OBITUARIES

Scotty beamed up…

Star Trek legend James Doohan, who as Engineer Montgomery Scott was famous for twiddling the transporter controls of the Enterprise and keeping the Dylithium Crystals at their peak, sadly passed away in the early hours of July 20. He was 85 years old. Cause of death was Alzheimers disease and pneumonia.

Doohan settled on the Scottish characterisation for his Trek role after reportedly trying 7 different accents for the role, having been proficient at dialects from his early radio days. He settled on Scottish as... "I believed the Scot voice was the most commanding. So I told them, 'If this character is going to be an engineer, you'd better make him a Scotsman.'"

Cult TV reports that David Jackson, best known for his portrayal of Gan in BBC classic Blakes 7, died on July  25th. Described by friends and colleagues as a “gentle giant” and “a true English gentleman”, he leaves a wife, Anne, and son Stuart, 19. He died of a heart attack.

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Producer Joel Silver (House of Wax, The Matrix) has a remake of 1976 classic Logans Run in pre-production. Director, Bryan Singer, currently in Australia finishing his remake of Superman, is putting finishing touches to the screenplay, with a Berlin shoot scheduled to start in the second half of the year.

Original TV “Wonder Woman”, Lynda Carter has reportedly told Sci-Fi Wire that she would be keen to appear in the imminent movie re-make.
The new big screen version, to be produced by Buffy’s Joss Whedon is due to start production in the northern Autumn.

Carter, who played Wonder Woman in the TV series for 3 years in the 70’s, has admitted having preliminary discussions with executives at Warners.  I don't even know if they want to go there.  They may not want to have any nod, because of obvious comparisons...I just hope that the concept is one that's really about the characters themselves...  I don't think I would be interested in doing something gratuitous, just to do it, just to say, 'Oh there's Lynda Carter.' But if there was a role in which I could kind of tie up loose ends, that would be cool."

BBC online reports that filming commenced on the Dr Who Christmas Special on July 25th in London, and will continue in Cardiff and at various Locations across Wales.

New Dr David Tennant will be re-joined by Billie Piper for the duration of the new series. His new costume was also revealed to the press and public at the commencement of filming, winning approval from both stars. David:  "I think we've come up with something distinctive that's both timeless and modern, with a bit of geek chic and of course, a dash of Time Lord! Most importantly Billie tells me she likes it – after all she's the one who has to see me in it for the next nine months! "

On what we an look forward to in the new series, producer Russell T. Davies had these tit-bits to offer: “… we can promise new thrills, new heartbreak, and some terrifying new aliens. The Doctor and Rose are destined to meet Queen Victoria, an evil race of Cat Women, and the dreaded Cybermen. 2006 is going to be scarier than ever!"

Reports indicate that we can also look forward to Elisabeth Sladen reprising her role as Sarah jane Smith, appearances from Anthony Head, Adam Garcia and a script by Stephen Fry. Bring it on!!