Doctor Who Comes To US Television

The floodgates have opened on coverage of the long-awaited debut of Doctor Who in America:

TV Guide Magazine, a large-circulation TV periodical in the US, includes Doctor Who in the weekly feature "Hot List: 21 Shows You've Gotta See!" in its March 13-19 edition now on newsstands. Noting it as a Season Premiere and featuring a photo of the Doctor and Rose crouching on the pavement in "Father's Day", the blurb reads: "The culty classic gets a slick update for theBattlestar generation when Christopher Eccleston checks in as the ninth Doc to do the time warp". On page 80, under Highlights for Friday 3/17, there is a box titled "Who's Who" featuring a large central photo of Tom Baker surrounded by smaller photos of, from left to right, Eccleston, Hartnell, Troughton, Pertwee, Davison, and McCoy. The text reads: "The Doctor is in. For the first time since a 1996 TV-movie, American viewers can see fresh DOCTOR WHO (SCI FI, 9/8c, 10/9c) adventures. Christopher Eccleston stars in the title role as an eccentric alien scientist (called a "Time Lord") who tools around space and time in a vessel shaped like a British phone booth -- the TARDIS. (It may look cramped, but it's actually much bigger on the inside.) In the opener, the Doctor and his feisty new sidekick Rose (Billie Piper) clash with a megalomaniacal blob that turns plastic items like mannequins into killers. But unlike the old Who serials, which were shot largely on videotape and hamstrung by cheap F/X, this version of the venerable series (the BBC began it in 1963) consists of self-contained installments produced entirely on film. Nevertheless, these 2005 stories -- the first regular episodes since 1989 -- remain as engaging as those of Eccleston's predecessors: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker (he of the long scarf -- perhaps the most famous Doctor), Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and Paul McGann (the 1996 TV-movie only). How can so many actors play the same role? Whenever the Doctor's life is imperiled, he undergoes a "regeneration" that alters his appearance and personality. (How's that for a re-casting enabler?) Eccleston's Doctor will experience it at the end of the season -- David Tennant took over the role last November in England. -- G J Donnelly"

Entertainment Weekly, another widely-circulated periodical, notes that "When Doctor Who makes its triumphant return to the United States on the Sci Fi Channel March 17, the average American's reaction will likely be: It was here before? A science-fiction staple of British TV for over 40 years, Who achieved only cult status in the U.S. when the show was imported to PBS in the late '70s. The newly revamped version, shot for the BBC, stars Christopher Eccleston (28 Days Later) as the Doctor and British pop star Billie Piper as his time- travel partner, Rose Tyler. 'The show can be very dark, very gritty,' says exec producer Russell T. Davies (the man behind the original Queer as Folk). 'But there's also a great deal of fun.' Whether you're an old fan or a curious newcomer, here's everything you need to know about the new Who. WHO IS HE? The Doctor is an alien with a lot of heart--two of them, to be exact. He zips through space and time in the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space), a ship that's huge inside, but looks like a phone booth on the outside. He's an exile who stumbles into trouble with a goofy grin, and occasionally escapes scrapes by transforming into another person. (Literally: Eccleston will be replaced by David Tennant in season 2.) The Doc's an odd, happy guy--unlike the typical guns-blazing U.S. sci-fi military hero. Davies says that's precisely the show's appeal: 'One of the joys of the Doctor is that it's not his job to wander the universe-- he does it because he loves it.' WHERE DOES HE GO? The original is revered for its quirkiness (foes included salt-shaker-shaped aliens the Daleks) and its witty scripts (by writers like Douglas Adams). Similarly, the new Doctor Who has no formula--one week, he meets Charles Dickens; the next, he watches Earth's destruction billions of years in the future. While it's airing on Sci Fi's Friday lineup, don't expect things to be nearly as grim as, say, Battlestar Galactica--especially when the good Doctor hangs out in a futuristic Big Brother house. WHAT'S NEW WITH THIS 'WHO'? It has production values, for one. Local weathermen had better computer graphics than the original, which often featured guys in rubber monster suits. 'In the old days they worked twice as hard as I do,' says Davies, 'and they never had enough money.' And fans have never seen a companion quite like shopgirl Rose, who is as much the hero as the Doc himself. 'We share these adventures through the eyes of a completely normal 21st- century girl,' Davies says. 'The most important thing about her is that she works in a shop.' All that remains to be seen is if American audiences will be buying." The magazine also has a brief "history" of Doctor Who.

Monsters and Critics calls the series #5 on its list of "top ten reasons to watch in 2006". "The Sci Fi Channel brings back to the US one of the most successful franchises in television history when it begins airing the new, reimagined Doctor Who series on March 17. Christopher Eccleston (Elizabeth, The Others, 28 Days Later) is the ninth actor to play the Doctor, the last remaining Timelord who uses a mysterious machine called the TARDIS to mess around with the past and future of the universe. Eccleston combines an impish sense of mischief with a ruthless dark side that always keeps you guessing as to how he’ll react. The first few episodes are enjoyable, but you can still feel the writers finding the voice of the series. But when an old enemy returns in episode five, a fascinatingly dark sensibility takes over, the plots gain new urgency, and things get personal for the Doctor. A must for science fiction fans."

Eclipse Magazine says of the show, "It’s the longest-running science fiction show on TV, appealing to all ages. The children who watched through their fingers from behind the sofa are now parents and grandparents of new generations of fans and, uniquely, the show has so far survived ten different actors in the title role. ... And work it does. The sets no longer wobble; the SFX, while perhaps not as stellar as those of US science fiction shows, aren’t exactly shabby; the writing is witty and intelligent; the stories full of fun and menace with a delicious British eccentricity. With all that going for it, 'Doctor Who' returned to the BBC with a bang, went straight to the top of the ratings -- and stayed there. While US imports such as 'Lost', 'Desperate Housewives', and the 'CSI' franchise continue to do well in the UK, it was 'Doctor Who' that instantly caught the audience’s imagination, winning major awards including Most Popular Drama at the 2005 National Television Awards, and bringing The Doctor to yet another generation cowering behind the sofa. ... Meanwhile, the second season of the new 'Doctor Who' is currently in the works, with a third also given the green light. And now the US audience can find out what all the fuss is about! The new 'Doctor Who' series has been picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel and is set to debut on Friday, March 17 at 9.00pm. Don’t miss it -- the Daleks know where to find you!"

The Long Island Press says that "Unless you're one of the two million nerds Googling the online version of this article, you've probably not had much exposure to the classic British science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... Little has changed since the show's last official season in 1989, aside from the marked improvement in wardrobe, hairdos and dental work (the actors' teeth were so bad in some of the old episodes that they could be shown as instructional videos in dental schools across the UK). The new series stars Christopher Eccleston as the ninth Doctor, who joins up with his lovely blonde chick named Rose to fight familiar foes like the Daleks and Autons. While they're at it, they might as well jump to the year 5 billion A.D. then back to 1869 to team up with Charles Dickens to put a hurtin' on some aliens. All in a day's work. Even though the show has failed numerous times to capture an American audience, I think the new series has the best shot by far of becoming a minor hit. With their amazing resurrection of Battlestar Galactica, a plethora of original B-horror flicks and endless reruns of Quantum Leap, the Sci-Fi Channel has solidly cornered the nerd market, and Doctor Who is a perfect fit. So get out your Star Wars Underoos, graphing calculator and silly Tom Baker (the fourth Doctor) scarf and strap in for the new Who. As long as you don't bring it up around the office hottie at the water cooler, you might just become a full-fledged Who-head, because it's actually a really good show. Nerd!"

The San Antonio Express News features an article: "I didn't have the most positive introduction to 'Doctor Who.' After meeting an interesting guy back in late 2000 and learning he was a huge fan of the old series of the '60s, '70s and '80s, I shared this info with a few of my TV colleagues. Throwing each other a look, one laughed and said: ' 'Doctor Who,' huh? That should give you sufficient warning about the guy.' It didn't. Five years later, Ross and I are together still. Needless to say, over those years, we've taken in quite a few installments of the old 'Doctor Who' on DVD. To be honest, the series with cheesy special effects and fairly cardboard characters never quite became my cup of British tea. Then the remake arrived and my opinion radically changed. This 21st century version of 'Doctor Who' is terrific, a sci-fi show that everyone, fan or not of the genre, can enjoy. It's fast-moving, meaty and funny, with three-dimensional characters who tug at your heart and tear ducts. It premieres with two back-to-back episodes from 8 to 10 p.m. Friday on the Sci Fi Channel. In case you're unfamiliar with the Doctor, he's part of an alien race called the Time Lords; travels in his time/space machine, the TARDIS; and takes plenty of risks as he rights the wrongs. Another defining trait is he always travels with a companion, usually human and female. ... Another plus: The special effects have been amped up 1,000 percent. But as mentioned before, it's the characters, coupled with the clever and beautiful writing by executive producer Russell T. Davies, that makes it an unqualified winner. So grab the kids -- 'Who' is as family-friendly as 'Harry Potter' -- and take a two-hour TV trip Friday that should keep you anxiously returning for more. P.S. Because I'm involved with a fanatic, I've managed to see the whole 13-episode series. (It debuted last year in England and is a huge hit). With each episode, the show got better and better, and at times, deeply emotional, with visits to the London Blitz, reality shows of the future, Victorian England and -- for die-hard 'Who' fans -- the return of the doc's notorious foes, the Daleks."

The Des Moines Register notes that "Both 'Star Wars' and 'Star Trek' took a shot and failed. Now another sci-fi franchise is trying to reinvent itself for today's adults. Admit it: George Lucas jumped the shark with Jar-Jar Binks, when he decided to tailor his latest 'Star Wars' trilogy to the kiddies and infuse the movies with more special effects than soul. ... Enter 'Doctor Who,' a uniquely British sci-fi TV series that premiered the day after Kennedy's assassination in 1963, before Denny Crane -- I mean James T. Kirk -- began boldly going anywhere. Before Lucas got a grip on the Force. ... 'Per capita, it's the equivalent of 'Friends' over here,' said Lars Pearson, who should know. The Des Moines-based sci-fi publisher (Mad Norwegian Press) has eight 'Who' reference guides in print and more on the way. ... 'You can kind of see the influences of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' in there,' Pearson said. 'There's all these people with a huge interest in the new show that basically wouldn't touch the old one with a 10-foot pole.' 'It's kind of become England's hottest property again,' agreed Steve Martin -- not the famous comedian, but a 27-year-old in Des Moines who embarked on his first post-college vacation last November to Wales just to attend a 'Who' convention. 'I think in a way it kind of transcends geekdom,' he said. 'You take 'Star Trek' fans, 'Star Wars' fans, they're very niche. But a lot of 'Doctor Who' fans kind of like everything. We're the neutral party in sci-fi fandom. We're not gonna beat you over the head. . . . You have to let someone discover it in their own way.'" Read the full article at the site.

People

The Daily Mirror today reports that John Barrowman will be co-presenting ITV1's This Morning mid-morning magazine show over Easter, standing in for one of the regular presenters. Beginning on Monday 10 April, Barrowman will, according to the programme's executive producer, "bring his own unique brand of humour and fun to This Morning." Barrowman says that he is "so looking forward to being a part of daytime television and especially This Morning." The report also mentions that Captain Jack Harkness will return to Doctor Who in its third series and that Barrowman is "currently filming" Torchwood, although production is actually not slated to begin until April. Also reported in the Daily Record,

Zoe Wanamaker, who returns in series two as Cassandra after her turn last year in "The End of the World," is interviewed by the UK Press Association's Graham Kibble-White, and she discusses her role. "Last year Zoe notched up something of an honour by portraying the first new monster to menace Doctor Who following the series' triumphant return to BBC One. The good news is, her character, Cassandra, will be back for a rematch when the show returns to our screens in the spring. 'It's fabulous!' she enthuses, when asked what it's like to be a 'Who baddy. 'It's such fun! It's such a credit to Russell T Davies and the producers. I think what they've achieved is brilliant. I think Cassandra's a naughty, naughty girl. That's what's such fun about her. She's cheeky. She's not evil, she's just naughty.' Alas, she's sworn to secrecy when it comes to talking about just what the vain 'last human alive' gets up to this time around, but she is prepared to reflect upon what the role means to her. 'It's like being a baddy in a Bond film,' she muses. 'It's that sort of television equivalent, I think. I desperately wanted her to come back. It's a character you can bring something to, twist it around and make something funny. She reminded me of Joan Rivers and that extraordinary woman who changed her face a million times to look like some sort of tiger. And it was extremely witty to do. After so many plastic surgeons, liposuction and all that she's ended up just a flat piece of parchment. I think that's fabulous. A fantastic invention. That's the best thing about science fiction, it's really basically fairy stories come to life, but they're great fun.'" Wanamaker is also currently back on the BBC in series six of the sitcom "My Family", in which she co-stars as tour guide and mother Susan Harper.

As we reported last week was about to happen, Christopher Ecclestoncould briefly be seen giving his muppety opinions on ITV's Best Ever Muppet Moments last night, where he divulged that his favourite character on the show was and mad-scientist Bunsen Honeydew.

BBC Radio 3's composer of the week for week commencing Monday, March 27 is Richard Rodney Bennett, composer of the incidental music for the 1964 story "The Aztecs". Says Radio 3: "Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, who turns 70 on Wednesday 29 March, studied serialism with Pierre Boulez, yet is as comfortable at the piano playing jazz and singing cabaret as he is with any 12-tone row. He is famous for his television and film music -- early Doctor Who, Murder On The Orient Express and Four Weddings And A Funeral, among others -- but considers such work to be musical 'journalism' and thinks more highly of his music for the opera house and concert hall." Pieces of his work will crop up across the schedule during the week, available via the "Listen Again" function.

icWales says that "Ioan Gruffudd has been voted one of the country's hottest men by a women's glossy magazine. ...Gruffudd, along with Doctor Who actor David Tennant and singer Will Young, were selected by staff at the magazine to take part in the anniversary celebrations. ... A spokeswoman for Glamour said ...'We were thinking which men we would like to attend a party with and we chose Ioan, Will and David because they all look good, have great personalities and plenty of charm,' she said. 'It was a bit of fun and, from what we gather, they all had a great time.'"

Also, Tennant and Billie Piper are on the cover of the April issue of SFX Magazine; the issue is timed for the expected April launch of series two on BBC television.

Says March 9's Daily Star, "Doctor Who actor David Tennant finally came face-to-face with a Dalek for the first time yesterday. But thankfully this one was in the shape of a cake. The 34-year-old star, who has taken over the Timelord role from Christopher Eccleston, 42, was busy filming scenes for the new series in Cardiff. And one fan gave the cast and crew a treat by bringing them a plateful of cakes to scoff, including one in the shape of the Doc's greatest foes. His sidekick Billie Piper, 23, also grabbed a chocolate Dalek. She said: 'It looks cute. I'll have it later. I can't breathe in this costume, let alone eat.'"

"A Taste of Honey" starring Bruno Langley (Adam from "Dalek" and "The Long Game") has new dates; it's now playing 16-20 May at the Sheffield Crucible, according to Sheffield Today.

Miscellaneous

According to The Sun, "Readers can cast their vote for their favourite show from a shortlist celebrating the top telly of last year...the much-anticipated return of Dr Who, the teatime sci-fi adventure starring Billie Piper and Christopher Eccleston, peaked with 10.5million viewers for the first episode and has gone on to win a string of awards. ... To cast your vote for the one you want to see celebrating, log on to this site and make your choice. The winner will be revealed at the star-studded BAFTA TV Awards ceremony on May 7, which will be shown on ITV1 the following evening at 9pm.'"

The official Doctor Who website reports that "Totally Doctor Who are extending the age limit for Companion Academy entries. New CBBC show Totally Doctor Who have noticed that quite a few thirteen and fourteen year-olds want to become Companion Academy Cadets. So they've done the decent thing, and upped the age limit to fourteen. To enter for Companion Academy, send a video of yourself explaining why you'd make a great Cadet, no more than a minute long, to Totally Doctor Who, PO Box 5158, CF5 9BD. Make sure your parent or guardian gives their permission in a letter. Send it along with the tape."

Mine All Mine, the Russell T Davies-created comedy-drama, will be released on DVD in the UK in May 2006, according to SendIt; Davies has recorded commentaries on three episodes.

ITV's network drama controller has told the new issue of Broadcastmagazine that he has recently commisioned "The History of Mr Polly starring David Tennant and adapted by Adrian Hodges. It's the a story of a little man who rebels against his humdrum life. It's a great literary classic and with David in it it will be stunning."

The Pet Shop Boys feature on the cover of, and are interviewed by Andrew Harrison in, the latest edition (April 2006) of culture magazine The Word, which mentions Doctor Who; talking about legendary TV host & DJ, Simon Dee, Neil Tennant recalls, "He was great, Simon Dee. Every Saturday night on BBC1 we had Doctor Who followed by Dee Time and then The Monkees. Or maybe in a different order." Says Chris Lowe, "I'm a huge fan of Doctor Who. I watched all the new one." Harrison: "Are you glad there's a new Tennant in the TARDIS at last?" Tennant: "Not only that, but he's named after me. His real name is something else (David MacDonald) but for his Equity name he chose Tennant because of the Pet Shop Boys." Lowe: "It's a very big honour." Tennant: "I could see me being Doctor Who." Lowe: "Have you seen Neil act? (Ironic!)" Tennant: "I'd attend a meeting definitely about playing Doctor Who. Definitely. But I haven't watched it since approximately 1969. For me Doctor Who is basically William Hartnell or forget about it." This isn't the first time the PSB's have referred to Doctor Who.

The Sunderland Echo says that "Devoted Dr Who fan Neil Perryman believes the show has always pushed the TV envelope and he will outline his thoughts on how Dr Who did -- and still does -- dictate the future of the medium, at a lecture on Monday night. ... 'Dr Who has been both a critical and a commercial success, but more than that, it has effectively changed the way in which television drama will be produced, distributed, and consumed in the future,' said Neil. 'Dr Who was the first online serialised webcast drama, it had the first podcasted episode commentary, the first BBC release on DVD, PSP and mobile phone, and the first interactive drama on BBCi.' Neil, who lectures in media production at Sunderland, is holding a free talk at 6pm on Monday at the Media Centre, St Peter's Campus. The lecture, Dr Who and Media Convergence is open to all."

Wikipedia, the large online 'encyclopedia' constructed primarily by readers, featured an article about the TARDIS as its "Featured Article" on March 8.

Additional reports about the casting of Peter Kay can be found at The Sun, UPI, Yahoo News, Daily Record,Brand Republic, RTE,Megastar, Hollywood News, Daily Snack, The Register. Also, an additional article about the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards is aticWales while another review of the Noel Clarke-written film "Kidulthood" is at FilmFocus.

(Thanks to Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg, Steven Anderson, Simon Guerrier, Peter Weaver, Christian Burris, Corey Charette, Felicity Kusinitz, Chuck Foster, Matt Kimpton, Phil Creighton, Phil M Newman, Daniel Hall, Martin Hoscik/UNIT News, Neil Marsh and david-tennant.com)

Has another title for series two been leaked out through the press? It looks that way; Newsquest Media Group's news feed, published widely in several UK newspapers, revealed in an article about the casting of comedian Peter Kay as the 'cold and powerful' Victor Kennedy in episode ten of the second season that "Filming will take place next month and the episode, entitledLove and Monsters, will be the final one to be filmed in Cardiff. It will probably be shown in June." This does jibe with what Outpost Gallifrey had heard rumored over the past several months (that the episode bore the word 'love' in the title), so we believe this to be the actual working title -- of course, it could change prior to transmission. (Other titles for episodes 8 and 11 -- first rumored in the Outpost's forum a few weeks ago and reprinted on various websites -- are incorrect; those titles have not yet leaked.)

