BBC Video will release In The Beginning, a boxed set of the first three classic Doctor Who series stories -- "An Unearthly Child," "The Daleks" and "The Edge of Destruction" -- on DVD in the UK in January 2006, according to an interview with Marketing Manager Matthew Parkes of 2Entertain/BBCDVD in the newly released edition of Ultimate DVDmagazine. A boxed set (at the time noted as "The Beginning") was touted for release several years ago, both as a VHS and DVD set, but was pushed aside for various reasons; it was also at one point a likely release for this autumn, but we heard some months ago it was moved to 2006. There is no word, as yet, on what this year's other UK DVD release will be; "City of Death" is confirmed for November according to the BBC, Outpost Gallifrey previously learned that "Revelation of the Daleks" is the likely release for July, and there will be one other classic series release in September... our money's on either a First Doctor ("The Web Planet") or Fifth Doctor ("Frontios") story. (Thanks to Justin Thomas, James Wendt)

A wrap-up of the most important articles from the past two days (sorry for the delay; the editor's been under the weather with a cold). There's more, and that'll come tomorrow; in the meanwhile, this is the most critical...

Under-Eight Controversy

Following Wednesday's press coverage of the "too scary for kids" statement from the BBC's complaints website, nowBBC News is reporting that the "not for the under-eights" advice has been withdrawn: "The BBC has withdrawn advice about Doctor Who being too frightening for under-eights to watch. A statement on the BBC's complaints website on Wednesday saying the show was not for children under eight had been 'a mistake', said a spokesman. Monsters in the early evening show 'may be scary' but content was 'carefully considered' for all of the pre-watershed audience, he added. 'We leave it to parents' discretion to ultimately decide.' The original statement said the series 'had never been intended for the youngest of children'. 'We would suggest that only children aged eight and above should watch with their parents,' it went on. ... The advice followed 91 complaints from viewers about the third episode in the new series... The corporation had not meant to advise against younger children watching the series, the BBC spokesman added. 'The programme sets out to balance the right amount of humour, drama and suspense in each episode,' he went on. Comedy and bravery had been incorporated to create 'the right context' for the ghost story, he said, adding that the BBC would be vigilant about the balance in each week's episode." The retraction has been picked up by the Times, which notes that there is now a BBC investigation into future episodes to see how scary they are, and also notes an Ofcom investigation as well.

Other sources covering this: BigNewsNetwork, ICWales, This Is South Wales, Evening Standard, Radio One,CBBC News.

Mark Gatiss, writer of "The Unquiet Dead," appeared on both BBC Radio Five Live and BBC Radio Four to address the comments about the scariness factor of his episode. Gatiss was questioned about "confusion at the BBC about whether Doctor Who is suitable for children under 8". Was he surprised by the reaction? "Quietly thrilled," says Mark, observing that Doctor Who is about healthy scares--"a ghost-train thrill" that the programme has always done. He describes the show as being about "the living dead inhabited by gas creatures", and that it wasn't as scary as the show had been in the 1970s (referencing elements of the two original Auton stories). The Radio 4 announcer also read some supportive e-mails, which delighted Gatiss. "Children can be too cosseted these days" says Mark, observing that Harry Potter is also successful but contains the scary fact that "people do die". He mentions his niece Olivia is "desperate to see the series", even though she hasn't apparently slept for three nights! Asked whether he'd been asked to tone the story down, Mark clarifies: early drafts of the story had been "too grim rather than too scary", and that he'd therefore not toned down the monsters but instead had toned down the undertaker elements which had been "not very Saturday nights". Gatiss' comments are addressed briefly in another BBC News report.

The day before, various UK newspapers ran versions of the report on the BBC's findings on complaints about "The Unquiet Dead." The Daily Express claims that the BBC has been "forced to slap an age warning on Doctor Who". According to The Sun, "The BBC has warned that Doctor Who should not be watched by children under eight." The Daily Star says that "Doctor Who is to get an age warning after ghoulish scenes terrified young viewers." TheGuardian has a piece online drawn directly from the BBC's report and from interviews with Mark Gatiss and Russell T Davies, which also notes the high overnight ratings for the episode. Also covering it: This Is London,MegaStar, MSN, Contact Music,Daily Record, CBBC News,Morons.org, ic Huddersfield. Yorkshire Coast Radio claimed in their 7pm bulletin on April 14 that 91 complaints had been received by the BBC.

Manchester Online addressed this "too scary" factor (also noted in theScotsman) with quotes from Tim Collins, Tory education spokesman and "Doctor Who" fan, denying that the show is too scary. "Shadow education secretary Tim Collins said the revived series, starring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, was perfectly suitable for children as young as six and defended the "right" of children to be scared by Dr Who after the BBC suggested the programme was not suitable for youngsters under eight. Dr Who is about the battle between good and evil, Mr Collins said, adding: 'I was watching it and thoroughly enjoying being scared out of my wits when I was six or seven.' ... Mr Collins said he would not let 'very young children' watch Dr Who but it was 'perfectly appropriate' for six-year-olds. He said: 'I think the programme has always been intended to provide a legitimate scare to children, an enjoyable scare. 'It's about the battle between good and evil. Good always triumphs in the end. There are monsters in it but they are always vanquished,' he said."

