Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Doctor Who 'money'
http://community.livejournal.com/doctorwho/1489117.html
Very interesting money manips....
Very interesting money manips....
Australia gets Torchwood
The Australian Associated Press are reporting that Network Ten have purchased Torchwood and are also committed to series two of the spin-off.
OI OI OI OI OI OI OI OI!!!!
OI OI OI OI OI OI OI OI!!!!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Who is SAXON?
On February 21 Simm was seen in the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff playing the newly elected British Prime Minister Mr. Saxon, in scenes being shot for the final two episodes of the 2007 series of Doctor Who.Whether he is also the Master as previously stated is still a possibility, and could explain a lot of the focus that has been put towards Mr Saxon as a character. I'd say that if Simm = Saxon then he's DEFINITELY the Master, because there's been all this Mr Saxon rubbish for months... And I bet you a tenner he's going to be a beardless Master too "to bring him up to date".
Billie Piper in Top Gear
Ex-Doctor Who Actress; Billie Piper will be on the next episode of Top Gear.
Piper, who is currently starring in Treats in the West End, will be the Star in a reasonably priced car.
Top Gear can be seen on Sunday 4th March 2007 at 8:00pm.
Piper, who is currently starring in Treats in the West End, will be the Star in a reasonably priced car.
Top Gear can be seen on Sunday 4th March 2007 at 8:00pm.
Houston PBS looking for Who fans
The Houston PBS station is about to get new Who and are actively looking for Who fans in the area to get involved with their programming.
If you are from Texas or know any Who organizations in the area you need to contact:Ann CriderDirector, Community Education/OutreachHoustonPBS4343 ElginHouston, Texas 77004or email her at:acrider@houstonpbs.org
If you are from Texas or know any Who organizations in the area you need to contact:Ann CriderDirector, Community Education/OutreachHoustonPBS4343 ElginHouston, Texas 77004or email her at:acrider@houstonpbs.org
Doctor Who UK airdate confirmed
According to Dreamwatch SciFi, the BBC have confirmed that season three of Doctor Who will commence on 31st March. We can reveal that the series had originally been planned to launch on 24 March, indeed this is stated in the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine, but the schedule was changed earlier this week when it was decided that BBC One would be screening England's European Championship match against Israel on that Saturday.The start time is likely to be the traditional 7pm slot.
New S3 Titles
The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine announces three new Series Three titles. Confirming earlier speculation, the first installment of Paul Cornell's two-part story is entitled Human Nature and is based upon the earlier novel published by Virgin. Steven Moffat's episode is entitled Blink, while part one of Russell T Davies' two-part season ender is entitled The Sound of DrumsThe following is a recap of the Series Three episodes known so far:
1. Smith and Jones by Russell T. Davies, directed by Charles Palmer
2. The Shakespeare Code by Gareth Roberts, directed by Charles Palmer
3. Episode 3 by Russell T. Davies, directed by Richard Clarke
4. Daleks in Manhattan (part one) by Helen Raynor, directed by James Strong
5. Episode 5 (part two) by Helen Raynor, directed by James Strong
6. The Lazarus Experiment by Stephen Greenhorn, directed by Richard Clarke
7. 42 by Chris Chibnall, directed by Graeme Harper
8. Human Nature (part one) by Paul Cornell, directed by Charles Palmer
9. The Family of Blood by Paul Cornell, directed by Charles Palmer
10. Blink by Stephen Moffat, directed by Hettie MacDonald
11. Utopia by Russell T. Davies, directed by Graeme Harper
12. The Sound of Drums (part one) by Russell T. Davies, directed by Colin Teague
13. Episode 13 (part two) by Russell T. Davies, directed by Colin Teague
1. Smith and Jones by Russell T. Davies, directed by Charles Palmer
2. The Shakespeare Code by Gareth Roberts, directed by Charles Palmer
3. Episode 3 by Russell T. Davies, directed by Richard Clarke
4. Daleks in Manhattan (part one) by Helen Raynor, directed by James Strong
5. Episode 5 (part two) by Helen Raynor, directed by James Strong
6. The Lazarus Experiment by Stephen Greenhorn, directed by Richard Clarke
7. 42 by Chris Chibnall, directed by Graeme Harper
8. Human Nature (part one) by Paul Cornell, directed by Charles Palmer
9. The Family of Blood by Paul Cornell, directed by Charles Palmer
10. Blink by Stephen Moffat, directed by Hettie MacDonald
11. Utopia by Russell T. Davies, directed by Graeme Harper
12. The Sound of Drums (part one) by Russell T. Davies, directed by Colin Teague
13. Episode 13 (part two) by Russell T. Davies, directed by Colin Teague
2007 DVD schedule updated
The official BBC Doctor Who website has released information on the DVD schedule for the first half of this year.For the classic series: 16th April will be the delayed classic series story Survival; 28th May will see the release of Tom Baker's premiere, Robot; and 25th June will be the Colin Baker story Timelash.For the new series, 2nd April will see the release of last year's Christmas Special, The Runaway Bride - in a change to last year's release form, the DVD will just consist of the special (ie. without Smith and Jones). The first 3rd season release is to be expected in June.With the exception of Survival, extras for the forthcoming releases are yet to be revealed, though Tom Baker mentioned in the recent New Beginnings boxed set that he had recorded a commentary for Robot.
Tennant turned away from BBC building
Doctor Who star David Tennant was taken aback when he was turned away from the offices of the BBC - after security personnel failed to recognise him.
The actor was due to appear on the Sunday AM show with journalist Andrew Marr, and was shocked when the guard at the BBC in question refused to let him in.
But Tennant remains in good spirits about the identity mishap.
He says, "When I got the role of Doctor Who I thought my life would never be the same again and that I would be recognised everywhere I went.
"But when I turned up this morning they didn't recognise me and wouldn't let me in.
"They thought I was some bloke called Stephen."
The actor was due to appear on the Sunday AM show with journalist Andrew Marr, and was shocked when the guard at the BBC in question refused to let him in.
But Tennant remains in good spirits about the identity mishap.
He says, "When I got the role of Doctor Who I thought my life would never be the same again and that I would be recognised everywhere I went.
"But when I turned up this morning they didn't recognise me and wouldn't let me in.
"They thought I was some bloke called Stephen."
Whop up for award
Doctor Who is up against Life on Mars and The Street for Best Drama at The Royal Television Society Programme Awards taking place in London on March 13. CLICK HERE for the complete list of nominations.
Doctor Who could die, hints Tennant
Actor David Tennant has hinted Doctor Who could die in the next series of the legendary TV sci-fi show.
Tennant is the 10th actor to play the cult role, although reports claim he will quit the show after the third series - soon to air on BBC1 - because he does not want to become typecast.
He says, "People always ask me how long I'm going to play him. But who knows what's going to happen?
"There's something big at the end of the new series. You'll have to wait and see if he makes it."
Tennant is the 10th actor to play the cult role, although reports claim he will quit the show after the third series - soon to air on BBC1 - because he does not want to become typecast.
He says, "People always ask me how long I'm going to play him. But who knows what's going to happen?
"There's something big at the end of the new series. You'll have to wait and see if he makes it."
Monday, February 26, 2007
David Tennant interview from SciFi.com
David Tennant bids farewell to Billie Piper and welcomes Freema Agyeman into the Doctor Who fold
By Cindy White
When David Tennant took over for the departing Christopher Eccleston in the second season of the reimagined Doctor Who, he wasn't exactly a household name, especially in the United States, where he was probably known best for playing a small role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. But Tennant grabbed onto the role with gusto and proved that he was well up to the task of portraying the Time Lord. Just 13 episodes later, he's become a bona fide star and Doctor Who is more popular than ever.
As the third season approaches, another casting change will test whether the show is bigger than any single actor. Billie Piper, who played Rose in the first two seasons, will be replaced this year by Freema Agyeman as the Doctor's new companion, Martha Jones.
SCI FI Weekly conducted an interview with Tennant via e-mail about the coming third season, as well as the recently completed second season, which was released on DVD on Jan. 16.
Going into the second series, what were your feelings about taking on such an iconic role? Did you feel massive amounts of pressure?
Tennant: Well, of course, taking over a role from someone who's been very successful in it is daunting, and taking on a character that people have such fondness for and such expectations of can feel a little overwhelming, but of course it's those very pressures that make it such an exciting job to take on.
Each actor has played the Doctor a little differently, and made the character his own. How did you develop your particular take on him?
Tennant: I've been watching Doctor Who since I was 3 years old (along with just about everyone else of my generation who grew up in Britain), so I had probably made a whole host of unconscious decisions about how I was going to do it years before it was an actual possibility. But to be honest, when it actually happened, I didn't sit down and draw up a list of quirks that I wanted to fit in to my performance. As with any other part, you take your lead from the script and what that character says and does. Once that is filtered through your own perspective and experiences, then hopefully it will be particular and unique. I was always aware of avoiding any kind of self-conscious eccentricity. The Doctor may be a 900-odd year old Time Lord from the other side of the galaxy, but he still has to be a believable character, or the whole thing collapses.
Did you do any commentary or special features for the upcoming release of your first season on DVD?
Tennant: I did commentary on five episodes, and I also contributed about an hour and a half of video diaries. I'd been filming bits and pieces of the production for my own amusement, really, and then they asked if they could look at what I'd got for the DVD release. I think I handed over about 20 hours of stuff eventually.
Which episode of the second series is your favorite to watch and why?
Tennant: Oh, I don't have favorites. That would be like ranking your children.
That final beach scene with Billie Piper was so moving. What was it like to film that?
Tennant: Of course, that scene meant that Billie was leaving the show (although it wasn't the final scene she shot), and that was very sad, because she is a great actor and had become a great friend. It's also a beautifully written scene, and even when we ran through the lines together on the makeup bus that morning, we started sniffling. In fact, in the video diaries on the DVD you can see us both have a good old weep about the whole thing.
It seems that the appeal of Doctor Who is reaching across the pond now more than ever. Were you aware of or surprised at the response to the show overseas?
Tennant: To be honest, I'm so caught up in making the show down here in Wales that I'm not always aware of what it's doing around the world. I've heard that Canada have taken to us in quite a big way, which is great, as I've got family there. I believe we've also sold to South Korea, which isn't the first place you'd expect to find Doctor Who, but I'm delighted that it's there. I'm not sure of all the other countries that have taken the show, but it would seem to be just about everywhere. And, of course, I'm really chuffed that we're showing in the States now, too.
Moving on to the upcoming third series, you have a new companion now—Martha Jones. What does Freema Agyeman bring to the show?
Tennant: Well, you'll have to wait and see. The Doctor and Martha have a very different relationship to the Doctor and Rose. The Doctor doesn't really think he needs a new traveling companion at the moment, but Martha makes herself indispensable.
Freema's position now is somewhat similar to yours going into The Christmas Invasion. You both came in to replace a popular outgoing cast member, and you both had to essentially win the audience over. Did you have any advice for her?
Tennant: Oh, she doesn't need any advice, and I wouldn't be pompous enough to offer it. Freema hit the ground running and has inhabited Martha Jones from day one without a hint of trepidation or nervousness. I found myself quite envious of her confidence. She is going to be brilliant.
You dealt a little with the Doctor's loss of Rose in The Runaway Bride. Will that continue? Or do you come to a point where you just need to move on and concentrate more on the future, rather than dwelling on the past?
Tennant: As with any big relationship, it takes time for the scars to heal. Perhaps the Doctor feels like he's dealt with it, but Martha might disagree.
It appears from the trailer that the Daleks are coming back in the third series. Any other blasts from the past?
Tennant: Oh yes, but it's more than my job's worth to reveal what they are.
You've done a lot of Shakespeare, so what was it like filming the episode where the Doctor gets to meet him?
Tennant: The Shakespeare that the Doctor meets is a bit more rock and roll than you might expect. Very much the Elizabethan celebrity enjoying his status and his wealth, not the more traditional enigmatic Bard of legend. But the Doctor is absolutely thrilled to meet him and for once recognizes someone almost as brilliant as he is.
What's the production schedule like for you? Do you have any time between seasons?
Tennant: Uncharacteristically for a British show, we make 13 episodes plus a Christmas special every year. So when we finish on the final episode our Christmas show has already gone out, and the first is being broadcast. By the time the 13 episodes have transmitted, it's time to start work on the next lot.
By Cindy White
When David Tennant took over for the departing Christopher Eccleston in the second season of the reimagined Doctor Who, he wasn't exactly a household name, especially in the United States, where he was probably known best for playing a small role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. But Tennant grabbed onto the role with gusto and proved that he was well up to the task of portraying the Time Lord. Just 13 episodes later, he's become a bona fide star and Doctor Who is more popular than ever.
As the third season approaches, another casting change will test whether the show is bigger than any single actor. Billie Piper, who played Rose in the first two seasons, will be replaced this year by Freema Agyeman as the Doctor's new companion, Martha Jones.
SCI FI Weekly conducted an interview with Tennant via e-mail about the coming third season, as well as the recently completed second season, which was released on DVD on Jan. 16.
Going into the second series, what were your feelings about taking on such an iconic role? Did you feel massive amounts of pressure?
Tennant: Well, of course, taking over a role from someone who's been very successful in it is daunting, and taking on a character that people have such fondness for and such expectations of can feel a little overwhelming, but of course it's those very pressures that make it such an exciting job to take on.
Each actor has played the Doctor a little differently, and made the character his own. How did you develop your particular take on him?
Tennant: I've been watching Doctor Who since I was 3 years old (along with just about everyone else of my generation who grew up in Britain), so I had probably made a whole host of unconscious decisions about how I was going to do it years before it was an actual possibility. But to be honest, when it actually happened, I didn't sit down and draw up a list of quirks that I wanted to fit in to my performance. As with any other part, you take your lead from the script and what that character says and does. Once that is filtered through your own perspective and experiences, then hopefully it will be particular and unique. I was always aware of avoiding any kind of self-conscious eccentricity. The Doctor may be a 900-odd year old Time Lord from the other side of the galaxy, but he still has to be a believable character, or the whole thing collapses.
Did you do any commentary or special features for the upcoming release of your first season on DVD?
Tennant: I did commentary on five episodes, and I also contributed about an hour and a half of video diaries. I'd been filming bits and pieces of the production for my own amusement, really, and then they asked if they could look at what I'd got for the DVD release. I think I handed over about 20 hours of stuff eventually.
Which episode of the second series is your favorite to watch and why?
Tennant: Oh, I don't have favorites. That would be like ranking your children.
That final beach scene with Billie Piper was so moving. What was it like to film that?
