From the Doctors... to all doctors

Thursday, 23 April 2020 - Reported by Marcus

From the Doctors... to all doctors. A thank you to the NHS and all frontline workers.

As seen on the BBC One programme The Big Night In

The Doctors Say Thank You | #TheBigNightIn

FILTER: - Eighth Doctor - Eleventh Doctor - Fifth Doctor - Fourth Doctor - Seventh Doctor - Sixth Doctor - Tenth Doctor - Thirteenth Doctor - Twelfth Doctor

Doctors Unite for Big Night In

Thursday, 23 April 2020 - Reported by Marcus

Ten Doctors will take part in the BBC charity show The Big Night In later today on BBC One - a collaboration between the BBC's regular charity appeals Children in Need and Comic Relief. The event as a whole will run from 7pm until 10pm on BBC One.

The charity show will raise money for those on the front line dealing with the COVID-19 virus and pay tribute to all the unsung heroes trying to support their communities.

Hosted by Lenny Henry, who appeared in the last series of Doctor Who, the BBC One show will bring a night of comedy, music and live entertainment from the studio, linking up with a multitude of stars from their houses for an unmissable night.

The Doctors have recorded a message thanking front-line staff for their work during the coronavirus crisis. It will be broadcast just before the weekly Clap For Carers at 20:00 BST. Taking part are Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, David Tennant, Matt Smith Peter Capaldi, Jodie Whittaker and Jo Martin.

Also appearing in the show is Matt Lucas, who joins former partner David Walliams in the first Little Britain sketch on TV for a decade, and Catherine Tate who bring reprises schoolgirl Lauren, currently struggling with being remotely educated by her teacher, played by David Tennant.

The three-hour show will aim to raise millions of pounds for vulnerable people around the UK who have been affected by the pandemic. The government has pledged to match all public donations, with a minimum of £20 million.

The programme also promises to "celebrate the acts of kindness, humour and the spirit of hope and resilience that is keeping the nation going".

FILTER: - Charities

Farewell, Sarah Jane. - New Mini Episode Released Sunday

Saturday, 18 April 2020 - Reported by Marcus

A brand new conclusion to The Sarah Jane Adventures, Farewell Sarah Jane, has been written by series creator Russell T Davies and will be released on Sunday.

The episode will be released at 5pm on the BBC Doctor Who YouTube, Facebook, Twitter & Instagram accounts. Later that evening the latest #DoctorWhoLockdown event will be a rewatch of the final two episodes of Series Four The Stolen Earth and Journey's End. Fans around the world will simultaneously watch the episodes along with twitter commentary from Russell T Davies, David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Freema Agyeman, John Barrowman and director Grahame Harper.

The Sarah Jane Adventures ended in 2011 after the death of Elisabeth Sladen, who first appeared alongside Jon Pertwee in 1973. The mini episode was made with the support of Sladen's family.

#DoctorWhoLockdown is organised by Emily Cook of Doctor Who Magazine. It's aim is to bring fans around the world together during the current lockdown through their shared love of Doctor Who.

SUNDAY 5pm! Farewell, Sarah Jane. The final Sarah Jane Adventure. Made with the blessing of Lis's family; come and say goodbye. Available on Doctor Who YouTube, Facebook, Twitter & Instagram, and both the global https://t.co/pmPrh61ial and BBC Doctor Who sites #FarewellSarahJane pic.twitter.com/vSqARz6XJ6
— Russell T Davies (@russelldavies63) April 18, 2020

FILTER: - Russell T Davies - Sarah Jane

The Lost Stories: Return of the Cybermen

Friday, 17 April 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Return Of The Cybermen, with Sadie-Miller, Tom_Baker and Christopher Naylor (Credit: Big Finish)

Big Finish have announced details about their forthcoming Lost Stories release, Return of the Cybermen, due to be released in January 2021.

The unmade story was written by Gerry Davis for the Fourth Doctor's first season, but after heavy rewriting by script editor Robert Holmes it eventually transformed into the broadcast story Revenge of the Cybermen. Now realised in its original form, the story will star Tom Baker reprise his role as the Fourth Doctor, with his faithful companions Sarah and Harry.

With both actors sadly no longer with us, the characters needed to be recast. The role of Sarah will be played by Elisabeth Sladen's own daughter Sadie Miller, who observed:

When Big Finish asked me to play Sarah Jane for this story, I was very nervous. I didn’t want to create a performance from someone else’s.

So I tried to approach it as I would with any other role. I’ve tried to find my own piece of Sarah - the part of my mum that’s in me. But I have had a quick look on YouTube for Sarah Jane Smith screams, because I wasn’t quite sure how she would want me to do those. Other than that I just tried to keep it as separate in my mind as possible from the original.

