Locations Doctor Who Utopia, The Sound of Drums & Last of the Time Lords

By John Bond-Winstone (a.k.a The Doctor)

I know, I know, I have missed three editions of Project: Torchwood.  Unfortunately work and life got in the way and also moving house with no internet connection for a very long month.  So I was pardoned by Jack and Joshua to delay this edition of the Locations Guide.  So we are covering the 3 last episodes of the New Doctor Who Era, Season 3 that has a tie in with Torchwood.  These 3 episodes are actually one of my favourite from the whole series, so I am glad to be able to cover this in my location guide. Also you may notice that I am now using my new surname that sounds very befitting for the Doctor’s human name.  Well enough about me.  Let’s get into this.

EPISODE - UTOPIA

Utopia is mainly a studio based episode with filming taking place in the odd location.  The locations used are filmed in various parts of South Wales.

First up is:

Trident Park (Formerly known as Nipon Glass), Glass Avenue, Cardiff Bay.

This location has been used for many filming locations for Doctor Who.  In this episode Nipon Glass served as the Radiation Room and also some of the corridors throughout the episode.

How to get to Trident Park:

Get Bus Number 2 from Canal Street which is behind John Lewis Department Store and it leaves every 30 mins on the hour

Get off at Glass Avenue bus stop.

Walk up to the roundabout and take the junction to your right.

Walk along Glass Avenue and Trident Park is straight in front of you.  I am not sure if you will be able to enter the site though.

Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff

This location is used many times throughout Torchwood and Doctor Who.  This location was used in this episode when we see Captain Jack dash for the Tardis. 

As I have covered on how to get to this location previously, you can have a look through my previous guides to find it ;)

Wenvoe Quarry, Wenvoe, Cardiff, CF5 6XE

Wenvoe Quarry is used as the location for the outside exterior of Silo 16 in this episode. Wenvoe Quarry is owned by RMC Aggregates Ltd, and is an operational quarry supplying asphalt and sand to industry.  Unfortunately you will not be able to gain access to the quarry due to it being a working quarry, but I will give you the directions to get there

How to get to Wenvoe Quarry:

Catch Bus Number 96 from Cardiff Central Bus Station. Bus leaves 17mins past the hour and 47mins past the hour

Get off the bus at the Alps bus stop and turn left onto Careau Lane.

Walk straight ahead and you will see the entrance to the Quarry

Argoed Quarry, Llansannor, Llanharry

Argoed Quarry is used for the scenes that were shot for the Doctor, Martha and Jack walking across a planet at the end of the universe.

How to get to Argoed Quarry by Car:

M4 - Exit at junction 35 and head north to Pen-coed.

At the next roundabout turn right (Felindre Road) towards Llanild, then bear right and right again.

Passing over the M4, turn left and then continue to its end.

Turn right, and the quarry will be on the left just past Argoed

EPISODE – THE SOUND OF DRUMS

For the Sound of Drums, many locations were used throughout the episode.  I will pick the iconic one’s for you to go and gander at.  If you would like to go to the others then please visit the Doctor Who Locations website (www.doctorwholocations.net)

Wales Millennium Centre, Bute Place, Cardiff, CF10 5AL

This iconic welsh landmark is used for many locations within Doctor Who and Torchwood.  For this episode, it is used as the place the new Prime Minister Harry Saxon addresses the nation.  You can actually stand on the stairs that John Simm stood on.  These are located right next to the Tesco Stage in the right hand side of the building.

How to get to the Millennium Centre:

Catch the Number 6 Bendy Bus from St Mary Street (writer note – you should know how to get there by now)

Get off on Bute Place and the Millennium Centre is right in front of you.

Question – Who can tell me what the inscription is on the front of the Millennium Centre. Please put your answer in a comment in the box below and I will name a lucky winner in my next guide... Unfortunately there is no prize for getting this right but as Torchwood fans you should all know this.

Hensol Castle, Miskin, Pontyclun, CF72 8YS

Hensol Castle that is situated in Mid Glamorgan was used as the location for the Prime Minister’s Resident No. 10 Downing Street.  Hensol Castle has also been used for many other location shots.  Let see what episodes you think it has appeared in.

