Upcoming series "Aliens vs. Wizards" by Russel T. Davies.

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The Romulan Republic
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Upcoming series "Aliens vs. Wizards" by Russel T. Davies.

Post by The Romulan Republic »

http://sciencefiction.com/2012/01/15/ru ... s-wizards/
When we last heard from Russell T. Davies he was taking a sabbatical from the world of entertainment in order to be with his ailing partner Andrew. He did mention, however, that he had a “small commitment” with CBBC that had predated his plans and that he needed to see it through before completely stepping away. This project has now been announced and it is a new children’s television show called ‘Aliens vs. Wizards.’

The BBC describes the show as “Doctor Who meets Harry Potter.’ Davies is listed as co-creator along with Phil Ford who is known for writing the ‘Doctor Who’ episode ‘The Waters of Mars’ and the ‘Doctor Who: Dreamland’ series. He was also the head writer for ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures.’

The series will follow the same format as ‘SJA’ in that it will contain 12 two-part episodes lasting a half hour each and some of its episodes will be written by ‘SJA’ alumni Joseph Lidster and Gareth Roberts (who has also written for ‘Doctor Who’). It’s also been said that many of the crew who worked on ‘SJA’ will also be working on this new show.

Even before this series was announced or even aired, the BBC has already ordered a second season. Apparently they must have a lot of faith in the show and think that it will be a big hit.

On a side note, on the agent’s page for Davies, it lists him as a writer for a 25 minute pilot called ‘Star Lost’ made for BBC Worldwide. Unfortunately, no other information was listed about the show. Hopefully it will be a pilot that will also air in the US for fans of Davies to enjoy too!
Any doubts I have about this are greatly lessened by the fact that the co-creator is the guy he wrote "Waters of Mars" with, as that is probably my favourite Doctor Who episode.
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Re: Upcoming series "Aliens vs. Wizards" by Russel T. Davies

Post by Ahriman238 »

I admit it sounds like a fun concept. I'm actually somewhat turned off by Davie's involvement, but perhaps he'll have a good run and leave the Dr. Who baggage behind him.
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Re: Upcoming series "Aliens vs. Wizards" by Russel T. Davies

Post by The Romulan Republic »

Davies' career on Doctor Who is far from all bad. I would say that the quality of his work is uneven, but there are some good parts. So I'm not too bothered by his record.
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Re: Upcoming series "Aliens vs. Wizards" by Russel T. Davies

Post by evilsoup »

Davies was actually good overall, apart from writing the resolutions to his OMGSUPERAWSOME two-parter series finales (and the end of time, yeah he kind of went a bit nuts at the end). So far as characterisation and interesting ideas went he wasn't bad in Dr. Who.

Of course, he was also responsible for the abomination that is Torchwood, the show that just wouldn't die no matter how bad it got.

Ignoring Rusty's involvement for a second, based on the description alone: this sounds like standard godawful CBBC kid-fodder.
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Re: Upcoming series "Aliens vs. Wizards" by Russel T. Davies

Post by SpaceMarine93 »

Alien invasion countered by magic? AWESOME!
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Re: Upcoming series "Aliens vs. Wizards" by Russel T. Davies

Post by Alyrium Denryle »

I now have a mental image of an orbital bombardment fended off by thirteen circles of thirteen wizards using a gigantic ritual-warding spell. Arcane energies coursing over the upper exosphere lighting up in spider-tendrils of power when hit by some plasma based terror weapon or anti-matter warhead.

Awesome.
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Re: Upcoming series "Aliens vs. Wizards" by Russel T. Davies

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evilsoup wrote:Davies was actually good overall, apart from writing the resolutions to his OMGSUPERAWSOME two-parter series finales (and the end of time, yeah he kind of went a bit nuts at the end). So far as characterisation and interesting ideas went he wasn't bad in Dr. Who.
And all the 'NERD RAGE RAR!! RUINZED 4 EVUUUUR!!!' aimed at him has died down a lot since he left, with Matt Smith and Steven Moffat in the firing line for a long while now.
Of course, he was also responsible for the abomination that is Torchwood, the show that just wouldn't die no matter how bad it got.
Chris Chibnall was responsible for a lot of Torchwood's abject shiteness, however RTD's Children of Earth mini-series was genuinely excellent (but it got a bit rubbish again with the slick, but padded out Miracle Day mini-series).
Ignoring Rusty's involvement for a second, based on the description alone: this sounds like standard godawful CBBC kid-fodder.
The Sarah Jane Adventures was s CBBC series and while you could tell it was made on a low budget, it was actually well made and reasonably scripted. It found its footing quicker than Torchwood did and was generally more even in quality as well, with its stronger stories better than NuWho's weaker episodes. Its successful run was stopped only by the sad, relatively premature death of its leading actress. The production team that made The Sarah Jane Adventures are making this upcoming series.
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Re: Upcoming series "Aliens vs. Wizards" by Russel T. Davies

