‘Tis the season to be Jolly. Not because of the holidays (yuck, holidays) but because of David Tennant’s finale as Doctor Who and since everyone seems to be in the giving spirit, BBC America has bestowed upon us the gift of a three-minute sneak-peek at Doctor Who: The End of Time.

It was not a week ago that we learned the name of Tennant’s swan song, along with getting a 40-second teaser trailer. Now we’ve got three-minutes from the episode! With the way information keeps rolling out of the two “beebs” (BBC & BBC America), I’m guessing that by next week we’re going to have the entire episode available. Well, maybe not the entire episode, but hopefully the opening sequence .

Before we get to the actual clip, there’s also good news for the American audience. We already know that Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars is scheduled to air in America on December 19th and that in the UK, Doctor Who: The End of Time (part one) will air on Christmas Day. What’s the good news, you ask? Well, there will be no need to wait a month to catch up with our friend across the pond as BBC America will be airing part one of Doctor Who: The End of Time on December 26th.

Now, let’s get back to the clip that you came here to see. Check it out below.

It seems as if the Ood’s  have done pretty well for themselves since they’ve been freed only 100 years. With the Doctor being summoned back to the planet of the Ood, there’s no doubt that Donna, their savior, will be back in a big, bad way. Also, it looks as if the Doctor has somewhat returned to normal after his stint at the end of  “The Waters of Mars,” but something’s still a little off with him – maybe it’s just me.

While the dates of Doctor Who: The End of Time part one have been released for the UK and America, there have yet to be any announcements as to the dates of part two in either territory, but we’re promised it will be “over the holidays.” As always, we’ll bring you anything Doctor Who related as it is announced.

Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars will air December 19 on BBC America
Doctor Who: The End of Time (part one) will air December 25 in the UK and December 26 in America

Source: BBC America

• Teaser for Tennant’s Last Doctor Who: The End of Time
• New Doctor Who Logo Revealed
• Doctor Who & Torchwood Panels At 2009 Comic-Con
• Doctor Who: 11 Time Lords In One Spot!
• The New Doctor Who vs. The Daleks
• Doctor Who To Become Funny Lawyer For NBC

While fans around the world are waiting to see the final moments of David Tennant as Doctor Who, the Doctor himself has already moved on and is set to star in the pilot for the comedic legal drama Rex Is Not Your Lawyer for NBC.

Created by Andrew Leeds and David Lampson (Stephen’s Life – never heard of it either), the show centers around Rex Alexander (Tennant) who is Chicago’s top litigator, but after suffering from panic attacks, he’s forced to step down from litigating and takes up teaching clients how to represent themselves in court.

Tennant need not worry about having to carry the hour-long program on his own, as Jeffery Tambor (Arrested Development, The Larry Sanders Show) has been tapped to co-star as Rex’s psychiatrist who also suffers from the same anxiety disorder. Where’s the comedy part? Well, it seems that Tambor will also become romantically involved with Rex’s mother.

After hearing about David Tennant leaving Doctor Who to do other things, I understood where he’s coming from; He’s a good actor and doesn’t want to be stuck in one role for his entire career. Sadly, he chose this move as his followup, going from Doctor Who – a show that’s loved by millions around the world – to a pilot that doesn’t sound at all that interesting or entertaining. I can’t even imagine how a show like this is going to work. It sounds like a mash-up of every genre… How could it possibly go wrong?

I’m not trying to be a “Negative Nancy” about this, but with NBC’s recent history of programming decisions, I have little hope that this program will make it to air, let alone be of a quality that would justify Tennant leaving his previous position.

Rex Is Not Your Lawyer is currently just a pilot. If it gets picked up, expect to see it this fall on NBC.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

• New Doctor Who Logo Revealed
• Doctor Who’s New Companion Announced
• Doctor Who: The End Of Time 3-Minute Preview
• Doctor Who: 11 Time Lords In One Spot!
• BBC Hints At a Possible Doctor Who Movie
• Will The New Doctor Who Face An Old Nemesis?

While Americans were sitting at home on Sunday watching 60 Minutes, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Dexter, our friends across the pond in the UK were being treated to some of the best television known to man. In the UK, not only was Sunday night the start of the fourteenth season of the always wonderful motor program, Top Gear,  it was also the premiere of ”The Waters of Mars,” the second (of four) Doctor Who specials to air in 2009.

Unfortunately, for those in the US, you will have to wait until December 19th to see exactly what aquatic horrors lie on the distant red planet. So, for the sake of not being called names that make me cry (even though I’m extremely manly), I shall refrain from discussing any elements of “The Waters of March” until the special airs on BBC America.

Still, while those in the U.S. were not able to be a part of the 9.1 million viewers in the UK to tune in, there’s still some awesomeness that everyone across the world can enjoy.

As in typical Doctor Who behavior, the end of an episode not only brings the credits but also a preview of what’s coming next. I was afraid that there would be no preview because the next episode would be the first part of the two-part finale in which we will see the demise of our beloved Doctor by he who “will knock four times,” but in typical Russell T. Davies fashion, he delivers.

Instead of me babbling on about how great this teaser is, I’ll just let you check it out for yourself:

I’ve seen this trailer about 20 times and each time I can’t help but get goosebumps. There’s something dark and powerful about these episodes. While last Christmas’ “The Other Doctor” and Easter’s ”The Planet of the Dead” were underwhelming, “The Waters of Mars” and this teaser really have me excited about what’s to come.

The quick glimpses of John Simm returning as the Master and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble have filled me with enough Doctor Who excitement to last me until Christmas.

…just better make sure that I have an ample supply of Kleenex stocked up as this Noël will be a teary one.

What do you think of the teaser? Does this have you excited? Do you think “The End of Time” will be a fitting end for David Tennant as the Doctor?

Let’s hear it, you Gallifreyan loving readers.

(Don’t forget that November 20 is the British charity appeal BBC Children In Need and with it we just might be treated to the opening sequence of “The End of Time.”)

Doctor Who “The Waters of Mars” will air December 19 on BBC America
Doctor Who “The End of Time” will air December 25 on BBC One (UK Only -- No date has been announced for the U.S.)

• Doctor Who: The End Of Time 3-Minute Preview
• New Doctor Who Logo Revealed
• Doctor Who & Torchwood Panels At 2009 Comic-Con
• Want To Redesign The TARDIS For Doctor Who?
• Doctor Who: 11 Time Lords In One Spot!
• BBC Hints At a Possible Doctor Who Movie

Fans of the Gallifreyan traveler can add one more thing to the long list of changes we can expect on the new series of Doctor Who premiering in 2010, as one surreptitious fan caught a glimpse of the TARDIS on location in a churchyard. And while it doesn’t appear to actually be bigger on the inside, there’s something different about our favorite time-traveling police box. Luckily, the furtive fan also brought along a camera so I don’t have to describe it (because I’m horrible at descriptions).

“There are lights and stairs.”

See!

While you’re not able to distinguish everything that’s been changed by looking at the photos, you can tell that they’ve added these small platforms that ascend to another level. Oh yeah, I think they’re called stairs (See! Bad description once again). If you look closely, you can see that they’ve added a second level in the main console area for the newly regenerated Doctor to peruse.

