TARDIS Report: Weekend and Early Week

Tuesday, 24 January 2006 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Catching up while the editor's been away for a few days...

Awards

BroadcastNow says that Doctor Who "has picked up a nomination for best drama series at the Celtic Film and Television Festival awards. It is one of 26 nominations garnered by Welsh companies for this year's awards, in which 50 indies have been recognised in 17 categories. Ireland leads the way with 30 nominations, followed by Scotland on 27 while Cornwall scooped 10 and Brittany with two. Doctor Who will square up against another Welsh series, Con Passionate, made by Teledu Apollo, and Irish show Pure Mule from Accomplice Television. Other nominees include critically acclaimed documentary series Tribe (BBC Wales), Rick Stein's The Teaching Challenge (Brook Lapping) and new documentary Iran: An Bealach In Airde (Crossing The Line Films). ... Recognising the development of the sector, the new media awards will be decided on by a specially selected jury of industry experts. Winners will be announced at the festival in Cornwall at the end of March."

Series Two

As originally reported online in the Outpost Gallifrey Forum, Maureen Lipman will be in episode 7, "The Idiot's Lantern." Lipman has been featured in many television series and films including "Coronation Street," "The Pianist," "Love's Labour Lost," "Carry On Columbus" and "European Vacation". Says the original poster, "I know she's in the ep, and I know she's filming her scenes at Alexandra Palace in North London (where original BBC transmissions used to be broadcast from in the 1950's) but it's my speculation that she plays the evil lady continuity announcer in the episode."

Elisabeth Sladen talked briefly about her return to Doctor Who in February's Collector's Gazette, after appearing at the Scifishack stand at Birmingham NEC's Memorabilia show in November. "Having just finished filming, she chatted about her latest trip back to see the Time Lord: 'It was lovely going back - there were so many flowers in my dressing room, I thought I'd died!' she laughed. 'And the atmosphere on set was uncannily familiar. It was fine working with a different Doctor. Once you call someone the Doctor, you actually believe it is the Doctor. I'd already seen him change incarnations before so this was no great leap of the imagination. I think it's wonderful to allow a character from the past to come back. I'm hoping that the newer viewers who don't know me will understand, and I hope the fans like it. It's certainly an experience I would not have missed.'"

Yesterday's South Wales Evening Post talks about two child actors, brother and sister Amy and Christopher Jenkins of Rhos, who "have chalked up an impressive acting CV despite being aged just 11 and eight respectively. Ystalyfera pupil Christopher has landed a part in the next series of the BBC's Dr Who, and is already a regular on S4C's Pobol y Cwm, where he plays Aled."

BBC News says that the staff of a South Wales brewery "had to make sure they had not been transported to another dimension when the cast of Doctor Who turned up for filming. Billie Piper, who plays the Doctor's assistant Rose Tyler, 50 extras and the film crew spent the day at Magor Brewery, near Newport, to shoot scenes. The production of thousands of bottles of lager was halted while filming took place in two areas of the site. Brewery bosses said they were asked to help when another location cancelled. And with its stainless steel brewing equipment, it became the perfect setting for the sci-fi series. David Ginley, the site manager for the brewer said: 'We received a call from BBC Wales and were pleased to help them out. The brewery itself is a modern brewery with lots of tanks and pipework so became the perfect setting for an industrial landscape which is what they wanted. Everybody was so excited about it - Doctor Who is so high profile and everyone was really excited and interested to see how something like that is made.' Mr Ginley said that although he didn't know what part of the storyline was being filmed at the site, he did see a number of Doctor Who's enemies. 'There were aliens and things. I didn't see any daleks though, but you never know, do you?' Staff at the site were able to meet actress Billie Piper, but there was no sign of the Doctor himself. Mr Ginley said: 'We didn't get to see David Tennant but it was an exciting day for everybody at the brewery and we are all looking forward to watching the scenes in the finished programmes.'"

The Inquirer said that "A group of Cardiff drinkers in the The Gatekeeper pub were nearly put off their pints when a troop of Cybermen wandered past their window. According to the South Wales Echo, the outside of the pub was the scene for an invasion of robo-warriors yesterday. Cybermen are the arch-enemas in the UK’s favourite sci-fi telly show Dr Who. Since the show is being filmed by BBC Wales, it has made Cardiff the new Area 51 for alien attacks. The drinkers at the Gatekeeper probably thought they were due for another one. Cybermen, when I was seven, gave me bad dreams for weeks, but seem to have gone through a bit of an upgrade lately. Gone are the clunky silver suits which have been replaced by a smoother silver iPod finish. Hopefully they have removed that nasty flaw in their breathing gear which makes them short circuit if they sniff gold."

