Tuesday, 31 July 2012

Olympics 2012: What Matt’s Watching…

With the 2012 Olympics captivating viewers across the globe, from its current home in London, the RadioTimes spoke to various UK celebrities, including Doctor Who’s own Eleventh Doctor – Matt Smith – and Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the eponymously-named consulting detective.

So what info did the RT reporters garner? What will Cumberbatch and Smith be watching at this year’s Olympic Games?

Matt Smith
Watching ATHLETICS: “I love to see the 400m – that used to be my event. But I’ll watch anything. My favourite Olympic memory is Linford Christie when he was doing well. I loved his intensity. But I’d watch Michael Johnson any day of the week just because he was so electrifying.”

Benedict Cumberbatch
Watching EQUESTRIAN: “I’ll be watching quite a few things. The sort of short distance track events are always exciting and I’d quite like to watch the horse competitions, because I learnt how to ride a horse for the film War Horse and now I’m a little bit obsessed with all things horsey. Oh and crazy stuff like pole vaulting.”

Read what more UK celebs are watching at the 2012 Olympics – including Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Julie Walter, Matt Baker and more – on the RadioTimes website.

Friday, 27 July 2012

Talking Who: Neve McIntosh exclusive interview

articleimageTV_073

Talking Who – the home of Doctor Who video fandom on YouTube – have uploaded an exclusive interview they secured with non other than Neve McIntosh.

Neve made her first appearance in Doctor Who, however, as the Silurian twins of anthrophobia: Alaya and Restac, in 2010’s ‘The Hungry Earth’ & ‘Cold Blood’. However, she is probably best-known as the samurai-sword-wielding Silurian smash-hit character Madame Vastra, the role to which she will return for an upcoming Mark Gatiss-penned episode of Series 7; rumoured to be titled ‘The Crimson Horror’.

The 18-minute interview was recorded at The Eleventh Hour convention, and conducted by Blogtor Who’s Cameron K. McEwan. They talk about Neve’s part co-starring opposite David Tennant in Single Father, as well as her casting as the sister Silurians and the filming of her Doctor Who episodes.

Neve McIntosh Exclusive Interview (Doctor Who Madame Vastra) | Talking Who 34

> Talking Who – YouTube playlist
> Talking Who – website blog

> Those Video Guys – YouTube channel
> Those Video Guys – website blog

Thursday, 26 July 2012

Mary Tamm dies, aged 62

Mary Tamm pictured on 7th August 1972Mary Tamm, who played the first incarnation of Doctor Who companion and Time Lady Romana, alongside Tom Baker, has died aged 62.

She passed away on Tuesday morning in a London hospital following an 18-month battle with cancer, her agent confirmed.

Tamm first appeared as in Doctor Who in the 1978 serial The Ribos Operation and stayed with the Doctor for the duration of the show's 16th season (often referred to as the"'Key to Time" series because of its linked storylines). She bowed out of the sci-fi drama at the end of The Armageddon Factor in 1979, when her character "regenerated" and Lalla Ward took over the role.

Born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, Tamm enjoyed a long and varied career on stage and screen. As well as Doctor Who, she appeared in feature films including The Odessa File and The Likely Lads and played recurring roles in soaps Brookside and EastEnders.

Her agent Barry Langford said: "She had a great zest for life. She was a fantastic actress – she played stage parts of such range, parts that would take your breath away. She could play any role, and do so wonderfully."

Beginning her career at the Birmingham Repertory Company, Tamm worked on stage alongside the likes of Joan Sims, Ronnie Barker and Derek Jacobi before moving into film and TV and notching up early credits in Coronation Street, The Donati Conspiracy and Freddie Francis’s film Tales That Witness Madness.

Remaining a presence on TV throughout her career, she recently starred in Wire in the Blood, Paradise Heights and Jonathan Creek.

Tamm also returned to Doctor Who in recent years, reprising the role of Romana in a series of Big Finish’s Doctor Who audio adventures. In 2009, she published her autobiography First Generation.

Tamm is survived by her husband Marcus Ringrose, daughter Lauren and seven-year-old son Max.


Mary Tamm
(1950-2012)

Wednesday, 25 July 2012

Entertainment Weekly: Inside the cult of Dr Who

Click to enlarge...

