The Blogs

So, I've come to a decision on blogs, and I'm officially closing this blog, and moving to Anomaly to the Whoniverse. The link is below:

anomalytothewhoniverse.blogspot.com

Sorry!

Primeval Series 5 Episode 5 Review Round-up

So, here's a round-up of reviews for last night's Primeval- the penultimate episode of the fifth/last depending on what you believe series:
http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/06/21/primeval-5-05-tv-review/- SFX
http://www.denofgeek.com/television/949085/primeval_series_5_episode_5_review.html- Den of Geek
http://www.daemonstv.com/2011/06/22/primeval-uk-series-5-episode-5-review/- Daemon's TV
http://www.dorkadore.com/film-tv/primeval-series-5-episode-5-%E2%80%93-dork-review/- Dork Adore
http://cybaria.net/2011/06/22/primeval-series-5-episode-5-review-spoiler/#more-1444- Cybaria
My review will be up later (warning: may contain spoilers and no real plot analysis- instead I'm just going to go on about how great the CGI T-Rex looked :)

Torchwood Press Launch

Yesterday the first episode of Miracle Day, titled The New World, was broadcast in a special BFI press screening in London. Naturally, a couple of sci-fi sites attended and have posted their thoughts on The New World:
http://www.denofgeek.com/television/947521/torchwood_miracle_day_episode_1_spoilerfree_review_the_new_world.html- Den of Geek's review
http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/06/21/torchwood-miracle-day-episode-one-spoiler-free-review/- SFX's review
As you can see from the reviews, the reception has been very positive, especially Den of Geek's, saying that it's up to the standards of Children of Earth!

Pre Titles Sequence is back!

After my brief move to another blog, I'm back on Pre Titles Sequence, and will resume blogging here. I'll upload some Torchwood and Primeval episodes from YouTube plus trailers, and try and blog at least three times a day. Analysis Lessons will be back, along with Doctor Who Awards and a new feature, On This Day.

Packing Up

Right, so some of you may know, Pre Titles Sequence's hits have gone down massively in the past few days. So, I've realized that Pre Titles Sequence isn't the most popular blog, so I've moved. To a new site! It's called Anomaly to the Whoniverse, at anomalytothewhoniverse.blogspot.com, and it's a news site, a creative writing site and a feature site! So bye, and I hope that people come over to Anomaly to the Whoniverse.

Analysis Lessons: Doctor Who Cliffhangers (Part 1)

A new feature on PTS now is Analysis Lessons, concentrating on analysing certain aspects of sci fi. The first six will look at Doctor Who's cliffhangers from the 2005-present series. Here's an in depth look at Series 1: (And sorry if the information is wrong, this is purely based off memory)

ALIENS OF LONDON

The cliffhanger: The Doctor is in a meeting room with UNIT troops and the 'Prime Minister.' Rose and Harriet Jones are in a separate room, where they discover the corpse of the real Prime Minister. However, a Slitheen discovers them, and reveals itself in its true form: a green monster. The fake Prime Minister's assistant does the same in the Doctor's room, and the fake Prime Minister electrocutes them......

The resolution: The Doctor, being a Time Lord, is immune to the electricity, and attaches the electrified name badge to the revealed Slitheen. This somehow electrocute all the Slitheen, and Rose, the Doctor and Harriet  make their escape.

Was the cliffhanger good? No.

PTS RATING: 5/10

THE EMPTY CHILD

The cliffhanger: The victims of the Empty Child wake up and corner the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack...

The resolution: The Doctor shouts 'Go to your room!' to them, and they leave.

Was the cliffhanger good: Yes.

PTS rating: 8/10

BAD WOLF

The cliffhanger: The Doctor discovers the Dalek spaceships; and that the Daleks have kidnapped Rose. The Doctor declares that he will kill all the Daleks, then find Rose.

The resolution: The Doctor kills all the Daleks, and finds Rose, but it costs him his ninth life.

Was the cliffhanger any good? YES!

PTS Rating: 9/10

Tomorrow, I'll take a look at Series 2's cliffhangers.

Coming Soon

This is a list of things coming soon to PTS
My 13 part Doctor Who series (released each Saturday at 6pm UK time)
More What If?s
An announcment today on either Torchwood Miracle Day's UK start date and/or whether we're getting it earlier or later than the USA
Complete Torchwood Coverage including trailers, reviews, start dates, .etc
DVD guides

Thank you

This morning, Pre Titles Sequence hit 5000 hits in two weeks. This is a great number for a small blog like this so thank you to everyone's who's visited. Keep visiting and try to get to 10,000!

Primeval Series 5 Episode 4 Review

So, here's my first review here, and more reviews will be coming soon. Anyway, here's the review for last night's episode of Primeval:

So, for the first time, the pre titles sequence didn't include random strangers being killed by dinosaurs, instead a sequence of the ARC team discovering the mini anomaly in Connor's lab. From then on, the episode was gripping, but the episode was a touch underwritten. However, I'll concentrate on the good points of episode four. The beetle threat was well realised, and they came across as pretty damn creepy. The sub plot of the episode- Jess' battle for survival after being bitten by a bug, fell flat however. She was never going to die, and the whole concept felt half-baked. Through some 'gamma blasts' the episode was swiftly resolved, but not without a whopping cliffhanger..

