Funny business for 'Doctor Who' and 'Torchwood' at Comic-Con

If we learned anything from the Doctor Who and Torchwood panels at Comic-Con, it's that writer Steven Moffat's dating life is worth the years of laughter on Coupling; John Barrowman is a cheeky monkey; and Tosh is dead.

We didn't learn what will happen next to The Doctor and his new Companion. We didn't learn what will happen to Torchwood Three after the deaths of Owen and Tosh. We didn't learn the exact relationship River Song had to The Doctor (though Moffat did let slip she's met other incarnations). We didn't learn just how the people who accompanied Captain Jack at the end of the Doctor Who season finale would figure into Harkness' Cardiff crew.

We did learn Moffat and Julie Gardner, executive producer on both shows, should have an hour-long sitcom where they play off each other. We learned Moffat warns against letting a toothbrush or pair of handcuffs fall from your pocket on a first date. Oh, and okay, we learned BBC America has picked up Torchwood series three (which apparently will focus on one long story arc over fewer episodes) and that The Doctor will face Cybermen in 1851 during his show's Christmas episode.

More highlights from both panels:

• Moffat claimed to have only just started writing Doctor Who series five on the plane to Comic-Con. He seemed serious (for once during the panel) and steadfastly refused to divulge and other details.
• Toshiko Sato is definitely dead. Poor Naoko Mori had to hear Gardner say it as part of almost every answer. The entire panel, though -- which at that point included Gardner, Barrowman, Mori and Gareth David-Lloyd -- got choked up during a clip of Tosh's death.
• The 1996 TV movie (with Paul McGann as the eighth Doctor) is considered canon by the show's writers.
• Moffat on the rumored Neil Gaiman-written episode: "I can absolutely confirm that would be nice."
• Barrowman may be in line to play Captain America. He danced around the issue but said he'd love to do it, and that things "are in the pipeline."
• Moffat on a potential Doctor Who crossover with Billie Piper's new show, Secret Diary of a Call Girl: "That's Torchwood."
• Moffat had vague plans for a second season of Jekyll, but they were sidetracked by his larger role on Doctor Who.
• Mori and Barrowman, originally in musical theater, showed they can still belt it during an impromptu duet of "Sun and Moon" from Miss Saigon... which was the first show they acted in together.

For more Comic-Con coverage, check out Zap2it's Misfits of Sci-Fi blog, Zap2it's Comic-Con '08 photogallery and Zap2it's Live Twitter.

Comments

Dangit! I really wanted to know what would happen after that crazy finale I saw at the beginning of this month. Doctor Who gets better every season and I can't wait to see what Moffat brings to the table in 2010.

Mark O. Estes | Jul 24, 2008 10:58:32 PM | #

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Looking at clips from the panels on YouTube I have to say this is a great bunch of people and I think Russell Davies chose wisely when he hired Moffat and the BBC made the best decision to hire him to take over. I think Moffat should look at hiring Julie Gardner as the Doctor's new companion - seriously, she's cute. I think the news everyone wants to know is whether Tennant is staying on after next year's specials.

Alex | Jul 25, 2008 11:32:55 PM | #

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