Jago and Litefoot - Series Two

Big Finish have released episode information for Series Two of Jago and Litefoot, the spin off series featuring two characters originally created by Robert Holmes for the fourth Doctor story, The Talons of Weng-Chiang.

The five disc box set is released in January 2011 and sees the return of Christopher Benjamin as Henry Gordon Jago and Trevor Baxter as Professor Litefoot, with the ensemble cast including Lisa Bowerman as Ellie, Conrad Asquith as Sergeant Quick and David Collings as Gabriel Sanders

The stories are as follows:

2.1 Litefoot and Sanders
Written by Justin Richards
Directed by Lisa Bowerman
Featuring Chloe Howman
Women are being killed on the streets of London, and the evidence points to it being the work of a vicious vampire. This should be a case for Jago and Litefoot but – to the astonishment of Jago – the esteemed investigators of infernal incidents have gone their separate ways. It’s now a case for Litefoot and Sanders – but Jago isn’t going to go away quietly…

2.2 The Necropolis Express
Written by Mark Morris
Directed by Lisa Bowerman
Featuring Vernon Dobtcheff
Strange things are happening in the pauper’s graveyard at Charnel’s End. There are hideous creatures in the undergrowth, a mysterious light emanating from the church, and something deadly beneath the ground itself. Someone from Litefoot’s past has come back to haunt him, and things may never be the same again…

2.3 The Theatre of Dreams
Written by Jonathan Morris
Directed by Lisa Bowerman
Featuring Duncan Wisbey, Jennie Stoller, Alex Mallinson
“Roll up gentlemen and ladies, roll up! Welcome to Deuteronomy’s Theatre De Fantasie, the show where your dreams come true!”
Henry Gordon Jago believes he has made a killer booking for the New Regency Theatre. Unfortunately, he is absolutely correct…

2.4 The Ruthven Inheritance
Written by Andy Lane
Directed by Lisa Bowerman
Featuring Duncan Wisbey and Simon Williams
The pathology skills of Professor Litefoot and Dr Sacker are called upon by Lord Ruthven, who asks them to catalogue a cache of bones beneath his country estate. And so begins the endgame… as a plan long laid come to its glorious fruition.

Series One was released in June.

Festival Video - Doctor Who Masterclass Now online

The official site of the Edinburgh International Television Festival has now uploaded several of the sessions from the 2010 festival.

The link to the full sessions includes the Question Time with Steven Moffat in which he talks of the BBC licence fee in relation to Doctor Who.

There is also a link on the same page to the full Doctor Who Masterclass with Steven Moffat and Karen Gillan talking about their work on the series. In the video Moffat talks about the way he runs the show, his relationship to other writers including former show runner Russell T Davies, and his general love for the show. Gillan talks about the way she was cast and the approach she takes to playing Amy Pond.

Moffat confirms that in 2011 he will definitely reveal the identity of River Song.

News Roundup

The Press Association has uploaded video from Saturday's appearance of Karen Gillan at Hamleys toy store in Glasgow to promote the release of the Amy Pond action figure. The event was limited to 250 people, which led to a number of complaints from people unable to gain access to the event, somthing picked up by The Glasgow Herald.

Sylvester McCoy has enjoyed a return to his home town of Dunoon in his role as this year’s Chieftain at Cowal Highland Gathering, first reported here. He told the local paper, the Argyllshire Standard, that he is in talks for a major role in the upcoming feature film The Hobbit which is due to start filming in 2011. "I am being cast in The Hobbit," he told the paper, "We're currently in negotiations - there are two of us under consideration. It's not the Bilbo role, but could be bigger."

Doctor Who featured as a question subject in the long running BBC Two quiz show University Challenge on Monday evening. Contestants were asked to identify different versions of the series theme music and state who played the Doctor when they were broadcast. The quiz is available to UK viewers on the BBC iPlayer for the next seven days. International viewers may find it on YouTube.

Next Series to be transmitted in two halves

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, Steven Moffat has announced that the next series of Doctor Who will be split in two with a 'gamechanging' cliffhanger in episode 7.

"The split series is hugely exciting because viewers will be treated to two premieres, two finales and more event episodes. For the kids it will never be more than a few months to the next Doctor Who! Easter, Autumn, Christmas!!"

The BBC press office describe the split transmission as the result of a request from Steven Moffat to write a new Doctor Who story arc which involves a big plot twist in the middle of the series. "By splitting the series Moffat plans to give viewers one of the most exciting Doctor Who cliffhangers and plot twists ever, leaving them waiting, on the edge of their seats, until the autumn to find out what happens."

The Guardian, who host the annual television festival, have uploaded a video clip of Moffat making the announcement here.

Martha Jones arrives on BBC Entertainment

The BBC's internationally broadcast channel BBC Entertainment (formerly BBC Prime) is to start broadcasting the third series of Doctor Who, starring David Tennant and Freema Agyeman, in the Autumn. The channel is currently available to watch in Europe and the Middle East.

Says the press release:

Following on from the phenomenal success of the first two series that have taken British television by storm, the third installment of Doctor Who is full of new thrills, new laughs, new heartbreak and some terrifying new monsters. From the moment the Doctor (David Tennant) walks into the life of medical student Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) he changes it forever. Together they find themselves travelling through time and space encountering extraordinary events, amazing worlds and faces both old and new. They come face to face with the ruthless Judoon, a vicious plasmavore and the Doctor's sworn enemies, the Daleks, who have been hiding in 1930s New York with a terrifying plan for humanity.

Strangely, BBC Entertainment's home page features David Tennant and Catherine Tate!

BBC Drama Village Update

The BBC have appointed media accountant Alun Jones as the Programme Director for its new Drama Village being built at the Roath Basin, Cardiff. Mr Jones has worked in the media industry for some seventeen years, including HTV and most recently as integration director for the Capital Radio/GWR merger.

He said:

The drama centre is a unique project in Wales and I am delighted to be joining the team at this stage of a development which, in addition to allowing BBC Wales to build on the success of its current drama productions, also presents a fantastic opportunity for the wider creative industries in Wales.

