Giant Freakin Robot

I’m beginning to wonder if the folks behind Doctor Who aren’t just pranking us. Three months into the year, there’s still no official confirmation whether any previous Doctors (the characters or the actors who played them) will return for the big 50th anniversary episode, and it seems like most of the related stories of late have been somebody denying that they’re returning, or saying they haven’t been asked. Today, it’s Captain Jack Harkness.

Actor John Barrowman, who played the dashing, omnisexual Captain Jack in both Doctor Who and the spinoff Torchwood, had seemed hopeful about returning in recent weeks, but that hope has been dashed, courtesy of a blunt tweet from Barrowman earlier this week.

I will not be involved in the 50th Anniversary Episode of Dr WHO. JB

— John Barrowman News (@Team_Barrowman) March 24, 2013

We cover a lot of different stuff here at GFR, because our goal of covering “science and science fiction” covers a wide spectrum, from the fantastic to the fascinating to the frankly indescribable. You can lump this one into that third column, because I have absolutely no idea where this video originated, nor do I have a context to help clarify why it exists. It simply is. If I had to guess at a reason why there’s a video of John Barrowman dancing to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies,” I would theorize that the universe simply realized that such a thing simply Needed To Happen, and thus it did. If I have any complaints, it’s that the Universe took its sweet time in steering me toward the video. The last three years have, in retrospect, been all the poorer for my not knowing this existed.

Simple expression of Barrowman’s lust for life? Perhaps. Curious enigma that may in fact contain all the secrets of the universe? Quite possibly. Thoroughly enjoyable? You betcha. In the meantime all we can do is watch, and perhaps dance along at home, alone and with the drapes closed. Take it away, John…

And thanks to Mindy for pointing out the existence of this video!

With Doctor Who celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, one of its little siblings unfortunately won’t be throwing any victory parties anytime soon. I speak, of course, of Torchwood, the Who spin-off featuring the adventures of the immortal Captain Jack Harkness and company. In spite of getting a big marketing push to woo American audiences for its run on Starz, Torchwood: Miracle Day was a disappointment both narratively and in the ratings department. One former Torchwood writer thinks he knows where Miracle Day went astray and lost its “essence.”

Fans of Torchwood have been left hanging in the aftermath of the BBC/Starz co-produced series, Torchwood: Miracle Day. While it received a decent marketing push prior to airing in July – September 2011, Miracle Day disappointed in the ratings department, and there’s been no definitive word when/if we might see the further adventures of Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) and Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles). Well, Torchwood creator/former Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has been making the rounds to promote his new kids’ show, Wizards vs. Aliens, and during a radio he was asked about the future of the Who spinoff…and the news isn’t great.

During a radio interview with Irish talk show host Graham Norton, Davies said that, while Torchwood isn’t officially cancelled, he has no plans to return to it anytime soon. Here’s the quote:

I loved making it [in the States], and I would have carried on if circumstances hadn’t brought me back to this country, so it’s kind of in limbo for me at the moment.

I’m not working on it at the moment. I’m only working on Wizards vs. Aliens — when I get back to work one day, I don’t know, it’ll be old news to the BBC then! It’s not officially cancelled… It’s in a nice limbo where it can stew for a while – those shows can come back in ten, twenty years time.