Tuesday Odds & Ends: Torchwood, Douglas Adams, Iron Man 2, Lost and great Scots

+ Good news for "Torchwood" fans: John Barrowman confirmed in a radio interview yesterday that the series will be back for a full 13-episode run. Fingers crossed they keep up the stellar quality of the "Children of Earth" mini-series.

+ Do you have a bathtub? Would you like a new one? Or rather a slightly used one? Well, you're in luck. Douglas Adams' bathtub -- the one in which he apparently soaked when he needed ideas -- is up for sale on eBay. You still have one day and a few hours left in the auction, so gather up your rubber duckies and start bidding!

+ Check out the swanky new poster for "Iron Man 2." I personally can't wait for this sequel.

+ Speaking of highly anticipated movies, USA Today has a small behind-the-scenes article on part one of the upcoming "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" films.

+ Have you seen this awesome "Lost" promo from Spain, featuring the cast as chess pieces? I got goosebumps watching it. Hurry back to my TV screen, "Lost," I miss you!



+ And finally, David Tennant has finished fifth in the "Greatest Scot" contest, behind those slackers Robert Burns, William Wallace and some fellow who invented penicillin. As if that wasn't enough, David also will be featured as The Doctor on a new commemorative Royal Mint coin, giving women everywhere a whole new reason to carry change in their pockets. "What's that jangling?" "Oh, it's just Janet, she loves a good commemorative coin." Thus ends my Royal Mint fan fiction.

Torchwood and Who -- good times ahead!

There's a new extended trailer of Torchwood's "Children of Earth" feature, which is slated to air this July. Looks creepy...and I mean that as a compliment.



Speaking of things that fall out of Russell T. Davies' head, the BBC America air dates for the first two Season Five "Doctor Who" episodes have been announced: "The Next Doctor" will air at 9 p.m. on June 27 and "Planet of the Dead" will make its American debut in July.

Oh, and in a tiny bit of other "Doctor Who" news, the new companion for Matt Smith's Eleven has been announced. I'm afraid of anyone considering it spoilery, so I'm just offering up the link. All I'll say is, hey, at least she's age appropriate!

Torchwood: Was that a pterodactyl I just saw?

Those of you who read this blog regularly -- or irregularly -- no doubt know of my deep and abiding (albeit relatively recent) love of "Doctor Who." I made the mistake of consuming those episodes as fast as humanly possible, meaning I now have no new shows to watch. So now I've turned to "Doctor Who"'s anagramic brother "Torchwood" and have now seen the first six episodes. So far, I find it incredibly hit or miss...and am not entirely sure it will ever capture my fangirl devotion quite as deeply as The Doctor has.

My first issue makes me feel very sad to even mention...but I think it rests at the heart of my problem with the show... and it's this: John Barrowman doesn't seem charismatic enough to build a whole show around. Now this pains me because I love Barrowman as Captain Jack and he's very, very pretty to look at but where he worked really well as a sidekick, he seems just a wee bit lacking in the leading man department. Again, I'm only six episodes into the series so perhaps Barrowman improves but for now, he's something of a drag.

My second issue is with the writing which seems to seesaw between taut paranormal thrillers and episodes like "The Cyberwoman." In fact, true story, the other night my husband came into the room and asked what I was watching and I had to tell him, "A robot woman...being, uh, pecked to death by a pterodactyl. Why do you ask?" See, a show where alien orgasms make people explode should be adult enough that I don't have to tell my husband I just saw a robot woman being pecked to death by a pterodactyl...unless that's the euphemism I chose to use for explosive alien sex. What I'm saying is, I need a little narrative consistency. And fewer flying dinosaurs.

Other than those two issues, though, for the most part I enjoy the show. There have been some genuinely nerve-fraying moments, and so far, I really like the characters of Gwen Cooper and Owen Harper. And the premise is intriguing and has loads of possibility. Also, it's really making me want to go to Cardiff which is perhaps the scariest thing of all.

I'll be hanging on with "Torchwood," though, as the general consensus seems to be that it improves with age. Plus, I hear James Marsters will be on in season two. If I can't hang on for Spike, then frankly, I don't deserve to call myself a nerdy girl.

