British Telly

When Russell T Davies brought back Doctor Who in 2005, it was grounded with a contemporary Earth setting, from which the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and Rose (Billie Piper) would travel across the planet's past, present, and future. RTD's ban on alien worlds in Doctor Who did cause consternation among old-school fans, but the approach guaranteed that the relaunch had a hugely successful crossover appeal. However, 18 years later, it feels like Davies still wants to avoid alien worlds, which feels like a regressive and potentially harmful approach to Doctor Who's future.

While the exact plot details of Doctor Who season 14 are still under wraps, the show's social media accounts have shared various enticing images of what to expect. Each of these images depicted the Doctor and Ruby in various period costumes that suggest the majority of Doctor Who season 14 will be set on Earth. Of course, the nature of VFX means that any alien landscapes likely wouldn't be ready to share on social media so far away from the date of broadcast. However, Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson's costumes, and the return of Bonnie Langford as Melanie Bush give a good sense of how much of season 14 will be set on Earth in various time periods.

During RTD's first Doctor Who era it made sense to set a good chunk of the episodes on Earth, to make the show appeal to a much broader audience. However, in 2023 it feels like TV audiences are far more comfortable with mainstream sci-fi after over a decade of seeing Marvel movies and watching Star Wars shows on Disney+ in recent years. On top of that, high-concept sci-fi shows like Rick and Morty have had crossover appeal, using broad comedy to introduce complex science-fiction ideas to audiences that may not have previously had an interest.

In the only award voted for by the public, the scene in Doctor Who that saw Jodie Whittaker regenerate into David Tennant – from the episode The Power of the Doctor – was crowned TV Moment of the Year.

Aside from the anticipated Doctor Who 60th anniversary episodes set to air this November, Whovians have been eagerly awaiting confirmation of what a special of the show 'over the festive period' could include, as previously stated.

Could it be a New Year's Day episode? Or would it be something to look forward to on Christmas day itself? Well, while we don't have an exact release date just yet, the BBC has now reported that the Christmas special will be landing on our screens this December.

As for what the special festive episode will include, we're not entirely sure just yet, as details remain a closely guarded secret. But we do know that there have been some impressive Ncuti Gatwa outfits spotted, as well as the potential for a "guest star from 2005" to return.

The Sex Education and Barbie star will take over the Doctor Who helm as the Fifteenth Doctor in this year's Christmas special and will be joined by new companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson). Indira Varma is also set to star in the upcoming 14th season as the mysterious Duchess.

In addition to the news of the Christmas special coming this year, the BBC also reported here that the brand new season of Doctor Who would air in spring 2024.

cross-posted from: https://radiation.party/post/78556

[ sourced from The Verge ]

BBC has unveiled the first official photograph of Steve Coogan in character as Jimmy Savile.

Coogan will play the disgraced TV star in a forthcoming four-part BBC drama titled The Reckoning, which will dramatise Savile’s history of paedophilia.

Did anybody else watch this? It's about a creepy haunted farmhouse in Wales. What I find a bit odd was there was no mention of when the hauntings stopped or what might have triggered that. The new owner was rather relaxed about the whole thing, even digging up the gravestone which apparently kicked the whole thing off!

The Day Today – The satire of news which will continue to be relevant for as long as news programmes think they’re more important than God.

I wrote this as part of the start of a project I'm writing about stuff that has had a massive influence on me - Chris Morris programmes definitely have. For a programme that is that is roughly 30 years old this hasn't dated very much to my mind... whether that's a worrying thing or not is moot but it's still extremely funny!

How did you end up in The Young Ones?

The BBC was desperate for the edgy, hot new stand-ups at the Comedy Store like Rik, Ade, Alexei and myself to appear in a TV comedy show.

One evening Rik, Ben Elton (a friend and fellow stand-up), and the writer Lise Mayer, who was in a relationship with Rik at the time, came up with the idea for The Young Ones, and it snowballed from there.

How did being on The Young Ones change your life?

We were all surprised by the speed with which the show made us household names – testament to the power of television. I was once recognised purely by my voice, by someone walking behind me in Shaftesbury Avenue.

They caught up and said: “I thought it was you.” I never realised I had such a recognisable voice!

Did the programme make you a millionaire?