Tennant: Of course, that scene meant that Billie was leaving the show (although it wasn't the final scene she shot), and that was very sad, because she is a great actor and had become a great friend. It's also a beautifully written scene, and even when we ran through the lines together on the makeup bus that morning, we started sniffling. In fact, in the video diaries on the DVD you can see us both have a good old weep about the whole thing.
It seems that the appeal of Doctor Who is reaching across the pond now more than ever. Were you aware of or surprised at the response to the show overseas?
Tennant: To be honest, I'm so caught up in making the show down here in Wales that I'm not always aware of what it's doing around the world. I've heard that Canada have taken to us in quite a big way, which is great, as I've got family there. I believe we've also sold to South Korea, which isn't the first place you'd expect to find Doctor Who, but I'm delighted that it's there. I'm not sure of all the other countries that have taken the show, but it would seem to be just about everywhere. And, of course, I'm really chuffed that we're showing in the States now, too.
Moving on to the upcoming third series, you have a new companion now—Martha Jones. What does Freema Agyeman bring to the show?
Tennant: Well, you'll have to wait and see. The Doctor and Martha have a very different relationship to the Doctor and Rose. The Doctor doesn't really think he needs a new traveling companion at the moment, but Martha makes herself indispensable.
Freema's position now is somewhat similar to yours going into The Christmas Invasion. You both came in to replace a popular outgoing cast member, and you both had to essentially win the audience over. Did you have any advice for her?
Tennant: Oh, she doesn't need any advice, and I wouldn't be pompous enough to offer it. Freema hit the ground running and has inhabited Martha Jones from day one without a hint of trepidation or nervousness. I found myself quite envious of her confidence. She is going to be brilliant.
You dealt a little with the Doctor's loss of Rose in The Runaway Bride. Will that continue? Or do you come to a point where you just need to move on and concentrate more on the future, rather than dwelling on the past?
Tennant: As with any big relationship, it takes time for the scars to heal. Perhaps the Doctor feels like he's dealt with it, but Martha might disagree.
It appears from the trailer that the Daleks are coming back in the third series. Any other blasts from the past?
Tennant: Oh yes, but it's more than my job's worth to reveal what they are.
You've done a lot of Shakespeare, so what was it like filming the episode where the Doctor gets to meet him?
Tennant: The Shakespeare that the Doctor meets is a bit more rock and roll than you might expect. Very much the Elizabethan celebrity enjoying his status and his wealth, not the more traditional enigmatic Bard of legend. But the Doctor is absolutely thrilled to meet him and for once recognizes someone almost as brilliant as he is.
What's the production schedule like for you? Do you have any time between seasons?
Tennant: Uncharacteristically for a British show, we make 13 episodes plus a Christmas special every year. So when we finish on the final episode our Christmas show has already gone out, and the first is being broadcast. By the time the 13 episodes have transmitted, it's time to start work on the next lot.
More 2007 DVD Release titles
More 2007 DVD Release titles
News Dated: 26/2/2007
2entertain have confirmed some more Doctor Who titles to us for 2007.
2nd April - The Runaway Bride
16th April - Survival
14th May - Series 3 Volume 1
28th May - Robot
11th June - Series 3 Volume 2
25th June - Timelash
** Dates are subject to change.
News Dated: 26/2/2007
2entertain have confirmed some more Doctor Who titles to us for 2007.
2nd April - The Runaway Bride
16th April - Survival
14th May - Series 3 Volume 1
28th May - Robot
11th June - Series 3 Volume 2
25th June - Timelash
** Dates are subject to change.
Doctor Who nominated for RTS drama award
Doctor Who has been nominated for the Best Drama Series at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards 2006. The awards will be presented on Tuesday 13th March at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London. Other nominees in this category are Life on Mars and The Street.This is the second year running that Doctor Who has been nominated in this category. In 2006 it lost out to the BBC Three medical drama Bodies.
Piper recovers for debut
Digital Spy reports that Billie Piper made her West End debut in Treats on Saturday after a 24-hour delay caused by an illness.It says her agent told the Sunday Express: "Billie felt pretty unwell yesterday and was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure. She was not kept in and was quickly out of bed and up and around."Responding to speculation that Piper was pregnant, she added: "I am not prepared to discuss any other rumours about her health as she is now purely concentrating on her role in the show."The Sunday Mirror said Piper - pictured above with Treats co-stars Kris Marshall and Laurence Fox, who is also her boyfriend - was rushed to hospital on Friday night after she collapsed in agony.Digital Spy said the first show was due to take place on Friday but had been called off amid speculation that Piper was ill or stressed out. However, according to postings on the Outpost Gallifrey Forum, the show went ahead with an understudy taking her place.Treats, which had been in previews, is on at the Garrick Theatre until May 26.Outpost Gallifrey reported on Friday that Piper's official debut had been delayed, although conflicting dates were circulating.
New Covers and Titles Announced
The covers for the March releases of the new 10th Doctor and Martha novels are now available. Also announced are the new titles and authors for the next 3 books, which are slated for a September release. They are: Sick Building by Paul Magrs Forever Autumn by Mark Morris Wetworld by Mark Michalowski June sees the release of Calling the Shots: Directing the new series of Doctor Who by Graeme Harper July has a new series of Decide Your Destiny novels from Penguin Character books. They are: The Corinthian Project by Davey Moore The Time Crocodile by Colin Brake Frozen Earth by Kay Woodward Arena by Richard Dungworth Later in the year will see Penguin releasing an activity collection, family planner and desk calendar.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
News round up time
Ever since it was announced that Doctor Who was returning to our television screens, Britain's LGBT publications (along with most others, it seems) have taken the show to their hearts, regularly reporting on the show (and its spinoffs).In particular, Millivres Prowler - who publish Gay Times (recently restyled as GT), Diva, axm, the free Pink Paper newspaper and the online magazine Puffta - have devoted many column inches to Who. Here's a flavour.In recent weeks, two Doctor Who-related articles appeared in the Pink Paper, with Darren Scott Gleeson interviewing Who stars Elisabeth Sladen (about her return to Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures) and John Barrowman.Forget the girl, it's the woman I wantGleeson says of Sladen, "Forget Billie Piper, the best Doctor Who companion was Sarah Jane Smith."Following her heart-breaking return to the programme [in 2006], her own series looks set to be the latest in a long line of hits for Russell T Davies."A self-professed Doctor Who fan, Gleeson admits that it was "intrepid reporter Sarah Jane that first got me interested in journalism".In the article, Sladen says it's incredible what Doctor Who has done, and she recounts the time a Who fan who's gay thanked her: "He said he had a very difficult childhood and would switch on Doctor Who on a Saturday and identify with it because it was about a loner and he felt very alone. He said it was just that half-hour when he actually believed everything would be all right."Roberts' CodeThere was also a short accompanying article, "Who's that boy?", about Gareth Roberts, which mentioned his Doctor Who novels, audios, Tardisodes, interactive episode (Attack of the Graske) and his Series 3 story The Shakespeare Code. Roberts said, "It's going to be pretty fab, they've done things which I can't quite believe. This is the kind of television I've always wanted to do. I'm very happy with The Sarah Jane Adventures too [...] I love working with BBC Wales, I'm not going anywhere until they kick me out."He nose, you knowIn the second interview, Barrowman talked to Gleeson about Live and Kicking, Doctor Who, Torchwood, and being the recipient of the "Entertainer of the Year" award at the first Annual Stonewall Awards."I'm really pleased about the award because that's being recognised by - if we have to put ourselves into categories - my community. It's a community I'm very proud of. I'm very proud to be gay and I don't see it as a detriment at all, as some people look at it.Unfortunately, due to work commitments, Barrowman was unable to collect the award in person and so Sir Ian McKellan did so on his behalf. "I look up to Ian. Follow in his footsteps," Barrowman said of his friend.During the interview, Barrowman talks about his civil partnership to long-time partner Scott Gill, his thoughts on religion, his Doctor Who mobile ring tone - "I'm really proud of that, dude [...] that's bought me a couple of homes" - and his six-inch Captain Jack action figure: "I turned down three or four different prototypes as the chin and nose [and] cheekbones weren't right, I was particular about it."He also talks about how great it is being part of the whole Doctor Who/Torchwood family: "I love every second of it [but] I don't Google myself and dissuade my family from doing it because you read a lot of things that aren't true." Of the Dr Who Weakest Link Christmas Special, he says Anne Robinson (Bad Wolf) confided that they were the best celebrity group the Weakest Link had ever had!Finally, of Series 3 of Doctor Who, he teases, "You're going to love it!"The Captain DancesThe Pink Paper interview (mentioned above) was conducted in Stirling, Scotland, during Barrowman's official opening of his cousin Mark Barrowman's new business, MB Disco Supplies. Barrowman (Mark) said that although the shop started trading in July 2006, this was a private ceremony as "a thank you to our suppliers, key business partners and family members. We then opened the doors to the public and John mingled with his fans, signing photographs and his CDs."The Pink Paper also published the winners of its annual Pink Paper Readers' Awards. "Best TV Show" went to Doctor Who. Davies accepted the award, saying, rather cheekily, "Thanks very much. I've always said the gay audience is cleverer, more imaginative and frankly more good-looking than anyone else, and now you've gone and proved it!" The Catherine Tate Show came second in the same category.Who's Got Attitude?Barrowman and Mark Gatiss both appeared in December's Attitude magazine.Barrowman was asked "Any Queries?" by readers. He answered a diverse set of questions, including homophobia in Hollywood, his time on Live and Kicking, civil partnerships, watching Doctor Who as a child and not winning Dancing On Ice.Gatiss was interviewed to coincide with the publication of his second Lucifer Box novel The Devil in Amber. As well as his books, he talked about playing Johnny Craddock in Fear of Fanny and Ratty in The Wind in the Willows, and briefly mentioned how thrilled he is to be in Series 3 of Doctor Who: "Another dream come true. I can't say much but it's a brilliant part and I can't wait to work with my old friend David Tennant."Asked what it's like being involved with the show, Gatiss replied, "It's been a total joy. Really, it's been unbelievable. Doctor Who is the number one show and I don't think any of us believed that we'd ever see that again. Kids are obsessed with Daleks, they have wall-charts and stuff. It's like 1973 all over again! Russell T Davies presides over it all with his incredible enthusiasm and tirelessness. It's like a big family really. It's like UNIT. I'm Jo Grant!"The Church and the CrownThe current issue of the Pink Paper reports on Barrowman's desire to have children, and his response to the recent row in the UK between the church and Parliament over the rights of gay people to adopt: "If people think of a family unit as being something from the past, then I'm happy to get the Doctor to take them back to the Dark Ages in the Tardis [sic]. We don't need them in our future."Earlier, in Gay Times (December 2006), Terry Sanderson in his "Mediawatch" column, commented, happily, that the Daily Mirror reported Barrowman and Gill's desire to become parents "without a whisper of censure or judgementalism" on the tabloid's part.Age of EnlightenmentElsewhere, the current issue of the Pink covers the story of Sylvester McCoy joining McKellan in the Royal Shakespeare Company's new production of King Lear, and the news that Lynda Baron (Enlightenment) will be hosting a 10-year birthday celebration of Amnesty International's LGBT UK Network on 27 February, which is also supported by Simon Callow (The Unquiet Dead).Naked LunchGay Times and Attitude both recommended the 2007 Philip Olivier calendar from Slow Dazzle. No mention of Doctor Who - Olivier plays Seventh Doctor companion Hex in the Big Finish audios - but the piece briefly talks about his role as a gay schoolteacher in Hollyoaks: In the City.At Home with the Barrowman'sThe same issue of Gay Times has a three-page article about how Barrowman and his agent, Gavin Barker, met. Barker recounts that Barrowman's casting as Captain Jack in Doctor Who "was the quickest offer in the history of BBC Drama".New GirlMeanwhile, the restyled GT tests new Doctor Who companion Freema Agyeman on her Who knowledge in a light-hearted piece, "Doctor, Doctor". Asked what's the best thing about being the Doctor's companion, Agyeman replies, "[...] all the adventures you go on. You don't know from one minute to the next where you're going to be, who you're going to be encountering. It's a real roller-coaster ride. And for me personally this part has no stereotypical limitations as a black female, which I may have encountered in the past."Huge WhoThe new issue of Out Northwest (March 2007, available from 28 February), the free magazine published by the Lesbian and Gay Foundation, reports on Series 3 of Doctor Who and the "Huge Who exhibition" at the Museum of Science and Industry. The cover shows a full-page publicity shot of the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones inside the TARDIS and proclaims: "The Doctor Lands in Manchester".Billie and the BoysPuffta.co.uk's online magazine details Billie Piper in their "Icon One Series": "Billie Piper. Only 23 years old but she's just published her autobiography, ditched the Doctor but we'd rather she release another album!" The article presents a potted biog of Piper, including quotes from the actor and RTD.Charlie not CharleyIn its online archive, ScotsGay magazine has an article on all things Doctor Who, including an interview with, as the piece puts it, "the openly gay Glaswegian comedian" Charlie Ross, a favourite on the UK Doctor Who convention circuit, who also appears as Lest in Big Finish's Eighth Doctor/Charley/C'rizz audio drama Memory Lane. "It's a dark, comic piece with a twist [...] a traditional Dr Who story of the best kind," Ross says.The article states: "Charlie has been a fan his whole life. He grew up watching Tom Baker and Peter Davison - 'Who I've been lucky enough to meet' [and who, together with a couple of classic Daleks, he appeared with on the front cover of the print magazine] - and often includes Dr Who material in his stand-up act."ScotsGay's "Top 6 Websites" lists Outpost Gallifrey as their "Best Dr Who Fan site".Just SpacedAway from matters pink, the current issue of Hotline magazine (January-March 2007) from Virgin Trains has a two-page interview with Simon Pegg (The Long Game). He talks about Shaun of the Dead, appearing opposite Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible III, his new film Hot Fuzz and his part as the Editor in Doctor Who: "It was amazing, the very idea of being part of Doctor Who was great."He also recounts how, at the age of eight, he met Tom Baker: "I have a book somewhere [...] autographed by Tom Baker. It says: 'To Simon, 8, from Tom Baker, 888.' [...] he signed it for me and offered me a jelly baby. If someone had come to me then, some sort of emissary from the future, and said that years later I would be in Doctor Who, it would have fried my mind."
Martin Marquez Knows Jack
Martin Marquez, who plays Gino on BBC1's drama Hotel Babylon, recently did an interview in the Sunday Mercury and had this to say about John Barrowman:
His children are impressed by his friendship with Doctor Who and Torchwood star John Barrowman.
