BBC Offering Day of the Doctor Blu-ray Disc Replacements

Thursday, 23 October 2014 - Reported by Harry Ward

BBC Worldwide are offering replacement discs to fans who bought the Blu-ray version of the 50th Anniversary box set. The new disc will fix a frame rate fault on Disc 2 which contains The Day of the Doctor. Fans have been expressing disappointed with the fault on forums since the release on 8 September and eventually drew attention of the BBC. One fan received the following email:

Doctor Who - 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition - Disc 2 (Credit: Amazon)

Thank you for your continued patience.

We are pleased to respond to our fans’ requests for this title to be made available in its original frame rate. We are offering replacements for Disc 2 only from the 50th Collector’s Edition Blu-ray (2D version), which includes the Day of the Doctor. Customers unhappy with their original 23.98 disc can send it (without packaging) to the Freepost address below, and we will send out a 50i replacement. Remember to include your full name and postal details clearly inside the package for the return. The estimated time frame for the new replacement discs to be available is 4-5 weeks. Please allow some time for the replacement disc to reach you.

*note: the Freepost address is for UK and mainland customers only. We advise you check with your postal service before despatch.

Freepost RTEK-EJGC-ZKGX
BBC Worldwide Ltd
BBC DVD Support
33 Foley Street
LONDON
W1W 7TL

FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Day of the Doctor

Gareth Roberts no longer writing City of Death book

Tuesday, 21 October 2014 - Reported by Anthony Weight

Author and scriptwriter Gareth Roberts, writer of several Doctor Who books and scripts over the past 20 years, has this evening announced on Twitter that he is no longer working on a novelisation of the 1979 Doctor Who serial City of Death, the most-watched story in the programme's history. Instead, the book will now be written by author and former BBC Doctor Who website editor James Goss. Goss's previous work includes the Torchwood novel Almost Perfect, the Tenth Doctor audio book Dead Air, and being one of the first authors to pen a novel for the Twelfth Doctor with the recent The Blood Cell. He also worked as producer of the animated Doctor Who serials Scream of the Shalka and The Infinite Quest.

City of Death was originally scripted by producer Graham Williams and script editor Douglas Adams, from a story idea by David Fisher. Transmitted under the pseudonym of "David Agnew", the story gained over 16 million viewers in the autumn of 1979, but like Adams's other scripts for Doctor Who, rights issues meant that - unlike the majority of classic series stories - a novelisation was never produced under the original Target Books run.

In October last year it was announced that Roberts would finally be penning a novelisation of City of Death, following the success of his novelisation of Adams' scripts for the unfinished serial Shada in 2012. Roberts had become particularly known for his affinity with the Season 17 era of Doctor Who during the mid-1990s, when he penned three well-received books set during that season for Virgin Publishing's Missing Adventures range of original Doctor Who novels. Two of Roberts's Missing Adventures for the Season 17 TARDIS team are currently being adapted into audio plays by Big Finish Productions.

Roberts's novelisation of City of Death had originally been expected to be released this year - there is currently no information on when Goss's eventual version of the book may be on the shelves.

FILTER: - Books - Fourth Doctor

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor - Comic Trailer

Saturday, 11 October 2014 - Reported by Marcus

BBC Worldwide and Titan Comics have released a trailer for the new series, Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor, which is released on October 15th.

The comic is written by Robbie Morrison and illustrated by Dave Taylor. Cover art is by Alice X Zhang. The comic is being exclusively previewed at New York Comic Con which takes place this weekend.

The Twelfth Doctor Comic #1

FILTER: - Comics - Twelfth Doctor

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor - Comic Series

Wednesday, 8 October 2014 - Reported by Marcus

Titan Comics have released a preview of their brand-new series, Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor #1, which will launch on October 15.

The comic is written by Robbie Morrison and illustrated by Dave Taylor. Cover art is by Alice X Zhang. The comic will be exclusively previewed at New York Comic Con which takes place on October 9-12.

