The new Doctor Who, Matt Smith, and gal pal Anna Pond (Karen Gillan) seem to be stranded on a beach in more new set photos and a video of the series' first day of shooting. (Fans will notice the Doctor is holding a brand new sonic screwdriver.)
I'm really looking forward to the Doctor's return (or the new Doctor's arrival, however you wish to look at it) in 2010. The first two brilliant hours of Torchwood: Children of Earth have me wanting to dive back into the rich sci-fi world created by Russell T. Davies.
Gwen is a badass. And that Ianto sure is one clever boy. With Captain Jack busy growing back his body parts, Torchwood's non-super-powered players took center stage in Children of Earth's fast and furious second hour.
Day two started out with a rush of action movie awesomeness as Gwen blasted her way out of a scary situation. I don't remember the danger ever feeling so immediate and real in Torchwood. The opening minutes were edge-of-your-seat tense, and the swift pace rarely let up.
Captain Jack is back, and Torchwood is facing its biggest threat yet: An alien assault on the world's children.
The first hour of Children of Earth was a great set-up for what promises to be an epic story for the Doctor Who spinoff. The epic feel, with the helicopter shots and the grandiose music, surprisingly suits Torchwood, a show known for its balance of intimate character moments and goofy B-movie tropes. The camaraderie between the characters is still there, and so is the goofiness, as evidenced by the fun early scene with Jack and Ianto extracting the "hitchhiker" from their "neighbor."
The main plot --- with the children stopping and screaming (creepy) and then chanting a warning (creepier) to the people of Earth – didn't overwhelm hour one. The real meat here was in the surprising character revelations. I like that the impending alien invasion gave our trio a reason to reflect on their roots and ponder their future. Ianto, Gwen and Jack had some great moments away from Torchwood central.
Like I mentioned earlier today on SciFi Squad, Torchwood: Children of Earth finally makes its U.S. premiere tonight with a gripping first hour on BBC America. We'll be covering the five-part miniseries through Friday with news and daily episode reviews.
Torchwood's own Captain Jack Harkness, John Barrowman, talked to Pop Candy's Whitney Matheson recently. The interview is a good read with Barrowman talking about the show, his career, his love of sci-fi (he's a Space: 1999 fan!) and his thoughts on the new Doctor Who, Matt Smith. Here are some highlights:
When asked which Torchwood agent is the best kisser, Barrowman responded: "It depends how you're looking at it, because Jack kisses them in different ways. Jack will kiss Ianto very passionately ... He would kiss Gwen on the cheek, but with a little bit of trepidation, because there's almost a sensuality there that he doesn't want to go to. And with Toshiko, it's more of a kind of a playful, pecky kiss. So I'd still have to say Ianto's the best kisser."
Following its smash hit run on BBC1 in the U.K., Torchwood: "Children of Earth" is heralding its U.S. arrival next week by presenting the first seven minutes of the first episode, "Day One."
The week-long, five episode mini-series has already generated enough spoilers here at TV Squad and around the web, so we'll take care to avoid repeat performances here. For now, stateside viewers can visit BBC America's video page to watch the first seven minutes of the third season's first show in which Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) dies of Ptomaine poisoning.
The first 20 minutes of the same episode were already available on the BBC America On Demand channel included with some cable services.
The Doctor Who franchise is jumping to a U.S. publisher for a new regularly scheduled comic book due to arrive in stores this week.
IDW Publishing, also the home for Star Trek, G.I. Joe, The Transformers and Angel comics, isn't the first American company to publish Who . Marvel was the home of Fourth Doctor Tom Baker's two-dimenstional adventures in the 1970s.
But those Marvel titles were written by Brits (including Alan Moore) for Brits. In a testament to Who's rebirth and international popularity, IDW's titles will be printed in the U.S. for an eager American audience -- while additional Who comics run in the U.K.
Premiering to an audience of almost 6 million viewers and holding fairly steady all week long, the BBC's "event programming" of Torchwood: "Children of Earth" looks like a success.
Series star John Barrowman griped last week about the BBC producing only a five-episode series for Torchwood's third season. But, the week-long mini-series turned the 2009 appearance of the Doctor Who spinoff into a TV phenomena desperately awaited by its fans.
The TV world is buzzing around Gareth David-Lloyd right now. The actor and musician is watching new episodes of Torchwood blow up on British TV and wondering what the future will bring.
When the BBC announced the third season of the popular Doctor Who spin-off would be a special, five-episode mini-series with all five episodes airing over five consecutive nights ("Children of Earth"), fans held their breath to discover what would become of David-Lloyd's character (Ianto Jones) and the rest of the Torchwood crew.
When we catch up to Jones, Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) and Gween Cooper (Eve Myles), they're mourning the loss of Owen (Burn Gorman) and Tosh (Naoko Mori), who sacrificed themselves to save their friends in the second season's finale.
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.
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.
Torchwood creator and executive producer Russell T. Davies told the British press Friday that the fourth season of the sci-fi show is ready and waiting, depending on how the show's third mini-season ("Children of Earth") performs.
During a screening of the third series' premiere episode ("Day One"), Davies said he knows where he wants to go in Torchwood's next run. That's good news for fans, as there's every reason to expect that "Children of Earth" will do well both in the U.K. and in the U.S. -- where it out-rates the show that inspired it (Doctor Who) on BBC America.
Davies, the former executive producer of Who, also gave Torchwood fans reason to rejoice when he said he'd be willing to keep knocking the show out for 10 years if the viewers stay tuned. No word if show stars like John Barrowman and Eve Myles would be willing to stay on board into their middle age.
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.
I would guess that if all of the children in the world suddenly stopped moving, parents would rejoice and dance and hold block parties across the globe. On the other hand, it makes for a rather creepy looking new "Children of Earth" season ofTorchwood, which starts on July 20 on BBC America. Here's a sneak peek.
At 8, ABC, CBS, NBC, C-SPAN, and the news channels will have President Obama's speech.
The new 
Like I mentioned earlier today on 
TCM has 
Following its smash hit run on BBC1 in the U.K., Torchwood: "Children of Earth" is heralding its U.S. arrival next week by presenting the first seven minutes of the first episode, "Day One."
The Doctor Who franchise is jumping to a U.S. publisher for a new regularly scheduled comic book due to arrive in stores this week.
Premiering to an audience of almost 6 million viewers and holding fairly steady all week long, the BBC's "event programming" of 
The TV world is buzzing around Gareth David-Lloyd right now. The actor and musician is watching new episodes of 
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.
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.
Torchwood creator and executive producer Russell T. Davies told the British press Friday that the fourth season of the sci-fi show is ready and waiting, depending on how the show's third mini-season ("Children of Earth") performs.
BBC Video will be releasing some new DVDs in North America come July that includes Torchwood: Children of Earth and 
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