Doctor Who Vs. Our Friends in the North

First staged by the RSC in 1982, Peter Flannery's play was eventually

adapted for television by BBC2, from (commission in) 1992 to (filming

in) 1995. Originally broadcast in early 1996, the drama told the story

of four friends from Newcastle over a period of 31 years, 1964 to 1995.

From the budget (£8 million), to the cast (160 speaking roles and

3,000 extras), the scale of the production was huge - filming took

forty weeks. Ratings success and critical acclaim followed - it won

three BAFTA TV awards, then was named one of the 100 Greatest

British TV Programmes by the BFI.

The epic series helped establish the careers of its lead actors -

(pictured left to right) Christopher Eccleston, Gina McKee, Mark

Strong, and Daniel Craig. A rare repeat run of the nine-part series

concluded on BBC4 last night - it featured David Bradley, Alun

Armstrong, Malcolm McDowell, and a total of thirty-three Doctor

Who cast/crew connections:

• McKee voiced the Lumiat for Big Finish's Missy 2 (2020) and Masterful (2021)
• Danny Webb (DI Conrad) was John Jefferson in The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit, then voiced Byron for The Girl Who Never Was (2007), and Ori for The Dark Husband (2008)
• David Schofield (DCI Salway) was Odin in The Girl Who Died, and voiced Billy for Death in Blackpool (2009), Nostradamus for The Doomsday Quatrain (2011), Narrator of The House of Winter (2015), Parval for The Sorcerer of Albion (2020), and Gostak for The End of the Beginning (2021)
• Donald Sumpter (Chapple) was Enrico Casali in The Wheel in Space, Commander Ridgeway in The Sea Devils, Erasmus Darkening in The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Eternity Trap, and President Rassilon in Hell Bent
• Peter [Neville] Jeffrey (Blamire) was the Pilot in The Macra Terror, and Count Grendel in The Androids of Tara
• Granville Saxton (Jellicoe) voiced the Duke of Wellington for The Curse of Davros (2012)
• Gavin Muir (Kyle) voiced Barone for The Ghosts of N-Space
• Pete Lee Wilson (Butler) was Tommo in The End of Time
• Trevor Cooper (DCS Cockburn) was [Lancelot] Takis in Revelation of the Daleks, and Friar Tuck in Robot of Sherwood - he also voiced Rull for Magic Bullet's Kaldor City, then Sir Ralph for The Doomwood Curse, Shanks for The Haunting of Thomas Brewster (both 2008), Judah for The Beast of Orlok, Smithy for Castle of Fear (both 2009), Captain Maddox/Stennan for Army of Death (2011), Colonel Burroughs/Kimball for The Emerald Tiger (2012), Preddle/Jonathan Jaggers for Judoon in Chains (2016), Jonathan Mayfly/Sir Joseph Eagleton for The Ghosts of Greenwich (2019), Smallpiece for Merry Christmas Mr. Jago (2020), and Silas Keynes for The Ravencliff Witches (2022)
• Sean Gilder (PC Lukoschek) was the Sycorax Leader in The Christmas Invasion
• Peter [George Haywood] Halliday (Speaker) was Packer/Cyber Director Voice in The Invasion, voiced the titular Silurians in their debut story and the Aliens in The Ambassadors of Death, then was Pletrac in Carnival of Monsters, Soldier in City of Death, and Vicar in (part 2 of) Remembrance of the Daleks
• Malcolm Terris (Knox) was Etnin in The Dominators, and the Co-Pilot in The Horns of Nimon
• Angela Bruce (Sister) was Brigadier Winifred Bambera in Battlefield [a role reprised for Big Finish's Animal (2011) and UNIT), then voiced Mother for The Persistence of Dreams (2018), Herb for Conversion (2019), and Oya/Andarta for Consequences (2021)
• Ian [Jacob] Thompson (Correspondent) was Hetra in The Web Planet, and Malsan in The Chase (2) 
• Stephen [Mark] Marcus [born Scott] was the Jailer in The Shakespeare Code
• Peter [Francois] Cellier (Judge) was Andrews in Time Flight (1)
• David Schaal (Prison Officer) voiced Inspector Zogroth and Bus Driver for The Star Beast (2019)
• Roger Avon (Braniff) was Saphadin in The Crusade, and Daxtar in The Daleks' Master Plan (4)
• Steve Griffin was stuntman on The Idiot's Lantern too
• Diana Barton (production manager) was line producer on twenty-two stories (from A Christmas Carol to The Crimson Horror)
• Andy Pryor has also worked as casting director on the revived run since 2005, as well as The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood
• Pennie Bloomfield (first assistant director) was assistant floor manager on Attack of the Cybermen
• Henry Jaworski was also art director on The Pilot and Smile
• Margaret Aston was make-up artist on Shakedown too
• Suzan Broad (make-up designer) was artist on Kinda
• Lisa Pickering (make-up artist) was assistant on Warriors' Gate (4)
• Garry Dawson also worked on stand-by props on Cold War and The Crimson Horror
• Tony Harding was also VFX designer on The Invisible Enemy, The Power of Kroll, State of Decay, The King's Demons and The Awakening
• Peter Kersey was SFX technician on the Doctor Who TV Movie too
• Peter Baldock (dubbing editor) was an Acolyte in The Face of Evil (4)
• Terry Elms was sound assistant on The Masque of Mandragora (1) too
• Richard Manton (sound recordist) worked on film sound on The Daemons and The Mutants
• Michael Preece was props buyer on K9 and Company too

