Regional Roundup

Tuesday, 22 May 2012 - By Chuck Foster and John Bowman

By Chuck Foster and John Bowman

United Kingdom:

Space, Time, Machine and Monster: The Science Fiction of Doctor Who is to take place from 6pm tonight in Lacock Church. The talk with CBBC's scientist Mark Brake, rapper Jon Brake and the Bishop of Swindon is described as "a fun exploration of the universe and a chance to discuss science and faith issues". [Corsham People, 20 May 2012]

Nearby Corsham saw Doctor Who stars help raise money for charity earlier in the month, with Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, John Levene, and Julian Glover among the star names helping to raise £6,620 at the Corsham Sci-Fi Family Funday. Also there mingling with the likes of Daleks and Davros was Doctor Who Magazine artist Mike Collins. [Corsham People, 4 May 2012]

Colin Baker is to appear at a television, film, and toy collectors' fair at the River Park Leisure Centre, Winchester on 9th June (the day after his birthday!). He will be joined by Terry Molloy as Daleks are set to invade the event. [Romsey Advertiser, 21 May 2012]

A six-year-old girl from Kedington has become the envy of collectors after finding a rare item of merchandise. Jessie Spicer bought a £1.50 packet of Lego Doctor Who figures at Hamley's in London and when she opened it she found a Day of the Moon model of the Doctor, of which only 100 have been made. Her mother said: "It was a real Willy Wonka moment for her and we were all really excited about it. She is going to hold on to it as an investment for the future." The figure is currently estimated to be worth up to £600. [Haverhill Weekly News, 4 May 2012]

Meeting rooms at the newly-extended BBC Broadcasting House in London have been brightened up with some familiar faces. Images of the Doctors have been applied to the walls of the cubicles, as can be seen in the picture on the right, which can be clicked on to expand. (With thanks to Rob Fitt for the details)

The PC Support Group in Liverpool counts Doctor Who amongst the company's credits, having provided support to stunt-coordinator/performer Abbi Collins for Dalek co-ordination in the series. Co-founder Simon Albert said: "I've been a huge fan of Dr Who since I was little, so when we got the opportunity to actually work with the people behind the show we all jumped at the chance to get up close with some of its most infamous characters." [Liverpool Daily Post, 18 May 2012]

Boscombe police are hoping to re-introduce police boxes in the high street in order to help combat anti-social behaviour. PC Will Martindale told the local business forum in April: "The Inspector would like to put a 'Tardis' outside McDonald's. There are issues in that area and this would be putting our stamp back in the area." Phil Stanley-Watts, councillor for Boscombe West, has been calling for the return of police boxes in Boscombe for years, saying that updated versions could be used for reporting crime and would make the public feel safer. [Bournemouth Echo, 1 May 2012]

FILTER: - Merchandise - Special Events - Charities - Miscellaneous - Colin Baker - BBC

Tales of Television Centre

Wednesday, 18 April 2012 - By John Bowman and Marcus

By John Bowman and Marcus

A documentary telling the story of BBC Television Centre is to be aired next month with contributions from many people associated with Doctor Who.

Tales of Television Centre has been produced and directed by Richard Marson, who is a former editor of Blue Peter and who wrote for Doctor Who Monthly/Magazine between 1983 and 1988.

BBC Television Centre has been the main studio complex of BBC Television since it opened in 1960. In 2007, the BBC announced its intention to sell the site by the end of 2013 and to relocate its operations to various centres around the UK. BBC Radio Five, BBC Children, and BBC Sport have already relocated to Salford Quays, BBC Drama is based in Cardiff, and BBC News will move into a new state-of-the-art building in central London over the next year.

In its early years, Doctor Who was excluded from the new modern facilities at Television Centre (TVC), with the studios only available for occasional recordings. Doctor Who usually had to make do with limited facilities in the nearby Lime Grove or Riverside studios. From 1964 to 1969, around 56 black-and-white episodes were recorded at TVC, the first being episode two of The Aztecs, The Warriors of Death, which went before the cameras in Studio 3 on 8th May 1964.

Once the series moved into colour, TVC was the almost-exclusive home of Doctor Who. Except for one short foray up to Birmingham to record Horror of Fang Rock, every studio-filmed Doctor Who story from Doctor Who And The Silurians onwards was recorded at TVC during the classic era.

As well as Doctor Who, TVC was also home to some of the best-loved British television programmes of the past 50 years. Comedies such as Dad's Army, Are You Being Served? and Fawlty Towers were made there as well as dramas such as I, Claudius, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Elizabeth R and every single Shakespeare play. Shows such as Morecambe and Wise, The Two Ronnies and Strictly Come Dancing were recorded alongside programmes such as Blue Peter and Top of the Pops, which saw the centre graced by such stars as The Beatles, Abba, and The Osmonds.

