Radio Times Dalek Cover

Monday, 16 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who is featured on the cover of the new Radio Times listings magazine, out in shops from the 17th April. The cover features an exclusive photograph from the forthcoming two-part Dalek story, but be warned that the photo on the cover is a major spoiler. To see it, click on the Radio Times spoiler thumbnail below.

Also with the magazine are free Doctor Who stickers, which will also feature in the next two issues of the magazine. According to Radio Times

In issue 17, Radio Times is giving away the first of three packets of free Doctor Who stickers. Sticker packets will be free inside every copy of the magazine and will accompany exclusive editorial coverage of Doctor Who. Some of the stickers free in Radio Times are exclusive to the magazine, the others form part of Merlin's new sticker collection.

Free Doctor Who sticker album
As well as free stickers in the magazine, Radio Times readers can claim a free Doctor Who sticker album from WHSmith. The in-store promotion, a tie-up between Radio Times and Merlin will be featured in Discovery Zones in selected WHSmith High Street stores from Thursday 19 April for two weeks. Readers can also send off for the sticker album directly through the magazine if they cannot get to a WHSmith store.




FILTER: - Series 3/29 - Magazines - Radio Times

Gridlock - Overnight Ratings

Sunday, 15 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who was once more top of the charts with unofficial overnight figures showing that episode three, Gridlock, was watched by 8.0 million viewers, a 39.5% share of the total audience.

The programme was the most watched of the day by nearly two million viewers, beating Any Dream Will Do, which gained 6.2 million.

The programme had almost double the viewers of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? on ITV1.

In terms of share it was fourth, just being beaten by the sporting events of the afternoon.

With one day to go, this makes the programme the seventh most watched of the week, beating three episodes of EastEnders, and gives Gridlock a high probability of bringing Doctor Who once more into the week's top ten.

Doctor Who was again top of the children's top ten, with 1.4 million under 16s watching, double the second placed Any Dream Will Do.

Doctor Who Confidential was top of the multichannel charts, with a rating of 0.56 million viewers, over 50% more than the second placedInspector Morse




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 3/29

Friday Ratings

Saturday, 14 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus
The Friday repeat of The Shakespeare Code was watched by510,000 viewers, a 2.9% share, making it the 5th most watched programme of the day on multi Channel TV and the highest rated programme on BBC3 for the evening.

Doctor Who Confidential was watched by 282,000 viewers, a 1.6% share.

On BBC1, Totally Doctor Who got 700,000 viewers, the same as week one and roughly equal to other CBBC programmes in the same slot.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 3/29

Earlier start time for Daleks

Saturday, 14 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus
Schedules published for 21st April show that episode four, Daleks in Manhattan has an earlier start time of 6.35pm.

The programme is once more sandwiched between The National Lottery People's Quiz and the talent show Any Dream Will Do.

ITV1 appear to have altered their schedule to place their talent showGrease Is The Word at 7.25pm, missing Dcotor Who and placing it directly against the BBC's Joseph. Against the Doctor and the Daleks, they have scheduled Vernon Kay's Gameshow Marathon, where Wendy RichardMichael Le VellJamelia and Andrea Catherwood help recreate Blankety Blank.

BBC2 viewers are offered another futuristic drama series Superstorm, which runs from 6-7pm, followed by live coverage of World Championship Snooker from the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, while Channel 4 once more hasBorn Survivor: Bear Grylls. Last week, this got 1.4 million viewers.

Channel 5 is showing a 1987 Blake Edwards comedy, Blind Date, starringBruce Willis and Kim Basinger.

Doctor Who Confidential is on BBC3 at 7.25pm.

NB: schedules are subject to change.




FILTER: - UK - Series 3/29 - Broadcasting

Classic Series Downloads

Friday, 13 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus
Following a deal between BBC Worldwide and the P2P company Azureus, fans in the USA can now download several episodes of the classic series.

The programmes are available for rent from the Vuze website for a small fee; the first episodes of The Three Doctorsand The Talons of Weng-Chiang are available for "free rental". As well as classic Doctor Who episodes, other BBC material such as Red Dwarf and Steven Moffat'sCoupling is available.

NB: For copyright reasons, these downloads are currently only available in the United States, and because of the digital rights management software with which the files have been encoded, they can be played only on Windows computers running Windows XP or Vista (i.e. not on computers running Macintosh or Linux).




