Sunday, 29 October 2017

Doctor Who: Series 11 has stated production

With the announcement of three companions it was obviously only a matter of time before production went away for Series 11.

With production starting obviously more information on the series is developing, and too early for me to do a general series 11 update, which will arrive monthly from now on I presume.

First things first, joining Chris Chibnall and Matt Strevens is Sam Hoyle as executive producer. Sam Hoyle hasn't done the job of executive producer before but as been in the producing department, being assistant producer of Broadchurch Series 3, the Chibnall connection I think you might add.

It is also rumoured that Nikki Wilson will stay on for her 4th series as producer. She has long worked with the show being a "stand in" producer for series 4, then becoming a co-producer for series 8-10, producer for series 2 and 3 of the Sarah Jane Adventures as well as being the executive producer for the last two series of SJA, series 4 and 5.

Jamie Childs has been reported to be directing the first block of Series 11. He is a new face to the directing team of Doctor Who. Reports seem to differ on what is in this block. Some say that it is episode 1 alone, others hint that episode 7 is in the block too. It has also been confirmed that it was Jamie who directed the Meet the 13th Doctor short introduction video. There are also reports that the first episode is 65 minutes long and not 60 as previously confirmed.

The actress Asha Kingsley is in the first episode portraying a character called Sonia.

Star Wars Rebels Season 4 Continues: In the Name of the Rebellion

In the Name of the Rebellion Parts 1 and 2 took up the third and fourth episodes of the fourth and final season of Star Wars Rebels

This two parter was not as strong plot wise as the first two but was executed much better. The humour fell a lot better here and I believe that exploring fractious relationship of Saw and Mon Mothma is very interesting. It was also great to see Edrio Two Tubes and the Death Troopers from Rogue One as well as a mention of Director Krennic and Jedha as well as mentions alluding to the Death Star.

There were problems with these episodes however. Despite my liking of killing off characters, something that do believe definitely should have been done last week, I do believe that it looks like they are just killing off characters that aren't in the original trilogy in any way they can for the imperials. Both Admiral Titus and General Slavin need not to have died necessarily due to there being a vast range of Imperials that are in the original trilogy. I also believe it to be a major coincidence that the two Imperials we see are ones that we have met before. Titus and his rivalry  with Ezra meant his inclusion and conclusion was satisfying but Slavin, General of overseeing Ryloth has no sense to be there unless coincidental he has been moved to dealing with the Death Star project. I also thought that they did not portray Saw as ruthless as they could have done, for example he only stunned the storm troopers. I also thought that the Death troopers were portrayed as week and not nearly as menacing as they were in Rogue One and I did not like the fact that they spoke in English in this this episode.

Monday, 23 October 2017

Doctor Who Series 11: Everything we know so Far: October 2017

Everything italics is pure speculation and rumour

Previous Articles

May 2017 
August 2017

Knoweldge for Christmas

The 12th Doctor
1st Doctor
Bill Potts
The Captain - Mark Gattis - rumoured to be a Time Lord
TBA - Toby Whithouse
Polly - Lily Travres
Ben Jackson - Jared Garfield
Mondasian Cybermen
Axons
Clara
Nardole
11th Doctor - Matt Smith
Length: 1 hour 25 minutes - more time with Whitaker than thought

Regular Cast

13th Doctor - Jodie Whitaker
Graham - Bradley Walsh 
Ryan - Tosin Cole
Yasmin - Mandip Gill
TBA = Sharon D Clarke
Nardole
Jack Harkness

Enemies

?
A lot of new monsters

Episodes

10 episodes - episode 1 being 1 hour the rest 50 minutes
Air on a Sunday
One continuous storyline
No Christmas Special

Behind the Scenes staff

Chris Chibnall - Showrunner/Executive Producer
Mark Strevans - Executive Producer
No Murray Gold

Filming

November 2017

Airdate

Autumn 2018

Writers

Chris Chibnall
Writer's Room


Changes from Previous Post

1. In the Christmas Special, Polly will be portrayed by Lily Travers
2. Ben Jackson will return in the Christmas Special
3. Ben Jackson will be played by Jared Garfield
4. Matt Smith is rumoured to return this Christmas as the 11th Doctor
5. The Christmas Special is rumoured to be 1 hour 25 minutes
6. It is rumoured that Whitaker will get more than a few minutes of screentime in the Christmas Special
7. There will be a new companion called Graham
8. There will be a new companion called Ryan
9. There will be a new companion called Yasmin
10. Graham will be played by Bradley Walsh
11. Ryan will be played by Tosin Cole
12. Yasmin will be played by Mandip Gill
13. Sharon D Clarke is playing a TBA recurring role
14. The series will not be 8 episodes long as previously rumoured but 10
15. The episodes will not be 1 hour long as previously rumoured but 50 minutes
16. Episode 1 is 1 hour long
17. The airdate is Autumn 2018 as previously rumoured


Doctor Who - New Companions Announced

Image result for doctor who

With filming expected within a couple of weeks it was a matter of time before the companion joining the negatively received Jodie Whitaker for Chris Chibnall's first series, 11.

Kris Marshall was the original bookies favourite once it was obvious that he wasn't the Doctor and then from a Mirror exclusive, Bradley Waslh appeared - and that turned out to be true.

The show returns to a three companion format, something that started in the first ever season and was the format for season 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 18, 19 and 20. Bradley Walsh, one of the oldest ever companions, and the oldest to be a regular is playing the role of Graham whilst Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill are playing the roles of Ryan and Tasmin respectively. Bradley is of course famous for currently hosting Sunday Night at the London Palladium, Cash in the Attic, The Chase and is a regular panelist on Play to the Whistle. His acting credits include Coronation Street and Law and Order UK, showrunned by Chris Chibnall. Tosin and Mandip are best known for their roles in Hollyoakes, with Tosin also having a 1 liner character in the Force Awakens.

Also actress Sharon D Clarke is playing a recurring character.

Hidden away at the bottom of the article is the news that Series 11 will air in Autumn has previously speculated and will be a 10 episode run with every episode being extended to 50 minutes and the opener being 1 hour. This will be therefore the second shortest series in Doctor Who history and the shortest of the modern run.

Right my thoughts. Firstly on the three companions. Three is a number of companions that is not strange to Doctor Who so those saying that its interesting because she is female and therefore it is sexist is nonsense. Series 11 will be the show's 37th season overall and as stated earlier in my article it will be the 9th of 37 to have three. It is unknown if the three will be in it all the way through and if they are all as regular and main as each other. Bradley Walsh is a highly qualified actor and is no stranger to Chibnall like Whitaker. I believe because of his appeal he might be there to ease fans who are not happy with the move to a female Doctor. Due to his high status I can't imagine him staying for more than one series. Also someone will realistically have to go every series so that there is a new face to meet the Doctor, which is necessary for the new audiences to hook along. I don't have too many thoughts on the other two because I don't know much about them. I have positives and negatives for having three companions. Firstly the negatives: Three companions can result in a crowded TARDIS with certain people not having enough to do every week, however three companions were effective in the longer story telling narrative of Season 1 but I'm not sure it will work here in the modern format. The positives - three companions allows for a TARDIS Team and more relationships and friendships to take place. It also means that if they are not connected it means it will be great fun for people like me to speculate who will be the next to leave the TARDIS. Chris Chibnall is obviously a fan of the TARDIS team, just look at Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, so the move to more companions is not surprising. I can't see this lasting more than two seasons. We know that Chibnall is here for the next five series at least so he probably will have two doctors or perhaps one. For my speculation to work lets just say Whitaker stays for three like most of the Doctors have. I am guessing Graham will leave at the end of series 1 or the Christmas Special, Ryan and Yasmin will leave at the end of the second series. Graham's replacement will stay for series 2 and 3 and Ryan and Yasmin will be replaced by one new character. That is my guess, we shall see what happens...

The casting of Sharon D Clarke as  recurring character is no surprise, there are always recurring characters in the modern series but to her to be mentioned is surprising. It could mean that she is in most episodes. I presume she will play the role of a mum because that is what most recurring characters are.

Now to the short series, observe...