Post by Thanas »

Big Orange wrote:
evilsoup wrote:Davies was actually good overall, apart from writing the resolutions to his OMGSUPERAWSOME two-parter series finales (and the end of time, yeah he kind of went a bit nuts at the end). So far as characterisation and interesting ideas went he wasn't bad in Dr. Who.
And all the 'NERD RAGE RAR!! RUINZED 4 EVUUUUR!!!' aimed at him has died down a lot since he left, with Matt Smith and Steven Moffat in the firing line for a long while now.
Not really, Davies work is still crappy from season 2 onwards and the less said about his final specials the better.
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Re: Upcoming series "Aliens vs. Wizards" by Russel T. Davies

Post by The Romulan Republic »

While some of Davies work is indeed shitty, said specials include Waters of Mars, which still blows me away every time I watch it. :)

I'm confident Davies can conceivably write good television episodes. I doubt this series will be as good as Doctor Who because its a children's show, lacks the vast backstory of Doctor Who, and will likely have a much smaller budget, but I also won't discount it simply because Davies is making it.
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Re: Upcoming series "Aliens vs. Wizards" by Russel T. Davies

Post by Thanas »

To be honest, this might turn out to be a better one than Doctor Who, at least for the critics. After all, Children shows do not necessitate internal story logic and character development.
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Re: Upcoming series "Aliens vs. Wizards" by Russel T. Davies

Post by dragon »

SpaceMarine93 wrote:Alien invasion countered by magic? AWESOME!
Read a book like that before can't remember the name. It started off a craft crashing, there was a part where the wizrad was shooting lightning at some kind of attack craft. And that's all I remember of it I read it a long time ago.
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Re: Upcoming series "Aliens vs. Wizards" by Russel T. Davies

Post by White Haven »

Alyrium Denryle wrote:I now have a mental image of an orbital bombardment fended off by thirteen circles of thirteen wizards using a gigantic ritual-warding spell. Arcane energies coursing over the upper exosphere lighting up in spider-tendrils of power when hit by some plasma based terror weapon or anti-matter warhead.

Awesome.
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Re: Upcoming series "Aliens vs. Wizards" by Russel T. Davies

Post by Bedlam »

Sounds a little like an old series I remember called Wail of the Banshee. However, I think in that magic was alien science mostly, magic wands were some type of control device although there were magic creatures who had a different type of magic but again it might just be some other type of science.

I remember quite liking the series, Merlin was a recoving magic addict, King Arthur was a Samuri who got killed and possessed one of his decendents and the embodyment of death dressed as a jester and claimed that he'd created men (before that there were only women and no one died or did anything stupid (apparently :) )).
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Re: Upcoming series "Aliens vs. Wizards" by Russel T. Davies

Post by Broomstick »

dragon wrote:
SpaceMarine93 wrote:Alien invasion countered by magic? AWESOME!
Read a book like that before can't remember the name. It started off a craft crashing, there was a part where the wizrad was shooting lightning at some kind of attack craft. And that's all I remember of it I read it a long time ago.
Would that happen to be The Cyborg and the Sorcerers by Lawrence Watt Evans?

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Re: Upcoming series "Aliens vs. Wizards" by Russel T. Davies

Post by Stark »

Thanas wrote:Not really, Davies work is still crappy from season 2 onwards and the less said about his final specials the better.
Don't forget the hilarious hatred of violence and the military, to the ludicrous extreme of the 'blow up the world because fighting is wrong' system.

Contrasting this with 70s Doctor Who, where he beat guys up and disintegrated guys without a single moralising crybaby speech, is pretty funny stuff. :lol:

Odds of him working this theme into a show about war is nearly 100%.
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