Tuesday 29 March 2022

Doctor Who Vs. Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective

Accident prone detective 'Dangerous'
Davies appeared in four comic crime
novels by Leslie Thomas, published
between 1976 and 1998.
The first case, The Last Detective, was
adapted by ITC in 1981, followed by
Granada's TV version in 2003 - Davies
was played by Peter Davison.
The film was shown on Talking Pictures
TV last night - it featured Bernard
Cribbins (the titular DC), Colin Baker,
Bill Maynard, Joss Ackland, and nine
Doctor Who cast connections:

  • Frank Windsor [Higgins] (Fennell) was Sir Ranulf Fitzwilliam in The King's Demons, and Inspector Mackenzie in Ghost Light
  • Maureen [Diane] Lipman (Ena) was the Wire in The Idiot's Lantern
  • Eric Francis (Albert) was the First Elder in The Sensorites
  • Sam Dastor (Longton) voiced Professor Narayan for The Emerald Tiger (2012)
  • Roy Stewart (Pomeroy) was Toberman in The Tomb of the Cybermen, and Tony in Terror of the Autons
  • [John] Frank Jarvis [born Train] (Heavy) was the Corporal in (episode 3 of) The War Machine, Ankh in Underworld, and Skart in The Power of Kroll
  • Mike Reynell (Officer) was an Exxilon in Death to the Daleks, and Kaled Scientist in Genesis of the Daleks (6)
  • Charles Pemberton (Evans) was a titular alien in The Tomb of the Cybermen, and Alien Technician in The War Games (5)
  • Pam [Ann] St. Clement (Mrs. Norris) reprised her EastEnders role of Pat Butcher for Dimensions in Time

Saturday 26 March 2022

Doctor Who Vs. Hi-De-Hi!

BBC1's popular period
sitcom was celebrated
tonight with 5's Hi De
Hi!: All the Laughs &
More.
The show (based on
writer Jimmy Perry's
experience as Butlins Redcoat) debuted at
New Year 1980 - it
endured for nine
seasons, and even
won the BAFTA
for Best Comedy
Series in 1984.
With David Croft,
Perry (1923-2016) created wartime comedies Dad's Army and It Ain't
Half Hot Mum, then You Rang M'Lord?, whilst Croft (1922-2011) also conceived Are You Being Served? and Allo' Allo'.
Set in the late 1950s and early Sixties, the programme followed the
antics of the employees of the fictional Maplins holiday camp when the
popularity of domestic holidays was already in decline. Package deals
were increasingly luring campers abroad, and in the last episode of the
show most of the staff lost their jobs. In real life, the camp where the
outdoor scenes were filmed, Warners in Dovercourt, Essex, only closed
in the 1990s.
Hi-De-Hi! made stars of actors Ruth Madoc (as Gladys Pugh), Paul
Shane (Ted Bovis), Simon Cadell (Fairbrother), Jeffrey Holland (Spike),
Su Pollard (Peggy), and David Griffin (Dempster), and featured a total
of thirty-two Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

