BBC Audio: September releasesBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 2 September 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster
This month sees two classic Target novelisations released as audio books: the sixth/second Doctor adventure The Two Doctors by Robert Holmes, originally published in December 1985 and read here by the sixth Doctor himself, Colin Baker; and The Curse of Fenric by Ian Briggs, featuring the seventh Doctor and originally published in November 1990, here read by "Davros" actor Terry Molloy (this latter release having been brought forward in the schedule from November, swapping places with Royal Blood).

Further audio books based on novelisations will continue into the next year. December sees the first historic pairing of Sarah Jane Smith and K-9 in Terence Dudley's K-9 And Company, whilst in the new year the fourth Doctor encounters an ancient Time Lord menace in Doctor Who and the State of Decay (by Terrance Dicks). February then jumps a time track back to the first Doctor's visit to The Space Museum (by Glyn Jones), followed in March by an exploration of one the seven wonders of the universe by the third Doctor in Death to the Daleks (also by Terrance Dicks). In April its 'friends reunited' as the second Doctor and the Brigadier face the Cybermen in The Invasion (by Ian Marter), and then in May the fifth Doctor becomes one of "The King's Demons" and confronts an old adversary in 13th Century England (also by Terence Dudley). Note: schedules for these and other BBC Audio releases are subject to change.

The Two Doctors (Credit: BBC Audio)The Two Doctors
Written by Robert Holmes, read by Colin Baker
Released 3rd September 2015 [order]

Colin Baker reads this exciting classic novelisation of a Sixth Doctor TV adventure

Disturbed by the time travel experiments being conducted on Space Station J7, the Time Lords send the second Doctor and Jamie to investigate. Arriving on the station in deep space, they are attacked by a shock force of Sontarans, and the Doctor is left for dead.

Across the gulfs of Time and Space, the Sixth Doctor discovers that his former incarnation is very much alive. Together with Peri and Jamie he must rescue his other self before the plans of scientist Dastari, and the ruthless augmented Androgum Chessene, reach their deadly and shocking conclusion...

Colin Baker, who played Sixth Doctor in the BBC TV series, reads Robert Holmes' complete and unabridged novelisation, first published by Target Books in 1985.

Competition

To be in with a chance to win a copy of the audio book The Two Doctors courtesy of BBC Audio, answer the following question:
What race does Jamie first mis-identify Chessene as, before the (sixth) Doctor corrects him?
Please send your answers along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-twodoctorscd@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "Yes, Jamie, it is a big one...". The competition is open world-wide, closing date: 27th September 2015. Only one entry per household will be accepted.
The Curse Of Fenric (Credit: BBC Audio)The Curse of Fenric
Written by Ian Briggs, read by Terry Molley
Released 3rd September 2015 [order]

Terry Molloy reads this exciting classic novelisation of a Seventh Doctor TV adventure

At a North Yorkshire naval base in 1943, Dr Judson is using his ULTIMA code-breaking machine to decipher the runic inscriptions in the crypt of the nearby church.

Meanwhile, Commander Millington is obsessed with his research into the toxic bombs that he insists will hasten the end of World War Two. When a squad of the Russian Red Army lands on the nearby coast, with instructions to steal the ULTIMA machine, they are unaware that Millington had turned it into a devastating secret weapon.

Into this scenario materialises the Doctor and Ace. Ace isn't impressed with the security arrangements or the fashions - but the Doctor had graver matters on his mind. Beneath the waters at Maidens Point, an ancient evil stirs. The Doctor uncovers mysteries concealed within villainous plots - but what connects them all to a thousand-year curse?

Terry Molloy, who played Davros in Doctor Who, reads Ian Briggs' complete and unabridged novelisation, first published by Target Books in 1990.

Competition

To be in with a chance to win a copy of the audio book The Curse Of Fenric courtesy of BBC Audio, answer the following question:
What is the trigger word to release the toxin hidden inside the ULTIMA machine?
Please send your answers along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-fenriccd@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "Flip Flops are ace!". The competition is open world-wide, closing date: 27th September 2015. Only one entry per household will be accepted.




