I Am A TV Junkie

Royal Shakespeare Company Stamps (Inc. David Tennant's Hamlet) on Sale in UK April 12

Yes, that's David Tennant on a stamp. And other people you know, also.

UK Telegraph:

They will include a first class stamp of David Tennant's Hamlet from 2008, a £1.10p stamp featuring Sir Ian McKellen and Francesca Annis playing Romeo and Juliet in 1976 and Paul Scofield's King Lear from 1962 illustrating a 76p stamp, accompanied by the play's famous quote: "Who is it that can tell me who I am?"

A miniature sheet of stamps will also commemorate the RSC's four theatres in Stratford-upon-Avon - the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, The Courtyard, The Swan and The Other Place.

Amazing, that Tennant and Patrick Stewart's Hamlet happened in 2008, seems like just the other day.

Email From New Friends Re: NBC's David Tennant Pilot

So I open my email this AM and this was there ...

The word on the street is... well, the word on Twitter is... that the pilot was mailed out to various press people earlier this year for reviewing purposes, so certain people who work in media reporting may have it.  

 

I do the Rex blog for fun (http://rexisnotyourlawyerinfo.blogspot.com), and have been begging just to WATCH it for a while now, all with no luck.  And I know people in L.A. have the thing!

It seems everything ends up on a torrent sooner or later, but since "Rex" is still NBC Universal property, there is always the possibility that it could be kept under more secure wraps than usual.  Who knows?  The network could try to get it picked up again next year.  After all, "Rex" first hit NBC's desks in 2007, was postponed during the Writers' Strike, got rejected in 2008 by the brass, then finally made it to the pilot stage in 2009.  Maybe next year, we'll see it again?  You never know.  It's beaten the odds by hanging around this long!

Which tells us two things. 1) People read this blog. I know, I look at the webstats all the time and I see the numbers but sometimes I don't believe it myself: and 2) There's a show out there, an actual 42 minutes of show starring David Tennant for US television with Jane Curtin and Jeffrey Tambor that someone has that could actually be sent toward me in some form or another for my review.

Are you the person who has this show on DVD or on your hard drive? You wanna make a guy very very happy? Do ya?

You know what you have to do. And thanks to "Wrytered" from the Rex blog for chiming in.

The image above? Our lovely DT taking a lunch break on the set of the show.

Wrytered also put together a quick YouTube clip with stills and video of some of the location shooting, click this link for that.

Also, if you need to hear David's take on a US accent, click this link to hear what he sounds like doing what I'm guessing is something Midwestern for us.

DT does have a TV project upcoming, the four-part BBC One drama Single Father, more about it at this BBC Press Office link.

The Perfect Director for the #DoctorWho Movie is Now Surprisingly Free, Let's Get it Done!

It is amazingly simple to see and incredibly obvious that the man who should direct a Doctor Who movie written by Russell T. Davies and starring Doctor 10 David Tennant and Billie Piper as Rose has been, is and will always be Guillermo Del Toro.

(Sorry Euros Lyn, I know you'd like to get the call.)

Spend ten minutes watching clips form Pan's Labyrinth or either of the Hellboy movies and it's obvious he would have the feel for the script and the performances and for the elaborate effects work that would need to be done to bring the show to your local cinemas.

And now, Del Toro has some room on his schedule as he's pulled out of the two-film Hobbit series being produced by Peter Jackson in New Zealand.

So, Jane Tranter  (pictured here above right with DT at the BAFTA TV Awards in 2009) I encourage you today or tomorrow (okay, take a day off and eat something fried with cheese, it's a bank holiday ... in fact I'll join you!) and maybe just let the word get out to some close industry friends that a team could be put together fairly quickly for this enterprise and if you work fast we might have something for a 2013 production date.

And just to get you thinking this way, Jane, watch the Hellboy 2 trailer again, click this and watch. He's really perfect for the job and getting him, especially now, would cement the fanboy furvor for the project.

Plus DT and Billie won't be available for this forever, you know. They'll need to get on with it, eventually.

Win David Tennant/Patrick Stewart RSC Hamlet on DVD From BBC Video -- Details Here!

UPDATE: Folks, we have a winner. Thanks for playing.

I know that many of you have not seen the Great Performances on PBS performance of Hamlet with David Tennant and Patrick Stewart yet. I know this because it hasn't played on my PBS affiliate yet so it might not have played on yours.

Readers have also shared that it's run in their markets at strange middle-of-the-night times and they missed it.

So, all the better for all of you that I have one copy to give away on DVD. They sent me two, one Blu-ray for me, one DVD format for you guys.

Be the 15th commenter under this post. Since the comments are moderated I'll just not approve any of the comments till we get to the 15th one and that person will win.

No, I'm not saving all your email addresses so that I can sell them to some company, that would be rude.

Enter now! Disclaimer: If there's a link to your blog in my blogroll in a column to the right or you're a personal friend or relative you're not eligible. Sorry. Also, it's a US region one DVD, so if you're overseas it won't play on your DVD player.

David Tennant's Hamlet on PBS Great Performances Starting Tonight; On Blu-ray, DVD May 4

You'll have to check your TV listings for this one, my PBS affiliate (KPBS- San Diego) is not airing this tonight, though I'm sure they will, eventually.

Betcha New Yorkers can watch tonight on WNET, though.

Here's the PBS webpage for the event (link).

Clips for you below:

Coward soliloquy

Interview with Patrick Stewart and clip 

Comments on the role from DT

I'll be getting a copy on Blu-ray to review, and then, if you're really really good, I might give it away. But I'm not yet sure, I've never had a Blu-ray before, I might have to keep it.

Both formats release on May 4 in the US. Pre-order yours by clicking here for DVD and here for Blu-ray.

Video -- HBO Adds David Tennant/Andy Serkis BBC Drama For March Premiere

Yes, I have a clip, but I have to warn you about spoilers. Still, it's an historical drama so I guess there are spoilers all over the place, maybe even in ... your own mind.

Shudder at the thought, I know. Here's the clip, AYOR.

Many of us haven't seen David in something this serious. Sure, he ran the gammut of emotions as the Doctor, but usually that gammut was run in a flash. This is serious stuff.

TimesOnline.co.uk:

Few men have ever been catapulted to global superstardom with such suddenness as Albert Einstein. One moment, he was a professor in Berlin, known among his peers but pursuing ideas about the nature of gravity that were understood by only a handful; the next, he was the most famous scientist in the world, perhaps the most famous man in the world.

For this, he owed the discipleship of Arthur Eddington, the first and most loyal supporter of his General Theory of Relativity. The paradox is that before Einstein’s overnight introduction to fame in 1919, the two men had never met and were in many respects polar opposites: Einstein was a non-believer, a bohemian with an eye for the ladies; Eddington was a straitlaced Quaker who lived with his sister and constantly struggled to square science and God. One was a dreamer of genius; the other an experimentalist devoted to careful measurement and empirical truth.

The TV film was co-produced by Company Pictures and HBO Worldwide for BBC2 (transmitted in 2008). It premieres on March 23rd at 9 pm and then, as is there way, reairs throughout the end of March on HBO Signature.

Click here for complete schedule.

Okay, All Right, I'll Write About the Doctor Who Finale (and show you the trailer for series five)

And because you've all seen it by now, beware for spoilers.

In fact, if you haven't seen it yet you should just stop reading this now (and go watch it and then come right back here, natch).

And, to help you do that, I'm putting the rest of this post after the jump.

