Visit the official Doctor Who website

Visit the official Doctor Who website
Look to the future

Asylum seekers...

Asylum seekers...
Refuge of the Daleks

Doctor Who picture resource

Doctor Who picture resource
Roam the space lanes!

Explore the Doctor Who classic series website

Explore the Doctor Who classic series website
Step back in time

Infiltrate The Hub of Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood

Infiltrate The Hub of Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood
Armed and extremely dangerous

Investigate The Sarah Jane Adventures

Investigate The Sarah Jane Adventures
Fearless in the face of adversity

Call on Dani’s House

Call on Dani’s House
Harmer’s a charmer

Intercept the UFO fabsite

Intercept the UFO fabsite
Defending the Earth against alien invaders!

Uncover the secrets of the Dollhouse

Uncover the secrets of the Dollhouse
Programmable agent Echo exposed!

Hell’s belles

Hell’s belles
Naughty but nice

Love Exposure

Love Exposure
Flash photography!

Primeval portal

Primeval portal
Dressed to kill or damsels in distress?

Charmed, to be sure!

Charmed, to be sure!
The witches of San Francisco

Take on t.A.T.u.

Take on t.A.T.u.
All the way from Moscow

Proceed to the Luther website

Proceed to the Luther website
John and Jenny discuss their next move

DCI Banks is on the case

DCI Banks is on the case
You can bet on it!

On The Grid with Spooks

On The Grid with Spooks
Secret agents of Section D

Bridge to Hustle

Bridge to Hustle
Shady characters

Life on Ashes To Ashes

Life on Ashes To Ashes
Coppers with a chequered past

Claire’s no Exile

Claire’s no Exile
Goose steps

Vexed is back on the beat!

Vexed is back on the beat!
Mismatched DI Armstrong and bright fast-tracker Georgina Dixon

Medium, both super and natural

Medium, both super and natural
Open the door to your dreams

Who’s that girl? (350-picture Slideshow)

Tuesday 21 February 2006

Geeson in Outer Space!


This Sunday, on ITV4 at 7pm, and repeated in the early hours of the following morning, there is an opportunity to see one of the best episodes of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's "Space: 1999", "Another Time, Another Place". Originally shown sixteenth, on Thursday, 18 December, 1975, as part of the first-season run of twenty-four, the episode guest stars one of my favourite actresses of the Seventies, Judy Geeson. She plays Regina Kesslann who suffers an emotional breakdown, after the moon passes through a rift in space, believing Eagle pilot Alan Carter to be her husband! In need of medical attention, she is pictured above with series regular Barbara Bain as Doctor Helena Russell.

Judy has had a long and varied career dating from a 1961 episode of "Dixon of Dock Green" through episodes of "Star Trek: Voyager" and an appearance in "Charmed". Her roles have shown much diversity. She held her own as John Hurt's wife, Beryl Evans, opposite Richard Attenborough's extremely unnerving portrayal of serial killer John Reginald Christie in "10 Rillington Place", in 1971. A decade later she was Sandy in the notoriously grisly science fiction horror film "Inseminoid". On TV, in 1976, she portrayed Fulvia in the recently-released-on-DVD feminist science fiction series "Star Maidens" and, perhaps more notably, played Susan Mount, alongside Anthony Andrews, in the 1979 war drama "Danger UXB".

In "Another Time, Another Place", the crew of Moonbase Alpha finally return home only to discover an identical moon already orbiting the Earth. They have travelled through time and caught up with their future selves. Not only that, Regina is discovered to have two brains!! The episode is the first of many written by series' script editor Johnny Byrne who went on to write for "All Creatures Great and Small", "Doctor Who" and, most recently, ITV family drama "Heartbeat" which he also devised. Australian actor Nick Tate, who played Captain Carter in both seasons of the show, has often said "Another Time, Another Place" is his favourite episode of "Space: 1999".

Monday 13 February 2006

Marvellous Marple!


I half expected "Agatha Christie's Marple" to be a little on the stodgy side but "The Moving Finger" turned out to be great fun. This was partly due to the all-star cast but also the knowing screenplay by Kevin Elyot which contained many laugh-out-loud moments at the numerous in-jokes. Best of these sprung from Ken Russell's character, the Reverend Caleb Dane Calthrop, speaking out against fornication, in the knowledge that the director-turned-actor himself has built a career making movies on that selfsame subject, from "Women in Love" to "Mahler", "Lisztomania" to "Tommy"!

The preview I read called the casting of Ken, together with comedian Harry Enfield as the dastardly uptight solicitor Richard Symmington, dodgy thus missing the point that this production intended itself as self-mocking. From the opening shots of playboy and World War II veteran Jerry Burton, played by James D'Arcy, first on his motorcycle and then in a red sports car with sister Joanna, a red-headed Emilia Fox, so blatantly filmed as period parody in the style of the time against a back projection, the story always managed to entertain.

I missed Paul McGann in last week's opening episode but "Doctor Who" Jon Pertwee's son Sean was on hand this week as the rather nervous Dr. Owen Griffith and I believe "Doctor Who" companion Bonnie Langford appears in the next yarn as a pushy mother! The poison-pen letters in "The Moving Finger" turn out to be one enormous red herring which distract Inspector Graves, a superb turn from Keith Allen, into hilariously staking out the women's institute's typewriter! Credit must also be given to John Session's Cardew Pye, as gay as the name sounds, reminding me of Nickolas Grace's performance as stuttering Anthony Blanche in "Brideshead Revisited"!

