DVD release/production roundup

Friday, 7 October 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Though the UNIT boxed set has been placed in the United Kingdom DVD release schedule (for January), other Doctor Who DVDs have yet to be formally scheduled by 2|Entertain for the first quarter of next year. However, Amazon in Canada has added some additional titles for 2012:

Invasion of the Dinosaurs and The Android Invasion (to be released together as the UNIT Boxed Set in the UK) are listed for 10th January
The Sensorites is listed for 14th February
The Robots of Death, The Three Doctors, Tomb of the Cybermen Special Editions are listed for 13th March (the final three making up the Revisitations 3 boxed set in the UK)

It is expected that the UK Region 2 releases of the stories/sets will be on or before those listed for Region 1 above.

The latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine confirmed the commentaries for the forthcoming UNIT Boxed Set. Invasion of the Dinosaurs will feature Richard Franklin (Mike Yates), Peter Miles (Whitaker), Terence Wilton (Mark), Paddy Russell (director), Terrance Dicks (script editor) and Richard Morris (designer). The Android Invasion will feature Philip Hinchcliffe (producer), Milton Johns (Crayford), Martin Friend (Styggron), and Marion McDougal (production assistant). Both commentaries are moderated by Toby Hadoke.

Details of production of future releases have continued to emerge, mainly via the social communication tool Twitter; a breakdown of these details can be found below, but in brief:

an audio reconstruction of episodes three and four of Planet of Giants has been recorded
a documentary "Remembering Barry Letts" will feature on The Daemons
a tribute to Nicholas Courtney is being produced, featuring many interviews with the actor himself

In addition, Commissioning Editor for the Classics range, Dan Hall, was recently interviewed by Talking Who, during which he revealed that The Greatest Show in the Galaxy will be released with a new 5.1 surround soundtrack, produced by Mark Ayres.

The Restoration Team on Twitter:

THE SENSORITES

17 Sep Classic DW Early artwork in for THE SENSORITES. Looking tremendous!

THE DAEMONS

6 Sep Peter Crocker Very distracting vertical jitter successfully banished from 1971 episode
17 Sep Classic DW Signed off wonderful Barry Letts doc from Ed Stradling.
Lovely interview from family, Terrence et al. Look out for it on THE DAEMONS.
23 Sep Ed Stradling I have to finish the Barry Letts obit programme today.
Clock is ticking and some graphics and keying still to do.
23 Sep Ed Stradling Barry was interviewed against a reflecmedia chromatte screen so I use
either their own Mattenee keyer or Keylight in After Effects
23 Sep Ed Stradling Do people think "Letts Remember Barry" is a good title for the
obit programme? Or too corny? Other suggestions welcome, I'm crap at titles.
25 Sep Peter Crocker First phase of restoration on "The Daemons" complete;
now awaits grading at TV Centre.
25 Sep Ed Stradling Talking of VAM, the Daemons extras are currently being graded at TV Centre.
26 Sep Ed Stradling Another DVD feature now delivered. "Remembering Barry Letts" edited
on Media Composer and due for inclusion on "The Daemons" DVD.
26 Sep Restoration Team Grading and compilation complete on Daemons VAM package,
including the test that started it all...
27 Sep Classic DW Daemons VAM all finished and ready to deliver to 2e within the next few weeks!

THE REIGN OF TERROR

30 Sep Chris Chapman Have popped into the office to back up today's rushes -
looking and sounding lovely! Particularly happy about Reign of Terror...
4 Oct Chris Chapman On train to Newcastle to spend the rest of the week editing -
should be on the content cut of Reign of Terror by Thursday...
4 Oct Chris Chapman In a piece of news that few will find interesting, I intend to call
The Reign of Terror doco 'Don't Lose Your Head'. Carry on!;-)

PLANET OF GIANTS

5 Oct Ed Stradling Off to studio shortly for the re-recording of dialogue for
Planet of Giants part 3 - and 4.
5 Oct Toby Hadoke is off to act in a Dr Who story which has never been seen in its
original, complete form ... until now! The surviving cast are on board too.
5 Oct Toby Hadoke Forester.
5 Oct Ed Stradling Tom Spilsbury, Donald Wilson thought it was dull.
He also thought The Web Planet wasn't.
5 Oct Ed Stradling Planet of Giants going very well. Will use Gary Gillatt's urge to live gag
in the VAM or else he'll put it in the DWM review :)
5 Oct Ed Stradling Willam Russell and Carole Ann Ford in the studio with Katherine Mount
and John Guilor for Planet of Giants http://t.co/b4CIEfE7

