"Ace" boxed set in the works

Sunday, 27 February 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
2|Entertain have announced a new boxed set via their @ClassicDW Twitter feed:
The Ace Box commissioned and in production.
Whilst no other details have been revealed at present, it seems likely that the set will be themed around the Seventh Doctor's sidekick, Dorothy "Ace" McShane.

At this late stage in the release schedule, there are only three other stories featuring the character that have yet to come out on DVD: Dragonfire, Ace's introductory story; The Happiness Patrol, with Helen A, Fifi, and the Kandyman; and The Greatest Show in the Galaxy with the Psychic Circus and the Gods of Ragnarok.




FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Broadcasting Press Guild Nomination

Saturday, 26 February 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Broadcasting Press Guild have announced the nominations for their 37th Annual Award Ceremony.

This year, Steven Moffat has been nominated for the Writer's Award for both his work on Doctor Who and alongside Mark Gatiss and Steve Thompson for Sherlock. Other nominees for this award are Jo Brand, Vicki Pepperdine and Joanna Scanlan for Getting On, and Julian Fellowes for Downton Abbey.

The winners will be announced at the BPG Awards lunch on 25th March at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

Doctor Who was nominated for three awards last year, but was beaten in every category.

The Broadcasting Press Guild is an association of journalists who specialise in writing and broadcasting about television, radio and the media.




FILTER: - Awards/Nominations

AudioGO Spring Sale

Saturday, 26 February 2011 - Reported by Harry Ward
AudioGO, the home of BBC Audiobooks is having a spring sale, with 50% off the price of all downloads from their site. A huge range of Doctor Who audios are available at a discounted price until the end of the sale on 31st March 2011.

Doctor Who audiobook downloads are available in the following categories: TV Soundtrack, Classic Novel (includes recently released Doctor Who and the War Games), Audio Original, New Reading, and Broadcast. You can download the award winning Dead Air by James Goss and read by David Tennant for just £3.39.

Torchwood audiobooks (with Radio 4 plays: Lost Souls, Asylum, Golden Age, The Dead Line) and The Sarah Jane Adventures are also included in the sale.

AudioGO have announced that they are going to close their BBC Audiobooks Facebook page on 31 March and move to a new one with the AudioGo branding, and the promise of "exciting Doctor Who news".




FILTER: - Audio

Saturn Award Nomination 2011

Friday, 25 February 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Hot on the heels of the Nebula nomination this week, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films have announced the nominations for their annual Saturn Awards.

This year, the 37th ceremony sees just one nomination for the Doctor Who franchise: A Christmas Carol, broadcast by BBC America, is listed in the Best Television Presentation. The episode, penned by Steven Moffat, is up against his other success of 2010 co-created with Mark Gatiss, Sherlock, which was broadcast on PBS.

Other nominees include NBC's Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special, AMC's The Walking Dead, and two series from new Torchwood co-producer Starz, The Pillars of the Earth and Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.

The Saturn Awards will take place this June in Burbank, California.


Last year, Torchwood: Children of Earth won the award for Best Presentation on Television, which beat fellow nominee Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead. Other nominations included David Tennant for Best Actor in Television, and Bernard Cribbins for Best Guest Starring Role in Television.




FILTER: - Awards/Nominations

Docteur Who: la prochaine fois sur France 4

Friday, 25 February 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
France 4 have released a new trailer for this Saturday's episodes, Le Seigneur des Rêves and La révolte des intra-terrestres (1+2); they will be broadcast from 8:35pm (local time).


Doctor who saison 5 tous les samedis à 20h35, via YouTube.

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






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

Craig Owens returns to Doctor Who

Friday, 25 February 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC have officially confirmed today that the actor James Corden will be reprising his role as Craig Owens - the Doctor's landlord from last year's episode The Lodger.

Though unconfirmed, this is believed to be for a forthcoming episode to be filmed that has been written by Gareth Roberts, who also penned Craig's previous appearance in the series. Roberts was a guest at last weekend's Gallifrey One convention, and during a live commentary for The Lodger was reported as saying that his new episode would begin filming "in a week" (i.e. from next week).
"I work in a shop, now."


The news comes after a tweet was posted yesterday unofficially revealing that Corden would be coming back to Doctor Who: "They're filming Doctor Who with James Corden the whole 2nd week of March on my street. Just saying."





FILTER: - Series 6/32 - Production

Doctor Who Adventures 206

Friday, 25 February 2011 - Reported by Harry Ward
This week's issue of Doctor Who Adventures comes with a free Fez and four free posters!

Also in this issue:
  • Wow! Dress up like the Doctor with your free fez! There's a special treat for fans of cool headgear as well - a brilliant free fez. Stick it on and you'll look just like the Doctor!
  • Secrets of the Sontarans revealed! We've bagged an amazing interview with a Sontaran, where we ask him just why they have heads like baked spuds.
  • The Doctor answers your questions! The Doctor answers some truly monstrous questions, and reveals how you can get him to answer your queries about life, adventure and the Universe!
  • Winston Churchill battles the Daleks
  • Monster trouble for Brucie!
  • How to draw a Judoon
  • Alien Files The Vespiform takes flight!
Plus prizes, scares, puzzles and comics!

