The Bad Wilf Network – Page 15 – Unpretentious pop culture chat

Ahsoka Tano Disney Plus Series Casts Ivanna Sakhno

According to Variety, actress Ivanna Sakhno has been cast in the spin-off series to The Mandalorian, for Disney Plus.

Sakhno will star opposite Rosario Dawson, who is reprising her role of Ahsoka Tano, and Natasha Liu Bordizzo. Who was recently announced to be playing a live-action version of Sabine Wren, a character who first appeared in animated form in Star Wars: Rebels.

Details on who Sakhno is playing are being kept incredibly secret, although it seems she will be playing a new character created specifically for the series.

Sakhno recently appeared in a few episodes of the highly underrated series ‘High Fidelity’ with Zoe Kravitz.

“Ahsoka” is one of several live-action “Star Wars” properties being made for Disney Plus. Another spin-off to The Mandalorian, ‘The book of Bobba Fett’ airs next month. Series three of ‘The Mandalorian,’ is expected to arrive in 2022. The streamer is also working on Obi-Wan Kenobi series, starring Ewan McGregor as well as a Rogue One prequel, based around the character of Cassian Andor, with Diego Luna reprising his role.

Doctor Who viewing stats

Here’s a subject nobody ever gets bored of hearing. Doctor Who’s overnight viewing stats.

Doctor Who Survivors of the Flux was watched by 3.82 million viewers, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The figure is a slight increase from last week’s episode, The Village of Angels, which received an overnight of 3.45 million in the overnights. The seven-day consolidated figure, which includes all those who watched the episode within one week for chapter four was 4.55 million. This is the lowest seven-day consolidated rating since the series returned in 2005.

What do these figures mean? Absolutely nothing. The way we consume our media has changed dramatically over the past decade. We’re no longer beholden to broadcast times, people time-shift and record it. Others watch on iPlayer. My kids for example have absolutely no idea what day their favourite TV shows airs, having to watch it “live” would seem like a bizarre concept to them. However, they know exactly how to access the shows they like via streaming services.

Although the figures seem low in a traditional sense, Doctor Who is still performing strongly. It was the 8th most-viewed programme on BBC Television for the week and the 21st most-watched across all British television.

New Spider-Man trilogy in development

There has been a lot of speculation recently, including from Tom Holland himself – that Spider-Man: No Way Home, would be the end of his career as everyone’s favourite wall-crawler. The upcoming film does indeed mark the end of his current contract. However, according to producer Amy Pascal, this won’t be his last time suiting up, as there are already ideas in the works for a new trilogy.

Whilst talking to Fandango she said:

“This is not the last movie that we are going to make with Marvel or the last Spider-Man movie. We are getting ready to make the next Spider-Man movie with Tom Holland and Marvel. We’re thinking of this as three films, and now we’re going to go on to the next three. This is not the last of our MCU movies.”

This is wonderful news for fans who were worried about the companies splitting up, we came very close to seeing Tom Holland exit the MCU when the previous deal ended in 2019. However, both companies were soon able to reach an understanding of the continued use of the character.

Whilst it hasn’t been stated officially, I personally believe it was Sony that pushed Disney to open up the Marvel multiverse, so they could bring in characters from the Venomverse. It will be interesting to see how both companies utilise Peter Parker going forward. But one thing is for sure, Miles Morales will be the future for the franchise.

Big Finish review-Torchwood: The Red List

The pandemic may have halted plans for the official seventh series of Torchwood, but producers James Goss and Scott Handcock have been anything but idle. In the past 12 months, they have delivered Torchwood tales ranging from mould to coffee shops, featuring the return of Yvonne Hartman, Zachary Cross, Billis Manger, and Adam Smith. While most of us have struggled to take out the trash, these two have continued to give us the best version of Torchwood on any medium.

Their latest release features Mr Colchester teaming up with a modern-day version of Ace, aka Dorothy McShane, for an adventure set in South America. Both are there to investigate a revolution but are stuck in a hotel under quarantine.

The story begins with a brilliant monologue from Paul Clayton, who plays Mr Colchester, conveying information to the audience without feeling forced or unrealistic. Clayton clearly enjoys reprising his role as the fan-favourite Colchester, and Sophie Aldred’s portrayal of an older Ace is great to hear, demonstrating the amount of effort she puts into her performance as a younger version of the character on the main range.

The chemistry between the two leads is great, and their portrayal of the mundanity that comes with lockdown is relatable. They are supported by Manuel Pacific, who plays Xavier, a hotel technician, and does a tremendous job despite having a small role.

Scott Handcock’s direction is fantastic, eliciting genuine and believable performances from the cast members. The sound design by Steve Foxon perfectly captures the Latin ambience and complements Blair Mowat’s music incredibly well.

While it is difficult to provide a complete review without spoilers, the audio is a lot of fun and features the best-written characters from both Torchwood and Doctor Who. The cliffhanger ending leaves listeners wanting more, and I hope this isn’t the last we hear from Colchester and Ace.

Torchwood: The Red List is available to purchase from the Big Finish site and goes on general release on the 31st January 2022.

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More than just an impression-episode 2

Chris has released episode two of his brand new podcast, more than just an impression. Known for his renowned Patrick Troughton performance and more. He interviews other well-known talented individuals who continue the legacies of big stars no longer with us. Listen to how their opportunities began, how they craft their performance and much more.

In this episode, he’s joined by legendary actor and impressionist Jon Culshaw. The pair talk about Jon’s career, Dead Ringers and his recent work playing Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart for Big Finish, a role made famous by Nicholas Courtney.

The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and, Anchor FM.

