Doctor Who Children's Books for America

Sunday, 26 February 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Diamond Comic Distributors have announced a distribution deal with Penguin Books UK to enable them to publish the successful Doctor Who Children's Books in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Penguin Books UK have published a large number of books and novels in its Doctor Who young adult and children's line, including titles like Monstrous Missions, Step Back in Time and Alien Adventures, the Doctor Who Activity Book, and Where's The Doctor?. The new deal brings the range to American comic book specialty stores, bookstores, mass-market merchandisers, libraries and other outlets.

Bill Schanes, VP-Purchasing for Diamond Comic Distributors, said:

Doctor Who has been one of the growing brand licenses for Diamond and we’re happy to be selling the Penguin Books UK line in North America. These books haven’t been directly available from any U.S. source except for those that might have imported a small quantity.

Juliet Matthews, Penguin UK’s Media and Entertainment Publisher, said:

We're excited to be working with Diamond. The growing audience of Doctor Who fans in the U.S. makes it an ideal partnership to extend our reach.

(with thanks to Kuo-Yu Liang/Diamond Book Distributors)

FILTER: - Canada - USA - Books - International Broadcasting - Latin America - Europe - Mexico

Doctor Who: Series Six in Spain

Monday, 24 October 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The sixth series of Doctor Who has arrived in Spain, with Syfy España broadcasting episodes on Monday evenings, dubbed into Spanish; the series kicked off last Monday with El astronauta imposible and continues tonight with El dia de la Luna at 9:30pm (CEST), repeated tomorrow at 5:00pm and Saturday at 11:00am.

More details can be found from SyFy's Doctor Who page, and channel information is also available via Facebook.

(Series Six Trailer, Syfy-España, via their Doctor Who website)
Series Description:
El Doctor Who es un extravagante aventurero capaz de viajar a través del tiempo y el espacio. En cada uno de sus viajes, Who y su compañera Amy vivirán fascinantes aventuras que les llevarán a enfrentarse a todo tipo de alienígenas y monstruos.	Doctor Who is a flamboyant adventurer able to travel through time and space. In each of his travels he and his partner Amy will go through exciting adventures that lead them to face all kinds of aliens and monsters.
Vuelve la serie más longeva de la television con todos sus protagonistas. En esta sexta temporada, tras la boda de Amy y Rory, recibirán 3 misteriosos mensajes que les urgen a congregarse en una localización en el desierto de Utah. Allí descubrirán un secreto que marcará sus destinos. Las nuevas aventuras del Dr. Who les llevarán a conocer al presidente Nixon, viajarán en un barco pirata, descubrirán que en el futuro la humanidad hace uso de la clonación y vivirán uno de los momentos clave del siglo XX en la Europa previa a la segunda guerra mundial. La sexta temporada conmemorará el 50° aniversario de la primera emisión de Doctor Who, una serie de culto que ha entretenido a generaciones con una mezcla de fantasía, ciencia, historia y aventura. En esta temporada, Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) y Mark Sheppard (Battlestar Galactica, Warehouse 13), serán dos de las estrellas invitadas. Además, el escritor Neil Gaiman, ha sido el encargado de escribir el cuarto capítulo de la temporada, que se emitirá en España el día 7 de noviembre y será uno de los momentos más esperados por los fans de la serie.	The longest running series returns to television with all its players. In this sixth season, after the wedding of Amy and Rory, they will receive 3 mysterious messages that urge them to congregate at a location in the Utah desert. There they will discover a secret that will make their destinies. The new adventures of Dr. Who will lead them to meet President Nixon, travel on a pirate ship, discover that in the future mankind makes use of cloning, and live through one of the key moments of the twentieth century in Europe prior to the second world war. The sixth season will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who, a cult series that has entertained generations with a mixture of fantasy, science, history and adventure. In this season, Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) and Mark Sheppard (Battlestar Galactica, Warehouse 13) will be among the guest stars. In addition, the writer Neil Gaiman has been commissioned to write the fourth chapter of the season to be broadcast in Spain on 7th November, and will be one of the most anticipated moments for fans of the series.

Next week sees the Doctor encounter La maldicion del punto negro.

