Weekend Press Clips

Doctor Who is a huge success in New Zealand according to a report on The Scoop: "Cult classic Doctor Who is proving to be a ratings success for Prime Television. In only its fifth week on screen, the programme's ratings have placed the network in third place amongst the four commercial channels for the 7:30pm time slot. Last night's figures reveal that Doctor Who achieved an all time high, boasting a channel share of 15% for AP 18-49. The programme also performed strongly against the network's core demographic 25-54 achieving a 14% share. Doctor Who is particularly strong with male audiences 18-49, achieving a channel share of 20% last night." Also important is the comment that "Prime Television has scheduled series two of Doctor Who to screen in Winter 2006."

The Mirror has taken the words of the new series production team asking fans to keep from disrupting photography... and as usual, turned it into a story. "Doctor Who fans are wrecking the new series by turning up on set with their own special effects," says the article. "The BBC has pleaded with 'Whovians' not to take pictures as the flashes and even the sound can ruin recording. TV bosses do not announce where the hit series will be filmed - but hordes of devoted fans have descended on Cardiff to watch David Tennant and Billie Piper in action." Interestingly, the Mirror has also reported in the same story that Zoe Wanamaker is returning, "but it isn't known if she'll play Cassandra" (once again, your editor wonders where the Mirror is getting their news from!)

In the Scotsman, a comment about David Tennant: "It is transfer season once again, that dangerous time when fans have to put up with the misguided decisions of their team's management. In a trice, hopes can be dashed beyond recall and dreams destroyed totally. So it is with the cruel announcement that Scottish actor David Tennant - misguidedly referred to as a "heart throb" - is replacing that genuine alien, Christopher Eccleston, as the Doctor. When Doctor Who was revived after a 16-year absence, I was both excited and dismayed. The return of a cherished British sci-fi hero after decades of American Star Fleet political correctness was welcome. But would the BBC bureaucrats ruin it? Would the new Doctor be so updated that he ceased to be the delicious combination of alien maniac and sexy subversive that made the character plausibly different from real human beings. And God knows whether Billie Piper could even act. But the return of the Doctor proved a super nova (including Piper's acting). The plots were up to their historic best, the Daleks more frightening than ever. And Eccleston emerged as a candidate for the best-ever Doctor if only he could hang on a couple of seasons to own the part. Then disaster struck just as if the Master had interfered yet again with time itself. Eccleston had quit because he did not want to be typecast - too late, Christopher - and BBC Cardiff had found a replacement. And who did we get to play the greatest alien in the universe? The being we need to save Earth? The son of a former Moderator of the Church of Scotland better know for playing Andy Crawford, the wimpish sidekick of Dixon of Dock Green in the radio revival of the cosy 1950s police series. Yawn. OK, I know lots of interesting folk come from Paisley and I did see bits of Tennant when he starred in the television version of Casanova. He's a passable actor and clearly more in love with playing the Doctor than was Eccleston. But as another disgruntled fan put it: 'Somebody who looks like a weasel could never play the Doctor. It's over!' Just to prove the nightmare is official, the BBC has announced what it calls a "striking" new outfit for Tennant's Doctor. This turns out to be a striped suit and trainers. Golly gosh! How spiffingly trendy. The Daleks will be impressed."

Says the Sydney Morning Herald of "Bad Wolf" this weekend: "With just two episodes to go, a series worth of loose ends are about to be tied up - but before that, writer Russell T. Davies is going to have some fun. ... Australian viewers might not appreciate how spot-on these send-ups are, as our versions of the shows are subtly different. The Big Brother spoof uses the real music and logo and the android hosts of The Weakest Link and What Not to Wear are voiced by the actual people - Anne Robinson, Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine. There are plenty of sly digs at reality TV here, but Davies is not about to bite the medium that feeds him."

The Dominion Post of New Zealand reviews the final performances of the "Inside the TARDIS" stage show that toured Australia before coming to this country. "In an attempt to cash in on the recent resurrection of Doctor Who, an arm of the BBC convinced doctors six and seven -- Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy -- along with Katy Manning, who played third doctor Jon Pertwee's assistant, to undertake the stage equivalent of a talk show. ... The host was Australian radio and television presenter Tim Ferguson, who, while occasionally funny, was a bit like getting a $ 2 Shop version of Rove McManus. While Manning's excitement sometimes came across like a child in need of Ritalin, the anecdotes, clips with her as assistant Jo Grant in 1970s clothes and her enthusiasm were funny and entertaining. It also nicely set the show's tone, which was largely irreverent. But why no one bothered to give her a glass of water as she struggled with laryngitis was a mystery. Did this show have a stage crew? At one point, with coughs almost exploding the microphone strapped to her head, she even had to flee the stage to find water. No one bothered to turn off her mike, so she could still be heard hacking away off stage. ... Despite this, it was obvious from the number in the mostly male, middle-aged audience photographing and videotaping the show to the large number lining up for autographs afterwards that most were hardcore fans who would settle for anything just to glimpse their heroes. There's nothing wrong with that, and as Wellington's Writers and Readers Week shows, some of the best stage entertainment can just be people talking about their work. The show's lapses could also be forgiven at a sci-fi convention, where a level of relaxed amateurishness is expected and can actually improve an event. But when people are asked to hand over as much as $ 65, there is only one way to respond to whoever came up with this idea: 'Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!'" The article also appeared at The Stuff.

Monday morning's The People says of Billie Piper, "Her turn in Doctor Who as Rose got better and better as the series went on. She's really become a good actress. And with time, she'll probably get better at rejecting utterly rubbish movie scripts, too." The article refers to her appearance in "Spirit Trap," the debut of her film this week. "With this (and a tiny role in last year's weak The Calcium Kid - well, it was never going to be great, Orlando Bloom had the lead role), Billie has proved you can be in the hottest TV show of the day, and can still find the time to make movies that everyone will hate. This one's a teen-horror movie that'll have you cowering in terror afterwards in fear you might accidentally end up watching it again. ... It's all a bit of a misfire, but I do like Billie. So she gets a couple of rashers by herself. It's the ratings-system gift that every girl wants."

WorldScreen has a report on a BBC Worldwide sales showcase in Rio this coming September, with "Doctor Who" apparently due to be one of the featured programmes being promoted to potential buyers: "BBC Worldwide Targets Latin American Buyers. This September in Rio de Janeiro, BBC Worldwide will host its second annual BBC Showcase Latin America. The event will be held September 11 to September 13 at the JW Marriot Hotel Rio de Janeiro. The first BBC Showcase Latin America took place in Buenos Aires. The event will allow Latin American broadcasters to screen programs, attend producer presentations and meet with production teams. Featured programming will include Top of the Pops, Dancing with the Stars, Charlie and Lola, Little Robots, Doctor Who and Bodies. Those slated to attend include representatives from HBO Ole, Discovery, Canal 22, Televisa Networks, Canal 4, TV Azteca, Canal 11, Globo TV, Teleamzonas, and Bandeirantes TV. 'BBC Worldwide Americas is committed to bringing the very best of British programming to Latin America," said Jose Sanchez, the regional director of Latin America television sales, at BBC Worldwide. 'BBC Showcase Latin America is an excellent opportunity for us to reach out to Latin American broadcasters and to build on existing relationships and establish valuable business partnerships within this market.'"

Also: DigitalSpy reiterates the filming disruption story; an article in The Age (Australia) discusses television becoming a "woman's world", referring to Billie Piper and her relationship with the Doctor in the first series.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Adam Kirk, Peter Weaver, Paul Hayes, Jon Preddle)