Doctor Who Adventures: 59

Saturday, 12 April 2008 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who Adventures issue 59, is out now across the United kingdom.

Press Release

David Tennant talks about Doctor Who!

Doctor Who made an action-packed return to BBC One last Saturday! In this week’s issue of Doctor Who Adventures, you’ll find an interview with actor David Tennant, who talks about Donna and all things Who…

On Donna: "Usually I get all the funny lines but this year it's more shared out. The Doctor can get a bit pompous now and again – and Donna will cut him dead if he’s getting too big for his boots!"

On his favourite control in the TARDIS: "My favourites are the ones I can rely on. Sometimes they just come away in my hand! I like the big lever that is the take-off switch. It's probably the only one I haven't broken yet!"

On meeting the Fifth Doctor: "It was very exciting for me because I was a proper fan when he was the Doctor. It was all a bit too much for me to be honest! The first time we ran through the lines it was a very out-of-body experience. I was slightly nervous and overcome!" Read the whole interview in the issue!

This week’s Doctor Who Adventures magazine comes with a free set of Doctor Who magnets and the first part of a massive double-sided poster – with the Doctor on one side and all the monsters from series one on the other. Miss it and miss out!

PLUS:
Posters: Pig Slaves, Partners in Crime, the Doctor, Martha and Judoon
Tales from the TARDIS: Lucy Saxon shoots the Master
Partners in Crime: top thrills from last week’s episode
The Fires of Pompeii: get ready for a trip to 79AD!
Fact file: 10 reasons why Doctor Who is the best show on TV
Activity: make a scary Scarecrow mask!
Doctor's Data: Rickston Slade – facts about the rude businessman from Voyage of the Damned.
Comic strip: part two of The Poison Planet – more danger on an alien world.
Time Teasers: Caan Confusion and Monster Mares – more puzzles, hosted by Bloodtide and Doomfinger.
Who knows! Is Jack the Face of Boe and who fought in the Time War?
Subscription offer: if you subscribe you’ll get a FREE Doctor Who audiobook – The Feast of the Drowned.
AND LOADS MORE!

FILTER: - Magazines - DWA

Episode 4 Press Release

Saturday, 12 April 2008 - Reported by Marcus

The BBC Press Office have released details of Episode Four of Series Four, The Sontaran Stratagem.

The episode will be broadcast on Saturday 26th April on BBC1, and features guest stars Freema Agyeman, reprising her role of Martha Jones, and Christopher Ryan.

Martha Jones summons the Doctor back to modern-day Earth, but an old enemy lies in wait, as Russell T Davies's Bafta Award-winning time-travelling drama continues. With the mysterious ATMOS devices spreading across the world, Donna discovers that even her own family is not safe from the alien threat – but is it too late to save them?

FILTER: - Series 4/30 - Press

Christmas Filming Begins

Friday, 11 April 2008 - Reported by Jarrod Cooper

While the rest of the world is fighting Adipose and travelling to Pompeii, the BBC has begun filming for this year's Christmas special.

The South Wales Argus has published a photo of filming taking place in St Woolos cemetery in Newport. Please be aware that this article containsMAJOR SPOILERS for the forthcoming Christmas special.

FILTER: - Production - Series 4/30

Moths nominated for Sony Award

Thursday, 10 April 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight

Toby Hadoke's play Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarfopened in London's West End last night, and a successful performance was topped off by the news that the radio version of the production had been nominated in the Best Drama category of the prestigious Sony Awards.

Famous faces at the Arts Theatre, Leicester Square, on
Wednesday's opening night included Fenella Woolgar(Bright Young Things, Steven Moffat's Jekyll and soon to be Agatha Christie in the current series of Doctor Who, and seen right with Hadoke), Justin Edwards (Perrier Award nominee and star of BBC4's The Thick Of It) and Ian Boldsworth (a.k.a. comedian Ray Peacock, who also appeared in the Doctor Who episode Blink).

Hadoke's press release claims that Doctor Who luminaries Paul Cornell, Rob Shearman and Louise Jameson will also be attending to support the show during the run.

The remaining dates are 10th, 11th, 12th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th April (7.30pm start time, except 12th and 19th, when it's a 3.30pm start).

The BBC 7 Radio adaptation, also available as an audio book, is now in the running for a Sony Award, the radio equivalent of the Oscars and the highest accolade a radio production can receive. The awards themselves take place on May 12th.

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Special Events - Awards/Nominations

Doctor Who at the Proms

Wednesday, 9 April 2008 - Reported by Chuck Foster

This year's BBC Proms will feature a special Doctor Who evening on Sunday 27th July, presented by Freema Agyeman. The show is expected to feature compositions related to time and space, with such items as Holst'sThe Planets and Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, as well as the Doctor Who theme tune.

The show will also include a special Doctor Who scene starring David Tennant, written by Russell T Davies.

After recent controversy in the news surrounding the relevance of the Proms to modern day Britain, director Roger Wright denied the presence of Doctor Who would mean the world-famous music festival was being dumbed down, reporting that the musical emphasis would still focus on the British Isles, with other compositions from Eastern Europe.

The concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3, and may also be broadcast as part of the Proms season on BBC2.

The BBC's guide to the Proms is due to be published on the 11th April, and full details on the concerts and booking may be found on the BBC Proms website. Coverage of the announcement of Doctor Who at the proms has been published by BBC News, Standard, Google, The Times, and the Daily Mail.

FILTER: - Special Events - Russell T Davies - Radio Times

BBC iplayer report

Wednesday, 9 April 2008 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC have issued a press release reporting on how their iplayer service has performed during the first quarter of 2008, with Doctor Who andTorchwood both performing well in the top 20 watched programmes.

1. The Apprentice BBC One 26/03/2008
2. Louis Theroux: Behind Bars BBC Two 13/01/2008
3. Ashes To Ashes BBC One 07/02/2008
4. Torchwood - Fragments BBC Three 21/03/2008
5. Dawn ... Gets Naked BBC Three 14/02/2008
6. Torchwood - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang BBC Two 16/01/2008
7. Doctor Who - Voyage Of The Damned BBC One 25/12/2007
8. Torchwood - Dead Man Walking BBC Three 20/02/2008
9. Gavin And Stacey BBC Three 23/03/2008
10. Dawn ... Goes Lesbian BBC Three 21/02/2008
11. Ashes To Ashes BBC One 21/02/2008
12. Torchwood - Something Borrowed BBC Three 05/03/2008
13. Ashes To Ashes BBC One 28/02/2008
14. EastEnders BBC One 21/03/2008
15. Torchwood - From Out of the Rain BBC Three 12/03/2008
16. Torchwood - Adrift BBC Three 19/03/2008
17. Torchwood - A Day in the Death BBC Three 27/02/2008
18. Ashes To Ashes BBC One 06/03/2008
19. Six Nations Rugby 2008: France v England BBC One 23/02/2008
20. EastEnders BBC One 16/03/2008

FILTER: - Ratings - Series 4/30

Ratings in Crime

Wednesday, 9 April 2008 - Reported by DWNP Archive

Posted By Stephen Blake

The ratings success for the first episode of series 4 of Doctor Who, Partners in Crime, has been widely reported in the press, a selection of which can be read by following the links below.

While most of the news stories concentrate on the viewing figures for the opening episode, in its piece, "Up Pompeii: Tate and Tennant head for ancient Rome as nine million viewers watch series opener", the Daily Mailtakes a look at the forthcoming second episode The Fires of Pompeii as well as discussing Peter Davison’s daughterGeorgia Moffett and her appearance later in the series.

Adfero , AOL Entertainment, BBC News online, Brand Republic, Broadcast, CBBC Newsround, Congoo,Contactmusic.com, the Daily Star,Digg, Digital Spy, Glasgow Daily Record, the Guardian, the Herald,icWales, inthenews.co.uk, ippimail, ITN online, Joo-See.com, theLondon Paper, Metro, the Mirror, MSN News, News on Feeds, Nottingham Evening Post, Press Association, RedTram, the Scotsman,Sheilds Gazette, Stereoboard.com, the Telegraph, Teletext, This is Lancashire, This is Local London, Topix, Virgin TV News, What’s on TV,Wigan Today, Wikipedia, Yahoo! News, and the Yorkshire Post.

