So What Are The Enemy Of The World And The Web Of Fear...?

By now the entire Internet knows that the recent haul of nine missing episodes of Doctor Who means that The Enemy Of The World is now complete, and The Web Of Fear is only missing episode three. Both stories are available on iTunes as we speak, and both have DVD releases confirmed (though whether episode three of Web will be animated for release, or whether it will be the telesnap iTunes version is a bit more unclear), with a spiffy new take on the DVD cover design [purists don't need to panic, the spines will be the same].


But what are these two fifth season stories about? And are they any good? Here's the lowdown...

The Enemy Of The World

This - Pat Troughton's favourite Who adventure - is a bit of an oddity for Who - it's an international spy mystery not far off the tone of a James Bond flick, and follows in the footsteps of The Massacre Of St. Bartholomew's Eve by featuring the lead actor in a dual role, with Troughton also playing the villain of the piece.

The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria land on Earth in the near future. A series of catastrophic earthquakes have shaken the planet, resulting in political upheaval. At the same time, the famous scientist Salamander introduces his Suncatcher satellites, which he claims will feed the starving corners of the world. But the Doctor soon discovers a link between the satellites and the earthquakes, uncovering a plot by Salamander to take over the world.

It has earthquakes, volcanoes, helicoptor chases, and trips to Australia and Hungary (which both look suspiciously similar to the areas surrounding the BBC studios, but...) You'll never see a Who like it.

Reaction to this story tends to be mixed - you'll either love it for being a departure from the norm, or you'll hate it for the same reason. For my money, though, this is a great adventure, full of international intrigue, glam Bond Girl expies, and a truly unique atmosphere for the series.

As unique as its tone may be, though, this story feels very much a forebearer for Season Seven. While The Invasion is the story commonly regarded as the "backdoor pilot" for Pertwee's debut Earthbound season, establishing his connection with UNIT and their mission to protect the Earth, the seeds for the political and international edge of stories like The Ambassadors Of Death, and of the threat of man-made natural disasters of Inferno, are definitely sown here.

Keep an eye on the chef - he's always been a popular character, and now that more fans will get the chance to experience this story, he's sure to become a cult favourite.

Also, trivia fans, two actors in this serial (Milton Johns and George Pravda) went on to play a Gallifreyan Castellan in later stories.

The Enemy Of The World is out on DVD on the 25th of November. Oh, and it ends on a cliffhanger that leads directly in to...

The Web Of Fear

 
 This is likely to be the one that everyone goes for first on iTunes - it has a (deserved) reputation as an all-time classic.

Featuring a rematch with The Great Intelligence (who of course recently returned to Who in the form of Richard E Grant) and his robotic yetis, this also marks the debut of soon-to-be Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Sadly for Who history buffs, the episode where the character makes his debut is the one episode of the story still missing.

The TARDIS materialises in modern-day London, where the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria discover the city deserted and covered in a weird web-like substance. Meeting up with the military and Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart in the London Underground, they learn that the Great Intelligence and its Yeti are active once again. And this time, the Intelligence's main goal is none other than the possession of the mind of the Doctor.

This is a bloody brilliant story. In many ways it rehashes a lot of the plot points of previous Yeti tale The Abominable Snowmen - Jack Watling even returns as Prof. Travers - but it improves on its predecessor in every possible way. The Yeti are redesigned to be far more fearsome. Open plains are replaced with tight, dark tunnels to make the sense of claustrophobia and menace far more potent. And the modern-day UK [for the time] setting brings the threat home in a way that the original couldn't quite manage.

There are many reasons why the discovery of this story is significant - introducing the Brig, finally allowing for a home release of a story featuring the popular Yeti, allowing for fans who own it's quasi-sequel The Invasion to see how it links together... But really there's one far more important factor in why (re)discovering Web matters so much.

It's just fucking brilliant.

The Web Of Fear is out on DVD in February.

First Picture Of Chris O'Dowd in Thor 2

A picture has surfaced online of IT Crowd and Bridesmaids star Chris O'Dowd in Thor: The Dark World.

The Irish actor will appear in a single scene cameo as Richard, a chap on a date with Natalie Portman's Jane Foster. Not wanting to post plot spoilers, but given that his rival for Jane's affections is a muscled up Norse God with the hair of a... well... Norse God, it's pretty clear how well you can rate Richard's chances of getting anywhere.

She even brought along a friend. Get out while you can, Dick...

It may only be a brief scene, but O'Dowd spoke of his excitement at getting the role last year to IndieWire, in his typical self-depricating way.

