The Underwater Menace to be released on DVD

Thursday, 3 September 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward
BBC Worldwide are to release The Underwater Menace on DVD, just two months after it was revealed that plans to release the story were cancelled. The DVD is listed on BBCShop.com with a UK release date set for 26th October 2015. Other regions are still to be confirmed.

Details of the release will be revealed by BBC Worldwide in the next few weeks. Anneke Wills, who played second Doctor companion Polly, has revealed on her website that she will be signing copies of the DVD, which can be ordered here. Her website also lists some of the contents on the DVD:
Fully remastered Episodes 2 and 3.
Commentary on Episodes 2 and 3: a traditional commentary with actors Anneke Wills, Frazer Hines, Brian Hodgson, Catherine Howe, and Quentin Mann moderated by Toby Hadoke.
“Fishy Tales” – making of documentary
Tales of TV Centre – part 2
Programme subtitles.
Subtitle Production Notes.

*Extras TBC




FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Classic Series - Patrick Troughton

Video roundup

Wednesday, 2 September 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward
Various videos have been popping up over the last few weeks in anticipation of the new series. Included at the bottom is our audio recording from the press Q&A at the German fan event in July.


Back in July Doctor Who News was invited to a press Q&A with Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman at the German fan event. We can now present the full audio recording of the session. The text can be read here.




FILTER: - BBC - Doctor Who - Publicity - Series 9/35

The Deaths and Resurrections of Doctor Who

Wednesday, 2 September 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward
A new book which looks how Doctor Who deals with issues of death, concepts of time travel, regeneration and redemption has been released. Out of Time: The Deaths and Resurrections of Doctor Who is written by Alec Charles, Head of Media at the University of Chester.

The author told Cheshire Today:
It just seemed worth exploring some of the reasons why a low-budget children’s show should have endured for more than half a century. It is a book for enthusiasts of the series but also for people with an interest in cultural studies and theory. I’d hope that a few people who wouldn’t normally read cultural theory but love Doctor Who might gain some new insights from reading it. It uses quite complex ideas (by far greater thinkers than me) to address the subject, but I hope that the topic makes these ideas a bit more accessible.
Out of Time: The Deaths and Resurrections of Doctor Who (Credit: Peter Lang Publishing Group) Out of Time: The Deaths and Resurrections of Doctor Who
Written by Alec Charles
Published by Peter Lang September 2015 (available to order now)
ISBN: 978-3-0343-1941-6

Doctor Who is one of television’s most enduring and ubiquitously popular series. This study contends that the success of the show lies in its ability, over more than half a century, to develop its core concepts and perspectives: alienation, scientific rationalism and moral idealism. The most extraordinary aspect of this eccentric series rests in its capacity to regenerate its central character and, with him, the generic, dramatic and emotional parameters of the programme.

Out of Time explores the ways in which the series’ immortal alien addresses the nature of human mortality in his ambiguous relationships with time and death. It asks how the status of this protagonist – that lonely god, uncanny trickster, cyber-sceptic and techno-nerd – might call into question the beguiling fantasies of immortality, apotheosis and utopia which his nemeses tend to pursue. Finally, it investigates how this paragon of transgenerational television reflects the ways in which contemporary culture addresses the traumas of change, loss and death.

Contents: Genre Trouble – The Reality Bomb – The Show that Never Dies – A Fate Worse than Death – One Being’s Utopia – Time Can Be Rewritten – Imitatio Christi – Lord of Time – Coping Strategies A Very Naughty Boy – The Uncanny – Everybody Lives

Alec Charles is Head of Media at the University of Chester and has previously taught at universities in Japan, Estonia, Cornwall and Luton. He has worked as a print journalist and has made documentaries for BBC Radio. He is the author of Interactivity: New Media, Politics and Society and Interactivity 2, co-editor of The End of Journalism, and editor of Media in the Enlarged Europe, Media/Democracy: A Comparative Study and The End of Journalism 2. He has written for journals such as Science Fiction Studies, Utopian Studies, Science Fiction Film and Television, Journal of Popular Television, British Politics and Journalism Education and has contributed to various books on cinema, television and social media. He serves as co-convenor of the Political Studies Association’s Media and Politics Group.
(with thanks to Alec Charles)




FILTER: - Books - Doctor Who

River Song returns for Christmas

Wednesday, 2 September 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward
The BBC have announced this morning that Alex Kingston is returning to play River Song this Christmas. The 11th Christmas special, which has started filming this week, is written by Steven Moffat, directed by Douglas Mackinnon and produced by Nikki Wilson.

