Weeping Angels voted fans’ favourite ever monsters

Saturday, 9 June 2012 - Reported by Marcus

The Weeping Angels have been voted the fans’ favourite ever monsters in a poll of over 10,000 Doctor Who fans.

The Weeping Angels (49.4%)
The Daleks (17%)
The Silence (11.84%)
The Master (8.66%)
The Vashta Nerada (6.81%)
The Cybermen (2.53%)
Davros (2.2%)
The Zygons (0.69%)
The Ice Warriors (0.54%)
The Sontarans (0.33%)

The Radio Times survey saw the scary statues gain nearly 50 per cent of the vote, making them the best loved (or feared) monsters in the Doctor Who universe.

The Angels were created by current Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat, and first appeared in 2007 episode Blink, first broadcast five years ago today. The Angels are living statues, unable to move as long as they are being watched. But close your eyes or look away and they’re instantly on the move, stone fangs and claws bared.

The Angels pushed the Doctor's most iconic enemy, the Daleks, into second place with 17 per cent of the vote. The Doctor first encountered the Daleks in the second ever Doctor Who story, screened in 1963.

Another Moffat creation, The Silence, crept into third place with almost 12 per cent, while the Doctor's fellow Time Lord, The Master, and Moffat's microscopic swarm The Vashta Nerada, were in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

The Cybermen, Davros, the Zygons, the Ice Warriors and the Sontarans completed the top ten.

RadioTimes.com editor Tim Glanfield commented on the results: "The Daleks had generations of children cowering behind the sofa in the past, but our poll shows Steven Moffat’s terrifying Weeping Angels are the stuff of modern nightmares – remember, don’t blink!."

FILTER: - Doctor Who - Radio Times

Production: first official Matt/Jenna photo released

Friday, 8 June 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Publicity:

The BBC have released their first publicity photo of Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman together on location, which is available to download as wallpaper in both 4:3 and 16:9 format:

Further images of the pair are due on the BBC website next week.

Filming Update:

Meanwhile, filming has continued on the series, with Matt and Jenna seen together on location at Margam Country Park last week. A clapperboard confirmed that this episode is being directed by Jamie Payne and Director of Photography is Mike Southon.

Filming took place over a couple of days, with scenes involving characters dressed in Victorian attire and in 'spooky' parts of the park. This was the first time Jenna had been seen in 'costume', and it was also reported that her character is called Clara, confirming the name rumoured back in March.

With thanks to Ryan Farrell, Phillipa Collins and Steven Price - click on their links for more photos.

Filming then returned to another old haunt for the weekend, with the interiors of Hensol Castle playing host to the cast and crew.

Wednesday saw a read-through take place, as reported by casting director Andy Pryor: "Mega readthrough day, Block 1 of ‪Call The Midwife‬ (fantastic to be back) and a marv new ‪Doctor Who‬ ep. No spoilers for either!" This was followed yesterday by an early morning scene taking place in the Plan Cafe in Cardiff and featuring Matt with series regular Barnaby Edwards - normally enclad within a Dalek, the actor commented: "It's a welcome change not to be in one for this. :)"

With thanks to Dan Wills, Gareth Bundy and @CardiffTimelord - click on links for more photos.

This week also saw a surprising couple appear on location - Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill! The pair officially completed filming in May but were back for interior pickups for their last episode. Additional exterior work on episode four continued with scenes with Matt Smith outside the former couple's "home". Scenes were directed by Saul Metzstein and Douglas Mackinnon, with director of photography Sarah Bartles-Smith.

Filming took place back at Church Road in Penarth (Amy/Rory house interiors) and at Bute Esplanade (Amy/Rory house exteriors), with Ood pieces spotted at the former! Scenes were believed to be pickups for those that couldn't be completed before due to weather conditions (not that this had improved much since then!). Some dialogue overheard helped set the (probable) context of the Ood: "Hello Pond, me again...I've dropped your Ood back home, he's been missing his Hive Mind. Yeah... The Helmic Regulator's on the blink again, it got hit by an arrow!"

With thanks to @CardiffTimelord, Gareth Bundy and Ryan Farrell - click on their links for more details and photos.

Casting Update:

The media covered filming at Margam Country Park, with items appearing in The Sun and Daily Mail; the latter reported that Dougray Scott was also on location - the actor (originally tipped to be the next James Bond after Pierce Brosnan) has recently appeared with David Tennant in United and starred in the BBC remake of The Day of the Triffids.

FILTER: - Production - Matt Smith - Filming Reports - Jenna-Louise Coleman

Bonhams To Auction Poster And Costumes

Thursday, 7 June 2012 - Reported by John Bowman

A Dalek film poster and costumes from three David Tennant-era Doctor Who stories are coming up for auction in London next month.

The Entertainment Memorabilia sale is taking place at Bonhams in Knightsbridge on Tuesday 3rd July, starting at 1pm.

The quad poster, measuring 40in x 30in (105cm x 76cm), is for the 1966 film Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. and has an estimate of £300 to £400.

The first costume lot going under the hammer is made up of two Roboform costumes from The Runaway Bride, pictured below left, with one of them believed to have been worn by Tennant's Doctor as a disguise costume during the episode. Each outfit comprises a black hooded cape of wool, with Velcro fastening and split side seam, together with a black wool jacket/coat, the costume attributed to Tennant having a pair of black loafer shoes and a black leather effect belt with large buckle, the other with belt only. These have an estimate of £400 to £500, which will be taxable.

The next outfit is a maid's costume from Tooth And Claw, pictured below centre, comprising a black cotton dress, with button front with lace-effect collar and cuffs, together with a fine net and lace belted apron. It carries an estimate of £100 to £150.

Finally, there is a Slab guard costume from Smith and Jones, pictured below right, which has an estimate of £300 to £400 and comprises a two-piece black leather biker-type outfit, the leather jacket with geometric detail to top of sleeves with a pair of trousers, both labelled 'Hein Gericke', the jacket with label inside inscribed 'Matt', together with a pair of leather gauntlet/gloves and a black cotton T-shirt.

All of the costumes appear to be the same as the ones that were included in the Entertainment Memorabilia auction held by Bonhams last December, where the Roboform costumes sold for £437, the maid’s costume for £400, and the Slab guard costume for £225.

Pre-sale viewings will be held on Friday 29th June (9am to 4.30pm), Sunday 1st July (11am to 3pm), Monday 2nd July (9am to 4.30pm), and the day of the auction itself (9am to 11am).

FILTER: - UK - David Tennant - Auctions

The Eternity Clock - BBC Competition

Wednesday, 6 June 2012 - Reported by Marcus

BBC Worldwide is giving UK fans to win a PlayStation 3 and a copy of the game Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock.

The competition, on the official Doctor Who Facebook page, also offers five runner prizes of a copy of Doctor Who Playstation game.

The promotion closes at 11.59pm UK time on 2nd July 2012 and is open to those resident in the United Kingdom who are at least 18 years of age. The winner will be the first entry drawn at random from all eligible entries.

Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock

The Eternity Clock game for Playstation 3 immerses players in the universe of Doctor Who across 600 years of history and the future. Players take on the roles of the Doctor and River Song as they travel across time and space to save the Earth, and time itself. In order to be successful, they must master the complexities of time travel through time-based gameplay - changes made in one time will impact another, creating multiple possibilities and challenging players to solve puzzles across the centuries.

Equipped with the Doctor’s “sonic screwdriver,” River’s “blaster” and other fantastic gadgets, players journey through four London time periods and a number of other-worldly locations in search of answers. With collaborative multiplayer capabilities, players can take part in the game simultaneously across different time periods, facing some of the most fearsome monsters including Silurians, Cybermen, Daleks and the Silence.

