Beautiful!!!!!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
Bravo indeed Doctor BRAVO!!
Excellent christmas special this year, even though it was pretty easy to figure out in hte first ten minutes that the "next doctor" wasnt a "Doctor" at all, poor fellow. I lovvved with a childish sqeeeee the whole homage to past Doctors bit, made my dear heart ache to see those so familar faces. But why wasnt the cyber "king" called a cyber "queen" ???
Anyway here are a few pics and if my Movie software will ever stop being wonky i will post a clip or two.
The view from a cyberwraith
The cyber king arisen
The cyber king attacks
Activating the vortex
Former Corrie actor in Torchwood
Former Coronation Street actor Paul Copley is in the cast of the new series of Torchwood. Skip related content
Paul, who played Ivor Priestley and has also featured in episodes of Holby City, Casualty and The Bill, will feature in the third run of the sci-fi series.
It's not the respected actor's first brush with the Doctor's world. He voiced one of the parts in the hugely popular Spare Parts audio adventure.
Paul has also completed filming roles in forthcoming episodes of The Royal and George Gently, opposite fellow former soap star Jill Halfpenny.
The actor's CV also includes roles in Hornblower, Roughnecks, This Life, Messiah and The Lakes.
Torchwood is set to return in 2009, and stars singer and actor John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness and Eve Myles as Gwen.
Paul, who played Ivor Priestley and has also featured in episodes of Holby City, Casualty and The Bill, will feature in the third run of the sci-fi series.
It's not the respected actor's first brush with the Doctor's world. He voiced one of the parts in the hugely popular Spare Parts audio adventure.
Paul has also completed filming roles in forthcoming episodes of The Royal and George Gently, opposite fellow former soap star Jill Halfpenny.
The actor's CV also includes roles in Hornblower, Roughnecks, This Life, Messiah and The Lakes.
Torchwood is set to return in 2009, and stars singer and actor John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness and Eve Myles as Gwen.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
'Dr Who' boss discusses new companions
Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies has dropped a few hints about the Time Lord's sidekicks in the 2009 adventures.
"What everyone’s missing is that there will be a new companion," Davies told The Times, referring to the intense speculation about David Tennant's successor.
"We’ve got a young female companion at Easter, and then a much older woman next Christmas - someone in her fifties or sixties. I love that."
Davies also revealed that he has to be careful about the actresses he uses in case it disadvantages his replacement Steven Moffat.
"It’s made casting next year’s four specials difficult because we’re going, 'Well, that’s an interesting actress, but they might want her for series five’," he said. "We don’t want to ruin anyone’s chances of being the new companion by casting her for a one-off."
"What everyone’s missing is that there will be a new companion," Davies told The Times, referring to the intense speculation about David Tennant's successor.
"We’ve got a young female companion at Easter, and then a much older woman next Christmas - someone in her fifties or sixties. I love that."
Davies also revealed that he has to be careful about the actresses he uses in case it disadvantages his replacement Steven Moffat.
"It’s made casting next year’s four specials difficult because we’re going, 'Well, that’s an interesting actress, but they might want her for series five’," he said. "We don’t want to ruin anyone’s chances of being the new companion by casting her for a one-off."
Saturday, December 20, 2008
David On The One Show
Watch David's on set interview with The One Show and get an exclusive glimpse of the making of The Next Doctor
Visimag reviews Christmas Special 2008: The Next Doctor
HERE
Slightly underwhelming but fun, would perhaps be the best verdict of The Next Doctor. Viewed overall, it moves from a publicity-grabbing mystery to an emotional explanation and finally a child-pleasing (and toymaker-pleasing) conclusion without ever quite seeming as if they belong in the same production. But as a feast of spectacle for Christmas Day, it delivers the thrills that are needed, even though I'd personally rate it below the specials from the last three Yules, if only because the finale does feel a bit like the sort of thing a child would write once they got bored with having all 10 Doctors unite to battle a combined Dalek-Cybermen attack.
In a sense, the involvement of the Cybermen is typical of how elements work individually, but less as a whole. There’s no need for them to be Cybermen, as they make use of Human labour without converting it – with one key exception that shouldn’t be revealed here – but they’re a familiar name which will draw in the crowds in the lead-up to the revelation of this year’s new monster, the cyber-punkish Cyberking. The Cybershades – who’ll surely have everyone of a certain age thinking ‘They’ve converted Dougal! Where’s the Blue Cat?’ – don’t really have any plot role that couldn’t have been filled by an ordinary Cyberman (or any other alien heavy), but they do make for a surprisingly creepy image when they could have seemed irretrievably comic, which is more than their Cybermat predecessors could generally manage. Dervla Kirwan’s villainous Miss Hartigan is perfectly adequate, icy and posh, but no more, with perhaps the most perfunctory motivation for a Who villain since 1966's poor old Professor Zaroff, all those years ago, as she effectively reprises Sarah Lancashire’s Miss Foster from earlier this year.
David Morrissey’s performance is a fine take on the slightly more flamboyant Doctor of yesteryear, and once we get into the mystery of who the other Doctor is – we’ll say no more – he handles the more emotional elements every bit as well as you’d expect given his track record; well enough, in fact, for the moments of emotive slow motion to come across as the over-egging of the (Christmas) pudding that they can often be if overused. But once we’re past that, it’s straight into big CGI set pieces (one of which will instantly, and unfortunately, remind the three people who actually watched ITV’s sketch show Headcases of that show’s running joke about the fate of Angelina Jolie’s adopted children) culminating in the appearance of the Cyberking. Your kids will want to have one to play with next Christmas, but if you’ve got invested in the drama of the other Doctor’s origins, then you’ll wonder if you’ve just switched over into another episode, or maybe a Godzilla movie, and then start cheering at the sheer chutzpah. If it’s jarring, it doesn’t really matter, as this is Christmas Day entertainment, with a throwaway confirmation of who the 10 canonical Doctors are to settle fan arguments, and, to judge by the abrupt cut with which the version screened for the press ends, there's a surprise to come in the final seconds
Slightly underwhelming but fun, would perhaps be the best verdict of The Next Doctor. Viewed overall, it moves from a publicity-grabbing mystery to an emotional explanation and finally a child-pleasing (and toymaker-pleasing) conclusion without ever quite seeming as if they belong in the same production. But as a feast of spectacle for Christmas Day, it delivers the thrills that are needed, even though I'd personally rate it below the specials from the last three Yules, if only because the finale does feel a bit like the sort of thing a child would write once they got bored with having all 10 Doctors unite to battle a combined Dalek-Cybermen attack.
In a sense, the involvement of the Cybermen is typical of how elements work individually, but less as a whole. There’s no need for them to be Cybermen, as they make use of Human labour without converting it – with one key exception that shouldn’t be revealed here – but they’re a familiar name which will draw in the crowds in the lead-up to the revelation of this year’s new monster, the cyber-punkish Cyberking. The Cybershades – who’ll surely have everyone of a certain age thinking ‘They’ve converted Dougal! Where’s the Blue Cat?’ – don’t really have any plot role that couldn’t have been filled by an ordinary Cyberman (or any other alien heavy), but they do make for a surprisingly creepy image when they could have seemed irretrievably comic, which is more than their Cybermat predecessors could generally manage. Dervla Kirwan’s villainous Miss Hartigan is perfectly adequate, icy and posh, but no more, with perhaps the most perfunctory motivation for a Who villain since 1966's poor old Professor Zaroff, all those years ago, as she effectively reprises Sarah Lancashire’s Miss Foster from earlier this year.
David Morrissey’s performance is a fine take on the slightly more flamboyant Doctor of yesteryear, and once we get into the mystery of who the other Doctor is – we’ll say no more – he handles the more emotional elements every bit as well as you’d expect given his track record; well enough, in fact, for the moments of emotive slow motion to come across as the over-egging of the (Christmas) pudding that they can often be if overused. But once we’re past that, it’s straight into big CGI set pieces (one of which will instantly, and unfortunately, remind the three people who actually watched ITV’s sketch show Headcases of that show’s running joke about the fate of Angelina Jolie’s adopted children) culminating in the appearance of the Cyberking. Your kids will want to have one to play with next Christmas, but if you’ve got invested in the drama of the other Doctor’s origins, then you’ll wonder if you’ve just switched over into another episode, or maybe a Godzilla movie, and then start cheering at the sheer chutzpah. If it’s jarring, it doesn’t really matter, as this is Christmas Day entertainment, with a throwaway confirmation of who the 10 canonical Doctors are to settle fan arguments, and, to judge by the abrupt cut with which the version screened for the press ends, there's a surprise to come in the final seconds
Bafta: Inside the World of Doctor Who
Explore the world of Doctor Who this Christmas and discover behind-the-scenes secrets in the latest BAFTA webcast.