PTS Rating: 8/10

Primeval Series 5 Episode 4 Review Roundup

My review for episode 4 is coming tonight, and here's some reviews for episode 4:
http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/06/14/primeval-5-04-tv-review/- SFX
http://www.denofgeek.com/television/940131/primeval_series_5_episode_4_review.html- Den Of Geek
http://cybaria.net/2011/06/15/primeval-series-5-episode-4-review-spoilers/- Cybaria
http://scifipulse.net/?p=48964-Sci Fi Pulse
Enjoy! Oh and episode 1 of my Doctor Who Series has been completed, and it will be released on Saturday at 6pm UK time (1pm New York Time)

What If... Doctor Who episodes had misleading titles

Steven Moffat said recently that Doctor Who titles need to be simple and show what's in the episode. However, imagine if the production team had chosen the wrong titles, it could be that the titles are too boring or that they just don't show the point, or if they're abstract and don't make sense:

SERIES 5

1. The New Man

2. Starship UK

3. World War 2

4. Alfava Metraxis 

5. The Byzantium

6. Blood and Water (a real working title)

7. The Dream

8. Reptiles and Apes

9. Underground

10. Invisible Monster

11. Domestic Life

12. The Roman Era

13. The Stone Dalek

SERIES 6

X. Sardicktown

1. Coming to America 

2. Forgetting

3. The Good Ship Fancy

4. Bubble Universe

5. The Monastery

6. The Twin Moral Dilemma :)

7. Demon's Run

Blog Roundup

Just to say, a week ago somebody commented that this blog hasn't been posting that much news recently, and for the record, I started PTS as a news blog, but have realized that other blogs (hello, Life, Doctor Who and Combom!) post news earlier than me, and more in depth than me. So now, major news (a start date for a show, writers confirmed, new series commissioned, etc.) and coverage on shows currently on air will still appear, but stuff like What If? and my Doctor Who series will be my priority. On the note of What If?s, there will be one each day at 7.30 am UK time. PTS realized recently that the BBC Press Office will release information on the week 2-8 July, and the 8th is when Torchwood: Miracle Day airs on Starz in the US. This means, if we don't find out the start date, we know that Starz will get it earlier than BBC1. If not, then we'll know the start date for Miracle Day in the UK anyway. More on that on Thursday, when the information is realeased. I feel like I've been neglecting Primeval recently, so more coverage on the second half of series five soon. Until then, keep visiting!

Fan made trailers

These are some great fan trailers:

What If?... People said something else (Torchwood)

A new What If? today, it's the second 'people said something else' feature, this time for Torchwood:

KISS KISS BANG BANG

What Captain Jack said: 'Hey, kids. Did you miss me?'

What he could have said 'Oh, hello. I just popped off to save the universe. It looks like you've been doing a poor job!'

CHILDREN OF EARTH DAY ONE

What Ianto said: 'There's a bomb inside your stomach'

What he could have said: 'Ah, it's probably nothing. You're probably just experiencing extreme indigestion.'

CHILDREN OF EARTH DAY THREE

What the 456 said: 'We want ten per cent of the world's children.'

What they could have said: 'We want ten per cent of your world's tissues, because we keep sneezing on the glass.'

CHILDREN OF EARTH: DAY FIVE

What Captain Jack said: 'Oh yes I can. Just watch me.'

What he could have said: 'I'll be off then. I never really liked you guys anyway.'

My Series Preview

This is an episode guide with finalized titles for all 13 episodes of my Fan Series, and the days the stories will arrive on PTS...
Ep1/13: The Impossible War- Part 1 (Semi Completed)- Full Story to arrive 18 June
Ep2/13: Keep Away from the Dark- Part 2- Full Story to arrive 25 June
Ep3/13: Death and Taxes- Full Story to arrive 2 July
Ep4/13: Plastic- Full Story to arrive 9 July
Ep5/13: Creatures from the Past- Part 1- Full Story to arrive 16 July
Ep6/13: The City of Dinosaurs- Part 2- Full Story to arrive 23 July
Ep7/13: A Thousand Years of Rage- Mid Series finale- Full Story to arrive 30 July
MID SERIES BREAK
Ep8/13: The Past Comes Back- Full Story to arrive 20 August
Ep9/13: The Red Eyed Monster- Full Story to arrive 27 August
Ep10/13: Angels in the Tunnels- Full Story to arrive 3 September
Ep11/13: Are They Human?- Full Story to arrive 10 September
Ep12/13- The Oncoming Storm- Part 1- Full Story to arrive 17 September
Ep13/13 *SPOILERS*- Part 2- Full Story to arrive 24 September
The stories will arrive in smaller chunks on the blog Whoniverse Writers a couple of days earlier, then on Saturday the full story will arrive. Speculate about the titles, and try and spot the fake title!

