Big Finish release The Time Machine

Monday, 18 November 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The status of the last part of the Destiny of the Doctor series, The Time Machine, had been uncertain since the series publisher AudioGo entered administration last month; however, the series producers Big Finish have now announced that they will be releasing the final adventure on CD and download, completing the collection which kicked off in January with Hunters of Earth.

Destiny of the Doctor: The Time Machine (Credit: AudioGo)

Destiny of the Doctor: The Time Machine
Starring Jenna Coleman, Michael Cochrane (Chivers), and Nicholas Briggs (The Creevix) (pre-order)

23 November 2013. In an Oxford laboratory, graduate Alice Watson helps Professor Chivers assemble the final pieces of an impossible machine. A time machine.

The scientist and his assistant believe they are making history, little suspecting that the project’s completion will threaten the existence of the entire universe. But someone has sensed the danger, and when the mysterious Doctor arrives, Alice is taken on a desperate race from libraries and dreaming spires all the way to the nightmare world of Earth’s future. The monstrous Creevix are coming. They seek control of time itself and are certain that the Doctor is already too late to stop them. But can the key to saving the future lie in the Time Lord’s past lives?

For more details, see the Big Finish website.

FILTER: - Audio - Eleventh Doctor - WHO50 - Big Finish

Day of the Doctor DVD extra content revealed

Monday, 18 November 2013 - Reported by John Bowman

The extra content for the DVD and Blu-ray release of The Day of the Doctor was revealed today - including another mini-episode.

BBC Worldwide said the 50th-anniversary episode would be accompanied by the following:

The Night of the Doctor mini-episode
The Last Day - a second mini-episode
Doctor Who Explained
Behind The Lens
The Day of the Doctor TV trailer
50 Years of Doctor Who trailer

The release will also contain English subtitles for the hard of hearing, audio description, and audio navigation. The main feature will have a 5.1 soundtrack.

It will be released for Region 2 (the UK, rest of Europe, and Ireland) on Monday 2nd December (pre-order DVD, Blu-ray), and for Region 1 (USA and Canada) on Tuesday 3rd December (pre-order DVD, Blu-ray/DVD combo - two discs). Please note that the Blu-ray release will play normally on both 3D and standard Blu-ray players but the 3D will only work on a Blu-ray 3D player. Release dates for other regions are unknown at the moment.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Day of the Doctor - BBC Worldwide - WHO50 - Blu-ray/DVD

Behind the scenes of The Day of the Doctor

Monday, 18 November 2013 - Reported by John Bowman

A behind-the-scenes report on The Day of the Doctor was shown on BBC One's Breakfast today.

Presented by entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba, the four-minute piece included interviews with Matt Smith, David Tennant, John Hurt, and Jenna Coleman.

Watch the report below. (NB: May not play outside the UK.)

Who's there? Behind the scenes of The Day of the Doctor (via the BBC Breakfast site)

FILTER: - Day of the Doctor - Matt Smith - Jenna Coleman - David Tennant - John Hurt - BBC

Sunday Overnight Viewing Figures

Monday, 18 November 2013 - Reported by Marcus

BBC Three finished its countdown of Doctor Who: Greatest Monsters & Villains on Sunday evening with the top three Monsters and Villains as voted for by viewers to the channel.

The format featured a three-minute potted history of the featured villain, followed by the screening of an appropriate episode of Doctor Who. Coming in at number 3 was the Master and a screening of the 2007 story Utopia. The episode had an overnight viewing figure of 0.51 million viewers, a 1.9% share of the total audience.

At number two were the Weeping Angels, the episode the 2007 story which introduced the Angels Blink. It was watched by 0.66 million, a 2.4% share.

Finally for the series, at number 1 were the show's longest-running villains the Daleks. The episode shown was the 2005 story which introduced the menace to a whole new generation of fans, the Christopher Eccleston story Dalek. It was watched by an average 0.69 million viewers, a 2.6% share. BBC Three was the highest-watched digital channel during the transmission of the series.

