Brain of Morbius Missing Music RestoredBookmark and Share

Thursday, 22 May 2008 - Reported by DWNP Archive
Posted By John Bowman

The forthcoming DVD release of The Brain of Morbius in the UK will see the story presented as originally transmitted for the first time in more than 30 years, thanks to work by the Restoration Team and, in particular,Mark Ayres.

In an update to the team's website, Steve Roberts tells how they solved the mystery of a short section of incidental music that was there in episode one when the story was broadcast in January 1976 but never made it to subsequent releases, transmissions and even the BBC transmission masters.

The four-part Tom Baker story is due to be released on July 21.

Extras will include:
  • A commentary by Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen and Philip Madoc, producer Philip Hinchcliffe and directorChristopher Barry.

  •  A 32-minute feature entitled Getting A Head, in which the making of the story is recalled by the production team and cast.

  • A six-minute feature called Designs on Karn that sees Barry Newbery talk about how he created the planet on which the story is set.

  •  A 3D CGI tour of the BBC Television Centre studio in which the adventure was taped, showing how the sets were arranged and built.

    (With thanks to Tony Clark.)




  • FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

    Doctor Who Adventures 65Bookmark and Share

    Thursday, 22 May 2008 - Reported by Marcus
    Doctor Who Adventures issue 65, is out now across the United Kingdom.
    Press Release

    Freema Agyeman talks about goo and Who!

    There’s an interview with Doctor Who star Freema Agyeman in the next issue of Doctor Who Adventures. She talks about what it’s like to be back, new companion Donna, and about all the goo she was covered in for the part of the Martha clone!

    What was it like seeing the Doctor with a new companion? "One of the main factors of the show is change so it didn’t feel that strange. I knew I was never going to do it forever and ever. I was just grateful Martha was given a chance. Now it’s Donna’s turn!"

    How about her relationship with the Doctor? "She’s slightly outgrown the Doctor, in the sense of that wide-eyedness that she had the first time round! She’s qualified as a doctor now and is working with UNIT. Plus, she’s engaged, so there’s a slightly different dynamic."

    Are Sontarans as scary as Daleks? "I think Daleks are really menacing. Maybe because you can’t see their faces. But as soon as the Sontarans take their helmets off, some kids will giggle, as they look a bit like a potato!”

    On being covered in goo. "I have to say being out in a freezing quarry and getting in that muddy bog in episode six was easier than doing the gloop scene in episode five! It was definitely my yuckiest ever moment in Doctor Who!

    This issue of Doctor Who Adventures comes with a free set of Doctor Who monster rollers plus an Ood dress-up kit – which includes yucky Ood fronds! Perfect for an instant Ood appeal.

    Other highlights include:
    Win: Design a Dalek and win a fantastic Dalek voice changer helmet!
    Three cool posters: The Doctor, Donna and Agatha Christie from The Unicorn and the Wasp, Martha, and the buzzing Vespiform.
    Tales from the TARDIS: Trouble with Mr Halpen in Planet of the Ood.
    Activity: Make an Ood orb to go with your Ood fronds! Plus a creepy Hath mask!
    Doctor Who Confidential: How a car splashes into the water in The Sontaran Stratagem.
    Doctor's Data: Fourth Doctor facts.
    Comic strip: Something strange is happening on a farm in a new comic strip adventure called Windswept.
    ALL THIS AND LOADS MORE!




    FILTER: - Magazines - DWA

    Doctor's Daughter - Final RatingsBookmark and Share

    Wednesday, 21 May 2008 - Reported by Marcus
    Final figures released by BARB give episode Six of Series Four, The Doctor's Daughter, an official rating of 7.33 million viewers. The programme was the 10th most watched for the week on British Television and the 4th most watched on BBC1. The only programmes to beat it in the ratings were the two big soaps, EastEnders and Coronation Street, and Saturdays Britain's Got Talent.

    On multi-channel television, the Sunday BBC3 repeat was watched by 0.95 million viewers and was the 10th most watched programme on multichannel for the week.

    Full ratings data, including data for iPlayer downloads can be found in the Doctor Who Forum.
    Top Programmes w/e 11 May 2008

    1 CORONATION STREET (MON 2031) - 10.73 - ITV1
    2 CORONATION STREET (MON 1934) - 10.07 - ITV1   
    3 CORONATION STREET (FRI 2029) - 8.99 - ITV1   
    4 EASTENDERS (MON 1959) - 8.92 - BBC1
    5 CORONATION STREET (FRI 1934) - 8.75 - ITV1   
    6 EASTENDERS (THU 1931) - 8.62 - BBC1
    7 CORONATION STREET (WED 1930) - 8.57 - ITV1   
    8 BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT (SAT 2000) - 8.17 - ITV1   
    9 EASTENDERS (FRI 1959) - 8.16 - BBC1
    10 DOCTOR WHO (SAT 1844) - 7.33 - BBC1
    11 THE APPRENTICE (WED 2100) - 7.17 - BBC1
    12 MIDSOMER MURDERS (SUN 2005) - 6.88 - ITV1   
    13 EMMERDALE (MON 1903) - 6.88 - ITV1   
    14 FLOOD (MON 2104) - 6.79 - ITV1
    15 EMMERDALE (FRI 1902) - 6.53 - ITV1
    16 EASTENDERS (TUE 1931) - 6.50 - BBC1
    17 WAKING THE DEAD (TUE 2100) - 6.46 - BBC1
    18 WAKING THE DEAD (MON 2100) - 6.42 - BBC1
    19 THE BRITISH SOAP AWARDS 2008 (WED 1958) - 6.32 - ITV1
    20 EMMERDALE (WED 1859) - 6.25 - ITV1

    Top Multi Channel Programmes w/e 11 May 2008

    1 GLADIATORS (Sun 1759) - 1,564,000 - Sky One
    2 EASTENDERS (Tue 2202) - 1,449,000 - BBC3   
    3 FORD SUPER SUNDAY (Sun 1402) - 1,226,000 - Sky Sports
    4 LIVE FORD FOOTBALL SPECIAL-MATCH (Mon 1530) - 1,177,000 - Sky Sports
    5 BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT (Sun 2004) - 1,122,000 - ITV2   
    6 HEROES (Thu 2233) - 1,105,000 - BBC3   
    7 DONT FORGET THE LYRICS (Sun 1902) - 1,039,000 - Sky One
    8 EASTENDERS (Thu 2203) - 1,001,000 - BBC3   
    9 BRITAIN'S GOT MORE TALENT AUDITIONS (Sun 2105) - 960,000 - ITV2   
    10 DOCTOR WHO (Sun 2001) - 946,000 - BBC3   
    11 LOST (Sun 2101) - 905,000 - Sky One
    12 BRITAIN'S GOT MORE TALENT AUDITIONS (Sat 2159) - 868,000 - ITV2   
    13 EASTENDERS (Fri 2202) - 808,000 - BBC3   
    14 GAVIN AND STACEY (Mon 2132) - 786,000 - BBC3   
    15 60 SECONDS (Mon 2159) - 738,000 - BBC3   
    16 EASTENDERS (Mon 2202) - 736,000 - BBC3   
    17 HOME AND AWAY (Fri 1828) - 719,000 - Fiver
    18 HOME AND AWAY (Wed 1829) - 707,000 - Fiver
    19 DEC APPEAL (Thu 2200) - 678,000 - BBC3   
    20 60 SECONDS (Tue 2159) - 655,000 - BBC3   

    Source BARB




    FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30

    Steven Moffat to succeed Davies as Executive ProducerBookmark and Share

    Tuesday, 20 May 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight
    The BBC Press Office and various media sources (originally broken by MediaGuardian) have announced thatSteven Moffat is to succeed Russell T Davies as the chief writer and executive producer of Doctor Who when it returns for its fifth series.

    The article states that Moffat will replace Davies in 2009, taking over as "showrunner" for the fifth series in 2010. Moffat has been responsible for several episodes of the revived Doctor Who to date, including the BAFTA Award-winning "Blink" and the forthcoming two-parter "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead".

    Davies is quoted as saying: "It's been a delight and an honour working with Steven, and I can't wait to see where his extraordinary imagination takes the Doctor. Best of all, I get to be a viewer again, watching on a Saturday night!"

    The BBC press release includes a comment from Moffat himself: "My entire career has been a Secret Plan to get this job. I applied before but I got knocked back 'cos the BBC wanted someone else. Also I was seven. Anyway, I'm glad the BBC has finally seen the light, and it's a huge honour to be following Russell into the best - and the toughest - job in television. I say toughest 'cos Russell's at my window right now, pointing and laughing."

    Moffat will continue as a director on the board of Hartswood Films, which produced Coupling and Jekyll, where he is also working on a new comedy Adam & Eve with wife Sue Vertue.




    FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Russell T Davies - Production

    Unicorn and the Wasp - AI and Digital RatingsBookmark and Share

    Monday, 19 May 2008 - Reported by Marcus
    Episode seven of series four, The Unicorn and the Wasp, achieved an Appreciation Index of 86. It was the highest score for Saturday on the two main channels.

    With overnights now available for the whole week, Doctor Who is currently the 8th most watched programme of the week. Final figures will be released by BARB in 9 days time.

    Saturday's edition of Doctor Who Confidential was watched by 0.63 million viewers, according to unofficial overnights. The programme, which had a share of 3.2 %, was the 2nd most watched on multi channel television on Saturday.

    Sunday's BBC3 repeat of The Unicorn and the Wasp got an overnight audience of 0.57 million, a 2.8% share and was the 8th most watched programme on multi channel TV for Sunday. Doctor Who Confidential got an audience of0.23 million for the repeat showing.

    Meanwhile last Friday's repeat of The Doctor's Daughter got an audience of 0.45 million and was the 6th most watched multi channel programme for the day.




    FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30

    Unicorn and the Wasp - Overnight RatingsBookmark and Share

    Sunday, 18 May 2008 - Reported by Marcus

    Unofficial figures show that episode seven of Series Four, The Unicorn and the Wasp, was watched by 7.7 million viewers, giving it a 36.1% share of the total television audience.

    The programme was helped by a later start and wet weather across much of the United Kingdom and achieved an increase of over a million on last week's figures.

    The top rated programme was still ITV1's Britain's Got Talent with 8.6 million. Doctor Who was the highest rated programme on BBC1 for the day, beating Casualty by 1.3 million.

    The programme is currently the 8th most watched of the week, almost guaranteeing a final Top ten place. Final figures will be released by BARB in ten days time.




    FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30

    Eurovision Puts DW On Hold Again - UPDATED MAY 20Bookmark and Share

    Friday, 16 May 2008 - Reported by Marcus
    The Series Four run of Doctor Who will take a break for one week on Saturday, May 24 because of the Eurovision Song Contest.

    The Radio Times listings for that day show I'd Do Anything from 6.50pm to 7.50pm, the National Lottery draws at 7.50pm and Eurovision following from 8pm until 11.15pm.

    Episode eight, Silence In The Library, which is the first instalment of a Steven Moffat two-parter, will air onSaturday, May 31 instead, as confirmed by the BBC Press Office.

    The same thing happened last year when Series Three episode seven, 42, was pushed back by a week because of the contest. The previous episode, The Lazarus Experiment, was followed by a 'Coming Soon . . . ' trailer to make up for the disappointment. Whether this will happen tomorrow at the conclusion of The Unicorn and the Wasp is currently unknown.

    UPDATE - MAY 20: The official website has announced that a special trailer showing highlights from the rest of Series Four will be shown on Saturday, May 24 at 6.45pm. It will then be available to view online at the official site, where there will also be other bonus treats to help make up for the gap. (NB: The online trailer might only be viewable within the UK.)




    FILTER: - UK - Broadcasting

    Doctor Who Adventures 64Bookmark and Share

    Thursday, 15 May 2008 - Reported by DWNP Archive
    Posted By John Bowman

    The Doctor and his daughter Jenny are on the cover of the new Doctor Who Adventures magazine, out today.

    Issue 64 looks at last Saturday's episode and has a sneak preview of The Unicorn and the Wasp, which airs this coming Saturday.

    The free gift is a special Doctor dress-up kit, with a pair of glasses, a sonic screwdriver and two badges.
      Also in the magazine:
    •  Posters: Martha and the Hath, UNIT's Ross Jenkins, and the High Priestess
    •  Tales from the TARDIS: A scene from The Fires of Pompeii
    •  Activity: How to draw a Pyrovile
    •  Make: An Adipose mask
    •  Quiz: How well do you remember The Doctor's Daughter?
    •  Secrets: Discover how an actor turned into Oodkind
    •  Doctor's Data: Facts about Ood Sigma
    •  Comic strip: Part two of Nightmare on the Boulevard
    •  Win: The final part of the competition to win an Ood head worth 700 pounds




    FILTER: - Magazines - DWA

    Poison Sky - Final RatingsBookmark and Share

    Wednesday, 14 May 2008 - Reported by Marcus
    Final figures released by BARB give episode five of Series Four, The Poison Sky, an official rating of 6.53 million viewers. The programme was the 18th most watched for the week on British Television.