"I didn't think there was any way that I could be in a superhero movie, so I've done a scene in the new Thor movie, just for that [reason]," he said. "I just do like one scene, which was quite fun."

Thor: The Dark World will be released on October 30 in the UK, and on November 8 in the US

Is Catherine Tate in The Day Of The Doctor?

Short answer - probably not, no.

But a chap with the implausible yet undeniably badass name of "Flight Risk" (thanks, Mum and Dad...) has posted a picture online that allegedly shows a page from OK! Magazine (a publication that manages to sound both manically enthusiastic and sadly realistic about its quality in one two-letter title) that would indicate otherwise.

He scribbled his Twitter name on there, because while the name "Flight Risk" may not seem too trustworthy, a man called "@teprometo13" is a guy you'd leave in charge of your newborns...

There are several reasons to doubt this: first off, the wording is oblique enough that it could well be saying that the "occasion" - ie the Fiftieth weekend - sees the return of Catherine Tate: she could well just be a talking head in a documentary or something. You'll note that we don't see any of the actual interview in this picture. Secondly, if she really were in the episode, and the BBC had kept it such a strict secret, would she really be doing press interviews about it? And thirdly, well... not wanting to stereotype, but OK! is a magazine aimed exclusively at the sort of bored middle-class housewife who gather in flocks to hang around magnolia living rooms eating yogurt and talking about their poop habits. It's not the sort of publication you'd imagine would get their hands on the biggest scoop about the episode yet.

Doctors who can help you lose weight in five easy steps are more their sort of thing...

But, hey, it's something to talk about while we wait for the missing episode press conference...

The Day Of The Doctor will air worldwide on November 23rd.

Dan Harmon Loses His Shit, Talks About Feeding Brother To Dahmer

For somebody who knows comedy so well, Dan Harmon really should know when his jokes are going to fall flat.

Fresh from the controvesy he caused by saying that watching season four of Community was like "watching his family get raped", Harmon has taken to Reddit with a seriously bizarre rant about punching people, murderous corpse-shagging cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer, and jet packs.

This is either the face of a troubled genius, or the face of madness.

Harmon was fired as the showrunner of Community after a spectacularly tasteless display at the season three wrap party that saw him publicly humiliate Chevy Chase in front of his entire family. But with Chase having now left the show, Harmon is back in charge, and seems to be doing everything in his power to lose his job again as quickly as possible.

His latest explosion of douchebaggery came on the Reddit subforum "Unpopular Opinions About The Unpopular Opinions About Community" (Confused? Well things are about to get even more batshit, so try to keep up...)

Somebody on that forum (and I refuse to use the word "Redditor" because I'm older than ten) made a comment suggesting that while the unpopular fourth season was indeed bad (so, thusfar, our poor guy is agreeing with Harmon), many of the perceived problems with that season actually began in the Harmon-run season three.

Which prompted this rational response from Harmon:

"Saying season 3 sucked is like punching my brother. I wish it wouldn’t happen but my brother probably deserved it, he’s kind of nuts. But I love him, you know? I don’t talk to him, but he’s my brother.

 

"Saying season 4 sucked is like punching…let’s say Jeffrey Dahmer. He’s from my home town, but I didn’t know him and he ate 17 people.

 

"Saying season 3 sucked so bad that it made season 4 suck is like feeding my brother to Jeffrey Dahmer. I have no idea if he deserves it, it doesn’t matter if he does, it bums me out, there’s nothing I can do, but definitely no need to argue about it.

 

"Explaining why season 4 is season 3′s fault and how it’s important to state your opinion and I should really calm down is like feeding my brother to Dahmer really slowly, while wearing Harry Potter glasses that you keep pushing up on the bridge of your nose.

 

"Saying anything about community sucked is like punching. It would be great if it never happened but so would having a gumdrop-exhaust-powered jet pack." 

 

 

Since Harmon was forced to publicly apologise for likening Community to rape, it's hard to imagine what sort of shit-storm he's going to bring down upon himself for making an analogy that involves helping a cannibalistic serial killer to murder his own brother. But you have to question whether Harmon even wants his job anymore.

The only thing even approaching common sense to come out of this bizarre episode is this comment from his former collaborator Megan Ganz, which is probably the politest and most reasonable verbal bitch-slap possible in this situation: "Anything you have to say about season 4 could be accomplished by writing a really great season 5. Then fans will do your bashing for you. Just remember the old adage: "You catch more flies with cool guest stars than with Dahmer comparisons.""

 

If it's any consolation to Harmon, one person probably found this latest act of weirdness funny - in fact, I'm sure Chevy finds it positively hilarious.

For those of you who remember when Community used to be about watching a comedy show rather than about the strangest backstage goings-on this side of Kubrick, Community: Season Five is expected to air next year.

Matt Smith For Arrow?

Arrow star Stephen Amell has told SciFi Now that Matt Smith is apparently the "most wanted" guest star on the hit CW series.

"Andrew [Kreisberg, the Executive Producer] is such a Whovian," Amell explained. "So if you were to say to him right now, 'Number one guest star actor/actress, who would it be?' - clearly it would be Matt Smith.

"They would probably hire him to take [my] job.

"I can tell you that if there was even the faintest chance that he is available, he would be hired immediately."

Matt wouldn't be the first Who star to appear in the show - John Barrowman and Alex Kingston have previously had roles.

Arrow returns to the CW tonight. Sky 1 will air the episodes in the UK from the 21st of October. 

Billie On 50th And Capaldi

Billie Piper has been talking to Flicks And The City about The Day Of The Doctor, and the decision to cast Peter Capaldi as the next Doctor.

Billie, about to launch into a twelfth encore of "Because We Want To"

Of The Day Of The Doctor she had this to say: "I'm just looking forward to the fans being able to finally see it, because there is relentless questioning about what is going to happen and I can't say anything.

"It will be nice to be rid of the burden of that enormous secret. It's like a gift to the fans really so all in all I think it's pretty exciting. I never feel that anxious about returning because I'm friends with a lot of people and I've built some really good relationships. I always know it's going to be beautifully written.

Her attention then turned to the new Doctor. "I think it's brilliant [casting]. I've always really loved him and admired him. I think he's a brilliant actor, I think he's both absolutely terrifying and credible with comedy.

"I really like the fact that he's a bit older and I think it will open a whole new set of fans. I think it makes absolute sense. It's a really wise choice."

 Capaldi, about to launch into a twelfth encore of "Because We Want To"

The Day Of The Doctor also stars Matt Smith, David Tennant, Jenna Coleman and John Hurt, and airs worldwide on the 23rd of November.

12 Monkeys Pilot Hires Director

 

Jeffrey Reiner has been hired to direct the pilot episode of SyFy's 12 Monkeys, based on Terry Gilliam's superb 1995 Bruce Willis/Brad Pitt movie.


The network has ordered a one-hour pilot, to be written by Terra Nova's Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett.

Reiner will also serve as executive producer on the project. His previous credits include short-lived Battlestar Galactica spin-off Caprica, and the failed pilots for The Sixth Gun and 2011's Adriane Palicki take on Wonder Woman.

With talent with such a history of successful projects like that involved, 12 Monkeys is already looking like it's on incredibly unstable ground.

It doesn't help that Terry Gilliam himself has been... less than enthusiastic about his film receiving the small-screen treatment.

"It doesn't have anything to do with me and no-one has contacted me. It's a very dumb idea. If it was going to be any good, it would have to be written by David and Janet Peoples, who wrote the film."

Ouch.

Six Seasons and a movie? I wouldn't bet on it...

Carrie Takes Marketing To Spooky New Levels

Caffeine-lovers in a US coffee shop have fallen victim to what is possibly the coolest viral marketing campaign ever carried out (do you get it? DO YOU?!?!?!)

The prank - to hype up the upcoming Carrie re-adaptation starring Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore - sees a man bumping into a woman's table, spilling her coffee.

She then uses her spooky mind-powers to pin him to the wall, before moving all the tables and chairs around telekinetically.

She's even scarier than the movie's psychic psycho

Traumatising innocent people is usually not to be recommended, but this is a seriously cool campaign.

Carrie is out on the 18th of October in the US, and hits the UK on the 29th November.

See the prank below:

BREAKING NEWS: BBC Confirm Missing Episodes Find

 

Okay, now it's official. The BBC have issued a statement confirming that, yes, they have recovered some missing Doctor Who episodes.


Say the Beeb, via their website:

"A number of early episodes of Doctor Who, which were believed to have been permanently lost, have been returned to the BBC.

BBC Worldwide is expected to confirm the find at a press screening in London later this week.
It follows weeks of speculation that some lost episodes had been located."

No word on how many, or more crucially which episodes have been found yet, but we now know that this is real.

The most speculated about serials since this rumour first began earlier in the year have been Marco Polo, The Enemy Of The World and The Web Of Fear (a story that marked the debut of a certain Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart).

