Friday 25 June 2021

Doctor Who Vs. United

Screened on Great Movies! today,
this TV film from World Productions
 was based on the true story of
Manchester United's Busby Babes
and the aftermath of the Munich
 air disaster of February 1958.
The drama focused on the
experiences of Welsh football
coach Jimmy Murphy (1910-
1989) portrayed by David 
Tennant and midfielder, Bobby
Charlton (b. 1937) played by
Jack O'Connell (pictured centre).
Murphy became United's caretaker
manager following the plane crash
 in Germany which killed 23 people,
including eight club players, and
injured eighteen others and manager Matt Busby (1909-1994).
Nine MUFC squad players were amongst the 21 survivors.
In charge of United since 1945, Busby (depicted here by Dougray
Scott) recovered and resumed his role a year later. Rebuilding his
team, Busby would eventually lead the club to European supremacy
 in 1968, before retiring the next year. He was knighted in 1972.
Despite the disaster, Murphy steered United to the FA Cup final of
1958, then managed the Wales national squad at the country's only
FIFA World Cup finals appearance in Sweden. He remained as MUFC
assistant manager until 1971.
Filmed mainly in the North East of England, the drama was first
broadcast in April 2011 on BBC Two and BBC HD. Written by Chris
 ChibnallUnited also featured Neil Dudgeon, Dean Andrews, Tim
Healy, and thirteen further Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

  • James Strong was also director of The Impossible Planet, The Satan PitDaleks in ManhattanEvolution of the DaleksVoyage of the DamnedPartners in Crime and Planet of the Dead
  • Scott was Professor Alec Palmer in Hide
  • Natalie Burt (Marion) voiced Dr. Sally Armstrong for Big Finish's Dark Eyes series
  • Kate Ashfield (Alma George) voiced Lieutenant Beth Stokes for Enemy of the Daleks (2009)
  • Daniel Hill (British Consul) and Shirley Dixon (Mrs. Watson) both worked on Shada - as Chris Parsons, and the Voice of Skagra's Ship respectively - Hill also voiced Percy Noggins for AudioGos' The Stuff of Nightmares (2009)
  • BBC newsreader Kenneth Kendall had a cameo in (episode 4 of) The War Machines too
  • Edward Thomas was also production designer on seventy-two stories (from Rose to The Big Bang), Attack of the GraskeThe Infinite Quest, Music of the SpheresThe Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood
  • casting director Andy Pryor has worked on the revived run since 2005
  • supervising art director James North was associate designer on fifty-nine episodes (from The Christmas Invasion to Closing Time)
  • David Morison was also set decorator on twelve adventures (from Tooth and Claw to Forest of the Dead) after a stint as stand-by art director on Boom Town and Love & Monsters
  • sound mixer John Taylor was a boom operator on The Five Doctors
  • Alice Purser was also casting associate on forty-three instalments (from The Waters of Mars to The Time of the Doctor)
  • Luke Corbyn was SFX technician on An Adventure in Space and Time too

Wednesday 23 June 2021

Doctor Who Vs. Sea of Souls: The Prayer Tree

BBC1's BAFTA winning supernatural drama came
to a close after three full series, with a two-part
special, first screened in April 2007. 
The story (set in a remote Scottish haunted
house) was written by creator, David Kane,
and again starred Bill Paterson as Dr. Douglas
Monaghan - the Glaswegian actor later
appeared in Victory of the Daleks as Dr.
Edwin Bracewell.
The Prayer Tree was produced by Carnival Films
for BBC Scotland - it featured Neve McIntosh,
Douglas Henshall, Ben Miles, and eight Doctor
Who cast and crew connections:

