io9: billie piper

New Doctor's Pop Music Moppet Revealed

Graeme McMillan — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 06:30:00 PDT

Just as the ninth and tenth Doctors had former popstar-turned-actress Billie Piper for Top Of The Pops credibility, so does Matt Smith's eleventh time lord. But, while his choice has the chav, he's unlikely to have the fanboy adoration.

Mike Skinner - AKA The Streets - will be appearing in the next season of Doctor Who, according to a (now-deleted) tweet from the rapper:

You wouldn't believe the week I've had. I can't talk about it but let's just say I got a part in Doctor Who.

While it's unlikely that Skinner - whose last album as The Streets is due next year - will be joining the show for more than an episode, we hold out vain hope that he'll also rework the theme song just to make the hardcore fanboys' heads explode.

Mike Skinner for new 'Doctor Who'? [Digital Spy]

Why Does Doctor Who Only Go Back In Time?

Graeme McMillan — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 12:00:05 PDT

New rumors are suggesting that many old faces will be appearing in David Tennant's Doctor Who finale. Ironically for a time traveler, it's beginning to look like the show has become stuck in the past.

MSN Entertainment is reporting that David Tennant's final episode as the Tardis-travelin' Time Lord will see a return not only of companions Billie Piper, Freema Agyeman and Catherine Tate but also John Simm's The Master, while Den of Geek are chiming in with the rumor that Jessica Hynes - who played the Doctor's love interest in season three's "Human Nature" two-parter - will also be making a reappearance in the final two-part story that closes both Tennant's and showrunner Russell T. Davies' tenure on the show.

Is it wrong of me to feel kind of depressed by this news? I love a huge guest-star-filled extravaganza as much as the next fanboy - but the sad fact is, we've already had one of those with season four's "This Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End" two-parter, which confused bringing back as many characters as possible with having an actual story... a trick that you can only really get away with once. Especially when that story ends with pretty definitive ends for both Rose Tyler and Donna Noble, making me wonder just how they're going to return for these new episodes without undoing those stories (And in Rose's case, undoing it again; how is anyone supposed to care about what happens to her now, if she's managed to come back from final farewells twice?).

But there's something about these returns that crystalizes one of the problems with the Davies Era; a tendency to repeat itself. We didn't need a Dalek storyline every season, especially considering the quality of some of those storylines, and the number of times they were "permanently" defeated, only to return the next year, just as the series never failed to return to characters and situations from years gone by (Whether the original series' Sontarans, the Master or the Cybermen or more recent creations like the Ood, the Face of Boe or even the farting Slitheen) whenever some audience success seems to be available from doing so. For all that Davies managed to give the show (and he gave a lot, not least of all giving the show a new life that no-one else had managed for years), there was always some strange feeling of comfortable nostalgia about the whole thing almost always.

Perhaps that's as it should be; Doctor Who is, after all, a family-orientated show aimed as much at children as adults, so perhaps being comforting and familiar comes with that territory. Surely, if nothing else, then seeing Donna and Martha and Rose again will bring cheers and gasps of disbelief from the kids, and that's what the show should really be aiming at. It's just that... At its best, Doctor Who is about wonder and discovery and adventure, and none of those things can be found by constantly going back to what you know, especially when you've already done just that very thing. Here's hoping that Steven Moffat brings the new in more than just new lead actors and set when he takes over, and the show stops going in reverse all the time.

The Hottest Kisses You Never Saw

Nivair H. Gabriel — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:30:13 PST

They're too racy, too raw. There's enough tongue in them to make a director blush — and so much grabby-hands that the director, producer, and writer hit the ground in a dead faint. Or maybe it's just good suspense to deprive characters of some desperately needed mouth-on-mouth. The Blu-Ray release of The X-Files: Fight the Future brought with it some never-before-seen footage of Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny sucking serious face, so we dug up even more deleted scenes of makeout sessions that were too sexy for your screens. Warning: Eliza Dushku, David Tennant, Julianne Moore, Robert Downey, Jr., and a great deal of hotness within.

Sure, the Doctor (version II, anyway) eventually got to tell Rose Tyler he loved her, and they shared a nice smooch in Doctor Who's season 4 finale. But if you watched the Confidential, you know that actors David Tennant and Billie Piper provided much sweatier minutes of mackage than the two-second bit that was deemed appropriate for the kiddies. (I suggest watching it in slow motion for maximum shortness of breath.)

