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DVDs in the Works

DVDs in the Works is a sneak peek at highlights in BBC Video's future schedule as well as relevant entertainment news. However, as the Scottish poet once said, "the best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft a-gley." That's our (and Robbie Burns') way of saying that the titles discussed here may or may not eventually see the light of day, due to circumstances beyond our control.

Last Updated: Monday February 8, 2010

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The BBC’s first landmark series on Scottish history

We're already getting requests to release A History of Scotland, a sweeping ten-hour series from BBC Scotland, on DVD, and we can confirm that it has indeed been on our "to-be-announced" schedule almost from the time we first heard of the idea. In a story arc that spans two millennia but always keeps its eye on how this history matters to Scots today, we follow the emergence of the Scottish nation from a number of warring tribes to the establishment of the Gaelic kingdom of Alba, and then to its centuries of struggle against the English to the reopening of Scottish Parliament in 1999. Archaeologist Neil Oliver brings a fresh perspective to the birth and growth of this continually fascinating nation, never before covered in such an ambitious series. With stunning, BAFTA-winning cinematography in high-def and the very latest in historical research, A History of Scotland promises to be well worth the wait.

Posted: Monday February 8, 2010

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Did the Earth really change history?

Some of you may remember Iain Stewart's fascinating series Earth: The Biography, which aired on National Geographic in 2008. Iain is back later this spring to show how the powerful forces that shape our planet have also shaped and molded world history. For instance, his exploration of the benefits of fault lines takes us to the Negev desert. There he explores the 6,000-year-old copper mines of Timna, excavated by hand and so old that they look natural (see above). Again and again cities and eventually civilizations rise around the resources that fault lines offer - water, minerals or even scenic landscapes, such as California's spectacular coastline. As he did in his earlier series, Iain brings high-def cameras to awe-inspiring natural wonders. Click here to see a clip of his visit to Mexico's Cave of Crystals and its 30- foot-long natural crystals, only discovered in 2000. Adding impressive CGI and visits to such man-made wonders as the Palace of Knossos and Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, How the Earth Changed History is another great addition in the biography of our planet.

Posted: Friday January 29, 2010

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Congratulations to BAFTA-nominated actors

Today the British Academy of Film and Television Arts announced its nominations for the best in 2009 films, and as always "we knew them when." Nominated for both Best Leading Actress (An Education) and the Rising Star Award is Carey Mulligan, who features in recent costume dramas Bleak House, Northanger Abbey and My Boy Jack. A more surprising discovery is that Mulligan also guest-starred in one of the most popular episodes of the new Doctor Who series Season Three's "Blink" (for which she won a Doctor Who fan poll so who needs a BAFTA!) In the Best Leading Actor category are Colin Firth (Pride and Prejudice, Another Country) for A Single Man and Andy Serkis for Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. Serkis first came to the world's attention as the actor behind Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. When he followed those three blockbusters with another CGI-laden performance as King Kong, he may have broken the record for the greatest career exposure with the least chance of being recognized. (Apologies to Lon Chaney, Sr.) This year he was nominated for an Emmy for his performance as Rigaud in Little Dorrit. He was also unforgettable as Van Gogh in Simon Schama's drama doc The Power of Art back in 2006. In the running for Best Supporting Actress is Anne-Marie Duff, who plays John Lennon's wayward mother in Nowhere Boy, which will make its US debut at the Sundance Film Festival. Duff is no stranger to fans of costume drama, having starred in Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen, and appeared in The Way We Live Now, The History of Mr. Polly, Aristocrats and The Last King. Last but not least, Nicholas Hoult (star of Skins) just seems to get better with every role (and wear ever less), and his contribution to A Single Man has earned him a nod in the Rising Star category. BBC America will run the BAFTA Awards program on February 21st, so be sure to tune in or set your DVR.

Posted: Thursday January 21, 2010

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Oscar-nominee to pen Doctor Who

Our expectations soared when we learned that Steven Moffat had been appointed the next executive producer of Doctor Who. Now we learn that among the writers he has recruited for the new series is none other than Richard Curtis, who is best known as the screenwriter of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill and Love Actually, not to mention his co-writing credentials on fabulous comedy series Blackadder and The Vicar of Dibley. We first knew Steven Moffat as the writer of Coupling, a hilarious sitcom with the occasional Doctor Who reference. Then in 1999 Steven wrote the legendary Doctor Who spoof "Curse of Fatal Death" for the UK Comic Relief telethon. It was sumptuous--23 minutes in four parts. It was star-studded--Rowan Atkinson, Richard E. Grant, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent and Joanna Lumley all playing brief generations of the Doctor. Best of all, it was hysterical. And it was exec- produced by...Richard Curtis. The other writers announced are just as exciting: they include comedy writers Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentlemen) and Simon Nye (Men Behaving Badly) as well as Who stalwarts Chris Chibnall and Toby Whithouse. We can hardly wait!

Posted: Friday January 15, 2010

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Survivors… coming soon on DVD

Some of you may remember a sci-fi series called Survivors about a handful of people who must recreate society after most of the world's population has succumbed to a devastating and mysterious plague. Penned by Dalek - creator Terry Nation in the Seventies, this classic had a long second life on PBS. With 30-odd years of innovations that have further complicated and dominated human existence, the BBC realized that the concept of a world without technology was ripe for a remake. Primeval writer Adrian Hodges was recruited to update the series, which is just about to start its second season in the UK. BBC America will run both seasons together, which will be followed by the DVD including both seasons. At the same time we will release the complete original series on DVD as well.

Posted: Friday January 8, 2010

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Before he was Poirot, he was Freud

We've been enjoying David Suchet's Hercule Poirot for twenty years now, so it's sometimes hard to imagine those "little gray cells" in service to any other character. But back in 1984 when he was relatively unknown to television, the BBC gave Suchet his first leading role in Freud, a six-part miniseries that aired on A&E in 1985. So far, we've only had the chance to see the series opener that features Michael Kitchen and concerns Freud's tragic enthusiasm for the medical use of cocaine. The New York Times noted that the series was a "warts and all" portrait shot on location in Austria, Italy and Freud's Maresfield Gardens home in London. This breakthrough performance earned Suchet the Royal Television Society's Best Actor award, so we fully expect the rest of the series live up to its promise when we see it on DVD in 2010.

Posted: Tuesday January 5, 2010

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London’s hottest ticket

Last year around this time the London theatre world was all a-buzz over a new production of Hamlet from the Royal Shakespeare Company. Tickets for the limited run sold out in three hours, and we'll concede that some of the mania stemmed from the casting of Doctor Who's David Tennant as Hamlet opposite Star Trek's Patrick Stewart as Claudius. But theatre buffs were as excited as everyone else, and even the lion's share of the critics were onboard. For all who are sorry they missed it, and for all who were lucky enough to see it, the production has been adapted to film for the BBC's holiday schedule. Look for it next year on PBS and on DVD. Click here for a review from the BBC News archive. Be sure and scroll down for a video report from the stage door.

Posted: Monday December 21, 2009

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Tune in Saturday for The Waters of Mars!

This Saturday, the countdown to The End of Time begins - not 2012, but the final three adventures of the Tenth Doctor, David Tennant. BBC America premieres The Waters of Mars on Saturday, December 19 at 9pm ET, followed by The End of Time Part One on December 26th and End of Time Part Two on January 2nd. David Tennant is the most popular incarnation of the Doctor since Tom Baker. While we're sorry to see him go, we're excited by hints that these specials will give the Time Lord the most glorious send-off ever. Click here  to hear him discuss his imminent departure. Check out the video clips below for some of our favorite moments from David Tennant's tenure.

 

 

Posted: Thursday December 17, 2009

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It's BAFTA season!

