Thursday, 19 September 2019

Doctor Who Vs. Deep Water

Produced by Kudos, ITV's latest crime drama concluded last night.
 The six-part thriller was adapted 
by Anna Symon from the Lake 
District-based series by novelist
Paula Daly.
Deep Water debuted on August
14 (then the entire run was made 
available on the ITV Hub) and it
featured Anna Friel, Rosalind 
Eleazer, and thirteen Doctor Who
cast and crew connections:

  • Big Finish actor Sinead Keenan (Roz) played Addams in The End of Time, and voiced Margery Phipps for Council of War (2013), Aoife Dineen for Iterations of I, Stephanie Wilton for The Reesinger Process, Rosheen for The Highest Science (all 2014), and Mary Summersby for The Darkness of Glass (2015)
  • Alastair Mackenzie (Riverty) voiced Galen for Prisoners of Fate (2013), Robots for The Entropy Plague (2015), and Julian St. Stephen for Counter Measures 1 (2012)
  • Faye Marsay (Joanne) was Shona McCullough in Last Christmas
  • Gerald Kyd (Elias)  voiced Martin Regan, Sir Robert Devere and Mulryne for 1963: The Assassination Games (2013), and Lieutenant Maurizio Savinio for Aquitaine (2016)
  • Matthew Aubrey (Wayne) voiced Gwyn Hughes for Black Thursday (2019)
  • Steven Cree (Joe) voiced Neil Redmond for Torchwood: Uncanny Valley (2016)
  • Gordon Seed was also stunt co-ordinator on thirty-six episodes (from The Idiot's Lantern to Kill the Moon)
  • Christina Low was stunt driver on Series 12 too
  • casting director Andy Brierley was casting associate on fifty-eight episodes (from The Christmas Invasion to The Big Bang), Music of the Spheres, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures
  • sound mixer Brian Milliken  was the sound recordist on The Sontaran Stratagem, The Poison Sky and The Sarah Jane Adventures
  • George Atkins was also ADR mixer on The Time of the Doctor, Flatline and Empress of Mars
  • Euan Toms was ADR assistant on The Witchfinders too
  • Nigel Squibbs was the dubbing mixer on An Adventure in Space and Time too

Monday, 26 August 2019

Doctor Who Vs. Carry On Doctor & Carry On Again Doctor

The fifteenth production (and the 
second with a medical theme) from
the Carry On stable was released
 in 1968. Series stalwarts Kenneth
Williams, Sid James, Joan Sims,
 Bernard Bresslaw, Charles Hawtrey,
Jim Dale, and Peter Butterworth 
were joined here by newcomer 
Frankie Howerd (1917-1992). 
Hattie Jacques, Barbara Windsor,
and Anita Harris all returned to 
the series.
The comedy was the third biggest
release at the UK box office that
year (after The Jungle Book and
Barbarella), and a sequel (shown again on ITV3 today) followed a year
later - they featured a total of twenty-five Doctor Who cast alumni:

  • Stephen Garlick (Boy) was Ibbotson in Mawdryn Undead
  • Bart Allison (Grandad here and Carry On Loving) was Maximus Pettulian in (episode 1 of) The Romans
  • Cheryl Molineaux (Nurse) was Miss Rutherford in The Ambassadors of Death
  • Jay McGrath (Visitor) was Worker in The War Machines (3), UNIT Soldier in The Silurians (3), Coven Member in Image of the Fendahl, and Dead Androgum in The Two Doctors (1)
  • Derek Francis (Burke here; Farmer in Carry On Camping and Carry On Henry; Bishop in Carry On Loving; Arthur in Carry On Matron; Brother in Carry On Abroad) was Emperor Nero in The Romans
  • Robin Scott (Patient) was Charlie Wise in The Moonbase, and Resistance Man in The War Games (7)
  • for Walter Henry (Visitor), Peter Gilmore (Henry here and sequel), Gertan Klauber (Orderly), and Jill Goldston (Nurse here and sequel) see Carry On Cleo
  • for Bresslaw (Biddle), Julian Holloway (Simmons) and Simon Cain (Orderly here; X-Ray Man in the sequel) see Carry On At Your Convenience
  • stuntman Ken Norris was a Morok Guard in The Space Museum
Carry On Again Doctor (the franchise's eighteenth title) was released
 in 1969, and again starred regulars James, Williams, Hawtrey, Sims, 
Windsor, Jacques, and Butterworth. Patsy Rowlands (1931-2005) 
debuted here, and featured in eight further titles, whilst Jim Dale
made his final series appearance until Carry On Columbus (1992).