FILTER: - USA - Online - Classic Series

Possible Episode Delay Latest

Thursday, 12 April 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive

The BBC said today that this coming Saturday's episode of Doctor Whowould be put back a week if the preceding football match overruns because "it could not be broadcast after extra time as it would be 'too late' for younger fans."

It details the alternative schedule for BBC Three, should the episode be bumped, adding that the decision whether or not to pull the episode will be made on the day.

BBC One is broadcasting the FA Cup semi-final clash between Manchester United and Watford.





FILTER: - UK - Series 3/29 - Broadcasting

Dave Martin

Wednesday, 11 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus
Outpost Gallifrey has learned the sad news of the death of Dave Martin, long-time Doctor Who writer and co-creator of K9.

Martin had a long and distinguished writing career, working mainly with his long-term writing partner Bob Baker.

Together they wrote several stage plays before moving into television in the early sixties, working on popular series such as Z Cars. In 1971, they were asked to write their first story for Doctor Who. The Claws of Axos was the first of eight stories over nine seasons creating some of the series most iconic characters and most loved stories.

Their best-known character was created in 1977 for the Tom Baker storyThe Invisible Enemy. K9 was originally intended for this story only, but the production team made a late decision to have him join The Doctor in the TARDIS where he stayed for the next four years.

K9 later returned in the 1981 story K9 and Company and the twentieth-anniversary story The Five Doctors, and made a memorable appearance in the 2006 story School Reunion.

Martin was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year. He is survived by his wife and three children. He was 72.

(Thanks to David Goodman.)

The Claws of Axos » Writer GGG - TV - Season 8
The Mutants » Writer NNN - TV - Season 9
The Three Doctors » Writer RRR - TV - Season 10
The Sontaran Experiment » Writer 4B -TV - Season 12
The Hand of Fear » Writer 4N - TV - Season 14
The Invisible Enemy » Writer 4T - TV - Season 15
Underworld » Writer 4Y - TV - Season 15
The Armageddon Factor » Writer 5F - TV - Season 16
School Reunion » K9 Originally Created By 2006-03 TV - Series 2/2006




FILTER: - Obituary - Classic Series

Smith and Jones - Final Figures

Wednesday, 11 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus
Figures released by BARB make episode one of the new series the ninth most watched programme of the week with an official rating of8.71 Millionviewers. This makes it the fourth episode in a row to achive a top ten place, a new record for the series.

As in the overnight figures, the programme was only beaten by the soap giants Coronation Street and EastEnders.

On BBC1, the programme was the 4th most watched, beating an episode of EastEnders.

On Multi channel TV, Doctor Who was the most watched programme on BBC3 for the week, and the second most watched on all Multi Channel TV, with a rating of 1.00 MillionDoctor Who Confidential was 8th in the chart with 0.81 Million viewers.

Final figures are much more accurate than the initial overnights and include figures for those who taped the programme and watched it within seven days.

BARB Top Twenty (w/e 1st April 2007)

1 CORONATION STREET (MON 2029) - 11.59 - ITV1
2 CORONATION STREET (FRI 1934) - 10.89 - ITV1
3 CORONATION STREET (MON 1934) - 10.63 - ITV1
4 CORONATION STREET (WED 1930) - 10.37 - ITV1
5 CORONATION STREET (SUN 1929) - 9.93 - ITV1
6 EASTENDERS (TUE 1931) - 9.77 - BBC1
7 EASTENDERS (MON 2001) - 9.35 - BBC1
8 EASTENDERS (FRI 2000) - 8.94 - BBC1
9 DOCTOR WHO (SAT 1859) - 8.71 - BBC1
10 EASTENDERS (THU 1930) - 8.48 - BBC1
11 THE ROYAL (SUN 2000) - 8.06 - ITV1
12 EMMERDALE (MON 1902) - 7.97 - ITV1
13 EMMERDALE (TUE 1902) - 7.94 - ITV1
14 EMMERDALE (THU 1903) - 7.91 - ITV1
15 EMMERDALE (FRI 1903) - 7.90 - ITV1
16 EMMERDALE (WED 1859) - 7.78 - ITV1
17 ANY DREAM WILL DO (SAT 1945) - 6.85 - BBC1
18 CASUALTY (SAT 2106) - 6.69 - BBC1
19 THE NATIONAL LOTTERY PEOPLE'S QUIZ (SAT 2045) - 6.61 - BBC1
20 LIFE ON MARS (TUE 2100) - 6.56 - BBC1

Multi Channel Top Twenty

1 INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL LIVE (Wed 1900) 1,515,000 - Sky Sports 1
2 DOCTOR WHO (Sun 2001) 1,003,000 - BBC3 
3 LIVE FORD FOOTBALL SPECIAL-MATCH (Sat 1200) 988,000 - Sky Sports 1
4 LOST (Sun 2200) 961,000 - Sky 1
5 FORD SUPER SUNDAY (Sun 1549) 955,000 - Sky Sports 1
6 MOST ANNOYING POP SONGS...WE LOVE TO HAT (Sat 2310 834,000 - BBC3
7 SUPERNATURAL (Sun 2101) 822,000 - ITV2
8 DOCTOR WHO CONFIDENTIAL (Sat 1945) 812,000 - BBC3 
9 BONES (Thu 2101) 760,000 - Sky 1
10 FILM: SHAUN OF THE DEAD (Mon 2105) 705,000 - ITV2
11 ENTERTAINMENT NEWS UPDATE (Sun 2255) 692,000 - ITV2
12 FILM: SHAUN OF THE DEAD (Mon 2152) 691,000 - ITV2
13 MOST ANNOYING POP SONGS...WE LOVE TO HAT (Sat 2157 672,000 - BBC3
14 EASTENDERS (Thu 2201) 661,000 - BBC3
15 FILM: THE BOURNE IDENTITY (2002) (Sun 2159) 658,000 - ITV2
16 ENTERTAINMENT NEWS UPDATE (Mon 2151) 644,000 - ITV2
17 34 STONE TEENAGER: SIX MONTHS ON (Mon 2102) 636,000 - BBC3
18 F*** OFF, I'M A HAIRY WOMEN (Thu 2101) 629,000 - BBC3
19 AMERICAN IDOL (Fri 2030) 624,000 - ITV2
20 AMERICAN IDOL (Fri 2131) 606,000 - ITV2



source BARB





FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 3/29

Shakespeare Code AI Figure

Tuesday, 10 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus
Saturday's showing of episode two achieved an Appreciation Index score of 87.

This once more places the programme in the excellent category, the average score for drama on BBC1 and ITV1 is 77.

Doctor Who was the most appreciated programme of the weekend and got the second highest figure for the week, only being beaten by Life on Marswith 88.

In the Multi channel figures, where programmes tend to get higher appreciation figures, the April Fool's day repeat of Smith and Jonesscored an exceptional 90 and the Friday repeat 89

Saturday's Doctor Who Confidential scored 85.

The Appreciation Index, or AI, is a measure of how much the audience liked the programme. It is a score out of 100, based on responses from a carefully selected panel. The average score for drama on BBC1 and ITV1 is 77. A score in excess of 85 is regarded as excellent while a score below 60 is poor.






FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 3/29

Possible Gridlock Delay Confirmed

Tuesday, 10 April 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive

The new edition of the Radio Times, out today, confirms that Gridlock - episode three of Series Three - will be shown on April 21 rather than April 14 if the FA Cup semi-final between Manchester United and Watford, which precedes it, goes into extra time/penalties, as reported by Outpost Gallifrey on April 7.

How this would affect subsequent episodes is unknown. According to the "Next week in RT" banner at the back of the new edition of the listings magazine, Radio Times is planning a cover story for its edition dated 21-27 April to coincide with the start of the Dalek two-parter, which had been scheduled to go out on April 21 and 28.

Full details of what would happen to tie-in programme scheduling have been published by the CBBC Newsroundwebsite. They are as reproduced below.

(Thanks to Lizo Mzimba for the additional information.)
If the teams are drawing, and extra time has to be played, then the showing of episode three - Gridlock - will be delayed for a week.

It will also mean that behind the scenes show Doctor Who Confidential which usually goes out on BBC Three straight after each episode will go out a week later.

Instead viewers will be given another chance to see the first episode of the first series, Rose.

Extra time in the football will also mean changes on Sunday on BBC Three, when Saturday's episode is usually repeated. If Saturday's showing is delayed because of the football, the 2005 Christmas Special The Xmas Invasion will be on instead.

It also looks extremely likely that the following Friday's episode of Totally Doctor Who will have to go out a week later too.




FILTER: - UK - Series 3/29 - Radio Times - Broadcasting