The Doctor's Meditation

Friday, 18 September 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward

The BBC has released The Doctor's Meditation to UK fans on the official Doctor Who Facebook page. The video is region locked and can only be viewed from a UK IP address. Fans in other parts of the world can watch the "prequel" on TV. BBC America will be airing it tonight at 10pm and will be repeated in the early hours of Saturday at 1am. Canadians will be able to watch it on SPACE tonight at 6pm. On the other side of the world in Australia, ABC 2 will be showing The Doctor's Meditation on Saturday evening at 7.30pm and again on Monday evening at the same time.

The video is available to download from iTunes, Amazon Instant Video and Google Play.

The Doctor prepares for his deadliest confrontation - distractions permitting...

FILTER: - Doctor Who - Series 9/35

Jenna Coleman to leave Doctor Who

Friday, 18 September 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward

Jenna Coleman and Clara (Credit: BBC/David Venni)

The BBC has officially confirmed the departure of Jenna Coleman from Doctor Who. The actress revealed the news exclusively on BBC Radio 1's Breakfast Show. She told presenter Nick Grimshaw: "I have left the tardis - it's happened, I've filmed my last scenes." ITV has also confirmed she is to play a young Queen Victoria in their new drama Victoria. Coleman said: "I am delighted to be cast as Queen Victoria in this ambitious drama of her life. She is a vivid, strong, inspirational and utterly fascinating woman in British history and I can't wait to tell her story." The series will be produced by Paul Frift (In The Forest Of The Night, Last Christmas).

Adventures to last me a lifetime. Thank you @bbcdoctorwho. But as they say 'It ain't over till it's over' - Jenna Coleman on Twitter.

Coleman made her first appearance in Doctor Who with a surprise role in 2012's Asylum of the Daleks, where she played the fateful Oswin Oswald, a Junior Entertainment Manager on the starliner Alaska. She returned later that year in The Snowmen, this time playing a Victorian barmaid/governess. Again, her character didn't survive the episode... Her first regular companion role came in 2013's The Bells of Saint John, which started the "Impossible Girl" story arc.

Jenna Coleman tells Grimmy she's leaving Doctor Who! - BBC Radio 1

FILTER: - Doctor Who - Jenna Coleman

James Goss - Torchwood Q&A

Thursday, 17 September 2015 - Reported by Thomas Buxton

The first instalment of the new Torchwood series from Big Finish, The Conspiracy was released last week. You can read our review of the story here.

Doctor Who News put some questions to the producer of the series, James Goss.

DWN: Like any long-running franchise, the 'Torchwood' brand carries the weight of expectation on its back - how much pressure did you feel to satisfy its devotees in producing the new series for Big Finish?

JG: Massively. The Torchwood fans care enormously about that show - there was no point in just doing half-a-dozen stories that would fit nicely in the 2015 Torchwood Annual. We wanted to make something really special and make the fans as massively excited as we are.

Based on the production experience to date, how smooth a transition do you feel the show has made from TV to audio? Has having John Barrowman, Eve Myles and many of the other 'Torchwood' regulars aboard helped in this respect?

The cast have been enormously, enormously supportive. They're all tremendously busy but have made time for us, somehow. John records in a studio in Palm Springs, Gareth came in straight after finishing a gruelling theatre tour, Kai travelled halfway across the UK for the recording... the list goes on. And they're an utter delight in the studio. At every single recording the engineer spends most of their time laughing. It's that much fun.

It's really great to decide we're going to just tell stories concentrating on brilliant Torchwood characters. There are so many of them, and it makes each release feel special.

We'll of course learn more about how the Committee factors into Torchwood's ongoing history as more of Season One hits shelves. Was the lack of references to team members, events etc. aside from Gwen in 'The Conspiracy' an intentional move to allow newcomers to experience it without feeling bogged down by past continuity?

Yes. David Llewellyn did a very clever job of making it easy to get into. People are always worried that it's going to be difficult, or require complicated knowledge. We've worked hard to make sure that it's not.

The Conspiracy is just a thing that's around, ticking away in the background, nudging events here and there. It's building towards a grim conclusion... eventually.

