Doctor Who

All things Doctor Who

Moli & Eve…

Moli

As a Doctor Who fan its only fair that I watch and eventually love BBC’s Torchwood.  It’s a darker show than DW and closer to what I would like the show to be like. More for adults who’ve invested 50 years hiding behind the sofa and watching Doctor after Doctor regenerate.  I don’t expect the show to become ‘X’ rated but harder and darker wouldn’t hurt.  The reason I mention Torchwood is that at the weekend I was lucky enough to meet Eve Myles who plays Gwen Cooper. 

Eve Myles

Eve Myles - Signed Photo

It’s always nice to meet people who you admire and in the case of Eve Myles she was the nicest person you could ever hope to meet.  Very interested in what you had to say and I couldn’t have felt more welcome.  What a contrast to ‘The Hoff ‘ who couldn’t have had more contempt for the fans if he tried.  He could barely lift his head to say hello and was more interested in chatting to his friends than the people who were waiting to say hello.  He was frankly rude. 

David Hasselhoff

David Hasselhoff - Signed Photo

As you can see, he’s looking old and past his best.  Lets hope he goes for a slow run down the beach into obscurity.

M

A clockwork Moli…

Moli

Welly, welly, welly, welly, welly, welly, well my Droogs…

May has been a fairly busy month for things going on. The start of the month was very busy on the river with the Royal Navy arrivals for the 70th anniversary of the battle of the Atlantic. The icing on the cake was the final visit of HMS Illustrious which compared to the US aircraft carriers is fairly small, however, seeing ‘Lusty’ passing your lounge window at close range I can confirm she’s the biggest ship I’ve ever seen pass the Thames.

HMS Illustrious

A couple of days later I had the chance to go on board her and meet some of the crew which was a real thrill. Unlike the visit to HMS Ocean last year, I was able to wander around the flight deck with leisure and imagine Harrier’s landing on a rolling deck out at sea. The crews were more than willing to answer your questions and I even got a chance to board a helicopter and chat to its pilot.

HMS Illustrious

HMS Illustrious

HMS Illustrious

HMS Illustrious

The whole day was great fun and made me proud of our armed forces and the job they do. It’s a shame that the whole fleet of Invincible-class aircraft carriers are being decommissioned. The replacement, HMS Queen Elizabeth won’t be available for some time and when it does, it won’t fit into the Thames. So this will be the last aircraft carrier to visit Greenwich, London.

Today, I was lucky enough to meet current Doctor Who companion Jenna-Louise Coleman. She was very pleasant and ever so tiny.

Jenna-Louise Coleman

Jenna-Louise Colman

I also managed to meet actor Malcolm McDowell. I’ve been a fan of his for quite some time ever since I watched Stanley Kubrick’s ‘A Clockwork Orange’.

Malcolm McDowell
Malcom Mcdowell

We spoke for a short while and I told him that during the films banned years my university lecturer managed to get hold of a fairly worn out VHS copy of the film and we secretly met to watch it, calling ourselves ‘The Citrus Club’. He said that he had heard of students doing that sort of thing, which led to its cult film status in the UK. He also asked if we watched it this with the aid of Marjuana. Apparently that was fairly common too…

All in all, an interesting few of weeks… I’m off now for some Moloko plus.

M

Doctor Who and the lost opportunity…

Moli

The Doctor Who Christmas special was a great introduction to the new companion, Clara / Oswin played fantastically by Jenna Louise Colman but little else…

Jenna Louise Coleman - Doctor Who

The story was rushed along and the screen villan of Dr Simeon played by Richard E Grant was wasted.  I thought his performance was worthy of more screen time and less of the giant snow globe.  I know that the show is aimed for a children’s audience but after 50 years it clearly has a fair few adult viewer too that want a darker and more scary villain.

Richard E Grant - Doctor Who

It’s Doctor Who, not Panto for Gods sake.  I really wish that Steven Moffat would make me believe that the Doctor could lose a battle once in a while.  Maybe actually make the baddie…. Bad??? The Christmas special has become a regular and expected part of the Christmas television schedules but I’ve yet to find one that matches ‘Voyage of the Dammed’.  Every single one has been a weak waste of time and a real let down, especially given all the hype and publicity building up to its air date. I’m such an avid fan of the show I’d watch the Doctor read the telephone directory full of people called Smith and not really moan till its over, however I know these so called specials are nothing more than episodes that could quite easily be from the regular series.  Nothing is truly special about them. I’d barely got used to the revised TARDIS interior and now its changed again along with the theme tune. Both of which I’m not convinced about at this point but in time I could come to like them. My first thought is that the TARDIS feels cold, less welcoming and actually smaller on the inside…

Doctor Who - 2013

Despite all this I’m actually looking forward to the new series starting later in the year and all the attention the show will get when as it turns 50 years old.  I just really hope that the quality of the scripts and production don’t leave me disappointed once again…

M

 

 

Doctor Who episode found…

Moli

Two classic episodes of Doctor Who – thought to be missing forever – have been returned to the BBC archive. Episode 3 of Galaxy 4 (starring William Hartnell) and Episode 2 of The Underwater Menace (starring Patrick Troughton) were purchased by film collector Terry Burnett at a village fete near Southampton in the early 80s.

Over 100 episodes of Doctor Who from the 1960s still remain missing. The tapes were routinely wiped once the rights to repeat them had expired. It seems unfathomable to us today, but before the advent of DVDs and iPlayer, grainy black and white material was thought to no longer be of interest to the television audience. However, many film prints sold overseas have since been returned. These latest discoveries are the first complete episodes to have been located since 2004.
None of the four episodes of the 1965 adventure “Galaxy 4” were known to have survived, although a short extract had been retained.

Research has shown that the returned episodes originated from the ABC channel in Australia. In fact, the copy of The Underwater Menace is still missing a few short sections which were removed by the Australian censors upon its original transmission Down Under. Fresh scans of the missing material have been made by the National Archives of Australia and will be incorporated into the restored episodes ahead of a DVD release.

With thanks to the BBC.

Doctor Who Experience

Moli

As a Doctor Who fan I really needed to go to the experience at Olympia. Getting up close to the costumes and sets was fantastic as well as the interactive elements of the experience which will remain a secret until you go along yourself…

However, he are some pictures I took from my visit…

Doctor Who Exibition 2011

Doctor Who Exibition 2011

Doctor Who Exibition 2011

Here is a link to the rest…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xalio/sets/72157627400729521/