September 29, 2012

Doctor Who Series 7 / Episode 5 Preview:
"The Angels Take Manhattan"


The Angels Take Manhattan, Episode 5 of Doctor Who - Series 7 (not including the classic series), is probably the most anticipated episode of the entire season for the BBC science-fiction television show. Executive producer and lead writer Steven Moffat incorporates a few major returns and departures in this installment. We think we have a good idea of what's coming, but do we really?

First, we know this is the "final farewell" for "the Ponds" (Amy and Rory). Amy (Maiden name: Pond) - played by Karen Gillan and Rory Williams - played by Arthur Darvill are among the most popular companion characters the show has ever had. Personally, I can't believe we will never see them again, but we may only see them in a brief cameo-like appearance or two sometime in the future (or maybe in the past?). We can be sure though that there will be new companions acquired by the eleventh Doctor - played by Matt Smith.

The title name makes it obvious that they will be visiting the Manhattan area of New York City. The show has taken us there before. What may not be obvious, is that this is the first time it was actually recorded in the state of New York, and the second time ever in the United States.

Alex Kingston returns as River Song, for the first time since the last episode of Series 6. River was first introduced in Series 4, but was first revealed to be the daughter of Amy and Rory last year. She also became the wife of the Doctor the last time we saw her.

And what can I say about the villains in the story. The Weeping Angels have become almost iconic themselves, haven't they? Such a simple idea. I've known quite a few people who can be spooked by statues, under the right conditions. The makers of Doctor Who create the right conditions.

Guest stars for The Angels Take Manhattan include: Mike McShane (Whose Line Is It Anyway? - UK) as Grayle, Rob David (Gravity - 2010) as Sam Garner, Burnell Tucker ('Star Wars') as Garner 2, Ozzie Yue ('Silent Witness') as Foreman, and Bentley Kalu (Twenty Twelve) as Hood 1.

The official "Next Time" and stand-alone trailers for Episode 5, The Angels Take Manhattan, are below. The last one is a goodbye/tribute to "the Ponds". The episode airs tonight - September 29, 2012.


September 26, 2012

2012 F1 Italian Grand Prix Review

Lewis Hamilton wins Formula 1 Gran Premio d'Italia 2012 on September 9, 2012.
Photo by Getty Images via The Telegraph.

The 2012 Italian Grand Prix took place on September 9, 2012. The course for Formula One race number thirteen of the 2012 season was Autodromo Nazionale Monza, near Monza, Italy. McLaren-Mercedes may have had mixed results again, but they still gained ground in the constructors' championship standings.

Here's the rundown of the top three finishers. Starting from pole position, the race winner was Lewis Hamilton (England) of the McLaren-Mercedes team. Sergio Pérez (México), driving for team Sauber-Ferrari, was second. Fernando Alonso (Spain) of Scuderia Ferrari came in third place, increasing his drivers' championship points lead from 24 to 37 points.

Race winner Hamilton and third place Alonso were taken out of the race early in Belgium, the previous week. Meanwhile, the winner of that weekend, Jenson Button (England) from McLaren-Mercedes, retired early this time.

There are review and analysis links from Formula1.com below. One highlights video, and a results video from the guys at SpeedTV.com are also included.


Race - Hamilton supreme at Monza, as Perez shines again
Posted at Formula1.com on September 9, 2012

Lewis Hamilton dominated Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix for McLaren, to score his first-ever win at motorsport’s cathedral of speed and the team’s third victory on the trot...


Italy analysis - the magicians of Monza
Posted at Formula1.com on September 10, 2012

Barely a week ago at Spa, Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso were taken out at Turn One. On Sunday at Monza, all three were on the podium after a thrilling Formula 1 Gran Premio Santander d'Italia 2012. Hamilton’s flawless drive reignited his title charge; Perez showed yet again why he’s hotly tipped as a future champion; and the ever-canny Alonso somehow extended his standings lead from tenth on the grid...


F1: Bob Varsha, David Hobbs and Steve Matchett take a look at the results from Italy. Lewis Hamilton wins big at Monza and moves to second place in driver's standings.

September 24, 2012

2012 F1 Belgian Grand Prix Review

Jenson Button pulls away from first turn carnage at 2012 F1 Belgian GP on Sept. 2, 2012.
Photo is from The Fast Lane Car.

The first race after the August break, the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix was held on September 2, 2012. The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Spa, Belgium was the site of the twelfth race of 2012 for Formula One racing teams.

The three drivers to finish ahead of everybody else were as follows. First was top qualifier Jenson Button (England) of McLaren-Mercedes. Then, Sebastian Vettel (Germany) of Red Bull Renault came in second. Third place was earned by Kimi_Räikkönen (Finland) from Lotus-Renault.

The race started of with a bang ... well, several bangs. There was a multi-car pile-up at the first turn, which included the retirement of Lewis Hamilton (England) from McLaren-Mercedes and points leader Fernando Alonso (Spain) of Scuderia Ferrari, among others. When the safety car left the track, Button led the rest of the way.

Formula1.com review and analysis links are below. I've also included a highlights video, and a results video from the guys at SpeedTV.com.


Race - Button wins after first-corner carnage at Spa
Posted at Formula1.com on September 2, 2012

Jenson Button salvaged McLaren’s day after an explosive start to the Belgian race saw team mate Lewis Hamilton eliminated along with championship points leader Fernando Alonso, Sauber’s Sergio Perez and Lotus’s Romain Grosjean...


Belgium analysis - Spa drama helps tighten title race
Posted at Formula1.com on September 3, 2012

McLaren’s Jenson Button admits he still only has a very long shot at the 2012 drivers’ crown, but at least he has a shot after his masterful drive at Spa. Romain Grosjean’s turn-one misdemeanour, which eliminated championship leader Fernando Alonso, really mixed up the title fight. If Alonso was the biggest loser, Sebastian Vettel was arguably the biggest winner. The lap-one accident helped lift him to second in the race and second in the standings, just 24 points behind his Ferrari rival. We take a team-by-team look back at the 2012 Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix...


F1: Bob Varsha, David Hobbs and Steve Matchett take a look at the results from Spa-Francorchamps. Jenson Button turns his season around with a win in Belgium.

September 23, 2012

2012 WRC Rally Germany Review

Sébastien Loeb driving in 2012 ADAC Rallye Deutschland. Photo via WRC.com.

From August 24 through August 26, 2012, WRC team competitors participated in the 2012 Rally Germany. It was the ninth rally of the current season. Based in the very ancient and historic city of Trier, Germany, this outing was mostly done on sealed hard-top surfaces that ran through beautiful wine vineyard covered areas near the banks of the Mosel River.

The final results found the following three drivers at the top: Sébastien Loeb (France) of Citroën Total World Rally Team won the rally, Jari-Matti Latvala (Finland) from factory Ford World Rally Team came in second, and Mikko Hirvonen (Finland) of Citroën Total World Rally Team was third.

WRC.com rally recaps, and four extensive and informative review videos are included below.


Sunday wrap: Loeb strikes back in Germany
Posted at WRC.com on August 26, 2012

Sebastien Loeb marked the 10th anniversary of ADAC Rallye Deutschland's elevation to the FIA World Rally Championship by winning the asphalt event for a ninth time in the Citroen DS3 WRC he shares with co-driver Daniel Elena...


The wrc.com review: ADAC Rallye Deutschland
Posted at WRC.com on August 31, 2012

Sebastien Loeb says he has an "emotional" connection with ADAC Rallye Deutschland, as you'd expect from the event where he took his first victory in 2002 and has made his own ever since, apart from last year when a puncture intervened...


September 22, 2012

Doctor Who Series 7 / Episode 4 Preview:
"The Power Of Three"


The Power Of Three is the name of Episode 4 in Series 7 (not including the classic series), the current Doctor Who season. Chris Chibnall (Life On Mars, Torchwood), who authored Episode 2, also wrote this one for the hugely popular BBC science-fiction television show.

The Power Of Three will feature the special military taskforce UNIT, whose purpose is to investigate and fight any major paranormal or extraterrestrial threats to planet Earth. The eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, makes an extended visit with his companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill).