For us, the best thing about the holidays is all the great movies that come out vying for awards, including the BAFTAs. And as usual, it's a good season to see great BBC talent on the big screen. You can see Judi Dench vamp her way through the Folies Bergères number in Nine, and Helen Mirren rage as the dramatic and imperious Countess Tolstoy in The Last Station. Colin Firth has already won the Venice Film Festival's Best Actor nod for A Single Man. And he's joined by rising star Nicholas Hoult (who can also be seen in all his glory in the film as well as in Skins Seasons 1 and 2). Seeing the sharply bespectacled Firth in this gay-themed drama reminds us that he made his film debut 25 years ago as another bespectacled character in the gay-themed Another Country (available on DVD from BBC Video). And in another of her impossibly glamorous performances (see her in our Wives and Daughters and Die Another Day), Rosamund Pike explores the vulnerability of a trophy girlfriend in An Education. The versatility of Ben Whishaw, now starring as John Keats in Bright Star, will be apparent in January, when the Shop will offer the DVD of Criminal Justice, one of the most talked about British TV dramas of the year. And let's not forgot our behind-the-camera-talent. Forty years after Monty Python changed comedy forever, Python animator Terry Gilliam is still able to blow minds with his latest tour de force The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

Posted: Friday December 11, 2009

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Tom Baker stirs up Hornets’ Nest

This week's blog is technically a CDs-in-the-works, but the news of Tom Baker's return to Doctor Who is too exciting to ignore. They said it couldn't be done, but BBC Radio has brought the Fourth Doctor back to the TARDIS after nearly 40 years. In the tradition of the Key to Time, Hornet's Nest consists of five seemingly stand-alone stories, each taking place in a different era, but as they progress a hidden danger is slowly revealed. Each of the five stories - The Stuff of Nightmares, The Dead Shoes, The Circus of Doom, A Sting in the Tale and Hive of Horror - offers a full 70-minute adventure with Tom Baker's unique take on the Doctor. Along for the ride is Richard Franklin, as former UNIT Captain Mike Yates, and Rula Lenska, star of stage, screen, and coffee commercials. It's not, incidentally, her first turn in a Doctor Who story. In1984, she starred as Styles in Resurrection of the Daleks. The Shop will carry the CDs beginning next year.

Posted: Friday December 4, 2009

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At long last – Poldark on DVD!

If you've been a Masterpiece Theatre fan since the beginning, there's a good chance that you have two bulky VHS sets of Poldark that are reaching the last stages of viability. That's assuming your VHS player still works! We've certainly had lots of e-mails from you, wondering why, with so many classic miniseries already on DVD, that Poldark, is not. Your wait is over. The first season (16 episodes!) of this glorious series starring Robin Ellis, Angharad Rees and the rugged Cornwall countryside is coming to DVD on March 2nd.

Posted: Wednesday November 25, 2009

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Remembering Edward Woodward

For those of you who think the British Invasion of American TV started with Hugh Laurie and House, we were reminded this week, sadly, that Laurie is just part of a long and glorious tradition. This Monday, Edward Woodward passed away. Woodward became an American TV icon in the 80s when he starred the CBS series The Equalizer, which ran four seasons. But Woodward had already had a long and illustrious career in British TV. One of our great treats this past year has been watching his first television series, Callan, which only became available on DVD this July. This series about a British Intelligence assassin living on the edge of society and sanity may be the most uncompromising television we've ever seen, and Woodward's work in the premiere season earned him a Best Actor BAFTA Award. And for his post-Equalizer career, check out Hot Fuzz. Actor/writer Simon Pegg, who cast Woodward in the film, recently released a statement saying that Hot Fuzz rehearsals "were often gleefully tossed aside just to hear [Woodward] recount stories from his life and career. Edgar Wright and myself sought him out because we were fans of his work, by the time the cameras stopped rolling, we were devoted fans of the man."

 

UPDATE: Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars

This summer we brought you a short teaser for the next Doctor Who special, but now that "The Waters of Mars" has aired in the UK, there's much more to see.

