Torchwood America - UPDATE: BBC confirm pilot

Tuesday, 19 January 2010 - Reported by Marcus
TorchwoodThe Hollywood Reporter is reporting that US network Fox is developing an American version of Torchwood.

According to the site, the project is being developed with the original executive team, most of whom are now based in Los Angeles. The pilot script would be written by Torchwood creator, Russell T Davies, with Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter acting as executive producers. The whole project would come under BBC Worldwide Productions.

Tranter and Gardner moved to the US with a specific brief to develop BBC properties for the American market.

Torchwood has been shown on BBC America where it set viewing records for the channel and has a strong fan base in the US. It is likely that if the series is commissioned some of the current cast would be involved; most likely John Barrowman would reprise the role of Captain Jack.

UPDATE, 20TH JAN:
BBC Worldwide Productions has confirmed to C21 Media that a Torchwood pilot script has been written for Fox, but say it's too early to comment on any further details.

A roundup of media articles on the story can be found in Doctor Who in the Media.




FILTER: - Torchwood - USA

Myths and Legends DVD Extras

Tuesday, 19 January 2010 - Reported by Marcus
DVD extras for two stories in the forthcoming DVD box set, Myths and Legends, have been cleared by the British Board of Film Classification.

hornsofnimonFor The Time Monster, 35 minutes of extras have been cleared to accompany the six part story.
  • Between Now... And Now! Science and the Time Monster (Featurette) 23'37"
  • Episode Three (Restoration Comparison) 3'21"
  • Photo Gallery 7'59"




timemonstertFor the four part Horns of Nimon, a total of 48 minutes of extras have been cleared.
  • Who Peter - Partners in Time - 1963-1989 (Featurette) 29'55"
  • Part Two - Music Demos 2'55"
  • Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre (Easter Egg) 1'18"
  • Read the Writer - Anthony Read remembers 6'26"
  • Photo Gallery 7'51"
Details for the third story in the set, Underworld, should be cleared soon. The box set is released in the UK on 29th March.




FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

New Drama Village in Cardiff

Sunday, 17 January 2010 - Reported by Marcus
BBCThe Welsh Government has given the go ahead to develop a new Drama Villiage at a site near Cardiff Bay to be used by BBC Wales.

The proposed centre would accommodate all BBC Drama made in Wales, including Doctor Who and any future series of Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures as well as other drama productions made in the country such as Casualty and the Welsh language soap Pobol y Cwm.. The proposed site is the currently derelict, former dock side land at Roath Basin. The Welsh Government will work with Igloo Regeneration to develop the area and to progress with the building of the BBC Drama Village, which would total 170,000 sq ft of television studios and ancillary accommodation, as well as a new office building.

Menna Richards, Director of BBC Cymru Wales, said "This is a fantastic opportunity to build on the success of BBC Wales drama production and the wider creative industries in Wales."

Current Doctor Who production is based just outside Cardiff at Upper Boat near Pontypridd.




FILTER: - Production

New DVD extras

Sunday, 17 January 2010 - Reported by Marcus
2entertain have given some details of a new 8 part series called Tomorrow's Times looking at contemporary press reaction to the Classic Series of Doctor Who.

The series is produced by Marcus Hern and which will be issued as part of the extras on some future DVD releases. The first part is presented by Mary Tamm who played Romana alongside Tom Baker. A rough clip had been released on the classicdw twitter account.





FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Friday RoundUp

Saturday, 16 January 2010 - Reported by Marcus
The Doctor Who Restoration Team have published details for the forthcoming DVD release of The Masque of Mandragora. The article has details about the clean up of the story and full details of the extras included on the disc. The DVD is due for release in the UK in February.

Toby Hadoke's solo comedy show, Moths Ate my Doctor Who Scarf, continues its tour around the UK. Dates have been added for Barnsley, StocktonWhitehaven, Newport, Pitlochry and Bath. More details here.

