The BBC has renewed its critically acclaimed and gripping drama, The Village, for a second series.
The highly successful drama starring Maxine Peake and John Simm will focus on the life and turbulent times of the 20th century when it returns to the BBC next year.
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Wonder why the BBC were so keen to co-ordinate the launch of Doctor Who’s seventh series across the globe? Well, Steven Moffat had a massive spoiler up his sleeve. A spoiler which he shared with selected journalists and fans at the BFI screening of Asylum Of The Daleks in August.
It centered around an incredibly sexy, fast talking new character who didn’t appear in any promo material for the episode. Yes, Jenna Louise Coleman popped up as a feisty shipwrecked traveller who had the rotten luck to crash-land on the Dalek asylum planet. But since she technically didn’t set foot in the TARDIS, she’s technically not a companion of The Doctor. Yet. Read on for spoilers and speculation!
Okay. SPOILER WARNING OF THE HIGHEST ORDER. Do not read on if you haven’t seen Asylum Of The Daleks yet…
A new teaser trailer for Asylum Of The Daleks shows the Doctor’s pepper pot enemies pleading with him to…SAVE THEM!
The new Doctor Who trailer shows The Doctor, Rory and Amy being taken to a Dalek mothership. They find themselves in front of an army of Daleks. Initially, The Doctor assumes that his mortal enemies are here to kill him, but instead they begin frantically begging to be saved. The question is, from what?
The latest Doctor Who teaser trailer has hit the web, and it’s exactly the kind of madcap rush of scenes from various episodes of the upcoming seventh series.
Featured most prominently are the Daleks – they’re returning en masse this year in Asylum Of The Daleks – and we see The Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory captured and standing in what looks like a massive Dalek ampitheatre.
Little Britain star Matt Lucas has told TV&Satellite Week magazine that he and comedy sidekick David Walliams – who is of course a judge on Britain’s Got Talent – “have no immediate plans” to work together again.
The pair of course shot to fame in Little Britain, and have since gone on to enjoy success in a number of TV shows, both together and individually, and Matt is about to launch his new show, entitled, The Matt Lucas Awards.
Airing as of April 10th on BBC1, the new show sees Matt presiding over a mixture of comedy, music and chat as he, his mum and celebrity talk about who’d land nominations in various unlikely awards categories, such as Most Moreish Food to Dreadfullest Football Song Ever Sung.
Of the show, Matt said, This is a very different kind of show for me. It’s not scripted and I’m not in character.
“I was nervous about appearing as myself, because I haven’t done that much before, but I think it works well… Read more & comment »
Camelot’s under attack by dark magic, part #1,532. Morgana and Agrivaine have decided to stop playing “traitors in caves” and just go over the top. And so the two sneaky plotters who’ve been meeting in clandestine caves for the last 10 episodes suddenly have an army at their disposal.
We could stand around and moan all day about how quickly Morgana conquered Camelot, but what’s important is that Arthur’s kingdom is finally in proper peril. And with Morgana in the throne, Merlin has to help an injured Arthur to safety so that he can at least live to fight another day. Of course, in order to save Arthur, he must convince him to leave the castle. And in order to do that, Merlin has to use magic on him. Which ends up with Arthur being knocked absolutely senseless and relying on Merlin for his every cue.
Sound a national day of mourning as Whovians around the world curl up into little balls of depression, and schoolkids sob beneath their duvets. It’s official: Karen Gillan is leaving Doctor Who next year. The partnership that launched Matt Smith’s time in the TARDIS is about to be severed, and guess what? Arthur Darvill is leaving as well.
Yes, wimp-turned-action-hero Rory Williams (aka Mr. Pond) is leaving too. Well, as a husband and wife team, that kind of makes sense. But will they be leaving the TARDIS on a high note? Not according to showrunner Steven Moffat, who says that:
The final days of the Ponds are coming – that story is going to come to a heartbreaking end
Tonight’s episode of Merlin looked for all the world like it was about to become a bizarre racist storyline: putting Gwen’s brother Elyan at the centre of the episode, we saw him first being taunted by the other knights when he asked for a drink of water and then repeatedly being punched in the face as a way to subdue him when he became possessed by the spirit of a massacred child bent on revenge.