The fans of Doctor Who have always been so kind and generous to me and to my family. It was always a part of my life growing up, I was never not aware of it. People have always been very kind in letting us come along for the ride really, through conventions and now things like Big Finish and, after mum passed away, the outpouring of love for her has been lovely.

Senior Producer, David Richardson added:

How do you recast Sarah Jane Smith? Would you even want to? Those were the questions that bothered us - we love the character. We loved Lis Sladen. We worried it might be too soon and too difficult to go there. But then we realised that part of Lis lives on in Sadie, and Sadie has beautifully brought that to the role of Sarah - we all approached this carefully, and respectfully, and with love and I couldn’t be happier with Sadie’s performance. She’s done her mum proud.

The third of the trio, Harry, is played by Christopher Naylor; David continued:

Tom has actually worked many times before with Christopher Naylor, who’s played guest roles throughout different series of the Fourth Doctor Adventures. Chris is a very versatile actor, so we can cast him in so many things. But, we realised, he’s also the perfect Harry. Again, it’s very hard to follow Ian Marter, but Chris has managed to do that and Tom was full of praise for what both Sadie and Chris have done. I wonder where they could pop up next?”

Return of the Cybermen (Credit: Big Finish)

Speaking on how the production came about David said:

I’d known of Return of the Cybermen for many years, but it was only relatively recently that I was able to source Gerry Davis’s script thanks to some great detective work by archivist Richard Bignell! John Dorney’s adaptation stays true to the original script and the era, though there have been some very minor changes to bring it in line with the kind of amends we believe Robert Holmes would have asked for. Little things that make it sit comfortably in season 12.

It’s rather different in tone to Revenge of the Cybermen - darker, scarier and more reminiscent of claustrophobic 1960s Cybermen tales like The Moonbase and The Invasion.

Director Nicholas Briggs added:

It was interesting working with Tom on this, because he noticed the difference in style immediately. This is Doctor Who as Gerry Davis imagined it in 1974, and it’s very much like he wrote Doctor Who in the mid-1960s. So the script didn’t quite have the same levels of emotional sophistication and wit that was present either in what Robert Holmes eventually crafted into Revenge of the Cybermen, or certainly the more recent Fourth Doctor Adventures we’ve made on audio.

I imagined what it would have been like, back in the day, if Tom had been presented with this script to rehearse and record. If you look at the script book of the first Tom Baker season, you can see masses of line changes that were added by the cast or director during rehearsals and shooting in all those stories. Some of them are the best, most memorable moments, so I reasoned that it would be a faithful process to take on board Tom’s suggestions for this production of Return of the Cybermen.

We had loads of fun, as usual, with Tom finding it particularly amusing when I was directing him with a Cyberman voice effect. At one point, he asked, 'Is he talking to me?' which made us all laugh out loud!

Return of the Cybermen: Teaser Trailer

Doctor Who: Return of the Cybermen is now available for pre-order as a collector’s edition 2-disc box set or download from the Big Finish website. Big Finish listeners can also save money by pre-ordering a bundle of forthcoming adventures from The Lost Stories range, including both Return of the Cybermen and The Doomsday Contract.

FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish - Fourth Doctor - Tom Baker

DWAS Announces the Return of TARDIS Magazine

Friday, 17 April 2020 - Reported by Marcus

The Doctor Who Appreciation Society has announced the return of its magazine, TARDIS, last published in 2003.

Volume 16 of TARDIS will begin publication in the summer of 2020. Under the editorship of Robbie Dunlop, it will be an entirely commissioned features-based magazine, published three times per year as a vibrant A4 title. It will be available to all fans from DWAS’s company Space Rocket Ltd, with DWAS members given the opportunity to buy directly from the Society at a substantial discount. The publication we help continue the society tradition of supporting charities with each edition raising funds for a worthy cause.

TARDIS was one of the earliest Doctor Who Fan magazines (fanzines) and was first published in 1975 by Andrew Johnson. In the summer of 1976, the newly formed Doctor Who Appreciation Society took on the publication of the magazine. Over the next few years, TARDIS went from strength to strength. It started as hand duplicated title, soon acquiring ‘photo pages’ which were inserts produced by offset litho. Later on, TARDIS become professionally printed itself, and in 1979 it saw colour for the first time. TARDIS was always supplied as an addition to DWAS membership until it was absorbed into the Society’s newsletter ‘Celestial Toyroom’ in 1987. TARDIS subsequently ceased publication as CT itself moved away from its traditional newsletter format and became a magazine in its own right.

Between April 1997 and December 1998, the Society resurrected TARDIS as a quarterly publication alongside Celestial Toyroom but then retired the title again, with a brief return as a one-off special in 2003 celebrating the show’s 40th anniversary.

The world of Doctor Who fandom has changed beyond recognition since then, and nowadays there are very few printed fan magazines. Celestial Toyroom remains the staple of the DWAS’s own output giving air to a wide range of views. Many writers have started with items in CT before moving on to more mainstream publications including ‘Doctor Who Magazine’. DWAS has recognised the changing landscape and CTs sister publication, Cosmic Masque is now published as a download at their website. The Celestial Toyroom Annual is released principally as an eBook with a limited run print copy also available.

Announcing the return the Society said

Whereas fandom is a very virtual experience these days, we remain convinced that there is a solid, sustainable demand for printed magazines, produced by fans for fans. As such, the Doctor Who Appreciation Society is very pleased to announce the return of TARDIS.

The price and ordering information will be announced soon with the first issue of the new volume following shortly afterwards. In the meantime, Celestial Toyroom continues on its monthly publications schedule, giving members the opportunity to express their views on all aspects of Doctor Who. A new edition of Cosmic Masque, the fiction and reviews title, will also be released for download in the summer and a new ‘Celestial Toyroom Annual’ for 2021 is in the planning stages now.

For more information on the Doctor Who Appreciation Society, the world longest-running Doctor Who fan club, please visit www.dwasonline.co.uk. Enquiries about the new magazine can be made to tardis@dwasonline.co.uk

FILTER: - DWAS

#RTWatch: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

Friday, 17 April 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Radio Times are presenting their second Torchwood-oriented Twitter viewing event tonight, this time focussing on the arrival of Jack's former colleague Captain John Hart.

To join in, simply pop in your DVD or Bluray disc of Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, or access a streaming service such as BBC iPlayer, Amazon Video, iTunes or Google Play, and then hit play at 8:00pm BST / 3:00pm EDT / 5:00am AEST / 7:00am NZST and share your viewing experience!

Tweet #TorchwoodIsReady

John Barrowman will be tweeting his thoughts during the viewing alongside co-stars Naoko Mori, Burn Gorman and Gareth David-Lloyd, after which they will be participating in a live Q&A.

FILTER: - John Barrowman - Online Events - Radio Times - Torchwood

Big Finish: Class Volumes Three and Four

Thursday, 16 April 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Class: Volumes 3-4: Amanda Shodeko (Agen), McKenzie Alexander (Runthar), Sakuntala Ramanee (Matriarch), Ian Abeysekera (Patriarch), Fady Elsayed (Ram), Sophie Hopkins (April) (Credit: Big Finish)

Class: Volumes 3-4: Dervla Kirwan (Miss Quill) and Simon Armstrong (Corporal Blood) (Credit: Big Finish)

Big Finish will be releasing two new volumes for the Doctor Who spin-off series Class later this month.

Alongside the series regulars, Greg Austin (Charlie Smith), Sophie Hopkins (April MacLean) and Fady Elsayed (Ram Singh), two new faces are joining the cast. Dervla Kirwan (who played Miss Hartigan in The Next Doctor) takes over from Katherine Kelly in the role of witty alien exile, Miss Quill. And Joanna McGibbon steps into the shoes of Vivian Oparah as student prodigy, Tanya Adeola.

Producer Scott Handcock said:

Recasting’s a tricky process because people become familiar with a particular actor, and you don’t want to ask a performer to actively imitate what came before as that can often prove more distracting. But Dervla Kirwan’s Miss Quill is just as sarcastic and scathing as Katherine Kelly was on screen, and she embraced the character and backstory instantly: she’s got some really strong material in these stories.

Similarly, Joanna McGibbon came to Tanya Adeola relatively fresh, reacting to what was written on the page, and it instantly feels like she’s been living with the rest of the cast for years.

Listen to a clip

(view clean cover)

Class: Volume Three

The Soers’ Ditch by Carl Rowens
After a disastrous double date night, Charlie, April, Ram and Matteusz find themselves transported to another level of reality. Can they survive the Soers' ritualistic traditions? And more importantly, can they save their friendships?

Catfish by Kate Thorman
When a new student transfers to Coal Hill Academy, everyone goes out of their way to make him feel welcome, and Tanya is especially surprised by how much they have in common. Will she sacrifice best friends for her very first boyfriend?

Sweet Nothings by Michael Dennis
Living on Earth isn't easy when you're used to life as an alien freedom fighter. For Quill, it's a lonely existence – until she meets a Man outside Coal Hill Academy: the Man who can offer her everything she misses from her past... and more.

Listen to the trailer

(view clean cover)

Class: Volume Four

Mock by Alfie Shaw
As the students of Coal Hill Academy prepare to tackle exam season, Quill and Charlie find themselves tested to their limits. Childhood memories from their homeworld threaten to hijack the present – and there are no easy answers.

The Creeper by Lizzie Hopley
While the pupils of Coal Hill Academy celebrate Hallowe'en, Quill and Matteusz investigate an alien distress call emanating from a boarded-up house in Shoreditch. Can April and Charlie reach them before it's too late? And what is the ‘Creeper’ inside?

Queen of Rhodia by Blair Mowat
Quill wakes to find herself unexpectedly back on Rhodia – which is impossible – though not quite as impossible as the life that waits for her there. To save her future, Quill must turn her back on the past. But is this the end or a new beginning?

Listen to the trailer

Class Volumes Three and Four will be available for digital download and also in a limited edition CD box set (only 1000 of each volume will be pressed); they can now be pre-ordered from the Big Finish website, with the CD set available at a discounted price until general release (all CD purchases from website unlock a download exclusive from both their website and app).

FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish - Class

Big Finish: Susan's War

Thursday, 16 April 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Big Finish have released the next chapter of their Time War series, with a new four story boxed set featuring the very first Gallifreyan we met in Doctor Who ...

Time War: Susan's War (clean cover) (Credit: Big Finish)

The children of Gallifrey are being recalled to fight in the Time War, and the Doctor’s granddaughter knows her moment has come. A new, full-cast audio drama, Susan’s War, is released today.

Intelligence. Intuition. Empathy. The requirements of a perfect agent to catch a spy. And, in Susan Campbell (Carole Ann Ford), the Time Lords have found all the attributes they need to give their work a veneer of respectability.

In the 2017 Big Finish Short Trip, All Hands on Deck, the Eighth Doctor tried to prevent Susan being recruited by the Time Lords on Gallifrey and dragged into the Time War. But his efforts were in vain, and now we find out what happens next...

Listen to the Introduction

Cast and Crew Behind The Scenes

Time War: Susan's War (Credit: Big Finish)

Time War: Susan's War
Starring Carole Ann Ford as Susan
With Paul McGann as the Doctor and William Russell as Ian Chesterton
Featuring Beth Chalmers as Veklin, Damain Lynch as Rasmus and Nicholas Briggs as the Daleks

Gallifrey needs every Time Lord to fight the Time War. A summons has been issued across the universe to its prodigals. Whatever their skills, the war effort can use them.

Susan’s call-up papers have arrived, and, unlike her grandfather, she is willing to join her people’s battle and finally return home.

Because Susan knows the Daleks, and she will do her duty...

Sphere of Influence by Eddie Robson
Susan’s first mission is one of diplomacy. The Sense-Sphere could prove a valuable ally to Gallifrey. But she is not the only one who knows the Sensorites of old. Susan will have the support of an old friend. Ian Chesterton is about to rejoin the adventure he left a lifetime ago!

The Uncertain Shore by Simon Guerrier
Susan and Commander Veklin are on the trail of a spy. Under cover on a ravaged world, they find a weary population, trapped, and waiting for the inevitable. But one among them is a traitor. The Time War is coming to Florana, and Susan will face a struggle to simply survive...

Assets of War by Lou Morgan
Cardinal Rasmus believes that Susan’s special abilities will help him assess a new weapons project. On a secret military base, creatures from the vortex are being bred for war. Gallifrey’s scientists think they can be used as assets against the Daleks. But the Orrovix are not easily tamed...

The Shoreditch Intervention by Alan Barnes
When Susan’s TARDIS is intercepted, she is given a highly classified mission. Earth, 1963 is a nexus point in the Time War, but the timelines must be negotiated carefully. Mods and rockers are not the only dangers on the streets of Shoreditch. In Susan’s past, the Daleks are waiting. But so is the Doctor!

Actor Carole Ann Ford commented:

Although she doesn't sometimes give the impression that she is, Susan is actually quite brave. She's been attacked by all sorts of weird and wonderful things, and she's quite happy to go launching herself off into time and space.

I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't playing a younger Susan. Otherwise she just comes leaping back. It's difficult to eradicate. It's difficult too for the writers as they have no experience of the older Susan being portrayed anywhere.