As well as the most recent series, Syfy España is also currently showing Series Three episodes daily.

Meanwhile Boing has just completed a run of the fifth series (with La Pandorica se abre/El Big Bang currently available to watch online), and commence a new run of episodes next Saturday.

(with thanks to Aurélie Demonchaux)

FILTER: - Series 6/32 - International Broadcasting - Europe - Spain

UK Classic DVD update: The Sun Makers

Friday, 8 July 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

2|Entertain have now released details on next month's DVD release, The Sun Makers; this story marks the completion of Season 15 on DVD, the penultimate adventure under producership of Graham Williams, and brings the remaining list of Fourth Doctor adventures still to be released down to four (five if the incomplete Shada is included).

The Sun Makers
Release Date: 1st August 2011 (available for pre-order)

Starring Tom Baker as Doctor Who, with Louise Jameson as Leela
Written by Robert Holmes
Directed by Pennant Roberts

Broadcast: 26th November 1977 - 17th December 1977

Far in the distant future, Earth has become uninhabitable, forcing mankind to colonise first Mars, and then Pluto...

No longer the coldest planet in the Solar System, Pluto is now warmed by a series of artificial suns. But access to the sunlight is limited to a select few... The majority of the citizens of the vast Megropolis cities are being overworked and overtaxed by the ruling elite, led by the Gatherer, and the sinister Collector.

When the Doctor, Leela and K9 arrive they discover that all is not well on Pluto. The human population is being totally exploited, while deep in the Undercity, a small band of rebels seeks to overthrow the mysterious 'Company' that controls all aspects of everyday life.

As the situation gets more desperate, the Doctor is forced to fight the oppression of the evil corporate rulers of Pluto. And their taxes...!

Special Features

Commentary with actors Tom Baker, Louise Jameson and Michael Keating, director Pennant Roberts.
Running from the Tax Man – a retrospective look at the making of the story and the science behind it. With actors Louise Jameson and Michael Keating, director Pennant Roberts, writer and historian Dominic Sandbrook and astronomer Marek Kukula.
Outtakes
Trailer – the original BBC1 trailer for the story.
The Doctor’s Composer – Part Two – the concluding part of the series looking at the career of prolific composer Dudley Simpson, covering his work on the show in the seventies.
Photo Gallery – production, design and publicity photos from the story.
Coming Soon – a trailer for a forthcoming DVD release.
Radio Times Listings in Adobe PDF format.
Programme subtitles
Subtitle Production Notes

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). Amongst the tidbits are the completion of Revisitations 3 - due to be released next year, and that while Elisabeth Sladen sadly hadn't recorded any further commentaries, Nicholas Courtney will feature on The Ambassadors of Death, and Barry Letts on The Mind of Evil.

05 Jun Mark Ayres: 4 seconds missing from VHS & US tx masters returned to @classicdw
Colony in Space for DVD. Restores 2 lines of dialogue.
06 Jun ClassicDW: Cracking doc on THE DAEMONS from Chris Chapman signed off.
Sue Hedden worth the price of DVD alone. What a great character!
06 Jun Mark Ayres: Colony in Space - restored soundtracks and mixed commentaries for
@classicdw DVD release done and delivered via ftp.
08 Jun ClassicDW: Enjoyable doc from James Goss signed off.
First in a series, and featuring Louise Jameson.
08 Jun Ed Stradling: Happiness Patrol making-of being heavily cut down today. Some of cut
material may be uploaded by @classicdw on youtube if you ask him nicely
08 Jun ClassicDW: Many have asked whether there are any unreleased commentaries featuring
N Courtney, L Sladen or B Letts.
08 Jun ClassicDW: Sadly there are none unreleased Elisabeth comms.
Nick appears on AMBASSADORS OF DEATH, and Barry on MIND OF EVIL.
08 Jun Ed Stradling: @classicdw worth RTing that Barry will also appear in vision discussing all
of his serials except 'Death to the Daleks', and other features
08 Jun ClassicDW: Final PARADISE TOWERS sleeves approved and off to the printers!
09 Jun Mark Ayres: Much of the week so far spent working on @classicdw @Thetamation @bigfinish
Reign of Terror. Now: a day-trip to Svartos.
12 Jun Ed Stradling: I am crap at deciding programme titles. I have "Studio Svartos" for the
Dragonfire making-of. Can any #doctorwho fans think of a better one?
13 Jun Ed Stradling: @Xander, @Babelcolour and @NicholasPegg "Fire and Ice" is now the title
of the Dragonfire doc.
14 Jun Ed Stradling: Shooting with Shaun Ley for a feature on the Happiness Patrol DVD
@classicdw http://t.co/4HWOQ0A
15 Jun ClassicDW: REVISITATIONS 3 completed! Sterling work from the team. Looking at release
first half 2012. VidFIRED TOMB looking great. :)
16 Jun Ed Stradling: Very very busy on graphics and title bumpers for DW Happiness Patrol.
17 Jun James Loosemore: Just finishing off the final mixes of my arrangement of the
Doctor Who Theme for @classicdw
18 Jun Chris Chapman: Seems like my next @classicdw shoot will be in late July - all
outdoors on location, always a bonus!
21 Jun Chris Chapman: Have a feeling that our Reign of Terror @classicdw doco could be
one of the best topics we've tackled - now just need a bit of good luck!
22 Jun Ed Stradling: krotons already commissioned for a making-of. Not sure about ice warrs.
23 Jun Ed Stradling: Dragonfire DVD doc finished and playing out to tape.
24 Jun Mark Ayres: Mastered audio for @classicdw Dragonfire and The Happiness Patrol DVDs
all complete and delivered.
25 Jun ClassicDW: Changes made to the VAM packages for KROTONS and PLANET OF GIANTS
following suggestions from @edstradling. Should be good! :)
26 Jun ClassicDW: Some lovely First Doctor character tests through from @thetamation
for REIGN OF TERROR.
27 Jun ClassicDW: Signed off menus for DAY OF THE DALEKS - Special Edition DVD.
27 Jun ClassicDW: Signed off cracking promo for ACE BOX featuring DRAGONFIRE and HAPPINESS PATROL.
New graphics in there, marvellously "Breakdance"!
28 Jun Chris Chapman: Opening animation for my @classicdw Death to the Daleks doco shaping up
nicely! Nice and moody...
28 Jun Mark Ayres: It's very hot in the studio today.
I put it down to unstable matter interfaces. Nightmare!
29 Jun Ed Stradling: Up bright and early for some GV shots! @classicdw http://t.co/BhbzhzV
01 Jul Chris Chapman: Our @classicdw Death to the Daleks doco is into the home stretch -
running at around 27mins at present. Feels like a good one!
01 Jul Chris Chapman: Quotes from @classicdw Death to the Daleks doco include:
"I think Terry Nation was taking the mickey!"
06 Jul Mark Ayres: Given that I have aleady restored this @classicdw title for audiobook,
DVD mastering should be easy...
07 Jul Chris Chapman: @0tralala I've done what you asked for! The Death to the Daleks Target book
is in the @classicdw DVD doco - ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?? :-)
07 Jul Chris Chapman: I'm taking requests (caveat: which I can totally ignore) for things YOU
want to see in the @classicdw GreatestShow and ReignOfTerror docos!
08 Jul Chris Chapman: Right! I've just sent @classicdw my nearly-final cut of our
Death to the Daleks doco - 'Beneath the City of the Exxilons'. Hope he likes it!

Some artwork has also been released for Italian versions of classic Doctor Who stories, which are distributed by DNC Entertainment; a number of titles have been mentioned including I Dalek Invadono La Terra, Gli Inizi, I Semi Della Morte, L'Invasione and Il Lardo Di Menti.

via Twitter	via Twitter	via Twitter	via Twitter
via Twitter	via Twitter	via Twitter	via Twitter

FILTER: - Italy - UK - Tom Baker - International Broadcasting - Classic Series - Latin America -

Doctor Who at Comic Con France

Thursday, 30 June 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The third annual French Comic Con kicks off today at the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center, and as reported last month will feature a number of Doctor Who related activities, not least being the French debut of opening two episodes of Series Six, The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon.