There is an ambitious timetable of work to be completed in the coming year, and I'm confident that it will be achieved through the combination of the outstanding talent within the team and the excellent partnerships that have already been put in place.

The Drama Village is expected to be completed during the summer of 2011, with Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures due to start filming there from 2012 - meaning the former's 50th Anniversary series will be produced at a brand new studio!

Previous news items on the Drama Village were reported in January and May.

People Roundup

Karen Gillan will join Steven Moffat at the Edinburgh International Television Festival for a question and answer session about Doctor Who. The Masterclass is being held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on Sunday morning. Moffat will also appear on the panel for special Question Time on Saturday night alongside Diane Abbott MP and Mariella Frostrup.

Update: It was announced Saturday that the Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss production of Sherlock has been recommissioned by BBC One controller Jay Hunt. There will be three new 90-minute episodes in Autumn 2011. Talking of the Sherlock recommission, Gatiss and Moffat, said: "We've been overwhelmed by the warmth of response to our new Sherlock Holmes and John Watson and can't wait to take them on three new adventures next year. There'll be baffling new puzzles, old friends and new enemies – whether on two, or four legs. And we might well be seeing the cold master of logic and reason unexpectedly falling. But in love? Or over a precipice? Who can tell?"

David Tennant has been listed as one of the top ten Hamlets by The Guardian newspaper. Tennant, who played the role in Stratford and London in 2008, was described as sardonic and volatile, a Hamlet so graceful that at times he seemed almost to dance across the stage.

BBC4 is to dramatise Douglas Adams's 1987 novel about anti-hero Dirk Gently. Adams was Script Editor for Season 17 of Doctor Who and wrote The Pirate Planet and co-wrote City of Death. He was writing a third Dirk Gently book, The Salmon of Doubt, at the time of his death in 2001. The books have formed the basis of a play and a BBC Radio 4 series but have never before been filmed for Television.

Andrew Smith has been talking to the Rutherglen Reformer about his return to Doctor Who and his new script for Big Finish Productions. Smith wrote the 1980 Fourth Doctor story Full Circle. The new story is called The Invasion of E-Space and once more features Lalla Ward as Romana. Smith told the Reformer: "I wrote the first draft, sent it off, and I didn’t hear back for a little while. I was getting really paranoid as I had no idea how it had gone down, but I was quite relieved when they got back to me and said they loved it."

International iPlayer on the way

BBC Director General Mark Thompson has told the Edinburgh International Television Festival the corporation is aiming to launch an international commercial version of the BBC iPlayer within a year.

The plans, which are subject to approval by the BBC Trust, will hopefully allow viewers around the world to watch BBC programmes, including Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, soon after their UK transmission. There are also plans to develop a way for UK licence fee payers and British servicemen and women around the world to gain access to a version of the UK public service iPlayer.

The BBC Chief used the MacTaggart Lecture to defend the BBC following criticism from many of its competitors, such as James Murdoch who gave last year's key note speech to the festival. The speech has already been attacked by The Telegraph who singled out the free downloads of Doctor Who computer games, such as yesterday's release of The Doctor Who Adventures, as something the BBC has no business doing.

Doctor Who Prom Extra Material

The BBC has announced that extra content showing behind the scenes material from the Doctor Who Prom will be available to UK viewers via the Red Button service.

Described as a VIP access-all-areas view of the Prom which took place last month, the material will include interviews with Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill and follow their preparations as they get ready to take the stage.

The service will begin on Monday 6th September, the same day the Prom is broadcast on BBC Three. Red Button viewers will also be able to see music cut from the main BBC Three transmission as well as a look at the audience through the eyes of some of the Doctor Who aliens.

Exterminate! at the National Space Centre

The National Space Centre in the Midlands will be playing host to an invasion of Daleks on the 11th-12th September, to help raise money for Children in Need.

Malika Andress, Communications Manager at the National Space Centre:

Daleks have become part of modern culture and we have all grown up with them. I think this event will be the perfect time for everybody to come out from behind the sofa and enjoy a family day out that will dispel all those memories of fear.

The event will also see appearances by guests from Doctor Who; Ruaru Mears (various monsters) will be there on the Saturday, Nina De Cosimo (Blanche in Victory Of The Daleks) and Sonila Vjeshta (Vampire girl in The Vampires of Venice) on the Sunday. More guests are expected and will be announced nearer the date. The Hyde Fundraisers will also be in attendance, who will be hosting a sculpting demonstration as well as bringing a range of adversaries to the proceedings!

For more information see the National Space Museum's event page.

TARDIS seen at MIT

The TARDIS has materialised on top of Little Dome at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The appearance of the Time machine on the roof of the University located in Cambridge, Massachusetts is a "hack" or a practical joke. The University has a long history of "hacks" including placing a Dark Mark over the Student Center to celebrate the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and placing a Fire Department truck on the roof of the Great Dome.

Directors for the 2011 Series

Doctor Who directors Richard Clark and Adam Smith will return to the series in 2011.

Both are listed in the online CV of new Production Designer Michael Pickwoad. They are listed alongside Toby Haynes who is already confirmed as director of the 2010 Christmas Special.

Richard Clark directed Gridlock and The Lazarus Experiment, both originally shown in 2007 as part of the third series since the revival. He has also worked on episodes of Life on Mars, The Whistleblowers and Gunrush.

Adam Smith directed the Eleventh Doctor's first story, The Eleventh Hour as well as the Weeping Angels two-part story The Time of Angels / Flesh and Stone. Away from Doctor Who he has worked on Little Dorrit and Skins.

Production on the next series of Doctor Who is due to continue next week, with a read-through of the Neil Gaiman story.

Doctor Who Adventures - 181

Issue 181 of Doctor Who Adventures comes with a back-to-school monster stationery set.

There is a Cyberman fact file, a vital guide to all the horrible Cybermen out there. Plus, a chance to win life-size cardboard cutouts of the Doctor, Amy, the TARDIS, a Dalek Drone or a Weeping Angel.