FILTER: - Audio - BBC Audio - Competitions - Seventh Doctor - Sixth Doctor

DVD cover for German Season 25 boxed set revealedBookmark and Share

Friday, 5 December 2014 - Reported by Pascal Salzmann
German DVD distributer Pandastorm Pictures released a picture of the cover of the Season 25 boxed set, titled Siebter Doctor Volume 2, as well as a promotional picture on their Facebook page.

The 5 discs set will contain all the content of the UK releases, including the extras, and will include the German dub and the original English version. It will be released in Germany on 27th February 2015.

Volume 1, containing all episodes of Season 24, was just released a week ago. It can be ordered from  Amazon Germany. More season sets of the Classic Series are planned to come out in 2015.


Season 25 DVD Boxed Set Germany (Credit: wvg) DVD backcover (Credit: Pandastorm)





FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Classic Series - Germany - Seventh Doctor

Merchandise RoundupBookmark and Share

Saturday, 25 October 2014 - Reported by Harry Ward
The siege mode TARDIS from Flatline is to be released by official Doctor Who prop makers Rubbertoe Replicas.

TARDIS Siege Mode Cube

The Tardis in 'siege mode' been one of our favourite prop makes of the recent series of Doctor Who. The Tardis has shrunk and is in trouble; it's just about to be flattened by a train! The Doctor pulls an emergency lever to transform the Tardis into its rawest form, no way in, no way out.
It's a beautiful prop to look at, and fits in so well with the Rubbertoe range that when we had the design we knew it was meant to be! We hope you enjoy owning it as much we enjoyed making it.

As with all Rubbertoe Replicas, the Tardis Cube is made using the same techniques and materials as the original prop. To see a detailed account of how we made the original, with step by step pictures of the prop's construction, click here.

The cube comes packed in its own Doctor Who themed gift box.


Available to order now from Rubbertoe Replicas

The Seventh Doctor's Umbrella

Most people think umbrellas are for shielding them from the elements, such as rain or sun or snow. Yet an umbrella can just as easily save you from a fate such as slipping off a sheer ice cliff. A more mundane, yet handy tool is the umbrella when used to measure objects.

You can do both of these tasks (although I wouldn’t suggest you try the former) with your new Seventh Doctor’s Umbrella, AbbyShot’s latest addition to their officially licensed Doctor Who Collection.

Precise measurements were taken and various elements were put together to get the most representative version of this umbrella. It’s made of metal, with solid fiber glass ribs, customized iconic handle with matching tip and black polyester fabric, all of which give it strength while still keeping one dry and passersby safe.

More than just a hat stand decoration, the Seventh Doctor’s Umbrella will be a great addition to any household!


Available to pre-order now from BBC Shop and AbbyShot

Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol Vinyl

Here on vinyl for the first time is Murray Gold’s immaculately crafted original soundtrack to the 2010 Doctor Who Christmas Special. Featuring opera diva Katherine Jenkins as Abigail Pettigrew, Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor, and Michael Gambon as Kazran Sardick, A Christmas Carol was the third most watched programme on December 25th 2010. Katherine Jenkins’ special appearance was crowned with her performance of Abigail’s Song (Silence Is All You Know) on Side B, Track 14.


Available to pre-order now from Amazon UK and Silva Screen





FILTER: - Audio - Merchandise - Murray Gold - Seventh Doctor

Classic DVD release schedule for Germany announcedBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 16 September 2014 - Reported by Pascal Salzmann
Siebter Doktor: Volume 1 (Credit: Pandastorm)German DVD distributor Pandastorm Pictures announced today the upcoming plans for DVD releases of the classic series in a newsletter sent out to fans. As previously reported the first volume of seventh Doctor stories includes the complete Season 24 on four discs, all the bonus features of the UK DVD's and will be released on 28th November 2015.

Additionally, Pandastorm Pictures is going to release the following sets:

  • Siebter Doktor Volume 2 (Season 25, 5 discs, release date: 27th February 2015)
  • Siebter Doktor Volume 3 (Season 26, 7 discs, release date: 24th April 2015)
  •  Die Fünf Doktoren (The Five Doctors, 2 discs, release date: tba)
  • Sechster Doktor Volume 1 (The Twin Dilemma & Season 22, 7 discs, release date: tba)
  • Sechster Doktor Volume 2 (Season 23, 4 discs, release date: tba)
  • Doctor Who - The Movie (2 discs, release date: tba)

According to the newsletter there are currently rights issues that need to be resolved before the TV Movie can be released.

There are no German dubs to any other episodes available, so further releases are unlikely. However, the distributor has told fans that it would consider dubbing more classic episodes if the DVD's are going to sell extremely well.

Der Siebte Doktor Volume 1 can be pre-ordered from Amazon Germany.






FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Classic Series - Eighth Doctor - Fifth Doctor - Germany - Seventh Doctor

Germany: Complete Season 24 DVD boxed set in NovemberBookmark and Share

Saturday, 6 September 2014 - Written by Pascal Salzmann
German DVD distributor Pandastorm have announced the release of the DVD boxed set Siebter Doctor Volume 1 (Seventh Doctor Volume 1).

The set contains the complete Season 24, featuring Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, and includes all special features that were present on the single story DVD releases in the UK. According to the website of Pandastorm's distribution partner wvg the discs will run for approximately 350 minutes plus 328 minutes of bonus features. Audio and subtitles will be in English and German.

The description for the DVDs reads as follows:

Complete Season 24 (German DVD Release)Die erfolgreiche Sci-Fi-Kultserie öffnet die Tore zu ihrer Vergangenheit. Die Abenteuer des siebten Doctors erstmalig in Deutschland auf DVD. Mit über 5 Std. Bonusmaterial und Booklet. Sylvester McCoy's (Radagast aus „Der Hobbit“ Trilogie) erste Staffel in der Rolle des siebten Doctors ist ein schriller, bunter und witziger Trip durchs All. Dabei begegnet er einer gefährlichen Widersacherin: Die Rani. Diese hat sich mit einem Volk menschengroßer Fledermauswesen verbündet, um die Macht über das Universum zu übernehmen. Auf einem Eisplaneten muss er zudem gegen den skrupellosen Schatzjäger Sabalom Glitz und den Sklavenhalter Kane kämpfen, der mit einer einzigen Berührung seine Gegner zu Eis gefrieren lassen kann. Und trifft schließlich auf die junge Ausreißerin Ace, die den Doctor fortan auf seinen Reisen begleitet und sich als einer der beliebtesten Companions der Seriengeschichte entpuppen soll.

The most successful Sci-Fi cult series opens the doors to its past. The adventures if the seventh Doctor on DVD for the first time. Featuring over 5 hours of bonus material and a booklet. Sylvester McCoy's (Radagast from "The Hobbit" trilogy) first season in the role of the seventh Doctor is a jarring, colourful and funny trip through the galaxy. On it he meets a dangerous enemy: the Rani. The Rani has an alliance with a race of huge bat-like creatures in her plan to rule the universe. On an Iceplanet he fights against the ruthless treasure hunter Sabalom Glitz and the slave trader Kane, who is able to freeze someone to ice with a single touch. And finally he meets the young runaway Ace, who is going to travel with the Doctor and who is seen as one of the most popular companions in the history of the show.

The DVD boxed set will be released on 28th November 2014 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon Germany.





FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Classic Series - Germany - Seventh Doctor - Sylvester McCoy

DWM remembers the Seventh Doctor's eraBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 30 April 2014 - Reported by John Bowman
The new issue of Doctor Who Magazine harks back to the Seventh Doctor's era as former script editor Andrew Cartmel examines how the series was reinvented for a new generation.

In issue 473, published tomorrow, Cartmel catches up with the writers that he employed, with Stephen Wyatt, Malcolm Kohll and Ian Briggs revealing what it was like to write for the show and discussing how they feel their stories paved the way for the modern reinvention of the programme. Briggs says:
I think it's fantastic. Russell T Davies' approach was a vivid reimagining, taking the basic principles and doing them in a way TV is now made instead of just continuing from the 1980s... That's the great achievement of Russell T Davies – and Steven Moffat, since he took over. Stylistically in both senses, technical style and storytelling style, the show is bang up to date.
Also in the new edition:
  • Producer Marcus Wilson looks back at his work on Doctor Who, including The Time of the Doctor and The Day of the Doctor
  • Showrunner Steven Moffat answers readers' questions
  • DWM pays tribute to the life and times of the late Christopher Barry, one of Doctor Who's most prolific directors
  • Clive Doig talks to Toby Hadoke about working on the earliest episodes of Doctor Who
  • The Fact of Fiction takes a detailed look at the 1969 Ice Warriors adventure The Seeds of Death
  • The Doctor and Clara's latest comic-strip adventure - The Blood of Azrael - continues
  • The Time Team watch the Tenth Doctor meet an old friend - and some even older enemies - in The Sontaran Stratagem and The Poison Sky
  • Jacqueline Rayner sees Doctor Who's special effects in a whole new light in Relative Dimensions
  • The Watcher exposes the remarkable relationship between Doctor Who and the Eurovision Song Contest in Wotcha!
  • Reviews of the latest DVDs, CDs and books
  • Competitions, puzzles and more




FILTER: - Seventh Doctor - Magazines - DWM

Horror Channel 'Who on Horror' Full Spring ScheduleBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 15 April 2014 - Reported by Melad Moshiri
Horror Channel - Classic Doctors Logo (Credit: Horror Channel)
Horror Channel's Who on Horror schedule in the UK has been released with classic Doctor Who episodes airing from Good Friday. The run will commence with the very first episode of Who in its original four parts on the Friday at 7pm before the Who on Horror themed weekend featuring stories from each of the first seven Doctors begins.

11am - An Unearthly Child (Four Parts, Repeat)
From the misty November nights of London 1963 to the arid caves of Earth 100,000 BC, this is our very first encounter with the mysterious time traveller (William Hartnell), who kidnaps teachers Ian (William Russell) and Barbara (Jacqueline Hill), and, along with his granddaughter Susan (Carole Ann Ford), travels back in the distant past to confront caveman as they discover the power of fire.

1:20pm - The Mind Robber (Four Parts)
Trapped in a world outside of space and time, the second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) along with his companions, Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Zoe (Wendy Padbury), find themselves facing a world of fiction inhabited by unicorns, Medusa, and Gulliver. They seem to be writing their own story but will the mysterious storytelling Master of the realm allow them a happy ending?

3:45pm - Terror of the Autons (Four Parts)
If the 70s was an age of plastic then what would happen if it turned against us? The Doctor (Jon Pertwee), now exiled to Earth in his third incarnation, confronts killer dolls, deadly daffodils, telephone cables that strangle and inflatable chairs that suffocate. A second appearance for the returning enemy the Autons, this also introduces new assistant Jo Grant (Katy Manning) and rogue Time Lord, The Master (Roger Delgado). It also finds a new nemesis in Mary Whitehouse.

6pm - The Brain of Morbius (Parts One and Two)
Our jellybaby-loving Time Lord ventures into Frankenstein territory as The fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) arrive on the stormy planet of Karn where they find themselves caught between the immortal Sisterhood, who are guardians of the precious elixir of life and the fanatical surgeon, Solon, who’s trying to create new life from dead aliens to house the brain of criminal Time Lord, Morbius.
11am - The Brain of Morbius (Parts Three and Four)
Continuation from Saturday night, the last two episodes of this ‘Frankenstein’ story as The Doctor (Tom Baker) and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) find themselves caught between the immortal Sisterhood and the fanatical surgeon, Solon, who’s trying to create new life from dead aliens to house the brain of criminal Time Lord, Morbius.

12:10pm - The Caves of Androzani (Four Parts)
Frequently voted by fans as the best story of the whole classic series, this also marks the end of Peter Davison’s time as he regenerates into Colin Baker. A real actioner which finds the Fifth Doctor and Peri (Nicola Bryant) caught up in a war between a corrupt corporation, smugglers and masked outlaw Sharaz Jek , all fighting for control of spectrox, an invaluable but toxic substance mined on Androzani Minor that when refined, can slow ageing.

2:30pm - Attack of the Cybermen (Four Parts)
Travelling from their own future, the Cybermen stalk London in 1985 to perfect a plan for Halley’s Comet to crash into the Earth, saving their own planet Mondas from destruction. The Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and Peri colourfully attempt to thwart their plans, save the cold-thriving Cryons, natives of Cyber-controlled Telos and maybe finally fix the TARDIS’s chameleon circuits.