"We met while doing the West End musical Anything Goes," says Martin."
Then he asked me to join him in pantomime in Cardiff. I've just finished playing the villain Fleshcreep in Jack And The Beanstalk - I had to do a Britney Spears' Toxic every night!
"John is great and considered cool by my kids. We went to his wedding during the panto run."
John and his partner Scott Gill had a civil partnership ceremony in Cardiff in December.
To read the entire article courtesy of HighBeam, CLICK HERE. Sign up is required, however there is a free trial.
His children are impressed by his friendship with Doctor Who and Torchwood star John Barrowman.
"We met while doing the West End musical Anything Goes," says Martin."
Then he asked me to join him in pantomime in Cardiff. I've just finished playing the villain Fleshcreep in Jack And The Beanstalk - I had to do a Britney Spears' Toxic every night!
"John is great and considered cool by my kids. We went to his wedding during the panto run."
John and his partner Scott Gill had a civil partnership ceremony in Cardiff in December.
To read the entire article courtesy of HighBeam, CLICK HERE. Sign up is required, however there is a free trial.
Doctor Oooh filming in Cardiff
CHEEKY John Barrowman gets up close to Dr Who star David Tennant — who he has confessed he fancies.
John’s character — bisexual Captain Jack — is back from the dead to join the doc in the next series.
The pair were filming in Cardiff with new assistant Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman).
John’s character — bisexual Captain Jack — is back from the dead to join the doc in the next series.
The pair were filming in Cardiff with new assistant Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman).
Piper recovers to make stage debut
Billie Piper has made her stage debut after a 24 hour delay - apparently because she was ill.The actress appeared in Treats at London's Garrick Theatre on Saturday. The first show, due for Friday, was called off at the last minute amid rumours the Doctor Who star was either stressed out or ill.Piper's agent told the Sunday Express: “Billie felt pretty unwell yesterday and was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure. She was not kept in and was quickly out of bed and up and around."In response to speculation Piper is pregnant, she added: “I am not prepared to discuss any other rumours about her health as she is now purely concentrating on her role in the show.”The Sunday Mirror reported the star was rushed to hospital on Friday night after collapsing in agony.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Photos From Doctor Who Filming At Llanedeyrn
more filming pics and a printable Vote Saxon photo
http://freemaagyeman.com/news/2007/02/23/photos-from-llanedeyrn/#more-135
http://freemaagyeman.com/news/2007/02/23/photos-from-llanedeyrn/#more-135
David Tennant to be on Andrew Marr's Sunday AM.
Sunday AM
BBC One
Sunday 25 February, 9.00am. Presented by Andrew Marr. Guests include: Sir Menzies Campbell MP, Leader, Liberal Democrats; Sir John Tusa, Managing Director, The Barbican; and David Tennant, actor.
BBC One
Sunday 25 February, 9.00am. Presented by Andrew Marr. Guests include: Sir Menzies Campbell MP, Leader, Liberal Democrats; Sir John Tusa, Managing Director, The Barbican; and David Tennant, actor.
S3: Soccer AM confirms rumours
Of all places to get even more confirmation of a rumour that has been flying around for weeks, we finally learn from John Simm's fellow Life on Mars cast members speaking on Soccer AM this morning (24/2/2007) that he is away filming Doctor Who' and that he is playing The Master.
DW warning to hopefuls
Budding stars are being warned to avoid agencies that say they can secure them parts on programmes such as Doctor Who.The UK's Department of Trade and Industry has published advice to help would-be entertainers and models avoid unscrupulous outfits, and names Doctor Who as a prime example of the type of show that rogue casting agencies make false promises about.The information campaign follows cases where agencies have advertised casting sessions in local newspapers then used hard-sell tactics to take payments on false promises about success and stardom. Employment minister Jim Fitzpatrick, pictured, said: "Most agencies are reputable and will tell you that the entertainment industry is tough to break into."Beware of anyone who promises to make you a star overnight. If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is. Our advice is designed to help stop rogues turning people's dreams into nightmares."Listed among the DTI's top tips for aspiring models and entertainers is the following:"Beware of adverts claiming to provide artists for popular TV programmes like EastEnders or Doctor Who. Directors for these shows usually use agencies and individuals they have used before."
Friday, February 23, 2007
David Tennant Interview at david-tennant.com
David Tennant has done an interview with his official website, david-tennant. com. To read the interview, which does have many Series Three spoilers, CLICK HERE.
David does clear up some rumors. There isn't going to be a movie with Billie Piper returning, "We just don't have the time." As for Britney Spears being in Doctor Who: "No, she's not doing it. I don't know where that came from. Probably Russell making a joke!"
PIPER'S PERIOD DRAMA PEE?? ewwwww
Former DOCTOR WHO star BILLIE PIPER has offered a bathroom tip to Hollywood actresses performing in period dramas - the easiest way to urinate in a corset. The 24-year-old recently donned 19th century costume for a TV adaptation of JANE AUSTEN's MANSFIELD PARK and found toilet trips a little tricky. She recalls, "I've got a technique now about how you pee in a corset. You straddle the loo. You kind of climb over it and have the dress fall behind you. "You pee the same way that a guy would. It works really well."
More on Doctor Hugh
The story from yesterday's story on Hugh Grant turning down the chance to be Doctor Who originated from the Sun. The Sun also mentions Hugh is in talks with the BBC for a guest part on the show:
HUGH Grant is set to play a Doctor Who baddie — after turning down the chance to play the Timelord.
The 46-year-old Hollywood star was originally offered the leading role in the revamped BBC1 show two years ago.
But he refused as he didn't think it would be such a big hit.
Instead the role went to Christopher Eccleston, who won a slew of awards, before David Tennant took over.
Series three is on our screens in the spring and last night Four Weddings and a Funeral star Hugh revealed he is in talks to be in the fourth.
He said: "I was offered the role of the Doctor a few years back and was highly flattered. It's only when you see it on screen that you think, `Damn! That was good. Why did I say no?' "
Now he's set to join a list of infamous foes like the Daleks, Cybermen and Dalek leader Davros.
Hugh, who last week spilt with girlfriend Jemima Khan, said: "I'm in talks about a one-off role. I'd prefer to be a baddie, they're more fun!"
Series writer Russell T Davies said: "We'd love to have Hugh."
Billie Piper News
The Daily Mail yesterday had an article on an upset Billie Piper talking to ex-husband Chris Evans (sorry, link no longer works). The news was also reported by The Daily Record and MegaStar.
The Daily Mail reports today that Billie Piper play Treats has been abruptly amid speculation that the play is not yet ready (this link may change as the news is updated).
Greeks Bearing Tycoons
The Press Association via Yahoo UK and Ireland reports Daniela Denby-Ashe (Mary in the Torchwood episode Greeks Bearing Gifts) is among the cast of a drama exploring the final months of media tycoon Robert Maxwell. CLICK HERE for more details.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
New Beginnings DVD Boxset for North America in June
TV Shows on DVD is reporting that the New Beginnings DVD box set will be released in North America (Region 1) on June 5th, 2007. The set, which was released in the UK in January, contains the stories "The Keeper of Traken", "Logopolis" and "Castrovalva". These stories cover the final two adventures with Tom Baker as well as the first with Peter Davison.In addition to the featured episodes, the three-disc set contains commentaries, interviews, specially produced featurettes, photo galleries, production notes, trailers and isolated music tracks.
Davison in The Mirror
Peter Davison is the focus of a short but career-spanning article in today's edition of The Mirror. The article, entitled "All Roles Great and Small," covers (not in any depth) Davison's early days as an actor, some of his most prominent roles (The Tomorrow People, All Creatures Great and Small, Doctor Who) and his current comedy series Fear, Stress and Anger. To read the article, visit The Mirror's website.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Omg the spoiler Pics abound!!!!! Part two
Told you id post the season three doctor who spoiler pics
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/skaro1/P2200055.jpg
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/monkeyspoon/
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/monkeyspoon/
THE MAGAZINE Dalek Building Contest
THE MAGAZINE is holding a Dalek Building Contest. The craft oriented contest is open to Canadian residents under 18 years of age. Prizes include one of four copies of the Doctor Who Series Two DVD box set and the grand prize is a remote control Dalek. THE MAGAZINE is Canada's best selling monthly youth entertainment publication.
Omg the spoiler Pics abound!!!!!
I stumbled upon a ton of spoiler pics click the links below to view them all so far....
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/skaro1/P2200049.jpg
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ok tooo many to link here i will get them all together n post later
Filming right now in Cardiff
Right at this very moment there is some S3 filming going on near the Cardiff Hilton, with Freema Agyeman and David Tennant as Martha and the Doctor (naturally)... and John Barrowman as Captain Jack.You can read a little more about it - complete with an photo of the three - here on the Freema Agyeman site, and more news as it comes.Oh, and for those wondering, a larger version of the mildly spoiler can be found here, with thanks to Sparky of the OG. (Who probably deserves some kudos for the first public photo available of John and Freema together.)Oh, and if you want to read more (and are a member of the Outpost Gallifrey forums), the discussion thread is here
ETA: More pictures on this blog!
ETA: More pictures on this blog!
Billie Piper News Abounds...
Times Online interview with Billie
In a private members’ club in Soho on a sunny day, Billie Piper and I are discussing the burning issue of the day. Indeed, the issue couldn’t be more burning.
Contactmusic.com
Former DOCTOR WHO star BILLIE PIPER is “stressed out” ahead of her forthcoming London West End stage debut.
Sky News Australia
Many women have been dreaming about their wedding day since they were little girls, but Billie Piper has revealed a another element to her passion
Monstersandcritics.com
Billie Piper says meeting the Spice Girls made her realise fame was an anti-climax.
Monstersandcritics.com
Billie Piper is smitten with new man Laurence Fox but his parents don’t approve of her.Billie, 24, dumped Amadu Sowe in December so she could date Laurence - but her new lover’s posh parents aren’t impressed with her colourful background.
Now Magazine
She may have married Chris Evans in a shirt and sarong, but it seems Billie Piper has a secret passion for bridal gowns.
In a private members’ club in Soho on a sunny day, Billie Piper and I are discussing the burning issue of the day. Indeed, the issue couldn’t be more burning.
Contactmusic.com
Former DOCTOR WHO star BILLIE PIPER is “stressed out” ahead of her forthcoming London West End stage debut.
Sky News Australia
Many women have been dreaming about their wedding day since they were little girls, but Billie Piper has revealed a another element to her passion
Monstersandcritics.com
Billie Piper says meeting the Spice Girls made her realise fame was an anti-climax.
Monstersandcritics.com
Billie Piper is smitten with new man Laurence Fox but his parents don’t approve of her.Billie, 24, dumped Amadu Sowe in December so she could date Laurence - but her new lover’s posh parents aren’t impressed with her colourful background.
Now Magazine
She may have married Chris Evans in a shirt and sarong, but it seems Billie Piper has a secret passion for bridal gowns.
Big Finish Update
Big Finish Productions has updated their website, with information on new and upcoming releases. The Seventh Doctor story Nocturne and the CD of the BBC7 Eighth Doctor story Blood of the Daleks - Part 2 have both been released to subscribers, as have the first four releases of The Companion Chronicles. Actress Sara Gregory, who played Ray in the 1987 story "Delta and the Bannermen", returns to Doctor Who in the April release, I. D. by Eddie Robson. The cover and synopsis for the latest Bernice Summerfield adventure, The Tub Full of Cats, are available on the website, as is information about new and upcoming releases in the Sapphire and Steel, which has now been confirmed for a third season, and Tomorrow People lines. And the cover and blurb are now available for next month's main Doctor Who release, Renaissance of the Daleks, which is also the first story on the main range to feature the new cover design. This release is based on a story by former Doctor Who script editor and writer Christopher H. Bidmead
PBS buys WHO
40 PBS Stations Airing Eccleston DW Episodes So Far
If you get one or more of the following public TV stations, they have bought into the Christopher Eccleston Doctor Who package, available to stations as early as March 1. Additional stations may have bought into the package, but they have not made themselves known yet.
1) Georgia Public Broadcasting2) Idaho Public Broadcasting3) Iowa Public TV4) KACV 2 Amarillo TX5) KBTC 28/KCKA 15 Tacoma/Centralia WA6) KERA 13 Dallas TX7) KLCS 58 Los Angeles CA8) KLRU 18 Austin TX9) KOCE 50 Orange County CA10) KOZK 21/KOZJ 26 Springfield/Joplin MO (Ozarks Public TV)11) KRMA 6 Denver CO (and repeaters through Colorado)12) KTEH 54/KCAH 25 San Jose/Monterey CA13) KTWU 11 Topeka KS14) KUED 7 Salt Lake City UT15) KUHT 8 Houston TX16) KVPT 18 Fresno CA17) Louisiana Public Broadcasting18) Maryland Public TV19) North Carolina Public Broadcasting20) Prairie Public Broadcasting (North Dakota's statewide network)21) Nebraska Educational TV22) New Hampshire Public TV23) Oklahoma Public Broadcasting24) Oregon Public Broadcasting25) South Dakota Public Broadcasting26) WCET 48 Cincinnati OH27) WEDU 3 Tampa FL28) WILL 12 Champaign-Urbana IL29) WJCT 7 Jacksonville FL30) WLIW 21 Long Island NY31) WLVT 39 Allentown PA32) WMFE 24 Orlando FL33) WMVS 10 Milwaukee WI34) WPBT 2 Miami FL35) WQLN 54 Erie PA36) WSKG 46 Binghamton NY37) WTTW 11 Chicago IL38) WTVP 47 Peoria IL39) WUFT 5 Gainesville FL40) WXXI 21 Rochester NY
If you get one or more of the following public TV stations, they have bought into the Christopher Eccleston Doctor Who package, available to stations as early as March 1. Additional stations may have bought into the package, but they have not made themselves known yet.
