English Entertainment
FX to premiere special episodes of ‘Doctor Who’
MUMBAI: With Christmas right around the corner, many show creators are all set to play Santa – giving viewers a truly X-Mas’y feeling. But nothing tops the Christmas offering that FX has in its Santa bag! A double treat for viewers this Christmas, FX will extend the festive feeling right from Christmas, 25 December 2015 up to 27 December 2015 for a merry-making X-Mas weekend.
On 25 December 2015, the edgy entertainment channel as part of its Christmas will air Christmas special episodes of Doctor Who from its previous seasons namely Last Christmas – part 1 and part 2 , The Time of the Doctor – part 1 and 2, The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe – part 1 and 2 and A Christmas Carol – part 1 and 2. The Christmas special marathon will be on-air all day on Christmas, starting 12 pm right till 8 pm. But the merriment does not end here.
As part of an extended Christmas offering, FX and FX HD will be showcasing the all-new Christmas special episode The Husbands of River Song simulcast on 27 December at 11 pm.
The all-new and exciting episode The Husbands of River Song boasts the return of River Song (played by guest star) Alex Kingston. One of the most loved characters on the show since 2008, Professor River Song was introduced to the series as an experienced future companion of series protagonist the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time in his Tardis. A time-traveller herself, River was initially a companion, then a romantic interest and eventually became the wife of the Doctor in his eleventh incarnation, portrayed by Matt Smith. Other actresses have subsequently portrayed younger versions of the character since her first appearance in 2008.
It’s Christmas Day in the future and the Tardis is parked on a snowy village street, covered in icicles, awaiting its next adventure. Time traveller River Song meets her husband’s new incarnation, in the form of Peter Capaldi, for the first time this Christmas. But wait, will she even know that the Doctor is the Doctor? And is she married to someone else too?
The episode follows the Doctor’s latest adventure when on Christmas Day 5343, in the remote human colony of Mendorax Dellora, the Doctor is hiding from Christmas carollers and comedy reindeer antlers. But when a crashed spaceship calls upon him for help, the doctor quickly finds himself recruited into River Song’s squad, and hurled into a fast, frantic chase across the galaxy pursued by River’s new husband, his Infinite Majesty King Hydroflax of the Final Cluster. Will any of them make it out alive? And when will River Song work out who the Doctor is? All will be revealed on a star-liner full of galactic super-villains, and a destination the Doctor has been avoiding for a very long time
The 2015 Doctor Who Christmas special is written by the series’ lead writer and executive producer, Steven Moffat. It is executive produced by Brian Minchin, produced by Nikki Wilson and directed by Douglas Mackinnon of both, Doctor Who and Sherlock fame.
“To be honest, I did not know whether River would ever return to the show,” said Kingston of the special. “But here she is, back with the Doctor for the Christmas special. Steven Moffat is on glittering form, giving us an episode filled with humor and surprise guest castings. I met Peter for the first time at Monday’s read through. We had a laugh, and I am now excited and ready to start filming with him and the Doctor Who team.”
“Another Christmas, another special for Doctor Who,” says Moffat, “and what could be more special than the return of Alex Kingston as Professor River Song? The last time the Doctor saw her, she was a ghost. The first time he met her, she died. So how can he be seeing her again? As ever, with the most complicated relationship in the universe, it’s a matter of time…”
English Entertainment
Ellison takes his Paramount-Warner Bros case straight to theater owners
The Skydance chief goes to CinemaCon with promises and a skeptical crowd waiting
CALIFORNIA: David Ellison strode into a room packed with thousands of cinema owners and executives at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Thursday and did something rather bold: he looked them in the eye and asked them to trust him.
The chief executive of Paramount Skydance vowed that his company would release a minimum of 30 films a year if regulators greenlight its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, a deal that has made theater owners deeply, and loudly, nervous.
“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word,” Ellison told the crowd. “Once we combine with Warner Bros, we are going to make a minimum of 30 films annually across both studios.”
It was a confident pitch. Whether it landed is another matter. Cinema operators have already called on regulators to block the deal, and scepticism in the room was hardly concealed.
Ellison pushed back by pointing to recent form. Paramount, born from the merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media last August, plans to release 15 films this year, nearly double the eight it put out in 2025. Progress, he argued, was already underway.
He also threw theater owners a bone they have long been chasing: all films, he pledged, would run exclusively in cinemas for a minimum of 45 days, drawing applause from a crowd that has spent years fighting for exactly that commitment across the industry.
“People can speculate all they want,” Ellison said, “but I am standing here today telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment. And we’ll show you we mean it.”
Fine words. The regulators, however, will have the last one.
