Australian transmission date for Let's Kill Hitler

Saturday, 13 August 2011 - Reported by Adam Kirk

TV Tonight has reported in 'an exclusive' that Let's Kill Hitler will have its Australian premier on ABC1 on Saturday 3 September 2011 at 7:30pm.

Although the TV Blog reports this is 'within a week of the UK', the BBC have yet to reveal when Let's Kill Hitler will premier in the UK.

FILTER: - Series 6/32 - Broadcasting - Australia

The Categories Of Life: UK overnight viewing figures

Friday, 12 August 2011 - Reported by Marcus

Torchwood:The Categories of Life achieved an average audience of 4.1 million viewers on BBC One and BBC One HD, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The fifth in the series had 17.6% of the audience share and was the 9th most watched programme of the day. It won the 9pm timeslot, with Single Handed on ITV1 watched by 3.2 million viewers.

The figure was slightly up on the last week. As in previous weeks the episode saw a drop in viewers during the hour from 4.5 million in the first quarter to 3.8 million in the final quarter

The final ratings will be released in 10 days and will include those who record the programme and watch it within seven days.

Mondays late night repeat of episode Four, Escape to L.A. was watched by 0.3 million.

FILTER: - Torchwood - Ratings - UK - Miracle Day (Series 4)

Doctor Who: Serpent Crest

Thursday, 11 August 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

AudioGo have announced the third series of audio adventures starring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor and written by Paul Magrs; Tsar Wars kicks off the Serpent Crest series, with the Doctor accompanied by Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey.

Tsar Wars (available for pre-order)
published 8th September 2011

The Doctor and Mrs Wibbsey are catapulted from present day Earth to a futuristic civilisation in a distant galaxy. At the Robotov Palace they find the Tsar and Tsarina ruling over their empire whilst human workers toil on satellite moons. The Doctor is mistaken for an old ally of the Tsarina's, but then suspected of treason when the Palace comes under attack. Dark secrets are lurking in the shadows, and the mysterious Father Gregory will set off a chain of events which have long-lasting consequences for the Doctor and Mrs Wibbsey.

Featuring a dual role for Tom Baker, Tsar Wars features a superb line-up of guest actors including Michael Jayston, Simon Shepherd, Suzy Aitchison, Paul Chequer, Gabriel Vick, Grant Gillespie and Sam Hoare.

Future installments of Serpent Crest will see the return of the Doctor's previous companion in these series, Mike Yates as played by Richard Franklin, and will also include Terrence Hardiman, Joanna David, Geoff Leesley, Su Douglas and Andrew Sachs.

The release schedule for the series:

Tsar Wars, 8th September
The Broken Crown, 6th October
Aladdin Time, 3rd November
The Hexford Invasion, 8th December
Survivors in Space, 8th December

FILTER: - Audio - Tom Baker

AudioGo: Doctor Who release update

Thursday, 11 August 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

AudioGo have announced the release of two more titles in their range of Doctor Who spoken stories, featuring the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory. Plus the third collection of the 'lost' television adventures with linking narration has recently been released, alongside the Target adaptation of Fury From The Deep.

Blackout (available for pre-order)
by Oli Smith
read by Stuart Milligan
published 8th September 2011

November 9th, 1965. New York City is plunged into darkness, a taxi driver has bad dreams, and an invisible spacecraft hovers ominously above the skyline.

As an extra-terrestrial disease sweeps the populace, Amy and Rory must sabotage the city's water supply to slow the spread of infection, and a dying Doctor holds another man's life in his hands.

With the death toll rising, and his companions stalked through the streets by alien businessmen, the Doctor is forced to make a terrible decision.

How far must he go to save his friends?

Touched by an Angel
by Jonathan Morris
read by Clare Corbett
published 8th September 2011

In 2003, Rebecca Whitaker died in a road accident. Her husband Mark is still grieving. He receives a battered envelope, posted eight years ago, containing a set of instructions with a simple message: "You can save her."

As Mark is given the chance to save Rebecca, it's up to the Doctor, Amy and Rory to save the whole world. Because this time the Weeping Angels are using history itself as a weapon...

