Doctor Who Vs. Van Der Valk, Series 2

ITV's classic crime drama (based 
on characters created by Nicolas 
Freeling for his Van Der Valk novels
in 1962) again starred Barry Foster
as the eponymous Dutch detective.
Produced at Thames Television's
studios in London, with location
scenes shot in the books'
Amsterdam setting, the series
first aired in the autumn of 1973.

Viewers then had to wait four years

for the next series, and the show 
was revived in 1991. Marc Warren
was cast in the modern remake.

Another repeat run of the second,
seven part season (including
episodes directed by Douglas 
Camfield, whilst Robert Banks Stewart acted as story editor) began
on the Talking Pictures TV channel last night, and featured Lalla Ward,
and twenty-three Doctor Who cast connections:

• Lisa Daniely (Margo here; Mrs. Visser in Series 3) and Jack May (Minister) both starred in The Space Pirates, as Madeleine Issigri and General Nicolai Hermack
• Mark Jones (Martin) was Arnold Keeler in The Seeds of Doom
• Kevin Stoney (Kemeling) and Ian Fairbairn (Grenech) both appeared in The Invasion, as Tobias Vaughn and Gregory - Stoney was also Mavic Chen in The Daleks' Master Plan, Tobias and Tyrum in Revenge of the Cybermen, whilst Fairbairn was Questa in (episode 1 of) The Macra Terror, Bromley in Inferno, and Dr. Chester in The Seeds of Doom (3)
• John Gill (Man) was Mr. Oak in Fury from the Deep
• Donald Pelmear (Vierman) was Professor Rubeish in The Time Warrior
• Richardson Morgan (Bargee) and Rod Beacham (Technician) both starred  in The Web of Fear, as Corporal Blake and Corporal Lane - Morgan was also Rogin in The Ark in Space
• Wanda Moore (Irene) was Dr. Ruth Ingram in The Time Monster
• Dennis Lill (Van Houten here; Roberts in Series 3) was Dr. Fendelman in Image of Fendahl, and Sir George Hutchinson in The Awakening
• Arne Gordon (Reinhart) began his TV career as Hrostar in The Web Planet, and was Guide in The Chase (3)
• Lois Baxter (Emma) was Lamia in The Androids of Tara, and voiced Carrion for Circular Time: Spring (2007)
• Roy Evans (Caretaker) was Trantis in The Daleks' Master Plan, Bert in The Green Death, and Miner in The Monster of Peladon
• John Quarmby (Zondag) was Henry Tobias in K9 & Company
• John Bailey (Huisman) was the Commander in The Sensorites (6), Edward Waterfield in The Evil of the Daleks, and Sezom in The Horns of Nimon (4)
• Ronald Leigh Hunt (Bekker) was Commanders, Julian Radnor in The Seeds of Death, and Stevenson in Revenge of the Cybermen
• Donald Morley (Dr. Stapper) was Jules Renan in The Reign of Terror
• Roy Boyd (Anton) was Driscoll in The Hand of Fear
• prolific Big Finish actor Christopher Benjamin (Mulder) was Sir Keith Gold in Inferno, then Colonel Hugh Curbishley in The Unicorn and the Wasp, but is best known as Henry Gordon Jago in The Talons of Weng-Chiang - a role he reprised for The Mahogany Murders (2009) then the Jago and Litefoot series (from 2010), Voyage to Venus, Voyage to the New World (both 2012), The Justice of Jalxar (2013), Mind Games, The Screaming Skull (both 2014), Stage Fright, The Haunting (both 2015), The Beast of Kravenos, Jago & Litefoot Revival (both 2017), Jago & Litefoot Forever (2018), The Talents of Greel (2019) and Merry Christmas, Mr. Jago (2020) - he also voiced Tardelli for Grand Theft Cosmos (2008)
• David Webb (Leo) was Leeson in Colony in Space (1)
• Jim Norton (Linden here; Hanson in Series 3) voiced Major Thomas Kennet for Scream of the Shalka
• for Dave Carter (Stribos) see Series 1

Doctor Who Vs. King Ralph

Released by Universal in 1991, this minor box-

office hit was shown on Sky Comedy tonight. 

