DOCTOR WHO SERIES SEVEN DUBBING UPDATE

We have just received news about the dubbing of Doctor Who's Series 7 from the excellent dubbing author François Dubuc (Doctor Who, Supernatural, The State Within), one of the regular writers of Doctor Who's French-speaking version.

The recording session should start in december and François Dubuc is currently working on the French dialogues of Asylum of the Daleks, while fellow Doctor Who dubbing authors Rodolph Freytt and Olivier Lips are writing the remaining episodes of the series's first half.

Doctor Who is aired in France by pubcaster France 4.

See also (In French):

http://thierryattard.blogspot.fr/2010/01/francois-dubuc-adaptateur-state-within_07.html
http://thierryattard.blogspot.fr/2010/01/francois-dubuc-adaptateur-state-within.html

NORTH & SOUTH (FRENCH REGION 2 DVD)

North & South, the four-part 2004 BBC drama serial adapted from the classic by Elizabeth Gaskell, arrived last week in France thanks to the wonderful folks from Koba Films. And with a French-speaking dubbing specially done for the occasion.

Review in French here:

http://thierryattard.blogspot.com/2011/11/nord-et-sud-koba-films.html

ROGER CAREL IS 84

France's National Treasure actor, comedian and dubbing artist Roger Carel is 84 today.

Revered by generations, the talented and versatile Mr Carel is the French-speaking voice of Peter Sellers, Asterix, Kermit the Frog, Benny Hill, C-3PO, Winnie The Pooh, David Suchet in Poirot, and so many (many) more.

You can find some very recent news of Roger Carel here:

http://danslombredesstudios.blogspot.com/2011/08/joyeux-anniversaire-roger-carel.html (In French)

THE GREEN HORNET

Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) is a young playboy who exasperates his father, James Reid (Tom Wilkinson), publisher of the L.A. newspaper The Daily Sentinel. When James dies, Britt meets Kato (Jay Chou) - a genius mechanic with martial art skills who worked for his father.

As paranoid mobster Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz) is taking over the town, Britt Reid and Kato become masked crimefighters posing as criminals in their rolling arsenal: The Black Beauty.

The Green Hornet was created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker for a radio series. In the 1940s the character was adapted for comic books and into two movie serials. A 1966-1967 television series starred Van Williams as Britt Reid/The Green Hornet and Bruce Lee as Kato. Thanks to Lee's later stardom their incarnations returned in two compilation movies, The Green Hornet (1974) and Fury of the Dragon (1976).

« Hand over the sushi.
- Yeah, hand it over. »

IT'S NOT THAT EASY BEING GREEN

Now actor/producer Seth Rogen stars as Reid in this $120 million movie written by him with Evan Goldberg, and directed by someone you would not expect on such a project: French director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). You'd not expect Rogen as a masked crusader either but he lost weight and got more athletic for the character. After all, why couldn't he expand the scope of his roles beyond comedy? Jim Carrey did it and Seth Rogen would be talented enough to do it too. Except he doesn't even try to put a toe beyond his comfort zone.

« Kato, I want you to take my hand and want you to come with me on this adventure.
- I'll go with you but I don't wanna touch you. »

His Britt Reid is a "rich cretin" and a bumbling accidental superhero outsmarted by Kato, the martial artist and master inventor played by Taiwanese music superstar and actor Jay Chou. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are obviously more interested by the bromance (« Girls are such a drag, Kato. Thank God we have each other. ») than by the source material, past Kato and the customized retro car "loaded up the ass with cool shit": The Black Beauty. They even sacrifice a major character of the original Green Hornet the way Jim Phelps was mistreated in the first Mission: Impossible movie (1996).

« I should kill Kim myself, he's a friend. »

Oscar Winner Christoph Waltz is constantly fine-tuning his performance as Chudnofsky between the nazi of Inglorious Basterds (« Decapited statues. I decapitated real people. ») and the generic blockbuster villain. He delivers one of the movie's best scenes, facing James Franco in his usual stuff, before looking hardly concerned and losing it around the end in red leather and gas mask! At this pace Waltz will be the next Victor Newman in Y&R but thank God Nicolas Cage left the movie, imagine him with that line: « I'm Bloodnofsky. I killed a thousand before and I'll kill a thousand more. » The legendary Edward James Olmos is miscast as the Sentinel Managing Editor Mike Axford and Cameron Diaz (Lenore Case) is virtually nonexistent as "one of the boys".

« Well, it’s not really my movie. » (Michel Gondry)

When not pushing the limits of disbelief to the heights of ridicule, thanks to state of the art digital sfx and 3D conversion, the action sequences borrow rather happily to the 007 and Superman franchises. You'll find not even a single trace of Michel Gondry's creativity in The Green Hornet, as the movie is an extra large pop corn flick in total WTF mode (the Hornet and Kato sing Gangsta's Paradise on their trying ride of The Black Beauty). Somewhere in the middle of Iron Man and Get Smart with Steve Carell, no one involved seems to take it seriously anyway.

Region 1 DVD contains the excellent French-speaking dubbing with the talented Tristan Harvey for Britt Reid/The Green Hornet. Harvey is also the voice of Kevin James or Ricky Gervais in Quebec and belongs to the very select club of those dubbing artists who can really bring an added value to the movies they work on. The DVD special features include an interview with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg about writing The Green Hornet, and The Black Beauty: Rebirth of Cool, a feature about the true star of the film.

« I call it The Black Beauty.
- Kato! It's beautiful! And it's black. »

http://collider.com/the-green-hornet-interview-seth-rogen-evan-goldberg-on-set/37011/
http://www.deadline.com/2010/07/comic-con-7-sony-green-hornet-panel/
http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/01/16/green-hornet-director-michel-gondry-its-not-really-my-movie/
http://www.doublage.qc.ca/p.php?i=162&idmovie=3268

DANSE AVEC LES STARS (TF1)

Private network TF1 aired yesterday the premiere of Danse avec les Stars, the French adaptation of BBC Worldwide's global hit format Dancing with the Stars (Strictly come Dancing in the UK).

Licensed to more than 30 countries, this format teams up celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances in front of three judges, and viewers can vote. Co-produced by BBC Worldwide and TF1 Production, Danse avec les Stars arrives in France six years after TF1 tried a similar concept/format called Celebrity Dancing.

The contestants are former model Adriana Karembeu, former football player David Ginola, stage actress Marthe Mercadier (82 years), singer M Pokora, Spanish actress Rossy de Palma, composer, jazz pianist and former French Pop Idol judge André Manoukian, singer Sofia Essaïdi (who was a contestant in Celebrity Dancing), and comedian Jean-Marie Bigard. They team up with dance pros Fauve Hautot, Katrina Patchett, Grégoire Lyonnet, Julien Brugel, Silvia Notargiacomo, Candice Pascal, Maxime Dereymez and Christophe Licata.

The show is hosted by Sandrine Quétier and Vincent Cerutti. And the judges are dancer and actress Alessandra Martines, Salsa world champion Chris Marques (who worked on Strictly), and Canadian dancer and choreographer Jean-Marc Généreux (judge on the Canadian edition of So You Think You Can Dance). And the voice-over is provided by France's most reputed voice-over and dubbing artist Richard Darbois. French-speaking voice of Harrison Ford, Danny Glover or Richard Gere, Darbois is also the voice of radio station NRJ and the gaullic equivalent of American trailer God and voice-over master Don LaFontaine.

In spite of high production values and an astute celebrity casting, the entertaining Danse avec les Stars won the evening with only 4.840.000 viewers and a 23,9% share. There are certainly adjustments to be done with the young hosts (Quétier is 40 and Cerutti is 30) and the judges, who both often recall the French Got Talent instead of Strictly. Don't forget that in Reality TV it's the jury who makes the programme strictly worth watching, the judges who makes the "stars" dance. Ask the amazing Craig Revel Horwood, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli.

http://www.tf1.fr/danse-avec-les-stars/ (Official site - In French)
http://www.ozap.com/actu/audiences-danse-stars-oubliez-paroles-sang-vigne-ncis/397026 (Ratings - In French)

Update (February 20): http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2011/02/mujeres-al-borde-de.html

LE DOCTEUR SPEAKS

[15.54 - French Time] Website Beans On Toast, the first French-speaking information source about the Whoniverse, has just put online an interesting interview with Belgian actor and dubbing artist David Manet by Aude Boubaker and Aurélie Demonchaux.

