Sci Fi confirms April debut for Who and SJA

Monday, 4 February 2008 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

The Sci Fi Channel has confirmed earlier reports that both Doctor Who Series Four and The Sarah Jane Adventures will begin airing on the channel in April. The channel's news service, Sci Fi Wire, has the confirmation, and Sci Fi's full press release is below.

(Thanks to "GracieLizzy" of the Doctor Who Forum.)

DOCTOR WHO SEASON FOUR AND THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES COMING TO SCI FI CHANNEL IN APRIL

NEW YORK - February 4, 2008 - SCI FI Channel has acquired the fourth season of People's Choice Award-nominated Doctor Who and the phenomenally popular series' new spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures from BBC Worldwide America. Both series are slated to premier on SCI FI in April 2008.

The Sarah Jane Adventures is written and produced by the same creative team behind Doctor Who, including multi-award winning writer Russell T. Davies. Having traveled the universe with The Doctor, Sarah Jane is used to alien encounters. Accompanied by her new young friends Maria, Luke and Clyde, she becomes embroiled in an offbeat world of mystery and danger.

In season four of Doctor Who, David Tennant reprises his role as the tenth Timelord. For his latest adventures he is joined by a brand new companion, Donna Noble, played by award-winning actress Catherine Tate (The Catherine Tate Show, BBC AMERICA) who appeared as 'the runaway bride' in the previous season. 'Martha Jones,' played by Freema Agyeman, the Doctor's most recent companion, who had a dramatic role last season's finale, makes a triumphant return in the middle of season four.

"We are excited to have Doctor Who back on SCI FI for its 4th season," said Chris Regina, Vice President of Programming, SCI FI Channel. "It's an exciting franchise that continues to reinvent itself for new generations of viewers. The youthful appeal of The Sarah Jane Adventures will no doubt attract even younger new viewers."

Candace Carlisle, EVP Sales and Co-productions, BBC Worldwide Americas commented, "The imagination of Russell and the rest of the production team in Cardiff who have produced these two incredible shows is outstanding. We are so pleased that the loyal fans of the SCI FI Channel will be able to meet a whole new range of characters and aliens that are intrinsically linked to the Doctor's history. Both 'Sarah Jane Adventures' and the new season of 'Doctor Who' are jam packed with some of the most creative storylines ever produced by the BBC's brilliant team."

The third season of the new Doctor Who averaged 1.3 million weekly viewers on SCI FI.

The deals were brokered by Lisa Hofer, Vice President of Co-Production & Sales, BBC Worldwide Americas. Executive Producers for The Sarah Jane Adventures are Russell T Davies, Head of Drama, BBC Wales, Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson. The series producer is Matthew Bouch. Doctor Who season four is produced by Phil Collinson; Executive Producers are Julie Gardner and Russell T Davies. Doctor Who season four is a BBC production in association with CBC.

SCI FI Channel is a television network where "what if" is what's on. SCI FI fuels the imagination of viewers with original series and events, blockbuster movies and classic science fiction and fantasy programming, as well as a dynamic Web site (www.scifi.com ) and magazine. Launched in 1992, and currently in 93 million homes, SCI FI Channel is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.

BBC Worldwide Americas incorporates the U.S., Canadian and Latin American arms of BBC Worldwide, a commercial and wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). With offices in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Sao Paulo and Miami, BBC Worldwide Americas has five core businesses: Channels, TV Sales, Content & Production, Home Entertainment and Digital Media. Profit from BBC Worldwide is returned to the BBC public service.

FILTER: - Series 4/30 - Sarah Jane - Broadcasting

Spirituality and Doctor Who

Saturday, 2 February 2008 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

A conference on Spirituality and Doctor Who will be held at Wilson Carlile Campus in Sheffield, Yorkshire onSaturday, April 19. According to the day's organizers, "Christian themes and images in Doctor Who - both classic and new - will be explored. But there will also be a respectful look at other shades and faiths in Doctor Who, including ecological and Buddhist themes in the Jon Pertwee era, mystic parables in the Peter Davison era and the optimistic atheism of current Doctor Who creator Russell T Davies." Barry Letts, producer of Doctor Who from 1970 to 1975, is one of the confirmed guests for the event. There is a press release here, and online sign-up is available here.

FILTER: - Classic Series

New Trailer To Hit Big Screen

Thursday, 31 January 2008 - Reported by DWNP Archive

Posted By John Bowman

A new 90-second trailer for Series Four will start showing at cinemas across the UK from February 1, it has been reported.

According to Digital Spy, it will run at Empire, Odeon and Cineworld venues.

Naomi Gibney, the head of marketing at BBC Vision, is quoted as saying: "This is a great opportunity for the BBC to reach new audiences with an exciting preview of the new series of Doctor Who."

Trailers for Voyage Of The Damned were shown at cinemas in December.

UPDATE: The BBC Press Office has now put online more details concerning the trailer. It says the deal is part of a BBC test with Carlton Screen Advertising to showcase BBC content. It covers 837 Odeon screens, 736 Cineworld screens and 142 Empire screens. The trailer will be shown before some of the most anticipated new releases, including Cloverfield,Juno, John Rambo and There Will Be Blood.

FILTER: - Series 4/30 - Press

BBFC passes "Voyage" and "Five Doctors"

Wednesday, 30 January 2008 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

The British Board of Film Classification, the UK regulatory agency for film and video, has passed "Voyage of the Damned" for DVD release and rated it PG. The Christmas special was passed without cuts; the BBFC's consumer advice is that the special "contains moderate threat and scary scenes".

The 25th Anniversary Edition of "The Five Doctors" has also been passed and rated PG. The previous DVD of "The Five Doctors" was rated U.

UK release of "The Five Doctors - 25th Anniversary Edition" is scheduled for March 3. "Voyage of the Damned" is scheduled for release on March 10.

FILTER: - Series 4/30 - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Time Meddler and Five Doctors DVD Updates

Saturday, 26 January 2008 - Reported by DWNP Archive

Posted By John Bowman

The Restoration Team has updated its website with details about the forthcoming DVD releases of The Time Meddlerand The Five Doctors - 25th Anniversary Edition in the UK.

In it, Steve Roberts reveals why VidFIRE hasn't been employed on The Time Meddler. The process is normally used to give a video look to film recordings so that episodes appear as they did on transmission.

As previously reported by Outpost Gallifrey, extras on that disc will include a feature examining the comic strip adventures of the First Doctor, as well as a piece using audio recordings and the script to place in context the 12 seconds that are still missing from Checkmate - the final episode of the 1965 story - after they were cut by overseas censors before the print turned up.

The two-disc Five Doctors release will include the original version of the story, lasting 90 minutes, plus the special edition, which runs for 102 minutes. Screen grabs are used in the Restoration Team's feature to illustrate the improvement in picture quality of this 1983 story.

Among the extras on the Five Doctors release are outtakes plus contemporaneous appearances by assorted cast members on the BBC TV shows Saturday Superstore, Blue Peter, Breakfast Time and Nationwide.

The Time Meddler is due out on February 4, while The Five Doctors - 25th Anniversary Edition is released on March 3.

FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Kingston and Salmon for Series 4

Thursday, 24 January 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight

The BBC Press Office has announced that Alex Kingston and Colin Salmon will appear as guest stars in writerSteven Moffat's two-part story for the fourth series of Doctor Who, which is currently filming.

Kingston, who will play a character named in the press release as River Song, is best known for her regular role in the American television drama series ER. In the UK, she starred in the one-off dramas Moll Flanders and Boudecia for the ITV network. Salmon has been seen in a variety of roles in British film and television, including as the supporting character Charles Robinson in the James Bond films Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day. His character in Doctor Who has not yet been named.

BBC News and The Sun have stories about the casting announcement.

