Series Two Update

Wednesday, 7 December 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

The new issue of Doctor Who Magazine, #364 (now on newsstands) has a number of new details on Series Two:
Attack of the Graske: The interactive "red button" episode of Doctor Who, to be available immediately after the transmission of "The Christmas Invasion," is proudced by Sophie Fante, who tells DWM that the viewer will be able to fly the TARDIS, 'fight the Graske on the planet Griffoth' and 'hunt the Graske in Victorian London' - the latter is 'an authentic Dickensian Christmas scene, complete with snow'. Besides David Tennant, the cast includes Jimmy Vee, who played the Moxx of Balhoon and the 'space pig' in last year's "The End of the World," as the Graske; Lisa Palfrey as Mum; Nicholas Beveney as Dad; Mollie Kabia as Daughter; James Harris as Son; Robin Meredith as Granddad; Gwenyth Petty as Grandma; Ben Oliver as Urchin; Roger Nott as Older Man; and Catherine Olding as Young Woman. Billie Piper is apparently not in the story. As previously reported, the 'episode' is written by Gareth Roberts and directed by Ashley Way.
Casting: Added to the cast of episodes 5 and 6 (still untitled) are Colin Spaull (who played Lilt in the classic series story "Revelation of the Daleks") as Mr Crane and Helen Griffin as Mrs Moore. DWM confirms the previously reported casting of Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler), Roger Lloyd-Pack (John Lumic), Andrew Hayden-Smith (Jake Simmonds) and Don Warrington (the President). Of note is that Tracy-Ann Oberman (playing Yvonne Hartman) is now listed as being part of "block three" instead of these two episodes, as are Adam Shaw (Morris) and Freema Agyeman (Adeola); this fits in with the possibility that the final two episodes are being filmed concurrent with the Cybermen two-parter by director Graeme Harper.
Production: Block Three (directed by Graeme Harper) began filming at the start of November, and will continue until Christmas, before being completed in the New Year. Filming was apparently rained out on 8 November. Block Four began pre-production at the start of December, while Episode 1 was ‘locked' and Episodes 2 to 4 have reached their first edits. The director of photography for episodes 2 and 4 and "Attack of the Graske" is Rory Taylor. The production notes column by Russell T Davies notes that twelve out of thirteen episodes for Series Two have now been written, with only Davies' Episode Ten still to go (this is possibly prior to the delay of Stephen Fry's episode to the third season), then it's 'straight on to Series Three'. Davies also notes that the DVD set of The Complete First Series had no deleted scenes because ‘We lost them. Genuinely, lost, forgotten, dumped.' And that they've now been found again, so might yet appear.
Series Three: Writer Steven Moffat, who penned Series One's "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances" and this year's "The Girl in the Fireplace," confirms in DWM that he will be writing an episode for the third series as well.
For a lot more additional information, articles, reviews and interviews, pick up Doctor Who Magazine 364, now in wide release, at your favorite newsstand.




FILTER: - Russell T Davies - Production - DWM - Series 2/28

Doctor Who Magazine 364

Monday, 5 December 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Issue #364 of Doctor Who Magazine is due out this week, on Thursday 8 December. The press blurb and cover illustration is below; click on the thumbnail for a larger version. (With thanks to Tom Spilsbury at DWM)
Put on a party hat, pull a cracker, and countdown the hours to The Christmas Invasion with the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine!

This issue, the magazine speaks exclusively to Billie Piper - the Doctor's companion, Rose - in a massive '0-page interview. Billie chats about how Rose will cope with the new Doctor in the Christmas Special and Series Two...

"Rose is a bit more possessive this time around. I think it's because she feels like she's lost the Doctor once, and she doesn't want to lose him again. She's become a bit more jealous, which is something that's quite funny, but also destructive, as we'll find out...

"Sometimes Christmas specials don't really include Christmas. But ours does. There's lots of Christmas... and I'm such a Christmas freak! So yeah, Christmas and a new Doctor, and an alien invasion. And isn't that everything that you could possibly want from a Christmas special? Oh, and crackers!"

Plus, of course, there's a full preview to the Tenth Doctor's festive debut, with dozens of photos from the story.

Meanwhile Steven Moffat, writer of the poll-winning The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances looks back at the success of his first Doctor Who adventure and chats about writing for the new Doctor in The Girl in the Fireplace.

Plus: there's a look back at 2005 in the Review of the Year; Sorvad takes a journey with the Ghost of Christmas Past; and a very special story, Voice from the Vortex, which has dropped through from a terrifying parallel dimension.

Meanwhile, the Watcher returns with his Christmas Quiz; the Time Team watch The Armageddon Factor; the Ninth Doctor reaches his final comic strip adventure, A Groatsworth of Wit; and Russell T Davies returns with his own special version of The Twelve Days of Christmas in Production Notes...




FILTER: - Russell T Davies - Magazines - DWM

DWM Specials - Update

Wednesday, 16 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

The editors of Doctor Who Magazine have sent us the cover illustrations and press blurbs for their two forthcoming Doctor Who specials, In Their Own Words (with interviews from past issues of DWM) and Endgame (the next comic strip compilation). The press releases and covers are below; click on the thumbnail for a larger version. (Thanks to Tom Spilsbury/DWM)
In Their Own Words, Volume 1: 1963-1969

"Sports had a tremendous audience, and then suddenly there was a dramatisation of The Water babies or something - and everybody turned onto ITV or switched off! So my bosses thought maybe I ought to come up with another kind of children's drama that would hold the sports-loving audience. So I dreamed up Doctor Who..." Sydney Newman

For more than 25 years, Doctor Who Magazine has documented the making of this unique television series, interviewing every major player, be they actors, directors, producers, designers, writers... even monsters!

Now, for the first time, DWM has gathered together the best of these interviews, as the cast and crew themselves recall their part in the legend of Doctor Who, making for a frank, forthright and insightful memoir.

This first volume, covering Doctor Who's birth and the six years that followed, provides a complete primer for newcomers, and a valuable refresher for hardened aficionados. Find out how the TARDIS was designed and why the Time Lords were invented. Plus, almost four decades after the Doctor's appearance changed for the very first time, hear the story of how 'regeneration' came to be, and how the show survived the departure of its leading man.

Featuring contributions from William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Sydney Newman, Verity Lambert, Terry Nation, David Whitaker, William Russell, Jacqueline Hill, Maureen O'Brien, Anneke Wills, Frazer Hines, Nicholas Courtney, Wendy Padbury and hundreds more - plus an Afterword from Doctor Who's current Executive Producer Russell T Davies!

The magazine goes on sale from Thursday 17 November 2005 priced £5.99.


The Complete Eighth Doctor Comic Strips: Volume One - Endgame

The latest volume of comic strips collected from the pages of Doctor Who Magazine is available now, including eight complete stories featuring the Eighth Doctor! Featuring the stories Endgame, The Keep, Fire and Brimstone, Tooth and Claw, The Final Chapter, Wormwood, and the bonus strips A Life of Matter and Death and By Hook Or By Crook.

With new companions sci-fi geek Izzy and super-cool spy Fey Truscott-Sade by his side, the Doctor must confront an armada of his deadliest enemies! Classic foes the Daleks and the Celestial Toymaker are joined by high society vampires, killer chimpanzees, psychic parasites, the dreaded Elysian Cult and the transdimensional conspirators known as the Threshold!

Plus a special 16-page behind-the-scenes feature, where you can discover unused story synopses, character designs by artists Martin Geraghty and Adrian Salmon, and a detailed authors' commentary by Alan Barnes and Scott Gray for every story!

On sale now - £14.99




FILTER: - Magazines - DWM

Big Finish Update

Tuesday, 15 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Big Finish has some news about recent developments. The Gallifreyseries, announced in Doctor Who Magazine, "will pick-up the story [from the end of Season Two] a few weeks later. As civil war rages across the planet, the Capitol lies in ruins and the dark plans of Pandora, the original Imperiatrix, edge closer towards fruition." It corrects a few notes from DWM including mentioning that Justin Richards' story is called Mindbomb (not "Minbomb") and Paul Sutton's has been retitled Appropriation. The series will be produced and directed by Gary Russell, with covers by Lee Binding and post-production and music by David Darlington. The site posts the cover of the fourth chapter of the Cyberman miniseries,Telos (which is also on the Outpost's Releases page); the cast list of the first part, Scorpius is posted at the site as well (it was deliberately left out of the CD release). There is also new cast information on both The Settling and Night Thoughts, releases due early next year (also on the Releases page here).




