Eleventh Doctor

[Blowfeld]

I don't believe any of the past Doctor's will speak ill of the new actor. The closest my be after Sylvester got the role and Sixth Doctor refused to come back for a regeneration scene. Althou there were extenuating circumstances.
The next closest may be after Christopher Eccleston unceremoniously quit. I believe the Doctors' had some rather harsh (by their genteel standards) words for Chris.

[Kristatos]

I don't believe any of the past Doctor's will speak ill of the new actor. The closest my be after Sylvester got the role and Sixth Doctor refused to come back for a regeneration scene. Althou there were extenuating circumstances.
The next closest may be after Christopher Eccleston unceremoniously quit. I believe the Doctors' had some rather harsh (by their genteel standards) words for Chris.

I thought the plan was always for Eccles to only do one season. Because bringing Doctor Who back was a high-risk project for the BBC, they wanted a "name" to make it an easier sell. RTD had David Tennant in mind all along, but he was not well-known enough. That's how I heard it, anyway.

[Blowfeld]

I don't believe any of the past Doctor's will speak ill of the new actor. The closest my be after Sylvester got the role and Sixth Doctor refused to come back for a regeneration scene. Althou there were extenuating circumstances.
The next closest may be after Christopher Eccleston unceremoniously quit. I believe the Doctors' had some rather harsh (by their genteel standards) words for Chris.

I thought the plan was always for Eccles to only do one season. Because bringing Doctor Who back was a high-risk project for the BBC, they wanted a "name" to make it an easier sell. RTD had David Tennant in mind all along, but he was not well-known enough. That's how I heard it, anyway.

I think RTD wanted David for the role, I don't think he was too sour on Paul coming back either. As I recall it was the BBC that wanted fresh blood in the role and name if they could get it. Althou what kind of Name Chris has can be debated. RTD wasn't sure a New Doctor Who would do well so he insisted on a complete series, originally the BBC wanted to test the waters with a special or two. If the series was picked up for a second Chris was supposed to come back. Before filming competed Chris soured on the whole show. After the BBC leaked the announcement Chris was leaving Chris throu his friends was talking about how badly the BBC treated him and how they 'worked him to the bone'.

That is how I remember it anyhow. There may be a more accurate history around now, and most likely sanitised to save face (of auntie Beeb and Chris).

[Blowfeld]

British film featuring Doctor Who star competes for Cannes prize
Two struggling British film-makers will compete for the critics' prize in Cannes after securing the services of Doctor Who actor Matt Smith for just £500.

By Anita Singh, Showbusiness Editor
Last Updated: 4:39PM BST 11 May 2009

Film school graduates Zorana Piggott and Eicke Bettinga paid Smith the Equity minimum wage to appear in Together, which was made on a minuscule £40,000 budget.

The film was shot in November last year and costs were so squeezed that Smith, then a little-known actor, flew to the location in Germany on a budget airline from Luton Airport. Three weeks later, he landed the part of the next Doctor Who, signing a five-year contract said to be worth £1 million and instantly becoming one of the hottest names in television.

The duo who cast Smith cannot believe their luck after Together was selected for International Critics' Week at the Cannes Film Festival, which begins on Wednesday. They had struggled for a year to raise the funding for the film.

Piggott, who co-wrote and produced the film with Bettinga as director, said: "We had been following Matt's career for some time because we had seen him in the West End and in the BBC Two series Party Animals. We sent him the script and he said yes - it was pretty straightforward. The budget was very, very modest. We had to put Matt on a 6am budget flight from Luton and the filming conditions were difficult but he never complained.

"After the shoot he said he had to get back to England for a couple of auditions, but he never said what they were for. I thought nothing more of it. Three weeks later I turned on the TV and saw he was the new Doctor Who. I know he will be brilliant because he is such a fantastic actor and he has done an amazing job in our film. It is very much a performance-based piece and Matt carries the entire film. He is a unique performer able to define every role.

"It was a big surprise to be selected for Cannes, we weren't expecting it, but it is a great honour."

Together is the only British entry for the critics' prize, which runs in tandem with the main competition for the Palme d'Or. Smith plays a young man visiting the family home a year after the death of his older brother. Piggott and Bettinga, who is German-born but lives in Britain, met at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, Bucks. The short film was part-funded by the UK Film Council.

Smith, 27, will travel to Cannes this week to promote the film. He was a surprise choice for Doctor Who and the youngest actor to play the role. His first appearance as the 11th Timelord will be next year, when David Tennant bows out. The BBC reportedly offered him a three-year contract worth £600,000, with the option to extend for a further two years. Film school graduates Zorana Piggott and Eicke Bettinga paid Smith the Equity minimum wage to appear in Together, which was made on a minuscule £40,000 budget.

The duo who cast Smith cannot believe their luck after Together was selected for International Critics' Week at the Cannes Film Festival, which begins on Wednesday. They had struggled for a year to raise the funding for the film.

Piggott, who co-wrote and produced the film with Bettinga as director, said: "We had been following Matt's career for some time because we had seen him in the West End and in the BBC Two series Party Animals. We sent him the script and he said yes - it was pretty straightforward. The budget was very, very modest. We had to put Matt on a 6am budget flight from Luton and the filming conditions were difficult but he never complained.

"After the shoot he said he had to get back to England for a couple of auditions, but he never said what they were for. I thought nothing more of it. Three weeks later I turned on the TV and saw he was the new Doctor Who. I know he will be brilliant because he is such a fantastic actor and he has done an amazing job in our film. It is very much a performance-based piece and Matt carries the entire film. He is a unique performer able to define every role.

"It was a big surprise to be selected for Cannes, we weren't expecting it, but it is a great honour."

Together is the only British entry for the critics' prize, which runs in tandem with the main competition for the Palme d'Or. Smith plays a young man visiting the family home a year after the death of his older brother. Piggott and Bettinga, who is German-born but lives in Britain, met at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, Bucks. The short film was part-funded by the UK Film Council.

Smith, 27, will travel to Cannes this week to promote the film. He was a surprise choice for Doctor Who and the youngest actor to play the role. His first appearance as the 11th Timelord will be next year, when David Tennant bows out. The BBC reportedly offered him a three-year contract worth £600,000, with the option to extend for a further two years.

This story can be found at: British film featuring Doctor Who star competes for Cannes prize

[Blowfeld]

We have ways of making Who talk
By COLIN ROBERTSON
The Sun
Published: 08 May 2009
THE new Doctor Who is set to battle NAZIS — at the Natural History Museum.

The episode, inspired by classic movie Raiders Of The Lost Ark, is lined up for Matt Smith’s first series as the Timelord next year.

The Doctor will be stranded in the London museum and forced to fight a strikeforce of Hitler’s stormtroopers, not to mention rampaging monsters.

Who boss Russell T Davies said there would be an “Indiana Jones-type chamber hidden beneath the floor with sliding stone doors and stuff”.

He also plans to borrow the idea of a lost Ark.

The plot was also inspired by comic Ricky Gervais' hit movie Night At The Museum. Ricky played a doctor at a museum where the exhibits come to life.

The special Who episode is being written by League Of Gentleman star Mark Gatiss.

He is also set to write a second storyline for the series.

That will feature the Timelord meeting a TV star from the 1950s, who appeared in a Doctor Who-style show called Nightshade.

The Doctor comes face to face with Professor Nightshade as monsters the prof used to do battle with on TV come to life.

The episode is based on a Doctor Who book Mark wrote in 1992 called Nightshade.

Story can be foun here: We have ways of making Who talk

No idea why RTD would be involved with this at all. Probably isn't and this another Sun exclusive

[CaptainLewis]

And now his companion:

New 'Doctor Who' companion announced

21-year-old Karen Gillan has been named as the new companion for series five of Doctor Who.

