Ruth Wilson's Luther in Radio Times

Just two weeks ago the Radio Times contained a Ruth Wilson article for The Prisoner. Now she is on the cover of the new issue promoting the BBC's new crime drama Luther along with Idris Elba from The Wire.

Above is the cover image I scanned and I have left it extra large. Below are the interior page scans, mainly focusing on Idris Elba but Ruth gets a mention and there are a couple of photos of her. Looking typically stunning I might add.

Episode 1 of Luther is due to air on BBC1 on Tuesday 4 May 2010.

Doctor Who, The Time of Angels

With the fourth episode of the new series Steven Moffat could be accused of revisiting past glories. But when said past glories involve the Weeping Angels from the superlative "Blink" and also tying in with "Silence in Library" I'm not going to complain too loudly.

The episode opens enjoyably with River Song up to something on a spaceship, juxtaposed with the Doctor and Amy in a museum subtitled "12,000 years later". The Doctor spots an artifact with Gallifreyian graffiti that translates as "Hello Sweetie" and off he goes to mount a rescue 12,000 years in the past.

One of my favourite moments of the episode comes early on when River lands the Tardis silently. The Doctor complains that it didn't make the "brilliant" noise, which he attempts to recreate vocally. River explains it only makes that noise as he leaves the hand-break on.

Then we are on an alien planet where the last of the Weeping Angels is hiding in the catacombs. Amy is introduced to the Weeping Angel by watching a four-second recording on a loop. One of the creepiest sequences of the episode follows when she is alone in the room and notices the Angel changing position on the recording every time she looks away.

Later they enter the catacombs to go looking for the Angel. Some of these sequences reminded me of the early Peter Davidson story called "Earthshock" which I can remember creeping me out all those years ago.

Then the Doctor realises he's made a mistake: They are not dealing with just one Angel. In true Doctor Who style we get a cliff-hanger and the preview of the next episode suggests the mythology of the Weeping Angels will be expanded in the concluding part.

Trailer and presskit for Ruth Wilson's Luther

The BBC Press Office website has posted some material on the upcoming six-part crime series Luther staring Idris Elba. Also appearing is Ruth Wilson as Alice Morgan, who is described as "beautiful, extraordinarily intelligent and a key witness in Luther's first investigation."

Here are some Ruth quotes from the presskit on her role:

"What intrigued me about the script was the writing, which was fantastic, and the characters within it – you don't get many female roles which are evil in that sense. I was really intrigued by it, and thought it was a wonderful piece that you could have a lot of fun with."

"I try all the time to do something that's going to take me somewhere else as an actress. The parts I played, both Jane Eyre and Queenie in Small Island, there’s always an emotional drive throughout the story with those characters.

"It's been quite weird for me to play, because I'm so used to being emotionally driven by being in love with someone, or loss of something, or frightened by someone – suddenly she is this all powerful woman who doesn’t have those feelings."

You can read all of ruth's comments in the Luther presskit.

Plus you can get a glimpse of what promises to be a very different role for Ruth by watching the Luther trailer.

Doctor Who "Victory of the Daleks"

So in the latest instalment the Doctor and Amy arrive in 1940s London and encounter secret weapons that look suspiciously like Daleks...

I'm in two minds about last night's episode. I like bits of it but feel oddly underwhelmed by the whole thing and wonder if I should have liked it more.

There are a lot of nice touches in the episode, mainly about retro-fitting Daleks to the world of World War 2. For example there's a little Dalek model on the map table and a WW2-style Dalek "To Victory" propaganda poster (avaiable as a dowlnoad from
downloads.bbc.co.uk).

There's another classic line: "Would you care for some tea?" Well, it's classic when spoken by a Dalek.

There's also Amy Pond's unfeasibly short skirt, but I digress.

Of course the audience and the Doctor know that Daleks can't be trusted and it's not long before we discover their true plan, which is basically to get the Doctor to say that they are Daleks so they can play the recording to new Daleks. Or something. I kind of missed the point regarding that.

Oh yes, we get new Daleks, bigger and brighter like the ones from the Peter Cushing movies.

And it's also got Churchill. And Bill Paterson as an android. And Spitfires in space. Really.

Ah, maybe it will grow on me with repeated viewings.

Next week, the Weeping Angels are back!

Ruth Wilson and Hayley Atwell 'Prisoner' article

And the build-up to The Prisoner continues. Here is a Daily Telegraph article featuring Ruth Wilson and Hayley Atwell where they discuss their experiences in Namibia making the show.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/7590450/Hayley-Atwell-and-Ruth-Wilson-on-The-Prisoner.html

Ruth Wilson article in Radio Times

The new issue of the Radio Times went on sale today and featured inside is a Ruth Wilson article to promote the first episode of The Prisoner, due for broadcast on ITV on Saturday 17 April 2010. See below for my scans. The full-page picture of Ruth turned out better than I thought it would so I left it extra big.

