Doctor Who Pair Up For TV Awards
David Tennant and his Doctor Who co-star Catherine Tate will square up against each other at this month's National Television Awards.
The duo have both been nominated for outstanding drama performance for their parts in the BBC One sci-fi drama.
They face Ashes To Ashes' Philip Glenister and Alex Walkinshaw of The Bill in the category, which replaces the best actor and actress prizes.
This year's awards take place on 29 October and will air live on ITV1.
Sir Trevor McDonald returns to present the show, and fans can vote online or by phone to decide the winners in each category.
Tennant, 37, who has previously won two National Television Awards, has not yet said if he will return for a fifth series of the revived series.
Tate, 40, has won acclaim for her role as sidekick Donna Noble.
To see the other nominations click here.
To read more about the duo click here.
London Skeptics In The Pub Tonight At 5:30
London Skeptics in the Pub meets (usually) once every month @ The Penderel's Oak, Holborn. A £2 donation is requested to cover the guest speaker's travelling expenses and sundries. All are welcome. Turn up at any time during the evening. The room is open for food and drink from about 5.30pm and talks start at 7pm.
The event was founded in 1999, for all those interested in the paranormal, alternative medicine, psychic powers, pseudo-science, UFOs, alien abductions, creationism, Fortean phenomena, cult religions, water-divining, lost civilizations etc. A guest speaker is invited each month to present a topic of interest, which is followed by an informal discussion in a relaxed and friendly pub atmosphere.
Tonight's speaker is Paul Taylor. To read more about him or the event simply click here.
The London Sci-Fi/Fantasy Meetup Group
This group has 146 members at the moment and is dedicated to the SCI FI genre. It's aim is for like-minded people to chat and meet up regularly in London. There next meeting is the 25th October.
It is part of the LOTNA Project...
'It was the dawn of the Third Age of Fankind. The LOTNA Project was a dream given form. Its goal - to create a place where science fiction fans could meet up. It is a port of call, a home away from home for Trekkers, Whovians, Browncoats, 'Scapers and more. Sci-Fi fans chatting, watching sci-fi, playing games and more under a single roof on a planet spinning at a thousand miles an hour, all alone in the night. It can be a silly place but is our last, best hope for Sci-Fi fans to meet up in London. Embrace your inner geek! We meet on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, and also arrange other outings and events. Everyone is welcome to come along but if you are under 18 you will need an adult to accompany you.'
if you'd like to join this group simply click here or if you want to browse other dedicated SCI FI groups click here.
JJ Abrams Live Webchat Q&A's
The BBC carried out a live webchat with JJ Abrams, the award-winning American writer and producer behind hits such as Lost, Felicity, Alias and Cloverfield and his new drama Fringe.
To see the results click here to view the questions and answers.
Take 10: TV Remakes - An article by Anna Pickard, The Guardian
Due to the writers' strike last year, America's ever-flowering tree of remakes is currently heavy with televisual fruit. These range from the perplexing (Worst Week? Really? Why?) to the daunting (Life on Mars. Fingers are being crossed, wood knocked that this isn't going to be a complete travesty). Whichever way you look at it, there are a lot - and not just remakes but reimaginings, resurrections and reincarnations. Because why come up with a brand new idea when there is so much meat left on the bones of the old ones? Gosh, I'm all about the food metaphors today. It must be time for lunch.
So, this week, let's try to make a definitive list of those TV remakes - the good, the bad, and the utterly pointless. I will start with my (non-definitive) 10 - the first that I can think of - then you take over.
Ten television shows that can, in terms of concept, be described by words beginning with "re"
(Again, this is not a great title for a list. Not, you might say, "snappy". Sorry.)
1. Life on Mars: US remake of a British series. Only just started, so not sure what to think yet. Harvey Keitel: he's no Philip Glenister though, is he? That's not a sentence I thought I'd ever say, I will admit. Anyway, it was the reason I was thinking about these things, which is the reason it comes first.
2. Doctor Who: Resurrection? Reincarnation? Strictly more "regeneration" than anything else, I suppose. Still, no list would be complete without him. Them. Whatever.
3. Battlestar Galactica: A reimagining of an old series. And a terribly popular one.
4. The Office: The UK to US transfer may have started as a bit of a remake, but moved into more of a reimagining, since it's now gone on three series longer than the original. The other international versions, meanwhile, range from rehash to rejig to just really bad.
5. Ugly Betty: Remake of Colombian Betty La Fea. There is a strong degree of similiarity between the two, in that they were both about someone called Betty who wasn't really ugly so much as "dressed down".
6. Kath and Kim: Just last week the American version of the Australian original started airing, all glossy teeth and sparkling hair. I don't know if any of you have seen it (through nefarious means, or whatever) but ... um ... it's not gone down that well, really. At all.
7. Minder: This is still making that return we talked about in February, right? I suppose it doesn't really count as a remake if it's supposed to be about Arthur Daley's nephew, but it's still essentially the same old horse they're flogging. Not dead, perhaps, but quite limpy. Or was it all just a dirty, dirty rumour?
8. Noddy has been reincarnated so many times that it is rumoured the red blush that fills his cute little cheeks is actually the result of drinking virgins' blood to magically retain his youth. And that he hides locks of their hair under his cute little hat. And feeds the remains to Big Ears. PC Plod knows, but they're paying him off with purest Colombian crack. Don't tell anyone I told you, ok?
9. Brighton Belles: Never let it be said that the UK doesn't try to remake US television shows. With this remake of The Golden Girls, ITV did try. And failed. It fared better with The Upper Hand (remake of Who's the Boss) of course, but Brighton Belles is funnier, being the general industry byword for "FAIL" when it comes to US to UK translations.
10. Peep Show: OK, granted, this is only just in the commissioning stages, but still, it's the second attempt at a US remake of Peep Show: hopefully, with a more risk-taking channel and the original writers on board, this one won't be shit.
Now, what else? Remakes, resuscitations, reincarnations, reinterpretations, reimaginings, regurgitations, resurrections and all that jazz: ladies and gentlemen of the commentsphere, it's up to you.
(And if WE have done this before, just humour me and say the same thing again. But maybe with a topical reference to make this version seem more up to date and culturally relevant.)
To read the full article click here.