Doctor Who today made Entertainment Weekly history by becoming the first ever British television show to be featured on the cover of the American magazine. Our favourite sci-fi was the main feature of the magazine, in: “The 25 Greatest Cult TV Series”, sharing page space alongside legends such as Buffy, Firefly, and The X-Files.

EW.com have also included an excerpt preview column of the magazine feature on their website, for your delight and delectation (including a brilliant pic of the current ‘Tastic TARDIS Trio)…

How do you know when a TV show has become a cult phenomenon? When its (often comparatively small) ratings are eclipsed by the wild ardour of its fans. Take the case of the British science fiction show, Doctor Who, whose current lead, Matt Smith, is this week’s cover star. The now 49-year-old Who is hugely popular in its homeland but has always enjoyed a more select appeal here — not that you know that from the devotion of U.S.-based “Whovians.” In 1983, 7,000 people attended a Doctor Who convention in Chicago and over the past couple of years the time-traveling “Doctor” has received a bordering-on-the-absurd number of onscreen shout-outs from Community, Criminal Minds, Craig Ferguson’s The Late Late Show, Supernatural, and Grey’s Anatomy, whose creator, Shonda Rhimes, describes herself as a “psychotic” follower of Matt Smith’s time travel adventures in this week’s cover story. “It’s not an obscure show anymore,” says executive producer Steven Moffat. “It’s not even a ‘British import.’ It’s just Doctor Who.”

Click to enlarge this pic of this awesome trio of Awesome People...

Has the time finally come for the so-called “Time Lord” to break big in America? Could be. The Doctor Who team has assiduously courted fans here with a succession of publicity appearances, including a panel at this year’s Comic-Con where Whovians paid homage to Smith’s red-haired co-star Karen Gillan by donning ginger wigs. (No. 2 way you know  a TV show has become a cult favorite? When fans start dressing as characters.)

In June 2011, the show’s U.S. broadcaster BBC America enjoyed its best ever ratings with the premiere episode of the sixth season since Doctor Who was revived in 2005, following a 16 year hiatus. The new season, which debuts later this summer, may well be the most eagerly anticipated ever as the Doctor prepares to say goodbye to his two trusty and beloved-by-fans “companions,” Gillan’s Amy Pond and Arthur Darvill’s Rory Williams. In the cover story we track the ups and downs of the show’s remarkable half-century history and preview the new episodes with help from Smith, Gillan, Darvill, and  exec producer, Steven Moffat.

> Entertainment Weekly

Doctor Who on Entertainment Weekly cover

Doctor Who will once again make history on Friday 27 July when the world’s longest running sci-fi television show features on the cover of influential US entertainment magazine, Entertainment Weekly. Incredibly, it will be the first British television show to command a spot on the cover, further highlighting Doctor Who’s growing U.S. fan-base.

Entertainment Weekly was granted behind the scenes access to the cast of the upcoming series, and the cover story features interviews with Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill and Executive Producer Steven Moffat. This fantastic coup for the brand follows on from other notable shout-outs on The Late Late Show, Greys Anatomy and Criminal Minds.

Click to enlarge...

Doctor Who Series 6 was the most watched series ever on BBC America, while the same series was also the most downloaded show on U.S. iTunes last year, eclipsing celebrated shows such as Mad Men and Glee.

Many thanks to BBC Worldwide.

> Entertainment Weekly

Tuesday, 24 July 2012

Planet of the Facts #14: The Fang Rock Feud

FACT No.14: The Fang-Rock Feud

It’s widely known among fandom folk that during their time together on Doctor Who, their was a somewhat tense relationship between Tom Baker (Fourth Doctor) and Louise Jameson (Leela). But it was during the filming of the first serial of Season 15 – ‘Horror of Fang Rock’ – that this took a turning point.

According to Louise Jameson on the DVD commentary of the 1977 story, a scene in Part 3 was crucial to the behind-the-scenes relationship between her and co-star Tom Baker. In one scene, he consistently came in ahead of his cue, upstaging her. On the grounds that this move was "not what they had rehearsed" she insisted on three successive retakes until he came in at the rehearsed time. This apparently won his respect. From that point forward, Jameson says, their working relationship was much smoother.

