More BBC Promotion for #11

It really is nice to see that BBC America is putting together some nice things for the 11th Doctor launch on BBC America in a little over two weeks.

DOCTOR WHO STARS TO LAUNCH NEW SERIES IN NYC

I got this press release from BBC America -- I'm very jealous and wish I could go!

BBC AMERICA announced today the stars of its new Doctor Who series will make their first U.S. visit together to New York the week of April 12, ahead of the broadcast premiere on Saturday, April 17.

Launching the new era of the iconic series from BAFTA-winning writer Steven Moffat (Steven Spielberg's upcoming Tintin, Jekyll, Coupling), Matt Smith (The Doctor) and Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) will join Steven in New York for press interviews and a series of events. The launch kicks off on April 12, with a Paley Center for Media and BAFTA East Coast member screening and discussion moderated by Entertainment Weekly’s senior writer Clark Collis. On April 14, fans can join Matt, Karen and Steven at the Village East Cinema for the official premiere screening followed immediately by a Q&A moderated by USA Today’s pop culture columnist Whitney Matheson, author of the Pop Candy blog.



Wednesday, April 14

7:00 PM: A special premiere screening event of the new Doctor Who series, immediately followed by a Q&A with actors Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat at the Village East Cinema. The Q&A session will be moderated by USA Today’s Pop Culture Columnist Whitney Matheson, author of the Pop Candy blog. The event is open to the public and seating is on a first-come, first served basis on the day of the event. Facebook Event Page.

New Doctor Who Trailer

Kind of obviously designed for 3D!

About The Weeping Angels

This is a short little clip about the Weeping Angels. Interesting!

Today's Disturbing Matt Smith Revelation

Ok. I'm somewhat adjusted for an actor playing the Doctor being younger than me, and well, just about everyone I know. I trust that Steven Moffat knows what he's doing.

But then in the latest Doctor Who Magazine, they point out that not only is Matt Smith "younger" than DWM, but they give enough information for me to determine that the issue of DWM that was out when he was born was probably the first issue of DWM I ever got...

Making A Prediction

Since it looks like the BBC will be making an announcement tomorrow, I figure it's my last chance to make a prediction. I think Number 11 is going to be Patterson Joseph.

It feels right to me that it would be a non-white actor to play the Doctor at this point -- and he's got a personality that feels Doctorish to me. He's also got a career that makes sense to be a Doctor -- he's worked with Steven Moffat on Jekyll, a history of working on (and interest in) telefantasy projects like Neverwhere and the new Survivors. He's not too big of an actor -- he's someone that I can see committing several years to a televison role --

By posting this, I'm sure to be wrong -- but he makes a lot of sense to me. And if I'm wrong, I'll be surprised, which isn't bad either!

Blink

It is not terribly surprising to see Blink win the Hugo for Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. I was pulling for Paul Cornell, but that was as much because Moffat already has two of them and not anything against Blink in particular -- I think the Human Nature/Blink combination is probably the best single DVD of Doctor Who in existence -- and possibly even the best possible Doctor Who DVD in existence.

Of course, it'll be interesting to see if Moffat will be able to keep winning Hugos once he is the showrunner...

Hanging Out With The Dream King

Unsurprisingly, the rumor that superstar Neil Gaiman might write for the 2010 series of Doctor Who is starting to make the rounds.

It's no secret that Neil is a fan of the series -- including the new series, and of new showrunner Steven Moffat's episodes in particular. So he's obviously on the short list of plausible writers for Doctor Who.

I figure it is one of those things that if it is meant to happen, it will -- but Neil is obviously a very busy individual, and he'd be difficult to work out a schedule on, especially given that he's primarily based in the US.

Would this be something to get excited about? You bet. Is it something that I can see happening? Sure. Less likely things in the history of Doctor Who have happened, after all.

But there is a long path until the episode gets in front of a camera -- and so even if he's a possible candidate to write an episode, there are a number of things that can make it fall through. It has happened in Doctor Who history many times in the past, after all.

Grand Moff

Well, it is official. Steven Moffat will be the new Doctor Who show runner.

And really, it could never be anyone else -- he's more than proven his capabilities with his previous Doctor Who contributions. With Curse of Fatal Death he managed the best televised Doctor Who of the 1990s without even having official status, and The Empty Child, Girl in the Fireplace, and Blink have all been highlights of the revived series.

It has been apparent that we were heading to the end of an era for some time now -- and it is a statement to Russell T Davies contribution to the series that his replacement is taking the same sort of recognition that a change of cast would have. Obviously, there are people that have had criticisms of Russell's era of the show -- but it is undeniable that he's made Doctor Who more successful than anyone could have reasonably managed.

Thanks to everyone involved with the current era of Doctor Who -- Russell, Phil, and Julie. It's been a fantastic run, and one everyone can and should be proud of.

And the best part is, we know that there will be great Doctor Who in the future -- it is a format bigger than any one person behind or in front of the camera. It's always capable of changing -- but still having that continuing thread.

Congratulations and good luck. The moment has been prepared for.

Human Nature

I'm watching what may be the greatest disc of Doctor Who of all time -- I just finished watching Human Nature and The Family of Blood -- which was a very appropriate to watch today. And now I'm watching the Blink commentary track.

The more time that has passed the happier I am with the second half (in particular) of the most recent series of Doctor Who. It's all just about some of the best part of Doctor Who ever -- creepy, emotional, fan-pleasing, clever, and witty.

Fantastic.

Jekyll on DVD

One thing that is pretty obvious is that they like to make sure that the DVD sets come out as quickly after their first American airing as possible for a lot of shows -- Doctor Who has appeared on DVD as soon after it completes its airing on Sci Fi as possible. So I really shouldn't be surprised that Stephen Mofatt's Jekyll is going to be out on DVD as early as the middle of next month, only a couple of weeks after it finishes its BBC America run.

And of course, we're already aware that the first Torchwood set will come out in the first month or two of 2008, after it wraps up its own BBC America run. The biggest issue on much of this is the turnaround time -- Jekyll is on BBC America pretty quickly, but it's taken a year for Torchwood to cross over.

The Doctor Who Channel

It is really amazing -- with BBC America now airing Stephen Moffat's excellent Jekyll, and also giving heavy promotion to Doctor Who and Torchwood's upcoming runs starting in September, BBC America's Saturday night has been taken over by the Doctor Who family.

I finally watched the first two episodes of Jekyll, and it goes without saying that it is excellent. Moffat's episodes of Doctor Who have been some of the best, and so to see him take on this sort of material is excellent, and is a part of the resurgence of the UK's telefantasy tradition.