My Ideal Companion!

If I was about to cast the role of companion in “Doctor Who”, the first person I would have in my office would be children’s television presenter Anna Williamson. She currently co-hosts “Toonattik”, in the GMTV weekend slot, which I presume is aimed at pre-teens, mainly running imported cartoon fare. Quite probably, the main reason I’d consider her for a major part in “Doctor Who” is that she looks like a younger version of Caroline Harker, whom I’ve always thought would’ve been terrific in the programme. Anna is lively and spirited in a job which isn’t exactly awe-inspiring, but maybe she enjoys it, although, unfortunately, she has been absent rather a lot just recently!

Of course, it doesn’t follow that being good looking means Anna can necessarily act. In the past, this hasn’t stopped casting directors on “Doctor Who”, or indeed many other series, when choosing a new, usually female, face to play alongside the leading man. I wouldn’t have chosen Billie Piper to play Rose but then I wouldn’t have cast Sophie Aldred as a companion in the classic series either, and, like Anna, her talents lay mainly in presenting shows for a younger audience. Back in the late 80s, they had a choice between Sara Griffiths, as Welsh tomboy Ray in “Delta and the Bannermen”, and Sophie, as teen tearaway Ace in “Dragonfire”. They went with the latter while, based on the evidence of those two stories, I’d have gone with the former.

Quite why Freema Agyeman has been cast as Martha is beyond me. Yes, again she is good looking but, on the evidence of “Crossroads”, as well as her very brief appearance as Adeola in the penultimate episode of last year’s season of “Doctor Who”, I wouldn’t have chosen her. As I’ve said before, had I been choosing from the actresses appearing in year two, I’d have gone with MyAnna Buring (Scooti) simply on the level of commitment she showed, getting in the water tank for such a short scene, in recording “The Impossible Planet”. I’m no doubt considered old fashioned in my choice but I see Ms Williamson playing a character along the lines of Polly, Anneke Wills’ mid 60s companion who saw Hartnell regenerate into Troughton. The above picture shows Anna in pantomime “Jack and the Beanstalk”!

This Little Piggy Went to Market!

The unfortunate creature, in the picture above, found itself in a spot of bother during the first part of a story from the Christopher Eccleston season of “Doctor Who”, in an episode entitled “Aliens of London”. It was all about a family of extraterrestrial beings, the Slitheen, who take over the bodies of humans but with what can only be described as inappropriate social skills! In one sense, the pictured animal is not out of place amongst such company. But, in light of what seems to have been a major talking point over the last week or so, maybe it would’ve been more apt had this little piggy appeared in episode twelve, “Bad Wolf”, and, in particular, in the segments devoted to “Big Brother”!

I’m not a fan of reality TV shows but it would be wrong of me to suggest that everybody who has ever appeared in one is a no-hoper. While some well-marketed, but set to self-destruct, contestants gas ignorantly in every direction, there are those, although very few in number, who genuinely have talent. It might be because they have come from a privileged background but there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, thank heavens! Without aspiring individuals, there would be no Symphony Orchestras and the world would, indeed, be a truly poorer place. Spiritually, not economically. Perhaps Classical music isn’t your cup of tea. But, without these highly trained musicians, just imagine what “Eleanor Rigby” would’ve sounded like?

One such particular person to come to the fore, through a reality television show, is Myleene Klass. She is 28 now but her “big break” came six years ago in an ITV1 show called “Popstars”. That’s not what’s important though. What is important is that she started learning the violin and piano at the age of four. She took up the harp at the age of twelve. She received an A grade in A level Music. I could continue but you get the idea. She is very accomplished, and probably because she is a very determined young woman. You can see it in her face. There are many in the “music business” (and what does business have to do with music?) who claim to write their own material that couldn’t tell a piece of manuscript paper from a piece of toilet paper! Whilst co-hosting “CD:UK”, Myleene presented some rapper, whose name I forget, with a framed notation of one of his “songs”. When she is obviously skilled, I wonder what she hopes to achieve by going down the populist route? Whatever happened to violinist Vanessa Mae?

