Comic-Con: 'Torchwood's' John Barrowman breaks into song

John Barrowman is clearly comfortable in front of a crowd.

The star of the British sci-fi series "Torchwood" went to school in San Diego and, back in town with a sizable contingent of his family, the actor bellowed, stood on his seat, sang and playfully groped his fellow cast members during a panel in Ballroom 20 on Thursday at Comic-Con.

"I thought I told you to never turn my mike off," he told the tech crew when they muted his microphone during a transitional moment.

Barrowman was asked by a fan during a question-and-answer session whether he would consider "rocking the blond hair" and donning the star-spangled superhero Captain America. Barrowman was emphatic that he would like to do just that if Marvel Studios calls.

"He's one of my favorite superheroes. ... My dad is probably sending the studio an e-mail right now," the square-jawed actor said, nodding toward his parents in the front row of the huge ballroom.

"Torchwood" executive producer Julie Gardner piped up and said she would "intercept that e-mail" to hold on to her action hero.

The rowdy panel like "Torchwood" was laced with sexual innuendo and flirtation and the crowd was delighted with the steady stream of wisecracks by Barrowman about his character, Captain Jack, and his sexual preferences.

The highlight was tender ad-lib moment: A young woman asked if Barrowman and fellow cast member Naoko Mori (who played Tosh until her death this past season) would sing a duet of "Sun and Moon" from "Miss Saigon." The pair starred in a stage production years ago and, after a bit of fumbling to remember the lyrics, they performed it to the delight of the crowd.

I was lucky enough to be the moderator of this panel, and it was pretty easy — all I had to do was stay out of the way of the Captain and his crew.

— Geoff Boucher

Photo: John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness) and Naoko Mori (Toshiko Sato) star in the BBC series "Torchwood," courtesy BBC America.

'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