David Tennant vs. Batman

In a public statement, actor David Tennant of Doctor Who told the press that he is a big fan of the revived Batman film franchise. In fact, he’d like to play the Riddler or some other ‘freakish’ villain.

“I’d love to play the Riddler and be bad to Batman. It was so much fun to watch. I thought the Riddler was one of the most freakish of the villains, especially with that wild laugh,” the actor said.

How do you think that would work? He’s certainly got the mad energy of a young Frank Gorshin.

Missing Doctor Who found?

The life of a Doctor Who fan is not an easy one. The longest running science fiction series ever on television, it is not without it’s flaws. One of those flaws is the fact that 108 episodes are missing due to the BBC’s destruction of the film back in the 1970’s.

It doesn’t help that the majority of the missing episodes are from Patrick Troughton’s era, regarded by many purists as a high point in the program’s history. An era that featured mainly alien invasions and scary monsters, 1966-1969 was the turnover year which introduced viewers to the concept of regeneration for the first time. The protective grandfather character of William Hartnell’s Doctor was gone, replaced by Patrick Troughton’s strange an impish fool. As time wore on, it became clear that this apparently childish behavior was an act concocted to take his enemies by surprise.

Ironically, as the series entered it’s stride in popularity and expansion into America television, the gap of these missing episodes became more evident. A major loss was recognized by the now growing Doctor Who fanbase. However, little by little, discoveries have been made.

In 1988, three parts to The Ice Warriors were found and later, in 1992, The Tomb of the Cybermen was discovered intact, immediately released on video by the BBC. The biggest surprise was when episode three of the 12 part story The Dalek Master Plan was found. This resulted in a special DVD release, Doctor Who – Lost in Time Collection of Rare Episodes which compiled all of the missing footage to incomplete stories found thus far.

First reported earlier this month, it appears that the legend continues. The story is still wavering very uncomfortable between rumor and prank, but everyone involved obviously is hoping for the story to finally be recovered. The Web of Fear, the second story featuring the monsters known as the Yeti, also was the first appearance of the character who became known as ‘the Brigadier.’

One of my favorite episodes of Doctor Who in general to watch is Web of Fear part one (the only one on the archives). Full of atmosphere and tension, the story opens with London under attack while the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria are stuck in space in a strange spider’s web. When the web clears, the trio find themselves in a hauntingly deserted London.

Unable to escape the subway tunnels where the TARDIS landed, they split up. Jamie and Victoria awkwardly encounter a platoon of soldiers who are trying to contain the problem by blowing up the tunnels… where the Doctor happens to be. Assigned to take over the operation is the shifty and cranky Colonel Lethbridge Stewart.

As yet, the rumor has not been confirmed.

In the meantime, here is a collection of short clips found recovered in 2002 by a New Zealand fan. The clips only exist because the local TV station censors deemed these moments to be far too violent and disturbing.

Enjoy!