News Roundup (11/03/12)

Compared to last week, we’ve had a fairly quiet week on the news front. It’s been a bit more active on this site however, with us welcoming a new member to the team; James. Well, I say team, but bringing in James has brought us up to two people working on this site. Still, the Christmas party has improved 100%. Bonza. We’ve also started to put up more articles, with the first part of James’ on-going Series X diary and my own article on the morality of Rimmer. Anyway, self-aggrandizing aside, here’s the news this week.

• Series X (& XI?) News

As James’ update commented, Richard Naylor confirmed this week that it seems the shows will run to exactly 30 minutes in a 40 minute slot on Dave. That’s a whole extra 30 seconds than normal. Of course, that 40 minute slot allows for adverts, and there seems to have been some concern as to how these will sit in the show. Obviously, even those of us at the recordings can’t say for sure where the ad break cuts will be, even with the audience for episode 5 having seen an edit of episode 1. However, my own feeling at the recordings was that the episodes seemed to be split quite well into three separate 10 minute acts. That’s not to say the edit might not cause this to no longer apply, but purely in plotting terms, the 3 acts form worked much better than the splits in the individual parts of Back To Earth; not that that is a surprise considering that as far as Doug is concerned, Back To Earth is a piece that should be viewed in one sitting rather than in 3 parts over 3 nights. In that regard its much like a Pink Floyd concept album, or an Ann Widecombe sex tape.

Looking beyond Series X, ori-STUDFARM (from Scuttercast) provided an interesting piece of news on Ganymede & Titan from the British Sci-Fi weekend at the National Space Centre in Leicester:

At the end, somebody was asking which other Red Dwarf character would they like to have played and why. Danny told a story about he and Craig both putting on one of Krytens old used masks each and the make up department spraying them to match skin colour. Then they went downstairs and freaked Doug out….The way he was talking, I got the impression that this was from a recentish filming. Maybe BtE or RDX.He also mentioned that Doug was seriously contemplating a storyline in which everyone played another character. Much like Craig and Chris in Bodyswap.

First of all, if the incident with the masks was during the record for Series X, then I really hope that Nathan Cubitt caught it on camera for the behind the scenes documentary on the DVD. But, the really interesting thing here is the suggestion that Doug is giving thought to further episodes for the series. As you may be aware, at the recordings for the new series Doug started each show by asking the audience not to spoil what happens online, as if they were to make another series they would like to have the audience back, and Dave would be less amenable to this if details leaked out months before the shows aired. This changed by the recording of the last two episodes to Doug saying ‘when we make Series XI’.

There has been some speculation is that Dave may possibly keen to capitalize on the shows return, and that the possibility of another series has been mooted. Obviously, a lot of that will be determined by the audience figures and international sales, though I would imagine that they have found the very positive reactions to the recordings to be very encouraging. What would seem more likely to me is that this is Doug working on the assumption that another series is on the cards, and thinking ahead to it. It’s certainly not a bad area to look at, depending on how it is done. The cast have often been known to do impressions of each other, and I would be particularly interested to see Bobby doing some in the show after listening to his myriad impersonations in ‘The Man In The Rubber Mask’. After so many years with no new shows to look forward to, it’s fantastic to know that not only is a new series on the way, but that some thought is being given as to what to do next.

EDIT: A little clarification from Anthony on the comments from Chris and Danny:

DJJ did say that at one point Doug was considering a plot line that involved all the actors playing each others characters, but I got the impression that this was an old idea that didn’t go anywhere. He then later said that when Doug saw them as mechanoids, you could see his mind start working of how he could work it into a story. He finished this sentence with the words “it would be called Opposite World or something”.

• What A Load Of TOS

Seb Patrick has started a new series of articles for the Friday updates on The Official Site, covering the evolution of the costumes. Just like his article on the evolution of the sets, this article covering Lister’s costume goes into great depth and picks up on details that many of us have no doubt not noticed. It’s a lovely little in-depth read, and we look forward to more of them in the run up to the promotion for Series X starting.