Longest Series timespan (not including specials)

Season 1 = 17.50 hours (William Hartnell)
Season 2 = 16.25 hours (William Hartnell)
Season 3 = 18.75 hours (William Hartnell)
Season 4 = 17.92 hours (Patrick Troughton)
Season 5 = 16.68 hours (Patrick Troughton)
Season 6 = 17.92 hours (Patrick Troughton)
Season 7 = 10.42 hours (Jon Pertwee)
Season 8 = 10.42 hours (Jon Pertwee)
Season 9 = 10.83 hours (Jon Pertwee)
Season 10 = 10.83 hours (Jon Pertwee)
Season 11= 10.83 hours (Jon Pertwee)
Season 12 = 8.33 hours (Tom Baker)
Season 13 = 10.83 hours (Tom Baker)
Season 14 = 10.83 hours (Tom Baker)
Season 15 = 10.83 hours (Tom Baker)
Season 16 = 10.83 hours (Tom Baker)
Season 17 = 8.33 hours (Tom Baker)
Season 18 = 11.67 hours (Tom Baker)
Season 19 =  10.83 hours (Peter Davison)
Season 20 = 9.17 hours (Peter Davison)
Season 21 = 10.67 hours (Peter Davison)
Season 22 = 9.75 hours (Colin Baker)
Season 23 = 5.92 hours (Colin Baker)
Season 24 = 5.83 hours (Sylvester McCoy)
Season 25 =  5.83 hours (Sylvester McCoy)
Season 26 =  5.83 hours (Sylvester McCoy)
Series 1 = 9.75 hours (Christopher Eccleston)
Series 2 = 9.75 hours (David Tennant)
Series 3 = 9.83 hours (David Tennant)
Series 4 = 10.08 hours (David Tennant)
Series 5 = 10.33 hours (Matt Smith)
Series 6 = 9.92 hours (Matt Smith)
Series 7 = 9.83 hours (Matt Smith)
Series 8 = 9.75 hours (Peter Capaldi)
Series 9 = 9.67 hours (Peter Capaldi)
Series 10 = 9.33 hours (Peter Capaldi)
Series 11 = 8.50 hours (Jodie Whitaker)
K9 and Company = 50 minutes
Torchwood Series 1 = 9.83 hours
Torchwood Series 2 = 9.92 hours
Torchwood Series 3 = 5.00 hours
Torchwood Series 4 = 8.33 hours
SJA Series 1 = 6.00 hours
SJA Series 2 = 6.00 hours
SJA Series 3 = 6.00 hours
SJA Series 4 = 6.00 hours
SJA Series 5 = 3.00 hours
Class Series 1 = 6.08 hours

So you can see how short it is.

Firstly the 10 episodes. By episode count this is definitely the shortest series. I do care about this really because it means Doctor Who is on tele for less weeks than it should be. I wouldn't take this as to show that the BBC don't trust the female Doctor format, because they have already confirmed 5 series so they obviously do have faith in Chibnall, I would put it down to budget cuts though. It was rumoured that we would get a shorter series so it doesn't surprise me that much. The episode extension to 50 minutes does surprise me though. I was expecting an hour for each episode so this was a shock, it does make the cutting seem more drastic. The length of the opener to an hour also doesn't surprise me as first episodes featuring a new doctor are normally longer, an hour actually being shorter than both Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi's debut episodes. The move back to the Autumn is slightly annoying, more time without Doctor Who but I hope it remains there and the gap of 1 1/2 years won't continue, especially if we are actually getting less series a year . I like the Autumn because its dark outside and has a good feeling to it but I don't like it because that time of year is very crowded with other good television and for me because of when I started to like Doctor Who, Spring is the home to Doctor Who.

So there we have it. Lots off exciting news. Interestingly no sign of a Christmas Special being confirmed so are the rumours true and Chibnall is axing them, I hope not...



Star Wars Rebels Season 4 Has started

Heroes of Mandalore Parts 1 and 2 have now both aired.

I think they were good and had a lot of potential. To see how the Mandalorian houses and clans interact with each other is very interesting

I believe that if they actually killed off Ursa and Tristan, or at least one of them, the weapon would have been a lot more threatening and the story would be more powerful. The resolution was also pretty poor with Sabine only touching a few buttons before being able to some how destroy the Star Destroyer.

Overall
Heroes of Mandalore Part 1: 4/5
Heroes of Mandalore Part 2: 4/5

I preferred Part 2 to Part 1

Star Wars Ocars

The Academy Awards or more commonly referred too as the Oscars are considered the most prestigious awards films can get - and there very hard to come by.

People often think that being nominated and not winning is not good but it is.
How the scoring system works is that a group of highly trained people in a particular field will watch lots and lots of films and give a score out of 10. The highest achieving 5 will then be nominated, and the winner of the four will be the winner - so therefore it is impressive to be nominated.

Lets see how the Star Wars films have done

A New Hope:
Wins: 7
Nominations: 4
Won: Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, Original Score, Film Editing, Art Direction on Set, Costume Design, Sound and Motion Effects
Nominated:  Director, Original Screenplay, Film, Supporting Actor (Alec Guiness)

The Empire Strikes Back:
Wins: 2
Nominations: 2
Won: Sound Mixing, Visual Effects
Nominated: Original Score, Art Direction on Set

Return of the Jedi:
Wins: 1 
Nominations: 4 
Won: Visual Effects
Nominated: Sound Mixing, Original Score, Art Direction on Set, Sound Editing

The Phantom Menace
Wins: 0
Nominations: 3
Won: -
Nominated: Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, Sound Editing

Attack of the Clones
Wins: 0
Nominations: 1
Won: -
Nominated: Visual Effects

Revenge of the Sith
Wins: 0
Nominations: 1
Won: -
Nominations: Make Up

The Clone Wars
Wins: 0
Nominations: 0
Won: -
Nominations: -

The Force Awakens
Wins: 0
Nominations: 5
Won: -
Nominations: Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, Original Score, Film Editing, Sound Editing

Rogue One
Wins: 0
Nominations: 2
Won: -
Nominations: Sound Mixing, Visual Effects


Best Film
Won: -
Nominated: A New Hope

Best Director
Won: -
Nominated: A New Hope

Best Actor
Won: -
Nominated: -

Best Actress
Won: -
Nominated: -

Best Supporting Actor
Won: -
Nominated: Sir Alec Guiness

Best Supporting Actress
Won: -
Nominated: -

Best Original Screenplay
Won: -
Nominated: A New Hope

Best Animated Film
Only the Clone Wars available
Won: -
Nominated: -

Best Original Score
Won: A New Hope
Nominated: The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens

Best Original Song
Won: -
Nominated: -

Best Sound Editing
Won: -
Nominated: Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace, The Force Awakens

Best Sound Mixing
Won: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back
Nominated: Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace, The Force Awakens, Rogue One

Best Production Design
Won: A New Hope
Nominated: The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi

Best Cinematography
Won: -
Nominated: -

Best Make Up and Hair
Won: -
Nominated: Revenge of the Sith

Best Costume Design
Won: A New Hope
Nominated: -

Best Film Editing
Won: A New Hope
Nominated: The Force Awakens

Best Visual Effects
Won: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi
Nominated: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, The Force Awakens, Rogue One

Other Categories not available for Star Wars to enter
Best Documentry
Best Short Documentry
Best Short Film
Best Animated Short Film
Best Foreign language film
Best Adapted Screenplay

24 awards, The 8 live action Star Wars films could have been nominate for 17 awards

The best categories for Star Wars are in order

(win/nominated) - out of 8 Star Wars live action films

Best Visual Effects (3/4)
Best Sound Mixing (2/4)
Best Original Score: (1/3)
Best Production Design: (1/2)
Best Film Editing (1/1)
Best Costume Design: (1/0)
Best Sound Editing: (0/3)
Best Film: (0/1)
Best Director: (0/1)
Best Original Screenplay: (0/1)
Best Make Up and Hair: (0/1)
Best Actor: (0/0)
Best Actress: (0/0)
Best Supporting Actor: (0/0)
Best Supporting Actress: (0/0)
Best Original Song: (0/0)
Best Cinematography: (0/0)

And there you have it, it is pretty clear that Star Wars is most acknowledged at the Oscars for its visual effects, but also Sound Mixing is pretty high and so is John William's wonderful scores.

