It's nowhere. I didn't get a screener this year. Got one last year. What did I do?
What. Did. I. Do? You know, besides devote 261 posts at this blog to the show and its cast members over the years. Besides lay out a blueprint for BBC Worldwide to take the show back from the haphazard way it was being syndicated and make it the center of the BBC America schedule. Besides post the countdown widget in my primary advertising spot on the site?
What. Did. I. Do?
I dunno. Whatev. Watch it tonight at 9 eastern on, you know, that channel that doesn't send me screeners.
Yes it's still Doctor Who week (until the moment Saturday that the first new episode starts) so I have more Doctor Who content, naturally.
Today, just in case you've missed one of them, all the behind the scenes clips from Doctor Who Insider. For those of you outside the States this is what BBC America does with the stuff from Doctor Who Confidential, which doesn't air in the US like it does in England right after the episode on BBC Three.
So, have at it, they're all posted after the jump, including the clip released today about the companions in this new series.
Continue reading "Clip Bonanza: Doctor Who Insider Previews the New Series" »
Now this is unexpected and sad. My first report of Elisabeth Sladen's death came from Tom Wilson at Simply Television and I was very hopeful this was yet another Internet hoax because you know how often that happens anymore.
Apparently Sladen had been quietly battling cancer for quite some time.
For those of you who like me weren't raised on the show, Sladen's Sarah Jane was the companion of choice for fans of classic Doctor Who. From the Guardian:
Sladen first starred as Sarah Jane opposite Jon Pertwee. The pair worked together for three seasons, before Pertwee left the show in 1974.
She then became the assistant for Tom Baker. When the show relaunched, she appeared in an episode alongside modern-day Doctor Who David Tennant.
In a 2006 interview with the BBC ahead of rejoining Doctor Who, she spoke of her love for the programme, saying: "I think it has lovely layers and I'd defend the programme to anyone.
"I'm very emotionally part of that programme and I think a lot of the people who worked on it are. You used to love going to work every day."
Sladen of course went from the School Reunion episode of the show to her own series, The Sarah Jane Adventures, which ran on CBBC, the British pubcasters children's channel and on The SciFi Channel here in the States before that channel's name change to Syfy.
From BBC Radio news today there's these words from the man who brought Sladen back to active Doctor Who duty, Russell T. Davies, at this link.
The text of the press release from the BBC is posted after the jump, following a great clip from the episode of Doctor Who Confidential where the cast of the show talks about Elisabeth's return and their memories of her tenures with Doctors 3 and 4.
Continue reading "Doctor Who's Sarah Jane Smith, Elisabeth Sladen, Dies at 63" »
And Doctor Who week continues with today's clip from the Doctor himself, Matt Smith, speaking enthusiastically about the upcoming seven episodes that will make up the first part of this split season of the big BBC and BBC America hit.
Watch it below.
And these shows won't be your only opportunity to see the stars of Doctor Who this year ... not only do we have Smith's 2010 Christopher Isherwood film from the BBC to see on PBS Masterpiece later this year (no specific airdate yet) but Karen Gillan will be playing model Jean Shrimpton in a new BBC telefilm that will shoot in New York for broadcast later this year in the UK ... and then hopefully a US outlet will pick it up.
One can hope, right?
Finally, a Doctor Who clip from an unlikely source, my hilarious online pals The Fine Bros., who are presenting 47 years of show history in six minutes and 10 seconds. You'll love it, it's after the jump.
Continue reading "Video -- Matt Smith on New Season of Doctor Who; Filmic Scale, Filmic Ambition" »
It's Doctor Who week and I'm finally feeling like it's TV Christmas. I'm decorating my Tardis, I'm replacing the batteries in my personal massager sonic screwdriver, I've called my Judoon friends and reminded them not to break up my party when it gets outta hand but to rush over should those damned Sontarans try to take things over, which they always do, frickin' potato headed imperialists!
The amount of press and promotion of this series is unprecedented here in the States, with New York being treated to a rash of promo screenings, many with our big four cast members (Smith, Gillan, Darvill, Kingston) in tow for Q & A sessions.
Wanna see excerpts from one of these Q & As? Part one here. Two here. Three here.
There is also a video prequel to this season's first episode, and if you haven't seen it yet it's at the BBC America show site at this link.
Includes this image ...
... which we can all agree is obviously Richard Nixon. Honestly he is the last public figure I thought I'd ever see in a Doctor Who episode, but maybe it will reframe Watergate for a new generation (though I doubt it).
As Saturday approaches I'll share all manner of Doctor Who news and clips, and today, after the jump, I have Karen Gillan talking about some changes in Amy, some revelations that inform her choices and the new series at hand.