FILTER: - Competitions - BBC

Dalek Documentary Discovered

Wednesday, 6 June 2012 - Reported by Marcus

Material from a long-lost documentary featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the 1966 film Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. has been discovered in a private collection in Wales.

The recovered edition of the 1960s teen culture show A Whole Scene Going contains a sneak-peek into the making of the big-screen Doctor Who adventure. The brief clip shows movie Doctor Peter Cushing preparing to battle the Daleks. The black-and-white footage, taken on the set of the movie, also captures director Gordon Flemyng behind camera as he talks with stunt-men and plans out the movie's climactic final scenes.

Interspersed with the footage is an interview with Flemyng — who died in 1995, aged 61 — revealing that he preferred making "entertainment pictures" as opposed to more high-brow films, but "didn't take them any less seriously".

Although the BBC wiped the master-tape of A Whole Scene Going, a copy of the magazine show was made and found its way on to the collectors' circuit. Classic TV organisation Kaleidoscope, which recovered the 16mm film print in conjunction with the Tim Disney Archive, said the find would "delight" Doctor Who and vintage music fans alike.

Chris Perry of Kaleidoscope said:

A Whole Scene Going is an exciting TV find. For Doctor Who fans there's a fascinating glimpse into the making of feature film Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D., showing Peter Cushing as the Doctor on the set along with director Gordon Flemyng and lots of Daleks. For music-lovers there are priceless performances by classic British beat band the Spencer Davis Group as well as American singer/songwriter Judy Collins. Sixties pop shows were routinely shown live or wiped after transmission so it's great to find one that slipped past the eraser's magnet!

Tim Disney of the Tim Disney Archive said:

How this print came into existence or found its way to a Welsh village, we'll never know. However, one theory is that it could have been film-recorded by BBC Wales from the network feed down the line from London for transmission at a later date.

A Whole Scene Going also features a rare interview with the Spencer Davis Group, who perform their chart-topping single Somebody Help Me.

Kaleidoscope and the TDA — which bought the film print privately from the collector — are currently in the process of returning a digital copy to the BBC Archive. However, fans will get the chance to see the recovered footage for the first time in more than four decades at Kaleidoscope's next screening event, taking place in Stourbridge, West Midlands, on Saturday 9th June.

Tim Disney of the TDA added:

Doctor Who was not the primary draw for us in recovering this programme, but the content of the programme as a whole — the exciting period of popular culture it reflects and its place in the history of British television. Thankfully, after the collector discovered he had a unique TV recording he was keen to ensure it would be returned to the BBC archives, turning down silly money offers to deal instead with Kaleidoscope and the TDA.

A clip from the recovered show can be seen at the Tim Disney Archive.

FILTER: - Movies

The Five Doctors

Monday, 4 June 2012 - Reported by Marcus

This weekend saw the biggest collection of living Doctors for many a year as the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth all gathered at Collectormania 18 in Milton Keynes.

The event, organised by Showmasters, took place at the Don's stadium and saw Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann all meeting fans and signing autographs. The Independent has published a transcript of the Q&A session.

(Pictures: Copyright Elspeth Renfrew)

FILTER: - Tom Baker - Peter Davison - Sylvester McCoy - Paul McGann - Colin Baker

Sladen Autobiography To Get Paperback Edition

Friday, 1 June 2012 - Reported by John Bowman

Elisabeth Sladen's autobiography is to be published in paperback next month, it was announced today.

Aurum Press, which brought the book out in hardback last November, said that it would be available from 26th July, but it is likely that it may be out on 1st July. It is available to pre-order here.

With a foreword by David Tennant and published with the support and participation of Sladen's family, Aurum calls the book "a warm and witty celebration of an actress who delighted generations of children and is fondly remembered by fans young and old alike".

