Character Options have announced a new series of Doctor Who figures including the newly regenerated Twelfth Doctor.

Other figures in the set are The Eleventh Doctor, Clara Oswald, Weeping Angel, Assault Dalek, Imperial Guard Dalek and a Zygon.

The new figures will be available at all the usual outlets from early March although some retailers will allow pre-orders from next week.

On 27 February 2014, BBC Digital will release the ebook Tales of Trenzalore, a collection of four novellas set during the Eleventh Doctor's centuries defending the planet Trenzalore, as seen in the Christmas adventure The Time of the Doctor. Each novella features a classic Doctor Who monster. Justin Richards' story features the Ice Warriors (first seen in the 1967 serial The Ice Warriors, and most recently seen in Cold War), George Mann's story features the Krynoid (from the 1976 serial The Seeds of Doom), Paul Finch's features the Autons (first seen in 1970's Spearhead from Space), and Mark Morris's features the Mara (from the 1982 serial Kinda and its 1983 sequel Snakedance).

The status of the last part of the Destiny of the Doctor series, The Time Machine, had been uncertain since the series publisher AudioGo entered administration last month; however, the series producers Big Finish have now announced that they will be releasing the final adventure on CD and download, completing the collection which kicked off in January with Hunters of Earth.


For more details, see the Big Finish website.

Puffin Books have announced the author of the final of their e-books celebrating fifty years of Doctor Who as the author Neil Gaiman.


A long-term fan, Gaiman is of course best known in Doctor Who circles for his two scripts broadcast on television, the award-winning The Doctor's Wife and Nightmare in Silver. However, his extensive writing career has encompassed novels for adults and children including Neverwhere, Stardust, American Gods, Anansi Boys, Coraline and The Graveyard Book, and the highly successful Sandman series of graphic novels. Literary honours include the Locus and Hugo Awards and the Newbery and Carnegie Medals.

On his latest contribution to Doctor Who, Gaiman said:

The e-book is due to be released on 21st November 2013, with BBC Worldwide to upload a brief interview with the writer the the Doctor Who YouTube channel later this month.

Competition

We have a copy of both the above anthology and The Essential Guide to 50 Years of Doctor Who available as a prize for readers to win, courtesy of Puffin Books. To be in with a chance to win please answer the following question:
Send your answer to comp-anthology@doctorwhonews.net with the subject line "That Essential Moment", including your name, address, and where you read about the competition.

This competition is only open to UK residents, and the closing date is Sunday 24th November 2013.

BBC America will be finishing its celebratory series Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited on Sunday 24th November - the day after the show's 50th anniversary - when it marks the Eleventh Doctor's era.

A special documentary entitled Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited - The Eleventh Doctor will air at 8pm ET/PT, in which Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman, and Steven Moffat will be among the participants examining the human side of this Doctor and taking a look at how all the years he has lived have affected him.

As previously reported, the documentary will be followed by the Series 6 opening two-parter The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon. Written by Moffat, directed by Toby Haynes, and originally broadcast in April 2011, these episodes were - appropriately enough - the first ones to see Doctor Who's lead actors filming in the USA for a story.

With exactly a month to go now to Doctor Who's 50th anniversary, the BFI today announced the final screenings in its year-long celebration of the programme.

It will be showing the anniversary episode The Day of the Doctor in 3D on Saturday 23rd November as part of the global simulcast and cinema screenings worldwide. The time is yet to be confirmed by the BBC. Tickets will go on sale to BFI members from Friday 25th October (9am online and 11.30am by phone and in person) and to non-members from Saturday 26th October from 11.30am. They can be bought via this link. (It should be noted that the start time of 7pm given by the BFI is for guidance only. According to the BFI, the exact start time will be given 10 days before the screening.)

Justin Johnson, the programmer of the BFI's Doctor Who At 50 strand, said: Then, just over a fortnight later, on Sunday 8th December at 3.45pm, it will mark the Eleventh Doctor's era by showing The Eleventh Hour and The Name of the Doctor. The guest panel for that event is yet to be announced.

Johnson, who curated the season with Dick Fiddy, commented on its culmination by telling Doctor Who News: Tickets to the Eleventh Doctor screenings on 8th December will be allocated by ballot via the members' section, which BFI Champions can enter from Monday 4th November, and Cinema Members from Tuesday 5th November. The ballot will close on Friday 8th November and will be run over the weekend of 9th and 10th November, with all entrants being notified on Monday 11th November as to whether or not they have been successful. All tickets reserved for Champions and Cinema Members via the ballot will be held for claiming by them until 8.30pm on Friday 15th November, and any that are unclaimed by then will be released for public sale on Saturday 16th November.

As has been the case with all previous events in the season, it will undoubtedly sell out to Champions and Cinema Members, but returns and stand-bys will be a strong possibility, so keep checking with the BFI.

UPDATE - 26th OCTOBER: The BFI was forced to suspend ticket sales for The Day of the Doctor yesterday because of "an issue with card payments". Sales reopened for members today at 9am (online) and 11.30am (phone), and will reopen tomorrow to non-members.

.As previously reported, Splendid Chaps is a year-long performance/podcast project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who hosted by comedian Ben McKenzie (Dungeon Crawl, Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour) and writer John Richards (ABC1 sitcom Outland, Boxcutters podcast).