4:50pm - Remembrance of the Daleks (Four Parts)
It’s back to November 1963 as the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) returns with Ace (Sophie Aldred) to Coal Hill School, He’s determined to complete unfinished business but if he hadn’t forgotten the Hand of Omega, then it’s inevitable the Daleks would remember too and they’re determined to outwit their greatest enemy and proved that they can climb stairs.

After the special weekend, episodes settle into a weekday showing from Monday after, with a story each from the First, Second and Third Doctor for the rest of April.

Monday 21st April

10am - The Daleks (Parts One and Two)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Having survived their first adventure together, the TARDIS team land on Skaro, a planet devastated by nuclear war. Is anyone left alive? Contaminated by radioactive poisoning, they encounter the pacifist race of Thals and a number of hidden perils, but the greatest threat waits in the impressive citadel. They’re set to come face to eye-stalk for the first time with those exterminating pepperpots, the Daleks. A legend is born and our Saturday nights will never be the same again.
Tuesday 22nd April

10am - The Daleks (Parts Three and Four)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Continuation of adventure in which the TARDIS team come face-to-face with the Daleks for the first time.
Wednesday 23rd April

10am - The Daleks - (Parts Five and Six)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Continuation of adventure in which the TARDIS team come face-to-face with the Daleks for the first time.
Thursday 24th April

10am - The Daleks (Part Seven)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Finale to adventure in which the TARDIS team come face-to-face with the Daleks for the first time.

10:35am - The Seeds of Death (Part One)
Repeated at 3:45pm and 7:50pm
Earth in the 21st Century and instantaneous travel is now possible thanks to the T-Mat based on the Moon. However, when the Doctor arrives with Jamie and Zoe, the machine has broken down and strange alien seeds have been discovered which explode with a lethal fungus threatening to wipe out life. It’s all part of the plan to take over the planet by the Martian reptilian race, the Ice Warriors.
Friday 25th April

10am - The Seeds of Death - (Parts Two and Three)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Continuation of adventure where the Ice Warriors are threatening to wipe out life with a lethal fungus.
Monday 28th April

10am - The Seeds of Death - (Parts Four and Five)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Continuation of adventure where the Ice Warriors are threatening to wipe out life with a lethal fungus.
Tuesday 29th April

10am - The Seeds of Death (Part Six)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Finale to adventure where the Ice Warriors are threatening to wipe out life with a lethal fungus.
10:35am - The Daemons (Part One)
Repeated at 3:45pm and 8:45pm
Excavations at an ancient burial mound unleash an ancient evil. There’s darker magic at work in the quiet village of Devil’s End, and the new vicar seems to have a Master plan under his cassock as rogue Time Lord joins forces with Azal, last of the star-spanning Daemons. With the help of UNIT and Jo Grant, The Doctor fights to stop May Day from becoming the last day for mankind.
Wednesday 30th April

10am - The Daemons - (Parts Two and Three)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Continuation of adventure where The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) fights to stop May Day becoming the last day for mankind.
Thursday 1st May

10am - The Daemons - (Parts Four and Five)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Continuation of adventure where The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) fights to stop May Day becoming the last day for mankind.
Friday 2nd May

10am - The Sea Devils - (Parts One and Two)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
The Doctor pays the Master a visit in an island prison around which a number of ships have mysteriously sunk. While the Doctor and Jo are trapped on the fort by a Sea Devil, the Master steals some electronic components.
Monday 5th May

10am - The Sea Devils - (Parts Three and Four)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Trenchard holds the Doctor captive while the Master attempts to make contact with the Sea Devils. After the Sea Devils attack the island prison and rescue the Master, the Doctor must venture underwater in pursuit.
Tuesday 6th May

10am - The Sea Devils - (Parts Five and Six)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
While the Doctor tries to make peace with the Sea Devils in the their underwater colony, the navy launch an attack on the base! When the Sea Devils take over the naval base, the Doctor is forced to work with the Master to revive the creatures' colony.
Wednesday 7th May

10am - The Three Doctors - (Parts One and Two)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Three incarnations of the Doctor join forces to face the evil Omega in a universe of antimatter. The Third Doctor and Jo find themselves on an artificial world inside a black hole.
Thursday 7th May

10am - The Three Doctors - (Parts Three and Four)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
The Time Lord Omega reveals himself to the third Doctor along with his plan for vengeance. The Doctors discover a secret about Omega that gives them an advantage in ending his deadly plot.

