The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot to receive DVD outing

Sunday, 1 June 2014 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Colin Baker at MythMakers, 1 Jun 2014 (Credit: Chuck Foster)

The "alternative" 50th Anniversary special for Doctor Who, The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, is to receive an official release on DVD, its co-star Colin Baker revealed at the DWAS convention Myth Makers this afternoon. The actor reported that it would appear on an as-yet unscheduled special set featuring former Doctor Matt Smith.

No other details of what the overall set will comprise are available at present, though it is likely to be released both on DVD and Blu-ray format later this year.

The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot tells the tale of the attempts of 'classic' Doctors Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Peter Davison (who also wrote and directed the piece) to appear in the 50th Anniversary adventure, and their various encounters and mishaps along the way!

(with thanks to Jon Dear)

FILTER: - WHO50 - Blu-ray/DVD - Colin Baker

Doctor Who Celebration: The Regenerations panel full video

Wednesday, 16 April 2014 - Reported by Melad Moshiri

An extended video collating three of the Regenerations panels at the Doctor Who Celebration has been uploaded onto the BBC's 50 Years of Doctor Who website.

Recorded at the Excel arena in London on the 22nd and 23rd November and moderated by Nicholas Briggs, the panel brought together former doctors Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy before the celebratory simulcast broadcast of The Day of the Doctor.

Discussed were the series' 2005 revival, the current TARDIS set, an anecdote from Tom about improvising in The Face of Evil, what Doctor each of them would play discounting themselves and the actors' reactions to regeneration scenes. (also available in a separate YouTube video).

In a string of three days from November 22nd to the 24th at the Excel, the event saw fans from across the globe visiting the celebration, alongside cast and crew, in honour of the show as part of the anniversary weekend.

Acknowledgements: With Thanks to Ed Stradling

FILTER: - UK - Tom Baker - Nicholas Briggs - Peter Davison - Sylvester McCoy - Colin Baker

Doctor Doodle

Friday, 14 March 2014 - Reported by Marcus

A doodle by Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker, is being auctioned for charity as part of National Doodle Day 2014.

The event is to raise money for Epilepsy Action with celebrities donating doodles to be auctioned on ebay.

Other Doctor Who related stars taking part include John Hurt, Bruno Langley; Martin Jarvis; Terry Molloy, Bill Nighy, Felicity Kendal, Honor Blackman, Ian McNeice, Martin Clunes, Maureen Lipman, Roger Lloyd Pack, Nerys Hughes, Imelda Staunton, Sylvia Syms and Sir Derek Jacobi.

The auction is open until Sunday. Bids can be made via the website.

A doodle by Colin Baker was also auctioned in 2005.

FILTER: - Charities - John Hurt - Colin Baker

Doctor Roundup

Friday, 21 February 2014 - Reported by Marcus

A new art portrait of Tom Baker has been released to celebrate the actor's 80th Birthday.

The print, by photographer Oliver McNeil, is for sale as a high quality art print. It joins the range of exclusive portraits of the man who played the fourth Doctor.

Each one is approximately 18 inches by 12 inches and can be purchased framed or unframed in the UK and unframed in the rest of the world. They will be autographed personally by Tom Baker who will personalise each piece of work on request.

Full details from Legend Photography

Tom Baker will be at the Stamp Centre in London in order to meet fans and sign autographs on Thursday 20th March 2014. On Saturday 29th March 2014, he will be at the London Film Memorabilia Convention at Central Hall, Westminster, where he will also meet fans and sign autographs.

Colin Baker is to appear in a new drama, Finding Richard, based on the discovery of the bones of King Richard III in a car park in Leicester in 2012

Baker will play the grandad of a boy who starts his own quest when he hears the story of the recovery. The short film, to be shot on location in Leicestershire, has been co-written by director Rhys Davies and producer Doug Cubin. It is due to be submitted to Cannes Film Festival in early March.

Baker told the Leicester Mercury

I am excited about taking part in this project. I receive many scripts from successful or aspiring filmmakers and am rarely able to participate, unfortunately. However, I'll make no bones about it, when I read Finding Richard, I knew I had to try to find time to play grandad. It's an impressive, gentle and sensitive script, so I have managed to squeeze the time between trips to the USA and New Zealand and am looking forward to joining the team in Leicester.

David Tennant has been filming Gracepoint, the US version of the ITV drama Broadchurch.

The FOX adaptation is being filmed in and around Victoria, Canada, with Tennant playing Emmett Carver, based on the character of Scottish DI Alec Hardy in the UK version of the drama. Filming is taking place in Sidney, Island View Beach and Brentwood Bay.

The 10 episodes will be filmed around the area for approximately four months. A number of pictures are available on Flikr.