Another interesting piece of casting was that of ex-"Big Breakfast" presenter Kelly Brook as governess Elsie Holland who gains a place in the affections of our hero Jerry before he realises he is in love with Megan Hunter, played to perfection by Talulah Riley (pictured) fresh from her success as Mary Bennet in the recent movie version of "Pride and Prejudice". The ye-olde-worlde scenes of Lymstock, a typically idyllic-seeming English country village, were picture-postcard perfect and made me think I was still watching "The Avengers"!!! Highly recommended.

Wednesday 8 February 2006

Friend or Foe?


I suppose this contradicts what I was saying in my last post, to a certain extent, but we are all full of contradictions! "Friend or Foe" is the new single by t.A.T.u. out this week, taken from their second album "Dangerous and Moving". Reviews have been poor, asking what happened to the t.A.T.u. that gave us "All the Things She Said", but all the trademark sonorities are still in place... high vocal line, synthesiser solo etc.

The song is by Dave Stewart, Annie Lennox's sparring partner firstly in The Tourists, who I saw support Roxy Music in Leicester before they became famous, and more recently in Eurythmics. A few years back Stewart worked with Bryan Ferry on his solo album "Frantic". The sleeve of the new t.A.T.u. CD single was taken by Bryan Adams and the track itself features ex-Police frontman Sting on bass! One reviewer described Stewart/Adams/Sting as the unholy trinity. I don't quite know what religion has to do with it?!!

Pictured at the piano is Lena Katina, one half of the duo t.A.T.u., during the shooting of the video for "Friend or Foe". It is unlikely to be number one this Sunday. That dubious honour will no doubt fall to Leo Sayer for only the second time in his career.

Tuesday 7 February 2006

Setting the World on Fire?


Sometimes, I wonder why I like pop music? There is so much rubbish about, people with no talent earning millions, and it isn't just a modern phenomenon. It has always been the case. Boybands with their supposed good looks appealing to teenage girls, boybands with guitars (as if the mere act of holding an instrument gives them some kind of credibility), youngish females - with precious little clothing - selling the fantasy of sex... all have absolutely nothing to do with music. The irony is that these folk are convinced they have talent. They are arrogant. Real musicians know there is always room for improvement and always doubt their own ability!

When listening to a piece of "classical" music that takes a theme and develops it, as opposed to repeating it over and over ad nauseam, it makes me wonder why I like any pop music. But I try to keep an open mind and seek out the good in things. Recently, I discovered a band from Montreal, Canada called Arcade Fire. I'd seen and heard them on "Later with Jools", towards the end of last year, and their sound caught my attention but I thought no more of it until recently when, flicking through the channels, I landed on E4 and the video of "Rebellion (Lies)" was playing. I'm a sucker for rock bands that use orchestral instruments, especially strings!

It's probably George Martin we have to thank for the addition of strings on pop records not to mention the piccolo trumpet! As can be seen in the photo, Arcade Fire use a range of instruments adding a couple of violins, a doublebass and accordion to those of a traditional rock band. That already makes them intriguing. Coupled with the plaintive cry of the lead singer, I've started to ask myself whether or not this group could be the new Roxy Music? I've asked myself that many times, over the past thirty years, about groups ranging from Sparks to The Stranglers, Magazine to Portishead, to name but four! Arcade Fire's "Rebellion (Lies)", from the album "Funeral", is an uplifting pop song, far removed from the bland mainstream, and thus worth consideration.

Friday 3 February 2006

Who Watches the Watchers?


"The Ghost Squad" is a gritty new police drama series that seemed to pass most people by as last year drew to a close. Broadcast in November and December by Channel 4, it concerned the undercover operations of Detective Constable Amy Harris portrayed by superb Irish actress Elaine Cassidy, pictured here in the series finale. Each episode, armed with elaborate cover stories, Amy's job is to infiltrate the lives of potentially corrupt policemen and women to weed out the bent officers. The title refers to a real-life police unit, now thought to have been disbanded, which was set up in the Nineties to investigate malpractice in the Met. Amy plays a dangerous game working with coppers who take her into their confidence, where any hint that her real intention might be to expose them could threaten her life...

Elaine Cassidy first came to my attention playing opposite Bob Hoskins in Atom Egoyan's very dark film thriller "Felicia's Journey". She has continued to impress since, again with Hoskins, in a BBC television adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World" and, more recently, in "Fingersmith" for which she was voted ninth equal best actress, in the BBC's online end-of-year poll, with Sally Hawkins, her co-star in that production.

The principal writer of "The Ghost Squad" is Tom Grieves and the series is produced by Chris Clough. Both have previous cop-show experience working on "The Bill" together although this new series is shot more in the style of "The Cops". Chris was also Producer of seasons four and five of "Ballykissangel" before which he directed several "Doctor Who" adventures in the late Eighties.

"The Ghost Squad" was initially intended to be broadcast in eight one-hour episodes but, for some reason, Channel 4 decided to broadcast the last two as a feature-length finale featuring "Hustle" actor Adrian Lester as the policeman under investigation. Whether they did this to make it seem like a Christmas special or to get the series over and done to make way for "Shameless" in the New Year, possibly because of poor viewing figures, is anybody's guess but it was good to see the police format being tested once again even if some critics didn't find it entirely successful! I, for one, would certainly welcome a second season.