MAN ABOUT TOWN

So, over at Arts Hub I've written up a review of Torchwood: Miracle Day . As is my habit, I'll post an except here, but if you would like to read the whole thing, get thee to Arts Hub! Newcomers to Torchwood need not fear they’ll be lost in the usual convoluted back stories and continuity references of a successful TV series, for Miracle Day is at pains to introduce viewers to its world and its characters through the eyes of Matheson and his CIA assistant, Esther Drummond (Alexa Havins) – indeed, for long term fans, the drip-fed details may be occasionally irksome. That said, the pace of the first episode (written by Davies, the showrunner, and the only episode that has been provided for review) is generally excellent: it’s a fast and thrilling ride featuring a large cast of well-detailed characters, and with scenes rapidly cutting between numerous locations on both sides of the Atlantic. Davies has a deft ear for dialogue, and the script for this first episode s...

Just when I'd started to think that RTD had run out of steam, based on the previous two Doctor Who specials, which had their moments but were overall, kinda naff, tonight I watched - and loved - The Waters of Mars . Brrr. What a cracker of an episode. It's scary to see how far hubris can humble a man, and I think we're about to see just that in the next two specials, which The Waters of Mars has set up beautifully.

This Saturday night at 5:35pm (UK time) the BBC will announce the name of the actor who is to play the latest incarnation of our favourite Time Lord on Doctor Who , once the character regenerates later this year with the departure of David Tennant from the role. In a special edition of Doctor Who Confidential (the behind-the-scenes program which usually details the makings-of the long-running TV program) entitled The Eleventh Doctor - retitled from The Ten Doctors only a few hours ago - the BBC will look at the various actors to have played the role since the program's inception in 1963, and now promise that: The name of the actor who will replace David Tennant in Doctor Who will be announced on Saturday. Tennant said in October that he would stand down from the show after filming four special episodes in 2009. His replacement - the eleventh Doctor of the TV series - will be revealed in a Doctor Who Confidential programme on BBC One at 17:35 on 3 January. The casting was confirm...

Over at AfterEllen.com (your handy guide to absolutely everything lesbionic on the small and silver screens) I've just learned about what surely must be the silliest concept yet for a reality TV series. Ladies and gentlemen of the blogosphere, I give you: Pirate Master . "Ok admit it," quoth one of the trailers for this new show, "everyone's dreamed of being a pirate some day, right? " Possibly when I was seven or eight, I suppose, but honestly? Not lately... "I'm going after that treasure. I'm down for that treasure hunt," says Ben, 23, a Boston student/musician.* Down for that treasure? Oh dear god. Or, to put it another way, 'Belay that! These swabs be addled, I tells ye, arg!' But can you guess what's worse? The true, stomach churning horror that lies hid beneath the saucy veneer of this, admittedly fun-in-a-silly-way program? IT'S HOSTED BY CAMERON DADDO !! Oh, the horror, the horror!! *Can you imagine the looks on his...

Instead of leaving work at 6pm to attend a film preview last night, I went home instead, with a spring in my step and a curious but pleasureable sense of anticipation buzzing around inside my skull. I have a flatmate now. Last night saw us shop together, cook together and eat together - something I haven't done for more than six years, so it's quite a novelty. Then, while Mike fought his bedroom into an ordered state, I washed the dishes (don't tell my mum, she'd have a heart attack) before settling down to watch a few more episodes of the US TV series Heroes - showing here on Channel 7, but like most sane people I now watch episodes well in advance thanks to the internerd, with special thanks to fellow Fitzroyal, Simon, who's been supplying me with TV goodness. First Torchwood , now Heroes - where will it all end?! While the show's dialogue is sometimes clunky, and as Mike pointed out the characters aren't always well-developed, I'm still finding the w...

From the penultimate episode of UK tv series Torchwood , which I've been blogging about a lot lately... [spoiler alert] ...starring John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, and Matt Ripey as Captain Jack Harkness....

It's back! This Life + 10 BBC Media Release Date: 20.09.2006 A decade ago, This Life premiered on BBC TWO and changed the face of television drama, whilst gathering legions of faithful fans as well as industry acclaim and awards. To celebrate its tenth anniversary, the original cast, executive producer Tony Garnett and creator and principal writer Amy Jenkins reunite for This Life + 10 , an exclusive, 90-minute, one-off episode to be broadcast on BBC TWO. BBC TWO viewers became obsessed with the turbulent lives of a group of twenty-something lawyers who lived, loved and played hard whilst sharing a house in London. Thirty-two episodes were broadcast over two series during 1996 and 1997 and the final explosive instalment left its devoted audience begging for more. Fast forward a decade and This Life + 10 re-introduces Miles ( Jack Davenport ), Milly ( Amita Dhiri ), Warren ( Jason Hughes ), Egg...