Watch the new "Doctor Who: Waters of Mars" Trailer here

"Waters of Mars" premieres  December 19th, 2009 at 9/8c on BBC America

Posted: Thursday November 19, 2009

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We’re in a Jane Austen mood

As we feast our eyes on this utterly idyllic scene from the new BBC miniseries Emma (coming to DVD next year), we can hardly wait. And if you love Jane Austen the way we do, we have more exciting news: the Morgan Library has just opened a fantastic new Jane Austen exhibition, detailed in the attached story from BBC News.

Rare Austen letters cause excitement

Even if you can't make it to New York for the exhibition, you can see quite a bit online at www.themorgan.org. You can experience 25 pages of Miss Austen's handwritten manuscript of Lady Susan with zoom capability, plain text and even page-by-page audio, and imagine her slipping those pages out of sight at the slightest squeak of her sitting room door. There are further letters, manuscripts and even a short poem to be found by clicking on Selected Images.

And guess what? On January 20th, the Morgan will be hosting a preview of Emma with broadcaster Masterpiece Classic's Rebecca Eaton presenting.

Posted: Friday November 13, 2009

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David Tennant to film American TV pilot

Earlier today BBCNews.com reported that David Tennant, who winds up his run on Doctor Who around the end of the year, has already lined up a starring role in a pilot for an American TV series! Click on the link for the full story.

David Tennant to make US TV debut

Posted: Thursday November 5, 2009

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Photo© Stephen Dalton/NHPA

Life "as you've never seen it before"

Yes, that phrase may be familiar to you from our Planet Earth promos, and you may wonder how many times we can use it. Well, the world is wide, and the BBC Natural History Unit keeps finding ways to film things we have never seen before. Literally. Just look at the promo below. Life is a ten-part nature series intended to follow on from Planet Earth with even more excitement, new revelations and stunning screen 'firsts.' How is that possible? Well, it takes four years, 3000 days of filming in remote, unspoiled habitats all over the world, and David Attenborough. Who else but the BBC would do it, and do it so well? This time the focus will be on the glorious diversity of living things, and on the astonishing tactics they have developed to stay alive. This is what high-def was made for! Don't miss the premiere on the Discovery Channel this spring, and keep your eye out for the Blu-ray and DVD. This is a collection you'll want to own and share with friends and family.

Posted:Thursday October 29, 2009

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Sharpe’s even sharper in Blu-ray

If you're a fan of Sean Bean's swashbuckling Lt. Col. Richard Sharpe, there's great news. Bean returns for his sixteenth adventure in Sharpe's Peril. And we know you costume drama fans have been putting off replacing your aging DVD player with a Blu-ray, so even better news is that Sharpe's Peril and Sharpe's Challenge (2006) will both be available on Blu-ray as well as standard DVD. Plus, did you know that high-end Blu-ray players will automatically bring the picture quality up to near HD? So your older Sharpe's adventures (and just about everything else) will be just a little...er... Sharpe-er.

UPDATE: Stephen Fry's Kingdom

It turns out we were let down by one of our sources, and the first release of Stephen Fry's Kingdom, available now, is actually Season Two. Why would someone release Season Two first? Rights for Season One and Season Two ended up with two different companies. So who wasn't on the ball about releasing the season they had? Ooops! That would be us. We're in the process of trying to iron this out and hope to share some good news with you Stephen Fry fans about the release of Season One next year. In the meantime, Stephen Fry is equally delightful in the already available Season Two.

Posted: Friday October 23, 2009

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Dalziel and Pascoe reporting for duty… Judge John Deed presiding

Every week our inbox is filled with requests for DVD releases of Dalziel and Pascoe and Judge John Deed. Well, you can stop emailing because starting in the first half of next year we'll be releasing the first season of each. You may remember Dalziel and Pascoe from the days when A&E wasn't the home to the Gottis and reruns of the Sopranos. Based on Reginald Hill's long-running Yorkshire-based mysteries, the series stars Warren Clarke as the curmudgeonly Superintendant Andy Dalziel ("Dee-El," pronounced as the English are sometimes wont, with most of the letters swallowed). Playing Inspector Peter Pascoe, the other half of the irresistible chalk-and-cheese relationship, is the dishy Colin Buchanan.

