WOWWWWWW!! Who says that Doctor Who is only for kids, eh??
I haven't been so excited by a first-of-series Doctor Who story since it was brought back in 2005. Which, come to think of it, isn't really that long I suppose, But HEY don't dampen the upswing that is my current mood after seeing the FIRST of Series 4 of Doctor Who starring Catherine Tate as Donna Noble alongside the ubiquotous Mr Tennant as the good Doc.
ALL SORTS of plot threads have been put before us and which should we take up first? Hmm, that's a tricky one. Perhaps we should first consider the episode itself.
Well, I have to say that the start of a new Doctor series is always a bit of a tenuous one. It has always been the Doctor and his coming together with yet another new companion. OK, so Donna Noble isn't strictly speaking NEW but she's a new full-timer. And at least she now moves off the "Almost Companions" list onto the fully paid members list!
The Noble return of Catherine Tate
I wasn't quite sure what role they had for her at the start. In "The Runaway Bride" Christmas episode of 2006, she was cast as a rather dippy, almost bimbo type who gets duped by the smart guy in league with our eight-legged friend the Empress of the Racnoss. Here in this episode we see her in a sharp suit, striding along on a mission ..... "investigating"! Yes, she used her previous short-lived job as Health & Safety Inspector (two days according to her mother) to get into the Adipose building to check out what is going on.
Amazing, isn't it, how one encounter with the Doctor can do that do a person! From dizzy secretary to inquisitive in-the-know investogator in what must be just a few months. Well, the time difference between the time they last met to now wasn't clear but it didn't seem to be so long. Maybe a year? Not sure, but since the memory of the Racnoss was still fresh in her mind, you could deduce it couldn't have been long.
She also mentioned a number of other things she had been aware of or had been investigating too. Maybe only from a reading point of view, but crop circles and UFO's were mentioned when they were on the roof. BUT something significant that she DID mention were "the bees". This must refer either to the Doctor Who episode much later in the series "The Unicorn And The Wasp" or to the Torchwood episode, "Reset", that I caught a few weeks back which was to do with giant mayfly and experiments at 'The Pharm' on people recovering from previously uncurable diseases. No, I too did not quite get the mayfly connection, but there was one and it may have some crossover potential to Doctor Who.
SO FUNNY though the moment when they first saw each other!! They had been kept apart quite comically for ages with their paths almost crossing on two or three occasions. Well, that part was classic comedy, but their final meeting was a classic moment. He, in window cleaner's cradle outside window. She, outside the door and looking through the 'Round Window'.
The Catherine Tate mime was BRILLIANT! On "Doctor Who Confidential" they said it had been left up to her how to do it in practice. From worded 'directions' on the script to the final result - a fantastically funny moment from a very funny lady!!
And when they finally met it was like they'd never been apart. She excited to see him and he just getting on with it all as normal. After he had rescued her from hanging outside, she came in and was angry at first and then just glad to see him. He of course reminded her that this is what it was all about with him!
Welcome back Donna Noble and welcome back Catherine Tate! I am SO looking forward to seeing her in action as the series goes on!!
And WHO WAS the Lady In Black?
I am very sure we haven't seen the last of the mysterious "Miss Foster" who was introduced to us today for a number of reasons. Firstly, there are none-too-concidental parallels with her and with The Master from the last series. Why? Well, obviously because of her being this 'enigmatic businesswoman' who said she had travelled far and wide until she found a species to use the Adipose 'birth' on. Yeah yeah - just like The Master and Toclafane. Next her Sonic Pen. Technology obviously NOT from planet Earth! And third (and last for now) the fact that we didn't actually see her dead on the ground. A sure sign that she will be "resurrected" .... or should I say ..... "regenerated".
Yes, there have been rumours a-plenty that The Rani will make a reappearance this series. Well, I must say that I did not see these two encounters with Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. Wikipedia says that she was a woman, " whose villainy comes not from the usual variety of lust for power and suchlike, but from a mindset that treats everything (including morality) as secondary to her research", and that, "Her major interest is in tinkering with other species' biochemistry". I think you get the idea! It certainly was an experiement with humans and their biochemistry and the result of it was the birth of the Adipose children. In the Doctor Who episode she said she was, "hired by the Adipose parents to bring them up, 'like a nanny'".
We must not forget that right at the end of the previous series there is a mysterious female hand who takes the Master's ring from the fire with the sounds of evi laughter in the background. There is no way that was for nothing. Unless the Rani will carry over into the so-called 'Specials' that will take the place of Series 5 next year, there will SURELY be more to come. Will this be at the end of Series 4? That would be a likely place, though it would be a bit predictable. However, since there are also rumours of Ben Kingsley playing Davros in Series 4 (also see THIS STORY from DenofGeek.com), that doesn't leave a lot of scope for a Rani story AS WELL.
The seeds are sown for this series and the Specials next year ....
What is this 'Adipose' thing anyway?
No, for once it is not yet another Russell T Davies anagram! According to Wikpedia, "Adipose tissue or fat is loose connective tissue composed of adipocytes". And, "Adipocytes are the cells that primarily compose adipose tissue, specialized in storing energy as fat." In other words, adipose is body tissue that stores fat. Got it now? So it's not a made up sci-fi name after all!
Of course, we don't know WHAT the adipose children will turn out to be later ....
This brings me to another rumoured 'comeback kid' for Series 4. Now, you'll have to be a real hardened Doctor Who follower to remember the Axons from Jon Pertwee days and the story, "The Claws Of Axos". As the third Doctor left them, they were in a perpetual time loop. BUT these things can be broken out of - that is how sci-fi goes! The adipose were shown to also be capable of dissolving a whole human body if needed - tissue, fat, bones, the lot. Axons too needed to drain the life source of the whole planet including all life forms living there. Concidence? In the Doctor Who world, I don't believe in them!
The 'Yellow Girl' is back in .... time and space
One thousand points if you spotted my reference to ROSE TYLER from the name given her by the Sycorax in "The Christmas Invasion". Yes, there we were, episode over, enemy apparently defeated, The Doctor and Donna back safe in the Tardis. But, ah-HAH! NOT the end! Who should we see Donna talking to without knowing but our very own Rose Tyler!
I had seen the reports of her return but they said that Rose was to be back at the END of Series 4. But here in EPISODE ONE?? Never! And she just walks away and vanishes into thin air!
OK OK, she was working with the parallel Torchwood in the parallel universe and OK OK travel between parallel worlds is impossible. Yeah Yeah we KNOW that! BUT ...... ohh, RTD! To drop her in here at the end of Episode 1? PURE GENIUS! WHO would have suspected it??