How to get to Hensol Castle:

            Catch Bus Number 320 from Cardiff Central Bus Station Stand D5           

            Get off at Hensol Castle

Whitmore Bay, Barry Island, Vale of Glamorgan

If you fancy standing on Gallifrey, then come along to Whitmore Bay.  This location was used for the scenes that involved the young Timelords looking into the Un-tempered Schism.  This area is pretty large.  To be near the exact location you need to be standing facing the sea and a group of trees to your left hand side.

How to get to Whitmore Bay:

Road: A48 - Take the A48 to the junction with the A4226, near Bonviston. This then becomes the B4266 heading into Barry. When you reach the roundabout, follow the A4050 and then at the next roundabout take the exit onto Harbour Road. At the end turn left and continue along Harbour Road into Barry Island. (~6 miles, ~15m) +

Parking Details

As you enter Barry Island, turn left under the railway and bear left around to the large car park

Where to walk

The bay is to the south of the promenade.

           

Writers Note – This location was also used in the Sound of Drums when Milligan takes Martha to his Land Rover.

As I said, for this episode there are many more locations, but for the fear of me writing loads... I thought I would leave the investigative work up to you.

EPISODE - LAST OF THE TIMELORDS

So the last episode of Season 3. Some of the locations I have previously mentioned feature in this episode.  But there are also some new locations that have not been covered.

South Luton Place, Adamsdown, Cardiff

This location is used when Martha is hiding out in the house and the Master comes down from the Valiant and Martha confronts him.  This location is actually around the corner from my childhood home, but unfortunately I was not living there to see this being filmed.  I think if I was, I may have geekasomed.

How to get to South Luton Place:

            Catch the Number 11 bus from Wood Street

            Get off at Adamsdown Square

            Head towards the Shop and South Luton Place is to your left

Road: M4 - Exit the M4 at junction 32, then head south on the A470.

When you reach the A48, head across the roundabout onto Whitchurch Road (A469), and then when it bears left towards Roath turn right onto City Road.

At the end, cross over the A41 (Newport Road) into Glossop Road. This becomes Meteor Street, and then as you reach the end, South Luton Place is opposite

Alexandra Gardens, Cathays Park, Cardiff

This location is used on 2 occasions in Doctor Who.  One for this episode... Can you name the other one?  I will give you a call ‘Whatever you do…. Don’t’.  For this episode, the location was used for the scene where Martha presents a bouquet of flowers to a surprised Professor Docherty.  This location is directly behind Cardiff Museum and the City Hall.  As I have given you the directions to that area before, I will want you to look through the previous locations guide to find your way… I can be so mean.

Cwrt-y-Vil Road, Penarth, Cardiff

This location is used for when Martha says goodbye to the Doctor and he drops her off outside her house.  The TARDIS is parked up outside her house.  Due to this being a residential area, I cannot give you the number of the house, even though it would have been changed but we can give you the directions to the street and you find out from the picture in this article the actual location of the house.  (Please bear in mind if you are taking pictures, it may upset the residents… Don’t say Torchwood sent you please).

How to get to Cwrt-y-Vil Road:

            Catch the Number 92 bus from Cardiff Central Bus Station

            Get off at Penarth Station

            Then Walk in a westerly direction along Stanwell Road

            After 50m, turn left into Victoria Avenue

            After 120m, turn left into Victoria Square

            After 110m, turn right into Victoria Road

            After 50m, turn left into Cwrt-Y-Vil Road

Now happy hunting to find the house.

As with the Sound of Drums, this episode has many more locations.  Please visit www.doctorwholocations.net to find out where these are.

Who Reviews Listen by Jeffrey Zyra

Written by Steven Moffat

“What’s that in the mirror, and the corner of your eye? What’s the footstep following, but never passing by?”

