Wednesday, 29 March 2023

Doctor Who Vs. Luther, Series 1

This British psychological drama series
was created and scripted by Booker Prize
nominee, and Emmy award winner Neil
Crossand starred London-born actor
Idris Elba as the eponymous detective,
maverick DCI John Luther.
Elba received Golden Globe and Emmy
Awards nominations for his role here, and
was joined by Indira Varma (Zoe Luther),
Saskia Reeves (DSU Teller), Dermot
Crowley (DCI Schenk), and Ruth Wilson
(Alice Morgan).
The initial run first aired on BBC1 in the
summer of 2010, followed by four-part
seasons in 2011, 2013 and 2019. A two-
part story was shown in late 2015.
Cross' prequel novel, The Calling was
published in 2011, and finally, the long
mooted cinema version launched last
month, ahead of a Netflix release.
A repeat run of the first six-part series
began on Drama this week - it featured Paul McGannNicola
Walkerand a total of twenty-one other Doctor Who cast and
crew connections:

  • Varma reprised Suzie Costello, her Torchwood role, for Big Finish, and was cast as the Duchess for Series 14
  • Warren [Martin] Brown (DS Justin Ripley) voiced Stephen Gibson for Industrial Evolution, Johnny Skipton for Dead Men's Tales (both 2011), Rufus Stone/To'Koth for Signs and Wonders (2014), Lieutenant Sam Bishop for UNIT: Extinction (2015), UNIT: Shutdown, UNIT: Silenced (both 2016), UNIT: Assembled (2017), UNIT: Cyber Reality, Lady Christina 1 (both 2018), UNIT: Incursions (2019), Lady Christina 2 (2021), Way of the Burryman and The Forth Generation (both 2022), then was Jake Willis in Praxeus
  • Reeves voiced Carmen Rega for Emissary of the Daleks (2019), then was Maddelena Fagandini and Mary Wollstonecraft in Delia: The Myths and Legendary Tapes
  • Steven Mackintosh (DCI Reed) was Gazak in Timelash
  • Michael Smiley (Benny Silver) was Colonel Morgan Blue in Into the Dalek, and voiced Seedleson for Creatures of Beauty (2003)
  • Sam Spruell (Lynch) was Swarm in Flux
  • Diveen Henry (PC Hanson) voiced Alozza for The Vault of Osiris (2015), Sarah for The Behemoth, Sandra for A Kill to a View (both 2017), and Amanda for Ashenden (2021)
  • Sean Pertwee (Lynch) made a cameo appearance in The Five(ish) Doctors
  • Paul Rhys (Burgess) voiced Max Paul for The Scapegoat (2009)
  • stunt co-ordinator Derek Lea was a stuntman on DalekBad WolfThe Parting of the WaysThe Age of Steel and Partners in Crime
  • Stephanie Carey was also a stunt performer on ten stories (from Voyage of the Damned to The Vanquishers)
  • Andrew Tiernan (Henley) was [Jim] Purcell in Night Terrors
  • Rob Jarvis (Shand) was Abramal in The Time of the Doctor
  • Graham Turner (Holguin) was Amos in The Crimson Horror
  • Okorie Chukwu (PC Fulford) voiced Mike/Cyborg Auditor/Henry for Her Own Worst Enemy (2021) 
  • Jozef Aoki (Spectator) voiced Toda Elji/Yoshita Hiroshi for The Barbarians and the Samurai (2018)
  • director Stefan Schwartz played the Knight Commander in Battlefield
  • Neal Champion was the SFX supervisor on An Adventure in Space and Time too
  • series stand-by art director Adrian Greenwood was the production buyer on twelve installments, from Asylum of the Daleks to The Name of the Doctor
  • Nick Foley was ADR mixer on The Snowmen too
  • series production buyer Pauline Seager was the assistant floor manager (AFM) on The Five Doctors
  • Elliott Gilhooly was sound assistant on part two of The End of Time too

Sunday, 26 March 2023

Doctor Who Vs. Silent Witness, Series 24

The twenty-fourth season of  BBC1's
evergreen crime drama was originally
shown in the autumn of 2021 - it again
starred Emilia Fox (now the veteran of
166 episodes since 2004) and David
Caves as doctors Nikki Alexander and
Jack Hodgson. The Home Office forensic pathologists (based in London's Lyell Centre) were now joined by Jason Wong
(Dr. Yuen) and Genesis Lynea (Dr. Tyler).
The programme's 25th anniversary series,
saw the return of Amanda Burton as Sam
Ryan, and was teased here. A repeat run
of these five cases began on Drama last
night - they featured a total of seventeen
Doctor Who cast/crew connections:

Redemption (UK TX: September 6 & 7)
  • Lynea was Harriet in Empire of Death, and was Narrator of BBC Books' Sting of the Sasquatch (2024)
  • Kevin Eldon (DI Mason) voiced Antimony for Death Comes to Time, and was Ribbons in It Takes You Away
  • Richard Lumsden (Lawson) voiced Professor Landren for Burrowed Time (2019), and Dr. Vance for Antillia the Lost (2023)
  • Nigel Harrison (Pete) vocied Higgins for The Great Sontaran War (2021)
  • for stuntman Paul Kennington see Series 11
Bad Love (UK TX: September 13 & 14)
  • Bern Collaco (Officer) see Series 23
  • Rob Pavey was also stuntman oDeep BreathInto the Dalek, Robot of SherwoodListen and The Witch's Familiar
Reputations (UK TX: September 20 & 21)
  • Annette Badland (Linda) was Margaret Blaine [alias Blon Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day Slitheen] in Aliens of LondonWorld War Three, Boom Town and reprised for Big Finish's Sync (2019), then voiced Queen Karlina for Equilibrium, Thelma for Suburban Hell (both 2015), Guilana for Asking for a Friend (2017), Computer/Judge for Barrister to the Stars, Mrs. Slinger/Batraxus for Whatever Remains, Maude Polwart/Mermaid for The Ghost Writers (all 2020), Mrs. Goose/Fleshkin for The Hunting Season (2021), Eminent Sedanya for Blood of the Time Lords, the titular entity for The Miniaturist, and Mrs. Chinn for Mind of the Hodiac (both 2022)
  • Nicholas Farrell [born Frost] (Cowley) was Brian Green PM in Torchwood: Children of Earth, and voiced Gammades for Time Reef, Phil for A Perfect World (both 2008), Captain Frank for Last of the Cybermen (2015), and Browman for A Ghost of Alchemy (2023)
  • Sagar Arya (Rahul) was a Newsreader in The Christmas Invasion, and The Sarah Jane Adventures
  • Tobias James Samuels (Officer) was Waiter in Voyage of the Damned
Brother's Keeper (UK TX: September 27 & 28)
  • Sutara Gayle (Gloria) voiced Nan for Mind of the Hodiac
  • Nicki Ballantyne was first assistant director on Resolution too
  • for Amir Nazempour see Series 23
Matters of Life and Death (UK TX: October 4 & 5)
  • Sian [born Jane Elizabeth Ailwên] Phillips (Beattie) voiced COLT-5000 for Jenny 1, Pilgrim for Ravenous (both 2018), the Inquisitor for Gallifrey (2020), the Director for The World Traders, Lady Eugenia de Souza for Outback (both 2021), and Mendrix for Solitary Confinement (2023)
  • Nicholas [Robin Frank] Woodeson (Galton) voiced the Clock- smith for Doom Coalition 3 (2016), and the title role for The Quest of the Engineer (2020)
  • Pauline McLynn (Mary) was Mary in Eve of the Daleks

Monday, 20 March 2023

Doctor Who Vs. The Shadow in the North

Philip Pullman's second Sally 
Lockhart adventure (published
in 1986) was dramatised for
BBC1, and first aired at
Christmas 2007.
The next two Lockhart stories
were also intended to be adapted, but The Tiger in the Well (1991) and The Tin Princess (1994) remain unmade for television.
Billie Piper, Matt Smith, JJ
Feild, David Harewood, and
Hayley Atwell reprised their
roles from The Ruby in the Smoke, whilst Caroline Skinner again
acted as script editor. The Sally Lockhart Mysteries sequel is available
on UKTV Play - it featured Jared Harris, Adjoa Andoh, and eight other Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

