Fan Productions

Monday, 24 June 2013 - Reported by Marcus

Inferno Fiction; Volume Fourteen

Issue Fourteen of Inferno Fiction is now available online.

THE CAFEby Ashley Myles The Doctor and Dodo's peace is shattered when the TARDIS comes under attack from an intruder, intent on stealing it to help save his friends from an eternal prison set within a cafe...
I, ZYGONby Al Dickerson "Being a manuscript of the final transmission to the Zygon refugee fleet from the survivors of the exploration vessel Hiskarasa; the final testament of Grotton, bound squire to Commander Broton. Found on Earth in 2357 and verified authentic by the cultural council of New Zygor, 51 Pegasi."
RULER OF THE FOURTH DIMENSIONby Sean Bassett "There was once a man. The most amazing man. A man who’s saved many civilizations and improved so many lives. I imagine he’s still out there somewhere, gallivanting around the universe with his screwdriver. I met him once, a long time ago, in the summer of 1963."
THE GIFTby Michael Falino The Doctor answers a distress signal from the planet Clyreon where the inhabitants have a predicament involving a child...
THE SHADOW MAKERSby Joe Ford PART TWO: Steven recounts his time during the time distortion...and a meeting from the Doctor's future...
SILENCING THE BEASTby Meg MacDonald "I’m here Doctor. Still. You thought you’d left me behind, didn’t you? Thought you’d buried me at Arcadia? Cast me into the heart of the Nightmare Child? Left me behind like one of your Companions? You didn’t. I’m still here, Time Lord. And I’ve been waiting for you. Wake up!"
WHAT PLANET?by Michael Baxter
THE COMING OF THE DALEKSby Nathan Mullins The Daleks are after the key to the TARDIS and along with some old and new friends the Doctor sets out to stop them at any cost...

Kasterborous Magazine #1

Issue one of Kasterborous Magazine, from the team behind the website, is now available complete with an interview with current Doctor Matt Smith and former companion Karen Gillan who told the magazine

I just feel like I’ve learned actually how to act. When I look back at what I was like as an actress when I first started, I just think I didn’t know anything about acting! Through the show I feel like I’ve learned so much, and I’ve learned so much from Matt Smith as well, just because he is the most inventive actor I’ve ever, ever seen work.

Elton Townend-Jones’ Enlightenment – how should Doctor Who’s 50th be celebrated?
Never a Doctored Word with the Valeyard – the Doctor’s alter ego sets the world to rights.
Interview: Illustrator Paul Hanley – popular artist reveals his inspirations and plans.
The Shape of… The TARDIS – the real star of Doctor Who, the iconic time machine.
Crash of Elysium – Tom Macrae discusses his audacious live Doctor Who play.
My Mate John IS the Doctor! – John Guilor, the voice of the First Doctor, interviewed.
All Monsters Great and Small – Phil Bates meets Matt Smith at the Doctor Who Experience.
In the Shed: With a Dalek Builder! – want to build your own Dalek? Gareth Mugridge is the man to ask!
The History of Doctor Who Fandom – kicking off an in-depth look at organized fandom.
Doctor Who Takes Manhattan – we speak to Matt Smith & Karen Gillan in New York!
The Masque Revisited – 38 years later, a trip to Portmeirion revisits The Masque of Mandragora.

Three stage shows based on the world of Doctor Who fandom are also in preparation for this year's Fringe Festival in Edinburgh.

I Need a Doctor: The Unauthorised Whosical Adventure - Work in Progress
takes place at the Pleasance Theatre London from 27-29 June before moving Edinburgh in August

Doctor-loving nerd Jamie and his companion Jess wrote a musical about their time-travelling hero. Now, they must avoid BBC copyright as they battle with evil exterminators and dancing cyber-gents. Will they manage to escape unscathed? And will they manage to rewrite a whole musical in one hour? Original songs include ‘I Need A Doctor’ and ‘Phonebox of Love’

Who Are You Supposed To Be?
the Edinburgh Fringe Festival from 14-26 August

Classic tale of a boy in a TARDIS t-shirt standing in front of a girl dressed as the Fifth Doctor, asking her to love him... and a girl demanding to know why she can’t be the Doctor or Han Solo or Captain Reynolds. They’d be star-crossed lovers (Wars and Trek, obviously) but they have so much in common - surely they can find the time and space to fall in love? This is a story about wanting to feel safe, to be appreciated and how far we’ll go to find people like us.