Also this week, ‘"A day in the life of a... MONSTER MOVER"’: all the backstage info from Alisa Berk, who tells what it’s like to choreograph creepy creatures.

Plus a new ‘Monster Laughs’ jokes feature and 3 posters.

TARDIS preview

The third instalment of Doctor Who: The Adventure Games is due to be released tomorrow (27th August), and writer James Moran has written a preview mini-adventure Wish You Were Here.

The BBC website reports:

TARDIS is a dramatic, non-stop story in which you get to take control of the Doctor's time machine and battle a new monster known as the Entity... But if you want to know what the Doctor and Amy are up to immediately before that adventure begins, you can find out now in Wish You Were Here. It's written by James Moran (The Fires of Pompeii, Torchwood) who also wrote the latest Adventure Game. It sets the scene for TARDIS, introduces a new threat faced by the Doctor and leads directly into the action of the game.

You can download the mini-adventure (PDF format) from the BBC website, and find out all the details about the new adventure, screensavers, a 360° panorama, etc. - and of course download from tomorrow - from their TARDIS section.

Karen Gillan introduces the new Adventure Game:

Nigel Planer joins Doctor Who Live

Former star of The Young Ones, Nigel Planer is to take a lead role in the upcoming Doctor Who Live Tour.

Planer is best known for his role as TV hippy Neil in the classic comedy series but he has also appeared in many West End musicals, including Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked and Hairspray.

The live show, first announced in May, is touring nine UK cities this Autumn and will feature Daleks, Cybermen, Clockwork Droids, Silurians and Weeping Angels.

Planer will act as the production's lynchpin, starring as travelling showman Vorgensen who journeys the galaxy spreading tales of the Doctor's exploits and using his 'minimiser' gadget he can conjure up any of the Time Lord's foes for his audience.

Looking forward to the production Planer said

I'm incredibly excited to be joining Doctor Who Live and this role is something of a boyhood dream come true. My character Vorgenson, who has been developed specially for the show by Steven Moffat, is the Greatest Showman in the Galaxy and using his incredible invention, The Minimiser, he can make any Doctor Who character appear on stage as part of his travelling show dedicated to his hero.

Matt Smith will appear via filmed sequences which have been made just for the stage show and renowned illusionists The Twins have devised stunts which will enable a Dalek to be seen flying during the performances.

Actor Nick Briggs, who has voiced numerous monsters for the series including Daleks and Cybermen, will also be in the live cast, playing Winston Churchill in addition to some of the villains.

The tour begins at London's Wembley Arena on October 8 with further details at www.doctorwholive.com.

Revisitations Artwork

2|entertain have released the artwork for the forthcoming Revisitations box set.

The set is due for release in the UK in 4th October and will contain updated versions of The Talons of Weng Chiang, The Caves of Androzani and The TV Movie.

Full details of the boxset here.

K9 First Series on DVD

The DVD box set containing the complete first series of K9 will be released in Australia on September 29th.

The series, created by Bob Baker and Paul Tams, is currently showing on the TEN network in Australia and in the UK on the Disney XD channel. The series is due to be broadcast in the UK on Five this autumn.

There are no details yet of a release date outside Australia.

624 mins

K9 follows the adventures of three teenagers - Starkey, a young rebel genius whos lost his parents in mysterious circumstances, not to mention his own way in society, Jorjie, a very capable fighting dynamo in the deceptively cute frame of a privileged-schoolgirl from the upper echelons of society, and Darius, a sneaky and cunning delivery boy who knows the city like the back of his light-fingered little hand and, of course, K9, a cybernetic wonder a robotic dog built of mysterious alien technology and pulled through time and space to arrive on planet Earth. Together, K9 and his trio of teen companions investigate and engage all manner of mystery and menaces from beyond the stars, between dimensions or the dark and ancient places of the earth, and they try to fix the rips in time-space that are manifesting about the city and around the globe.

TV Movie coming to North America

2|entertain has confirmed the 1996 TV Movie will be released on DVD in North America.

The news was given by the Commissioning editor of the Doctor Who range, Dan Hall, in an exclusive interview with Hoo on Who.

The TV Movie stars Paul McGann in his one television appearance as as the Eighth Doctor. It was made as a co-production between Universal Television, BBC Television, BBC Worldwide, and the Fox Network and as a result the DVD rights outside the UK were not, until now, available to 2|entertain. Following discussions between 2|entertain and Universal the situation has now changed giving North American fans a chance to own a Region 1 version of the story for the first time.

The DVD is expected to be released in North America within the next twelve months. It will also be released in Australia and New Zealand.

Doctor Who Prom on BBC Three

The Radio Times is listing the 2010 Doctor Who Prom for transmission on BBC Three on Monday 6th September at 8.30pm.

The broadcast will follow a repeat of the most recent series finale The Big Bang.

The Prom is being broadcast in a one hour slot implying the programme will be edited, probably removing the non Doctor Who music. The Prom took place on Saturday 24th July when it was broacast on BBC Radio Three. It was hosted by Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill.

One Show Christmas Promo

The One Show played host to guests Matt Smith and Karen Gillan last Friday, during which the pair refused to give away any details of this year's Christmas Special.

However, a promotional photo for the episode was revealed (see below).

UK viewers can catch the show on the BBC iplayer until Friday (28th), and international viewers can see Matt and Karen involved with batter experiments via the BBC's YouTube channel.

Doctor Who games for Nintendo

Back in March there was a report that Nintendo had signed a £10m deal with BBC Worldwide to produce games based on Doctor Who. Various online shops have now listed two games to be released: on the DS platform comes Doctor Who: Evacuation Earth, whilst the Wii platform will see Doctor Who: Return to Earth; it is uncertain when these scheduled to be released (Amazon lists them for the 29th October, Play for the 19th November).

The game has also been classified by the Australian Government for release in the country.

No other details on the games are known at present.

Meglos - Coming to DVD

The BBFC has classified an trailer for the fourth Doctor story Meglos, indicating it is due for DVD release in the next few months.

Meglos was the second story of Season 18, and was first broadcast between 27 September and 18th October 1980. Alongside Tom Baker as the Doctor it stars Lalla Ward as Romana and John Leeson as the Voice of K9.

The story also saw the return of the actress who played Barbara Wright, one of the original companions in Doctor Who, Jacqueline Hill, who played Lexa in the story. Bill Fraser also appeared as General Grugger, Frederick Treves as Lieutenant Brotadac, Colette Gleeson as Caris, Crawford Logan as Deedrix and Christopher Owen as Earthling.

The story was written by John Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch and directed by Terence Dudley.

Meglos was released on VHS in March 2003 and when released on DVD will see the completion of Season 18.

Seeds of Doom - Extras

The BBFC has cleared extras for the October release of the 1976 fourth Doctor story The Seeds of Doom, which, as previously reported, will be released in the UK on 25th October 2010.

• Pod Shock (The making of) 37'14"
• Playing in the Green Cathedral (Featurette) 10'02"
• So what do you do exactly? (Featurette) 15'35"
• Stripped for Action - The Fourth Doctor in comic form 20'17"
  
• Easter Egg 1'13"
• Easter Egg 0'08"
• Photo Gallery 4'45"
• TV Continuity 1'23"

Some of the previously announced extras for the Revisitation Box have also been cleared. The documentaries accompanying the re-release of the 1996 TV Movie have a duration of 53'52" for The Seven year Hitch and 17'09 for The Doctor's Strange Love.

Doctor Who - The Adventure Games - TARDIS

The third instalment of Doctor Who: The Adventure Games will be available from 27th August.

The game will be based around the TARDIS with players exploring the famous blue box and visiting rooms created specially for the game, such as the Doctor's drawing room, full of treasures from his many adventures.

Lead Writer and Executive Producer, Steven Moffat, told the official Doctor Who website

Since 1963, kids have wondered what it would be like to control the TARDIS. Now we're handing complete control of the most powerful ship in all of space and time to a generation of children. Everybody duck. TARDIS is a brilliant, brilliant adventure. It's funny, touching, terrifying, amazing - everything a Doctor Who episode should be.

The game features the voices of Matt Smith and Karen Gillan and is executive produced by Steven Moffat, Piers Wenger, Beth Willis and Anwen Aspden from BBC Wales Interactive, alongside Charles Cecil. Music is by Murray Gold and TARDIS is written by James Moran, who wrote the Tenth Doctor story The Fires of Pompeii.

UK players will be able to download the game free of charge from the BBC official site. Users outside the UK will be able to purchase and download the game from Direct2Drive.

SFX200 Poll Results

The results of the sci-fi poll undertaken for the SFX magazine's 200th issue have been announced, and Doctor Who continues to prove its popularity in the genre.

The Doctor took top place in the Favourite Hero category; runners up included Ianto Jones in fourth place, and his former boss and partner Captain Jack Harkness trailing in the number eleven slot! In the Favourite Heroine category, Donna Noble was fourth, Rose Tyler in eighth place, and Sarah Jane Smith was tenth.

For Favourite Villains, The Master topped the poll, with Dalek creator Davros fourth. Unsurprisingly his creations The Daleks claimed the title for Favourite Monsters, Supernatural Beings & Fantasy Creatures, with other favourite The Cybermen stomping into thirteeth place.

In other categories, the Favourite Robots & Androids category featured K9 in fifth place, whilst Favourite Anti-Heroes, Accidental Good Guys And Dodgy Do-Gooders included Captain John Hart (James Marsters in Torchwood) in third place.

You can view the full results at the SFX website, and the 200th issue of SFX hits stores next week.

The Doctor to the rescue!

Matt Smith and Karen Gillan are to appear on The One Show, it has been reported today. The two will be joining new presenter Chris Evans on his first show tomorrow (Friday).

The Sun reports that the pair came to the rescue of the show, which was having difficulty in booking a guest for the DJ's first outing on the revamped BBC1 magazine programme.

Update: The One Show's official site information on the Friday programme:

Chris Evans makes his debut on The One Show sofa with Alex Jones.

The stars of Doctor Who, Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, join them to chat about fish and chips, action heroes and bird-watching. In homage to the great British fish and chip supper, they'll be seeing if they can run across 1000 litres of batter at the end of the show!

Torchwood: The New World

Starz have published more details of the upcoming Torchwood co-production with BBC Worldwide. The series is due for transmission in the summer of 2011.

SERIES SYNOPSIS

When C.I.A. agent Rex Matheson investigates a global conspiracy, he finds himself unearthing a threat which challenges the entire human race. The answers seem to lie within an old, secret British institute, known only as Torchwood. But Torchwood was destroyed, years ago, and the keys to the institute are held by its only two survivors - former Police Officer Gwen Cooper, who has long since disappeared along with her husband and child, and the mysterious Captain Jack Harkness, a man whose history seems to stretch back centuries.

With Rex under attack from all sides, in both the US and the UK, he soon discovers there are forces at work within every level of society, determined to stop Torchwood's return. As a chain of events across the world links together the most disparate and unlikely individuals - including a surgeon, a killer, senators and CEOs - a new Torchwood team takes shape. But this time, the threat is much closer to home, as they realize that their greatest enemy is mankind itself...

CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS (John Barrowman)

Jack looks like a hero. But he's so much more than that...

He's American, handsome, with a killer smile and a classic coat. But you don't expect heroes to be this much fun. He's witty, fast, subversive and there's a reason for that glint in his eye - he'll sleep with women, he'll sleep with men; if aliens invade, he'll sleep with them too. Got a problem with that? Tough! His dashing style hides a secret. There are mysteries about Jack - a man going under his name seems to have a history stretching back to World War 2, or even earlier, to the Nineteenth century, the Eighteenth...

Truth is, Jack Harkness is immortal. A fixed point in time and space. The only one of his kind. For thousands of years, he has never been able to die. When killed, he comes back to life - seconds later. Though his tragedy is, he feels every death. It hurts - and so does the passage of time. He can never love anyone for too long, because he will always lose them. As a result, he's lived many lives. He's been a conman, a thief, an adventurer - though more a rogue than a villain, because his perspective on human life makes him appreciate this world all the more.