If you're not yet excited to see Eliza Dushku stretch her thespian legs in Joss Whedon's Dollhouse — or turned on by Dexter's Desmond Harrington — you certainly will be after this little firebomb of a clip. Wrong Turn may be from a dumb horror movie that pits college students against cannibalistic mountain men, but it's certainly got one scorching moment in it, and here's the proof.

Julianne Moore is something like the duchess of psychological sci-fi horror, with impressive stints in movies like Children of Men and Blindness (we won't talk about Evolution). In this deleted scene from The Forgotten, she and Dominic West can barely keep their hands off each other — and so they don't.

The Iron Man trailer seemed to promise us an onscreen meeting of the lips between Robert Downey, Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, but it never quite happened. They did, however, film it, and this montage of set pictures gives us a glimpse of what could have been ... in Tony Stark's mouth.

All right, this last one isn't a kiss, but finding a cut kiss for this show would have been impossible: No kiss is too naughty for Torchwood. BBC Two did, however, draw the line at a Jack/Ianto crotch grab — so I guess it's a good thing we have the internet to show us the things that television won't dare to. John Barrowman and Gareth David-Lloyd are in top (and bottom) form in this thrilling deleted scene.

After all this, you're probably aching to run from your computer and snog the nearest warm body. Before you go, though, leave your own favorite cut, forbidden kisses. The world of sci-fi has been pioneering the liplock since Kirk and Uhura knocked noses in "Plato's Stepchildren," and we aren't about to stop now.

Weather, Technology Spoiled Rose's Return, Claims Piper

Graeme McMillan — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 06:30:00 PDT

If Rose Tyler's return to Doctor Who was spoiled for you by her unusual accent, then, well, you may need to focus on more important things, to be honest. But actress Billie Piper knows just who to blame: Mother Nature. Or perhaps the soundman. Whoever's fault it actually is, one thing is clear: It's definitely not hers.

Responding to criticism over the way she sounded in "Turn Left" from the last season of the show in Britain's Radio Times magazine, Piper said,

I got really paranoid. Maybe it was really cold and my lips were tense, because we were shooting in the middle of winter and I'm always in a tiny leather jacket. But it seemed fine when I heard it... When I went to work the next morning, the make-up guy said: 'Your speech sounded really funny'. I wonder if it was something in the final mix. Strange.

I know that some Who fans can be a little anal in their deconstruction of the show, but criticizing the dialect of a guest star? Really? (Oh, wait, apparently so.)

Piper blames weather for Rose Tyler 'lisp' [Digital Spy]

The Secret Fear Of Rose Tyler

Graeme McMillan — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:09:06 PDT

The problem with saving the universe a couple of times isn't the pressure to come up with something equally impressive as a follow-up, according to Doctor Who's Billie Piper; it's the children who've seen you do it. "The only thing that's stressful [playing Rose Tyler] is walking down the street when schools are out... Every child just thinks you're Rose and you don't want to spoil the illusion," she told the UK's Radio Times magazine, explaining why she has decided to become a reclusive hermit for the time being: "Sweet as they are, kids en masse are kind of frightening." [Digital Spy]

Rose's Return Rumors Unknown To Who Producer

Graeme McMillan — Fri, 02 May 2008 07:30:00 PDT

Now that the episode has been (legally) viewed by both British and American audiences, Doctor Who producer Russell T. Davies has taken the time to explain just what was behind that last minute cameo from an unexpected but familiar face in the first episode. Unsurprisingly, said explanation suggests that Mr. Davies is entirely unfamiliar with the concept of "rumor" versus "fact".

In his regular column in the UK Doctor Who Magazine, Davies wrote about the surprise appearance of Rose at the end of season four's first episode:

When I wrote the very first draft of 'Partners In Crime' in September, I just got the devil in me. What if, I thought, what if we could transmit something, just once, that no one sees coming...? ...This is Donna's series, and if anyone had caught a rumour of Rose's return, there was a genuine danger that Catherine's launch could have been overshadowed. We owed it to her to carry this off successfully.

If anyone had "caught a rumour of Rose's return"? Dude, that was one of the few definitively known things about the new season months ahead of its launch; there were even photos of her on the set, as well as featuring in the official trailers. Doesn't that kind of thing make it more than a rumor?