When the entire House of Wyndham is 

electrocuted to death in a freak accident,

the only survivng heir to the British throne

 is revealed as the long-lost, working-class

American, Ralph Jones (played by John

Goodman).

Installed in London, Ralph is then schooled 

as the new monarch by (the real heir)

Willingham (Peter O'Toole) and Phipps

 (Richard Griffiths), but is frustrated by
the traitorous heir apparent, Lord Graves

(John Hurt). The cast of King Ralph also
featured Camille Coduri (pictured as
Miranda) and fifteen other Doctor Who
cast and crew connections:

• Julian Glover (King Gustav) played King Richard in The Crusade, and Scaroth in City of Death
• Ian Gelder (Instructor) was Dekker in Torchwood: Children of Earth, then provided the Remnant voices in The Ghost Monument, was Zellin in Can You Hear Me?, and voiced the Commander for Legend of the Cybermen (2010)
• Leslie Phillips (Halliwell) voiced Robert Knox for Medicinal Purposes (2004) and Assassin in the Limelight (2008) - Phillips also appeared with Hurt in Scandal
• Ann Beach (Mum) voiced the Deacon for Night Thoughts (2006)
• Rudolph Walker (King Mulambon) was Harper in The War Games
• Dallas Adams (MC) was Professor Howard Foster in Planet of Fire
• Angus MacKay (Tailor) was Lord Cardinal Borusa in The Deadly Assassin, and the Headmaster in Mawdryn Undead
• Roger Ashton-Griffiths (Photographer) was Quayle in Robot of Sherwood
• Rodney Cardiff (Servant) was a Draconian Guard in (episode 5 of) Frontier in Space
• Henry Roberts (Researcher) was a Jousting Judge in The King's Demons (1)
• Tina Simmons (Dignitary) began her career as an Inferno Customer in The War Machines (1)
• stunt co-ordinator Greg Powell was the Knight in The Time Monster
• cinematographer Kenneth MacMillan had been a film cameraman on Planet of Evil
• Peter Walpole was also the set decorator on Rose, The End of the World, The Unquiet Dead, Aliens of London and World War Three
• associate editor William Webb also edited Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures

Doctor Who Vs. Casualty, Series 15

Series regulars Derek Thompson, Ian Bleasdale, Robert Gwilym, Jan

 Anderson, Ian Kelsey, and Kwame Kwei Armah all returned for the 

fifteenth season of BBC One's long-running medical drama.
Joining the programme here were Adjoa Andoh (as Sister Colette

Kierney), Grant Masters (manager Dan Robinson), Will Mellor

(receptionist Jack Vincent), Ben Keaton (Spencer), and Zita Sattar 

(nurse Anna Paul), whilst Philip Bretherton replaced William Gaminara

(in the role of Dr. Andrew Boxer).
Paul Aron, Donna Alexander, Michelle Butterly, Sandra Huggett,
Ronnie McCann, and Rebecca Wheatley had all left the show by the 

series' conclusion.

Another repeat run of the seaon (now extended to thirty-six episodes

and originally broadcast from September 2000 to April 2001) began

on the Drama Channel today - it featured Jacqueline King, and

forty Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Honeysuckle Weeks (Diane) voiced Heleyna for Big Finish's Agents of Chaos (2016)
• Lyn Ashley (Agatha) was a Drahvin 3 in Galaxy 4
• Teresa Gallagher (Vivienne here; Alison, 2004) voiced Snowfire for Circular Time: Spring (2007)
• Shelley Conn (Daljit) voiced Asha Qureshi for Situation Vacant (2010)
• Georgina Hale (Janet) was Daisy K in The Happiness Patrol
• Anita Dobson (Elaine) voiced Eileen Klint for Blood of the Daleks (2007)
• Robert Jezek (Goral) and James Ellis (O'Connor here; Reg, 2004) both appeared in Battlefield, as Sergeant Zbrigniev (part 1) and Peter Warmsly respectively - Jezek later voiced Commander Lee Forbes for Red Dawn, Frobisher for The Holy Terror (both 2000) and The Maltese Penguin, Roger Lowell for The Ratings War (both 2002), Brigham Dashwood for Minuet in Hell, the Recorder for Zagreus (both 2003), Yonich for Torchwood: Sargasso (2019) and Jarred McKenzie for Unity (2020)
• Tim Chipping (Jackson here; Barnwell, 2004) voiced Grigory [Rasputin] and the Dahensa for The Wanderer (2012), and Constable Wolsey and Mandrake for The Widow's Assassin (2014)
• Juliet Cowan (Louise here; Rachel, 2013) was Chrissie Jackson in The Sarah Jane Adventures, then voiced Bryer for Come Die With Me, and Adriana Beauvais for Dead to the World (both 2015)
• Michael Troughton (Thomas) played Professor Albert Smithe in Last Christmas, and voiced Quendril for Lords of the Red Planet (2013), Menlove Stokes for The Romance of Crime and The Well-Mannered War (both 2015), Roderick Purton for The Concrete Cage, Major General Beresford for The Forgotten Village (both 2014), and General Sharp for Primord (2019)
• Lucy Fleming (Alice) voiced Lady Catherine Waverly for Manhunt (2013), and Alice Donelly for Invocation (2017)
• Patrick Godfrey (Clarke) was Tor in The Savages, and Major Cosworth in The Mind of Evil
• Bretherton voiced Plenipotentiary Suskind for Arrangements for War (2004), Scrivener for Recorded Time, Darcy, D'Urberville and Heathcliffe for A Most Excellent Match (both 2011), and Vituperon for The Devil's Armada (2014)
• Brian Croucher (Parr) was Borg in The Robots of Death, and Kurt in Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans
• Biddy Hodson (Laura here; Charlotte, 2006) was Captain Marion Price in The Sontaran Stratagem and The Poison Sky
• Vincent Franklin (Fleming here; Driscoll, 2004) voiced Lord Stormblood for Scenes from Her Life (2016)
• Windsor Davies (Cox) was Toby in The Evil of the Daleks
• Jonty Stephens (Hooper) voiced Paravatar for 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men (2013)
• Janet Dibley (Amanda Lewis here; Alice, 2014; Maureen, 2016) voiced Commander Flail for The Black Hole (2015)
• John Woodvine (Macready here; Hetherington, 2007) was the Marshal in The Armageddon Factor, and voiced Galileo Galilei for The Galileo Trap and The Satanic Mill (both 2015)
• Daniel Anthony (Tyrone here; Niall, 2006; Stark, 2011; Jamie Collier, 2013/14) was Clyde Langer in all fifty-three episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures, and voiced Delong for Wirrn Dawn (2009)
• Donna Berlin (Polly here; WPC Webster; WPC Brooks, both 2004; WPC Gibbs, 2005) voiced Tin Marie for Valhalla (2007)
• Ann Carus Wilson (Mrs. Harding) voiced Vayla for The Twilight Kingdom (2004)
• Eiji Kusuhara (Watanabe) was a Chinaman in Four to Doomsday, and voiced Professor Toshio Shimura for Enemy of the Daleks (2010)
• Peter van Dissel (Hagan) was the Android in The Visitation
• Carl McCrystal (Hayes) was McGrath in The Curse of the Black Spot
• Don Gilet (Freeman here; Jesse Law in Holby City, 2014-16) was Lance Bennett in The Runaway Bride
• James Buller (Roger) was Dad in The Time of the Doctor
• Sharon Maughan (Victoria here; Tricia in Casualty @Holby City and Holby City, 2003-06) voiced Whitfield for Cold Fusion (2016)
• Ray Armstrong (Yorath) was Grey in The Ambassadors of Death
• Will Barton (Caesar) made his TV debut as Midge in Survival
• Roger Griffiths (Philip here; Phillips, 2001; Mason, 2014; Williams, 2017; Harvey Tyson in Holby City, 2006/7) was Commander Kess in Planet of the Ood
• Suzy Bloom (Tamara) voiced Katya for The Skies of New Earth, and Tamarind and Amber for Skin Deep (both 2018)
• Laura Aikman (Rebecca here; May Phelps, 2009/10) voiced Vendor for Dead and Breakfast, Young Anita for Buried Memories (both 2019), Lootsa for The Uncertain Shore (2020), Lila Kreeg for Master!, and Sarah Ellison for The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles 2 (both 2021)
• Hugh Quarshie (Hutchens here; Ric Griffin, 2004/05/17; Casualty @ Holby, 2005; Holby City, 2001-18) was Solomon in Daleks in Manhattan and Evolution of the Daleks
• Greg Bennett (Paramedic here, 2005/6) was Sycorax Warrior and UNIT Soldier in The Christmas Invasion, and an uncredited Guest in The Lazarus Experiment
• Richard Price (Visitor here & 2017; Patient, 2002; Clubber, 2007; Worker, 2008; Passenger, 2001/2014/2016; Ghost hunter, 2017) was Guest in The Runaway Bride and The Lazarus Experiment, Passerby in Partners in Crime, Takran Soldier in The Doctor's Daughter, Cyberman in The Doctor Falls, and Shadow Kin in Class
• Nicki Coles was also script supervisor on ten episodes (from Voyage of the Damned to The Doctor Falls), Torchwood and The  Sarah Jane Adventures
• James Moss was also a camera operator on The Sontaran Stratagem and The Poison Sky

Doctor Who Vs. Casualty, Series 14

Series regulars Derek Thompson,

Ian Bleasdale, Donna Alexander,

Rebecca Wheatley, Jan Anderson,

Robert Gwilym, and Paul Aron all

returned for the fourteenth

season of BBC1's long-running

medical drama.

Joining the programme here were

 Sandra Huggett (as SHO Holly

Miles), Michelle Butterly (para-

medic Mel Dyson), Kwame Kwei 

Armah (paramedic Fin Newton), 

Ronnie McCann (nurse Barney 

Woolfe), and Ian Kelsey (Dr. 

Patrick Spiller), whilst Claire 

Goose, Gerald Kyd, Jonathan

Kerrigan, Barbara Marten, and

 Vincenzo Pellegrino had all left the show by the series' conclusion.

Another repeat run of the season (now extended to thirty episodes

and originally broadcast from September 1999 to March 2000)

concluded on the Drama channel today - it featured Nichola

Bryant, and twenty-nine Doctor Who cast connections:

• Huggett voiced Dorada for Big Finish's The War Master 5 (2020)
• Derek Griffiths (Bains) voiced Jason Taylor for Brave New Town (2008), and Xylem Maple Dorm for Tales from New Earth (2018)
• Simon Ludders (Burridge here; Bamford, 2003; Dunham, 2016) was a Patient in New Earth, and Overseer in Thin Ice, then voiced Luke Palmer for Torchwood: Outbreak (2016), Magister Feris for The Angel of History, Elliot King for The War Master 2 (both 2018), and Monty and Ogron for The Uncertainty Shore (2020)
• Tim Faraday (Harrison here; Flint, 2004; Pritchard, 2008; Fenton, 2011; John, 2016) was Tom's Dad in Fear Her
• Terence Alexander (Wilkinson) was Lord Ravensworth in The Mark of the Rani
• Jason Pitt (Naylor here; Candy, 2004; Haley, 2006) was Lee in Forest of the Dead
• Aiden J David (Pearce here; Forster, 2003) voiced Lish for The Raincloud Man (2008)
• Martyn Read (Kennedy) was a Security Guard in Silver Nemesis
• Jamie Newall (Smith) voiced Aubrey for Jago & Litefoot (from 2013), William Redcliffe for The Devil's Armada (2014), Co-ordinator Jarad for The War Doctor 2 (2016), Greygul for The Skin of the Sleek and The Thief Who Stole Time (both 2017), Shafranek for Ravenous 3 (2018), Vashko for Fugitive in Time (2019), and Pater Noster for The Casebook of Paternoster Row (2024)
• Michael J Jackson (Branscombe here; Cavanagh, 2004) was Sir Geoffrey de Lacey in The King's Demons
• Sharon Duncan Brewster (Clare) was Maggie Cain in The Waters of Mars
• Verona Joseph (Jade) was Penny Carter in Partners in Crime
• Caroline Hunt (Gina) was Danielle Renan in The Reign of Terror, and Technician in (episode 3 of) Frontier in Space
• Marc Danbury (DS Simpson here; Higgs, 2004) voiced Tog for The Axis of Insanity (2004)
• Kim Wall (Burnley here; Hardie, 2004) voiced Chimbly and Head Warmonger for The Fourth Wall, Jim Hooley, Drelleran, Security Guard and Worker for Destination Nerva (both 2012), and Chimbly for You Are The Doctor (2015)
• Alison Sterling (Sarah) voiced an unknown role for The Natural History of Fear, and Tarrith Koth for The Twilight Kingdom (both 2004)
• Sally Knyvette (Joyce) voiced Doctorman Allan for Spare Parts (2002)
• Ariyon Bakare (Devern here; Trainer, 2009; Abasi, 2013) was Leandro in The Woman Who Lived
• George Waring (Stephens) was Arden in The Ice Warriors
• David de Keyser (Garnham here; Fischoff in Casualty 1909, 2009) provided the voice of the Atraxi for The Eleventh Hour, and voiced the Cybermen for The Eternity Clock