It’s Christmas Day in the future and the TARDIS is parked on a snowy village street, covered in icicles, awaiting its next adventure. Time traveller River Song meets her husband’s new incarnation, in the form of Peter Capaldi, for the first time this Christmas.

Alex Kingston as River Song in the 2015 Christmas Special (Credit: BBC / Jon Hall)

River Song made her first Doctor Who appearance in 2008 in Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead and has appeared in 15 episodes to date. She last appeared in The Name of the Doctor in 2013. Earlier this year it was announced the character would be joining Big Finish for an adventure called The Diary of River Song, which is to be released in January 2016.

Alex Kingston comments on her reappearance:
To be honest, I did not know whether River would ever return to the show, but here she is, back with the Doctor for the Christmas special. Steven Moffat is on glittering form, giving us an episode filled with humor and surprise guest castings. I met Peter for the first time at Monday’s read through. We had a laugh, and I am now excited and ready to start filming with him and the Doctor Who team. Christmas in September?, why not!
Steven Moffat adds:
Another Christmas, another special for Doctor Who - and what could be more special than the return of Alex Kingston as Professor River Song? The last time the Doctor saw her, she was a ghost. The first time he met her, she died. So how can he be seeing her again? As ever, with the most complicated relationship in the universe, it’s a matter of time...




FILTER: - Publicity - Series Specials

BBC Audio: September releases

Wednesday, 2 September 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster
This month sees two classic Target novelisations released as audio books: the sixth/second Doctor adventure The Two Doctors by Robert Holmes, originally published in December 1985 and read here by the sixth Doctor himself, Colin Baker; and The Curse of Fenric by Ian Briggs, featuring the seventh Doctor and originally published in November 1990, here read by "Davros" actor Terry Molloy (this latter release having been brought forward in the schedule from November, swapping places with Royal Blood).

Further audio books based on novelisations will continue into the next year. December sees the first historic pairing of Sarah Jane Smith and K-9 in Terence Dudley's K-9 And Company, whilst in the new year the fourth Doctor encounters an ancient Time Lord menace in Doctor Who and the State of Decay (by Terrance Dicks). February then jumps a time track back to the first Doctor's visit to The Space Museum (by Glyn Jones), followed in March by an exploration of one the seven wonders of the universe by the third Doctor in Death to the Daleks (also by Terrance Dicks). In April its 'friends reunited' as the second Doctor and the Brigadier face the Cybermen in The Invasion (by Ian Marter), and then in May the fifth Doctor becomes one of "The King's Demons" and confronts an old adversary in 13th Century England (also by Terence Dudley). Note: schedules for these and other BBC Audio releases are subject to change.

The Two Doctors (Credit: BBC Audio)The Two Doctors
Written by Robert Holmes, read by Colin Baker
Released 3rd September 2015 [order]

Colin Baker reads this exciting classic novelisation of a Sixth Doctor TV adventure

Disturbed by the time travel experiments being conducted on Space Station J7, the Time Lords send the second Doctor and Jamie to investigate. Arriving on the station in deep space, they are attacked by a shock force of Sontarans, and the Doctor is left for dead.

Across the gulfs of Time and Space, the Sixth Doctor discovers that his former incarnation is very much alive. Together with Peri and Jamie he must rescue his other self before the plans of scientist Dastari, and the ruthless augmented Androgum Chessene, reach their deadly and shocking conclusion...

Colin Baker, who played Sixth Doctor in the BBC TV series, reads Robert Holmes' complete and unabridged novelisation, first published by Target Books in 1985.

Competition

To be in with a chance to win a copy of the audio book The Two Doctors courtesy of BBC Audio, answer the following question:
What race does Jamie first mis-identify Chessene as, before the (sixth) Doctor corrects him?
Please send your answers along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-twodoctorscd@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "Yes, Jamie, it is a big one...". The competition is open world-wide, closing date: 27th September 2015. Only one entry per household will be accepted.
The Curse Of Fenric (Credit: BBC Audio)The Curse of Fenric
Written by Ian Briggs, read by Terry Molley
Released 3rd September 2015 [order]

Terry Molloy reads this exciting classic novelisation of a Seventh Doctor TV adventure

At a North Yorkshire naval base in 1943, Dr Judson is using his ULTIMA code-breaking machine to decipher the runic inscriptions in the crypt of the nearby church.

Meanwhile, Commander Millington is obsessed with his research into the toxic bombs that he insists will hasten the end of World War Two. When a squad of the Russian Red Army lands on the nearby coast, with instructions to steal the ULTIMA machine, they are unaware that Millington had turned it into a devastating secret weapon.

