Torchwood: Miracle Day Episode Titles Revealed

Thursday, 12 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Starz have released details on the individual episode titles that make up Torchwood: Miracle Day. The episodes are as listed in the programme guide, but may be subject to change nearer broadcast.

One day, nobody dies. All across the world, nobody dies. And then the next day, and the next, and the next, people keep aging -- they get hurt and sick -- but they never die. The result: a population boom, overnight.

With all the extra people, resources are finite. It’s said that in four month's time, the human race will cease to be viable. But this can’t be a natural event – someone’s got to be behind it. It’s a race against time as C.I.A. agent Rex Matheson investigates a global conspiracy. The answers lie within an old, secret British institute. As Rex keeps asking “What is Torchwood?", he’s drawn into a world of adventure, and a threat to change what it means to be human, forever

1. The New World
2. Rendition
3. Dead of Night
4. Escape to L.A.
5. The Categories Of Life

 6. The Middle Men
 7. Immortal Sins
 8. End Of The Road
 9. The Gathering
10. The Blood Line

The series premieres on Starz in the United States at 10:00pm ET/PT, 8th July 2011; however, its launch on BBC1/BBC1HD has yet to be confirmed in the United Kingdom.




FILTER: - Torchwood - Miracle Day (Series 4)

Neil Gaiman talks Doctor Who

Thursday, 12 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
As part of the promotion for this weekend's Doctor Who adventure, The Doctor's Wife, the BBC have released a number of interview segments involving writer Neil Gaiman, who discusses writing for the series, visiting the Doctor backstage, and also provides an introduction to his episode.

Note: the videos contain plot elements of the story which could be considered spoilers.


Neil Gaiman discusses writing for Doctor Who, BBC, via BBC Website



Neil Gaiman meets the Doctor backstage, BBC Doctor Who Confidential, via YouTube



Neil Gaiman introduces The Doctor's Wife, BBC, via BBC Website

Entertainment website Digital Spy have also released interviews with both Neil Gaiman and this week's guest star, Suranne Jones:


Neil Gaiman inteview, Digital Spy, via YouTube

Suranne Jones inteview, Digital Spy, via YouTube
 

 
The Doctor's Wife will premiere on BBC1/BBC1HD at 6:30pm, 14th May in the United Kingdom; it then follows on SPACE in Canada at 8:00pm ET, BBC America in the United States at 9:00pm ET, and on ABC1 in Australia at 7:30pm on the 21st May.





FILTER: - Series 6/32 - Online

Torchwood: Miracle Day Promo Images

Thursday, 12 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
With less than two months until Torchwood: Miracle Day premieres on Starz on the 8th July, the channel continues its promotion of the show by releasing some promotional photos of the cast, alongside the brief bios for the characters originally unveiled from the press launc
h
in January.

Teaser trailers have been playing on the channel for a number of weeks, though a full cast/clips style version has yet to air (both the BBC and Starz have shown a couple of clips in general promotional showreels).

Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman)

Jack looks like a hero. He's handsome, witty and subversive with a killer smile. But there's a reason for that glint in his eye. His dashing style hides a secret. Truth is Jack Harkness is immortal, the only one of his kind. He once ran the Torchwood Institute, a British organization dedicated to fighting the strange and bizarre. But Torchwood closed down, and Jack disappeared to start yet another of his many new lives. When a new, epic danger affects the whole planet, Jack finds himself back at the center of events, fighting not just for his own life, but for everyone on Earth.
Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles)

Gwen once lived the ultimate double life ... the funny, salty, earthy woman who loves home and family, combined with the tough, ruthless warrior, who loves the thrill of the fight. She was the heart and soul of an organization called Torchwood. She was a defender of the human race. But now she lives in seclusion, with her devoted husband Rhys and baby Anwen, knowing that one day trouble will come calling again. When events surrounding "Miracle Day" push Gwen to the limit, she'll need to call on resources she never knew she had and make the most terrible decisions, on behalf of all mankind.
Rex Matheson (Mekhi Phifer)

Rex Matheson is a CIA agent at the top of his game. Ruthless, brilliant and destined for fast-track promotion, nothing's going to stop this man from getting whatever he wants in life. But when the world convulses under Miracle Day, Rex discovers that everything he thought was true and safe and fair is now in danger. And when the CIA itself turns against him, Rex finds himself on the run. The only people he can trust are some strangers from a long-lost British institute called Torchwood. Rex finds himself traveling across continents as the scale and ambition of the threat is revealed - but in trying to save the world, will he put his own life at risk once too often?
Oswald Danes (Bill Pullman)

Well-educated and a former school teacher, Oswald's a convicted child killer, both guilty and unrepentant. But when Oswald survives his own execution, he's given a whole new life. The most infamous man in the world, he becomes the most provocative figure in modern media. He's a flare, reviled yet mesmerizing, whose very existence embodies how the world changed on "Miracle Day".
Jilly Kitzinger (Lauren Ambrose)

As a PR woman, Jilly sees how the world spins and instinctively knows how to manipulate her position in it. Ambitious and ruthless, there's little she wouldn't do for her career. A great talent spotter with a dark understanding of human needs, she is unshockable in a world that is increasingly corrupt and boiling. Jilly soon realizes that, in a world gone mad, Oswald Danes could easily become her ticket to power.
Rhys Williams (Kai Owen)