Rob Lloyd: Who, Me
the Edinburgh Fringe Festival from 1-25 August

Doctor Who is about to face his greatest challenge: his number one fan. Rob Lloyd (Fan Number One) is putting The Doctor on trial. Is Doctor Who (the television show) guilty of inciting in Rob a debilitating obsession, or shaped him into a well-rounded, mentally-sound member of society? After sell-out seasons at the Melbourne and Adelaide Fringe Festivals plus the Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland and Perth Comedy Festivals, Rob now brings his show to Edinburgh for the first time. Suitable for anyone who has ever been tickled -or tortured - by obsession. Court is now in session.

FILTER: - Fan Productions

Doctor Who's new Visual Effects creators announced

Monday, 3 June 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The question over who would take on Doctor Who's visual effects in the future was answered today with the announcement of a new company formed by the same creative team that worked on the show's previous series. Milk's founders are Nick Drew (Managing Director and Executive Producer), with Visual Effects Supervisors Jean-Claude Deguara and Nico Hernandez (also joint Heads of 3D), Sara Bennett (also Head of 2D), and Murray Barber, with Executive Producer and overall CEO of the company being a name and face familiar to fans through Doctor Who Confidential, Will Cohen.

Cohen released a statement about the company's aim:

Milk aims to be the most sought after visual effects team in what we believe is blossoming into a thriving industry for high-end TV visual effects. Our new venture is timed to enable us to capitalise on the new tax breaks in the UK as we expect to see an influx of TV work, as well as continued feature film work, coming to London over the next few months and beyond.

As mentioned above, Doctor Who will be one of the first customers for the new effects company, with work being undertaken on the 3D 50th Anniversary Special. The company is also working on Steven Moffat's eagerly anticipated third series of Sherlock, and a new BBC One mini-series Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (due to be broadcast in 2014).

A showreel of their previous work can be viewed on the company's website.

FILTER: - Doctor Who - Production - Series Specials

Publications Roundup

Saturday, 25 May 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

A roundup of some of the independent publications that have recently been published or announced.

Fifty Years in Time and Space: A Short History of Doctor Who (Credit: St Mark's Press)

Fifty Years in Time and Space: A Short History of Doctor Who
by Frank Danes
282 pages, published by St Mark's Press, out now

St Mark’s Press has just released a new, unauthorised, single volume critical history of the programme: "Fifty Years in Time and Space: A Short History of Doctor Who". The author is Frank Danes and the cover is by Roger Langridge, whose work regularly appeared in Doctor Who Magazine.

Frank is Head of English at King’s Ely school in England. He’s written Victorian Literature for Cambridge University Press and those of us with long memories may remember that he co-edited the fanzine Fendahl way back in the late 70s and early 80s. Fifty Years in Time and Space is a well-written, amusing and carefully researched guide.

Frank comments:

I was born in 1965 – on a Saturday, in fact, and just in time to watch ‘Galaxy Four’ episode two. Some of my earliest memories are of watching the programme: I remember my twin brother and I putting our hands over the screen when the Yeti appeared, prompting yells of ‘Get those twins away from the television!’ from my elder brothers. I’ve always been a Doctor Who fan even as I have become (in Terrance Dicks’ words) older, fatter, greyer, but not noticeably wiser.

The book is available direct from St Mark's Press, or from Amazon, Galaxy 4, Who One, The Who Shop and other bookshops.

