Merrick again...
Matt Smith's appearance on Craig Ferguson last night (7/29) has now hit YouTube - here's an embed. It includes discussion of an inspired and talented guest star we might see on S7...
Original article follows...
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submitted by John Byers
Merrick here…
We were supposed to be taking a look at "Marco Polo" (Hartnell, Story #4) this week but…frankly…I fell a tad behind (writing up both the recon and audio proved more time intensive than expected) so I'm pushing it at the moment.
I did, however, visit "Paradise Towers" (McCoy, Story #143)…more on that story below after this quick round-up of newslets (some of which has already been touched on in the previous week).
PREVIEWS FOR DOCTOR WHO SEASON/SERIES SIX EPISODES 8-13
Last weekend, BBC released a teaser for the remaining Season/Series Six episodes. In case you missed it, here it is…
A new piece of promotional art - i.e. "poster" art - was also debuted on the show's official Facebook page, and looks like this.
Note The Doctor's new long-coat, and the in-your-face appearance of a long-rumored Pyramid. If a pyramid is THAT obvious in the poster, you can bet it plays a significant role in the madness we've seen unfolding. Larger/higher-quality wallpaper of the same image is available HERE.
BBC also released a clip from S6 Episode 11, "The God Complex." This is an extension of the clip used to introduce Karen Gillan's Craig Ferguson appearance earlier this week. Here's the entirety of Karen's appearance on Ferguson...
...and here's a longer version of that S6E11 clip...
KAREN GILLAN CONFIRMS RETURN TO DOCTOR WHO SEASON/SERIES SEVEN
This snippet of a video discussion with Karen Gillan confirms her return for more DOCTOR WHO.
This is a nice confirmation of comments she made a few weeks back via THIS BBC press release - issued a few weeks ago when shooting on Season/Series Six wrapped: It's summed up by Karen Gillan who pauses to take one last look at the incredible location we've used today. 'It's quite sad to be saying goodbye to the boys,' she comments, before adding with a smile, 'But we'll be re-united again very soon!'
No word yet on Arthur Darvill, although his absence from Comic-Con was taunted by Matt Smith and Karen Gillan in this video postcard…
DON'T FORGET MATT SMITH IS ON CRAIG FERGUSON TONIGHT (SITE HERE)
I'll post a link of embed presuming any are available over the weekend.
FANZ - A NEW DOCUMENTARY ABOUT DOCTOR WHO FANS
We received an e-mail about this project last night. I haven't had a chance to check this out yet...but I submit it here for consideration in the Docback below.
COMING TO DVD AUGUST 9 IN THE U.S…
"PARADISE TOWERS" (Story #149) - by Steven Wyatt
Available HERE in the U.S. and HERE in the U.K.
The Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and companion Mel (Bonnie Langford) arrive at Paradise Towers - a gargantuan, high-end housing/social block piercing several hundred stories into the sky. They hope to avail themselves of its swimming pool (The Doctor says he jettisoned the pool on the TARDIS - wonder how he got it back? Would that be something that's programmable, or…what?). Alas, as we're quickly reminded, in DOCTOR WHO even something as simple as going for a swim presents unforeseen challenges, obstacles, and dangers.
Turns out the once luxurious Paradise Towers is now in shambles. Decaying and ill-maintained, it is gloomy, grim, and tagged by endless "wallscrawl" (graffiti). Bureaucratically obsessed "Caretakers" apprehensively patrol the building, and are evidently somewhat ineffective. They seem begrudgingly aware that something more is wrong at Paradise Towers than mere urban decay: it's a menace transcending the color-coded, all-girl "Kang" gangs who roam the facility's corridors, or the robotic "Cleaners" which appear to be following a plan wholly unrelated to their initial programming or intent.
The Doctor and Mel are quickly propelled into a dizzying and surreal adventure as they come face-to-face with…
...the aforementioned Kangs, who have a slang dialect of their own and are pledged to a specific color - i.e. "Red Kangs," "Blue Kangs," and the recently extinct "Yellow Kangs"…
…Pex (Howard Cooke) - a grown-but-childlike wannabe hero whose well-intentioned efforts are sometimes a dangerous hindrance...
…an over-bearing Chief Caretaker (Richard Briers) who believes The Doctor's arrival actually represents the return of Kroagnon, "The Great Architect" (not a good thing)…
…and Tilda and Tabby (Brenda Bruce and Elizabeth Spriggs respectively) - jabbering little old ladies with a decidedly dark and deadly agenda.
All of these seemingly disparate characters and elements collide in the story's decidedly STAR TREKian finale. To be clear, I don't say "STAR TREKian" in any form of negative context here. Regular readers may recall that I'm slowly making my way through every DOCTOR WHO episode ever made - and may also remember my deep-rooted and undying love for The Original STAR TREK series. "Paradise Towers" is the first DW story I've come across that actually carries something of a TREK vibe. Like many TREK Original Series episodes, it glances at social concerns while forcing us to scrutinize our own human nature a bit.
