Finally the lull in news about the new season of Doctor Who seems to be ending. More and more bits and pieces are coming out about the new which is very exciting. What it means is that the roller coaster ride to the new season is now underway!

VALENTINE’S DAY

Since Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us I thought it would be great to look back one of the unsung guest stars of Doctor Who, Valentine Dyall.

Dyall (1908-1985) deserves a day of recognition all to himself based on his long career in film, stage, radio and television including consistent work in episodes of may of Britain’s best science fiction television shows.

Dyall, a native Londoner and the son of another famous actor, Franklin Dyall, was dubbed ‘The Vincent Price of England’ for his deep voice and roles in many horror films. However Dyall was a classically trained actor who’s resume lists almost every relevant Brit cult show possible. He voiced Dr. Noah in Casino Royale and appeared in episodes of  Sapphire & Steel, Black Adder, Secret Army, The Avengers, Blake’s 7, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy and  Doctor Who. He also appeared in Decidedly Dusty with Dusty Springfield in 1969. His voicing of Deep Thought for HGTTG on TV (and a re-recording of the radio series) remains classic.

From 1943 to 1949 and again in 1955, he was known as The Man in Black in part because of his role as the narrator in Appointment With Fear, a radio horror drama. His film credits included The Yellow Canary, Henry V (with Laurence Olivier), Identity Unknown, Brief Encounter,  and Man on The Run and two horror classics, City Of The Dead and  The Haunting.

In Doctor Who he appeared as The Black Guardian in The Armageddon Factor and then later in the Davison era, appearing in Mawdryn Undead, Terminus and Enlightenment. He also appeared as Slam in the Doctor Who radio drama, Slipback which aired one month after his death in 1985.

Dyall’s trademark was his rich and deep voice which was used, with great effect, to convey horror and creepiness. In Doctor Who, his Black Guardian was frightening and maniacal. That amazing voice helped make The Black Guardian seem so mysterious and evil.

In order to appreciate Dyall’s performance in Doctor Who you have to look beyond the stupid costume they put him in. He really was a terrific villain who played on the viewer’s sense of fear. As an actor he worked well with Peter Davison, never overwhelming him or stealing his scenes yet bringing  gravitas to the role. His scenes with Mark Strickson are also really good. Of his three Davison stories I think Enlightenment is the one that lets him do the most with the character.

So as you celebrate the traditional Valentine’s Day, take some time to listen to his audio work and see his episodes of Doctor Who. Beyond that he’s wonderful in the Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and the Blake’s 7 episode City At The End of The World (with Colin Baker).  Indeed Mr. Dyall brought a lot with him to Doctor Who and The Black Guardian would never have been so scary without him.

MATT SMITH ENGAGED

Here’s a giggle. On February 2nd, Matt Smith stunned his girlfriend with a wedding proposal at London’s Doctor Who Experience.

In this case the Matt Smith in question is from  Rochford in Essex and not Gallifrey. This Matt Smith is also, by happenstance, an actor but not that actor. Smith worked diligently with BBC Worldwide arrange his marriage proposal to fellow Whovian Stacie-Anne Dilkes who thought they were in London for a day of shopping. The proposal was accepted and the happy couple is now planning their future together in time and space.

The real Matt Smith recorded a special message of congratulations to the couple.

MATT SMITH’S FUTURE

Matt Smith recently spoke to the Press Association in the UK after the NTA Awards. He addressed his future in the TARDIS.

I just sort of take each year as it comes really. We’ve got all the rest of this year to get through and then we’ll just sit down and review it from there and see where it goes. But I love playing the part and I love working with Steven Moffat.

He was asked about matching Tom Baker’s seven year run as the longest tenured Doctor and commented, I think there will need to be a younger, cooler person than me, or maybe an older, cooler person, who knows? But I don’t think I’ll be doing it as long as Mr Baker.

KAI OWEN IN AS YOU LIKE IT

Torchwood’s Kai Owen is starring as Charles the court wrestler in As You Like It at the Clwyd Theatre Cymru from Feb 9th to March 10th. The production is directed by Terry Hands.

He commented in the Daily Post on his new wrestling training, I’ve never wrestled before, other than doing stage combat at drama school. I’m not a fan, though I do follow boxing. Rugby is the closest I get to contact sports.

The interview can be found here:  http://www.dailypost.co.uk/leisure/entertainment-news/2012/02/03/torchwood-star-in-as-you-like-it-at-clwyd-theatr-cymru-55578-30259363/

RIVER SONG RETURNING?

In an interview on the Graham Norton Show Alex Kingston gave away some possible news about the future of River Song. The Radio Times picked up on the quote which was cut from the final episode. About River Song, she commented, You may see her again. Who knows? Let’s just say Upstairs, Downstairs and Doctor Who don’t film at the same time.

Read it here: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-02-02/alex-kingston-river-song-could-make-a-return-to-doctor-who

SEASON SEVEN NEWS

Rehearsals for the new series begin on February 13th. filming begins on February 20th.

Two more writers have been commissioned for Season Seven,  Being Human’s Toby Whithouse is returning along with former Torchwood and Camelot scribe Chris Chibnall. He also wrote for Law & Order UK.

Whithouse is slated to write the third story of the season. Chibnal’s script involves the largest set ever built for Doctor Who.

Saul Metzstein will be directing one of the episodes of the season according to the BBC.

Director Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive) claims he was turned down as a director for Season Six

Rumors continue to circulate that The Yeti may be back for this coming season

Those attending the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular  got a treat. The program for the performance shed some light on the next companion introduced sometime in Season Seven. Steven Moffat tipped his hand just a teeny tiny bit in the program’s forward.

Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary is coming. In Cardiff, we’re gearing up for the biggest, the best and the most ambitious season we’ve ever made. There will be shocks, surprises and heartbreak. The Doctor is about to say goodbye to his very best friends, Amy and Rory. And then he’s about to say hello to someone very different, the Doctor is going to meet someone very new in the very last place he could ever have expected…

STEVEN MOFFAT ON DOCTOR WHO

The Moff also spoke to Ireland’s University Observer about the upcoming season, Sherlock and his career. He discussed the departure of Amy and Rory during the upcoming season, I’m writing that right now, the big Rory and Amy heartbreaking finale. It will be quite heartbreaking. I think you’ll be in trouble watching it.

He also discussed his relationship with the show as a fan and producer.

It’s hard to remember Doctor Who as a show I wasn’t involved with, as opposed to a couple of words I’m having stapled into the middle of my name. It’s really hard to remember I just used to be watching, and will be again someday. That’s become odd. But very exciting, very, very exciting.

Read it here: http://www.universityobserver.ie/2012/02/08/the-man-who/

IDW RELEASES THREE COVERS

The latest installment of IDW’s Doctor Who comics (Volume 2, #14 ) is out!

This is the latest part of Eisner-nominated writer Joshua Hale Fialkov’s run with the comic. It continues the Casablnaca-ish theme set up in previous issue. It features three special covers for the issue.

For info on all of their Doctor Who titles visit: https://shop.idwpublishing.com/doctor-who-ongoing-vol-2-14.html

In part two of a four story arc Rory is  in the custody of the local police, the Doctor searches the empty and foggy city of Casablanca. His discovery may spell the end for not just two recently reunited lovers, but for all of mankind!

THE DAEMONS DVD

The restoration of 1971′s The Daemons is complete. The DVD release date has been  changed to March 12th in the UK.  The Daemons DVD features fully restored audio and video as well as several new documentaries. The Daemons is coming out in the USA on April 10th.

It is a bummer that Return to Devil’s End is not included. This was a video release where Jon Pertwee recalled the filming of one of his favorite stories.

Summary: This five-parter was the season eight finale. Bessie and UNIT are featured in this story which is widely regarded as one of Jon Pertwee’s best moments as the Third Doctor. Roger Delgado is also wonderful as The Master.

In the peaceful village of Devil’s End something very strange is happening. Professor Horner (an archaeologist) is preparing to open a nearby burial mound from the Bronze Age. As this happens a local white witch foresees death and disaster. Meanwhile, the new vicar looks suspiciously like the Master and he is using black magic to conjure up an ancient Dæmon. Can the Doctor, Jo and UNIT stop The Master before he succeeds?

Special Features:

Audio Commentary from Katy Manning, Richard Franklin Damaris Hayman  and director Christopher Barry. Terrance Dicks and Barry Letts are also interviewed about the making of The Daemons.

Photo Gallery

Radio Times Listing

Infotext Subtitles

Coming Soon Trailer

Remembering Barry Letts: A documentary looking at the career of one of Doctor Who’s most important producers

The Devil Rides Out: A documentary about the making of the Daemons featuring the cast and crew of the story

Tomorrow’s World-A look at the technology of restoring classic episodes

Colorization Test: The original colorization test version of episode one from 1992

Location Film: Home shot 8mm film of  location filming in Aldbourne during the making of The Daemons

PDF Material

GALLIFREY 23

Gallifrey 23 is the largest running annual Doctor Who celebration in the USA. The convention takes place next week, February-17-19, in Los Angeles.

The convention is boasting an impressive lineup of guests from the classic and new series. Here is partial guest list of confirmed guests:

Paul McGann – The Eighth Doctor, 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie

William Russell – Ian Chesterton, Doctor Who

This is a not to be missed event.

Information on the convention, including a complete guest list, autographs, tickets and programming can be found here: http://www.gallifreyone.com/

NEXT TIME…More Season Seven news and a look and the Carnival of Monsters DVD reissue.

Doctor Whooligan: Valentine’s Day, Gallifrey 23, Matt Smith News, Season Seven News, Kai Owen Grapples With Shakespeare, The Daemons on DVD is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Big news on the Doctor Who front from the BBC:

The first director to shout ‘action’ will be the award-winning Saul Metzstein whose previous credits include Micro Men (starring Alexander Armstrong and Martin Freeman), the critically acclaimed Late Night Shopping and BBC Wales’ Upstairs Downstairs. For the very first time, Doctor Who will be produced at the new BBC Roath Lock Studios in Cardiff, which officially open in March. The production team includes Steven Moffat (Executive Producer and lead writer), Caroline Skinner (Executive Producer) and Marcus Wilson (Producer).

The new series will see Matt Smith return as the Doctor in what Steven Moffat has described as ‘the biggest, the best and the most ambitious season we’ve ever made’. Karen Gillan (Amy) and Arthur Darvill (Rory) are both back, for what will be their final voyage with the Doctor – a thrilling rollercoaster ride which will culminate in a heart-breaking farewell to the Ponds. But there will be more shocks, surprises and adventures to come when the Doctor meets a new friend, in the last very place he could ever have expected…

And yes! We’ve been promised the return of some old monsters, but some new and terrifying ones lie in wait for the Doctor…

We’ll be bringing you all the news about the incredible new series as it emerges, so stay tuned for some big surprises!

Source.

Doctor Who: Series 7 Goes Behind the Lens on February 20th is a post from: Anglotopia.net

So, did you go to Time Lord Fest in Tampa, FL? If so, did you say Hi to Scott and Debbie? Don’t worry if you didn’t make it. Scott was kind enough to record most of it for you. Rather than post one podcast of three hours and thirty-three minutes in length (seriously), we’re breaking it into several bits. This podcast covers the first event of the evening – Welcome to Time Lord Fest Tampa/Season 6 in Review, featuring Scott & Debbie Viguié, Ken Spivey, Jeffrey Breslauer, and John Reid Adams. We hope that you enjoy the discussion!