People

Artist Andrew Skilleter will be releasing a "limited Artists Edition" of his original MythMakers DVD item from Reeltime Pictures. The video interview re-release will sport a new cover and will feature a stylish eight page full colour illustrated booklet on quality paper containing new text, photographs and artwork, including background on the filming and Andrew’s twenty year involvement with the legendary Terrance Dicks. Also included is the very first reproduction anywhere of a new painting for "Shada", the creation of which is shown in the DVD. Each booklet and DVD disc are signed by Andrew Skilleter and are available directly from the author through email contacthere.

Tom Baker is listed to appear on "Des and Mel" on ITV1, February 1 (1.30-2.30pm according to DigiGuide).

Caroline John (Liz Shaw from Season 7 of the classic show) is appearing in a new play, "Nightingale" at the New End Theatre in Hampstead, a play written and directed by actress Lynn Redgrave. The official theatrewebsite has information about the play, whereas the Guardian has a modest review.

BBC News are running a story about a missing BBC Wales designer who worked on their interactive projects, including last month's "Attack of the Graske". "A memorial service is being planned for a BBC Wales employee presumed to have drowned while swimming in the sea off Colombia early on Boxing Day. Steve Absolum, 32, went missing near Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast and no trace of him was found after an extensive air-sea search. He had been an interactive designer for BBC Wales' New Media output since 2002. Among his achievements was running the interactive content for the tsunami relief concert in Cardiff last January. .. BBC Wales controller Menna Richards said: 'He was central to the development of interactive programmes, including Scrum V, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, the tsunami relief Cardiff concert and the recent Doctor Who.'"

The Times celebrated Tom Baker's birthday with the following: "The actor Tom Baker is enjoying a comeback in the cult TV comedy Little Britain, now in its third TV series. His is the booming voice of the narrator, never seen, who makes outrageous comments about the imaginary characters of Britain. He was the fourth and longest serving Doctor Who for seven years from 1974 and he still travels the world speaking at conferences and answering interminable questions from fans via the net. He recounts numerous episodes of his riotous personal life in his autobiography Who On Earth Is Tom Baker? and reflects on the problems of getting older, 'I feel I am starting to look less and less like Tom Baker. People used to mistake me for Shirley Williams, but now they just seem to mistake me for my Great Aunt Molly.' He spends much of his time at his home in France and tries to avoid meeting other actors. He says: 'They seem to be a bit like me in that they are not really certain who they are.' Tom Baker is 71 today."

David Tennant is listed as appearing on the series "Posh Nosh" on 3 February from 9.50 to 10pm on BBC2: "Comfort Food. Spoof cookery series featuring a pretentious rich couple. Simon and Minty demonstrate how toad-in-the-hole can get you through the death of a close personal friend. Starring: Arabella Weir, Richard E. Grant, David Tennant."

The Daily Record said of Saturday's "The Romantics" with David Tennant, "He's flying the flag for Scotland on a national, and inter-galactic, stage as the new Doctor Who. But here's a chance to see Scots heart-throb David Tennant doing something a little less mainstream - yet still travelling through time. After shooting to fame in Russell T Davies' adaptation of loose-loined Casanova last year, Tennant plays French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau - a man whose musings are attributable to the explosion of romantic poetry in the 18th century from literary luminaries such as Keats, Wordsworth and Byron. Sliding through time from Paris in the 1700s to contemporary France, Tennant's philosopher sees the impact his musings had both in his day and in ours. ..."

Leonard Lewis has died; according to "Stage And TV Today" and the Internet Movie Database, the prolific TV producer died on 2 December. His sole Doctor Who credit was overseeing the Eastenders scenes on "Doctor Who: Dimensions In Time", the Children In Need 1993 charity special. His other TV credits include When The Boat Comes In and Flambards.

Colin Baker writes for the Bucks Free Press, "If you had told me a couple of years ago that the flagship programme on Christmas Day might one day be Dr Who, I would have suggested that you seek specialist medical help immediately. But building on the excellent series transmitted last year, the special festive episode introducing David Tennant as Doctor number ten was the undoubted success amongst what was a predominantly lacklustre batch of offerings this holiday. In fact, it was the only programme that tempted the Baker family away from the delights of enjoying each others' company. Once again that genius Russell T Davies has produced not only a great script and a great new Doctor, but just when you thought the story was over and the world saved, there was a judiciously crafted hefty sideswipe against those most un-Christmasey characteristics greed, selfishness and political expedience, that so depressingly regularly nudge humanity and honour out into second place. A contemporary message every bit as powerful as that in Dickens's Christmas Carol. To offer the viewers whirling dervish Christmas Trees and homicidal Santas without losing credibility is quite an achievement. And I am glad to be able to confirm what I already knew that David Tennant would be an worthy recipient of the Tardis baton."

