The Week in TV Series News

Greetings, readers. I've at last finished my book, so I can now get back to regular Outpost Gallifrey updates, including today's news update from the past week or so... read on!

Broadcasting and Production

It slowly begins... Outpost Gallifrey has learned that at least one retailer in downtown Cardiff has been approached regarding filming outside their store, said to be happening on August 1, a date we've heard may be the start of production on series two. Our contact reports that "we will be required to put a Christmas display in the window. As far as I know they will only be filming outside the store. It's in a place called The Hayes, in the city centre. It just so happens it's across the road from the department store that was used for Henricks in 'Rose'."

Final ratings figures for the last two episodes of Doctor Who are now in from the BARB. Bad Wolf finished with 6.81 million viewers and a 35.91% audience share, and The Parting of the Ways concluded the season with 6.7 million viewers and a huge 41.77% audience share.

Meanwhile, our UK readers have a chance to watch the first series from the beginning. According to Digiguide, and confirmed by our sources, "Doctor Who" returns on BBC3 starting Saturday 16 July; each episode will air on Saturday at 7.45pm along with the corresponding episode of the "Doctor Who Confidential" documentary series immediately after, with another repeat of the episode itself on Wednesday at 8.15pm. Therefore, "Rose" will air on 16 July at 7.45pm.

Canada will definitely see the second series of "Doctor Who" next year. According to the official Doctor Who website, "Following the success of the first series of Doctor Who, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation have agreed to screen series two and the Christmas Special. 'We're delighted to have the CBC on board for another season,' said Russell T Davies. 'They have been the perfect partner on Doctor Who - sharing the editorial vision at the outset, then running a strong campaign from sexy posters to slick witty trailers, and best of all having the confidence to schedule the series in a big showy prime time slot. Once again Canadian viewers will be amongst the first to see the adventure. It all kicks off with a Christmas Special - just wait till you see what we do with Santa...' Slawko Klymkiw, Executive Director Programming, CBC Television said, 'It is great being part of such an innovative project with BBC. We've enjoyed great success with the first season of Doctor Who and are looking forward to season two with great relish.'" The news was also reported at C21 Media.

Is Billie Piper being paid more than David Tennant? An article in Sunday's issue of The People says that "The actress, who plays Rose Tyler, will be paid ú210,000 to appear in a Christmas special and a second series of the show, while Tennant, who is taking over from Christopher Eccleston in the role of the Doctor, is being paid ú166,000 for the same number of episodes. However, the newspaper claims that Tennant has signed a ú500,000 contract, which commits him to three series. 'It's great news that Billie is staying,' a source told the newspaper. 'Her deal is what she deserves as she's a favourite with fans.'" Also reported at Digital Spy, ContactMusic.

Will K9 make a comeback next year? The Newsquest Media Group syndicated column says so, furthering rumors in June that he would be joining Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane) for an appearance next year. "Dr. Who's famous canine companion looks set to make a comeback - to the delight of its Bridport creators. Mechanical mutt K9 was the invention of local novelist David Martin and his script writing partner Bob Baker. The pair penned around 30 episodes of the hit TV sci-fi show in the 70s and 80s - many featuring their "pentium-powered" pooch. Now BBC chiefs are understood to be planning a return for the Timelord's faithful four-wheeled friend in the next series. This week Mr Baker confirmed that he was meeting with the show's producers to discuss K9's future role. 'It is not confirmed yet but I am sure he will be in the new series although we have to discuss how to use him,' he said. 'We love the idea of him coming back - he really was a cult figure - but we need to get things right. Last time it ended with people carrying him around the set which was not right and suspended belief a bit too much.' ... A spokeswoman for the BBC said they were working on the new Dr Who series but refused to confirm whether K9 would be involved. 'There is no comment at this point.'"

Airline passengers are seeing episodes of the new series. "The End of the World" is being screened on all July British Airways flights from the UK equipped with the 'Highlife' Entertainment service, followed by an episode of Star Trek: TNG and Babylon 5. "Rose" is also definitely being screened on Thomsonfly airlines.

The latest issue of TV Zone Magazine includes an interview with Doctor Who producer Phil Collinson, who talks about Series Two of BBC's Cult-TV hit. "...Rose has to learn to trust [the new Doctor] all over again û and that's going to be an interesting dynamic through the early episodes û but they'll still be fighting monsters and saving the world, and above all they'll still be enjoying each other's company. Doctor Who always changed with his regeneration and the advent of a new actor. David [Tennant's] approach won't be any different. He will want to attack the role without preference to the past through û just as all his predecessors did. ... Series Two will follow the template of Series One. A little London filming but the majority being filmed in Cardiff. Filming here works and we're delighted that they're welcoming us back...quite frankly I'm amazed and delighted that so many of the wonderfully committed and brilliant team from Series One are coming back." (This information was reported at The Great Link.)

The BBC in-house weekly journal Ariel has a column called "Case Notes", in which a BBC department explains how it solved a problem. Last week (21.06.05 Week 25) was "marketing Doctor Who": "As the latest Doctor Who series comes to an end, marketing execs explain why the programme's return posed a dilemma and how their strategy saved the day, if not the world. The dilemma: How do you bring back Doctor Who for a generation who loved it and how do you introduce it to a generation who knew nothing about it? This is the problem that faced the MC&A and BBC Broadcast teams. The facts: The marketing of Doctor Who seemed straightforward: it was after all a much-loved brand. Its return was researched among families with children. The result? Its heritage could be a help and a hindrance. On the whole, dads thought that the new show would be for their children (since the dads had watched it when they were young), but the children thought that the new show would be for their dads (since their dads already knew who Doctor Who was and they didn't). Solution: For guidance the team looked to Hollywood, to see how it trails movies such as Spiderman and Batman. They discovered that there is often no explanation of the hero's back story. Moreover, making references to returning characters - as in 'he's back!' - alienates the younger audience. So instead of reinterpreting Doctor Who for both children and parents, the marketing emphasised the fantastic-adventure element, a journey on which we are invited to travel. In trails Christopher Eccleston asks if you want to follow him on the trip of a lifetime. Billie Piper, who plays Rose, lent the show credibility to a younger audience. But there was still a fine balance to strike - the trails had to look exciting and thrilling to people of all ages." The article notes the success of the series including beating "Ant and Dec".

People

David Tennant was interviewed in last week's TV Times magazine, where he admitted to being "absolutely terrified" about the prospect of playing the Tenth Doctor. He is quoted as saying, "It's so daunting, the amount of attention it gets, the amount of expectation it has. And the fact that Christopher Eccleston has been so bloody good at it is really annoying from my point of view, because now I have to try and equal that!" He also admits to have been taken aback by the media storm his role has attracted û "It's unlike anything I've experienced before. All I did was get a job, and suddenly it was on the news!" As for his involvement in the third season of the new Doctor Who series, he said, "I will wait and see what happens. The BBC might sack me û I might get replaced by [BBC newsreader] Moira Stuart. Who knowsà?" Tennant was also interviewed as part of BBC Three's Glastonbury music festival coverage on June 25. Billed as 'The New Dr Who' presenters Colin and Edith (Bowman) asked him why he was attending (he's a big fan of The Proclaimers) and touched on the accent issue for the new series. David implied he would have his Scottish accent and that all will be explained (as part of the plot) of the Christmas Special. Dressed in a stripy shirt, wellies, with glasses and mad hair he was shocked when he saw the playback and saw how scruffy he looked: "I'm on television and I look terrible!"

Christopher Eccleston last week read the bedtime hour story on the CBeebies channel at around 6.25pm each evening. Eccleston also appeared in "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg" on July 3 on BBC Radio 3: "This 1967 play by Peter Nicholls is a groundbreaking work that retains an undiminished capacity to disconcert - a brilliant, heartbreaking and comic drama about a couple's relationship as parents of a profoundly mentally disabled child." Eccleston played the role of Brian, and the cast also included Lynda Baron ('Enlightenment').

