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doctor who

BBC Destroys Cute Knitted Versions of Doctor Who Monsters

I'm not a big letter-writing campaign person, but a line has been crossed when the BBC starts taking away cute knitted dolls that look like Doctor Who monsters. Apparently some kind of copyright nonsense inspired a wanker at BBC legal to force the nice knitter at Mazzmatazz to remove all the cool patterns posted there for people who wanted to make plush animals out of the Ood (at left) and several others. Let remind you that the Ood are born with their brains in their hands, sing psychically, and have already been oppressed enough by humans. Now I am deprived of these cute yarn monsters and I am angry. Please write to the BBC and complain. The cruelty must stop! [EFF]

ashes to ashes

Ashes Will Last Longer Than Expected

Now that they've finished the difficult first season, the creators of British time-travel series Ashes to Ashes are ready to get into murkier waters and the bigger picture behind why Alex Drake went from 2008 to 1981 as a result of being shot. Revealing that entire picture, of course, will require a third season to do properly, proving that the showrunners know how to guarantee their jobs for an extra year. More »

daleks

Exterminate Becomes Litigate In British Courtroom

The sturdiness of the British legal system and strength of the BBC were both demonstrated recently with the resolution of a lawsuit that claimed that the BBC had breached copyright with the publication of a Doctor Who tie-in book that included mention of everyone's favorite overused villains, the Daleks because their dad had published some Dalek books thirty years ago. Or something. More »

Anyone that has a WIFI Guardian installed on their PC (that encrypts what you do online by connecting you through a secure US or UK server) will be able to download the BBC iPlayer from www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer. The BBC iPlayer allows you to watch the last 7 days worth of BBC programmes.  You can only use the BBC iPlayer if you(your PC) is resident in the UK, and the iPlayer will recognise if your IP address is offshore. The BBC shows all Doctore Who (+Confidentials) and Torchwood (+Declassifieds) weeks before shown in the US! Enjoy!

doctor who

Is David Tennant The Worst Doctor Who Ever?

While almost all on io9 happen to be very big fans of Doctor Who's David Tennant - soon to be heard reading the latest Who audiobook from the BBC - it turns out that the Doctor Who faithful don't necessarily feel the same way. In fact, some are downright convinced that he may be the worst Doctor ever. More »

The Robot Uprising Turns 70 Today Today is the 70th anniversary of science fiction on television. On Feb. 11, 1938, the BBC broadcast its adaptation of a section of the Karel Capek play R.U.R., about androids that rise up against their human creators. Capek's play is the origin of the word "robot," which comes from the Slovak work "robota," meaning work. [ComicMix]

phoo action

Buddhist Kung-Fu Cops Fight Crime in 2012 London

In the year 2012, buddhist kung-fu cops team up with teenage anarchist daughters of the establishment to fight supercrime! Or, at least, that's the concept behind Phoo Action, a new BBC pilot adapted by Doctor Who director Euros Lyn from a semi-forgotten strip by Tank Girl co-creator Jamie Hewlett. Influenced by the sixties Batman TV show, the odd Buddhist-futurist series just might be the next cult hit or, if nothing else, an interesting televisual oddity. Learn more about just what Phoo Action is and see a clip below. More »

Force Your MySpace Friends To Watch Red Dwarf Soon your MySpace page can feature clips from shows like Doctor Who, Torchwood, Red Dwarf and other BBC scifi shows. The BBC has launched a Worldwide Scifi MySpaceTV Channel (mouthful much?). It's a nice collection of videos, including the one where Peter Davison (yes!) regenerates into Colin Baker (boo). You can add and subscribe to them through MySpace, and embed the video to your heart's content. Just don't be peeved when Captain Jack doesn't hit you back with a giant "Thanks for the add!!!" graphical comment. [Outpost Gallifrey]