Download this podcast from Itunes or Subscribe to our RSS Feed.

Article 35

Shadow Proclamation Podcast: Article 35 – Welcome to Time Lord Fest is a post from: Anglotopia.net

It is a very slow week for news with the new series of Doctor Who. However classic series fandom is abuzz with lots of DVD goings on. The recent classic series DVD releases have been pretty stellar.

This column looks at The Three Doctors DVD re-release as well as the new batch of DVDs coming down the pipe in the coming months.

SYLVESTER MCCOY ON RECORD

The former Seventh Doctor is providing opening narration for the new record by The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing. The steampunk band, who has in the past release singles on wax cylinders,  features McCoy on their newie, This May Be The Reason Why The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing Cannot Be Killed by Conventional Weapons, which is due out March.

McCoy gets his Victoriana on by providing the opening dialogue that sets up the album’s eleven tracks.

More info on the band here: http://www.myspace.com/blamedfornothing

ACE BOX SET DVD NEWS

Fans of Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred will be glad to know that Dragonfire and The Happiness Patrol will be coming to DVD as part of an Ace Adventures collection due out  on May 7th in the UK.

The stories will also be released individually on DVD. Here is a look at those episodes and the special features on each disc.

DRAGONFIRE

Set on the planet Svartos, Dragonfire was the final story of Season 24. The story is interesting for several reasons. First, it saw the departure of Bonnie Langford as Mel who was unhappy with her character. Second, Ace was introduced as the new companion. Third, Sabalom Glitz (seen previously  in Trial of A Timelord: The Ultimate Foe) returns and finally because it ushered in the changes that would emerge later in the McCoy era, where The Doctor would take on a darker tone.

Patricia Quinn from The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a guest star. Tony Selby is wonderful in his return as Sabalom Glitz.

THE NIGHTMARE OF EDEN COMING TO DVD

The DVD release of Tom Baker’s run as The Doctor comes closer to completion with the release of The Nightmare of Eden, the fourth story of Season 17. It is coming out on DVD in the USA on May 8th and much earlier in the UK on April 2nd.

The episode features the Mandrels and  has a very strong anti-drug theme throughout. The Mandrels were not the scariest of monsters but you cannot hold it against them for trying.

The Nightmare Of Eden DVD Special Features

Audio Commentary provided by Lalla Ward and Peter Craze, writer Bob Baker, effects designer Colin Mapson and make-up designer Joan Stribling

Photo Gallery

Coming Soon Trailer

Radio Times listing

Infotext subtitles

The Nightmare of Television Centre: A documentary looking at the making of this troubled Doctor Who production.

Going Solo: Doctor Who writer Bob Baker talks about making The Nightmare of Eden

The Doctor’s Strange Love: The Nightmare of Eden.

Ask Aspel: Lalla Ward’s appearance on the popular BBC children’s show

DARVILL IN GULLIVER’S TRAVELS

Arthur Darvill  is currently featured in Radio 4′s audio drama Gulliver’s Travels. The drama begins on February 5th and spans all four of Gulliver’s voyages.

For more information visit Radio 4′s publicity page:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2012/06/classic-serial-gullivers-travels.html

DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE #444

Although Doctor Who Magazine #444 hits the streets next week the cover for that issue has been released. It looks pretty cool.

The magazine features news on Season Seven, an in-depth look at the missing episodes of Doctor Who and previews the Shada novelization.

TORCHWOOD ARMY OF ME

BBC Audio will release a new Torchwood adventure, Army of Me On March 8th.

Army of Me was written by Ian Edginton and features Rhys and Gwen in their own adventure. The audio is read by  Kai Owen.

LIS SLADEN DOCUMENTARY

Lis Sladen would have been 66 this week. She is greatly missed.

In addition to the three stories aired, the Season Five Sarah Jane Adventures DVD set features a very special treat for fans, Goodbye Bannerman Road: Remembering Elisabeth Sladen.

This twenty-minute documentary features an overview of her career along with reflections and stories from those who worked with her. Matt Smith, Gary Russell, Daniel Anthony, Anjli Mohindra all pay tribute to her.

THE THREE DOCTORS ON DVD

When it aired in 1972 and 1973, The Three Doctors was a big deal. It featured multiple Doctors for the first time in an innovative and believable story that celebrated a decade of Doctor Who. Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee had instant onscreen chemistry with William Hartnell along for the ride as the referee. Omega was a great villain (with a dreadful costume) and it was good to get some background on the Time Lords in the story.

The UNIT crew is also featured and it is wonderful to see the Brigadier interplay with the Second and Third Doctors. This episode features one of my favorite performances by Nick Courtney who nearly steals the episode in many of his scenes.

They kept it simple here and didn’t bring back lots of people for cameos. This allowed the story to play out and allowed the  Doctors to interact with each other in a clever way.  Sadly William Hartnell’s appearance was limited due to his declining health.

The Three Doctors has been restored and refitted for release in the USA on March 13th. Originally packaged as part of the Revisitations 3 boxset in the UK, the DVD features more extras and a better digital transfer of the original episode.

The DVD features digitally restored video and sound and includes some pretty great extras!

The Three Doctors DVD Special Features

Audio commentary from Barry Letts, Katy Manning and Nicholas Courtney (from the original release)

Photo Gallery

Coming Soon Trailer

Radio Times listing

Infotext subtitles

Happy Birthday To Who: A freshly minted documentary on the making of The Three Doctors

BBC1 Trailer

Was Doctor Who Rubbish?: This new documentary examines the classic series and defends the show against the scrutiny of critics

Blue Peter: Jon Pertwee introduces his new car, the Whomobile. Also from the original DVD release

Girls, Girls, Girls: A new featurette looking at the role of the female companions (Katy Manning, Caroline John, and Louise Jameson) of the 1970s

Pebble Mill At One: An extra from the original DVD release. A special interview from 1972  with Patrick Troughton and Doctor Who effects guru Bernard Wilkie (from the original DVD)

BSB Highlights: Another bit from the first release. This one features the cast and crew, including Jon Pertwee, Nicholas Courtney, Terrance Dicks and Bob Baker reminiscing about  The Three Doctors (from the original DVD)

The Five Faces Of Doctor Who: Fun from 1981! This is the complete trailer for that year’s repeat season of Doctor Who which featured The Three Doctors (also from the debut DVD release)

40th Anniversary Trailer

One bummer is that the new DVD does not include the Jon Pertwee at Panopticon ’93 special feature that was on the original DVD. But I guess it is something that can be missed. Although this featurette gives fans who did not see Pertwee at a con an idea of how larger than life he was in person.

DADDY’S GIRL AUDIO RELEASE

Deborah Watling has followed in the footsteps of Doctor Who alums, Mary Tamm, and Frazer Hines by writing a career spanning autobiography. The former Second Doctor companion has written ‘Daddy’s Girl,’ about her five decade long career including her time as Victoria Waterfield on Doctor Who. Watling’s father Jack Watling was also a famous actor in his own right and her book features many interesting tales about him and 2nd Doctor Patrick Troughton as well.

The audio edition of her book is being released this month on two CDs read by Watling herself.

For more information visit: http://www.fantomfilms.co.uk/books/deborah_watling.htm

Next Time: News and a look at Gallifrey 23.

Doctor Whooligan: The Three Doctors, McCoy on Steampunk Record, Torchwood Audio, DVD News is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Many Doctor Who and David Tennant fans have been waiting for The Decoy Bride for some time. It’s had a strange release schedule (being released in Italy months ago for some reason). But it’s finally opened in the USA on the IFC On Demand service. It will open in US theaters in march.

This is David Tennant’s first turn at becoming the next Hugh Grant – i.e. star of British romantic comedies. The question is – does he succeed? We’ll get to that.

The movie starts with a hoax as movie star Lara tries to throw off the paparazzi to keep her wedding to David Tennant’s character secret. It doesn’t work.

David plays a famous, unassuming author named James Arber, who’s engaged to marry the American mega-celebrity. In spirit it could be a sequal to something like Notting Hill. David expertly dons his English accent which is a nice change as he’s mostly used his native Scottish accent in his recent roles.

The main setting is a charming little Scottish Isle called Hegg (it’s not a real place, it was filmed on the Isle of Man). It’s portrayed as the most remote place in the UK – which makes it the perfect place to stage a celebrity wedding. Until the media finds out their grand plan.

Kelly McDonald stars as a romantically inept islander returning home with her tail between her legs. It’s really nice to see Kelly McDonald is a non-serious role and taking a turn at comedy. She’s mostly known in America for her dower and dramatic role in Boardwalk Empire but here she signs as the awkward islander who gets swept up in the celebrity wedding as the decoy bride to throw off the paparazzi.

The movie is charming in the way that only an independent movie about some far off place in Britain can be. The American characters are probably the worst part of the movie and it really could have done without them. They’re so unnecessary that their plot thread is not even resolved at the end of the movie.

There’s a lot in the movie that doesn’t make much sense but that doesn’t make it not fun and charming. I guess just don’t think about the plot too deeply. It has kind of a strange ending but it works. David Tennant could certainly continue playing romantic roles – he gets the comedy timing right and he’s of course charming as always.

Overall it’s a fun little movie and we recommend it.

You can rent it now on IFC On Demand for $9.99 or you can wait until it’s released in theaters in a few weeks time.

If you’re curious – here’s the trailer:

Brit Movie Reviews: The Decoy Bride Review Starring David Tennant and Kelly MacDonald is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Musician Ally Rhodes has written a lovely song dedicated to Doctor Who’s River Song. She describes it as a song about the triumph of love over predetermined destiny.

Check it out below! It’s lovely!

You can buy the song on iTunes!

http://allyrhodes.net
http://twitter.com/allyrhodesmusic
http://facebook.com/allyrhodesmusic
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/ally-rhodes/id429975858

Doctor Who: The Ballad for River Song by Ally Rhodes is a post from: Anglotopia.net

This video is making the rounds on the web and we thought it was fun and worth sharing. A German Doctor Who fan set out to build her own TARDIS and documented the entire process in excruciating detail.

The result is a fun and whimsical journey down the time vortex.

Check it out!

Doctor Who: German Anglophile Builds a TARDIS in her House is a post from: Anglotopia.net

As most of us endure the cold and dampness of winter we are filled with the hope that comes with knowing that help is on the way. This is because pre-production and filming of Doctor Who beings next month! Those of you in warmer climates are still excited, but a bit warmer.

In the meantime we’ve had a great run of Sherlock , new Tom Baker audios and some great DVD releases of the classic series to keep us busy.

You may think things are slowing down, but in fact they are just beginning to get moving in the world of Doctor Who.

DOCTOR WHO INSIDER FOLDS

After nine issues the folks at Doctor Who Insider are calling it a day. The magazine was put out by the Panini Group in 2011 to focus on Doctor Who in North America and Canada.

DAVID TENNANT NEWS

David Tennant is continuing to find voice work in his post-TARDIS career. The 10th Doctor will narrate BBC Scotland’s, Wild About Pandas, which chronicles the arrival of two pandas (Tian Tian and Yang Guang) to the Edinburgh zoo.