We have all had nightmares.  Waking up in the middle of the night in a fright and being scared for no apparent reason as our subconscious has a little fun at our own expense.  We have all been there. But what is the cause?  Is it an invisible creature under the bed waiting to get us? Those of us with kids have to deal with the inevitable nightmare in the middle of the night that wakes us in a startled state.  But what happens when a Time Lord has a nightmare?  What happens when he thinks he is not alone?  We found out after watching “Listen” or did we.

I have to say after seeing the trailer for “Listen” that I was really looking forward to watching this story.  I like the darker and scarier stories like “Midnight”, “Blink” and “Hide”.  I enjoyed when the Classic Series would be scary and send you behind the sofa.   Doctor Who is good for bringing the scares and should do so more often.  So I was delighted to see a story that was scary and intense in Series 8 of Doctor Who.   “Listen” did not disappoint.  It was scary and intense and a tad bit controversial if you believe what the fans on Twitter are saying.  

Right from the beginning we are thrown in to it with The Doctor apparently talking to someone in the TARDIS but we cannot see the creature or person but we know it is there as there was a response to The Doctor’s question of what does it do and written on the chalk board was listen.  But we were also given some doubt about the creature as Clara said it looked like The Doctor’s handwriting.  I liked that as it kept me thinking if this was real or part of The Doctor’s subconscious playing tricks on him.  

I really liked the scene with Clara and Rupert Pink.  We see Clara trying to comfort Rupert that there is nothing to be afraid of and that he was just having a nightmare.  She even went as far as going under his bed to prove there was nothing there.  What she did not count on was something being on top of his bed.  This scene was pretty scary and intense.  Made even scarier when the object was under the blanket and was staring at them and The Doctor was not sure if it was actually there or not or was a kid playing a trick on Rupert.  Clara is really developing into a pretty good character something they did not do much of in the last series.

We get to know Danny Pink a little bit better in “Listen”.  We find out he was the boy Rupert that they visited in the past and that he still kept a hold of the army guy into the future when we meet one of his future ancestors Orson who is the last man in the universe.  Danny’s character gets some development as we learn more about him with his date with Clara which does not go well.  This filler was fine as it did have some bearing on the story and is the distraction that sets The Doctor and Clara down his time stream. 

Now for the big revelation which probably will cause some controversy with the fans.  We find out that Clara started the whole thing when the TARDIS went back to Gallifrey when The Doctor was a child.  It appears The Doctor sleeps in a barn and not with the other kids because he cries in his sleep and doesn’t want anyone to know.  Clara hides under the bed when she hears someone coming and realizes they did not go back into Danny’s past but The Doctor’s.  It was chilling to see that when the child Doctor gets out of the bed and Clara grabs his leg and that look of terror in her eyes when it dawns on her that it was her fault for the nightmares.   She also calmed him down by talking to him and we get a glimpse that this is the same barn the War Doctor went to in order to use The Moment.  It will be seen that Clara had more to do with the development of The Doctor at a younger age and that could be seen controversial with the fans especially the hardcore Classic fans but really isn’t as it would appear as a dream to him. Well that is my opinion anyway.

The thing is was there ever a creature at all in the story or was this all in The Doctor’s head all along? When Clara returns to the TARDIS and proclaims what if there was nothing but The Doctor being afraid of the dark.  Well was it? Was it all a wild goose chase? Which kind of leaves you thinking what did happen in this story and how could the thing on the bed in Rupert’s room be explained if this was just an investigation into The Doctor’s nightmare.  Plus all that stuff in Orson’s ship making the banging noises. Was there something outside or was it just The Doctor’s imagination getting the best of him?  “Listen” does pose a lot of questions and it leaves you deciding what happens.  Lots of room for speculation and I am sure social network will be discussing “Listen” for a while now and that the arguments will be plenty. 

“Listen” is a scary story and that was a great thing with me.  It also raised a lot of questions and made my brain work overtime to come up with a solution that is plausible.  People are going to complain that there was not a monster but sometimes that is ok as you do not need a creature to scare you sometimes you just need basic things that happen in everyday life.   “Listen” gives us more insight into The Doctor’s early life and even though people will not like Clara’s involvement, it did work. At least for me it did.  The only problem that I did have with “Listen” is that Steven Moffat did not give us an ending that was not filled with endless speculation.  But hey he got what he wanted. He has the fans talking about it like crazy.

Grade B +

News Happy Birthday Toshiko Sato 19th September 2014

19^th September 2014

On this day we will mark Toshiko’s birthday with a celebration of her life in Torchwood.  We’re holding another hashtag event in our #BringBackTorchwood campaign.

#ToshikoSatoDay

It’s a fitting tribute to the technical support of Torchwood Three.  Her knowledge of all quantum calculations, her quick responses at over-riding the Hub’s lock down with a sequence of key strokes on the keyboard membrane of her computer, allowing the team to save Gwen Cooper from the madness that was Suzie Costello.

So join with us, on this day, Friday 19^th September, to celebrate Toshiko’s life and loves on Twitter.  You can post your support on Facebook, on our Page if you do not have a Twitter account.  You can rally support from all Pages who honour Torchwood.  Call on your friends, call on your TORCHWOOD friends, supporters, cast and crew. 

Let’s hear it for TOSHIKO SATO.

It’s an all day event, join in when you can, and let’s get #ToshikoSatoDay and #BringBackTorchwood trending.

Remember to tell your friends to pledge their support of Torchwood by signing the petition hosted by @SaveTorchwood, to bring the series back.  We need as many names as possible.  Let’s make this happen people.

News Happy Birthday Justin Richards

Justin Richards is one of my favourite Who writers, whose books include The Deviant Strain featuring Captain Jack Harkness with the 9^th Doctor and Rose.  Justin is also known for his works outside of Who such as The Wolfstone Curse and The Never War – The Suicide Exhibition.  Read the interview we had with him last year. http://projecttorchwood.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/interviews-justin-richards.html

Happy Birthday Justin,

Did you know on this day in 1968 Episode 1 of The Mind Robber was broadcast?  It was Season 6 and starred Patrick Troughton as the Doctor with companions Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot.

Writers were Peter Ling and Derrick Sherwin and Director was David Maloney.

The TARDIS explodes, propelling her crew into a strange world peopled by fictional characters...*

In 1987, Episode 2 of Time and the Rani was broadcast.  It was Season 24, Andrew Cartmel was Script Editor, the Doctor was Sylvester McCoy and his companions were Melanie Bush and Ace 148.

Kate O’Mara also featured as The Rani with Donald Pickering as Beyus.

The Rani kidnaps the newly regenerated Doctor for his brainpower...*

Other birthdays today are: Andrew Lincoln, Sam Niell, Walter Koenig, Morten Harket, Amy Winehouse (1983-2011).

Resources:

Campbell (2000) Doctor Who Pocket Essential Guide*

©BBC Doctor Who 1963

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-The-Mind-Robber/dp/B0006PTYOM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410695735&sr=8-1&keywords=doctor+who+the+mind+robber

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Time-Rani-DVD/dp/B002SZQCDO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410695833&sr=8-1&keywords=doctor+who+time+and+the+rani

News Happy Birthday Lachlan Nieboer

Happy Birthday Lachlan,

Did you know that on this day in 1965, Episode 1 of Galaxy 4 was broadcast? It was Season 3 and starred William Hartnell as the First Doctor with companions Maureen O’Brien and Peter Purves.  Writer was William Emms and Director was Derek Martinus.

On a disintegrating planet, female Drahvins are at war with the Rills and their robot pets.*

On this day in 1976, Episode 2 of The Masque of Mandragora was broadcast.  It was Season 16 and Tom Baker was the Doctor with companion Sarah Jane Smith.  Writer was Louis Marks and Director Rodney Bennett.

It’s Italy during the Renaissance period and the Mandragora energy is trying to draw the world back into the Dark Ages*

Others with birthdays today are:  Brian DePalma, Johnny Vegas, Ludacris. 

