Radio Times launches Missing Episodes hunt

Saturday, 8 December 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Radio Times has launched a new campaign to find any of the episodes of Doctor Who that are still missing from the BBC's Archives. At present there are 106 still to be recovered, and though some are unlikely to ever resurface there is continued hope that at least some of those lost William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton adventures might yet be enjoyed once more.

The magazine's historian Ralph Montagu was involved with the discovery of last year's recoveries, Galaxy 4: Air Lock and The Underwater Menace: Episode Two:
Two years ago, many believed that the chances of finding any more missing episodes had dwindled to almost nothing. Surely, we thought, after so much publicity, anyone with a missing episode would have come forward. But the discovery I made last year taught us that missing gems from television's past can be found in the collections or even the attics of people who don't understand the significance of what they've got.

Keep looking, keep asking, and get in touch with us if you think you have something of interest.



You can find the list of missing episodes via our Doctor Who Guide.





FILTER: - William Hartnell - Classic Series - Radio Times - Patrick Troughton

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

Doctor Who Magazine 454

Wednesday, 14 November 2012 - Reported by John Bowman
DWM 454Paul McGann is the cover star of the new edition of Doctor Who Magazine, and with the return of the Eighth Doctor next month in the new audio adventure Dark Eyes he talks about how his incarnation has changed:
There's a sombreness and self-doubt and guilt . . . I'm not sure it's guilt, but he's lost hope. He needs a shot in the arm . . . But of course, you don't want him too heavy either. We want the hope. We talk about hope a lot in the story; it's all about hope . . .
Also in this issue:
  • The Final End: Arthur Darvill speaks exclusively about playing Rory Williams, his work on stage and screen, and recording his last scenes for Doctor Who.
  • Fantastic Journey: Writer Stephen Thompson reveals his inner fan, endures a grilling from a tough crowd, and drops hints about his next script for the TV series, Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS, in Production Notes.
  • Monsters Direct: He's directed Sontarans and Shakri and he's back to oversee one of the episodes in the anniversary year. DWM interviews Douglas Mackinnon and discovers the secrets of successfully directing a Doctor Who monster.
  • Golden Wonder: DWM takes a close look at one of the most memorable monsters ever to appear in Doctor Who, and interviews the actor who played their spokesman, Bernard Holley, in The Watcher's Guide To Axos.
  • There's Gonna Be A Lynchin'! The Fact of Fiction looks back to the first time the TARDIS took the Doctor and his companions to the wild, wild West, as DWM unearths new facts and rare photographs from 1966's The Gunfighters.
  • Seven-Up! The spotlight falls on the season that featured the début of the Seventh Doctor, a cornucopia of crazy characters, and a bold new direction for the TV series, as Countdown To 50 continues.
  • Turn To Stone: The Doctor uncovers the incredible truth about the Golem of Prague and encounters the Queen of the Mavora, as the comic strip The Broken Man - written by Scott Gray and illustrated by Martin Geraghty - concludes.
  • That Loo In Tooting Bec . . . Is Doctor Who more exciting when the monsters come to Earth or is it more thrilling when the adventure is in outer space? Toby Hadoke and Johnny Candon discuss the pros and cons in another heated Battle Of Wits.
  • Everything Changes: For one issue only, The Time Team takes a sideways step to look at Captain Jack's adventures in the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood. What will Emma, Chris, Michael, and Will make of this very different series?
  • Nice Weather For It: The mysterious Watcher examines the curious phenomenon of 'Wrong-Time-Of-Year' syndrome, challenges readers with The Six Faces of Delusion, and champions another Supporting Artist of the Month, in Wotcha!
In addition, issue 454 - out tomorrow - has all the latest official news, latest episodes, DVDs, books, and CDs reviewed, sneak previews of forthcoming merchandise, a prize-winning crossword, and five competitions.