FILTER: - Tom Baker - David Tennant - Colin Baker

Big Finish: December releases

Wednesday, 25 December 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Afterlife
Starring Sylvester McCoy as The Doctor, with Sophie Aldred as Ace and Philip Olivier as Hex

Hex is dead. And a distraught Ace holds the Doctor responsible.

She forces him to take a trip to 21st century Liverpool to break the news to Hex's beloved nan and, to pay tribute to Thomas Hector Schofield, the pair seek out his family and friends to tell them of his adventures. They're helped by Private Sally Morgan, who has her own peace to find.

The Doctor, Ace and Sally must each face the fallout of the loss of their friend - to commemorate him, remember him, and finally to move on. But can they do it together, or will their attempts drive them apart?

Producer David Richardson says:

It’s the end of one era, and the beginning of another as the Doctor must face the consequences of his own actions, and mourn a fallen friend. I think, in this story, Sylvester McCoy delivers his best performance at Big Finish - in fact,it’s one of THE very best performances I’ve ever heard at Big Finish. So delicate, and powerful and memorable… it will break your heart.

The Dying Light (available to order)
Starring Frazer Hines as Jamie, Wendy Padbury as Zoe, with Terry Molloy as Quadrigger Stoyn

The TARDIS materialises on a dying world circling a dying sun, where the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe are welcomed to Sanctuary - an entire monastery carved out of a mountain.

But little here is quite what it seems.

Quadrigger Stoyn has waited through the centuries. And it is time for the Doctor to pay for his first terrible mistake.

David Richardson says:

The second in the Stoyn Trilogy, which tells the story of an abandoned Time Lord from key points in the Doctor’s lives. This time we are directly before The War Games, as the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe find Stoyn on a dying world. With Frazer playing both the Doctor and Jamie, and with Wendy Padbury and Terry Molloy with him, this feels very much like an authentic story from the late 1960s.

Night of the Stormcrow (available to order)
Starring Tom Baker as The Doctor, Louise Jameson as Leela

High atop Mount McKerry sits the observatory. For years now it's been watching the skies. Now something's watching back. Something dark and huge that blots out the stars. Something with giant wings. Something that kills.

When the TARDIS is struck mid-flight, the Doctor and Leela crash-land on the mountain to find they are not the only aliens to be visiting. Beings of nothing infest the complex, staff members are dead or mad. As the survivors argue amongst themselves and attempt to take advantage of the situation, a creature vast and terrible is coming ever closer.

A creature called... Stormcrow.

David Richardson says:

We asked writer Marc Platt to give us a scary story and that’s precisely what he did, as the Doctor and Leela arrive at a remote observatory that has discovered a creature that appears in the early hours of the morning. Gothic and doom-laden, this is one to listen to with the lights off.

The Lost Stories: The Mega (Credit: Big Finish)

The Mega (available to order)
Starring Katy Manning as Jo Grant and Richard Franklin as Mike Yates

"This is a warning. Your aggression cannot go unchecked. The West must disarm. We will make you disarm."

When an assassination follows the first demonstration of a deadly new weapon, it appears that an alien race has fired the opening salvo in a new war – a war… for peace.

But is that truly their intent? The Doctor is unsure. The answer lies deep in the heart of a distant country. A place where a man might be a hero or a traitor. Where a man has to face the menace… of the Mega.

David Richardson says:

The end of The Lost Stories, which has been close to my heart for four years. The Mega is our sole Third Doctor outing, as Katy Manning and Richard Franklin tell a story full of action, suspense… and hideous alien monsters that would have been made with CSO. Earthbound 1970s Who revisited!

In addition, subscribers to the main range will also received the bonus story below:

Trial of the Valeyard (Credit: Big Finish)

The Trial of the Valeyard
Starring Colin Baker as The Doctor), Michael Jayston as The Valeyard, and Lynda Bellingham as The Inquisitor

There is some evil in all of us – even the Doctor. Transported aboard the Time Lords' orbiting courtroom, the Doctor once again encounters the Valeyard, an amalgamation of the darker sides of his nature. This time, however, the Doctor isn't in the dock. This time, the Valeyard is the defendant, accused of a crime so terrible that the presiding Inquisitor is forbidden to reveal it even to the court, nor even to his counsel for the defence… the Doctor.

If the Valeyard is found guilty, he'll be executed. Execute the Valeyard, and the secret of his origins dies with him. A secret that the Doctor is desperate to know… and which the Time Lords will stop at nothing to protect.

David Richardson says:

This one plays almost like part 15 of The Trial of the Time Lord, as the Sixth Doctor is reunited with the Valeyard and the Inquisitor in the Time Lord courtroom, to unravel some mysteries of the Valeyard’s existence. This one is a very contained drama that allows Colin Baker, Lynda Bellingham and Michael Jayston to fly - and it was wonderful to see them back together again.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Tom Baker - Sylvester McCoy - Colin Baker - Big Finish

"Oh Yes It Is!"

