Children in Need update - Doctor's Costume for auction

Thursday, 17 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC have released three promotional images of Matt Smith as the Doctor for tomorrow's Children in Need evening:

The special mini-episode was recorded yesterday at BBC Television Centre in London - the first time that the Doctor has been filmed there for an episode of Doctor Who since Ghostlight wrapped in 1989 - and directed by Richard Senior (Let's Kill Hitler). The episode, written by show-runner Steven Moffat, sees the Doctor offering viewers the chance to win his tweed jacket (as seen in The Doctor's Wife), bow-tie as well as other items, which will be added to the charity's online auction; the winning bidder will also receive a signed copy of the script.

Matt Smith said:

I'd say the tweed jacket or the bow-tie are the most iconic - although the boots are my personal favourite. I hope people donate generously for BBC Children in Need because it's a wonderful cause - and we've got to beat last year's total.

Items also in the auction include art work from the cast of The Sarah Jane Adventures: Tommy by Anjli Mohindra, Anjli by Tommy Knight, Odd Bob by Tommy Knight, Shansheeth, Anjli Mohindra, The Groske, Daniel Anthony and The Empty Planet, Anjli. There are also signed Pudsey Bear dolls from John Barrowman (Jack Harkness) and Jo Joyner (Lynda).

The auction closes on Monday.

The title of the Christmas Special is also to be revealed during the evening, with an exclusive preview of the episode scheduled for between 8:00-8:30pm.

DrWho Online are holding an auction to raise money for Children in Need, with a package including a signed poster by David Tennant, the Brilliant Book of Doctor Who 2012, the 2012 Doctor Who calendar, and many other items; full details and how to bid may be found on their website.
(with thanks to Sebastian J Brook)

FILTER: - Specials - Special Events

Big Finish: The Lost Stories - Fourth Doctor Box Set

Wednesday, 16 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Big Finish have released the cover art for their forthcoming Doctor Who: The Lost Stories - The Fourth Doctor Box Set.

To be released in January 2012, the six disc audio collection will feature two unmade stories from the 1970s, starring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor and Louise Jameson as Leela:

The Foe from the Future
A six part story devised by Robert Banks Stewart and adapted by John Dorney

The Grange is haunted, so they say. This stately home in the depths of Devon has been the site of many an apparition. And now people are turning up dead. The ghosts are wild in the forest. But the Doctor doesn’t believe in ghosts.

The TARDIS follows a twist in the vortex to the village of Staffham in 1977 and discovers something is very wrong with time. But spectral highwaymen and cavaliers are the least of the Doctor’s worries.

For the Grange is owned by the sinister Jalnik, and Jalnik has a scheme two thousand years in the making. Only the Doctor and Leela stand between him and the destruction of history itself. It’s the biggest adventure of their lives – but do they have the time?

The Valley of Death
A four part story devised by Philip Hinchcliffe and adapted by Jonathan Morris

A century after his Great-Grandfather Cornelius vanished in the Amazon rainforest, Edward Perkins is journeying to the depths of the jungle to find out what became of his ancestor’s lost expedition. Intrigued by what appears to be a description of a crashed spacecraft in the diaries of that first voyage, the Doctor and Leela join him on his quest. But when their plane runs into trouble and ends up crash landing, everyone gets more than they bargained for.

The jungle is filled with giant creatures and angry tribesmen, all ready to attack. But in the famed lost city of the Maygor tribe, something far, far worse is lurking. Something with an offer to make to mankind. Who are the Lurons and can they be trusted? Will the Doctor defeat the plans of the malevolent Godrin or will he become just another victim of the legendary Valley of Death?

Guest cast includes Paul Wheeler, Louise Brearley, Blake Ritson, Dan Starkey, Anthony Howell and Jane Slavin.

As well as the two stories, the set will also include a 70 minutes behind-the-scenes documentary, plus additional extras.

The boxed set is available for pre-order via the Big Finish website.
(with thanks to David Richardson)

FILTER: - Audio - Tom Baker - Big Finish

Hang A Dalek on the Christmas Tree

Tuesday, 15 November 2011 - Reported by Marcus

BBC Worldwide has launched two new Doctor Who hand crafted glass tree decorations for Christmas this year, as detailed in the press release below:

Doctor Who: Hand-Crafted Glass Dalek or Tardis Tree Decoration

Forget everything you ever knew about Daleks and imagine that this one comes in peace for Christmas, dressed all in red and rendered temporarily harmless. And wherever there is a Dalek the TARDIS is sure to be close behind. Materializing on Earth just in time for Christmas, its classic TARDIS blue colour and instantly recognizable chassis give your tree an intergalactic touch, from far beyond the brightest star the human eye can see.

