The British Board of Film Classification have passed the special features that will appear on the forthcoming DVD release of the final complete Patrick Troughton adventure, The Krotons:

00:52:20:21 SECOND TIME AROUND - THE TROUGHTON YEARS
00:17:25:02 DOCTOR WHO STORIES - FRAZER HINES (PT 1)
00:07:16:08 THE DOCTOR'S STRANGE LOVE: THE KROTONS
00:05:24:24 THE KROTONS - PHOTO GALLERY

The commentary for the episode was cleared by the BBFC on 5th April, and includes cast members Philip Madoc (Eelek), Gilbert Wynne (Thara), Richard Ireson (Axus), with production represented by Bobi Bartlett (costumes), Sylvia James (make-up), David Tilley (assisant floor manager), and Brian Hodgson (special sound), plus moderation by Toby Hadoke - you can also read about commentary production in an interview with Hadoke and producer John Kelly via SFX.

A clean version of the cover art by Lee Binding for the DVD has been published via the Tea-Lady Design Facebook page (where the artwork of many of the recent releases can also be viewed).


The DVD is expected to be released in the UK on 9th July and in North America on 10th July.

Gallifrey One's Network 23, which was held last month in Los Angeles saw not only the cast of the TV Movie reunited with each other, but also reunited with the TARDIS console used in the 1996 Doctor Who story.

The console is owned by Paul Salamoff, a Doctor Who fan and veteran of the film industry who has worked as a Writer, Producer, Film Executive, Comic Book Creator, Author, and originally as a Special F/X Make-Up Artist.

Salamoff obtained the TARDIS console in 2006 after being put in contact with the owner of the Vancouver prop company that had originally built it for the movie. At the time the owner was keen to get rid of the prop, which was taking up to much space in his shop, so sold it to Salamoff for a knock-down price. Although the console was in pretty decent shape with all the lights working, the Time-Rotor was gone and some of the switches were missing including the large hand crank. All the feet on the base were broken at the ankles and had been quickly hot glued back together.

It was the announcement that the 23rd annual Gallifrey One convention, would see a reunion of the entire main cast and producer behind the 1996 Movie, that provided the inspiration for Salamoff and two friends, Brian Uiga and Bob Mitsch, to attempt a full restoration of the console. The three were well suited to take on the task. Salamoff himself has worked on Special FX on over forty films, ten television series, and numerous commercials. Brian Uiga has been building gadgets and props since 1996, when he first saw the TV Movie and fell in love with the show. He has worked with Salamoff to provide parts for a complete TARDIS toolkit. Bob Mitsch is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a degree in English and Screen writing, his hobbies include writing, films and has created many costumes based on the series.

Since obtaining the console, Salamoff had already built a replica of the Time-Rotor. Further restoration work included replacing all broken switches, adding lights to the Time-Rotor, bracing the legs, building and replace the hand crank, restoring functionality to the three clocks, wiring up a custom sound board & speaker which would activate music & Sound Effects by switch, wiring lights to a relay s panels would dim & flash in alternating fashion as seen in the TVM, rigging a motor on the middle main clock so it could spin forwards or backwards as seen in TVM and wiring up all of these functions so they can all be activated by remote control.

Some parts were had built from scratch while some were adapted from existing bits and bobs such as craft beads. Original footage from the movie was used to try to get as accurate a match as possible and the console was re-wired and re-painted.

The Console was given pride of place in a special presentation at Gallifrey One where convention members could have their photo taken with the console. A full six-part report on the complete restoration can be found at Bob Mitsch's blog. 1 2 3 4 5 6

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Full Gallifrey One review here.

Big Finish are to run a special sale of Eighth Doctor audio adventures over the course of this week, with a different season every day. The series features Paul McGann reprising his role as the Doctor, alongside Sheridan Smith as Lucie Miller.

Day	Season	Complete Season Price	Episode Price
Monday 20th February	Season One (eight episodes)	£35 (US $60)	£5 each (US $9)
Tuesday 21st February	Season Two (eight stories)	£35 (US $60)	£5 each (US $9)
Wednesday 22nd February	Season Three (eight stories)	£35 (US $60)	£5 each (US $9)
Thursday 24th February	Season Four (ten stories)	£40 (US $75)	£5 each (US $9)

The first Eighth Doctor Adventure Blood of the Daleks is also available to download for free until midnight tonight (Sunday), US time.

The BBC revealed today that two complete episodes of Doctor Who have been returned to the BBC Archives.

Firstly, the complete third episode of the William Hartnell story Galaxy 4, Air Lock has been recovered - prior to this only a short segment from the first episode remained in the archive with no telesnaps taken to show how the third episode and its characters would have looked.