Ood Sigma -- "I Think Your Song Must End Soon, Doctor"

I'm starting to get teary already!

Watch this clip and remember that all songs end sooner or later.

Some Misguided Brits Complain About Too Much David Tennant On The Telly

As if there's such a thing, huh? I know!

This is the second time it's popped into my inbox this week so I'm going to address it. Apparently, there are some critics of the BBC (and there are always critics of the BBC, many of them I call people who work at ITV and Channel 4) who are getting their pants in a twist (See what I did there? Pants instead of panties, because this is Britain? Get it?) because your favorite Doctor of all time kept showing up on the TV over the end-of-year holiday period.

(I hear he even got circumcised on BBC Four to celebrate Hanukkah. No, really, it's ... not true.)

Digital Spy:

A Conservative MP has accused BBC executives of promoting David Tennant at the expense of other actors.

Tory politician Nigel Evans made his comments after research showed that Tennant will have made 75 appearances in three weeks on BBC television and radio stations by the end of the festive period.

It is understood that 28 of the Doctor Who star's appearances are in new programmes, while 47 are repeats.

Evans, who sits on the Culture Media and Sport select committee, told The Daily Telegraph: "Relying on such an overkill of one particular person is freezing out a lot of opportunity for a lot of up and coming people.

What a tool! So lemme get this straight, is the BBC now just a viewer funded operation that's duty is to get everyone on TV before they pass? Or is Nigel Evans (representing the Ribble Valley, btw, and I'm sure all of you are really proud of this, huh?) disappointed he didn't get to audition to be the Doctor in series five?

Because from the image above, MP Evans seems to be keenly interested in show business, dontcha think?

Maybe one of the two showgirls on his arms were interested in handling the storytime segment on CBeeBies.

Or, playing Hamlet? I think the showgirl on the right would be quite the fit Hamlet, don't you?

Speaking of Hamlet, watch a couple clips from the BBC production of Tennant's Hamlet at this link and this link. It will air on PBS here in the States later this year.

And, here's David reading to the kids.

Doctor Who -- It's The End Of Time But It Sure Doesn't Feel Like It

I just knew this was going to happen. It's like the boy that cried Bad Wolf, dontcha think?

We've had a Parting of the Ways, it's been Doomsday, we've seen The Last of The Time Lords and traveled to Journey's End.

And now it's The End of Time.

So you'll excuse me if I'm hesitant to believe it's really gonna end.

Time, that is.

In fact I know it won't end, because we're getting a new Doctor and new companion this coming year, hopefully beginning in April or May, and he's younger with floppier hair and has another pretty li'l thing running after him making the odd stirring revelation.

(Because you don't screw around with a winning format.)

Okay, I didn't love part one of the two-part The End of Time and I'm hopeful that part two will redeem the pair. Still, it was better TV than most of the genre shows on American television can muster these days (like Dollhouse, for example, which I've been catching up with lately or FlashForward, which is on the cusp of revealing itself to be a sham -- sorry, David Goyer).

My big problem with the episode seen here in the States last night (just a day after the UK premiere, which in itself is a TV milestone; thank you Garth Ancier, outgoing chairman of BBC Worldwide) and all of these specials aired since David Tennant announced his departure from the show at the October 2008 British National Television Awards (LINK) is the lack of a steady companion.

Without that relationship at its core, Doctor Who is simply not the show it is otherwise.

More, including clips (trailer for the second hour) after the jump.

Your Spoiler-Free Doctor Who: The End Of Time Video Preview, by Adolf Hitler

You learn something new every day. Like today, as I've learned Adolf Hitler, even though it's years since his death, has a thing for Doctor Who.

Check out YouTube and you'll see all these clips of Hitler railing against the incoming Matt Smith because either he didn't get the role (LINK, clip by Benjamin Cook who wrote Doctor Who, The Writer's Tale with Russell T. Davies) or he just doesn't approve of Matt (LINK). And, this isn't the first time ... Der Scumbo seems to have been equally peeved when Chris Eccleston left the show (LINK, turn on annotations) ... and when Himmler won an auction to have a lunch date with Elisabeth Sladen (LINK)? Just don't mention Himmler anywhere near the Fuhrer, okay?

And there are even more Hitler rant Doctor Who clips, like ...

• Hitler finds out Rose is trapped in another universe (LINK, turn on annotations again)
• Hitler reviews The Waters of Mars (LINK)
• Hitler loves the Daleks (LINK)
• Hitler fears the Daleks (LINK, annotations)

And, finally, as is true to form for the bastard, Hitler didn't complain at all when Ianto Jones died in the fourth hour of Torchwood: Children of Earth.

All these clips were made before Christmas so there's no way it can spoil your enjoyment of The End of Time. And yes, this is a lot of Hitler for any web post but I figured since we were mocking the guy it would be, uh, okay.

Okay? Good.

Better than a spoiler-ridden post that will piss you off, huh?

Video -- BBC Clips Galore -- Doctor Who BBC America Marathon NOW! and Doctor #10 Wishes You Happy Holidays

Aw, he's so pretty.

Sorry, I digress.

Anyhoo, BBC America apparently doesn't want me to go out and buy gifts for anyone today, they're running a marathon of episodes. Just finished Voyage of the Damned with Kylie and that dashing jerkoff Rickston Slade.

Right now they're airing Turn Left which is of course the most dramatic of the Doctor-Lite episodes, those that don't include a lot of the Doctor. Instead you get a bumper crop of companions (on camera and referenced) including Rose Tyler breaking through the multiverse, despite the warnings of a scientist in an alternate reality (and another show entirely) named Walter Bishop.

Why didn't Rose have the Doctor take her to 2009 and sit down and watch a few episodes of Fringe? She would have benefitted greatly.

Also, I have for you two little video holiday cards from my favorite Doctor at this link and this link. And ... one more clip you must see (Reindeers pulling the tardis) at this link.

And for you Doctor Who newbies, change the channel, sit down and enjoy. It's time to do some catchup before the three-weekend Doctor Who event (Waters of Mars and The End of Time Parts 1 & 2) starting next Saturday on BBC America.

Check out the BBC America website for this huge event (huge, I tell you) at this link.

David Tennant US Pilot News -- Ramamurthy Out, Jerry O'Connell In, DT Ready to Move to US

There's our David Tennant (well, my David Tennant) enjoying a little grub on the obviously cold Chicago location set of the NBC pilot Rex Is Not Your Lawyer (thank you Zoe). Two pieces of news today on the production ...

Sendhil Ramamurthy is out -- no, not out of the closet, not to worry ladies who love him ... he's out of the pilot (scheduling issues, per this UPI story). Replacing him is the always reliable Jerry O'Connell, who apparently will take a break from his law studies to take part. Might have something to do with his wife Rebecca's series Eastwick not getting a back end order (hehehe, I said back end order) from ABC.

(That's sad for me, btw, I was loving Eastwick and its cast and Paul Gross as Daryl Van Horn. I'll say it again, Paul Gross is an outstanding actor and TV is lucky to have him. The US networks should find him something wonderful to do. If you haven't seen the Canadian series Slings & Arrows you should, definitely. You can get it via Netflix as its run on Sundance Channel has ended. You will want more of him. More on trying to save Eastwick from the cancelation monster at this link.)

Despite his recent projects (the underappreciated Bruce McCulloch sitcom Carpoolers and the dreadful Fox thing with Niecy Nash -- so dreadful I can't remember its name, Jerry is a solid performer and very likeable, even when he's playing a douchebag.