The two episodes will centre-case the Sunday proceedings featuring the event's Guest of Honour, Steven Moffat; from 11:30am there will be a masterclass by Doctor Who's head writer, followed by episodes themselves from 12:30pm. Afterwards Moffat will feature in a Doctor Who conference (2:30pm), followed by a signing session from 4:00pm.

Selected episodes of Doctor Who written by Moffat will also be screened, with Les Anges Pleureurs (Blink) today at 4:00pm, and La Bibliothèque des Ombres (Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead) tomorrow from 12:30pm.

Saturday is dedicated to Moffat's other successful series, Sherlock, which has also been translated into French. A conference on the dub takes place from midday with Roland Timsit (artistic director) and Gilles Morvan (voice of Sherlock Holmes); this is then followed by a signing session from 1:30pm and then a screening of the first episode, Une Etude en Rose (A Study in Pink) at 2:45pm.

The full Comic Con schedule can be found on their website.

Steven Moffat appears courtesy of a partnership with BBC Worldwide, France 4 and France Television Distribution.

(with thanks to Aurélie Demonchaux/Beans on Toast)

FILTER: - Special Events - France - Series 6/32 - International Broadcasting - Europe

Comic Con France to premiere Series Six

Tuesday, 31 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The third annual French Comic Con takes place at the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center between the 30th June and 3rd July, during which the two opening episodes of Series Six, The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon, will make their French debut.

The two episodes form part of a series of events taking place around special Guest of Honour, Doctor Who's head writer Steven Moffat; timings have yet to be confirmed, but include:

a public Masterclass on his work as a scriptwriter
a public meeting on Doctor Who
a signing session
the screening of the French premiere of the first two episodes of Series Six
a screening of A Study In Pink, the first episode of Moffat's other creation, Sherlock

Moffat appears courtesy of a partnership with BBC Worldwide, France 4 and France Television Distribution.

(with thanks to Aurélie Demonchaux/Beans on Toast)

FILTER: - Special Events - France - Series 6/32 - International Broadcasting - Europe

Docteur Who: Saison 5 finale ratings

Sunday, 13 March 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

This weekend saw the finale of Doctor Who broadcast on France 4, with Le Pandorica s'ouvre achieving 340,000 viewers, a further improvement on last week's episodes and achieving a share of 1.5% of the total audience.

Danse avec les stars continued to top the ratings on TF1, with 5.12m tuning in (24.7%); France 2 this week broadcast Champs-Elysées, which was watched by 3.75m viewers (17.5%). A full breakdown can be found at Premiere.

With the fifth series now completed in France, here is a summary of the ratings over the five weeks:

Le Prisonnier Zéro, La bêtes des bas-fonds, La victoire des Daleks	453,000	2%
Le labyrinthe des Anges (1+2), Les Vampires de Venise	374,000	1.7%
Le Seigneur des Rêves, La révolte des intra-terrestres (1+2)	295 000	1.3%
Vincent et le Docteur, Le colocataire	303,000	1.4%
La Pandorica s'ouvre (1+2)	340,000	1.5%

FILTER: - France - Ratings - International Broadcasting - Europe - Series 5/31

Docteur Who: la prochaine fois sur France 4

Thursday, 10 March 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

France 4 have released the trailer for the series finale this coming Saturday, La Pandorica s'ouvre parts one and two, which airs from 8:35pm (local time).

SOIREE DR WHO, fin de la saison 5 ce samedi 13 mars 2011 sur France 4, via YouTube.

In a bumper evening of Doctor Who, the finale is followed by repeats of La bête des bas-fonds and La victoire des Daleks, then back to the start of series three with La Loi des Judoons and Peines d'amour Gagnées.

You can follow France 4 via their Facebook page and Twitter feed.

FILTER: - France - International Broadcasting - Europe - Series 5/31

Docteur Who: ratings update

Sunday, 6 March 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The penultimate week of Doctor Who on France 4 saw Vincent et le Docteur and Le colocataire watched by 303,000 viewers, an improvement on last week and achieving a share of 1.4% of the total audience.

Danse avec les stars topped the ratings as always on TF1, though lost half a million viewers in total (4.80m, 23.6% share), probably to the successful Le plus grand cabaret du monde on France 2 (4.48m, 21%). A full breakdown can be found at Premiere.

