Daily strip in the October 3 "Guardian" by Steve Bell, "Queer as Daleks"... featuring Tony Blair and his cronies as Daleks at the Labour Party conference. Bell's done Blair as a Dalek before but this must be a reference to Russell Davies & the new show... closet Who fan??

BBC News responds to yesterday's claims by Tom Baker that Eddie Izzard would be the next Doctor: "The corporation says no final decision has been made on who will star in the TV show when it returns in 2005," says the report. "A BBC spokesman described Baker's comments as speculation." Read the full article here.
          Dead Ringers' Jon Culshaw was interviewed on BBC1's about the Labour Party conference. The conversation moved to Iraq & the Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon. Culshaw said he was delighted that "Dr Hoon was returning' and that he didn't feel that they would have much problem against the Ice Warriors! A bit of free series publicity there... (Thanks to Stephen Graves, Steve Jones)

Telos Publishing has released details about the final two Doctor Who novellas to be produced under its license. The fifteenth novella, The Dalek Factor by Simon Clark, was previously confirmed, but new details today indicate that the one novella previously unmentioned is Blood and Hope by Iain McLaughlin, which brings the Fifth Doctor and Peri together with Erimem, the companion created for the Big Finish audios starring Peter Davison and Nicola Bryant. This is Erimem's first appearance in print. Full details of both novellas are listed below. Also noted are the second and third novels in their "Time Hunter" series, spun-off from the Doctor Who novella "The Cabinet of Light" with characters Honor? Lechasseur and Emily Blandish: they are Stefan Petrucha's "The Tunnel at the End of the Light" and "The Clockwork Woman" by Claire Bott. Meanwhile, Telos has noted that Tara Samms' Doctor Who novella "Frayed" has been delayed due to approval issues and should be released in December. (Thanks to David Howe, Roger Anderson)

Would popular transvestite comedian Eddie Izzard make a good Doctor? Tom Baker thinks so. In an interview on the Teletext website Baker notes the following: "I think Eddie would be good as he's so strange, he looks like he has secrets. There is a benevolent alien quality to him." Baker goes on to stated that former Sun Page Three girl Melinda Messenger would be a great companion: "Melinda would be good as she can scream and has bosoms. It doesn't really matter if she can act." Tom would like the opportunity to play the Master in a new production; "I want to play the villain instead of the goodie," Baker says. "Then the Doctor could say lines to me like, 'You look very familiar'."
          Update: Forget being Tom Baker's favorite... the former Fourth Doctor says that Eddie Izzard is the next Doctor, although it's more than likely to be in jest. Tom, speaking on BBC London News this evening, said in a three-minute interview that he was "sworn to secrecy" but then later outed Izzard (see next news item) as the new Doctor. In response to Richard E. Grant playing the role on TV, Tom said "Oh Christ, no, not Richard E. Grant"; then, he stated that it would be Izzard. Again, we'd like to stress that it's very likely Mr. Baker was being clever rather than legitimately announcing Izzard being the Doc. You may be able to find the video of it here.
          We've been told that one other fan news site is suggesting that it will be Paul McGann reprising the role, but Outpost Gallifrey has been told that it will likely be "a new actor" by several sources.

BBCi has named the forthcoming 40th anniversary of Doctor Who documentary on BBC-1: it's The Story of Doctor Who. The hour-long documentary is being produced in-house at the BBC, with Kevin Davies ("More Than Thirty Years in the TARDIS") acting as advisor. Actors and crew from the series will be interviewed and filming will take place over the next several weeks, with a target date of airing sometime in December. (Thanks to BBCi)

While no official word has been released as to the content of 2004's list of DVD releases in the UK, except for the confirmation that Pyramids of Mars (the winner of the DWM poll) will be released at some point that year, a reporton the Sci-Fi Online page purports to reveal some titles under consideration, including "The Green Death" (for which Katy Manning recorded a commentary in 2002 since she was in the UK at the time) and "Ghost Light". The report also mentions a box set called "The Beginning" featuring the first three stories, "An Unearthly Child," "The Daleks" and "The Edge of Destruction" -- a report that curiously sounds like the aborted 2001 VHS release boxed set. The site also suggests that 2004 will see no Patrick Troughton story releases. We emphasize that this is ONLY a page of rumor and speculation and no confirmation of any of these titles (except "Pyramids") has been released. (Thansk to Carl Simpson)

October 1, 2003  •  Posted By Shaun Lyon