AGE CONCERN? 'DOCTOR WHO' ON HITTING FIFTY!

Back for more in 2012: DOCTOR WHO and his companions. Image: BBC TV.

For a man of nearly 1,000 years old, that time and space traversing Time Lord known only as The Doctor, played by Matt Smith, is as sprightly as ever, especially now as the hit British sci-fi series approaches its incredible landmark 50th Anniversary next year. The new season, number seven, and Smith's third year in the title role, has begun filming this week, and I'm sure modern WHO fans young and old in their millions across the world are salivating at the bit with excitement for whats to come this year and next from the hand of writer/producer Steven Moffat-this seventh season being ultimately split across 2012/2013 due to tragic BBC cutbacks. A separate Anniversary Special of some kind is on the cards, though not fully confirmed yet, alongside a whole host of also as yet unrevealed celebratory excitements (including a possible one-off TV drama about the shows sixties origination, kind of like the one that celebrated CORONATION STREETS recent anniversary), plus the return of at least two old enemies from WHO's past (you can't not have the Daleks, who helped make the show the success it was, in the shows anniversary year, whilst rumours that the sixties cuddly monsters, the Yeti, will be making a re-imagined comeback have also been doing the Internet rounds).

As Smith remains a firm and beloved fixture for at least another year, the TARDIS doors will be swinging open for the departure of popular husband and wife couple Amy and Rory Pond (as played by Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill) with a new (female?) companion discovering life anew in the fast lane, presumably by around the third or fourth episode of the new run, and after what Moffat has described as a heart-breaking, tragic ending for Amy Pond's time as companion. The only tragedy I know is that this character was poorly conceived in the first place and was in the series for far too long. I'm greatly looking forward to seeing some fresh and more enthusiastic (less sarcastic hopefully) blood alongside our intrepid adventurer, and what will surely be a return to the series by curly haired Boudica Alex Kingston as River Song.

Scripts for the new season, as well as having the main story-arc framing from Moffat, apparently include another contribution from previous season writers Mark Gatiss, BEING HUMAN creator Toby Whithouse and the rather over-rated Chris Chibnall, along with TORCHWOOD writer John Fay. The first announced guests of the series have been confirmed as comedian/actor/HARRY POTTER star Mark Williams and SHERLOCK co-star Rupert Graves.

The Doctor's last on-screen appearance in Xmas 2011's over-rated The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe.

After an over the top, mostly disappointing second season for Smith last year, backed up with a saccarine mis-fire that was the Xmas Special (why, oh why, do they actually have to have a Xmas theme now?Why can't we just have a rollicking good, adventure/horror story for the period), of which our lead star deserves far better, KOOL TV is hoping for greater things over this next year. Self indulgent celebration for 2013 is expected and deserved for WHO, but hopefully in a more enjoyable and sophisticated way than has been seen recently, and one that's also less smug.

To get us in the mood for the shows upcoming anniversary, how about this great fan clip compilation of every WHO story and spin-off ever, here:  Doctor Who Story 1963 to Now - A Babelcolour Tribute - YouTube and a nice mystery poser here: Doctor Who: The First Question 50th Anniversary Teaser Trailer - YouTube

UPDATE 12/3/2012: The series has commenced filming with an episode having location filming in Spain, where the Doctor, Amy and Rory will battle half-human, half-robot baddies in a Victorian-era Western town. Lets hope they don't run into Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford's COWBOYS & ALIENS whilst they're there...

Early Season Seven Trailer: DOCTOR WHO New Season 2012 Teaser Trailer s7 - YouTube

Feature: Matt Smith and Karen Gillan film Western-style Doctor Who episode on Spanish film set | Mail Online

MEN, WOMEN AND HOUNDS: THE RETURN OF "SHERLOCK"

Old enemies get an intriguing revisionist spin in the new second season of SHERLOCK, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. Images: BBC

Worldwide fans of the new re-imagined SHERLOCK HOLMES series created by those two BBC "Wunder-kids" Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss won't have long to wait now to see how the Baker Street sleuth (played with steel eyed, cold hearted modern day superiority by Benedict Cumberbatch) and his loyal companion Doctor John Watson (a pre and post HOBBIT Martin Freeman) get out of their first cliffhanger battle against the scheming and quite mad Professor Moriarty (Andrew Scott). Arriving on New Year's Day on BBC 1 HD, the first of three tales linked to classic Arthur Conan Doyle adventures will surely be a fine start to the channel's new season of 2012 programming.


