On November 14, Graham Norton welcomes the star of Doctor Who, David Tennant to the program along with comedian Johnny Vegas and singer Alison Moyet. David talks about his final days shooting as the tenth Doctor, if he has any scenes with the new Doctor, Matt Smith and reveals if he’ll be tuning in to the new season.

He also discusses the experience of auditioning for the first time in years and takes questions from the audience – revealing who he thinks is more talented, Shakespeare or Russell T Davies…

If you’ve never seen Graham Norton, you’re in for a treat. I’m sure he and David will have a rousing good time, so don’t miss it.

The Graham Norton Show airs Saturdays, 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on BBC America.

Photo: BBC America

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The next special, Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars airs on BBC America, Saturday December 19, 9:00pm ET/PT. It stars David Tennant and British stage and screen actress Lindsay Duncan (Rome, Langford) as Adelaide, his cleverest and most strong-minded companion. All will be revealed as the Doctor and his companion Adelaide face terror on the Red Planet in one of the scariest adventures yet.

The remaining episodes, starring Tennant, will air over the holiday season as a two-part special. Air dates will be released in early December. Tennant shot a total of four specials before exiting the role – Planet of the Dead was the first one to air, last July, on BBC America.

If you like the shows enough to own them, the BBC will release The Waters of Mars and the two-part finale on DVD and Blu-ray, Tuesday, February 2, 2010. Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead is already available on DVD and Blu-ray.

Photo Credit: BBC

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About the new logo Steven Moffat, the new Lead Writer and Executive Producer said:

“A new logo. The eleventh logo for the eleventh Doctor – those grand old words, Doctor Who, suddenly looking newer than ever. And look at that, something really new – an insignia! DW in TARDIS form! Simple and beautiful, and most important of all, a completely irresistible doodle. I apologise to school notebooks everywhere, because in 2010 that’s what they’re going to be wearing.”

The new series of Doctor Who will premiere in spring 2010. The final three episodes featuring David Tennant will be broadcast later this year, with the existing logo on-screen.

I think the new look is very fitting of a next generation Doctor. What do you think?

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I got to revisit that era this past week when I reviewed the new classic Doctor Who US releases from BBC Worldwide. Two of the DVD’s are from the Tom Baker era (1974-1981), “Image of Fendahl” and “The Deadly Assassin.” The third is “Delta and Bannermen” starring Sylvester McCoy who reigned from 1987-1989.

Two things impressed me about these DVD releases. First is the quality of the print. Having only seen these as grainy copies on TV with rabbit ears, anything would have been an improvement. But these digitally remastered prints are far beyond what I was expecting. Obviously, they don’t have the depth and high definition of today’s Doctor, but they’re very clean and watchable.

The other thing that impressed me was the array of special features on each DVD. All of them have commentary with the Doctor himself and other actors and crew members. “Image of Fendahl” has Wanda Ventham, whom I remember from UFO. They each include a behind the scenes looks with interviews by key players, photo galleries, trailers and a PDF of the Radio Times listing from the era.

“Delta and the Bannermen” also includes Clown Court outtakes of McCoy on The Noel Edmonds Saturday Roadshow and a Seventh Doctor Comic Strip Retrospective. On “The Deadly Assassins” we look deeper at the novel The Manchurian Candidate which inspired the episode and find out the Doctor’s Frighten Factor.

Real die-hard fans will get a kick out of the deleted and extended scenes on “Image of the Fendahl.” These clips are made up of poor quality, black and white footage, because the original copies of these bits have been lost or destroyed. So kudos to the DVD producers who made the effort to include these rare scenes.

And here’s a hint: If you own these DVD’s I’m told there’s an Easter Egg on at least two of them.

I really enjoyed traveling through time with Doctor Who and his companions. As a fan who rediscovered the show thanks to the newest incarnation, it was nice to go back and relive my first memories of the show.

The DVDs were released on September 1 and are available at Amazon or any large DVD retailer.

