Showing posts with label Doctor Who. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Doctor Who. Show all posts

Sunday, December 25, 2022

CURIOUS CASE OF SANTA CLAUS

My all-time favorite Doctor Who is #3, played by Jon Pertwee...
Jon as The Doctor with Eizabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, his final companion

...so when this documentary about Kris Kringle, packaged as a tale featuring Pertwee as a psychiatrist with a patient (James Coco) who thinks he's Santa Claus, ran on A&E in the late 1980s, I taped it and showed it every Christmas...until the tape jammed!
Now I (and you) can enjoy it once more... 
Merry Christmas!!!

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Doctor Who Deja Vu!

We're into the 2nd week of the newest Doctor Who's run, and whom do we already see?
Yep, the Daleks!
Used to be we'd have to wait at least a couple of months before they turned up, but now it's "Here's The Doctor and, of course, the Daleks!"
Here's a comic book adaptation of their first movie appearance...from almost 50 years ago!
The more thing change...

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Happy 50th, dear Doctor...

Sitting in front of the telly..
...waiting for the simulcast of the 50th Anniversary show.
Saw An Adventure in Space and Time last night.
Thought it was great.
Hopefully it'll inspire Whovians who think the show began with Christopher Eccleston (or Tennant, or Smith) to check out the earlier adventures...
Note: my favorite Doctor is Jon Pertwee, and, despite not being "canon", my first was Peter Cushing.)

Friday, September 27, 2013

James Bond! Man from UNCLE! Secret Agent! Doctor Who! All in ONE Movie!

You think I'm joking?
It happened!
Sid James, Patrick McGoohan, Sean Connery
And you can see it Saturday on Turner Classic Movies at 9:45 pm ET!
This historic meeting of genre acting talent occured in the 1957 movie...
Besides the above-named performers, there's also David McCallum (Man from UNCLE. NCIS, Sapphire & Steel), Jill Ireland (Star Trek Classic, Man from UNCLE) , Peggy Cummins (Curse of the Demon), and Gordon Jackson (Spectre, Supernatural [1977], Madame Sin)!
NOT available on Region 1 DVD, so fire up the DVRs (or in my case, DVD recorder)!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

YouTube Wednesday: Quatermass Xperiment

First it was a record-breaking BBC-tv mini-series broadcast live on six consecutive nights in 1953...(and no, that's not a typo in the blog title)

In 1955, it was the first horror film from the legendary Hammer Studios...

In 2005, it was redone in a new, live BBC broadcast starring David Tennant (Doctor Who) and Indira Varma (TorchWood, Human Target)!

We're covering it over at our "brother" blog Secret Sanctum of Captain Video™!
Stop by and have a look at the never-reprinted comic adaptation of the feature film version!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

YouTube Wednesday: DR WHO & THE DALEKS

The British have a long tradition of taking successful tv series in every genre from sitcom to sci-fi, and remaking them into feature films.
So, it seemed only logical that, with "Dalekmania" reaching a frenzied peak in 1965,  a feature film adapting the first tv appearance of the lethal pepperpots, would be a box office smash.
It didn't quite turn out that way.
Amicus Productions, basically a lower-budget Hammer Studios, acquired the rights, and produced Dr Who & the Daleks, starring Peter Cushing as Doctor Who.

Note: I said "Doctor Who" and not "The Doctor".
That's because the movie's Doctor is an eccentric human inventor named "Who", not an alien Time Lord using the title "Doctor"!
The TARDIS, while still a space-time travelling device bigger on the inside than the outside, is now the product of one man's expertise, not the culmination of the technology of an advanced civilization.

Beyond that basic change to the concept, the movie was a fairly straightforward condensation of the  seven-episode serial, utilizing the original story's major plot points.
With the benefits of
  • being the first color version of Dr Who (the tv show was shot in black and white until 1970)
  • a bigger budget than the tv series and
  • a music score by Thunderbirds composer Barry Gray
the movie did very good box office in Europe and Asia, though only moderately-well in the US, where the tv show had not yet aired.
Encouraged by the ticket sales, Amicus adapted the second Dalek story into an even more-expensive feature film, Daleks Invasion Earth: 2150 AD.
But that's a story for another time...