FILTER: - Ratings - Series 4/30 - Press

Partners in Crime: AI figure and Ratings update

Monday, 7 April 2008 - Reported by Marcus

Episode One of the new series of Doctor Who, Partners in Crime, achieved an Appreciation Index of 88. The figure, which puts the programme in the excellent category, was the highest scored on Saturday. The episode was most enjoyed by English females in the 35-55 age group.

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.

With overnights now available for the whole week, Doctor Who is currently the 10th most watched programme of the week. Final figures will be released byBARB in 9 days time.

Top Twenty Overnights (w/e 6 April 2008)

1 …. 10.3 (43.2%) …. EastEnders (20:00) BBC1 - MON
2 …. 10.1 (45.4%) …. Coronation Street (19:30) ITV - MON
3 …. 10.0 (40.5%) …. Coronation Street (20:30) ITV - MON
4 …. 9.8 (47.0%) …. Coronation Street (19:30) ITV - FRI
5 …. 9.7 (43.1%) …. EastEnders (19:30) BBC1 - TUE
6 …. 9.6 (41.1%) …. Coronation Street (20:30) ITV - FRI
7 …. 9.5 (42.3%) …. Coronation Street (19:30) ITV - WED
8 …. 9.2 (41.7%) …. EastEnders (20:00) BBC1 - FRI
9 …. 9.0 (42.5%) …. EastEnders (19:30) BBC1 - THU
10 …. 8.4 (39.4%) …. Doctor Who (18:15) BBC1 - SAT
11 …. 7.4 (36.2%) …. Emmerdale (19:00) ITV - WED
12 …. 7.4 (37.1%) …. Emmerdale (19:00) ITV - MON
13 …. 7.1 (30.8%) …. Casualty (20:30) BBC1 - SAT
14 …. 7.0 (36.5%) …. Emmerdale (19:00) ITV - FRI
15 …. 6.9 (31.2%) …. BBC News and Weather (19:00) BBC1 - SUN
16 …. 6.8 (30.4%) …. The National Lottery Draws (20:15) BBC1 - SAT
17 …. 6.8 (30.3%) …. I'd Do Anything (19:00) BBC1 - SAT
18 …. 6.7 (25.6%) …. Heartbeat (20:00) ITV - SUN
19 …. 6.6 (32.8%) …. Emmerdale (19:00) ITV - TUE
20 …. 6.4 (26.7%) …. I'd Do Anything Results (19:30) BBC1 - SUN

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30

Weekend Multi Channel Ratings

Monday, 7 April 2008 - Reported by Marcus

Saturday's edition of Doctor Who Confidential was watched by 0.89 million viewers, according to unofficial overnights. The programme, which had a share of 4.6%, was the 2nd most watched on multi channel television on Saturday, just behind Live Ford Football Special on Sky Sports 1.

Sunday's BBC3 repeat of Partners in Crime got an overnight audience of 1.20 million, which was a 5.3% shareand the highest rating the programme has ever received on this channel. It was the fourth most watched programme for the day. Doctor Who Confidential got an audience of 0.85 millionfor the repeat showing.

On Saturday, Doctor Who was BBC4's most watched programme of the day and the 8th most watched programme on Multi Channel TV, outrating everything on channels such as Sky One and UK Gold. Episode Three of The Daleks, The Escape, got an audience of 0.42 million, a 2.2% share. Episode Two, The Survivors, got 0.40 million and Episode One, The Dead Planet, got 0.33 million. The documentary Verity Lambert: Drama Queen was watched by 0.25 million.

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30

Richard Dawkins in Doctor Who

Monday, 7 April 2008 - Reported by Kenny Davidson

Professor Richard Dawkins, the celebrated biologist and writer, is to appear as himself later in the current series of Doctor Who. Executive Producer Russell T Davies made the announcement in an interview with the Independent on Sunday. He said the show's crew were delighted to see Dawkins on set: "People were falling at his feet ... We've had Kylie Minogue on that set, but it was Dawkins people were worshipping."

Dawkins is the author of many best-selling non-fiction works, fromThe Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker to The God Delusion, and is apowerful communicator of both Darwin's evolutionary theory and the merits of atheism.

He holds the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society, though he is perhaps equally well known amongst some Doctor Who fans as the husband of Lalla Ward, who played former companion Romana! He was also a close friend of former script editor Douglas Adams, to whom he dedicated The God Delusion.

FILTER: - People - Series 4/30

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