There are so many changes happening to Doctor Who that I’ve given up having a reaction to each and every one of them as they popped up. Although, I’ve got say that I’m not really a fan of adding stairs. Sure, the doctor has regenerated so he’s new. He’s picks up a new companion so she’s new. I just don’t see how that adds up to the interior of the TARDIS getting an upgrade. If the TARDIS is in the upgrade business, you would think that it would have fixed the chameleon circuit that has been broken for almost 50 years instead of focusing on adding a more cool/hip vibe to the control room.

Take a look at some of the pictures below for a closer look at what we can expect for our youthful Doctor and companion.

Am I over-thinking this? Sure, but that’s what I do and that’s what people love about me. (It’s also why I used to get beat up in high school, but we won’t talk about that. Well, not without a cup of hot chocolate with extra mini-marshmallows.)

Be sure to check out the renovated TARDIS on the new series of Doctor Who starting in 2010.

Source: Gallifrey Base (registration required) [via: io9]

• Want To Redesign The TARDIS For Doctor Who?
• New Doctor Who Logo Revealed
• First Look At Matt Smith As Doctor Who
• BBC Hints At a Possible Doctor Who Movie
• Doctor Who’s New Companion Announced
• The New Doctor Who vs. The Daleks

Want to be part of Doctor Who history and redesign the TARDIS for the new series? Well, now you’ve got the chance as the television show Blue Peter is running a contest where viewers can submit their TARDIS console designs with one lucky winner (chosen by new Doctor, Matt Smith) getting the once-in-a-lifetime chance for their TARDIS console to appear in the upcoming fifth series.

There’s only one problem; Blue Peter is a children’s television show and you have to be between the ages of 6-12 to enter. Oh yeah, and live in the UK. Yeah, I’m angry as well. I haven’t wanted to be a British child this bad since I watched Worst Witch at the age of 7. (I soon realized that Worst Witch was about an all-girls witches academy and felt awkward about wanting be to a adolescent British girl.)

You may be asking yourself, “Why are they doing this?” Lucky for you, the editor of BBC’s Blue Peter, Tim Levell, has the answer:

“Doctor Who prides itself on surprising its viewers at every turn, and who better than a child to come up with the latest design of the TARDIS console?”

Well, Mr. Levell, color me surprised. That’s exactly what the new season of Doctor Who needs; a child set designer. Now, for those not happy about this or are still reeling after the announcement of the new logo earlier this week, don’t be upset as this will not be a permanent change to our beloved time traveling space craft. The winning TARDIS console design will be used by the Doctor in just one episode next series.

Check out the video of the contest announcement below. (It’s a pretty good watch, they talk with production designer Edward Thomas and we get to take some peeks at the Master’s sonic screw driver that will most likely be the cause of David Tennant’s regeneration into Matt Smith.

For those that are between 6-12 and live in the UK, I hate you. Still, head over to the Blue Peter site to pick up the entry form and TARDIS console template.

Hmm… that only-one-episode thing has me thinking. If it’s a new TARDIS console that will be used by the Doctor and only for one episode, what’s going on in that episode? Did something happen where the world has been changed? Does its “child-like” design have something to do with it? Does anyone know where I can get the paperwork/surgery to pass myself off as a British child? (Cause I’ve got this wicked TARDIS design that involves sporks, bouncy balls and some old, individually wrapped, microwavable S’Mores from back in the day.)

Expect to see the winner’s TARDIS design when the new series of Doctor Who begins next year.

Source: BBC [via: SCI FI Wire]

• Will The New Doctor Who Face An Old Nemesis?
• New Doctor Who Logo Revealed
• Doctor Who’s TARDIS Gets an Upgrade!
• First Look At Matt Smith As Doctor Who
• BBC Hints At a Possible Doctor Who Movie
• Doctor Who’s New Companion Announced

There’s a new logo for Doctor Who in 2010

At the end of this year, we will see Matt Smith replace David Tennant as The Doctor, Stephen Moffat replace Russell T. Davies as head writer and executive producer and now the BBC has unveiled what will be the new logo for Doctor Who starting in 2010.

With everything becoming anew, they have also decided to change up the logo that has been with the show since its return in 2005. The simple, but memorable, logo we’ve become accustomed to will now be replaced with a more modern looking design featuring the letters DW forming the shape of Tardis.

The always wonderful Stephen Moffat had this to say about the new design.

“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.”

As a fan of Doctor Who and someone that’s not at all comfortable with change, I just don’t know how much more I can take. I’m ecstatic about Stephen Moffat taking over the show because he is the mastermind behind all time my favorite Doctor Who episodes; “The Girl in the Fireplace,” “Blink,” “Silence in the Library,” and “Forest of the Dead.” Yet, I’ve still yet come to terms about David Tennant leaving.

Still, this new logo is pretty amazing. I love everything about the design. It’s so simple that you can’t believe they haven’t done it earlier. I think this is one change I can definitely get behind. Also, you know what a new logo means? Oh yeah… a new opening sequence. I wonder if they’ll keep the theme song or mess with that as well. With everything changing, nothing is safe.

Only a show like Doctor Who could release a 24 second trailer for a new logo and have me watch it more than once.  Check it out below.

On November 20th, the BBC will be running their annual Children In Need charity drive in which a special clip/trailer from Doctor Who is expected to air. No word yet if it will be from the “Waters of Mars” special or the two-part Christmas special, where we’ll see David Tennant regenerate into Matt Smith.

What do you think? Are you happy with the new logo? Have you come to grips with Tennant leaving? What other changes do you think will be coming as we inch closer to the new series?

Let’s hear it!

The second of the four Doctor Who specials, “Waters of Mars” is expected to air in the UK sometime in November. No word yet on when it will air on BBC America.

• Want To Redesign The TARDIS For Doctor Who?
• Doctor Who: The End Of Time 3-Minute Preview
• Teaser for Tennant’s Last Doctor Who: The End of Time
• Doctor Who: 11 Time Lords In One Spot!
• First Look At Matt Smith As Doctor Who
• Doctor Who To Become Funny Lawyer For NBC

Most people expected this and according to Digital Spy, the Daleks are back facing off against Doctor Who.

Showing up in London in World War II, the good Doctor and his companion meet Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who is using the Daleks to fight the Nazis.  Churchill has them painted up in green battle colors with Union Jack painted helmets.  That alone should be interesting to say the least.

The episode is written by Mark Gatiss and will be airing early on in the upcoming new season with Matt Smith and Karen Gillen.

I think this should be an interesting test of new actor and old chemistry.  Are they trying to seal the deal with the fans who are on the bubble about the new Doctor Who, hoping to bring new and old together with a familiar air of familiarity?

We’ll see how this pans out.  What thoughts are you harboring about this match up in the new Doctor Who season?  Anything good?

Source:  Digital Spy

• First Look At Matt Smith As Doctor Who
• Will The New Doctor Who Face An Old Nemesis?
• Doctor Who’s New Companion Announced
• Doctor Who: 11 Time Lords In One Spot!
• Want To Redesign The TARDIS For Doctor Who?
• BBC Hints At a Possible Doctor Who Movie

This week, we’re going to chat about a new website for Chuck, an award bestowed upon Doctor Who and a bit about Syfy dominating Tuesdays with Warehouse 13.  We also delve into some news about Burn Notice, Royal Pains & Dollhouse.

