"All Together Now ..."

Saturday, 1 December 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Where would the United Kingdom be without the traditional Christmas pantomime, and this year is no exception with a variety of Doctor Who names back on the stage to entertain during the festive season.

Colin Baker (The Sixth Doctor)
Sleeping Beauty, Bournemouth Pavilion
8th December - 6th January

This year’s offering is once again brought to you by UK Productions following a record-breaking production of Jack and the Beanstalk last year.

Returning to once again write, direct and star is venue favourite and Bournemouth resident Chris Jarvis as Happy Harry, whose local gags, rapport with the audience and range of impressions always go down a storm with adults and children alike.

We’re also delighted to welcome back one of the best panto villains Bournemouth has seen in recent years, Su Pollard – last with us for the the 2009 Panto season – as Bad Fairy.

Also returning from the cast of Jack and the Beanstalk is Wave 105 presenter Kate Weston as Good Fairy.

However, our all-star cast doesn’t end there, as they’re joined by Asa Elliott from ITV’s Benidorm as the Prince and of course, no Panto would be complete without a dame, with Nurse Nelly to be played by Colin Baker of Doctor Who fame.

John Barrowman (Captain Jack)
Jack and the Beanstalk, Glasgow SECC
15th December - 6th January

Following two years of hugely-successful and record-breaking Christmas shows at the Clyde Auditorium, the producers of the SECC’s pantomime, Qdos Entertainment have announced that John Barrowman and The Krankies will return to the venue this Christmas!

John Barrowman and The Krankies have previously starred in Aladdin and Robinson Crusoe & the Caribbean Pirates and this year will lead the cast in Jack and the Beanstalk which is a change to the advertised title of Robin Hood. John will play the leading role of Jack while The Krankies will play Farmer & Jimmy Trot!

The use of 3D special effects in the previous Qdos Entertainment pantomimes at the SECC have been so popular with audiences that Jack and the Beanstalk will feature brand-new and outstanding surprises including a fantastic 3D enchanted forest and journey through the giant’s castle!

Peter Purves (Steven)
Dick Whittington, Harpenden Public Halls
15th December - 22nd December

Join our hero Dick as he sets out on a quest to find fame and fortune in this classic rags-to-riches tale. Starring Cerrie Burnell as seen on CBeebies as The Fairy of The Bells and Dr Who companion and Blue Peter legend Peter Purves as Alderman Fitzwarren, with hilarious panto dame Richard Aucott and full supporting cast.

Will Dick find the streets paved with gold? Will he win the hand of the lovely Alice? Will he defeat the evil King Rat? Find out this Christmas!

Featuring fantastic songs, a live band, sumptuous sets, sensational costumes and bags of audience participation, Dick Whittington is the perfect way to kick start your festive season.

Other names associated with Doctor Who include: Nigel Havers (Peter Dalton, The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith) in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Southampton Mayflower; Christopher Pizzey (Eddie Smith, The Sarah Jane Adventures) in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall Theatre; Paul Lavers (Farrah, The Androids of Tara) in Mother Goose at the Gorleston Pavilion; Royce Mills (Dalek operator) in Aladdin at the Guildford Yvonne Arnaud Theatre; Marshall Lancaster (Buzzer, The Rebel Flesh) in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Leeds Carriageworks; Lynda Bellingham (The Inquisitor, The Trial of a Time Lord) in Cinderella at the Bradford Alhambra Theatre; Warwick Davis (The Last Cyberman) in Snow White at the New Wimbledon Theatre; Floella Benjamin (Professor Rivers, The Sarah Jane Adventures) and Andrew Hayden-Smith (Jake Simmonds, Rise of the Cybermen) in Cinderella at the Broadway Theatre, Catford; Bruno Langley (Adam in Dalek) in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Brindley Arts Centre, Runcorn; Eric Potts (Oliver Charles, Aliens of London) in Dick Whittington at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking; Nichola McAuliffe (Vivien Rook, The Sound of Drums) in Snow White at the Theatre Royal, Bath; Barney Harwood (Totally Doctor Who) in Peter Pan at Llandudno's Venue Cymru; Lily Savage aka Paul O'Grady (himself, The Stolen Earth) in Aladdin at the O2; Ann Widdecombe (herself, The Sound of Drums) in Snow White at the Wycombe Swan; and Christopher Biggins (The One Doctor, Big Finish) in Dick Whittington at the Plymouth Theatre Royal.

FILTER: - Special Events - John Barrowman - Colin Baker

Character Building: Micro-Figures Series 3

Friday, 30 November 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Character have announced the release of the third series of their Character Building micro-figures:

Character Building: Series Three Figures

Hot on the heels of the latest TV series, there’s a brand new collection of Character Building micro figures emerging from the TARDIS!

Each collection has to have the Doctor leading the way and the series three editions depict the Eleventh Doctor in his bow tie, complete with trusty Sonic Screwdriver. Popular companions Amy Pond and Rory also take their place in the line up alongside the mysterious River Song.

To create your own epic battles of good versus evil there are plenty of foes in this new collection too including, Ood and Vashta Nerada figures, along with the Doctor’s most fearsome enemy, a Dalek.

