So we are now counting down to the conclusion of the 2011 season, which will apparently return in both the UK & US on the unusual date of 27 August, rather than 3 September which most had expected. A fair bit was out of the bag for the occasion of Comic-Con. As well as TWO trailers (oddly one for just "The God Complex" episode) there was a lovely cast promo, see below which teases us with a pyramid and Rory's pert bottom. It also marks the official unveiling of the Doctor's new overcoat, mostly brought in to keep Matt warm during winter filming.
The trailer also reveals some weird and wonderful things - with the one I've pictured last causing the most fan chatter. All of our regulars look to be given moments of greatness.
After all the recent acrimony over future production plans for 2012 and the 50th anniversary in 2013 seeming to be pared back and reports of fueds between Steven Moffat and new BBC One controller Danny Cohen, just as both of Moffat's fellow producers leave the show, I have trust in the show and suspect this will all blow over. Even cast concerns have allayed when considered alongside the new working pattern, though I was a bit alarmed to hear everyone was recently dragged back for a day's filming on "Let's Kill Hitler" despite having otherwise wrapped at the end of April. Karen Gillan confirmed at the weekend she will return for series 7, probably arriving late in 2012, despite TV and theatre commitments. Arthur Darvill has yet to voice a similar confirmation, but we may find out in September when this year's Christmas special is to be filmed. It seems unlikely to me that one would continue without their spouse on board, though Arthur is tied to playing Mephistopheles at London's Globe theatre into early October. We know of course already the Matt Smith has signed up to play the Doctor until at least the anniversary, something he always seems very keen on being a part of.
The trailer for the hotel-bound episode "The God Complex" is here
Having had a TV tribute tailored to Sarah Jane Smith's second generation of fans on CBBC, BBC Four fulfils the remit for those of us in the first wave.
They have chosen Sarah's departure story "The Hand of Fear", first screened in October 1976, which specifically showcases the character.
Dan Martin in "The Guardian" today explains why he thinks this a fitting story as a tribute to Lis Sladen
It is showing in 2 parts - episodes 1&2 from 7.40pm tonight, and episodes 3&4 tomorrow in the same slot.
This also seems an apt opportunity to post Babelcolour's heartbreaking video compilation of Sarah-Jane's finest hours from both "Doctor Who" and "The Sarah Jane Adventures".
I don't neccesarily intend to give reviews of individual episodes as experience proves I can't normally keep it up. However, as the conclusion (of sorts) to "The Impossible Astronaut" which I pontificated on last weekend I feel I must rate this one.
Overall, this was a very slight disappointment, dropping down a gear from the opening episode and from its own non-sequiter pre-credits 'triple jeopardy' where Amy, Rory and River all appear to be executed at the hands of Canton's FBI squad . It still had a deal of tension and scares, but often squanders them with the abrupt changes in tone. Notably, River's skyscraper plunge is negated by a jokey splash into the TARDIS swimming pool and soon she and a fresh-out-of-a-body-bag Rory are campy escorts to President Nixon in full 1969 drag as they spring the Doctor from NASA.
I must say, as I forgot to last week, that River and Rory are a great team, if not the official one. The acting of Alex and Arthur is really excellent with both handling humour and heartache with equal aplomb. Arthur this week had ample time to emote as hard-done by Rory again had reason to believe his wife thought him second best to her Doctor. He also picked up the enigma of Rory remembering his 2000 years as the Auton-built Lone Centurion - I'm sure the already revealed return of this character (meeting the Cybermen) is being foreshadowed here. Of course this could merely be a flashback to the early days of the Pandorica Alliance.
There was a notable difference treatment in this episode over the threat and effect of the Silents. Apart from the creepy orphanage scenes, complete with a nest of 'sleeping' Silents hanging bat-like from the roof they were treated much more casually, notably admitting they had no need for weapons. This, added to their stumbling gait and need to 'charge up' to attack, diminished their threat factor. And ultimately the Doctor was able to stitch them up with their own powers televised for posterity. This seemed a clumsy resolution at first, but rather clever when I thought it through. Conversely though, the audience were directly given a dose of the Silents memory-wipe by deliberately missing bits out of the narrative, giving us all the disorientation felt by the characters. Some might say they had been disoriented enough by these two episodes of course!