And come back all week for more. Saturday at 9 eastern is quickly approaching.
This photo just tweeted by the Anglophenia blog at BBCAmerica.com (site) (Twitter account). They're following Matt, Karen and Lottery Winner Arthur Darvill around New York as they get the buzz going for the series six premiere set for April 23 and promote the sale of the series five DVD set which you can buy by clicking the icon right here.
Karen's set for a guest shot on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson which will tape during this trip but won't air until the 22nd, the Friday before.
No word on where Matt might show up. I hear Arthur will show up to the opening of an envelope so look for him with your daily mail delivery.
More as the trip continues. Anglophenia is promising video, check the Twitter link above for that to happen. Or just read the blog, it's THE place to go for this kind of thing.
And I don't really dislike Arthur Darvill. But I'm certainly not running for fan club president.
UPDATE: Watch them talk to you by clicking this link. Karen talks about the upcoming BBC Four film where she places Jean Shrimpton, who many of you might know of because she's mentioned in an episode of AbFab (and unfortunately I can't find a clip to support that).
Do my eyes deceive me or is that a tardis in the Oval Office?
Another NEW Doctor Who series 6 trailer from BBC America. Keep 'em coming until April 23, guys! You can see it by clicking right here.
You know how some people are about clowns, right?
Watch it by clicking this link right here, it'll pop up right here on the page. Premiere date is April 23, both here and in the UK.
Ah, I just love remembering to use graphics that I downloaded for no reason, it makes me feel better about the time I waste clicking around geek sites like Chris Hardwick's Nerdist.com, which is where I found this early last month.
Click on it so that you can see a large version and actually read the thing.
So, 35 days or so from now the Doctor, Amy, Rory and various and sundry nogoodniks of human, alien and machine kind come back for another 13-episode run on BBC One and BBC America, on the same night, April 23rd.
Nogoodniks for series six include Nazis, musketeers and what looks in the series trailer (after the jump) to be an actual classic inverted teardrop-shaped head E.T-like alien. In a suit. Though it also might be a Dalek hybrid, like in series three's Daleks in Manhattan. Can't quite tell to be honest, there's some fog and haze obscuring said creature.
Regarding Daleks in series six, those in the know say they won't appear, which frankly shocks me. They gotta keep selling those toys, after all. But I hate the fracking things with their plungers and of course the globes of dalekanium with look like they were put there "for her pleasure."
(That's right, I said it. Waiting for the Dalek vibrator, until then I'm sure some hacks to that Dalek USB Hub that Underground Toys makes could do the trick if you want to "create your own sexy adventure.")
Still better than Cybermen and certainly less Rube Goldbergian in design than that ridonkulous cyberconversion unit that you see in the first series of Torchwood, it's just stupifying to see these cranks and whirling blades and ... well, it just doesn't quite fit into a 21st century Doctor Who.
There will be Cybermats, those little things that look like the scrubbing bubbles in those household cleaner commercials. I guess at one time they were part of the cyber-race, but they look like (above right) Cyberman's Cyberpet.
More, including lotsa relevant clips, after the jump. One of them is a series five blooper clip, you know you love that stuff.
In two parts, after the jump. Go! Watch! While you do that I'm prepping a big pre-season Doctor Who post, look for that tomorrow.
Continue reading "Video -- Doctor Who Red Nose Day 2011 Mini-Episode from BBC One" »
The kind folks at BBC America (who could send a screener every now and then, just sayin') wanted me to extend their Valentine's Day wishes to you.
The Daleks, however, will totally kill you.
EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!
That's the question. Are we looking at the set of a late night talk show? Or did cameras catch a rare moment when a portal opened into another dimension, a dimension where Lisa Kurdrow always gets a chroma-blue background and chyron?
I'm just sayin'.
A ha! I think I know what's going on now. It's all starting to make sense.
Yea! We did it. A round of applause, a slap on the back, a toast to our perseverance. In 2010, according to Nielsen we sat on our asses and watched more TV than we ever have.
Woo hoo!
That's right, even with all the distractions of work and family, great books and music, tumultuous world events ... even with all that going on (including the Bieberpocalypse) we topped our record number of hours per week of viewing.
Americans watched more television than ever in 2010, according to the Nielsen Company. Total viewing of broadcast networks and basic cable channels rose about 1 percent for the year, to an average of 34 hours per person per week. The generation-long shift to cable from broadcast continued, but subtly, as the smallest of the big four broadcast networks, NBC, still retained more than twice as many viewers as the largest basic cable channel, USA.
