August 27th, 2010
At long last, BBC Video will be able to fill the gaping hole in many North American collections of Doctor Who DVDs. Or perhaps you’ve been hoping to streamline down from a raggedy old VHS taped off-air fourteen years ago. The 1996 Doctor Who movie marks an important step in the show’s history between the classic years that ended in 1989 and the new series that began in 2005, and the forthcoming DVD has 3 hours of extras to document the production from every angle. Though Paul McGann (Luther, Collision, Our Mutual Friend) was to star as the Eighth Doctor only once on television, he made an indelible impression on fans, and he went on to record a series of Big Finish Audio Adventures and animated webisodes for BBC.com that kept the idea of Doctor Who alive during some very lean years.
August 20th, 2010
We’ve already posted Lennon Naked in the upcoming DVDs section, but we believe it deserves a bit more of a call-out. The telefilm, which covers Lennon’s final years in England, stirred a lot of buzz when the BBC aired it this summer, especially for Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who). He has already been tipped as the man to beat for the Best Actor Award in next year’s TV BAFTAs. That’s Naoko Mori (Torchwood, Absolutely Fabulous) channeling Yoko Ono. Fans of Lark Rise to Candleford will recognize Claudie Blakeley as Lennon’s first wife, Cynthia. The DVD will follow the premiere on Masterpiece this fall.
August 13th, 2010
This week TV Guide reported that Merlin will return with its third season on Syfy early next year. This is great news for DVD fans because we’ll be able get Season Two out in January or February at the latest. The enthusiasm of Merlin fans at ComicCon was electric, not least because teen lead Colin Morgan is a comic book geek himself. Certainly the viewing figures for Season Two on Syfy grew and grew to an impressive average of 1.7 million. The handsome teen leads, Colin Morgan as young Merlin and Bradley James as young Arthur are ably supported by several generations of British acting greats, including Anthony Head (Persuasion, Little Britain) as King Uther, Richard Wilson (One Foot in the Grave) in a very funny turn as Merlin’s long-suffering mentor, and John Hurt (The Naked Civil Servant) as the voice of the dragon. Season Two adds to that roster with Sarah Parish (Mistresses) and Adrian Lester (Hustle) as well as MacKenzie Crook. Crook, of course, shot to fame as the weasely Gareth in The Office, but he has since built up his box office cred in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. As with Season One, the next DVD is packed with extras: audio commentaries, behind the scenes, introductions, wallpapers and more.
August 6th, 2010
Some months ago we wrote about the new Sherlock series with great anticipation, and we’re delighted to hear that in two short weeks this 21st century take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories has made a clean sweep with the British public – ratings, reviews, the works. The only complaint is that a season of only three 90-minute films now seems cruelly short. Creators Steven Moffat (Coupling, Doctor Who) and Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentlemen, Doctor Who) have nothing against the Victorian period and all those lovely adaptations with hansom cabs emerging from the fog. They simply approached the concept as if Conan Doyle were writing in today’s London. Now that we’ve seen the first two films, we can attest that Sherlock remains remarkably true in spirit to the original stories, and sometimes even the original dialogue. Mark your calendars for Sherlock’s premiere season on Masterpiece Mystery! starting October 24th through November 7th. Our DVD and Blu-ray of the first three films will follow shortly after the broadcast, and includes audio commentaries by creators and actors as well as a 30-minute “making of” featurette.
Some months ago we wrote about the new Sherlock series with great anticipation, and we’re delighted to hear that in two short weeks this 21st century take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories has made a clean sweep with the British public – ratings, reviews, the works. The only complaint is that a season of only three 90-minute films now seems cruelly short. Creators Steven Moffat (Coupling, Doctor Who) and Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentlemen, Doctor Who) have nothing against the Victorian period and all those lovely adaptations with hansom cabs emerging from the fog. They simply approached the concept as if Conan Doyle were writing in today’s London. Now that we’ve seen the first two films, we can attest that Sherlock remains remarkably true in spirit to the original stories, and sometimes even the original dialogue. Mark your calendars for Sherlock’s premiere season on Masterpiece Mystery! starting October 24th through November 7th. Our DVD and Blu-ray of the first three films will follow shortly after the broadcast, and includes audio commentaries by creators and actors as well as a 30-minute “making of” featurette.
July 29th, 2010
We’re back from San Diego, exhausted, dehydrated, but still giddy from all the enthusiasm we felt from the BBC America fans we met. Here’s a happy snap from the Being Human autograph session last Friday. The BBC America booth was wedged between the Alien booth passing out free face-hugger masks and a very noisy and huge Lionsgate booth promoting The Expendables with action men dropping by throughout the days, but we still think OURS were the most enthusiastic crowds. As you can see, our talent lineup for Being Human was massive, so massive that creator Toby Whithouse didn’t fit into the shot. (By the way, Toby also wrote the Venetian vampire episode in this season of Doctor Who.) We also brought Robert Popper and Peter Serafanowicz and hundreds of highly-prized lab coats to promote Look Around You. Both DVDs were released the Tuesday before Comic Con began and most happily both (because we didn’t have to lug any stock back to New York) were sell-outs at the convention. Thanks to all who stopped by to say hello, ask questions, make suggestions and especially to shop. Hope to see you all next year.