Jack once ran the Torchwood Institute, a British organization dedicated to fighting the strange and bizarre. He was king of his own little world for a while, the happiest he'd ever been. But Torchwood fell. His friends were killed. The Institute closed down, and Jack disappeared, to start yet another of his many new lives. And yet... The only thing that could call Jack Harkness back is his unstated love for Gwen Cooper. And when a new, epic danger affects the whole planet, Jack finds himself back at the center of events, fighting not just for his own life, but for everyone on Earth. But this time, are the stakes too high?

GWEN COOPER (Eve Myles)

All Gwen wants is a quiet life. Honest.

She's Welsh, lives in seclusion, far away from the city, on a cliff top in the wilds of South Wales with her devoted husband, and baby Anwen - it's a rural idyll. And it's a lie. Gwen is in hiding, because she once lived the most extraordinary life. She was the heart and soul of an organization called Torchwood, a freelance band of fighters who fought the strange and unexplained. She was a defender of the human race.
But no more. Torchwood was destroyed. Her colleagues died, or fled. And Gwen hid herself away, for the rest of her life, to protect her loved ones. But knowing, just knowing, that one day trouble would come calling again.

She lives the ultimate double life: the funny, salty, earthy woman who loves home and family, combined with the tough, ruthless warrior, who loves the thrill of the fight. She's both selfish and selfless. And never doubt it - when Gwen's in a crisis, she is magnificent. Gun in both hands, baby strapped to her chest, she'll run and fight and never give up.

It's passion, in the end: Gwen's all about passion. She loves her man, she loves her child, she loves this mad old world, and maybe she loves Captain Jack Harkness just a little too much. But when the events of this story push Gwen to the limit, she'll need to call on resources she never knew she had, to take action and make the most terrible decisions, on behalf of all mankind.

REX MATHESON (Actor TBD)

He’s 28, the golden boy.

Has been, all his life. Harvard education, fast-tracker in the C.I.A., destined for success. Though he’s never taken it easy – Rex hustles, seduces and campaigns to get where he is today. He can talk his way into anything, then charm his way out, fast. He’s made a lot of enemies, but his friends and lovers would defend him to death. His choice of career is significant. Someone like Rex could make a fortune in Wall Street, or Hollywood. But choosing the C.I.A. says a lot about him: that for all his swagger, he does believe in justice. And will fight for it.

Slowly but surely, we see him make friends. He’s thrown together a bunch of people known as Torchwood, the only people who might have the answer to a global mystery. To Rex, at first, they’re a bunch of freaks. Welsh women and World War 2 Captains, what’s that about?! But as they race from one crisis to another, dodging assassins, blackmail, corruption and conspiracy, from Washington to Wales and the slums of Shanghai, Rex forges friendships in the heat of fire. He learns to trust his new colleagues. And they realize that this dangerous, dazzling, reckless man is the best friend they could ever have, in a world going to hell.
They frighten us, men like Rex. We wish we were him; we never will be.

Karen Gillan in Glasgow

Fans of Karen Gillan north of the border will get a chance to meet the actress when she visits Hamleys toy store at the St Enoch Shopping Centre in Glasgow, on 28th August.

The event, which runs from midday until 2pm will see Gillan signing copies of the new Amy Pond action figure. Fans should collect a wrist band from the store, available from 9am, to ensure their place in the queue.

Talking about the visit Gillan said,

I'm so excited to be travelling up to Scotland to introduce fans to my new Amy Pond action figure, I can't wait to meet everyone.

Help design a Sarah Jane Adventures game

BBC Blast has launched a competition looking for young designers, aged between 13 and 19, with fresh ideas to work with their teams and help create a new The Sarah Jane Adventures game for CBBC.

The competition runs until 5pm on Monday, 11th October 2010. The task is to make some sound effects and/or design a spaceship for the Krulius, an alien on The Sarah Jane Adventures website.

Up to 8 winners will get the chance to attend a two day master class on 23rd and 24th October 2010 with leading industry professionals involved in games design. They will work alongside sound designers, visual designers and games executives to produce an online game for The Sarah Jane Adventures website.

To enter in the sound category you need to record 3 different sound effects for the Krulius. He should have a sound for each of the following:-

• When he moves
• When he breathes out his toxic breath
• When he uses the digital bio-converter and modem on his wrist

Each sound should be up to 10 seconds long so that the whole entry is no longer than 30 seconds.

To enter in the visual category you need to design a spaceship for the Krulius including a special feature which will be useful to him. You could draw it, paint it, create a collage for your design and digitally manipulate it.

To accompany either entry, you need to write a description of no more than 200 words on the creative thought behind your entry and how the sounds were made or why the special feature on the spaceship will be useful to the Krulius.

Full details and resources for you to use are available on the BBC Blast website.

Doctor Who: Demon Quest Preview

BBC Audiobooks have posted a preview of the forthcoming release of Demon Quest to their Facebook Page.

The audio adventure follows on from the hugely successful Doctor Who: Hornets’ Nest adventures. Tom Baker reprises his role as the Fourth Doctor, alongside a cast including Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey and Richard Franklin as Mike Yates.

The first part is released in the UK on 2nd September and in the US on November 16.

Doctor Who Magazine - Revised Schedule

The publishing schedule for Doctor Who Magazine is to be delayed by one week from September, with issue 426 now due on 23rd September. The delay is partly because of a backlog of work and partly to allow the Christmas edition to be published nearer the transmission date of the Christmas episode.

Two specials will be published over the coming months, one on 7th October and one on 30th December.

Colin Baker in Kangazang

Kangazang Trailer - Featuring Colin Baker from CandyJar on Vimeo

Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker, has lent his vocal talents to Kangazang – a new audiobook release from Candy Jar Books.

The triple CD disc set, with a bonus DVD, was produced in the same building where the Doctor Who episode Blink was filmed. On the discs Baker uses a multitude of voices to tell the story of Earthling Jeff Spooner and his alien barber, Ray Scump, as they search for the fabled Universal Remote Control – avoiding danger, doom and embarrassing situations as they go.

