Today's edition of the Guardian newspaper features an article (available online here) called "50 must-sees for spring" that names the new Doctor Who series at #5. Says the article, "Few people under the age of 30 will remember Tom Baker at his most magnetic, as the Dalek-thwarting timelord. Their parents may claim to this day that the hirsute one was not a patch on William Hartnell or Patrick Troughton, that he whimpered in the wake of the mighty Jon Pertwee. The real nippers probably think that Peter Davison was the best. One thing is sure, however: by the time Sylvester McCoy succeeded Colin Baker in 1984, the doctor's bankable days were over, the plots - and sets - too flimsy to convince in a post-Spielberg world. Four decades on from the first shows the BBC is bringing the doctor back and the signs for success are good, with the brilliant Russell T Davies on writing duty. A massive Doctor Who fan of old, he promises 'full-blooded drama' and storylines which are 'fun, exciting, contemporary and scary', while Christopher Eccleston should have just the right balance of bit-of-rough charm and glowering, Messianic intensity to merit the shabby great coat and (we hope) loop-the-loop scarf. Billie Piper in the role of his assistant, Rose Tyler, will doubtless help keep teenage boys of all ages happy."

In the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine, there are a few items of confirmation. From BBC Books: after publication of "The Gallifrey Chronicles" on 28 March, the next regular BBC Books release will be Barry Letts' "Island of Death" on 4 July. All three Ninth Doctor novels, as well as Justin Richards' Monsters and Villains, will now be published on Monday 19 May, to enable "some robust marketing". "Monsters and Villains," the previously announced non-fiction book, will include some new series material written specially by new series producer Russell T Davies. The three novels can be read in any order. The new logo will appear on all four books. And there's been decision yet on which logo will be used for the resumption of the regular book line. As for Big Finish news, Nicholas Briggs' new "Cybermen" miniseries is announced and confirmed for August to November; currently untitled it will feature some of the "Dalek Empire" cast and will have some links to the previous Cybermen adventure "Sword of Orion," "being about the different generations of the Cybermen." Actress Jennie Linden from the Dalek films will be in "Unregenerate!" in June, too.

The new issue of Doctor Who Magazine features some updates on casting for the new series. Besides confirming actors Zoe Wanamaker ('a part shrouded in secrecy... tabloid rumours [about the nature of the part] are completely untrue!'), Simon Pegg (in "The Long Game") and Tamsin Greig (also in "The Long Game"; says producer Phil Collinson, "the part she's playing will change the life of one of the TARDIS travellers... but I'm not saying how") which have been reported here previously, the magazine also confirms actor Richard Wilson, famed for his "I Don't Believe It" role of Victor Meldrew, will play the role of "the mysterious Doctor Constantine." Episode 6 by Rob Shearman also features Steven Beckingham as Polkowski, John Schwab ("The Order") as Bywater, Jana Carpenter ("Silent Witness") as Di Maggio, Nigel Whitmey ("Helen of Troy") as Simmons, Joe Montana ("The Bourne Identity") as the Commander andBarnaby Edwards from Big Finish's audio range as a Dalek. Episode 7, "The Long Game," features Christine Adams("NY-LON") and Anna Maxwell Martin ("Enduring Love") in unknown roles. And episode 8 by Paul Cornell featuresFrank Rozelaar-Green ("Micawber") as Sonny, Rhian James as Suzie, Eirlys Bellin ("The Magic Paintbrush: A Story From China") as Bev, Christopher Llewellyn ("The Black Dog") as Stuart, Natalie Jones ("Cadfael") as Sarah, andCasey Dyer as the boy. The issue also confirms musician Murray Gold as doing the incidental music and that the title for Mark Gatiss' episode is "The Unquiet Dead," both reported here previously. There's also a comment from exec producer Russell T Davies about the start date: "If you hear anyone, anywhere, quoting sources giving an authoritative date, they are merely guessing and trying to sound important" (which, by the way, we believe he was referring to print magazines and online speculation, not our reporting... we stand by the late March date simply because of the information we've gotten from people who are in the position to know.) (Thanks to Steve Tribe)

The ever-reliable Sun newspaper this morning made note of the return of Doctor Who, with Billie and Christopher starring "in tonight's long-awaited return of the BBC1 sci-fi series." Of course, the show isn't starting today at all... as we've said, you can still look for it in late March (or so the rumors go.) The Sun also claims that the Daleks "are back also, after a Sun campaign" (which of course, the paper had nothing to do with.) (Thanks to Colin John Francis)

At last... the first new Doctor Who series cover from Doctor Who Magazine for issue #352, featuring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper. Click on the cover illustration at right for a larger version of the magazine cover scan; meanwhile, the issue has already been received by some UK subscribers.

The new series trailer originally shown as a downloadable RealPlayer clip online, was broadcast on the BBC1 network ((complete with BBC ONE bottom left logo) on January 1 at approximately 9:03pm. While the vast majority of the trailer was identical to (but much clearer and more robust than) the web version, the appearance of the logo was slightly different, complete with spinning blue circle-style graphics. Outpost Gallifrey has been told that you can expect to see this trailer rebroacast very soon (and we'll bring you the information on when as soon as we get it!)

Our sources have indicated that an announcement of the airdate is soon forthcoming... and that airdate will be March 26, 2005. We know that the airdate will be prefaced by a series of radio trailers aired on the BBC7 digital radio network (among other promotional being done elsewhere), and are told that this is the date currently being touted around that radio campaign. Though there have been recent reports speculating earlier, or later, airdates (ITV's Teletext service previewed upcoming shows for 2005, for example, stating viewers should "expect [Doctor Who] in February"), Outpost Gallifrey is fairly certain that this late March airdate will be the one. (Though of course this is NOT official confirmation of an airdate; this date could still be wrong!) There are also rumors that the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine may feature the actual airdate as well. More as we get it.

According to Mad Norwegian Press, the second book in their About Time series (numbered 4, for seasons 12-17) is now shipping and should be arriving throughout the next week.

Hugh Lloyd, who played Garonwy in "Delta and the Bannermen" was honored by Queen Elizabeth II during the New Year Honours, becoming an MBE (Member of the British Empire) according to a BBC report.

The Sydney Morning Herald on January 1 ran a story called "The spin-off doctors" by Mark Juddery in which the writer spoke of science fiction tie-in novels, including Doctor Who. "In 1991, two years after the television series was cancelled, Virgin Books began a series of young adult novels billed as 'stories too broad and too deep for television'," says the article. "It provided everything from dark, post-apocalyptic fantasy to Terry Pratchett-style goofiness, and alienated several long-term fans in the process. 'They're 'only' TV spin-offs, of course, but they're easily the best in the genre,' Britain's SFX magazine announced in 1996, suggesting that the "open-door policy" on submissions made it "the last, best hope for new SF [science fiction] talent in British publishing".'" The article goes on to interview writers Kate Orman and Jonathan Blum ("A lot of fans were worried the books would be 'dumbed down', or aimed at much younger readers, but that didn't happen," Orman said) including mentioning their Telos novella winning Best Australian Science Fiction Novel at last year's Aurealis Awards. "People are prejudiced against tie-ins because they figure that it's cheating if you write stories about characters you didn't create," Blum told the Herald. "Well, there goes a huge swathe of literature from Shakespeare to Jasper Fforde. If you can write something as lovely and enduring as The Night Before Christmas as a tie-in with a pre-existing fantasy character, there's no reason you can't do something as good with Doctor Who."