    On multi-channel television, the Sunday BBC3 repeat was watched by 1.09 million viewers and was the 4th most watched programme on multichannel for the week. The Saturday showing of Doctor Who Confidential got 0.61 million viewers and was the 25th most watched programme of the week.

    Full ratings data, including data for iPlayer downloads can be found in the Doctor Who Forum.
    Top Programmes w/e 27 April 2008

    1 CORONATION STREET (MON 2029) - 10.40 - ITV1
    2 CORONATION STREET (MON 1932) - 9.84 - ITV1
    3 EASTENDERS (MON 2000) - 9.79 - BBC1
    4 CORONATION STREET (WED 1932) - 9.50 - ITV1
    5 EASTENDERS (TUE 1930) - 9.23 - BBC1
    6 CORONATION STREET (FRI 1934) - 9.13 - ITV1
    7 BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT (SAT 2007) - 9.12 - ITV1
    8 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE (TUE 1928) - 8.98 - ITV1
    9 EASTENDERS (FRI 2000) - 8.72 - BBC1
    10 EASTENDERS (THU 1930) - 8.46 - BBC1
    11 CORONATION STREET (SUN 1936) - 8.30 - ITV1
    12 FLOOD (SUN 2008) - 7.69 - ITV1
    13 THE APPRENTICE (WED 2100) - 7.28 - BBC1
    14 EMMERDALE (WED 1900) - 7.20 - ITV1
    15 EMMERDALE (TUE 1859) - 7.19 - ITV1
    16 EMMERDALE (MON 1901) - 7.19 - ITV1
    17 WAKING THE DEAD (MON 2101) - 7.06 - BBC1
    18 DOCTOR WHO (SAT 1819) - 6.53 - BBC1
    19 EMMERDALE (FRI 1903) - 6.52 - ITV1
    20 WAKING THE DEAD (TUE 2100) - 6.39 - BBC1


    Top Multi Channel Programmes w/e 27 April 2008

    1 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LIVE (Wed 1900) 2,486,000 - Sky Sports
    2 UEFA CUP (2007- 2008) (Thu 1928) 1,224,000 - ITV4   
    3 HEROES (Thu 2229) 1,195,000 - BBC3   
    4 DOCTOR WHO (Sun 2001) 1,086,000 - BBC3   
    5 LIVE FORD FOOTBALL SPECIAL-MATCH (Sat 1200) 1,051,000 - Sky Sports
    6 EASTENDERS (Tue 2201) 1,034,000 - BBC3   
    7 FAMILY GUY (Sun 2200) 986,000 - BBC3   
    8 EASTENDERS (Thu 2159) 951,000 - BBC3   
    9 HOME AND AWAY (Wed 1829) 944,000 - Fiver (was
    10 FORD SUPER SUNDAY (Sun 1536) 942,000 - Sky Sports
    11 KATIE AND PETER: THE NEXT CHAPTER (Thu 2059) 871,000 - ITV2   
    12 BRITAIN'S GOT MORE TALENT AUDITIONS (Sat 2209) 803,000 - ITV2   
    13 FORD SUPER SUNDAY (Sun 1259) 798,000 - Sky Sports
    14 LOST (Sun 2103) 787,000 - Sky One
    15 HOME AND AWAY (Mon 1829) 786,000 - Fiver (was
    16 EASTENDERS (Mon 2201) 740,000 - BBC3   
    17 HOME AND AWAY (Thu 1828) 708,000 - Fiver (was
    18 HOME AND AWAY (Fri 1829) 698,000 - Fiver (was
    19 BRITAIN'S GOT MORE TALENT AUDITIONS (Sun 2107) 688,000 - ITV2   
    20 EASTENDERS (Fri 2201) 676,000 - BBC3   


    Source BARB




    FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30

    Tennant backs academy campaignBookmark and Share

    Wednesday, 14 May 2008 - Reported by Marcus
    David Tennant has joined the campaign to prevent cutbacks at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. The academy has to make 600,000 pounds of savings in the coming year.

    In a statement Tennant said: "Nothing I have managed to achieve in my career would have happened without my training at the RSAMD. The drama training I received was world class and the idea that the opportunities I got there might be compromised for future generations is deeply upsetting."

    Other famous alumni include Billy Boyd, Robert Carlyle, Tom Conti, Alan Cumming, Emma Fielding, Denis Lawson, Ian Richardson and Ruby Wax.

    Full story from BBC News

    Thanks to Ian Kildin




    FILTER: - David Tennant