NOT ANOTHER HAPPY ENDING

Karen Gillan is again working with director John McKay (who also directed her in We’ll Take Manhattan) in his new film, Not Another Happy Ending. Filming is beginning in the next few weeks. McKay has high praise for his star,

Every now and again, we produce somebody who really holds your attention on the screen and she’s got it. She is not just a small screen star, she is a big screen star. She really is one of Scotland’s greatest talents and can go all the way.

NATIONAL TELEVISION AWARDS RESULTS

The National Television Awards were handed out on Wednesday at the O2 Arena in London. Although Doctor Who lost out to Downton Abbey in the Most Popular Drama Series category, the show did  do very well. Both Matt Smith and Karen Gillan were named winners in the Outstanding Drama Performance categories for their respective fields.

Smith beat out John Barrowman and Doc martin’s Martin Clunes for his award. Gillan beat out Torchwood’s Eve Myles along with  Suranne Jones from Scott & Bailey  and Jaye Jacobs from Waterloo Road. Jones is know to Who fans as Idris in The Doctor’s Wife.

This acting sweep shows that the show remains popular with critics and fans alike.

Smith spoke backstage about his future with Doctor Who:

I sort of always knew that me and Karen would have slightly different journeys in the show. People say, ‘Are you very sad?’ I’m sad because I enjoy working with Karen and Arthur, they are wonderful guys. But the show is bigger than all of us actors in it. It’s bigger than all of us who write it and has been going far longer and will continue far longer and have a life way after me. I’m here for a very small period of time.

He added, I’m here for the future, I love making the show. I have no plans to leave. I’ve got a year of Who and I’ll take it from there really. I am absolutely interested in films, I’ve always loved the idea and process of films and I am actually interested in directing.

More info here: http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/nta-interview-smith-on-doctor-who-future-30377.htm

RTD DEVELOPS NEW SERIES

Former Doctor Who producer Russell T. Davies has developed a new TV series, Aliens VS. Wizards with Phil Ford for CBBC. The show sees  Davies reuniting with Phil Ford for twelve half hour episodes. BBC Wales is producing the show with Freemantle Media Enterprises. There is no casting information as of yet but Gareth Roberts and Joseph Lidster will be writing episodes.

Aliens VS. Wizards is another children’s show for Davies, It follows two lads named Tom and Benny as well as a mysterious alien race called the Nekross.

Davies was interviewed by the BBC about the program:

Writing for children is the biggest challenge of all and I think CBBC stands right at the heart of broadcasting. So I’m delighted to launch this show, a true nationwide collaboration, a Salford commission from a BBC Wales team. We’re joining genres too – the show’s a wild, funny, thrilling and sometimes scary collision of magic and science fiction.

Here is the press release from the BBC:

Aliens Vs Wizards has been created by Russell T Davies and Phil Ford (The Sarah Jane Adventures, Doctor Who) and will be produced by BBC Cymru Wales in association with FremantleMedia Enterprises.

Aliens Vs Wizards (12 x 30mins) will be produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC for broadcast in Autumn 2012.

From the dark side of the moon, aliens are scanning the Earth searching for magic and are prepared to destroy everything in their path to get it. All that stands in the way of Earth’s imminent destruction are two 16-year old schoolboys, Tom and Benny. It’s Ray Guns vs Wands; Science vs Magic and Aliens vs Wizards.

Tom Clarke lives a seemingly ordinary life with his dad and grandmother. However he hides a deep secret – Tom’s family are wizards and when the Nekross arrive, hungry for magic, they find themselves on the menu.

The Nekross may be equipped with ray guns, teleports and high-tech robots but they haven’t reckoned on Tom and his friend, science super-brain Benny. They form an extraordinary duo, using Tom’s magic and Benny’s science to battle the Nekross and save the Earth.

INVASION OF THE DINOSAURS DVD REVIEW

Invasion of the Dinosaurs was the 2nd story of Season 11, Jon Pertwee’s final season as The Doctor. Despite being seen by over eleven million people the story is remembered mostly for the awful special effects and crude models it used.

Upon hindsight it is a strongly acted ensemble piece with great direction and cinematography. Plus Jon Pertwee again regales us as the Third Doctor.

In addition to some shoddy  effects, dinosaurs were either slow moving models or  painfully bad puppets. But you as a viewer should overlook all of that and enjoy the story for  what it really is, a political SF TV episode that calls to light the dangers of powerful and unscrupulous people. It also an opportunity to see the UNIT crew’s comradery jelling at just the right time.

The plot centers around a group of oddball natureheads led by Sir Charles Grover, Professor Whitaker and even members of UNIT who hope to use time travel to change humanity.  ’Operation Golden Age’ is designed to reset the clock of humanity and usher in a new ‘golden age’ of civilization.

The Doctor, believing he has taken Sarah Jane home, arrives in 1970s London. but things are amiss,  London is desolate, empty and filled with looters. But the looters are not the problem, there are dinosaurs on the loose!

As we will learn The dinosaurs have been transported through time by the aforementioned group of over zealous environmentalists. The Dcctor re-teams with his posse from UNIT to get to the bottom of things only to be hindered at every turn.  In a stranger subplot Sarah Jane is kidnapped, hypnotized and brought aboard what seems to be an intergalactic spaceship.

Things percolate and unfold, eventually playing out in the suspenseful episodes four and five when the Brig and the Doctor get busy and start to unravel the conspiracy. Fortunately for UNIT ,the Doctor is there to make everything right (again) as he sends the dinosaurs back to their own time.

This is a complex and cunning story filled that uses a group of eco-warriors as villains instead of a deadly alien race or meglomaniac. In many ways writer Malcolm Hulke is making a point or two about his England in the 1970s, a very tough and gritty time for environmentalists, politicians and military leaders. It was a tough time and all of these archetypes are melded together to create an epic Doctor Who story.

Every time I have seen this story episode one has been shown in black and white.  This is because a mishap occurred and no color prints were available. For the DVD the Restoration Team has offered viewers the opportunity to see the episode in black and white as they have been used to seeing it for decades or watching a newly restored and color recovered version of Episode One.  I have to say that at times you can tell it is not an original color print but it is pretty darn close. They have done a wonderful job of fixing a daunting problem and gotten great results.

I really liked seeing this one again. I love the fact that the DVD gives viewers an opportunity to watch the first episode in each of these formats.  With regards to extras, 2 Entertain have again pullout out all the stops. The production notes are again spot on. There is an easter egg, photo galley, deleted scenes and PDF materials.

The episode commentary features an interesting band of people associated with the production. Terrance Dicks and director Paddy Russell are joined by Richard Franklin, Terrence Wilton and Peter Miles. The set designer Richard Morris also shows up to give insight on how the episode looked. Franklin’s commentary is interesting as this is the biggest role he had in the series. Paddy Russell was fun, she obviously knew what she was doing when she directed the story and her recollection about making the story under such tight circumstances is insightful.

There is a ten minute commentary with John Levene from June of 2005 that is basically useless. John talks about his time on the show but he doesn’t really get into the deeper specifics that a normal commentary gives. He does mention his fondness for Jon Pertwee and talks about working on the scenes he had, but really why bother doing just a ten minute commentary? I wish he would have done commentaries for his other stories since some of those stories gave Benton more things to do. Here he spends a lot of time basically building up to what he wants to say and sadly he wastes some valuable time. John has always been loquacious so it would have been better for him to do a longer commentary.

Billy Smart’s Circus features a clip of Jon Pertwee arriving in his Whomobile. It is vintage Pertwee and kind of funny.

Now & Then is a documentary examining the filming locations for Invasion of the Dinosaurs. It shows the areas as they looked during filming and as they appear today. The locations chosen in Central and West London are interesting. The story definitely showed off more of London than other previous stories of that era. In many ways showing the city deserted and quiet gives it a visual power for framing the story. In many ways it also is a historical record of how bleak some of London was in the 1970s. Overall this documentary really illustrates how location filming worked in the Pertwee era.Since Invasion of the Dinosaurs was a story that relied heavily on location filming, having a featurette on how this was done is pretty groovy.

Doctor Who Stories: Elisabeth Sladen: Part 1 features an interview with Lis Sladen from 2003. In it she discusses getting the role of Sarah Jane, her relationship with Jon Pertwee and particularly what is was like filming Doctor Who after Pertwee announced his departure at the end of the season. This is a great interview and I look forward to Part 2. As great as this interview was it made me miss her even more. I am sure others in fandom feel the same way

People Powers & Puppetry is a film about the making of the story. Paddy Russell, Terrance Dicks and the episode’s guest stars recall making the story. It is enjoyable to watch the various recollections of the cast and crew about the story and the dinosaurs themselves. Letts and Russell chime in on why they used puppets and models for the story. The horrors of filming CSO at that time are also discussed. Jon Pertwee’s Whomobile is another fun topic as is  Paddy Russell’s discussion on filming a ‘deserted’ London. The interviews with the late Jon Pertwee and Barry Letts make this documentary even more amazing

Overall this is a great release. Invasion of the Dinosaurs was a story with a lot of subtext in it. It’s a sci-fi story, a rallying call against those who wanted a more stringent British government and a reflection on the Utopian politics of ’70s Britain. It also is one of those rare stories where the
Doctor’s enemy is not a bug eyed monster from space.

The story also marks the debut of the Whomobile. It is obvious that Jon Pertwee loved that car. Invasion of the Dinosaurs is also comprised of terrific guest stars and features the regular cast stretching their feet and developing further as characters. Richard Franklin is really showcased and John Levene clearly benefits from the expansion of Benton’s role. Nick Courtney is terrific in this one as well.

Yes the episode has some crap special effects in it, but that is what ‘classic’ Doctor Who was all about. Director Paddy Russell looked beyond the effects and got her actors to give there all for a very implausible  and rather silly script. The best thing about Invasion of the Dinosaurs is that it is a lot of fun.

The DVD extras and reconstruction of episode one make it worth checking out. Although Invasion of the Dinosaurs remains a very weird story, the DVD release of it is quite splendid and serves as a reminder of all the great things that happened during the Pertwee years of Doctor Who.

Invasion of the Dinosaurs has been released on DVD in the UK along with The Android Invasion as part of a UNIT Boxset. It also is individually in the UK and North America.

TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN

Tomb of the Cybermen is being re-released as a part of the Revisitations 3 Box Set due out in the UK next month (The Three Doctor and Robots of Death are also in the set).

This is one of the 2nd Doctor’s best stories and I am glad it is being reissued with some awesome extras.

Here is an updated list of special features!

Introduction by Director Morris Barry  (from the 1993 VHS release)

A look at creating te 2nd Doctor Title Sequence (Screen tests and build-up elements for the Troughton era opening title sequence)

Late Night Line-Up: A behind the scenes look at the BBC Visual Effects department featuring an interview with Jack Kine.

The Final End: Although The Evil of the Daleks is missing as a full story from the BBC , the footage of the climactic final battle exists and is seen here

Abominable Snowmen Audio Trailer

The Lost Giants: The cast and crew look back on the making of Tomb of the Cybermen

The Curse of the Cybermen’s Tomb: Sir Christopher Frayling and Dr Debbie Challis examine the ancient Egyptian origins to the story

Cybermen: An expanded version of this doc on the history of the Cybermen

The Magic of VidFIRE: The technology behind the VidFIRE process (which restores video) is explained

Sky Ray TV Advert

Production Subtitles

Radio Times Listings

1960’s Doctor Who themed promo for Walls Sky Ray ice lolly.

