Prequel: The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe

Tuesday, 6 December 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC have released the latest in their series of 'prequels', to set the scene for the upcoming Christmas Day adventure The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe; the video is written by Steven Moffat and features Matt Smith as the Doctor, who as usual has got himself into a spot of bother and is on the phone in a desperate bid to be rescued before ...


Prequel to The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe, via the BBC Doctor Who site (may not play outside United Kingdom)


A short introduction to the story by Matt Smith has also been released:

Matt Smith talks about the Christmas Special, BBC, via YouTube (also via BBC America and the BBC Doctor Who site)


BBC1's Christmas Drama trailer has also been unveiled, featuring clips from Doctor Who, The Borrowers, The Gruffalo's Child and other festive treats.

Drama at Christmas, BBC, via YouTube





FILTER: - Specials - Online

Adventure Calendar: Christmas Cards

Sunday, 4 December 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Today's Doctor Who Adventure Calendar has revealed four Christmas card designs for you to download, print and send to your friends! The PDF files are A4 sized, folded twice to create the card.







FILTER: - Doctor Who - Online

Global iPlayer reaches Canada

Friday, 2 December 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Originally piloted for Western Europe, the BBC's iPlayer application has now been extended to iphone users in Canada. Jana Bennett, BBC Worldwide President of Worldwide Networks and Global iPlayer said:
We're proud to be building on the successful launch of this App by introducing it to Canada. It will open up the opportunity for a whole new audience to enjoy the best moments from seventy years of brilliant BBC programmes, wherever and whenever they want.
The Canadian subscription fee is $8.99 a monthly or $84.99 annually. The service has also been made available in Australia, costing $9.49/$89.99 respectively. New users can test the application through carefully selected free content before subscribing.

As a special introduction, those who download the app this month can access a "free piece of festive content" every day until Christmas Day without having to sign up to the monthly or annual subscription.


Unlike the UK iPlayer, the global version provides both online streaming and downloading for offline viewing of programmes, with archives of popular shows available such as Only Fools and Horses and Spooks and of course Doctor Who - which is also a subject in the app's range of specially curated collections of programmes:
Subscribers can embark on a journey of discovery of great British talent and writers, as well as learning the story of Doctor Who’s famous Daleks in Daleks Forever which is just one of the curated collections available in the extensive archive.

(newslink: BBC Worldwide Press Release)





FILTER: - Online - Broadcasting - BBC

BBC Adventure Calendar 2011

Thursday, 1 December 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC have launched their traditional Adventure Calendar for 2011, which will once again feature videos, interviews, games, wallpapers, cards, quizzes and other items for fans to enjoy in the lead up to Christmas Day and The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe.

Day One sees the return of The Game of Rassilon, an interactive quiz featuring clips and questions about the festive episode, as well as testing your memory about the adventures of Christmas past.





Meanwhile, Doctor Who News is delighted to once again present Willy Phantom's Advent Calendar, featuring a new festive Doctor Who image in the sidebar every day until Christmas!





FILTER: - Online - Games - BBC

Consider Yourself One Of Us

Friday, 25 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC have released their BBC One festive trailer for 2011, featuring a number of well known celebrities appearing on the channel including David Jason, Graham Norton, Sir Bruce Forsyth, the BBC Breakfast crew, and the kids from Outnumbered; Doctor Who is represented by Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and a Cyberman!


You can watch the full trailer below:


"Consider Yourself One Of Us", BBC, via YouTube




FILTER: - Online - BBC

WhoNews for Charity

Tuesday, 22 November 2011 - Reported by Marcus
WhoNewsFor the next week WhoNews are donating all profits from their iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch application to charity.

The application provides access to the latest news from several Doctor Who, Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures websites in one easy to use application.

From Monday November 21st to the 28th, all profits from the WhoNews with be donated to two charities Cure Leukaemia and Little Hearts Matter.
Cure Leukaemia is a research charity which works with a number of hospitals to fund extra research nursing posts to drive forward research, provide facilities for world-class research, develop new clinical treatments for leukaemia patients, fund the provision of new drugs and treatments and support patients with blood cancers throughout the Midlands.
Little Hearts Matter is the national charity for children born with a single ventricle heart condition, more commonly called half a heart. Twenty years ago most of these children would have died within days or even hours of being born. Thankfully, today there is life-saving surgery available for many of these children, however not all survive the complex operations required. This open heart surgery starts when the child is just a few days old and they continue to need surgery at intervals throughout their childhood.

