Over at Boing Boing they have an interview with David Tennant and Russell T Davies and if you love Doctor Who, well, you'll love this...all 20 minutes of it. The interviewer is Richard Metzger of Dangerous Minds. Here is how Metzger described the interview:
This interview took place at an interesting moment in time for both men as they've only just left behind their respective starring roles in one of the biggest television successes in the world today. As difficult as that may sound, you can only imagine how much pressure is off them after four years of practically non-stop work. I think it shows in this interview, as they're both very relaxed and jovial. David had just come from Comic-Con where he was treated with fan adulation bordering on Beatlemania and Russell is starting a new phase of his life here in Los Angeles."
One of my favorite pop-culture writers is television critic Robert Lloyd, who has a wry wit and high standards but also holds onto an enthusiasm for his subject matter that makes his work refreshing in this era of relentless snark. Lloyd was the moderator last week for the "Doctor Who" panel at Comic-Con International and I asked him to reflect on the strange job, which can (I know from experience), at its best, make you feel like a ringmaster at a celebrity circus or, on those bad days, just another clown in the spotlight. Here's Lloyd's report:
I went down to Comic-Con last weekend to moderate a panel on "Doctor Who," the BBC (here BBC America) series about a 900-year-old traveler in time and space and the various humans who come along for the ride. For a brief time I was, in a real-world, non-canonical way, that human.
This was something of a historical event, being the first Comic-Con appearance of popular "Tenth Doctor" David Tennant, or any Doctor at all since the series, which began in 1963, was brought back to life after a 15-year hiatus in 2005. Or possibly by any Doctor ever. (The main character periodically regenerates into a new actor — though since this is Hero Complex, you probably knew that already.) Re-creator Russell T Davies was there, too — also for the first time — along with executive producer Julie Gardner and director Euros Lyn.
They are of course part of a much larger team, but they constitute a Beatle-y core group — the Actor, the Writer, the Producer, the Director — to which I was attached like, well, not like a Yoko. Nor a Maharishi. (A Derek Taylor, possibly, to go for the geeky obscure comparison, or an Ed Sullivan, to be more obvious ... but this is getting off track...) All were about to leave the show — there were at the moment four more hours of the Tennant "Who" left to come, spread out into the New Year — which added a certain poignancy to the moment. It was a hello, and a goodbye.
There is, supposedly, a distance the traditional news media keeps from the people we write about, a baseline us-and-them formality that aids (though it certainly does not ensure) dispassion in reporting and reviewing. And yet though I was there to represent The Times, sort of, for all intents and purposes I was working for BBC America. For free, I should add, although in the name of absolute transparency: I did let them buy me a drink and I ate a cookie backstage. Still, given that I was already on record as a fan of the show, it felt the honest thing to do. (It is done all the time; I just have a tendency to over-think these things.)
In any case, "Doctor Who," especially in the context of Comic-Con and the legions of fans who rose early in order to guarantee a place in the room — capacity 4,000 — does not require my validation, or even my valediction. If anything, I was the one made cooler by the association.
I got down to San Diego Saturday afternoon and went to meet my new temporary companions in a comparatively quiet corner of the Marriott Hotel, next to the convention center. You want people whose work you like to reflect that work, and they were just as nice as I'd want them to be. A running order for the next morning's panel was worked out, and then I followed them over to the convention center, where episodes of "Doctor Who" and "Torchwood" were to be screened.
Devin Johnson, a BBC America publicist, who had previously seemed just a quiet, friendly young fellow suddenly appeared on the stage, winding up the crowd like the King of Pep.
I say 'Doctor!" he cried. "You say --"
"Who!"
"I say 'Torch,' you say --"
"Wood!"
And so on. And then he unexpectedly brought out Davies, who brought out "Torchwood" star John Barrowman and Tennant, who wound up kissing Barrowman, who did an elaborate, extended comic swoon, recovered, screamed and kissed Davies, as pandemonium reigned. At which point I thought, "Hmmm, I need to think a little more about tomorrow."
Asking questions in public is quite different from interviewing someone for print, where space and time are yours to command, within limits. In print, no one can see you stammer or sweat or fumble with your notes. You can go back and fix things — not rewrite, but clean up the edges and sharpen the focus — which is a controversial act in the literature of time travel, but par for the course in print journalism. You aim to mine the subtleties of a person's art.