The latter makes a lot of sense since Moffat brought back that serial's antagonoist The Great Intelligence in the most recent season, making it the longest gap in the show's history between appearances from a villain. And Marco Polo is a stone-cold classic (often referred to as the "holy grail" of lost episodes). As for The Enemy Of The World... it's an odd story, more 007 than Who in many ways, but it does have an ace double role for Troughton.

Whether they are among the lost episodes, or whether there are enough missing episodes to release a complete serial is still just a matter of speculation (and it's been over twenty years since a complete serial was uncovered, so don't get too excited), but still, feel free to start celebrating now.

This is happening, people.

George Lucas Was Already Working On Episode VII When Disney Came A-Calling

...At least, that's what his son Jett revealed in a recent interview for Flicks And The City.

The announcement of the Disney aquisition of Lucasfilm, and the accompanying announcement of a new Star Wars trilogy surprised pretty much everyone when it was made last year. But according to Lucas The Younger, George had already begun work on the third trilogy when Disney approached him.

"We knew probably a year prior (to the purchase) he had started writing and king of researching, starting his whole little process," Lucas said about his father. "About half way through that process was when the idea of selling to Disney came up...It's nice because he's happiest when he's writing and doing something with his time."

As to whether Lucas found it hard giving up his writing on Episode VII in favour of letting Michael Arndt, Jett compared Lucas' feelings to that of a parent.  "I knew that he was very torn on the matter, he was like a kid who had turned 18 and was ready to leave the house. Every parent has wanted to let their children go but they want to hold on to you." Jett did reveal, though, that his father is working closely with director JJ Abrams on Episode VII.

 
But when it comes to the most important question - "What happens in the new trilogy", Lucas Jr. remains tight-lipped. "I already know what happens. I'm happy with what's going to happen." As for us?

We'll have to wait and see.

Star Wars: Episode VII is out in 2015.

First Look At The Secret Service

The first set photos from the upcoming big-screen adaptation of Mark Millar's The Secret Service are out.

The Kick-Ass writer's comic series follows a veteran MI6 agent who decides to take his hoodie-loving tearaway nephew under his wing and train him up to be a spy. Colin Firth and Taron Egerton are playing the leads, and they can be seen in the set photos here.

Matthew Vaughn is set to direct (and he co-wrote the script with regular collaborator Jane Goldman), and the film also stars Sir Michael Caine and Samuel L. Jackson.

It's not just the main roles that have big-name clout, either. As well as a confirmed cameo by Sir Elton John, Colin Firth has apparently approached David Beckham with regards to filming a cameo for the movie, although Becks has yet to commit.

With much of the Kick-Ass crew on board behind the scenes, and the always-likable Firth leading the way on-screen, this may well be one to look out for.


The Secret Service is due to release in the US on the 14th of November 2014. A UK release date has yet to be set.

WB Want Double-W

Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara has stated his desire for either a Wonder Woman TV show or movie to enter productioin as soon as possible.

The Hollywood Reporter quotes the exec as lamenting that their failure to use any DC franchises other than Superman and Batman is a "missed opportunity".

Tsujihara goes on to say that the studio has "huge plans for a number of other DC properties on TV... we need to get Wonder Woman on the big screen or TV".

There have been a hell of a lot of attempts to get the Amazonian onto the screen over the last ten years (in fact, current Marvel head writer Joss Whedon was once attached to a project, but his loyalties are of course elsewhere now), but none have proved to be a success - the closest being an unaired pilot starring Friday Night Lights' Adrianne Palicki.

 

Whether this latest attempt will get anywhere is up for debate. Arguably if it doesn't happen now it never will - Warner Bros. have made no secret of their desire to set up a DC Cinematic Universe to rival Disney's Marvelverse, with 2015's Batman/Superman crossover movie already in production and talk of an Avengers-rivalling JLA movie never far from the lips of rumourmongers.


But the fact remains that, despite so many efforts to bring her back, Wonder Woman has not made a live action appearance since 1979. Whether the character is that hard to get right, or whether the interest just isn't there, you can't shake the feeling that Tsujihara may have an uphill struggle on his hands...

Dafoe On Board For Finding Dory

Willem Dafoe has confirmed that he is to reprise his role as Gill for the upcoming Pixar sequel Finding Dory.

Speaking to Total Film, Dafoe says: "I've already started."

 

Any excuse to use this picture....

"It's even better than the first. It's fantastic. It's good to say I think it's going to be better than the first; that's good advertising!"

He continued: "It's difficult to repeat a success and so many years afterwards, but it's really cool. I've done one session so far and I just am going to have such a good time."

Finding Dory also stars Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy and Ty Burrell. It is expected to release on June 17th 2016.

