TARDIS Report: Weekend

Series Two

Noted in last week's release of Doctor Who Magazine: the title presumed for episode 8, The Satan Pit, is actually the title for the second half of the story, episode 9. No idea, though, about the first episode's title.

This Is Plymouth has a feature on Jessica Atkins, an eleven-year-old actress from Looseleigh who will be in the forthcoming episode "The Girl in the Fireplace" (which the article says will be airing in March, but other rumors suggest a series two start date of mid-April). "Filming for the episode took place in Newport in Wales last October, where Jessica, who also goes to Widewell Primary School, took the fame game in her stride, chatting with David Tennant and hob-nobbing with the other stars. She said: 'Everything was really cool and fun. I'm a big fan of the series - I love it and have watched all the episodes. At first it was a bit nerve-racking meeting all the stars. But David Tennant was lovely. He showed me around, we had a long chat and he was really friendly. Mum was more scared than I was anyway. When David took me on to the set, mum was walking behind us just speechless. The whole experience was just amazing. I saw the inside of the Tardis which was really weird - it looked unreal. And a Dalek without a head, which looked a bit spooky. Each morning a car picked us up from our hotel in Cardiff and we'd travel to the set with Noel Clarke who plays Mickey - Rose's boyfriend. He was my favourite. When it was finished and they said 'that's a wrap, that's the end of Jessica's part' they all clapped. I couldn't say anything because I thought I might cry. But it's a good feeling to get home and know you've done it.'" The article notes that she got the part through being a member of the national Italia Conti Agency and had to audition for the part at BBC Broadcasting House last September. "A week after the audition they called to say I'd got it. My brother was the first to tell me and I didn't believe him. Then mum said 'You've got the part' and I was so happy I just rolled around on my bed screaming. ... I had 13 lines and there's a big bit where just me and the Doctor talk. The episode is really quite scary - it was a little frightening just filming it." More at the website. Interestingly, this is the first item to mention that Noel Clarke might also be in this episode.

The news last week about the casting updates printed in Doctor Who Magazine were picked up by The Mirror, The Daily Record, Monsters and Critics.

Dancing On Ice

The Dancing on Ice competition heats up this weekend as series one starJohn Barrowman and classic series starBonnie Langford continued to compete on the popular UK series. Here's the recap:

Readabet took their first four-figure bet on the series late last week with a 1000 pound wager reported on Barrowman (whose odds were said to be 10/11). Langford was their second favorite at 7/4. "'At this stage it looks like a two horse race between John Barrowman and Bonnie Langford but don't write off David Seaman, he has pulled off some great saves in the past,' said Hills spokesman Rupert Adams."

The Mirror featured verdicts on the remaining contestants, noting that Barrowman was "a wonderful showman, one of my favourites to reach the final. Last week he fell on his arse. I can't believe the others gave him such high marks." They also said of Langford, "Absolutely brilliant. Despite being the oldest and a busy mum she's doing amazingly death-defying routines. She pushes herself the hardest - a potential winner." The Daily Recordalso featured, in their 'Crockomter', "John Barromwan - put his back out and injured his ankle. He also sliced partner Olga 's hand open with his blades. But he's 10-11 favourite to win, say bookies William Hill, who took a 1000 bet on him this week. ... Bonnie Langford - The former child star of Just William took to wearing a helmet while training after bashing her head. She also slashed her partner Matt Evers' face with her boot blade during a spin."

On Friday the Daily Star interviewed Barrowman: "Barrowman says he is so scared before he steps on the rink he's worried he'll wet himself on live TV. The 38-year-old, who starred as Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who, is more petrified of leaving a puddle of pee than taking a tumble on the slippery surface. And the US actor, who's hot favourite to win the ITV1 show, says the spangly-tight costumes he has to wear as he whirls around only add to his predicament. He said: 'As we're about to go on, I get totally emotional and feel like bursting into tears. Millions of people are watching and it's terrifying. I always feel like peeing myself - especially as the costume is so ridiculously tight. It feels like I'm going to spring a leak and have a big wet stain on my costume.' John, who will start filming Doctor Who spin-off show Torchwood in April, also revealed he got on the good side of new Time Lord David Tennant, 34, when the pair met recently. He said: 'David showed up at my dressing room and I thought, 'Oh my God, it's Doctor Who'. I said to him: 'David, you're even more handsome in real life'. And he replied: 'You know what? I think you and I are going to get along just great.'"