With the Last Jedi lets up that wins an award, its been a while!
Rian Johnson has even said that Mark Hamill might get one because his acting is so good.



Star Wars - Length of Films

The length of Episode 8 was announced some time ago but lets see how it compares with the other films

In order of length

1. The Last Jedi - 2 hours 30 minutes
2. Attack of the Clones - 2 hours 22 minutes
3. Revenge of the Sith - 2 hours 20 minutes
4. The Force Awakens - 2 hours 17 minutes
5. The Phantom Menace - 2 hours 16 minutes
6. Return of the Jedi - 2 hours 15 minutes
7. Rogue One - 2 hours 14 minutes
8. The Empire Strikes Back - 2 hours 7 minutes
9. A New Hope - 2 hours 4 minutes
10. The Clone Wars - 1 hour 36 minutes

And there we have, the Last Jedi being a whole 8 minutes longer than the previous record holder, Episode II Attack of the Clones and whole whopping 26 minutes longer than the shorted episodic film and 54 minutes longer than the shortest of the Star Wars films.

The Original Trilogy Total: 6 hours 26 minutes
The Prequel Trilogy Total: 6 hours 58 minutes

The Original Trilogy First two films: 4 hours 11 minutes
The Prequel Trilogy First two films: 4 hours 38 minutes
The Sequel Trilogy First two films: 4 hours 47 minutes

So the sequel trilogy looks like its on board to being the longest trilogy with Episode 8 perhaps being the longest of all the films all together, even after Episode 9.

Lets have a look at the episodic films and see how they compare

A New Hope
The Empire Strikes Back: +3
Return of the Jedi: +8
The Phantom Menace: +1
Attack of the Clones: +6
Revenge of the Sith: -2
The Force Awakens: -3
The Last Jedi: +13

So as you can see this is a huge increase, one we have never seen before.
It is 8 minutes longer than its predecessor, which is 2 minutes longer than its, which is 3 minutes longer that its, which is 1 minute longer than its, which is 1 minute longer than its, which is 1 minute longer than its, which is 7 minutes longer than its, which is 3 minutes longer than its, which is 30 minutes longer than its.

So if you count the Clone Wars, The Last Jedi claims the second biggest gap.










Star Wars - The Last Jedi and Solo - Money Making Guess

Interestingly earlier this week it was revealed that the guess for the domestic gross for Episode 8 is $742 million. Domestic means for the United States. That puts the film third of all time for the US. This is impressive and shows the film will do quite well, if it matches.

The Force Awakens obviously was a global hit - it came first in both the UK and the USA for all time and is 3rd film to cross the 2 billion mark, making it the third highest grossing film of all time.

A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and the Phantom Menace were also the highest grossing films of the year they were released, with A New Hope being the highest grossing film of all time for 6 years, the Phantom Menace became the third film to cross the billion mark, behind Jurassic Park and Titanic, and became the second highest grossing film of all time.

Currently residing in the top 50 highest grossing films are The Force Awakens, Rogue One and the Phantom Menace. It is interesting to see where The Last Jedi will go

My original prediction for the film before the estimate domestic gross was released was 1.4 Billion but now it is 1.5 billion, placing it 5th worldwide all time box office. I predict that the Solo film will definitely be the lowest of the Disney films and could even be lower than the likes or Revenge of the Sith. I'm predicting a $750 million for that film

For Star Wars it currently looks like this for the Box Office:

1. Episode VII: The Force Awakens - $2,068,223,624
2. Rogue One - $1,056,057,273
3. Episode I: The Phantom Menace - $1,027,044,627
4. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - $848,754,768
5. Episode IV: A New Hope - $775,398,007
6. Episode II: Attack of the Clones - $649,398,328
7. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - $547,969,004
8. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi - £475,106,117
9. The Clone Wars - $68,282,844

The Last Jedi is predicted to be the second most successful Star Wars film, and the highest grossing film of 2017.


Title for Han Solo Film

Lots of things have happened recently but let's discuss this one first...

Well It was rumoured that the Han Solo film would be called Solo, and that it is now true.

Solo is very simplistic title and I hope that the anthology films that centre on a character don't always go down the route of just giving the film title the same as the character. It may also drive confusion between the character and the film which I hate.

