Friday 29 January 2010

Where are they now? No. 11 - Sophie Aldred


Sophie Aldred was born on 20th August 1962 in Greenwich, London, but grew up near Blackheath. She studied drama at Manchester University in 1980 and graduated in 1983.

Career

In 1987, she was cast as Ace in Doctor Who. Her tenure on the show spanned the last nine stories of the programme's original run, from 1987 to 1989. First appearance was in Dragonfire 23rd October 1987, last appearance in Survival 6th December 1989.

http://cdn1.ioffer.com/img/item/509/266/21/sophie_aldred.jpg

Ace, real name Dorothy Gale McShane, a 20th Century teenanger from Perivale, suburb of London.

She is working as a waitress in the frozen food retail complex of Iceworld on the planet Svartos. She had been a troubled teen on Earth, having been expelled from school for blowing up the art room as a "creative statement". Gifted in chemistry (despite failing it for her O-levels), she was in her room experimenting with the extraction of nitroglycerin from gelignite when a time storm swept her up and transported her to Iceworld, and far in her future. There, she meets the Doctor (7th incarnation), and his companion Mel. When Mel leaves the Doctor at the conclusion of the serial Dragonfire, he offers to take Ace with him in the TARDIS, and she happily accepts.

mccoyandtardis.jpg image by cuisle1

Both before and since Doctor Who, Aldred has had a varied and busy television career, particularly in children's programming, where she has presented educational programmes such as Corners, Melvin and Maureen's Music-a-grams, long-running BBC series Words and Pictures and also CITV paranormal show It's A Mystery in 1996. She also played the character Minnie The Mini Magician from Series 8 onwards on CITV's ZZZap! between 1999 and 2001.

Aldred has presented and sung in several BBC Schools Radio series, including Singing Together, Music Workshop, Time and Tune and Music Box. She has also performed on radio and in the theatre. She has also reprised her role as Ace in the charity special Dimensions In Time and the Doctor Who audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions. Throughout the 2000s she has worked extensively as a voice-over artist for television advertisements.

She co-wrote the hardback reference book, Ace, The Inside Story of the End of An Era with Mike Tucker, published by Virgin Publishing in 1996. (ISBN 1-85227-574-x).

Personal Life

Sophie Aldred married Vince Henderson on 12 July 1997. They have two sons, Adam and William, who make occasional convention appearances with their mother.


Series 31 Airdate

The new series of Doctor Who is to air on Saturday, 13th March 2010. Time will be around the usual 7pm time slot.

New Audio - 'Dead Air'

'Dead Air'- written by James Goss. David Tennant, who played the tenth incarnation of The Doctor in Doctor Who, will be the narrator of the story.

Synopsis:

'Hello, I'm the Doctor. And, if you can hear this, then one of us is going to die.'
At the very bottom of the sea, in the wreck of a floating radio station, a lost recording has been discovered. After careful restoration, it is played for the first time - to reveal something truly incredible. It is the voice of the Doctor, broadcasting from Radio Bravo in 1966. He has travelled to Earth in search of the Hush - a terrible weapon that kills, silences and devours anything that makes a noise - and has tracked it to a boat crewed by a team of pirate DJs. With the help of feisty Liverpudlian Layla and some groovy pop music, he must trap the Hush and destroy it - before it can escape and destroy the world...

Date for release is the 4th March at £8.99. Dead Air will have an approximate running time of sixty minute



Billie Talks "Doctor Who: The Movie"

BILLIE PIPER (Rose Tyler) was a guest on the Scot Mills show on Radio 1 yesterday (hosted by Sara Cox). During the interview she talked about Matt Smith, David Tennant and the Doctor Who 'movie', of which she says, "they are doing it". Hear the Who~related clips at blogtorwho.blogspot.com

The Silver Spiral

The TARDIS watches a supernova explosion

A space scientist on Wednesday, 27th January 2010, announced a major cosmic discovery by telling it as a Doctor Who story. Astronomer Dr Megan Argo was working at Jodrell Bank with an international team that detected a powerful jet of energy from a star exploding in a distant galaxy as a catastrophic supernova. The breakthrough is being officially announced in heavily technical language to the world of science today by the journal Nature. Here for the article and Here for her story on her blog.