• Una Stubbs (Joan) voiced Flo for Horror of Glam Rock (2007)
• Danny Webb (Chapman here; Greyson, 2008; Danton, 2012) was Mr. 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)
• Debbie Chazen (Danielle) was Foon Van Hoff in Voyage of the Damned, and voiced Dr. Barbara Goro for The Outliers (2017)
• Clive Hayward (Savage) voiced the Judge and Markus for Daybreak (2019), Emperor, Duke of Ferrox and Last of the Unnatural Children for Barrister to the Stars, Marty Stone for Carnival of Angels (both 2020), and Dax for Wink (2022)
• Harriet Thorpe (Hannah here; Ruth, 2003; Raquel, 2017) voiced Amelia and Tomek for Kingdom of Lies (2018)
• Kate Rawson (Helen) voiced Inge and Imp for Better Watch Out and Fairytale of Salzburg (both 2018)
• Ken Bradshaw (Law) voiced Colonel Fischer for Human Conflict (2018)
• Joseph Long (Benson) was Rocco Colasanto in Turn Left, and the Pope in Extremis
• Sarah Smart (Jenny) was Jennifer in The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People, and voiced Laura Corbett for The Crooked Man (2014)

Doctor Who Vs. S.O.S. Titanic

Warner also appeared
in James Cameron's 1997
blockbuster

This Anglo-American production was
originally shown over two nights on ABC
television in September 1979, then
opened in European cinemas.

The TV movie depicts the doomed maiden
voyage of 1912 from the perspectives of
passengers in First, Second and Third
Classes, and was the first Titanic film
released in colour.

Exterior deck scenes on the famed liner
were filmed on board RMS Queen Mary,
whilst TSS Manxman doubled for rescue ship RMS Carpathia. Some interior onboard scenes were recorded in the
Adelphi and Waldorf hotels in Liverpool
and London, and Peel in the Isle of Man 
served as the backdrop for Queenstown.

Shown again on the Talking Pictures channel

 tonight, the film featured David Warner (as

Laurence Beesley), Ian Holm (Bruce Ismay),

David Janssen (John Jacob Astor), Harry
Andrews (Captian Smith), and thirteen 

Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Ed Bishop (Harris) voiced General Finch for Big Finish's Full Fathom Five (2003)
• Tony Caunter (Officer Wilde) was Morgan in Colony in Space, and Jackson in Enlightenment 
• Robert Pugh (Farrell) was Tony Mack in The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood, and voiced Emmett Burrows for Five Twenty-Nine (2016) 
• Maurice Roeves (Stoker Barret) was Stotz in The Caves of Androzani
• Peter Bourke (Harold Bride) was Mr. Chambers in Human Nature
• Alec Sabin (Frederick Fleet) was Ringway in Earthshock
• Malcolm Stoddard (Officer Lightoller) voiced Urtak for The Zygon Who Fell to Earth (2008)
• Phil Davis (Lookout) was Lucius Petrus Dextrus in The Fires of Pompeii, and voiced Titus for The Cannibalists (2009)
• André Maranne (Navratil) was Roger Benoit in The Moonbase
• Nick Brimble (Abelseth) voiced Shreeni for Exotron (2007), Kith for Max Warp (2008), Dudley Jackson for The Eternal Summer (2009), Olaf Ericksson for The Book of Kells (2010), and Commander Harlan for The Conscript (2017)
• Barbara Lane was also the costume designer on The Claws of Axos, The Daemons, The Curse of Peladon, The Time Monster, The Android Invasion, The Seeds of Doom and The Hand of Fear
• gaffer Maurice Gillett was the supervising electrician on both Amicus Dalek films