Some cast members have been added to Steven Spielberg’s unnamed alien pilot on TNT, we have an interesting tidbit on Disney and a quick, condensed look at last week’s Summer TV ratings.

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Doctor Who Recognized By Guinness

The series Doctor Who has just been recognized as the most successful sci-fi series by the Guinness Book of World Records.

They base this on quantifiable items such as ratings, sales of DVD’s, iTunes traffic and books sold. Longevity of the series was also part of the recognition process.

Doctor Who premiered in 1963 and has had a sporadic but continued successful existence.

What sci-fi show has the longest consecutive running record?  Stargate SG-1.  It had a consecutive 10-year run.

Source:  Variety

Syfy Channel News

Warehouse 13 is proving itself a solid starter for the newly renamed network.

Warehouse 13 (WH13) hit new highs for a scripted series on the network.  They pulled in 1.8 million adults between the ages of 25-54 and 1.4 million adults aged 18-49.

In the 9 p.m. hour of Tuesday, Syfy actually delivered more viewers between that ages of 25-54 than ABC did, and more male viewers than both ABC and Fox.

It was the top scripted drama on cable to boot.

But that’s not all.

As numbers come in from the Live+7 ratings, (That’s live viewers plus DVR playback over the course of 7 days), the premiere of WH13 brought in approximately 4 million viewers.  Both WH13 and Eureka are doing some serious ratings numbers.

In fact, with both WH13 and Eureka, Syfy pulled in their best July numbers ever in its 17-year history.  Even Ghost Hunters International is doing its part and bringing in 1.9 million viewers.

Right now, it seems that their plans are on track to grow the network.  We just have to see if it will hold up over time.

If Warehouse 13 keeps going strong like it has, they’ve got a chance.

Source:  NBCUMV

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Burn Notice Gets Renewed

Michael Westen is going to continue to give us instructional guidance on how to make things for another 16 episodes.

That’s how many episodes USA Network has ordered for Burn Notice.  USA also ordered 16 episodes for the show Royal Pains.

Both shows are doing great, pulling in between 4 and 7 million viewers each.

Source:  Variety

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Dollhouse Guest Star News

Jamie Bamber (Captain Lee ‘Apollo’ Adama in Battlestar Galactica) is going to be a guest star on the season 2 premiere of Dollhouse.

Bamber’s character will be engaged in an assignment with Echo (Eliza Dushku) and her new handler, Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett).  Wha!?  That’s all we have.

Season 2 will premiere on Friday, Sept 25th 2009 on Fox.

Source:  E Online

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Spielberg’s Alien Invasion Gets More Cast

Steven Spielberg’s unnamed alien invasion project that’s coming to TNT has more cast hoping on board.

Moon Bloodgood, Jessy Schram, Seychelle Gabriel and Maxim Knight will be joining Noah Wyle on the alien invasion pilot.

The show takes place just after aliens have wiped out most of humanity and focuses on a ragtag group of soldiers and people led by Noah Wyle as they struggle against the occupying alien invasion.

Is it me, or does this sound like something from Battlestar Galactica?

Source:  Sci Fi Wire

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Disney To Charge For Content

Disney is looking to start charging for it’s online content that ranges from movies to games and TV shows.

The premise is that they’re looking at a single web site that may be subscription based that will provide these products.

They’re already making revenue off their ventures on Hulu and iTunes and I suspect that the performance of these two outlets is what prompted this decision.

In what I find to be a rather insightful statement by CEO Robert Iger, he said:

“consumers spend $5 an hour at theaters to see movies, 75 cents an hour to read books, newspapers and magazines and 50 cents an hour to watch cable and satellite TV, but only 25 cents an hour to surf the Internet.”

“There’s plenty of room for people to spend more money on things that they’re doing online.”

Plenty of room?  Is that how they see us.  Web surfers with plenty of room to spend more money?  Nice.  Real nice.

Source:  Media Week

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Summer TV Ratings

Of the top 20 broadcast shows last week, NCIS was the best rated scripted drama in 3rd with 9.7 million viewers.  The Mentalist was 4th with 9.6 mil viewers & CSI: Miami brought in 8.5 million viewers.

Outside the top 10, CSI was 11th with 7.8 mil viewers, Law And Order:SVU was 12th and CSI:NY was in 15th.

On the cable side of things, Burn Notice was the top dog with 6.8 million viewers, The Closer was 2nd with 6.6 million viewers.  NASCAR was 3rd, Royal Pains 4th with 6.2 mil. and NCIS was 8th with 4.9 mil. viewers.

Source:  TV By The Numbers

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Chuck Online Hangout

During Comic-Con, the new website called ChuckMeOut.com launched during the Chuck panel at Comic-Con.

At ChuckMeOut.com, you can get behind the scenes clips from cast and crew, blogs from the set and social networking tools.

So go, enjoy and let us know what you think!

Source: NBCUMV

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Reader comments are always welcome here on Screen Rant.  Ask questions, leave opinions or just say hi!

• Weekly TV Wrap Up – June 25, 2009
• Syfy’s Warehouse 13 Dominates Tuesday Ratings
• Weekly TV Wrap Up – August 6th, 2009
• Stargate Universe Premiere Overnight Rating Numbers
• Warehouse 13 Setting Records For Syfy
• Weekly TV Wrap Up – July 23rd, 2009

When Northampton-born Matt Smith was announced as the new Doctor Who, the reactions from Screen Rant readers ranged from approval to disdain.  The age of the then 26-year-old actor dismayed some old-school fans while others, having faith in the casting call, are looking to take a wait-and-see approach.

Shooting has started for the new Doctor Who and as you can see, there in Cardiff, that’s how Matt Smith is going to look as the good Doctor.  Focus folks…  yes, that’s the Doctor’s new companion, Karen Gillian.

Again, we need to have some faith and see how it goes.  As I’ve recently discovered, actor interpretation and writing can really make or break a show.  I suggest patience until we see a few episodes with Matt Smith in it.

The new Doctor Who will be meeting his new companion in the first episode of the new season which airs in the spring of 2010 and being written by Steven Moffat.

Source: Sci Fi Wire

• Doctor Who’s New Companion Announced
• The New Doctor Who vs. The Daleks
• New Doctor Who Logo Revealed
• Will The New Doctor Who Face An Old Nemesis?
• Doctor Who: 11 Time Lords In One Spot!
• Want To Redesign The TARDIS For Doctor Who?

Wow, Comic-Con 2009 is already less than three weeks away. Seems like only a couple of months ago since we were there. Last year was a ton of work but also a blast (click here for our wrap up of the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con), and this year we’ll be providing even more extensive coverage for you with additional staff to cover the event.

Unfortunately if you want to attend this year and don’t already have tickets you’re probably out of luck as it’s been sold out for a while. But fear not, we’ll try to give you all the goods here on the site over the course of the event. It starts with preview night on Wednesday, July 22nd and runs through Sunday July 26th.

