Star Wars Episode IX: Cast announced

Star Wars Episode IX begins filming on Wednesday next week so the cast has been announced.

Sequel actors Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac and Domhell Gleeson are all set to return, completing by being every installment in the trilogy. Lupita N'Yongo will also be back as Maz Kanata, which is interesting and hopefully she will have a better role to play in this film than she did in VIII. Billie Lourd also returns as Kaydel Ko Connix, being another character to be in every sequel film. Kelly Marie Tran is also back as Rose from Episode VIII. No word from BB 8 but I can't see him not returning.

Anthony Daniels returns as C 3P0 therefore resulting in him being in every Skywalker Saga film and general film (although not as C 3P0 in Solo). It has not been confirmed if Jimmy Vee will be reprising R2 D2 but it is likely. Joonas Suatomo, who has played Chewbacca in VIII and Solo is back as him in IX, meaning Chewbacca will be in 7 of the 9 Skywalker films.

Mark Hamill is back as Luke after dying in the last film. There were strong rumours that he would not return as Hamill has stated with Ford and Fisher gone that he doesn't have the same urge to return. He is going to be a force ghost obviously. I am pleased that Luke will be in it.

Billy Dee Williams is also going to return as Lando! This had been rumoured but it is excellent, excellent news. Lando is a great character and his absence from the previous films was somewhat strange. But he is back now and that is excellent!

Another interesting casting announcement was that Leia will return in IX. IX was always meant to be Leia's film but obviously with the incredibly sad passing of Carrie Fisher that wasn't going to be possible. They will use footage of Leia that was deleted from The Force Awakens to probably answer what happened to Leia. In the novelisation of The Last Jedi it describes how Leia has radiation after being sucked out into space and will eventually die from it, so we can guess that is what's going to happen this time too. I'm pleased Leia will be in it, even though it is likely to be a small role.

Naomi Akie and Richard E Grant have also been confirmed for major roles. I don't know much about Naomi Akie but I do know Richard E Grant who is an excellent actor who has played the Great Intelligence in Doctor Who. He is a very good actor who will no doubt be playing a villain. With Hux becoming more comedic, I think a new officer is what the episode.

It has also been rumoured that Snap Wexley will return, which is likely as Greg Grunberg is in almost all of JJ's films. There has also been rumours that DJ will return. No word from Nien Numb but it would be great to see him back and meet Lando again! Rotta is also rumoured to be in it. Wouldn't that be great!

Kenobi and Fett cancelled after Solo flop?

Cast your minds back to the 2012 inquisition. Disney announced a new trilogy and three new spin offs.

Rogue One by John Knoll for 2016
Boba Fett by Simon Kinberg for 2018
Solo by Lawrence Kasden for 2020

Obviously some of that information came later.

14th June 2014 - Trank announced as director for the film by Simon Kinberg

1st May 2015 - Josh Trank fired after reports of his bad management of Fantastic 4. Fett and Solo swapped.

Early 2017 - Simon Kinberg signed on to be the producer of the X Men franchise, putting his writing for Fett on hold

17th August 2017 - It is announced (although not officially) that Kenobi will be the 2020 film with Boba Fett and Yoda films slated for the future. Stephen Daldry in talks to write and direct the film

24th May 2018 - Jason Mangold announced (although again not officially) as the director for a Boba Fett film, now bought back to 2020 after scheduling issues with Ewan McGregor and Daldry pulling out. Kenobi slated later with Yoda.

July 2018 - Mangold announced to have no involvement with the Boba Fett films and Fett, Kenobi and Yoda cancelled after the poor reception of Solo.

I strongly believe Disney are making Star Wars films too regularly, which for me make them less special. I do prefer films based on existing characters however to these completely new films. We will have to see what happens but what we do know is this 2020 spin off has had many changes to what the film is actually about. Look at this timeline.

October 2012 - May 2015: Solo
May 2015 - August 2017: Fett
August 2017 - May 2018: Kenobi
May 2018 - July 2018: Fett
July 2018 - Present: No film intention

Whatever they are going to do, they need to do soon as they are running out of time.

