BBC

It's no secret that we're quite fond of our British brethren across the pond, but can you blame us? So many stars of geek film and TV call the UK home, and it just so happens that most of our favorites are appearing — together! — in a BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Neverwhere by fantasy-fiction legend Neil Gaiman.

Has the universe exploded yet?

Benedict Cumberbatch of Sherlock, Natalie Dormer who plays Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings's Sir "Saruman" Christopher Lee, James McAvoy aka Professor X, and Sophie Okonedo, David Harewood, and Bernard Cribbins — all of whom have appeared in our beloved Doctor Who — are lending their voice talents to the six-part radio play.

Neverwhere is a drama about an alternative subterranean world called London Below, and the average-man-turned-extraordinary-hero Richard Mayhew (played by James McAvoy) who happens upon the dark and dewey confines below the United Kingdom's largest city.

BBC Radio 4 is streaming all the episodes from the radio play on the web. The show premiered on March 16, and you can catch up with the series on demand until March 29. Neverwhere's finale, "The Key," airs March 22.

Listen to the star-studded cast of Neverwhere bring Neil Gaiman's miniseries/novel/comic book to life, and let us know what you think of the dramatic audio adaptation.

The BBC announced today proposals to open their vast archive of TV programming for digital purchase. Currently called Project Barcelona, it would give viewers worldwide access to shows long lost in the digital vault for a "relatively modest" fee. Since the BBC is a British public service, this move must first be approved by the the BBC Trust.

This means if — we hope when — the online store begins, we'll have access to the years of Doctor Who long neglected. Imagine a world where vintage daleks can be viewed on demand from the convenience of a laptop!

Photo: BBC

With just about two weeks remaining until Doctor Who fans get their seasonal fix with the Christmas episode, there's a happy break in the Who absence, as Karen Gillan (who plays Amy Pond) spoke on all things Doctor to the Los Angeles Times.

Take a peek at Karen's perspective of her character's strange family tree and what she has planned for life after the BBC's popular sci-fi show. Warning: season six spoilers right ahead!

• Return of the Ponds — "I have not read a single word of the next season. I know I am coming back, but that’s all I know, to be honest." In unison: Woohoo!
• River Song's Reveal — "I did not know that River Song was Amy and Rory’s daughter until we got the script for that episode. Because if I’d known that, it probably would have changed the way we interacted with one another, River and Amy."
• Karen vs. Amy — "I’m not anywhere near as sort of sassy and confident as she is. At all . . . But obviously there are bits of me in there, but it’s probably . . . bits that are a bit odder."

Find out Karen's strangest moment with a fan after the break.

Hold on to your sonic screwdrivers, because this story is adorable. The student body at UK's Oakley Junior School got a big surprise last week, as Matt Smith showed up for a Doctor Who viewing party. Four of Oakley's writerly finest entered into a script-writing contest sponsored by BBC earlier this year for a chance to see their three-minute episode of Doctor Who come to life. The students were planning on getting a sneak peek of the episode, but weren't expecting to see Matt Smith himself. Yet another reason to love Matt Smith.

The special episode will air on BBC Three this Saturday, Oct. 1, but you can get a better look at the visit (and the sci-fi-loving students) in a video on BBC's website.

I'm currently mesmerized by BBC Three's Snog, Marry, Avoid?, a makeunder reality TV show that promises to "transform the nation's slap [makeup] addicts into natural beauties." The show, hosted by Atomic Kitten's Jenny Frost and a bizarre CGI camera called POD, takes tanned, augmented, extensions-wearing ladies (and the occasional gentleman), makes fun of them, and then puts them in a more "reasonable" outfit with hair and makeup to match.

The show's extremely addictive, but it leaves me questioning why it's so imperative for these women to change, and why the mean jokes are necessary. Many genuinely seem to like the way they look and are self-aware about it. They know they're over the top, but it just so happens that the look is what they like. Check out model Laura Summers get "transformed" in the video below.

The term lesbian was not coined until 50 years after Anne Lister's death in 1840, but the masculine girl from Yorkshire, England, was well aware of her sexuality from an early age. And as an adult, she lived in a surprisingly modern same-sex relationship.

Early on, Anne decided being different was not wrong or bad or a reason to change. At 13, she began her first relationship with her boarding-school roommate. Though she documented desires for a lifelong partnership in her diary, the relationship, like most first romances, did not last. Armed with the knowledge of "how to please a woman," she went on to have a series of relationships with women, which she always documented in code, marking her many orgasms with an X.

After her death at 49, her unusually understanding family hid her prolific diaries in a wall where they remained for over a century. They were found by chance during construction, and a local historian spent years uncoding the nearly four million words. Now the BBC is creating a costume drama out of it. Considering I can hang with any period piece, I can only hope this makes it to BBC America!

Source: Flickr User Camil Tulcan

Taybarns restaurant is introducing a new dining concept to the English — all you can eat. It's nothing we haven't seen in the United States. We have all-you-can-eat baked potato and pizza bars, endless breadsticks and salad, and the kind of buffets that would make Elvis weep if he was still kickin' it in Vegas.

The Taybarns message is clear: "Enjoy as much as you like, as many times as you like. All for one fixed price!" That fixed price gives you a 111-foot counter filled with pizza, Chinese food, carving stations, fry stations, desserts, and more. The English are going crazy for the buffet-style chain, and while neighboring restaurants continue to close, Taybarns is on the up.

During tough economic times, giving people the most bang for their buck seems like a smart business model, but at what cost? As reported by the BBC, not everyone likes Taybarns. They think the chain encourages unhealthy eating habits and will cause England's collective waistline to expand.

It's a common argument, and one that's been batting around in the US for some time. Is it the fault of (insert any fast food giant here), or does the responsibility fall on the individual? Does walking into Taybarns rob a human of their free will, and why isn't healthy food more accessible to the masses?