Sherlock Holmes is a popular character these days, between a popular film franchise and an acclaimed BBC TV show, there are several ways to enjoy his particular brand of inductive reasoning. So popular in fact that BBC has ordered up a third round of Sherlock episodes, according to the trustworthy official twitter of show creator Steven Moffat.

Add that popularity with a recent trend of taking quality foreign programming  and re-purposing it for American audiences and it will come as no surprise that CBS has ordered their own Holmes pilot as well. Elementary is planned as a modern take on the classic detective, putting Holmes in the middle of New York City.

This is not the first time a network wanted to put a Holmesian character on the mean streets of the big apple. Law and Order spin-off Criminal Intent was originally conceived as a way to put a detective like Sherlock in the Law and Order universe. That worked well, but the character was only loosely based on Holmes, it will be interesting to see how the character fits into the CBS style drama mold.

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We told you last month that Harry Potter director David Yates was gearing up to make a Doctor Who feature film. At the time there was some ambiguity as to where it would stand in relation to the current, and extremely popular, British series that just finished up it’s sixth season. Yates seemed to suggest that this would be a new incarnation, with no relation to the current Doctor or his television show.

Current show runner Steven Moffat thankfully provides some more information that should be great news to all the Doctor Who fans out there. He recently tweeted:

“To clarify: any Doctor Who movie would be made by the BBC team, star the current TV Doctor and certainly NOT be a Hollywood reboot.”

Leave it to the Grand Moff to assuage fans the world over in a concise 140 characters or less.

Of course this is far from official, there are still several years before this movie hits the screens, and we are still over a year off from a very big 50th anniversary year for the Doctor, which I am assuming will come with it’s ample share of surprises. Still, it is good to know some one deeply involved with the project has his head screwed on strait.

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Just when you thought Spielberg was going to pack it all up and stick to producing, he announced that he was going to direct a new epic film (with the potential of sequels). Could he be working on big budget superhero flick? A giant alien sci-fi adaptation? Nope, we’re talking about the adventures of the French boy-detective in The Adventures of Tintin.

The crew is pretty star-studded, as well as the cast, with such names as Edgar Wright, Steven Moffat, Joe Cornish, Simon Pegg, Peter Jackson, Daniel Craig, and Spielberg himself joining in. Here’s the synopsis for those who aren’t caught up on their classic French comics.

Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures Present a 3D Motion Capture Film “The Adventures of Tintin” directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Steven Moffat and Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish. Starring Jamie Bell (“Billy Elliot,” “Defiance”) as Tintin, the intrepid young reporter whose relentless pursuit of a good story thrusts him into a world of high adventure, and Daniel Craig (“Quantum of Solace,” “Defiance”) as the nefarious Red Rackham.

Though there are plenty of big names and TONS of money behind this flick, the concept of motion-captured animation still leaves a bad taste in our mouths after such gems as A Christmas Carol and The Polar Express. Looks like we’ll have to wait and see if this falls in the same “dead behind the eyes” category of animation.

Check out the trailer after the jump and catch The Adventures of Tintin in theaters on December 23rd.

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“Borrowing implies the eventual intention to return the thing that was taken. What makes you think I would ever give you back?”

-Idris

Doctor Who is a quintessential piece of British culture, and it has been for nearly a half century. A more recent contributor to that lexicon is Neil Gaiman, the mastermind behind Sandman, Stardust and Coraline. Well last year the ‘Grand Moff’ worked his magic again and secured Gaiman to write a season six episode of Doctor Who. Uniting two of the giants in British fantasy into one perfect, condensed episode of TV. Or is it?

Of course it is, I won’t even try to fool you. ‘The Doctor’s Wife’ is one of, if not the, best episode of Moffat and Smith’s run up to this point The tone is fabulous, the writing is perfect, the acting is spectacular and the monster is every bit as threatening as he should be considering the stakes. As far as stand alone stories go, I predict this will be at or near the top of many Whovian’s top lists for years to come.

So we have reached the spoiler warning portion of my review, I cannot implore you enough to see the episode first. You do yourself a disservice by not heeding that warning! More after the jump.

