Doctor Who Vs. The ABC Murders

This thriller (another Agatha Christie Ltd. and Mammoth Screen collaboration) is
the latest adaptation from Sarah Phelps, and is based on The A.B.C. Murders, widely regarded as one of
Christie's best mysteries. Published in 1936, the form of the novel is notable for combining first-person and third-person narratives,
previously employed in
The Man in the Brown 
Suit. Captain Arthur Hastings acts as narrator
of the story, but Poirot's friend is absent from this new reworking.
Mike Holgate's book,
Stranger Than Fiction, claimed that the Queen of Crime was inspired by the infamous White-
chapel Murders of 1888.
The whodunit was first adapted in 1965 as The Alphabet Murders, followed
by LWT's version for the popular Poirot series (in 1992), then a BBC radio dramatisation in 2008.
Here, Hercules Poirot (now portrayed by Illinois-born actor John Malkovich) hunts ABC, a serial  killer who dispatches his victims in alphabetical order.
The period drama (shown over three consecutive nights from Boxing Day)  concluded on BBC1 last night and featured Rupert Grint (as Inspector
Crome), Andrew Buchan, Tara Fitzgerald, Gregor Fisher, and fourteen
Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Kevin McNally (Inspector Japp here; Somerset in The Blue Geranium) was Hugo Lang in The Twin Dilemma, and voiced Henry for Big Finish's The Death Collectors (2008)
• Shirley Henderson (Rose here; Honoria in Murder is Easy; Agatha in See How They Run) was Ursula Blake in Love & Monsters
• Christopher Villiers (Carmichael here; Restarick in They Do It With Mirrors) was Hugh Fitzwilliam in The King's Demons, Professor Moorhouse in Mummy on the Orient Express, and voiced Cacothis for Absolution (2007)
• Tamzin Griffin (Alice) voiced Negotiator Vresha for Dreamtime (2005)
• Lizzie McInnerny (Jenny here; Nurse & Miranda in The Million Dollar Bond Robbery) voiced Harriet Quilp for The Yes Men (2015)
• Anya Chalotra (Lily) voiced Ensign Murti for The Time War 2 (2018)
• Karen Westwood (Mrs. Kirkham) was Tabetha in The Big Bang
• Suzanne Packer (Capstick) was Eve Cicero in The Tsuranga Conundrum
• Jonathan Keeble (Newsreader) voiced Clegg for The Revolution Game (2019)
• Alexander Kirk (Weddle) was an Orderly in P.R.O.B.E. The Zero Imperative, Colonel Ackroyd in P.R.O.B.E. Unnatural Selection, and Hopkins in Global Conspiracy?
• Adam Darlington (Passenger) was a Passerby in Arachnids in the UK
• Sarah Davies was also first assistant director on thirty-six stories (from Love & Monsters to Series 11) and The Sarah Jane Adventures, following work as production runner on four other episodes
• George Atkins was also ADR mixer on The Time of the Doctor, Flatline and Empress of Mars
• hair/make-up assistant Andrew Whiteoak was a Millennium FX technician on World Enough and Time and The Doctor Falls

Doctor Who Vs. Some People

Produced by Vic Films, this low-
budget musical tale of teenage
rebellion (a contemporary
obsession) was filmed and set
in Bristol.

Released by Anglo Amalgamated
in 1962, the film premiered on
the Talking Pictures TV channel
 last night, and featured Anneke 
Wills, Kenneth More, David
Hemmings, Harry H Corbett,
and eight future Doctor Who
cast and crew connections:

• Ray Brooks (Johnnie) played David in Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD, and voiced the titular renegade for Big Finish's The Trouble With Drax (2016) - he was offered the role of Orcini in Revelation of the Daleks in November 1984, but William Gaunt was cast
• Angela Douglas (Terry) was Doris Lethbridge-Stewart in Battlefield
• Richard Davies (Harper) was Burton in Delta and the Bannermen
• Fred Ferris (Clerk) was Bert Rowse in Planet of Giants: Crisis
• Cyril Luckham (Magistrate) was the White Guardian from The Ribos Operation to Enlightenment
• Geoff Glover was focus puller on the sequel to Dr. Who and the Daleks too
• John Wilcox was also cinematographer on both Dalek films
• prolific Australian composer Ron Grainer's iconic theme tune was realised by Delia Derbyshire and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop

Doctor Who Vs. Strangers

Produced by Two Brothers
Pictures, ITV's latest crime
drama concluded last night.
Originally titled White Dragon,
the series was mainly filmed in
its Hong Kong setting.