Possibly what will piss off casual viewers most was the many threads left hanging, though I never expected anything except the central plot to be properly resolved. If anything this episode muddied the waters further - neither Amy nor the TARDIS scanner can really tell if she's actually pregnant and she finds a photo of her and the strange little girl in the latter's room in 1969. She also briefly saw an eyepatched woman peer from a window that apparently didn't exist - because of casting, that one I know is going somewhere later, but enough spoilers.
And then the most WTF! moment came as a 'six months later' epilogue when we see the girl in a bad state, but OK with it ... because she then regenerates! I did wonder if this bit was on preview screenings, as this came completely from leftfield. Another Moff triumph that! There's now a whole range of buffet options on the speculation table, led by the assertion that the girl is River, who in turn is Amy's daughter. Oh and kudos to the author for another kick in the gonads to the (so easily baitable) 'gay agenda' haterz re Canton's still very prescient aspiration.
As previously mentioned though, this was a bit of a notch down on the last episode. A couple of things that bugged me specifically:
1) what led to the opening sequence of Amy, Rory and River seperately on the run? What 's the story with Canton and his double-dealing? And why have Amy and Rory not changed clothes in 3 months - considering the accumulated tally marks they haven't washed in that time either. At least River is changing outfits! Doesn't bear much thinking about and does detract from realism for me. Amy must really like that redplaid shirt too - she's got it on again next episode even though she was latterly in a different outfit entirely. The non-sequiter opening also robbed us of a proper explanation of how last week's cliffhanger panned out, though Amy's shot missing the girl was briefly touched on.
2) The spacesuit. OK, this may eventually be addressed, but should have been explained as far as the Silents plans were concerned. I just couldn't work out why they needed a spacesuit and had to make mankind go all the way to the moon for it. Especially as it seems to be more than a spacesuit, able to repair itself and have an exo-skeleton for its child occupant. We really don't know who was using who and where the Silents are from - could they be Earth-native? Again, I know we haven't seen the last of them, so I hope more answers are forthcoming - this part of things just confused and frustrated me, more so as they are not the first race or being in "Doctor Who" who claim to have influenced the development on mankind since ancient times.
Of course, in terms of ingredients it had a lot going for it even on paper. Location shoot in the Utah desert, another return for River Song, a really hugely scary new alien, more cinematic direction from Toby Haynes (his 4th consecutive story!) and SOMEONE DIES. Having had Doctor Who Magazine already whittle that down to either The Doctor, Amy, Rory or River Song even though strictly speaking three of them have already 'died' last series.
(spoilers from here on in)
And indeed they didn't lie, underlining it with a cremation and going for the most audacious of those options by killing off the Doctor himself! Though this is already not 'our' Doctor - this one is around 200 years older and appears to know his murderer (though we do not as it is the specesuited & helmeted astronaut of the title) and be somewhat expecting it. Presumably this version already knows what is about to unfold and has somehow come up with this 'solution' having invited his friends to witness it. This does not just spark off this year's story arc, but continues with The Silents/The Silence, who (unseen) seemed to be main suspects for last year's crack. And yet we don't know the meaning of 'The Silence Will Fall" and whether that is good or bad, but these skulls in suits don't seem a nice bunch at all. And of course there is the continuing mystery of River Song's identity and who she might have killed - and do we suspect we just saw that happen? And yet it appears at the climax of the episode that inside the spacesuit is a little girl, or is it? And has Amy just shot her dead? And will it turn out to be her child, and will that child also be River Song? And why did Amy have to reveal she was pregnant at that specific point? And why is the not-quite TARDIS console from "The Lodger" connected? And how much does 'our' younger Doctor already know, despite Amy, Rory and River vowing not to tell him they've already seen him die? And is/was anyone telling a big fat lie?
