Dr.Who-related stories
Posted Aug 20th 2009 3:11PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Programming, Doctor Who, Reality-Free
Earlier this month,
we asked you if you wanted a season four of
Torchwood. Early responses seemed to say yes, and then we got deluged with people who were fed up with their favorite characters dying and who weren't entirely impressed with the
Torchwood: Children of Earth mini-series that was season three.
Well, there is going to be a season four, and
Torchwood Magazine got the scoop (Dammit! How'd they manage that?). According to the magazine,
Torchwood creator and writer Russell T. Davies already has several storylines worked out, and knows what happens to the characters that did survive seasons two and three. He's not sure if it will be another mini-series or a 13-episode season, but he does know what he'd include.
Continue reading Davies has a map for Torchwood
Posted Aug 8th 2009 1:00PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Programming, OpEd, Reality-Free
A couple of weeks removed from the American showing of
Torchwood: Children of Earth, the mini-series that served as the
Dr. Who spinoff's third season, I am still thinking about what a season four would look like. I've been a fan of the show since the first series, and I have liked the
Torchwood team and admired the writing.
But the ending of
Children of Earth complicated things. At the end of season two, two major characters died, then COE killed off another. The immortal, normally untouchable Captain Jack Harkness had been compromised to the point where he had to leave the planet, and Gwen was pregnant and happily married. So what would a fourth season even look like?
I would hate to see
Torchwood: Baby Boomer, with Gwen balancing the baby with fighting aliens, and all the clichés that come with the balancing-a-job-and-motherhood plots from movies and television past. But then, series creator and writer Russell T. Davies has done a fantastic job of avoiding the predictable, so I'd be willing to take that leap of faith to see what he comes up with. And Davies is already on record as saying that Captain Jack is "
fundamental to Torchwood."
Continue reading Do you want a Torchwood Season Four? A few fans speak...
Posted Feb 20th 2009 3:05PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: TV Squad Lists, Casting, Reality-Free
It's hard to see beloved characters leave your favorite shows. You have created a bond with them, perhaps even projected their values onto yourself in an effort to raise the self esteem you had before, say, you fell down the
Law & Order rabbit hole and started to believe the shows were actual news and not just "ripped from the headlines." But change is inevitable, and sometimes, it works out. Here are a few that worked (at least for me).
1. Current cast of Law & Order: I know, I know, who could replace Lenny Briscoe? No one, really. But the current pairing of Anthony Anderson and Jeremy Sisto as NYPD partners is the best the series has produced. They changed the feel of the show. Perhaps because we're still getting to know them, they are less predictable then previous tandems, and both evoke a certain hard-nosed quality that seems a bit more gritty and real. Plus, Anderson has chops as a stand-up comic, and could easily fill the wisecracker role, if need be.
Continue reading Seven of TV's best replacements
Posted Feb 10th 2009 10:03AM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: TV on DVD, The Office, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free
Valentine's Day is on a Saturday this year, so why not eschew the whole dinner and a night out routine for a day in from the cold watching TV boxed sets on DVD? What better gift is there than an entire day of laziness catching up on those boxed sets you got for Christmas and have had no time to watch? But choose carefully. No one can take a whole day of
Rock of Love or
Matlock.
Beauty and the Beast: The Complete Series - A tolerable "chick flick" type series, you can probably get away with watching just the first two seasons, before Linda Hamilton left and her character was killed off. And once your significant other gets used to the idea of Ron Perlman in Beast make-up, maybe you can convince her to watch
Hellboy with you.
Continue reading Five boxed sets for Valentine's Day
Posted Dec 24th 2008 10:02AM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, CSI, Saturday Night Live, Smallville, Doctor Who, Casting, Reality-Free
William Peterson is out and Lawrence Fishburne is in. That's the plan, anyway, over at
CSI central.
Peterson's decision to say goodbye to
CSI was one of the big stories of 2008. The actor's onscreen phase-out started earlier this month with the introduction of Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Raymond Langston, but he's not really saying goodbye. Peterson will remain on the hit CBS show as an executive producer and will likely appear as a guest star in future episodes. His final ep airs January 15.
