Interactive guide to Doctor Who and his regenerations‏

The Guardian has published a complete interactive guide to Doctor Who and his regenerations. As we prepare for the departure of David Tennant and the arrival of Matt Smith as the 11th incarnation of the Doctor, it looks back at how his predecessors met their fates.

Sci-fi updates

• The BBC has announced that David Tennant is to appear as the Time Lord in the spin-off show The Sarah Jane Adventures. He will appear over two episodes of a new 12-part series of the CBBC show, which starts in September. The same news item notes that Doctor Who may be heading for the big screen after a spokeswoman for BBC Films confirmed that "a script is in development".
• Seen the new Star Trek film yet? If you are a fan, you may enjoy this Guardian article on the Starship Enterprise as a classic of everyday design.

Springwatch

Springwatch is back on the TV this evening for its annual three week run. Checkout the website for:

• Breathing Spaces - content that you can download, print out, and take with you into the great outdoors (pocket guides, MP3s etc);
• Do One Thing - lots of little things to do to make a big difference for nature;
• Springwatch Flickr group - share your pictures of spring or just browse beautiful images of the season's best flora and fauna.

Star Trek links

The film Star Trek was released earlier this month. It got a definitive thumbs-up from a select group from Infusion who went to see it. If watching it made you want to check this prequel against the original series, you may be interested in Memory Alpha, a collaborative project to create the most definitive, accurate, and accessible encyclopedia and reference for everything related to Star Trek.

See also:

• Wikipedia on Star Trek (2009)
• Damaris Culture Watch on Star Trek
• Christianity Today Movies on Star Trek

Repeat showing of Narnia Code (May 18‏)

If you missed The Narnia Code last month it is to be repeated on May 18 at 7.30pm on BBC4.

Googling to check if it would be available on the BBC iPlayer again, I found this article: Secret theme behind Narnia Chronicles is based upon the stars, says new research with some background to the documentary as well as the official Narnia Code website.

Update: Thanks to Michael for letting me know that the programme IS available on the iPlayer until next Monday (25th).

The Narnia Code

I missed The Narnia Code on BBC1 last night but am pleased I will be able to watch it on BBC iPlayer. In it CS Lewis expert Dr Michael Ward explains the hidden meaning behind the Narnia Chronicles.

See Narnia in the News for a link to a review of Ward's book, Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis.

Animal Olympics

I had been hoping that the 2008 Olympics might be an excuse for the BBC to show again two "documentaries" from earlier Games. In the run-up to the 2004 Olympic Games, BBC One's Animal Games proved to be a big hit with viewers. "Athletes" from the mammal, fish, bird, herptile (reptiles and amphibians) and insect worlds competed in human events. All competitors were scaled to human size to allow them to compete against each other. This was followed by the Animal Winter Olympics (which doesn't appear to be available as a DVD) in 2006.

The programmes were light-hearted but informative. An online photo gallery from Animal Games is available.

Star in a reasonably-priced TARDIS

A fun idea by staff at the BBC has resulted in a "hilarious mash up of Doctor Who and Top Gear": Star in a reasonably-priced TARDIS. This combines clips of the TARDIS in flight from the show with David Tennant's appearance in Top Gear's Star In A Reasonably Priced Car slot. It shows Jeremy Clarkson talking Tennant through a lap in the TARDIS and when the clip was shown to Clarkson and Top Gear's Executive Producer they loved it and agreed that it could be put online.

What's the meaning of green?

In the 1970s Kermit the Frog sang about the hardship of being green (video of its not easy being green) but now the term "green" is now used universally. An article on the BBC website ponders What is the meaning of 'green'? noting that retailers, politicians, High Street firms (especially supermarkets) have jumped on the bandwagon, and an entire industry of smaller green firms has been developed.

Doctor Who does books

In the Year of Reading, its good to see that the new series of Doctor Who (which kicks off on Saturday) features two episodes set in a library and one which features Agatha Christie's ten-day disappearance and provides viewers with the opportunity to "spot how many titles of Christie novels are hidden in the dialogue".

A two-part story Silence in the Library and River's Run apparently promises "an abandoned library, moving shadows, the gruesome Nodes, and the horrifying Data Ghost" - the Radio Times reviewer says the latter is "possibly the most spine-chilling scene I've ever seen, anywhere".

Wildlife round-up

The Big Garden Birdwatch results are now in. Overall, the average number of birds seen in each garden has declined by a fifth since 2004, and house sparrows have decreased by almost two thirds since 1979, and starlings by three quarters over the same period. Despite this, however, four species of finch, which spend the winter in the UK, were seen in increased numbers. Click here to find out who is perched at the top of the Big Garden Birdwatch table in 2008.

Cameras held by elephants' trunks have been used to provide an intimate view of tigers in the jungle, to be seen in a new BBC documentary (30 March at 8p on BBC1). Because the big cats are used to the presence of elephants, the tusked giants were able to get far closer to them than a human film crew ever could. Thanks to the "trunk-cams", the team was able to follow four newborn tiger cubs all the way through to adulthood. See video of the trunk-cam here.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

On Easter Sunday BBC are showing The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's book (you can check out the trailer here). If you've read the book or heard the radio adaptations then you'll know that the main character, Precious Ramotswe, drinks lots of tea - her preferred tea is bush tea or rooibos.

To celebrate the film being shown, The Redbush Tea Company are running a competition to win an African Adventure (purchase required). However, there's also a competition on the website to win a Redbush teapot and a box of 80 Redbush teabags sending the company your questions, recipes or feedback. Check out the rooibos recipes for inspiration.

