Doctor Who Magazine 463Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, 24 July 2013 - Reported by Marcus
The latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine, released Thursday, looks back ten years to the time when it had just been announced that Doctor Who was to return, and asks was the series nearly stopped before it could begin?

In the first part of a look back at how and why Doctor Who was recommissioned back in 2003, the magazine talks to the people who ensured its successful comeback, including the then BBC Controller of Drama Commissioning Jane Tranter, writer Russell T Davies and BBC Wales' Head of Drama Julie Gardner who tells the magazine:
When Michael Grade arrived back at the BBC as Chairman, Mark Thompson was back as Director General. Michael Grade didn't like Doctor Who at all. Mark Thompson actually asked me if we could stop. I said, no, we couldn't!
Also in this issue.
  • Doctor Who’s showrunner and head writer Steven Moffat presents the three pieces that he wrote for the actors that have auditioned for the role of the Twelfth Doctor.
  • Doctor Who author Bob Baker looks back on his career in an interview and speaks of his most famous contribution to the Doctor Who universe: K9, the Doctor’s robotic dog.
  • As we await the announcement of the new star of Doctor Who, journalist Claire Budd and novelist Una McCormack go head-to-head to debate the burning question: Is it time for the Doctor to become a woman?
  • Arriving in the far future, the Fourth Doctor, Harry and Sarah discover that the last survivors of mankind are about to face the deadly, parasitic Wirrn! The Fact of Fiction looks back to one of Doctor Who's all-time great adventures – The Ark In Space – and reveals some surprising new facts
  • It’s 2010, and the dawn of a new era as Matt Smith makes his début as the Eleventh Doctor. The show may have a new leading man and a new style, but it’s still Doctor Who in the latest instalment of the ongoing cruise through Doctor Who history in Countdown to 50.
  • The Time Team take a trip to pre-war England as Chris, Emma, Michael and Will settle down to watch the two-part Tenth Doctor story Human Nature/ The Family of Blood and find that the formidable Family of Blood and their sinister Scarecrow servants are following the Doctor’s trail.
  • Clara’s lunch date with the legendary pilot Amy Johnson has been rudely interrupted by two identical copies of themselves… made from sand! Meanwhile, the Doctor is having trouble with his own doppelganger, and the real enemy is about to make its entrance. The latest comic strip adventure A Wing and a Prayer – written by Scott Gray with art by Mike Collins – continues.
  • Change is an essential part of Doctor Who and has allowed the series to constantly reinvent and reinvigorate itself for 50 years. And, as Jacqueline Rayner tells in this issue’s Relative Dimensions, this means that the series can be a useful tool when teaching children that nothing lasts forever
  • Jon Pertwee is the Doctor, as former Doctor Who Script Editor Andrew Cartmel reviews the new Blu-ray release of the Third Doctor's classic 1970 début adventure Spearhead From Space
  • The Watcher takes a look at Doctor Who episode titles in A History of Doctor Who in 100 Objects, and discovers that the names of colours have become a recent trend
Plus all the latest official news, TV and merchandise reviews, previews, competitions and a prize-winning crossword.




FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Russell T Davies - Jon Pertwee - Matt Smith - DWM

An Unearthly Series - The Origins of a TV LegendBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 23 July 2013 - Reported by Marcus
Coming Soon...
The fifteenth in our series of features telling the story of the creation of Doctor Who, and the people who made it happen.

With the production team now working hard on the new science-fiction series, thoughts in the BBC turned to how the series would be promoted.

