SFX - Doctor Who: The Fanzine

Wednesday, 23 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Today SFX release the second in their "bookazine" collection, this edition entitled Doctor Who: The Fanzine. Released in celebration of the 48th Anniversary of the series, the 180 page issue is described as the "ultimate unofficial tribute to the nation’s favourite television programme, with 100% new content".

In this issue:
  • Battle of the Superfans: we pit the show’s self-proclaimed biggest fanatics against each other to discover who deserves the title of Ultimate Superfan!
  • New Matt Smith interview: the actor explains why playing the Doctor can be a solitary existence
  • Arthur Darvill Fannish Inquisition: you quiz Rory Williams on dying, gerbils and series seven
  • The Ten Greatest Doctor Who Moments You’ll (Probably) Never See: the most tantalising scenes from Who’s missing episodes, as imagined by the fabulous artists behind the Reign Of Terror DVD animation
  • Full series six episode guide: 14-episodes examined minute-by-minute!
  • A Hitch In Time: looking at Patrick Troughton’s other time travelling role
  • Tom Baker & Louise Jameson interviewed: we put your questions to the Fourth Doctor and Leela
  • Interview with Who DVD head Dan Hall
  • Christmas special preview
  • Every monster ever in our huge colour illustration
  • The history of guns in Doctor Who
  • The Doctor in The Sarah Jane Adventures
  • The secret diary of a Doctor Who addict
  • "Chasing Christopher Eccleston": our (unsuccessful) attempts to grab a word with the Ninth Doctor!
  • Eleven brilliant Who writers – including Tom Macrae, Toby Whithouse, James Moran and Matthew Graham – choose their favourite Doctor
  • In-depth interview with top artist Chris Achilleos – complete with two brand new illustrations
  • The latest instalment in our rib-tickling cartoon strip Arthur “Dies Daily” Darvill Vs Murderous Moffat
  • What happened when we went trolling on forums
  • The most amazing memorabilia collection of them all
  • Results of our “draw the Doctor’s bedroom” competition

Plus: » Terry Nation » Naughty spoofs » Target books » Radio Times covers » The “Inbetween” years » Toby Hadoke on tour » 20 things we learned from series six » Are you spoilerphobic? » Interviewing the audio makers » Geeky confessions » The Doctor Who Experience » Every Who episode EVER rated » The Who How » Back to Paradise Towers » 50th anniversary wishlist » What the general public think of Who » (And nothing at all about the Australian K-9 series!)

The magazine is out today and available in all good newsagents, and may also be ordered online.




FILTER: - Magazines

Children in Need: Auction Totals

Tuesday, 22 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The auction of the Doctor's clothes to raise money for Children in Need has now ended, with the winning bid donating £50,000 to the charity!

Final bids on other related items in the auction included:
  • £1,800 - signed Pudsey Bear by Matt Smith
  • £361.87 - signed Pudsey Bear by John Barrowman
  • £62.00 - signed artwork of Tommy by Anjli Mohindra
  • £151.00 - signed artwork of Shansheeth by Anjli Mohindra
  • £72.00 - signed artwork of The Empty Planet by Anjli Mohindra
  • £56.55 - signed artwork of Anjli by Tommy Knight
  • £158.00 - signed artwork of Odd Bob by Tommy Knight
  • £95.87 - signed artwork of The Groske by Daniel Anthony
  • £620.00 - signed Soulless mask from Torchwood: Miracle Day
 :
Donate here!




FILTER: - Charities - Auctions

The Mill erroneously awarded RTS Award

Tuesday, 22 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
With all the excitement mounting for this year's Christmas Special the ghost of Doctor Who Christmas past still remains, with special effects team The Mill apparently winning the "Effects - Digital" category in this year's Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards.

The company was nominated for the special effects used in A Christmas Carol, with the win cited for: "A vast array of visual effects, displaying a Hollywood-style ambition, was hugely impressive, despite a modest budget."

However, the RTS have now issued an apology to the BBC and E4 over the announcement, where the award should actually have gone to Misfits! The presentation to The Mill has been reported as an administrative error, with the RTS stating: "There was a human error in data entry and steps have been taken to ensure that it cannot happen again."

