Pond Life: Part ThreeBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 29 August 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Part Three of Pond Life has now been released by the BBC.

Part Three: June: Rory stumbles upon an unexpected guest in his bathroom.

Further details about the mini-adventures are available from the Pond Life page on the BBC website.






FILTER: - Online - Series Specials - Series 7/33

Magazine roundupBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 29 August 2012 - Reported by Harry Ward
UK magazines have this week featured Doctor Who on their covers as the new series approaches.

SFX interviews Steven Moffat about the new series of Doctor Who and the 50th Anniversary.

TV Choice doesn't have the show as their cover but they have an interview with Matt Smith. He teases readers that "Perhaps there are some classic monsters coming back. There’s one I’m very intrigued by, which we haven’t seen for quite some time…". Asked if "we'll be seeing seeing a thing we haven’t seen for quite some time", Smith replied "Well, maybe. We might. A thing we haven’t seen since the series returned to our screens in 2005."

The latest edition of Cardiff Life has been retitled "Dalek Life" and features an 'Eternal' Dalek on the front cover. From pages 46 to 49 they review the new Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff Bay.

Doctor Who also has mentions in Total TV Guide and TV Times.




FILTER: - UK - Magazines - Series 7/33

Doctor Who Magazine 451Bookmark and Share

Tuesday, 28 August 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster



The new issue of Doctor Who Magazine is out on Thursday, and features previews of the first three stories of the new series - and has three different covers to choose from!

  • Asylum of the Daleks – DWM takes over the Asylum for Doctor Who's most ambitious episode yet. Matt Smith shares his thoughts on the Doctor’s arch enemies, Steven Moffat on the challenges of keeping the Daleks fresh and how Arthur Darvill and Karen Gillan feel about the beginning of the end for Rory and Amy.
  • Dinosaurs on a Spaceship – it’s an episode of Doctor Who packed to the rafters with dinosaurs. On a spaceship! Writer Chris Chibnall reveals how his script lived up to that title, and what challenges did the FX team face on bringing so many dinosaurs to life?
  • A Town Called Mercy – guest stars Adrian Scarborough and Ben Browder on how thrilled they were to join Doctor Who for an adventure into the Wild West, how the crew enjoyed their time on location in sunny Spain, and what writer Toby Whithouse thought of being out of his comfort zone.

The show's executive producer, Steven Moffat, also teases the ultimate fate of the Ponds:
As you’ll be able to tell from the end of Episode 5, I’ve had the very last moment of Amy Pond in my head for quite some time...

Also in this issue:

  • The Usual Suspects – the writers of the new series are given the once over by Doctor Who’s executive producer, Steven Moffat (including himself!) in a curtain-raising Production Notes.
  • Gulity as Charged? John Nathan-Turner was Doctor Who’s most colourful and controversial producer, guiding the show to dizzying heights, but perhaps a few lows too. Luminaries and experts from Doctor Who past and present assemble for the first in a two-part feature to assess the work of the series’ longest-serving producer in The Trial of John Nathan-Turner.
  • Cold Front - the Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive in Prague in the dying days of the Cold War. Revolution is on the horizon, but the Doctor senses something unreal in the air. What is the significance of the book The Sorrows of Prague, and why will Yuri Azarov and his terrifying companion stop at nothing to retrieve it? Part One of The Broken Man, the latest comic strip written by Scott Gray with art from Martin Geraghty.
  • Is This Death? companions come and go, but should they ever die? Johnny Candon and Toby Hadoke weigh up the pros and cons of crash-landing to Earth in an out-of-control freighter, or heading off into the sunset to marry Brian Blessed in A Battle of Wits.
  • Take Art - DWM’s intrepid Time Team – Chris, Emma, Michael and Will – go for gold as the Doctor and Rose land in an ordinary housing estate where extraordinary things are happening as children are going missing, trapped in the drawings of Chloe Webber. Will the Doctor make it to the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics as The Time Team views Fear Her.
  • Coming of Age ­– Doctor Who’s 21st year saw a season packed with exciting cliff-hangers, companion departures, a tour de force performance from the leading man, andarguably the finest Doctor Who story ever made. Countdown to 50 reaches 1984 and Series 21.
  • All in the Mind – mind-sucking alien parasites, prison riots, a nerve-gas missile and the Master at his most scheming – find out how the Third Doctor, Jo and UNIT fought The Mind of Evil in this month’s Fact of Fiction.
  • Light my Fire – the Watcher warns of the pitfalls of predicting the near future as A History of Doctor Who in 100 Objects reaches number 22 – the Olympic Torch. Was the 2012 of Fear Her remotely like the real thing? Also stare into the eyes of The Six Faces of Delusion, flick through The Stockbridge English Dictionary and marvel at the Supporting Artist of the Month in Wotcha!