Ed – *WOOP* for the Planet Of The Facts’ title refurb! Classic Who font’n’everything.

Monday, 23 July 2012

Big Finish ‘The Acheron Pulse’ Cover

Big Finish have officially released the cover for their upcoming Doctor Who audio featuring the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) called ‘The Acheron Pulse’.

The story is listed as being written by Rick Briggs, directed by Ken Bentley, and co-stars James Wilby as “Tenebris”, Joseph Kloska as “Dukhin”, and Jane Slavin as “"Teesha”. A synopsis has yet to be released.

The cover artwork is by Alex Mallinson.

Click to enlarge...

Doctor Who ‘The Acheron Pulse’ is set for release in October 2012, and is available for pre-order on download (£12.99) or CD order (£14.99) now from the Big Finish website.

> PRE-ORDER: Big Finish ‘The Acheron Pulse’

Sunday, 22 July 2012

Doctor Who Magazine #450 Cover

Tom Spilsbury, editor of Doctor Who Magazine, has unveiled the cover for the next issue of Doctor Who’s official magazine – the celebratory 450th edition.

With a special and distinctly less busy cover than usual, issue 450 also comes with a large, double-sided poster. One side the full image of all the generations of Daleks issue 447 featured on pull-out cover of issue 447, and the other with the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors together.

Doctor Who Magazine #450 is released this Thursday 25th July for (ironically) £4.50, in the UK in WH Smith and selected Tesco and Asda stores.

Friday, 20 July 2012

Fan-Art Friday – ‘The Baker Street Justice Society’

First of all, when I first set eyes on this artwork, my instant reaction was that of wide-eyed, jaw-dropped fangasm. Twelve of my favourite characters uniting forces as ‘The Baker Street Justice Society’, by Paul Hanley (artist of many a Doctor Who official graphic novel and illustration). This is one spin-off I would LOVE to see.

Featured Doctor Who (and non-Who) characters include, from top-left-to-right: Jackson Lake (‘The Next Doctor’, at 89-years-old), H.G. Wells (‘Timelash’ and, of course, real-life), Leela (brilliant 4th Doctor companion), Captain Jack Harkness (Torchwood, Doctor Who companion), Jago and Litefoot (4th Doctor’s ‘Talons of Weng-Chiang), the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton, 1966-69) – bottom left-to-right: Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith, 2010-?), John Watson and Sherlock Holmes, Jenny and Madame Vastra (Catrin Stewart and Neve McIntosh, ‘A Good Man Goes To War’ & ‘The Crimson Horror’).

Go to artwork DeviantArt page >>>

Oh, boy, do I want Vastra and Jenny to meet Jago and Litefoot!

> Find more of Paul Hanley’s work in his DeviantArt gallery

> Fan-Art Friday feed

Monday, 16 July 2012

Series 7 Episode 3 Title Confirmed

articleimageTV_064The official BBC Doctor Who website have updated their blog feed with further developments on Series 7 episode titles, namely that of episode three.

The BBC also confirmed today that episode three, filmed on location in Spain, is the western cowboy town episode, written by Toby Whithouse (writer and creator of BBC Three’s amazing hit series Being Human) and directed by Saul Metzstein (also director of episode 1 ‘Asylum of the Daleks’), the episode co-stars Adrian Scarborough (Gavin and Stacey) and Ben Browder (Farscape).

The episode was widely rumoured to be called ‘The Gunslingers’ (as reported by DWF), but it seems that was possibly just a working title. The real, confirmed title is…

Doctor Who Series 7 commences its broadcast of the Ponds’ final five episodes in late August – date to be confirmed nearer the time.

> DWF – ‘Series 7 Episode 3 Title Revealed?’ (28th Feb 2012, 11:00AM)


Catch all the latest Series 7 news, or Series 7 Episode 3 news.

Series 7 Episode 2 Title Revealed

articleimageTV_063

Steven '”The Moff” Moffat, Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, and new exec producer Caroline Skinner joined together for the Doctor Who panel at San Diego Comic Con 2012, hosted by uber-Who-fan Chris Hardwick, and revealed some exciting info on the upcoming series.