Celebrate Regenerate (Credit: Celebrate Regenerate/Lewis Christian)

Celebrate Regenerate
edited by Lewis Christian
due for publication 13th July 2013

In order to aid the celebrations of Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary this year, quite an epic-sized group of fans have come together from all over the world to build Celebrate Regenerate, a fan-made (non-profit and unofficial) book, filled with reviews and articles covering every televised story.

At over 300 A4 pages, this doorstop of a book is packed with pieces from over 250+ fan writers, and we’ve even included some fanart too. To top it all, we’ve also bagged a few exclusive interviews with Series 1 director, Joe Ahearne; writer Tom MacRae, and writer Joseph Lidster which will be published alongside some other special features in the book.

The project, now a year in the making, is set to be released on 13th July this year, well in time for the anniversary. We aim to simply add to the growing list of contributions from other fans and writers, and our goal is now to reach out to as many fans as possible to share our finished project.

(Up until 8th July, we’re offering everybody the chance to have their name listed in the book as a 'Companion' too, to make up for them not knowing about this and being able to submit)

This is an non-profit, unauthorised and unofficial fan publication, and will be available for free for download in PDF format; it will also be possible to purchase a physical copy via lulu.com.

For more details, visit the Celebrate Regenerate website and Facebook page.

Liberating Earth, A Faction Paradox Collection
edited by Kate Orman
due for publication by Obverse Books in May 2014

Coming in May 2014 from Obverse Books: Liberating Earth, an anthology of science fiction and fantasy written entirely by women, edited by award-winning Australian author Kate Orman.

In Liberating Earth, rival cousins from the mysterious time-travelling Faction Paradox cult decide our planet should be freed from the human race and placed in better hands. As the cousins ruthlessly compete to create the perfect alternative Earth, history and reality change wildly again and again. Humanity is helpless. Or is it?

SF and fantasy readers and viewers, especially women, are increasingly calling for more work by female writers. Stuart Douglas of Obverse Books has commissioned Liberating Earth in response to that demand.

Editor Kate Orman was the first woman published in the Doctor Who: the New Adventures range of novels, eventually writing and co-writing a total of thirteen Who-related books, as well as publishing original fantasy and science fiction.

Liberating Earth will be printed in hardback and ebook formats in May 2014.

Other recently reported publications include Time and Relative Dimensions in Faith, Time & Space Visualiser: The Story and History of Doctor Who as Data Visualisations, and Companions: 50 Years of Doctor Who Assistants

FILTER: - Fan Productions - Books

Details announced of Splendid Chaps: "Six/Clothes"

Saturday, 25 May 2013 - Reported by Adam Kirk

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As previously reported, Splendid Chaps is a year-long performance/podcast project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who hosted by comedian Ben McKenzie (Dungeon Crawl, Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour) and writer John Richards (ABC1 sitcom Outland, Boxcutters podcast)

Described by its creators as part intellectual panel discussion, part nerdy Tonight Show, Splendid Chaps is a combination of analysis, enthusiasm and irreverence. The first episode went to number 1 on the iTunes TV & Film Podcast chart in Australia, and to number 4 in the UK. The podcasts to the first few episodes are now available at www.splendidchaps.com or at iTunes.

Tickets are now on sale for their 6th Doctor show! Their sixth outing discusses the sometimes controversial Sixth Doctor, played by actor Colin Baker. Better known for playing villains and bullies – including Time Lord Commander Maxil in the Peter Davison story Arc of Infinity - Baker dug into the character’s past, bringing back some of William Hartnell’s arrogance and pomposity in order to offer a different take to his good-natured predecessor. It was a turbulent time to become the Doctor, though, as the show was suspended for 18 months, put on trial by the powers that be, and finally forced to make drastic changes – including firing the lead actor.

Most people, of course, remember Six for that outfit, and so this episode the Splendid Chaps discuss Clothes. Few programs have as broad-ranging a costume design remit, with new worlds, eras and civilisations needing to be created every week. Not to mention that an eccentric Time Lord and his companions need to find clothes that are practical in any situation, from soulless steel corridors to rocky alien landscapes, polar caps and the inside of volcanoes. Oh, and they need to be fashionable in any era… It’s a big ask, and as The Discontinuity Guide reminded us, there were fashion victims as well as triumphs.

Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott are joined by writer and podcaster Tansy Rayner Roberts (Galactic Suburbia, Verity), and another guest to be announced soon. There will also be a special musical performance, prizes, surprises – and a fashion show! Yes, and Splendid Chaps want to see your best cosplay and Doctor Who related sartorial creations – and there will be prizes on offer.

Space: Agent 284, 284 Smith Street, Collingwood, Melbourne
Time: Saturday 15 June; recording starts 4 PM
Accessibility: Regretfully this venue is not wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: $15 (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via trybooking.com or at the door (subject to availability)
Podcast: not yet available; released 23 June 2013.

With thanks to John Richards

FILTER: - Special Events - Sixth Doctor - Fan Productions - Colin Baker - Australia

Brian Minchin Appointed As Co-Executive Producer

Tuesday, 30 April 2013 - Reported by John Bowman

Brian Minchin has been made executive producer on Doctor Who alongside showrunner and lead writer Steven Moffat with immediate effect, it was announced this afternoon.

He replaces Caroline Skinner, who stepped down last month to join BBC Drama Production in London.

Minchin is an executive producer for BBC Wales's drama department, where he has been working on The Game, a new Cold War spy thriller from Toby Whithouse for BBC One, and Wizards vs Aliens, the Russell T Davies and Phil Ford co-creation for CBBC. He has also worked as BBC executive producer on Dirk Gently - based on the novels by Douglas Adams - and Being Human (another Whithouse creation).

He has been a script editor on Doctor Who and was a producer for spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures as well as the UK sections of Torchwood: Miracle Day, and was assistant producer on Torchwood: Children Of Earth.

Having grown up in Aberystwyth, Minchin joined the BBC Wales drama department in Cardiff in 2005 as a script editor working on the BBC One Wales production Belonging, before moving to network dramas Doctor Who and Torchwood in the same role.

He said:

I'm thrilled and excited to be joining Steven Moffat on a show that has meant so much to me over the years. I've watched in awe as Steven has taken Doctor Who to wild and imaginative places and I can't wait to get started on many more adventures with the Doctor.

Faith Penhale, the head of drama at BBC Wales, said:

I've no doubt Doctor Who will enjoy a very exciting time with Brian at the helm working alongside Steven. Since joining BBC Wales in 2005, he's proved he has a fantastic eye for story and a sharp awareness of what makes a drama like Doctor Who unmissable.

And Moffat added:

When I first took over Doctor Who, Brian was there as script editor, and in the most difficult time of a new Doctor and a new era was completely brilliant. We lost him to producing The Sarah Jane Adventures at the end of our first run. Rising talent keeps rising, is how I comforted myself back then - but now I am beyond happy that Brian has risen all the way back to Doctor Who in his new role of executive producer. I look forward to getting hopelessly lost in space and time with him.

FILTER: - People - Doctor Who - Production - Leading News - BBC

Details announced of Splendid Chaps: "Five/Fear"

Wednesday, 24 April 2013 - Reported by Adam Kirk

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As previously reported, Splendid Chaps is a year-long performance/podcast project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who hosted by comedian Ben McKenzie (Dungeon Crawl, Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour) and writer John Richards (ABC1 sitcom Outland, Boxcutters podcast)

Described by its creators as part intellectual panel discussion, part nerdy Tonight Show, Splendid Chaps is a combination of analysis, enthusiasm and irreverence. The first episode went to number 1 on the iTunes TV & Film Podcast chart in Australia, and to number 4 in the UK. The podcasts to the first few episodes are now available at www.splendidchaps.com or at iTunes.