Secondly, the complete second episode of Patrick Troughton's third story The Underwater Menace has also been recovered - making this the earliest complete episode for the Second Doctor to now exist in the Archives (alongside the existing episode three).


Both episodes were found via former TVS engineer Terry Burnett, who bought them at a school fête in Marchwood, Southampton back in the 1980s! Restoration Team member Ralph Montagu told the Radio Times how they came to his attention:
Both episodes were shown this afternoon at the British Film Institute's Missing Believed Wiped event - the first time they've been seen in the United Kingdom since their original transmission! (Air Lock was originally seen on 25th September 1965, with The Underwater Menace episode two on 21st January 1967) Screen shots from the episodes may be seen in the BBC's Doctor Who Adventure Calendar Day 11.


The episodes will require restoration work before they can be commercially released, with film damage to be repaired and missing censored clips to be re-instated. An announcement will be made by 2|Entertain next year as to when they are likely to appear on DVD. Meanwhile, the previous existing material for both stories can be found on the Lost in Time DVD boxed set.


These are the first full episodes to have been recovered since the 1965 Daleks' Master Plan episode Day of Armageddon turned up back in 2004, and brings the total missing episodes tally to 106.

Time to search those attics for more episodes!

Matt Smith reflects on the cancellation of Doctor Who Confidential: "It's a pity as I think it's a show which can reinvent itself year on year and it's one of the biggest shows on BBC3. But I guess people come in and have new ideas and want to have their own fresh take on it but, hey, some you win, some you lose..." [What's on TV, 8 Dec 2011]

Arthur Darvill was on hand to open a new PlayPod in the playground at Whitehall Infant School, Walsall. Installed by charity Children's Scrapstore, the play area was made with the practical application of scrap material. The actor said: "“It’s simple-looking from the outside, but a world of magic and wonder within. Watching the children playing with all this stuff I wonder how we haven't thought of it before. It's fantastic to see the kids having so much fun with things that would otherwise be thrown away." [Birmingham Mail, 10 Dec 2011]

Elisabeth Sladen has featured in the Top Ten Actresses to trend during 2011 on the social communication network Twitter. The actress, who died in April, was the fifth most discussed of the year, with Elizabeth Taylor topping the trend category. [Twitter Year in Review: Hot Topics, Dec 2011]

John Barrowman has appeared in a video promoting pet travel with Virgin Atlantic, during which he talks about his three dogs and how he feels about the service provided by the airline. [Virgin Atlantic via YouTube, 8 Dec 2011]

Paul McGann will be the subject of In Conversation With ..., to take place at Liverpool's St George’s Hall Concert Room in February. The interview includes clips and photographs of the actor's life and work, and will also see his five favourite songs performed live on stage. The event is rounded off with a Q&A from the audience. McGann said: "I was thrilled to be asked, then bashful terror set in until my mate David Morrissey calmed me down and assured me, having done it himself, that you can’t actually die from talking about your life and work in a beautiful room surrounded by friends and family and your favourite music. Guess I will just have to trust him!" [Click Liverpool, 8 Dec 2011]

Doctor Who returns to Germany this December when Series Five begins broadcasting on the pay TV FOX Channel.

The first episode Fünf vor zwölf, which translates as Five to Twelve will screen on the channel on 21st December at 8.15pm CET with episode two following later the same evening. The network has launched a website to tie in with the series

Series 5 will also be made available on iTunes Germany in both German and English beginning December 22nd.

German fans have yet to see broadcast the third and fourth series starring David Tennant.

serienjunkies.com has a report detailing the somewhat chequered history of Doctor Who broadcasts in Germany.

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Meanwhile Televisió de Catalunya, has begun transmitting series 6 in Catalan on Canal 3XL. The series continues this Friday with La maledicció de la taca negra.

Tom Baker

Tom Baker appeared at the launch of Elisabeth Sladen’s autobiography which took place on Saturday at the Doctor Who Experience in London. Baker said that meeting Sladen changed the direction of his life as it made him so happy in the role of The Doctor that her realised he could play the character for the rest of his life and didn’t need to act any more. He spoke of how they adored each other and how he fondly remembered standing arm in arm with her inside the TARDIS, giggling while they waited for their cue.

Baker was joined at the launch by former Script Editor Terrance Dicks and by Sladen’s daughter Sadie Miller. Dicks remembered Sladen’s qualities of self possession, dignity and independence, qualities he drew on when writing scripts for the character of Sarah Jane, while Miller said the family were keen to have the autobiography published as a thank you to the fans of Elisabeth.

