No geek
is an island

The BBC have announced that there will be a fifth series of Doctor Who - but not until 2010. After next year’s series, 2009 will see three one-off* episodes starring David Tennant. No words on whether he’ll be back after those.

The full story is on the BBC News site.

*Technically not one-offs if there are three of them, of course.

Rooting around in the attic, I have discovered one of the lesser-known educational books for children from the 1980s.

It was never going to sell as many copies as Doctor Who Discovers Early Man and Doctor Who Discovers Prehistoric Animals, but it remains highly sought after by fans.

The new Doctor Who companion for series four has been announced, and it’s someone we’ve met before. They’ve recently finished the work for which they were famous, some people love them while others can’t stand them, and they’re catchphrase is “Am I bovvered?” No, it’s not that Tony Blairs…

Catherine Tate will reprise her role as Donna, the eponymous Runaway Bride from last year’s Christmas special. Martha will return to the series part way through, joining Donna in the TARDIS.

Bit of stream of consciousness listy catchup.

• Enjoyed Eurovision. Went to a fun bash in Lewisham. Not too keen on the winning song but the outcomes were mostly fair despite the predictability (due to shared cultural backgrounds of different countries, natch) of some of the voting.
• Busy busy busy last week. Helped Andrew set up running blog here. Sponsor him online.
• Sprained my ankle. Grr.
• On Thursday, I was shooting video at a LibDem reception for IDAHO day. You can see some of Stephen Williams’ remarks on YouTube here.
• A day off on Friday - yay! Waited in for cable repair man. Had a slot somewhere between 8am and 1pm - he turned up after 2pm. Lucky I took the whole day off… Finally have cable again, but reckon the guy who came around a week earlier could have fixed it.
• Followed the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill debate on BBC Parliament (Freeview) while I waited. A shameful Bill pushed through mostly by Labour MPs (including many on the payroll vote), although introduced by a Tory. New online campaign against it at: ourcampaign.org.uk/foi
• With cable back, caught up on The Apprentice.
• Also with cable back, and therefore broadband restored, got slightly addicted to online Scrabble. My username is whouk if you fancy a game.
• Went to see Magicians and John Shuttleworth on Saturday, both of which I enjoyed although wasn’t bowled over by either. My brother texted to warn me not to see 28 Weeks Later.
• Have been spending too much on eBay.
• Followed a very nice birthday lunch on Sunday with more online scrabble, this week’s Doctor Who (fairly good) and gentle trip to Sam Smiths pub.
• Sad about Cutty Sark. Contribute to the restoration here.
• Wordpress 2.2 is out. Will upgrade soon.

Dan insists I tell you something of last night.

One of my flatmates plus myself and Daniel headed to the notorious Retro Bar music quiz - although we got there a little early, offering time for several bottles of Magners before the quiz commenced. Despite this, and more trendy cider during it, we managed to score 18/20 on the girls-names-themed quiz.

We knew that wouldn’t be enough to win, though. The victorious team - excellently named The Cult of Skaro, and not led by Chris Black - got 19.5/20. They also went on to win the £50 cash prize, although, like me, may have been disappointed not to have picked up the supposed booby prize of a set of Doctor Who top trumps.

By this time, we had moved onto wine (of which Dan drank most) before moving on elsewhere for another drink. I shan’t repeat the self-pitying text message he sent me through his hangover this morning while I was bright and sharp at work (despite my journey in taking three times as long as it should’ve done).

Alex has spotted that there’s a red button preview currently running on Freeview channel 302, with clips from throughout the new series of Doctor Who.

My digital reception is rather poor at present (cable coming in two weeks!), so I’m delighted to see (thanks to Jim) that the whole marvellous clip is on the Freema Agyeman fansite. Beware minor spoilers, and prepare to be excited.

And in case you hadn’t noticed: David Tennant returns in Doctor Who this Saturday at 7pm on BBC One.