People RoundupBookmark and Share

Sunday, 23 October 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Peter Davison discussed the possibility of a 50th Anniversary appearance in Doctor Who: "I feel no need to turn my back on it, but I don't feel like it's the kind of thing they'd do. I'd be very surprised if they tried to do anything involving the old Doctors because it always takes a slight stretch of the imagination anyway to figure out why the previous Doctors look older - but I'm sure that can be done. But at the same time I'm not sort of longing on it. I'm perfectly happy to have played my part to go back to 'Time Crash'. I don't feel like I'm hanging on a phone call from the 'Doctor Who' offices saying let's do something special." [Contact Music, 21 Oct 2011]

John Barrowman also commented on his interest in the golden year of the series: "If I'm asked to go back I would love to go back - I think it would be great to be involved with the 50th Anniversary, since Jack was such a big part of the Who world. But, having said that, nothing's been said, so I don't sit and wait and I don't want fans to think that I don't want to do it because I would love to, but if I'm not asked I'm not going to push and bang down the door - I'll just move onto something else." The actor also suggested that should Torchwood return it was unlikely to commence filming before next September. [Scottish Daily Record via YouTube, 18 Oct 2011]

Catherine Tate (Donna Noble) will be returning to NBC's version of The Office, reprising her role of Nellie Bertram who appeared in the previous series finale back in May. The character is expected to appear in a multi-episode arc. [Theater Mania, 21 Oct 2011]

Kai Owen (Rhys, Torchwood) is encouraging local 'daredevils' to take part in a charity abseil down the West Orchards Shopping Centre's glass dome in Coventry, aiming to raise money for CLIC Sargent. The event takes place in the evenings of 29th and 30th October and is open to anyone aged 16 or over. [Coventry Telegraph, 19 Oct 2011]

Actor and writer Mark Gatiss was the guest on this week's edition of the long-running BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs; during the show he spoke about his life, growing up opposite a psychiatric hospital, his interest in the supernatural, and his successful career with The League of Gentlemen, Sherlock and of course Doctor Who. [Desert Island Discs, 23 Oct 2011]

Ray Brooks has recorded an audio version of his autobiography, Learning My Lines; the actor traces his career through rep, comedies, his various television appearances including famously the voice of Mr Benn, Big Deal, and Eastenders, and of course his role as David in Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150AD. Revealing the vulnerability of an actor's life, the candid account is full of down-to-earth humour and captivating honesty. [available from Fantom Films]


Inadmissable Evidence has opened at the Donmar Warehouse, featuring Karen Gillan in her first theatre role; reviews of the play can be found at the Independent, Guardian, Telegraph, Daily Mail, Standard, The Stage; it was also reviewed in the BBC Radio 4's Front Row.




FILTER: - People - Karen Gillan - Catherine Tate - Auto/Biography - Peter Davison - John Barrowman

The Wedding of River Song: New Zealand ratingsBookmark and Share

Saturday, 22 October 2011 - Reported by Adam Kirk
In New Zealand, The Wedding of River Song and Torchwood: Miracle Day, End of the Road (both on Prime) rated 80,490 viewers and 58,320 viewers respectively.

Thanks to Hazz.




FILTER: - Torchwood - Ratings - Series 6/32 - New Zealand - Broadcasting

The Gunpowder Plot : Teacher's GuideBookmark and Share

Saturday, 22 October 2011 - Reported by Marcus
The BBC have released a Teacher's Guide to the latest Adventure Game, The Gunpowder Plot, which is due for release at the end of this month.

The game has been designed, much as Doctor Who was originally designed, to contain specific learning elements and allows players to discover historical facts while playing with historical references and key objects woven in throughout the game. Children will get the chance to step back in time and interact with famous figures such as Guy Fawkes and discover what was happening at this important moment in Britain’s history.

The Teachers Pack aims to provide resources to help them explain the issues raised by the game. The pack has sections designed for use at different stages across the primary school and early secondary education.

It is being released in four parts with the first looking at The Plot available now. Further packs will deal with Childhood (Released 31st October), Crime and Punishment (Released 5th December) and London Life in 1605 (Released 10 January). The final section will encourage students to create a museum or exhibition piece for the whole school.

The first pack is split into four sections and focuses on four main learning questions:
  • When and where did the Gunpowder Plot take place? 
  • What was the Gunpowder Plot? 
  • Who were the Plotters and why did they want to blow up the Houses of Parliament? 
  • What really happened in November 1605? 
It contains 
  • Introduction for teachers (1.32MB) Aims and Objectives 
  • The Doctor’s Detectives(5-7 year olds) (3.31MB) The students will gain a basic understanding of the main events of the Gunpowder Plot, the people involved and its place in British history. 
  • Deep Cover Time Agents (7-11 year olds) (4.59MB) The students will gain an understanding of the main events of Gunpowder Plot, the people involved and the Plotters’ motivations. 
  • TARDIS Media Team (10-14 year olds) (1.81MB) The students will gain an understanding of the historical interpretations of the Gunpowder Plot within the political and religious context of the period.




FILTER: - Online - Games

People's Choice Awards 2012Bookmark and Share

Saturday, 22 October 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
People's Choice have launched their 2012 Awards, and Doctor Who has been nominated in the Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Show category.

The show is up against a wealth of US and Canadian produced series, including the remake of Being Human; other popular shows in the category include Fringe, True Blood, The Walking Dead, Supernatural and Game of Thrones.




FILTER: - Doctor Who - USA - Awards/Nominations

Panic Moon - October 2011Bookmark and Share

Friday, 21 October 2011 - Reported by Marcus
October’s issue of the fanzine Panic Moon is now available.

In this issue:
  • Reviews of each episode from the second half of series six, plus Torchwood: Miracle Day
  • The latest from Big Finish and recent Doctor Who fanzines. 
  • New perspectives on the stories Colony in Space and The Sun Makers. 
  • Articles exploring the Pathfinders legacy for Doctor Who; the Hartnell factor
  • Evolution in Doctor Who
  • The Day of the Daleks ‘Special Edition’; and what that Dalek was doing in the Thames. 
  • Plus the letters page


The fanzine is A6 format, 32 pages, monochrome and fully illustrated. It can be ordered from the Panic Moon Website.




FILTER: - Fan Productions

Matt Smith talks USA futureBookmark and Share

Friday, 21 October 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
During his latest visit to the USA current Doctor Matt Smith spoke to VH1, who asked the actor about his future plans at that side of the Atlantic:

When are we going to have you?
Well, hopefully soon, you know. I've got another year of Doctor Who, but then I'm certainly going to come and give it a shot, come and hang out in LA... as you say, people like Andy [Garfield] have come over, and he's a mate of mine. I'm very proud to see him doing Spider-Man, 'cause we did a play together, and, you know, Spider-Man now. It's incredible. And he'll be brilliant, he'll be so brilliant.

Are you friends with the, kind of, Brit Pack in Hollywood?"
Yeah, yeah, I've got British friends here, people like Andy. I don't know Carey [Mulligan] or Robert, but I've got a lot of British friends here that are doing very well and loving living over here as well, which is very interesting.

The interview suggests that Matt Smith may leave Doctor Who at the end of the next series; last summer newspapers such as the Sun and Mirror reported the actor was discussing potential projects with film companies during a visit to Los Angeles. Whatever his intention regarding the role of the Doctor in the future, however, it is unlikely any official announcement of his involvement in the series' fiftieth anniversary will be made until much nearer the time.

Readers in the United States can watch the full interview via the VH1 website.


Matt Smith also appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson this week, during which he discussed winning his Scream Award, and campaigning for Craig to appear in Doctor Who!




FILTER: - People - Matt Smith

Children's Favourite Toy RangeBookmark and Share

Thursday, 20 October 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster


Dubit, a specialist youth research and marketing agency, recently undertook a survey of the impact of children's television shows and their toys, with Doctor Who's licensed merchandise proving the most popular - 32% of the 500 7-11 year olds surveyed owning toys from the range. Nickelodeon's SpongeBob Squarepants came second at 29%, with other high scorers including their Peppa Pig and Dora the Explorer, Cartoon Network's Ben 10, and CITV's Horrid Henry.

Also, children were able to rate their toys on a scale of 1-5, with Doctor Who toys again faring well, achieving joint top with 4.7 alongside the BBC's In The Night Garden.

The surveys also took into account how aware children actually were of the programmes their toys come from; Doctor Who achieved a very high 90% awareness, with only SpongeBob Squarepants known by more at 94%. SpongeBob also fares best in terms of those who actually watch the programmes at 57%; here the Doctor was third at 52%, with Horrid Henry taking second place at 56%.

More details on the survey, including other programmes surveyed, can be found in a Toynews report.