Good call, casting folk.

More, and clips, clips, clips ... after the jump.

From BBC America, Your Illustrated Doctor Who Schedule for the Remainder of 2009

First, The Waters of Mars -- I've seen it (I'm sneaky that way, don't worry BBCA, I'll watch it again and again on your air and buy the DVD, and hell I promote the hell outta the show so you should have no qualms with your TV Junkie) and it's a thriller in the vein of the series four episode Midnight.

And you'll love it on Saturday Dec. 19 at 9 pm.

Hover your mouse here for the trailer thanks to coolest blog plug-in ever, Apture. And another clip here.

 

Next, The End of Time, Part I (getting closer to regeneration) -- You can see the first three minutes and twenty-one seconds of it right here (hover, boys and girls, get that mouse hovering over the little graphic). The Ood return, they've been sounding the alarm for a while now, since series four episode three in fact.

More after the jumperoo.

Jane Curtin Added to David Tennant NBC Pilot (oh, and Mohinder from Heroes)

LOVE HER!!!

From the Hollywood Reporter comes news that she is cast in Rex Is Not Your Lawyer as DT's mom and mentor, a prominent law professor.

I can't wait for the exchanges of snappy dialogue between the two. They should make outstanding scene partners. She also ends up falling in love with Rex's psych, played by Jeffrey Tambor, another great scene partner for Jane.

As for geek heartthrob Sendhil Ramamurthy, from the same source:

Ramamurthy will play an ambitious but good-natured lawyer who was in Rex's shadow until Rex's career switch and whose friendship with Rex becomes complicated when he falls in love with his pal's fiancee (Abigail Spencer).

You might know Spencer from her role in season three of Mad Men as Don's elementary school teacher mistress or the 2006 Lifetime drama Angela's Eyes also from NBC-Uni that lasted one season.

Of course, if Heroes survives, they have first dibs on Sendhil. I can't imagine that happening, though, the show costs too much and the exodus from the audience has been staggering. I broke up with the show four weeks ago and I was a straggler. I hear they killed Nathan last night -- man, he really got the Joey Tribbiani treatment from them. Remember when Joey was on Days Of Our Lives and found out he was fired when he read in the script that he was gonna fall down an elevator shaft? Adrian Pasdar found out he was fired the same way.

But, back to Jane ... I use the phrase "national treasure" very rarely. She is one. SNL, Kate & Allie (still very watchable after all these years), 3rd Rock From the Sun? You just can't argue with the fact that Jane Curtin has been part of our lives and making us laugh since 1975.

Tennant of course is approaching legend status in the UK and he's not even 40 yet. Latest proof of that? The Royal Mint in Britain (and that's not like the Franklin Mint, maker of collectable plates and other mid-priced ephemera here in the States) is issuing a series of medals commerorating Doctor Who, some with Tennant's image as the Tenth Doctor (see image, that's the gold coin which retails for £150.00 but they come in less precious metals, click here to see them all).

Yeah, there's  Dalek coin, too. Now, I love Doctor Who (really love it, as you know by all the posts about the show here) but Daleks have toilet plungers attached to them and I've always found that kinda ... juvenile. 

Two things about DW villianry I never could wrap my mind around are the Dalek toilet plungers and the Rube Goldberg device known as the Cyber-conversion unit. All those whirling blades and such, please.

So, back to Rex ... , we got now a lead actor who is an international TV star, two veteran funny people in Curtin and Tambor who bring it every time and a younger couple that are fresh and shiny and talented .. NBC and Berman-Braun (Lloyd Braun, not the fictional character but the actual TV exec) are loading this up with big talent. 

More after the jumperoo.

David Tennant Starring in US Pilot for NBC? OMG!!!

He smiling at me, not at you. I'm talkin' to you, Zoe Louise!

The big big news from BBC.com, because I figure they have more of the inside scoop:

The former Doctor Who will star as a top Chicago lawyer who suffers from panic attacks and coaches his clients to represent themselves in court.

The NBC hour-long show is titled Rex Is Not Your Lawyer.

Nice premise for him. I guess he'll be yet another Brit coming across the pond with a US accent in his mouth. That's the only shame of it, I love Tennant's native Scottish accent which you hardly ever hear short of interviews.

And, though it's not a film, and it's been bandied about since the announcement that he's be leaving Doctor Who that he left to pursue a film career, it works for me. TV comes right to my house, movies require driving and drinking expensive soft drinks.

More from Nellie Andreeva at the Hollywood Reporter:

NBC greenlighted the project in August, about two years after it was first developed, and had been trying to find a lead actor for several months until Tennant came along and nailed the part.

Tennant, a theater and TV actor, rose to fame playing the mysterious alien time-traveler at the center of "Doctor Who" for the past five years. His performance as the Doctor has been often rated as the top in the franchise's 46-year history.

Tennant's casting is reminiscent of the tapping of another established British TV actor with virtually no American TV experience, Hugh Laurie, as the lead on Fox's medical drama "House."

Tennant, who co-starred in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," recently signed with UTA. He's also repped by U.K.'s Independent Talent Group.

There's still the issue of the Doctor Who movie, and that requires some coordination with the Billie Piper schedule, and I'm still on it like paparazzi on an Olsen twin.

I worry about it being for NBC. Didn't Steve Moffat tell Tennant how NBC treats the talent? He knows, he should have shared. Maybe it was just too good to turn down.

It's from Berman/Braun. I, of course, can't think about "Lloyd Braun" without remembering how many computers he sold for George Costanza's father.

And thank you, Jennifer, for the heads up.

Video -- Entertainment Weekly's Dave Karger Talks to Carey Mulligan, An Education Opens This Friday (NY, LA)

As you all know by now, I follow the career of Carey Mulligan because she was first for me the lovely, intrepid and curious Sally Sparrow in Steve Moffat's award-winning Doctor Who series three episode titled Blink.

In fact, from that performance only, a guest shot, she won awards, that's how good she was. If you haven't seen Carey as Sally you should really find a friend who has the series three boxset. For a taste, I'll give you a second clip, after the interview with Entertainment Weekly's lovely (well, I think he's lovely) Dave Karger. They're both after the jump.

(It's from the Doctor Who Confidential, includes footage from the episode, some of David Tennant interviewing Moffat about the episode and David interviewing Carey. Not to be missed if you're a real fan of Doctor Who.)

There's very serious Oscar talk around the film and Carey's performance. I find her absolutely incandescent on camera. Just a lovely, thoughtful actor plying her trade and lucky enough to get a hold of some meaty roles.

Upcoming for her? The Mark Romanek film Never Let Me Go co-starring Keira Knightley, Oliver Stone's Wall Street 2 as the daughter of Gordon Gekko and the UK film Brighton Rock in which she stars alongside Helen Mirren and Pete Postlethwaite.

Big career ahead for this lovely young woman. I could not be more pleased for her, or pleased that I found her before many others.

Clips after the jump.

Video -- Local CW San Diego Studio Interview w/Tennant, Davies

More of this kind of press for Doctor Who, please, which is why I'm posting this.

Revamp, reacquaint, reeducate. Those are the tasks at hand. I hope they did a bunch of that at Comic-Con and beyond while they were here.

The embed code doesn't seem to be working, but you can use this link to get to CW6 San Diego's video page and then you're gonna have to search for it because they don't provide a direct link.