FILTER: - Audio - DWM

Torchwood Update

Thursday, 10 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

In the new Doctor Who Magazine, executive producer Russell T Davies has commented on the new spin-off series "Torchwood". Davies says that the show and Doctor Who will "share some of the production base". Ed Thomas will now be Series Designer on both shows. DWM also confirms with the production that Charlotte Church has not been approached to appear in the series, contrary to the recent reports in the British tabloids.
Davies also says that "anyone worrying that a new show will drain the resources of Doctor Who is just... well, a worrier. We've planned this in great detail. And all of the planning has taken account of the fact that Doctor Who is the BBC's flagship show [...] and must be protected and supported at all times. The shows have separate budgets, and both will be fully staffed from the best we can find." As is Davies' tradition, he also appears to casually drop in a character name: "the Doctor will be striding into 2006 with some truly astonishing adventures, with Jack and Gwen and the team following right behind!"




FILTER: - Torchwood - DWM

Big Finish Update

Thursday, 10 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Big Finish has announced (in the latest DWM) two new forthcoming audio releases for 2006: Synchronicity by Stewart Sheargold, featuring Sylvester McCoy; and To Sleep, Perchance to Dream by Colin Brake, starring Peter Davison. The company will also produce, as previously reported, a third series in its Gallifrey audio line starring Lalla Ward as Romana and Louise Jameson as Leela; running from April through August 2006, the episodes include Fractalsby Stephen Cole, Warfare by Stewart Sheargold, Eminence Gris by Paul Sutton, Minbomb by Justin Richards, andPanacea by Alan Barnes.
In Big Finish's book line, March 2006's "Short Trips" anthology book is Short Trips: Farewells edited by Jacqueline Rayner. The authors included in this book are Gareth Wigmore ('The Mother Road'), Steve Lyons ('Father Figure'), Stephen Fewell ('The Bad Guy'), Andy Campbell ('Separation Day'), Andrew Collins ('The Very Last Picture Show'), Steven A Roman ('Into the Silent Land'), Jake Elliot ('Wake'), Stewart Sheargold ('The Velvet Dark'), Matt Kimpton (untitled), John Binns ('Black and White'), Joseph Lidster ('Curtain Call'), Darren Sellars ('Utopia'), Paul Magrs ('The Wickerwork Man') and Ian Potter ('The Three Paths').




FILTER: - Audio - DWM

New Series Update and Red Button Episode

Thursday, 10 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

The new issue of Doctor Who Magazine (#363) reveals another stunning development for the series: immediately after broadcast of 'The Christmas Invasion', digital viewers (digital, cable or Freeview) "will be invited to 'press their red buttons' to join the Doctor on a new adventure," meaning an additional special episode for the time period between the airing of the Christmas special and the start of series two. Written by Gareth Roberts and starring David Tennant (who has already filmed scenes for it), the digital feature is directed by Ashley Way and produced by Sophie Fante "in conjunction with the Doctor Who production team". According to executive producer Julie Gardner, "This is being treated as a full-blooded, sophisticated production, with [...] a brand new alien villain [...] and brand new sets [...] Viewers will even be able to use their remotes to fly the TARDIS!"
Meanwhile, the episode also discusses the new Children in Need special, which is written by Russell T Davies and directed by Euros Lynn: "it's a proper piece of Doctor Who - meaning it's not a spoof, or an interview, or a preview of the Christmas episode, or a [...] look behind the scenes; it's genuine new Doctor Who! [...] we've been planning this for months."
DWM confirms that Block Three of production, directed by Graeme Harper, is under way. Episode 5 is not called 'Parallel Worlds' (the real title is not revealed). Episode 4 ("The Girl in the Fireplace") will feature Angel Coulby as Katherine.
Finally, the new series has debuted in France on the new digital channel France 4. Says the official Doctor Who website, "To celebrate the Time Lord's arrival in France, Executive Producers Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner launched the show in Paris, and have been speaking to everyone from cutting edge trendsetters, Inrockuptibles and Technikart, through to all the national listings weeklies and even French National Radio. Hopes are high for Doctor Who - the French have a tradition for taking such shows to their hearts (they had four Buffy magazines), and it's part of a high-profile launch line up for their trendiest new digital channel." The site also confirms that the series will arrive in Italy later this month.




