New Titles Revealed

Wednesday, 3 March 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Three new episode titles have been revealed by Executive Producer Steven Moffat in his Production Notes column in this month's Doctor Who Magazine.

Occupying slots 4 and 5 of the new series will be The Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone. This two-part story is written by Steven Moffat and directed by Adam Smith and sees the return of Alex Kingston as River Song. It was the first story to be recorded. It is stressed that the titles are working titles and may be changed before transmission.

Slot 6 will be filled by Vampires in Venice. This story is written by Toby Whithouse and directed by Jonny Campbell.




FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Series 5/31

Matt Smith - First DVD release date

Tuesday, 2 March 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Amazon have listed the first DVD release for the Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith. The disc, available in DVD and Blu-Ray format, is due for release in the UK on June 7th will contain the first three stories of the new Doctor, "The Eleventh Hour", "The Beast Below" and "Victory of the Daleks". Amazon currently have the title listed as Series Five - Volume One, at odds with the previous statement that the series would be promoted as Series One.

The disc will contain a special feature, The Monster Diaries. Produced by the same team who make Doctor Who Confidential, the documentary will contain previously unseen footage and comments from cast and crew.




FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Series 5/31

BBC America Announces US Start Date

Thursday, 25 February 2010 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

BBC America has announced that their broadcasts of the new series of Doctor Who will start on April 17th. The date has been reported in the Hollywood trade paper Variety, and has been confirmed on BBC America's website and Facebook page.

The start date for UK broadcast has not yet been officially confirmed. There are reports that a trailer has aired with the date of April 3rd, but this may have been broadcast in error. The BBC's official position is that the series will debut "at Easter".





FILTER: - USA - Series 5/31 - Broadcasting

Ian Scoones

Tuesday, 23 February 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
It has been reported that visual effects designer Ian Scoones has died in Bulgaria where he lived with his wife Anastasia, on 20th January.

Scoones is perhaps best remembered for his work on Doctor Who in the 1970s for Pyramids of Mars, The Invisible Enemy and City of Death, though he had worked on many other stories, including the very first story An Unearthly Child as an uncredited special effects assistant. He was also heavily involved with the first series of Blake's Seven. As well as television, he worked on a number of films, including Quatermass and the Pit, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Haunted Honeymoon.

Having lived in Spain for a number of years he then retired to Bulgaria, but was interviewed by fellow visual effects designer Mat Irvine for the 2008 BBC DVD release The Invisible Enemy, a story he also worked upon.






FILTER: - People - Obituary - Classic Series

Creature from the Pit confirmed

Tuesday, 23 February 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Creature from the PitDoctor Who DVD producer 2Entertain have officially confirmed that the Fourth Doctor story The Creature from the Pit is to be released on DVD.

The story has been expected since our report in January covered features for the story as having been cleared by the British Board of Film Classification. However, the release date for the story has yet to be revealed.




FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Casting Update: James Corden

Monday, 22 February 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Sun's latest casting news reports that Gavin and Stacey writer/star James Corden will appear in the new series of Doctor Who later this year. The actor was said to have been seen learning his lines on train to Cardiff, and confirmed the news when approached by a fan.

The "show insider" said:
We normally keep our guest stars under wraps but you can't hide a bloke like James. He loves coming to Wales, and it gives him a chance to meet up with Ruth Jones, who co-wrote Gavin and Stacey with him and starred as Nessa. We're just delighted to have James on board. He is a great actor and he'll be a perfect fit for the new Doctor Who.
The actor's role in the series has yet to be revealed.




FILTER: - Guest Stars - Series 5/31

Doctor Who for Easter

Saturday, 20 February 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster


The new trailer for Doctor Who has now been broadcast, featuring a couple of the Doctor's old adversaries and some new ones!

The new series is scheduled to arrive on UK television screens during Easter 2010.





FILTER: - Press - Series 5/31

Saturn Award Nominations 2010

Friday, 19 February 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Every year, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films hold the Saturn Awards; the 36th award ceremony will take place on 24th June, and Doctor Who has been nominated in a number of categories.

For the Best Television Presentation award, The End of Time is up against sister show Torchwood's Children of Earth. Other contenders include the new versions of The Prisoner and V, plus Alice and The Tudors.

Best Actor in Television includes David Tennant for The End of Time; he'll be up against Josh Holloway and Matthew Fox from Lost, Stephen Moyer from True Blood, plus Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Michael C. Hall (Dexter) and Zachary Levi (Chuck).

Best Guest Starring Role in Television sees Bernard Cribbins nominated for his portrayal of Wilf in The End of Time; others up for the award are Raymond Cruz (Breaking Bad), Michelle Forbes (True Blood), John Lithgow (Dexter), Leonard Nimoy (Fringe) and Mark Pellegrino (Lost).

In media, Best DVD Television Release sees both Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead and Torchwood: Children of Earth in the running, against Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season, Primeval, Volume 2, Lost: The Complete Fifth Season and Life on Mars: The Complete Series




FILTER: - Awards/Nominations - Children of Earth (Series 3)

George Waring (1925-2010)

Thursday, 18 February 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The actor George Waring has died at the age of 84.

The actor portrayed the role of Arden in the Patrick Troughton adventure The Ice Warriors. Arden was a scientist whose team discover an "Ice Warrior" buried deep in a glacier, and ultimately becomes the Martians' first victim.

Born in Eccles, Lancashire, Waring made his career in theatre and then television, appearing in a number of notable roles in shows like Six Days of Justice and Mixed Blessings. However, he will be best remembered for the character of Arnold Swain in Coronation Street.

(George Waring:born 20th February 1925; died 15th February 2010)




FILTER: - People - Obituary - Classic Series

3D Trailer for Doctor Who

Thursday, 18 February 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Broadcast are reporting that - as well as the traditional '2D' trailer that will start appearing on TV from Saturday evening - a 3D version has been created by Red Bee Media and The Mill.

The 40 second trailer is expected to be seen in cinemas, and at external promotional events around the country entitled "Meet a Monster".

Says the ubiquitous BBC spokesperson:
Doctor Who is the appropriate vehicle for 3D. It just fits. It’s a great way to introduce and showcase the new Doctor to younger viewers.




FILTER: - Press - Series 5/31