Dexter Writers: "We Didn't Have A Say In The Ending"

 

John Goldwyn, one of the producers on Dexter, has claimed that the final scenes in the wildly unpopular series finale were dictated by the show's network, Showtime, rather than being the ending that they wanted to tell.


Spoilers will follow.

 

"They wouldn't let us kill him. Showtime was very clear about that.

"When we told them the arc for the last season, they just said, 'Just to be clear, he's going to live'. There were a lot of endings discussed because it was a very interesting problem to solve, to bring it to a close."

The very fact that Showtime allegedly intervened makes it clear that the ending that viewers were given was not the one originally planned.

This is a troubling story, because it implies that people outside of the creative team essentially dictated the single most important part of a story that took eight years to tell - and, more importantly, given how universally disliked the finale was, that the creative team didn't stand up for their vision.

In fact, given this revelation, the rather silly end to the series actually starts to sound like a "fuck you, then, if this is what you want" to Showtime, rather than an attempt to work under their new restrictions to bring the best possible ending to the show's loyal fans.

Either that, or Goldwyn knew how much everyone hated the last episode and is trying to pass the buck.

So Where Are We With These Missing Episode Rumours?

It's been a confusing couple of days for Doctor Who fans. Yesterday, The Mirror reported that all 106 missing episodes were uncovered in Ethiopia. I've already explained why that is a bit of a nonsense here, but that was only the beginning of the madness.

In the wake of The Mirror's non-story, which was basically a rehash of a rumour that has been doing the rounds all year, only to be debunked at every turn, the Radio Times reported last night that, yes, episodes had been found, and two of them - both starring Pat Troughton - would be for sale on Wednesday for digital devices. Then The Mirror mentioned a BBC Press Conference on Tuesday that would unveil the whole story.

Following this, various Who alumni took to Twitter with cryptic comments, including Mark Gatiss tweeting "Oh my giddy aunt" and Torchwood scribe James Moran saying "Best 50th Anniversary gift ever!"

It's all starting to look rather exciting, isn't it...?

Then the Radio Times made some careful edits to their wording,and The Mirror's talk of a press conference on Tuesday was scrapped in favour of a BBC statement that would "probably" happen later this week [putting any announcement after the missing episodes were supposed to be on sale], and it all descended back into the same sort of  "we know something will happen eventually" non-information that has plagued missing episode speculation for decades.

Then this happened on the Facebook page of uber-fan-slash-professional-tantrum Ian Levine, in a conversation with DWAS-founder Jan Vincent-Rudzki and Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spillsbury about the delay of the alleged press conference:

Jan Vincent-Rudzki: Yes, a delay because certain people and sites have no idea what discretion means...
Ian Levine: I am sorry, jan, but I don't think that excuses it. The BBC are just screwing with us for a joke.
Jan Vincent-Rudzki: Actually Ian, I think it's you screwing up their plans, so they've had to have a rethink. If I was arranging an event and then the details were being splashed and discussed on the Internet I would say, "OK, let's start again and keep control".
Your current Twitter blasts are just offensive and childish and aren't in the slightest bit constructive or useful
Ian Levine: ME ??????? ME ?????????? I have kept quiet for THREE BLOODY YEARS and you accuse ME of screwing up their plans. In what Bizarro World alternate reality did I just find myself ??
Tom Spilsbury: Three years? Ian couldn't keep anything under wraps for three minutes. He's lost a lot of friends over his behaviour, I'm sorry to say.
Ian Levine: When you take stock of what's happened, Tom, I hope you will be man enough to apologise to me for the untruth in what you have said here.
Tom Spilsbury: I won't apologise to you Ian, because you promise to keep quiet, and then immediately break those promises. You say you have 'kept quiet', but you simply haven't. That's the untruth, right there. You've lost my respect, and that makes me feel sad.
Ian Levine: I kept quiet until it's plastered all over the press. You're so scared of upsetting anybody that you're letting them make fools of us. HOW MANY TIMES HAS THIS ANNOUNCEMENT NOW BEEN POSTPONED, TOM ???????
Tom Spilsbury: Probably a fair few more times if you keep shouting, Ian.
Ian Levine: I have ceased to care. I have gotten my hopes up one too many times to be let down by whims and tantrums.
Ian Levine: It's because we've been given a dangling carrot for THREE LONG YEARS and told not to tell anyone. THREE YEARS OF THIS. Sick of it. Sick to the back teeth of it.
Tom Spilsbury: I'm not at Ian's throat, I just want him to calm down for all our sakes.
Jan Vincent-Rudzki: This is not totally Ian's fault, at all,but I do think he is s major contributor. Speaking as a non-professional fan. ..
Tom Spilsbury: All I'll say is you don't put out a fire by pouring more petrol on it.