Into this scenario materialises the Doctor and Ace. Ace isn't impressed with the security arrangements or the fashions - but the Doctor had graver matters on his mind. Beneath the waters at Maidens Point, an ancient evil stirs. The Doctor uncovers mysteries concealed within villainous plots - but what connects them all to a thousand-year curse?

Terry Molloy, who played Davros in Doctor Who, reads Ian Briggs' complete and unabridged novelisation, first published by Target Books in 1990.

Competition

To be in with a chance to win a copy of the audio book The Curse Of Fenric courtesy of BBC Audio, answer the following question:
What is the trigger word to release the toxin hidden inside the ULTIMA machine?
Please send your answers along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-fenriccd@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "Flip Flops are ace!". The competition is open world-wide, closing date: 27th September 2015. Only one entry per household will be accepted.




FILTER: - Audio - BBC Audio - Competitions - Seventh Doctor - Sixth Doctor

Germany: Series 9 available with German subtitles on iTunes

Tuesday, 1 September 2015 - Reported by Pascal Salzmann
Credit: BBCThe official Doctor Who Facebook site announced today that German fans will be able to see Series 9 sooner than expected. From 20th September on, every Sunday, iTunes will make the episode that was broadcast the day before in the UK, available.

Not long from now and the Doctor will return - in his 9th Series for the first time in English with German subtitles! Pre-order your season pass now and don't miss any episodes from the 20th September on.

You can pre-order the season pass for the German subtitled episodes here: http://apple.co/1PIoaHe

More international season passes:

UK: iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play

US: iTunes, Amazon Instant Video

CA: iTunes

Series 9 will be broadcasted dubbed in German on FOX in December.




FILTER: - BBC Worldwide - Germany - International Broadcasting

The Complete History book collection and competition

Monday, 31 August 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward
The first issue of Doctor Who: The Complete History will be released on the 9th September. This will be the start of a long running fortnightly partwork series by Doctor Who Magazine in conjunction with Hachette Partworks. The collection will cover every Doctor Who story from An Unearthly Child to Last Christmas.

The Complete History has its origins in Andrew Pixley's Archive section of DWM. A lot of the early archives have been completely rewritten while later ones during Christopher Eccleston's era have been updated and expanded.
Doctor Who – The Complete History gathers all there is to know about Doctor Who in one essential encyclopaedic collection. Written by the experts behind Doctor Who Magazine, this unique book collection goes behind the TV cameras to document the making of the world’s longest running science fiction series from 1963 to the present day. Scripts, casting, film locations, studio recordings, broadcast, ratings and merchandise are all covered in detail for each and every adventure, along with full story details and profiles of the cast and crew, all illustrated by a wealth of colour and black and white photographs. From script to screen, discover how every adventure of all 12 Doctors was created.
Doctor Who: The Complete History - Issue 1 (Credit: Hachette/BBC/Panini)Doctor Who: The Complete History - Issue 1 - Volume 55
Edited by John Ainsworth
Original production notes: Andrew Pixley
Additional material: Jonathan Morris, Richard Atkinson, Alistair McGown

Published 9th September 2015, £1.99

New York, New York - so good that they visited it twice. Yes, that's right! New York is the setting for two of the four stories, starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, featured in this volume. In truth though, the New York of Gridlock - 'New' New York - is a completely different city, on a completely different world to the more familiar 'Big Apple' of Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks. The Two cities, and the two stories themselves, couldn't be further apart. In fact, all four stories in this volume superbly demonstrate the breadth and variety of settings, time periods, and types of story that Doctor Who encompasses; from a bleak far future in Gridlock, to Dalek plots during America's Great Depression of the 1930's in Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks, to genetic tampering in present day London in The Lazarus Experiment, and back to the future onboard a doomed spaceship, plummeting into a sun, in 42. Each story is a self-contained mini-movie. It's hard to imagine that anyone could ever get bored with Doctor Who.

Of course, although each of the four stories is self-contained and can be enjoyed in its own right, there are some ongoing story threads running through them. Not least of these is the evolution of Martha Jones from tag-along traveller to fully fledged Companion. It has to be said that the Doctor is a little bit reluctant to embrace Martha as his new shipmate - he's still smarting from his recent forced separation from Rose Tyler [see Army of Ghosts/Doomsday - Volume 53] and isn't in a hurry to get close to anyone new. But Martha's having none of it, and puts the Doctor on the spot at the end of Gridlock, forcing him to open up and reveal the details of his past. And then again, at the end of The Lazarus Experiment, Martha initially declines another trip in the TARDIS, feeling the Doctor is just giving her a series of one-off "treats". The Doctor relents and acknowledges Martha's true status as a travelling companion, rather than just a passenger. He even presents her with her very own TARDIS key at the end of 42. We also see some foreshadowing of dark events in the future. With his dying words, the ancient Face of Boe tells the Doctor in Gridlock that he is not alone... while on present day Earth, election fever is in the air with the unseen Mr Saxon tipped to be the next prime minister. But why is Mr Saxon so interested in Martha Jones, warning her mother that the Doctor is a dangerous man? All will be revealed in the climactic final three episodes of the 2007 series - Utopia/The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords [2007 - see Volume 56].