MISCELLANEOUS

26 Aug Chris Chapman Doctor Who shoot for next Wednesday pretty much all good to go!
8 interviews confirmed, with 2 floaters which should be sorted by Monday...
26 Aug Chris Chapman
The 8 interviewees are: 3 companions, 1 script editor,
1 visual effects assistant, 1 production assistant, 1 historian and 1 spaceman!
1 Sep Chris Chapman Capturing in yesterday's footage. Interviewees included
Ian Reddington, Sophie Aldred, Tim Combe and William Russell!
3 Sep Chris Chapman BTW, when I interviewed William Russell last week, I told him about
'Ian and Babs married and immortal' and he seemed genuinely touched.:-)
7 Sep Ed Stradling last chance for any fans to tweet me any questions for former
BBC Head of Series Ronnie Marsh, we're interviewing him tomorrow!
13 Sep Chris Chapman Filming on Thursday features two actors, two production assistants,
one assistant designer, one friend, a singer and a lovely backdrop!
15 Sep Chris Chapman The end of a very successful day's filming.
Beautiful weather and lovely guests. Assume you'll see the doco next year.:-)
19 Sep Ed Stradling Back in London after interviewing four companion actors for upcoming DVD
at the Regenerations event in Swansea this weekend
20 Sep Chris Chapman Today, I interviewed Tom Baker for an upcoming DVD - and he was fabulous!
30 Sep Chris Chapman Today's interviewees were... a director, three designers, two companions,
two monsters, a vision mixer and a son of somebody!
30 Sep Chris Chapman To tease you further, we were filming content for FOUR
different Who stories today. My brain is a jumble of jumbles!
1 Oct Chris Chapman So a rundown of yesterday's classic Who guests:
Interviewee 1 - a designer - told me about burning shreds of big top
flying through the air!
1 Oct Chris Chapman Who Interviewee 2 - a monster - was the single biggest man
I have ever met, and he shed a tear on camera!
1 Oct Chris Chapman Who interviewee 3 - a director - claimed at the outset that
he remembered nothing, yet he remembered EVERYTHING!
1 Oct Chris Chapman Who interviewee 4 - a 60s companion - told me that nothing ever happened
between her and another 60s companion, despite the rumours!
1 Oct Chris Chapman Who interviewee 5 - a designer - came all the way from North Wales and
giggled about sneaking photos of glamour girls onto Doctor Who sets!
1 Oct Chris Chapman Who interviewee 6 - another 60s Who companion - was the best I've
ever heard her and did lots of mad impressions!
1 Oct Chris Chapman Who interviewee 7 - the son of someone famous - wore a posh suit and
told us what it was like to be 6 years old and terrified by his father!
1 Oct Chris Chapman Who interviewee 8 - another monster - told us an AMAZING story
about William Hartnell tap-dancing!
1 Oct Chris Chapman Who interviewee 9 - a vision mixer - explained how a button she pressed
changed the whole history of Doctor Who!
1 Oct Chris Chapman Who interviewee 10 - yet another designer - thought so-and-so was a bit
over-the-top and that the director was a proper moaner!
3 Oct Thomas Guerrier Extreme editing some classic Doctor Who this morning.
3 Oct Ed Stradling I'm now editing the Nick Courtney tribute feature, consisting largely
of interviews with the great man himself.

FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Dinosaurs invade Riverside!

Wednesday, 28 September 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

This January sees the release of Invasion of the Dinosaurs on DVD, a story which has the dubious fame of including the final casualty of the old BBC process of destroying prints, with episode one only existing as a black and white print in the BBC Archive.

The episode, like other 'monochrome' Pertwee episodes, has been a focus as to whether a colour version could be recreated; speaking in the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine, DVD executive producer Dan Hall said:

This colour recovery has been a miracle, pulling out colour information from black and white film prints. Unfortunately, in the case of Invasion (of the Dinosaurs) Part One, the process has not produced a perfect colour print, but enough information has been salvaged to offer a tantalising glimpse of what the original broadcast may have been like.

As a result, the episode will be presented in the story in its 'clean' black and white version, with the partial colour restoration available as an alternative.

The colour episode will be shown in the form of a special preview for attendees at the forthcoming DWAS convention, Time 5, taking place at Riverside Studios on Saturday 29th October 2011:

To publicise the forthcoming DVD release we are pleased that the colour version of episode 1 will be previewed on the big screen in the cinema.

The trailer for the forthcoming The Reign of Terror - recently seen in Australia - will also be screened during the convention.
(with thanks to Paul Winter)

FILTER: - Conventions - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Doctor Who: The Complete Series Six Boxed Set confirmed for 21st November

Tuesday, 27 September 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

2|Entertain have now confirmed that the Complete Series Six boxed set will be released in the United Kingdom on the 21st November 2011 on Blu-ray and DVD:

The Doctor, Amy and Rory return to face monsters, mysteries and adventures all across time and space in the the action-packed sixth series.

Together they find themselves in Sixties America, battling the invasion the world forgot, then journey on the high seas of 1696 aboard a pirate ship, to solve the mystery of the Siren. In a bubble universe at the very edge of reality, the Doctor meets an old friend with a new face, and in a monastery on a remote island in the near future, an industrial accident takes on a terrible human shape. They also venture across centuries and galaxies, where they encounter the greatest war criminal in all of history - and Hitler. They'll also discover there's no scarier place in the universe than a child's bedroom and a visit to an alien quarantine facility will reveal to Rory a very different side to his wife. In a hotel where walls move, corridors twist and rooms vanish, death lies waiting. But the Doctor's time has yet to come. He has one last stop to make on his final journey - an old friend needs his help and an old foe must be defeated. But time catches up with us all and the Doctor can delay no more.

As previously revealed by the BBFC earlier in the month, only four episodes will be accompanied by a commentary this year, covering The Impossible Astronaut, The Doctor's Wife, A Good Man Goes To War, and The Wedding of River Song. However, as usual all thirteen episodes of the series have their accompanying episode of Doctor Who Confidential Cut Down.

Also included with the release are last year's festive treat, A Christmas Carol, the Comic Relief mini-episode Space & Time, and the five series preludes released online through the BBC's Doctor Who site; though not listed in the press release, the Script to Screen mini-episode Death is the Only Answer is also expected to be included. The set also sees the addition of five new mini-episodes, themed "Night and the Doctor", which have been written exclusively for the release by Steven Moffat, plus a special Confidential to accompany them, The Night's Tale.

The boxed set will also contain the four Monster Files released with the previous, individual Part 1 and Part 2 series sets.

The DVD boxed set will also be released as a limited edition "Silence" version, which will also include four lenticular prints.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Series 6/32 - Blu-ray/DVD

Complete Series 6 - BBFC Classifications

Thursday, 15 September 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBFC have now classfied several more features that will appear on the forthcoming Complete Series 6 DVD/Blu-ray boxed sets, currently expected to be released during November.

In our previous update, the series finale The Wedding of River Song had yet to be confirmed; this has now been classified with a PG certificate and a running time of 45m 22s.

Commentaries have also been classified for some of the episodes from the series, with The Impossible Astronaut, The Doctor's Wife, A Good Man Goes To War, and The Wedding of River Song having been included (so far).

New features that weren't available on the earlier individual Part 1/Part 2 releases include the Comic Relief special, Time/Space, the preludes to the episodes that appeared on the BBC website, and other additional specially produced material:

Space & Time                U     6m 57s

Preludes:
The Impossible Astronaut    PG    1m 48s
Curse of the Black Spot     U     1m 23s
A Good Man Goes To War      U     1m 36s
Let's Kill Hitler           U     1m 55s
The Wedding of River Song   PG    1m 11s

Up All Night                PG    1m 55s (James Corden)
First Night/Last Night      PG    5m 45s (Matt Smith/Karen Gillan)
Bad Night                   U     8m 28s (Matt Smith/Karen Gillan)

As with previous releases, Doctor Who Confidential will be included in its "Cut-Down" form, though only the latter half have been passed at present:

 8. River Runs Wild        PG   12m 50s
 9. About A Boy            PG   13m 43s
10. What Dreams May Come   U    11m 10s
11. Heartbreak Hotel       PG    9m 15s
12. Open All Hours         PG   12m 47s
13. When Time Froze        PG    8m 59s

    The Night's Tale       U    15m 13s

The latter is an additional Confidential which has been listed for an as-yet unclassified item, A Night's Tale.

FILTER: - Series 6/32 - Blu-ray/DVD

Day of the Daleks - feature clips

Friday, 9 September 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

This Monday sees Day of the Daleks released on DVD in the United Kingdom, and 2|Entertain have made a few clips available to illustrate some of the special features included on the the two-disc set:

Day of the Daleks: The Doctor and Violence, BBC Classic Doctor Who, via YouTube (may not play outside the United Kingdom)

Day of the Daleks: Trikes!, BBC Classic Doctor Who, via YouTube (may not play outside the United Kingdom)

Day of the Daleks: Doctor Who and Memories, BBC Classic Doctor Who, via YouTube (may not play outside the United Kingdom)

Day of the Daleks: The Third Doctor and Wine, BBC Classic Doctor Who, via YouTube (may not play outside the United Kingdom)

A full list of the extras for Day of the Daleks DVD can be found in our previous news item, and a more technical discussion of the production of the DVD will appear on the Restoration Team website in the future.

Regular updates on the classic Doctor Who range can be found on Twitter via ClassicDW, and on the BBC's official Facebook page.

The DVD is available to order from our Amazon store.

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

Torchwood: Miracle Day - BBFC Classifications

Friday, 9 September 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBFC have now certified all the episodes of Torchwood: Miracle Day, which also confirms the running time for the episodes:

The New World            15   51m 42s  contains strong gore and bloody injury detail
Rendition                15   52m  1s  contains strong gore and violence
Dead of Night            15   53m 44s  contains strong sex and violence
Escape to L.A.           15   54m 50s  contains infrequent strong violence and threat
The Categories of Life   12   51m 50s  contains moderate violence and a gory moment
The Middle Men           12   51m 55s  contains moderate horror, violence, threat and language
Immortal Sins            15   51m 51s  contains strong bloody violence
End of the Road          15   52m 50s  contains strong bloody violence and threat
The Gathering            12   53m 45s  contains moderate violence
The Blood Line           15   53m 46s  contains strong bloody violence and threat

The forthcoming boxed set will have an overall 15 certificate. Special features have yet to be classified.

Torchwood: Miracle Day is due to be released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on 14th November 2011.

FILTER: - Torchwood - UK - Miracle Day (Series 4) - Blu-ray/DVD

Series 6: Part 2 - BBFC Classifications

Wednesday, 7 September 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBFC have now certified various episodes and features that will form part of the Series 6: Part 2 boxed set:

Note: the titles of the DVD extras may constitute a spoiler

  8. Let's Kill Hitler       PG    48m  9s
  9. Night Terrors           PG    42m 33s
 10. The Girl Who Waited     PG    46m  2s
 11. The God Complex         12    48m  0s
 12. Closing Time            PG    45m 11s

     The Antibodies          U      9m  3s
     The Cybermats           PG    10m 13s

At the time of writing the finale of the series, The Wedding of River Song, has yet to be classified.

The boxed set is due for release on 10th October 2011, and is available for pre-order on DVD and Blu-ray.

FILTER: - Series 6/32 - Blu-ray/DVD

Double Invasion due in January - Updated

Saturday, 3 September 2011 - Reported by Marcus

BBC Worldwide have revealed that the classic Doctor Who stories, Invasion of the Dinosaurs and The Android Invasion will both be released in North America on January 10th 2012.

No UK release date has yet been announced, but it is likely the UK release will be early January.

Invasion of the Dinosaurs
Release Date: 10th January 2012

Starring Jon Pertwee as Doctor Who, with Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith and Nicholas Courtney as The Brigadier
Written by Malcolm Hulke
Directed by Paddy Russell

Broadcast: 12th January - 16th February 1974

Episode One of the story only exists in the BBC Archives as a black and white film print. 2|Entertain have reported: "The fully restored DINO Ep 1 is in black-and-white. Alternative vers also on release featuring best-endeavours colour recovery..."

Special Features

Audio Commentary
People, Power and Puppetry
Deleted Scenes
Now and Then
John Levene's Commentary
Doctor Who Stories: Elizabeth Sladen Part 1
Billy Smart's Circus
Photo Gallery
PDF materials: Radio Times Listings
Production Note Subtitles
Digitally remastered picture and sound quality

The Android Invasion
Release Date: 10th January 2012

Starring Tom Baker as Doctor Who, with Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith and Ian Marter as Harry Sullivan
Written by Terry Nation
Directed by Barry Letts

Broadcast: 22nd November - 13th December 1975

Special Features

Audio Commentary
The Village That Came to Life
Life After - Philip Hinchcliffe
Tie-in Weetabix commercial
Photo Gallery
PDF materials: Radio Times Listings, Weetabix packet promotions
Production Note Subtitles
Digitally remastered picture and sound quality

(additional details thanks to TVShowsOnDVD, ClassicDW)

Meanwhile in Australia BBC Worldwide are offering fans the chance to win tickets to a special screening of The Day of the Daleks, to be held in Melbourne on Sunday 18th and Sydney on Monday 19th September. Winners will have the chance to meet and chat to Dan Hall, the person in charge of Classic Doctor Who on DVD.

