Doctor Who - The Christmas Special!

The Christmas Special - The Next Doctor? Well, 1850's London looked eerily similar to 2008 Cowbridge, a little town about 20 minutes drive from here (a very expensive one, too!) - but in spite of the unexpected familiarity, the Christmas special really did live up to all of the hype & production promises!

A great show - probably the best Xmas plot in ages, and a real bad villain, in the form of Irish actress Derla Kirwan. Terrifying with those black contacts!

Thought David Morrissey played a very sad 'Doctor'. He'd been zapped by the cybermen sometime before, and his memory had been confused & frazzled with the Cyber database on The Doctor. Morrissey's character therefore thought he was actually the Doctor, and played out the role as best he could. Sadly, he was no timelord, just a rich business man with some of the Doctors implanted memories. His 'sonic screwdriver' was - a screwdriver and his 'TARDIS' - a balloon he thought would take him into space.

I'm not sure he would have made 'The Next Doctor' - his character was eccentric, disturbed & pained, just like a timelord should be, but somehow - he would never have been a replacement for Tennant.

Great show, fantastic characterization, superb plot and some good guest actors. shame it was only an hour long - expected ninety minutes. Still, made Xmas bearable - but no more Who until Easter - when we get.. wait for it.. THE EASTER SPECIAL!

Can't Wait!

Huzzah! The Christmas Special approaches!!

David Tennant returns to our screens in one of his final appearances as the immortal Timelord on Christmas day, at 6pm on BBC Wales.

Also appearing as the Doctor, well, possibly not 'the' doctor, but certainly 'a' doctor is David Morrissey, who plays the part of a future regeneration of the Timelord. The BBC have stated that Morrissey is not going to take over from Tennant, when his reign as the 10th Doctor comes to an end next Christmas, in the last of four specials to be shown throughout 2009. Apparently, this will become obvious during the show.

Both Doctors (each equipped with a TARDIS and sonic Screwdriver) battle their arch enemies the Cybermen, who are as evil and as menacing as ever. In reality, there are only 6 cybermen - they're very expensive to make, as are the animatronic kits which control some of their 'parts'. Clever technology is used to multiply the cybermen, to give the illusion of their appearance en masse. This was the same technique used in Torchwood: where there were only two fully functioning Weevils, and 4 'simple mask' version. On set - there were often dozens!

The plot to this year's show is fairly typical of some earlier Xmas specials, with a few laughs & a lot of 'tongue in cheek' stuff. The show also has its dark moments, though. One minor criticism - unless this has been changed post-production, the arrival of the Tardis in London (or really, Cowbridge, S. Wales) looks pretty naff... and is obviously a fairly clumsy overlay. Let's hope this is sorted prior to transmission!
  

The picture shows Doctor Who cast & crew, who I saw when they were filming this year's Xmas special some months ago.

This was actually filmed on a warmish day in July, and no, this is not 1850's London, it's really 2008 Cowbridge - a smart village in the Vale of Glamorgan, about 15 miles from Cardiff.

The snow looks real enough, but in reality, it was a kind of foamy stuff which actually stuck to, and marked your clothes. It constantly had to be re-sprayed throughout the take.

So, remember... Doctor Who, Christmas Day, 6pm on BBC Wales, and on BBC 1 in the rest of the UK. It'll be worth a watch!! 

Visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/ for more info, games, downloads & video. 

The new Doctor? Perhaps... or perhaps not!

Actor Paterson Joseph, the man held by many media reports to be one of the favourites to land the role of the Eleventh Doctor, has spoken to the BBC News website about the speculation surrounding his possible casting.

"His [the Doctor's] parameters are so vast. I don't see why he can't have more regenerations than the 13 that those who know think a Time Lord can have," he told the website. Joseph previously appeared in "Bad Wolf" and "The Parting of the Ways" as Rodrick, and the BBC reports that bookmakers are offering 3-1 odds on him becoming the first black actor to play the Doctor.

Joseph also claims to be a fan of the sci-fi genre, claiming that: "In no other genre can you be believable as an immortal character. I love sci-fi for that, so yeah - I'm a big fan."

Hmm... Watch this space!

The next doctor??

Just a note about 'The Next Doctor'..

Well, the Christmas Special of Doctor Who is oddly called... 'The Next Doctor', and features TWO doctors. The (sadly) outgoing David Tennant, and David Morrissey, who plays 'The Next Doctor'.

It's all very confusing, and gets worse, especially when 'The Next Doctor' is not actually going to be the next doctor, if you get what I'm trying to say. This is good news, as David Morrissey lacks those essential qualities a Time Lord has to have.

So, it is good news - though David Morrissey will play 'The Next Doctor; in the Christmas-day special, he is not actually going to be David Tennant's replacement.

Who is? Hmm... That'd be telling!

David Tennant and a female Doctor Who??

Award-winning actor and mega-star, David Tennant leaves Doctor Who after filming four specials, to be shown during 2009. I can confirm that David's final appearance as the Time Lord will be in the Christmas Special, 2009.

When interviewed for BBC Wales, the Scottish actor refused to confirm, however, that this was a 'final' departure, adding that 'doors would remain open'. Interesting!

After briefly meeting Russell T. Davies today - I can confirm that in spite of all the hype and rumor, the 11th Time Lord will NOT be a woman. How wrong that would have been anyway!

Here are ten things you (probably) didn’t know about David!