(newslink: BBC News)




FILTER: - Production - Awards/Nominations

A Gamble with Time (Lord)

Tuesday, 22 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Since the announcement by director David Yates on the development of a movie version of Doctor Who, the casting of an actor for the role has attracted speculation through the media.

The Radio Times suggests a variety of potential Doctors, ranging from young popstar Justin Bieber through to another sci-fi stalwart William Shatner! Other names include Hugh Laurie, Colin Firth, Ricky Gervais, Lady Gaga and Morgan Freeman.

IGN ran a poll in which some 7000 readers voted Hugh Laurie as their favourite choice, with the runners up being Gary Oldman, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy and Ewan McGregor. Entertainment Editor Chris Tilly said: "As one of the UK's most celebrated TV characters of all-time, fans are thrilled about the prospect of a 'Doctor Who' movie, with talk immediately turning to who should play the lead role. And with his combination of wit, intelligence, charm and eccentricity, Hugh Laurie was the runaway winner of our poll, with fans believing the Brit to be the perfect man to play the Time Lord on the big screen."

Betting firm William Hill have placed David Morrissey as their favourite - in the lead-up to 2008's The Next Doctor the actor was the firm favourite to take over from David Tennant as the eleventh Doctor; another contender for the role as the announcement of who would replace Tennant in early 2009 was Chiwetel Ejiofor who is currently William Hill's second favourite.

IndieWire also offers up Chiwetel Ejiofor as a potential big-screen Doctor, with other suggestions including Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch, Toby Kebbell, Tom Hardy and Andrew Garfield.

Movie odds aren't a new thing, of course; back in 2010 Paddy Power were offering 2/1 on Pirates of the Caribbean actor Johnny Depp as becoming a movie Doctor!





FILTER: - Doctor Who - Movies - Betting/Odds

New Christmas Special Images

Tuesday, 22 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Two new images have been released to promote the forthcoming The Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe; click below for the full sized versions.







FILTER: - Specials

Eccleston wins International Emmy

Tuesday, 22 November 2011 - Reported by Marcus
Christopher Eccleston AccusedChristopher Eccleston has won the International Emmy for Best Actor.

The Ninth Doctor, won the award for his role in Jimmy McGovern's Accused for BBC One, which also won best drama series. In the drama, shown last year, Eccleston played a plumber who found £20,000 in the back of a cab but was arrested after it turned out the money was forged.

The awards, which celebrate TV production outside the United States, were presented by the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at a ceremony in New York on Monday evening.


Eccleston is currently working on a new BBC One drama The Fuse.

Filming is currently taking place in Liverpool and Manchester for the four-part thriller which tells the story of a fictional council official (Eccleston) who realises he may have committed a murder during a drunken night out. An act of redemption eventually leads to him becoming a straight-talking mayoral candidate.

The Fuse is written by Bill Gallagher, who previously worked on Lark Rise To Candleford, and is made by Red Production Company (Single Father, Exile).




FILTER: - People - Christopher Eccleston

Radio Times preview

Tuesday, 22 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The new edition of the Radio Times (26 Nov - 2 Dec) features former editor Alison Graham's Festive Treats, a sneak peek of twelve programmes we can look forward to on television at Christmas; unsurprisingly Doctor Who is one of her shows to watch over the festive period!

Meanwhile, the next edition (3-10 Dec) promises to 'cover' what's in store for the Doctor in The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe - full details will be revealed on Saturday when the issue is published!




FILTER: - Specials - Radio Times

WhoNews for Charity

Tuesday, 22 November 2011 - Reported by Marcus
WhoNewsFor the next week WhoNews are donating all profits from their iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch application to charity.

The application provides access to the latest news from several Doctor Who, Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures websites in one easy to use application.

From Monday November 21st to the 28th, all profits from the WhoNews with be donated to two charities Cure Leukaemia and Little Hearts Matter.
Cure Leukaemia is a research charity which works with a number of hospitals to fund extra research nursing posts to drive forward research, provide facilities for world-class research, develop new clinical treatments for leukaemia patients, fund the provision of new drugs and treatments and support patients with blood cancers throughout the Midlands.
Little Hearts Matter is the national charity for children born with a single ventricle heart condition, more commonly called half a heart. Twenty years ago most of these children would have died within days or even hours of being born. Thankfully, today there is life-saving surgery available for many of these children, however not all survive the complex operations required. This open heart surgery starts when the child is just a few days old and they continue to need surgery at intervals throughout their childhood.

