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Okay, so I know what you are thinking …. This is not Doctor Who related. You are right, faithful reader, but I still think you will enjoy seeing this sci-fi themed Superbowl commercial. The kid did so well, I am sure he would do wonders on Doctor Who.

Hello faithful visitors!

I saw this video showcasing the latest Dalek toy, and once again I thought how awesome it must be to be living in the UK right now. I guess it is fair play for all those Trek toys we get here that are not readily available in the UK.

So what other Doctor Who toy would you like to have? I would love to have a sonic screwdriver universal remote control. Surely someone has done that? After all you can get a Phaser and lightsaber universal remote.

With the 6th series of new Doctor Who approaching, the official BBC Doctor Who site has put together a multi-day tribute to America. As you can see here, there is information about American influences on Doctor Who, such as the first American companion Peri Brown.

Okay so Peri was not actually played by an American, but for a change the videos on the official site relating to the American tribute can be played by here in America. For that alone I thought it was worth mentioning here.

Today I thought I would deviate from the strictly Doctor Who related articles to give a brief mention to Torchwood. Having followed Torchwood since its origins in New Who’s second series, I am looking forward to the new series and I bet you are too.

As most of you know, after the success of Torchwood: Children of Earth, it was decided that there would be a 4th series of Torchwood, but this time it would be produced in part by the Starz network in the United States. Originally, this new series was subtitled The New World. From the initial chatter it appeared that Torchwood would be getting a bit of a fresh start. Not exactly a reboot, but with the Starz network’s involvement and the American cast members, it appeared as if Torchwood was being primed to relaunch. Well, that may or may not be true. I have not heard what the Starz network’s commitment is, whether they planed for a series 5 or 6, but RTD has recently addressed some aspects of the new series which suggest the goal of the new series is possibly a bit more low key.

RTD has recently said that due to the success of Children of Earth, Torchwood would never again return to the “monster of the week” format. So far so good right?, who does not love a tightly written story arc? The problem as I see it, is the new series was renamed Miracle Day. Unlike The New World, which suggests the rebirth of the series in a more international stage, This change, to me, narrows the scope of the new series to just the specific story of the new 10 episode mini series. Its less like Star Trek : The Next Generation and more like the titles for the TNG movies, i.e. Star Trek: Nemesis. Rather than getting a relaunch with the hope of a multi-series commitment, we have instead been given one more chance for the show to prove itself.

What do you think? Am I reading too much into the title change?

If you want some spoilers for the new series, read this article where RTD addresses the premise of the series.

So the holidays are over and you have seen the latest Christmas special over and over. So now what? Well, to cross the void till the new series begins, the official Doctor Who website has developed a new screen saver and a series of wallpapers to help those post holiday blues.

Personally I like the wallpapers. There is something oddly retro about the design. They remind me of advertisements I have seen from the 1940′s, ’50s and ’60′s. What do you think?

The BBC have just done a great thing, they have created a Youtube Channel for Classic Doctor Who. Yes, that is right, It is your father’s Who, but believe me that is a great thing for the franchise as a whole. It means the BBC has not forgotten how this whole thing started and that maybe just maybe the classic series is good for more than the occasional DVD release.

Check out the site.

Speaking of DVD releases, would it not be awesome if one day 2Entertain decided to do series sets for the classic series? I mean The Key to Time and The Trial of a Time Lord aside, the classic series has not had such a comprehensive treatment and it sure would make life easier on the collector if they just made series sets. Given the lost episodes and the reduced size of the later series, maybe they could do “Doctor Sets” … Who’s with me?

So did everyone see this year’s Christmas Special, A Christmas Carol? Even if it did have commercial breaks, I was thrilled that BBC America aired this episode. On the off chance that there are readers of this site who have not seen the special yet, I will do my best to avoid any significant spoilers. I will just focus on my reactions.
 

Christmas is behind us, and once again we were all treated to an enjoyable Doctor Who Christmas Special. We here at The Articles will review that special, but in the meantime I thought it would be fun to pass along the BBC America teaser trailer for series 6. Can you tell that they are excited that The Doctor has come to America?

The Grand Moffat has spoken, according to this article, even though the fans of both shows have been asking for it, there will be no crossover between the two very popular shows, Doctor Who and Sherlock.

The Reason? Well see, this is where I think Mr. Moffat’s logic starts to fall apart. It is not because the two main characters are so similar that you would have a hard time finding a problem one could not solve on his own, no it is because if Sherlock lived in the same Universe as The Doctor, you would have to admit that time travel is possible and the Daleks have invaded the Earth. Apparently Moffat believes a Sherlock story cannot exist in a world where Time Travel is possible. Guess the Whoniverse is just too timey-Wimey for Sherlock.

A good crossover story would be extremely hard to write, especially if the sci-fi elements were kept at a minimum. But I believe it could be done. Maybe that is what Moffat is really saying, at least modernly, a typical Doctor Who story is anything but subtle. Do you agree?

Well not exactly, but the new Dirk Gently series does have its’ origins in Doctor Who. Douglas Adams, who wrote Shada took some of his ideas from that script and turned it into a series of books. I am guessing the BBC has decided that if Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures can do very well than maybe there is room for one more Who adjacent program.

Here is the trailer: