Saturday 31 May 2008

Episode 8 - Silence In The Library




Synopsis

The Doctor and Donna arrive in the 51st century at a planet-sized book repository simply called "The Library", summoned by an anonymous request for help on the Doctor's psychic paper. However, they find it completely empty, though the Library's computers claim over "a million million lifeforms" exist. A Node, an information drone with a donated human face attached for communication, warns them to count the shadows. As they try to search for answers, they meet a team of explorers, led by archeologist Professor River Song, who have come to investigate the meaning of the Library's final communication, which states that 4,022 people were saved yet none survived. River Song seems to know the Doctor, has a diary with a cover matching the TARDIS, and even possesses a sonic screwdriver. She will only admit that she will know him in his relative future, refusing to admit more for fear of "spoilers."


The Doctor organizes the team to make sure the area is well lit as he explains that the shadows are occupied by the Vashta Nerada, microscopic carnivorous creatures that use shadows to hunt and latch onto their prey. Before he can fully explain, however, one of the explorers wanders off and is stripped to the bone in moments. The Doctor and Donna learn that the exploration team wears communication devices which link to their nervous systems for thought-based communication. As a side-effect, these devices tend to pick up an imprint of the user at the moment of death, creating a short-lived "Data Ghost" of that person's consciousness.


Curiously, the Library's operations seem to be tied to the imagination of a young girl in the 21st century; she sees the Doctor and Donna through the eyes of a security camera when they first break into central room, the exploration team appear on her television as the Doctor attempts to hack the Library computers, and books fly from the shelves when she fiddles with the television's remote. The girl is under the observation of Dr. Moon, a child psychologist, at the request of her dad, but Dr. Moon insists to the girl that what she imagines is the real world, not her so-called home, even revealing knowledge of the Doctor and Donna. This seems to be tied to the word "CAL", which appears on the Library screens.


The team's investigation is interrupted when a shadow of Vashta Nerada latches onto the pilot, Proper Dave. Although the Doctor attempts to save him by sealing him inside his suit, the creatures manage to get inside, eat him alive, and then animate his suit in order to chase the other explorers. The Doctor attempts to teleport Donna back to the TARDIS while he leads the rest of the team to safety, but something goes wrong in the teleport and Donna fails to materialize properly. As the team races away from the possessed suit, the Doctor is horrified to find a Node with Donna's face on it, which claims that Donna has left the Library and has been "saved". The show ends in a cliffhanger as the Doctor is forced to leave the Node behind, but is trapped by the approaching suit on one side and the Vashta Nerada shadows on the other.


Fact File
Who Goes Gold

Excluding the Children in Need specials, this is the 50th episode of Doctor Who since the series returned in 2005. Hasn't time flown?
The Big Read

The current holder of the record for being the World's Largest Library is the Library of Congress in America, which holds approximately 29 million books.
Premier League

Steve Pemberton becomes the second member of The League of Gentlemen to guest star in Doctor Who. Last year Mark Gatiss (who has also written for Doctor Who) guest starred in The Lazarus Experiment.

Steve previously co-starred alongside David Tennant in an episode of the revival of Randall And Hopkirk (Deceased).
The (Other) Two Doctors

Alex Kingston is perhaps best know for playing Dr. Elizabeth Corday in 158 episodes of US medical drama ER.
The Write Stuff

Writer Steven Moffat, who is to take over as Doctor Who's Show Runner and Head Writer, has won both Hugo and Bafta Awards for his previous Doctor Who scripts. Steven is the only writer other than Russell T Davies to have contributed scripts to all four series of the revived show.
Library Location

The main library scenes for the episode were filmed at Swansea Library and Brangwyn Hall, Swansea.
Weapon Of Choice

The 'squareness gun' used by River Song is similar in function to the one used by Captain Jack in The Doctor Dances.
Animated Antics

The cartoon that can be seen on the girl's TV is Pedro & Frankensheep.

Friday 30 May 2008

Piper 'jumped' at Doctor return

Piper bowed out of the popular BBC One show in 2006, after playing the Time Lord's assistant for two full series.

She will be seen in the 21 June episode of the current series - her first full appearance since the Doctor left her in a parallel world.

"I wouldn't have missed this for anything," the 25-year-old told Doctor Who Magazine.
"It means so much to me, this show, and so do the people that make it, so I really wanted to be here for these final episodes."

Piper admitted she had to do a little homework before slipping back into the role.
"I had to watch a lot of the old stuff, so I could remember certain things about the character, because I've been playing posh birds since I left Doctor Who," she said.

"Rose is a bit of a chav, bless her. I needed to hear the voice and watch the posture and everything, but then the minute you get on set, and you've got Russell T Davies' scripts, and he remembers how to write so well for Rose, you're back there on day one, really."

But Piper, who recently married actor Laurence Fox, promised a few changes for her character.

"She has changed. She's hardened. She's been through a lot in her parallel world. I think she's been through emotional turmoil.

"She's quite sad and lonely, but also really bolshy and - that great quality that Rose has - just so headstrong and single-minded."

Despite her guest appearance, Piper maintains that leaving at the end of the second series was the right thing to do.

"I did feel it was time to leave, but not because I was bored, just because on a professional level - and on a personal level, actually - I felt that I needed to take on a different challenge," she said.

Thursday 29 May 2008

She's Back With A Bang!!


"She's changed. She's hardened. She's been through a lot in her parallel world," explained Billie in an interview for the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine.

"I think she's been through emotional turmoil. She's quite sad and lonely, but also really bolshy and - that great quality that Rose has - just so headstrong and single-minded."

When asked about the difference between technically demanding scenes and emotional ones, she commented:

"It's just a different kind of intensity, but equally as intense, because you really have to focus. You're imagining things, seeing things, that aren't there. That takes a lot of concentration. But this series will make you cry. That's a promise."

Other things to look out for in the new issue include: actors Steve Pemberton and Joe Dempsie talking about their respective roles in Silence in the Library and The Doctor's Daughter; executive producer Russell T Davies explaining what happened on a recent trip to the BAFTA awards; and previews of Midnight and Turn Left.

Doctor Who Magazine is out 29 May, price £3.99.

Wednesday 28 May 2008

Biographies


Christoper Eccleston

Christopher Eccleston (born 16 February 1964) is an English stage, film and television actor. He is well-known for his roles in such high-profile films as Shallow Grave and 28 Days Later, and in 2005 became the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who.

Early life

Eccleston was born in Little Hulton, near Salford, then Lancashire now Greater Manchester, and raised in a working class family. He was head boy at Joseph Eastham's High School, Hilton Lane, Little Hulton.[citation needed] with a love of Granada and BBC1 television and an ambition to play football for his beloved Manchester United. However, at the age of 19, he found himself to be a much better actor than footballer, and was inspired by television dramas such as Boys from the Blackstuff. Eccleston trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. As an actor, his early influences had been Ken Loach's Kes and Albert Finney's performance in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, but he soon found himself performing the classics, including the works of Shakespeare, Chekhov and Molière. At age 25, Eccleston made his professional stage debut in the Bristol Old Vic's production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Underemployed as an actor for some years after graduating school, Eccleston took a variety of odd jobs at a supermarket, on building sites, and as an artist's model.

Career: 1991-2005

Eccleston first came to public attention as Derek Bentley in the 1991 film Let Him Have It. However, it was a regular role in the television series Cracker (1993–94) that made him a recognizable figure in the UK. He was also able to land a role in Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot.

He appeared in the low-budget Danny Boyle 1994 film Shallow Grave, in which he co-starred with up-and-coming actor Ewan McGregor. The same year, he won the part of Nicky Hutchinson in the epic BBC drama serial Our Friends in the North, whose broadcast on BBC Two in 1996 helped make him a household name in the UK. Eccleston would share the screen in the show with Daniel Craig, the sixth and current actor to play James Bond.

His film career has since taken off with a variety of high-profile but not — except in one or two cases — major roles, including parts in Jude (1996) (where he shared a scene with David Tennant, his successor as the Doctor in Doctor Who), Elizabeth (1998), eXistenZ (1999), Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000), The Others (2001), 24 Hour Party People (2002) and another Danny Boyle film, the horror movie 28 Days Later (2002). He played a major role as the protagonist of Alex Cox's 2002 Revengers Tragedy, adapted from Thomas Middleton's play of the same name. He has starred alongside two major Hollywood actresses in smaller independent films, appearing opposite Renée Zellweger in A Price Above Rubies (1998) and Cameron Diaz in The Invisible Circus (2001). Despite starring in the car-heist movie Gone in 60 Seconds, he did not actually take his driving test until January 2004 and is only licenced to drive automatic transmission cars.

He has appeared in a variety of television roles, racking up credits in British television dramas of recent years. These have included Hearts and Minds (1995) for Channel 4, Clocking Off (2000) and Flesh and Blood (2002) for the BBC and Hillsborough (1996), a modern version of Othello (2002), playing 'Ben Jago', (the Iago character) and the religious telefantasy epic The Second Coming (2003) for ITV, in which he played Steve Baxter, the son of God. He also finds time for the occasional light-hearted role, however, as his guest appearances in episodes of the comedy drama Linda Green (2001) and macabre sketch show The League of Gentlemen (2002) have shown. On stage, his highest-profile production has been his starring role in Hamlet at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds in 2002. The West Yorkshire Playhouse is a favorite venue of his, and he most recently returned there in the new play Electricity, which ran in March and April 2004.

Eccleston has been twice nominated in the Best Actor category at the British Academy Television Awards, the UK's premier television awards ceremony. His first nomination came in 1997 for Our Friends in the North, when he lost out to Nigel Hawthorne (for The Fragile Heart), and he was nominated again in 2004 for The Second Coming, this time being beaten by Bill Nighy (for State of Play). He did, however, triumph in the Best Actor categories at the 1997 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards and the Royal Television Society Awards, winning for Our Friends in the North. He won the RTS Best Actor award for a second time in 2003, this time for his performance in Flesh and Blood. In 2005 he received the Most Popular Actor award in the National Television Awards for Doctor Who.

In July 2004 a poll of industry experts, conducted by Radio Times magazine, voted Eccleston the 19th Most Powerful Person in Television Drama.

Doctor Who (2005)

On 20 March 2004, it was announced that Eccleston was to play the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the revival of the legendary BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, which began transmission on 26 March 2005.

On 30 March 2005, the BBC released a statement, ostensibly from Eccleston, saying that he had decided to leave the role after just one season, because he feared becoming typecast. On 4 April, the BBC revealed that Eccleston's "statement" was falsely attributed and released without his consent. The BBC admitted that they had broken an agreement made in January not to disclose publicly that he only intended to do one season. The statement had been made after journalists made queries to the press office.

On 11 June 2005, during a BBC radio interview, when asked if he had enjoyed working on Doctor Who, Eccleston responded by saying, "Mixed, but that's a long story." Eccleston's reasons for leaving the role continue to be debated in Britain's newspapers: on 4 October 2005 Alan Davies told The Daily Telegraph that Eccleston had been "overworked" by the BBC, and had left the role because he was "exhausted".Ten days later, Eccleston told The Daily Mirror this was not true, and expressed some irritation at Davies for his comments.

Eccleston was voted "Most Popular Actor" at the 2005 National Television Awards for his portrayal of The Doctor.

Eccleston was very touched by the response he received from children for his role as the Ninth Doctor. He said "In all the 20 years I've been acting, I've never enjoyed a response so much as the one I've had from children and I'm carrying that in my heart forever..."

[edit] Career since 2005

On October 30, 2005, Eccleston appeared on stage at the Old Vic theatre in London in the one-night play Night Sky alongside Navin Chowdhry, Bruno Langley, David Warner, Saffron Burrows and David Baddiel. Eccleston sat on the 2nd Amazonas International Film Festival Film Jury in November 2005. The director Norman Jewison was chairman of the Jury.

In December 2005, Eccleston traveled to Indonesia's Aceh province for the BBC Breakfast news programme, examining how survivors of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami were rebuilding their lives.

In May 2006, Eccleston appeared as the narrator in a production of Romeo and Juliet at The Lowry theatre in his home city of Salford. The theatre company with which he performed, Celebrity Pig (of which he is patron), is made up of learning disabled actors.

In August 2006, Eccleston filmed New Orleans, Mon Amour with Elisabeth Moss. The film was directed by Michael Almereyda, and shot in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, it is currently in post-production and scheduled for a 2008 release. Late in 2006 he starred in Perfect Parents, an ITV drama written and directed by Joe Ahearne, who had directed him in Doctor Who.

Eccleston joined the cast of the NBC TV series Heroes in the episode Godsend, which was broadcast on January 22, 2007. Eccleston played a character named Claude who has the power of invisibility, and helps Peter Petrelli with his powers.

Eccleston appeared as The Rider in a film adaptation of Susan Cooper's novel The Dark Is Rising, which opened in the U.S. on October 5, 2007.

Eccleston appeared on the BBC Four World Cinema Award show in February 2008, arguing the merits of five international hits such as The Lives of Others and Pan's Labyrinth with Jonathan Ross and Archie Panjabi. He is set to appear as the villanous Destro in the upcoming live action G.I. Joe film.

Personal life

Eccleston is a life long supporter of Manchester United F.C. Eccleston does a lot of charity work and became a Mencap charity ambassador on April 28, 2005. His height is 187 cm, or 6'2". He is unmarried but recently ended a relationship with the actress Siwan Morris.[12] Eccleston has older brothers, one of whom, Alan Eccleston, appears in the party scene in Heart. (other brother & twin of Alan is Keith). Eccleston is an atheist, though was raised by a devoutly church-going mother.

