Lethbridge-Stewart: Beast of Fang-Rock

Friday, 16 October 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Candy-Jar Books will be releasing the third story in their Lethbridge-Stewart series of novels, Beast of Fang Rock by Andy Frankham-Allen, later this month; those who pre-order the book before relaease date will also receive an additional free short e-story on PDF, The Cult of the Grinning Man.

Lethbridge-Stewart: Beast Of Fang Rock (Credit: Candy Jar Books)Beast of Fang Rock
Written by Andy Frankham-Allen
Cover by Colin Howard
Published on 23rd October 2015

"There’s always death on the rock when the Beast’s about."

Fang Rock has always had a bad reputation. Since 1955 the lighthouse has been out of commission, shut down because of fire that gutted the entire tower. But now, finally updated and fully renovated, the island and lighthouse is once again about to be brought back into service.

Students have gathered on Fang Rock to celebrate the opening of the ‘most haunted lighthouse of the British Isles’, but they get more than they bargained for when the ghosts of long-dead men return, accompanied by a falling star.

Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart is brought in to investigate what he believes to be signs of alien involvement. But it is not only Lethbridge-Stewart who has an interest in Fang Rock. Anne Travers is called to her family solicitor’s, who have in their possession a letter from Archibald Goff, the paranormal investigator who once visited Fang Rock back in the 1820s, and along with it a piece of alien technology.

What connects a shooting star, ghosts of men killed in 1902 and the beast that roamed Fang Rock in 1823? Lethbridge-Stewart and Anne Travers are about to discover the answer first hand...

With a foreword by Louise Jameson, who played Leela, the Doctor’s companion from 1976-1978.

As might be discerned from the synopsis, Beast of Fang Rock is a sequel (and prequel) to the Season Fifteen opener, Horror of Fang Rock by Terrance Dicks. Talking about the setting, author Andy Frankham-Allen said:
The period setting of Beast is a deliberate echo of Horror. Three keepers stranded on the rock, hunted by something unknown and deadly. It was essential that I recreated that sense of claustrophobia, and so I developed a very similar dynamic, taking my cues from Terrance Dicks’ original script. Terrance is such an important part of Doctor Who’s history, indeed he’s had his hand in almost every piece of Doctor Who lore modern fans get to enjoy in the current series, that it was imperative his vision and ideals be honoured in this book.
The book also heavily features one of the principal characters from The Web of Fear, Anne Travers; head of publishing Shaun Russell explains:
One of the main goals of this book, was to establish Anne Travers as a key player in the series. She had a cameo in the first book, The Forgotten Son, and a timey-wimey role in The Schizoid Earth, but this is the first book in which her part is essential to the plot. Indeed, in every way that matters, Beast of Fang Rock is Anne’s story. Doctor Who has a large female fan base, and it has always been our plan that our series has a strong female lead to whom all those fans can relate.
The book also has a foreward by the storie's star, Louise Jameson, who played Leela in the original story, had provided a foreward for the book, during which she observed:
Horror of Fang Rock has always been a favourite with the fans. Part of the ‘recipe’ for a frightening yarn is to create something claustrophobic. And that feeling of climbing the stairs at night taps in to almost everyone’s personal childhood terror. Add the fog, the fear of being ‘jumped’ and you’re left with the stuff of nightmares. This book is hard to put down, and it’s marvellous, and very touching, that so many people are still connected to the classic series in a way I could never have predicted, even though I had the privilege of travelling through time.
Hayley Cox, senior publishing coordinator at Candy Jar Books, also explained how the setting of the lighthouse itself is important:
For centuries lighthouses have protected and saved many lives all over the world, keeping safe those who dare to battle against the ferocious elements of our world. Lighthouses feature so little in literature, and are often relegated to stories told by the older generation, but this book will hopefully remind today’s generation of the importance of the lighthouse. Not only in the past, but in today’s world. Andy has done a wonderful job of paying testament to these bastions of hope for the unwary traveller.


The book can be pre-ordered from the Candy Jar Books website.




FILTER: - Books - Candy Jar Books - Lethbridge-Stewart

Doctor Who Magazine 492

Thursday, 15 October 2015 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Magazine 492 (Credit: Panini )This month Doctor Who Magazine looks ahead to the return of one of Doctor Who's most popular monsters, in the forthcoming two-part adventure The Zygon Invasion & The Zygon Inversion – which also sees the return of fan-favourite Osgood