Here's the BBC promotional blurb: 


BBC One’s much praised, multi-award-winning drama Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, returns for an eagerly awaited second series of three, 90-minute films – A Scandal In Belgravia, The Hounds Of Baskerville and The Reichenbach Fall.

Holmes with Irene Adler (Lara Pulver) in A Scandal in Belgravia.

The contemporary re-imagining of the Arthur Conan Doyle classic, co-created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, caused a sensation in the summer of 2010, delivering an audience of more than nine million viewers who tuned in to watch Sherlock and John Watson navigate a maze of cryptic clues and lethal killers in three thrilling, action-packed adventures.

At Dartmoor, the duo investigate The Hounds of Baskerville.

In episode one of this new series, compromising photographs and a case of blackmail threaten the very heart of the British establishment but, for Sherlock and John, the game is on in more ways than one as they find themselves battling international terrorism, rogue CIA agents and a secret conspiracy involving the British government. But this case will cast a darker shadow over their lives than they could ever imagine, as the great detective begins a long duel of wits with an antagonist as cold and ruthless and brilliant as himself: to Sherlock Holmes, Irene Adler will always be THE woman.

The mad genius of Holmes arch-enemy, Moriarty (Andrew Scott).

Benedict Cumberbatch returns as Sherlock Holmes, with Martin Freeman as John Watson, Mark Gatiss as Mycroft, Rupert Graves as Inspector Lestrade, Una Stubbs as Mrs Hudson, Andrew Scott as Moriarty, Louise Brealey as Molly Hooper and Lara Pulver as Irene Adler.

Trailer for the new series via THE GUARDIAN: Sherlock: watch an exclusive trailer for the second series – video | Television & radio | guardian.co.uk
BBC Sherlock Series 2 Preview - YouTube
Sherlock Series 2 BBC Teaser - YouTube


New images via DIGITAL SPY: 'Sherlock': 'A Scandal In Belgravia' - In Pictures - Sherlock News - TV - Digital Spy

DRAMATIC TRIUMPH OR COMEDY OF ERRORS? "DOCTOR WHO" RETURNS!

Will The Silence be golden for our TARDIS quartet? DOCTOR WHO Season Six continues. Image: BBC AMERICA.

Writer/ Executive Producer Steven Moffat unleashes the second half of his intergalactic confectionery box today with the much fan anticipated second half of New-WHO Season Six adventures in both the UK (BBC 1 and HD), and in a territory seemingly more important now than it was for Auntie Beeb even back in 1983, the US-on the BBC AMERICA channel. And within this new jamboree is a planned and well packaged (publicity-wise), veritable collection of weird and wonderful characters, monsters, and environments of such diversity that they would make WOOLWORTHS legendary Pick ‘n’ Mix department producers green with envy! Though the individual flavours and charms of this particular WHO configuration, like the unwanted coffee cream or strange toffee in the red wrappers we somehow often end up with at the bottom of our goodie bags, may not necessarily appeal to all viewers at the same time! To sweeten such hit, and possibly miss, viewing pills, we have a collection of successful returning favourite guest star/supporting characters like James Corden (back as Human lodger Craig Owens), Alex Kingston as tough and tasty River Song (though now, instead of keeping her “magic” a mystery, it’s all been ruined as we know who she is-Pond’s daughter no less!), Ian McNeice as Winston Chruchil, to shore things up, as well as the best old (revised) and modern WHO baddies you can get- crowd pleasers like the Weeping Angels (Moffat’s so far unbeaten in popularity alien creations of this new era), the Cybermen (please, use them better this time!)- and their pet Cybermats- the big headed The Silence (hoping for some improvements there, too, please, Mister Moff) and, judging from an episode screening and trailer shown to fans at the BFI a few weeks back, the welcome return of at least one Dalek (perhaps as part of some dream sequence or other confounding plot line to come. And no news if it’s the superb original design or one of those ghastly multi-coloured M & M blob travesties!). Around all that there’s lots more new creepies awaiting round the corner including deadly squat servile Teflon safety cookers (METAL MICKEY's cousins perhaps?) with flowing silver Bob Marley dreds, part of the Teselecta, trying to change Earth’s history, weird and wonderful clog-faced looking killer dolls, alien quarantine robots with blasters in their heads (Moffat obviously has had some bad experiences with the NHS over the years!), a Viking-like warrior (apparently played by WHO’s other modern day actor/author and all-round clever sod, Mark Gatiss) plus the return of Cruella DeVille meets Travis’s eye patched mum baby thief, Madame Kovarian, as realized by the indomitable Frances Barber, with further traps and misdirection aplenty for our Time Lord hero.