Official Sites

The official Doctor Who website has updated the January/February calendar on its News page and is listing a repeat showing of 'The Parting of the Ways' for 5.35pm on Sunday 5 February on UK Gold. They also note that the commentary track for "The Christmas Invasion" was "the most popular MP3 downloaded from bbc.co.uk over Christmas. 64,000 of you listened to the running commentary by Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve, making it even more popular than Radio 1's Best of Moyles podcast that week. The free MP3 track is still available on the site, and, thanks to the nifty work of a fan, appears to be listed in the iTunes podcast directory thing. Er, thank you, mysterious stranger. And thanks to everyone who made the Commentary so successful."

The new series will have a new spinoff website come transmission time; the BBC has registered domain names cybusindustries.com, cybusindustries.net and cybusindustries.co.uk, which presumably will be tie-in websites for when "Rise of the Cybermen" and its second half air in the UK. A Cybus Corporation fan site has been extremely popular for several months, though is unrelated to the show's production.

Broadcasting

Doctor Who was mentioned in the "Ask Matt Roush" column of the US' TV Guide magazine yesterday. "Question: Now that the Sci Fi Channel is going to air the new Doctor Who series from the BBC in March, what do you think of the show, and will it make a mark here in the U.S. with sci-fi and genre fans, now that Enterprise is gone and Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel/Firefly are also gone? -- Brian B. Matt Roush: I'll be honest. I'm far from a Doctor Who expert or even a fan. The few times I ever tried watching the earlier incarnations of the show on PBS or wherever, I was underwhelmed. But I doubt I gave it much of a chance. Now that I'm more invested in the genre, especially since Farscape rekindled my passion for space fantasy and Battlestar Galactica confirmed it, I'll approach this series with an open mind. It certainly seems to be arriving with a fair amount of buzz and hype, so I can't imagine why this wouldn't work to Sci Fi's advantage."

According to a report at BBC News, the BBC's Director-General Mark Thompson has mentioned "Doctor Who" as an example of their output during a defence of the past year's £36 million expenses bill. "Programme-making accounts for the overwhelming majority of hotel and travel costs in an organisation such as the BBC with output as diverse as Doctor Who, which is made in Cardiff and on location, and news coverage of events such as Hurricane Katrina."

One of our readers sent e-mail to the CBC's programming department asking when season two of the new series would be aired in Canada and was told, "Unfortunately we don't have a scheduled start date for the upcoming Doctor Who season at this time. If you stay tuned to CBC Television there will be promotional advertisements for the new season when that date is set."

Miscellaneous

EntertainmentWise says that "Sci-fi fans are dribbling at the prospect of owning the definitive Dr Who toy -- a brand new full-size Dalek replica. There has been a stampede to reserve the official BBC models -- which scoot about on wheels and have been crafted using moulds from a real Dalek used used in the latest series of the show starring Billie Piper and David Tenant. The 5'5" models will not be ready until April -- but the toy-makers have already seen a huge demand for the replicas and have been flooded with £500 deposits. There will also be the option of a model which screams Exterminate! and has working lights." icWales also mentions it and theDaily Star says that "Billie Piper has an amazing sci-fi secret - she sleeps with a Dalek. She has snapped up the ultimate big boy's toy for her bedroom."

The South Wales Evening Post said about the Series One Boxed Set on Friday that "As with most things in life, us DVD reviewers have to take the rough with the smooth. Fans of the 2005 revival of Doctor Who could watch and re-watch their hero's exploits when the series was released in four volumes. But those in the know waited for the full bells and whistles set to come out towards the end of the Doctor's triumphant comeback year. It duly appeared, and it was definitely worth the wait - a plush, Tardis-shaped package with all 13 episodes and a great deal more on top. Which is what I meant about taking the rough with the smooth. I was sent the discs, but sadly not the fancy packaging. That was the rough. The smooth side was that I got them for free when the full set would have set me back anything up to 69.99. Having said that, most shops were selling them for a good deal less. So what do you get for your money? Obviously, all the episodes, with crystal clear pictures and 5.1 surround sound, with commentaries absent from the earlier releases. Some are more entertaining than others, with Russell T Davies an absolute scream whenever he features. Then there are documentaries and making-of features galore, video contributions from co-star Billy Piper, writer Mark Gattiss and Davies himself, plus a sneak preview of the next series - bearing in mind this came out before the Christmas special that introduced us to new Doc David Tennant. Anyone who already owns the earlier releases will find the extras an expensive luxury. But those who waited for the box set will find it a worthwhile investment." They also noted about the release of "City of Death" that "Baker is as entertaining as always and the budget even stretched to location shooting in Paris, adding a rare sheen to the show. The effects aren't bad for their time, either, given the shoestring figure they were produced with. A solid package of extras, including a PDF version of the 1980 Doctor Who annual, complete this latest addition to Who's DVD back catalogue."