 

• Danny On TV with ”Motorbike Diaries: Mad in the Med’ 

Danny will on our screens next month with the show ‘Motorbike Diaries: Mad in the Med’. The show, featuring Danny traveling 7000 miles with Graham Hoskins by motorbike, will be on TV 8pm on Monday 9th April on Sky 419 & Virgin 527. Here’s the blurb:

Not everyone with a desire to take on a life changing travel adventure has the time or money to go round the world for a few months.  Yet the desire to see amazing new places, meet people who don’t speak your language, travel the less trodden road and create a world of memories remains.

So how about 7000 miles by motorbike in just 16 days? Through 15 countries across 3 continents?  Just to make it a bit more interesting, do it in the ski season with no backup or makeup trucks.

With this plan, two novice adventurers:  entrepreneur Graham Hoskins and  actor Danny John-Jules were thrown together just 3 weeks before they embarked on this life changing experience.  Sit back and see what happens.

For more information you can visit the show’s site here, and you can view a trailer for the show below:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs1iH6yu3aw&w=420&h=315]

• Norman On Tour (With Chris Difford)

In an unusual combination, Norman has announced that he is to do a series of shows with Chris Difford from Squeeze. Here’s the blurb:

Double Ivor Novello Award-winning lyricist and enigma Chris Difford comes to Bradford’s St George’s Hall for one night only. Chris will be joined by the fabulous comedian Norman Lovett to make a show of outstanding music and comedy.

There are more dates to be added, but here are the currently announced ones:

May
11th Leatherhead FC
15th Dartford Orchard Theatre
17th Sterling Toll Booth
21st Runcorn Brindley Arts Centre
22nd Buxton Opera House
23rd Hartlepool Town Hall
25th Solihull Arts Complex
26th Borehamwood Arts Theatre
27th Half Moon Putney London
30th Leamington Royal Spa Centre
31st Bradford St George’s Hall

June
2nd Alnwick Playhouse
5th Bury St Edmunds Apex
6th Aldershot West End Theatre
7th Andover Lights
8th Swansea Grand Theatre
9th Newport Riverfront Theatre
23rd Maidstone Pizza Express

August
11th Worthing Town Hall

September
1st Firle festival

• Round Ireland With A Fridge On BBC 4

Fifth Dwarfer Tony Hawk’s film ‘Round Ireland With A Fridge’ is to get an airing on BBC 4 next Sunday at 9PM. The book it is based on is a very funny read, and the film is of equal excellence with an array of other comics such as Ed Byrne, Sean Hughes and Josie Lawrence putting in appearences. I strongly encourage anyone to watch, or indeed seek out the DVD as by Tony’s own admission; he has a garage full of them. For those unaware of the true story the film is based on, here’s the blurb:

Tony Hawks wakes up one morning to find he has accepted a drunken bet to hitchhike around Ireland with a fridge within one calendar month. The document was signed. The bet was made. The adventure begins. A comedy road trip, based on Hawks’ bestselling book. A true story… with a few fibs.

Tony is currently working on a film of his second book, ‘Playing the Moldovans at Tennis’. Tony is looking for help with releasing this film, the funds from which will go to charity. So if you are in a position where you believe you might be able to help, then please read this message from Tony:

We need someone to help us with the release of the feature film of my bestselling book Playing The Moldovans At Tennis –  so we can attempt to ensure some meaningful returns – because all profits will go to this care centre in Chisinau, Moldova.

We plan a theatrical release next year and we need to begin preparations soon. Someone with some experience of the commercial side of the film business would be fab but not essential, (basic skills in marketing and PR would be great) This might suit someone who has worked in this field before, and is now looking for a fun environment to work in for a couple of days a week – and to give a little bit back….(as I’m doing!)

If it’s not for you – please pass on the info to any friend or colleague who might be able to help us.

Contact pa@tony-hawks.com

Tony