As part of the celebration of the two Peter Cushing movies, Dr Who and The Daleks and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150AD being released in high-definition on Blu-ray on the 27th May, Studio Canal have arranged a number of presentations of the films on the big screen in the United Kingdom, in association with the Independent Cinema Office.


The two films have been digitally remastered and repackaged for both DVD and Blu-ray, with both released individual and as a limited collectors edition of the two together.

DR WHO AND THE DALEKS Directed by Gordon Flemyng With Peter Cushing, Roy Castle, Jennie Linden, Roberta Tovey Directed by Gordon Flemyng and now fully restored, DR. WHO & THE DALEKS (1965) was the first big screen film adaptation of British TV's most iconic sci-fi hero, and the first time Doctor Who was ever seen in colour. British film legend Peter Cushing plays everyone's favourite Timelord, and having invented the TARDIS, a strange machine capable of travelling into other dimensions, the Doctor and his three young companions set forth on a quest through time and space. Their journey takes them into the dark, undiscovered depths of the universe and to the planet of Skaro. A primitive world devastated by nuclear war and populated by two warring species, a peaceful tribe known as Thals and a life form heavily mutated by radiation, encased in protective machines. A merciless force of destruction known as The Daleks Extras: Audio Commentary with Roberta Tovey and Jenny Linden / Dalekmania / Restoring Dr. Who And The Daleks (new) / Interview With Gareth Owen (new) / Stills Gallery / Trailer DVD Tech Specs: Cert: U / Region 2 / Total Running Time: approx. 79 min / Colour / Feature Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 / Feature Audio: Mono 2.0 / English Language / Catalogue No: OPTD2529 Blu+ray Tech Specs: Cert: U / Region B / Total Running Time: approx. 82 min / Colour / Feature Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 / Feature Audio: Mono 2.0 LPCM / English Language / Catalogue No: OPTBD2529

DALEKS' INVASION EARTH 2150A.D. Directed by Gordon Flemyng With Peter Cushing, Bernard Cribbins, Roberta Tovey and Jill Curzon Directed by Gordon Flemyng and now fully restored, DALEKS' INVASION EARTH 2150 A.D. (1966) stars Peter Cushing in his return to the big screen as British TV's most iconic sci-fi hero, Doctor Who. The earth of 2150 AD is a desolate and hostile ruin of a planet, crumbling at the edge of civilisation, slowly disappearing into the darkness of space. For the future of planet earth now belongs The Daleks, a destructive arm of alien invaders who have turned the human race into cowering slaves. Meanwhile deep within the London Underground a group of resistance freedom fighters are planning an attack. But there's only one man who could possibly help them succeed in destroying their extra terrestrial enemies and take back control of planet earth. A man of mystery, a man of time and space, a man known only as. The Doctor. Extras: Restoring Daleks. Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (new) / Interview with Bernard Cribbins (new)/ Interview with Gareth Owen (new)/ Stills Gallery / Trailer DVD Tech Specs: Cert: U / Region 2 / Total Running Time: approx. 80 min / Colour / Feature Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 / Feature Audio: Mono 2.0 / English Language / Catalogue No: OPTD2530 Blu+ray Tech Specs: Cert: U / Region B / Total Running Time: approx. 84 min / Colour / Feature Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 / Feature Audio: Mono 2.0 LPCM / English Language / Catalogue No: OPTBD2530

Competition:

Thanks to Studio Canal we have three copies of the boxed set for readers in the United Kingdom to win. To be in with a chance, simply answer this question:
Please send your answer along with your name, address and where you saw the competition to comp-movies@doctorwhonews.net with the subject line "Thal play!". Only one answer per household can be accepted. Please note that this competition is only open to UK residents only, and closes on 26th May 2013.

Doctor Who is to be honoured with a special tribute to be shown at Sunday's BAFTA television award ceremony.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts will be marking the programme's 50th Anniversary year by showing a video montage celebrating the long history of the show.

Current companion Jenna-Louise Coleman will also attend the ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall in London and will present one of the night’s awards.

Amanda Berry OBE, Chief Executive of BAFTA, said:
Steven Moffat, Doctor Who’s Lead Writer and Executive Producer, said the production team would be sending Daleks to patrol the red carpet:
Doctor Who won the main BAFTA award for Best Drama Series in 2006 and has won many BAFTA Craft Awards since the series returned in 2005.

Big Finish have released details on the latest adventures for the Doctor and his companions in May ...

Competition:

This month's competition thanks to Big Finish is to win one of five copies of The Apocalypse Mirror. To be in with a chance to win, please answer the following question:
Send your answer to comp-apocalypse@doctorwhonews.net with the subject line "Beckindale re-union", along with your name, address, and where you saw the competition (the news website, twitter, facebook, etc.). Only one entry per postal address will be accepted. The competition is open worldwide, and the closing date is 31st May 2013.

Sunday 12th May sees the broadcast of two four-part Peter Davison stories, Earthshock and Snakedance on Australian and New Zealand television. They are screening as part of the 50th Anniversary season of Doctor Who on the UKTV channel.