FILTER: - Merchandise

Doctor Who Magazine 440Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, 19 October 2011 - Reported by Harry Ward
The new Doctor Who Magazine (out 20th October) celebrates the life of Elisabeth Sladen in a special 100-page issue. Among those paying tribute are Doctors Tom Baker, David Tennant and Matt Smith.

Tom Baker describes Sladen's death in April as "a terrible blow" and remembers being overwhelmed by the public reaction:
Such an outpouring of grief, the spontaneous grief of people, the extravagance of people saying how great and wonderful she was, sprang out of that shock that we’ve lost part of a culture generated by a programme that goes back… well, she was with me in 1974, and she only died this year. She was a piece of television, wasn’t she? A piece of people’s lives, their childhoods…

Also in this issue:
  • Remembering Elisabeth Sladen: Family, friends and colleagues, including Brian and Sadie Miller, Katy Manning, John Barrowman, Louise Jameson, Sophie Aldred, Richard Franklin, John Levene, Philip Hinchcliffe, Terrance Dicks, Christopher Barry, Graeme Harper and many more, share their personal memories of Lis.
  • The Doctor's Best Friend: DWM takes an in-depth look at the life and times of Elisabeth Sladen, from her childhood in Liverpool, through to her starring roles in Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures.
  • The Final Interview: DWM presents Elisabeth Sladen’s final magazine interview, originally conducted for Radio Times in 2010, and published here exclusively in full for the first time.
  • Introducing Miss Smith: It was the series that saw the first appearance of Sarah Jane Smith – and the departure of the Third Doctor. DWM looks at a year of Daleks, Ice Warriors and Sontarans as Countdown To 50 reaches 1973/4’s Series Eleven!
  • The Last Adventures: DWM catches up with Phil Ford, the Head Writer of The Sarah Jane Adventures, and stars Daniel Anthony, Anjli Mohindra and Sinead Michael, about working with Lis and making the final series of the top-rated CBBC spin-off from Doctor Who.
  • Happy Birthday! Doctor Who’s showrunner Steven Moffat has some confidential thoughts to share exclusively with DWM readers in the 100th edition of Production Notes!
  • World's End! The Doctor, Amy and Alan Turing are on a mission to stop Chiyoko – and save the human race – in Episode 3 of the latest comic strip, The Child of Time by Jonathan Morris with art by Martin Geraghty.
  • Game On! The Doctor on Big Brother. Rose on The Weakest Link. And Captain Jack with the makeover from hell! DWM’s Time Team – Emma, Chris, Will and Michael – travels to the year 200,100 and watches the penultimate Ninth Doctor story, Bad Wolf as their mission to watch every episode in order continues!
  • Wotcha, Sarah Jane! The Watcher uncovers a feast of fantastic facts about everyone’s favourite investigative journalist, in Wotcha!

PLUS! All the latest official news, reviews of TV and merchandise reviews, previews, competitions, a prize-winning crossword and much, much more!





FILTER: - DWM - Elisabeth Sladen

Sky: Final RatingsBookmark and Share

Monday, 17 October 2011 - Reported by Marcus
The first story in the current series of The Sarah Jane Adventures, Sky, had an official audience of 0.53 million viewers, according to Barb.

Although the figures are slightly down on last year's series opener, The Nightmare Man, which had 0.63 million watching, the two Sarah Jane episodes topped the CBBC chart for the week, with Episode One of Sky getting 0.534 million watching and Episode Two getting 0.532 million.

Third placed Tracy Beaker got 0.407 million watching.

The Series has yet to be shown on the main channel, BBC One and the figures do not include those watching on iPlayer.

The last ever episode of the Sarah Jane Adventures is due to be broadcast later on Tuesday in the UK.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Sarah Jane

Matt Smith wins Best Sci-Fi Actor at the Scream AwardsBookmark and Share

Sunday, 16 October 2011 - Reported by Harry Ward
Doctor Who Ratings Matt Smith has won the Best Science Fiction Actor award at the 2011 Spike Scream Awards. He was up against tough competition from Daniel Craig (Cowboys & Aliens), Chris Evans (Captain America: The First Avenger), Harrison Ford (Cowboys & Aliens) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Source Code).

Doctor Who lost the Best TV Show category to Game of Thrones while Karen Gillan lost out to Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil: Afterlife) in the Best Science Fiction Actress category.

The awards show took place at the Universal Lot in Los Angeles, California on 15th October. The two hour event will broadcast on Tuesday, October 18 at 9/8c PM, ET/PT on Spike TV.





FILTER: - USA - Matt Smith - Awards/Nominations