Mr Davies, I know I was very rude about your ending to Series 3 and how naff I thought it was. I stand by those comments. However, you have truly redeemed yourself here and got me, for one, hooked on your line like a hungry shark after the fish-meal! WILL there be ANOTHER candid appearance by Rose? We will have to see.
So there you go, folks! Doctor Who Series 4 is finally UPON US! And don't you DARE be anywhere else except in front of your TV's for the next 12 weeks. OK??
Saturday, 5 April 2008
Tuesday, 1 January 2008
Doctor Who Christmas 2007 Voyage Of The Damned - Part 2 - Comment and Opinion
OK, I've just come away from the TV where I caught the last half of the story again.
I found that, even though I didn't see it the whole way through, I don't feel like I missed anything vital. And anyway, the most important bits to see were the sneak previews of Series 4 shown at the end.
So what did I think? And I would like to know YOUR opinion too.
I think I said before that most of what we saw was basically a good old-fashioned disaster movie with Doctor Who on top. Once we have got away from the fact that, yes, this is not the sea-version of the SS Titanic then we can relax a bit. Any attempt to make something out of the real thing would have been foolish I feel - although for most of the year THAT IS the storyline I was toying with in my mind. But it was good that in the first five minutes we put to rest both of those things that had troubled us all between Series 3 and now:-
The way it had been left at Series 3 end
QUESTION 1 - WHY has the Titanic crashed through the walls of the Tardis?
ANSWER - Because The Doctor was doing some maintenance work and had taken down the shields. This was reinforced in the Children In Need Special. Peter Davison's departing words were to remind The Doctor to put his defences back up. But erm ..... WHOOPS!
QUESTION 2 - What about the smashed-in Tardis walls now and repairs?
ANSWER - Obvious really. The Tardis being the all-powerful ship it is was able to pull away and repair itself and close the wall just like that. And then raise its shields and dematerialise inside the ship that had just crashed into it. Which was what would have happened had the shields been up in the first place.
Both of these worked for me with no sense that I'd been had. And I mean that most sincerely! REALLY I do!
OK, now what about the Voyage Of The Damned storyline?
Was it worthy of a Christmas Special? And was I glad I watched it? I said before, I don't think it compares well with the previous two. But yes, I definitely DID enjoy it. And I hope it is NOT the last we see of The Host Angels. A very menacing new enemy!
The Doctor's role in the story
Well, he said it himself at the start - whenever he wears that dinner jacket and bow-tie, it means trouble. And Trouble with a BIIIIG Capital T it was! OK, so his role was basically to save the remaining crew and passengers and along the way save the Earth and beat the Bad Guy. Yup, we can tick that little box. All done in the usual David Tennant way and very good he was too as always. Well ... apart from the bit near the end where Max Capricorn has been defeated and he needs a way to get to the ship's bridge fast. Erm, HOW to do it? Ah yes, The Host Angels had had their leader toasted so control had to pass to the next higher authority. Hmm WHO could that be? Well, don't think TOO LONG about it please! And a really quite CHEESY bit when those two Angels lifted The Doctor up and flew him all the way up back to the bridge. There were complaints from religious types about this, and although I am NOT one of those I do not feel it was necessary to do that sequence. But for the sake of speed, and with time runnning out and with the obvious appeal of the effect it created, yup, THAT was the way to go. Well, but as we know now from the end of the Master story in Series 3, The Doctor IS GOD! The kids may not have realised it yet but we grownups do!
Not sure, but this approach may well cause trouble for the BBC in the future. As I said, it doesn't matter much to me personally but DOES the BBC realy want to bring itself into conflict with religion and with the bishops and archbishops of this land? And more than this, if the BBC wants to promote this in the USA, then THEY won't take too kindly to this either!
But having saved the Titanic from its seemingly-inevitable crash landing, then AH HAH! YES, can the mighty Doctor save the life of Astrid Peth too? This would also increase the Cheese Rating to being Near Off The Scale. Thankfully they backed away from doing that. And it was good to see the frustration of the Great Doctor as he struggled in a kind of power-mad way to bring back Ms Minogue from the dead. Couldn't do it, kicked the machine screaming, "I can do ANYTHING!", in his annoyance. Well not quite.
I think there is a slight danger that we might get to a can-do-anything-I-like variety of Doctor Who. And this would really take away from the humour and human-like normality that IS what makes The Doctor's character so believable and great. It IS the fact that he doesn't come with any plan or any great powers except the mighty sonic screwdriver and his Tardis that really makes it all such a great thing to watch. If he became like The Fantastic Four all in one then WHO would be watching? No, you just leave him as he is please BBC!
The Buckingham Palace near-miss ending
Hmm ... did YOU find that funny? Well it did not amuse me much. And it brought to mind part of an interview David Tennant gave after the Christmas Special last year when he was asked which of London's famous landmarks he was going to trash next. Jokingly he replied that maybe the Palace might be a nice one to do. Well, hah hah Mr T. you nearly got your wish! Yes, we certainly know Russell T Davies's position on the Royal Family now! OK, it's funny to side-swipe Big Ben, it amuses us to smash all the glass in 'The Gherkin' in London and it WAS a hoot to drain The River Thames last year. But Buckingham Palace? Sorry but that would have been going WAY TOO FAR!
That subtle little back-reference from the storyline! Alonzee Alonzo .... allez!!
Now, you would have to know the Doctor Who series inside out to have spotted the 'Alonzo' reference. Yes, that was the first name of Midshipman Frame - the last man aive on the bridge who had been shot by Captain Hardaker at the beginning. So what of 'alonzo' then? Well, it's nothing much, but it came up in Series 2 and 'Army Of Ghosts' (episode 12).
So what's it all about? Some suggest that it is nothing more than a simple drinking game for adults. But the phrase, "Allons-y Alonzo", has come up twice now. If you know your French (and I didn't!), then this thread on the TV.com forum says it means simply, "Let's go, Alonzo!".
Nooo!! There HAS TO be more than that! But for now it will have to stay as it is.
BANG BANG he's .... NOT at all dead actually!
Look, OK, we're not in the wild wild west here and yes, I DO know it IS fiction. But the gun that Captain Hardaker used to shoot Midshipman Alonzo Frame with was not a small one. And basically - well, Mr Frame was left holding that area of his lower torso for the whole episode.
But there was NO BLOOD!!?? Not on his shirt, not on his hands, not anywhere visible!
Strikes me that this area of your body is likely to be one which contains quite a lot of the red stuff and not one you could be shot in and then competently still stay in the upright position and then attempt to operate the controls, communicate without problem and generally - well, carry on as normal.
No, I have never been shot in my life and don't wish to be either. But if you had a bullet in your body then BLOOD WOULD BE COMING OUT and you really WOULDN'T be able to stay conscious or upright for that long. Certainly NOT over an hour or longer if we assume that we were not operating in real time.