The Impossible War (Part 2)

The sounds of the TARDIS materializing cut through the gunfire exploding all around the city. With a creak, it faded into view. Amy pushed the door open, but the Doctor pushed her back. 'Never, and I mean never, step into a gunfight. I did that before and I had to regenarate. Don't make my mistakes.' The Doctor poked his head out. 'I'd say that if those people would put down their glorified killing machines down, they might actually enjoy the sun. Although it's going to be a bit windy in- he checked his watch- four hours.' Rory sighed. 'Doctor, will you STOP showing off?' The Doctor grinned. 'Rory, the day I stop showing off is the day I die. Now go. I have a bad feeling about this.' And with that, the Doctor flicked some switches, and the TARDIS demilitarized. River was hanging back in the corner, but stepped out to say: 'Why the hell are we leaving?' The Doctor frowned. 'Because we need to see Bangkok at night..' 

It was the dead of night. The gunfire had ceased for the night, and a deathly silence filled the city. The TARDIS had arrived on the tracks of a Sky Train station- not that any trains were operating right now. Amy, Rory and River clambered onto the platform, where the Doctor was already standing, fiddling with his sonic screwdriver. He was grinning. 'You see, that's the beauty of the TARDIS. We can simply hop forward in-' Amy grimaced. 'STOP. SHOWING. OFF!' she yelled. 'We don't have time for boasting! Just tell us what to do!' The Doctor's grin faded. 'We need to split up. You're going to need a torch-', he chucked three torches to his companions, 'and a walkie-talkie.', he brought out four walkie talkies from his pockets. 'Tell me if you've been attacked.' 'Attacked by what?' Rory asked, but the Doctor was already striding off. The Doctor whirled round. 'Do you like my head torch? I wear a head torch now. Head torches are cool.' And with that, he turned round and walked off. River yelled after him: 'Can I use my gun, Doctor?' He yelled back. 'You know I will make allowances for you, River!' River grinned, and briskly walked off in the other direction. Amy and Rory exchanged glances, then went in separate directions. Rory found himself shining his torch on the wall- the wall was covered from top to bottom in bullet holes. Then, suddenly, he heard something. It sounded like heavy human footsteps, but it couldn't be any of his friends- they were too far away to be making that loud a sound. Rory slowly turned around. A skeleton man in a boiler suit was striding towards him, saying 'Don't shoot me!' in a continuous loop. Rory shouted into the walkie talkie. 'Doctor!! There's a skeleton stalking me! What the hell is it?' He heard the Doctor's frantic voice. 'It's Vashta Nerada! Stay out of the shadows, Rory. I'm coming to get you. But don't let it touch you, if it touches you, you will die!'

What If?... People said something else (Doctor Who)

In a new series of What If?s, I'll look at things that people said on Doctor Who, and all the other shows that this blog covers, and change them, to see the results! The first is for Doctor Who (Note- only Series 5 & 6 will be covered:

THE ELEVENTH HOUR:

What the Doctor originally said: 'I'm the Doctor. Basically, run'-  

What he could have said: 'I'm the Doctor, but bad luck. I wield a pistol now. Pistols are cool.'- 

VICTORY OF THE DALEKS 

What the Doctor originally said: 'I am the Doctor and you are the Daleks!'

What he could have said: 'I'll leave you robots to it. Can I have a Jammy Dodger?'

THE HUNGRY EARTH

What the Doctor originally said: 'We return their hostage and they return ours. Nobody dies today.'

What he could have said: 'We take our Silurian hostage, kill her and eat her. I wonder what the Silurians will do!'

VINCENT AND THE DOCTOR

What the Doctor originally said: 'We just added to his pile of good things.'

What he could have said: 'What the hell, he was gonna die anyway.'

THE PANDORICA OPENS

What the Doctor originally said 'Do the smart thing. Let somebody else try first.'

What he could have said 'Come and have a go! I know you want to kill me!'

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

What the Doctor originally said: 'I'm the Ghost of Christmas Past.'

What he could have said: 'I'm a Time Lord, from Gallifrey. Basically, I'm an alien.'

THE IMPOSSIBLE ASTRONAUT

What the Doctor originally said: 'All of you stay back. Whatever happens now you do not interfere.'

What he could have said: 'When I tilt my head back, all of you run forward.

Creative Pre Titles

Pre Titles Sequence has got a sister blog! Creative Pre Titles is the home for creative writing, or just chatting. Check it out at creativepretitles.blogspot.com!