The Best Rebels Episodes

Felix Season 1 Ranking Top 5

1. Fire Across the Galaxy
2. Rise of the Old Masters
3. Call to Action
4. Path of a Jedi
5. Empire Day

Archie Season 1 Ranking Top 5

1. Fire Across the Galaxy
2. Rise of the Old Masters
3. Vision of Hope
4. Path of a Jedi
5. Idoit's Array

Felix Season 2 Ranking Top 5

1. Twilight of the Apprentice Part II
2. Shroud of Darkness
3. Siege of Lothol
4. Twilight of the Apprentice Part I
5. Always Two there Are

Archie Season 2 Ranking Top 5

1. Twilight of the Apprentice Part II
2. Shroud of Darkness
3. Twilight of the Apprentice Part I
4. Siege of Lothol
5. Always Two there are

Felix Season 3 Ranking Top 5

1. Twin Suns
2. Zero Hour Part II
3. Zero Hour Part I
4. Through Imperial Eyes
5. The Last Battle


Archie Season 3 Ranking Top 5

1. Zero Hour Part II
2. Twin Suns
3. Zero Hour Part I
4. Ghosts of Geonosis Part II
5. Legacy of Mandalore


Felix Season 4 Ranking Top 5

1. Family Reunion and Farewell Part II
2. A World Between Worlds
3. Jedi Night
4. A Fool's Hope
5. In the Name of the Rebellion Part II

Archie Season 4 Ranking Top 5

1. Family Reunion and Farewell Part II
2. A World Between Worlds
3. Jedi Night
4. Heroes of Mandalore Part II
5. A Fool's Hope

Felix Season 1 + Season 2 Ranking Top 5

1. Twilight of the Apprentice Part II
2. Shroud of Darkness
3. Siege of Lothol
4. Fire Across the Galaxy
5. Twilight of the Apprentice Part I

Archie Season 1 + Season 2 Ranking Top 5

1. Twilight of the Apprentice Part II
2. Shroud of Darkness
3. Twilight of the Apprentice Part I
4. Siege of Lothol
5. Fire Across the Galaxy

Felix Season 1 + 2 + 3 Ranking Top 5

1. Twilight of the Apprentice Part II
2. Shroud of Darkness
3. Siege of Lothol
4. Twin Suns
5. Zero Hour Part II

Archie Season 1 + 2 + 3 Ranking Top 5

1. Twilight of the Apprentice Part II
2. Shroud of Darkness
3. Zero Hour Part II
4. Twilight of the Apprentice Part I
5. Twin Suns

Felix Season 1 + 2+ 3 + 4 Ranking Top 5

1. Twilight of the Apprentice Part II
2. Shroud of Darkness
3. Siege of Lothol
4. Twin Suns
5. Zero Hour Part II

Archie Season 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 Ranking Top 5

1. Twilight of the Apprentice Part II
2. Shroud of Darkness
3. Zero Hour Part II
4. Twilight of the Apprentice Part I
5. Twin Suns

The Best Five

1. Twilight of the Apprentice Part II - the series finale of Season 2 still remains my favourite episode of rebels come the end of the series. Maul, three inquisitors and Vader versus Ahsoka. There really is no competition for this one.

2. Shroud of Darkness - This episode was something truly good as well. Really interesting seeing the Temple guards and Yoda. Very good episode

3. Siege of Lothol - This feature length episode comes in at three simply because of the amount of Vader. A bit slow in parts though

4. Twin Suns - Kenobi! The final confrontation was very good but it is lacking in parts, however the amount of original trilogy call backs (Luke! Luke!) make it a very special episode.

5. Zero Hour Part II - Thrawn finally shows his moves. A proper land battle and very exciting to see who would die. Sadly, no one. Except the Bendu. Or is he?

Rebels Season finale thoughts

Again this is long overdue so my apologies for that. Rebels is now over. Done. Caput.


What did I think?

Well the rebels one via space whales which I thought was interesting move and not one I like. I understand it is a children's show but for me it would have made more sense if Thrawn won and not the rebels. The finale was well written, particularly Thrawn and seeing Palpatine was also very good.

I would have preferred Ezra to have died but there we go.

I thought more characters should have died to raise the stakes of the episode but again it was not to be. Meltch's near death was a complete oddity. Gregor's death seemed random, as if they had to kill someone. Pryce's death was very honourable and I liked that. I am surprised they killed Ruhk off as he was the character that killed Thrawn in the original novels and I would have liked him to have survived to be honest.

Ahsoka being alive is something that I again am disappointed in. I would prefer her to have been killed by Darth Vader as it would have fitted her character. There is no end of her now that could top that potential end at the end of Season 2.

So the future looks like Ahsoka and Sabine going off to try and find Ezra. No idea when we will see this.

It was also interesting to note that it was Dave Filoni voicing Chopper the entire time. Very good.

Overall it was an okay ending.

My season ranking goes:
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 1

My top episodes will be coming soon.

I might as well do the top 20 characters by appearances as I like lists, hence the name of this website.

