Kopic's Doctor Who & Torchwood News |
- DOCTOR WHO TV FLASH HAS FAN FORUMS IN MELTDOWN - Daily Star
- The week in film and TV: Week 8 - The Yorker
- Cyrus: 'I never expected to fall in love'
- The Coming of the Terraphiles
- John James emerges as bookies' favourite
- Seyfried 'reconnects with Dominic Cooper'
- Demon Quest Titles Revealed
- Nathan triumphs in brain freeze challenge
- David: 'I've tried dog meat'
- Aguilera's 'Bionic' tops UK albums chart
- 'Secret Diary of a Call Girl' to Get the Feature Treatment? - Cinematical (blog)
- Rai, Bachchan 'don't talk shop at home'
- classic 'Doctor Who' blogging: “Robot” - Flick Filosopher (blog)
- Exclusive Interview: Nick Briggs
- Drake announces 'Moments' as second LP title
- The Pandorica Opens trailer
- Dizzee, Corden pip Tinie Tempah to No. 1
- 'Karate Kid' beats 'A-Team' at US box office
- Ben worries over 'petty nominations'
- Ife cries over lack of hunger
- Rachael develops Nathan crush
- Thompson: 'Ranbir took care of me'
- Govan: 'I don't trust David at all'
- What's Jane up to in 'Drop Dead Diva'?
- Lea Michele: 'My nude scene was tasteful'
- Reality TV proves meaner than fiction - Chicago Press Release Services (press release)
- Kruger: 'I wear make-up at night'
- TV trailer for The Pandorica Opens
- The Lodger’s overnight ratings
- Watts: 'I didn't think I'd have kids so late'
- Football dents Doctor Who ratings - ATV News (blog)
- DS:BB News Extra - Day 5 #3
- "The Hungry Earth" - A.V. Club New York
- Reality TV proves meaner than fiction - msnbc.com
- "The Hungry Earth" - A.V. Club (satire)
- War Between the States
- Doctor Who 5.11 "The Lodger" Review - TVOvermind
- Reality TV Proves Meaner Than Fiction - LiveScience.com
- Doctor Who - Series 5 Episode 11 Review - The Lodger with James Corden SPOILER ... - Anglotopia.net
- The Lodger Reviewed
- Doctor Who - The Pandorica Opens clips (Season Finale - Part 1) - BSCreview
- The Lodger - Overnight Ratings - 4.6 Million
- The Pandorica Opens Trailer
- New Pandorica Pics
- Property sales - Journal and Courier
- Character Options to release 11 Doctors set
| DOCTOR WHO TV FLASH HAS FAN FORUMS IN MELTDOWN - Daily Star Posted: 13 Jun 2010 11:17 AM PDT
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| The week in film and TV: Week 8 - The Yorker Posted: 13 Jun 2010 10:17 AM PDT
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| Cyrus: 'I never expected to fall in love' Posted: 13 Jun 2010 07:46 AM PDT Miley Cyrus admits that she didn't expect to fall for Liam Hemsworth on the set of The Last Song. 
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| Posted: 13 Jun 2010 07:43 AM PDT The title of the Doctor Who novel by award winning sci-fi writer Michael Moorcock has been revealed – The Coming of the Terraphiles…
Featuring the Eleventh Doctor and Amy, The Coming of the Terraphiles is written by one of the few people in the world that can be described as both prolific and a literary legend. Moorock has countless awards to his name, not to mention titles, and most recently, in 2008, he was named in The Times' list of the '50 greatest British writers since 1945′. Complete with a smashing cover image (click here for hi-res) release of The Coming of the Terraphiles is likely to be very high profile given Moorcock's standing, his decision to write a Doctor Who book, and the price of the release.
To all intents and purposes (there is no page count available as yet) this is a full-length novel of the scale and depth you would normally expect from someone like Moorcock. Priced at £16.99 (and available to preorder for just £14.44 from Amazon  | ||
| John James emerges as bookies' favourite Posted: 13 Jun 2010 07:19 AM PDT John James and Mario replace Steve as joint favourites to win. 
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| Seyfried 'reconnects with Dominic Cooper' Posted: 13 Jun 2010 07:16 AM PDT Amanda Seyfried is reportedly photographed spending the day with ex-boyfriend Dominic Cooper. 