It was on Tuesday 23rd July 1963 - exactly 50 years ago today - that Richard Bright, the Television Publicity Organiser, circulated a memo to members of his department. He attached the format document for Doctor Who that gave a brief rundown of how the series would be broadcast, referencing The World of Tim Frazer, a Francis Durbridge crime series that had aired in 1960.
This is the first time we have undertaken a 52-part serial. It will be rather on the Tim Frazer pattern - a series of stories of varying lengths, each one starting during the last episode of the previous one. It will go on the air at 5.20-5.45 on Saturdays and is planned for family viewing with special attention to the 11-14 group.
The format document gave the planned recording times and indicated the series would start mid-November. The date of the first episode was now planned to be broadcast on Saturday 16th November, having recently been pushed back a week thanks to unplanned coverage of athletics from Moscow earlier in July, which had knocked the schedule back a week..
  • Story 1: Written by Anthony Coburn. Directed by Waris Hussein
  • Four Episodes. The story begins the journey and takes the travellers back to 100,000BC and Palaeolithic man. In this story the 'ship' is slightly damaged and forever afterward is erratic in certain sections of its controls.
  • Story 2: Written by Anthony Coburn. Directed by Rex Tucker
  • Six Episodes. This story takes the travellers to somewhere in the 30th Century, forward to the world when it is inhabited only by robots.
  • Story 3: Written by John Lucarotti. Directed by Waris Hussein
  • Seven Episodes. The travellers join the explorer Marco Polo on his Journey to Cathay.
Bright gave his team some details of the people behind the new series.
Verity Lambert is a twenty-seven year old girl who has done a lot of commercial TV over here and has worked in the USA for David Susskind. She has been put on programme contract for a year to handle this new serial. The two directors, Waris Hussein and Rex Tucker, will be in charge of alternate stories beginning with Hussein on No. 1. Anthony Coburn is writing the first two stories and the third will be by John Lucarotti who has written a lot of television in the USA, Canada and commercial over here.
While the press department was being briefed on the new serial, a new dispute was being settled by Ronald Waldman, the General Manager of Television Enterprises, and R G Walford, the Head of Copyright. It involved a company called Zenith Film Productions Ltd which had contacted the BBC, claiming the idea for Doctor Who had originally come from them. Their claim related to a puppet series they had proposed to the Corporation called The Time Travellers, which the BBC had turned down because of its similarity to Doctor Who. Zenith now claimed that the BBC had stolen the idea and used it to create their own series. On Thursday 25th July, Walford wrote to the company to refute the allegations.
The first important point I must make is that this Dr Who series was devised jointly by Sydney Newman and Donald Wilson, and I have ascertained that at the time when they worked it out they had no knowledge whatever of the suggested puppet series The Time Travellers. The scriptwriter of the first ten episodes of Dr Who is Anthony Coburn who likewise had no knowledge whatever of The Time Travellers....

... while the idea of the two programmes is similar, ie the idea of crossing time borders, the two series are themselves completely different, one being for puppets and the other being for live actors, and there could be no possibility of there being plagiarism of any sort.
The BBC did offer Zenith a special ex-gratia payment of 100 guineas as an offer of goodwill, on the understanding that it was without prejudice and that the offer made no admittance of legal liability.

Next EpisodeSign on the dotted line
SOURCES: The Handbook: The First Doctor – The William Hartnell Years: 1963-1966, David J Howe, Mark Stammers, Stephen James Walker (Doctor Who Books, 1994)




FILTER: - The Story of Doctor Who

Doctor Who at San Diego Comic Con 2013Bookmark and Share

Monday, 22 July 2013 - Reported by Harry Ward
Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman and Steven Moffat (Credit: BBC America) Doctor Who once again had a presence at this year's San Diego Comic Con. Fans in the packed Hall H were treated to an exclusive screening of a trailer for the 50th Anniversary episode as well as a trailer for An Adventure In Space and Time.

Steven Moffat told fans who saw the trailer to not leak any audio or video footage of it or there would be no more exclusives at the convention in future years.

The panel was hosted by Craig Ferguson and consisted of Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman, Steven Moffat, Marcus Wilson, Mark Gatiss and David Bradley. Before the panel took place, Smith disguised himself as Bart Simpson as he wandered the convention floor while talking to Doctor Who fans in an American accent.

The cast and crew had a busy few days doing lots of interviews. A selection of these are below.

