Fourth Series Of Sherlock CommissionedBookmark and Share

Thursday, 14 March 2013 - Reported by John Bowman
With filming on the third series of Sherlock due to start this coming Monday, it has been revealed by the title star Benedict Cumberbatch that the show has been guaranteed a fourth series at least - and there may be more after that.

Speaking at the South Bank Show Awards on Tuesday, he said that he and co-star Martin Freeman had signed for two series, adding:
All I know at the moment is we're doing these three [episodes] and another three. I just don't know what there is beyond that.
However, he said that although he was keen for the drama to keep running it really depended on the availability of himself, Freeman, and co-creator (and Doctor Who showrunner) Steven Moffat.

Talking about the first readthrough for Series 3's first episode, which took place on Monday, he said of Holmes's "return from the dead":
You are in for an absolute stonker of a resurrection. It's going to be a treat. It's a terrific episode . . . I really recommend waiting. It's going to be great.
He also told radiotimes.com that the new series could air this Christmas.

In the meantime, to whet the appetite of viewers a panoramic picture of the set for inside 221B Baker Street has been released by production designer Arwel Wyn Jones:



The BBC Two drama Parade's End, which starred Cumberbatch, picked up the TV Drama gong at the awards. It was presented by Richard E Grant.




FILTER: - Sherlock

Missing Believed Wiped At The BFIBookmark and Share

Thursday, 14 March 2013 - Reported by John Bowman
BFI Southbank is to run a series of Missing Believed Wiped specials this year to celebrate 20 years of its initiative recovering lost TV material.

The aim is to highlight the most recent finds as well as revisit some old favourites, and the first special - entitled An Evening with John Henshall - will take place on Tuesday 28th May, starting at 6.30pm.

It was from the former television cameraman and director of photography's collection that missing footage of David Bowie performing The Jean Genie on Top of the Pops in 1973 was recovered and shown by the BFI at its 2011 MBW event. Henshall had designed special Telefex fish-eye lenses to create optical effects for the performance - recorded on 3rd January and broadcast for the one and only time the next day - and kept the footage for his showreel, not realising until 2011 that the BBC had wiped its copy.

The BFI said:
John has had a long career in the TV industry and was found to have hundreds of tapes of rare and missing bits of television within his collection, and these are being catalogued by our colleagues at Kaleidoscope, the classic television organisation.

He will join us on stage to share some of those gems with us and regale us with the fascinating – often hilarious – stories behind the productions. Expect more magical moments of missing music, segments of lost dramas, rare pop video footage, and other unmissable examples of the flotsam and jetsam of British television.

We hope to be joined on the night by some of the talents involved in the items screened.

Some of the items will be screened in full at a later MBW event.

UPDATE: 11th APRIL:
Tickets to the event are now on sale via this link.




FILTER: - BFI - UK - Special Events

Neil Gaiman Talks NeverwhereBookmark and Share

Sunday, 10 March 2013 - Reported by John Bowman
Fantasy writer Neil Gaiman has been talking about the forthcoming radio adaptation of urban fantasy Neverwhere.

He tells of his disappointment with the TV version, which was co-created by him and Lenny Henry and aired on BBC2 in 1996, and how excited he is about this new six-parter, which starts on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday 16th March and continues on BBC Radio 4 Extra from 18th to 22nd March.

The stellar radio cast includes James McAvoy as lead character Richard Mayhew, Christopher Lee as the Earl of Earl's Court, Natalie Dormer as Door, Bernard Cribbins as Old Bailey, Benedict Cumberbatch as Islington, Sophie Okonedo as Hunter, David Harewood as the Marquis de Carabas, and Anthony Head as Mr Croup.

A trailer and pictures have also been released as part of the promotion.




The adaptation will be available to listen to worldwide on the BBC iPlayer.




FILTER: - Radio - Neverwhere

Sherlock Series 3 Filming Start Date AnnouncedBookmark and Share

Saturday, 9 March 2013 - Reported by John Bowman
The third series of Sherlock will start filming on Monday 18th March, it has been announced.

The date was confirmed to website Sherlockology by the show's producer Sue Vertue.

Principal photography is having to be done in two waves, though, because of the availability of stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Holmes) and Martin Freeman (Watson) for filming. Two of the three episodes will be shot at first, with cast and crew then taking an early break for the summer before returning a few weeks later for the final episode of the series.

Vertue, who is married to the show's co-creator Steven Moffat, said:
We could never have fitted all three films into one long go because of everyone's availability. It's being flexible like this which allows us to keep making them.
The start date coincides with the beginning of filming on the 50th-anniversary episode of Doctor Who - and Moffat is also the showrunner of the sci-fi series.

Last Thursday, Freeman told Graham Norton, on the latter's Comic Relief's Big Chat on BBC Three, that even after reading Mark Gatiss's "brilliant" script, he and the rest of the cast still weren't entirely sure how Holmes had managed to survive his rooftop fall at the end of Series 2. Gatiss is the fellow co-creator of the show.




FILTER: - Sherlock

In The Flesh: Know The Undead Facts And RelaxBookmark and Share

Friday, 8 March 2013 - Reported by John Bowman
The second of three pseudo-government information videos about zombies was released by BBC Three today to promote the upcoming drama In The Flesh.

In it, despite the calm tone of the narrator, the threat level has been raised from "substantial" to "severe" and it contains tongue-in-cheek advice regarding what to do regarding zombies - or Partially Deceased Syndrome sufferers, as they are known in the three-parter.


Written by Dominic Mitchell, directed by Jonny Campbell, and starring Luke Newberry as zombie teenager Kieren Walker, it begins on Sunday 17th March at 10pm.





FILTER: - In The Flesh

Being Human: The Last BroadcastBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 5 March 2013 - Reported by John Bowman
The BBC Three supernatural drama Being Human draws to an end next Sunday after five series.

The final episode, fittingly entitled The Last Broadcast, has been written by show creator Toby Whithouse and directed by Daniel O'Hara. It guest-stars returnees Louis Mahoney as Leo and Ellie Kendrick as Allison, while Gordon Kennedy plays Brendan, Peter Dobbie is a newsreader and Whithouse cameos as Alistair Frith once again.

The supernatural trinity has been broken.

There is little left of Hal's humanity. Having feasted on blood and recruited an army of vampires, he's ready to return to his hedonistic and debauched days. Tom is set on revenge and has returned to his default setting – vampire killer, with one vampire in mind. Alex is trapped in a hellish prison by Captain Hatch.

Unbeknown to them all, Hatch is no longer wheelchair-bound and weak; he's regained his strength and is determined to cause as much chaos, death, and destruction as possible.

Hal, Tom, and Alex do battle with the Devil in order to save the world - but at what price to their own humanity?
Damien Molony plays Hal, Michael Socha Tom, Kate Bracken Alex, and Phil Davis Hatch.

A preview clip has been released, featuring a macabre take on the musical number Puttin' On The Ritz :


Pictures from the episode were released by the BBC today:



In addition, an extra scene - written by Sarah Dollard - following last Sunday's episode and featuring Tom and Rook (Steven Robertson) was made available online yesterday evening:




The Last Broadcast airs on BBC Three on Sunday 10th March at 10pm.




FILTER: - Being Human