July 20th, 2010
Look around you! Look around you! Look around you! Have you worked out what we’re looking for? That’s right: it’s our brain. We’re posting this early because starting Wednesday our brain will be at Comic-Con in San Diego for five fun-filled days. This year we’re focusing on Being Human and Look Around You, both of which are releasing in time for Comic-Con (and so available for purchase and signing at the BBC America booth #3629). The booth also contains a cunning little shop of selected DVDs and merchandise, including convention exclusives. Thursday is Thirst-for-Knowledge Day with Look Around You creators Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz signing at 2:30-3:30pm and regrouping at 5pm to take your questions in Room 6A. Thursday night from 8-11pm BBC America will premiere Doctor Who’s two-part finale and Being Human’s Season Two opener before the channel airs them. Friday is Being Human, with all the stars – Russell Tovey, Leonora Crichlow, Aidan Turner and Sinead Keenan plus creator Toby Whithouse signing at the BBC America booth from 2-3pm and taking the stage in Room 6A for fan questions and a special exclusive inside peek at 6-7pm. But the fun doesn’t stop there. The BBC America booth is open for your questions and comments all five days. For daily coverage of BBC America at Comic-Con including exclusive talent interviews, click here!
July 16th, 2010
The Emmy Award nominations were announced last week, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell how well BBC did from the headlines because our shows get reported under the broadcaster, not the creator. Nonetheless, as with last year, BBC received over two dozen prime-time Emmy nods, in many of the major categories including Outstanding Miniseries and Outstanding Non-fiction series. Starting from the “bottom”, Emma and Cranford are vying with each other in the costume and hairstyling categories. Moving up to the acting categories, Dame Judi Dench has been nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in Cranford. Maggie Smith is also nominated in the same category for Stephen Poliakoff’s Capturing Mary, an HBO movie made with the BBC, but sadly, not yet on DVD in North America. The Outstanding Supporting Actor category looks like BBC Video’s spring release list: Michael Gambon for Emma, Jonathan Pryce for Cranford and Patrick Stewart in Hamlet. And finally for the big grudge match. It’s the ladies of BBC’s Cranford versus the brawn of HBO’s The Pacific for Outstanding Drama Miniseries. The two critical heavy weights are going one on one for the second year in a row in this category. Finally, on the documentary front, Life, our latest treasury of nature documentary firsts, is up for 6 awards: Outstanding Cinematography, Picture Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Writing plus the big one – Outstanding Nonfiction Series. The best news is that most of these DVDs are already available in the shop.
July 9th, 2010
Jonathan Creek: Specials
Is it really over six years since we last saw Jonathan Creek on American television? Then Jonathan was paired up with Julia Sawalha (Lark Rise to Candleford, Absolutely Fabulous) in a season made in 2004. You might be excused for supposing that Jonathan had abandoned solving impossible mysteries and that writer David Renwick (One Foot in the Grave) had cast him permanently back in his day-job as a hack magician’s idea man. But there is a delightful custom in British television of bringing popular characters back time and again for holiday specials. We were just about to release a complete set (including the unreleased specials featuring Caroline Quentin and Julia Sawalha) when two new specials were announced. So look for DVD premieres of “The Grinning Man” and “The Judas Tree” this fall. These days Jonathan’s partner in general skepticism and sexual tension is Sheridan Smith (Gavin & Stacey, Lark Rise to Candleford). Sheridan Smith is an accomplished singer and dancer, and is currently starring in the West End production of the musical Legally Blonde.
July 1st, 2010
As a new season (their fifteenth!) of Top Gear kicks off in Britain, James May says: “The keen observer will see a subtle change this series, a slight retreat from the Last of the Summer Wine tomfoolery.” Whoa, now! Isn’t that why we watch it? Usually it’s Clarkson who makes the outrageous statements to the press so we’ll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, our feeble attempt over at BBC Video to keep up with the broadcasts sees us releasing Seasons 13 this fall and hopefully 14 early next year, BEFORE 15 airs on BBC America. But we’ve been foiled before. The good news on the DVD front is that starting with Season 13, we’ve got our mitts on some exclusive special features.
June 25th, 2010
What do Doctor Who and Sister Wendy have in common? They both looked at this painting and saw something wrong. In the good Sister’s epic The Story of Painting, she points out the curious fact that Van Gogh, a failed seminarian, had painted this church with no door. The Doctor sees something even more peculiar. But what? The answer can be found in “Vincent and the Doctor,” the first (and so far only) episode to be written by an Oscar-nominee, Richard Curtis (Blackadder , The Vicar of Dibley). Even if you haven’t been following the current Doctor Who season all that closely, sheer curiosity and the lure of plein air Provence might be the trigger. There’s also a special guest cameo by Bill Nighy (State of Play, Gideon’s Daughter), whose big breakthrough came in Curtis’s Love Actually. We understand that a lush 6-disc collection is in works and should be available on both Blu-ray and DVD in time for the holidays.
(4)
Loading ...