Torchwood Returns and is Flaming Hot

Torchwood is back and started very strong. The premiere was the stuff that classics are made of. I was so supercharged by this that I had to record a short bit on it.
Torchwood and Man Kisses
Torchwood is back!!!

Hands down; the best scene is the kiss/fight scene between Jack and Captain John Hart.


I'm getting ahead of myself. The episode begins with a man with a blowfish head driving a sports car down the street. He's not all bad because he lets a little old lady cross the street without running over her. His chivalry was short lived when the Torchwood teams hunts him down and kills him.

There was some blah, blah, blah, then Spike/ Captain Hart/ John Marsters shows up. The kiss caught me off guard but I loved it. The two hot guys fought then had a beer. Men...
I still don't understand how Captain Jack is gay in real life but still manages to make me hot under collar. Very strange.

Captain Hart is how Captain Jack was went we first encountered him; very Ferengi like. Hart killed a woman for a diamond and tricked the team into helping him find it. He betrays them, gets the diamond but it is booby trapped. If hart doesn't get the team to help him, he will die. He manipulated them into saving him. They do and he leaves. It sounds straight and to the point but the dialogue was fantastic. James Marsters added fun and excitement to the return of Torchwood.

---

I can't say that much for the next two episodes of the season. They were good and well written but a bit too dark and depressing. One involved a lady that didn't know she was a sleeper alien assassin. She ended up waking up other cell members and almost did some serious damage. Yes, yet another apocalypse. Intriguing but not fun.

The third episode was a time travel circle jerk that was Toshiko heavy. Her character is never fun. I wish they put her on a stripper pole or give her some laughing gas for once. It would be cool to see her let down her hair and get wild. The episode was a touching story. We even got a nice Torchwood™ walk down a hallway but the science in this one just was too distracting and left too many unanswered questions. Too many things were glossed over. I didn't understand how Torchwood kept the soldier frozen in 1839 when Cryonics* wasn't even invented. They say they woke him up every year to see if it was time for him to fulfill his destiny. Why? Under what instruction? How did that key work? What was it's origin again? Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention. Who knows? I do know that again, this episode was good technically but not fun.

Get it together guys.
Next week, Rhys might discover what Gwen does for a living. This ought to be interesting.


*Perhaps they used alien tech. *rolls eyes*

Doctor Who Going on Holiday in 2009?

BBC reveals Doctor Who 'gap year'

When I heard that the BBC was not going to give us any new Torchwood this year, I thought it was irregular but I figured that it was a new series so it was having some growing pains. Today, it was revealed that Doctor Who will be going on a break in 2009 but will return in 2010? WHY??? The show is popular. The cash should be flowing in? Just when I started to get impressed with BBC programming they go and pull something like this. I guess if Doctor Who has been around for 27 years, it can handle this? I'm sure fans won't loose interest but the show is insanely hot right now. Why let it cool off? This feels like a bad move.

Thanks to Charles Cadenhead for the heads up on this.

BBC's Jekyll is Damned Good

When I first heard of this project, I rolled my eyes and sighed, "Not ANOTHER Jekyll and Hyde story". I think someone suggested that I watch it in the comments. I did and WOW! I did a marathon of the mini-series and was done with it in two days.

Jekyll is a British television drama series produced by Hartswood Films and Stagescreen Productions for BBC One. It was created by Jeffrey Taylor and stars James Nesbitt as Tom Jackman, a modern-day descendant of Dr. Jekyll, who has recently begun transforming into a version of Mr. Hyde (also played by Nesbitt). The series is described by its creators as a sequel to the novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, rather than an adaptation of it, and the Robert Louis Stevenson tale is used within the series as a backstory.

This version of Jekyll is a meek, frayed Dr. Jackman as the descendant of Jekyll and a sort of weird, psychotic BRITISH Tony Montana (Scarface) as Mr. Hyde. In plain spoken terms, James Nisbitt can act his ass off. He really pulled this off. It had suspense, action, sex, humor, lions, technobabble and even a costumed period piece.