Meanwhile, Outpost Gallifrey has been informed that a press launch for series two is, in fact, scheduled for March 28 in Cardiff. This will likely be another major extravaganza like last year's March debut of "Rose" in Cardiff attended widely by members of the press and used as spot feeds on various morning and news programmes. There were rumors elsewhere that there would be trailers shown this past weekend, which were contrary to what the Outpost has been told about the BBC's press plans this year. A mid-April target date (possibly April 15) for series two's debut, as we first reported was being widely rumored in the press in late 2005, is still very likely.

Also... buried in the press release announcing Peter Kay was a new name, heretofore unmentioned by other casting reports: Danny Webb, whose film credits include "Henry V" and "Alien 3" and on TV in "Brookside" and "Our Friends in the North". There is currently no word on which story he'll be in, although it's possible it's the two-parter concluded in "The Satan Pit".

A BBC press release today announces that comedian Peter Kay will appear in the tenth episode of Series Two, playing "the cold and powerful Victor Kennedy". Russell T Davies notes that "this is not a comedy turn" and points to Kay's experience as "a versatile actor" in Paul Abbott's Butterfly Collectors and The Secret Life of Michael Fry. Kay's casting was prompted by a letter he wrote to Davies in praise of Series One.

The story is reported by BBC News, which also lists Kay's appearances in Phoenix Nights and Coronation Street, and by the official Doctor Whowebsite, as well as The Sun, U.TV, The Telegraph, Evening Echo,Manchester Online, Brand Republic, ITV,Addic3d,EntertainmentWise, Channel 4, ITN, N-E-Life, Paramount Comedy, Evening Times, Ireland Online,Chortle, Daily Snack. (Thanks to Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg, Shaun Lyon Hearn, Tim Colman, George Watson, Chuck Foster, Peter Weaver)

Broadcasting:

According to a BBC Press Office Programme Information release (link - note, PDF document), "The Chatterley Affair" will be broadcast on BBC Four on Monday 20 March, from 9pm to 10.30pm. David Tennant appears as journalist Richard Hoggart, and the dramatisation of the Lady Chatterley trial is directed by James Hawes ('The Empty Child', 'The Christmas Invasion').

Iowa Public Television, one of only two stations in America who still syndicate the classic series, is now accepting pledges to keep the show on the air for the next calendar year. "With the Christopher Eccleston series about to broadcast on The Sci-Fi Channel, Mad Norwegian Press is asking WHO fans -- even those who don't live in Iowa -- to make a small pledge and aid the cause by keeping one of the last remaining bastions of classic WHO on the American airwaves," says Lars Pearson of Mad Norwegian Press. "Simply put, IPTV is a non-profit organization, and the show cannot remain on the air without freely-given funding. The IPTV broadcasts benefit those inside Iowa and some surrounding areas... With the Eccleston series' debut, we're hoping there'll be a lot more people curious about the old run. Anyone wishing to donate to IPTV to keep WHO on the air can do so through the IPTV website by going here. Those who make a pledge should scroll down and vote for their favorite Doctor -- IPTV will begin running the winner's stories on April 8." There will also be a live pledge drive on Saturday, March 11 at 11 pm... the special edition of "The Five Doctors" will be shown at this time.

People:

According to the What's On Stage website, Sylvester McCoy will star in the world premiere of "The Pocket Orchestra - The Unlikely Lives of the Great Composers" at the West End’s Trafalgar Studio 2 next month. "The new play by Graeme Garden and Callum McLeod runs from 26 April 2006 (preview 25 April) for a limited four-week season to 20 May 2006. The comedy takes an “irreverent, satirical and shamelessly anecdotal” look at the history of classical music and the often bizarre and anarchic lives of the great composers."

Former companion Caroline John will be appearing as one of the leads on Radio Four in the afternoon play on Wednesday March 15th at 14.30 (British time). The play is a ghost story called 'The Midnight House' and centres around an episode in world war two whereby pictures from the London Art Galleries were evacuated to a remote slate mine in North Wales. The play will be available to listen to for up to a week online at the Radio Four website.

This week's Radio Times has a two-page article (in their behind-the-scenes section) on Adam Garcia (Alex in "The Christmas Invasion"), who plays the Russian ballet star in "the BBC's lavish Riot at the Rite, the story of Nijinsky's infamous version of Stravinsky's 'The Right of Spring' ballet. 'Very few people can do justice of Nijinsky, so what chance do I have?' laughs Adam. 'Aussie-born Garcia had a little help from ballet double Ivan Putrov'. BBC2 Saturday 11 March at 9pm."