Photo Gallery

Coming Soon Trailer

NEXT TIME: The restored DVD of  The Three Doctors.

Doctor Whooligan: NTA Wins for Smith & Gillan, Tennant Causes Panda-monium, Gillan Filming A Flick, RTD Returns, The Invasion of The Dinosaurs DVD Reviewed is a post from: Anglotopia.net

YouTuber BabelColour has taken a clip from every Doctor Who story (minus the lost ones) from 1963 to the modern day and combined them into one video.

Awesome.

From the video description:

An updated and expanded version of my 2008 video, detailing every Doctor Who adventure from ‘An Unearthly Child’ in 1963 right up to ‘The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe’ Christmas Special. But remember, there are still 106 episodes missing from the BBC archives.

The re-coloured clip of ‘The Mind of Evil’ is one of several from the UNIT documentary on the ‘Day of the Daleks’ DVD. Clips from other missing serials have come from a variety of different sources. I have hand-colourised the ‘Ambassadors of Death’ trailer clip especially for this video tribute.

The numbering is a personal issue. I consulted with Wikipedia when compiling the tribute but I disagreed with some of the decisions made by the people who contributed to the page. ‘A Good Man Goes To War’ is not, in my opinion, part of a two-episode story with ‘Let’s Kill Hitler’. The storyline, locations, guest artists and directors are all different. Similarly, I consider ‘Utopia’ to be a single episode, with a suffiently different plot (an a different director) to the 2-part ‘Sound of Drums’/'Last of the Time Lords’. Other fans are bound to be in uproar, but it all comes down to personal opinion. All I can suggest to those who disagree is… go make your own tribute!

Doctor Who: Every Doctor Who Story from 1963 to 2011 in one Video is a post from: Anglotopia.net

This. Is. Awesome.

CNET Looks at the TARDIS safe that is unlocked with your smart phone – Coming Late 2012!

Doctor Who: Company to Release TARDIS Safe that Opens with Your Mobile is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Good news for David Tennant Fans – we’ve finally got the first trailer for The Decoy Bride! David stars in this romantic comedy set on a quant Scottish Isle where they try to use a decoy bride to throw off the paparazzi. It also stars Kelly McDonald (Boardwalk Empire).

Check out the trailer below:

The Decoy Bride opens on IFC On Demand on February 3rd and in Theaters in March. We’ll have a review when it comes out on IFC.

David Tennant: The First Decoy Trailer Bride Released is a post from: Anglotopia.net

It has taken a little longer then some of us would have liked but there is now a slow trickle of news coming out about the next season of Doctor Who. Hopefully this will lead to more news down the line.

Overall I think Season 7 will offer more twists and turns and see perhaps a darker and more sinister portrayal of The Doctor.

Also, Happy Birthday to Tom Baker who turns 78 on January 20th!

SERIES 7 NEWS

Mark Gatiss has been confirmed as a writer for Season 7. So far Gatiss and John Fay are the only writers named for the season.

Steven Moffat is also writing stories for the season as well.

The upcoming season will consist completely of stand alone stories.

Moffat spoke with the Radio Times this week about Series Seven and has promised fans ‘at least’ fourteen episodes for the season including a Christmas special.

Following exchanges on Twitter that began on January 11th with a tweet from Steven Moffat and continued this via her own tweets,  speculation exists that Sophia Myles may be returning to Doctor Who as the next companion or in a reprisal of her role as Reinette (Madame De Pompadour) during Season Seven.

TIMEGATE UPDATE

Caitlin Blackwood (Young Amelia Pond) will make her second American convention appearance at Timeate this year. Timegate is held in Atlanta each Mayand features Doctor Who and Stargate programming as well as other SF funness.

The convention recently announced that Caitlin Blackwood (Young Amelia Pond) will make her second American convention appearance at Timegate this year.

For more information visit: http://www.timegatecon.org

SYLVESTER MCCOY ON 50TH ANNIVERSARY

Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred got together recently for a chat for The Minister of Chance.  They were interviewed by shadowlocked .com and discussed the return of Ace that didn’t happen, the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who and generally have a nice time.

McCoy will be seen later this year in The Hobbit!

The Minister of Chance people will post a longer interview soon. Their website has all the lowdown. Check them out here: http://ministerofchance.com/

The shorter McCoy/Aldred interview is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jCC5hmfljCg

Info on Shadowlocked.com and their interview is here:

http://www.shadowlocked.com/201201192351/interviews/exclusive-preview-of-chat-with-sylvester-mccoy-and-sophie-aldred.html

 JOHN BARROWMAN NEWS

John Barrowman’s website has announced that John Barrowman will be appearing in the Feb. 3rd episode of Hustle.  Ironically he is playing a doctor. His character will be called Dr. Dean Deville.

Also on that night John will be returning to BBC 4′s Chris Moyles Quiz Night on to do compete for the title of series champion. Barrowman appeared on the show earlier this past season and was a winner.

ADRIAN LESTER FOR WHO?

Hustle’s Adrian Lester appeared on The Graham Norton show this week where he announced that he would love to be in Doctor Who.

DOCTOR WHO RADIO SCRIPT FOUND

It is always pretty cool when a significant Doctor Who artifact is found  that sheds new light on the show’s early history.

Case in point the recent discovery in the BBC archives of, Journey To Time, a forgotten Doctor Who radio script from Malcolm Hulke.

In the late 1960s there was a plan to have Peter Cushing portray The Doctor in his own radio adventures. A pilot script was recorded but is now sadly, lost. In this production, the Doctor and his granddaughter find themselves in the thick of it during the American Revolution. Cushing was familiar with the role, having played The Doctor twice in the decade on the big screen.

If the pilot was greenlit for a full series there would have been fifty-two episodes commissioned for the BBC overseas markets. The series never got off the ground after it was flat out rejected by the BBC whose head of sound drama,  Martin Esslin, commented  “As a typical commercial production for unsophisticated listeners in Australia or even some parts of the United States, it stands up quite well. As a piece of science fiction, however, it strikes me as extremely feeble.”

The latest issue of Nothing At The End of the Lane has all the down and dirty details about this script and why a radio series with Cushing never took flight.

You can find out much more about the radio script via The Nothing At The End of the Line website: http://www.endofthelane.co.uk/

I am only guessing here but it would be awesome to see Big Finish do something with this script.

DARK HORIZONS BOOK

BBC Books will release Dark Horizons by J.T. Colgan  on July 5, 2012.

The novel is an 11th Doctor adventure featuring Vikings. The book features the tagline, ‘No One Can Escape The Burning.’

TORCHWOOD NEWS

The GLAAD Media Awards have tipped Torchwood: Miracle Day as a nominee in the category of Outstanding Drama Series. GLAAD recognizes excellence in the media images of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community that inspire change.

The 2012 GLAAD Awards will be held over three award events in New York on March 24, Los Angeles on April 21st and San Francisco on June 2nd.

THE ANDROID INVASION DVD REVIEW

As we wind down the completion of the the Tom Baker years on DVD we are offered Terry Nation’s Season 13 story, The Android Invasion. This is an interesting story despite some really weak continuity flaws and a rather lackluster alien race in The Kraals.

When it aired in 1975 it had the highest rating for the season, surpassing Pyramids of Mars and Brain of Morbius in audience numbers. It is a fun episode that further cements the relationship between Sarah Jane Smith and The Doctor while also deepening the horror and suspense elements that permeated through that season.

I remember that when I saw it on Public Television all those years ago I thought it was a bit convoluted. I remembering thinking it was an enjoyable story and that I loved Tom Baker in it. However, upon seeing it again, this time on DVD, I have had great enjoyment in watching it again.

For starters, as with all the DVDS,, I love how the Restoration Team have cleaned up the sound and video. I also forgot just how delightful Sarah Jane and Tom Baker were together in this story. Their dialogue featured a lot of improvisation and humor. There was also a very warm and wonderful dynamic between the two of them onscreen. It also is obvious that by this time Baker was in high gear and settled in his portrayal of The Doctor.

Despite being screened in 1975 it still holds up pretty well as a classic Doctor Who story. 2 Entertain has again done a marvelous job of restoring another classic episode.

This episode, the fourth of that season, offered Daleks creator Terry Nation another chance to write a story free of Daleks (he also wrote The Keys of Marinus). For this go round he used androids and a deadly race called The Kraals.  I was never a fan of the Kraals. They just didn’t seem to fit the overall theme of the story. Nonetheless I think they did their job of being adequate baddies.

This is a great DVD. It beings back a forgotten gem of Doctor Who and it is great to see Tom Baker and Lis Sladen at work. The story opens with the Fourth Doctor, complete with a spiffy new coat, and Sarah Jane Smith landing in what seems to be the rather quaint and quiet English village of Devesham. They are surprised to find the town relatively deserted. As they meander through the village they are surprised to discover that the village is nearly empty. There are some other strange things going on as well,  the telephones don’t work, calendars are stuck on the same date (July 6) and there are some dudes in white spacesuits hanging out. Plus UNIT is seemingly useless to help the situation.

The peculiarities of the situation arouse the Doctor’s interest and he begins to investigate. The Doctor slowly unravels everything, even making a few incorrect guesses as to what is really happening. Typical of the Baker era, his snooping and sussing things out leads to his being  captured. Ironically this leaves Sarah to rescue him.

Once she’s sprung him, he starts to realize what the Kraal’s are really up .  He deduces that they’re not on Earth but a simulation of it which the Kraals are using as a testing ground for the android’s they’ve built. Once the kinks are ironed out they hope to use their androids for a large scale invasion of the real Earth.

If that wasn’t bad enough the real UNIT on Earth has been infiltrated by the androids. This leaves The Doctor and Sarah Jane as the last hope for the planet.

As the story plays out we notice that the pacing is perfect. There are some serious moments of exuberant camaraderie along with some darker scenes  of impending doom, a la Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The performances from Baker, Sladen and the supporting cast are terrific. The plot, although a little predictable and filled with some holes, is suspenseful and eerie. However The Android Invasion remains a good episode that is worth revisiting.

The Android Invasion remains an enjoyable romp that sees the production team developing a show with further separation from the UNIT era. It also was the last time Ian Marter and John Levene appeared as Harry Sullivan and Sgt. Benton respectively. Sadly, Nick Courtney was in a play at the time and could not be included as The Brigadier in the story.

What I really like about the DVD release of Classic Who stories are the extras. The Android Invasion has some interesting extras that provide a lot of information on filming the episode.

I always read the info text and listen to the commentaries because they really give viewers a feel for what is going on with creating the story. They also offer a glimpse of what the mood on the set was like while filming and what issues arose as they shot the story.

The extras are not too shabby. Milton Johns (Crayford) and Martin Friend (Styggron) producer Phillip Hinchcliffe and production assistant  Marion McDougal provide audio commentary for the episode. Sadly there are no other actors involved with this. A few more voices would have made the commentary more interesting.

The Village That Came to Life is a well produced documentary about the making of The Android Invasion. Host Nicholas Briggs goes to where the episode was filmed and visits townsfolk from East Hagbourne where location filming occurred. Briggs walks us through the making of the story with great enthusiasm and keeps the pace up. An overview of Terry Nation’s career is provided along with details about filming the story.

Members of the cast are interviewed along with the late Barry Letts who directed the episode.

Producer Philip Hincliffe is interviewed as well. He discusses the various decisions that were made about the production and discloses his displeasure with the design concept of The Kraals. He also addresses some of the continuity issues of the story.