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Production - Series 4/30

Series Four spoiler in Daily Star?

Monday, 21 January 2008 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

The Daily Star is reporting casting and plot information for Series Four which, if true, could be considered a spoiler. Some details are listed below, and more can be seen by following the link above. (Please note that the Daily Star's website has content which may not be suitable for all ages.)

(Thanks to Joey Donovan.)

The article says that John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness) and Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) will both be appearing in Series Four. The Star states that the former companions will appear in the series' finale, coming to the rescue of the Doctor, who has been seriously wounded in an explosion.

FILTER: - Series 4/30 - Press

"Blink" gets Nebula nod

Monday, 21 January 2008 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

The script for the 2007 Doctor Who episode "Blink" by Steven Moffat has been placed on the preliminary ballot for the Nebula Awards. The Nebula Awards are awarded yearly by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for the best science fiction written in the previous two years, using a system of "rolling eligibility". Moffat was nominated last year for his script for "The Girl in the Fireplace", but lost to the Hayao Miyazakianimated film "Howl's Moving Castle".

This year, the other entries for Best Script are the screenplays for the films "Children of Men", "The Prestige", "Pan's Labrynth" and "V for Vendetta"; an episode of the television anthology "Masters of Science Fiction" written by Harlan Ellison; and an episode of the fan-produced Internet series "Star Trek: The New Voyages".

CLARIFICATION: "Blink" is on the preliminary ballot, which is the first part of a two-stage voting process. The final ballot will be released in March.

(Thanks to Alex Frazer-Harrison.)

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Series 3/29 - Awards/Nominations

Timelash North American Release Details

Saturday, 19 January 2008 - Reported by R Alan Siler

BBC Video has confirmed the April 1st North American release date for the classic series adventure Timelash, starringColin Baker as the Doctor, Nicola Bryant as Peri, and featuring a guest appearance of Blake's 7's Paul Darrow.
.

The TARDIS gets caught in the Timelash, a powerful time corridor that brings the Doctor and Peri to the troubled planet of Karfel. The planet is on the brink of war and ruled by an insane and much feared dictator, who punishes Karfelons by throwing them into the Timelash. But why is their leader never seen in person? And what links Karfel with 19th-century Scotland and a young writer named Herbert? The Doctor arrives just in time to find out...

Special Features:

Audio Commentary by actors Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant and Paul Darrow
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: A new Making Of documentary (25 mins)
Easter egg (1 min)
Photo gallery (8 mins)
DVD-ROM feature: Radio Times listings
Production Notes Subtitle Option
Digitally remastered picture and sound quality

FILTER: - USA - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD - Radio Times

Voyage - 2nd most watched programme in 2007

Friday, 11 January 2008 - Reported by Marcus

The Christmas special Voyage of the Damned is now officially the holder of the highest chart placing in Doctor Who's 44-year history.

The Broadcasters' Audience Research Board has published final viewing figures for the week ending 30th December 2007 giving the Christmas Special, Voyage of the Damned, a final rating of 13.31 million viewers. Final figures are more accurate than the initial overnights and includes those who record the programme and watch it within a week.

This confirms the programme not only as the second most watched on British television for the week, but the second most watched programme on British television for the whole of 2007. It out-rated such high-ranking shows as The Vicar of Dibley, Strictly Come Dancing, The X Factor and its old adversary Coronation Street. The only programme to score higher ratings than Doctor Who last year was the second Christmas Day edition of EastEnders.

Doctor Who has also entered the charts as the 11th most watched programme and 4th most watched BBC programme of the decade, so far. The chart lists the highest rated episode of each series or sporting event.

In terms of raw ratings Voyage of the Damned is the 8th most watched episode in the programme's history, being beaten by one William Hartnell episode and six Tom Baker ones. This is an amazing feat, considering that most of the top rated Tom Baker episodes were transmitted when ITV was on strike and the only other channel broadcasting at the time was BBC2.

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30

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