Aided by two badly programmed robots and an army of warrior Space Hoppers, the heroes dive and try to dodge the biggest threats in the galaxy: Supreme Overlord Kelvin (emperor of Skragg), the terminally depressed Emo people and Queen Shelley (a bald, cannibalistic Amazon who has a score to settle from way back).

Joining Colin Baker is up-and-coming Welsh actress Claire Cage, who plays three different character roles. Cage’s previous credits include the Torchwood episode, Sleeper, as well as Sherlock, Wire in the Blood and Casualty. She also deputised for Zoe Wanamaker during The End of the World studio recordings.

The audiobook is based on the novel written by Terry Cooper, who in the early 1990s was a member of the rap group, Best Shot. Copper said:

I knew straight away that I wanted Colin. With a long career in both science fiction and audiobooks, he is a real professional who totally understands the genre. He exceeded my expectations and really brought the script to life. For a guy to perform for 9 to 10 hours in the studio, and keep his energy going is something I could never do. I asked Colin if I could do some voices as well and he was totally up for that, which proves that he doesn’t have an ego and is just a great person.

In an exclusive interview included on the release, Colin Baker discusses his time on Doctor Who, his love of sci-fi and, of course, Kangazang!

Kangazang! coincides with my type of humour. It’s a bit undergrad in parts – but it made me laugh and it’s got heart. I like all that.

Shaun Russell, director of Candy Jar Books, believes that Kangazang! has the potential to go all the way.

It’s a laugh-a-minute intergalactic road trip with a large dose of 1980s nostalgia. It taps into the current thirst for British sci-fi like Doctor Who but, in doing so, pushes the boundaries forward. Terry’s writing style really captures the unique humour that has made Douglas Adam’s or Terry Pratchett’s books so popular.

Doctor Who Magazine 425

Doctor Who Magazine issue 425 sees the return of the Seventh Doctor to the cover as Sylvester McCoy gives his most candid interview to date, lavishly illustrated with never-before-seen photos. McCoy talks at length about his long career, on being the Seventh Doctor – and what he thinks about Doctor Who today

I’m delighted that they’ve done such a good job in bringing it back. I’m so proud to have that connection with this very successful programme. It wasn’t allowed to be successful when I was doing it. At the time, I didn’t know why. It was only afterwards that I realised I wasn’t given a fair crack of the whip. I wish I had been

Also this issue:

• A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIMEY-WIMEY
  Time travel – what are the rules? And can those rules be broken? In an in-depth feature, DWM examines the knotty problems of paradoxes and time loops, and explores the incredible phenomenon of timey-wimeyness throughout the history of Doctor Who.
• A NIGHT AT THE PROMS
  It’s the music event of the year! DWM dons its dinner jacket and journeys to the Royal Albert Hall to talk exclusively to the people responsible for the Doctor Who Prom, including composer Murray Gold, conductor Ben Foster and executive producer Steven Moffat. Packed with behind-the-scenes photos from the Prom.
• THE GOLDEN AGE OF TELEVISION
  The Doctor and Amy take a trip to Tokyo and discover that too much TV can be really, really bad for kids, in the first episode of a brand new comic strip adventure by Jonathan Morris and Martin Geraghty
• ART TREASURES OF HISTORY
  What have a Roman mosaic, a painting by Toulouse Lautrec and a long, floppy scarf got in common? They all feature in the brand new audio series starring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, Demon Quest! DWM catches up with the legendary fourth Doctor, co-stars Richard Franklin and Susan Jameson, writer Paul Magrs and many more in a report from the recording of the adventures.
• THE WORLD’S GREATEST PLAYWRIGHT
  William Shakespeare – the most talented dramatist in history or a letch with bad breath? Find out the truth (according to Doctor Who!) behind the man and his works, as The Fact of Fiction extracts every nuance of meaning from the literary triumph that is the 2007 Tenth Doctor adventure, The Shakespeare Code
• THE WRITER’S TALE
  Doctor Who’s head writer, Steven Moffat, reveals all about being shy, being recognised, and the Eleventh Doctor’s most recent adventure – defusing a bomb at the Proms! – in Production Notes.
• THE ANGEL OF THE NORTH!
  DWM catches up with Hex, the hunky nurse who accompanies the Seventh Doctor and Ace on their audio adventures, aka actor Philip Oliver, who reveals his experiences of attending conventions, being recognised in the street and what he really thinks about Doctor Who fans.

Plus! All the latest official news, Previews, Reviews, Competitions and much, much more, out in the UK on Thursday 19 August.

Magazines Circulation Audit

Figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations show Doctor Who Adventures Magazine had an average circulation figure of 53,559 for the 25 issues published between 1st January and 30th June 2010. The figure is up compared to the last six months of 2009 but down on the first six months of 2009. 8,034 subscriptions were in force during the period. The weekly magazine has been published by BBC Worldwide since the spring of 2006. The circulation peaked in 2007 when it had an average circulation of around 155,000.

Figures are also available for the first time for Doctor Who Magazine, which had an average circulation figure of 35,374 for the 7 issues published in the first half of the year. 73% of the readers were in the UK or the Republic of Ireland. 4,476 subscriptions are in force for the magazine with 27 interested parties receiving free copies. The magazine is currently selling more issues than at any time since the mid eighties. Before the return of the series in 2005 the average circulation was 12,000. Doctor Who Magazine is published by Panini UK and was named in April by Guinness World Records as the world's Longest Running Magazine Based on a Television Series.

Radio Times had a circulation of 947,131,

French DVD Petition

French Doctor Who fans are petitioning the French DVD distribution company to release Series Four of the show in the republic.

Organised by the website Beans on Toast the petition calls on France Television Distribution, not only release the series in the French language but to ensure the DVD release is of high quality.

Series 1 - 3 have all been released, dubbed into French, but with none of the extras familiar to English speaking viewers included. The first two series had the English versions of the soundtrack included with French Subtitles, but this was not available for Series Three. There are currently no plans to release Series Four in any form.

