Weekend News Briefs
Sunday, 11 September 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
An article in the Sunday Times interviews Andrew Marr, former BBC political editor, and discusses his appearance in Doctor Who this past season. "The cameo role on Dr Who, however, shed shade on Marr's often stated, old-school concern for the corrosive modern interplay of celebrity personality and journalistic propriety. ... 'I loved doing Dr Who. I was presenting a news report about an alien invasion. They took hours and hours to light it, which was bizarre, because they were mimicking something I normally do in five minutes with one cameraman.'" Also in today's Sunday Times, in the Biteback column: "Dr Who fans, while generally enthusiastic about the latest series, felt it had too many episodes set in the UK. I gather Stephen Fry has written one of the 13 episodes of the next series, and it is likely to be set in the 1930's England. To retain viewers' interest, he has been promised some of the series' best special effects."
BBC News interviews John Barrowman about "why he swapped Doctor Who for a role in West End play A Few Good Men alongside Hollywood star Rob Lowe." The article talks to Barrowman about gay rights, confirms that "I won't be in Season 2 but I will be back for Season 3... There was talk of me coming back for the next series, but because of the commitments I have it just wasn't going to work out" and talks about the new show "Simply Musicals" that he will soon take part in. "It's important to bring theatrical stuff back to television," says Barrowman. The article asks, "So what will the Whovians say when they see Captain Jack sing? Barrowman is sure they'll approve. 'Science-fiction is not that far from musical theatre,' he says. 'In the end, it's all just heightened reality.'"
Colin Baker opines on the new series in the newest issue of "Dreamwatch" magazine, where he praises the series in a two-page article that mentions "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances" as his favorite story and Annette Badland and Florence Hoath as the season's best guest actors. "It was great to sit down and watch the new Doctor Who from the very first moment, knowing I was not in it," Baker wrote.
Peter Davison appeared this week on Look North, a BBC regional news programme. He was shown visiting The World of James Herriot, an exhibition in Thirsk in Yorkshire, which is dedicated to the author on whose books All Creatures Great and Small was based. Davison is also in the news at Yorkshire Today when he recently visited a set from the other series he's well known for. "One of the stars of All Creatures Great And Small said things had not changed all that much when he visited the vets' surgery that inspired the famous tales. Yesterday Peter Davison, who played Tristan Farnon in the long-running BBC series, called in at the World of James Herriot in Thirsk. The award-winning attraction opened in 1999 at 23 Kirkgate û the 'Skeldale House' of the Herriot books û and original surgery of Herriot creator and real-life vet Alf Wight. 'Last time I came it was still a working practice, when Alf was still working here,' said Mr Davison. 'Even then the waiting room was full of American tourists with copies of books to sign.' A global TV audience of 460 million is estimated to have seen All Creatures since the first of 88 episodes was broadcast in 1978, but Mr Davison said at the beginning the producers had no inkling of how popular the show would be. 'They did not know it would be so successful and zipped through the first books too quickly,' he said. 'Some stories could have made an entire episode but there were four or five stories in each episode.'" Davison is currently on location in Northumberland, filming a second series of Distant Shores, which will be broadcast on ITV in the New Year.
Corey Johnson, who appeared as Van Statten in "Dalek," will be appearing in next week's season-opening two-parter of "Spooks", playing the part of 'Richard Boyd'. The episodes, which kick off the fourth series of the spy drama, are being shown on Monday 12 September and Tuesday 13 September at 9pm on BBC One.
An article at BBC News from Ssaturday notes that Russell T Davies will take part in this weekend's annual gay and lesbian Mardi Gras on Saturday in Cardiff, alongside such notables as singer Charlotte Church. Also noted at .
The BBC Press Office has put online a small press pack for the new Verity Lambert-produced comedy/drama "Love Soup", due to start this autumn on BBC One. The series is also notable for starring Tamsin Greig, the Nurse from "The Long Game".
