We were excited to catch up with Robert Carlyle, the eldest castmember of the new Stargate Universe clan, at the Sci Fi Channel Upfronts. Thankfully, this seasoned actor spared a few moments to set us straight about SGU — turns out it's full of death and darkness and a very funny David Blue.

We know so little about your character. What else can you tell us?

I play Dr. Nicholas Rush. He's a scientist. He's a little bit in his mind, but he has his reasons, which will remain secret for the moment. I guess what makes this Stargate different from the previous shows in the franchise is, it's a lot darker than the other ones. This has less to do with interaction with an alien race and more about survival on the ship itself.

Rush takes these people through the Stargate onto what they think is another world, and in fact it's actually a ship. It's a massive ship called called Destiny. It was a ship that was launched hundreds of thousands of years ago by the Ancients themselves, and is now floating through space. No one was ever meant to be there. The team that is there is ill-equipped to be there. So the first six or seven episodes are actually all called "Air," "Fire," "Water" and "Earth" because it's about surviving amongst that, it's more drama-based and more character-driven.

From what we've read it sounds like there is a darker angle, can you expand about how much more darker these characters really are, will we be actually dealing with death?

Certainly, certainly. In the first three hours there are three deaths. It's very heavy. There's a suicide by episode six, as well. Because these people are in the far reaches of the universe, never to come home. That's the thing Rush explains, that it's impossible to go back. And they don't know where else to turn.

And you said your character is a bit out of his senses?

Well not really, from his point of view, but the others think that he's maybe losing it. But he does things for a reason.

Who have you enjoyed working with on this cast?

We've got a great cast [including] Justin Lewis. David Blue is a terrific young actor. Brian J. Smith, he's new but he's terrific also. Elyse [Levesque] is the best. Alaina Huffman... there are some terrific actors there. And we had to, because as I said this show is about about the characters and has less to do with alien races.

Do you still get to keep that wonderful Stargate banter that we all treasure so much?

David Blue, particularly [does]... he's naturally funny anyway, he plays a kind of a comic relief, I guess, on the show.

We knew it! His character as the "slacker genius" sounded so much like a young McKay, but we know Blue will make it his own, plus he was adorable on Ugly Betty. Thank you Robert Carlyle with all this darkness talk my expectations are climbing higher than they've ever been before.

I mean holy cow that's a lot of deaths, plus a suicide, should be interesting. Perhaps in this series the dead will actually stay that way. I believe in you SGU, bring on your dark Gate, we're ready.

Picture from Subduction Leads To Orogeny.

David Tennant hasn't definitively said whether he's going to stay in the Tardis beyond the guest-startastic end of this season's Doctor Who, but a little thing like reality isn't enough to stop the UK's bookies. They've starting giving odds on who's most likely to replace him. And, if you're a betting person, you might want to check out Trainspotting one more time...

According to Scottish newspaper the Daily Record, a surprising majority of people seem to think that Robert Carlyle - star of Trainspotting and 28 Weeks Later - will follow fellow countryman Tennant in the role of the BBC's favorite time lord:

Bookies William Hill - who are giving odds on who will be the 11th Time Lord - say that 85 per cent of punters think Carlyle is the man. Hill's spokesman Rupert Adams said: "At this stage it is difficult to tell if the bets are wishful thinking or based on insider knowledge.

"But there can be little doubt that Carlyle would be a fantastic replacement."

Jason Statham, Alan Davis, James Nesbitt and John Simm are also in the frame for bets. Carlyle hasn't shut the Tardis door on taking the role. He said: "Would I do it? Possibly."

For those who really want to check out the odds, website Den of Geek has a rundown on who seems to be in the running right now, although some of their choices - Daniel Radcliffe? Billie Piper? - seem to be more based on random rumors than anything approaching real possibility at this point. Let's just wait and see whether Tennant wants to see for another season or two before jumping to any conclusions, why don't we?

Scots star Robert Carlyle is bookie's favourite to be next Doctor Who [Daily Record]

According to the rumors, David Tennant is definitely leaving Doctor Who next year, to be replaced by Robert Carlyle (from Transpotting and The Full Monty.) (This part of the rumor has already been debunked, by Carlyle himself.)

Meanwhile, sources claim Torchwood will look very different in its third season. It'll lose three of its main characters: Captain Jack (John Barrowman), Owen (Burn Gorman) and Tosh (Naoko Mori.) Of those three, Captain Jack may guest star in a few episodes. Meanwhile, Martha (Freema Agyeman), who recently guest-starred on Torchwood, will join the spin-off's cast full-time. And the show will be more family-friendly and air in the same time-slot as Doctor Who. It may also have fewer episodes and serve as a sort of "filler" show for when Who is off the air.[SyFyPortal]

While we love Robert Carlyle, especially in Trainspotting and 28 Weeks Later, this movie unfortunately looks like an artifact from the days of Volcano, Twister, and Earthquake. Carlyle plays an engineer who worked on the Thames Barrier, which can't withstand the double whammy of high tide and a series of perfect storms that brew up enough water to bury Big Ben underwater.

Of course, Carlyle fights back against the water with some hokey science and cheesy melodrama, and the movie gets mired in relationshippy chatter as people prepare for the end, instead of buying a boat and getting the hell out of dodge. Still, we in the States are hankering to see it. Flood washed into the UK several months ago, but hasn't made it to our shores yet — except, apparently, on the "family friendly" ION network where it aired in December, got its advert ripped to YouTube, then ripped to our own Flash player. Still, you can really catch the fear on Carlyle's face through the pixelation, can't you?

Flood [Channel 4]