Judge John Deed is Martin Shaw's longest running series since The Professionals. With cases ripped from the headlines, and a messy private life the tabloids would eat up, Deed is a High Court judge with a difference. Beneath the traditional trappings of red robes and white wig is a self-made man with an uncompromising passion for justice, a casual contempt for the system, and a no-questions-asked interest in the opposite sex.

Posted: Monday October 19, 2009

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Rupert Penry-Jones tackles The 39 Steps

To those who wonder why anyone would dare to remake The 39 Steps, the thriller that clinched Alfred Hitchcock's international reputation, we have just three words in reply: Rupert Penry-Jones. The action credentials he established as Adam Carter in MI-5 and his extensive experience in period drama make him the ideal leading man to play Richard Hannay. (Actually, there were two previous remakes: in 1959 with Kenneth More and in 1978 with Robert Powell.) This version returns to the spirit of the original novel by setting the action in the days leading up to World War I. However, it keeps the original film's invention of a prickly love interest, played this time by Lydia Leonard (The Line of Beauty) as an opinionated suffragette named Victoria Sinclair. We just finished watching it and promise a good solid romp in stunning Scottish locations. Note that Hitchcock's idea for the plane chase in North by Northwest clearly had its roots in John Buchan's novel, though the influence may have been subconscious. For those who'd like to revisit the 1935 Hitchcock film starring Robert Donat (Goodbye Mr. Chips) and Madeleine Carroll, Criterion has recently released their expertly restored DVD as a popularly priced single, which will be available for ordering soon.

Posted: Thursday October 8, 2009

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BBC America’s favorite housemates

Ever since Being Human premiered this summer on BBC America, we have been besieged with requests for the Season 1 DVD. We are happy to relay the news that the various rights issues have been resolved, and DVDs and Blu-rays are in the works, though probably not until mid 2010. In the meantime, why not catch up with woeful werewolf Russell Tovey's work in The History Boys and Little Dorrit? And sexy vampire Aiden Turner has recently stirred hearts and dropped trou frequently as the poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rosetti in the BBC miniseries Desperate Romantics, which we hope will reach these shores next year.

Posted: Thursday October 1, 2009

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Primeval Rescued from Extinction

In 2011 we predict that anomalies will open up again all over Britain. That's when the first of seven new Primeval episodes, specially commissioned by BBC America, among others, will be ready to air, and the prehistoric pot luck will resume its much-loved place on BBC America and BBC Video's schedules. A five-episode season will follow in 2012.

BBC News Link

Posted: Wednesday September 30, 2009

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Curiouser and curiouser…

In the glorious English summer of 1966, Jonathan Miller directed a version of Alice in Wonderland that has become legendary - legendary for its cast, which includes John Gielgud, Michael Redgrave, Peter Sellers, Peter Cook, Leo McKern and Alan Bennett, and legendary for its unorthodox approach. There's a Ravi Shankar score (which may have triggered psychedelic associations), but actually the film is slavishly faithful to the book's text. It's just that the fantasy characters we know so well from the book's illustrations have changed back to their Victorian archetypes. So the Queen and King of Hearts (Alison Leggat, Peter Sellers) are now Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and the Knave is one of the less productive members of their large brood. Searching for a suitable face for the Duchess, Miller needed to look no further than Leo McKern. Miller's partners from Beyond the Fringe, Peter Cook and Alan Bennett, show up as the Mad Hatter and the Mouse who tells the dry historical tale, respectively. Michael Redgrave, who balked at the notion of literally impersonating a caterpillar, was delighted to hear that he was to match wits with Alice (Anne-Marie Mallik) while sitting comfortably in Sir John Soane's Museum. Look for the DVD early next year. For extras, we are pursuing Dennis Potter's 1965 teleplay Alice, starring George Baker and Deborah Watling, which tells the poignant story behind the book. This play became the basis for Potter's 1985 film Dreamchild.

