Doctor Who

SXF, the Brit Sci Fi Fantasy mag, has announced their awards. And why should you care? Because it's a very interesting list. The magazine announced the awards at their annual convention earlier this month. Curious as to what they think about science fiction on the other side of the pond? Not surprisingly, it's brit heavy, but it's still interesting. Here are the sci-fi highlights:

Best Film Director: JJ Abrams (Star Trek)
Best TV Episode: Torchwood "Children Of Earth" Episode Five
Best Actress: Eve Myles (Torchwood)
Best Actor: David Tennant (Doctor Who)
Best Novel: The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
Best Comic: Batman: Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader? Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert
Best Game: Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady)
Best Collectible: The Journal of Impossible Things (Doctor Who)

Hope for the Future: Steven Moffat (succeeding Russell T. Davies on Dr. Who)
Lifetime Award: Gerry Anderson (Thunderbirds, UFO, Space 1999, Terrahawks and much more)
Cult Hero: Ianto Jones (Actor Gareth David Lloyd on Torchwood)
Sci-Fi Phenomenon: True Blood (they've only seen season 1)

Unfortunately, some of the most interesting categories are not available online, such as the Best Death Scene, Biggest Disappointment, and Best Dialogue. But my favorite award up there is easily Gerry Anderson. Not only did his work influence the SFX team as children, it made me very nostalgic.

Just like the bat signal, there's a big ol' question mark lurking in the sky when it comes to Doctor Who. Russell T. Davies did a whole heck of a lot for the science fiction series, wowing us with Christopher Eccleston and then managing to top it with David Tennant. But now he's out, Steven Moffat is in, and we've got a whole new Who. But we've also got one heck of a guest writer on the way.

BBC News reports that Neil Gaiman has written an episode for the show, and its working title is The House of Nothing. Gaiman hasn't shared any details about his stab at the Doctor, but he did say the show will air in 2011 if everything comes to pass. From the writer himself:

And while I know it's cruel to make you wait for things, in about 14 months from now -- which is to say, not in the upcoming season but early in the one after that -- it's quite possible that I might have written an episode.

And if I had, it would originally have been called The House of Nothing. But it definitely isn't called that any more.

I can only begin to imagine what the writer will create for the new Doctor. Thoughts?

Looking for something good and geeky to watch? Check out this week's notable sci-fi home video releases.

Zombieland (DVD and Blu-ray)
From its witty opening scene to its bloody final act, Zombieland packs plenty of fun, surprises and enough gory lunacy to satisfy even the most jaded zombie movie addict. Pick it up tonight, have a blast, and start anticipating the sequel along with the rest of us.

Doctor Who: The Complete Specials (DVD and Blu-ray)
Relive David Tennant's last act as The Doctor with the final four specials bundled together in one package. They're sold separately too, so you can pick up your favorites and leave the stinkers on the shelf.

Planet Hulk (DVD and Blu-ray)
I'm not convinced that this release – or any of Marvel's recent animated DVD movies – is worth a buy. Still, watching cartoon Hulk smash up a bunch of giant space monsters sounds like a mighty good time, doesn't it? Plus the special features (available on the two-disc edition) include some cool-looking comic-to-screen docs and Marvel motion comics.

Universal Soldier: Regeneration (DVD & Blu-ray)
And speaking of a mighty good time ... Jean-Claude Vane Damme and Dolph Lundgren strap on the ol' cyborg armor for ninety minutes of frontal lobe-numbing action. The latest Universal Soldier flick is sure to be a straight-to-DVD favorite.

If there's one show that I think is safe in its Britishness -- one that could never be tainted by the neverending rush of U.S. remakes -- it's Doctor Who. In fact, when I first heard about this latest news blip about Torchwood, I thought: "At least it's not Doctor Who." Oh, my naivete...

The Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed is reporting that Fox is developing a U.S. version of Torchwood, and buried at the bottom of the piece, they also state that Jane Tranter of BBC U.S. "might try to reboot Doctor Who for U.S. audiences." I'll ignore that last bit for now, as "might" seems like a way for Tranter to test the waters on how fans out react to an American Who, rather than actually planning to do it yet.

Torchwood on Fox... Where to begin? Should I discuss the lousy track record Fox has with these sorts of things? How a remake would be as doomed as Dollhouse? Should I cover the fact U.S. studios would never stomach the advanced opinions on sex and gender? Rue about how bland it would become? How cookie cutter? How decidedly unWho, unHarkness?

Looking for something good and geeky to watch? Check out this week's notable sci-fi DVD and Blu-ray releases:

Super Friends: Season One, Vol. One (DVD)
The very first Super Friends TV show features Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman facing their greatest challenge yet -- babysitting Wendy, Martin and Wonderdog. This set collects the first volume of the 70s super show, including eight hour-long episodes and cameos from Plastic Man and Green Arrow.