Lucky for NBC that they also own USA Network, huh? At least the cable channel nipping at their heels is a "sister network."
Of course I take issue with this number. First of all, I watch so much more TV than that. Secondly, I contend that the average American might spend that amount of time in front of TV sets that are turned on, but I don't think they're always watching.
Another stat from Nielsen this year had to do with how many of us are watching TV and browsing the net at the same time and it's a lot us and growing (.pdf file, new window). I've tried watching TV with my laptop in front of me and I invariably have to hit the rewind button on the DVR as I get sucked in by my Twitter timeline. I don't get how people do it.
Of course there are so many more program choices these days it's no wonder viewership is up. The shame of it is that there's much less chance that show you wanna talk about around the watercooler at the office was seen by any of your friends. That kind of thing used to bring people together and that doesn't happen as much anymore.
After the jump are five things I particularly liked that happened in or on TV this past year ... I was too lazy to do this when everyone else did needed some time to ruminate.
Continue reading "My High Five -- Notes on 2010, Our Most Television-Watching Year in History" »
... and I don't have the end of that joke, but if you do leave it in the comments.
My favorite moment? Hardwick's bigger on the inside joke.
Previously ... I complain about UK stars never doing press in the US (link). Now what will I complain about? Oh don't you worry, I'll find something.
One note: What's with male guests on the show doing a pelvic thrust action during the Secretariat dance? It's not about sexytime it's about the joy of Secretariat, no thrusting required.
Selleck got it right.
I dunno, you be the judge. Craig and Matt Smith (Doctor 11) on the show with Chris Hardwick and of course the dalek will be back for ... third base? What is third base when you're a dalek? After Letterman on CBS.
See this? It's cool, right? Wanna see more? Click this! Or this!
All 11 doctors above are from Andy Davies at Deviantart (this link). Let's thank Rob Buckley for posting about this today by visiting his blog and while you're there get involved in the Sitting Tennants contest. I played this week, see my entry by clicking here.
The rest of the Simpsonized Doctors and cast are hand drawn by Dean Fraser, and many of your fave villians and companions are represented, though I don't immediately see a Rose Tyler.
Dean, I'm formally requesting a Rose Tyler and a Martha Jones. And a Sarah Jane, you know, for the kids.
You are a talented guy.
Yeah, I guess it's because no one ever thought they'd get to 12, and since they're at 11 something needed to be done.
Some backstory here ... I was not even aware that the story goes that a Time Lord has only 11 regenerations in him (or her ... you never know who Doctor #12 might be). Apparently this has been the case since the show debuted.
But in an episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures set to air at the end of the month on CBBC (their kids channel) Matt Smith will guest as The Doctor and very offhandedly mention that Time Lords can't die.
Fans of the show have been expecting an official moving of the goalposts for some time, but it was anticipated as part of the Christmas special, rather than in an after-school slot on the CBBC channel.
Back in 1976, 12 regenerations must have felt like a safely distant number to pluck from the ether. Now, however, with Smith playing the character in his 11th incarnation, circumventing the rule has begun to feel rather urgent. As JK Rowling hinted last week, once a hero has conquered the world, it is hard to put him away for good: we may also see an extension to the seven-book Harry Potter franchise, despite its very final ending and Nineteen Years Later epilogue.
And with the Doctor Who brand constantly expanding (including spin-offs that range from lunchboxes to the Doctor Who Live show currently on a 25-date, nine-city tour) it was hardly likely that the BBC was going to call time on the series.
So, no limit on regenerations now. Though I wonder if they'll have a Doctor #13. Wouldn't that be bad luck? Or maybe #13 is a Bizarro Doctor (you know, like Bizarro Superman), an evil Doctor that, you know, tears Amy's pantyhose and plays ring and run on River Song.
Or worse. Much worse.
BTW, about this Doctor Who live show? I have an illustrative clip for you, click this. The tour is UK only, obviously.
And, finally, I just took a look at WhoNA.com looking for the 11 Doctors action figure set pictured at the top of the page and I can't find it there, it also might be UK only, at least for now. If you know more, hit me up in the comment section.
The first two episodes of series 6 of Doctor Who will be set AND shot in the US. Doc, Amy, Rory and River Song (Alex Kingston) will come to the US for a two-parter.
Yes, this has never happen before and it's very exciting news ... until you find out some of the story is based in the Utah desert. Reasons I don't like this? 1) It's the Utah desert, why would I go there? 2) It's Utah, I might get stampeded by gay-hating fundamentalist Mormons and their multiple sister wives. 3) If you're gonna shoot in the US and you're not shooting in Cardiff-By-The-Sea, CA you're missing out on some ironic symmetry AND ... living five miles from there I could stalk the production.