Torchwood's shiny new "Children of Earth" trailer

Have you seen the new "Torchwood" trailer? No? Then look no further because it's right here:



Judging by the odd look of concentration on his face, is anyone else afraid to ask what Captain Jack's doing around the 34 second mark? C'mon, Jack, the world's ending again. There'll be time for that later!

Getting to know The Doctor

Pull to open, indeed.

Remember how "Doctor Who"'s David Tennant was our Nerd Man a few months ago and I said that I kind of liked the show but didn't really know that much about it? And then later I saw a few more episodes but still didn't know much about it? Well, I decided finally to do something about that gap in my pop culture knowledge and started renting what I believe is Season 2 of the new "Doctor Who" from Netflix. (Season one's the one with Christopher Eccleston, right?) I figured I'd start with Doctor #10 because, well, just look at that hair! (Yes, I am deeply and oxymoronically shallow.) I'm about seven episodes in so far and I gotta say, I'm enjoying the hell out of it.

I figured it would be funny and it certainly fills my need for goofy sci-fi monsters and ridiculous plots. What I didn't realize was quite how exciting it would be or how emotional. I have to admit, I got completely choked up in the episode where Ten is reunited with his past companion Sarah Jane (and Anthony Stewart Head eats children -- that wasn't the teary part) who tries to explain to The Doctor what it was like to get left behind. Okay, I knew zero, nothing and nada about what had gone on in past episodes, but wow, it was sniffle city when poor Sarah told him no other man had matched up to him. And seriously, her robot dog got to me, too. And then realizing that the Doctor's current companion, poor Rose, would one day go through the Companion Ditching, too. Ugh. This must be what "normal" women feel like when they watch "Sex and the City." Except for the robotic dog part.

Oh, and the two-parter with the Cybermen! Seems lame on paper: mad scientists puts human brains in robotic army to take over world. Oookay, but damn, it was exciting! Poor Rose and her parallel universe family. At least they named the dog after her.

The real draw, though, is Tennant. He's so frenetic, careening from one emotion to another. So charming and effusive one minute and then truly scary the next. He gives the Doctor more than enough edge to keep him from going cartoony. And I like the fact that the Doctor is not always a nice guy. He can be cold and deeply arrogant. But flawed heroes are the best heroes, right? All I know is, when the Doctor yells, it's six parts scary and four parts sexy...and that's pretty much reason enough to watch the show right there.

I'm not quite sure how I'm going to feel watching a new Doctor when the time comes. And that conceit of a new doctor every few years ties in with the one thing about the show I don't actually like. It's the same thing that always bothered me about "Star Trek" actually and that's the fact that the show is restricted by its format. I know just by watching the ten or so episodes I've seen that the relationship between Rose and the Doctor will likely never be resolved in a satisfying way because the Doctor is always meant to change and the Companion is always meant to change. Perhaps I'm wrong about this, but I can see where the writers hold back on what could be very powerful scenes or character developments because of the impermanence of these individuals. It's kind of a drag, but certainly not enough of a drag to get me to stop watching.

This post was meant as my act of contrition to any and all people who told me I'd grow to love this show. You were right! And yes, you don't even have to say it: I'll be trying "Torchwood" too.

ETA: It's now official that Tennant will be leaving after this coming season of "Who." Was it something I said??

News of the Day -- Wednesday, June 4

Back from a whirlwind trip to New York that included a wonderful wedding, kangaroos in Prospect Park (okay, the Prospect Park Zoo), an actual argument about "Transformers" and a multi-hour traffic jam convoluted enough to make Rube Goldberg cry. But enough about me. On with the news...

+ There's all sorts of wonkiness going on with BBC's Torchwood and its schedule for the coming year. Five episodes shown over five days. Huh. Color me confused....

+ Jenna Fischer was interviewed on NPR's "Fresh Air" yesterday. If you're wondering if you should spend 37 minutes listening or not, just know that "Fischer talks to Fresh Air about her abortive career as a member of an all-girl singing group (which turned out to be a front for a high-priced call-girl ring), and about her very first screen role — in a sex-education film made especially for just-released mental-health patients."

+ Two reviewers at Ain't It Cool have given some enthusiastic thumbs up to Pixar's upcoming, "Wall-E," a film my cranky curmudgeon side is having trouble getting ramped up for. I love robots as much as the next girl, but I feel like something's missing. Probably dinosaurs or monkeys. I'm just demanding that way.