Since
CSI is one of those ever-lasting franchises, like
Law & Order, I wouldn't rule out a complete return for Peterson a few years from now. Maybe he'll spin-off another show. I'm sure fans wouldn't mind seeing
CSI: The Gil Grissom Chronicles.
Me, I don't really care. I don't watch
CSI (I guess I'm not that intrigued by forensic science). So let's talk about the 2008 TV star departures that meant something to me.
Continue reading Top TV Stories of 2008: Star departures - VIDEOS
Posted Apr 24th 2006 9:17AM by Martin Conaghan
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Programming, BBC, Doctor Who
(S02E02) If there was any
doubt in my mind last week about David Tennant's ability to occupy the role of The Doctor, it vanished completely with
this week's episode
Tooth and Claw.
Additionally, the weak start set down by
last week's series
opener was washed away with this fantastic tale of a werewolf stalking the Scottish highlands and included
barrel-loads of in-jokes and subtle
Doctor Who references.
This is really where
Doctor
Who -- and the BBC -- excel; period drama, carried off by quality actors, in lavishly-decorated sets and sumptuous
locations. If the weaker episodes tend to be based in the future, the best ones are most definitely based in the past.
Warning: spoilers after the jump.
Continue reading Doctor Who: Tooth and Claw
Posted Apr 15th 2006 12:33AM by Richard Keller
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Cable, OpEd
(S01E06)
All right, let's get this out of the way so we can proceed with the review. Here we go . . .
I didn't like Tom Baker as the fourth Doctor. Call it blasphemy, call it satanical, but I just didn't get
the vibe with Baker as I did with some of the other doctors such as Jon Pertwee (third Doctor), Peter Davison (fifth
Doctor) and Sylvester McCoy (seventh Doctor). Maybe it was the scarf.
Having said that, I am really enjoying these new Dr. Who adventures that are appearing on the Sci-Fi
Channel while their normal Friday night schedule is taking a hiatus. To paraphrase... it's not your father's (or
grandfather's) Dr. Who. While there are some occasional cheesy aliens and special effects, this version of the
show is definitely the one of the most slickly produced in the series' 43-year history.
Continue reading Doctor Who: Dalek
Posted Apr 12th 2006 10:34AM by Martin Conaghan
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, News, Programming, BBC, Doctor Who
Previews for the new series of
Doctor Who have started appearing on BBC ONE in the U.K., mixing
footage from the interactive television special
Attack of the Graske with segments from the
forthcoming series.
You can catch the trailer in Real Media at the official Doctor Who website, in addition
to some 'TARDISODES' for your mobile phone (UK only) and a look at the Sisters of Plenitude, cat-like nuns who will
appear in the opening episode
New Earth.
This week's
Radio Times magazine also features a
gate-fold sleeve with The Doctor and his assistant Rose Tyler on the front, plus numerous other supporting characters
from the new series, including the return of Tom Baker's assistant Sarah Jane Smith (
Elisabeth Sladen) and the robot dog
K9.
The 16-page special gives
enthusiasts a sneak preview of almost every episode in the new series, and some insights into David Tennant's
incarnation of The Doctor (he often wears spectacles and varies the order of the buttons fastened on his suit jacket in
every episode).
Check back here on Saturday night for a review of
New Earth.
Posted Dec 26th 2005 9:02AM by Martin Conaghan
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, BBC, Doctor Who
Following a long wait since the departure of
Christopher Eccleston from the title role of Doctor Who, viewers in the U.K. have been waiting patiently to find out if
the hype and build-up to the Christmas special lived up to expectations -- especially the full introduction of Scots
actor David Tennant as the 10th Doctor.
Well, I watched
The Christmas
Invasion last night, sitting on the couch stuffed full of turkey, and I can honestly say it ranks amongst the best
60 minutes of television on the BBC all year.
It had everything: maniacal Santas, invading aliens, a
hard-nosed Prime Minister and The Doctor fighting a sword-battle in his pyjamas. Oh, and it was funny too.
Warning: Spoilers after the jump.
Continue reading Doctor Who and The Christmas Invasion reviewed
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Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
