The BBC have released a new trailer to promote the forthcoming second half of the current series of Doctor Who, due back on television in the next few weeks:



This trailer is different to the one that featured at the San Diego Comic Con to promote the series return a couple of weeks ago.

Broadcaster Prime have announced that they have acquired Torchwood: Miracle Day for New Zealand. Though a broadcast date for the series has yet to be confirmed, Channel Manager Kathy Wright reported in the press release that:

(with thanks to Paul Scoones)

Episode Two of Torchwood: Miracle Day had a final official rating of 5.75 million viewers according to figures released by BARB.

The programme was the 7th highest rated on BBC One for the week. The final result includes those who recorded the programme and watched it within 7 days. It does not include those watching on iPlayer.

On iPlayer Episode One has been accessed  760,000 times so far, and Episode Two accessed 526,000 times.

Episode Three had an AI score of 84.

Even though ratings for the first few episodes of Torchwood: Miracle Day have proven reasonable for both Starz and the BBC, this has never been a guarantee that a fifth series of the show will automatically be commissioned.

Speaking to reporters at the TV Critics Show, Starz CEO Chris Albrecht has clarified their position, explaining:

Davies previously indicated that he had been considering moving onto other projects after Miracle Day's production was completed - in February he told BBC Wales Today:
Subsequently, Davies has been reported as developing a new show for Showtime, entitled Cucumber. However, with over half of Miracle Day still to be transmitted (episode four, Escape to L.A., premiering tonight on Starz), Torchwood's future cannot be written off quite yet!

(newslink: Entertainment Weekly, Hollywood Reporter)

Next Thursday (4th August) sees the fourth episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day premiering in the UK, with Escape to L.A. being broadcast at 9:00pm on BBC1/BBC1HD. The episode will also be repeated on BBC2/BBCHD the following Monday at 11:20pm, and available to watch online in the UK via the BBC iPlayer until 23rd September.



The BBC have made a preview clip available to watch on the BBC iPlayer and YouTube; Starz have also released their own preview on YouTube.

Torchwood: Dead of Night achieved an average audience of 4.2 million viewers on BBC One and BBC One HD, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The third in the series had 18.8% of the audience share and was the 7th most watched programme of the day. It won the 9pm timeslot, with Single Handed on ITV1 watched by 3.1 million viewers.

The figure was slightly down on the last week, which scored an average of 4.4 million. The episode saw a drop in viewers during the hour from 4.6 million in the first quarter to 4.0 million in the final quarter

The final ratings for Dead of Night will be released next week and will include those who record the programme and watch it within seven days.

Mondays late night repeat of episode Two Rendition had 0.4 million watching.

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Initial audience figures released for Dead of Night shown on Starz last Friday indicated that 1.1m viewers watched over its opening night; the premiere broadcast at 10:00pm was watched by 636,000 viewers, with its 11:00pm repeat seen by 382,000. This compares with an average of 976,000 viewers for Rendition's opening night.

The new Doctor Who Magazine takes a look at Torchwood: Miracle Day with behind the scenes to talk to the cast and crew of this extraordinary adventure, including stars John Barrowman (Captain Jack), Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper), Mekhi Phifer (Rex Matheson), Alexa Havins (Esther Drummond), Kai Owen (Rhys Williams), Lauren Ambrose (Jilly Kitzinger) and head writer and creator Russell T Davies.

DWM asked John Barrowman, could Jack ever return to Doctor Who?

Also in this issue:

• Called to Action - Five remarkable individuals joined the Doctor in his fight against Amy’s kidnappers in A Good Man Goes To War – but could they return to help him again? Find out as DWM talks to the actors who played them: Simon Fisher-Becker (the ‘fat, old, and blue’ Dorium Maldovar), Neve McIntosh (Silurian warrior Madame Vastra), Catrin Stewart (Victorian maid Jenny), Dan Starkey (lactating Sontaran Strax) and Christina Chong (forest-dwelling soldier Lorna Bucket).
• Storytellers - Doctor Who’s showrunner Steven Moffat presents an exclusive guide to the writers of the new series. Find out who’s a wimp, who’s a polymath and who’ll break you heart (twice) in Production Notes...
• Masterpieces - It was the season that gave us Axons, Dæmons and Autons... and which introduced the Doctor’s arch-enemy, the Master! DWM takes a nostalgic look back at the adventures of the Third Doctor, Jo and the Brigadier in 1971’s Series Eight, as Countdown to 50! continues.
• Time for a Shock - As Amy and the Doctor struggle against the ravages of time, they’re shocked when an old enemy appears… Don’t miss the thrilling final chapter of the latest comic strip adventure, Apotheosis, written by Jonathan Morris with art by Dan McDaid!
• Roy's Roles - DWM pays tribute to the late Roy Skelton, the versatile actor who was the voice of dozens of characters, including the Daleks and Cybermen in Doctor Who... and Zippy and George in Rainbow.
• Nice Day for a White Wedding - Emma, Michael, Chris and Will get their hankies ready as they prepare watch the emotionally-charged, time-twisting Ninth Doctor story Father's Day. Who will blub and who will retain their composure? Find out in The Time Team
• Happy Anniversary - To celebrate the release of the 150th audio adventure in the regular monthly range, DWM catches up with the men behind Big Finish. Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery, Nicholas Briggs and David Richardson talk candidly about the past and future of the range – including the new series featuring the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker...
• Spoilt for Choice - What’s best – assiduously avoiding all spoilers, or finding out as much as possible about future episodes of Doctor Who? Toby Hadoke and Johnny Candon argue the pros and cons in the latest (spoiler-free!)
• Smuggled In - The First Doctor, Ben and Polly enters a world of skullduggery, murder and deceit as they take on a band of merciless pirates – erstwhile crew of the notorious Captain Avery! Join The Fact Of Fiction as it goes back in time to reveal a treasure trove of secrets concerning the 1966 adventure The Smugglers

PLUS! All the latest official news, TV and merchandise reviews, previews, competitions and a prize-winning crossword.

Writer Tom MacRae spoke to the Northampton Chronicle about his forthcoming episode for Doctor Who, which has now been named by the BBC in a recent roundup on their Doctor Who website.

MacRae hails from Northamptonshire, like the current Doctor Matt Smith:

(newslink: Northampton Chronicle)

Episode One of Torchwood: Miracle Day had a final official rating of 6.59 million viewers according to figures released by BARB.

The programme was the 8th highest rated on BBC One for the week. The final result includes those who recorded the programme and watched it within 7 days. It does not include those watching on iPlayer. The rating is almost exactly the same as the first episode of the last series of Torchwood, Children of Earth, which had a final rating of 6.47 million on BBC One with an additional 0.13 million watching on BBC HD.

Meanwhile Episode Two had an AI score of 85, the same as that for Episode One.

BBC America have confirmed that Doctor Who will return to the channel on Saturday, August 27th at 9/8c when the series continues with Let's Kill Hitler, written by Steven Moffat and directed by Richard Senior.

The BBC will not confirm a UK date for the return until much nearer the date of transmission, but a showing in the early evening of Saturday 27th is very likely.

There are six more episodes to be shown as part of Season 32