It’s been a busy time, at least in print, for Tennant since he left Doctor Who late last year. I think he’s been linked to every film and television project that has come out since then. Haven’t seen him penciled in as being in the starting rotation for the New York Yankees this Spring as of yet, but then again, pitchers and catchers just reported to spring training last month.

Gavin & Stacey star to see The Doctor

In other Doctor Who news, Gavin & Stacey star, James Corden, has been spotted returning to Wales to guest star in an episode of the new series with Matt Smith and Karen Gillan according to the Daily Mail. Corden knows Wales well given the years spent filming there as Smithy in Gavin & Stacey.

Word is that in the new series, the Doctor will venture to 16th century Venice, 19th century France and a future UK. Looking forward to the Toby Whithouse-written episode, Vampires in Venice episode which will appear later in the new season.

Hopefully, St. Paul’s in Cardiff, the 120-year old Victorian building can be saved or somehow morphed into a usable structure and not fall victim to demolition but it’s not looking good given the cost mixed with the upkeep necessary.

If a church is a little out of your price range, how about an original Dalek? Hopefully, you were able to take home a bit of show history, recently, as the BBC reported that Bonhams in Knightsbridge was the site for the auction, slated for Wednesday, 24 February, and included not only collectables and memorabilia from Doctor Who, but also Torchwood. This was your chance at not only Daleks, but Cybermen, Captain Jack’s Range Rover and a London Black Cab used in the “Runaway Bride” episode from 2006.

Wasn’t the cost of a church, but, the most expensive item of the day, a Dalek from the 1985 “Revelation of the Daleks” episode went for just under 21,000 pounds ($32,750). That was more that Captain Jack’s Ranger Rover, which went for 18,000 pounds ($27,900).

Coming off a stellar couple of months for the series which has included Cranford, Return to Cranford and the brilliant adaptation of the classic Emma, tonight’s re-make of the John Buchan novel stars Rupert Penry-Jones (MI5, Persuasion) as Richard Hannay in the title role. Penry-Jones is joined by Lydia Leonard (Jericho, Foyle’s War) and David Haig (The Thick of It, Thin Blue Line and Midsomer Murders).

You know the story. Hannay is a former intelligence agent who’s given a coded message by a spy who is then shot dead by Germans who burst onto the scene. Hannay escapes then is targeted by authorities as the spy’s killer. He escapes and finds himself on the run from both the police and the Germans who want the notebook with the coded message. He picks up Victoria Sinclair along the way who finds herself entwined in Hannay’s world of intrigue by accident which makes this both a thriller and a romantic thriller.

At this point, you may be asking in the day and age of poor re-makes, do we need another one? Simple answer is yes. Long before the Jason Bourne’s, Jack Bauer’s and James Bond’s of the world, there was Richard Hannay. For all of them, saving the world from disaster is all in a days work. Ok, I know Alfred Hitchcock did a masterful  job in the original 1935 version. But in this one, Penry-Jones out James Bond’s James Bond himself (except, maybe, Sean Connery, which no one can touch).

This is good television, folks, so remember, DVR the Olympics and watch The 39 Steps on Masterpiece. Would love to know what you think of it.

Kudos Film & Television, the producers of MI5 (Spooks), Hustle, Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes, have just been commissioned by BBC One to make a futuristic drama, Outcasts. Set in 2040 and created by Ben Richards, the eight-part series that follows a group of people setting up a new life on a recently discovered planet, after Earth becomes uninhabitable.

As reported here by the BBC, shooting will start in South Africa in April with the cast yet to be named. With Kudos track record, how it can it not be another not-to-be-missed series from the BBC.

Couple of final screening notes to leave you with -

- screened a brief clip of an upcoming documentary from executive producers, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Rolling Stones – Exile on Main Street looks great. It’s the story behind the legendary album of the same name and how the album came to be, mostly from 2a-5a in the basement of Keith’s house. Lots of archive footage, tour outtakes, photographs and interviews.

- Saw a portion of Hamlet from the Royal Shakespeare Company with David Tennant and Sir Patrick Stewart. All I can say is you need to see this when it airs on PBS and KERA, Wednesday, April 28, 2010.

– Saw a trailer for the new bio-pic, Lennon Naked with Christopher Eccleston as John Lennon. I take back everything I said in an earlier post questioning if he could pull this off. Great stuff.

– several one-off docs really stood out such as The Madoff Hustle, which, in a great twist, is narrated by Robert Vaughn from Hustle. Also, Apollo Wives about the women and wives who stood in the shadows of the Apollo astronauts and the Moon and Lonely Planet: Road Less Traveled, which looks at both the adventures and misadventures of travel writers.

