Karen Gillan's West End Theatre DebutBookmark and Share

Sunday, 24 July 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Karen Gillan (aka Amy Pond) will be making her West End theatre debut this Autumn in a revival of John Osbourne's 1964 play Inadmissible Evidence.

The play is to be performed at the Donmar Warehouse Theatre and will be directed by Jamie Lloyd. Gillan will play the character of Shirley, the hard-done-by secretary to middle-aged laywer Bill Maitland, to be played by Douglas Hodge; other cast members include Esther Hall, Amy Morgan, Daniel Ryan, and Al Weaver.

The Daily Mail reported that Lloyd had been very impressed with the Doctor Who actress:
Karen read twice for him at auditions and he was impressed with her charisma and her natural instincts. "More importantly, she can do the text convincingly and she feels as if she comes from that Sixties British Mad Men world," Lloyd added.

Originally performed in 1965 on Broadway, the play featured Nicol Williamson as Maitland and Jeanne Hepple as Shirley. It was subsequently made into a film with Williamson reprising the role alongside Eileen Atkins in 1968.

Synopsis: Bill Maitland, a middle aged lawyer, struggles to avoid the harsh truths of his life and keep a hold on reality. As those closest to him begin to draw away, he puts himself on trial to fight for his sanity.


The play runs from 13th October to 26th November - for more details see the theatre website.




FILTER: - People - Karen Gillan

Eccleston Expands on Reasons for LeavingBookmark and Share

Sunday, 24 July 2011 - Reported by Marcus
EcclestonNinth Doctor Christopher Eccleston has been expanding on remarks he made in the Radio Times last year as to the reasons he left Doctor Who.

In comments to students at an acting master class in London, and reported by Bad Wilf, he told of how he left the series after falling out with those in charge of the show.
I left Doctor Who, because I could not get along with the senior people. I left, because of politics. I did not see eye-to-eye, with them. I didn't agree with the way things were being run. I didn't like the culture that had grown up, around the series. So, I left. I felt, over a principle. I thought to remain, which would have made me a lot of money and given me huge visibility, the price I would have had to pay, was to eat a lot of shit.

I'm not being funny about that. I didn't want to do that and, it comes to the art of it, in a way. I feel that if you run your career and-we are vulnerable as actors and, we are constantly humiliating ourselves auditioning. But, if you allow that to go on, on a grand scale. You will loose, whatever it is about you and, it will be present in your work.

If you allow your desire to be successful and visible and financially secure – if you allow that to make you throw shades on your parents, on your upbringing, then you’re knackered. You’ve got to keep something back, for yourself, because it’ll be present in your work. A purity or an idealism is essential or you’ll become– you’ve got to have standards, no matter how hard work that is. So it makes it a hard road, really.

You know, it’s easy to find a job when you’ve got no morals, you’ve got nothing to be compromised, you can go, ‘Yeah, yeah. That doesn’t matter. That director can bully that prop man and I won’t say anything about it’. But then when that director comes to you and says ‘I think you should play it like this’ you’ve surely got to go ‘How can I respect you, when you behave like that?’

So, that’s why I left. My face didn’t fit and I’m sure they were glad to see the back of me.


Despite his reasons for leaving Eccleston is still proud of what he achieved in the role.
The important thing is that I succeeded. It was a great part. I loved playing him. I loved connecting with that audience. Because I've always acted for adults and the suddenly, you're acting for children. Who are far more tasteful, they will not be bullshitted. It's either good, or it's bad. They don't schmooze at after show parties, with cocktails.

During the master-class Eccleston revealed that he had recently been informed that he was a victim of phone hacking during his time as the Doctor, and he said will be taking legal action against the parties involved.




FILTER: - Christopher Eccleston

Much Ado Soundtrack ReleasedBookmark and Share

Saturday, 23 July 2011 - Reported by Marcus

Music from the London production of William Shakespeare'a Much Ado About Nothing, starring David Tennant as Benedick and Catherine Tate as Beatrice has been released and is available to download from iTunes or Amazon.