Everyone's reaction to that conversation, in one Patface

This definitely indicates that Spilsbury and Levine know that there is something to be announced.

Taking all these little things into account, we're starting to see a picture being painted of a lot of people in the know who were sworn to silence, and have now started to comment about it thinking that the false story in The Mirror meant that the embargo had been broken (and their sudden outbursts in turn pushing the truth even further away).

It's well worth bearing in mind that this could all be a bunch of people just as excited as we are, going off of the same information that we have, and drawing similar conclusions to us with no basis in fact.

Because you know who hasn't said a single thing about this yet?

The BBC.

And it's well-worth noting that there's still not a single scrap of evidence that this so-called BBC press conference even ever existed.

But, really, it is starting to sound like something might be out there...

Gravity Breaks US Box Office Record

 

Gravity has received huge praise from big-name film-makers like James Cameron and real life legends like Buzz Aldrin. It has been given a truly incredible number of positive reviews (in fact, with an average of 9.1/10 from well over a hundred reviews, it's one of the - if not the - most well reviewed films of all time on Rotton Tomatoes). It's wowed at film festivals, garnered heaps of Oscar talk, and is currently synonymous with "film of the year" comments from all quarters.

And now Alfonso Cuarón's Bullock/Clooney vehicle has racked up another accolade - by taking $55.5m in it's opening weekend, it's the most successful October launch in US cinema history.

Okay, so those aren't Avatar/Avengers Assemble level numbers, but for what is essentially a high-concept character drama, that's some seriously impressive take.

UK cinemagoers will get the chance to see what all the fuss is about when the film opens here on the 8th of November.

Walking Dead Spin-Off - "We Still Don't Know What It Will Be"

Gale Anne Hurd has revealed that the spin-off series from AMC's The Walking Dead is still in the very early stages of development - to the extent that there is still no "concept" in terms of plot, characters, setting etc.

"That's still being batted around," she explained to MTV. "It's very early in the process."

It's understandable enough that this is causing the production team some problems - it's very hard to come up with anything fresh enough to make a second show worthwhile (i.e. something other than "Walking Dead In Another Country" or "Walking Dead With Different Characters" or "Walking Dead In Space" - actually, that last one sounds ace...) But, if there's nothing but the "Hey, let's do a spin-off to The Walking Dead" idea actually doing the rounds, why make any announcement about it so early?

"We realised it was likely to leak the minute we started initial discussions," she said. "And that's why the announcement was made."

Sounds like a few guns may have been jumped here. But the new show isn't expected until 2015, so they've plenty of time to come up with something great.

The Walking Dead's fourth season begins in the US on AMC on October 13 and will air in the UK on FOX on October 18.

Limitless Heading To TV

 

 

Bradley Cooper is producing a television series based on his cult-hit 2011 movie Limitless.

According to Deadline, Cooper, who had an Exectutive Producer credit on the film as well as starring, is teaming up with Relativity Television and Georgeville Television on the proposed series. Limitless, which also starred Robert De Niro, saw Cooper's character unlock the hidden potential in his brain after taking an experimental drug.

Georgeville TV CEO Marc Rosen said of the upcoming project: "[Limitless] has an organic natural extension into a compelling and sophisticated one-hour drama that is both a thrill-ride and a social commentary."

There's no word as yet as to any timeframe for the project, or which - if any - stations may be interested.

Cooper has been a very busy chap lately - he's also producing his upcoming film American Hustle, and is due to voice Rocket Raccoon in next Summer's Guardians Of The Galaxy.

Why You Shouldn't Get Excited About The "Found Episodes" Rumour

The Mirror has today been reporting that 106 missing episodes of Doctor Who have been found in Ethiopia. You can read their report here.

Done? Good.

Exciting, isn't it?

Unfortunately, it's utter bullshit.

For a start, it's physically impossible for them to find 106 missing episodes - 106 would mean every single missing episode ever being recovered, which is flat out not possible since The Feast Of Steven was never sold abroad: literally the only ever copy of the film was wiped by the BBC - it just does not exist any more.

