The Doctor Who stories “Dalek”, “Father’s Day” and “The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances” make up three of the seven nominees for this year’s Hugo Award for best dramatic presentation (short form). Oddly, the Wallace & Gromit movie got nominated in the long form section. The Hugos are for sci-fi and fantasy, which I suppose covers ... [More]
Paul Cornell, who wrote the excellent Father’s Day episode of Doctor Who, has a blog, and remarks that Rose’s father Pete was based on his own dad. The piece is really about me appreciating the sacrifices he made, and how I know he’d do what the Dad in ‘Father’s Day’ does. I think most Dads ... [More]
Update 9pm. I’m sorry. Looking at this entry, I realise it’s as dull as ditchwater. I strongly recommend you go read something else. I’ll have something better for you tomorrow.
Have I mentioned how much I like The West Wing? It’s coming back onto Australian TV in a fortnight, at the rather more acceptable hour of 9:30 Thursdays on the ABC, starting with season 4. The problem is I’m only two-thirds of the way through season 2 in the DVDs my sister lent me. Which ... [More]
“Classic” Doctor Who repeats finish tonight on the ABC, after running almost every episode still in existence over the past 2 1/2 years. It’s funny to think they started just before the new series was announced. It was also a few months after I had introduced my kids to the show (with DVDs and old ... [More]
I’ve done a lot of TV interviews on location, but never in a studio, until today. Community TV station Channel 31 did an interview for tonight’s “C News Focus” story on public transport. The interviewer guy asked a couple of curly questions, so hopefully I acquitted myself well. It airs at 10:15pm. A few observations: ... [More]
The hot rumour is the ABC has bought The West Wing off Channel 9, who couldn’t have programmed it in a worse manner if they tried. I’ve been watching DVDs of the series courtesy of my sister. And let me tell you, it’s rivetting. This is political drama at its best. (Mind you, I’ve heard ... [More]
A special charity episode with David Tennant and Billie Piper just aired in Britain, and is available online for a little while. (Though so far, I can’t get it to play. I assume that’s a heavy load, rather them blocking it for non-UK viewers.) This looks vaguely familiar: Cybus Corporation. I’ve just ordered the 9th ... [More]
Whoops, I forgot to mention this until now: the Doctor Who story that just finished on the ABC’s repeats last night, Warriors of the Deep, was the one that I used as the basis for my spoof: Doctor Who — Revenge of the Unrealistatrons. It’s still one of my favourite things that I’ve written.
According to The Independent, next year there’ll be a spin-off series from Doctor Who, called Torchwood. It’ll be more adult, described as “The X-Files meets This Life” and will star John Barrowman as “Captain” Jack Harkness, part of a team investigating alien activity on Earth. BBC announcement BBC has registered torchwood.org.uk Three Dollars — It ... [More]
“Excuse me Mr Davros, would you like a drink?” “Oooh, lovely, yes please.” “Ah, that hit the spot. I don’t suppose you’d have any biscuits?” (From behind the scenes footage on the Doctor Who: Revelation of the Daleks DVD)
Today I rang up my accountant to make an appointment. “Don’t tell me you want to do your tax.” “I want to do my tax.” “I asked you not to tell me that.” It seems the influence of Maxwell Smart has even reached accountants. Vale Agent 86. (How come Gilligan didn’t get this much attention?)