An article at IC Wales discusses the various lines of toys coming soon including the "12-inch radio-controlled Dalek, a sonic screwdriver with a built in UV light to reveal secret handwriting and walkie talkies in the shape of Doctor Who characters. And, according to retailers, demand for the toys is so high they're worried they won't be able to keep up. Alan Vaughan, assistant manager of Cardiff's Comic Guru Presents, a shop that specialises in Doctor Who merchandise, said, 'We have people coming in two to three times a day asking about when the new toys are going to come out, everyone's waiting for them. When they come in we expect them to start flying out the door. In between now and Christmas that's what everyone will be wanting. ... It's a nostalgia thing. Everyone remembers it and, even if you haven't watched it, you know what a Dalek looks like.' The toys, which will be the first official merchandise to accompany the new BBC series, were supposed to have arrived in the shops at the beginning of this month. But the toy's manufacturers, Character Options, said although they are now being distributed there were a lot of delays partly due to massive demand. They are now expected to arrive by the middle of September. Managing partner of Galaxy4, one of the UK's leading suppliers of Doctor Who merchandise, said demand for Doctor Who products has increased by 15% over the past year. But he said the brand is unique in being able to attract new fans without alienating older ones. He said, 'Doctor Who is unlike anything else. The new series has attracted a new fan base. But they've also managed to retain their older fan base, people who have been fans for over 20 years. That's a remarkable achievement. We've already had thousands of preorders for the new range. The most popular toy so far seems to be the sonic screwdriver, because it's something kids can keep in their pocket, and they can play the role of the Doctor, or Rose. But there's also lots of collectors, people in their 60s who will be buying them as well.' One such collector is John Campbell Rees, member of Timeless, a Doctor Who appreciation society based in Wales. The assistant librarian from Treherbert said his earliest memory is of watching Doctor Who and he has been collecting memorabilia for more than 30 years. His collection includes more than 300 books, DVDs and toys and he said he can't wait to see the new range."
In reaction to the new 'police boxes' used in Glasgow, BBC News says that the boxes aren't amenable to blind people. Says a correspondent, "The centre of Glasgow has seen the the arrival of the new Strathclyde Police information system in the style of an old police box. But instead of a policeman inside, it is just electronics. As a totally blind person, I went down to see what all the fuss was about following the press coverage the 'Tardis' received. Sorry, I am visually impaired, there is no emergency. As it was recently designed, I was hoping that it might talk, after all it was there to provide information to the public. I walked from St. Enoch underground station with my cane and finally bumped into the large steel structure. I felt my way around the object, touching the screens and buttons. They were sunk into the casing, so were quite difficult to feel."
The new edition of "emagazine", a UK publication for teachers of English Literature and Language, has David Tennant as its cover star. He is pictured in a scene from the recent production of John Osbourne's 'Look Back In Anger'. An article inside the magazine contains two other pictures of Tennant in the role of Jimmy Porter.
Additional links: more coverage of Barrowman's appearance on "Simply Musicals" at The Stage, Whats On Stage,PlayBill; more on Barrowman in "A Few Good Men" at PlayBill, The Evening Standard; additional coverage of Eccleston's win of the TV Quick/TV Choice awards at DeHavilland, In The News, Hello Magazine, Monsters and Critics.
(Thanks to Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg, Paul Hayes, John Bowman, Joe McKee)
BBC News interviews John Barrowman about "why he swapped Doctor Who for a role in West End play A Few Good Men alongside Hollywood star Rob Lowe." The article talks to Barrowman about gay rights, confirms that "I won't be in Season 2 but I will be back for Season 3... There was talk of me coming back for the next series, but because of the commitments I have it just wasn't going to work out" and talks about the new show "Simply Musicals" that he will soon take part in. "It's important to bring theatrical stuff back to television," says Barrowman. The article asks, "So what will the Whovians say when they see Captain Jack sing? Barrowman is sure they'll approve. 'Science-fiction is not that far from musical theatre,' he says. 'In the end, it's all just heightened reality.'"
Colin Baker opines on the new series in the newest issue of "Dreamwatch" magazine, where he praises the series in a two-page article that mentions "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances" as his favorite story and Annette Badland and Florence Hoath as the season's best guest actors. "It was great to sit down and watch the new Doctor Who from the very first moment, knowing I was not in it," Baker wrote.
Peter Davison appeared this week on Look North, a BBC regional news programme. He was shown visiting The World of James Herriot, an exhibition in Thirsk in Yorkshire, which is dedicated to the author on whose books All Creatures Great and Small was based. Davison is also in the news at Yorkshire Today when he recently visited a set from the other series he's well known for. "One of the stars of All Creatures Great And Small said things had not changed all that much when he visited the vets' surgery that inspired the famous tales. Yesterday Peter Davison, who played Tristan Farnon in the long-running BBC series, called in at the World of James Herriot in Thirsk. The award-winning attraction opened in 1999 at 23 Kirkgate û the 'Skeldale House' of the Herriot books û and original surgery of Herriot creator and real-life vet Alf Wight. 'Last time I came it was still a working practice, when Alf was still working here,' said Mr Davison. 'Even then the waiting room was full of American tourists with copies of books to sign.' A global TV audience of 460 million is estimated to have seen All Creatures since the first of 88 episodes was broadcast in 1978, but Mr Davison said at the beginning the producers had no inkling of how popular the show would be. 'They did not know it would be so successful and zipped through the first books too quickly,' he said. 'Some stories could have made an entire episode but there were four or five stories in each episode.'" Davison is currently on location in Northumberland, filming a second series of Distant Shores, which will be broadcast on ITV in the New Year.