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 3/29 - Series 1/27

The Big Issue celebrates Doctor Who's 50th

Monday, 18 November 2013 - Reported by John Bowman

The new edition of street magazine The Big Issue - out today - marks the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who with a cover feature.

Editor Paul McNamee said:

We kick off our run of five bumper editions leading up to Christmas with a Doctor Who special. As the anniversary of that show approaches, with a number of Doctors together on screen and fan-mania growing, we have a collection of fantastic features.

These include:

An interview with Matt Smith detailing working on screen with David Tennant
A piece from Who-obsessive, screenwriter, and man of letters Mark Gatiss
Pieces from Karen Gillan and Eddie Izzard plus a panel of experts explaining what deeply-held psychological fear each Who monster plays to and why we can't escape them
A big Doctor Who competition with prizes including a TARDIS teapot

This special edition of the weekly magazine will be available from vendors everywhere across Britain except for a pocket around Manchester and the north-west, which is served by The Big Issue In The North.

The Big Issue is written by professional journalists and helps homeless and vulnerably-housed people by giving them the chance to earn their own money. Vendors buy the magazine at a reduced rate and sell it for the cover price, keeping the difference. Please note that the magazine should only be bought from badged vendors.

If people are unable to get hold of the publication, they can e-mail office manager Robert White via robert.white@bigissue.com.

UPDATE - TUESDAY 19th NOVEMBER: The Big Issue has got £1,800-worth of Doctor Who goodies to give away, including prints, DVDs, and Weeping Angel costumes. Editorial co-ordinator Steven MacKenzie told Doctor Who News:

It doesn't just have to be people who have already bought the magazine who can enter.

The closing date is Wednesday 27th November. Full details are available here.

FILTER: - UK - Magazines - WHO50

Doctor Who motion moved in Australian Parliament

Monday, 18 November 2013 - Reported by Adam Kirk

An Australian parliamentarian, George Christensen MP, proudly wearing a Fourth Doctor scarf, has presented a motion in the Australian Parliament, acknowledging the strong links between Australia and Doctor Who on the 50th anniversary of its debut. Mr Christensen mentioned the important role that a number of Australians have played in the long history of Doctor Who, including C.E. "Bunny" Webber, Anthony Coburn, Ron Grainer, Dudley Simpson, "adopted Aussie" Katy Manning, Janet Fielding and Kylie Minogue. Mr Christensen's speech can be seen here on YouTube.

The motion also proposed that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Screen Australia and the various Australian state-based film funding bodies consider offering finance to entice the BBC to film the 2015 series in Australia to mark the 50th anniversary of its first Australian screening in 1965. The motion attracted bipartisan support and three other parliamentarians spoke in its favour.

The motion and its call for Doctor Who to be filmed in Australia has received some local media, including ABC Brisbane, ABC North Queensland, the Herald Sun and ninemsn.

Australian MPs Graham Perrett, Dr Andrew Leigh, George Christensen and Alex Hawke with a blow up Dalek spoke in Parliament on the 50th anniversary of Dr Who. Photo: Andrew Meares, Sydney Morning Herald.

Sydney Morning Herald Politics live: November 18, 2013

FILTER: - WHO50 - Australia

Details announced of Splendid Chaps Christmas show

Monday, 18 November 2013 - Reported by Adam Kirk

As previously reported, Splendid Chaps is a year-long performance/podcast project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who hosted by comedian Ben McKenzie (Dungeon Crawl, Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour), writer John Richards (ABC1 sitcom Outland, Boxcutters podcast) and actress and singer Petra Elliot.

Described by its creators as part intellectual panel discussion, part nerdy Tonight Show, Splendid Chaps is a combination of analysis, enthusiasm and irreverence. The first episode went to number 1 on the iTunes TV & Film Podcast chart in Australia, and to number 4 in the UK. The podcasts to previous episodes are now available at www.splendidchaps.com or at iTunes.

Tickets are now on sale for their Christmas show! To see out this year of Doctor Who, the chaps look at all the Time Lord goodness that didn’t fit into the rest of the year, including not-quite-Doctors Peter Cushing and Richard E Grant, and spin-off K9 & Company. There’ll be special guests, songs from house band The Time Lads and a cardboard Dalek too.