The abilities or lack of them that people have after having been shot are extremely flexible on TV and they always have been. But C'MON! Let's get real guys! He SHOULD have been dead! No blood on his hands either!!
The 'fat guys' - Morvin and Foon Van Hoff
Hehe it was good to see another act of defiance by RTD in having these two in the story. Well, I mean after all this the government has been banging on this year at us that we must WATCH WHAT WE EAT and that OBESITY IS SUCH A BIG PROBLEM IN THE UK.
I thought they were really great and it was sad that they got killed off so soon even though then went down fighting. But there were numerous fat references in the initial escape from the Angels. Well, I mean things like that they were too big to get through the gaps and stuff. But they were two brilliant and very loveable characters and it was great that they had won the trip through some kind of phone-in competition which Foon admitted later she had spent something like 5000 credits (or some other very large number) on to get the win.
And I loved the way that The Doctor sat with them at the start and made the champagne go off in the faces of the pompous gits on the next table who were sneering at them. The Lonely Traveller with the Lonely Travellers!
Bananafalata - no, Bannakalatafka, NOOOOO!!!! WHAT was his name again?
We haven't had a toungue-twister since Eccleston days so it was only right that we SHOULD have one again. And WHAT a twister it was!! Bannakaffalatta, the cyborg midget who saved them all! It's one of those little writer's jokes isn't it to put in an unpronounceable name for your Star Cast to deal with! Eccleston, Piper and company had to wrestle with theirs so it was only fair that Mr Tennant, Ms Minogue and company should have one too. BRILLIANT! But WHY did he have to die too?
The other tongue-twister I am referring to, of course, is, "Raxicoricophalabitorious" (and I had to look that up and copy-and-paste it!!) and it was the Slitheen's home planet from Series 1 and, later, from the Sarah Jane Adventures.
A LOT of dead bodies for a single Doctor Who episode!
No, I don't mean all those unseen Titanic passenger passengers and crew personnel. But of those who started out on the story with The Doctor, so few remained. Once the Host Angels death halos had been revealed to us, then All Hell was to break loose (some kind of pun there I think).
First there was the unknown crew member who was the first to taste the halo's cutting power. Just to introduce it. But then we had the unnecessary and early death of Morvin Van Hoof who trod on something he shouldn't and fell down to be toasted by the engines. He was followed by cyborg Bannakaffalatta who didn't actually die except when he zapped the Host Angels with his EMP device and so drained his own power source completely. Then, still crossing that 'bridge' we had Foon Van Hoof who actually died to save them all by roping the Angel and jumping off pulling the Angel down too.
"No More!", the Doctor declared, and so it was until the very end when Astrid Peth also gave her life and that of a fork-lift truck to push Max Capricorn down to that green-screen ending which we know well.
I know Doctor Who is all about 'Death And Destruction', but this beats the other two Christmas Specials by some distance for the number of starring cast members who met their end. Am I right?
I found that, even though I didn't see it the whole way through, I don't feel like I missed anything vital. And anyway, the most important bits to see were the sneak previews of Series 4 shown at the end.
So what did I think? And I would like to know YOUR opinion too.
I think I said before that most of what we saw was basically a good old-fashioned disaster movie with Doctor Who on top. Once we have got away from the fact that, yes, this is not the sea-version of the SS Titanic then we can relax a bit. Any attempt to make something out of the real thing would have been foolish I feel - although for most of the year THAT IS the storyline I was toying with in my mind. But it was good that in the first five minutes we put to rest both of those things that had troubled us all between Series 3 and now:-
The way it had been left at Series 3 end
QUESTION 1 - WHY has the Titanic crashed through the walls of the Tardis?
ANSWER - Because The Doctor was doing some maintenance work and had taken down the shields. This was reinforced in the Children In Need Special. Peter Davison's departing words were to remind The Doctor to put his defences back up. But erm ..... WHOOPS!
QUESTION 2 - What about the smashed-in Tardis walls now and repairs?
ANSWER - Obvious really. The Tardis being the all-powerful ship it is was able to pull away and repair itself and close the wall just like that. And then raise its shields and dematerialise inside the ship that had just crashed into it. Which was what would have happened had the shields been up in the first place.
Both of these worked for me with no sense that I'd been had. And I mean that most sincerely! REALLY I do!
OK, now what about the Voyage Of The Damned storyline?
Was it worthy of a Christmas Special? And was I glad I watched it? I said before, I don't think it compares well with the previous two. But yes, I definitely DID enjoy it. And I hope it is NOT the last we see of The Host Angels. A very menacing new enemy!
The Doctor's role in the story
Well, he said it himself at the start - whenever he wears that dinner jacket and bow-tie, it means trouble. And Trouble with a BIIIIG Capital T it was! OK, so his role was basically to save the remaining crew and passengers and along the way save the Earth and beat the Bad Guy. Yup, we can tick that little box. All done in the usual David Tennant way and very good he was too as always. Well ... apart from the bit near the end where Max Capricorn has been defeated and he needs a way to get to the ship's bridge fast. Erm, HOW to do it? Ah yes, The Host Angels had had their leader toasted so control had to pass to the next higher authority. Hmm WHO could that be? Well, don't think TOO LONG about it please! And a really quite CHEESY bit when those two Angels lifted The Doctor up and flew him all the way up back to the bridge. There were complaints from religious types about this, and although I am NOT one of those I do not feel it was necessary to do that sequence. But for the sake of speed, and with time runnning out and with the obvious appeal of the effect it created, yup, THAT was the way to go. Well, but as we know now from the end of the Master story in Series 3, The Doctor IS GOD! The kids may not have realised it yet but we grownups do!
Not sure, but this approach may well cause trouble for the BBC in the future. As I said, it doesn't matter much to me personally but DOES the BBC realy want to bring itself into conflict with religion and with the bishops and archbishops of this land? And more than this, if the BBC wants to promote this in the USA, then THEY won't take too kindly to this either!
But having saved the Titanic from its seemingly-inevitable crash landing, then AH HAH! YES, can the mighty Doctor save the life of Astrid Peth too? This would also increase the Cheese Rating to being Near Off The Scale. Thankfully they backed away from doing that. And it was good to see the frustration of the Great Doctor as he struggled in a kind of power-mad way to bring back Ms Minogue from the dead. Couldn't do it, kicked the machine screaming, "I can do ANYTHING!", in his annoyance. Well not quite.