Broadcasting Updates, Press Releases

The BBC Press Office today has previews up in a press release (note: Adobe Acrobat PDF file!) for "Dalek," the sixth episode of the season, written by Rob Shearman, and that night's corresponding "Doctor Who Confidential" episode. We've put them in spoiler tags so click on the spoiler link at the very bottom of today's news summary, below.

Radio Times and other online listings report a schedule change on BBC Three for Saturday 23 April. Late Saturday 23 April on BBC Three, there will be a repeat of the episode "World War Three" at 12:05am BST and a repeat of the BBC4 documentary "Doctor Who Confidential". It is too soon to tell if this will be a new weekly broadcast of the series, or a one time special. BBC Three's schedules have proven particularly erratic and subject to change.

Doctor Who will have a new adversary beginning on April 23... no, not the Master or the Daleks, but "Celebrity Wrestling." The current run of "Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway," the ITV show run opposite Doctor Who, ends tomorrow, April 16, and "Celebrity Wrestling" starts the following weekend. But the time that the program will start on ITV is up in the air; "Doctor Who" has beaten "Ant and Dec" every weekend for the past three weeks, and according to April 13's Daily Star, the success of our show has ITV concerned. "It is very difficult to pin down the time when Celebrity Wrestling will be screened," the Daily Star quotes an ITV spokesperson. "The date has been confirmed now but there is still a bit of last-minute indecision over the time slot. This has come about because of the massive success of Doctor Who, which has even been beating Ant and Dec in the ratings. The action in the ring is also quite feisty, so some people working on the show think it would be better later at night." BBC News published an article about the wrestling show: "The latest celebrity reality show pits stars against one another as they literally wrestle for the attention of Saturday night viewers... In doing so it brings the hot air and razzmatazz of US wrestling to ITV's prime time schedule, reviving the flamboyance of hit 1990s game show Gladiators and challenging Doctor Who's dominance in the process." Presenter Kate Thornton is quoted as saying: "There's a massive appetite for shows like this. The viewing figures will tell you that. Television is all about spectacle and drama. If audiences continue to grow for shows like Celebrity Wrestling then more will be made."

Additional News and Reviews

SFX has a spoiler-free review of "Dalek," the sixth episode, which it meets with glowing praise: "Hold on to something sturdy; youÆre just about to be rocked by hyperbole measuring 10 on the Richter scale. 'Dalek' is the best episode of Doctor Who ever," says the review. "This is hard-as-nails Who. This is the Who the fans were clamouring for. This is the Who that will silence the critics of the 'silliness' of the episodes thus far. This is the episode that will have kids kicking their parents out from behind the sofa. ... ItÆs hard to conceive that Doctor Who can get much better than thisà" Check out SFX's website for the full review.

The Law Society Gazette, the trade paper for solicitors, featured an article on April 14 with an accompanying photo of the Moxx of Balhoon. "The post-Clementi [the recent review of all legal practice in England and Wales] world may be an alien and ugly one for some, but surely not as alien and ugly as the revived Doctor Who speculated the other week. In an episode where the Doctor and Rose travelled five billion years into the future to witness the end of the world as the sun expanded to consume it (don't worry - there's nobody living on Earth by then and it's being looked after by the National Trust), a variety of interesting and rich aliens were enjoying corporate hospitality to watch the 'artistic event' that was the spectacular explosion from the safety of a protected observation station in space. Among them was the Moxx of Balhoon, announced as being from the solicitors Jolko and Jolko. He had an unpleasant squeaky voice and his present to fellow passengers (each was required to provide something) was 'the gift of bodily salivas', whereupon he spat in Rose's eye. Talk about inadequate professional service. The Doctor, of course, saved the day when at literally the last second he managed to reverse the sabotage which dropped the station's defences and would have seen it destroyed too. But the extravagantly monikered Moxx was sadly a casualty of the crisis, and didn't even have the chance to put in a bill for his time either."

This week's edition of the BBC internal newsletter Ariel has a small Doctor Who article called "Be careful not to scare the voters" along with a photo of a Slitheen from this weekend's episode, "Aliens of London." "Those who have long-suspected that there are aliens at the heart of the British government will have suspicions confirmed by this Saturday's Doctor Who," says the article. "In a recent interview Russell T Davies admitted tha programme makers had to check with editorial policy before screening the episode Aliens of London because it clashed with the general election. The episode also features a spaceship crash-landing in the Thames as well as several reptilian-like aliens, the Slitheen (pictured), roaming the corridors of power. Perhaps David Icke was right after all..."

"Another hit from Doctor Who" raves the Evening Standard as it discusses the new series' effects. "Dramatic moments in Doctor Who were traditionally accompanied by wobbling scenery and cut-price props," says the article. "But when viewers tune in to the latest incarnation of the BBC1 series this Saturday they will see special effects convincing enough to send adults as well as children scurrying behind the sofa. The episode sees an alien spacecraft crash-landing in the Thames, taking a chunk out of Big Ben as it does so. The scene where the wing of the spaceship strikes the 318ft-tall St Stephen's Tower was created not by computer, but by hand. Model-makers used a 1/ 14thscale silicone model of the clock tower to create plaster castings, then filled them with bells and rubble to make the impact look real. These days every other Hollywood blockbuster features sophisticated computer-generated imagery, but Mike Tucker, an expert in models and miniatures, believes some effects should be kept real. 'It was actually easier for me to swing a model of a spaceship wing into a breakable Big Ben and put it all on camera,' he said."