Doctor Who Series 5 Original TV Soundtrack

Murray Gold's music from the fifth series of Doctor Who has been reported as being released on CD by Silva Screen on the 8th November 2010, the same day as the series is released on DVD/Blu-ray by BBC Worldwide/2Entertain.

This CD quickly follows the release of the Specials set a couple of months before on 20th September.

No other details about the CD are available at present.

The Specials CD Track Listing

Silva Screen have announced the track listing for the forthcoming Doctor Who - The Specials.

Disc One features music from the first three specials - The Next Doctor, Planet of the Dead and The Waters of Mars - whilst the second disc concentrates on the Tenth Doctor's final adventure, The End of Time.

Disc One

 1. Vale

The Next Doctor

 2. A Victorian Christmas
 3. Not the Doctor
 4. A Bit of a Drag
 5. In the Sea of Memory
 6. Hidden in the Closet
 7. The Wonder of Balloons
 8. A Forceful Intelligence
 9. The Greats of Past Time
10. The March of the Cybermen
11. Goodbyes

Planet of the Dead

12. A Disturbance in the Night
13. The Cat Burglar
14. Alone in the Desert
15. A Special Sort of Bus
16. Stirring in the Sands
17. Lithuania

The Waters of Mars

18. Letter to Earth
19. By Water Borne ...
20. The Fate of Little Adelaide
21. Altering Lives

Disc Two

The End of Time

 1. We Shall Fare Well
 2. A Frosty Ood
 3. A Dream of Catastrophe
 4. All in the Balance
 5. A Ruined Gaol
 6. Wilf’s Wiggle
 7. Minnie Hooper
 8. The End Draws Near
 9. Gallifrey
10. Final Days
11. The Council of the Time Lords
12. The Master Suite
13. The Ruined Childhood
14. A Chaotic Escape
15. The World Waits
16. A Longing to Leave
17. A Lot of Life Behind Us
18. Dealing with the Menace
19. Speeding to Earth
20. The Time Lords’ Last Stand
21. The Clouds Pass
22. Four Knocks
23. Song for Ten (Reprise)
24. Vale Decem
25. Vale
26. The New Doctor

Update 13th August: Silva Screen have released the artwork for a cover that never got used on their blog.

US Torchwood Comic published

Titan Publishing have released their first Torchwood Comic in the United States; as reported in June, the comic features Captain Jack and the Selkie,a story penned by John Barrowman himself with his sister Carole, and illustrated by Tommy Lee Edwards.

Issue One features two collectible covers, and also contains a second story, Broken, penned by Gary Russell with artwork by Adrian Salmon. Both stories originally featured in Titan's Torchwood Magazine, published in the UK.

Titan have released an animated trailer to promote the comic:

Torchwood: The New World

News sources at the Television Critics Association (TCA) Press Tour are reporting that the forthcoming fourth series of Torchwood will carry the title Torchwood: The New World. A post from The Hollywood Reporter gives details of the series' new characters and quotes from Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner:

The new story will follow a CIA agent (Rex) and analyst (Ester) who tackle an alien-related global issue. Torchwood, having been destroyed and disbanded, is "like a legend now ... it's like something that's ceased to exist and is now spoken of only in whispers." Soon, Rex and Ester are on the run and are seeking out the help of Captain Jack and Gwen.

"The two teams coming together is a big part of the story -- are they friends or enemies? There's a lot of sparks and excitement."

"We definitely have a really big story to tell," added executive producer Julie Gardner. "It's absolutely rebooted to welcome in a new audience." ....

The ten episodes will be very fast paced, telling a self-contained story with the miniseries "Children of Earth" being used as a template.

Being on Starz, the show could potentially take advantage of looser standards for nudity and violence.

"I've always had loose standards and practices," Davies said. "If the story demands intimacy or savagery, we will go there absolutely ... [but] there's nothing better than a great big global thriller that stops for a sex scene -- it's probably hard to make that happen in a thriller."

The report also contains images of teaser posters which were seen at TCA; the images appear to be previously existing photos of John Barrowman and Eve Myles, with the legend "Torchwood: The New World, Coming Summer 2011."

USA Today also has details on the series' tone, and more quotes from Davies:

The team has left Wales for America, as creator Russell T. Davies has left Britain for Los Angeles. The case will tie the two remaining Torchwood members (Jack and Eve Myles's Gwen) to the CIA, and will expand into a world-wide threat. And yet, says Davies, it "will be faithful" to the BBC original.

Davies says this story, which "had been ticking away in my mind for a long while," had not been planned as a Torchwood story at all. "And suddenly I thought, there's a popular show, there's a great story, let's put them together...It felt like it definitely could move forward and become new again."

Though it will be newer and bigger, the tone won't change, says Davies. Barrowman's Jack will still be TV's only bi-sexual hero, character will still be stressed, and humor will still play a large part in the show's make-up.

"I sit there in the editing room saying 'Don't cut that joke! Cut the plot, cut the murder, cut the story, but don't cut the joke.'...It will always be a cheeky show."

Torchwood Writers Announced

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the writing team for series four of Torchwood has been selected by Executive Producer and Lead Writer Russell T Davies.

• John Shiban
  John Shiban is an Emmy Award nominated American television writer and producer. He has worked on The X-Files and its spin-off The Lone Gunmen, Smallville, Legend of the Seeker and Breaking Bad.
• Doris Egan
  Doris Egan is an American screenwriter, producer, and writer. She has worked on Smallville, Dark Angel, and House.
• Jane Espenson
  Jane Espenson is an American television writer and producer who has worked on both situation comedies and serial dramas. She is perhaps best known for her five-year stint as a writer and producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, work for which she shared in a Hugo Award, and as showrunner for Caprica.
• John Fay
  John Fay is a British television writer who wrote two episodes of Torchwood, Children of Earth. His work includes episodes of Clocking Off, Blue Murder and Robin Hood. Fay spent several years on the writing staff of Coronation Street, and created the three-part ITV drama series Mobile.
  