1) Georgia Public Broadcasting2) Idaho Public Broadcasting3) Iowa Public TV4) KACV 2 Amarillo TX5) KBTC 28/KCKA 15 Tacoma/Centralia WA6) KERA 13 Dallas TX7) KLCS 58 Los Angeles CA8) KLRU 18 Austin TX9) KOCE 50 Orange County CA10) KOZK 21/KOZJ 26 Springfield/Joplin MO (Ozarks Public TV)11) KRMA 6 Denver CO (and repeaters through Colorado)12) KTEH 54/KCAH 25 San Jose/Monterey CA13) KTWU 11 Topeka KS14) KUED 7 Salt Lake City UT15) KUHT 8 Houston TX16) KVPT 18 Fresno CA17) Louisiana Public Broadcasting18) Maryland Public TV19) North Carolina Public Broadcasting20) Prairie Public Broadcasting (North Dakota's statewide network)21) Nebraska Educational TV22) New Hampshire Public TV23) Oklahoma Public Broadcasting24) Oregon Public Broadcasting25) South Dakota Public Broadcasting26) WCET 48 Cincinnati OH27) WEDU 3 Tampa FL28) WILL 12 Champaign-Urbana IL29) WJCT 7 Jacksonville FL30) WLIW 21 Long Island NY31) WLVT 39 Allentown PA32) WMFE 24 Orlando FL33) WMVS 10 Milwaukee WI34) WPBT 2 Miami FL35) WQLN 54 Erie PA36) WSKG 46 Binghamton NY37) WTTW 11 Chicago IL38) WTVP 47 Peoria IL39) WUFT 5 Gainesville FL40) WXXI 21 Rochester NY
Piper as a school girl???
Billie Piper can currently be seen as a schoolgirl in the Walkers walkears.com advert for this year's Comic Relief.
http://www.walkears.com/fun_stuff.asp
http://www.walkears.com/fun_stuff.asp
Make your own tardis bird feeder
Lue peter has a page up on how to make a tardis bird feeder. Click the link below and check it out.
Random Bits
Runaway Bride co-stars David Tennant and Sarah Parish were interviewed in a filmed insert shown on BBC1's Breakfast throughout this morning's edition about their new drama Recovery, which will be broadcast on BBC1 this coming Sunday at 9:00pm.
12th February saw actress Angela Griffin (Waterloo Road) "beg" to be in Doctor Who on the Richard and Judy show, after presenter Richard Madeley thought she'd be great in the show!
Meanwhile, next week, Penelope Wilton, Sophie Okonedo (Scream of the Shalka) and James Fox (BBCi/Big Finish's version of Shada) are some of the stars in Harold Pinter's Celebration, which can be seen on More4 on 26 February.
12th February saw actress Angela Griffin (Waterloo Road) "beg" to be in Doctor Who on the Richard and Judy show, after presenter Richard Madeley thought she'd be great in the show!
Meanwhile, next week, Penelope Wilton, Sophie Okonedo (Scream of the Shalka) and James Fox (BBCi/Big Finish's version of Shada) are some of the stars in Harold Pinter's Celebration, which can be seen on More4 on 26 February.
Goodbye Derek Waring
Actor Derek Waring who played Shardovan in Castrovalva has died of cancer at 79.He was also well-known for his roles in Z Cars and Moody and Pegg.Other TV shows Waring appeared in were The Professionals, Dixon of Dock Green and The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, which starred William Russell - later to become Doctor Who companion Ian Chesterton - in the title role.More details of Waring's life and career are online at Yahoo News.
GRANT DISMISSED DOCTOR WHO AS TV FLOP
Actor HUGH GRANT once turned down the chance to star in sci-fi sensation DOCTOR WHO - because he didn't think it would be a big hit. The NOTTING HILL star, 46, now regrets not spotting the programme's potential earlier, and is hoping to make a guest appearance in the next BBC series. He says, "I was offered the role of the Doctor a few years back and was highly flattered. The danger with those things is that it's only when you see it on screen that you think, 'Damn, that was good, why did I say no?' But then, knowing me, I'd probably make a mess of it." He adds, "I'm in talks about a one-off role. I'd prefer to be a baddie - they're always much more fun to play!"
Dr Who man lands at city's Red Planet office
ONE of the key creative minds behind the rebirth of Doctor Who is leading the launch of a major production company in Wales.
Simon Winstone, a script editor on the successful science fiction series, will head-up Red Planet Pictures's Cardiff office.
The decision to open a base in the Welsh capital follows efforts by the BBC and the Assembly Government to encourage independent drama production companies to locate in Wales.
Red Planet hopes to work closely with BBC Wales on a raft of projects.
Red Planet founder Tony Jordan said, "Wales is a very exciting place to be right now for drama and I'm looking forward to working with [senior BBC executives] Menna Richards, Julie Gardner, Claire Hudson and Julie Scott in Cardiff.
"We have also received invaluable support in this venture from the Welsh Assembly Government via Creative Business Wales. This has been instrumental in influencing our decision to set up here."
BBC Wales Controller Menna Richards adds, "Tony's track record as a television writer speaks for itself with projects ranging from EastEnders to Life on Mars.
" I think this is another great boost in the development of the independent production sector in Wales."
Enterprise Minister Andrew Davies welcomed Red Planet's decision to expand into Wales.
He said, "The development of the creative industries is high on the economic development agenda for Wales as the sector contributes £750m to the Welsh economy annually.
"The Creative Business Wales team was set up by the Assembly Government to stimulate growth in the sector, to encourage more inward investment and to bring more business to Wales.
"Creative Business Wales has been working with BBC Wales to encourage independents interested in producing network drama to work closely with writing talent - a strategy that has proved attractive to Red Planet.
"Tony Jordan is acknowledged as one of the UK's most talented television writers and the decision to open an office in Cardiff is a huge boost for the sector and will bring tangible long term benefits to Wales."
Red Planet will continue operating from their base in Bedford along with their production base in Chertsey where they are currently filming eight one- hour episodes of cop show Holby Blue for BBC1.
Simon Winstone, a script editor on the successful science fiction series, will head-up Red Planet Pictures's Cardiff office.
The decision to open a base in the Welsh capital follows efforts by the BBC and the Assembly Government to encourage independent drama production companies to locate in Wales.
Red Planet hopes to work closely with BBC Wales on a raft of projects.
Red Planet founder Tony Jordan said, "Wales is a very exciting place to be right now for drama and I'm looking forward to working with [senior BBC executives] Menna Richards, Julie Gardner, Claire Hudson and Julie Scott in Cardiff.
"We have also received invaluable support in this venture from the Welsh Assembly Government via Creative Business Wales. This has been instrumental in influencing our decision to set up here."
BBC Wales Controller Menna Richards adds, "Tony's track record as a television writer speaks for itself with projects ranging from EastEnders to Life on Mars.
" I think this is another great boost in the development of the independent production sector in Wales."
Enterprise Minister Andrew Davies welcomed Red Planet's decision to expand into Wales.
He said, "The development of the creative industries is high on the economic development agenda for Wales as the sector contributes £750m to the Welsh economy annually.
"The Creative Business Wales team was set up by the Assembly Government to stimulate growth in the sector, to encourage more inward investment and to bring more business to Wales.
"Creative Business Wales has been working with BBC Wales to encourage independents interested in producing network drama to work closely with writing talent - a strategy that has proved attractive to Red Planet.
"Tony Jordan is acknowledged as one of the UK's most talented television writers and the decision to open an office in Cardiff is a huge boost for the sector and will bring tangible long term benefits to Wales."
Red Planet will continue operating from their base in Bedford along with their production base in Chertsey where they are currently filming eight one- hour episodes of cop show Holby Blue for BBC1.
Familiar face in Eastender storyline
There's an explosive special edition of EastEnders coming up in a few weeks' time, and not only does it boast a gripping storyline, but there's also a familiar face cropping up.
Burn Gorman, who recently starred as randy medic Owen Harper in Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, features as groom-to-be Jed.
He is found by a moping Kevin (Phil Daniels), who is contemplating the state of his life after the revelation he's not Deano (Matt Di Angelo) or Carly's (Kellie Shirley) biological father.
However, Jed tells his new acquaintance he's been stitched up by his pals on his stag night and has to get back home.
The kind-hearted Walford resident wonders whether to give Jed some money, but before he has the chance, the other man scarpers with Kevin's bag.
Unfortunately, the thief doesn't get the chance to gloat - the bus he leaps onto crashes into a lorry, and tragedy ensues.
It's not Gorman's only foray into soapland.
The rising star has previously appeared in Coronation Street, way back in 1998.
Since then, he has featured in TV hits such as Bleak House, and had a small role on the big screen in Layer Cake.
The hour-long edition of EastEnders airs on Friday, March 9.
Burn Gorman, who recently starred as randy medic Owen Harper in Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, features as groom-to-be Jed.
He is found by a moping Kevin (Phil Daniels), who is contemplating the state of his life after the revelation he's not Deano (Matt Di Angelo) or Carly's (Kellie Shirley) biological father.
However, Jed tells his new acquaintance he's been stitched up by his pals on his stag night and has to get back home.
The kind-hearted Walford resident wonders whether to give Jed some money, but before he has the chance, the other man scarpers with Kevin's bag.
Unfortunately, the thief doesn't get the chance to gloat - the bus he leaps onto crashes into a lorry, and tragedy ensues.
It's not Gorman's only foray into soapland.
The rising star has previously appeared in Coronation Street, way back in 1998.
Since then, he has featured in TV hits such as Bleak House, and had a small role on the big screen in Layer Cake.
The hour-long edition of EastEnders airs on Friday, March 9.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Radio Times - Tennant's 'Recovery'
In Hollywood terms, a knock on the head is no big deal: there’s just a tense moment of eyelid flickering before the sleeper awakes from their coma, shakes out their hair and falls into the arms of their loved ones. The reality of serious brain injury is brutally different. What happens if, on waking, the brain-injured person no longer knows his loved ones; no longer - for that matter - knows how, orwhat it is, to love?
This is the terrifying situation explored in the BBC drama Recovery by award-winning screenwriter Tony Marchant (Crime and Punishment, The Family Man). Starring David Tennant as Alan, a husband and father whose personality is all but wiped out after a traffic accident, and Sarah Parish as Tricia, the wife who must find new ways of loving the stranger in her sitting room, the film is an unsparing portrait of a family in crisis.
“I was approached to write a play about memory loss,” says Marchant. “It was only when I started researching the effects of brain injury that I realised how completely our identity is bound up with memory, how much of human relationships are based on the knowledge of shared history. And how difficult it is for a brain-injured person when that personal history disappears and you’re trying to claw your way back to find out who you are.”
Marchant worked closely with the brain injury charity Headway, and his tightly researched scenario pulls no punches: Tennant’s frustration sparks like static from the screen. Parish is no less impressive as the wife who meets the demands of caring for her husband - a physically healthy adult who can neither make his own toast nor govern his sexual impulses - with a believable balance of heroism and human frailty. For both actors, meeting survivors of brain injury and their families was crucial to their understanding of the project: “This is an incredibly sensitive subject. It would be fantastically disrespectful to turn up on the first day of the shoot and say, ‘Right then, brain injury - let’s wing it,’ says Tennant who filmed Recovery in his summer break from Doctor Who. “I read masses of case studies and personal testimonies, but by far the most important thing was meeting the people at the Headway facility in Essex and talking to men who had experienced what Alan goes through. Then there came a point where I had to stop. I felt I was learning too much about it, and it was important for me not to know what was going on; for everything to be as brand new and bewildering to me as it is to Alan.”
“A lot of the people we met were concerned that they should be represented correctly,” adds Parish. “Because brain injury is something no-one really knows very much about. Maybe because they’re embarrassed to ask, maybe because the person involved is embarrassed to tell them. So I think to tackle these things in a drama is great.”
According to Joanna Wright of Headway, lack of public awareness is one of the hardest things surviors of severe brain injury have to face. “David Tennant’s character looks absolutely fine, but he’s got a lot of cognitive deficits resulting from his accident, and people like this often face a great lack of tolerance over some of their issues,” says Wright. The fact that every brain injury is unique, depending on which part of the brain is damaged, makes promoting the difficulties faced by sufferers even harder. Cognitive deficits can include a lack of social/sexual inhibition, extreme emotional instability and problems with communication. “Sufferers may know what they want to say but can’t get the words out, which of course cranks up the frustration even more,” says Wright. “It becomes very socially isolating because you’ve only got to yell at a friend a few times and people think, ‘Well, I can’t cope with that’. Friends back away and family members often do the same. In many cases, marriages don’t survive.”
Every single day when we were filming I had to ask myself, ‘What would I do in this woman’s situation?’” says Parish. “Would I go, or would I stay with a man who looks like my husband but doesn’t speak, or act, or even feel like him?” It’s a kind of bereavement, but a bereavement you can’t get over - you’re reminded of your loss every day because this person who isn’t your husband is there in front of you. My character, Tricia, is fallible. She gets angry, she gets things wrong. I’m glad she wasn’t written as some kind of angel at the bedside, because I think the guilt and pressure put on women by society in these matters is just heartbreaking.”
“It’s an almost impossible ask for most people,” agrees Marchant. “Does a wife have a moral responsibility to stay with a character who has become impossible to live with, but through no fault of his own? To deal with the loss of the sexual, romantic and intellectual sharing that a marriage is based on -as well as the practical implications of becoming a carer instead of a partner - you either have to be a saint or you have to learn to expect less from your life together. Because there’s no miracle cure.
“Recovery is almost an ironic title, because for sufferers of severe brain injury - and there are about 1,500 people a year, mainly young men, who go through the kind of thing Alan experiences - it’s a lifelong condition. There comes a point - not in all cases, but in most - where you just aren’t going to get hugely better and you can’t beat around the bush with that.
“It’s something all the men at Headway said to me: ‘Don’t have a bloody happy ending’. On the other hand, you’re writing drama; you have to offer some redemptive glimmer. And when a love is affirmed in these extraordinarily difficult circumstances, you’re touching something profound and extremely moving.”
Since making the film, David Tennant has become a patron of Headway. “The families we worked with were so extremely generous in laying out the reality of their lives for us. I hope we’ve done them proud. I know I’ve come away from the experience with a hugely increased sense of just how fragile we all are. I now really, really look when I’m crossing the road. For me, Recovery doesn’t play like some big issue-led campaigning piece, but it makes you think. It makes you grateful you’re able to think.”
This is the terrifying situation explored in the BBC drama Recovery by award-winning screenwriter Tony Marchant (Crime and Punishment, The Family Man). Starring David Tennant as Alan, a husband and father whose personality is all but wiped out after a traffic accident, and Sarah Parish as Tricia, the wife who must find new ways of loving the stranger in her sitting room, the film is an unsparing portrait of a family in crisis.
“I was approached to write a play about memory loss,” says Marchant. “It was only when I started researching the effects of brain injury that I realised how completely our identity is bound up with memory, how much of human relationships are based on the knowledge of shared history. And how difficult it is for a brain-injured person when that personal history disappears and you’re trying to claw your way back to find out who you are.”
Marchant worked closely with the brain injury charity Headway, and his tightly researched scenario pulls no punches: Tennant’s frustration sparks like static from the screen. Parish is no less impressive as the wife who meets the demands of caring for her husband - a physically healthy adult who can neither make his own toast nor govern his sexual impulses - with a believable balance of heroism and human frailty. For both actors, meeting survivors of brain injury and their families was crucial to their understanding of the project: “This is an incredibly sensitive subject. It would be fantastically disrespectful to turn up on the first day of the shoot and say, ‘Right then, brain injury - let’s wing it,’ says Tennant who filmed Recovery in his summer break from Doctor Who. “I read masses of case studies and personal testimonies, but by far the most important thing was meeting the people at the Headway facility in Essex and talking to men who had experienced what Alan goes through. Then there came a point where I had to stop. I felt I was learning too much about it, and it was important for me not to know what was going on; for everything to be as brand new and bewildering to me as it is to Alan.”
“A lot of the people we met were concerned that they should be represented correctly,” adds Parish. “Because brain injury is something no-one really knows very much about. Maybe because they’re embarrassed to ask, maybe because the person involved is embarrassed to tell them. So I think to tackle these things in a drama is great.”
According to Joanna Wright of Headway, lack of public awareness is one of the hardest things surviors of severe brain injury have to face. “David Tennant’s character looks absolutely fine, but he’s got a lot of cognitive deficits resulting from his accident, and people like this often face a great lack of tolerance over some of their issues,” says Wright. The fact that every brain injury is unique, depending on which part of the brain is damaged, makes promoting the difficulties faced by sufferers even harder. Cognitive deficits can include a lack of social/sexual inhibition, extreme emotional instability and problems with communication. “Sufferers may know what they want to say but can’t get the words out, which of course cranks up the frustration even more,” says Wright. “It becomes very socially isolating because you’ve only got to yell at a friend a few times and people think, ‘Well, I can’t cope with that’. Friends back away and family members often do the same. In many cases, marriages don’t survive.”
Every single day when we were filming I had to ask myself, ‘What would I do in this woman’s situation?’” says Parish. “Would I go, or would I stay with a man who looks like my husband but doesn’t speak, or act, or even feel like him?” It’s a kind of bereavement, but a bereavement you can’t get over - you’re reminded of your loss every day because this person who isn’t your husband is there in front of you. My character, Tricia, is fallible. She gets angry, she gets things wrong. I’m glad she wasn’t written as some kind of angel at the bedside, because I think the guilt and pressure put on women by society in these matters is just heartbreaking.”
“It’s an almost impossible ask for most people,” agrees Marchant. “Does a wife have a moral responsibility to stay with a character who has become impossible to live with, but through no fault of his own? To deal with the loss of the sexual, romantic and intellectual sharing that a marriage is based on -as well as the practical implications of becoming a carer instead of a partner - you either have to be a saint or you have to learn to expect less from your life together. Because there’s no miracle cure.
“Recovery is almost an ironic title, because for sufferers of severe brain injury - and there are about 1,500 people a year, mainly young men, who go through the kind of thing Alan experiences - it’s a lifelong condition. There comes a point - not in all cases, but in most - where you just aren’t going to get hugely better and you can’t beat around the bush with that.
“It’s something all the men at Headway said to me: ‘Don’t have a bloody happy ending’. On the other hand, you’re writing drama; you have to offer some redemptive glimmer. And when a love is affirmed in these extraordinarily difficult circumstances, you’re touching something profound and extremely moving.”
Since making the film, David Tennant has become a patron of Headway. “The families we worked with were so extremely generous in laying out the reality of their lives for us. I hope we’ve done them proud. I know I’ve come away from the experience with a hugely increased sense of just how fragile we all are. I now really, really look when I’m crossing the road. For me, Recovery doesn’t play like some big issue-led campaigning piece, but it makes you think. It makes you grateful you’re able to think.”
Renaissance of the Daleks
A random landing in London and a trip to the Savoy Hotel yield unexpected results for the Doctor. Tea, scones, an American general who knows far too much, and the threat of a Dalek invasion of Earth.
Meanwhile, the Doctor's companion Nyssa is in Rhodes during the time of the Crusades, where her position proves to be distinctly precarious.
It seems the Doctor's deadliest foes have woven a tangled web indeed. And in order to defeat them, he must cross the forbidden barriers of time and walk into the very centre of their latest, most outlandish scheme of conquest.
This story takes place between "Time-Flight" and "The Arc of Infinity".
Meanwhile, the Doctor's companion Nyssa is in Rhodes during the time of the Crusades, where her position proves to be distinctly precarious.
It seems the Doctor's deadliest foes have woven a tangled web indeed. And in order to defeat them, he must cross the forbidden barriers of time and walk into the very centre of their latest, most outlandish scheme of conquest.
This story takes place between "Time-Flight" and "The Arc of Infinity".
Imagine to launch sci-fi and fantasy title as rival to SFX
Imagine Publishing is to launch a monthly magazine for science fiction, fantasy and horror fans, pitched as a glossy rival to Future's SFX magazine.
SciFi Now, which will launch in April, aims to capitalise on the popularity of TV shows such as Doctor Who, Lost and Heroes. It is Imagine's first launch outside its core market of computing magazines and websites.
The title has been developed by most of the team behind DVD Review, the former Highbury title now published by Future, including its former editor Paul Morgan.
Imagine will similtaneously launch a website, scifinow.co.uk. Registered users will receive a weekly PDF email with interactive elements. The launch follows last month's closure of Titan Magazines' Dreamwatch after 24 years, leaving Future's title as the only broadly pitched magazine in the sector. SFX reported copy sales of 32,672 in the latest ABC results.
Damian Butt, Imagine's managing director, said the market lacked a title that captured the resurgent popularity of the genre. "SFX has been market leader for so long that it has got complacent," he said. "We want to shake things up."
He expected the core audience for the magazine to be largely male, aged 25 to 40. It will have a cover price of £4 and a print run of 50,000.
SciFi Now, which will launch in April, aims to capitalise on the popularity of TV shows such as Doctor Who, Lost and Heroes. It is Imagine's first launch outside its core market of computing magazines and websites.
The title has been developed by most of the team behind DVD Review, the former Highbury title now published by Future, including its former editor Paul Morgan.
Imagine will similtaneously launch a website, scifinow.co.uk. Registered users will receive a weekly PDF email with interactive elements. The launch follows last month's closure of Titan Magazines' Dreamwatch after 24 years, leaving Future's title as the only broadly pitched magazine in the sector. SFX reported copy sales of 32,672 in the latest ABC results.
Damian Butt, Imagine's managing director, said the market lacked a title that captured the resurgent popularity of the genre. "SFX has been market leader for so long that it has got complacent," he said. "We want to shake things up."
He expected the core audience for the magazine to be largely male, aged 25 to 40. It will have a cover price of £4 and a print run of 50,000.
Radio Times warming up?
Though a few weeks away from Series 3 of Doctor Who (and any possible Who-related listings-magazines covers), both this week's and next week's issues of the Radio Times sport front-page covers and corresponding articles of two of the show's stars, albeit for different roles.The current issue of the listings-magazine (17 to 23 February) has a Catherine Tate cover - "Bovvered?" - and features a three-page interview with the former Doctor Who companion by Alexei Sayle (the DJ in Revelation of the Daleks). This is to coincide with tonight's premiere of the ITV1 drama The Bad Mother's Handbook, which stars Tate. There's nothing about Doctor Who in the article itself but the magazine's editor Gill Hudson makes a brief mention in her "Editor's letter".Meanwhile, next week's Radio Times (24 February to 2 March, on sale now) features a (bearded) David Tennant cover - "TV's Most Wanted" - and article to coincide with his BBC1 drama Recovery, which co-stars the Empress of the Racnoss herself, Sarah Parish. This issue also has an interview with Life on Mars star John Simm.Previously, to coincide with Matthew Graham's second series of Life on Mars, the 10 to 16 February issue of the Radio Times had a double cover - "Life on Mars!" - featuring Simm and Philip Glenister. The top cover - in the current Radio Times style, showing the pair in character and including a sub-heading "Primeval: Is this ITV1’s answer to Doctor Who?" - opened up to a second cover with the same picture but styled as the Radio Times was in 1973!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Prime Who
From icWales: In a trip to Cardiff today Cherie Blair, the wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair, revealed that their six-year-old son Leo was a fan of Doctor Who. "My little boy is on half term so we came to see the Doctor Who exhibition," she said.
Last October in an interview on Blue Peter Tony Blair revealed he and his colleagues liked to call 10 Downing Street "The TARDIS" becasue it felt like the inside was bigger than the outside (BBC News).
Last October in an interview on Blue Peter Tony Blair revealed he and his colleagues liked to call 10 Downing Street "The TARDIS" becasue it felt like the inside was bigger than the outside (BBC News).
RTD Petition???? WTF???
You may know that the British Government have set up an electronic petition website, to reduce the hassle of actually getting people to sign a piece of paper. And then having to deliver all the stacks of paper to the Prime Minister (who can then ignore them, as usual).It's been getting a lot of coverage in the last week due to the controversy over road taxing. (1.5 million people signed it, and there are ministerial quotes of how much they dislike this).Anyway... Somebody has snuck in a petition which I don't believe is in the government's power:
Please ensure that the BBC do not cave into pressure and sack Russell T Davies from his position as Executive Producer of Doctor Who
Frankly, I don't think the government should be allowed to intervene if the BBC's staffing decsions. But what suprises me more is: what pressure? Has anybody heard any rumours about this?It does demonstrate the traditional problems with petitions: they've even got somebody to sign it under the name "John Nathan-Turner". Not just as stupid as the "chicken man", or "starfighter pilot", but crass as well...
Please ensure that the BBC do not cave into pressure and sack Russell T Davies from his position as Executive Producer of Doctor Who
Frankly, I don't think the government should be allowed to intervene if the BBC's staffing decsions. But what suprises me more is: what pressure? Has anybody heard any rumours about this?It does demonstrate the traditional problems with petitions: they've even got somebody to sign it under the name "John Nathan-Turner". Not just as stupid as the "chicken man", or "starfighter pilot", but crass as well...
Sarah Jane Adventures probably delayed
Thought you might like to see enclosed pic of Elisabeth Sladen on stage (above). She was really lovely; but said the "Sarah Jane Adventures" is delayed because of production problems on Torchwood. Regards, Soaps."The series was supposed to begin filming in April; but where these 'production problems' leave filming now is anybody's guess. Unless BBC Wales get their act together real fast, we might have a longer wait for the SJA than we originally thought.
Source Sarah jane.tv
Gallifrey One 2007 sets new record
With 791 attendees, Gallifrey One 2007 can officially go down as being the most attended event in its history.
Read about that weekend at Paul Cornells blog here:
http://paulcornell.blogspot.com/
Read about that weekend at Paul Cornells blog here:
http://paulcornell.blogspot.com/
John Barrowman raises eyebrows with racy 'Doctor Who' remarks
By MICHAEL HINMANFeb-18-2007
And who said magazines weren't for adults anymore? Even the official rag for "Doctor Who" is looking to steal some thunder from Penthouse Forum after "Torchwood" star John Barrowman made some rather interesting comments about his "Doctor Who" counterpart, David Tennant.
In a recent issue of Doctor Who Magazine, Barrowman -- who is openly gay -- described Tennant as "sexy," and even talked about a daydream he had about Tennant and his "Doctor Who" predecessor Christopher Eccleston, which he said caused him to awaken "aroused," according to British tabloid The Sun.
Barrowman also talked about Ashley Way, a director for the "Torchwood" series, saying that he's a "real hotty. I like him. He has a nice bum."
Those comments, along with Barrowman talking about his oversized ... well, anyway, those comments apparently outraged readers causing one fan named Robert Mitchell to say that the magazine is not "Gay Times."
Clayton Hickman, editor of Doctor Who Magazine, was quick and to the point in responding to the feedback.
"We consider the magazine is for odler reades, but some of this content may have overstepped the mark," he said. "Apologies."
Barrowman, who just completed a successful run of the more adult-themed "Torchwood" spinoff on BBC Three, will appear in three of the final four episodes of "Doctor Who's" third season, which is expected to pick up this spring. He will star alongside Tennant, who is still apparently in talks over whether or not he'll do a fourth year on the show.
And who said magazines weren't for adults anymore? Even the official rag for "Doctor Who" is looking to steal some thunder from Penthouse Forum after "Torchwood" star John Barrowman made some rather interesting comments about his "Doctor Who" counterpart, David Tennant.
In a recent issue of Doctor Who Magazine, Barrowman -- who is openly gay -- described Tennant as "sexy," and even talked about a daydream he had about Tennant and his "Doctor Who" predecessor Christopher Eccleston, which he said caused him to awaken "aroused," according to British tabloid The Sun.
Barrowman also talked about Ashley Way, a director for the "Torchwood" series, saying that he's a "real hotty. I like him. He has a nice bum."
Those comments, along with Barrowman talking about his oversized ... well, anyway, those comments apparently outraged readers causing one fan named Robert Mitchell to say that the magazine is not "Gay Times."
Clayton Hickman, editor of Doctor Who Magazine, was quick and to the point in responding to the feedback.
"We consider the magazine is for odler reades, but some of this content may have overstepped the mark," he said. "Apologies."
Barrowman, who just completed a successful run of the more adult-themed "Torchwood" spinoff on BBC Three, will appear in three of the final four episodes of "Doctor Who's" third season, which is expected to pick up this spring. He will star alongside Tennant, who is still apparently in talks over whether or not he'll do a fourth year on the show.
Piper calls her own tune
She walked away from pop stardom, she dumped Doctor Who and she refused to claim alimony in her divorce. Billie Piper, who is taking to the West End stage, likes to scare herself.
In a private members’ club in Soho on a sunny day, Billie Piper and I are discussing the burning issue of the day. Indeed, the issue couldn’t be more burning. It is cystitis.
“And you get some women going: ‘Oh, I think I’ve got cystitis, I might have some cranberry juice’,” Piper says, in the tinkly, light-hearted voice of a woman with faux-cystitis. “But that’s not cystitis! Cystitis is when you’re crying and writhing around and you can’t leave the house, and you are going, ‘Why, why have I got this?’, and you’re in absolute agony. I’ve had to cancel loads of work with cystitis. I’ve had to cancel loads of my life with cystitis.”
With George III it was porphyria. With Frida Kahlo it was cerebral palsy. For Billie Piper it is what those of us who suffer from it refer to as the Real Big C. She has an Achilles’ urinary tract.