John Ainsworth - Editor
Issue 2: Colony in Space, The Dæmons, Day of the Daleks
Published 23rd September 2015, £6.99

Issue 3: Deep Breath, Into the Dalek
Published 7th October 2015, £9.99

Issue 4: 100,000 BC, The Mutants (aka The Daleks)
Published 21st October 2015, £9.99

Doctor Who: The Complete History - Issue 2 (Credit: Hachette/BBC/Panini)Doctor Who: The Complete History - Issue 3 (Credit: Hachette/BBC/Panini) Doctor Who: The Complete History - Issue 4 (Credit: Hachette/BBC/Panini)

Competition

Doctor Who News is pleased to offer readers the chance to win a subscription to the entire collection of The Complete History, courtesy of Hachette Partworks.

To be in with a chance of winning simply answer the following question:
The Complete History uses the title "100,000 BC" for one of the First Doctor stories but what is the title more commonly known as?
Please send your answers along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-completehistory@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "Complete History". The competition is open to UK and and Republic of Ireland residents only, closing date: 7th September 2015. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

Doctor Who: The Complete History (Credit: Hachette/BBC/Panini)




FILTER: - Books - Competitions - DWM

Moments In Time: Zygons in Scotland

Sunday, 30 August 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward
Today marks the fortieth anniversary of Terror of the Zygons by Robert Banks Stewart. The Zygons returned to Doctor Who in The Day of the Doctor and are set to make another appearance in this year's Invasion Of The Zygons / Inversion Of The Zygons by Peter Harness.

The Radio Times issue for 28 August 1975 covered the story with a feature on Loch Ness by Anthony Haden-Guest with artwork from Frank Bellamy. You can read more on the Radio Times story guide by Mark Braxton.
What is Nessie? Who can tell? In a new series starting this week, Dr Who takes on the unidentified incumbent of Loch Ness. Here Anthony Haden-Guest plumbs the murky depths of the Scottish mystery.
Still waters, page 1 (Credit: Radio Times / Frank Bellamy) Still waters, page 2 (Credit: Radio Times) Saturday TV (Radio Times) (Credit: Radio Times / Frank Bellamy)

In article about Doctor Who in The Listener for 2nd October 1975, Jack Waterman wrote:
On another level, admirers of polystyrene suitings—to say nothing of shareholders in plastics firms—must like the work to be seen on Dr Who. To name but one monster, and the most recent, the Zygon was a creation of genius—an amber-coloured, heavy-duty plastic individual—and yet another tribute to designers who have, through this programme alone, over the years put the BBC well ahead, in a field whose first drawing-board effort was no less than Frankenstein's creation. [p. 437]




FILTER: - Moments in Time

The Magician's Apprentice: further BBC Worldwide confirmations

Sunday, 30 August 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Peter Capaldi as The Doctor (Credit: BBC / David Venni)BBC Worldwide have confirmed the broadcast of series premiere The Magician's Apprentice in some more of their worldwide schedules.

The Far East will get to see the latest adventures of the Doctor and Clara only a few hours after the United Kingdom, with BBC Asia confirming that it will show the episode on Saturday 20th September at 10:00am (3:00am UK time). The series will be shown on BBC Entertainment at both 10:00am and a prime-time 8:15pm, with various repeats throughout the week thereafter. The channel is currently available in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Burma, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

Belgium and the Netherlands will see The Magician's Apprentice a couple of days later, as BBC First air the premiere prime-time on Monday 22nd September at 9:00pm; as with BBC Asia the episode will be repeated several times during the week before the next episode airs.


