Doctor Who Vs. Shaun of the Dead

Released in 2004, this cult British

comedy horror film was co-written
by actor Simon Pegg and director

Edgar Wright, both of whom con-

tributed to Channel 4 sitcom Spaced.

An episode from 1999, Art, inspired

the zombie apocalypse narrative here.

Wright later collaborated with Steven

Moffat on the screenplay for Tintin.

A co-production from Studio Canal

and Working Title, Shaun of the Dead

was the first instalment of the planned Cornetto trilogy - Hot Fuzz followed in

2007, The World's End was released in

 2013, and all co-starred Nick Frost.

Pegg and Frost reprised their Shaun

roles (albeit in cartoon form) for the

Phineas and Ferb Halloween special

in 2014, and also collaborated on

Paul (2011), Slaughterhouse Rulez

(2018), and Amazon's Truth Seekers.

Shown on ITV4 last night, the film featured Matt Lucas, Mark Gatiss,

and thirty-six Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Pegg [born Simon John Beckingham] (Shaun here; Sgt. Nicholas Angel in Hot Fuzz; Gary King in The World's End) and Tamsin Greig (Maggie) both appeared in The Long Game, as the Editor and the Nurse respectively
• Frost (Ed here; PC Danny Butterman in Hot Fuzz; Andy Knightley in The World's End) played Santa Claus in Last Christmas
• Peter [Szymon] Serafinowicz (Pete) provided the voice of the Fisher King in Before the Flood
• Jessica Hynes [nee Stevenson] (Yvonne) was Joan Redfern in Human Nature and The Family of Blood, then [that character's great-grand daughter] Verity Newman in The End of Time - she also voiced Glory Bee for Big Finish's Invaders from Mars (2002) opposite Pegg as Don Chaney
• Bill [Francis] Nighy (Philip here; Chief Inspector in Hot Fuzz; Voice of the Network for The World's End) was Dr. Black in Vincent and the Doctor
• Kate Ashfield (Liz) voiced Beth Stokes for Enemy of the Daleks (2009)
• Penelope [Alice] Wilton (Barbara) was Harriet Jones MP/PM in Aliens of London, World War Three, The Christmas Invasion and The Stolen Earth
• Michael Smiley (Zombie here; Green in The World's End) was Colonel Morgan Blue in Into the Dalek, and voiced Seedleson for Creatures of Beauty (2003)
• David Walliams (Reporter Voice) appeared in the Doctor Who Night sketches, voiced Qunicy Flowers/Ned Cotton for Phantasmagoria (1999), then was Gibbis in The God Complex
• Steve [John] Emerson (John) was Guard in The Macra Terror and Revelation of the Daleks, Resistance Man in The War Games, UNIT Soldier in The Claws of Axos, and Retrograde in Frontios
• Reece [Wayne] Shearsmith (Mark here; Collaborator in The World's End) was Andrew Powell in BBV Productions' PROBE series, Dr. Dan Matthews in Auton, depicted Patrick Troughton in An Adventure in Space and Time, and was Gagan Rassmussen in Sleep No More, then voiced Governor Robert Hodan for Sunlight and Sunset (both 2025)
• Paul Putner (Zombie) had co-starred with Pegg and Hynes before when he voiced Bix Biro for Invaders from Mars, and was also in two Doctor Who Night shorts with Gatiss
• Tim Baggaley (Usher) was the Knight in Robot of Sherwood
• Mark Donovan (Zombie) voiced Karl for BBV's The Root of All Evil (1999), Charles for Race Memory, Ambassador/ Klemp for Dust Breeding (both 2001), Orchestrator Shol for The Sandman, Various for Sarah Jane Smith (all 2002), Sturmer for The Wormery, Gerrof for He Jests at Scars, Shayde/the Rovie for No Place Like Home, Allenby for Dalek War 3 (all 2003), Polk for The Harvest (2004), and Jackson/Watcher for Survival of the Fittest (2010)
• Paul Kaye (Zombie) was Prentis in Before the Flood and Under the Lake
• TV presenter Trisha Goddard made a cameo appearance on Army of Ghosts too
• Julia [Margaret] Deakin (Mum here; Mary in Hot Fuzz; Landlady in The World's End) voiced Harriet Griffin for Terror Firma (2005), and Old Anita for Burrowed Time (2019)
• Salo Gardner (Zombie) was a Lazar in Terminus
• Robert Fitch (Man) voiced Rodger Merripit/Sir Dudley Skelton for Whatever Remains (2020)
• Danielle de Costa (Voyage of the Damned and Night Terrors), Dani Biernat (The Christmas Invasion, New Earth, The Sound of Drums and Amy's Choice), Tina Maskell (Boom Town and The Runaway Bride), Amanda Foster (The Doctor's Daughter), and Tracy Caudie (The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe) were all stunt performers here too
• Abbi Collins was stunt co-ordinator on The Sarah Jane Adventures, and eleven revvied episodes, from Rise of the Cybermen to The Waters of Mars, and Paul Herbert co-ordinated stunt work on The End of Time too
• George Cottle (Boom Town, The Runaway Bride, and Smith and Jones), Guy List (Evolution of the Daleks), and Paul Kennington (Rise of the Cybermen, Age of Steel, Army of Ghosts, Doomsday and The Doctor's Daughter) were also stuntmen here
• Ray De Haan and Sarah Franzl also had stunt work on The Idiot's Lantern (the latter on The End of the World and The End of Time too)
• stuntman Tony Lucken was De Florres in The Curse of the Black Spot
• Annie Hardinge began her career as costume designer on Vengeance on Varos
• Waldo Mason was a SFX assistant on Aliens of London too
• first assistant director Julian Hearne was a AFM on Battlefield