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If you’re a big fan of the BBC show Doctor Who and live in, or are willing to travel to Utah, this story is especially for you. According to the BBC, the upcoming Season 6 of its flagship sci-fi drama will open with a two part episode set and partially filmed in the U.S.

The opener, written by the show’s head writer and showrunner Steven Moffat, will be co-produced by BBC America, with key scenes being filmed in Utah in November. The story is set in the late ‘60s and finds the Doctor (Matt Smith), Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill) on a secret mission “that takes them on an adventure from the desert in Utah – right to the Oval Office.”

Also joining the show for the opener will be Alex Kingston, who reprises her role as River Song. “The Doctor has visited every weird and wonderful planet you can imagine, so he was bound get round to America eventually,” Moffat said. “And of course every Doctor Who fan will be jumping up and down and saying he’s been in America before. But not for real, not on location – and not with a story like this one! Oh, you wait!”

Okay Mr. Moffat, we’ll wait. But it won’t be easy. We don’t like waiting.

What do you guys think about Doctor Who filming in the US and Torchwood moving to the US permanently?

In a recent interview promoting the new BBC mini series Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch candidly implies his interest in becoming the next Doctor Who. With current Doctor Who show runner Steven Moffat also heading up the Sherlock mini-series, the possibility is much higher than with most similar rumors.

During the interview with Digital Spy, the interviewer unassumingly asked if Cumberbunch had any interest in appearing on an episode of Doctor Who, to which he responded that he wouldn’t want to be in an episode. Then the interviewer realized that Cumberbatch was asserting that he didn’t want to just have a single episode run and asked if he wanted to be the doctor, and with a sly smile he responds with a quizzical maybe.

Cumberbatch then explains that after Sherlock, it would be more fitting to have a substantial role in his next project. The video is open to interpretation, as Cumberbatch has previously been rumored to be Moffat’s choice for a role as The Master, but he does seem to imply that he wouldn’t be in a supporting role if he were to join the cast of Doctor Who.

Whether this lends any credence to the rumor that Matt Smith is looking to leave the role after next season has also yet to be determined. One thing is for sure, the bravado I saw Cumberbatch display as he responded to the question assures me that he will no doubt be having an impact on Doctor Who sooner rather than later.

How do you feel about the possibility of Matt Smith leaving Doctor Who? Do you think Benedict Cumberbatch would make a fitting replacement?

To see Cumberbatch’s response check out the video after the jump and for all your Doctor Who news stick with The Flickcast.

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Current Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat is now giving us his interpretation of history’s most famous detective. No, not Batman, but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s own Sherlock Holmes. On BBC’s Sherlock, Moffat is giving us a modernized version of Sherlock Holmes’ exploits as he searches for a serial killer who makes his murders look like suicides.

The series remains true to the more iconic details from the original books. Holmes and Watson still live on 221b Baker Street and all the characters have the same names. The glaring difference is that the series is set in contemporary London rather than the late 19th century.

The miniseries is set to star Benedict Cumberbatch (The Other Boleyn Girl) as Holmes and  Martin Freeman, who you may remember as Jim from the British version of The Office, as Watson. This project is co-created by Mark Gatiss, writer and actor in various British series including Doctor Who and The League of Gentlemen.

The first episode of the three part series will air on July 25 on the UK’s BBC1 and BBC HD. No premiere date has been announced for the United States, but the show is expected to air on PBS as part of its Masterpiece series.

Between this news and the success of Robert Downey Jr.’s popular film franchise, could we be looking at a resurgence of interest in the classic detective? Can other classics be far behind?

Check out the trailer for this new series after the jump.

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For those who are catching up on Doctor Who through BBC America, this season has been quite an interesting one so far for the newest Doctor. He’s liberated a space whale, nabbed an escaped prisoner of an inter-dimensional prison, and he’s met up with his newest companion, Amy Pond.

This weekend marks a trademark for new showrunner Steven Moffat, as he brings back two of his prized characters from previous seasons: River Song and the Weeping Angels. This two-parter is said to answer plenty of questions we Whovians have had about both characters, which will be a great relief.

Coming up after this story, The Doctor (Matt Smith) and Amy (Karen Gillan) travel back to historic Venice, Italy, and encounter some impossible creatures.

