Claire Bloom showed up in "The End Of Time", the 'Doctor Who' finale for David Tennant's tenure as the Tenth Doctor, as a mysterious Gallifreyan. She was never identified within the the two-part episode, but in published reports RTD has stated that she was the Doctor's mother.However, another theory has it that she was the regeneration of Susan, the Doctor's grand-
daughter. The thinking goes like this: when Wilf Mott asked the Doctor who that woman was, all Ten did was to nod in the direction of Donna Noble, Wilf's grand-daughter and a former Companion to the Doctor. It's almost as if he was trying to give a clue that as Donna was Wilf's grand-daughter, so that woman was his own grand-daughter.I like both theories and I just wish RTD had clarified it for the episode. Why bother brining in such a talented actress for a role when we never know who she really was or her motivation in trying to help the Doctor. (For that matter, why didn't they ever identify the other Time Lady being punished by Rassilon? If theory was correct and she was the mother of the Master, then why didn't she look up to see her son?)
I've come up with a new splainin for an old problem about the Eighth Doctor which makes me lean toward the identity of Claire Bloom's Time Lady being the Doctor's Mom.......
The Eighth incarnation of the Doctor claimed near the end of that 1996 TV movie that his mother was half-human. I used to contend that it was further proof that the Doctor is a liar (as he is about his age and the fact that humans can no longer cross between dimensions). But now I have a new suggestion.....
What if the Doctor's Mom had undergone a transformation via the Chameleon Arch so that her body had become, right down to the cellular level, human rather than Gallifreyan? And during that time (without knowing anything about her past life since the Arch also gave new memories) she became pregnant by the Time Lord who was the Doctor's father.
Maybe it was because she transformed that she was finally able to conceive - I would think that Nature would impose restrictions in biology on any society in which the populace would basically be immortal. Eventually she would revert back to her Gallifreyan physiology - perhaps even before she was able to give birth to the Doctor. (It would certainly be the more dramatic option for television!)
Whether it had any effect on the Doctor's own DNA, who knows? We could also combine both of my theories about why the Doctor said that for a new option: The Eighth Doctor was only telling a half-truth. Yes, his mother was a human, but only during the time she was under the transformation by the Chameleon Arch. And so he was still basically lying to Dr. Grace Holloway, just so that he could get into her scrubs.....
Just sayin', is all....
BCnU!
SALVADOR DALI
As for another 'Doctor Who'? Re-creating the Doctor for an American audience "worked" once only because there was no other version currently on air at the time. And we did see Sylvester McCoy as the last Doctor hand off the character via regeneration to Paul McGann. But now Matt Smith is the current Doctor and his run in the series would overlap with any new Doctor. If that happened, the American version would have to be shunted off to some other TV dimension, and what good is that for Toobworld?
Of course, FOX would probably insist on somebody not only established with sci-fi acting creds to take on the role, but also somebody who's smoking hot - like a Tricia Helfer or Katee Sackhoff. Personally, I'd prefer somebody who's more unique, someone who could suggest that although they look human, they're really alien (and yet still fulfill the network mandate for eye-candy).
This could be the type of show that would create a star, so you don't have to start with one. I was originally thinking Signy Coleman might be a possibility (but my mental file on her could be outdated). However, the talent pool at just the soap operas alone are deep enough that you could find someone to pull off that Gallifreyan feel....
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DAVID LETTERMAN
In a Christmas episode of 'Branded', Julius Perrin was a Jewish immigrant to America who was living in the Old West town of New Hope. (This may have been the televersion beginnings for New Hope, in Smith County, Texas.)
And it later came out that young Master Stoddard was the one responsible for his own shooting.....
I think you can make a good argument for such a theory of relateeveety.
We've seen Fahey since then, most notably as Frank Lapidus in 'Lost'. But it's unlikely we'll ever see him as Marhal Winston MacBride again, unless he makes a special appearance in some future episode of 'Justified'. Sure, it would be nice to think his character lives on, but at the same time his occupation is a highly hazardous one.
What a breath of fresh air this was, even if it was hot and dusty but especially because it took place in Africa. Not once did the show lean on the old stand-by of a murder investigation and was more concerned with character than the mystery. I'm hoping this will come back with a second season, but if not, there's always the series of books about Precious and her friends....
Granted, it left us dangling at the end with no resolution because it was meant to be a pilot for a TV show which never materialized. Still, it had interesting characters with intriguing "lives" in virtual reality and a central mystery that should have been explored further. There was enough there to justify this award for the way it helped expand the vision of life in Toobworld.
With both of these, I was late with the introductions. But better late than never, as they each made me feel welcome to the worlds they depicted. With 'Murdoch Mysteries', it was the Toronto of the Victorian era, while 'Kingdom' took place in one of those small towns of Toobworld filled with the eccentricities I take delight in.
And not just because it's an incredible world that should be seen on a weekly basis. It's more because of the motion capture technology which could be used to revolutionize the look of the aliens that could be introduced on shows like 'Star Trek' and 'Doctor Who'. No more need for those stupid forehead molds or Zastupnevich zippers running up the back!
BCnU!
At any rate, how could you top the heart-break of seeing Juliet striving to fulfill the hopes of the Lostaways by smashing Jughead's basic bomb at the very end - and then have the end title be seen inverted on a white screen?
Everything - including that attraction between Lt. Disher and Sharona Fleming that we all knew was there - was tied up neatly by the end of the series. Adrian Monk found out who killed his wife, was happily reunited with a part of her life that he never knew about, and was as restored mentally as he could ever hope for - to the point where he could go to work wearing a turtleneck rather than his buttoned up brown shirts. And at least we know he's still on the case there in San Francisco... should Tony Shalhoub ever want to revisit the role.
They should have realized this was a show that would not be so big a smash that it would ever get a second season. They should have told the story all in one season and be done with it. But no, they left it dangling and we'll never know how it plays out in the kingdom of Gilboa.
It was more than just a (fairly) faithful adaptation of the Dickens' novel; it evoked the times and places which Dickens railed against.
During the episode there were references back to the following episodes:
Several celebrities besides Chris Kattan portrayed wacked versions of themselves in this mini-series, including Maya Rudolph, Jennifer Coolidge, and Kattan's own dad Kip King. Best of all though was Keanu Reeves in the first episode.
BCnU!