As part of Entertainment Weekly's Star Portrait series, Smith, Coleman, Gatiss and Bradley had their pictures taken for the publication.
Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman (Credit: Entertainment Weekly) Matt Smith (Credit: Entertainment Weekly) Jenna Coleman (Credit: Entertainment Weekly) David Bradley and Mark Gatiss (Credit: Entertainment Weekly)

Karen Gillan takes off her wig (Credit: Getty)
Karen Gillan shocked fans at Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy panel by showing off a new look. The actress will be playing Nebula in the film which required her to shave her hair off. She was wearing a wig before she took it off at the panel. The video footage of that is viewable here. She was also there taking part in interviews for NTSF:SD:SUV. A clip featuring Gillan in one of the episodes can be viewed here.

John Barrowman was also at the convention as part of the Arrow panel. In an interview with That Hashtag Show he discussed Doctor Who and said he would like a female Doctor. During the fan questions of the Doctor Who panel, Moffat was asked why Captain Jack wasn't in the 50th Anniversary episode, to which he replied: "How do you know what is or is not in the 50th? I've lied my arse off for months - you know nothing, so don't make presumptions."




FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Special Events - USA - Karen Gillan - WHO50

Greatest enemy returns for 50th Anniversary SpecialBookmark and Share

Monday, 22 July 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC have officially announced that the Doctor's greatest enemy will return to Doctor Who in the 50th Anniversary Special, releasing a number of photos portraying them in a "blaze of glory":

50th Anniversary Special: Second Official Dalek photo (Credit: BBC Doctor Who (via Twitter)) 50th Anniversary Special: Third Official Dalek photo (Credit: BBC Doctor Who (via Twitter)) 50th Anniversary Special: First Official Dalek photo (Credit: BBC Doctor Who (via Twitter))

The episode's writer, Steven Moffat, said:
The Doctor once said that you can judge a man by the quality of his enemies, so it's fitting that for this very special episode, he should be facing the greatest enemies of all.





FILTER: - Day of the Doctor

David Spenser 1934-2013Bookmark and Share

Sunday, 21 July 2013 - Reported by Marcus
The actor David Spenser has died at the age of 79.

Spenser appeared in six episodes of Doctor Who, playing the young Tibetan Monk Thonmi, who helped the Second Doctor fight the Great Intelligence in the 1967 story The Abominable Snowmen.

Born in British Ceylon, Spenser began his acting career at the age of 11, working for BBC Radio on Children's Hour. He became a household name in the 1940s when author Richmal Crompton cast him as William Brown in the first radio adaptation of her series of short stories Just William. As a member of the BBC Drama Repertory Company, he went on to play some of the great Shakespearean and other classical roles on radio, including Romeo to Judi Dench's Juliet.

Spenser moved into television in 1950 and appeared in many well-known productions, including playing Hurree Jamset Ram Singh in Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School and Saint Mark in the 1960 production of Paul of Tarsus, which starred Patrick Troughton as Saint Paul. He played the Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice, with Maggie Smith and Frank Finlay. Other roles included parts in Dixon of Dock Green, Play for Today and Z Cars.

In 1987 he formed Saffron Productions Ltd with his long-term partner Victor Pemberton, making a number of documentary films, including Gwen, A Juliet Remembered and Benny Hill: Clown Imperial for the BBC.

Spenser died yesterday in Spain.




FILTER: - Obituary - Classic Series

BFI Eighth And Tenth Doctor ScreeningsBookmark and Share

Friday, 19 July 2013 - Reported by John Bowman
The BFI today announced details for its celebratory screenings marking the eras of the Eighth and Tenth Doctors - with both happening within a week of each other but in reverse order.

The Tenth Doctor will be honoured on Sunday 29th September at 2pm with the Series 4 two-part finale The Stolen Earth and Journey's End, while the sole TV outing - so far - for the Eighth Doctor will be shown on the big screen on Saturday 5th October at 10am.

The adventures are being shown at BFI Southbank as part of the organisation's Doctor Who At 50 season.

The Series 4 finale episodes - written by Russell T Davies and directed by Graeme Harper - first aired on 28th June and 5th July 2008 respectively, and saw the universe crumbling and a number of planets, including Earth, having been stolen by Davros as part of his plot threatening the whole of reality. Julian Bleach took on the mantle of the Daleks' creator, with all the companions seen in the revamped series uniting with the Doctor to defeat the evil, mad Kaled scientist and the Daleks.