  • Christina Cole (Rebecca) was Lilith in The Shakespeare Code
  • Ron [Eaglesham] Donachie [born Porter] (Minister) was a Steward in Tooth and Claw
  • Alisdair Simpson (Mathers) voiced Sir Francis White and David Ritchie for 1963: The Assassination Games (2013), Cleon for The Mask of Tragedy (2014), Colonel Lifford for The Boundless Sea (2015), Sidney Wheeler and Field Marshal Brooke for Churchill Victorious (2018), and Damadus for Return to Skaro (2020)
  • Simon Clark (sound recordist) and Liz Pearson (post-production supervisor) both workerd on An Adventure in Space and Time too
  • Adam Trotman was also film editor on Last ChristmasThin Ice and Knock Knock
  • stunt co-ordinator Gareth Milne was George Cranleigh in Black Orchid, Mortuary Attendant in Vengeance on Varos, and doubled for Peter Davison on Warriors of the Deep

Tuesday 22 June 2021

Doctor Who Vs. Sea of Souls, Series 3

Fellow Glaswegians actors Bill 
Paterson, Dawn Steele and 
Iain Robertson all returned for 
the third, penultimate run of 
this supernatural drama, set 
at Scotland's fictional Clyde 
University parapsychology 
department.
First shown on BBC1 in the
winter of 2006, this six-part 
season featured Paul
McGann, and twenty-one
other Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

Insiders (UK TX: January 7)
  • Brian McCardie (Beale) voiced Alan Weir for Big Finish's Masters of Earth (2014) 
  • Gary Hoptrough was also a stuntman on The Runaway Bride and Let's Kill Hitler
Oracle (UK TX: January 14)
  • Jeff Rawle (Norman) was Plantagenet in Frontios, Lionel Harding in The Sarah Jane Adventures: Mona Lisa's Revenge, then depicted Mervyn Pinfield in An Adventure in Space and Time
Sleeper (UK TX: January 21)
  • Phyllis Logan (Elaine) was Andinio in The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos
  • for Stephen Garwood (producer), Jonathan Farmer (assistant director), Barbara Southcott (make-up designer), Pam Mullins (make-up artist), Edmund Butt (composer), Toby Wood (music engineer), Scott Napier (electrician), Sheila Johnston (script supervisor), and Ray Holman (costume designer) see Series 2
The Newsroom (UK TX: January 28)
  • Ronald [Alfred] Pickup (Galt) made his TV debut as the Physician in (episode 4 of) The Reign of Terror, and voiced Kestorian for Time Worls (2006), Elder Bones for Spaceport Fear (2013), and the Old One for Jago & Litefoot 12 (2016)
  • Sheila Reid (Aggie) was Etta in Vengeance on Varos, Clara's Gran in The Time of the Doctor and Dark Water, and voiced Claire for Good Night, Sweet Ladies (2014), and Janaiya for The Middle (2017)
Succubus (UK TX: February 4)
  • Emma Campbell-Jones (Sarah) was Dr. Kent in The Wedding of River Song, Cass in The Night of the Doctor, then voiced Shola for The Paradox Planet and Legacy of Death (both 2016), and Layla Bridge for Battlegrounds (2022)
  • Lucy [Ursula] Griffiths (Rebecca) voiced Mabel Dobbs for The Auntie Matter (2013)
  • Dave Humphries was also the foley recordist on The Empty ChildThe Doctor DancesBad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways
Rebound (UK TX: February 11)
  • for Peter Guinness (Duncan) see Series 2
  • Rob Hunt was also a stuntman on The Runaway Bride and The Day of the Doctor
  • Peter Kersey was a SFX technician on the Doctor Who TV Movie too

Monday 21 June 2021

Doctor Who Vs. Sea of Souls, Series 2

The second run of this BAFTA
winning supernatural drama
 also won the Best TV Teleplay
 gong for Ed Whitmore, the
writer of Amulet, at the Edgar
Allan Poe awards.
Bill Paterson reprised the role
of Dr. Monaghan, and was now
joined at Clyde University's parapsychology department
by Justine McManus and Craig
Stevenson, played by Dawn
Steele and Iain Robertson.
The six-part season returned to BBC1 in the winter of 2005 - it
featured a total of nineteen Doctor Who cast and crew alumni:

Amulet (UK TX: January 8 & 9)
  • BAFTA Scotland nominee Michelle Duncan (Claire) was Lady Isobel MacLeish in Tooth and Claw
  • Big Finish actor Amanda Symonds (Lilian) voiced Lily Finnegan for Afterlife, Erica MacMillan for Night of the Stormcrow, Bridget for The Fifth Citadel (all 2013), One for The Abandoned, Shafira for Revenge of the Swarm, Mrs. Targate for The Ghosts of Gralstead (all 2014), Alitha for The Lost Fairy Tale, Jill Sveinsdottir for Repeat Offender (both 2016), Captain for Relative Time, Maude for The Web of Time (both 2019), Mary Seacole for The Charge of the Night Brigade (2020), Vengis for The Day of the Comet, and Mary Claypole and Time Lord Emissary for The God of Phantoms (both 2021)
  • [Peter] Nigel Terry (Holloway) was General Cobb in The Doctor's Daughter
  • James [Edward] Fleet (Morrison) voiced O'Reilley for Max Warp (2008), Geoff Cooper for The Entropy Composition, and Martin Ashcroft and Sir Jack Merrivale for Special Features (both 2010)
  • Kim McGarrity was also a stunt performer on The Empty ChildThe Doctor DancesBoom TownThe Christmas InvasionNew Earth and The Day of the Doctor
  • new series producer Stephen Garwood had been an Assistant Floor Manager (AFM) on Ghost Light
  • series composer Edmund Butt and music engineer Toby Wood both worked on An Adventure in Space and Time too
  • Pam Mullins was also a make-up artist on fifty-six instalments of the revived series (from The Runaway Bride to The Wedding of River Song)
  • series make-up designer Barbara Southcott held that post on Time CrashMusic of the Spheres, and seventy-three adventures, from the 2006 Christmas special to The Name of the Doctor
  • electrician Scott Napier was the gaffer on 50th anniversary special
Omen (UK TX: January 15 & 16)
  • Barbara [Jay] Flynn [born McMurray] (Summers) voiced Sister Chalice for The Skull of Sobek (2008), and Anne Hartman for The Rockery (2019)
  • David Gyasi (Hegarty) was Harvey in Asylum of the Daleks
  • Mark Springer (Paramedic) was Christian in The Time of Angels
  • Graham Frake was also cinematographer on The Beast Below and Victory of the Daleks
  • Jonathan Farmer was the first assistant director on Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS too
Empty Promise (UK TX: January 22 & 23)
  • Peter Guinness (Dr. Duncan here & Series 3: Rebound) voiced Mr. Dread for Dreamland, Childeric for The Holy Terror (2000), Baron Teufel for The Beast of Orlok (2009), and Rovus for The Star Men (2017)
  • Colin Salmon (Locke) was Dr. Moon in Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead, and voiced Trooper Salway for Wirrn Dawn (2009)
  • script supervisor Sheila Johnston worked on continuity for Voyage of the DamnedPartners in CrimeThe Fires of PompeiiPlanet of the Ood and The Unicorn and the Wasp

Friday 18 June 2021

Doctor Who Vs. Sea of Souls, Series 1

This supernatural drama
series from BBC Scotland
and Sony Pictures was
created and written by
David Kaneproduced by
Phil Collinson (before he
moved onto the revival of Doctor Who), and was
based around investigations into psychic and paranormal
 phenomena.
Clyde University academics
Dr. Douglas Monaghan, Dr.
Andrew Gemmill, and Megan
Sharma were played by
 Glaswegian Bill Paterson,
Dubliner Peter McDonald, and London-born Archie Panjabi.
The six-part series debuted on BBC1 in early 2004 - it featured
Peter Capaldiand thirty other Doctor Who cast and crew
connections:

Seeing Double (UK TX: February 2 and 3)
  • James Hawes was also director of The Empty ChildThe Doctor DancesThe Christmas InvasionNew Earth and School Reunion
  • Big Finish actor Hugh Ross (Claremont) voiced Reverend Merodach for Night's Black Agents (2010), Robert Stretton for Industrial Evolution (2011), Vepaja and Thraskin for Voyage to Venus (2012), Sir Toby Kinsella for Counter Measures1963: The Assassination Games (2013), The Reesinger Process (2014) and Split Infinitive (2019), Kyle Inskip for Masters of Earth, Gethal for The Exxilons (2015), Charles Kirkland for The Trouble With Drax (2016), and Narrator of Late Night Shopping, The Piltdown Men and Waiting for Gadot (2017)
  • Siobhan Redmond (Carol Fleming & Helen Reid) voiced Talin for Revenge of the Swarm, then the titular Time Lord for The Rani Elite (both 2014), and Planet of the Rani (2015)
  • David Ashton (Crooks) was cast as Tomas in The Face of Evil, but was replaced by Brendan Price - he would later appear as Kendron in Timelash
  • Eric Mason (Phillips) was Prison Officer Green in The Mind of Evil, and CPO Smedley in The Sea Devil
  • Bhasker Patel (Dentist) was Jival Chowdry in Turn Left
  • Tracy Wiles (Secretary) voiced Moira Brady for Masters of Earth (2014), Lillith Lovett for The Year of the Bat, Jacqui McGee for UNIT: Extinction (both 2015), UNIT: SilencedDeath on the Mile, The Power of River Song, Narcissus and Lady Christina 2, Commander Barnac for The Neverwhen (2016), Secretary and Ground Control for Their Finest Hour, Sharlan for The Invention of Death, Hadway, Salma and V75 for Escape from Kaldor (all 2018), Drones for The False Guardian, Wave Front 1 for Time's Assassin, Announcer/Coms for State of Bliss, Marzanna and Engel for Nightmare Country, SV66, V88, V19, V98 and V7 for The Robots 1 (all 2019), Tryana for Return to Skaro (2020), FE-LINE, Maria and Patricia for A Forever Home, and Draven, Shira and Sentinel for The War Doctor Begins 1 (both 2021)
  • Ernest Vincze was also cinematographer on thirty-eight stories (from Rose to The Waters of Mars)
  • Liana Del Giudice was also film editor on the same adventures that Hawes directed
  • George Gerwitz was also first assistant director on Rose, Aliens of London and World War Three
  • Ray Holman was also costume designer on thirty-eight stories (from Blink to Revolution of the Daleksand Torchwood
  • Marie Brown was also the post-production supervisor (then co-ordinator) on eighty-eight episodes (from Rose to The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe), The Sarah Jane AdventuresTime Crash and Music of the Spheres
  • VFX supervisor Jennifer Herbert of The Mill, was the 2D VFX artist on ten Series 1 adventures 
  • Barbara Southcott was also make-up designer on fifty-nine episodes (from The Runaway Bride to the 2011 Christmas special), Time Crash and Music of the Spheres
  • Pamela Mullins was also a make-up artist (then later supervisor) on fifty-six stories (from the 2006 Christmas special to The Wedding of River Song)
  • script supervisor Sheila Johnston worked on continuity for Voyage of the DamnedPartners in CrimeThe Fires of PompeiiPlanet of the Ood and The Unicorn and the Wasp
Mind Over Matter (UK TX: February 9 & 10)
  • Michelle Collins (Katie) was Captain Kath McDonnell in 42
  • Ellie Haddington (Ellen) was Professor Docherty in Last of the Time Lords
  • Struan Rodger (McKay) provided the voice for the Face of Boe for New Earth and Gridlock, and was Clayton in The Woman Who Lived
  • Jonathan Guy Lewis (Sam) voiced Marcus Bray for After the Daleks (2021)
That Old Black Magic (UK TX: February 16 & 17)
  • Rakie Ayola (Yemi) was the Hostess in Midnight
  • Nicholas Gecks (Croft) was Albert Dumfries in The Sound of Drums
  • Louis Mahoney (Chris) and Michael Obiora (Lucas) both played Billy Shipton in Blink - the former also appeared as the Newscaster in Frontier in Space, and Ponti in Planet of Evil
  • Tim Plester (Assistant) was a Servant in A Christmas Carol
  • Brian Milliken was also sound recordist on The Sontaran StratagemThe Poison Sky and The Sarah Jane Adventures
  • Paul Heasman (an uncredited Nazi in Silver Nemesis, and stunt arranger on Survivaland Rocky Taylor (stuntman on The Idiot's Lantern) were both stunt co-ordinators here
  • series first assistant director Peter Bennett was assistant on fourteen instalments, production manager on four episodes, then produced another six
  • series electrician Scott Napier was later the gaffer on The Day of the Doctor

Wednesday 16 June 2021

Doctor Who Vs. Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking

Tiger Aspect's sequel to 2002's
The Hound of the Baskervilles
was a brand new story (originally
titled The Deadly Season) written
for BBC1 by Allan Cubitt, set in
the foggy London of 1903, four-
teen years after the events in
Devonshire.
The case was first shown on
Boxing Day 2004 - the Great
Detective was now portrayed
by Rupert Everett. Ian Hart
reprised the role of Watson,
and Neil Dudgeon played
Lestrade. Hart starred as
Conan Doyle that year, in
Finding NeverlandThe dark
mystery featured Michael Fassbender, Jonathan Hyde and fifteen
Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

  • Helen [Elizabeth] McCrory (Mrs. Vandeleur) was Rosana Calvierri in The Vampires of Venice (in The Hound of the Baskervilles novel, Holmes exposed the Stapletons, in reality a married couple who fled to England and adopted the name Vandeleur)
  • Guy Henry (Bilney here; Sherlock in Young Sherlock) voiced Director Ikron for Big Finish's Infamy of the Zaross (2017)
  • Christine [Mary] Kavanagh (Lady Helhoughton) was Aram in Timelash, then voiced Patience for Cold Fusion (2016), Dora Muse for Muse of Fire (2018), and Magog and Juno for The Iron Legion (2019)
  • Andrew Wisher (Constable) was the Ghost in Reeltime's Daemos Rising, and voiced Armstrong for Nowhere Place, Reston for Purity (both 2006), and Malcolm Glass for Human Resources (2007)
  • Julian [Neil Rohan] Wadham (Massingham) voiced Augustus Scullop for The Fourth Wall (2012), Joseph Holman for The Darkness of Glass (2015) and The Crowmarsh Experiment (2018), and Judge Perigord Trent for The Doomsday Contract (2021)
  • Stewart [John Llewellyn] Bevan (Proprietor) was Professor Clifford Jones in The Green DeathGlobal Conspiracy and Jo Grant Returns, then voiced BOSS for The Green Life (2019)
  • Anthony Cozens (Constable here; Geek in A Scandal in Belgravia) was the Concierge in The Husbands of River Song
  • Max Harvey (MC) was Cardinal Zorac in Arc of Infinity
  • Greg Bennett (Constable here; Driver in A Scandal in Belgravia) was a Sycorax Warrior and UNIT Soldier in The Christmas Invasion, and Guest in The Lazarus Experiment
  • Derek Lea was also a stuntman on DalekBad WolfThe Parting of the WaysThe Age of Steel and Partners in Crime
  • sound mixer Richard Manton worked on the film sound for The Daemons and The Mutants
  • Jason Gill was also costume assistant on fourteen instalments (from The Christmas Invasion to The Wedding of River Song), Space and Time, then costume designer on Death is the Only Answer
  • title designer Peter Anderson was the animation director on eight episodes (from Asylum of the Daleks to The Rings of Akhaten)
  • for Karen Jones (script supervisor) and Julie Scott (production executive) see The Hound of the Baskervilles

