Trent Reznor has been developing his “Year Zero” album into an apocalyptic sci-fi HBO series for a couple years, and things are finally moving forward.

Based on the 2007 album by Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails, the concept recording criticizes the U.S. government — specifically the Bush years — and presents a dystopian vision of the year 2022. Reznor has already adapted the album into an alternate reality game. [THR]

When last we talked about it, Carnivale‘s Daniel Knauf was writing the pilot.  No word on if he’s still involved, but HBO and BBC Worldwide Productions have hired a writer for the entire series:  Jim Uhls.  He wrote the screenplay adaptation for Fight Club, one of the few screenplays I thought turned out better than the book.  He also wrote the screenplay for Jumper, which he should probably mention on his resume in 8 pt font underneath Fight Club in 30 pt font.  Hopefully this HBO show will also be worthy of 30 pt font.  You don’t want Trent Reznor disappointed in you.  We heard he’s got a pretty hate machine.  Don’t know what it does, but it sounds dangerous.

63-year-old author and awesome dude Sir Terry Pratchett was diagnosed with a rare form of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2008.  Yesterday his documentary film, Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die, aired on BBC TWO.  In the documentary, he accompanies millionaire hotel owner and motor-neurone sufferer Peter Smedley to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland, where Smedley drank a cocktail of toxins and then died in his wife’s arms.  Telegraph says it’s the first suicide to be broadcast on terrestrial television in the UK, but I believe Right to Die? was the first one in the UK (and Christine Chubbuck was the first in the US).

Pratchett says he received consent forms for requesting assisted suicide from Dignitas, but he hasn’t signed them yet:

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If you’ve been thinking “Hey, I really wish I could get more Torchwood, but also watch Eliza Dushku play the same character she always plays,” then you’re really in luck. Dushku’s been hired to play a character in a new animated Torchwood spin-off that’ll air during the new series Torchwood: Miracle Day. And by “animated”, we mean “not really animated at all.”

As Entertainment Weekly reports:

Dushku has signed to star in an online animated “motion comic” series based on Starz upcoming  Torchwood: Miracle Day. Titled Torchwood: Web of Lies, Dushku will be front and center in the short-form story, which will also have voice appearances by Torchwood stars John Barrowman as Capt. Jack Harkness and Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper. Jane Espenson, who has worked on Dollhouse, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica and Torchwood, is penning the series along with co-writer Ryan Scott.

While that all sounds wonderful (and any excuse to get more Torchwood is fine by us), don’t forget this is a “motion comic,” so don’t start expecting to see some amazing animation. Instead, you’ll get some barely moving clip art floating around the screen like spastic cut-out dolls. Also, it’ll look so bad you’ll wonder why anyone even bothered. If you need proof, here’s the trailer for Starz’s last “motion comic” for Spartacus:

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We’ve probably outstayed our welcome by now on all these Doctor Who updates, but then BBC released a picture of Amy Pond holding an American flag.  Damn it, BBC.  You know how to get our attention.  Got any extra pictures of David Tennant with a kitten laying around back there, too?  We’ll take those off your hands.  We’re generous like that.

After the jump are the new pictures and a clip from the two-part premiere episode, “The Impossible Astronaut” as well as a two other videos. In the last video, The Fine Brothers summarize 47 years of Doctor Who. I’ve heard it contains spoilers, but I wouldn’t know since I couldn’t understand their Micro Machines guy impression. In the second video, Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and Arthur Darvill attempting to read tweets from Snooki, Ghostface Killah, and Sarah Palin in an American accent.  Man, and I was really hoping the first time I’d ever mention Snooki and Palin in the same sentence would involve some sort of Katamari Damacy-esque escalator accident.

[This post brought to you by Blastr, Buzzfeed, BoingBoing, and the letter B.]

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Doctor Who season six premiers April 23rd on BBC America, and we don’t have a Tardis to go watch it now.  In the meantime, there are two clips and two interview videos as well as promo pictures after the jump.  In the first clip Amy and Rory bump into the Doctor while on their honeymoon in the U.S., then River Song shows up and makes sure the Doctor doesn’t wear a hat (that’s turning into a running gag, it seems).  The second clip explains what Amy Pond treasures enough to swear a promise on.  What’s the point of Doctor Who being extremely clever after the jump if there’s no one to stand around looking impressed?

[Sources: io9, Blastr, EpicPonyz]

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Now there’s a BBC America alternate trailer version to go along with the previous trailer for Doctor Who season six (first episode premiers April 23rd).  They also dropped a spoiler on the four alternate covers for this Thursday’s edition of Doctor Who Magazine.  Yes, there’s a Doctor Who Magazine.  No, they don’t date the covers non-chronologically.

The new trailer is on the second page.  Don’t read the rest of this post or the third page if you want to avoid a spoiler. (This is why they call me the Spoiler Alert Kid. Maybe.)  The four covers say one of the four lead characters (Amy, Rory, River Song, and The Doctor) is going to die in the season opener.  Steven Moffat explains, “We’re not lying, we’re not cheating: one of those four people is going to die! When I came up with this heart-wrenching twist, I thought ‘We’ll kill off one of the leads in the season opener.’ It lures you in.”  So, are they going to kill Rory again?  If so, can they at least have The Doctor say, “You killed Rory!” and then Amy can say, “You bastards!”

[Going on down to Blastr, gonna see if I can't unwind.]

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