Gwen's husband is loyal, loving and passionate about her. A new father, he is firmly devoted to their daughter Anwen and the unity of their family. They've been through a lot, particularly when Rhys discovered Gwen's secret life working for Torchwood ... a world he could barely have imagined. Unafraid to tell Gwen when she's out of line or to say family sometimes needs to come first, Rhys is confident in his relationship with her and carries a grudging respect for Jack. But how much longer can he endure the dangers of Torchwood?
Esther Drummond (Alexa Havins)

Esther is an innocent, in a world of assassins, liars and zealots. She got where she is with the CIA through diligence and application. Hard work keeps Esther focused but she still dreams of active duty as a field agent serving her country. The dream is going to happen faster than she thinks and in no time at all, Esther finds herself running alongside Jack, Gwen and Rex, living off the grid, gun in hand, fighting a global conspiracy against enemies ranging from big business to the state. It's a tough, brutal, hard lifestyle where survival is hard won an
d life-changing choices have to be made.
Dr Vera Juarez (Arlene Tur)

An attending surgeon in Washington D.C., she's smart, fast talking and hard working, Vera is on the frontline of medical care on "Miracle Day". As the world crisis grows, Vera's surgical and ER experience sees her recruited to advise on government think-tanks. Sexy, confident and passionate, Vera's life is soon inextricably tangled up with Rex's.




FILTER: - Torchwood - Miracle Day (Series 4)

The Rebel Flesh at 6.45pm

Thursday, 12 May 2011 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who moves to 6.45pm for the fifth episode of the current run, The Rebel Flesh.

The first of the two-part story, written by Matthew Graham and directed by Julian Simpson, will be sandwiched between the two parts of So You Think You Can Dance, which has been moved back to an earlier start.

Doctor Who will go up against Sing If You Can on ITV1, in which contestants perform well-known songs while undertaking challenges designed to distract them. BBC Two will be showing Flog It, with people invited to try to make money out of their antiques by taking a risk at auction, while Channel 4 has The Restoration Man, the first of a series in which architect George Clarke joins people as they embark on projects to transform unusual and historic buildings into family homes.




FILTER: - Series 6/32 - Broadcasting

British Steel takes on Doctor Who

Wednesday, 11 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Artistic view of the Media Village front, BBCAviva Investors, the current owners of the Porth Teigr project to regenerate Cardiff Docks - and the new Roath Lock BBC Studios - have agreed to sell the 38 acre development to the British Steel Pension Scheme.

The full terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed, but the pension company has agreed to acquire both the BBC studios and to fund the development of the Centre for Creative Industries which is also to be built at the site.

Hoong Wey Woon, Fund Manager for Aviva Investors, said:
This is a landmark transaction for the igloo fund (the developers) and Cardiff. Working closely with the Welsh Assembly Government and the BBC we have been able to deliver an innovative development that will form the first phase of our wider ambitions for the Porth Teigr site.

The financing and sale of this project reduces risk for igloo by securing a fixed exit price and the innovative structure will generate strong returns for our investors.

Aviva also confirmed that the BBC would remain long-term tenants at the site - phase one of the Roath Lock development was completed in January, and Doctor Who is expected to re-locate there from the existing Upper Boat studios during 2012.

News coverage from: Financial News, Professional Pensions





FILTER: - Production - Miscellaneous - BBC

Hand of Fear - Ratings Update

Wednesday, 11 May 2011 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who: Hand of FearPart Three of the Fourth Doctor story, The Hand of Fear, on BBC Four, had 168,000 watching, with the audience rising to 294,000 for Part Four, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The show, which was being broadcast as a tribute to Elisabeth Sladen, had a 0.83% share of the total audience for part three, rising to 1.37% for part four.

Against Doctor Who, Snog Marry Avoid? on BBC Three had 190,000 watching, The Only Way Is Essex on ITV2 had 132,000, Friends on E4 had 132,000 and The Simpsons on Sky One had 470,000 viewers.

The episodes are not available on the iPlayer due to rights issues.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Classic Series

New Torchwood Radio Dramas

Wednesday, 11 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
As filming for the new television series of Torchwood is finally reaching its conclusion this week, the BBC's Drama Newsletter has announced that there will be further radio adventures to follow!
A new three-part series of Torchwood is in production in LA next week featuring TV cast members and will be heard later in the summer.




FILTER: - Torchwood - Radio

Steven Moffat speaks out against spoiler "vandals"

Wednesday, 11 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Steven Moffat has been quoted this morning on his thoughts about how some 'fans' feel the need to spoil series surprises ahead of broadcast, something he considers to be 'vandalism'.

The comments come after a recent incident where the plot of series opener The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon was posted online, and the story has been picked up by BBC News and on BBC Radio. Speaking to BBC Entertainment reporter Colin Paterson at a pre-BAFTA TV Awards event, Moffat said:
It's heart-breaking in a way, because you try and tell a story, and stories depend on surprise, stories depend on shocking people, stories are the moments you didn't see coming - those are what live in you and burn in you forever. If you are denied those, it's vandalism.