Life After Who was also very informative. This retrospective documentary examines the post Dr. Who career of Philp Hinchcliffe. I was not aware of the full range of work that former Who producer Philip Hinchcliffe had done after leaving the series. During interviews he reviews his work on other TV series including; Target, Shoestring, Private Schultz and Stranger and Brothers. He also has some great tales about  while working with Anthony Hopkins and Pierce Brosnan.

He is interviewed by his daughter Cecilia who now works in television herself. The documentary gives a great behind the scenes look at how careers unfold in British television and how British television shows are made. For Whovians, there are several great stories about working with Tom Baker as Hinchcliffe fondly looks back at his career in Doctor Who.

These two films bring the audience full circle to the impact that Philp Hinchcliffe had on Doctor Who while he was the producer. His keen understanding of drama and what makes good television is evident in these enlightening interviews.

Other DVD extras include a Photo Gallery, Radio Times Listing, a hilarious Weetabix commercial with the Daleks and an Easter Egg containing location sound rushes from the filming of the story.

I recommend The Android Invasion for those who love the Classic Series, particularly the Tom Baker era. It remains a crisp and tightly paced adventure that  exemplifies the early Tom Baker years where Hinchcliffe stood watch.

NEXT TIME… Invasion of the Dinosaurs DVD reviewed, Season 7  news and more!

Doctor Whooligan: The Android Invasion, Barrowman Does The Hustle, Season 7 News, McCoy & Aldred At it Again, Cushing Radio Script Found,Timegate Adds A Guest! is a post from: Anglotopia.net

We’ve come across this awesome timelapse video of a team working to build a Dalek out of Lego.

It’s awesome.

Check it out below:

Daleks build their numbers for Toy Fair as 157,000 piece work of art is unveiled.

A life-size model of Doctor Who’s most feared foe will be unveiled at Toy Fair that has been specially constructed from building bricks. The bright red Dalek measuring nearly 2 meters has been made in celebration of the Character Building Doctor Who range of micro figures and construction playsets that were first unveiled this time last year.

The facts speak for themselves constructing this mechanical monster was some fete and one which the Doctor himself would be proud of. Here’s the data…

4 people
328 man hours
157460 separate painstakingly connected together pieces
Weight 280 kg
Height 190 cm

Doctor Who: Timelapse Video of the Construction of a Lego Dalek – Awesome is a post from: Anglotopia.net

There is not too much to report this week for the upcoming season of Doctor Who. However Karen Gillan has been very busy talking about Dr. Who and We’ll Take Manhattan.

KAREN GILLAN ON HER DEPARTURE

Karen Gillan recently spoke about exiting Doctor Who on the Graham Norton Show,  “I have known for ages that I am leaving and it’s such a massive relief that it is out and I can speak freely about it.  I’m back next year for a few episodes but it’s not actually confirmed when I go.”

She also discussed playing Jean Shrimpton  in the forthcoming BBC 4 drama, We’ll Take Manhattan.

“She (Shrimpton) gave her consent to having it made but then didn’t want anything to do with it because she is quite reclusive.  But she saw it and she really liked it and left a voicemail saying she thought it was really accurate.  That was the best compliment I could have got.”

Gillan was then asked whether playing Jean Shrimpton made her miss her modelling days.

“It was an okay way to earn money because I had been working in a pub before that, but it’s not something I ever aspired to do in life. Some of the things I had to do were weird – for one job I had to wear a bucket on my head.”

Gillan who has in the past had a reputation as a party girl was asked d if she ever goes wild.

“No, because I have to get up so early in the mornings so it’s oatcakes for me in the evenings on my own.” Questioned further, she says, “I really like them, sometimes with hummus but mostly just dry.”

Gillan also was mum on how Amy leaves during the next season.

IMAGE OF THE FENDAHLEEN ACTION SET

If you dig Doctor Who toys then the new Doctor Who: Image of the Fendahleen Collectors Set is right up your alley. There is no 4th Doctor figure, but it does include a Leela figure, Fendhaleen infant and Fendhaleen adult figures plus a skull and stand.

The detail is pretty amazing.

Image of the Fendahl aired in 1977 and was the third story of Season 15. The set is available through Forbidden Planet International. http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/index.php

TENNANT TO HOST BBC AUDIO DRAMA AWARDS

David Tennant has been named as the presenter for the inaugural BBC Audio Drama Awards. These awards honor the achievement of audio dramas which have been produced for on-air or online broadcast.

Awards will be given out to recognize the achievements of actors, writers, producers, sound designers and others who work in the audio drama genre.

Interestingly enough, Tennant has also been nominated in the Best Actor Category field for his role in Murray Gold’s Kafka The Musical. The first annual BBC Audio Drama Awards will be handed out on January 29th at the BBC Broadcasting House.

Read The Stage article here: http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/34856/david-tennant-and-june-whitfield-make

Tennant has also been cast alongside Heather Graham in Beth Lauren’s romantic comedy Emotional Rescue. The film will begin shooting in New York in a few weeks. The film is scheduled for release later this year.

THE COLIN BAKER YEARS

Despite appearing onscreen previously as Maxil in Arc of Infinty, Colin Baker’s arrival as the lead in Doctor Who was like a sharp jab to the face for many fans. When he emerged at the end of The Caves of Androzani, few were ready for the jarringly, bold, arrogant and combative nature of his portrayal of The Doctor. As he progressed in the role over his first few stories it was clear that this was a Doctor unlike any before. He was brash, autocratic and bold. He was violent and willing to go to more extremes than prior Doctors. He chewed up scenery and leveled everything in his wake. It was certainly a whole new ballgame for fans of the show.

The unlikable tone of the Sixth Doctor that began at the end of The Caves of Androzani carries through most of  his first story, The Twin Dilemma. As a Doctor Who story it is dreadful. The story suffered from a script that didn’t really fit the 6th Doctor. Plus, audiences were having to adjust to his costume, his large ego and his penchant for loud tantrums.

With regards to the costume, the 6th Doctor’s bright and loud coat of many patterns and colors was indeed eye jarring. In fact it positively was the weirdest thing ever seen on an actor in the role. Baker’s boisterous Doctor was accented with bright yellow trousers and an unseemly overcoat. Everything about his dress was loud.

The white shirt with question marks on it was fine, so was the vest and the strange polka dot tie. But the jacket was a thing to behold. It was a Technicolor acid bath that somehow lent itself to Baker’s portrayal. Upon hindsight, Baker was hoping to build a Doctor much like his coat, garish and loud but with layers of textures and shapes beneath it which were different, rough and deep.

The Twin Dilemma also saw The Doctor behave violently as never before, attacking Peri (his companion who carried over from the Davison era) and spewing venom at every chance. As far as first impressions go it was not the best. Yet somehow Baker’s 6th incarnation was compelling even though his debut story was horrid.

After a season break he returned for his first full season, Season 22. The season saw an overhaul of the episode format. Stories now were composed of 45 minute episodes so what was once a four parter was now a two parter etc… The season also featured more horror and violence then in previous seasons. There was plenty of torture, decapitation and pain to go around. Much to the chagrin of critics inside and outside of the BBC.

If that was not enough, the production team went all out, bringing back The Cybermen, The Master, The Sontarans and The Daleks. There was also a nod to the show’s early history with the return of the 2nd Doctor and Jamie in The Two Doctors. There was also a return of the show to a Saturday night-time slot.

It began with Attack of The Cybermen. This story was a chance for the production team to tone down the volume of Baker’s rancor from the previous story. They did this a teeny bit.  As the season begins, Baker’s Doctor is clearly at odds with the universe, particularly his old foes, The Cybermen.

I have always thought that Attack of the Cybermen was an overlooked gem of the classic era. Despite its hoky studio sets it remained claustrophobic. The plot was intense and the Cybermen were indeed menacing once again. However they ‘fixed’ the TARDIS and completely messed up with handling the returning character of Lytton but overall it is one of Colin”s better episodes. It set the right tone to begin Season 22 and seemed to give us a chance to see what Colin’s unpredictable Doctor was going to do next. After the fireworks of his debut the Doctor returned to a moral center. However this Doctor would resort to violence to win the day.

Vengeance of Varos was amazing. It had one of the better scripts of the Baker era and touched upon many key social issues. In a season where many old foes returned it was great to see a story with a fresh premise and an even more unsettling villain in Sil. The Sixth Doctor’s ego is still in full effect in this story as he fights a system where public executions serve as entertainment. Despite all the torture and grimness of this episode we see glimpses of the empathy that makes The Doctor such a crusader against evil. We do begin to see the relationship with Peri gel more and gain better footing.

Mark of the Rani could have been so much better. The manic antics of the Doctor subsided here a tad as he  squares off against two Time Lord baddies, The Master and the Rani. The Rani is no pushover. She is far more sadistic than the Master and is not afraid  to alter genetics to get her way. She is a rogue Time Lord who has managed to become a dictator of her own planet. She is clearly an intellectual rival for both The Master and The Doctor.

Things in this  aggro filled story go a bit daft when people begin turning into trees. The  Luddites seem to be nothing more than caricatures and The Master seems to be lost a little as things progress. He almost becomes the buffoon of a comedy farce.

Colin Baker has some great scenes with Peri and The Master. You really sense a rivalry exists between the two when he and Anthony Ainley confront each other onscreen. Nicola Bryant is actually given some more challenging stuff to do here as well. Writers Pip & Jane Baker also threw in some great one liners and managed to have the dynamic between The Master & The Rani be complicated enough to leave the audience guessing.

Mark of The Rani was pretty violent at times and it made some executives a bit nervous. However it was nowhere as violent as what was coming next.

Next up is the season’s three-part centerpiece, The Two Doctors. The story is basically a road movie with the 2nd and 6th Doctors in Seville. It opens superbly in black and white with Jamie and the 2nd Doctor in the console room. It eventually shifts to color but the opening shots ere a nice touch.

This story sees the return of The Sontarans as well as the introduction of Androgums, a race of gormaunds who have been genetically altered by the evil Dr. Dastari. The Doctor and Jamie are sent on a mission to a space station by the Time Lords to prevent some disturbing time experiments. Things get deadly when the Sontarans show up and capture the 2nd  Doctor and Jamie. The 6th Doctor has his fishing trip disrupted and eventually meets up with his previous self.

Frankly the best bits of this story involve seeing Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines on-screen again. The scenes with Trougthon and Colin Baker are magical. Frazer works well with both Doctors and seems to have not missed a step after all these years away from the character of Jamie McCrimmon. Colin dials back the attitude here so his costars do not become overwhelmed. The Two Doctors shows how great an actor Colin Baker was. He was willing to step back and become part of an ensemble while letting Patrick Troughton have his day in the sun. He also displays some serious comedic chops in his banter with Troughton. We also see the rebellious streak of the 6th Doctor come to light once more.

The weakness of The Two Doctors may be the parts where the 2nd Doctor, now being turned into an Androgum, goes out  on the town to eat, eat and eat. This angle doesn’t really work and it throws a wet rag over the pacing and timing of the story. Still this is a pretty great adventure.

Timelash was the black stain on Season 22. It was really terrible. The idea of having H.G. Wells travel in the TARDIS was clever but got completely lost in a murky plot. Paul Darrow was the guest star and his over the top performance was even hammier than Graham Crowden’s in The Horns of Nimon. The best thing in Timelash is Colin Baker’s performance. He belittles HG Wells and breaks out the puns with great flourish.

