What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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December 29, 2019 - January 4, 2020 WHATS UP! T5 BY MICHELLE ROSE TV Media It's about timey-wimey: Whovians, your 2020 will be off to a promising start when "Doc- tor Who" returns for a 12th sea- son on New Year's Day. Fans of the long-running sci-fi show, which airs on BBC Ameri- ca, have had a nearly "Doctor Who"-free year. The last new episode was the "Resolution" special from Jan. 1, 2019. But even that installment wasn't without controversy: it marked the first time since the series revival in 2005 that viewers weren't treat- ed to a Christmas Day episode. It kind of looks like a New Year's edition might be an emerging trend, although you never know with Time Lords. Rest assured, Jodie Whittaker is back as the 13th (and first fe- male) Doctor. That's not surpris- ing, given her ratings success: viewership was up 20% from Pe- ter Capaldi's final season, though BBC only confirmed Whittaker's return shortly be- fore the Season 11 finale. The TARDIS and The Doc- tor's companions will also ap- pear in the two-part premiere, which is titled "Spyfall." Part 1 airs on Wednesday, Jan. 1, but circle Sunday, Jan. 5, on your cal- endar: that's when Part 2 will air in its regular TV time-slot, but also in select movie theaters across the United States. What can viewers expect from Season 12? According to the trailer released earlier this month: "Crisis. Big crisis. Seri- ous crisis. Big, serious crisis." Showrunner Chris Chibnall has been teasing a season that will be big on action and even bigger on monsters and set pieces. If you do happen to "fancy a trip in the box," you'll be intro- duced to guest stars Sir Lenny Henry CBE ("Broadchurch") and Stephen Fry ("Danger Mouse") in the season opener. Look for Goran Visnjic ("ER") to make his "Doctor Who" debut this season, while Robert Glenis- ter ("Paranoid") will be return- ing (but as a new character) after first appearing in a 1984 episode. Fox signs Gellar: Her last TV appearance was on "The Big Bang Theory" finale, when she starred as herself (and Raj's date). But you might be seeing a lot more of Sarah Michelle Gel- lar in the next year or so, since the former "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" star has two new script- ed projects in the works at Fox. Both are still early in the de- velopment stage, but if they do find their way into the TV line- up, it would mark Gellar's first series regular role since starring opposite the late Robin Williams in David E. Kelley's ill-fated comedy, "The Crazy Ones," which was canceled after its first season on CBS. (Incidentally, CBS had previously passed on another Gellar-led project, "Ringer," which was picked up by The CW.) The first project to land a script commitment is the subur- ban dramedy "Other People's Houses," which was described as "somewhere between 'Big Lit- tle Lies' and 'Catastrophe'" when it was announced back in Au- gust. The series is based on the novel by Abbi Waxman, but the script hails from the writers/cre- ators of "Ringer," Eric Charmelo and Nicole Snyder, so it would be a reunion of sorts for Gellar. "Other People's Houses" cen- ters on a group of nine people living in Los Angeles' historic Larchmont Village, where their fictional antics will be viewed through a social media lens as they navigate various ups and downs in life. Gellar will play the role of Anne Porter, one of two main characters. HBO's cyber warfare doc: Politics is one of those divisive subjects that often leads to dis- agreements, even among family and friends during the holiday season. But there's no avoiding it, 2020 is an election year in the U.S. And folks at HBO are busy working on a documentary that will cast new light on a dark sub- ject matter: cyber warfare and election security challenges. "The Perfect Weapon" is based on the bestselling book by New York Times national secu- rity correspondent David E. Sanger. It will chronicle the rise of cyber threats to political insti- tutions in this post-9/11 world while taking a closer look at how it could impact the upcoming election. Set to debut later this year, the film will feature a mix of inter- views with top intelligence and military officials, as well as in- depth reporting from the front lines of the cyber conflict. Its director and executive pro- ducer, John Maggio, is no strang- er to HBO. His most recent proj- ect, "Panic: The Untold Story of the 2008 Financial Crisis," aired on the premium cable in 2018, as did "The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee," which was nominated for a 2018 Producers Guild Award. HBO recently announced a similar reteaming — this one with BBC and Dan Reed, the di- rector of "Leaving Neverland." Reed's controversial documen- tary won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Docu- mentary or Nonfiction Special. But it also landed HBO in legal hot water, with the Michael Jackson estate attempting to en- force a non-disparagement clause dating back to 1992. But that doesn't seem to have damp- ened HBO's enthusiasm for Reed's next project. BALL DROP BUBBLY CHANGE CHEERS CLOCK CONFETTI CUSTOMS FEAST FESTIVITIES HOLIDAY INVITATION JANUARY KISS LET LOOSE MEMORIES MIDNIGHT MUSIC NOISE- MAKER PARADE PARTY PROSPERITY REBIRTH RESOLU- TION REVELERS RING IN SING SPARKLERS STREAMERS TOAST VOWS Happy New Year! Jodie Whittaker stars in "Doctor Who" WORD SEARCH STARS ON SCREEN Solution on page T23