The thriller debuted on the ITV
Hub on September 6, then
began an eight-week run four
 days later - it featured John 
Simm (as Jonah), Anthony
Wong, Emilia Fox, Katie
Leung, and twelve Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Dervla Kirwan (Megan) was Miss Hartigan in The Next Doctor
• Kae Alexander (Becky) voiced Waywalker for Big Finish's The Memory Bank and Other Stories (2018)
• Tim McInnerny (Bach) was Halpen in Planet of the Ood, and voiced Admiral Dolne for The Well-Mannered War (2015)
• Raquel Cassidy (Racel) was Miranda Cleaves in The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People, and voiced Mesca for The Judgement of Isskar (2009), Inquisa for Paradoxicide, Destiny Gray for Recorded Time: Question Marks (both 2011), Dr. Alison Foster for Destination: Nerva (2012), and Guinevere Godiva for Jago & Litefoot 5 (2013)
• Andrew Knott (Conrad) voiced James O'Meara for 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men (2013), and Sean Casey for Dark Eyes 2: The White Room (2014)
• Tina Simmons (Mother) made her TV debut as an Inferno Customer in (episode 1 of) The War Machines
• Liana Del Giudice was also film editor on The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances, The Christmas Invasion, New Earth, School Reunion and The Day of the Doctor
• property master Garry Dawson worked on stand-by props for Cold War, The Crimson Horror and The Sarah Jane Adventures pilot episode
• Nick Murray was also art director on Thin Ice and Knock Knock
• Sophie Powell was graphic designer on Last Christmas too
• ADR mixer Robert Searl was recordist on Twice Upon a Time
• Charlie Bluett was also prosthetics technician on forty-eight stories (from Rose to The Husbands of River Song), Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures and Class

Doctor Who Vs. Press

Produced by Lookout Point for BBC1, this drama
 (conceived and scripted by prolific dramatist
Mike Bartlett) is set in two warring news-
rooms in the British newspaper industry.
Charlotte Riley played Holly Evans, deputy news
editor at The Herald, whilst Ben Chaplin was
Duncan Allen, editor of tabloid The Post. The
rival papers, neighbours in the same London
square, are ethically chalk and cheese, but
both chase the same scoop, a MI5 whistle-
blower.
The six-part series concluded last night, and
featured Al Weaver, and sixteen Doctor Who 
cast and crew connections:

• Shane Zaza (Kane) was Prem in Demons of the Punjab
• David Suchet (Emmerson) was the Landlord in Knock Knock
• Dominic Rowan (West) voiced Corwyn for Big Finish's The Burning Prince (2012)
• David Schofield (Cartwright) voiced Billy for Death in Blackpool (2009), and Nostradamus for The Doomsday Quatrain (2011), then appeared in The Girl Who Died as Odin
• Tom Bell (Brooks) voiced Fakrid/Jinka for The Highest Science (2014), Arran/Shift for The Age of Endurance (2016), and Brian Sherborne for Intelligence for War (2023)
• Elliot Levey (PM Harper) voiced Gobernar and Blank for Vampire of the Mind (2016), and Colonel Marsden for Red Planets (2018)
• Pandora Clifford (Anna) voiced Zeeb and Zeet for Wicked Sisters (2020)
• Thalissa Teixeira (Angie) voiced Dr. Lenni Fisk for Into the Stars (2022), and Jenel Kilum'bu/Saggy for Defender of the Earth (2023)
• Dan Li (Lawyer) was Alexis in The Bells of Saint John
• Bern Callaco (Journalist) was an Operator in The Return of Doctor Mysterio, and Soldier in Thin Ice
• Lorna Brown (Carla) voiced Veega for Gallifrey: Time War 3 (2020)
• Tina Simmons (Director) made her TV debut as an Inferno Customer in (episode 1 of) The War Machines
• stunt co-ordinator Nick Gillard was the stunt arranger on Silver Nemesis (2)
• Faith Penhale was co-executive producer on The Day of the Doctor too
• Sean Clayton was also the second assistant director on Dalek and Father's Day
• Toby Wood was a music engineer on An Adventure in Space and Time too

Doctor Who Vs. Mayday

Produced by Kudos for BBC One,
this thriller was first broadcast over
five consecutive nights in March
2013.
Scripted by Whitechapel writers Ben
Court and Caroline Ip, the drama
told the story of murdered schoolgirl
Hattie Sutton, who disappeared on
her way to join her village's
May Day celebration as the May Queen. 

The cast featured Peter Firth, Aiden
Gillen, and thirteen Doctor Who 
cast and crew connections:

• Sophie Okonedo (Fiona) voiced Alison Cheney for Scream of the Shalka, then played Queen Liz 10 in The Beast Below and The Pandorica Opens
• Lesley Manville (Gail) depicted Heather Hartnell in An Adventure in Space and Time
• Adrian Rawlins (DS Mills) was Dr. Ryder in Planet of the Ood
• David Fynn (Spicer) was Marcellus in The Pandorica Opens
• Kerry Godliman (Amelia) voiced Karen for The Eight Truths and Worldwide Web (2009)
• Caroline Berry (Jo) was a Dinner Lady in School Reunion
• Frances Ashman (Teacher) was Christine in The Big Bang
• Edmund Kente (Ken) was Mr. Scoones in The Next Doctor
• Big Finish actor Tim Treloar (Searcher) voiced Lord Jack Corrigan for Destination: Nerva, Tyron for The Burning Prince, The Ancient One for Gods and Monsters, Van Cleef for Return of the Rocket Men, the Lord President for Dark Eyes (all 2012), the Third Doctor for The Light at the End (2013) and The Legacy of Time (2019), Telephus and Cisyphus for Mask of Tragedy (2014), Ergu for The Exxilons, and Narrator for The Third Doctor Adventures (from 2015), Damascus (2016) and Gardeners' World (2017)
• costume designer Lucinda Wright and her assistant Joanne Hayes both worked in those posts on all thirteen episodes of Series 1
• Karl Probert was also art director on The Doctor's Wife, Night Terrors and The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe
• Andy Piers Morris was the safety free-diver on The Vampires of Venice too
• David Barrett was also film editor on The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood

Doctor Who Vs. The Final Cut

The final serial in BBC1's Francis Urquhart trilogy followed House 
of Cards (1990) and To Play The King (1993), and again starred 
Ian Richardson as the scheming 
Conservative Prime Minister in 
his last, turbulent years in power. 
The drama generated much 
controversy by opening with 
Margaret Thatcher's funeral.
This four-part political thriller, 
based on Michael Dobbs' novel, 
originally aired in late 1995,
and featured seventeen Doctor 
Who cast and crew connections:

• Big Finish actor Nickolas Grace (Pitt) made a brief TV appearance as Albert Einstein in Death is the Only Answer, and voiced Loozly for Bang-Bang-A-Boom! (2002), Straxus for Human Resources (2007), Sisters of the Flame (2007) and The Vengeance of Morbius (both 2008), Balancer and Viktor Skaarsgard for Equilibrium (2015), Goole for Gallery of Ghouls (2016), Professor Grove for Shadow Planet/ World Apart, and Chevalier D'Eon for The Sword of the Chevalier (both 2017)
• Paul Freeman (Makepeace, pictured right) voiced Jalnik for The Foe from the Future (2012)
• Isla Blair (Claire) was Lady Isabella Fitzwilliam in The King's Demons, and voiced Paula for Exotron (2007)
• John Rowe (Watling) voiced Sir Isiah Hardy for Entanglement (2018)
• Miles Richardson (Jardine) was Captain Douglas Cavendish in Downtime and Daemos Rising, then voiced Charles Darwin for Bloodtide (2001), Irving Braxiatel for Zagreus (2003), Gallifrey 4 (2011), Gallifrey 6 (2013), Theatre of War (2015), Gallifrey: Enemy Lines (2016) and Gallifrey: Time War (2018), and Black Rod for The Gunpowder Plot
• Kevork Malikyan (Nurse) was Kemel Rudkin in The Wheel in Space
• Peter Symonds (Polecutt) was a Soldier in Terror of the Zygons
• David Ashford (Newsreader) was Dad in The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
• Derek Lea (Thug) was a stuntman on Dalek, Bad Wolf, The Parting of the Ways, The Age of Steel and Partners in Crime
• Trevor Steedman (Detective) was a Seabase Guard in Warriors of the Deep
• Joseph Long (President) was Rocco Colasanto in Turn Left
• for David Ryall (Bullerby), Nick Brimble (Corder), and crew members Ian Punter, Dave King, and Ken Ledsham see my blog for To Play The King
• associate producer Tony Redston production manager on The Mark of the Rani and Time and the Rani

Doctor Who Vs. Bodyguard

This political thriller from World Productions
 (now part of ITV Studios) was created and
scripted by Jed Mercurio, writer of Cardiac 
Arrest and Line of Duty.
When protection officer Sergeant David
Budd (portrayed by Richard Madden) is
assigned to guard the ambitious and
powerful Home Secretary Julia Montague
(Keely Hawes) he is torn between his duty
and his beliefs. The former soldier despises
everything she stands for but is responsible
for her safety.

The six-part series attracted an audience of
11 million as it concluded last night, the best
ratings for a BBC drama since The Next
 Doctor aired in 2008. Bodyguard featured
Gina McKee, and ten Doctor Who cast and
crew connections:

• Hawes played Ms. Delphox in Time Heist
• Stephanie Hyam (Chanel) was Heather in The Pilot and The Doctor Falls
• Vincent Franklin (Travis) voiced Lord Stormblood for Big Finish's Doom Coalition 2 (2016)
• Pippa Haywood (Craddock) voiced Jaxa for Ravenous 2, and Teremon for The War Master 2 (both 2018)
• Nina Toussaint White (Rayburn) was Mels in Let's Kill Hitler, and voiced Brooke 2 for The Diary of River Song 3, and Loba Christata for Tales From New Earth (both 2018)
• David Westhead (Vosler PM) was Kempe in The Shakespeare Code
• Anji Mohindra (Nadia) was Rani Chandra in The Sarah Jane Adventures, and voiced Jyoti Cutler for Scavenger (2014)
• Wendy Albiston (Receptionist) voiced Madame de Chevreuse for The Church and the Crown (2002)
• Tina Simmons (Nurse) began her career as an Inferno Customer in (episode 1 of) The War Machines
• Iain Atkinson was second assistant director on Flatline too

Doctor Who Vs. To Play The King

The first sequel to House of Cards, 

again starred Ian Richardson as 

scheming Francis Urquhart (now 

the Tory Prime Minister), and 

Michael Kitchen, who earned the

BAFTA Best Actor award for his 

role as the newly crowned British 

monarch. The Final Cut followed
in 1995.

Writer Andrew Davies again 

employed the old theatrical
convention of breaking the 

fourth wall, were Urquhart
occasionally addressed the
audience.

Again based on the works of
Michael Dobbs, this four-part  political drama was first screened in the autumn of 1993, and featured eighteen Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Big Finish actor Don Warrington (Gaunt) was the President of Great Britain in Rise of the Cybermen, and voiced Rassilon for Seasons of Fear, The Time of the Daleks, Neverland (all 2002), Zagreus (2003), Caerdroia, and The Next Life (both 2004)
• Nicholas Farrell (Mycroft) was Brian Green PM in Torchwood: Children of Earth, then voiced Gammades for Time Reef, Phil for A Perfect World (both 2008), and Captain Frank for Last of the Cybermen (2015)
• Frederick Treves (Quillington) was Brotadac in Meglos
• Pip Torrens (Harding) was Headmaster Rocastle in Human Nature and The Family of Blood, and voiced Charlie Gibbs for Eldrad Must Die! (2013)
• David Ryall (Bullerby) voiced Carthok and Valentine for Phantasmagoria (1999)
• George Raistrick (Gropeham) made his TV debut as a Guard in (episode 3 of) Day of the Daleks
• James Snell (DI Hackett) was Harry in The Daemons
• John Bleasdale (Journalist) was one of the titular The Robots of Death
• John Paul Connolly (Beggar) voiced William Russell and Russian Guard for The Angel of Scutari (2009)
• Julian Harries (Officer) voiced Governor Lawson for Bloodtide (2001)
• for director Paul Seed, Colin Jeavons (Stamper), Christopher Owen (McKenzie), Kenneth Gilbert (Earle), Nick Brimble (Corder), Nigel Taylor (associate producer), Ken Ledsham (production designer), Rosalind Ebbutt (costume designer), Ian Punter (cinematographer), and Barrie Tharby (recordist) see my blog for House of Cards
• film editor Dave King edited The Mutants too
• stunt arranger Terry Forrestal was a Driver in K9 and Company
• casting assistant Andy Pryor has worked as casting director on the revived run since 2005, then The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood

Doctor Who: More Series 11 News

So the long wait is almost over. We have just another month to go until the
debut of the first female Doctor, portrayed by Jodie Whittaker.

The BBC have finally revealed the start date for the historic, eleventh season
of the reworked run of Doctor Who. Chris Chibnall's latest TV assignment
 continues to court controversy - the ground-breaking revival will now air on Sunday nights. Since 2005, the programme has been shown in the traditional Saturday slot.

The new series will launch on October 7th with an hour-long adventure written by the showrunner, entitled The Woman Who Fell to Earth. The ten-part run will therefore conclude on Sunday December 9th, and will be followed by the show's fourteenth Christmas special.

Writers Malorie Blackman, Ed Hime, Pete McTighe, Vinay Patel and Joy 
Wilkinson have also contributed stories, whilst directors Jamie Childs, 
Sallie Aprahamian, Mark Tonderai, Jennifer Perrott and Wayne Yip 
were all assigned to Doctor Who. Segun Akinola replaced Murray Gold as
show composer.

Actors Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill play new companions
Graham O'Brien, Ryan Sinclair and Yasmin Khan respectively. Sharon D 
Clarke will also appear, and confirmed guest stars include Alan Cumming,
 Lee Mack and Shaun Dooley.

Doctor Who Vs. Bulletproof

Sky One's latest crime drama was created
by London-born actors Noel Clarke and
Ashley Walters, who also portrayed
detectives and best friends Aaron Bishop
and Ronnie Pike.
Produced by Vertigo Films and Company
Pictures, Bulletproof followed the
investigations of NCA officers, overseen
by Tanner (played by Lindsey Coulson).
Following his work on the remake of
The Sweeney, co-creator and writer Nick
Love was approached by Sky to work
here. The show was filmed on location
in Liverpool, which doubled for London.

