'Dr. Who' season finale

Everyone was disappointed that Russell T. Davies had to drop out of the "Dr. Who" panel down at Comic-Con International and none more than me -- I was moderating the panel and dreaded breaking the news to the audience. I was glad to get the gig, though; I adore the show's wit and wonder and I continue to marvel at this golden age of sci-fi television underway in England.

In the end, the panel was still a great success because of the two "Dr. Who" stalwarts who did attend, show veteran and new head writer Steven Moffat (who is one of the funniest people you will ever meet) and executive producer Julie Gardner (one of the most dynamic people you'll ever meet). They were just amazing. "Russell can't make it because I tied him to his chair," Gardner explained the night before the panel when we met up in the lobby of the bayside Sheraton resort. "He's busy writing and that's the way it needs to be. I hope the fans don't decide to rush the stage and kill us in anger." They didn't; it was a big hit.

There are two must-read pieces on "Dr. Who" in today's Los Angeles Times. One, written by Choire Sicha, is a run-down of the show's future. The other is a marvelous piece by television critic Robert Lloyd, who reveals himself to be an ardent admirer of David Tennant's Time Lord.

Joyous and dark, a kind of Peter Pan from space, he embodies both the wonder and the terror of the universe: Two things he says a lot and which define the parameters and perils of his world are, "That's impossible," when an impossible thing has just happened, and "I'm sorry," when something bad is about to. Lean, sharp-featured and fox-quick, David Tennant catches perfectly the character's mix of exuberance and anger -- it's no surprise that he's spending the summer playing that most famous of complicated heroes, Hamlet, at Stratford-upon-Avon.

I am perhaps not the toughest critic of this show. I am not bothered by its myriad of internal contradictions, accept the less good episodes as a break from the great ones, and am happy to go where it takes me. I like the way the series changes in tone and even visual style from episode to episode to reflect the subject and setting and, like the Doctor himself, swings from light to dark, from nonsense to satire to something like profundity.

It's a wonderful piece. Please do read the rest right here.

-- Geoff Boucher

Photo of David Tennant as Dr. Who, courtesy of BBC/Sci Fi Channel

 

'Dr. Who' and 'Torchwood' fans will be sad

The printed schedule for Comic-Con International here in San Diego will tell you that Russell T. Davies, the Welsh writer and producer behind "Dr. Who" and "Torchwood" will be on a panel today, but I spoke with the BBC contingent last night and Davies never got on the plane in Cardiff.

"He's working on 'Torchwood,' he just couldn't get leave at this time," one member of the BBC team told me. "We know people are going to be disappointed." That's absolutely the case, but the panel, which I'm moderating at noon in Ballroom 20, will still have some star power with John Barrowmen (on the left in the photo), Gareth David-Lloyd and others. And, if Davies has his own TARDIS, maybe he'll show up and surprise us all.

-- Geoff Boucher

Photo of John Barrowman, left, with guest star James Marsters on "Torchwood" by Todd Anthony  BBC Worldwide

'Dr. Who,' 'Torchwood' and the BBC at Comic-Con

I'm excited to be moderating several Comic-Con panels this year for the first time and by "excited," of course, I mean "paralyzed with fear."

Here's the press release about three of them, all for the BBC, which is coming to Comic-Con in a big way with "Torchwood," "Dr. Who," "Spaced" and their new show, "Primeval":

The BBC is coming to Comic-Con 2008 with its first ever BBC AMERICA booth plus an army of creators and stars from international hit series Doctor Who, Torchwood, Primeval and Spaced. The booth on the exhibition floor will promote BBC Video, associated merchandise as well as BBC AMERICA’s Supernatural Saturdays, home of Doctor Who, Torchwood and Primeval.

Thursday, July 24 kicks things off with a panel featuring Britain’s most successful sci-fi franchise. The Doctor Who panel includes the BAFTA winning executive producer and lead writer Steven Moffat and executive producer Julie Gardner. It is followed by a Torchwood panel - BBC AMERICA’s highest rated television show ever - with actors John Barrowman, Gareth David-Lloyd and Naoko Mori and executive producer Julie Gardner.

Friday, July 25 sees a panel for the clever and edgy comedy Spaced with creator-stars Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), Jessica Hynes (Shaun of the Dead, Son of Rambow), and director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz). The panel will be moderated by Drew ‘Moriarty’ McWeeny, West Coast editor of Ain’t It Cool News. Created for fanboys and fangirls, Spaced will be available for the first time in North America in a DVD set on July 22 and on sale at the BBC booth. Later that evening, there will be a special screening of three episodes as chosen by the fans, log on to www.spacedinvasion.com to get involved.

BBC AMERICA’s newest sci-fi hit, Primeval, will also be represented with a panel on Friday, July 25 featuring actors Douglas Henshall, Juliet Aubrey and Karl Theobald discussing their onscreen battle to save humanity from prehistoric creatures invading the present day world.

The Doctor Who, Torchwood and Primeval panels will be moderated by Los Angeles Times writer Geoff Boucher. Boucher, who has written about Hollywood and the music industry for a decade for The Times, is also the lead blogger on Hero Complex, which has insider coverage of genre films, graphic novels, science fiction and all the other heroic pursuits in pop culture.

BBC AMERICA’s booth (#3629) on the exhibition floor will host various signings on Thursday and Friday related to all four programs. Fans will be able to purchase DVD sets from BBC Video and merchandise from a range of licensees

Update: The press release came over from the BBC with some dates scrambled, they are corrected in the text as it appears above.

- Geoff Boucher

photo of John Barrowman, left, with guest star James Marsters on "Torchwood" by Todd Anthony  BBC Worldwide