The Doctor Who Appreciation Society have released details on their plans in the lead-up to Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary:
Current items include a downloadable copy of Celestial Toyroom Issue Four from 1976, which includes an interview with Robert Holmes, and an audience with Paul Darrow from 2011 via YouTube (parts one and two).

.As previously reported, Splendid Chaps is a year-long performance/podcast project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who hosted by comedian Ben McKenzie (Dungeon Crawl, Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour) and writer John Richards (ABC1 sitcom Outland, Boxcutters podcast).

Described by its creators as part intellectual panel discussion, part nerdy Tonight Show, Splendid Chaps is a combination of analysis, enthusiasm and irreverence. The first episode went to number 1 on the iTunes TV & Film Podcast chart in Australia, and to number 4 in the UK. The podcasts to previous episodes are now available at www.splendidchaps.com or at iTunes.

Thanks to the generous support of their listeners in Sydney and beyond, the Splendid Chaps are hitting the road and materialising in Glebe to stop talking about our heroes and instead think about those not-so-splendid chaps (and, er…things?), the monsters and villains of Doctor Who!

Daleks, Sontarans, Cybermen, the Silence, Silurians, Quarks… The Doctor’s monsters sometimes seem to be physical manifestations of humanity’s fears. Is it the creatures we find so terrifying, or what they represent – and what do they represent? The Chaps will celebrate the baddest of the bad, as well as those whose galactic domination has been less than completely successful.

Then there are the less literal, more human monsters: the Master, Davros, Lady Cassandra… Are they all thoroughly evil, or do they have more subtle motivations? What makes a good Doctor Who villain tick? Are they better than inhuman monsters, or is it best when they work hand in hand? They’re often some of the best fun to be had in a story, so let's embrace the dark side!

Ben, John and Petra Elliott will be joined by writer and comedian Alice Fraser (FBi Radio, NewsLab), and actor and presenter Steven “Bajo” O’Donnell (ABC2′s Good Game, ABC3′s Good Game: Spawn Point) to talk about the people and things we love to hate. Plus prizes, surprises, loveliness and a live musical performance of a lost Doctor Who classic tune from Keira “LadyNerd” Daley and Catriona Wimberley!

Space: upstairs, The Roxbury Hotel, 182 St Johns Road, Glebe, Sydney
Time: Saturday, November 30 2013, 5:00 PM
Accessibility: Splendid Chaps regret that this venue is not wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: $25
Bookings: via trybooking.com or at the door (if seats available)
Podcast: TBA.

As previously reported, Splendid Chaps is a year-long performance/podcast project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who hosted by comedian Ben McKenzie (Dungeon Crawl, Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour) and writer John Richards (ABC1 sitcom Outland, Boxcutters podcast).

Described by its creators as part intellectual panel discussion, part nerdy Tonight Show, Splendid Chaps is a combination of analysis, enthusiasm and irreverence. The first episode went to number 1 on the iTunes TV & Film Podcast chart in Australia, and to number 4 in the UK. The podcasts to previous episodes are now available at www.splendidchaps.com or at iTunes.

After a number of successful Melbourne shows, and requests from Sydney based fans, the chaps are now crowdfunding for a possible Sydney show on Saturday 30 November. For fans interested in supporting a Splendid Chaps show in Sydney, or wanting more information, you can visit their Pozible campaign page here. The Chaps have until 2nd November to reach their $3,000 goal.

Guests can't be confirmed until the show is locked in but they've already worded up some great possible guests, including comedian Alice Fraser, host of ABC2′s Good Game, Steven “Bajo” O’Donnell and more (subject to availability)! Like all their shows it will be a mix of intelligent discussion, irreverent banter and a musical act. The Chaps will be looking at the subject of Monsters and Villains – how does the show see them? How has it changed? And why has Who had so many baddies in wheelchairs?

.As previously reported, Splendid Chaps is a year-long performance/podcast project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who hosted by comedian Ben McKenzie (Dungeon Crawl, Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour) and writer John Richards (ABC1 sitcom Outland, Boxcutters podcast).