Then again, they could be shooting somewhere else and saying it's the Utah desert.
You might remember that in series one, Doctor #9 (not #8, thanks commenter) Christopher Eccleston and Rose (Billie Piper) were in Utah where American rich boy Henry Van Statten (image left) has a Dalek in his basement.
(Frickin' Daleks with their plunger thing and moving like zombies. Hate Daleks, not in a fanboy way but in a "the sixties are over" way.)
Eventually the story, set in the 1960s, takes them all the way to the White House. Is there a casting notice for either Presidents Kennedy or Johnson? Or (gasp) Richard Nixon?
Press release after the jump. I just hope we get to see a nehru jacket or two. And some big hair.
Not on Matt, his hair is big enough. 60s hair? All backcombed and teased, Amy should definited have some big hair.
Continue reading "Who's Coming To America? No, No, No ... Who's Coming to America!" »
Let them condemnation begin.
Tonight's the first of the final three Doctor Who episodes of this fifth (or 31st or even first, depending on your view) series and only after last week's Van Gogh episode (and btw, here in the States we say "Van Go" though the alternate pronunciation does remind us all of Tony Roberts in Annie Hall) have I finally settled in with the new series.
And I thought it was about Matt Smith. But it's not, and I know I'm gonna get all kinds of shit for this but it's Moffat's doing.
It turns out I prefer my Doctor Who in the Russell T. Davies style. You know, all whimsical and flourishy and sentimental and with more lyrical music choices and, yes, that big David Tennant performance at the middle of it, sure, but most of it has to do with Rusty and his take on the show, which is certainly different than the Steve Moffat approach. In fact, I imagine that in a Moffat-led crew that David Tennant performance would have been a bit smaller and without as much flourish.
It's not that I haven't enjoyed the episodes this year. Well, actually I wasn't so hot for Vampires of Venice, which is strange considering how much I enjoy Toby Whithouse's other work (Being Human, returning here in the US in less than a month).
The episode that airs tonight here, The Lodger, is actually a bit of a throwback to series four in tone, with the Doctor out of his element and a nice little love story at the center of it, featuring a very subdued and lovely performance from James Corden (Gavin & Stacey). Watch him introduce his character by clicking this link.
So enjoy that and of course the final two as they air (some very nice work that I won't expound on because, as River Song would say, "Spoilers!"). These final three episodes are much more to my liking than most of this fifth or 31st or first series.
Watch a preview of tonight's episode by clicking this. Some Q & A with the author of the Van Gogh episode, Richard Curtis (Love, Actually) at this link.
... this guy.
No, I didn't know him, either. His name is Andrew Garfield and you can tell he's British from the big ol' crop of hair up there on top of his dome, just like Matt Smith!
And, because he's British he'll cost almost nothing and won't make noise on the set when they suspend him from some rig with dental floss, just like Matt Smith!
Speaking of Doctor Who, of course he did a couple of eps of the show, he played Frank in the two-part Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks in series three.
He's also in the upcoming Sony Pictures Facebook movie.
More details on the casting from TheWrap.com when you click here.
I still would have preferred Donald Glover.
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.
And some of my new stuff is pictured above.
Sorry I've been lame about posting the last couple days. I've been busy with her. Her name's Sandy and she's a year old and very active.
Got her at the Rancho Coastal Humane Society in Encinitas. They are wonderful and you should consider a rescue dog, always.
She needs to be fixed, that happens on Wednesday at RCHS, as I wouldn't want Bob Barker pissed at me. Also it's the right thing to do.
I love her. Loved her instantly. Her adjustment period was about ... 30 minutes.
We watch our first episode of Doctor Who together tonight on BBC America. Don't know if she'll actually watch but she seemed very interested in Cesar Millan yesterday (seriously, she was transfixed).
Back Monday and I'll write about all the pilot pickups I'm excited about.
So.
New Daleks.
New Colors.
New stuff for BBC to license to Character Options to make into toys so that they can send them overseas to Who NA in Indiana and then I can call and buy said brand frickin' new candy-coated Daleks.
(Not really candy coated, just candy colored, but still.)
Well, it's not gonna happen. Because a) I'm an adult, and b) They are bullshit.
Freakin' plunger and electric mixer armed nobby- sided trash bins from space lookin' like they're bringin' a strain of interplanetary venereal warts to the metal-clad of the universe.
It's a fuckin' plunger!
They promised us no more Daleks, remember? Only thing more juvenile than them is that damned cyber converter unit with it's spinning comedy blades and pokey things and a whole other level of bullshit.
And ... what's with Steve Moffat's fascination with the Blitz, anyway? Third hour of the show he's devoted to it, you realize. Oh, and didn't they talk about Albert Finney as Churchill?
Okay, I'm done now.
Additionally, the BBC has announced that BBC Two will now be the home for BBC films produced for television. Now, about this project Christopher and His Kind (BBC Press Office):
This 90-minute film chronicles the formative years of one of the 20th century's most celebrated writers, Christopher Isherwood, based on his 1976 memoir of the same name.
Isherwood is played by Matt Smith (Doctor Who), who escapes repressive English society and his suffocating relationship with his mother (Lindsay Duncan) for the decadent – and politically unstable – world of Thirties Berlin.
The drama is written by acclaimed playwright Kevin Elyot (My Night With Reg), directed by Geoffrey Sax (Tipping The Velvet) and produced by Celia Duval (Margot) for Mammoth Screen, with Michele Buck, Kevin Elyot and Damien Timmer as executive producers. With Eleanor Moran, BBC executive producer, through Piers Wenger, Head of Drama, BBC Wales.
The drama is being made with the assistance of Northern Ireland Screen.
Lindsay Duncan you'll remember from the Doctor Who special The Waters of Mars and London theatregoers might have seen her with Smith in That Face, the Polly Stenham play, in 2007 and 2008.
More on Isherwood? Really folks, should you need more I guess start at Wikipedia but don't stop there. At least rent the Oscar-nominated Tom Ford film A Single Man (the movie based on Isherwood's novel) with Colin Firth when it comes out on DVD July 6. Or pre-order your copy by clicking here.
Smith reportedly couldn't be happier about taking on the role. Quite the departure from the wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimeyness of his current gig.
This is the tweet in question.
Now, click over to this site Museum of Modern Tweets to see what came of it.
Motivation? There are strippers in high heels involved. And bacon. Get clickin'! Jim Gaffigan will probably click over just for the yummy yummy bacon.
Note to Mrs. Ferguson: Not to worry, we all know Craig doesn't do strip clubs on the road ... unless he gets a weekend nighttime shift and he can dance under the name Krispy Kreamer.
Now, about the video portion of our post, watch Craig talk about Doctor Who. That's right, finally he comes out as a fan (and his son, too)!
Yes, my world's collide, again! Love that! Click here to watch, he starts talking about my other favorite show and the space/time continuum at the 1:15 mark.
Craig's on tour this week, you can follow him on Twitter by clicking here .
Well look at that! My note to The Advocate and Out Magazines ... time to get your Doctor on (and not just swoon over Barrowman)! Matt Smith is not only on the cover, there's a big feature inside the pages of Gay Times, too.
And 'd give you a taste, but apparently Gay Times doesn't want you to read for free, they want you to actually go to a store and buy their magazine ... can you imagine?
(Actually, that's possibly the only way magazines can stay in business ... but my suggestion to them is to give you at least a little more than this page at GT provides.)
But ... talk about worlds colliding ... Doctor Who, a gay publication and the UK all in one fell swoop? I'm kvelling!
Watch the first nine minutes of tonight's premiere of series five by clicking here. And don't forget there's also a new series of The Graham Norton Show immediately after at a special time, 10:10 eastern. His guests include Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, Pixie Lott and Christina Ricci. Watch a clip at this link.
See, my worlds collide even on the BBC America program grid!
That shock of brown hair next to the Asian guy is Matt Smith. The guy on the other side and behind the Asian guy, with the arrow pointing at him, is Toby at Inner Toob, one of my favorite blogs.
Read what he had to say about the Paley Center NYC event at this link. There are clips, too, but beware, they can be spoilery.
What I don't get? They (Smith, Moffat, Gillan) were in NYC and didn't do Regis & Kelly? Or even that horrible Fox 5 morning show that I see clips from on The Soup? Really?
That's a shame.
Thanks Toby O'b, BCnU, too!
The Doctor Who episode that opens the program's fifth series borrows a gimmick from another of the show's episodes from series two called The Girl in the Fireplace. Said gimmick gives our Doctor, now in his 11th incarnation thanks to one Matt Smith, an instant backstory with his new companion, Amy Pond (Karen Gillan).
And it works. And don't blame Steve Moffat too much for the theft, he's stealing from a great Doctor Who writer ... named Steve Moffat.
What I have to say to devout fans of the show is this ... there is nothing to worry about, the Doctor and TARDIS are in fine hands, impressive hands, might I even say perfect hands at this point in the show's regenesis.
