Louise Jameson: Pulling Faces in Australia

Wednesday, 7 September 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Louise Jameson, Pulling Faces, photo Ian Fraser/TLC ProductionsLouise Jameson is to give a special performance of her one-woman show Pulling Faces in Australia next month.

The event is hosted by the Doctor Who Club of Australia as an epilogue to the Whovention 21 Celebration and takes place at the Bankstown Sports Club in Sydney on Wednesday 26th October. As well as the show itself, the actress will also attend a Q&A session, and an additional 'priority' package is available which enables ticket holders to attend an exclusive "meet and greet" with the actress and be able to receive her autograph after the event.

Louise Jameson plays twelve different characters in the course of one hour. You will be guided through a week in television presenter Joanna's life as she does battle with her nipped and tucked nemesis, the evil agent, and her anti-surgery daughter Rachel. An evening of guilty pleasure.

You can find more details of the event from the Doctor Who Club of Australia, and the play itself via Louise Jameson's official website.

(with thanks to Vitas Varnas)




FILTER: - People - Special Events - Australia

Melbourne Fringe: Who, Me.

Tuesday, 6 September 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
A new one-man stage show based around Doctor Who has been announced for the Melbourne Fringe, taking place between the 21st September and 9th October:

Who, Me.

Doctor Who is about to face his greatest challenge: his number one fan. Rob Lloyd (The Hounds, The Mutant Way, A Study in Scarlet (A Study of...) and Fan Number One) is putting the Doctor on trial.

Not just for Doctor Who fans, it’s a show about obsession and it’s many faces. What have you been obsessed with – a celebrity, a football team, a TV show? For Rob, it’s Doctor Who all the way.

He will be asking the BIG questions. Investigating whether Doctor Who (the television show) is guilty of inciting in him a debilitating obsession, or whether it has shaped him into a well-rounded, mentally sound member of society. Since 1996 Rob Lloyd has dedicated himself to amassing as much Doctor Who knowledge, well as videos, DVD, novels, audios, action figures and assorted paraphernalia as he can afford. With his replica Jon Pertwee era sonic screwdriver in hand and dressed in his 10th Doctor get up he is ready to jump head first into finding out how and why he got here!

Built up through improvisation and storytelling techniques, this one-man show is a personal and fitting tribute to a television icon. Through the course of the show we will see how one TV program can influence a persons actions, behavior and psyche. You don’t need to be a Doctor Who fan to relate to this show, it speaks to anyone who has known obsession. It’s a hilarious romp across the Doctor’s 48 years, 11 faces and countless adventures.
 

The 55 minute play is to be performed by Australian actor, comedian and improviser Rob Lloyd, known for the cult musical comedy The Dodge, comedy troupe The Crew and award-winning comedy trio The Hounds; he devised the show alongside regular collaborator/director Scott Gooding.

Who, Me. will be performed throughout the Fringe (bar Mondays and final night) - further details and tickets can be purchased via the Melbourne Fringe.

(with thanks to Laura Milke Garner/MILKE Performance Industry Services)




FILTER: - Special Events - Australia

Day of the Daleks preview: Alister Pearson print

Tuesday, 30 August 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
This Sunday (4th) sees a special preview taking place to celebrate the release of Day of the Daleks on DVD, presented by the Doctor Who Appreciation Society with permission from 2|Entertain.

Artist Alister Pearson has produced a new A4 print for the event based on the original artwork designs for the Target novelisation's three covers, by Chris Achilleos, Andrew Skilleter and himself. He'll be at the event to sign prints, proceeds of which are in aid of Help for Heroes; it can also be pre-ordered directly from the DWAS website via their Day of the Daleks event section, and these too will be signed by the artist.

Though the event itself is fully booked, there is an open autograph session at the end of the event at 5:00pm for those who wish to come along to pre-order the DVD on the day and have the cover signed by the guests, Katy Manning (Jo Grant) and Richard Franklin (Mike Yates) - it is also hoped that Scott Fredericks (Boaz) will be able to attend on the day as well. As with the print, a signed DVD can also be pre-ordered from DWAS online before the event takes place.


Full details on the event and associated merchandise/activities can be found via the DWAS website.




BBC ClassicDW have also released a clip from one of the special features on the discs.


Day of the Daleks preview clip, BBC Classic Doctor Who (via YouTube)




FILTER: - Special Events - Charities - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular for Melbourne

Sunday, 28 August 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is to present the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular next February as part of the celebrations for the grand re-opening of the Hamer Hall venue at the Melbourne Arts Centre.

The concert, similar to the format seen at the two Proms concerts in London, will feature music from the television series, combined with classic clips and live monsters.

More details will be available nearer the event.

(newslink: Herald Sun, Sydney Morning Herald)




FILTER: - Music - Special Events - Australia

Walk for Lis: update

Wednesday, 17 August 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
We have recently heard from Doctor Who's Brand Manager Edward Russell, who will be undertaking a walk to raise money on behalf of the hospice that looked after Elisabeth Sladen; he wishes to thank everybody who has donated so far, and has a message from the Meadow House Hospice itself to share:

We are extremely grateful to you and everyone who has contributed as it will make a significant contribution to our charitable fund and our plans to upgrade our in-patient unit.

As previously reported, the walk is scheduled to start at the BBC's Upper Boat Studios in Wales (where The Sarah Jane Adventures were produced) on the 3rd September; once under way, Edward aims to utilise the dedicated Facebook group for the walk to chart his progress.






