Sci-Fi Storm

Doctor Who‘s David Tennant has joined the cast of the Fright Night remake, and will play the role of Peter Vincent – although unlike the Roddy McDowell role in the original of a late-night horror show host, he will be a Vegas magician with a horror-show act who claims to be a vampire expert. Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Kick-Ass) also is joining the cast as Evil Ed, the friend of primary character Charlie. They join Anton Yelchin (Star Trek) as Charlie, Toni Collette (The United States Of Tara) as Charlie’s mother, and Colin Farrell (Crazy Heart) as the creepy neighbor Charlie believes is a vampire. In the meantime, Babylon 5 alum and stuntwoman Patricia Tallman is hoping to at least get a cameo in the movie, and is asking fans to join her Facebook fan page to show support.

It seems a production still from the upcoming episode of Doctor Who, entitled “Amy’s Choice”, has fans all a-twitter…as companion Amy Pond is visibly pregnant. Of course we have no idea what is going on, but in this show pretty much any speculation is conceivable, and it will probably still be wrong. UK viewers will find out at least some of the story on May 15th, but the US will have to wait two more weeks…as River Song says,”Spoilers…”

Matt Smith’s debut as the Doctor this past Saturday broke records for BBC America, becoming the channel’s most watched telecast ever. For those who were apprehensive of the new Doctor, have no fear…although he is different (as were they all), and the production has a slightly different feel, my spy network over the pond and my own peek into the future shows that the show is in good hands…read on for the press release.
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Tomorrow is the big day for Doctor Who on BBC America…so here is one more video, from the big premiere in NYC…
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Speaking of regenerations, the BBC posted an article about the difficulties each Doctor faced with each regeneration – both on screen and in the media. When the idea came up of “regeneration” to replace the lead actor, a memo was released that likened the experience of regeneration to a Time Lord like a bad LSD trip – “The metaphysical change… is a horrifying experience – an experience in which he relives some of the most unendurable moments of his long life.” It also mentions how each of the Doctors during the original run (Peter Davison is not mentioned, ironically the youngest Doctor until Matt Smith) had trouble getting accepted. Patrick Troughton was a “half-witted clown,” reaction to Jon Pertwee was “hardly enthusiastic,” Tom Baker was “loony,” Colin Baker was “too stern” and “too aggressive,” and Sylvester McCoy reached an all time low approval rating – but his first companion, Mel (Bonnie Langford), was hated even more…

Here are a couple more videos as we anticipate the return of Doctor Who…and you may notice on occasion a countdown timer on the right…
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As the anticipation reaches a fever pitch for the BBC America premiere of the new Doctor at April 17th, I’ve got a couple new videos for you to see. The first as Steven Moffat talking about the sonic screwdriver of all things, and the second is Matt Smith talks regeneration…and if you’ve been apprehensive of the new Doctor and producer, my spy network across the pond, who saw the first episode this past Saturday, indicates that there are no worries – everyone is impressed. Also, Techland has an interview with Matt Smith.
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The fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, appeared in his first four-part serial, Robot, to inaugurate his new regeneration. For this first season, UNIT played a prominent role, and the Doctor had two companions, Ian Marter’s Harry Sullivan and Elisabeth Sladen’s Sarah Jane Smith. It was novelized by Terrance Dicks as The Giant Robot, and it is this book that Tom Baker reads, for BBC Radio 7, in 5 parts.

You’ll find the URL here:
http://dailyspace.blogspot.com/2010/04/tom-reads-terrance-dicks-giant-robot.html

BBC America just announced that the new stars of Doctor Who, Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, along with showrunner Steven Moffat, will appear in New York City to promote the new series with press interviews and a series of events. The launch kicks off on April 12, with a Paley Center for Media and BAFTA East Coast member screening and discussion moderated by Entertainment Weekly’s senior writer Clark Collis. On April 14, fans can join Matt, Karen and Steven at the Village East Cinema for the official premiere screening followed immediately by a Q&A moderated by USA Today’s pop culture columnist Whitney Matheson, author of the Pop Candy blog. The Village East screening will take place at 7pm, and is open to the public and seating is on a first-come, first served basis on the day of the event.

Here are a couple more looks at the upcoming new series of Doctor Who, including the first few moments of the next episode….

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