Series Six Tie-In Designs (part two)

Sunday, 12 June 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Last month we reported on a series of tie-in designs for Doctor Who, available on t-shirts, mugs and folder bags; with A Good Man Goes To War now broadcast these latest designs have been added to the series and are available through a number of retailers.

FILTER: - Merchandise

A Good Man Goes to War - Final Ratings

Sunday, 12 June 2011 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who: A Good Man Goes To War had a final rating of 7.51 million viewers, 2 million more than the initially reported overnight figures.

The audience share was 31.0%

The final figure is much more accurate than the overnight one, and includes all those who record the programmme and watch it within a week. It does not include iPlayer viewings.

Official ratings should be released tomorrow which will give the chart position of the episode, likely to be around 20th for the week.

FILTER: - Doctor Who - Ratings - UK - Series 6/32

A Good Man Goes to War: Australian ratings

Sunday, 12 June 2011 - Reported by Adam Kirk

The mid-series finale A Good Man Goes to War has debuted in Australia to excellent ratings. TV Tonight reports that the episode averaged 815,000 viewers in the five major capital cities. It won its timeslot and was the top rating drama and ABC programme for the day. 'A Good Man' was the third highest rating programme for the day overall (only beaten by two commercial evening news programmes). The corresponding Confidential Cutdown also rated a very strong 619,000 viewers in the five major capitals (8th highest rating programme for the day overall). These overnight figures, however, do not include regional, rural and time-shifted viewers and hence significantly understate the actual national ratings.

Meanwhile, ABC TV has launched its own official Doctor Who website.

FILTER: - Ratings - Series 6/32 - Broadcasting - Australia

Doctor Who items in Bonhams Auction

Saturday, 11 June 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

A variety of items from the classic series of Doctor Who have been listed by Bonhams for their forthcoming Entertainment Memorabilia auction, taking place in Knightsbridge on 29th June 2011 from 1:00pm.

Lot 111: Jon Pertwee's Inverness cape, in charcoal herringbone, frock with matching striped lining, black velvet collar, five buttons and three pockets, capelet with blue braid edging and purple lining, with background information including a copy of the Radio Times, 20-26 November 1993, the front cover featuring Pertwee wearing the cape.

This was worn on-screen for the 30th anniversary episode, Dimensions In Time, and can be seen on the cover of the Dr. Who Annual, 1996, in Jon Pertwee's autobiography, the Dr. Who Magazine and several BBC videos. It was originally purchased at the Longleat auction in August 1996, which included a number of items from Jon Pertwee's widow. The cape was Lot 64 in the auction.

Estimate: £4,000-5,000, €4,600-5,700

Lot 111A: A rehearsal script for Dr Who And The War Games, for rehearsals May 1969.

Episode Seven, with related memo, cast/set list and twenty-five numbered, mimeographed pages, some annotated.

Estimate: £200-300, €230-340

Lot 112: A TARDIS key, originally constructed in plastic board, moulded in silicon and finally cast in grey-coloured resin, with central symbol of the Pydonian seal, with chain, together with a statement of authenticity from The Model Unit, confirming this was one of several made for the 1988 season, starring Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor, key 6.5cm (2½in) long.

Estimate: £2,500-3,000, €2,900-3,400

Lot 113: a collection of thirty four re-release film posters, 1965 and 1966.

Re-release version British one-sheets for Dr Who and the Daleks (x6), Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 AD (x28), all rolled, 27 x 41 inches, (34).

Estimate: £200-300, €230-340

Lot 114: 'Mona Lisa' painting from City Of Death, oil on panel, 57 x 72.5cm (22¼ x 28½in)

Featured in the Tom Baker story broadcast in 1979, this is one of six such paintings produced. According to information received, this particular painting hung in the Dr. Who production office during the 1980s.

Estimate: £1,000-1,200, €1,100-1,400

Lot 115: A miniature TARDIS model, created for exhibition purposes, of painted board, with plastic paper-backed windows, and plastic casing to light, having internal electrical workings (plug removed), height 5ft, width 15 inches.

Estimate: £150-200, €170-230

Lot 116: costumes from Resurrection Of The Daleks, 1984, prison guard/prison ship uniforms, comprising a black fabric/vinyl Dalek trooper's cap; a white medical boiler suit, neck inscribed in ballpoint Robert Goodman, badge to right sleeve, with belt; a helmet, fibreglass/plastic, interior foam padding, mesh front; a khaki boiler suit with maching belt and felt cap, neck inscribed in ballpoint Mike Vinden, Operational badge (and old Bonhams label) to right sleeve.

Estimate: £300-400, €340-460

Lot 117: costumes from Resurrection Of The Daleks, 1984, prison guards/prison ship uniforms, comprising: a helmet, fibreglass/plastic with interior foam padding and mesh grill; an orange boiler suit, neck inscribed in ballpoint Kevin O'Brien, right sleeve with Maintenance badge to right sleeve, with belt and felt cap; two similar khaki boiler suits with Operational badge to sleeve, with belts, one inscribed John Adam Baker, the other Sneh Gupta; and a red, yellow, black and grey quilted vinyl jacket, shoulders with metal rings, with black belt.

Estimate: £300-400, €340-460

(with thanks to "Alyd")

UPDATE - The hammer prices were as follows:

Jon Pertwee's cape: £4,800
War Games script: £420
Dalek film posters: £660
City of Death Mona Lisa: £2,400
TARDIS model: £900
Resurrection of the Daleks costumes (Lot 116): £1,320
Resurrection of the Daleks costumes (Lot 117): £1,140

NB: No price was given for the TARDIS key. It is unknown if this means it failed to sell.

FILTER: - Auctions

Big Finish: new companion for the Sixth Doctor

Saturday, 11 June 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Big Finish have revealed that the new companion to accompany the Sixth Doctor in his audio adventures will be played by Lisa Greenwood. She will be reprising her character of Philippa (Flip) Jackson, who was introduced in Jonathan Morris's story The Crimes of Thomas Brewster, released earlier this year.

The role was announced by Big Finish at their convention taking place in Barking today; recording for her adventures commenced last week, with three tales expected to be released from January 2012. Their website has since been updated about the news, with executive producer Nick Briggs saying:

We worked with Lisa for one day on The Crimes of Thomas Brewster, and line producer David Richardson and I were of the same mind. She was great, and she'd make a perfect companion. Flip is young, brave, fun but she has a lot to learn - and the Doctor takes on something of a Professor Higgins role in her life.

On television, Greenwood is to be a series regular in the forthcoming Kudos series for the BBC, The Hour, and has previously appeared in Doctors, The Bill, and Silent Witness.

(with thanks to Richard Brinck-Johnsen)

FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Big Finish

Bernard Cribbins, OBE

Saturday, 11 June 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The actor Bernard Cribbins has been awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, released today; he receives the honour for Services To Drama.

Cribbins has been an actor for over fifty years, having appeared in films like The Railway Children and Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150AD, television roles including Fawlty Towers: The Hotel Inspectors, and remembered by a generation as a presenter of Jackanory and the voice of the Wombles.

Of course, for Doctor Who fans he is now firmly part of the 'family' as Donna Noble's comradely grandfather Wilfred Mott, from his brief appearance in Voyage of the Damned to achieving fully fledged "companion status" - not to mention the inadvertent cause of the Tenth Doctor's demise - in The End of Time.

The actor said:

You can't go through life expecting to get prizes. You just get on with things, which is how it should be. It's a great surprise. I'm completely gobsmacked really. My dad would have been absolutely delighted.

FILTER: - People

A Good Man Goes To War - Key Commentaries

Saturday, 11 June 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Having previously released a commentary on the closing scene of A Good Man Goes To War, the BBC have now released a second video with director Peter Hoar, this time offering his insight to the opening scenes of the mid-series finale. As before this is presented as an in-vision commentary. Please note the videos explicitly discuss the plot of the episode, so will be a spoiler for those who have yet to see it.

Peter Hoar - opening scene in-vision commentary, BBC, via BBC Website

Peter Hoar - closing scene in-vision commentary, BBC, via BBC Website

FILTER: - Series 6/32 - Online

Torchwood: Miracle Day - Publicity

Saturday, 11 June 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

With less than a month to go, publicity is ramping up for Torchwood: Miracle Day arriving in the United States on the 8th July. Tonight sees a ten minute preview expected on Starz after Camelot, and the co-producer of the series has also released two behind-the-scenes videos:

» Torchwood Miracle Day - Special Look
» Torchwood - In Production Now

(please note these are only available to watch in the United States)

In addition, a number of short character-specific trailers have also been released, each focussing on an individual star from the series. The videos were released as exclusives by a number of entertainment sites in the United States - some of these were restricted so transcripts of the items follow:

****
**** THIS ARTICLE CONTINUES WITH SEVERAL MEDIA ARTICLE QUOTES AND IMAGES
**** THESE CAN BE CONSIDERED SPOILERS!!!
****

Captain Jack Harkness (US only, via Starz)

My name is Captain Jack Harkness, and I have seen the universe. But none of those endless horizons could prepare me ... for what I found on Earth. I found a world convulsed by the Miracle. But it was far more than just a blessing on mankind. It's part of a conspiracy dating back almost a hundred years.

I thought I could bring Torchwood back. I thought Torchwood could fight this thing and save the world. I was wrong.

Gwen Cooper (worldwide access, via New York Magazine)

I was happy. Once upon a time, I had a husband, I had a daughter, I had a life. Then Miracle Day came along and nothing was the same again. That's when I started to run, they all tried to stop me, the government, the CIA, the families.

But what they didn't know is, I've got a secret of my own. Torchwood.

Rex Matheson (worldwide access, via TV Guide)

I was king of the world, man, I thought I knew it all, and look at me now. My name is Rex Matheson, former CIA. Now representing the Torchwood Institute, because the Miracle came along. Look what it did to me, so listen to me, listen to me!

I discovered the secret behind Miracle Day, I discovered what they're really doing, to the whole world. Don't trust anyone, they're all a part of it. Don't trust anyone!

Oswald Danes (worldwide access, via Entertainment Weekly)

My name is Oswald Danes, you might have heard of me. Fifteen days ago, I was executed, and that was just the beginning of my journey. Now, I have risen from my past, I have been forgiven, I have been blessed. Now, my new life can began. So trust me, the government has failed us, corporations have robbed us, so trust me when I say that miraculous days call for miraculous people, and I have such discoveries waiting to be made, so walk with me, walk with me, come with me on the next great leap for mankind, walk in my side. I know, what they're doing. I know, what the miracles for. God help you, God help every last one of you.

One word I keep hearing, this one word. Torchwood.

Jillian Kitzinger (worldwide access, via TV.com)

Hi, my name is Jilly. Jillian Alexander Kitzinger. My job is to see this miracle for what it is, a benefit for all mankind. It's my job to sell it, even if that means I have to strike a bargain with the devil himself. But I think there's something else happening, beyond the miracle, behind the panic, someone is hiding a secret, and Jillian Alexander Kitzinger is gonna find it first.

Word of advice, get out of my way. Phew! You're welcome.

Esther Drummond (worldwide access, via Daily Motion)

My name is Esther Drummond, I have a BA in Linguistics from Brown with a second to Nature and Computer Science. Masters is in Cognitive Science from the University of Chicago -

I tried to stop them, okay. And everything changed. I thought it was wonderful; I thought ... I thought we could live forever. But I was such an idiot. I thought Torchwood could help. The Miracle was just the start. There's nothing we can do.

Several pieces have appeared in the media recently; these contain number of plot points, twists and revelations that can certainly be considered spoilers for the forthcoming episodes!

John Barrowman recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly, during which he discussed Jack in the news series; talking on his love life, "(Jack) gets to have full-on boy-sex a couple of times. On those days going to work I’d wake up and Scott my partner would say, ‘What are you filming today?’ And I’d say, ‘Oh it’s going to be a tough day, I get to have sex with a 24 year old.’”. He also commented that: "you’re going to get a lot into the history of Jack; you see one of his big relationships that defines a lot about who he is. You also find out a lot about Jack and Gwen.".

The article also revealed that in a world where people cannot die, Jack finds that his own mortality has returned. This was expanded upon by Russell T Davies in an interview with AOLTV: "Well he's literally, physically different. He's mortal. Everyone else is immortal, he's mortal. It's the biggest switch in the show, which we did in order to give us new insights into Jack. I appreciate what you're saying, that he's a different character. I think that's my job. I [there can be] a great passivity and inertia when it comes to characters on shows that are successful -- they keep coming back and they keep being the same. I'd much rather change them."

Davies was also interviewed by SFX; talking about how characters would cope with immortality, he said: "I think you should never forget that during the greatest national crises people just go to work, and go home, and get on with it. If this really happened, you and I would just carry on as normal. If something conceptual and huge has happened, nonetheless, you’ve got a deadline tomorrow, and I need to go to work and write a script tomorrow, and if our granddad is ill in bed, he’s still ill. So it’s a very unusual concept, in that it’s hard to dramatise in many ways. That’s why I like it. It’s a very powerful concept, because it takes hold subtly, and you have to find ways to dramatise it, because it’s not immediately obvious."

On the origins of the "Miracle Day" he said: "It’s not a virus, it hasn’t spread, it didn’t take a day for it to travel from the North pole to the South pole; it’s literally a flick of the switch and it’s happened. To Jack, that instantly suggests what has happened, and that takes a few episodes to evolve. It’s more about explaining what has happened to society while this has happened, that’s the real meat of the story. But it is explained in the end, and finding it out… this story goes back in history as well. We’ve got episodes that go back to 1927, so it’s a broad story covering continents and covering time as well; it’s one of those stories with a plot that’s been planned for decades, so there’s a lot of expanse and muscle in the story."

This week After Elton published interviews with several of the other guest stars taken during production.

Eve Myles on Gwen: "We find Gwen absolutely bored out of her mind but constantly on alert, constantly looking over her shoulder. She will remain on alert for the rest of her life. She’s exhausted. You find her living, literally, on the edge of a cliff somewhere in the UK, overlooking the most fabulous beach. They’re self-sufficient – they grow their own food, and they live in this cottage. And for Rhys, it’s wonderful; for Gwen, it’s hell."

Kai Owen on Rhys: "I think Rhys is kind of an extra-secret member of the team now, especially because of his driving skills, and he’s such a normal bloke. He doesn’t look like an undercover CIA agent or anything extra-terrestrial. He’s just a run-of-the-mill guy who loves his food and loves his beer and his family, and he’ll do anything Gwen asks him to. If it means helping her out, and bringing a mission to an end as quickly as possible, he’ll help her out, no problem."

Bill Pullman on Oswald: "He’s not necessarily a likable man, in that he’s been ostracized, he’s got a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, because he’s assuming that everyone wants him dead, which is the irony of it all. But he’s got great perspective, and he’s kind of clever – he’s been operating very successfully online for a very long period of time, so he’s got some skills that the others don’t." ... "Oswald is fluid, he seems to be back and forth. You see he’s got the opportunity, where the world has suddenly changed and he’s in the spotlight, and the question becomes, What is fame and how do you use it, and how do other people want to co-opt you when you gain power? And that becomes as much a part of his journey as sneaking around, trying to get into rooms with small people."

Promotional images for the series:

The character of Captain Jack of course owes its origins to Doctor Who, and Zap2It asked John Barrowman about whether his character could return to meet up with the Doctor once more:

It's in the cards, but who knows whether it will happen? I like Matt Smith. He brings his own quirkiness to it... When a new Doctor starts, everybody goes along for the journey because they love the show. But then you attach yourself to that Doctor. There's a whole new generation who are now attached to Matt, and rightly so.... but David Tennant is my Doctor.

However, should Torchwood prove successful for Starz, it would seem likely that a second series would be made: a recent announcement on tax credits made as part the Californian incentive plan to keep projects and jobs in the state intimated that this was possible, with Bad Wolf Productions (the BBC Worldwide Americas company set up for the show) being allocated some $8 million dollars - the highest allocation of the $100 million pot!

FILTER: - Torchwood - Miracle Day (Series 4)

Chart Placing - The Almost People

Friday, 10 June 2011 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who just missed out on a top twenty place for the week ending 29th May, seeing Episode Six The Almost People, become the 21st most watched programme of the week.

The episode, which had a share of 29.5% of the total audience, was just edged out of the top twenty by Emmerdale, which has a particularly good week, with all its episodes inside the top twenty.

The chart does not include iPlayer figures which have seen over a million people access the episode. Final figures for the last episode before the series break should be out on Monday.

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 6/32

BBC Books: Torchwood releases

Friday, 10 June 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Last week we reported the three new Torchwood books due out this summer; the covers and provisional publication dates are now known, with the books available for pre-order:

Torchwood: First Born (available for pre-order)
by James Goss
due 21st July 2011

Gwen and Rhys are on the run. Rhys was hoping this meant a windswept cottage on a cliff top, but he’s had to settle for a miserable caravan in the isolated village of Rawbone. With the locals taking an unhealthy interest in their daughter, Gwen and Rhys start to realise that something is very wrong.

As they uncover the village’s terrible past, Gwen discovers that Torchwood will never leave her behind, and now she and Rhys stand alone in defence of the Earth. And the children of Rawbone can only bring her closer to the secret forces that want her out of the way.

Based on the hit series created by Russell T Davies, First Born is a prequel to Torchwood: Miracle Day, starring John Barrowman and Eve Myles as Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper, with Kai Owen as Rhys Williams.

Torchwood: Long Time Dead (available for pre-order)
by Sarah Pinborough
due 4th August 2011

Cardiff Bay. The government has ordered the excavation of the wreckage of a secret underground base. DCI Tom Cutler is watching from a distance, fascinated by the process. There are people in his dreams. People he feels he should know.

The disbanded Torchwood Institute spent a century accumulating non-terrestrial artefacts and catching aliens. Who knows what – or who – might still be intact down there. But by the time they find the first body, Suzie Costello is long gone.

Based on the hit series created by Russell T Davies, Long Time Dead is a prequel to Torchwood: Miracle Day, starring John Barrowman and Eve Myles as Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper. It features Suzie Costello, as played by Indira Varma.

Torchwood: The Men Who Sold The World (available for pre-order)
by Guy Adams
due 18th August 2011

When Oscar Lupe appears 20,000 feet up in the air, his body is frozen solid and free-falling to earth. It shatters on impact. Soon after, a CIA Special Activities Division squad goes rogue with a cargo marked ‘Torchwood’ that they’ve been escorting from somewhere called Cardiff.

The Agency puts Rex Matheson on the case. As the strange deaths pile up, Rex realises there must be experimental tech out there, but someone is obstructing him at every turn. Rex is the CIA’s golden boy – but has he met his match in the evasive Mr Wynter…?

Based on the hit series created by Russell T Davies, The Men Who Sold The World is a prequel to Torchwood: Miracle Day, starring John Barrowman and Eve Myles as Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper, with Mekhi Phifer as Rex Matheson.

FILTER: - Torchwood - Books - Miracle Day (Series 4)

Previous 10 Stories