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Posted: |
Jul 31, 2010 - 1:42 PM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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Details are available for Relics of Time, the first episode of the new Tom Baker audio series Demon Quest.
The BBC Audiobook production comes in five parts and is a sequel to Hornet's News released last year. Tom Baker reprises the role of the Fourth Doctor and is joined once more by Richard Franklin and Susan Jameson, reprising their roles as Mike Yates and Mrs. Wibbsey respectively.
The Doctor returns to Nest Cottage but lands in trouble when a key component from the TARDIS disappears. Mrs. Wibbsey is inadvertently responsible, but all she can offer in recompense is a bag containing four curious objects. It seems that each one is a clue, and the beginning of a chase through Time. In ancient Sussex they are apprehended by primitive tribesfolk, and mistaken for wizards. Can the revered goddess Wibbsentia get them out of hot water? Who is the fearful wizard in the neighbouring village, and why is the countryside littered with bodies? The Doctor and Mrs Wibbsey are about to discover that all is not right with history.
The series also features Nigel Anthony as the Wizard and Rupert Holliday Evans and Kate Sachs as the Warriors with Steven Pacey, Jan Francis, Richard Coyle, Finty Williams and Rowena Cooper.
The series is written by Paul Magrs and the first part is released in the UK on 2nd September and in the US on November 16.
http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2010/07/demon-quest-1-relics-of-time-details.html
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Posted: |
Aug 17, 2010 - 12:31 PM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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I guess he'll be off Tom Baker's Christmas card list. LOL
This is nothing new though. It's been discussed over the years.
Avid followers of actor Matthew Waterhouse (hello?) may have read in Doctor Who Magazine (ah, there you all are!) that the former TARDIS member has released a book entitled Blue Box Boy, in which he recalls his time playing Adric in Doctor Who with Tom Baker and Peter Davison as the fourth and fifth Doctors, respectively.
And as with all revealing books, Matthew has also dished some dirt on his fellow actors; notably he talks of Tom’s final days on the show and what he was like to work with. Apparently one early encounter with Baker didn’t turn out quite the way he expected:
“Suddenly [he] turned to me and barked, ‘why don’t you piss off?’…I was baffled and upset and determined that things would be better by tomorrow.”
Matthew also comments on how Baker’s drinking (in his eyes) affected him on set:
“By five, there were big oval sweat rings under the arms of tom’s thin, white shirt… oddly, the temperamental and nightmarish he had been that day the larger the rings of sweat, as if his own dreadfulness had made him perspire – a weirdly appealing failing.”
According to the Waterhouse, no one was free from Baker’s wrath. Scriptwriters and even Lalla Ward were given grillings from the jelly baby-toting bohemian. However, as bad as Tom could be to his co stars, he always valued the children above all:
“Tom once told me a story about throwing up in a car park. Halfway through, a little boy came up to him and said “Are you Doctor Who?” “Hang on a moment,” said Tom. He then pulled, from the inside pocket of his rain-splashed raincoat, a photograph of himself which he inscribed for the child, who walked away blissfully happy.”
Whilst for some younger readers who have only just got into Doctor Who in the last five years this may be new information, Baker himself has already gone on record many years ago admitting that by the end of his run as the Fourth Doctor, he was incredibly difficult to work with.
It seems that Tom didn’t (and still doesn’t) suffer fools gladly and is happy to speak his mind. How much of this is down to his attitude and how much is caused by the attitudes of the others around him is a matter of debate but for all the joy he’s brought children and adults alike, I think we can let him off for some of it.
You can read the full article at www.dailymail.co.uk; Blue Box Boy is available to buy now – just £11.99 from Amazon
http://www.kasterborous.com/2010/08/16/adric-vs-the-fourth-doctor/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1303118/As-drunk-Time-Lord-How-Doctor-Who-Doctor-Booze-young-star.html
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Posted: |
Sep 4, 2010 - 10:53 AM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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Doctor Who - 'Story #111: Meglos' Revealed as the First DVD of 2011 for North America
Here's a special Saturday news post, and on a Labor Day holiday weekend to boot! What could make me do that (and before sunrise, even)? Why, nothing less than the level of the Doctor, a personal favorite of mine! A few days ago I passed along news from the @ClassicDW account on Twitter about what extras will be included on the long-awaited Doctor Who - The 1996 Movie DVD in North America, which is expected to come out sometime during the next 12-month period. But in it I mentioned how that day the 2|Entertain folks who run that account had also tweeted this intriguing hint: "Interesting developments regarding first R1 release of 2011. Hope to update within the next few days. "
This morning, roughly an hour ago, they came through with a follow-up tweet there, which says they have the "Exclusive reveal of first 2011 US title". That title turns out to be Doctor Who - Story #111: Meglos, a 4th Doctor adventure originally broadcast in the fall of 1980. It stars Tom Baker, Lalla Ward as "Romana", John Leeson as the voice of "K-9", and also featured Bill Fraser as "General Grugger" and Jacqueline Hill as "Lexa". Hill, as you surely know, was the actress who also played the 1st Doctor's companion, "Barbara Wright" (she spoke the very first words of the first episode, "An Unearthly Child"). This guest role is unrelated to her original role, but it's very welcome to see her back in the program for this story arc.
