UK to get individual Series 1-4 Blu-ray setsBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 26 August 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward
BBC Worldwide are releasing individual Blu-ray sets for Series 1-4 of Doctor Who in the UK on 31 August 2015. The discs, upscaled to 1080i HD originally formed part of the Series 1-7 box set in 2013. Australia have had the individual Series 1-4 Region B sets since 2013.

Doctor Who News has been informed that the new 1-4 releases are identical in specifications as the 1-7 set. This means the discs will play at 24fps instead of the native 25fps.
Doctor Who - The Complete First Series (Credit: BBC Worldwide / 2entertain) Doctor Who - The Complete First Series
Region B Blu-ray
Release date: 31 August 2015 (available for pre-order)

All 13 episodes from the first series of the relaunched sci-fi adventure drama, written by Russell T. Davies and starring Christopher Eccleston as the legendary Time Lord.

In this series, the Doctor meets new companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) while saving her from the living-plastic Nestene Consciousness, before taking her on adventures through time and space, where she meets Charles Dickens (Simon Callow), tries to save her father from dying when she was a child, and helps the Doctor and Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) battle the evil Daleks and save the world.

The episodes are: 'Rose', 'The End of the World', 'The Unquiet Dead', 'Aliens of London', 'World War Three', 'Dalek', 'The Long Game', 'Father's Day', 'The Empty Child', 'The Doctor Dances', 'Boom Town', 'Bad Wolf' and 'The Parting of the Ways'.
Doctor Who - The Complete Second Series (Credit: BBC Worldwide / 2entertain) Doctor Who - The Complete Second Series
Region B Blu-ray
Release date: 31 August 2015 (available for pre-order)

All 14 episodes from the second series of the relaunched sci-fi adventure drama, starring David Tennant as the latest incarnation of the legendary Time Lord.

In this series, the tenth Doctor takes companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) to New Earth and struggles to overcome the effects of regeneration. In the opening Christmas episode London is deluged by Santa Claus impersonators and Christmas trees intent on malice. Mankind is threatened by a planetary invasion and there's only the Prime Minister to battle it out.

The episodes are: 'The Christmas Invasion', 'New Earth', 'Tooth and Claw', 'School Reunion', 'The Girl in the Fireplace', 'Rise of the Cybermen', 'The Age of Steel', 'The Idiot's Lantern', 'The Impossible Planet', 'The Satan Pit', 'Love and Monsters', 'Fear Her', 'Army of Ghosts' and 'Doomsday'.
Doctor Who - The Complete Third Series (Credit: BBC Worldwide / 2entertain) Doctor Who - The Complete Third Series
Region B Blu-ray
Release date: 31 August 2015 (available for pre-order)

All 14 episodes from the third series of the relaunched sci-fi adventure drama, starring David Tennant as the latest incarnation of the legendary Time Lord.

In this series, the Doctor is joined by new companion Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) as he encounters old enemies including the Daleks and the Master (Derek Jacobi).

The episodes are: 'The Runaway Bride', 'Smith and Jones', 'The Shakespeare Code', 'Gridlock', 'Daleks in Manhattan', 'Evolution of the Daleks', 'The Lazarus Experiment', '42', 'Human Nature', 'The Family of Blood', 'Blink', 'Utopia', 'The Sound of Drums' and 'Last of the Timelords'.
Doctor Who - The Complete Fourth Series (Credit: BBC Worldwide / 2entertain) Doctor Who - The Complete Fourth Series
Region B Blu-ray
Release date: 31 August 2015 (available for pre-order)

All 14 episodes from the fourth series of the relaunched sci-fi adventure drama, starring David Tennant as the latest incarnation of the legendary Time Lord.

In this series, the Doctor is joined by new companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) as the pair venture through time and space, visiting ancient Pompeii and the planet of the Ood while also meeting the mysterious River Song (Alex Kingston).

The episodes are: 'Voyage of the Damned', 'Partners in Crime', 'The Fires of Pompeii', 'Planet of the Ood', 'The Sontaran Stratagem', 'The Poison Sky', 'The Doctor's Daughter', 'The Unicorn and the Wasp', 'Silence in the Library', 'Forest of the Dead', 'Midnight', 'Turn Left', 'The Stolen Earth' and 'Journey's End'.




FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Doctor Who - Merchandise - Ninth Doctor - Series 1/27 - Series 2/28

Five Bafta Cymru NominationsBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 26 August 2015 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who has been nominated in five categories in the 2015 BAFTA Cymru Awards, although missing out in the main Best Drama Category.

Peter Capaldi is nominated as Best Actor for his performance in Dark Water, while Jenna Coleman earns her nomination for Best Actress for her emotionally charged performance in Kill the Moon.

Nominated for Best Editing is Will Oswald, again for Dark Water. Oswald has been an editor on the series since 2007 and has won BAFTA Wales awards for editing in 2002 and 2009.

The production team have also been nominated for Best Special and Visual Effects for Last Christmas while the new title sequence earns a nomination for Best Titles and Graphic Identity.

The awards honour excellence in broadcasting and production within film and television in Wales. The winners will be announced on Sunday 27 September at the St David’s Hall, Cardiff.
ACTOR sponsored by Audi
  • RICHARD HARRINGTON as DCI Tom Mathias in Y Gwyll/Hinterland – Fiction Factory / S4C
  • PETER CAPALDI as the Doctor in Doctor Who: Dark Water – BBC Wales / BBC One
  • RHYS IFANS as Captain Cat in Dan y Wenallt – fFatti fFilms / S4C
ACTRESS
  • JENNA COLEMAN as Clara Oswald in Doctor Who: Kill the Moon – BBC Wales / BBC One
  • MALI HARRIES as DI Mared Rhys in Y Gwyll/Hinterland – Fiction Factory / S4C
  • RHIAN MORGAN as Gwen Lloyd in Gwaith/Cartref – Fiction Factory / S4C
EDITING sponsored by Gorilla
  • JOHN RICHARDS for Da Vinci’s Demons - Adjacent Productions/Phantom Four Films / FOX
  • WILL OSWALD for Doctor Who: Dark Water – BBC Wales / BBC One
  • JOHN RICHARDS for Jack to a King: The Swansea Story – YJB Films Ltd
SPECIAL AND VISUAL EFFECTS sponsored by University of Wales Trinity Saint David
  • Bait Studios for A Poet in New York - BBC Cymru Wales/Modern Television / BBC Two
  • PRODUCTION TEAM for Da Vinci’s Demons - Adjacent Productions, Phantom Four Films / FOX
  • PRODUCTION TEAM for Doctor Who: Last Christmas – BBC Wales / BBC One
TITLES AND GRAPHIC IDENTITY sponsored by AGFX
  • PRODUCTION TEAM for Doctor Who: Deep Breath – BBC Wales / BBC One
  • BAIT STUDIO for Jack to a King: The Swansea Story – YJB Films Ltd
  • SARAH BREESE for Y Gwyll/Hinterland – Fiction Factory / S4C




FILTER: - Awards/Nominations - Jenna Coleman - Peter Capaldi

Lethbridge-Stewart: exclusive pre-order releaseBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 26 August 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Candy Jar Books have announced an exclusive release for those who pre-order the next book in their Lethbridge-Stewart series, The Schizoid Earth:

Lethbridge-Stewart: Legacies (Credit: Candy Jar Books)Legacies
Written by Norma Ashley

Random chance. That’s all it takes to change everything. What would happen had Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart and the Doctor failed to stop the Great Intelligence?

A free 34-page story exclusive for those who pre-order The Schizoid Earth directly from Candy Jar Books. The offer ends September 24th 2015, and only applies to pre-orders for the paperback. The Schizoid Earth by David A McIntee is released on September 25th 2015.




FILTER: - Books - Candy Jar Books - Lethbridge-Stewart

Lost from the Archive - NewsBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 25 August 2015 - Reported by Pascal Salzmann
Sue Malden interviewed on Amazing Luck Stories, 10 Feb 1999 (Credit: BBC)The Doctor Who Missing Episodes Discussion Group on Facebook asked its members to post questions to Sue Malden, former and first ever Television Archive Selector at the BBC. Sue was responsible for saving a lot of early Doctor Who episodes from destruction. In the Q&A published yesterday, Sue gave a lot of previously unknown insight into the story of why and how the BBC destroyed the material and what it would have taken to rescue it.

There was a loan record set up for the Daleks Master Plan episode, it was sent to the Blue Peter film editor in October 1973 and it was logged that the print never came back to the Library. The Tenth Planet episode was not originally logged on Infax/FLOL which implies that it was accessed from Enterprises at Villiers House, as with certain other clips that survive from missing episodes of Dr Who.

Read the full Q&A here.

Another development on the topic of missing Doctor Who episodes is the announcement of Philip Morris attending the Pandorica Convention. Philip is the owner of Television International Enterprises Archives Ltd (TIEA) and is known for discovering nine Troughton episodes in 2013. This will be his first appearance on an unofficial convention. The Pandorica 2015 will be held in Bristol from 25th to 27th September 2015.




FILTER: -

Competition RoundupBookmark and Share

Monday, 24 August 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Doctor Who News have a number of prizes courtesy of BBC Books and BBC Audio available to win in competitions, as detailed below! In order to enter, please send your answer along with your name, address and where you saw the competition to the respective email address - please note whether the competition is worldwide or UK only. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

The closing date for all competitions will be Sunday 6th September.

Doctor Who and The Ark in Space (BBC Audio)
The audiobook of the Target novelisation, originally written by Ian Marter and read by Jon Culshaw.
Name the insect-like race that have infested the Ark, as described by Ian Marter in the original Target novelisation.
Send your answer to comp-thearkincd@doctorwhonews.net with your details as mentioned at the top using the subject line "Noah's Ark". Open worldwide.
The Drosten's Curse (BBC Books)
An original fourth Doctor novel written by A.L. Kennedy
Name the original story by the author upon which The Drosten's Curse is based.
Send your answer to comp-drostenbook@doctorwhonews.net with your details as mentioned at the top using the subject line "Don't go into the bunker...". Open to UK readers only.
The Drosten's Curse (BBC Audio)
The audiobook of A.L. Kennedy's novel, read by Clare Corbett
Amongst the several Doctor Who books read by Clare Corbett, name a book which also featured on screen within an actual episode of the series.
Send your answer to comp-drostencd@doctorwhonews.net with your details as mentioned at the top using the subject line "Fetch!". Open worldwide.
Human Nature (BBC Audio)
The audiobook of the original Virgin New Adventures novel by Paul Cornell, read by Lisa Bowerman
Name the alien antagonists that are hunting for the Doctor in the novel.
Send your answer to comp-humannaturecd@doctorwhonews.net with your details as mentioned at the top using the subject line "Mr Smith, you're needed!". Open worldwide.
The Gods Of Winter (BBC Audio)
An original audio adventure by James Goss, read by Clare Higgins
What does the Doctor and Clara's initial mission for Diana Winter involve?
Send your answer to comp-godsofwintercd@doctorwhonews.net with your details as mentioned at the top using the subject line "When Winter calls". Open worldwide.
The Glamour Chronicles (Royal Blood, Deep T:me, Big Bang Generation) (BBC Books)
Three new novels featuring the twelfth Doctor and Clara (prize bundle)
Name another BBC Book to feature Glamour.
Send your answer to comp-glamourbooks@doctorwhonews.net with your details as mentioned at the top using the subject line "When Winter calls". Open to UK readers only.

Competition Prizes (Credit: BBC Books/BBC Audio)




FILTER: - BBC Audio - Books - Competitions

New York Symphonic Spectacular shows cancelledBookmark and Share

Monday, 24 August 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward
Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular 2014 The two Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular shows set for New York have been cancelled. The shows were scheduled for 7 October 2015 at Barclays Center in New York and were to be hosted by Michelle Gomez.

An email was sent to ticket holders with the following message:
Vision Nine regrets to announce that the two Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular shows scheduled for October 7 at Barclays Center have been cancelled.

All Ticketmaster online and phone orders will automatically be refunded. Remaining refunds will be available at point of purchase.

