Guest Stars of Doctor Who: Derek Newark

Derek Newark
(born 8 June 1933 in Great Yarmouth - died 11 August 1998 in England) was an English actor.

He appeared in a large number of film and television roles, including The Baron (1967), The Avengers (three episodes in the 1960s), Z Cars (six episodes between 1969 to 1972), Barlow at Large in the recurring role of Det. Insp. Tucker (1974-1975) and various other minor roles. He appeared in episodes two to four of the first Doctor Who story An Unearthly Child in 1963. Later he appeared opposite Jon Pertwee in the 1970 story Inferno. Newark also played the role of Spooner, an ill-tempered former Red Devil (Britains elite paratroopers) turned professional wrestler in the series Rising Damp.

11 Doctors - Children in Need

Ok, so the rumor mill is turning again my fellow Doctor Who fans, with this coming from the mirror.co.uk:
A one-off special of Doctor Who is set to bring all 11 incarnations of the Time Lord together for the first time.
The episode will see new Doctor Matt Smith, 26, make his debut, joining David Tennant, Christopher Eccleston and old favourites including Tom Baker, Peter Davison and Sylvester McCoy.
The 15-minute show, which starts filming in September, will be shown in November as part of BBC1’s Children in Need appeal.
The stars have waived their fees for the show, in which the 10th doctor, played by Tennant, gets some help from the others to carry out a mission.
The three deceased Time Lords – William Hartnell, Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton – will be included by using images from their original shows, stretching from 1966 to 1974.

Believe it when you see it.

Who @ Comic Con

Doctor Who's next destination will be Comic-Con. David Tennant, who's wrapped playing the tenth incarnation of the Time Lord, and "Doctor Who" writer/executive producer Russell T. Davies will attend the the 40th annual San Diego Comic-Con on Sunday, July 26. Joining them on the 10 a.m. panel will be executive producer Julie Gardner and director Euros Lyn to discuss the upcoming specials airing on BBC America.Spinoff "Torchwood" will also get its own panel Sunday afternoon beginning at 2:15 p.m., paired with the new BBC America show "Being Human," about a vampire, werewolf and ghost, played by Russell Tovey, Lenora Crichlow and Aidan Turner. John Barrowman will also appear to discuss the five-night television event "Torchwood: Children of Earth."Other BBC America Comic-Con events planned include "The Mighty Boosh" on Friday, July 24 at 4:45 p.m. and screenings of the "Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead" special and part of "Torchwood: Children of Earth" on Saturday night.

Get Past It Or Move On.

For all those who have objected to Karen Gillan as the Doctor’s new companion in the upcoming 2010 series of Doctor Who, as being to young. I think we should all remember that there were many who traveled with the Time-Lord who were much younger then Ms. Gillan when they took their respective parts. From Jackie Lane who was 18 to Mark Strickson who himself was 21 when he took on the roll of Turlough. Understandably some believe that a younger Doctor shouldn’t have such a young companion, but wouldn’t be out of place to have an assistant older looking than the Doctor? Peter Davison was 29 when he took the part of the Doctor, and Matt Smith is only a couple years younger than the 5th Doctor. I agree that perhaps they should have cast an older bloke as the lead, but older fans of the show have to realize that for the series to continue there has to be a since of “new Blood” in the show to keep new viewers coming to the series and in fact that is what has happened since the shows return in 2005. As an older fan myself (and an out spoke critic of Russell T Davis as a writer) I understand that the show is not being made for older people. TV is for the young, it’s sad but true and the current series of Doctor Who is aimed at them.

As I look back at the series as a whole, Doctor Who has always been geared to the young children of the family, not their parents. As a parent myself I watch my sons as they watch the show I grew up with, and I see the same smile and excitement on their faces as I had when I watched the series as a younger man. I love Doctor Who, and always will. I continue to support the series even if there are a few things I would like changed.
As for those who just can’t get past it, well all I can say is support the current series of Doctor Who or move on to a different series like LOST where you will find pour optimism of the human nature and little connection with your children as you watch.

