Sunday 28 February 2021

Doctor Who Vs. Howl

Shown again on the Horror channel last
night, this British horror film (set aboard
a stranded commuter train) was directed
by Paul Hyett, best known for his colla-
borations with Neil Marshall, maker of
the werewolf feature, Dog Soldiers.
The interior train scenes were shot in
Croydon and Waterloo station, whilst
location filming was undertaken at Black
Park close to Pinewood studios.
Howl had no theatrical release, but
premiered at the German Fantasy Film-
fest held in 2015 before a home video
release at Halloween. The indie production
was well received - it featured Ed Speelers
 (pictured), and eleven Doctor Who cast
and crew connections:

  • Sean Pertwee (Driver) made a cameo appearance in The Five(ish) Doctors
  • Elliot Cowan (Adrian) voiced Gark for Big Finish's The Fifth Traveller (2006)
  • Amit Shah (Matthew) was Rahul in The Woman Who Fell to Earth
  • Duncan Preston (Ged) voiced the titular alien in the Doctor Who and Crayola sketch for Victoria Wood as Seen on TV
  • Calvin Dean (Paul) was Ha-Ha in Nightmare in Silver
  • Brett Goldstein (David) was Astos in The Tsuranga Conundrum 
  • Ross Mullan (Werewolf) was a Silent in The Time of the Doctor, the Teller in Time Heist, and the Wraith in Hell Bent
  • Guy Murray Brown was also first assistant director on Can You Hear Me?, The Haunting of Villa Diodati and Revolution of the Daleks
  • SFX technician Tony Auger began his career as an assistant on K9 & Company, then was the VFX designer on Black Orchid 
  • art finisher Olivia Whitaker was Millennium FX mould maker on sixteen episodes (from Sleep No More to The Woman Who Fell to Earth) and Class
  • fabricator Simone Macdonald was technician on The Rings of Akhaten and Nightmare in Silver

Friday 26 February 2021

Doctor Who Vs. Casualty @ 35: Series 19

Series regularDerek
Thompson, Ian Bleasdale, 
Martina Laird, Suzanne
Packer, James Redmond, 
Sarah Manners, Matthew
Walt, Rebekah Gibbs, and 
Simon MacCorkindale all 
returned for the nine-
teenth season of BBC 
One's long-running 
medical drama.
Joining the main cast
here were Liz Carling
(as Dr. Selena Donovan), Susan Cookson (Dr. Maggie Coldwell), Luke
Bailey (receptionist Sam Bateman), Will Thorp (paramedic Woody
Joyner), Georgina Bouzova (nurse Ellen Zitek), Elyes Gabel (SHO
Guppy Sandhu), Janine Mellor (nurse Kelsey Phillips), and Adam
James (Peter Guildford). Meanwhile, Maxwell Caulfield, Louise
 Brealey, Kwame Kwei Armah, and Leanne Wilson had all left by
the series' conclusion.
Whilst Casualty launched in September 1986 and spin-off Holby
City began in January 1999, the first proper crossover story was
shown at Christmas 2004, during this run. A further seven specials
(including an interactive edition) aired over the next year.
With just a fortnight's break between seasons, this extended
series (plus the two-part Casualty @ Holby festive special) was
originally broadcast from September 2004 tAugust 2005.
Another repeat run of the forty-six part season concluded on
Drama today - it featured Freema Agyeman, Geoffrey
Beevers, Tommy Knight, and a total of fifty-one Doctor Who
cast and crew connections:

  • Mellor was Janey in The Woman Who Fell to Earth
  • Lucy Benjamin (Gina here; Denise, 2015/17) was Young Nyssa in (part 4 of) Mawdryn Undead
  • Mary Wimbush (Lily) was Aunt Lavinia Smith in K9 and Company
  • Alan Dorrington (Ronan) was a Corpse in The Unquiet Dead, and Crofter in Tardisode: Tooth and Claw
  • prolific Big Finish actor Tim Treloar (PC Watson here; Huntingdon, 2006) voiced Van Cleef for Return of the Rocket Men, the Lord President for Dark Eyes 1, Ingiger for Gods and Monsters, Lord Jack Corrigan for Destination: Nerva, Tyron for The Burning Prince (all 2012), Telephus and Cisyphus for Mask of Tragedy (2014), Ergu for The Exxilons (2015), the Doctor for The Light at the End (2013), The Third Doctor Adventures (from 2015), The Legacy of Time and Peepshow (both 2019), Narrator of Damascus (2016) and Gardeners' World (2017), John Hughes and Robert Matson for Black Thursday (2019), and Silas for Beyond War Games (2022)
  • Thorp was Tobias Zed in The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit, then voiced Gaius Julius Caesar for 100 BC, and Jacob for Bedtime Story (both 2007)
  • Adam James and Ellen Thomas (Stephanie here; Florence, 2012) both appeared in Planet of the Dead, as DI Macmillan and Carmen
  • Richard Beale (Slavin) voiced a Refusian in The Ark, and Broad- caster for The Macra Terror, then appeared as Bat Masterson in The Gunfighters, and a Minister in The Green Death
  • Patrick Romer (Marchant) voiced Dr. Andrew Szabo for Thicker Than Water (2005)
  • Jordan Murphy (Liam) was Ernie in The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances
  • Jamie Edgell (Alan) was also a stunt co-ordinator on The End of the WorldBad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways
  • Philippa Burt (Nurse, here & 2007) was a Peasant in The Family of Blood
  • Jim Findley (Sherman) was Mercer in Resurrection of the Daleks
  • Ella Kenion (Maggie) and Eva Alexander (Najma) both starred in Let's Kill Hitler, as Harriet and Nurse - Kenion also voiced Boudica for The Wrath of the Iceni (2012), and Romy for Equilibrium (2015)
  • MyAnna Buring (Kirsty) was Scooti Manista in The Impossible Planet 
  • Sarah Greene (Elsa) was Varne in (part 2 of) Attack of the Cybermen
  • Amanda Lawrence (Geraldine) was Doomfinger in The Shakespeare Code
  • Richard Bremmer (Malloy) voiced General Hemmings, Valcon, and Taxi Driver for The Valley of Death (2011), and Old Beowulf for Black and White (2012)
  • Amanda Mealing (Connie Beauchamp here to present; Holby City, 2001-16) was an alt-Connie for an ultimately cut scene in The Lie of the Land
  • RenĂ© Zagger (Smith) was Padra in Utopia
  • James Albrecht (Daniels here; Fireman, 2007) voiced Major Heyward for City of Spires (2010)
  • McFly made a cameo appearance in The Sound of Drums too
  • Ozzie Yue (Clive) was a Foreman in The Angels Take Manhattan 
  • Rhoda Lewis (Molly) was Marta in State of Decay
  • Madhav Sharma (Sandhu) was Patel in Frontier in Space (3)
  • Vinette Robinson (Kirsty) was Abi Lerner in 42
  • Brian Cant (Hargreaves) was Kert Gantry in The Daleks' Master Plan (1), and Tensa in The Dominators
  • Jean Challis (Nancy) was Aunt Betty in The Idiot's Lantern
  • Alice O'Connell (Jo) was Laura in The Power of Three
  • Sue Kelvin (Maureen) was Suzette Chambers in Partners in Crime
  • Michael Jibson (PC Burrows) voiced Corporal Gibbs for The Forsaken (2015)
  • Oliver Dimsdale (Mallins) voiced Morecombe Unwise for Come Die With Me, Mervyn Garvey for Dead to the World, Archie Ferrers for The Boundless Sea (all 2015), Commander Trelon for A Thing of Guile (2016), and Rebben Tace and V52 for The Sons of Kaldor (2018)
  • Colin Spaull (Crake) was Lilt in Revelation of the Daleks, Mr. Crane in Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel, and voiced Henrik for Grand Theft Cosmos (2008)
  • Imogen Stubbs (Chloe) voiced Isabella Clerkwell for The Diary of River Song 1 (2015)
  • Sasha Behar (Liz here; Alex, 2018) was Spurrina in The Fires of Pompeii
  • Michael Carter (De Fraine) made his TV debut in The Mind of Evil as Prisoner and UNIT Soldier
  • Ben Turner (Pickering here; Baxter, 2008; Jay Faldren, 2008-11) was King Louis in The Girl in the Fireplace
  • Lizzie Roper (Jeannie) voiced Hoss for Kiss of Death (2011), Leandra Roath for The First Sontarans, Dr. Nadia Cervenka and Margaret for Artificial Intelligence (both 2012), Krakenmother Banarra for Starlight Robbery (2013), Celia Turner and Leslie King for The Crooked Man, Florence Woolley and Beatrice for Murder at Moorsey Manor, Victoria for The Wax Princess (all 2014), Bella for Stage FrightShari for We are the Daleks (both 2015), Rosata Laxter and High Minister for The Lady of Obsidian (2017), Trencher for Planet of the Drashigsand Eira Hughes for Black Thursday (both 2019)
  • Raji James (Ajay here; PC Singh, 2010) was Dr. Rajesh Singh in Doomsday and Army of Ghosts
  • Katherine Parkinson (Helen) voiced Danika Meanwhile for The Death Collectors (2008)
  • Sion Tudor Owen (PC Wales here; Cottle, 2007) was Tandrell in The Mysterious Planet
  • Daniel Hyde (Newley) was a Workman in The Snowmen
  • Veronica Roberts (Sheila) voiced Krelos Major for The Fate of Krelos, Relly for Return to Telos (both 2015), and Ohila for The War Doctor Begins 1 (2021)
  • Nickie Rainsford (Sally) was the Editor in Tardisode: Army of Ghosts
  • Michael Lumsden (Hearne) voiced Newton Pallister for The Crash of the UK-201 (2018)
  • Chukwudi Iwuji (Peel) was Carl in The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon, and voiced Joshua Sembeke for A Thousand Tiny Wing (2009)
  • Jenny Lee (Bunny) was Woman in Face the Raven, and voiced the Keeper for Portrait of a Lady (2018)
  • Dan March (Brown) voiced Varian for The Lure of the Nomad (2017)
  • Bradley Freegard (Walsh) voiced Phil for Night of the Fendahl (2019)
  • Lenora Critchlow (Linda here; Michelle, 2008) was Cheen in Gridlock, and voiced Rachel Cooper for The Architects of History (2010)
  • Dominique Moore (Ruby) voiced Gemma for The Diary of River Song 9 (2021)
  • James Strong was also director of The Impossible PlanetThe Satan PitDaleks in ManhattanEvolution of the DaleksVoyage of the Damned, Partners in Crime and Planet of the Dead

