Carey Mulligan wins BAFTA AwardBookmark and Share

Monday, 22 February 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The actress Carey Mulligan - best known to Doctor Who fans as popular character Sally Sparrow from Blink - has won the Orange British Academy Film Award for Best Actress for her role in the film An Education. The 24 year old actress said: I was here a year ago and I didn't imagine in a million years that this would happen. I wish I could do a speech like Colin Firth and talk about fridges but I can't."

Mulligan has also been nominated for an Oscar in the 82nd Academy Awards taking place on 7th March.


The British Academy Awards are available to watch in the UK on the BBC iplayer until the 28th February.




FILTER: - People

Australian news and ratingsBookmark and Share

Monday, 22 February 2010 - Reported by Adam Kirk

Part Two of The End of Time has debuted in Australia to good ratings. The special averaged 840,000 in the five major capital cities, again against stiff competition from the commercial networks, including a 20/20 international cricket match. It was up 40,000 viewers from Part One and was the ABC's top-rating program of the day, rating higher than the popular Sunday 7pm news.

The Sydney Morning Herald TV Guide has rated Part Two of 'The End of Time' its 'show of the week' with Michael Idato writing that it is 'is nearly but not quite the equal of the series's best episodes...it is, instead, a strange ballet of noise and movement, a super-charged run around the block set to the outstanding musical motifs of Murray Gold, which swirls around the simpler truth of the episode's purpose-to give Tennant's Doctor a final, glorious moment of universe-saving indecision and to serve up a helping of sentiment (with a side-order of tears) as he says a fitting goodbye to his life, as we know it, and the lives of those he holds dear.' Idato and Doug Anderson also rate the finale highly in their daily online video TV guide. Melinda Houston of the The Age is less kind, writing of the departure of Russell T. Davies that 'it's been a fun ride but [he] has an undeniable taste for high melodrama and while he's brought some welcome rough edges to the new-style time lord, and a wicked sense of humour, he's also brought a fair whack of sentimental emoting that's not always so much fun.'

Meanwhile, ABC Online's 'The Drum Unleashed' has an amusing blog comparing the different hosts of the long-running Media Watch program with various incarnations of the Doctor.




FILTER: - Specials - Ratings - Broadcasting - Australia

Doctor Who for EasterBookmark and Share

Saturday, 20 February 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster


The new trailer for Doctor Who has now been broadcast, featuring a couple of the Doctor's old adversaries and some new ones!

The new series is scheduled to arrive on UK television screens during Easter 2010.





FILTER: - Press - Series 5/31

Saturn Award Nominations 2010Bookmark and Share

Friday, 19 February 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Every year, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films hold the Saturn Awards; the 36th award ceremony will take place on 24th June, and Doctor Who has been nominated in a number of categories.

For the Best Television Presentation award, The End of Time is up against sister show Torchwood's Children of Earth. Other contenders include the new versions of The Prisoner and V, plus Alice and The Tudors.

Best Actor in Television includes David Tennant for The End of Time; he'll be up against Josh Holloway and Matthew Fox from Lost, Stephen Moyer from True Blood, plus Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Michael C. Hall (Dexter) and Zachary Levi (Chuck).

Best Guest Starring Role in Television sees Bernard Cribbins nominated for his portrayal of Wilf in The End of Time; others up for the award are Raymond Cruz (Breaking Bad), Michelle Forbes (True Blood), John Lithgow (Dexter), Leonard Nimoy (Fringe) and Mark Pellegrino (Lost).

In media, Best DVD Television Release sees both Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead and Torchwood: Children of Earth in the running, against Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season, Primeval, Volume 2, Lost: The Complete Fifth Season and Life on Mars: The Complete Series




FILTER: - Awards/Nominations - Children of Earth (Series 3)

George Waring (1925-2010)Bookmark and Share

Thursday, 18 February 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The actor George Waring has died at the age of 84.

The actor portrayed the role of Arden in the Patrick Troughton adventure The Ice Warriors. Arden was a scientist whose team discover an "Ice Warrior" buried deep in a glacier, and ultimately becomes the Martians' first victim.

Born in Eccles, Lancashire, Waring made his career in theatre and then television, appearing in a number of notable roles in shows like Six Days of Justice and Mixed Blessings. However, he will be best remembered for the character of Arnold Swain in Coronation Street.