The soundtrack features nine tracks featured in the stage production plus two bonus tracks with vocals from Tennant and Tate. The highly acclaimed show continues at Wyndhams Theatre in London until 1st September.




FILTER: - Catherine Tate - David Tennant

Next Time: Dead of NightBookmark and Share

Friday, 22 July 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Next Thursday (28th July) sees the third episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day premiering in the UK, with Dead of Night being broadcast at 9:00pm on BBC1/BBC1HD. The episode will also be repeated on BBC2/BBCHD the following Monday at 11:20pm, and available to watch online in the UK via the BBC iPlayer until 23rd September.

The following is the plot synopsis for Dead of Night which might be considered a spoiler


Torchwood goes on the run, and finds a new enemy. But as they launch a raid on PhiCorp headquarters, Jack must confront the mysterious Oswald Danes.

The BBC trailer for the episode is now available online:

Torchwood episode 3 trailer, BBC, via iPlayer - may not play outside of the United Kingdom
Alternatively there is a YouTube version.

A preview clip from the episode is also available to watch:

Torchwood Dead of Night preview, BBC, via iPlayer - may not play outside of the United Kingdom

Coming Soon

The BBC Press Office has released details for the next couple of episodes of Miracle Day:

The following are plot synopses for episodes yet to be aired, and may be considered spoilers.




Escape to L.A.

The fight against PhiCorp takes the Torchwood team to California, where a trap is waiting, while Oswald and Jilly find themselves with an enemy of their own.
The Categories of Life

Torchwood goes undercover and discovers the terrible truth behind the "miracle"; but the enemy is closing in, and death is about to make a shocking return.






FILTER: - Torchwood - UK - Online - Miracle Day (Series 4)

Rendition: UK overnight viewing figuresBookmark and Share

Friday, 22 July 2011 - Reported by Marcus
Torchwood: Rendition achieved an average audience of 4.4 million viewers on BBC One and BBC One HD, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The second in the series had 19.1% of the audience share and was the 6th most watched programme of the day. It won the 9pm timeslot, with Single Handed on ITV1 watched by 3.3 million viewers.

The figure was down on the series premiere, which scored an average of 4.8 million. The episode saw a slight drop in viewers during the hour from 4.7 million in the first quarter to 4.0 million in the final quarter, although the final quarter is depressed as the programme finished earlier than the timeslot allocated.

The final ratings for Rendition will be released next week, and be based on the actual running time of the programme and include those who record the programme and watch it within seven days.

Mondays late night repeat of the series opener, The New World had 0.5 million watching.




FILTER: - Torchwood - Ratings - UK - Miracle Day (Series 4)

Series Six: Part 1 - International DVD/Blu-ray releaseBookmark and Share

Friday, 22 July 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
This week saw BBC/Warner Home Video release of the first half of Series Six on DVD(R1) and Blu-ray(A) in North America; as with the UK release the two-disc set features the seven episodes broadcast from April, and includes the two Monster Files covering The Gangers and The Silence.

More details on the release can be found at the BBC America Shop, and WHV have also provided links to three preview clips from Doctor Who Insider presenting Inside Look At The Enemies Point Of View, an Inside Look With Steven Moffat, and an Inside Look At Rory.


The DVD(R2) and Blu-ray(B) versions were released in the UK last week, and are available to buy via our Amazon store.
(with thanks to Bridget Murphy Groller/BBC/WHV)


The Australian versions (R4/B) will be released on 4th August and will be available in New Zealand on 17th August.





FILTER: - USA - Series 6/32 - Blu-ray/DVD

The Adventure Games: The Gunpowder PlotBookmark and Share

Thursday, 21 July 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC have announced that the next Adventure Game is to be released in October, and will be entitled The Gunpowder Plot. The release describes the game thus:
The Gunpowder Plot will be the most advanced of the Adventure Games so far. Gamers will be able to play as the Doctor, Amy and Rory, exploring the immersive environments of this historic period. The adventure will feature multi-linear gameplay, even more sophisticated puzzles, and a complex lighting system specifically designed to recreate the atmosphere of 17th Century London. And for the very first time, the introduction of portal technology will enable gamers to experience for themselves that the TARDIS really is bigger on the inside...

Written by Phil Ford and produced by Gary Russell, the game is set in 1605 and will see the return of two old enemies of the Doctor's - and of course will feature the main protagonist of the title, Guy Fawkes.

The game will also be accompanied by an online resource pack with downloadable assets to support History and Literature lessons in schools, via BBC Learning.



This isn't the first time the Doctor has encountered this period - the First Doctor, Ian and Barbara became embroiled in the plot back in 1996, for the Virgin Missing Adventures series book The Plotters written by Gareth Roberts.




FILTER: - Online - Games - BBC

New Executive Producer AnnouncedBookmark and Share

Thursday, 21 July 2011 - Reported by Marcus
The BBC has announced that Caroline Skinner will join Steven Moffat as Executive Producer on Doctor Who.

Skinner has recently been working as producer on Five Days, a serial for BBC One. She has previously been script editor on productions such as House of Saddam, The Shadow in the North, The Ruby in the Smoke and Bleak House.

Skinner will start work on the series immediately, working alongside departing Executive Producer Piers Wenger on the 2011 Christmas special, before taking charge for the fourteen episodes which form the next series of the show, which leads up to the programme's 50th Anniversary.

Speaking about the appointment, Moffat told the official website:
The exec joining me on Doctor Who is Caroline Skinner - fresh from the wonderful Five Days, and still finishing up on a brand new show called The Fades (a fantasy horror series, written by Jack Thorne - I've seen episode 1, and it's BRILLIANT.) Somewhere between me laughing in a basement and choosing planets to invade, and Marcus Wilson raising armies, there has to be a Prime Minister actually running the whole thing. That's the job Piers Wenger and Beth Willis have been doing so wonderfully for the last few years. Now that Piers is off to movie land, that's the furnace Caroline will be walking into.




FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Production - Caroline Skinner - Series 7/33 - BBC

Colony in Space DVD release for OctoberBookmark and Share

Thursday, 21 July 2011 - Reported by Marcus
The 1971 Jon Pertwee story Colony in Space, has been scheduled for release on DVD in the UK on 3rd October this year.

The story by Malcolm Hulke, sees the third Doctor, along with companion Jo Grant, sent to the planet Uxarieus by the Time Lords, where they discover a struggling colony being terrorised by giant reptiles.

The six part story was originally shown between 10th April and 15th May 1971. Katy Manning plays Jo Grant and Roger Delgado appears as the Master.

Other members of the cast include John Ringham in his third role in the series, Helen Worth, who went on to play Gail McIntyre on the soap opera Coronation Street, Bernard Kay and Tony Caunter.

The single disc release will contain 4 seconds which were missing from VHS & US masters of the story and which restores 2 lines of dialogue.




FILTER: - Jon Pertwee - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Let's Kill Hitler: UK preview screeningBookmark and Share

Thursday, 21 July 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The British Film Institute are to show a special preview screening of the Series Six second half opener Let's Kill Hitler. The screening will take place on the 15th August 2011 from 6:20pm, and will be accompanied by a Q&A session (guests to be confirmed).

As with previous Doctor Who/Torchwood events, it was fully booked by 2:30pm within hours of being announced; some return tickets might be available from the Box Office in due course.

Following the game-changing mid-series finale in June, The Doctor returns for the first of six new episodes to be broadcast on BBC One this autumn. Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill and Alex Kingston star in this new adventure written by Steven Moffat and directed by Richard Senior. Join us for the chance to see this opener to the autumn series followed by a Q&A with some special guests (to be announced nearer the time). We regret that due to the pressures of time, autographs will not be possible.
 





FILTER: - Doctor Who - Special Events - UK - Series 6/32