torchwood

Torchwood is the Frankenstein of Television

You've got to say this for awkward adult Doctor Who spinoff, Torchwood - even when its detractors try to tear it down, they end up making it sound like one of the greatest television shows ever made. Actually, they make it sound like the greatest ten television shows ever made, sewn together Frankenstein-style. More »

doctor who

Doctor Who's Future Bright, Uncertain

Just what is going on with Doctor Who? Following rumors surrounding the departure of producer/head writer Russell T. Davies and star David Tennant at the end of this summer's fourth season, Davies has taken to making cryptic comments in the opposite direction. Talking to UK website Digital Spy, Davies is quoted as saying that "a secret history of phone calls, dinners and face-to-face conversations" has made him a lot more optimistic about the show's future. More »

torchwood

Torchwood Snogging, Synopses, And More

Season two of Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood will start airing in about two weeks here in the States, and we've got a few new details about the show. Watch Captain Jack and Captain John (James Marsters) snog and beat each other up in our two exclusive clips, then read quotes from Marsters and synopses of the first five episodes, below the fold. More »

forgotten tv of my youth

Bring Back BBC Show "Dark Season"

What do the career of Kate Winslet, the current Doctor Who series, Blakes 7's dominatrix villain Servalan, and children's television have in common? Unless you happened to be a teenager in the UK during the early '90s it's unlikely that you'll know the answer, but what's a blog like this for if not to educate, elucidate and make you petition the BBC for a DVD release of forgotten TV show Dark Season? This six-episode, half-hour children's show from 1991 featured Kate Winslet's first starring role as one of three teenagers investigating unnatural goings-on at their high school. Plus, nefarious forces emanate from a headmistress played by Jacqueline Pierce, source of many fetish fantasies for her role as Blake 7's chief bitch Servalan. More »

torchwood

James "Spike" Marsters Double Fists It For Torchwood

The trailer for Torchwood Season Two is out today, and it features new cast member James Marsters flashing his physique, wearing a skin-tight shirt, sporting hair gel, and bringing two-gun action to the table as he tries to out-grin John Barrowman, who might just have the biggest mouth in the entire science fiction universe. More »

Mystery Lawsuits Keep 'Doctor Who' Out of U.S. The BBC is being tight-lipped about why two Doctor Who special edition DVDs, "Remembrance of the Daleks" and "The Complete Davros Collection," won't see a U.S. release. Earlier clearance issues with certain Beatles songs in the original shows were supposedly cleared up, but if you've been waiting on these for your shelves, you'll have to wait longer.

life on mars

Ally McBeal Meets Time-Traveling Cop in New Show

As of today, the second season of the time-traveling BBC hit show Life On Mars can be seen on BBC America here in the States, although producer David E. Kelley (who worked on Ally McBeal) is also working on an American version of the show for ABC next season, which probably means we'll have yet another bad adaptation of a British show to make fun of. Note how they try to hammer home the 1973 setting of the show by featuring a car in the publicity photos. "Hey! We're in 1973! Look how authentic it is!" More »

torchwood

Torchwood Season 2 Neutered For Kids

Torchwood, the BBC's raunchy Doctor Who spin-off, may be less taboo for season two - depending when you watch it. Every episode of season two will have a grown-up version and an edited version for kids, which will air a few days later in an earlier time slot. At first, you might not think that'll affect you, since you can just watch the unedited version. But you'd be wrong. More »

max headroom triviagasm

Max Headroom Returns, Looks Fugly

Max Headroom screams 1980s louder than a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarers and Soft Cell's "Tainted Love," but the BBC is bringing him back. The intervening years have not been kind to him, to say the least. Max Headroom was originally born as a video-jockey on the BBC's Channel 4, and starting this Saturday he'll be seen there again, warning viewers about the channel's upcoming change from analog to digital. If you're familiar with the character, then that picture above might haunt your dreams tonight. But Max's checkered past goes way beyond BBC talking head. Once upon a time in the U.S., he was a TV star. More »