The Financial Times notes that "For one delicious moment during the recent Doctor Who holiday special, I actually thought the new Time Lord on the block was going to emerge as a kind of Austin Powers-meets-Pete Doherty Doctor. As readers from six to 60 know, the Doc periodically regenerates and literally inherits a new look, and on Christmas Day we were treated to a deconstruction of the conceit as Christopher Eccleston was reborn as David Tennant (of TV Casanova fame). The new hero was shown rifling through a rack of clothes, consciously deciding what kind of profile he wished to present to the world. This is when the promise of a 1960s-style rocking Doctor was tantalisingly hinted at. Tennant fingered a regimental military Sergeant Pepper-style jacket, as worn by Doherty in the Libertines, and by Mick Jagger and the Fab Four before him. I reckon he'd have looked great in it, possessed as he is of a cheeky McCartneyesque physiognomy and mod-style fringe. But no, the BBC wardrobe department bottled it. The regimental number was put back and, instead, the Doc alighted on what looked like a pinstripe suit in a dark brown/aubergine colour with a natty purple stripe, well co-ordinating shirt and tie, and a big fawn duster coat. When he'd put it all together he looked like a Prada catwalk model, decidedly more Euro traveller than time traveller." Read the full article at the website.

Times Online, ikn a story about motherhood, notes that "Motherhood is like a benevolent, society-sustaining form of multiple-personality disorder. Well, being a woman is like a benevolent, society-sustaining form of multiple-personality disorder, but motherhood is where it reaches its apogee. I’m sure there can’t be many mothers who didn’t watch the last series of Doctor Who without a few nods of recognition — specifically the episode in which the Doctor discovered the Emperor Dalek, who was controlling the minds of the six million smaller Daleks scattered across the universe. Additionally, of course, the Emperor Dalek is much wider at the bottom than the top, rather cranky, and has a limited ability to get up stairs — although it was unlikely, in his case, to have been caused by an extra two stones and a compromised pelvic floor."

Yesterday's Frankston Standard/Hastings Leader asks, "Who else would land a bright blue TARDIS in a Frankson eye clinic's car park when nobody was looking and then just as quickly take off to some other dimension with it? Photos of a mysterious object and a note apparently from the doctor left at the clinic have had staff scratching their heads all week. The large blue "police" box, which certainly looks like Dr Who's famous TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimensions In Space vehicle), were found under the door of the Cranbourne Rd clinic last Tuesday. A letter accompanying the photos read: "I hope you don't mind, but I parked my TARDIS in your car park over the weekend to refuel. I programmed my time computer especially so as to arrive on a Sunday, in order that I not cause any disruption to your workday routine. All the best for the coming year (it's a good one, by the way)." It was simply signed The Doctor. Ophthalmologist Dr Stephen Bambery has no doubt the letter was from Dr Who. "We have all been trying to think if it was anyone we knew playing a joke on us. The staff would like to know who it was, but I'd still like to believe it was really Dr Who. Whoever was behind it has gone to an amazing effort."

Other items: Digital Spy ran an article about a "close friendship" between David Tennant and Billie Piper during the filming of the new series... of course, it's the exact same story that ran eighteen months ago in various papers, with the name 'Eccleston' in place of 'Tennant'; TV Shows on DVDconfirmed the delay of the Canadian DVD release of the Series One Boxed Set; Hecklerspray has a brief article about the contestants from "Dancing on Ice" including John Barrowman.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Peter Weaver, Paul Hayes, Nick Campbell, "Alex" in Canada, Neil Marsh, Faiz Rehman, Darren Pickles, Karen Baldwin, Neil Chester, Wayne Barry and Anthony Dry at Kasterborous)




FILTER: - Russell T Davies - Awards/Nominations - Series 2/28 - Press - Radio Times

Gary Downie

Thursday, 19 January 2006 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Gary Downie, former production manager on the classic Doctor Who series and the partner of late series producer John Nathan-Turner, died this morning after a long battle with cancer, according to a friend of Downie's as told to the Doctor Who Restoration Team. Downie, a popular guest at conventions for years with Nathan-Turner, also worked on several other series including "Star Cops" and "All Creatures Great and Small". (Photo courtesy Mark Withall/Cult TV)




FILTER: - Obituary - Classic Series

Canadian DVD Delay?

Wednesday, 18 January 2006 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Amazon Canada today has listed a change in the release schedule for the DVD release of the Complete Series One Boxed Set. As of yesterday, the target release date was February 14; today, Amazon lists it as March 7. There is currently no word on the reason for the possible delay, or any confirmation other than on Amazon that it has indeed been rescheduled.




FILTER: - Canada - Series 1/27 - Blu-ray/DVD

The Beginning Boxed Set Individual Covers

Wednesday, 18 January 2006 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Outpost Gallifrey has received the individual cover illustrations for the forthcoming DVD release The Beginning Boxed Set in the UK, comprised of the stories "An Unearthly Child," "The Daleks" and "The Edge of Destruction". Each of the three covers is now available; click on the links below for a larger version.




FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

New Series Filming: Huge Photo, Set Report Update

Sunday, 15 January 2006 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Outpost Gallifrey has received a large number of photographs taken during the filming of Series Two of Doctor Who this past week, as production continues on Block Three directed by Graeme Harper, the two-parter "Rise of the Cybermen" and its second (as yet untitled) half, being shown as episodes 5 and 6, and the final two-parter, episodes 12 and 13, "Army of Ghosts" and "Doomsday". The photographs, taken on location in Cardiff, feature Cybermen on patrol, series stars David Tennant, Billie Piper and guest star Shaun Dingwall (Pete) and director Graeme Harper; some of them are taken during night filming, hence the darkness of the images (especially those taken while filming was going on, as our correspondents did not use flash photography to avoid spoiling the shot). In addition, we have a collection of set reports as submitted by our correspondents over the past seven days, collected here for easy reading; as some of this can be considered to be spoilers, click on the spoiler tag to read the set reports, and click on each thumbnail for a larger version of the photographs. (Thanks to Paul Mount, David Shaw, Chris Lane, Matt Spencer, Gareth Price, Simon Watkins, Ian Golden, John Campbell Rees, Timothy Farr)
Paul Mount (7 January)

Filming in Mount Stuart Square, just off Bute Street in the Bay area of Cardiff. A built-up area of civic buildings and businesses. Filming at one end of the road. Extras dressed as soldiers. The basic scene being rehearsed and filmed this morning was a street scene - business people, shoppers, people milling about. The Doctor and Rose are walking amongst them - in full costume (Billie in a red/pink top and black trousers, the Doc in full regalia). Suddenly everyone stops still - apart from the Doctor and Rose.Our heroes wander around them,trying to get some response. Rose's mobile starts to download information - weather reports, lottery numbers etc. The Doctor examines it, mentions something about it being a product of "Cyber-technogy" and then tosses the phone casually back at her. They walk off.

Looks like a very thorough shoot. Graeme Harper directing. RTD turned up towards lunchtime and gave group hugs to Billie and David. More filming later.


John Campbell Rees (7 January)

Unfortunately, cue to work committments, by the time I got to Mount Stuart Square this afternoon, Billie Piper and David Tennant were long gone. However, I did see the filming of a background shot that creeped me out big time whilst it was being filmed, and I cannot wait to see it with the music and sound effects added. Basically it was a street scene with about a dozen extras, filmed old style with multiple cameras. One camera was mounted on a boom and followed one man, in a long brown coat, who was sitting on a bench. He appears to read a text on his mobile, and he gets up and crosses the road. The camera on the boom tracks him, and when he hit a mark, the cue was given and everyone in the scene stopped and stood still as statue. They were all wearing Cybus Corporation headsets in both ears, all with flashing blue L.E.D.s. After a few seconds, another cue was given, and all the extras turned to face the same direction, and then on a third cue, they all marched out of shot.

I was a bit confused by the fact that I could not see Graeme Harper, only a woman giving instructions to the extras. So I said to my friend Tim Farr, "I thought Graeme Harper was directing this". "He is." he replied. "So where is he?" asked I. "Sitting there, right in front of you, at the camera monitors." Mr. Harper must have heard me, and at that point, I was wishing the ground would open up and swallow me.


David Shaw (8 January)

My daughter and I went to Mount Stuart Square at 10.30 yesterday morning and saw a group of extras dressed as soldiers in combat gear standing around the usual lighting and props vans. A security guard said it was fine to watch the filming and asked us to stand with the soldiers (out of shot). We looked up the next street and were amazed and delighted to see David Tennant and Billie Piper walking down the road in full costume, filming in front of the Barclays bank building. We couldn’t believe our luck! David and Billie filmed the same scene several times, walking towards where we were standing. I wasn’t sure about the new Doctor’s costume in the publicity photos, but the long brown coat looked great in real life and the pumps reminded me of the fifth Doctor. Billie looked brilliant too, in a red top and black trousers. It was the Doctor and Rose!

The crew set up another shot further up the road round the corner and between takes David and Billie put on padded coats and drank cups of coffee, to escape the bitter cold weather. The second shot lasted only a few seconds; it was rehearsed and recorded a few times and involved a crowd of extras: some of the soldiers, policemen and many in contemporary dress. I recognised Graham Harper, the director, and everyone seemed to be in good spirits. A separate camera was filming for “Confidential” and someone was interviewing Graham. David and Billie were chatting at length between takes, at one point he said something that made her laugh out loud. David was jumping up and down to keep warm- I was struck by his energetic way of moving around, running here and there (a great Doctor). There was a silver “people carrier” vehicle with blacked-out windows, in which the two stars could keep warm. They then filmed another brief scene at a different part of the road. This time we were on the pavement about ten feet away from David and Billie while they rehearsed, which was exciting. We were able to watch them filming for over an hour, and noticed several signs put up for the shoot. There was a London Underground sign on a wall, some “Evening Standard” newspaper stands, the large “Cybus Corporation To Let” signs, some small white cards with the Cybus “C” printed in black and a fake Chinese restaurant sign “Ying Wah” as well as a poster showing a girl’s face with “Henrik’s” written in the corner.