The Scottish actress will star alongside Matt Smith, who takes over from David Tennant as The Doctor in series five of the long-running cult show.

"I am absolutely over the moon at being chosen to play the Doctor's new companion," said Gillan. "The show is such a massive phenomenon that I can't quite believe I am going to be a part of it. Matt Smith is an incredible actor and it is going to be so much fun to act alongside him – I just can't wait to get started!"

Gillan previously appeared in Who as a soothsayer in the series four episode 'The Fires of Pompeii'. Her other credits include The Kevin Bishop Show, Rebus and Stacked.

Of Gillan's casting, new executive producer Steven Moffat said: "We saw some amazing actresses for this part, but when Karen came through the door the game was up. Funny, and clever, and gorgeous, and sexy. Or Scottish, which is the quick way of saying it. A generation of little girls will want to be her. And a generation of little boys will want them to be her too."

Rumoured contenders for the role of Matt Smith's assistant had included Lily Allen, Kelly Brook, Georgia Moffett and Skins star Hannah Murray.

Filming on the new series will begin in July for transmission around Easter 2010. Tennant's final episodes will air this Christmas.

Website: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a15753 ... unced.html

She looks a lot like Catherine Tate. I am sure she will be good.

[Blowfeld]

She reminds me of someone... Oh, well it will come to me later.

I am surprised at Georgia Moffett not being chosen. Steven Moffat asked RTD not to kill off her character. I suspect she will be recurring character in the new series althou she could be a possible movie companion.

[Blowfeld]

[Kristatos]

She reminds me of someone... Oh, well it will come to me later.

She has something of Summer Glau about her, as well as the oft-commented resemblance to a young Catherine Tate.

[Blowfeld]

Friday, 12 June 2009

Matt Smith will battle The Daleks in his first 'Doctor Who' episode.

The 26-year-old actor - who takes over from current Time Lord David Tennant next year - will face the legendary extraterrestrial mutants in his first adventure to please fans who think he is too young to play the iconic role.

BBC bosses reportedly decided to revive the Doctor's most famous foes to boost show ratings as they are worried Smith will not be as popular as Tennant - widely considered one of the most successful stars of the long running sci-fi series.

A network source told Britain's Daily Star newspaper: "They know fans will take a while to get used to Matt as The Doctor, so it makes sense to have him fight his most famous enemies. They always bring good ratings."

BBC chiefs have previously revealed they plan to "step back in time" when designing the Tardis for the new series of the programme.

Instead of the current brown and orange interior, the time and space machine will have blue walls and white windows, similar to the original 1960s Tardis.

The new series of 'Doctor Who' - which stars Smith at the 11th Time Lord - is due to start next spring.

]

This story can be found at: Daleks to return in Doctor Who?

[Kristatos]

I think the Daleks have been overused in Nu Who, but I can see why they would want the new Doctor to battle them early on. It was the same strategy that Philip Hinchcliffe used in Tom Baker's first season - bring out the familiar enemies to reassure viewers that it was still the same show.

[Blowfeld]

Almost an unspoken policy to have the new Doctor face old iconic baddies to assure the audience of his bona fides. Cybermen and Daleks are must for every new Doctor. 2nd Doctor had the Evil of the Daleks to start with, 3rd had, I'm not sure, he had the Autons and colours, he eventually did get around to the Daleks later. 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th Doctors' all got Daleks and Cybermen in their first or second season.
8th Doctors outing brushed against them by having the Master executed by the Daleks. Doesn't count for much althou he did get round to classic baddies in first and second audio drama seasons.

New Series went Dalek mad. I do love the Time War story with the Daleks as the main baddy. However ever since they have been the lynchpin to the every series story arc. Looking back over the history I miss some of the innovations writers came up with the in early days of Doctor Who to propel the series along.

[Kristatos]

Even my wife (who has never seen Classic Who, but whom I have introduced to the joys of Nu Who) groaned and said "not these things again" when the Daleks appeared one time (I think it was Daleks in Manhattan).