Critics bashed Revelation of The Daleks for its violence and cruelty as the story seemed to intensify the ongoing conflict with the Daleks with more carnage. The season finale sees the 6th Doctor plunging headfirst into a battle with his old enemy Davros. The centuries old battle of wits between the Doctor and the Daleks was invigorated by the fact that this Doctor was willing to set aside restraint in favor of violence to beat the Daleks.  The self confidence he displays in battling the Daleks was miles apart from any other approach to the Doctor/Dalek relationship previously seen onscreen. It was really something.

Revelation of the Daleks was not perfect but it was pretty good.  It was also the last time, I think, that Colin Baker got to play The Doctor on his own terms. In an interesting turn we see a new development in his character, the 6th Doctor, despite the caustic and pompous demeanor offers glimpses of  the compassion for others seen so frequently in his predecessors. I think it is here where Baker has the lights go on as a performer with regard as to how to proceed as The Doctor onscreen.

From here I think he knew how he wanted to move on with fleshing out his version of The Doctor. As is the case with every Doctor, there is a feeling out process where the actor playing the Doctor experiments with the role, tinkering with the perceptions and ideas of how the Time Lord appears onscreen. This story sees Colin Baker transcend all of that and hold his own.

The TARDIS takes the Doctor and Peri to Necros where people are not really resting in peace. The Doctor suspects there are some sinister things going on when he comes to pay his respects to his friend Professor Arthur Stengos. This leads the Doctor to discover that Davros is using the frozen dead of the planet to make a new breed of Daleks.

I love Colin in this story. He doesn’t hold anything back and it is as if all the pent-up rage, held back over the course of the season, is unleashed  with full force on his adversaries. The Doctor’s insolent treatment of Davros is something new and refreshing. His scenes with Davros bring out a rawness in The Doctor which has been suppressed for so long.  It is interesting to observe how the 6th Doctor walks a narrow emotional tightrope that ranges being haughty to benevolent as the plot unfolds.

It was not known at the time but Revelation of the Daleks would end 1985 in controversy. The high body count in this story, combined with the destructiveness of the overall season did not please the inner circle of the BBC. Moreover, the sense of disorder, agitation and fierceness of Colin Baker’s Doctor worried many critics who complained that the children’s show was becoming ‘too dark.’

Sadly any ideas of growth Colin Baker had for  his turn as The Doctor were lost in the ensuing hiatus imposed by the BBC. That is because  just as things were rolling along, in February of 1985, at the midway point of Season 22, the BBC announced that there would be an eighteenth month break for the program. The break was crushing news for the entire production team. Unfortunately, this would not be the end of the BBC brass meddling in the Colin Baker era.

TRIAL OF A TIMELORD

Almost everything about Trial of A Timelord was rubbish. The Doctor is taken out of time and space and put on trial by the Timelords. Leading the prosecution is the mysterious Valeyard. Something or someone is trying to set him up and he must spend the entire season seeking out who his foe really is.

From the onset it was apparent that behind the scenes, Doctor Who was fighting for its life. As a result  Season 23 saw experimentation as the writers and production team tried some different things in hope sof rescuing the show. The violence was toned way down, the Doctor was less volatile and the season long story arc was told in non-linear time with various cutaways from the drama to court room scenes filled with lengthy speeches and furious counter arguments. The stories in that season suffered badly from continuity flaws, poor writing and bad acting. Watching Colin Baker match up against Lynda Bellingham  and Michael Jayston was intriguing. The guest stars for the season were led by Brian Blessed, Honor Blackman and Tony Selby. Of all of these Blessed clearly steals the show.

Trial Of A Timelord also suffered from overly complex and convoluted plot lines. Many of which were intangible at the time. There were lots of problems. Peri got written out in a completely haphazard way and a new companion,  Mel, was thrown into the mix in the same way.The courtroom drama sometimes stilted the developing story and distracted audiences. All of this was confusing and silly. Despite all of this however, Colin Baker was in top form. He was taking the Doctor to some dark places and he again mixed the blustery bravado of the 6th Doctor with moments of tenderness and charm.

The scenes with Colin Baker and Anthony Ainley were sharply acted but you could tell the actors really wanted to do more. Ainley was delightedly ghoulish as The Master who suddenly somehow must ‘help’ The Doctor. It would have been better to just put them both in one story together with this scenario and get on with in. After all this formula worked well  for the 3rd Doctor and The Master in the 1970s,  Instead Ainley is seen on a screen with bad disco effects behind him. Tragic.

Then there is the Valeyard. He was as dastardly as they come. Never in all of Doctor Who villainy has a character worn black plastic and heavy cloth with such flourish and regality.

Near the end of Trial Of A Timelord the identity of The Valeyard is revealed as a synthesis of the dark side of the Doctor’s nature, captured somewhere between his twelfth and thirteenth incarnations. The motive of The Valeyard is to defeat The Doctor and seize his remaining lives.

On paper this may have seemed like a cool idea. In execution it was a head scratcher for fans. It would have been better to just make him an entirely new character. The premise is an interesting one to base a character on but by the end of everything it didn’t make much sense. To is credit Michael Jayston gave us a totally awesome and refreshing villain, one needed for the series for quite some time.

I love watching the scenes with Colin Baker and Michael Jayston. As actors, they really had a go of at it and appeared to relish their scenes together. I think it is in these parts of Trial Of A Timelord where you see  Colin Baker going forward  with his vision of the character. He was combative yet  compassionate, fiery yet logical and very cerebral. During this season we see the Doctor as more of an anti-hero then every before. His trial really transformed him from a character that was a wise sage of the cosmos into a snarling protagonist who was willing to stop at nothing to win.

Of the stories in this season Terror of the Vervoids is the big winner while The Ultimate Foe stands as an unmitigated disaster. The original Robert Holmes ending for this episode was jettisoned and replaced with a somewhat inconclusive one which rendered the entire season rather pointless. It was a virtual reality failure. As an ending it simply failed to deliver a payoff that satisfied fans.

None of this was Colin Baker’s fault. He was working against the clock to bring new life into the show and to his portrayal of The Doctor.  As the Doctor was on trial on television, Baker was on trial himself with the BBC. From the start he faced levels of resentment and frustration that no other actor in the role has ever had to deal with.

It began with the long hiatus in 1985 and came to a head in 1986. Clearly the hiatus of 1985 made it was obvious  that the clock was ticking. In 1986 the sands in the hourglass finally ran dry as the unthinkable finally happened. The powers that be at the BBC were unhappy with Doctor Who and hung the blame squarely on Colin Baker. Amongst their issues were his portrayal of The Doctor, which was not well received by the powers that be, and Season 22  was thought to be too violent for viewers. These were not people who wanted to wait for change.

As a result when these ominous honchos inside the BBC thought that Doctor Who needed to be retooled Colin Baker was unceremoniously sacked. Michael Grade, the BBC1  Controller and Jonathan Powell, who was the BBC Head of Series served as the hatchet men. The two executives believed that Baker’s Doctor never really caught on with the public even though he had only been given eleven stories to work with and faced an embarrassing hiatus.

It is a travesty that Colin Baker was only involved onscreen in Doctor Who for three years. For eighteen months of that time he was left in the dark and put out to dry. He got a very raw deal and because of that his Doctor remained underdeveloped and incomplete. A furious Baker did not return of the regeneration scene with Sylvester McCoy who became the 7th Doctor.

REBIRTH

Although his tenure on television was truncated Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor has had a rebirth of sorts via the Big Finish audios. This has allowed him to develop his own personal style  for The Doctor. These audios have given Baker a chance to take the character in deeper, more interesting directions then he could on television. Of all the classic Doctors who have had audio adventures clearly Colin Baker has benefitted the most from his run on Big Finish.

The Big Finish 6th Doctor remains smug and snide but in a far more nuanced way. Baker has dialed down his Doctor’s arrogance and self-confidence without letting go of the very core of the character he created on television.

To a certain extent he also has benefitted from better scripts as well. His audio Doctor has been given a new life partially because many of the stories are simply better than his TV serials. This also has allowed Colin Baker to move around and breathe in the skin of the character.

Thankfully these audios, along with fan support,  have helped sustain the legacy of the 6th Doctor.

IDW DOCTOR WHO COMICS UPDATE

This week marks the beginning of a special four part Doctor Who story entitled, As Time Goes By written by Eisner Award nominated scribe Joshua Hale Fialkov with cover art from artist Mark Buckingham. Volume 2, issue 13 features three special covers, one of which is rare and features Casablnaca-ish cover art by Matthew Dow Smith. (Thanks to IDW for the cover art)

The story sees Amy, Rory and The Doctor in 1941 racing to stop Hitler from world domination. Check out the IDW site here: http://www.idwpublishing.com

EVE MYLES NEWS

Torchwood’s Eve Myles is returning to the stage for All New People, the latest play from Scrubs star  Zach Braff. Performances are scheduled for the Manchester Opera House (Feb. 8-11, 2012), Glasgow’s King Theatre (Feb 14-18) and London’s Duke of York Theatre in the West End (Beginning on Feb 22nd and running for ten weeks).

Myles will play a British real estate agent named Emma. Peter DuBois is directing.

Next time: More news, DVDs and some other fun stuff….

Doctor Whooligan: Karen Gillan On Leaving Who, The Sixth Doctor Era, David Tennant News, Eve Myles On Stage is a post from: Anglotopia.net

In this episode, Scott and Calliope discuss the 2011 Christmas special – The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe. Do you think that The Doctor actually managed to stay under the radar up to this point? Do you ever open your presents early? Would you borrow a car to take a spaceman back to his box? So many things to discuss. Join us, but beware of spoilers for the next season.

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Article 33

Shadow Proclamation Podcast: Article 33 – Do Not Open Until Christmas is a post from: Anglotopia.net

The BBC has released the first preview trailer for Karen Gillan’s upcoming drama movie We’ll Take Manhattan.

Check it out below – looks interesting!

Karen Gillian: BBC Releases First Preview Trailer for We’ll Take Manhattan is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Soon to be former Doctor Who star Karen Gillan appeared on Graham Norton last Friday and shared a clip from her upcoming drama special “We’ll Take Manhattan” where she plays a supermodel.

Check it out below:

First Look at Karen Gillan in We’ll Take Manhattan – Clip is a post from: Anglotopia.net

With a long break from seeing Doctor Who on television many fans could go bonkers trying to fill up their time. One way to cure the boredom and calm down the nerves brought about by the anticipation of Series Seven is to attend a convention.

Conventions offer a great way to meet cast and crew from Doctor Who as well a fraternize with other fans of the show. Many conventions offer panels as well as Q &A s with those involved in both the classic and new version of the show. They also offer a chance for fans to see great video, buy merchandise and meet other fans.

Although conventions have become a big business industry of their own most of the fan runs cons still have their hearts and souls in the right place. These cons make a genuine effort to please fans and give them an experience where they get to see their favorite stars in a more relaxed and congenial setting.

Doctor Who conventions in America really got kickstarted with the 1984  Monster Con in Chicago. This was an epic celebration to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Doctor Who. It really set the bar for what fans expected from later conventions.

Fortunately the large Doctor Who conventions in the USA keep the spirit this con engendered by focusing of their programming around fandom and by making sure that the fans are taken care of.

