The Next 6 Months on The BBC

As I write this the sun is streaming in through the window, but yesterday was a very different story. The world went dark in the afternoon and heavy rain fell over the town as I struggled with the last of my shopping. Summer is officially over and autumn has begun. Usually I would mourn the loss of summer, but this year I'm excited for the start of woolly hat and thick sock season, not least because I look really cute in my hat. The BBC is encouraging my excitement, releasing a Drama Showreel, with teasing glimpses of what we can expect over the next 6 months. Don't just take my word for it, take a peak for yourself!

Exciting stuff isn't it? And a hell of a lot of familiar faces. Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham Carter make up the big names, there's a whole host of those BBC regulars who crop up in EVERYTHING, and all 3 of our Nu-Doctors! Not to mention sneaky clips of the Doctor Who Christmas special.

Christopher Eccleston will be appearing in the first two episodes of new drama series Accused, which follows the stories of people accused of serious crimes as they make their way through their court cases. It looks like a pretty strong cast, though sounds a little dry for my tastes. The perfect step for Christopher Eccleston, who seems desperate to avoid being known as the 9th Doctor.

David Tennant stars in new four part drama Single Father, a tale about a man struggling to raise his four children alone after his wife's unfortunate death. It promises to be a tear jerker, but also very funny. Lookit! He's got a new haircut!

Matt Smith takes the lead role in Christopher and His Kind, a story about a man escaping his restrained life in England for one of decadence in 1930's Berlin. After having his heart broken he sets out on a voyage of self-discovery. I've been seeing this picture for a while. I thought it was a fragrance advert to be honest, but it turns out to be a shot from this show.

And finally... looks like another Dickensian Christmas for Doctor Who (perhaps with The Doctor taking on the role of Ghost of Christmas Past?) In case the glimpses from the trailer haven't satisfied you enough, here's another trailer, just for the Christmas Special. Because I love you THAT much :D

EDIT: Well I've been fooled! That's a fan made trailer. I must apologise for misleading you and promise to do more research in the future. It is however, a VERY good trailer. Click Here to see how it was done. Well done dwcast25.

This Box Smells Like Time Lord Sweat

I passed my exams! Second year of university; sorted. I am a very Happy Bunny. Considering the amount I gave up to do well in these exams, the amount of stuff I missed, the amount of my social life that tragically died, I decided I'd earned a little treat. You might have gathered that I'm a bit of a fan of Doctor Who, so I bought myself the series 1-4 box set (half price on Amazon, woop woop!). It got delivered at half 9 this morning, much to the disgust of my mum who was woken up by the postie knocking on the door. It smells amazing by the way. I got stuck in straight away, and have watched the first three episodes already. As I write this I've got the DVD extras running. I love extras. Gives you some interesting things to say when watching with other people... well I think it's interesting... some people disagree.

This is difficult for me. I'm just going to come out and say it. I don't like Christopher Eccleston. I've not seen the first series of the "Nu-Who". Before today I had only seen "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances". First appearance of Captain Jack and all :P. So the majority of my Doctor Who experience has been under the charge of David Tennant's Doctor. You wouldn't think that there would be such a big difference between the two different actors portrayal. There have been pages and pages written about how David is less serious and more eccentric. Matt Smith has followed in these converse prints, taking the character to higher levels of quirkiness. As the Doctors entire brain re-wires when he regenerates it doesn't surprise me that his personality is subject to such dramatic change. This is also seen quite clearly in the first episode of season 4, resulting in the legendary Fish Custard. What bugs me about Christopher Eccleston's Doctor is his lack of concern for other people. Whereas David's character desperately wanted to save everyone, and took every death, no matter how minor the character, as a personal insult, Chris takes death in his stride, forgetting about Mickey in the first episode, barely considering Jabe's sacrifice (the tree girl who burned) and leaving poor Gwyneth to burn too. Three episodes in though. Let's see how the character progresses.

Ultimately I wonder if my view of Christopher Eccleston has been tainted by rumours regarding his early exit from the series. On the first DVD there is an interview with him from the BBC Breakfast show. The interviewer asks if he is planning to return for the next series and he replies that he "can't answer" and isn't even thinking about it at the moment, because he's just finished an 8 month stint. To my eyes it seems he's already made up his mind at that point, that he doesn't want to be in the next series. I can't remember whether the series ends in his regeneration, but I'm going to wait and find out rather than googling it now :P There's still much discussion about why Christopher left Doctor Who after only the one season. Russell T. Davis' comments that the actor left because he felt over worked have been quickly refuted by the actor, who claims that he left because he "didn't enjoy the environment and the culture that [they], the cast and crew, had to work in". I've not heard complaints from anyone else who works on Doctor Who, but it's not impossible that they'd be hushed up. According to Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) and Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones), it can't be that bad. Both first appeared in bit parts before reappearing as full time assistants. After leaving Doctor Who, Freema continued to do guest appearances in the show, and also appeared in spin off show Torchwood. Let's face it, even a death in Doctor Who doesn't mean you can't come back, and people come back again and again. I'd like to think a part of this is that the Doctor Who team are a lot of fun to work with. Or maybe that's just my idealistic side refusing to believe there's something dark going on behind the scenes of a show which brings me so much joy. Speaking of people who keep coming back, Gwyneth in “The Unquiet Dead” is played by Eve Myles who went on to play Gwen in Torchwood. The role was apparently written with her in mind. There just mustn’t be enough actresses in the UK! Just goes to show, never turn down a role in Doctor Who, no matter how small.

Coming up for Doctor Who fans, I've got a review of the Adventure Games in the works and coming up for non Doctor Who fans... electric shock treatment! No! I kid! I joke! I will find something for non Doctor Who fans. Watch this space!