Next week sees the finale of Series Five:

Le Pandorica s'ouvre (1/2)
Les amis de Doctor Who lui envoient un message d’alerte : le Pandorica, qui est supposé abriter l’être le plus redouté du cosmos, est en train de s’ouvrir. Que contient-il réellement et Doctor Who va-t-il pouvoir y faire face ?

Le Pandorica s'ouvre (2/2)
Doctor Who est parti, le TARDIS a été détruit et l’Univers est en train de s’écrouler. Seul espoir restant : une petite fille qui continue de rêver des étoiles.

FILTER: - France - Ratings - International Broadcasting - Europe - Series 5/31

French DVD Releases

Friday, 4 March 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

France Télévisions Distribution have announced the release of new editions of Series 1, 2, 3 of Doctor Who on DVD, plus the release of Series 4 and the Specials. These will all be released on 15th June exclusively at French retail chain FNAC.

The press release is below (in French and translated into English):

Doctor Who en DVD : rééditions et exclusivité le 15 juin	Doctor Who on DVD: exclusive re-issues on 15th June
France Télévisions Distribution s’est associé à la FNAC pour monter une exclusivité sur les coffrets DVD de la série culte britannique « Doctor Who ».	France Télévisions Distribution have partnered with FNAC to produce exclusive DVD sets of British cult series "Doctor Who".
Les coffrets 4 DVD des saisons 1, 2, 3 réuniront chacun 13 épisodes de 45 minutes et seront réédités dans un nouveau packaging. Ils seront disponibles en exclusivité dans les magasins FNAC à partir du 15 juin.	4 DVD boxed sets of Series 1, 2 and 3 will each contain 13 episodes of 45 minutes, and will be re-issued in new packaging. They will be available exclusively from 15th June
Le coffret 4 DVD de la saison 3 comprendra également le Christmas Special 2006 « Le mariage de Noel » avec Catherine Tate (60 minutes).	The 4 DVD boxed set of Series 3 will also include the 2006 Christmas Special The Runaway Bride with Catherine Tate (60 minutes).
La saison 4, quant à elle inédite en DVD, sera également disponible le 15 juin dans un coffret 4 DVD et reprendra le fameux Christmas Special 2007 avec en guest star Kylie Minogue dans « Une croisière autour de la Terre » (72 minutes).	The exclusive DVD of Series 4 will also be available on 15th June in a 4 DVD boxed set and includes the famous 2007 Christmas Special with guest star Kylie Minogue in Voyage of the Damned (72 minutes)
Les coffrets des 4 saisons comprendront tous la version française et la version originale sous-titrée.	The boxes will contain the French version of all four series, and the original with subtitles.
Enfin, un coffret de 2 DVD réunira 5 épisodes spéciaux. Ces épisodes longs (4 x 60 minutes et 1 x 75 minutes) rendent hommage au comédien principal des saisons 2 à 4, David Tennant, qui a quitté la série et introduisent le nouveau Doctor Who. Dans le casting se trouvent deux guests exceptionnels : Timothy Dalton et Michelle Ryan (Merlin, Bionic Woman).	Finally a 2 DVD boxed set contains 5 episodes. These extended episodes (4 x 60 minutes, 1 x 75 minutes) pays tribute to the main actor of series 2-4, David Tennant, who leaves the series and introduces a new Doctor Who. In the cast are two outstanding guests: Timothy Dalton and Michelle Ryan (Merlin, Bionic Woman)
Ces 5 coffrets DVD seront donc en vente exclusivement à la FNAC au prix de 24,99 euros pour les coffrets 4 DVD et 19,99 euros pour le coffret 2 DVD.	The five DVD sets will be for sale exclusively at FNAC, priced at 24.99 euros for the 4 DVD sets and 19.99 euros for the 2 DVD set.

You can follow France Télévisions Distribution on Facebook.

FILTER: - France - International Broadcasting - Europe - Blu-ray/DVD

Docteur Who: la prochaine fois sur France 4

Wednesday, 2 March 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

France 4 have released a new trailer for this Saturday's episodes, Vincent et le Docteur and Le colocataire; they will be broadcast from 8:35pm (local time).