Watching Doctor Who

(My laptop seems to be behaving so far today. Please keep your fingers crossed for me. )

Today’s offering is the videos of the Friday Q&A at Gallifrey One featuring Gareth David-Lloyd, Kai Owen, and surprise guest Naoko Mori. I’m not sure why part one is no longer available, but the other parts remain intact. YouTube maintains it’s gone, and that’s that. So, I’m starting this with part two and linking the other parts below as usual. Enjoy!

Torchwood GARETH DAVID-LLOYD & KAI OWEN Friday Q&A 2:

Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7

My random observations on the videos:

So, what did you think? One thing that struck me during several of the panels was the relaxed atmosphere about drinking alcohol right there while talking. You saw our lads in the video having a sip or two. I guess that I’m just not used to it. How cool was it that Naoko popped in to say hello? Too bad that she couldn’t have been around for more of the con. *sniffle* Perhaps next year the planets will align properly? Let’s hope so. Meanwhile, all these hints about series three being “dark” are making me a bit nervous. How dark are we talking here? On a more personal note, am I alone in thinking that Kai Owen is like a big teddy bear? He seems like an absolute sweetheart. Gareth obviously puts a great deal of thought into his character, which we knew just watching the show, but it’s nice to hear him talking about the thought processes involved.

I hope that all three of these folks come back to another Gallifrey One very soon.

Before my laptop freezes up again, like it did a few minutes ago, here are a few more bits and pieces I’ve got lurking in my tabs. Let’s get to it!

First up, here’s a bit from “torchwoodbbcamerica,” who brings us a moment with Euros Lyn, director extraordinaire of Torchwood series 3 among other things, and Eve Myles (Gwen) from behind the scenes at New York Comic Con 2009.

Eve Myles and Euros Lyn backstage @ New York Comic Con ‘09:

Lindsay Duncan, who is soon to play Margaret Thatcher on the BBC, will appear in the second Doctor Who special. Lindsay has done everything from classics like Mansfield Park to a droid’s voice in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. I’ll be interested to see what sort of character she ends up playing.

According to SciFi Wire, a Doctor Who one-shot comic book came out today. It’s called “The Whispering Gallery” and features The Doctor and Martha. Has anyone seen it yet? It sounds like it’s quite the story.

So there I was, minding my own business, watching the Super Bowl with my husband and this advertisement came on. I must admit that I was paying attention to something else, and then I heard Christopher Eccleston’s voice and I fell over. (I then commandeered the Tivo remote and watched it again.) Here it is, the official trailer for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Yes, I will be seeing this movie.

GI Joe The Rise Of Cobra Official Teaser Trailer in HD Superbowl Spot Ad:

Euros Lyn, Eve Myles, Lindsay Duncan, Doctor Who, Christopher Eccleston

According to BBC America…

“Torchwood: Children of Earth - In one epic story told over five nights the new series, to be broadcast on BBC One (UK) and BBC AMERICA (U.S.) later this year, promises to be Torchwood’s greatest adrenalin-fueled, high octane adventure yet.”

Here’s the official trailer. What do you think?

Torchwood: [tag]Children of Earth[/tag Official Trailer:

I must admit that I was rather worried about this mini-series up to this point. Why? I’m not really sure, but after the ending of series two I’ve gotten a bit more timid I suppose. I want to enjoy the show without being afraid that we’ll lose one of our remaining three folks. I like Gwen, Ianto, and Jack. I’d prefer that they save the day without dying (permanently) darn it.

Now that I’ve seen this video, though, I’m feeling a lot better. It looks like Jack’s immortality might be coming in handy again. Ianto is there with his fabulous quips. (And…what happened to his cheek?) The plot intrigues me. This has happened before, eh? Who’s trying to take out our crew? Where’s Myfanwy in all of this? Who’s after the children?

I can’t wait!

Torchwood

(Photo: BBC. Michelle Ryan and David Tennant)

We now have a bit more information about the upcoming Doctor Who special due on Easter 2009 - Planet of the Dead. The official BBC Doctor Who site is reporting that Michelle Ryan (recently of the Bionic Woman) will join the Tenth Doctor as “the mysterious Lady Christina de Souza.” As you can see in the photo above, a bus-trip is involved. One would think that The Doctor had had enough of bus trips by this point. Also appearing in this episode are: Lee Evans (The Fifth Element, There’s Something About Mary) as Malcolm and Noma Dumezweni in a repeat appearance as Captain Erisa Magambo (from the episode Turn Left.) Sounds to me like they’re brewing up quite an episode. I can’t wait!

Note: If you still haven’t popped over to Food History to see my guest post, here is the link.

Has anyone out there seen the American show Leverage? A friend of mine (Hi, Eideann!) kindly informed me that there had been Doctor Who references in the show. Like…enough that she thinks that at least one of the writers must be a fan. So, what did I do? I went over to YouTube, and this is what I found:

Leverage - Extreme Doctor Who Reference:

I laughed so hard. I love it when people sneak references like that into shows. Apparently, this is not the only reference in Leverage. One of the characters turns out to be a fan…which might explain the names on the IDs in the clip above, come to think of it.

Speaking of the Whoniverse leaking into other shows, there’s also the Halloween episode of the new Knight Rider to consider. Captain Jack Harkness is a good Halloween costume choice, yes?

Captain Jack for Halloween on Knight Rider:

I can’t believe that they managed to work a severed hand into this. That was just made of win.

Doctor Who, Planet of the Dead, Michelle Ryan

Catherine Tate at the Woman’s Own Children of Courage Awards
Photo: Samir Hussein/WireImage

I have the worst cold! I just wanted to complain to folks I couldn’t cough on, sorry. Now, on to the news.

The BBC is reporting that David Tennant is having surgery on Thursday for a slipped disc. He will not be back on stage as Hamlet until after Christmas, apparently. Get well soon, David!

For those of you in the U.S. who missed series one of The Sarah Jane Adventures the last time around, you can catch a marathon of the show on 16 December on the SciFi Channel. If you don’t get the SciFi Channel, don’t despair. Series one of The Sarah Jane Adventures is out on DVD.

Speaking of DVDs, have you finished your Chrismahanukwanzikah shopping yet? Currently you can purchase Torchwood series two, Doctor Who series four, and The Infinite Quest. I need to invest in some new bookcases for my DVDs.

Have you been keeping an eye on the Official Doctor Who Website? They’re up to their usual Advent Calendar shenanigans again this year. So far there have been videos, desktop backgrounds, a game, and a story. They’ve also been in the process of adding the information from series 1-3 and the specials to the site. If you haven’t been by in a while, it’s worth a look.

And at least we’ll have a full series of The Sarah Jane Adventures to look forward to next year to go along with the truncated series three of Torchwood and the Doctor Who specials. That’s right, series three will appear in the UK in Autumn of 2009. I still have no official start date for series two in the U.S., but now that it is over in the UK it shouldn’t bee too long hence.

David Tennant, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood, Doctor Who

I’m not sure if I’ve posted this here before, but if I did, it was long enough ago that I’ll bet you don’t remember either. I just thought that it would be an appropriate way to begin our anniversary month, and not so incidentally give you a place to comment…and thus enter the contest. This video is one of the extras on the Torchwood series one DVD set. John Barrowman is singing on the set of the show, and I’ll bet that you can spot the episode that said set is from. Really, the setting is perfect for the song.

Question: Do you think that they should do a Torchwood musical episode? Watch the video, then lay your thoughts on me.

John Barrowman Sings “Anything Goes”:

John Barrowman

(image source: Amazon.co.uk as linked below)

Christopher Eccleston recently did a voiceover for an Amnesty International video about the proposed UK laws that would enable them to detain terrorism suspects for 42 days without a trial. You can watch “Sleepwalking” here.

In this years’ National Television Awards the male and female talent are competing against one another in every category. What does this mean for us? Well…it means that David Tennant and Catherine Tate are competing against each other for the Outstanding Drama Performance Award. (Doctor Who is also up for Most Popular Drama, by the way.) You still have a couple of days left to vote, if you’re of a mind to do so. Slightly more than seven days left until the show.

Digital Spy is reporting that the score for Doctor Who series four will be out on 17 November in the UK. No sign of it in the US as yet. Some of the tracks include: Season Four Opening Credits, Songs of Captivity and Freedom, and Silence In The Library. Yay for Oodsong!

Some other items that are out right now (and coming soon), for those of you preparing your Christmas/Chanukah/etc. lists:
* The Torchwood Soundtrack (US)
* The Sarah Jane Adventures - The Complete First Season (US)
* Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series (US) (18 November)
* Doctor Who: The Infinite Quest (US) (18 November)
* “Torchwood”: Lost Souls (BBC Audio) (UK)

And finally, just a note to remind you all that next month is the Two Year Anniversary of this blog. Wow! I don’t believe it! Stand by for a contest announcement at some point soon.

