Christmas Press Release

Tuesday, 22 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

The BBC Press Office has issued a full press release on their Christmas offerings, noting "this year, the BBC offers a mix of new Christmas specials alongside some established favourites." The press release itself notes the rerun of Casanova on BBC3... and gives a full preview of the forthcoming Doctor Who special on December 25. They also note that there will be some Doctor Who content on BBC Three that day, though it's unspecified.

Below, in the spoiler tags, is the BBC press synopsis for "The Christmas Invasion"; it gives the plot setup away so don't click it unless you want to know!

Additional coverage of the press release at BBC News, Manchester Online, RTE,Brand Republic, Daily Record, The Herald, The Mirror, The Scotsman, Digital Spy, Reuters, CBBC News.

Doctor Who – The Christmas Invasion

It's Christmas and Jackie Tyler is at home preparing for the festive season, not knowing if her daughter Rose will be home in time - or at all. Then she hears the familiar, ancient grind of the TARDIS! Mickey, who is hard at work, also hears it and they both race across the estate just in time to witness the TARDIS' glorious, chaotic crash landing. The doors open and, much to their delight, out steps Rose and a complete stranger - except it isn't a stranger - it's the Doctor. Disorientated, yet overwhelmed to see them, he takes a few minutes to regain his balance and consider what it is he wants to tell them. "Oh! I know! Merry Christmas!" he yells, before collapsing. The Doctor falls in and out of consciousness, with Rose and Jackie powerless to help him.

In a bid to boost Rose's spirits, Mickey suggests a spot of Christmas shopping. A good plan - until they find themselves under attack by a sinister brass band of masked Santas. However, they are not the only ones with problems. Prime Minister Harriet Jones has just been informed that a British space probe, on its way to Mars for a Christmas Day landing, has gone missing. It has been kidnapped by a monstrous race known as the Sycorax, who are set on taking over the world. Meanwhile, back at the Tylers', Mickey and Jackie are trying to fend off a killer Christmas tree, while Rose tries to wake the Doctor.

David Tennant plays the Doctor, Billie Piper plays Rose Tyler, Camille Coduri plays Jackie Tyler, Noel Clarke plays Mickey, Penelope Wilton plays Harriet Jones and Sean Gilder plays the Sycorax leader.

FILTER: - Press - Broadcasting

Children in Need Trailers

Friday, 11 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

The BBC has begun running a trailer for next Friday's Children in Needtelethon. Included are various clips from the evening's attractions, with two very brief excerpts from the "Doctor Who" scene. Says our correspondent, "The first shows the Doctor, evidently right after the regeneration still standing in the same position as we last saw him, assuring Rose that 'I'm the Doctor!'. The second, later in the trailer, has Rose leaning over the console as an alarm bell sounds. She asks what it is, and the Doctor leans in next to her and exclaims in delight: 'We're going to crash land!' before laughing manically. Tennant is, as expected, using an English accent as heard at the end of 'The Parting of the Ways' rather than his native Scottish one." (Thanks to Paul Hayes)

FILTER: - Special Events - Broadcasting

ITV's New Gamble

Thursday, 10 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

As announced in today's The Stage, the ITV network has developed a £6 million science fiction series to rival Doctor Who. "The six-part series, with a working title of Primaeval, will follow a team of scientists who travel into prehistoric times and other worlds through black holes." Says a source for The Stage, "The team of five is lead by Professor Cutter. You learn through flashbacks that his wife disappeared when she was investigating these black holes and he is determined to find her. The black holes can open up anywhere. In the first episode the team find their way through to a world at the time of the dinosaurs. In another they discover a hole in the flooded bathroom of a domestic house, which leads them to an underwater world full of prehistoric sea monsters. There is even an episode set in the depths of the tube, where the group face giant arachnids. There is a race against time to find out what they need to before the black hole closes and they are trapped." The series is written by Adrian Hodges and is said to feature the latest CGI graphics; it's being made by Impossible Pictures (the company that made BBC1 history hits "Walking With Dinosaurs" and "Walking With Beasts"). There is currently no word on airdates for the six-episode serial, as the network is apparently still undecided whether it would be broadcast on a Saturday or a Sunday.

FILTER: - Broadcasting

Children In Need Special Details

Thursday, 10 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Outpost Gallifrey has learned the specifics of the Children in Need Doctor Who special airing next week. The special mini-episode is actually 3 and 1/2 minutes long, and will begin at exactly 9:06pm during the telethon (though of course there is always room for slight variation in the timing). Additionally, we've learned that K9 will be in the studio joining the presenters for the evening. As always, this information is subject to change up to air time!