The Lost Episodes - Collection 3 (available to order)
published 4th August 2011

Dozens of Doctor Who TV episodes are lost as visual film recordings - but they survive as audio soundtracks, digitally remastered with additional linking narration by members of the original cast. This handsome box set collects together five adventures which are either wholly or partially lost from the TV archives, but which can be enjoyed in their entirety on audio.

Presented in chronological order of transmission, the stories in this collection are "The
Smugglers", "The Tenth Planet", "The Power of the Daleks", "The Highlanders", "The Underwater Menace" and "The Moonbase", and feature William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton as the first and second Doctors.

They are presented along with bonus interviews with Anneke Wills, who played Polly in the TV series, as well as a special BBC Radio 3 feature Dance of the Daleks which looks at the role of incidental music in Doctor Who.

Fury From The Deep (available to order)
by Victor Pemberton
read by David Troughton
published July 2011

In the dark, uncharted depths of the North Sea it has lurked, growing in strength, growing in size, and striking terror into the hearts of mariners down the untold centuries. Landing near a North Sea gas refinery off the east coast of England, the Tardis crew are immediately accused of sabotage. Several rig crews have mysteriously vanished, strange pressure build-ups have been detected, and in the refinery's pipelines the Doctor can hear the steady, rhythmic beat of - what? Soon the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria will find themselves at the unrelenting mercy of the deadliest and most terrifying foe they have ever encountered...

FILTER: - Audio

Doctor Who: no BBC listing for 27th August (so far)

Thursday, 11 August 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC Press Office have released details of television programmes during Week 35 (27th August - 2nd September), and Doctor Who is notable by its absence from the schedules - the series has been confirmed by BBC America as being broadcast by themselves on the 27th August.

The lack of a listing does not necessarily mean that the show will not be broadcast on that Saturday, however; Torchwood: Miracle Day was initially absent from from the Week 28 listings for the week it returned, being added to the schedule listings a few days later.

BBC programming is normally finally 'locked down' 10 days before transmission.

FILTER: - Doctor Who - Series 6/32

Torchwood: BBC responds to complaints

Wednesday, 10 August 2011 - Reported by Marcus

The BBC has issued a response to a small number of complaints recieved from viewers who feel there is too much gay content in Torchwood.

Under the BBC Editorial and General Complaints process the corporation aims to respond to formal complaints within 10 working days.

BBC Response
We have strict Editorial Guidelines which govern the content of our programmes, and Torchwood is no exception.

These clearly state: "In all BBC output the portrayal of sex, or the exploration of sexual issues, should be editorially justified and treated with appropriate sensitivity. In post-watershed content, we must be able to justify the frank and realistic portrayal of sex and the exploration of themes and issues which some people might find offensive."

Captain Jack Harkness is an established character in the series. The audience over the previous series of Torchwood have known him to be promiscuous and bi-sexual so we felt the content was justified in terms of the context and characters and would be within the expectations of regular viewers. We aim to depict relationships whether heterosexual or homosexual in an honest and realistic way. These scenes are not meant to cause offence.

Last month the BBC confirmed that the UK versions of Episode Three had been slightly edited to remove some of the more graphic sexual images, both gay and straight, from the story.

FILTER: - Torchwood - Miracle Day (Series 4) - BBC

Doctor Who Experience Workshops

Wednesday, 10 August 2011 - Reported by Marcus

A number of special workshops are being helps over the summer holiday at the Doctor Who Experience in London.

Last Friday the editorial team from Doctor Who Adventures magazine held a special Behind the Scenes masterclass. The magazine team ran four interactive one-hour sessions, during which they showed over 100 youngsters how to go about making a weekly magazine.

The masterclass gave an insight into all aspects of magazine publishing, from designing a magazine cover to deciding on the ideal free gift. Each session was lead by Doctor Who Adventures editor, Natalie Barnes, while there was also a special guest appearance from comic designer John Ross, who has designed a comic strip for every issue of the magazine since it launched over four years ago.

Natalie Barnes said, "We had a lot of fun at the Doctor Who Experience on Friday. The workshop was a great opportunity for us to meet with fans of Doctor Who Adventures and to show them how we put the magazine together. We were really impressed by their creativity– they’ll be after our jobs soon.”