I think there is a slight danger that we might get to a can-do-anything-I-like variety of Doctor Who. And this would really take away from the humour and human-like normality that IS what makes The Doctor's character so believable and great. It IS the fact that he doesn't come with any plan or any great powers except the mighty sonic screwdriver and his Tardis that really makes it all such a great thing to watch. If he became like The Fantastic Four all in one then WHO would be watching? No, you just leave him as he is please BBC!
The Buckingham Palace near-miss ending
Hmm ... did YOU find that funny? Well it did not amuse me much. And it brought to mind part of an interview David Tennant gave after the Christmas Special last year when he was asked which of London's famous landmarks he was going to trash next. Jokingly he replied that maybe the Palace might be a nice one to do. Well, hah hah Mr T. you nearly got your wish! Yes, we certainly know Russell T Davies's position on the Royal Family now! OK, it's funny to side-swipe Big Ben, it amuses us to smash all the glass in 'The Gherkin' in London and it WAS a hoot to drain The River Thames last year. But Buckingham Palace? Sorry but that would have been going WAY TOO FAR!
That subtle little back-reference from the storyline! Alonzee Alonzo .... allez!!
Now, you would have to know the Doctor Who series inside out to have spotted the 'Alonzo' reference. Yes, that was the first name of Midshipman Frame - the last man aive on the bridge who had been shot by Captain Hardaker at the beginning. So what of 'alonzo' then? Well, it's nothing much, but it came up in Series 2 and 'Army Of Ghosts' (episode 12).
So what's it all about? Some suggest that it is nothing more than a simple drinking game for adults. But the phrase, "Allons-y Alonzo", has come up twice now. If you know your French (and I didn't!), then this thread on the TV.com forum says it means simply, "Let's go, Alonzo!".
Nooo!! There HAS TO be more than that! But for now it will have to stay as it is.
BANG BANG he's .... NOT at all dead actually!
Look, OK, we're not in the wild wild west here and yes, I DO know it IS fiction. But the gun that Captain Hardaker used to shoot Midshipman Alonzo Frame with was not a small one. And basically - well, Mr Frame was left holding that area of his lower torso for the whole episode.
But there was NO BLOOD!!?? Not on his shirt, not on his hands, not anywhere visible!
Strikes me that this area of your body is likely to be one which contains quite a lot of the red stuff and not one you could be shot in and then competently still stay in the upright position and then attempt to operate the controls, communicate without problem and generally - well, carry on as normal.
No, I have never been shot in my life and don't wish to be either. But if you had a bullet in your body then BLOOD WOULD BE COMING OUT and you really WOULDN'T be able to stay conscious or upright for that long. Certainly NOT over an hour or longer if we assume that we were not operating in real time.
The abilities or lack of them that people have after having been shot are extremely flexible on TV and they always have been. But C'MON! Let's get real guys! He SHOULD have been dead! No blood on his hands either!!
The 'fat guys' - Morvin and Foon Van Hoff
Hehe it was good to see another act of defiance by RTD in having these two in the story. Well, I mean after all this the government has been banging on this year at us that we must WATCH WHAT WE EAT and that OBESITY IS SUCH A BIG PROBLEM IN THE UK.
I thought they were really great and it was sad that they got killed off so soon even though then went down fighting. But there were numerous fat references in the initial escape from the Angels. Well, I mean things like that they were too big to get through the gaps and stuff. But they were two brilliant and very loveable characters and it was great that they had won the trip through some kind of phone-in competition which Foon admitted later she had spent something like 5000 credits (or some other very large number) on to get the win.
And I loved the way that The Doctor sat with them at the start and made the champagne go off in the faces of the pompous gits on the next table who were sneering at them. The Lonely Traveller with the Lonely Travellers!
Bananafalata - no, Bannakalatafka, NOOOOO!!!! WHAT was his name again?
We haven't had a toungue-twister since Eccleston days so it was only right that we SHOULD have one again. And WHAT a twister it was!! Bannakaffalatta, the cyborg midget who saved them all! It's one of those little writer's jokes isn't it to put in an unpronounceable name for your Star Cast to deal with! Eccleston, Piper and company had to wrestle with theirs so it was only fair that Mr Tennant, Ms Minogue and company should have one too. BRILLIANT! But WHY did he have to die too?
The other tongue-twister I am referring to, of course, is, "Raxicoricophalabitorious" (and I had to look that up and copy-and-paste it!!) and it was the Slitheen's home planet from Series 1 and, later, from the Sarah Jane Adventures.
A LOT of dead bodies for a single Doctor Who episode!
No, I don't mean all those unseen Titanic passenger passengers and crew personnel. But of those who started out on the story with The Doctor, so few remained. Once the Host Angels death halos had been revealed to us, then All Hell was to break loose (some kind of pun there I think).
First there was the unknown crew member who was the first to taste the halo's cutting power. Just to introduce it. But then we had the unnecessary and early death of Morvin Van Hoof who trod on something he shouldn't and fell down to be toasted by the engines. He was followed by cyborg Bannakaffalatta who didn't actually die except when he zapped the Host Angels with his EMP device and so drained his own power source completely. Then, still crossing that 'bridge' we had Foon Van Hoof who actually died to save them all by roping the Angel and jumping off pulling the Angel down too.
"No More!", the Doctor declared, and so it was until the very end when Astrid Peth also gave her life and that of a fork-lift truck to push Max Capricorn down to that green-screen ending which we know well.
I know Doctor Who is all about 'Death And Destruction', but this beats the other two Christmas Specials by some distance for the number of starring cast members who met their end. Am I right?
Thursday, 27 December 2007
Doctor Who Christmas 2007 Voyage Of The Damned - Did It Float YOUR Boat?
Now ... IS THIS part of Series 4 or NOT? Well the Christmas Special story of Doctor Who always seems to be regarded as the start or possibly pre-start of the series to come later in the year. So I think I'm quite safe to talk about it here. What's that? SOME of you reading this DIDN'T WATCH IT on Christmas Day like you were told to? Some of you are just going to be lazy and watch it on New Year's Day? SHAME ON YOU! Well so if you read this, your fun will just get spoilt then and you'll have to find something else to do at 2.15pm New Year's Day.
OOPS I've told you now! Yes, OK, for those of you who regarded eating as more important than watching both David Tennant AND the adorable Kylie Minogue TOGETHER IN ONE SCREENSHOT, then yes, you CAN see the repeat at that time. On BBC One of course!
So how was it for you?
OK, so down to business then. So what did YOU think of it? Inevitably we have to compare it to the previous two with those pesky Sycorax types and that yukky Racnoss lady-thing.
I must say this: I did not enjoy it nearly as much as the Racnoss Christmas Special last year. And the Sycorax were real BAAAAAD! The villain this year didn't show up right until the last fifteen minutes or so and his exit was already guaranteed by then. The mysterious Max Capricorn who, it seemed, oversaw everything and overtook everyone he could to .... plan the perfect retirement.
The political bit for the grownups
Ohhh THAT MAN Russell T Davies does it AGAIN! He just LOVES getting in those little oh-so subtle political back-stabs into his stories. Yes, THIS time its the pensions chaos of all those poor unfortunates who had company pensions only to lose everything when their bosses refused to pay up on collapse of the corporation they had all given their entire working lives for. EHHHH no politics here!! This is a family programme! Ahh, but we adults watch it too AND we got it even if the kids didn't!
What about Kylie? Was she any good?
If you're one of those people who worships the very ground Ms Minogue walks on, then you certainly had your fill a-plenty of the pint-sized princess of pop. Personally I am NOT one of those. And sorry to say, but I thought she was pretty naff. Yes, she's got the most carefully choreographed movoes to PERFECTION when it comes to music, but stuck here in a role like this she did NOT shine. I did not like her delivery and was not really very convinced by her character. Even the little in-joke when she had to run off to get a box to stand on to kiss David T. was .... well, I'm actually surprised she let them use it. I thought all those jokes about her height disappeared with Charlene in 'Neighbours'. And so yes - I'm not at all unhappy that she won't be riding with the Doc in the Tardis.
The character of Astrid Peth
Acting aside, there are several important things to note in your Doctor Who fact-file about Astrid Peth. The most notable is that we must surely consider her to be an official 'companion'. She had joint top billing in the credits so that confirms that for me. Given this, Astrid Peth is the shortest-living companion (literally) EVER of The Doctor in ANY series. I trhink I'm right in saying that NEVER BEFORE has ANY companion of Doctor Who been introduced and KILLED OFF in the same episode.
Now, another thing RTD is well-known for by now is his use of anagrams. And the name Astrid Peth has just GOT TO BE an anagram of SOMETHING.
Well, I have tried. But nothing plausible comes up.
You can try it too with THIS COOL TOOL I found today:-
The best one I could make was 'Tepid Trash' which is .... err ..... well, NO!
So she got fried in the engines and was then 'brought back' as atoms to float in space forever. Does this mean she could make a comeback someday? Or develop strange powers to help the Doc and his merry men? Everything is possible in sci-fi, but THIS writer thinks not.
Now to the Story Itself ...
If you loved those old disaster movies of the 1970's then THIS would be right up your shipping channel! Because THAT is what most of the story was about. The Doctor and a dwindling number of trapped survivors finding their way out to the bridge where the brave survivor Midshipman Alonzo Frame (Russell Tovey) was hanging on to life after having been shot by the Captain (Geoffrey Palmer) who, it seems, had been persuaded that it really was a 'good thing' to lower the shields of the ship so that any oncoming meteors could inflict whatever damage they could. Ah, how convenient! There they were! But were they MEANT to be there? Did he take down the shields on the off chance of a meteor shower or were they radio-controlled or guided meteors being lured onto the Titanic's side? That wasn't clear, but hey, I suppose in THAT part of space in orbit above the earth anything can happen! OK, I'll let that pass.
Anyway, the meteors hit - about four or five slammed into the side. Badly damaged, many crew and passengers dead and damaged engines. Ah, but not just ANY OLD engines you know - THESE ones are NUCLEAR. The Titanic is a very large ship, and so the idea is that the Titanic is now falling through space and is on collision course with us here on Sol 3. Nuclear engines, nuclear explosion and a VERY nasty hole in the ground would result so therefore has to be stopped.
The Doctor is already in and is with Astrid, Mr Copper (Clive Swift), Morvin and Hoon Van Hoff (Clive Rowe and Debbie Chazen) and cyborg Bannakaffalatta (Jimmy Vee). But now they have to contend with The Host - a number of robot angels with VERY NASTY halos to match. They press on to try to reach the bridge but the Van Hoffs are lost and Bannakaffalatta also dies heroically using a large electromagnetic pulse (EMP) from his robotic innards which disables The Host angels which are closing in. Having established that they now have a weapon, Astrid takes it from the dead cyborg's body to use when needed.
The Doctor finds a way too to get information out of The Host angels and discovers that Deck 31 is the place where it is all controlled from. He heads off there and sends the survivors on with their weapon. And AT LAST - over 1 hour into the story we finally meet our Bad Guy #1 Max Capricorn. He is revealed slowly to us - his chair trundling out of its indestructible "impact chamber". The story is that he was forced out by the company directors due to their prejudice against cyborgs. A simple revenge story! Revenge against the board who would be charged with mass murder of humans and revenge against human-kind itself! He would survive in his impact chamber and then retire very nicely.
BUT Astrid has teleported down to Deck 31 to The Doctor to see him struggling in the grip of The Host Angels and facing a grim end. Ah hah, a fork-lift truck! Just what she needs! So in she gets and rams Max Capricorn and herself in the truck off and down, down to the engines to be incinerated. And a very sad Doctor results.
The Titanic is still on crash course with the Earth with no engines working. BUT using the heat from re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere they manage to restart the engines and avert a disastrous collision with Buckingham Palace moments before impact and sail off back into the stars.
One more vain attempt to save Astrid, but all The Doctor can do is bring back her atoms using the teleport. So now she can go and explore the universe after all! AHHHH how SWEET! Oh, and there is a happy ending for Mr Copper who has a cool million pounds on his ship's expenses credit card to do with as he pleases on the planet. Some guys have all the luck!
OK, that completes Part 1 of my review. I didn't want to do it like this but the other night I couldn't save what I was doing and so couldn't finish at that time. But patience my brethren - it will be done. All comes to he who waits!
OOPS I've told you now! Yes, OK, for those of you who regarded eating as more important than watching both David Tennant AND the adorable Kylie Minogue TOGETHER IN ONE SCREENSHOT, then yes, you CAN see the repeat at that time. On BBC One of course!
So how was it for you?
OK, so down to business then. So what did YOU think of it? Inevitably we have to compare it to the previous two with those pesky Sycorax types and that yukky Racnoss lady-thing.
I must say this: I did not enjoy it nearly as much as the Racnoss Christmas Special last year. And the Sycorax were real BAAAAAD! The villain this year didn't show up right until the last fifteen minutes or so and his exit was already guaranteed by then. The mysterious Max Capricorn who, it seemed, oversaw everything and overtook everyone he could to .... plan the perfect retirement.
The political bit for the grownups
Ohhh THAT MAN Russell T Davies does it AGAIN! He just LOVES getting in those little oh-so subtle political back-stabs into his stories. Yes, THIS time its the pensions chaos of all those poor unfortunates who had company pensions only to lose everything when their bosses refused to pay up on collapse of the corporation they had all given their entire working lives for. EHHHH no politics here!! This is a family programme! Ahh, but we adults watch it too AND we got it even if the kids didn't!
What about Kylie? Was she any good?
If you're one of those people who worships the very ground Ms Minogue walks on, then you certainly had your fill a-plenty of the pint-sized princess of pop. Personally I am NOT one of those. And sorry to say, but I thought she was pretty naff. Yes, she's got the most carefully choreographed movoes to PERFECTION when it comes to music, but stuck here in a role like this she did NOT shine. I did not like her delivery and was not really very convinced by her character. Even the little in-joke when she had to run off to get a box to stand on to kiss David T. was .... well, I'm actually surprised she let them use it. I thought all those jokes about her height disappeared with Charlene in 'Neighbours'. And so yes - I'm not at all unhappy that she won't be riding with the Doc in the Tardis.
The character of Astrid Peth
Acting aside, there are several important things to note in your Doctor Who fact-file about Astrid Peth. The most notable is that we must surely consider her to be an official 'companion'. She had joint top billing in the credits so that confirms that for me. Given this, Astrid Peth is the shortest-living companion (literally) EVER of The Doctor in ANY series. I trhink I'm right in saying that NEVER BEFORE has ANY companion of Doctor Who been introduced and KILLED OFF in the same episode.
Now, another thing RTD is well-known for by now is his use of anagrams. And the name Astrid Peth has just GOT TO BE an anagram of SOMETHING.
Well, I have tried. But nothing plausible comes up.
You can try it too with THIS COOL TOOL I found today:-
The best one I could make was 'Tepid Trash' which is .... err ..... well, NO!
So she got fried in the engines and was then 'brought back' as atoms to float in space forever. Does this mean she could make a comeback someday? Or develop strange powers to help the Doc and his merry men? Everything is possible in sci-fi, but THIS writer thinks not.
Now to the Story Itself ...
If you loved those old disaster movies of the 1970's then THIS would be right up your shipping channel! Because THAT is what most of the story was about. The Doctor and a dwindling number of trapped survivors finding their way out to the bridge where the brave survivor Midshipman Alonzo Frame (Russell Tovey) was hanging on to life after having been shot by the Captain (Geoffrey Palmer) who, it seems, had been persuaded that it really was a 'good thing' to lower the shields of the ship so that any oncoming meteors could inflict whatever damage they could. Ah, how convenient! There they were! But were they MEANT to be there? Did he take down the shields on the off chance of a meteor shower or were they radio-controlled or guided meteors being lured onto the Titanic's side? That wasn't clear, but hey, I suppose in THAT part of space in orbit above the earth anything can happen! OK, I'll let that pass.
Anyway, the meteors hit - about four or five slammed into the side. Badly damaged, many crew and passengers dead and damaged engines. Ah, but not just ANY OLD engines you know - THESE ones are NUCLEAR. The Titanic is a very large ship, and so the idea is that the Titanic is now falling through space and is on collision course with us here on Sol 3. Nuclear engines, nuclear explosion and a VERY nasty hole in the ground would result so therefore has to be stopped.
The Doctor is already in and is with Astrid, Mr Copper (Clive Swift), Morvin and Hoon Van Hoff (Clive Rowe and Debbie Chazen) and cyborg Bannakaffalatta (Jimmy Vee). But now they have to contend with The Host - a number of robot angels with VERY NASTY halos to match. They press on to try to reach the bridge but the Van Hoffs are lost and Bannakaffalatta also dies heroically using a large electromagnetic pulse (EMP) from his robotic innards which disables The Host angels which are closing in. Having established that they now have a weapon, Astrid takes it from the dead cyborg's body to use when needed.
The Doctor finds a way too to get information out of The Host angels and discovers that Deck 31 is the place where it is all controlled from. He heads off there and sends the survivors on with their weapon. And AT LAST - over 1 hour into the story we finally meet our Bad Guy #1 Max Capricorn. He is revealed slowly to us - his chair trundling out of its indestructible "impact chamber". The story is that he was forced out by the company directors due to their prejudice against cyborgs. A simple revenge story! Revenge against the board who would be charged with mass murder of humans and revenge against human-kind itself! He would survive in his impact chamber and then retire very nicely.
BUT Astrid has teleported down to Deck 31 to The Doctor to see him struggling in the grip of The Host Angels and facing a grim end. Ah hah, a fork-lift truck! Just what she needs! So in she gets and rams Max Capricorn and herself in the truck off and down, down to the engines to be incinerated. And a very sad Doctor results.
The Titanic is still on crash course with the Earth with no engines working. BUT using the heat from re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere they manage to restart the engines and avert a disastrous collision with Buckingham Palace moments before impact and sail off back into the stars.
One more vain attempt to save Astrid, but all The Doctor can do is bring back her atoms using the teleport. So now she can go and explore the universe after all! AHHHH how SWEET! Oh, and there is a happy ending for Mr Copper who has a cool million pounds on his ship's expenses credit card to do with as he pleases on the planet. Some guys have all the luck!
OK, that completes Part 1 of my review. I didn't want to do it like this but the other night I couldn't save what I was doing and so couldn't finish at that time. But patience my brethren - it will be done. All comes to he who waits!
Monday, 24 December 2007
Christmas Is Coming - and So Is Doctor Who Series 4!
So here we are. On the verge of Christmas 2007, looking forward to the annual Doctor Who Christmas Special and, inevitably, thinking further ahead to Series 4 which will hit our TV screens in about 4 months time.
I do not plan to write much about the Xmas Special tonight since by this time tomorrow it will all be over. No, instead I have already collected much info on the rumours, gossip and chit-chat which surrounds the forthcoming new series. And now is a good time to share it with you. You may well have heard much of this yourselves, but if not here we go with much food for thought.
I will start with what must be the return of the Daleks at some point of other and possible storylines for them ....
The Daleks - sure to return
Somewhere out there is Dalek Caan having escaped from The Doctor at the end of the Empire State building edition of the Series 3 story. But WHERE will his emergency temporal shift have taken him? It was said that a possible reason that the Cult Of Skaro ended up in New York was due to them having visited NYC before. So maybe we can assume that this will be the case again in some form or another.
Given the current preference for Earth-related stories, this may take us (back) to several locations on the planet from the following stories in the past:-
It's a start! Not sure about Ben Kingsley and also not sure about Sarah Jane Smith's comeback either since she has her own spin-off show for the kids together with K-9.
HOWEVER, there ARE rumours abound about Ben Kingsley playing Davros in Series 4. But according to this more recent report, he denies this. But, as we well know, it was denied for ages and ages by Russell T Davies himself that we were to have Kylie in the Christmas Special this year. So any denials OR, for that matter, confirmations at this stage are interesting though unsubstantiated.