The article confirms that she will next be seen in Luther and the movie Cleanskin and also that she has been to Hollywood to talk to producers.

Doctor Who "The Beast Below"

Episode 2 of the new series of Doctor Who aired on Saturday. It was titled The Beast Below and was again written by Steven Moffat.

I have to say that any Moffat episode is packed with ideas. This one had a 29th Century UK roaming the stars (probably influenced by James Blish's Cities in Flight books). Add to that the detail of a police state controlled by "smilers" (spooky fairground-booth mannequins) plus a voting system that lets you choose to "protest" or "forget" every five years.

I'm liking Matt Smith's performance as the Doctor. Maybe its because he mentioned favouring the second Doctor in interviews, but he does remind me of Patrick Troughton. I'm quite fond of Troughton's version of the Doctor so that's no bad thing.

Karen Gillan gives another feisty performance as Amy Pond, even when she is forced to spend the episode running around in her nightie. We learn that she's been having doubts about her impending wedding.

My favourite moment of the episode involved the Doctor and Amy escaping from the beast's mouth by the Doctor triggering it's sick reflex. "This isn't going to be big on dignity," offers the Doctor apologetically.

Added to that a hint of the next episode, Winston Churchill phoning the doctor with the shadow of a Dalek visible on the wall...

Ruth Wilson article on Mail Online

This weekend's Mail on Sunday has a You magazine article titled "Why actress Ruth Wilson is our Number One". The article is obviously timed to coincide with the UK broadcast of The Prisoner next weekend.

The article also includes the following three images of Ruth looking typically smashing.





Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Observer Cemetery Junction actors article

An article in today's Observer by Stephen Merchant describes the young actors of Cemetery Junction. Here's the bit about Felicity Jones:

A lot of young actors are inexperienced, which means they lack confidence. Felicity Jones has been acting since she was nine and has done lots of film work, which means she is comfortable on camera and doesn't need a lot of hand-holding and mollycoddling, a great asset when you're working fast. Her character, Julie, has heard about women's lib and 60s permissiveness but is totally unaware that she is a caged bird, unwittingly controlled by a fiancé and a father who've mapped out her future as a good little wife. On screen, Felicity has a luminance that is hugely appealing, but also a retro quality that puts you in mind of the Julie Christies and Rita Tushinghams of yesteryear. That quality was hard to find because most young actresses seem very modern and knowing. Felicity can project a more old- fashioned mix of intelligence and innocence, and you can believe she's a smart woman blind to the realities around her.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/apr/04/cemetary-junction-stephen-merchant-film

Doctor Who, The Eleventh Hour

In case it escaped your attention Doctor Who started tonight on the BBC with Matt Smith as the new Doctor and Karen Gillan as Amy Pond. I have been looking forward to the new series mainly because Steven Moffat has taken over producing the show and tonight's episode, the one-hour long The Eleventh Hour, did not disappoint.

I won't regurgitate the story here, other than to say that Steven Moffat has, as usual, constructed a perfect little plot. Just as one would expect from the writer of Blink from season three (The Weeping Angels!) and the Library two-parter (The Data Ghost! River Song! The Vashta Nerada!) from season four.

For many people David Tennant was the definitive doctor but I think Matt Smith will do just fine. For example the opening "apple craving" scene could have just turned out self-indulgent and annoying but he made it work. "You're Scottish, fry me something!" (which I note is alreadying being quoted online.)

Karen Gillan was great as Amelia/Amy Pond. You did get the sense that encountering the "raggedy Doctor" who told her he would be back in five minutes really messed up her life. I suspect we may find out exactly how in future episodes. I have little doubt that she will turn out to be my favourite companion.

Also a nice little touch near the end when the ten previous Doctors are seen in the alien "eyeball".

The rest of the season looks great with the return of the Weeping Angels, River Song, Cybermen and Daleks in World War Two.

Finally here are cover scans of the current issues of the Radio Times and Doctor Who Magazine. Oddly enough it seems I chose to buy the cover of DWM featuring Karen.

Funny that...

Ruth Wilson at the Broadway opening of Red

Looks like Ruth is over in New York at the moment. www.life.com has seven images of her attending the opening of Red, and the caption dates them 1 April 2010. Here's a link to one of them. Yes, she does look smashing.

Scarlett Johansson Black Widow poster for Iron Man 2

To be honest I can't say I'm a big Scarlett Johansson fan. However I am a bit of a Black Widow fan. So when www.empireonline.com flagged up an image (via www.comic-con.org) of a Black Widow character poster from the almost-here Iron Man 2 it certainly caught my eye.

Last year it was rumoured that Emily Blunt was to play Natasha Romanoff, aka Russian super-spy Black Widow in the Iron Man sequel. Cue much joy and speculation on her Russian accent from me. As it turned out she didn't get the part. Cue less joy from me.

However I have to admit Scarlett fills out the costume well. =ahem= I'm willing to giver her the benefit of the doubt until I see the movie.

Here is above mentioned poster image. It's why we are all here after all.