Posted: Thursday September 24, 2009

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Congratulations to BBC winners!

The way the Emmys are presented these days, it's easy to lose track of the score, but we were counting! It turns out that our Little Dorrit was the most honored program of the year, with a total of seven Emmys. Besides the four Creative Arts awards previously announced, it won Outstanding Miniseries, and clinched crucial awards for screenwriter Andrew Davies and director Dearbhla Walsh. And while you are checking it out, look out for Bleak House, from the same writer, which reset the standards for BBC Dickens miniseries when it aired in 2005. Congratulations also to Brendan Gleeson (best known as Harry Potter's Professor "Mad-Eye" Moody) who won for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the BBC/HBO co-production Into the Storm.

Posted: Monday September 21, 2009

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BBC at the Emmy Awards

This Sunday, September 20th, is Emmy night, and we're excited about the BBC productions in the running. Little Dorrit with 11 nominations is up for Outstanding Miniseries, Outstanding Writing (Andrew Davies) and Outstanding Directing (Dearbhla Walsh). The miniseries has already received four Creative Arts Emmys for Outstanding Cinematography, Art Direction, Costumes and Casting. Two of the cast, Tom Courtenay and Andy Serkis, are vying for the Outstanding Supporting Actor Award. Into the Storm received 14 nominations including Outstanding Made-for-TV movie, Outstanding Writing (Hugh Whitemore) and Outstanding Directing (Thaddeus O'Sullivan). Brendan Gleeson, Len Cariou and Janet McTeer are all in the running for acting Emmys. This year saw the eagerly awaited television debuts of two detectives from popular fiction in Wallander (starring Emmy-nominated Kenneth Branagh) and The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Both series garnered Emmy nods. We're happy to report that three of these fine productions are already available to watch on DVD, and that Into the Storm will be out in time for Christmas.

Posted: Thursday September 18, 2009

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New and improved Top Gear DVDs

Some of our fans told us the first full-season release of Top Gear on DVD was a bit too much like a spin in a reasonably priced car. Well, our next two releases should register in the Cool to Sub-zero range. For starters, both Top Gear 11 and Top Gear 12 DVDs will retain the full 58-minute episode lengths known and loved by British audiences, and much envied by American audiences. Top Gear 12 will also include our first - and we hope not last -- Top Gear extras: commentary on the Vietnam special, deleted scenes, a director's cut of the Botswana special with commentary and more deleted scenes. Both DVDs are on track for early next year.

Posted: Thursday September 17, 2009

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Look Around You

Greetings from the Spaced-time continuum! We’re working on a shamefully-late release of the first series of Look Around You, a Pythonesque send-up of educational films that first aired on the BBC in 2002. Each episode covers an important learning module, such as Ghosts and Sulphur, with silly puns, absurd experiments, and lots and lots of pencils. What’s the Spaced connection? Co-creators Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz met on the set of Spaced. Popper had commissioned the series for Channel 4 and Serafinowicz played Pegg’s arch-nemesis Duane Benzie. Look Around You is looking to release in spring of 2010. If you can’t wait, you can watch it on Adult Swim now, but we’ll have plenty of extras to tempt you back to the DVD.

Posted: Monday August 24, 2009

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Richard Armitage joins MI-5!

Those of us who have thrilled to Richard Armitage's smoldering (yet manly) presence in Robin Hood, North and South and even Shakespeare Retold were excited to learn he'd joined MI-5 for its seventh season. And we can now confirm we're releasing this season, never before broadcast in the US, on DVD early next year. Armitage plays Lucas North, an MI-5 officer who has spent eight years in a Russian prison (hence the cool tattoos). Lucas is anxious to get back in action, but even his old friend Harry Pearce (Peter Firth) doubts his reliability. Expect more super-smart stories and nail-biting action from this long-running favorite. We're already on the edge of our seats!