Just by purchasing WhoNews from the App Store either via iTunes or on an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, users will make a donation of £1.21 in the UK, $2.10 in the US and $1.90 in Australia. WhoNews is available from all iTunes App Stores across the world.




FILTER: - Online

Sega acquires Worlds in Time

Thursday, 17 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Sega has announced that it has acquired games developer Three Rings, the company that has partnered with BBC Worldwide to create an online virtual multi-user Doctor Who game world, Doctor Who: Worlds in Time.

Daniel James, CEO of Three Rings, said:
SEGA is also excited to be collaborating with us and the BBC to bring Doctor Who: Worlds in Time to completion. In particular, SEGA has a very strong presence in the UK, and many SEGA folks there are great fans of the show.


Worlds in Time was announced in February, with game described as being "both highly engaging and fun, allowing players to socialize and foster genuine cooperation, building a global community where fans worldwide will now be able to experience first hand the exciting action and adventure synonymous with Doctor Who."

Though originally slated for late this year, at present no announcement has been made for its launch date. Interested parties can sign up for details of a closed preview via the Worlds in Time website.


The full press release from Sega can be read here.





FILTER: - Online - Games

The Gunpowder Plot - Concept Art

Monday, 7 November 2011 - Reported by Marcus
The concept art for the new Doctor Who Adventure Game, The Gunpowder Plot is now available on-line.

Several backgrounds are available:The artwork was produced by Opus Artz, a 2D production design agency based in London, UK which produces digital art for film, games and publishing clients.





FILTER: - Online

The Gunpowder Plot - now available to play in the UK

Monday, 31 October 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC have now released their new Adventure Game, The Gunpowder Plot:
The TARDIS lands in London, 1605, encountering a group of men who are plotting to assassinate the Head of State. The Doctor, Amy and Rory realise they are at a pivotal point in time but so are two alien races, each of which are more than happy to change history to suit their own ends...
The game was written by Phil Ford and produced by Gary Russell, and is available to download for free in the United Kingdom.





FILTER: - Doctor Who - Online - Games

Save Doctor Who Confidential - Petition Day

Friday, 28 October 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Today marks a month since the announcement that Doctor Who Confidential was to be cancelled, and also when the SaveDWC campaign kicked off to help persuade the BBC that the series was still worth producing.

The online petition has now passed 50,000 signatories, and the site reports the importance of today for the campaign:
Important News
Petition Count will be taken shortly after TODAY: Friday 28th October 2011

A COUNT will be taken shortly after this date and we will send this to the BBC Trust.

The petition will REMAIN OPEN after this time, we are simply taking account of all signatures shortly after this day so we can send a figure to the BBC. The BBC themselves may check for an updated amount so it is still very important to sign after this date even though the letter will have been sent to the BBC.
As well as signing the petition, people interested in the campaign can also follow and discuss issues via Twitter and Facebook.


Doctor Who's Head Writer Steven Moffat recently expressed his personal view of the cancellation in the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine, commenting on how the exploration of behind-the-scenes inspired him and many others (not least of which the 'next generation' of writers/producers/etc. as demonstrated by this year's Script to Screen initiative):
... Matt, Marcus and I went to a school to meet the winners of the Script to Screen competition, and see them watch their own work on screen. ... for once we weren't visitors from the impossible, unattainable world of television - because they'd been told they could be part of it too, and they'd even seen it happen. Out there, among all those children who took part in Script to Screen, possibilities opened and futures changed. Tell me what is more important than that?
...
When I was a kid, Doctor Who made me want to see behind the scenes. Seeing behind the scenes made me never want to leave, and one day, incredibly, got me the job of a lifetime. It did the same for Russell and David. And Mark and Gareth, and Neil, and Paul, and Toby, and Other Toby, and Chris, and Tom and Tom and Marcus and Piers and many more than I can count and it is going to keep doing that for as long as it is allowed.
His views were also picked up in the media, including Digital Journal, the Sun, and Unreality TV.





FILTER: - Fan Productions - Online