The Magician's Apprentice: Known Broadcast Details
United KingdomBBC OneSat 19 Sep 2015time tbc
United States of AmericaBBC AmericaSat 19 Sep 20159:00pm EDT(2:00am BST)
CanadaSPACESat 19 Sep 20159:00pm EDT(2:00am BST)
Asia PacificBBC EntertainmentSun 20 Sep 201510:00am SGT(3:00am BST)
AustraliaABCSun 20 Sep 20157:40pm AEST(10:40am BST)
Europe (Benelux)BBC FirstTue 22 Sep 20159:00pm CEST
FinlandYLE2Mon 28 Sep 20156:00pm EEST
New ZealandPRIMESep 2015date tbc
South AfricaBBC FirstSat 24 Oct 20156:00pm SAST
GermanyFOXDecember 2015date tbc(dubbed into German)
IndiaFX"coming soon in 2015"date tbc
ItalyRAI4Early 2016date tbc(dubbed into Italian)
Update: Australia is now confirmed for 7:40pm 20th September

Check our guide page for the latest transmission updates, and for general broadcasting details around the world see This Week in Doctor Who.




FILTER: - Asia Pacific - Broadcasting - Europe - International Broadcasting - Series 9/35

New books from Miwk

Sunday, 30 August 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward
Miwk Publishing have released details of two forthcoming memoirs of men who have worked on Doctor Who.

A Peculiar Effect on the BBC is the memoir of visual effects designer Bernard Wilkie. The book will feature a foreword by visual effects designer Mat Irvine and an afterword by visual effects designer Mike Tucker.
A Peculiar Effect on the BBC (Credit: Miwk Publishing) A Peculiar Effect on the BBC
Written by Bernard Wilkie
Foreword by Mat Irvine
Afterword by Mike Tucker
Cover design by Robert Hammond
Published in September 2015

Bernard Wilkie is a pioneer in the world of visual effects. Along with Jack Kine he co-founded the BBC’s Visual Effects Department in 1954. Between them they worked on too many BBC productions to list, but chief among them were Doctor Who, Out of the Unknown, Quatermass, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, and Some Mothers Do ‘ave ‘em. He passed away in 2002, writing this book in the late 1990s.

A Peculiar Effect on the BBC is his previously unpublished memoir and looks back on his career as a whole, covering each programme in detail with a light, but still educational, and often cautionary tone.

Sample from A Peculiar Effect on the BBC (Credit: Miwk Publishing) Whether it’s trying to make a smoke gun, encase an Ice Warrior in a block of ice, creating a Loch Ness Monster or simply coming up with a way of presenting a photo collection on screen utilising only one studio camera, Bernard and Jack rose to the occasion – often choking, soaking and terrifying their colleagues in the process. And almost all of these effects had to be done live – the pressure was on!

Bernard also talks in detail about the BBC taking over Ealing Studios and the construction of the now-defunct Television Centre. For anyone interested in the history of television, this is a fascinating eye witness account.

Foreword by visual effects designer Mat Irvine and afterword by visual effects designer Mike Tucker.

To Put You in the Picture is by Robert Banks Stewart, who wrote Terror of the Zygons and The Seeds of Doom, and will feature illustrations by Jamie Lenman, who illustrated Doctor Whoah! for Doctor Who Magazine under the pseudonym 'Baxter'.
To Put You in the Picture (Credit: Miwk Publishing / Andrew Orton) To Put You in the Picture
Written by Robert Banks Stewart
Internal illustrations by Jamie Lenman
Cover design by Andrew Orton
Published in October 2015

The memoir of Robert Banks Stewart, one of Britain’s most legendary television writer/producers, whose career has spanned five decades. Viewers who have watched television and its development over this period – including viewers of today – will be hugely entertained by this splendid autobiography.

The author has penned a host of behind-the-scenes anecdotes, most of them hitherto untold, plus descriptions of his considerable work experiences with refreshing candour (successes and failures) and delightful humour.

Credited with breaking the mould of early UK thriller dramas with ground-breaking series like Shoestring and Bergerac, he purposely set them away from the usual easy, endlessly grim metropolitan street backgrounds derived from BBC Radio, instead exploiting different locations – like the West Country and the Channel Island of Jersey. He also cleverly cast new actors such as John Nettles, Trevor Eve, Greta Scaachi and Catherine Zeta-Jones, rather than established stars, whilst also featuring film veterans like Terence Alexander and Michael Medwin in regular roles. Writing, adapting and producing – with what was called ‘the touch’ – Robert Banks Stewart was also responsible for many more hit television series, among them the initial productions of The Darling Buds of May and Lovejoy.

To regular Miwk customers, Robert Banks Stewart will be most recognisable as the author of two of the most popular Doctor Who serials, 'Terror of the Zygons' and 'The Seeds of Doom', the titular creatures from the former having recently returned to Doctor Who in the recent 50th anniversary special.

'To Put You in the Picture' is illustrated by Jamie Lenman, with cover design by Andrew Orton.

The book is available to pre-order in hardback here, priced £13.99 when ordered direct from Miwk.
(with thanks to Matthew West / Miwk Publishing)




FILTER: - Books - People