'Dr Who' boss explains shock Rose cameo [Digital Spy]

Doctor Who Stunt Casting: A Report Card

charliejane — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:00:00 PST

Kylie Minogue's star turn on Doctor Who, and the return of overexposed Billie Piper, may seem like signs that Doctor Who has finally gone cameo-crazy. But really, stunt casting has a long and trashy tradition in Doctor Who. Sometimes, it's even made the show more watchable. Here's a quick chronology of the show's stunt casting, with grades.

1963-1978 It's like Masterpiece Theatre. You see lots of British character actors popping up (sometimes in multiple roles) but you're never distracted by the appearance of a famous personality. Grade: B+

1979: John Cleese and his then-wife Eleanor Bron appear for a few moments in "The City Of Death," commenting on the TARDIS (the Doctor's ship) as abstract art. Cleese and Tom Baker also filmed a short skit together. Grade: A

1985: Kate O'Mara (Joan Collins' sister from Dynasty) plays the Rani, an amoral member of the Doctor's own race. She's hardly a big star, but her acting doesn't really justify the role. Grade: B-

Late 1980s: Famous (in England) comedian Ken Dodd and comedy duo Hale and Pace have totally gratuitous cameos. They pretty much play themselves, and Dodd wears a totally hideous glittery outfit. Grade: D.

1989: Game show host Nicholas Parsons (basically England's answer to Bob Barker) plays a conflicted reverend in "The Curse of Fenric." It's a meaty role, and Parsons puts everything he's got into it. Grade: B+

1996: Formerly famous Eric Roberts plays arch-villain The Master in the TV movie. Grade: C-.

2005: Washed up pop star Billie Piper becomes the Doctor's new companion, and proves she can act. Grade: A.

2005: Reality TV stars Anne Robinson (The Weakest Link) and Trinny & Susannah (What To Wear) play themselves — only they're robots. Somehow it's an evil Dalek plan. Huh? Grade: D.

2005-2007: Famous (in England) actors Zoe Wanamaker, Peter Kay, Derek Jacobi and John Simm play major roles. Luckily, they're all real actors. Well, except for Kay. Grade: A-.

Has "Doctor Who" Become "Dancing With the Stars"?

charliejane — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 06:30:00 PST

It's official: Billie Piper is back on Doctor Who next year, in a needless ratings grab. And the BBC also released more details about her fellow pop star Kylie Minogue's appearance in the Christmas special. Kylie plays Astrid, a waitress on the Titanic, which crashed into the Doctor's time ship at the end of the previous season. And Kylie isn't the only high-wattage star in the cast for "Voyage of the Damned," the Doctor Who Christmas episode.

Geoffrey Palmer from mega-sitcom As Time Goes By and Clive Swift from Keeping Up Appearances also have starring roles in "Voyage of the Damned." (Both shows are PBS fixtures in the U.S., but they're huge in England.) Other stars in the episode: Gray O'Brien (The Queen), Debbie Chazen (The Smoking Room) and George Costigan (star of Rita, Sue and Bob Too). For fans of British TV and movies, the mob of familiar faces could be distracting.

Stunt casting has a long and proud tradition in Doctor Who, with mixed results. Here's a chronology, with grades:

1963-1978 You see lots of British character actors popping up (sometimes in multiple roles) but you're never distracted by the appearance of a famous personality. Grade: B+

1985: Kate O'Mara (Joan Collins' sister from Dynasty) plays the Rani, an amoral member of the Doctor's own race. She's hardly a big star, but her acting doesn't really justify the role. Grade: B-

1996: Formerly famous Eric Roberts plays arch-villain The Master in the TV movie. Grade: C-.

2005: Washed up pop star Billie Piper becomes the Doctor's new companion, and proves she can act. Grade: A.

2005: Reality TV stars Anne Robinson (The Weakest Link) and Trinny & Susannah (What To Wear) play themselves — only they're robots. Somehow it's an evil Dalek plan. Huh? Grade: D.

2005-2007: Famous (in England) actors Zoe Wanamaker, Peter Kay, Derek Jacobi and John Simm play major roles. Luckily, they're all real actors. Well, except for Kay. Grade: A-. [Image courtesy of BBC]

Voyage of the Damned [Outpost Gallifrey]