This 4-part serial runs approximately 87 minutes, and will be available in the U.K. just a few days after Christmas of this year, before hitting North America in early 2011. The specific USA/Canada release date was not revealed with this morning's story, but early cover art (subject to possible change) was posted at the Blogtor Who website; we've got that for you below (be sure to visit them for their take on this, and for other Doctor Who insights). Bonus material has not been finalized yet either, so stay tuned for that, along with pricing. Our thanks to the folks at @ClassDW for the pleasant holiday weekend surprise!
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Doctor-Meglos/14367
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Posted: |
Jan 12, 2011 - 6:44 AM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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Tom Baker has called fellow Doctor Who actor Jon Pertwee "an insufferable know-all".
Baker, who took over the role of the Time Lord from Pertwee in 1974, also said that the late star was obsessed with paychecks, reports The Mirror.
"Jon Pertwee was an insufferable know-all," he told Doctor Who Magazine. "Jon found it physically impossible to buy a drink."
Baker went on to joke: "He liked the idea of big sums of money for voiceovers, so I would say in Jon's earshot that someone had offered me £15,000 for a voiceover, but I turned it down because it was going to take a whole hour.
"This wasn't true, but I could hear Jon's heart pounding. In fact, he died of a heart attack shortly after that. I think that's why."
Pertwee died in 1996 at the age of 76.
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/s7/doctor-who/news/a297380/tom-baker-blasts-insufferable-who-actor.html
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Posted: |
Jan 20, 2011 - 6:54 AM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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Review of Meglos.
Meglos, despite some of its negative points, is, in essence, a Doctor Who story that was before its time. It is a story that, at its heart, deals with the struggle between religion and science.
As a viewer, you can't help feeling a struggle off-screen as well. You almost feel the tug of war between the writers, the script editor and the director, as they fight it out to gain their own narrative. And what we're left with, through sheer luck, is a melding of the three, that essentially benefits the story in a way that no single party could have done on their own.
Once you get past the dodgy wigs, and the tiresome time loop scenes, there are many elements that make this a rather enjoyable story.
Tom Baker, nearing the end of his tenure as The Doctor, puts in a sterling performance as Meglos, not to mention the welcome return of Jacqueline Hill as Lexa who bookends her Doctor Who career here.
Then there is the truly fantastic make-up which makes the characterisation of Meglos even more villainous and believable. There are also some great FX shots in the story, combined with highly detailed models, that work together using the new Scene Sync technology - yet another example of the story being ahead of its time.
The DVD is rounded off with some excellent features that compliment the story.
The 'Commentary' features Lalla Ward (Romana II), John Flanagan (Writer), Christopher Owen (Earthling / Meglos) and Paddy Kingsland (Composer). John and Lalla seem to take turns guiding, but understandably, Christopher Owen tends to get lost in the background, and doesn't really seem to contribute much until the final episode. Peter Howell (Composer) joins the commentary for Episode Three and offers an insight into some of his cues, as well as providing a refreshing critique to his own work. All in all, a fairly run of the mill commentary, that could have really benefited from Tom Baker's presence.
'Meglos Men' is an 18-minute documentary that follows Writers; Andy McCulloch and John Flanagan as they retrace their steps into the past, into the genesis of Meglos. Checking out their old haunts, through to a modern-day meeting with Script Editor; Christopher H. Bidmead.
It's a fantastic little feature that is written, produced and directed by the fabulous Chris Chapman, who has risen the calibre of Doctor Who DVD documentaries to a whole new level.
'The Scene Sync Story' looks at how the pitfalls and limitations of Chroma Key gave way to research into the newly discovered Scene Sync technology - a process that ties two cameras together to pan in unison.
The eye-opening documentary shows us how Meglos was a test run for the process, which has evolved and can now be seen in many modern day film and television productions. The feature includes Interviews with Peter Leverick and Roger Bunce (Cameramen) and Stephen Drewett (Visual Effects Designer).
'Jacqueline Hill: A Life in Pictures' looks at the life of Doctor Who Actress, Jacqueline Hill (Barbara, Lexa). It's a wonderful tribute to the woman whom we all know from Doctor Who, but paints the wider, and to most of us, unknown picture of her life through to her untimely death. It was surprising to learn that Jacqueline was responsible for Sean Connery getting his first leading role, thanks to a suggestion to her Director husband, Alvin Rakoff. The feature includes interviews with William Russell (Actor), Verity Lambert (Producer), Alvin Rakoff (Director / Husband) and Ann Davies (Friend / Actress).
'Entropy Explained' is presented by Dr. Phillip Trowoga from the University of Westminster, and takes a scientific look at the running theme through Season 18 of Doctor Who - Entropy; the measure of disorder of a system. Picking through the laws of thermodynamics, it breaks down the technical speech into easy to understand explanations and situations.
The 'Coming Soon Trailer' features The Mutants, and isn't as well put together as previous trailers, too many fast cuts and no real energy behind the trailer music leads to it failing to really sell the story.
As with previous releases, there are the usual 'Radio Times Billings', 'Photo Gallery' and 'Production Information Subtitles', as well as an 'Easter Egg' that gives us a clean version of the final Fourth Doctor title sequence.
The extra content that we have here, is certainly of a high quality, but going on past form, it does feel a little feature-light. It was surprising to find no feature on the stunning make-up that gave this story such a visual impact, and Tom Baker's involvement, apart from the story itself is non-existent - despite being a Baker-heavy serial.
It is most definitely worth its retail price, with both 'Meglos Men' and 'Jacqueline Hill: A Life in Pictures' taking the main stage.
http://news.drwho-online.co.uk/Review-Meglos-DVD.aspx
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Posted: |
Jul 19, 2011 - 6:54 AM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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The Australian Sci Fi Channel is to air Doctor Who episodes from the Tom Baker era, starting with his first story, Robot on 17 August.
In 1974 an unknown actor called Tom Baker was cast in the lead role of Doctor Who, and turned an already popular show into a phenomenon. For a generation, the Fourth Doctor is the definite article– warm, witty, clever and sometimes very strange indeed. Clad in his trademark overlong scarf and with a bag of jelly babies to hand, he strode confidently through some of the show’s most memorable adventures. Over seven exciting years this Doctor met old adversaries - like the Daleks, Cybermen and Sontarans –with some help from much-loved friends like Sarah Jane Smith, Leela, Romana and the faithful K-9.
If you’re a fan of the incredible new series of Doctor Who, then this is a great chance to check out where the legend began. If you saw it back in the day then you won’t need reminding what awesome fun it was to go travelling with the Fourth Doctor every weeknight. Get on board the TARDIS and have yourself some all-time classic adventures in time and space with Doctor Who: The Tom Baker Years – only on SCI FI!
Schedule for Robot
Wednesday, August 17
06:30-06:55 - Episode 1
06:55-07:20 - Episode 2
Thursday, August 18
06:30-06:55 - Episode 3
06:55-07:20 - Episode 4
(times are shown in AEST)
A full schedule for the rest of Season 12, including repeats can be found here
http://www.scifitv.com.au/Shows/DoctorWho/Episodes/
http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2011/07/dwn170711041016-tom-baker-years-on-sci.html
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Posted: |
Jul 19, 2011 - 8:42 AM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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Review of The Sunmakers DVD release.
The Doctor (Tom Baker) lands the ever unreliable TARDIS on Pluto, a dwarf planet on the outermost reaches of our solar system, where he finds it isn't the cold, barren, lifeless rock he was expecting. Someone's been very busy; Pluto now has a breathable atmosphere, it's warm and very humid, and has six suns. It also has an overly efficient taxation system, oppressed work units who live underground, and public executions. Can the Time Lord, Leela (Louise Jameson), and a small robot dog free the people and bring down the sinister Collector and his Internal Retinue? This single disc release from the BBC and 2|Entertain will let you find out... all praise the Company!
The Sun Makers is an enjoyably daft romp; a satire on taxation and bureaucracy. Two characters steal the show from start to finish; Leela, as played by fan favourite Louise Jameson, and Henry Woolf's delightfully odious and fiscally-obsessed Collector. Leela has all the best heroic lines - including a beautifully withering put-down of the less than brave rebels - and The Collector has all the best villainous lines, backed up with a characterisation that's hard not to warm to. It's all small fry by Whoniverse standards, and isn't an especially memorable story for plot reasons, but it's diverting and fun. The K-9 prop is so noisy it's untrue, the TARDIS door doesn't want to lock, and The Doctor no longer knows what a jelly baby looks like.
Annoyingly, the DVD is let down by a lack of decent extras, with only a few things holding the interest for any length of time; mostly because the rest of the extras are very, very short.
Commentary - This time, the commentary boasts both main cast members sitting in as both Tom Baker and Louise Jameson join Michael Keating and The Sun Makers director Pennant Roberts to talk about the story, the production and life during and after Doctor Who. Tom is always great fun to listen to, and teamed up with Louise again, the commentary provided is both entertaining and informative.
