ABC Australia confirms here that the DVD of The Visitation is due out there in April. (Thanks to Justin Watson)

Dinsdale Landen, who played Dr. Judson in "The Curse of Fenric" and was a veteran of British stage, TV and film, died this weekend from cancer at his home in Norfolk. His TV roles, besides Doctor Who, included "All Creatures Great and Small," "The Avengers" and "Lovejoy"; he also claimed a huge repetoire on the stage, where he was nominated for a prestigious Olivier Award for his role in the West End play "Alphabetical Order". He was 71. Read the BBC news article about his passing here. (Thanks to Steve Freestone, Paul Hayes)

The British Board of Film Classification website lists over 94 minutes of confirmed extras for the forthcoming DVD release of Pyramids of Mars. While this has already been reported, the following is actually the official list itself from the BBFC site:

The Sci-Fi Online website (which has frequently had good inside news in the past) features a story this morning about possible actresses to play the new companion, who has tentatively been named Rose Tyler. Says the site: "The first name to be pulled from the hat of unnecessary conjecture is Rachael Stirling, daughter of Diana Rigg, who cemented her reputation in the BBC landmark drama Tipping the Velvet. Like so many of the names being batted around for the Doctor this is almost certainly nothing more than groundless gossip fuelled by grapevine ardour although the talented young actress could easily fulfil producer Russell DaviesÆ casting brief of æstrong and independentÆ so who knows?" (Thanks to Helena Gammble)

Composer Malcolm Clarke passed away yesterday, December 11. Says Mark Ayres, himself a Doctor Who composer and current member of the Restoration Team: "Malcolm was undoubtedly one of the most colourful characters ever to work at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, joining in 1969. Fuelled by his keen interest in the visual arts, his music - always anarchic, never boring - holds a special place in my affections." Clarke composed the incidental music for seven Doctor Who stories, including the very haunting and memorable score for "The Sea Devils," the ghastly cybernetic tones of "Earthshock" and the high-seas-adventure movements of "Enlightenment," as well as "Resurrection of the Daleks," "The Twin Dilemma," "Attack of the Cybermen" and "Trial of a Time Lord: Terror of the Vervoids." "His work for ... 'The Sea Devils,'" says Ayres, "is a benchmark in 'doing it your own way and hang the consequences' and made a deep impression on at least one young would-be composer. His award-winning 'August 4th 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains' (1976) is a beat-perfect lesson in pure radio." Clarke was one of the last to leave the BBC Radiophonic Workshop when it was dismantled in the mid 1990's and had been studying for a PhD in music ("at last he would be qualified to do what he had spent his life successfully doing," Ayres joked). Selections from his work were made available on a variety of CDs from Silva Screen and the BBC Radio Collection. (Thanks to Mark Ayres)

Yesterday (see below) Outpost Gallifrey revealed the final cover design for The Visitation UK DVD release courtesy Tenth Planet... which, as was discussed on our forums, features a reverse image of Peter Davison (with a backwards question mark on his lapel!) We were then informed that the cover art being used by BBC Worldwide differed from the original submitted by artist Clayton Hickman, so we contacted Hickman for information. "The final version of The Visitation DVD cover has been significantly altered from the artwork I submitted," Hickman told Outpost Gallifrey. "This is completely within BBC Worldwide's rights, and once I submit a cover I have no further say over the way it's presented. Sometimes deadlines are such that there is no time to consult the original artist about changes, so the BBC's in-house team make those which are deemed necessary by the high-ups (or whoever decides these things). It's a shame in this case that there's an error on their revised version (Peter's back-to-front question mark collar), so I did just want to point out that it wasn't me who made it! I had no idea that the cover had been changed until I saw it on OG this morning. Ah well. That's the cut-and-thrust world of Doctor Who covers for you. You can make up your own minds which you prefer..." At right is the artwork the way it wasoriginally submitted; click it for a larger version. (Thanks to Clayton Hickman)

According to the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine, BBC Books range consultant/editor Justin Richards says that a DVD release of the BBCi webcast The Scream of the Shalka was planned for February 2004, but does not know what is happening to it now. Either way, Restoration Team member Steve Roberts says that a release of "Shalka" on DVD would be "in addition to the normal DVD schedule, not replacing any of it." Roberts also makes note of the DVD release order ofPyramids of Mars and The Visitation; originally "Pyramids" would have been released first, but "we couldn't get the commentary team together until later in the year and I was ahead on 'Visitation', so it was just easiest to swap." (Thanks to Malcolm James, Steve Roberts)