Sadly not. We only made 12 episodes of The Young Ones which equates to about 14 weeks’ work. Yes, we got paid a decent enough weekly fee, but any additional royalties you make are based on a percentage of that fee, so none of us got rich on the back of the show.

I’ve made roughly the same amount in residuals from appearing in one episode of Black Adder in the 1990s than I’ve made in residuals from The Young Ones.

What about your version of ‘Hole in My Shoe’?

It was a Top Two hit in 1984, but as soon as I was in the hit parade friends would joke: “You’re buying the drinks!” It wasn’t massive money though. It was the generation after us – the likes of Baddiel and Newman – who really made serious money, playing venues the Hammersmith Apollo and Wembley Arena.

That’s when comedy came of age. However, I made a few quid out of touring as Neil in the UK and Australia, as well as from other spin-offs, like appearing as Neil in a train advert in Holland.

Just stopped reading about Mawaan Rizwan's new show when I got to that bit.

Mawaan Rizwan's mum?
Romesh Ranganathan's mum?
Jack Whitehall's dad?

I'm sure they'll all lovely but it seems cheap, somehow.
The only exception I'll allow is BaaadDad, because they weren't to know what they'd spawn.

“What I’m doing next is six hours for Channel 4, [a] TV series, a horror-based thing,” Wheatley said at an Empire VIP screening of Meg 2: The Trench. “In the same way I did In The Earth after Rebecca, I’ll do something that’s back to [the] Kill List-y, Sightseers-y world.” That project will be zoomers-vs-boomers zombie satire Generation Z – a series that Wheatley announced back in summer 2019, but which went on pause amid the pandemic.

Seems like it is increasingly relevant again.

You can watch:

• Series 1, as episodes or as one big chunk
• Series 2, as episodes

Main link is to Alan B'Stard's worst bits.

We were talking about this down at my local at the weekend and it is all available on YouTube, so I've been having a bit of a binge. Thoroughly reprehensible stuff obviously, so I can't possibly recommend it.

Victor Lewis-Smith will be much missed

Naturally, there will be smartypantses making fun of the make-up; the emperors’ hair will probably get a social media following of its own. Yet the re-showing by the BBC of its greatest-ever television series, I Claudius, later this month, should by rights be the broadcast sensation of the year.

...

What this should also do is make the BBC re-examine its archive. It’s an Aladdin’s cave there, only a fraction of which is on iPlayer. I rarely watch current TV; I pay the licence fee for the archive. And I want lots more of it. Meanwhile, here’s to a 12-part shocker. Hail Caesar!

The best cult TV moments are the ones we watch together, says television critic and broadcaster Scott Bryan

cross-posted from: https://rabbitea.rs/post/90640

Just an early heads up (very early - I'll forget otherwise), that BBC2 is repeating this Australian comedy series. I enjoyed it the first time around but it didn't appear to get much publicity, so I doubt many have seen it.

cross-posted from: https://infosec.pub/post/922164

The Tenth and Fourteenth Doctor star David Tennant praises his successor Ncuti Gatwa's performance in an interview for Variety

Bertolt Brecht's first play, set in pre-World War I Germany, depicts scenes from the life of an amoral poet-singer ruthlessly devoted to his own talent. He loves nature and the universe passionately but is coldly indifferent to all ordinary human feeling, with devastating results.

Available on iPlayer for the next 26 days.

cross-posted from: https://infosec.pub/post/887728

The actor hopes to be able to work together in the future and hopefully on the Peaky Blinders film.

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/6871606

I loved the first season because I'm a huge fan of Pratchett and Gaiman, so was a little nervous that the next series, with no source material to adapt wouldn't hit the mark. But then I saw that Neil had asked John Finnemore to help him write it, and that sealed it for me. No one could replace Terry, but John Finnemore comes damn close.

Anyway, season 2 is wonderful, with some beautiful little references to Pratchett's Discworld. Also, I'd gladly watch Sheen and Tennant together in anything.

He said that those who suggested that the show glamourised the devil had not really understood the series. “It’s not an irreligious show at all,” he said. “It’s actually very respectful of the structure of that sort of religious belief. The idea that it promotes satanism [is nonsense]. None of the characters from Hell are to be aspired to at all. They’re a dreadful bunch of non-entities.”

Seen anything good this week.