Attack The Block is a UK movie in which a bunch of inner city kids fight back against an outer space alien invasion, with a little help from Nick Frost. This one looks to be good silly fun, but I haven’t seen a US release date for it yet. Much more serious is Falling Skies is a US TV series that is a lot more serious. When it opens we are already 6 months into the alien invasion, and humanity is fighting for its very existence. TNT will roll out Falling Skies in June, and you can see the new trailer here.
Starz has announced that the air date for Torchwood: Miracle Day will be July 8th, 2011. On that day we will get to see the premiere episode of season 4, which will get a 10 episode run. That run will bracketed by season 6 of Doctor Who on BBC America, which starts the first half of the season on April 23 and breaks a few weeks before Torchwood starts. After Torchwood runs, Who returns! I wish I could say that we will be getting Sarah Jane Adventures after that, but I don’t believe they have run in the US since season 1; I have had to wait for the DVDs to see them.
But you can see this year’s Red Nose Day Doctor Who episodes online; enjoy!
Doctor Who returns to BBC America with season 6 on April 23rd. Of course, this Friday, March 18th, The Doctor, Amy and Rory will be showing up for Red Nose Day in an all new adventure. Folks on this side of the Atlantic may have to wait until the DVD comes out to see it, but they have put The Curse of Fatal Death online for viewing even in this country. That was the Steven Moffat written episode from 1999’s Red Nose Day which starred Rowan Atkinson as The Doctor, at least at first.
I found these reactions to the Doctor Who Experience online, and I am so ready I can taste it. The last reference I saw to it was when Peter Davison opened Gallifrey 22, and I think I am finally going to have to break down and pull together a passport, just so I can go. The first one was just posted today by SFX, the second was from a while ago by Digital Spy.
Under the tag line Do something funny for money, the annual charity event Red Nose Day is coming around in the UK again on the 18th. Also known as Comic Relief, this gets a full day of support and special programing from the BBC on several of their channels, including BBC 3, BBC Radio 1, and BBC Radio 3. While you still can’t watch their streaming video feed in North America (I keep waiting for their promised paid subscription service, but so far nada), you can listen to the radio streams live. One of the things I always look forward to is the contribution from the Doctor Who team. This year they are doing a micro episode in two parts according to SFX, complete with Amy Pond flirting with herself.
This looks like a quality week to make it to the movie theaters! To start, we have two contenders for the Action/Adventure title, the first being Battle: Los Angeles. The next in a series of alien invasion movies that has gradually grown more intense over the last decade or so, given a serious boost with the advent of Battlestar Galactica, and refined by all the recent entrants from District 9, through Skyline, to Monster. For the hard Sci-Fi adrenalin junkys in the audience, this is the film to beat.
For the Fantasy crowd, there is a selection just as compelling: Red Riding Hood takes you through the implications the Twilight series pretended didn’t exist. I am really hoping Red herself turns out every bit as Buffy-like as I imagine her while watching the trailer, and reaks havoc on the innocent monsters.
In Suing the Devil, Luke O’Brien sues the devil for $8 trillion and the devil shows up in court to defend himself. The situation is just a bit unfair, since all of the best lawyers end up in hell when their life is over, and Malcolm McDowell as the Devil brings them with him. Again, a compelling movie with an amazing cast, and a lot to think about before the ending credits roll.
The fourth and possibly final choice for this weekend is the animated Mars Needs Moms! This Disney flic is the silliest of the weekend, but not necessarily the one with the fewest important points to bring to the table. The animation quality is what you would expect from that house: first rate!