Resources

©BBC Doctor Who

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Missing-Stories-Galaxy/dp/0563477008/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1410461353&sr=8-2&keywords=doctor+who+galaxy+4

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-The-Masque-Mandragora/dp/B002SZQCB6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410461436&sr=8-1&keywords=doctor+who+masque+of+mandragora

Campbell (2000) Doctor Who Pocket Essential*

Who Reviews Robot of Sherwood by Jeffrey Zyra

By Mark Gatiss

Series 8

“Shut it, Hoody!”

Being a fan of Robin Hood I was somewhat lukewarm to the prospect of Doctor Who doing an episode centered on him and Sherwood Forest and the overall Robin Hood legend. That and the writer for this episode was Mark Gatiss who has been really hit or miss with his stories.  In Series 7 he wrote the good “Cold War” and the very bad “The Crimson Horror.” So he now delivers to us his next story “Robot of Sherwood” and from looking at the trailers it could be one that could very well be uneventful and not all that good.

Well I have to say that I surprisingly actually liked and enjoyed “Robot of Sherwood.”   Robot of Sherwood was an episode that did not take itself seriously and that is why it worked as a Doctor Who story.  Sometimes Doctor Who has to be funny and light hearted especially when you are going in the direction of being darker.  Robot of Sherwood fit that bill very well and it also wasn’t overly silly. Well maybe it was a tad silly.  At times it felt like a Black Adder episode.  I could see Rowan Atkinson doing the scenes in the dungeon where Robin Hood and The Doctor were chained to each other.   Those scenes were pretty good and were performed really well by Peter Capaldi and Tom Riley.  In fact this story was pretty funny and found myself laughing through it a lot which doesn’t normally happen when you watch Doctor Who and for it once it was ok to have a story this different and funny and I am glad they tried something different again this week.

If you are a fan, as I am, of the Errol Flynn “The Adventures of Robin Hood” which came out in 1938 you’ll be happy to see a lot from that movie made it into this episode.  Like the fight on the river and the archery contest it was all there. If you’re going to do a Robin Hood episode you do need to have some of his familiar exploits.  Even the fight at the end of with the Sheriff of Nottingham was sort of in the same vein as the one from the Errol Flynn movie.  I did like the sword fight at the beginning.  The Doctor using the spoon and bragging on how he was trained by the best was pretty funny and you knew how it would end up.  It was funny seeing The Doctor getting pushed into the water after beating Robin Hood with the spoon.  What shouldn’t go unnoticed is that there is also a cameo by Patrick Troughton as Robin Hood from when he played him in the 1953 TV series which in itself was pretty cool thing to see.

I could see “Robot of Sherwood” fitting in the Tom Baker era. In fact it kind of reminded me of that era when I was watching it.   It had that type of feel to it with the comedy and then seriousness.  Especially when The Doctor is confronting the Sheriff and trying to deduce his plans and saying a bunch of silly nonsense that does not make sense and then figuring it out that is was nonsense.  That was purely a 4^th Doctor moment.  Plus just the way The Doctor presented himself made it feel like a 4^th Doctor story especially with him bragging about Robin Hood not existing and then seeing the arrow go into the TARDIS.  It sure looked like Peter Capaldi was channeling his inner Tom Baker.

The story on a whole was pretty simple.  Robots have crashed landed on Earth and using the habitants as slaves to help repair the ship. This time using them to collect gold and melting it down so it can be used into making new circuits for the ship so it can continue to the promise land.  Not a very original idea and one that has been done before in Doctor Who and in fact better than “Robot of Sherwood”.  But it was till enjoyable and did not really detract from the fun of seeing Robin Hood and The Doctor interacting and bickering with one another.  Have to say the robot knights looked pretty good and I thought they were pretty neat especially when they revealed their faces. 

Jenna Coleman was again in top form and was really good in this story.  Clara as a character has grown a lot from being the impossible girl to what she is today.  She is actually using some brains in figuring out the plan by tricking the Sheriff and she also has no problems of being really sarcastic to The Doctor.  I like her being sarcastic to The Doctor as it works really well and works well with Peter Capaldi as there is really good chemistry there.  