Holy Week TV: The Passion

During Holy Week 2008 BBC1 will broadcast The Passion, a dramatic re-telling of the last days of Jesus. The series will be shown in peak time and will be seen by many millions of people. It will start on Palm Sunday 16th March on BBC 1 at prime time until Easter Sunday. The programme website offers a range of resources.

The Churches' Media Council website provides notes intended to help churches and others to prepare for the series - offering principles they would like to commend to the Christian community in approaching the series.

More locally, Christ in the Centre, Leicester offers a unique opportunity on Good Friday 2008 to witness a dramatic reconstruction of the events which changed the world at the start of the first millennium.

Natural World

If you've not given up watching TV for Lent, I can thoroughly recommend the current series of The Natural World on BBC Two. It is the BBC Natural History Unit's longest running series. It is internationally renowned for bringing exotic wildlife, stunning scenery and breathtaking insights into the world we share. If you miss the programmes, and have broadband, you can watch the most recent episode on iPlayer. The next two episodes are:

• Saved by dolphins Since ancient times there have been stories of dolphins rescuing humans at sea. But is there any truth behind them, or are they just myths and legends? Set against the stunning backdrops of the Red Sea and New Zealand's North Island, the film dramatises two events where dolphins apparently saved humans from shark attacks. [BBC Two Fri 8 Feb 8.00pm and Sat 9 Feb 6.05pm]
• Badgers: secrets of the sett Deep in a picturesque Devon valley lives the best loved wild animal in Britain. Yet while the badger is easily recognised, remarkably few people have ever seen one alive. For a creature never far from controversy and blamed for all manner of destruction and disease, surprisingly little is known about the badger's private family life. Using the latest research and hidden cameras this film exposes the secrets of life in the sett. [BBC Two Fri 15 Feb 8.00pm and Sat 16 Feb 5.40pm]

Set your videos....

Radio Times has alerted me to a couple of programmes in the next week of interest to Doctor Who fans:

• On Sunday David Tennant crops up in Learners a comedy drama about a terrible driver who remains determined to pass her driving test. He plays Chris, a driving instructor. An earlier press release indicated that the latter role has a twist as Chris is a devout Christian with the patience of a saint. Its always interesting to see how the media portrays Christians...
• On Friday 16th, Children in Need will include a mini-episode of Doctor Who with the fifth (Peter Davison) and tenth incarnations (David Tennant) meeting up.

Friends and Heroes brings Bible Stories to BBC2

A new series of animated action adventure series focusing on Bible stories is currently running on BBC2. Friends and Heroes, the UK-produced cartoon, aims to bring Bible stories from both the Old and New Testaments to a new generation of children (6-10 years) who may never have heard them before, with thirteen episodes running from September to December. They feature state-of-the-art 2D and 3D animation to tell the story of two first-century young people, Macky and Portia, who meet when they live in Roman-occupied Alexandria. Their idealism and friendship leads them across the ancient world from the besieged city of Jerusalem to Rome.

The series has been produced to the highest standards of biblical integrity with Revd Stephen Gaukroger, Senior Minister at Gold Hill Baptist Church, as senior biblical advisor. It has also been endorsed by members of the Catholic Church’s Bishops’ Council for use in Catholic schools. Scheduling details and further information found here.

CultureWatch on Doctor Who

Phil blogged on the theology of Doctor Who concerning an early episode in the 2007 series of Doctor Who. Belatedly catching up with email newsletters that arrived when I was on holiday, I've found an article from Damaris CultureWatch by Tony Watkins, entitled Mastery or madness?, discussing the series finale. There are lots of resonances with the Christian faith - including the Master rejecting forgivesness and grace because he does not want to face up to its implications. Tony Watkins concludes his article by stating "this isn’t the first time that the Doctor has echoed Jesus Christ in some way, but he has never done so more clearly or more powerfully".

You may be interested in signing up to CultureWatch Update, a free weekly email newsletter which introduces the latest additions to the CultureWatch site.

The armchair walker

BBC will shortly be launching the Ultimate Outdoors Season. Part of the season is a new five part series starting on BBC2 entitled Mountain (Sunday 29th July from 9-10pm). Griff Rhys Jones is the presenter and he begins his exploration of Britain's mountains in the breathtaking wilderness of the northwest highlands of Scotland. I gather that there's also a new series of Wainwright's Walks starting on BBC Four soon. A radio alternative is Ramblings - don't forget that you can listen again to radio programmes in the week after they are broadcast.

Saving Planet Earth

The BBC is launching a fortnight of programmes on the theme of Saving Planet Earth, fronted by David Attenborough. This wide reaching season of programmes supporting wildlife conservation launches at 7pm on Sunday 24th. Check out the local pages for a sweet tale of 15 ducklings hatching outside Loughborough Library.

The Theology of Doctor Who

This is a loose collection of thoughts which could be better if given more time, but it might be useful as it is.

I find an element of Doctor Who each week is usually aligned in some way with Christian theology. This week (5 May) the Doctor encountered an 76 year old scientist who succeeded in making himself 40 again. Unfortunately the DNA manipulation did not stop there, and it resurrected latent genes which turned him periodically into a raving monster.

Part of the argument voiced by the Doctor against the monster was that death is a part of being human, saying that in living a long time people get tired.

An aspect of the issue was also reflected this week in the enhanced production by Boots of an anti-wrinkle cream which has been proven to work. Queues formed, and people in the queues did not want their photos taken by newspapers.

Jesus pointed us towards a relationship with God as the basis for our long term - eternal - security. He did not make light of the body, viewing it as sacred and given by God as a gift, so wanting to have smoother skin is not wrong. However, he emphasised the importance of faith and belief in himself above anxiety about our physical fate.