  • Dona Croll (Nellie) appeared in New Earth as Matron Casp, and voiced Bella for Madquake (2020), and the Empress for The Sincerest Form of Flattery (2021)
  • Sir John Standing (Garland) voiced Fenric for Gods and Monsters (2012), and Professor Threadstone for Vampire of the Mind (2016)
  • Julian [Alistair] Rhind-Tutt (MacKinnon) voiced Lexhan for The Paradise of Death, and Berkhoff for The Skies of New Earth (2018)
  • Phil Cornwell (Harris) was Stallholder in The Fires of Pompeii, and voiced uperintendent Galgo/Zaleb 5 for Serpent in the Silver Mask (2018), and Parsnip for Spinvasion (2020)
  • Paul [Mackriell] Copley (Paton) was Clem McDonald in Torchwood: Children of Earth, and voiced Dad for Spare Parts (2002), Jimmy Deel for Missing Persons (2013), Mick Huff for The Miniaturist (2022), and Wendell for The Conservitors (2023)
  • Nicholas Blane (Harkness) was Millington in Survivors of the Flux
  • Paul Kennington (Nordenfels) was stuntman on Rise of the CybermenThe Age of Steel, Army of GhostsDoomsday and The Doctor's Daughter
  • Fran Needham was also make-up artist on Full Circle and Arc of Infinity

