Video: Tour the Studio Where They Film DOCTOR WHO!

Cardiff is now one of the top centers of television production.  Less than a decade ago such a statement would have been met by gales of laughter.  But people aren’t laughing now.  The BBC has produced some its biggest shows of the 21st century in the Welsh capital, including “Doctor Who”, “Torchwood”, “Sarah Jane Adventures”,  “Casualty”,  and “Upstairs Downstairs”.  And now they have a new state-of-the-art, purpose-built television facility in Cardiff called Roath Lock.  Below you’ll be treated to a video tour hosted by Arthur (Rory Williams) Darvill.  And, think of this, many children today, dreaming of going into television won’t be setting their sites on London, or even Hollywood, they will be aiming for Cardiff!

Get the TORCHWOOD Experience!

From the BBC:

An exhibition of the BBC Wales sci-fi series Torchwood is being planned just a stone’s throw from Captain Jack’s underground hub in Cardiff Bay.

The team behind the Doctor Who Up Close exhibition hope to make the most of the spin-off show’s Cardiff connection.

Martin Wilkie of Experience Design said: “A Torchwood Exhibition would be a great addition to the Bay area.”

Cardiff council is considering plans for an attraction which could open in time for the summer holidays in July.

A Georgian building in Bute Crescent has been identified as a possible location for the exhibition.

It will feature elements of the Torchwood Hub, which is fictitiously located below the water tower in Roald Dahl Plass.

Mr Wilkie said: “We have looked at several sites for a Torchwood Exhibition but we are hoping that this one might be available soon.

“The appeal of Torchwood brings many visitors to Cardiff Bay, especially to see the Torchwood Water Tower.

“The building we are hoping to use for the Torchwood Exhibition is near this famous TV landmark and would offer visitors a unique chance to see many of the key props, costumes and even recent creatures from the up-coming 2009 series.”

Source.

Vulcan Pub Needs Spock to Live Long and Prosper!

From Wales Online:

ENTERPRISING Vulcan pub campaigners are boldly going where no drinkers have gone before by calling on Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy to save their bar.

More than 100 people have signed a letter to the 78-year-old Mr Spock star asking him to beam the pub from the clutches of developers who want to knock down the Victorian building next month and replace it with a car park as part of the St David’s 2 development.

The Echo has also made several attempts to reach Mr Nimoy. A letter has also been sent to Zachary Quinto, who plays Spock in the new Star Trek film.

Each reads: “If you would put your name to our campaign it might help save our beloved bar. Please help!”

Brian Smart runs The Vulcan with his wife, landlady Elizabeth Smart.

Paraphrasing Vulcan greeting “Live long and prosper”, he said from behind the bar of the Adam Street alehouse: “Any form of outside help would be good. He is a celebrity and connected with Vulcans so it’s a good theme. I’m not a Trekkie, but I have seen everyone do the thing with their hands. And I’d tell him ‘Drink long and prosper’. I don’t know what I’d say to him if he came in though. I’d give him a free pint on the house.”

Celebrities James Dean Bradfield, Rhys Ifans, Neil Kinnock and Howard Marks have all backed calls for the pub to be saved. More than 6,000 people have signed a petition to get it listed.

Royal Mail manager Steve O’Connell is a regular at the pub, which was this week named Cardiff pub of the Year by the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra).

The 55-year-old, from Llanrumney, said: “It is a local that has got character. I have always enjoyed coming here. You are always made to feel welcome, it has got a great atmosphere. It’s a landmark in Cardiff and one of the few remaining traditional drinking pubs left. I think Leonard would like it here. I think he would call it ‘a quaint British pub’. I would say to him, ‘Save our heritage’.”

His wife, retired teaching aide Linda O’Connell, said: “I think if he were to support it financially he is going to have to pay a lot of money. They are not going to give it up easily.”

Source.

Photo: Ghost Caught on Google Street View!

From the Telegraph:

Experts have been called in to examine the Google ghoul filmed at a former Victorian docklands which has a dark and sinister past.

The woman dressed in long skirt, crisp blouse, bow tie, blue boater hat and scarf appears to be shimmering above the pavement.

She was captured by the Google Street View cameras in Tiger Bay, Cardiff – the scene of murders and unsolved mysteries going back 200 years.

The water sculpture seen in the picture is used as the gateway to enter the fictional world of Dr Who spin-off Torchwood.

Local medium Jane Cohen, 39, said: “Apparitions have often been caught on film but are invisible to the naked eye. “This woman is very smart – but she is dressed in clothes that you just don’t see these days unless it’s in a period drama on TV.

(Exteriors to the BBC’s spin-off of Doctor Who, Torchwood, are filmed here.  This science fiction show often deals with time travel.  — Ghost Radio, Editor)

“But what is really strange is that she doesn’t appear as a full figure – you can’t see all of her.”

The old docklands has been redeveloped with a theatre, waterside restaurants and plush apartments.

But local historians say the woman was filmed in the heart of the notorious Tiger Bay – once the busiest sea port in the world.

The image was filmed last June as the Google cameras filmed the streets and landmarks of the Welsh capital.

The Google cameras have also captured a spooky ET alien figure in New Jersey, United States.

Source.

Check out more baffling paranormal photos here.