skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Next on my list of celebrity autographs is David Tennant, one of the most popular actors to play The Doctor in the long-running BBC sci-fi show Doctor Who.
Fans of the show would know that in 2005, Christopher Eccleston played the Ninth Doctor, but declined a second season in the role for fear of typecasting. Therefore the producers decided to cast one of their original choices, David Tennant, whose claim to fame in those days was in the TV shows Blackpool, Casanova, and a cameo appearance in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
The Tenth Doctor was a cheeky upgrade on the brooding Ninth Doctor, and the fans loved it. Dressed in his "Geek Chic" suit and overcoat, sneakers, and with a boofed hairstyle and sideburns, the Tenth Doctor was zany. He appeared in the show from his end of season cameo in 2005, until his recent demise on New Years Day 2010.
David was a self confessed fan of the show (which had originally been on the air from 1963 until 1989 (with a tele-movie in 1996). The Tenth Doctor fought against some of the great villains, such as the Daleks (of course), the Sontarans, the Master (played by John Simm), a new-look version of the Cybermen. He also had a collection of wonderful companions, included Billie Piper, Freema Agyeman, and Catherine Tate.
If you watch the Doctor Who Confidentials (the behind the scenes features in the DVDs) you will notice that David Tennant uses his natural scottish accent. However he decided to switch to a regular English accent for the show, which he felt would add to his character's appeal. If you would like to hear the Tenth Doctor in a Scottish accent, you just need to watch the episode "Tooth and Claw" to catch a glipse of it.
Now back to the autograph. In 2006 I wrote a letter to David Tennant asking for an autograph. You will notice, however, that when I received his autographed, David also included a letter, asking me to give thanks to my Mum for writing to me. Cheeky!
I hope you enjoyed my blog on David Tennant, the Tenth Doctor!
Next on my list of celebrity autographs is Pierce Brosnan, the man who, in 1995, reinvigorated the James Bond movie franchise after it's 6 year absence from the silver screen. He's appeared in many other films, The Lawnmower Man, Mrs Doubtfire, and Dante's Peak, but since I'm a Bond nut, I'm devoting this blog to his years in the tuxedo.
Brosnan first came to the attention of Eon Productions, the team behind the cinematic super spy, back in 1981 when his wife, the late Cassandra Harris, played the role of Countess Lisl alongside Roger Moore in the brilliant For Yours Eyes Only.
When Roger left the role after 1985's A View To A Kill, Eon tried to secure Brosnan's contract, however he could not break free of his commitments to the TV series Remington Steele. 10 years later, Timothy Dalton said "thanks but no thanks" (apparently) to reprising his role for a third time, so Pierce was finally secured.
Brosnan as James Bond
1995's Goldeneye saw an all-new James Bond. Not just in his appearance, but also his character. Gone were his cigarettes, his dark brooding manner (introduced by Dalton), and gone was his overt sexually. Sure, he necked with Caroline in his Aston Martin DB5, had a hot sweaty romp with Xenia Onatopp in a spa, but it wasn't until he met Russian computer programmer Natalya Simonova that he finally did the nasty.
Buoyed by the box office success of Goldeneye, 1997's follow up Tomorrow Never Dies had one of the fastest production times for a Bond film since the 60's. It had some great elements, an interesting plot, and (in true Bond style) some cracking stunts, but if you took away all of the action, the film would probably have been 30 minutes long. If they had've allowed a longer pre-production time, the film may have been better. Also, screening it alongside James Cameron's Titantic was a poor decision.
1999 gave us The World Is Not Enough, my personal favourite. Brosnan finally seems comfortable in the role of Bond. With the longest pre-title sequence of all time, we get to see Brosnan fall out of a three storey window in Bilboa, take the Q-Boat on an action packed tour of the Thames, and ride a hot air balloon. The film also has Denise Richards (aka Dr Christmas Jones) parading around in next to nothing, with a great wet t-shirt competition in a nuclear sub near the end (I'm no expert but I think she won that competition).
The longest gap between films brought us to 2002's Die Another Day, which is the first time since 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service that a Bond film would use CGI (to it's detriment, I might add). 40 years since the first Bond film, Die Another Day was a celebration of all things 007, and you can spend hours trying to pick out all of the references. In terms of Box Office, it was also Brosnan's best, so you can see how he'd be miffed to then be axed from the role, in favour of the younger Daniel Craig.
This leads me to my autograph (I bet you forgot all about that, didn't you?). In late 2002 I was fortunate enough to see Brosnan at Melbourne's Crown Casino for the premier of Die Another Day. I wasn't one of the red carpet attendees, and I didn't even have a ticket, but I did wait for 2 hours under the hot December sun, just to catch a few minutes of 007 in the flesh. I didn't have anything for him to sign, so I was happy just to take photos. Oh, and Rosamund Pike was there as well. Lovely.
So, this shot was taken with an old film camera (remember them?) and I sent the best image to Pierce in the mail. About 2 months later, this is what I received. That's his autograph along with a PEACE symbol. Groovy man. Before you say it's a fake, please note that I have had this authenticated by a German collector (God bless the Germans).
It's nice to know that even big name Hollywood movie stars like Pierce Brosnan will sign autographs through the mail.
First in my collection of celebrity autographs is actually my most recent acquisition, Matt Smith, the Eleventh Doctor from the long (LONG) running BBC Sci Fi show Doctor Who.
Matt Smith
Matt Smith was announced with much fanfare last year as the new Doctor, to be replacing the much loved David Tennant. Many things were said about Matt Smith, and not all of them good:
- "He's too young". He was cast in the role at age 28, which does make him the youngest Doctor, but Peter Davison (the Fifth Doctor) was cast at age 31, so it's not un-heard of.
- "He looks like a Goth/Emo". Well yeah, the first production shots were very dark, and Matt Smith was wearing all black, but that doesn't mean he'll be wearing that costume in the show. Like I said in forums at the time, his costume might change (and I was right too). So now instead of an Emo Doctor, we have a College Professor Doctor (at least it's better then the rumoured Pirate Doctor, arrgh!).
- "He's hair is too long". So?
- "He's a bit of a spunk". I guess, if you're into that kind of thing. Perhaps this was just the rant of an ex-Tennant lover, too eager to jump on the bandwagon.
Lately there has been some BAD things written about Matt Smith by "fans" who want to see David Tennant return to the role. Now, as a Doctor Who fan and a James Bond fan, I'm used to feeling a bit down when an actor leaves the role, but leaving death threats on Facebook is just not cool. You have to just accept that a new actor is in the role (sometimes they're better, sometimes not) but it's 2010, you can always watch the reruns or pop on the DVD.
On 1st January 2010, David Tennant finally said farewell to Doctor Who in The End Of Time Part 2. I won't spoil anything for you if you haven't watched it yet (this episode airs on the ABC here is Australia tomorrow at 7:30PM) except to say that we're treated to 1 minute and 6 seconds of Matt Smith. My immediate summation, MANIC.
Matt Smith on set in costume.
Anyway back to my autograph, this was obtained through the mail after I sent a fanmail address (including a self-addressed envelope) to the BBC Wales. It's an incribed 3x5 card featuring the very first image taken of Matt Smith after he was announced as the new Doctor.
Interesting point, the TARDIS in the background was photoshopped in. There was much secrecy about the new Doctor, and the BBC didn't want anyone to leak photos onto the net too early.
Matt Smith autograph
In any event, I'm quite pleased to have received the autograph, as many actors out there (not just confined to Doctor Who) fail to reply to my requests. You know who you are! Grrr!
