Exclusive Patti Beninati 2009 SDCC Article: BBC Being Human Panel and Doctor Who's 6th Doctor - Colin Baker

Pictures 1-3: The Being Human Panel with Lenora Crichlow, Aidan Turner, Russell Tovey and Writer/Creator Toby Whithouse

While at SDCC, Patti Beninati attended many panels, amongst which was the BBC Being Human Panel. She also took the opportunity to interview Being Human up and coming actors Lenora Crichlow, Aidan Turner and Russell Tovey, as well as Writer/Creator Toby Whihouse.

Miss Beninati kindly gave the Inside Trekker permission to reproduce exclusively for this site part of her article and interview on Being Human.

About the SDCC itself she said that :

Comic Con West topped itself this year, as the biggest and most exciting popular culture convention in the world

And that :

Many fans flocked to the show, and flowed seamlessly into the event over that weekend. According to event organizers, attendance was even higher then last year, issuing over 180,000 passes

About the BBC and Being Human panel she reported:

BBC America hosted a robust panel, and a busy booth, this year at SDCC. They introduced yet another cutting edge Sci-Fi import TV series, the much anticipated new vampire show, "Being Human". Creator and writer, Toby Whithouse, actors Russell Tovey, who plays George, reprises his role as the lovable and predatory werewolf, Aidan Turner plays Mitchell the blood-sucking vampire good-looking and laid-back character, and completing the flat-share trio is Annie, played by Lenora Crichlow, a talkative ghost. The comedy drama series features three young characters sharing a house in Bristol UK, trying to live a normal social human lifestyle, despite being a ghost, a werewolf, and a vampire, struggling to keep their secret double-lives. Who ever thought teaming up ghost, vampire, and a werewolf could be good premises for a TV show? Toby Whithouse did! “The show is refracted thru their humanity, each one in their own want to reclaim and refine their own humanity…the humanity they lost. They all struggle, and for them, humanity is the monster and they are the angles”, said Toby Whithouse. “My influences are the legendary Alan Moore who’s well-know for Warrior, a British comic’s anthology and, Neil Gaiman, of the top writers in modern comics”, said Whithouse. Hot actor Aidan Turner said playing a vampire is cool, “It’s not a mater of inspiration, but more like it’s my first gig and thank God I got the part”. “It’s different then the current vampire shows in that the characters want to desperately be human and the difference between the shows Moonlight & Twilight is he lives in a flat in Bristol,” said Turner.

While there Patti Beninati also got to interview Doctor Who's 6th Doctor, British actor Colin Baker from the BBC series Doctor Who

Colin Baker was in rare form, “it’s entirely a new experience for me because most conventions I go to are all Science Fiction TV, so I’m here because most people who are interested in Sci-Fi are interested in comics, said Baker”. He mentioned that, he was having a great time meeting all of the fans. “It’s so nice being in an environment where they like you,” said Baker. He also crashed a Doctor Who set, and surprised the entire cast and the current "Dr. Who", David Tennant, “They shouted…there’s The Doctor, Baker yelled…“No… there’s The Doctor”, said Baker. Baker said that, “It would be fantastic for Doctor Who to be a woman or to have an older guy again”. Baker may be the sixth version of Doctor Who, but he was a highlight of the convention --- he is a refreshing and extraordinary talented actor.

The full article will be published in the coming week in a New York-New Jersey newspaper.