The cast was stellar! I've never seen James Nisbitt in anything before but I recognized a lot of his co-stars. First my favorite, Paterson Joseph as Benjamin. He was The Marquis De Carabas in Neverwhere and also guest starred in Doctor Who's Bad Wolf and The Parting of Ways. Next was Denis Lawson as Peter. He was Wedge Antilles in Star Wars!!! We also have a new face that we're about to be really familiar with, her name is Michelle Ryan and she played Katherine. She is also the new Bionic Woman.

The meat of the story was Dr. Jackman trying to control Mr. Hyde and find out where he came from, who is following him and what they know about his condition. The potatoes of the story was finding out how there could be a descendant of Dr. Jekyll because the good doctor didn't "breed". There's a weird cloning twist that I won't go into and perhaps a bit of time travel.

This was a very different approach to the story and is totally worth watching. The BBC has really impressed me these past couple of years. They are really stepping up their game.

Doctor Who: Shakespeare Code and Gridlock

This season of Doctor Who feels like the first season all over again. That's a good thing. It has the adrenaline rush, adventure feel to it again. The second season was really moody and depressing. It was almost a chore to watch.

Shakespeare Code is one of those episodes that people will talk about for sometime. It was just so damned good. From the story, to the in-jokes, to the dialog and everything else, this has to be my favorite this season. That's hard to say especially since I loved everything that I've seen this season.

In Gridlock, we go back to New New York which is suprisingly filled with British people :) We also find out more about The Face of Bo but not much. It does tell us that the Doctor is "not alone". The thought of more time lords makes me want to rip out a girlie squeal. :D
I really liked this episode because the Doctor finally described the Time Lord home world. I WANT TO SEE THIS PLANET..... NOW DAMMIT!!!! YOU HEAR ME BBC?????
I think they got that.

*sighs*

I know this goodness can't last for ever. I hope it does. I can't wait until the next episode. More Daleks. Oh joy..... not really.....

Doctor Who Season 3 Begins March 31

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't wait. It seems like forever. I'm getting the warm fuzzies :)

Who Gets Fourth Season
The latest incarnation of the iconic British series Doctor Who has been renewed for a fourth season, the BBC announced. At a special preview screening of the first two episodes of season three on March 21 in London, executive producer Russell T. Davies said that he has known about the renewal for a while, but hasn't been allowed to comment on it until now. "Series four is officially existing," Davies told BBC News. "I'm very excited, but we have known for ages."

It was also confirmed at the event that John Simm, who plays time-traveling cop Sam Tyler in the BBC series Life on Mars, will guest-star in the final two episodes of the third season of the new Doctor Who. He will play a mysterious politician known as Mr. Saxon. It has been rumored that Simm's character will be revealed as (spoiler alert!) the Doctor's old nemesis, the Master.

The third season of the new Doctor Who—starring David Tennant as the Doctor and introducing Freema Agyeman as his new companion, Martha Jones—will begin airing in the U.K. on March 31. Davies did not say whether Tennant will return for the fourth season, which is set to air in 2008.

David Tennant Leaving Doctor Who Scare

from SF Signal:

It's hard to find a reliable Time Lord these days...

The Sun is reporting that the second actor to play Doctor Who in the new series, David Tennant, will be following in the footsteps of the former Doctor and will be leaving the show. Apparently Tennant has been bombarded with film offers after appearing in the last Harry Potter movie and will be leaving Doctor Who in the middle of season 3 of the new series.

[via Geek Monthly]

UPDATE: As mentioned by commenters, the BBC is denying this.

I was UPSET andhystericall when I saw that headline! I think my blood pressure went up. :)
It's too soon to lose ANOTHER Doctor. I'm just now getting used to Tennant. I like him and he's MY Doctor now. Losing him now would make the show a too unstable in my eyes. I don't want a new Doctor every season. Perhaps we can get a new one every five years but let us get used to one Time Lord at a time. We already lost Rose last season and watching this year's Christmas Special, I already miss her.