(George Waring:born 20th February 1925; died 15th February 2010)




FILTER: - People - Obituary - Classic Series

More Doctor Who onlineBookmark and Share

Thursday, 18 February 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
SeeSaw is the latest online streaming service to provide episodes of Doctor Who for viewing over the Internet. Stories currently available are The Space Museum, Tomb of the Cybermen, Planet of the Spiders, The Talons of Weng-Chiang, The Caves of Androzani, Mark of the Rani, and Survival.

SeeSaw's controller John Keeling says:
It's like having an enormous buffet... you can either just snack on it and catch up on what you've missed or gorge yourself with an entire season - it's absolutely at your fingertips and your control.

This is the tip of the iceberg, it feels to me like it did 20 years ago when I was at Sky and multi-channel TV was just beginning and you saw satellite dishes sprouting on people's homes like mushrooms

This way of watching television will be on TVs from this year. One of the fastest selling electronic goods is an HDMI cable which connects a laptop to the back of the TV and bingo, you're online and your TV has become an enormous monitor for your laptop.
SeeSaw joins existing streaming companies BlinkBox and MSN in providing Doctor Who stories online.




FILTER: - Online

3D Trailer for Doctor WhoBookmark and Share

Thursday, 18 February 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Broadcast are reporting that - as well as the traditional '2D' trailer that will start appearing on TV from Saturday evening - a 3D version has been created by Red Bee Media and The Mill.

The 40 second trailer is expected to be seen in cinemas, and at external promotional events around the country entitled "Meet a Monster".

Says the ubiquitous BBC spokesperson:
Doctor Who is the appropriate vehicle for 3D. It just fits. It’s a great way to introduce and showcase the new Doctor to younger viewers.




FILTER: - Press - Series 5/31

Caves of Androzani RevisitedBookmark and Share

Thursday, 18 February 2010 - Reported by Marcus
The Caves of AndrozaniThe final story to be included in the forthcoming DVD Revisitations Box Set will be Peter Davison's swan song as the fifth Doctor, The Caves of Androzani.

The story, first shown in 1984, is one of the highest regarded in Doctor Who's history and was recently voted as best story by the readers of Doctor Who Magazine. The story features Nicola Bryant as Peri, John Normington as Morgus, Robert Glenister as Slateen, Christopher Gable as Sharaz Jek and Maurice Roeve as Stotz.

The story was one of the first released on DVD in June 2001. The updated version will contain new behind the scenes features. The set will also contain the 1977 Tom Baker story The Talons of Weng Chiang and the 1996 Paul McGann  TV Movie,

The set will be released in the UK later this year.




FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD - Peter Davison

Blue Peter competition winner announcedBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 17 February 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Today's edition of Blue Peter saw the announcement of the winners for their competition to design a Doctor Who console. Of the thousands of entries received, the eventual final three designs selected from the age categories were chosen by Blue Peter editor Tim Levell, Doctor Who production designer Edward Thomas, and head writer Steven Moffat; the overall winner was then picked by new Doctor Matt Smith, who chose the design by Susannah from the 11-12 year old category.


Susannah, from Lancashire, will see her design used in an episode of the forthcoming series (to be filmed in Block 7 over the next few weeks), and will get to visit the set with Blue Peter during the production.



The winners in the other categories were Joshua in the 6-7 and Laura in the 8-10 categories. A full list of the runners up is currently available on the Blue Peter competitions page, which also includes a video of the competition winners being announced.

The episode is available to UK viewers on the BBC iplayer for the next seven days.




FILTER: - Competitions - Series 5/31

Tennant - Best Dressed Man of 2009Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, 17 February 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
David Tennant
David Tennant has topped Daniel Craig to become the Best Dressed Man of 2009, according to Hello Magazine. In the online poll, the former Doctor pulled in over a third of the votes, with 35.4% of the 10,254 voters, a clear 12% majority over the current James Bond star's 23.3%.

Tennant recently lost out in Hello's Most Attractive Men poll, coming in at fifth place.

Full list of results
1. David Tennant - 35.4 per cent
2. Daniel Craig - 23.3 per cent
3. Jude Law - 16.8 per cent
4. Robert Downey Jr - 15.3 per cent
5. Robert Pattinson - 6.2 per cent
6. Hugh Jackman - 1.3 per cent
7. Andres Velencoso - 0.8 per cent
8. David Beckham - 0.4 per cent
9. Barack Obama - 0.3 per cent
10. Brad Pitt - 0.2 per cent




FILTER: - People - David Tennant - Awards/Nominations