Included among the movies and TV shows that will be covered this year are:

• James Cameron’s Avatar (with 3D (rumored) footage from the film)
• The upcoming Sci-Fi alien invasion flick with a twist: District 9 (including an appearance by Peter Jackson).
• Mike Judge will be on hand to promote his new comedy Extract.
• The premiere of Mystery Team.
• Where the Wild Things Are.
• Tron
• Sherlock Holmes
• Jonah Hex
• 2012
• Thirst
• Ninja Assassin
• Lost
• The pilot for the TV series remake V.
• Doctor Who (with an appearance by David Tennant)
• FlashForward
• Caprica & Battlestar Galactica: The Plan

Oh, and of course Iron Man 2, for which I’m sure director Jon Favreau has something very special planned.

Also, this year Screen Rant has been invited to participate in the “Masters of the Web” panel (shocking, I know – I certainly didn’t expect it!). The panel will be moderated by director Kevin Munroe and will include an appearance by Brandon Routh and Sam Huntington, along with a preview of their upcoming film Dead of Night.

Here is the list of panelists:

• Robert Sanchez (IESB.net)
• Ryan Rotten (ShockTilYouDrop.com)
• Mike Sampson (JoBlo.com)
• Jeremy Smith (AintItCool.com)
• Brad Miska (Bloody-Disgusting.com)
• Drew McWeeny (HitFix.com)
• Devin Faraci (CHUD.com)
• Paul Christensen (MovieWeb.com)
• Wilson Morales (BlackFilm.com/AOL Black Voices)
• George Roush (LatinoReview.com)
• and me, Vic Holtreman (ScreenRant.com)

It will be held Thursday, July 23rd at 3pm – 4pm in Room 32AB.

Robert Sanchez of IESB.net organizes the panel and puts together what is arguably the most awesome party every year at Comic-Con: The Wrath of Con party (one of my highlights of Comic-Con).

Last year at the Masters of the Web panel tickets to the party were given away to some lucky winners. Here’s my favorite pic from last year’s party.

Doug Nagy, Alex Billington and me with the beauties from the movie 'Bitch Slap': Erin Cummings, America Olivo and Julia Voth.

As Comic-Con approaches, keep up to date with our San Diego Comic-Con updates (check the logo on the right) here on Screen Rant and on Twitter.com by searching for #sdcc or #cc09. I’ll be there along with SR writers Kofi Outlaw, Bruce Simmons, Rob Keyes (and maybe) Paul Young. We’ll be doing live-blogging, panel summaries and hopefully we’ll get you an exclusive or two.

We may try to schedule an impromptu dinner, probably on Sunday night, where we’ll get together to decompress after the whole thing. If you’re around downtown San Diego maybe you can join us. We’ll firm this up as we get closer to the actual date.

Anyway, we’re all looking forward to it and we hope you are, too.

• Masters Of The Web Panel – Comic-Con 2009
• Comic-Con is On
• 4-Day + Preview Passes for Comic-Con 2010 Sold Out
• WB Comic-Con Lineup, Featuring Green Lantern: First Flight
• 3D Avatar Footage to Premiere at Comic-Con
• Doctor Who & Torchwood Panels At 2009 Comic-Con

UpDated 7-2-09

Last year at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con, the event was ruled by several big named movies that ranged from youthful vampires to illegal vigilantes.  TV was more a side-note than anything else.

This year at the 2009 Comic-Con, things will be a bit different as television programming seems to have a bigger presence than last year.

For instance, the Warner Brothers Television Group will have 11 different panels for their shows.  That’s a studio best for them.  ABC Studios will have 7 panels.  20th Century Fox will have 9 panels.

Do you think your favorite television show will be represented?

This year, I’m ready…  I hope.  So in preparation, I’ve started sifting through the network press releases and other resources, pulling it all together for myself.  I decided…  OK, maybe I was nudged a bit by Vic, to actually put it all prep info together here, for you, our loyal readers.

I’m done chatting.  Let’s take a look at what television panels are lined up for the 2009 San Diego Comic Con.

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Wednesday Evening, July 22nd:

6-9 p.m.:
Warner Brothers Television will be airing pilot previews this evening for the early-arriving crowd.

Human Target, V and The Vampire Diaries are the shows being previewed on this evening.

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Thursday, July 23rd:

Burn Notice, Time To Be Determined (TTBD)
This panel will feature Bruce Campbell and writers from the series.

Legend of the Seeker, TTBD

Psych, TTBD

5-6 p.m.: Dexter

8 p.m. – Special Screening – Green Lantern [UPDATED]
Catch a special screening of the 5th DVD in the Green Lantern series, titled Green Lantern: First Flight. It will have it’s world premiere in Ballroom 20.  That’s 5 days before it’s released to DVD!

Continue to the next page for Friday’s schedule

• Sci-Fi Channel Panels At San Diego Comic-Con ‘09
• Doctor Who & Torchwood Panels At 2009 Comic-Con
• Comic-Con Schedule For Sunday, July 26th
• Heroes’ Odd Off-Site Comic-Con Panel
• WB Comic-Con Lineup, Featuring Green Lantern: First Flight
• ABC’s FlashForward: Season Preview & Pilot Clip

BBC1 will be holding a very special Doctor Who episode for their Children in Need appeal efforts.

In this special one-off episode of Doctor Who, it will be the first time fans get to see Matt Smith debut in his new role as the 11th Time Lord.

It’s only a 15-minute episode that will air in November but in this special episode, we will see all 11 renditions of the good Doctor brought together.

In the story of this mini-episode, David Tennant needs some help to complete a mission, and the other 10 lend a helping hand.

Some Doctors are not amongst the living, but images from older Doctor Who episodes from 1966 to 1974 will be used to include them in the adventure.  Those are images of William Hartnell, Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton.

Children in Need is an organization that helps change the lives of disadvantaged children across the UK and for this special episode, the stars have waived their usual fees.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen multiple Doctors in one place.  In 1983, 5 Doctors united for a previous rendition of a Children in Need special. In 1993, Doctors 3 through 7 reunited for a similar cause.

Goes to show you that no matter how much trouble the universe is in, you always have time for good charities.

At the moment, details have not been finalized for the episode.

Sources:  The Mirror,  Children In Need

• BBC Hints At a Possible Doctor Who Movie
• Will The New Doctor Who Face An Old Nemesis?
• New Doctor Who Logo Revealed
• Doctor Who’s New Companion Announced
• Doctor Who & Torchwood Panels At 2009 Comic-Con
• First Look At Matt Smith As Doctor Who

With several Doctor Who specials starring David Tennant coming to BBC America starting in the latter half of June, the excitement amongst fans is building.

The first of the bunch is oddly a Christmas special titled “The Next Doctor,” with David Morrissey and Dervla Kirwan. It’s airing on June 27th.  The next special to air after that one is titled “Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead” followed by “Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars” later on in 2009. Following these, the final two 2 specials will air.

In support of these last episodes with David Tennant, some cool things are going to happen for fans who will be attending the 2009 edition of Comic-Con in San Diego.

On Sunday July 26th, a Doctor Who panel will be held from 10:00-11:00am PT.  For those who will be there, it should be quite the experience.

