For those who missed seeing this tribute video when it aired during the season 6 Doctor Who premiere this past Saturday. This loving tribute to Lis is the official BBC presentation.
Sadly the reports have come in today that Elisabeth Sladen, the actress who played Sarah Jane Smith, has died at the age of 63. She was without a doubt the longest running companion, working with Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker in the 1970s and 1980s, then returning several years ago to partner up with David Tennant, and finally getting her own series, the Sarah Jane Adventures. There is one more season of that in the can ready to be broadcast, so there are still new adventures waiting. The most moving tribute I have seen so far came from Russell T. Davies, although another really nice one came from Airlock Alpha. It is fitting that the BBC announcement was a part of the Doctor Who News segment of the site, and includes Steven Moffat’s reaction. And BBC Worldwide put together this YouTube collection of some of Sarah Jane’s finest moments.
The actual Valentine’s Day is Monday, when I do my Movie posting for the week, so you are getting this one a few days early. In honor of this lovers holiday, I would like to bring your attention to this excellent duet between Brent Spiner (yes, formerly known as Commander Data) and Maude Maggart. And because the song alone wasn’t enough, they went ahead and created a tasty little romantic video to go with it. Enjoy!
Karen Gillan recorded this wonderful variation on Katy Perry’s I Kissed A Girl a while ago, with the lyrics modified to explain why the original song was released in humorous detail. If you are wondering why that song, funny though it is, belongs in a sci-fi blog post, you haven’t been paying attention; Karen has been playing Amy Pond for about a year or so, companion to Matt Smith’s Doctor Who. The song was originally part of the Channel 4 program the Kevin Bishop Show, which means if you are trying to see this from the UK it won’t work, you will want to see the Daily Motion version. There is also a nice interview with her over at 411 Mania done a while ago.
Jack Sparrow is back, this time around doing a Disney-flavored version of Tim Power’s On Stranger Tides, all about the fountain of youth and Black Jack the Pirate. If you haven’t previously read the book, you still have time before the film comes out; or you could always listen to the audiobook.
The folks over at FilmDrunk extracted every scene where Arnold screamed from every movie, and put them together in this single presentation. How long can you watch this before you have to stop? For extra points, use a stopwatch to get the exact time, and double points if you are currently hung over.
It does sound like the name of a band, doesn’t it? Word is that Doctor Who alumni Sylvester McCoy is going to play a part for the upcoming prequel The Hobbit. No, he will not be playing Gandalf, as that part is completely owned by Ian McKellen, but it is possible he could play the part of another wizard, possibly even an important one. Meanwhile an engineering team at Bristol University are trying to build a working Sonic Screwdriver and having some success. It actually will do things like unscrew the screws and unlock the locks, and I think my collection needs one. However, I know I need to avoid the EX-TER-MI-CAKE accurate Dalek replication made out of cherry chocolate and weighing in at 20 kilos.