We had a coffee break (to warm up) and when we returned (at 12.30) the security guard asked us to watch from an alleyway while David and Billie continued to film further down the street. The security guard was really kind and gave my daughter some “Dr Who” postcards. He also mentioned that a few weeks ago the cybermen were filmed walking down the same streets (Mount Stuart Square). I asked how many and was delighted when he said sixteen! I can’t wait to see this episode. He said that the new cybermen make a loud noise as they move. Apparently, 8 cybermen were coming from one direction and 8 from another and they were to meet up at the corner of the two streets. He compared the noise of the 16 silver giants moving to a train, and said they had problems getting all of the actors’ movements syncronised.

In the alleyway with us was a crew member and you can imagine our surprise when Russell T. Davies ran into the alley (he had just arrived). He had a few pleasant words with the guy from the crew and then I was able to shake his hand and congratulate him on the return of “Doctor Who”. My daughter told him she’d enjoyed “The Christmas Invasion” and he asked if she likes the Sycorax (yes, she does). He was really kind and it was wonderful to chat with the man who’s brought back our favourite show. Russell went over to David and Billie and gave them a hug and more footage was filmed in the street. Then they all got into the silver vehicle and drove off for lunch at 1.30.
In the afternoon David and Billie did not return. Instead scenes with the crowd of extras were filmed, involving the camera on a crane. Many were wearing small ear-pieces which flashed with a blue light (cyber control?). The extras were asked to walk down the road and then stop and freeze all together (like musical statues!). RTD and Phil Collinson were talking to Graham Harper and again I was struck by the good vibes between everyone involved in the production team. We stood and watched for quite a while and could also see the images on the monitor screens, which looked really good. The filming had ended by 5pm when the last props guys were tidying up and packing away.


Chris Lane (8 January)

Only managed to catch the last bit of filming myself, and didn't get any good pics... The filming was for episodes 5, 6, and 13. I wonder if there's any significance in the same group of extras being used, or if the crew are just hoping the audience won't spot the same faces in the backgrounds? A scene with the extras in business outfits, with David and Billie, and "some big guy" inbetween them. My source didn't know who this was and I didn't see this myself, so it could be a big name they didn't recognise or just another extra! A scene with the extras having to look to the sky, horrified. Presumably something's going to be CGI'd in or cut to in editing. A scene with the extras having to all laugh at the same time.... The final scene of the day, where the extras all mill about, then on cue freeze and head in the same direction. There'd been studio filming the previous day, for 12 and 13.


Timothy Farr (9 January)

Here's what I could hear of Saturday's dialogue scene by being stood close to the camera awning:

(The Doctor and Rose are walking along the street while ordinary people of all ages and descriptions go about their business around them. Ordinary except that they all wear the silver ear pieces with a flashing blue light in both ears. Suddenly and simultaneously they all stop in place, faces blank, expressionless. The Doctor and Rose look around in some bewilderment. After a moment, movement and expression return to the locals as though a switch has been thrown. They continue about their lives as if they had never stopped. Rose takes out her new mobile phone and opens it.)

Rose: (reads off, slowly) ...News, international news, sport, weather... (trails off)

(Shows the phone to the Doctor, who takes his glasses from is pocket and pops them on to examine it.)

The Doctor: Cybus corporation.... You're mad you lot - you'll do anything for the latest upgrade!

(Throws the phone back to her and they continue walking.)

This is far from exact and I certainly couldn't hear all the dialogue in this sequence, but I'm sure we'll hear the rest in the finished episode.


John Campbell Rees (12 January)

Womanby Street in Cardiff, behind the Gatekeeper public house is currently being dressed for filming. Lots of Cybus Corportion signs around, so it looks like it is still the cybermen story.


Ian Golden (12 January)

I’ve had a fantastic afternoon / evening watching Doctor Who filming. One of the best yet.

They were filming a scene from the Cybermen two parter. David Tennant, Billie Piper and Shaun Dingwall were all present and very involved. The action contained four Cybermen stomping out from a passageway attacking the trio mentioned plus one unknown guest star, then a shot was filmed with the four all running away. Finally, more Cybermen walking shots were filmed. All this plus set up took around four hours.

Then came the classic. I was with my friends Andy and Mel Hill along with their five year old son, Sam. During a break in filming, I walked up to David Tennant and said, “There’s a five-year old boy over there who would love to meet the Doctor and if the Doctor has a minute, would he be able to come over?”