Eccleston is an avid marathon runner and usually enters a number of competitions each year. He appeared on BBC's Top Gear on which it was revealed that he only has a licence to drive automatic cars. In September 2007, Pendleton College in Salford named their new 270-seat theatre after him naming it 'The Eccleston Theatre' as part of their new £9.5m new build scheme.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

David Tennant


The son of a Presbyterian minister, David Tennant ( real surname MacDonald) was brought up in Bathgate, the post-industrial town between Edinburgh and Glasgow immortalised in a song by his favorite band, The Proclaimers. He decided to be an actor at a very young age (3 or 4) and was appearing on screen before he was even out of school. He was first talent-spotted by Scottish TV at a Saturday youth theatre club, an offshoot of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama where he later trained.
After graduating, Tennant auditioned for the groundbreaking political Scottish Theatre Group 7:84 and landed the role of Giri the Hitman in their touring production of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Uiith — his first professional part. His second job, as King Arthur in an Edinburgh production, got such a bad review it made him cry. However, things began to look up when he landed a part in the award-winning BBC TV production of Takin' Over the Asylum. Tennant played manic-depressive Campbell Bain, a role that he claims changed his life. "They needed someone who could believably act 19 and bonkers." He could, and did, to much acclaim, and followed it up with a much-praised performance as the page boy in What the Butler Saw at the Lyttelton.
Then in 1996, when he was just 25, Tennant joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. His turn as Touchstone in As You Like It was praised as the most memorable in years. He was also applauded for his Jack Lane in The Herbal Bed, his leading role in Romeo and Juliet, and his portrayals of Antipholus of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors (for which he received a a 2000 Ian Charleson Award nomination for Best classical actor under 30) and Captain Jack Absolute in The Rivals. Tennant is now a respected classical stage actor and has added to his awards with the 2005 Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland Best Male Performance, as Jimmy Porter in Look Back in Anger; a 2003 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award nomination for Best Actor for Lobby Hero; and a Theatre Management Association Best Actor Award for The Glass Menagerie.
Whilst forging his name in the theatre, Tennant also dipped his toe into the world of television, guest-starring in episodes of The Deputy, Foyle's War, The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Rab C. Nesbitt, Holding the Baby and the multiple-award-winning People Like Us. He also appeared in a number of British films and co-starred in BBC4's acclaimed live telefilm of The Quatermass Experiment in April 2005.
But three TV roles in particular won Tennant widespead recognition, both in the United Kingdom and internationally.
In He Knew He Was Right, Andrew Davies' acclaimed BBC adaptation of Trollope's novel, Tennant provided the comic sub-plot as the Reverend Gibson, a flirtatious clergyman who is fought over by a pair of squabbling sisters.
In Blackpool, his Detective Inspector Peter Carlisle won critical acclaim ("David Tennant … crackles with raw energy" said the New York Daily News).
And his Casanova was a triumph, described by the Observer as "a perfect fusion of Brad Pitt and Michael Palin."
Landing the titular role on Doctor Who has made Tennant a household name around the world, but many fans also associate him with another role: Barty Crouch Junior in the big-screen blockbuster Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Billie Piper

Billie Piper was born on 22nd September 1982 in Swindon. Her parents, Mandy and Paul changed her given name from Leianne three weeks after registering her birth after they returned from the USA and decided they liked the name Billie better! Billie has one younger brother, Charlie, and two younger sisters, Harley and Ellie.

Billie grew up in Nine Elms, Swindon where she attended Brookfield Primary School and Bradon Forest Secondary School.

She later went on to study at the prestigious Sylvia Young Theare School where her classmates included pop star Matt Willis formely of Busted.

It was whilst at The Sylvia Young that Billie got her first big break Piper's first break appearing in an advert promoting the pop magazine Smash Hits. Her role was to run up to the camera, blow a bubblegum bubble and shout "Pop!" Her fresh faced good looks and bubly personality caught the eye of the record producers and soon after she was offered a record deal at the age of fifteen.

In 1998 Billie became the youngest artist ever to debut at number one in the UK singles chart with "Because We Want To", released under the artist name "Billie". Her follow-up single "Girlfriend" also debuted at Number One, and her first album, Honey to the B (released immediately afterwards) debuted at Number 14 in the UK album charts. She released two further singles off the album, "She Wants You" and "Honey to the Bee"; both songs debuted at Number 3.

Billie's phenomenol pop success was recognised at the 1999 BRIT Awards were she was nominated for two awards and were she took to the stage to perform an ABBA medley with some of the other hottest pop acts of the time. 1999 also saw her walk away with The Best Female gong at The Smash Hits Awards!

Billie returned to the Singles Chart in May 2000 with a new and sexier sound no doubt inspired by her American peers. She hit the Number 1 spot with "Day & Night". In September 2000 she released "Something Deep Inside" which reached Number 4 in the UK Singles Chart. In October 2000, Piper released her second album, Walk of Life, which reached Number 14 in the UK Album Chart. The song "Walk of Life", the final single off this album, was released in December 2000 and reached Number 25 in the UK Singles Chart. This proved to be Piper's last musical release, a low-key exit from the world of pop.

Billie married businessman, television presenter, and DJ Chris Evans in May 2001 in Las Vegas. Their marriage attracted much comment due to the sixteen-year age gap between the two.

Billie and Chris moved to LA, where Billie decided to take up acting classes to improve her skills. On returning to the UK in 2003, Billie decided to end her pop career and return to her original ambition, acting. She quickly earned roles in the BBC series The Canterbury Tales and the one-off drama Bella and the Boys.

In early 2004, she appeared in the films The Calcium Kid, as the romantic interest of Orlando Bloom's character, The Spirit Trap and Things to do Before You're Thirty.

In May 2004, it was announced that Billie was to play the character Rose Tyler, companion to the Doctor in the revived series of Doctor Who, beginning in 2005. She moved to Cardiff and began filming for the first series with her co star Christopher Eccleston.

In October 2004, Billie and her husband Chris began a trial separation.

In spring of 2005, just as Dotor Who hit our screens, it was confirmed that they would be divorcing. The two remain friends.

Doctor Who went on to become the success story of the year and Billie won new fans from even the harshest critics!

In July 2005 Billie started filming for her second series of Doctor Who alongside the new Doctor, David Tennant.

In October 2005, she won the Most Popular Actress category at the National Television Awards for her work on Doctor Who. BBC News named her as one of its "Faces of the Year" for 2005, primarily due to her success in Doctor Who.

At The South Bank Show Awards in January 2006 Billie Piper was awarded The Times Breakthrough Award for her successful transition from singing to acting.

In March 2006, the Television and Radio Industries Club named Billie as best new TV talent in their annual Tric awards.

The second series of Doctor Who hit UK TV in April 2006 and continued to be a huge success, making the covers of almost every magazine and newspaper in the UK!

Rumours began to circulate that Billie would be leaving at the end of the second series and on 15th May 2006 the BBC released a statement to say that Billie would be leaving Doctor Who at the end of Series Two in the final episode Doomsday.

The door has been left open for the return of her popular character Rose Tyler although plans for a spin off series Rose Tyler: Earth Defence were scrapped.

Since leaving Doctor Who Billie has been extremely busy she worked on a new drama for the BBC, an adaptation of the Phillip Pullman novel, The Ruby In The Smoke. This should was shown on the network at Christmas in 2006. Further installments are due to follow and filming of The Shadow In The North should begin soon.

Billie also signed a six-figure contract with publishers Hodder and Stoughton to write her autobiography, which was released in autumn 2006. A book signing tour of the UK coincided with it's release and it proved to be a popular seller.

January 2007 saw Billie make her stage debut in the play Treats. She plays Ann a woman who has to chosoe between her ex boyfriend and her current love interest. The play opened in Windsor and will open in the West End at the end of February 2007.

She will be starring as Fanny Price in an ITV production of Mansfield Park screened in 2007.

