Pistols at Dawn!

I don’t believe this… Where’s Freema?!! Why isn’t she on the cover of the “Doctor Who” series three DVD box set with David? I was quite surprised to see how prominently John Simm features on the series three volume four DVD cover, out next month, but at least there’s a glimpse of Martha between John and David’s ears! She’s nowhere to be seen on the front of the complete series and yet she is in all thirteen episodes. John was in but three, two and a bit if you’re feeling generous! This really takes the biscuit!! I can clearly remember an interview in which an excited Freema exclaimed how cool it was that she would be appearing on the cover of a “Doctor Who” box set and now, after all her hard work, she has been denied the privilege. I feel disappointed for her so goodness only knows how she feels about it? I suppose it’s a case of don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched. She’s still working for RTD… She began recording her three episodes of “Torchwood” last Tuesday and will, of course, be returning to “Doctor Who”, albeit in a diminished capacity. Ain’t this girl miffed or is she just gonna take the money and run? I don’t think anybody’s been treated this poorly on the programme since Colin Baker was sacked!

I suppose the reasoning behind the box set cover is that Simm is a better known face than Freema’s and thus likely to sell more copies. But, that theory doesn’t really hold water when you consider Freema has just featured heavily on TV every Saturday evening for thirteen weeks. And, more people watch “Doctor Who” than “Life on Mars”! Billie featured on the cover of two box sets and so I think Freema has been cheated out of something rightfully hers. There’s something slightly insidious about new “Doctor Who”. You can bet your bottom dollar Russell Tiberius Davies had plenty of input regarding the sleeve pictures! It makes no difference to whether or not I’ll be buying the set though. I’d already decided not to. I bought the recent Dalek episodes (don’t laugh!) because I love the Daleks, am a fan of Miranda Raison, and didn’t object to “42” as much as some, despite the gaping plot contrivances. First time I purchased one of the vanilla releases! I’m also going to get the current release as, to be honest, “Human Nature”, “The Family of Blood”, and “Blink” are pretty much all the discerning fan needs! These two discs avoid all episodes written by Russell, avoids Catherine Tate and the needless violence of Simm’s Master, but, unfortunately, it also means going without the second of Graeme Harper’s episodes featuring the wonderful Sir Derek Jacobi. I bought the Eccleston series, probably only because it came with extra discount, and was given series two for Christmas but, regarding series three, I would prefer to spend the money on “The Key to Time”. Even though it isn’t my favourite Tom Baker series, I still think it is better value for money and, more importantly, immensely more entertaining. I don’t own any of classic series sixteen, in any format, whereas I recorded every episode of the recent run. I guess we ought to be grateful Catherine Tate doesn’t feature on the front cover of the series three box set. They’re keeping that back for next year!