Thursday 25 February 2021

Doctor Who Vs. Coronation Street at 60, Part 13: 2004-2006

Walsh was announced as Doctor
Who 
companion Graham O'Brien
 in October 2017
The Street's producer Kieran
Roberts bowed out in early
2004, and was replaced by
Tony Wood, whilst Carolyn
Reynolds remained executive
producer. Roberts returned
(as new exec) in early 2006
when Steve Frost took over
from Wood.
Schedule changes due to
coverage of Euro 2004
matches resulted in the
broadcast of three episodes
of the soap on the same day
 for the first tme in May. In
 late November that year,
eight instalments were
shown over five consecutive
nights. 2004 also saw the closure of ITV's cable channel, Granada Plus
which had repeated vintage Corrie. By the end of 2005, the show had
enjoyed its best viewing figures since 1993.
These three years on the cobbles featured Bradley Walsh (as Mike
Baldwin's son Danny), Jane Slavin, Anjli Mohindraand a total of
twenty-five Doctor Who cast connections:

  • Philip Dinsdale (Waiter) voiced Sergeant Jarrod for Big Finish's Project: Destiny (2010)
  • Honor Blackman (Rula) was Professor Lasky in Terror of the Vervoids, and voiced Queen Anahita for The Children of Seth (2011)
  • Richard Bremmer (Phillips) voiced General Hemmings, Valcon and Taxi Driver for The Valley of Death (2011), and Old Beowulf for Black and White (2012)
  • Miichael Fenton Stevens (Presenter) voiced Shakespeare for The Kingmaker (2006), Brooks for The Raincloud Man (2008), Moorson and Controller for Destroy the Infinite (2014), and Douglas Bell for The Carrionite Curse (2017)
  • Annette Badland (Thelma) was Margaret Blaine (alias Blon Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day Slitheen) in Aliens of London, World War ThreeBoom Town and Sync (2019), then voiced Queen Karlina for Equilibrium, Thelma for Suburban Hell (both 2015), Guilana for Asking for a Friend (2017), Judge and Computer for Barrister to the Stars, Mrs. Slinger and Batraxus for Whatever Remains, and Maude Polwart and Mermaid for The Ghost Writers (all 2020)
  • Ray Fearon (Cooper) voiced Barlow Teveler for The Seeds of War (2013)
  • John R Walker (Punter) was a Cured Patient in New Earth, Injured Man in Evolution of the Daleks, and Sales Rep in Planet of the Ood
  • Sir Ian McKellen (Hutchwright) provided the voice of the Great Intelligence for The Snowmen
  • Clare Calbraith (Robyn) voiced a Trooper for Urban Myths, Maria for Son of the Dragon (both 2007), Starling for The Phoenix Strain (2016), and Orla for The Blood Furnace (2017)
  • Tim Preece (Reverend) was Codal in Planet of the Daleks, then voiced the President for He Jests at Scars (2003)
  • Mina [Mumtaz] Anwar (Ravinder), Ace Bhatti (Parekh) and Mohindra (Shareen) all appeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures, as Gita, Haresh and Rani Chandra respectively - Anwar was also Goodthing in Smile, and voiced Kurdi for The Rise of the New Humans, Forsetti for The Trial of a Time Machine, and Captain Varda for Empress of the Drahvins (all 2018), Valerie Pritchard for The Survivor, Horl for Tick Tock World, Bethan Foster for A Mother's Son (all 2019), Betty for Ghosts (2020), Juliana for The Lone Centurion 1 (2021), and was cast in Broken Memories and Morbius (both 2024)
  • Paul Broughton (Solicitor) has been cast in Series 13
  • Ian McElhinney (Fr. Thomas) was Ko Sharmus in Ascension of the Cybermen and The Timeless Children
  • Ian Reddington (Vernon Tomlin, 2005-2008) was the Chief Clown in The Greatest Show in the Galaxy and The Psychic Circus (2020), then voiced Nobody No-One for A Death in the Family (2010)
  • Catherine Grose (DC Golding here; Doctor, 2014) voiced Princess Aelfwynn for The Lady of Mercia (2013)
  • Zaraah Abrahams (Joanne Jackson) voiced Daphne for Dead and Breakfast, the Castellan for From the Flames, Kaled Corporal for The Master's Dalek Plan, and Narvin for Shockwave (all 2019)
  • David Peart (Stuart) voiced the Vizier for The Destroyer of Delights (2009)
  • Trevor Bannister (Solicitor) voiced Korbin Thessinger for Nocturne (2007)
  • Michael Dixon (Pitcher) was Dave in The Rings of Akhaten
  • prolific Big Finish actor Susan [Elizabeth] Brown (Maureen) was Bridget Spears in Torchwood: Children of Earth, and voiced the Midwife for 100 BCMary for Bedtime Story (both 2007), Alice Withers for The Eternal Summer, Maud for Castle of Fear, Mrs. Withers and Mrs. Sowerby for Plague of the Daleks (all 2009), Margaret for Deimos and The Resurrection of Mars, Eleanor Harvey for Return of the Krotons, Chief Engineer and Chanel for The Song of the Megaptera, Babs for Prison in Space (all 2010), and Kastrella for Death Match (2015)
  • Sean [Campbell] Gallagher (Paul Connor, 2006/07) was Chip in New Earth
  • Marshall Lancaster (Slug) was Buzzer in The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People
  • Graeme Harper was also director of forty-three instalments of Corrie between 2005 to 2013

Sunday 14 February 2021

Doctor Who Vs. Waking the Dead, Series 6

Series regulars Trevor Eve, Sue Johnston,
Wil Johnson, and Félicité Du Jeu all
returned for the sixth season of BBC1's
award-winning crime drama, first shown
in the winter of 2007.
Tara Fitzgerald joined the cast here as new
Home Office pathologist, Dr. Eve Lockhart
- she stayed with the programme until
2011, then starred in spin-off series, The
Body Farm.
Another repeat run of the twelve-part
series concluded on the Drama channel
last night - it featured Peter Capaldi,
Jemma Redgrave, Helen Goldwyn,
and a total of thirty-four further Doctor
Who cast and crew connections:

