Posts with tag BBC
Posted Jul 18th 2008 10:00PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Doctor Who, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E11) With this episode, Donna has become my favorite Doctor Who companion of all time. Yes, better than Sarah Jane. Yes, better than Rose (who finally reappears as a person and not in a cameo or on a video screen). I love her quick temper yet human personality (it's reminiscent of Rose's mother from the first two seasons), which makes sense since this episode is about the Doctor's adventures from the human perspective.
Continue reading Doctor Who: Turn Left
Posted Jul 17th 2008 3:03AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, TCA Press Tour, Reality-Free
For some reason, reporters were kicked out of the ballroom so ABC could set up for this press conference. But all I saw when I walked in an hour later was palm trees and 1973-era ABC signs (like in the picture above). Wonder why I had to abandon my laptop for that?
Anyway, because many of the critics were fans of the BBC original, the gathered throng of testy TV watchers were eager to question the panel for ABC's version of
Life on Mars. It was a relatively small panel, with executive producers Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, and stars Jason O'Mara and Michael Imperioli. You have to realize that having no pilot to base questions on makes us critics a cranky bunch, and the fact that the show is undergoing a show-runner change (from David E. Kelley to the Applebaum and Nemec), a massive recasting (all of the original pilot's cast, except for O'Mara, is being recast as we speak) and location change (LA to New York) only fuels more questions.
All things considered, the critics took it relatively easy on the panel.
Continue reading Life on Mars panel: A new mythology ... and many more choices - TCA Report
Posted Jul 16th 2008 11:24AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: TV on the Bigscreen, OpEd, Reality-Free
Yet another BBC series is being adapted to American audiences. Only this time, it sounds like it's going to be a movie.
Universal Pictures
will be adapting the 1999 BBC series Second Sight which launched the career of Clive Owen. It will be produced by Angry Film's Don Murphy and Susan Montford. The story is about a homicide detective named Ross Tanner who suffers from a degenerative eye illness that leads to blindness and hallucinations. As a result, he must rely more on his intuition to solve crimes.
There have certainly been any number of American adaptations of British shows over time. Some are good and some are utter crap.
Second Sight does sound like a good premise (I've never seen the show), but I think the movie would have more credentials if they made sure to involve members of the original crew. I wonder if they'll get Clive Owen to reprise his role?
Posted Jul 12th 2008 11:02AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Doctor Who, Reality-Free
One of the
Doctor Who spin-offs will be host to a very special guest star, one that is familiar to
Doctor Who fans from decades past. I'm leaving the revelation of who it is until after the jump so those not wishing to be spoiled about it don't have to be.
Continue reading Doctor Who spin-off to get very special guest star
Posted Jul 11th 2008 10:00PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Doctor Who, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E10) Russell T. Davies proves me wrong...and right. I have said since the first season of
Doctor Who's relaunch that the man can't write science fiction. I still believe that. But I never said he couldn't write. Actually, he's a very good writer in terms of writing about emotions and relationships (which is why we're introduced to each companion's family in the new series). Fortunately, this episode's writing plays more upon his strengths.
Continue reading Doctor Who: Midnight
Posted Jul 11th 2008 5:41PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Industry, Programming, OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
It looks like The Sundance Channel is turning to BBC America to
anchor its Sunday night comedy block. The show is
The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle and stars Jennifer Saunders of
Absolutely Fabulous fame.
The show revolves around a fictional TV personality named Vivienne Vyle (who hosts a Jerry Springer-like program) and her on-screen and off-screen life. The series is a black comedy (much like
AbFab) and a study in pop psychology. It was co-created by Saunders with psychologist Tanya Byron.
Continue reading Sundance Sundays star Saunders
Posted Jul 6th 2008 2:01PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on the Bigscreen, OpEd, Reality-Free
Thanks to the success of the
Sex and the City movie -- and talk of more to come -- the rumor mill has been bubbling with other TV shows making the leap to the big screen. In the case of
Arrested Development, it
sure sounds like the truth.
However,
the Friends feature is a rumor that has no legs. Warners owns the property and on July 4th, even though all U.S. offices were closed for the holiday, denied the rumors via the London office.
Jayne Trotman,
Warner's director of publicity, said of the Friends movie, "(There's) no truth in the story." Just to be sure, Matthew Perry's press rep also denied the rumor. She told the BBC that nothing is happening and the rumor is just that, a shred of news with no value attached to it.
Continue reading No, no, no to Friends feature says Warners
Posted Jun 27th 2008 10:00PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Doctor Who, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E09) In our last episode, the Doctor and Donna were trapped on a planetary repository of books called The Library along with a archaeological team and a microscopic, carnivorous species that hides in the shadows called the Vashta Narada. And somehow, all this is linked to a little girl who seems to be watching the events within the Library the same as the viewer.
And now, part two.
Continue reading Doctor Who: Forest of the Dead
Posted Jun 27th 2008 2:32PM by Brad Linder
Filed under: PVR Wire, Web, Hardware
The BBC rolled out a new version of its iPlayer software today. The iPlayer online video service allows UK residents to watch full-length episodes of any program that's aired in the last 7 days. Version 2.0 adds higher resolution videos, the ability to keep track of TV shows you've watched, and the ability to schedule upcoming recordings. The redesigned portal that lets you access TV and radio from a single page.
The update also paves the way for the BBC to roll out a set top box with iPlayer features. Earlier this year the BBC announced plans to roll out the iPlayer software for existing set top boxes including the
Nintendo Wii video game console. Now it looks like the BBC might also be planning to
build its own box.
The device would work like a Windows Media Extender or an Apple TV, in that you'd plug the box into your television and connect it to your home network so it could access the internet. It's possible that the BBC isn't really planning to put out a box with its own name on it, so much as work with hardware makers to add iPlayer software to future devices that may also be able to access content from other networks, play DVDs, or perform other services. You can think of the box as sort of the BBC version of the
Netflix player by Roku.
[via
Electronista]
Posted Jun 26th 2008 1:20PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, Doctor Who, Reality-Free
Usually we here at TV Squad try not to post news when we don't have an online article as reference (except perhaps in the
Spoilers Anonymous columns), but this is one I couldn't pass up. Plus, it will give
Doctor Who fans a head's up with regards to this season's finale.
According to
Doctor Who Magazine (and repeated on several
Doctor Who message boards online), the finale of Season Four ("Journey's End") is going to be 65 minutes in length, as opposed to the usual 45 or 50 minute length of the season's episodes so far. This length, of course, deals with the original broadcast on the BBC and not the American broadcast.
Continue reading News regarding this season's Doctor Who finale
Posted Jun 20th 2008 10:00PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Doctor Who, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E08) Thank you very much, Steven Moffat. You can't satisfy yourself with making me terrified of statues, now you have to make me afraid of the dark as well. Besides scaring the pants off me, this episode is the highlight of this season so far (having seen the second episode already, I can assure you that one is just as good). Since all the remaining episodes after this two-parter are written by Russell T. Davies, I may be able to stand by that statement before watching the rest of the season. As I've mentioned before, Mr. Davies is an excellent writer (and recent O.B.E. recipient) and I will always be greatful for his actions in returning Doctor Who to television, but the man just can't write science fiction.
Continue reading Doctor Who: Silence in the Library
Posted Jun 17th 2008 9:02AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Doctor Who, Torchwood, Reality-Free
The New York Times
has an article up profiling Russell T. Davies, the man who brought
Doctor Who back to television. Davies is openly homosexual and the article describes Davies' sexual orientation as it relates to
Doctor Who and
Torchwood, the
Doctor Who spin-off he created. As a reminder, any gay-bashing comments will be removed.
The article goes on to discuss a situation in which he responds to some homophobic comments. It also discusses Captain Jack Harkness, one of his "omnisexual" characters from both
Doctor Who and
Torchwood.
Continue reading New York Times article on Russell T. Davies
Posted Jun 13th 2008 10:00PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Doctor Who, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E07) The Doctor and Donna are caught in the middle of an Agatha Christie murder mystery adventure. Literally.
The British have always been proud of their history. This is evident in the excellent quality of most historical dramas done by the BBC.
Doctor Who, being a BBC production, has displayed this in spades having had the Doctor already meet two of their most famous writers in previous seasons (Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare). The tradition continues in this episode when the Doctor and Donna travel to England in 1926 and meet Agatha Christie in the midst of a set of murders.
Spoilers after the jump...
Continue reading Doctor Who: The Unicorn and the Wasp
Posted Jun 10th 2008 7:41AM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV Royalty, Industry, Celebrities, Reality-Free
The former
Friends cast member will be heading up the
Los Angeles-set parts of the new HBO s comedy show Little Britain.The show is the U.S. counterpart to the
BBC sketch show of the same name. The series will focus on the hijinx of British comedians Matt Lucas and David Walliams (stars from the BBC show) here stateside. They are currently filming in North Carolina. Schwimmer will be directing the studio segments of the six-part HBO series here in California. Guests for his segments include Rosie O'Donnell and Sting.
This isn't the first time Schwimmer will be directing or showing his love of all things British. He directed a few episodes of
Friends. And this past year, made his feature directorial debut with
Run Fat Boy Run The film starred Simon Pegg as a non-committal cad who has a change of heart toward the mother of his child and enters a marathon to prove his love.
Posted Jun 6th 2008 10:03PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Doctor Who, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E06) The Doctor gives birth to a daughter. And he didn't even get any snu-snu out of it.
A quick synopsis: The TARDIS suddenly dematerializes unexpectedly before Doctor Martha Jones has a chance to leave and finds itself on the planet Messaline in the year 6012. There is a generations-long war between the two occupying races, the humans and an alien race called the Hath.
Continue reading Doctor Who: The Doctor's Daughter
Next Page >
The Dharma Initiative wants you - VIDEO - Comic-Con Report
Forget the Knight Rider movie, say the series creators - TCA Report
Giveaway Monday: TV Funhouse