The British Trailer

The American Trailer

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Dr Who DVD Box Sets--$39.99 Each!

We interrupt your reguarly-scheduled blog to tell you...
 Dr Who DVD Box Sets  
ON SALE!
Seasons 1-4 (Eccleston-Piper / Tennant-Piper / Tennant-Agyeman / Tennant-Tate)
ONLY $39.99 EACH!
(Originally $99.99 each!)
WHERE???
At COSTCO!
NOW!
(Note: Does NOT include the 2008-10 SPECIALS Box Set!)

Monday, July 5, 2010

NY Times Reviews Law & Order: UK (and Freema Agyeman)!

From the review of Law & Order: UK by Mike Hale...
"The standouts so far are Bradley Walsh (Coronation Street), who gets the right blend of humor and resignation in the Paul Sorvino-Jerry Orbach veteran detective slot, and Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones of Dr. Who), who covers several bases as the junior prosecutor. "She’s both the minority idealist, played for three seasons by Richard Brooks..."
"...and the hot babe who often solves the case, played by a succession of actresses (none hotter than Ms. Agyeman)." (emphasis mine)
 But then, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ already knew that!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

BIG Dr. Who (& Other BBC Science Fiction) Sale

Includes LOTS of Dr. Who in various incarnations from William Hartnell to David Tennant (but not Peter Cushing!), TorchWood, Sarah Jane Adventures, Robin Hood, Red Dwarf, Merlin, Primeval, My Hero (a kool superhero comedy), and the tv version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (not the awful movie)!
Plus comedy, drama, and the usual assortment of British goodies!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Fantastic Femmes--Sophie Okonedo

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info HERE!
Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated actress Sophie Okonedo moves easily from playing the title role in Mrs. Mandela to making multiple appearances (including a gun-toting Queen Elizabeth the 10th) on Doctor Who!
Genre appearances include...
Criminal Justice(Jackie Woolf)
Æon Flux(Sithandra)
Doctor Who
"The Beast Below" (Queen Elizabeth the 10th aka Liz 10)
 "Scream of the Shalka"(Alison Cheney)
Note: the animated "Scream" is not considered "canon" in the Dr Who series.
Spooks aka MI5 (Amanda Roke)

Check out...

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Law & Order: UK...now on Region 1 DVD!

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups.
The police who investigate crime, and the Crown Prosecutors who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.

Sound familiar?
It's the opening narration of the most recent version of the long-running Law & Order franchise.
In fact, it's now in it's second season!
But, if you live in the US, you haven't seen it...until now!

It's Law & Order: UK, produced in England.
Creator Dick Wolf is overseeing the whole thing, but the main writer / producer is former TorchWood and Life on Mars staffer Chris Chibnall.
Plus, it features several genre performers as regulars, including Jamie Bamber (BattleStar Galactica), Harriet Walter (Lord Peter Wimsey / Harriet Vane Mysteries) and...
Fantastic Femme Freema Agyeman (Dr. Who, TorchWood, Survivors)! (Looks good in her barrister's robes, eh?)
 (Here's a shot in her "civilian" garb.)

Anyway, I was going thru the Sunday papers (which I pick up after 9pm on Saturday night) and I glanced thru the sale flyers.
The Target Stores flyer usually has a page of new cds and dvds. Sometimes they have exclusives.
They sure did this week...Law & Order:UK for only $26.99!
I went online to target.com and noticed that, after this week, it'll be 39.99, so I'm going to grab it at my local store on Tuesday!
Maybe I'll see you there!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Doctor Who--Five Doctors Special Edition

I've had a VHS of the 90-minute special Doctor Who "The Five Doctors" for over a decade and I've played it a number of times both for friends at get-togethers and myself, when I got the urge.
(FYI, my favorite Doctor of all time is Jon Pertwee (Doctor 3) who plays a key role in the special.)
I've just acquired a slew of used Doctor Who dvds, both Region 1 (US) and Region 2 (UK) including the one shown above, the first Region 2 release of the "Five Doctors" Special Edition (with enhanced sfx, missing scenes, etc.)
I'm going to sit down this weekend and compare it with the "original" VHS version, then let you know how it goes...