On the panel will be a few folks I think we’ve heard of.

• David Tennant (The 10th Time Lord)
• Russell T Davies (Writer / executive producer)
• Julie Gardner (Executive producer)
• Euros Lyn (Director)

What’s special about this appearance is that this is the first time that folks representing Doctor Who-based talent have ever shown up at Comic-Con and Screen Rant will be there for those of you who can’t make it.

At the panel, they are going to chat about the latest incarnation of the good Doctor and there will be a few “exclusive sneak peeks from the upcoming specials.”

In addition to the panel, BBC America will be on the convention floor in booth number 3629.

Torchwood Panel

Torchwood will be making a return appearance at the 2009 Comic-Con on Sunday July 26th, at 2:15-3:45pm PT.   On that panel will be

• John Barrowman (Star of Torchwood), writer/executive producer
• Russell T Davies (writer/executive producer)
• Julie Gardner (executive producer)
• Euros Lyn (Director)

Screenings

If you’ve managed to land tickets for the sold-out weekend and are looking for something to do, you might be able to catch back to back episodes of Doctor Who and Torchwood.

Torchwood: Children of Earth and a U.S. premiere viewing of Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead, the first of the four specials coming to BBC America will be shown for those who make the screenings.

Collectibles

If you have a need for collectibles*, Underground Toys at booth #3949 will have their entire Doctor Who and Torchwood lines of toys and novelty items plus some limited edition Comic-Con action figures for sale.

*I understand the need for collectibles.  I still have around 800 NASCAR diecasts left over from my “haze of a craze” collecting spell.  Cripes, I even have quarter panels from the cars!

• Torchwood Premiering On BBC America
• The Television Presence At San Diego Comic-Con 2009
• Comic-Con Schedule For Sunday, July 26th
• New Doctor Who Logo Revealed
• Comic-Con: Torchwood & Being Human Panels
• Teaser for Tennant’s Last Doctor Who: The End of Time

If you believe British tabloids like the the Daily Star, in order to introduce the newest actor in the long line of actors who have portrayed Doctor Who, producers are bringing in an old familiar bad-guy – the Daleks.

Because we have a new face playing the role of Doctor Who, Matt Smith, there’s an underlying thought that to help fans adjust to the new actor, they might as well pitch him right in the middle of it with the Daleks, the arch-nemesis of the Time Lord.

Another change coming at fans will be a retro look of sorts as the Tardis will have blue walls and white windows once again, much like it looked in the 1960’s era.  The era that William Hartnell (63-66) and Patrick Troughton (66-69) played the good Doctor on television.

I’m not sure what to think of this.

Daleks are a common theme in the Doctor Who mythos.  I’ve never really been caught up in the stories involving the rolling trash cans with guns (I mean that in a humorous, good way folks).  I think the only Dalek episode I liked was when one was captured by a high end collector and the Dalek had developed a sense of ’self’ near the end of the episode.

I’ve enjoyed seeing the Doctor pitched up against new and unknown issues to keep us guessing.  Daleks are a little predictable.  I’ve got enough predictable in my life aside from Matt Smith coming into the role of Doctor Who.

We’ll see.

Source:  The Press Association

• The New Doctor Who vs. The Daleks
• First Look At Matt Smith As Doctor Who
• Doctor Who: 11 Time Lords In One Spot!
• Doctor Who’s New Companion Announced
• Doctor Who: The End Of Time 3-Minute Preview
• BBC Hints At a Possible Doctor Who Movie

It is Thursday again and the weekend looms in front of us.

Today I’m going to chat about Summer Glau maybe being on Dollhouse, a tiny bit about Law & Order: SVU, a bit of Doctor Who news and some info about Ronald D. Moore’s Virtuality including the air date and scenes from the show.

And as usual, we’ll take a peak at ratings from last week.

Oh!  I’ve jammed in a subtle note about Burn Notice.

While you’re here, if there’s anything TV related on your mind, slap it in the comments and let us know what you’re curious about or have an opinion on.

Shall we get on with it?

Summer Glau On Dollhouse?

Does Summer look chatty here?

Joss Whedon was asked if he’d consider getting Summer Glau on Dollhouse.  Duh!

He’s way ahead of everyone.  Apparently he was already asking Summer to consider coming on board the Dollhouse production before The Sarah Connor Chronicles was even canceled. (A moment of silence for TSCC please.)

Joss is looking to cast her in a role of a character that talks too much.  LOL… that would be new.  Summer Glau being chatty?

Some think she’d be prefect as an “active” (i.e., one of the dolls) in Dollhouse, but Joss likes pushing his cast.  The idea of her being someone chatty would definitely be new to us.

If you haven’t seen her actually being all chit-chatty, it’s a refreshing look at Summer.

Source:  Entertainment Weekly

.

Law & Order: SVU Contract Talks

Word on the street is that there is still no deal in place for Law & Order: SVU stars Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni for next season.

As you know, SVU has been renewed for next year regardless of the stars’ contracts, but word is that negotiations are “moving in the right direction.”

I think it’s a shame that Hargitay and Meloni were asking for so much money and I hope everyone can come to a happy medium.

I know SVU is NBC’s No. 1 scripted show, but that isn’t saying much considering where on the charts it kept showing up.  Last week in the ratings it was in 25th place.

Source:  Entertainment Weekly

.

Doctor Who Coming to BBC America

Starting in July, BBC America will be airing five Doctor Who specials.  On top of those episodes, they’ll also be airing the final four adventures that have David Tennant starring as the Doctor.

All this fun starts in July.

Making a smart move for Doctor Who fans, BBC America also snagged the 2008 Christmas Special, “The Next Doctor,” which stars David Morrissey and Dervla Kirwan. It will be broadcast on June 27, 2009.

Sounds great.  Now I have to figure out what channel BBC America is.

Source:  Sci Fi Wire

Continued after the page break:

• Weekly TV Wrap Up – July 23rd, 2009
• Weekly TV Wrap Up – May 14th, 2009
• Weekly TV Wrap Up – July 30th, 2009
• Weekly TV Wrap Up – July 2nd 2009
• Friday Night Ratings: Dollhouse & Smallville
• Weekly TV Wrap Up – April 30th, 2009

As the next Doctor Who season fast approaches, casting has been taking place and that casting has been met with some trepidation as far as the 26-year-old Matt Smith playing the good Doctor goes.

But I digress.

Rather than chat about the good Doctor Who, let’s talk about the newest actress to be cast in the upcoming fifth season as the good Doctor’s assistant, or companion, the 21-year-old Karen Gillan.

Karen has guest starred on Doctor Who in the past, in the episode titled “Fires Of Pompei” last season.

She’s also appeared in other British shows such as Rebus, Harley Street, Coming Up, The Kevin Bishop Show, Stacked and New Town Killers.

She doesn’t have extensive work experience but does hail from Inverness.  At 16 she started to study at Edinburgh’s Telford College and moved on to Italia Conti Drama School in London.

The role of the Doctor’s Companion will be her first high profile role and one I’m sure could come under a lot of criticism. As it stands, the usual media spin from the creative forces behind Doctor Who are sounding all agog about her.