Photo: Amazon

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Air Date: Sunday, July 26, 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on BBC America

In the first of four specials shot in HD, Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead, finds the Doctor trapped on a desert alien planet with a red double-decker bus but no Tardis. He soon discovers the mysterious planet holds terrifying secrets hidden in the sand and is forced to team up with a mysterious, aristocratic thief Lady Christina (Michelle Ryan, Bionic Woman, Merlin) to get back to Earth. But time is running out, as the deadly Swarm gets closer.

Photo: BBC America

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in a phone interview with the Chicago Tribune

In a clever ploy that allowed the series to run for so many years, The Doctor has the ability to regenerate — taking on a new face (as in a new actor) every few seasons. But this time around, it’s not a new body for The Doctor, but another Doctor all together (or is it?)

Here’s how the BBC describes Doctor Who: The Next Doctor:

It’s Christmas Eve in 1851 and Cybermen stalk the snow of Victorian London.  When the Doctor (David Tennant) arrives to investigate a spate of mysterious deaths, he’s surprised to meet another Doctor (David Morrissey, State of Play, Viva Blackpool), with his own sonic screw driver.  How could this be possible? Could this Doctor be a future regeneration?  But if so where are his memories?  The two must combine forces to defeat the ruthless Miss Hartigan (Dervla Kirwan, Law & Order UK, Ballykissangel), who is the Cybermen’s human ally.  But are two Doctors enough to stop the rise of the CyberKing?

It’s the first of five Doctor Who specials, with the next one, Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead airing on BBC American on July 26. Planet of the Dead was the first special shot in HD and it will help launch the new BBC America HD channel along with Torchwood come July 20.

But for tonight, it’s Doctor Who: The Next Doctor, Saturday, June 27 at 9:00 on BBC America.

Photos: BBC

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Craig Engler Nice interview with Saul Rubinek from Warehouse 13, talks about his love of sci-fi (Asimov & Bradbury fan) – http://bit.ly/XxT5X

Craig Engler 12 real-life locations used to film various sci-fi/fantasy films like Blade Runner & Terminator: http://bit.ly/1g4Vht

True Blood Net True Blood vs Twilight The Battle Is On! http://bit.ly/14I5Yp

Comic Con 09 Zombie Walk in San Diego at Comic Con! @sdzombiewalk http://www.myspace.com/sandiegozombiewalk

NathanFillion Spent the evening at Bungie playing ODST. Bungie, and ODST, are everything I dreamed they would be… and they had pizza.

MSiega Three more shooting days left on Dexter then I am off to Atlanta next week to start prepping Vampire Diaries.

sepinwall New blog post: ‘Doctor Who: The Next Doctor’ review – Sepinwall on TV http://tinyurl.com/kpwdln

MishaCollins Just woke up & I’m still groggy. I see it’s 11:27PM and the calendar says it’s the 24th of June. Looks like I’ve been sleeping for 5 days.

WAREHOUSE 13 — Pictured: (l-r) Saul Rubinek as Artie Nelsen, Joanne Kelly as Myka Bering, Eddie McClintock as Pete Lattimer — SCI FI Channel Photo: Justin Stephens

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BBC America has announced their lineup for this year’s scifi / comic lollapalooza and it’s a biggie.

David Tennant, will appear alongside writer/executive producer Russell T Davies, executive producer Julie Gardner and director Euros Lyn for a Doctor Who panel on Sunday July 26, 10:00-11:00am PT. (Just before Supernatural!) They’ll be showing sneak peeks from Tennant’s upcoming specials and offering photo ops.

Then, John Barrowman, will take the stage with Davies and Julie Gardner to discuss the new Torchwood: Children of Earth special.  During the same panel, we’ll be introduced to the new BBC America series Being Human. On hand for that will be creator and writer, Toby Whithouse, plus stars Russell Tovey, Lenora Crichlow and Aidan Turner who will talk about what it’s like to play three twenty-somethings with secret double-lives – as a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost. All four panelists will be signing exclusively at the BBC AMERICA booth, Saturday July 25, 3:00-4:00pm PT.

There will also be special screenings of Doctor Who and Torchwood with introductions by the stars and you’ll get a chance to buy a new limited edition Comic-Con only action figure from Doctor Who.

Here are the details so you can start planning your (already jam packed) weekend!