  • Griffin was Commander Mitchell in The Sea Devils
  • Leslie [Gilbert] Dwyer (Partridge) was Vorg in Carnival of Monsters
  • Barry [Frederick] Howard (Stuart-Hargreaves) was Oliver Barnes in The End of Time
  • Ben [Patrick] Aris (Dalrymple-Sykes) was Lieutenant Shears in (part 1 of) Invasion of the Dinosaurs
  • David Troughton (Sgt. Pritchard) was a Guard in The Enemy of the World, Private Moor in The War Games (6), King Peladon in The Curse of Peladon (a role reprised in 2009 for Big Finish's Prisoner of Peladon and 2022's Peladon), then Professor Winfold Hobbes in Midnight - he also voiced Tinghus for Cuddlesome (2008), the Black Guardian for The Destroyer of DelightsThe Chaos Pool (both 2009), The Well Mannered War (2015), The Pursuit of History and Casualties of Time (both 2016), Raymond Gallagher for The Crimes of Thomas Brewster (2011), and the Second Doctor for AudioGo's Serpent Crest plays The Hexford Invasion and Survivors in Space (both 2011)
  • Jean Challis (Woman) was Aunt Betty in The Idiot's Lantern
  • [John] Talfryn Thomas (Davies) and Helen Dorward (Woman) both appeared in Spearhead from Space (1) as Mullins and Nurse - Thomas was also Dave in The Green Death
  • Ron [Henry] Pember (Detective) voiced Seedle for Slipback
  • Susan Jameson (Jenny) was cast as Morgan for Colony in Space but was replaced by Tony Caunter - she later voiced Mrs. Moynihan for The Spectre of Lanyon Moor (2000), then Fenella Wibbsey for Hornets' Nest (2009), Demon Quest (2010), Serpent Crest (2011), The Thing from the Sea (2018), The Winged Coven (2019) and The Penumbra Affair (2022)
  • Ian [Gordon Arthur] Collier (Sutcliffe) and John [Christopher] D Collins [born Dixon] (Bailiff) both starred in Arc of Infinity as Omega and Talor - Collier was also Stuart Hyde in The Time Monster
  • Derek Benfield (Dad) voiced Dr. John Hallam for Catch 1782 (2005)
  • Michael [Anthony] Robbins (Roger) was Richard Mace in The Visitation
  • Timothy [Dingwall] Bateson (Charlie) was Binro in The Ribos Operation
  • Perry Benson (Trevor) was the Ice Cream Man in The Eleventh Hour
  • Kathleen [Mary] Bidmead (Matron) was a Tribe Elder in The Mysterious Planet, Rezzie in Paradise Towers, Mrs. Smith in Remembrance of the Daleks, Tourist in Silver Nemesis, and Woman in Survival
  • Jimmy [Campbell] Mac [born McLeod] (Camper) was Villager in The Daemons, and Peasant in State of Decay (1)
  • Arthur Bostrom (Hulk) voiced Arken for Scaredy Cat (2005)
  • Michael [Harold] Lomax (Vicar) was Technician in The Silurians (1)
  • Keith [Charles] James (Camper) was Patterson in Inferno (5)
  • Martyn Read (Sergeant) was Security Guard in Silver Nemesis (1)
  • Sarah Jones Parry (Player) was Citizen in Full Circle (1)
  • Jeff Stewart [born Stewart Jeffrey] (Constable) was Dukkha in Kinda
  • Geoffrey Leesley (Collector) voiced Paramount Minister Mortund for Arrangements for War (2004)
  • Freddie Earlle (Jack) was Aldo in Warriors' Gate
  • Morris [Randolph] Barry (Monty) was Tollund in The Creature from the Pit (1), but is better known as director of The Moonbase, The Tomb of the Cybermen and The Dominators
  • Russell Brook (Waiter) was Crewman in Warriors of the Deep, Attendant in Revelation of the Daleks (1), Lakertyan, Tetrap and Genius for Time and the Rani, and Chimeron for Delta and the Bannermen (1)
  • Jay McGrath (Man) was Worker in The War Machines (3), UNIT Soldier in The Silurians (3), Coven Member in Image of the Fendahl, and Dead Androgum in The Two Doctors (1)
  • Harry Fielder (Constable) was a Guard (in serials PP, ZZZ, 4L, 4P, 5A, 5F, 5Z), Crewman (SS, 4T), Vogan (4D), Assassin (4Q), Tigellan (5Q), and Krarg in Shada
  • Paul Allen was also production designer on The Seeds of Death, Spearhead from Space and Horror of Fang Rock
  • Mike Robotham was also film editor on The King's Demons and The Two Doctors

Friday 25 March 2022

Doctor Who Vs. The Shadow Line

This dark and gritty crime drama was
written, produced and directed by
Hugo Blick. Here, DI Jonah Gabriel
(played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) is assigned
to investigate the murder of a notorious
London drugs baron.
Following a BAFTA screening, the seven
-part thriller was shown on BBC2 from
May to June 2011, and featured
Christopher Eccleston (as Joseph
Bede), Sharon D Clarke, Stephen
Rea, Rafe Spall, and twenty-three
other Doctor Who cast and crew
connections:

  • both Lesley Sharp [born Karen Makinson] (Julie) and Ace [born Ahsen Rafiq] Bhatti (Khokar) also appeared opposite Eccleston in The Second Coming
  • Robert Pugh (Harris) was Tony Mack in The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood, and voiced Emmett Burrows for Big Finish's Five Twenty-Nine (2016)
  • Sean Gilder (Beatty) was the Sycorax Leader in The Christmas Invasion
  • Sasha Behar (Laing) and Lorraine Burroughs (WPC) both starred in The Fires of Pompeii, as Spurrina and Thalina
  • Clare Calbraith (Laura) voiced 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)
  • Tobias Menzies (McGovern) was Lieutenant Stepashin in Cold War
  • Rachel [Joanne] Bavidge (Nurse) voiced the European Leader for The Defectors (2015), and Seru for The Isos Network (2016)
  • Tony Osoba (Solicitor) was Lan in Destiny of the Daleks, Kracauer in Dragonfire, and Duke in Kill the Moon
  • Martha [Esther] Cope (Reporter) was the Controller in Bad Wolf, and voiced Captain Tanya Oswin for The Nowhere Place, Talia for 100, and Commander Lind for The Sons of Kaldor (2018)
  • Simon [Timothy] Chandler (Consultant) voiced Corporal Arthur Dimes for Churchill Victorious (2018)
  • Nigel [Edward] Hastings (Spokesman) was the Commander in The Pyramid at the End of the World, and voiced Quain for Creatures of Beauty (2003), and Boden for Return to Skaro (2020)
  • Anjela Lauren Smith (Kirsten) voiced Genevieve for The Coney Island Chameleon (2019)
  • John Heffernan (PC Felix) voiced Vonchef for Revenge of the Swarm (2004), Honos for The Trial of a Time Machine (2018), and the Nine for The Crucible of Souls (2016), Companion Piece, Relative Time (both 2019) and The Dreams of Avarice (2022)
  • Lloyd McGuire (Clerk) was Lugo in The Face of Evil, and voiced Tendexter for The Architects of History (2010)
  • Charles Kay [born Piff] (Halton) voiced the Curator in Excelis Rising (2002)
  • Nadine [Panchita] Marshall (Officer) voiced Shepstay for Earth Aid (2011), Katrice for You are the Doctor, and Kordel for The Grand Betelgeuse Hotel (both 2015)
  • David Schofield (DS Foley) was Odin in The Girl Who Died, and voiced Billy for Death in Blackpool (2009), Nostradamus and Conclave Leader for The Doomsday Quatrain (2011), Parval for The Sorcerer of Albion (2020), and Gostak for The End of the Beginning (2021)
  • Jonathan [Louis] Tafler (Book keeper) voiced Captain Waldo for The Paradise of Death, and Pietro Clemenza for The Ghosts of N-Space
  • Alex Kaye Besley was also assistant director on The Sarah Jane Adventures: Invasion of the Bane and The Shakespeare Code
  • stunt co-ordinator Gareth Milne was George Cranleigh in Black Orchid, Mortuary Attendant in Vengeance on Varos, and doubled for Peter Davison in Warriors of the Deep
  • Ian Pead was stunt double on Twice Upon a Time too

Wednesday 23 March 2022

Doctor Who On This Day #82


1928 - Writer Louis Frank Marks
born in London
1968 - Fury from the Deep, Episode
 2 first screened on BBC1
1969 - Galaxy 4Episodes 3 and 4 and The Massacre,
Episode 2: The Sea Beggar repeated and The Ark, Episode
2: The Plague first screened, all on TV1; and The Evil of
the Daleks, Episodes 6 and 7 both repeated and Fury from
 the DeepEpisodes 1 to 3 repeated and Episode 4 first
screened, all on ABC
1973 - Day of the Daleks, Episode
2 first screened on ABC
1978 Robot, Part 1 and The Seeds 
of DoomPart 1 both repeated on ABC
1974 The Monster of Peladon, Part
first screened on BBC1
1982 - Horror of Fang Rock, Part 3 repeated on KQED
Plus; Full Circle, Part 1 repeated and Part 2 first screened,
both on ABC; and Time Flight, Part 2 first screened on 
BBC1
1983 - Day of the Daleks, Episode
2 and Full Circle, Part 4 both repeated
on KQED Plus
1984 - Planet of Evil, Part 2 repeated on KQED Plus;
The King's DemonsPart 1 repeated on ABC; and The
Twin Dilemma, Part 2 first screened on BBC1
1985 - Revelation of the Daleks, Part
first screened on BBC1
1986 The Curse of Peladon Omnibus
repeated on KQED Plus
1987 - The Time Monster, Episodes
3 to 6 all repeated on WTTW 11 
1988 Genesis of the Daleks, Part 4 repeated on TV de
 Galicia; Destiny of the Daleks, Part 1 repeated on KQED
 Plus; and City of Death, Part 2 repeated on TV2
1989 - Carnival of Monsters, Episode 3 repeated on KQED
 Plus; The Android InvasionPart 2 repeated on ABC; and 
The Ultimate Adventure began a five-month, twenty-venue
tour at Wimbledon Theatre, London
1990 - The King's Demons, Part
2 repeated on KQED Plus
1991 The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Episode 6: Flashpoint
repeated on TV2; and The Invasion of Time, Part 2 and
Resurrection of the Daleks Omnibus both repeated on
KQED Plus
1993 The Silurians, Episode 2 repeated on
UK Gold; and The VisitationPart 1 repeated
 on ABC
1994 The Stones of Blood, Part
2 repeated on UK Gold
1995 Vengeance on Varos, Part
1 first screened on VOX
1997 Genesis of the Daleks, Part 3 repeated on ZTV;
and Terror of the Zygons Omnibus repeated on UK Gold
1998 - Spearhead from Space, Episode 1 first screened
 on Space; Meglos Omnibus repeated on KQED Plus; and 
Enlightenment, Part 1 repeated on UKTV (Aus)
1999 - Spearhead from Space, Episode
1 repeated on Space; and Attack of the
CybermenPart 2 repeated on UKTV (Aus)
2000 The Space Museum, Episode 1 repeated on Space;
and The Curse of Peladon, Episode 4 first screened on TG4
2001 - The Talons of Weng-Chiang, Part 6 repeated on
UKTV (Aus); Horror of Fang Rock, Parts 1 and 2 both
repeated on Prime; and The Ribos OperationParts 1 and
both repeated on NHPTV
2002 The Mutants Omnibus repeated on UK Gold; The 
Time Warrior Omnibus repeated on KERA; Planet of Evil,
Part 4 repeated on BBC Kids (Can); Mindwarp Omnibus 
repeated on UKTV (Aus); and The Ultimate Foe Omnibus 
repeated on BBC Prime
2003 The Mutants Omnibus repeated on UK Gold; The
 Ark in Space, Parts 3 and 4 both repeated on Iowa PTV;
Pyramids of Mars, Part 1 repeated on WSKG; Destiny of
the Daleks Omnibus repeated on BBC Kids (Can); The
Armageddon Factor, Part 1 repeated on WILL; The
Creature from the PitParts 2 and 3 both repeated on 
MiND; MeglosPart 1 repeated on KUED; Terminus
Omnibus repeated on MPT; The Caves of Androzani,
 Parts 1 and both repeated on WCET; Terror of the
