Doctor Who

CHICAGO – “Orphan Black” joins “Doctor Who” and the new program “The Nerdist” for a night of genre fun on BBC America every weekend that is known as “Supernatural Saturday.” “Who” is still the gem here but “Black” starts promisingly enough with an engaging, sexy lead performance and clever, high-concept hook.

CHICAGO – The good doctor is back in the TV office as “Doctor Who” returns tonight, September 1, 2012 for a five-episode run in which two characters will say goodbye and we will transition into the next phase of one of the most influential sci-fi shows of all time.

CHICAGO – The sixth season of “Doctor Who” made the biggest waves stateside, in no small part due to a marketing blitz tied into the fact that the program was, for the first time, premiering in the U.S. at the same time it was in the U.K. (For years, the series would air in its home country and be imported later.) It also became a very divisive season. Do a Twitter search and you’ll find ecstatic love and pure hatred for this season.

CHICAGO – Are you loving the Starz import of the great “Torchwood” into the pretty-good “Torchwood: Miracle Day” and wondering where the heck Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) came from? Do you already know about one of the best sci-fi series of the last decade? Either way, the gorgeous HD box set for “Torchwood: The Complete Original UK Series” is spectacular and you might as well keep your BBC fix going with the strong “Doctor Who: Series Six, Part 1,” both released this week on Blu-ray.

CHICAGO – Brian Tallerico guests on Bill Moller’s show on WGN-Radio in Chicago on Apr. 23, 2011 to preview and review new shows for the next week including BBC America’s “Doctor Who,” HBO’s “Cinema Verite” & “Treme,” NBC’s “The Voice,” Comedy Central’s “South Park,” and more.

CHICAGO – BBC America has been blanketing major markets with advertising for tonight’s premiere of the new season of “Doctor Who,” debuting for the first time on the same weekend as it does in the United Kingdom.

CHICAGO – Two of the more beloved and acclaimed properties in the 2010 BBC output were released on Blu-ray this month and both should be near the top of holiday wish lists for genre fans. The simple fact is that BBC is doing fantasy, science fiction, and even thriller better than anyone right now and one need look no further than “Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series” and “Sherlock,” two sets brimming with greatness.

CHICAGO – Following our rave review this week of the new BBC and Royal Shakespeare Company production of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” we have secured for you a rare opportunity to win two Blu-rays and two DVDs for four winners!

CHICAGO – Having been a theater major who openly knelt at the altar of William Shakespeare for many of my formative stage years and then later became a film critic, I believe the number of versions of “Hamlet” I have seen to number around eight - three times on stage and five on celluloid. And yet I still was blown away by BBC’s production of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre version of the timeless play.

CHICAGO – The eleventh doctor makes his debut tonight on the highly anticipated BBC America season premiere of the great “Doctor Who,” one of the most purely entertaining shows on television.