Piper also appears in an ITV2 adaptation of Belle de Jour's The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl, a book detailing the life of a high-class prostitute entitled Secret Diary of a Call Girl and aired from 27 September 2007. The series saw Piper in several semi-nude scenes including a lesbian romp and one scene featuring her saddling a client and riding him like a horse.[6] The first episode attracted strong viewing figures of 1.8 million and became one of ITV2’s biggest ever audiences since the channel's debut in 1998, and the biggest audience since August 2006.[7] It became the top multichannel show during its time slot and also the highest rated non-terrestrial commission of the year to date. A second series, with Piper in the starring role, has started filming in May 2008. A body double has been hired for scenes in which Piper's pregnancy would be apparent.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________




Camille Courdouri

Camille Coduri (born 8 October 1966 in Wandsworth, London) is a British actress. She is best known for her role in Doctor Who as Jackie Tyler from 2005 to 2006.She was educated at Holy Trinity Primary School, Tooting, and the Upper Tooting High School where she made her stage debut at the age of fourteen playing Cecily in the school's adaptation of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest."

Upon leaving school she studied drama at Kingsway Princeton College, King's Cross, where she fell in love with the theatre. She successfully auditioned for a place in the new Lyric Youth Theatre, based at the Lyric Theatre in London's West End, in 1981. They were a somewhat controversial and ground breaking company as, unlike traditional youth theatre, the scripts were improvised and based on the casts own lives and experiences. At the age of sixteen she appeared in their first production, Get Out of That Then, directed by Lucy Parker.

She was spotted by major casting director Mary Selway (Aliens, Lost in Space etc) who helped her to obtain her Equity card and her first professional appearance was in A Prayer for the Dying (directed by Mike Hodges of Get Carter fame) at the age of 21. Her first TV appearance was as Shandy Tremblett in Boon in 1987.

Camille is married to actor Christopher Fulford and they have two children. Her hobbies include swimming, "movies, movies, movies" and reading.

The two biggest influences on her career have been Lucy Parker and Mary Selway, "two amazing women."

It has been confirmed she will reprise her role as Jackie Tyler for the Doctor Who Series 4 finale, along with Billie Piper as Rose Tyler.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


John Barrowman

John Barrowman (born 11 March 1967 in Mount Vernon, Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish actor, musical performer, dancer, singer and TV presenter, who has lived and worked both in the United Kingdom and the United States. He currently lives in the UK with his civil partner Scott Gill.

Barrowman is best known on British television for his acting and his presenting work on theatre. His most prominent television role has been as Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who and its spin-off series Torchwood. He has featured in such light entertainment shows as Going Live, Live & Kicking, Any Dream Will Do, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, and I'd Do Anything as well as appearing on the celebrity ice skating show Dancing on Ice. As a result of his family's move to Illinois when he was 9 years old, Barrowman speaks in an American accent on screen but reverts to a Scottish accent when with family or in Scotland.

Barrowman is openly gay, and he was voted the 2006 Stonewall "Entertainer of the Year" and was third in Broadcast magazine's "Hottest Commodity" poll in November 2006.

____________________________________________________________________________________________


Noel Clarke

Noel Anthony Clarke (born 6 December 1975) is an English actor and writer from London. In 2003, he won the Laurence Olivier Award for "Most Promising Newcomer" for his performance in the play Where Do We Live at the Royal Court Theatre.

He has appeared in several television programmes including Casualty and Metrosexuality. He has had recurring roles as Wyman Norris in the revival series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (2002–2004) and as Mickey Smith in the revival of the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who (2005-2006 and 2008).

Clarke wrote the screenplay for the film Kidulthood, released on 3 March 2006. Its sequel, Adulthood, is scheduled for release in 2008. His other writing credits include "Combat" (an episode of the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood) and West 10 LDN, a pilot for BBC Three about kids on a rough housing estate, broadcast in March 2008.

Clarke also starred in the audio series Dalek Empire: The Fearless, which was released from September to December 2007.

Full Casting Details For Hamlet Announced By The RSC

Extract from davidtennant.com

Full casting details have been announced for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s highly anticipated Hamlet, starring David Tennant as the Prince and Patrick Stewart, following his Tony-nominated Broadway turn in Macbeth, as the Ghost and Claudius. RSC chief associate Gregory Doran’s production runs in rep at Stratford-upon-Avon’s Courtyard Theatre from 5th August to 15th November 2008 (previews from 24th July).
David will be joined in the company by Penny Downie (The Penelopiad, The Prisoner’s Dilemma, Dinner) as Gertrude, Oliver Ford-Davies (most recently seen in Much Ado About Nothing and Saint Joan at the National) as Polonius, John Woodvine (Timon of Athens, Don Carlos, TV’s Shameless and Rome) as the Player King and Mariah Gale as Ophelia.
Also in the ensemble are: David Ajala (Reynaldo), Sam Alexander (Rosencrantz and Second Gravedigger), Edward Bennett (Laertes), Ricky Champ (Lucianus) Ewen Cummins (Barnardo), Robert Curtis (Franciso), Tom Davey (Guildenstern), Peter De Jersey (Horatio), Samuel Dutton (Lord) Ryan Gage (Oscric), Mark Hadfield (Gravedigger), Jim Hooper (Priest), Keith Osborn (Marcellus), Roderick Smith (Lord and Captain), Andrea Harris (Lady), Riann Steele (Lady) and Zoe Thorne (Lady and Player). The production is designed by Robert Jones, with lighting by Tim Mitchell, music by Paul Englishby, sound by Jeremy Dunn, movement by Michael Ashcroft and fight direction by Terry King.
Commenting on David'scasting, director Gregory Doran said: “Hamlet is a play that waits for the right actor to come along. This Hamlet will be to some extent who David is. You have to have an actor who can be, as Ophelia describes him, ‘the poet, the soldier, the scholar’. He has to be someone who is charismatic and can be brutal and course, and can be witty and moving and can physically take on the demands of the part. I believe that David’s skills fill all these criteria.”
Doran has just opened his production of A Midsummer Night's Dream which is performed by largely the same company of supporting actors who will be performing in Hamlet as well as his upcoming production of Love's Labour's Lost, the RSC’s first staging of the play in more than 12 years, in which David Tennant will play the lovelorn Berowne with Mariah Gale as the Princess of France, Nina Sosanya as Rosaline and Oliver Ford-Davies as Holofernes. Love's Labour's joins the Courtyard rep from 2 October to 15 November 2008.

Freema -Little Dorrit


Freema Agyeman has been spotted filming for Charles Dickens’ “Little Dorrit” at Deal Castle in Kent this past week with Matthew Macfayden. Freema plays Tattycoram in the BBC1 produced costume drama adapted by Andrew Davies, which will be shown in autumn as 14 half-hour episodes.

The scenes shot at Deal Castle form a part of the story-line set in Marseille, southern France. Filming continues this week and throughout the summer at locations in and around London, Buckinghamshire, Kent and Herefordshire.

“Little Dorrit” follows the Dorrit family and an array of characters they meet on their way from rags to riches (and back again). It’s part murder mystery, part love story and will be quite a treat!

Tuesday 27 May 2008

Doctor Who Proms 2006

Doctor Who Proms December 2006 at the Millennium Centre, Cardiff

Theme




Doomsday / Rose



Love Don't Roam



Song For Ten

The Doctor's Missus.............


It's taken him a thousand years or so, but the Doctor has finally pulled. Yes, the Time Lord is getting a Time Lady...

In Saturday's episode the Doctor meets Professor River Song, played by the lovely Alex Kingston of ER and Moll Flanders fame.

River is an archaeologist from the 51st century and soon makes it clear that she's had a very close encounter with the Doctor in another time. A show source says: "The Doctor introduces himself to River Song, and it becomes clear they've been an item - but in the future."

Eventually romance blossoms and is actually played out over two episodes, reaching a climax (so to speak) next week.

In the past, the Doctor has flirted with his female sidekicks but despite the occasional peck on the cheek they've never gone the distance..

But this is obviously a match made in heaven - Professor Song has her own sonic screwdriver.

(Daily Mirror)

New trailer for Episode 8 >>

Sunday 25 May 2008

Exclusive - Clip Episode 8

Silence In The Library Exclusive Clip

Georgia Moffatt Q & A

Georgia Moffatt and her son do a Q & A:

Saturday 24 May 2008


The Cover for issue 396 of Doctor Who Magazine has been Revealed. People who receive this Issue will get a Free Double Sided poster, One side featuring The Doctor and Donna Noble and the Opposite side featuring Rose Tyler. Billie Piper is interviewed in the Issue about her Return in Doctor Who, Turn Left plus Steven Pemberton is interviewed about his Role in Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead. Much more Amazing content will be inside the Magazine, Issue Three Hundred and Ninety Six will be released on the Twenty Ninth of May at £3.99 in Local Newsagents.

Davros?

Davros returns >>



BBC DAVROS trailer (?)

New Trailer

New BBC Doctor Who trailer which was aired on Saturday 24th May 2008, 6.45pm prior to The Eurovision Song Contest


Friday 23 May 2008

Secret on bbc.co.uk/doctorwho

With thanks to 04nbod who was the one that made me aware of this in the first place: there is hidden secrets on the BBC Who site!

If, while on the Doctor Who homepage, you change your computer clock to a date after Silence the Library will air (or even just a few days before), then the book thats part of the picture will flips a few pages forward and briefly reveals this:






It is Rose!

It doesn't stay on this image as the book flips to a page saying "5 Days to go" or something similar. The Rose image can only be seen very briefly. However, If you alter that day on your PC clock, whilst looking at the homepage for 'Silence In The Library', you can see the image of Rose as the page flips.

Apparently there is rumour whether it is true or not, that Donna will burn the Doctor's book and the last page having a picture of Rose on it? Or will we just see a glimpse of Rose in a random book?

Thursday 22 May 2008

44 Years Of WHO

Steven Moffat to take over from Russell T Davies

BBC Wales and BBC Drama has announced that Bafta and Hugo Award winning writer Steven Moffat will succeed Russell T Davies as Lead Writer and Executive Producer of the fifth series of Doctor Who, which will broadcast on BBC One in 2010.

Moffat has penned some of the series' most unforgettable and acclaimed episodes - including Blink with its terrifying Weeping Angels, for which he was awarded the Bafta Writer Award 2008 on Sunday 11th May. His previous work on Doctor Who includes The Girl in the Fireplace for Series Two, which earned him his second Hugo Award.

His first was for the Series One two-parter The Empty Child, which became famous for its terrifying refrain 'Are you my mummy?'For the current series, Moffat has written Silence in the Library, a two parter starring Alex Kingston which transmits on 31st May and 7th June 2008 on BBC One.Steven's career began with the landmark ITV children's drama Press Gang in 1989, for which he won his first Bafta. Coupling, the hugely popular and award winning sitcom he created and wrote for BBC Two, began in 2000 and ran for four seasons. Jekyll, his six part thriller starring James Nesbitt and Michelle Ryan, transmitted on BBC One last year.

Steven will continue as one of the directors on the board of Hartswood Films which produced Coupling and Jekyll, where he is also working on his new comedy Adam & Eve with wife Sue Vertue. He has just delivered the screenplay for Tintin, the first instalment of the trilogy of films featuring the iconic Belgian comic-strip hero, to Steven Spielberg who will direct it for DreamWorks. Thomas Sangster and Andy Serkis will star.

"My entire career has been a Secret Plan to get this job," said Steven Moffat. "I applied before but I got knocked back cos the BBC wanted someone else. Also I was seven. Anyway, I'm glad the BBC has finally seen the light, and it's a huge honour to be following Russell into the best - and the toughest - job in television. I say "toughest" cos Russell's at my window right now, pointing and laughing."

"It's been a delight and an honour working with Steven," said Russell T Davis, "I can't wait to see where his extraordinary imagination takes the Doctor. Best of all, I get to be a viewer again, watching on a Saturday night!"

"BBC Wales is very proud of Doctor Who's phenomenal success," added Menna Richards, Controller, BBC Wales. "Steven Moffat is an extraordinary talent and we are very much looking forward to him joining the Doctor Who team."

Jane Tranter, Controller BBC Fiction, added her praise. "Scripts and writers are at the heart of what BBC Drama is all about, and especially at the heart of Doctor Who. The past four series have been brilliantly helmed by the spectacularly talented Russell T Davies. As lead writer and executive producer, he has overseen the creative direction and detail of the 21st century relaunch of Doctor Who and we are delighted to have his continued presence on the specials over the next 18 months.

"But the challenge and excitement of the fifth series is now being handed to Steven Moffat. The Tardis couldn't be in safer hands. Steven's talents on both Doctor Who and beyond are well known. He is a writer of glittering brilliance, comedy and depth, with an extraordinary imagination and a unique voice. Steven has a wonderful mix of being a committed Doctor Who fan and a true artist, and his plans for the next series are totally thrilling."

The announcement follows the news that Piers Wenger will take over the role of Executive Producer from Julie Gardner on Series Five of Doctor Who.
"The challenge of taking Doctor Who to a new future is a huge and thrilling one and BBC Wales is blessed to have someone with Steven's extraordinary talent in charge," said Piers." His imagination and creativity have already given birth to some of the series' most unforgettable monsters though in this instance no one need fear; Time, space and the future of The Doctor are safe with him."

Wenger and Moffat are already working closely together on the planning of the series.
Series four has achieved some of the show's highest audience figures to date and forthcoming episodes feature a stellar line up of guests including Lesley Sharp, Lindsey Coulson, Alex Kingston, Colin Salmon and Michael Brandon. Freema Agyeman and Billie Piper - The Doctor's two former companions - have also returned to assist The Doctor in series four.

Doctor Who will return in 2009 with four specials, and the full length fifth series is currently scheduled to be broadcast on BBC One in Spring 2010



Steven Moffat Reaction
By Christian Cawley

May 20, 2008 | 5.45 pm

News of Steven Moffat's role as Doctor Who Executive Producer and chief writer has spread beyond The Guardian, with the BBC confirming the news and websites breaking the news in a wholly positive light.

Russell T Davies complemented his replacement - writer of The Girl in the Fireplace, Blink and The Empty Child - noting:

"It's been a delight and an honour working with Steven, and I can't wait to see where his extraordinary imagination takes the Doctor. Best of all, I get to be a viewer again, watching on a Saturday night!"

Moffat was similarly ebullient, and slyly revealed it was all part of his plan...

"My entire career has been a secret plan to get this job. I applied before but I got knocked back because the BBC wanted someone else. Also I was seven.

"Anyway, I'm glad the BBC has finally seen the light, and it's a huge honour to be following Russell into the best - and the toughest - job in television."

BBC Head of Programming Jane Tranter thanked Russell T Davies for his unrivalled work on Doctor Who:

"As lead writer and executive producer, he has overseen the creative direction and detail of the 21st century re-launch of Doctor Who and we are delighted to have his continued presence on the specials over the next 18 months,"

So - what does it all mean? Well short-term, Russell remains in charge of Doctor Who for the series of specials in 2009, before the series returns under Steven Moffat in 2010. New producer, new decade - new Doctor? Time will tell on that one...

Sunday 18 May 2008

Season 30 - Episode Wallpapers


1.PARTNERS IN CRIME
2. THE FIRES OF POMPEII
3.PLANET OF THE OOD
4. THE SONTARAN STRATAGEM
5. THE POISON SKY
6. THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER
7. THE UNICORN AND THE WASP
8. SILENCE IN THE LIBRARY
9. FORREST OF THE DEAD
10. MIDNIGHT
11. TURN LEFT
12. THE STOLEN EARTH
13. JOURNEY'S END












Saturday 17 May 2008

Season 30 - Episodes 1 - 7 Synopsis

Episode 7 - The Unicorn And The Wasp

I enjoyed this Agatha Christie murder mystery - based around the time of her disappearance of 10 days in 1926. Doctor takes on a new alias of Detective John Smith aka the Doctor. There were no story arc references to Rose, Time War etc. However as for the bees reference of previous episodes, Donna does say - at least there are bees in 1926.

The episode begins with Professor Peach arriving with Reverend Golightly at a dinner party hosted by Lady Eddison and her husband, Colonel Hugh. The Doctor and Donna Noble oversee their conversation, where the Professor requests to go to the library to check something under the premise he needs to read alone before joining the party. Whilst discovering what he needs the Professor is killed with lead piping by a giant wasp.

Meanwhile the Doctor and Donna gatecrash the party, introducing themselves to Lady Clemency Edison and making themselves known to the other characters; the Colonel, Lady Eddison's husband, who has apparently been invalided since the flu epademic of 1918; their son Robert, whom we learn is romantically affiliated with the footman, Davenport; Reverend Golightly; Robina Redmond, a class society girl from London; and the renowned Agatha Christie, who the Doctor much admires and Donna finds a disbelief to meet. From looking at the paper, the Doctor reveals that that day is the day that Agatha Christie disappeared.
Lady Eddison wonders of the whereabouts of the missing Professor Peach and sends Miss Chandrakala to go looking for him, who find his corpse face down in the library. Everyone hurries to the scene, where the Doctor and Agatha Christie look for evidence nearby. Agatha finds a piece of paper and the Doctor finds a conspicuous thick liquid; he promptly presents himself as 'Chief Inspector Smith' from Scotland Yard (with Donna as his 'plucky' assistant) and calls everyone in for questioning. At this point Donna is bemused and remarks how the scenario is similar to a game of Cluedo.

During questioning all the characters provide amusing alibis to their whereabouts at the time of the Professor's death (a quarter past four in the afternoon), leaving the Doctor and Agatha Christie both perplexed. Meanwhile the Doctor has sent Donna off searching around her house, whereupon she finds a deserted room which the butler informs her has been locked for years on Lady Eddison's orders since she had had a bout of malaria after returning from India.
Upon entering, Donna hears a buzzing sound and opens the curtains to release what she thinks is a bee into the garden. However, it turns out to be a man-sized wasp, which she fends off using a magnifying glass given to her by the Doctor. The wasp leaves its sting in the door, but manages to grow a new one.

Later on from this, the wasp having been again warded off, the Doctor is poisoned using cyanide, which he counteracts using ginger beer, walnuts, anchovies, and a kiss from Donna. Moments later, Miss Chandrakala is crushed to death beneath a falling stone, her last words being 'The poor little child.'

At dinner, the Doctor reveals that he has laced the soup with pepper, which acts as an insecticide. However, before they can acknowledge the effects, the candles are snuffed out and a loud buzzing can again be heard. Lady Eddison utters, "It can't be!" When the lights come back on, her necklace, 'The Firestone,' has been stolen and Roger, her son, has been murdered. Donna comments on the footman's inability to grieve for his lover due to the illicit nature of their affection, and compares the 1920s to the Dark Ages
The Doctor and Agatha Christie then proceed to reveal several secrets about the guests and hosts, including that Robina Redmond is an imposter; also that she is 'The Unicorn.' She confesses to this, but claims that she is not the murderer. The Coronel then admits that he is not a cripple, but only pretended to be in order to keep his wife by his side. The Doctor then reveals that Lady Eddison had not had malaria in India, but had been pregnant to the child of an alien. She tearfully confesses that this was true, and that he had given her the Firestone before being swept away by a monsoon and drowned. Following this, the Doctor reveals that Reverend Golightly is the alien child, and that he had come to associate Agatha Christie's novels with the way the world must work, because Lady Eddison had been reading it when he was awakened. This accounting for his unusual pattern of murder.
Agatha Christie, snatching the Firestone, which had created a telepathic link between herself and the Reverend, leads the creature to the lake, where Donna throws the necklace into the water and thus drowns it. Agatha is then gripped by pain, due to the telepathic field dying, but at the last moment, the creature releases her, destroying the connection between them. She is then deposited at Harrogate.

At the end of the episode, the Agatha Christie novel "Death In The Clouds" is produced from a chest in the TARDIS, at which point the Doctor reveals that her books lasted until the year five billion. They speculate over whether or not Christie's desire to last forever was what kept her writing, and the Doctor reveals in ambiguous tones that it is what keeps him travelling. "Onwards?" he says. "Onwards," replies Donna.

Episode 6 - The Doctor's Daughter

Following on from the end of "The Poison Sky", the TARDIS takes the Doctor ( and his companions Donna Noble and Martha Jones to the planet Messaline in the midst of a generations-long war between humans and the Hath, fish-like humanoids. Upon leaving the TARDIS, they are confronted by armed men working for General Cobb (Nigel Terry), who force the Doctor's hand in a progenation machine, which uses his DNA to create an adult soldier within moments — Jenny (Georgia Moffett), the episode's titular character. Martha is subsequently captured by the Hath, whereas the Doctor, Donna, and Jenny are imprisoned by the humans because of the Doctor's pacifist attitude. Each of the primary characters learns about the war from its belligerents; the Hath and humans were initially meant to live on a peaceful colony, but were divided over a dispute about "the Source", believed by each side to be the breath of their creator. When the Doctor unwittingly reveals the location of the Source, the two sides race to claim it first.

The Doctor is initially dismissive of Jenny, his biological daughter, but becomes enamoured as the episode progresses. Donna is also distracted from the war by a series of numbered plaques on their journey. When they reach the location of the Source, a colonising spaceship, Donna and the Doctor discover that the plaques represent the date building was completed, which was a mere seven days previous; the humans and Hath have bred so many generations through the progenation machines that their own history degraded into myth. The original casus belli was a power vacuum caused by the death of the mission commander.

