There is more location work being done this week; we've learned that the production team is currently doing on-location work at the Temple of Health and Peace in Cathay's Park in Cardiff. "Lots of blue midget aliens and 'tree people' having lunch in the catering wagons on Museum Avenue," says one of our correspondents. The TARDIS model has been spotted in the location as well. More details soon (and hopefully some photos...) (Thanks to MarkD, David Lewis)

TBI Buyers' Briefing, a weekly information service sent to over 6,000 worldwide TV executives, this morning features a news item: "BBC scout gets feet under US table: Dr Who US sale being finalised". Among the various items mentioned in the report, which is mostly about the move of BBC Worldwide executive Paul Telegdy from London to the US, is an impending sale of the new series to this, the largest television market for the new show. "One really exciting franchise on both sides of the Atlantic that audiences know and love is Dr Who," Telegdy is quoted as saying in the report. It mentions that he is talking to an "interested party" and is confident it will be sold to a US network in the near future. "We're discussing the ratings potential of the show," he explains. He is likely referring to a cable network, not to one of the over-air broadcast networks.

Meanwhile, the UK trade paper Broadcast also mentions the Canadian acquisition of the show in an article in yesterday's edition. "Canadian public broadcaster CBC Television has become the first channel to buy the new series of Dr Who, months before it is due to air in the UK." (This doesn't mean it will air before the UK, only that it's been bought months before the broadcast.) But CBC Television executive director programming Slawko Klymkiw does state, "This was an exciting opportunity for CBC to bring Dr Who to fans new and old alike across the country. We are pleased to be working closely with BBC to bring Canadians this exceptional new series." (Thanks to John Freeman)

The Sci Fi Online site notes, in an article entitled "Latest on the Daleks' dialect" that the Daleks will not abandon the popular phrase "Exterminate!" in the new show, despite the note in The Sun recently. It also mentions rumors on design: "The new-look inhabitants of Skaro wonÆt actually appear much different from their previous incarnations (save possibly a movie-style fender), although a final decision on a colour scheme has apparently yet to be reached. What is clear, however, is that the first Dalek we see will be damaged and covered in gunk, the sole survivor of a forgotten patrol thatÆs killing the unsuspecting crew of a spacecraft." Also mentioned in the report is that the TARDIS is larger and more chunky (as obvious from the photos posted on this very site) and that the rumored new logo was "created with widescreen TVs in mind - all the lettering is on one line in square upper-case text, backed by a coloured oval, some lens flare and the hint of printed circuits." You can read the whole report at that site.

According to the latest DWM, BBC Audio will release an unabridged reading of Doctor Who In An Exciting Adventure With The Daleks, the novelisation of the series' second story "The Daleks," as an MP3-CD in March 2005; William Russell (Ian) will be doing the reading. Also confirmed are our earlier reports about the release of The Pescatons in January and The Underwater Menace in February, but it notes that Anneke Wills (Polly) has done the narration and also does an interview on the CD. Meanwhile on the Big Finish front, Short Trips 12: Seven Deadly Sins has been announced, edited by David Bailey, scheduled for March 2005, with seven stories: 'Envy' by Tara Samms; 'Gluttony' by Rebecca Levene; 'Wrath' by Mark Wright; 'Pride' by John Binns; 'Sloth' by Gareth Wigmore; 'Lust' by Paul Magrs; 'Avarice' by David Bailey and with additional linking material by Jacqueline Rayner. Also, the forthcoming release of The Game, the January Big Finish audio starring Peter Dvaison, will still be 6 episodes but only on two discs; the magazine also has the cover illustration for The Juggernauts which will hopefully be on the Big Finish site in the near future.

Some new developments now known for the new Doctor Who series. The latest issue of DWM confirms our earlier story about Joe Ahearne being the director for the third block (which it says is comprised of episodes 6 and 8) and notes that the Daleks are in one of these episodes, as well as confirming that George Gerwitz is the first assistant director for block one. New details are that actor Rupert Vansittart plays the role of General Asquith, while Naoko Mori (who plays Saffron's best friend Sarah on "Absolutely Fabulous") plays Dr. Sato; both of these actors were in the very first scene shot for the new series. Also, the BBC Doctor Who website recently confirmed (in their "WhoSpy" photo series) that the make-up assistant on the series is Linda Davie and the sound recordist is Ian Richardson (with two other chaps, Tim the production runner and someone named Dafydd.)

The newest issue of Doctor Who Magazine confirms that The Mind Robber is the second DVD release of 2005, confirming rumors from the past two months. The Patrick Troughton serial, also starring Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury, was one of the series' only five-part serials. No extras have been revealed at this time. Also noted in DWM is that "The Claws of Axos" is "under consideration for late 2005," though Outpost Gallifrey still believes it to be the third release of 2005, due in May.

A press release on the BBC Press Office website today confirms the news Outpost Gallifrey recently noted: that an agreement has been signed with Canada's CBC network to broadcast the new Doctor Who series. "BBC Worldwide today concluded its first major pre-sale for the new Doctor Who series with Canadian public broadcaster, CBC Television," says the press release. Producer Russell T Davies notes that "Doctor Who has a remarkable 'fandom' but equally itÆs the new audience that I care about. Someone who has never heard of a TARDIS or a Dalek, whether in Toronto or Swansea, will be able to start with this new series, climb on board with Christopher and Billie, and travel the whole of time and space." Slawko Klymkiw, executive programming director of CBC Television, is quoted as saying, "This was an exciting opportunity for CBC to bring the popular Doctor Who to fans - new and old alike - across the country. We are pleased to be working closely with BBC to bring Canadians this exceptional new series," and Hilary Read, Chief Operating Officer, BBC Worldwide Canada adds, "The CBC is the perfect partner for this fantastic new production. We're delighted to be bringing such a classic series to new audiences." There is no information about when the series will air on CBC, but it will likely be sometime relatively soon after the new series is broadcast in the UK. (Thanks to Steve Tribe)

As expected, the release of Horror of Fang Rock on DVD in the UK in January is even more confirmed than when Outpost Gallifrey announced it last week -- there's a new article in the DVD section of the Doctor Who Restoration Teamwebsite.

According to the Doctor Who Appreciation Society, there are some names we can add to our list of cast and crew for the new series production. Cast members in at least one story, likely one of the stories already completed, are actors Basil Chung and Fiesta Mei Ling as "an old Chinese couple", and Corey Doabe as a "spray-painting kid". On the production side, the following names have been linked to the first block of stories (directed by Keith Boak): Lowri Thomas, Unit Manager; James DaHaviland and Steff Morris, Assistant Directors; Patrick Begley, Props; andIan Richardson, Sound. The action vehicles -- likely the ones seen in the Cardiff shoot from late July/early August outside the Albion Hospital set (see the photo gallery) -- were provided by Millers Action. (Thanks to DWAS / Chuck Foster)

Reynolds & Hearn will be releasing Script Doctor in February 2005 by Andrew Cartmel. "The Inside Story of Doctor Who 1986-89," the book by the original series' final script editor is "a unique insight into an area of the show's history that has previously been shrouded in uncertainty." Sylvester McCoy (the Seventh Doctor) provides the foreword for the book, which is listed on Amazon already. More details soon.