Further events are planned over the next couple of weeks. There is no extra charge for these events,but due to high demand it is advisable to obtain tickets in advance.

Friday 12th August
‘Walk Like a Monster’ Masterclasses
Throughout the day, Ailsa Berk, choreographer for Doctor Who, will be hosting live ‘Walk Like A Monster’ Masterclasses. Come and learn how to walk and move like of some of the Doctors scariest enemies including the Cybermen and the Scarecrows!

Wednesday 24th August
Silurian Prosthetics Demonstrations
This is a chance to discover the secrets behind how the Doctor Who team create the Silurians with a live monster makeup and prosthetics demonstration. Featured in the most recent episode of the show ‘A Good Man Goes to War’, the Silurians were Earth's first intelligent inhabitants, cold-blood reptilians with a lifespan of over three centuries who developed a civilisation at least 300 million years before human beings evolved.

FILTER: - Exhibitions

2011 Season Refresher

Wednesday, 10 August 2011 - Reported by Marcus

BBC America has released a season refresher containing highlights from the first half of Season 32.

The second half of the series begins on the channel on Saturday 27th August.

FILTER: - Doctor Who - Series 6/32

This Week in Doctor Who

Wednesday, 10 August 2011 - Reported by Marcus

Since 1998, This Week in Doctor Who has provided a valuable record of Doctor Who transmissions from around world.

Creator and maintainer Benjamin F. Elliott stepped down from compiling the list earlier this year, and Doctor Who News would like to keep his work going by providing a detailed list of where and when you can watch Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

To do so we need the help of contributors who would be willing to update our database on a regular basis. We are looking for people who would be willing to take on responsibility for updating a particular channel, especially in countries where we are not represented at present. In return you will get a name credit on the TWIDW page.

If you would like to help please end us an email to twidw@doctorwhonews.net stating which channel you would be able to update and in which country you live.

FILTER: - Editorial

UK DVD release update

Monday, 8 August 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

2|Entertain have released cover art and content details for the forthcoming UK DVDs of Third Doctor adventures Day of the Daleks (due 9th September) and Colony in Space (Amazon reports 3rd October, DWM reports 24th October).

Day of the Daleks
Release Date: 9th September 2011 (available for pre-order)

Starring Jon Pertwee as Doctor Who, with Katy Manning as Jo Grant
Written by Louis Marks
Directed by Paul Bernard

Broadcast: 1st January - 22 January 1972

World peace hangs in the balance and Sir Reginald Styles, a high-ranking diplomat, is the only person that stands between mankind and a third and final World War. But a mysterious and savage guerrilla force from the 22nd Century believe Styles is the agent that shaped their terrifying future and therefore must die...

The Doctor and Jo find themselves flung into the guerrillas’ world; a brutal dictatorship policed by the merciless and ape-like Ogrons. The Daleks have invaded Earth, enslaved the population and face certain triumph unless the Doctor betrays all he believes in and condones the cold-blooded murder of Styles in an attempt to change the course of history... forever.

Special Features

Disk 1

4 x 25 mins approx colour episodes with mono audio (Original Version).
Commentary - stereo. With actors Anna Barry and Jim Winston, producer Barry Letts, script editor Terrance Dicks and vision mixer Mike Catherwood.
Blasting the Past (dur. 30’ 30”) – cast and crew look back on the making of this story. With actors Katy Manning, Jimmy Winston and Anna Barry, producer Barry Letts, script editor Terrance Dicks, monster maker John Friedlander, Dalek operator Ricky Newby, Dalek voice artiste Nicholas Briggs, classic series writer Ben Aaronovitch, new series writer Paul Cornell and Doctor Who Magazine writer Dave Owen.
A View from the Gallery – producer Barry Letts and vision mixer Mike Catherwood talk about the art of vision mixing on a multi-camera studio show like Doctor Who.
Nationwide – a report from a primary school on the day they took delivery of a Dalek, first prize in a Radio Times competition.
Blue Peter – presenter Peter Purves remembers his time as a companion to William Hartnell’s Doctor and is joined in the studio by a trio of Daleks.
Photo Gallery - production, design and publicity photos from the story.