Piper’s decade-long battle with cystitis is one of the narrative mainstays of her thoroughly entertaining recent autobiography, Growing Pains. Recounting the first month of her infamous relationship with the DJ Chris Evans, she muses on how the general public would have presumed a bunk-up between an 18-year-old pop-sy and her millionaire media lover to have been a debauched, frenzied sex-fest.
The reality, as she explains, was very different. Having run away to a five-star hotel in Madeira, the reason they never left the hotel room was, in fact, because she had recurrent, haemorrhaging cystitis, and could manage only a “few acid drops” at a time. “It wasn’t exactly love’s young dream,” she says, drily.
It was at about this time in Piper’s life — 2000 — that I first felt the developing of a spiritual kinship between her and me. Tabloid reports at the time hinted darkly that Piper had a drug problem, and when she collapsed in a nightclub and was taken to hospital with “a kidney infection”, the general media response was a sneering “Yeah, right. Kidney infection. Sure.”
However, I read those reports and thought, “I’ve had cystitis so bad I could have collapsed in a nightclub! I believe you, Piper!”
“I can see why it looked dodgy,” Piper admits, dragging on a ciggie. “I mean, you spend the whole night in the toilets, of course everyone thinks you’re going to be doing coke. But you’re like, ‘No, I’m pissing razor blades, not chopping out lines with them’.” While there are many ailments that have a certain dark glamour to them — depression, bipolarity, heroin addiction, syphilis — excessively alkaline urine certainly isn’t one of them. The fact that Piper is so wryly willing to trade in a perceived rakish edge to her pop-moppet years — cocaine overdose — for a vision of the truth — sitting on a lavatory and crying — is a very telling detail.
“Being honest is probably the only way to cope with the whole fame thing,” she says, leaning back in her chair. “You have to be as honest as you can about your life, while not dragging in or ruining the lives of those around you. Hypocrisy makes you a target.”
Her voice is much posher than one expects — a hang-over from the upper-middle-class role she is currently playing in the West End, in Christopher Hampton’s Treats. She wears glasses, and looks wiry and tired, but also spends the whole inter- view being unexpectedly candid, cracking jokes, roaring with laughter, and using a pleasingly dated lexicon (“converse”, “pins”, “nuts”, “notion”, “horrid”) that points to a great deal of her education having taken place during all-day drinking sessions with older men.
In a market crowded with celebrities, Piper cuts a singular swath. A teenage pop star at the age of 15, she was unusual from the start. While most teenage chanteuses are chosen for either cuteness or incipient Lolitadom (see Aguilera, C. and Spears, B.), Piper was an altogether different kettle of fish. With her strong brow, ample mouth and gleaming teeth, she looked like some feral Wolf Queen, just as likely to eat her fans as sign their autograph books.
Her lupine charisma lent her first hit single, Because We Want To, an unexpectedly threatening edge. While the lyrics ran: “Why you gotta play that song so loud?/ Because we want to!/ Because we want to!”, they could just as easily have gone: “Why you gotta worship the wolf-god, Fenris, and pray for the beginning of Ragnarök?/ Because we want to!/ Because we want to!” In a world of anaemic mopsy jail-bait, it all felt like a rather glorious mistake.
To Piper, it felt like a nonglorious mistake. Nearly three years later — burnt out by a crippling promotional schedule and still unconvinced by pop material that she found “at heart, not good enough” — she effectively resigned from her own career. She did this by the unique expedient of embarking on a two-year holiday with Chris Evans, whom she met when she appeared as a guest on TFI Friday.
Theirs was an unlikely but idyllic-sounding courtship and marriage — learning about speciality cheeses, playing Victorian parlour games, drinking vintage wines, jumping on private jets to look at the Coliseum, and spending hours digging in the garden of their Cotswolds house.
It was in the four restorative years that she spent with Evans that Piper started to assess what she wanted to be. Not a one-woman adolescent Spice Girls, as her record company had envisioned her. Instead, she realised that she was, essentially, an earthy, domesticated autodidact, who wanted to pursue — no matter how unlikely it seemed — an acting career.
And so here we are, three long years later. Piper’s simultaneous blend of ballsiness and vulnerability — all served up in that fabulously extreme face — has resulted in her being one of the most employable actresses of her generation. After Doctor Who — an inspired, unexpected piece of casting that resulted in Piper becoming one of the all-time great Doctor’s assistants — she has the pick of British drama projects. Her forthcoming lead role in ITV1’s Mansfield Park — her Fanny Price is a sunny, spirited child with a musky edge — is her second major role in three months, after playing Sally Luckhart in the BBC’s adaptation of Philip Pullman’s Ruby in the Dust . Yet when, after just two series, she unexpectedly walked out of the role of Rose Tyler in Doctor Who — “I knew I’d get complacent if I stayed” — she had nothing lined up.
“I had no idea of what I was going to do. And I like that,” she says, with a lascivious flash of her enamel. “I like scaring myself. I never want to be bored.”
However, this is a statement she almost retracts moments later, on considering her latest project — a revival of Christopher Hampton’s Treats , which transfers to the West End this week. It’s her debut on the stage, and Piper is under no illusions as to whose fault it is that she’s doing the play.
“David bloody Tennant,” she says, naming her co-star in Doctor Who . “He’s a massive theatre nut. He would speak so endlessly about it, and how good the feeling was.”
Piper had thought that “being in the theatre” would mainly involve “turning up to work in glasses and a tatty scarf and smoking lots of rollies”.
“However, when you start doing it, you realise you do actually have to work at some point. It’s making me very anxious. I think about it on the toilet and in the bath. I am regretting it! But I want to learn as much as possible about this profession, and everyone says the stage is the best way.”
In Treats Piper plays Ann — “basically a nag” — who is compelled to revisit an abusive relationship. Hampton designed the piece as a study of a woman’s self-destructive edge, and Piper agrees.
“Women are incredibly strong, but often the only time they’re weak is when they’re with a dysfunctional man,” she notes, pithily. She adds that she has “experience of that”, but clearly isn’t referring to her current relationship with her Treats co-star Laurence Fox, son of James Fox. “I love being on stage with two big strapping lads,” she says — Fox is 6ft 3in and Kris Marshall, her other co-star, is 6ft 2in. “They make me feel . . . delicate.”
Piper’s best scene in the play is completely wordless. It is five minutes long, two of which she spends watching television and three crying. It is an almost rhapsodic display of sobbing — snotting, pained, slightly writhing, but all desperately repressed. There’s nothing showy about it at all.
“I think I like TV acting because it’s all small and contained and mumbly,” she confirms. “I find that easier.”
Quiz her on her politics and she admits to being confused and angry, and spending dinner parties “shouting, and feeling frustrated that things don’t change”. She claims to think about global warming “about 12 times a day at the moment” and is on the verge of buying a hybrid car, but she points out ruefully that, if she did, “that would be the end of the Porsche” — a 1989 Carrera, white with a fin. Looking at the car on her driveway makes her happy. “I’m quite simple,” she says.
Perhaps her most surprising claim is that she’s not a feminist. “I like cooking for a man, and cleaning,” she says. “I like women to be women, and men to be men.”
Obviously no one has ever pointed out to her that a woman who takes control of her own career at 19, holds her own in an industry where most people are twice her age, and, most pertinently and admirably of all, declines any alimony claim when divorcing her millionaire husband (her marriage to Evans was annulled, wholly amicably, in September) is a feminist through and through.
I, however, am not going to be the one to tell her. Instead, I’m too busy giving her a bottle of potassium citrate, £1.86 — something which, after years of experimentation and suffering, I have found to be the finest cystitis remedy known to womankind.
“Oh my God!” Piper yelps. “Wow! This is amazing! Why have I never heard of this? Thank you! I feel like crying!”
And, in many ways, who is to say that this gift is not the equal of emancipation and gender equality?
Treats previews at the Garrick Theatre, W1 (0870 8901101), from tomorrow and opens on Feb 28. Mansfield Park is on ITV1 in March.
In a private members’ club in Soho on a sunny day, Billie Piper and I are discussing the burning issue of the day. Indeed, the issue couldn’t be more burning. It is cystitis.
“And you get some women going: ‘Oh, I think I’ve got cystitis, I might have some cranberry juice’,” Piper says, in the tinkly, light-hearted voice of a woman with faux-cystitis. “But that’s not cystitis! Cystitis is when you’re crying and writhing around and you can’t leave the house, and you are going, ‘Why, why have I got this?’, and you’re in absolute agony. I’ve had to cancel loads of work with cystitis. I’ve had to cancel loads of my life with cystitis.”
With George III it was porphyria. With Frida Kahlo it was cerebral palsy. For Billie Piper it is what those of us who suffer from it refer to as the Real Big C. She has an Achilles’ urinary tract.
Piper’s decade-long battle with cystitis is one of the narrative mainstays of her thoroughly entertaining recent autobiography, Growing Pains. Recounting the first month of her infamous relationship with the DJ Chris Evans, she muses on how the general public would have presumed a bunk-up between an 18-year-old pop-sy and her millionaire media lover to have been a debauched, frenzied sex-fest.
The reality, as she explains, was very different. Having run away to a five-star hotel in Madeira, the reason they never left the hotel room was, in fact, because she had recurrent, haemorrhaging cystitis, and could manage only a “few acid drops” at a time. “It wasn’t exactly love’s young dream,” she says, drily.
It was at about this time in Piper’s life — 2000 — that I first felt the developing of a spiritual kinship between her and me. Tabloid reports at the time hinted darkly that Piper had a drug problem, and when she collapsed in a nightclub and was taken to hospital with “a kidney infection”, the general media response was a sneering “Yeah, right. Kidney infection. Sure.”
However, I read those reports and thought, “I’ve had cystitis so bad I could have collapsed in a nightclub! I believe you, Piper!”
“I can see why it looked dodgy,” Piper admits, dragging on a ciggie. “I mean, you spend the whole night in the toilets, of course everyone thinks you’re going to be doing coke. But you’re like, ‘No, I’m pissing razor blades, not chopping out lines with them’.” While there are many ailments that have a certain dark glamour to them — depression, bipolarity, heroin addiction, syphilis — excessively alkaline urine certainly isn’t one of them. The fact that Piper is so wryly willing to trade in a perceived rakish edge to her pop-moppet years — cocaine overdose — for a vision of the truth — sitting on a lavatory and crying — is a very telling detail.
“Being honest is probably the only way to cope with the whole fame thing,” she says, leaning back in her chair. “You have to be as honest as you can about your life, while not dragging in or ruining the lives of those around you. Hypocrisy makes you a target.”
Her voice is much posher than one expects — a hang-over from the upper-middle-class role she is currently playing in the West End, in Christopher Hampton’s Treats. She wears glasses, and looks wiry and tired, but also spends the whole inter- view being unexpectedly candid, cracking jokes, roaring with laughter, and using a pleasingly dated lexicon (“converse”, “pins”, “nuts”, “notion”, “horrid”) that points to a great deal of her education having taken place during all-day drinking sessions with older men.
In a market crowded with celebrities, Piper cuts a singular swath. A teenage pop star at the age of 15, she was unusual from the start. While most teenage chanteuses are chosen for either cuteness or incipient Lolitadom (see Aguilera, C. and Spears, B.), Piper was an altogether different kettle of fish. With her strong brow, ample mouth and gleaming teeth, she looked like some feral Wolf Queen, just as likely to eat her fans as sign their autograph books.
Her lupine charisma lent her first hit single, Because We Want To, an unexpectedly threatening edge. While the lyrics ran: “Why you gotta play that song so loud?/ Because we want to!/ Because we want to!”, they could just as easily have gone: “Why you gotta worship the wolf-god, Fenris, and pray for the beginning of Ragnarök?/ Because we want to!/ Because we want to!” In a world of anaemic mopsy jail-bait, it all felt like a rather glorious mistake.
To Piper, it felt like a nonglorious mistake. Nearly three years later — burnt out by a crippling promotional schedule and still unconvinced by pop material that she found “at heart, not good enough” — she effectively resigned from her own career. She did this by the unique expedient of embarking on a two-year holiday with Chris Evans, whom she met when she appeared as a guest on TFI Friday.
Theirs was an unlikely but idyllic-sounding courtship and marriage — learning about speciality cheeses, playing Victorian parlour games, drinking vintage wines, jumping on private jets to look at the Coliseum, and spending hours digging in the garden of their Cotswolds house.
It was in the four restorative years that she spent with Evans that Piper started to assess what she wanted to be. Not a one-woman adolescent Spice Girls, as her record company had envisioned her. Instead, she realised that she was, essentially, an earthy, domesticated autodidact, who wanted to pursue — no matter how unlikely it seemed — an acting career.
And so here we are, three long years later. Piper’s simultaneous blend of ballsiness and vulnerability — all served up in that fabulously extreme face — has resulted in her being one of the most employable actresses of her generation. After Doctor Who — an inspired, unexpected piece of casting that resulted in Piper becoming one of the all-time great Doctor’s assistants — she has the pick of British drama projects. Her forthcoming lead role in ITV1’s Mansfield Park — her Fanny Price is a sunny, spirited child with a musky edge — is her second major role in three months, after playing Sally Luckhart in the BBC’s adaptation of Philip Pullman’s Ruby in the Dust . Yet when, after just two series, she unexpectedly walked out of the role of Rose Tyler in Doctor Who — “I knew I’d get complacent if I stayed” — she had nothing lined up.
“I had no idea of what I was going to do. And I like that,” she says, with a lascivious flash of her enamel. “I like scaring myself. I never want to be bored.”
However, this is a statement she almost retracts moments later, on considering her latest project — a revival of Christopher Hampton’s Treats , which transfers to the West End this week. It’s her debut on the stage, and Piper is under no illusions as to whose fault it is that she’s doing the play.
“David bloody Tennant,” she says, naming her co-star in Doctor Who . “He’s a massive theatre nut. He would speak so endlessly about it, and how good the feeling was.”
Piper had thought that “being in the theatre” would mainly involve “turning up to work in glasses and a tatty scarf and smoking lots of rollies”.
“However, when you start doing it, you realise you do actually have to work at some point. It’s making me very anxious. I think about it on the toilet and in the bath. I am regretting it! But I want to learn as much as possible about this profession, and everyone says the stage is the best way.”
In Treats Piper plays Ann — “basically a nag” — who is compelled to revisit an abusive relationship. Hampton designed the piece as a study of a woman’s self-destructive edge, and Piper agrees.
“Women are incredibly strong, but often the only time they’re weak is when they’re with a dysfunctional man,” she notes, pithily. She adds that she has “experience of that”, but clearly isn’t referring to her current relationship with her Treats co-star Laurence Fox, son of James Fox. “I love being on stage with two big strapping lads,” she says — Fox is 6ft 3in and Kris Marshall, her other co-star, is 6ft 2in. “They make me feel . . . delicate.”
