I Am A TV Junkie, A Blog For The Clicker Jockey

RTD's Who & Torchwood Help Make Cardiff a Tourist Mecca

Western Mail, Wales:

Such is the buzz about what Doctor Who is doing for Wales, you’ve got to wonder if a statue of the good Russell T Davies – the creator of the new version of the classic show and its spin-off Torchwood – will one day be erected in the Welsh capital’s main shopping drag.

In years to come, just as it is currently de rigueur for pranksters to scale the monument to Aneurin Bevan, the founder of the National Health Service, will it become a rite of passage for students to place a bollard atop the head of Mr Davies, the creative genius who seems so instrumental in putting Cardiff on the contemporary map?

Might a Russell Road or a Davies Drive be in order to acknowledge the city’s debt to the Swansea-born writer who has boosted the fortunes of the Welsh film and tourism industries?

For this business about Doctor Who – the fourth series starts tonight on BBC One – drawing the right kind of attention to Wales is no media hype based on a couple of desultory mentions in London-based television reviews.

This is real. For those who have been living on another galaxy, Doctor Who – which attracts around 10 million viewers per episode – and Torchwood are filmed in Cardiff and make use of locations including the Millennium Stadium, Queen’s Arcade Shopping Centre and Wales Millennium Centre.

I know that personally, I'm itching to go. In the days and weeks ahead, I'll have more info on fans trekking to Cardiff.

If you've already been and you wanna contribute, send me an email or just your vacation pics for me to post.

And, btw, the new Who has just aired on BBC One.

SF Chronicle's Tim Goodman on BSG

He says today:

"Battlestar Galactica" is a sci-fi series perfectly suited for people who normally don't like science fiction. That's because it has never been a big-budget production and it forced the show's creators, writers and actors to improvise the ways they told stories. In short, they got creative and found a way to be better than they likely would have been with more money. Instead of pyrotechnic effects, the emphasis is on the writing; the acting, which is raw but nuanced; and the direction, which must be nimble as most scenes are shot inside a cramped spaceship.

Though "Battlestar Galactica" also satisfies the sci-fi aficionado with an intricate backstory about a postapocalyptic battle between man and machines in deep space, it has never had any of the antiseptic distance that most sci-fi shows give off. Instead, "Battlestar Galactica" has been intimate - at times in the viewer's face with nervy, emotional landscapes as opposed to computer-generated effects that don't stimulate anyone's brain, much less heart.

But what really separates "Battle- star Galactica" from most dramas, not just sci-fi series, is that it has a fearlessness in tackling big issues. War, race, religion, gender equity and, particularly this season, personal identity (and what it means to be human, or not) have been prevalent from the start. You just don't see that very often - anywhere.

Another reason to watch, on SciFi tonight at 10 (though you may have to DVR either BSG or The Soup, if you're anything like me.

Checking In Before Tonight's BSG Season Premiere

I thought I'd pop on for a moment to tell you that I won't be completely caught up before tonight's premiere, but I'm closer than I ever thought I'd be.

Today, I have some third season episodes to watch. I'll probably DVR tonight's show and end up watching it in sequence after the weekend.

It's hard to catch up with 77 hours of TV in a short time, but one of the big advantages is that you become totally immersed in their world, which is very cool but in the case of this show also kinda puts you in a dour mood.

The show is relentlessly serious, and the issues addressed are the large issues of our current world, so people like me who have been following the news out of Iraq and the purported War on Terror and the antics of our current administration in Washington, this show pushes every one of your buttons.

On the showbiz side of the show, however, what I'm particularly pleased with is my discovering Tricia Helfer. I can't believe that I had no idea who this woman was before watching this show. She is remarkably good in a role that really gives her an opportunity, especially in the end of season two, to show so many different sides. For me, she is the big find from this show.

Well, everyone's good, but the role of Number Six and Tricia are from what I can see a perfect match.

Anyhow, I think I'll be back to some semblance of regular blogging next week, maybe four or five posts a day. I've been thinking about some format changes that will make it easier for me to get the work up and out each day and I'll keep you informed.

In the meantime, I have a season three DVD boxset to unwrap.

After the jump, watch the half-hour pre-season four catchup with Ron Moore and David Eick.

To All Who Might Wonder What Happened

Okay, here's the story ...

I need a blogging break. Why? Because I'm getting angry at TV. Not my TV, my TV is glorious in all its 40-inch LCD majesty.

My TV problems are with TV in the larger sense.

Remember last Tuesday, the day after Britney's HIMYM appearance? When Tom O'Neil asked openly about the prospect of Brit getting an Emmy nomination on his LA Times blog, I lost it.

Really lost it.

It made me think about where TV was going, and, of course, whether this blog wanted to go along with it. I do realize with a URL like IAmATVJunkie.com I don't have a lot of options. I certainly don't think I have a future as a transvestite drug addict, even though I shaved the beard two weeks ago, and I can't think of anything else I could do with the address.

(As a low maintenance kind of guy, I just don't think I could ever deal with the uptick in grooming that going transvestite would demand. Plus, I'm barely a reasonably attractive middle aged man, what kind of woman would I make? Don't answer that, it may conjure up some strange images.)

There was other stuff, too, including the Jericho cancelation and the really low numbers for this season of Dirt, two shows I very much enjoy that have and probably will go south (figuratively, that is).

So I decided I had to do something to get me excited about television again. I found that in the last few days and it's called Battlestar Gallactica. Quite remarkable TV if you haven't tried it. And I know a lot of you haven't. But you should.

I picked up the first season DVD set used at Second Spin and devoured it as fast as I could (given that I have another writing project on my plate right now) and now I'll spend the rest of this week on seasons two and three (S2 via a SciFi Channel marathon this week and S3 on DVD from Target today).

I'm sufficiently excited about this show and the upcoming series of Doctor Who eps coming April 18 (starting with Voyage of the Damned) that I can still "get it up to blog" if you know what I mean. Hey, I might even make a return trek to Comic-Con because of it.

And about this blog, it's gonna have to change a bit because of my other assignments. Plus, I can't do all the stuff that blogs like TV Squad do with all their writers and resources because it's just me sitting here pounding the stuff out.

So, for a little while things are gonna be different, but I'll try to throw something current up on the site as often as I can.

Stay tuned.