Doctor Who Vs. We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story

Produced in the same vein as
BBC Two's previous celebra-
tory dramas, The Road to
Coronation Street (broadcast
 in 2010) and An Adventure in

Space and Time (2013), this

film chronicled the troubled

conception of another iconic

British television institution,
namely Dad's Army.
In 1967, actor Jimmy Perry
 (1923-2016) submitted a
script (based on his time in
the Home Guard, entitled
Fighting Tigers) to Michael Mills (BBC Head of Comedy). Perry and his
friend David Croft (1922-2011) were commissioned to write a pilot
episode then a full series. Dad's Army launched in July 1968.
Perry and Croft (portrayed here by Paul Ritter and Richard Dormer)
assembled a now legendary ensemble cast - Arthur Lowe (depicted
by John Sessions), John Le Mesurier (Julian Sands), Clive Dunn

(Mark Heap), John Laurie (Ralph Riach), Arnold Ridley (Michael

Cochrane), James Beck (Kevin Bishop), Kieran Hodgson (Ian
Lavender), and Bill Pertwee (Shane Ritchie).

Dad's Army was watched by over 18 million viewers at its peak and
became one of the best-loved and most successful British sitcoms 

ever. The show endured for nine years, and spawned two films (in 

1971 and 2016), a radio series (1974-76), two stage shows (1975 

and 2007), a newspaper comic strip (1973), and even a musical 

(2004). Presented by Victoria Wood, documentary Don't Panic: 

The Dad's Army Story celebrated the writers' legacy in 2000.

UKTV marked the comedy's golden anniversary in July 2018
with Saluting Dad's Army, and the Gold channel (home to
regular repeats) debuted The Lost Episodes last September.

Croft and Perry later conceived other hit period pieces, It Ain't
 Half Hot Mum (1974-81) and Hi-De-Hi (1980-88). Croft also
collaborated with Jeremy Lloyd and they created Are You Being 
Served? (1972 to 1985) and Allo' Allo' (1982-92).

Originally shown in December 2015 (then repeated on BBC2 to

celebrate fifty years of the comedy), We're Doomed! aired again

today - it featured Keith Allen and seven Doctor Who cast alumni:

• Ritchie voiced Drax for Big Finish's Connections (2022)
• Hodgson voiced Findel for Last of the Cybermen, Arin/Dennis for The Red House, Alam and Hilsee for The Isos Network, Bennus for The Innocent (all 2015), Klick Chervain for The Skin of the Sleek and The Thief Who Stole Time (both 2017), and Devon Pryce for Tales from New Earth (2018)
• Cochrane was Charles Cranleigh in Black Orchid and Redvers Fenn-Cooper in Ghost Light, then voiced Lieutenant Colonel Brook for No Man's Land (2006), Murgat for Brotherhood of the Daleks (2008), Colonel Hugh Spindleton for The Trail of the White Worm and The Oseidon Adventure (both 2012), Professor Chivers for The Time Machine (2013), and Geralk for The Fate of Krelos and Return to Telos (both 2015)
• Sessions provided the voice of Gus for Mummy on the Orient Express, and voiced Tannis for Death Comes to Time, Mozart for 100: My Own Private Wolfgang (2007), and Roland for Castle of Fear (2009)
• Heap voiced the Middleman for The Middle (2017)
• Harry Peacock (Mills) was Proper Dave in Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead
• Roy Hudd (Bud Flanagan) voiced Max Miller for Pier Pressure (2006)