'Media View' by Maggie Brown, an article on the website of The Stage, has a brief, positive mention of the new series. The article discusses the recent performance of ITV ratings-wise, and Brown suggests that "...if ITV had the ability, with hindsight, to cherry-pick dream acquisitions to graft onto its triumphant soaps, I'd say it would be Jamie's School Dinners and Doctor Who, which are both examples of bravery being rewarded and going against received wisdom - revivals rarely work or can be sustained. A pointer to the future?"

This week's Variety covered the show and, more specifically, the series as part of a larger shift away from London. "Every generation of Brits, it seems, gets a Doctor Who to embody the spirit of its age. So it's apt that the eighth and latest incarnation of the immortal time lord from planet Gallifrey is not a Southerner like most of his predecessors, but the unmistakably blue collar Lancastrian Christopher Eccleston. ... Although set everywhere from London to Salt Lake City and outer space, the 13 episodes were shot almost entirely in South Wales, and produced by the BBC's Welsh drama department. The new "Doctor Who" proves that there is life, and entertainment, outside London. It also reflects a wider psychological and constitutional shift that started when Prime Minister Tony Blair took office eight years ago, with a promise to give a greater voice to the nations and regions that make up the United Kingdom." The article goes on to discuss the rise of regional programming.

Variety also has a special report from some celebrities called 'Why I live outside London' and speaks to Russell T Davies about it. "I moved to Manchester because it was the heart of television drama and in those days Granada still trained people. Granada sits at the heart of the city and remains a very powerful influence in Manchester. For 40 years it has made 'Coronation Street,' the No. 1 show in the U.K. I like the fact that you can bump into members of the 'Street's' cast in the supermarkets. Red is another very important company locally because it only uses northern writers and northern crews. I have a second home in Cardiff because of 'Doctor Who.' Cardiff is where I started my TV career as a producer of children's shows." Variety then reviews the current series: "The fiercely loyal fans of British sci-fi character Doctor Who have had a long wait to see their hero back on the small screen. While there are bound to be dissenting voices, the BBC looks like it has got the elements in place to re-establish this cult classic. The Beeb's hefty marketing campaign hyped the return of the Time Lord, pitching the Easter Saturday bow of the 13-episode series as a must-see television event. While the opener --- titled "Rose" --- didn't quite meet expectations, it did grab a 44% share and almost 10 million viewers. It also hints at great things to come and breathes welcome life into a great character. As far as prospects abroad, it is a series that can easily travel and makes for easy fantasy viewing for all ages... This latest incarnation of "Doctor Who" is a wry fantasy hero who should appeal to all generations --- from those who grew up watching the early series to a younger generation with higher expectations in terms of special f/x and more sophisticated storylines."

Channel 4's Teletext service runs a weekly "celebrity horoscopes" column by Henri Llewelyn Davies called star'scope, and is currently featuring the "astrological chart" of Christopher Eccleston! "A week before the BBC revealed Chris Eccleston would only do one series of Dr Who, Teletext asked me how long he would last as the new Time Lord. I replied (check with Teletext if you must): 'I don't think he will last long.' Born Feb 16 1964 he has four planets in Aquarius, making him exceedingly independent. Such a heavy Aquarian presence ensures he will never allow himself to be typecast in anyway. Aquarian Dr Who star Eccleston has Mercury in Venus which makes him a persuasive speaker, a sweet talker. Dreamy planet Neptune is strong in his chart at the moment, making him more confused but enabling him to play a phantasmagorical role like Dr Who. With his Sun conjunct Saturn, Chris Eccleston must make up his own mind about matters and can rarely be swayed by other people. With his chart, he hates any kind of restriction - so his alleged fear of being typecast by Dr Who makes sense astrologically. He hopes people will get out of his way and he always wanted to be as free as possible. 'I intend to keep the variety going,' he has said of his work. Eccleston is notoriously secretive - a result of having his Saturn in Aquarius. He seems very upfront but has developed a secret internal life. This conjunction also makes him self-disciplined, highly professional, honest and rebellious. We know little of Eccleston's emotional life, but with his Venus in Aries he is likely to be impulsive in love. This placement also makes him quite outspoken. Only last year he said of The Frank Skinner show: 'It doesn't seem to be about anybody who's on it. It just seems to be about Skinner and his small-minded approach. He used to be funny but not any more.' Nor does Parkinson impress him - finding some of Parky's views 'disturbing.' Aquarian Eccleston is a truth-seeker, self-contained and likes to surround himself with numerous people. Perverse ideas appeal to him, such as playing Dr Who when he didn't see the point in reviving a 'knackered' old sci-fi series. Expect the unexpected."

Some other tangential articles over the past two days: "Dr Who made my 3-year-old scared of shopping" says an article in The Times; the Guardianmentions mistakes in the calculation of Earth's rotation, citing the Doctor Who novel "The Suns of Caresh"; Brand Republic reports on the phone boxes decor for the DVD releases; and icCroydon discusses how Billie Piper "regenerated" the show.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Chuck Foster, John Bowman, Simon Pedley, Peter Hart, Paul Hayes, John Leacy, Jamie Austin, John Tait, Alan Morton, Darren Ross, Benjamin Elliott, David J Howe, Rowan Bridge and Peter Anghelides)

Actor John Bennett passed away on April 11, 2005; he was 76. Bennett played General Finch in the Jon Pertwee serial "Invasion of the Dinosaurs," but was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for his role as Li H'sen Chang, servant of the god Weng-Chiang, in "The Talons of Weng Chiang" opposite Tom Baker. Bennett was a popular guest actor whose many series appearances including "Z Cars," "Casualty," "Softly Softly," "Survivors," "The Saint," "The Avengers," "Dixon of Dock Green" and "Blake's 7" as well as many film roles spanning nearly five decades. (Thanks to Neil Marsh)

A very brief update today...