But it's worth it if you're a fan of the show.

David Tennant Clip Bonanza -- About His New US Gig on Public TV: "I Am Popular Culture"

He's just being cheeky. Relax. The new host of Masterpiece Contemporary on PBS and of course our Doctor #10 talks to Zadi Diaz from EpicFU.com.

Then, after that, I have some really creepy footage from The Waters of Mars, the next Doctor Who special that we'll see, scheduled for November in the UK and hopefully soon thereafter on BBC America or Syfy of on a chip that gets implanted under your skin and lets you experience narrative fiction in a more immersive way.

Because that's coming, you know. Kind of like the "vacations" in Total Recall but without the failed governor or the leg-crossing beaver exhibitionist (who, btw, is topless on the cover of the current Paris Match so I guess she's, uh ... done?).

Thanks to Liz for sending the link to the first clip, which is after the jump. Waters is the second clip, and then finally, a surprise clip for Tennant fans is the third and final.

It's a surprise because I haven't figured out what to post. Yet. Ah, I have it, and it's from Zap2It.com, they asked about Rose's "consolation prize" at the end of series four. Go, watch.

Doctor Who Planet of the Dead -- Snappy Banter: A (Time) Lord and a Lady (Christina)

Now this I like.

Very quickly traded dialogue between the most charming Time Lord out there and a woman who has every reason to believe that she's his equal when faced with a perilous situation.

It really does give one pause when you think about the stories we've all heard about how close Michelle Ryan was to getting the companion role at one time, if they are in fact to be believed.

She certainly does pull off her banter with the Doctor with style.

I particularly like the sequence on the bus just before the wormhole spoils everyone's evening plans while our intrepid hero has his little dish in his hand once again looking for the random hole in time.

He's probably trying to get in some cleanup after those Rose Tyler "parallel universe sprints" during the end of series four while she tried to find Donna. I hope so, anyway, it makes it feel like Donna is still around.

Not proper Donna with the mobile glued to her ear but thoughtful, brilliant temp from Chiswick Donna. And also not half-Time Lord half-Donna Donna because I think after a while that would get really old with her rattling on whether you wanted to listen or not. I mean sheesh, just stick her in a room with a randy Jack Harkness and kill two birds with one stone why don't you.

Look at her in the four views above ... she can hardly be bothered with him and his little contraption, whatever it is. That is, until it explodes.

Oh, it explodes just a little, give a Time Lord a break.

And of course it's Lady Christina De Souza, thank you very much, and the director of Planet of the Dead told Digital Spy in the UK something of her backstory before last Easter's BBC transmission of the special:

"She's young, she's beautiful, she's sexy, but whereas Rose was a very ordinary, normal girl, Lady Christina is a lady, she comes from a very privileged, very elite background. She's different to any of the companions we've ever had in that she doesn't particularly want to get caught up with the Doctor. She's got her own thing going on, so she's very much a match for the Doctor and very much an equal. Often in an adventure the Doctor will take control and everyone will do what he says. She's very much in control – the two of them are in a sparring way, battling against each other to get through this adventure."

And he though he speaks of that possible romantic spark between the two echoing the Doctor/Rose relationship, but I think only because of the attraction we feel growing between the two. Other than catching the eye of our hero and maybe a similar bravura and curiosity they share little.

Speaking of speaking, Lady Christina comes with an upper echelon accent to boot. Maybe that has something to do with her seeming dominance over the Doctor until it is firmly established that he is the one, the only, and the guy who's gonna get this Lady out of this mess. She's not used to that. She's much more used, it seems, to leaving her lovers in the lurch at the scene of a crime.

But not this time. Well, she leaves, because everyone leaves the Doctor eventually, and she does leave quicker than most, but I think those of us watching and the guy in the blue phone box would probably not mind running into her again.

Good, solid outing for all involved.

And like any true fan I say, "More, please."

Video -- Davies, Barrowman & Tennant at Comic-Con

It's just the intros, folks, but I thought just one more clip from the Con before I leave the house today.

Oh, and like every man in the immediate area of John Barrowman, Tennant ends up getting kissed, which is fine I guess but I'm tiring of it now.

LINK

Planet of the Dead tonight after the Torchwood Children of Earth marathon on BBC America, which is happening right now.

Why are you online? Why aren't you watching?

Straight From the Con, No Doctor Who Movie (for now)

Per our online friend Michael Hinman at Airlock Alpha, who spoke with BBC Worldwide's Julie Gardner, there are no announcements to make about a Doctor Who movie.

Doesn't mean it's not gonna happen, just means they're not announcing it at Comic-Con.

What she said specifically to Michael, and what David Tennant said in San Diego, is ...

In terms of any special announcement, "we don't have one," Gardner said.

"I really hope that people aren't disappointed," Tennant said.

Well of course we're disappointed, but we'll get over it.

Actually, I got to thinking last night that the BBC would never make such a grand announcement off the home turf. It would be like the a baseball team winning the World Series out of town on purpose, and that would piss fans off.

Still, it's nice for them to get out to California for some fun in the sun, though both need to take the sunscreen thing to a level not heretofore explored at I Am A TV Junkie.

SPF 50, BBC gang!

G4TV.com Has All Kinds of Comic-Con Breaking News Incl. Lost Panel Live Blog, Tron Trailer

They have it all, live blogs from panels and comics stuff with Blair, and Olivia (no pie, just Olivia) getting her rack cruised by all kinds of guys and gals at the Con and ...

... no, I'm wrong, I'm the bad guy. It was me that was on the cover of Playboy coming out of a p0ol in a bikini.

G4 Comic-Con link is RIGHT HERE!!!

And, I don't know where on the floor they're setting up this year, but if you loiter there (and people will ask you not to) just do your best Tim Conway old man character from The Carol Burnett Show, pictured left, though that does work better with some gray hair.

Finally, gray hair comes in handy.

Starting today at noon eastern and pacific they have their exclusive Star Wars panel, and then at 2 they have three hours of live coverage from the floor. Considering that today is the day for all the Doctor Who stuff, I'm hoping they get live coverage of David Tennant and Russell T. Davies announcing a movie project. No, not sure, but my hunches are always really good. And, it wouldn't surprise me if they kept Billie Piper holed up in some hotel undercover until the moment they do announce.

Or, they should just hire ME for these big press events. I know what works because I know what would work for me.

Also, if you're a Lost fan (yes, my season one DVD set is still sitting here waiting to be watched) there was a live blog of their panel that was attended by Bob Stencil. I'm led to believe you guys get the Bob Stencil reference.

And, there's embeddable video, including the trailer for Disney's Tron revamp, which is after the jump and shows a bit of a creepy character arc for Jeff Bridges.

You know video of these panels will start showing up on YouTube and the network sites. There are rules about Comic-Con exclusivity and time windows that they all sign, but ASAP I'll have what I can find right here.

Just in case you're busier than I this weekend.

Video -- "Julie in Wonderland": BBC's Gardner, Former Whoniverse Guardian, Talks to Newsarama

If you're a Doctor Who fan (and you are, you just might no't know it yet) you know Julie Gardner. She and RTD shepherded the new Who onto BBC One in 2005 and it's been all hail BBC Wales (Cymru, for my Welsh pals) ever since.

I personally would love to sit down for a talk with her about the process, especially since reading Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale recently and of course keeping up with all the scoop and (minor) scandal (like Matt Smith's floppy hair) that goes with being keyed into the Whoniverse.