Described by its creators as part intellectual panel discussion, part nerdy Tonight Show, Splendid Chaps is a combination of analysis, enthusiasm and irreverence. The first episode went to number 1 on the iTunes TV & Film Podcast chart in Australia, and to number 4 in the UK. The podcasts to previous episodes are now available at www.splendidchaps.com or at iTunes.

Tickets are now available for their three live November shows: "What I Learned From Doctor Who", "The Other Splendid Chaps: The Companions" and "Eleven/Future". 

In the first of these three shows, the Splendid Chaps are doing a special bonus episode talking about what they’ve learned from Doctor Who!

Born in part as an educational program, with Sydney Newman wanting no “bug-eyed monsters”, Doctor Who has often sought to educate us about our world – and the Universe beyond it. But over the years, as the traditional educational content about history and science faded away, it still brought us concepts and ideas – Buddhism, mythology, ethics, politics, friendship…there’s so much to learn from the Doctor!

Ben, John and Petra Elliott will be joined by comedian, actor and teacher Rob Lloyd (Who, Me.), and writer and editor Liz Barr (Chicks Unravel Time and its impending sequel) for a discussion of what Doctor Who has taught them. Plus prizes, surprises, all the usual Splendid Stuff, and a live poetry performance from the one and only Emile Zoey Baker!

Space: Toorak/South Yarra Library, 340 Toorak Road, South Yarra
Time: Saturday, November 16 2013, 4:00 PM
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: All tickets $10 (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via trybooking.com, or buy tickets at the door (subject to availability)
Podcast: TBA.

In their second show for November, the Splendid Chaps are back with another bonus episode, this time at the Melbourne City Library as part of its Doctor Who Festival, talking about those other splendid chaps – the companions!

Companion, assistant, sidekick…none of these names really do the role of TARDIS occupant and time-space adventurer justice. In fifty years the Doctor has had almost as many fellow travellers aboard the TARDIS – most human, but also a few robots, aliens and fellow Time Lords. Exactly who counts varies depends on who you ask, but they’ve always been understood to be our point-of-view character; a proxy for the audience who will ask the Doctor to explain what on (or off) Earth is going on. Who are these people? What do they teach us about ourselves, the Doctor, and our changing society? Are they really there to get in trouble, pass the Zeus plugs and make the Doctor a better person, or is there more to them than meets the eye? And how different is the new series’ attitude to its supporting characters?

Ben, John and Petra will be joined by writer, director and podcaster Lucas Testro (Neighbours, Winners and Losers, NonCanonical), and broadcaster, documentary maker and podcaster Marian Blythe (3RRR, Boxcutters 2.0) to talk about the rest of the TARDIS crew. Plus prizes, surprises, loveliness and a live musical performance of a lost Doctor Who classic tune from Emma Heeney!

Space: Melbourne City Library, 253 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Time: Tuesday, November 19 2013, 6:30 PM
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: Free! (bookings essential; limited seats available)
Bookings: via webwiredsolutions.com.au or at the door (if seats available)
Podcast: TBA.

Finally, their eleventh and final(ish) major episode brings then to the (still) current Doctor, Matt Smith. Splitting fan opinion on his announcement, in part because of his youth and obscurity, he soon won over audiences with a performance influenced by Patrick Troughton. This was also the biggest time of change in the revived show’s history, with not only a new Doctor, but a new production team, headed by fan favourite writer Steven Moffat, bringing a definite new feel to the show.

As Splendid Chaps draws to a close, the Chaps want to look forward as well as back, and so take as their theme the future. The Doctor in the old series and the new has often looked forward in time, whether a few decades, a few centuries, or even millions or billions of years. How has the show depicted the future? Has it tried to be predictive, or to express our hopes and fears? And what of the future of the show itself? With Matt Smith leaving, what does the future have in store for Doctor Who?