Steven Moffat revealed to to the audience’s exuberant delight, “People always ask what the secret to success is, and I’ve always pretended that I didn’t know. But I do know. The secret to television success – and I’m going to tell you it now – is… you put…

Doctor Who ‘********* on a *********’ is the second episode of Series 7 and will broadcast after the Dalek-filled opening episode, in late August, on BBC One.

Saturday, 14 July 2012

Planet of the Facts #13: Time Lord Society – VOLUME 2. The Hierarchy

FACT No.13: TIME LORD SOCIETY

- VOLUME TWO – The Hierarchy -

The hierarchy of the significant figures in Time Lord society was largely devised by Robert Holmes in his 1977 story ‘The Deadly Assassin’, which was continued and added to in the 1978 Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) serial ‘The Invasion of Time’. The presentation of the Time Lord hierarchical system was, in fact, inspired by the United States Constitution’s separation of powers.

This system guarantees the independence of the three branches of government, in order to prevent abuse of power by anyone. In Time lord society, these three vital roles of government – or the Citadel, in the case of Gallifrey – are filled by a Castellan (chief of the Citadel and Gallifreyan security, and second-in-line to the Presidency and second-in-command), a Chancellor (advisor to the President and third-in-line), and then the President himself; the highest authority and power on Gallifrey.

Another figure of Gallifreyan Time Lord society is the ‘Gold Usher’. The Gold Usher was conceived as a title devoted purely to ceremonial duties, such as the Presidential inauguration in ‘The Invasion of Time’. His role in the Citadel was compared by the production team to the Black Rod in the British Parliament, again purely ceremonial.

Friday, 13 July 2012

Planet of the Facts #12: Time Lord Society–VOLUME ONE. The Panopticon

FACT No.12: TIME LORD SOCIETY

- VOLUME ONE – The Panopticon -

The word “Panopticon” by philosopher Jeremy Bentham (from whom writer Robert Holmes got the name for the room’s first appearance in ‘The Deadly Assassin’) in 1787. The word has its etymological roots in Greek, translating vaguely as “everything seen”. Bentham gave the word as a title for a (at the time, new) style of circular prison, in which the inmates could be constantly watched over, hence the translation.

Within the context of Doctor Who, however, the Panopticon is a large viewing room inside the Citadel of the Time Lords, on Gallifrey, generally used as a place of ceremony, such as Presidential inaugurations (as seen in ‘The Deadly Assassin’ and ‘The Invasion of Time’ – see below).

The Panopticon in 'The Invasion of Time', as the Doctor is inaugurated as President of Gallifrey.

Sunday, 8 July 2012

Planet of the Facts #11: Rose Tyler Earth Defence

articleimageTV_058FACT No.11: Rose Tyler Earth Defence

After Rose (Billie Piper) was written out of Doctor Who at the end of Series 2 ‘Doomsday’, Russell T Davies considered giving the character her own 90-minute spin-off production, Rose Tyler: Earth Defence, with the possibility of such a special becoming an annual Bank Holiday event.

Although the special was officially commissioned, Davies changed his mind and decided that such a return, wherein the audience would be able to see Rose when the Doctor could not, would spoil her final scenes in Doctor Who. The production was consequently cancelled.

Eighth Dr Adventures: ‘Dark Eyes’ Box Set

Big Finish – official full-cast audio drama makers of Doctor Who – have released the cover and synopsis of the upcoming new ‘Dark Eyes’ box set.

The story looks set to enter the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) into a new era of different adventures, with the advent of his new companion Molly (played by Ruth Bradley – ITV’s Primeval and Titanic TV series), following the departure of Sheridan Smith as the Lucie Miller in last year’s ‘To The Death’.

The cover not only displays a new layout style – this time not including the usual info-strip down the left – but also a re-styled Eighth Doctor outfit (first revealed at the a convention in New Zealand). Also featured on the cover are new companion Molly, the ever-infamous Daleks, and Toby Jones (who you may recognise as the Dreamlord in Series 5 ‘Amy’s Choice’) who plays a character called Kotris in ‘Dark Eyes’.

