A conference on Spirituality and Doctor Who will be held at Wilson Carlile Campus in Sheffield, Yorkshire onSaturday, April 19. According to the day's organizers, "Christian themes and images in Doctor Who - both classic and new - will be explored. But there will also be a respectful look at other shades and faiths in Doctor Who, including ecological and Buddhist themes in the Jon Pertwee era, mystic parables in the Peter Davison era and the optimistic atheism of current Doctor Who creator Russell T Davies." Barry Letts, producer of Doctor Who from 1970 to 1975, is one of the confirmed guests for the event. There is a press release here, and online sign-up is available here.

The British Board of Film Classification, the UK regulatory agency for film and video, has passed "Voyage of the Damned" for DVD release and rated it PG. The Christmas special was passed without cuts; the BBFC's consumer advice is that the special "contains moderate threat and scary scenes".

The 25th Anniversary Edition of "The Five Doctors" has also been passed and rated PG. The previous DVD of "The Five Doctors" was rated U.

UK release of "The Five Doctors - 25th Anniversary Edition" is scheduled for March 3. "Voyage of the Damned" is scheduled for release on March 10.

Posted By John Bowman

The Restoration Team has updated its website with details about the forthcoming DVD releases of The Time Meddlerand The Five Doctors - 25th Anniversary Edition in the UK.

In it, Steve Roberts reveals why VidFIRE hasn't been employed on The Time Meddler. The process is normally used to give a video look to film recordings so that episodes appear as they did on transmission.

As previously reported by Outpost Gallifrey, extras on that disc will include a feature examining the comic strip adventures of the First Doctor, as well as a piece using audio recordings and the script to place in context the 12 seconds that are still missing from Checkmate - the final episode of the 1965 story - after they were cut by overseas censors before the print turned up.

The two-disc Five Doctors release will include the original version of the story, lasting 90 minutes, plus the special edition, which runs for 102 minutes. Screen grabs are used in the Restoration Team's feature to illustrate the improvement in picture quality of this 1983 story.

Among the extras on the Five Doctors release are outtakes plus contemporaneous appearances by assorted cast members on the BBC TV shows Saturday Superstore, Blue Peter, Breakfast Time and Nationwide.

The Time Meddler is due out on February 4, while The Five Doctors - 25th Anniversary Edition is released on March 3.

BBC Video has confirmed the April 1st North American release date for the classic series adventure Timelash, starringColin Baker as the Doctor, Nicola Bryant as Peri, and featuring a guest appearance of Blake's 7's Paul Darrow.
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Fans in the UK can catch up with the adventures of the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, this January. The digital station UKTV Drama is repeating classic episodes daily, starting withRobot, the story that launched Tom Baker's incarnation in 1974. The programmes begin on the 2nd January and are broadcast at 12.20pm and are repeated at 5pm.

UKTV Drama is available on Sky Digital channel 133 and Virgin Media channel 129. It is not available on the Freeview platform.

Thanks to Robert Franks

BBC Worldwide Americas have announced changes to their previously released plans for the first classic series releases of 2008. "The Complete Davros Boxed Set" and the stand-alone "Remembrance of the Daleks Special Edition" have been indefinitely pulled for now. In their place, March 4 will see the release of Planet of Evil and Destiny of the Daleks, both starring Tom Baker. In April, two more titles will be released: The Time Warrior starring Jon Pertwee, and a new addition to the schedule, Timelash with Colin Baker. The general release rate for the year is increasing but there may be some irregularities to the schedule thereafter. (Thanks to Steve Manfred for the news)

BBC Video and Warner Home Video have announced several planned Doctor Who DVD releases for North America. On March 4, The Complete Davros Collection will be released, as will individual releases of Destiny of the Daleks(1979, starring Tom Baker) and the Remembrance of the Daleks Special Edition (1988, starring Sylvester McCoy). The 1973 Jon Pertwee story The Time Warrior and 1975 Tom Baker story Planet of Evil (both also starring Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith) will be released on April 1.