Main:
1. Ezra Bridger = 67
2. Sabine Wren = 53
3. Kanan Jarrus = 49
4. Zeb Orrelius = 47
5. Chopper = 43
6. Hera Syndulla = 40
7. Kallus = 19
8. Rex = 14
9. Governor Pryce = 10
10. Thrawn = 9
11. Hondo Ohnaka = 8
12. Fen Rau = 7
- Ryder Azadi = 7
14. Ahsoka Tano = 6
- Citakro Vizago = 6
- Ruhk = 6
17. The Grand Inquisitor = 5
- Admiral Konstantine = 5
- AP-5 = 5
- Maul = 5
- Meltch = 5

Speaking:
1. Ezra Bridger = 75
- Chopper = 75
3. Hera Syndulla = 69
4. Sabine Wren = 67
5. Kanan Jarrus = 66
6. Zeb Orrelius = 65
7. Kallus = 33
8. Rex = 27
9. Commander Sato = 19
10. Grand Admiral Thrawn = 18
11. Admiral Konstantine = 17
- Governor Pryce = 17
13. Ahsoka Tano = 14
14. Ryder Azadu = 13
15. The Grand Inquisitor = 9
- Citakro Vizago = 9
17. AP- 5 = 8
- Hondo Ohnaka = 8
19. 5th Brother = 7
- Fen Rau = 7
- Alton Kastle = 7
- Ruhk = 7
- Woldar = 7

All:
1. Ezra Bridger = 75
- Chopper = 75
3. Hera Syndulla = 70
4. Sabine Wren = 69
- Zeb Orrelius = 69
6. Kanan Jarrus = 66
7. Kallus = 33
8. Rex = 30
9. Commander Sato = 22
10. Admiral Konstantine = 18
- Grand Admiral Thrawn = 18
12. Governor Pryce = 17
13. Ahsoka Tano = 15
- Ryder Azadi = 15
15. AP-5 = 12
16. The Grand Inquisitor = 9
- Jai Kell = 9
- White Lothwolf = 9
- Citakro Vizago = 9
20. Hondo Ohnaka = 8

Solo: A Star Wars Story thoughts

This is an incredibly delayed response to a film that was released about two months ago now but I have been incredibly busy.

Solo: A Star Wars story was a pretty average film. It felt a bit like a check list to be honest of things in Solo's life. It is interesting that almost anything important in Solo's life before we see him in the Cantina in A New Hope happens in the space of a few days. For example, meeting Chewbacca, getting his blaster, getting the millennium falcon, meeting Lando Calrissian and doing the Kessel Run.

I was pleasantly surprised by Alden's portrayal of Han. It was far superior than the trailers. Of course it took a while to get used to him but once I did he was absolutely fine in the role. Harrison Ford he is not however, but that would have been impossible. Donald Glover as Lando was another impressive performance.

I liked seeing the evolution of Solo as a character. At first he trusts everyone. By the end he knows the only person he can trust is Chewbacca. I liked that. He also shot first, which was also pleasing and very Han obviously.

The other characters were good. I liked Beckett and Qi'ra and I thought Paul Bettany as Dryden Vos was also very good. He could appear intimidating whilst still being quiet and calm. I thought that was incredibly well written and performed that part. The secondary characters I thought were less impressive. Rio and Val's deaths seemed like we were meant to care, but I didn't. Enfys Nest was not very intimidating when taking her helmet off either.

The last major character to talk about deserves her own paragraph. L3-37. Quite possibly one of the worst characters in Star Wars. Incredibly annoying and her jokes fell flat almost every time. I was pleased when she died, which I highly presume was not the intention of the writers and directors.

I liked how Solo and Chewbacca met but I would have preferred it to be a bit more like they chose to be together rather than forced into it. It was interesting twist to the life debt that we were familiar with. The Millennium Falcon's fall into Han's hands was done very nicely. The fact that both Lando and Han cheated also fits their characters very well as well as bringing some top quality humour. The Kessel Run was good and it is interesting to note that parsecs was actually a measurement of time and not distance as it is in the real world. Han declaring his work on the Kessel Run was nicely done and very in character. Almost all of Solo's lines you could hear Harrison Ford saying them and that, I believe, is a testament to Lawrence Kasden's knowledge of the character.

Now I suppose I should comment on that cameo. Maul. Maul being the big boss makes perfect sense due to his crime background in the Clone Wars and I do believe that Disney were very brave to include him in a film as most people would have still believed him to be dead from being cut in half by Obi Wan Kenobi at the end of The Phantom Menace. The future with Maul might be uncertain with the rumours that Boba Fett and Kenobi have been cancelled but we shall see. In the brief period of time (and it must have been less than a second) where we saw a hologram but didn't see or hear who it was, I thought it was Snoke. Maul was a huge surprise, a huge one.

Overall I thought the film to be quite average. Nothing spectacular. There were bits I like but overall it was just alright.

Before you discover my new ranking I would like to take this time to share my thoughts on Solo's performance in the box office. Now we are all fully aware that Solo has done terribly. It is the lowest grossing Star Wars film that is live action. It is currently 10th in the year when the previous record low was Attack of the Clones which came third. Only Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One are the other films not to come first and they came second. I do believe that the problem was not The Last Jedi fan boycotters because they make up such a small percentage of film goers. I believe it was the lack of marketing. The problem is that Disney has become such a monopoly in the film making world that it now sees itself competing with its own films. Solo was competing with Avengers Infinity War in the marketing battle, a battle it was surely never going to win. It is this belief as to why I believe the film flopped.

Now my ranking:

1. A New Hope

2. Revenge of the Sith

3. Return of the Jedi

4. Rogue One

5. The Empire Strikes Back

6. The Last Jedi

7. The Force Awakens

8. Attack of the Clones

9. The Phantom Menace

10. Solo

11. The Clone Wars

I know Solo is very low here but I would like to make it very clear that I do not dislike this film. I do like it. I just think there is nothing in in that stands out. It might get higher than the Phantom Menace but nothing more I don't think. It is a shame but there we go.  

The Clone Wars is back!

In 2012, Disney bought Star Wars. They confirmed a new trilogy and three exciting spin offs (still not sure what's going on with that last one). They also cancelled The Clone Wars. The Clone Wars was on its fifth season at the time, with 8 in total planned. The Fifth season ended and we thought it was the end. The show producers had already completed 13 episodes of Season 6 so we were lucky enough to be able see them. Then there were 8 uncompleted episodes released in later on. Now to celebrate 10 years, next year we will see Season 7. 12 new episodes.

I am completely overjoyed. Completely and utterly. The Clone Wars is what I grew up with. It is my Star Wars. Therefore to see it back, to see that animation, to hear that music. I am incredibly happy.

However when the excitement calms down and you look into these 12 new episodes in more detail, you begin to see that it might not be quite as great as you first thought. 8 of these 12 new episodes are likely to be the Bad Batch (as we saw in the trailer) and the Utapua arc. The other four will be the Siege of Mandalore. These means there are still approximately 40 episodes that were planned that we are not seeing. My guess is that Disney have done this to please the fans and win them over after the Last Jedi disastrous split in the fandom and give the show a proper send off, through the original series finale, the Siege of Mandalore. However doing this we will not see anymore because the series will be truly finished then. So overall I am very grateful that we are having 4 new episodes and a further 8 more completed episodes but I am now feeling greedy that they should give us everything that they intended.

More Diversity in Doctor Who

Well this is something that is not unexpected. With an equal ethnicity of main actor cast, Chibnall's most recent comments are not something of a surprise.

It is claimed by he and fellow executive producer, Matt Strevens that Doctor Who must be at the front of diversity because its about anyone being able to do anything.

Equality is something deeply important to society, but forced equality is never good. Deliberately employing a 50/50 director split on male and female results in perhaps an inequality in skill. All the editors bar one (would that be Will Osworld who is the one I wonder) are women. Nothing wrong with this but it appears that the question of skill is no longer required. I am not saying that women can not edit but this ratio, looking at shows altogether, do not seem to suggest that they were employed on skill. Guest writers are a split of 2 to 3, female to male guest writers. If they were all chosen because of their best ideas I would have no problem what so ever. However this is not the case. This is the first time that guest writers have actually been mentioned so it is interesting on who these writers could be.

Chris Chibnall is the only confirmed writer at the moment. With five guest writers confirmed we know that means that presumably (unless pair work has been done, which is rare to occur without one of the writers being the showrunner) at least five episodes are written by people who aren't Chris. Now as no episode is a two parter we also know that that means that if any of these writers write more than one episode they are also writing more than one story. Will it be a 50/50 split of Chris and guest, I don't know but that is a possibility.

Showrunner percentage of episodes written by them per series  (not counting Christmas Specials and dual writers are counted as a half):
Series 1 - 61.5% - RTD
Series 2 - 46.2% - RTD
Series 3 - 38.5% - RTD
Series 4 - 42.3% - RTD
Series 5 - 46.2% - Moff
Series 6 - 38.5% - Moff
Series 7 - 30.8% - Moff
Series 8 - 45.8% - Moff
Series 9 - 41.7% - Moff
Series 10 - 37.5% - Moff

50% of episodes is quite high so I reckon that Chibnall will write 4 of the 10 episodes. But who are the other writers? With Chibnall declaring a fresh start, it is likely that the vast majority, if not all, of these writers are new. All the directors bar one are new so this would make sense. Of the Series 10 writing team a load of declined any future involvement with the show. These include Sarah Dollard, Jamie Mathieson, Steven Moffat, Mark Gattiss and Toby Whithouse. These leaves only Frank Controll Boyce, Mike Barlett and Rona Munro who could return. If any of them are returning, Mike Barlett would be my best guess as he is a famous writer in his own right so they would want to keep him. It will be interesting to see who these writers are.

Official NO Daleks for Series 11

Chibnall has just confirmed at the Doctor Who panel at Comic Con that the Daleks will not be in Series 11. This will be the first series without the Daleks in. Of course, this is not the first time we have heard this. Series 6 was said to be the same. Truth be told we didn't have a Dalek story in Series 6 but one Dalek did appear. Will Series 11 be the first to be completely absent with the Daleks? Who knows.

The Daleks were absent as the centre piece monster from last series too so this would be the first double series absence of a Dalek story since Season 23-24 (Series 11 is Season 37 when converted). This is obviously a major thing. We haven't had a Dalek story since 2015.

A big gap between Dalek stories is just what the Doctor ordered in my opinion (pun intended). The Daleks should be a credible and major threat to the Doctor and they have lost that. They are becoming generic. The Daleks have already been in 11 stories as a major villain and many more as minor in modern who. They have done this in 10 series. In classic who they were in 15 in 26. The ratio is scary. There are far more Dalek stories now than there used to be. However in the first 10 seasons of Doctor Who, the Dalek story count was 10, almost what we have now. Therefore the dwindling of the Daleks is almost parallel between old and new.

Do I think Whitaker should face the Daleks? Yes, of course. It is the Doctor's right of way. One of the marks as it were for them to cross to truly be the Doctor. McGann never faced them and that is a gaping whole. So this isn't the end of the Daleks. Personally I thought they would be back for this year's series and then have a break for two or maybe even three series. I would not be surprised if they are back next series, which hopefully is next year. 

FIFA World Cup 2018 UPDATE with scores

I'm not a fan of football really but I like numbers so he is the updated version of a post I did why back on my first year on the blog.


1. Brazil = 383
2. Germany = 377
3. Italy = 274
4. Argentina = 267
5. England = 243
6. Spain = 234
7. France = 227
8. Mexico = 181
9. Netherlands = 176
~ Belgium = 176
11. Uruguay = 172
12. Sweden = 168
13. Russia = 142
14. Slovenia = 133
15. Switzerland = 127
16. Portugal = 107
17. Chile = 105
18. Paraguay = 102
19. USA = 101
20. Croatia = 96
21. Denmark = 95
22. Poland = 94
23. Hungary = 93
24. Czech Republic = 92
~ South Korea = 89
26. Nigeria = 79
27. Japan = 78
28. Colombia = 74
29. Romania = 72
30. Ireland = 69
31. Bulgaria = 58
32. Costa Rica = 55
33. Austria = 54
34. Ghana = 53
35. Scotland = 49
36. Ecuador =  45
37. Cameroon = 43
~ Iran  = 42
~ Senegal = 42
40. Algeria = 41
41. Ivory Coast = 40
42. Morocco = 40
~ Peru = 40
44. Australia = 3945. Turkey = 38
46. South Africa = 34
47. Tunisia = 33
48. Norway = 31
~ Saudi Arabia = 31
50. Northern Ireland = 30
51. Greece = 29
52. Ukraine = 25
53. Serbia = 21
54. Slovakia = 15
55. New Zealand = 13
~ Honduras = 13
~ Bosnia and Herzegovina = 13
58. Wales = 11
~ Egypt = 11
60. Jamaica = 10
~ Angola = 10
~ North Korea = 10
63. Cuba = 8
~ Bolivia = 8
65. Trinidad and Tobago = 6
66. Israel = 5
67. Kuwait = 4
68. Togo = 3
~ Iceland = 3
70. Haiti = 2
~ El Salvador = 2
~ Iraq = 2
~ China = 2
74. Congo = 1
~. Canada = 1
~. Indonesia = 1
~. United Arab Emirates = 1
~. Montenegro = 1
~. Panama = 1

Doctor Who Series 11 Trailer and Comic Con information

Big news dropped yesterday on all fronts, but firstly Doctor Who.

After what could be described as a disappointing trailer during the World Cup Final, it was pleasing to see a more lengthy trailer out. Very little however was still given away. No sign of any enemies etc.
What we did learn is that another guest start has been added, Shuan Dooley and we saw a glimpse of the new Sonic Screwdriver. He are my thoughts on a few things that were stated and shown.

New Beginning, new adventures, new enemies 

Every Doctor Who series wants to invite new viewers into the show and this one is no different. We've seen only one major shake up of the show before which is when Russel handed over to Steven in 2010 but this seems to be bigger. Nikki Wilson, producer from series 8 onwards, is staying on but apart from that everyone is new, including the composer who has been announced to be Segun Akinola. Unlike the RTD era, Moffat didn't have an array of regular recurring characters (he had recurring characters but not ones that spanned the entire era, with the exception of River Song who has been given a conclusion). This does truly seem to be the start of a new era, which is hardly surprising. New enemies is something that is predicted for every series but what would be interesting is whether any returning foes appear. If this was the case it would be contrary to the significant rumour of the return of the Sontarans, unseen in a major monster role since series 4. New enemies does suggest and support the recent rumour that the Daleks will be absent for the series, perhaps for the first time if there literally is no appearance of them, although this would go against the Terry Nation estate conditions which are unconfirmed but obviously true. A completely new batch of aliens is excellent but I and many fans do like to see the odd story or two with some old favourites.