What for you has been the most fulfilling element of working to bring Big Finish's latest endeavour to life so far?

That's totally unfair. Getting the first one recorded and announced while I was in Spain was very strange, and not the most relaxing holiday (leaping around a swimming pool in the dark trying to get enough signal to find out what Twitter was doing). Recording with Gareth was staggering - it was a truly remarkable performance, the most fun you can have with Ianto Jones. The joy of getting Eve and Kai back together and watching them recreate the magic of the Welsh Steed and Mrs Peel. And then, last week, spending a day in studio with Tracy-Ann Oberman. She turned up with a spare pair of high heels in her handbag, and the whole day was like that.

It's such a delight heading to the studios - the writers have done such great, great work. They really love the show and that makes it feel so worthwhile. Emma Reeves has written Gwen and Rhys perfectly, and Joe Lidster throws all of Cardiff at Yvonne - you almost feel sorry for her.

Looking ahead, can you tease what fans and newbies alike have to look forward to as Season One progresses and as a whole new season of adventures beckons from March 2016?

We learn of Captain Jack's unique way of interrogating robots, we meet Mr Pugh, the one man who can say No to Torchwood, and two very interesting people go monster-hunting across London and stop for ice cream.

The Conspiracy is available to order from Big Finish now.

(with thanks to James Goss and Joseph Smith)

FILTER: - Big Finish - People - Torchwood

The Dalek Invasion of Westminster

Thursday, 17 September 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Commuters in London would have been in for a surprise this morning as the Daleks took over London's transport network! The "Masters of Earth" could be seen today in and around Westminster Underground Station, in celebration of their (and the Doctor's!) return to television this weekend.

(with thanks to BBC Worldwide)

FILTER: - Publicity - Series 9/35 - Special Events

Tracy-Ann Oberman back as Yvonne Hartman in Torchwood

Thursday, 17 September 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward

Torchwood: One Rule (Credit: Big Finish Productions)

Big Finish has announced that Tracy-Ann Oberman is to return as Yvonne Hartman in Torchwood: One Rule, the fourth release in its new series of Torchwood audio plays. One Rule is written by Joseph Lidster, who has written episodes of Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. Tracy-Ann Oberman last appeared in Doctor Who as Yvonne Hartman in the Series 2 finale Army of Ghosts / Doomsday.

Joining the cast of One Rule are Dan Starkey as Ross Bevan and Catrin Stewart as Meredith Bevan.

It’s been three weeks since the Mayor of Cardiff was killed by a shop dummy and the fight is on to see who will replace him.

Yvonne Hartman is visiting the city to retrieve an invaluable alien device. She's in charge of Torchwood One, she's saving the British Empire and she doesn't care about local politics. But she is going to find herself caught up in that fight. There’s a bloodthirsty alien stalking the streets and there’s a special offer on at the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet.

It’s the 26th of March 2005 and it’s the day that everything changes.

Producer James Goss said:

When we presented the idea of using Yvonne, Matt Nicholls at BBC Worldwide came up with a brilliant caveat – he suggested we could have Yvonne, but not the all-powerful Queen Bee of Canary Wharf. Instead he wanted her to come thoroughly unstuck in Cardiff.

Writer Joseph Lidster said:

Torchwood was my first piece of writing for television and it remains my favourite series. Not just the television episodes but the books, audiobooks, radio plays, all of it. I'd have been gutted not to have been involved in some way - I'd have happily gone into the studio and made the tea!

James Goss gave me a choice of available characters but it was Yvonne who leapt out at me. She's one of my favourite characters to have appeared in Doctor Who - she has questionable beliefs but she genuinely thinks she's doing the best thing for her country. She's also incredibly funny and brilliantly performed by the magnificent Tracy-Ann Oberman.

Torchwood: One Rule will be released in December from the BigFinish.com.

FILTER: - Big Finish - Torchwood

German broadcast date of Series 9 announced

Thursday, 17 September 2015 - Reported by Pascal Salzmann

Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman as The Doctor and Clara (Credit: BBC/David Venni)

In an exclusive to DWN, German broadcaster FOX revealed the broadcast details of Series 9. The series will premiere with the complete two-parter of The Magician's Apprentice and The Witch's Familar, dubbed to German, on 3rd December 2015 at 9:00 pm. The series then continues with two episodes every Thursday at the same time.

