Sarah Jane Adventures – Appreciation index

Monday, 9 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus

Both parts of The Eternity Trap received an AI score of 86. The score is again way above the average score for Children's drama. The scores were one of the highest on BBC One on either Thursday or Friday with only New Tricks scoring higher.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Sarah Jane

Alan Chuntz 1927-2009

Sunday, 8 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus
The actor and stuntman Alan Chuntz has died at the age of 81. Chuntz appeared in at least 15 stories from the classic series. He was a member of HAVOC, the team that provided much of the stunt work for the programme. He played Omega's champion in The Three Doctors and had a rare speaking role as the Chauffeur in The Seeds of Doom.

As well as his work on Doctor Who, Chuntz was a regular face on British Television in the seventies appearing in series such as Z Cars, Some Mothers Do Ave Em, The Avengers, The Persuaders, The Onedin Line, Hazel and Minder.
  • The Invasion - Stuntman
  • The Seeds Of Death -Technician
  • The Ambassadors Of Death - Soldier
  • Inferno - Soldier
  • Terror Of The Autons - Stuntman
  • The Mind Of Evil - Prisoner
  • The Sea Devils - Stuntman
  • The Three Doctors - Omega's Champion
  • The Green Death - Security Guard
  • Planet Of The Spiders - Stuntman
  • Genesis Of The Daleks - Kaled Guard
  • Revenge Of The Cybermen - Stuntman
  • The Seeds Of Doom - Chauffeur
  • The Face Of Evil - Stuntman
  • The Talons Of Weng-Chiang - Stuntman
  • State Of Decay - Guard
  • The Visitation - Stuntman




FILTER: - Obituary - Classic Series

Doctor Who Adventures 140

Saturday, 7 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus
This weeks Doctor Who Adventures magazine is packed with top scares from swooping Reapers to the destructive Toclafane. Everything you need to know about monsters that fly.

The story guide is all about an explosive Cyberman clash. And to find out how well you know robot dog K-9, with the quick quiz.

Also there is a look at the Fifth Doctor. What did he wear and how long was he the Doctor?




FILTER: - Magazines - DWA

Sarah Jane Ratings - Friday

Saturday, 7 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus

Part Two of The Eternity Trap, was watched by 0.8 million viewers, with an audience share of 6.6%.

The series, which is rating well above the average for the time slot, has received a slight legacy boast following the appearance of David Tennant in the series last week.

Final figures will be out in around two weeks time.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Sarah Jane

North America - DVD Update

Friday, 6 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus
March 2nd sees the Dalek War box set come to North America with the release of the two third Doctor stories Frontier in Space and Planet of the Daleks.

Starring Jon Pertwee as The Doctor and Katy Manning as Jo Grant, the set includes the recently restored episode three of Planet of the Daleks, now in colour for the first time in 30 years.

Frontier in Space features a commentary with Katy Manning, as well as producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks.

Extras Include:
  • Perfect Scenario: Lost Frontier
  • The Space War, the making of the story
  • Roger Delgado: The Master, a biography of actor Roger Delgado
  • Stripped for Action: The Third Doctor's comic book adventures


Planet of the Daleks also features a commentary with Manning, Letts and Dicks and also includes Prentis Hancock who played Vaber and Tim Preece who played Codal.

Extras Include:
  • Perfect Scenario: The End of Dreams
  • The Rumble in the Jungle, the making of the story.
  • Multi-colourisation, a look at the colour restoration of episode three.
  • Stripped for Action: focuses on the Daleks
  • Blue Peter.

Also released on this day is the special edition of the seventh Doctor story, Remembrance of the Daleks.

First shown in 1988 the story stars Sylvester McCoy as The Doctor  and Sophie Aldred as Ace.

The story was first released on DVD in 2002. This special edition has a audio commentary by actors Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred as well as a number of documentaries about the programme.


  • Back to School: "Making Of" documentary (32 mins)
  • Remembrances: Influences and references to earlier Doctor Who adventures (15 mins)
  • Davros Connections: In-depth look at the history of the Daleks' creator (43 mins)
  • Extended and Deleted Scenes (12 mins)
  • Outtakes (4 mins)
  • Multi-Angle Sequences (2 mins)
  • Isolated Music Option
  • Trailers and Continuities (5 mins)
  • Photo Gallery (8 mins)
  • Easter egg
  • DVD-ROM material: Radio Times listings
  • Production Notes Subtitle Option




FILTER: - Canada - USA - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD - Radio Times

Sarah Jane Ratings - Thursday

Friday, 6 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus

The Eternity Trap, was watched by 0.9 million viewers, with an audience share of 7.3%.

The rating is once more much higher than usual for this slot on BBC One, which has an average of 0.4 million.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Sarah Jane

Time, Unincorporated 2 Coming from Mad Norwegian

Friday, 6 November 2009 - Reported by Jeremy Bement

Mad Norwegian Press has announced that Time, Unincorporated 2, the second in a series of fanzine article collections, will see print in May 2010. Previously titled "Classic Series Cornucopia," Volume 2 will actually see print under the title "Writings on the Classic Series," while the forthcoming Volume 3 will be "Writings on the New Series." Volume 2 of this series contains nearly 75 essays that examine every era of the classic Doctor Who series that ran from 1963-1989, as well as the FOX TV movie (1996). The essays stem from a wide array of venerable fanzines such as Enlightenment, Shockeye’s Kitchen, Burnt Toast, Faze, Dark Circus, The Whostorian and more. Collectively, the essays derived from these sources form one of the most diverse compilations of Doctor Who writing ever produced. As a bonus, ten of the essays were written exclusively for this volume by the likes of Matt Jones (Doctor Who, Torchwood), Simon Guerrier (The Slitheen Excursion), Pyr Books editorial director Lou Anders, and Jim Sangster (TV Heaven).




FILTER: - Merchandise - Books

Web Planet Online

Thursday, 5 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus
BBC Worldwide has done a deal with MSN Video to supply classic episodes of Doctor Who online. The stories are available free on the MSN website. The series is starting with the 1965 William Hartnell story, The Web Planet.

New episodes will be added on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10th November.

Video may not be available outside the United Kingdom.




FILTER: - Online - Classic Series

Never Mind The Buzzcocks Special

Wednesday, 4 November 2009 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Phil Jupitus with David Tennant
Photo by Phil Jupitus
posted on YFrog
Comedian Phil Jupitus has announced a Doctor Who Special edition of the comedy panel music show Never Mind The Buzzcocks, which will feature David Tennant as the guest presenter; the show will also sees Bernard Cribbins on Phil's own team, alongside presenter Jo Whiley, whilst Noel Fielding's team will have Catherine Tate with singer Jamie Cullum.

No broadcast date has been announced as yet, though it is expected to be in the week leading up to Christmas Day.

(announced by Phil Jupitus on twitter)






FILTER: - Special Events - Catherine Tate - David Tennant

Dreamland Broadcast Date

Wednesday, 4 November 2009 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC Press Office have released details for the broadcast of the animated Doctor Who adventure Dreamland. Episode One will premiere on Saturday 21st November on the BBC's Red Button service, and the subsequent five episodes each day thereafter. The episodes will be available all day on Sky and Virgin, with a limited service on Freeview. The episodes will also be available from the BBC's Doctor Who website, which will be enhanced by a brand new comic reader application.




FILTER: - Online - Animation - Press - Broadcasting