Rory, Amy, 2011 Canton & River observe the Doctor's funeral pyre
I am still in bits and crying about this, so maybe not my best post but Sarah Jane Smith actress Elisabeth Sladen has unexpectedly died, aged 63, of cancer.
Truly she was the ultimate Doctor Who companion and played a huge part in many of our lives - I personally wanted to be a journalist when I was 10 just because of her role.
There are still episodes of "The Sarah Jane Adventures" to be screened, but I would expect this weekend's series opener to be dedicated to both Lis, and Nick Courtney, who also left us earlier this year. It's cruelly ironic that "Planet of the Spiders" was released this week on DVD, where Sarah and the Brigadier say goodbye to the third Doctor, Jon Pertwee. Now all three and producer Barry Letts are gone.
At last, Matt Smith's portrayal of Christopher Isherwood in "Christopher & His Kind" is hitting the screens on BBC Two at 9.30pm this Saturday (19 March). This has, none too surprisingly, made the cover of the new "Radio Times". Just as well because the Royal Wedding has precluded a cover for the start of the new series of "Doctor Who" on Easter Saturday.
The news series begins the same day on BBC America, who have released promo shots including the one below.
He's back in a militaty beret too (RIP Ross Jenkins)!
Having not really been seen since playing the lead in "Cemetary Junction", Christian is taking on a more gritty role than usual in Peter Kosminsky's "The Promise" which begins a 4 part run at 9pm on Sunday. He plays Sgt Len Matthews who goes from liberating concentration camps at the close of WW2 to being a peace-keeper in 1940s Palestine. The action shifts between the past and the present middle east (represented by Claire Foy as his grandaughter who is reading Len's diaries).
Looks likely to be one that ruffles feathers as much as Kosminsky's previous works, so I won't just be tuning in to see Mr Cooke in khaki shorts ...
Yes, just my filthy mind at work on a picture that includes leather, bondage and uniform (there are also Nazis around) but then last week's story was resolved by taking a schoolboy's ring ...
8 NOV EDIT: in the actual scene, in order to escape, Clyde (Daniel Anthony) has to fumble in George's shorts pocket to find his pen-knife.
George is played by 16 year old actor Richard Wisker, a regular in 'Tracy Beaker Returns'
In what seems to be an autumn of farewells today CBBC ran Luke Smith's last regular (?) episode of "The Sarah Jane Adventures" - part two of "The Nightmare Man" by Joseph Lidster.
He took K9 Mk 4 to Oxford University with him, leaving the eponymous Sarah-Jane as the last human character standing from the SJA pilot of New Year's Day 2007.
Actor Tommy Knight himself has gone from 13 to 17 in the role of the Bane-created boy genius. Unlike most boy geniuses in sci-fi he's managed to do it without making 'Lukey' annoying and smug, and from series one struck up TV's second best* bromance into the bargain in his relationship with Clyde. This was subtly acknowledged in Luke's last story this week.
As when Luke missed one of last year's 2-parters to sit exams, this is what's led Tommy to depart now. I am aware Luke and K9 do make another appearance in this season's finale, but the nature of that is being kept pretty secret and may be no more than a cameo. Filming for the first part of the 2011 season was filmed back to back with this one, but I've not heard of a permanent return for the two geniuses. Given Tommy's avowed ambition to leave acting to be a pediatrician I'm not holding out too much hope, though, ironically he's always been the youngest cast member. The young actress who played Maria Jackson never really returned after sitting her exams. But who knows, he might one day join "Eastenders" or similar - in the past he's been in everything from "The Bill" to "The Full Monty".
Good luck in whatever! Luke will be missed.
Note - I'll be posting a review of "The Nightmare Man" seperately, not something I normally do but making an exception for such a wonderful couple of episodes.
* "Merlin" fans need no clues as to no1
Have to say I thought the expression on Luke's face here ^ looks like it's from a naughty website called "It's Gonna Hurt"
This is the epic trail for the feast of BBC upcoming drama over the darker months, officially unveiled yesterday.
