Tag: BBC

Doctor Who Celebrates the Eve of the Daleks

This episode of Doctor Who has all the makings of showing just how dangerous a pair of Daleks are than just one.

Doctor Who New Years Day special title announced – Indie Mac UserJodie Whittaker’s tenure as the Doctor is almost at an end, and with another New Year’s Day Special, Eve of the Daleks instead of Revolution, I have to wonder if this enemy will ever cease to amaze? Nearly every appearance manages to upgrade them somehow, and that’s when I watch Doctor Who.

The previous year’s holiday episode was good, because John Barrowman returned as Captain Jack Harkness. Flux was a season I more or less ignored. If all the seasons of the Doctor Who had to be ranked, I’d have to say this latest is not in any top ten. That season is more about bringing back the classic enemies and giving them a chance to shine one more time.

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The Stakes were Never Big in Netflix’s Dracula

Image result for bbc dracula posterBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Just how many reimaginings of Bram Stoker’s Dracula do we need? Let me count the works from this century: there’s at least a dozen—Untold, Dark Prince, and Reborn are perhaps the closest they can get to the book’s lore. The rest sticks around even after being “killed” so he remains a threat to humanity.

Mark Gatiss (Sherlock) and Steven Moffat (Doctor Who) developed this latest take and it’s a curious mix of period drama and Hammer style horror. This three-part series has each episode nearly movie length. Like the novel, it begins conveniently enough with Jonathan Harker (John Heffernan) visiting the Count (Claes Bang) and Mina (Morfydd Clark) swearing her eternal love. The nobleman has other plans and his lust for both the male and female gender goes nowhere fast. Either he’s too decrepit to get off, or those tones brought down for Netflix’s broadcasting standards.

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Takeaways from Doctor Who Series 11

Doctor Who

The latest season of Doctor Who being led by a new showrunner and after a  massive binge-watch and rewatch, I found the season has its specific hits and misses. Chris Chibnall is at the helm of the series now and he is best known for developing BBC’s Broadchurch. Instead of intense drama, five episodes of the ten-episode run plays with the concepts traditional in many a tale of terror. The two most prominent were “Arachnids in the UK” and “The Witchfinders.”

Jodie Whittaker is very likable as the new Doctor. She gives the character an erratic quality similar to David Tennant’s time in the role and has the tendency to be scattered. As the later episodes show, there’s an energy that’s undeniable. She’s more empathetic to others, and this can make for interesting contrasts to previous incarnations.

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The Vintage Tempest’s Picks for a Streaming Holiday Season

Getting into the yuletide spirit is not tough these days. There’s plenty of Streaming Holiday Season options for those counting down to the holidays online.

Doctor Who
By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Getting into the yuletide spirit is not tough these days. There’s plenty of Streaming Holiday Season options for those counting down to the holidays online.

These days, that means putting a film, special or television program in the queue to watch via Netflix or iTunes. Even YTV has its own app, and I can have them playing in the background. This Canadian station has fond classics dating well back to the 90s. Here, I’m tackling the difficult choice of wading through what’s available for streaming.

Online services offer a mix of old and new shows to enjoy. This list includes both and these are programs which made an impression on me. These shows are or will soon be easily accessible on services like Amazon Prime, Netflix, Crave, iTunes or Hulu.

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Orchestra Director Dedicates YouTube Video in Touching Tribute to ‘Allo ‘Allo! Star

Gorden Kaye w/ 'Allo 'Allo! cast members Carmen Silvera (left) & Vicki Michelle (right).
Gorden Kaye w/ ‘Allo ‘Allo! cast members Carmen Silvera (left) & Vicki Michelle (right).
By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

In a touching tribute to a ‘Allo ‘Allo! star, the director of the Gimnazija Kranj Symphony Orchestra has dedicated a YouTube video to actor Gorden Kaye. Kaye who died in a Knaresborough care home on January 23rd at the age of 75 played café owner and lady’s man René Artois on the popular television series. Kaye’s career started in the 1960’s and spanned theatre, radio, television, and film. Kaye played Bernard Butler, Elsie Tanner’s nephew, in the ITV television series Coronation Street and as middle class Ray Benge in the Thames comedy drama Born and Bred. He also guested on such series as Are You Being Served?, Come Back Mrs. Noah, Last of the Summer Wine, and All Creatures Great and Small.

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