John Barrowman appeared late last week on the morning discussion show The Wright Stuff, where he joined host Matthew Wright and panellists Anne Diamond and George Galloway MP in talking about whether Prince William deserves privacy after graduating from university, the "sun, sea and sex" vacations of British teens, and inviting ex-partners to your wedding ceremony.

Russell T Davies tells the icWales network that he's "not a big name!" "Welsh writer Russell T Davies doesn't think he is remotely famous despite the storming success of Doctor Who," says the article. "The Swansea-born writer changed the face of British TV with Queer as Folk, but says he continues to lead a humble life. Davies has vowed to continue his 'humble' existence by ruling out a high-profile civil partnership marriage to his customs officer partner Andrew Smith of six years. 'I don't think I'm remotely famous,' said Russell. 'I have got a gay hook, a Welsh hook and now a Doctor Who hook. It has given me greater visibility and it is that which helps my career. Queer as Folk opened a lot of opportunities for me but I think people would prefer writers to go away and shut up.'"

New Zealand Coverage

With the approach of the new series in New Zealand this week (on Thursday), there are several articles in the press covering it.

The New Zealand Herald says the series gives Billie Piper "a new lease of life": "They've got Rose Tyler surrounded. Shop mannequins have come to life and are closing in on the feisty 19-year-old. 'Quick, in here!' A middle-aged man drags her out of harm's way. But before you know it, she's trapped again. This time, in a cavernous sewer underneath the London Eye. ... Meet Billie Piper, Serious Actor. Who knew? Many people in the television industry, it seems. James Nesbitt, who starred with Piper in her breakthrough role, the BBC's 2003 update of The Canterbury Tales, can't rave about her enough." The story discusses Piper's history in television and film and her outlook on the new show.

The Herald also has an article called "Return of Dr Who": "As I walk unsuspectingly on to the set of the new series of Doctor Who, there is an extremely unpleasant surprise in store for me. I am confronted by a sight that haunted me throughout childhood: a Dalek. Yes, for those of you who have recently been dwelling on the planet Gallifrey, Doctor Who - and his most feared adversaries - have returned. Apart from a feature-length outing in 1996, the Time Lord has been off the small screen since 1989, when he was quietly pensioned off to spend more time with his Tardis. Edward Thomas, the production designer, would be the first to admit that 'towards the end of the last series, I don't know if he was faring well. He had become something of a cartoon character.' So why bother to bring him back? I ask the makers of the new 13-part series when I meet them on set in a vast studio on the outskirts of Newport. Scriptwriter Russell T. Davies, creator and executive producer of the new series, is convinced that the time is absolutely right for the Tardis to land on Earth once more. 'No doubt that article about why we shouldn't bother to bring him back will be written,' he sighs, 'but great stories never have a set time. Like Tarzan or Sherlock Holmes, they can stand constant reinterpretation.'" Says writer Mark Gatiss, "I have long thought the series could come back because it's such a brilliantly simple idea. All you need is one man and a police box. You open the doors of the tardis and you can be anywhere - in the city of Atlantis, Satellite V in space, 1869 or AD 5 billion. We hope that the series recaptures the popularity it achieved at its height when the Daily Sketch called it 'the children's own programme that adults adore'." A further article focuses on memorable Doctor Who villains from the past 40 years, while anotherinterviews Colin Baker who will be appearing during the "Inside the TARDIS" tour happening in early August in New Zealand (and is currently touring Australia).

Australia Coverage

In this week's The Australian, there is a preview of the episode "Dalek": "At the end of last week's Dalek extravaganza, after six episodes the Doctor and Rose finally collected a passenger. Tonight Adam gets his first look at a space station. It's bigger than Ben-Hur, it's 198,000 years in the future, and he promptly faints. "He's your boyfriend," chides the Doctor. "Not any more," says Rose, gazing down at his fallen form. Elsewhere, a giant malevolent life form is controlling humanity. It's George Orwell meets The Matrix on Deep Space Nine. Greed turns out to be young Adam's real downfall. Despite his finger-snapping new hole in the head, his tenancy in the Tardis is very short-lived."

