Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

Both Torchwood and parent series Doctor Who are receiving the animated treatment over the coming months.

2 Entertain have announced that audio producers Big Finish and animation company Theta Sigma are creating new versions of two classic William Hartnell episodes, while Russell T Davies has provided official confirmation of a web-based Torchwood spin-off to accompany the new series, Miracle Day.

Two of the six episodes of the First Doctor story The Reign of Terror are missing from the BBC archives, and for their video release, a narration was provided to cover the gap. For their 2012 DVD release, these will be animated in a “Thetamation” style, described as “a totally new style of animation, a hybrid of the classic anime styles of the 80s and high-technology”. Previously, Cosgrove Hall provided animated versions of two episodes from the Patrick Troughton serial, The Invasion.

Meanwhile, Russell T Davies has told Doctor Who Magazine that Torchwood: Web of Lies will be a website motion comic: “a fully-scripted animated adventure with interactive elements”.  John Barrowman and Eve Myles will appear, alongside Dollhouse star Eliza Dushku. DWM indicates that this will be in weekly instalments, although other reports suggest that Web of Lies will be released in three ten-minute chunks.

Torchwood fans will also be pleased to know that three further radio plays and a trio of novels, set before the events of Children of Earth, will appear this summer.