The film is still slated for May - and still has no trailer. Returning characters which are confirmed are Han Solo, Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian, all played by different actors to the saga films, although the actor of Chewbacca is the stunt double for the sequel trilogy for said character.

The film is slated to be released only the weekend before the third Avengers film, perhaps the most successful series of all time so it has tough competition. What is strange about this is both a Disney films - does this suggest little faith in the film?

What I do hope is that Disney won't start doing "little" (in comparison) Star Wars films. I want them all to be blockbuster. What I mean is I don't want Star Wars versions of Doctor Strange and Ant Man of the Marvel films.

I will make a post soon about the money making of the Star Wars saga and the length of the films...

Wednesday, 11 October 2017

Analysing the Main Credited in Star Wars

Before I begin the analysis and comparison here are the main cast list of each film. As you will be able to tell the list doesn't match how main they are in the film.

The Last Jedi

1. Mark Hamill
2. Daisy Ridley
3. John Boyega
4. Adam Driver
5. Carrie Fisher
6. Oscar Isaac
7. Andy Skeris
8. Lupita N'Yongo
9. Domhall Gleeson
10. Anthony Daniels
11. Gwendoline Christie
12. Kelly Marie Tran
13. Laura Dern
14. Benicio Del Toro

The Force Awakens

1. Harrison Ford
2. Daisy Ridley
3. John Boyega
4. Adam Driver
5. Mark Hamill
6. Carrie Fisher
7. Oscar Isaac
8. Lupita N'Yongo
9. Domhall Gleeson
10. Andy Serkis
11. Anthony Daniels
12. Peter Mayhew
13. Max Von Syndrow
14. Gwendoline Christie

Rogue One

1. Felicity Jones
2. Diego Luna
3. Donnie Yen
4. Jiang Wang
5. Ben Mendholson
6. Alan Tudyk
7. Mads Mikleson
8. Forrest Whitaker
9. Riz Ahmed

The Clone Wars

1. Matt Lanter
2. Ashley Erikstein
3. James Arnold Taylor
4. Tom Kane
5. Dee Bradley Baker
6. Sir Christopher Lee
7. Samuel L Jackson
8. Anthony Daniels
9. Nika Futterman
10. Corey Burton
11. Catherine Taber

Revenge of the Sith

1. Ewan McGregor
2. Natalie Portman
3. Hayden Christian
4. Ian McDiarmed
5. Samuel L Jackson
6. Frank Oz
7. Anthony Daniels
8. Kenny Baker
9. Jimmy Smits

Attack of the Clones

1. Ewan McGregor
2. Natalie Portman
3. Hayden Christian
4. Sir Christopher Lee
5. Samuel L Jackson
6. Frank Oz
7. Anthony Daniels
8. Kenny Baker
9. Ian McDiarmed

The Phantom Menace

1. Liam Neeson
2. Ewan McGregor
3. Natalie Portman
4. Jake Lloyd
5. Ian McDiarmed
6. Pernilla August
7. Anthony Daniels
8. Kenny Baker
9. Frank Oz
10. Terrence Stamp
11. Oliver Ford Davies
12. Ahmed Best
13. Hugh Quatshire
14. Brian Blessed

Return of the Jedi

1. Mark Hamill
2. Harrison Ford
3. Carrie Fisher
4. Billy Dee Williams
5. Anthony Daniels
6. Peter Mayhew
7. David Prowse
8. Kenny Baker
9. Ian McDianrmed
10. Sir Alec Guiness
11. Frank Oz
12. Sebastian Shaw

The Empire Strikes Back

1. Mark Hamill
2. Harrison Ford
3. Carrie Fisher
4. Billy Dee Williams
5. Frank Oz
6. Anthony Daniels
7. David Prowse
8. Kenny Baker
9. Peter Mayhew
10. Sir Alec Guiness
11. Jeremy Bulloch
12. Clive Revill

A New Hope

1. Mark Hamill
2. Harrison Ford
3. Carrie Fisher
4. Sir Alec Guiness
5. Peter Cushing
6. David Prowse
7. Anthony Daniels
8. Kenny Baker
9. Peter Mayhew

Now let's talk about the Last Jedi.