When Elisabeth Sladen first appeared as plucky journalist Sarah Jane Smith in the 1973 Doctor Who story The Time Warrior, little did she know the character would become one of the most enduring and fondly remembered of the series' long history.

The years that followed saw Elisabeth traverse time and space alongside classic Doctors Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, while a generation of children crouched behind the sofa, terrified but transfixed as their tea-time heroine found herself menaced by Daleks, dinosaurs, Cybermen, Egyptian mummies, actors in green bubble-wrap and even the Loch Ness Monster. By the time she quit the TARDIS in 1976, making front-page news, Elisabeth had become one of the most familiar faces of a TV golden age.

But you don't just walk away from Doctor Who. Elisabeth was asked to reprise her role many times, appearing in anniversary specials, an ill-fated 1981 spin-off with robotic sidekick K-9, radio plays, and for the BBC's Children in Need. She toured the weird, wide and wonderful world of Doctor Who fandom and became one of the series' all-time favourite companions. So when TV wunderkind Russell T Davies approached her to come back again, this time to a show backed by multi-million-pound budgets and garlanded with critical plaudits, how could she refuse?

This warm and witty autobiography, completed only months before Elisabeth died in April 2011, tells her remarkable story, from humble beginnings in post-war Liverpool, through an acclaimed theatrical career working alongside stage luminaries such as Alan Ayckbourn, to Coronation Street, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and the furthest reaches of the universe.

A unique insider's view of the world's longest-running science fiction series, and of British television yesterday and today, Elisabeth's memoir is funny, ridiculous, insightful and entertaining, and a fitting tribute to a woman who will be sadly missed by millions.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Auto/Biography - Books - Elisabeth Sladen

Doctor Who Magazine 448

Thursday, 31 May 2012 - Reported by Marcus

The new issue of Doctor Who Magazine features Sixties hero William Russell on its cover, while inside, the actor, who played science teacher Ian Chesterton in 78 episodes of Doctor Who, talks about his time on the series and his relationship with the actor who played the First Doctor.

William Hartnell never forgave me for leaving. He couldn't understand it, which was nice in a way. He said to me, 'What's the matter with you? You've got three kids, you've got a job, we're having a great time – what more do you want?!' 'I want to do a play, Bill.' He didn't understand that. Maybe he was right. But he never forgave me for jumping ship.

Also in this issue:

Doctor Who Magazine, in association with Big Finish Productions, presents an exclusive brand-new audio adventure starring William Russell. The Revenants, written by Ian Potter, features the First Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan and is available free to all readers this issue.
The votes have been counted and the winners of DWM's annual poll are announced. Which stories, actors, authors and directors came out on top in 2011?
Author Neil Gaiman, writer of the acclaimed 2011 episode The Doctor's Wife, talks about writing the story and reveals the secrets of the scenes you didn't see.
Doctor Who's commander-in-chief, Steven Moffat, writes for DWM in Production Notes and tells of the sad day on which Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill recorded their very last scene as departing companions Amy and Rory.
Glen McCoy, author of 1985's time-twisting Timelash, talks to DWM about writing the Sixth Doctor's infamous adventure and his early career in television.
It's 1982 and the Fifth Doctor takes the helm of a crowded TARDIS and navigates the series into a new era as our voyage through five decades of Doctor Who continues with 1982's Season 19 in Countdown to 50.
DWM goes behind the scenes of the making of a brand-new Doctor Who spin-off audio drama series from Big Finish Productions. Counter Measures features characters from 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, and DWM talks to actors Pamela Salem, Simon Williams and Karen Gledhill, who reprise their roles after more than 20 years.
The Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory get involved in some very organised crime on an alien world as they embark on a brand-new adventure, The Cornucopia Caper, written by Scott Gary and drawn by Dan McDaid.
As the hunt for the Key to Time comes to a dramatic climax, the Fourth Doctor, Romana and K9 face the ultimate forces of darkness in The Armageddon Factor. The Fact of Fiction examines this six-part adventure from 1979 and uncovers some fascinating new facts . . .
As well as all broadcast episodes of Doctor Who, there are a multitude of scripts and story ideas that never made it to the screen. Some of these are now being produced as audio dramas, but would it have been better to let the stories rest in peace and make brand-new adventures for the Doctor instead? Toby Hadoke and Johnny Candon debate the pros and cons.
The Time Team slick their hair back and join the Doctor and Rose in post-war London where the alien Wire is riding the airwaves of the nation's TV broadcasts. Join Chris, Emma, Will and Michael as they bathe in the warm glow of 2006's The Idiot's Lantern.
The cunning Watcher challenges readers with The Six Faces of Delusion, outs another Supporting Artist of the Month and examines Doctor Who's use of the definite article in A History of Doctor Who in 100 Objects.