Very appreciated by French-speaking Doctor Who fans, Manet was the voice of The Doctor as portrayed by Christopher Eccleston and later David Tennant.

Full disclosure: Your humble servant is mentioned because of his short stint as a consultant on the dubbing in French language.

You can listen to this interview here: http://www.doctor-who.fr/d_itw_manet.php (In French)

DOCTOR WHO SERIES FIVE DUBBING UPDATE

[18.25 - French Time] The Waters of Mars will be aired in France by DTT pubcaster France 4 this saturday. The Doctor Who specials starring David Tennant as the tenth Doctor marked a new era for the French-speaking dubbing dialogues with the arrival of two talented authors: Chantal Bugalski (The West Wing, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) and François Dubuc (The State Within).

Because of the number of episodes for a regular series two other authors joined Bugalski and Dubuc for the adaptation of Doctor Who's fifth series in French: Rodolph Freytt (True Blood) and Olivier Lips (Nip/Tuck). François Dubuc could only work on The Eleventh Hour and The Beast Below, due to adjustments in his planning.

Recording of Amy's choice and The Hungry Earth started this week in the Belgian studios of Dubbing Brothers under the direction of David Macaluso. The French-speaking dubbing process of Doctor Who is closely followed by fans in France and other countries of Francophonie and even regularly attracts interest in the United Kingdom (http://www.kasterborous.com/2010/10/29/la-conquete-de-mars-online/).

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2010/10/amys-voice.html

AMY'S VOICE

[19.27 - French Time] While The Waters of Mars is due to be aired by French DTT pubcaster France 4 on October 30th, Doctor Who's fifth series is currently dubbed for French-speaking territories since September 29 in the Belgian studios of Dubbing Brothers, under the direction of David Macaluso.

As we reported in March, Matt Smith is dubbed by experimented Belgian stage actor Marc Weiss. We're told now that Amy Pond, played by Karen Gillan, is dubbed by the excellent Audrey d'Hulstère (French-speaking voice of Liz White in Life on Mars). And "Mr Pond", aka Rory Williams - performed by Arthur Darvill, has the voice of stage and improv actor Xavier Elsen, which seems an interesting choice.

In The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone, the very talented Scottish actor Iain Glen (Father Octavian) is dubbed by the equally talented Philippe Résimont. Résimont is one of the finest Belgian stage actors and has a long string of dubbing credits. In Doctor Who he dubbed the Chancellor in The End of Time 1 & 2 and he was the voice of Diagoras in series three's Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks.

The characters of Mo, Elliot and Ambrose in The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood will be dubbed by Michelangelo Marchese (Ed Gold in The Waters of Mars), Matteo Marchese and Valérie Lemaître, who are also a family in real life.

Artistic director David Macaluso explained us that Marc Weiss and Audrey d'Hulstère particularly enjoy working on the French-speaking version of this series, whose recording will end at the beginning of December. This Tuesday begins the dubbing of Amy's Choice and The Hungry Earth.

http://www.comedien.be/audreydhulstere (In French)
http://www.comedien.be/xavierelsen (In French)
http://www.comedien.be/michelangelomarchese (In French)

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2010/03/11th-doctor-speaks-french.html
http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2010/04/end-of-time-french-dubbing-cast.html
http://www.doctor-who.fr/d_itw_david.php (In French)

DOCTOR'S LOST DIARY

While French viewers are still waiting for Doctor's Diary (2008), German channel RTL's multi-awarded hit series is aired in French on Quebecer channel Séries+ since the end of August.