Sunday 13 June 2021

Doctor Who Vs. Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD

Six-part television serial The Dalek 
Invasion of Earth was adapted for
Amicus' second Dalek feature, but
proved less successful than Dr. Who
and the Daleks. Plans for a third
feature, based on The Chase, were abandoned.
Peter Cushing and Roberta Tovey
reprised their roles of Dr. Who and
Susan, and were joined by new
Jill Curzon (born 1936) as Louise and Bernard Cribbins (b.1928)
as PC Tom Campbell - replacing
TV counterparts Ian and Barbara.
Andre Morell was offered the part
of Wyler (ultimately played by
Andrew Keir) but was contracted to The Massacre.
Malcolm Hulke scripted a
proposed spin-off radio series,
Journey Into Time, and a pilot episode starring Cushing was recorded
but never broadcast.
This sequel, again written by Milton Subotsky and directed by Gordon
Flemyng, was released in July 1966 - it featured another dozen Doctor
Who cast alumni:

  • Ray [Michael] Brooks (David) voiced the titular Time Lord for Big Finish's The Trouble With Drax (2016) - he was offered the role of Orcini in November 1984, but William Gaunt was cast in Revelation of the Daleks
  • Kenneth [Murray] Watson (Craddock) starred opposite Patrick Troughton in Kidnapped (1956), and then in The Wheel in Space as Bill Duggan (according to IMDB, he was to play a farmer in The Time Monster, but was replaced by George Lee)
  • Eileen [Mabel Elizabeth] Way (Old Woman) was Old Mother in 100,000 BC, and Karela in The Creature from the Pit
  • [William] Geoffrey Cheshire (Roboman) was the Viking Leader in The Time Meddler, Garge in (episode 3 of) The Daleks' Master Plan, and Tracy in The Invasion
  • Philip [Arvon] Madoc (Brockley) was Eelek in The Krotons, the War Lord in The War Games, Dr. Mehendri Solon in The Brain of Morbius, Fenner in The Power of Kroll, and voiced Victor Schaeffer for Master (2003), and Rag Cobden for Return of the Krotons (2009)
  • Roger Avon (Wells) was also Saphadin in The Crusade, and Daxtar in The Daleks' Master Plan (4)
  • Steve Peters (Roboman Leader) was an Extra in The Romans (3), Ice Warrior in The Seeds of Death, Guard in The Space Pirates, and Astronaut in The Ambassadors of Death
  • Tim Condren (Roboman) was Saxon Warrior in The Time Meddler (4), Soldier in The Web of Fear (4), and Guerilla in Day of the Daleks (1)
  • [Frederick] Alan Meacham (Prisoner) was Servant in The Massacre (4), and Technician in The Silurians (1)
  • for Robert Jewell, David Graham and Peter Hawkins see Dr. Who and the Daleks

Tuesday 8 June 2021

Doctor Who Vs. Breaking Point

William Russell (born Russell William Enoch in
1924) followed his portrayal of Ian Chesterton with
the lead role in this long-lost thriller for BBC2, as
secret service agent Martin Kennedy.
Russell was an established television actor by the
time he was cast as Coal Hill School's science
teacher, and had already played the title roles in
five period dramas of the Fifties - St. IvesThe
Adventures of Sir Lancelot, Nicholas Nickleby,
David Copperfield and HamletRussell's most
recent TV role was as Harry (pictured) in An Adventure in Space and Time.
The five-part espionage drama was screened in
October and November 1966, and Russell starred
here opposite twelve other Doctor Who cast and
crew connections:

  • producer Alan [James] Bromly (1915-1995) wad director of The Time Warrior and Nightmare of Eden
  • director Douglas [Gaston Sydney] Camfield (1931-1984) was production assistant on 100,000 BC and Marco Polo, then director on fifty-two further episodes (from Planet of Giants to The Seeds of Doom)
  • Malcolm Middleton was production designer on The Abominable Snowmen too 
  • Richard [Gibbon] Hurndall (Sir Alfred) depicted the First Doctor in The Five Doctors
  • Bernard [Frederic Bemrose] Kay (Stevens) was Carl Tyler in The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Saladin in The Crusade, Inspector Crossland in The Faceless Ones, and Caldwell in Colony in Space, then voiced Major Dickens for Big Finish's Night Thoughts (2006)
  • Vernon [Alexandre] Dobtcheff (Hedworth) was an Alien Scientist in The War Games, and voiced Dadda Desaka for The Cradle of the Snake (2010), Sibelius Crow for The Necropolis Express, Shamur for The Children of Seth (both 2011), Professor Schumann for Threshold (2012), and Jorenzo Zorn for The Genesis Chamber (2016)
  • Ves Delahunt (Servant) was a Thal in The Daleks (7), and UNIT Soldier in The Silurians
  • Norman Hartley (Richard) and Michael Miller (Hines) both appeared in The Time Meddler, as Ulf and Wulnoth respectively, whilst Hartley was also Sergeant Peters in The Invasion
  • Royston Tickner (Gregson) was Steinberger P Green in The Daleks' Master Plan (7), and Robbins in The Sea Devils (1)
  • Roger Avon (Sergeant) was Saphadin in The Crusade, Daxtar in The Daleks' Master Plan (4), and Wells in Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD
  • Lynda [born Lilian] Baron (uncredited Extra) recorded The Ballad  of the Last Chance Saloon (sung off screen) for The Gunfighters, was Captain Wrack in Enlightenment, and Val in Closing Time

Saturday 5 June 2021

Doctor Who Vs. The Skull

Shown again on the Talking Pictures TV
channel last night, this British horror
film was produced by Amicus founders
Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg
to challenge rival Hammer's dominance
in the genre.
Subotsky's screenplay was based on
Robert Bloch's short story, The Skull 
of the Marquis de Sade, and was the
writer's first collaboration with Amicus.
The Skull was released by Paramount in
late 1966, as a double bill with The Idol -
it featured horror icons Peter Cushing,
Christopher Lee and twenty-five Doctor
Who cast and crew alumni:

  • Michael Gough (Auctioneer) played the titular villain in The Celestial Toymaker, and was Councillor Hedin in Arc of Infinity
  • George Coulouris (Londe) was Arbitan in (episode 1 of) The Keys of Marinus
  • Maurice Good (Pierre) was Phineas Clanton in The Gunfighters
  • Peter Woodthorpe (Travers) voiced Joey Oxford for Whatever Happened to Susan Foreman?
  • Geoffrey Cheshire (Guard) was the Viking Leader in The Time Meddler, Garge in The Daleks' Master PlanTracy in The Invasion, and Roboman in Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD
  • Jack Silk (Driver) was a stuntman on The Daemons (4)
  • stuntman Peter Diamond was regular stunt double and fight arranger on the classic run (from The Daleks to The Daemons)
  • Oswald Hafenrichter (film editor), Bill Constable (art director), Scott Slimon (set decorator), Ted Lloyd (production manager), Tom Priestley (sound editor), Jill Carpenter (make-up artist) and Henry Montsash (hairdresser) all worked on Dr. Who and the Daleks too
  • John Wilcox (cinematographer), Anthony Waye (assistant director), Buster Ambler (sound recordist), John Cox (sound supervisor), Ted Samuels (SFX), David Harcourt (camera operator), Ray Jones (grip), Maurice Gillett (electrician), Jackie Cummins (wardrobe), Pamela Davies (continuity) and Bill Waldron (construction manager) all worked on both Dalek films too

Friday 4 June 2021

Doctor Who Vs. My Week With Marilyn

This BBC Films production was 
based on The Prince, the Show-
girl and Me, the 1995 memoir 
from Colin Clark. The English 
writer and film-maker (played
here by Eddie Redmayne) got
 his big break in the film industry
when acting legend Laurence
Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) was
 directing The Prince and the Showgirl with his co-star,
Marilyn Monroe.
Released in 2011, the film
focused on the week in 1957
in which newly-married Marilyn
was escorted around Pinewood
Studios and London by Clark
after her husband (American playwright Arthur Miller) left England.
Marilyn (born Norma Jeane Mortenson in 1926) completed three
further features, including her biggest hit Some Like It Hot, and
died of an apparent suicide in 1962.
Michelle Williams' portrayal of Monroe was nominated for Oscar and
BAFTA Best Actress awards, and she won a Golden Globe award. 
Shown again on BBC Four last night, the star-studded production
also featured Julia Ormond, Emma Watson, Judi Dench, Derek
JacobiMiranda Raison, and nineteen other Doctor Who cast
and crew connections:

  • [Stephen] Dougray Scott (Miller) was Professor Alec Palmer in Hide
  • Toby [Edward Heslewood] Jones (Jacobs) was the Dream Lord in Amy's Choice, and voiced Kotris for Big Finish's Dark Eyes (2012)
  • Pip [Dean] Torrens (Clark) and Gerard [James Pertwee] Horan (Trevor) both appeared in Human Nature and The Family of Blood, as Headmaster Rocastle and Mr. Clark respectively - Torrens also voiced Charlie Gibbs for Eldrad Must Die! (2013)
  • Robert Portal (Orton) voiced Marshal Ney and Superintendent Finch for The Curse of Davros (2012), Reggie Bassett for The Auntie Matter (2013), Dr. Poograss for Whatever Remains, Jim and Midge for Lost Property, and Treadwell for Wild Animals (all 2020)
  • Philip Jackson (Smith) voiced Laxton for Valhalla (2007), and Peabody for The Contingency Club (2016)
  • Zoe Wanamaker (Paula) was Lady Cassandra in The End of the World and New Earth
  • Jem Wall (Spectator) was Michael in The Lodger
  • prolific Big Finish actor Alex Lowe (Coop) voiced Brigadier-General Bartholomew Kitchen for The Angel of Scutari, Huxley for Ringpull- world (both 2009) and Find and Replace, Axel for The Song of Megaptera, Private Michaels for The Bloodless Soldier, Sergeant Lange and Ragamuffin for The Similarity Effect, Professor August Corbin for Lurkers at Sunlight's Edge (all 2010), Sergeant Mezz/Trooper Nold for Heroes of Sontar (2011), Damien Stephens/Roboman for Energy of the Daleks (2012), Young Jago for The Year of the Bat (2015), Soren for Time Reaver (2016), Archie Flowers for The Cars That Ate London, and Roderick for The Vigil (both 2019)
  • Michael Hobbs (Reporter) voiced Francis Currie for the UNIT series, Fazackerly for Other Lives (2005), and Arcantis for Time in Office (2017)
  • Jim [Edward] Carter (Barry) voiced Brother Bernard in The Book of Kells (2010)
  • Victor McGuire (Andy) voiced Borton for In the Garden of Death (2018)
  • David Rintoul [born Wilson] (Dr. Connell) voiced Lord Henry Balfour for The Phoenix Strain (2016), Professor Angus Renwick for The Helm of Awe (2017), Galla Posca for Escape from Kaldor (2018), Dr. Leon Jessel for Fever Island (2019), Roger Hodgkiss for Barrister to the Stars (2020), and Garron for The Ribos Inheritance (2022)
  • [William Henry] Richard Clifford (Wattis) voiced Novar for The Master's Dalek Plan, and Pandak in Shockwave (both 2019)
  • Des McAleer (Policeman) voiced Lefty Lonnigan for A Life of Crime (2016), Blujaw Skaldson for The Skin of the Sleek and The Thief Who Stole Time (both 2017)
  • Paul Herzberg (Hardwick) voiced Dr. Suleiman Zorn for Shadow of the Sun (2020), and Betterment for Purity Undreamed (2022)
  • co-producer Mark Cooper was one of the titular Robots of Death
  • Adam Recht was film editor on A Christmas Carol too
  • hair and make-up designer Jenny Shircore began her TV career as an assistant on Planet of Evil
  • Richard Glass was an optician on The Time of the Doctor too