Christopher Eccleston made a surprise appearance on the final of Junior Mastermind on BBC One on 26 February, his first public appearance in connection with Doctor Who since the new series publicity in March last year. Eccleston appeared in a pre-filmed insert, chatting to Sam, the young contestant who had chosen "Doctor Who 2005" as his specialist subject. Describing himself as an "unemployed Time Lord", Eccleston said that the best thing about being in Doctor Who was "the response from children". When asked what he had brought to the role, he indicated his ears; he also suggested that he would do "terribly" in a Mastermind round on Doctor Who, and declared that the Doctor "absolutely" fancied Rose. He seemed relaxed, and pleased and impressed with Sam's enthusiasm for the show. Not helped by a convoluted question about 'Father's Day', Sam went on to achieve a good score of 16, though this was not enough to win the contest.

Eccleston will also participate in a special called "The Best Ever Muppet Moments!" on Saturday, March 11 at 7pm on ITV. Says the Mirror, "Hosted by Kermit The Frog - as all shows should be - the programme will celebrate our favourite bits from The Muppet Show, complete with tributes from fans including Robson Green, Christopher Eccleston, Davina McCall, Angus Deayton and Michael Parkinson."

Jo Joyner, who played perky Lynda Moss in the final two episodes of last season's Doctor Who series, told this past weekend's Sunday Mercury, "If I do nothing else in my life, I can always say I was exterminated! ... It was so cool to be part of Doctor Who. Filming my death was a real buzz. I had a large plate of sugar glass in front of me which shattered, and three huge sub-woofers behind me, blowing air out like giant hairdryers to whip my hair back in the blast. I'm a huge fan of Big Brother but I'd hate to go on it. As I say, I like people-watching, not having people watch me!"

Camille Coduri will be featured in a segment on My Spirit Radio after March 21, hosted by Esoteric Entertainments, a paranormal site. "In this exclusive interview [Coduri] talks about Doctor Who, her outlook and life and as an Aries woman what she looks for in a lover! The interview will be available as an mp3 download as well."

Justin Richards, Creative Director of the Doctor Who books, is interviewed at CBBC: "I suppose my absolute favourite though was Doctor Who In An Exciting Adventure With The Daleks - which is quite a title! It came out again later as just plain: Doctor Who and the Daleks. The book was written by David Whitaker from the original scripts of the very first Dalek story on Doctor Who, which was by Terry Nation. Both hugely talented writers who knew all about adventure and thrills!"

Robert Hands, who played Algy in "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances", is to star with Tim Curry in the forthcoming West End version of "Spamalot."

Additional Press Items:

The New York Times discusses the launch of the series in America along with Russell T Davies and the controversy surrounding the series being produced by an openly gay producer. "'There's very classically and traditionally a strong gay fan base for 'Doctor Who,' said Mr. Davies, 42, in a telephone interview from his home in Manchester, England. 'He is a loner and a wanderer. He doesn't represent the authority -- he is a man, unlike any other, doing his own thing. I think you can see the emotional connection.' ... So when the BBC approached Mr. Davies in late 2003 to update 'Doctor Who' for the 21st century, he was already teeming with ideas. 'It's a genuine love of mine,' he said, 'and loving a program means you're not blind to its faults.' ... 'It was very important to Russell that the Doctor not be posh,' said Mark Gatiss, a co-star and co-creator of the quirky ensemble television comedy 'The League of Gentlemen,' who was recruited onto Mr. Davies's writing staff. 'It's all about the Doctor being a kind of burning, firework personality that is incredibly attractive, but also slightly dangerous to be around.' ... In the days leading up to the premiere of the new 'Doctor Who' in March 2005, the British tabloid press did its best to insinuate that Mr. Davies -- who is openly gay, and proud that his 'Queer as Folk' series included, in his words, 'more sex than any other program ever' -- might somehow be an unfit candidate to re-establish a beloved cultural icon. The faithful, however, declined to take the bait. 'The vast amount of fans out there were just elated that the show was coming back,' said Shaun Lyon, editor of the 'Doctor Who' fan Web site Outpost Gallifrey (www.gallifreyone.com). 'Pointing out that Russell's gay, let's be honest, you can no longer get a story out of that. Gay is officially boring now.' ... But controversy eventually caught up with the series: four days after the premiere, the BBC published a news release in which Mr. Eccleston revealed that he would not be returning for a second season — an awkward situation made more so when he protested that the BBC had falsely attributed quotes to him and had broken an agreement to withhold the announcement until after the show's first season had ended. 'I'm sure it could have been handled better,' Mr. Davies said. (Mr. Eccleston declined to comment for this story.)" Read the full article at the website.

More coverage of Noel Clarke's film "Kidulthood" which arrived over the weekend can be found in the Independent, the Daily Record, Future Movies, Bloomberg News, the Sunday Times,http://www.itn.co.uk/news/entertainment_206280.html">ITN, the Guardian. There have also been a ton of in-print articles written but not available online. Meanwhile, Clarke was on BBC Radio 5 Live's weekly film review on 4 March with Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode; Doctor Who interest is sparse, other than, at the end of the interview, a bit of badgering him about how long Billie will be in it for (and of course, he doesn't give them anything.)