No Two Parters

The show has enjoyed many formats over the years, not just in classic who but in new who as well. With the drop to 10 episodes, following 12 for three years and 13 for 7 before that, a new format was expected. Series 1-5 played with the format of mostly single episodes with a few two parters included (or in series 3's case a three part finale). Series 6 and 7 were split into two halves with Series 6 adopting the same sort of style as Series 1-5 in terms of episode parts but with a couple instead of 3. Series 7 was a complete run of single episodes. Series 8 and 10 were mostly single episodes with a two part finale, a format that I think would work the best for series 11. Series 9 was a half and half mix mostly with single and double episodes, with 4 two parters and 4 single episodes. Series 11 being all single episodes is to make every episode unique. I completely get this, particularly as we have less episodes but I would enjoy a two part finale. It is possible that we will see them return in the future as no series has remained the same from the previous since 2010. It is also possible that two parters might actually be back and therefore making the cliffhanger of episode 9 even more exciting as it would be a surprise. If this was the case it wouldn't be the first time that Chibnall has lied to us, he said he didn't want to cast a gimmick for the role of the Doctor but did that all the same as that was always his intention. We will have to wait and see.

Writer's Room

It has been long rumoured that a US style writers room was to be established for the first time for Doctor Who in Series 11 and this does seem to be the case. A large interest of mine and other Doctor Who fans of my nature is the writers and who writes the best episodes. If that has been lost I will be most disappointed. I don't really want a team of 10 writers writing every episode. I want there to be some written by some and some written by others. I am hoping that as it was described to a mix between the British and American systems that the writer's room idea is only for the foundation and not for the actual script. One can only hope.

Sonic Screwdriver

New Doctor, New COMPANIONS, new TARDIS exterior and theme tune, a sonic was only to be expected. The Sonic Screwdriver has seen many renditions but there has been in total 7 main versions. There was Troughton's, there was Pertwee-Davison, there was McCoy-McGann, Eccleston-Tennant, Smith-Capalaldi and the short lived Series 10 one. This time the Sonic seems to be curved and it now has a red glow after a years of being green. It does look odd, I have to admit. I will have to have time to get used to it and form a proper opinion but at the moment I think it is fine. One interesting thing to note that was said at the Comic Con is that the Doctor makes this one, which means this is technically the second sonic screwdriver the Doctor uses as the previous ones have all been versions of the same sonic.

Christmas Special

This had already been leaked but it now has been officially confirmed that we are indeed getting a Christmas Special after it was rumoured that the festive treat had been cancelled. I am very pleased about this as Doctor Who is a large part of my Christmas Day celebrations. It will be interesting to see whether the special will be part of Series 10 or 11. It will also be interesting to see who will depart and when from the regular cast. I have a feeling that Graham will depart at the end of Series 10 and is currently only there to boost Whitaker's performance as Walsh is quite a big TV star in the UK.

Friends not companions

Well Chibnall has only gone an ignored me more. For the classic series the term assistant was used for the Doctor's time travelling associates, then in modern who the term companion has been used, which was used to a degree in the classic series as well. The term friends strikes the bell of political correctness right to me. I despise this. They are companions, not friends. I don't want to see a list of top 10 friends. I want to see companions! This is so wet-washy that I hope it doesn't last.

And they my friends, were my thoughts.

Doctor Who Series 11: Everything we know so far: July (pre trailer)

I am very sorry that there hasn't been many of these. I have been very busy. There will be more posts to come. Also do take note that the trailer is out during the FIFA World Cup Final this Sunday!

July 2018 (pre-trailer)

Everything in italics is pure speculation only

Previous Articles

May 2017 
August 2017
October 2017
November 2017

January 2018

Regular Cast

13th Doctor - Jodie Whitaker

Graham - Bradley Walsh 

Ryan - Tosin Cole

Yasmin - Mandip Gill

TBA = Sharon D Clarke (Graham's wife)

Nardole

Jack Harkness

K9

Gwen Cooper

Percy the cat

Significant Guest Cast

King James I - Alan Cummings

TBA - Lee Mack

Enemies

A lot of new monsters

Judoon

Zygons

Sontarans

Ice Warriors

No Daleks

Episodes

10 episodes - episode 1 being 1 hour 5 minutes the rest 50 minutes

1 Christmas Special

Air on a Sunday

One continuous storyline

Behind the Scenes staff

Chris Chibnall - Showrunner/Executive Producer

Mark Strevans - Executive Producer

Sam Hoyle - Executive Producer

Nikki Wilson - Producer (Episode 1 + 7 + Christmas)