  • William Mervyn (Paragon here; Ponsonby in Follow That Camel; Physician in Carry On Henry) and Lewis Alexander (Partygoer) both appeared in The War Machines, as Sir Charles Summer and Army Officer (3)
  • Donald Bisset (Patient) was Colin McLaren in The Highlanders
  • Heather Emmanuel (Girl) was Tessa in The Android Invasion (4)
  • Anthony Lang (Sick man) was an Egyptian Slave in The Daleks' Master PlanExtra in The Highlanders (1) and The Faceless Ones (1), Time Lord in The Three Doctors (1), and Kaled Councillor in Genesis of the Daleks
  • Claire Davenport (Guest here; Blonde in Carry On Emmannuelle) was the Empress in Marco Polo (7)
  • for Alan Harris (Man) and Aileen Lewis (Lady) see Carry On Cruising
  • for Billy Cornelius (Patient) see Carry On Screaming
  • for Hugh Futcher (Cabbie) see Carry On At Your Convenience
  • for Michael Stevens (Ordely) see Carry On Cowboy
  • for Elizabeth Knight (Nurse) see Carry On Camping

Wednesday, 10 July 2019

Doctor Who Vs. Jon Pertwee at the Cinema, Part 1

The centenary of the birth of
Jon Pertwee was marked by
BBC Radio 4 this week. The 
Jon Pertwee Files was narrated
by his son, Sean Pertwee.
Tomorrow, the Talking Pictures
TV channel will screen the 1955
British film comedy, A Yank in 
Ermine. The network screened
two other vintage comedies
today, The Gay Dog and The 
Ugly Ducking - all starred
Pertwee (1919-1996)
Released in 1954, the first
feature, written by future
Carry On producer Peter Rogers (based on the play from Joseph Colton),
also starred William Russell, and Peter Butterworth.
The second production (from the iconic Hammer stable) was released in
1959, and meant a more prominent role for Pertwee, but it was a box
office flop - it featured six other Doctor Who cast connections:

  • Bernard Bresslaw (Henry) was Varga in The Ice Warriors
  • John Harvey (DS Barnes) was Professor Brett in The War Machines, and Officia in The Macra Terror
  • Aileen Lewis (Dancer here and A Yank in Ermine) was an Extra on (episode 6 of) The Silurians
  • Ernest Blyth (Guest) was a Villager in The Daemons
  • Roger Avon (Reporter) and Reg Thomason (Guest) both appeared in Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD Avon also played Saphadin in The Crusade, and Daxtar in The Daleks' Master Plan (4)
  • Henry Montsash was hairdresser on Dr. Who and the Daleks too

Sunday, 30 June 2019

Doctor Who Vs. Oliver Twist (2005)

By 2004, the controversial French-born filmmaker 
Roman Polanski was keen to produce a child 
friendly version of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist
- actually the first cinematic treatment since the 
Oscar-winning musical, Oliver! in 1968.
This new adaptation was shot entirely in the
Czech Republic.
This literary classic (also known as The Parish 
Boy's Progress, and originally published monthly
 in Bentley's Miscellany from 1837 to 1839) was
only the writer's second novel.
Barney Clark now portrayed the famous orphan,
 and the cast, headed by Ben Kingsley as Fagin,
also featured twelve Doctor Who acting alumi:

  • Jeremy Swift (Bumble) voiced Fraser for Big Finish's Hidden Depths (2022)
  • Ian McNeice (Limbkins) played Winston Churchill in Victory of the Daleks, The Pandorica Opens and The Wedding of River Song (a role reprised for The Churchill Years and Their Finest Hour), and voiced Zeus for Immortal Beloved (2007), and Reginald Harcourt for The Renaissance Man (2012)
  • John Nettleton (Magistrate) was Reverend Ernest Matthews in Ghost Light
  • Chris Overton (Noah) voiced Terrill and Levek for The Brood of Erys (2014)
  • Jamie Foreman (Bill Sykes) was Eddie Connolly in The Idiot's Lantern
  • Timothy Bateson (Parson) was Binro in The Ribos Operation
  • Joseph Tremain (Hungry Boy) was Jim in The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances
  • Peter Copley (Master) was Dr Warlock in Pyramids of Mars
  • Gerald Horan (Farmer) was Clark in Human Nature and The Family of Blood
  • Patrick Godfrey (Bookseller) was Tor in The Savages, and Major Cosworth in The Mind of Evil
  • Frank Mills (Officer) was the Radio Telescope Director in Terror of the Autons
  • Paul Brooke (Grimwig) voiced Paolo for The Ghosts of N-Space, and Toby the Sapient Pig for Year of the Pig (2006)