Find out more about all international broadcast dates of the series premiere in our DWN Guide and keep up to date with what is going to be broadcasted around the world in This Week in Doctor Who.

FILTER: - FOX - Germany - International Broadcasting - Series 9/35

SPACE: special message to Canadian fans

Thursday, 17 September 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Canadian broadcaster SPACE celebrates the return of Doctor Who this weekend with a special message from Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman:

The premiere of The Magician's Apprentice will be preceded by a number of Doctor Who episodes, plus a special edition of their regular magazine InnerSpace.

TORONTO (September 16, 2015) – Space’s highest-rated series in the history of time returns with all-new episodes when Season 9 of DOCTOR WHO premieres this Saturday, Sept. 19 at 9 p.m. ET. Peter Capaldi returns as the Doctor alongside Jenna Coleman and guests including GAME OF THRONES’ Maisie Williams. Now that the Doctor and Clara have established a dynamic as a partnership of equals, they’re relishing the fun and thrills that all of space and time has to offer. Tangling with ghosts, Vikings, and the ultimate evil of the Daleks, they embark on their biggest adventures yet. Missy (Michelle Gomez, BAD EDUCATION) is back to plague the Doctor once more, the Zygons inspire fear as they shape-shift into human clones, and a new arrival moves in cosmic ways.

This season, the Doctor is ready to stand against any monster who threatens the universe including Missy, who revealed herself to be the Master in the Season 8 finale. To celebrate Missy’s return in the Season 9 premiere, “The Magician’s Apprentice,” Space has lined up a marathon of past DOCTOR WHO episodes featuring the Doctor’s childhood friend turned life-long enemy, the Master. The DOCTOR WHO MASTER MARATHON kicks off Saturday, Sept. 19 at 12 noon ET with Season 3 episode “Utopia,” featuring David Tennant in the role of the Doctor.

For an insider’s look into the iconic series, INNERSPACE PRESENTS DOCTOR WHO SEASON 9 premieres just before the season premiere on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET. Host Teddy Wilson helms the exclusive sit-down with stars Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman, taped this past summer at San Diego Comic-Con. In the 30-minute special, the two stars offer insight and hints as to what to expect from the upcoming season.

Viewers looking to time-travel back to the very beginning with the Doctor can find all past seasons of DOCTOR WHO on CraveTV^TM.

DOCTOR WHO Programming for Saturday, Sept: 19: DOCTOR WHO MASTER MARATHON

Peter Capaldi as the Doctor (Credit: BBC/David Venni)

12 p.m. – DOCTOR WHO Utopia – Season 3, Episode 11
Jack’s back! As Captain Jack (John Barrowman, ARROW) storms back into the Doctor’s (David Tennant, BROADCHURCH) life, the Tardis is thrown out of control, to the end of the universe. There, they find the savage Futurekind ruling the wilderness, while a lonely Professor tries in vain to save the last of the human race.
1 p.m. – DOCTOR WHO The Sound of Drums – Season 3, Episode 12
Harry Saxon (John Simm, INTRUDERS) becomes Prime Minister, and his reign of terror begins. This is only the start of his ambitions, however, as he announces humankind’s first contact with an alien race, the Toclafane. An audacious plan, spanning the whole of time and space, begins to close around the Earth.
2 p.m. – DOCTOR WHO The Last of the Time Lords – Season 3, Episode 13
Earth has been conquered and the Master (Simm) rules supreme, with the Doctor a helpless prisoner. The entire human race has been reduced to slavery, as the mighty warships of a new Time Lord Empire rise from the ashes. Only Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman, THE CARRIE DIARIES) can save the world...
3:10 p.m. – DOCTOR WHO The End of Time (Part 1)
Christmas Eve, and the Doctor (David Tennant) is reunited with Wilf (Bernard Cribbins, OLD JACK'S BOAT), to face the return of an old enemy. Something terrible stalks the wastelands of London, while far away, the Immortality Gate reaches completion. But the warnings of the Ood signify an even greater danger, as the Doctor (Tennant) faces his darkest hour yet.
4:35 p.m. – DOCTOR WHO The End of Time (Part 2)
The Doctor (David Tennant) has faced Daleks, Cybermen, Angels and Devils, but now stands defeated at the end of his life, as the Master’s (John Simm, THE VILLAGE) victory unleashes the greatest terror of all. With an ancient plan closing around the Earth, only the Doctor can stop the cataclysm – but is the price too great to pay?
6:15 p.m. – DOCTOR WHO Dark Water – Season 8, Episode 11
In the mysterious world of the Nethersphere, plans have been drawn. Missy (Michelle Gomez, BAD EDUCATION) is about to come face to face with the Doctor (Peter Capaldi), and an impossible choice is looming... “Death is not an end” promises the sinister organization known only as 3W – but, as the Doctor and Clara (Jenna Coleman) discover, you might wish it was.
7:15 p.m. – DOCTOR WHO Death in Heaven – Season 8, Episode 12
With Cybermen on the streets of London, old friends unite against old enemies, and the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) takes to the air in a startling new role. Can the mighty UNIT contain Missy (Michelle Gomez, BAD EDUCATION)? As the Doctor faces his greatest challenge, sacrifices must be made before the day is won.
8:30 p.m - INNERSPACE: DOCTOR WHO SEASON 9 *Special Premiere*
INNERSPACE’s Teddy Wilson chats with Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman as the two DOCTOR WHO stars get more candid with Teddy than they ever have before, gaining insight into the new season, and hearing firsthand what working on the show means to them both.
9 p.m - DOCTOR WHO The Magician’s Apprentice *Season 9 Premiere*
“Where is the Doctor?” When the skies of Earth are frozen by a mysterious alien force, Clara needs her friend. But where is the Doctor, and what is he hiding from? As past deeds come back to haunt him, old enemies will come face-to-face, and for the Doctor and Clara survival seems impossible.

FILTER: - Canada - Press - Series 9/35

Doctor Who Magazine 491

Wednesday, 16 September 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 491 (Credit: Doctor Who Magazine)

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 491 (in bag) (Credit: Doctor Who Magazine)

The latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine is out on Thursday, and has an exclusive preview of the first four episodes of the new series, The Magician's Apprentice & The Witch's Familiar and Under the Lake & Before the Flood.

The latter two episodes from Toby Whithouse's first script for Peter Capaldi's Doctor, and also his first two-part Doctor Who story; it hinges on time travel – "fairly mind-bending time travel at that". On whether he came to regret taking the "wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey" route, he said:

Oh never, I loved it! I've always wanted to do a timey-wimey episode. In fact, it was going to be a lot more timey-wimey, but we lost some of that before we started filming. It's enormous fun to deposit something in a script, then have the reason for it happen later.

I think (Peter)'s the most 'alien' Doctor we've had since the show came back. Even though the essentials of the character remain the same – his heroism, his brilliance, his enthusiasm – he feels to me like much more of an outsider than Chris Eccleston or David Tennant or Matt Smith were. He's more strange and otherwordly. That's really interesting to play with.

Also in this issue:

TARDIS TAKE-OFF! The Doctor's days off and the TARDIS' take off – showrunner Steven Moffat answers readers' questions.
CLARA OSWALD'S 100 IMPOSSIBLE FACTS: She has been something of 'a mystery wrapped in an enigma' but we've got to know Clara better than you might think. Jonathan Morris summarises everything we know about the Impossible Girl.
MONSTERS OF THE MILLENNIUM: How do you go about making monsters for Doctor Who? Millennium FX prosthetic effects supervisor Kate Walshe reveals all!
LEGO DIMENSIONS! Official Lego products and a brand new video game.... Doctor Who is about to enter a new dimension. DWM talks to the team behind the project.
BEST DRESSED TIME LORD: DWM interviews costume designer Ray Holman, the man behind the Twelfth Doctor's new look.
"GOOD GRIEF!" As the Third Doctor returns for a brand new series of audio adventures, DWM talks to the man who is recreating the role made famous by Jon Pertwee: Tim Treolar.
THE WAR GAMES: The Fact of Fiction explores the Second Doctor's final story, a 10-part epic which threw the Doctor and his companions back into the events of the First World War.
JUNGLE FEVER! The adventure continues in the brand-new comic strip adventure, Spirits of the Jungle, by Jonathan Morris, illustrated by John Ross.
WHO HOMEWORK Jacqueline Rayner makes her kids' summer homework fun with an exciting Doctor Who project in her regular column, Relative Dimensions.
MISSING IN ACTION: Graham Kibble-White reviews The Macra Terror, a Second Doctor story missing from the BBC archives.
COMING SOON: DWM talks to the people involved in the latest Doctor Who CD and book releases, including Justin Richards and Miranda Raison.
THE UNEXPLAINED: The Watcher reflects on past Doctors and anticipates the new series of Doctor Who in Wotcha!.

