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BBC America is going to start showing Fourth Doctor episodes! I swear, I am almost as excited about this as I am about new Doctor Who tomorrow. They claim they'll be showing "the Fourth Doctor's best episodes," but WHICH ONES? They don't say! I am on pins and needles. What will they start off with? Ooh, could it be Horns of Nimon?*

They don't even say how long they're going to keep this going for, but they do have a nifty promotional trailer. Not sure if it will play outside of the US, but in case it does, here's the link: http://www.bbcamerica.com/doctor-who/videos/have-breakfast-with-baker/





*I suspect it won't be Horns of Nimon.

BBC America has started to run ads for the new series of Doctor Who. These ads are a black screen with the Doctor Who theme music, and a promise that we are getting the new series "in August." WHEN IN AUGUST???!

Not that I'm counting the days or anything . . .

BBC America is going to be broadcasting Broadchurch here soon, and in their advertising they've been saying things like "The most popular drama since Downton Abbey," etc. Well, I love Downton Abbey, but I'm feeling cautious about Broadchurch, even though it does have David Tennant in it and I am a fan of his acting ability. Here's what I'm worried about:

-- It's apparently a crime drama, and I don't tend to enjoy crime dramas. I don't watch NCIS, or Law & Order: [fill-in-the-blank here], or any of the multitude of other crime shows, at least not on a regular basis. Mysteries and who-done-its in and of themselves don't interest me, so shows that are all about piling on the "wtf" tangents will lose me (i.e., "Lost").

-- I don't tend to like gritty realism, hopelessness, or violence in my TV shows. (Another reason why I don't watch modern crime dramas.) For example, I am a huge fan of the 1970's-era Battlestar Galactica, but not of the revised Battlestar Galactica, even though I can objectively recognize that the revised version was a better show. It was too gritty for me, and not nearly as much fun.

-- It's written by Chibnall, who has written some of my least-favorite episodes of Doctor Who, and none of my favorites.

Of course, the most sensible thing to do would be to try watching the thing and see if I like it or not -- at worst I would lose a little time -- but I find myself hoping for more information before I give it a shot.

So, here's my question to those of you who have seen Broadchurch: Did you like it? Based on what you know of me, any guesses on whether I will like it? (It's okay if you guess wrong.)

Finally got the chance to watch the Doctors Revisited special for the Sixth Doctor. It was fine -- nothing great, but nothing bad, either. Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, and Bonnie Langford were all interviewed, plus Steven Moffat and other people. For the first time, David Tennant wasn't interviewed; I wonder if that's because he was too busy at the time of shooting, or because he didn't have much to say about the Sixth Doctor? (I suspect the former.)

Their chosen episode for Six was Vengeance on Varos, and I realized I'd never seen it! So I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. Also, it was again introduced by Steven Moffat, and I am starting to suspect that he is the one choosing which episodes to show. Regardless if it's him or not, the choices have been uniformly good, even if they haven't always been the ones I would personally choose. I was pleasantly surprised by V on V -- it was really an excellent episode, and Colin was in great form as the Doctor. I found myself really appreciating his physicality, and I loved one point in particular where he seemed to be purposefully imitating Peter Davison.

( slight spoilers for Vengeance on Varos )

Only one more "regular" special left -- I wonder which episode they're going to show for Seven? And I wonder what sort of retrospective they'll do for Eight? Do they have the rights to broadcast the TVM? Will they bother to cover him at all?

The "Doctors Revisited" Fourth Doctor special is on my TV right now, so here we go with a liveblog!

-- TOM BAKER!!!! They interviewed Tom Baker! HOORAY!!!!!!!!
-- Steven Moffat is obviously a huge fan of the Fourth Doctor. He has good taste. : )
-- And look what's coming up after the commercial break -- Sarah Jane!
-- And, it's over. Not much time spent on her, but some very nice things were said. And apparently David Tennant tweaked the script for "School Reunion" so the Doctor would call her "Sarah," and not "Sarah Jane." The benefits of having a real fanboy play the Doctor!
-- Look now, it's Louise Jamison! Awww. And John Leeson! Double awww.
-- Okay, now they're into clips and "famous foes," etc. Zygons and Davros so far. The more I watch, the more I find myself smiling. The Fourth Doctor really is MY Doctor. He just looks so right on the screen.
-- And ahhhhhh, it's over? IT'S OVER??? BUT . . . ROMANA! THEY DIDN'T COVER ROMANA! AT ALL!!!!!!!!! NOT EVEN ONE LITTLE CLIP!!!! WTH?????????????????