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A new synopsis for The Batman released

Warner Bros. has released a new synopsis for director Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Over the past year, we’ve seen a couple of trailers. But this is the first full synopsis released by the studio.

“Two years of stalking the streets as the Batman (Robert Pattinson), striking fear into the hearts of criminals, has led Bruce Wayne deep into the shadows of Gotham City. With only a few trusted allies — Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis), Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) — amongst the city’s corrupt network of officials and high-profile figures, the lone vigilante has established himself as the sole embodiment of vengeance amongst his fellow citizens.
When a killer targets Gotham’s elite with a series of sadistic machinations, a trail of cryptic clues sends the World’s Greatest Detective on an investigation into the underworld, where he encounters such characters as Selina Kyle/aka Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), Oswald Cobblepot/aka the Penguin (Colin Farrell), Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), and Edward Nashton/aka the Riddler (Paul Dano). As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator’s plans becomes clear, Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit, and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued Gotham City”.

It’s not mentioned in the synopsis, but DC is really leaning into the multiverse with the release of this. The Batman is confirmed to be taking place on Earth 2. That doesn’t mean we’ll get to see other versions of Batman pop up, but it is interesting that studios now view these as different universes. Instead of reboots.

The Abominable Snowmen to be Animated

The BBC has announced that an animated version of the 1967 story The Abominable Snowmen will be released next year.

The story stars Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines, Jack Watling and Deborah Watling. The serial was the second story of Season 5 and features the Doctor’s first encounter with the Great Intelligence. It was originally broadcast between 30th September 1967 – Saturday 4th November 1967.

As videotape was really expensive back in the day, the BBC took to wiping them for re-use. A lot of early performances of The Beatles, episodes of Dad’s Army and, Doctor Who is now missing. Of this six-part story, only episode two still exists.

All six episodes have been animated and will be released, with the existing episode two.

Russell Minton, the Executive Producer of The Abominable Snowmen, said:

“We’re delighted to announce Doctor Who: The Abominable Snowmen, something Doctor Who fans have been waiting patiently for over the years. We’re grateful for the surviving audio-only recordings, which we are very lucky to have, courtesy of several Doctor Who fans, which have allowed us to create another exciting and action-packed chapter in the Doctor’s story.”

Spider-Man Directors Sam Raimi and Marc Webb worked as Consultants on SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

According to The Cosmic Circus previous Spider-Man film directors, Sam Raimi and Marc Webb worked as consultants on Spider-Man: No way home. The pair helped the production team keep track of the backstories of the characters, from their respective films.

The film has been described by director Jon Watts as “Spider-Man: End Game”.

The film has villains from both previous franchises showing up to battle Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. Although they’ve not been confirmed by either Disney or Sony, fans are fully expecting Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield to show up as well. Personally, I think they’re in the film. It would be odd if they’re not. This would also be the perfect opportunity to wrap up their storylines.

Here is a synopsis for the film:

For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, “our friendly neighbourhood hero’s identity is revealed, bringing his Super Hero responsibilities into conflict with his normal life and putting those he cares about most at risk. When he enlists Doctor Strange’s help to restore his secret, the spell tears a hole in their world, releasing the most powerful villains who’ve ever fought a Spider-Man in any universe. Now, Peter will have to overcome his greatest challenge yet, which will not only forever alter his own future but the future of the Multiverse.”

The movie stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Alfred Molina as Doc Ock, Jamie Foxx as Electro, Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin, Zendaya as MJ, Jacob Batalon as Ned, Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, Tony Revolori as Flash, and Hannibal Buress as Coach Wilson.

Episode 275: Doctor Who Flux-Chapter Four

In which Martyn, Sam and Chris, talk about the latest chapter of Doctor Who Flux, Village of the angels.

The podcast is available from all good podcast services, such as but not limited to Spotify, Amazon Music, Podchaser, Player FM,Stitcher, and Apple Podcasts.

We also have a Smartlink.

Artwork by Penny Smallshire.

We sound familiar can be found here.

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Comedians talking about football can be found here.

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Galaxy Quest TV series in development

Actor Justin Long has revealed that Simon Pegg is writing a Galaxy Quest TV series.

On the latest episode of his podcast ‘Life is short with Justin Long‘. He told his guest, Impractical Joker, Joe Gatto. “I don’t know if I should say this. But they’re doing a series, a Galaxy Quest limited series. Simon Pegg is writing it. He text me asking what my character’s last name is, so I hope I’m in it. I’m excited”.

Galaxy Quest was a 1999 sci-fi/comedy, starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub and, Sam Rockwell. In which, the alumni cast of a space opera television series has to play their roles as the real thing when an alien race needs their help. However, they also have to defend both Earth and the alien race from a reptilian warlord.

The film is a cult classic and is often regarded amongst fans, as the best Star Trek movie of all time. The franchise has continued over the years in the form of comic books by IDW publishing. In 2019 there was a documentary made about the film called ‘Never surrender: A galaxy Quest documentary.’

There were talks of a TV series around 2015, but production stalled after the sad passing of Alan Rickman in 2016. Rickman played Alexander Dane, an old-school British thespian, bitter that his best-known role is on a low-budget sci-fi series.

The film went on to spawn the careers of actors who are now household names, including Justin Long, Rainn Wilson and, Sam Rockwell.

It’s currently unknown which of the original cast members will return, although they’ve all been open over the years about their desires to do a sequel.

Alan Rickman isn’t the only cast member to have since passed away, Sam Lloyd and Robin Sachs are sadly no longer with us. It will be interesting to see if they retire or re-cast those characters.

Listen to Justin Long’s podcast here.