Matt LeBlanc confirmed as new Top Gear co-host

Here’s something I didn’t see coming, the BBC has announced today that former Friends star Matt LeBlanc has joined Top Gear, and will serve as a co-host to Chris Evans (not that one) when the show returns for its 23rd series in May.

LeBlanc said:

“As a car nut and a massive fan of Top Gear, I’m honoured and excited to be a part of this iconic show’s new chapter. What a thrill!”

Evans added:

“Matt’s a lifelong fellow petrolhead and I’m thrilled he’s joining Top Gear. Acting out our craziest car notions on screen is a dream job and I know we’ll both be debating some epic road trip ideas. We can’t wait to share what we’ve been up to on screen later this year.”

LeBlanc is undeniably a left field choice, but a pretty smart one. Not only is he a global household name, he also knows his cars and, he holds the record for the fastest-ever lap time on ‘Star in a Reasonably Priced Car’. On top of all that, he also a presented a spin-off special, Top Gear: The Races.

The Flash/Supergirl crossover has been confirmed 

There’s been talks about a possible crossover between The Flash and Supergirl ever since Supergirl was announced. Well, now it’s been confirmed that the crossover between the two shows is actually going to happen.

American network, CW announced today that The Flash star Grant Gustin will guest star in an episode of Supergirl and that episode is set to air in the US on March 28th.

As of yet, plot details are very thin on the ground but I suspect this will involve Barry travelling to an alternate Earth.

Really really. Flash is about to meet Supergirl. @melissabenoist

A photo posted by Grant Gustin (@grantgust) on

Executive producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg had this to say:

“We are so incredibly excited to announce something that we have dreamed of happening since we started making ‘Supergirl’ – The Flash and Supergirl are teaming up! We want to thank Grant Gustin for making the time to come visit (on top of his already immense workload) and all of the folks at CBS, The CW, Warner Bros. and DC for working this out. And finally thanks to the fans and journalists who have kept asking for this to happen. It is our pleasure and hope to create an episode worthy of everyone’s enthusiasm and support.”

Pride and prejudice and zombies red carpet report

The stars of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies took to the West End yesterday, to premiere the film.

The movie is based on the 2009 book of the same name, it sees the classic Jane Austen story get a fresh a twist, Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) is now a kick-ass  Zombie Slayer.

Former Time lord, Matt Smith (Mr. Collins) spoke about his reaction when he was approached for the project:

“You kinda go, Pride and prejudice and what? Say what? But then I read it and saw it was a really good adaptation and the cast inovled were really strong. So, yeah. It was a right old laugh”.

Lilly James added:

“I thought this sounds awful, you can’t put zombies into Jane Austen, then I read it and I was totally into it. Making the film was so much fun”

Charles Dance, who plays Mr Bennet, said he doesn’t think Austen fans will be offended by the adaptaion.

“I don’t think that even the most ardent admires of Jane Austen, would be offended by it. It’s done with great affection, and [it’s] very entertaining and we had an awful lot of fun making it and I hope everyone who watches it, has as much fun as we did.”

 

Pride and Prejudice and zombies will be released in UK cinemas across the UK & Ireland on Thursday 11th February 2016.

 

Steven Moffat steps down 

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that I’ve been tweeting for the past few months that I expected Steven Moffat to step down after series 10 and, that Chris Chibnall would replace him. I also said there would be no full series in 2016, as the BBC where keen to move Doctor Who away from the Autumn, where Strictly come dancing forces the show to broadcast after 8:30pm, which has received many complaints and has caused viewing figures to dip slightly. This move would also allow Chibnall time to finish on Broadchurch and allow him to shadow Moffat, before taking the reigns in 2018.

Well, this evening The official Doctor Who Twitter account revealed that Steven Moffat, is indeed stepping down after the show’s tenth series, which will air in 2017 and, Chris Chibnall of Broadchurch fame, is going to be taking his place.

No, I can’t give you tonight’s lottery numbers. But, my other prediction was that series 10 won’t have a full time companion and that Capaldi would leave with Moffat, allowing the new show runner to start a fresh. 

A lot of people have been speculating that the next Doctor will be a woman. Honestly, I’d have no problem with that. But, with a new show runner, a new companion and a new Doctor it will be played as safely as possible. I guarantee you the next Doctor will be a white male, aged late twenties-early thirties. 

Review-Doctor Who: The Churchill Years

Reprising his performances during Matt Smith’s era of Doctor Who, Ian McNiece is back as Winston Churchill. Big Finish’s new box set departs from their well-honed format of unmediated aural adventures, with McNiece narrating as well as performing in each episode. The narration does cover a few bits that I felt it shouldn’t, notably an action sequence in the first story and the introduction of a famous historical figure in the third. I mention this to balance what I think has been a refreshing experience and a success overall.

Churchill’s narration includes recounting the words and actions of the first three new series Doctors. This has the brilliant effect of bringing the Christopher Eccleston Doctor to Big Finish, complete with the Ninth Doctor signature tune. The Doctor changes, the title music changes. Across the stories, one can spot the different speech patterns of each Doctor, even as related (and occasionally imitated) by McNiece.

There’s still plenty of full-cast audio action aboard, moved along nicely by the ‘companions’ of Churchill. As his new secretary, Hetty Warner (Emily Atack) leads many scenes apart from Winston and works well with both her employer and The Doctor. Kazran Sardick (Danny Horn) returns from Dr Who’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ and provides a good contrast to the 20th century way in which Churchill reacts to being dropped into Roman Britain. In the final piece, another supporting artist from a Matt Smith Christmas special returns, Holly Earl As Lily Arwell. She looks after Winston at a particularly action-packed point in his twilight years.



The first story is the most conventional, with an alien object dropped into wartime Britain. The second shatters that mould as we find Churchill’s Black Dog – his controversial mental issues – woven into the story. In the third, Winston lives amid the subjects of his own history books and the statesman’s fascination for butterflies is rolled rather surprisingly into the fourth adventure. Additionally, there’s a nice bit of Nick Briggs’ Dalek voice work in this set.

Doctor Who: The Churchill Years brought a delightful, fictionalised Sir Winston into my home over a couple of winter evenings. So pleasant was it that I might just sit down with Churchill’s own writing for just a bit more time with this true-life legend from long ago.

Hasta la vista, Terminator

Like most, I thought Terminator: Genisys was awful. It was better than Terminator: Salvation. But still awful. The two leads were miscast and Arnie was there to re-ignite his film career after a long absence. However, I was still curious to see where the filmmakers would take the story, but after a very disappointing box office return, it doesn’t look like that’s gonna happen. 

According to THR, Paramount have completely removed the Terminator sequel from the 2017 schedule. The movie was set to be released on May 19th, 2017, but has been replaced by the upcoming Baywatch movie.

Interestingly, the third movie is still slated for a 2018 release. But seeing as the rights revert back to James Cameron in 2019, it’s a safe bet this planned trilogy is now dead.  

Big Finish review-Torchwood:Uncanny valley

The tale of artificial intelligence has long been a fixture of science fiction, but in this new production, the subject matter is handled with remarkable maturity. The adventure begins with Jack unexpectedly arriving at the secluded home of Neil Redmond, a reclusive billionaire and entrepreneur-celebrity. Suspicious of Jack’s motives, Redmond initially distrusts him until the Captain drops some impossible knowledge. The two men then recount the events that brought them both to the remote Welsh castle.

Redmond had been left wheelchair-bound following a horrific car crash, but a mysterious woman persuaded him to purchase a company that specialises in “living dolls”. As a result, he was gifted an avatar of himself, which he named NJ and would often appear at press conferences in his stead.

Writer David Llewellyn’s deft touch is on full display in this thought-provoking instalment of Torchwood. The story is both mature and insightful, with adult themes that are not gratuitous. But perhaps the standout element of the production is John Barrowman’s performance as Captain Jack Harkness. He slips back into the RAF greatcoat with ease, embodying the charismatic and enigmatic character he knows so well. Barrowman’s portrayal is as captivating as ever, making this production a must-listen for any Torchwood fan.

