Merchandise roundup

Wednesday, 14 December 2011 - Reported by Harry Ward

This merchandise roundup includes character sets from The Caves Of Androzani, The Keeper Of Traken and Image Of The Fendahl. There are also some more costume t-shirts. The First, Second, Third, Eighth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors get t-shirts while the Ninth Doctor waits for his to complete the set.

The Caves Of Androzani
Released: 23rd December 2011
Pre-order from Forbidden Planet

Contents:
1 x Peri in Blouse
1 x Sharaz Jek with Alternate head (not shown)
1 x Android Head Accessory.

The Keeper Of Traken
Released: 23rd December 2011
Pre-order from Forbidden Planet

Contents:
1 x The Fourth Doctor in Waistcoat action figure.
1 x The Master Decayed action figure.
1 x The Melkur Statue action figure.
1 x Master’s TARDIS as a Grandfather Clock
1 x Source Manipulator Sphere accessory.

Image Of The Fendahl
Released: 23rd December 2011
Pre-order from Forbidden Planet

Contents:
1x Leela figure
1 x Fendhaleen adult
1 x Fendhaleen infant
1 x Skull
1 x Stand

Costume T-shirts (Forbidden Planet Exclusives)
Get started in the fashion stakes with this fantastic Forbidden Planet Exclusive T-Shirt designed to commemorate the Timelord's iconic outfit!

The First Doctor: Now you can share the First Doctor's unique style from a time long before big scarves, cat badges and question mark lapels with this great printed tee!
The Second Doctor: Long before his 11th incarnation announced they were cool, the Second Doctor was already rocking a bowtie! (Release date: 20 December 2011)
The Third Doctor: Step out in style, just like the suave and dapper Third Doctor, with this great tee featuring his much loved bow tie, frilled shirt and smoking jacket!
The Eighth Doctor: His look was certainly unique, unlike his predecessors slightly 'wacky' style, the Eighth Doctor chose to wear a stolen Wild Bill Hickok costume which made him look like a Victorian gentleman. (Release date: 20 December 2011)
The tenth Doctor: Step out in style, just like the extrovert and cheeky 10th Doctor, with this great tee featuring his very stylish overcoat, suit, shirt 'n tie! (Release date: 20 December 2011)
The Eleventh Doctor: After stealing clothes from the Royal Leadworth Hospital lockers, the newly regenerated Eleventh Doctor faced down the Atraxi in his new outfit featuring his now iconic bow-tie and tweed jacket.

Masterpiece Collection Maxi Busts
8" Polystone maxi-busts

These beautifully-sculpted 8" maxi-busts capture Peter Davisons's fifth Doctor in his edwardian cricketeer's outfit (Release date: 25 April 2012) and Louise Jameson's barbarian companion Leela. (Release date: 01 March 2012).

Retro Action Figures
Reminiscent of the best-selling action figures of the 1970s and 1980s, Bif Bang Pow!'s amazing Doctor Who figures stand 8" tall and feature episode-specific fabric clothing, in addition to multiple points of articulation.

The Fourth Doctor: Released: 20th December 2011 | Pre-order from Forbidden Planet]
The Master: [Released: 20th December 2011 | Pre-order from Forbidden Planet]
Leela: [Released: 1st March 2012 | Pre-order from Forbidden Planet]
Styre: [Released: 20th December 2011 | Pre-order from Forbidden Planet]
Scaroth: [Released: 25th March 2012 | Pre-order from Forbidden Planet]
Sutekh: [Released: 1st March 2012 | Pre-order from Forbidden Planet]
Morbius: [Released: 25th March 2012 | Pre-order from Forbidden Planet]
Cyber Leader: [Released: 20th December 2011 | Pre-order from Forbidden Planet]

FILTER: - Merchandise

The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe: three preview clips

Wednesday, 14 December 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC have released three preview clips for the Christmas Special, The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe, which will no doubt be seen several times throughout the lead-up to Christmas Day on various television promotions!