The Australian reviews the first DVD release of the new series: "Perhaps it's a temporal distortion, but the new Doctor -- blowing away a new generation of littlies while he thrills their nostalgic parents -- is already on DVD. This is handy for people who missed the first few episodes, but don't expect too many thrills in the way of extras, there aren't any, though if you buy all four discs from the first series you get a bonus talking Dalek bottle opener. Previous series of Doctor Who were notable for their crummy effects, monsters made of mop heads and Royal Academy of Dramatic Art types slumming it for pin money. But you get the sense, watching this uncanny new incarnation, that more money has been spent on each episode than on entire seasons previously. On this DVD, the first three episodes deliver an astonishing range. We start off with Rose, which introduces Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) who will accompany the doctor on his new voyages through time and space, and soon enough the new Doctor, played with relish and an evident northern English accent by Christopher Eccleston. 'Lots of planets have a North,' he offers by way of explanation. He's a bit of a show-off, so for the second episode, The End of the World, we're off to see just that. It's here that the new producers, who include chief writer Russell T. Davies (Queer as Folk) let their hair down, with a parade of alien weirdos and explosions George Lucas might envy. Then, to flesh out the range, a quick nip back to the 1860s for The Unquiet Dead. Without a doubt, these are the Time Lord's finest hours."

Event Notice

The TARDIS will be at the BBC Wales Roadshow in Butetown, Cardiff on Saturday 9 July at the Coal Exchange, Butetown/Cardiff Bay, Cardiff between 10am and 4pm. More details area available here. Enterprising fans might want to pop down to Cardiff for the day, have their picture in front of the TARDIS, and then embark on a Doctor Who locations trek using the BBC's Doctor Who Locations Guide.

Press Clips

The Notebook column in the Telegraph on June 29 by Andrew Marr ('Aliens of London,' 'World War Three'), discussed "security in the age of insecurity". As Marr noted at one point, "Mind you, at the meeting I'd actually been invited to, I met the actor David Tennant, who is going to be the new Dr Who. He was off to Glastonbury with a tent to get covered in mud. As he said, rather wistfully, it was probably the last time he'd be able to do something like that without being mobbed."

Broadcast Now covers the closure of the BBC Cult website. "The BBC is to shut down its Cult television website as part of a drive to make 10 per cent savings across its new media operation. The website - which covers everything from Morecambe and Wise to Buffy The Vampire Slayer - will close on 15 July, when much of material will be removed from servers and effectively disappear forever. The corporation said the Cult site did not offer "sufficient distinctive public value" and said other websites already covered the same ground. But one show has survived the cull - Doctor Who has morphed into its own website after the success of the shows latest incarnation on BBC1. The decision met scathing criticism from the site's devotees - which numbered more than 700,000 people last month. One user commented on the site's chat forum: 'This decision ranks alongside throwing out old recordings and closing down the Radiophonic Workshop in terms of short-term, short-sighted, bone-headed stupidity.'"

Ex-Soft Cell singer Marc Almond wants a cameo in "Doctor Who" next year, reports Time Out. "The flamboyant singer got the idea for a cameo role when he saw latest doctor Christopher Eccleston dancing to his hit Tainted Love in the most recent series. The 1980s pop star says, 'I can't act, I'm wooden and self-conscious but I could just about manage a cameo role. My dream would be a walk in part in (UK soap) Coronation Street. That or Doctor Who. I'm still getting over the new Doctor dancing to Tainted Love, I've always been a huge fan of the show so when Christopher Eccleston danced to Tainted Love, I got texts from everyone. That moment was only beaten when Jack Duckworth sung Tainted Love in Coronation Street. I remember thinking, it can't get much better than this. And I think I was right." Also reported at ContactMusic, Yahoo News and in the Daily Express.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Richard Allison, Mike Mould, Rob Stickler, Mustafa Hirji, Rex Orr, Andrew Wong, Dan Billing, Peter Anghelides, Bill Albert, Mark Healey, Peter Weaver, Mike Humphreys, Faiz Rehman)