David was delighted to. He asked Sam if he’d watched the Christmas special and even held Sam for a photo. I think it might go in the South Wales Echo tomorrow as there was a reporter there with us. He signed autographs for Sam and I to complete a great night. What a fantastic bloke.


Simon Watkins (14 January)

The production crew were friendly enough. They invited us to walk right to the edge of the set where we were lucky enough to clearly view the last two shots of the day which had the Cybermen marching around. The final shot had 4 Cybermen marching from half down Womanby Street near Wetherspoon's right up to the corner near The City Arms, and was completed with one take.

There was a family with a small child and they allowed them to take a few snaps of him with the Cybermen sans helmuts (they wear black robocop type skull caps underneath). Meanwhile I snapped a couple of pics of them as they were leaving. I made sure they didn't mind me doing this, I know they technically can't stop you, but it's always best to keep them sweet as it were. They'd rather sneakily wrapped cloaks around themselves presumably to make themselves less conspicious (as if!). Up close the Cybermen were very impressive; the Cyber suits seemed to be quite flexible; latexy rather than metallic, but still quite shiny when lit correctly. They made heck of a noise when they were stomping down the street.




FILTER: - Russell T Davies - Production - Series 2/28

Tomb of the Cybermen CD

Friday, 13 January 2006 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Amazon UK is listing a May 1 release this year of Tomb of the Cybermen from BBC Audio. It is not known exactly what this release is comprised of, but it is possible that it's a re-release of the audio soundtrack of the serial that was prepared shortly before the episodes from the story were located and returned to the BBC archives over a decade ago (and subsequently released immediately thereafter). However, there might be additional material; we'll keep you posted. (Thanks to Kieran Seymour, Jason Rhoden)




FILTER: - Audio - Classic Series

John Woodnutt

Friday, 13 January 2006 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Actor John Woodnutt, who appeared in four episodes of Doctor Who, recently passed away, according to a note on the Restoration Team Forum. Woodnutt, born in 1924, played Hibbert in "Spearhead from Space," the Draconian Emperor in "Frontier in Space," the Duke of Forgill and Zygon leader Broton in "Terror of the Zygons" and as Seron in "The Keeper of Traken," had an enormous career in British television and film for decades, including appearing in episodes of "Jeeves and Wooster," "The Bill," "The Tomorrow People," "Sherlock Holmes," "Adam Adamant Lives!," "The Avengers" and "Z Cars," and his last film role was in the movie "Dragonheart: A New Beginning".




FILTER: - Obituary - Classic Series

Australia Broadcasting Update

Friday, 13 January 2006 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

With all the hype about America's acquisition of series one, there's been no official word on the status of the show's second series in Australia until now. ABC's Audience and Consumer Affairs has this to say about the series' status: "At this stage, the ABC has not yet secured the broadcast rights for the Doctor Who Christmas Special or the new series of Doctor Who. Having said this, it is highly likely that the ABC will purchase the rights and show the new series, and the Christmas special during 2006." (Thanks to Margaret Deutsch)




FILTER: - Series 2/28 - Broadcasting - Australia

Canadian DVDs Go Forward, US Plans Unchanged - Update

Friday, 13 January 2006 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Outpost Gallifrey has learned that, while the planned DVD release of the first season of the new Doctor Who series has been delayed until July due to the acquisition of the series by the Sci-Fi Channel, fans in Canada can rest assured: the Complete First Series Boxed Set will be released there on February 14 as originally planned. (Obviously, eager fans in the US will still be able to import it.)

We've also now been told that there will be no change to the release plans in the US and Canada for the classic series titles -- which will continue to be released in March (which is the already-announced release of "The Beginning Boxed Set" containing the first three stories), June, September and November; the new series set has no effect on that whatsoever.

Also, below are thumbnails of the Complete First Season Boxed Set (the style that will be used in both the US and Canada): both the outer cover (which we've printed before) and the inside packaging; click on each for a larger version. (Thanks to Steve Manfred at the North American DVD/Video FAQ for the news)




FILTER: - Canada - Series 1/27 - Blu-ray/DVD

Finally... New Series Begins on US SCI-FI Channel in March

Thursday, 12 January 2006 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

At long last... America will finally get the first season of the new Doctor Who television series, according to a press release on the official Doctor Who website. The US-based Sci-Fi Channel, owned by NBC Universal, has secured a deal to broadcast the 13 episodes in America starting in March, beginning on what Outpost Gallifrey believes is likely March 17 (the week after the season finales of the popular "Battlestar Galactica" and two "Stargate" shows), at 9:00pm Friday nights, and it will likely conclude at some point in mid-to-late June in time for Sci-Fi's summer premieres of those shows. The press release notes that Sci-Fi has an optionfor series two, likely to be acted upon after initial ratings come in.