This special event brings together the experts responsible for creating the Doctor Who universe and the man behind it all - lead writer Russell T Davies.
Presenter Kirsten O'Brien introduces a host of Doctor Who characters and live demonstrations of music and special effects.
Watch Online Now
This special event brings together the experts responsible for creating the Doctor Who universe and the man behind it all - lead writer Russell T Davies.
Presenter Kirsten O'Brien introduces a host of Doctor Who characters and live demonstrations of music and special effects.
Watch Online Now
Friday, December 19, 2008
Possible spoilers? Possible bull?
The Daily Mail has possible spoilers from The Next Doctor, CLICK HERE for the article with photos from the special.
Doctor Who: Velile Tshabalala
The first thing Velile Tshabalala did when she found out that she'd been given the part of Rosita, the Doctor's companion in next week's Doctor Who Christmas special (BBC1), was to call her dad. "Our family, we're like a sitcom," she laughs. "I went, Dad, I've got Doctor Who. I had a really croaky voice because I'd been out with friends the night before, and he thought I was ill. He said, 'What doctor have you seen? What's happened? What's the matter?'"
Thankfully, the Tshabalalas have little to worry about when it comes to the health of their daughter's acting career. Velile's (pronounced Veh-lee-lah) first acting job was playing the teenage waitress Kareesha in the CBBC sitcom Kerching! Then in 2006 she joined BBC3's comedy sketch show Tittybangbang. Now, on Christmas Day, she'll appear opposite David Tennant in his penultimate Christmas special before he leaves the show in early 2010.
Set on Christmas Eve 1851, the episode features a legion of menacing Cybermen as well as Dervla Kirwan as the Doctor's foe, Miss Hartigan. Tshabalala, 24, features as the Doctor's companion, Rosita, in a corset, and a wig that made her, she says, "look like Gloria Gaynor".
As though stepping into the shoes of Kylie Minogue and Catherine Tate, the Doctor's previous two Christmas companions, weren't challenging enough, Tshabalala will also assist not one but two Doctors. The Christmas special stars David Morrissey as the "next Doctor", a rival Time Lord claiming to be "simply the Doctor, the one, the only, and the best".
Rosita, Tshabalala's character, initially assists Morrissey's Doctor, but soon comes to admire Tennant's. She remains resolute before them both, though. "I might be smaller than them," she says, "but I give them what for." Russell T Davies, the show's writer, says that Tshabalala is "lovely", and echoes her description of Rosita's role opposite the two Doctors: "Her character's probably cleverer than the two of them put together." Tshabalala adds that Rosita came quite naturally to her: "She's quite close to home, a feisty cockney girl."
Born in Whitechapel, east London, Tshabalala's cockney roots are practically gold-plated. Her father, a mechanical engineer, and her mother, a health visitor, are from Zimbabwe and moved to London in 1972. "I'm from a typical African family and all my cousins are doctors and teachers," she says. "So when I said I wanted to be an actress you can imagine they weren't too pleased."
Tshabalala's parents, though, happily encouraged Velile's acting career on the condition she completed her exams. From the age of 14, she attended weekend classes at London's Sylvia Young Theatre School. Although before she got professional acting work she'd been cleaning lavatory cubicles to supplement her income, it felt like perfect showbusiness timing that Velile got the call to say she had a part in Kerching! on the day she finished her A-levels. "Always listen to your mum and dad," she smiles in acknowledgment of her parents' foresight.
When she heard she'd won the role in Doctor Who a few years later she admits she was daunted stepping in to such a hallowed, long-running series: "I was petrified." And she was fairly star-struck when she first met David Tennant. "I was trying to act really cool," she recalls, "but I phoned my mum and said, 'Mum, David Tennant just gave me a hug!'"