Each Micro figure comes in a foil bag and costs just £1.99, making it the perfect pocket money treat. But as you never quite know what you’re going to get, we have one question... "Who will be the first to find them all?"

There are twelve figures to collect in this series, which as well as those mentioned above also includes a Sontaran, Cyberleader, Handbot, Judoon and Madame Kovarian.

The packs will be available to buy from a number of retailers, including Forbidden Planet, from next week.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Character

Doctor Who Adventures 297

Friday, 30 November 2012 - Reported by John Bowman

The new edition of Doctor Who Adventures comes with a free art kit so you can build and paint a TARDIS model.

Also in issue 297:

The magazine gets ready for Christmas by taking a look at what gifts the Doctor would buy his monster enemies.
There's a brand-new comic starring a runaway alien bogey.
Lots of tricky puzzles are included.
Behind-the-scenes secrets are revealed.
All the metal menaces the Doctor has had to face in his latest adventures are featured in a guide.

FILTER: - Magazines - DWA

Radio Times Christmas Preview

Wednesday, 28 November 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Radio Times (1-7 Dec 2012) - Mo Farah cover

The latest edition of the Radio Times (1-7 Dec) features TV editor Alison Graham's 12 Treats for Christmas, the twelve programmes she recommends over the festive period. This year's selection includes Call The Midwife, Ripper Street, Downton Abbey, Restless and The Girl, but her number one is - as it should be - Doctor Who!

People actually say that "Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a Doctor Who special." So don't fret, your festivities will be complete once more with a seasonal one-off written by Steven Moffat. Richard E Grant and Tom Ward guest-star in a story that features Jenna-Louise Coleman joining the Doctor properly (after a brief appearance in the previous series) as his new companion.

Meanwhile, the next issue (8-14 Dec) is published on Saturday 1st December, and will 'cover' Doctor Who and the best kids' shows this Christmas.

FILTER: - Radio Times

Symphonic Spectacular Run Extended Again

Saturday, 24 November 2012 - Reported by John Bowman

More performances have been added to next month's Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular for a second time.

The event at Sydney Opera House will feature music composed by Murray Gold, performed by The Metropolitan Orchestra, conducted by Ben Foster.

Originally planned to be held on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th December only, two shows were added for Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 19th December. Now three extra performances have been slotted on for the following two days: matinee and evening concerts on Thursday 20th December and an evening one on Friday 21st December.

The musical celebration of Doctor Who will be presented by Alex Kingston and Mark Williams, with various monsters from the series poised to overrun the concert venue too.

To book, go to the Sydney Opera House website. (NB: Both of the Saturday performances are now sold out and there is currently limited availability for the Sunday matinee.)

With Thanks To Dallas Jones

FILTER: - Music - Special Events - Australia

Series Six for Latin America

Sunday, 18 November 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC Worldwide Sales and Distribution Latin America have announced that the sixth series of Doctor Who will be broadcast in the region via the exclusive DIRECTV Latin America channel OnDIRECTV.

Willard Tressel, OnDIRECTV's General Manager, said:

We value our ongoing partnership with BBC Worldwide, which allows us to offer a variety of high quality content on OnDIRECTV and OnDIRECTV HD to our subscribers in Latin America. Plus, after airing the recent series re-boot of Doctor Who, our subscribers have been urgently asking for more!

Helen Jurado, VP, Sales & Distribution, BBC Worldwide Latin America, said:

Doctor Who boasts a massive audience and fan following around the world and OnDIRECTV is the perfect home for this incredibly successful show. As one of the longest-running sci-fi programs in history, we are confident it will gain further traction with viewers and attract new legions of fans throughout Latin America as it approaches its 50th anniversary.

FILTER: - Series 6/32 - BBC Worldwide - Press - Latin America

Big Finish: Dark Eyes

Friday, 16 November 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Big Finish have released details about their new adventure for the Eighth Doctor, as played by Paul McGann:

The Eighth Doctor in new costume. Photo: Big Finish

"We have a long history of adventures with the Eighth Doctor," says writer/director Nicholas Briggs, "and we'd just got to the end of four years' worth of adventures with Sheridan Smith as Lucie Miller. So, I wanted to create a fresh start for Paul McGann and our listeners. It's a real jumping-on point where the Doctor is embroiled in a whole new, gigantic adventure. You can listen to this without ever having heard an Eighth Doctor audio drama before and understand every word and nuance. Of course, if you want to go back and find out what happened before, you can always do that too."

Dark Eyes introduces a new companion for the Eighth Doctor in the form of Molly O’Sullivan, played by Ruth Bradley, a volunteer nurse who he meets in France during the First World War. "I wanted there to be a new companion who had something different to offer," Nick continues. "Someone mentioned that there'd never been an Irish companion in the TARDIS and I was already thinking of making her someone who was involved in the First World War, so the two things came together to make something rather unique in the form of Molly O'Sullivan. She's a girl who's seen and experienced the most terrible, harrowing things, so she's no innocent and she's not really a willing participant in the Doctor's adventures. Also, she is the 'Dark Eyes' of the title, so the adventure is all about her relationship with the Doctor."