Christopher Eccleston, National Television Awards, David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Doctor Who, Torchwood

I’m on vacation this week. Good thing too, as I have a cold. (grumble) In any case, I hope that your week goes well. I’ve set up my posts in advance, but I’ll be sure to stop by and check on things from time to time. Now, on to more important topics…

Reminder:
This Wednesday, September 10 at 2:15pm, is Torchwood: Lost Souls on BBC Radio 4. Just so you know, Martha is one of the characters that is appearing on this radio play. If you will not be available at that time, fear not! Radio 4 has a “listen again” feature that allows people worldwide to listen online for a week after the broadcast. Rumour has it that the program will be out on CD later this month.

The Torchwood 2009 Calendar is not quite available yet, but Amazon has the pictures up and you can already pre-order it.

Lest you feel that you have not gotten enough John Barrowman of late, he has written an article for the Observer called “What I know about Men.” If you are at all familiar with him, the content will not surprise you.

Series two of the Sarah Jane Adventures is coming soon! (in the UK at least.) I couldn’t find the airdate on the official sites, but never fear, Sarah-Jane.tv (your home for all SJA news) has the answer. The date is: 29 September 2008. Also? Here’s a trailer. (Please note, Maria will be leaving the show during this series as the actress needs to work on her GCSEs, or so I’ve read.)

Torchwood: Lost Souls, Torchwood, John Barrowman, Sarah Jane Adventures

The official Torchwood series three press release is not very illuminating about when in 2009 the series will play. I can’t wait to see what director Euros Lyn does with this mini-series.

Doctor Who seems to be quite popular in the land of awards shows. This time it has won the trophy for “Best Programme of 2008″ at the Edinburgh TV festival. Yay for our show!

Speaking of awards, it appears that David Tennant has received another one himself. He has been voted “Greenest Star on the Planet” in the Playhouse Disney’s Playing for the Planet Awards. It looks like Tennant is just as interested in saving the planet in real life as The Doctor is on TV.

BuddyTV is reporting that John Barrowman is working on another album. “Music Music Music” is due to be released on 24 November. Yet another thing to add to my Christmas list. It’s a shame that man isn’t busy. Heavens.

Rumour alert!
Is Doctor Who coming to the big screen? Well…Steven Moffat says that he isn’t against the idea. As long as it doesn’t interfere with the show, that is. (Mind you, that doesn’t mean it will actually happen.) I wonder if they will ever actually do this….

Torchwood, Doctor Who, David Tennant, John Barrowman

…And we’re back. Hello again. Sorry about the long wait. The good news is that it looks like they are going to be rebuilding my car (essentially rebuilding the front end) rather than “totaling” it. I’m healing apace, and I should be back at my day job on Friday.

Meanwhile, in the Whoniverse:

Do you remember the Torchwood Radio Drama that I mentioned a while back that was supposed to appear in celebration of CERN? It’s finally on its way! Torchwood: Lost Souls will play on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday 10 September at 2:15 pm. Want to hear a preview? Give a listen to the trailer below.

SyFy Portal is reporting that there are some interesting rumors swirling about on the topic of the 2009 Doctor Who specials. For two different supposed reasons, depending upon the story that you believe, two of the specials might be filmed in the United States! I know that this is merely a rumor at this point, but…that would be quite cool. (Thank you for the link, The Vig!)

Torchwood: Children of Earth, otherwise known as Torchwood Series three, the five-part mini-series, has begun filming. It’s looking like PC Andy will be making an appearance, all you fans out there. Apparently, it’s going to be quite a ride. (Psst! Don’t forget that Torchewood series two will be out on DVD in the USA on 16 September.)

Torchwood, Torchwood: Lost Souls, Doctor Who, Torchwood: Children of Earth

Catherine Tate on stage in “Under the Blue Sky”

For all of you who have been wanting a stuffed Adipose…go look here! I am totally adding this to my Christmas list. It even has the little tooth.

For those of you who have been waiting for the next series of Billie Piper’s Secret Diary of a Call Girl, the end of the wait is coming. Digital Spy is reporting that series two is due to arrive in the UK in September. (Fair warning. The article contains spoilers.)

Apparently, Phill Collinson is the one who came up with several of the ideas for Doctor Who series four. For example, Agatha Christie was his idea.

Are you curious about which Companion you’d be? Yes? Well, why not take this quiz and find out for yourself? (I ended up being Rose.) This quiz concentrates on four options - Donna, Martha, Rose, and…The Doctor.

Den of Geek is reporting that the truncated series three of Torchwood will be called “Children of Earth” and will feature the Directorial skills of the fabulous Euros Lyn. James Moran will be back as one of the writers, and there are rumours that James Marsters may appear again. I don’t know about you lot, but I can’t wait for the Spring.

Adipose, Billie Piper, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Phill Collinson, Doctor Who, Torchwood, Children of Earth, Euros Lyn, James Moran

John and his sister Carole in SoCal for a book signing.