Maybe after today's mention at CNN.com I might rise to that level of consideration, especially after touted the Torchwood miniseries in my comments. Until then, we have Newsarama on the case, having met with Gardner recently to talk about all things Who, BBC Drama, her new life in Los Angeles (still with the British Broadcasting Company, btw) and ... traffic.

(No, Julie, no toll to get into the center of LA like there is in London, no decently utilized mass transit short the untimely busses that you occasionally see, but lots of sun, which given your fair skin should be warning enough to stock up on the sunscreen. Hey, David Tennant, that goes for you, too.)

She tells Steve Fritz about this Sunday's return of the Doctor in Planet of the Dead with only minor spoilers for you US fans:

We did go for a ripper with “Planet of the Dead.” As fans know, we have a total of four Doctor Who specials coming out. This one is supposed to feel like the last big romp. It’s absolutely and unashamedly frothy fun.

It’s also kind of an unusual story. It starts with a cat burglar, which we’ve never done before. It’s really a disaster movie/survival movie in disguise. It’s all about the Doctor trying to get home from an alien planet without even the TARDIS to help him.

Then, it goes very dark in only the last few minutes, with a premonition. That’s because we want to lay the foundations for what will now become the regeneration from David Tennant to the next Doctor. That will be done over the next three specials.

Click there for much more. Click over the jump for some BBC morning TV with David Tennant promoting the special to the UK market back in November. No big spoilers there, either.

The only problem with this clip, in fact, is Tennant's hair. A lot of it's gone. And he has such great, great hair, as Rose Tyler will tell you.

Note to Julie Gardner: I'll buy, pick the quiet lunch spot of your choice, I'll bring questions.

BBC America in HD? Time Warner Reps Have No Information

Update on my constant calling to my local Time Warner office -- as Hogan' Heroes' Sgt. Schultz says, "I know nothing! NOTHING!"

Can't blame Jennifer at TWC, she looked at every piece of paper on her desk, at my prompting, to see what she could find out.

And, you know, I've been trying to get a call returned from Time Warner in NYC also, but ...

... write your own caption, it's early and I have a very busy day ahead. If I find out anything ... ANYTHING ... before Monday at 9 eastern, when the big event starts, I'll get that to you.

In the meantime, watch yet something else that will get you all excited about it. AND ... tomorrow BBC America is running Capt. Jack episodes of Doctor Who, including the season one two-parter The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances, and the three-parter that ends season three.

For new Who fans, that means getting to see Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor (different, also wonderful, IMHO) and Billie Piper and Freema Agyeman (Freema, for me holds the distinction of looking the best while running in the companion category, not to mention her being very engaging on camera).

Of course, Rose Tyler is my heart. Spunky li'l shopgirl becomes time and space traveler, what's not to love?

Who Will Play Bilbo Baggins? Let's Run Up David Tennant's Numbers in This LA Times Poll

These are the results as of right now. McAvoy? Do we really need another movie with James McAvoy?

Go click this link and go to Geoff Boucher's Hero Complex blog at the LA Times and vote for our favorite Doctor. He wants to me a movie star, let's see if we can't give him a little boost!

2 Clips -- BBC Hamlet with David Tennant & Patrick Stewart Set for 2010 US Air Date

So, David Tennant is the new host of Masterpiece on PBS, his Hamlet is coming to the US in video form and there's renewed interest in a Doctor Who movie with Tennant in the lead.

Variety:

The major players in the cast of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2008 production of “Hamlet,” including David Tenant and Patrick Stewart, have been reassembled for a screen version that will air on UK channel BBC Two later this year and in the U.S. and Japan in 2010.

It looks to me like someone's making a concerted effort to establish a US fan base. And, I think it just might work for him.

I can't imagine it won't. He's very charming ... and Clive Owen's not getting any younger.

(Oh, snap!)

After the jump, some audio of Tennant doing the role with an image of him in the recent production, just to give you a taste, and some stage door footage from his London run in the play.

2 Clips -- Doctor Who Specials Get US Airdates: Very Important Info, or Most Important Info EVER?

And, they go first to BBC America and not Sci Fi or SyFy or whatev.

From the press release:

As part of the same deal, BBC AMERICA acquired the 2008 Christmas Special, The Next Doctor featuring David Morrissey and Dervla Kirwan.  It will air Saturday, June 27, 2009. 

The first of the 2009 specials, Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead, premieres in July.  As a London red bus takes a detour to an alien world it forces the Doctor (Tennant) to work with the extraordinary Lady Christina (Michelle Ryan, Bionic Woman).  But the mysterious planet holds terrifying secrets hidden in the sand and time is running out as the deadly Swarm gets closer. 

(snip)

Building off the successful Supernatural Saturdays programming block, Doctor Who will be leveraged across multiple platforms including Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead, the first Doctor Who DVD to be released on Blu-ray, shortly after the U.S. broadcast premiere.

(snip)

Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars is the second special and along with the two additional untitled specials will premiere later in 2009 and early 2010.  

For those of you who haven't seen it yet, the swarm in Planet of the Dead has nothing to do with the Vashda Nerada. Totally different swarm, just so you know.

Then, in the middle of this press release is something that I think indicates a move that makes me very happy:

“The outstanding quality of the Doctor Who scripts from Russell T Davies and the on-screen dynamic that David Tennant brings to the role are a magic combination for our viewers. Russell’s spin-off series Torchwood is already our highest rated show on the channel and I know the fans will follow these new specials with equal passion and support.  We’re thrilled to bring this iconic show to BBC AMERICA, home of the best British sci-fi programming on television,” says President, BBC Worldwide America Garth Ancier.

Does that mean that series five will come directly to BBCA? I certainly hope so, though I also hope that I have BBCA in HD by that time. Actually, Planet of the Dead airing on Sci Fi would let me see the show in HD for the first time ever but I've always been of the mind that the cable channel should hold onto Doctor Who and create an appointment viewing event out of it.

If series five does indeed get its first US run from BBCA, it's a ratings winner for them. As long as I get my BBCA HD channel by then.

Clips from both, in sequence, after the jump. I especially love Murray Gold's music that opens this first clip. In fact, I'm listening to it right now, in May, and it still makes me all tingly with Christmas cheer.

DVR Alert -- Sci Fi (Or Syfy, Whatev!) Doctor Who Series 2 Mini-Thon Tomorrow; Why Should You Watch?

Why? You're seriously asking why you should record these? Oh, that's right, that was me.

Record these episodes and watch them at your leisure, but certainly these are some of the best of the second series, and if you're a Billie Piper fan from Secret Diary of a Call Girl or a fan of Sophia Myles from Moonlight you will find a way into these eps and then you'll be hooked.

I'm certain of that.

Hat tip to the blog with a very long titile that will just call Morjana's for the heads up.

Myles' episode, The Girl in the Fireplace, won a Hugo award for writer Steve Moffat (who's at the helm for series five).

These eps include Billie's departure from being a regular companion of the Doctor, btw, for the uninitiated.

Tennant? Charming, engaging, and of course there's the outstanding hair. Great, great hair!

Award winning fan vid using footage from The Girl in the Fireplace after the jump is by YouTube username seduff and features music by New Zealand artist Brooke Fraser.

After that you'll be wanting to buy the series two DVD set. If you click to it through the icon below maybe I can buy the specials on DVD from the UK and a region-free DVD player to watch them.

Or a sheet of paper, depending on the number of converts.

