The Curse of the Black Spot - Clips

Wednesday, 4 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC have released two previews for this week's episode, The Curse of the Black Spot, which will be broadcast on BBC1/BBC1HD this coming Saturday at 6:15pm

The Curse of the Black Spot Preview One, BBC, via BBC Website

The Curse of the Black Spot Preview Two, BBC, via BBC Website

The BBC have also released an interview with guest star Hugh Bonneville, who plays Captain Avery in the episode:

You can also watch the "Next Time" trailers for the episode via our previous article.

FILTER: - Series 6/32 - Online

New Schedule from Week Four

Wednesday, 4 May 2011 - Reported by Marcus

BBC One is to change its Saturday line up from 14th May, switching Doctor Who and So You Think You Can Dance Live meaning episode four of Doctor Who, The Doctor's Wife, is now scheduled for broadcast at 6.30pm.

The change, which will please many fans, is seen as a vote of confidence in the show, which has been the only BBC One programme achieving strong ratings on Saturday evenings.

Doctor Who will follow the live dance show which also sees its results programme being moved to Sunday for this week. The previous Doctor Who lead in, Don't Scare the Hare, which has been getting poor ratings and appalling AI figures, has been moved to before the early evening news. The Eurovision Song Contest Final is at 8pm.

Doctor Who will now face New Animals Do the Funniest Things and Sing if You Can on ITV1. BBC Two will be showing an evening of programmes dedicated to the late comedy writer John Sullivan.

FILTER: - Series 6/32 - Broadcasting

The Sarah Jane Adventures

Wednesday, 4 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC have confirmed today that there are no plans to make any further episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures, which starred the late Elisabeth Sladen. Their statement reads:

Contrary to press reports today we can confirm that no new episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures will be filmed following the tragic death of actress Elisabeth Sladen in April, 2011. As a tribute to Elisabeth the six episodes that were recorded with her last year will be broadcast on CBBC at a date to be confirmed.

The statement comes after an article published by The Sun this morning indicated that the series would be continuing without the actress.

FILTER: - Sarah Jane

The Impossible Astronaut - Chart Position

Wednesday, 4 May 2011 - Reported by Marcus

Barb have now issued final ratings for the week ending 24 April making Doctor Who: The Impossible Astronaut the 6th most watched programme of the week.

The chart is dominated by soaps with Lewis in 19th place and The Reckoning at 20th the only other non soap dramas to make the top 20.

The overnight chart saw the show in 13th place, the rise being due to the large number of people who record Doctor Who for viewing later in the week.

The Impossible Astronaut becomes the 44th episode of Doctor Who to achieve a top ten place. It is a higher chart placing than any other season premier in the show's history, apart from the Eleventh Doctor's first episode, The Eleventh Hour, which was 3rd.

Out of 771 Doctor Who episodes broadcast, only 13 have achieved a higher chart placing.

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 6/32

The Impossible Astronaut lands on PRIME

Wednesday, 4 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

New Zealand have finally found out when the new series of Doctor Who will arrive!

Broadcaster Prime TV have reported via Twitter that they will premiere The Impossible Astronaut on the channel on Thursday 19th May at 8.30pm.

Prime have a dedicated Doctor Who section on their website.

(with thanks to the New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club)

FILTER: - Series 6/32 - New Zealand - Broadcasting

Doctor Who Magazine 434

Tuesday, 3 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

In the latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine, acclaimed writer Neil Gaiman exclusively reveals secrets about his script for one of the most eagerly-anticipated Doctor Who adventures ever – The Doctor's Wife! But who on earth is she...?

If this episode works like it’s meant to work, you will go from curiosity, thinking ‘who is this person?’ – to amusement – ‘She’s very funny, she’s mad, oh my God, she’s biting him, she’s a bit weird! – to irritation – ‘Why is she so high and mighty?’ – to heartbreak, genuine, absolute real heartbreak. And to joy.

Also in this issue:

Pirates and Ood and Living Flesh! Take a sneak-peak at Episodes 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the new series as DWM previews The Curse of the Black Spot, The Doctor's Wife, The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People – featuring never-before-seen photos and exclusive interviews with writers Steve Thompson, Neil Gaiman, and Matthew Graham.
Ahoy there, Captain! Ha-harr, me hearties! DWM interviews Hugh Bonneville, star of The Curse of the Black Spot, about his role as beardy pirate captain Henry Avery...
Mr Grumpy Face! Doctor Who’s head writer and showrunner Steven Moffat relates tales of special screenings, slurred speeches and stopping spoilers in his latest Production Notes...
Astral America! DWM flies off to the USA and goes on the road with the cast and crew of The Impossible Astronaut in a behind-the-scenes report, featuring exclusive chats with stars Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, and Alex Kingston, and director Toby Haynes...
Cybermen, Yeti and Ice Warriors! It’s back to the 60s as Countdown to 50 takes a nostalgic look back at Series Five, the Second Doctor season that saw the show get darker and scarier than ever before...
Welcome to the Pleasure Dome! Amy’s trapped in a psychedelic nightmare, while the Doctor lies helpless, a victim of the sinister Dark! The latest comic strip adventure, Forever Dreaming by Jonathan Morris with art by Adrian Salmon, reaches it startling conclusion...
War! What is it good for? The Time Team go back to Number 10 Downing Street to watch the Ninth Doctor and Rose battle the Slitheen. Just what will they make of World War Three?
Je T'Aime! There’s Kissing, Courtiers and Clockwork People as the Tenth Doctor has a dangerous liaison with Madame de Pompadour – The Fact of Fiction reveals everything you’ll ever need to know about 2006’s The Girl in the Fireplace...
Time Meddlers? Should Doctor Who feature purely historical stories? Or should the adventures always feature sci-fi elements? There’s only one way to find out… by reading the opinions of Toby Hadoke and Johnny Candon as they engage in the latest Battle of Wits...

PLUS! A FREE giant-size, double-sided poster, all the latest official news, previews, reviews, competitions, more madness from the Watcher, another prize-winning crossword, and much, much more!

Doctor Who Magazine is available from all good newsagents and supermarkets from Thursday 5th May.

FILTER: - DWM

DVD Schedule Update

Tuesday, 3 May 2011 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who Magazine has issued a provisional schedule for the remaining stories to be released in the classic Doctor Who DVD range.

There are 24 stories that still exist and have yet to be released on DVD, all of which are expected to be available by the show's 50th anniversary in 2013.

2011

2012

The Sensorites
Planet of the Giants
The Reign of Terror (4/6 episodes still exist)
The Krotons
Death to the Daleks
Terror of the Zygons
The Android Invasion
The Face of Evil
Nightmare of Eden
Dragonfire
The Happiness Patrol
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy

Unplaced

The Tenth Planet (3/4 episodes exist)
The Ice Warriors (4/6 episodes exist)
The Ambassadors of Death (requires extensive restoration)
The Mind of Evil (currently exists in black and white only)
Colony in Space
The Daemons
Invasion of the Dinosaurs (part one exists in black and white only)

FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Day of the Moon scores AI of 87

Monday, 2 May 2011 - Reported by Marcus

Episode Two of the current series of Doctor Who, Day of the Moon, scored an Appreciation Index figure of 87, once again one of the highest figures of the weekend and putting the programme firmly into the excellent category.

The Appreciation Index, or AI is a measure of how much the audience enjoyed the programme. It is a score out of 100 based on responses from a 5,000 strong panel.

On BBC Three an additional 0.54 million viewers caught the Sunday repeat with 0.07 million watching on BBC HD.

Overall, with Sunday's figures now available, Doctor Who currently stands at 37th for the week, a position that should rise substantially when final figures are released next Monday.

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 6/32

BroaDWcast update

Monday, 2 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Doctor Who broadcasting resource site BroaDWcast has now been updated to include details on broadcasting of the classic series in Canada, recognised as the third country in the world to broadcast the series with the first batch of Hartnell adventures from January 1965.

Other recent additions to the database include Nigeria, Zambia, Japan, Netherlands, and the Philippines.

(with thanks to Jon Preddle)

FILTER: - Classic Series - Broadcasting

BAFTA Cymru Nominations 2011

Monday, 2 May 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Hot on the heels of the BAFTA Television Award nominations (with Matt Smith up for the Best Actor award) come the nominations for the 2011 British Academy Cymru Awards; as with previous years Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures are represented in a number of categories:

Music and Entertainment Programme
Last summer's Doctor Who at the Proms is nominated in this category; it was produced by Paul Bullock, whose work on BBC Young Musician 2010 with Steve Freer is also up for the award, plus Llangollen 2010: Uchafbwyntiau Dydd Mercher (Gareth Williams, Hefin Owen).

Children's Programme
This category sees spinoff series The Sarah Jane Adventures nominated for Death of the Doctor, produced by Brian Minchin; other nominations for this award are an episode of documentary series My Life focusing on the impact on a child with My Dad in Prison (Stephanie Harvie Campbell, Inge Hanson, Rachel Evans), and an episode of pre-school documentary series Y Diwrnod Mawr on farming with Sion Pyrs (Nia Ceidiog).

Editing: Fiction
Editor William Oswald is nominated in this category for his work on The Time of Angels; other nominations here are Kevin Jones for S4C's drama Pen Talar, and John Gillanders for BBC daytime drama The Indian Doctor.

Make Up and Hair
This category sees Barbara Southcott nominated for her work in Vampires of Venice; Pen Talar also features in this category with a nomination for Nel Bat, whilst Moffat's other successful series Sherlock sees Claire Pritchard in the running for her work on the episode The Great Game (as well as working in earlier series of Doctor Who she has also recently worked on the forthcoming Torchwood: Miracle Day).

Sound
A Christmas Carol is featured here, with the nomination to Tim Ricketts for his work on this episode; Sherlock's Bang Post Production Team are nominated for The Great Game, whilst talent show Cyngerdd Mawr Talent Cymru is represented through Toby Alington's nomination.

Lighting
Matt Smith's opening story The Eleventh Hour is represented here with Mark Hutchingson being nominated in this category; he'll be facing Bernie Davis for the final of BBC Young Musician 2010, and Nigel Catmur for Only Men Aloud.

Last year saw Make-up nominee Barbara Southcott win an award for her work in The End of Time; Doctor Who also won an award in Design for Ed Thomas/The Waters of Mars. The series was also nominated for Drama Series/Serial for Television, but lost out to its spinoff show Torchwood: Children of Earth, which also gained a Lighting award for Will Oswald. The Sarah Jane Adventures also received an award for Interactive.

The Award Ceremony takes place on Sunday 29th May at the Wales Millennium Centre.

FILTER: - Awards/Nominations - Miracle Day (Series 4)

Previous 10 Stories

The Curse of the Black Spot - Clips

New Schedule from Week Four

The Sarah Jane Adventures

The Impossible Astronaut - Chart Position

The Impossible Astronaut lands on PRIME

Doctor Who Magazine 434

DVD Schedule Update

Day of the Moon scores AI of 87

BroaDWcast update

BAFTA Cymru Nominations 2011

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