Battlestar Galactica: Season One (Blu-ray)
The entire series was released on Blu-ray last July, but now you can nab season one on its own in high-def. The set features exclusive picture-in-picture bonus features, BD-Live capabilities, and zero The Plan-style penis shots.

Chuck: The Complete Second Season (DVD & Blu-ray)
NBC's beloved spy comedy really started to get good in season two. Pick it up and prep yourself for season three, premiering January 10.

Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus and Doctor Who: The Twin Dilemma (DVD)
Straight outta the sixties comes The Keys of Marinus, featuring the first Doctor (William Hartnell) facing off with the Voords. The Twin Dilemma sees '80s Doctor Colin Baker picking out a spiffy new coat and embarking on his first adventure.

Sigh... The fun is almost over. There are only two episodes left until David Tennant shrugs off his life as a Time Lord and becomes a lawyer. There are only two episodes left in Russell T. Davies reign on Doctor Who. Like usual, the last will come to us over Christmas, but for now, there's The Waters of Mars.

The special will air on BBC One on the 15th, and focus on the Doctor's travels to the red planet. Set in the year 2059, the Doctor must help inhabitants of a base on Mars, who are plagued with a strange water infection that turns its victims into monsters. As much as there is some classic pithyness like the exchange above, this is looking to be one eerie and ghoulish special. And a public service announcement for the dangers of eating carrots, by the way.

Check out the clips after the jump.

[via io9]

Britain's long-time children's show Blue Peter has long had an association with the equally long-running Doctor Who franchise. But I'm not sure if they've ever had any creative control of the Doctor's adventures. But that's looking to change, as Blue Peter has put together a contest wherein their viewers are to design a new control panel for the Tardis.

The idea is to use household objects creatively in the design, and to make it look like something the Doctor would come up with. And the winner will see their design in the new season, lending credence to the rumors that the interior of the Tardis will be getting a makeover along with the Doctor himself. I think it's a great promotion, as the winning entries will also get a walk-on visit to the set.

As a show of my own ignorance of things British, I'd never heard of Blue Peter and in fact thought that maybe it was a website inspired by Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen.

Welcome to Captain's Log -- your (semi) daily round-up of sci-fi randomness from around the web. Here's what's happening today:

Adam Brockbank's concept art for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince included the Dumbledore funeral fans never got to see (image above). (via The Leaky Cauldron)

Leonard Nimoy's William Bell is heading back to Fringe this week ... and he might just become a slightly more regular master of the universe in the future, according to Reuters. Plus: io9 shares his thoughts on the state of science fiction.

Forget Jesus! Star Wars Blog shares the deep-breathing twist to Washington's National Cathedral: They pray to the altar of Darth Vader. Okay, not really, but his sculpted head IS a part of the building.

The Venture Brothers premieres on October 18, and io9's got a slew of images, including Hank flying through the air with Captain Sunshine.

The BBC is throwing a contest to design the new Tardis for the new incarnation of Doctor Who.

Finally, Movieline shares word that Almodovar will never do a superhero movie. Thanks, that's good to know.

By: Monika Bartyzel

As a child, I watched a little of everything. There really was no rhyme or reason -- Incredible Hulk, Muppet Babies, MTV (videos), Cosby, and even some Tom Baker wrapped in a large, striped scarf. But it wasn't until Christopher Eccleston became Doctor Who that I really started to pay attention to the sci-fi icon and his Tardis adventures.

Through a change to Tennant and a myriad of both silly and super creepy stories, The Doctor became ever more addictive, and I wished that he would head for the big screen. Sure, there's a chance that feature film could become an absolute reality, but recently I had a different thought: What if Torchwood brought Who to the big screen?

Torchwood: Children of Earth was a jaw-dropper. The series had started slowly, but as characters succumbed to the dangers of their job, the show became better and better until the long miniseries made it into an entirely new experience. It was epic, dangerous, shocking, and pretty much all the adjectives that would make a good feature film. I might even go so far as to say a better feature film than Who could make, because there was more cinematic intrigue in Torchwood's latest story, and that's more widely marketable than a quirky man who carries a magic wrench travels through time and space. So why not merge the two?

So much for a happy ending.

With Children of Earth's critical success and record UK ratings, I'm certain show creator Russell T. Davies will get the chance to bring Torchwood back to TV next year. But how can he? (Spoilers ahead).

Ianto is dead. Gwen is almost a mother. Captain Jack, wracked with guilt and stripped of his white hat, is gone. And Torchwood is finished. It would be a shame to see the show end forever after its finest hour, but where can it go from here?