Horror Channel 'Who on Horror' Full Spring Schedule

Tuesday, 15 April 2014 - Reported by Melad Moshiri

Horror Channel's Who on Horror schedule in the UK has been released with classic Doctor Who episodes airing from Good Friday. The run will commence with the very first episode of Who in its original four parts on the Friday at 7pm before the Who on Horror themed weekend featuring stories from each of the first seven Doctors begins.

11am - An Unearthly Child (Four Parts, Repeat)
From the misty November nights of London 1963 to the arid caves of Earth 100,000 BC, this is our very first encounter with the mysterious time traveller (William Hartnell), who kidnaps teachers Ian (William Russell) and Barbara (Jacqueline Hill), and, along with his granddaughter Susan (Carole Ann Ford), travels back in the distant past to confront caveman as they discover the power of fire.

1:20pm - The Mind Robber (Four Parts)
Trapped in a world outside of space and time, the second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) along with his companions, Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Zoe (Wendy Padbury), find themselves facing a world of fiction inhabited by unicorns, Medusa, and Gulliver. They seem to be writing their own story but will the mysterious storytelling Master of the realm allow them a happy ending?

3:45pm - Terror of the Autons (Four Parts)
If the 70s was an age of plastic then what would happen if it turned against us? The Doctor (Jon Pertwee), now exiled to Earth in his third incarnation, confronts killer dolls, deadly daffodils, telephone cables that strangle and inflatable chairs that suffocate. A second appearance for the returning enemy the Autons, this also introduces new assistant Jo Grant (Katy Manning) and rogue Time Lord, The Master (Roger Delgado). It also finds a new nemesis in Mary Whitehouse.

6pm - The Brain of Morbius (Parts One and Two)
Our jellybaby-loving Time Lord ventures into Frankenstein territory as The fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) arrive on the stormy planet of Karn where they find themselves caught between the immortal Sisterhood, who are guardians of the precious elixir of life and the fanatical surgeon, Solon, who’s trying to create new life from dead aliens to house the brain of criminal Time Lord, Morbius.

11am - The Brain of Morbius (Parts Three and Four)
Continuation from Saturday night, the last two episodes of this ‘Frankenstein’ story as The Doctor (Tom Baker) and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) find themselves caught between the immortal Sisterhood and the fanatical surgeon, Solon, who’s trying to create new life from dead aliens to house the brain of criminal Time Lord, Morbius.

12:10pm - The Caves of Androzani (Four Parts)
Frequently voted by fans as the best story of the whole classic series, this also marks the end of Peter Davison’s time as he regenerates into Colin Baker. A real actioner which finds the Fifth Doctor and Peri (Nicola Bryant) caught up in a war between a corrupt corporation, smugglers and masked outlaw Sharaz Jek , all fighting for control of spectrox, an invaluable but toxic substance mined on Androzani Minor that when refined, can slow ageing.

2:30pm - Attack of the Cybermen (Four Parts)
Travelling from their own future, the Cybermen stalk London in 1985 to perfect a plan for Halley’s Comet to crash into the Earth, saving their own planet Mondas from destruction. The Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and Peri colourfully attempt to thwart their plans, save the cold-thriving Cryons, natives of Cyber-controlled Telos and maybe finally fix the TARDIS’s chameleon circuits.

4:50pm - Remembrance of the Daleks (Four Parts)
It’s back to November 1963 as the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) returns with Ace (Sophie Aldred) to Coal Hill School, He’s determined to complete unfinished business but if he hadn’t forgotten the Hand of Omega, then it’s inevitable the Daleks would remember too and they’re determined to outwit their greatest enemy and proved that they can climb stairs.

After the special weekend, episodes settle into a weekday showing from Monday after, with a story each from the First, Second and Third Doctor for the rest of April.

Monday 21st April

10am - The Daleks (Parts One and Two)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Having survived their first adventure together, the TARDIS team land on Skaro, a planet devastated by nuclear war. Is anyone left alive? Contaminated by radioactive poisoning, they encounter the pacifist race of Thals and a number of hidden perils, but the greatest threat waits in the impressive citadel. They’re set to come face to eye-stalk for the first time with those exterminating pepperpots, the Daleks. A legend is born and our Saturday nights will never be the same again.

Tuesday 22nd April

10am - The Daleks (Parts Three and Four)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Continuation of adventure in which the TARDIS team come face-to-face with the Daleks for the first time.