Saturday, 21 December 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Another Yuletide season, and another chance to indulge in the the tradition of pantomime ...

Colin Baker in Aladdin, Anvil Arts Basingstoke, 2013

Colin Baker (The Sixth Doctor)
Aladdin, Anvil Arts, Basingstoke
12 December - 5 January

Starring Colin Baker (Doctor Who, I'm a Celebrity) as Abanazer, Derek Moran (Channel 5's Milkshake) as Wishee Washee and Ian Good as Widow Twankey

The wicked sorcerer Abanazer tries to get his hands on the fabled magic lamp and rule the world. Only the bravery of Aladdin can stop him - if his silly brother Wishee Washee doesn't mess everything up first!

This year's production stars the ever-popular Colin Baker (Dr Who, I'm a Celebrity) as Abanazer, Derek Moran from Milkshake as Wishee Washee, and, back by popular demand, Ian Good as Widow Twankey. Join them and the rest of the cast on a magic carpet ride of adventure. With superb sets, colourful costumes, great song and dance routines and plenty of comedy, this traditional pantomime is one for all the family to enjoy.

Please note: this performance includes special effects including strobe lighting, flashing lights, haze, UV lighting, and pyrotechnics including real flame effects.

John Barrowman and the Krankies in Dick McWhittington, Glasgow SECC, 2013

John Barrowman (Jack)
Dick McWhittington, Glasgow SECC
14 December - 5 January

John Barrowman returns to the SECC as Dick accompanied by The Krankies as Councillor Krankie and Jimmy Krankie in this year's spectacular pantomime adventure, Dick McWhittington.

With spectacular special effects, amazing 3D sequences, stunning costumes and lots of audience participation this magical family show will be everything you would expect from Glasgow’s biggest pantomime.

Book today to join us on this very unique Scottish adventure!

Bonnie Langford in Cinderella, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Guildford, 2013

Bonnie Langford (Mel)
Cinderella, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
6 December - 12 January

Following her triumphant return to London’s West End, Surrey-born singer, dancer, actress and entertainer Bonnie Langford will star as Fairy Snow, leading a truly fabulous cast in this year’s magical family pantomime, Cinderella.

Bonnie is joined on stage by one of the country’s top performers; the inimitable Kit Hesketh-Harvey as an Ugly Sister. Kit’s sister in crime is none other than Surrey and Hampshire’s favourite breakfast show host, Eagle Radio’s Peter Gordon.

Other names associated with Doctor Who include: Nigel Havers (Peter Dalton, The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith) in Robin Hood at the Theatre Royal Plymouth; Leslie Grantham (Kiston, Resurrection of the Daleks) in Dick Whittington at the Grove Theatre Dunstable; Kai Owen (Rhys, Torchwood) in Aladdin at the Royal Spa Centre Leamington Spa; Susan Penhaligon (Lakis, The Time Monster) in Sleeping Beauty at the Queens Theatre Barnstaple; Tony Adams (Elgin, The Green Death) in Sleeping Beauty at the King's Theatre Southsea; Bradley Walsh (Spellman, The Day of the Clown) in Cinderella at the Orchard Theatre Dartford; and also Brian Blessed (Yrcanos, Mindwarp) in the Christmas show The Snow Gorilla at the Rose Theatre Kingston.

Other forms of entertainment are available.

FILTER: - Special Events - John Barrowman - Colin Baker

Tom Baker - Happiest Time of My Life

Sunday, 24 November 2013 - Reported by Marcus

Tom Baker has told the BBC that playing the Doctor was the happiest time of his whole life.

The veteran actor was interviewed for the BBC Three show Doctor Who Live: The Afterparty , screened directly after the 50th Anniversary episode in which Baker made a surprise cameo appearance playing The Curator. It's been my entire existence. I'm delighted to be celebrating it, he said. The fans give me the credit for making Saturday more fun than it really was, in between the football, Basil Brush and Bruce Forsyth. I was right up there with all those legends and I'm grateful..

The live show featured interviews many previous Doctors and Companions from the series including Carole Ann Ford and William Russell, both of whom appeared in the first episode, An Unearthly Child, fifty years ago.

Earlier in the day five Doctors, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Matt Smith received a standing ovation at the Doctor Who Convention at London's ExCeL Centre. When asked about their favourite Doctor most cited Patrick Troughton. He always managed to sort things out without you knowing he'd done it, said Colin Baker, without Patrick none of us would be here.

FILTER: - Tom Baker - Matt Smith - Peter Davison - Sylvester McCoy - Colin Baker

The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot

Sunday, 24 November 2013 - Reported by Marcus

The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot - a star-studded special written and directed by Peter Davison and starring Davison alongside Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy, with Paul McGann appearing too - is now available on the BBC iPlayer.

With the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who about to film, the 'Classic' Doctors are keen to be involved. But do they manage it? (BBC iPlayer)

It is also scheduled to be broadcast again tonight via the Red Button service, between 9.25pm and 10.35pm.

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Peter Davison - Sylvester McCoy - Colin Baker

The Five Doctors(ish)

Friday, 22 November 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC have revealed a new Red Button video this coming Saturday evening:

The Five Doctors(ish)
BBC Red Button, Saturday 23rd November, 10:05pm
Duration 30 minutes

A star studded special written and directed by Peter Davison. With the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who about to film, the 'Classic' Doctors are keen to be involved. But do they manage it?

The project, as noted above, has been driven by Peter Davison, and also has an associated Twitter account to follow, DayOfTheFishDr.

The Five Doctors(ish) (Credit: Day Of The Fish Dr/Twitter)

Davison, Sylvester McCoy and Colin Baker were spotted filming a "protest" outside BBC Television Centre during the summer, sporting signs such as "No Classics? No 50th!!" and "Have A Heart. Classic Doctors Want A Part". As Conor Keegan observed on Twitter at the time: "Sylvester McCoy and Peter Davison outside TVC right now! Protesting that they aren't in the 50th ann Doctor Who! Mental."; and "Colin Baker has arrived. Outside BBC Television Centre right now, protesting.". Other names associated with the spoof drama include Sean Pertwee, who tweeted an apparent call sheet with his, Paul McGann and Olivia Colman's names listed.

FILTER: - Online - Peter Davison - Sylvester McCoy - Colin Baker

The Light at the End released early

Thursday, 24 October 2013 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

Big Finish Productions have released The Light at the End, their 50th anniversary Doctor Who story, one month before the programme's actual anniversary:

Light at the End special edition cover (Credit: Big Finish)

We’re very pleased to announce that today is the day we’re beginning the release of our 50th anniversary Doctor Who story The Light at the End. We’re beginning with the Limited Edition CD box set.

It's the 23rd of October, one month ahead of the anniversary of Doctor Who on the 23rd of November, and as of today, the digital download releases for all versions of Doctor Who: The Light at the End will be made available. This includes the Limited Edition, the Standard Edition and the Vinyl Edition.

Mailing out of the Limited Edition CD version has begun today.

Nick Briggs, executive producer: ‘The Standard Edition CDs should start to be mailed out this coming Friday, and the Vinyl Edition will start mailing on November 2nd.

‘With the anniversary of Doctor Who imminent,’ continues Nick, ‘and everyone champing at the bit for the celebrations to begin, we thought it only right and proper that our special anniversary full-cast audio should be released a tiny bit early. Our plans for this very nearly went awry when the company responsible for the physical production of our CDs (and LPs!), Key Productions, experienced a series of unforeseeable problems beyond their control. This is what has caused the slight delay on the Standard Edition and the slightly longer delay of the Vinyl Edition. But for all our customers who can access the digital versions of all these releases, they can listen straight away.

‘We know that those customers who favour listening to the CD or the LP rather than downloading a digital version, might find this a little frustrating, but we thought this course of action would benefit the vast majority of our loyal listeners. We offer our sincerest apologies to any customers who find this decision doesn’t suit them, and hope they will understand our reasons for going ahead with the releases now.’

So, for Big Finish Productions, the 50th anniversary has started early. And for any of you who haven't yet ordered your copy of Doctor Who: The Light at the End, it will be on sale at the Dimensions 2013 convention (all tickets now sold) in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctors (Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann) will be making guest appearances.

When Big Finish announced on Facebook and Twitter that The Light at the End was available for download, their website was temporarily overloaded by the sudden, strong demand. These problems were subsequently resolved, but Big Finish requested that customers wait to download the story if possible:

As you may have seen, the BF Website is back up and running again. But we would ask that if you can possibly wait a few hours to download The Light at the End, please do. The problem we have discovered is that although we have ample bandwidth to support the download of the quantity of data needed (loads of downloads of The Light at the End) another issue has emerged. The problem is being caused by the sheer number of customers visiting the site at the same time. We have to confess that this is the unforeseen circumstance we simply didn't anticipate. It is because the demand is so unprecedentedly huge that we didn't know to check this before releasing. The analogy that's been used to explain this to us is that it's a bit like having one shop assistant and thousands of customers all arriving at once. Our IT people will continuing monitoring the site and will make all efforts to correct any hold-ups as the hours pass. But, as we said, if you can possibly manage to wait to initiate your download, we would very much appreciate your patience. Huge apologies from all of us here at Big Finish.

FILTER: - Audio - Tom Baker - WHO50 - Peter Davison - Sylvester McCoy - Paul McGann - Colin Baker

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