Saturday's Edinburgh News asked, "Who would ever have thought that Bonnie Langford would one day become a cool (quite literally) trend-setter north of the Border? And yet apparently that's exactly what's happened thanks to her battling performances on ITV's Saturday ratings-winner Dancing On Ice. For the past few weeks, the quintessential English rose, who first achieved fame as the precocious Violet Elizabeth Bott in Just William way back in 1976 (although she made her TV debut long before that in Junior Showtime), has been attracting a whole new generation of fans with her never-say-die approach to the show, in which celebrities are paired with ice-skating professionals who teach them a new routine each week. Now, while the one-time Doctor Who girl is no stranger to dancing - she also starred in the Hot Shoe Show in the 80s - it's the ice part of Dancing On Ice that has been causing her problems. Twice now, Bonita (as she was billed in the movie Bugsy Malone) has cracked her head after a fall. Despite this, however, her exploits, along with those of her fellow contestants John Barrowman, ex-Corrie star Sean Wilson, The Bill's Stefan Booth and Gaynor Faye of Fat Friends, have sparked a boom in the number of people taking skating lessons at Murrayfield ice rink. As delighted rink manager Billy Dunbar said this week: 'It's been amazingly busy in here, and our professional coaches are almost struggling to keep up with the demand.' ... Of course ice-skating isn't without its dangers, as fans of the show, and in particular David Seaman, found when he fell on his partner and almost flattened her. In fact, with the fourth round of Dancing On Ice going out live tonight it remains to be seen if his partner, Pam O'Connor, will be fit enough to take to the ice having damaged her shoulder in the fall. And that's the reason the nearest you'll get me to an ice rink these days is a seat in front of the telly tonight, phone in hand getting ready to vote for Bonnie. Be honest, if she doesn't win, could you really bear to hear her thweam and thweam and thweam until she's thhick?"

Finally, Saturday night, the results were in: Yahoo News reported that Barrowman was the latest celebrity to be voted off "Dancing On Ice". "Despite coming third overall out of seven after the judges' vote, John and his partner, world junior gold medallist and three times Russian champion Olga Sharutenko, were forced into a skate-off after the public phone in. They went head to head with soap star Stefan Booth and his partner Kristina Cousins in the skate-off after both pairs received the lowest public support. The judges were divided over the two performances with two votes apiece and the deciding vote going to Olympic gold medal skater Robin Cousins. He chose to save Stefan from the chop and said: 'I have gone with the showman who has delivered technical skating tonight.' After his performance John said: 'I had a little bump but I got through it - it's very nerve wracking.'" Langford now continues as the only Doctor Who representative on the show.

People

The BBC's internal magazine Ariel has featured obituaries for two Doctor Who personages who recently passed away: former production managerGary Downie and former visual effects designer Tony Oxley. Says the magazine about Downie in an obit written by former Doctor Who director Fiona Cumming, "His career was multi-faceted -- dancing, choreography, tv production, writing, stage production and psychotherapy. I first met Gary in BBC drama serials, where he worked on a variety of programmes -- I, Claudius, Poldark, Nicholas Nickleby, Wuthering Heights, All Creatures Great and Small, Star Cops and, of course, Doctor Who. He was production manager on Underworld, Silver Nemesis, Black Orchid, Dimensions in Time and The Two Doctors, working with a variety of Doctors and companions. He and his long-term partner, John Nathan-Turner [former Doctor Who series producer], formed Teynham Productions, together with Ian Fraser and myself, to present Pantomime, which took us all back to our roots in theatre. Gary, who contributed time and money to supporting charities in Brighton and abroad, developed a late interest in psychotherapy, which afforded both his clients and himself a deep satisfaction. The loss of JNT in 2002 was a dreadful blow to Gary, followed as it was by the onset of cancer which he fought for two years. He was fortunate to have the support of a nucleus of caring friends to help him through the illness. In December, he and Barry Hannam celebrated their civil contract. Shared by friends of both John and Gary, it was a joyous occasion. We shall miss him." Of Oxley, former series visual effects designer Michealjohn Harris noted that he "had an extraordinary range of interests and abilities which he applied to a diversity of work in the course of a long and successful life. Tony acquired an interest in machinery of every imaginable kind early in life, spending boyhood hours finding out how all manner of machines worked on a war department machinery dump. After the war, he began work for City Display, a company specialising in film and display models. This work expanded into making animated models, including a model whale for Moby Dick – designed and built by Tony himself. He joined the BBC as a visual effects design assistant and soon became much in demand, especially by Doctor Who and light entertainment productions. Despite his dreams of a quiet retirement, Tony found, almost overnight, that he had become a freelance special properties designer. He worked as a contractor for the BBC with the same interest and dedication until, because of changes in BBC management, this work came to an end. Tony was a singular man of huge talent and ability. His passing is a great loss to his family and to all those in tv and film who admired him."

David Tennant has been voted onto a list of the world's "100 Sexiest Men" by the readers of New Woman Magazine. While such notables as Brad Pitt (#1), Jake Gyllenhaal (#2), Johnny Depp (#4) and David Beckham (#14) were obvious choices, Tennant made the list at #20. Reported at the Daily Record, Daily Mail, UTV, The Independent, 24 Dash, MI6, The Age Australia. Also, Tony Head (soon to be seen in the series 2 episode "School Reunion") was #81 on the list. Says the Bath Chronicle, "Tony, who kept the nation guessing throughout the 1980s as the Gold Blend man, has hung on to his sex symbol status thanks to his role as Giles in cult show Buffy The Vampire Slayer. ... He is also a vice-president of the Royal United Hospital's fundraising appeal, Forever Friends. 'We are thrilled that Tony features as a winner in this list,' said Ruth Wilkinson, from the appeal. 'As well as being a very attractive man Tony is a wonderful person and we are extremely grateful to have him on board. From fundraisers, such as last year's Valentine phone call auction, to singing on stage with Clare Teal at the Jamie Cullum concert, Tony is a totally pro-active supporter of the appeal and therefore we would rate him over Brad Pitt any day.'"

Tennant also appeared on Virgin Radio in early January on a call-in show during their "Who's Calling Christian?" segment; listeners are urged to have their favorite celebrities call into the show, and Tennant obliged. The website has an audio clip.

Sixth Doctor Colin Baker and actor Jeremy Bulloch ("The Time Warrior," "The Space Museum") will lock swords in an episode of the popular BBC1 daytime series Doctors this Wednesday, 8 March at 2:05pm. "The stars play two men who prepare to settle an old score by fighting a fencing duel to the death! Can Boba Fett call upon his bounty hunting skills to beat the time travelling Dr. Who? Which one will end up at the Riverside Surgery? Colin Baker plays Charles Dillon and Jeremy Bulloch plays Victor Hendon, two foolish old men who decide it is time to settle a long standing feud originating back to how Victor treated Charles’ sister, Betty, with his philandering ways when the two were married. Victor now wants to remarry his ex-wife much to Charles’ disgust so they decide to battle it out in a traditional and gentlemanly way. But there’s not a Blaster Pistol or a Tardis in sight!"

