14 NT NEWS. Monday, October 14, 2013. www.ntnews.com.au
Rare find justwhattheDoctor orderedBy DANNY KEMP
LONDON: Nine missing epi-sodes of cult BBC science fic-tion drama Doctor Who havebeen found in a televisionstation storeroom in Nigeria,nearly half a century afterthey were last seen.
Among the recovered1960s’ footage is most ofthe classic story The Web ofFear, a black-and-white ad-venture in which the TimeLord, then played by PatrickTroughton, battles a robot
yeti in London’s under-ground train system.
The tapes were found gath-ering dust in a television stat-ion in Jos, a central Nigeriancity plagued by chronic sec-tarian violence.
The trove, which is beingdescribed by the BBC as the‘‘largest haul of missing epi-sodes recovered in the lastthree decades’’, also includessix-part story The Enemy ofthe World. ‘‘It’s thrilling,’’said Mark Gatiss, author ofrecent Doctor Who episodes.
‘‘Every single avenueseemed to have been exhaus-ted, every now and thensomething turns up — but tohave two virtually completestories out of the blue is ab-solutely incredible.’’
The BBC destroyed manyof the drama’s original tapesin the 1960s and 1970s butsome were copied for sale toforeign broadcasters.
Despite the find, 97 epi-sodes remain lost.
The episodes were un-covered by Phillip Morris, di-
rector of Television Internat-ional Enterprises Archive.
‘‘The tapes had been leftgathering dust in a storeroomat a television relay stationin Nigeria,’’ he said, addingthat they were ‘‘just sittingon the shelf’’.
‘‘I remember wiping thedust off the masking tape onthe canisters and my heartmissed a beat as I saw thewords, Doctor Who.
‘‘When I read the storycode I realised I’d foundsomething pretty special.’’
The tapes originally wentfrom Britain to Hong Kongand then on to a series of tele-vision stations in Nigeria aspart of the distribution thatoperated at the time.
Mr Morris said he had been‘‘lucky’’ to find the tapes in-tact given the high tempera-tures in Nigeria.
Mr Morris said it was‘‘probably the largest haul ofmissing episodes recoveredin the last 25, 30 years.’’
The programs will be avail-able on iTunes and DVD.
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Killers stuckon death rowLONDON: The Killers ap-pear to be on the verge ofsplitting up following newssuggesting bassist MarkStoermer has quit the band.
The former philosophystudent pulled out of theAsia leg of the group’s BattleBorn world tour due to ‘‘per-sonal reasons’’ at the end ofSeptember, and now band-mate Ronnie Vannucci hashinted the rockers mightnot continue without him.
‘‘I don’t want to blow thetop on it,’’ Vannucci toldNME backstage after a re-cent gig in Hong Kong.
‘‘Being part of this ma-chine is physical and men-tally exhausting.’’
Asked if the band wouldcarry on without Stoermerif the rumours of his depar-ture were true, he added:‘‘I’d hope we’d keep truck-ing on. But at the same time,it isn’t the same band.’’
Just weeks after being cast as the lead, Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam has pulled the pin on Fifty Shades of Grey
Red facesasShadesof Greystar quitsNEW YORK: Charlie Hun-nam is dropping out of thehighly anticipated big-screenversion of Fifty Shades ofGrey just weeks after beingcast as the lead, citing hisbusy schedule.
Universal Pictures andFocus Features announcedthe British actor, who was toplay Christian Grey, willdepart the project.
The studio called it a mutu-al decision because Hun-nam’s preparation time waslimited by his televisionschedule. He stars in the FXseries Sons of Anarchy.
It’s an abrupt and embarr-assing switch for a high-profile film.
Fans of E L James’ eroticbest-seller are eagerly await-ing the movie adaptation,which will be directed bySam Taylor-Johnson.
Dakota Johnson remainsin the co-starring role ofAnastasia Steele.
A replacement will besought for Hunnam, who lastmonth said he initiallyturned down the role.
When his casting was an-nounced in September, manyvented their concern online,claiming the actor (PacificRim) was ill suited to play theseductive billionaire.
Producers Dana Brunettiand Michael De Luca took toTwitter to defend the choice,maintaining their two leadshad good chemistry together.
Representatives for Hun-nam didn’t respond to a re-quest for comment.
ROMANCEREIGNITESLONDON: Actress/model Eliz-abeth Hurley and formercricket ace Shane Warne areback on track after the Aus-sie turned out to support theBritish beauty on the set ofher new TV show.The pair reportedly called offtheir engagement in Sept-ember but have been tryingto overcome their issues,and Warne was by Hurley’sside as she shot scenes forThe Royals in Oxfordshire.
MEGRETURNSTOTVLOS ANGELES: Hollywood ac-tress Meg Ryan is headingback to the small screen af-ter signing on to produce andstar in a new comedy series.The When Harry Met Sallystar will portray a formerhotshot editor and singlemum in New York in the as-yet-untitled show for Amer-ica’s NBC network.The program is being writtenby former Family Ties scribeMarc Lawrence, according toThe Hollywood Reporter.
UNIVERSALAPOLOGYNEW DELHI: Organisers ofMiss Universe extendedtheir ‘‘deepest apologies’’ toIndia over a photo shoot atthe Taj Mahal that triggereda police case and accusationsthat the reigning title holderdisrespected the famedmonument to love.Miss Universe Olivia Culpo, a21-year-old American, visi-ted the mid-17th centurymausoleum during a 10-daytour of India.During her time at the WorldHeritage site, she posed forcameraswith branded shoes.
LEE’S LEADINGMENLOS ANGELES: DirectorLee Daniels is on the lookoutfor the perfect male lovematch for Alex Pettyfer tostar alongside him in Hol-lywood’s first ever gay actionhero blockbuster.
Old pals Kenny andDolly reunite for duetNASHVILLE: Three decadesafter their unforgettableteam up on Islands in theStream, Kenny Rogers andDolly Parton have a new duetout on Rogers’ latest album.
The title song from YouCan’t Make Old Friendsshows once again the specialchemistry he and Parton
have. But Rogers says itstops there.
‘‘Working with Dolly is agreat rush for me because weare good friends and we havebeen forever,’’ Rogers said.
‘‘People always thought wewere having an affair and wedidn’t want to ruin it becauseif we’d had an affair, we’d
lose that spark. We just flirt-ed a lot.’’
Not even one stolen kiss?‘‘Flirting is more electric
than passion — it’s the antici-pation,’’ Rogers said. ‘‘Shedoes it better than anybodyI’ve ever seen.’’
Rogers asked The Gamblersongwriter Don Schlitz to
come up with a song he coulddo with Parton that definedtheir relationship, and OldFriends was the result.
The release this week of thenew album kicks off an event-ful month for the 75-year-oldRogers. He’ll be inducted intothe Country Music Hall ofFame on October 27.
Star brothers in spot of botherLOS ANGELES: The JonasBrothers could owe millionsfor cancelling their US con-cert tour.
A spokesperson for the poptrio, comprised of Nick, 21,Joe, 24, and Kevin, 25, con-firmed the 19-day trek wasaxed due to ‘‘a deep rift with-in the band’’.
According to MTV News,
the Jonas’s reason for cancel-ling is unlikely to satisfy in-surers and they could be ‘‘onthe hook for millions’’.
‘‘If they cancelled becausethey had a rift within theband, that’s something notinsurable, because it’s with-in their control,’’ said CarolThornhill from insurancebroker Robertson Taylor.