Piper’s best scene in the play is completely wordless. It is five minutes long, two of which she spends watching television and three crying. It is an almost rhapsodic display of sobbing — snotting, pained, slightly writhing, but all desperately repressed. There’s nothing showy about it at all.
“I think I like TV acting because it’s all small and contained and mumbly,” she confirms. “I find that easier.”
Quiz her on her politics and she admits to being confused and angry, and spending dinner parties “shouting, and feeling frustrated that things don’t change”. She claims to think about global warming “about 12 times a day at the moment” and is on the verge of buying a hybrid car, but she points out ruefully that, if she did, “that would be the end of the Porsche” — a 1989 Carrera, white with a fin. Looking at the car on her driveway makes her happy. “I’m quite simple,” she says.
Perhaps her most surprising claim is that she’s not a feminist. “I like cooking for a man, and cleaning,” she says. “I like women to be women, and men to be men.”
Obviously no one has ever pointed out to her that a woman who takes control of her own career at 19, holds her own in an industry where most people are twice her age, and, most pertinently and admirably of all, declines any alimony claim when divorcing her millionaire husband (her marriage to Evans was annulled, wholly amicably, in September) is a feminist through and through.
I, however, am not going to be the one to tell her. Instead, I’m too busy giving her a bottle of potassium citrate, £1.86 — something which, after years of experimentation and suffering, I have found to be the finest cystitis remedy known to womankind.
“Oh my God!” Piper yelps. “Wow! This is amazing! Why have I never heard of this? Thank you! I feel like crying!”
And, in many ways, who is to say that this gift is not the equal of emancipation and gender equality?
Treats previews at the Garrick Theatre, W1 (0870 8901101), from tomorrow and opens on Feb 28. Mansfield Park is on ITV1 in March.
PIPER'S STAGE STRESS
Former DOCTOR WHO star BILLIE PIPER is "stressed out" ahead of her forthcoming London West End stage debut. The British TV star is due to perform in TREATS alongside current boyfriend LAURENCE FOX at London's Garrick Theatre on Tuesday (20FEB07) for three months - but the actress admits she's feeling the pressure. She says, "It's really hard in the theatre and the level of concentration is terrible. I'm still working it out and trying to find my feet. "I'm quite stressed out and I'm having a tough time. I'm still very green."
Doctor Who wins second place in the 2007 Calvin Awards
Doctor Who: The Complete Second Season has tied with Deadwood for best DVD of 2006. Box Office Prophets reports: Doctor Who Series Two features some of the finest single episodes of television in recent memory, as David Tennant stars as The Doctor alongside the vivacious Billie Piper, who plays his traveling companion Rose Tyler. While the single episode The Girl in the Fireplace stands alone as one of the great television episodes of the past several years, the run up to the season finale is fantastic in its own right. Viewers familiar with the show will delight in villains from the past, such as the Cybermen and the Daleks. And the final moments of the last episode of the season will tug at the heartstrings, to be sure. Extras include commentary from cast and crew on all episodes as well as picture-in-picture commentary on certain episodes. David Tennant's video diaries are also included, which is good news for anyone who has seen his brand of humor on shows on the BBC and otherwise.
To read the complete article CLICK HERE.
To read the complete article CLICK HERE.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Billie On The Charlotte Church Show
Billie will be a guest on The Charlotte Church Show on Friday 23rd February at 22:00pm on Channel 4.
John Barrowman on for Elaine Paige
In the latest show, John Barrowman sat in for Elaine. Hear him celebrate the best from Broadway, Hollywood and the West End.
Click here to listen again :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio2_aod.shtml?radio2/r2_paige
Click here to listen again :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio2_aod.shtml?radio2/r2_paige
David Tennant will be on Jonathan Ross' radio show on FEB 24th
24 February 2007 Joining Jonathan on next week's show is time traveller David Tennant and actress Sarah Parrish, comedian Sean Lock plus there's live music from Badly Drawn Boy.
Listen here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/ross/
Listen here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/ross/
Doctor Booze - who themed beer? I want ONE!!!!
Salford brewery in name change dilemma for Doctor Who themed beer.
Bazens' Brewery in Salford, faced a dilemma when 9th Doctor; Christopher Eccleston was unhappy with a beer linking him to Doctor Who. The brew is part of a seires of themed beers aimed at promoting Salford.
Tiltled 'The Doctor's Orders', the 4.3% beer has had to have it's name changed to 'Salford's Star', and the TARDIS image as well as Eccleston as The Doctor has also been removed.
Bazens' Brewery in Salford, faced a dilemma when 9th Doctor; Christopher Eccleston was unhappy with a beer linking him to Doctor Who. The brew is part of a seires of themed beers aimed at promoting Salford.
Tiltled 'The Doctor's Orders', the 4.3% beer has had to have it's name changed to 'Salford's Star', and the TARDIS image as well as Eccleston as The Doctor has also been removed.
More Companion Chronicles to come
Jason Haigh-Ellery of Big Finish Productions announced today that there will be a second series of the new Companion Chronicles series. No information about casting or characters have been announced at this time.
Peter Davison speaks out
Fifth Doctor Peter Davison reckons Fidel Castro probably isn't half as bad as he's made out to be, and that Tony Blair should either be sent to the Tower of London or put in the stocks.In an interview for the Press Association, headlined If I Ruled The World, syndicated to publicise his new series Fear, Stress and Anger, which begins on BBC Two on Thursday, he also praises Stephen Fry, who dropped out of writing for Doctor Who.The full text is given below.
Peter Moffatt, 55, was born in London. He changed his surname to Davison when he embarked on an acting career.His big break came in the series All Creatures Great and Small in 1978, but arguably his most famous role was as the fifth Doctor in sci-fi series Doctor Who in 1981.After he left in 1984, Davison starred in A Very Peculiar Practice, and subsequent credits include Campion, Hope and Glory, At Home with the Braithwaites, The Last Detective and The Complete Guide to Parenting.His new series, Fear, Stress and Anger, airs on BBC Two on Thursday, February 22 at 9pm.Davison lives in Twickenham and has an actress daughter, Georgia, from his previous marriage to Sandra Dickinson, and two sons, Louis and Joel, with his present wife Elizabeth.
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR FIRST ACT AS RULER?"To decree that anyone who started a war had to be strapped to the front of the tank when it went into battle. We'd go back to the old days when the ruler would lead from the front.
"WHO WOULD BE YOUR MOST TRUSTED ADVISER?"Stephen Fry. I've never heard him say anything I didn't agree with and think he's extraordinarily wise. He'd be a good person to have around.
"WHO WOULD YOU BANISH?"Anyone who complains about the number of immigrants in this country. I've liked nearly every person who has come into this country from abroad I've ever met. I'm sure there are bad ones, but the overwhelming majority come here, work hard and love this country, bizarrely.
"WOULD YOU BE A DICTATOR OR A BENEVOLENT LEADER?"I think you have to be both. You can't be a benevolent leader because everyone would just walk all over you, and a dictator implies brutality, but the ideal has always been a blend. That's the theory, and I know it always goes wrong, but I'd be the first to get it right.
"WHO WOULD YOU SINGLE OUT FOR A KNIGHTHOOD AND WHY?"Jeremy Paxman for all his industry in needling the politicians over the years. I'll always be very happy to watch an interview with a politician when he's doing it.
"WHO WOULD YOU SEND TO THE TOWER/PUT IN THE STOCKS?"That would have to be our present Prime Minister. I think in order to prevent disaster ever happening again you have to pursue relentlessly the people who are responsible for it. You cannot start from the position that we too often say 'well, this is where we are now, we have to sort it out.'
"WHICH LAW WOULD YOU ABOLISH?"In Twickenham, where I live, they've just come out with this insane law which means they'll double or triple the residents' permit if you have a large car. That would be fine if it was an across-the-board tax, but everyone who has a house big enough to have a driveway or a garage doesn't have to pay it, so they're taxing everyone whose cars are at the side of the road. It's really annoyed me.
"WHICH LAW WOULD YOU INTRODUCE?"All women must have their purses out ready to pay at supermarket checkouts - but I'd also ban men from being on the tills. They're absolutely hopeless. If you ever get stuck with a bloke at the till, it's a disaster. They go about two miles an hour and none of them ever seem to know what they're doing. But why is it that ladies wait until everything is checked through before they start to look for their purse? There's also the expression 'at the end of the day'. I hate it, so I'd ban people from saying it.
"WHICH BUILDING WOULD YOU DEMOLISH AND WHY?"I'm tempted to say the MI5 building, but rather than pull it down I'd rather turn it into something nice.
"WHICH RULER/MONARCH DO YOU MOST ADMIRE OR HAVE MOST IN COMMON WITH?"I have a sneaking suspicion that in 50 years time we'll discover that Castro isn't half as bad as we think he is. He outlived his enemies, he's managed to take Cuba back from America's playground, and hold them off for all those years. We hear lots of terrible stories about him, but most end up being nonsense. I have also come to admire President Clinton. He was a pretty bright man.
"IF YOU COULD CHANGE THE NATIONAL ANTHEM FOR ANOTHER PIECE OF MUSIC, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?"I don't think I'd want to change it. If I was in charge, presumably they would be singing about me."
Peter Moffatt, 55, was born in London. He changed his surname to Davison when he embarked on an acting career.His big break came in the series All Creatures Great and Small in 1978, but arguably his most famous role was as the fifth Doctor in sci-fi series Doctor Who in 1981.After he left in 1984, Davison starred in A Very Peculiar Practice, and subsequent credits include Campion, Hope and Glory, At Home with the Braithwaites, The Last Detective and The Complete Guide to Parenting.His new series, Fear, Stress and Anger, airs on BBC Two on Thursday, February 22 at 9pm.Davison lives in Twickenham and has an actress daughter, Georgia, from his previous marriage to Sandra Dickinson, and two sons, Louis and Joel, with his present wife Elizabeth.
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR FIRST ACT AS RULER?"To decree that anyone who started a war had to be strapped to the front of the tank when it went into battle. We'd go back to the old days when the ruler would lead from the front.
"WHO WOULD BE YOUR MOST TRUSTED ADVISER?"Stephen Fry. I've never heard him say anything I didn't agree with and think he's extraordinarily wise. He'd be a good person to have around.
"WHO WOULD YOU BANISH?"Anyone who complains about the number of immigrants in this country. I've liked nearly every person who has come into this country from abroad I've ever met. I'm sure there are bad ones, but the overwhelming majority come here, work hard and love this country, bizarrely.
"WOULD YOU BE A DICTATOR OR A BENEVOLENT LEADER?"I think you have to be both. You can't be a benevolent leader because everyone would just walk all over you, and a dictator implies brutality, but the ideal has always been a blend. That's the theory, and I know it always goes wrong, but I'd be the first to get it right.
"WHO WOULD YOU SINGLE OUT FOR A KNIGHTHOOD AND WHY?"Jeremy Paxman for all his industry in needling the politicians over the years. I'll always be very happy to watch an interview with a politician when he's doing it.
"WHO WOULD YOU SEND TO THE TOWER/PUT IN THE STOCKS?"That would have to be our present Prime Minister. I think in order to prevent disaster ever happening again you have to pursue relentlessly the people who are responsible for it. You cannot start from the position that we too often say 'well, this is where we are now, we have to sort it out.'
"WHICH LAW WOULD YOU ABOLISH?"In Twickenham, where I live, they've just come out with this insane law which means they'll double or triple the residents' permit if you have a large car. That would be fine if it was an across-the-board tax, but everyone who has a house big enough to have a driveway or a garage doesn't have to pay it, so they're taxing everyone whose cars are at the side of the road. It's really annoyed me.
"WHICH LAW WOULD YOU INTRODUCE?"All women must have their purses out ready to pay at supermarket checkouts - but I'd also ban men from being on the tills. They're absolutely hopeless. If you ever get stuck with a bloke at the till, it's a disaster. They go about two miles an hour and none of them ever seem to know what they're doing. But why is it that ladies wait until everything is checked through before they start to look for their purse? There's also the expression 'at the end of the day'. I hate it, so I'd ban people from saying it.
"WHICH BUILDING WOULD YOU DEMOLISH AND WHY?"I'm tempted to say the MI5 building, but rather than pull it down I'd rather turn it into something nice.
"WHICH RULER/MONARCH DO YOU MOST ADMIRE OR HAVE MOST IN COMMON WITH?"I have a sneaking suspicion that in 50 years time we'll discover that Castro isn't half as bad as we think he is. He outlived his enemies, he's managed to take Cuba back from America's playground, and hold them off for all those years. We hear lots of terrible stories about him, but most end up being nonsense. I have also come to admire President Clinton. He was a pretty bright man.
"IF YOU COULD CHANGE THE NATIONAL ANTHEM FOR ANOTHER PIECE OF MUSIC, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?"I don't think I'd want to change it. If I was in charge, presumably they would be singing about me."
Mary Tamm Apperance
The Press Association via Yahoo UK and Ireland has an article on Mary Tamm's appearance in new ITV1 drama Diamond Geezer 2. To read it Click Here. Mary Tamm played Romana #1 in the sixteenth season of the classic series (The Key to Time).
Doctor's now a bachelor
A STUDENT is hoping to get her degree with a study of BBC One Wales sci-fi smash Doctor Who.
Lynne Blake, in her third year of theatre design at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, is looking at the impact of the show's second series.
The centrepiece of her dissertation is last year's episode Tooth and Claw, which featured a werewolf and computer-enhanced graphics.
She is investigating whether it betrayed the traditional 1970s image of Doctor Who which saw Tom Baker do battle with cardboard monsters against the backdrop of shaky sets.
Meanwhile, Welsh Big Brother stars Glyn Wise and Imogen Thomas will be studied at Filton College in Bristol running a Reality TV course.
Lynne Blake, in her third year of theatre design at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, is looking at the impact of the show's second series.
The centrepiece of her dissertation is last year's episode Tooth and Claw, which featured a werewolf and computer-enhanced graphics.
She is investigating whether it betrayed the traditional 1970s image of Doctor Who which saw Tom Baker do battle with cardboard monsters against the backdrop of shaky sets.
Meanwhile, Welsh Big Brother stars Glyn Wise and Imogen Thomas will be studied at Filton College in Bristol running a Reality TV course.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
RTD needs to rethink Britney Cameo
RTD needs to rethink having Britney Spears on Dr Who. Today she shaved her head and said she doesnt want to be "jacked into" ? what ever that means.She has lost her ever loving mind it seems....