First of all 14 stars. This is the most for any Star Wars film, equal to The Phantom Menace and The Force Awakens.

Mark Hamill is back to the top, a place he is used to in all bar The Force Awakens, that he has been in. Mark may not be the main character, but he certainly appears to be prominent enough for him to top the "true" star.

Daisy and John are next which makes sense. Adam Driver again is fourth which is very interesting because it seems they are treating him as the "third" star, which is odd because he is on the dark side. I would have thought that Oscar Isaac would be here but again like TFA, he is not here. Carrie Fisher follows, and this is her last appearance in the series. Her final place is 5th. Oscar Isaac follows after her.

Andy Serkis has risen to 7th place which shows that Snoke is in it a lot more than he was in TFA. Lupita is still in 8th which suggests that Maz is in the film as much as she was in TFA, despite what reports seem to suggest. The rest follows in a logical order, and the same as the TFA, with the addition of three new cast members, "replacing" Harrison Ford, Max Von Syndrow and Peter Mayhew. Peter is interesting because he is still in the film but he isn't part of the main cast which does show that he isn't in it as much at all, as we expected.

Star Wars Episode 8 Trailer

Before I discuss characters and then plot points I just want to say that I thought that the trailer was very good and the music from presumably John Williams was superb.


Luke Skywalker: Luke was certainly far from prominent in The Force Awakens but he certainly is involved a lot more in this film. He does seem hesitant to train Rey, largely it seems, because of her immense power and what happened when he last saw someone with that power: Kylo Ren. I have to say that Luke does look amazing in this trailer. Interestingly he seems to believe that the Jedi are gone and perhaps he is turning to the darkside a little. Look at the Imax poster, one light, one dark, with Luke on both. I would love to see Luke in a lightsaber battle but I'm not sure what will happen. I don't know what he will be up to in the next film either. I reckon he will have a less major role in that one.

Rey - Rey is obviously a very strong user in the force. Rey seems to be battling her deamons too but that does seem to be a video edit trickery.

Finn - Finn seems to be having a good fight with Phasma which is good. Finn wasn't in the trailer too much with the focus seemingly on Luke, Rey and Kylo Ren

Kylo Ren - After killing his father, Kylo probably thought that he would have connected to the dark side a bit more. However he seems to be struggling and that shot with him about to kill his mother is very powerful, to hate being cliché. His journey seems to be a big focus of this film.

Leia Organa - Obviously it is very sad that Carrie Fisher passed away. What we don't know is whether Leia will die in this film or she will die in the next. Due to Carrie Fisher's death, Lucasfilm have confirmed that all planned deleted scenes with Leia will be in the film meaning that she will be in it more than 7 which is good. Episode 8 in itself is the longest Star Wars film being 2 hours 30 minutes

Poe - Poe wasn't in the trailer much and his role in the film doesn't look like he is involved any more than just being the fighter pilot in the space battles

Snoke - Snoke looks a lot more prominent in this film. Of course there has been much speculation on who he is, even though it has been confirmed that Snoke is, wait for it..., Snoke. Characters that have been suggested are, Palpatine, Anakin, Anakin's father, Darth Plaguis, Kylo Ren, The Grand Inquisitor, Mace Windu, Tarkin, Vanéé and of course Ezra Bridger. Snoke is the Emperor Palpatine of this trilogy and I am hoping we see him in a lot of cool action.

C 3P0 and R2 D2 - The loveable individuals were missing from the trailer so it looks like they aren't that prominent either.

Chewbacca - Chewbacca was in the Force Awakens a lot, more so than A New Hope. It looks like he will be more of a tertiary character in this film.

Phasma - It looks like Rian Johnson will do justice to Phasma who was incredibly underwhelming in the Force Awakens. Her fight with Finn looks very awesome.





Tom Baker Returns to Doctor Who in Shada

In 1979, Shada, written by Douglas Adams and the 17th Season finale was abandoned after a BBC strike. There have been many attempts to remake it but now it is official. Complete with animation and with the Original cast, Shada will be available in November.

Very exiting indeed to see another adventure to the Doctor Who universe and a 42nd story to Tom Baker, even harder for someone to beat him one day.