We apologize for any inconvenience and hope to see you at a future event at Barclays Center.
A message on the Barclays Center website states: "there are no plans to reschedule them at this time."
(with thanks to Geekboypress)




FILTER: - Music - Special Events - USA

DWM and DWA drop in latest circulation figuresBookmark and Share

Monday, 24 August 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward
The latest circulation figures for publications have been released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations for the January to June 2015 period, which indicates that Doctor Who Magazine has taken a significant knock on its circulation. The report revealed the magazine has dropped 23.2% of readers since the July to December 2014 period. Doctor Who Adventures changed publisher during the Jan-Jun 2015 period. The last issue under Immediate Media (#363, 25 March 2015) the total circulation was 24,441, while Issue 1 (23rd April 2015) under Panini was 19,873. Between July and December 2014 the magazine dropped 2.09% of its circulation.

The full breakdowns can be found by clicking on the relevant linked publication certificate below.

Jul-Dec 2009Jan-Jun 2010Jul-Dec 2010Jan-Jun 2011Jul-Dec 2011Jan-Jun 2012Jul-Dec 2012Jan-Jun 2013Jul-Dec 2013Jan-Jun 2014Jul-Dec 2014Jan-Jun 2015
Doctor Who Magazine29,00035,374 (+22%)33,554 (-5.1%)30,682 (-8.6%)30,614 (-0.2%)27,089 (-11.5%)28,743 (+6.1%)31,692 (+10.3%)36,151 (+14.1%)33,538 (-7.2%)33,419 (-0.4%)25,663 (-23.2%)
Doctor Who Adventures44,66453,559 (+20%)56,648 (+5.8%)50,013 (-11.7%)48,470 (-3.1%)31,903 (-34.2%)31,935 (+0.1%)24,497 (-23.3%)28,443 (+16.1%)19,966 (-29.8%)20,944 (+4.9%)20,506 (-2.09%)
All figures are from the Audit Bureau of Circulations apart from the Jul-Dec 2009 figure for DWM, which is an estimate provided by DWM and included for comparison purposes.
ABC figures for DWM only started being calculated in 2010. Percentages shown are the change on the previous six months.

DWM's editor, Tom Spilsbury, told Doctor Who News:
Doctor Who Magazine has endured a bit of a decline since the last round of ABC figures, although we're not too disheartened. The first half of 2015 has been a relatively quiet time on the Doctor Who front, and so it's good to see that there are 25,000 loyal DWM readers who like to regularly pick up the magazine even when the show isn't on air, and we're looking backwards to older Doctors and earlier eras. After all, we're still the Number One best-selling sci-fi-themed magazine in the UK, which is a pretty incredible fact when you think about it!




FILTER: - Circulation - DWA - DWM - Magazines

Germany: Pandastorm Pictures changes DVD release scheduleBookmark and Share

Monday, 24 August 2015 - Reported by Pascal Salzmann
Pandastorm Pictures (Credit: Pandastorm Pictures)German DVD distributor Pandastorm Pictures sent out a newsletter today announcing changes to the DVD format and to the release schedule.

Instead of the previously reported two volumes of Sixth Doctor adventures (containing Season 22 plus The Twin Dilemma and Season 23), Pandastorm is going to release three sets now, splitting Season 22 in two parts.

Here is the complete newsletter, translated from German:

Dear Doctor Who fans,
while many of you are still waiting in excitement for the release of The Five Doctors this week, we are currently working on the releases of the sixth Doctor. The first volume will be out on 27th November 2015.

We originally planned to release the dubbed episodes of the sixth Doctor in two volumes. At the time we didn't know that the included bonus features of Volume 1 would make it 10 DVD's instead of the planned 7 DVD's. Because of very expensive authoring, post-production and production of this set, we would have to increase the price - which would lead to lower sales in the retail stores.

That is why we decided to produce a 5-disc-set for Volume 1, making it three volumes instead of two. We hope you understand.

This is the new release schedule:


Release
Discs
Content
Release date
Sechster Doktor  – Volume 1
5 DVD's
Zweimal Einstein (The Twin Dilemma)
Angriff der Kybermänner (Attack of the Cybermen)
Revolte auf Varos (Vengeance on Varos)
Die Rache des Meisters (The Mark of the Rani)
27th Nov 2015
Sechster Doktor  – Volume 2
5 DVD's
Androiden in Sevilla (The Two Doctors)
Das Amulett (Timelash)
Planet der Toten (Revelation of the Daleks)
26th Feb 2016
Sechster Doktor  – Volume 3
tba

27th May 2016
Pandastorm's current release Fünf Doktoren (The Five Doctors) will be out this week on 28th August 2015 and can be pre-ordered via Amazon Germany.




FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Germany - Pandastorm - Sixth Doctor

Doctor Who loses out at Hugo AwardsBookmark and Share

Monday, 24 August 2015 - Reported by Marcus
Hugo AwardsDoctor Who has lost out in the 2015 Hugo awards.

The 2014 episode Listen, written by Steven Moffat and directed by Douglas Mackinnon was nominated in the Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form category. The episode came second, behind the Canadian science fiction television series Orphan Black. Last year's winner Game of Thrones came third.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
  • Winner - Orphan Black: “By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried”, ” written by Graham Manson, directed by John Fawcett (Temple Street Productions, Space/BBC America)
  • Doctor Who: “Listen”, written by Steven Moffat, directed by Douglas Mackinnon (BBC Television)
  • Game of Thrones: “The Mountain and the Viper”, written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss, directed by Alex Graves ((HBO Entertainment in association with Bighead, Littlehead; Television 360; Startling Television and Generator Productions)
  • The Flash: “Pilot”, teleplay by Andrew Kreisberg & Geoff Johns, story by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg & Geoff Johns, directed by David Nutter (The CW) (Berlanti Productions, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television)
  • Grimm: “Once We Were Gods”, written by Alan DiFiore, directed by Steven DePaul (NBC) (GK Productions, Hazy Mills Productions, Universal TV)
The results were announced at the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention, held at Spokane in Washington State.





FILTER: - Awards/Nominations - Series 8/34

50th Anniversary of Dr Who and the DaleksBookmark and Share

Sunday, 23 August 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward
Today marks fifty years since the first Peter Cushing Dalek film was released in UK cinemas. Dr Who and the Daleks was based on Terry Nation's 1964 serial The Daleks, with the story being adapted to the big screen by Milton Subotsky. The film was directed by Gordon Flemyng who had previously directed William Hartnell in episodes of The Army Game.


Although initial reviews of the film were not too kind, they didn't deter the British public from parting with their hard-earned money. The film was twentieth biggest British box office moneymaker in 1965. In August 1965 BFI's Monthly Film Bulletin posted their review of the film:
A patchy piece of juvenile science fiction. The settings are quite effective in a Christmas pantomime way, while the Daleks themselves—mobile pillar-boxes with flickering lights on top, weaving proboscises, and hesitantly guttural voices—make admirable villains. Against this, however, must be set some crude slapstick from Roy Castle, and absent-minded bumbling from Peter Cushing: these flabby attempts at humour only succeed in slowing down the action. And the Thals, looking and sounding like ballet dancers with their golden hair-dos, heavy eye-shadow and camp speech, must be the wettest tribe on record. [p. 123]
Peter Cushing himself later revealed in a 1986 interview that he was offered the role of the Doctor in the TV series but said he couldn't accept the offer as he was "otherwise engaged" but went on to say even if he was available he wasn't sure he would take the role. His reasons for this was because he "didn't really care for the Doctor Who television series", stating that "they weren't my cups of tea". He added that "the Daleks did rather get on my nerves".

On 2012's DVD release of Death to the Daleks, an extra was included entitled Cushing and Castle which looked at the casting of Peter Cushing and Roy Castle in Dr Who and the Daleks.

In 2013 Studio Canal released a new digitally restored version of the film on DVD and Blu-ray to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who. A screening for Dr Who and the Daleks and the follow-up Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. was organised by The Doctor Who Appreciation Society and held at Riverside Studios. The event was held on 26 May 2013, which would have been Cushing's 100th birthday.

Competition

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Dr Who and the Daleks, Doctor Who News is offering readers the chance to win a copy of the film on either DVD or Blu-ray, courtesy of Studio Canal.

To be in with a chance of wining simply answer the following question:
At which British film studios was the film shot?
Please send your answers along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-DrWhoDaleksFilm@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "Technicolor Daleks". The competition is open to UK residents only, closing date: 31st August 2015. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

Artwork

One again artist Deborah Taylor has created us a piece of artwork to go with the anniversary. The design is based on Chris Achilleos's cover of David Whitaker's Target novelisation of The Daleks.
Dr Who and the Daleks (Credit: Deborah Taylor)




FILTER: - Competitions - Moments in Time - Peter Cushing