Plus all the latest official news, reviews, competitions and The DWM Crossword.
AND! A giant-sized, double-sided poster!

The 100-page Doctor Who Magazine 491 is on sale from Thursday 17 September 2015.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 491 - full cover (Credit: Doctor Who Magazine)

FILTER: - DWM - Series 9/35

BBC keeping quiet on Jenna Coleman's future

Wednesday, 16 September 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward

Jenna Coleman as Clara (Credit: BBC / David Venni)

Jenna Coleman's involvement with Doctor Who beyond 2015 is in doubt again after the Mirror reported the actress has "quit" the show to play a young Queen Victoria in a new ITV drama. The article states: "She is thought to have already filmed her final scenes, and will bow out before the Christmas special."

This year's Christmas special will feature Alex Kingston back as River Song but there has not been an announcement of Jenna's involvement. She is also missing from November's Doctor Who Festival guest lineup.

The news that Jenna Coleman has "quit" has been published in other British papers including The independent, The Telegraph and The Guardian. The BBC has reported the story on their news website but the Doctor Who production team have declined to comment.

The Mirror previously reported that Jenna Coleman had quit and would leave at the end of Last Christmas. Steven Moffat wrote in Doctor Who Magazine 484 that Death in Heaven was to be her last episode but she had changed her mind:

That was her last episode. And then she asked me if she could be in Christmas? So I said, 'Okay, I'll write you out in Christmas.' She came to the read through and did the 'write out' version - and again changed her mind.

But the truth is I never wanted her to go. I didn't really want Death in Heaven to be her last episode. And with Last Christmas, I'd already written the alternative version where she stayed, and I preferred that version. For Christmas Day it's a bit nicer. Frankly, I didn't want to lose her. She's an amazing actress, and she never stops working to make Clara better. I was very happy to go the extra mile to make sure we could keep her.

FILTER: - Doctor Who - Jenna Coleman - Press

Doctor Who Game Maker launched

Tuesday, 15 September 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward

The BBC has launched Doctor Who: Game Maker as part of the corporation's Make it Digital season. The game will allow fans to create their own adventures by manipulating the Doctor Who universe. Characters which can be used in game include the Doctor, Clara, Missy, and various monsters and alien worlds from the series. Users can create their own game from scratch or use an existing template which includes classic game formats with a Doctor Who twist, including platform games, puzzles and racers.

Strax will be able to offer advice by showing users how to get started, change a game’s physics to make things fly, animate objects and even add special effects.

Games can be created on tablet devices and desktop computers, and there will soon be an Arcade area which will let people play games on mobile devices.

Jo Pearce, Creative Director, BBC Cymru Wales Interactive, says:

The Doctor Who Game Maker rounds off a big year for Doctor Who as part of BBC Make it Digital. Our game introduced our audiences to coding basics, Mission Dalek competition encouraged fans to create stories using digital technology, and now we’re giving fans the chance to make their own games. It’s hugely exciting and we can’t wait to see what people come up with.

Doctor Who - Game Maker: Trailer - BBC Make It Digital

The Game Maker was produced in collaboration between BBC Cymru Wales, BBC Digital, Aardman Animations, Aerian and BBC Connected Studio, and is built using the BBC’s new mixital technology.

(with thanks to BBC Digital)

FILTER: - Doctor Who - Games - Online

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