In conjunction with the announcement, the press release also mentions the delay of the US DVD release of the first season, now rescheduled for July 2006 to follow the final broadcast of the show's first season. While no official announcement had recently come, speculation persisted that the DVDs had been pulled from their original February 14 release date. However, interestingly, the release of the DVD set is listed in Canada on Amazon.ca for February 14, perhaps indicative of a possible Canadian release on that date and having the US release follow five months later.

Also, missing from the announcement is any indication of the status of the classic Doctor Who series. BBC America previously pulled the broadcast of the classic series, opting not to renew broadcast rights (only two stations in the US currently show it, on long-term broadcast contracts) to sell both series together. It is likely that a new offer was made to Sci-Fi without the classic series, but the status of the 'old show' remains to be seen.

Date, Timeslot Notes: Where are we getting the March 17 date, people are asking? That's the week after the end of the current 'back ten episode' seasons of the "Stargate" and "Battlestar Galactica" series currently running on Sci-Fi, and we're told this will follow immediately. As Sci-Fi is preempting "Stargate Atlantis", what this means for the other shows on that night is anyone's guess -- i.e. whether or not "Stargate SG-1" or "Battlestar Galactica" continue in reruns or are pulled from the schedule -- but it's potentially an attempt to continue the ratings Sci-Fi currently has, as the channel has several shows now in production (including the sci-fi drama/comedy series "Eureka") that it might pair the series with; we simply don't know at this point.

Whither "Confidential"?: There is no official word on any potential airing of the "Doctor Who Confidential" documentary series that aired along with the UK run of the program (on BBC Three), though it is extremely unlikely that this was part of the package purchased. However, Sci-Fi is known for one-shot documentaries to introduce new shows, and some footage from the Confidential series could potentially be used if such a documentary were considered.

Press Clips: The Sci-Fi Channel has posted its news story about the acquisition; other reports have come from a variety of locations includingBBC NewsUnited Press InternationalThe Futon CriticIF MagazineTV Squad,Chicago TribuneIGN FilmforceNow Playing MagCinescapeGateworldTV Shows on DVDAddict3d,CBBC NewsEntertainmentwiseShort NewsComingsoon.netThe RegisterDark HorizonsHollywood ReporterWeb IndiaNew KeralaMenafnSci-Fi OnlineAccess HollywoodZap2It,WorldscreenDigital Spy,
Morons.orgAbout.com. Also, the Associated Press has distributed the story and it's shown up so far in dozens of online editions of US print newspapers (all the same story, so we won't link them here).

The press release is below. Outpost Gallifrey will continue to keep you posted on this developing story.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Rich Kirkpatrick, and the literallyhundreds of eager fans who've written into Outpost Gallifrey about the news... we suggest you visit our Forum, where the discussion has been running wild all day!)
PRESS RELEASE

SCI FI Channel and BBC Worldwide Americas announced today a major licensing deal for the first series of the latest Doctor Who adventures.

The 13-part drama is about a mysterious time-travelling adventurer known simply as "The Doctor" (Christopher Eccleston) and his companion, Rose Tyler (Billie Piper). The Doctor and Rose risk death and danger, battling aliens and monsters.

The deal, brokered by Lisa Hofer, Director Co-Production & Sales, BBC Worldwide Americas, grants SCI FI Channel the first run rights for series one with an option for series two. The award-winning series will premiere on SCI FI beginning in March, airing Friday nights at 9.00pm.

Russell T Davies, Head Writer and Executive Producer told us: "The Doctor's made all sorts of journeys in Time and Space, but this is one of his most exciting yet! I'm a huge fan of the SCI FI Channel, and I'm delighted that Doctor Who is appearing on a channel that supports and enhances the entire genre."

"With its rich history of imaginative storytelling, Doctor Who is a true sci-fi classic," stated Thomas P. Vitale, SCI FI's Senior Vice President, Programming & Original Movies. "We're excited to add the show to our lineup."

Commenting on the deal Candace Carlisle, Senior Vice President, BBC Worldwide Americas, said: “The new production has fantastic storylines and production values and has already gained an iconic status around the world. SCI FI Channel is the perfect home for the show and will introduce Doctor Who to a whole new generation of fans in the US.”

In addition, BBC Video has moved the US release date of the DVD from February 2006 to July 4, 2006 to capitalize on the exposure from the TV broadcast. As part of the deal, BBC Video and SCI FI Channel have agreed to work together on joint marketing promotions to support the brand launch.

Burton Cromer, Vice President, Consumer Products, BBC Worldwide Americas said: “We are delighted to be working with SCI FI Channel on the launch of this exciting new take on Doctor Who. The additional marketing support from SCI FI, as well their ability to reach such a broad audience base, made moving the release date an easy decision.”

Executive Produced by Russell T Davies (lead writer) and Julie Gardner, the first series of Doctor Who attracted huge ratings and received critical acclaim when it aired on BBC ONE in March 2005.




FILTER: - USA - Russell T Davies - Series 1/27 - Broadcasting