– from a comedy standpoint, the newest offerings we saw this year were Roger & Val Have Just Got In, starring Dawn French and Alfred Molina, We Are Mongrels, billed as Family Guy, but everyone is furry (FYI, I don’t think so) and Big Top with Amanda Holden and Tony Robinson, mentioned earlier this week. Never got around to seeing Psychoville but I really wanted to as it comes from the creative greats behind The League of Gentleman.

There were 100’s of more hours screened, too numerous to mention, but look for many on public television stations nationwide, including KERA, in the coming year.

If Monday’s news of Sherlock coming to PBS wasn’t enough, there was the announcement yesterday that WGBH and the BBC have signed a major co-production deal to return to 165 Eaton Place with a new Upstairs/Downstairs. Jean Marsh, who won the Emmy for Best Actress in the original series will return in her role as Rose, the parlor maid, along with Dame Eileen Aitkens, who co-created the original series with Marsh. Set again in 1936 London, Marsh said, “I am hugely looking forward to spending time with Rose. I have missed her enormously“.

The new Upstairs/Downstairs will air as part of the 40th anniversary season of Masterpiece in the Winter/Spring of 2011 on PBS and KERA.

Update from the screening floor….

Lead Balloon – this is one that I’ve been watching and wanting for several years now to bring to the U.S. Stars Jack Dee as Rick Spleen, a successful, but disillusioned stand-up comedian and writer whose career has not gone to plan. Can’t help but think of a British Curb Your Enthusiasm, when watching. Rick spends too much of his time hosting corporate events or doing PSA’s. As with all British comedies, a great supporting cast which includes Marty, his co-writer, Mel, his show-biz agent wife and, the best of all, Magda, his home help.

Ashes to Ashes – the sequel to the brilliant Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes moves head first into the 80’s with the same greatness. Won’t go into any more detail as there would be too many spoiler alerts since many have not seen the original as of yet. Just a personal thing, it’s the 80’s so the music isn’t as good as Life on Mars, but if that’s all that differs between the two, you still have a really great series in the tradition of UK producers, Kudos Film and Television.

Rock n’ Chips – It’s Peckham in the 60’s so not a sequel, but a “prequel” to the 80’s British comedy, Only Fools and Horses. Written by original series writer and creator, John Sullivan, Rock ‘n Chips chronicles the return of Freddie Robdal, the Trotters and a young Del Boy. One brilliant piece of casting…Nicholas Lyndhurst plays Freddie. How many people get to play their own father?

Up tomorrow (today, for me, as I write this), one more day of screenings, another day of wind, cold and rain. But, hey, it’s Brighton in February.

Another 10 hours of screening yesterday which means another opportunity to see some of the best television being produced today. Some highlights from the day:

Hustle – from the producers of MI5 (Spooks) and Life on Mars, comes a really great series about a group of 21st century con artists. Call them grifters or maybe a group of modern-day Robin Hoods, the whole idea of the show centers around righting the wrongs of the country or punishing the corrupt. Oh yeah, they also benefit handsomely from their conquests along the way. Immediately reminding you a lot of Oceans Eleven, the series stars Adrian Lester, Robert Vaughn and Robert Glenister (the PM in MI5).

The Last Nazis – the three-part series starts out with The Hunt for Dr. Death and follows an international manhunt for the world’s most famous Nazi war criminal. Then, Most Wanted, attempts to talk to some of the last alleged collaborators of Hitler’s Third Reich. Finally, Children of the Master Race is a really revealing story of what has become of individuals who were born and stolen to become part of Nazi Germany’s so-called Aryan Master Race.

Paul Merton in Europe – this six-part series follows the exploits of comedian, Paul Merton, as he discovers the wonders of modern Europe. Much different from the traditional travel series, Merton’s take on the unorthodox such as finding nude bowlers in Germany to finding a man that struggles with what his forefathers will think of his goal to break into the world of female synchronized swimming really takes center stage with some great finds and great writing. I will say, he did miss the Lenin-themed hotel in the former Soviet Union as this comes from another show screened later in the day. Again, I can’t make this stuff up.

21st century Sherlock

The evening brought some welcome news that will be of great interest for PBS and KERA viewers. We saw the first clips of the new Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch (Atonement, The Last Enemy) and Martin Freeman (The Office, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy). From writer and co-creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, this won’t make you forget Jeremy Brett, but this will be great television.

With both Cumberbatch and Freeman in attendance, the highlight of the evening was to see the genuine chemistry between the two and knowing that if even a portion of this translates to the small screen, this will be, again, great TV coming to PBS and KERA in Fall of 2010.