The six-part series concluded last night
 (then was promptly recommissioned)
and featured sixteen other Doctor Who 
cast and crew connections:

• Walters was Gregor Van Baalen in Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS
• Christina Chong (Nell) was Lorna Bucket in A Good Man Goes to War
• Mandeep Dhillon (Kamal) was Shireen in Knock Knock
• Clarke Peters (Pike) voiced Night Eagle for Dreamland
• Richard Price (Officer) was Guest in both The Runaway Bride and The Lazarus Experiment, Passerby in Partners in Crime, Takran Soldier in The Doctor's Daughter, Cyberman in The Doctor Falls, and Shadow Kin in Class
• Mark Hugh Williams (Worker) was the Bus Driver in Series 11
• Matthew Stirling (Sasa) was stuntman on The Angels Take Manhattan and The Name of the Doctor
• Xavier Lake was stuntman on The Woman Who Fell to Earth too
• Des Hughes was also line producer on eight stories (from The Snowmen to The Time of the Doctor), and had a cameo in The Five(ish) Doctors
• Matthew Tabern also edited Smith and Jones, The Shakespeare Code, Human Nature and The Family of Blood
• Danny Hargreaves was also SFX (technician then) supervisor on fifty-five episodes (from The Girl in the Fireplace to Last Christmas) 
• Dave Kneath was also SFX technician on nine stories (from Into the Dalek to the 2015 festive special)
• Jade Poole was also SFX co-ordinator on seventeen adventures (from In the Forest of the Night to Knock Knock) and Class
• Russ Perkin was also SFX technician on eleven episodes (from The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe to The Husbands of River Song)
• Rob Garwood was also assistant editor on The Pilot, Smile and Class
• Gareth Hughes was also a camera operator on fourteen instalments (from Rose to Heaven Sent)

Doctor Who Vs. A Very English Scandal

BBC One's latest political drama
was based on the 2016 novel by
John Preston, and tells the true
story of the first British politician
to stand trial for murder.
Liberal MP and former party
leader Jeremy Thorpe (portrayed
here by Hugh Grant) was
accused of conspiring to kill his
alleged lover Norman Scott (Ben
Whishaw) in 1979. Thorpe (1929-
2014) was acquitted but his
political career was over.
During recent promotion for the
programme, writer Russell T
Davies revealed that he had
always intended to cast Grant
as the Doctor when Doctor Who was commissioned in 2003.
Produced by Blueprint Pictures, the three-part series featured Eve Myles,
Alex Jennings, and twenty-four other Doctor Who cast and crew alumni:

• Grant depicted the Doctor in The Curse of Fatal Death
• David Bamber (Lord Arran) was Captain Quell in Mummy on the Orient Express, and voiced Emperor Constantine for The Council of Nicaea (2005), and Colonel Ulrik and Whitmore for The Four Doctors (2010)
• Blake Harrison (Newton) voiced Lieutenant Daniel Hopkins for The Helliax Rift and Hour of the Cybermen (both 2018)
• Anthony O'Donnell (Abse) was Commander Kaagh in The Sarah Jane Smith Adventures: The Last Sontaran and Enemy of  the Bane
• Steffan Rhodri (DCS Challes) voiced Commander Korshal for Dreamtime (2005), Minister for Torchwood: Outbreak (2016), and Ted for The Silent Streets of Barry Island
• Adrian Scarborough (Carman) was Kahler Jex in A Town Called Mercy and The Making of the Gunslinger
• Jason Watkins (Hooson) was Webley in Nightmare in Silver, voiced the Legate of the Caliph for The Destroyer of Delights, and was the White Guardian for The Chaos Pool (both 2009)
• Lucy Briggs Owen (Sue) voiced Tina Andresson for The Havoc of Empires, Rejoice for The War Doctor 1: The Innocent (both 2015), Miranda for Maker of Demons (2016), Charlotte Mayfly for The Paternoster Gang: Heritage 1 (2019), and was cast in The Primeval Design (2021)
• Charlotte Lucas (Janet) voiced Bio Technician Valis and Echelon for Cobwebs (2010), and Duchess Miranda for Kingdom of Lies (2018)
• Paul Freeman (Cantley) voiced Jalnik for The Foe from the Future (2012)
• Tim Hudson (Lethaby) voiced the Tar-Modowk Leader for No More Lies (2007), then was Edward Lawn Bridges in The Giggle
• Andrew French (Sergeant-at-Arms) voiced Obingo for The Ghosts of Gralstead (2014), Beltempest for Original Sin, Muren for The Eternity Cage (both 2016), the Racnoss Consort for Empire of the Racnoss (2017), and Veritas for Morbius 1 (2024)
• Susan Wooldridge (Countess) auditioned for the role of Leela in 1976
• Morgan Watkins (Steele) voiced Ruck for The Dispossessed (2018)
• Zina Badran (Clerk) was the Morpheus Presenter in Sleep No More, then voiced Charlana for Ace and Tegan (2025)
• Daniel Weyman TV (Reporter) voiced Ragan Crezzen for The Butcher of Brisbane (2012)
• Nigel Hastings (Stable Owner) was the Commander in The Pyramid at the End of the World
• Nick Malinowski (Officer) was Eric in A Christmas Carol
• Tim Chipping (Guard) voiced Grigory [Rasputin] and the Dahensa for The Wanderer (2012), and Constable Wolsey and Mandrake for The Widow's Assassin (2014)
• Pablo Raybould (Auctioneer) was an Aide in Daleks in Manhattan
• Richard Price (Party Member) was Guest in The Runaway Bride and The Lazarus Experiment, Passerby in Partners in Crime, Takran Soldier in The Doctor's Daughter, Cyberman in The Doctor Falls and Shadow Kin in Class
• stunt co-ordinator Paul Kennington was stuntman on Rise of the Cybermen, The Age of Steel, Army of Ghosts, Doomsday and The Doctor's Daughter
• Murray Gold was composer on the revived run (from 2005 to last year) too
• Suzanne Cave was costume designer on An Adventure in Space and Time too