Wednesday 27 January 2010

Dr Who: 60 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

A 60 piece puzzle which is sure to entertain all Dr Who fans aged 4 and up. The puzzle measures 34 x 24cm and is manufactured from the highest quality, special recycled board with a linen-finish paper which ensures a glare-free puzzle picture.

On Sale: 19th February 2010 Price: £4.99

Regeneration Poster

poster-regen
On sale: 7th February 2010
Measurements: 61cm x 91.5cm (24 x 36 inches) Price: £3.99 forbiddenplanet.com

New Range of Classic series themed merchandise

Half Moon Bay and recently announced a range of merchandise based on the classic series.

There include mugs, wallets , bags , fridge magnets and many other items which will be introduced from February -June 2010

There are also similar items from Thunderbirds, Batman and other classic TV and Films

You can see the full Doctor Who range below or to visit the forbidden planet for prices.

Glasses ( 2 Pack )…

moon-glasses

Boxed Mug (One of two , see below)…

moon-mug

Retro bag…

moon-bags

Mini Tin Tote and Money Boxes…

moon1a

Keyrings…

moon2a

Mug and Coasters (4 Pack )…

moon3a

Metal Magnets…

moon4a

Wash Bag and Wallet…

moon5a

Mini Tin Tote and A5 Journal…

moon6a

Info courtesy of thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/

Saturday 23 January 2010

Easter Eggs!

I was looking through Forbidden Planet's Doctor Who products and found these treats for Easter 2010.....

Doctor Who - Easter Tin Bucket - Click Image to Close Tin & Bucket £3.99 Doctor Who - Tardis Tin and Egg TARDIS Tin & Egg £5.99Doctor Who - Gift Mug and Egg Mug & Egg £4.99

Available 30th April 2010

...................................................................................................

Dalek Solid Pewter Belt Buckle

Doctor Who - Daleks Pewter Belt Buckle £24.99

The End Of Time Sonic Screwdriver - Limited Edition!

new sonic

* An extension of the Tardis’ fantastic advanced technology, this is the Doctor’s second best friend.

* It’s a multi-functional device that operates by emitting pulses or waves of sound energy.

* So powerful it can break rock, shake a lock mechanism loose or vibrate the molecules of a material so fast they weld together.

* With various power settings and functions we’ve yet to see, the Sonic Screwdriver is the ultimate indispensable tool to have when adventuring through time and space!

* This faithful copy of the Doctor’s trusty Sonic Device activates in either closed or open mode.

* Pressing the button on the side of the handle activates the UV LED and sound FX.

* Remove the hilt cap of the Screwdriver to reveal hidden coded messages from your friends and enemies.

* Black ink pen also included.

* Requires 3 x LR44 batteries (supplied for demonstration only).

* For ages 5 years and over.

Info: thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/

DVD - The Space Museum/The Chase

dvd-thechasespace

These two consecutive adventures feature the first complete changeover of companions in Doctor Who - broadcast in 1965, the Doctor’s companion Susan had already departed the TARDIS several episodes earlier to be replaced soon after by Vicki (Maureen O’Brien). By the end of The Chase, only William Hartnell remains of the series original cast, as William Russell and Jacqueline Hill’s characters Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright find a way back to their own time on Earth!

The Space Museum
: The TARDIS jumps a time track and the travellers arrive on the planet Xeros. There they discover their own future selves displayed as exhibits in a museum established as a monument to the Galactic conquests of the warlike Morok invaders who now rule the planet. When time shifts back to normal, they realise that they must do everything they can to try to avert this potential future.

The Chase: The travellers are forced to flee in the TARDIS when they learn from the Time/Space Visualiser taken from the Moroks’ museum that a group of Daleks equipped with their own time machine are on their trail with orders to exterminate them.

Released 1st March 2010 Priced: £29.99

Amazon Price: £17.98 saving £12.01!!

Info: kasterborous.com/

2010 Preview Clip (spoof)



By The Daily Crumb

Friday 22 January 2010

'TARDIS' In Newport, Gwent To Be Restored

The police box with Sharon Dennis (Rascal), Minister for Heritage, Alun Ffred Jones and Deborah Clark (Rascal).

A RARE 'TARDIS' phone box is among the latest historic structures to receive funds to ensure their survival.

The former police box will be repaired so it resembles the time-travel craft made famous in the Doctor Who TV series.

A local community group won a £10,500 grant from the Assembly Government, which takes it closer to its goal of restoring the iconic feature in the Somerton area of Newport.

Deborah Clark, who was involved in the application, was delighted by the success of the bid by the community group Rascal.

She said: “Everybody refers to it as the Tardis – it’s a landmark. The whole of the estate love it.”

At present, the phone box is badly dilapidated and in dire need of repair.

Ms Clark said: “It’s got fencing around it because it’s structurally dangerous at the moment. We had a little look inside and all the concrete is crumbling.”

She said she hoped outgoing Doctor Who actor David Tennant could be persuaded to visit the phone box when its restoration was complete. It has become a useful landmark when giving directions, and past suggestions it should be removed have met strong opposition. Ms Clark said: “There was uproar on the estate because they want to keep it there.”

The phone boxes date back to the days when police did not have radios to communicate with the local station.


On the last occasion she was able to look inside, Ms Clark said she saw “a little desk with a stool and a phone”.

Local Doctor Who fan Peter Bell, who now lives in Cardiff, said: “It’s a great relief to know that the Somerton Tardis will be around for a few years yet. It’s been a local icon for as long as I can remember. I passed it every day on my way to school and it never failed to fire my imagination.

“[It’s] a little touch of magic in the heart of suburbia. Back in the days when Doctor Who was dead and buried, I used to imagine that the Doctor had taken a sabbatical and parked the Tardis in Newport until his services were required again.”

He added: “Somebody even tried to set fire to it once.”

walesonline.co.uk

Thursday 21 January 2010

The Future Awaits

A title sequence for the Eleventh Doctor by HeroesandVillians77's -

On The BBC Radio 2 programme Who on Who Russell T Davies confirmed himself that a fourth series of The Sarah Jane Adventures has been commissioned with possibly a fifth.

gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com
In what amounts to confirmation that Series Four of The Sarah Jane Adventures has been commissioned, the BBC are recruiting a new producer to take over production of the series. The successful applicant will be based in Cardiff, and assumes responsibility for the programme which begins shooting in March. The series will once again consist of twelve thirty-minute episodes.

Series Three was shown in the UK last Autumn, achieving much higher than average ratings for CBBC. Series Two has just begun broadcasting on BBC Kids in Canada.

Wednesday 20 January 2010

National Television Awards 2010



Congratulations! Most Popular Drama Performance went to David Tennant for the second year running. 2006 & 2007 saw him win Most Popular Actor, whilst Best Drama went to Doctor Who for the FIFTH year in a row!




David Tennant with his award



Bernard Cribbins and David Tennant at the National Television Awards in the 02 Arena, London.
Doctor Who stars Bernard Cribbins and David Tennant

Happy Birthday Tom Baker!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Tom_Baker_cropped.jpgToday, Thomas Stewart Baker is 76 years old!