Past companions and their ages when they worked on Doctor Who
Jackie Lane (18)
Sarah Sutton (18)
Matthew Waterhouse (18)
Deborah Watling (19)
Wendy Padbury (20)
Maureen O'Brien (20)
Katy Manning (20)
Nicola Bryant (21)
Mark Strickson

Passing of the Greatest Doctor Who Fan

From io9.com: Doctor Who fan Seb Neale left this plane of existence in such style. His entire funeral was an homage to Neale's favorite time traveling series. Sonic screwdriver salute, everyone.
Super fan (and David Tennant lookalike) Sebastian Neale, 26, of Risca, South Wales, tragically passed away last week from head injuries. His caring friends and family pulled together one hell of a salute to the biggest fan of Britain's Time Lord, The Doctor.
According to the Daily Mail, his coffin was made to resemble the blue police box Tardis complete with flashing light.
The funeral music was swapped out in favor of the Dr. Who's theme song and mourners were greeted with the Doctor's words, "I'm a time lord ... I'm not a human being. I walk in eternity." Instead of Bible verses, the funeral consisted of quotes from classic Who scripts, including William Hartnell's famous speech from "The Dalek Invasion Of Earth": "One day, I will come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine."

The Neutron Flow Podcast

I’m glad to announce today a partnership with http://www.theneutronflow.com/ a companion site if you will, that reports, news, reviews, insightful discussion and its very own podcast. The Neutron Flow Podcast, co-hosted by yours truly is a bi-weekly (at present) series of all things sci-fi. I’m excited about this new world I have stepped into and am looking forward to a fun time working with my two friends and co-hosts Charles Davenport and Rob Pollok. As for this blog, well I will keep it up and running. I love Doctor Who and this is my way of celebrating the series. From time to time The Neutron Flow Podcast will have its own Doctor Who related episodes, but NF Podcast is more than Doctor Who, as I said before its all things sci-fi. You can listen to NF Podcast at the website or look for us on itunes by typing in the neutron flow. I hope you all will subscribe.

The Next Doctor America Airdate

I reported yesterday that there had been no reports on "The Next Doctor" airing in the US, but I learned today from gallifreyone.com this morning that there is an airdate for the 2008 Christmas special and it will air June 27th on BBCAmerica. After checking amazon.com I still have not found a DVD release date for the story.

Guest Stars of Doctor Who: Bernard Cribbins

Born in Derker, Oldham, he served an apprenticeship at the Oldham Repertory Theatre, taking a break during his years of study to undertake National Service with the Parachute Regiment in his late teens.

Cribbins made his first West End theatre appearance in 1956 at the Arts Theatre playing the two Dromios in A Comedy of Errors and went on to co-star in the first West End productions of Not Now Darling, There Goes the Bride and Run For Your Wife. He also starred in the revue An Another Thing, and recorded a single of a song from the show entitled "Folksong". In 1962 he recorded two highly popular and well-remembered comedy records, "Right Said Fred" (in which a group of workmen struggle to relocate a large unspecified object, possibly a piano) and "Hole in the Ground" (in which an embittered workman murders a bowler-hatted harasser).

Cribbins appeared in films from the early 1950s, his portfolio including three Carry On films, the second Doctor Who film Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD, and as the station porter, Perks, in The Railway Children. He was the narrator of the British animated children's TV series The Wombles. He also narrated a celebrated BBC radio adaptation of The Wind in the Willows and provided the voice of the Tufty character in RoSPA road safety films in the 1960s. He holds the record for reading the most episodes of Jackanory, with a total of 111 appearances. Other television appearances included Fawlty Towers, as the spoon salesman Mr. Hutchinson (mistaken by Basil Fawlty for a hotel inspector) in the episode "The Hotel Inspectors" (1975). He also provided the voice of Buzby, a talking cartoon bird that served as the mascot for the then General Post Office, He also appeared reduced to OO gauge in adverts for Hornby model trains.

In 2003 he played Wally Bannister in the long running soap Coronation Street. He is also the narrator of The Way We Were, a 2008 series broadcast on ITV.

In 2007 he appeared as Wilfred Mott in the Doctor Who Christmas special, "Voyage of the Damned"; he then reappeared as the same character throughout the 2008 series, as the grandfather of companion Donna Noble. Writer Russell T Davies confirmed on BBC Breakfast that Cribbins would return to the programme as the Doctor's companion in the last two specials to be screened at the end of 2009.

source: wikipedia

Planet of the Dead on Blu-ray 28th of July

July 28th will see the release of Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead on blu-ray, (in North America) only two days after its broadcast on BBCAmerica. The 2009 Easter special, which is part of four specials to air this year was the first Doctor Who to be filmed in HD. This is a surprise for fans of the beloved sci-fi series but there is still no word on the broadcast or blu-ray release of the 2008 Christmas special "The Next Doctor".

The DVD release of the special will also ship on the 28th of July.

Retealing for $19.89 for the blu-ray (though you can get it cheaper on amazon.com) and 14.98 on DVD.