Sunday 31 August 2008

HMV Doctor Who: Complete Series 4: 6dvd: Box Set

Here is alternative Doctor Who Series 4 Boxset which may or may not be an exclusive design to HMV. Amazon tend to have an exclusive design themselves and as yet, there is no evidence of that.

I have blown the image up as it is only available on the net as a small icon.




The Series four box set will be released on the 17th November.
RRP £69.99 Your saving £17.00
HMV Price: £52.99



Dr Who Illuminations 29 August - 2 November 2008


TARDIS in construction ready for the 2008 illuminations

On Saturday, 30th August, Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond. Also known as Jezzer, Captain Slow and Hamster, switched on the Blackpool Illuminations. What spectacular had they in store for the lights 76th anniversary switch on?

The TARDIS outside Borders in Blackpool

After the success of the 2007 switch on ceremony when Dr Who, David Tennant threw the switch on the Illuminations, Blackpool Illuminations Department decided to enhance the Dr Who section of the Lights.

The Dr Who section of the Illuminations runs from Central Pier to New Bonny Street next to Coral Island. It is parts of this section that are being updated with new Donna Noble and the Dr images. But that's not the best bit!Not only are full sized TARDIS being constructed but also 7ft high DALEKS! They are being constructed at the Illuminations Works. The TARDIS is constructed of 4 fibreglass sides, a fibreglass floor and roof, the blue light at the top, the internal steel work and the electrical lighting system.

A DALEK waiting to be painted



There will be 3 DALEKS and 3 TARDISes to be constructed and sited within the existing Dr Who feature outside the Dr Who exhibition. They are to be lighted to enable an effect to be created to show the TARDIS zooming through time and space to re-emerge further along the promenade.






Some of the NEW Doctor Who illuminations


The Stig pulled the lever to light-up the resort
The Stig pulled the lever to light-up the resort

THE Stig stunned a 20,000 switch-on crowd when he powered-up Blackpool's Illuminations last night. Top Gear's anonymous 'tame racing driver' surprised everyone when he stepped in front of presenters Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond to pull the famous lever and create a kaleidoscope of colour along the Golden Mile.

The switch also trigged waves of fireworks high above the resort and sent a sea of orange and white confetti into the Central car park crowd who have gathered for a spectacular live BBC Radio 2 concert.

The appearance of the hosts of BBC 2's cult motoring programme - who raced to the resort - stole the show. A bedraggled Jeremy Clarkson told the packed crowds: "We had a bit of a Top Gear race today. All I can tell you is that James May lost. All I want to do now is go to bed. That was a long day."

Although the race remains a closely guarded secret the presenter was spotted driving away in a Jaguar with fellow host Hammond behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Polo. May remained nowhere to be seen while it was rumoured the Stig had got a National Express coach to the resort.

It is believed that the race was from Basle in Switzerland and will be the subject of an hour-long Top Gear to be screened at a later date.

Reunited Irish band Boyzone topped the sparkling line up in the specially-built arena, which was hosted by Janice Long and included top performances from Scouting for Girls, David Jordan and Scottish songstress Sandi Thom.

Saturday 30 August 2008

Where Are They Now? - No.6 Mark Strickson

Mark Strickson (born 1961 in Stratford Upon-Avon) is a British Actor best known for his roles as the character of Vislor Turlough companion to the fifth Doctor and as the young Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1984 version of A Christmas Carol. He attended King Edward VI Grammar School in his hometown of Stratford Upon Avon, and was also a Chorister at Holy Trinity Church (Shakespeare's Church), where his Father John Strickson was Organist and Choirmaster. He studied drama at RADA in London. After he left Doctor Who, he emigrated to Australia where he studied zoology at university. He now lives in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Strickson is now a documentary producer and director, especially of wildlife documentary programmes. He has produced programmes for, amongst others, the Discovery Channel, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Animal Planet. He was the person who brought Steve Irwin to public attention with such shows as The Ten Deadliest Snakes in the World.

Strickson has reprised the role of Turlough in the Big Finish Productions Doctor Who audio dramas. He also took part in the "Celebration" documentary for the "Five Doctors" DVD in 2008.