Issue 206 of Doctor Who Adventures magazine is out in the UK now.





FILTER: - Magazines - DWA

Doctor Who: Worlds in Time

Thursday, 24 February 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC Press Office have announced a new, multi-player game is in development.

Entitled Doctor Who: Worlds in Time, the online game is being produced in partnership with games developer Three Rings, and is aimed to be "both highly engaging and fun, allowing players to socialize and foster genuine cooperation, building a global community where fans worldwide will now be able to experience first hand the exciting action and adventure synonymous with Doctor Who."

For the first time ever, players from around the world will be able to follow in the footsteps of the eccentric and brilliant Doctor by travelling through time and space, exploring new worlds and encountering many alien races, both friend and foe. The game allows players to enter the TARDIS and be set a challenge by the mysterious Time Lord to help him defend civilized culture against infamous Doctor Who enemies.

Robert Nashak, EVP Digital Entertainment at BBC Worldwide, said:
Doctor Who: Worlds in Time will be a free-to-play multiplayer online game that invites players to save the universe by using their wits to solve time-bending puzzles and pulse-pounding challenges. Three Rings is the ideal team for this groundbreaking creative partnership. Not only are they visionaries in the online gaming space, they are lifelong Doctor Who fans with a passion for delivering the level of quality that our players will expect and deserve.

Daniel James, CEO Three Rings, said:
Three Rings is delighted and honored to have the opportunity to create an online game based on Doctor Who. Our goal with 'Words in Time' is to capture the imaginative spirit and depth of the series, whilst being fun and easy to play for all ages.

The game is announced ahead of the San Francisco Game Developers Conference, and is expected to launch later in the year.

You can keep up-to-date with the latest news on Worlds in Time by following BBC Worldwide Games on Twitter.






FILTER: - Online - Games

DWA 'Design-a-Monster' competition

Wednesday, 23 February 2011 - Reported by Harry Ward
Doctor Who Adventures magazine has launched a 'Design a Monster' competition. The winner will see their creation battle the Doctor, Amy and Rory in a special comic strip in the magazine and be made into a model to go on display at the Doctor Who Experience in Olympia, London.

Comic artist John Ross offers the readers some great tips to help them create the perfect creature:


The great thing about Doctor Who monsters is that they can be scary but a bit funny, too. For example, a really scary face could be balanced out by something quite wacky, like a foot that's joined on backwards, or one arm that's much bigger than the other.

Things that tend to look good on monsters are wrinkles, extra eyes, fewer eyes, long tongues, tentacles, spots, stripes, spikes and funny-looking alien weapons/gadgets. Monsters based on animals are quite popular. For example, you could take the head of a rat and put it on the body of a chimpanzee and add tentacles.

Posture is always something you have to think about, too. If your monster is strong and confident, it should stand straight and tall. If it's a bit more nervous and unsure of itself, it could be hunched over, possibly with slumped shoulders. If it's just a jumbled mass of tentacles with a head, it's a bit trickier to give an idea of the creature's personality.

Your monster has to pose a threat to the Doctor, so will need some special powers or weapons. It could fire energy beams from its fingertips/tentacles, laser beams from its eyes or cannonballs from a hole in its belly - whatever you think is interesting. Weapons could be a giant device which could destroy the planet or a tiny alien flower which looks like a daisy but releases a scent which sends people to sleep.

It's also good to colour your monster nice and brightly so he stands out in a crowd.

How to enter

Download the PDF entry form by clicking on the button below, then print it out and draw your monster! Fill in the monster's details, along with your name, age, address and daytime telephone number. Put the page in an envelope and send it to: DWA DESIGN, PO Box 8951, Market Harborough LE16 0EF, or scan the page and email your design to design@dwacomps.co.uk

Download the pdf entry form

For full terms and conditions please visit www.dwamag.com/design-a-monster.




FILTER: - Comics - Magazines - Competitions - DWA

Nebula nomination for Vincent and the Doctor

Wednesday, 23 February 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Doctor Who story Vincent and the Doctor has been nominated for the The Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation in the 2010 Nebula Awards, an annual event held by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

The episode, penned by writer Richard Curtis, is the only television episode in this category, and is up against the films Despicable Me, How To Train Your Dragon, Inception, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and Toy Story 3.

The winners are selected by members of the SWFA during March, with the results announced at the Nebula Awards Banquet, taking place at the Washington Hilton, Washington D.C. on 21st May.

Vincent and the Doctor had previously been nominated for a Mind Mental Health Media Award last year but lost out to Channel 4 drama Shameless.


Doctor Who has been nominated for a Nebula Award twice in the past: The Girl in the Fireplace lost out in the Best Script category to Howl's Moving Castle in the 2006 awards, and the following year saw Blink miss the award in favour of Pan's Labyrinth - both were penned by the current lead writer, Steven Moffat.




FILTER: - Awards/Nominations - Series 5/31