Corey Johnson, who appeared as Van Statten in "Dalek," will be appearing in next week's season-opening two-parter of "Spooks", playing the part of 'Richard Boyd'. The episodes, which kick off the fourth series of the spy drama, are being shown on Monday 12 September and Tuesday 13 September at 9pm on BBC One.
An article at BBC News from Ssaturday notes that Russell T Davies will take part in this weekend's annual gay and lesbian Mardi Gras on Saturday in Cardiff, alongside such notables as singer Charlotte Church. Also noted at .
The BBC Press Office has put online a small press pack for the new Verity Lambert-produced comedy/drama "Love Soup", due to start this autumn on BBC One. The series is also notable for starring Tamsin Greig, the Nurse from "The Long Game".
An article at IC Wales discusses the various lines of toys coming soon including the "12-inch radio-controlled Dalek, a sonic screwdriver with a built in UV light to reveal secret handwriting and walkie talkies in the shape of Doctor Who characters. And, according to retailers, demand for the toys is so high they're worried they won't be able to keep up. Alan Vaughan, assistant manager of Cardiff's Comic Guru Presents, a shop that specialises in Doctor Who merchandise, said, 'We have people coming in two to three times a day asking about when the new toys are going to come out, everyone's waiting for them. When they come in we expect them to start flying out the door. In between now and Christmas that's what everyone will be wanting. ... It's a nostalgia thing. Everyone remembers it and, even if you haven't watched it, you know what a Dalek looks like.' The toys, which will be the first official merchandise to accompany the new BBC series, were supposed to have arrived in the shops at the beginning of this month. But the toy's manufacturers, Character Options, said although they are now being distributed there were a lot of delays partly due to massive demand. They are now expected to arrive by the middle of September. Managing partner of Galaxy4, one of the UK's leading suppliers of Doctor Who merchandise, said demand for Doctor Who products has increased by 15% over the past year. But he said the brand is unique in being able to attract new fans without alienating older ones. He said, 'Doctor Who is unlike anything else. The new series has attracted a new fan base. But they've also managed to retain their older fan base, people who have been fans for over 20 years. That's a remarkable achievement. We've already had thousands of preorders for the new range. The most popular toy so far seems to be the sonic screwdriver, because it's something kids can keep in their pocket, and they can play the role of the Doctor, or Rose. But there's also lots of collectors, people in their 60s who will be buying them as well.' One such collector is John Campbell Rees, member of Timeless, a Doctor Who appreciation society based in Wales. The assistant librarian from Treherbert said his earliest memory is of watching Doctor Who and he has been collecting memorabilia for more than 30 years. His collection includes more than 300 books, DVDs and toys and he said he can't wait to see the new range."
In reaction to the new 'police boxes' used in Glasgow, BBC News says that the boxes aren't amenable to blind people. Says a correspondent, "The centre of Glasgow has seen the the arrival of the new Strathclyde Police information system in the style of an old police box. But instead of a policeman inside, it is just electronics. As a totally blind person, I went down to see what all the fuss was about following the press coverage the 'Tardis' received. Sorry, I am visually impaired, there is no emergency. As it was recently designed, I was hoping that it might talk, after all it was there to provide information to the public. I walked from St. Enoch underground station with my cane and finally bumped into the large steel structure. I felt my way around the object, touching the screens and buttons. They were sunk into the casing, so were quite difficult to feel."
The new edition of "emagazine", a UK publication for teachers of English Literature and Language, has David Tennant as its cover star. He is pictured in a scene from the recent production of John Osbourne's 'Look Back In Anger'. An article inside the magazine contains two other pictures of Tennant in the role of Jimmy Porter.
Additional links: more coverage of Barrowman's appearance on "Simply Musicals" at The Stage, Whats On Stage,PlayBill; more on Barrowman in "A Few Good Men" at PlayBill, The Evening Standard; additional coverage of Eccleston's win of the TV Quick/TV Choice awards at DeHavilland, In The News, Hello Magazine, Monsters and Critics.
(Thanks to Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg, Paul Hayes, John Bowman, Joe McKee)
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