The final BARB ratings have come in for episode two, The End of the World: the episode scored a 7.97, which made it the third-placed BBC1 programme of the week, behind "EastEnders" and "Match of the Day." As many people speculated at the time, it seems that viewing figures that week were down across the board and Doctor Who's showing in fact remained pretty constant against "Rose" the week before, in terms of both its placing and its audience share. This is by no means a show with plummeting audience ratings!

TV presenter John Leslie wants to be the Doctor, according to today's Sun. "The 40-year-old lost his job on This Morning in 2002 following a sex scandal, and has not worked regularly on TV since, but it is claimed he hopes to audition for the role. Bookies Ladbrokes, however, are reported as making him a 500-1 outsider, despite claims that he has cleaned up his act and shed weight to look trimmer. And an unnamed 'pal' is quoted as saying: 'There is more chance of him playing one of the monsters.'" This was also covered at Ananova.

Two minor links to report: a discussion of time travel at the Norwich Astronomical Society that mentions the Doctor who series in Norfolk Now, and a Guardian discussion on Cardiff Unviersity that mentions the Daleks.

(Thanks to Steve Tribe, John Bowman, Andrew Flynn, and Chuck Foster)

Doctor Who did it again in Canada with over 899,000 viewers for the CBC broadcast yesterday of episode two, "The End of the World." Doctor Who came in fourth for the evening primetime slot behind programming's usual suspects: American Idol, Amazing Race, and Law and Order: SVU. As in the UK, the Canadian viewership is slightly down this week, but that was to be expected.

BBC Television issued a response to a complaint (reported as widespread, but in actuality it was limited to only a small handful of comments, if that) about the violence in episode three, "The Unquiet Dead." "Doctor Who is famously remembered by adults as being the family teatime programme which they watched from behind the sofa as children. The series has always been shown in the early evening and, while the monsters may be scary, the content is carefully considered for a pre-watershed audience," says the BBC response. "The programme sets out to balance the right amount of humour, drama and suspense in each episode. In The Unquiet Dead broadcast April 9th, the comic character of the Welsh undertaker and a larger than life Charles Dickens together with the laughter and bravery shown by the Doctor and Rose in the face of danger were, we believe, vital elements in putting this "ghost story" into the right context for a family audience. This is a balance we will strive week by week to maintain and remain vigilant about. Doctor Who has never been intended for the youngest of children and in line with the BBC's scheduling policy, the later a programme appears in the schedules, the less suitable it is for very young children to watch unsupervised. We would suggest it would be a programme which 8 year olds and above would enjoy watching with their parents. Programmes for very young viewers are clearly indicated in the listings. The programme is well trailed giving a clear indication of its content." News services covering this report include the Daily Record and the Times.

Also, in addition to the report earlier about the MSNBC cable network mentioning Doctor Who in the story about the Charles-Camilla wedding, we've had reports that this same report was also featured on yesterday morning's Today show on the NBC network here in America.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Rod Mammitzsch, Sara Neale, Paul Hayes)

According to the ezyDVD retailer, the Australian DVD release of The Mind Robber has been scheduled for May 5, 2005. Note that "Horror of Fang Rock" was just released last week as well, and "The Claws of Axos" is due out on July 7. (Thanks to Carl Davidson)

BBC Worldwide has now made available most of the back collection of Doctor Who soundtracks from BBC Audiobooks on the iTunes music store system owned by Apple. The offerings include many of the narrated episode soundtracks, as well as both collections ("Adventures in History" and "Yeti Attack!"), the "Slipback," "Death Comes to Time" and "Paradise of Death" radio dramas, both "Tales From the TARDIS" volumes and "Doctor Who at the BBC". You can find them in the Music Store on iTunes; you must have the software installed on your PC to use it. (Thanks to Shawn Fuller)

Just a brief series update today...

The official site has once again been updated with a new motif -- that of a BBC news report -- for the next two episodes, "Aliens of London" and "World War Three."

