New fantasy dramas on BBC3

BBC3 has just announced six new drama projects, two with comics and SF TV connections.

Being Human, by Doctor Who and Torchwood writer Toby Whithouse, centres on three young flatmates – a vampire, a ghost, and a werewolf. Produced by Touchpaper TV, who made Rocket Man, which starred Robson Green. The pilot will be filmed in September in and around Bristol.

Jamie Hewlett, creator of Tank Girl, has come up with Phoo Action, based on the comic strip Get The Freebies which appeared in The Face magazine. Phoo Action is written by Matthew Enriquez Wakeham, Peter Martin and Jessica Hynes and produced by Matthew Read for BBC Scotland and will again be filmed in September. (You'll probably recognise some of these names from the production side of Channel 4's Spaced).

The Phoo Action MySpace site describes the show as:

PHOO ACTION is a forthcoming TV Series and Feature Film based on the comic strip “Get the Freebies”, by Tank Girl and Gorillaz creator Jamie Hewlett. PHOO ACTION follows the exploits of Terry Phoo, a Buddhist kung-fu law enforcement sweetheart and Whitey Action an enigmatic young anarchist turned super-cop. They form an unlikely, but effective, crime-fighting team in the face of a super-vile, super-famous army of mutated criminals spat out from the revolutionary Decriminaliser Machine.

Delivered in an offbeat and hilarious package of fight sequences, car chases, kung fu, comedy and music, all tied up in an explosive rabbit punch to the head, Phoo Action is a regular chop-socky-balls-out-laugh-a-minute-fashioned-up-scrap-fest taking place in its own idiosyncratic hyperreal world set on London’s famous streets.

Best described as The Fifth Element meets Enter The Dragon before being beaten and mugged in Sin City on the way home after a Rush Hour inspired night out with the cast and crew of Kung Fu Hustle, Phoo Action crosses the mighty divides between Hong Kong action cinema, comedy and brooding comic book fantasy adaptation like a latter day colossus.

Sounds mad but appealing!

Things I Haven't Told You is a dark thriller by writer Lisa McGee, whose credits include the Channel 4 comedy drama Totally Frank for TV and plays such as Jump, set in a sixth form of a school. Produced by Tiger Aspect, the story follows the events following a girl's disappearance.

Finally, there's W10 LDN from Kidulthood and Doctor Who writer Noel Clarke (who also played Mickey), set on a housing estate in west London, a drama is about the lives, loves, ambitions and dreams of a group of young teenagers. This will be produced by Kudos Film and TV.

All positive news for fantasy and SF fans. What with the continuation of Doctor Who, Primeval, Cape Wrath and more it could almost be the 1970s again.

Although obviously, without the sideburns, flares and platform shoes...