Episode writer Peter Harness tells the Magazine
There was a certain amount of fan outrage when Death in Heaven saw the apparent death of Osgood. Ingrid Oliver’s character was an instant hit on her first appearance in The Day of the Doctor. While there may not have been questions asked in Parliament about her death, there were definitely some furious tweets on the subject! But now she’s back...
And, of course, the Zygons are back too.
One thing I really had in my head when I was writing it was the Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and I think that's why it originally had the title Invasion of the Zygons. I thought that if aliens wanted to fight us and they were fighting us from a position of weakness, they would look at how we fight wars. The Zygons are not only stealing our faces, but they’re stealing the ways in which we fight each other nowadays
Also inside the 92 page issue
  • THE GIRL WHO DIED & THE WOMAN WHO LIVED
  • DWM looks ahead to the brand new episodes The Girl Who Died and The Woman Who Lived and talks exclusively with writers Jamie Mathieson and Catherine Tregenna.
  • THE SECRET OF DAVROS
  • Showrunner Steven Moffat answers readers’ questions about the series’ opening two-parter, and explains why Davros is unlike any other villain.
  • BACK TO SKARO
  • DWM goes behind the scenes of The Magician's Apprentice and The Witch's Familiar to discover how the planet Skaro was resurrected, with insights from Dalek voice actor Nicholas Briggs and writer Steven Moffat.
  • GHOST WRITER
  • In an extensive interview, writer Toby Whithouse talks in-depth about his recent episodes Under the Lake and Before the Flood.
  • WHO’S MAGIC?
  • Excited by the new series, Jacqueline Rayner reflects on The Magician’s Apprentice and celebrates the magic of Doctor Who in her column, Relative Dimensions.
  • MONSTERS OF THE MILLENNIUM
  • Prosthetic effects supervisor Kate Walshe of Millennium FX talks exclusively to DWM about her team's creations for the latest series, including Davros, Colony Sarff and the Fisher King.
  • DOCTOR DOOM
  • DWM talks to Eighth Doctor Paul McGann about his biggest Doctor Who adventure to date: Doom Coalition!
  • THE WAR GAMES
  • The Fact of Fiction explores the second half of The War Games, the landmark Second Doctor story which introduced the Time Lords.
  • FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE
  • There's comic strip action in a terrifying new adventure for the Doctor and Clara: The Highgate Horror, by Mark Wright, illustrated by David A Roach and James Offredi.
  • THE DWM REVIEW
  • DWM reviews the first four episodes of the latest series: The Magician’s Apprentice & The Witch's Familiar and Under the Lake & Before the Flood. Plus the latest books and audios are put under the spotlight.
  • COMING SOON
  • All the latest Doctor Who merchandise releases, including – at last! – the DVD release of 1967's The Underwater Menace. PLUS! All the latest official news, competitions, Wotcha! and The DWM Crossword.
Doctor Who Magazine 492 is on sale from today Thursday 15 October 2015, price £4.99




FILTER: - DWM - Series 9/35

John Hurt Cancer in Remission

Wednesday, 14 October 2015 - Reported by Marcus
John Hurt (Credit: BBC)Actor John Hurt has spoken of his delight on receiving the latest assessment of his fight with Pancreatic Cancer.

The actor, who played The War Doctor in the 50th Anniversary story Day of the Doctor, was diagnosed with the disease last Summer. However speaking at the Man Booker Prize ceremony on Tuesday night in London, he revealed he had recently been given good news by doctors.

I had a final scan and saw my oncologist and it’s all gone brilliantly. I am overjoyed, I am thrilled. It all looks great for the future, it’s fantastic.
His agent Charles Macdonald spoke to to BBC Radio Norfolk telling the station that Hurt had a very good meeting with his oncologist.
Sir John has been given very good news by his oncologist but it falls short of an all-clear. Nontheless it's very good news.
The actor, who was knighted in the Queen's New Year Honours list, said he was wary of using works like remission, even if true. Around 8,800 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the UK each year, making it the 11th most common cancer.

It was announced last week that Sir John will reprise his role as The War Doctor, in a new range of audio adventures for Big Finish Productions, the first of which will be released later this year.




FILTER: - People

The Girl Who Died: Publicity

Tuesday, 13 October 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster
A roundup of publicity for the next episode in the current series of Doctor Who, The Girl Who Died.

Captured by Vikings, the Doctor and Clara must help protect their village from Space Warriors from the future: the Mire.

Outnumbered and outgunned, their fate seems inevitable. So why is the Doctor preoccupied with a single Viking girl?

