Acclaimed British screenwriter, producer and actor Mark Gatiss will be visiting Brazil in March in a special publicity tour for BBC Worldwide to talk about British drama including international TV sensation Sherlock and his work on global hit Doctor Who, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary last year.

Gatiss, who is the co-creator and executive producer of Sherlock which has sold to over 200 territories across the world, has been invited to speak at the prestigious Rio Content Market – an annual industry event for producers, TV content buyers and commissioners in Latin America. At the conference, he will be giving a presentation on his career in British drama with a focus on Sherlock and also An Adventure in Space and Time – the drama about the genesis of Doctor Who which he wrote and produced last year as part of the brand’s 50th Anniversary celebrations. He will also talk about his work writing for and acting in various episodes of the sci-fi series. The event will be hosted by TV journalist Liv Brandao and Brazilian stage director Claudio Botelho.

As part of the tour, Mark will also be meeting fans at two events specially organised by BBC Worldwide. The first will be a screening of The Empty Hearse – the opening episode of the latest series of Sherlock, written by Gatiss and in which he stars alongside Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock’s brother Mycroft Holmes. The screening will take place at Livraria Cultura (Cine Victoria) in Rio de Janeiro on Friday 14th March at 7pm. As part of the event, Mark will take part in a Q and A and signing session with fans.

The second event will take place at Livraria Cultura (Shopping Iguatemi) in Sao Paulo at 7pm on Saturday 15th March. Fans will have the opportunity to ask questions about Mark’s work Doctor Who, Sherlock and the recent drama An Adventure in Space and Time.  He will also take part in a limited signing of Sherlock and Doctor Who merchandise. Further details of both events and how to obtain tickets will be released soon on www.doctorwho.tv/events. Details of the venues can be found at http://www.livrariacultura.com.br/

Commenting on the forthcoming tour Mark Gatiss says:

“It’s fantastic that British TV is being enjoyed all across the world and I’m really looking forward to meeting Brazilian Doctor Who and Sherlock fans!”

Sherlock and Doctor Who have both seen notable growth in Latin America in the last year, with a huge number of fans engaging with both shows on social media. The official Sherlock Facebook page has seen an 80% increase in the number of Brazilian fans in the last year and the Doctor Who page a 54% increase – the highest for any country in the world. Both series air on BBC HD and BBC Entertianment in Brazil which are pay-TV channel wholly owned and operated by BBC Worldwide. They are also both available on Netflix Latin America.

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[Sources: BBC Worldwide; DWO]

To celebrate the upcoming Dr Who Christmas special, Direct Blinds look back at their favourite Christmas special and reflect on the allure of villains in the series.

Thought For The Day - Why Do We Love The Villains More Than The Hero?

Every hero needs an anti-hero – Superman has Lex Luthor, Sherlock has Moriarty, and the Doctor has, of course, the Master.

Naturally, he has faced far more foes than this, but for one true nemesis, you just can’t beat the Master. I remember, as a kid, being terrified by Peter Pratt and Geoffrey Beever’s corpse-like appearances in The Deadly Assassin and The Keeper of Traken. However, that was simply the shock factor itself – it wasn’t until the reboot that (in my opinion) The Master became a true villain. 

I know he’s a ridiculously popular choice, but I simply cannot fault John Simm’s performance as the Master first time around. His transformation from old, kindly yet troubled Derek Jacobi to deviously slick Simm is simply superb, and the juxtaposition against my (and many others) favourite Doctor, David Tennant, is just brilliant.

Shame though about the Toclafane, which I feel were a bit lacklustre. 

Anyway, back to the main point – whilst rewatching the episodes with a couple of friends, we all found ourselves simultaneously rooting for the Master. Yes, he’s evil, he’s tricked the last of humanity into doing his evil deed, he’s caged the Doctor and attempting to kill a tenth of the human race, so why do we root for him?

It all seems to come down to one factor – he has a purpose.

The Master, mad from staring into the Untempered Schism, is driven to his actions and as Harold Saxon, a high ranking member of the Ministry of Defence, seeks to forge an empire. You can’t knock him for effort, and the sheer glee he takes from it lends him that evil charisma.

It’s his passion, focus and glee in everything that makes him the audience favourite. The Doctor simply acts reactively – everything he does is because of the Master, much the same as with Moriarty and Sherlock.

But is it as simple as this? Is it more that we see a damaged soul that has the wrong viewpoint so much that we feel that we should help them? Maybe he’s not such a bad guy – he’s just taken a wrong turn or had his view of the world skewed by others. Is iy because we inherently know that good will ultimately triumph and want to see what will face the hero until then? Or is it something else?

Let’s get a debate going!

And in the meantime, check out the TARDIS blind that we at Direct Blinds have designed – we’re working with Doctor Who Online to provide a fantastic discount of 33% - and it’s made to measure, so it will suit the home/TARDIS of any Whovian!

[Source: Direct Blinds]

Last weekend, DWO were kindly invited to take part in the BBC Worldwide Fandom panel at the 2012 RomaFictionFest in Rome.

Conducted by Philip Fleming (Head of Communications, Global Brands, BBC Worldwide), the panel looked at the importance of entertaining and engaging the audience beyond the TV screen, with Doctor Who, Sherlock and Misfits as case studies.

A field of questions were asked to the panel which included Matt Jarvis (Executive Producer Online, Misfits), Francesco Barbarini (Head of Digital, Fox International Channels Italy), Harriet Newby-Hill (Commercial Director for New Brands, BBC Worldwide) and Sebastian J. Brook (Site Editor, Doctor Who Online).

Topics included; The difference between a fan and a super fan, Second Screen Apps, The best ways broadcasters have been able to attract fans and what the motivation is for running a fan site. The floor was then opened up to questions from audience members.

DWO would like to extend our thanks to RomaFictionFest for their unmatched hospitality, and the fantastic Press, Publicity & Comms team at BBC Worldwide.

The majority of the panel can be viewed below:

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[Source: DWO]

Doctor Who Showrunner and Sherlock co-creator Steven Moffat is to receive a special prize at this year's BAFTA TV awards, organisers have announced.

Recognising his "outstanding creative writing contribution to television", the award will be presented on 27 May at London's Royal Festival Hall.

Previous recipients include Russell T. Davies, who preceded the 50-year-old Scot as Doctor Who's head writer.

"Blimey! A special award!" said Moffat, "I didn't even know I was ill."

The accolade follows the writing prize he received at last Sunday's BAFTA Craft Awards for A Scandal in Belgravia, the first episode of Sherlock's second series.

The Paisley native won his first Bafta in 1991 for Press Gang and was further recognised for his work on Doctor Who and Sherlock in 2008 and 2011 respectively. Moffat said he was "so thrilled" to be recognised again, "especially after two years of [working on] my two favourite shows ever".

Bafta chair Tim Corrie described him as "one of the finest exponents of his craft" and said the special award - presented in honour of Dennis Potter - was "very well deserved".

Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch is up for the best actor prize at this year's awards, which will also see his co-stars Martin Freeman and Andrew Scott go head to head in the supporting actor category.

[Source: BBC News]

Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss' Sherlock won in two categories at this year's BAFTAs.

Sherlock won the best Drama Series award, beating Being Human, Downton Abbey and Misfits. Martin Freeman also won under the Sherlock banner for best Supporting Actor.

Matt Smith sadly missed out on winning the Leading Actor award for his role as The Doctor in Doctor Who. Smith lost out to Daniel Rigby for his role in Eric and Ernie. Smith, however, is commended for being the first Doctor Who actor to be nominated for a BAFTA.

[Source: BAFTA]

This year's TV Choice Awards are upon us, and Doctor Who is nominated in 3 categories.

First up is the show proper, where Doctor Who is nominated in the Best Drama Series category, along with The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Matt Smith is nominated in the Best Actor category for Doctor Who, along with David Tennant (Single Father) and Christopher Eccleston (The Shadow Line), as well as numerous other actors that have appeared in the show.

Karen Gillan is nominated in the Best Actress category for Doctor Who, as well as Elisabeth Sladen (The Sarah Jane Adventures) and numerous other actors that have appeared in the show.

Also worthy of a vote in the Best New Drama Series category is Steven Moffat's Sherlock.

Finally, just as we were about to press publish on this news item, Steven Moffat tweeted that Sherlock needs your votes for the BAFTA YouTube Audience Award.

+  Click Here to vote in the 2010 TV Choice Awards.

[Sources: TV Choice; Steven Moffat]

Steven Moffat has ruled out a crossover between Doctor Who and Sherlock.

The writer told the New York Times that it would be "quite hard" for the show's central characters to collide.

"I think there are problems of doing that," he admitted. "Because then you would say that Sherlock Holmes lives in the same world as The Doctor, and there are Daleks and all sorts of things. If a Sherlock Holmes story depends on time travel being impossible, it's quite hard [to do it] if he's a personal friend of The Doctor's."

However, he admitted that fans of both shows have often enquired about the potential crossover.

"I think everyone who's passing me in the street is suggesting that at the moment," he revealed.

Moffat also confirmed that work has begun on the next three-part series of Sherlock. The second series of Sherlock is expected to air in Autumn 2011.

[Source: Digital Spy]