Each hand-crafted glass Dalek Christmas decoration is styled in the traditions of mouth blown glass. Skilled artisans have hand painted each ornament with intricate details. This is certain to make your Christmas tree unique and stylish. RRP only £13.99.

Doctor Who Series 6 DVD & Exclusive Dalek & Tardis Tree Decorations

The Doctor, Amy and Rory return to face monsters, mysteries and adventures all across time and space in the action-packed sixth series. Billed as the biggest and best series yet, all 13 thrilling episodes of Series 6 together with host of exclusive Doctor Who Series 6 is now available in this wonderful Doctor Who Christmas bundle.

Including both the hand crafted glass Dalek and Tardis tree decorations. A must have Christmas present for any fans of the show, available from BBC Shop priced only £57.99.

FILTER: - Merchandise

People Roundup

Monday, 14 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Colin Baker will be a guest on a popular cookery show during the festive period: "I am allowed to tell you this and no more - Celebrity Come Dine with Me over Christmas. Watch yours truly cooking and eating - ad nauseam" [Colin Baker via Twitter, 14 Nov 2011]

David Tennant continues to film Nativity 2 with the actor spotted on location at Llanrhaeadr Waterfall, where a scene with him and co-star Marc Wooton involving a donkey didn't turn out so well ... [Powys County Times, 11 Nov 2011]

Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones) thinks it is possible to appear for the 50th Anniversary: "I’ve just heard rumblings and my agent was talking about it because there's a tight-knit of us. In terms of working with David and with Karen, we've all got the same sort of circle really, so a mention of things but nothing's really been in set in stone. But if they want to do a big group thing, I can't really envisage anybody in the Who family saying no because it's quite a marked occasion and a good opportunity to rekindle. For the fans, it's exciting for them as well and everyone gets together." [Independent, 14 Nov 2011]

On the other hand Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper) thinks otherwise: "I wouldn't have thought so. We have lots of adult themes running in Torchwood and I think it would be inappropriate for us to have anything to do with Doctor Who because it’s predominantly a family programme. I think that where Torchwood is, it deals with darker subjects and I think inter-mixing them, if they want to do that, then fine but I can tell you that I'm not involved in it – they won’t give me guns or a bazooka." [Independent, 8 Nov 2011]

Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler) also talks about her likelihood of ever coming back to the series: "I think that's done now. We’ve been back to say goodbye at least twice. You have to leave it in the past sometime really. And we left five years ago really, so it's quite a long time. People have moved on. If anyone asked me, of course I would, brilliant. It would be a great story to go back, but I think it's done and I think we need to leave it where it is, really." [Gay Times]

Peter Kay (Abzorbaloff, Love & Monsters) regrets playing an alien as part of his career: "I loved making it but when I saw it, I thought, 'Oh my God. I'm big green lizard running around Cardiff? Is that it?' It's nice to have been in Doctor Who but that is regarded by fans as the worst episode ever. In 10 years' time, I'll be able to do the Doctor Who conventions and charge people a tenner for a photo!" [Express, 13 Nov 2011]

Bill Pullman (Danes, Miracle Day) will be performing excerpts from "The Healing Wars", a project he has developed with his wife, on the 8th December in Denver as part of a benefit for Visionbox, a professional actors training studio he conceived in 2010. [Denver Post, 13 Nov 2011]

FILTER: - People - David Tennant - Colin Baker

Mini-episode for Children in Need

Monday, 14 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC have intimated via their Doctor Who Twitter feed that a mini-episode has been written to star Matt Smith as the Doctor for this coming Friday's Children in Need:

14:44 There's an extra special treat for Doctor Who fans on Friday’s
      Children in Need... Or at least there will be if things
      go according to plan!
15:25 Hurray! Things ARE going according to plan! Steven Moffat’s
      mini-script has just hit the in-boxes of a lucky few...
      Must look over shoulders…
16:44 Great! We can confirm that Matt Smith will be back in
      the bow-tie soon because the Doctor returns on Friday night
      in Children in Need.
17:59 We’ve seen the short script and it is NOT what you’d expect.
      Oh, it’s funny and fast and Doctorish and brilliant...
      but not what you’d expect...