I can’t say I was that impressed with the first half of this year’s WHO season, and, beyond what looks like yet another ghastly saccharine Christmas episode to round off 2011, I’m hoping that the double umbrella plots -the death of the Doctor at the Utah lake by the “Impossible Astronaut” and the revelations behind/ rescue of Melody Pond (which, far from exciting in my eyes, actually made the series and its format less special and more soapy than it ever should be, weakening the lead character’s overall presence in he show) get some kind of satisfactory closure that will make me want to continue watching the series any further. As a viewer singular, and as part of the collective audience watching the series, we deserve a proper conclusion to this “epic” and not over the top mumbo jumbo, blame it all on the time travel nonsense seen with The Pandorica season finale last year.

Arising from this previous cliff-hanging plot, season half opener LET'S KILL HITLER will either sink or swim for me, and looks packed with the sort of Moffat “humour” (the Doctor in Morecambe and Wise top hat and tails no less!) that worries me more than anything Douglas Adams did in his script editing/controversial work for Tom Baker’s Season Seventeen (unlike Moffat, though, Adams was a true rarity: a one of a kind person who actually was naturally intelligent and funny without having to try hard at it). Mark Gatiss’s following episode, NIGHT TERRORS, may hopefully balance the books a bit, and looks promising, possibly even elicit some worthy chills on a summer night’s eve. Alas, my hopes that Amy Pond will be departing his season appear to have been quashed-she gets her own story this year, too: THE GIRL WHO WAITED, and, for those that love her, she’ll be around for at least the Thirtieth Anniversary. Pass me the Nurofen! Though it seems unlikely to happen (at least so far), if any future anniversary tale/season does gives us the welcome return of a reunion Doctor story, I hope at least one of the Time Lord’s former selves won’t take any jip from her and promptly throw the annoying lassie out of the TARDIS and into the time vortex!

Here are the trailers for the new run:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j42k33aLhS0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVj5bYeT5MY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76vzfxJRByA&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2hpa5F5XzA&NR=1

Look out for the next KOOL TV review on WHO in a few months time.

DOCTOR WHO: SEASON SIX - PART ONE is out now on DVD and Blu-ray from 2ENTERTAIN.

RETURNING SERIES: "SHERLOCK" AND "MAD DOGS"

Baker Street irregular: Benedict Cumberbatch in SHERLOCK. Image: BBC.

As one chapter of Sherlock Holmes TV history closes (with the sad passing of both classic adaptation stars Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke), a new one continues for the modern day re-imagining of the popular hero and his sidekick in crime-fighting, Doctor John Watson, from writer/producers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss for the BBC: SHERLOCK. Filming is now underway on season two, and, as previously hinted at by Moffat, it looks like the three tales it comprises will indeed be loosely based on some of the best Sir Arthur Conan Doyle adventures (two of these new episodes will be titled A SCANDAL IN BELGRAVIA and THE HOUNDS OF BASKERVILLE). 


Check out the latest press release here: http://blogs.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2011/05/16/sherlock-series-two-details-announced/

Comrades in trouble. The drama continues for the MAD DOGS. Image: SKY ONE.

Additionally, another popular series from the beginning of this year, the Spain based hit crime drama/black comedy MAD DOGS will be back for a new second season run of four episodes shooting this summer (with a potential third season optioned, too). I personally don't know if a continuance of the enjoyable and well-made series is really necessary-it all seemed pretty much self-contained, but SKY and the dramas makers/stars promise an exciting continuation which I truly hope will live up to our weighty expectations. 


Here's the SKY press release:Mad Dogs Series 2 Confirmed For Early 2012 - Sky1 HD


The first seasons of SHERLOCK and MAD DOGS are now available on DVD and Blu-ray.