Writer Jamie Mathieson
Director Ed Bazalgette
Producer Derek Ritchie
Cast Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman

The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)
Profile images of Ashildr (Maisie Williams), Odin (David Schofield) and the Mire:

The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)The Girl Who Died (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)

The Girl Who Died: Known Broadcast Details
United KingdomBBC OneSat 17 Oct 20158:20pm
United States of AmericaBBC AmericaSat 17 Oct 20159:00pm EDT(2:00am BST)
CanadaSPACESat 17 Oct 20159:00pm EDT(2:00am BST)
Asia PacificBBC EntertainmentSun 18 Oct 201510:00am SGT(3:00am BST)
New ZealandPRIMESun 18 Oct 20157:30pm NZDT(7:30am BST)
AustraliaABCSun 18 Oct 20157:40pm AEDT(9:40am BST)
Europe (Benelux)BBC FirstTue 20 Oct 20159:00pm CEST
United KingdomBBC TwoFri 23 Oct 20151:45am(British Signed Language)
FinlandYLE2Mon 19 Oct 20156:05pm EEST
IndiaFXSun 25 Oct 201511:00pm IST
South AfricaBBC FirstSat 31 Oct 20156:45pm SAST
GermanyFOXThu 17 Dec 20159:00pm CET(dubbed into German)





FILTER: - Publicity - Series 9/35

Under the Lake - Official Rating

Monday, 12 October 2015 - Reported by Marcus
Under the Lake - Final Ratings
Doctor Who: Under the Lake finished with an official rating of 5.63 million viewers.

The rating issued by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board, or BARB, includes all those who watched the programme within one week of transmission. It does not include those watching online via iPlayer

The rating makes Doctor Who the 22nd most watched programme for the week on all UK television. It was the 10th most watched programme on BBC Television.

Doctor Who ended higher than Casualty, which beat it in the initial overnight figures, and was the third most watched show on Saturday Night. The Great British Bake Off topped the chart with a massive 12.65 million watching. The most popular Saturday night show was Strictly Come Dancing with 9.27 million viewers.




FILTER: - Ratings - Series 9/35 - UK

Dr Whoot up for Auction

Monday, 12 October 2015 - Reported by Marcus
Dr Whoot and 89 other giant owls came together for one last time at a special Farewell Weekend at Birmingham's Millennium Point on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October before being auctioned to raise funds for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity.

Artist Stephen Mckay is a long time Doctor Who fan, his Police Box/Owl design was inspired by the conventions he attended in Birmingham in the early 1980s. Mckay has fond memories of meeting passed Doctors Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton in the city.

The Police Box owl with its working lamp, hand made by Mckay, has attracted a lot of interest in the UK and America and with a starting price of £5000 is hoped will raise substantially more for the Children's Hospital. The top price previously paid for a work by Stephen Mckay was £25,000 in aid of Bristol Children s' Hospital in 2013.

The Big Hoot Auction takes place on Thursday the 15th of October. If you are interested in bidding for Dr Whoot or any other of the Big Hoot owls or owlets , details are available on the Big Hoot website


Who Fan and Artist Stephen Mckay (Credit: Stephen Mckay)Bonnie Langford Patrick Troughton outside Birmingham Central Library 1985 (Credit: Stephen Mckay)Farewell to Owls (Credit: Stephen Mckay)Dr Whoot in Birmingham (Credit: Stephen Mckay)




FILTER: - Auctions - Special Events

Before the Flood - AI:83

Monday, 12 October 2015 - Reported by Marcus
Before the Flood (Credit: BBC / Simon Ridgway)
Doctor Who: Before the Flood had an Audience Appreciation or AI score of 83.

The Appreciation Index or AI is a measure of how much the audience enjoyed the programme. The score, out of a hundred, is compiled by a specially selected panel of around 5,000 people who go online and rate and comment on programmes.

With Sunday's overnight viewing figures now available, Doctor Who finished as the 39th most watched programme of the week. Consolidated figures will be published next week.




FILTER: - Ratings - Series 9/35 - UK

Australian overnight ratings for Before the Flood and final ratings for The Witc

Monday, 12 October 2015 - Reported by Adam Kirk
Before the Flood has debuted in Australia, averaging 511,000 viewers in the five major capital cities. It was the second-highest rating ABC drama of the day and the nineteenth highest rating program of the day overallThese ratings do not include regional or time-shifted viewers.

Meanwhile, including time-shifted viewers, The Witch's Familiar averaged 734,000 consolidated viewers in the five major capital cities. With 192,000 extra viewers, it was the highest time-shifted program of the day and the seventh highest rating program of the day overallThese ratings do not include regional viewers.




FILTER: - Australia - Broadcasting - Ratings - Series 9/35

Photograph of the complete Web of Fear and Enemy of the World film cans released

Sunday, 11 October 2015 - Reported by Pascal Salzmann
Philip Morris of Television International Enterprises Archives (TIEA), who returned nine previously missing episodes of Doctor Who to the BBC Archives in 2013, recently revealed that he had found all episodes of The Web of Fear back then. Episode 3, featuring the first appearance of Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart, went missing again shortly after the discovery, presumably stolen and sold to a private collector.

The Doctor Who Missing Episodes Discussion Group on Facebook has now been given a photo of all 12 film cans found in Africa. They posted the picture on the Facebook group with permission by Philip Morris. On the photo you can see the production code PP (The Enemy of the World) written on the side of one of the cans, the further eleven cans are also part of that serial and of the following story The Web of Fear (Code QQ). Among them is the now once again missing episode 3 of the classic "Yeti's in the Underground"-story.

