David Tennant’s Hamlet

David Tennant’s Hamlet has made it to CNN. Complete with one minor error, of course. (Remember that RTD said that the gap year was planned? David got to do Hamlet because of the gap year. They didn’t pause for a year so that he could do Hamlet.) I really hope that they film this for those of us who can’t be there. It’s very sold out, after all. (You can read some reviews here.)

John Barrowman recently participated in a show called The Making of Me. For the show, he went on a quest to discover why he was gay. Was it nature or nurture? If you are interested in going on this journey with him, head over to Youtube.

Both David Tennant and John Barrowman have made it to TVGuide.com’s list of The Sexiest Sci-Fi Stars! John came in at number 9, and David came in at 7 out of 15. Good to know that there are other folks out there that agree with me.

You all remember that Billie Piper is pregnant, right? Well, if you want to see a couple of (sort of stalkery) pictures of her…go here. You’re looking good there, Billie!

And finally…an extended trailer for the next Christmas Special (as shown at Comic-Con…and filmed there then put up on YouTube.)

Image Source: David-tennant.com

David Tennant, Hamlet, John Barrowman, Billie Piper

John Barrowman, Fidget and Quilly

The question this week relates to the bad elements of Doctor Who series four. Which was your favorite baddie in series four? As I was making my usual list, which you will find below, I discovered an interesting fact. Humans were at least partially involved in the badness a couple of times in this series, and in one notable case, were the baddies. So, go ahead. Consult the list I’ve compiled for you and tell me which baddie you preferred from series four. (My apologies to the folks in Australia who are still watching the series. This will be spoilery.)

The Bad and the Ugly:
1. Miss Foster (and perhaps the Adipose)
2. The Pyrovile
3. The Humans from Ood Operations
4. Sontarans
5. The Soldiers from The Doctor’s Daughter (And specifically the leader of the Humans)
6. The Vespiform
7. Vashta Nerada
8. The mysterious Shadow that takes over Sky Silvestry
9. The Time Beetle
10. Davros & The Daleks

Once again this year, I’m choosing Steven Moffat’s new baddie. As if it’s not bad enough that he’s already made us afraid of statues and blinking, now he’s given us reason to look suspiciously at dust motes too. I choose the Vashta Nerada as my favorite baddies from series four. The whole concept was dead clever. I’m betting that we encounter them in some form or other in the future. Especially considering that Steven Moffat is soon to take over Head Writer duties.

Which did you choose?

Doctor Who, baddie, Vashta Nerada

In the Classic series of Doctor Who the Doctor was constantly being told to empty out his pockets. This was especially common in the Fourth Doctor era. When the Doctor would reluctantly comply with the order, the watcher would find any number of strange things that had been lurking in his pockets. If you have been watching the new series, you have undoubtedly noticed that the Doctor still pulls all sorts of things out of his seemingly bottomless pockets. It’s good to know that some things never change. The Doctor likes to be prepared, it would seem, no matter the face that he is wearing at the time.

And this brings me to The Pocket Project. One of the things that I will be doing during our Doctor Who drought is going back through the new series episodes and keeping track of the items our Doctor produces from the depths of his pockets. (Yes, I like making lists. How could you tell?) Along the way, I will also be keeping track of what the Sonic Screwdriver is used for. I shall begin with series one, episode one - Rose. If you would like to re-watch the episode for yourself, there are some links at the bottom of this post that might interest you. *ahem*

The Pocket Project: Rose 1.1

1. The Sonic Screwdriver - used to stop the lift so that the Autons couldn’t follow them, to follow the signal from the plastic arm, to cut off the signal animating the plastic arm, and to lock the back door of the restaurant containing the rampaging Plastic Mickey Body.

2. A Ruddy Great Bomb - used to blow up the relay device on the roof of Rose’s shop.

3. TARDIS Key - Now looking like a normal Yale key.

4. Anti-Plastic - How else are you going to stop a plastic menace?

Total Items: 4

Rose:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Doctor Who, Sonic Screwdriver, The Pocket Project, Rose

The word on the street is that the RSC is not allowing David Tennant to sign any non-RSC merchandise. The same goes for Patrick Stewart, in case you’re curious. So, leave your Sci Fi stuff at home if you are lucky enough to see the production of Hamlet.

BBC News reports that Steven Moffat is promising new friends and monsters when he takes over the show. For the record, it looks like he…er…”takes office” in May.

Doctor Who is up for some awards in the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards UK. It’s up for Favorite Family TV Show. The Daleks are nominated for Favorite Baddie. David Tennant is on the Favorite Male TV Star list. Catherine Tate and Freema Agyeman are both nominated for Favorite Female TV Star. The winners will be announced on 13 September. Keep you fingers crossed!

DVD News:
TVShowsOnDVD.com has the North American release date and the cover art for series four of Doctor Who. It is due to appear on shelves on 18 November 2008. This is good timing for Christmas lists you may note. I can’t wait!