The fabulous TVShowsOnDVD.com is reporting that the US series one Torchwood Blue-ray DVD set release has been pushed back to 11 November. The normal DVD US release of Torchwood series two is still scheduled for 16 September.

I can hear you out there saying, “well that’s good news for Torchwood, but what about The Sarah Jane Adventures?” ha HA! TVShowsOnDVD.com has the answer. The US release of The Sarah Jane Adventures series one on DVD is scheduled for 7 October. As such, I will be putting it on my birthday list now.

Digital Spy is reporting that Chris Chibnall’s next project, the UK version of Law & Order, will star none other than Freema Agyeman. Wow. Shame she’s not keeping busy. Isn’t this the second non-Who show she’s doing?

According to the San Diego Comic-Con Website registration is now closed. So, if you are headed down to the enjoy the Torchwood and Doctor Who fun they have scheduled, I hope that you have already registered. Also, be sure to let me know what you thought when you get back.

Previews for David Tennant’s Hamlet begin on 24 July, which is…today. For those of you that can’t be there to see it, Whatsonstage.com has some rehearsal pics for you.

Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Chris Chibnall, Freema Agyeman, Comic-Con, Torchwood, Doctor Who

I’ve just gone back over all of the questions I’ve done so far (yes…it took a while) and I’m surprised to discover that I haven’t yet asked this question. How is that possible? So I have decided to rectify the situation. Which is your Least favorite episode of Torchwood series one? Now, I must insist that you all play nice. Be polite. No swearing or bashing, as your least favorite may turn out to be someone else’s favorite. I’m merely interested to know which one you dislike the most, and why.

As is usual, I have included the list of episode titles below to help jog your memory.

Torchwood Series 1:
1. Everything Changes (Gwen has a run in with Torchwood. Also? There is pizza.)
2. Day One (The worst first day on the job ever.)
3. Ghost Machine (No really. Don’t push that button.)
4. Cyberwoman (Ianto? What’s that in the basement?)
5. Small Worlds (Of Fairies and Jack’s past.)
6. Countrycide (I looked into the fridge and the fridge looked into me.)
7. Greeks Bearing Gifts (Tosh has a close encounter.)
8. They Keep Killing Suzie (The title pretty much says it all.)
9. Random Shoes (The ghost that loved Gwen.)
10. Out Of Time (How would you survive if transported into the future?)
11. Combat (Fight Club…with Weevils.)
12. Captain Jack Harkness (Captain Jack or Captain James?)
13. End Of Days (The creature from beyond the rift…)

I have to admit that my least favorite series one Torchwood episode is Countrycide. I rather expect this has a great deal to do with my extreme dislike of horror films. This episode did have several important character plot points, but I just couldn’t deal with the gore.

So, which is your least favorite?

Torchwood

The is the Reaction Post for the final episode of Doctor Who series four - Journey’s End. Before I finish this write up, I’ll probably have to go watch it again. This may explain why this post was a bit delayed. Before you ask, though, I loved this episode. And I did cry.

Now, for my very scattered views on this episode come on past the spoiler barrier.

(more…)

Reaction Post, Doctor Who, Journey’s End

Well, while I’m waiting impatiently for the final episode and trying to avoid spoilers. Here are a few newsbites to keep you entertained in the meantime. (Yes. You read that correctly. I am trying to avoid spoilers. I mean…spoilers are so sketchy and if you watch an episode like this one after having read an incorrect spoiler… Well, it could ruin the experience. It does for me, anyway. Enough of my rambling. Read on!)

Could David Morrissey be the next Doctor? Yes, it’s another “next Doctor” rumour. Mr. Morrissey is supposed to be in the next Christmas Special and pictures of him in period garb have already been taken. The question folks are asking is: Who is he playing? Or rather, is he playing Who? He is refusing to say one way or another.

Afterelton.com has a deleted scene from the Torchwood episode “Meat” up on its site. Apparently the scene was termed “too racy to air.” Think about that for a minute. Too racy to air on Torchwood? Watch it for yourself and decide. Personally, I thought it was hilarious.

According to the official Doctor Who site, the Doctor Who folks have arranged for a screening of Journey’s End (7pm, Trafalgar Square) as part of Pride London ‘08. It seems to me that this didn’t quite work out last year. Here’s hoping that they manage it this year.

And especially for Erik, I bring you links to two YouTube video extras from Secret Diary of a Call Girl featuring none other than Billie Piper.
1) Why I Became a Call Girl and 2) Would You Visit a Call Girl (A big Hat Tip to Jen, Joe, and Duncan for sending me the links.)

David Morrissey, Torchwood