Doctor Who Club of Australia

dave · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 7:54 pm Post subject:

I'll be curious to see how they approach this. Sounds like it could be quite good, or it could be really bad.

On the bad side, maybe the new k9 can join the team!

Greg · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 8:12 pm Post subject:

Unlike K9 and Company, BBC are committing to making a series and using one of the best writer in TV today to make it happen, so I doubt it will be the awfulness that the first spin-off was.

And, of course, this answers the question as to what John Barrowman is doibng that makes him too bust to appear in Doctor Who!

Dougy · Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 12:06 am Post subject:

It could be like the Lone Gunmen X-Files spin off. It was really good, but just didn't find an audience. It tied in well with the regular series and expanded on the stories. This new WHO show could be that, really good but not clicking with the majority of fans.

Kerr Avon · Joined: 15 Jul 2005 Posts: 478

having recently watched and enjoyed both The Second Coming and Casanova I find my enthusiasm for Russell T Davies' work is increasing with everything I see.

I liked Jack a lot in Doctor Who this year - can't wait to see how the spin-off pans out...

meglos · Joined: 29 Jun 2005 Posts: 670 Location: Perth

Sounds very interesting, I can't wait to see it, that's if we get it here of course.

watcher · Joined: 26 Jun 2005 Posts: 16 Location: Sydney

Well, as K9 is killed (for one group of fans) then resurrected (for the other group) at the end of that Doctor Who episode, I'm confident that he will feature in a few episodes of Torchwood (otherwise, why bother regenerating him with the ability to fly, blow up buildings and detect energy emissions from a distance of 100 million miles?) Smile

And, as Torchwood is an adult show, K9 will probably be able to swear, destroy terrorists in an exploding bloody style, and have some passionate after-hours time with his mistress. "Ooooh. Affirrrrrrmative, affffffirmative, mistressssss."

Please visit:
http://www.sylvestermccoy.com/drwhoboard/

Theta Sigma · Joined: 26 Jun 2005 Posts: 4428

Found out from the BBC site that one of the writers of Torchwood is Sapphire and Steel creator PJ Hammond.

watcher · Joined: 26 Jun 2005 Posts: 16 Location: Sydney

I've put a Torchwood news page up with all the information we know so far. Feel free to check it out here:
Torchwood

Cheers

W

Tim G · Joined: 15 Aug 2005 Posts: 43 Location: Sydney, Australia

I'm a Captain Jack fan for sure, but the logic of doing a spin-off after one series of the new Doctor Who escapes me. I would have thought the priority would be to make sure the second series is successful. Very sceptical indeed.

Kerr Avon · Joined: 15 Jul 2005 Posts: 478

a good point.

however I don't have a real problem with RTD wanting to devote more of his time to Who-related projects. if it screens after the new season then chances are the production won't overlap too much.

Greg · Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 9:24 pm Post subject:

Well, RTD did manage to squeeze out Casanova while doing series 1 of Doctor Who, and they both turned out pretty good...

Wester · Joined: 04 Aug 2005 Posts: 610 Location: Brisbane

shouldnt we just see how a spin off series goes first??

Tim G · Joined: 15 Aug 2005 Posts: 43 Location: Sydney, Australia

Don't get me wrong Wester, I'd love to be proven wrong, but even just the term "spin-off" makes me anxious. For every Frasier or Melrose Place (OK, so that was crap too, but at least it was better than 90210), you've got a Falcon Crest, A Different World or K-9 and Company.
Somehow this whole idea just reeks of "cash-in" to me.

ADAMK · Joined: 29 Jun 2005 Posts: 219 Location: Canberra

I'm not so sure it is a "cash-in". RTD is probably looking to do something a bit more adult and niche while Doctor Who is off-air. And he invented the great character of Captain Jack so why not develop a show around him!! It is on BBC3 so it will probably be aimed to a very different audience than Doctor Who. If this means RTD is less likely to get bored with Doctor Who and sticks around as the EP and main writer for a bit longer I think that is a good thing for DW remaining the big success it is!

Beatly · Joined: 24 Jul 2005 Posts: 375 Location: London

I was thinking about this the other day, and it occurred to me how wonderful it could be to get an X Files-like show set in the Doctor Who universe: Jack could go off to London to investigate reports of big hairy creatures terrorising the Underground; he or his colleagues could be unscrupulously selling off the alien artefacts to a rich collector in the States; talking to people who remember the mysterious deaths in Llanfairfach, and so on. I'm sure they'd do things much more imaginative than that, and with far fewer references to the series' past, but the potential is there... we'll see how it turns out, I guess.

Theta Sigma · Joined: 26 Jun 2005 Posts: 4428

Torchwood has been mentioned in the Spike section in the Sydney Morning Herald:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/spike/your-threadbare-abc/2005/10/19/1129401316328.html

The relevant part does not look promising:
"Dr Who with sex

A "dark, wild and sexy" spin-off version of the TV series Doctor Who is being made by the BBC following the recent success of the science fiction show. It will be called Torchwood (an anagram of Doctor Who). Writer Russell T. Davies, who also penned the latest Who series, described the show as " The X-Files meets This Life," whatever that means in practice. Maybe the Daleks get depressed and sit around in bars. Sadly, the ABC's spokeswoman hadn't heard of the new show when Spike called yesterday, so there are no plans to bring it to Australian screens."

Wester · Joined: 04 Aug 2005 Posts: 610 Location: Brisbane

Well my view is if its bad - so what?! It will suffer a natural death and be forgotten. But if its good.....if its good..... we can party like its 1999 (again).

Greg · Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 6:22 pm Post subject:

Beatly · Joined: 24 Jul 2005 Posts: 375 Location: London

...and the headline to that article is pretty ordinary tabloid-style attention-grabbing. I'm assuming anyway that the Sydney Morning Herald is that sort of paper. Smile

"dark, wild and sexy" means something very different from "Doctor Who with sex". To this hardened tabloid-avoiding cynic, at least, it doesn't suggest the presence of actual (or implied) sex at all.