Doctor Who Festival for Australia

Friday, 26 June 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Hot on the heels of the Doctor Who Festival in London comes another for Sydney, Australia:

Doctor Who Festival - Australia, 21-22 November 2015 (Credit: BBC Worldwide)

BBC Worldwide Australia & New Zealand is delighted to announce the first ever official Doctor Who Festival in Australia, which will take place in Sydney at the Royal Hall of Industries & the Hordern Pavilion on Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd November 2015. The Doctor Who Festival will be attended by the Twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi and lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat with more talent announced in due course. Fans of all ages will be able to celebrate the heritage and magic of the show with exclusive access to props, costumes and talent from both in-front-of and behind the camera.

A week after the Doctor Who Festival in London, Australian fans will have the chance to hear from key cast members in a series of onstage talent Q&A’s, with limited photo and autograph opportunities available. A series of interactive workshops with Doctor Who’s resident creative team will give visitors the chance to learn about the television production process and what it takes to be a Doctor Who monster. Fans can also test their knowledge for the chance to win some great prizes in the ultimate Doctor Who Quiz, and get some exclusive Doctor Who merchandise.

This festival is a must-attend for Doctor Who fans, with more exciting announcements to come.

And in a first for New Zealand fans, Peter Capaldi will then head to Auckland, New Zealand on the 24th November for an intimate evening with fans. Venue and ticket details for this will be announced in due course.

Peter Capaldi says:

Being unveiled as Doctor Who in Sydney at last year's world tour, and meeting the fantastic Australian fans was such a cosmic, life changing experience that I'm thrilled to be coming back for a full weekend of Time Lord mania.

The Festival includes:

Q&AS -see the writers and cast from the series as they talk about how to make an idea become reality on a series as big and bold as Doctor Who.
PHOTO AND AUTOGRAPH OPPORTUNITIES – A limited number of opportunities for photos and autographs with selected talent.
WARDROBE DEPARTMENT – a fantastic exhibition of costumes and props.
DOCTOR WHO QUIZ –Hosted in a traditional themed setting, fans will have the chance to test their knowledge for the chance to win some great prizes.

Doctor Who Festival lands in Australia

Tickets

DAY TICKET PRICES:

General $195.00
TARDIS $365.00
Concession General $99.00
Concession TARDIS $265.00

(all tickets are subject to a processing fee of 1.95% + transaction fee)

The general ticket includes one day entry to the festival, access to three separate theatre shows to see the cast and writers, festival lanyard, show planner and all of the above. TARDIS tickets will have all inclusions of a general ticket plus best seats in house for theatre sessions, exclusive access to TARDIS lounge with two free drinks and a Doctor Who goodie bag with merchandise to the value of $110.00.

To sign up for pre-sale tickets, or for further information head to: https://www.doctorwho.tv

Tickets can be purchased at Ticketek
Twitter: #DWFestAu

Pre-sale tickets available from 11am on 1st July
Tickets on general sale from 11am on 6th July

FILTER: - Australia - New Zealand - Peter Capaldi - Special Events - Steven Moffat

Underwater Menace DVD Cancelled

Thursday, 25 June 2015 - Reported by Marcus

BBC Worldwide has abandoned plans to release the second Doctor story, The Underwater Menace on DVD.

This month's Doctor Who Magazine reports that the plan to release the two surviving episodes from the story, alongside animated versions of the two episodes missing from the archive, have been cancelled by the BBC, following financial problems with the company contracted to provide the animation.

The Underwater Menace was first shown at the start of 1967, starring Patrick Troughton alongside Anneke Wills, Joseph Furst, Michael Craze and Frazer Hines. Following the episode junking which took place in the 1970's only Episode Three remained in the archives. This episode was included in the Lost in Time DVD Box set, released in 2004. However in 2011 Episode Two was recovered alongside the third episode of Galaxy 4.

It was planned to release the two existing episodes from the story, alongside animated reconstructions of the missing episodes, with BBC Worldwide telling Doctor Who News last December that they hoped to release the disc in 2015. However this has now been cancelled following financial problems at animation company Qurios which have seen the firm cease trading. It has not proved financially viable to find another partner to take on the animation and the BBC are reluctant to release an incomplete version.

Although a DVD release now seems very unlikely, it is possible the episodes may be released at some point in the future via some other means. A commentary track has been recorded along with bonus material intended for the DVD.

Until then, Episode Two of The Underwater Menace stands as the only classic Doctor Who episode, currently in the BBC archives, which has never had a release on DVD.

FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Second Doctor

Doctor Who Magazine 488

Thursday, 25 June 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine has been published, and this month's cover story focusses on the unexpected return of Ingrid Oliver to Doctor Who.

The popular UNIT science whizz was apparently killed off at the hands of Missy in Death in Heaven – but the rumours of her death may have been exaggerated! Actress Ingrid Oliver tells DWM about her joy at Osgood’s unexpected return.

“When I died, I was like ‘Oh. That’s a shame. That is a shame.” I really didn’t think I would return,” Ingrid tells DWM, revealing that she was shocked at the response to the UNIT operative's demise. “I can’t watch myself on TV, so I deliberately made the decision to go out. And then I got a text from my agent saying, ‘Oh my God, you’re trending on Twitter!’ It was absolute insanity to me.”

Also inside this issue:

DANNY HARGREAVES' BIG BANG! Doctor Who’s resident special effects supervisor Danny Hargreaves reveals the science behind blowing stuff up – but don’t try this at home!
DAVID WARNER WAS THE DOCTOR? Cold War’s Professor Grisenko – movie and TV star David Warner – chats about his brief era as the Doctor, and shares some fascinating stories from a career spanning six decades.
A NEW FORMAT – AT LAST! DWM’s history of Doctor Who on home video reaches its final part, with the dawn of a new shiny new format. DVD took the series into remastered territory, and made it look better than it ever had before.
REVENGE OF THE CYBERMEN! The Fact of Fiction heads to Voga – the planet of gold – to reveal fascinating facts about the 1975 Fourth Doctor adventure Revenge of the Cybermen.
BLOOD AND ICE! Will the Doctor and Clara defeat the macabre plans of Dr Audley, and has Winnie really betrayed them? The comic strip adventure Blood and Ice – written by Jacqueline Rayner and illustrated by Martin Geraghty – reaches its thrilling conclusion.
STEVEN MOFFAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS! Showrunner Steven Moffat answers readers’ questions and pays tribute to 1980s Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner.
COMING SOON... DWM talks to Sylvester McCoy, Bonnie Langford, novelist AL Kennedy and actor Jon Culshaw to preview upcoming books and audios from the worlds of Doctor Who.

PLUS! All the latest official news, reviews, Relative Dimensions, The Time Team, competitions and The DWM Crossword.

FILTER: - DWM

"The Fitzroy Tavern" - change of venue for the regular London Doctor Who fan gat

Thursday, 25 June 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Due to a major refurbishment taking place at the Fitzroy Tavern in Charlotte Street, London, the regular "first Thursday of the month" gathering of Doctor Who fans will be temporarily changing to a new venue:

NEW VENUE FOR LONDON’S DOCTOR WHO SOCIAL SCENE

The Tavern is moving! After more than 30 years playing host to the regular ‘First Thursday’ gatherings of Doctor Who fans, luminaries and commentators, THE FITZROY TAVERN in Central London’s Charlotte Street is closing its doors. But not forever…

This landmark pub at the heart of vibrant Fitzrovia is embarking on a major refurbishment that will see it shut to the public from the end of June until early summer 2016.

The task of finding a suitable alternative venue nearby for these evening pub-meets has fallen to the London Launch Party Team, the group responsible for organising many of the Doctor Who start-of-series parties for fans since 2005.

The College Arms (Credit: Jeremy Bentham)

The College Arms (Credit: Jeremy Bentham)

The new venue will be THE COLLEGE ARMS, Store Street, London WC1E 7DH, close to Goodge Street Underground Station. The first gathering will take place there on Thursday 2 July, from 6.00pm until late. Future evening gatherings will take place on the first Thursday of each month thereafter.

Launch Party founder Jeremy Bentham said:

Tavern nights were the original Doctor Who social media, and their history dates back to the mid-1970s. A once-a-month opportunity for fans and luminaries to hear and debate news and gossip, to exchange ideas, to be in the company of fellow fans, and to share our enthusiasm for all things Who. It’s a tradition that deserves to be continued unbroken.

Normal pub rules about being 18 or over to drink alcohol apply, but otherwise Tavern meets are evenings open to all. “If you’re a newcomer just wear a relevant T-shirt, fez, stick of celery or UNIT badge. You might not know too many faces to begin with – though you might recognise a few – but good conversation is never far away!”

(with thanks to Jeremy Bentham)

FILTER: - Fan Meetings - Fandom

All Aboard the John Nathan Turner

Tuesday, 23 June 2015 - Reported by Marcus

John Nathan Turner (Credit: Stephen Cranford)

The bus named after John Nathan Turner, Doctor Who's longest serving producer, has entered service in the South Coast city of Brighton.

As reported earlier this year, the decision to honour the producer, who lived in Brighton, was taken by public vote, with Nathan Turner's name adorning one of the 24 new Coaster buses brought by the city.

The bus travels Route 12, from Brighton to Eastbourne, passing the Seven Sisters Country park, where parts of 1969 Doctor Who story The War Games were filmed.

John Nathan Turner comes with a low emission ‘Euro 6’ engine, free Wi-Fi, an upper deck table with USB charge points, softer seating, next stop information and real time tracking of the bus location.

FILTER: - People

Plaything of Sutekh Issue 4

Saturday, 20 June 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward

Issue 4 of the fanzine, Plaything of Sutekh is available to order now.

In this issue:

Pacifism in Doctor Who - a look at how The Daleks and The Dominators gave turning the other cheek the thumbs down.
The Ark vs The Ark in Space - David Rolinson looks at the similarities between these two stories.
RTD & Religion - Sean Alexander examines a key aspect of the series under Russell T's tenure.
E-Space - Jez Strickley spies a dystopian slant in this Season 18 trilogy.
Secret Who - we look at two underrated stories The Claws of Axos and The Time Monster
Changing Times - a look back at Peter Capaldi's first season.
Doc Top Ten - one writer looks at his favourite Who comic strips.
Gateway Drug - Stephen Wood confesses how it all started with him and Who…

Issue 4 has 36 pages and is fully illustrated with colour covers.

Details on how to order Issue 4 are available at playthingofsutekh.blogspot.co.uk

FILTER: - Fan Productions

Titan Confirms Year Two of Doctor Who comics

Saturday, 20 June 2015 - Reported by Marcus

Titan Comics have announced Year Two of Doctor Who comics has been commissioned, with the series starting in September 2015.

The series will follow this summer’s Doctor Who comic crossover event featuring four Doctors, and will see the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors begin their second year of adventures.

Eleventh Doctor - Issue 2.1 (Credit: Titan)

Si Spurrier, best known for X-Men Legacy, Numbercruncher, Six-Gun Gorilla and The Spire writer, will join Rob Williams (Ordinary, 2000AD) as a co-writer on Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor: Year Two, with art by Simon Fraiser (Grindhouse, Nikolai Dante) and Warren Pleece (Hellblazer, The Invisibles, Incognegro). The series will pick up from Year One and the 2015 Event.

Charged with a crime he never committed (...or did he?), the Eleventh Doctor is on the run, with a galaxy-worth of nefarious bounty hunters pursuing him through time and space -- in an attempt to scalp the last remaining Time Lord!

Exhausted, haunted, and determined to clear his name, the Doctor is forced to turn to someone who knows all about busting out of prisons and staying one step ahead of those who’d prefer they were safely locked up.

Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor: Year Two #1 hits stores on Sept 9 and comes with five covers to collect: an art cover by Alex Ronald; a photo cover; a Mark Ellerby variant; a Jake variant; and a blank sketch variant.

Tenth Doctor - Issue 2.1 (Credit: Titan)

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Two will see alternating art team Elena Casagrande (Angel, Suicide Risk) and Eleonora Carlini, while writer Nick Abadzis (LAIKA) plots the story arc.

The Tenth Doctor: Year Two picks up from Year One and the 2015 Event with 'The Singer Not the Song', Part 1.

Fresh from the Event, the Tenth Doctor and Gabriella Gonzalez are plunged into a harmonious alien world of musical life-forms...But the Doctor and Gabby are walking straight into a war!

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Two #1 hits stores on Sept 16 and comes with five covers to collect: an art cover by Alex Ronald; a photo cover; a Rachel Smith variant; a Jake variant; and a blank sketch variant.

FILTER: - Comics - Eleventh Doctor - Tenth Doctor

The Essential Doctor Who: Monsters

Thursday, 18 June 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The latest of the "Essential" special edition magazines from the makers of Doctor Who Magazine has been published, focussing on the monsters of the series.

The Essential Doctor Who: Monsters (Credit: Doctor Who Magazine)

Issue 5 of Panini’s The Essential Doctor Who comprises 116 pages of all-new material exploring the dark side of the series...

Horror has been Doctor Who’s most consistent genre since the Daleks first threatened viewers in 1963. The metal-cased mutants are still notorious, but the programme’s shadows are occupied by many equally grotesque and disturbing creatures.

This is a comprehensive guide to the monsters that have been haunting our nightmares for more than 50 years. Everything from the Abzorbaloff to Zygons is covered in a richly illustrated, encyclopaedic format.

Says editor Marcus Hearn:

When I was a kid I wished for a book that included all the Doctor Who monsters. Now I’m a grown-up my ambitions haven’t really changed. It’s been a labour of love for all of us to channel the spirit of Terrance Dicks’ Doctor Who Monster Book, and a treat to add so many aliens from the show’s now greatly expanded universe.

The Essential Doctor Who: Monsters is on sale now at WH Smith and all good newsagents.

FILTER: - DWM

Colin Baker's new sci-fi role seeks funding

Wednesday, 17 June 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward

Last Man on Earth (Credit: Alt Angle Films)

A new sci-fi thriller starring Colin Baker is seeking to fund money on Indiegogo to help fund the production. Last Man on Earth is a 20 minute short film which starts filming in Manchester in late July. Just over £200 has been raised within the first day of the campaign launch, with 29 days left to reach their goal of £10,000.

A short synopsis has been posted by the film's producers:

Last Man on Earth is a short pre-apocalypse sci-fi thriller about a virologist who is recruited to a bio research conglomerate to help work on a cure for cancer. It's a film about decisions and their consequences. A story about the future told in the present day.

Baker, who will be playing a "renowned virologist who fronts a bio research conglomerate" said:

Jack Levy and Darren Langlands have written a brilliant script… I’m looking forward to filming it. I hope you enjoy watching it.

Director of the short film Darren Langlands commented:

We're hugely excited to have someone of Colin's Sci Fi calibre on board - we can't wait to get started!

The team behind the film are based in Manchester. Langlands added:

Manchester is such an exciting and vibrant place to be for indie filmmaking at the moment. Collectively, our team has had their films shown at film festivals all over the world. We're keen to showcase the film as a proof of concept - and the crowd funding is essential to helping us tell the story in the most impactful way possible.

As an incentive for contributors who donate their money, a variety of perks are available including autographed scripts, copies of the final film, a private message from Colin Baker and the chance to share the screen with The Doctor himself.

Last Man on Earth Crowdfunding Promo

FILTER: - Colin Baker

Sir John Hurt diagnosed with cancer

Tuesday, 16 June 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward

John Hurt as The Doctor in The Day of The Doctor (Credit: BBC/Adrian Rogers)

Sir John Hurt has revealed he has been diagnosed with early stage pancreatic cancer. In a statement released to the Press Association, he said:

I have always been open about the way in which I conduct my life and in that spirit I would like to make a statement.

I have recently been diagnosed with early stage pancreatic cancer. I am undergoing treatment and am more than optimistic about a satisfactory outcome, as indeed is the medical team.

I am continuing to focus on my professional commitments and will shortly be recording “Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell” (one of life’s small ironies!) for Radio 4

Alex Ford, CEO of Pancreatic Cancer UK, one of several national charities fighting pancreatic cancer, said:

We were deeply saddened to learn of Sir John Hurt's recent diagnosis of pancreatic cancer – but eternally grateful for his openness in talking about the disease and his treatment. This can only help raise much needed awareness of pancreatic cancer and the importance of early diagnosis. Importantly, John Hurt's attitude and optimism will provide hope for many others affected by this disease. We wish him the best with his treatment.

If you wish to make a donation to the charity, you can do so at pancreaticcancer.org.uk/donate.

John Hurt was awarded a Knighthood for his services to drama in the Queen's New Year Honours list.

FILTER: - John Hurt

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