Visit the competition page for details.

FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

UK DVD release update

Saturday, 3 September 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

2|Entertain have released cover art and content details for the forthcoming Series Six Part Two, due out on 10th October, and also details for The Sarah Jane Adventures Series Four (31st October).

Doctor Who Series Six (Part Two)
Release Date: 10th October 2011 (available for pre-order on DVD and Blu-ray)

Starring Matt Smith as The Doctor, with Karen Gillan as Amy and Arthur Darvill as Rory
Written by Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, Tom MacRae, Toby Whithouse, Gareth Roberts
Directed by Richard Senior, Richard Clark, Nick Hurran, Steve Hughes, Jeremy Webb

Broadcast: 27th August - 1st October 2011

(synopsis includes unbroadcast episodes)

The truth about River Song is out and the time has come for the Doctor to face his greatest demons. Venturing across centuries and galaxies, the Doctor, Amy and Rory will encounter the greatest war criminal in all of history - and Hitler. Together, they'll discover there's no scarier place in the universe than a child's bedroom and a visit to an alien quarantine facility will reveal to Rory a very different side to his wife. In a hotel where walls move, corridors twist and rooms vanish, death lies waiting. But the Doctor's time has yet to come. He has one last stop to make on his final journey - an old friend needs his help and an old foe must be defeated. But time catches up with us all and the Doctor can delay no more.

By the shores of Lake Silencio, in Utah, all of time and space hang in the balance and a NASA astronaut is waiting...

Special Features

Monster Files: The Antibodies & The Cybermats

The Sarah Jane Adventures Series Four
Release Date: 31st October 2011 (available for pre-order on DVD and Blu-ray)

Starring Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, Daniel Anthony as Clyde, Anjli Mohindra as Rani, Tommy Knight as Luke
Written by Joseph Lidster, Phil Ford, Russell T Davies, Gareth Roberts, Rupert Laight, Clayton Hickman
Directed by Joss Agnew, Ashley Way

Broadcast: 11th October - 16th November 2010

The fourth series provides ever more thrills and spills. In two special episodes written by Russell T Davies, Sarah Jane is reunited with another of The Doctor’s former companions, Jo Grant. They’re joined by The Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) in an alien-busting adventure featuring brand-new vulture aliens, the mysterious Shansheeth and a trip to an alien planet. The series also features fun with enemies old and new, including the terrors of the Nightmare Man and a dangerous journey back into history.

Special Features

Pyramids of Mars - included as a tribute to Elisabeth Sladen who sadly passed away this year. Pyramids of Mars sees Sarah Jane Smith and the Doctor arrive at an old priory in the year 1911 where the owner, Marcus Scarman, has been excavating ancient tombs and soon becomes possessed by the spirit of Sutekh, bringer of 'the gift of death to all mankind'. Will Sutekh the all-powerful be freed from his bonds and destroy the world, or will the Doctor manage to bring about his destruction?

FILTER: - Merchandise - UK - Series 6/32 - Sarah Jane - Blu-ray/DVD

Day of the Daleks preview: Alister Pearson print

Tuesday, 30 August 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

This Sunday (4th) sees a special preview taking place to celebrate the release of Day of the Daleks on DVD, presented by the Doctor Who Appreciation Society with permission from 2|Entertain.

Artist Alister Pearson has produced a new A4 print for the event based on the original artwork designs for the Target novelisation's three covers, by Chris Achilleos, Andrew Skilleter and himself. He'll be at the event to sign prints, proceeds of which are in aid of Help for Heroes; it can also be pre-ordered directly from the DWAS website via their Day of the Daleks event section, and these too will be signed by the artist.

Though the event itself is fully booked, there is an open autograph session at the end of the event at 5:00pm for those who wish to come along to pre-order the DVD on the day and have the cover signed by the guests, Katy Manning (Jo Grant) and Richard Franklin (Mike Yates) - it is also hoped that Scott Fredericks (Boaz) will be able to attend on the day as well. As with the print, a signed DVD can also be pre-ordered from DWAS online before the event takes place.

Full details on the event and associated merchandise/activities can be found via the DWAS website.

BBC ClassicDW have also released a clip from one of the special features on the discs.