But of course, this is the BBC, so we’ll trust that none of that was intentional and move along with the review. Just an observation, okay?
I should start off by saying that this is my first Merlin review in quite some time. I’ve not had the opportunity to watch it much since X Factor went into overdrive, but tonight I caught up with the last few episodes.
I mention this because the two episodes which preceded Lamia showed substantial storyline development. The plot involving Morgana had moved ahead, to the point where she’d enchanted Merlin to kill Arthur, then in the next episode, Gaius was made to give up the secret of the old sorceror who’s actually Merlin in disguise. But what was most impressive about these episodes – for me - was how the cast seem to be much more settled in their roles this year.
One of these kids is not like the others...
Hey, no sooner does Doctor Who bow out than the Medieval equivalent of Harry Potter bounces back on our screens. That’s right, readers, Merlin is b-a-c-k!
As with last year’s series premiere, the tone of the show is incredibly dark, and sensibly they’ve titled the episode The Darkest Hour. We pick up with Morgana still doing evil things (although we can’t quite remember why – a recap clip would’ve helped enormously), King Uther morose after her betrayal, Arthur running the kingdom and a patently evil uncle who we’ve never seen before has crawled out of the woodwork.
So, that’s it wrapped up then. Doctor Who’s sixth series ends with The Wedding Of River Song and – of course – the non-death of The Doctor.
It’s at times like this that I’m reminded Steven Moffat once wrote some of the most clever, exciting episodes of Doctor Who. But that was when Russell T Davies was running the show. Now that Moffat’s at the helm, every time he writes a premiere or a finale episode, all hell breaks loose. It’s funny how his writing style has gone from being smart, edgy episodes to these strung-out overwhelmingly crammed episodes that feel like you’re standing in front of an ideas firehose. It’s like being bombarded by every zany sci-fi idea that popped into Moffat’s head while he was writing the episode.
And honestly, I think he needs an editor. Someone to rein in the craziness and concentrate on the quality of the episode.
The new TV license fee collectors were pretty scary...
Welcome, Whovians, to the penultimate (that’s fancy talk for second last) episode of this year’s Doctor Who. Closing Time sees The Doctor reunited with Craig (James Corden) from last year’s The Lodger episode. And, as you can see from the photo above, they’re about to encounter the Cybermen.
Which will be interesting, because the Cybermen haven’t had a major storyline in quite some time. (Although, if the crew at CultBox are to be believed, this episode won’t change that!)
Last night’s episode of Doctor Who, The Girl Who Waited, was a wonderful, character-driven story that looked at what happens when The Doctor fails his companions. Amy finds herself stuck in a compressed timeline, ageing years while The Doctor and Rory try to rescue her.
Here’s our full review of The Girl Who Waited. Spoilers in there and also below.
Tiger Aspect Productions and co-producer Lookout Point have been commissioned by Danny Cohen, Controller BBC One and Ben Stephenson, Controller Drama Commissioning, to make 8-part drama series, Ripper Street for BBC One.
Created by writer Richard Warlow (Mistresses, Waking The Dead), Ripper Street is an extraordinary new drama set in the East End of London in 1889, during the aftermath of the “Ripper” murders. The action centres around the notorious H Division – the police precinct from hell – which is charged with keeping order in the chaotic streets of Whitechapel.
Ripper Street explores the lives of characters trying to recover from the Ripper’s legacy, from crimes that have not only irretrievably altered their lives, but the very fabric of their city. At the drama’s heart our detectives try to bring a little light into the dark world they inhabit.
Danny Cohen, Controller, BBC One, says: “Ripper Street is a gripping new drama for BBC One. Set against the backdrop of a fevered historical London, I believe it has the quality and intensity to be a hit with BBC One viewers.” Read more & comment »
Karen Gillan was taking no chances with the small print on her new contract...
Are you prepared for a seriously bonkers episode of Doctor Who? Good, because that’s what’s coming up in The Girl Who Waited, an episode in which Amy gets separated from The Doctor and only Rory can rescue her!
If you saw the teaser video at the end of last week’s Night Terrors, this is the episode that looks like it was conceived in the dark recesses of Tim Burton’s mind. Even if the story itself turns out to be a washout (and we hope it won’t), the art direction is a visual feast, and there’s some surprisingly slick CGI at work too.
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