FILTER: - Specials - Online - Magazines - DWM

Doctor Who Magazine 363

Thursday, 10 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Issue 363 of Doctor Who Magazine is now available, and we have a large-size version of the cover illustration (click on the thumbnail for a larger version) and the press release, below (with thanks to Tom Spilsbury):
"Chris brought a darkness and intensity to the Doctor that nobody had or probably could have done before. Doctor Number Nine is one of the best. He was an incredible Doctor..." - Noel Clarke

DWM pays tribute to the fantastic Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston with a special report from Chris' last day on the Doctor Who set, featuring contributions from the writers, directors and his fellow actors.

Also this issue: Find out what you voted as your favourites of the new series, in the DWM Season Survey results; find out everything you need to know about The Unquiet Dead in The Fact of Fiction; discover what gifts Santa might be leaving under your Christmas tree in our Off the Shelf special; and we preview the goodies stuffed inside the new Complete First Series DVD box set - with a chance to win one of five copies!

Meanwhile, the Ninth Doctor begins his final comic strip adventure, A Groatsworth of Wit, as he and Rose meet a man out of time...

All this plus the latest news on Series Two and the new Torchwood series in Gallifrey Guardian; Steven Moffat takes over Production Notes; the Time Team tackle The Power of Kroll; and all your usual favourites!

DWM 363 is published on Thursday 10 November.




FILTER: - Magazines - DWM

DWM Specials

Thursday, 10 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Below are the cover illustrations (as thumbnailed in the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine, #363) for two forthcoming DWM specials: Endgame, an additional reprint of classic DWM Doctor Who comic serials; and In Their Own Words, a collection of DWM interview clips from over the years. We hope to have the full cover illustrations on the site soon. (Thanks to Jim Trenowden for the scans)




FILTER: - Magazines - DWM

November Conventions and Events

Sunday, 6 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

November is traditionally a very busy time for Doctor Who events and this year is no exception. The following events will be taking place this month in the UK and North America:
Dimensions 2005, Tenth Planet's annual two-day Doctor Who convention, takes place at the Swallow Hotel in Stockton on Tees on 11-12 November; the guest list includes Peter Davison, Nicola Bryant, Mark Strickson, Maureen O'Brien, Paul Darrow, David Brierley, Annette Badland, Florence Hoath, Alan David, John Schwab, Corey Johnson, David Gooderson, Bernard Holley, Martha Cope and Caroline Morris.
United Fan Con 2005 takes place on 11-13 November at the Marriott Hotel in Springfield, Massachusetts.Sylvester McCoy is the featured Doctor Who guest, joining "Star Trek" legend Leonard Nimoy, "Stargate: Atlantis" star Rachel Luttrell, Richard Hatch from "Battlestar Galactica" and other guests.
Celebrity Meetings will be holding An Evening with Colin Bakeron Friday 18 November at 7pm in the Bedfordshire area; the evening includes a photo session and autographs, a discussion panel with Baker, an auction for charity and more.
The University of East Anglia will host Doctor Who at 42: Trip of a Lifetime, a one day symposium on Saturday 19 November; the event will feature discussions on how the show became a part of popular culture and how it returned to a changed television landscape; also included will be "Daleks, Cybermen, the Moxx of Balhoon, screaming companions, the cult of Tom Baker, and some decidedly dodgy underpants!" Send email or ring on 01603 593252 for more details.
The Doctor Who Information Network is hosting Bad Wolf 1, a one day mini-convention on Saturday 19 November at St. Stephen-in-the-Fields Church in Toronto, Canada; the event will include panels, trivia, videos and other fun activities.
The Tenth Planet store will host signings on 20 November in Barking by Lalla Ward and new series guests Zoe Thorne, Eve Myles andSaul Murphy from 12pm to 2pm.
Paul McGann will appear at the Ascension: Cardiff convention on 20 November at the Village Hotel in Cardiff; also in attendance are writer Jim Mortimore and DWM artist Mike Collins as well as guests from "Earth Final Conflict" and "Star Trek".
ChicagoTARDIS 2005 is on 25-27 November at the Wyndham O'Hare Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. Among the guests are actors Peter Davison, Nicola Bryant, Alan Ruscoe and John Schwab, plusMaggie Stablesand Siri O'Neal from the Big Finish audios, writer/producer Nicholas Briggs and writer Rob Shearman, artistChris Achilleos and many others.
The Edinburgh Doctor Who Group will be screening the Doctor Who serial "City of Death" on Sunday 27 November at 1pm at the Edinburgh Filmhouse. Julian Glover, who portrayed Scaroth in the serial, will be on hand to present the story, as well as sign autographs and discuss his career during two interview panels.




FILTER: - Conventions - DWM