Where Are They Now? - No.5 Janet Fielding

Janet Fielding (born Janet Mahoney, 1957, Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian actress who is best known for her role in BBC's Doctor Who as Tegan Jovanka. She was a companion of both the Fourth and Fifth Doctor's.

Tegan Jovanka was an airline stewardess for Air Australia. Loud, brash and stubborn, she was nonetheless gifted with a clever mind and an appreciable dose of common sense. Tegan was not a woman to dance around a problem -- she cut right to the heart of the matter, and had little time to spare for those who would not do likewise. Despite her brassy exterior, however, even Tegan was not immune to the horrible things she witnessed during her time in the TARDIS; at first addictive, the weight of these experiences gradually grew to be more than even she could bear.



Australian Tegan Jovanka was on her way to start a new job as an air hostess when she entered the TARDIS, thinking it was a genuine Police Box. Shortly afterwards, her aunt was murdered by the Master.

After witnessing the Doctor regenerate into his fifth incarnation, she joined Nyssa and Adric in their travels with the Doctor. Tegan's adventures with the Doctor were especially traumatic: she was present when Adric died, and was mentally assaulted by the Mara on Deva Loka.

Finally sickened by all the death she'd witnessed, Tegan left the Doctor and Turlough, after helping to thwart an attempt by the Daleks to invade time itsel

Janet Fielding played Tegan from Logopolis in February 1981 to Resurrection Of The Daleks in February 1984. She returned as a regenerative image for Peter Davison's swan song The Caves Of Androzani in March 1984.




In 1982, Fielding married Daily Mirror foreign editor Nick Davies, who later became notable for allegations of being an arms dealer and Mossad agent. They divorced in 1991.

In the 1990s, Fielding worked as a theatrical agent, at one point representing Paul McGann when he took the role of the Eigth Doctor.

Despite distancing herself from Doctor Who for many years and being vocal in her criticisms of the programme, she returned to the role of Tegan for a Big Finish Productions audio play titled The Gathering released in 2006, once again alongsid Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor. Fielding has also provided audio commentaries for several DVD releases of Tegan's Doctor Who stories.

Fielding now works as the head of finance for a major charity organisation

Where Are They Now? - No.4 Sarah Sutton

Sarah Sutton (born 12 December 1961 in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England) is a British actress. She started her acting career at the tender age of 7 whilst attending the Elm Hurst Ballet School, when she was picked to play the part of Roo in a Pheonix Theatre production of Winnie the Pooh, which she played for 3 Christmases on the trot.

By the age of 11 she had starred in numerous television roles, including Menace:Boys And Girl s Come Out To Play (1973), Late Call (1974), Oil Strike North (1975). She also played the part of Alice in BBC' s Alice:Through The Looking Glass (1975). Her biggest success before landing the role of Nyssa in Doctor Who alongside Tom Baker's Doctor was 1978's children's drama The Moon Stallion, where she landed the lead role.

Sutton is best known for her role as Nyssa in the BBC science fiction television series "Doctor Who". Nyssa was a companion of Tom Baker and Peter Davison's Doctors from 1981 to 1983. Due to her outstanding acting contribution to the show, her contract was twice renewed on request of then producer John Nathan-Turner and current Doctor Peter Davison! she remained on the show for 2 years (1981 - 1983).


Her final full serial of "Doctor Who" was "Terminus" (1983, written by Stephen Gallagher and directed by Mary Ridge), in which she notoriously removed her skirt! Nyssa left her jacket on board the TARDIS when sterpped out on to Terminus. She takes off her skirt due to having a hot flash after contracting Lazars Disease. Before By the time Nyssa is recovered, she tells the Doctor that she is staying on board Terminus to aid in helping the lepers and turn Terminus from a leper colony into a true hospital.


Following her role as Nyssa, Sarah returned to the theatre touring in the play Policy For Murder (1986). Takin a short break afterwards to start a family with her GP husband, having a daughter Hannah. Since Hannah's birth, Sarah has appeared in Unnatural Pursuits and Doctor Who: Dimensions In Time. Sarah hopes to resume her acting career when her daughter is older.

More recently, Sutton has reprised her role of Nyssa alonside Peter Dasvison in Big Finish's audio productions of Doctor Who.

Sarah Sutton works as a public Library attendant in London

Where Are They Now? - No.3 Bonnie Langford

Bonita Melody Lysette "Bonnie" Langford (Born 22nd July 1964) is an English actress and entertainer. She came to prominence as a child star in the early 1970's.

Langford attended The Arts Educational School and the Italia Conti Academy stage school. Her first stage appearance was at four months and her first public appearance was at 15 months when she danced in specially made ballet shoes. She first came to public attention when, aged 6, she won the talent show Opportunity Knocks. This led to early fame in the television series Just William, the 1976 film Bugsy Malone and the 1977 film Wombling Free. At this time, she was associated with fellow child star Lena Zavaroni.

Between 1986 and 1987 Langford played the role of Mel, companion to both the Sixth and Seventh Doctors in the BBC1 series Doctor Who.
She returned to the role in 1993 for Dimensions in Time, a special charity Doctor Who/EastEnders crossover episode as part of BBC's Children in Need. She continues to reprise the role in audio adventures produced by Big Finish Productions (eleven to date, including the episodes "The One Doctor and "The Firs Of Vulcan").

In 2006, Langford was a celebrity contestant in the first series of ITV's Dancing on Ice, partnering professional figure skater Matt Evers. Their routines were characterised by the dramatic lifts and tricks they performed and were amongst the most ambitious in the competitions. Viewers saw Langford bang her head as she was spun on the ice during rehearsals, illustrating the danger of some of the moves they were attempting. Their appearances were also notable for the differing reception they received from the panel of judges (which consistently voted them highly, awarding them the highest total scores and the only two maximum scores from individual judges) and the voting public (who twice placed them in the bottom two pairs, forcing a "skate off" to remain in the competition). They finished in third place overall.


Langford and Evers appeared again on the programme in the one-off Champion of Champions show which followed series two. They were scored second overall by the judging panel but again the public vote was less favourable and they were amongst the four teams eliminated in the first round of the competition. Langford then toured with Torvill & Dean's Dancing On Ice Live in 2007, a series of 42 shows in which she was the winner 27 times.

Langford took part in the 2008 tour which started in April 2008. Teamed with new skating partner Pavel Aubrecht she again impressed the judges & fans with two new superb routines however the competition was extremely high with many of the celebrities winning the shows & in the end Bonnie won 4 of the show.

Dancing On Ice has sparked a regeneration in her career. She returned to the West End theatre in April 2006 (for the first time since 1998) playing the murderess Roxie Hart in the long-running West End musical Chicago and again in Dec 2007-Feb 2008 in the same role, also in 2006-7 she appeared in the Birmingham and Plymouth tours of Guys & Dolls playing Miss Adelaide Adams, a dance hall hostess. Starting in 2006 she has also been touring with Sandi Toksvig in a two-woman theatrical show called Short and Curly

She has also made a number of guest appearances on television, including Agatha Christie's 'Miss Marple' on ITV (playing Betty Johnson alongside Brian Conley in the episode By the pricking of my thumbs, February 2006), The Catherine Tate Show (late 2006), Supermarket Sweep with Dale Winton (February 2007) and the children's programme Hider in the House (March 2007).

In July 2007 she was a judge on the ITV series Baby Ballroom: The Championship. Starting on 16 February 2008, Bonnie was 1 of 5 celebrities making up team Ant for there new team game Ant versus Dec in Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.She survived right up until the final edition, reaching the semi final stage & just missing out on the final which was eventually won by team Dec.

http://www.bonnielangford.co.uk/

Where Are They Now? - No.2 Matthew Waterhouse

Matthew Waterhouse (born in 1961 in Heresford, England) is a British actor best known for his role as Adric in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. After leaving the series, he began a stage career.

Adric was a companion of Tom Baker and Peter Davison's Doctors from 1980 to 1982. Waterhouse was the youngest male actor to play a companion. He is also the first 'Doctor Who Fan' to join the cast of the show! In 2006, Waterhouse self-published his debut novel, Fates, Flowers:A Comedy Of New York.

Waterhouse returned to the sphere of Doctor Who and took part in the audio commentaries for the DVD releases of Earthshock and The Visitation released in 2003 and 2004 respectively. He also provided commentary for The Keeper of Traken, released in 2007 as part of the New Beginnings box set. Though released separately, all commentaries were recorded in the same week, as noted by Waterhouse in his commentary for The Keeper of Traken.



In 1996 he made the science fiction pilot drama Ghostlands for MJTV Productions, and played the character Tom, alongside actors Sylvester McCoy and Jacqueline Pearce.



Waterhouse's name was used by comedians Matt Lucas and David Walliams for a character in their sketch show Little Britain. Waterhouse in the programme is an unsuccessful inventor of bizarre and ridiculous new versions of things such as board games and breakfast cereals. Little Britain has also featured two other characters named after Doctor Who companion actors, Michael Craze and Mark Strickson, while the actual programme is, of course, narrated by none other than Tom Baker.

Waterhouse has lived in Connecticut, in the United States, since July 1998 with his partner who he met a Doctor Who convention.

Friday 29 August 2008

Where Are They Now? - No.1 Louise Jameson

Louise Jameson (born 20th April 1951 in Wanstead, London) is best remembered for her role as Leela, warrior of the Sevateem. First seen in Doctor Who story - "Face Of Evil" alongside fourth Doctor Tom Baker. Louise played Leela for only 9 months but it is the part she is fondly remembered for. An interview with Louise Jameson can be found at: my-tardis.co.uk.

Leela first appears in the 1977 serial, The Face of Evil, where she was a warrior of the savage Sevateem tribe, who were the descendants of the crew of an Earth Ship that crash landed on an unnamed planet in the far future. The name of her tribe, "Sevateem", was a corruption of "survey team". Although the Doctor at this point was content to travel alone, Leela runs past the Doctor and into the TARDIS as the Doctor shouts at her to get out. As he enters the TARDIS, you can hear him yell at Leela, "DON'T TOUCH THAT BUTTON!", and the TARDIS de-materialises. They travel together until "The Invasion Of Time" . Once the invasion by the Sontarans is ended by the Doctor (President Elect of Gallifrey), Leela decides to remain on Gallifrey after falling for Commander Andred, K-9 stays to watch over his mistress.



Although Leela is a primitive, she was also highly intelligent, grasping advanced concepts easily and translating them into terms she could cope with. Despite the Doctor's attempts at "civilizing" her, however, Leela is strong-willed enough to continue in her savage ways. She usually dresses in animal skins, armed with a knife or a set of poisonous Janis thorns which she does not hesitate to use on people who threatened her, much to the Doctor's disapproval.

.


Louise has had a long television career in shows such as Tenko (as Blanche Simmons) EastEnders, (Rosa Di Marco) The Omega Factor (as Dr. Anne Reynolds) amongst others. She can be seen in BBC Scotland soap River City (as Viv Roberts). Louise joined the cast back in April of this year.


Viv

Viv Roberts

Actor

Louise Jameson

Currently

Viv has a thirst for life that Shirley can't quite get used to. The pair are now working together and living together, and Viv's doing her best to bring some fun into her new friend's life.

Biography

Viv Roberts is a child of the swinging sixties and she's perpetually hanging on to that vibe! She was raised in small town England, and started training to be a hairdresser at the age of 17. She's never been what her family would call 'respectable', and has two children by two different men.

She carved a career for herself in London, as hairdresser to the stars, and has enjoyed an eventful life. She's great fun, full of warmth, and is incredibly sharp. She does have a quieter side but she rarely lets it be seen.

Since moving to Glasgow, she joined Shirley as a partner in Moda Vida, and is determined to bring a lot of light into her new friend's life.