Doctor Who On This Day #79

1965 The DaleksEpisode 1: The
Dead Planet repeated on ABC and
Episode 5: The Expedition first
screened on CBC; and The Web
PlanetEpisode 6: The Centre first
screened on BBC1
1966 - Marco Polo, Episode 1: The
Roof of the World repeated on TV1
1968 - The ChaseEpisode 3: Flight Through Eternity,
The Time MeddlerEpisode 1: The WatcherGalaxy
4Episode 1: Four Hundred DawnsThe Myth Makers,
Episode 1: Temple of SecretsThe Massacre, Episode
1: War of God and The Ark, Episode 1: The Steel Sky
all repeated on ABC
1971 The Claws of Axos, Episode
first screened on BBC1
1977 - The Monster of Peladon, Part
1 first screened on TV2; and Genesis of
the Daleks, Part 1 first screened on ABC
1979 - Actress Freema Agyeman born
in London; and The Sun Makers, Part 4
repeated and Underworld, Part 2 first
screened, both on ABC
1980 - Revenge of the CybermenPart 
2 first screened on WTTW 11; and The 
Horns of Nimon, Part 4 first screened 
on ABC
1982 Horror of Fang Rock, Part 2
repeated on KQED Plus
1984 - Terror of the Zygons, Part 3 repeated on KQED
Plus; and Enlightenment, Part 2 repeated on ABC
1985 - Colony in Space, Episode 5 repeated on KQED
Plus; and The Time Monster, Episodes 1 to 3 all repeated
on WTTW 11
1986 Inferno, Episode 3 first screened on ABC;
and City of Death, Part 1 repeated on KQED Plus
1987 The Krotons, Episode 4 repeated on KQED Plus
1988 The War Games, Episodes 6 to 10 all repeated
on KQED Plus; and Revenge of the CybermenPart 1
repeated on Super Channel (UK)
1989 Pyramids of MarsPart 3 repeated on ABC; and
Silver Nemesis Omnibus and The Making of Doctor Who 
both first screened on WTTW 11
1990 Enlightenment, Part 3 repeated on KQED Plus
1991 Underworld, Part 4 repeated on KQED Plus
1992 Terror of the Autons, Episode 3 repeated on KQED
 Plus; and The Sea Devils, Episode 3 repeated on BBC2
1993 - Colony in Space, Episode 5 repeated on TV2; and 
The King's Demons Omnibus repeated on KQED Plus
1994 Pyramids of Mars, Part 3 repeated on BBC2;
and The Sun Makers Omnibus repeated on UK Gold
1995 The Silurians, Episode 6 repeated on UK Gold;
The Stones of Blood Omnibus repeated on KQED Plus;
 and The Mark of the RaniPart 2 first screened on VOX
1997 The Green DeathEpisode 4 repeated on UKTV (Aus)
1998 - The War Games, Episode 10 first screened on
Space; and Terminus, Part 4 repeated on UKTV (Aus)
1999 The Ark Omnibus repeated on UK Gold; The Silurians 
Omnibus repeated on MPT; The Sontaran Experiment Omnibus
repeated on BBC America; Revenge of the Cybermen and
Earthshock Omnibuses both repeated on UKTV (Aus); Terror 
of the Zygons, Part 1 first screened on Prairie PTV; and The 
Invasion of Time, Parts 2 and 3 both repeated on BBC Prime
2000 The Web Planet, Episode 4: Crater of Needles repeated
on Space; and Kinda Omnibus repeated on KQED Plus
2001 - The Ark in Space, Parts 1 and 2 both repeated on BBC
America; and The Talons of Weng-Chiang, Parts 1 and 2 both
repeated on Prime and Part 3 repeated on UKTV (Aus)
2002 Planet of Evil, Part 1 repeated on BBC Kids (Can);
and The Ultimate FoePart 13 repeated on BBC Prime
2003 Underworld, Parts 3 and 4 both repeated on BBC Kids
2004 The Brain of Morbius Omnibus repeated on UK Gold;
and Planet of FireParts 3 and 4 both repeated on BBC Kids
(Can)
2005 City of Death Omnibus repeated on UK Gold;
and Four to Doomsday, Part 2 repeated on KUED
2007 - Doomsday repeated on NHK BS2
2008 The Dalek Invasion of EarthEpisodes
 2 and 3 both first screened on MTV3 SciFi and TV4
2009 100,000 BC, Episodes 2 and 3 both repeated on
MTV3 SciFi and TV4; World War Three repeated on TV3
(RI); The Age of Steel repeated on WVPB; Partners in
Crime repeated on BBC3; and Silence in the Library
repeated on Syfy (US)
2010 The End of the World repeated on Syfy (Rus);
Turn Left repeated on France 4 and Syfy (Spa); 
The Stolen Earth, Journey's End and The Next Doctor
all repeated on Syfy (Spa); and The End of Time, Part
 1 first screened on KBS2
2011 The Stolen Earth repeated on Idaho PTV; The Hungry
Earth repeated on BBC HD; and Cold Blood repeated on ABC1
2012 Castrovalva, Parts 3 and 4 both repeated on Syfy (Aus);
Snakedance, Parts 3 and 4 both repeated on MTV3 SciFi and
TV4; Daleks in Manhattan repeated on Watch; Planet of the
Dead repeated on ABC2; and The Waters of Mars and Greatest
Moments: The Companions both repeated on UKTV
2013 Last of the Time Lords, Partners in CrimeThe Fires
of Pompeii and Planet of the Ood all repeated on France 4;
The Next Doctor repeated on UKTV (NZ); The Lodger
repeated on Watch; Night Terrors and The Girl Who Waited 
both repeated on Fox (FRG); and The God Complex repeated
on Syfy (Ben)
2014 The Androids of Tara, Parts 3 and 4 and Enlightenment,
Parts 1 and 2 all repeated on Syfy (Aus); Boom Town repeated
on Watch; The Next Doctor and Planet of the Dead both
repeated on BBC America; The End of Time, Parts 1 and 2
both repeated on TV3 (Spa); Vincent and the Doctor repeated
 on France 4; The Almost People repeated on Syfy (Port);
