Doctor Who Collection range discussion

Monday, 11 May 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster
An interview has been released online featuring Chris Chapman, one of the main contributors to the ongoing range of Doctor Who seasons being released on Blu-ray. The producer/director chatted about the challenges of creating fresh features and insights for the stories previously released on DVD, including those on the latest release, Season 14, and hinted about existing/potential developments planned for the future of the range.

The interview is available courtesy of Fantom Events.





FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Fantom - Online

Homemade Who

Friday, 8 May 2020 - Reported by Marcus
Homemade WhoDoctor Who fans around the world united in April 2020 to recreate their favourite moments during the lockdown.

The Homemade Who project was launched last month to give the Doctor Who community something creative and fun to do while everyone’s been stuck at home.

With Doctor Who celebrating 15 years since its revival, fans were asked to recreate some of their favourite scenes from 2005 onwards using whatever they could find in their house.

A compilation video featuring every clip sent in so far can be found here

Entries were sent in from England, Australia, France, Luxembourg, Argentina, Wales, Germany, Italy, the Philippines, the USA, and New Zealand!

You can watch all the complete clips on Instagram:

Due to its success, the project has been extended for another month. If you would like to take part you can find all the details here.

Homemade WhoHomemade WhoHomemade WhoHomemade WhoHomemade Whoc




FILTER: - Fan Productions

Power Of The Daleks: special edition details discussed

Monday, 4 May 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Animation director and producer Charles Norton appeared as a guest on last weekend's Time Space Visualiser convention organised by Fantom Events online, during which he discussed the new special edition of The Power of The Daleks with Toby Hadoke. The interview is available to watch online from the Fantom Events YouTube channel.


The Power of the Daleks: Special Edition is due to be released in July.





FILTER: - Animation - Blu-ray/DVD - Fantom - Online

Jodie Whittaker Joins Charity Appeal

Friday, 1 May 2020 - Reported by Marcus

Jodie Whittaker has joined Brian Cox and Ewan McGregor to support the Geeky T-Shirt awareness drive and fundraiser for a charity helping terminally children in Scotland.

The current Doctor is helping launch a nationwide appeal for Children’s Hospices Across Scotland – better known as CHAS, a charity which provides vital hospice care services throughout Scotland to support the whole family.

As part of the Share Your Joy campaign, on Monday, May the Fourth, CHAS are encouraging the public to show allegiance to their favourite science-fiction, fantasy, cartoon or musical hero and by virtue the charity itself, by digging out their favourite geeky t-shirt to wear on the day. Thousands of supporters around the country have a CHAS shirt in the cupboard from a past or postponed event; CHAS asks them to wear it with pride for the day and share it with the hashtag #MayThe4thBeWithCHAS.

In order to help support the ongoing physical and new virtual hospice services provided to CHAS families, who are dealing with the most difficult of circumstances at the most impossible of times, participants are encouraged to share their efforts online and donate just £3 by texting ‘Geeky 3’ to 70450.

Laura Campbell, Community Fundraising Development Manager at CHAS, said
We are bowled over by the attention this appeal has had so far. We’ve had support from schools, universities, workplaces, sport teams, political figures, people from the film, TV and music world, and most importantly the CHAS families this is all for.

It means a lot to have backing from Jodie, Brian and Ewan to seriously highlight our position. We hope people from all over Scotland, and perhaps even further afield, are able to join in on the day and maybe take part in our ‘Big Geeky Quiz’ at 8pm on Facebook Live, which will feature guest questions from a few famous faces. We’ve got Jedi legends, legendary X-Wing pilots, White Walkers, Disney princesses, Power Rangers… it’s about to get nerdy!
On the evening of the 4th, The Big Geeky Quiz will be hosted by CBeebies actor James Mackenzie, who has gone on a Saharan trek and been heavily involved in fundraising for the charity throughout the last year. Questions will come from Ewan McGregor and many other figures from the worlds of Star Wars, Disney and beyond.

Now in its third year, support for last year’s Geeky T-Shirt day came from a trio of Scottish greats: Peter Capaldi, Brian Cox and Billy Boyd. The funds and awareness raised by the online event will help CHAS on its mission to reach every single baby, child and young person who needs them, despite the current situation.

Like many other charities left reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, CHAS has had to dramatically transform the way in which it provides its increasingly important services. They have set up Scotland’s first-ever virtual hospice to support children and families who are having to completely self-isolate.

The virtual hospice is now four weeks in, offering families extensive support, whether it relates to clinical guidance, financial advice or bereavement support, by video and phone. CHAS family support teams are also offering an expanding range of interactive activities, art clubs, storytelling and conference calls to children and parents, with more in the pipeline.

Although stringent measures are currently in place to safeguard families, those needing urgent physical and end of life care are still welcome at the hospice, where staff work tirelessly to provide children with the palliative assistance they need.

Jodie Whittaker supports Geeky T-Shirt Day 2020




FILTER: - Charities - Jodie Whittaker

Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 551

Thursday, 30 April 2020 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Magazine Issue 551 (Credit: Panini)Doctor Who Magazine Issue 551 features former Doctor Who showrunners Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat who interview each other.
Steven, you know full well we’re always winging it
Issue 551 also includes:
  • Extended Production Notes from current showrunner Chris Chibnall.
  • Composer Segun Akinola reveals his inspirations for the Series 12 soundtrack.
  • In the first virtual Out of the TARDIS, Neil Gaiman answers questions from the TARDIS tin.
  • The Fact of Fiction explores 1984 classic The Caves of Androzani.
  • A tribute to the late David Collings (Revenge of the Cybermen, The Robots of Death, Mawdryn Undead), including extracts from a previously unpublished interview.
  • How Doctor Who fans around the world are staying connected during the lockdown.
  • A lockdown viewing guide to Doctor Who stories that are available on DVD and streaming services.
  • A look at Birth of a Renegade, a short Doctor Who story from the Radio Times 20th Anniversary Special.
  • A review of the Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 14 Blu-ray box set.
  • Time and Space Visualiser presents a lockdown special, with contributions from former Doctors and companions.
  • Public Image presents a full round-up of how Series 12 performed in the ratings.
  • Part Three of The Piggybackers, a new comic-strip adventure featuring the Thirteenth Doctor and her friends.
  • Big Finish previews and reviews, news, prize-winning competitions, The Blogs of Doom and much more!
Doctor Who Magazine Issue 551 is on sale from Thursday 30 April 2020 price £5.99 (UK)




FILTER: - DWM - Russell T Davies - Steven Moffat

Doctor Who: Shadow of the Sun - Release Date May

Wednesday, 29 April 2020 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who: Shadow of the Sun - Tom Baker (Credit: Big Finish)The first full-cast, full-length Doctor Who audio drama to have been recorded entirely during lockdown will be released on 12 May.

Tom Baker, Louise Jameson and John Leeson star in Doctor Who: Shadow of the Sun, a Fourth Doctor mystery adventure written by Rob Valentine.

This is the first full-cast Doctor Who audio drama to have been produced using Big Finish’s remote recording techniques, and it boasts among its guest cast Fenella Woolgar (Inside Number 9, Call the Midwife) as a terminally bored socialite, Lady Malina Rigel-Smythe. She is one of many passengers onboard a luxury liner with a difference.

Doctor Who: Shadow of the Sun is now available to pre-order exclusively at the Big Finish website, from just £8.99.

After an accident, the TARDIS lands on a luxury star-liner. Leaving their ship to repair itself, the Doctor, Leela and K9 find themselves facing a great terror: mingling at a cocktail party.

Something seems awry behind the pleasantries however. Guests are going missing, and equipment is breaking down. When the Doctor investigates further he discovers that the star-liner is literally on course for disaster.

But no-one seems surprised by this information, still less troubled. What’s going on? And can the Doctor and his friends save everyone... when nobody wants to be saved?
Doctor Who: Shadow of the Sun  (Credit: Big Finish)Director Nicholas Briggs said
In Shadow of the Sun, we have a great, well-made script by Rob Valentine. A lovely slice of science fantasy. It has a great central idea and a cast of superb characters. At its core, there’s a fanatical belief in something that is patent nonsense, but the Doctor, Leela and K9 find themselves to be the only people who know the truth. That’s a great set-up!

