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Billie Piper to star in Reasons to be Pretty

Former Doctor Who star Billie Piper will return to the stage to star in the UK premiere of Neil LaBute's Reasons to Be Pretty, which runs at the Almeida Theatre from 17th November 2011 (previews from 10th November) to 14th January 2012.

Reasons to Be Pretty, which will also be directed by LaBute, examines our perception of beauty and asks whether it is as much of a curse to be conventionally attractive as it is to be considered ugly.

The play had its world premiere at New York’s Lucille Lortel Theater in 2008 and has previously been tipped for the West End and connected with names including Lily Allen, Julia Stiles and Ugly Betty’s America Ferrera.

Billie Piper made her stage debut in 2007 in the West End revival of Christopher Hampton’s Treats. The former pop star’s many television credits include Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Doctor Who, A Passionate Woman, Mansfield Park, The Ruby in the Smoke, ShakespeaReTold and Things to Do Before You’re 30.

[Source: What's On Stage]

6.9: Night Terrors - DWO Spoiler Free Preview

DWO have seen 6.9: Night Terrors and have put our spoiler-free preview together:

Leaving behind the series story arc for the time being, Night Terrors delivers a welcome change in style, pace and tone as Mark Gatiss offers up his fourth Doctor Who script, which is arguably one of his finest.

The story focuses on an 8-year old George, who is so terrified by the Monsters in his bedroom that he cannot sleep at night. His parents cannot help him, and so The Doctor comes to the rescue - making his first house call in a long time.

But there's more to George than meets the eye, as the mystery of what lurks in his wardrobe reaches a spine-tingling conclusion. Thus ensues a dark, creepy adventure that transports the TARDIS crew to a creaky old house with dolls that hunt you down and…well…that would be telling…

This could have quite easily been a companion-lite story like 2008's Midnight, but Gatiss puts both Amy and Rory to good use here, even allowing for a little character development along the way.

The star of the show, however, is young George, played by Jamie Oram. A terrific piece of casting that holds the whole story together due to conviction and belief.

Daniel Mays (Atonement; Ashes to Ashes) also sparkles, showing a more tender side to characters he has previously played on Film and TV.

There's something for both kids and adults in Night Terrors, with some particularly adult themes explored, including, for the first time in Doctor Who, IVF!

A few of the scenes in the flat share some similarities to 2010's The Lodger, owing to the almost surreal placement of The Doctor in a socially normal setting, but thankfully there's enough going on without it seeming too simulative or cliche.

There's also some great original scoring from Murray Gold, who portrays the seemingly mundane council setting with lazy clarinets and sweeping harps that give an almost Tim Burton-esque feel to the whole adventure.

Overall, Night Terrors is a very different story to anything in the Matt Smith era thus far. It isn't a 'classic' by any means, but thanks to a great plot and supporting cast, it will stand out as one of the more memorable episodes from an already strong season.

Five things to look out for...

1) The lift from hell.

2) Don't take the rubbish out alone!

3) "The Emperor Dalek's New Clothes", "Snow White and the Seven Keys to Doomsday".

4) A giant pair of scissors.

5) "Tick-Tock goes the clock, even for The Doctor".

[Source: Doctor Who Online]

Series 6: Part 2 - DVD Cover and Details

2|Entertain have sent DWO the cover and details for the 10th October DVD release of Series 6: Part 2.

The Doctor, Amy and Rory return to face monsters, mysteries and adventures all across time and space in the second part of the action-packed sixth series. Billed as the biggest and best series yet, the final 6 thrilling episodes of arrive on DVD and Blu ray from 10th October, priced £25.52 and £30.63. Episodes are also available on download to own.

With Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, Arthur Darvill as Rory and Alex Kingston as River Song, these exciting new episodes also guest stars a wealth of British acting talent including David Walliams (Come Fly With Me), James Corden (Gavin and Stacey), Daniel Mays (Outcasts), Simon Callow (Rome) and Mark Gatiss (Sherlock).

The truth about River Song is out and the time has come for the Doctor to face his greatest demons. Venturing across centuries and galaxies, the Doctor, Amy and Rory will encounter the greatest war criminal in all of history - and Hitler. Together, they'll discover there's no scarier place in the universe than a child's bedroom and a visit to an alien quarantine facility will reveal to Rory a very different side to his wife. In a hotel where walls move, corridors twist and rooms vanish, death lies waiting. But the Doctor's time has yet to come. He has one last stop to make on his final journey - an old friend needs his help and an old foe must be defeated. But time catches up with us all and the Doctor can delay no more.

By the shores of Lake Silencio, in Utah, all of time and space hang in the balance and a NASA astronaut is waiting…

Doctor Who Series 6: Part 2 DVD and Blu-ray features two Monster Files extras.

+  Compare Prices for this product on CompareTheDalek.com.

[Source: 2|Entertain]

AOL interview with Steven Moffat

AOL have recently added an interview with Steven Moffat looking at his tenure on Doctor Who, River Song and iconic villains (to name just a few topics).

I'm really interested in an idea you've been exploring this season, that the Doctor's past choices and actions -- all these things are coming home to roost for him. Was that always where you wanted to take the show or the character, or was this something that came to mind after your first season on the show?

I think there's just some weird thing that happens with a character like the Doctor. When you bring him back in 2005, he's the lone drifter that no one's ever heard of, but gradually and inevitably, he becomes the greatest hero in the universe. He can stand up in the center of Stonehenge and say, "Come on, do you think you're hard enough?"

And what does the man who just wants to be a drifter, who just wants to just knock around a bit, think about that? And I think within the mad, mad, mad world of 'Doctor Who,' it's not an incredible development that, of course, the Daleks would be sort of wetting themselves when he turns up. Of course, he'd become a legend. Of course, all of those things would be happening.

But why would he be comfortable with that? And you know, he actually abuses this to some degree in [the mid-season finale] 'A Good Man Goes to War,' he abuses the power of it and starts calling in favors and it doesn't work out for him. So that's interesting.

I'm interested in the conception of the River Song story. In 'Silence in the Library,' did you already know she was going to be the daughter of a companion?

Oh no, no. I mean, it was one possible theory. Why is it somebody who's got such connections, who would that be? Is it just a future companion? What if it's somebody's got a lifelong commitment to the Doctor or his companion? So when I introduced Amy, I kept my options open [and used the name Pond]. I thought I was doing [the name thing] in plain sight and nobody [caught] it for a long while. But I didn't know at the time Karen was going to stay long enough for that story to come off. I didn't know if Alex would keep coming back.

So Plan A held, but there were other ones, including the [Plan B] that maybe River never came back at all and you could just imagine that she knows the 59th Doctor in the far future.

+  Read the full interview at AOL TV.

[Source: AOL TV]