Tickets are now on sale for their 5th Doctor show!
On Sunday May 19 they’ll be celebrating the era of the 5th Doctor, the cricket-and-celery-loving Peter Davison, and exploring the notion of Fear in Doctor Who. When is Doctor Who scary, and why? Guests will include comedian Tegan Higginbotham (from comedy duo Watson and The Comedy Channel’s Whatever Happened To That Guy?) and horror author Narrelle M Harris. That’s at The Public Bar, 238 Victoria Street, North Melbourne, at 5pm.

Splendid Chaps: A Year Of Doctor Who: "Five: Fear"

Space: The Public Bar, 238 Victoria Street, North Melbourne
Time: Saturday 19 May 2013, 5 PM
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: All tickets $15 (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via trybooking.com, or buy tickets at the door (subject to availability)
Podcast: not yet available, released 23 May 2013.

With thanks to John Richards

FILTER: - Special Events - Fan Productions - Fifth Doctor - Peter Davison - Australia

Details announced of extra Splendid Chaps "Who and Books"

Monday, 8 April 2013 - Reported by Adam Kirk

As previously reported, Splendid Chaps is a year-long performance/podcast project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who hosted by comedian Ben McKenzie (Dungeon Crawl, Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour) and writer John Richards (ABC1 sitcom Outland, Boxcutters podcast).

Described by its creators as part intellectual panel discussion, part nerdy Tonight Show, Splendid Chaps is a combination of analysis, enthusiasm and irreverence. The first episode went to number 1 on the iTunes TV & Film Podcast chart in Australia, and to number 4 in the UK. The podcasts to the first few episodes are now available at www.splendidchaps.com or at iTunes.

Tickets are now on sale for a special bonus show all about Doctor Who books!

Books have always been an important part of Doctor Who, from the Target novelisations of the pre-video recorder age to the New Adventures and Eighth Doctor novels that continued the story after the original series went off air. Ben, John and Petra will be joined by editor and JOY 94.9 host Katie Purvis, and filmmaker, writer and podcaster Dave Hoskin for a discussion and reading of some of these works, plus a look at the stranger end of the publishing spectrum (the Doctor Who Cookbook, anyone?). And there’ll be a special reading from comedian Lawrence Leung!

Splendid Chaps: A Year Of Doctor Who: "Who and Books"

Space: Northcote Library, 32-38 Separation Street, Northcote, Melbourne
Time: Saturday May 4 2013, 4:30 PM
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: All tickets $10 (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via trybooking.com, or buy tickets at the door (subject to availability)
Podcast: TBA.

(with thanks to John Richards)

FILTER: - Special Events - Fan Productions - Books - Australia

Doctor Who: Executive Producer sought

Thursday, 4 April 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC Careers have published details for the role of Executive Producer for Doctor Who, which was vacated by Caroline Skinner last month.

The role is advertised as a 20 month, fixed-term contract at the Roath Lock Studios in Cardiff, and is described thus:

As Executive Producer you will be responsible to the Head of Drama, Wales, for the editorial, production and financial management of Doctor Who. The successful candidate will therefore have extensive production experience in popular and complex primetime television series and be confident in leading and inspiring a team to create their best work.

Working closely with our Lead Writer you will consistently deliver fresh, original, high quality and high profile episodes of Doctor Who to BBC One.

Job requirements include:

Experience of producing complex period dramas including effects is essential. You must have original and creative ideas for storylines and characters as well as the skills and abilities to communicate these to the team. You need experience of leading a production team; an eye for detail and be used to working with internal and external stakeholders such as co-producers. You’ll be privy to confidential and commercially sensitive information so it’s important you understand how to handle this. In addition you’ll have an awareness of our audiences and the knowledge of professionals within the industry including writers, directors, production teams and actors. This is not your normal 9-5 job, so you will need to be flexible with your time and duties and demonstrate resilience.

The closing date for the role is the 14th April.

FILTER: - Production - BBC

Mill TV to close

Friday, 29 March 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The Mill is nominated for a BAFTA for Asylum of the Daleks

The Mill has announced that its UK Visual Effects office is expected to close at the end of April due to a downturn in VFX requirements within the industry.