Often described as a mix between Grey's Anatomy and Bridget Jones, the show is about the sentimental and professional tribulations of a young doctor, Margarethe "Gretchen" Haase (Diana Amft). Adolf Grimme Award winner Bora Dagtekin (Türkisch für Anfänger/Turkish for Beginners) is responsible for the concept and headwriting.

Announced by France's leader channel TF1 last year for its 2009-2010 lineup, Doctor's Diary - Männer sind die beste Medizin is now set for 2010-2011. Doctor's Diary - aka Le Journal de Meg in French-speaking territories - is produced for RTL by Polyphon and Austrian ORF. The show is distributed by Telepool and brilliantly dubbed in French by Belgian dubbing company Agent Double (Alarm für Cobra 11, Being Erica).

LE POING DE DIEU

[19.14 - French Time] A French TV channel has bought Lasko - The Fist of God (Lasko - Die Faust Gottes), the action/adventure series produced by Hermann Joha's production company action concept for private broadcaster RTL.

Brother Lasko (Mathis Landwehr) is a young monk from Pugnus Dei ("The Fist of God" in Latin), an ancestral secret monastic order fighting for justice with the help of martial arts. With his loyal and epicurian friend Brother Gladius (Stephan Bieker) and BKA agent Sophia von Erlen (Simone Hanselmann) he faces Ares an occult lodge within the Vatican, which will stop at nothing to achieve its plans.

With an estimated budget of around 1 million euros per episode for its first season, the spectacular ratings and market shares of Lasko - Die Faust Gottes didn't guarantee the return of one of the best TV shows produced in Germany. RTL wisely asked a cautious script development process before a go for season two. Finally eight new episodes were commissioned and filmed from April to August.

Preparation work for the French-speaking dubbing of Lasko - The Fist of God has started. Meanwhile the new season of action concept's Alarm for Cobra 11 (Alarm für Cobra 11 - Die Autobahnpolizeï) starts tomorrow on RTL, which airs the show since 1996.

(C) Thierry Attard

SPLIT DOCTOR

Sunday ain't what it used to be. Two days ago the BBC and Steven Moffat announced that the transmission of the next series of Doctor Who, in 2011, will be split into two blocks of episodes, transmitting in spring and autumn.

Speaking at the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival, Doctor Who supremo Steven Moffat announced that next year's 13-part series will run for seven episodes at Easter "building to an earth-shattering climax" at Episode 7, an "enormous game-changing cliffhanger that will change everything". And then return in the autumn for another six. « Looking at the next series I thought what this show needs is a big event in the middle, » said Moffat.

« The wrong expression would be to say we are splitting it in two. We are making it two separate series, » as he explained, referring to the second block as supposedly "series seven". Steven Moffat regenerated Doctor Who in a spirit of invention and tradition with an overall entertaining fifth series which revealed the talent of Matt Smith. But also shown blatantly the weight of budget constraints and some signs of fatigue for the mandatory story arc stretched over 13 episodes.

In June we wrote: « Perhaps Doctor Who should consider a return to the serial formula and drop the contrived high concept story arcs. » And following the unconvincing and deliberately partial "crack" arc resolution - indicating a continuation with series six - we asked if Moffat would have a budget decent enough to fulfill his narrative ambitions past the lavish Christmas 2010 special. « Budget cuts are tough: I don't like them, but they force you to be creative, » as he told BBC News in April.

Steven Moffat considers that thirteen episodes of Doctor Who are, by the standards of any other drama series, "two series' worth". We'll see how the split affects a budget arbitration already delicate in a context of cuts for BBC dramas. And of course, while Steven Moffat is committed to Doctor Who for nine months of the year, three new 90-minute episodes of Sherlock - his other BBC hit - have been commissioned.

Doctor Who remains one of the biggest money maker brands of BBC Worldwide, sold to more than 50 territories. Preparation work for the French-speaking dubbing of series five has started this month.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/aug/29/doctor-who-cliffhanger-series-split

DIE ANKUNFT

[17.08 - French Time] Patrick McGoohan will be back this summer as Number 6 on French and German TV screens simultaneously.

From July 24 to August 28, Franco-German channel Arte will run ITC Entertainment's cult classic The Prisoner (1967) in its Summer of the Sixties season.