[Blowfeld]

Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks was rubbish. It had potential as do most stories, then RTD gave it the 'treatment' and it became a campy outing.

[CaptainLewis]

Cult Spy: The Impotence of the Daleks

The most feared race in the universe (apart from PE teachers) returned to television in 2005 and immediately restored a cultural icon to its former glory as well as sending children and adults alike scurrying behind the sofas. Yet three years and several ill-fated attempts to conquer the universe later, it seems that all The Doctor's companions have to do is click their fingers to destroy the metallic mutants en masse. Cult Spy probes the lessening impact of the Daleks…

The task facing showrunner Russell T. Davies and writer Rob Shearman was undoubtedly immense. The Daleks, once a bastion of fear with Nazi overtones, had been reduced to a kitsch object of fun and ridicule in the many years that Doctor Who had been off air. Perhaps the nadir was a Kit Kat advert in 2001 featuring a Hare Krishna-like procession of Daleks wailing "peace and love", or maybe a series of Energiser battery adverts shortly after. Just like the Spice Girls, these metallic mutants appeared to like making a quick buck through commercial endorsement on their way to global domination. (They also shared similarly grating vocals, but that's another story).


Yet Shearman's script, based on his own Big Finish audio play 'Jubilee', absolutely nailed the cunning personality at the core of a Dalek, harking back to the menace of their 1960s heyday, and exhibiting a childlike glee when exterminating a random member of the cast. As the original series wore on into the 1970s and 80s, many viewers would have mistaken the Daleks to be robots - such was their uniform, non-individualistic behaviour, with a range of dialogue as expansive as the battery-operated Dalek toys in existence at the time. It was left to Davros, after his 1975 debut, or the renegade Supreme Dalek to supply the interesting verbals.


Gone were the petty squabbles and devious ramblings in the ranks that were so delicious during the black and white era of the show. Just witness the stream-of-consciousness "WE-ARE-THE-MASTERS-OF-EARTH" rant in 1964's 'The Dalek Invasion Of Earth' by the Dalek that famously emerged from the River Thames.


2005's 'Dalek' restored their wild fanaticism and murderous imperative, with a few thinly-veiled references to the treatment and torture of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay. It demonstrated that a mere 'soldier', in dire need of orders, bears powerful emotions too and is not merely an expendable tool. Most importantly, lurking beneath the rusty polycarbide armour was a thinking, breathing blob of hate. Well, until Rose Tyler's DNA took hold at least. Then it became part seething squid with a desire to kill, and part chirpy chav with a desire to buy a Westlife CD.

On a visual level, gone were the battered props of old that barely managed to negotiate a cobbled street in 1988's 'Remembrance of the Daleks'. A gleaming, beefed up Dalek was an awesome sight to behold, with a rotating mid-section, bullet shield, functional plunger and a dilating iris that also evoked the 1960s props. The advent of CGI meant that we could see the Dalek glide across the sky and up stairs too, in much clearer fashion than their late '80s attempts to defy gravity.


The pinnacle of their ingenious resurrection surely comes with the mass extermination of Van Statten's troops by activating the sprinklers and then using the water to conduct the lethal extermination death ray onto the troops. Such cunning tactics are also deployed in their next story 'The Parting Of The Ways', where Big Brother housemate Lynda is killed by a Dalek hovering outside the space station. Brilliantly, we see (not hear) the Dalek cry exterminate outside, through the flashing of its 'ears'.


Yet this season finale also signalled the advent of an increasingly regular tendency to build up the Dalek threat only to suddenly wipe them out en masse in their entirety.

Rose Tyler's absorption of the Tardis vortex allowed her to disintegrate every Dalek in existence (apparently), which was a sudden plot twist that tied in with the ongoing 'Bad Wolf' story arc. Fast forward a year later and the Daleks are out in force and dominating the Earth's skies. Rose Tyler pulls a lever and suddenly all the Daleks (except the Cult of Skaro) fly into the Void and out of reality. Job done.