Meanwhile, the big-budget TV Movie - written by Matthew Jacobs and directed by Geoffrey Sax - originally aired in the UK on 27th May 1996 (although it had its global TV premiere in Canada on 12th May 1996, having been filmed entirely in the country) and saw the Seventh Doctor regenerate into the Eighth. It also featured the return of the Master - this time played by Eric Roberts - and a new-look TARDIS interior, in an adventure set in San Francisco on the eve of the year 2000 and with the whole of Earth at stake as the Master attempts to take the Doctor's remaining regenerations.

Tickets to both events will be issued via a ballot system through the members' section. Separate ballots are being held for each event but the same dates will apply for both. BFI Champions can enter the ballots on Monday 5th August and members from Tuesday 6th August. The ballots will close on Friday 9th August and will be run over the weekend of 10th and 11th August, with all entrants being notified on Monday 12th August whether they have been successful or not.

All tickets reserved for Champions and members via the ballots will be held for claiming by them until 8.30pm on Friday 16th August. Any that are unclaimed by then will be released for public sale on Saturday 17th August.

The guests for both events will be announced in due course.




FILTER: - Special Events - UK - Eighth Doctor - BFI - WHO50 - Tenth Doctor

AudioGo: August releasesBookmark and Share

Friday, 19 July 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
AudioGo's ongoing celebration of 50 Years of Doctor Who reaches the Eighth Doctor in August, with he and Charlie facing Enemy Aliens in the Destiny of the Doctor series. Meanwhile, the Seventh Doctor performs at The Greatest Show in the Galaxy in the latest Target novelisation adaptation, and the Eleventh Doctor's former compantion Amelia Pond writes about when Summer Falls in an audio adaptation of the e-book released earlier this year.

Destiny of the Doctor: Enemy Aliens (Credit: AudioGo)Destiny of the Doctor: Enemy Aliens
Starring India Fisher, with Michael Maloney (pre-order)

1935: a message from a Time Lord in trouble sends the Eighth Doctor and Charlotte ‘Charley’ Pollard to the streets of London’s West End, in search of a mysterious alien adversary – unaware that something monstrous is already on their trail.

They soon discover that an insidious conspiracy is indeed at work, its tentacles extending the length of the British Isles. Proving its existence won’t be easy, however, after a confrontation in a music hall ends up with the Doctor under arrest and Charley on the run, suspected of murder. All their hopes rest in a musical clue and a man named Hilary – neither of which are much consolation, with the two time travellers the object of a nationwide manhunt.

And all the while, the enemy aliens are drawing closer and closer still...

India Fisher - Charley in the Big Finish Doctor Who audio series - and Michael Maloney perform this original story by Alan Barnes, with music and sound design.


To be in with a chance to win one of three copies of Enemy Aliens courtesy of AudioGo, answer the following question:
Charlie travelled with the Eighth Doctor for a number of years, they are eventually separated during an encounter with the Cybermen - but what happened to her next?
Send your answer to comp-aliens@doctorwhonews.net with the subject line "Shh. Spoilers!", along with your name, address, and where you saw the competition (the news website, twitter, facebook, etc.). Only one entry per postal address will be accepted. The competition is open worldwide, and the closing date is 31st July 2013.
Doctor Who - The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (Credit: AudioGo)The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
Written by Stephen Wyatt
Read by Sophie Aldred (pre-order)

CREEPY. That's what Ace thinks of clowns. But the Doctor insists on entering the talent contest at the Psychic Circus, the self-proclaimed Greatest Show in the Galaxy, on the planet Segonax. What has reduced Segonax to an arid wasteland? Why have the happy-go-lucky circus folk stayed here so long? And why are they no longer happy? Above all, what is the dreadful truth about the 'talent contests' run by the sinister Ringmaster and his robot clowns?