Happy 38th Birthday Doctor #10 David Tennant

Let's celebrate with a couple of my favorite images from series four.

More after the jump, including some other stuff from around the web and from your TV screens.

Doctor Who News from Cardiff -- Tate, Cribbins Spotted Shooting Xmas Special With DT

DT= Oh, do I have to tell you? C'mon, get with it!

Oh, and obviously this isn't a photo from the Christmas Special above, it's from series four.

WalesOnline.co.uk:

Catherine Tate – whose character Donna Noble was written out of the last series – was with David Tennant and Bernard Cribbins in a quiet cul-de-sac in Cyncoed filming what is believed to be the Christmas special.

Tennant, 37, will face a do-or-die drama during the seasonal special and go through the process of regeneration – a change in physical form that sees the Doctor transform into his next incarnation, who will be played by 11th Doctor Matt Smith.

Yesterday’s drizzle failed to dampen the stars’ spirits, with 80-year-old Cribbins, who plays Donna’s grandad, seen sporting a pair of festive antlers after cameras started to roll.

You know how I love Donna Noble (she's mentioned in my banner, she's the temp from Chiswick) and Bernie Cribbins is just so spot on, and that scene at the end of series four with him and the Doctor still makes me cry when I see it.

Also, David Tennant's site (DT, natch) has a lot more pics from filming, click this link to see the gallery. While you're at David's site, why not support one of the many charities he works with, because karma is a good thing to collect.

Of course, Planet of the Dead, the special with Michelle Ryan and that double-decker bus that made news and Dubai (yuck) premieres this Saturday at 6:45 pm on BBC One.

Still no US dates for the specials.

I know, it pisses me off, too.

Video -- Russell T. Davies Promotes Doctor Who Easter Special on BBC Breakfast TV

Thank you to TheDoctorWhoSite.co.uk for posting the clip at YouTube and the lovely Liz in Albuquerque for sending me the link.

Watch Russell, you don't need my rambling to go with this. Easter is only five days away!!!

Still no word on where or when these specials will air in the US. Fans, do what you have to do. You know what I mean. I usually don't say that but if they're not even giving us a guess of an airdate I have to assume that there isn't one.

LINK

Video -- Zac Efron, Pet Shop Boys With Graham Norton Saturday on BBC America

Zac Efron, Little Britain's David Walliams and The Pet Shop Boys.

(Pet Shop Boys? Betcha David Tennant Tivo'd this. Maybe The Proclaimers will be on again soon, too!)

A taste of the episode is in a clip after the jump, but first ...

MTV.com:

Just a week after Zac Efron dropped out of the "Footloose" remake, we've gotten word that another pretty face has been linked to the project. According to reports, "Gossip Girl" star Chace Crawford has auditioned for the role.

"He did really well," a source told E! News. Crawford's name originally came up after gossip blogs and Web sites began suggesting him as a replacement for Efron.

After Efron dropped out of the film to pursue other types of roles, Paramount released a statement saying they remain committed to the Kenny Ortega-helmed film. Ortega also did the "High School Musical" movies with Efron.

Watch the clip if only to see how small Zac looks next to Walliams, who is a proper man of proper age, and an athlete of some repute which I guess fills him out while Zac still looks like he's in high school.

Wait a sec ... Chace Crawford can sing and dance? Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Because of course all good looking men who sing and dance are gay, right?

Right?

Doctor Who Video -- Planet of the Dead Trailer, Woo Hoo!

Because I'm starved for new Doctor Who. No Who? No Torchwood? This waiting crap just sucks!

Thank you, BBC America Anglophenia blog.

Without further ado ...

LINK

More as we get closer. 

Doctor Who BHS Video -- Tennant Video Blog #4 Charmingly Explains the Bus Incident

BHS = Behind the scenes. I should start an acronym key in the sidebar. Soon.

Hat tip to TardisScanner.Blogspot.com, we populate a Widgetbox widget together, see it in my right hand column.

Michelle Ryan loves being hung upside down in a harness. I know a lot of guys who enjoy that, too.

Their harnesses probably look a little different than Michelle's. Mr. S. Leather website link not suitable for work or kids.

I keep telling you, it's an entertainment blog for adults and that's very different that being an adult entertainment blog,  which there are many of and if that's your thing, fine.

This is an entertainment blog for adults.

More Doctor Who News -- Billie, Freema, Donna On Board For Tennant's Finale

Yes, they are all on board, and, according to the Coventry Telegraph, their inside source says, "Anything can happen in Doctor Who. His assistants are always recurring and Donna is no exception. When you're a Time Lord you can go back to any point in history and meet whoever you want."

It's in a story about Tate getting a co-starring role in the Jack Black Gulliver's Travels, which I wrote about here.

So, all that talk about Billie never coming back? That wasn't true. I think the Matt Smith call reported on the other day from every point on the Internet was actually a back-door attempt to get her in, and it worked.

So, all that talk about the Doctor Who crew being all aggro about Freema moving over to ITV's Law & Order UK was just a story, huh?

So, Donna can come back without her brain exploding into a million pieces or melting down and pouring out her ears. Lovely.

Oh, and my fave Bernard Cribbins (above right) comes back as Donna's grandfather, love this guy. And John Simm, too. The Master returns.

This is the episode with the regeneration. From proper Doctor to Intern Who.

Yeah, yeah, I know, I should wait and see. But sheesh, do I hate that hair.

Some Doctor/Rose/Donna moments from Journey's End and series four , in a fanvid after the jump.

David Tennant Video Diary #3 -- On a Bus with Michelle Ryan, Night Owl

Also, Doctor #3 Jon Pertwee's godson Adam James is in this clip. He plays D.I. McMillan in Planet of the Dead, which will transmit on BBC One Easter Sunday.

In Britain, shows don't broadcast, they transmit.

Semantics.

LINK

David Tennant Video Diary #2 -- Planet of the Dead Comes Easter Sunday

Why does David say, "The first day on my last stint as Doctor Who"?

Is it just a case of him not speaking specifically, or does he know something?

As you watch, note the bus.

About the bus (John Stewart Lewinski at Wired):

In a controversial move, outgoing Who show-runner Russell T. Davies decided to do a little gimmick shooting in Dubai. The script for the episode ("Planet of the Dead") requires a double-decker London bus both on an English road and in the more exotic international location.

Unfortunately, whoever brought the vehicle to Dubai delivered only a "bu-" -- having beaten the "s" out of it. Now Davies has a beat-up bus dumped off in the United Arab Emirates that he can't use for shooting. Reports say emergency rewrites are under way to salvage the episode, sans fully functional bus.

Controversial indeed. I wrote about the controversy at this link. I think it's the curse of Dubai. More about Dubai? I am happy to oblige (Times of London via Americablog):

For many expatriate workers in Dubai it was the ultimate symbol of their tax-free wealth: a luxurious car that few could have afforded on the money they earned at home.

Now, faced with crippling debts as a result of their high living and Dubai’s fading fortunes, many expatriates are abandoning their cars at the airport and fleeing home rather than risk jail for defaulting on loans.

Police have found more than 3,000 cars outside Dubai’s international airport in recent months. Most of the cars – four-wheel drives, saloons and “a few” Mercedes – had keys left in the ignition.

Some had used-to-the-limit credit cards in the glove box. Others had notes of apology attached to the windscreen.

The world was apparently built on a house of cards for the last eight years.

Clip after the jump.

