Shada, the BBCi webcast starring Paul McGann and Lalla Ward, is now back up and able to be played from the officialDoctor Who site. (Thanks to Rich Kirkpatrick)

A recent posting by one of the hosts on the BBC Four message boards confirms that Episode 1 of The Web of Fear, the classic Patrick Troughton serial in which said episode is the only extant segment of the story, may be broadcast as part of the forthcoming Sixties Season event on BBC4 on June 26. "We are attempting to clear The Web of Fear, but it's not been confirmed yet; we're trying," said the forum host. We know that the Restoration Team recently lent out a cleaned up episode to be transferred for broadcast; meanwhile, the Sixties Season section of the BBC Four website has had a Cyberman as part of that particular week's lineup, but no confirmation of a Doctor Who story as yet. We'll keep you posted. (Thanks to Barry Piggott)

According to ABC Shop Online, The Green Death will be out on DVD in Australia (and presumably New Zealand) in August 2004, a mere two months after its UK release. Pyramids of Mars has just been released there as well.Update: June 10: The Australian release date is August 5 but the New Zealand release date is September 2. (Thanks to David Dungey, Paul Scoones)

The Scotsman interviewed Steven Moffat, creator of "Coupling" and a writer of the forthcoming first season of the new Doctor Who series. Moffat discusses writing for the new show, including the controversial topic of sex in the TARDIS. "There always was," Moffat says. "Patrick Troughton had pretty girl, and boy, assistants, both in skirts. Russell is quite keen on an element of sexiness and, anyway, all TV now is cast with this question high up the list: do we want to go to bed with these characters? But that will never be the central element of Doctor Who. The show is still about saving the universe. You canÆt be thinking about lovey-dovey stuff when thereÆs that level of jeopardy involved." And there's even a hint of dialogue: "Doctor, no! ... " Ur, right. You can read the full interview at the Scotsman website.

New series concept artist Bryan Hitch spoke to the readers of the Outpost Gallifrey forum today and made some comments about the current state of affairs on the new series. "Ed [Thomas, series designer] and I attached to the project around the same time in very early pre production and we've both been active on the game for about six weeks to two months," Hitch posted. "The crew is all set (just about) and major design work with the whole design team has been running about a month. A series this ambitious doesn't get done quickly and something as iconic as the TARDIS design is a lengthy process of approvals (though it actually went swimingly.) And to clarify, as Production Designer Ed's genius is employed in overseeing and coordinating the overall visual scope of the series from locations, costumes, lighting, set construction and of course design. He's a member of staff, I'm freelance. As Russell puts it, I'm more of a "consultant" who rushes into meetings, flings ideas and sketches at anyone and everyone and runs out leaving folks scratching their heads and looking shell shocked. I do have specific design duties such as the TARDIS set and other key wonders I can't say anything about. And the TARDIS is looking just doozy." Hitch also mentioned that, from all the speculation in the OG Forum, what he's seeing on the new show "is beyond all of your expectations. There as never been a more visually ambitious show made in this country and the BBC has never done anything like this before. I'm not teasing here either, Russell has it nailed." Finally, a joke about the TARDIS: "We are going for something completely different this time around by making the TARDIS much smaller on the inside than on the outside, sort of a novelty really; inside it will be the size of a poodle kennel." Or is it? Time will tell! (Our thanks to Bryan Hitch)

Award-winning comics artist Bryan Hitch, the man behind titles such as The Authority and The Ultimates and winner of last yearÆs SFX Reader Award for Best Comic Book, is the concept artist for the new series. Says Russell T Davies, "This is entirely thanks to SFX. The Head of Drama at the BBC had talked about getting a concept artist right from the start, so we were already beginning to think about it. Then out of the blue Nick Setchfield at SFX got in touch, saying that Bryan Hitch had heard about the new series of Doctor Who and wanted to help. Now, IÆm an old comics fan... and I couldnÆt believe this was the Bryan Hitch. IÆve got the Ultimates collection, and that beautiful hardback of The Authority. ItÆs just brilliant... I showed Julie and Phil [producers Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson] the comics, they went mental, we summoned the Hitch, and here we are... Now Bryan can give us concepts and wild ideas to spark us off in new directions. Thank you SFX, itÆs really appreciated!ö Hitch will be in charge of the signature look of the new series, working alongside production designer Edward Thomas; the two will develop the TARDIS interior, new aliens and technology for the series. Hitch's previous Doctor Who work was a one-issue comic strip in DWM 139 and the cover for Mad Norwegian's "I, Who 2". More details are in the new SFX, due out June 9. (Thanks to SFX Magazine)

According to the Galaxy 4 retail store, the originally planned BBC Radio Collection CD release of The Crusade starring William Hartnell has been postponed to 2005, instead of this August as originally planned. Update: According to Play.com, the release of "Crusade" is slated for February 7, 2005. The Underwater Menace is also a likely release for the first half of next year. (Thanks to Galaxy 4, Gary Reed)

The BBC Press Office has at last issued a press release for the July release of The Leisure Hive on DVD in the UK. (Thanks to Steve Tribe)

As announced at TV Shows on DVD, the forthcoming release of Pyramids of Mars in North America will once again feature the infamous Howard DaSilva 'introductions' as a separate extra. This is the fourth DVD release to contain the extra item, which compiles the introductions and voiceovers provided by actor Howard DaSilva when the series was first syndicated to PBS stations in the late 1970's; they've been cleaned up or, in some cases, entirely reconstructed from Betamax tapes and audio recordings, as the original masters no longer exist. "Pyramids of Mars" is due out on September 7. (Thanks to David Lambert at TV Shows on DVD)

Outpost Gallifrey has received the cover illustrations for the forthcoming late-summer North American DVD releases ofEarthshock and Pyramids of Mars; click on each cover for a larger version. "Earthshock" bears the Warner Home Video catalog #E2022 while "Pyramids of Mars" bears catalog #E2023.