River City was first broadcast on 24th September 2002. It is produced and broadcast by BBC Scotland and set in the fictional Glasgow suburb of Shieldinch. Two episodes are shown every week, with an omnibus edition shown on Sundays. Despite its relative infancy, River City has grown to become one of Scotland's most-watched programmes, often attracting around 600,000 viewers in Scotland alone. Now well established into modern Scottish society, River City recently celebrated its fifth birthday, with special episodes to mark the occasion. Other special yearly events have episodes reflecting their occurrence, including St. Andrew's Day, Hogmanay and Christmas.

Although mostly set in and around Greater Glasgow, River City also includes characters from other parts of Scotland and further afield, such as Aberdeen, the Western Isles, Ireland, Italy, Poland and the USA.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/tv/rivercity/

'Don't Look Now' - Nicola on Tour

Nicola will be appearing in a stage adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's 'Don't Look Now'. The production opens on the 1st September at the Mercury Theatre Colchester. It also stars Peter Amory (Emmerdale) and Rula Lenska. Nicola plays the part of Laura Baxter, a role made famous by Julie Christie in the 1973 film version which also co-starred Donald Sutherland. The film went on to win 8 BAFTA awards.

The production will then be touring from early August until late November 2008 in the UK at the following venues:

Doctor Who Exclusive in Latest SFX Special

The latest SFX Special is now on sale and it’s a cornucopia of CG eye-candy as we delve into the world of computer generated special FX. Here’s some of the goodness that awaits you:

* An exclusive cover image designed specially for SFX by the Doctor Who FX team at The Mill (reprinted inside word-free – it seemed a shame to waste it!)

* A free 28-page supplement on the special FX of Doctor Who season four, with many exclusive pics.

* A rare interview with Mamoru Oshii about his CG update of the classic Ghost in the Shell

* The complete history of CGI in the movies

* A massive profile on Pixar, creators of Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc and WALL-E

* Behind-the-scenes FX features on some the biggest, recent SF and fantasy movies, including Iron Man, Transformers, The Golden Compass and Speed Racer (in features never printed in SFX before).

* The FX of Primeval

* And (long-time readers of SFX might get a thrill out of this one) an old feature makes a return as we ask Isn’t It About Time You Gave Jar Jar Binks Another Chance (and no, we don’t just have a spread saying, "No!")

It’s in the shops now for just £5.99 and comes in a swanky slip case. Go on, you know you want to!

New Rani interviewed!

When The Sarah Jane Adventures returns to BBC1 for a second series, there’ll be a new face in the regular cast. It’s GCSE year for young actress Yasmin Paige (Maria Jackson), so she’s bowing out. But Sarah Jane’s Scooby gang won’t be short-handed, since new girl Anjli Mohindra is stepping into the breach as Rani Chandra, who moves into the Jacksons’ old house with her parents (pictured left).

SFX went on set in Penarth recently to speak to the cast. Here’s what Anjli had to say for herself:



On joining the cast:
“It’s been really great, because sometimes when you come into a show everyone’s already all tight in a performed group and you feel a bit intimidated but absolutely not at all. I completely feel part of the team, and it’s just fantastic coming into a group of mates that are already formed but welcome other people in as friends.”

On when her character joins the series:
“Fairly near the start, after saying farewell to the third sidekick, I kind of have a bit of a nosey into the lives of the world-saving team and kind of butt my way in!”

On whether she’s seen the series before:
“Well, it is a lot younger than my age range because I’m 18, but I have seen it on TV a few times and got a lot more into it as I found about the auditions. At first I didn’t actually know how popular it was, until you watch a bit more and hear a lot more people talking about it, and you go onto the website and there’s forums and loads of stuff going on around it. But yeah, I thought it was great, because with children's TV it’s normally quite patronising, but not with this at all. There’s no ‘moral of the day’ at the end of every story, it’s just completely the same as Doctor Who, and adults can watch it as well, which I thought was great.”

