Finally! "Dr. Who" has already aired in the UK, Canada and the rest of the world to great success. But until now, it hasn't been seen in the U.S. But no need to buy a Tardis: The all-new edition of "Dr. Who" is coming to SciFi Fridays this March at 9 p.m. where all 13 episodes -- overseen by Russell T. Davies of "Queer As Folk" -- will air on SciFi's most popular night for television.
We're so far behind that the new Dr. -- Christopher Eccleston -- is already the old Doctor. He declined to do a second run and has been replaced by David Tennant. Tennant made his debut as the Doctor on Christmas Day to good reviews. Every Doctor takes getting used to, but Eccleston wore the part very well. I've seen most of the episodes while in London. They do have better special effects on the odd occasion, but the home-made feel of the original is still very much intact. I have to admit, I got quite a jolt when that theme song struck up and I was about to see a new adventure. Great fun.
It's been such a hit, the show has already spawned a spinoff starring the character Captain Jack Harness, an American adventurer, if I remember correctly. Called "Torchwood," it stars the terrific stage actor John Barrowman and is already in production. (Look for him in the last five episodes where he pops in regularly.)
You'll enjoy it, but one word of warning. Since SciFi is squeezing these episodes into a one hour slot, they'll inevitably be shaving off a few minutes. You'll have to wait for the DVDs before getting the full experience. Those DVDs -- once scheduled for February have now been pushed back to July 4th.
NOTE: TNB alerted me to the fact that "Dr. Who," unlike most British dramas, is only 45 minutes long, so the trims should be minimal.
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2 comments:
The episodes are only 45 minutes, so at worst Sci Fi would "shave" maybe a minute or 2, probably not even.
The R1 DVDs are still scheduled to go on sale in Canada next month. The US release has been pushed back until July.
I hand't realized when watching them on my sister's VCR in London that they were only 45 minutes -- must have been too excited to be watching them in the first place. Is that a trend for UK drama? I hadn't noticed but they still seem more likely to 50+ minutes in the hour long slot. Certainly Foyle's War, a terrific mystery series, had a good 10 or so minutes cut out of it when it aired on PBS. And Hustle, the new BBC con show starring Adrian Lester has to fit into 90 minute slots on AMC so they can squeeze in commercials without cutting the complicated plot. But thanks for alerting me to the fact that the Dr was 45 min. Maybe they knew it would go out onto commercial tv all over the world and acted accordingly?
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