Wednesday, 19 June 2019

Doctor Who Vs. Years and Years

BBC One's latest prime
time drama concluded
last night, and will
premiere on American
TV next week.
Created and written by
Russell T Davies, the
six-part series focused
on the lives of the
Manchester-based
Lyons family, and was
set in the near future.
Made by the Red
Production Company,
the acclaimed pro-
gramme featured
Emma Thompson, Ruth MadeleyDan Starkey, and twenty-seven Doctor Who cast and crew connections:
  • Rory Kinnear (Stephen) voiced Samuel Belfrage for Big Finish's Industrial Evolution (2011)
  • Russell Tovey (Daniel) played Midshipman Alonso Frame in Voyage of the Dead - a role reprised for The End of Time, Part 2 and The Lives of Captain Jack (2017)
  • Maxim Baldry (Viktor) was Dr. John Polidori in The Haunting of Villa Diodati 
  • Jessica Hynes (Edith) 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, Part 2 - she also voiced Glory Bee for Invaders from Mars (2002)
  • Anne Reid (Muriel) was Nurse Crane in The Curse of Fenricand Florence Finnegan in Smith and Jones
  • Sharon Duncan Brewster (Fran) was Maggie Cain in The Waters of Mars
  • T'Nia Miller (Celeste) was the General in Hell Bent
  • Lydia West (Bethany) voiced Vivien for Kidnapped! (2020)
  • George Bukhari (Aleef) voiced Security for Purity Unleashed (2023)
  • Mark Hugh Williams (Friend) was the Bus Driver in Rosa
  • Beatrice Curnew (Expert) was the Group Commander in The Lie of the Land
  • Andrew Byron (Policeman) was Ilya in The Pyramid at the End of the World
  • Gracy Goldman (Expert) was Mrs. Woods in The Caretaker
  • Emma Fielding (Jane) provided the voice of Kisar for Demons of the Punjab
  • Ellie Haddington (Dr. Moss) was Professor Alison Docherty
  • Glen McCready (voice of Signor) voiced Auditor General Otak Lame/ Reyn for The Paternoster Gang 2 (2019), John Farron/Chad Mullain/ Ezra/Soldier for The God of Phantoms, Franco/Luchino for The Lost Resort, Dr. Varma for The Eleven (all 2021), Dodson for The Auton Infinity (2022), Robertson/Innkeep/Captain for James Robert McCrimmon (2023), Technician Dune/Agent 1 for Last Words (2024), and Professor Albert Herber/the Steward/Andrew Wellesley for Doctor Who and the Brain Drain (2025)
  • Susan Momoko Hingley (Dr. Eto) voiced Maria Werner for Fairytale of Salzburg, Keiko for The Barbarians and the Samurai (both 2018), Sassparilla/Li Zhao for Master! (2021), Mari for Together in Electric Dreams, Queen Tremagi/Sheeda Wang for Beauty on the Inside (both 2022), and Alakhai for Daughter of Destruction (2026)
  • Bronté Barbé (Lucille) was cast in the 2025 season
  • Nila Aalia (Host) was Lakshmi Chandra in Wish World
  • Charles Armstrong (Editor) voiced Karl for Colony of Strangers (2020)
  • Julia Sandiford (Newsreader) voiced Ilya for The War Master 5 (2020), and Fabrico for The Lost Resort
  • Nina Albina (Guard) has been cast in Series 13
  • Glen Fox (Expert) was Pilot in The Giggle
  • Xavier Lake was stuntman on The Woman Who Fell to Earth too
  • Murray Gold was also composer on every episode (from Rose to Twice Upon a Time)
  • Andy Pryor has also worked as casting director on the revived run since 2005, The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood
  • Tony Slater Ling was also the cinematographer on The Vampires of Venice and Vincent and the Doctor

Friday, 7 June 2019

Doctor Who Vs. Single Father

Produced by BBC Scotland (and filmed in
Glasgow, Paisley and Edinburgh), this four-
part drama focused on Dave Tiler (played by
David Tennant), a photographer struggling
to care for his four children after the death 
of his partner, Rita (Laura Fraser) in a traffic
accident. 
Tennant debuted in Big Finish's Doctor Who
range in 2001 (for Colditz), and he recently
reprised the lead role for The Tenth Doctor 
Adventures.
The series was originally shown in October
2010 (and last repeated on the True Enter-
tainment Channel in 2015), and featured
Neve McIntosh, and thirteen further Doctor 
Who cast and crew connections:

  • Suranne Jones (Sarah) was the titular antagonist in The Sarah Jane Adventures: Mona Lisa's Revenge, then depicted Idris in The Doctor's Wife
  • Isla Blair (Beatty) was Isabella in The King's Demons, and voiced Paula for Exotron (2007)
  • Warren Brown (Matt) voiced Stephen Gibson for Industrial Evolution (2011), Rufus Stone and To'Koth for Signs and Wonders (2014), then Lieutenant Sam Bishop for UNIT: Extinction (2015), UNIT: Shutdown, UNIT: Silenced (both 2016), UNIT: Assembled (2017), UNIT: Cyber RealityLady Christina 1 (both 2018) and UNIT: Incursions (2019)
  • Rupert Grave (Stuart) was John Riddell in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship
  • Mark Heap (Robin) voiced the Middleman for The Middle (2017)
  • Sanjeev Kohli (Dad) voiced Brother Boyle/Vallot for The Quin Dilemma (2024)
  • Sophie Kennedy Clark (Tanya) voiced Mhairi Campbell/the Slips for Wicked! (2025) 
  • stunt co-ordinator Paul Heasman was a Nazi in Silver Nemesis, and the stunt arranger on Survival
  • Belinda McGinley was also a stunt performer on Amy's Choice and The Girl Who Waited
  • stuntman Lee Sheward was a stunt co-ordinator on eleven adventures (from The End of the World to The End of Time), and Torchwood: Miracle Day
  • Steve Smith was also a make-up artist on forty-one episodes (from The Christmas Invasion to The Waters of Mars), and Music of the Spheres
  • sound mixer Brian Milliken was the sound recordist on The Sontaran Stratagem, The Poison Sky and The Sarah Jane Adventures
  • composer Murray Gold has worked on the revived run (from Rose to Twice Upon a Time)

Tuesday, 4 June 2019

Doctor Who Vs. Van Der Valk, Series 5

ITV's classic crime drama again starred Barry Foster as the eponymous Dutch detective, was based on characters created by Nicolas Freeling for
his Van Der Valk novels in 1962. Produced at Thames Television's studios
 in London, with location scenes shot in the books' Amsterdam setting, the 
show was revived in early 1991, thirteen years after the previous series.
A repeat run of the final, three-part season (first shown in early 1992)
concluded on the Talking Pictures TV channel last night, and featured 
twenty-one Doctor Who cast connections:

  • Brian Cox (Szabo) provided the voice of the Elder Ood in The End of Time, and depicted Sydney Newman in An Adventure in Space and Time
  • Malcolm Tierney (Nagel) was Dolland in Terror of the Vervoids
  • Vernon Dobtcheff (Jonge) was an Alien Scientist in The War Games , then voiced Dadda Desaka for The Cradle of the Snake (2010), Sibelius Crow for The Necropolis ExpressShamur for The Children of Seth (both 2011), Professor Heinrich Schumann for Counter Measures 1: Threshold (2012), and Jorenzo Zorn for The Genesis Chamber (2016)
  • Sion Tudor Owen (Staal) was Tandrell in The Mysterious Planet
  • Kevork Malikyan (Colombian) was Kemel Rudkin in The Wheel in Space
  • Martyn Whitby (Swart) was a Drayman in The Mark of the Rani
  • Paul Freeman (Tromp) voiced Jalnik for The Foe From the Future (2012)
  • Stephen Moore (Hensen) was Eldane in The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood, and voiced Clark Goodman for The Eight Truths and Worldwide Web (2009)
  • Maggie Steed (Maria) voiced Madame Rana Zandusia for Mission to Magnus (2009)
  • Julian Fox (Samuel) was Peter Hamilton in Death to the Daleks
  • Ian Barritt (Hartog) was Professor [Gerald] Peach in The Unicorn and the Wasp
  • Richard Mayes (Farmer) was Chief Baxter in Fury from the Deep
  • Celia Imrie (Marijke) was Miss [Rosemary] Kizlet in The Bells of Saint John, and voiced Dr. Elizabeth Bradley for The Fifth Citadel (2013), Madame Tissot for Gallery of Ghouls, and Lady Livia Caralis for Gallifrey: Enemy Lines (both 2016)
  • Angela Bruce (Tony) was Brigadier Winifred Bambera in Battlefielda role reprised by Big Finish for Animal (2011)
  • Holly De Jong (Hannie) voiced Amelia Doory for Project: Twilight (2001)
  • Martin McDougall (Vendor) voiced Craddock for He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not (2020)
  • Tony Caunter (Voss) was Morgan in Colony in Space, and Jackson in Enlightenment 
  • Pip Torrens (de Groot) was Headmaster Rocastle in Human Nature and The Family of Blood, then voiced Charlie Gibbs for Eldrad Must Die!(2013)
  • Barry Aird (Postman) was a Time Lord Soldier in The Last Day
  • for David McKail see Series 3
  • stunt arranger Peter Brayham was stunt co-ordinator on The Christmas Invasion, New Earth and School Reunion