In the end, and in no uncertain terms, "Paradise Towers" is about groups of people who are very set in their ways learning to grow beyond who they've become. They must set aside long-held fears and preconceptions in order to work towards a greater, and common good - and it's up to an offworlder (in this case The Doctor) to show them the way. That's very TREK, particularly "Classic" TREK. And in this instance, this is a mighty good thing.
"Paradise Towers" is bold in concept but sometimes weak in technical execution. Much of the story's set work is remarkably solid, although Cleaner robot props are clunky and immediately deflate their intended menace (they are, unfortunately, somewhat integral). On the whole, this story remains most notable for its atypically surreal and off-kilter tone, as well as its unpleasant setting and interesting spins on some strong genre influences. STAR TREK's "Miri" is present here, as is MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME and no small amount of BRAZIL (see the "Extras" enumeration below). While riffing on such genre conceits might sink many shows, DOCTOR WHO approaches its inspirations wisely here - shaping material we've seen before (elsewhere) into elements which feel fresh and intriguing within in the context of the WHOverse. After all, as The Doctor says in the opening moments of Part 1, "Nothing's just rubbish if you have an inquiring mind..."
Interesting, sometimes bizarre, and usually fun. Quite solid, but not stellar.
Extras include...
"HORROR ON THE HIGH RISE"
Hosted by WHO composer Mark Ayres.
-- Insight from Andrew Cartmel (Script Editor) "I knew that any attempt to do anything too science fictional was liable to screw up in terms of special effects..."
-- Insight from Stephen Wyatt (writer) - discusses his interest in J.G. Ballard's book HIGH RISE and how "Paradise Towers" developed out of it. Says script is somewhat unique in that no notes were taken during its writing - mental notes of discussions gave rise to improv drafting. Strangely, no mention here of PT's religious symbolism. EX. the story references a Great Pool In The Sky (floor 304, at the top of the building) - aka "the home of the unalive." People are afraid to go here, but it turns out to be a place of peace and unity (Heaven?). There's also a beastly horror creature/machine thing trapped in the building's basement who wishes to escape and claim Paradise Towers as its domain, etc. (The Devil/Hell?)
-- Insight from Catherine Cusack (Blue Kang Leader)...
-- Insight from Howard Cooke (Pex)...
-- Writer Stephen Wyatt discuses original intent of Caretakes concept -vs- their actualization for the story (definitely different interpretations - I prefer Wyatt's)...
-- Insight from Richard Briers (Chief Caretaker)...
-- Discussion of whether Brier's post-possession performance was overplayed...
-- Discussion of Pex as a parody of Stallone / Schwarzenegger "vigilante"...
-- Discussion of the robotic cleaners / attack robot in the pool not being as effective as intended...
— A brief discussion of BRAZIL's influence on this episode...
-- Insight from David Snell, composer of "Paradise Towers" rejected score. NOTE: Snell's score can be heard on this DVD (find it under the audio settings). As a result of Snell's score being rejected...
-- Keff McCullough (scored this story in week). I noticed that one of McCulloch's riffs on Ron Grainer's theme sounds like incidental music from a BEVERLY HILLS COP film - Grainer's theme is used within the incidental music of this episode. One action movement (Pex's rescue of Mel from Tilda and Tabby's home) ALMOST evokes a recurring motif in Murray Gold's recent work - the opening (rolling) intro to this selection:
DELETED AND EXTENDED SCENES (7:52)
CONTINUITY
BBC's Intros, outros, plugs, etc. Not sure why this is called "continuity"...
GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS! THE EIGHTIES
Introduced by Peter Purves (companion Steven to Hartnell's Doctor), this is a discussion amongst Sophie Aldred (companion Ace), Janet Fielding (companion Tegan), and Sarah Sutton (companion Nyssa) - who evaluate their relationship to their roles, to the show in general, the images they conveyed as WHO Girls, the effects of the show on their futures and careers, etc. VERY INTERESTING.
Fielding discusses her unrequited desire to play Lucy from CHARLIE BROWN - Tegan is her interpretation of Lucy for the WHOverse.
CASTING SYLVESTER
insight re: the casting of McCoy as The Doctor from Clive Doig, a BBC producer who at one point was in talks with BBC Head of Drama Mark Shivas about possibly producing DOCTOR WHO. He had a desire to return to "psychological aspects of Science Fiction" and have a woman Doctor.
PHOTO GALLERY
It's a gallery. Of photos. But not this one:
via @OldRoberts953 via SFX
PDF
Radio Times listings.
coming next week
"The Sun Makers" (Baker, Story #95)
and hopefully we'll finally get to "Marco Polo" (recon and audio)
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