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - DWM

Big Finish: Fourth Doctor for 2014

Thursday, 31 May 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Big Finish have announced that Tom Baker and Louise Jameson will reprise their roles for a new eight episode season of Doctor Who adventures as the Doctor and Leela, to be released from January 2014.

Executive Producer Nicholas Briggs said:

We’ve been delighted by the response to the first season of our Fourth Doctor stories. We had such an exciting and rewarding time making series one and two, and we’re just thrilled to be back in the studio again with Tom and Louise recording more.

Of course, the second series – which features Mary Tamm as Romana, with John Leeson as the voice of K9 – won’t be released until January 2013. But, recording schedules being what they are, we are always working well ahead.

Producer David Richardson added:

We began recording on series three on 9th May, and production will continue through until July. At the moment it’s too early to reveal many story details, but we can say that Geoffrey Beevers will again return as the Master, the travellers will discover what lurks in the dead of night and the Doctor will encounter an even deadlier version of an old foe.

The series will also feature the titular Blake's Seven actor Gareth Thomas (pictured) in one episode, playing the last surviving member of the Colophon race; the story also features The Greatest Show in the Galaxy star Jessica Martin.

The Fourth Doctor Adventures: Series Three is now available for pre-order by subscription from Big Finish.

This June sees the finale of the first series released:

The Oseidon Adventure (available for pre-order)
By Alan Barnes
Directed by Nicholas Briggs
Starring Tom Baker, Louise Jameson and Geoffrey Beevers, with Dan Starkey, Michael Cochrane and John Banks
Release date: June 2012

The first time the fearsome Kraals attempted to take over the Earth, with the help of their android agents, things didn't go quite according to plan – thanks to the time-travelling alien Doctor and his allies at UNIT.

This time, Marshal Grinmal and his belligerent cohorts are ready for them. This time, they'll make no mistakes. This time, Chief Scientist Tyngworg has not just one plan, but a back-up plan, and a back-up back-up plan worked out...

With the Doctor a prisoner on the Kraals' radiation-blasted home planet of Oseidon, only his companion Leela can save the day – alongside a most unlikely ally.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Tom Baker - Big Finish

Big Finish: Scribe Award Nominations / Special Offers

Thursday, 31 May 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Three of Big Finish's audio releases have been nominated for the Best Audio award in this year's Scribe Awards, a ceremony organised by the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers to honour excellence in writing. For Doctor Who, The Many Deaths of Jo Grant by Mark Wright and Cavan Scott is featured, against other series entries Dark Shadows: The Lost Girl by D Lynn Smith and Highlander: All The King's Horsemen by Scott Andrews. The results will be announced at the July Comic-Con.

In celebration, this weekend (1st June 6pm - 4th June 8am) sees the releases available on special offer (the latter as part of the Highlander Series Two boxed set) - see the Big Finish website for full details.

Big Finish will be running a number of promotional sales during the course of June, with the one above followed by another to tie-in to the transit of Venus ... with Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles - The Transit of Venus, narrated by William Russell! This will be available on offer for the 5th-6th June.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Big Finish

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