On whether Rani is similar to Maria:
“The only similarity that she has is that she’s a girl, really, and she lives in the same house, and that’s about as far as it goes. In personality terms I don’t think they’re that similar, apart from they’re both quite strong-willed, but I think there’s a lot less tears from Rani than there were from Maria. I think her relationship with Sarah Jane is a lot different as well. I think with Rani she’s very much an apprentice of Sarah Jane, which is a really nice relationship, I think. But it does take some getting use to because at first you’ll find that Sarah Jane is not really that interested in taking on another child.”
“She’s kind of shadowing Sarah Jane a lot. And you’ll see that if there’s a moment where she doesn’t quite know how to attack a situation, whether to be quiet, whether to be scared, worried, or to be strong, she’ll always watch Sarah Jane. If Sarah Jane goes in being really bolshy, you’ll see a few seconds later she’s up there as well. She’s just really into her fighting - not fighting physically, but fighting mentally! She’s quite strong, really strong-willed. And she’s a girl between two guys at times, which is nice.”

On her favourite story of the season:
“I like the ending, because we’ve got a really nice combination of monsters in that one. And it’s not just one monster either – we’ve got two different monsters, who unite and form an evil pair, so that’s a good one!”

Interviewer: Ian Berriman

The Sarah Jane Adventures returns to BBC One in late September. Issue 174 of SFX (in shops now) includes an interview with the producer about the new series, while issue 175 will include an interview with Elisabeth Sladen.

INTERVIEW: All About Eve, a talk with Torchwood star, Eve Myles


Most of the time, Eve Myles, Torchwood’s no-nonsense Gwen Cooper, bounds around like an over-excited puppy. On stage at the Rift Convention, she overcomes her apprehension at facing her first convention appearance by regaling fans with tales from the set of Torchwood that quickly have the audience in the palm of her hand. But, as she tells Carole Gordon in a quiet moment later in the day, filming Torchwood was not all fun and games. Losing two of the characters from the show at the end of the second series, people who had over the course of filming become and remain her good friends, was a deeply emotional experience - and one that will continue to affect both her and Gwen.

The second series of Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood ended with the aptly-titled episode Exit Wounds, with Jack’s long-lost brother Gray attempting to destroy Jack, the Torchwood team, Cardiff and, just for good measure, the rest of the planet. Jack is buried alive for a couple of millennia while the rest of the team try to save the world. So, just a normal day at Torchwood then. Except that, on that day, both Owen and Toshiko die heroically as they battle to defeat Gray.

Not surprisingly, for Eve Myles and the rest of the team, these were difficult scenes to shoot.

Myles is clearly saddened at remembering the filming of that episode. “It was actually filmed on the last day. You’re doing seven months with people and coming to an end it’s always an emotional thing to say goodbye to people - especially when you have to say goodbye to them for good. To do those scenes was very, very hard.”

That’s not to say that Owen (Burn Gorman) and Toshiko (Naoko Mori) didn’t go out with a bang – in more ways than one. There were, Myles says, positives to their departures and she can’t speak too highly of her colleagues.

“They had a incredible exit. They are fabulous characters that will always be remembered. They’re legends. They are wonderful. It’s a very hard thing to say goodbye to people, isn’t it?”

Although no longer in the show, Owen and Toshiko are not forgotten. Myles confirms that the up-coming BBC Radio 4 one-off drama, written specially to coincide with the launch of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider and set around that event, addresses the loss of the two team members. The others will always be affected by this tragic loss, but Myles thinks Gwen will be particularly affected as she’s newer to Torchwood and the constant dangers they face.

“She really grasped onto those two characters,” says Myles. “As far as Jack and Ianto are concerned, they are used to everyone dying young in Torchwood. It’s part of the job.”

Of her own work on Torchwood’s second year, Myles is particularly proud of the episode Adrift, in which Gwen discovers a major secret that Jack has been keeping about people being taken and returned by the Rift, leading her to re-evaluate herself and her approach to her role on the team. The episode was, Myles says, more drama than strictly science fiction, more about the relationships between mother and son, and between Jack and the rest of the Torchwood team.

“I am very proud of that because it was a very different episode and I think it was a huge diversion from where everybody thought Torchwood Series 2 was going, a huge diversion. It anchored Gwen again as being human. She learned about the do’s and don’ts. Sometimes, never mind how much good you think you are doing, actually sometimes it’s better just to stay in the background. That’s a big, big thing that goes against everything that Gwen is. Sometimes,” Myles says with a smile, “it’s better to mind your own business.”