Says icWales today, Tom Baker is "tongue-tied" and "will get Welsh lessons after the voice of BT's new call service was caught out by Wales on Sunday. The stripey-scarfed Doctor Who legend has been signed up by the phone company to front BT Text, which allows mobile users to send messages to landlines. ... So Wales on Sunday put it to the test, sending 10 messages containing Welsh place names and common Welsh words. And the result - the former Dr Who became Dr What?! Names like Llanrwst and Llanfairfechan came out garbled while he gave up on words like cwtch, opting to spell them out instead. And when we put him to the test with Britain's longest place name -- the Anglesey town of Llanfairpwllgwyngy- llgogerychwyrndrobwyllllantysiliogogogoch -- the star sounded like he had been enjoying a night on the tiles! Now 72-year-old Tom is to return to the studio to record some Welsh pronunciations after BT bosses were confronted by our dossier of disappointing diction. The star had already spent 11 days recording every sound in the English language - 11,593 phrases, which covered every single sound in each of their different contexts. 'These did not cover every word or place name, but instead the aim was to create a soundbank of all the sounds in the English language, which could be stuck together by the computer to create new words,' explained BT's voice-text supremo Wendy McMillan-Tiller. 'As part of this process we also took into account a long list of exceptions, including numerous Welsh place names, which each needed an individually crafted pronunciation to be created and loaded onto the system.' But she admitted that even Doctor Who struggled when confronted with the mighty foe of the Welsh language. 'As far as possible, we will do our best to amend words that are pronounced incorrectly and welcome feedback on any commonly used words that the voice cannot currently recognise, along with their correct pronunciation,' she said. 'We will certainly try our best to take on board the most frequently used words such as cwtch and Urdd Eisteddfod, but cannot promise to amend every single word. Indeed, part of the fun of the service is testing the voice to see if you can catch it out.' The service will see the Liverpool-born legend reading out texts for the next three months including common abbreviations like b4 - and, for the juvenile amongst you, even swear words! 'What appeals to me most is the thought that I will be bringing good news to people whether it is a cheeky message, a birthday greeting or just a quick hello,' he said. 'Whatever it is, hopefully my voice will bring a smile to people's faces.'"

The Independent mentioned Tom Baker's gig for BT but asked, "who are his rivals behind the microphone?" The article then mentions Michael Jayston, who played The Valeyard during Season 23, "The Trial of a Time Lord". "Tom Baker has paid tribute to the 'wonderful warmth' of the voice of this classical actor, who was once considered for the part of James Bond. Like Baker, Jayston has played Doctor Who, although, unlike Baker, he was an evil doctor. The 70-year-old played Raquel's dad in Only Fools and Horses and provided the voice-over for Finisterre, the first film made by the UK pop trio Saint Etienne, for which he describes in his narration as 'a quick glance at the London nobody knows'. His voice can also be heard between tracks on their album of the same name."

Also... says Friday's The Sun, Tom Baker "wants to be a transvestite in Coronation Street. The eccentric former Dr Who star, 72, said it would be the 'ultimate' role. Speaking on ITV1's Today with Des and Mel yesterday, he said: 'I would be mysterious, not made-up well and in need of a shave.'" BBC News also called Baker one of their "faces of the week".

The Mirror features an interview with Mark Benton, who played Clive during series one. "His cheeky face and bulky frame are instantly recognisable. Strangers shout after him in the street and hail him as a longlost friend. Yet few people actually know his name. Mark Benton has found a strange sort of notoriety, thanks to his starring role in the popular TV ads for the Nationwide building society. He plays the infuriating bank clerk who flogs 'Cracker-Jacka-Tracker' mortgages to 'brand new customers only' - a catchphrase that has started to follow him around." Doctor Who is mentioned only very briefly.

Paul McGann will be starring in a lavish production of the classic Agatha Christie tale "Sleeping Murder" for ITV this evening, according to both ITNand Channel 4. McGann will be featured alongside Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple, along with Dawn French, Sarah Parish and Una Stubbs.