The full and future schedule can be found via This Week in Doctor Who.

Idents and commercials have been created depicting the cell animation advertised while billboards and posters promoting the campaign have been seen in London.


The arrival of Doctor Who on the Horror Channel reflects the science-fiction, action and fantasy genres seen on the channel's available line-up, including Xena: Warrior Princess, Wonder Woman and The Twilight Zone.

Director of Programming Alina Florea commented on the latest signing in a press release:
Doctor Who is an iconic series and we are proud and excited to welcome this giant of British television to our channel. The line-up will include some of the most revered from seven classic Doctors – stories that terrified, thrilled and captured the imagination of children and adults through the decades. Doctor Who joins a long line of well-loved classic series we have endeavoured to showcase on Horror Channel over the last few years.
A special press launch took place yesterday at The Ivy in Leicester Square in the presence of the Fourth Doctor himself, Tom Baker. Doctor Who News was invited to the launch and a report of the day will be available soon.

UPDATE - 18th APRIL: Our report of the press launch, including pictures, can now be read here.




FILTER: - Sixth Doctor - UK - Third Doctor - Seventh Doctor - Second Doctor - First Doctor - Class

Seventh Doctor book to raise money for charityBookmark and Share

Sunday, 6 April 2014 - Reported by John Bowman
A book that takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the era of the Seventh Doctor is to be brought out in July 2014 by Miwk Publishing, with the authors' profits going to the Alzheimer's Society.

Wallowing In Our Own Weltschmerz is being written by Andy Davidson, Chris Orton, Andrew Orton, Steven Duckworth, Robert Hammond and Matthew West – a fanzine collection of writers known as "Auton" – with the cover designed by Andrew Orton.

Doctor Who is now in its 51st year and enjoying its 12th/13th/14th/latest of many actors to take on the lead role. Every era is different, each actor brings their own style to the role, each producer and script editor makes their mark and probably Sylvester McCoy's era is one of the most divisive among fandom. It's a dynamic three years blowing cobwebs off the memory of recent cancellation. The Doctor and the series develop over 47 episodes until finally, sadly, just as things are on the up, the show is cancelled again. The Auton guide to the stories behind the Seventh Doctor's era answers all the questions fans haven't been asking:
  • Cleaning Robots: What can you actually clean with a drill and a saw blade? We tried.
  • Who built the Rani's lair? How long did it take?
  • Harry's 70+ – How old is his wife if she's having twins in a few weeks?
  • Why is the Psychic Circus so-called?
  • Why do Rezzies eat Kangs when they've got a ready supply of teacakes, crumpets, muffin, basil and fresh cream?
  • Now that we have a "Special Weapons" Dalek, should we relabel all the other Daleks?
  • And how did Delta fit into Mel's dress?
We worry about these things so you don't have to. It's been a long time since Auton visited Doctor Who. Aided by the illustrations of Andy X Cable, it's time to get it out of our system.

Build high for happiness.
"Auton" dates back to 1989 and since then has produced "nineteen and a half" fanzines and two books.

(Editor's note: "Weltschmerz" is German for "world-weariness".)




FILTER: - Seventh Doctor - Books - Charities

Steven Moffat in praise of Remembrance of the DaleksBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 18 December 2013 - Reported by John Bowman
With the 50th anniversary of the first appearance of the Daleks on TV screens fast approaching, a video tribute by Doctor Who's current showrunner Steven Moffat to their last story during the classic era - Remembrance of the Daleks - was posted today by the BBC on the programme's official site.