On set, she noted Tennant's tireless energy before each take, although his current back troubles may have put paid to such capers for the time being. "He'd be standing there jogging on the spot, doing star jumps, and I'd be thinking, you're making me feel like a lazy so-and-so. Even at four in the morning, he's still got that energy." Did David Morrissey do star jumpsto get into character, too? "God, no," she says. "He'd ruin his suit."
Tshabalala thinks Morrissey would make a dapper replacement for Tennant. "He's so dashing and charming," she says. Tantalisingly, though, there's still no confirmation of whether Morrissey will assume the Doctor's mantle. And like him, Tshabalala doesn't know whether she'll be returning for more Doctor Who adventures. "I wanted this part so much," she says. "Whatever happens after is a bonus."
Thankfully, the Tshabalalas have little to worry about when it comes to the health of their daughter's acting career. Velile's (pronounced Veh-lee-lah) first acting job was playing the teenage waitress Kareesha in the CBBC sitcom Kerching! Then in 2006 she joined BBC3's comedy sketch show Tittybangbang. Now, on Christmas Day, she'll appear opposite David Tennant in his penultimate Christmas special before he leaves the show in early 2010.
Set on Christmas Eve 1851, the episode features a legion of menacing Cybermen as well as Dervla Kirwan as the Doctor's foe, Miss Hartigan. Tshabalala, 24, features as the Doctor's companion, Rosita, in a corset, and a wig that made her, she says, "look like Gloria Gaynor".
As though stepping into the shoes of Kylie Minogue and Catherine Tate, the Doctor's previous two Christmas companions, weren't challenging enough, Tshabalala will also assist not one but two Doctors. The Christmas special stars David Morrissey as the "next Doctor", a rival Time Lord claiming to be "simply the Doctor, the one, the only, and the best".
Rosita, Tshabalala's character, initially assists Morrissey's Doctor, but soon comes to admire Tennant's. She remains resolute before them both, though. "I might be smaller than them," she says, "but I give them what for." Russell T Davies, the show's writer, says that Tshabalala is "lovely", and echoes her description of Rosita's role opposite the two Doctors: "Her character's probably cleverer than the two of them put together." Tshabalala adds that Rosita came quite naturally to her: "She's quite close to home, a feisty cockney girl."
Born in Whitechapel, east London, Tshabalala's cockney roots are practically gold-plated. Her father, a mechanical engineer, and her mother, a health visitor, are from Zimbabwe and moved to London in 1972. "I'm from a typical African family and all my cousins are doctors and teachers," she says. "So when I said I wanted to be an actress you can imagine they weren't too pleased."
Tshabalala's parents, though, happily encouraged Velile's acting career on the condition she completed her exams. From the age of 14, she attended weekend classes at London's Sylvia Young Theatre School. Although before she got professional acting work she'd been cleaning lavatory cubicles to supplement her income, it felt like perfect showbusiness timing that Velile got the call to say she had a part in Kerching! on the day she finished her A-levels. "Always listen to your mum and dad," she smiles in acknowledgment of her parents' foresight.
When she heard she'd won the role in Doctor Who a few years later she admits she was daunted stepping in to such a hallowed, long-running series: "I was petrified." And she was fairly star-struck when she first met David Tennant. "I was trying to act really cool," she recalls, "but I phoned my mum and said, 'Mum, David Tennant just gave me a hug!'"
On set, she noted Tennant's tireless energy before each take, although his current back troubles may have put paid to such capers for the time being. "He'd be standing there jogging on the spot, doing star jumps, and I'd be thinking, you're making me feel like a lazy so-and-so. Even at four in the morning, he's still got that energy." Did David Morrissey do star jumpsto get into character, too? "God, no," she says. "He'd ruin his suit."
Tshabalala thinks Morrissey would make a dapper replacement for Tennant. "He's so dashing and charming," she says. Tantalisingly, though, there's still no confirmation of whether Morrissey will assume the Doctor's mantle. And like him, Tshabalala doesn't know whether she'll be returning for more Doctor Who adventures. "I wanted this part so much," she says. "Whatever happens after is a bonus."