Myles particularly enjoyed the scenes she played with John Barrowman, showing another side to the enigmatic Captain Jack Harkness.

“You can see another side of Jack in how he’s been dealing with humans who have been taken by the rift. How he described it to Gwen was rather beautiful. And how he dealt with it was quite cold but that’s the only way he could deal with it. It was wonderful for the contrast between Gwen and Jack - you could see the time traveller and the human girl from Cardiff. A beautiful contrast.”

And Adrift definitely contrasts with Myles’s other favourite episode of the series. Something Borrowed saw Gwen finally marry her long-time boyfriend, Rhys (played by Kai Owen). But, in the best tradition of television weddings, all does not go to plan. On the day of the wedding, Gwen wakes up pregnant with an alien baby and has to fight off the baby’s shape-shifting mother, who ends up in the guise of Gwen’s mother-in-law.

Myles giggles as she describes the episode, which gave her the chance to show her comedy skills – and to blast into oblivion one of Liverpool’s most famous daughters, former Liver Bird Nerys Hughes. “I got to shoot Nerys Hughes of all things! You don’t do that every day at work, do you?!”

Away from Gwen and Torchwood, Myles can be seen later this year in a new adaptation of Dickens’ Little Dorrit, starring Andy Serkis from Lord of the Rings, Spooks‘ Matthew Macfadyen and Doctor Who and Torchwood star, Freema Agyeman. And in Merlin, also airing in the Autumn, Myles will appear as a 130-year-old witch.

What about Gwen’s future? If there is a third series of Torchwood (and at the time of writing, the BBC have not officially confirmed they have commissioned more episodes), Myles sees Gwen going from strength to strength.

“In terms of character,” Myles says excitedly, “she’s bloody Wonderwoman! She goes home, she deals with her lover, she has a normal life, she goes to work, she saves the world every day. She’s an ordinary girl in an extraordinary situation. And she’s awesome! She’s absolutely brilliant! I’m exhausted playing her, but she is quite special.”

And how about that musical episode that John Barrowman keeps suggesting? With John, Kai Owen (Rhys), Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto) and Captain John (James Marsters) all being accomplished musicians, would Myles also be up for it?

“Oh god, no!” she says, insisting she can’t sing but then with a grin adds she could do some hip-hop.

“I’ll chuck some shapes out in the background,” she laughs. “It’s like a musical anyway – they don’t stop bloody singing on the set all the time!”

© Carole Gordon 2008 Eclipse Magazine

Thursday 28 August 2008

SJA Cast changes


Chris Davids (Kasterborous)

As you may already be aware, Sarah Jane Adventures Series 2 will see some changing around of the main characters, with Maria Jackson and her father moving away from Sarah Jane Smith's neighbourhood.

Apparently this is due to exams, with young actress Yasmin Page being ready to sit her GCSEs during shooting of Series 2; similarly, Luke Smith actor Tommy Knight is set to sit a lot of GCSEs in 2009 which may affect his presence should production on Series 3 be underway by then.

There have been rumours also that Maria Jackson and her father are being completely written out - if this is the case it would seem to be a bit of a missed opportunity to expand on Sarah Jane's horizons.

On the bright side however, we're likely to be introduced to Clyde's parents in Series 2, along with new character Rani Chandra and her family. No chance of getting through this information without making reference to a former rival Time Lady who also went by the name Rani, either.

So new season and new dynamic. Actor and comedian Alexander Armstrong has also returned to voice supercomputer Mr Smith - although he is expected to feature less.

Wednesday 27 August 2008

2009 Specials Rumours!

Spoiler Speculation (SPOILERS!)


Christian Cawley(kasterborous)

At the weekend we reported on the possibility of a return to Doctor Who from Catherine Tate. Verification on the information below is very difficult - as such these should be considered strong rumours with high spoiler potential, and you read on at your risk...

These spoilers mainly concern the 2009 specials. Things start off nicely, with expectations that the first special will be televised in April 2009, running to an hour and completing a bit of Whoniverse seasonal fun as it will likely air the same week as Torchwood: Children of Earth.

This get interesting when we then learn that the second special will be broadcast on Christmas Day 2009. This again will run to an hour.

"But what of the other 2 specials?" I hear you ask!

If these rumours are true, these will each be 45 minutes long - the length of a standard two parter - and air sometime between Boxing Day and January 1st 2010. That's right - the fourth '2009 Special' may in fact be broadcast in 2010.

Rumoured to be appearing in these specials are:

• CATHERINE TATE and BERNARD CRIBBINS

• JOHN SIMM as THE MASTER.

• BRIAN BLESSED

• GEORGIA MOFFETT returning as the Doctor's daughter, Jenny.

• THE SEA DEVILS

Plus the obligatory Paul McGann rumour:

• PAUL MCGANN to return as the Eighth Doctor

Now... we can take all of this with a very big pinch of salt. David Tennant is performing Hamlet still, and shooting isn't set to start on any of this lot for weeks yet.

However: Catherine Tate hasn't ruled out a return to Doctor Who and commented before this year's series that Tennant wouldn't do another series. Meanwhile, why have a two-part Christmas time special before a presumed series launch in the spring of 2010 if not for a regeneration to introduce a new Doctor?

Remember - food for thought, but not by any means gospel.

Tuesday 26 August 2008

Gareth David-Lloyd's Blues Band

Blue Gillespie at Abergavenny Cycling Festival (21/06/08) Pt 1

Uploaded on youtube.com by Mrs Harkness1. There are 8 parts in total to enjoy!!

Torchwood Cast Series 3

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Filming under way for new series of Torchwood


Filming for the third series of the smash hit drama Torchwood, created by Doctor Who writer Russell T Davies, has begun in Cardiff.

Due to transmit in 2009 on BBC One, the series – called Torchwood: Children Of Earth – sees the team embarking on a single action-packed adventure as they battle for the future of the human race against the fiercest force they have encountered.

The highly-motivated Torchwood team are John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper and Gareth David-Lloyd as Ianto Jones.

Other regular cast involved in their high-octane adventure are Kai Owen as Rhys Williams, Gwen's husband, and Tom Price as PC Andy.

Special guests in the five part series are Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who, The Thick Of It, Skins), who plays the role of Mr Frobisher – a civil servant who is hiding a terrible secret; Paul Copely (Coronation Street, The Bill) as Clem – the survivor still haunted by his past; and Liz May Brice (Bad Girls, The Bill) as Johnson – the cynical covert government agent determined to expose Torchwood.

Russell T Davies said: "The new series of Torchwood is hugely bold and promises to be bigger and better than ever – the audience is in for an amazing ride.

"This series is one big serial and the most ambitious story we've ever made, and we've got plenty of surprises in store."

Julie Gardner, Head of Drama, BBC Wales, said: "We hope to make Torchwood a gripping and surprising TV event with storylines that push our team into greater danger and sacrifice.

"Joining our main cast are some fantastic guest artists who will only add to making this unmissable TV."

The first two series of Torchwood have received global critical acclaim and the hit drama has been sold to more than 20 countries.

The second series of the BBC Wales-produced series, broadcast on BBC Two earlier this year, attracted audiences of around 3.4 million, peaking at 4.2 million for the first episode. Including viewers on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer the consolidated audience was 5.1 million.

When it launched on BBC Three in October 2006, it attracted the channel's highest viewing figures, with an audience of 2.5 million for the first episode.

Monday 25 August 2008

USA Filming of Dcoctor Who Specials?



According to an article in the NEWS OF THE WORLD, two of the 2009 SPECIALS are to be filmed in the USA. Doctor Who has a big fan base across the pond and according to the article, an American companion is on the cards! It also suggests a possible new movie in the pipeline!!

Picture: themindrobber.co.uk

Sunday 24 August 2008

Vault of Horror (1973)




Bank holiday Monday, Film Four are showing "The Vault of Horror" which stars the fourth Doctor himself, Tom Baker.




http://mondo-esoterica.net/Vault%20of%20Horror.html