Next Time: The Doctor's Wife

Sunday, 8 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC have now released an introduction for the forthcoming fourth episode of Doctor Who, The Doctor's Wife, featuring Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, and writer Neil Gaiman:

Introduction: The Doctor's Wife, BBC, via BBC Website

There are also two new preview clips to whet appetites for the story, alongside the "Next Time" trailer, plus the television trailer for BBC America's broadcast later in the evening:

Next Time: The Doctor's Wife, BBC, via BBC Website

Preview One: The Doctor's Wife, BBC, via BBC Website

Preview Two: The Doctor's Wife, BBC, via BBC Website

Trailer: The Doctor's Wife, BBC America, via YouTube

The Doctor's Wife will premiere on BBC1/BBC1HD at 6:30pm, 14th May in the United Kingdom; then follows on SPACE in Canada at 8:00pm ET, BBC America in the United States at 9:00pm ET, and on ABC1 in Australia at 7:30pm on the 21st May.

The Doctor receives a distress signal from an old friend. Could there really be another living Time Lord out there? Hopes raised, he follows the signal to a junkyard planet sitting upon a mysterious asteroid in a Bubble universe, populated by a very strange family, as the time-travelling drama continues.

The Doctor, Amy and Rory are given the warmest of welcomes by Auntie, Uncle and Nephew. But the beautiful and insane Idris greets them in a more unusual fashion – what is she trying to tell the Doctor? As the Doctor investigates, he unwittingly puts his friends in the gravest danger.

FILTER: - Series 6/32 - Online

The Curse of the Black Spot - Overnight Ratings

Sunday, 8 May 2011 - Reported by Marcus

6.2 million watched episode three of Doctor Who: The Curse of the Black Spot, according to unofficial overnight figures.

Figures across the board were up on the previous week with Britain's Got Talent once more winning the day with 10.4 million watching. Doctor Who had an overnight share of 30.5% of the total audience, almost the same as last week.

The programme was 1.6 million ahead of the third placed Casualty. When Doctor Who finished, the BBC One audience dropped from 6.7 million to 3.3 million viewers. Against the Doctor, New People Do the Funniest Things on ITV1 had an average 2.8 million watching. Don't Scare the Hare, the lead in to Doctor Who had 2.3 million watching.

Doctor Who is now the 18th most watched programme of the week. Final figures, which are likely to see a much higher chart placing, will be released next week.

On BBC Three, Doctor Who Confidential was helped by the loss of the gap between the end of Doctor Who and the start of the follow up programme, and got 0.64 million viewers, up 80% on last week.

Meanwhile in Australia episode Two, Day of the Moon, was the fifth watched programme of the day with around 0.90 million viewers in the five capital cities. The rating is slightly up on the previous week. It was only outranked by news programmes and Australia’s Funniest Home Videos on Channel 9.

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 6/32

Mirror Giveaway

Saturday, 7 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The Mirror is running a promotion from today to give away figures from the Character Building range of LEGO-compatible toys.

Over the course of the next six days the paper will carry tokens that can be redeemed at either Sainsbury's or Toys'R'Us; Saturday kicks off with the 11th Doctor, followed by a Yellow Eternal Dalek on Sunday and Amy Pond on Monday.

You can watch an advert for the giveaway via the Mirror's YouTube channel.

(with thanks to David Brodie)

FILTER: - Merchandise - Character - Special Offers

Tennant takes on The Pirates!

Saturday, 7 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

As if one Doctor taking on pirates wasn't enough, (The Curse of the Black Spot, tonight 6:15pm BBC1/BBC1HD), another will encounter some swashbuckling action too! Former Doctor David Tennant will provide the voice of Charles Darwin in The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists, a new film from Aardman, during which the famous naturalist will team up with a pirate crew led by the Pirate Captain - the lead role being voiced by Hugh Grant (who himself had a brief flirtation with the role of the Doctor in Steven Moffat's The Curse of Fatal Death).

Other characters will be voiced by actors such as Martin Freeman, Russell Tovey, Salma Hayek, and Imelda Staunton (as pirate-hating Queen Victoria!).

The animated tale is based on two books from The Pirates! series by Gideon Defoe, who also wrote the screenplay, and is the first collaboration by Aardman with Sony Pictures Entertainment (their previous films being with Dreamworks). It is due to be released in cinemas March next year.

FILTER: - David Tennant - Miscellaneous

Arthur Darvill: from Doctor Who to Doctor Faustus

Friday, 6 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The Shakespeare's Globe have announced casting for their forthcoming play, Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus; the titular role will be played by Paul Hilton (whose television credits include Silk), with the evil spirit Mephistopheles that 'serves' him in the story to be played by Arthur Darvill - the actor is, of course, currently starring in Doctor Who as TARDIS traveller Rory Williams.

The press release reports:

Arthur Darvill, who is best known for his role as the Doctor’s current companion Rory in BBC’s Doctor Who, will play Mephistopheles in Shakespeare’s Globe’s first production of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. Paul Hilton, who was recently seen in the BBC drama Silk, will play the title role of the scholar who makes a pact with the devil in exchange for knowledge. The production will run from 18 June to 2 October and is directed by Matthew Dunster and designed by Paul Wills. They will both collaborate with Puppetry Director Steve Tiplady, former Artistic Director of Little Angel Theatre Company, to transform the Globe in to an arena of wild spectacle with larger than life puppets and illusion. Huge flying dragons and horned stilt walkers will help to bring this dark fantastical world to life.

Doctor Faustus is one of the greatest tragedies in English before Shakespeare, and is being staged for the first time at the current Globe. Restless for knowledge and power, Faustus forsakes scholarship and makes a pact with the Devil: In exchange for giving his soul to the Devil after death, the evil spirit Mephistopheles will serve him for 24 years, providing him with magic and knowledge beyond his wildest dreams.

Arthur Darvill’s television credits include Doctor Who, Little Dorrit for the BBC and He Kills Coppers on ITV. He was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Evening Standard Awards in 2007 for his role as Rex in Swimming with Sharks (Vaudeville), his other theatre credits include Tierre Haute (Trafalgar Studios) and Stacy (Arcola). Arthur is a musician and composer and has collaborated with playwright Ché Walker in writing songs for The Frontline (Shakespeare’s Globe) and Been So Long (Young Vic/UK Tour).

Paul Hilton television credits include Silk for the BBC. He previously appeared in Shakespeare’s Globe’s production of As You Like It in 1998. Other theatre includes Rosmersholm (Almeida), In Celebration (Duke of York’s), The Wild Duck (Donmar), Morning Becomes Electra and Three Sisters (National Theatre).

Matthew Dunster’s previous work at Shakespeare’s Globe includes Troilus and Cressida in 2009 and Ché Walker’s The Frontline in 2008 and 2009. Other credits include Mogadishu (Lyric Hammersmith/UK Tour), The Maddening Rain (Old Red Lion), Love the Sinner (National Theatre) and You Can See The Hills (Royal Exchange and Young Vic).

As mentioned above, the play runs from 18th June through to 2nd October 2011. For more details on the production, see the Shakespeare's Globe website.

(with thanks to West End Theatre, Erisi)

FILTER: - People - Arthur Darvill

Doctor Who Dominates iPlayer Downloads

Friday, 6 May 2011 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who is once more dominating the iPlayer downloads with episode one of the new series, The Impossible Astronaut, being accessed over 1.5 million times in the 12 days following transmission.

The figure is nearly three times higher than any other programme available on the iPlayer over the same period. In the first week after transmission 1.38 million accessed the programme, this compares with the 1.27 million who accessed last year's series opener, The Eleventh Hour, over the same period. The Eleventh Hour went on to become the most downloaded programme ever, a title it still holds, but a title that may be under threat if The Impossible Astronaut continues to attract such attention on the iPlayer.

The second in the series, Day of the Moon, had been accessed over 1.07 million times in the four days it has been available. It has eclipsed The Royal Wedding Service which has been downloaded 0.62 million times since Friday.