Now, of course, after appearing scantily clad in another reality show, Myleene is best known for taking showers in a variety of different coloured bikinis. There is nothing wrong with that in itself. She is a beautiful girl with a beautiful body. It’s the spin the media put on it that should perhaps be questioned. And yet, I’m sure she knows what she’s doing. There is a set of photos, and you can’t tell from just a single image, showing Myleene with her ex-Hear’Say band mate Suzanne Shaw, out on the town, and it is quite clear which of the two girls is in control. Ms Shaw is hanging on for dear life while Myleene is obviously trying to get her associate away from the glare of the photographers. Anyway, make up your own mind. Below are a couple of galleries showing Myleene looking far more sporty than Melanie C ever did!

C’mon Myleene!

In a Klass of Her Own!

Invasion... of the Dinosaurs!

Hannah Spearritt

is

Abby Maitland

Happy Birthday, Tom!

73 Today!

In a Flap about Cats!

The final, 155th, story of the original “Doctor Who” series, “Survival”, is out on DVD on 16th April as a two-disc set. The BBC are promoting this as the fortieth release from the classic series, on this format, although story wise it’s actually the 43rd. “Lost in Time” contained no complete stories while the Hartnell set and forthcoming Anthony Ainley box both contain three apiece. And the 40, or 43, also includes the 1996 TV movie which some would argue isn’t part of the original run even though the DVD was marketed as though it is. It just depends on your point of view. I’m sure, sometime in the future, new “Doctor Who” will be reissued as though it belongs with the original series, maybe in the event of a further revival. It’s interesting, though, how time changes perception of how these things are distinguished.

In light of the recent budget release of the two-part story “The Sontaran Experiment”, I wondered how the BBC would now deal with three-parters considering, in terms of length, “Ghost Light” doesn’t represent value for money in comparison with the eight-part Troughton story “The Invasion”! The answer is simple, loads of extras. I was lucky in purchasing that McCoy story as part of a BOGOF (buy one, get one free) offer but as its companion was the six-part “Genesis of the Daleks”, even then, length wise, “Ghost Light” is still poor value. It’s a terrific story though so, in this case, quality overruled quantity and, besides, I had to have it as I was at University with one of the night maids - in the cast! That probably sounds a bit naughty so let me put your minds at rest. She trained as a musician and played flute in some first performances of my compositions. If you’re reading this, Vivienne, I still have the tapes!!

“Survival” was the last broadcast story but not the last to be made. That was “Ghost Light” and so, in one sense, my friend has the honour of appearing in the last ever original “Doctor Who” story alongside the legendary Sylvia Syms. But, in the eyes of the viewing public, Anthony Ainley’s swansong, and perhaps his best performance in the role of the Master, was the proper close of a terrific 26-year run. And, this release complements this month’s release of his first three stories. I have to admit, I would’ve preferred “The Greatest Show in the Galaxy”, from the Sylvester McCoy era, as this would’ve completed my favourite quartet of his stories, adding to the three already available. Same director (Alan Wareing), same location, better story. No matter, the last episode of “Survival” does boast a brief appearance by a very young Adele “bad cat man” Silva, now better known for her part in soap opera “Emmerdale”. And, as she also contributes to a two-part documentary on the story, by way of celebration, below is a six-picture gallery in which she looks a little older! Vivienne, by the way, is the redhead in the picture above, back left, under the word THE.

Hi Ho Silva Lining!

Hug a Whoodie!