Described by its creators as part intellectual panel discussion, part nerdy Tonight Show, Splendid Chaps is a combination of analysis, enthusiasm and irreverence. The first episode went to number 1 on the iTunes TV & Film Podcast chart in Australia, and to number 4 in the UK. The podcasts to previous episodes are now available at www.splendidchaps.com or at iTunes.

Tickets are now available for their three live November shows: "What I Learned From Doctor Who", "The Other Splendid Chaps: The Companions" and "Eleven/Future". 

In the first of these three shows, the Splendid Chaps are doing a special bonus episode talking about what they’ve learned from Doctor Who!

Born in part as an educational program, with Sydney Newman wanting no “bug-eyed monsters”, Doctor Who has often sought to educate us about our world – and the Universe beyond it. But over the years, as the traditional educational content about history and science faded away, it still brought us concepts and ideas – Buddhism, mythology, ethics, politics, friendship…there’s so much to learn from the Doctor!

Ben, John and Petra Elliott will be joined by comedian, actor and teacher Rob Lloyd (Who, Me.), and writer and editor Liz Barr (Chicks Unravel Time and its impending sequel) for a discussion of what Doctor Who has taught them. Plus prizes, surprises, all the usual Splendid Stuff, and a live poetry performance from the one and only Emile Zoey Baker!

Space: Toorak/South Yarra Library, 340 Toorak Road, South Yarra
Time: Saturday, November 16 2013, 4:00 PM
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: All tickets $10 (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via trybooking.com, or buy tickets at the door (subject to availability)
Podcast: TBA.

In their second show for November, the Splendid Chaps are back with another bonus episode, this time at the Melbourne City Library as part of its Doctor Who Festival, talking about those other splendid chaps – the companions!

Companion, assistant, sidekick…none of these names really do the role of TARDIS occupant and time-space adventurer justice. In fifty years the Doctor has had almost as many fellow travellers aboard the TARDIS – most human, but also a few robots, aliens and fellow Time Lords. Exactly who counts varies depends on who you ask, but they’ve always been understood to be our point-of-view character; a proxy for the audience who will ask the Doctor to explain what on (or off) Earth is going on. Who are these people? What do they teach us about ourselves, the Doctor, and our changing society? Are they really there to get in trouble, pass the Zeus plugs and make the Doctor a better person, or is there more to them than meets the eye? And how different is the new series’ attitude to its supporting characters?

Ben, John and Petra will be joined by writer, director and podcaster Lucas Testro (Neighbours, Winners and Losers, NonCanonical), and broadcaster, documentary maker and podcaster Marian Blythe (3RRR, Boxcutters 2.0) to talk about the rest of the TARDIS crew. Plus prizes, surprises, loveliness and a live musical performance of a lost Doctor Who classic tune from Emma Heeney!

Space: Melbourne City Library, 253 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Time: Tuesday, November 19 2013, 6:30 PM
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: Free! (bookings essential; limited seats available)
Bookings: via webwiredsolutions.com.au or at the door (if seats available)
Podcast: TBA.

Finally, their eleventh and final(ish) major episode brings then to the (still) current Doctor, Matt Smith. Splitting fan opinion on his announcement, in part because of his youth and obscurity, he soon won over audiences with a performance influenced by Patrick Troughton. This was also the biggest time of change in the revived show’s history, with not only a new Doctor, but a new production team, headed by fan favourite writer Steven Moffat, bringing a definite new feel to the show.

As Splendid Chaps draws to a close, the Chaps want to look forward as well as back, and so take as their theme the future. The Doctor in the old series and the new has often looked forward in time, whether a few decades, a few centuries, or even millions or billions of years. How has the show depicted the future? Has it tried to be predictive, or to express our hopes and fears? And what of the future of the show itself? With Matt Smith leaving, what does the future have in store for Doctor Who?

Hosts Ben, John and Petra are joined by comedians Justin Hamilton and Stella Young, plus a new song from Keating! composer Casey Bennetto, backed by their house band The Time Lads. Plus there will of course be prizes, surprises, jokes and more; it’s the end, but the moment has been prepared for! (They have a little something extra up their sleeves…)

Space: ACMI, Federation Square, Melbourne
Time: Thursday, November 21 2013; recording starts 7 PM
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: $15 full, $12 concession, $11 ACMI members (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via ACMI online, or at the ACMI box office (subject to availability)
Podcast: not yet available; released 23 November 2013.

BBC Worldwide have released details on their collection of DVDs featuring the monstrous foes of the Doctor.


The collections are due out in the United Kingdom on 30th September 2013.

BBC Worldwide has announced the release of Doctor Who: The Complete Series 1-7 Box Set on Blu-ray for release in the United Kingdom on 4th November and in North America on 5th November:


In addition, the North American release will include a bonus gift in the form of the original Doctor Who Universal Remote Control Sonic Screwdriver, three artwork cards featuring the three Doctors, plus an exclusive comic book.

The 29 disc collection contains each series in its own individual Blu-ray case, and it is expected that the four remastered Eccleston/Tennant series will be available individually at a later date.

BBC Worldwide have announced the release of the Complete Series Seven Boxed Set on DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom for the 28th October 2013.


Note: this set does not include the 2011 Christmas Special, The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe.