Christmas Press ReleaseBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 22 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

The BBC Press Office has issued a full press release on their Christmas offerings, noting "this year, the BBC offers a mix of new Christmas specials alongside some established favourites." The press release itself notes the rerun of Casanova on BBC3... and gives a full preview of the forthcoming Doctor Who special on December 25. They also note that there will be some Doctor Who content on BBC Three that day, though it's unspecified.
Below, in the spoiler tags, is the BBC press synopsis for "The Christmas Invasion"; it gives the plot setup away so don't click it unless you want to know!
Doctor Who – The Christmas Invasion

It's Christmas and Jackie Tyler is at home preparing for the festive season, not knowing if her daughter Rose will be home in time - or at all. Then she hears the familiar, ancient grind of the TARDIS! Mickey, who is hard at work, also hears it and they both race across the estate just in time to witness the TARDIS' glorious, chaotic crash landing. The doors open and, much to their delight, out steps Rose and a complete stranger - except it isn't a stranger - it's the Doctor. Disorientated, yet overwhelmed to see them, he takes a few minutes to regain his balance and consider what it is he wants to tell them. "Oh! I know! Merry Christmas!" he yells, before collapsing. The Doctor falls in and out of consciousness, with Rose and Jackie powerless to help him.

In a bid to boost Rose's spirits, Mickey suggests a spot of Christmas shopping. A good plan - until they find themselves under attack by a sinister brass band of masked Santas. However, they are not the only ones with problems. Prime Minister Harriet Jones has just been informed that a British space probe, on its way to Mars for a Christmas Day landing, has gone missing. It has been kidnapped by a monstrous race known as the Sycorax, who are set on taking over the world. Meanwhile, back at the Tylers', Mickey and Jackie are trying to fend off a killer Christmas tree, while Rose tries to wake the Doctor.

David Tennant plays the Doctor, Billie Piper plays Rose Tyler, Camille Coduri plays Jackie Tyler, Noel Clarke plays Mickey, Penelope Wilton plays Harriet Jones and Sean Gilder plays the Sycorax leader.




FILTER: - Press - Broadcasting

Warrington in Series Two?Bookmark and Share

Tuesday, 22 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

There are several rumors making the rounds that Don Warrington has been cast in the role of "The President" in the two-part Cybermen story in the new season, though this has not been confirmed. Warrington has previously played the role of Rassilon, founder of Time Lord society, for Big Finish's audio plays and has been seen in numerous films and television series. More details soon...




FILTER: - Production - Series 2/28

Friday Press ItemsBookmark and Share

Friday, 18 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

More about "The Christmas Invasion" has been revealed in the latest issue of SFX Magazine by Russell T Davies. "I love the title," he tells the magazine. "What else could you call it? It will be a great, adventure that's really big in scale. It will be Christmassy – there's nothing I like more than a Christmas special set at Christmas! There's a big story in it for Rose as well as a massive threat to the Earth going on beneath the surface, so Christmas as usual!" Says the article, "With the Doctor still suffering the after-effects of his regeneration, the TARDIS returns to Earth, arriving back at Rose’s council estate. The festive period is just beginning, but the Doctor, recuperating in his pyjamas, is too ill to enjoy it, while his companion attempts to come to terms with the fact that her best friend has changed his identity. But as Rose shares some quality time with her family and friends (Camille Coduri is back as Jackie Tyler, along with Noel Clarke as Mickey), an alien force is stirring. The Sycorax invasion is beginning... So what else can we expect from the story? 'I can tell you that the words 'Arthur Dent' are said in the Christmas special,' reveals Davies, rather teasingly. 'It's got scary Christmas trees, Santa attacks, there's an invasion, and the Doctor stays in bed for a long, long time,' Billie Piper recently told the press. 'I am carrying most of the show.'"

The Mirror says that Billie Piper is "at the centre of a tug-of-love between the BBC and ITV... Since quitting the hit sci-fi show - as revealed by The Mirror last week - 23-year-old Billie has already been snapped up for two major new projects, one with each of the main channels. For ITV1, she will don a ribboned bonnet to play priggish Fanny Price in a new adaptation of Jane Austen's most controversial novel, Mansfield Park. ... Meanwhile, BBC bosses have got a secret project waiting in the wings for her. Our insider tells us: 'This is very, very different to Doctor Who. Billie has proven herself at the BBC, first with The Canterbury Tales, then as Rose in Doctor Who, and recently in Much Ado About Nothing. The camera loves her. She has the sort of face which comes across really well on screen. Any critic who claims she is only good at playing ditzy characters is wrong - there were some very dark scenes in Doctor Who which she handled really well. All her performances have been brilliant. We can't wait to work with her again.'" Of course, this is forgetting the fact that she's still working on the show... take this for what it's worth.

More reports of the lighting of Cardiff at icWalesHam High News; the lighting also gets coverage on CBBC Newsround and the official site has a brief report and a link to a new, permanent clip from Wales Today on the Media Player (the Wales Today programme itself being only briefly available online).

Is Ross Kemp (who plays Grant Mitchell in "EastEnders") soon to be a guest star in the new series? The showbiz correspondent on HeartFM Radio seems to think so, noting in an 'exclusive' that he might be in the series, but we haven't heard anything about it elsewhere.

The official Doctor Who website has been updated with a Christmas theme today.

In The News has picked up the David Beckham story from yesterday; other print-only media to pick it up includes the Press Association and Newsquest Media Group (so expect it in a variety of papers by next week!) Also, Playbillmentions a December 19 holiday concert in which John Barrowman is slated to appear.

(Thanks to Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg, Stephen James Walker and Chris Howell of The Great Link)




FILTER: - Magazines - Press

CiN Special Online, plus News and ScreengrabsBookmark and Share

Friday, 18 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

The BBC Children in Need mini-website has now posted the "Children in Need" special starring David Tennant and Billie Piper. It's available in both Windows Media Player and Real Player formats. Check it out!
Surprisingly, there was no on-screen title for this mini-episode. Also, it appears that, contrary to previously-published BBC reports, K9 wasn't part of the festivities after all!
Christopher Eccleston has done voice-overs for the Children In Need broadcast this evening, including "Craig's Story", about a 12 year-old disgnosed HIV positive at the age of six (host Terry Wogan name-checked him afterward) and later Eccleston's narration provided the viewers of the number to call. Incidentally, Wogan introduced tonight's event noting that Doctor Who would be the "highlight" of the evening.
David Tennant apparently filmed several inserts for regional BBC broadcasters; for example, Tennant appeared outside the TARDIS in a leather jacket for BBC Scotland saying, "Hello, my name's David Tennant, please call 08457 33 22 33 and help Children In Need make a difference in Scotland." In fact, there are several appeal messages from Tennant and Billie Piper after the online clip, including two for Scotland.
Below is a selection of screen grabs from the three-minute special (thanks to Matt Evenden).




FILTER: - Special Events - Online

Torchwood in SFXBookmark and Share

Thursday, 17 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Russell T Davies updates readers on Torchwood in the new issue of SFX Magazine, as relayed by the website The Great Link. The interview notes that the show, about a "renegade bunch of investigators," will first be hinted at in "The Christmas Invasion" next month. More hints will follow throughout the second season. Davies will write two episodes of "Torchwood" which he says that, thanks to the expected watershed slot (9pm) for the show, "we can be a bit more visceral, more violent, and more sexual, if we want to. Though bear in mind that it’s very teenage to indulge yourself in blood and gore, and Torchwood is going to be smarter than that. But it’s the essential difference between BBC One at 7pm, and BBC Three at say, 9pm. That says it all -- instinctively, every viewer can see the huge difference there." Torchwood is still in the early stages of development, it says, but there will probably some production crossover with Doctor Who, "they’re two very different shows, so each will have its own identity." As Outpost Gallifrey previously reported, writers currently onboard for Torchwood are PJ Hammond (ITV’s Sapphire and Steel) and Chris Chibnall (BBC One’s Born and Bred). You can read more from Russell about Torchwood in the Christmas 2005 Issue of SFX Magazine. (Thanks to Chris Howell at The Great Link)




FILTER: - Torchwood - Russell T Davies

Thursday Press ClipsBookmark and Share

Thursday, 17 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

The Sun has an 'exclusive' today that notes that football star David Beckham is apparently a Doctor Who fan. "Victoria Beckham has splashed out on a book of Doctor Who screenplays for soccer star hubby Becks -- as he is 'completely ob- sessed' with the Time Lord. The ex-Spice Girl, 31, bought England skipper Becks a book of transcripts from the latest series starring Christopher Ecclestone [sic] and Billie Piper. Mum-of-three Posh showed her eye for a bargain by spotting the book, The Shooting Scripts, in a half-price sale. And if that wasn’t cut-price enough, staff at posh Knightsbridge store Harrods even gave an extra ten per cent discount because of her celebrity status. Real Madrid ace Becks and wife Victoria were in central London last Sunday. An insider said: 'They were in Harrods for a couple of hours. She had a good rummage and found the Dr Who book. Staff were expecting her to spend a fortune on designer gear — but she only bought the Russell T Davies scripts. She told the shop assistant that David was 'completely obsessed' with Dr Who. 'She said he knew everything about it and never missed an episode of the last series.'" Also reported at This Is London,Ananova.

The online edition of SFX Magazine features an interview with Anthony Stewart Head, who notes that he "love[s] it when papers say things stridently, whether they're right or wrong" about him playing the Master (he says he's shocked to hear it because it's not true!) But how was being in the show? "It was fantastic. And he's a blinding Doctor, David Tennant. For the first time in a long time, it's effortless. He's got it all, he really. He's literally born to play the part. He's got such an edge yet at the same time the humour, the comedy's just perfect. You're not watching anybody trying hard, it's just there. For me, this guy is just bang on! ... I suppose once you're in the genre, I suppose people just say, oh, you'd be good! I went up for the American TV movie, I went up for that a couple of time, and I saw various executives, but when I came back from Buffy, people would ask if I'd do it and I said, well, I think to do one sort of iconic sci-fi character every decade is probably enough. People'd get confused otherwise!" Was he approached for the role? "Yes. I don't know if they wrote this specifically with me in mind, but I think they thought it'd suit me. I must admit I enjoyed myself immensely. ... I can't even remember the character's name. Now I'm on tour, all my energies are channelled into that. Hmm, I don't know how much I'm allowed to say. My name is stamped all over the script so if anybody ever gets the script, they know it comes from me!" He says he met Russell T Davies at the readthrough, and that Davies is a fan of his work on 'Buffy'. "He's a great writer, Russell. He said how much of a fan he was and how pleased he was that I was doing it. I did the commentary for the Making Of on Radio 2 and there was a bit where they said they'd watched Buffy and modelled storytelling techniques on it."

More coverage of the purchase of the Dalek for £36,000 at Bonhams at People Daily Online ChinaThe Scotsman,Edinburgh Evening News,

Tuesday night's drive show with Richard Bacon on London Capital Radio featured a guest appearance by "celebrity friend for the week" Anthony Stewart Head, who noted that he'd recently taken the train to Newport for a photo session for Doctor Who where he had met with old friends David Tennant and Billie Piper. Head said that Tennant was the "best Doctor since Patrick Troughton" and that he was natural at the role but was "steely when needed".

(Thanks to Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg, Darren Hooker)




FILTER: - Press

National Space Centre ExhibitionBookmark and Share

Thursday, 17 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Outpost Gallifrey has received a press release from the National Space Centre in Leicester, where as we announced last month the BBC Doctor Who Exhibition previously in Brighton has been transported. Doctor Who: Up Close is the name of this new exhibit; the press release is below. You can find out more information about it at the Space Centrewebsite.
Doctor Who Up Close at the National Space Centre

Following a very successful summer on Brighton Pier, the BBC Doctor Who Exhibition will be bringing core parts of this exhibition to the National Space Centre for the Christmas period.

The new John Eggleston Suite will be transformed into "Doctor Who Up Close" from 22 November 2005 – 8 January 2006.

The exhibition starts with a quick catch up on the series from its very beginnings back in 1963, leading visitors to the main Doctor Who experience, featuring an unrivalled array of material from the new series including the iconic TARDIS.

Visitors will be able to see and interact with Daleks, the Moxx of Balhoon, Slitheen, Autons, Jabe, many of Platform One's guest list and not forgetting a certain Pig.

From January 2006, the National Space Centre are also hoping to include brand new exhibits from the Christmas special, once this much awaiting episode has been seen on TV.

