Posted Jul 1st 2009 10:05AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, OpEd, Doctor Who, Celebrities, Reality-Free, British TV
With the premiere of
Torchwood: Children of Earth closing in at BBC America, John Barrowman is picking an unusual time to kick BBC executives in the pants.
The leading man and variety host told the British papers that he feels like the
BBC is punishing him and Torchwood by cutting the show down to a week-long, five-episode mini-series run.
Barrowman's timing is odd, as there were no reports of dissatisfaction before, during or after filming on the short run. Meanwhile, there's plenty of positive publicity buzzing around the new season, and there was no desperate need to get people interested via a complaint.
Continue reading Barrowman blasts BBC for Torchwood miniseries
Posted Jun 19th 2009 10:02AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, OpEd, Doctor Who, Celebrities, Reality-Free, British TV, Comic-Con
Doctor Who's David Tennant (right) and
Who/Torchwood executive producer Russell T. Davies are headed to Comic-Con for the first time this year -- just in time for both of them to walk away from sci-fi's longest running TV series.
It should be a huge event, as fans of both
Doctor Who and
Torchwood will get their first chance to grill the people most directly responsible for the shows' development over the last few years.
Tennant, will appear alongside Davies, former
Who executive producer Julie Gardner and
Who/
Torchwood director Euros Lyn at this year's Comic-Con in San Diego on Sunday, July 26, 10-11:00 am PT.
Continue reading Doctor Who's Tennant and Davies Heading to Comic-Con
Posted Jun 2nd 2009 5:05PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: TV on DVD, OpEd, Doctor Who, Reality-Free
BBC Video will be releasing some new DVDs in North America come July that includes
Torchwood: Children of Earth and
Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead. I immediately took note of the fact that nobody mentioned releasing the last
Doctor Who Christmas special which was broadcast in England in December 2008,
The Next Doctor.
Way back in 1996, the BBC co-produced a
Doctor Who television movie with Fox in the United States which starred Paul McGann as the Doctor. Since then, the rights regarding reproduction or broadcast of that movie in North America has been somewhat convoluted at best. In the last Christmas special, a clip of Paul McGann from that TV movie was shown, and I cannot help but wonder if that clip is holding up release of the video.
Of course, it could simply be a case of the BBC waiting until Christmas or any one of a dozen other reasons. But I have a suspicious mind and I cannot help but think that it was a mistake for the BBC to ever co-produce
Doctor Who with an American company if it is such a hindrance to the American release of their own DVDs.
Posted Jun 1st 2009 5:04PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: TV Royalty, Programming, Doctor Who, Celebrities, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Reality-Free
I may be getting a little obsessed. Most of the
posts I've written recently have been about the soon-to-be-departing
Doctor Who lead David Tennant. I'm also quite disappointed that a lack of time and funds did not permit me to take a trip to England to see Tennant in the RSC production of
Hamlet. Thankfully, the BBC has come to the rescue.
For those like me, the BBC is
reassembling the cast and filming that production of
Hamlet for broadcast in late 2009, with American and Japanese broadcasts to occur in 2010 (I wonder which channel would show it in the States? BBC America? PBS?). To sweeten the deal for us nerds, former
Star Trek: The Next Generation captain Patrick Stewart plays Claudius.
Perhaps they'll even let Tennant improvise the role a bit. I would love it if he could throw a little script that
Neil Gaiman wrote for him upon hearing of his participation in the role.
Posted May 30th 2009 9:05AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: TV on the Bigscreen, OpEd, Doctor Who, Reality-Free, British TV
The rumors flow like wine. Once again, "news" has surfaced that
a Doctor Who movie is in the works. Supposedly this one has a bit more merit because the BBC has confirmed that one is in development, yet they don't link to a press release of any kind. Forgive me if I have some doubts.
If true, which Doctor is it? Will it be David Tennant or Matt Smith? And which showrunner is it? Russell T. Davies or Steven Moffat? Or is the answer none of the above?
There has been
a lot of recent developments in the
Doctor Who world. A movie is the next logical step.
If I had my druthers, the movie would be about the Time War (the Daleks being the obvious choice for the alien enemy of the movie). It would star Paul McGann and fill the gap between the 1996 television movie and the 2005 relaunch. The odds are so astronomically against as to be incalculable, but I can dream.
Posted May 29th 2009 2:02PM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Doctor Who, Reality-Free, British TV
The new cast of 2010's next full season of the world's longest running sci-fi show is looking a lot like "Jim Henson's
Doctor Who Babies" with the announcement of the new companion for Matt Smith's 11th Doctor.
Twenty-one-year-old Karen Gillan will become the show's first "ginger" companion when the red-head steps into the Tardis for executive producer Steven Moffat next year. When standing alongside 26-year-old Smith, the pair could look disturbingly like a
Twilight book cover.
While it's not fair to say she got the part because she's Scottish, it couldn't hurt that her boss (Moffat) hails from the same part of the world. She studied acting at Telford College in Edinburgh and already has a short list of credits, including
Outcast (a film with
Jekyll star, James Nesbitt).
Continue reading Doctor Who gets younger, redder with new companion
Posted May 28th 2009 10:34AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Doctor Who, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
The good Doctor is going home...sort of. BBC America has
acquired first-run American rights for this year's
Doctor Who specials. David Tennant's final episodes will appear on BBCA and not on Sy Fy.
This makes perfect sense, of course. Despite having science-fiction trappings,
Doctor Who is, at its core, a British show. BBCA also runs other Brit science-fiction programs like
Torchwood and
Primeval (which runs on BBC rival ITV, but is still British), so having
Doctor Who on it is a no-brainer.
With the Sci Fi Channel's "reimagining" to Sy Fy, I can even see why it would pass on the show this year and probably future years. No doubt Sy Fy wants to own future programming and not broadcast someone else's stuff (particularly something that could be perceived as the competition).
In short, it's another reason to call your cable company and request BBC America if you don't already have it. Believe me, I've tried.
Posted May 27th 2009 10:02AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Doctor Who, British TV
The success of
Doctor Who at the BBC opened up the doors to new sci-fi shows across the broadcaster's various networks. Now, a new BBC American co-production explores the difficult problems of being a teenage monster in today's society.
Being Human examines the lives of three 20-somethings and their secret double-lives as a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost.
Starring
Doctor Who guest stars Russell Tovey and Lenora Crichlow with Aidan Turner (
The Clinic), each episode features housemates trying to live normal lives, despite their bizarre secrets.
Continue reading Being Human revels in Brits being inhuman
Posted May 26th 2009 8:45PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Doctor Who, Celebrities, Reality-Free, British TV
It's not enough to have a
cameo appearance on
Tonight's The Night. Now, David Tennant is once again
reprising his role as everyone's favorite Time Lord in two episodes of the spin-off
The Sarah Jane Adventures.
He is also reprising the role for a
second animated adventure before the year is done.
I can tell he already misses the role. When they do some sort of multiple Doctors story in a future
Doctor Who, I'm sure with a minimum of coaxing (perhaps for a bag of crisps) he could be convinced to play the role again.
The third season of the series will broadcast in September, which would occur before the broadcast of Tennant's final bow and would well fit into the continuity of the series (loose as that continuity is).
As far as I'm concerned, Tennant is (to borrow a phrase from his predecessor) fantastic and couldn't appear as the Doctor enough times. I think he should have remained in the role for another couple of years, but that's just me.
Posted May 25th 2009 11:02AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Doctor Who, Celebrities, Reality-Free
John Barrowman isn't just Captain Jack Harkness on Doctor Who and Torchwood. He also is a variety show host for a BBC series called Tonight's The Night which allows contestants to live out their performance dreams. Using his association with the former, he actually gave a contestant on the latter the chance to live out his dream of appearing on Doctor Who.
It's a cute scene which obviously doesn't fit into any sort of show continuity (or as much continuity as Doctor Who can have). David Tennant himself makes a special appearance in the episode and steals the show. Watching Tennant's brief cameo in this show, I'm even more convinced that Matt Smith has big shoes to fill when he eventually takes over the role.
On the other hand, if your dream is to appear on an episode of Doctor Who, why would you allow your face to be covered by a blue mask? Watch the video after the jump.
Continue reading Captain Jack stars in a very special Doctor Who episode
Posted May 15th 2009 4:29PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Doctor Who, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
This piece of news is from
The Sun newspaper in England, so as always when I relay information from that particular source, take it with a grain of salt. With that in mind,
The Sun is reporting that ex-Bond Timothy Dalton is
in talks to appear as a villain in one or more of David Tennant's remaining
Doctor Who specials.
While obviously Dalton would not play the main villain of the piece (that role has already been cast by a returning arch-nemesis), he's exactly the sort that Russell T. Davies would have play an evil businessman. I suspect that is the plan.
I'd be more impressed with they had gotten Roger Moore or Sean Connery to play a role in
Who, but I think that would be pushing it.
For you Dalton fans (and I just loved him in the 80's
Flash Gordon movie), it's just one more reason to tune in to the specials when they are broadcast later this year. Damn you, Sci Fi and/or BBCA for not broadcasting these specials in the U.S.!
Posted May 13th 2009 5:11PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Doctor Who, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
It looks like David Tennant had no problem finding additional work now that his run on
Doctor Who is ending.
He has been signed to host Masterpiece Contemporary (the contemporary version of
Masterpiece Theatre) on PBS. It's likely that for this role he will be returning to his native Scottish accent.
There is some mild irony at the fact that in the old days before cable TV,
Doctor Who used to be shown ad infinitum on PBS and became the only place for American audiences to enjoy the show. There is even more irony at the fact that
Masterpiece Contemporary will be more easily accessible to American audiences than
Doctor Who.
Tennant seems a little young to host, but when I think of Masterpiece Theatre (and not it's modern versions), I keep thinking of those
SNL sketches from the 70's with Dan Aykroyd as Leonard Pinth-Garnell. But that's probably more an issue with me.
Posted May 13th 2009 2:27PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, 24, Lost, Doctor Who, Heroes, TV Squad Lists, Reaper, Reality-Free, Fringe, TV Squad Ten
Everybody loves a good mystery. Well maybe not everybody if the ratings for
Harper's Island are any indication. But mysteries and suspense have been a part of television since it's inception. It's one thing for the plot to be full of mysteries. Things like "Who shot J.R.?" can become a part of popular culture. But J.R. himself wasn't a mystery, we knew him pretty well.
But there are those characters we don't know much about. Think about Benjamin Linus from
Lost when he first appeared as Henry Gale among the Flight 815 survivors. There were so many secrets and mysteries surrounding him that we couldn't take our eyes off of him when he was on-screen. Well Ben's story may be more or less told, though something tells me there's still more to be gleaned, but there are plenty of familiar faces on television with not so familiar back-stories. And while Ben didn't make the list, that doesn't mean
Lost went unrepresented.
If you just want the list, click here.Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Most mysterious characters on television
Posted May 13th 2009 2:27PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, 24, Lost, Doctor Who, Heroes, TV Squad Lists, Reaper, Reality-Free, Fringe, TV Squad Ten
10 - Dr. Helen Magnus (
Sanctuary, SyFy)
9 - Captain Jack Harkness (
Torchwood, BBC America)
8 - Castiel (
Supernatural, The CW)
7 - Tony Almeida, (
24, Fox)
6 - Angela Petrelli, (
Heroes, NBC)
5 - The Devil (
Reaper, The CW)
4 - Christina Scofield (
Prison Break, Fox)
3 - The Doctor (
Doctor Who, SyFy)
2 - Richard Alpert (
Lost, ABC)
1 - Walter Bishop (
Fringe, Fox)
Want to see the pictures or leave a comment? Click here.Posted Apr 23rd 2009 8:31PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Doctor Who, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
Back in the good old days of Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, one of the enemies of our intrepid hero came in the form of a Time Lady known as the Rani. Unlike the Doctor's other nemesis from his own race, the Master, the Rani didn't have a personal grudge against our hero and simply preferred to perform immoral experiments on those she deemed as lesser species in her quest for knowledge.
Who might be playing the Rani in the new series? That's after the jump.
Continue reading The most surprising Doctor Who news I've heard (today)
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