Doctor Who Vs. From Hell

The most recent cinematic depiction of
the Whitechapel Murders of 1888 was
this big-budget Hollywood thriller, 
directed by the Hughes brothers, and
released by Fox in 2001.

Based on the graphic novel series of the
same name by Alan Moore and Eddie
Campbell (originally published in Taboo
from 1989 to 1992, then issued in a
collected edition in 1999), the film also
presents the most widely known theory
behind the Jack the Ripper mystery -
the Royal conspiracy.

The cast was led by Johnny Depp and
Robbie Coltrane as real-life detectives,
Inspector Frederick Abberline (1843-
1929) and Sergeant George Godley
(1856-1941). Heather Graham
portrayed the final canonical victim, Mary Kelly (who actually survived
here), Ian Holm was royal doctor, Sir William Gull (who became a Ripper suspect in the 1970's), and Ian Richardson was Sir Charles Warren (1840-1927), the beleaguered Metropolitan Police Commissioner.

From Hell was shown again on the 5Star channel last night, and also
featured eighteen Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Ian McNeice (Coroner Drudge) played Winston Churchill in Victory of the Daleks and The Wedding of River Song (a role reprised by Big Finish for The Churchill Years and Ravenous), and voiced Zeus for Immortal Beloved (2007), and Reginald Harcourt for Renaissance Man (2012)
• Susan Lynch (Liz Stride) was Angstrom in The Ghost Monument
• Lesley Sharp (Kate Eddowes) was Sky Silvestry in Midnight
• Samantha Spiro (Martha Tabram) was Hazran in The Doctor Falls
• Joanna Page (Ann Crook) was Queen Elizabeth I in The Day of the Doctor
• Paul Rhys (Dr. Ferral) voiced Max Paul for The Scapegoat (2009)
• Mark Dexter (Prince Eddy) was Dad in Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead 
• David Schofield (McQueen) was Odin in The Girl Who Died, and voiced Billy for Death in Blackpool (2009), and Nostradamus and Conclave Leader for The Doomsday Quatrain (2011)
• Sophia Myles (Victoria) was Reinette in The Girl in the Fireplace, and voiced Rania Chuma for Kill the Doctor! and The Age of Sutekh (both 2018)
• Vincent Franklin (George Lusk) voiced Lord Stormblood for Doom Coalition 2 (2016)
• Steve John Shepherd (Constable) voiced Simon Devlin for UNIT: Extinction (2015)
• Donald Douglas (Director) was Vural in The Sontaran Experiment
• John Owens (Governor) was Thorpe in The Daemons
• Gary Powell (Constable) was Dev Ashton in 42
• Anthony Parker (John Merrick, the Elephant Man) was a Millennium FX technician on The Family of Blood, Utopia, The Sound of Drums, Last of the Time Lords, The Rebel Flesh, The Almost People, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship and The Snowmen
• Rupert Holliday Evans (Sailor) was Colonel Mace in The Sontaran Stratagem and The Poison Sky
• James Greene (Governor) was the Abbott in The Bells of Saint John
• sound mixer John Taylor was a boom operator on The Five Doctors

Doctor Who Vs. Burke and Hare

Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis portrayed the notorious 19th century serial killers, Burke
and Hare in this British black comedy.
David Tennant was originally
cast as Hare, but was replaced
by Serkis. The film was directed
by cult film maker John Landis,
writer of An American Werewolf 
in London.

During 1827 and 1828, two 
Irish immigrants, William Burke 
and William Hare perpetrated 
seventeen murders in the West 
Port area of Edinburgh, and sold 
the corpses to the anatomy 
lecturer, Dr. Robert Knox. The killers were only prosecuted when Hare was
given immunity to implicate his accomplice. Burke was hanged in 1829. Ironically, the bodies of executed criminals were then dissected, and Burke's skeleton is still displayed at the city's Medical College. Knox (played by Tom Wilkinson) never faced any criminal charges, and was forced to leave Scotland when the Anatomy Act (which outlawed 'body-snatching') was passed in 1832.

The second cinema depiction of these murders (released in 2010) was shown 
on BBC Two again last night, and featured Christopher Lee, Isla Fisher, Tim 
Curry, Ronnie Corbett and twenty Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Pegg (Burke) played the Editor in The Long Game, and voiced Don Chaney for Big Finish's Invaders From Mars (2002)
• Bill Bailey (Angus) was Droxil in The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe
• Jessica Hynes (Lucky) was Joan Redfern in Human Nature and The Family of Blood, then (that character's great-granddaughter) Verity Newman in The End of Time, and voiced Glory Bee also for Invaders From Mars
• David Schofield (Fergus) voiced Nostradamus for The Doomsday Quatrain (2011), and Billy for Death in Blackpool (2009), then starred in The Girl Who Died as Odin
• Steve Spiers (Doorman) was Commissioner Strickland in Aliens of London and World War Three
• Hugh Bonneville (Harrington) was Captain Henry Avery in The Curse of the Black Spot (and briefly in A Good Man Goes to War and The Wedding of River Song)
• Duncan Duff (Attendant) was a Newsreader in Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel, and voiced Joe Hartley for Night Thoughts (2006)
• Jenny Agutter (Lucy) voiced Sekhmet for The Bride of Peladon (2008)
• John Woodvine (Lord Provost) was the Marshal of Atrios in The Armageddon Factor, and voiced Galileo Galilei for Doom Coalition: The Galileo Trap (2015)
• Christopher Obi (Martin) was George in Closing Time
• Michael Smiley (Patterson) was Colonel Morgan Blue in Into the Dalek, and voiced Seedleson for Creatures of Beauty (2003)
• George Potts (Dr. Lister) voiced Ruben and Guard for You Are The Doctor and Other Stories (2015)
• Christian Brassington (Charles) voiced Alfred Stahlbaum for The Silver Turk (2011), and was the Editor in The Five(ish) Doctors
• Reese Shearsmith (Mackenzie) and Paul Davis (Patient) both starred in Sleep No More, as Rassmussen and King Sandman respectively, whilsr Shearsmith was also Dan Matthews in the two Auton VHS spin-offs, Andrew Powell in the PROBE video series, and depicted Patrick Troughton in An Adventure in Space and Time
• Danielle de Costa was also a stunt performer on Voyage of the Damned and Night Terrors
• Gary Hoptrough was a stuntman on The Runaway Bride and Let's Kill Hitler too
• stuntman Curtis Rivers was John Barrowman's stunt double on Utopia, The Sound of Drums and Torchwood
• prosthetics supervisor Waldo Mason was in the SFX crew for Aliens of London
• Lisa McDiarmid was also the stand-by art director on The Sound of Drums, Last of the Time Lords, Torchwood and the pilot episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures
• Neal Champion was the SFX supervisor on An Adventure in Space and Time too

Doctor Who Vs. The First Men in the Moon

First serialised by The Strand 
magazine and described as one
of the "fantastic stories" of
H G Wells (1866-1946), this
influential sci-fi romance was
published in 1901. The story
was adapted for cinema in
1919 and 1964.
Professor Arthur Cavor, his invention Cavorite, and lunar natives Selenites all appeared in The Martian War, Kevin J Anderson's 2006 sequel to Wells' The War of the Worlds.
The third, most faithful TV
adaptation of the novel was written by Mark Gatiss (who
also played Cavor), and was first shown in October 2010.
Repeated on BBC Four last night, the period drama (made by Can Do Productions) featured fifteen other Doctor Who cast and crew alumni:

• Rory Kinnear (Bedford) voiced Samuel Belfrage for Big Finish's Industrial Evolution (2011)
• Peter Forbes (Dad) voiced Philip for Unbound; Deadline (2003), Kryson for The Juggernauts (2005), Craig Swanson for The Feast of Axos, and Thorn for The Bounty of Ceres (2014)
• Katherine Jakeways (Mum) voiced Jill for Nightshade (2016)
• Julia Deakin (Mrs. Fitt) voiced Hannah Fry for Phantasmagoria (1999), and Harriet Griffin for Terror Firma (2005)
• Lee Ingleby (Chessocks) voiced Samson Griffin for Terror Firma (2005)
• Philip Jackson (Grand Lunar voice) voiced Laxton for Valhalla (2007), and Mr. Peabody for The Contingency Club (2017)
• prolific Big Finish actor Ian Hallard (Phi-Oo) voiced Sabian for Primeval (2001), Mouse and Winkler for Invaders From Mars, the Matrix for Neverland (both 2002), Zeuro for A Storm of Angels, Castellan Wynter for Gallifrey: Lies and Pandora (both 2005), Joseph Banks for The Transit of Venus, Captain Cannibal for Izzy's Story, John Polidori for Mary's Story (all 2009), Duncan for An Earthly Child (2010), Comtech Bron Kell for Dark Eyes 2: Time's Horizon, and Davent for Destroy the Infinite (both 2014) - he also portrayed director Richard Martin in An Adventure in Space and Time, and was Alan-a-Dale in Robot of Sherwood
• Steven Pemberton (Sun) was Strackman Lux in Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead
• Reece Shearsmith (Moon) was Andrew Powell in the PROBE video spin-off series, Dr. Dan Matthews in the Auton VHS releases, depicted Patrick Troughton in An Adventure in Space and Time, then was Rassmussen in Sleep No More
• Robert Judd (Celenite) was property master on Gatiss' anniversary biopic
• Liana Del Giudice was also film editor on The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances, The Christmas Invasion, New Earth, School Reunion and The Day of the Doctor
• assistant editor David Fisher was editor on Series 11
• Chris Hutchinson was animator on Twice Upon a Time too
• Graham Frake (cinematographer) and Shirley Schumacher (assistant camera operator) also both worked on The Beast Below and Victory of the Daleks

Doctor Who Vs. James Bond, Part 6

Another Bond film season continued 
on ITV4 last night with Roger Moore's 

fourth stint as the famous MI6 agent. 

The eleventh entry in the franchise, 
was based on the spy novel of 1955, 
itself adapted from Ian Fleming's own
potential film treatment.
Shot primarily  in France, the production was Eon's most expensive to date (the 
budget of $34 million was almost double 
that of The Spy Who Love Me), but 
Moonraker became the highest-grossing 
title until GoldenEye. 

Bernard Lee made his eleventh and final appearance here as M, and Richard Kiel 
returned as Jaws. Shirley Bassey again 
performed the title song, her third after Goldfinger and Diamonds are 
Forever.
Bond's next cinematic assignment was 
released in 1981. The film took its title from Fleming's Bond anthology
 (published in 1960), and contained elements from the short stories For Your 
Eyes Only and Risico. The feature was shot on location in Italy, Spain, Greece, 
the Bahamas and the North Sea, with interiors filmed at Pinewood studios. 
The theme song by Sheena Easton (nominated for an Oscar and a Golden 
Globe) replaced original choice Blondie. Both films featured a total of twenty-two Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

MOONRAKER 

• Peter Bennett (assistant director here and A View to a Kill; unit manager on For Your Eyes Only; location manager on Octopussy) was the first assistant director on fourteen revived series adventures (from Bad Wolf to The End of Time, and Attack of the Graske), the production manager on four other stories, then produced thirteen further instalments (from The Beast Below to The Zygon Inversion) and Torchwood: Children of Earth
• Terry Forrestal (Space Fighter here; stunts on Octopussy, Never Say Never Again, A View to a Kill and Goldeneye) was a Tractor Driver on K9 and Company
• for Derek Meddings, Martin Grace, Dinny Powell, Dorothy Ford and Rick Lester see my other Bond blogs

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

• Julian Glover (Kristatos) playde King Richard in The Crusade, and Scaroth in City of Death
• Graham Crowden (First Sea Lord) was Soldeed in The Horns of Nimon
• Noel Johnson (Vice Admiral) was King Thous in The Underwater Menace, and Charles Grover MP in Invasion of the Dinosaurs
• William Hoyland (McGregor) voiced Premier Jaeger for Big Finish's Live 34 (BF, 2005)
• Paul Brooke (Bunky) voiced Toby for Year of the Pig (BF, 2006)
• John [aka Juan] Moreno (Ferrara) was Dobson in (episode 2 of) The Ambassadors of Death
• Laurie Goode (Skier) was a Mutt in The Mutants (1), Time Lord in The Invasion of Time (3), Bandit in The Creature from the Pit (1), Tigellan in Meglos (2), Sailor in Enlightenment, and UNIT Trooper in Battlefield (1)
• Elizabeth Waller was the costume designer on The Robots of Death too
• Anthony Waye (assistant director here and Octopussy; production manager on A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights, Licence to Kill, Skyfall; producer on Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace) was assistant director on both Dalek features
• Gareth Milne (stunts here and Skyfall) was George Cranleigh in Black Orchid, a Mortuary Attendant in Vengeance on Varos (2), and doubled for Peter Davison on Warriors of the Deep (1)
• Stuart Fell (stunts here, Octopussy and A View to a Kill) was a stuntman on Terror of the Autons (1) and The Ribos Operation (1), then fight arranger on The Talons of Weng-Chiang and State of Decay, and had roles in thirty-three other episodes (from The Claws of Axos to The Invasion of Time)
• Nick Wilkinson (stunts here, Octopussy, Never Say Never Again and Licence to Kill; Russian Soldier in The Living Daylights) was a stuntman on The Next Doctor too
• for Tim Condren, Jim Dowdall and Bill Weston see my other Bond blogs