Torchwood: Jack Harkness Diaries

Yes, I know this blog is mainly about the Doctor Who but as I’ll probably uh definitelly pay some attention to its spin-off series Torchwood, I’m sure I’ll be inclined to write a thing or two about it sometime. Though I’ll leave the rest to those more in the know.

Already the premises sound interesting and with John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness - formerly a TARDIS time traveller – I bet it’ll be interesting. I’d also like to know what happened to Jack after being left behind on Satellite 5…

The filming has already started a long time ago and if you’d like fresh news you should visit the best Torchwood related informative blog here.

More updates on the series when it airs and that’ll be sometime in October. Counting the days…

Goodbye to the Master of Horror

‘Listen, if somebody who knew the future pointed out a child to you and told you that the child would grow up totally evil... To be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives. Could you then destroy that child?’

-The Fourth Doctor in Genesis of the Daleks, 1975

BBC site reported the death of David Maloney. David Maloney was probably not known to some people or to my compatriots but the Whovians will always remember him as the director of the classic episodes of Doctor Who in the more "violent" era of the production. The words violence and horror were commonly used by the anti-TV series campaigner Mary Whitehouse, because she thought the series diverted from its original "more for kids" theme. It was true that some stories directed by Maloney could be considered not suitable for children but that sort of dark theme was started in the Pertwee era, so it was nothing new on her claims.

But this director did have a unique way of filming and used slow-motion death scenes, freeze frames on bloody scenes, dark-colour and claustrophobic scenes...just remember classics like The Talons of Weng-Chiang, The Deadly Assassin and one of the all time favorites Genesis of the Daleks. Also let's not forget his earlier work on Patrick Troughton's The Mind Robber, The Krotons and the Second Doctor's ten-parter epic and the final story The War Games, as well as Frontier in Space and the Planet of the Daleks in the Pertwee era.

It's also worth to mention his work as a producer on the first three seasons on another classic sci-fi series Blakes' 7.

Goodbye Mr Maloney, you'll be missed...

Voice of Original

I've decided to mention a couple of greats involved in the Doctor Who productions over the years. A lot of people who worked on the original series have left us these past couple of years. One of the people that certainly deserved a mention was Peter Hawkins.

Who was he? Mr Hawkins was one of the people that was involved in the early production of the series, he was one of the two actors in charge of giving the voices to the original Daleks. He usually worked in tandem with David Graham and they both covered every Dalek serial from the 1960s as well as the Peter Cushing movies.

So long, Mr Hawkins, you'll be remembered by true fans everywhere...

Tegan is back!

Yes, she's back though not on screen but in audio and she's reunited with Peter Davison’s Fifth Doctor in the newest Big Finish drama The Gathering, that's to be released in late September.
This is huge news since Janet Fielding refused for many years to be involved with anything related to Doctor Who. And then that fateful day Peter Davison sat down with her, had a nice dinner and asked, so how about it? At first she declined but apparently after a couple of more glasses of wine finally accepted.

I have been excited ever since the rumor was started a year and a half ago, so this isn’t exactly news to me but it’s nice to hear an official confirmation from the people involved in the production.

So who was she?

'A lot of good people have died today. I'm sick of it.'

'You think I wanted it this way?'

'No. It's just I don't think I can go on.'

'You want to stay on Earth?'

'My aunt Vanessa said, when I became an air stewardess, if you stop enjoying it, give it up.'

'Tegan.'

'It's stopped being fun, Doctor.'

(When Tegan turned to leave) ‘No, not like this!’

-Tegan and the Doctor in the Resurrection of the Daleks, final scene 1984

Tegan Jovanka was an on-screen companion to the Tom Baker’s Fourth and Peter Davison’s Fifth Doctors’ and she was a regular in the series from 1981 to 1984. According to producer John Nathan-Turner, when he was thinking of a name for the character, it was either going to be Tegan, after a friend's niece in Australia, or Jovanka, after Jovanka Broz, the widow of now an ex-Yugoslavian President Josip Broz Tito, so he wrote both down on a piece of paper. Script editor Christopher H. Bidmead mistakenly believed that Jovanka was the character's last name rather than an alternative, and so he wrote her in as "Tegan Jovanka".

She first appeared in the Fourth Doctor's last serial, Logopolis. On her way to Heathrow Airport to start her new job with Air Australia, her car stopped because of a flat tyre. She entered a roadside police box to seek help, not knowing that it was actually the Doctor's disguised TARDIS. She was present when the Fourth Doctor fell from the Pharos Project radio telescope and regenerated into his Fifth incarnation, and despite everything continued to travel with the Doctor and his other companions, Nyssa from Traken and Adric from Alzarius. As a character she was stubborn, loud, and direct, with a no-nonsense manner and not afraid to speak her mind, she even called herself ‘mouth on legs’ in Earthshock.

While she often bickered with the other TARDIS occupants as well as with the Doctor, her strength of character kept them together and her loyalty to her fellow travelers was unquestionable. She was very close with Nyssa, and was sad at her leaving in Terminus.
The Doctor noted many times that she was a good coordinator, and often encouraged her with the words, ‘Brave heart, Tegan.’

Eventually, the carnage surrounding the events of Resurrection of the Daleks proved to be too much and she left with an emotional good-bye to the Doctor and Turlough, while they were still in 1984 London. Later she returned to play an illusory image of Tegan seen during the Fifth Doctor's regeneration into the Sixth in The Caves of Androzani (1984).

Big Finish Productions

Doctor Who: The Gathering

Written by: Joseph Lidster

Directed by: Gary Russell

Recorded: 29 & 30 June 2006

Date of Release: Late September 2006

Starring: Peter Davison as the Doctor and Janet Fielding as Tegan

Timeline: This story takes place between the Planet of Fire and the Caves of Androzani

Summary: On the morning of 22 September 2006, Tegan woke up. She was expecting to spend the day relaxing at home and, that evening, tolerate a party thrown to celebrate her 46th birthday. But things don't always go as expected...it's been over twenty years since she chose to leave the Doctor. She's got a job, mates... a life. Meanwhile her friend, Katherine Chambers, makes a decision that could change all their lives, and Tegan discovers that you can never really escape the past.

This seems to be the year of big releases and the return/revival of old characters and companions. The trend was started in this new series' second season, in the episode two Tooth & Claw, when an old Who actress Pauline Collins returned as Queen Victoria and continued in the School Reunion which marked the appearance of the all time favorite Doctor’s companions Sarah Jane Smith, played by the wonderful Elizabeth Sladen and the robotic dog K9, voiced by John Leeson.

Too bad the release doesn’t come sooner because I could really use something to get over my post-season finale, Doctor Who summer hiatus depression. Oh well there’s always the classic episode DVD editions to look forward to and the Hand of Fear will be released on the 27th, so I’m counting the days.

And let’s not forget another release in September, the Mark of the Rani, ‘marking’ the return of Anthony Ainley as the Master and Kate O’Mara as The Rani. Oh yes and it also features Colin Baker as the Doctor and Nicola Bryant as Peri.

So to quote the Earth, Wind & Fire, there’s gonna be dancing in September...