Here's How I Will Report on the New Doctor Who Movie News

Listen, who knows if it will happen!

(Pun intended.)

Every time a reporter sees Russell T. Davies they stick a mic in his face and ask him a ridonkulous question. Thing is, Russell seems to like to answer. I think it's his way of keeping the show relevant in this year of the four specials and all the brouhaha over Matt "Intern Who" Smith.

So, just read what he says. Don't tie it in with the wild conjecture that comes from the chattering class.

Here are the RTD quotes today from ThisIsSouthWales.co.uk:

1. There must be ways and means of doing it — I suspect one day it will happen.
2. I think once something is talked about often enough then it starts to happen.
3. I think being talked about in the papers could almost bring it into existence. It gives us an idea of whether or not anyone would want to go and see it at the cinema.
4. In The Voyage of the Damned Christmas special in 2007 our design department did a brilliant job. But in a film version it would have had huge, vast ballrooms and towering inferno-type sets with everything collapsing.
5. I think we'd stick very much to what we've made so far because it is successful. The Sex and the City film kept it very faithful to the core show and it was clever.
6. Doctor Who might seem as if it's a film sometimes, but if you actually look at films they're even bigger.
7. I think the important thing to say is that if it ever happened it wouldn't take the television version off air because that would be terrible and it would also be breaking the BBC's charter.

All very hopeful quotes. Nothing concrete. Do with this information what you will.

As long as it has Tennant and Piper, I'm in. Okay, I'd like some Freema with them, too.

Love Freema. Anyone know yet with Law & Order UK premieres?

Video -- The Doctor Is (Back) In, Tennant's Planet of the Dead Video Diary

Watch it before it disappears from YouTube.

These things have a way of disappearing. My thanks to Rob for the heads up.

Clip is after the jump, but first ...

Wales Online:

A classic double decker bus being used for a new episode of Doctor Who has been wrecked during filming.

Executives on the TV show hired two £20,000 double deckers which were apparently central to the plot of the Easter special. One was used to shoot scenes with star David Tennant in Cardiff while the other was shipped to Dubai for filming there.

But a crane operator managed to wreck the second 1980 Bristol VR model while unloading it in Dubai docks.

A 30ft ship container was dropped on top of the bus before filming could begin.

(snip)

The bus has already caused problems with fans disrupting filming in Cardiff. They kept pressing the buttons at pedestrian crossings, causing the bus to stop.

Although it is rumoured the bus is a write-off, it is thought that temporary repairs should mean it will still be used to complete filming in Dubai.

Interesting, isn't the company that runs the Dubai ports the same one that our former President George W. Bush (that feels so good to say, btw, former President) wanted to run our ports? All of our stuff would be crushed! All our Chinese toys made with lead paint? Crushed to bits! All those counterfeit Vuitton bags? Flattened!

See, not a good idea to film in Dubai. There's sand everywhere,  you don't have to go there to find sand. And they treat their gay people horribly, RTD, why would you want to support that part of the world?

More on Dubai and Doctor Who and this link and at this link.

Michelle Ryan (no longer bionic) Has Been Sneaking Around! Here's Why

Because she is involved in a Doctor Who episode, but as far as I can tell, not the next series but this current special shooting for an Easter Sunday release Planet of the Dead (which, once again, has no air date scheduled in the US. Do what you have to do, troops.)

I grabbed this picture inside an old bus from a newspaper in the UK. The former but fleeting Bionic Woman (just half a season, really, because NBC completely screwed up that show) shows up as Lady Christina de Souza, though I have no idea why a woman with a title ends up on a bus going who knows where with a guy who flies around in a blue police phone box.

And Michelle apparently didn't get the same memo as her co-star Tennant here. He's doing his "there's trouble afoot" face and Michelle is just happy to be there, see?

Or, maybe she just knows the the Doctor can handle anything that comes down.

By the way, there's more on Planet of the Dead at Planet Gallifrey. Here's the link. Many spoilers that come from observation of days of shooting around Cardiff, so click with caution.

Now, does this mean that Michelle is or is not the new companion for series five?

It means nothing. Or everything. And we'll just have to wait and see. But personally, I don't think Intern Who could handle a woman like Ryan.

Maybe that's the point?

This special will also pack up and move to Dubai for a few days, apparently the Planet in Planet of the Dead is ... a desert paradise with slave labor building golden momuments to the world's rich and famous?

Huh?

Why Dubai? Why do Brits go to Dubai? Sure, it's pretty and all, the islands shaped like palm trees and continents, but it's being built on the backs of the world's indigent.

Oh, and before the letters come in, I do realize that they are shooting way out from major population areas and toward the sand.

After the jump, and only for the US audience ('cause it's from Hulu, at least I think it's only US) I have G4TV's somewhat sapphic take on Michelle's old US show. It's worth clicking, straight guys, you love this kinda stuff.

Hello Mag Most Attractive Man, David Tennant Leading Over Dirty Bedhead Pattinson

Go vote. Click the image above. Hugh Laurie's in third place.

Can you imagine the series one A Bit of Fry and Laurie Hugh Laurie placing this high? Age has been very very kind to the man who plays House.

Interesting, Daniel Craig is in fifth place right now between Orlando Bloom (still looks like a high school student with bad facial hair) and Kiefer Sutherland.

Kiefer Sutherland? Sixth? Ahead of Depp, Crowe, Jackman, Firth and even Brad Pitt?

I think the National Health Service needs to start reexamining the eyes of British women.

I still can't stand that dirty hair thing. It makes my scalp itch when I look at Pattinson.

How Big is David Tennant's Sonic Screwdriver? (not really talking about sonic screwdrivers)

Because apparently in the UK they talk about this all the time.

Notice we're never talking about how big a woman's womanly parts are. I mean "down there."

"Oh, yeah, I'm cavernous! Hear the echo? I got parking for three!"

No, none of that ever.

The Sun (of course):

Dr Who star David Tennant rang Absolute Radio yesterday — after it had been taken over for the morning by wives and girlfriends of Christian O’Connell’s team.

The girls were clearly not backward in coming forward. The first question they asked was about the size of the Timelord’s manhood.

The cheeky mums said: “I’ve heard a rumour that you are known as David Ten-inch. Is that true?”

He replied: “It was Billie Piper who first gave me that name and all I can say is she’s very generous.”

Cheeky. I like the word cheeky.

Speaking of sonic screwdrivers, this one pictured above is the future sonic screwdriver that River Song gives the Doctor in Silence in the Library, and its toy version will soon be available by Character Options at the usual places you buy such things and hopefully from WhoNA.com.

UK Press Finally Realizes David Tennant Back Surgery is a Doctor Who Problem

I was wondering how long it would be until someone besides me and Liz in Albuquerque figured this out.

Evening Standard:

The filming of David Tennant's last episodes as Doctor Who is under threat because to the star's debilitating back injury.

Tennant, 37, is struggling to recuperate from major surgery on his back after he suffered a prolapsed disc last month.

The injury has already come as a major blow to thousands of his fans who are now unlikely to see him in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Hamlet at London's Novello Theatre.

There are now fears that the star will still be out of action when the shooting of four special episodes begins in Cardiff next month, threatening to delay the project.

They are to be his last episodes before he quits the BBC's popular show at the end of next year.

Producers are frantically drawing up contingency plans to adapt around Tennant's prolonged recovery period, which according to spinal experts could take to "up to three months".

Well ... duh! No one is running like The Doctor needs to run after surgery for a prolapsed disc. So what happens now?