Malika Andress, Communications Manager at the National Space Centre, said "This is a huge event in our calendar and we are really excited to be hosting the exhibition at such a fantastic time for the TV series. I have been a Doctor Who fan for many years. I am sure this exhibition will be have something that every member of the family will know and love."

The Doctor Who exhibition is created and managed by Experience Design under licence from BBC Worldwide.




FILTER: - Exhibitions

Location ShotsBookmark and Share

Thursday, 17 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Below are six location shots to go along with our set report from our correspondent Melanie Hill featured in this news column yesterday. The shots are behind-the-scenes items from the filming of episodes 5 and 6, one of which includes Noel Clarke (Mickey), as well as a burned-out car, a broken street light and other locations. Click on each for a larger version.




FILTER: - Production - Series 2/28

On With The Christmas LightsBookmark and Share

Thursday, 17 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

David Tennant and Billie Piper were in Cardiff as expected on this cold November evening at the Civic Centre to switch on the city's Christmas lights. Fireworks also marked the occasion, which began at 5:45pm with festivities hosted by Mel and Jase from Red Dragon FM's Breakfast Show, with dancers and a Christmas band and a song from Cardiff singing legend Frank Hennessy, then Tennant and Piper joining BBC Wales' Derek Brockway and Sara Edwards on stage for a few minutes. Before they arrived, the TARDIS materialised on the stage and the audience got to see a montage of clips from Season One for several minutes (which showcased the various location filming that was done last year in Cardiff, but curiously had no Christopher Eccleston clips). Tennant, when asked how he was finding being the tenth Time Lord, replied, "It's terrible. I'm having a miserable time. I'm leaving. Max Boyce is taking over.... No, I'm having a ball. I get my own TARDIS. I get my own sonic screwdriver. I get to hang out with Billie Piper, I'm having a great time." Tennant described the forthcoming Christmas episode as being "perfect thing for Christmas Day. Sit down with a big lump of turkey, put on a paper hat, pull a cracker and you'll have a great time," and mentioned that in upcoming episodes the Doctor and Rose face a werewolf and Tennant even gets to dress up as a woman in one episode. The lights were then turned on and fireworks went off, as Billie and David wished the crowd Merry Christmas in perfect Welsh ("Nadolig Llawen").
Reported BBC News, "The pair, who play the Doctor and his sidekick, Rose Tyler, switched on the city's Christmas lights. Tennant... told the crowd that he also gets to play a woman in the new series. ... Piper revealed to the crowd that other dangers the pair face in the sci-fi series, the second made by BBC Wales, include a werewolf as well as the Cybermen. Speaking from the stage moments before switching on the city's festive lights, she confided that the enemy in next month's episode is a Christmas tree. 'The Christmas tree attacks us. That's pretty exciting and quite threatening and scary at the same time,' she said. The Cyberman also seemed to have made an impression on her. She said: 'They are giants, absolutely terrifying (but) quite sexy actually.'" The article also noted that "The Christmas Invasion" doesn't have a firm time commitment yet on December 25: "[Russell T Davies] said he did not yet know what time the Doctor Who special would be broadcast, but viewers should expect to be frightened. He said: 'It's scary. That's why we can't show it after the Queen.'"
BBC Wales also covered the event, which is available online until 6.30pm Friday; Yahoo News also has coverage.
Below are several photographs taken for Outpost Gallifrey by two correspondents, Dave Greenham and Ian Golden, of Tennant and Piper in front of a huge cheering crowd outside the Civic Centre for the festivities and finally switching on the lights; click on each for a larger version. BBC News also has a collection of five additional photographs of the event. (Thanks to Justin Robinson, Ian Golden, Dave Greenham/DWAS, Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg)




FILTER: - People - Special Events - David Tennant

Children In Need Special To Be OnlineBookmark and Share

Thursday, 17 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

The BBC's website for the Children In Need charity event notes that the special Doctor Who mini-episode being broadcast on Friday 18 November after 9pm will be available for viewing on the web for an undefined period atthis website starting the same evening at 9:30pm. There is currently a trailer available on the website. This is only the second instance of the new Doctor Who series to be broadcast on the web (the first instance being last April's transmission of the episode "Dalek" as a test for new BBC technologies that was accidentally leaked to the public)... only the third time ever if you count the special The Curse of Fatal Death.




FILTER: - Special Events - Online