“Blood of the Daleks”, the opening two-part story of the new BBC7 eight-episode radio season of “Doctor Who”, begins a lot like “The Runaway Bride”. As Catherine Tate’s Donna in the television special, so too new companion Lucie Miller, played with such spark by “Two Pints” actress Sheridan Smith, when she finds herself foisted upon the Doctor. She’d rather be anywhere than on board the TARDIS with this “frock-coated ponce”! The similarity continues up to the point where the Doctor immediately tries to return his unwanted guest back from whence she came!! But that’s about all these two adventures have in common. “Blood” feels like good old-fashioned “Doctor Who”, despite being audio only and in the double-length format. It also boasts a traditional cliff-hanger, at the end of episode one, with Paul McGann’s passionate eighth Doctor in peril of extermination. The story has been likened to “Genesis of the Daleks” in that we witness the birth of a new breed of Daleks, here from the remnants of a crashed Dalek spaceship, at the hands of a wannabe Davros. But, I think “Blood of the Daleks” owes more to “Revelation of the Daleks” with its warring Dalek factions, farming of humans, and incubation chambers. Even the incidental music reminds me of the Colin Baker serial.

I love it! Steve Lyons script is happy to draw on the best of all worlds, name checking the Mechonoids, from “The Planet of Decision”, the last episode of “The Chase”, as well as the Movellans, from “Destiny of the Daleks”, but avoiding the mention of Davros actually by name though referencing new series’ episode “Dalek” at the moment of flight. There’s even a nod to “The Dalek Invasion of Earth” with Kenneth Cranham’s character Tom Cardwell’s explosive batteries reminiscent of Dortmun’s homemade bombs in the Hartnell serial. The second episode is bursting at the seams with all manner of Dalek voices. Nick Briggs is in his element when barking “Dok-tor” at regular intervals and “E-le-vate” at the requisite moment. When the Skaro originals turn up and start ranting about ethnic cleansing, again reminding me of Davros in “Revelation”, these monsters scare the hell out of me. All they did on telly last year was pop up for a bit-of-a-bitch with the Cybermen, fly a bit, and then disappear down the proverbial plughole! And well before the end of the story. Here they are still going strong right up to the climax, leading into the first single-episode story “Horror of Glam Rock”, bizarrely featuring a race called the Only Ones (name of a Seventies’ punk band!), which sounds equally intriguing…

Happy Talk!

Having been tagged by fellow time-traveller Simon, Old Cheeser to all you bloggers out there, I have been summoned to reveal all! Well, not quite all!! Five facts about myself, in fact. Everyone knows of my passion for “Doctor Who” but, around the time of becoming a teen, or perhaps even earlier, emphasis shifted to music; initially pop from which it broadened out to encompass much more. So, I thought I’d try and stick to a musical theme being a qualified composer, but how did I get there?..

The first gig I went to was a revelation. It was at the Cheltenham Town Hall in 1972 and the band was Mott the Hoople. It was shortly after their initial success with “All the Young Dudes”, my all-time favourite single which disappointingly they didn’t perform, but before follow-up hit “Honaloochie Boogie”. It was a wall of sound. If you opened your mouth and spoke it was as though nothing came out. But, I guess that must’ve been when I decided I wanted to play in a rock ‘n’ roll band! What I really wanted to learn in school, thereafter, was how to write music down.

The next revelation was the single “Virginia Plain” by Roxy Music. At the age of 13, it was the weirdest thing I’d ever heard. I can analyse it now. See the mix… of chords with no thirds, descending chromatic bass line, one note synthesiser solo, Ferry’s unusual vocal delivery of his strange lyric, not so much sung as spoken with vibrato, but, back then, the song must have seemed like Stockhausen to me! And that might well be why I went to University to study music and specialise in composition.

A third defining moment was meeting 10cc the very week they were number one for the third and final time. The original line-up had scored number one hits with “Rubber Bullets” and, most famously for six weeks, the spectacularly brilliant “I’m Not in Love”. 10cc mark 2, a 6-piece, reached the top for just one week with “Dreadlock Holiday”, the week I saw them at the Colston Hall, Bristol. The new line-up included one of my keyboard heroes Duncan Mackay whom I’d seen twice before, at the same venue, as part of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel. I was introduced to him backstage afterwards for a chat, along with founder members of 10cc, Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman.