Cumberbatch was quick to understand the pressure he faced by portraying, without question, the most famous detective of all-time, but said that while it was daunting, there wasn’t too much pressure given the fact that the mini-series is set in the 21st century and is “incredibly loyal” to the original Sherlock Holmes character.

Freeman said that he thought the adaptation was “quite daring” and “very ambitious”.  He also said that audiences will see something very special given “the extraordinary truth and clarity of the storytelling”.

Tomorrow, a look at Lead Balloon, The Adventures of Robin Hood and Rock n’ Chips, the 1960’s prequel to Only Fools and Horses starring Nicholas Lyndhurst.

The opening dinner was billed as being “Out of this World” with an emphasis on much of the sci-fi output from the BBC including Doctor Who, Torchwood, Misfits and Survivors. In attendance were Matt Smith and Karen Gillan from Doctor Who, the entire cast from Misfits, Gareth David-Lloyd from Torchwood, along with Patterson Joseph and Zoe Tapper (Demons) from Survivors.

Highlight of the evening was a very informal interview with Steven Moffat, lead writer and Executive Producer of the new Doctor Who where he described the series as “the single most exciting  thing I have ever done in my professional career, bar none”.

When asked if he thought it was a daunting task given the history of the series, he responded by saying that “sure, it was daunting, but it was also very exciting in that it’s a totally different show. It’s very exciting”. Moffat went on to say how lucky he was and how the fans of the series are in for a real treat given all the unbelievable talent that will be writing the series. Along with Mark Gatiss, writer, creator and performer in League of Gentleman, the stellar writing crew consists of Richard Curtis, Gareth Roberts, Chris Chibnall, Toby Whitehouse, Simon Nye and Neil Gaiman.

Heading up Doctor Who does have it’s drawbacks in that Moffat was unable to continue work on The Adventures of Tintin films with Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson because of his commitment to Doctor Who. With a smile, Moffat did say that Spielberg did call him to say he completely understood and to also say that “the world would be a lesser place without Doctor Who in it”.

Meet the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, and companion Amy in this new trailer…..

Up tomorrow (or today, here) more screenings, more comedy and a sneak peak at the new Sherlock penned by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss.

Again, all you have to do now is remember the flower/dinner part of the equation.

I Claudius

To this day, this 13-part series, starring Sir Derek Jacobi, John Hurt and Brian Blessed, is still pure greatness and consistently ranks in every poll every done as one of the best in BBC history. In addition to the series, in the true sense of “DVD extras” you also get a documentary feature, The Epic That Never Was which is a behind-the-scenes look at the ill-fated 1937 screen adaptation of I, Claudius, starring Merle Oberon and Charles Laughton.

Poldark

Given the age of this series, not much in the way of “DVD extras”, but it’s still recognized as one of the all-time favorites both on the BBC and on PBS as part of the Masterpiece Theatre series. The New York Times originally wrote that Poldark, starring Robin Ellis, was a “romantic adventure, complete with raging ambition, terrible betrayals, frustrated loves, daring deeds, and a marvelously dashing hero”. How can you go wrong with that? Anyone remember Robin Ellis in the Fawlty Towers “Touch of Class” episode?

Upstairs Downstairs – The Complete Megaset

Definition of “megaset”? Easy. 68 episodes, 20 DVD’s. Also includes shows not aired during the original broadcast and an hour-long retrospective Upstairs Downstairs Remembered: The 25th Anniversary Special. Have to think the Bellamy family exploits at 165 Eaton Place and their servants below made up the first reality series ever on television….and, the best.

Sherlock Holmes – The Complete Granada Television Series

We already know where I stand in the whole “Jeremy Brett vs. Robert Downey Jr” issue so how could I not include this in my top five. I know, I need to let this go, but it’s still one of the greats of all time in the early days of the PBS series, Mystery, when you had Poirot, Miss Marple and Rumpole of the Bailey to look forward to along with Sherlock Holmes. Along with the 41 episodes on 12 discs, you also get promos, commentary tracks, an exclusive interview with Edward Hardwicke, who played Dr. Watson, an interview with Adrian Conan Doyle and more.

Brideshead Revisited – 25th Anniversary Collector’s Edition

Last, but certainly not least, another classic from Great Performances starring Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews. If Upstairs/Downstairs was early, early reality television, Brideshead Revisited was definitely appointment television in those days along with Dallas and, later, Tales of the City. Again, given the age of the series, not much in the way of “extras”, but  you do get the full 11-hour series, a retrospective documentary, Revisiting Brideshead, outtakes, a companion guide with director’s introduction, episode descriptions, an Evelyn Waugh biography, photo gallery, production notes and cast filmographies.

My work here is done. The rest is up to you for Valentines Day. Anyone else have a different top-five to help out?