Fish Fingers and Custard - Issue 2

Wednesday, 29 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Fish Fingers and CustardIssue 2 of the fanzine Fish Fingers and Custard is out now and be downloaded or purchased in print from the website.

In the Issue:
  • Series 5 Reviews
  • Proms Report
  • Fives
  • Where Should Classic Doctor Who Have Ended?
  • Memories of PBS Pledge Drives
  • The Latest Tabloid Newspaper Rumours
And Much More.




FILTER: - Fan Productions

The Nightmare Man

Wednesday, 29 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Sarah Jane Adventures: The Nightmare ManThe BBC has released synopsis for The Nightmare Man, the first story in the new series of The Sarah Jane Adventures.

The series will premiere on CBBC on Monday 11th October at 5.15pm, with Part Two being shown the following day.

In a change to the DWM infomation, the BBC One repeats will now be on Wednesday and Thursday at 4.30pm.
Part One
In the first two-part adventure, The Nightmare Man, Sarah Jane's adopted son, Luke, faces life-changing events and Bannerman Road will never be the same again when he has his first nightmare and is haunted by a dark figure from his dreams. A strange entity is reaching out to our world, with terrible consequences for the whole human race.

With Luke, Clyde and Rani trapped in a bizarre dreamscape, Sarah Jane must fight alone in the concluding part of the first story in the fourth series of The Sarah Jane Adventures.
As the Nightmare Man grows stronger, only K9 might hold the key, but can Luke summon the courage to face his adult life before the whole world becomes trapped in an endless nightmare?




FILTER: - Sarah Jane - Broadcasting

Series One Wins + New Offer - Updated

Tuesday, 28 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who: See SawDoctor Who has overwhelmingly won the vote held by See Saw and as a result the entire Series One of Doctor Who will be available  to rent from  their website from Tuesday 28th September for 99p. Although the series needs to be purchased today, viewers then have up to 90 days to watch the series.

Because the competition was so popular, SeeSaw, has announced a second Tight Tuesday promotion, just for readers of The Doctor Who News Page.

Voting will be between Doctor Who Series 2, Doctor Who Series 3 and Doctor Who Series 4.
It was intended to have Torchwood as the fourth option, but this has had to be removed due to admin reasons. Instead the three Doctor Who Series are up against Series One of Battlestar Galactica.

Votes need to be made at www.seesaw.com/gallifrey.




FILTER: - Torchwood - Online - Series 3/29 - Series 1/27 - Series 4/30 - Series 2/28

Louis Marks 1928 - 2010

Monday, 27 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
The writer Louis Marks has died at the age of 82.

Louis Marks wrote four stories for Doctor Who. In 1965 he wrote the first story of Season Two, Planet of Giants, the first contemporary story in the series since the first episode. He returned to the series in 1972 to plot the return of the Daleks after a gap of several years in Day of the Daleks a story which saw the introduction of the Ogrons.

For the Fourth Doctor he penned two stories, Planet of Evil in 1975 was set on the far distant planet Zeta Minor on the edge of the universe, while The Masque of Mandragora a year later was set in 15th century Italy.

His work away from Doctor Who included The Man Who Finally Died (1967) for the BBC and Special Branch for Thames Television (1970). He wrote for Danger Man with Patrick McGoohan, and for the Doomwatch series. His work as a producer included The Lost Boys (1978), Fearless Frank (1979) and the BBC's adaptation of George Eliot's Middlemarch (1994).

Louis Marks died on 17th September, 2010.




FILTER: - Obituary - Classic Series

Extras for The Mutants cleared

Monday, 27 September 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The following extras have been cleared for a future DVD release of the Jon Pertwee adventure The Mutants by the British Board of Film Classification:
00:02:55:18 THE MUTANTS - PHOTO GALLERY
00:20:36:21 MUTT MAD - THE MAKING OF THE MUTANTS
00:01:35:07 (BLUE PETER) (CLIP FROM BLUE PETER IN 1970S)
00:27:03:13 DRESSING DOCTOR WHO - JAMES ACHESON (FEATURETTE)
00:37:36:10 RACE AGAINST TIME (FEATURETTE)
The clearance of extras is usually an indication that the story is due to come out relatively soon on DVD; however, producer 2Entertain have not given an official date for release at present.




FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Dalek discovered at school!

Monday, 27 September 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Staff and students had a surprise last week when they discovered a Dalek in their school, West Exe Learning Centre in St. Thomas, Devon. The prop appeared to have been abandoned, with no clue as to where it had come from.

Sue Willey, deputy manager of West Exe Learning Centre, said:
We're not sure where he has come from or who he belongs to. It is a full-size replica and stands at about 5ft tall. You can even sit inside him. It's not every day you get a Dalek arrive at your school and he did cause a bit of a stir to start with. The kids liked him but I think they're starting to lose interest now. I don't think they're into Doctor Who really. We'd like to return him to his owner if possible because he's taking up quite a lot of room and is living in a cupboard at the moment."

Police were also involved in the incident but were unable to trace the owner. Detective Constable Caroline Prince, of Exeter's burglary team, said:
We believe this Dalek has come from somewhere in Exeter, but we have had no one reporting a stolen or missing Dalek so we don't know who it belongs to. If anyone can help us identify the owner of the Dalek, we would be very grateful so we can return it to its rightful owner."

With no owners having come forward to claim it, the Dalek now resides at a film and television memorabilia store in Exeter. Shop owner and Doctor Who enthusiast John Hadlow said:
I felt so sorry for him being stuck in a school cupboard so I've brought him to the shop and he is stood next to the other Dalek. He is also going to have a bit of a refurb and be tidied up. No one has come forward to claim him since the appeal in the Echo so we can only assume he was dumped.

If you have any information as where this Dalek may have come from, you can contact Detective Constable Prince at Exeter burglary team on 08452 777444.





FILTER: - UK - Miscellaneous

Yellow Dalek exclusive for Hastings Entertainment

Monday, 27 September 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Yellow Daleks!Yellow Daleks!
Underground Toys have announced that entertainment store Hastings will be selling an exclusive Yellow Dalek action figure as part of a promotion that will run in association with BBC Worldwide.

Stores in the North American chain will feature a special 6x4ft display unit to highlight key merchandise from Doctor Who.

For more details, see the Undergound Toys and Hastings Entertainment websites.





FILTER: - Merchandise - USA

Sarah Jane Transmission Date

Friday, 24 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Sarah Jane AdventuresDoctor Who Magazine reports that The Sarah Jane Adventures will return to BBC Television on Monday 11th October 2010.

The series will be shown twice each week, with episodes first being shown on CBBC on Mondays and Tuesdays before being repeated on BBC One on Thursdays and Fridays.

Dates are subject to change and will be finalised the week before transmission.


The Sarah Jane Adventures - Series Four.
  • 1: The Nightmare Man
  • by Joseph Lidster
  • 2: The Vault of Secrets
  • by Phil Ford
  • 3: Death of the Doctor
  • by Russell T Davies
  • 4: The Empty Planet
  • by Gareth Roberts
  • 5: Lost in Time
  • by Rupert Laight
  • 6: Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith
  • by Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman




FILTER: - Sarah Jane - Broadcasting

Casting News

Thursday, 23 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who: Surrane JonesThe official Doctor Who site has confirmed that former Coronation Street star Suranne Jones has been cast in the role of Idris in the third episode of the 2011 series of Doctor Who.

Jones is best known for playing the role of Karen McDonald in ITV1's soap over a period of four years. She has also appeared in the detective drama series Vincent, and on the West End stage in A Few Good Men opposite Rob Lowe. Other roles include the London based black comedy, Dead Clever. In autumn 2007, she toured the UK in the play Terms of Endearment and she has recently appeared in a number of plays for BBC Radio 4. In January 2009, she appeared in Unforgiven, a three-part drama on ITV1, where she plays Ruth Slater, a woman released from prison after serving a 15-year prison sentence for the murder of two policemen.

Last year Jones appeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures episode, Lisa's Revenge playing the Mona Lisa.

The third episode, which started filming this week is written by Neil Gaiman who said
Suranne is marvellous. She's beautiful, funny and strange. It's the kind of role that people will remember forever, so we needed someone who was able to pull that off, and to keep up with Matt Smith. And bite him. Suranne does all three.

Jones talked about how excited she was to be given the role.
As an actor, it's hugely exciting to be cast in Doctor Who. I'm a massive fan of the show and I was blown away when I read Neil's script and uncovered what's in store for my character. I'm sworn to secrecy so viewers will just have to wait until next year to find out any other juicy details!




FILTER: - Series 6/32 - Production

Doctor Who Magazine 426

Thursday, 23 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Magazine 426This months Doctor Who Magazine talks to the man who provides the voices for the Doctor’s greatest enemies, the Daleks and the Cybermen. Nicholas Briggs tells all about his time as a Dalek, his life-long love of Doctor Who and just what he can do with his ring voice modulator
It’s great for people to be able to hear the voice on set. The way I say my lines does change depending on how David, Chris, or Matt say their lines to me. The Daleks actually being there makes such a difference. Much of the time, the cast is acting against silver balls on sticks, in front of a green screen, but Daleks move around, flash their lights, speak like they want to kill you, like a voice from hell

Also in the magazine
  • He’s one of the best-loved and most respected authors in the world – and now he’s written a Doctor Who book. Michael Moorcock talks to DWM about his new novel The Coming of the Terraphiles – plus there's also an exclusive extract.
  • Toby Haynes, director of the 2010 series finale, concludes his exclusive Director’s Diary and tells DWM how Doctor Who changed his life.
  • Tokyo’s children are turning into Axons – and the Doctor, Amy and UNIT are involved in a breathtaking fight for their lives! All in the second part of the DWM comic strip The Golden Ones, by Jonathan Morris with art by Martin Geraghty.
  • What do the Eleventh Doctor, Jo Grant and K9 have in common? They’re all in the fourth series of The Sarah Jane Adventures, which is back on TV in October. DWM previews all twelve new episodes and talks to all the writers – Russell T Davies, Phil Ford, Joseph Lidster, Rupert Laight, Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman.
  • The Doctor and his companions appreciate the gravity of the situation as they leap around on the Moon and encounter the sinister Cybermen! The Fact of Fiction scrutinizes the 1967 adventure The Moonbase and extracts a wealth of information from this classic Second Doctor tale.
  • DWM presents the ultimate guide to the men of steel – the Cybermen. Discover how they’ve evolved over the decades, as the Watcher reveals everything you need to know – and some surprising secrets, about one of the Doctor’s most persistent foes.
  • He’s back. Former UNIT Captain Mike Yates has returned to action alongside the Fourth Doctor in the new audio series Demon Quest. DWM catches up with the man who plays him, actor Richard Franklin, and finds out what he thinks about Yates’ comeback – and his opinion of Doctor Who today.
  • Doctor Who’s showrunner Steven Moffat provides some clues as to what adventures lie in store for the Doctor, Amy and Rory, and has the last word on what the next season should be called – in Production Notes.




FILTER: - Steven Moffat - DWM