Moonwrack

I am old enough to have seen the very first episode of Dr Who when it was transmitted in 1963. I have seen many of the other Doctors in action and, is spite of being in the old-fogey age category I would say that Matt Smith has taken up the baton as the latest Doctor with great style and originality. He has clearly brought something new to the role, without losing the subtle thread of continuity extending back to William Hartnell in 1963. I hope he will stay with the part long enough to develop it even further. As for Karen Gillan; well, she is quite the best female lead since Elizabeth Sladen; maybe the two will meet in a future episode.

A wonderful retrospective romp; a series of adventures in the style of Enid Blyton's Famous Five. (Maybe Dick Barton is the grown-up version of the FF's Dick). Tony Vogel plays his part in the style of Michael Palin in his Ripping Yarns character. He is an excellent actor so presumably this was deliberate. Otherwise, Dick Barton (1979) is endearingly incoherent, but vintage car enthusiasts will love it. Essentially, the idea for the series, although produced thirty years after the radio original, seems to have been about thirty years ahead of its time. Miss Marple's latest series has produced a taste for the late 1940's so maybe another remake would be appropriate.

The quality of the leading actors, notably Patrick Stewart, Kyle MacLachlan and (lesser-known on the international stage but highly-rated in the UK) Roy Marsden, fails to raise the film from the ranks of the unwatchable. Fortunately, although clearly not intentionally, this situation offsets the not-so-subtle anti-British propaganda; something which features regularly in American productions. In this instance, Nemo's wife and daughter have died while being interrogated by the British during a rebellion in India. Presumably this is a pseudo-historical reference to the Indian Mutiny of 1857. However, it seems likely that most people will have switched off before that regrettable piece of dialogue is reached.