Saturday, July 25

3:00-4:00pm Being Human: creator Toby Whithouse and actors Russell Tovey, Lenora Crichlow and Aidan Turner signing at the BBC AMERICA booth (#3629).

7:30-10:00pm Torchwood/Doctor Who: Key talent from both shows introduce the last episode of the five part series Torchwood: Children of Earth and an advance viewing of Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead, the first of four specials starring David Tennant. Room 6A

Sunday, July 26

10:00-11:00am Doctor Who: actor David Tennant, writer/executive producer Russell T Davies, director Euros Lyn and executive producer Julie Gardner discuss their creative process and experiences working on BBC AMERICA’s Doctor Who with exclusive clips and a Q&A session. Ballroom 20

2:15-3:45pm Being Human/Torchwood: Being Human creator Toby Whithouse and cast members Russell Tovey, Lenora Crichlow and Aidan Turner, are on stage to give an inside look at BBC AMERICA’s U.S. premiere sci-fi drama about the lives of three twenty-somethings and their secret double-lives – as a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost. Following that actor John Barrowman, creator/writer/executive producer Russell T Davies, executive producer Julie Gardner and director Euros Lyn talk about the making of the epic five-night television event Torchwood: Children of Earth as well as take questions from the fans. Room 6BCF

Photo: BBC America

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Neptunian News says, “Eclectic Gypsy should be required reading” while the Skaro Telegraph says it’s utter nonsense and author Dave Thompson should be exterminated.

Well, you can’t please all of the creatures all of the time, can you?

Eclectic Gypsy is subtitled “an unauthorized biography of Doctor Who” but it’s so much more than that. This book is probably the only volume ever written that follows the Doctor from birth through his early school years to his travels on Planet Earth. It’s a comprehensive dossier built from scraps of information found in newspapers and pamphlets from across the galaxy, personal interviews with acquaintances and modern news footage. You may think you know the Doctor, but do you really?

Did you know that the Doctor was so fascinated with Planet Earth in his early years that whenever he had to date an incident in history class he gave the Gallifreyan chronology, the local reference and the Planet Earth date? A quirk that did little to endear him to his fellow students.

That’s just one of hundreds of little tidbits of trivia that you’ll find in this book. Dave Thompson has done his homework here, following up on every mention of the Doctor dating back more than 700 years. And even more captivating than the news clips are the personal interviews with the Doctor’s early professors, his young granddaughter who traveled with him for a time and even Za, a caveman has something to say about this amazing traveler.

If you’ve ever sat around a star bar listening to stories about the Doctor, wondering if they were true — then this is the book for you. See how the man became the myth when you read Eclectic Gypsy by Dave Thompson.

Book cover from Amazon and special thanks to Collector’s Guide Publishing for supplying a copy of this fascinating biography.

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We’ve had a bit of a break, but BBC America is about to get its Who on again with the acquisition of five new specials. The deal includes the four 2009 specials; the final episodes of the tenth Doctor as played by David Tennant. The first of the specials, Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead will premiere in July. As a London red bus takes a detour to an alien world it forces the Doctor (Tennant) to work with the extraordinary Lady Christina (Michelle Ryan, Bionic Woman). But the mysterious planet holds terrifying secrets hidden in the sand and time is running out as the deadly Swarm gets closer.

BBC America also acquired the 2008 Christmas Special, The Next Doctor featuring David Morrissey and Dervla Kirwan. That special will air Saturday, June 27, 2009.

“The outstanding quality of the Doctor Who scripts from Russell T Davies and the on-screen dynamic that David Tennant brings to the role are a magic combination for our viewers. Russell’s spin-off series Torchwood is already our highest rated show on the channel and I know the fans will follow these new specials with equal passion and support. We’re thrilled to bring this iconic show to BBC America, home of the best British sci-fi programming on television,” says President, BBC Worldwide America Garth Ancier.

The second special, Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars, and two additional untitled specials will premiere later in 2009 and early 2010.

Torchwood, the companion series to Doctor Who will have a very short, five episode run for the season, also starting in July on BBCAmerica.

Photos courtesy of BBC America

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