TARDIS Report: End of Week Press

Tooth and Claw Pre-Press Continues

Several stories in the past two days about this weekend's broadcast of the second episode of the season, Tooth and Claw:

The Daily Record says that "when Glasgow actor Derek Riddell dies in Doctor Who this weekend, it's at the hands of a man-sized Teletubby. The No Angels star, who last night brought the curtain down on the hit Channel 4 comedy-drama, switches to BBC1 on Saturday playing a Scottish nobleman who meets a grisly end fighting a giant werewolf. Despite his convincing portrayal of being eaten alive, Derek's adversary was nothing more than a student earning pocket money. He said: 'The werewolf was a guy in an all-in-one Lycra bodysuit with a pole attached to the top of his head. I just needed an eye-line, something the right height, so it looked like I was acting with a werewolf, which was all done with computer-generated imagery (CGI). That was a challenge - I had to look scared of a student in a body stocking.' ... New Doctor David Tennant, from Paisley, has already received flak for not playing the famous role in his native accent. Viewers will hear the Doctor and - less successfully - his assistant Rose (Billie Piper) pretend to be Scottish on Saturday, after the Tardis crash-lands in the countryside in Victorian 'Scotland'. But Derek doesn't see why that should be aproblem. He said: 'David doesn't do a lot of his stuff in a Scottish accent now. It's good to do somethingthat's not your native tongue, that's what you're trained to do. I remember wondering whether he'd play the Doctor Scottish or not, but that's a decision made between David and Russell T. Davies. It works really well, as it's allowed David to change his accent for this episode, which gives it an extra dimension. And Rose can't manage, so they make a gag out of it.'"

Newsquest Media Group notes that "This Saturday night the eagled-eyed residents of a Monmouth village will be glued to their television screens to try to catch a glimpse of their leafy home on Dr Who. BBC Wales film crews were in Dingestow last October filming scenes at Treowen House for the second episode of the new series - entitled Tooth and Claw - which is due to be screened this weekend on BBC One at 7.15pm. But residents may be disappointed to find that only footage filmed inside the historic building has been used. So local villagers will be unable to see any views of the outside of the Grade I Listed building, nor Dingestow itself, on the prime-time cult show. Saturday's 45-minute episode sees the Doctor and Rose Tyler, played by David Tennant and Billie Piper, travelling back to the year 1879 to Victorian Scotland. Programme makers had been struggling last year to find a suitable grand staircase for a chase scene in the episode, until one of the designers recalled attending a wedding at Treowen House and that it boasted a suitable flight of stairs. And after viewing the property, owned by Monmouth brothers John and Dick Wheelock, the crew not only agreed to shoot the chase scene; but filmed scenes in other interior rooms including the hallway and a reception room. John's wife Jane Harvey said last week: 'We will indeed be watching, and I know a lot of the people who come down and hire out Treowen House will be too.' The family staying this week at Treowen House are great Dr Who fans and are avidly awaiting Saturday's screening. In Tooth and Claw, the heroes are forced to battle with a terrifying werewolf and the epi-sode is one of the very few not to feature the infamous Daleks. The Dr and Rose come into contact with Queen Victoria herself, played by actress Pauline Collins who first starred alongside the second Dr Who, Patrick Troughton, in the 1960s. The werewolf, which was created with special effects, has been criticised in some circles as being too scary and over-produced, with director Russell T Davies taking the show away from its low-budget cult roots."

Manchester Online quotes Pauline Collins during coverage of the episode this week. "Bleak House star Pauline Collins teams up with the Time Lord this weekend to take on a werewolf. ... The Doctor (David Tennant) and Rose (Billie Piper) travel back to 1879 where they have a royal appointment with the Queen on her way to Balmoral. 'The episode is very scary - particularly the werewolf,' says Pauline, who originally played Samantha Briggs, alongside the second Doctor, Patrick Troughton. She found the 21st century version of the show completely different. 'Obviously, it's much more hi-tech now. Having seen David Tennant in action, I believe he is going to be the best Doctor ever. 'He seems to combine authority and humour and quirkiness, which, in a way, is an amalgam of all the very best Doctors. He's terrific in it and I think he'll be great.' ... 'One of the great things that Russell has really taken up in this reincarnation of Doctor Who is once you unleash the imagination of writers, it can go anywhere. He's kind of set us off on a rocket into the universe in a way. That's the appeal and that's why it's timeless. It can catch up with whatever is available to us scientifically, or in our imaginations, whatever the era is.' Older viewers will remember Pauline's role as young Sarah in Upstairs Downstairs. She says Queen Victoria's outfit was the heaviest costume she has ever worn. 'It was like carrying several small children around with me all the time.' What does she think Her Maj made of the Doctor and Rose? 'In the first encounter, she's immediately drawn to Rose. She likes Rose very much - although in the Queen's view, Rose looked rather inappropriately dressed in her modern clothes. She's a bit wary of the Doctor. I think that manifests itself all along. For some obscure reason, she challenges him constantly - she's not sure about him.'"