In this story of when the Doctor "came to stay", here are some of guest stars: Mark Williams ('Harry Potter' - 2002 to 2011) as Brian Williams (Rory's Dad), Jemma Redgrave (Bramwell - 1995 to 1998) as Kate Stewart, Steven Berkoff ('The Tourist') as Shakri. Also making appearances, as themselves, are physicist Brian Cox (Wonders Of The Universe) and business tycoon Alan Sugar.

Here are the "Next Time" and the full stand-alone official BBC trailers for Episode 4, The Power Of Three. It airs tonight - September 22, 2012.


September 15, 2012

Doctor Who Series 7 / Episode 3 Preview:
"A Town Called Mercy"


The third episode of Doctor Who - Series 7, A Town Called Mercy, was written by veteran Doctor Who writer Toby Whithouse (Torchwood, Being Human). Here, we revisit a place that at least resembles the old wild west of America (US), were some of the residents ironically have no intentions of showing mercy to the Doctor and his friends.

Eventually, a bit of confusion about two different alien "Doctors" is cleared up, and the locals realize our alien Doctor isn't such a bad guy. It becomes clear that they need him to save them from a frightening gunslinger-cyborg that threatens the town's people.

Our friends at Doctor Who actually filmed this episode in Spain, but it looks convincing enough. The Doctor (#11), played by Matt Smith, is again accompanied by Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill).

A few of the guest stars you may remember are: Ben Browder (Farscape) as Isaac, Adrian Scarborough (Gavin And Stacey) as Kahler Jex, and Garrick Hagon (Doctor Who: The Mutants) as Abraham.

Here are the "Next Time" and the full stand-alone official BBC trailers for Episode 3, A Town Called Mercy. It airs tonight - September 15, 2012.


September 8, 2012

Doctor Who Series 7 / Episode 2 Preview:
"Dinosaurs On A Spaceship"


Last week I posted a preview of Series 7 (not including the classic series), the new Doctor Who season, here at Junior's Eyes. It was a fairly lengthy piece and included a good bit of information on what took place over the summer leading up to the new season, as well as some detail of what's to come for Series 7. There was an awful lot of video in that one. This post has just the one clip. It's the official BBC trailer for Episode 2, Dinosaurs On A Spaceship.

"The Ponds", Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) and Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams), will again be alongside the eleventh Doctor - Matt Smith, in this thriller written by Chris Chibnall. Jenna-Louise Coleman made her first appearance in Episode 1 - Asylum Of The Daleks (watch trailer) as an unwitting Dalek, but is not expected to be seen again until she somehow becomes a companion (replacing "the Ponds") starting with Episode 6, the 2012 Christmas Special.

Some of the guest stars you may recognize are: Riann Steele ('Sket' - 2011) as Queen Nefertiti, Sunetra Sarker (Cold Feet - 1999) as Indira, Rupert Graves (Sherlock - 2010 to current) as Riddell, David Bradley (All 'Harry Potter' - 2001 to 2011) as Solomon, Mark Williams ('Harry Potter' - 2002 to 2011) as Brian Williams (Rory's Dad), and Richard Hope (Doctor Who - 2010, 2011 and 2012) as Bleytal.

I don't think we need to do a serious breakdown on what's coming in Dinosaurs On A Spaceship, which will air tonight - September 8, 2012. Anything I could tell you is already fairly obvious. They will be on a spaceship, and in space ... being chased by dinosaurs ... on a spaceship.



Doctor Who: Series 7 / Ep 2 - Dinosaurs On A Spaceship (2012)

September 1, 2012

New Doctor Who Season Preview:
Series 7 Starts September 1, 2012


This blog post is a preview of Series 7, the new Doctor Who season, which starts tonight - September 1, 2012. It's the seventh season since the 2005 relaunch of this BBC science-fiction television show, that originally started in November of 1963. Junior's Eyes provides a huge selection of videos below to get fans ready.

It was announced on March 21, 2012 that 26 year old soap opera actress Jenna-Louise Coleman would be introduced as a new companion. Her first appearance is in episode one, Asylum Of The Daleks. Welcome to the big time Miss Coleman!




Unfortunately, lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat also revealed that Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) and Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams) would end their time with the Doctor sometime during this season (Episode 5). Gillan and Darvill came on board at the same time as current Doctor (11th), Matt Smith. They've become two of the show's most popular companions ever during their two seasons, but a big part of Doctor Who's success has been keeping things fresh.

Fans got to interact with the current lead actors through a panel discussion at the 2012 Official Doctor Who Convention (March 24th and 25th) in Cardiff, Wales on March 24, 2012. Looks like Karen Gillan has a reptilian admirer, as a Silurian found her more interesting than the others.




On March 26, 2012, the folks at BBC released a teaser trailer for the new season. This trailer mostly gives us a good taste of the wild west themed A Town Called Mercy, the third of the upcoming new episodes. It looks like scenery from the United States, but was actually filmed in Spain, much like the old American "Spaghetti Western" films.




The producers of the show decided to abandon recent practice, and go back to a Fall series premier schedule. We'll get five new regular episodes, and a Christmas Special, then get the other eight episodes in the new year. That's fine, but it's made it a long Summer, without our beloved Doctor Who.

Luckily, well okay ... luck had little to do with it. We were fortunate enough to see the lead actors and producers make a few promotional trips over here to the US during the long break. They made it to San Diego, California to participate in 2012 Comic-Con International during July (15th). So, that was nice.




Another Fall 2012 trailer was released on August 1, 2012. This one seems to cover at least the first three or four Series 7 installments. We see bits of the previously trailer's western clips from A Town Called Mercy (Episode 3). There are also shots of Asylum Of The Daleks (Episode 1), and beleive it or not, Dinosaurs On A Spaceship (Episode 2).




Many people related to the show, and other celebrities, got to enjoy a BFI Southbank theatre preview screening of Asylum Of The Daleks in mid August. The press swarmed them, for several interviews. Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, Caroline Skinner and Steven Moffat talked to Digital Spy about the final moments of "the Ponds", in The Angels Take Manhattan (Episode 5), during the following video. Wouldn't you just know it? The Weeping Angels are apparently to blame for the end of their journeys with the Doctor. Moffat admits to changing his mind while working on the story, and "completely" rewriting the ending.




On August 18, 2012, a very short clip (Longer clip came out later) of the first S7 episode became available. The evil Daleks seemed to be doing a little begging. It's not often that they show fear towards anything.




Another trailer, deemed "exclusive", came on the scene. This one announced the return of the "global phenomenon", that is Doctor Who. It also mentioned the start date of September 1.




The American theater screening premier was held at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York, New York on August 25, 2012. You can see pictures of it via this link. Reaction from Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and Caroline Skinner is highlighted in this next little clip.




Filling the Summer gap somewhat were some mini-episodes (details). First was the Olympics themed Good As Gold (watch clip). Finally, I've included a video showing the entire five-part mini-episode mini-series, Pond Life. These clips were released in a spread out fashion, basically one per month.


Labor Day Weekend Is Race Weekend
In Baltimore, MD


Labor Day weekend is race weekend in Baltimore, Maryland. This weekend, the second annual Grand Prix Of Baltimore fills the Baltimore City street circuit with various types of automobile racing.

The overall event takes place from Friday, August 31 through Sunday, September 2, 2012. There's a lot more to it, but basically, practice runs and qualifying occur on Friday and Saturday. US F2000 Championship Race #1, Star Mazda Championship Race #1 and the American Le Mans Series Race are held on Saturday - September 1st. On Sunday - September 2nd, you can catch US F2000 Championship Race #2, Star Mazda Championship Race #2, Firestone Indy Lights Race, and the IZOD IndyCar Series Race.



The gates are open from 7:30 AM EDT to 7:00 PM EDT each day. You can get close to the cars and their drivers (certain times and areas), and there are many activities going on other than the big races. You can enjoy live music, food, go-carts, games, and more.

Important Links: Race Schedule, Tickets (Discount for U12, U2 are free), Parking and Street Closures, Traffic Updates, Map (pdf), Official Event Site.



The photos above are from RaceOnBaltimore.com. Here is a video posted on Day 1 at CBS - Baltimore, MD (WJZ TV News).




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