Alex Mercar -  Producer (Episode 3)

Segun Akolia - Composer

Filming

November 2017-

Airdate

6th October

Writers

Chris Chibnall

Writer's Room

Directors

Jamie Childs - Episode 1 + 7 + 9 + 10
Mark Tonderai - Episode 2 + 3

Sallie Apraminhian - Episode 4 + 6

Jennifer Perrott - Episode 5 + 8

Wayne Yip - Christmas Special

Episode Details

Episode 1 to be set in Sheffield

Episode 2 to be about the Montgomary bus

Three episodes set past, present and future

An episode about the first uncloned Sontarans. 

Changes from last time

1. Shannon D Clarke is portraying Graham's wife

2. K9 is rumoured to return

3. Gwen Cooper is rumoured to return

4. Percy the Cat is to be a new companion of the doctor, all rumour. 

5. Alan Cummings is to play King James I

6. Lee Mack is in the new series

7. The Sontarans are rumoured to reappear

8. Ice Warriors are rumoured to reappear

9. The Daleks are rumoured to be absent

10. A Christmas Special is now confirmed

11. Alex Mercar has been confirmed to be the producer for Episode 3

12. Nikki Wilson will be the producer for the Christmas Special

13. Murray Gold's replacement is Segun Akinola as composer

14. Saturday 6th October (so not Sunday as also rumoured) is the rumoured start date

15. Jamie Childs has also been confirmed to be the director for episode 9 

16. Jamie Childs has also been confirmed to be the director for episode 10

17. Sallie Apraminhian, who was already confirmed to be a director, is confirmed to direct episode 4

18. Sallie Apraminhian is confirmed to be the director of episode 6

19. Jennifer Perrott is the director of episode 5

20. Jennifer Perrott is the director of episode 6

21. Wayne Yip is the director of the Christmas Special

22. Episode 1 is rumoured to be set in Sheffield

23. Episode 2 is rumoured to be about the Montgomary bus racial story

24. Chibnall is rumoured to be taking the show to its original values. 3 stories from the past, 3 from the present and 3 from the future

25. The original uncloned batch of Sontarans are rumoured to be appearing. 

Enjoy the trailer this Sunday!

Donald Trump: A visit to the UK

It is undoubetdly true that Donald Trump is a controversial President - to the extent that her Majesty's invitation for a state visit was cancelled due to fear of mass protest. Instead the President is currently enduring a two day working visit before going to his golf course up in Scotland.

Trump has already enjoyed a black tie formal dinner in Winston Churchill's family home with Theresa May and today is set to watch a joint military excercise between the UK and the US before going to Chequers in Maidenhead to discuss trade deals with the Prime Minister and the newly appointed foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt before finally travelling to Windsor Castle to meet Her Majesty the Queen. One can only fear what would happen if Trump does one of his infamous handshakes with her, breaking all diplomatic code. Just remember that Brendan Cole was sacked from Strictly Come Dancing for touching the Duchess of Cornwall!

Despite this working visit deliberately  avoiding the capital, protests have still occurred, with even a giant inflated Baby Trump balloon over London. Trump claims that 'Britain's love him' but there seems to be little evidence to support that.

Donald Trump has also openly criticized Theresa May's Brexit deal say that it is unlikey that the US will be able to form a deal. This of course extremely unhelpful for Mrs May who has already lost two significant cabinet ministers. Trump has also digged further by saying that Mrs May's biggest rival, Boris Johnson, would make an excellent Prime Minister and has 'got what it takes'. This is adding further fuel to the fire that could remove Theresa May from Downing Street. Trump is also probably well aware of this, he is trying to undermine his allies.

Trump has also informed the Sun newspaper that he has told the Prime Minister how to do the Brexit deal but she didn't listen to him and went and did her own thing. Perhaps this is because Theresa May is an experienced politician and Donald Trump is not or perhaps Theresa doesn't want to be told what to do by the US.

Despite this frictional relationship at the moment, the US and the UK have a very close relationship but yet with Theresa holding the hands of Trump it does appear that yet again the UK is trying to 'suck up' to the US.

David Davies and Boris Johnson have resigned: Leadership contest to follow?

I have been away for a while but here I am; your reaction is undoubtedly the same as Cornelius Fudge at the end of The Order of the Phoenix: "He's Back!"