Preview One, BBC, via the BBC Doctor Who site (may not play outside United Kingdom)

Preview Two, BBC, via the BBC Doctor Who site (may not play outside United Kingdom)

Preview Three, BBC, via the BBC Doctor Who site (may not play outside United Kingdom)

In addition, as well as an earlier video of Matt Smith discussing the Christmas Special, the BBC's Doctor Who Adventure Calendar has also included one of producer Marcus Wilson discussing the Special, and a special Merry Christmas message from the cast and crew.

Matt Smith, BBC, via the BBC Doctor Who site (may not play outside United Kingdom)

Marcus Wilson, BBC, via the BBC Doctor Who site (may not play outside United Kingdom)

Merry Christmas from the Cast and Crew, BBC, via the BBC Doctor Who site (may not play outside United Kingdom)

FILTER: - Specials - Online

Big Finish: Jago and Litefoot reunited with the Doctor!

Wednesday, 14 December 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Big Finish have announced that the Doctor is to meet up with his old acquaintances Henry Gordon Jago and Professor George Litefoot!

The company has confirmed that Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter will once again reprise the Victorian investigative duo alongside Tom Baker as The Doctor and Mary Tamm as Romana in The Justice of Jalxar.

The adventure is written by John Dorney and will form part of the second season of The Fourth Doctor Adventures, to be released in 2013.

Meanwhile, Season One of The Fourth Doctor Adventures begins next month with Destination: Nerva, featuring Louise Jameson as Leela - it is available for pre-order from Big Finish.

(with thanks to David Richardson/Big Finish)

FILTER: - Audio - Tom Baker - Big Finish

DWM Companion: The Eleventh Doctor (Vol 4)

Wednesday, 14 December 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Details for the fourth Doctor Who Companion volume covering the adventures of the Eleventh Doctor have been released by Doctor Who Magazine. This edition picks up from the last volume, covering the episodes from The Rebel Flesh through to The Girl Who Waited, plus the special introduction to the National Television Awards.

The magazine will be published on 15th December 2011.

The Doctor Who Companion
The Eleventh Doctor
Volume Four

Your complete guide to the award-winning BBC One series!
Written and researched by Andrew Pixley.

The 2011 season of Doctor Who began in the most dramatic way possible – by killing off the Doctor in the first episode! Unaware of his ultimate fate, the Doctor (Matt Smith) was reunited with his friends, newlyweds Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory Pond (Arthur Darvill) and together they embarked on an incredible series of adventures in time and space. Their journey took them from the acid mines in the future to the empty world of Apalapucia, and saw encounters with Headless Monks, Handbots, living dolls... and even Adolf Hitler!

Now, Doctor Who Magazine takes you behind the scenes of these astonishing episodes with an in-depth episode guide – including original storylines, deleted scenes, media appearances, ratings information and hundreds of facts about the day-to-day life of the making of Doctor Who – all illustrated with gorgeous, never-before-seen photographs. This collectors’ edition examines The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People, A Good Man Goes to War, Let’s Kill Hitler, Night Terrors and The Girl Who Waited, as well as the specially-made Doctor Who sequence that introduced the National Television Awards.

This is your essential guide to the worlds of Doctor Who.
Get ready to discover a wealth of information – and remember, silence will fall..

FILTER: - DWM

Doctor Who Magazine 442

Wednesday, 14 December 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The new Doctor Who Magazine (out 15th December) previews The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe, and goes behind-the-scenes to see the episode brought to life by the cast and crew, including Matt Smith who said:

This is one of my favourite Doctor Who episodes ever, for a number of reasons: the scale of it, the tone of it, the Doctor at Christmas… It’s him at his best. He’s on his finest form.

