Sunday 21st April sees the broadcast of two four-part Tom Baker stories, Pyramids of Mars (1975) and The Hand of Fear (1976), on Australian and New Zealand television. The two stories, screened back-to-back, are the 15th and 16th instalments in the 50th Anniversary season of Doctor Who stories on the UKTV channel.

The stories are scheduled in New Zealand at 2:15pm and 4:00pm, and in Australia at 2:30pm and 4:30pm respectively. New Zealand has additional screenings on Monday 22nd April at 2:20am and 4:05am.

The two stories were both first broadcast in Australia in 1978. New Zealand also saw Pyramids of Mars in 1978, but The Hand of Fear first screened in 1979.

The UKTV billing describes the stories as follows:
UKTV is showing stories throughout the year in the lead-up to the anniversary in November. Pyramids of Mars and The Hand of Fear are the third and fourth in a set of six stories featuring Tom Baker's Doctor broadcast during April.

The schedule of upcoming stories includes: The Robots of Death and City of Death (28th April), Kinda (5 May), Earthshock and Snakedance (12 May), Frontios and Resurrection of the Daleks (19 May), The Caves of Androzani (26 May).

Up-and-coming broadcasts from both 20th and 21st Century series of Doctor Who can be found via UKTV's Doctor Who sections for Australia and New Zealand.

Since the original announcement earlier in the year, the schedule for DVD releases in the United Kingdom has altered slightly, with some titles pushed back further in the year. The stories currently listed are: The Visitation (SE) (6 May), Inferno SE (27 May), The Mind of Evil (3 Jun), Spearhead from Space (Blu-ray, 15 Jul), The Green Death (SE) (5 Aug), The Ice Warriors (26 Aug), Scream of the Shalka (16 Sep), and Terror of the Zygons (30 Sep).

In addition, the British Video Association lists the following titles under the umbrella theme of The Monster Collection, all currently cited for the 8th July: Cybermen, Davros, Silurians, Sontarans, The Daleks and The Master.

The schedule may well change again in the coming months, but BBC Worldwide have confirmed this week that Inferno (full release details here) is still planned for release at the end of next month.

(Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed the absence of the "Regeneration" boxed set from the lists above - as of writing though Amazon and the BBC Shop have it listed for the 10th June, the BVA have listed it as "pulled from schedule". BBC Worldwide have not currently released any further details about the set or its status.)

Series Seven classifications:

The BBFC have now classified episodes for the forthcoming Series Seven Part Two DVD boxed set: The Snowmen (59m51s), The Bells of Saint John (45m24s), The Rings of Akhaten (43m51s), Cold War (41m37s), Hide (44m51s), Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS (44m56s), The Crimson Horror (44m44s), and Nightmare in Silver (44m43s) have been passed, but as of writing the as-yet untitled series finale has yet to be listed. In addition, the 43 minute feature The Companions has also been passed as additional content in the set.

Coming Soon:

Coming Soon trailers have been passed for the Blu-ray edition of Spearhead from Space, and for the animation-enhanced DVD release of The Moonbase - the latter previously listed for release in the United States.

Music heard in the first episode of Doctor Who is to be made exclusively available on vinyl as part of this year's Record Store Day.

Three Guitars Mood 2 is the song that introduces the Doctor's granddaughter Susan, who is listening to it on a hand-held transistor radio when the audience first sees her. It is attributed by her to John Smith And The Common Men, and they are the title artists of a three-track EP, Sounds From The Inferno, which is being released on Saturday 20th April on the Hysterion Records label.

The back cover of the 7-inch EP includes a guide to the hand movements performed to the song by Susan.

The B-side has the tracks Latin Gear and The Eyelash, which are two pieces of music heard in The Inferno nightclub in the season 3 closing story The War Machines.

Hysterion Records' Ronnie Shame said: The EP - or extended play - is a numbered limited edition of 1,000 copies and will only be available from independent record shops. Copies will be sold on a first-come first-served basis and cannot be pre-ordered or bought online. A list of retailers taking part in Record Store Day is available here.