A preview of this year's Christmas Special is due to be transmitted between 8:00-8:30pm on Friday evening.

FILTER: - Specials - Special Events - Charities

Doctor Who film in the works?

Monday, 14 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Variety have reported that preparation has begun to turn Doctor Who into a feature film, to be helmed by director David Yates (Harry Potter) in association with BBC Worldwide Productions under the auspice of Jane Tranter (VP of programming and production).

Yates told Variety:

We're looking at writers now. We're going to spend two to three years to get it right. It needs quite a radical transformation to take it into the bigger arena. The notion of the time-travelling Time Lord is such a strong one, because you can express story and drama in any dimension or time.

Russell T. Davies and then Steven Moffat have done their own transformations, which were fantastic, but we have to put that aside and start from scratch. We want a British sensibility, but having said that, Steve Kloves wrote the Potter films and captured that British sensibility perfectly, so we are looking at American writers too,

Tranter has commented on the potential of a Doctor Who film before; asked about the possibility when outlying her plans for BBC Films back in 2007, she answered: "I would not rule out a film version of Doctor Who, no."

The BBC confirmed development via their Doctor Who Facebook presence:

There's been a lot of talk today about the possibility of a Doctor Who movie - a feature film remains in development with BBC Worldwide Productions in Los Angeles. But, as of yet there is no script, cast or production crew in place.

Perhaps the most famous attempt to produce a film occured in 1992 with the BBC Enterprises project The Dark Dimension, aimed to be released during the show's 30th Anniversary the following year. Others include Doctor Who Meets Scratchman, an attempt by then Doctor Tom Baker and Ian Marter to take Doctor Who to the big screenin the 1970s, and a long-term project by the Daltenreys group (aka Coast to Coast) in the late 80s/early 90s.

FILTER: - Doctor Who - Movies

Big Finish: Cherie Lunghi - The Emerald Tiger

Friday, 11 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Big Finish have announced that Cherie Lunghi will join Peter Davison for their forthcoming audio adventure, The Emerald Tiger. The actress joins the Fifth Doctor team of Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton and Mark Strickson for the story that opens a new mini-season in April 2012.

Writer and director Barnaby Edwards said:

I wrote the part of the brittle and beautiful Lady Adela with Cherie in mind. Her husky, experienced and emotional voice seemed to fit the part perfectly. Of course, I didn't think I'd get her, but I spoke to her agent on the off‐chance. Cherie read the script and, much to my delight, said yes!

It's always a pleasure to work with this particular TARDIS team. They're just as fun and sparky off‐mic as they are when we're recording. That magical dynamic established in the TV episodes is still as strong today as it was thirty years ago – if anything, more so!

The cast also includes Sam Dastor, Neil Stacy, Vincent Ebrahim, Vineeta Rishi, Trevor Cooper and Gwilym Lee.

The adventure is available to pre-order from Big Finish.

FILTER: - Audio - Peter Davison - Big Finish

BBC Competition: Win an Eleventh Doctor Bust

Friday, 11 November 2011 - Reported by Marcus

The BBC Doctor Who page on Facebook have launched a new competition for one lucky winner to win a limited edition Eleventh Doctor Bust.

The competition is open to residents of the United Kingdom who are eighteen years of age or over; in order to enter simply ensure you "Like" the Doctor Who page, and then provide your name, address and other contact details as requested via the competition entry form by 4th December 2011.

The winner will be announced the week after closing date.

You can find the full terms and conditions for the competition here.

Please note that in order to enter this competition you must be a registered user of Facebook, and allow access to the Softwind Competitions! application.

FILTER: - Competitions - BBC

BBC Worldwide announce official Doctor Who convention

Friday, 11 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC Worldwide have announced the first official Doctor Who convention to be staged since the series return in 2005. Billed as the "Ultimate Doctor Who Fan Event", it will feature guests Matt Smith and Steven Moffat, plus many others from the cast and crew including Danny Hargreaves (special effects supervisor), Michael Pickwoad (production designer), Marcus Wilson (producer) and the team behind Millennium FX.

The convention will held twice, taking place at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff; 1500 tickets are to be made available for each of the days on the 24th and 25th March 2011:

The unique interactive programme will include theatre sessions and Q&As with cast and crew; behind the scenes sessions show-casing the script to screen process; discussions with episode directors and writers and demonstrations from Special FX and prosthetics experts that will illustrate the challenges and scale of their work on the world’s longest running sci-fi show. Autograph and photo opportunities will also be available with attending cast members and there will be official Doctor Who merchandise and collectables on sale.