Tales of Television Centre will feature reminiscences from many former star names of Doctor Who, including Peter Davison, Katy Manning, Louise Jameson, Janet Fielding, Waris Hussein, June Hudson, Graeme Harper, Brian Blessed, and Sarah Greene. It will also feature Doctor Who-related moments from studio recordings.

Marson told Doctor Who News:

The documentary was commissioned last summer and I started working on it in September, with production concluding in April. We were lucky to have such a lengthy production period because there was a huge amount to do and a very small team of three!

We shot interviews with nearly 60 contributors, both stars and staff, although inevitably a handful didn't make the final cut or feature only briefly. This is no reflection on the quality of what they said, more that certain themes emerged and perhaps they had less to say on these subjects. Happily, the BBC have decided to archive everything we shot - both the interviews and the Steadicam and GVs, all of which were shot in glorious HD. Archive purists, like me, will be pleased that the 4:3 material is presented as such, with borders made from some of TVC's distinctive mosaics.

It was also important to remember that we were trying to tell the story of the building and what happened there, rather than too much specific detail about programmes as such. The other concern was to make it accessible to the many people who will have perhaps some sense of the place but not of the specifics. It couldn't be too 'in'.

One thing I was really determined to do was to let the contributors carry the narrative - in other words, to dispense with having a voiceover. I felt that these have become very hackneyed and sometimes the danger is that the voiceover is almost sneering at the archive material Come Dine With Me-style, and I didn't want that approach. We were lucky to be able to shoot the interviews over a long period of time, as this meant we could quote previous contributors so that we could get reactions and comparisons from others.

There are actually two versions of the programme - a post-watershed version and a pre-watershed version. The former has various adult words and anecdotes, whereas the latter has these replaced with some additional material and archive. Two for the price of one!

On the archive front, we were hugely helped by three key people who will be familiar to anyone who loves the superb Doctor Who DVD range. Andrew Martin at BBC Information and Archives put in a huge amount of work, as I was determined to use as many moments as possible from studio recordings and Christmas tapes, and to locate rare behind-the-scenes material. Jonathan Wood, who graded the programme, also helped locate material, as did Ralph Montagu. Inevitably, some material couldn't be cleared or was just too expensive, but by and large I am delighted with the richness and variety of the archive.

Inevitably, the commission was fuelled by the news that the BBC is planning to leave TVC altogether and, indeed, is in the process of doing so. Every week, another chunk seems to close down. It's poignant for anyone who worked there for a significant period of their career and so, inevitably, this raised a lot of comment and opinion from our interviewees. However, I did feel strongly that it would have been wrong to focus too much on this aspect. It is there but very much towards the end. The programme is a celebration, and the focus is entertainment rather than to raise questions about the whys and wherefores of the sale.

It was a huge labour of love - I myself spent the best part of two decades working at TVC and it was a real privilege to get the chance to say goodbye to it in my own way. I just hope that people really enjoy it and that it helps put their own memories of this eccentric and unique building - home to so much of the best in British TV - in perspective.

The 90-minute programme is to be broadcast on BBC Four on Thursday 17th May at 9pm, and a special preview screening, hosted by Marson and Greene, will take place at the BFI Southbank two days earlier on Tuesday 15th May at 6.10pm, with many contributors and former members of BBC staff present. Click here to book tickets.

The pre-watershed version will be shown whenever the documentary is scheduled before 9pm. A DVD release is, however, unlikely because of rights issues.
(With thanks to Richard Marson)

FILTER: - Special Events - Peter Davison - Broadcasting - BBC

Radiophonic Workshop Pictures Released

Saturday, 14 April 2012 - Reported by Marcus

The BBC have released a series of photographs marking the anniversary of the formation of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in April 1958.

The Workshop was heavily involved in the creation of sounds and music for the classic series of Doctor Who. It is best known for the realisation of Ron Grainer's opening music to the series. Delia Derbyshire, one of the Workshop's composers, took the score and created the unique sound by creating every note on quarter inch tape and then splicing the whole lot together to achieve one of the most iconic theme tunes on British Television.

The workshop provided most of the sound effects used on the series, including the sound of the TARDIS materialising, which was achieved by scraping a key along the strings of an old piano.

The Workshop closed in 1998.

FILTER: - Music - Doctor Who - BBC

Convention Roundup

Monday, 26 March 2012 - Reported by Marcus

The first Official Doctor Who Convention since the return of the series closed its doors in Cardiff yesterday evening at the end of a weekend which saw 3,000 fans descend on the Welsh capital to meet some of the stars and see just how their favourite series is put together.

Several sites have reported on the event, with BBC America blogging to fans back in the States.

BBC News had several reports from the Millennium Centre, with live links throughout the day on the BBC News Channel, including interviews with Steven Moffat, while The Metro talked about the thousands of fans the event brought to Cardiff. Wales Online has reviewed the event and The Guardian talked to some of the fans who had made the journey to Cardiff.

Our own review of the Convention can be found on our Reviews page.

FILTER: - Conventions - BBC

Official Convention Sold Out

Friday, 23 March 2012 - Reported by Marcus

This weekend Cardiff plays host to thousands of Doctor Who fans as BBC Worldwide host the first official convention since the return of the series in 2005.

The event has now completely sold out for both days so fans should not travel to Cardiff unless they already have a ticket as no tickets will be available at the door.

A number of extra events have now been added to the schedule including talks from the Doctor Who Restoration team on their work on the DVD releases and the processes undergone to restore old and damaged episodes of Doctor Who to their former glory. There will be a chance to see exclusive trailers for previously lost episodes – Air Lock and The Underwater Menace.

Fans will also get a chance to try out the new Doctor Who Game The Eternity Clock in its first public appearance.

FILTER: - Conventions - BBC

Russell T Davies To Co-Judge New Drama Award

Tuesday, 13 March 2012 - Reported by John Bowman

Russell T Davies is to be one of the inaugural judges in a new £10,000 initiative for writers living in Wales.

The Wales Drama Award, which will be given every two years, was launched at yesterday's official opening of the BBC's Roath Lock drama studios in Cardiff - the new home of Doctor Who.

For this year's award, writers must submit a full-length, unperformed, or unproduced script in any medium and in English, with a minimum running length of 30 minutes, by July 16th. Six writers who are shortlisted will then be asked to submit a one-page outline of an original idea for development before meeting the judges in September to discuss their script as well as the idea.

The winner, who will be announced in September or October this year, will receive £10,000 and the chance to develop their script and idea with BBC Cymru Wales or National Theatre Wales. Two runners-up will each receive £1,000.

The BBC said:

The competition is open to any writer residing in Wales. We want to encourage writers who feel passionate about the stories they want to tell, and who have something to offer audiences across the length and breadth of Wales and the wider UK.

The judging panel will also comprise BBC creative director of new writing Kate Rowland, BBC Cymru Wales head of drama Faith Penhale, National Theatre Wales artistic director John McGrath, and writer Abi Morgan (Sex Traffic, The Iron Lady, The Hour).

Wales's First Minister, Carwyn Jones, performed the opening ceremony at the Roath Lock production centre by unveiling a plaque on the TARDIS prop. The drama village, which took just 14 months to build, is part of the Porth Teigr renovation projection on Cardiff waterfront. Speaking ahead of the ceremony, Mr Jones said:

This studio complex is a major step forward for the creative industries in Wales and will be home to famous drama productions that are viewed across the world.

The creative industries from TV, film and theatre are of major importance to our economy, supporting jobs and investment, and the Welsh government is determined for this to continue.

BBC Cymru Wales' Roath Lock is a symbol of what Wales can achieve and the bright future we have ahead of us.

Open days over the weekend of 10th and 11th March gave members of the public the chance to see props from Doctor Who and Upstairs, Downstairs, as well as a look round the sets of Casualty and Pobol y Cwm, which have also shifted production to the 170,000 sq ft drama village - the BBC's largest drama production centre in the UK. An exhibition included costumes from Sherlock, which was co-created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, and a Dalek.

Doctor Who production has moved to Roath Lock from Upper Boat. A video report on the opening, in which BBC director-general Mark Thompson mentions the beneficial effect locally of Doctor Who being made there, is available here.

FILTER: - Russell T Davies - Production - Competitions - Awards/Nominations - BBC

Fan Renews Davros Legal Battle

Saturday, 10 March 2012 - Reported by John Bowman

A Doctor Who fan has renewed his bid to claim ownership of the character of Davros.

Steve Clark says that he came up with the name and submitted it with a design (pictured right), as well as a handwritten essay entitled The Genesis Of The Daleks: The Creation Of Davros, for a TV Action competition in 1972. His entry didn't win the prize of a 17in colour TV set but he says that both the name and design were later used by the BBC without his permission. Davros was first seen in the series in Genesis of the Daleks in 1975.

He launched High Court proceedings last year for copyright breach after an attempt to come to an amicable solution with the corporation foundered. Now, with the case on hold, a teacher's handwriting could decide the matter.

Mr Clark, from Brabourne Lees in Kent, says that his original sketch, done when he was 13, has comments written on it by David Tidy, who was a teacher at Duncan Bowen School in Stanhope, Ashford, in the 1970s. He is now seeking former pupils who have books with Mr Tidy's handwriting in them, which could be used to validate the writing on his sketch and therefore his claim.

Mr Clark said:

Unfortunately the samples we have are inconclusive, according to the handwriting expert. We just need as much hard evidence as possible to help with the case as the BBC keep digging their heels in.