A panel, on the other hand, is a public event; it is a show. Although there are practical reasons for people to be there (the promoters promote, the journalists note), at a place like Comic-Con, in which little rivulets of individual obsession run together into cataracts of pop-cultural momentum, the questions and answers are secondary to the event itself, in which a great wave of human love washes over the objects of its affection.
That night in the hotel I sketched a brief introductory love letter to the show and its makers — perhaps not brief by Comic-Con standards — and tried to work out which questions would work best for the summing-up-while-looking-forward the occasion demanded. The fans, I figured, would take care of the sorts of questions that fans would ask, more specific, more obscure, more eccentric questions. (They did, and very well.)
The next morning, I met the Who crew again in the lobby — they'd already been on local TV by that time — and followed along in a little parade out the back of the hotel and into the back of the convention center, into the green room and out of the green room, and into the curtained "backstage" of the hall itself, where there was no longer any time to be nervous about it.
The lights went down in the hall and I — a person no one had come to see, I could not help thinking — walked out onto the stage and addressed the multitude, "Good morning, class. Welcome to 'Doctor Who' 101." That was all it took to make 4,000 people scream. And so the love began. I said my piece, admitting finally — I've said it in print, so why not in public — that it is a show that can make me cry, and got a collective "Aaaaw" back from the crowd, as when something cute happens in a situation comedy.
Most of the hour went by for me in a blur, strung between the clips I needed to cue and the man from the Guinness Book of World Records I had to introduce, and the need to keep things moving and to spread the questions around. (Video confirms that I got a few laughs along the way.) Whenever someone wasn't speaking, cries of "We love you" filled the gap. ("I love you too, each one of you, but in a slightly different, individual way.")
As to what was said, the main points were Tweeted and blogged and duly reported even before I'd got back to the hotel, and you can read them in a dozen other places. My clearest memories are of digital cameras and cellphones held aloft in the people's new salute; the roars of approval that greeted the clips — especially the appearance of Catherine Tate's Donna Noble in a trailer for the Tennant finale — and Tennant's final victory lap along the front of the stage. It was ridiculous fun to be even in nominal control of these moments — to pronounce the name "David Tennant" and unleash a standing ovation. It was like some amazing voice-activated toy.
And then it was over. Partings are built into the "Doctor Who" universe; every so often, a Doctor departs; his companions depart more frequently, and when they do, when they toddle off into exile, it's always more than a bit sad. And so it was for me, on Earth as on television.
Is David Tennant coming to Comic-Con International to say goodbye ... or to announce the start of something big? The time traveler is on the clock when it comes to his signature role — the announced plan is that he will leave the character behind after a series of specials that will air on the BBC next year — but there has been speculation across the Atlantic that he is coming to San Diego to announce a Doctor Who feature film. Could it be true? It seems unlikely to me, but (ahem) time will tell.
The Doctor Who panel at Comic-Con promises to be one of the must-see moments this year, and we're pleased to report that the Sunday morning session (July 26, 10 a.m., Ballroom 20) will be moderated by Los Angeles Times television critic Robert Lloyd, whose dry wit is a perfect fit for the occasion. "Doctor Who" creative force Russell T. Davies, director Euros Lyn and executive producer Julie Gardner will all be on stage also. Do you have a question for the good Doctor or his compatriots? Post it here in the comments section; Lloyd has agreed to bring the best questions with him to the stage.
I'm a big fan of lists, so is Jevon Phillips, a star contributor here at Hero Complex. Here's his take on a recent tally of the women of sci-fi....or is that sigh-fi? -- G.B.
As usual, there's a lot to dispute about anyone having a top so-and-so list, but Totalscifionline.com's 25 women who shook up sci-fi isn't too startling. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer,""Battlestar Galactica" and "Star Trek" are the only franchises with multiple entries on the list (and rightfully so). Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley of "Alien" fame was named First Lady of Sci-Fi.
Of course, there were parameters, which the site laid out like so:
We've limited ourselves to TV and film - SF and fantasy literature probably warrants a further list all of its own - and in those instances where multiple actresses have portrayed a character, we’ve written who we believe gave the most definitive performance in brackets. No doubt there are many characters you feel we’ve left off.
Yeah, yeah -- and the site does include a more in-depth examination of each choice. There will be debate over ones who didn't make it. I really like River Tam on "Firefly" -- but it was short-lived -- and the women of "Cleopatra 2525" and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity in "The Matrix" and ... well, let's stop there. And there may be some on the list who deserve to be higher. Wonder Woman and Xena, 22 and 23? Hey, I like Leeloo and Claire bear, but not over those two icons.
Again, it can be debated (Lois Lane! "Bionic Woman!") until we're all breathless, but give the site credit for taking on the task. Here's their final list. Let the comments flow.
The 25 Women Who Shook Sci-Fi:
1) Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver, "Alien" series)
2) Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer")
No doubt about it, Doctor Who is a character who can stand the test of time -- but can he compete with his own past?
With more than 750 episodes aired, "Doctor Who" holds the record for the "longest running science fiction show," according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The first show aired the day after John F. Kennedy was shot in November 1963 and the character has never been more popular in his native England or America than in the past few years. But that's part of the problem now confronting the show -- David Tennant, the 10th actor to occupy the role of the eccentric time-traveler, has moved on and there are plenty of fans who are still grieving.
More than that, Tennant will be replaced by Matt Smith, a relatively unknown actor and, at age 26, the youngest star to ever be trusted with the TARDIS, the Doctor's quirky time machine which, to untrained eyes, might appear to merely be a 1950s-era British police phone box.
"My problem with the newest doctor coming on is that he looks too young," said Chuck Dietz, a 37-year-old school teacher from San Jose who recently made the 340-mile trip to Los Angeles to attend a Doctor Who fan convention called Gallifrey One (it's a reference to the Time Lord's home planet).
It was the 11th pilgrimage that Dietz has made to the convention and arrived with anxiety in his baggage this time. "I don’t think that it works if the role is too young," Dietz said. "In the classic series, that was the whole premise of the thing: the Doctor was an elderly man or a grandfather.”
David Tennant became a household name in England -- and a rich man-- as the star of "Doctor Who," but his replacement has some work to do before he can say the same. The Telegraph reports that Matt Smith will be paid £200,000 per year (that about $287,000 U.S.) during a three-year contract, which is "a fraction of the sum" paid to Tennant. BBC officials would not discuss the 26-year-old actor's contract specifically, but the broadcasting agency did tell the Telegraph that, "All new deals are done with the economic climate in mind." Maybe the youngest "Who" star ever would have gotten a better deal if he hadn't confessed that he's never been a fan of the show.
The confetti has been cleared away, the egg nog has gone bad and I'm back at work. Hope you enjoyed the holidays as much as I did and welcome to the first 2009 edition of Everyday Hero, your handpicked headlines from the fanboy universe...
THE (NEW) DOCTOR IS IN: Big news from across the Atlantic, where the TARDIS has a new owner. I'm still mourning the departure of David Tennant, the best Doctor Who of them all, but I suppose it's time to move on, especially now that his replacement has been named: "The BBC today announced that Matt Smith has been cast in the role of the Doctor in the iconic BBC series 'Doctor Who.' Smith will be the eleventh Time Lord and will take over from David Tennant who leaves the show at the end of 2009. He will be seen in the forthcoming fifth series that will be broadcast in 2010. ... Matt Smith said of his new role: 'I'm just so excited about the journey that is in front of me. It's a wonderful privilege and challenge that I hope I will thrive on. I feel proud and honoured to have been given this opportunity to join a team of people that has worked so tirelessly to make the show so thrilling. David Tennant has made the role his own, brilliantly with grace, talent and persistent dedication. I hope to learn from the standards set by him. The challenge for me is to do justice to the show's illustrious past, my predecessors and most importantly to those who watch it. I really cannot wait.' Lead writer and Executive Producer Steven Moffat said, 'The Doctor is a very special part, and it takes a very special actor to play him. You need to be old and young at the same time, a boffin and an action hero, a cheeky schoolboy and the wise old man of the universe. As soon as Matt walked through the door and blew us away with a bold and brand new take on the Time Lord, we knew we had our man. 2010 is a long time away but rest assured the Eleventh Doctor is coming -- and the universe has never been so safe.'" [BBC]