FILTER: - Special Events - Charities - Elisabeth Sladen

Prequel: Let's Kill Hitler

Monday, 15 August 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC have released a prequel for Let's Kill Hitler, the opening story of the second run of episodes for this year's series of Doctor Who, which returns to our screens in a few weeks time; as previously reported the mini-episode bridges the gap between A Good Man Goes To War and Let's Kill Hitler, revealing a little about how Amy feels in the aftermath of events at Demon's Run.


Doctor Who Series Six Part Two, Prequel, BBC, via BBC iPlayer (may not be available outside the United Kingdom)

Tonight sees a preview and cast/crew Q&A for the actual episode taking place at the British Film Institute, with a further preview at the Edinburgh Filmhouse on 26th August.





FILTER: - Special Events - UK - Series 6/32 - Online

Walk for Lis

Saturday, 13 August 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Edward Russell, the Brand Manager for Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, is to undertake a 160 mile walk from the BBC's Upper Boat Studios in Wales to BBC Television Centre in London:

I'm walking in order to raise money for Meadow House Hospice. This NHS-funded facility recently cared for Elisabeth Sladen, known to many of you as Sarah Jane Smith from the TV series Doctor Who.

Like many of her fans and friends, I was deeply saddened by Lis' death in April 2011 and I hope to raise as much money as possible for this wonderful cause. More details and a target sum are to follow.

Starting on Saturday 3 September, I will walk from the BBC's Upper Boat studios in Cardiff (where SJA was filmed), aiming to arrive at the BBC Television Centre (where Lis first filmed Doctor Who) in London the following Friday. I will largely be following the National Cycling Route No. 4 - walking the equivalent of a marathon every day!

You can follow his preparations and progress for the walk via the WalkForLis blog, and there is also a Facebook group that you can join.





FILTER: - Special Events - Elisabeth Sladen

Let's Kill Hitler: UK preview screening

Thursday, 21 July 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The British Film Institute are to show a special preview screening of the Series Six second half opener Let's Kill Hitler. The screening will take place on the 15th August 2011 from 6:20pm, and will be accompanied by a Q&A session (guests to be confirmed).

As with previous Doctor Who/Torchwood events, it was fully booked by 2:30pm within hours of being announced; some return tickets might be available from the Box Office in due course.

Following the game-changing mid-series finale in June, The Doctor returns for the first of six new episodes to be broadcast on BBC One this autumn. Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill and Alex Kingston star in this new adventure written by Steven Moffat and directed by Richard Senior. Join us for the chance to see this opener to the autumn series followed by a Q&A with some special guests (to be announced nearer the time). We regret that due to the pressures of time, autographs will not be possible.
 





FILTER: - Doctor Who - Special Events - UK - Series 6/32

The Doctor visits Elysium

Saturday, 16 July 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Visitors to the special Doctor Who immersive theatre experience, The Crash of the Elysium, got a surprise yesterday when the Doctor himself popped in to see them!

A fan of the organisers Punchdrunk since seeing one of their shows in New York, Matt Smith wanted to see the current production based around Doctor Who that has been taking place at the Manchester International Festival this month; normally, videos of the Doctor appear during the show, but producers arranged for him to appear in character yesterday instead of the final video, much to the delight of the 6-12 year old audience.

Commenting on the project, he said:
Punchdrunk and Doctor Who! A Marriage made in creative space heaven. It's been a privilege to work with Punchdrunk to put children at the heart of a Doctor Who adventure. I've always watched Punchdrunk shows and marvelled at their inventiveness and individuality. Put that together with Doctor Who and there is a wonderful template to tell unique stories in unique ways. The Doctor would definitely approve.

The final performance of The Crash of Elysium is today.





FILTER: - Doctor Who - Special Events - Theatre

Matt Smith and Karen Gillan in Hollywood

Wednesday, 6 July 2011 - Reported by Harry Ward
Matt Smith and Karen Gillan will be in Hollywood on 26 July to sign copies of Doctor Who: Series 6, Part 1. They will be appearing at the Los Angeles based Amoeba Music store.
Matt Smith (The Doctor) and Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) will be at Amoeba Music to celebrate the release of Doctor Who: Series Six, Part 1 (on DVD and Blu-Ray). Limited to 200 purchasers of Doctor Who: Series Six, Part 1 (available for purchase starting July 19th at Amoeba). Fans can get ONE item of their choice signed as long as they have purchased Series Six, Part 1 on DVD or Blu-Ray.

Doctor Who DVD Signing
Tuesday July 26th 7pm - Hollywood

6400 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90028


Matt Smith and Karen Gillan make their triumphant return as the Doctor and his companion in an all-new series of Doctor Who! In Part 1, the Doctor, Amy and Rory find themselves in Sixties America, battling the invasion the world forgot, then journey on the high seas of 1696 aboard a pirate ship, to solve the mystery of the Siren. In a bubble universe at the very edge of reality, the Doctor meets an old friend with a new face, and in a monastery on a remote island in the near future, an industrial accident takes on a terrible human shape. And waiting for them, at the end of all this, is the battle of Demon's Run, and the Doctor's darkest hour. Can even the truth about River Song save the Time Lord's soul? Only two things are certain. Silence will fall. And a good man is going to die...

Part 1 of the new season delivered record ratings on BBC AMERICA, earned rave reviews including an “A” and a spot “The Must List” from Entertainment Weekly, and was featured on NBC’s Today show and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Beth Willis, Piers Wenger and Toby Whithouse, will be in the US to attend San Diego Comic Con on Sunday 24 July where they'll be showing attendees new footage from the second half of Series 6.




FILTER: - Doctor Who - Special Events - USA - Series 6/32