And it also has a flavour of the often talked about ‘base under siege’ setting, which adds appealing claustrophobia to the storytelling. It makes the situation more extreme and therefore more of an exciting ride for the audience.
Writer Robert Valentine added
This is a story inspired by the modern trend of giving the same value to opinion as fact – including everything from climate change denial to the anti-vaccination movement – but specifically the recent (and ultimately fatal) rocket launch experiments intended to prove that the Earth is flat. The Doctor is about to find himself in a situation where the true enemy is pseudo-scientific hubris, and for once it might be an enemy he hasn't the tools to overcome.
Doctor Who: Shadow of the Sun is now available to pre-order exclusively at the Big Finish website, as a collector’s edition CD (priced at £10.99) or digital download (price at £8.99).

Please note that Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mailout of collector’s edition CDs will be delayed, but all purchases of this release unlock a digital copy that can be immediately downloaded or played on the Big Finish app from the release date.




FILTER: - Big Finish - Fourth Doctor - Tom Baker

Doctor Who: The Power Of The Daleks – Special Edition

Tuesday, 28 April 2020 - Reported by Marcus
The Power Of The Daleks - Special Edition (Credit: BBC Studios) The Power Of The Daleks - Special Edition (Credit: BBC Studios) BBC Studios have announced a Special Edition of the animated story The Power of the Daleks will be released on 6th July 2020.

An updated version of Patrick Troughton’s first story as the Second Doctor will be available on both DVD and Blu-ray

While no complete film recordings of The Power of the Daleks are known to have survived the purge of the BBC’s archive in 1975, fresh animation in high definition breathes new life into this much-loved story.

The six animated episodes replace the 2016 physical and digital release, with new and improved animation and authentic black and white visuals. The latest release also showcases a vast array of exciting new special features, in addition to all of the VAM on the 2016 release.

New additional material includes:
  • Two new documentaries about Power of the Daleks
  • 1993 BBC audio version of The Power of the Daleks narrated by Tom Baker
  • Raw incidental music
  • Photogrammetry Featurette
  • Whicker's World - I Don't Like My Monsters to Have Oedipus Complexes
  • Daleks - The Early Years: A 1992 documentary presented by Peter Davison
  • Robin Hood - 1953 Episode: Patrick Troughton’s earliest surviving TV appearance
  • BBC archive footage from BBC regional news, BBC Breakfast, Blue Peter and Newsnight
  • Previously unreleased animation trailers and animatics
  • Easter Eggs
And old favourites including:
  • Audio commentaries by Anneke Wills on each episode
  • Animation test footage
  • Photo Gallery, including previously unreleased and rediscovered full colour on-set photos from 1966.
  • Servants & Masters - The Making of The Power of the Daleks
You can pre-order the release from Amazon UK on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Update: the press release erroneously listed The Highlanders as an extra, but it has now been confirmed that this was originally planned as an audio track but couldn't included owing to space limitations.




FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Second Doctor

Time Lord Victorious - Multi Platform Story

Monday, 27 April 2020 - Reported by Marcus
Time Lord Victorious. (Credit: BBC Studios)BBC Studios have announced that Doctor Who will be the focus of a new multi-platform story launching later this year.

Time Lord Victorious will see partners including Penguin Random House, Doctor Who Magazine, Titan Comics, Escape Hunt, Big Finish Productions, Eaglemoss Hero Collector, Immersive Everywhere, Maze Theory, BBC Books and BBC Audio, unite to tell a brand new Doctor Who story.

Time Lord Victorious will launch later this year, with products and experiences scheduled to launch over a twelve-week period.

Time Lord Victorious will tell a new and untold story, set within the Dark Times at the start of the universe when even the Eternals were young. Following several Doctors across space and time as they defend their home planet from a terrible race, this is a story like no other.
The story will feature the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Doctors, companion Rose Tyler and monsters including the Daleks and the Ood, with more to be revealed over the coming months as products are announced.

James Goss, Producer, said
BBC Studios’ Doctor Who licensees have come together to tell an amazing epic – one that’s full of monsters, fun and heart. All strands of the story unite into a mighty patchwork that ranges from one end of the universe to the next. There's more to be revealed, but the enthusiasm and ideas which the licensees have come up with are breath-taking. It's going to be such fun.
Further information about Time Lord Victorious can be found on DoctorWho.TV, where a timeline of product releases will be collated as products are announced.