The new Radio Times published today (16-22 April) again heavily promotes the new series: Aliens of London is the first choice for Saturday in the magazine's choice of the week's best television (page 4), with a photo of Rose and a Slitheen ("After an alien spaceship crash-lands, the Doctor must save the world û but not before facing the wrath of Rose's mum..."). A letter praising David Tennant's performance in Casanova elicits the response, "Watch this space û David Tennant may rematerialise as the new Doctor Who..." on page 9 (and there's also an opportunity to get preview tickets for the new Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie). A double-spread shows several pictures of Mike Tucker's team creating the models and effects for the destruction of Big Ben ("Killing Time", page 12). TV Editor Alison Graham leads her "Television" column (page 69) with a discussion of Christopher Eccleston's departure from the series û she specualates that the news may have contributed to the expected drop in rataings between episodes 1 and 2 ("I wonder just how many [...] walked away after taking umbrage with the show's star"), observing that "The outcry [...] was immediate and spectacular". She criticises that response as showing "an absurd lack of perspective", although she recognises that "Audiences can be very proprietorial about their TV heroes [...] And no one likes their heroes to be slighted or mucked around. If there's one thing to be learnt [...] it's that audiences' affections are not to be trifled with." She points out that Doctor Who will return û "calm down, dear, he's only a Time Lord." This week's episode misses out on being Saturday's pick of the day, but is still one of the day's top choices (page 70), as is the next edition of Doctor Who Confidential, both getting very positive write-ups, particularly for Penelope Wilton. Saturday's "On this day" (page 71) notes the shared anniversaries of the final part of Genesis of the Daleks and the start of Terry Nation's Survivors. Finally, another Slitheen photo heads the BBC1 listings for Saturday evening.

A press release from the BBC Press Office yesterday notes that, "On the eve of MIPTV, BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, has concluded two major deals for the brand new first series of Doctor Who... Following a deal struck at this year's BBC Showcase, Thomsonfly (formerly Britannia Airways Ltd) will broadcast episode one of the new series to passengers from 1 May on each of its video-equipped planes, on all routes around the world." The story also confirms the sale of the show to Italy to the Jimmyentertainment pay-TV channel, which we previously reported. Interestingly, the press release notes that "Doctor Who is a co-production with CBC in Canada," perhaps the first time this relationship has truly been quantified.

Last night saw the broadcast of Russell T Davies: Unscripted, a documentary/interview on BBC 4. Today'sGuardian noted that it was "a timely tribute to a man who's done more than anyone to drag television drama into the 21st century, but it did have a slight whiff of editorial control," noting that Davies' recollection of his career was "one long series of happy accidents. ... All of which is true, but I couldn't help longing to hear about the setbacks. The pre-Queer years, in which he did journeyman work at Granada, were glossed over with a few clips from The Grand, his somewhat overblown period piece. But there was no mention of Revelations, the rambling, crazy tale of a country bishop and his sexually precocious offspring, shunted out in the graveyard shift, watched only by a handful of slavering fans who recognised genius when they saw it. And there was no discussion of Davies's spectacular falling-out with Channel 4, who, unbelievably, passed on his first post-Queer project, which must have been a body blow at the time." (As an aside, the Guardian's Education section here has a brief feature on Simon Pegg, which notes his "Cameo appearance as a villain in the new series of Doctor Who.")

Richard Franklin, who played Captain Mike Yates alongside Jon Pertwee and the "UNIT era" cast of 1970's Doctor Who, had a sharply-worded letter in today's Brighton Evening Argus, in which he lambasts Christopher Eccleston's decision to leave the title role of the new series. "An actor is like a balloon," writes Franklin, "nothing, no one, until someone else breathes air into him. He is dependent upon the writer, the director and the lesser members of the cast who support their star on his or her imaginary pinnacle." Franklin says that in the case of Doctor Who, "fandom is absolutely crucial. This new series of Dr. Who would not have happened at all but for the continued pressure of fandom" since the cancellation in the 1980's. Franklin pays homage to fan support over the years before he takes Eccleston to task for what he feels is the latter's consideration of the role as "no more than a stepping stone. I find this insulting and ungrateful to the fans, who would have taken him to their hearts, and to the BBC, who have given him the accolade of a unique television role... His departure is not much thanks for a leg-up most actors would have given their right arm for and a glaring example of the greed, selfishness and cult of celebrity which blights modern Britain."There are apparently Doctor Who viewers in the American media. According to a report on the MSNBC website, one of their on-screen reporters made a comment during the nightly Keith Olbermann show about the series. Referring to the recent Charles-Camilla nuptials, reporter Michael Okwu said, "...Fewer than 8 million British watched the event on television. Fewer than sporting events and even a popular science fiction spoof here called 'Dr. Who.'" Olbermann, quick on the uptake, replied "Well, I can understand that, the whole TV ratings thing, because if I had my choice of a wedding or watching 'Dr. Who,' I'd watch 'Dr. Who' every time."

ABC Australia has announced it will round out the hour of broadcast of the new series (which only runs 45 minutes) with shortened versions of "Little Britain" narrated by Tom Baker. According to Australia's Daily Telegraph newspaper, the 15-minute 'episodes' will be called "Very Little Britain," and will debut with the series. Meanwhile, ABC will broadcast the Christopher Eccleston miniseries "The Second Coming," written by Russell T Davies, on May 1.

The Daily Politics show has "invited some of the nation's favourite celebrities and regular programme guests" to take part in commentary during the forthcoming political campaign. Says the report on BBC News, "Even one of the Daleks from Dr Who gets in on the act!"

Note to North American readers: both the SFX Doctor Who Special andDigit Magazine with the Doctor Who cover story have hit bookshelves as of today, at least in the major chains such as Barnes and Noble.

On the BBC's Entertainment page today, front section: " Imagine If... Rose from Doctor Who chose her top four web sites. Where on earth would she want to go?" There are links to four separate sections of the BBC site from that blurb... BBC History, Women's Health, Science and Space... and of course, the Doctor Who section. Of course, Rose is quite popular right now... in today's Daily Record, "former Doctor Who Colin Baker says he would have preferred to share the Tardis with Billie Piper, who stars as Rose Tyler, below, than any of his sexy female sidekicks. He said: 'My two assistants were great, but Billie is amazing. She's beautiful.'"

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Mark Rushford, Ian O'Brien, Alan Siler, Stephen Laing, Paul Hayes, Christopher Scott, and David Guest)

Amazon.co.uk now features the full cover illustrations for two forthcoming releases from BBC Audiobooks: , The Crusade, the season two classic starring William Hartnell due out on May 2 (narrated by William Russell), andThe Power of the Daleks Reconstructed, the MP3-CD release due out June 6 featuring the previously-released soundtrack for the serial as well as telesnap photos to play along with it in your CD-ROM (though for some reason, Amazon lists this as a "cassette" release). Click on the thumbnails below for each for a larger version; meanwhile, you can order them through Amazon (and help out Outpost Gallifrey) using the following links: Crusadeand Power. (Thanks to Dan O'Malley, Lonnie Readioff)

Here's an update on the events of this past weekend:

First, some ratings news for the Sunday night BBC3 repeats. Episode three,The Unquiet Dead, attracted 326,440 viewers in its Sunday repeat, according to ViewingFigures, while 217,550 viewers tuned in to see the repeat of Doctor Who Confidential. Although these figures may look quite small, says our correspondent Andy Parish, they performed really well in the multi-channel chart. "If you take out the 5 terrestrial channels available to the entire UK public, the repeat showing of 'Unquiet Dead' was only beaten by SKYONE's 'Malcolm in the Middle' and even rated higher than the popular news bulletin 'Channel 4 news'." We published the ratings for BBC1 broadcast of the episode and the initial showing of episode 3 of "Confidential" in yesterday's news update.

The 3.25am Saturday night/Sunday morning repeat showing of Doctor Who Confidential appears to be a regular thing - the Radio Times lists now lists the programme in that slot for 23/24 April, along with the regular broadcasts at 7.45pm on the Saturday and the Sunday.

Russell T Davies says he won't let a woman become the next Time Lord, according to reports printed on the ic Network. The article says that, asked if he would allow a female actor to become the next Doctor, Davies said: "Nah! Imagine having to explain that one to your kids - that Doctor Who has lost his willy!" (Er, quite.) The article also says Davies said the BBC always knew of Eccleston's intention but the announcement was not supposed to be made until the end of the 13-part series; however, he says the quest is underway to find the next Time Lord and refused to comment on rumours that actor David Tennant - star of Davies' BBC drama Casanova - is being lined up for the role. "I can't really say. All I can say is that the search is on," said Davies. "Eccleston's departure was all planned but it was not meant to come out. You were supposed to watch the series first. Then it was to be announced. But Christopher was the best Doctor in the world. He is one of the best actors in Britain." Davies also comments on the cancellation of "Mine All Mine." The comments praising Eccleston have appeared elsewhere including at Digital Spy.

Today's Guardian reviews the new series. "What was that dreadful smell at just after seven o'clock on Saturday night? Why, it was the nation's under-12s reacting as under-12s will to the opening scene of Doctor Who (BBC1), which was almost enough to make me react with them," says the review. "Mark 'League of Gentlemen' Gatiss's first stab at writing for the Doctor was a rich stew of genuine horror and gleeful cliche, with a big dollop of Eng Lit chucked in for good measure. Dumbing down? Hah! We discussed the finer points of Charles Dickens's oeuvre and Einstein's theory of relativity while chasing around in horse and cab. Billie Piper looked more than usually lovely in a Victorian off-the- shoulder number (for the dads) while Zombie Gran was there to terrorise the kiddies. We even got Simon Callow doing his Dickens turn ('What the Shakespeare is going on?'). Doctor, you're spoiling us. With all this on the plus side, it seems churlish to nit-pick, but that's what I'm paid for - so, am I the only one to find Christopher Eccleston's grinning a bit tiresome? It was all well and good to establish him as a matey, northern Doctor in the first episode, but frankly I'm hoping for a bit of depth at this point. He does look nice in a leather coat, though, which 99% of the sci-fi loving population does not."

Also in today's Guardian, an article called "Why sometimes it's clever to play dumb" about advertising in the modern era: "To look at the whole campaign we need to travel back in time to last summer. Filming starts on a new series of Doctor Who, the first since Michael Grade zapped the time lord in 1989. The new series is being created by writer-of-the-moment Russell T Davies. And the new Doctor is? Christopher Eccleston, an actor with Hollywood kudos, lured back to telly. His sidekick, ex-popstrel Billie Piper, for whom filming and celebrity marriage don't seem to be compatible. It's an irresistible stew of news and rumours and it is deftly spoon-fed to the press by the BBC's PR people. The bloggers blog, the journalists scrawl, the campaign has started. Then comes the illicit 'leak' of the first episode on the internet. Given that every hardcore Whoey is bound to be a techy and certain to have broadband internet, it is an absolutely perfect move. Too perfect, maybe, although the BBC denies responsibility. So now it is more than news, it is conspiracy fodder, too. And then in the run-up to the first episode, interviews with Eccleston and Piper on BBC Breakfast and Jonathan Ross; Chris Moyles promoting Who as part of Comic Relief on Radio 1; an elaborate website with clever downloadables, and trails aplenty on the BBC channels giving us our first glimpse of Eccleston's cheeky Doctor. Then, finally, the heavyweights swing into the ring: BBC television editorial. Doctor Who Confidential appears on BBC3, and Doctor Who Night screens on BBC2 the Saturday before the first episode. Every arm of the BBC is working perfectly with every other arm of the BBC to whip up maximum Whomania and create a very attractive product. And, at the very last moment, the poster goes up. A slightly hackneyed illustration of the Doctor and Rose emerging from the Tardis framed by shafts of romantic light like the cover of a sci-fi Mills and Boon. A poster as uncomplicated as the job it needed to do. What was the programme again? The return of Who with Eccleston and Chris Evans's ex, you know, the programme and the people that you have already heard so much about. Remind me when it's on? This Saturday at 7pm. The poster's only piece of news. Little Ant and Dec over on ITV1 didn't stand an earthly chance. The poster won't win any awards for advertising, or illustration, but it will win big for restraint, for playing the right part in a bigger whole and for showing that sometimes you don't have to show you are clever to be clever."

The Guardian had several other items of note: the television Pick of the Day is the Timeshift documentary on Russell T Davies: "Russell T Davies and Paul Abbott. No other script writer can touch them for trampoline-tight stories and spick-and-span dialogue. This documentary gives Davies, the creator of Queer As Folk, Casanova, Doctor Who, Bob and Rose, Dark Season and Second Coming the respect he is due. As a six-year-old he was entranced by Doctor Who. His first job was as a researcher on Why Don't You? He smokes a lot. He is TV-clever like no one else because he watches so much of it. People working in television who don't watch television are weird. Love him." Meanwhile, anarticlecondemning the way that "interactive" phone-in and text-in votes and so on are coming to dominate Saturday evening television notes that Doctor Who seems to have escaped the trend: "The worst aspect of this new TV tax is that it actually lets the television industry off doing its job properly. Now they have found solace in the phone-line endorsed bun-fight between individuals struggling for the right to fame, they no longer have to find formats or presenters or, heaven forbid, original ideas with which the public genuinely engage. In this televisual temperature it is almost possible to understand the hysterics the BBC put into promoting the new Doctor Who. It came as no small surprise to learn that we weren't voting for the return of the Daleks on that one."

DigitalSpy mentions a problem that has occurred this past weekend with Sky+, specifically that the showing had some technical problems that caused it to be removed from the Sky+ planner (an automated box used to record it onto the digital video recorder.) "It's a shame that the news that Chris Eccleston was leaving leaked early but I'll try not to let it spoil my enjoyment too much. I'm sure that many sci-fi fans were attracted to E4's screening of Shallow Grave on Friday as it was a rare opportunity to see The Doctor and Obi Wan Kenobi in the same movie. Add in Keith Allen, star of the Comic Strip's Sci-Fi spoof The Yob, and you have anorak heaven."

Ultimate DVD Magazine will celebrate the arrival of the new season of Doctor Who on DVD in its May issue, out this week, April 14. "With a Doctor Who cover, taken from the DVD art for Volume 1, we've got a wealth of Who coverageà Executive producers Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner talk about return the show to our screens, and what we can expect from November's TARDIS box set. Marketing manager Matthew Parkes provides more information about the DVD release strategy, and exclusively reveals news of an exciting Doctor Who box set of classic episodes for release in 2006! PLUS: An in-depth interview with Billie Piper, and Christopher Eccleston talks about taking on the role of the Doctor." Details about the issue can be found at the Ultimate DVD website and the cover is at right.

BBC News today posts the "Tory verdict on Doctor Who" interviewing MP Tim Collins, a big supporter of the series. "Never mind the election campaign, I have the answer to the question that really matters: what does the Tory Education Spokesman, Tim Collins, think of the new Doctor Who? Mr Collins is famous for his devotion and admiration for the previous incarnations of the Doctor, and is a fount of all Tardis-related trivia. His verdict could make or break the programme's revival... It's good news. Mr Collins believes the new Doctor Who is 'fantastic', adding that at least some real money had been spent on it."

Amazon has again released details of two books from the new Doctor Who series coming this summer from Penguin Books, an Intergalactic Activity Book and a Sticker Guide; you can see the books' covers and pre-order them (and support Outpost Gallifrey) by clicking on the links. We had previously been asked if we'd remove the covers as they were only mockups and not final versions (in fact, one being a simple marketing illustration used to sell the books to the BBC!) but these appear to be the final editions. Also online: the cover illustration for Mark Campbell's revised edition of his Pocket Essentials: Doctor Who due out at the end of August.

The Sunday Mirror said yesterday that Billie Piper has been chosen to star in a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. "Following her role as Dr Who's sidekick Rose in the hit new TV series, the 22-year-old will play the role of Hero, a weathergirl, in the classic play, to be set in a television newsroom," says the article. The Sunday Mirror's critic Ian Hyland also mentions the series in a brief review; it's interesting to note that the reviewer watched it, because after "Rose" went out he said he would be sticking to "Ant + Dec" on Saturday nights. "But questions still surround this show. Like when did Chris Eccleston install a spray- tanning booth in the Tardis? And did the weapons inspectors in Iraq find more evidence of chemistry than we're witnessing between Eccleston and Billie Piper? And if the Doctor is such an expert on time, how come he hasn't told the producers these new episodes are 15 minutes too long?"

Today's Metro newspaper contains a review of episode three. "Those despairing of the state of 21st century telly should get a blast of Doctor Who. This is the classic stuff today's little 'uns will look back on with childhood nostalgia. And Saturday's episode was another absolute cracker, as the Doctor and Rose Tardis-ed into a Dickensian Christmas 1860, to investigate an alien invasion. ... Quilled by The League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss, this was darker stuff than usual, packing in all the Victorian trappings: grave-robbing, seances, Billie's bosoms wedged into a corset, but also intelligently touching on class distinctions: 'You dress like a lady but you seem a bit common' said the ... maid to Billie, while Simon Callow was clearly having a ball as Dickens."

"Doctor Who to transform London phone boxes" says today's Media Week. "A new BBC Doctor Who DVD range is kicking off in May with a massive phone kiosk advertising campaign to take over the streets of London. Beginning on 9 May, 450 phone kiosks will be overhauled to become the Doctor's Tardis time travel machine in a campaign lasting six weeks. Matthew Parkes, BBC DVD marketing manager said: 'Telephone kiosk advertising is the perfect medium for advertising a brand so closely tied with the iconic Tardis police call box.' The first DVD volume of the new Doctor Who series will be on sale 16 May, featuring the first three episodes, followed by the second volume on 13 June, volume three in August, volume four in September and a complete box-set of the series by November. The huge excitement that has been triggered by this campaign surrounding the new Doctor Who series adds to the cult of the show, which recently made the headlines when Christopher Eccleston announced that he would not be reprising his role as the infamous Time Lord in a second series for fears of being typecast. The new series of Doctor Who, which was launched on the 26 March, followed a 16-year hiatus after the show was cancelled in 1989 due to poor audience figures... but with 9.9 million viewers for its opening episode, the sci-fi drama beat off Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, in a major blow for ITV1."

An article in the Sydney, Australia newspaper the Sun Herald discusses the acquisition of the series for Australian TV, recapping much of the hype in Christopher Eccleston's casting, his departure and the rumors about David Tennant. "It appears that Eccleston is indeed tired of it, and is moving on after one season and a Christmas special. But will Tennant step into his shoes? It is too early to tell. Many actors have been tipped as the new Doctor in the past, with choices ranging from the sublime (Ron Moody, Alan Rickman, Brian Blessed) to the peculiar (Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hauer, David Hasslehoff)." It says that, according to an interview with Eccleston, the actor said that Russell T Davies was "as close to a genius as I've seen in telly."

Saturday's South Evening Post said that "who better to put Swansea on TV screens around the world than city-born writer Russell T Davies?" The article noted that "As head writer and executive producer of the new Who, Davies helped make sure that at least part of one episode was filmed in Swansea. That episode, The Unquiet Dead, is on BBC One tonight and will be screened Down Under in May," referring to last Saturday's transmission of the episode.

From yesterday's Scotland on Sunday newspaper, in a profile of Mark E. Smith of indie rock band The Fall: "And by the time he tells me to 'Get them in, Aidan - and a whisky,' he's casually mentioning how he turned down the chance to become Doctor Who. I'd just asked him if he'd seen Christopher Eccleston's reincarnation of the Time Lord and in particular the first episode where he utters a line worthy of Smith himself: 'All planets have a north.' 'Nah, I've heard he's good, like, but 10 years ago there was talk of me being the Doctor. I was down at the BBC, doing a session for Peel, and this bloke - he must have been a Fall fan - said a place on the short-list was mine if I wanted it. 'Nah, I don't do acting,' I said. Well, could you see me fighting t'Daleks?'"

Actor Rhys Ifans, in an interview he gave at the Celtic Film Festival, claimed to have been offered the role of the Doctor after Eccleston's departure, but declined it as he "didn't have the time." In the same interview, he claimed to have also turned down the role of James Bond! This was reported in the Welsh edition of the "Daily Post" newspaper last week.

BBC News commented on the ratings for the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles this weekend and mentioned Doctor Who beating it in the ratings: "As our sports colleagues might say, there was a big crowd at Windsor on Saturday. But not too many people watched the Royal Wedding on television, according to the Mail. The paper put the viewing figures at 7.3m viewers - the same as the Grand National but fewer than Dr Who - and definitely far behind the wedding of Ken and Deirdre in Coronation Street, the paper says."

The Northern Echo says of this past weekend's episode that "the Doctor's sense of direction hasn't improved. Instead of Naples, they landed in Cardiff in 1869 where the dead were having trouble sleeping. Or as the undertaker put it, 'The stiffs are getting restless.' ... Charles Dickens played his part in putting these zombies to rest in a story written by the Co Durham-born member of The League Of Gentleman, Mark Gatiss. , which continued Russell T Davies' good work of reviving the Time Lord. One intriguing aspect of the new series is the developing relationship between the Doctor and Rose. There's a look here, a remark there. I wouldn't be surprised if, so to speak, she finds herself under the doctor. "

Finally, today's Sun comments on how, once again, Doctor Who has beaten Ant + Dec in the ratings. Those poor, poor chaps...

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Dave Owen, Chuck Foster, Ian O'Brien, David Richardson, Paul Hayes, David Traynier, Paul Howes, Simon Mapp, David Connah, Eddie Brennan, Dan O'Malley, Mike Buckley, Chris Winwood, and Andy Parish)