The BBC and BBC Worldwide dispute the claim. A spokesman said:

These proceedings are ongoing and the BBC and BBC Worldwide are defending the claim. Davros was created by Terry Nation and the BBC.

(newslink: Kent Online)

FILTER: - Doctor Who - Production - Classic Series - Press - BBC

New Eternity Clock Trailer Released As Adventure Games End

Saturday, 25 February 2012 - Reported by John Bowman

A new trailer for the forthcoming PlayStation game Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock has been released by BBC Worldwide.

Players can look forward to the global release of the game next month on PS3 and PS Vita, via the PlayStation Network. The exact date of release has yet to be confirmed, as does the price. A PC version will be released soon after.

As well as being the first PS Vita game to use the cutting-edge Unreal Engine toolset, it will also boast two-player co-operative action and split-screen footage.

Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock new teaser trailer, BBC Worldwide, via YouTube

However, fans of the Adventure Games series, which is free to download in the UK, will be disappointed to learn that the BBC has no plans for any more.

BBC spokeswoman Michelle Osborn told Doctor Who News:

As Doctor Who approaches its 50th anniversary, online content will focus on more ambitious and innovative filmed content than ever before to reflect the show's epic milestone.

Although there are no plans for more Adventure Games, over the next two years fans can expect fantastic fictional exclusives (eg, prequels), backstage content and buzz - plus clips and information about every episode of Doctor Who ever broadcast by the BBC.

There have been five Adventure Games in all since they started being released by the official website in June 2010: City of the Daleks, Blood of the Cybermen, TARDIS, Shadows of the Vashta Nerada, and The Gunpowder Plot.

The Adventure Games have had more than 3.7m downloads and are still available for free.

FILTER: - Games - BBC

Doctor Who Included In Hulu Japan Deal

Friday, 17 February 2012 - Reported by John Bowman

A deal has been struck to show Doctor Who in Japan via the on-demand website subscription service Hulu.

As of today, BBC Worldwide is making available some 600 hours of TV - covering drama, comedy, music, lifestyle, natural history, science, and history - on the multi-device platform. It is said to be the largest volume of BBC Worldwide content on any platform in Japan.

Also among the titles in the initial phase of the multiple-year agreement is Little Britain, narrated by Tom Baker.

The Hulu service allows people to watch unlimited content on multiple internet-connected devices.

Joyce Yeung, general manager and senior vice-president for BBC Worldwide Sales and Distribution Asia, said:

We're excited to be expanding our business in the Japanese digital sector by becoming the first British distributor to partner with Hulu in Japan. Hulu's versatile service opens up a new audience for our catalogue, which covers everything from entertainment formats and international drama productions to cutting-edge science documentaries and world-renowned natural history titles.

Doctor Who has previously been shown in Japan, as detailed by BroaDWcast.

FILTER: - Doctor Who - Tom Baker - Online - Miscellaneous - BBC

Official Convention: Karen Gillan joins the line-up

Thursday, 16 February 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC Worldwide have announced that Karen Gillan will be a guest at the Official Doctor Who Convention, taking place in Cardiff on 24th and 25th March. Speaking of the confirmation that she would also be there, the actress enthused: "I'm really looking forward to the Convention and meeting all of the wonderful Doctor Who fans!"

The news means that the full current TARDIS crew of Matt Smith, Arthur Darvill and Karen will be headlining alongside lead writer Steven Moffat, plus the many other actors, production crew and activities previously announced for the two, one-day conventions.

The Convention brings the makers of Doctor Who together for a full day, in-depth event designed to reveal the inner workings of the series. On the main stage live pyrotechnic demonstrations will thrill attendees, while in detailed prosthetics masterclasses fans will see a monster made flesh in front of their eyes. Throughout these sessions the secrets of their craft will be revealed by masters of the trade including Danny Hargreaves, Doctor Who’s SFX Supervisor and Neill Gorton co-director of Millennium FX, Europe’s leading supplier of cutting-edge prosthetics, animatronics and special make-up FX.

Karen Gillan joins a full contingent of Doctor Who professionals ready to give fans an unrivalled glimpse into the behind-the-scenes world of Doctor Who. Everyone from the Production Designer Michael Pickwoad, responsible for Doctor Who’s eye-popping visuals, to Casting Director Andy Pryor revealing what it takes to find a Doctor will be gathering in one place to celebrate the creativity (and elbow grease!) that goes into the series.

The Official Doctor Who Convention line-up includes: Matt Smith; Steven Moffat; Karen Gillan; Arthur Darvill; Mark Sheppard; Nick Briggs; Ian McNeice; Raquel Cassidy; Neill Gorton; Danny Hargreaves; Tom MacRae; Toby Haynes; Barnaby Edwards; Caroline Henry; Stephan Pehrsson; Michael Pickwoad; Andy Pryor; Gary Russell; Simon Fisher-Becker and Marcus Wilson.