The Bells of Saint John repeated on Really Scary TV; The
Name of the Doctor repeated on WTTW Prime; Doctor Who
Prom (2010) repeated on BBC Entertainment LA HD; and
The Sarah Jane Adventures: Death of the Doctor, Episode
2 repeated on CBBC
2015 The Green Death, Episodes 1 and 2 both repeated on
Retro TV; City of Death, Part 4 and The Keeper of Traken,
Part 1 both repeated on Horror; The Horns of Nimon, Parts
1 and 2 both first screened on Retro TV; Smith and Jones
repeated on Watch and KCPT2; The Unicorn and the Wasp,
Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead all repeated
on BBC America; The Stolen Earth, Amy's Choice, The
Hungry Earth and The Lodger all repeated on Syfy (Aus);
Cold Blood and Vincent and the Doctor both repeated
on Syfy (Aus) and Jeem TV (ME); The Big Bang and 
Christmas Carol both repeated on UKTV (NZ); The Almost 
People and A Good Man Goes to War both repeated on BBC
 Nordic HD and BBC Polska HD; Asylum of the Daleks
repeated on Syfy (Spa); The Angels Take Manhattan
repeated on Syfy (Ben) and KLRU; and Flatline repeated
on BBC3 and BBC Entertainment LA
2016 - The Chase, Episodes 1 to 4 all repeated on Retro
TV; The Face of EvilPart 1 repeated on KPTS; Mindwarp,
Parts 7 and 8 both repeated on KBTC; Aliens of London and
Dinosaurs on a Spaceship both repeated on Syfy (Aus); The
Long GameFather's DayTooth and Claw, The End Time,
Part 2, The Angels Take 
ManhattanThe Doctors Revisited: The Fourth Doctor and The 
Fifth Doctor all repeated on Watch; The Empty Child repeated on 
Watch and UNC-EX; The Doctor Dances, Boom TownBad Wolf, 
Doctor Who Confidential: Special Effects, Weird Science, Unsung 
Heroes and Violent Death and The World of Who all repeated on
UNC-EX; Army of Ghosts repeated on BBC Entertainment Asia
Pacific; Partners in Crime and The Fires of Pompeii both repeated 
on EBRU; The Eleventh Hour and The Beast Below both repeated
on France 4; The Almost People repeated on BBC First (ME);
A Town Called Mercy and The Power of Three both 
repeated on Fox (FRG); Listen repeated on MPTV; Death in 
Heaven repeated on BBC Entertainment EU; The Witch's 
Familiar repeated on Syfy (Bra); Sleep No More and Face the 
Raven both repeated on BBC First (Ben); and Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 AD both screened on 
Moviemix (UK)
2017 The Daemons, Episode 1 repeated on The Zone; Black 
Orchid Omnibus repeated on WETA-UK; The King's Demons, Part
2 and Warriors of the Deep, Part 1 both repeated on Retro TV; 
Aliens of London and World War Three both repeated on BBC
Polska HD; School Reunion, The Girl in the Fireplace, Rise of the 
Cybermen, The Age of SteelThe Idiot's Lantern, The Impossible 
Planet and The Satan Pit all repeated on BBC America; Voyage 
of the Damned, Part 2 (of 2) repeated on FX (Ind); Flesh and 
Stone, The Vampires of Venice, The God Complex, Closing Time, 
Face the Raven and Hell Bent all repeated on Syfy (Bra); The 
Doctor's Wife repeated on Syfy (Aus); A Good Man Goes to War 
and Let's Kill Hitler both repeated on DR3; and In the Forest of 
the Night repeated on BBC First (ME)
2018 - The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, Parts 1 and 2 both
repeated on Retro TV; The Christmas InvasionThe Eaters
of Light and World Enough and Time all repeated on BBC
America; Love & Monsters and Fear Her both repeated on
and W HD; 42 repeated on Syfy (Aus); Let's Kill Hitler
repeated on ABC and ABC ME; Under the Lake repeated
on BBC Polska HD; The Zygon InvasionThe Zygon
Inversion and Sleep No More all repeated on Hell Bent
repeated on BBC First (ME); and The Pyramid at the
End of the World repeated on Syfy (Bra)
2019 - The Chase, Episodes 3 and 4
both repeated on Retro TV; and Death
in Heaven repeated on BBC Polska HD
2020 - The Silurians, Episodes 4 and 5
both repeated on Retro TV; Dark Water
repeated on Syfy (Fra); and Nikola
Tesla's Night of Terror first screened on
Sony SciFi
2021 The War Machines Omnibus
and The Monster of Peladon, Parts 5
and 6 all repeated on Retro TV; The War
Games, Episode 2 repeated on ONS;
Smile repeated on BBC Entertainment
EU; and The Witch's FamiliarUnder the
 Lake and The Woman Who Lived all
repeated on BBC Polska HD
2022 The Web PlanetEpisodes 1
and 2 both repeated on KBTC; The
Deadly Assassin Omnibus repeated
on Iowa PTV; EarthshockParts 2 to 4
and The Caves of Androzani, Part 1 all
repeated on Forces TV; Enlightenment
Omnibus all repeated on Retro TV; Rise
of the Cybermen, The Age of SteelThe
Idiot's LanternThe Impossible Planet,
The Satan PitLove & Monsters and
Fear Her all repeated on Syfy (Fra);
The Woman Who Fell to Earth repeated
on BBC America; Kerblam! repeated on
BBC Polska HD; Can You Hear Me?The
Haunting of Villa DiodatiAscension of
the CybermenThe Timeless Children
and Revolution of the Daleks all repeated
on Fox SciFi; and Village of the Angels,
Survivors of the FluxThe Vanquishers
and Eve of the Daleks all repeated on
BBC First Turkey