Books

Trade magazine The Bookseller this week reports on the forthcoming BBC Audio releases of David Tennant reading the first batch of Tenth Doctor novels, noting that Tennant's work will be released on CD in July. Also, Ben Dunn, former BBC Books commissioning editor and now editorial director at Fourth Estate, is profiled in the magazine, briefly dealing with his experiences at BBC Books: "He also commissioned the hugely successful set of tie-in novels to the new Doctor Who series, as well as a number on non-tie-in Doctor Who books. But the Beeb was going through a period of great upheaval while he was there and it was, he says, a demoralising place to work." The Bookseller's diary column, 'Bent's Notes', also has a small piece noting comments by Ben Dunn: "Fourth Estate's popular culture guru Ben Dunn... has revealed the slightly unsavoury side of his previous role commissioning "Doctor Who" novels at the BBC. He was deluged with submissions for novels from 'Doctor Who' fans, and, after the inevitable rejection letters, often featured in online fiction as an evil overlord who eventually gets his come-uppance. In one classic, The Revenge of Fanwank, Dunn's brain is taken over."

Miscellaneous

Auditions for Big Brother this week included one of the contestants auditioning as a Dalek! Says BBC News, "More than 1000 people have turned up to audition for the next series of Channel 4's reality TV show Big Brother. Would-be contestants, some in fancy dress, queued for up to four hours to get a chance to impress the producers of this year's seventh UK series. One participant dressed as a Dalek in an attempt to get noticed by the programme-makers."

Silicon.com has more to add on the Tom Baker/BT item, including this commentary: "Speaking loosely as we were of BT, the incumbent telco announced a rather fun initiative this week... The company's text-to-voicemail service, which takes an SMS message and turns it into an audio voicemail recording for landline phones, is to be voiced by none other than Tom Baker – former Dr Who legend and now the voice of Little Britain. Oh, the fun you could have. Such services are certainly proving popular – not to mention confusing for those who don't know they have such an option at their disposal, though to date it has normally been voiced by a machine. One member of the silicon.com team reported a very confused phone call from 'the wife' who expressed some alarm at the fact a robot had apparently just called her at home and demanded: 'If you are going to the shops, don't forget to buy my razors' in a voice akin to Baker's old foes the Daleks. Very unsettling. But since Tuesday of this week Baker's warm and reassuring tones have been giving 2.3 million BT customers their messages. But don't worry, poor old Tom isn't working his fingers to the bone jotting down notes and putting in calls -- there is still a large amount of automation to this process. ... 'There is no limit to the words the voice can say,' added BT, '... even rude ones.' Now there's an idea. If the Round-Up knows anything about human nature it's that it goes without saying customers will inevitably get 'Sir' Tom to say some pretty smutty things. BT is also claiming the service can read abbreviations and keystrokes such as smiley faces. Baker said of his involvement with the project: 'Daleks!! Quick to the TARDIS.' Oh alright he didn't, according to BT he actually said: 'It's a big responsibility to be Britain’s voice of text.' It's not really, is it Tom? It probably pays the bills but it's not exactly open heart surgery. Tom continued: 'What appeals to me most is... ' It's the money isn't it? Say it's the money... '... the thought that I will be bringing good news to people whether it is a cheeky message, a birthday greeting or just a quick hello. Whatever it is, hopefully my voice will bring a smile to people's faces.' The Round-Up is a little unconvinced -- suspecting the actor was not the source of that quote at all -- but is willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, because he's Tom Baker."

Saturday's Mirror had a brief article about the upcoming "Primaeval," ITV's 6 million pound answer to Doctor Who. "As Professor Nick Cutter - a time-travelling scientist - Douglas Henshall will rival fellow Scot David Tennant's Time Lord. And just like the Doctor, he'll even have a blonde former teen pop star to assist him... in the shape of S Club 7 bopper Hannah Spearitt. In her first TV role since making the Beeb's series about the band, Hannah will play feisty zoologist Abby Lister. Move over Billie Piper

The latest issue of the British satirical magazine Private Eye features a lookalikes section comparing 'The Romantics' (with David Tennant) presenter Peter Ackroyd to a Sontaran. They show a picture of him next to a picture of Linx from 'The Time Warrior' and speculate whether the Director General of the BBC is aware that aliens have invaded his staff.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Simon Cooper, Nick Salmond, Ed Martin, Peter Anghelides, Peter Weaver, Faiz Rehman)