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Benedict Cumberbatch on Set of The Hollow Crown

By james Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

Photos of Benedict Cumberbatch in his role as Richard III have appeared on the internet. The photos, taken on October 20th, show Cumberbatch on the set of the BBC’s television series The Hollow Crown: War of the Roses. It is unknown if these are scenes from the Richard III episode or his appearance in Henry VI, Part II but they are being filmed around the Wells Cathedral in Somerset.

Hollow Crown is based off the works of William Shakespeare and focuses on England’s past monarchs.

The first series titled The Hollow Crown, contained stories on Richard II, Henry IV, and Henry V. The second series will feature Henry VI and Richard III.

In Richard III, Cumberbatch will star alongside Dame Judi Dench, Sophie Okonedo, Keeley Hawes, Sam Troughton, and James Fleet.

The Hollow Crown: War of the Roses will broadcast in 2016.

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A Commentary on “Deep Breath.” Is Doctor Who Alive Yet?

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

The energy is not quite there in the Ben Wheatley directed premiere of Doctor Who featuring Peter Capaldi as the new Doctor. Either he is having trouble keeping up with the manic persona that Capaldi is playing up or he has no idea in what to do in a steampunk tale where robots are stealing human body organs to insure their survival. This director handles the drama and tension well, but the story just does not work.

The episode written by Steven Moffat is dull and muddled. It can not decide how much time should be spent between the two lead characters figuring out what’s going on or with the Paternoster Gang who does. This trio of characters — Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, and Strax — are always a hoot to watch, and to see them return as potential regulars is fantastic.

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[Victoria, BC] The Many Views of Gracepoint

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Fans of Kevin Zegers no doubt have been thrilled to see him on set today in Victoria, British Columbia as Gracepoint is being filmed. He starred in The Colony, a sci-fi thriller that was directed by Jeff Renfoe, who happens to be raised in Victoria. But his geek culture connections do not end there. I remember him in X-Files “Revelations” and Smallville “Magnetic.”

In this new crime drama series, he’s playing a roving reporter, whom that (I assume) breaks the story about the discovery of a child found dead at a beach. Foul play is eventually suspected and therein lies a vaguely Twin Peaks styled story (minus the David Lynch influence) that will be the thread of how each episode will tie together. This series is loosely based off the BBC production Broadchurch.

Interestingly enough, the two shows will have one special connection that will no doubt have David Tennant fans living in the Capital Region squealing with delight. Yes, this exceptional actor will be in Victoria. I loved how he played the character of Barty Crouch Jr. in the fourth Harry Potter film — his manic zest was perfect — and he was great as the young Casanova. Doctor Who only elevated his status as a beloved actor. If he is not here yet, he soon will be. My guess is that he will reprise his character of Detective Inspector Alec Hardy from the original series. In Gracepoint, he is known as Detective Emmett Carver. Other performers that are in town include Nick Nolte, Anna Gunn, Jacki Weaver, Michael Pena, Kevin Rankin and Virginia Kull.

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Blast to the Past with An Adventure in Time & Space, A Review!

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

* Spoiler alert

Not every new fan of Doctor Who will know the full story behind the creation of popular culture’s greatest icon from Great Britain. Thankfully, the BBC has taken it upon themselves to create An Adventure in Space and Time to look at the years when this series became a success in a somewhat historical but yet fictional form. In the final day leading up to the 50th Anniversary special, this fascinating docu-drama will get further broadcasts throughout the world as it looks at how the series started.

But this movie also chronicles Verity Lambert’s (Jessica Raine) rise to being a prominent creative force behind the scenes. She helped William Hartnell (excellently played by David Bradley) become an enduring figure that later actors could not even come close to mimicking. Try as these actors might, the goal is to not be what the First Doctor or Bill represented. Instead, it was to make the Doctor Who character their own so that each’s actor’s contribution will be remembered.

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“The Night of the Doctor” Release by BBC Fills in the Gaps

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Doctor Who fans may not want all the answers now, but today BBC has released a short mini-episode, “The Night of the Doctor” which answers one huge question concerning The Doctor’s 8th incarnation — Paul McGann — role in the grand scheme of things. He’s part of the canon despite having only one movie made featuring him and many audio radio plays created by Big Finish. But there’s more to him than the meets the eye. His importance comes into play in this short.

As for how he fits between the “Americanization” of the product to its eventual “reboot” with Christopher Eccleston leading the way, or rather always on the run — that needs to be addressed.

I’ve always followed the principle of Occam’s razor and since this video’s release is official, all I can really say is that I knew it. I even wrote about it, by saying ‘All those dark impulses that makes up the Doctor’s psyche will have to resurface at some point.’

And it makes for anticipation of “The Day of the Doctor” all the more exciting. Fans can check this Doctor Who mini-episode out:

Note: Readers can also review James’ article “John Hurt Is the Eighth Doctor?” and see that his prediction was also correct.