Baker was born in Fountains Road, Bootle, Merseyside. His father, John Stewart Baker, was a sailor who was rarely at home, resulting in Tom being raised largely by his mother Mary Jane in her Roman Catholic faith. He left school at 15 to become a novice monk and remained in the monastic life for six years, but left and went into the Merchant Navy, at the same time taking up acting, at first as a hobby. In 1972,he got his first big break with the role of Rasputin in the film Nicholas and Alexandra (which also starred Michale Jayston, who later played the Valeyard). Other early roles for Baker included Lynch in The Mutations, Jenkin in "The Miller's Tale" segment of The Canterbury Tales, and Dr. Ahmed el Kabir in a BBC telelvision version of The Millionairess, co-starring Maggie Smith.

http://www.filmdope.com/Gallery/ActorsB/843-7466.gifIn 1974, Baker took on the role of the Doctor from Jon Pertwee. He was cast largely because of his performance as the evil sorcerer Koura in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad.

Baker was working as a brick hauler on a construction site at the time, as acting jobs were scarce. Initially he was dubbed "Boiler Suit Tom" by the media, as he had been supplied with some old studio set clothes to replace his modest garments at a press conference.

He quickly made the part his own. As the Doctor, his eccentric style of dress and speech — particularly his trademark long scarf and fondness for jelly babies — made him an immediately recognisable figure, and he quickly caught the viewing public's imagination. His decision to move on in 1981 was regretted by many of the programme's fans, and his incarnation is generally regarded as the most popular of the Doctors (his nearest rival not arriving unti David Tennant in the 2000s). Baker played the Doctor for seven consecutive seasons over a seven-year period, making him the longest-serving actor in the part. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01208/4th-t_baker_1208529i.jpg

Biography

Sunday 17 January 2010

Full size cardboard Jenny competition

Jenny (The Doctor's Daughter)georgiamoffett.co.uk recently held a competition to win a life size Jenny cardboard cutout from cardboardcutout.net. I was notified via email this morning that I had won! So should recieve it within the next 1-2 weeks. Congrats to me!!

Georgia Moffett to star in new BBC Three comedy

BBC Three has ordered a six-part sitcom about a reluctant handyman, written by stand-up comedian Adrian Poynton.

Will Mellorhttp://web.wireimage.com/images/tnm/55339882.jpgIn White Van Man, Two Pints Of Lager star Will Mellor will play Ollie, an aspiring restaurateur whose dreams are dashed when his father suffers a heart attack and he has to take over the family painting and decorating business. Clive Mantle will play the father and Georgia will play Emma.

The series profiles an underdog trying to scratch a living for his father while hurdling an onslaught of chaotic situations, which tempt him to flee in his van. That is, if it wasn’t for Emma (Georgia Moffett, Doctor Who), a severe crush from catering college, holding him back and the least helpful helper known to man….

Further details can be found here

Thursday 14 January 2010

New 8th Doctor Audio Adventures

4.01 Doctor Who - Death in Blackpool

CAST:

Paul McGann (The Doctor), Sheridan Smith (Lucie Miller), Helen Lederer (Aunty Pat), David Schofield (Billy), Jon Glover (Father Christmas), Harriet Kershaw (Natasha/Marika)

SYNOPSIS:

Lucie Miller always loved Christmas back home in Blackpool. Her Mam running a still-frozen turkey under the hot tap at ten. Great-Grandma Miller half-cut on cooking sherry by eleven. Her Dad and her uncle arguing hammer and tongs about who was the best James Bond all through dinner. And in the afternoon, Aunty Pat, haring up to the house on the back of a moped weighed down with ridiculous presents.

Christmas 2009 didn’t turn out like that.
Christmas 2009, the Doctor turned up…

Available now from Big Finish


4.02 Doctor Who: Situation Vacant

Available July 2010

Tuesday 12 January 2010

Doctor Who Art

Here are some art work by a guy called Andy. I think you will agree that his art is brilliant! I loves it. Here is a link to his FB page to view more http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=52071778825#/pages/ANDYS-ART-DOCTOR-WHO/52071778825




Friday 8 January 2010

William Hartnell (1908-1975)

Today, marks what would've been William Hartnell's 102nd Birthday! Which is but a mere child's age for a Time Lord.




William Hartnell Picture Gallery


Best known as the First Doctor (1963-1966) and reprising the role in 1973's The Three Doctors with Patrick Troughton & Jon Pertwee (2nd & 3rd Doctors). Due to ill health, Hartnell was shown only in pre-recorded film inserts.


William Hartnell Picture GalleryWilliam Hartnell Picture Gallery



To many, Mr Hartnell’s Doctor Who character was a “grumpy grandfather” figure, but he described himself in the role as: “A cross between The Wizard of Oz and Father Christmas.”

http://www.shillpages.com/dw/story/d1/st--1a18.jpg 23rd April 1975 Hartnell died peacefully in his sleep of heart failure after sufering a series of strokes brought on from cerebrovascular disease

http://lh6.ggpht.com/__bXaa88_ls4/RzH35xOpeKI/AAAAAAAAALQ/pRWwp70oEZM/hartnell02.jpg
Team TARDIS- 01

Ian Chesterton - William Russell
Barbara Wright - Jaquline Hill
Susan Foreman -Carole Ann Ford


Biography

Journal Of Impossible Things And Masters Ring

Doctor Who: Journal Of Impossible Things And Masters Ring (Product Image)

As seen in the Christmas specials, 'The End of Time Journal of Impossible Things and Master’s Ring Set' contains a journal with a leather style cover plus 22 blank and 78 highly detailed printed pages.

These not only contain the Doctor’s notes and drawings from when he was disguised as John Smith but have an aged appearance depicting its journey through time.

Completing the set is the Master’s ring - which also plays an important part in the tale of the latest regeneration!

Forbidden Planet

Price: £8.99 Release Date: 31st Janury 2010


The End Of Time Figures

Doctor Who End of Time Figures
The 11th Doctor Regeneration
11th Doctor Matt Smith Regeneration figure wearing 10th Doctor David Tennant's suit. This is the first release Matt Smith figure. Includes sonic screwdriver

The 10th Doctor
10th Doctor David Tennant in battered suit with bruised face as he appears in the End of Time. This sculpt of the 10th Doctor is previously unreleased. Includes sonic screwdriver

Time Lord President
Lord President of the Time Lords as played by ex-007 Timothy Dalton. This figure includes Galliffreyan President's staff accessory

The Master
John Simm's Master in black hoodie and red shirt as seen in End of Time

Release date to be confirmed (possibly by end of January)

Thursday 7 January 2010

New Doctor Who Matt Smith hails 'sexy' mini-skirt of new assistant Karen Gillan - plus the sexiest Doctor Who assistants ever!

Who-la-la! Doctor Who’s new sidekick legged it to centre stage yesterday as she braved a snow-covered set in a sexy mini-skirt.

Flame-haired Karen Gillan, 22, who plays feisty Amy Pond alongside new Doctor Matt Smith, insisted on showing a shapely leg despite the freezing conditions.

She admitted yesterday: “Yes, the skirt is quite short. Initially, they wanted me in trousers, just because of the practicality of running around.

“But I wanted the mini-skirt because I think it really suits Amy’s sassy character.”

Matt, 27, chimed in: “Oh, and let’s say it out loud – it’s SEXIER, isn’t it? Come on!”

The new Time Lord, who will be on our screens in the spring after taking over from David Tennant, says he hopes to bring a new kind of chemistry to the role.

Speaking during a break in filming at Cardiff Bay, the 11th Doctor said: “My character will be less tolerant than a lot of those who have gone before him.

“And Amy’s got real fire in her belly. But there’s also great affection and love there, and we’re developing that all the time.”

The pair have now been working together for six months and say they are getting on like a Dalek on fire.

Talking about their first meeting, Karen told Doctor Who Magazine: “I was actually quite intimidated, because, you know, he’s Doctor Who. It was all very scary.

“But he was very friendly, and made me feel at ease.”

Matt joked: “I do the reverse of that now – I’m a complete git.”

(Daily Mirror)