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 6/32

The Curse of the Black Spot - Introduction

Thursday, 5 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

As part of the run-up to this week's episode of Doctor Who, The Curse of the Black Spot, the BBC have released an introduction to the tale, featuring head writer Steven Moffat and guest star Hugh Bonneville:

Introduction: Curse of the Black Spot, BBC, via BBC Website

FILTER: - Series 6/32 - Online

Coming Soon: The Rebel Flesh

Thursday, 5 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC have released details for Week 21, which includes the synopsis for the fifth episode of the series, The Rebel Flesh; this is due to be broadcast on BBC1/BBC1HD on Saturday 21st May, with the time of broadcast yet to be confirmed.

A solar tsunami sends the TARDIS hurtling towards a futuristic factory on Earth, where human doppelgangers are used to mine dangerous acid, as the time-travelling adventures continue.

A second wave hits and the "Gangers" separate. They can remember every second of their "original's" life and feel every emotion they've ever experienced. But are these memories stolen or have they been bequeathed? Are the Gangers merely faulty machinery that must be shut down or are they living, breathing, sentient beings? Can the Doctor convince the terrified humans to accept these "almost people" and prevent an all-out civil war before the factory explodes?

FILTER: - Series 6/32

Oliver Elmes

Thursday, 5 May 2011 - Reported by Marcus

Oliver Elmes, the man who designed the Seventh Doctor's title sequence, has died.

In 1987 producer John Nathan Turner commissioned BBC designer Oliver Elmes to design a new opening for the show. Elmes worked with CAL Video to produce the first Doctor Who logo to be designed entirely on computer.

The basic concept was the 'Big Bang', with stars exploding to form a multi-coloured galaxy, and features a spinning TARDIS and Sylvester McCoy's face painted silver. The sequence, which cost £20,000 and took three months to create, ran for the duration of McCoy's era, from Time and the Rani to Survival, appearing on 12 stories, some 42 episodes.

A short documentary explaining the history of the sequence, Helter Skelter, is included on the DVD release of Time and the Rani.

After the series was put on hold in 1989, the new logo continued to be used for the Virgin New Adventures novels until Bad Therapy in 1996.

In addition to his work on Doctor Who, Elmes designed title sequences for Elizabeth R, The Goodies, and The Good Life. He also worked on Multi Coloured Swapshop and Top of the Pops, and designed the BBC2 idents with the two lines and one of the early spinning globe idents

FILTER: - Obituary - Production - Classic Series

Monster Invasion begins!

Thursday, 5 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The first issue of the new partwork magazine, Doctor Who Monster Invasion, is launched today by BBC Magazines.

Based around collectible trading cards, the first issue comes with two packs, the first of a three-part poster, and a "mega Battle Zone play mat". The issue will be available for three weeks (the magazine is fortnightly), with the second and third issues coming with a TARDIS cardholder for the collection.

There is also a subscription offer which can be taken up online via the Monster Invasion website. Subscribers get additional gifts over the course of their subscription, including additional card packs, box file and swaps box, squirty sonic screwdriver and a backpack.

The website also includes further information relating to the magazine, plus exclusive games and features which can be 'unlocked' using codes published in the magazine itself.

Editor Annabel Gibson has provided more details on what is seen to be the 'first wave' of the collectible trading cards:

Every issue features a new card game, a top 10, a gadget guide, website info, a where’s the Doctor? picture puzzle (think Where’s Wally? meets Doctor Who but even better!) and an episode guide. As we know our readers absolutely love facts, the DWMI partwork collection also builds into a complete A-Z of aliens and includes a huge pull-out slamdown poster, where the scariest monsters go head-to-head!

There are 165 cards to collect in set one, including stinky scratch ‘n’ sniff cards, shiny foil cards, a moving lenticular and special augmented reality cards that allow you to see the Doctor, his TARDIS, and some of his most fearsome foes come to life on your hand in 3-D. Seeing a 3-D Dalek levitate off your hand for the first time is something you’ll never forget, I guarantee!

There are 52 fortnightly issues to collect, though you can also buy the (nine) card packs separately at retail. Also don’t miss our collector tins, which contain a special edition mystery card!

Annabel also commented that the 'second wave' is already in preparation:

My team is already working on set two, which features 180 new cards to tie in with the second half of series 6 of Doctor Who, broadcasting in the autumn. But for now, as the Doctor would say, Geronimo!

The magazine is also being promoted through an advertising campaign including television adverts.

FILTER: - Magazines

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