Yeah, I said it.

I didn't particularly care for this year's Christmas Special. It didn't have that spark that I was looking for. I was bored with the same killer Santa bots from last year. I was bored with the over-the-top Spider Lady... thing. The bride chick was annoying... well, she had her cute moments. It was just too typical a show. It felt likeTennant was trying to be funny but his chemistry wasn't meshing with everyone elses or vice-versa. I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
It was a good episode overall but Rose's absence was felt.
Instead of Christmas, maybe they should use other holidays like New Year's. Since we have to wait until July for a new show, what's the harm in a Valentine's Day special? Leprechaun in a Tardis?

I'm really looking forward to the new season though. The previews look WAY cool. It also looks like the Doctor and his new companion may bicker. That would be awesome and interesting.

Legal Downloads in UK

from Gallifreyan Embassy:

It may no longer be necessary to use "other means" to get Doctor Who episodes outside the UK.

Outpost Gallifrey today confirmed a story coming from Business Wire involving a new partnership between BBC Worldwide and Palo Alto-based company, Azureus.

Under terms of the deal, Azureus will provide a peer-to-peer platform by which the BBC can push DVD-quality content into computers worldwide.

Shows included in this deal are: Red Dwarf, Strange, Invasion Earth, Doctor Who, Fawlty Towers, Coupling, Keeping Up Appearances, League of Gentlemen, and Ideal. The list is expected to keep growing.

The client which will carry this content out of the UK is currently codenamed "Zudeo". It's presently a standard feature of some iterations of the Linux OS, but will be available as a free download to other operating systems early next year. The content itself is likewise slated for 1Q 2007 availability.

What is not clear in the announcement is precisely which part of the Doctor Who catalogue will be made available in this way. Though it is likely that older episodes might be made available, the fact that Invasion Earth is making its US debut via this method may mean that the BBC will allow the newest episodes of Doctor Who to debut on broadband as well.

Hmmm. Will this mean that I can stop flying to the UK every week to watch Torchwood and Doctor Who?

Torchwood Doesn't Get Axed!

from SciFi Wire:
Torchwood Gets Second Season

The BBC reported that it has ordered a second season of Torchwood, the hit Doctor Who

Doctor Who creator Russell T. Davies also created Torchwood (an anagram of Doctor Who), which is set in Cardiff, Wales, and centers on an extra-governmental team of investigators who use alien technology to solve crime, both alien and human.

Filming for the second season (called a "series" in Britain) is due to start in Cardiff next spring, and the programs will air later in 2007 in the U.K. spinoff series, which will air on BBC Two in the United Kingdom. The series is produced by BBC Wales; the first season, starring John Barrowman as immortal time-traveler Captain Jack Harkness, has broken ratings records on BBC Three.

All in all, the first season isn't a bad season. There were a few noticeable holes here in there but I'm really happy that this show didn't get canned. It will have room to grow and that always gets a "yay".

Lipstick Aliens 14 Aussie SciFi, Robin Hood, Dr. Beckett, Touchwood

Direct download: 014_lipstick_aliens.mp3

This week's show is jammed packed with all sorts of sci-fi goodness. First, Lynne tells us about how it feels to finally have the SciFi Channel in Australia. We talk about all of the goodies; Sliders, Quantum Leap, Buffy, X-Files, Medium, Dead Zone, Star Trek, Stargate, Tripping the Rift, Farscape, Babylon 5, Lexx, Cleopatra 2525, The Others and more. She even discovers shows Cat hasn't heard of called Sea of Souls and Mysterious Ways. We talk about actors being recycled in science fiction shows. We discuss our "Paying for Autographs" poll. We also get into "Touchwood", BBC's Robin Hood, Hobbit rumors and more of Cat's Second Life antics.

We talk with Dr. Carson Beckett to talk about his feelings.
-Special guest voice of Russel from The Ramble With Russel Podcast.