Play with the Judoon
Today's addition to the Advent Calendar is a game called Jobsworth Judoon. The description: the Judoon have impounded the TARDIS! Can you help the Doctor break the security codes around the forcefield holding it and escape? CLICK HERE to play
Thursday, December 18, 2008
'Torchwood' returns
As you'll no doubt be aware, the third series brings with it some mighty changes. Not only has the show been upgraded from BBC Two to primetime BBC One, but for the first time the team will contend with one major storyline over the course of the series. The run has been shortened from 13 to just five episodes, but in a major gift to fans the entire series will be stripped across five consecutive days.
That's not to mention a few casting changes too! Torchwood producer Peter Bennett gives us a preview of what else series three - codenamed Torchwood: Children of Earth - has in store.
The title for this series is somewhat intriguing. What does it mean?
"Basically from a concept, we wanted to go down the children dilemma route. Because this storyline is a subject that's going to affect all the children of Earth, it was a natural title to come up with."
What's the plotline of this series?
"It's different to every other year. It's not a story about spaceships, but it's about a government that did a deal with aliens back in the '60s, and they're now dealing with the consequences of that deal when the sins of their past come back to haunt them."
What was the thinking behind switching to doing a five-episode serial?
"Having done 26 standalone stories, we kind of wanted to take this series to another level and by making it one story over five nights, we feel we've done that. It's big, it's epic, and it's very different."
It's also changed channels. How has the move to BBC One affected the tone of the show?
"Taking over a week of primetime BBC One is a big responsibility, and something none of us have done before. So we had to approach everything differently, from the way we storylined the series, to the scripting and filming, then right through to the editing. The script has a big cliffhanger and a few unexpected twists along the way. Telling one story has also given us the opportunity to have one director across the whole series, Euros Lyn, who's been incredible and taken the show to a new level."
It's been previously remarked that this new format represents a "resetting" of the show. Is that accurate?
"I guess so. This series takes Torchwood on a much darker journey, but it's still Torchwood. It's exciting, action-packed, and we've still got a lot of fun running through it."
At the end of series two we lost two of the regular cast, Owen and Tosh. How much are they missed?
"On set Burn and Naoko are missed, because they were a terrific part of the team socially and for morale. As far as the storylines are concerned, it's allowed us to see a whole new side of what's left of our regular characters and learn a whole lot more about their lives. Also we've got new characters, people like Peter Capaldi, who's fantastic as the government middle man caught up in the storm, Liz May Brice as a covert government agent and Paul Copely as a damaged man."
And are there any direct additions to the Torchwood team?
"We sort of bring in Gwen's husband Rhys (Kai Owen). He was always on the fringes anyway but he takes a much more active part in the storyline now. And we've got a new young lady who helps the team - I wouldn't say she's part of the team but she kind of helps them out. She's played by a new actress called Cush Jumbo, who's a very pretty young lady and who I'm sure is going to go on to bigger things."
John Barrowman has previously hinted that he might quit the show after this series. Do you think that's true? What do you think Torchwood would be like without Captain Jack?
"I think it would be very difficult without John. I've not heard him say he wouldn't want to stick around after a third series, so I'm not sure where that's come from. But he certainly never mentioned it to us or on set. It wouldn't be the same without him obviously. Captain Jack is a star in his own right!"
Are there individual episode titles on this series?
"No, it's just the one main title running through this year."
Who do you have writing this series?
"We've got James Moran, who wrote for the last series of Torchwood, and we've got a guy called John Fay who previously wrote all sorts of things. Russell was a fan of his, so he's come and written episode two, which is brilliant. Russell did one, John did two, James did three and then Russell did four and five."
Are you nervous about how the audience will take to the new format?
"Yes, of course. It's something none of us has done before so we're all a bit nervous of it. I've got the bonus of having seen the material we've shot and I can assure you, we've got some absolutely fantastic material with some amazing acting. It's stunning and I would defy anybody not to be impressed by it."
Where are you at with production on the series right now?
"We've just started our second week of post editing and we're in a position to have a look at our first episode. We've just shown our executive producers the first cut version of the first episode and this week we're hoping to show them the first cut of the second episode. It's a very very tough post schedule. We've only got one director, but we've got three cutting rooms running simultaneously and he's literally running between all three. We have to deliver the whole thing, with all effects and music, by March. So to do five one-hours is a real tough schedule, particularly because we've got so much amazing material. I'd guess we're two thirds of the way through and the last third is a struggle - but a nice struggle."
That's not to mention a few casting changes too! Torchwood producer Peter Bennett gives us a preview of what else series three - codenamed Torchwood: Children of Earth - has in store.
The title for this series is somewhat intriguing. What does it mean?
"Basically from a concept, we wanted to go down the children dilemma route. Because this storyline is a subject that's going to affect all the children of Earth, it was a natural title to come up with."
What's the plotline of this series?
"It's different to every other year. It's not a story about spaceships, but it's about a government that did a deal with aliens back in the '60s, and they're now dealing with the consequences of that deal when the sins of their past come back to haunt them."
What was the thinking behind switching to doing a five-episode serial?
"Having done 26 standalone stories, we kind of wanted to take this series to another level and by making it one story over five nights, we feel we've done that. It's big, it's epic, and it's very different."
It's also changed channels. How has the move to BBC One affected the tone of the show?
"Taking over a week of primetime BBC One is a big responsibility, and something none of us have done before. So we had to approach everything differently, from the way we storylined the series, to the scripting and filming, then right through to the editing. The script has a big cliffhanger and a few unexpected twists along the way. Telling one story has also given us the opportunity to have one director across the whole series, Euros Lyn, who's been incredible and taken the show to a new level."
It's been previously remarked that this new format represents a "resetting" of the show. Is that accurate?
"I guess so. This series takes Torchwood on a much darker journey, but it's still Torchwood. It's exciting, action-packed, and we've still got a lot of fun running through it."
At the end of series two we lost two of the regular cast, Owen and Tosh. How much are they missed?
"On set Burn and Naoko are missed, because they were a terrific part of the team socially and for morale. As far as the storylines are concerned, it's allowed us to see a whole new side of what's left of our regular characters and learn a whole lot more about their lives. Also we've got new characters, people like Peter Capaldi, who's fantastic as the government middle man caught up in the storm, Liz May Brice as a covert government agent and Paul Copely as a damaged man."
And are there any direct additions to the Torchwood team?
"We sort of bring in Gwen's husband Rhys (Kai Owen). He was always on the fringes anyway but he takes a much more active part in the storyline now. And we've got a new young lady who helps the team - I wouldn't say she's part of the team but she kind of helps them out. She's played by a new actress called Cush Jumbo, who's a very pretty young lady and who I'm sure is going to go on to bigger things."
John Barrowman has previously hinted that he might quit the show after this series. Do you think that's true? What do you think Torchwood would be like without Captain Jack?
"I think it would be very difficult without John. I've not heard him say he wouldn't want to stick around after a third series, so I'm not sure where that's come from. But he certainly never mentioned it to us or on set. It wouldn't be the same without him obviously. Captain Jack is a star in his own right!"
Are there individual episode titles on this series?
"No, it's just the one main title running through this year."
Who do you have writing this series?
"We've got James Moran, who wrote for the last series of Torchwood, and we've got a guy called John Fay who previously wrote all sorts of things. Russell was a fan of his, so he's come and written episode two, which is brilliant. Russell did one, John did two, James did three and then Russell did four and five."
Are you nervous about how the audience will take to the new format?
"Yes, of course. It's something none of us has done before so we're all a bit nervous of it. I've got the bonus of having seen the material we've shot and I can assure you, we've got some absolutely fantastic material with some amazing acting. It's stunning and I would defy anybody not to be impressed by it."
Where are you at with production on the series right now?
"We've just started our second week of post editing and we're in a position to have a look at our first episode. We've just shown our executive producers the first cut version of the first episode and this week we're hoping to show them the first cut of the second episode. It's a very very tough post schedule. We've only got one director, but we've got three cutting rooms running simultaneously and he's literally running between all three. We have to deliver the whole thing, with all effects and music, by March. So to do five one-hours is a real tough schedule, particularly because we've got so much amazing material. I'd guess we're two thirds of the way through and the last third is a struggle - but a nice struggle."
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Cosmic collider game on who
Can you destroy the cosmic blocks to uncover exclusive pictures and a super-secret script extract from The Next Doctor?
Cosmic Collider
Cosmic Collider
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