Waters of Mars – Press Reviews

Monday, 16 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus

Reviews of the UK première of The Waters of Mars are now available online.

NB The reviews have been published after the showing of the episode in the UK. Please do not click on the links if you want the plot to remain unspoiled. Reviews are available from The Guardian, The Mirror, TV Overmind, Den of Geek, Digital Spy, Coventry Telegraph, Express and Star, Metro, Monsters and Critics, Unreality TV

The podcast to accompany the episode, featuring Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and David Tennant, is now on the BBC iPlayer.

FILTER: - Specials - Russell T Davies - Series 4/30 Specials - Press - Julie Gardner

Waters of Mars in New Zealand

Friday, 13 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus

New Zealand has become the latest country to schedule The Waters of Mars, with Prime announcing that the special will be shown on Sunday 29th November at 7.30pm.

The broadcast will be less than two weeks after the première in the UK and makes New Zealand the second country to show the special, a week ahead of Australia and three weeks ahead of North America.

FILTER: - Specials - Series 4/30 Specials - New Zealand - Broadcasting

Hollywood star joins cast list for Tennant's swansong

Wednesday, 11 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus

Writing in the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine, Russell T Davies confirms that the preview of the Christmas special, to be shown on this year's Children in Need programme, will not be the pre-titles sequence, but rather a specially packaged clip from the story. This is because the pre-titles sequence from the story is too plot-heavy to work as a standalone preview.

The title of David Tennant's penultimate episode has still not been revealed, but according to Davies it will be six words long, the longest title yet. Final casting for the final episodes took place as late as October, when what is described as a "wonderful and distinguished" Hollywood actor provided the voice for one of the aliens in the story. The voice will be used in the trail for the Christmas episodes which will air directly after The Waters of Mars.

In the run up to the UK showing of The Waters of Mars, David Tennant has been co-hosting the breakfast programme on Absolute Radio. To celebrate the fact, the station mocked up a TARDIS façade for the front of the station.

In the first programme Tennant announced that he is to auction off his own bed live, which is in is own words "a nasty old bed that's seen some action." All proceeds of the auction will be going to Children in Need.

Tennant will be with the programme for the rest of the week, and a podcast of the first programme can be heard via the Absolute Radio website, along with a photo gallery and a video diary.

FILTER: - Specials - Production - David Tennant - Series 4/30 Specials

Chris D'Oyly John

Wednesday, 11 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus

Former Production Unit Manager Christopher D'Oyly John has died.

D'Oyly John worked on many stories from the classic era of Doctor Who. He was an Assistant Floor Manager on the William Hartnell story The Ark, before working as Production Assistant on several Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee stories.

As Production Unit Manager, he worked on six Tom Baker stories working with producer Philip Hinchcliffe on some of the most-loved stories in the series history, including The Robots of Death and The Talons of Weng-Chiang.

His work outside of Doctor Who included The Bill, Poldark, House of Elliot and EastEnders.

He died peacefully at his home in Eastbourne on 21st October.

The Ark

The Macra Terror
The Invasion
Doctor Who and the Silurians
Inferno
The Curse of Peladon
The Mutants
Carnival of Monsters
Death to the Daleks

The Masque of Mandragora
The Hand of Fear
The Deadly Assassin
The Face of Evil
The Robots of Death
The Talons of Weng-Chiang

FILTER: - Obituary - Classic Series

DVD March update

Wednesday, 11 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus

The latest edition of DWM clarifies the UK DVD release schedule for the first quarter of 2010.

Following the release of the Peladon Boxset on 4th January and the fourth Doctor story The Masque of Mandragora on 8th February, March will see no fewer than five stories released.

On 1st March the two First Doctor stories The Space Museum and The Chase will be released. A promo for this story was cleared by the BBFC last month. Just four weeks later the Myths and Legends boxset will hit the shops. This is now confirmed as including the Third Doctor story The Time Monster, and the Fourth Doctor stories Underworld and The Horns of Nimon.

The Kameleon Boxset and Time and the Rani, both of which are listed for sale on several DVD sites, have been pushed back to later in the year.

A full release schedule can be see in the sidebar on the right.

FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Monster of Peladon – Extras

Wednesday, 11 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus

The British Board of Film Classification has today passed the extras for the second Peladon story, The Monster of Peladon, set for release in the UK in January.

The Peladon Saga: Part Two: The Monsters and the Monarchs
Where are they now?
BBC News: Jon Pertwee races Lord Montagu
Easter Egg No2
ON Target - Terrance Dicks
Deleted Scene
Photo Gallery

Extras for the first Peladon story were cleared last week.

FILTER: - Jon Pertwee - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Radio Times Cover

Tuesday, 10 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus

With a new episode of Doctor Who just five days away, the programme returns to the cover of Radio Times this week.

