Doctor Who @ 50: An Adventure In Space And Time

Dhawan, Gatiss & Hussein at the recent BFI screening of An Unearthly Child

Further details about the golden anniversary biopic, An Adventure in Space and Time were released today.

Commissioned last August by BBC Two, the ninety-minute docudrama penned by Sherlock co-creator and Nu Who writer and actor Mark Gatiss will commence production at Television Centre in early February, before moving to Wimbledon Studios.

The programme will tell the story of the genesis of Doctor Who, a story that began more than fifty years ago. Yorkshire-born actor, David Bradley has been cast as William Hartnell, the First Doctor. He was last seen as Solomon in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, and even voiced the alien Shansheeth for The Sarah Jane Adventures story, Death of the Doctor (2010), but he is more famous as Hogwarts caretaker, Argus Filch in the Harry Potter film series. Bradley commented on his new role:
"I'm absolutely thrilled.. Mark has written such a wonderful script, not only about the birth of a cultural phenomenon, but a moment in television's history. Hartnell was one of the finest character actors of our time and as a fan I want to make sure that I do him justice. I'm so looking forward to getting started."

The role of BBC Head of Drama, Sydney Newman, credited with creating Doctor Who, has gone to Scottish actor, Brian Cox (the voice of the Elder Ood in The End of Time). Founding producer Verity Lambert will be portrayed by Call the Midwife actress, Jessica Raine, who also stars as Emma Grayling in forthcoming episode, Phantoms of the Hex. Director of An Unearthly Child, Waris Hussein will be played by Manchunian, Sacha Dhawan (from Last Tango in Halifax).
Casting news for the other leads, Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright) and Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman) has not been announced yet, and it has been rumoured that Jamie Glover (son of Julian Glover) may have been cast as William Russell (Ian Chesterton).
Matt Strevens (Misfits, Skins) has been appointed producer, and Terry McDonough (The Street) will direct the serial.
Gatiss, also joining Steven Moffat and Caroline Skinner as executive producers, said:
"What a cast! I'm utterly delighted that everyone's favourite Time Lord will be in such brilliant and stellar company. We have a terrific team who can't wait to tell the fascinating and surprising story of how the Doctor began his journey through Space and Time."

Empire Presents The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time

It's almost five years since cinema magazine Empire published their own list of the best ever TV shows, so surely it's time to reappraise the findings.
As any dedicated Whovian will admit, it's difficult (nigh impossible) to remain objective when any similar new poll is unveiled, for Doctor Who is without doubt, THE greatest television programme in the world. This particular survey needs urgent revision, simply because our favourite show warrants not just a higher standing than sixteenth place, but also recognition for the 'classic' era - only the revived, 21st century incarnation is included here. Consequently, the periodical cites (the much deserved) Blink as the best example of the series, whilst neglecting all pre-2005 stories.

Not surprisingly, the list - predominantly sci-fi and fantasy related and topped by The Simpsons - is characterised by influential US programming (in fact accounting for 78% of the whole study). The only British entries (eight of which are BBC produced) are Cracker (#44), Only Fools and Horses (#42), Life On Mars (#40), Monty Python's Flying Circus (#39), Father Ted (#36), Fawlty Towers (#28), Red Dwarf (#26), The Office (#23), Blackadder (#20), Doctor Who, and Spaced in tenth position.
So, Empire commented thus:

Great Doctor Who Quotes #43

"This is one corner of one country, in one continent, on one planet that's a corner of a galaxy that's a corner of a universe that is forever growing and shrinking and creating and destroying, and never remaining the same for a single millisecond. And there is so much.. to see, because it goes so fast. I'm not running away from things, I'm running to them. Before they flare and fade forever."

- The Doctor, The Power of Three (September 22 2012)

Written by Chris Chibnall

Radio Times TV Review of 2012

That venerable publishing colossus, Christmas perennial, and loyal Doctor Who advocate, the Radio Times, has revealed the results of their annual survey. Their website's 'Top 40 shows' of the year has placed the show at a respectable number fifteen (down from eigth position last year, and probably due to a reduced run of episodes).