But back to where we started with Dalek Caan. Where will he turn up and in what form? Well, on the Freema Agyeman forum there is a rumour that he will meet up with Davros after or during his emergency temporal shift. Once they have met, they will concoct something evil to try to defeat the Doctor once and for all. This might form the end to Series 4 I suppose.
Or how about this. Dalek Caan wants revenge and wants to retrieve all the Daleks that got trapped in The Void by The Doctor at the end of Series 2. Well those Daleks are clever types, and they did manage to build that void ship in Series 2 so why not another? Having built it, Dalek Caan can locate the missing Daleks and attempt to retrieve them. BUT of course in trying to do this it is possible that the Torchwood in our world and the parallel Torchwood will see what is going on. This will then involve both Captain Jack AND Rose Tyler in some way and hey presto we have the Great Comeback!
This speculation in the last paragraph was adapted from a comment in a forum on SliceofSciFi.com. In particular, if you scroll down to Comment Number 42 by 'lucy' you will see a very interesting set of comments by someone who is obviously very observant in matters of Doctor Who. It is just opinion but it just looks like something very possible and carries some weight for me.
OK, I think that will do for Dalek Rumours. I will continue my search into Series 4 most lilely in a couple of days time when I will be looking into other rumoured comebacks. These, by the way, do include, The Rani, Sontarans, The Ood and maybe a Krynoid or two somewhere!
Enjoy the Christmas Special tomorrow!
And remember .... You Are Not Alone!
I do not plan to write much about the Xmas Special tonight since by this time tomorrow it will all be over. No, instead I have already collected much info on the rumours, gossip and chit-chat which surrounds the forthcoming new series. And now is a good time to share it with you. You may well have heard much of this yourselves, but if not here we go with much food for thought.
I will start with what must be the return of the Daleks at some point of other and possible storylines for them ....
The Daleks - sure to return
Somewhere out there is Dalek Caan having escaped from The Doctor at the end of the Empire State building edition of the Series 3 story. But WHERE will his emergency temporal shift have taken him? It was said that a possible reason that the Cult Of Skaro ended up in New York was due to them having visited NYC before. So maybe we can assume that this will be the case again in some form or another.
Given the current preference for Earth-related stories, this may take us (back) to several locations on the planet from the following stories in the past:-
- WILLIAM HARTNELL and Carole Ann Ford came across them in the "Dalek Invasion Of Earth 2164" in which they were invading London (ah HAH!). According to the Wikipedia rendition of the story, there was also an important character called TYLER there. Rings any bells? Yup, an old RTD favourite character surname! It also involved Battersea power station and "robomen" who are some kind of Dalek servants. Many parallels exist here with the 'Daleks In Manhattan' story and so perhaps this is not really a possible storyline since it would be seen as just a copy of that earlier tale.
- PATRICK TROUGHTON and Frazer Hines had a Dalek encounter in the "Evil Of The Daleks" story which was set in 1866 and involved the Daleks trying to find the secret of "The Human Factor" which was something they believed humans had which was the secret to human resistance of Dalek invasion plans. The Emperor was also involved here but was seemingly destroyed at the end.
- JON PERTWEE and Katy Manning had a very brief "Day Of The Daleks" which involved future humans coming back into the past to prevent it all happening for them. Classic sci-fi stuff of course, and this time the Daleks had the Ogrons for company.
- There was also a fairly minor appearance in the Pertwee story "Frontier In Space" in which the main villains, the Draconians, and Earth people were squaring up for a war. The Daleks aided by The Master, were hoping to pick up the pieces of this conflict which was based in the 26th century.
- PETER DAVISON and Janet Fielding had a battle on their hands in "Resurrection Of The Daleks". In this one, The Doctor and Tegan were dragged to Earth in 1984. Here it was not so much the Daleks who were to be resurrected but the great leader himself, DAVROS. Now this DOES have significant possibilities for our Series 4 since it has been rumoured in many places of his inevitable return (and who will play his part). More on Davros a little later. The plan this time was to clone the Doctor and his companions in order that they would eventually kill the High Council Of Time Lords on Gallifrey. There was also a rebellious Dalek element in this one with Davos' Daleks at war with Daleks loyal to the Dalek Supreme, who was a black Dalek similar in many ways to Dalek Sec. Also, they had something called a Movellan Virus to contend with.
- SYLVESTER McCOY and Sophie Aldred had their little brush with Dalek-kind in the "Remembrance Of The Daleks" story which was set in 1963. It is well-known as being a story of some complexity and so is unlikely to be referred to much apart from being Earth-bound and involving Davro again (OK, so maybe it IS significant then!). The Doctor had been looking for the Hand Of Omega when he came here. This story brings to us the Imperial Dalek and the Special Weapons Dalek as well as the warring Dalek Supreme and Davros once again.
- Last of all, PETER CUSHING played the Doctor in a movie role which was basically a movie version of a previous book. However, this movie and its storyline is not considered as being part of the 'real world' of The Doctor so it has to be discounted.
It's a start! Not sure about Ben Kingsley and also not sure about Sarah Jane Smith's comeback either since she has her own spin-off show for the kids together with K-9.
HOWEVER, there ARE rumours abound about Ben Kingsley playing Davros in Series 4. But according to this more recent report, he denies this. But, as we well know, it was denied for ages and ages by Russell T Davies himself that we were to have Kylie in the Christmas Special this year. So any denials OR, for that matter, confirmations at this stage are interesting though unsubstantiated.
But back to where we started with Dalek Caan. Where will he turn up and in what form? Well, on the Freema Agyeman forum there is a rumour that he will meet up with Davros after or during his emergency temporal shift. Once they have met, they will concoct something evil to try to defeat the Doctor once and for all. This might form the end to Series 4 I suppose.
Or how about this. Dalek Caan wants revenge and wants to retrieve all the Daleks that got trapped in The Void by The Doctor at the end of Series 2. Well those Daleks are clever types, and they did manage to build that void ship in Series 2 so why not another? Having built it, Dalek Caan can locate the missing Daleks and attempt to retrieve them. BUT of course in trying to do this it is possible that the Torchwood in our world and the parallel Torchwood will see what is going on. This will then involve both Captain Jack AND Rose Tyler in some way and hey presto we have the Great Comeback!
This speculation in the last paragraph was adapted from a comment in a forum on SliceofSciFi.com. In particular, if you scroll down to Comment Number 42 by 'lucy' you will see a very interesting set of comments by someone who is obviously very observant in matters of Doctor Who. It is just opinion but it just looks like something very possible and carries some weight for me.