Posted: Thursday August 13, 2009

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Russell T Davies says goodbye to the TARDIS

Here at BBC America we're just back from Comic-Con where we rolled out our biggest Doctor Who talents including writer-producer Russell T Davies, star David Tennant and director Euros Lyn. Russell and David's visit to Comic-Con - their first - came as they wrapped up their final episodes of all time (for now!). Please click through to see a fun interview Russell recently gave after Doctor Who Specials wrapped. Watch until the end for a quick preview of the penultimate David Tennant story "Waters of Mars."

There's a great deal to look forward to from David Tennant in the coming months. In addition to the three exciting Doctor Who specials at the end of this year, David will also make a guest appearance as the Doctor in the upcoming third season of The Sarah Jane Adventures. But the pièce de résistance is the news that his recent performance as Hamlet (which quickly sold out in London) has been picked up for the next season of PBS' Great Performances. Look for the DVD sometime next year.

Posted: Tuesday August 4, 2009

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First Contact with the Eleventh Doctor

Filming on Doctor Who Season Five is officially underway in Cardiff, and Matt Smith has been spotted in his soon-to-be-imitated outfit of tweed jacket, bow tie, rolled up trousers and black boots. (Hmmm. That's not a clip-on, is it?)

There are changes behind the scenes, too, as Steven Moffat takes over from Russell T Davies as lead writer and executive producer. Besides writing some of the best new Who stories ("The Empty Child," "Blink," "Silence in the Library"), he created and wrote the now classic BBC America sitcom Coupling.

Too many changes at once? Piers Wenger, executive producer and head of drama at BBC Wales opines: "There's a strange and perfect alchemy between Steven and Matt Smith and the next few months are going to be riveting as that relationship starts to emerge on screen. Steven always says he's been waiting to do this job since he was seven. But it's actually the Doctor who has been waiting for him."

Shown with Matt is Karen Gillen, who plays the Time Lord's new companion Amy Pond. She previously played the soothsayer in Season Four's "The Fires of Pompeii."

Posted: Monday July 20, 2009

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Fawlty Towers Remastered

Thirty years have passed since Fawlty Towers wrapped, and we're celebrating this milestone with a loving restoration of the series which has been called "the Sistine Chapel of sitcoms." This time round, John Cleese has recorded brand new commentaries for every single great episode, and there are new interviews from when the cast got together last spring, including the first time Cleese's co-writer and former wife, Connie Booth, has spoken on the record about the series. Releasing October 20th.

Posted: Friday July 17, 2009

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Torchwood in your mind’s eye

If this year's short Torchwood season leaves you wanting more, BBC Radio has the goods. Coming this fall, Torchwood: The Radio Adventures stars John Barrowman, Eve Myles and Gareth David-Lloyd in three brand new stories -- "Asylum", "Golden Age", and "The Dead Line"-- that slot into time between Season Two and Children of Earth. "Asylum" upends the notion that anyone coming through the Rift is a threat to humankind. "Golden Age" takes us to Torchwood India and shows us what they've been up to in the 80 years since Captain Jack shut that outpost down, and don't answer the phone in "The Dead Line" - not even Captain Jack is immune.
Of doing a 21st century show in the decidedly retro medium of radio, John Barrowman said: "We did them over the course of three days. It was brilliant - in and out. But funnily enough, it sometimes feels more stressful than being on a TV set, because you have to be in scene after scene. You might stay in the room for four hours while other people come and go, because your character is in every scene. You're reading it from the page, of course, though that's not always a good thing. But I hope we do more of them. I really do."
Barrowman, who had just finished his UK concert tour (for those of you who don't know he is an accomplished West End singer and dancer), added "I will never tire of hearing a kid in a supermarket saying, "I love you, Captain Jack." I will never tire of that."

Posted: Wednesday July 8, 2009

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