Matt Smith commented on the announcement:

It’s brilliant that the first official convention is being held in Cardiff, the home of Doctor Who. I’m really looking forward to seeing the fans there, and remember – bow ties are cool!

Steven Moffat said:

A whole weekend dedicated to all things Doctor Who, brilliant! We’re going to be celebrating the whole team behind the show, people who bring to life the Doctor's craziest adventures and letting fans into some of our trade secrets. If you want to get under the skin of Doctor Who this is an unmissable event!"

Tickets for the convention go on sale from the 14th November, and are priced at £99 for the day; autographs and photo opportunities with Matt Smith and Steven Moffat are also to be made available on a limited basis for an additional charge.

For more information and to book see the official convention website at www.dwconvention.com.

Full event details from BBC Worldwide:

Fans will gain unrivalled access to Eleventh Doctor star Matt Smith, Series Lead Writer and Executive Producer Steven Moffat and many more key members from the award-winning cast, crew and production team including Doctor Who Special FX Supervisor Danny Hargreaves, Production Designer Michael Pickwoad, Doctor Who Producer Marcus Wilson and the award-winning Millennium FX team.

The unique interactive programme will include theatre sessions and Q&As with cast and crew; behind the scenes sessions show-casing the script to screen process; discussions with episode directors and writers and demonstrations from Special FX and prosthetics experts that will illustrate the challenges and scale of their work on the world’s longest running sci-fi show. Autograph and photo opportunities will also be available with attending cast members and there will be official Doctor Who merchandise and collectables on sale.

Convention attendees will be let into the secrets of Doctor Who special effects as Danny Hargreaves and his talented team, reveal the tricks used to create the stunning physical effects that leave audiences on the edge of their seats. Watch them recreate a spectacular battle scene with live pyrotechnics, amazing explosions and laser effects.

Even more tricks of the trade will be unveiled by the award-winning Millennium FX team responsible for creating some of Doctor Who’s most iconic monsters including the Silence; the Silurians; the Weeping Angels and the Ood. The team will be giving a live demonstration of the skilful process involved in prosthetics application that fans can watch up-close and learn from the team how each stage is achieved.

Convention attendees will also be able to get up close and personal with rare costumes and props from the show where designers and experts will be on hand to answer questions about the origins and history of the items on show. The Millennium Centre itself has starred in several episodes – it was the setting for a hospital in New Earth in Series 2 run by the cat-like Sisters of Plentitude, in Tom McRae’s episode The Girl Who Waited in Series 6 the building featured as a principle location on Apalapucia – the kindness facility where people were quarantined, see if you can spot the top floor balcony where Amy fought with a Handbot!

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Matt Smith - Conventions - BBC

Tom Baker at Elisabeth Sladen Book Launch

Thursday, 10 November 2011 - Reported by Marcus

The Doctor Who Experience is to host a special event celebrating the launch of the recently published autobiography of Elisabeth Sladen.

The event, held at the Experience's current home at Olympia in London, will feature fourth Doctor, Tom Baker talking about his memories of working with Sladen alongside Terrance Dicks, who was Script Editor of Doctor Who when Sladen was cast, and Sadie Miller, Elisabeth Sladen's daughter.

Hosted by TV Choice magazine's Ben Lawrence, the event will be held in the screening room at the Doctor Who Experience at 2.30pm on November 26th. It is free to enter for ticket holders to The Doctor Who Experience, who have an entry ticket for 12.30pm, 1pm or 1.30pm.

Bookings can be made via See Tickets. When selecting the relevant time slot you will be given the option to select Elisabeth Sladen book launch entry.

FILTER: - Tom Baker - Elisabeth Sladen

Previous 10 Stories

Children in Need update - Doctor's Costume for auction

Big Finish: The Lost Stories - Fourth Doctor Box Set

Hang A Dalek on the Christmas Tree

People Roundup

Mini-episode for Children in Need

Doctor Who film in the works?

Big Finish: Cherie Lunghi - The Emerald Tiger

BBC Competition: Win an Eleventh Doctor Bust

BBC Worldwide announce official Doctor Who convention

Tom Baker at Elisabeth Sladen Book Launch

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