Just by purchasing WhoNews from the App Store either via iTunes or on an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, users will make a donation of £1.21 in the UK, $2.10 in the US and $1.90 in Australia. WhoNews is available from all iTunes App Stores across the world.




FILTER: - Online

Fanzine Roundup

Tuesday, 22 November 2011 - Reported by Marcus
A roundup of some of the fan productions that have recently been released.

Whotopia 22- Monsters and Villains

  • Editorial: A Kind of Menace - Jez Strickley
  • Pride and Cyberprejudice - Michael S. Collins wades in with an epic analysis of the Cybermen
  • Chris Boucher Interview - Jez Strickley talks with the man behind Leela, Taren Capel and the Fendahl, not mention his influence on a certain rival sci-fi series
  • Quite Masterly - No Doctor Who rogues gallery would be complete without the Master, Gary Phillips investigates
  • The Sylvester McCoy Villains - Ian Wheeler examines the villains who menaced the Seventh Doctor
  • The Villains No One Remembers - With the Eighth Doctor in mind, Jake Johnson considers some of the least talked about villains
  • The Most Wacky Monsters - Bob Furnell asks what the designers were thinking when they conjured up some of the series' more unusual monsters
  • Torchwood Series 4 Overview - Craig Charlesworth gives us his take on the first five episodes of the latest instalment of RTD's brainchild
  • The Weeping Angels - perhaps the series' most frightening monster since 2005, Emily Jones takes a look and tries not to blink
  • Dalek's Advocate: The Case for the Foamasi - Those Mafia-esque bad boys take some defending, Bob Furnell tackles the challenge
  • Wholife: Music and Villains - Grant Bull comments on a certain Beach Boys song as the soundtrack to the Doctor's life
  • Fanzine Corner - In this ongoing series of fanzine reviews, Bob Furnell continues his voyage into fan writing
  • Newish Adventures: Final Frontier Review - AJ Gulyas returns with another look at the New Adventures book series
  • Target Trawl -Nick Mellish uncovers a renegade Time Lord, anti-matter monsters and mutan as he presents three more Target readings
  • Screwdrivers, Scaries and Scarves: The Monster Revealed - Jez Strickley considers one of the series' staple scare-making devices


Now available to download in PDF format from the Whotopia website

Rassilon's Rod #4

  • THE MOORCOCK DEFENCE looking at fan approaches to Talons' alleged racism
  • TIMEWYRM AT 20 The 20th anniversary of the NAs - how does the Timewyrm series stand up?
  • OPINION Fans should shut up!/Fans should complain loudly!
  • MY FIRST DR.WHO The TVM through the eyes of an 8 year old
  • MATRIX DATA W*NK Your dr.who queries answered by the cast from 'The Pirate Planet'
  • WHY I LOVE Captain Wrack
  • CONVENTION CAPERS hobnobbing with dr.who stardom
PLUS!!! Tip Top Top Tips, Turlough the Agony Aunt, stupid toons, The Krotons part 4

Now available to order from davidmacgowan@hotmail.com. UK Paypal gift £1.50 REST OF WORLD Paypal gift £3.




FILTER: - Fan Productions

TARDIS lands at Westfield

Monday, 21 November 2011 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who: TARDISThe TARDIS has landed at Westfield Stratford City bringing the Doctor and his companions to the shopping complex to launch the Series 6 Box Set released in the UK today.

Matt Smith, Karen Gillian and Arthur Darvill will all be attending the event held at the brand new mega complex adjoining the 2012 Olympic site in east London.

The three stars will be signing copies of the box-set at HMV before attending a question and answer session in the Gallery Area. Fans around the world can view the experience via the BBC Worldwide YouTube channel from 1600GMT (4PM UK, 11am ET) today. The three stars will be answering questions in a panel hosted by DJ Jo Whiley.

They'll also be updates from the event on the BBC Facebook page and Doctor Who is also taking over the BBC Worldwide Twitter channel. Fans are encouraged to tweet with the hashtag #doctorwho all day.







FILTER: - Arthur Darvill - UK - Series 6/32 - Karen Gillan - Matt Smith - Press - Blu-ray/DVD