Doctor Who Series 6 in 2 parts

The next series of Doctor Who will air in two parts, it has been announced.

Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival this morning, showrunner Steven Moffat confirmed that the sixth run will start in Spring 2011 and return in the Autumn.

A statement from the BBC explained: "The split transmission is the result of a request from Steven Moffat to write a new Doctor Who story arc which involves a big plot twist in the middle of the series. By splitting the series Moffat plans to give viewers one of the most exciting Doctor Who cliffhangers and plot twists ever, leaving them waiting, on the edge of their seats, until the autumn to find out what happens."

Moffat added: "The split series is hugely exciting because viewers will be treated to two premieres, two finales and more event episodes. For the kids it will never be more than a few months to the next Doctor Who! Easter, Autumn, Christmas!!"

Doctor Who adventure Game 3

The title of the next Adventure Game has been confirmed as TARDIS and it's released on the BBC Doctor Who website on Friday 27th August.

It will feature monsters, terrifying new dangers for the Doctor and Amy and offers an amazing insight into the world's most famous blue box. It's also been announced that the game will give players the opportunity to pilot the Doctor's iconic time machine.

Lead Writer and Executive Producer, Steven Moffat, confirmed, 'Since 1963, kids have wondered what it would be like to control the TARDIS. Now we're handing complete control of the most powerful ship in all of space and time to a generation of children. Everybody duck!' He also told us, 'TARDIS is a brilliant, brilliant adventure. It's funny, touching, terrifying, amazing - everything a Doctor Who episode should be.'

The official press release promised, 'the game allows players to explore the Doctor's wondrous drawing room, featuring treasures and artefacts from his many adventures - a location specially created for the game, which will go on to form part of the Doctor Who canon'.

Matt Smith and Karen Gillan return as the Doctor and Amy and once again the game is executive produced bySteven Moffat, Piers Wenger, Beth Willis and Anwen Aspden (BBC Wales Interactive), alongsideCharles Cecil. Music is by Murray Gold and TARDIS is written by James Moran whose previous credits include Torchwood, Spooks and the Tenth Doctor story, The Fires of Pompeii.

It's the third Adventure Game and will be available at no extra cost to UK households, simultaneously on PC and Mac from the BBC Doctor Who site. Users outside the UK will be able to purchase and download it on its UK release date, 27th August.

TARDIS Stops: The end of the world

THE END OF THE WORLD


Series: one
Episode: two
What happens: The Doctor takes Rose Tyler on her first voyage through time, to the year five billion. The Sun is about to expand and swallow the Earth. But amongst the alien races gathering to watch on Platform One, a murderer is at work. Who is controlling the mysterious and deadly Spiders?


What made it good: The great variety of monsters, and a thrilling storyline.
What made it bad: The main villain being a trampoline
Overall: A grand episode, with a great threat for The Doctor to defeat.



Rating: 4/5

Torchwood: The New world

Torchwood: The New World
News Dated: 8/8/2010
The Hollywood Reporter and USA Today have lifted the lid on the title for Torchwood Series Four (Torchwood: The New World), as well as a few juicy bits of information, courtesy of your friendly neighbourhood Russell T. Davies and Julie Gardner.
The Hollywoord Reporter:

The new story will follow a CIA agent (Rex) and analyst (Ester) who tackle an alien-related global issue.

Torchwood, having been destroyed and disbanded, is "like a legend now ... it's like something that's ceased to exist and is now spoken of only in whispers." Soon, Rex and Ester are on the run and are seeking out the help of Captain Jack and Gwen.

"The two teams coming together is a big part of the story -- are they friends or enemies? There's a lot of sparks and excitement."

"We definitely have a really big story to tell," added executive producer Julie Gardner. "It's absolutely rebooted to welcome in a new audience."

The ten episodes will be very fast paced, telling a self-contained story with the miniseries "Children of Earth" being used as a template.

Being on Starz, the show could potentially take advantage of looser standards for nudity and violence.

"I've always had loose standards and practices," Davies said. "If the story demands intimacy or savagery, we will go there absolutely ... [but] there's nothing better than a great big global thriller that stops for a sex scene -- it's probably hard to make that happen in a thriller."
USA Today:

"New" is the operative word. The team has left Wales for America, as creator Russell T. Davies has left Britain for Los Angeles. The case will tie the two remaining Torchwood members (Jack and Eve Myles's Gwen) to the CIA, and will expand into a world-wide threat. And yet, says Davies, it "will be faithful" to the BBC original.

Davies says this story, which "had been ticking away in my mind for a long while," had not been planned as a Torchwood story at all. "And suddenly I thought, there's a popular show, there's a great story, let's put them together...It felt like it definitely could move forward and become new again."

Though it will be newer and bigger, the tone won't change, says Davies. Barrowman's Jack will still be TV's only bi-sexual hero, character will still be stressed, and humor will still play a large part in the show's make-up.

"I sit there in the editing room saying 'Don't cut that joke! Cut the plot, cut the murder, cut the story, but don't cut the joke.'...It will always be a cheeky show."

In the meantime, two new posters have surfaced online, produced by Starz, and featuring images of both Captain Jack and Gwen, touting the new title and Summer 2011 airdate

Am's history hunt now on Doctor Who site

A new Doctor Who game, entitled 'Amy's History Hunt' is now available to play exclusively on the official Doctor Who website. It stars Karen Gillan as Amy Pond and includes a short story by Paul Cornell, the writer of Father's Day, Human Nature and The Family of Blood.

Instructions

As the Doctor has disappeared and taken his sonic screwdriver with him, you'll need to enter a sequence of digits in order to crack the code that opens the safe. All you have to do is answer questions about friends of the Doctor. If you get all three questions right about a single person you release a digit and move a step further to opening the safe. But Amy explains all this in the video!

Watch her message and then click on 'Start the History Hunt' to begin the adventure! Initially you'll get a choice of three people you can investigate first. After selecting one of them you should click on the 'Find out more about...' icon. You'll be whisked away to another page where you can either plunge straight into the questions by clicking on 'Unlock a piece of the code' or find out more about the person by following links to websites and exclusive videos. All the answers to the questions can be found in there somewhere!

By correctly answering three questions you'll release a digit that automatically registers on the safe's read out. When you've cracked the code you'll have opened the Doctor's safe and find his favourite painting. And as a sign of the Doctor gratitude for your help you'll get an exclusive short story that fills you in in on what he's been up to whilst you've been helping Amy!

Right now there are three people you can investigate and answer questions about - Vincent Van Gogh, Winston Churchill and Agatha Christie. But we'll be adding more at the end of the week.