Also, the missing episodes in Ethiopia rumour is one that has been going around for months and months and months - usually the number of episodes is between 40 and 90, although occasionally it is just "every Hartnell ep" (literally impossible, as I said) - and all this news story is really saying is that some guy told them that he heard this rumour at a party. People across the Internet have been hearing - and largely debunking - this rumour for much of the last year, so one guy going to the papers about it doesn't really ramp up the credibility of it at all. Hell, a lot of the speculation was confirmed to be people just trolling Ian Levine. It's also worth noting that the BBC keep records of where they sold all episodes of all shows to, and no Who was ever sold to Ethiopia, which flat out kills this rumour straight away.

I wouldn't be surprised if something had been found somewhere, to fuel this rumour in the first place - there is after all still "something exciting" to be announced for airing during the anniversary weekend - but I would seriously doubt it was a whole serial, possibly not even a whole episode. The number of people that would need to be involved in verifying the episode, restoring it to TV quality, buying it from the current owner etc. would all have to be foced into silence, which is a massive effort to go to for something that would amount to the Beeb wanting to "announce it nearer to the 50th" - a daft thing to do because past missing episode discoveries have shown that the public at large simply don't care too much when an episode of Classic Who is discovered (and some of the DVDs that contain newly found episodes, like the recent Aztecs Special Edition, don't even sell as well as many other Classic DVD releases) - the BBC would essentially be initiating a large conspiracy of silence that could fall apart at any moment for no reason at all.

Like I said, some clips may have shown up, or somebody may have thought they'd found a missing episode but it turned out to be an existing one, which started this rumour, but 106 episodes, or 90, or 40... Sorry, but it's not going to happen all in one go like this.

Hopefully somewhere along the way, there will be more Doctor Who episodes uncovered.

But this isn't it. And it pains me to say it.

Matt Smith Is Officially Done Filming Doctor Who

Filming has wrapped on this year's Christmas Special of Doctor Who, meaning that for Matt Smith the journey is over.

What's remarkable about this year's Chrimbo episode is just how little we know about it. Some guy claimed to be a Cyberman in it, we've seen a few filming pics of Matt and Jenna and something that may or may not be some sort of camp, Moffat has said some possibly sarcastic things about wrapping up plot threads, and a leaked picture showed us that Orla Brady will appear in some capacity.

Usually by now we know the basic plot, we know the full guest cast, and we know the title (I'm still predicting either Silent Night or The Fall Of The Doctor, but...) but this year things have been kept well and truly under wraps. And that's exciting as hell.

But as Matt Smith bows out of the show, and Peter Capaldi steps into the TARDIS (in fact, Capaldi by now must have actually filmed at least one scene as The Twelfth [Thirteenth?] Doctor - get your head around that), it seems like a good time to take a look back at Matt's five best moments in the show.

This list is entirely subjective, of course, but for for me these are the moments that best summed up Matt's Doctor - a madman in a box, a crazy scientist filled with childlike glee, icy determination and an ability to deliver a stirring monologue like no other. And with some seriously cool hats along the way.

5: The Ghost Of Christmas Future

There are so many great scenes to pick from in A Christmas Carol. It's a wonderfully sad love story that sees The Doctor interfering in the life of miserly Kazran Sardick, visiting his past and present to "Scrooge" him into being a better man - seriously rewriting the guys own life in the process - only to find that he's causing even more pain along the way.

I was truly tempted to use the scene where The Doctor sees Kazran's weather machine for this list ("Big flashy-lighty things have me written over them. Well, not actually, but give me time. And a crayon.") but the absolute standout scene comes late in the episode, when The Doctor has failed to make Kazran change his ways, and has in fact only made him more miserable than ever before. Kazran - not without justification - rants at The Doctor, finally spitting at him "Go on, show me my future."

And with a steely tone, The Doctor replies: "I am."

The Doctor has brought a younger Kazran into his own future, to show him just what a bastard he will become - a man just like his own abusive father. And it brings adult Kazran to tears.

Sardick: All my life I've been called heartless. My other life—my real life. The one you rewrote. Now look at me.
The Doctor: Better a broken heart than no heart at all.
Sardick: Try it. You try it. Why are you here?
The Doctor: 'Cause I'm not finished with you yet. You've seen the past, present. And now you need to see the future. - See more at: http://www.planetclaire.org/quotes/doctorwho/christmas-specials/a-christmas-carol/#sthash.01sBm5hs.dpuf

Sardick: All my life I've been called heartless. My other life—my real life. The one you rewrote. Now look at me.
The Doctor: Better a broken heart than no heart at all.
Sardick: Try it. You try it. Why are you here?
The Doctor: 'Cause I'm not finished with you yet. You've seen the past, present. And now you need to see the future. - See more at: http://www.planetclaire.org/quotes/doctorwho/christmas-specials/a-christmas-carol/#sthash.06vPjNLK.dpuf