The Doctor and Ace need all their death-defying skills in the big top to uncover a brooding, ancient evil that has broken the spirit of the Circus and demanded the sacrifice of so many lives.

Sophie Aldred, who played Ace in Doctor Who, reads Stephen Wyatt's complete and unabridged novelisation, first published by Target Books in 1989.


To be in with a chance to win one of three copies of The Greatest Show in the Galaxy courtesy of AudioGo, answer the following question:
Due to a re-arrangement of the running order of Season 25, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy ended up being broadcast last in the season - name an on-screen continuity error this introduced for the preceding Silver Nemesis (which would originally have been broadcast afterwards)?
Send your answer to comp-greatestshow@doctorwhonews.net with the subject line "Roll up, roll up!", along with your name, address, and where you saw the competition. Only one entry per postal address will be accepted. The competition is open worldwide, and the closing date is 31st July 2013.
Summer Falls (Credit: AudioGo)Summer Falls
Read by Clare Corbett (pre-order)

Clare Corbett reads this enchanting tale of a peculiar painting, a talking cat and a very odd Curator, inspired by the Doctor Who episode 'The Bells of Saint John'...

In the seaside village of Watchcombe, young Kate is determined to make the most of her last week of summer holiday. But when she discovers a mysterious painting entitled 'The Lord of Winter' in a charity shop, it leads her on an adventure she never could have planned. Kate soon realises the old seascape, painted long ago by an eccentric local artist, is actually a puzzle. And with the help of some bizarre new acquaintances - including a museum curator's magical cat, a miserable neighbour, and a lonely boy - she plans on solving it. And then, one morning, Kate wakes up to a world changed forever. For the Lord of Winter is coming - and Kate has a very important decision to make.


To be in with a chance to win one of three copies of Summer Falls courtesy of AudioGo, answer the following question:
Which chapter of the book, according to Clara, is the best?
Send your answer to comp-summer@doctorwhonews.net with the subject line "You'll cry your eyes out", along with your name, address, and where you saw the competition. Only one entry per postal address will be accepted. The competition is open worldwide, and the closing date is 31st July 2013.




FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Eighth Doctor - Seventh Doctor - Competitions - WHO50

Big Finish: July releasesBookmark and Share

Friday, 19 July 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Big Finish have released details about the latest adventures for the Doctor and his companions in July.

Doctor Who: Persuasion returns former Nazi scientist Klein to the Seventh Doctor's life as the pair become embroiled in a quest for a very dangerous object. And this time there's room for another person in the TARDIS: Klein's assistant Will Arrowsmith. It stars Sylvester McCoy and sees Tracey Childs reprise her role as Klein, with Christian Edwards playing Will. It has been written by Jonathan Barnes, author of Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of the Perfidious Mariner, and the upcoming The Ordeals of Sherlock Holmes box set.

Persuasion (Credit: Big Finish)Persuasion (available to order)
Starring Sylvester McCoy as The Doctor, with Tracey Childs as Dr Elizabeth Klein

The Umbrella Man is back. But when the Doctor recruits UNIT's Scientific Adviser Elizabeth Klein for an off-the-books mission to the apocalyptic final days of Hitler's Germany, he isn't expecting Klein's hapless young assistant, Will Arrowsmith, to be joining them too.

The Doctor isn't the only alien creature seeking to loot a very particular secret from a Nazi base in Dusseldorf, however. Strange and sinister beings are converging on the same time/space location in search of the scientist Schalk, whose experiments are the key to a devastating power...

The power of Persuasion.
Producer David Richardson says:
We love working with Tracey Childs at Big Finish, and in Klein – originally created by Steve Lyons – we have found the most wonderfully complex and nuanced character to play with. If you think you knew it all about Elizabeth, then you’re in for a few shocks in this new trilogy, which continues with Starlight Robbery in August (with features the Sontarans) and Daleks Among Us in September (with the return of Davros).


Doctor Who - The Companion Chronicles: Mastermind takes us back to the UNIT Vault and the lives of Ruth Matheson (Daphne Ashbrook) and Charlie Sato (Yee Jee Tso), guardians of its secrets. Alongside all the artefacts, though, is a highly deadly prisoner: the Master (Geoffrey Beevers). And he has a story to tell which is certainly not guaranteed to have a happy ending. Writer Jonathan Morris locks himself back into the Vault for an in-depth look at quite possibly the Doctor's most dangerous foe...

The Companion Chronicles: Mastermind (Credit: Big Finish)Mastermind (available to order)
Starring Daphne Ashbrook as Ruth Matheson, Yee Jee Tso as Charlie Sato, with Geoffrey Beevers as The Master

The Vault – an archive of alien artefacts securely stored deep beneath the Angel of the North.

There's also a prisoner in the Vault. An extraterrestrial known as the Master. He has been on Earth for some time, but now he's under lock and key.

This is his story.

Or, as Captain Ruth Matheson and Warrant Officer Charlie Sato discover… perhaps it is theirs.
David Richardson says:
After the success of Tales from the Vault, which introduced Ruth and Charlie, we were determined to revisit the Vault – and Jonny Morris has found the most fascinating way to do so. I’m thrilled that already it has been so well received, as people are responding to a labyrinthine script that reveals a lot of new information about the Doctor’s arch enemy. And Geoffrey Beevers is, of course, magnificent.


The Fourth Doctor’s second season ends with The Final Phase, in which the mysterious Cuthbert's plan for the Proxima System is reaching its climax. The Doctor and Romana have been separated. The Doctor is aiding the Proximan fight-back. Romana and K9 are prisoners of the Daleks. And as the countdown to the opening of the Quantum Gateway begins, the Daleks reveal their true intentions.

Starring Tom Baker as the Doctor, John Leeson as K9 and, sadly, for the final time Mary Tamm as the first Romana, Doctor Who: The Final Phase brings the second series of The Fourth Doctor Adventures to a shattering conclusion. It also stars David Warner and Toby Hadoke as Cuthbert and his ever-faithful sidekick Mr Dorrick, and the incomparable Nicholas Briggs as the ever-malevolent Daleks.

Fourth Doctor Adventures: The Final Phase (Credit: Big Finish)The Final Phase (available to order)
Starring Tom Baker as the Doctor and Mary Tamm as Romana, with David Warner as Cuthbert

'The raw power of the very fabric of reality itself. And you dare to think you can conquer it?'

Cuthbert's plan for the Proxima System is reaching its final phase.

The Doctor and Romana have been separated. The Doctor is aiding the Proximan fight-back. Romana and K9 are prisoners of the Daleks.

And as the countdown to the opening of the Quantum Gateway begins, the Daleks reveal their true intentions.
David Richardson says:
Mary loved this script. And when we recorded it, she specifically asked to record the final scene again – just because she felt it was a pivotal moment for Romana, and she wanted to get it exactly right. It’s heartbreaking to think that would be the last time we saw her. But we’re all so grateful to Mary for driving this second season of The Fourth Doctor Adventures through, despite her illness. A remarkable lady.


Finally, the second season of Counter-Measures stars Simon Williams, Pamela Salem and Karen Gledhill reprising their Doctor Who Remembrance of the Daleks roles of Gilmore, Rachel and Allison, Counter-Measures - Series Two brings four more tales of Sixties-set 'black and white' espionage, conspiracy and derring-do. It also stars Hugh Ross as the team's mysterious boss, Sir Toby Kinsella.

UNIT: Counter Measures 2 (Credit: Big Finish)UNIT: Counter Measures 2 (available to order)
Starring Pamela Salem as Rachel Jensen, Simon Williams as Group Captain Gilmore, and Karen Gledhill as Allison Williams

The British government has created the Counter-Measures group, a specialist team that investigates strange phenomena and dangerous technology. This box set contains four of their adventures plus a behind-the-scenes documentary.

Manhunt by Matt Fitton
Group Captain Gilmore is on the run for murder; Sir Toby is dealing with his unctuous new assistant, Templeton; and Allison and Rachel are investigating a bizarre series of deaths across the country. A maniac is on the loose, but for Counter-Measures it's business as usual.