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Torchwood: Children of Earth & Discount DVDs

I've been enjoying Torchwood (the series) since their initial airing on BBCAmerica, and following the basic concept of Torchwood since the group's introduction on Doctor Who. (IMHO, turning Torchwood down was the stupidest thing SyFy ever did! Calling themselves "SyFy" was the second stupidest, but I digress...)
The idea of a secret, Brit-centric, counterpoint to the rather public UNIT (United Nations International TaskForce) appealed to me, and Torchwood's rise, fall, and resurrection, made for an interesting ongoing plotline within Dr Who.
When the surviving Torchwood unit got it's own series, incorporating another Dr Who character, Captain Jack Harkness, I figured, give it a shot; it'll at least be as entertaining as the other spinoff, Sarah Jane Adventures (which, though juvenile, is rather fun)...
Torchwood took the opposite tack, practically turning into "Lust in Space" and coming close to being the first R-rated sci-fi tv series!
It also became the breakout hit BBCAmerica hoped HEX and Footballer's Wives would be, as well as one of my not-so-guilty pleasures!

I'd been looking forward to the new mini-season and, despite obvious plot elements of Midwich Cuckoos and various Quatermass series running throughout Children of Earth, I'm really enjoying the mini-series due to the fast-paced plotting and well-done character development.
Catch the remaining four nights thru Friday. It's not like there's much else on...

In addition, if you want to buy the previous two seasons, Costco has the season box sets for only $44.99 each!
I picked them up a week ago and did a marathon this past weekend, watching select eps with commentary and watching all the special features.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Fantastic Femmes--Claudia Christian

If you believe in yourself, you're willing to take risks.
Claudia started auditioning for film and tv roles right out of high school, working part-time jobs to pay the bills, but keep herself available.
Within two years she began doing guest-star roles on various tv series and small roles in feature films, as well as landing regular spots on several (unfortunately) short-lived series.
Her breakout role was as kick-ass second-in-command Susan Ivanova on Babylon 5.
Since then, she's expanded her acting to live stage as well as animation voice-over and advertising work. (She's the voice of the Jaguar auto commercials.)
She's now living in London, working on her music and guest-starring on British tv and radio.
Trivia:
Has released four solo albums as well as a group album with fellow Babylon 5 cast members entitled The Be Five.
Rumored to have auditioned for the role of Seven of Nine on Star Trek: Voyager.
Genre appearances include...
Star Hyke (Captain Belinda Blowhard)
Mars Shuttle Murders (Lindmeyer)
Geppetto's Secret (Blue Fairy)
Shrek 2 (Fairy GodMother)
Atlantis: the Lost Empire / Atlantis the Lost Empire: the Video Game / Atlantis the Lost Empire: Search for the Journal
(Lieutenant Helga Katrina Sinclair)
Earth & Beyond (Lady Katherine Isabella Olivia deWinter)
Summoner 2 aka Summoner: A Goddess Reborn
(Sangaril/Logosarch / Rosalind / Dama Heras)
Babylon 5 / Babylon 5: In the Beginning / Babylon 5: ThirdSpace
(Commander Susan Ivanova)
The Hidden (Brenda Lee Van Buren)
Maniac Cop 2 (Susan Riley)
Strays (Claire Lederer)
Arena (Quinn)
Hexed (Hexina)
Dot Man (Lieutenant Colonel Dunst)
Gnome Named Gnorm (Samantha)
Doctor Who "The Reaping" (Janine Foster)
Haunting of Hell House [1999] (Lucy)
Half Past Dead (EZ Williams)
Police Story "Monster Manor"
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (Elyse)
Lancelot: Guardian of Time (Katherine Shelley)
Blacke's Magic (Laurie Blacke)
Space Rangers "Death Before Dishonor"
A-Team "Trouble Brewing"
Relic Hunter "All Choked Up"
She Spies "Spy vs Spy"
Highlander "Two of Hearts"
Check out...
Her Official WebSite
Shrine to Claudia Christian (FanSite)
Feature on her departure from Babylon 5