One thing that's been running in my head is that the regeneration is actually happening at the end of the Christmas special and that everything that has been mentioned around it is a red herring of huge proportions.

Because I'm sure that Tennant himself knew that he couldn't come back per the BBC shooting schedule.

Or, as has happened before, this is all just a way to keep the show in the papers every day to ensure a big rating number on Christmas Day.

Or any number of other ... things!

Things, okay? Things!

Around the Horn -- British Broadsheet Edition

No tabloids, just the big papers with the better reputations. Not too much better, but better.

First, news from England about a Time Lord's back injury that will require surgery from the Telegraph:

The Dr Who star, who has won rave reviews for his performance in the critically acclaimed RSC production, had to pull out because of a bad back.

Fans arriving at the Novello Theatre described how they had travelled hundreds of miles to catch a glimpse of the actor only to face disappointment when told he would not be performing.

Teacher Rhodri Jones, 35, brought a party of 27 A-level students from Plasmawr School in Cardiff. He said some of the teenagers had decided not to go after learning they would not see Tennant on stage.

Mr Jones said: "We are gutted. We brought a school group all the way from Cardiff and we got our tickets because we wanted to see David Tennant and because he's had such rave reviews.

Hey, school group, it's still Hamlet. And when I was a kid, I didn't have the option of not going to the show when it was a school trip. I want each kid from Cardiff who didn't go in to write some sort of makeup assignment.

Mr. Jones should have insisted you attend.

Now, there's other things to discuss when talking about the Tennant injury. How is he gonna have surgery and then do all the running involved in making the four specials this year? 

Maybe he's not gonna. Maybe ... just maybe there's a regeneration at the end of The Next Doctor. I'm not saying that David Morrissey will be that next doctor, I think he's a red herring.

I think we'll find some Numberwang at the end of the rainbow. And with Numberwang comes Paterson Joseph.

Just my opinion.

Next, news from England about the new David Eick-written pilot The Philanthropist, which has begun shooting in South Africa, Mozambique and Prague (more runaway production).

The series stars Rome's James Purefoy, Neve Campbell and Jesse L. Martin.

Per The Guardian:

Purefoy plays Teddy Rist, a billionaire playboy turned "vigilante philanthropist" who travels across the globe including destinations such as Nigeria, Hong Kong, Burma, Kashmir, Paris, Kosovo and West Virginia.

Law & Order's Jesse L Martin will star as Rist's business partner, Phillip Maidstone, while Campbell will play Maidstone's wife Olivia, who runs the charitable foundation set up by the two men.

Filming will take place in South Africa, Mozambique and Prague.

The pilot of the drama has been written by David Eick, whose credits include Battlestar Galactica, and is directed by Grey's Anatomy's Peter Horton.

I like the interracial casting, very nice. I know nothing about Purefoy, I didn't watch Rome because I hate looking at men in sandals.

Really. That's really the reason I didn't watch. I'm serious.

And, finally, and you can click over for the whole sordid mess, there's a money problem at Channel 4 UK and they're trying to fix it by a merger situation with BBC Worldwide. I don't quite get it all, so click over to this link and try and explain this to me in the comments below.

Call For Photos/Stories -- Did You Meet Doctor Who Stars On Location Shooting The Next Doctor?

Okay, first off I should let you know fast that I don't have the resources to pay for your stories and images. I just thought it would be fun before the Christmas special aired to have a special page with all the fan photos (and I know there were a lot of fans out there) and their stories of meeting David Tennant, David Morrissey, Dervla Kirwin (any Ballykissangel fans' dreams come true?) or Xolile Tshabalala (great name, have no idea how to pronounce it -- help?) ... or anyone else while they were craning their necks trying to catch some of the action.

And, if you like, we can open it up to the occasional pic outside the Hamlet/Love's Labour's Lost stage door photo of your wonderful kids (or you) with the tenth Doctor.

And a great story with it is even better. Like, did see a little drop of your accidental spittle fall onto Tennant's lip and then notice two days later his understudy went on? That's a great story. Prove to me that truth is stranger than fiction.

Send it to me at the usual, Joe (at) IAmATVJunkie.com. Put the phrase "me and the doctor" in the subject line. Yes, even if its your 12-year-old and the Doctor.

Twenty-four days until it airs!!!

Another good reason to do this? I get to use the tag I created called, "TV People Showing Up In Your Real Life."

I should probably also have a tag that reads, "How to Know If You're a Stalker." Just to even things out.

2 Clips -- Bad Doctor, Bad Donna (Truly Evil Edition)

Great clip from YouTube user VortexGuyz934. Could you imagine?

Right after the clip ends, Donna turns to the Doctor and says, "But am I bovvered?"

LINK

Series four of Doctor Who continues tonight on BBC America (or on your DVD player) with one of my favorite eps from this go-round, Planet of the Ood.

Only for those of you who have already seen the episode (though I can't enforce, obviously) the Song of the Ood in a clip after the jump.

Doctor Who Video -- Your First Look at the 2008 Christmas Special

Ooh, ooh, ooh! I'm kvelling as I write this.

It's 1851, and the Doctor lands in the middle of, well, I don't know yet. British accents are a hint. Maybe you do, I'm not much for the whole spoiler thing, as you know.

And imagine, immediately someone calls out for the Doctor.

I'll let you see the rest, it's after the jump. Remember, the episode is called The Next Doctor.

And, btw, don't forget Pudsey. Click here if you don't understand.

Doctor Who Series Four Begins Tonight on BBC America, Graham Follows with Tennant, Tate Interviews

Sure, if you're a big big fan of the show you've seen series four already. But there are so many people out there who haven't discovered the wonderfulness that is series four of Doctor Who, and this is a very good opportunity to jump in.

I must demand that you start discovering tonight on BBC America a 9 eastern, 6 pacific, with reruns throughout the evening and then tomorrow as well, I believe.

If you've never seen one, set your DVR.

Have kids? Set your DVR.

Love Brits and all things British? Set your DVR.

You're a Kylie Minogue fan? Set your DVR.

(Even if you're not, not the best companion performance ever, but nothing to ruin the episode.)

The current skein starts with the 2007 Christmas special featuring Kylie working on "The Titanic" as waitress Astrid (not Astird, fans of The Office) when the Doctor happens along, and of course adventure ensues.

When it's over, Graham Norton has a special abbreviated episode with his interviews with series four stars Catherine Tate and David Tennant at 10:30 eastern, 7:30 pacific.

For mega-Who fans, the evening can start at 7 eastern, 4 pacific, with a replay of the two-part series three finale episodes The Sound of Drums and Last of the Time Lords.

Two clips after the jump. The BBC trailer for the Christmas Special and a clip of Norton with Tate.

Also, note that Catherine Tate's sketch comedy series is rerunning currently on BBC America as well. You can catch one next on Tuesday at 9:40 eastern. Yes, that's really 9:40. Nine Four Oh.

And, upcoming at BBC Two, Einstein and Eddington, a movie starring Tennant (pictured right in costume) and Andy Serkis as the famous inventor with Tennant playing Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington, the English astrophysicist.

Video -- Almost 12 Minutes of David Tennant Breaking Your Heart, a Dear Joan/John Letter to Doctor Who Fans

Here's the full interview with BBC Entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba. I haven't watched it all the way through, but I wanted this up for you guys and gals.

Ah, David, we will always have New Earth.  Image above.

LINK