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| Posted: 13 Jun 2010 07:14 AM PDT
The previous series, Hornet's Nest, featured Richard Franklin as ex-UNIT Capt Mike Yates, Rula Lenska as the Hornet Queen and Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibsey and was written by Doctor Adventures novelist Paul Magrs, who will again be penning this new series of multi-voiced adventures. No cast list has been announced yet but expect it to continue to draw on the cast of characters from the Fourth Doctor's past. Demon Quest will be released in five, hour long instalments: 1: Relics of Time – Released 2 September 2: Demon of Paris – Released 7 October 3: Shard of Ice – Released 4 November 4: Starfall - Released 2 December 5: Sepulchre - Released 2 December Four of the five parts are available in to pre-order now from Amazon in audio CD format at £9.99 with part 3 Shard of Ice currently available for £7.49. Elsewhere the first episode, Relics of Time can be pre-ordered from BBC Audiobooks for just £6.99. (Via Doctor Who News)  | ||
| Nathan triumphs in brain freeze challenge Posted: 13 Jun 2010 07:14 AM PDT Nathan beats off the competition as housemates are challenged to down fruit-based frozen shots. 
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| Posted: 13 Jun 2010 07:11 AM PDT David reveals the strange food that he has eaten on his travels. 
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| Aguilera's 'Bionic' tops UK albums chart Posted: 13 Jun 2010 06:47 AM PDT Christina Aguilera leads the UK albums chart for the second time in her career with Bionic. 
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| 'Secret Diary of a Call Girl' to Get the Feature Treatment? - Cinematical (blog) Posted: 13 Jun 2010 06:37 AM PDT
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| Rai, Bachchan 'don't talk shop at home' Posted: 13 Jun 2010 06:36 AM PDT Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan say that they prefer not to talk about their work while at home. 
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| classic 'Doctor Who' blogging: “Robot” - Flick Filosopher (blog) Posted: 13 Jun 2010 06:23 AM PDT
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| Exclusive Interview: Nick Briggs Posted: 13 Jun 2010 06:19 AM PDT We were thrilled to be given the chance to speak to Nick Briggs at the Bad Wolf convention this weekend, and, during our interview, the actor spilled the beans on all things Daaaa-lek! A big thanks to everybody who submitted their questions for Nick throughout the week – you may find yours was included in the Q&A. If not, we apologise for [...]  | ||
| Drake announces 'Moments' as second LP title Posted: 13 Jun 2010 06:17 AM PDT Drake reveals that he has already begun thinking of titles for his follow-up to Thank Me Later. 
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| Posted: 13 Jun 2010 05:58 AM PDT The Doctor's friends unite to send him a terrible warning; the Pandorica - which is said to contain the most feared being in all the cosmos - is opening. But what's inside, and can the Doctor stop it? http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com   | ||
| Dizzee, Corden pip Tinie Tempah to No. 1 Posted: 13 Jun 2010 05:54 AM PDT Dizzee Rascal and James Corden's 'Shout' defeats Tinie Tempah's 'Frisky' in this week's UK singles chart. 
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| 'Karate Kid' beats 'A-Team' at US box office Posted: 13 Jun 2010 05:50 AM PDT The Karate Kid debuts at the top of the US box office. 
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| Ben worries over 'petty nominations' Posted: 13 Jun 2010 05:44 AM PDT Ben starts to worry that he may be nominated over "petty" reasons. 
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| Posted: 13 Jun 2010 05:38 AM PDT Ife cries at dinner time, due to not being hungry in the house. 
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| Posted: 13 Jun 2010 05:26 AM PDT Rachael reveals to Josie that she "likes" Nathan at the moment. 
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| Thompson: 'Ranbir took care of me' Posted: 13 Jun 2010 05:17 AM PDT Sarah Thompson reveals that Ranjeeti co-star Ranbir Kapoor made her welcome in India. 
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| Govan: 'I don't trust David at all' Posted: 13 Jun 2010 05:14 AM PDT Govan talks to Corin and John James about his opinion of David and Sunshine. 
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| What's Jane up to in 'Drop Dead Diva'? Posted: 13 Jun 2010 05:06 AM PDT Click here for a sneak peek at tonight's episode of Lifetime's Drop Dead Diva. 
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| Lea Michele: 'My nude scene was tasteful' Posted: 13 Jun 2010 04:51 AM PDT Lea Michele says that her topless scene in the Broadway musical Spring Awakening was "tasteful". 
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| Reality TV proves meaner than fiction - Chicago Press Release Services (press release) Posted: 13 Jun 2010 04:34 AM PDT
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| Kruger: 'I wear make-up at night' Posted: 13 Jun 2010 04:31 AM PDT Diane Kruger admits that she thinks it's "important" to dress up for her boyfriend Joshua Jackson. 
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| TV trailer for The Pandorica Opens Posted: 13 Jun 2010 04:19 AM PDT With Episode 12 a matter of days away, it really is the beginning of the end, and the BBC are now airing a special trailer for part one of this year’s highly-anticipated finale, The Pandorica Opens! The episode airs next Saturday at 18:40 on BBC1/HD, and sees the Doctor’s friends unite to send him a terrible warning: [...]  | ||
| The Lodger’s overnight ratings Posted: 13 Jun 2010 04:11 AM PDT Overnight ratings have revealed that 4.6million tuned in for The Lodger last night – a 22.3% share of the total television audience. 4.31million watched on BBC One, and an additional 0.25million on BBC HD, making Doctor Who the 4th most watched programme of the day, behind various coverages of the World Cup. Meanwhile, Doctor Who Confidential [...]  | ||
| Watts: 'I didn't think I'd have kids so late' Posted: 13 Jun 2010 04:07 AM PDT Naomi Watts admits that she thought she would start a family at a younger age. 
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| Football dents Doctor Who ratings - ATV News (blog) Posted: 13 Jun 2010 03:37 AM PDT
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| Posted: 13 Jun 2010 03:10 AM PDT The latest news snippets and gossip from the house... 
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| "The Hungry Earth" - A.V. Club New York Posted: 13 Jun 2010 02:57 AM PDT
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| Reality TV proves meaner than fiction - msnbc.com Posted: 13 Jun 2010 02:34 AM PDT
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| "The Hungry Earth" - A.V. Club (satire) Posted: 13 Jun 2010 02:07 AM PDT
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| Posted: 13 Jun 2010 02:01 AM PDT The "R"-rolling side of the pond that is America is now more than halfway through watching Season 31, and has had a fair taste of mostly everything a Davies-vacant modern series has to offer. As a result, the nation has decided to offer up its opinion on what it's seen so far this year by means of various internet and newspaper reviewers, who have proven to be either intelligent or incompetent.
Basically, the whole article is a spot-on description of the current season in nearly every way! But not everyone has been pleased. In late April, around the time The Beast Below turned up across the Atlantic, Charlie Jane Anders of io9 was already drawing up Davies comparisons:
A slightly disappointing take, but it does go on to praise Matt Smith's and Karen Gillan's acting, so it's not all bad. It's often amusing to look back on an older review, such as this one by Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune about The Eleventh Hour, just to tease its writer in one's mind, saying, "Ha! I'm from the future and I know something you don't know!" In this case, it pertains to Smith's acting:
Hang on – was she suggesting that just because Matt Smith is young, he might not be able to portray emotion? Does she think the youth of the world are drones or robots? And what's this about The Eleventh Hour and not having any "darkness looming?" The Pandorica is opening. Silence will fall. I'm not sure how much more blatant Moffat can get with his foreshadowing. All in all, for a programme that comes packed with about ten million times more creativity and originality than anything else you'll find on television over there, American reactions towards this season of Doctor Who have been surprisingly mixed. But who needs that audience? Just let 'em keep watching their Vampire Diaries and thinking they're cool.  | ||
| Doctor Who 5.11 "The Lodger" Review - TVOvermind Posted: 13 Jun 2010 01:37 AM PDT
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| Reality TV Proves Meaner Than Fiction - LiveScience.com Posted: 13 Jun 2010 01:20 AM PDT
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| Doctor Who - Series 5 Episode 11 Review - The Lodger with James Corden SPOILER ... - Anglotopia.net Posted: 13 Jun 2010 01:18 AM PDT
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| Posted: 12 Jun 2010 11:00 PM PDT Well, that was a bloody improvement. After the dud contributions from Messrs Gatiss, Whithouse and Chibnall, it's heartening – albeit belatedly – to see that not all the new series writers have (quite literally) lost the plot.