Doctor Who Vs. The Temple of Doom

The second instalment in Lucasfilm's Indiana

Jones franchise was again directed by Steven

Spielberg, and opened in 1984. The Temple

of Doom was actually set in 1935, a year

before the events of part one, Raiders of

the Lost Ark. Harrison Ford returned as Dr.

Henry Jones Jnr. In 1985, the film won an

Oscar and a BAFTA award.

Paramount Pictures had originally planned a

run of five movies, whilst George Lucas had

always intended to create a trilogy of stories

- The Last Crusade completed Indy's saga in

1989. Then in 2008, a fourth feature, The

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released.

Disney now own the rights to the series, and

a fifth production is scheduled for release

next summer. This adventure was shown on

Film4 last night - it featured Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, and thirteen Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• David [Nicholas] Yip (Wu Han) was Veldan in Destiny of the Daleks, then voiced Curly for Big Finish's The Girl Who Never Was (2007), Kenendy for The Fearless (2008), and Hector for Evolution (2013)
• Philip Tan (Henchman) was a Chinaman in Four to Doomsday
• Bhasker Patel (Guard) was Jival Chowdry in Turn Left
• for stunt performers Peter Brace, Billy Horrigan, Rocky Taylor, Martin Grace and Kiran Shah see Raiders of the Lost Ark
• stuntman [Timothy] Tip Tipping was stunt arranger on Remembrance of the Daleks, The Curse of Fenric and Survival
• stuntman Chris Webb was a Monoid in The Ark
• stuntman Terry Forrestal was a Tractor Driver in K9 and Company
• stuntman Gareth Milne was George Cranleigh in Black Orchid, Mortuary Attendant in Vengeance on Varos, and doubled for Peter Davison on Warriors of the Deep
• stuntman Nick Hobbs made uncredited appearances in The Ambassadors of Death, Terror of the Autons, The Mind of Evil, The Claws of Axos, Day of the Daleks, The Time Monster, both Peladon stories (as Aggedor), The Ark in Space, then was Mr. Nainby in Amy's Choice

Date With History: 2001

The worst terrorist attacks in history occurred twenty-one

years ago today, on Tuesday September 11th 2001 - 9/11

in America. 

Three hijacked domestic airliners were forcibly flown into

targets in New York city, and Arlington, killing almost 3,000

people (including 67 Britons), and injuring more than 6,000.

At 8.46 am, American Airlines Flight 11 struck the World

 Trade Center's North Tower (1 WTC), then at 9.03 am,

United  Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower (2 WTC).

Both towers had collapsed by 10.30 am. At 9.37 am,

American Airline Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon.

Passengers on a fourth plane heroically resisted their

captors, and that flight missed it's intended rendezvous,

believed to be the Capitol, or the White House. United

Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field at Shanksville,

Pennsylvania.

Doctor Who Vs. Silk, Series 1

This popular legal drama from BBC Productions was created by 

prolific screen writer Peter Moffat, and began in February 2011.

With female QCs (Queen's Counsels or 'silks') in a tiny minority,

Northern barrister Martha Costello (portrayed here by Bolton-

born Maxine Peake) is anxious to join that elite number prog-

ressing through the courts of London. For season one, Martha

was joined at the fictional Shoe Lane Chambers by Clive Reader

(played by Rupert Penry-Jones), Billy Lamb (Neil Stuke), Nick

Slade (Tom Hughes), and Niamh Cranitch (Natalie Dormer).