Colin Baker

Colin Baker is looking forward to being back in panto next month: "I absolutely love playing the bad guy - and they don’t get much worse than Fleshcreep. I feel as though if there’s one child in the audience crying, I’m doing ok. If they are all crying - perhaps I’ve gone too far!". He'll be appearing in Jack and the Beanstalk in the Mansfield's Palace Theatre. [Mansfield Chad, 26 Nov 2011]

Channel 4 have released a publicity photograph for Colin's forthcoming appearance in Celebrity Come Dine With Me that will be broadcast over Christmas, alongside other celebrities Linda Nolan, Bianca Gascoigne, Nick Bateman and Danny Young.

Paul McGann

Paul McGann explores the rumour that Adolf Hitler spent time in Liverpool before the First World War in an item to feature on the BBC's regional programme Inside Out (North West) on Monday 28th November, 7:30pm.

Paul talks to author Mike Unger, who has written the book The Hitlers of Liverpool based on the memoirs of Hitler's sister-in-law wherein it is reported that the future German leader fled to England to avoid national service in Austria, staying with his half brother and her in late 1912.

The programme will be available to viewers in the UK on the BBC iPlayer after broadcast for seven days.

Christopher Eccleston

Christopher Eccleston is starring as Pod in The Borrowers this coming Christmas, and talks about taking on the role:
You can read more of Chris's interview and about the programme via the BBC's Media Centre.


Chris's current project is a new thriller for the BBC, The Fuse, which started filming this month.
You can read more about The Fuse via the BBC's Media Centre.

Matt Smith

The BBC have released some more information on Matt Smith's project Bert and Dickie, which he filmed over the summer.
The film will form part of the BBC's Cultural Olympiad 2012.

The Three Doctors

Steven Moffat celebrated his birthday in style with a party last Saturday (19th November) that saw three Doctors alongside the show's lead writer! Speaking on Monday's BBC Breakfast, Matt Smith said:

The sixth series of Doctor Who has arrived in Spain, with Syfy España broadcasting episodes on Monday evenings, dubbed into Spanish; the series kicked off last Monday with El astronauta imposible and continues tonight with El dia de la Luna at 9:30pm (CEST), repeated tomorrow at 5:00pm and Saturday at 11:00am.

More details can be found from SyFy's Doctor Who page, and channel information is also available via Facebook.

(Series Six Trailer, Syfy-España, via their Doctor Who website)
Series Description:
El Doctor Who es un extravagante aventurero capaz de viajar a través del tiempo y el espacio. En cada uno de sus viajes, Who y su compañera Amy vivirán fascinantes aventuras que les llevarán a enfrentarse a todo tipo de alienígenas y monstruos.	Doctor Who is a flamboyant adventurer able to travel through time and space. In each of his travels he and his partner Amy will go through exciting adventures that lead them to face all kinds of aliens and monsters.
Vuelve la serie más longeva de la television con todos sus protagonistas. En esta sexta temporada, tras la boda de Amy y Rory, recibirán 3 misteriosos mensajes que les urgen a congregarse en una localización en el desierto de Utah. Allí descubrirán un secreto que marcará sus destinos. Las nuevas aventuras del Dr. Who les llevarán a conocer al presidente Nixon, viajarán en un barco pirata, descubrirán que en el futuro la humanidad hace uso de la clonación y vivirán uno de los momentos clave del siglo XX en la Europa previa a la segunda guerra mundial. La sexta temporada conmemorará el 50° aniversario de la primera emisión de Doctor Who, una serie de culto que ha entretenido a generaciones con una mezcla de fantasía, ciencia, historia y aventura. En esta temporada, Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) y Mark Sheppard (Battlestar Galactica, Warehouse 13), serán dos de las estrellas invitadas. Además, el escritor Neil Gaiman, ha sido el encargado de escribir el cuarto capítulo de la temporada, que se emitirá en España el día 7 de noviembre y será uno de los momentos más esperados por los fans de la serie.	The longest running series returns to television with all its players. In this sixth season, after the wedding of Amy and Rory, they will receive 3 mysterious messages that urge them to congregate at a location in the Utah desert. There they will discover a secret that will make their destinies. The new adventures of Dr. Who will lead them to meet President Nixon, travel on a pirate ship, discover that in the future mankind makes use of cloning, and live through one of the key moments of the twentieth century in Europe prior to the second world war. The sixth season will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who, a cult series that has entertained generations with a mixture of fantasy, science, history and adventure. In this season, Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) and Mark Sheppard (Battlestar Galactica, Warehouse 13) will be among the guest stars. In addition, the writer Neil Gaiman has been commissioned to write the fourth chapter of the season to be broadcast in Spain on 7th November, and will be one of the most anticipated moments for fans of the series.