And yes, the Fourth Doctor episode is now on my TV, but I can't get too excited by that, because I own it. And have watched it many, many times. (No, it's not "Genesis of the Daleks," hooray! And yes, it is a Sarah Jane episode. "Pyramids of Mars," my prediction was correct! Although much as I love this one, I still would have chosen "City of Death" instead.)

Okay, I admit that I didn't have high hopes for this special -- it had all the earmarks of a typical BBCA special (mindless fluff interspersed with clips). But while those are indeed the basic ingredients, the execution this time around is very well done. First of all, the "fluff" interviews, while indeed fluff, are delivered by people I actually want to hear from -- i.e., the actors involved. We don't have "person I've never heard of" giving their opinion on Amelia Pond, we have Karen Gillan giving her opinion. Which instantly makes it much more interesting. We also have Arthur Darvill, and Freema Agyeman, and Noel Clarke, and John Barrowman, and Jenna Louise-Coleman, and Steven Moffat, and David Tennant, and Matt Smith.

The other thing they have finally got right is that instead of just giving us clips, they are giving us backstage moments. There are backstage scenes I've never seen before, and scenes from the show that are from a backstage angle (i.e., you can see sound crew or camera crew in the shot), which again makes it far more interesting to watch. (Hee hee, I'm typing this as I'm watching, and they just did a clip where Nick Briggs is chanting "exterminate" into the microphone, and we hear the director yell "cut!" and the "exterminate"s kind of peter out in a very funny way.)

And yes, they covered Sarah Jane, and oh it was so sad but also so sweet. David Tennant and John Barrowman both fanboyed about her, which I always love because they became fans at the same time as I did, back in the '70s, and in the same way, through growing up watching her episodes. John: "If you have a little Sarah Jane in your companion, you're a good companion." Awwwwww!

And, it just ended. I'm actually sad. And now, the Third Doctor special is up next. Hopefully it will be good, too!

So apparently BBC America will be showing "Tomb of the Cybermen" for their 2nd Doctor installment of "Doctors Revisited." Which is good, and another great choice after "The Aztecs" for the 1st Doctor, except for one tiny little detail: I've already seen both of those episodes!!!!!!! Okay, they're great episodes, and that's one of the reasons why I've seen them (also they, you know, exist, unlike some of the other choices), but how amazing would it be for BBCA to broadcast a Classic Who episode that I haven't already seen?

Of course, I am currently making that less likely by what's currently in my DVD player: "The Sea Devils," a 3rd Doctor episode that I haven't seen before. But BBCA is unlikely to choose that one for the 3rd Doctor anyway, right?

Watching the BBC America special "The Women of Doctor Who" right now, and already I'm very disappointed because it's clear they're doing New Who only. It doesn't look like they're even going to mention Sarah Jane. Instead it was all Rose Rose Rose, and now that we're past the first commercial break it's Martha Martha Martha. I guess Donna will be up next, and then Amy, and then River Song, and the show will be over? Or maybe they'll do River Song, and then Amy. Ooh, suspense!

Wait a minute, Yvonne Hartman?! They're doing Yvonne Hartman now. Why? This makes no sense. Why Yvonne and not Jackie? Or Harriet Jones?

Okay, and now Idris?? I have no idea where they're going now. They haven't even done Donna yet. Are they saving Donna for later?

Okay, I guess I have to keep watching now just to see what they do next. It's still a disappointment, though. It would've been so much better if they'd started with Barbara.

ETA: Okay, they did just do Sarah. All the clips were from New Who, but they did slip in a couple of stills from the '70s.

Watching Doctor Who at the Proms RIGHT NOW on my TELEVISION! And I'm actually looking forward to the commercial breaks, because there are recorded greetings from Matt, Karen, Arthur and Alex for ME! Well, for viewers of BBC America, but that's ME!

Given that there is one greeting (so far) with Alex Kingston in it, I'm guessing they recorded the greetings when they were out here filming in Utah.

And wow, this orchestra is really, really good. It's amazing to listen to them "live." The show looks awesome, and they did a great job of capturing the action for television, too!

And this is just the warm-up, because the Doctor Who Christmas special will be broadcast later TODAY (today, today, today)!!!!

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it, and to everyone, happy December 25th!