Revised Empire Blurb

Monday, 10 November 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Author David Bishop kindly supplied to the Outpost Gallifrey Forum's readers the revised version of the blurb for his forthcoming BBC Books novel Empire of Death (the one we featured a few days ago, taken from the distributors' publication, was an earlier draft.) The corrected version is as follows:

EMPIRE OF DEATH by David Bishop

In 1856, a boy discovers he can speak with the voices of the dead. He grows up to become one of England's most celebrated spiritualists...

In 1863 the British Empire is effectively without a leader. Queen Victoria is inconsolable with grief following the death of her beloved husband, Prince Albert. The monarch's last hope is a secret seance...

The Doctor and Nyssa are also coming to terms with loss, following the death of Adric and Tegan's sudden departure. Trying to visit the Great Exhibition of 1851, the time travellers are shocked when a ghost appears in the TARDIS, beckoning them to the Other Side...

What is hidden in a drowned valley guarded by the British Army? Is there life after death and can it be reached by those still alive? And why is the Doctor so terrified of facing his own ghosts?




FILTER: - Books

Mindgame DVD

Monday, 10 November 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Reeltime Pictures has released on DVD their independent video Mindgame, written by Terrance Dicks and starring Sophie Aldred (Ace) and Miles Richardson; the story isn't directly related to Doctor Who but features the Draconians and Sontarans, and Aldred plays "an 'Ace'-like character". The sequel story Mindgame Trilogy will be released separately. The "Mindgame" disc contains a new extended "making of" documentary and photo gallery. At right is a thumbnail of the cover of this DVD. (Thanks to Galaxy 4)




FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD

DW on Mousemat Radio

Monday, 10 November 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Doctor Who websites will be the focus of an article on BBC Radio Wales' Mousemat, a weekly radio programme discussing home computing and the internet. Each week they chat about websites on a particular topic, and in the programme that goes out on November 19, between 1803GMT and 1830GMT on BBC Radio Wales, they'll be discussing Doctor Who sites (hmm... wonder if they'll mention us here!) For those in the UK outside of Wales it's on Sky Channel 867 and it's also available online at www.bbc.co.uk/radiowales. (Thanks to Damon Querry)




FILTER: - Radio

Nightmare Fair Charity CD

Monday, 10 November 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Rob Dunlop of Argolis Productions contacted Outpost Gallifrey to let us know that the charity audio CD production of The Nightmare Fair released earlier this year to raise money for Sense (a deaf-blindness and associated disability organization) -- chosen by former Doctor Who script editor Anthony Read -- raised รบ403 for this worthy cause. Copies are still available at www.argolis.co.uk. (Thanks to Rob Dunlop)




FILTER: - Press

Radio Times Reprints

Monday, 10 November 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine apparently features a story about Radio Times reprinting their "10th Anniversary Doctor Who Special", overseen by members of the DW Restoration Team. Some of the original photos have since gone missing, but where possible they're reprinting them either exactly as they were or with slight variations, from photos taken at the same shoot. The odd one or two pics might have to be scanned in from the original special. The original release from 1973 is incredibly rare and it'l be very exciting for most fans to finally be able to see what it looked like (and see how all the Hartnell stories are listed with the titles taken from their first episodes!) (Thanks to Jim Sangster for letting us know...)




FILTER: - Magazines - Radio Times

Anniversary Broadcasting and Print

Monday, 10 November 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
UKGold will be broadcasting their "Doctor Who @40 Weekend" from 7am to 7pm on both Nvoember 22 and 23, according to Radio Times. There don't seem to be any specific time slots for the programming, but Sky's customer magazine apparently states the weekend starts at 9.00am, so it's safe to presume the ongoing omnibus repeats will be running Saturday and Sunday mornings. Meanwhile, the BBC 4 channel will be rebroadcasting the "Alchemists of Sound" TV documentary on November 23 at 7pm. The issue of Radio Times published this week has a small (text only) plug for their forthcoming 16-page anniversary supplement due out next week, mentioning exclusive interviews and photos. Finally, the TV guide section of The Observer, OTV, yesterday included "The Scream of the Shalka" in its pick of the day selection for Thursday's TV, complete with the postcard image of the animated Doctor (played by Richard E. Grant) and the slightly odd implication that BBCi can be watched on satellite. (Thanks to Phillip Madeley, Steve Tribe)




FILTER: - Classic Series - Press - Radio Times

Neil Gaiman on New Series

Sunday, 9 November 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Comic and SF author Neil Gaiman, on his online blog today, posted a response to a question, which was "Russel T. Davies has suggested that the first season of new Doctor Who episodes will include 13 episodes at 45 minutes apiece. Any chance you would write an episode if asked?" Gaiman's answer: "If I have time, certainly. (It took five years to find time to write a Babylon 5 episode, of course...)" Gaiman recently penned the foreword for the forthcoming Telos Doctor Who novella "Eye of the Tyger" so he's obviously very familiar with the show... (Thanks to Steve Manfred)




FILTER: - Press

Davies at Hull Literary Festival

Sunday, 9 November 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
New series producer Russell T. Davies today attended a literary festival in Hull, UK, where some interesting bits of information came to light. Davies said that there is no concrete plan for the series at thsi stage, other than an outline (that will likely remain consistent) - nothing is set in stone apart from the fact that the series is coming back. The Doctor has not been cast yet. No master plan to bring the show back was in the offing; it just sort of happened, as a consequence of Davies repeatedly telling the BBC that he'd only work with them if he got to do Doctor Who. There's a production meeting on December 8th; things may start inching ahead around then. There will be other writers on the show but they'll be writing to specific briefs Davies sets. There will be a mix of stories; the whole spectrum of stuff from the old series, plus some new types of stories. Davies mentioned "Sapphire & Steel-type stories" involving shenanigans with time as one possible type of story. The reason BBC Wales are doing it is part of a wider plan to turn Wales into a production centre for television. Davies said that the series would likely consist of 13 45-minute episodes, most of which will be single stories. There are, at the moment, three two-parters, though that number may change according to how the budget plays out. He also said that we need to give Mal Young more credit for bringing back the series - it turns out that nearly every year, he's been coming up with budgeting plans and trying to get the series made. And people shouldn't just judge him by the fact that he produces Casualty and EastEnders - he also does less mass-market stuff like Dalziel and Pascoe, which tends to get overlooked. Doctor Who, he said, is a prestigious thing for the BBC - they're giving them an unheard-of 13 weeks of prep time, for instance, and it's envisaged as a series that will "run and run," in the manner of Casualty... a flagship programme. (Thanks to Stephen Graves, Paul Hayes, Ted Prendergast)




FILTER: - Russell T Davies

BBC Books Update

Sunday, 9 November 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
BBC Books' distributor has unveiled the cover blurbs (at least draft versions, we're not sure if they're the final ones) for the first four regular Doctor Who novels of 2004 (minus the "Scream of the Shalka" adaptation), as follows. (Thanks to Diana Dougherty)

SOMETIME NEVER by Justin Richards
This Week: A hideous misshapen creature released a butterfly. Next Week: The consequences of this simple action ensure that history follows its predicted path... Sometime: In the swirling maelstrom of the Time Vortex, The Council of Eight maps out every movement in history and take drastic measures to ensure it follows their predictions. But there is one elemental force that defies prediction, that fails to adhere to the laws of time and space... A rogue element that could destroy their plans merely by existing.

EMPIRE OF DEATH by David Bishop
In 1855, a boy discovers he can speak with the voice of the dead. He grows up to become one of England's most celebrated spiritualists. In 1863, the British Empire is effectively without a leader. Queen Victoria is inconsolable with grief following the death of her beloved husband, Prince Albert. The monarch's last hope is a secret seance. The Doctor and Nyssa are also coming to terms with loss following the death of Adric and Tegan's sudden departure. Trying to visit the Great Exhibition of 1851, the time travelers are shocked when Adric's ghost appears in the TARDIS, beckoning them to the Other Side. What is hidden in a drowned village guarded by the British Army? Is there life after death and can it be reached by those still alive? And why is the Doctor so terrified of facing his own ghosts? This adventure features the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa.

HALF-LIFE by Mark Michalowski
To lose your memory once may regarded as a misfortune; to lose it twice looks like carelessness. The Doctor's forgotten why he came to the colony world of Espero in the first place, but he's sure it was something important. Before long, he's engaged in the search for a time-bomb that could have consequences not only for Espero, but also for the Doctor himself- and his missing past.

THE ELEVENTH TIGER by David A. McIntee
In interesting times, love can be a weakness, hatred an illusion, order chaos, and ten tigers not enough. The TARDIS crew have seen many times. When they arrive in China in 1865, they find banditry, rebellion, and foreign oppression rife. Trying to maintain order are the British Empire and the Ten Tigers of Canton, the most respected martial arts masters in the world. There is more to the chaos than mere human violence and ambition. Can legends of ancient vengeance be coming true. Why does everyone Ian meets already know who he is? The Doctor has his suspicions, but he is occupied by challenges of his own. Sometimes the greatest danger is not from the enemy, but from the heart... This adventure features the First Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki.




FILTER: - Books

Wheel in Space CD

Sunday, 9 November 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
According to the Galaxy 4 shop website, the BBC Radio Collection release of The Wheel in Space starring Patrick Troughton has been set for May 2004. This would be their second release of 2004; nothing, however has yet been confirmed. (Thanks to Galaxy 4, Richard Mawson)




FILTER: - Audio - Classic Series