Hosts Ben, John and Petra are joined by comedians Justin Hamilton and Stella Young, plus a new song from Keating! composer Casey Bennetto, backed by their house band The Time Lads. Plus there will of course be prizes, surprises, jokes and more; it’s the end, but the moment has been prepared for! (They have a little something extra up their sleeves…)

Space: ACMI, Federation Square, Melbourne
Time: Thursday, November 21 2013; recording starts 7 PM
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: $15 full, $12 concession, $11 ACMI members (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via ACMI online, or at the ACMI box office (subject to availability)
Podcast: not yet available; released 23 November 2013.

Myth Makers Presents: Golden Years celebrates the timeless elements of Doctor Who that have appealed to the show's followers for half a century.

Monsters, time travel and exotic alien worlds. Horror, drama and humour. Golden Years celebrates the many eras of the series, featuring the Doctor in his many aspects: whether magician, scientist, wanderer, battle-scarred survivor or Machiavellian chess-player.

Featuring 11 Doctors across 12 stories, penned by BBC Books, Short Trips, Obverse Books and Myth Makers alumni: Violet Addison & David N. Smith, Pete Kempshall, Samuel Marks, Daniel Tessier, Kelly Hale, Blair Bidmead, Matthew James, Chris Kocher, Andrew K. Purvis, Stephen Hatcher and Cody Quijano-Schell.

The anthology is 92 pages, with artwork by Carolyn Edwards, Andy Walker and Iain Robertson.

It includes 50-Word Memories from Robert J. Sawyer, Piers Anthony, Stephen James Walker, Stuart Douglas, Graeme Burk, Arnold T. Blumberg and is edited by Matt Grady and Andrew Kearley. Layout by Arnold T. Blumberg.

Ordering information available at clarksbury.com

Golden Years is a non-commercial publication. All proceeds will be donated to St John Ambulance Canada.

---

The New York Sci-Fi/Fantasy Meetup group is currently in talks with the authorities at the Empire State Building to light up the building TARDIS blue on 23 November.

The building lights up a different colour every night to celebrate different events. Paperwork has been filed and the group have an online petition to help demonstrate interest.

.As previously reported, Splendid Chaps is a year-long performance/podcast project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who hosted by comedian Ben McKenzie (Dungeon Crawl, Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour) and writer John Richards (ABC1 sitcom Outland, Boxcutters podcast).

Described by its creators as part intellectual panel discussion, part nerdy Tonight Show, Splendid Chaps is a combination of analysis, enthusiasm and irreverence. The first episode went to number 1 on the iTunes TV & Film Podcast chart in Australia, and to number 4 in the UK. The podcasts to previous episodes are now available at www.splendidchaps.com or at iTunes.

Tickets are now on sale for their Tenth Doctor show! Their tenth major episode brings the Splendid Chaps to many people’s first (and favourite) Doctor, David Tennant. Phenomenally popular, and quickly establishing his own fanbase independent of the show, Tennant stayed in the role over five years, all the way to the end of Russell T Davies time as showrunner, cementing the programme's success and becoming "the" Doctor for a whole generation of viewers.

Seemingly a big part of Tennant’s success was his sex appeal – something foreign to many fans of the classic series. The Doctor of the Old Time (and most of his friends) seemed uninterested in sex, save for the occasional bit of flirting, but in the new series he clearly romances Rose, spurns Martha, fends off Amy and perves on Clara; he’s snogged every female companion, and “danced” with or married a slew of historical figures. Then there’s future pansexual Captain Jack; Amy and Rory, who spend their honeymoon in costume and their wedding night in the TARDIS; and the love affair that lasts lifetimes between the Doctor and Professor River Song. Is this weird? Is it awesome? What does modern Doctor Who say about sex, relationships and sexuality, and did the classic series have anything to say about them?

Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott are joined by writer, broadcaster and critic Richard Watts (artsHub, RRR’s SmartArts) and erotica writer and burlesque performer Aimee Nichols. Plus music from Melbourne geek rock band Blue Turtle Shell, giveaways from their lovely sponsors, and all the usual tomfoolery! (But no hanky panky.)

