Now Where's My Scarf?

As long as I mentioned Doctor Who in my last post...

I think I might have to give this a go. David Tennant dresses up like The Doctor in the sack for his girlfriend.

'Doctor Who' star David Tennant has confessed that he dresses up as the Time Lord for steamy sex sessions with his girlfriend.

The actor revealed that his actress lover Sophia Myles loves it when he puts on his Doctor costumes in the bedroom.

David told BBC DJ Chris Moyles: "I don't want to give away all my bedtime secrets. All I'm saying is Sophia likes it when I'm dressed up as The Doctor!"

I've got the Tom Baker scarf. I wonder if The Dulcinea would dig that...? Asking her if she wanted a jelly baby would take on a whole new meaning.



I've been listening to the Doctor Who audio drama "No Man's Land" the past few days. It's a 7th Doctor adventure with Ace and Hex, who appears in the audio dramas only. The story begins with our heroes waking up dazed in a hospital in Northern France during World War I. They are brought before the commander of the unit, Lieutenant-Colonel Brook and he reveals that there are orders awaiting The Doctor. They state that he is in charge of investigating a murder at the hospital – a murder which has yet to happen. Our adventurers delve into the hospital and the men who inhabit it in a bid to prevent the killing. This leads them to discover an incident shrouded in mystery which happened at a church near the front lines.

I've listened to a bit more than half of the story and am enjoying it very much. It doesn't take long to realize the strengths of "No Man's Land". Firstly there is the sound design. There is little, if any, incidental music which is a scheme that I really like. A martial drum roll serves as an occasional transition between scenes but diagetic sounds carry the day along with some great performances by the actors. For instance, take the scene early on in the story where The Doctor and his companions have gathered in Brook's office and are receiving their rather odd orders. As The Doctor reads them aloud for Ace and Hex to hear, one might expect some moody cello to heighten the ominous feeling that someone knows a murder is going to happen and that a friendly Timelord happened to be in the neighborhood. But all the listener gets is the crackle of the fireplace, the ticking of a clock, and the rolling Rs of Sylvester McCoy's Scottish brogue which betrays puzzlement along with The Doctor's usual brash attitude towards stepping into harm's way in order to solve a mystery. Plus the scenes in the Hate Room where the recovering Tommies are whipped into a frenzy which ends with them firing blanks at a dummy dressed in a German uniform are positively disturbing and they too are sans music.

The other strength here is McCoy's performance. If you have watched the TV episodes with the 7th Doctor then you know that McCoy's character changed quite a bit as the series wore on. He went from this avuncular jester figure who played the spoons to something much darker. There were times when he knew more than he let on and one got the impression that he is toying with Ace, manipulating her for reasons unknown. McCoy's final season in 1989 was also the final season of the classic series. It saw the return of The Brigadier and The Master; "Battlefield" and "The Curse of Fenric" were epic and foreboding; and the more intimate "Ghost Light" stands as one of my favorite episodes ever. Quite frankly, that season was perhaps the series' strongest ever. It is this dark, almost sinister Doctor from the TV series that McCoy reprises here.

Concomitant to this is Ace. Instead of being merely a rebellious teenager who likes to blow stuff up, she has matured. While there are still times when you can tell that she feels The Doctor is being an old fuddy-duddy, she is now more apt to heed The Doctor's wisdom and be more prudent. Not only does this make Ace a bit less annoying, but it also frees The Doctor up to engage the plot and the mystery more often because he doesn't have to assume the role of a parent quite as much or, at least, not one who has to monitor his kid's behavior all the time.

"No Man's Land" is a great Doctor Who story and I highly recommend it. It also serves as a nice prelude to an endeavor I hope to begin soon in which I blog World War I. I've got a book ready to have its pages cracked and a 10-part documentary series on the conflict that has been tivo'd.

For a taste of what Doctor Who might have been like had the BBC not cancelled it in 1989, listen to the audio drama "Night Thoughts". The story would likely have been made in 1990 for the show's 27th season. It is fantastic and the scene in the attic scared the bejeezus outta me!