FILTER: -

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: Sweet Revenge

Sunday, 26 April 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Candy Jar has released its latest free-for-download short story:

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: Sweet Revenge (Credit: Candy Jar Books)The Lucy Wilson Mystery: Sweet Revenge
Written by Paul W Robinson


Lucy Wilson is stuck in isolation, away from her best friend Hobo Kostinen. Life for Lucy is boring and slow, especially when aliens aren’t following the lockdown rules! How can Lucy and Hobo defeat the monsters, but stick to the two metre rule?

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries is a Lethbridge-Stewart spin-off adventure inspired by characters created for Doctor Who by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln.

Prolific writer Paul W Robinson is new to the world of Lucy Wilson and, following in the footsteps of Jonathan Macho, has written a story especially for fans during lockdown. He says:
I love science fiction and have always been a fan of Doctor Who, but I knew nothing about The Lucy Wilson Mysteries until I worked with Shaun from Candy Jar on my novel Charlie Abroad. Shaun was kind enough to send me the first three or four books and after that I was hooked.
Sweet Revenge recognises that people, and even aliens, aren’t always what they seem. Paul continues:
I have always liked writing about strong female characters to try to redress the balance. Lucy Wilson is strong, fearless, resilient and quick-thinking. And Hobo’s no pushover either!” Although only young, like the Brigadier, Lucy Wilson is a valiant hero. There is much more to her than meets the eye!

Publishing co-ordinator at Candy Jar, Keren Williams, is excited to showcase Paul’s talent. She says:
We’ve been working with Paul on a number of projects recently including something rather special to be released later this year. When we asked him to contribute a short story he immediately understood the tone we were after and delivered a cracking adventure for all of us who are stuck at home.

To download Sweet Revenge visit the Candy Jar website.





FILTER: - Candy Jar Books - Online

Double up on Doctor Who event viewing this Saturday

Saturday, 25 April 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster
There's not one but two Doctor Who related online events taking place today. Starting at 10:00am BST, the Doctor Who Appreciation Society present The Capitol: CONtact has been made, and from 2:00pm BST Fantom Events present their fourth online event, Time Space Visualiser. Both will be broadcast on the organisations' respective YouTube channels and can be viewed afterwards for those in different time zones to the UK, as well as a host of other archive material from previous events also available to enjoy.

The Capitol - CONtact has been made (Credit: DWAS)The Capitol: CONtact has been made
Presented by the Doctor Who Appreciation Society (via YouTube)

We're delighted to announce The Capitol CONtact has been made, a virtual event that will launch at 10.00am BST on Saturday 25th April. We have specifically chosen this time and date as it’s when The Capitol FIVE was originally scheduled to get underway.

CONtact has been made will be available at our You Tube Channel DWASonline, and features panels from the first four Capitols in their entirety. We are very grateful to our wonderful guests for giving us permission to make them available in these troublesome times as we continue to battle against the invisible enemy.

Panels will include Steven Berkoff talking about Shakespeare, Sylvester Stallone & Hitler, and Jon Culshaw trading blows with Terrance Dicks in a unique double header.

Time Space Visualiser 4 (Credit: Fantom Events)Time and Space Visualiser
Presented by Fantom Events (via YouTube)

We are back this Saturday with our fourth online convention, bringing you a hectic mixture of brand new interviews, special features, competitions, and archive material, broadcasting live and direct on YouTube… all completely for FREE.

This week we are honoured to have our first Doctor joining us; the seventh Doctor SYLVESTER McCOY is taking part in a specially recorded interview for the event.

Of course any Doctor needs his loyal companions, and we have three of his fabulous friends. KATY MANNING (Jo Grant/Jones), JOHN LEESON (K9) and DAN STARKEY (Strax) will also be joining in the fun.

And if that wasn’t enough, we have brand new interviews with a trio of wonderful guest stars. GRAHAM COLE is best known to Doctor Who fans as The Melkur, but is probably more familiar as PC Tony Stamp in The Bill. JESSICA MARTIN was Mags (and also the voice of the Queen) and also read one of our new stories recently. And finally, JASON WATKINS, one of the most recognisable faces on television right now, who was also a guest star in NIGHTMARE IN SILVER.




FILTER: - Conventions - DWAS - Fantom - Online - Online Events - Sylvester McCoy