Offering shocks, surprises, and galaxy-shaking revelations, seasoned TARDIS pilot Robbie Morrison (Drowntown, The Authority, 2000AD, Nikolai Dante) and New York Times-bestselling artist Dave Taylor (Batman: Death by Design; 2000AD) mark the start of their first five-issue run by diving headfirst into the console room and pulling all the levers they can – spinning the new Doctor off to his most challenging destination yet!

Freshly regenerated and with a new head full of unanswered questions, the Doctor (as played by Peter Capaldi) whisks Clara Oswald (as played by Jenna Coleman) away to a strange and distant world.

Clara thought she was in for an evening of marking essays on the Metaphysical Poets, followed by going out on a date – or at least trying to. You know, normal stuff.

Instead, she’s facing down exotic flora and fauna in her best dress, backing up the Doctor on a trek through traumatically alien undergrowth – and she doesn’t even know what the Doctor is searching for, or what will try to kill them should they find it!

New Face! New Doctor! New Beginning!

FILTER: - Comics - Twelfth Doctor

Retro TV to air The Mind of Evil in colour

Tuesday, 30 September 2014 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Colouring The Mind Of Evil (Credit: Stuart Humphryes)

American broadcaster Retro TV will air third Doctor adventure The Mind of Evil in colour next month, the first television channel in the world to do so since the late 1970s!

With the original transmission tapes long-sinced erased, by the beginning of the 1980s only black and white prints of the episodes were still held by the BBC, meaning that the story has only been available to broadcasters around the world since then in that format. However, 2013 saw the story prepared for release on DVD with a newly colourised episode one by Stuart Humphryes (aka Babelcolour) and Peter Crocker, and colour-recovered episodes two to six by Richard Russell. Premiered at the British Film Institute in March last year, the story has since been shown a number of select locations, and made available on DVD and streaming services such as Hulu; Retro's broadcast will mark the first time the story can be enjoyed in colour on broadcast television once more.

Stuart Humphryes told us:

The work required to bring this classic serial back to colour was quite mind-boggling, but the fact it has been embraced so warmly by fans and now about to receive a wider audience through TV broadcast is extremely exciting and very satisfying and makes the thousands of hours worthwhile. I hope the viewers enjoy it!

More details about the colourisation process for episode one can be read via the Babelcolour website.

Episode One airs on Retro from 8:30pm on the 15th October.

FILTER: - Broadcasting - Classic Series - International Broadcasting - Third Doctor - USA

Rare Doctor Who micro figures unveiled by Character Options

Saturday, 27 September 2014 - Reported by Marcus

Character Options has revealed details of a number of brand new super rare micro- figures amongst the latest Character Building Doctor Who Display Brix Series 4 collection, which is out now.

The assortment of 12 highly detailed and fully articulated figures features key characters Doctor Who. The first micro-figure for the Twelfth Doctor played by Peter Capaldi together with his companion Clara Oswald and many other classic characters monsters are included in the range. Each figure comes in its own transparent Display Brix casing that can be stacked and presented into one Doctor Who display.

Character Options can confirm that there are actually five further figures to hunt for; all super-rare with 100 or less of each to find.

Who to look out for…

100 of Clara Oswald in Bow Cardigan
75 of The Eleventh Doctor with Handles
75 of The Eleventh Doctor as he was seen in the episode “The Crimson Horror”
50 of Wooden Cybermen
50 of Captain Jack Harkness

Mark Hunt from Character Options commented:

At just £1.99 our Doctor Who Character Building Display Brix are already highly collectable for fans, but we like to throw in a little extra excitement by adding a number of super rare figures to each new Series of figures. The new collection is by far the coolest we’ve released, with a wide variety of new collectibles and rarer than ever special figures which will be a huge bonus for fans who are lucky enough to find them.

FILTER: - Character Options - Eleventh Doctor

The Complete Matt Smith - Blu-ray Gift Set

Monday, 22 September 2014 - Reported by Marcus

BBC Home Entertainment in the United States, has announced a massive collection in honour of the Eleventh Doctor and the man who portrayed him with the release of Doctor Who: The Complete Matt Smith Years Limited Edition Blu-ray Gift Set, which will be released in time for the holidays on November 4, 2014.

Matt Smith made his first appearance as the Doctor in 2010, and went on to star in three seasons of Doctor Who, written and executive produced by Steven Moffat.

The set features the complete adventures of the Eleventh Doctor – every season, every special, every episode. It also includes, for the very first time on a special bonus disc, Doctor Who Proms 2013, The Day of the Doctor: From Script to Screen, The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot and Doctor Who: The Ultimate Guide. It also includes the two part special The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Death of the Doctor and the docu-drama An Adventure in Space and Time.

Doctor Who at the Proms 2013 – It’s always a thrilling night when the BBC’s annual classical music festival, the Proms, features the music of Doctor Who. Hosted by none other than the 11th Doctor himself, Matt Smith, plus companion Clara (Jenna Coleman) and a fantastic assortment of special guests (and monsters), Murry Gold’s iconic music from the program has never sounded better than in this live concert, which was a highlight of the build-up to DoctorWho’s 50th Anniversary.

The Day of the Doctor: From Script to Screen – Witness the initial table read for Doctor Who’s legendary 50th Annivesary episode, The Day of the Doctor, and then see the episode come to life on screen through interviews with Matt Smith, David Tennant, Steven Moffat and others as well as footage from the filming. It’s an exciting look inside the process of bringing Doctor Who to life.

The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot – In the build-up to Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary, rumors were swirling wildly about which former Doctors would be featured in the anniversary episode itself. In this hilarious comic spoof, former Doctors Peter Davison, Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker, and Paul McGann poke fun at the mystery and themselves in hysterical fashion. With cameos from Matt Smith, David Tennant, Jenna Coleman, Steven Moffat, Russell T Davies and others.

Doctor Who: The Ultimate Guide – Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith and companion Clara (Jenna Coleman) introduce this insightful look back at the remarkable 50-year history of Doctor Who featuring interviews with the cast and the people behind the scenes, past and present, plus a host of celebrity fans. Doctor Who – The Ultimate Guide delves deep into the history of the Doctor, profiling his many incarnations and charting the progression of his character from his old-fashioned, black and white origins to his more complex, many-layered, modern-day persona and the multi-faceted menaces he has faced through the years. This is the defining documentary of Doctor Who, the perfect way to celebrate a rich 50-year old marvel.

Sarah Janes Adventures: The Death of the Doctor - The Eleventh Doctor makes a special appearance in the spin-off series Sarah Janes Adventure. In the two part special written by Russell T Davies, Sarah Jane is reunited with another of the Doctor’s former companions, Jo Grant (Katy Manning), as they investigate the fate of the Doctor at his own funeral. Things get more complicated when they’re joined by the Eleventh Doctor himself in an alien-busting adventure featuring brand-new vulture aliens, the mysterious Shansheeth and a trip to an alien planet.

The set is available for pre-order from Amazon.

FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Matt Smith - USA

Classic DVD release schedule for Germany announced

Tuesday, 16 September 2014 - Reported by Pascal Salzmann

Siebter Doktor: Volume 1 (Credit: Pandastorm)

German DVD distributor Pandastorm Pictures announced today the upcoming plans for DVD releases of the classic series in a newsletter sent out to fans. As previously reported the first volume of seventh Doctor stories includes the complete Season 24 on four discs, all the bonus features of the UK DVD's and will be released on 28th November 2015.

Additionally, Pandastorm Pictures is going to release the following sets:

Siebter Doktor Volume 2 (Season 25, 5 discs, release date: 27th February 2015)
Siebter Doktor Volume 3 (Season 26, 7 discs, release date: 24th April 2015)
Die Fünf Doktoren (The Five Doctors, 2 discs, release date: tba)
Sechster Doktor Volume 1 (The Twin Dilemma & Season 22, 7 discs, release date: tba)
Sechster Doktor Volume 2 (Season 23, 4 discs, release date: tba)
Doctor Who - The Movie (2 discs, release date: tba)

According to the newsletter there are currently rights issues that need to be resolved before the TV Movie can be released.