Disk 2

4 x 25 mins approx colour episodes with mono audio (Special Edition).
The Making of Day of the Daleks – Special Edition – producer Steve Broster guides us through the creation of his Special Edition of this story. With voice artiste Nicholas Briggs, audio engineer Mark Ayres, cameraman John Kelly, Dalek builder Toby Chamberlain, UNIT soldier Kevan Looseley and Ogron Nick Nicholson.
Now and Then – the latest instalment of our long-running series revisits the locations used in Day of the Daleks to see how much or little they have changed over the years. Narrated by Toby Hadoke.
The UNIT Family – Part Two – the second instalment of our series looking at the Doctor’s years on Earth as scientific advisor to the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce and the strong family bonds created during that time. With Katy Manning, Barry Letts, Terrance Dicks, actors Nicholas Courtney, John Levene, Richard Franklin and Fernanda Marlowe, stuntman Derek Ware.
The UNIT Dating Conundrum – over the years, many fans have tried to rationalise the chronological setting of the UNIT stories from clues within the narrative, despite the obstacles seemingly put in their way by the production team. Narrator Toby Hadoke explains why dating the stories is so difficult, assisted by Terrance Dicks, Dave Owen, Nicholas Briggs and Ben Aaronovitch.
The Cheating Memory – Special Edition producer Steve Broster tries to discover why the reality of Day of the Daleks doesn’t quite live up to the memory he has of first seeing it, aged six. With psychologist Dr. Sarita Robinson, Nicholas Briggs and Ben Aaronovitch.

Colony in Space
Release Date: 3rd or 24th October 2011 (available for pre-order)

Starring Jon Pertwee as Doctor Who, with Katy Manning as Jo Grant
Written by Malcolm Hulke
Directed by Michael Briant

Broadcast: 10th April - 15 May 1971

The Time Lords discover that the Master has stolen their secret file on the Doomsday Weapon and decide to send the Doctor to retrieve it for them.

The TARDIS takes the Doctor and Jo to the desolate planet Uxarieus in the year 2472. There they become involved in a dispute between some beleaguered colonists and the crew of an Interplanetary Mining Corporation (IMC) spaceship over the ownership rights to the planet. The Doctor learns that the indigenous Primitives and their High Priests worship a large machine tended by a creature called the Guardian.

The single disc release features remastered versions of all six episodes, and includes the restoration of four seconds of material missing from the original VHS release of the story.

Special Features

Commentary - cast members Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Bernard Kay (Caldwell), Morris Perry (Dent), plus Michael Briant (director), Terrance Dicks (script editor), and Graeme Harper (assistant floor manager); moderated by Toby Hadoke
IMC Needs You! - documentary on the making of the story, featuring Katy Manning, Bernard Kay, Michael Briant, Graeme Harper, plus producer Barry Letts.
From the Cutting Room Floor - trims from the location and model filming, including annotations
Coming Soon - a trailer for a forthcoming DVD release
Programme subtitles
Subtitle Production Notes
Photo Gallery - production, design and publicity photos from the story
Radio Times Listings in Adobe PDF format

The BBFC have passed a trailer for a 2012 boxed set, The UNIT Box; no other details are known about this at present.

The remaining stories involving the Doctor's "earth-based family" that have yet to be announced include The Ambassadors of Death, The Mind of Evil, The Daemons, Invasion of the Dinosaurs, Terror of the Zygons and The Android Invasion.

Meanwhile, the Classic Doctor Who team have continued to keep readers appraised with the developments on future releases over Twitter (summary over the last month detailed below). This includes a new feed dedicated to the Restoration Team, which can be followed on Twitter via @RTnewsfeed.

11 Jul Ed Stradling: Article on March's filming of the #doctorwho Android Invasion DVD here

http://t.co/5zaHIXR

11 Jul ClassicDW: Lee Binding provides first drafts of R1 and R2 COLONY IN SPACE sleeves.

12 Jul ClassicDW: A lot of Qs coming in re REVISITATIONS 4. No current plans for this.

Are there other early releases buyers would like to see revisited?