FILTER: - Merchandise - Arthur Darvill - Magazines - DWM - Paul McGann

DVD Update: Legacy Box BBFC Classifications

Thursday, 8 November 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Legacy BoxThough no formal details have been given for the UK DVD release of the Legacy Box (Region One details were released last month), the British Board of Film Classification have now passed the additional material that features in the set, plus their running times.

SHADA:
00:04:46:06 SHADA - PHOTO GALLERY
00:25:35:09 TAKEN OUT OF TIME -
THE MAKING AND BREAKING OF SHADA
00:12:41:20 SHADA - NOW AND THEN
00:27:46:01 STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE!
00:30:08:15 BEING A GIRL
MORE THAN 30 YEARS IN THE TARDIS:
00:25:57:14 REMEMBERING NICHOLAS COURTNEY 
00:13:29:06 DOCTOR WHO STORIES - PETER PURVES
00:10:33:21 THE LAMBERT TAPES - SUCCESS STORY
00:01:47:21 RICHARD MARTIN'S MEMORIES OF VERITY
00:22:35:23 THOSE DEADLY DIVAS
00:06:04:02 MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS IN THE TARDIS - PHOTO GALLERY
In addition, the six episodes comprising the 2003 animated version of the story, featuring Paul McGann as the Doctor, has also been passed (the final item most likely refers to the introductory 'episode' to the story that places it in context):
00:18:26:04 DOCTOR WHO - SHADA - EPISODE ONE
00:22:43:03 DOCTOR WHO - SHADA - EPISODE TWO
00:20:49:13 DOCTOR WHO - SHADA - EPISODE THREE
00:27:22:00 DOCTOR WHO - SHADA - EPISODE FOUR
00:24:18:21 DOCTOR WHO - SHADA - EPISODE FIVE
00:23:41:16 DOCTOR WHO - SHADA - EPISODE SIX
00:07:31:09 DOCTOR WHO - SHADA (EPISODE LISTING)
Steve Roberts recently explained how the animated version is to be presented:
Just to clarify the reason that the McGann Shada is represented as a Flash animation rather than as DVD Video. Two reasons: Firstly, the animation was judged by all (including those who made it) to be not of sufficient quality for video. Secondly, it would have required a separate disc as there wasn't room on either of the others to include it - and that was an option that was outside of budget.

I thought it should be included however, as it's part of the official BBC canon by virtue of being broadcast (which is ironic, as the BBC Video version itself isn't!), so I worked closely with James Goss to package it into a form that could be viewed easily on an PC or Mac via a simple web interface.

The Legacy Box is due to be released on the 7th January in the UK(R2), and on the 8th January for North America(R1).





FILTER: - Tom Baker - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD - Paul McGann

TARDIS Eruditorum Volume 2

Saturday, 29 September 2012 - Reported by John Bowman
A second volume of the TARDIS Eruditorum blog by Philip Sandifer has been published, taking a critical look at the Patrick Troughton era of Doctor Who story by story.

Sandifer, who holds a PhD in English focusing on film and media studies, says the blog's aim is to provide a comprehensive critical overview of Doctor Who that moves beyond received fan wisdom to tell the evolving story of one of the most important and remarkable pieces of popular culture ever created.

TARDIS Eruditorum has been hailed as "absolutely fascinating and hugely persuasive" by Robert Shearman.

Sandifer uses the blog to provide a complete reconceptualisation of Doctor Who that acknowledges and takes seriously strands of thought and themes that have been marginalised by the fan orthodoxy represented in existing publications, revealing a show with startling and intriguing implications. Under his critical knife, Doctor Who becomes more than just a classic sci-fi show but a show that tells the story of an entire strain of mystical, avant-garde, and radical culture in Great Britain - a show that is quite literally about all of time and space, everything that ever happened, and everything that ever will.

This volume focuses on Doctor Who's intersection with psychedelic Britain and with the radical leftist counterculture of the late-1960s, exploring its connections with James Bond, social realism, dropping acid, and overthrowing the government - along, of course, with scads of monsters, the introduction of UNIT, and the Land of Fiction itself.

Every essay on the Troughton era has been revised and expanded, along with eight new essays written exclusively for this collected edition, including a thorough look at UNIT dating, an exploration of just what was lost in the wiping of the missing episodes, and a look at Stephen Baxter's The Wheel of Ice.

On top of that, you'll discover:
  • Whether The Mind Robber implies an alternative origin for the Doctor in which he is not a Time Lord but a lord of something else entirely
  • How The Evil of the Daleks reveals the secrets of alchemy
  • What can be seen on a walking tour of London's alien invasions

It is available to buy through Amazon.

Volume one, which centres on the William Hartnell years, was published last November.




FILTER: - Merchandise - Books - Patrick Troughton

A Tale of Two Doctors

Thursday, 27 September 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Moon Boots and Dinner Suits

Fantom Publishing are to reprint Jon Pertwee's first autobiography, Moon Boots and Dinner Suits. Originally published in 1984, publisher Dexter O'Neill said:
We are thrilled to bring this autobiography to a new generation. The book has been out of print for over twenty-six years. We will retain all the original content, whilst adding new material including photographs and an introduction from Ingeborg Pertwee.
The autobiography is due to be published on 4th February 2013 in both paperback and hardback, with an audiobook to be announced shortly.

Jon Pertwee’s acting career began with a public performance at the age of four. He seems to have been expelled from most of the schools his actorwriter father Roland Pertwee sent him to and finally joined RADA in 1936.

From there too, he was asked to leave. Jon went into Rep and had a checkered career. In Brighton panic set in when he dressed as an old gardener in Love from a Stranger instead of as a young cleric in Candida.

In 1938 came Jon’s first radio role in the BBC’s Lillibulero, in which year he also appeared in his father’s play, To Kill a Cat, directed by Henry Kendall at the Aldwych Theatre. When war came he joined the Navy, ramming Douglas Pier with an Isle of Man Stream Packet boat. He was blown up twice, once being put on a marble slab presumed dead, and spent many months stationed in the Scapa Flow. He was the founder of the Service Players in the Isle of Man. He was commissioned in the RNVR and transferred to Naval Intelligence where he worked and became good friends with the future Prime Minister James Callaghan. Then Jon joined Naval Broadcasting. His radio series, The Navy Lark, ran for eighteen years and produced some truly vintage memories of radio.

Whether telling stories of a misspent youth, of his posterior’s first painful introduction to a fives bat or his exploits with the McKenzie sisters in the north of Scotland, Jon Pertwee's humour and natural wit never fail him. Moon Boots and Dinner Suits is a wry, funny and endearing portrait of the early years of a most innovative and well-loved actor.
 

Patrick Troughton - The Biography of the Second Doctor Who

Fantom are also to release an audio version of Patrick Troughton's Biography, to be read by the book's author, Michael Troughton. The unabridged reading is to be released on six discs in March 2013, with signed copies available on pre-order from the Fantom website.

Respected and loved, Patrick Troughton is probably best remembered as the second Doctor Who - a role in which he made television history. A prolific actor, he was also a complex and troubled man, constantly wrestling with two lives, one of which he was determined to keep secret.

Michael Troughton presents here an entertaining and personal account of his father’s professional and private life. Meticulously researched, he explores Patrick’s childhood, his experiences at sea during World War II and the successful acting career which led to his historic casting as Doctor Who in 1966. Patrick’s Doctor Who years are recalled in vivid detail, from his initial uncertainty about taking on the part through the legendary ‘monster years’, to his troubled final season and three subsequent returns to the role.

In this fascinating biography, Patrick’s extraordinary career and his multi-layered personal life are enhanced by the memories of family members, actors, friends and colleagues. Michael peppers the biography with revealing extracts from Patrick’s own diaries, and presents an honest, affectionate and complete account of Patrick Troughton the actor, and Patrick Troughton the man.