Check out a clip from “Vampires of Venice” after the jump, and be sure to keep up with The Doctor and all of his adventures on BBC America.

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Yes Doctor Who fans I can feel your excitement as the premiere of the new series is just around the corner. To commemorate this joyous event our friends at the BBC have graciously sent us a couple of videos we’re going to share with you today.

The first one is especially cool in that it gives us a first look at the actual premiere episode by featuring the first few minutes of the episode itself. We’ve also got a video featuring interviews with the cast and creators talking about the premiere.

All of your soon-to-be-favorite cast and crew members are included such as Karen Gillan, Steven Moffat and, of course, the Doctor himself Matt Smith. From what I’ve seen of the videos and the other tidbits we’ve had in the past, the new Doctor Who looks to be pretty exciting indeed.

Check out both videos after the jump. The new season of Doctor Who premieres Saturday, April 17th at 9/8C on BBC America.

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As I’ve said previously, I’m more a fan of Torchwood than I am of Doctor Who. But even though I may have felt that way in the past, I’m willing to give the new series, and the new Doctor (Matt Smith), a try — especially after viewing this brand new trailer for the series.

Seeing this trailer really helps persuade me to forget the problems I’ve had with the show in the past. In fact, after watching it I can only conclude that the show looks pretty darn good. I sincerely hope the trailer is a good indicator of the show itself. Either way, I’m going to give it a try so expect a review of the new Doctor Who series soon.

In the meantime, here’s some info about the show from our friends at the BBC:

From new lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, the series follows the adventures of The Doctor, the mysterious traveler who, with his human companions, journeys throughout all of time and space, facing a variety of foes and righting wrongs. This latest series sees Matt Smith’s debut as the new, Eleventh incarnation of the famous Time Lord alongside a new traveling companion, the enigmatic Amy Pond (Karen Gillan). Together they explore sixteenth century Venice, France during the 1890s, and the United Kingdom in the far future, now an entire nation floating in space.

Check out the new trailer after the jump. Doctor Who premieres Saturday, April 17, 9 PM ET/PT and is an extended version with limited commercial interruption.

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I will admit I’m not as big a fan of Doctor Who as I am of Torchwood. I guess I just like my TV shows with more snogging, shagging and swearing. Still, you can’t deny the enduring popularity of Doctor Who, even as it goes through many actors playing the title character. Audiences love it and it shows no signs of slowing down.

Good news then for fans in the U.S. then as the BBC has announced the new season, featuring Matt Smith as the Doctor and Karen Gillan as his sidekick Amy Pond, will make its U.S. television debut on Saturday, April 17 on BBC America. This will come soon after the show’s UK. debut, which won’t really be soon enough for the show’s U.S. fans I’m sure.

After seeing the trailers and all the other bits and pieces about this new series and the new Doctor, I may have to give this show another chance. It looks like they make be trying to take the show in a slightly more mature direction, which might help it reach an even broader audience — and convert on-the-fence Torchwood fans like myself. Hey, it could happen.

Those of us who have been following the BBC series Doctor Who since it’s reboot back in 2005 know that the series has always been about change, going back to it’s roots in 1963. Once in a while, the show will change it’s lead actor, writing in a “regeneration” for the good Doctor. It’s happened 10 times in the past 50 years, and it’s about to happen again.

It was announced earlier this year that British actor Matt Smith would be taking over the role as the 11th Doctor when the series starts up again in 2010, after Davin Tennant resigns from his 4 year position in December. We now get word that not only will the main protagonist be “regenerating”, but we’ll be getting a brand new logo as well.

Steven Moffat, new head writer for the show, even had some new things to say about the branding change.

“A new logo. The eleventh logo for the eleventh Doctor – those grand old words, Doctor Who, suddenly looking newer than ever.  And look at that, something really new – an insignia!   DW in TARDIS form!  Simple and beautiful, and most important of all, a completely irresistible doodle.  I apologize to school notebooks everywhere, because in 2010 that’s what they’re going to be wearing.”

Check out the reveal video after the jump, and the new series of Doctor Who will premiere in spring 2010. The final three episodes featuring David Tennant will be broadcast later this year on BBC and BBC America.

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