Both the human and Hath forces converge at the Source concurrently. The Doctor declares the war to be over, and releases the terraforming agent; everyone present lays down their weapons, with the exception of Cobb, who tries to shoot the Doctor but Jenny steps in the way. After she collapses in the Doctor's arms, he finally tells her she is his daughter and that they have only got started. He tells her that they can go anywhere, if she holds on. She dies in his arms. Enraged, the Doctor holds Cobb at gunpoint, but refuses to shoot, asking the colonists to create a pacifist society.

At the end of the episode, the Doctor takes Martha home. Martha warns Donna that life with the Doctor can be dangerous, but Donna nevertheless resolves to stay with the Doctor indefinitely. Concurrently, on Messaline, Jenny revives in front of Cline and a Hath. She escapes Messaline, resolving to follow in her father's footsteps by resolving disputes and fighting villains.

Episode 5 - The Poison Sky


Following from the previous episode, Sylvia Noble manages to free Wilfred Mott from the car by smashing the window with an axe. The Doctor sends Donna Noble back to the TARDIS while he sets off to figure out what the Sontarans are up to. After studying the gas, UNIT determines that it will need to reach 80% density to become lethal. Elsewhere, Martha Jones's clone helps the Sontarans to seize the TARDIS. Realising that he is trapped, the Doctor attempts to goad General Staal ( into revealing their plan: Staal is smart enough not to fall prey to this ploy, but the Doctor does trick him into moving the TARDIS out of the main war room, placing Donna in a position to help.


Against the Doctor's advice, UNIT decides to use nuclear weapons against the Sontarans; however, Martha's clone has covertly copied the launch codes, and stops every attempt they make to fire the weapons. This in itself shows a hidden agenda, since a nuclear strike would not have harmed them in the first place. This, combined with the unidentifiable elements in the gas, suggest that the Sontarans have an interest in keeping anything from disrupting the atmospheric conversion. At the same time, the Sontarans mobilize a contingent of troops to protect the factory. With the Sontarans' ability to jam most conventional firearms by expanding the copper-lined bullets, the UNIT troops are quickly slaughtered and the factory is secured.

Luke Rattigan leaves the Sontaran mothership to gather his students, explaining that he plans to have the Sontarans take them to another planet and begin the human race anew. The students merely laugh him off, even when he brandishes a gun. When he returns to report his failure, the Sontarans likewise ridicule his efforts, admitting that they never intended to take him or his students anywhere. Rattigan teleports back to his mansion before they can kill him, and the Sontarans lock the teleport pods behind him. Back in his own quarters, he lies sobbing on the ground.

Meanwhile, the Doctor instructs Donna on how to reopen the teleport pods. As she makes her way through the ship, UNIT begins a counterattack, loading their weapons with non-copper bullets and using the aircraft carrier Valiant to clear the gas. The counterattack is a success, and the UNIT troops are able to put the Sontarans on the defensive. The distraction allows the Doctor to make his way to the cloning room where Martha is being held. Having figured out long before that the clone wasn't the genuine article, he severs its connection to Martha, leaving it to die. Martha convinces the clone to betray the Sontarans in its last moments, and the clone reveals that the poison gas is actually "food" for Sontaran clones: they are converting the planet into a giant breeding world. With Donna's help, the Doctor is able to reactivate the teleport pods, allowing him to rescue Donna, steal back the TARDIS, and teleport into Rattigan's mansion.

With the terraforming equipment Rattigan's students built, the Doctor builds his own atmospheric converter, igniting the atmosphere to clear out the poison gas as shown in the picture. However, he knows the Sontarans won't accept defeat so easily, and teleports to their ship with the converter, planning to give them the choice between retreat or death. Staal chooses the latter, content with the knowledge that the Doctor will die with them. At the last moment, Rattigan teleports himself to the Sontaran ship and sends the Doctor back to Earth, sacrificing himself to destroy the Sontarans.

With the day saved, Martha says goodbye to Donna and the Doctor in the TARDIS and prepares to head home. However, before she can leave, the TARDIS suddenly springs to life, locking the doors and piloting itself to an unknown destination as the jar containing the Doctor's severed hand bubbles.
Episode 4 - The Sonataran Stratagem


Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) calls the Doctor to ask for assistance during an investigation by UNIT. Minutes after the TARDIS materialises in contemporary Britain, Martha authorises the raid of an ATMOS (Atmospheric Omission System) factory. The Doctor introduces his companion Donna Noble to Martha and UNIT; Donna instantly befriends Martha, but is concerned about UNIT's ethics and asks the Doctor why he is associated with them; the Doctor ambiguously replies he used to work for them in the late twentieth century.


ATMOS is marketing a satellite navigation system developed by child prodigy Luke Rattigan (Ryan Sampson). The system also reduces carbon dioxide emissions to zero; UNIT requested the Doctor's help because the technology is not contemporary and potentially alien. UNIT are also concerned about fifty-two deaths occurring spontaneously and contemporaneously several days before the narrative. The Doctor travels to Rattigan's private school to investigate the system, and discovers that the episode's events are being influenced by the Sontarans.


The Sontarans depicted in the episode are part of a battlegroup led by General Staal, "the undefeated" (Christopher Ryan). Instead of an instant invasion, they are tactically approaching an invasion with a combination of human clones, mind control, and ATMOS; Martha is captured by two of the controlled humans and cloned to provide a tactical advantage against UNIT. The Doctor asks Martha to tell Mace about the Sontarans, but Martha does not pass along the information.


A subplot depicts Donna returning to her home to warn her mother Sylvia and grandfather Wilfred Mott about the Doctor. Concerned about the implications of telling the truth, Donna reneges from warning her mother. At the end of the episode, the Doctor investigates the ATMOS device attached to Donna's car and discovers a secondary function: the device can emit a poisonous gas. Wilfred attempts to take the car off the road, but is trapped when Staal activates all 400 million installed in cars worldwide. The episode's cliffhanger depicts Donna shouting for help while the Doctor stares helplessly at a street full of cars emitting the gas, while on their ship orbiting the planet, the Sontarans prepare themselves for battle.


Episode 3 - The Planet Of The Ood

The Doctor uses the TARDIS to land at a random point in time and space. On leaving the TARDIS, he and Donna find an injured Ood, a species the Doctor previously encountered in "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit". Just before dying, the Ood's eyes turn red and it makes a lunge for the Doctor, startling him with its ferocity. The Doctor muses that they were being influenced by the Devil on their previous encounter, and concludes that on this occasion they must be being influenced by a different and closer being. The Doctor and Donna find an industrial complex controlled by Ood Operations, who have been selling the Ood as a servant race since 3914. The Doctor locates their position: the Ood-Sphere in the year 4126.


The "Red Eye" phenomenon is affecting other Ood on the planet: several people have been killed in the weeks prior to the narrative. During the outbreak, the Ood state that "the circle must be broken". Ood Operations noted an increase in the phenomenon, and considered it to be similar to foot-and-mouth disease CEO Klineman Halpen (Tim McInnerny)tells the Doctor the method of killing is identical.


Throughout the episode, Donna becomes sympathetic to the Ood and is horrified by their status as slaves. The Doctor also takes an interest in the Ood, noting that no species could naturally evolve to serve. He also feels he had overlooked them on their previous encounter. He and Donna travel through the complex and find a batch of uncultivated Ood. Instead of a translation sphere, they hold a "hind brain" that gives them individuality, and once removed, they become subservient; the Doctor derides Halpen for lobotomising them.


The Doctor and Donna are captured by Ood Operations' security force. Shortly after, the Ood begin a mass revolution, and the complex is evacuated. The Doctor follows Halpen to a locked warehouse. The warehouse contains a large brain, which completes the Ood's collective consciousness. The brain's control of the Ood is limited by a circle of pylons emitting a forcefield. Halpen plans to kill the brain, and by extension, all of the Ood, but is stopped by a joint effort between the Doctor, Donna, Dr Ryder (Adrian Rawlins), and Halpen's personal Ood, Ood Sigma (Paul Kasey); Ryder, an activist for "Friends of the Ood", had lowered the telepathic field gradually over ten years, while Ood Sigma used Halpen's hair-loss medication to slowly convert Halpen into an Ood.


The Doctor shuts down the circle, freeing the Ood and allowing them to all rejoin in a telepathic collective. Before leaving, Ood Sigma promises to include the Doctor and Donna in the Ood's song; stating that "the Wind, the Ice and the Snow" shall remember and honour their names forever, but comments that the Doctor's song may soon end.

Episode 2 - The Fires Of Pompeii


The Doctor and Donna Noble arrive in what the Doctor believes to be first century Rome. After an earthquake, he realises he has materialised in Pompeii on 23 August 79, one day before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. When he returns to the TARDIS's location, he is told it has been sold to a Lucius Caecilius Iucundus (Peter Capaldi), a marble merchant. At Caecilius's home, they meet his wife Metella (Tracey Childs), his son Quintus (Francois Pandolfo), and his daughter Evelina (Francesca Fowler), who is to be inducted into the Sybilline Sisterhood. Though they try to go under the alias of Spartacus, the Doctor and Donna are identified by the future sight of both Evelina and the local augur Lucius Petrus Dextrus (Phil Davis). Evalina collapses and it is revealed that the skin on her arm has become stone-like. The Doctor, disturbed by their knowledge of his and Donna's personal lives and by Lucius's commission for a strange slab of marble, decides to investigate while Donna reveals to Evalina the fate of Pompeii.


When the Sybilline high priestess (Victoria Wicks) hears Donna's words via a mental connection with Evalina, she sends her acolytes Spurrina (Sasha Behar) and Thalina (Lorraine Burroughs) to bring the false prophet for a sacrifice. Meanwhile, the Doctor breaks into Lucius's home with the aid of Quintus, learning that the marble plates are actually circuit boards for an energy converter. The Doctor and Quintus are accosted by Lucius, whose arm is revealed to have been completely turned to stone from breathing in the same vapors as Evalina. The Doctor and Quintus escape but are pursued by what is later to be revealed to be a Pyrovile, giant magma golem-like creatures whose home planet was destroyed. The confusion allows the Sisterhood to kidnap Donna briefly; the Doctor follows them and frees Donna.


The Doctor soon reveals that the Sisterhood and Lucius act as the Pyroviles's proxies, making prophecies while breathing in the dust remains and becoming Pryoviles themselves. They escape into the Sisterhood's hypocaust system and travel into the centre of Mount Vesuvius, learning of the Pyroviles' plan to recreate themselves by turning the human race into Pyroviles. The Doctor realises the volcano will not erupt if the energy converter is running, and subsequently overloads the system, destroying the Pyroviles and triggering the eruption of Vesuvius. The Doctor attempts to leave, but Donna convinces the Doctor to save Caecilius's family so that not everyone dies. The family, the Doctor and Donna then watch Pompeii's destruction from a vantage point above the ruined city. The Doctor assures the family that Pompeii is never forgotten before leaving with Donna. Six months later in Rome, Caecilius's family are shown to be successful: Caecilius is running a profitable business, Evelina is able to live a normal life as her power was lost with Pompeii, and Quintus is training to become a doctor. Before Quintus leaves, he pays tribute to the family's household gods, the Doctor and Donna.

Episode 1 - Partners In Crime

The episode primarily focuses on Donna Noble, a previous companion who appeared in "The Runaway Bride". After her encounter with the Doctor, she became disenchanted with normal life and regretted declining his invitation to travel in the TARDIS. She started investigating conspiracy theories in the hope she would find him. She confides her regrets to her grandfather Wilfred Mott (Bernard Cribbins), an amateur astronomer who met the Doctor shortly before the episode's events.


The episode concerns Adipose Industries, which is marketing a diet pill to London's population with the slogan "the fat just walks away". Believing the treatment to be otherworldly, the Doctor and Donna investigate the company separately, and find that the slogan is literal—the pills use latent body fat to parthenogenetically create the Adipose, small white aliens which spawn every night, removing a little of the host's body fat each time. In an emergency, multiple Adipose can spawn by using all of the body's organic tissue, killing the host. When the Doctor and Donna meet, they are confronted by Miss Foster (Sarah Lancashire), an alien who is exploiting Britain's overweight population to create the Adipose for the Adiposian First Family. Miss Foster mentions that the Adipose species "lost" their breeding planet, which is questioned by the doctor.


Foster accelerates her plans, feeling threatened by the Doctor's invocation of galactic law and fearing he may inform the "Shadow Proclamation", an interplanetary code and council. Throughout London, the Adipose begin to spawn, soon numbering several thousand. The Doctor and Donna prevent total emergency parthenogenesis occurring, while the remainder make their way to Adipose Industries. The Adiposian First Family use their spaceship to collect the Adipose, but kill Foster to hide any evidence they used Earth illegally. The Doctor defers from killing the Adipose because they are children; Donna notes that his previous companion Martha Jones made him more human, citing his infanticide of the Racnoss in their previous encounter.
At the end of the episode, Donna accepts an offer to travel in the TARDIS. She makes a detour to leave her car keys in a safe location for her mother Sylvia (Jacqueline King), and asks a blonde woman to help Sylvia find the keys. The woman turns towards the camera, revealing her to be Rose Tyler (Billie Piper). She fades as she walks away from the area. In the final scene, Donna asks the Doctor to fly by her grandfather, Wilfred, who sees her and celebrates on his allotment.



Synopsis taken from Wilkimedia




Sunday 11 May 2008

The Doctor's Daughter

After having his DNA forecably taken, a young woman emerges from the machine and says, "Hello Dad". Jenny is the Doctor's daughter - technically. She is created to fight against the Hath - genetic descendants of a race known as the Haemovores.. AFter helping her father and Donna escape, she steps in front of him and takes the bullet....

Also, notice Donna's clothing - look familiar? We have all seen the clip (which has yet to be screened), of Donna wearing this outfit when she is with Rose Tyler!


Sunday 4 May 2008

Season 30 clues in episodes 1 through 5

Partners In Crime - Rose. in the crowd .......



The Fires of Pompeii - Sothsayers....





The Plant of the OOd - Song must end.....




The Sontaran Stratagem - Donna & Martha meet - NO Fighting! (Subtle)




The Poison Sky - Rose "Doctor!"





Rose IS Returning - all clues thus far >>