Three Guitars Mood 2 was actually composed by Nelson and Raymond, performed by The Arthur Nelson Group, and originally released on the Conroy label, while The Eyelash and Latin Gear were composed by Johnny Hawksworth and included on the album The Mood Modern, brought out on the Keith Prowse Music label.

BBC Worldwide have announced details for the forthcoming release of The Ice Warriors on DVD. The two-disc set has been provisionally scheduled for release on 26th August 2013 for R2 and 28th August for R4 (a R1 date has yet to be confirmed).

A number of new stills from the animated episodes have also been published, including a recent tweet by producer Chris Chapman comparing the animation with an existing telesnap:

BBC Worldwide have also released a brief video excerpt to demonstrate the animation via their YouTube channel.

Big Finish: Ice Warriors special offer:

Saturday has yet more Ice Warrior excitement, as the Martians return to television in Cold War. To celebrate their appearance Big Finish are running a special offer on their adventures in audio/download over the weekend:

Sunday 14th April sees the broadcast of the six-part 1975 Tom Baker story Genesis of the Daleks on Australian and New Zealand television. The story is the 14th instalment in the 50th Anniversary season of Doctor Who stories on the UKTV channel.

The story is scheduled in New Zealand at 3:25pm and in Australia at 3:30pm . New Zealand has an additional screening on Monday 15th April at 3:20am.

Genesis of the Daleks was first broadcast in Australia in 1977. New Zealand viewers didn't get to see the story for another decade - it was first screened by TVNZ in 1987.

UKTV is showing stories throughout the year in the lead-up to the anniversary in November. Genesis of the Daleks is the second in a set of six stories featuring Tom Baker's Doctor broadcast during April.

The rest of the month's schedule includes: Pyramids of Mars and The Hand of Fear (both 21st April), and The Robots of Death and City of Death (both 28th April).

Up-and-coming broadcasts from both 20th and 21st Century series of Doctor Who can be found via UKTV's Doctor Who sections  for Australia and New Zealand.

Sunday 7th April sees the broadcast of the four-part 1975 Tom Baker story The Ark in Space on Australian and New Zealand television. The story is the 13th instalment in the 50th Anniversary season of Doctor Who stories on the UKTV channel.

The story is scheduled in Australia at 3:30pm and in New Zealand at 4:00pm. New Zealand has an additional screening on Monday 8th April at 3:55am.

The Ark in Space was first broadcast in Australia in 1976. New Zealand got to see it in 1978.

The UKTV billing describes the story as follows:

The TARDIS arrives on a deactivated space station Nerva otherwise known as the Ark. The Doctor, Sarah & Harry find the last survivors of the human race in suspended animation.

UKTV is showing stories throughout the year in the lead-up to the anniversary in November. The Ark in Space is the first in a set of six stories featuring Tom Baker's Doctor broadcast during April.

The rest of the month's schedule includes: Genesis of the Daleks (14th April), Pyramids of Mars and The Hand of Fear (21st April), and The Robots of Death and City of Death (28th April).

Up-and-coming broadcasts from both 20th and 21st Century series of Doctor Who can be found via UKTV's Doctor Who sections  for Australia and New Zealand.

BBC Worldwide/Warner Home Entertainment have released details on a forthcoming DVD release, The Doctors Revisited (1-4), a four-disc boxed set being released as part of BBC America's 50th Anniversary celebration of Doctor Who.

This set features the first four special documentaries broadcast by the channel for William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, each accompanied by the story that illustrated them (The Aztecs, The Tomb of the Cybermen, Spearhead from Space and Pyramids of Mars). As a bonus, each story will also feature an introduction by the show's current lead writer and executive producer, Steven Moffat.

Amazon have made the story available for pre-order, with a release date of 11th June 2013.

The Revisited trailers can be viewed online for the First, Second and Third Doctors.