Doctor Who Vs. The Curse of the Were Rabbit

That great British inventor and

cheese enthusiast known only

as Wallace (of West Wallaby

Street in Wigan) and his anthro-pomorphic pet dog Gromit first

appeared in the BBC animated

short A Grand Day Out in 1989.

The plasticine duo were created

by Nick Park (born 1958) way

back in 1973, and brought to

life by Aardman Animations

(based in Bristol since 1972).

Three more 'claymation' TV

adventures followed, and in

2005, Wallace and Gromit made their full-length film debut in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, released by Dreamworks.

The Wrong Trousers (1993), A Close Shave (1995), and this film all won

Academy Awards, whilst A Matter of Loaf and Death (2008) received

Park's fifth BAFTA prize.

Upto Vengeance Most Fowl, Wallace had always been voiced by Peter

Sallis (1921-2017), and it was intended that Gromit should talk too -

Peter Hawkins (one of the original Dalek and Cybermen voice artists

 on classic Doctor Who from 1963) was to provide his voice, but this

proved  too difficult to realise.

The Curse of the Were-Rabbit was co-written by Bob Baker, writing

partner of Dave Martin (1935-2007), and they were nicknamed the

Bristol Boys by the Doctor Who production teams. Together they

scripted nine TV serials (from The Claws of Axos to Nightmare of

Eden), and created K9.

Shown on BBC3 last night, the film eatured the voices of Ralph Fiennes,

Helena Bonham Carter, John Thomson, Geraldine McEwan, Liz Smith,

Mark Gatiss, and these ten Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Sallis played Elric Penley in The Ice Warriors, and was due to appear in Enlightenment as Striker
• Peter Kay (PC Mackintosh) was Victor Kennedy [the Abzorbaloff] in Love & Monsters
• Nicholas [John] Smith (Hedges) was Wells in The Dalek Invasion of Earth
• Edward [Harry] Kelsey (Growbag) was Slave Buyer in (episode 2 of) The Romans, Resno in The Power of the Daleks, and Edu in The Creature from the Pit
• [Terence] Dicken Ashworth (Mr. Mulch) was Sezon in Timelash
• Vincent Ebrahim (Caliche) voiced Shardul Khan for Big Finish's The Emerald Tiger (2012)
• Christopher Fairbank (additional voice) voiced Pierre Arronax for The Wreck of the Titan (2010), Doc Baroque for The Scapegoat (2009), and Marc Brunel for Iron Bright (2018), then appeared as Fenton in Flatline
• ADR recordist Robert Edwards was a mixer on Hide, Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, The Crimson Horror, Nightmare in Silver, The Name of the Doctor and Space and Time
• Peter Gleaves was also ADR mixer on The Magician's Apprentice and The Witch's Familiar
• assistant cameraman Adam Lincoln was clapper loader on Blink