Also this issue:

Docteur Qui - He was scared of the Sea Devils and performs a Belgian jazz version of the Doctor Who theme tune as part of his act. Life-long fan Bill Bailey tells DWM that it’s a dream come true to be playing Commander Droxil in The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe.
Time Lord Land Lord - Tenth Doctor, David Tennant was once her lodger, now she’s an armour-clad soldier in the Christmas Special. DWM talks to Arabella Weir about playing Billis.
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - Nine-year-old Maurice Cole, who plays young Cyril Arwell in The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, tells DWM all about living out a Christmas fantasy with the Doctor – but he still has to find time to do his homework.
Christmas Holly - Teenage Lily Arwell gets a Christmas that she will never forget when she meets the Doctor in The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe. Actress Holly Earl talks to DWM about confronting monsters and keeping secrets.
Chocks Away! He was the voice of Mr Smith in The Sarah Jane Adventures but now he’s in front of the cameras as RAF pilot Reg Arwell in the Doctor Who Christmas Special. Alexander Armstrong takes flight with DWM.
You're asking the Questions ... Doctor Who showrunner, Steven Moffat turns over his regular Production Notes this issue to answer some of the burning questions put to him – via Twitter – by you, the readers!
Yuletide Who - How many Doctor Who Christmas Specials have there been? More than you might think, as the Watcher points out in his festive Watcher's Guide to Christmas!
Looking Back - It’s the final issue of 2011 and DWM takes a moment to look back at the events – both happy and sad – that have come our way in The DWM Review Of 2011.
Yonder the Yeti... Alan Barnes wraps up warm for a Tibetan escapade as he scrutinises the 1967 story, The Abominable Snowmen in Fact of Fiction.
I'm Asking the Questions... The Watcher is back to tax your brains once more with his annual, fiendishly festive Christmas Quiz!
13 – Lucky For Some! DWM’s COUNTDOWN TO 50 reaches Series Thirteen and sees the last remnants of the past being cast off to make way for a new, darker and more frightening version of Doctor Who.
In With The New! The Time Team relive Christmas past! Emma, Michael, Chris and Will say ‘Hello’ to the Tenth Doctor as he makes his début in The Christmas Invasion and defends the world against the alien Sycorax.
New For Old? Is it right to recast old Doctors with new actors? Or can no-one ever replace the originals? Toby Hadoke and Johnny Candon once again find themselves at loggerheads as they each fight their corner in A Battle of Wits.
Beware of Greeks... The Doctor, Amy and Rory come over all classical when they take a trip ancient Greece. But it’s not long before they feel the wrath of the gods, in the first part of a brand new comic-strip adventure, The Chains of Olympus by Scott Gray, with art by Mike Collins.
Top Of The Pops! It's that time again! DWM invites you to cast your vote for your favourite episodes, CDs, books, DVDs and DWM features in the annual DWM Season Survey.

PLUS! Three free collectable art cards, all the latest official news, TV and merchandise reviews, previews, competitions, a prize-winning crossword and much, much more!

The magazine's cover reflects one of the earliest covers to feature on the television listings magazine The Radio Times. DWM's editor Tom Spilsbury said:

We felt that such a pastiche suited the retro setting of this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special – particularly as we were able to recast the mother and her two children with the characters in The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe. It’s our tribute to the Radio Times Christmas covers of old!"

The two covers can be seen side-by-side on the Radio Times website.

FILTER: - DWM

People Roundup

Wednesday, 14 December 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

David Tennant is to narrate an hour long show dedicated to everybody's favourite ogre; Shrek: Once Upon A Time will see the actor reveal how "an ogre with a Scottish accent single-handedly changed the face of animation". The show will be broadcast on BBC3 on 23rd December and repeated on the 29th. [Teen Now, 13 Dec 2011]

John Barrowman is urging people to carry a donor card - the actor is one of a number of celebrities backing the For Cole campaign: "Get signed up and save a life. Everyone should be on it. I've carried a donor card for years. It's so easy to do now online or even by text." [Scottish Sun, 14 Dec 2011]

The actor also revealed that his favourite Christmas movie is 2003's Elf. [Digital Spy via YouTube, 13 Dec 2011]