Most recently in 'Journey's End', Donna Noble has to flick a few switches in the Crucible and, shock horror, the Daleks go doolally and blow up. All of them. In seconds. Again. (Albeit with the help of a genocidal half human Doctor, in a neat parallel to a key scene from 'Genesis of the Daleks').

When so much time, effort and ingenuity is invested in establishing the menace of these perennial villains - and how one Dalek is enough to wipe out humanity - it's a shame to see the species repeatedly thwarted in such a manner.


Furthermore, there's a danger of returning to the days when Daleks would scream "exterminate" several times until their intended victim was able to escape. This happened to both Wilf and Sarah Jane in the latest season finale, although one trigger-happy Dalek at least managed to strike The Doctor with a glancing shot. Still, even that didn't do much damage. Are they starting to fire blanks?

The Daleks' power to strike fear into viewers is just about intact though, as proved by the terrifying shrieks of "exterminate" that Mr. Smith and Torchwood HQ managed to pick up in 'The Stolen Earth'. So simple, yet so effective.

The extended break for Doctor Who couldn't come at a better time for the bug-eyed monsters from Skaro. If they continued to be so easily and conveniently destroyed, then it wouldn't be long before they replace Pele in those Viagra adverts. It's over to you Steven Moffat...

Website: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a12054 ... aleks.html

I love the Daleks but they have been overused. They should bring back someone like the Rani or some other classic villins like the Yeti.

[CaptainLewis]

First pic of the new Doctor and companion

Here's the first picture of Matt Smith's Doctor in costume for the first time, alongside his newly-christened companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan). It's bow-tie-arama!

Website: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a166168/ ... anion.html

I don't like it, I think it is a bit tweedy.

[CaptainLewis]

Alex Kingston returns to 'Doctor Who'

Alex Kingston will return to Doctor Who in the upcoming fifth series, it has been confirmed.

The actress was spotted filming alongside new Doctor Matt Smith and Karen Gillan on the first day of filming for the new series, which airs next Spring.

Kingston was last seen in the acclaimed series four two-parter 'Silence in the Library' / 'Forest of the Dead', penned by new showrunner Steven Moffat. In the episodes, her character, River Song, revealed that she knew The Doctor from an unspecified point in his future.

A BBC spokesperson confirmed to Digital Spy: "Alex Kingston will be returning to Doctor Who in the new series featuring Matt Smith. Viewers will have to wait and see who she plays and how her character fits into the series."

Kingston is thought to be returning for a two-episode stint.

Website: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a16625 ... r-who.html

That should be good.

[Blowfeld]

The Bad first if only to get it out of the way.

Matt Smith Auuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudio

Spoiler

[video][/video]
[video][/video]
[video][/video]

[Blowfeld]

Now for the good.

GREAT PICS! Karen Gillan Filming Doctor Who

Check out these amazing shots of the latest Doctor Who filming in Cardiff. We are officially in love with Karen Gillan. Is that skirt legal on a family show? And look, that’s Matt Smith wearing Doctor Ten’s outfit – scotching those daft rumours that we wouldn’t be seeing a regeneration.

Our first thought was, “Wow, look at that pert bottom…" But then we looked at what Gillan was wearing, and our second thought was, “Didn’t realise she was a police woman.” Our third thought was, “In a skirt like that?” So we’re assuming she might be out on a Hen Night. Or something.

Anyway, enjoy. We did.

[Blowfeld]

Following on from our great set of Karen Gillan pics, now SFX has managed to secure some shots of Matt Smith, Doctor 11, in action. He’s in a seriously knackered-looking version of Doctor 10's costume, so presumably this is from his first full episode. But with Moffat you never know. Could be a flashback in episode eight, or a timey whimey anomaly in episode 12. But we're still betting it’s episode one…