Wren Boys (TX: January 7 & 8)
  • Big Finish actor Ann [Forrest] Bell (Mother Superior) voiced Sylvia O'Donnell for A Thousand Tiny Wings (2010), Professor Gesima Cazalet for Night of the Stormcrow (2013), and Lisa Burrows for Five Twenty-Nine (2016)
  • Carey Mulligan (Bridgid) played Sally Sparrow (pictured) in Blink
  • [Harold] Tony Rohr (Ryan) was an uncredited Colonist in (episode 6 of) The Power of the Daleks
  • series SFX supervisor Graham Brown was VFX assistant on Full CircleThe Five DoctorsResurrection of the DaleksThe Caves of AndrozaniAttack of the CybermenRevelation of the Daleks and The Curse of Fenric
  • for Tom Lucy (stunt co-ordinator here & The Body Farm) see Series 1
  • prosthetics artist Waldo Mason was SFX assistant on Aliens of London
Deus Ex Machina (TX: January 14 & 15)
  • Graham Crowden (Barrett) was Soldeed in The Horns of Nimon
  • Adam James (Leonard) was DI Macmillan in Planet of the Dead
  • Polly [Alexandra] Walker (Catherine) voiced Commander Narina for The Movellan Grave (2017)
The Fall (TX: January 21 & 22)
  • Nigel Whitmey (Simmel) was Simmons in Dalek
  • David Yelland (Taggart) voiced Walter Pritchett for The Red Lady (2015)
  • Michelle Newell (Administrator) was one of twenty-six actresses who auditioned for the role of Leela in 1976
  • for Paul Kennington (stunt double) see Series 4
Mask of Sanity (TX: January 28 & 29)
  • James Fox (Rivelli) voiced Professor Chronotis for Shada
  • Karen Bryson (Dr. Vincent) voiced Commander Esk for Aftershocks (2022)
  • Nicholas Beveney (Jenson) was Dad in Attack of the Graske
  • Richard Dillane (Ricardo) was Captain Carter in Let's Kill Hitler and The Wedding of River Song
  • Dominic Letts (Valentine) voiced Nobby, Marak Kitson, Wilkins and Soldier for The Paradise of Death
  • Helen Blatch (Mrs. Jenson) provided the Computer voice for The Deadly Assassin, and was Commander Fabian in The Twin Dilemma
  • Roy Holder (Flynn) was Krelper in The Caves of Androzani
  • Julia Joyce (Kate) was the Young Rose Tyler in Father's Day, and Holly Frobisher in Torchwood: Children of Earth
  • George Asprey (Bruno) voiced Overseer Zim for The Hidden Realm, Balthasar Schrek for Nothing to See Here (both 2016), the Leader for Infamy of the Zaross (2017), General Melak for Time in a Bottle and Kings of Infinite Space (both 2018), and the eponymous Ravenous
  • Helen Goldwyn (Mrs. Jensen) voiced Daphne Green for Kaleidoscope (2022)
  • for Gareth Milne (stunt co-ordinator) and Crispin Green (film editor) see Series 5
  • script editor Muirinn Lane Kelly produced Scream of the Shalka
Double Bind (TX: February 4 & 5)
  • Alisdair Simpson (Young Raymond) voiced Sir Francis White for 1963: The Assassination Games (2013), Cleon for The Mask of Tragedy (2014), Colonel Lifford for The Boundless Sea (2015), Sidney Wheeler and Field Marshal Brooke for Churchill Victorious (2018), and Damadus for Return to Skaro (2020)
  • Ray De Haan (Drug dealer) was a stuntman on The Idiot's Lantern
  • for Lee Sherward (stunt co-ordinator) see Series 5
Yahrzeit (TX: February 18 & 19)
  • Pip Torrens (Holland) was Headmaster Rocastle in Human Nature and The Family of Blood, then voiced Charlie Gibbs for Eldrad Must Die! (2013)
  • Radoslaw Kaim (Cyrak) was Trepper in The Sontaran Stratagem
  • Jim Norton (Dusniak) voiced Major Thomas Kennet for Scream of the Shalka
  • Hollie Sullivan (Frieda) voiced Olivia York for The Middle (2017)
  • Rupert [Makepeace] Wickham (Young Heiss) voiced Captain Dudgeon for No Man's Land (2006), Jonas Faber for Klein's Story, and Butterfly for Survival of the Fittest (both 2010)

Tuesday 9 February 2021

Doctor Who Vs. The New Avengers @ 45: Series 2

As with my two previous blogs for
The Avengers sequel show, season
two's original transmission dates
are approximate because the
programme was never truly net-
worked - some TV regions didn't
even adhere to the same trans-
mission order. 
Patrick Macnee, Gareth Hunt, and
Joanna Lumley all returned for
thirteen episodes - originally broad-
cast in the autumn of 1977. The
team's final four assignments were
filmed in Ontario, and marketed as
The New Avengers in Canada.
Another repeat run of the second
and final series concluded on the
Sony channelast night - it
featured a total of thirty-three
Doctor Who cast alumni:

Dead Men Are Dangerous
(UK TX: September 9)
  • Michael [Pierce] Turner (Culver here; Crayford in The Avengers: Have Guns Will Haggle) was Jarvis Bennett in The Wheel in Space
  • Roger Avon (Headmaster) was Saphadin in The Crusade, Daxtar in (episode 4 of) The Daleks' Master Plan, and Wells in Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD
  • Gabrielle Drake (Penny here; Angora in The Hidden Tiger) auditioned for the role of Victoria Waterfield in April 1967
Angels of Death (UK TX: September 16)
  • Dinsdale Landen (Coldstream here; Watney in All Done With Mirrors) was Dr. Judson in The Curse of Fenric
  • Terence Alexander (Manderson here; Warren in The Town of No Return; Ponsonby in The Correct Way to Kill; Bromfield in Love All) was Lord Ravensworth in The Mark of the Rani
  • Lindsay Duncan (Jane) was Adelaide Brooke in The Waters of Mars
  • Christopher Driscoll (Martin) was the Security Guard in The Idiot's Lantern
  • Caroline Munro (Tammy) voiced Sentia for Big Finish's Omega (2003)
Medium Rare (UK TX: September 23)
  • for Neil Hallett (Roberts) and Jeremy Wilkin (Richards) see the Series 1
  • Maurice O'Connell (McBain) was Cockerill in Frontios
  • Steve Ubells (Man) was a Boy Servant in The Aztecs
  • for Marc Boyle (Parr), John Tatham (Usher) and Hugh Walters (Cowley) see Series 1
The Lion and the Unicorn (UK TX: September 30)
  • for Reg Woods (Journalist) see Series 1
Obsession (UK TX: October 7)
  • Roy Purcell (Controller here; Gutman in Conspiracy of Silence) was CPO Powers in The Mind of Evil, and the President in The Three Doctors
  • Stuart Myers (Guest) was Technician in The Silurians (6), and Draconian in Frontier in Space (5)
  • for Walter Henry (Security) see Series 1
Trap (UK TX: October 14)
  • Kristopher Kum (Tansing here; Osaka in Homicide and Old Lace) was Fu Peng in The Mind of Evil
  • Vincent Wong (Courier) and Dennis Chin (Pilot) both appeared in The Talons of Weng-Chiang as Ho and Coolie - Wong was also Delegate in Day of the Daleks (4), and Captain in Enlightenment
  • Edward Kelsey (Soo Choy voice here; Gerry in Dead on Course) was the Slave Buyer in The Romans (2), Resno in The Power of the Daleks, and Edu in The Creature from the Pit
  • Robert Rietty (Dom Carlos here; Carlo in Conspiracy of Silence) voiced Bedloe for Death Comes to Time
Hostage (UK TX: October 21)
  • Barry Stanton (Packer) was Noma in The Twin Dilemma
  • William Franklyn (McKay here; Omrod in Silent Dust; Brinstead in Killer) voiced Pharaoh Amenhotep for The Roof of the World (2004)
  • Richard Ireson (Vernon) was a Soldier in The Mind Robber and Axus in The Krotons
K is For Kill, Part 1: The Tiger Awakes (UK TX: October 28)
K is For Kill, Part 2: Tiger by the Tail (UK TX: November 11)
  • Kenneth Watson (Major) was Craddock in the second Dalek film and Bill Duggan in The Wheel in Space
  • Tony Then (Monk) was Lee in The Talons of Weng-Chiang
  • Diana Rigg (Emma Peel, archive footage) was Winifred Gillyflower in The Crimson Horror
Complex (UK TX: November 11)

Forward Base (UK TX: November 18)
  • David Calderisi (Halfhide) was Charlie in The Mind of Evil (4)
  • Maurice Good (Milroy here; Stacey in Hunt the Man Down; Goodman in Don't Look Behind You; Mercer in Split!) was Phineas Clanton in The Gunfighters
The Gladiators (UK TX: November 25)

Emily (UK TX: December 1)
  • for Valentino Musetti (series stunt co-ordinator) see Series 1