Next week sees the Doctor encounter La maldicion del punto negro.

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As well as the most recent series, Syfy España is also currently showing Series Three episodes daily.

Meanwhile Boing has just completed a run of the fifth series (with La Pandorica se abre/El Big Bang currently available to watch online), and commence a new run of episodes next Saturday.

Tom Baker will be visiting St Michael’s Hospice in Hastings on the 30th October; a keen supporter, the actor will be signing for £5 donations to the hospice. Community Fundraiser Amanda Hildreth said: "We’re extremely excited to be welcoming Tom to the hospice and providing an opportunity for his many fans to meet him. Tom is a great supporter of the hospice and this kind offer shows his commitment to both his fans and the work of St Michael's. Tom has a huge cult following and we’re expecting the signing to prove very popular not only with local fans, but also fans from all over the UK." [Hastings Observer, 9 Oct 2011]

David Tennant will be playing Robert Louis Stevenson in a two-part adaptation for BBC Radio Four; Stevenson in Love focusses on two of the writer's trips, to France and in America, and on the influence upon him of his future wife. It is broadcast on 26th and 27th October. [The Stage, 11 Oct 2011]

Paul McGann will be appearing on 17-18th November at the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse Studio in Grotesque Chaos, a play about former politician Derek Hatton by local writer Michael McLean. Suzanne Bell, Everyman and Playhouse literary manager, said: "We are thrilled Paul will be involved with this challenging and interesting play. He was excited to take on the role of Derek Hatton having read Michael McLean’s script and is also bringing a great deal of knowledge to the project." [Liverpool Echo, 12 Oct 2011]

Colin Baker arrives at the Malvern Theatres for performances of the Wilkie Collins play The Woman in White; it runs between 18th and 22nd October. [Worcester Standard, 13 Oct 2011]

Karen Gillan's role as Shirley in John Osborne’s Inadmissible Evidence is attributed as the reason for its sell-out at the Donmar Warehouse. On the play, the actress said: "I think the writing’s really amazing, it’s so full of hate. It sounds like John Osborne ranting. It goes to a place that I haven’t encountered before. It’s all jagged, sometimes it doesn’t even fit together logically. You really have to investigate it to understand it.". And on taking on the role and the encouragment of her Doctor Who co-stars: "I’m completely terrified. But that’s what makes it exciting. When Matt and Arthur heard I had a part at the Donmar they were so pleased. They were, like, you’ve got to grab this with both hands. So that’s what I’m going to do." [Telegraph, 15 Oct 2011]

Speaking of the Donmar Warehouse, Sir Derek Jacobi (Professor Yana/The Master) has been nominated for their touring production of King Lear; the actor is up for Best Performance in the 2011 Theatre Awards. [BBC News, 30 Sep 2011]

Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper) talks about how Torchwood has done wonders for Wales: "Yeah, it's really put it on the map, massively. The Welsh tourist board can't be more grateful because Torchwood uses the shots of the coastline, the mountains - and all the aliens we have and all the deadly goings on. It's also shown who the Welsh are, making the Welsh as real as possible on telly. We are not this stupid comedy nation. We are a bunch of smart, proud, passionate people who love showing off their country." [New Zealand Herald, 13 Oct 2011]

Back in September, we reported that Arthur Darvill would feature in the Bush Theatre production Sixty Six Books; now, it has been revealed that Catherine Tate (Donna Noble) will kick off the theatrical event by playing God - a high tech, high heeled, pale suited Almighty accompanied by an angel with a laptop who dispatches her tweets to the Internet in author Jeanette Winterson's interpretation of Genesis. Artistic director Josie Rourke said: "It's a very funny piece, it's very bold. Catherine came naturally to mind for that. She just walks out onto a stage and recruits everybody into what she's doing - and that's absolutely what it needs." [BBC News, 14 Oct 2011]

Christmas kicks off early in Skegness, with Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon) appearing as Muddles in a special preview of Snow White at the town's Embassy Theatre - the show was attended by its writers, pupils from Skegness Infants School. The pantomine will open on 14th December. [Skegness Standard, 14 Oct 2011]

Will Brooks, co-author of the forthcoming Memoirs of an Edwardian Adventurer, has informed us that the pre-order date for the book has been pushed forward to 10:00pm this coming Friday, 26th August - this is in order to be able to launch the book as scheduled for 10th October.

Those who pre-order the book will have their names printed inside the book as a special thanks.