Timelash North American Release Details

Saturday, 19 January 2008 - Reported by R Alan Siler
BBC Video has confirmed the April 1st North American release date for the classic series adventure Timelash, starringColin Baker as the Doctor, Nicola Bryant as Peri, and featuring a guest appearance of Blake's 7's Paul Darrow.
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The TARDIS gets caught in the Timelash, a powerful time corridor that brings the Doctor and Peri to the troubled planet of Karfel. The planet is on the brink of war and ruled by an insane and much feared dictator, who punishes Karfelons by throwing them into the Timelash. But why is their leader never seen in person? And what links Karfel with 19th-century Scotland and a young writer named Herbert? The Doctor arrives just in time to find out...

Special Features:
  • Audio Commentary by actors Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant and Paul Darrow
  • The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: A new Making Of documentary (25 mins)
  • Easter egg (1 min)
  • Photo gallery (8 mins)
  • DVD-ROM feature: Radio Times listings
  • Production Notes Subtitle Option
  • Digitally remastered picture and sound quality




FILTER: - USA - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD - Radio Times

Classic Cybermen On Demand

Thursday, 20 December 2007 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

US digital on-demand network Illusion on Demand has announced that they will be adding classic Doctor Who stories to their offerings, beginning with the 1967 Patrick Troughton story Tomb of the Cybermen. Their press release is below.
Illusion on Demand is bringing classic Doctor Who back to American television in January '08 with the series "Tomb of the Cybermen". This marks the first national return of classic Doctor adventures since the popular new series has been airing.

In honor of the event Illusion is premiering their Doctor Who micro-site this morning. Features include video clips, a brand new parody by The Action Room, quizzes, a buying guide and an image gallery of Doctor companions.

www.illusiontv.com/classic-doctor-who.php

Illusion will continue in to the year with "Genesis of the Daleks" with more series to be announced.




FILTER: - USA - Online

US clearance rights defeat Davros

Thursday, 13 December 2007 - Reported by Marcus
A report on tvshowsondvd.com has confirmed that the North American release of Remembrance of the Daleksand the Complete Davros Collection has been cancelled due to clearance difficulties.

A statement obtained from BBC Video states "We had hoped to be able to release The Complete Davros Collection and Remembrance of the Daleks Special Edition in the U.S. market. Unfortunately, clearance issues that arose after the announce to the trade prevent us from doing so"

Thanks to Alex Frazer-Harrison




FILTER: - USA - Blu-ray/DVD

Changes to North America DVD Lineup

Wednesday, 5 December 2007 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

BBC Worldwide Americas have announced changes to their previously released plans for the first classic series releases of 2008. "The Complete Davros Boxed Set" and the stand-alone "Remembrance of the Daleks Special Edition" have been indefinitely pulled for now. In their place, March 4 will see the release of Planet of Evil and Destiny of the Daleks, both starring Tom Baker. In April, two more titles will be released: The Time Warrior starring Jon Pertwee, and a new addition to the schedule, Timelash with Colin Baker. The general release rate for the year is increasing but there may be some irregularities to the schedule thereafter. (Thanks to Steve Manfred for the news)




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

North America DVD News - Updated

Saturday, 1 December 2007 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

BBC Video and Warner Home Video have announced several planned Doctor Who DVD releases for North America. On March 4, The Complete Davros Collection will be released, as will individual releases of Destiny of the Daleks(1979, starring Tom Baker) and the Remembrance of the Daleks Special Edition (1988, starring Sylvester McCoy). The 1973 Jon Pertwee story The Time Warrior and 1975 Tom Baker story Planet of Evil (both also starring Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith) will be released on April 1.




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

Torchwood Season Two on BBC America

Tuesday, 20 November 2007 - Reported by R Alan Siler

In a press release today, BBC America issued the following statement:

"BBC AMERICA's all-time highest rated show, Torchwood, is back with a U.S. premiere second season, beginning January 26, 9:00pm ET/PT. Created by Russell T Davies, lead writer on the current Doctor Who series, Torchwood (13 x 60) is a BBC Production, distributed by BBC Worldwide."

Torchwood is set to debut on BBC2 "early 2008", and the press release describes the show's American airing as "close to its UK premiere".

The 7-disk Season One box set is set for release in America during that same week, on January 22nd.

The entire press release appears below:
JANUARY IS TORCHWOOD MONTH WITH THE RETURN OF BBC AMERICA'S HIT SCI-FI SHOW AND DVD RELEASE

BBC AMERICA's all-time highest rated show, Torchwood, is back with a U.S. premiere second season, beginning January 26, 9:00pm ET/PT. Created by Russell T Davies, lead writer on the current Doctor Who series, Torchwood (13 x 60) is a BBC Production, distributed by BBC Worldwide.

With guest stars including James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Smallville), Alan Dale (Ugly Betty, The OC) and Doctor Who's Freema Agyeman, the show will air close to its UK premiere.

Richard De Croce, VP Programming, BBC AMERICA says: Torchwood has legions of loyal fans in the U.S. and we wanted to bring them the next season as soon as possible.

And fresh from its critically acclaimed airing on BBC AMERICA in September, Torchwood: The Complete First Season goes on sale January 22. The 7-disc DVD set includes over 6 hours of bonus features including outtakes and cast interviews.

Torchwood is an action-packed, adrenalin-fuelled sci-fi series following the adventures of a team of investigators, lead by Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), who use alien technology to solve crime. With fearsome new aliens and compelling storylines the second season takes the close-knit Torchwood team through dare-devil action, temptation, heartache and a life changing event for one of the team.

Hollywood Reporter called it "...a crackling good, brilliantly conceived sci-fi series that targets actual grown-ups" while the Philadelphia Inquirer said it was "...super-slick, raw, bizarre, hilarious, spooky, scary and sublimely sexy."

BBC AMERICA brings audiences a new generation of award-winning television featuring razor-sharp comedies, provocative dramas, life-changing makeovers and news with a uniquely global perspective. BBC AMERICA pushes the boundaries to deliver high quality, highly addictive and eminently watchable programming to viewers who demand more. BBC AMERICA is distributed by Discovery Networks. It is available on digital cable and satellite TV. For more information about BBC AMERICA visit www.bbcamerica.com.




FILTER: - Torchwood - USA - Broadcasting

Further Update on Torchwood Region 1 DVD Box Set

Monday, 15 October 2007 - Reported by R Alan Siler

BBCAmerica is now taking fan votes to pick the cover for theTorchwood Region 1 DVD Box Set of Season One. The channel has issued the following statement:
On January 22, 2008, BBC Video unleashes Torchwood: The Complete First Season starring John Barrowman (Doctor Who) as Captain Jack Harkness. The biggest hit and highest rated drama in BBC AMERICA's history, this action-packed, adrenalin-fuelled new sci-fi series, from Russell T Davies (writer of Doctor Who, Queer as Folk), follows the adventures of a team of investigators who use alien technology to solve crime.

And the fans have spoken - 1.6 million people alone watched the first episode. Now the fans can be a part of the show and get creatively involved with the DVD release by voting for their favorite cover artwork.

From October 15 through October 26, fans can go to a specialvoting page on BBCAmerica.com and vote for their favorite cover. When the voting closes, the artwork that receives the most votes will be used for this highly-anticipated 7-disc box set, which contains over 6 hours of bonus features. In addition, 20 voters will be chosen at random to receive a copy of the DVD once available at retail.




FILTER: - Torchwood - USA - Blu-ray/DVD

Update on Torchwood Season One DVD Region 1 Release

Wednesday, 10 October 2007 - Reported by R Alan Siler

According to the TV Shows on DVD website, it was announced today by the BBC and Warner that the Season One (as it is labeled for its US and Canadian release) DVD Box set ofTorchwood will be released on Tuesday, January 22nd, rather than January 8th as originally reported.

In additional news, it is also reported that fans of the show will be able to choose the cover art for the boxset. The studio will soon launch an online poll that will allow fans to vote for their favourite cover art for the set.

More details forthcoming. Below is the product description for the boxset.
The highly anticipated spin-off from the new Doctor Who, Torchwood: The Complete First Season blazes its way to DVD. Separate from the government, outside the police, beyond the United Nations, Torchwood sets its own rules. Led by the enigmatic, ever watchful Captain Jack Harkness, the Torchwood team delves into the unknown and fights the impossible. Everyone who works for Torchwood is young. Some say that's because it's a new science. Others say it's because they die young.




FILTER: - Torchwood - USA - Blu-ray/DVD

Illusion On-Demand

Thursday, 4 October 2007 - Reported by Jarrod Cooper

A new Video On Demand Channel dedicated to science fiction and fantasy,Illusion On-Demand, has launched in North America. Currently available in twenty states and is free to all digital subscribers. Illusion has announced that the Classic Doctor Who series is slated to be on the channel starting in January 2008. November sees the updated release ofThe Quatermass Experiment starring Mark Gatiss and David Tennant.




FILTER: - USA - Online

Torchwood breaks records

Thursday, 13 September 2007 - Reported by Marcus
BBC America has said the premiere of Torchwood on the channel delivered the biggest audience of any drama premiere in the 58-million-subscriber network's history.

The series, shown at 9pm Eastern Time on Saturday nights, attracted 496,000 total viewers, according to network officials.

In the target demographic of persons ages 25 to 54, the premier got 297,000 viewers. That's slightly ahead of how action drama Robin Hood performed when it premiered last year, at about the same rating (0.42). Viewer numbers were higher for Torchwood than Robin Hood because BBCAmerica is in more homes now.

A second airing, at midnight ET and 9 p.m. PT Saturday, delivered a 0.19 rating (139,000 viewers) in the target demographic, or 241,000 viewers overall.

Figures cited are live viewing and same-day viewing, which adds in a day’s worth of digitally recorded watching.

Meanwhile the series has received some very good reviews in the US press.

The Hollywood Reporter called the series "a crackling good, brilliantly conceived sci-fi series that targets actual grownups" while the Los Angeles Times described the show as "indescribably delicious".

TV Guide said the programme was a "a cheeky and often startlingly adult spin-off" and Variety said it has the fixings of a thinking-man's sci-fi series that doesn't take itself too seriously.

The Kansas City Star says the programme is "one of the best serial dramas to arrive on American television in 2007" and The Philadelphia Inquirer describes it as "by turns super-slick, raw, bizarre, hilarious, spooky, scary and sublimely sexy".

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette calls Torchwood "an adult sci-fi show with a sense of humor", The Seattle Post Intelligencer calls it "a thrilling spinoff" and The San Jose Mercury News says the series is "an imaginative, wickedly funny spinoff from the revived and revitalized Doctor Who".

Thanks to Jim Harper for the US press reviews




FILTER: - Torchwood - USA - Ratings