For Germany this is an event as four episodes of Nummer 6, neither dubbed nor shown by ZDF in 1969, will be aired for the first time with a German dubbing made for the occasion: Free For All, The Schizoid Man, A Change Of Mind and Living In Harmony.

In The Prisoner, McGoohan (co-creator and producer of the show) was a secret agent taken against his will to The Village, a mysterious place whose its inhabitants are called only by a number.

Wir sehen uns!

http://www.arte.tv/de/Kultur-entdecken/summer/3194468.html (In German)
http://www.match-cut.de/ (An excellent website about The Prisoner - In German)

NEW JACK CITY

[21.35 - French Time] Nicolas K., who runs the excellent and well-informed DSD (a website about French-speaking dubbing of contemporary TV series), told our blog that John Barrowman loses his dubbing voice from Torchwood in Desperate Housewives.

John Barrowman appears in the final episodes of DH's sixth season and a lot of French-speaking fans of both Barrowman and Torchwood are eager to know if the actor keeps Captain Jack's dubbing voice. Last month we explained that if the Doctor Who franchise and Desperate Housewives are dubbed by the same company, Dubbing Brothers, the former is dubbed in Belgium and the latter in France. So the probability was thin.

And indeed John Barrowman loses the voice of Belgian actor Sébastien Hébrant on Wisteria Lane. Because according to Nicolas, it is presumably Serge Faliu who has been chosen to dub Barrowman in Desperate. Faliu was the French voice of James Marsters in Buffy and Angel, and the voice of Douglas Henshall in Primeval (dubbed in France by Dubbing Brothers).

Should it be confirmed it would be a rather smart choice even if some will regret this blow to continuity, because Sébastien Hébrant is really good in Torchwood. Cases of dubbing artists crossing the Belgium-France border (or vice versa) for continuity on an actor are rare. Belgian actress and dubbing artist Véronique Biefnot was called in France to dub Hermione Norris in Spooks, after Wire in the Blood (dubbed in Belgium). But Serge Faliu didn't provide his voice to James Marsters in Torchwood.

http://dsd-ev.ifrance.com/Index.html (In French)

THE INVENTION OF LYING

In a world similar to ours except that the human race has never evolved the ability to tell a lie, everybody says what they think even if it's harsh or embarassing. Until one day when a strange thing happens to Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais).

The Invention of Lying originated as a draft script from freshman L.A. screenwriter Matthew Robinson. Producer Lynda Obst convinced Robinson's idol, British comedic genius Ricky Gervais - co-creator of TV comedy series The Office and Extras - to read it. Gervais and Matthew Robinson ended up writing and directing the movie together.

Mark Bellison is a struggling screenwriter. In a world where there's no such things as deceit, flattery or even fiction, movies are moments from history read by narrators like an introduction of Masterpiece Theatre. Bellison is mad about the lovely Anna McDoogles (Jennifer Garner) but she dines with him only to please her mother and because she's afraid to spend the rest of her life alone, even if she doesn't find him attractive.

He's fired because his last script was too "depressing" (the Black Plague!) and he is about to be evicted. When at the bank in order to close his account, Mark asks for more than he really has without any kind of suspicion from the cashier. He tests his new power on his friends and in casinos, then realizes he can do some good around him and later sells his former boss (Jeffrey Tambor) the best script ever written. A story with a spaceship, a ninja army and a robot dinosaur... in the 14th century.

Mark Bellison's true moment of glory actually comes involuntarily when he tells his dying mother (Fionnula Flanagan) about the wonderful things that come after death. Now he's a rich global celebrity but still can't conquer Anna's heart, as the young woman is stopped by her genetic prejudices - in spite of her growing feelings for him.

The Invention of Lying is an astute social comedy. In the world of Mark Bellison a homeless man in the street holds a cardboard which states: "I don't understand why I'm homeless and you're not". The retirement home is called "A sad place for hopeless old people". Commercials are honest or disillusioned ("Pepsi, when they don't have Coke").