There are no German dubs to any other episodes available, so further releases are unlikely. However, the distributor has told fans that it would consider dubbing more classic episodes if the DVD's are going to sell extremely well.

Der Siebte Doktor Volume 1 can be pre-ordered from Amazon Germany.

FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Classic Series - Eighth Doctor - Fifth Doctor - Germany - Seventh Doctor

UK DVD: The Complete David Tennant Years

Monday, 15 September 2014 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC Worldwide are to release a DVD boxed set for the United Kingdom featuring all of the (regular) adventures of the tenth Doctor, as played by David Tennant:

The Complete David Tennant Years (Credit: BBC Worldwide)

The Complete David Tennant Years

In this massive 26-disc collection, the BBC brings together the complete David Tennant Years! David Tennant made his debut as the Doctor in 2005 in “The Christmas Invasion” and in the four years that followed, Doctor Who grew to new heights of popularity. This collection celebrates Tennant’s tenure by bringing together every David Tennant Doctor Who episode including The Complete Second Series (co-starring Billie Piper as Rose Tyler), The Complete Third Series (co-starring Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones) and The Complete Fourth Series (co-starring Catherine Tate as Donna Noble), all eight specials and two spin-off animated adventures, totalling over 38 hours of Doctor Who plus hours of extras. This is a must-own collection for the legion of devoted Doctor Who fans.

The boxed set was originally released for the North American region (R1) in 2011.

FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - David Tennant - Tenth Doctor - UK

Germany: Complete Season 24 DVD boxed set in November

Saturday, 6 September 2014 - Written by Pascal Salzmann

German DVD distributor Pandastorm have announced the release of the DVD boxed set Siebter Doctor Volume 1 (Seventh Doctor Volume 1).

The set contains the complete Season 24, featuring Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, and includes all special features that were present on the single story DVD releases in the UK. According to the website of Pandastorm's distribution partner wvg the discs will run for approximately 350 minutes plus 328 minutes of bonus features. Audio and subtitles will be in English and German.

The description for the DVDs reads as follows:

Die erfolgreiche Sci-Fi-Kultserie öffnet die Tore zu ihrer Vergangenheit. Die Abenteuer des siebten Doctors erstmalig in Deutschland auf DVD. Mit über 5 Std. Bonusmaterial und Booklet. Sylvester McCoy's (Radagast aus „Der Hobbit“ Trilogie) erste Staffel in der Rolle des siebten Doctors ist ein schriller, bunter und witziger Trip durchs All. Dabei begegnet er einer gefährlichen Widersacherin: Die Rani. Diese hat sich mit einem Volk menschengroßer Fledermauswesen verbündet, um die Macht über das Universum zu übernehmen. Auf einem Eisplaneten muss er zudem gegen den skrupellosen Schatzjäger Sabalom Glitz und den Sklavenhalter Kane kämpfen, der mit einer einzigen Berührung seine Gegner zu Eis gefrieren lassen kann. Und trifft schließlich auf die junge Ausreißerin Ace, die den Doctor fortan auf seinen Reisen begleitet und sich als einer der beliebtesten Companions der Seriengeschichte entpuppen soll.

The most successful Sci-Fi cult series opens the doors to its past. The adventures if the seventh Doctor on DVD for the first time. Featuring over 5 hours of bonus material and a booklet. Sylvester McCoy's (Radagast from "The Hobbit" trilogy) first season in the role of the seventh Doctor is a jarring, colourful and funny trip through the galaxy. On it he meets a dangerous enemy: the Rani. The Rani has an alliance with a race of huge bat-like creatures in her plan to rule the universe. On an Iceplanet he fights against the ruthless treasure hunter Sabalom Glitz and the slave trader Kane, who is able to freeze someone to ice with a single touch. And finally he meets the young runaway Ace, who is going to travel with the Doctor and who is seen as one of the most popular companions in the history of the show.

The DVD boxed set will be released on 28th November 2014 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon Germany.

FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Classic Series - Germany - Seventh Doctor - Sylvester McCoy

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