Since there are a lot of conventions going on and because it is impossible to get all of them in. I have selected a handful of ones from all over the USA (and one in Wales).  With the exception of one, these are run by a dedicated group of fans who care about how you spend your dollars and want you to have a great time.

GALLIFREY ONE

This is the largest fan run convention in the USA. Galley uses the lights of Tinseltown and the sun in wintertime to lure big guests from the Whoniverse. Each year boasts an impressive guest list while never shorting the fan on having things to do.

This year sees more great guests, two Hartnell era companions, William Russell and Maureen O’ Brien as well as the Eighth Doctor, Paul McGann. Louise Jameson (Leela) is also attending along with Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler) and members of Big Finish.   There are lots of other guests as well. For a complete list visit their webpage.The 23rd North American Doctor Who Celebration is a juggernaut with programming as well. There are many interesting panels and special surprises. Who knows, Craig Ferguson may even show up in person this year!

Everything you could possibly want to know about the convention can be found here: http://www.gallifreyone.com/

THE DOCTOR WHO CONVENTION

The Millennium Center in Cardiff is the stage for the official Doctor Who Convention from March 24-25. BBC Worldwide is hosting the two-day event which, although not a fan run endeavor, promises to be something extra special for Whovians.

Steven Moffat, Matt Smith and Arthur Darvill are confirmed guests. Stuart Milligan and Simon Fisher-Becker are also attending.

For more information visit: http://dwconvention.com/

CHICAGO TARDIS 2012

After a record setting event in 2011, the Chicago TARDIS folks are back at it with a 7th Doctor themed convention for 2012.

Sophie Aldred (Ace) and writer Ben Aaronovitch are already confirmed guests. More guests will be announced as the year continues.

Chicago TARDIS takes place over Thanksgiving weekend each year. For more information visit: http://www.chicagotardis.com/

TIMEGATE

Memorial day weekend (May 25-27) sees Timegate 2012 in Atlanta.

Paul Kasey and Paul Marc Davis are the main Doctor Who guests for 2012 at this multigenred fan run convention.

Timegate is deep in Doctor Who programming and  continues to grow each year. More guests and programming to be announced.

For more information visit: http://www.timegatecon.org/

THE DOCTOR THE WIDOW AND THE  WARDROBE RATINGS

The final ratings are in for The Doctor the Widow & the Wardrobe. The final numbers show that the holiday special had 10.77 million viewers.  The final ratings include viewers who DVR or record the programme and watch it within a week of its original airing.

DAVID TENNANT GETS HITCHED

David Tennant and Georgia  Moffett were married on new year’s Eve in London. After the ceremony they had a star studded bash at The Globe Theatre to ring in 2012.

Georgia’s father is the Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison.

(photo courtesy of Flynet Inc)

The couple met while filming an episode of Doctor Who (The Doctor’s Daughter).

NATIONAL TELEVISION AWARDS

It will be a battle for the ages when Doctor Who squares off against Downton Abbey for Best Drama at Britain’s National Television Awards on January 25th. Merlin and Waterloo Road have also been nominated in the same category.

Torchwood and Doctor Who will clash as both Matt Smith and John Barrowman have been nominated for Best Actor. Karen Gillan and Eve Myles have both been nominated in the Best Actress category.

JOHN BARROWMAN NEWS

This week, John Barrowman presented three hour long episodes spanning the history of musicals, The Story of Musicals,  on BBC 4.

John’s also written a book with his twin sister Carole called Hollow Earth. It is now available for pre-order from Amazon. It is released on February 2, 2012.

Hollow Earth is geared toward middle readers and is the first book in a planned series.

Here is a plot summary from the publisher:

Twins Matt and Emily Calder have imaginations so powerful that they can make art come to life. Their powers are sought by villains intent on accessing the terrors of Hollow Earth — a place where all the devils, demons and monsters ever imagined lie trapped for eternity. If Hollow Earth is breached, the world will be plunged into chaos. If Hollow Earth is breached . . .

Visit the website for  the book here: http://www.hollow-earth.co.uk/

MIDNIGHT: THE STAGE PLAY

The Doctor Who episode, Midnight (from Season Four) has gotten new life as a stage production in Manchester. The David Tennant era story is being staged in the intimate confines of the Lass O’ Gowrie pub, which also hosts a monthly Doctor Who meetup.

RTD has signed off on the production and the producers have moved some dialogue bits here and there so as to not tread upon any BBC copyrights.  Some character names have changed but the basic structure of the story remains intact. On TV the episode was claustrophobic and intense. As a stage show it is even more so. The theater space in the pub is very small and the audience sits near the stage area.

Midnight runs through January 8th. For information on the pub check out their website: http://www.thelass.co.uk/

Read the SFX review here: http://www.sfx.co.uk/2012/01/03/blog-doctor-who-midnight-live…-sort-of/

STAR TREK 2

Yes you read that right…

But fear not there is a DW connection. Variety broke the news this week that  Sherlock’s  Benedict Cumberbatch has been cast as the villain in the next Star Trek film. Also joining him in the film is fellow Bit and former companion, Mr. Noel Clarke.

Although details of his role  remain speculative, it has leaked that he will play a family man with a daughter and wife in the film.  Star Trek 2 to is slated for release in May of 2013!

In case you forgot, Clarke played Mickey Smith in Doctor Who!

Clarke joins a select few actors (including Simon Pegg) who have been in both Doctor Who and Star Trek.

COLIN BAKER WINS COME DINE WITH ME

The Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker, was the winner of BBC 4′s Come Dine With Me challenge. Colin donated the £1000 he won to charity.

The meal he cooked began with a starter called ‘Charming Salmon Mousse’. His main course was  called ‘One Little Pig’s Shoulder of Pork a’ La Karina with  Pommes Pommes de Terre Puree’ and for dessert, Berry Chocolatey Christmas Pots.

You can see his cooking escapades here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j21fqOWQLzU&feature=player_embedded#!

TORCHWOOD AT PHILLY COMIC-CON

Gareth David Llloyd, Kai Owen and James Marsters have been announced as guests for Philadelphia Comic Con (June 1-3, 2012). For more information visit:   http://www.wizardworldcomiccon.com/gadakaiowijo.html

Next time: More news and a look and the turbulent Colin Baker years.

Doctor Whooligan: Colin Cooks, David Tennant Gets Hitched, Midnight: The Stage Play, Noel Clarke In Star Trek, More Ratings, Barrowmans Write Book is a post from: Anglotopia.net

In this episode, Scott and Calliope discuss the Fifth Doctor adventure – Planet of Fire. Calliope would like to apologize up front for recording with a cold, but let’s just pretend she sounds sexy, okay?

This story brings Turlough’s travels in the TARDIS to an end, while filling us in on some of his back story. What is your opinion of Turlough? Is this your favorite of his stories?

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Article 32

Shadow Proclamation Podcast: Article 32 – Into the Fire is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Doctor Who.

Back to the Future.

Mashup.

Need I say more?

Video: Doctor Who and Back to the Future Mashup is a post from: Anglotopia.net

What better way to ring in the new year than to marry the love of your life?

News has broken that David Tennant has married long time girlfriend (and mother of his child) Georgia Moffett tonight in a private ceremony amongst family and friends.

In a strange twist of irony, Georgia Moffett is the daughter of Peter Davison – also known as the Fifth Doctor!

Many congrats to them!

Happy New Year!

Sorry Ladies: David Tennant Marries Georgia Moffett on New Year’s Eve is a post from: Anglotopia.net

With the end of this year’s Christmas Special we have begun a long hibernation for Doctor Who on television. The Doctor is taking a rather long and much needed nap and will return again this fall for more adventures. It sounds better putting it that way doesn’t it?

At first this doesn’t seem all that bad, but then you think about it in terms of time. This means that we’ll have to wait, longer then normal for new episodes. Sigh.

I am hoping that the bridge to Season Seven is busy with information on new stories, characters and the big build up to the 5oth anniversary. But in all likelihood things will be quiet for a while. Everyone in the production team seems to be holding their cards close to their vest.

In the meantime, the TARDIS is getting a tune up and all is quiet until they gives us something.

So this means we, as fans, can focus on classic Doctor Who, other projects from the Who stars and the production team and of course ruminate and speculate over what is to come in 2012.

But fear not true believers, without Doctor Who on the telly there still a lot to do. There are great blogs, podcasts and fanzines to read, new novels to check out and a slew of neat audios are also coming our way. Plus fans of the new series could delve into the archives and enjoy some of the classic Doctor Who stories.

There are some great Classic Who DVDs coming out that neophytes to the classic series should check out. While fans of the old series will love the new extra features included on these titles.

This layover period will see a lot of creativity from fans who blog, make fanfic or make fan films about the show. So things won’t be all bad, I swear.

So even though the Doctor may be off the screen, he is not off our radar. Please keep coming back each week for interesting stuff on all things Doctor Who!

THE DOCTOR, THE WIDOW AND THE WARDROBE REVIEW

I have mixed feelings on this year’s special. I think it’s not nearly as good as last year’s special and I am hoping we do not fall into a situation like the Star Trek films where every other year has a good story.

Nonetheless it was great to have Doctor Who back on the telly.  It was good to have an imaginative reinvention of a holiday classic. It also was good to see The Doctor travelling on his own again.

First of all I think Matt Smith was terrific in it. He seems more comfortable with each episode. However, sometimes he is so manic that he needs to slow down a bit, but that is the character he has made.  Nonetheless his progression as The Doctor has been fun to watch.

As for this year, the plot was really jumbled. The opening shot was great but the scenes after that culminating with the Doctor’s leaping into a space suit in mid-flight is simply not possible. It’s entertaining to see but so improbable that it is glaring.

Once on Earth things got jumbled. I liked the comedy they inserted into these scenes. However, I don’t buy the wishing for help getting the Doctor’s attention. It was lame. I would liked to have seen more detail in the kid’s bedroom since they obviously alluded to the fact that he spent a lot of time making it.

As the story progressed I felt a little cheated. There was a lot going on and also a lot not going on. The pacing for the story seemed off. It was sped up then slowed down at an infuriating rate. I am hoping the stand alone stories of the future do not suffer from the pacing issues that plagued this story. I am hoping Moffat has not lost his touch for writing short, compelling, stand alone stories. The main problem is that it drags in a lot of places, where the previous scene before built up momentum. This made the story seem flat.

The story also fell prey to one of the problems with the new series format, it throws a lot of stuff at the viewer without a lot of backstory, character development or information. This story was a bombast of moving parts that could have utilized deeper explanation of plot points in places.

The incidental music was great and the effects were also good. The kids were not annoying as I feared. In fact they worked really well.  Overall, the supporting cast was also good but Bill Bailey wasn’t really used well in the story. He was funny and entertaining, but he could have been used better.

Claire Skinner’s performance grew on me as the episode went on. She was sort of dull and drab at the start but grew into something better as the story progressed. She was very grounded throughout the latter part of the episode which is refreshing change from what we’ve had on the show in recent seasons. It was an interesting switch on the role of the companion.

I will admit that when I watched the episode a second time, I did enjoy it more. I liked how Moffat took a simple idea, a Christmas tree and turned it into something more fantastical. That is the kind of magic I want to see all year-long in stories. I want Dr. Who to be magical and inventive without sacrificing storytelling and pacing. I know there will be missteps along the way and hope this is just a glitch.