Sardick: All my life I've been called heartless. My other life—my real life. The one you rewrote. Now look at me.
The Doctor: Better a broken heart than no heart at all.
Sardick: Try it. You try it. Why are you here?
The Doctor: 'Cause I'm not finished with you yet. You've seen the past, present. And now you need to see the future. - See more at: http://www.planetclaire.org/quotes/doctorwho/christmas-specials/a-christmas-carol/#sthash.06vPjNLK.dpuf

A Christmas Carol is an episode that shows Matt's Doctor at his warmest and most vulnerable (his line about how in all his travels he's never met anybody who isn't important, or the moment when he implores Kazran to kiss Abigail because "It's either that or stay in your room and invent a new kind of screwdriver - don't make my mistake" could easily be used if anyone wanted to sum up The Eleventh Doctor in a single line), but here he's positively chilling. It's a cold, calculating move, one that sends shivers and tugs at the heart in equal measure.

4: "Someone get her a jumper..."

The Vampires Of Venice: After Amy gets very... friendly with The Doctor, he retreats in panic, and rushes off to find her husband-to-be, to make sure that the two of them get together after all. What follows is probably the funniest character entrance in the entire series.

The following exchange is pure gold, too, as The Doctor talks at length about the poor stripper he's replaced, and delivers some spectacularly awkward news about what has gone on between Amy and himself.

See the clip below:

It's a small scene, but it utterly sells Matt Smith's brilliant comic timing.

3: "Twelve Jammy Dodgers and a fez"

In the opening episode to Matt's second season, The Doctor finds himself in the Oval Office with Richard Nixon.

The way that he casually indicates for everyone to carry on talking is comic brilliance as it is, so perfectly reminiscent of Doctors past who would enter a scene and before you know it have everyone following their directions (think of Tom Baker's "No [I'm not in charge] but I'm full of ideas" from The Horror Of Fang Rock).

But it is the moment that comes after, when The Doctor sits down at Nixon's desk, that shows that this is a scene that just wouldn't work with any other Doctor.

The gleeful, excitable way that The Doctor immediately starts playing with all the buttons and spinning in the chair is so unique to Matt's portrayal - here is a man who finds the little joys in every moment.

2: The Akhaten Speech

In the recent The Rings Of Akhaten, The Doctor found himself facing a parasitic sun-god that fed on the memories of the people of Akhaten. And in an attempt to beat the creature, The Doctor offers up his own life's story as food for this false god.

What follows is probably Matt's greatest speech as The Doctor, looking back over all the centuries he has lived, and all the people he has lost along the way. Tears stream down The Doctor's face, and Matt's voice wavers as he delivers the speech - here is a man who has lived it all, seen it all, and felt it all. And he's reliving every moment of it, putting himself through every moment of joy and sorrow he's ever suffered through his long life, to save a bunch of strangers he's only just met. It's heartbreaking, uplifting and thoroughly moving.

Hear the whole speech below:

1: "Hellooooo Stonehenge!!!"
 
What can top that? How about this moment from Matt's first season, in The Pandorica Opens.

The Doctor finds himself in possession of The Pandorica, prison of the most feared being in the universe. And other people want it - specifically, whole armies of other people. Battle fleets from almost every species of enemy The Doctor has ever faced circle overhead, an army of Autons surrounds him, he has, in his own words, "no plan, no back-up, no weapons worth a damn"... And he turns them all away, using just his words.

One small man, surrounded by impossible odds, and standing anyway - that's The Doctor, that's the hero we have all come to love over the past fifty years. I said earlier that Matt's line in A Christmas Carol about never meeting a single person who didn't matter could sum up The Eleventh Doctor perfectly - well, this scene sums up not just Matt's Doctor, but all Doctors, and in such magnificently rousing style. Not since Hartnell stood unmoving as the soldiers around him fled in The War Machines has The Doctor seemed so heroic.

The scene gets added power from the fact that, after giving this speech, after what is perhaps The Doctor's greatest triumph to date, he loses - it was all a trap that he fell for, and he is dragged kicking, screaming and pleading into The Pandorica himself - for it is The Doctor that it was built to contain. Matt's switch from total confidence to utter fear is staggering, and cements his position as the best actor to ever play The Doctor.

Oh, and the scene also gives birth to the cutest thing you'll ever see on YouTube:

Look at his little bowtie!!!!!!

So farewell Matt Smith. You were a hell of a Doctor.

But don't be too sad: Matt may be done filming, but there's still that Christmas special to come.

And before that, there's the small matter of The Day Of The Doctor.