Another shining beacon from my musical history would have to be seeing Kate Bush in Liverpool on the first date of her one and only tour. She was just two albums into her career and responsible for another of my all-time favourite singles, “The Man with the Child in his Eyes”. I didn’t actually like “Wuthering Heights”, initially, until I saw the sheet music and thought, “Wow, unbelievable”, this looks interesting. Incidentally, as well as Steve Harley’s number one “Make Me Smile”, another all-time favourite, and 10cc’s “Dreadlock”, Duncan Mackay’s other number one was playing keyboards on Kate’s only chart topper.

Life’s so much more complicated than that, of course. Liking a few pop records doesn’t get you into University! A lot of hard work does and it doesn’t stop when you get there. I was very lucky to have a brilliant music teacher at school in Michael Rangeley. He laid all the important musical foundations in me. Students in other fields found it surprising that I could be interested in pop, being classically trained. But having been in a band at home, Boulevard, I formed another at Uni, The Disturbed, as glam made way for punk!

From studying with John Tyrrell and composer Nigel Osborne at Nottingham and Stanley Glasser in London, I got to meet Peter Maxwell Davies, composer on Ken Russell’s movies “The Devils” and “The Boy Friend”, work with John Harle, a brilliant saxophonist and composer of the “Silent Witness” theme, but, best of all, become friends with the late Tim Souster, known to SF fans as the arranger of the theme tune of Douglas Adams’ “Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. As you might have guessed, I never became a rock star. Education made me Captain Sensible!

The Gospel According to Charlotte Church!

Recently, when I saw the above pictures of Charlotte Church at the Pride of Britain Awards 2005, I thought how remarkably similar she looks to Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper in "Torchwood". It might have something to do with her fringe, or the make-up, or the fact that they're both from Wales! Perhaps there's a cloning operation going on in Cardiff about to be uncovered in the second series? Anyhow, below is a second gallery of the delectable - and doesn't she know it - Ms Church making a right Charlie of herself, in a nice way, in more-familiar skimpy attire!! And, my excuse, if I need one? Well, it's my birthday today and I decided I needed a treat!!!

Carry On Down Bikini Bottom!

The Satanic Rites of Charlotte Church!

Charlotte Church has always been thought of as having the "voice of an angel" so it came as something of a pleasant surprise when I stumbled upon these almost gothic-like images of her. Dressed in black amongst the ruins of a church, shrouded in fog, candle carrying, incense burning, she looks more suited to starring in Hammer horror movies than appearing on "Songs of Praise", or even "Top of the Pops", hence the tongue-in-cheek title of the post (a corruption of the 1973 Christopher Lee film "The Satanic Rites of Dracula") and gallery below (another Christopher Lee movie, from 1975, and the last horror film the studio ever made).

In this set of eleven pictures, Charlotte reminds me a little of Linda Hayden, star of my two favourite horror films, "Taste the Blood of Dracula" and "Blood on Satan's Claw". She has a similar appealing figure, not stick thin, like a boy or so-called supermodel, but is voluptuous in the same way Kate Winslet is beautifully feminine. Whatever one thinks of her musical ability, or attitude to life in other areas, she is at least a suitable role model for young girls to look up to in not giving a fig over weight issues. Victoria Beckham and Keira Knightley are a bad influence in this respect. Wanting to be so skinny, for whatever reasons, can only cause psychological harm as well as physical.

Fashion is supposed to go round in cycles but the ultra-slim female is lasting an awfully long time and, like all inferior things, is simply a product of the market place. Ignore it is the best advice! If I was a casting director about to make a horror picture in the mould of Hammer's best gothic romances, I'd want to screen test Charlotte. The photographer responsible for these pictures obviously saw her in a different light. She looks good in more typical fashion shoots too but it's refreshing to see a different take on her beauty in these shots! Now, when's she dumping that rugby-playing boyfriend of her's?!!