Journal to come

John Smith's A JOURNAL OF IMPOSSIBLE THINGS will be released as part of the DOCTOR WHO merchandise range later this year - as a limited edition hardback book.

A Closer Look: Ben Jackson

Ben first appears in the First Doctor serial, The War Machines, when he meets Polly and Dodo in a London nightclub called the Inferno. Ben is feeling depressed and angry because he has a six-month shore posting while his ship is going to the West Indies, but Polly and Dodo try to cheer him up. When Polly is accosted by another patron in the Inferno, Ben comes to her rescue. Eventually, Ben and Polly aid the Doctor in his fight against the rogue artificial intelligence known as WOTAN. They are bearers of the news of Dodo's decision to stay in 1966 to the Doctor, and accidentally get carried away in the TARDIS when they try to return Dodo's key to the time machine.

Ben is a salt-of-the-Earth kind of fellow, dependable, faithful, but prone to be suspicious when kept in the dark or not understanding what was going on. He is very attached to Polly, considering her posh, giving her the nickname of "Duchess" and appointing himself as both her protector and that of the Doctor's. He is present with Polly when the First Doctor regenerates into the Second, and continues to travel with the Second Doctor.

Eventually, the TARDIS finds its way back to 1966 London in The Faceless Ones on the very day Ben and Polly had left (although about a year had passed for them). They decide to remain behind to resume their lives without disruption as the Doctor and Jamie travel on.

In the spin-off short story "Mondas Passing" by Paul Grice (in the anthology Short Trips) which takes place in 1986, it is revealed that Ben and Polly have gone their separate ways and married other people. Ben meets a divorced Polly again with the help of the Second Doctor in 1999 ("That Time I Nearly Destroyed The World Whilst Looking For a Dress" by Joseph Lidster, published in Short Trips: Past Tense), where the two admit their love for each other.

Hunting Them Weevils

Thanks to Braxiatel Caerdydd over at the OutpostGallifrey forums we have a neat little set report all about last night's filming in some mystery Cardiff street. It's not known which episode these scenes come from, but they sure as hell contain SPOILERS - so don't read on if you want to remain clean! If not, then read on...

"Just got back from this evening's filming which was great fun. Just two scenes were filmed the 90 minutes or so that I was there but there was also plenty of other entertainment.John Barrowman was very friendly coming over to say hello to the masses on a couple of ocassions while people were also invited to have photos taken with him and autographs.Before rehearsals, people were also able to have their photo taken with the impressive SUV (is that the correct initials?), black car anyway!!!

The first scene was done in one take. It involved Jack and Ianto looking at a young girl who was standing by a lamppost. Didn't hear the dialogue if there was any.The second scene involved Jack and Ianto hunting a weevil. The rough script is as follows...

Ianto: Weevil sighted in the sewers of _____ street.

Ianto then throws Jack the car keys which Jack catches (in every one of the dozen takes). Jack then looks like he's been startled and looks around.

Jack: Did you SEE that?

They both look for a second before Jack says: "Get in, I'll give you a lift." and they drive off.

Filming was interupted a few times, at one point by some young drunks who starting shouting "I love you Jack Barrowman" before asking him for oral sex. Well it is Torchwood after all!"

Torchwood Update

Ashley Way is to return to Torchwood in its second year - according to the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine. Way is to direct the third block of Torchwood episodes, with Colin Teague ("Ghost Machine", "Last of the Time Lords") set to helm block two.

There's been a shake-up in the line up of season two writers. We can now expect to see scripts from Chris Chibnall, Helen Raynor, Catherine Tregenna, James Moran, Matt Jones ("The Satan Pit"), JC Wilsher and PJ Hammond. Both Chibnall and Tregenna are down for mulitple episodes. There's no word yet on whether Russell T Davies will still script an episode.

The magazine also reports on Torchwood's BAFTA Cymru wins. Executive producer Julie Gardner says, "It was such an exiting night, and such a boost for the Doctor Who and Torchwood teams." There's a lovely snap of David Tennant and Eve Myles stood next to one another, comparing awards. Together they were named "Best Actor" and "Best Actress".

Apparently John Barrowman's audio book signing at Oxford Street's Borders went very well. Says the magazine "...it was one of the most successful signings they'd hosted, and it could have gone on for much longer, had John not had to dash off to that evening's round of Any Dream Will Do!" Why, oh why, couldn't I have attended...?

The review section finally (!) gets round to revieiwng the three Torchwood novels that were published on New Years Day, and generally has kind words to say of all three. Andy Lane's "Slow Decay" is clearly the reviewer's favourite book of the series though.

James Moran??

And James Moran is writing his first episode for the series.

Hang on... James Who?

That's exactly what I thought, before I typed his name into Google and discovered that he wrote the British horror film Severance. He has his own blog too, "the pen is mightier than the spork", which I immediately read. And you're asking yourself where all this is leading right? Well, Moran's blog reveals something interesting...

He's writing an episode of Torchwood:

"...what about Secret TV Thing? Well, that is Torchwood, the spin-off of Who, which I'm also doing an episode of. Got the TW gig in December, and just handed in the latest draft, although there'll be more tweaks right up until filming, which starts this weekend sometime. I only got the Who gig 3 weeks ago, so it's all still shiny and new and not quite real yet. I've been doing TW for a few months now, so am more relaxed and calm about it. Until Friday, when the handsome actors will do a read-through and possibly look at me, making me feel all nervous and unattractive."James has been hinting for a couple of weeks now about this Torchwood script - so you'll find some cyrptic clues about his story by reading through his last few posts!You can catch up with James' blog by clicking here.

Tales of Mary Tamm

I have a dear friend who went with me to the Gallifrey One convention in 2006. One of the main draws for him that year was getting to meet one of his favorite companions, Mary Tamm. During the weeks that led up to the convention, I was badgered by his excitement in meeting "the prettiest" companion. Time passed, and the convention was in full swing.

It is amazing how age can change people.

We were standing in life for autographs when we finally made it to Mary. I passed through, had my book signed and said my pleasantries. My friend made it up to Mary, as all watched how this meeting of the minds unfolded. He passed his book and pen over to her and said the phrase that will live in infamy came out of his mouth.

Shoulders back, he said proudly to her.. "Mary, you were the prettiest companion... until John Barrowman came along. now you aren't any more!!"

What have we learned... you never get a second chance to make a first impression........

Utopia and The Sound of Drums

I today have received the BBC Press Release for both Utopia and The Sound of Drums.

Utopia:

"Jack's back! As Captain Jack storms back into the Doctor's life, the Tardis is thrown out of control, to the end of the universe, in tonight's episode of Russell T Davies's Doctor Who. There, they find the savage Futurekind ruling the wilderness, while a lonely Professor tries in vain to save the last of the human race." Rene Zagger and Sir Derek Jacobi guest star - as does the Blue Peter competition winner!

The Sound of Drums:

"Harry Saxon becomes Prime Minister and his reign of terror begins – but that's only the start of his ambitions, as he announces mankind's first contact with an alien race, the Toclafane. An audacious plan spanning the whole of time and space begins to close around the Earth, in the penultimate episode of Russell T Davies's Doctor Who."