What If?.... Primeval episodes had titles

Right, a random new feature on this blog is called What If? and is basically my idea of sci fi! The first What If? is featuring my ideas for Primeval episode titles, since they don't have titles. Here's Series 1-5:

EPISODE 1: The Anomalies

EPISODE 2: Bugs in the Underground

EPISODE 3: The Underwater Incursion

EPISODE 4: A Dodo with a Parasite

EPISODE 5: Attack from Above

EPISODE 6: The Future Predator

SERIES 2

EPISODE 1: A New World

EPISODE 2: Creatures in the Fog

EPISODE 3: The Smilodon

EPISODE 4: Water 

EPISODE 5: Silurian Scorpions

EPISODE 6: The Traitor

EPISODE 7: Dinosaur Prison

SERIES 3

EPISODE 1: Natural History

EPISODE 2: Haunted House

EPISODE 3: Invasion in the ARC

EPISODE 4: The Giant Creature

EPISODE 5: Poisonous Fungus :0

EPISODE 6: Terror Birds

EPISODE 7: A Knight in Shining Armour

EPISODE 8: Back to the Future

EPISODE 9: Anomaly Opener

EPISODE 10: Site 333

SERIES 4

EPISODE 1: The Return

EPISODE 2: Kaprosuchus 

EPISODE 3: The Time Tribe

EPISODE 4: Saturday Detention

EPISODE 5: Countrycide 

EPISODE 6: An Old Friend

EPISODE 7: Day of the Anomalies

SERIES 5:

EPISODE 1: Burrowing Creatures

EPISODE 2: The Submarine

EPISODE 3: Springheeled Jack

Next time, What If? People said something else (Doctor Who)

The Pre Titles Awards: Best Show

The final Pre Title Award, here's best show:

DOCTOR WHO

Well, it had to be Doctor Who. If Doctor Who hadn't been revived back in 2005, then it's likely that the other shows that this blog covers wouldn't be on TV! So, the Pre Titles Awards have finished- a new feature called What If? will appear on this blog now along with Doctor Who stories and the usual news.

Cleverbot

You might have seen the computer chat Cleverbot repeat something back at you, and it can repeat the Doctor's speech from Blink! It sometimes misses stuff out though, and one time it said 'The laws of time are mine and they will obey me!' instead of something else. :)

The Pre Titles Awards: Best Title Sequence

Right, so for this I'm going to go through all the titles sequences:
DOCTOR WHO
The traditional one. The theme tune from last year is still showing, with the addition of Arthur Darvill being credited. Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill are given star billing
MERLIN
A slightly calmer theme tune, with scenes from Series 1 and Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Angel Coulby, Katie McGrath, Anthony Head and Richard Wilson's names appearing.
TORCHWOOD
A 10 second theme tune with Torchwood flashing on the screen- it's a dead ringer for a mobile ringtone. John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd, Naoko Mori, and Burn Gorman are credited in series one and two, and in Children of Earth, we only got a jingle and the titles. Hopefully the full theme will return in Miracle Day.
PRIMEVAL
A drum based theme tune, with shards of anomaly depicting creatures, opening in time to the credited actors' names: as of 2011, Ciaran McMenamin, Andrew Lee-Potts, Hannah Spearitt, Ben Mansfield, Ruth Kearney, Ben Miller and Alexander Siddig being credited
BEING HUMAN
Apart from a nice looking logo, there isn't a theme tune for Being Human
AND THE WINNER IS.......
DOCTOR WHO
Next time, Best Fan Site.

The Pre Titles Awards: Most Repetitive Feature

Here's the Most Repetitive Feature:

PRIMEVAL: THE PRE TITLES DEATH BY DINOSAUR

As much as I like Primeval, I couldn't help notice a familiar pattern emerging among series four and the first 3 episodes of series five: people kept being killed by dinosaurs before the opening credits rolled. Eight times out of ten, in fact, somebody was murdered during the pre credits sequence (the exceptions are episode one of series four and episode two of series five.) Check it out on YouTube because it is quite funny. Next time, Best Titles Sequence.

The Impossible War

I've been working on an opening two parter recently, and here's the first two chunks of episode 1:

Night time. It was desolate in Bangkok, and it had been for four months. The raging war had gutted the city, making it into a wasteland. Rory, a tourist who had been caught up in the conflict while on holiday, was trying to return to his shelter, sprinting, while trying to avoid the gunfire all around. Suddenly, a balaclava-clad person is stepping into his way. The balaclava wearing man had a pistol, aimed right at Rory's head. 'I'm sorry,' the mystery man declared, as he fired right at Rory's head. Satisfied, the man turned away, and slunk off into the night. However, something was blocking the entrance to the shop that the man had inhabited. He took a closer look, and screamed, as the figure turned to him. It had the face of a skeleton, trapped inside an acid suit. It stretched it's hand out, tapped the man on the arm, and watched as the man's body disintegrated.....

It was an ordinary, boring day in the TARDIS. Amy and Rory were mucking about in the TARDIS' squash courts, while the Doctor was trying to multi-task, operating the scanner and watching BBC News on a dusty old projector screen mounted on the wall. The Doctor frowned. There was breaking news: 31 people were killed in a skirmish in Bangkok yesterday, and full scale civil war was breaking out. It definitely wasn't the government's fault- they had been voted as the most popular government for 20 years. But now people were dying, and the Doctor knew he had to do something about it. He bellowed through the TARDIS loudspeaker system 'AMY? RORY? GET OVER HERE NOW!' Two minutes later, they arrived in the main control room. 'So what is it, Doctor?' Rory asked. 'Is it the return of the Blobby Men? Cos if it is, I'm locking myself in the squash courts and not coming out until they're dealt with!' The Doctor stared at them. 'No, it's a lot worse than that. There's a war going on in Bangkok. A war that can only have been started by.. aliens. But I don't have a clue what to do. I can't just wade in, can I?' Suddenly, the woolly hat on the Doctor's head flew off. River stood there, clutching her gun. 'Need any help with that, sweetie?'
CUT TO TITLES

The Pre Titles Awards: Best Special Effects

I can't pick just one show, so a company responsible for four shows wins:

THE MILL (DOCTOR WHO, MERLIN, PRIMEVAL AND TORCHWOOD)

I've already talked about Doctor Who and Merlin at length in these awards, so instead I'm going to highlight the Mill's work on Primeval. The special effects on series 1-3 were provided by a different company, and at times (Google primeval series 2 episode 3 for an example) the effects were a bit ropey. However, for series four, the Mill took over and since then the effects have been the best thing on Primeval. Next time, Repetitive Feature Award.

The Pre Titles Awards: An Unsurprising Reveal Done Very Well

Here's the winner: *THIS IS A SPOILER FREE POST*

DOCTOR WHO (A GOOD MAN GOES TO WAR) THE RIVER SONG REVEAL

For months, Steven Moffat had teased a 'game-changing' cliffhanger to end part one of series six, and everybody had guessed that River Song's true identity revealed would be the cliffhanger. Two months ago, somebody had got hold of some footage from Episode 13, with dialogue clearly explaining who River was. When the time came to reveal her identity on TV, the reveal was handled really well, and ended the mini series with a bang. Next time, Best Special Effects.

The Pre Titles Awards: Most Deaths

Created in honour of the man who dies a lot, here's the winner:

RORY POND (DOCTOR WHO)

Rory Pond was killed, killed again, wiped from time, revived, last year, and this year was no different. He died no less than than three times. We salute you, Rory! Next time, An Unsurprising Reveal Done Very Well.

The Pre Titles Awards: Best Director

So, it's the fifth day of the Pre-Titles Awards, and this award is a suggestion from Rory McKeon:

BEST DIRECTOR: TOBY HAYNES (DOCTOR WHO

This is Toby Haynes' second award really, after Best Filming. He directed two episodes from series one of Being Human, but properly came to fame when he directed the series five finale of Doctor Who, The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang, and then went on to direct the superb A Christmas Carol and this year's The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon, all done with great skill. Next time, Most Deaths!

The Pre Titles Awards: Worst One Parter

There weren't many terrible episodes of sci-fi this year, but one terrible episode did pop up:

WORST ONE PARTER: MERLIN (THE CHANGELING) 

Oh dear. Jammed in between arc-heavy episodes The Crystal Cave and The Castle of Fyrien midway through series 3, The Changeling was a piece of standalone fluff. Awful fluff. The comedy was awful, and everything else was a disaster. Just look at the promotional picture! Next time, Best Director. 

1000 Pageviews!

After one week, Pre Titles Sequence has hit 1000 views! Averaging 100 views a day, the hits on this blog tripled yesterday and have stayed roughly the same today!

Torchwood Day One Next Time

The Pre Titles Awards: Best One Parter

Here's the best One Parter:

DOCTOR WHO (THE DOCTOR'S WIFE)

Neil Gaiman's take on Doctor Who was possibly the best standalone story that Doctor Who has ever made. We went deeper into the TARDIS than ever before, we saw the TARDIS personified as a human women! Next time, Worst One Parter.

The Pre Titles Awards: Best Story Arc

Here's the best Story Arc:

DOCTOR WHO SERIES 6

It was an easy choice, really. The intricate strands of story arc weaved throughout the first part of series six have thrown up lots of questions, and less answers. Last Saturday, we got answers in the mid series finale, but there are still several questions left to ask, questions that won't be answered until October. Next time, Best One Parter.

The Pre Titles Awards: Best Filming

Here's Best Filming: and it's a joint award:

MERLIN: PIERREFONDS CASTLE:

And...

DOCTOR WHO: UTAH (THE IMPOSSIBLE ASTRONAUT/DAY OF THE MOON)
Both great locations for filming! Next time, Best Story Arc.

The Pre Titles Awards: Best Cameo

Here's the Best Cameo (an actor or actress who appears once for less than five minutes):

KAI OWEN (BEING HUMAN)

Kai Owen, aka Rhys from Torchwood, starred for three minutes of screen time in Being Human's third series première, as a man named Bob. I won't tell you what he does, but it's quite amusing to see a Torchwood actor go on another sci fi show. Next time, Best Filming.  

Torchwood Novels and Covers confirmed

3 new Torchwood novels, all prequels to Miracle Day, are being released. Here are the covers and synopses of them:

FIRST BORN- RELEASED 21 JULY 2011

Gwen and Rhys are on the run. Rhys was hoping this meant a windswept cottage on a cliff top, but he’s had to settle for a miserable caravan in the isolated village of Rawbone. With the locals taking an unhealthy interest in their daughter, Gwen and Rhys start to realise that something is very wrong.

As they uncover the village’s terrible past, Gwen discovers that Torchwood will never leave her behind, and now she and Rhys stand alone in defence of the Earth. And the children of Rawbone can only bring her closer to the secret forces that want her out of the way.

LONG TIME DEAD: RELEASED 4 AUGUST

Cardiff Bay. The government has ordered the excavation of the wreckage of a secret underground base. DCI Tom Cutler is watching from a distance, fascinated by the process. There are people in his dreams. People he feels he should know.

The disbanded Torchwood Institute spent a century accumulating non-terrestrial artefacts and catching aliens. Who knows what – or who – might still be intact down there. But by the time they find the first body, Suzie Costello is long gone.

THE MEN WHO SOLD THE WORLD: RELEASED 18 AUGUST

When Oscar Lupe appears 20,000 feet up in the air, his body is frozen solid and free-falling to earth. It shatters on impact. Soon after, a CIA Special Activities Division squad goes rogue with a cargo marked ‘Torchwood’ that they’ve been escorting from somewhere called Cardiff.

The Agency puts Rex Matheson on the case. As the strange deaths pile up, Rex realises there must be experimental tech out there, but someone is obstructing him at every turn. Rex is the CIA’s golden boy – but has he met his match in the evasive Mr Wynter…?

The Pre Titles Awards: Best Guest Star

 Here's the Best Guest Star:
SURANNE JONES (DOCTOR WHO: THE DOCTOR'S WIFE)

Suranne Jones wasn't given an easy task in her episode of Doctor Who: play the personification of the TARDIS. But she played the role extremely well, with a huge dollop of madness- just the right actor to play the TARDIS. Next time, Best Cameo.

Doctor Who Series 7 confirmed!

This was looking doubtful for a while, but now it's been confirmed on various Twitter accounts that Doctor Who will return for a Christmas Special this year, then 13 episodes in 2012 starring Matt Smith. However, it's been hinted in interviews that Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill will leave at the end of this year, so the Eleventh Doctor may get a new companion for Series 7. Confirmed writers are Steven Moffat and John Fay, with Mark Gatiss likely to pen a story.

The Pre Titles Awards: Best Regular Actress

OK, here's the Best Regular Actress;
ALEX KINGSTON: DOCTOR WHO

Yes, regular means appearing in every episode, but Alex Kingston has popped up in three of seven episodes this year as River Song, and will appear twice more in the Autumn run, so she's basically a regular. Anyway, River Song until last Saturday was a mystery woman- we didn't know who she was- but I'm sure that now she's been outed as Melody Pond Alex Kingston will take the role to even further lengths. Next time, Best Guest.

The Pre Titles Awards: Best Regular Actor

Here's the Best Regular Actor award:
MATT SMITH (DOCTOR WHO)
Matt Smith's portrayal of the Eleventh Doctor is brilliant, varying from mad scientist to deadly serious. He's even acted with himself for a whole episode! Honorauble mentions to Russell Tovey (Being Human) and Arthur Darvill (Doctor Who). Next time, Best Regular Actress.

The new logo.

Pre Titles Sequence has got a logo! Courtesy of JOV97, the new logo has replaced the plain title that I had before. Do you like it? Please comment.

The Pre Titles Awards: Best Dialogue

The award for the Best Dialogue Goes to:
BEING HUMAN SERIES 3


I can't just pick a line of dialogue from an episode, so I'm awarding the entire series. From comedy dialogue to emotional dialogue, Series 3 of Being Human had the full range. Next time, Best Regular Actor!

Awards page

This blog now has an awards page, for the Pre Titles awards already won and the remaining ones yet to be awarded.

The Pre Titles Awards: Best Two Parter

So, for Best Two Parter, Primeval and Being Human don't count as they've had no official two parters recently. Here's the Best Two Parter:

DOCTOR WHO: THE IMPOSSIBLE ASTRONAUT/DAY OF THE MOON

Doctor Who's opening two parter this year was just brilliant, the Doctor died, we saw 2 excellent cliffhangers, and the Utah location filming looked amazing. Honorauble mentions to Merlin's the Coming of Arthur Parts 1 & 2. 

The Pre Titles Awards: Reaction to an Episode

Credit goes to DoctorDragon79 for this. The award for the Best Fan Reaction to an Episode.
DOCTOR WHO IMPLODES THE INTERNET
After the broadcast of A Good Man Goes to War, BBC iPlayer crashed, the Doctor Who website crashed and many other sites did too. Only Doctor Who can destroy half the internet.