And I'll say more things, things that might be a little spoilery, after the jump. Trying not to give away anything major, just enough to light up your sonic screwdriver.
(And speaking of sonic screwdrivers, there's a new one of them, too, pictured here to the right with the old one, and scheduled to be picked up by your TV Junkie this summer at Comic-con).
Continue reading "#DoctorWho Fans, Our Wibbly-Wobbly Timey-Wimey Show is in Great Hands" »
Yeah, he's all wet, too. Didn't mention that? My bad.
Brits saw Tom Hopper play Amy's childhood friend Jeff Saturday night in the Doctor Who series five premiere, but they probably know him already from a bunch of TV appearances there, including Casualty, Kingdom (the Stephen Fry series from ITV) and they'll see him upcoming in the World War II British film Grace and Danger.
If you click over the jumperoo just below, you can see a whole lot more of him.
And a very well placed headshot. And that's all I'm saying.
The Doctor Who premiere goes live in the US at BBC America on April 17, but in the meantime you can see a lot more of Hopper by clicking here, and as previously noted, after the jump.
Image above is 11-year-old Steve Moffat reading a Doctor Who novel. Isn't that just the sweetest thing?
Details, from the Paley Center website:
A new era of the legendary BAFTA-winning series, Doctor Who, begins April 17 on BBC America. The iconic series, television's longest-running science fiction program, follows the adventures of the Doctor, the mysterious traveler who, with his human companions, journeys throughout all of time and space, facing a variety of foes and righting wrongs. This latest series from BAFTA-winning writer Steven Moffat sees Matt Smith's debut as the new, Eleventh incarnation of the famous Time Lord alongside a new travelling companion, the enigmatic Amy Pond (Karen Gillan). Together they explore sixteenth century Venice, France during the 1890s, and the United Kingdom in the far future, now an entire nation floating in space. The Paley Center is delighted to welcome Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and executive producer and lifelong Who-fan Steven Moffat for a screening of the premiere episode and to discuss the newly rebooted series.
In association with BBC America.
Tickets are complimentary courtesy of BBC America, but are very limited, and you must make a reservation.
Members can reserve tickets beginning April 1 at noon.
General Public may reserve beginning April 5 at noon.
Hey, how enigmatic is Amy Pond, anyway? What is it that we don't yet know about her? I do know one thing, she met the Doctor before our series five action starts. What else makes her enigmatic? Dunno. Yet.
Why am I never on the correct coast for stuff like this?
Okay, who's going to this, who will take pics, who will record the thing and when will you send me links so I can share? Lemme know, you know how to find me.
About that new clip, it was shown on CBBC (the kid's BBC channel) just today, I believe, and thanks to someone at YouTube you can watch it by clicking here.
Remember, US Premiere date is April 17, BBC America. Click to their Doctor Who site here.
The tardis as an extension of the Doctor, explained by the new showrunner and his Doctor.
Seventeen days till the US premiere of the 11th Doctor. Excited?
New clips? You betcha. Only four weeks away in the US, a week from this Sunday (Easter) in the UK.
Here's the new clip, click THIS!
Here's a little bit of on-set footage (LINK) taken by a fan and posted on YouTube with Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and guest Tony Curran (Lugo Elson from season eight of 24) who is playing Vincent Van Gogh in the Richard Curtis-penned episode (which btw is episode 10).
BBC Worldwide has put together a new subchannel called Doctor Who New Series, and you can click over to that via this link.
Our YouTube pals the Vortexguyz934 has put together their own lovely li'l trailer using a lot of the existing trailer footage, they always do such a nice job (LINK).
Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) talked to BBC News about her new job before a Cardiff screening of the premiere, viewable by clicking here.
Same deal with Matt Smith, your new Doctor (LINK).
New showrunner Steve Moffat (Coupling, Sherlock Holmes -- which will be a PBS event here in the States) gets the same treatment, only in print, at this link.
April 17, BBC America. Get your swag on ahead of time at WhoNA, at this link.
As a huge David Tennant fan I am slightly trepidatious but totally excited, too.
Hey, did you know Tennant was a voice in the upcoming How to Train Your Dragon with Gerry Butler and Craig Ferguson?
Have there ever been more Scottish voices in one animated film? I doubt it.
Hey, is this enough video for you? Tell me if you want more and I'll get more. Yes, we are once again on Doctor Who patrol, and it feels great.
(I got really lucky with that headline, huh?)
BBC News has details this AM on the Doctor Who bus tour. Bus tour? Yes, one can do such things in the UK, it's ... smaller (but also wonderful, not that I know, although I'm still waiting for the Wales tourism office to lavish me with an all-expenses paid journey to the land of BBC Cymru).
Tour stops will be in Belfast, Inverness, Sunderland, Salford and Matt Smith's native Northampton.
(No word on whether the Salford stop will include a meet 'n' greet with Moz, Nicki, Cartoon Head and the gang on Ideal, though I'm sure that would be very trippy for them. Aw, who am I kidding ... they probably would all chalk it up to whatever chemicals they did the night before.)
Each city will host a screening of the first episode of series five with Matt Smith and Karen Gillan for local children and their very fortunate parents.
(Damn, I forgot to have children.)
The best, most complete details come, as usual, from the Doctor Who News Page, and you should have that bookmarked already. You don't? Do it now, click here and get it done. There you'll find info on more preview screenings ... in the UK ... so apparently you won't see me there.
Press release:
BBC AMERICA announced today that the new era of the BBC’s iconic BAFTA-winning drama, Doctor Who, will make its U.S. premiere on Saturday, April 17, 2010, soon after the UK broadcast.
Doctor Who, BBC AMERICA’s highest rated series ever, continues its tradition of rebooting with new lead actors and creative team. Matt Smith debuts as the new, Eleventh incarnation of the famous Time Lord alongside a new travelling companion, the enigmatic Amy Pond (Karen Gillan).
“Britain has a tradition of reinventing its iconic characters, like James Bond and Sherlock Holmes - and Doctor Who. In introducing the Eleventh Doctor, writer Steven Moffat is opening the show to a whole new audience, while serving fans with an exciting mix of inter galactic, time travelling adventures. We can't wait to meet his new Doctor!" comments Richard De Croce, Senior Vice President Programming, BBC AMERICA.
BAFTA-winning writer Steven Moffat, creator of some of the most frightening and award-winning Doctor Who episodes to date, takes over as lead writer and executive producer. Writers for the new series include Richard Curtis (The Boat that Rocked, Love Actually), Chris Chibnall (Law & Order UK, Torchwood), Toby Whithouse (Being Human, Torchwood), Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentlemen, Sherlock) and Simon Nye (Men Behaving Badly, Hardware).
Guest stars include SAG Award winner Alex Kingston (ER, Flash Forward), Oscar nominee Sophie Okonedo (The Secret Life of Bees, Hotel Rwanda) and Tony Curran (24).
Travelling both through time and space, the new series has the mysterious Doctor and Amy Pond together exploring sixteenth century Venice, France during the 1890s and the United Kingdom in the far future, now an entire nation floating in space. The first three episodes of the 13-episode series have been confirmed as The Eleventh Hour, written by Steven Moffat, The Beast Below, also by Moffat and Victory of the Daleks by Mark Gatiss.
Moffat’s work includes the hit comedy Coupling, the critically-acclaimed thriller Jekyll, the new BBC series Sherlock and along with Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, the screenplay for The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn - which is being directed by Steven Spielberg.
Piers Wenger (Ashes to Ashes) and Beth Willis (Ashes to Ashes) are the executive producers. It is a BBC Wales production for BBC ONE and distributed by BBC Worldwide.
It's the plunger.
I'm sorry if I've offended your Classic Doctor Who sensibilities, but it is indeed the plunger.
For the record, I also find the cyberconverter ridonkulous with it's spinning blades and probing and sticking devices.
Despite my protestations the Daleks are back for series five for sure, not sure about the Cybermen.
It just reeks of old Who. There was a reason I didn't watch old Who, I know it existed (it ran after Monty Python on public TV when I was young) but it looked like something someone made in their backyard with plumbing supplies and Halloween costumes.
Hey, maybe Steve Moffat can find a way to make each of them more relevant. Maybe the recent auction of Who props cleared out all the old Dalek guard and they're creating new ones, maybe without a plunger.
No, I'm not banking on that happening. Too many legacy fans would erupt in protest.
More on the aforementioned auction at this link and video at this link featuring John Barrowman from the BBC's The One Show. He also backtracks on previous Torchwood statements but says he wants to do a US version if it's made.
Yes, it's shot in 3D. You can't see it in 3D here, of course, or even anywhere in the States, it was shot in 3D for UK movie theaters (and it's a great idea, imagine all those Avatar ticket buyers and how happy they were to get an added extra something for their ticket price!).
And you can watch it by clicking here.
The first episode of the new series with Matt Smith and Karen Gillan premieres on Easter Sunday in the UK on BBC One. I have nothing yet on the premiere date on BBC America but I'm on it like a weeping angel on Sally Sparrow.