FILTER: - Merchandise - Jon Pertwee - Auto/Biography - Books - Patrick Troughton

People Roundup

Friday, 13 July 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Paul McGann will be attending the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, where he will be narrating Frank Hurley's documentary South on 14th July - the actor will be reading Ernest Shackleton's letters over the footage of his expedition to Antartica, accompanied by a musical score by Stephen Horne. The festival takes place between 12-15th July. [SFGate, 4 Jul 2012]

Karen Gillan is to star in the horror film Oculus in which she will play a woman who believes a haunted antique mirror was responsible for the death of her parents ten years earlier. The film is to be made in Alabama this autumn. [Deadline, 12 Jul 2012]

Broadcast's Hot 100 list this year includes writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, director James Hawes, and also Doctor Who/Torchwood guest stars Ruth Jones, Olivia Colman and Reggie Yates. Editor Lisa Campbell said: "Broadcast's Hot 100 reveals the leading lights in the worlds of TV, radio and multiplatform." [Broadcast, 5 Jul 2012]

John Barrowman has helped launch a new campaign by the Kaleidoscope Trust, which aims to draw attention to the human rights of people regardless of sexual orientation in places where it can be a crime. The Blue Eyed Freak campaign video highlights the injustice demonstrating the ridiculousness of social prejudice. [Kaleidoscope Trust, 3 Jul 2012]

The actor is also supporting the National Lottery Awards, an annual search to find the UK's favourite Lottery-funded projects: "So many lives are being changed by the unsung heroes working with National Lottery funding. The National Lottery Awards pay tribute to their selfless dedication. National Lottery players raise a massive £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. They should be proud that they are helping arts, sport, heritage and community groups near them. Now is the chance for everyone to vote for their local project so it gets national recognition." [Press Association, 10 Jul 2012]

PetNet have launched their publicly voted Celebrity Pet Owner Of The Year Awards, and its first Celebrity Dog Owner was well known canine lover Barrowman: "I'm delighted to receive this Award. My dogs play such an important role in my life and I am proud to promote responsible ownership. I will be donating my prize money to Dogs Trust. As their patron, I understand how incredibly hard they work to find new homes for stray and abandoned dogs." [PetNet, 9 Jul 2012]

Colin Baker reflected on recent comments he made about not wanting to be involved with a 50th Anniversary special: "I said it purely to irritate. ’Cos they’d all said: 'yeah yeah, I'd be interested' so to provoke a reaction I said: 'I wouldn't'. And nobody took me up on it! I thought they'd ask me why and I'd say: 'Well I might if they were nice to me', but I never got the opportunity. So it was a gag that fell like a lead lump and didn't go any further!". On an actual likelihood: "Do you know, it's not going to happen. They don't need us – the programme is doing extremely well without us. I suppose they could. And in theory, I'm neither for nor against it. There would be two big questions I would ask: The first is, is my Doctor going to get a fair crack of the whip in the story, and not be eclipsed by anybody else? Because you want parity. And the other one is, what vast fortune are you offering me? I'd be quite brutal about myself and say, if they offered me a million quid, I'd go on and say one line for them. If they offered me a tenner, I wouldn't." [Cambridge News, 6 Jul 2012]

Sue Perkins talks about childhood favourites: "Doctor Who. I'd scream and scream in terror at the brain of Morbius and Davros and all the other baddies, but I was compelled." [Radio Times, 14-20 Jul 2012]




FILTER: - Steven Moffat - People - USA - UK - Karen Gillan - John Barrowman - Paul McGann - Colin Baker

DVD Update

Friday, 15 June 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Planet of Giants:

The British Board of Film Classification has passed the special features for the forthcoming DVD release of the final complete William Hartnell story to be released, Planet of Giants:

00:28:01:16 DOCTOR WHO - CRISIS
00:24:31:18 DOCTOR WHO - THE URGE TO LIVE
00:08:27:11 REDISCOVERING THE URGE TO LIVE
00:15:17:10 SUDDENLY SUSAN
00:13:58:23 THE LAMBERT TAPES - THE DOCTOR
00:03:20:22 PLANET OF GIANTS - PHOTO GALLERY

As previously reported, the release will feature a recreation of the original four-part story based on the original scripts and featuring newly recorded dialogue and animation. The commentary by Clive Doig, Brian Hodgson, Sonia Markham and David Tilley was also passed on 6th June.

