Billie Piper's Treats

Monday, 15 January 2007 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Actress Billie Piper appeared on Breakfast on BBC1 this morning to promote her west-end debut in the Christopher Hampton play Treats. Also featuring Kris Marshall (My Family, Murder City) and Laurence Fox(Lewis), the play opens at London's Garrick Theatre on 28th February (previews from the 20th) and runs until 26th May.

The play is also on tour beforehand, appearing at the Theatre Royal in Windsor (16-27 Jan), Malvern Theatre (29 Jan - 3 Feb), Bath's Theatre Royal (5-10 Feb), and London's Richmond Theatre (12-17 Feb).

More details on the play may be found at theatre.com and the London Theatre Guide.

FILTER: - People - Billie Piper

Media picks up download story

Saturday, 13 January 2007 - Reported by Anthony Weight

British tabloid newspaper The Sun has picked up the story previously reported by the MediaGuardian about Doctor Who fans attempting to get the song "Love Don't Roam" from the Christmas special soundtrack downloaded enough times to see it enter the UK Top 40. (See yesterday's news story).

The Sun's report, which features on the "TV Biz" page of their print edition published in the UK today, runs: "Doctor Who fans are plotting to get a song used in the hit BBC show’s Christmas special to Number One. Love Don’t Roam — sung by The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon — featured in the Runaway Bride episode. And because the new singles chart includes downloads of old songs, fans are urging each other to download the track for 79p."

The story has also been reported at the Entertainment Wise website.

FILTER: - Press

The Guardian, Outpost Gallifrey, and the Top 40

Friday, 12 January 2007 - Reported by Kenny Davidson

The MediaGuardian's Media Monkey diary column has featured Doctor Who for the second time this week (requires free registration to view). This time the reference is to Outpost Gallifrey, and specifically a plan apparently being put together by fans on this website's forum to use the new download rules of the UK pop music singles chart to propel Murray Gold's song "Love Don't Roam" into the Top 40. The song, which was sung by Neil Hannon of the band The Divine Comedy, featured in the recent Christmas special episode "The Runaway Bride", and as well as being included on Gold's Doctor Who soundtrack CD is also available to buy online from music downloading sites such as Apple's iTunes service.

"The world of Doctor Who fans is awash with plots and rumours at the moment," claims the report. "The Outpost Gallifrey fan site is cautioning that Monkey's suggestion on Wednesday that Jason Statham will be the next Doctor is mere speculation. Anyway, now a new conspiracy has been hatched: now that the singles chart takes account of downloads, Whovians have spied an opportunity to send a ditty of their choice into the charts."

The report further quotes Outpost Gallifrey forum users "Christopher M Wadley" and "Perfecto" on plans to organise mass downloads of the song, before concluding that: "Given the power of these campaigns - remember the 390,000 people who classed themselves as Jedi in the 2001 census - expect Love Don't Roam to materialise into the top 40, or the hit parade as they called it in William Hartnell's day.

FILTER: - Online - Press

The Dreamwatch is over

Friday, 12 January 2007 - Reported by Kenny Davidson

Subscribers of the UK magazine Dreamwatch are currently receiving a letter from its publishers Titan informing them that they have ceased publication of the title.

The publication began life in the early 1980s as an amateur fanzine under the title Doctor Who Bulletin. In this form, it took a generally critical tone towards the then current era of the show, and at times its producer, John Nathan-Turner, personally. However, it became popular with some fans due to its frequent reporting of breaking news, offering an alternative to the officially sanctioned Doctor Who Magazine.

When in 1989 Doctor Who was rested, the fanzine expanded to cover other genre films and TV series, and the title was changed to DreamWatch Bulletin so that the popular abbreviation DWB would remain intact. In 1994, it was turned into a professional news stand magazine: the title was shortened to simply Dreamwatch and the numbering of the magazine was restarted from issue 1. The final issue will be number 150, or 280 if you count from the original DWB, and is due to be published on 25th January.

UPDATE: Brian J Robb, Editor of Dreamwatch, has announced in our forum that the title will be relaunched as a new website, functioning as both magazine and archive. It will be available from the address www.DWSciFi.com from 25th January.

FILTER: - Magazines

Runaway Bride - Official Ratings

Thursday, 11 January 2007 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who was the 10th most watched programme on British Television during Christmas week, with a final official rating of 9.35 million viewers.

The official figures released by BARB are much more accurate than the initial overnights and include viewers who recorded the programme and watched it within seven days.

This gives "The Runaway Bride" the third highest rating since the programme returned in 2005, with only "Rose" and "The Christmas Invasion" scoring higher.

The BBC3 repeat of the programme was watched by 591,000 viewers and was the 19th most watched programme on Multi Channel TV for the week

Top Programmes. Week Ending 31 Dec 2006

1 THE VICAR OF DIBLEY (MON 2134) - 12.39 - BBC1
2 EASTENDERS (MON 2103) - 11.56 - BBC1
3 CORONATION STREET (MON 2003) - 10.20 - ITV1
4 EASTENDERS (THU 1929) - 10.10 - BBC1
5 EASTENDERS (FRI 2000) - 9.90 - BBC1
6 CORONATION STREET (WED 2033) - 9.87 - ITV1
7 CORONATION STREET (FRI 2030) - 9.74 - ITV1
8 FILM: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURS (TUE 1933 - 9.48 - BBC1
9 EASTENDERS (MON 1829) - 9.40 - BBC1
10 DOCTOR WHO (MON 1900) - 9.35 - BBC1
11 EMMERDALE (FRI 1933) - 9.23 - ITV1
12 EMMERDALE (THU 1902) - 9.07 - ITV1
13 EASTENDERS (TUE 1901) - 8.95 - BBC1
14 LITTLE BRITAIN ABROAD (MON 2229) - 8.87 - BBC1
15 EMMERDALE (WED 1900) - 8.64 - ITV1
16 CORONATION STREET (SUN 1929) - 8.57 - ITV1
17 CASUALTY (SAT 2028) - 8.29 - BBC1
18 EASTENDERS (WED 1959) - 7.96 - BBC1
19 STRICTLY COME DANCING SPECIAL (MON 2001) - 7.83 - BBC1
20 EMMERDALE (MON 1902) - 7.69 - ITV1

Source BARB

FILTER: - Specials - Ratings - UK

New Beginnings DVD set delayed

Thursday, 11 January 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive

2Entertain has announced that its New Beginnings DVD set will not be ready for its scheduled release. Originally due out on 22 January, the boxed set will now reach the shops on 29 January.

The much anticipated set contains "The Keeper of Traken", "Logopolis" and "Castrovalva" - adventures that saw both the return of the Master plus the transition from Tom Baker's Doctor to Peter Davison's.

This story refers to the United Kingdom release of this DVD set. Release dates for Canada/USA and New Zealand/Australia have not yet been announced.

FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD - Peter Davison

MediaGuardian picks up Statham rumour

Wednesday, 10 January 2007 - Reported by Anthony Weight

The MediaGuardian website's "Media Monkey" diary column (requires free registration to view) has picked up on the recent tabloid rumours about actor Jason Statham being a possible contender for the role of the Eleventh Doctor as and when David Tennant decides to leave the series.

"The BBC may still be denying speculation that David Tennant will leave his role as Doctor Who during the fourth series of the new generation Doctor - he is currently filming the third - but names have started to filter though as to who his replacement might be," reports the column. "Monkey has been told that a name under serious consideration within the BBC is that of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels actor Jason Statham. Apparently BBC controller of fiction Jane Tranter wants to "sex up" the sci-fi series once Tennant departs and thinks Statham - the former squeeze of model Kelly Brook - is the man for the job. Watch this space..."

As with the previous reports regarding Statham, this appears to be nothing more than rumour, with no solid evidence available of when - and indeed, if - David Tennant currently plans to leave the series.

FILTER: - Production - Press

Doctor Who nominated for Nebula Award

Wednesday, 10 January 2007 - Reported by Kenny Davidson

Steven Moffat's Doctor Who script "The Girl in the Fireplace" has been included in the Preliminary Ballot for the Nebula Awards for 2006. The awards, which have been run since 1965 by The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), are due to be handed out in May. The SFWA has 1,400 members including some of the biggest names in science-fiction and fantasy.

The season two Doctor Who script is up against the scripts for "Batman Begins", by Christopher Nolan and Steven S Goyer, and "Howl's Moving Castle", by Hayao Miyazaki, Cindy Davis Hewitt and Donald H. Hewitt.

These nominations along with a dozen others are part of the preliminary ballot going to members of the SFWA who will help chop it down to a final ballot in March.

FILTER: - Awards/Nominations

Torchwood sold to New Zealand

Wednesday, 10 January 2007 - Reported by Kenny Davidson

BBC Worldwide has sold the first series of Dr Who spin-off Torchwood to Antipodean broadcaster TVNZ. The 13 part drama is part of a "significant package" of more than 40 hours worth of drama, natural history and factual programming including ITV event drama Primeval and wildlife skein Galapagos.

In a press release, Lisa Clements, Vice President of Programme Acquisitions at TVNZ said: "Torchwood and Primeval are both groundbreaking, action-packed shows representing a new direction in UK drama that is ideally suited to the innovative and exciting channel offering of TV2."

FILTER: - Torchwood - New Zealand - Broadcasting

The Companion Chronicles

Sunday, 7 January 2007 - Reported by Jarrod Cooper

Big Finish has released full cover images and plot information for their upcoming Companion Chronicles series. This series sees Classic companions Vicki, Zoe, Liz, and Romana in brand new stories told from their point of view.

Frostfire
Read by: Maureen O'Brien as Vicki, with Keith Drinkel as The Cinder.
Vicki has a tale to tell. But where does it start and when does it end?
Ancient Carthage. 1164 BC. Lady Cressida has a secret. She keeps it deep in the cisterns below the Temple of Astarte with only one flame for warmth. And it must never get out.
Regency London, 1814 AD. The first Doctor, Steven and Vicki go to the fair and meet the fiery Dragon, the novelist Miss Austen and the deadliest weather you ever did see.
But which comes first? The Future or the Past?
The Phoenix or the Egg? The Fire or the Frost?
Or will Time freeze over forever?

Fear of the Daleks
Read by: Wendy Padbury as Zoe, with Nicholas Briggs as the Daleks
Why has Zoe Heriot been having nightmares about the Daleks? Who is the Doctor, a mysterious man from her past? When an evil scientist hijacks her mind to control a galaxy-conquering weapon, Zoe must stop him. First, she and the Doctor will face an enemy they had thought destroyed forever.

The Blue Tooth
Read by: Caroline John as Liz, with Nicholas Briggs as the Cybermen
"I suppose that was one of the Doctor's most endearing qualities: the ability to make the bizarre and the terrifying seem utterly normal."
When Liz Shaw's friend Jean goes missing, the Doctor and U.N.I.T. are drawn to the scene to investigate. Soon Liz discovers a potential alien invasion that will have far-reaching affects on her life… and the Doctor is unexpectedly re-united with an old enemy…

The Beautiful People
Read by: Lalla Ward as Romana, with Marcia Ashton as Karna
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FILTER: - Audio

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