The Infinite Quest, otherwise known as the animated adventure of The Doctor and Martha that appeared on Totally Doctor Who, is coming to DVD in North America on 18 November as well. Yes! I was hoping that it would make its way onto DVD outside of the UK.

David Tennant, Patrick Stewart, Hamlet, Steven Moffat, Doctor Who, The Infinite Quest, Totally Doctor Who

If you are interested in the playlists for this event, and/or you happen wish to hear this event for yourself in its entirety (at least for the next few days), you can do that here - Doctor Who Prom part 1 & Doctor Who Prom part 2. (Please note that I had the best luck with Internet Explorer.)

As this was a radio-based show, the following links lead to Youtube videos that contain one image to go with the music. I have put them in the order in which they appeared (as near as I can tell from the set lists.) Enjoy!

Introduction/Doctor’s Theme:

All the Strange Strange Creatures:

The Doctor Forever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ugUCJTQnmw

Rose’s Theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iodZ3k7UGY

Martha Vs. The Master: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUrGHK9T2TE

Dalek Suite and Davros: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6knmBsZup6E

Companions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdNOmr0vokw

This is Gallifrey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzfHSASeR6E

The Doctor’s Theme/Ood Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DvZOqn-s58

Doomsday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTmWuS_l7kw

Song for Ten: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHaAzplkdw8

The Doctor Who Theme Tune: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbIYmmX9mnc

Doctor Who Prom, BBC Proms, Doctor Who

In this episode, The Doctor composes music and…deals with a miscreant.

The Doctor Composes…

Enjoy!!

Torchwood Panel at Comic-Con 2008 (Pt. 1):

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8gaXedJ1Io

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlwznrGdS90

Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eoqe-AX7oB0

Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMMHeGMC6vM

Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHaNt7_158U

Part 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHrowbNpzpY

Torchwood, Comic-Con

This is the Review Post for Doctor Who 4.3 - Planet of the Ood. Hey! My computer didn’t crash this time! Woo hoo! So, here in the long delayed review.

You can find the Monster Files for this episode here.
The Big Questions for the episode is located here.
If you want to read a transcript of the episode, you may do so here.

Episode: Planet of the Ood by Keith Temple
Rating (1 to 5): 3
Time: The year 4126. (The 2nd Great and Bountiful Human Empire)
Place: The Oodsphere
Baddie: The humans on the Oodsphere, especially the security guy, Solana, and the head of the company.
The Doctor enjoys: Real snow.
The Doctor dislikes: What has happened to the Ood.
The Doctor apologizes to: Donna, for the cheap shot.
Signs & Portents: The bees disappearing is mentioned again. “I think your song must end soon.”
Rose? Nope.
Doctor-y Strangeness: He can hear the Oodsong.
One Last Chance? Nope. Nary a one.
Scary Stuff: Ood with red eyes! Idiot humans. Being chased by a giant claw.
Does someone local help out? One of the friends of the Ood, and the Ood themselves. Go Ood!
What we learn: The Oodsphere is in the same Solar System as the Sensesphere. Donna can really whistle. The Ood are born with a separate hind brain.
My Favorite Bits: The TARDIS is flight dance. Donna going back for a coat. Oodsong. “I reckon I owe them one.” Donna defending the Ood. Very good handcuffs. They urned him into an Ood. The Ood will remember The Doctor and Donna forever.

Observations and musings:

Donna really shows her compassion in this episode. She quickly gets over her shock and tries to comfort a dying Ood. She was also very good at summing up the Ood and defending them, even when restrained by high quality handcuffs. Yay for Donna.

Rose would have been so proud of The Doctor in this episode. He helped set the Ood free! No wonder The Doctor had a headache at one point with all of that Oodsong playing constantly though it. It’s good to be reminded from time to time that he’s telepathic. He certainly wasn’t plagued by silence in his head during that trip.

Once again I have a yen for Doctor Who fashion. I love Donna’s coat. Was anyone else amused by the fact that the main Ood was “Ood Sigma” whereas the Doctor’s nickname was once “Theta Sigma”?

Okay. This one ended up with a bow on it, didn’t it? I mean, I’m not complaining. I do love a happy ending, but… it was a bit over-happy this time. I did love how each of the baddies were taken out, though. What did you all think?

Image Source: The Official BBC Doctor Who Site

Planet of the Ood, Review Post, Doctor Who, Keith Temple

This is the very beginning of the Torchwood panel at San Diego Comic-Con, featuring John Barrowman, Julie Gardner, Gareth David-Lloyd, and Naoko Mori. It’s just the part where everyone comes out on stage, but I thought that I’d post it for those of us who are not in San Diego. Le Sigh. Oh, and just to let you know, apparently John’s family and his Partner were there.

Torchwood, San Diego Comic-Con