Robot of Sherwood is a story that I had low expectations going into and ending up enjoying it.  It was a story that did not take it self all too seriously and in the end it ended up being very entertaining and funny which comes as a nice change of pace for Doctor Who.

Grade B +

News Happy Birthday Amy Manson

For all you Torchwood heads, Amy Manson played the role of Alice Guppy, a Torchwood agent from the early 1900’s. 

Happy Birthday Amy,

Did you know on this day in 1967, Episode 2 of The Tomb of the Cybermen was broadcast?  It was Season 5, Victor Pemberton was Script Editor, and Patrick Troughton was the Third Doctor with companions Jamie McCrimmon and Victoria Waterfield.

Writer was Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis and Director was Morris Barry. 

On Telos, a team of archaeologists penetrate the tomb of the long forgotten Cybermen...

In 1978, Episode 2 of The Ribos Operation was broadcast.  It was Season 16, Anthony Read was Script Editor and Tom Baker was the Fourth Doctor with companions Romana and K-9.

Writer was Robert Holmes and Director George Spenton-Foster.

A galactic conman is trying to ‘sell’ the planet Ribos to a deposed Tyrant*

Others with birthdays today are: Adam Sandler, Hugh Grant, Michael Buble, Eric Stonestreet, Otis Redding (1941-1967)

Resources

©BBC Doctor Who 1963

Campbell (2000) Doctor Who Pocket Essential Guide

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Tomb-Cybermen-Dr/dp/1846070465/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410247743&sr=8-1&keywords=Tomb+o+the+cybermen

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Ribos-Operation-Classic-Novels/dp/1408409976/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1410247833&sr=8-3&keywords=The+Ribos+operation

News Pride (2014)

During the 1984 UK Miner’s Strike a group of LGBT activists helped raise money for the families affected by the strike.  Because of the National Union of Mineworkers being reluctant to accept the group’s support, as they didn’t wish to be associated with a gay group, the LGBT group took the donations directly to a small mining village in Wales.  The results were unlike anything seen before.

The film was written by Stephen Beresford and directed by Matthew Warchus.  It is due for release on 12^th September.

It stars Bill Nighy (Vincent), Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, Andrew Scott (Sherlock), George MacKay, Paddy Considine, Julie Barclay (Ghost Machine), Jâms Thomas (Everything Changes), and Menna Trussler (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang -Bloody Torchwood).

The film has a great cast line up and involves the music of 1984, what’s not to like?

Come on, support a British movie.  

News Happy Birthday Kai Owen

Penblwydd hapus Kai,

Did you know on this day in 1976, episode 1 of The Masque of Mandragora was broadcast?  It was Season 14 and starred Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor with Elisabeth Sladen as his companion.  It also featured actor Tim Pigott-Smith as Marco. 

Writer was Louis Marks and Director was Rodney Bennett.

Filmed in the Italianate Village of Portmeirion, the story set in Renaissance Italy, told of the Mandragora energy trying to drag the world back into the Dark Ages...

Others with birthdays today are:  Wes Bentley, Dick York (1928-1992), Jennifer Metcalfe, Damon Wayans

Have a fantastic Day Kai, from everyone at Project: Torchwood

Resources 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-The-Masque-Mandragora/dp/B002SZQCB6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409823023&sr=8-1&keywords=the+masque+of+mandragora

BBC Doctor Who  1963

Campbell (2000) Doctor Who Pocket Essential Guide

News Radio Times Champion Challenge VOTE NOW!

Who is your best Who Companion? Vote for who will go into the Semi Finals.

Group 1

K-9 (John Leeson/David Brierley)

Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen)

Group 2

Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman)

Amy Pond (Karen Gillan)

Group 3

Donna Noble (Catherine Tate)

River Song (Alex Kingston)

Group 4

Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart (Nicholas Courtney)

Rose (Billie Piper)

You can vote as many times as you like, closing date for Round 2 is 5th September 2014 at 14:00 BST.  Get your votes in quick. 

http://www.radiotimes.com/companionchampion

Share this link as often as you can, the more votes for your favourite companion (and I'm sure by now you know which way we're voting) the better!