In the piece, he says of the 1988 four-parter:
Terrific script, terrific, pacy, very modern, very of-its-time script, very, very well directed and with one of the best spaceship landings we've had in Doctor Who. Back in the day when they had no CGI, when they barely had post-production, a spaceship landing in a school playground . . . they did it superbly. Genius! And a superlative story.
Moffat's comments were recorded last year as part of a mini series in which he talked about the Daleks in general to publicise their return in Asylum of the Daleks and, in subsequent video posts, looked at what he considered to be the best and most significant Dalek adventures.





FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Online - Seventh Doctor - Second Doctor - First Doctor - Classic Series

Week of Specials on Radio Four ExtraBookmark and Share

Saturday, 16 November 2013 - Reported by Marcus
Today BBC Radio Four Extra begins a week of celebrations for the fiftieth anniversary of Doctor Who with a reading of the very first Doctor Who novelisation.

Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks was first published in 1964, adapted by the series' script editor David Whitaker from the first Dalek story written by Terry Nation. The story was republished by Target Books in 1973, kicking off the range which would introduce a generation of fans born in the sixties and seventies to the eras of the first and second Doctors.

The story, intended to work as a standalone, is told from the viewpoint of Ian Chesterton and has a very different meeting between the Doctor and his future companions than that of the television series.

The Audiogo recording is read by William Russell, who played Ian in the TV series. The broadcast begins at 1800 GMT on Saturday with the first two episodes. The full adaptation is broadcast between 0000 GMT and 0430 GMT on Sunday.

The broadcast kicks off a week of Doctor Who programming on the station. Radio Four Extra can be heard worldwide via the BBC Website.
  • Sunday - Protect and Survive - 1800 GMT & 0000 GMT
  • In this drama the Seventh Doctor (played by Sylvester McCoy) and his young companions Hex and Ace are plunged into the late '80s, where history has gone terrifyingly wrong, with the world trembling on the brink of a final terrible war.
  • Monday - Fanfare for the Common Men - 1800 GMT & 0000 GMT
  • A four-part drama featuring the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison). The Doctor's young companion Nyssa is unfamiliar with the Earth's musical heritage, but in a trip back to the '60s the Beatles are nowhere to be seen and their role has been taken by the Common Men.
  • Tuesday - A Thousand Tiny Wings - 1800 GMT & 0000 GMT
  • A full-cast audio drama in which the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) arrives in a remote homestead during the period of Kenyan independence in December 1963 and is reunited with an old acquaintance – an ex-Nazi called Klein.
  • Wednesday - Farewell Great Macedon - 1800 GMT & 0000 GMT
  • Based on an unproduced television script and brought to life through a combination of performance and narration. The original team of the First Doctor and companions Ian, Barbara and Susan step out from the TARDIS into the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and meet Alexander the Great.
  • Thursday - Human Resources - 1800 GMT & 0000 GMT
  • A full-cast drama featuring the Eighth Doctor (played by Paul McGann). The two-part story explains the on-going mystery of Lucie Miller (Sheridan Smith), paired off with the Doctor in a witness protection programme.
  • Friday - The Dalek Invasion of Earth - 1800 GMT & 0000 GMT
  • A reading by William Russell (Ian Chesterton in the original TV serial on which the story is based). This is one of the classic Doctor Who stories featuring the First Doctor and set in an occupied Britain.
  • Saturday - Doctor Who special – Who Made Who - 0900 GMT & 1600 GMT
  • Tracy-Ann Oberman is the guide on a journey back to a time before Time Lords. Interviewees include Doctor Who writers Charlie Higson and Al Hennen and William Hartnell's grand-daughter Jessica Carney. Featured programmes include The Reunion, which gathers the original 1963 cast, and Whatever Happened to . . . Susan Foreman? which tries to solve the mystery of the Doctor's original travelling companion, his grand-daughter.
  • Sunday - Lucie Miller - 0000 GMT
  • An Eighth Doctor adventure starring Paul McGann, Sheridan Smith and Graeme Garden.
  • Monday - To the Death - 0000 GMT
  • The Time Lord calls on friends, family and the Monk to help overthrow the Dalek occupation of Earth. This Eighth Doctor adventure stars Paul McGann, Sheridan Smith and Graeme Garden.




FILTER: - Doctor Who - Eighth Doctor - Seventh Doctor - First Doctor - Radio - Fifth Doctor