A clean version of the cover art by Lee Binding for the DVD has been published via the Tea-Lady Design Facebook page.

Future Release Updates:

Lee Binding has reported that an announcement about The Ambassadors Of Death will be made in the next week or so. The graphic designer recently completed the DVD cover, saying: "Ambassadors sleeve submitted to @classicdw. No Liz Shaw on the front, sadly. No decent pics. Rest: kinda classy, which is nice. « I'm sure the usual #doctorwho ming-mongs will complain anyway. 'It's not GREEN. Ambassadors is a GREEN story!' *rolls eyes* «" Meanwhile, an image of the colourisation process for the story undertaken by Richard Russell was shared on Twitter by Stuart Humphryes (aka @Babelcolour), who himself is working on episode one of The Mind of Evil.

Brian Hodgson recently mentioned that he had recorded a commentary for the incomplete Patrick Troughton adventure The Moonbase. It is currently unknown if this is for a Revisitations makeover of the 2004 Lost In Time collection of existing, isolated episodes, or if it will form part of a special release of the story with an animated reconstruction of the missing episodes one and three. The Special Sound Designer also mentioned a commentary for Fury From The Deep, though this seems more likely to be for The Underwater Menace, of which episode two was recovered last year - again, the context of such a release is currently unknown.

Behind The Scenes:

Producer Chris Chapman tantalised the Twitter community this week with updates on extras being made for the series: "Heading back to London after a day of exciting Doctor Who stuff - storyboard complete! « About to start the edit proper on Secret Project 5 (our 31st Who doco) - this one's a bit mad, a bit Louis Theroux and a bit golf-y.. « SP5 is presented by Toby Hadoke and is intended for the same DVD release as SP6 (which hits the edit next week)! «"

Finally, a small event in the history of the range was marked on 29th May, reported by the BBC's Classic Series Twitter feed: "Many thanks to Ed Stradling for all his hard work, as he delivers his final documentary. Hope to persuade him back for the odd special!"




FILTER: - Jon Pertwee - William Hartnell - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD - Patrick Troughton

The Five Doctors

Monday, 4 June 2012 - Reported by Marcus
This weekend saw the biggest collection of living Doctors for many a year as the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth all gathered at Collectormania 18 in Milton Keynes.


The event, organised by Showmasters, took place at the Don's stadium and saw Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann all meeting fans and signing autographs. The Independent has published a transcript of the Q&A session.

(Pictures: Copyright Elspeth Renfrew)




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

Classic Episodes Cardiff Screening

Thursday, 10 May 2012 - Reported by Marcus
The two recovered Doctor Who episodes Galaxy 4 - Air Lock and The Underwater Menace episode 2 were shown to an appreciative audience in Cardiff on Wednesday evening.

Both episodes were recovered from a collector last year and their existence was revealed at a screening at the BFI in London last December. The episode of The Underwater Menace was shown in full at the Missing Believed Wiped event but only an excerpt of about 10 minutes from Galaxy 4 was played, making the Cardiff screening the first time the whole episode had been seen in the UK since its initial transmission in September 1965.

The event was attended by Peter Purves, who played Steven in Galaxy 4, along with Anneke Wills and Frazer Hines, who played Polly and Jamie in The Underwater Menace. Following the screening, all three joined current show-runner Steven Moffat to answer questions about their time on the programme.

The panel was hosted by Gary Russell, and the event was attended by many other luminaries from the Doctor Who world, including some of the Restoration Team, who were greeted with much applause.

There is no news as to when the episodes will be released on DVD, although the BBC has said it is considering releasing them on iTunes.
With thanks to Greg James




FILTER: - Steven Moffat - William Hartnell - Classic Series - Patrick Troughton