Space: The Gasometer Hotel, 484 Smith Street, Collingwood (corner of Alexandra Parade)
Time: Sunday 13 October; recording starts 5 PM
Accessibility: Splendid Chaps regret that this venue is not wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: $15 (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via trybooking.com or at the door (subject to availability)
Podcast: not yet available; released 23 October 2013.

Hot on the heels of the report that Matt Smith starts filming on Sunday, the BBC reported that the read-through for this year's Christmas Special took place today, with a report on Twitter stating: "Christmas starts early for the #DoctorWho team! Here’s Matt Smith at today’s Christmas Special read through."


The BBC's Doctor Who website added:

Tweets on the read-through were also made by DWM editor Tom Spilsbury: "The Doctor Who Christmas readthrough was lovely - and rather moving. Matt Smith has been a terrific Doctor, but he's also a true gentleman." Make-up designer Claire Pritchard said: "Quite an emotional day at the doctors today he was reading a story." Having been working on Steven Moffat's other series, Sherlock, she added: "Is it rude and disloyal to leave a consulting detective for a Doctor I feel dirty!xx"

---

With principal photography due to kick off on Sunday, the first indication of a filming location came from Labour councillor Dilwar Ali, who said: "Dr Who will be filming at Llandaff North next week."

A new Fanzine called Cygnus Alpha is now available.

Cygnus Alpha is a continuation of an old 1980s Fanzine which originally featured Paul Cornell and Gary Russell. It's been brought up to date by Simon Brett ( phonic Screwdriver radio host, Phonicon organiser, Star Burst podcaster and Star Burst illustrator), Lee Rawlings ( Phonic Screwdiver radio host, Phonicon organiser and Star Burst podcaster), and Paul Griffin ( 80s & 90s fanzine illustrator, DWM illustrator and BBC Doctor Who book cover artist for The Devil Goblins From Neptune).

It features the likes of JR Southall ( You & Who books ), the original writers George Sik, Rolo Paloma, Paul West (the original editor), John Davies ( Big Finish Short Trips) , Simon Breeze ( fantasy artist), Lee Rawlings, Simon Brett and Paul Griffin.

It's A5 and features colour artwork. This issues has articles on Peter Cushing, Gerry Anderson & Captain Scarlet, a colour comic strip, short story by JR Southall and an exclusive interview with the director of Doctor Who's Kings Demons Tony Virgo.

It is now available priced at £2.50 plus p&p.

Details from the Fanzine's Facebook page.

The original script for William Hartnell's last story, The Tenth Planet, has been found, with one key difference from the transmitted version. The Doctor does not regenerate at the end of the story.

Michael Seely, author of the forthcoming biography of Dr Kit Pedler ‘The Quest for Pedler’ unearthed the original draft script, along with draft scripts for The Moonbase, known then as The Return of the Cybermen, among a very large collection of Pedler's papers which one of his children had kept in their attic.

The relevance of this early draft, and the date it was prepared goes some way to illustrating the hasty nature of Hartnell’s departure:
Michael Seely is no stranger to the work of Dr Kit Pedler, he has previously written two books (‘Prophets of Doom’ and ‘Deadly Dangerous Tomorrow’ – both available from Miwk Publishing) on the subject of Doomwatch.
Seely’s biography of Pedler will be released in early 2014 by Miwk Publishing. Authorised by his family and produced with their assistance, the book will tell the full story of Dr C.M.H. Pedler, MB. BS., Ph.D, M.C. Path. A research scientist well known to Doctor Who fans as the co-creator of the Cybermen, but in also a leading activist and campaigner for more sociably responsible and sustainable scientific research and understanding.

Pedler’s role in Doctor Who is also clarified:
The Quest for Pedler: The Life & Ideas of Dr Kit Pedler By Michael Seely is now available for preorder.