Head of Drama, BBC Wales, Piers Wenger said she that “When she auditioned alongside Matt we knew we had something special.”

Steven Moffat, the writer and exec producer note that when she walked through the door, the game was up.  I did find it humorous how he described her.

“…funny, and clever, and gorgeous, and sexy. Or Scottish, which is the quick way of saying it”.

Just How Young Is This Dr. Who Cast Getting?

Karen Gillan is 21 and she looks rather young and if you asked me right now, I’d say the casting trend would seem to be leaning towards a younger demographic of an audience.  Or are they worried that a better known face in the assistant role might overshadow their new young Doctor?

On one hand, as some of you have noted in other places here on Screen Rant, this trend could be alienating an installed core audience who have grown up or managed to watch most or all of the previous incarnations of the Doctor Who.  Face it,  Doctor Who is the longest running science fiction program in history. At this point, we expect a certain amount of experience or wisdom that might come from an ages old Time Lord and a long running television show.

But I can’t help but wonder just how much younger the cast may get.  At this point, some may say that the Doctor Who comic book translation may not be all that bad compared to the casting that’s going on.

From my own personal experience, I’ve dissed new things and have been sadly mistaken or surprised.  With that note, I’m reserving my judgment until I see something to judge.

At least we’ll get a little more of the Doctor Who we like as David Tennant has a 2-episode guest stint on The Sarah Jane Adventures.

I have a feeling I know, but go ahead, lay it on me.  How do you feel about this new bit of casting news?

Source:  BBC News

• First Look At Matt Smith As Doctor Who
• The New Doctor Who vs. The Daleks
• Will The New Doctor Who Face An Old Nemesis?
• BBC Hints At a Possible Doctor Who Movie
• Doctor Who: The End Of Time 3-Minute Preview
• New Doctor Who Logo Revealed

Quick! Name the longest running TV show with original episodes! If you said anything other than Doctor Who or COPS, you were wrong. Starting with season one and counting this current season, Doctor Who has aired 759 episodes and been on TV since 1963 – and, with a 2010 season already slated, Doctor Who shows no signs of slowing down.

In a recent interview, BBC Film entertainment spokeswoman Lizo Mzimba confirmed that “a script is in development” for a Doctor Who movie, but if the project moved into full production, we likely wouldn’t see a release for several years.

(In that time we could have three or four more “Doctors” because, as sure as I am geeky, the show will still be on the air.)

What makes the Doctor Who show so extraordinary is the fact that the show remains highly popular even though the lead actor has changed not once, twice or even five times but an astonishing ELEVEN times! William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith have all sported the sonic screwdriver and been behind the “wheel” of the Tardis – the Doctor’s time machine shaped like a British police box.

Usually, when a TV show decides to change the actor playing the lead role, it is considered by many to be the “jump the shark” moment. When the person playing that character changes, it forces us to re-bond with them all over again, and many times we simply stop watching the show. Can you imagine someone other than Hugh Laurie playing Dr. House and millions of people still tuning in every week to watch?

The constant character change hasn’t seemed to adversely affect the Doctor Who series. I think it’s because the writers never pigeon hole themselves into one specific story line. Throughout the series they have run 124 different story arcs, each one different and interesting. For that reason, out of all the Sci-Fi shows in existence today, I think Doctor Who makes itself the most adaptable to big screen treatment.

All you need is a Doctor, a time machine shaped like a British police box (which looks to us Americans like some sort of phone booth), a cute girl to travel with and a bad guy to fight. And get this: all three can be different in EVERY SINGLE MOVIE! Heck they’ve been doing it for forty-five years on TV and it seems to work just fine, so why stop now? Fans of the show would be happy because they are used to constant changes and newcomers would be drawn to it as well because a well told sci-fi movie almost always does well at the box office.

There are obviously no rumors about the script at this point but here is my suggestion. Let’s see an origin story of Doctor Who and how he became alone in the universe. Writers have long been mentioning the Time Wars between the Time Lords and the Daleks (think R2D2 with a bad attitude and a toilet plunger for a hand). That would make an epic battle to watch on screen and set up the next series of shows or movies quite nicely.

What do you think about a Doctor Who movie and who would you like to see play him? I’d personally like to see Christopher Eccelston return to the post.

Dr. Who the movie is still in development and has no release date.

Source: BBC

• Want To Redesign The TARDIS For Doctor Who?
• New Doctor Who Logo Revealed
• Teaser for Tennant’s Last Doctor Who: The End of Time
• First Look At Matt Smith As Doctor Who
• Will The New Doctor Who Face An Old Nemesis?
• Doctor Who’s New Companion Announced

Welcome to my corner of Thursdays where we get to chat about some of the other goings on from the world of  (soon to be totally digital) TV.

This week, we take a look at some noise about Chuck, news about some Dexter casting, the premiere date for Eureka on Sci-Fi (SyFy) and why Eleventh Hour got dumped.

While we’re at it, I also chat about TNT ordering it’s own version of V, Doctor Who guest starring in The Sarah Jane Adventures, and if there are any Gigantor fans out there, I’ve got a bit of news for you.

And of course, at the end of the article, I entice you with a ratings chart showing how our favored shows did last week.

Curious Tidbit About Chuck

Despite the lengthy wait from NBC to actually commit to Chuck, NBC entertainment president Ben Silverman is being noted in saying that if the ratings for Chuck do well enough, they may deliver more than the 13 episodes that the network originally committed to.

He then mentioned that extending the episode count would pair it up with Friday Night Lights in the summer.  Hmm, historically, FNL has aired on Friday nights.  Are they looking to air Chuck on Friday nights or move FNL to another night?  Curious.

He then notes how they want to keep Chuck on the air for years to come.

This, about a show they couldn’t commit to until the near last minute before the upfronts, and then after some cost concessions.  Why weren’t they saying that before the upfronts?  I don’t know about you, but I’m putting my knee high boots on because I can’t stand lip-service.

Source:  TV Guide

Dexter’s New Bad Guy

Sources are reporting that John Lithgow is joining the season 4 cast of Dexter as Walter Simmons.  Hmm.  Mr. Simmons is an unassuming suburbanite who lives a dual life as one of America’s most prolific and deadliest serial killers.

When Simmons moves to Miami, Dexter becomes obsessed with his efficient killing methods and the fact that he’s escaped capture for close to 30 years.

Season 4 of Dexter starts on Sept. 27.

Source:  Entertainment Weekly

Eureka Premiere Date

The Sci-Fi Channel will be premiering Eureka on July 10th.

A small death knell in the background can be heard because it’s only going to have 10 episodes aired.

What’s up with that Sci-Fi?

Why Was Eleventh Hour dumped?

Despite decent ratings, Eleventh Hour was dumped by CBS, as we discovered at the CBS upfronts.

Yet decent ratings isn’t good enough when they have other shows in their lineup doing much better.  At least that’s the spin that the CBS Sr. VP of prime time, Kelly Kahl, is saying.  And to some extent, that’s true since they’ve nailed down 5th through 12th place in the ratings chart from last week.

Eleventh Hour was a casualty to make room for new shows… they say.