Earthshock is scheduled to screen in both countries at 2:40pm. Snakedance is scheduled in New Zealand at 4:20pm and in Australia at 4:30pm. New Zealand has an additional screening on Monday 13th May at 2:40am and 4:20am respectively.

Earthshock was first broadcast in Australia in 1982 and in New Zealand in 1983. Snakedance was first broadcast in both countries in 1983.


The UKTV billing describes the stories as follows:

Earthshock: In the 26th century, a party of soldiers led by Professor Kyle & Lt. Scott investigate the death of a palaeontologist murdered by androids while studying dinosaur remains in a cave.

Snakedance: The Tardis lands on Manussa where Tegan once again gets possessed by the Mara, who plan to break into the physical world.

UKTV is showing stories throughout the year in the lead-up to the anniversary in November. The stories are two of a set of six stories featuring Peter Davison's Doctor due to be broadcast during May. The rest of the month's line up includes: Frontios and Resurrection of the Daleks (19 May), and The Caves of Androzani (26 May).

Up-and-coming broadcasts from both 20th and 21st Century series of Doctor Who can be found via UKTV's Doctor Who sections for Australia and New Zealand.

Full ratings data for the week ending 28th April 2013 is now available and gives Doctor Who: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS an official rating of 6.5 million viewers, a share of 30.2% of the total television audience.

Once ITV HD and +1 figures are factored in, Doctor Who just slipped out of the top twenty as the 21st most watched programme on British Television for the week.

On BBC One, Doctor Who was the seventh most watched programme of the week and it was the third most watched programme of Saturday, behind the two reality shows Britain's Got Talent and The Voice.

On ITV the drama starring David Tennant, Broadchurch, had 10.46 million watching once HD and +1 figures are included, and was the second most watched programme of the week.

Figures do not include iPlayer viewings, figures for which will be available later.

The last episode of the current series is to have a prequel, it was announced this afternoon.

Entitled She Said, He Said, it has been written by showrunner Steven Moffat and will feature Jenna-Louise Coleman as Clara and Matt Smith as the Doctor.

According to the show's official website, it will be one of the longest prequels the show has had and will look at "how little Clara knows about the Doctor . . . and vice versa."

The minisode will be made available from the official website and via the BBC's Red Button service straight after Nightmare in Silver ends in the UK this coming Saturday at 7.45pm. Series finale The Name of the Doctor airs in the UK on Saturday 18th May, with the time still to be confirmed.

Based on these final figures, Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS was the highest rating ABC program of the day and the ninth highest rating program of the day overall (it was also the ninth highest rating program based on its overnight figures of 725,000 viewers). These ratings do not include regional viewers.

France4 are to premiere Series 7 Part 1 over two days from the end of the month.

The 25th May sees the channel kick off with L’Asile des Daleks at 8:45pm, followed by Des dinosaures dans l’espace and La ville de la miséricorde. Then, the 1st June sees the broadcast of L’invasion des cubes, again at 8:45pm, followed by Les anges prennent Manhattan and last year's Christmas Special, La dame de glace.

In addition, the channel will be presenting the mini-story Pond Life on their Studio 4.0 website over the course of 20th-24th May.

BBC America has chosen Earthshock to represent the Fifth Doctor in its Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited celebratory season.

A documentary entitled The Doctors Revisited: The Fifth Doctor will air on Sunday, May 26 at 8pm Eastern/7pm Central, followed by the four-part story that reintroduced the Cybermen after an absence of nearly seven years.

The documentary will see Peter Davison, Steven Moffat, Hugh Bonneville, Sarah Sutton, and Mark Strickson discussing the Fifth Doctor. It will also feature other as-yet-unspecified contributors.

Earthshock first aired in 1982. As well as the return of the Cybermen, it featured the death of the Doctor's companion Adric, the only long-term television companion to die since the First Doctor's era.

BBC America is paying tribute to the programme's 50th anniversary by showing a story per Doctor per month.

The writer of the fifth in the Puffin Books series of e-books has been revealed to be Patrick Ness, the multi-award winning author of the Chaos Walking trilogy.


Born in Virginia, USA Patrick Ness spent his upbringing in the states of Hawaii, Washington and California before moving permanently to the UK. He is the author of the Chaos Walking trilogy which established him as one of the most original and exciting writers of today. The trilogy has won many awards including the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, the Costa Children’s Book Award, the Booktrust Teenage Prize and the CILIP Carnegie Medal. Patrick’s sixth book A Monster Calls received high critical acclaim and is the winner of the Children’s Book of the Year Award at the Galaxy National Book Awards, the Red House Children’s Book Award and the UKLA Children’s Book Prize. In June 2012, A Monster Calls became the first book ever to win both prestigious CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals. His highly anticipated new novel for adults, The Crane Wife, was inspired by a Japanese folk tale and just published by Canongate in April 2013. A daring new YA novel More Than This is forthcoming later this year from Walker (Candlewick in the US).

Ness commented:

A video of the author will be released on YouTube by BBC Worldwide later in the month, with the book itself coming out on the 23rd May.