In common with Simon Nye's episode, there's a sense of this story making good on this season's promise, the bold-but-twisty, storybook-tinged style premiered in The Eleventh Hour. (So much so that it felt credible that Prisoner Zero could be making a return appearance. Albeit sans dog.) There are certainly shades of that story in the Aickman Road house and its creepy upstairs neighbours. Roberts' effort also wins out over those episodes' Barratt Homes soullessness by acknowledging that perhaps there should, or at least could be more to life than pizza-booze-telly. While it is perhaps unappealing for every single guest character the Doctor meets to come away with an epiphanous new outlook on life, the resolution of Craig's unrequited love is certainly preferable to the equivalent woman in Marc Warren's life being transformed into what I think Lawrence Miles memorably described as a 'concrete fellatio machine'.
Fortunately, Roberts makes this chestnut funny rather than tedious ("Call me the rotmeister. No, I'm the Doctor, don't call me the rotmeister"), and doesn't seem too out of character, despite this season alone (and the new series at large) having already demonstrated his greater knowledge of the minutiae of human life than previously acknowledged (internet porn and Kylie Minogue, anyone?) There's a danger, arguably, that Matt Smith's Doctor is becoming an out and out comic figure in a way perhaps only formerly true of Tom Baker, predominately during season seventeen. For a lot of people that won't be a bad precedent, but given that the whole series was pitched at a more blatantly comic register it does give rise to the question of how appropriate it is to the 'dark fairytale' stylings of the Moffat administration. In fact though, the Doctor's eccentricity may be exaggerated (the air-kisses…), but Smith is in the enviable position of making it seem perfectly natural, and in fact delivers what may prove to be one of his definitive performances as the character. Also, whereas Fourth Doctor would probably be too aloof and alien for such a domestic arrangement, the Eleventh's enjoyment of the situation is what brings this rather glorious concept alive.
If an episode like this – and its earlier fellow standout, Amy's Choice - demonstrate anything (and really, we should know this already), it's that small-scale stories with a solid, simple concept, small but well-chosen casts, are, frankly, the way to go. (Especially given the visible strain budget cuts have apparently placed on some of the grander FX requirements of this series – by contrast, the pseudo-TARDIS upstairs look a quite magnificent set). Gareth Roberts has written a deceptively effective episode, and one that may perhaps be easy to dismiss given its frivolity. However, in its effortless blending of equally effective humour and creepiness, in a far more equal balance than, say, Vampires in Venice, The Lodger is in a position to become something of a high benchmark for the Smith era. More like this for next time, please. Neil Clarke writes the Doctor Who reviews page 'Shall We Destroy?': shallwedestroy.blogspot.com  | ||
| Doctor Who - The Pandorica Opens clips (Season Finale - Part 1) - BSCreview Posted: 12 Jun 2010 08:14 PM PDT
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| The Lodger - Overnight Ratings - 4.6 Million Posted: 12 Jun 2010 08:00 PM PDT  Doctor Who got an audience of 4.6 million viewers for episode eleven, The Lodger, according to unofficial overnight figures.The series held up well against its strongest opposition of the series so far, as it faced the build up to England's first match in the Fifa World Cup. On BBC One it has an average of 4.31 million watching with an additional 0.25 million watching on BBC HD. The share was down to 22.3% with most viewers choosing ITV1's football coverage which, against Doctor Who, peaked at 11 million in the fifteen minutes before the game. The England v USA match had an average audience of 13.2 million and easily is the most watched programme of the week. It peaked at 19.4 million at 9pm, with over 1.7 million watching on ITV1 HD. The other match of the day, Argentina v Nigeria, had 4.7 million watching. The post match show, James Corden's World Cup Live, got 5.9 million watching, pushing Doctor Who down to fourth for the day and 35th for the week, so far. Doctor Who is likely to get a substantial boost when the final figures, including details of those who recorded the programme for later viewing, are released next week. On BBC Three, and directly up against the football match, Doctor Who Confidential had 0.25 million watching, a 1.0% share. An additional 0.14 million watched on BBC HD. http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com   | ||
| Posted: 12 Jun 2010 07:54 PM PDT So – the mysteries are about to be answered! The cracks, the TARDIS debris, hopefully even the "continuity errors" – Doctor Who returns next week for the first part of a memorable finale, The Pandorica Opens! Starring at least Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Alex Kingston as the Doctor, Amy and River Song, you'll be able to see a few more interesting faces in the trailer below… Doctor Who is scheduled in the 6.40-7.30pm timeslot on BBC One and BBC HD on Saturday, 18th June.  | ||
| Posted: 12 Jun 2010 07:31 PM PDT New pics from The Pandorica Opens. Also including screen caps from the trailer.  | ||
| Property sales - Journal and Courier Posted: 12 Jun 2010 05:05 PM PDT
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| Character Options to release 11 Doctors set Posted: 12 Jun 2010 10:45 AM PDT Character Options have announced their exciting plans to release an ultimate Doctor Who collectors set, which will feature not one, not two, but all eleven of the Doctor’s incarnations! The action figures will come ready-packaged in a nifty TARDIS box, which opens its doors to reveal a small biography about each Doctor. It is set to be released this August [...]  |
) and set for release on October 28th, 2010, we cannot wait!
As 
Let's start with this clipping of a positive analysis on the series from The Eleventh Hour to Amy's Choice, courtesy of Robert Lloyd of the 
Not that the plot of this episode is anything more than a framework to drape the central concept around, but that becomes forgivable when said concept is such a corker. Like Amy's Choice, a simple premise – the Doctor lodging in a house which, essentially, eats people – fares much better than this series' attempts at large scale stories, whilst also avoiding the pitfalls of the two-wildly-different-stories-smashed-together approach, as modelled by Richard Curtis' preceding Vincent and the Doctor. Personally, I haven't read the comic this story is based on, but with such a delicious 'why hasn't anyone done that before?' idea, it isn't at all surprising that it's the latest story from the spin-off media to make it onto the small screen.
Outside of Moffat's own episodes, relatively little of season fnarg has lived up to the fresh stylistic approach of its earliest episodes, mainly inhabiting a more generic version of the Doctor's universe, but, despite being set in unremarkable environs, The Lodger's Colchester does feel something of a spiritual cousin to Leadworth. It's surprising for a somewhat unassuming story – which it might be assumed would be filed alongside other equally low-key suburban stories like Love & Monsters and Fear Her - would be one to realign the season with the Moffat house-style most successfully. Not that it doesn't have similarities with those season two stories, most notably the former – though James Corden, despite apparently doing his best to become an eminent hateable nonentity in real life, brings a shade more realism to the borderline-useless everyman catapulted into the Doctor's life which both stories share.
It's easy to forget how relatively short a period it has been since Doctor Who returned to television, and despite those four and a bit years peppered with Russell T Davies' trademark 'realist' settings, it's still quite a surprise to see the Doctor placed in such a rigorously ordinary environment. Human Nature aside, we've never seen the Doctor so fully immersed in day to day life (in 47 years, this is, what, the third time we've seen him have a bath or shower? And I'm sure a lot of people will thank Roberts for that). In fact, it seems absurd to imagine (say) the Third Doctor popping round the Brigadier's pad for cribbage and a Heineken. (Or… whatever.) Obviously, this unexpected culture clash forms the crux of the episode, and it's perhaps the closest we've had to the Doctor as a Starman/Watt on Earth-style alien-baffled-by-everyday-life.
Already the first outing for the revived series' second era is coming to an end, and, it has to be said, it's been a mixed bag. For what it's worth, on a personal level, the leads and the general timbre of the series – both richer, more whimsical, but also more traditional than the last few years – are a joy, so I'm prepared to overlook the occasional slides into mediocrity. It's just unfortunate that these have mainly come later in the run, giving the impression of a series that's lost its footings after a confident and original take at the get-go. The Lodger goes some way to assuage those disappointments though, and as the last one-episode story of the Eleventh Doctor's opening run, it's a welcome reminder of the deftness that has been displayed throughout the season, if not consistently.
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