Robert's father and Prince Albert that indicate the werewolf is actually the current form of an alien species that fell to earth in 1540 near St. Catherine's Glen, surviving the ages by passing its lycanthropic form from human to human. The Doctor also realises that the Torchwood  Estate its self was designed as a trap for the werewolf, by the use of a strange telescope designed by both Prince Albert and Sir Roberts father, along with the Queen's Koh-i-Noor diamond, they can force the werewolf to revert to human form and destroy the alien symbian.

As the Doctor prepares the telescope, Sir Robert attempts to fend off the Werewolf allowing the Doctor more time, the wolf breaks into the observatory as the Doctor configures the telescope in such a way to concentrate the moons light and traps the werewolf, the now trapped creature which has taken human form once again begs the Doctor to increase the light and kill him, the Doctor reluctantly obliges.  The Queen appears to have a small cut from this ordeal which she claims to have been a splinter from the door when the werewolf burst into the room, however the Doctor explains to Rose that history (her history) notes that all Queens Victoria’s children will carry a strange form of hemophilia, and that perhaps this was a Victorian explanation for lycanthropy.

The Next day the Doctor and Rose are knighted by Queen Victoria which is actually the second time the Doctor has been knighted, although this was his first official knighthood, the fifth Doctor was knighted in the story The Kings Demons by his future companion Kamelion who posed as King John the first while under the control of the Master.  Due to their ‘unholy’ lifestyle the Queen then banishes the Doctor and Rose from the British Empire, and in tribute to Sir Robert and his father she creates the Torchwood Institute, taking the name from the estate, with the express duty to investigate paranormal events such as the werewolf in this episode.

Ever wanted to snuggle up with a Dalek?

For a while I've wondered when they are going to release some DW plush toys and in September Underground Toys did just that.  Their first series includes two Daleks and a TARDIS,  I did read that there will be a second series around April 2012 which will include a White and Yellow Dalek but not sure what else, my wife is hoping for a plush Ood at some point.

Now the TARDIS is fantastic, the light flashes and you get the materialisation sound but the Daleks I was a little disappointed with, as a plush toy they are great BUT the sounds are from the first gen NSD, one of the sounds even says "You would make a good Dalek" I'm sure everyone would like to know they would make a good Dalek but these are supposed to be the new Paradigm Daleks but the voices don't match.  Yes for a kid I'm sure this is fine and does it really take anything away from the fact they are plush Daleks? no not really, its just disappointing...

So apart from the sound issue that I have with these, I think they are great.  Hopefully with the new release in April they will change the sounds.... I'm sure I'm not the only person to have picked this up and its the second time Ive been a little disappointed by a DW release, it seems they are perhaps rushing to flood the market before the Doctor Who craze fades away when they really should take just a little longer to perfect the product.

Available from $19.99 - $24.99 at Think Geek

Attack of the Cybermats

Cybermats, the small metal rat like creatures that featured in the original classic Doctor Who episode "Tomb of the Cybermen", have made a comeback recently (with a new look) in the episode "Closing Time" and with their appearance on the screen comes the Bump & Go ‘toy’, officially release October 16th these have been another hot seller for both adult collectors and children. These are pretty impressive as far as replicating what was seen on the show although perhaps half the size of their on screen version.

They take 2 ‘AAA’ batteries and scoot about the floor changing direction randomly as it does this the tail moves from left to right, again, replicating what it did on the screen. However unlike its TV big brother this one does not open its mouth to display terrifying  teeth.  Which, if this is a gift for a child then I think that’s probably a good thing.  

One thing I will say, is as much as I like mine, my cats appear to like it more and it keeps them busy for ages... 

Cost wise you’re looking at around the $30-$40 figure and again eBay is very probably going to be your best bet. 


Available in the UK mostly but there are a select few retailers/resellers who might have them in stock here in the US.  I did find someone selling them on Amazon

Go directly to jail... Do NOT collect £200

Something I bought earlier in the year was the limited edition (limited to 5000) Doctor Who monopoly, now before you rush out and get yourself one I want to share some of my knowledge and experience with this particular 'collectors' item.   Hasbro really didn’t pull out the stops with this, and didn’t really put much effort into making this a collectors piece at all. I think the main thing that strikes me as perhaps... lazy, is the game pieces.

Hasbro could very easily have supplied the small pewter figures of the Doctor, K9, a Dalek or even Cyberman but no, the game pieces are the same as the original, the Hat, Iron, Car, dog  etc.  The only thing they added was a TARDIS, even the hotels are the same small plastic hotels but are yellow and blue rather than red and green…  Such a shame.  It just seems to have this unfinished feel about it, like they gave up or something half way through and decided just to throw in the original pieces thinking no one would notice.

Yes the board has the Doctor Who theme, the cards and locations are all themed but the pieces don’t relate to Doctor Who at all and at $159 from Amazon you may want to think twice about purchasing this game.

With the 50th Anniversary coming up in 2013 I would hope that Hasbro would re-release this game with more Classic Who and with the EVERYTHING correctly themed, maybe have the hotels as TARDIS's and the game piece as described above.  I'm pretty sure that anyone who has purchased this will be disappointed, and it may very well put them off getting the newer version when the time comes.

Hasbro, take note.....