Dark Eyes also showcases a new costume for Paul McGann’s Doctor, which was designed and made by WETA Workshop. "That's something that Paul McGann worked out with an great Australian guy called William Geradts who organises conventions Down Under," Nick explains. "He and Paul got chatting about creating a new image for the Eighth Doctor and Bill got WETA to make it for him. Paul loved it and came to us, asking if we'd be prepared to use it. Since the Eighth Doctor had had so many adventures with us, and it seemed odd that he'd keep that Wild Bill Hickok costume on for so long, we thought it was high time for a change. Our Doctors show so much loyalty, continuing to work with us over the years, so we're always happy to incorporate their ideas and this was one we were very keen to embrace. We sent the images to the BBC, they approved them, so off we went! It's a brave new era with a great new look."

As mentioned above, McGann is joined by Ruth Bradley, who recently appeared in the mini-series Titanic (which also co-starred Jenna-Louise Coleman) and is known in sci-fi circles for her role as Emily Merchant in Primeval. Peter Egan plays Straxas: the actor is about to appear in Downton Abbey this Christmas, but is probably best known from Ever Decreasing Circles; for Big Finish he previously played Moloch in Protect and Survive. Toby Jones plays Kotris: the actor's Doctor Who credentials include playing the Doctor himself - aka the Dream Lord - in 2010's series episode Amy's Choice; other credits include playing Dobby in the Harry Potter films, and also appearing in Titanic alongside Bradley.

Dark Eyes (available to order)
by Nicholas Briggs
starring Paul McGann, Ruth Bradley and Peter Egan

'I really hoped it would be a wonderful view... to look back from the end of everything... to see how things finally turned out.'

The Doctor is looking for hope. But instead, he finds himself on a mission. The Time Lords have uncovered terrifying fragments of an insane plot to destroy the universe. And somehow, at the centre of that plot is one, random female in Earth’s history, Molly O’Sullivan.

Soon, the Doctor and Molly find themselves thrown headlong into a series of dangerous and terrifying adventures, with the dreaded Daleks never far behind them.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Paul McGann - Big Finish

Children in Need: win Matt Smith's handprints!

Friday, 16 November 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Each year a variety of items from celebrities and programmes have been donated for auction to raise money for Children in Need, and Doctor Who is no exception.

Matt Smith's hand cast, from The Doctor Who Experience. Auctioned for Children in Need 2012

This year sees one of the three casts made of Matt Smith's handprints for The Doctor Who Experience back in October donated for the charity; the item is available to bid upon via Ebay until 6:09pm on Monday - at the time of writing the current bid is £510.

Other Doctor Who related items include Matt Smith's autograph, and signed Pudsey Bears by David Tennant and John Barrowman.

You can find a full list of items for auction via the BBC's Children in Need Ebay page.

Last year the Doctor's costume raised £50,000 for the charity.

FILTER: - Matt Smith - Charities - Auctions

Doctor Who Up For People's Choice Award Again

Friday, 16 November 2012 - Reported by John Bowman

Doctor Who is once again up for one of the American People's Choice Awards after making it on to the 2013 short list of nominees for Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Show.

It faces competition from Once Upon A Time, Supernatural (which beat Doctor Who last year in the same category), The Vampire Diaries, and The Walking Dead. The nominees for all 48 categories in the CBS awards show honouring TV, film, and music were announced yesterday at The Paley Center in Beverly Hills.

People can vote as often they like until Thursday 13th December, and the award winners will be revealed on CBS on Wednesday 9th January 2013.

FILTER: - Doctor Who - USA - Awards/Nominations - Broadcasting

Alex Kingston reads The Angel's Kiss

Thursday, 15 November 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Alex Kingston records The Angel's Kiss. Photo: BBC AudioGo

BBC Audio Go have announced an audio recording of their recent e-book, The Angel's Kiss:

This month AudioGO have scooped an exclusive coup! River Song herself - actress Alex Kingston - has recorded Doctor Who: The Angel’s Kiss by Melody Malone for release as a download in December, with a CD release following in March. Alex Kingston (Marchlands, ER, Moll Flanders), has become a fan favourite as mysterious River Song in the Doctor Who TV series, and we are thrilled to have her on board to tell Melody Malone's story.

The recording will be available for download from the AudioGo website next month.

The Angel's Kiss
A Melody Malone Mystery
By Melody Malone

When movie star Rock Railton appears unexpectedly at Melody Malone’s Angel Detective Agency and mentions ‘the kiss of the angel’ Melody takes the case. Angels are, after all, Melody’s business. At a press party for Railton’s latest movie, Melody is invited by studio owner Max Kleiner to the film set of their next blockbuster. He’s spotted her potential and wants her to become a star. Flattered, Melody will discover the cost of fame is greater than anyone could possibly imagine.

Will she be able to escape Kleiner’s dastardly plan – before the Angels Take Manhattan?

The e-book is available now to purchase in the United Kingdom and North America.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio

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