Vervoids, Part 12 repeated on NHPTV; Paradise Towers,
 Parts 1 and 2 both repeated on KBTC; and Delta and the
Bannermen, Parts 1 and 2 both repeated on Colorado PTV
2004 Spearhead from Space, Episode 4 repeated on ABC;
 and The Caves of Androzani, Parts 1 and 2 both repeated on 
BBC Kids (Can)
2005 Underworld, Part 1 repeated
on ABC
2006 The Doctor Dances first
screened on People+ Arts
2007 The End of the World first screened on WCET;
and Army of Ghosts and Doomsday both repeated
on BBC3
2008 - The Armageddon Factor, Parts 3 and 4 both
repeated on WCET; World War Three repeated on MPT and
WTVP; The Long Game repeated on Houston PM; Father's
Day repeated on WXXI; The Empty Child and Doctor Who
 Confidential: Special Effects both repeated on KERA; Boom 
Town repeated on KQED Plus and WGVU; Bad Wolf repeated
on Idaho PTV; The Christmas Invasion repeated on UK Gold;
Doctor Who Confidential: Why on Earth? repeated on MPT;
and Doctor Who Confidential: Unsung Heroes and Violent 
Death repeated on WGVU
2009 100,000 BC, Episode 4: The Firemaker and The
 Edge of Destruction, Episode 1 both repeated on MTV3 
SciFi and TV4; and Planet of the Ood repeated on BBC3
2010 Rose repeated on Syfy (FRG); Bad Wolf repeated
 on UKTV (Aus) and Syfy (Spa); Army of Ghosts repeated 
on WTTW Prime; Evolution of the Daleks repeated on
HRT2; The Next Doctor repeated on BBC3; and Doctor
Who Confidential Cutdown: The World of Who repeated
on UKTV (Aus)
2011 The Sun Makers, Parts 1 and 2 both repeated on
MTV3 SciFi; and World War Three repeated on Space
2012 The Brain of Morbius, Episodes 2 and 3 both 
repeated on Radio 4 Extra; Kinda, Parts 1 and 2 both 
repeated on Syfy (Aus); Mawdryn Undead, Parts 1 and
2 both repeated on MTV3 SciFi; 42 repeated on Watch; 
Last of the Time Lords repeated on BBC America; Partners
in Crime and Doctor Who Confidential: A Noble Return both
repeated on BBC3; The End of Time, Part 2 repeated on 
ABC2; and Doctor Who Confidential Cutdown: Making 
Manhattan repeated on UKTV (Aus)
2013 The Doctor Dances repeated on
Syfy (Port); The Satan Pit repeated on UKTV
(NZ); The End of Time, Parts 1 and 2 both
repeated on BBC America; Night Terrors repeated on Fox (FRG);
The God Complex repeated on Syfy (Ben); Prequel: The Bells of 
Saint John released on BBC Red Button; Doctor Who Confidential 
Cutdown: What Dreams May Come repeated on UKTV (Aus); and
Pointless Celebrities: Doctor Who special first screened on BBC1
2014 Robot Omnibus repeated on KPTS;
Horror of Fang RockParts 3 and 4 both
repeated on KBTC; The Power of Kroll,
Parts and 2 both repeated on Syfy (Aus);
The Idiot's Lantern and The Impossible
Planet both repeated on RAI4; The Shakespeare Code 
repeated on Fox (FRG); Voyage of the Damned repeated on WPT
Flagship; Turn LeftThe Stolen Earth and Journey's End all repeated
on Watch; The Vampires of VeniceAmy's ChoiceThe Hungry Earth 
and Cold Blood all repeated on France 4; The Big Bang repeated on
BBC Entertainment LA; The Almost People repeated on Idaho
PTV; Let's Kill Hitler repeated on AXN Adria; Dinosaurs on a
Spaceship and Doctor Who Confidential: Out of Time both repeated 
on BBC Entertainment ME; A Town Called Mercy repeated on
UKTV (NZ); The Snowmen repeated on UKTV (Aus); The Bells 
of Saint John repeated on OETA; Cold War repeated on Iowa PTV
 and Really Scary TV; Hide repeated on Really Scary TV and KLRU;
The Crimson Horror repeated on WXXI; and The Name of the 
Doctor repeated on WTTW Prime