Other items: Television Without Pity, a large television website, has opened up a new Doctor Who section to cover the show's broadcast on Sci-Fi. CBBC News mentions the debut of "Totally Doctor Who" and has the same information as on the official site, which we reported over the weekend. Also, there's more news about the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards at C21 Media.

A second, 30-second trailer for the first season of the new Doctor Who series is now airing on the Sci-Fi Channel in advance of the show's debut on March 17. Noting that the Doctor is "over 900 years old" and is "a legendary adventurer through space and time," the trailer notes that the Doctor's "limitless power fuels an endless quest for ... the perfect vacation." "The British smash hit comes to Sci-Fi," says the advert, noting the premiere date. The trailer also uses a different logo altogether, reminiscent of the previous logo used throughout the late 1990's and early 2000's; a thumbnail is at right.

The Sun today reports that K9 and Sarah Jane Smith will appear in their own spin-off series, following their appearance in Series Two next month. The only additional information in the Sun story is a comment from a BBC spokeswoman refusing to comment ('We are not confirming any developments at this moment'), although Russell T Davies has commented in interviews that there are ideas for a second spin-off series after Torchwood.

Says the Sun article, "Doctor Who's robot dog K9 and ex-sidekick Sarah Jane Smith are to get their own spin-off show, TV Biz can reveal. We told how BBC bosses are bringing back K9 for an episode in the Timelord's new series. Now it has emerged that the pooch and Sarah Jane, played by Elizabeth Sladen, will also star together in their own children's series. An insider said: 'It would have been a shame to put K9 back in his kennel, so we've come up with an idea for another drama. It's early days but K9 and Elizabeth Sladen are inseparable characters. There are loads of things we can do with Doctor Who. It's one of the most popular shows on TV and viewers can't seem to get enough of it.' It will be the second spin-off from the sci-fi hit. BBC bosses are also making Torchwood, a racy drama for BBC3. That show stars former Doctor Who actor John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness. ... A BBC spokeswoman said last night: 'We are not confirming any developments at this moment.'" Of course, this would be the second K9/Sarah Jane spinoff for the series, the first having been the short-lived (one episode) "K9 and Company" from 1980.

A BBC Press Office press release notes that Worldwide "has concluded a two-year agreement with SKAI, the new Greek terrestrial television channel launching on 1 April 2006, to televise over 500 hours of drama, factual and news and current affairs programming. The titles range from dramas such as Spooks and Doctor Who to documentaries, including Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, Space Odyssey - Voyage to the Planets and three history titles looking at the Ancient Wonders of Jerusalem, Greece and the Holy Land. In addition, the deal, which guarantees at least 250 hours of BBC programming a year for the next two years, includes some of the best titles from the BBC's wildlife and news and current affairs archives, with the most popular programmes from such titles as Panorama, Correspondent, Wildlife on One and Natural World. For SKAI it is important to be able to rely on a constant supply of programming of consistently high quality: 'SKAI aims to reach a large proportion of discerning viewers with a brand of highly successful and informative programming," said Dora Pakas, Managing Director of SKAI. 'We firmly believe that this partnership with BBC Worldwide will secure for our viewers a broad range of documentaries, dramas and factual programming that will educate, fascinate and entertain. We look forward to continuing this strong relationship with BBC Worldwide in the future,' she concluded. Ben Donald, BBC Worldwide Head of Northern Mediterranean, said: 'This deal includes an extraordinary range of quality television and shows the BBC at its very best - gripping family drama, epic historical documentaries, glorious wildlife programmes and insightful current affairs titles. It is fantastic to start our relationship with SKAI with such high-profile programming.'"

David Tennant has done an exclusive interview with the fans at the unofficial website david-tennant.com in which he reveals, "Billie and I are on set together all the time so she's my constant pal. We get on really well, she's very funny and we have a real laugh. It obviously helps to be working with someone that you get along with so well. ... It's not overwhelming. It's a bit weird, but it's not that bad, I can still travel on the tube. Obviously it is a bit strange that the press like to take an interest in things that I do. Billie has been great though because obviously she has been dealing with it since she was about 13 or something."