For Season 4 of Torchwood, John Barrowman will return as Captain Jack Harkness and Eve Myles will be back as Gwen Cooper. Casting is underway for several new characters. Filming on the Starz-BBC co-production will begin in January for transmission later in 2011.

Friday People News

Matt Smith's mother has talked about the pressures of dealing with the Eleventh Doctor's fan mail. Talking to the Northampton Chronicle. Lynne Smith tells how important it is that every letter sent to the actor is read and dealt with. Fan mail comes from all generations and in all shapes and sizes. "Some think of him as a heart-throb" says Smith. "That makes me smile because to me he's just Matthew."

Meanwhile Doctor Who Executive Producer Steven Moffat had been in LA, along with co-creator Mark Gatiss, promoting Sherlock which has been signed up by PBS Masterpiece for broadcast starting on October 24. The UK will see the final episode of Sherlock this Sunday. The first two episodes have achieved critical acclaim, scored high ratings and outstanding Appreciation Index figures.

John Barrowman has added the Royal Albert Hall to the list of venues in his 2010 concert tour. The tour begins on 1st October in Oxford and runs through to 2nd November in Edinburgh taking in many cities, including Brighton, Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham and Manchester, on the way.

Dead Air nominated for Best Audiobook

The Doctor Who Audiobook Dead Air has been shortlisted for the 2010 Audiobook of the Year award.

Written by James Goss and read by David Tennant, the Audiobook was released in March this year.

Other books nominated include Adrian Mole, The Prostrate Years, Othello, Animal Farm, Shakespeare in Love and War Horse.

The full list and a voting form can be found at The Audiobook store.

Doctor Who - The Specials CD

Doctor Who - The Specials - the latest in the line of music from the television series - has now been reported as being released on the 20th September 2010. No track listings have been made available as yet, but it will be a 2-CD boxed set of Murray Gold's music for the final four adventures of the Tenth Doctor.

Click on the image for the large version of the cover.

Doctor Who Magazine Award

The certificate awarded by Guinness World Records confirming Doctor Who Magazine as the Longest Running Magazine Based on a Television Series has been presented to the magazine's editorial team.

The award was accepted by the original editor Dez Skinn and the current editor Tom Spilsbury at the magazine's headquarters in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

The citation on the award reads:

Guinness World Records Certificate: The longest-running TV tie-in is Doctor Who Magazine (UK), which has run for 31 years. It launched as Doctor Who Weekly on 11 October 1979, and went monthly at issue 44.

The award was first announced in April.

Seeds of Doom Confirmed for October

2|Entertain have confirmed the fourth Doctor story The Seeds of Doom, will be released in the UK on 25th October 2010.

This story was originally due for release in 2011. The Revisitations boxset was due in October but has not clear if this has been postponed or if The Seeds of Doom is an additional release.

Originally shown in the first part of 1976, The Seeds of Doom was the final story of Series 13. As well as starring Tom Baker as the Doctor, it features Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, Sylvia Coleridge as Amelia Ducat, Mark Jones as Arnold Keeler, John Gleeson as Charles Winlett, John Challis as Scorby and Tony Beckley as Harrison Chase.

Made in six parts, the story was written by Robert Banks Stewart and directed by Douglas Camfield, and is one of the most fondly remembered stories from the fourth Doctor's era.

As we previously reported Tom Baker has recorded the commentary track for the release along with John Challis and Philip Hinchcliffe, who was producer at the time.

Bernice Summerfield: Animated Adventure

Big Finish have announced that an online adventure featuring Bernice Summerfield will be available from September.

Bernice Summerfield or Benny, is a character originally created by author Paul Cornell as a new companion of the Seventh Doctor in Virgin Publishing's range of original full-length Doctor Who novels. Since 1998 Big Finish Productions have been producing officially licensed audio dramas starring the character.

The latest adventure, Dead and Buried, is a 10-minute CGI animated adventure that will be available to view absolutely free of charge. Lisa Bowerman is back playing Benny, who is returning to her roots as an archaeologist – although it isn’t long before she’s being pursued through the ruins of an alien world by a deadly adversary.

Dead and Buried is animated by Alex Mallinson, who has been working on the project for months and says

I’ve created animated trailers for Cyberman and Dalek Empire in the past but this is a much more complicated prospect. John Ainsworth and Eddie Robson have written a cracking yarn which is proving a joy and a challenge to animate. It’s taken weeks of patient construction, animation, rendering and compositing but it doesn’t truly spring to life until Matthew Cochrane’s evocative sound design is added. However it’s still proven more work than any of us imagined, which is why Benny Series 11 has been delayed a month. I hope this will make up for it!

There’s a glimpse of what’s to come in the teaser trailer, available at the Big Finish website.

The final animation will be available in September, completely free and will lead into the events of Bernice Summerfield 11.1 Resurrecting the Past.

Doctor Who Dominates Portal Awards

Doctor Who has dominated the 2010 Portal Awards, held by Airlock Alpha part of the BlipNetwork.

Doctor Who was named Best Series/Television with 65% of the vote beating Torchwood into second place.

David Tennant was overwhelmingly voted Best Actor/television with a massive 68% of the vote, beating John Barrowman who was in second place with 10% of the vote.

Bernard Cribbins won Best Supporting Actor/Television for his portrayal of Wilfred Mott in The End of Time with 59 percent of the vote. The End of Time was itself voted Best Episode/Television.

Alex Kingston was voted Best Special Guest for her portrayal of River Song in Time of Angels.

The award for Best Actress/Television went to Eve Myles for Torchwood - Children of Earth, beating Karen Gillan into second place

The Gene Roddenberry Award for lifetime achievement was given to Russell T Davies for his work on Doctor Who and Torchwood.

This was the 11th year for the Portal Awards, which started in 1999 as the SyFy Genre Awards. An international nominating committee generated a list of five nominees for each category and readers then had 30 days to vote.

Doctor Who has won seven awards over the years, and is third to Star Trek: Voyager (18 wins) and Farscape (eight wins).

Full list of winners.