Me, I say that since I reported back in August of 2008 that Eleventh Hour was one of the most expensive shows to hit any network, coming in at a rumored $2 million per episode price tag is what killed it.

Source:  TV Guide

TNT Keeping Up With V

It looks like the TNT network is playing catch up now that ABC has V coming down the pipe.

TNT has ordered a pilot for a yet to be named alien-invasion TV series.  They’re looking to DreamWorks TV and executive producers Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank and Robert Rodat to bring it in a big way.

The story is reported to be set six months after Earth is invaded by aliens.

I hate carbon copy catch up shows, no matter who helms them.  At least the premise of idea.  Now they may hit it out of the park, but I remember Spielberg’s last sci-fi on TV effort, Taken, and I wasn’t thrilled by it.

Source:  Sci-Fi Wire

(Continued…)

• TV Renewal And Cancellation Notes To Date
• Weekly TV Wrap Up – May 21st, 2009
• Weekly TV Wrap Up – July 30th, 2009
• NBC To Move Up Return Date of ‘Chuck’
• Weekly TV Wrap Up – May 7th 2009
• Chuck Premiere Date Announced By NBC

It’s Thursday. That means another round of news from the TV landscape. This week, I’ve got some conjecture and observations with the occasional possible SPOILER in place.

There are some new shows coming up this weekend, some Dollhouse noise, Law and Order cast updates, Dr. Who tidbits and observations or questions about Life On Mars, ER and other shows. And FYI, my ratings aren’t missing: I’ve moved the ratings section down towards the bottom of the post, right before my zany entries of the week!

Primeval

Primeval is starting up this Friday night on the Sci-Fi Channel. The ads look interesting enough. Anybody seen it? Anything you want to say about it? Without spoilers of course!

Sanctuary

For the Sanctuary fan, season 2 of Sanctuary has started filming, according to the Sci-Fi press release!

Fringe (SPOILERS Where Noted!)

Fringe returned this past Tuesday, and is sticking around for 6 straight episodes. Anyone been noticing “The Observer” making rounds on different shows? I’ve seen him on the NASCAR telecast in Jimmie Johnson’s pit, and on American Idol. I’m sure he’s in other shows, but those are where I’ve seen him so far. Have you spotted him anywhere?

Cast SPOILER Warning:

It’s been reported that Leanord Nimoy will be making a guest appearance on the finale of Fringe as the infamous William Bell, Walter’s science partner from back in the day!

Story Outline SPOILER

Upcoming eps of Fringe will be answering some questions, like what were the experiments on Olivia as a child; Peter’s “medical condition” and what the pattern means for Olivia and the Bishops on a personal level.

Sweet. A show that says it will answer questions, and then does. Can’t beat that!

Source: E Online

Dollhouse

Ratings for Dollhouse are slipping, slowly but surely, and that bites for Joss Whedon fans because the show finally feels like it’s starting to get it’s legs under it.  Well, to be more precise, it’s starting to feel like a product Whedon himself would put out, as opposed to the Fox network controlled issues we’ve seen so far.

Here are the official ratings for Dollhouse thusfar:

• Ep 1 – Ghost: 4.76m,
• Ep 2 – Target: 4.25m,
• Ep 3 – Stage Fright: 4.18m,
• Ep 4 – Gray Hour: 3.57m,
• Ep 5 – True Believer: 4.26m,
• Ep 6 – Man on the Street : 4.1m,
• Ep 7 – Echoes : 3.87m,
• Ep 8 – Needs: 3.49m

A sliding scale, yet I enjoy what the LA Times had to say about the treatment of the show by Fox and its subsequent ratings slide:

We blame Fox for the misstep, and for burying it on a Friday. It’s a real pity viewers haven’t had the patience to keep up.

Another oddity about Dollhouse is that TV By The Numbers was looking up some data for Dollhouse and they’ve noticed that Fox listed the May 8th episode of Dollhouse as the season finale. This is only the 12th episode aired. Admittedly, it’s more than the original 7 episodes that Fox initially agreed to way back when.  Yet earlier, Fox had stated that they would be airing all 13 episodes filmed.  I’m starting to want to type bad words at this point, so that’s all I’m going to say about this.

Sources: Whedonesque, LA Times, TV By The Numbers

Law & Order Cast And Cash Problems

Rumors were abound when I wrote that there’s a possibility that Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni on Law & Order: SVU, may find themselves replaced.

The show has been renewed for an 11th season, but the two are banding together to ask for more money. Beside the $350k per episode wage they get, they’re also asking for back-end profits. Dudes, don’t go the Friends route!

While many don’t think NBC would dare retool their No. 1 scripted show (now that ER is done), Dick Wolf just says that he hopes they return next season.

This economy is not the best time to be pushing for more money when other networks are cutting costs, including actor salaries. Then again, Hargitay and Meloni definitely have NBC over a barrel. This should be interesting.  They better hope some of the newer shows replacing ER don’t pull their weight, or their bargaining chips are going to be thin.  Real thin.

Source: EW

Dr. Who

For the consummate Dr. Who fan, there will be a Dr. Who Season 3 marathon this Friday on The Sci-Fi Channel!

The fun starts at 8 AM with Smith and Jones, then followed by The Shakespeare Code, Gridlock, Daleks In Manhattan – pt1, Evolution Of The Daleks – pt 2, Human Nature – pt 1, The Family Of Blood – pt 2 and finishing up at 3 PM with Blink.

Source: SciFi.com

Lost (Slight Time-Shifted SPOILER)

So far on Lost, there’s a lot of “The island controls your life” chatter going on.  Last night, Ben confronted the smoke monster.  Smokey showed Ben his own demons and gave him a new set of running orders.

Though it hasn’t been explained, I’m starting to think I know what the smoke monster is, and for that matter, what the island is.

Does anyone else have any thoughts about the underlying premise of the island?  Or is it just a vengeful version of Gilligan’s Island?

Jay Leno Is Not Wanted?

We have one of TV’s talk show icons ready to air their new show on your network, in your region. Wouldn’t you think that Jay Leno just might rank as a watchable show? For some, no question. For others, it’s “eh?.”

The Boston NBC affiliates think it’s “eh,” apparently. WHDH-TV is opting to air their 10 O’Clock newscast instead of the Jay Leno’s new talk show! They don’t feel Leno is going to be effective in prime time and say it will hurt their 11 O’Clock hour to air Leno.

NBC itself has said that this move is in violation of the affiliate’s agreement with NBC. If WHDH persists, they are going to have their NBC affiliation pulled. Ouch!! And they thought running the show was going to hurt!?

WHDH-TV has until September to change their mind. That’s when the new Leno show will air.

As far as his show goes, Leno says he hopes everything will work out in the end!

About his new show, Leno added:

We will probably lose the couch and the desk and just do more things. We’ll still have celebrities. There will still be a monologue, the stuff that works, headlines, and Jaywalking.

He can probably do his own headline about the NBC affiliate!

Source: TV Guide, Boston.com

Life On Mars (Incredibly mild, alluded SPOILER)

For those of you who watched it, did the Life On Mars finale work for you? Some things made more sense finally, and I can’t say it was a let down, but I didn’t have a great revelation either.

At least the title now makes sense!