Doctor Who On This Day #290

1936 - Director Timothy Combe born

in Guildford

1966 - Writer/Actor Mark Gatiss born in

Sedgefield; The Space Museum, Episodes

3 and 4, The Chase, Episodes 1, 3 and 5,

The Time Meddler, Episode 1 and Galaxy

4, Episode 1 all repeated on ABC

1971 - The Dominators, Episode 4 and The Silurians,

Episodes 4, 5 and 7 repeated and The Ambassadors

of Death, Episodes 1 and 3 both repeated and Episode

4 first screened, all on ABC

1974 - Terror of the Autons, Episode 4, The Claws

of Axos, Episode 4, Colony in Space, Episode 6, Day

of the Daleks, Episode 3 and The Curse of Peladon,

Episode 4 all repeated on ABC

1976 - The Ark in Space, Part 2 repeated

on ABC

1978 - The Android Invasion, Part 3 and

The Face of Evil, Part 1 both repeated on ABC

1979 - The Android Invasion, Part 2 first screened 

on DR1; The Seeds of Doom, Parts 3 and 6 both

repeated on ABC; and publication cover date on the

first issue of Marvel Comics' Doctor Who Weekly

1981 - The Creature from the Pit,

Part 4 repeated on KQED Plus

1982 - The Androids of Tara

Omnibus repeated on KQED Plus

1983 - Snakedance, Part 2 first

screened on TV1

1984 - Inferno, Episode 2 repeated

 on KQED Plus; and Terror of the

Autons, Episode 2 repeated on ABC

1985 - Terror of the Zygons, Part 3

repeated on KQED Plus

1986 - The Hand of Fear Omnibus and

Vengeance on Varos, Part 2 (of 4) both

repeated on KQED Plus

1987 - The Sontaran Experiment, Part

1 repeated on KQED Plus; The Masque

of Mandragora, Part 4 first screened

on Super Channel; and Image of the

Fendahl Omnibus repeated on ABC

1989 - The Stones of Blood, Part 1

repeated on KQED Plus

1990 - Invasion of the Dinosaurs, Part 4

repeated on KQED Plus; and The Greatest

Show in the Galaxy, Part 2 repeated on ABC

1991 - Planet of Fire, Part 4 both

repeated on KQED Plus

1992 - Meglos Omnibus repeated on KQED Plus

1993 - Planet of Evil Omnibus repeated on UK Gold;

and The Talons of Weng-Chiang, Part 4 repeated on ABC

1994 - Revenge of the Cybermen Omnibus

repeated on KQED Plus; and The Mark of the

Rani, Part 2 (of 4) repeated on UK Gold

1995 - The Android Invasion, Part 1 repeated

on UK Gold

1996 - The Chase, Episode 4: Journey into

Terror repeated on UKTV

1997 - The Stones of Blood, Part 2 repeated

on UKTV (Aus)

1998 - The Keys of Marinus Omnibus repeated

on MPT; The Dominators Omnibus repeated on

UK Gold; The War Games, Episodes 1 to 5 all

repeated on UKTV (Aus) and Episodes 3 and 4 both repeated on NHPTV;

 The Ambassadors of Death, Episodes 1 and 2 both repeated on Iowa 

PTV; The Three Doctors, Episodes 3 and 4 both repeated on Colorado 

PTV; Genesis of the Daleks, Parts 3 and 4 first screened on BBC America; 

The Talons of Weng-Chiang, Part 6 and Horror of Fang Rock, Part 1 both 

repeated on BBC Prime; and Mawdryn Undead Omnibus repeated on 

WUFT

1999 - The Silurians, Episode 1 repeated on Space; The Mutants, 

Episodes 3 and 4 both repeated on KBTC; The Time Monster, Episode 

6 and The Three Doctors, Episode 1 both repeated on WCET; The 

Green Death, Episodes 1 and 2 both repeated on NHPTV; Pyramids of 

Mars, Part 1 repeated on Colorado PTV, Part 2 repeated on Colorado

 PTV and Lakeshore PTV and Omnibus repeated on MPT; Planet of Evil, 

Part 2 repeated on Twin Cities PTV; The Masque of Mandragora, Part 4 

repeated on WQED; The Robots of Death, Parts 3 and 4 both repeated 

on MiND; The Talons of Weng-Chiang, Part 5 repeated on MPBN; The

 Invisible Enemy Omnibus repeated on KRWG; The Pirate Planet 

Omnibus repeated on KNME; Warriors' Gate Omnibus repeated on 

UK Gold; and Resurrection of the Daleks, Part 2 (of 4) repeated on 

WUSF and Omnibus repeated on KSPS

2000 - Inferno, Episode 4 repeated on Prime;

 Frontier in Space, Episode 5 repeated on UKTV

 (Aus); and Planet of Evil, Parts 1 and 2 both

repeated on BBC America

2001 - Enlightenment, Part 3 repeated on UKTV

 (Aus); and The Caves of Androzani, Part 3

repeated on BBC Prime

2002 - Meglos, Part 1 repeated on BBC Kids (Can) 