Script Editor Matt Fitton added:

I had an image of Susan from the special TV episode, The Five Doctors, in that trenchcoat which makes me think of her as a spy! So here we have her on diplomatic and espionage missions rather than military operations, to show another aspect of how special ops are going on behind-the-scenes in the Time War.

Doctor Who: Susan's War is available as a four-disc collector’s edition box set to preorder from Amazon, or to purchase now from Big Finish as a CD set or digital download.

FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish - Eighth Doctor

The Unofficial Master Annual 2074

Thursday, 16 April 2020 - Reported by Marcus

The latest release from Terraqueous Distributors is The Unofficial Master Annual 2074.

The annual is 136 pages, featuring stories and illustrations produced by fans, as well as contributions from well-known names such as Alister Pearson, Smuzz, and Andy Walker.

The Master annual was originally announced last November, with a call for contributors. The following is an excerpt from the writer's guidelines: The Master is the Anti-hero. Sometimes saving people, not because of compassion or moral values, but because it suits whatever agenda he has. Of course, he can also be the villain, remember that meddlesome Doctor isn't around - and that's when villains come out on top.

The focus of the annual is the original Master portrayed by Roger Delgado. The cover artwork is a homage to the first-ever Dr Who annual that was released in 1965 by World Distributors.

We wanted from the start to send the message that the Doctor isn't here to save the day, he's gone, he's been replaced by a different kind of hero. And in the unofficial Master annual, we get to explore just how successful he can be. What could be more thrilling than exploring the Master's universe, without having the Doctor there to save the day.

The cover was illustrated by Paul Cooke and features original characters from the stories in the annual.

The publication follows The Unofficial Dr Who Annual 1972 and The Unofficial Dr Who Annual 1987, which featured stories and illustrations produced by fans, as well as celebrity contributions from the worlds of Doctor Who.

The Unofficial Master Annual 2074 is available from Lulu at the print-on-demand price of £23.32 plus shipping costs). The annual is a not-for-profit publication, and none of the money paid by purchasers goes to the publisher or to any of the contributors.

The Unofficial Doctor Who Annual 1987 is also available, but will be retired later this year.

Later this year, Terraqueous Distributors will be releasing their fourth annual. This time the focus will be on the seventh Doctor. If you would like to contribute to the seventh Doctor annual, please send an email to: doctorwhoannual@aol.co.ukDetails on the Terraqueous Distributors FaceBook page

FILTER: - Fan Productions

Big Finish: Cry of the Vultriss

Wednesday, 15 April 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Big Finish have released the next in their regular range of Doctor Who adventures, featuring Colin Baker aa the Doctor:

Cry of the Vultriss, with writer Darren Jones, Jo Burke, Nicholas Briggs, Miranda Raison, Colin Baker, Lisa Greenwood, Caroline Lawrie, Daniel Norford (Credit: Big Finish)

(view alternative cast photo)

The Sixth Doctor is back and travelling with companions Philippa ‘Flip’ Jackson and Constance Clarke in a brand new full-cast audio drama, Doctor Who: Cry of the Vultriss, released today.

Part political drama, part disaster epic, Doctor Who: Cry of the Vultriss sees The Doctor, Constance and Flip crash-land on an alien planet. While the TARDIS begins to repair itself they set off to discover the cause of the crash, but very quickly become embroiled in the on-going political crisis of the Vultriss – the bird-like species which rules the planet.

If that wasn’t enough for the Doctor to deal with, a group of alien ambassadors arrive – the Ice Warriors. And he discovers the Vultriss are hiding a centuries old secret that may have terrible consequences for the galaxy.

Cry of the Vultriss (Credit: Big Finish)

(view clean cover)

Cry of the Vultriss
Starring Colin Baker as the Doctor
with Lisa Greenwood as Flip and Miranda Raison as Constance
Written by Darren Jones

Violently ejected from the Space-Time Vortex, the TARDIS crash lands on the remote planet of Cygia-Rema, a mountainous world ruled by the bird-like Vultriss. Their newly crowned Queen Skye is expecting first contact with alien ambassadors – Ice Warriors – and the sudden arrival of the Doctor, Flip and Mrs Constance Clarke causes confusion.

However, Skye is no ordinary ruler, she is the Fabled One gifted with the deadly power of ‘The Cry’. The queen who will enable the Vultriss to fly once again – at any cost.

Actor Colin Baker commented:

The Doctor suffers a bit from ‘species guilt’ in this one. The Time Lords have been responsible for the initial problem that created the rift in space they're trying to close. It always adds a layer of interest to a story when we go back to the ghastly Time Lords, who arguably could be seen as the biggest villains of the whole lot.

Listen to the Trailer