Ex-Hollyoaks actress lands role
Saturday's edition of the Sun reports that former Hollyoaks actress Elize Du Toit has been cast in Series Three.
It says the 25-year-old is to play the character Miss Dexter but does not reveal which story she will be in.
The article features spoiler information about Dexter as well as another character in the forthcoming series (although they are not necessarily in the same story).
It says the 25-year-old is to play the character Miss Dexter but does not reveal which story she will be in.
The article features spoiler information about Dexter as well as another character in the forthcoming series (although they are not necessarily in the same story).
The Sun says: "The 25-year-old - who was sex bomb Izzy in the Channel 4 soap - will play baddie Miss Dexter."An insider said: 'She is an extremely sinister character who clashes with the Doctor after setting a trap for him.'"Meanwhile actor Michael Sheen, who played Tony Blair in Oscar-nominated movie The Queen, is battling with Life On Mars star John Simm to play The Master."
Friday, February 16, 2007
Belle du Jour
More papers have picked up on Billie’s new role with articles appearing in:
This is London
Jewtastic
All Headline News
Blackpool Today
This is London
Jewtastic
All Headline News
Blackpool Today
School readers appeal!
Can you review the new Doctor Who novels?
Does your school have a reading group? Is it in the United Kingdom? If so, we're once again looking for three more groups across the country to give us their comments on the next three Doctor Who novels.
Each group chosen will receive five advance copies of one of the three new adventures - The Last Dodo, Wooden Heart and Sting of the Zygons - just as soon as we get them. The books are released on 19 April, so we'd need comments from each school by 12 April or before your Easter school holidays start, whichever is sooner.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2007/02/15/40854.shtml
Does your school have a reading group? Is it in the United Kingdom? If so, we're once again looking for three more groups across the country to give us their comments on the next three Doctor Who novels.
Each group chosen will receive five advance copies of one of the three new adventures - The Last Dodo, Wooden Heart and Sting of the Zygons - just as soon as we get them. The books are released on 19 April, so we'd need comments from each school by 12 April or before your Easter school holidays start, whichever is sooner.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2007/02/15/40854.shtml
Doctor Who - Original Television Soundtrack Review
Doctor Who purists (and the generally curious) should take note that this soundtrack release is comprised of music from the 2005 and 2006 series of Doctor Who, the former starring Christopher Eccleston as the good Doctor and the latter starring David Tennant in the titular role. While the music focuses on the most recent incarnations of the popular character, there are trace elements of the classic Doctor Who running throughout, most prominently in the bookend tracks "Doctor Who Theme (TV Version)" and "Doctor Who Theme (Album Version)" as well as in slightly altered refrains such as "The Doctor's Theme," etc.
While composer Murray Gold is merely the latest musician to tackle the score to a chunk of the on-going Doctor Who legacy, he seems to have a wonderful knack for mining the quirky sonic theatrics of vintage Sci-Fi and then marrying them to more modern sounding elements to create his own singular aural universe that at once brings to mind the schlock laden hey days of the '50s and the as-of-yet-unexplored worlds of the future.As mentioned above, the album kicks off with the ubiquitous "Doctor Who Theme," this most recent version clocking in at a mere 41-seconds and sounding a bit unfinished (amazing how it seems so much longer when coupled with the swirling, hypnotical gases that usually accompany the opening credits of the show). Still it contains the recognizable synth flourishes that have made it one of the all-time great television theme songs of the day.With "Westminster Bridge," Gold presents a new opening number that was used to open the 2005 and 2006 editions of the series. Borrowing a heavily dog eared page from the flamboyant spy thriller song book, he whips up a swaggering guitar driven little ditty that sounds part go-go futura bam-bam and part over-the-top espionage excitement. Truly boffo. In stark contrast, "The Doctor's Theme" re-works the classic main theme with hauntingly detached femme fatale vocals and a rich sense of disembodied tonal ambiance. Mesmerizing in its deceptive simplicity."Cassandra's Waltz" dips back to that sense of never was meeting never now, a strange blend of classic dance mechanics and flittering Sci-Fi bravado turned down several notches to create a whimsically harrowing little number that is as dainty as it is ominous. And at 3-minutes and 8-seconds it's also one of the more fully realized numbers on the album. While blending a diverse pastiche of patented film and television motifs is Gold's main modus operandi, he also seems to enjoy "borrowing" from other classic television programs of years past. For example astute pop culture sonic historians will no doubt pick up on the Mission Impossible-styled thematics (both in terms of the thundering rhythms and the accentuated horn elements) lodged deep within "Slitheen."Meanwhile "Father's Day" returns to a more somber mood, relying on forlorn piano and little else. Offsetting this introspective detour is "Rose In Peril," which lives up to its theatrical title thanks to a grandiose, old school Hollywood score feel. "Boom Town Suite" keeps things within a similar vein, actually combining bits of a waltz with the more poised nuances of an emotional musical passage, dipping into restrained territory almost as quickly as the frivolity occurred at the onset. With "I'm Coming To Get You," Gold continues his emphatic big screen scoring ideas, unleashing a flourish of large orchestra energy, mixing swelling choral arrangements with a flooding wash of strings for a grand expose.By now it should be obvious that the middle portion of this 31-track disc is heavily laden with silver screen inspired grandiosity. "Hologram," "Rose Defeats The Daleks," "Clockwork Tardis," "Harriet Jones, Prime Minister," "Rose's Theme," "The Face Of Boe," "Unit," "Seeking The Doctor," "Madame De Pompadour," "The Lone Dalek," "New Adventures," "Finding Jackie," "The Daleks," "The Cybermen," "The Impossible Planet," "Sycorax Encounter" all fall under the jurisdiction of classic movie and television themeology. Granted some of these pieces fall toward the quiet and introspective end of the sonic spectrum ("The Face Of Boe," for example) whilst others lean more toward the dramatic and forceful ("Unit," being one of the best of this latter bunch), and still others go for that retro Sci-Fi-meets-Bali Hi sense of etherealism ("Seeking The Doctor"), but all in all this portion of the disc is what we shall call the more "traditional" score section.
Tucked in amongst the above listed numbers is the chaotic rhythm surge and quasi industrial brashness of "Tooth And Claw," a song that more than lives up to its name thanks to primal chanting and clattering rhythmic interphase. Sadly, it dips back into standard score terrain at the halfway mark for a bit then jumps back with a crescendoing combination of the two to round it out. The same can be said of "Monster Bossa" which starts off with promising energy then slips into a slithering down-tempo sense of surrealism. Meanwhile "Doomsday" is something of an anomaly, as well, coming off like an electric dash-off sandwiched between all the classical score elements. This is evidenced by the presence of electric bass and cooing female vocals that make it sound more like a futuristic dark lounge number than anything else on the album.
Speaking of left-of-center inclusions, Neil Hannon, the man behind The Divine Comedy, and one of Brit Pop's great unheralded talents, chimes in with no less than two vocalese tracks. Sounding not unlike a more reserved Jarvis Cocker, Hannon has one of those classic traditional pop voices that swells with emotive countenance and like much of Gold's instrumental themes provides a wonderfully hazy sense of time and place; it sounds both familiar and yet strangely new. "Song For Ten" has tinges of glam era Bowie slathered in strings and Burt Bacharachian elements. "Love Don't Roam" is a shagging jet set number that easily could have been an outtake from Austin Powers or any number of vintage '60s swingin' flicks. The retro inflammation teeters on the edge of being kitschy, but in the end Gold's swaying hipster elements meld rather well with Hannon's rich theatrical swoon. Vegas watch out, baby!The album concludes with the 2-minute and 36-second "album version" of the "Doctor Who Theme," which while containing the familiar haunting synth squiggles and ominous swirling mist-icism, also fleshes out the theme with more symphonics and a somewhat bombastically absurd passage of what can only be described as glorious jubilation from an orchestral vantage point. Or something like that. For the casual Doctor Who viewer Doctor Who - Original Television Soundtrack is far from being essential. There are some moments of near-brilliance to be sure, but like most scores and soundtracks, this is a release aimed more squarely at the faithful and fanatic than anybody else. Those intimately familiar with the 2005 and 2006 series of the show will no doubt have a much deeper emotional connection to the music. That said, the album isn't necessarily a waste of time or money, per se, it's just that if you're a full-blown Doctor Who connoisseur, then you'll probably get a lot more out of it than Johnny Television who doesn't know Tom Baker from Peter Cushing.
Definitely Download:
1. "Doctor Who Theme"
2. "Westminster Bridge"
3. "The Doctor's Theme"
4. "Cassandra's Waltz"
5. "Song For Ten"
6. "Doomsday"
7. "Love Don't Roam"
While composer Murray Gold is merely the latest musician to tackle the score to a chunk of the on-going Doctor Who legacy, he seems to have a wonderful knack for mining the quirky sonic theatrics of vintage Sci-Fi and then marrying them to more modern sounding elements to create his own singular aural universe that at once brings to mind the schlock laden hey days of the '50s and the as-of-yet-unexplored worlds of the future.As mentioned above, the album kicks off with the ubiquitous "Doctor Who Theme," this most recent version clocking in at a mere 41-seconds and sounding a bit unfinished (amazing how it seems so much longer when coupled with the swirling, hypnotical gases that usually accompany the opening credits of the show). Still it contains the recognizable synth flourishes that have made it one of the all-time great television theme songs of the day.With "Westminster Bridge," Gold presents a new opening number that was used to open the 2005 and 2006 editions of the series. Borrowing a heavily dog eared page from the flamboyant spy thriller song book, he whips up a swaggering guitar driven little ditty that sounds part go-go futura bam-bam and part over-the-top espionage excitement. Truly boffo. In stark contrast, "The Doctor's Theme" re-works the classic main theme with hauntingly detached femme fatale vocals and a rich sense of disembodied tonal ambiance. Mesmerizing in its deceptive simplicity."Cassandra's Waltz" dips back to that sense of never was meeting never now, a strange blend of classic dance mechanics and flittering Sci-Fi bravado turned down several notches to create a whimsically harrowing little number that is as dainty as it is ominous. And at 3-minutes and 8-seconds it's also one of the more fully realized numbers on the album. While blending a diverse pastiche of patented film and television motifs is Gold's main modus operandi, he also seems to enjoy "borrowing" from other classic television programs of years past. For example astute pop culture sonic historians will no doubt pick up on the Mission Impossible-styled thematics (both in terms of the thundering rhythms and the accentuated horn elements) lodged deep within "Slitheen."Meanwhile "Father's Day" returns to a more somber mood, relying on forlorn piano and little else. Offsetting this introspective detour is "Rose In Peril," which lives up to its theatrical title thanks to a grandiose, old school Hollywood score feel. "Boom Town Suite" keeps things within a similar vein, actually combining bits of a waltz with the more poised nuances of an emotional musical passage, dipping into restrained territory almost as quickly as the frivolity occurred at the onset. With "I'm Coming To Get You," Gold continues his emphatic big screen scoring ideas, unleashing a flourish of large orchestra energy, mixing swelling choral arrangements with a flooding wash of strings for a grand expose.By now it should be obvious that the middle portion of this 31-track disc is heavily laden with silver screen inspired grandiosity. "Hologram," "Rose Defeats The Daleks," "Clockwork Tardis," "Harriet Jones, Prime Minister," "Rose's Theme," "The Face Of Boe," "Unit," "Seeking The Doctor," "Madame De Pompadour," "The Lone Dalek," "New Adventures," "Finding Jackie," "The Daleks," "The Cybermen," "The Impossible Planet," "Sycorax Encounter" all fall under the jurisdiction of classic movie and television themeology. Granted some of these pieces fall toward the quiet and introspective end of the sonic spectrum ("The Face Of Boe," for example) whilst others lean more toward the dramatic and forceful ("Unit," being one of the best of this latter bunch), and still others go for that retro Sci-Fi-meets-Bali Hi sense of etherealism ("Seeking The Doctor"), but all in all this portion of the disc is what we shall call the more "traditional" score section.
Tucked in amongst the above listed numbers is the chaotic rhythm surge and quasi industrial brashness of "Tooth And Claw," a song that more than lives up to its name thanks to primal chanting and clattering rhythmic interphase. Sadly, it dips back into standard score terrain at the halfway mark for a bit then jumps back with a crescendoing combination of the two to round it out. The same can be said of "Monster Bossa" which starts off with promising energy then slips into a slithering down-tempo sense of surrealism. Meanwhile "Doomsday" is something of an anomaly, as well, coming off like an electric dash-off sandwiched between all the classical score elements. This is evidenced by the presence of electric bass and cooing female vocals that make it sound more like a futuristic dark lounge number than anything else on the album.
Speaking of left-of-center inclusions, Neil Hannon, the man behind The Divine Comedy, and one of Brit Pop's great unheralded talents, chimes in with no less than two vocalese tracks. Sounding not unlike a more reserved Jarvis Cocker, Hannon has one of those classic traditional pop voices that swells with emotive countenance and like much of Gold's instrumental themes provides a wonderfully hazy sense of time and place; it sounds both familiar and yet strangely new. "Song For Ten" has tinges of glam era Bowie slathered in strings and Burt Bacharachian elements. "Love Don't Roam" is a shagging jet set number that easily could have been an outtake from Austin Powers or any number of vintage '60s swingin' flicks. The retro inflammation teeters on the edge of being kitschy, but in the end Gold's swaying hipster elements meld rather well with Hannon's rich theatrical swoon. Vegas watch out, baby!The album concludes with the 2-minute and 36-second "album version" of the "Doctor Who Theme," which while containing the familiar haunting synth squiggles and ominous swirling mist-icism, also fleshes out the theme with more symphonics and a somewhat bombastically absurd passage of what can only be described as glorious jubilation from an orchestral vantage point. Or something like that. For the casual Doctor Who viewer Doctor Who - Original Television Soundtrack is far from being essential. There are some moments of near-brilliance to be sure, but like most scores and soundtracks, this is a release aimed more squarely at the faithful and fanatic than anybody else. Those intimately familiar with the 2005 and 2006 series of the show will no doubt have a much deeper emotional connection to the music. That said, the album isn't necessarily a waste of time or money, per se, it's just that if you're a full-blown Doctor Who connoisseur, then you'll probably get a lot more out of it than Johnny Television who doesn't know Tom Baker from Peter Cushing.
Definitely Download:
1. "Doctor Who Theme"
2. "Westminster Bridge"
3. "The Doctor's Theme"
4. "Cassandra's Waltz"
5. "Song For Ten"
6. "Doomsday"
7. "Love Don't Roam"
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