Many papers have covered the BBC press release reporting that the BBC iPlayer has reached over 100 million requests since its launch on Christmas Day 2007, and the headline fact that a total of 1.3 million requested The End of Time.

For a full press roundup see our sister site Doctor Who in the Media.




FILTER: - Classic Series - Press - Blu-ray/DVD

James Cairncross 1915 - 2009

Saturday, 16 January 2010 - Reported by Marcus
The actor James Cairncross has died at the age of 93. He played the part of Lemaitre in the first Doctor story The Reign of Terror and Beta in the second Doctor story The Krotons.

Cairncross was born in Dunfermline in 1915. He was a well known actor and lyricist appearing in many early television programmes such as Play of the Week and Z-Cars and films such as The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and Tom Jones. He appeared with Ian McKellan in Hamlet and with Michael Redgrave in Twelfth Night. James Cairncross died 17 December, 2009, in Edinburgh.

Scotsman Obituary.




FILTER: - Obituary - Classic Series

Scripts Online

Thursday, 14 January 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Creature from the PitTo tie in with the publication of the updated edition of The Writer's Tale, some of Russell T Davies's scripts for the series are now available online.

The episodes are available as a PDF download. Stories available are the Christmas special, Voyage of the Damned; the Series Four stories Partners in Crime, Midnight, Turn Left, The Stolen Earth and Journey's End; and the five specials leading up to the departure of David Tennant, The Next Doctor, Planet of the Dead, The Waters of Mars and both parts of The End of Time.




FILTER: - Specials - Russell T Davies - Books - Series 4/30

End of Time - New Zealand

Wednesday, 13 January 2010 - Reported by Marcus
PrimeThe New Zealand Herald has revealed that The End of Time will air in New Zealand in February.

Part One of David Tennant's swansong is scheduled for Sunday 7th February with Part Two following a week later on the 14th.






FILTER: - Specials - Series 4/30 Specials - New Zealand - Broadcasting

Monday Roundup

Monday, 11 January 2010 - Reported by Marcus
The leader of Britain's Conservative Party has brushed off criticism from David Tennant. Talking to Richard Bacon on BBC Radio Five, David Cameron said "You can't win them all". He added "You're never going to win over everybody. I definitely believe there's no point trying to win over everyone. Say what you think, say what you believe in, say what you believe needs to be done and if people will come with you they will come with you." Cameron said he had not watched much of the latest series but grew up with Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker as the Doctor.

TVshowsonDVD reports that is reporting that both the 1975 original and 2008 remake versions of Terry Nation's Survivors are planned for DVD release in the USA. According to the report the new version of Survivors, which featured Freema Agyeman, will be released after both seasons air in the US.

As NBC in the US scrambles to find programming to fill its 10 p.m. weeknight prime time slot following the cancellation of The Jay Leno Show, several sources report that one option before NBC is to fast-track production of Rex is Not Your Lawyer, the proposed lawyer series starring David Tennant.

Some subscription copies of this month's Doctor Who Magazine appear to have been delayed by the transport problems caused by the current cold weather in the UK. The Magazine was sent out last Wednesday, however many have still not received it. DWM assures readers that the magazine is on its way and should be with subscribers shortly.



For more press items see Doctor Who in the Media.




FILTER: - People - David Tennant

The Regeneration of Doctor Who

Monday, 11 January 2010 - Reported by Marcus
BAFTABAFTA have uploaded The Regeneration of Doctor Who onto their YouTube site.

The event, which took place at BAFTA last month, features Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner talking about their 6 year working relationship as executive producers on Doctor Who and the terrifying responsibility of bringing the show back to a new generation of viewers with Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant in the lead role.

Amongst a range of illuminating insights, the pair discussed their attempt to reinvigorate of the Saturday night prime time slot, the emergence of BBC Wales as a major player on the production landscape and explored why the character of the Doctor is such an extraordinary figure for writers to work with.




FILTER: - Russell T Davies - Production - Julie Gardner