While producer Russell T. Davies continues to work on the new Doctor Who series, another of his productions has been shipped to America: the USA Network has remade Touching Evil, a 1997 ITV serial that Davies wrote scripts for, with Bruce Willis serving as the executive producer for this new show. In an interesting twist, one of the producers of the new version is Antony Root, who was script editor on Doctor Who in the early 1980's. The US version of "Touching Evil" will be out in March.

The weekly trade magazine Broadcast voted new DW producer Russell T. Davies' ITV two-part series The Second Coming as best drama; read the news report here.

New Who producer Russell T. Davies will appear on the UK arts television magazine show "The South Bank Show" on February 8 at 22:45, according to their website as well as an appearance by the show's presenter Melvin Bragg on the "Today with Des and Mel" show. Says the South Bank site, "Can television drama still explore the state of the nation? Is there a place for politics in television drama? Just how truthful is docudrama? These are just some of the questions explored in the second programme in this two-part South Bank Show Special. Revealing the secrets and craft behind their work are some of this country's leading writers including Paul Abbott, Tony Marchant and Russell T Davies. With exclusive footage from several up-and-coming dramas for 2004, contributions from actors, directors and commissioning editors, this is an in-depth look at whether television drama can still break new boundaries in a medium dominated by reality TV and lifestyle shows." (Thanks to Ben Morris and Vin Marsden Hendrick)

The Welsh-language magazine "Golwg" interviewed Russell Davies on December 18. Discussing the popularity of the show around the time Tom Baker played the part, "We can do that again!" he says. "It's a lovely old programme but it will be updated. ... I've been a fan of it since I was a very little thing. But over the years it has acquired something of a terrible old name for being a cult, minority. When I was little, everyone used to watch it." A lot of the research work has already been done, says Davies, and he will be starting to write the new series in January. "It will be very traditional, the same old Time Lord, the same old Tardis, the same old adventures in space and time. I'm using the best things it has, and giving them a kick up the backside!" The article also discusses much of the same thing we've heard before: the ideas for the new show and so forth (though we add that this is Davies' words translated from English to Welsh for the magazine, and then back into English for this report.) (Thanks to "Howard Hughes")

Russell Davies spoke last week to BBCi about the current state of affairs on the new series. When he heard about it, he "was delighted. To be absolutely honest, I was busy - making Mine All Mine, to be seen on ITV, February 2004 - and I presumed the phone call was about a vague, tentative chat with the BBC. So I ignored it! (You can waste your whole life in TV just chatting about projects, so I refuse chat-meetings.) It took me a couple of weeks to realise that this wasn't chat, this was real, and mine." He says the best piece of advice he's gotten is "from the country's finest writer, Paul Abbott. He always says, 'The only way to work, is to work.' We can all sit and dream and hope and despair, but the only way to solve any problem is to sit there and write. It's not magic." To read the interview, visit the BBCi site.

Russell T. Davies, in the newest issue of Doctor Who Magazine, comments on the new series that "at the moment, we're planning thirteen episodes, 45 minutes long. The 13 would be a mixture of one-off episodes, and two-parters, complete with cliffhangers." However, he does emphasize that all of this is subject to change. "I can certainly tell you that the BBC talks about this show as a potential long-runner," Davies says. "We aren't looking at a special one-off series for nostalgists only - we all want this show to succeed, to gather viewers, to exhilarate and stimulate and create new memories, and return every year. ... I did an interview with DWM a few years ago, where we speculated how Doctor Who could return. In that, I said that budgetary restrictions would make the show Earth-bound. Well now we're here, and it's real, and I'm looking at the budget and thinking to hell with it. Let's voyage. In time and space. As a programme, it's always going to use present-day Earth as a touchstone.... but it would be a shame to ignore the endless vistas offered by a fully-functioning TARDIS. The Doctor and his friend Rose will be able to travel anywhere, any time, every Saturday night." (Thanks to "Bobbyfischface" on the OG Forum)

The latest issue of SFX Magazine (issue #112) has a small update on the new show including comments from Russell T. Davies that they have chosen a hands-on, day-to-day producer for the series, but he doesn't mention who it is. "Our lovely Chosen One is still finishing off on another drama," Davies comments. "I would tell you, except the moment the name gets announced, the e-mails flood in... so let's leave the poor soul in peace for now. See how I said all that without giving away their sex? Marvel at my avoidance, marvel at it!" (Thanks to Paul Hayes)

New series producer Russell T. Davies today attended a literary festival in Hull, UK, where some interesting bits of information came to light. Davies said that there is no concrete plan for the series at thsi stage, other than an outline (that will likely remain consistent) - nothing is set in stone apart from the fact that the series is coming back. The Doctor has not been cast yet. No master plan to bring the show back was in the offing; it just sort of happened, as a consequence of Davies repeatedly telling the BBC that he'd only work with them if he got to do Doctor Who. There's a production meeting on December 8th; things may start inching ahead around then. There will be other writers on the show but they'll be writing to specific briefs Davies sets. There will be a mix of stories; the whole spectrum of stuff from the old series, plus some new types of stories. Davies mentioned "Sapphire & Steel-type stories" involving shenanigans with time as one possible type of story. The reason BBC Wales are doing it is part of a wider plan to turn Wales into a production centre for television. Davies said that the series would likely consist of 13 45-minute episodes, most of which will be single stories. There are, at the moment, three two-parters, though that number may change according to how the budget plays out. He also said that we need to give Mal Young more credit for bringing back the series - it turns out that nearly every year, he's been coming up with budgeting plans and trying to get the series made. And people shouldn't just judge him by the fact that he produces Casualty and EastEnders - he also does less mass-market stuff like Dalziel and Pascoe, which tends to get overlooked. Doctor Who, he said, is a prestigious thing for the BBC - they're giving them an unheard-of 13 weeks of prep time, for instance, and it's envisaged as a series that will "run and run," in the manner of Casualty... a flagship programme. (Thanks to Stephen Graves, Paul Hayes, Ted Prendergast)