Category: Universes, Franchises & Characters

Doctor Who returns

Doctor WhoWith its hand forced by a scoop in the London Daily Telegraph, the BBC confirms that plans are afoot to relaunch Doctor Who as a full television series for the first time since 1989. As the series has only just been commissioned, no casting decisions have been made yet, but the series is to be overseen by writer and producer Russell T. Davies, whose most high-profile project at the time is the gay-themed drama series Queer As Folk (though Davies also contributed a novel to the Doctor Who New Adventures book series in the late ’90s, and has been approached several times by Big Finish Productions to write a script for a Doctor Who audio story). Production won’t begin until sometime in 2004, with the series set to premiere in 2005. The BBC had planned to sit on the news until November 23rd, 2003 – the 40th anniversary of Doctor Who’s first broadcast.

Star Wars: Clone Wars: Chapter 1

Clone WarsBridging the gap between Star Wars Episode II and Episode III, Cartoon Network premieres the first three-minute mini-episode of The Clone Wars, with character design and direction by animator Genndy Tartakovsky. Executed in a cel-animation style (rather than the full CGI of the later Clone Wars series), the shorts chronicle the battles between the Republic Clone Army and the Jedi vs. the Droid forces of the Separatists. Read more

2003 Robot Hall Of Fame inductees

R2-D2SojournerThe first four inductees – two real and two fictional – are inducted into the Robot Hall Of Fame created by Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science.

  1. Unimate (1961, General Motors) – the first robotic arm used in car assembly
  2. HAL-9000 (1968, from 2001: a space odyssey)
  3. R2-D2 (1977, from Star Wars)
  4. Sojourner (1996, NASA) – the first successful Mars rover

The panel of judges in future years will pare down the number of nominations awarded to fictional creations. R2-D2 actor Kenny Baker and Douglas Rains, the voice actor behind HAL, are in attendance.

Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast

Doctor Who: The Scream Of The Shalka

Doctor WhoA new animated Doctor Who adventure, Scream Of The Shalka, premieres on BBCi, the BBC’s web site, starring Richard E. Grant as the ninth Doctor, Sophie Okonedo, and Sir Derek Jacobi. Written by popular Doctor Who novelist Paul Cornell, this story is heavily promoted well in advance with the announcement that Richard E. Grant is the official ninth incarnation of the Doctor; BBCi is unaware of the behind-the-scenes negotiations elsewhere in the BBC with Russell T. Davies. (The BBC’s unexpected announcement of Doctor Who’s imminent return as a live action series invalidates Shalka before its premiere.) Read more

Star Wars: Clone Wars: Chapter 10

Clone WarsBridging the gap between Star Wars Episode II and Episode III, Cartoon Network premieres the tenth mini-episode of Genndy Tartakovsky’s The Clone Wars animated shorts. This concludes the 2003 run of The Clone Wars; the series resumes in spring 2004. Read more

Doctor Who: Zagreus

Doctor WhoBig Finish Productions releases the 50th Doctor Who audio drama in its main monthly range, starring Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and Paul McGann. This story, which unites many past stars of TV Doctor Who in unusual roles, celebrates 40 years of Doctor Who. Read more

Doctor Who: The New Audio Adventures – The Inside Story

The New Audio Adventures - The Inside StoryBig Finish Productiions publishes the hardcover non-fiction book Doctor Who: The New Audio Adventures – The Inside Story by Benjamin Cook, a history of the series of licensed Doctor Who audio plays and audio spinoffs that the company has been producing since 1999; the book is timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Doctor Who. Read more