2003 - The War Games, Episodes 6 to 10 all

repeated on UKTV (Aus); The Talons of Weng-

Chiang, Parts 1 and 2 both repeated on BBC Kids;

and The Pirate Planet, Parts 1 and 2 both repeated

on UK Gold

2004 - Colony in Space, Episodes 5 and 6 both

repeated on KBTC; The Masque of Mandragora, Part

4 repeated on NHPTV; Warriors' Gate, Part 1 repeated

on KUED and Parts 3 and 4 both repeated on Iowa PTV;

Arc of Infinity, Part 3 repeated on WILL; The Two Doctors

Omnibus repeated on UK Gold; and Remembrance of the 

Daleks, Parts 1 and 2 both repeated on MiND

2005 - Terminus, Part 1 repeated on ABC;

 and Carnival of Monsters (factual) and

Adventures in Space and Time both

repeated on UK Gold

2006 - The Long Game first screened on

NHK BS3; and Fear Her repeated on BBC3

2007 - Father's Day and The Empty Child

both repeated on France 4; and The Doctor

Dances repeated on UK Gold

2008 - The Stones of Blood, Parts 2 and

3 both first screened on MTV3 SciFi; and

The Christmas Invasion first screened on

Syfy (FRG)

2009 - Evolution of the Daleks repeated

on Syfy (Spa); and The Fires of Pompeii

and Doctor Who Confidential Cutdown:

The Italian Job both repeated on UKTV (Aus)

2010 - The Sontaran Stratagem

repeated on WXXI

2011 - Underworld, Parts 1 and 2 both repeated on Syfy (Aus);

The Eleventh Hour repeated on UKTV (Aus); and Vincent and

 the Doctor and The Lodger both repeated on BBC America

2012 - The Sea Devils, Episodes 5 and 6 both repeated

on Syfy (Aus); Blink and Utopia both first screened on

 Fox (FRG); and The Impossible Astronaut repeated

on BBC America

2013 - Underworld, Parts 1 and 2 both repeated 

on Syfy (Aus); The End of the World repeated on

UKTV (Aus); New Earth repeated on EBRU; School

Reunion repeated on BBC America; Smith and Jones

and The Shakespeare Code both repeated on BBC

Entertainment AP; Gridlock repeated on Syfy (Port);

The Sound of Drums repeated on BBC Entertainment

LA; Voyage of the Damned and Victory of the Daleks

both repeated on France 4; The 

Doctor's Daughter both repeated on Watch; The Pandorica Opens 

repeated on TV3 (Spain); Day of the Moon repeated on ABC2; Closing

 Time repeated on RAI4; Dinosaurs on a Spaceship repeated on BBC 

Brazil HD; Greatest Moments: The Enemies repeated on BBC3;

Doctor Who Confidential: Stage Fright repeated on BBC

Entertainment EU, Romania and ME; and The Sarah

Jane Adventures: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith,

Episode 2 repeated on Jeem TV (UK)

2014 - Inferno, Episodes 2 and 3 both first screened on Horror; The 

Mind of Evil, Episodes 2 and 3 both first screened on Retro TV; Bad 

Wolf repeated on Watch; New Earth, Tooth and Claw, School Reunion, 

The Girl in the Fireplace, Rise of the Cybermen, The Idiot's Lantern, 

The God Complex and Closing Time all repeated on BBC America; 

Smith and Jones repeated on UKTV (NZ); Evolution of the Daleks, 

The Lazarus Experiment, 42 and Human Nature all repeated on 

Syfy (Aus); The Family of Blood repeated on Syfy (Aus) and 

KCPT2; The Hungry Earth, Cold Blood and Vincent and the 

Doctor all repeated on 

Really Scary TV; The Lodger repeated on YLE TV2; The Curse of the 

Black Spot repeated on KLRU; The Girl Who Waited repeated on BBC 

Nordic HD, BBC Polska HD and Syfy (Aus); The Wedding of River Song 

repeated on Syfy (Aus) and Jeem TV (ME); Asylum of the 

Daleks repeated on Jeem TV (ME); A Town Called Mercy repeated 

on WTTW Prime; The Name of the Doctor repeated on Karusel; Into 

 the Dalek repeated on DR3; The Caretaker repeated on BBC

Entertainment LA and BBC Polska; and Doctor Who Extra: 

Mummy on the Orient Express repeated on BBC Red Button

2015 - 100,000 BC, Episode 3: The Forest of Fear repeated on KMOS;

The Curse of Peladon, Episodes 1 to 4, The Sound of Drums and Doctor

 Who Confidential: The Saxon Mystery all repeated on UNC-MX; The 

Mutants, Episodes 1 and 2, The Robots of Death, Parts 3 and 4 and The

Talons of Weng-Chiang, Parts 1 and 2 all repeated on Retro TV; The 

Impossible Planet, The Satan Pit, Love & Monsters, Fear Her and Army

 of Ghosts all repeated on Syfy (Aus); Doomsday, The Runaway Bride, 

Smith and Jones, The Shakespeare Code, Gridlock, Daleks in Manhattan 

and Before the Flood all repeated on BBC Entertainment AP;

The Unicorn and the Wasp, Silence in the Library and Forest

of the Dead all repeated on UKTV (Aus); The Impossible Astronaut,

Day of the Moon, The Curse of the Black Spot, The Doctor's Wife,

The Rebel Flesh, The Almost People, A Good Man Goes to War,

Let's Kill Hitler, Night Terrors, The Girl Who Waited and

The God Complex all repeated on Fox (FRG); Asylum

of the Daleks and Dinosaurs on a Spaceship both

repeated on BBC Entertainment EU, Romania and ME;

Nightmare in Silver repeated on Syfy (Port); The Name

of the Doctor repeated on Syfy (Port) and Jeem TV

(ME); Time Heist repeated on WGVU; The Caretaker

repeated on Syfy (Aus) and OETA; Under the Lake

repeated on BBC First (Ben); The Girl Who Died first

screened on BBC1 and BBC HD; and The Entropy 

Composition first broadcast on Radio 4 Extra

2016 - The Daemons, Episodes 3 to 5 all repeated on WETA-UK; 

Death to the Daleks, Part 4 and The Monster of Peladon, Part 1 both 

repeated on Retro TV; The Empty Child repeated on BBC Polska HD; 

Blink and The God Complex both repeated on Syfy (Aus); Forest of 

the Dead and Midnight both repeated on RAI4; The Eleventh Hour 

repeated on The Zone; The Rings of Akhaten, Journey to the Centre 

of the TARDIS and The Crimson Horror all repeated on Fox (FRG); 

Hide repeated on Syfy (Spa); Into the Dalek repeated on BBC 

America; Last Christmas and Hell Bent both repeated on Syfy

 (LA); Before the Flood repeated on BBC Entertainment AP;

and Sleep No More repeated on BBC First (ME)

2017 - The Deadly Assassin, Parts 1 and 2 both repeated on Retro 

TV; The Empty Child repeated on Syfy (Aus); Bad Wolf repeated on 

BBC Polska HD; Doomsday and The Runaway Bride both repeated 

on Space; and Flesh and Stone, The Vampires of Venice and Amy's 

Choice all repeated on One ARD

2018 - Script Editor Derrick Sherwin died, aged 82;

The Androids of Tara, Part 4 and The Power of Kroll,

Part 1 both repeated on Retro TV; Flatline repeated

on BBC Polska HD; and The Doctor Falls repeated on

ABC

2019 - The Visitation, Parts 3 and 4 both repeated

on Retro TV; Amy's Choice and The Hungry Earth

both repeated on Sony SciFi; and Vincent and the

Doctor repeated on BBC Polska HD

2020 - The War Games, Episode 1 repeated

on ONS; Terminus Omnibus and The Two

Doctors, Parts 5 and 6 (of 6) all repeated on

Retro TV; Deep Breath repeated on RAI4; In

the Forest of the Night, Dark Water, Death in

Heaven and The Witch's Familiar all repeated

on BBC Polska HD; Extremis and The Pyramid

at the End of the World both repeated on BBC

Entertainment EU; and Nikola Tesla's Night of

Terror repeated on BBC First Turkey

2021 - 100,000 BC, Episodes 3 and

4 both repeated on KBTC; The Pirate

Planet Omnibus repeated on Retro TV;

and The Day of the Doctor repeated on

ABC ME

2022 - The Girl Who Waited repeated

 on BBC Polska HD; The Doctor, the

Widow and the Wardrobe repeated on

BBC First Turkey; The Curse of the

Black Spot repeated on W HD; and

Spyfall, Part 2 repeated on Fox SciFi

2023 - The Family of Blood repeated

on Fox SciFi

2024 - Journey to the Centre of the

TARDIS repeated on ABC Entertains;

and Hide repeated on ABC Family