Gervais is at his best when it comes to human relationships and particularly in workplace: Mark's secretary openly hates him, his boss is a coward and his professional and sentimental rival, Brad Kessler (incredible Rob Lowe) is the epitome of shallow. The film is also an enlightening, moving and poetic philosophical tale with reflections about prejudice, religion or creativity. Its only weakness is certainly the romance between the hero and Anna.

The Invention of Lying is not Ricky Gervais's Liar Liar but his Groundhog Day and the versatile comedian is surrounded by an excellent cast. Louis C.K. as Greg (Mark's best friend), and Jonah Hill as Frank - a neighbour Mark saves from suicide - are fabulous. And there are tasty cameos from Tina Fey, Stephen Merchant, Edward Norton, or Philip Seymour Hoffman. Hoffman is Mark and Greg's bartender in a scene which could be used as an audition for Gervais as Homer in a live action Simpsons movie.

Region 1 DVD contains the very good French-speaking dubbing made in Quebec with the talented Tristan Harvey, who should be the only voice of Ricky Gervais in French. Virtually ignored by US box office, The Invention of Lying is released confidentially in French theaters this week.

http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/inventionlying.php
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/interviewsnews.php?id=58294
http://www.tristanharvey.com/

THE END OF TIME (FRENCH DUBBING CAST)

[19.37 - French Time] We have received the French-speaking dubbing cast list of The End of Time 1 & 2 (the last Doctor Who special starring David Tennant).

Very appreciated by French-speaking fans, David Manet is of course The Doctor. Daniel Dury is Wilf and the talented Franck Dacquin, who dubs John Simm since Life on Mars, is The Master. Claudio Dos Santos (Greg in Survivors) is Joshua Naismith, and Raphaelle Bruneau is Abigail Naismith.

Geraldine Frippiat, Philippe Allard, Carole Baillen, Mélanie Dermont and Nathalie Hons are respectively Rose, Mickey, Donna, Martha and Jackie. Ioanna Gkizas is Sylvia, Cécile Boland is Lucy Saxon and Jacqueline Ghaye is Sarah Jane Smith.

The excellent Sébastien Hébrant is, as always, Captain Jack, and many fans are asking themselves if Hébrant is dubbing John Barrowman in Desperate Housewives. But if the Doctor Who franchise and DH are dubbed by the same company, Dubbing Brothers, the former is dubbed in Belgium and the latter in France so it's far from guaranteed.

Some parts are dubbed by the following artists: Nicole Shirer (Woman+Minnie) Romain Barbieux (Oods+Ood Sigma), Robert Guilmard (Ood elder+Winston), Alexandre Crepet (Shaun), Fanny Roy (Adams), Fabienne Loriaux (Verity), Gauthier de Fauconval (Luke), Jean-Paul Landresse (Oliver) and Frederic Meaux (Mr Danes).

Amusingly President Obama is dubbed by Jean-Marc Delhausse, who was the voice of Davros in series four! Frédéric Haugness, who told David Tennant's first lines ever in Doctor Who (before decision makers decided to keep David Manet) is Rossiter. The supremely talented Philippe Résimont, one of the finest Belgian stage actors, is the Chancellor.

Patrick Donnay, voice of James Nesbitt in Murphy's Law, is the Narrator/Lord President and, last but not least, Marc Weiss is the regenerated Doctor - as we revealed last month. David Macaluso directs this French-speaking version, with dialogues written by François Dubuc.

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2010/03/11th-doctor-speaks-french.html

En Français: http://thierryattard.blogspot.com/2010/04/doctor-who-end-of-time-doublage.html

THE 11TH DOCTOR SPEAKS FRENCH

EXCLUSIVE: [9.10 - French Time] The five-day recording session of the French-speaking version of The End of Time 1 & 2, the Doctor Who special marking David Tennant's departure, ended this week in Brussels at the Belgian studios of Dubbing Brothers.

Belgian actor and dubbing artist David Manet told Ten's last lines under the direction of artistic director David Macaluso. Very appreciated by French-speaking Doctor Who fans, Manet was the voice of The Doctor since the Christopher Eccleston days.

Interestingly, David Tennant's first lines were actually told by Fred Haugness, who was very good but decision makers decided to keep David Manet for the first season with Tennant. And Manet succeeded brilliantly in making his dubbing acting evolving with the new star of the show.

In the beginning of new Doctor Who, French-speaking fans were more than unsatisfied with the dubbing, done in Belgium for financial motives. David Macaluso's efforts to convince those involved in the corporate decisions that Who is not an ordinary programme lead to a consulting work with your humble servant for series 3 (at Macaluso's initiative).

A new era has started with the specials and the arrival of two permanent authors for French dialogues, Chantal Bugalski and François Dubuc (who worked on The State Within). Only The Next Doctor, adapted by Dubuc, has been shown in France for the moment and fans were impressed by both the adaptation and the direction - with a special mention for the choice of David Morrissey's voice.

François Dubuc is the author of French dialogues for The End of Time 1 & 2 and therefore had the delicate task to write the first lines of Eleven, played by Matt Smith. And these lines were told on March 2 by experimented Belgian stage actor and dubbing artist Marc Weiss. Weiss, also theatre director, is one of the founders of Panach'Club, a theatre company (http://www.panachclub.be/ - In French).

David Macaluso told us that the recording of David Manet's last lines was a moving moment. Some fans will regret Manet but Marc Weiss is truly an excellent choice for Matt Smith's Doctor.

En Français: http://thierryattard.blogspot.com/2010/03/le-11eme-docteur-parle-francais.html

SERGE SAUVION (1929-2010)

[12.30 - French Time] Read on the blog of La Gazette du doublage, the website of my friend François Justamand (1). French actor Serge Sauvion has died at the age of 80.

Serge Sauvion was particularly popular in France for his contribution to the dubbing of many US television series. Especially one which made him literally an iconic part of French popular culture: Columbo.

The savorous rendition by Sauvion of Peter Falk's lines as the lieutenant marked generations in France, becoming a favourite among impersonators, in numerous skits, TV variety shows, or in diners. Even around coffee vending machines at work.

Actually the huge success and popularity of Columbo in France (even in reruns) owes a lot to Serge Sauvion, who certainly made him more French than American without betraying him a single second. His voice perfectly matched Falk's own voice.

For TV Sauvion was also the French-speaking voice of Peter Lupus in Mission: Impossible, of Robert Blake in Baretta, or of Stacy Keach in Mike Hammer and its sequel shows.

He was also the voice Burt Reynolds in his greatest movie hits.

(1) La Gazette du doublage is both a website and a blog.

http://www.objectif-cinema.com/blog-doublage/index.php/2010/02/14/229-serge-sauvion-1929-2010 (In French)

CHERCHEZ ENCORE LA FEMME DANS LA NUIT

[21.50 - French Time] This news from THR could easily qualify for our Things to watch in Hollywoodland when you're dead feature: The CW has picked up a pilot for a 2010 version of La Femme Nikita co-exec produced by director/producer McG (Chuck, Human Target).

The original movie, Nikita (1990), was about a young criminal woman trained to be an assassin by a top-secret government agency. It was directed by Luc Besson and starred Anne Parillaud. The story (written by Besson) was remade three years later in the US as Point of No Return, with Bridget Fonda.

In 1997 the movie(s) became a television series called La Femme Nikita and produced in Toronto for USA Network, with the excellent Peta Wilson as Nikita. Wilson was surrounded by a great cast: Eugene Robert Glazer as "Operations" - the cynical boss of Section One, Alberta Watson (The Sweet Hereafter) as Madeline, etc.

Roy Dupuis, a superstar in Quebec, played Michael. Dupuis was even in position to contractually ask to dub himself in French language for the airing of the show in the Canadian province, whereas the other voices heard were French as the series was dubbed in Paris (with the French voice of Tom Hanks for Dupuis in France).

Season 5 (2001), guest-starring the legendary Edward Woodward (Callan, The Equalizer) as Mr Jones, is one of the best works ever done in the spy/thriller genre on TV. The influence of La Femme Nikita is visible in shows like the underestimated Quebecer series Haute Surveillance (2000) or 24.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, in the new version Nikita is going rogue and a new assassin is trained to replace her. We'll see if this pilot finishes in the White Room.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i679ae933772b87559ce5e813491a48fe

MIDSOMER PENSIONER

[13.30 - French Time] John Nettles is DCI Tom Barnaby in ITV's Midsomer Murders since 1997. Last year he announced that he is giving up his role at the end of the next series, the 13th. His last episode will be episode 82 and Nettles will shoot his final scene in August .

In Midsomer Murders, adapted from the books of Caroline Graham by Anthony Horowitz, DCI Barnaby and his deputy investigate an endless series of (unrelated) murders most horrid in the fictional county of Midsomer - where they now probably have to hire inhabitants in order to keep practicing this local passtime that is assassination.

The Daily Mail website publishes today a very interesting article about John Nettles leaving Midsomer, where the actor (who will remain Jim Bergerac for your humble servant) discusses his exit, his reasons, and how he will make it as modest as possible (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1245134/Midsomer-Murder-After-14-years-200-murders-DCI-Barnaby-retiring-John-Nettles-says-time.html).

ITV and exec producers are searching for Nettles's replacement and speculation is growing. The names circulating to replace him include Nat Parker, Rupert Penry-Jones (Whitechapel), Jason Isaacs, Bradley Walsh (Law & Order: UK), Jason Durr, Alastair MacKenzie, or Philip "Gene Hunt" Glenister (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2009/dec/24/whos-next-midsomer-murders). The very talented Michael Kitchen (Foyle's War) is also named and many consider he would be absolutely perfect. My readers know my humble opinion about the show but I believe Kitchen would indeed be a great successor to John Nettles.

Midsomer Murders is a global hit. Interestingly John Nettles talks a little about dubbing (1) in the Daily Mail piece, and he compliments the French actor who dubs him for French-speaking countries. Hervé Jolly is the French voice of Nettles since Bergerac - which is virtually unknown in France unlike Inspecteur Barnaby. The show will have to get a new title here.

Update (February 9): http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2010/02/keep-it-in-family.html

(1) I find John Nettles very harsh with his German voice, the excellent Norbert Langer (http://www.synchronkartei.de/index.php5?action=show&type=talker&id=380)

See:

http://www.itv.com/Drama/copsandcrime/midsomermurdersweekend/default.html http://midsomermurders.org/
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a198418/john-nettles-plans-low-key-murders-exit.html

TA2 ADVISORY: ON THE FRENCH VERSION ON THIS BLOG

News about the French-speaking dubbing of two BBC series this week on the French version of this humble blog: Doctor Who and Survivors (the 2008 show).

We publish an interview of François Dubuc, author of the French dialogues of The Next Doctor, one of the Doctor Who specials. He's one of the two newly appointed permanent dubbing adapters (with Chantal Bugalski) and his work on his first special is praised by French-speaking fans, which is a premiere after years of difficulties on the adaptation front - to the point that your humble servant came to give some help as a consultant for series 3.

François Dubuc is familiar with important BBC shows as he's the co-author of the French-dialogues of The State Within and the way he came to work on Doctor Who with a lot of respect is very appreciated.

http://thierryattard.blogspot.com/2010/01/francois-dubuc-adaptateur-state-within_07.html (Part 1 - In French)
http://thierryattard.blogspot.com/2010/01/francois-dubuc-adaptateur-state-within.html
(Part 2 - In French)

And today we received information on the French-speaking dubbing of Survivors. Series 1 starts on French digital terrestrial channel NRJ12 next week (the same day BBC One starts series 2). The dubbing of Survivors benefits of an experimented and competent dubbing director and a first-class vocal casting.

http://thierryattard.blogspot.com/2010/01/le-doublage-de-survivors-nrj12.html (In French)

Update (January 9): After their very interesting Tube Talk's Hustle Week, Digital Spy goes on with Tube Talk's Survivors Week - a series of interviews with actors of Survivors (http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/completecoverage/survivors-week/).