GOODNIGHT, SWEET PRINCE: Meanwhile, the old Doctor has returned to the London stage after a painful holiday season of scar tissue and bed rest. Nosheen Iqbal has the story: "Four weeks after a prolapsed disc forced him off the stage, David Tennant has returned to play Hamlet for the final week of the Royal Shakespeare Company's sold-out production at the Novello theatre in London. The Doctor Who actor, who was confined to rest for most of December while recovering from back surgery, resumed his role on Saturday night. His performance won a standing ovation from a delighted audience, who had turned up expecting to see understudy Edward Bennett. Thousands of fans were left disappointed after Tennant's sudden departure from the show last month. Despite complaints, the RSC refused to offer refunds. Tickets for the West End run of Hamlet, which transferred from Stratford-upon-Avon, sold out within hours of going on sale in September. A cautious statement from the RSC said the company will assess Tennant's return on 'a day-by-day' basis. Theatregoers are advised to check the RSC website for updates throughout the week. The sold-out run at the Novello theatre is due to finish on 10 January." [The Guardian]
THE SICK SCOTSMAN: I had heard from several people that Mark Millar, one of the true shining stars on the comics scene today, had a nasty medical scare over the holidays, and now Scottish journalist Toby Mcdonald has details: "Mark Millar almost died after being pole-axed by his own medicine. The 39-year-old -- whose 'Wanted' series was turned into a blockbuster starring Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy -- lost more than a stone in weight in 10 days. Marvel comics writer Mark was raced to hospital after his temperature soared to 103 and he developed extreme flu-like symptoms. Mark, of Glasgow, said: 'I went off sick the first week of December and thought I had a heavy cold or flu. My temperature was a consistent 103F and I was awake all night shivering. After a week, it wasn't passing and my wife made me an appointment with the doc. He did tests and found my blood was wonky, my spleen was huge and my liver was acting weird -- all the symptoms of several very nasty things. I was sleeping 20 hours a day and have almost no memory of the whole episode.' Doctors finally discovered Mark was suffering a severe reaction to his medication for Crohn's, which causes agonising inflammation of the digestive tract. He said: 'They rushed me into hospital, kept me there for five days and did a million tests, which I slept through. I can barely remember being in hospital." [The Sunday Mail]...NOTE: A stone, by the way, equals 14 pounds, according to my handy pocket guide to British weights and measures.
CORALINE, BUTTONED UP: What movie is my 11-year-old daughter, Addison, most excited about in 2009? Well, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," without a doubt, but a fairly close second is "Coraline," which opens Feb. 6 and adapt Neil Gaiman's sweet and eerie tale of little girl who finds a mysterious door that takes her away from her boring life and right into a web of dark supernatural danger. Here's a video with some snippets from the film as well as some of the behind-the-scenes work going into the film by Henry Selick, who also directed the 1993 classic "The Nightmare Before Christmas." (Also, to read my three-part interview with Gaiman, click here.)
A GOTHAM GROOM AND THE MUTANT MOTHER: Film chameleon Gary Oldman has been a vampire, a wild-eyed wizard, a doomed punk icon and Batman's best friend, but those were just movie roles. You know what he is in real life? An optimist. How do I know? The 50-year-old actor just got married...for the fourthtime. His new bride is 31-year-old musician Alexandra Edenborough. The Telegraph in the U.K. reports: "Oldman divorced from his third wife the former model Donya Fiorentino in 2001, after his previous marriages to Hollywood star Uma Thurman and English actress Lesley Manville broke down...the actor married Edenborough at a small ceremony last week. Rumours of their engagement had circulated since they attended the premiere of Brad Pitt's film 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' earlier in the month." In other life-event news, Rebecca Romijn, who looks deliriously good in blue skin in "The X-Men" films, is now a mom. People Magazine reports: "Rebecca Romijn and husband Jerry O'Connell have welcomed healthy twin girls, People has confirmed. Dolly Rebecca Rose and Charlie Tamara Tulip were born Dec. 28. 'Mother, father and both girls are all home and doing well,' Romijn's rep Lewis Kay told People. They are the first children for the 'Ugly Betty' actress, 36, and actor O'Connell, 34, who married at their Calabasas, Calif., ranch in 2007. The new mom, whose pregnancy cravings included lemonade and soy cream cheese, is planning a long maternity leave." Soy cream cheese and lemonade? She is a mutant.
ON THIS DATE: Actor George Reeves was born in Woolstock, Iowa, on this day 95 years ago. The actor (whose birth name was George Keefer Brewer) appeared in one of the great classics of cinema, "Gone with the Wind," but he is, of course, remembered most as the Man of Steel on "The Adventures of Superman" television series. The one-time amatuer boxer took the role with reservations in summer 1951, but he became a pop culture icon -- as well as frustrated symbol of Hollywood typecasting. Reeves died in summer 1959 of a gunshot wound that was ruled a suicide, but it remains a murky matter in minds of many and became the plot of the 2006 film "Hollywoodland." To honor his birth, let's all look up in the sky today and ponder the 21st century meanings of truth, justice and the American way. [If you'd like to see a bit of Reeves in caped action as well as the trailer for "Hollywoodland," you can find some video at the bottom of this post.]
Today's handpicked headlines from the fanboy universe...
Sam Mendes is finding religion, Garth Ennis-style. Mendes, the director of "The Road to Perdition," is again turning to comics for subject matter with the announcment that he will adapt the harrowing Ennis epic "Preacher" to the screen. Tatiana Siegel has the trades announcement story: "Sam Mendes will direct a bigscreen adaptation of the supernatural graphic novel 'Preacher' for Columbia Pictures. Created by writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon, graphic novel focuses on the preacher of a Texas town, who is struggling to get by and is driven only by his strong moral sense. When the city is decimated by an otherworldly force, he embarks on a journey across the country to take on the evil. Supernatural project is a departure for Mendes, who is best known for tackling suburban angst in such films as 'American Beauty' and the upcoming Leonardo DiCaprio-Kate Winslet starrer 'Revolutionary Road.'" [Variety]
Who's "Who"?: The great debate has already started about who should take over the TARDIS now that David Tennant has officially announced his upcoming retirement from the Doctor Who role. Aubry D'Arminio weighs in with a few suggestions, among them Jason O'Mara (left), who is absolutely great is "Life on Mars." "If I could cast my dream 11th Doctor, I’d go with either blondie Marc Warren ('Hustle,' 'State of Play') or scene-stealing Jason O’Mara (who currently rocks the U.S. 'Life on Mars'). I know, I know, Warren’s been on the show before, but that hasn’t stopped David Morrisey and John Simm from being named as possible successors to Tennant’s TARDIS throne. And if O'Mara’s up for a little work during his summer break from 'Mars' -- that’s if poor, underrated 'Mars' is even still around -- I’d love to hear his real Irish accent more often." [Bits and Bobs blog, Entertainment Weekly]
Dragon reborn: Samuel L. Jackson will be the bad guy again, this time in a remake of Berry Gordy's 1985 cult classic "The Last Dragon." Leslie Simmons has the trades announcement: "Jackson will play Sho'nuff, the Shogun of Harlem, a role played in the original by the late Julius Carry, whose spiel included asking ego-driven questions like 'Am I the baddest mofo lowdown around this town?' Each time his gang of thugs answered, 'Sho'nuff!' Davis Entertainment's John Davis and Gordy's son Kerry Gordy are producing. Penning the screenplay as well as producing is Dallas Jackson, who heads up the urban family label DJ Classicz with Davis. Wu-Tang Clan'sRZA is co-producing. The updated plot will be along the same lines of the original, centering on young martial arts student Leroy Green in his quest through the streets of New York to achieve the highest level of martial arts accomplishment, known as the Last Dragon. Those who achieve the high ranking possess the Glow, making them the greatest fighter alive." [Hollywood Reporter]
A Super trilogy?: Mark Millar ("Wanted") is talking again about his hopes to give Superman the "Lord of the Rings" treatment. He told Dan Goodswen about his trilogy ambition ... including the final scene? Gee, Mark, thanks for spoiling it before you even make it. “It’s gonna be like Michael Corleone in the 'Godfather' films, the entire story from beginning to end, you see where he starts, how he becomes who he becomes, and where that takes him. 'The Dark Knight' showed you can take a comic book property and make a serious film, and I think the studios are ready to listen to bigger ideas now. ... I want to start on Krypton, a thousand years ago, and end with Superman alone on planet Earth, the last being left on the planet, as the yellow sun turns red and starts to supernova, and he loses his powers." [Empire]