OK, I think that will do for Dalek Rumours. I will continue my search into Series 4 most lilely in a couple of days time when I will be looking into other rumoured comebacks. These, by the way, do include, The Rani, Sontarans, The Ood and maybe a Krynoid or two somewhere!
Enjoy the Christmas Special tomorrow!
And remember .... You Are Not Alone!
Tuesday, 13 November 2007
Psssssst ..... What's Coming before Series 4?
Hi there Whovians and all fans of our favourite Mr John Smith!
Well wasn't Series 3 great? Yes it sure WAS - well, until the very end in the "Last Of The Time Lords" nonsense. ah, I'm not going to say more about THAT here - I said all that was needed in my Doctor Who Series 3 blog which you can see if you click here.
But on we go to look forward to Series 4 which will be with us in full in spring 2008. BUT before THAT we have plenty of goodies to look forward to.
CHILDREN IN NEED DR WHO SPECIAL
This very weekend we have a special Children In Need 7-minute special entitled "Time Crash".
According to Wikipedia, it has been written by Steven Moffatt and the director is Graeme Harper. In this we will witness the (brief) return of Peter Davison as the fifth Doctor together with good ol' David Tennant. You can see it on Friday 16th November during the Children In Need charity special. There is little information on what the story will be.
If you remember, the BBC did a similar thing on the regeneration changeover from Christopher Eccleston to our man David two years ago. Well, seven minutes isn't much! Will it be a link to the Christmas Special? Hard to see how if Peter Davison is involved. And furthermore, if you DO miss it, your Christmas Day will not be ruined! So if you happen to catch it in between your serial donations, then good for you!
DOCTOR WHO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 2007
Ohhhh it just won't be the same without Rose, Jackie and Mickey this year! In fact, no parental involvement of any kind and no companions that we will recognise. So who do we get instead?
Ah, but the divine Kylie Minogue will be there to lighten our Christmas spirit and put a smile on our faces! Having denied that she was to be involved for a long time, Russell T Davies finally admitted she WAS and IS to star alongside David Tennant near the end of Series 3. She will play the part of Astrid Peth who is right in the thick of it on board the legendary Titanic. The story is that an alien being has infiltrated the launch party of the Titanic in 1912. That is about all we know at this stage - except that Geoffrey Palmer will play the Captain of the ill-fated ship and Bernard Cribbins will also feature.
The Titanic was mentioned way back in Series 1 Episode 1 (Rose) by Christopher Eccleston as the ninth Doctor, and before him by nutty conspiracy theorist and Doctor-follower Clive (Mark Benton). Clive had a picture of the Doctor at the Southampton docks with the family who he advised not to sail that day. Then in Episode 2 (End Of The World) the Doctor himself mentioned that he HAD been on "the unsinkable" and had ended up clinging to an iceberg. The name Titanic was not mentioned, but it was fairly clear WHAT he had been referring to.
So does this mean the Doctor WAS or WAS NOT on the ship when it sank? These two seem to contradict each other because he was on the docks with the family and yet in the next instant he was in the water! Ah, but that is what the Tardis is for of course!
Anyway, it's nice to see that once again storyline threads mentioned are being used. Personally I CAN'T WAIT! I'm not much of a Kylie fan though.
Some interesting videos exist of sneak "previews" of this Christmas Special 2007. Well, sneak previews really means the usual mix of a few real shots spliced together with other stuff. Just for fun, here are a few of them:-
This one is one of those spliced together youtube videos using bits of and the end of Series 3 scenes and bits of Hollywood:
And how about this one. Just a few photos from the set:
So we know what the bad guy looks like then! See you next time!
Well wasn't Series 3 great? Yes it sure WAS - well, until the very end in the "Last Of The Time Lords" nonsense. ah, I'm not going to say more about THAT here - I said all that was needed in my Doctor Who Series 3 blog which you can see if you click here.
But on we go to look forward to Series 4 which will be with us in full in spring 2008. BUT before THAT we have plenty of goodies to look forward to.
CHILDREN IN NEED DR WHO SPECIAL
This very weekend we have a special Children In Need 7-minute special entitled "Time Crash".
According to Wikipedia, it has been written by Steven Moffatt and the director is Graeme Harper. In this we will witness the (brief) return of Peter Davison as the fifth Doctor together with good ol' David Tennant. You can see it on Friday 16th November during the Children In Need charity special. There is little information on what the story will be.
If you remember, the BBC did a similar thing on the regeneration changeover from Christopher Eccleston to our man David two years ago. Well, seven minutes isn't much! Will it be a link to the Christmas Special? Hard to see how if Peter Davison is involved. And furthermore, if you DO miss it, your Christmas Day will not be ruined! So if you happen to catch it in between your serial donations, then good for you!
DOCTOR WHO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 2007
Ohhhh it just won't be the same without Rose, Jackie and Mickey this year! In fact, no parental involvement of any kind and no companions that we will recognise. So who do we get instead?
Ah, but the divine Kylie Minogue will be there to lighten our Christmas spirit and put a smile on our faces! Having denied that she was to be involved for a long time, Russell T Davies finally admitted she WAS and IS to star alongside David Tennant near the end of Series 3. She will play the part of Astrid Peth who is right in the thick of it on board the legendary Titanic. The story is that an alien being has infiltrated the launch party of the Titanic in 1912. That is about all we know at this stage - except that Geoffrey Palmer will play the Captain of the ill-fated ship and Bernard Cribbins will also feature.
The Titanic was mentioned way back in Series 1 Episode 1 (Rose) by Christopher Eccleston as the ninth Doctor, and before him by nutty conspiracy theorist and Doctor-follower Clive (Mark Benton). Clive had a picture of the Doctor at the Southampton docks with the family who he advised not to sail that day. Then in Episode 2 (End Of The World) the Doctor himself mentioned that he HAD been on "the unsinkable" and had ended up clinging to an iceberg. The name Titanic was not mentioned, but it was fairly clear WHAT he had been referring to.
So does this mean the Doctor WAS or WAS NOT on the ship when it sank? These two seem to contradict each other because he was on the docks with the family and yet in the next instant he was in the water! Ah, but that is what the Tardis is for of course!
Anyway, it's nice to see that once again storyline threads mentioned are being used. Personally I CAN'T WAIT! I'm not much of a Kylie fan though.
Some interesting videos exist of sneak "previews" of this Christmas Special 2007. Well, sneak previews really means the usual mix of a few real shots spliced together with other stuff. Just for fun, here are a few of them:-
This one is one of those spliced together youtube videos using bits of and the end of Series 3 scenes and bits of Hollywood:
And how about this one. Just a few photos from the set:
So we know what the bad guy looks like then! See you next time!
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