To have some twit who came to a press launch write up a story in the worst, most ham-fisted English you can imagine and put it on the Internet ... I just hope that guy never watches my show again, because that's a horrific thing to do. It is exactly like that boring man in the pub, who waits until you're nearly finished your joke and jumps in with the punchline, and gets it slightly wrong. You hate that guy, you just hate those guys too - can you imagine how much I hate them?

... It's only fans who do this - or they call themselves fans - I wish they could go and be fans of something else!

Having discussed the item on BBC Radio Five Live earlier in the morning, Paterson then appeared alongside Doctor Who Magazine reporter Benjamin Cook on BBC's Breakfast, where the latter reflected on Moffat's concerns:
I can understand Steven's frustration, because he heads a team of people who work incredibly hard throughout the year to make the BBC's flagship show and it should be their choice in how that story is digested by the viewers: the funny bits make you laugh, the sad bits make you cry, and the twists and turns - of which there are many, and many more coming up later in the series - they should be allowed to shock people. If someone goes online and spoils it for other fans ... but also then often journalists will trawl the Doctor Who forums to find stories to put in the newspaper that can reach the national press, it's a bit of a rubbish thing to do.

But I would say in the fans' defence that it often comes from a place of enthusiasm - it's not malicious, it's because they love the show. They want information about it, they want to share information about it.

BBC Radio Five Live spoke to Sandy Sinclair, senior contributor to Spoiler TV, who commented:
(If) you look at soap operas these days, you know what's happening months ahead. People start to expect these things of programmes. I have to say that people who do come and read these spoilers - specifically the one he (Steven Moffat) talked about - make up approximately 0.00001% of the actual people that are watching the show.

... We get screeners all the time for episodes of shows that haven't been screened yet on TV, they're sent to us and we give a non-spoiler review so that fans then do want to watch it. Obviously you are going to get people who don't respect that, unfortunately. If Steven Moffat is going to invite a number of people to different screenings of the episode three, four weeks before it's been shown on TV, he's going to have this happen. He's invited normal fans along to screenings rather than just the press or a site like us that will respect what he says, and obviously tease people about the episode, rather than give out a full blown, exactly blow-by-blow of what happened.

(the full interview can be heard for the next seven days on the BBC iplayer [2:13:24])

Later in the morning, Moffat wryly commented on Twitter about his interview: "Finally heard my own rant. Grumpy sod. And what a boring, inflection free voice! It's like been told off by the shipping forecast." He also pointed out: "It's the fans who MAKE the screenings - helluva lot of people to punish for one idiot."


 
Doctor Who's brand manager Edward Russell has also entered the fray via Twitter, focussing on those that follow location filming: "It's the people that follow us around on set and post bits of dialogue, film and photos that are the problem. One fan posted the dialogue of a scene from Ep13 recently." Responding to comments about Monday's Today programme, which also featured details of episode 13, he added: "Today didn't give away anything they weren't supposed to. There's a difference between teaser and spoiler."
 






FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Doctor Who - BBC

Character to release winning Blue Peter TARDIS console

Tuesday, 10 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
As reported this morning, the latest edition of Blue Peter broadcast today featured an item on the winning design in their "Design a TARDIS console competition".

Presenter Helen Skelton introduced the item, in which she accompanied the winner Susannah Leah to the Doctor Who studios in Cardiff to meet production designer Michael Pickwoad, who realised her design into a practical prop. A week later the two were then able to travel to the filming location itself in order to see the completed console in action; Susannah got to see part of the shoot, and was also able to meet the Doctor himself, Matt Smith!




The show has also exclusively announced that Susannah's TARDIS console design is to be released by Character as part of their tie-in Doctor Who figure range. Named the "Junk TARDIS Console Playset", it is expected to be released later in the year.




This edition of Blue Peter is available to watch in the UK on the BBC iplayer for the next seven days (the Doctor Who section can be found from 12:46).


 
There is also an exclusive behind-the-scenes video to accompany the feature, which may be watched on the Blue Peter website.




FILTER: - Character - Competitions

Hand of Fear - Ratings

Tuesday, 10 May 2011 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who: Hand of FearMonday's showing of the Fourth Doctor story, The Hand of Fear, on BBC Four, has 203,000 watching part one, with 276,000 watching part two, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The show, which is being broadcast as a tribute to Elisabeth Sladen, had a 0.94% share of the total audience for part one, rising to 1.19% for part two.

Against Doctor Who, Total Wipeout on BBC Three had 252,000 watching, Zac Efron: The Hot Desk on ITV2 had 65,000, Friends on E4 had 168,000 and The Simpsons on Sky One had 496,000 viewers.

The episodes are not available on the iPlayer due to rights issues.

The last Doctor Who story to be broadcast on BBC Four was The Daleks, shown in April 2008, in tribute to former producer Verity Lambert, which had around 110,000 watching each episode during the week, more for the weekend episodes.
 

 
A facebook group called Get BBC Four to show More Classic Doctor Who has been set up.




FILTER: - Doctor Who - Ratings - Classic Series