To die for: The question every cast member of "Twilight" will be asked a million times: Did you read the books?Denise Martin put the question to Edi Gathegi, who portrays Laurent, and it turns out that he is waaay into the books. Maybe, um, even a little too much? You judge: "I've read them all. 'Breaking Dawn'? I finished that in two days. I have to tell you, every time I finished one of them, a little piece of me died. I’d become invested in that world. I really felt sad. After the fourth one, I was like, ‘What am I going to do with my life?'" [Entertainment News and Buzz blog, Los Angeles Times)
Credits: "Preacher" cover courtesy of Vertigo/DC Comics. Jason O'Mara photograph by Vivan Zink and courtesy of ABC.Samuel L. Jackson photo by Peter Kramer/Associated Press. Edi Gathegi photo from WireImage.
Truly sad news just came across the Atlantic. The BBC has an exclusive interview with video announcing that the 10th (and maybe the best) actor to play Doctor Who is moving on.
David Tennant is to stand down as Doctor Who, after becoming one of the most popular Time Lords in the history of the BBC science fiction show.
Tennant stepped into the Tardis in 2005, and will leave the role after four special episodes are broadcast next year. He made the announcement after winning the outstanding drama performance prize at the National Television Awards.
"When Doctor Who returns in 2010 it won't be with me," he said.
"Now don't make me cry," he added. "I love this part, and I love this show so much that if I don't take a deep breath and move on now I never will, and you'll be wheeling me out of the Tardis in my bath chair."
Three years was "about the right time" to play the role, he told the BBC in an exclusive interview.
"I think it's better to go when there's a chance that people might miss you, rather than to hang around and outstay your welcome," he said.
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
Leave your Sharpies and 8x10 glossies at home, trekkies, because The Royal Shakespeare Company just released a statement regarding the production of "Hamlet" starring "Star Trek: The Next Generation’s" Patrick Stewart and "Doctor Who’s" David Tennant today, stating that fans will not be allowed to bring any Dr. Who or Star Trek memorabilia to be autographed.
"Due to the huge amount of interest in the RSC’s current production of Hamlet, only Royal Shakespeare Company or production related memorabilia will be signed by members of the company. It is very flattering that there is so much interest in this production, but the sheer volume of requests means that we need to set some limits which will be as fair as possible for everyone. We apologize if this causes any disappointment."
This news will no doubt break the hearts of trekkies and "Doctor Who" fans making it out to this year's performance of "Hamlet," but let's examine the facts. There is a time and a place to dress in your finest Starfleet uniforms; classical theater is not that time. I’m sure the performers would prefer fans to go and appreciate their new roles and enjoy Shakespeare, rather than just be there to see a character they’ve played in the past.
On the flip side, I am not entirely sure that RSC handled the heartbreak in the classiest of manners.
It is one thing to ban autograph requests entirely for logistical reasons. The same as it makes sense to limit autograph requests to 1 per person. Or if the actors themselves choose not to sign the memorabilia for whatever reason.
But the facts are, there's no real difference between autographing a play brochure or signing a Star Trek TNG Picard as Locutus action figure, so the statement is more insulting than it ever should have been. How about you just say you want to keep the focus on actors and get your action figures signed at San Diego's Comic-Con?
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
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
A Super trilogy?: 
This news will no doubt break the hearts of trekkies and "Doctor Who" fans making it out to this year's performance of "Hamlet," but let's examine the facts. There is a time and a place to dress in your finest Starfleet uniforms; classical theater is not that time. I’m sure the performers would prefer fans to go and appreciate their new roles and enjoy Shakespeare, rather than just be there to see a character they’ve played in the past. 
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.