More reviews of Noel Clarke's film "Kidulthood" which opens Friday.EntertainmentWise says, "'Kidulthood' probably won't gain the international acclaim that 'Four Weddings' got but its imminent release in the UK has got the press excited and is a positive sign that there is a new era dawning for British filmmaking About as far away from 'Notting Hill' as you can get in terms of subject matter; geographically 'Kidulthood' couldn't be closer. Set just one change and a couple of stops on the tube away on the council estates of Ladbroke Grove, the film presents us with a day in the lives of a class of troubled teenage school children.... Written by Noel Clarke (winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for most promising new comer in 2003), who also plays Sam, and based on his real life experiences, this film feels like an honest portrayal of the lives of 'disadvantaged' teenagers in London. The film bursts with energy, driven on by the music of Dizzie Rascal and The Streets amongst others, and it ends perfectly with a scene equally infused with hope and despair. Check it out." Also, Times Online says "While the UK's film industry complains about the difficulty of financing local feature films, spare a thought for film-makers whose vision doesn't reflect that of London's film-funding establishment. After a near four-year struggle from first draft to screen, the director Menhaj Huda and actor-screenwriter Noel Clarke see their West London teenage grime drama Kidulthood released this week. .. Now that Kidulthood is finally released, Clarke is in demand as a screenwriter, with a major TV project in progress, while Huds is thinking big. 'My motivation comes from Luc Besson more than anyone else. He managed to change French cinema from being arty and sexy to cool, and he's still doing it with The Transporter and Unleashed. Look at Unleashed: filmed in Glasgow, virtually a British cast. Why can't we do films like that?'" TheFinancial Times says, the film "is pacy, racy and full of promise: 90 minutes in the company of multi-ethnic schoolkids doing what kids do in cruel Britannia. There are drugs, sex, bullying – girl-on-girl is even worse than boy-on-boy – and gang warfare. You believe every minute, just as you do when someone corners you in a dark alley and indicates an interest in banging your head into the ground. Menhaj Huda directed. Noel Clarke wrote the script and plays the main role. They should be given a sackful of money to make more films." However, The Evening Standard says, "We know that they will all suffer something like damnation. But the film is never put into an effective social or political context. What we get instead is a portrait of disaffected youth but with no clue about its cause or what we should do about it. Which isn't quite enough."

TV Zone magazine (issue 200) has an interview with Julie Gardner, executive producer of the new series. Some of it is online at their websitewhich notes, "The common thread linking these three programmes is the involvement of BBC Wales's Head of Drama, Julie Gardner. In taking on the Doctor Who commission, she has had a large part to play in the current vogue for TV drama – 'British' being the key word, as one of the distinctive features of the current wave of drama commissions is the move towards production in the regions… 'There's a determination to do more out-of-London production,' says Gardner. 'There is an absolute determination to represent as many areas of the UK as possible, which is absolutely right for a public service broadcaster. From where I sit, I think the most important thing is the stories that writers want to tell, and the confidence that I hope they now feel in coming to me with ideas that sound quite mad, or quite bold. Some of those stories are set in Cardiff, like Torchwood; at the same time, they can come to me with ideas like Casanova, that filmed out of Manchester and filmed in Venice and Dubrovnik. I think it's confidence, really; it just opens things up and gives people the flexibility to work wherever they want to, with the people they want to.'" The magazine also lists their TV Top 200 of the Best ('from iconic moments, to stand-out episodes, to classic series') and their number 1 is Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child: ""A police box in a junk yard - somewhere it has no business to be. And it definitely shouldn't be vibrating... Doctor Who really had to have the top slot - and not just because it defined the childhood of every member of the TV Zone team. Not just because it was the little series that lasted far longer than even its most fervent champions could have dreamed, and then refused to accept its death sentence and then came back in the process shook up every television industry expectation. It's more than that. It's one of the three great popular cultural myths of the last 200 years, along with James Bond and Sherlock Holmes. Star Trek fans will rail at its exclusion from that list... To the general public, Trek means Kirk and Spock and maybe Picard, and no-one has been foolish enough to suggest recasting them (yet). But you can recast Holmes, and Bond, and the Doctor, and they remain as as successful as ever, as new actors bring new aspects to the character that's grabbed the public's attention. And it all starts here. Two ordinary Humans, realising too late where their curiosity has led them. A frightened, paranoid old man, who's yet to experience the friendships that will turn him into a hero. A voyage into Time and Space that beat anything Hollywood had to offer, according to a reviewer at the time... and an episode that still enthralled when a Guardian reviewer finally saw it 18 years later, courtesy of a BBC2 repeat. The best moment in television's history? Well, possibly not. But the one that should definitely be cherished above all? Definitely."

(Thanks to Steve Tribe, Peter Weaver, and Paul Engelberg)

The next issue of Enlightenment, the magazine of the Doctor Who Information Network, has been released. Issue #132 contains "Who Conquered North America": What does the sale of the new series to Sci Fi mean for Doctor Who in the USA?; A Two-Four and the Cybermen: Our intrepid viewers enjoy their alcoholic beverages while watching 14 episodes worth of the silver giants; Why can't the classic series merchandise be better integrated with new series merchandise?; Lance Parkin on the writing of AHistory; And: reviews of all the latest books, audios and DVDs. For more details visit the website.

The previously reported "Doctor Who Friday," the children's BBC series accompanying the next series of Doctor Who, is now going under the nameTotally Doctor Who, Outpost Gallifrey has learned. The producer is Simon Hall (a CBBC staffing producer/director who recently did Beckham's Hotshots) and the show is produced by the Children's Department.