The Television and Film studio has been responsible for providing visual effects for Doctor Who since its return in 2005, and this week was nominated for a BAFTA 2013 Craft Award for its work on Asylum of the Daleks - the company has been nomimated every year since 2007 and won it 2009 for The Fires of Pompeii.

Announcing on Twitter yesterday the company said:

Mill TV has not been immune to the volatile trends present in film and television production. Therefore, yesterday we reluctantly announced a proposal to close Mill TV and are now in consultation with our employees about this proposal. Naturally, this is very disappointing: we have enjoyed a nine years of creating great work that everyone in The Mill is hugely proud of.

The Mill's CEO Robin Shenfield explained in a statement:

Mill TV has suffered a number of setbacks such as failing to join the roster on Starz/BBC production of DaVinci’s Demons and the cancellation of Sky’s Sinbad sequel. Going forward, broadcasters are commissioning less high-end VFX driven drama series this year, with Merlin discontinued and the BBC not commissioning a Doctor Who series this year.

I’m not feeling negative about film and TV VFX in the U.K. I think the work will return in both film and TV. We are just at a point of hiatus. While TV VFX has been less volatile than film - last year the U.S. studios spent far less than they did in 2011 - TV also seems to have caught the bug, and there have been less of those high-end commissions and repeat series.

We have reluctantly decided that this is a business we do not want to play in any more, although I am immensely proud of what we have achieved and we hope we will be able to redeploy a number of those people elsewhere in the group and are looking very hard at that.

As well as Doctor Who and Torchwood, the company has provided effects on a variety of projects, with television shows including Sea of Souls, Merlin, Sherlock, Primeval, Demons, Woolly Mammoth: Secrets from the Ice and the BBC's Where Next? promotion, advertising campaigns such as for Kia, Barclays, Blackberry and Tesco, and for films like 28 Weeks Later, The Damned United and Les Misérables.

Cracking The Code visits The Mill, may only play in the UK

FILTER: - Production

Doctor Who at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Saturday, 23 March 2013 - Reported by Adam Kirk

As previously reported, Splendid Chaps is a year-long performance/podcast project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who hosted by comedian Ben McKenzie (Dungeon Crawl, Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour) and writer John Richards (ABC1 sitcom Outland, Boxcutters podcast).

Described by its creators as part intellectual panel discussion, part nerdy Tonight Show, Splendid Chaps is a combination of analysis, enthusiasm and irreverence. The first episode went to number 1 on the iTunes TV & Film Podcast chart in Australia, and to number 4 in the UK. The podcasts to the first three episodes are now available at www.splendidchaps.com or at iTunes.

Tickets are now on sale for their two April shows, to be held at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

In part one they'll be joined by ABC3′s Steam Punks host Paul Verhoeven, and late night triple j host and Rove star Dave Callan to discuss Tom Baker's period as the Doctor. In part two's late show, Adam Richard, co-creator and star of Outland, and a fantastic UK comedian they're not allowed to name will discuss the role of Comedy in Doctor Who.

There's also be door prizes, a song, too many scarves and maybe even a Dalek.

Splendid Chaps: A Year Of Doctor Who: "Four/Comedy"
Space: The New Ballroom, corner of Lygon and Victoria Streets, Melbourne.
Time: Part One: April 6, 5:45 PM; Part Two: April 13, 10:45 PM.
Tickets: $22 full price, $18 concession (plus booking fee where applicable).
Bookings: via comedyfestival.com.au, TicketMaster outlets, the Comedy Festival box office, or at the venue (subject to availability) Please note if you book in person at a TicketMaster outlet, you may need to ask for “Ben McKenzie & John Richards”, as “Splendid Chaps” does not appear in the search terms of their system.
Podcast: not yet available; released 23 April 2013.
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible.

(with thanks to John Richards)

FILTER: - Special Events - Fan Productions - Tom Baker - Fourth Doctor - Australia

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