The magazine takes a look at the special and contemplates whether The Waters of Mars may be the scariest adventure that the intrepid Time Lord's ever had. Russell T Davies explains just why he's ladled on the fear.

Over the years Doctor Who has featured on the cover of the magazine over forty times; the first time it was accorded this honour was in February 1964. There is a full gallery of the covers on The Radio Times website.

FILTER: - Specials - Magazines - Series 4/30 Specials - Radio Times

Waters of Mars - Confirmed Canadian Date

Tuesday, 10 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus

The Waters of Mars will come to Canadian Television on Saturday 19th December when it premiers on SPACE at 9pm ET. This is the same date the special will be shown in the US on BBC America.

The final two specials are expected to be shown over the Christmas holiday.

The Waters of Mars is now scheduled in most of the English speaking world with premiers confirmed in Australia, Canada and the United States, all less than 6 weeks after the special has premièred in the United Kingdom.

The Doctor is in, and the countdown is on! David Tennant’s final four adventures as the Tenth Time Lord unfold exclusively on SPACE. The second of four high-octane specials, Doctor Who: The Waters of MarS premieres Saturday, December 19 at 9 p.m. ET.

To kick-start the event, 24 hours prior, SPACE is re-airing DOCTOR WHO: PLANET OF THE DEAD. SPACE fans laid claim to the esteemed DOCTOR WHO franchise when this first installment reached nearly half a million viewers earlier in the year. Cited as the most successful and longest running sci-fi series in the world, the latest DOCTOR WHO specials are also available on-demand at www.spacecast.com.

After 900 years of phone booth travel the Tenth incarnation of the Doctor is tidying up the Tardis for the Eleventh Time Lord’s residency. In one of Tennant’s most thrilling adventures yet, Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars tracks the Doctor and his companion Adelaide (Lindsay Duncan), as they face terror on the Red Planet. Peter O’Brien (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) guest stars as Ed, Adelaide’s second-in-command at the base.

The final two DOCTOR WHO specials starring David Tennant as the iconic Time Lord are scheduled to premiere over the holidays.

DOCTOR WHO: The Waters of Mars is written by Russell T Davies (Torchwood, Queer as Folk) and Phil Ford and directed by Graeme Harper. Davies and Julie Gardner (TORCHWOOD, LIFE ON MARS) serve as executive producers.

SPACE is Canada’s national science fiction, speculation and fantasy channel. Offering the finest in genre programming, viewers need not look further for their fix of the paranormal, edgy, scary, creepy and fun! SPACE is the station for all those who dare to challenge their imagination. SPACE is owned by CTV Limited, a division of CTVglobemedia, Canada's premier multi-media company.

FILTER: - Canada - Specials - Series 4/30 Specials - Broadcasting

Timothy Bateson (1926-2009)

Monday, 9 November 2009 - Reported by Anthony Weight

The Guardian newspaper in the UK has published an obituary for actor Timothy Bateson, who died in September at the age of 83. Bateson enjoyed an acting career stretching from the 1940s to the present decade, and in 1955 appeared in the first London production of the play "Waiting for Godot". He appeared in Doctor Who only once, in the 1978 serial The Ribos Operation, where he portrayed Binro the Heretic. In this role he took part in the scene where Binro explains that be believes there are other planets and other stars; this is frequently regarded as one of the most memorable scenes from Doctor Who, most recently acclaimed as such in Doctor Who Magazine's "200 Golden Moments" special edition. The serial, along with the others in the 1978 "Key to Time" series, is due to be re-released on DVD next week, following its previous limited edition issue.

Image courtesy of the Doctor Who Image Archive

FILTER: - Obituary - Classic Series

Ambassadors DVD Commentary

Monday, 9 November 2009 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Speaking at the Missing in Action convention, the actor Nicholas Courtney reported that he has just recorded a commentary for the seventh season story The Ambassadors of Death, alongside other members of cast and crew including Terrance Dicks, Peter Halliday and Derek Ware.

It should be remembered that commentaries are often recorded way in advance of DVD release (years in some cases!), so this is no indication that the story is currently scheduled to appear in the shops soon!

Restoration Team member Steve Roberts recently discussed the colour recovery process at a talk for the Doctor Who Information Network, during which he reported that recovery work hadn't been undertaken on the story at that point.

FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Previous 10 Stories

Waters of Mars – Press Reviews

Waters of Mars in New Zealand

Hollywood star joins cast list for Tennant's swansong

Chris D'Oyly John

DVD March update

Monster of Peladon – Extras

Radio Times Cover

Waters of Mars - Confirmed Canadian Date

Timothy Bateson (1926-2009)

Ambassadors DVD Commentary

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