Dark Eyes follows the story of the Eighth Doctor in the aftermath of the game-changing To the Death (recent winner of Doctor Who Magazine's 2012 Best Audio poll!) and sends him to the brink in more ways than one.

Starring Paul McGann as the Doctor and Ruth Bradley as new companion Molly O'Sullivan, a VAD from the time of the First World War, Dark Eyes is an epic adventure told across four CDs, and features thrills, spills, high adventure and powerful drama - and Daleks!

PART ONE: The Great War - The Doctor is heading to 'the edge' and beyond. But the Time Lords have other ideas. On Earth, during the First World War, Molly O'Sullivan works hard as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nursing assistant. How can her destiny be bound up with that of the Doctor's?

PART TWO: ‘Fugitives’

PART THREE: ‘Tangled Web’

PART FOUR: ‘'X' and the Daleks’

Paul McGann (The Doctor), Ruth Bradley (Molly O'Sullivan), Peter Egan (Straxus),Toby Jones (Kotris), Tim Treloar (Lord President), Laura Molyneaux (Isabel Stanford), Natalie Burt (Sally Armstrong), Ian Cullen (Nadeyan), Nicholas Briggs(The Daleks)

‘Dark Eyes’ box set is available to pre-order now on CD or by  download for £20, via the Big Finish website. It is set for release in November 2012. I know I’ll be getting it!

> Pre-order ‘Dark Eyes’ now

What do you think of this news? Feel free to comment below.

Saturday, 7 July 2012

Planet of the Facts #10: Multiple Jacks

articleimageTV_057FACT No.10: Multiple Jacks

If the events of Torchwood and Doctor Who are considered together, there are four different versions of Captain Jack Harkness in the World War II time period. Here they are in chronological order of his own timeline…

JACK #1 is his appearance in Doctor Who ‘The Empty Child’/‘The Doctor Dances’; his significant first encounter with the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler. The night that changed his life!

JACK #2 appeared via Vortex Manipulator in 1869 London (part-seen in Torchwood ‘Fragments’), following the events of ‘The Parting of the Ways’. The device short-circuited and the teleportation was left unusable, which meant he lived through World War II once again, part of which we glimpsed in flashbacks featured in Torchwood: Children of Earth.

JACK #3 is the Jack seen in the Torchwood episode ‘Captain Jack Harkness’ in Series 1 in which he is sent back in time to this period with Toshiko.

JACK #4, however, is significantly less mobile as this time round he was buried alive in 27 AD (Torchwood ‘Exit Wounds’), only to be dug up in 1901 by Torchwood and put in a cryo-chamber with instructions to be defrosted/woken in 2009. Therefore, this fourth WW2 Jack was frozen throughout the time period that all the others were wandering around.

Friday, 6 July 2012

Planet of the Facts #9: Origins of the Toclafane

FACT No.9: Origins of the Toclafane

Nobody can accuse Russell T Davies of not planning ahead. In 2004, when (along with other episodes) the script for ‘Dalek’ was being re-drafted, at one point it became apparent that they may not be able to get the rights to use the Daleks at all. In this event, Davies and writer Robert Shearman drafted a new version of the script, replacing the lone Dalek with a captive metal sphere that was then only known in the script as “Sphere”.

Shearman describes how Davies proposed the replacement monster idea, drawing a simple circle of the Sphere on paper, saying: “I’m bringing this forward from what I imagined the end of Series Three might be.” Shearman says, “At that stage we hadn’t shot anything of Series One, so this was Russell with his long-term plan which he would never otherwise discuss.” The idea was that it would have housed a “remnant head”, with a “childlike sing-song voice” and was a future evolution of the human race that had destroyed the Time Lords (this was the plan for the ‘Sphere’-version of the Time War). The lone Sphere was to have fallen through a rift above Utah and held captive by Henry Van Statten.

postpic_PotF-ToclafaneSketch_thumb16

Later, of course, they gained the rights clearance from the Terry Nation estate to use the Daleks, eventually resulting in the episode ‘Dalek’ we know and love today, but the “Sphere” (originally planned as a Series Three finale enemy) remained where it had initially been planned. It went on the become the Toclafane, aiding the John Simm Master in his conquest of planet Earth. The idea of the Sphere falling through a Rift became the millions-strong swarm of Toclafane flying through the Paradox Rift (see below) – the cliffhanger ending of ‘The Sound of Drums’.