Steven Moffat's other BBC One drama, Sherlock tops the list, voted for by the magazine's critics. You can read the complete list here. RT writer and resident Whovian Patrick Mulkern comments:

15. Doctor Who BBC1
"It was a lean year for [the programme], and the promise of “five blockbuster episodes” may have been puff, but there were classics in the mix. The (kind of) new companion debuted by surprise, unaware she was the maddest Dalek in the asylum with her obsession for soufflé: “Eggs-ter-min-ate!” Who could resist dinosaurs and Nefertiti running riot on a spaceship, or the mystery of the black cubes and Jemma Redgrave as the new Brigadier? She must return! Then the Angels in Manhattan robbed us of the Ponds. Their timey-wimey dispersal left a hole in the Doctor’s hearts. And ours. "

The Best (and Worst) Doctor Who of 2012

The io9 science blog published it's annual TV review of the year last week. The Best and Worst Television Moments of 2011, again from Meredith Woerner, features two recent Doctor Who stories. 

The season opener, Asylum of the Daleks is actually named as both one of the 'Best' and 'Worst' shows. The story is praised for the shock introduction of Jenna Louise Coleman as "the dazzling Oswin Oswald" then criticised for the Ponds' divorce storyline: "Amy and Rory pretend to fight for almost 25 seconds. This whole divorce.. was a sham.. [it] came from nowhere and went right back there.. [they] deserved better than this.. Amy sure as hell wouldn't "give up" Rory. If Amy has proven one thing, it's that she will fight to the bitter end for her centurion. Same goes for Rory. Boo to this facade of emotion."

Thankfully, the list of top sci-fi and fantasy programmes redeems the show, and includes Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, described as a "bit of fun before we had to say goodbye to the Ponds forever. This episode.. was a nice return to the "fun" Doctor, if only for a while."

Doctor Who Gets the Stamp of Approval

All eleven actors to have portrayed the Doctor on television since 1963 are featured on First Class stamps next year. The Royal Mail today unveiled their Doctor Who 50th Anniversary collections, which presents every incarnation of the Time Lord, whilst the Second Class set showcases the programme's greatest monsters and the iconic TARDIS (pictured below).

Andrew Hammond of the Royal Mail said that the commemorative stamps paid "tribute to the brilliant actors that have played the Doctor over the years, as well as the adversaries that helped make the show so popular".

Meanwhile, current Doctor Who show-runner Steven Moffat has promised "tremendous surprises" for the golden anniversary year.

Both William Hartnell (pictured above) and David Tennant have already appeared on a postage stamp - when celebrating the Carry On films (Carry On Sergeant, 2008), and the RSC (Hamlet, 2011) respectively. The Daleks were first honoured with a celebratory Millennium stamp in 1999.
The new stamp sets are available in March.

Ripper Street Preview

I first wrote about this forthcoming BBC thriller way back in January (read here), which is now scheduled to begin transmission on Sunday, December 30th.

BBC One commissioned the new, eight-part period drama, Ripper Street in September 2011. Created by Richard Warlow, the series "is set in the East End of London in 1889, during the aftermath of the" Whitechapel Murders.

The original press release states that "the action centres around the notorious H Division - the police precinct from hell - which is charged with keeping order in the chaotic streets."

Produced by Tiger Aspect, the series "explores the lives of characters trying to recover from the Ripper's legacy, from crimes that have not only irretrievably altered their lives, but the very fabric of their city. At the drama's heart our detectives try to bring a little light into the dark world they inhabit." The programme's cast is led by Matthew Macfadyen (pictured) as real-life Inspector Edmund Reid, Jerome Flynn as Sergeant Bennett Drake, and Adam Rothenberg as Captain Homer Jackson. 

From it's inception in 1829, the Metropolitan Police was divided into seventeen districts for administrative purposes, and each was identified by a letter. 

 In 1888, H Division covered Whitechapel, and it's jurisdiction included three Ripper murder sites: Hanbury Street (Annie Chapman), Berner Street (Elizabeth Stride), and Miller's Court (Mary Kelly). The four police stations within the district where at Leman Street (the divisional HQ), Commercial Street (the area CID office), Arbour Square, and King David Lane. At the time, the Division was responsible for policing just 1 and a quarter square miles, but which housed some 67,000 poverty-stricken souls.

The officer in charge of detectives on the ground during the Whitechapel Murders, was Inspector Frederick Abberline (1843-1929) - he had worked in H Division from 1873-1887. 

Ripper Street features the actual Head of CID, Inspector Reid (1846-1917), who had led enquiries into the (non-canonical) murders of Emma Smith (in April 1888) and Martha Tabram (the following August). He retired in 1896, and later claimed that Frances Coles (killed in February 1891) had been Jack the Ripper's ninth, and final victim. 

Since 1965, H Division has covered Tower Hamlets.