This show will also be raising funds for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) and Medecins San Frontieres (MSF).

Space: The Bella Union, upstairs, Melbourne Trades Hall, corner of Lygon and Victoria Streets, Melbourne
Time: Sunday, December 15; doors open from 4:30 PM
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible; please contact the venue for lift access.
Tickets: $20 (including booking fee)
Bookings: via bellaunion.com.au online, or at the door (subject to availability)
Podcast: not yet available; released 23rd of December, 2013.

With thanks to John Richards

FILTER: - Special Events - Fan Productions - Australia

The Day of the Doctor: next wave of publicity images

Monday, 18 November 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC and BBC America have released a number of new publicity images to promote the forthcoming The Day of The Doctor; this batch includes images of Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt as the Doctor, with Jenna Coleman as Clara, Billie Piper as Rose, and Ingrid Oliver as Osgood.

FILTER: - Day of the Doctor - Matt Smith - Jenna Coleman - Billie Piper - David Tennant - WHO50

DWAS unveils plans for anniversary week

Sunday, 17 November 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The Doctor Who Appreciation Society have released details on their plans in the lead-up to Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary:

Celebrate Anniversary Week With the Doctor Who Appreciation Society

The 50th Anniversary is nearly upon us, and DWAS will be partying along with the rest of fandom. Starting on Sunday 17th through to Saturday 23rd November 2013 we will be celebrating every day with something new, or indeed, something old….

DWAS members will receive a special 50th Anniversary edition of our magazine ‘Celestial Toyroom’. CT is now the longest running Doctor Who themed magazine in the world and this edition will celebrate that with a wide selection of articles, reviews and interviews. It will feature an increased page count and a very special cover.

Non-members will be able to buy a copy via our website.

DWAS runs a popular YouTube channel. You can access this via our website now. In the anniversary week we will add some new items from our archive. This will feature both audio and visual content, with Doctor Who related friends from across the years.

Our online archive contains parts of the Society’s output over the years. You can visit it now and view a selection of articles, which will be joined by some new material. We also have a free-to-access downloads section at our online shop. There are already some items there you can download now and during the anniversary week we will be adding some rare items form the early days of fandom.

And to show it is not all about the past, DWAS will produce its first ever e-publication. ‘Cosmic Masque’ was for many years the Society’s fan fiction journal, and was sold alongside our other publications. Now, to celebrate the Doctor’s 50th birthday, we will produce a brand new copy exclusively online. This will feature fiction, merchandise reviews and letters. It will be available to all.

We will also announce our 50th Anniversary poll results, commencing on Saturday 16th November, at our website.

To keep up-to-date as we make items available you can keep visiting our website and Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and join our email list.

Current items include a downloadable copy of Celestial Toyroom Issue Four from 1976, which includes an interview with Robert Holmes, and an audience with Paul Darrow from 2011 via YouTube (parts one and two).

(with thanks to Paul Winter/DWAS)

FILTER: - Fan Productions

Saturday Overnight Viewing Figures

Sunday, 17 November 2013 - Reported by Marcus

BBC Three continuted its countdown of Doctor Who: Greatest Monsters & Villains on Saturday evening.

The format features a three minute potted history of the featured villain, followed by the screening of an appropriate episode of Doctor Who. Coming in at number 6 were the Ice Warriors and a screening on a story from the most recent series of Doctor Who Cold War. The episode had an overnight viewing figure of 0.33 million viewers, a 1.4% share of the total audience.

At five were the Cybermen, the episode shown the 2008 Christmas story The Next Doctor. It was watched by 0.58 million a 2.5% share.

Finally for the evening, at number 4 were The Silence. The Impossible Astronaut / Day of the Moon was screened and was watched by an average 0.69 million viewers, a 4.3% share. BBC Three was the second highest watched digital channel for most of the evening, with Die Hard 4.0 on E4 taking the top spot.

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 6/32 - Series 7/33

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