The Pre Titles Awards: Worst Cliffhanger

The opposite of the previous award, here's the Worst Cliffhanger:
MERLIN THE TEARS OF UTHER PENDRAGON PART 1

So, 3 minutes from the end of Merlin series 3's opening episode, and Merlin has been stung by a scorpion and left to die. However, he calls out and the Great Dragon rescues him. End of episode. Credit to the Merlin team, because the finale's cliffhanger was a cracker. Tomorrow, Best Two Parter.

The Pre Titles Awards: Best Cliffhanger

The first award! The Best Cliffhanger goes to.......
THE ALMOST PEOPLE (Doctor Who series 6)


A no brainier really. The cliffhanger to episode 6 of series 6 of Doctor Who set up the mid series finale excellently (which also boasted a great cliffhanger) with a climax that revealed Amy Pond as a clone, then cut to the real Amy giving birth while her evil midwife tells her to push. Honourable mentions to Doctor Who's A Good Man Goes to War (the River reveal), Doctor Who's Day of the Moon (a little girl regenerates) and Merlin's the Coming of Arthur Part 1 (the Morgana coronation.) Next time, the worst cliffhanger award!

Coming Soon: The Pre Titles Awards

Over the next week, awards for the best of Doctor Who, Merlin, Primeval and Being Human will pop up on this blog. Please leave comments for suggestions for categories, and I will credit the user when the award is posted. Until then, enjoy the blog!

John Fay for Doctor Who Series 7!

The man who killed Ianto Jones has been confirmed to write for Series 7 of Doctor Who! Fay, who wrote Torchwood: Children of Earth Days Two and Four and the upcoming Miracle Day episode The Gathering is the first confirmed guest writer for series seven.

Doctor Who Series 6 Part 2

As stated in my previous post, part 2 of series six of Doctor Who will begin this September with a run of episodes 8 to 13. Here's a guide of the 6 episodes to come:

EPISODE 8: LET'S KILL HITLER (By Steven Moffat)
EPISODE 9: NIGHT TERRORS/HOUSE CALL (By Mark Gatiss)
EPISODE 10: THE GREEN ANCHOR (TBC) By Tom McRae
EPISODE 11: THE GOD COMPLEX (By Toby Whitehouse, guest starring David Walliams as Gibbis)
EPISODE 12: TBC (By Gareth Roberts, guest starring James Corden)
EPISODE 13: TBC (By Steven Moffat, guest starring Simon Fisher-Becker as Dorium)

Let's Kill Hitler

In September, series 6 of Doctor Who will resume with a six episode run, beginning with an adventure titled Let's Kill Hitler. Let's Kill Hitler will be set in Nazi Germany as the title suggests, and is rumoured to be a Doctor-lite episode, with Amy, Rory and River Song taking centre stage. Young Amy will return, along with Young Rory, and Madame Kovarian will also return (according to dialogue from Episode 13, Amy will kill her and the timeline will abort in this episode.) But until then, keep speculating and a breakdown of the River Song reveal will be on this blog soon.

Miracle Day

So, there's no Doctor Who until September, but to plug the gap, series four of Torchwood (titled Miracle Day) will begin airing in early July. Starz, who are showing it on US television, have confirmed the start date as 8 July (a Friday) at 10pm, but the BBC haven't confirmed anything (except that it will be shown on BBC One, same as series three) about the première of the 10 episode run. However, it's likely that Miracle Day will begin on BBC1 on 8 July at 9pm. Here's the titles for each episode:
1. The New World
2. Rendition
3. Dead of Night
4. Escape to LA
5. The Categories of Life
6. The Middle Men
7. Immortal Sins
8. End of the Road
9. The Gathering
10. The Blood Line

She's me

So, River Song's identity has been revealed, in the brilliant mid series finale! Amy's baby is River! It wasn't a massive surprise but the way it was presented was just amazing. So, Doctor Who will be back in the Autumn with Let's Kill Hitler (!) but this blog won't. Torchwood Miracle Day is coming up, so this blog will continue to post Doctor Who news along with other news. Also, the 2011 Awards of PTS are coming tonight.

Episode Guides Updated!

My plan to include a massive list of episode guides has begun! The Episode Guides page contains Radio Times synopses for Series 1-3 of Doctor Who. More coming soon.

