SciFi Channel News - Sanctuary, Doctor Who & Sarah Jane

The TV Critics WInter tour is not happening this year due to the strike, but we're still getting some announcements and press releases.

SciFi Channel is in the middle of a string of releases, all of which can be seen at the NBC Universal Media Village's SciFi page.

First up is their press release about the acquisition of Sanctuary, the web series starring and co-produced by Amanda Tapping. In the press release, it indicates that Tapping will not be returning to Stargate Atlantis as a regular cast member for season 5, but will be on in a limited number of episodes as a guest star. An Atlantis press release is expected soon (and I'll update this post with the information). Gateworld has a two part interview with Tapping (part 1, part 2) about the series pickup and no longer being a Stargate regular.

In regards to Stargate Atlantis, producer Joseph Mallozzi discusses some of the rumors spreading about Atlantis on his blog and will likely post more about it tomorrow once the press release is out.

In today's press release from SciFi, they announced that they will begin airing Season 4 of Doctor Who in April AND will also be airing The Sarah Jane Adventures, the spinoff series featuring Sarah Jane Smith in her own series with a group of kids helping her out. The press release doesn't indicate what time slot or day they will airing the shows, but it is likely to be on Wednesday. For more about Doctor Who and its producer, Russell T. Davies, the Los Angeles Times ran an interview with Davies last week.

As of yet, the BBC hasn't announced for sure when the new season will start on BBC 1, but it is likely be around the end of March and/or Easter weekend.