2015 - The Pirate Planet, Part 3 and Journey's End both
repeated on Syfy (Aus); The Keeper of Traken, Parts 2 and 
3 both repeated
 on Horror; Battlefield Omnibus and The Shakespeare Code both 
repeated on Watch; Love & Monsters and Fear Her both repeated
on EBRU; Midnight, Turn Left and The Stolen Earth all repeated on
BBC America; Let's Kill Hitler and Closing Time both repeated on
BBC Nordic HD and BBC Polska HD; Night Terrors repeated on BBC
Nordic HD, BBC Polska HD and WPT; Asylum of the Daleks and
Dinosaurs on a Spaceship both repeated on Syfy (Spain); The 
Angels Take Manhattan and The Snowmen both repeated on
Syfy (Ben); In the Forest of the Night first screened on KBS1
 and Dark Water repeated on BBC Entertainment LA
2016 - Kinda, Parts 1 and 2 both repeated on Retro TV;
The Long Game and Turn Left both repeated on Syfy (Aus);
Tooth and Claw repeated on TV Cultura; Smith and Jones
repeated on BBC Entertainment AP; Gridlock and Doctor Who 
Confidential: Are We There Yet? both repeated on ABC2; The 
Vampires of Venice and Amy's Choice both repeated on France
 4; Day of the Moon repeated on Einsfestival; Night Terrors
 repeated on BBC First (ME); The Caretaker repeated on BBC 
Polska HD; and Dark Water repeated on Syfy (LA) and Syfy
 (Bra)
2017 The Daemons, Episode 4 repeated on The Zone; 
The Awakening, Part 2 and Frontios, Part 1 both repeated
on Retro TV; The Doctor Dances and Boom Town both
repeated on BBC Polska 
HD; The Parting of the Ways repeated on Space; Human Nature, 
The Family of Blood, Blink, Utopia, The Sound of Drums and Last 
of the Time Lords all repeated on BBC America; Planet of the Ood 
repeated on FX (Ind); The Time of Angels, The Lodger and The Pandorica Opens all repeated on Syfy (Bral); A Good Man Goes 
to War repeated on Syfy (Aus); The Wedding of River Song and 
A Christmas Caroboth repeated on DR3; and The Magician's 
Apprentice repeated on BBC First (ME)
2018 - The Invasion of Time, Parts 1 and 2 both repeated on
 Jones! too; Battlefield, Parts 3 and 4 both repeated on Retro
TV; The Girl in the FireplaceRise of the Cybermen and The
Age of Steel all repeated on Syfy (Aus); Gridlock repeated on
W; The Eleventh Hour, Part 1 (of 2) repeated on Star World 
Premiere; The God Complex repeated on ABC and ABC ME; 
The Woman Who Lived repeated on BBC Polska HD; Thin Ice 
repeated on BBC First (ME); and Empress of Mars and The 
Eaters of Light both repeated on Syfy (Bra)
2019 - The Web Planet, Episodes 1 to 4 and The Time
MeddlerEpisodes 3 and 4 all repeated on Retro TV; Flatline
and In the Forest of the Night both repeated on BBC Polska
HD; Thin Ice and Knock Knock both repeated on France 4;
and The Eaters of Light repeated on Syfy (Aus)
2020 - Closing Time repeated on BBC Polska HD; Asylum
of the Daleks repeated on W; Death in Heaven repeated on
Syfy (Fra); and Arachnids in the UK repeated on Fox (FRG)
2021 Planet of the Spiders, Parts 1 and
2 both repeated on Retro TV; The Long
Game and Father's Day both repeated on
One ARD; The Waters of Mars repeated
on ABC2; Hide repeated on Syfy (Fra);
and The Zygon Inversion repeated on
BBC Polska HD
2022 Arc of Infinity, Parts 3 and
both repeated on Retro TV;
Vengeance on Varos, Parts 2 and
both repeated on Forces TV; The
Age of Steel repeated on Fox SciFi;
Smith and Jones repeated on Syfy
(Fra); The End of Time, Part 1
 repeated on BBC First Turkey; and
Resolution repeated on BBC Polska
HD