The following statement was released on Facebook:
On the second anniversary of the release of the newly-recovered and restored “Enemy Of The World” and “Web Of Fear”, Philip Morris, Executive Director of TIEA has authorized us (The Doctor Who Missing Episodes Group on Facebook) to release this photograph of the twelve film cans which he originally discovered in Jos, Nigeria.

This photo was taken immediately after Phil had discovered the film cans and verified that the film reels inside matched what was on the labels.

As you are no doubt aware, one of these film cans - the one containing Episode 3 of “The Web Of Fear” – went missing in between when this photo was taken (in late 2011) and when the cans were delivered to the central collection point in Abuja, Nigeria. The location and disposition of this film can and its contents is currently unknown.

Film Cans found in Jos, Africa (Credit: Doctor Who Missing Episodes Discussion Group & TIEA Ltd)

Philip Morris put out the following statement:
The picture you see is one I took after checking the 12 Doctor Who film cans in Jos in 2011. All film leaders were checked to ensure cans matched their contents, this is a practice we follow in fine detail with due care shown. All programmes held at this station were physically checked by myself and my own team. No undue attention was drawn to the Doctor Who prints by myself or any of my staff, however I instructed one of my trusted team to ensure the Doctor Who prints were hidden until authorisation for retrieval could be obtained.

However two prints, one QQ3 Web of Fear 3 and another spare print were taken from one of my guys by a guy at the station who took the two prints to his office. This was reported to me within hours. I was not unduly concerned I knew their location. I have to admit I was really excited and told somebody I thought would not leak any sensitive information - big big mistake. Within 4/5 days the station had been named online. Fortunately by this time our job was done, however what of Web 3? I physically searched Jos again, asked the guy who took the films where they were. Initially he denied all knowledge until I produced the picture-he just looked at the floor and said he put them back on the shelf.

I didn't believe a word, and took the pictures and with one of my collegues and went straight to the top of the NTA, however the guy simply denied it. That is until earlier this year when I returned to Nigeria. I met the same guy again so I asked him directly - he just laughed and said "I don't know anything about missing episodes."
I firmly believe this episode is in the hands of a fan and we will trace it. I hope this goes someway to explain why I must maintain a certain level of security around TIEA and its work.
Thanks to the Doctor Who Missing Episodes Group and to Philip Morris for the kind permission to publish the picture on DWN.








FILTER: - Classic Series - Missing episodes - Patrick Troughton - Second Doctor

Derek Ware 1938-2015

Sunday, 11 October 2015 - Reported by Marcus
Actor and Stunt Arranger Derek Ware has died at the age of 77.

Derek Ware was a regular performer on Doctor Who throughout the first ten years of its existence, appearing in at least 21 episodes and acting as Fight Arranger in many more.

He appeared in the very first story, An Unearthly Child, where he doubled for actor Jeremy Young, in the fight scene between the cavemen Kal and Za, arranging Doctor Who's first fight scene. He returned to the series arranging the fight between Marco and Tegana in Marco Polo and between Ian and Ixta in The Aztecs.. As well as Fight Arranging he was back before the cameras in The Crusade playing a Saracen Warrior.

Later that year he played a Bus Conductor in the final scenes of The Chase where Ian and Barbara return to London. He continued with roles in The Myth Makers and the epic The Daleks' Master Plan where he played the Egyptian messenger Tuthmos. He played a Spaniard in The Smugglers

He again arranged the fights in the Patrick Troughton stories The Underwater Menace and The Web of Fear.

In 1970 he formed HAVOC, a team of specialist stunt performers who regularly worked on the third Doctor's era of the show. The Ambassadors of Death, Inferno, where he played Private Wyatt, Terror of the Autons, The Sea Devils and The Claws of Axos all benefited from his skills, with Ware himself playing the tramp Pigbin Josh in the latter story.

Costs and Union problems saw the end of HAVOC after the end of Season 9, and Ware never worked on Doctor Who again.

Ware continued his work as a stunt performer working on series such as Z Cars, Colditz, King Cinder, The Prisoner of Zenda, The Kenny Everett Television Show and Last of the Summer Wine. He appeared with Michael Crawford in a well known clip from the comedy series Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em when he played a window cleaner working alongside the hapless Frank Spencer. The stunt, which featured both actors hanging from a window cleaning platform on the side of a London skyscraper, went wrong when the cradle became stuck, resulting in both actors being trapped 300 feet above the ground.

Film work included The Italian Job, Krull, Willow and Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.

Derek Ware had trained at RADA and for many years a Derek Ware Prize was awarded at the academy for the best fight based around a classical text.




FILTER: - Classic Series - Obituary