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Top 10 Andrew Blair 20 Sep 2013 - 07:00

Andrew counts down Doctor Who's 10 best Cyberman stories from across the TV series, audio dramas and comic strips...

Cybermen; Doctor Who's other monster. The one no-one knows quite what to do with, who show glimpses of what they can do, but don't look like dislodging the upper echelon from its perch.

They're Arsenal, basically. What is Nightmare in Silver if not Mehmet Ozil? A big name attached with lots excitement generated, and sure there are some clever ideas, but ultimately it's not what was necessary. I'd apologise to Arsenal fans but what are they going to do? Throw a trophy at me?

Like the Cybermen presumably do between their on-screen appearances, the writers will be heading back to the drawing board to discuss what they've learned. Meanwhile, here's our list of the top ten Cybermen stories across the entirety of Doctor Who.

San Diego Comic Con is the time for plugging future projects and Idw Comics is unveiling new ventures featuring iconic characters like Doctor Who and Little Nemo, as well as new series from popular creative talents such as Walter Simonson and Dave Simm.

Idw, the award-winning, San Diego based publisher of comics, graphic novels and trade paperbacks is releasing a myriad of new projects at Comic Con. First up, in honor of the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, comes the Doctor Who Special, which will arrive during the final week of 2013, written by Paul Cornell and illustrated by Jimmy Broxton. The plot: A strange force flings the Tardis and the Doctor into our own universe! Once here, the Doctor encounters a 10-year-old girl who happens to be a huge fan of the Doctor Who TV show. The Doctor grapples with being a fictional character as well as and a monster...

The dynamic duo behind the box-office smasher Skyfall, co-writer John Logan and director Sam Mendes, are collaborating on a television series.

Deadline reports that the vampire series, which has already been sent out to cable networks, will be written by Logan, while Mendes will produce and, possibly, direct.

Here’s the gist: “It is described as an origin story set in the 1800s London in the vein of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which also was set in 19th century Europe, including London, and featured an assortment of fictional literary characters. The Logan/Mendes project features such characters as Van Helsing and Doctor Frankenstein as they hunt for vampires.”

From that description, it sounds like the new series basically touches upon every popular nerd genre, with the exception of anime. It’s “All-Things Comic-Con: The TV Show.” But, to be fair, this collaboration of Mendes and Logan bodes well for the project.

Hollywood directors seem to be sneaking into our homes in the night time, snatching away our favourite books and destroying them by regurgitating slapdash adaptations on the big screen. Everything from science-fiction favourites to timeless graphic novels have been snapped up by the jaws of some horrible, dollar-eyed monster and squeezed into an hour and a half of such terrible cinema that it would make anyone spit out their popcorn. Not even our most beloved childhood stories are safe anymore. We thought we'd venture through these awful remakes to bring you the worst offenders.

Warning: contains spoilers

10) Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)

Lemony Snicket's novels were packed with dark humour and dry wit that tickled younger audiences. Following the story of the three Baudelaire orphans, the story spans over 13 books as their distant cousin Count Olaf brings about countless tragedies in an attempt to claim ownership to their inheritance.

Are you bored of the same old TV shows? Tired of the mainstream? Then check out this round-up of alternative movies and series showing on UK television tonight…

8.00pm The Dead Zone (Zone Horror)

Johnny Smith had the perfect life, until he went into a coma for six years. When he awoke, he found his fiance married to another man and his son not knowing who he is. Even Johnny’s changed, one touch and he can see things. Us intelligence recruits Johnny to track down the world’s most wanted terrorist, Osama Bin Laden. Season Two, episode 16.

9.00pm The X-Files Movie (Film4)

Thirty-seven thousand years ago, a deadly secret was buried in a cave in Texas. Now the secret has been unleashed. And its discovery may mean the end of all humanity. When a terrorist bomb destroys a building in Dallas, Texas, FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully...

Pixar, the CGI animation production company born out of Lucasfilm's Computer Division and acquired by Disney in 2007, has produced several of the most-enduring animated characters of the past two decades, from Buzz Lightyear to Nemo to Wall-e. In Up, Pixar's latest release, you won't find any animated toys or talking cars, only a curmudgeonly old man and his chubby 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer sidekick (and a few talking dogs, naturally).

With many of Pixar's other films -- Toy Story, Finding Nemo, A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc. -- the title gives you a clue about what the film is about; not so with Up. When asked to describe the film, even director Pete Doctor had a hard time summing it up:

It's a hard movie to talk about in a way because it's got a lot of elements to it.... That's what we're trying to do all the time, is surprise people.