Friday 5 February 2021

Doctor Who Vs. Waking the Dead, Series 5

The fifth season of BBC1's long-running
crime drama first aired in the autumn of
2005. Trevor Eve, Sue Johnston, and Wil
Johnson reprised their respective roles
(as Superintendent Peter Boyd, Dr.
Grace Foley, and DI Spencer Jordan),
and were now joined by French actress 
Félicité Du Jeu, and Esther Hall (DS
Stella Goodman, and Dr. Felix Gibson).
Another repeat run of the twelve-part
series concluded on Drama last night
- it featured a total of thirty-nine Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

Towers of Silence (UK TX: September 18 & 19 2005)
  • Big Finish actor Hall voiced Fortuna for The Galileo Trap (2015), Bauza, Tazeena and Mum for The Two Masters, Pheenan for Absolute Power (both 2016), and Viv and Commentator for The Iron Legion (2019)
  • David Walliams (Bell) appeared in BBC2's Doctor Who Night sketches, and voiced Quincy Flowers and Ned Cotton for Phantasmagoria (all 1999), then played Gibbis in The God Complex 
  • Gerard Murphy (Alcock) was Richard Maynarde in Silver Nemesis
  • Nina [Minoo] Wadia (Roshni) was Dr. Ramsden in The Eleventh Hour, and voiced Deepa for State of Bliss (2019)
  • Andrew Havill (Simmons) was the Chief Steward in Voyage of the Damned, then voiced Aleister Portillon and Squire Claude for The Witch from the Well (2011), and Colonel Wildman for The Enchantress of Numbers (2019)
  • Georgia Mackenzie (DS Stephenson) voiced Zorcha for The Difference Office (2022), and MOM/Medbots for Comrades-in-Arms (2023)
  • Michael Jenn (Prison Officer) was Clarence DeMarco in The Name of the Doctor
  • Sara [Scott Griffith] Stewart (Claire) provided the Computer voice for The End of the World
  • for Richard [Adrian] Hammatt (stuntman) see Series 1
  • Marcus Catlin was also first assistant director on The Hungry Earth, Cold Blood, The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang
Black Run (TX: September 25 & 26)
  • Robin Soans (Adamson) was Luvic in The Keeper of Traken, and the Chronolock Guy in Face the Raven
  • Michael Gould (Doyle) voiced Frederick Lindemann for The Oncoming Storm (2016)
  • Julie Teal (Solicitor) voiced Chancellor Vorena for Time in Office (2017), and the Royal Magnificat for Emancipation (2019)
  • Michael Wildman (Palliser) voiced Probos for Jenny 2 (2021)
  • Geff Francis (McNeill) was George [Maitland] in The Bells of Saint John
  • Paul Kulik was a stuntman on Rose too
  • for Rod [Paul] Woodruff (stunt co-ordinator) see Series 2
  • for Charles Jarman (stuntman) see Series 3
Subterraneans (TX: October 2 & 3)
  • Ayesha Dharker (Mary) was Solana Mercurio in Planet of the Ood
  • Mark Monero (Barnes) was Cleric Pedro in The Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone
  • Ronan Vibert (Lynch) was Professor Skinner in The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Last Sontaran, and voiced Ravener for Jago & Litefoot 12 (2016), and Zaal for The Perfect Prisoners (2019)
  • John Bennett (Rosenthal) was General Finch in Invasion of the Dinosaurs, and Li H'sen Chang in The Talons of Weng-Chiang
  • for Tom Lucy (stunt co-ordinator) see Series 1
Straw Dog (TX: October 9 & 10)
  • Tom [John] Ellis (Taylor) was Dr. Thomas Mulligan in Last of the Time Lords
  • Paul [Peter John] Freeman (Hoyle) voiced Jalnik for The Foe from the Future (2012)
  • Angela Bruce (Judge) was Brigadier Winifred Bambera in Battlefield (a role reprised for Animal in 2011), and voiced Mother for The Persistence of Dreams (2018), and Herb for Conversion (2019)
  • Dominic Kemp (Clerk) was Kahler-Mas in A Town Called Mercy
  • Amerjit Deu (Quereshi) voiced the Swami for Hounded (2016), the Governor for World of Damnation (2018), and Roni for The Dimension Cannon (2019)
  • Crispin Green was also film editor on six stories (from Tooth and Claw to Forest of the Dead)
  • Paul Heasman was stunt co-ordinator on Survival too, and an uncredited Nazi in Silver Nemesis
  • Lee [Michael] Sherward was also stunt co-ordinator on eleven episodes of the revived run and Torchwood: Miracle Day
Undertow (TX: October 16 & 17)
  • Sharon Duncan Brewster (Sarah) was Maggie Cain in The Waters of Mars
  • Peter Hamilton Dyer (Wright) made his TV debut as Embery in Remembrance of the Daleks
  • Lucienne Suren was also art director on Asylum of the DaleksThe Angels Take Manhattan and An Adventure in Space and Time
Cold Fusion (TX: October 23 & 24)
  • Mark Lewis Jones (McQueen) voiced Professor Oliver Mortlake for The Darkness of Glass (2015)
  • Mark Kileen (Lab Biosuit) was a German Officer in Let's Kill Hitler
  • Paul Copley (Day) was Clem McDonald in Torchwood: Children of Earth, and voiced Dad for Spare Parts (2002), and Jimmy Deel for Missing Persons (2013)
  • Sean Jackson (Constable) voiced George Crow for The Marian Conspiracy (200), and Seth Arnod for Dalek Empire 3 (2004)
  • William [John Haynes] Willoughby was also a stuntman on nine stories (from Rose to A Town Called Mercy) and Torchwood

Monday 1 February 2021

Doctor Who Vs. William Hartnell at the Cinema, Part 1

Hartnell appeared opposite
David Niven in The Way Ahead
William Henry Hartnell
(born in London in January
1908) was known as Billy
Hartnell when he became a
jobbing actor. He made his
cinema debut in 1929, aged 
21, in The Unwritten Law.
Thus began a thirty-five year
film career that saw Hartnell
appear in many classic British
features.
Hartnell returned to the
theatre when he was
invalided out of the Royal
Artillery Corps in 1940. 
Director Carol Reed cast
Billy in The Way Ahead
after watching his performance as Dallow in the stage version of
Brighton Rock in 1943, a character he reprised for the film
rendition - now recognised as his most notable big-screen role.
By the fifties, Hartnell had become typecast in tough-guy parts
but was equally adept at comedy, and following a major role in
the star-studded Hell Drivers, he starred in the inaugural Carry
On title and Granada's The Army Game. 1963 saw Hartnell's final
film appearances (in This Sporting Life and Tomorrow at Ten),
then he was cast in a new BBC TV series called Doctor Who.
The acclaimed wartime production, The Way Ahead  (written by
Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov) was essentially a remake of the
British Army training film, The New Lot, and opened in 1944.
Doublecross, a low-budget espionage drama, was released in
1956. Rank's BAFTA nominated thriller, Hell Drivers (shown on
 Talking Pictures TV today) opened in 1957.
Hartnell co-starred with Stanley Baker, Patrick McGoohan, Sean
 Connery, David McCallum and Herbert Lom. The black-and-white
features starred a total of ten future Doctor Who cast and crew
connections:

The Way Ahead
  • Leslie [Gilbert] Dwyer (Pte. Beck) was Vorg in Carnival of Monsters
  • Hugh [Archibald Nairn] Burden (Pte. Parsons) was Channing in Spearhead from Space
  • Jack [Stanley] Watling (Buster) was Professor Edward Travers in The Abominable SnowmenThe Web of Fear and Downtime
Doublecross
  • Anton Diffring [born Alfred Pollack] (Krassin) was De Flores in Silver Nemesis
  • Kenneth [Charles] Cope (Jeffrey) was Packard in Warriors' Gate
  • Colin [Martin] Douglas (Sergeant) was Donald Bruce in The Enemy of the World, and Reuben in Horror of Fang Rock
  • Harry Towb (Publican) was Osgood in (episode 1 of) The Seeds of Death, and McDermott in Terror of the Autons
  • Marcus Dods was conductor on The Aztecs too
Hell Drivers
  • Terry Sartain (Man) was an Alien Technician in The War Games (3), Warrior in The Mutants (1), UNIT Soldier in The Three Doctors (1), Prison Guard and Draconian in Frontier in Space, Exxilon in Death to the Daleks, Brother in The Masque of Mandragora (3), Gundan in Warriors' Gate (3), and Market Man in Snakedance (1)
  • David Harcourt was a camera operator on Dr. Who and the Daleks too