Wednesday 23rd April

10am - The Daleks - (Parts Five and Six)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Continuation of adventure in which the TARDIS team come face-to-face with the Daleks for the first time.

Thursday 24th April

10am - The Daleks (Part Seven)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Finale to adventure in which the TARDIS team come face-to-face with the Daleks for the first time.

10:35am - The Seeds of Death (Part One)
Repeated at 3:45pm and 7:50pm
Earth in the 21st Century and instantaneous travel is now possible thanks to the T-Mat based on the Moon. However, when the Doctor arrives with Jamie and Zoe, the machine has broken down and strange alien seeds have been discovered which explode with a lethal fungus threatening to wipe out life. It’s all part of the plan to take over the planet by the Martian reptilian race, the Ice Warriors.

Friday 25th April

10am - The Seeds of Death - (Parts Two and Three)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Continuation of adventure where the Ice Warriors are threatening to wipe out life with a lethal fungus.

Monday 28th April

10am - The Seeds of Death - (Parts Four and Five)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Continuation of adventure where the Ice Warriors are threatening to wipe out life with a lethal fungus.

Tuesday 29th April

10am - The Seeds of Death (Part Six)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Finale to adventure where the Ice Warriors are threatening to wipe out life with a lethal fungus.
10:35am - The Daemons (Part One)
Repeated at 3:45pm and 8:45pm
Excavations at an ancient burial mound unleash an ancient evil. There’s darker magic at work in the quiet village of Devil’s End, and the new vicar seems to have a Master plan under his cassock as rogue Time Lord joins forces with Azal, last of the star-spanning Daemons. With the help of UNIT and Jo Grant, The Doctor fights to stop May Day from becoming the last day for mankind.

Wednesday 30th April

10am - The Daemons - (Parts Two and Three)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Continuation of adventure where The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) fights to stop May Day becoming the last day for mankind.

Thursday 1st May

10am - The Daemons - (Parts Four and Five)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Continuation of adventure where The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) fights to stop May Day becoming the last day for mankind.

Friday 2nd May

10am - The Sea Devils - (Parts One and Two)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
The Doctor pays the Master a visit in an island prison around which a number of ships have mysteriously sunk. While the Doctor and Jo are trapped on the fort by a Sea Devil, the Master steals some electronic components.

Monday 5th May

10am - The Sea Devils - (Parts Three and Four)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Trenchard holds the Doctor captive while the Master attempts to make contact with the Sea Devils. After the Sea Devils attack the island prison and rescue the Master, the Doctor must venture underwater in pursuit.

Tuesday 6th May

10am - The Sea Devils - (Parts Five and Six)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
While the Doctor tries to make peace with the Sea Devils in the their underwater colony, the navy launch an attack on the base! When the Sea Devils take over the naval base, the Doctor is forced to work with the Master to revive the creatures' colony.

Wednesday 7th May

10am - The Three Doctors - (Parts One and Two)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
Three incarnations of the Doctor join forces to face the evil Omega in a universe of antimatter. The Third Doctor and Jo find themselves on an artificial world inside a black hole.

Thursday 7th May

10am - The Three Doctors - (Parts Three and Four)
Repeated at 3:10pm and 7:50pm
The Time Lord Omega reveals himself to the third Doctor along with his plan for vengeance. The Doctors discover a secret about Omega that gives them an advantage in ending his deadly plot.

The full and future schedule can be found via This Week in Doctor Who.

Idents and commercials have been created depicting the cell animation advertised while billboards and posters promoting the campaign have been seen in London.

Long Trailer | Short Trailer | Dalek Blipvert | Cyberman Blipvert

The arrival of Doctor Who on the Horror Channel reflects the science-fiction, action and fantasy genres seen on the channel's available line-up, including Xena: Warrior Princess, Wonder Woman and The Twilight Zone.

Director of Programming Alina Florea commented on the latest signing in a press release:

Doctor Who is an iconic series and we are proud and excited to welcome this giant of British television to our channel. The line-up will include some of the most revered from seven classic Doctors – stories that terrified, thrilled and captured the imagination of children and adults through the decades. Doctor Who joins a long line of well-loved classic series we have endeavoured to showcase on Horror Channel over the last few years.

A special press launch took place yesterday at The Ivy in Leicester Square in the presence of the Fourth Doctor himself, Tom Baker. Doctor Who News was invited to the launch and a report of the day will be available soon.

UPDATE - 18th APRIL: Our report of the press launch, including pictures, can now be read here.

FILTER: - Sixth Doctor - UK - Third Doctor - Seventh Doctor - Second Doctor - First Doctor - Class

The Moonbase: animation credits

Wednesday, 26 February 2014 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The Moonbase - R2 Cover (Credit: BBC Worldwide)

Pup Ltd, the company responsible for the classic Doctor Who range of DVDs over the last few years, have reported that several of the lead creatives involved with the production of the animated episodes of the recently released The Moonbase were absent from the credits due to a technical error.

Executive producer Dan Hall has confirmed the following:

As the Executive Producer of the commissioning company I should like to confirm that the following should have recieved credits as Animators on the project:

Chris W Chapman
Crystal Chappell
Sarah Harper
Hayley Parker
Derek Moore
Thomas Barkel
Charlotte Barkel
David Donnelly
Tim Proust
Joshua Wolski
James Marsh

Their involvement was of an important creative level, and was crucial in producing what was both a creative and commercial success for the Classic Doctor Who DVD range.

The Moonbase is available now from our Region 1 and Region 2 Amazon shops.

(with thanks to Dan Hall/Pup Ltd)

FILTER: - Second Doctor - Animation - Blu-ray/DVD

Cinema outing for The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear

Thursday, 13 February 2014 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear at the Prince Charles (Credit: BBC Worldwide)

BBC Worldwide have announced a cinematic outing for the two recently recovered stories The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear.

The stories will be shown together at the Prince Charles Cinema in London on Saturday 22nd February from 11:15am, and will also include a 45-minute Q&A session, chaired by Toby Hadoke, with cast members from the stories and a member of the Troughton family.

Fiona Eastwood, Director of Consumer Products at BBC Worldwide, said:

The recovery of these missing stories was undoubtedly a high point for BBC Worldwide and Doctor Who fans around the world last year, and we hope there will be more to come. We’re delighted that we’ve been able to make both of these stories available and the marathon screening at the Prince Charles Cinema is a great moment for Doctor Who fans to come together and celebrate their recovery.

Paul Vickery, Head Programmer at the Prince Charles Cinema said:

I couldn't be more proud to be part of this one-off experience - as a cinema, it's a dream come true for us to finally have the Doctor fill our screen and delight audiences and fans of the show. As a HUGE fan of the series I'll be there too, front row-centre. I’m very excited about having the opportunity to revisit these incredible episodes in a truly unique way… on the big-screen. It's sure to be one of those events for the PCC history books and I for one can't wait.

Dick Fiddy, Missing Believed Wiped Co-ordinator at the BFI, added:

These finds are truly significant, offering a further opportunity to re-visit the Patrick Troughton era. The recovery of these episodes indicates the possibility that more episodes are out there somewhere awaiting re-discovery – a mouth-watering prospect for all Doctor Who fans and those interested generally in the recovery of missing UK television programmes.

Tickets go on sale from 9:00am on Friday 14th February via this link, priced at £14 (£11.50 members).

UPDATE - 8pm, 14th FEBRUARY: The event has now sold out.

FILTER: - Special Events - Second Doctor - Blu-ray/DVD

The Web of Fear: UK DVD Details

Thursday, 23 January 2014 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC Worldwide have released the details for the forthcoming DVD of The Web of Fear, which is due out in the United Kingdom from the 24th February 2014.

The Web of Fear
Release date: 24 February 2014 UK (available for pre-order)

The Web of Fear: R2 cover (Credit: BBC Worldwide

Starring Patrick Troughton as Doctor Who, with Frazer Hines as Jamie, Deborah Watling as Victoria
Written by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln
Directed by Douglas Camfield

Broadcast: 3 Feb 1968 - 9 Mar 1968

Previously unseen in the UK for 45 years and re-mastered from newly discovered tapes located in Nigeria, the formerly missing Doctor Who classic - Web of Fear - will soon be available to own on DVD. Starring Patrick Troughton as the Doctor, alongside Frazer Hines (Jamie) and Deborah Watling (Victoria) as companions, this iconic story sees the TARDIS narrowly avoid becoming engulfed in a mysterious cobweb-like substance in space before arriving in the London Underground railway system.

The Doctor soon discovers that something strange is afoot as the tunnels are being overrun by the web, an army or robotic yetis and The Great Intelligence. Before the original broadcast in 1967, this story was deemed so scary that the Doctor delivered the following message to television audiences:

Thank goodness… Oh, it’s you… I thought for one moment it was… I’ll just sit down for a minute. I’m glad I met you as a matter of fact; there’s something I want to tell you. When we start out on our next adventure – Jamie, Victoria and I – we meet some old friends. Yes, and we also meet some old enemies. Very old enemies. The Yeti as a matter of fact. Only this time, they’re just a little bit more frightening than the last time. So I’ll warn you that if your Mummy or Daddy are scared, you just get them to hold your hand. *Gunfire* Here we go again. I’ve got to go. See you soon – I hope!

The Web of Fear is also famed for introducing one of Doctor Who folklore’s most beloved characters; Nicholas Courtney as Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart who later became the Brigadier. The Brigadier’s legacy lives on in contemporary Doctor Who, with Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (his daughter) starring in the show’s 50th anniversary episode The Day of the Doctor.

Features:

Episode Three reconstruction, presented using the original soundtrack alongside surviving images from the episode
Programme subtitles
Also Available: The Enemy of the World

FILTER: - Merchandise - Second Doctor - Blu-ray/DVD

Moonbase animation clip

Wednesday, 15 January 2014 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

BBC Worldwide's doctorwho.tv site has released an exclusive clip from the forthcoming DVD of the 1967 Patrick Troughton serial The Moonbase. Episodes two and four of this story remain in the BBC archives; episodes one and three have been animated to the original soundtrack for this DVD release. The clip, from the animated episode three, shows Cybermen marching across the surface of the Moon in preparation for their attack on the eponymous moonbase.

The March of the Cybermen: The Moonbase

The Moonbase DVD will be released on January 20 in Region 2 (Europe, Japan, Middle East, South Africa), on January 22 in Region 4 (Australia, New Zealand, South and Central America) and February 11 in Region 1 (US and Canada).

FILTER: - Second Doctor - Animation - Blu-ray/DVD

Steven Moffat in praise of Remembrance of the Daleks

Wednesday, 18 December 2013 - Reported by John Bowman

With the 50th anniversary of the first appearance of the Daleks on TV screens fast approaching, a video tribute by Doctor Who's current showrunner Steven Moffat to their last story during the classic era - Remembrance of the Daleks - was posted today by the BBC on the programme's official site.

In the piece, he says of the 1988 four-parter:

Terrific script, terrific, pacy, very modern, very of-its-time script, very, very well directed and with one of the best spaceship landings we've had in Doctor Who. Back in the day when they had no CGI, when they barely had post-production, a spaceship landing in a school playground . . . they did it superbly. Genius! And a superlative story.

Moffat's comments were recorded last year as part of a mini series in which he talked about the Daleks in general to publicise their return in Asylum of the Daleks and, in subsequent video posts, looked at what he considered to be the best and most significant Dalek adventures.

Steven Moffat on Remembrance of the Daleks (Official site - 18 Dec 2013)
Steven Moffat on The Evil of the Daleks (Official site - 4 Dec 2012)
Steven Moffat on the first Dalek adventure (Official site - 3 Dec 2012)
Steven Moffat: The return of the Daleks (Official site - 29 Aug 2012)

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Online - Seventh Doctor - Second Doctor - First Doctor - Classic Series

The Moonbase DVD Details

Wednesday, 18 December 2013 - Reported by Connor Johnston

BBC Worldwide have released the artwork, trailer and details for the forthcoming DVD of the second Doctor story The Moonbase, which is due for release in the United Kingdom early January next year.

The DVD was originally due to be released this October, with animated versions of episodes 1 and 3. However, this was later put on hold to allow further work on the animation to be completed.

Starring Patrick Troughton as the Doctor, Michael Craze as Ben, Anneke Wills as Polly, Frazer Hines as Jamie and guest-starring Patrick Barr, Andre Maranne and Michael Wolf, The Moonbase was originally screened in February and March 1967, and with episodes 1 and 3 animated it will become the earliest complete Troughton story available on DVD.

In 2070 the Doctor and his travelling companions Jamie (Frazer Hines), Polly (Anneke Wills) and Ben (Michael Craze) arrive on the Moon and set out to visit the Moonbase, a manned structure used to control the Earth's weather through a device known as the Gravitron. All is not well on the Moonbase, however, with many of its crew suffering from a mysterious virus.

Special features on the DVD include:

Fully remastered Episodes 2 and 4.
Newly animated Episodes 1 and 3, with original off-screen soundtrack recordings.
Commentary on Episodes 2 and 4: a traditional commentary with actors Anneke Wills, Frazer Hines and Edward Phillips and Special Sounds creator Brian Hodgson.
On Episodes 1 and 3, a series of interviews featuring writer Kit Pedler's daughters Lucy Pedler and Carol Topolski, archive interviews with producer Innes Lloyd, assistant floor manager Lovett Bickford, and Cyberman actors Barry Noble, Derek Chaffer and Reg Whitehead. Moderated and linked by Toby Hadoke.
Lunar Landing – Cast and crew look back on the making of the story. With actors Anneke Wills, Frazer Hines and Reg Whitehead, plus production assistant Desmond McCarthy.
Photo Gallery – Production, design and publicity photos from the story.
Coming Soon – A trailer for a forthcoming DVD release.
Radio Times listings.
Programme subtitles.
Subtitle production notes.

Doctor Who: Moonbase DVD Trailer (YouTube)

The DVD is available to order at amazon.co.uk and amazon.com.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Second Doctor - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD - Patrick Troughton

Early Canadian DVD release for The Enemy of the World and An Adventure in Space

Saturday, 7 December 2013 - Reported by Mike Doran

Canadian consumer electronics chains Future Shop and Best Buy Canada have announced an exclusive early release of The Enemy of the World and An Adventure in Space and Time exclusively in Canada on Tuesday, December 10th. For this early release both titles will only be available from these two retailers as well as from their websites. Retail price is $19.99 for each DVD.

Enemy of the World from Future Shop Canada
An Adventure in Space and Time from Future Shop Canada

Enemy of the World from Best Buy Canada
An Adventure in Space and Time from Best Buy Canada

FILTER: - Canada - Second Doctor - Blu-ray/DVD

The Enemy of the World: UK DVD details

Wednesday, 6 November 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC Worldwide have released the details for the forthcoming DVD of The Enemy of the World, which is due out in the United Kingdom from the 25th November 2013 (plus an exclusive BBC Shop release on the 22nd November).

The Enemy of the World
Release date: 25 November 2013 UK (available for pre-order)

The Enemy of the World - R2 DVD Cover (Credit: BBC Worldwide)

Starring Patrick Troughton as Doctor Who, with Frazer Hines as Jamie and Deborah Watling as Victoria
Written by David Whitaker
Directed by Barry Letts

Broadcast: 23 Dec 1967 - 27 Jan 1968

The TARDIS lands on an Australian beach in the 21st Century, but this is no seaside holiday. Within minutes, the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria are under attack.

They soon discover that the Doctor bears a startling resemblance to leader Salamander, a would-be dictator intent on world domination. Before long, the Doctor and his companions are plunged into a dangerous game of espionage, intrigue and deceit as they face off against the enemy of the world.

The Enemy of the World is the first of two classic Doctor Who stories recovered by BBC Worldwide in 2013. The story had not been viewed in the UK since it was first broadcast over 45 years ago. The second missing story, The Web of Fear, will be released on DVD in early 2014.

Features:

Programme subtitles
Coming Soon: The Web of Fear

FILTER: - UK - Second Doctor - Blu-ray/DVD

The Enemy of the World / The Web of Fear DVD clarification

Friday, 11 October 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The Enemy of the World (Credit: BBC Worldwide)

Amidst some confusion over the DVD releases of the recovered The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear, BBC Worldwide have confirmed that these will be single disc releases as described by online shopping sites and not two discs as the covers released earlier today indicated.

The BBFC have now classified The Enemy of the World, confirming the running time for the episodes:

Episodes One-Three:
00:23:45:01 DOCTOR WHO - THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD - EPISODE 1
00:23:50:17 DOCTOR WHO - THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD - EPISODE 2
00:23:07:09 DOCTOR WHO - THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD - EPISODE 3

Episodes Four-Six:
00:23:46:11 DOCTOR WHO - THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD - EPISODE 4
00:24:22:05 DOCTOR WHO - THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD - EPISODE 5
00:21:38:11 DOCTOR WHO - THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD - EPISODE 6

No other features have been announced for either this or The Web of Fear at present.

Amazon UK have both The Enemy of the World (25 Nov 2013) and The Web of Fear (24 Feb 2014) available for pre-order; BBC Worldwide have advised that the latter's general release date is currently provisional and may well change.

The BBC Shop is offering the DVDs with exclusive slipcases, and will also be selling a special celebratory t-shirt (artwork to be confirmed).