PlanetOfTheFacts_button0154444494

With thanks to Robert Shearman and Doctor Who Magazine. Source: DWM-449.

Thursday, 5 July 2012

Planet of the Facts #8: Mawdryn Undead Return

PlanetOfTheFacts_footer015555555articleimageTV_056FACT No.8: Mawdryn Undead Return

The initial intention of John Nathan Turner for a significant returning character, for the 1983 serial ‘Mawdryn Undead’, was First Doctor companion Ian Chesterton, played by William Russell; he had played the part from Doctor Who’s very beginning in 1963 to 1965. He was to have returned for a guest appearance in this Fifth Doctor story, hence the school setting, as Ian had been a science teacher.

Unfortunately, however, actor William Russell was not available for the filming schedule required, so JNT shifted his gaze to other male companions from the show’s history. Some consideration was given to using Harry Sullivan (played by Ian Marter), who was a regular for one series (alongside the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane). However, once the production team discovered they could hire Nicholas Courtney for another appearance as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, they decided upon him.

'Doctor Who' Cast Share Their Favourite London Spots

Wednesday, 4 July 2012

Sky Ray Space Raider 1967 Commercial

articleimageTV_059

“WILL 'DR. WHO ESCAPE THIS TIME??”

The only way to find out? Buy the *brand new* Sky ray Space Raider ice lollies (or “popsicles” if you’re that way inclined)! First all you must do is travel back to the quaint ye ol’ days of 1967 and snatch one from the nearest freezer cabinet.

This is a British TV commercial for the (yep, you guessed it) Sky Ray Space Raider ice lollies, broadcast in 1967, in which you get a *free* Doctor Who art card

Also worth noting: the amusing fellow wearing Patrick Troughton’s costume. Imposter!

Sky Ray Space Raiders - Doctor Who - British Adverts Commercials (1967) TDA Archive

And they’re still around today! *huzzah* Although more commonly known now as Rocket Lollies. Do like a little bit of Doctor Who-related archive footage!

Many thanks to the Tim Disney Archive for providing this 1967 commercial video.

Planet of the Facts #7: A Half-Human Doctor

FACT No.7: A Half-Human Doctor

The original concept for the 1996 TV movie’s plot was to not only introduce the idea that The Doctor was apparently human, but also involved the newly-regenerated Eighth Doctor (played by Paul McGann) to go searching for his true father, who was to have appeared and been an integral part of the plot.

Through the filtering of the various TV companies’ wants and many script drafts later, this plotline was reduced to a couple of lines – one said by The Master (Eric Roberts) and the other by The Doctor himself – mentioning he is “half-human”; these lines remain as it was the one idea that producer Philip Segal was very adamant to retain of the initial script.

The Doctor’s human-Gallifreyan parentage idea was inspired by Mr Spock’s half-human parentage in Star Trek.

With thanks to Niall Boyce.

Tuesday, 3 July 2012

Planet of the Facts #6: The Nation’s Dalek Naming

FACT No.6: The Nation’s Dalek Naming

The word “Dalek” actually translates as “a far and distant place” in Serbo-Croatian, although this was, in fact, a complete coincidence on Terry Nation’s part (the creator of the Daleks, if you didn’t know… somehow).

Nation originally told a Daily Mirror journalist in 1964, the name of the Dalek came from a dictionary or encyclopaedia volume, the spine of which apparently read "…dal – Lek…". Years later, however, he admitted this story was entirely fictitious. In reality, the word had randomly rolled from his typewriter as a typographical mistake.

According to director Kevin Davies – in his 1993 book ‘More Than 30 Years In The TARDIS’, Terry Nation was later pleasantly surprised when informed of his creation’s Serbo-Croatian meaning.

Do you want Christopher Eccleston back for the 50th Anniversary?
YES!! - That would be absolutely brilliant!
Not sure - I'm not bothered either way, to be honest...
No - it's good to see the back of 'im!
Create your own poll
Twitter Bird Gadget