1. David was born David John McDonald in 1971 in West Lothian, Scotland. His father was a Presbyterian minister and is now a member of the Scottish cabinet.

2. David was barely out of nappies when he decided to become an actor. He recalls: "I was very small, about 3 or 4 I think, and just wanted to be the people on telly telling these wonderful stories. Obviously the idea grew and matured with me but I can't ever remember wanting to do anything else."

3. David was so crazy about Doctor Who as a child that he had a Tom Baker doll, made his gran knit him a multi-coloured scarf and once wrote a school essay declaring that he would one day play the role.

4. David is a huge fan of Madonna. The first single he bought was 'Like A Virgin' and he credits the Queen of pop with kick-starting his sexual awakening at the age of 13. Oo-er!

5. (Not confirmed!) David took his pseudonym from Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant after finding that another actor shared his real name. He explains: "I was on the bus looking through Smash Hits and I saw Neil Tennant. I thought it would be a good name as it's got a good number of consonants in it." Well, it's as sensible a reason as any! (Sorry! My theory may have been wrong - not sure!)

6. David once lodged with Arabella Weir from The Fast Show and is godfather to her youngest child. He says of the experience: "She probably corrupted me, but I probably needed corrupting a little bit."

7. David received such a scathing review playing King Arthur on stage in only his second job that it made him weep. The critic wrote: "The cast of 18 are uniformly excellent with the exception of David Tennant, who lacks any charm or ability whatsoever." No doubt that nasty man is eating his words now.

8. David counts McDonald's restaurants, astrology, Cliff Richard and the Conservative party among his biggest dislikes. On the other hand, he adores Honeynut Shredded Wheat, Alfred Hitchcock, The West Wing and The Proclaimers.

9. David has auditioned no fewer than six times for a part in Scottish detective drama Taggart, with no success. Maybe it's worth giving it one more shot, Dave!

10. David held 'passing wind' contests with John Barrowman on the Doctor Who set. After finding out that Freema Agyeman was less than keen on the practice, they began "saving them up" and waiting until she walked past to "thunder one out". Charming!

There's your ten facts!

David Tennant quits Doctor Who. I'm depressed.

David Tennant sensationally announced that he was quitting Doctor Who at the end of filming the current specials here in Cardiff.

Tennant made this shock announcement as he was given Actor of the Year Award a the National Television Awards on Wednesday evening, during which Doctor Who got the award for best TV Drama - for the fourth year running.

By far the best Doctor Who ever, the Scottish actor who plays the tenth Time Lord confirmed that he was to remain in place for all of the four specials, to be aired at Christmas, and thru'out 2009. Tennant, who addressed the awards ceremony during the interval at his stage show, where he is playing in Hamlet, then dramatically announced he'd not be appearing in the fifth series.

Tennant was reputedly offered £3 million ($4.5 million) to play the Time Lord for two more series, yet he disappointed millions of adoring fans, including myself, using that age old cherry - that he felt it was time to move on, and that he didn't want to end up "being wheeled out of the Tardis in his carpet slippers". Maybe it's just greed - with gargantuan offers allegedly having been made for lucrative projects in the US.

But, who'll be holding the Tardis keys in 2010?

Cold Feet star James Nesbitt has often been mentioned as the actor in the frame to become the 11th timelord, but bookmakers Paddy Power favour Paterson Joseph as the favourite to take over the role, offering odds of 3-1 on him becoming the first black doctor. He is so wrong for the role. Unlike Tennant, there's no humor, no sex appeal, no mystery - just a steely stereotype of.. himself.

Nesbitt appeared in two earlier episodes of the show playing Roderick alongside previous doctor, Christopher Eccleston.

Joseph, 44, trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and is probably most familiar to television viewers as Mark Grace in Casualty, and he also starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Hollywood film The Beach. Talent? Yes. Sex appeal? For me, not really.

Life on Mars star John Simm and his co-star David Morrisey (who looks like a jacket potato) in political drama State of Play are also given odds of 8-1 and 5-1 respectively to pick up the keys to the Tardis. He'd be a disaster - and for me at least, a total turn-off.

All of these, with the exception perhaps of the enigmatic John Simm (who previously played the Master) are dull and uninspiring. More shocking - and for me, a killer, is the rumor that the BBC Wales' producers are even considering a woman for the role. No issues with women - but definitely NOT as Doctor Who!

Watch this space - I have my ear to the ground!

Disappointed - and a depressing time in my life has now become unbearable. I really, really really do need a new life.

Chris@Torchwood, CF

Powerizers rock!

Great day down Cardiff Bay. Was totally fascinated by a load of guys leaping around - seemingly 6 to 12 feet into the air on these strange, kangaroo-leg devices called 'Powerizers'.

These are clearly awesome, must-have devices, though I'm told they're hard to impossible to learn to use. Kneepads clearly essential - the prospect of landing on knees at full force from these heights makes the happiest of faces grimmace.

Still, at about £200, Powerizers seem like real fun, and Cardiff Bay, with its many promenades, piers & boardwalks, plus ample stappage is the ideal place to own & use them!

Other highlights: A visit to Cadwaladr's Ice Cream parlor - with a delicious vanilla, chocolate, mint chip & crunchy caramel ice cream (massive, ant total, unmitigated greed) and a group of 60+ year old women singing "nice & easy" songs on the Tesco's Stage at the Millennium Center. Unforgettable! (Who were they?)

Settled down to TV now... The Real ER on DMAX... What a way to end the day!

Chris@TW in Cardiff