The Moonbase:

As well as the release above, Amazon have also listed The Moonbase for pre-order! The site describes the release thus:
No other information is known about this item or its features at present, though last year special sound composer Brian Hodgson indicated that he had recorded a commentary for the story.

The second in the range of classic Doctor Who soundtracks has been announced by Silva Screen Records, this time focussing on the Second Doctor with the electronic soundscape created by Brian Hodgson for The Krotons.


The soundtrack is due to be released on the 13th May 2013 on CD and download, and will also be released as a limited edition 10" Vinyl disc on the 24th May.

Competition:

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:


Please send your answer to krotons-competition@doctorwhonews.net with the subject line "Winner-Gond!", along with your name, address, and where you read about this competition. The competition is open worldwide, and the closing date will be on the 30th April 2013. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

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There is still time to enter our The Caves of Androzani soundtrack competition - see here for more details (closing date 31st March).

A forthcoming biography of former Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner has been causing a media stir with newspapers focusing on allegations of sexual exploitation.

JN-T: The Life and Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner, written by Richard Marson and to be brought out in May by Miwk Publishing, is based on more than 100 interviews with friends and colleagues as well as inside knowledge by Marson, who has also had access to the entire surviving archive of Nathan-Turner's paperwork and photos.

In its review published on 10th March, SFX predicted a tabloid firestorm thanks to one particular chapter, entitled Hanky Panky, while the current edition of Private Eye, published last week, similarly warned of unfavourable headlines for the BBC, and that's exactly what has happened. A measured book review was published last Friday by The Guardian, but the tabloids have subsequently gone to town on claims that in the 1980s both Nathan-Turner and his partner Gary Downie, a Doctor Who production team member, used their senior roles to prey on male fans - some of whom were under the legal age of consent at the time (Mirror, Mail, and Sun). Marson says himself in the book that he was assaulted by Downie.

Miwk's website includes endorsements for the book from people such as director Fiona Cumming who, with Ian Fraser, says: "Some of the revelations are painful (but) we find this very rounded, well-written and honest." Drama serials manager and later producer Brian Spilsby comments: "I must say you have skewered JN-T precisely. I can vouch for all of the facts and most of the opinions. It's a very accurate - warts-and-all - picture you paint." And David Reid, who was the BBC's head of drama for series and serials from 1981 to 1983, says of the biography: "Quite wonderful on many, many levels. Gripping, fascinating, appalling – and, by the end, truly moving. Immaculate research makes the whole utterly trustworthy. A very good and very well-written book."

Responding to the allegations, the BBC has urged anyone with information to contact the police or the Dame Janet Smith Review, which was set up in the wake of the Jimmy Savile abuse scandal to look into the culture and practices of the BBC while Savile worked there.

Nathan-Turner died in 2002 and Downie in 2006.

Sunday 24th March sees the broadcast of the four-part 1974 Jon Pertwee story Death to the Daleks in Australia and New Zealand. The story is the 12th instalment in the 50th Anniversary season of Doctor Who stories on the UKTV channel.

The story is scheduled in New Zealand at 4:15pm and in Australia at 4:30pm. New Zealand gets an additional screening on Monday 25th March at 4:40am.

Death to the Daleks was first broadcast in Australia in 1975. New Zealand got to see it in 1976.

The UKTV billing describes the story as follows:

A power failure in the TARDIS draws it off course, the Doctor & Sarah Jane Smith end up stranded on the planet of Exxilon. They must find out what is draining their power.

UKTV is showing stories throughout the year in the lead-up to the anniversary in November. Death to the Daleks is the last in a set of four stories featuring Jon Pertwee's Doctor broadcast during March. The series will take a break next week for Easter.

Next month UKTV will present six Tom Baker stories in four weeks: The Ark in Space (7th April), Genesis of the Daleks (14th April), Pyramids of Mars and The Hand of Fear (21st April), and The Robots of Death and City of Death (28th April).

Up-and-coming broadcasts from both 20th and 21st Century series of Doctor Who can be found via UKTV's Doctor Who sections  for Australia and New Zealand.