PLUS! All the usual features, latest official news, TV and merchandise reviews, previews, competitions, and prize-winning crossword.




FILTER: - DWM

Asylum of the Daleks: New Zealand premiere for 13th SeptemberBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 28 August 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
New Zealand broadcaster Prime has announced that it will launch the next series of Doctor Who on Thursday 13th September at 8:30pm.

The news indicates that this year viewers in New Zealand have less than a fortnight to wait until they see the new episodes after their debut in the United Kingdom, the shortest period between transmissions for a series since the show returned in 2005!

PRIME's synopsis for Asylum of the Daleks:
Join the Doctor, the Ponds and numerous friends on their latest escapades through time and space in this brand new series, where they puzzle an unexpected invasion of Earth, save a spaceship full of dinosaurs, and even don Stetsons in a Wild Wild West adventure. Tonight, kidnapped by his oldest foe, the Doctor is forced on an impossible mission - to a place even the Daleks are too terrified to enter... the Asylum. A planetary prison confining the most terrifying and insane of their kind, the Doctor and the Ponds must find an escape route. But with Amy and Rory’s relationship in meltdown, and an army of mad Daleks closing in, it is up to the Doctor to save their lives, as well as the Ponds' marriage.

In summary, Asylum of the Daleks is now confirmed for these dates:
United Kingdom : Saturday  1st September, 7:20pm BST   BBC1
United States : Saturday 1st September, 9:00pm ET BBC America
Canada : Saturday 1st September, 9:00pm ET SPACE
Australia : Saturday 8th September, 7:30pm AEST ABC (also on iView from 2nd Sept)
New Zealand : Thursday 13th September, 8:30pm NZST Prime

(with thanks to Paul Scoones)




FILTER: - New Zealand - Series 7/33

The Greatest Show In The Galaxy: alternative R4 cover designBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 28 August 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Tea-Lady Design have published a clean version of an alternative version of the cover art for The Greatest Show of the Galaxy, which has been produced as an exclusive for the Australian (R4) market.

The differences between the two can be compared below.






FILTER: - Merchandise - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD - Australia

Pond Life: Part TwoBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 28 August 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Part Two of Pond Life has now been released by the BBC.

Part Two: May: The Doctor picks the wrong time to turn up unannounced...

Further details about the mini-adventures are available from the Pond Life page on the BBC website.

Pond Life, Part Two, via YouTube or BBC iPlayer   -   Also available: Part One (YouTube/BBC iPlayer)





FILTER: - Online - Series Specials - Series 7/33

Radio Times Cover For Asylum Of The DaleksBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 28 August 2012 - Reported by John Bowman
Doctor Who features on the cover of the new Radio Times - on sale from today - which celebrates the return of the programme this coming Saturday.

The magazine, issue dated 1st to 7th September, also features interviews with Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, and Matt Smith - in which he casts doubt on regenerating in the 50th-anniversary story - as well as an episode guide by Steven Moffat plus a Dalek wallchart.

Talking about new companion actress Jenna-Louise Coleman, Gillan says:
I've met Jenna and we get on really well. And I've been texting her bits and bobs about Matt, but what I wrote is a secret. That's the code of the companion. I didn't offer her any advice though because I want her to have the experience for herself. I didn't want to plant any preconceptions in her head.
On the programme's 50th anniversary next year, Smith says:
We want to make it as big and bold and as brilliant as we can because, we hope, it can be one of the monumental bits of TV history. But I doubt there'll be a regeneration.
Asylum of the Daleks is on BBC One on Saturday at 7.20pm.




FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Arthur Darvill - Karen Gillan - Matt Smith - Magazines - Radio Times

Doctor Who 'fast-tracked' to Australian internet TVBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 28 August 2012 - Reported by Adam Kirk
ABC1The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has announced via its TV Blog that Asylum of the Daleks will be fast-tracked to premiere on its internet TV iview service on Sunday 2 September from 5.10am AEST immediately after its UK launch on 1 September. ABC1 Controller Brendan Dahill said, “For Doctor Who fans, it is a fantastic opportunity to see new episodes within hours of them premiering in the UK – each episode will be available on iview on Sundays.”

“ABC’s iview is the most watched catch-up service in Australia with 48% of online Australians aged 16+ having accessed iview,” said Dahill. “The new iview app for iphones and iPod Touch, launched on June 26, has seen a phenomenal 434,000 downloads recorded to date – with 210,000 downloads recorded in its first week.”

As previously reported, Asylum of the Daleks will have its debut on Australian terrestial TV on ABC1 on Saturday 8th September 2012 at 7.30pm.

Media Links: TV Tonight




FILTER: - Broadcasting - Series 7/33 - Australia

Asylum of the Daleks: latest imagesBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 28 August 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC have released new images to promote the forthcoming Asylum of the Daleks:



The episode is to be broadcast at 7:20pm this Saturday on BBC One.

Kidnapped by his oldest foe, the Doctor is forced on an impossible mission - to a place even the Daleks are too terrified to enter... the Asylum.

A planetary prison confining the most terrifying and insane of their kind, the Doctor and the Ponds must find an escape route. But with Amy and Rory’s relationship in meltdown, and an army of mad Daleks closing in, it is up to the Doctor to save their lives, as well as the Pond’s marriage.

Guest stars: Nicholas Briggs (voice of the Daleks); Anamaria Marinca (Darla) and Naomi Ryan (Cassandra)

Written by Steven Moffat; executive produced by Steven Moffat and Caroline Skinner; produced by Marcus Wilson; and directed by Nick Hurran

Matt Smith appeared on BBC Radio One's Greg James Show yesterday afternoon to promote the return of the series, during which he discussed being in New York at the weekend for the premiere of Asylum of the Daleks for BBC America, his favourite moments on the series, and what he thinks about the potential for a female Doctor. The programme is available to listen to on the BBC iPlayer (42m in) for the next seven days.

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

Meanwhile, the Radio Times has listed Dinosaurs on a Spaceship to transmit at the even later time of 7:35pm the following week, making it the second latest time of broadcast since 2005 (with only Gridlock broadcast later at 7:40pm). BBC Programme Information has yet to confirm the time, which will be finalised later in the week.

An unmanned spaceship hurtles towards certain destruction - unless the Doctor can save it, and its impossible cargo... of dinosaurs!

By his side a ragtag gang of adventurers, a big game hunter, an Egyptian Queen and a surprised member of the Pond family. But little does the Doctor know there is someone else on board who will stop at nothing to keep hold of his precious, prehistoric cargo.

Guest stars: Riann Stelle (Queen Nefertiti); Rupert Graves (Riddell); Mark Williams (Brian Williams) and David Bradley (Solomon)

Writer: Chris Chibnall
Executive Producers: Steven Moffat and Caroline Skinner
Producer: Marcus Wilson
Director: Saul Metzstein







FILTER: - Matt Smith - Radio - Series 7/33

Pond Life: Part One releasedBookmark and Share

Monday, 27 August 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The first part of the Doctor Who mini-adventure, Pond Life, has now been released by the BBC. Each of the five parts will be shown online over the next few days, leading into the the broadcast of Asylum of the Daleks on Saturday.

Part One: April: whilst the Ponds enjoy life at home, the Doctor has been having some unplanned adventures...

Further details are available from the Pond Life page on the BBC website.






FILTER: - Online - Series Specials - Series 7/33