Running From The Tax Man - Louise Jameson is one of those people you instantly adore. She's very gentle and calm, witty and warm. She's also honest - but in a nice way that doesn't tread on people's toes. She's easily the best reason to watch this retrospective of The Sun Makers, and she reveals why this story above any other is her particular favourite. Also in the mini-documentary discussing the story are Michael Keating, (best known as "Vila" from "Blake's 7"), director Pennant Roberts, and an astronomer and a historian have been drafted in as well, partially to explain about Pluto and it's new status as a dwarf planet rather than a planet. It's an odd extra as it seems to repeat the same information several times, especially when it comes to the astronomy parts; but it's entertaining enough for that.
Outtakes - Citizen Cordo's gun fails to go off twice...No, really, that's it. Hardly an interesting or justifiable extra in itself, but would have been better used hidden away as an Easter Egg on the DVD, perhaps.
Trailer - The original BBC1 trailer for The Sun Makers. Again, nothing else, just the one trailer.
The Doctor's Composer: Part Two - The second and final part of the series on one of Doctor Who's most prolific composers, the fantastic Dudley Simpson. This segment concentrates on his Doctor Who work from the seventies with the man himself talking us through much of his work and utilising many examples of his famous compositions through a wealth of clips. It's a delight to watch, as you try and figure out which music came from what story. A nice piece, with a genuine affection for one of Doctor Who's often unsung but most deserving behind the scenes heroes. This brilliant featurette gives a warm nostalgic glow and it's hard not to be drawn down memory lane for an enjoyably exciting jaunt.
Coming Soon Trailer - This one will blow your socks off. The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and his assistant Jo Grant (Katy Manning) team up with UNIT to help save a peace conference being hosted by Sir Reginald Styles. However, those tinpot terrors The Daleks have other ideas... With new Dalek voices, and a wealth of new special effects and CGI, the Day of the Daleks Special Edition is out in September.
With the usual Photo Gallery of production and publicity stills, the Radio Times Listings in PDF format, and Subtitles available for those who might need them, and the usual information text on hand with trivia and viewing figures, The Sun Makers is a worthy enough story, rather badly supported by the extras available on the disc, and it all feels a bit empty as a result.
http://news.drwho-online.co.uk/Review-The-Sun-Makers-DVD.aspx
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The Sci-Fi channel in Australia is celebrating the return of the Fourth Doctor to the nation's TV screens with a series of free (catered) Doctor Who TweetUp events around the country.
The free events are taking place in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide on August 17th. Space is limited and entry is on a first come basis.
More details can be found at twtvite.com/DoctorWhoTweetUpAU
To tie in with with the launch of Doctor Who on the channel, Sci-Fi is also launching Clustr, the nation's first branded TV check-in, social networking-enabled smart phone application. Clustr is a forum for viewers to chat in real-time by checking-in to SCI FI programs such as Doctor Who, Lost Girl and many more series, nation-wide. Clustr's functionality allows users to keep track of their favourite series and/or episodes, connect, share and compete with their friends for VIP status, discover badges, and read episode reviews.
Peter Hudson, CEO of SCI FI Channel says
SCI FI wants to reach our viewers with something that is one-of-a-kind, innovative and useful. The Clustr app is a lot of fun but it's also a wonderful way for us to bring our passionate community of viewers together on one platform.
Clustr will be available for free download on Android and iPhones in August.
The SCI FI Channel can be found on n FOXTEL and AUSTAR.
http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2011/08/dwn040811220312-doctor-who-tweet-up.html
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In the little bits I've seen her, I wonder though if Billie Piper challenges for greatest companion ever. Anyone?
Actually, I - LOVED - Rose. Loved her. When she and The Doctor were separated in her final episode, it sucked. When she finally told him she loved him, I was crying like an idiot. He was so bummed over losing her, you knew it was the first time he really let himself get attached to a companion on that level. When Martha came in, I liked her well enough, but when they started hinting that she was attracted to the Doc, I was a little annoyed. Doing it once with Rose was fine, and it made her special. If this was going to happen each time, then it was just stupid.
My only real complaint with Rose was her annoying entourage. Mickey and Jackie were just grating. Plus they really played up the Cockney a bit too much. It's like SUPER British where the classic series didn't feel that way. With all the rapid fire Cockney Banter, I frequently had to watch with the subtitles on. A good Rose Tyler Drinking Game would be taking a shot every time she shouts "Oi!"
David Tennant grew on me, but he was very over the top. He also solves problems a bit too easily with that damned screwdriver. However, I do enjoy his anger and how he needs to have a companion to stop him from going over the edge. I'm about three years behind on my Doctor, but am catching up quickly. I'm looking forward to Matt Smith's interpretation.
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