Simon Callow (Charles Dickens, The Unquiet Dead/The Wedding of River Song) will be performing excerpts from his new book Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World in Portsmouth on Tuesday 7th February 2012 - exactly 200 years after the birth of the author in the self-same city. The performance takes place at the New Theatre Royal, which has previously staged semi-professional productions of Fury From The Deep, The Evil of the Daleks, and The Dalek Masterplan (based on The Daleks' Master Plan). [reported by John Bowman, 12 Dec 2011]

Neil Gaiman (writer, The Doctor's Wife is to appear on BBC America's Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!: Royal Pain in the News, which will be broadcast on 23rd December. The writer also reveals his favourite moments from the last series of Doctor Who during a behind-the-scenes video. [BBC America, 13 Dec 2011]

Naomi Alderman (writer, Borrowed Time) talks about the Doctor and the influence of religion: "In fact, there has been some portrayal of actual religion, including a positive portrayal of Buddhism in Planet of the Spiders. But I suspect that the answer is that the UK is a fundamentally not-very-religious country, and that Doctor Who accurately represents our suspicions and our non-confrontational but deep-rooted agnosticism. To go back in history and have the Doctor ‘prove’ that Moses, Jesus and Mohammed didn’t exist would clearly be offensive and far too confrontational for British people. But to have him meet the ‘prophet’ or ‘god’ of an imaginary civilization and find that they are either misguided or plain manipulative I think is a way of saying what - dare I say it? - most British people quietly think about religion: that it’s fine as long as it’s comforting, but shouldn’t be taken too seriously or followed blindly. The Doctor is an atheist hero." [Jewish Journal, 13 Dec 2011]

FILTER: - People - David Tennant - John Barrowman

Consider Yourself ... with Doctor Who!

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Steven Moffat has reported that the trailer for the Doctor Who Christmas Special, The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe is to be broadcast on BBC1 at 8:00pm tonight! This will be first appearance of a full trailer for the episode in this year's "Consider Yourself" Christmas theme, and will be shown between Eastenders and Holby City.

The trailer is also now available to watch online, and is a different version to the one seen during last month's Children in Need:

The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe, BBC, via YouTube

FILTER: - Specials

Regional Roundup

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

United Kingdom

Aldbourne resident Mr. Beattie came up with a novel idea to tackle a litter problem on the village green by creating a TARDIS bin to make throwing litter away responsibly more interesting! "We threw some ideas about (with young litterers) and they came up with the idea of a Tardis. We involved some of the youngsters in the early stages and they helped with the drawings and with the painting. One person I know has suggested the next one could be a Dalek and has agreed to pay for the parts" [This is Wiltshire, 9 Dec 2011]

Pupils at Coalbrookdale and Ironbridge CE Primary School in Shropshire got a surprise when a Dalek 'gatecrashed' their Christmas Fair! Headteacher Susan Blackburn said: "“The Dalek came into school and was fully functioning. It was very life-like. The children were asked to disarm it but it then escaped. The children have been so enthusiastic and the parents have been very supportive. A letter also went home in case children were anxious or distressed about the Dalek and all the children were told that it could not hurt them. But the week has been amazing and very dramatic." [Shropshire Star, 9 Dec 2011]

An army of festive Daleks are on display in Waterlooville, Portsmouth! Charlesworth Drive resident Ian Beazley dressed his own collection up for the season, and is very happy for people to have their photos taken with a small donation to Cancer Research. "Although I wasn’t a big Dr Who fan I found the Daleks fascinating. I used to hide behind the sofa terrified of them but although they scared me I wouldn’t turn the telly off. One year the Radio Times printed instructions on how to build one. I put them away and I remember thinking to myself, "I’m going to make one of those myself when I’m older". A few years ago I was medically retired and I had a go. It was so much fun I thought I’d have another go." [Portsmouth News, 10 Dec 2011]

The Devon hotel that former Doctor Who producer Graham Williams ran after leaving TV and up until his tragic death in a shooting accident in 1990 has been at the centre of a furore involving a stag's head. The head of the animal - believed to be the "Exmoor Emperor", the UK's largest wild land animal, which was shot in October 2010 during the rutting season - has been taken down from the hotel wall after phone and email threats were made. The hotel had been lent it about a month ago. [BBC News, 12 Dec 2011]

(additional reporting thanks to John Bowman)

United States

Javier Grillo-Marxuach, creator of The Middleman comic book series, has recently written a new story where his character meets the Doctor! The author talked about his love of the Doctor: "I became a fan in the late '70s. I grew up in Puerto Rico, where they ran the Tom Baker adventures as a strip at 7 on weekdays. They called the show "El Doctor Misterio." At the time, I probably missed a lot of the subtleties of the stories, but I fell in love with the iconography of the show: the scarf, the TARDIS, K-9, the companions, all those things. After my family moved to the States in the '80s, I continued to watch the show on PBS, and then devoured the movie with number eight. (I even worked with director Geoffrey Sax on my first pilot the year after the Fox TV film!) Suffice it to say, I was thrilled when the show came back in '05 and have been a die-hard ever since. I even cosplayed the Master at last year's Gallifrey One Doctor Who convention... do with that information what you must." [CNN Geek Out/KSAT, 7 Dec 2011]

FILTER: - Miscellaneous

Big Finish: Counter Measures update / December Sale

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

More details have now been released on the forthcoming Big Finish audio series Counter Measures.

The series stars Simon Williams as Group Captain Gilmore, Pamela Salem as Rachel Jenson and Karen Gledhill as Allison Williams, all of which reprise their roles first introduced back in 1988's Doctor Who adventure Remembrance of the Daleks. The team are re-assembled into the new specialist organisation Counter Measures in order to investigate strange phenomena and dangerous new science.

The first season is to be released in July 2012 as a boxed set comprising four stories:

Threshold
By Paul Finch

A missing scientist and ghostly phenomena bring Gilmore and Allison to a factory in Bermondsey, and the discovery of a science that should not exist. As Rachel Jensen returns to help them, a new future for Counter-Measures is set in motion...

Artificial Intelligence
By Matt Fitton

Investigating a suicide at the Sen-Gen Facility, the group discovers a new weapon in the Cold War – and Gilmore meets an old flame. Meanwhile Rachel discovers that she can’t trust anyone, not even the sound of her own voice...

The Pelage Project
By Ian Potter

A case of industrial pollution leads the group to the new industrial town Pelage, and a dangerous meeting with its leader Ken Temple. And deep within the plant it appears that an alien invasion is already underway...

State of Emergency
By Justin Richards

There are creatures from another dimension on the streets, and traitors in the halls of Westminster. When the government is in jeopardy, Rachel, Allison and Gilmore take on a faction staging a very un-British coup...

Big Finish have a sale on throughout December, with a number of discounts available on boxed sets and collections:

the three Doctor Who stageplays The Ultimate Adventure, Seven Keys to Doomsday and The Curse of the Daleks
all four series of Dalek Empire together
series one and two of Cyberman
a complete set of Doctor Who: Unbound
both seasons of Sarah Jane Smith

Visit the Big Finish website for the latest details on how to purchase the collections.

FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish

Theatre Roundup

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 - Reported by Marcus

The much acclaimed London production of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate is now available to stream or download from Digital Theatre.

The production, which ran to full houses at Wyndham's Theatre in the West End, breaking all previous Box Office records for the theatre, was directed by Josie Rourke and saw David Tennant play Benedict with Catherine Tate as Beatrice.

48 hour rental costs £5.99, or you can download the play for £8.99 (£10.99 HD)

Simon Callow, who played Charles Dickens in The Unquiet Dead and The Wedding of River Song, will be performing excerpts from his new book Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World in Portsmouth on Tuesday 7th February 2012 - exactly 200 years after the birth of the author in the self-same city.

The performance takes place at the New Theatre Royal, which has previously staged semi-professional productions of Fury From The Deep, The Evil of the Daleks, and The Dalek Masterplan (based on The Daleks' Master Plan).

FILTER: - People - Catherine Tate - David Tennant

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