As a longtime fan of Torchwood, I’ve enjoyed each of the audios in this range for different reasons. If you’re new to the Big Finish audios, I highly recommend giving this one a listen – it’s quintessential Torchwood at its best.

DVD Review-Legend

Tom Hardy is arguably this generations greatest actor. He’s true method and can become anyone you want him to be. Need a thug? He’s there. Need a road warrior, he’s there. Need a young Jean Luc Piccard? He’s there-although he would probably rather delete Star Trek:Nemesis from his CV.

Legend charts the rise and fall of London’s most notorious gangsters, The Krays. Hardy plays both Ronnie and Reggie.

This isn’t the first time identical-twin performances have been done, but it is the first time it’s been done this well. The visual illusion is perfect and at times, it’s all too easy to forget that both parts are being played by the same man. It’s a flawless blend of special effects, cinematography and great performances. Everyone involved in making it seamless deserves a special round of applause.

Hardy gives a mesmerising performance and at times, very nearly upstage himself. He expertly manages to convey two completely different characters with Reg and Ron, Reg is the suave and smooth talking ladies’ man.  Whist Ron is gay and psychotic.

The performance is the most impressive part of the film. At times, it seems as though too much thought has been given to how they would make Tom Hardy play twins. Instead of actually making a decent film.

The narrative is weak and predictable. Supporting characters, don’t get the attention they deserve and subplots are dropped as soon as the become inconvenient. You never quite know why Nipper (Christopher Eccleston) is so intent on bringing them down.

Legend’s biggest problem is that it isn’t the first film the Krays have been the subject of, which means it doesn’t add anything we don’t already know about the infamous twins. A 10-part TV series with this cast would have been so much better.


Legend is out on DVD and Blu Ray on January 25th. 

Leela and The War Doctor

Today saw thousands of fans flock to Slough, for Big Finish day 8.

The big finish team announced live on stage, that the fourth box set in The War Doctor saga will see Louise Jameson’s classic companion Leela reunite with the War Doctor (Sir John Hurt), as the horrors of the Time War come ever closer to home.

Producer David Richardson said:

“I’d often wondered what became of Leela during the Time War, and working on these War Doctor tales has given us a wonderful opportunity to explore that. And it’s irresistible territory – the Warrior of the Sevateem reunited with an old friend, who has become a Warrior in the Time War”.

Jameson has previously reprised her role in multiple Doctor Who releases, starring opposite Tom Baker in three series of The Fourth Doctor Adventures and with fellow companion Lalla Ward in the popular spin-off series Gallifrey.

Executive Producer Nick Briggs added:

“Over the many years of working with us, Louise has brought so much extra depth to the character of Leela, and given the nature of her backstory and involvement in the affairs of Gallifrey it was a natural choice to have her involved in the Time War. And like John Hurt, she’s a genuinely uplifting person to work with.”

Doctor Who – The War Doctor 4: Casualties of War will be released in February 2017, and is available to pre-order now. You can listen to the first exclusive teaser below.

Episode 150:Gwen Stephanie Awakens

In which two mates get drunk on rum and discuss Star Wars:The Force Awakens. They also touch upon the death of Lemmy (RIP) and the disapointing Doctor Who Christmas special, The husbands of River Song.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (also known as Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens) is a 2015  epic space opera film produced, co-written and directed by J. J. Abrams.

It is the first installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy and the seventh installment of the main Star Wars film franchise, following Return of the Jedi (1983).

The film stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Max von Sydow.

The Husbands of River Song is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. First broadcast on BBC One on 25 December 2015, it is the eleventh Christmas special since the show’s revival in 2005. It is written by Steven Moffat and directed by Douglas Mackinnon.

The podcast can be accessed via different places, including Audioboom, Tunein, Miro, Stiticher, Blubrry, Player fm and Itunes.

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