ER

The ER finale hit it out of the park, as far as finale ratings go!

ER brought in just over 16 million viewers which is the largest number of viewers for any drama series finale since the Murder She Wrote finale in 1996.

I didn’t find the episode too incredible, but it was on par with what they usually produce. I enjoyed the closing scene when they panned back so we could see the panorama of the entrance, now that was pretty cool.

Source: NBC Press Release

Mekhi Phifer Fans

Mekhi Phifer (Dr. Pratt, ER) has booked a multi-episode story on Lie To Me. He’ll be playing FBI agent Ben Reynolds.

I really liked Phifer and was bummed to see him leave ER so early on in the closing season.

Source: TV Guide

ABC Using Saturday Nights To Close Out Some Shows

ABC is using Saturday nights to close out the random collection of shows they’ve preempted this season for other ventures.

These shows are Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money.

Pushing Daisies will resume Saturday, May 30, at 10 pm/ET. After that, Eli Stone will air on Saturdays at 10 pm from June 20 through July 11. Starting July 18, Dirty Sexy Money will air until the August 8th finale and the reveal of Dutch George’s killer.

Source: TV Guide

Ratings From The Week Of March 30th to April 5th

Up until now, I’ve been pulling numbers from various locations and squishing them together in one place. I found a spot, a single spot, with all the numbers we are interested in. I am going to start compiling those statistics here, but this week we are going to have a little bit of an overlap because of the way they track them. Starting next week, we’ll have new numbers for you. There’s still some new stuff in this list this week, and the list has grown a wee bit.  Oh, you’ll be proud of me.  I finally got Lost in there!

The strongest scripted show in the list is NCIS, coming in 4th overall.  ER & CSI also made it into the top 10.  NCAA Basketball only took one top 10 spot, and of course, American Idol ruled the roost, followed by Dancing With The Stars and those tight, minuscule dancing outfits.

Source: TV By The Numbers

The “YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!?” Section

Every week something comes along that makes my jaw drop and wonder just what were they thinking.

Octomom

G4 TV is reporting that the Octomom, Nadya Suleman, the mom who can’t seem to get enough of children, and who originally said that putting her kids on TV would be exploitation, is well in the works for a reality television show.

They’re going to follow her around with her 14-strong brood, chronicling her attempts at finding “love.”  The count is 14 because she already had 6 when she went for her procedure to have another baby, which ended in 8.

The TV Network picking this up is “undisclosed” at the moment. Hmm. Are we betting people? Fox? Sci-Fi? MTV?

Source: G4

Fox Hits A New Tasteless High

Someone’s Gotta Go is a reality / contest show where people get laid off. Fox reps say they were inspired by the recession for this idea! Can you believe this crap?

It’s about real businesses struggling to make ends meet. The only twist is that co-workers will vote the laid-off person out. Can we say The Apprentice?

Regardless, give me a f@#$ing break! Do you (Fox) have no better sense of empathy for folks suffering through this economy than to mock them like this!? To make an entertainment venue out of misfortune? The title sucks, the inspiration sucks and well, you, the reader, can fill in the blanks, ’cause I’m done with this one.

Source: TV Guide

Let us know what’s on your mind or if you have any questions about shows you would like us to look up, leave us a spoiler / spam free comment and we’ll see what we can do!

Until next week!

• Weekly TV Wrap Up – April 30th, 2009
• Fox Fall TV Premiere Dates & Times
• FOX To Air All 13 Episodes of Dollhouse
• Friday Night Ratings: Dollhouse & Smallville
• NBC 2009 Fall Premiere Dates Announced
• Weekly TV Wrap Up – March 19th, 2009

As we all know, Matt Smith was tapped as the new (11th) Doctor Who, replacing David Tennant.

When it was announced, people weren’t sure the announcement was accurate. Doubts (and worse) started to fly. Avid Doctor Who fans seemed dubious but took the “wait and see” approach, giving the new guy a chance and having some faith in the creative forces behind the show.

Then there’s the other side of the coin. The more common reaction was that Smith is too young and that they felt betrayed by the producers regarding what they expected of the franchise.

Some are worried that his youth may drive sexually charged episodes, others think he needs to keep his glasses on and avoid the Edward Scissorhands look. Others are more direct and say he is the worst choice ever.

In short, opinions are all over the board.

So be it. I get both sides. I do believe the franchise should not be written off by first impressions in production choices because he did “wow” the producers of Doctor Who on his first audition. Period. As one television cook would say: BAM!

Or as it was put by Councilor Tim Hadland (Con, Weston) who said about their local man, Smith:

“This is one of the highest profile acting jobs in the country. He was selected by people who know what they’re doing and I’m sure over the coming years we’ll become more and more proud of him.”

So what is Smith doing in the meantime?

The 26-year-old Matt Smith is tackling his newest role as an ambitious young policeman named DS Dan Twentyman in a new BBC series called Moses Jones. It’s an original series written by Joe Penhall, (The Firm) and is a three-part drama about a brutal tale that questions our cultural assumptions.

The show started on BBC Two last Monday, February 2nd.

As far as upcoming shows go, the next Dr. Who special will be “Planet of the Dead” and airs during Easter in Britain. When the next full season starts, we’ll have the new season, the new Doctor with a new lead writer and executive producer.

Russell T. Davies will be handing over the keys to the Tardis to Steven Moffat. Moffat has written several episodes including the award-winning “Girl in the Fireplace” (2006) and “Blink” (2007) episodes.

All in all, not bad for Smith to land what’s considered the biggest role in British television. Funny to imagine that Matt thought he was destined for a career in professional football. All this after a back injury that led to his applying to the National Youth Theatre and a persistent drama teacher at the Northampton School for Boys.

Not bad at all.

Tap, tap, tap… Oh… wait… I think I forgot something, didn’t I? Dr. Who’s assistant! How could I forget his traveling companion?

Let me start out by saying, DO NOT HOLD HER PAST AGAINST HER because Michelle Ryan, who suffered through the massive NBC flop Bionic Woman, plays the mysterious Lady Christina de Souza in the Doctor Who BBC One Easter special, “Planet of the Dead.”

Russell T. Davies dropped some hints that Lady Christina has a mysterious past who will have a huge impact on the Doctor.

Some sites are reporting that she IS the next assistant, but from what I can tell, it’s only conjecture, or hope! The rumors are swirling about that she will be playing the full-time assistant when Matt Smith takes over in 2010. But we can’t count out the other women who are potentially linked to the role: Kelly Brook and Lily Allen.

So for now, those are the rumored potentials, but as we’ve learned from the selection of the good Doctor, some decisions can still come out of left field.

We can always hope, right? Do we think Ryan would make a great assistant on Doctor Who? I’d like to “see” her in the role. What about you?

Sources: walesonline.co.uk, theage.com.au, northamptonchron.co.uk, telegraph.co.uk.

• First Look At Matt Smith As Doctor Who
• New Doctor Who Logo Revealed
• Doctor Who’s New Companion Announced
• Teaser for Tennant’s Last Doctor Who: The End of Time
• Doctor Who & Torchwood Panels At 2009 Comic-Con
• Will The New Doctor Who Face An Old Nemesis?