BBC Radio Jersey recently interviewed the director of the special, who said it's set immediately after the end of The Parting of the Ways, is set in the TARDIS, and is "a real episode that links the last series to the new one and is part of Series Two." The interviewer on Radio Jersey said they filmed it only in the last two weeks in Cardiff: "So I don't know what’s in it, I don't know how long it is but I do know it's a scene between Billie Piper in the TARDIS and it's the moment David Tennant materialised at the end of the last series."

FILTER: - Special Events - Broadcasting

Children in Need: Air Time

Sunday, 6 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

According to the Radio Times website (and some other online TV guides), the Doctor Who segment of Children in Need will be on between 9 and 9.30pm. Says the Radio Times:

Children in Need
9.00pm-9.30pm BBC One
Billie Piper and David Tennant star in a special Doctor Who scene written exclusively for Children in Need. Plus live music from Sugababes in Wrexham and KT Tunstall in Glasgow.

It should be noted that the schedule for Children in Need is very fluid, so that timeslot should not be taken as guaranteed - it could change right up to the night itself.

FILTER: - Special Events - Radio Times - Broadcasting

Christmas Day Airing

Thursday, 3 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

This year's holiday special "The Christmas Invasion" will air on Christmas Day, December 25, on BBC1. BBC Newsreported the announcement from the BBC, as did the official Doctor Who website. This morning's The Sun says the episode will be sandwiched in between two hour-long episodes of EastEnders "to complete a three-hour telly fest", while the Mirror says that the show will be broadcast against two Coronation Street specials on ITV. The transmission time is yet to be confirmed. The BBC and ITV traditionally battle each other for ratings on Christmas Day.

FILTER: - Specials - Broadcasting

Christmas Invasion Trailer

Wednesday, 26 October 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

As reported by several viewers on our Forum, BBC1 tonight aired a promotional trailer for "The Christmas Invasion" with an overview of Series One after the BBC News at 10pm. The trailer is very much akin to the one shown in June, but with additional footage (from last year's episodes) on it, and the note about the "countdown" being on at the end.

FILTER: - Specials - Broadcasting

UK Gold Update

Monday, 24 October 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

This week's UK Gold rebroadcast of the first season of the new Doctor Who series also includes additional rebroadcasts a day later on the UK Gold+1 channel and early morning broadcasts; we've updated the Outpost Gallifrey broadcast calendar with full details on times. Also, we've learned that the show will also be repeated as part of the Big Night in campaign on Saturdays from Week 44; trails have been made to promote the Doctor Who week.

Meanwhile, below are two photos of the UKTV Gold billboard and the UKTV Gold phone box ad for the broadcasts of the current series on the channel, which are noted by our correspondent as "reasonably rare relative to the ads for the new series back in March." Click on each for a larger version. (Thanks to Anthony Forth for the photos)

FILTER: - Classic Series - Broadcasting

Doctor Who in Germany

Monday, 24 October 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

According to a press release from the BBC, Germany is the latest country to acquire the new series, through a deal with commercial broadcaster ProSieben; the show will be seen on the German private TV station "Pro7". The sale was announced at the closing day of MIPCOM, the international audiovisual content market in Cannes. "ProSieben have licensed both the first series ... and the second series, which is currently in production. Russell T Davies' first series of Doctor Who attracted huge ratings and received critical acclaim when it aired on BBC ONE earlier this year. Announcing the deal, Isabelle Helle, Head of Germany, BBC Worldwide, said: 'The series has gained iconic status outside of the UK as well and has already been licensed to broadcasters in sixteen countries worldwide. We are excited that Doctor Who's time travelling will now take him to ProSieben so that viewers in Germany can also enjoy the adventures of the Time Lord and his companions.' ProSieben Head of Programming, Thomas Schultheis, said about the deal: 'Doctor Who is one of the most clever and entertaining series to come from Great Britain. The production values are visibly high and Russell T Davies' scripts provide top quality entertainment for a wide range of viewers: from science fiction fans to family audiences.'" The series is likely to start on ProSieben next year. The story was first announced on the German website www.wunschliste.de. (Thanks to Harald Gehlen, Steve Tribe, Martin Hoscik)

FILTER: - Press - Broadcasting

UKGold Ad Campaign

Wednesday, 19 October 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

UKGold has launched a billboard campaign all over Britain for their forthcoming Doctor Who week, which vary from location to location -- but many contain a Dalek from the new series and the tagline "Watch Doctor Who Week Or Die". As Outpost Gallifrey previously reported, all 13 episodes of the first season of the new Doctor Who series will air beginning this Sunday, October 23 at 7:00pm, continuing throughout the week; check out the calendar here on the news page for timing. (Thanks to Anthony Forth)

FILTER: - Broadcasting

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