The beginning of the scene somewhat reminds me of the Doc10/Rose scene from New Earth. Do you agree?
Previously, new series key art with spoilers (LINK).
If you click on the image you can see a larger version.
So, whaddaya see? Is it worth discussion? You can use the comments below to present your evidence.
BBC One announced an April premiere date for the new series, BBC America is still sticking to the generalized "Spring 2010" arrival. Which is still better than months later, and I AM appreciative, but an actual date would be nice.
If you know something I don't, spill it!
(I mean something about the Doctor Who premiere, there are obviously too many things I don't know for everyone to be piling on.)
Over three weeks in November 1988 BBC One ran the Doctor Who serialized story The Happiness Patrol, in which the evil leader of the human colony on the planet Terra Alpha, a woman named Helen A had made unhappiness a crime punishable by death.
(Watch a fan made recap of the episode -- sorry about the obtrusive music playing over it -- by clicking here.)
Today we learn that said evil leader was an allusion to Margaret Thatcher, who at the time for the British Prime Minister. Moreover, we learn from Doctor #7 Sylvester McCoy and script editor Andrew Cartmel that there was a team in place on the show that was inserting anti-Thatcher messages into the show.
McCoy, now 66, who took over as the Doctor three months after Thatcher's third election victory in 1987, said they brought politics into the show "deliberately" but "very quietly".
He said: "We were a group of politically motivated people and it seemed the right thing to do.
"Our feeling was that Margaret Thatcher was far more terrifying than any monster the Doctor had encountered," he told the Sunday Times.
Cartmel said it was almost a job requirement to detest Thatcher.
When asked by John Nathan-Turner, the producer, what he hoped to achieve in being the show's script editor, he recalled: "My exact words were: I'd like to overthrow the government.
"I was a young firebrand and I wanted to answer honestly. I was very angry about the social injustice in Britain under Thatcher and I'm delighted that came into the show."
I don't know a lot about Thatcher's UK, but I do know she was a Tory and that there were a few years of utter misery in the United Kingdom economically and socially during her stay at 10 Downing Street.
Of course there has been an immediate response from the conservative wing of the country, people protesting that it was this constant harping on Thatcher's agenda throughout the late 80s that resulted in the ultimate cancelation of the show in '89.
Yeah, it wasn't the cheesy sets or the downmarket villians made of plastic and rubberized whatever and stuff left at the bottom on your grandma's candy dish, it was the Thatcher bashing.
Interesting that McCoy, widely considered the least popular of the TV Doctors that we've seen so far, should come forward with this. You gotta wonder how many people across the years have blamed his portrayal of the Doctor for the show's demise. Do you think he's trying an end run around that opinion? I would bet some of these people would say so.
Whaddaya think? Use the very underused comment section below.
With all the stuff I have on my DVR I had to watch the Billie/Brooke Magnanti interview again last night and I thought I'd say something about it, but first ...
Hat tip to my Billie Piper Google News Alert (get yours today, you're not a fan without one) for the heads up on this Radio One interview where she's promoting the new series of Secret Diary Of A Call Girl with Sara Cox subbing on The Scott Mills Show.
Billie was scheduled the day before and couldn't get there, apparently the crestfallen Mills had to had off the interview to Sara with much, much regret, and I totally get that.
If you click here the podcast of the show will pop up, Billie's interview begins just after the 40-minute mark (and that hat tip goes to our friends at the site B-Piper.com who did the hard work of finding a start point). That's a whole 20 minutes of interview with song breaks, but I enjoy listening to the song breaks just to see what's playing on Radio One and how it differs from what's on my local pop music station here (which is Radio Sophie 103.7, btw).
She talks about that vacation in Miami (images right) a bit back (Winston was just two months old at the time) where she ran into Little Brittain's Matt and David and Jimmy Carr and other Brit stars.
And Eurotrash and rappers and "proper Gs."
She professes her love for The X-Factor but not particularly for Jedward.
And, she propositions Benicio Del Toro live on air (at 58:15 in the podcast)!
"Benicio, this is Billie Piper. I'm married but for you that doesn't matter. Anything goes, I love you."
Of course, Rose Tyler has met a Wolfman before, you remember, right? If not click here.
More after the jump.
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.
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.
Continue reading "Doctor Who -- It's The End Of Time But It Sure Doesn't Feel Like It" »
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 ...
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?
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.
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.
Blogger, DVR superuser, comedy fan, sci fi guy, occasional period drama enthusiast, newshound ... also at http://www.facebook.com/TVJoe.
Recent Comments