13 Jul Ed Stradling: starting prep work today on an obituary #doctorwho DVD feature for Barry Letts

14 Jul ClassicDW: Signed off enjoyable doc about DEATH TO THE DALEKS from Chris Chapman

14 Jul Chris Chapman: Have just been commissioned to put together a VERY exciting making-of!

14 Jul Chris Chapman: Anyone ever hear what became of the small boy in Reign of Terror -

Peter Walker? He'd be nearly 60 now and we're trying to track him down!

15 Jul RTnewsfeed: Gearing up for heavy workload next week, delivering VAM packages for

four Doctor Who releases. Two full days in grading at TV Centre!

17 Jul RTnewsfeed: Busy times ahead for the Restoration Team's Mark Ayres with two

new 5.1 surround mixes commissioned.

18 Jul RTnewsfeed: The RT's Steve Roberts sitting down to edit Hon Sarah Ward's meeting

with Michael Aspel for a future release.

20 Jul ClassicDW: Finished stock for the SUN MAKERS has just arrived! That was early!!

20 Jul RTnewsfeed: The RT's Steve Roberts is sitting in a grading suite at TV Centre with

colourist Paul Warren, grading VAM for Nightmare of Eden.

21 Jul Mark Ayres: Commentaries for #drwho #doctorwho The Sensorites DVD uploaded to

ClassicDW for checking. Hopefully he'll just tick the box!

21 Jul ClassicDW: Rough of SENSORITES commentary in from Mark Ayres. That's much of

Thursday all used up!! Lovely to hear W.Russell &amp; C.A.Ford together.

21 Jul Chris Chapman: DVD of Colony in Space due out in October - featuring my next

Who documentary 'IMC Needs You!' lots of lovely quarry anecdotes!

22 Jul Ed Stradling: A RTnewsfeed ClassicDW grading day at BBC TV Centre - various extras

for #drwho Dragonfire, H Patrol &amp; Face of Evil. http://t.co/UxLMJBl

22 Jul RTnewsfeed: The Sensorites DVD commentaries signed off. Audio files

ftp'd from Mark Ayres to Peter Crocker for layback to video masters.

25 Jul Ed Stradling: Watched good DVD feature by Thomas Guerrier on Sun Makers

DVD. Excellent use of clips.

26 Jul Chris Chapman: The mystery of Peter R Newman, eh? Hey... that might make a

good subject for a DVD documentary...

28 Jul Mark Ayres: DVD commentary for #drwho #doctorwho The Face of Evil submitted to

ClassicDW for review. It contains the word "fettling"

28 Jul ClassicDW: Rough version of THE FACE OF EVIL comm in from Mark Ayres. Sounds like

a tremendous full studio: "I'm out to kill Leela!"

28 Jul Mark Ayres: "Fettling" passed muster; Face of Evil DVD masters uploaded

to ftp. I will now attempt to take a couple of weeks off #drwho

28 Jul ClassicDW: What a troupe! @Tobyhadoke and team at the comm recording for

COLONY IN SPACE. #DoctorWho http://t.co/uHgrUv3

28 Jul ClassicDW: Oh, DAY OF THE DALEKS Disc 2 is WONDERFUL!!!

1 Aug Steve Roberts: A day of ClassicDW paperwork awaits. Writing up asset notes for

four titles delivering very soon!

1 Aug Steve Roberts: Paperwork just about done, pending Ed getting his ass into gear

and delivering his clearance forms. ;)

2 Aug Chris Chapman: Ok, fingers crossed that August 31st works for all my interviewees-

if so, that'll be my filming day for Greatest Show and Reign.

2 Aug Chris Chapman: Am wondering if I can squeeze 10 interviews into a day...

normally do nine... my brain may bubble out by the end... aw, go on!

5 Aug Ed Stradling: Some more graphics &amp; editing today on that political #doctorwho

feature for happiness patrol dvd

8 Aug Ed Stradling: Looking through long interview with Nick Courtney and Tom Baker

which Michael McManus did last year. So many funny but un-usable gags from Tom!

FILTER: - UK - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

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