Miscellaneous Press Coverage

As widely reported in press, during an interview screened today on Sky News, the Duke of York also reflects upon growing up in the royal household and describes the informal side of life with the Queen, including settling down to watch television programmes such as Grandstand and Doctor Who with her. "The Queen has been praised on the eve of her 80th birthday as a 'consummate parent, outstanding monarch who has no equal', by her son the Duke of York. In a television interview screened on Friday Andrew described life growing up with a woman who is both his mother and the Monarch. The Duke revealed details of family life during his childhood when he would rollerblade in state apartments, race in miniature cars with his brother Prince Edward and watch the BBC show Doctor Who with the Queen." During the interview he said that he was 'a child of the original Doctor Who'. He pointed (off camera) and stated that down there there was a settee behind which he was able to hide from the Daleks. Reported in such places as the Daily Mail, theGuardian, the Express, the Scotsman, theMirror, ic Network, In The News.

The official Doctor Who website reports that "Doctor Who has been a hit TV show for more than 40 years. Unfortunately more than 100 of the early black and white episodes no longer exist in the BBC's film and videotape library. However, episodes that the BBC thought had been lost forever have turned up in car boot sales, in peoples' attics and in other weird locations. So the wonderful people at Blue Peter have launched a campaign to try and track down these lost episodes. The prize for anybody who finds a missing episode is a full-size replica Dalek... so it's definitely worth asking your family to check their lofts, garages, and spare bedrooms for any old film cannisters that might have the magic words 'Doctor Who' on the label." There are details of "how you can get in touch with the BBC if you do find one of these lost reels of film" on the website.

Sci Fi Wire, the news service of the US-based Sci Fi Channel, interviewsDave Houghton, visual effects supervisor, who says that "technicians broke ground to create a computer-generated werewolf for the upcoming second-season episode 'Tooth and Claw,' airing this week in the United Kingdom. 'Our modelers and animators have worked on films like Harry Potter,' Houghton said in an interview. 'So they were very well aware of what they could achieve in the time allowed, and we planned the episode accordingly. We were in talks with [executive producer] Russell T. Davies quite early on, even before the script was written, to determine how much could be done, and what we've done is very good in terms of TV or even for film. I think our werewolf is the best creature we've done for the show so far. It's fantastic. ... The great thing about doing a CG creature is you're obviously not mucking around with somebody on set in a costume, which takes ages, and time is something you just don't have on Doctor Who,' Houghton said. 'So there had to be a few ground rules. Once we got the script, our team basically animated to the script and what we thought would look good, and that really couldn't be changed. In film, a lot of noodling goes on after the fact. It gets animated, and then the producer or director comes in and changes it, so you have a lot of people giving their input, which we didn't have time to do. We had to take our cues as to what we thought was good and basically stuck to that, because we didn't have time to re-animate anything. ... Our werewolf was created with a new Maya [software] plug-in called Shave and a Haircut, which we used for the first time on this job, and it's worked very nicely. It all comes down to the guy who textures it, but our werewolf is very realistic. We've blown wind through it; we've thrown water on it, and it all looks rather splendid.'"

The Daily Record "pays tribute to an outstanding group of people, the finalists in the search for Our Heroes 2006. Once again we were inundated with thousands of nominations from readers. They ranged from brave members of the forces and emergency services to volunteers who give their time to help others. There were tales of youngsters brave beyond their years and pensioners who defied the age barrier to make a real difference. At the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow tonight, the winners of this year's awards will be announced during a star-studded event hosted by BBC newsreader Jackie Bird and comedian and Record columnist Tam Cowan. ... OUR ENTERTAINMENT HERO: David Tennant. The new Doctor Who has had an amazing rise to fame since his days at the RSAMD in Glasgow. The actor, from Bathgate, West Lothian, said at the age of 13 that his ideal role was the Time Lord. His determination, talent and hard work have achieved it. With no airs and graces and an understated charm, he is a true gentleman."

The Daily Express says that "Actress Sophia Myles looks as though she is auditioning for her own role as a Timelord by sporting a long brown trenchcoat. The blonde girlfriend of Dr Who star David Tennant, is currently filming feature film Hallam Foe in Edinburgh. The Scots actor is rumoured to have been having intimate dinner dates in the capital with Sophia who is said to keep an action figure of him in her bag. But yesterday the 26-year-old only had a giant blue parka style jacket to keep her warm between takes and there was no sign of a Dr Who doll in the black handbag she was carrying."

The Sun wonders if the premiere of "New Earth" really was the TV event of the year. "You don't think BBC1 over-sold it just the teeniest little bit, do you? A series of BBC3 repeats. Front cover of the Radio Times. Trailers every 30 minutes. Two spin-off shows. With another couple on the way. Then finally, FINALLY, it's the real thing. Yes, in case you missed the Beeb's low-key publicity campaign, Dr Hype is back, accompanied by the sort of fan-fare that would have made Rocky blush. A right royal pain in the jacksie it's been too, what with all the plugs it's been getting on other BBC shows. So, at the very least, you'd expect series two to open with a dynamite episode and maybe some Daleks or Cybermen, wouldn't you? But oh no. Instead? We have a huge letdown, from the moment David Tennant's pop-eyed, Mockney Doc took aim at the entire universe...and ended up back in a field full of cowpats in south Wales. ... o what we ended up with on Saturday was Carry On Doctor, rather than 'the TV event of the sodding year.' ... Because what's happened here is that, at best, someone (probably Russell T Davies) has chosen the wrong opening episode. Or, at worst, we're in for a lousy series. Hopefully it's the former. As we need something half decent to watch on Saturdays. And I'd like to stay tuned, if only to discover that David Tennant's four-word secret to the universe is -LOSE. THE. ENGLISH. ACCENT. "

The Daily Record yesterday said "All this Beeb-generated 'will they, won't they' hype about Jarvis Cocker being winched by an Ewok - er, sorry, I mean Billie Piper snogging David Tennant - was in danger of turning Doctor Who into Doctor When? And, I wondered, Doctor Why? Meeting the series' remastermaster Russell T. Davies in Glasgow recently, I agreed whole-heartedly (do I get a gold badge from the Doctor Who geek-club if I say two-heartedly?) with his suggestion that the fizz goes flat when chemistryblessed couples lock lips. Lois and Clark in the appalling New Adventures Of Superman, said R.T.D. by way of illustration. Cue over-enthusiastic nodding on my part - memories of Ross and Rachel (Friends), David and Maddy (Moonlighting), heck, even Miss Piggy and Kermit (The Great Muppet Caper) bringing me out all clammy. Then, barely five minutes into Saturday night's show, and the biggest threat to humanity appeared to be the inter-galactic cheeseballs being cooed between our happy couple. 'So, where are we going?' asked Rose, having ditched her boyfriend (again) for a man whose only possessions are a multi-purpose screwdriver, a moth-eaten wardrobe and a mobile home. 'Further than we've ever gone before,' purred the Doc. Jings. Cold shower for you-Who."

Other items: Both the Independent and Belfast Telegraph feature a story about Peter Kay (starring in the forthcoming "Love & Monsters");Manchester Online profiles Bruno Langley (Adam in last year's "Dalek" and "The Long Game"); the Welwyn and Hatfield Times profiles "a brave man who would steal a Dalek"; DVD Verdict reviews the "Doctor Who: The Beginning" DVD boxed set; Now Playing Mag reviews "New Earth".

Finally... We received a correction to the Derby Evening Telegraph story (see last TARDIS report), about the Doctor Who Make and Play Day at Pickford's House Museum last weekend, from the museum's assistant gallery supervisor: "For some reason known only to themselves, the Derby Evening Telegraph stated that 80 youngsters attended the event. The actual final visitor figure for the day was a staggering 805. Staff had expected around 400 max. The whole day was an overwhelming success and was one of the museum's biggest special events ever. There will be an extensive selection of pictures from the event published this Saturday in the Derby Evening Telegaph's Picture Edition."

(Thanks to Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg, Paul Hayes, Peter Weaver, John Bowman, Graham Lowe, Luke McCullough, Ian Kildin, Andy Thompson)