Overall I think the episode was good, with the caveat that it could have been much better.  It could have been tightened up more in places with better exposition. This and jettisoning some plot points really would have made it something extraordinary.

But again this is the Christmas Special and it is usually a bit more fun and fanciful then the other ‘regular’ stories of a full season. So to that end it did deliver on the Christmassy level.

THE DOCTOR, THE WIDOW AND THE WARDROBE RATINGS

According to early estimates, The Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe was watched by 8.9 million people making it the third most watched show of the day.

This year’s Christmas Special achieved a not too shabby Appreciation Index score of 84. This score is determined by measuring how much the viewing audience liked the program.

Final figures, which include recorded viewing of  the show are forthcoming.

ROBOTS OF DEATH DVD

Airing in 1977, the story sees the Doctor and Leela land on a sandmining ship where things are not as they seem. Robots toil and do most of the work for the human crew. Humans start dying, all hell breaks loose and the Doctor must save the day.

The Robots of Death is slated for re-release as part of the Revisitations 3 collection.  The episode was part of the really solid Season 14. Although it was released previously on DVD this new version features digitally remastered picture and sound quality. It also retains the original releases extra features while adding on some new ones.

Special Features include a second audio commentary with Tom Baker, Louise Jameson and guest star Pamela Salem (Toos), and director Michael E Briant.

Special features include:

Radio Times listings

Photo Gallery

Coming Soon Trailer

The Sandmine Murders-Cast and crew look back at the making of the story

Robophobia-Toby Hadoke takes a wacky look at the history of robotics

Studio Sound-Example of a studio scene before the robot voice effects were added

Model Shots-Black and white time-coded recordings of the original model insert films for the story

Studio Floor Plan-An interactive view of the studio layout that utilizes the original floor plan drawings

Continuity – Off-air continuity for the first episode’s original transmission plus mute continuity slide

Program subtitles

Production information subtitles (the original release did not have these)

THE FACE OF EVIL DVD

Season Fourteen’s opening story, The Face of Evil is also coming to DVD in March. The Face Of Evil aired way back in 1977 (before Robots of Death) and featured the debut of Louise Jameson as Leela.

The Doctor finds himself embroiled in a conflict on am alien jungle planet where the Sevateem and the Tesh are at war.

This DVD is packed with a lot of extra features which focus on the Tom Baker era and also highlight the years Louise Jameson spent in the TARDIS.

Special features include:

Radio Times listings

Photo Gallery

Coming Soon Trailer

Into the Wild Cast and crew talk about the making of The Face of Evil

From the Cutting Room Floor-A look at the filming of the story from unused cuts

Tomorrow’s Times–A look at the various media coverage of Doctor Who during the Tom Baker era.

Doctor Who Stories:-Actress Louise Jameson recalls her role as Lella in this interview from  The Story of Doctor Who.

Swap Shop-Louise Jameson’s appearance on The Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, with Noel Edmonds.

Denys Fisher Toys Advert

1976 Typhoo Tea Doctor Who Promotional advert

Production information subtitles

KAREN GILLAN IN WE’LL TAKE MANHATTAN TO SCREEN IN USA

Ovations has announced that they will air We’ll Take Manhattan  on February 12, 2012 on their network.

We’ll Take Manhattan  stars Karen Gillan in a biodrama about 1960s supermodel Jean Shrimpton. It airs in the UK next month.

The film chronicles the mad romance between Shrimpton and photographer David Bailey.

Poor David Bailey (Aneurin Barnard) didn’t stand a chance when offered a chance for a photo shoot with Shrimpton.  Their chemistry was sizzling and came to a head on a weekend shoot in New York City where they changed the face of fashion photography. Like any glitz and glam story it was a tumultuous romance.

The film builds the background of each character up leading to their fateful meeting and torrid romance.

From the Ovations press release:

FASHION, PHOTOGRAPHY AND ROMANCE IS ONLY A CAMERA CLICK AWAY WHEN OVATION PREMIERES WE’LL TAKE MANHATTAN

Ovation’s First Original Movie Premieres on February 11, 2012

SANTA MONICA, CA – December 20, 2011 — Ovation, the only multi-platform network celebrating all forms of artistic expression, will premiere its first original movie, We’ll Take Manhattan on Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 8:00pm ET/9:00pm PT. Set in the 1960s world of fashion photography, the 90-minute film is Ovation’s first foray into a series of TV films and dramas which will debut throughout 2012.

Written and directed by John McKay (Life on Mars, Crush), and produced by Kudos Film & Television, We’ll Take Manhattan explores the relationship between groundbreaking British photographer David Bailey and his model and muse Jean Shrimpton, particularly during their legendary New York photo shoot for British Vogue in 1962. The film is the story of that wild week, of their love affair, and how they, changed the world of fashion photography forever. The film stars Aneurin Barnard (Olivier Award winner for Spring Awakening) as David Bailey and Karen Gillan (Doctor Who) as Jean Shrimpton.

Young Cockney up-start photographer Bailey persuades British Vogue to hire his unknown model and girlfriend, Jean Shrimpton, for a major fashion photography layout in Manhattan. Over the course of the shoot, they shatter every established rule of fashion photography, outraging Vogue fashion editor Lady Clare Rendlesham (Helen McCrory, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2) and rattling her assistant, Larry Schwarz (Joseph May, Episodes). Bailey and Shrimpton’s famous shoot set the 1960s world of fashion photography ablaze with their inventive style.

The film is executive produced by Claire Parker, Ruth Kenley-Letts and John McKay. We’ ll Take Manhattan was produced by Rebecca Hodgson and line produced by Ian Hogan with costume design by Ralph Wheeler-Holes. Tim Palmer is director of photography, David Charap is editor and Kevin Sargent is composer.

We’ll Take Manhattan is a co-production between Ovation and BBC and was produced by Kudos Film & Television. It is distributed by Shine International.

GILLAN ON WHO DEPARTURE

Karen Gillan spoke to the Los Angeles Times about what she wants to do now that she is leaving the TARDIS.

I want to do more theatre. I want to do more stage. I have a real passion for it.  She also added, I want to do it as much as screen stuff, in all honesty, so that would be really amazing…Maybe something on Broadway. I’d love to do that. 

In the interview she also spoke of what motivated her as an actress. I genuinely just want to do good work. I’m interested in character, whether that’s in a play or a film or an indie film.

Read it here:  http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/12/14/doctor-who-karen-gillan-on-amy-ponds-past-and-future/#/0

SJA ON DVD 

British fans of The Sarah Jane Adventures get a treat in February 6th when the Sarah Jane Adventures Series 1-5 Complete Boxset is released on DVD. No North American release date has been announced.

The boxset includes every episode from the first to fifth season of Russell T. Davies’ series starring the dearly missed Lis Sladen.

MOFFAT NOT QUITTING

Steven Moffat is no quitter. Steven Moffat has denied that he is leaving Doctor Who after rumors circulated the Internet that he was considering leaving.

It all started when The Mirror ran a piece where he was quoted as saying.

I never find any time to relax…All the stuff that surrounds it can be relentless….I haven’t got a plan but I am definitely going to be handing it to someone else.

When word spread on the net. The Moff posted to Twitter, denying the report as true. So it looks like this is all blowing over.

You can’t blame the guy for airing the fact that he is exhausted in public. he is a showrunner for two excellent series and he has a movie out right now as well. Moffat is definitely a busy cat and I will cut him as much slack as he wants since I imagine the strain on his personal life is incredible.

My guess is that the earliest he would leave is after the 50th anniversary. But that is just speculation.

Read The Mirror article here: http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/tv/2011/12/21/doctor-who-boss-steven-moffat-i-ll-have-to-quit-one-day-or-i-ll-die-of-stress-115875-23650157/

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

Simon Curtis’ new film, My Week With Marilyn, starring Michelle Williams, is getting a lot of buzz on this side of the pond. The ensemble cast includes several Doctor Who alums, including Toby Jones (The Dream Lord), Sir Derek Jacobi (The Master) and Zoe Wanamaker (Cassandra).

Next Time..Convention reports!

Doctor Whooligan: XMAS Ratings,The Face of Evil & Robots of Death on DVD, Ovations Nabs We’ll Take Manhattan, Moffat Not Leaving is a post from: Anglotopia.net

The British TV Podcast with Chrissy & Ryan presents its 2011 Holiday Special. We review the recent Christmas specials on British TV including “Doctor Who,” “Downton Abbey,” “The Borrowers,” “Lost Christmas” and more. Ryan finishes the year with his Top 10 list of favourite TV shows.

Listen to Show 102

British TV Podcast – 2011 Holiday Special – Downton Abbey, Doctor Who and More! is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Tenth Doctor David Tennant appeared on the Nerdist Podcast with Chris Hardwick talking about Life, The Doctor and Everything.

From the description:

Yes! The 10th Doctor himself, David Tennant, in a sit down chat with Chris in a very posh English library! This is the full unedited audio from the segment on the Nerdist TV show (originally aired 12/24 on BBC America, probably available on iTunes now). Chris and David chat about Doctor Who, Harry Potter, The Incredible Hulk, and working shirtless. PLUS! MANY fan questions answered. He was nine kinds of awesome. You asked for him (so did I)! Here he is! Now enjoy this Scottish burrito (which sounds like a filthy sex-thing but it isn’t)!

Listen Now

David Tennant: David Appears on the Nerdist Podcast – Listen Now! is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Off to a rocketing start with the Doctor falling through space in typical a absurd Doctor Who situation.

In this year’s Christmas special, our Time Lord crash-lands on Earth during the Second World War (sure to be a popular plot point), where he tries to make sure two unfortunate evacuees and their mother have the best Christmas ever. Doctor takes it upon himself to create the most magical Christmas ever for two children who’s father has died (and they don’t know it yet).

Using a magical present, the Doctor transports them to a magical land dominated by an enchanted forest with living trees – but that is when their troubles really begin.

Claire Skinner, Bill Bailey, Arabella Weir and Alexander Armstrong have joined Matt Smith in this year’s festive special, inspired by CS Lewis’s Narnia stories.

It’s a fine line between ‘inspired’ and ‘copied.’ But it’s a line they hold and it’s a fun story overall.

After the huge stakes of the previous series that ended earlier in the fall, it’s nice to see a self-contained Doctor Who story where the world isn’t going to end.

For the record, I want the Spitefire wallpaper I noticed in the background in one scene!

One of my favorite lines is: “There’s no crying in military engagements.”

One thing of note that was very subtle – in this episode he’s not called The Doctor, he’s the Caretaker by the character and the Doctor lets them.

The Doctor gets taught a very valuable lesson in being full of himself.

My second favorite line is: “Hold tight and pretend it’s a plan.”

The special has a nice happy ending and a nice happy Christmas message. We get a cameo from the Pond’s (and it’s quite a bit of time since they saw The Doctor Last). Usually the Doctor Who christmas specials sometimes end up being rather disappointing and Stephen Moffat really delivers with this one. It will become a cherished classic.

The Doctor returns… we don’t know as it doesn’t say when the credit are over. But it’s been confirmed that this is our last glimpse of The Doctor until fall 2012 (we’re predicting and September return).

Happy Christmas everyone!

What did you think of the 2011 Doctor Who Christmas Special? Let us know in the comments!

Doctor Who: 2011 Christmas Special – The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe Review – SPOILER FREE!!! is a post from: Anglotopia.net