Outpost Gallifrey will be catching up over the next week on the press coverage that happened throughout July; there was a lot of it, but very little was actually consequential, so we've kept the news page updated with the major stories in the meanwhile. Here's some of the highlights of press coverage from this past week:
The Sun featured an article about the start of production with some photos (collected from the official press photographers Outpost Gallifrey has linked to over the past several days). "The Time Lord clutches the hand of assistant Rose Tyler, played by Billie Piper, as they film on a South London council estate," says the sun, which shows a wintry TARDIS scene and robotic Santas. "David [Tennant], 33, donned a natty pinstripe suit for one scene with Billie [Piper], 22 - before changing into a leather jacket." The
Daily Star also covered the start of filming, asking "Who else but the Doctor could conjure up wintry scenes like these slap-bang in the middle of summer? While Britain lurches from heatwaves to tornados, the Doc's sexy sidekick Rose is wrapping up warm... Piper looks chilled to the bone as she shoots a special festive edition of the sci-fi smash. ... These new shots of the Doctor clasping hands with Rose seem to show that things are set to pick up where they left off. Pictured on a south London housing estate, the Timelord and Rose looked very close as they filmed a Christmas special." More coverage of the start of production at
ITV,
Channel 4,
Digital Spy,
Regional Film and Video,
CBBC,
BBC News says that "he's been a dandy, an Edwardian cricketer and most famously wore a long scarf. Doctor Who's togs change as he regenerates. And the latest Time Lord is kitted out in high fashion. Flamboyant. Garish. Bizarre. Seldom does Time Lord fashion make it to the High Street. Until now. When David Tennant takes over the role later this year, it will be in what he describes as 'geek chic'." The article describes the cocstume as "the type of man Kate Moss might date, kitted out in a brown pin-stripe suit, white shirt - unbuttoned at the collar - a loose tie and scruffy white Converse trainers. The ensemble, put together by a freelance costume designer, is finished off with a long brown trench coat, a cross between old hack's Mac and flasher attire. The suit is skinny and crumpled - much tighter and Norman Wisdom will be demanding copyright. The look is just-got-out-of-bed, dragged-through-a-hedge-backwards, only-thing-I-could-find. It's Franz Ferdinand cum Kaiser Chiefs. But is it Time Lord? Does it have the gravitas, the power and the magic that goes with such an eminent position? Will it make the Slitheen, the Autons and the Gelth quake in their boots, or will it simply reduce the Daleks to helpless laughter? Only time will tell, but the new look should further cement the popularity of the series." The
Guardian says that "last season was all rather jolly (RIP Christopher Eccleston), but the next one is already winning, fashion-wise - not something one thought one would ever say about a show associated with weird hats and 70s perms. The lovely David Tennant has wisely ditched the leather jacket, a garment loaded with embarrassing 'rocker dad' connotations, and kitted himself out in a charming tweedy suit with white trainers. For some reason, the BBC has dubbed it 'geek chic', as if any man not wearing an Asbo hoodie must be a nerd. And we pay our licence fee to these ignoramuses? So Saturday evenings will now be spent leching over - sorry, watching - TV. Sorry, swains." Additional mentions of this at
Media Guardian,
The Times,
Manchester Evening News,
The Daily Record,
The Herald (Glasgow),
The Scotsman,
The Western Mail,
Ananova,
The Daily Mail,
The Examiner,
Ireland Online,
Megastar,
Glasgow Evening Times,
Syfyportal,
Hello Magazine,
IC Wales,
Sky News. (Note that some of these also feature comments about the start of production.)
The official Doctor Who
website has a feature article on some of the new toys due out later this year, including a 12" remote control Dalek, action figures of the Doctor, Rose and a Slitheen, character walkie-talkies, sonic screwdrivers, Sound Effects mugs, a talking TARDIS moneybank with speech and a TARDIS desk Phone Flasher.
David Tennant says he wants to be the first naked Time Lord. The actor has joked he would love to film a whole series with nothing but computer technology to protect his modesty: "I'm going to be nude throughout. It's a whole new thing, with a bit of pixelation around the groin." But seriously, he says, he does have a new costume. Tennant tells the Sun: "Casanova and the Doctor have a similar joy and wit about them. There is less sh**ging in 'Doctor Who', but who knows? We might change that, too!" Also reported at
Female First. Also
CBBC has a poll where you can vote on the Doctor's new costume.
The BBC Press Office last week put out a
press release with highlights of David Tennant's interview in the new issue of DWM, in which Tennant notes that he's paid a bit of attention online. "Well, when I was announced, I admit, I did go on [Doctor Who website] Outpost Gallifrey to have a quick look, because I just couldn't help myself, and everyone was encouraging me to go on and see what the fans were saying about me. So I went on there and the first comment I read was very nice, and the next comment was terribly flattering, and then the next one said something like 'I can't bear the sight of him!' And the one after that said 'Who?' The one after that said 'I'd rather have David Morrissey.' The one after that said 'That's it! The dream is finished! Somebody who looks like a weasel could never play the Doctor! It's over!' And then I thought to myself that maybe it's best not to read this sort of thing too much!" Naturally, Tennant's comments -- obviously meant as a side note -- were taken by the media and turned into a major story, reported in
BBC News,
Daily Record,
Western Mail, the
City Beat,
U.TV,
Evening Standard,
Daily Post,
Monsters and Critics,
RTE, and in print editions. (Outpost Gallifrey wishes to remind everyone that a couple negative comments on the forum do not reflect the opinions of this website
or the opinions of fans and fandom in general.)
Other items:
The Stage features a report about dramas dominating ITV's autumn schedule in the wake of their catastrophic fall opposite Doctor Who this spring;
Sunday Life features a short piece about an actress, Lisa Hogg, who says she auditioned for Doctor Who when it looked like Billie Piper was set to leave;
The Sun mentions today that Billie Piper's role in the forthcoming autumn BBC1 serial "Much Ado About Nothing" features her as a 'sexy weathergirl'; the
Hexham Courant discusses a local school production "Return to the Forbidden Planet" featuring a Dalek; and more mentions of Queen Elizabeth II being a fan at
The Mirror,
Ananova,
Female First.
(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Chuck Foster, Andrew Harvey, Paul Hayes, Mustafa Hirji, Paul Greaves, John Bowman, Mark Healey)
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