As well as including the ninth, tenth and eleventh Doctor Who actors in non-Whoniverse roles we also get the first glimpses of the 2010 Christmas special with Matt Smith, Michael Gambon and Katherine Jenkins.
At last the BBC have reaeased photos of Max Brown as "Spooks" newbie Dimitri Levendis. The new series begins on BBC One at 9pm on Monday 20th. You may recognise him from earlier stints on "Grange Hill", "Crossroads", "Hollyoaks" and "The Tudors".
I've waited until after yesterday's broadcast of the launch show last night before commenting on the celeb line-up that was revealed on Wednesday morning, so I can cover everything else we know so far.
Have to say I was generally rather perked up by the show last night, though the whole premise of the launch made for some odd, unfamiliar moments. First difference was the absence of the usual 'parade of couples' title sequence, as we were there to witness the coupling happening first-hand. In fact, that was almost all that happened in the show. Even the judges had nothing to do, so it was merely courtesy having them there.
The remainder was mostly made up of set piece numbers by the professionals, now split between competing dancers and a smaller band of resident show dancers. Luckily we had three new competing dancers to be introduced to as well - is it just me who thinks the newbies all look like gay porn stars of various flavours? Robin especially reminds me of Ross Hurston (Google at your own risk), Artem looks like your typical Eastern European muscle-hunk and Jared is the supple, doe-eyed twink. Not to say that detracts any from what seem to be effective performers.
Have to say these made the show for me last night - I'd have been fast-forwarding the pairing up 'reveals' if I'd recorded it. Even if it was meant to be what we were tuning in for I'm not convinced that's a USP and I guessed about half of them (Tina & Jared wrote itself) but was surprised at handicapping Widders further by going for Anton, a partner who towers over her. Usually Vincent gets the short girls! Poor Ola has drawn Paul Daniels, but then she did win last year.
Anyway, here's the show's opening, including a storming set piece by the professionals. Some of it I saw for the first time on this YouTube clip as BBC Scotland (I assume) blacked out several minutes of vision just before it cut to the studio. I'm sure there was a lot of fury at such incompetence.
As I said, not much celeb dancing went on, with the exception of an only slightly practiced group dance right at the end, after the pairings were revealed. Some have noted that this somehow means everyone knew the pairings in advance, but I'm not convinced as this was an organised chaos of partnering off (even the unfortunately captured preview still has Paul and Widders lunging for each other and Scott Maslen can also seen in the embrace of ex-co-star Kara Tointon). I think the dancers will have been told, for obvious preparation reasons, but not the celebs who wouldn't really benefit from knowing. It's not much to go on, but most seem satisfactory in this number. The wobblers I spotted were Widders - who has god given handicaps - and Gavin Henson, who appeared to think it was a conga at a wedding. Widders will be kept in beyond her ability of course. Gavin though seems to be deliberately building a public personna as a bit of a conker-tinted plonker, so that may not be the best for getting an audience lifeline in this show.
Anyway, I checked the betting odds for who'd be this year's champ when the celeb line-up was announced, but before this show taped on Wednesday night so I looked again this morning to see the difference. And there wasn't much actually. I've reproduced them below.
I'm dismayed to see Kara on top there - frankly she shouldn't be there. For one thing she has a strong whiff of 'stand-by' in a year where the show has generally upped its game in casting. It also makes Strictly 2010 too heavy with people who are or have been in "Eastenders" (Scott, Goldie & Jimi being the others) and I suspect the bosses would rather not have done that. More importantly, she's already had a crack at it for Sport Relief, and that should disqualify you I think. So I hope the bookies are wrong there.
No surprise to see ex-gymnast and ready-for-anything Matt Baker as top placed male celeb. He'll also have a wide audience appeal from both "Countryfile" and his "Blue Peter" days. Plus he's 'a very nice man' (and sexy ... if not sitting next to Richard Bacon, Simon Thomas or Gethin Jones) Remains to be seen if he's got rhythm, though his era of BP did involve some musical stunts and he once was a disco dancer of some description . Jimi and Scott will have to have good stamina and attitude to keep up I think, but that's perfectly possible.
Pleased to see Felicity placed so strongly - I hope she makes it to the final in fact. And I'm trusting Bruno that Pamela will also be a dark horse. Those two laydeez were such potent sex-bombs to my generation of telly watchers that even I'm not immune to their charms... and if Pam stays in I can also ogle James ;)
So that's my initial thoughts. I'll probaby be back in three weeks when each of them give us a waltz or a cha-cha. The latter is always a good laugh at the very least, though I hope they give Widders & Anton the waltz first. She's surely experienced enough Tory balls over the years to wing that.
ISTR no-one is being elimated that weekend though, so all the couples get a chance at a ballroom and a latin.
The 10th of September 2010 marked the end for two popular TV institutions of recent years. Here's the first goodbye.
Following on from the previous evening's explosive inferno at her beloved Queen Vic, Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor) departed tearfully from Walford after 16 years. I must admit I'm sad to see her go as well and was disappointed by the Thursday episode which felt rushed in the usual 30 minute slot. No-one died and the only injured characters (Phil, Stacey, Ryan and Syed) were either back to normal or unseen on Friday. Only baby Lily appears to have been hospitalised and only overnight at that. Phil is looking like a pudgy red troll, but he was before the fire.
One thing I did like though was that this forms a triumvirate of event episodes with Archie's murder last Christmas Day, the live anniversary episode in February and then this week we have Stacey confessing the murder to Peggy and revealing to Ryan that he's Lily's father (it was in February we viewers learnt this but both were assumed to be down to Bradley, whose demise was also that night).
Meanwhile, next week the Peggy-shaped hole is being filled by these two. Personally I have my misgivings about bringing Kat and Alfie back, especially as they hail from an era when I wasn't really watching, and this very silly promo doesn't help.
Matt Smith was the first Doctor Who to make the cover of a gay magazine back in the Spring, now he becomes possibly the only person to cover GT magazine twice in one year. This time it's for "Christopher and His Kind", which I presume from this is on BBC Two in October? Also nipple flashing is co-star Douglas Booth.
Meanwhile the confirmed artwork for the season 5 DVD box set has been revealed. It's an improvement on the latter Tennant box sets.
(Pics courtesy of recommended website Blogtor Who)
I only upload this as it's so cute and will send several ladies and gents into throes of envy for Steven Moffat as he poses betwixt his leading men, Benedict Cumberbatch & Matt Smith.
The Moff is currently using this as his Twitter avatar, but he's such a busy man elsewhere that I only discovered this today.
The rather sexy straight actor who plays (nearly) the only gay in the village of "Emmerdale" - Danny Miller - is the cover star of the September 2010 which is out today.
The trailer also reveals some weird and wonderful things - with the one I've pictured last causing the most fan chatter. All of our regulars look to be given moments of greatness.
After all the recent acrimony over future production plans for 2012 and the 50th anniversary in 2013 seeming to be pared back and reports of fueds between Steven Moffat and new BBC One controller Danny Cohen, just as both of Moffat's fellow producers leave the show, I have trust in the show and suspect this will all blow over. Even cast concerns have allayed when considered alongside the new working pattern, though I was a bit alarmed to hear everyone was recently dragged back for a day's filming on "Let's Kill Hitler" despite having otherwise wrapped at the end of April. Karen Gillan confirmed at the weekend she will return for series 7, probably arriving late in 2012, despite TV and theatre commitments. Arthur Darvill has yet to voice a similar confirmation, but we may find out in September when this year's Christmas special is to be filmed. It seems unlikely to me that one would continue without their spouse on board, though Arthur is tied to playing Mephistopheles at London's Globe theatre into early October. We know of course already the Matt Smith has signed up to play the Doctor until at least the anniversary, something he always seems very keen on being a part of.
