Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock

Friday, 9 December 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
BBC Worldwide have announced the first in a new range of console games:
Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock will immerse gamers in the universe of Doctor Who, allowing them to take on the role of the Doctor and River Song as they travel across time and space to save the Earth. Gamers must learn to master the complexities of time travel with exceptional time based game play, changes made in one time will impact another creating multiple possibilities and challenging players to solve puzzles across the centuries.

The game will be released early next year, initially for Sony's Playstation 3 and Vita platforms and a PC version, and is being developed by Supermassive Games for BBC Worldwide Digital Entertainment and Games, and is written in collaboration with BBC Wales.

Both Matt Smith and Alex Kingston have reprised their roles of the Doctor and River Song respectively for the brand new storyline, which is to be presented in high definition, using photo-real graphics, television quality scenes and motion capture to create in-game characters.

Robert Nashak, EVP of Digital Entertainment at BBC Worldwide said:
We're creating these new games for Playstation 3 and Vita with adaptations that will bring the wonder, adventure and madness of Doctor Who to each platform. Working with a top-tier UK development partner like Supermassive Games demonstrates BBC Worldwide's commitment to create world-class Doctor Who games for fans of the show and gamers alike.

There is also a dedicated Twitter feed, @DoctorWhoTEC, where more information will be announced as the release date approaches.


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




FILTER: - Doctor Who - Games

Zai Bennett gives point(s) of view

Sunday, 4 December 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
BBC3 Controller Zai Bennett appeared on today's edition of BBC1's viewer opinion programme Points of View to discuss the channel's recent commissioning policies, of which the first question raised asked about the cancellation of Doctor Who Confidential:
Kimberley Ritchie: Being a viewer of Doctor Who Confidential made me realise how much I wanted to go into TV production as a career. I've recently begun a course. I hope you take into account the efforts we're all putting in to try to save something we love.
Bennett responded:
Doctor Who Confidential was a brilliant series that we made six series of. It's a show about the making of another show - Doctor Who - and there are only so many ways explaining how a show is made, and in these straightened times when BBC3 is actually cutting its budget we have to prioritise the shows that we think are most important to our viewers. Doctor Who Confidential was a great show, but after six series we think that it had a very good go explaining how to make Doctor Who.

In response to reports by the press recently about a completed version of Doctor Who Confidential having been made for Christmas but not being shown, Bennett replied:
That's absolute nonsense, there is no finished programme sitting on a shelf. That show, however, was made for lots of different people, so for DVD and for BBC Worldwide, and there was some footage, which was about ten minutes, which will end up going online - but there's definitely not a finished show.

This edition of Points of View is available to watch in the UK via the BBC iPlayer (DWC from 2:12) until 11th December.






FILTER: - Doctor Who - Production

Adventure Calendar: Christmas Cards

Sunday, 4 December 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Today's Doctor Who Adventure Calendar has revealed four Christmas card designs for you to download, print and send to your friends! The PDF files are A4 sized, folded twice to create the card.







FILTER: - Doctor Who - Online

Doctor Who Film Update

Friday, 2 December 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Director David Yates attended the BAFTA Los Angeles 2011 Britannia Awards on Wednesday evening, where he was awarded the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing in recognition of his work on the Harry Potter series of films.

Speaking after the ceremony, Yates responded to questions about his involvement and fan interest with the potential Doctor Who film, telling MTV News:
I can't really talk about that because its such a long way away. We're principally looking for a writer, and we'll start with that. Everything has to start with a great script, so that's more important than casting.

I've lived with (fan) pressure for so long. What's pressure? I don't know anymore! It's fine, it's good. It's such a wonderful character and such a wonderful world. It's exciting.

It's a long journey and we're going to take our time with it. Right now I'm looking forward to a vacation, frankly!


David Yates talks to MTV News, via MTV - may not play outside the United States



Doctor Who's lead writer Steven Moffat has responded to the comments made by Yates via Twitter, saying:
To clarify: any Doctor Who movie would be made by the BBC team, star the current TV Doctor and certainly NOT be a Hollywood reboot. David Yates, great director, was speaking off the cuff, on a red carpet. You've seen the rubbish I talk when I'm cornered.





FILTER: - Doctor Who - Movies

48th Anniversary of Doctor Who

Wednesday, 23 November 2011 - Reported by Marcus
Today marks the 48th Anniversary since the first broadcast of Doctor Who on 23rd November 1963

The series launched on BBC Television at 5.16pm, sandwiched between Grandstand and the Tele-Goons, where it was watched by 4.4 million people.

Over the following 48 years, eleven actors have taken the role of The Doctor. There have been 224 stories and 783 episodes as well as numerous spin-offs in the form of Books, Audio Plays and Cinema films.

The programme is listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running science fiction television show in the world, and as the "most successful" science fiction series of all time, in terms of its overall broadcast ratings, DVD and book sales, iTunes traffic, and downloads.

The first episode, An Unearthly Child, saw the introduction of William Hartnell as The Doctor, Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman, Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright and William Russell as Ian Chesterton.

Written by Anthony Coburn and CE Webber it was directed by Waris Hussein, designed by Peter Brachacki, script edited by David Whitaker and produced by Verity Lambert. The whole series was overseen by BBC Head of Drama, Sydney Newman and Head of the Script Department Donald Wilson.


The first appearance of The Doctor




FILTER: - Doctor Who

A Gamble with Time (Lord)

Tuesday, 22 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Since the announcement by director David Yates on the development of a movie version of Doctor Who, the casting of an actor for the role has attracted speculation through the media.

The Radio Times suggests a variety of potential Doctors, ranging from young popstar Justin Bieber through to another sci-fi stalwart William Shatner! Other names include Hugh Laurie, Colin Firth, Ricky Gervais, Lady Gaga and Morgan Freeman.

IGN ran a poll in which some 7000 readers voted Hugh Laurie as their favourite choice, with the runners up being Gary Oldman, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy and Ewan McGregor. Entertainment Editor Chris Tilly said: "As one of the UK's most celebrated TV characters of all-time, fans are thrilled about the prospect of a 'Doctor Who' movie, with talk immediately turning to who should play the lead role. And with his combination of wit, intelligence, charm and eccentricity, Hugh Laurie was the runaway winner of our poll, with fans believing the Brit to be the perfect man to play the Time Lord on the big screen."

Betting firm William Hill have placed David Morrissey as their favourite - in the lead-up to 2008's The Next Doctor the actor was the firm favourite to take over from David Tennant as the eleventh Doctor; another contender for the role as the announcement of who would replace Tennant in early 2009 was Chiwetel Ejiofor who is currently William Hill's second favourite.

IndieWire also offers up Chiwetel Ejiofor as a potential big-screen Doctor, with other suggestions including Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch, Toby Kebbell, Tom Hardy and Andrew Garfield.

Movie odds aren't a new thing, of course; back in 2010 Paddy Power were offering 2/1 on Pirates of the Caribbean actor Johnny Depp as becoming a movie Doctor!





FILTER: - Doctor Who - Movies - Betting/Odds

Convention Update

Saturday, 19 November 2011 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who ConventionBBC Worldwide have responded to criticism of some of the charges associated with the official Doctor Who Convention being held next march in Cardiff.

The event costs £99 per day and originally attendees were also asked to book a separate £25 ticket for a picture or autograph with either Matt Smith or Steven Moffat.

After consultation with Moffat the convention has now agreed that the guaranteed autograph signing and photography opportunities with him will now be offered on a complimentary basis. Anyone who has already purchased a ticket for a session with Moffat via the website will be immediately refunded.

Instead the event will be holding a competition in the next few weeks offering Doctor Who Convention attendees the chance to be selected for a photograph or autograph with Steven Moffat.

The charges for a photograph or autograph with Matt Smith will remain. BBC Worldwide justify this by saying the photographs will be taken by a professional photographer and will be studio quality prints. They confirm that conference attendees will have other opportunities to see Matt Smith in person but the ticket will guarantee the opportunity to have a photograph or autograph with him.

BBC Worldwide have also answered criticism that the event is not child friendly. They say:
The event programme is being put together with an adult audience in mind. For several years we have had requests from our adult fans for a full-scale Doctor Who Convention and with this in mind we are aiming to stage a top-quality event that brings the script to screen process to life for attendees. We have a wide-ranging programme in place with live demonstrations; Q&A sessions and talks from the cast and crew of Doctor Who. Whilst none of the material covered will be unsuitable for children we are mindful that the presentation style and informative nature of some of the events may not suit a child’s idea of a ‘Doctor Who day out’. The Doctor Who convention is just one element of a series of live events we have staged from the Doctor Who Live tour in 2010 to the Doctor Who Experience which were more tailored to families and we will have many more Doctor Who events to look forward to in 2012 and 2013 to cater for all age-ranges.




FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Doctor Who - Matt Smith - Conventions

Doctor Who film in the works?

Monday, 14 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Variety have reported that preparation has begun to turn Doctor Who into a feature film, to be helmed by director David Yates (Harry Potter) in association with BBC Worldwide Productions under the auspice of Jane Tranter (VP of programming and production).

Yates told Variety:
We're looking at writers now. We're going to spend two to three years to get it right. It needs quite a radical transformation to take it into the bigger arena. The notion of the time-travelling Time Lord is such a strong one, because you can express story and drama in any dimension or time.

Russell T. Davies and then Steven Moffat have done their own transformations, which were fantastic, but we have to put that aside and start from scratch. We want a British sensibility, but having said that, Steve Kloves wrote the Potter films and captured that British sensibility perfectly, so we are looking at American writers too,

Tranter has commented on the potential of a Doctor Who film before; asked about the possibility when outlying her plans for BBC Films back in 2007, she answered: "I would not rule out a film version of Doctor Who, no."

The BBC confirmed development via their Doctor Who Facebook presence:
There's been a lot of talk today about the possibility of a Doctor Who movie - a feature film remains in development with BBC Worldwide Productions in Los Angeles. But, as of yet there is no script, cast or production crew in place.

 
Perhaps the most famous attempt to produce a film occured in 1992 with the BBC Enterprises project The Dark Dimension, aimed to be released during the show's 30th Anniversary the following year. Others include Doctor Who Meets Scratchman, an attempt by then Doctor Tom Baker and Ian Marter to take Doctor Who to the big screenin the 1970s, and a long-term project by the Daltenreys group (aka Coast to Coast) in the late 80s/early 90s.





FILTER: - Doctor Who - Movies

Doctor Who Encyclopedia available for iPad

Wednesday, 2 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
BBC Books have released an Apple iPad application for the Doctor Who Encyclopedia to tie in with the revised hardback edition that was published on 15th October:
Written by former Doctor Who script editor Gary Russell, the app is the ultimate guide to seven years of thrilling Doctor Who adventures, which includes up to date information on every episode since the show’s return to our screens in 2005.

It allows you to scroll your way through a complete A-Z of the show and explore and search thousands of entries by series or episode. You will discover the Doctor’s fiercest enemies, closest allies and key places and objects and have the opportunity to preview and buy those must-have episodes.

The app contains over 3000 entries and each entry includes links to episodes, people, places and objects that relate to it. Additionally, each entry has an episode reference, allowing you to search the Encyclopedia by episode or series – so you can find out all you ever need to know about the Doctor, his allies, enemies and everywhere he’s ever visited. You can also preview episodes and buy your favourites directly from iTunes.


The app also contains 11 unique portals - special interactive entries, for the Doctor, Amy, Rory, River and other major characters in the show. The Doctors’ portal uses parallax technology which allows users to move their iPad to scroll through a 3D environment, featuring the Doctor’s closest companions and deadliest enemies.
The application was developed by Brandwidth in partnership with BBC Books and is available as a number of downloads, with the initial purchase covering the Eleventh Doctor. Additional downloads can then be purchased to cover the Ninth and Tenth Doctor era.

Albert DePetrillo, Senior Editorial Director at BBC Books, commented:
The Doctor Who Encyclopedia offers a completely immersive digital reading experience, offering fans a stunning variety of navigational possibilities as they explore the world of the Doctor. In its simple and intuitive design, as well as its intelligent and elegant execution, the digital Encyclopedia is pure Doctor Who and I am very proud to be publishing it on the BBC Books list.

Further details on the Doctor Who Encyclopedia can be found on its website, and BBC Books can also be followed on Twitter with the Encyclopedia being discussed via the #WhoiPad tag.


Doctor Who Encyclopedia iPad video trailer, via YouTube


There are no immediate plans for the application to be released for other media devices such as Android or Windows-based tablets.




FILTER: - Doctor Who - Books - BBC

The Gunpowder Plot - now available to play in the UK

Monday, 31 October 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC have now released their new Adventure Game, The Gunpowder Plot:
The TARDIS lands in London, 1605, encountering a group of men who are plotting to assassinate the Head of State. The Doctor, Amy and Rory realise they are at a pivotal point in time but so are two alien races, each of which are more than happy to change history to suit their own ends...
The game was written by Phil Ford and produced by Gary Russell, and is available to download for free in the United Kingdom.





FILTER: - Doctor Who - Online - Games