Dr Who ... Undressed

That got your attention, didn't it? Of course I mean set dressing, although I have seen David Tennant …. But that is a completely different story.

Regulars on the blog will know that I live in the area of South Wales where Doctor Who and Torchwood are filmed. I walk past some of the locations every day. The idea of sharing my view of some of them on Title Magic came to me when I was watching a DVD of Doctor Who with a friend. One shot came up and we both turned to each other. 'Isn't that --'

The picture changed to an exterior shot, and it was -- the National Museum of Wales, where we regularly have lunch together when she comes over to Cardiff. When I thought about it, I remembered seeing the film company trucks outside the building one evening, but there was nothing happening at the time. On the screen it didn’t look quite like it usually does. Part of the fun of watching the show is spotting places you recognize, like the main shopping street or the Victorian Market. It’s even more of a challenge when you recognize somewhere but you can’t quite place it.

The whole thing got me thinking about the locations around the city and the way they look in real life. I've been passing the site of the Torchwood hub every day for weeks now, on my way to work. I've never seen Captain Jack. I could have done on the first morning, if I'd investigated what was going on down by the water in Cardiff Bay, because they were filming for the next series, and apparently John Barrowman was much in evidence. But it was a new job and I didn't want to be late on my first day.

Residents of Cardiff have got quite used to seeing the convoys of vehicles that accompany filming, as there is so much of it going on in the city these days. What appears on the screen is a triumph of the filmmaker’s art. In the case of Torchwood in particular, Cardiff comes across as dark and glamorous and cool. It can be all three, but in daylight, the reality is sometimes a little different. So -- next time I blog, it will be the Title Magic tour of a few places that might look a little bit familiar. If you’re into Dr Who and Torchwood, I hope it will be fun. If you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about, I hope you’ll still enjoy a tour of the landmarks of Cardiff – Europe’s youngest capital city.

P.S. You might like to take a trip over to Sylvia Day's site today, where I'm talking about Never Coming Home, my entry for American Title V. Then on Thursday I'll be talking to Suzanne, my heroine's mother, about her past as a model in London the Swinging Sixties. Sylvia has a prize draw for those who comment. As Suzanne would say - It's Fab!