The 3 Month Gap

Tonight, the mid series finale will end on a 'game-changing' cliffhanger, leading into a 3 month break for the series. The gap will be filled by Torchwood: Miracle Day running through early July until early September, but there will be no Doctor Who until episode 8, Let's Kill Hitler in September (according to IMDB, the start date is September 3, but this is unconfirmed.) Anyway, here is what you can expect from this blog (if anyone visits at all :), ) during and after the midseason break:

Reviews of Episodes 1-7 (A Good Man Goes to War review coming tonight)

Coverage of Primeval Series 5 Episodes 3-6 including my review

Polls to rate A Good Man Goes to War and the best episode of Series 6 so far,

Breakdown of the cliffhanger to Episode 7

Full coverage of Torchwood including synopses, trailer links and reviews

Evaluation of the series so far

Pre Titles Sequence Awards of 2011 (September 2010-June 2011,)

News from all corners of the Whoniverse, Merlin, Primeval and Being Human

Episode guides for Doctor Who Series 1-6

Episode guides for Torchwood Series 1&2, Children of Earth and Miracle Day

Episode guides for Primeval Series 1-5

Episode guides for Being Human Series 1-3

Episode guides for Merlin Series 1-3

All of that, coming soon!

The Day of the War

After seven weeks, the first part of series six is ending tonight, with the mid series finale, A Good Man Goes to War! It airs at 6.40pm, and is a special extended episode, running for 50 minutes until 7.30pm. Afterwards, turn over to BBC Three for the as-yet-untitled accompanying edition of Doctor Who Confidential until 8.15 pm. If you don't live in the UK, then Life, Doctor Who and Combom post a live stream of the episode.

Please +1 If you Visit!

A new feature has appeared on Blogger, at the bottom of each article. It's a +1, and so if you like an article, click +1 and the article will get one +. It's that easy. If you think other people would like the article, keep giving articles +1 and the site will become more popular, especially useful for this blog, which is just a day old. You do need a Google or Blogger account, but I would recommend getting one. Please help to make Pre Titles Sequence grow.

Primeval Series 5 Episode 2 Review Roundup

Usually this post will appear on Wednesdays, and will include my review, but for now enjoy Cult Box's, Daemons TV's, SFX's, Den of Geek's  Dork Adore's, and Cybaria's review of Series 5 Episode 2 of Primeval.

http://www.cultbox.co.uk/reviews/episodes/1149-primeval-series-5-episode-2-review
http://www.denofgeek.com/television/921579/primeval_series_5_episode_2_review.html
http://www.dorkadore.com/film-tv/primeval-series-5-episode-2-%E2%80%93-dork-review/
http://www.daemonstv.com/2011/06/01/primeval-uk-series-5-episode-2-review/
http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/5/31/primeval-5-02-tv-review/?kw=fcsis_primeval_5.02
http://cybaria.net/2011/06/01/primeval-series-5-episode-2-review-spoilers/

All contain major spoilers.

Teasers for a Good Man Goes to War!

Here are some teasers for the mid series finale, from Digital Spy and SFX:
Digital Spy's 10 Teasers

Remember not to interact with the headless monks (without divine permission)

“Oh turn it off. I’m breaking in, not out!”

The Doctor calls on favours from a number of familiar faces

“They don’t put up a balloon or anything!”

A line from a previous episode takes on a new significance.

“****** ******** is a geography teacher, ****** **** is a superhero”

Sontarans can produce a tasty drink.

Rory: “That’s probably enough ******* now”

River Song’s true identity is revealed in the episode’s final moments.

The (frankly brilliant) title to episode eight is revealed before the end credits roll.

SFX's teasers

1 It is amazing – a true five-star episode

2 There are lots of spaceships – and that’s just in the teaser

3 There is a very Star Wars feel (The Empire Strikes Back especially) even down to the shape of the windows and the music

4 It’s action-packed and feels so much more epic than a usual single parter

5 There are lots of suprise guests stars (and some will be a surprise) but unlike in “The Pandorica Opens” none of them feels wasted – they all have a chance to shine…

6 …Apart from one maybe

7 It cracks along at a hell of a pace

8 There are some revelations that really will make your jaw drop

9 There is a terrific battle scene at the end (which more than makes up for a slightly underwhelming and confusingly directed one in the first half)

10 Although there’s lots of time travelling, it’s not a timey-whimey-reliant plot.

11 The Doctor produces something very revealing from the TARDIS

12 Rory says something very funny to an old enemy that you can’t believe has never been said before

13 It’s a great episode for both Rory and Amy (and Matt Smith is as brilliant as ever, especially in a sudden, unexpected emotional moment)

14 A throwaway line from last season becomes a major plot device

15 Somebody is asked to make a donation

16 Somebody very unexpected is playing doctors and nurses

17 We get to see somebody’s muff

18 Rory is definitely cool

19 Look carefully at the monitor screens…

20 …And the corridors

21 And please, please, please, if anyone has leaked the title for the next episode onto the internet, avoid the temptation to check it out. When the caption comes up at the end, “The Doctor Will Be Back In…” it was so unexpected and made us grin so much, we’d hate you to miss having the same experience…

The Episode 8 title by the way is the bizarre Let's Kill Hitler!

Welcome to Pre Titles Sequence!

Hello, and welcome to Pre Titles Sequence, a blog devoted to posting you the latest news on Doctor Who, Merlin, Primeval, Torchwood and Being Human. This blog is a work in progress, but if you're reading this, spread the word and help this blog grow!