The Fifth Citadel by James Goss
People are falling ill near Holborn and displaying a sickness with all the hallmarks of radiation poisoning. While Gilmore and Allison look into a graveyard, Sir Toby and Rachel venture underground to meet an old friend with a desperate scheme.

Peshka by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright
A visit to an international chess tournament isn't quite the relaxing experience the Counter-Measures team might have hoped for. With a defection to arrange and violence erupting on the streets it's time for a dangerous gambit. What pieces will be left on the table when the Endgame approaches?

Sins of the Fathers by John Dorney
When a massacre results from the ruins of an old case, it poses more questions than it answers. But with Sir Toby stonewalling, Gilmore and Rachel are forced to investigate alone. The past is catching up with Counter-Measures. With decades old secrets about to be revealed, can anyone survive the fallout?
David Richardson says:
I’m hugely proud of this series, which I think has really hit its stride now. The first series went down a storm, so we're delighted to be able to release the five-disc box set early.

These four tales take the Counter-Measures group into some dangerous new situations – in which the biggest threat is humanity itself... You can experience Gilmore's brush with the wrong side of the law, an illness that looks like radiation sickness, a chess match that leads to defection and the revelation of a long-kept secret - can the team stay together in the face of adversity?


Win a copy of Mastermind!

This month's competition thanks to Big Finish is to win one of five copies of Mastermind. To be in with a chance to win, please answer the following question:
Mastermind features both the Master and UNIT personnel - and on television Geoffrey Beevers has played both! Name the role he played within UNIT.
Send your answer to comp-mastermind@doctorwhonews.net with the subject line "You Will Obey!", along with your name, address, and where you saw the competition (the news website, twitter, facebook, etc.). Only one entry per postal address will be accepted. The competition is open worldwide, and the closing date is 31st July 2013.




FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Seventh Doctor - Competitions - Fourth Doctor - Big Finish

Silva Screen: forthcoming releasesBookmark and Share

Friday, 19 July 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Silva Screen has announced the next of its 50th Anniversary soundtrack collection on CD, with the release of the score of the final story to be recorded in the original run of Doctor Who, the Sylvester McCoy adventure Ghost Light.

Ghost Light (soundtrack) (Credit: Silva Screen)Doctor Who - Ghost Light

Mark Ayres' dark and mysterious synth score to Marc Platt’s 3-part TV series with Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor.

Originally released on Silva Screen Records in 1993, in this new version Ghost Light is freshly re-mastered from the original analogue stereo master tapes with consecutive cues combined into longer tracks. Also included are additional tracks previously omitted and the complete initial "demo" version of the music for Part One. The album presents the score
in story order.

Though the score features small themes and motifs, the musical narrative relies on "sounds" rather than "themes". The composer juxtaposes the tender sound of strings, harp, clarinet with native drums and unearthly sounds of pipes, distorted gong, organ and choir.

Ghost Light was the final production of the series' original 26-year run.

A television composer best known for scoring the original series of Doctor Who, Mark Ayres' work encompasses the era of Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor and includes scores for The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, Ghost Light, and The Curse of Fenric. Ayres was also part of BBC’s unofficial Doctor Who Restoration Team and has done much of audio restoration from the later VHS Doctor Who releases.

  1. Doctor Who (Opening Theme)
  2. The Madhouse
  3. Redvers, I Presume?
  4. Uncharted Territory
  5. Heart of the Interior
  6. Gwendoline
  7. The Fang of a Cave Bear
  8. Enter Josiah
  9. Indoor Lightning
  10. Nimrod Observed
  11. Time to Emerge
  12. Burnt Toast
  13. Ace's Adventures Underground
  14. Where is Mamma?
  15. Loss of Control
  16. The Way to the Zoo
  17. The Hungry Inspector
  18. The Memory Teller
  19. Lighting the Touchpaper
  20. Homo Victorianus Ineptus
  21. Out of the Shadows
  22. Light Enlightened
  23. Tropic of Perivale
  24. Tricks of the Light
  25. Judgement in Stone
  26. Requiem
  27. Passing Thoughts
  28. Doctor Who (Closing Theme)
  29. The Madhouse (alternative)
  30. Redvers, I Presume? (alternative)
  31. Uncharted Territory (alternative)
  32. Heart of the Interior (alternative)
  33. Gwendoline (alternative)
  34. The Fang of a Cave Bear (alternative)
  35. Enter Josiah (alternative)
  36. Indoor Lightning (alternative)
  37. Nimrod Observed (alternative)
  38. Time to Emerge (alternative)
  39. Burnt Toast (alternative)
  40. Ace's Adventures Underground (alternative)

The CD is due to be released on 26th August 2013.


Also coming out on 19th August is a 12" vinyl release of the Series 1+2 album, originally released on CD in 2006. The two records include all of the tracks from the original. Meanwhile, music from the most recent television series is due to be released as a two-disc collection on CD later in the Autumn.

Series 1 & 2 (soundtrack) (Credit: Silva Screen) Series 7 (soundtrack) (Credit: Silva Screen)

UPDATE - 15th AUGUST: Silva Screen has announced that because of a problem at the factory the release date of the vinyl albums has been delayed, with Monday 2nd September now the likely date.

Win a copy of Ghost Light!

Thanks to Silva Screen we have three copies of the CD for our readers to win. To be in with a chance, simply answer this question:
In Ghost Light, when Ace discovers that the Doctor has taken her back to the house she hated from her youth, she asks if he too has things he hates - name one of his responses.
Please send your answer to comp-ghostlight@doctorwhonews.net with the subject line "We all have a universe of our own terrors to face", along with your name, address, and where you read about this competition. The competition is open worldwide, and the closing date will be on 24th August 2013. Only one entry per household will be accepted.




FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Seventh Doctor - Competitions - WHO50

People RoundupBookmark and Share

Thursday, 18 July 2013 - Reported by Marcus
John Barrowman has married his long term partner Scott Gill at a ceremony in California.

The couple, who have been together 20 years, entered into a civil partnership in 2006. Following the US Supreme Court’s overturning of the Defence of Marriage Act, the duo officially tied the knot at the beginning of the month, announcing the news on Whosay.

Barrowman recently told ITV's Daybreak the next Doctor should be a woman. "We’ve had great guys playing the role. The character of River Song was so popular in the last part of the series and it was such an impact, why shouldn’t we have a female doctor,” he said, adding “Give it a whirl, if it doesn’t work she can always regenerate, she can always regenerate back to a man - I’ve been there, I’ve watched them do it.”


Actress Lynda Bellingham has revealed she has cancer.

Bellingham played the The Inquisitor in the 1986 Trial of a Time Lord season and is well known for her roles in All Creatures Great and Small, and Loose Women, as well as the Oxo TV adverts screened in the 1980s and '90s. The actress has postponed a UK tour of Kay Mellor's play A Passionate Woman to have treatment.

In a statement she said "I'm devastated not to be able to honour my commitments to the play this year, But having toured many times before, I'm aware of the sheer stamina needed and I need to prioritise my recovery. That said, nothing's going to stop me coming back next year, and I can't wait to be 'a passionate woman'.


Author and Script Writer Neil Gaiman is doing a mini-tour of England and Scotland this August. The writer of The Doctor's Wife and Nightmare in Silver will talking about his new book The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

He will be visiting his home city of Portsmouth as well as Ely, Oxford, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Dundee and Inverness.


The body of former Torchwood actor Richard Gent has been discovered in woods near his home in north London.

The actor, who also appeared in Casualty, Teachers and Black Mirror, went missing in April 2012 prompting his family to launch an appeal for his return. His body was discovered earlier this month. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said his death is not being treated as suspicious. Gent's family issued a statement "The search for Richard is over and he is at peace now. We miss him more than we can ever say, and want to thank everyone for their support. Everyone’s kindness shows just how much he was loved. We are donating to the charity Missing People and setting up an acting scholarship in his name to help other young actors."




FILTER: - People - Torchwood - Classic Series - John Barrowman