Late Sunday evening David Davies, the first secretary of state for leaving the European Union in its creation resigned because he didn't believe in Theresa May's 'semi Brexit' that was established at the meeting in Chequers on Friday. This was not unexpected. Davies going was a long time coming. He has never agreed with the watered down version of Brexit that the Prime Minister thought that the British people voted for on that fateful day on 23rd June 2016.

Davies leaving was a blow but Boris Johnson's resignation as foreign secretary only the day after is a more major one. The cabinet is under collective responsibility meaning that all decisions made by the cabinet must be taken by them all. Boris has been allowed a lot of leeway on this. Now he is out he can create more havoc than he did when he was in one of the most powerful positions in the country. Boris' departure came as a surprise for the Prime Minister as he apparently seemed to be behind the decision that was reached at Chequers, to the degree that after that meeting on Friday the Prime Minister said that the days of collective cabinet responsibility was back. Quite wrong it now appears. The question is what does Boris do now. Despite the fact he didn't actually run for leader in the contest that May won in 2016 he has always been seen as her closest rival, potentially having won the contest had Michael Gove, his campaign manager not stabbing him in the back and announcing his own intentions to lead just one hour before the deadline of applying for the post of leader of the Conservative party and by default the position of Prime Minister. Boris probably felt quite pressured into resigning after Davies left and is probably now debating whether or not to challenge Theresa. Theresa met the 1922 committee yesterday and it appears that the backbenchers are behind her with perhaps the most famous of them, Jacob Rees-Mogg, claiming that a leadership challenge is not likely. However if Boris was to make the right moves, taking advantage of the fact that now all four Councillors of state are remainers (more on that later), he probably will be able to reach the minimum of 48 MPs to trigger a vote of no confidence in Theresa May. Theresa is also fully aware of this and the fact that it might happen. She has said she is ready to fight for her post and has told her MPs quite rightly that trying to remove her sees a Corbyn government far more likely. Whether or not a challenge is faced now it is only a matter of time. Theresa May has a very tiny majority - 1 seat more and that's only with the support of the DUP. Again May is all fully aware of her challenges. She has met with the opposition to make it clear to them that her version is far better than the clear cut hard Brexit that Boris would put forward.

The issue is that if Boris does put forward a leadership challenge we will have three months of voting procedure, being done in October if it were to be conducted now. That would mean that the government would only have 5 months to further agree on their policies, pass it through the commons and then the lords and then to the EU negotiating team and then have agreed by all other 27 nations. If Theresa wins (which she probably would - although it still would be a challenge) she still would have enough rebels to still be potentially defeated in the commons. This might mean a vote of no confidence in the government itself, conducted by Jeremy Corbyn, triggering a general election. If this occurs the chance of a deal by 29th March 2019 is highly unlikely.

David Davies' replacement as Secretary of State for Leaving the European Union is Dominic Raab, a former housing minister and staunch Brexiteer. Although perhaps a little under-qualified he is one of the few leave supporters to stick by Theresa. The only more experience Brexiteer to stay with May is Gove but awarding him with such a promotion would be awarding him for his political backstabbing. The position does need to be a brexiteer so this is probably a good choice.

With so many experience politicians no longer being around following many resignations and forced departures (see below), Theresa's options for a great Councillor of state was incredibly limited. Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary is the only logical choice. He is a close ally to Theresa and will stick by her. The problem with his appointment is that as health secretary he has been remarkably unpopular and he is a remainer meaning that the four most powerful positions in the government (Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary) are all remainers. This is going to offend many Brexiteers in the Conservative Party and is undoubtedly going to cause problems to some sort of degree.

Following Jeremy Hunt being moved from the position of health secretary, that positin has gone to Matt Hancock, the former Culture Secretary and remainer. Hancock has been replaced by Jeremy Wright as culture secretary, the former attorney general. The new attorney general is the backbencher Geoffrey Cox. Kit Malthouse is the new housing minister, another former backbencher.

Theresa now has the choice of continuing her Chequers plan and face further resignations or altering it and not having it passed through by the opposition and have it slowed down by remainer house of lords. Whatever Theresa decides, a no deal is now highly likely.

In Theresa's two years as Prime Minister she has faced many resignations. A reminder.

1. Sir Michael Fallon - Defence Secretary - resigned after allocations of sexual misconduct

2. Priti Patel - International Development Secretary - resigned after it was discovered she had had undisclosed meeting with the Israeli government.

3. Damian Green - First Secretary of State (essentially deputy to the PM) - resigned after an inquiry discovered he had violated ministerial code after watching indecent videos on his office computer.

4. Amber Rudd - Home Secretary - resigned after she misinformed the house of commons of immigration removal targets.

5. David Davies - Brexit Secretary - resigned after disagreeing with the PM's plans for Brexit

6. Boris Johnson - Foreign Secretary - resigned after disagreeing with the PM's plans for Brexit.