The six-part series (not repeated since 2015) featured twenty-

eight Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Stuke was Lee Clayton in Fugitive of the Judoon, and voiced the titular role for Big Finish's The Crooked Man (2014)
• [Oluwakemi] Nina Sosanya (Kate) was Trish Webber in Fear Her, and voiced Captain Anna Maynard for Aquitaine (2016)
• Owen [Nigel Courtney] Teale (Frogett) was Maldak in Vengeance on Varos, and voiced Hayton for The Mind's Eye (2007)
• Gerard [James Pertwee] Horan (DS Scarrow) and Pip [Dean] Torrens (Maikin) both appeared in Human Nature and The Family of Blood, as Clark and Headmaster Rocastle respectively - Torrens also voiced Charlie Gibbs for Eldrad Must Die! (2013), and Kenton for Break the Ice (2022)
• Philip Bretherton (Haig) voiced Plenipotentiary Suskind for Arrangements for War (2004), Scrivener for Recorded Time, Darcy, D'Urberville and Heathcliff for A Most Excellent Match (both 2011), and Vituperon for The Devil's Armada (2014)
• Kerry Godliman (WPC Banks) voiced Karen Coltraine for The Eight Truths and Worldwide Web (both 2009)
• Adrian Schiller (Zeigler) was Uncle in The Doctor's Wife, and voiced Zanith for Time Works (2006)
• Sheila Ruskin (Magistrate) was Kassia in The Keeper of Traken
• Rupert [Makepeace] Wickham (Wiles) voiced Captain Dudgeon for No Man's Land (2006), Major Jonas Faber for Klein's Story, and Butterfly for Survival of the Fittest (both 2010)
• Fenella Woolgar (Wendy) was Agatha Christie in The Unicorn and the Wasp, and voiced Commander Hellan Femor for Fitz's Story (2009), Morella Wendigo for Nevermore (2010), Leanne for Ghost Walk, Professor Jemima Still for Time in a Bottle (both 2018), Vanessa Seaborne for Planet of the Drashigs (2019), and Lady Malina Rigel Smythe for Shadow of the Sun (2020)
• Paul Thornley (Turley) voiced Marko for Seven Keys to Doomsday (2008), Michael Rond for Fitz's Story, Gomori for Paper Cuts (2009), and Robbie Flint/Cyril for Criss-Cross (2015)
• Adrian Dunbar (Gillespie) voiced McCarthy for Brave New Town (2008)
• Diana [Marilyn] Quick (Justice Frank) voiced Prime for Scream of the Shalka, then voiced Sophie Kinzky for Hidden Depths (2022)
• Ariyon [Debo] Bakare (Antwi) was Leandro in The Woman Who Lived
• Sam Graham (Cutler) voiced Guthrie for City of Spires (2010), and McMullan for Destination Nerva (2012)
• Peter Hamilton Dyer (Clerk) began his TV career as Embery in Remembrance of the Daleks
• Greg Donaldson (Gaoler) voiced Telligan for Dalek Empire (2004), Coach Bela Destry for The Game (2005), and David for Power Play (2012)
• Lauren [Rose] Crace (Lindsey) voiced Jemima for The Two Masters (2016)
• Georgina Beedle (Joanna) voiced Elinor Daxus for You Only Die Twice (2024)
• Catherine Morshead was also director of Amy's Choice and The Lodger
• Steve Thompson was also writer of The Curse of the Black Spot, Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, Time Heist and The Science of Doctor Who
• Jake Jackson was also the music mixer on seventy-one stories (from The Runaway Bride to The Time of the Doctor)
• Iain Erskine was film editor on Nightmare in Silver too
• Lewis Peake was also an art department assistant on Planet of the Dead and The Waters of Mars
• Adam Harvey was the assistant editor on An Adventure in Space and Time too
• David Foster was also the orchestrator on seventy-six instalments (from Voyage of the Damned to Last Christmas)
• Tom Lucy was also the stunt co-ordinator on sixteen episodes (from Smith and Jones to The Next Doctor)
• Gordon Seed was a stuntman on nineteen adventures and stunt co-ordinator on another eleven (from Series 2 to The Time of the Doctor)

Date With History: 1985

A joint American/French expedition
led by Dr. Robert Ballard (and costing
$15 million), discovered the wreck of
the legendary liner, RMS Titanic, at
1.05 am on September 1st.

Seventy-three years after sinking in
the North Atlantic, Titanic was now
lying under 12,460 feet of water, torn
in two sections amid a 2,000 feet long
debris field. 

Until the discovery it was generally
accepted that the ship foundered

intact.