Also, we check in with our friend Cale from Plot Pulse. We also get a thoughtful message from Doug with Geek Acres and a wacky message from Swedish Sci-Fi writer A.R. Yngve.

Next week: Scott Sigler.


Links:

-Australian SciFi Channel

-BBC's Robin Hood

-Saving Carson Beckett

-Hobbits To Isengard Video

Lynne, Russel and Cat on the Enterprise Bridge in Second Life

Contact Info
Lynne and Cat would love your feedback!

lips *at* lipstickaliens *dot* com

206-338-LIPS (206-338-5477)
Skype: lipstickaliens

http://www.lipstickaliens.com

http://www.myspace.com/lipstickaliens

Direct download: 014_lipstick_aliens.mp3

Do You Miss Hercules and Xena?

Try Robin Hood!

BBC is hitting us hard with awesome shows this year. First Doctor Who then Torchwood and now Robin Hood.

It has that same fun feel of Hercules and Xena to it. The main actor that plays Robin Hood isn't a huge stud or anything but he gets the job done. I like him. The main baddie, The Sheriff, is most entertaining!

You'll fall in love with the show by the episode "Who Shot The Sheriff?". It's a riot.

The website is well done and has a lot of info.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/robinhood/

Capt. Jack Returning To The Doctor

Quick copy and paste job.

from SciFi Wire:

John Barrowman, who plays Capt. Jack Harkness on the Doctor Who spinoff series Torchwood, confirmed to SyFy Portal that his character will return for a multi-episode arc during the upcoming third season of Doctor Who. "I will be in [season] three of Doctor Who," Barrowman said in an interview. "I will be in the last three episodes of four episodes, and the scripts are being written as we speak, because I just got a text from [Doctor Who executive producer Russell T. Davies] telling me that he's finishing the script [in which] Jack returns."

Barrowman first appeared as Capt. Jack in the Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child," and remained on the show through the end of the first season. He later reprised the role in Torchwood, which premiered in October and is currently airing in the U.K. on BBC Three.

Hopefully, we'll see some of his sassiness return. On Torchwood, he's been kinda stale and stuffy. I want to see the fun Captain Jack again!

With any luck, we'll resolve this hand-in-a-jar business.

....look at the "jeans" on that guy!!! WOOOOO!!!

Lipstick Aliens #10 Torchwood, Doctor Who, Lost, Sweeps, Paul from Who Cast

Direct download: 010_lipstick_aliens.mp3


This week we get hot and heavy with Paul from The Who Cast as we discuss the recent episodes of Torchwood and Doctor Who. We talk about everything from the Doctor's missing hand to rips in the space-time continuum. We also go over Lost, Sweeps Week, Universal's legal action against Serenity Fans and just a bit more on Zombies.


Paul's Old School Doctor Who Episode Recommendations
An Unearthly Child
Genesis of the Daleks
The Talons of Weng-Chiang
Inferno
Invasion
The 10th Planet


Links
- The Who Cast
- Doctor Who Online
- Torchwood Online
- Universal's Legal Action Against Serenity Fans
- Lost
- Sweeps Week



Contact Info
Lynne and Cat would love your feedback!
lips *at* lipstickaliens *dot* com

206-338-LIPS (206-338-5477)
Skype: lipstickaliens

http://www.lipstickaliens.com

http://www.myspace.com/lipstickaliens


Direct download: 010_lipstick_aliens.mp3

A NEW New Doctor Who Spinoff!!!

The Sarah Jane Adventures

Russell T Davies has created The Sarah Jane Adventures, a brand new series for CBBC.

Set in present-day West London, the programme stars Elisabeth Sladen, continuing her much-loved role as Sarah Jane Smith*.

The show is going to be for kids but I'll catch it anyway. I'm SO glad that this got the greenlight and not a dreadful Rose Tyler show.


*Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. An investigative journalist who was a companion of the Third and Fourth Doctors, she was a regular in the programme from 1973 to 1976, and has returned several times since, most recently in the 2006 episode School Reunion, opposite David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor.