The Last Day released on iTunes - Updated

Wednesday, 20 November 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Last Day (Doctor Who minisode) (Credit: BBC)The BBC have now released The Last Day via iTunes. This is the second minisode to be released in anticipation of this weekend's The Day of the Doctor, and is described thus:
First day on the front line? Time to attach a Headcam for a soldier's point-of-view. What could possibly go wrong?
Unlike The Night of The Doctor, this minisode does not feature any of the characters/situations currently unveiled for The Day of the Doctor, but instead relates to another, related day ...

The clip is currently listed for £2.49 in the United Kingdom store, or for free in the United States.

It will also be available as a special feature on the forthcoming DVD/Blu-Ray release of the Anniversary adventure.

UPDATE

The BBC have now confirmed that the minisode should be free of charge in the UK as well as the rest of the world. A BBC spokesman told RadioTimes.com
This is an error on the part of iTunes. This should have been free. We’re waiting to hear back from them about how this will be rectified.




FILTER: - Online - Day of the Doctor

David Tennant introduces The Day of The Doctor

Tuesday, 19 November 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC have released a spoof introduction to The Day of The Doctor, introduced by David Tennant.





FILTER: - Online - Day of the Doctor - WHO50

#SaveTheDay: first sneak preview revealed

Tuesday, 19 November 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The first sneak preview for The Day of The Doctor has now been revealed on the 50th Anniversary #SaveTheDay website. You can watch it via the picture link below:

The Day of The Doctor: Jenna Coleman as Clara





FILTER: - Online - Day of the Doctor - WHO50

Royal Reception for the Doctor

Monday, 18 November 2013 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who has been honoured with a reception at Buckingham Palace to mark the series' fiftieth anniversary.

The reception was attended by past Doctors Tom Baker and Peter Davison as well as the current incumbent Matt Smith and The War Doctor John Hurt.

Held at the official London residence and principal workplace of the British monarch, the reception was hosted by Sophie, Countess of Wessex, the daughter-in-law of the Queen.

Also attending were current showrunner Steven Moffat, today celebrating his 52nd birthday, and current companion Jenna Coleman. The event was held in the Bow Room of the Palace, which had been decked out with Daleks and a TARDIS in honour of the event.

Former companion Catherine Tate was also invited as well as senior members of BBC management including Director General Lord Hall and Director of Television Danny Cohen.

Also present were children from two Cardiff schools, Gladstone Primary and Mount Stuart Primary, who entered a local competition to design a Tardis for the Queen. One of the winners, Hafza Hassan, 10, had painted a gold-plated time machine with a Union flag door, while Emily Parnce, 11, had included a dog flap for the Queen's corgis and an illuminated crown on the roof.

Sophie, Countess of WessexTom Baker & Peter DavisonJohn HurtMatt SmithSteven MoffatTom BakerPeter DavisonJenna ColemanCatherine TateTARDIS




FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Doctor Who - Special Events - Tom Baker - Matt Smith - Jenna Coleman -

Big Finish release The Time Machine

Monday, 18 November 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
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.

Destiny of the Doctor: The Time Machine (Credit: AudioGo)Destiny of the Doctor: The Time Machine
Starring Jenna Coleman, Michael Cochrane (Chivers), and Nicholas Briggs (The Creevix) (pre-order)

23 November 2013. In an Oxford laboratory, graduate Alice Watson helps Professor Chivers assemble the final pieces of an impossible machine. A time machine.

The scientist and his assistant believe they are making history, little suspecting that the project’s completion will threaten the existence of the entire universe. But someone has sensed the danger, and when the mysterious Doctor arrives, Alice is taken on a desperate race from libraries and dreaming spires all the way to the nightmare world of Earth’s future. The monstrous Creevix are coming. They seek control of time itself and are certain that the Doctor is already too late to stop them. But can the key to saving the future lie in the Time Lord’s past lives?

For more details, see the Big Finish website.





FILTER: - Audio - Eleventh Doctor - WHO50 - Big Finish

Day of the Doctor DVD extra content revealed

Monday, 18 November 2013 - Reported by John Bowman
The extra content for the DVD and Blu-ray release of The Day of the Doctor was revealed today - including another mini-episode.

BBC Worldwide said the 50th-anniversary episode would be accompanied by the following:
  • The Night of the Doctor mini-episode
  • The Last Day - a second mini-episode
  • Doctor Who Explained
  • Behind The Lens
  • The Day of the Doctor TV trailer
  • 50 Years of Doctor Who trailer
The release will also contain English subtitles for the hard of hearing, audio description, and audio navigation. The main feature will have a 5.1 soundtrack.

It will be released for Region 2 (the UK, rest of Europe, and Ireland) on Monday 2nd December (pre-order DVD, Blu-ray), and for Region 1 (USA and Canada) on Tuesday 3rd December (pre-order DVD, Blu-ray/DVD combo - two discs). Please note that the Blu-ray release will play normally on both 3D and standard Blu-ray players but the 3D will only work on a Blu-ray 3D player. Release dates for other regions are unknown at the moment.




FILTER: - Merchandise - Day of the Doctor - BBC Worldwide - WHO50 - Blu-ray/DVD

Behind the scenes of The Day of the Doctor

Monday, 18 November 2013 - Reported by John Bowman
A behind-the-scenes report on The Day of the Doctor was shown on BBC One's Breakfast today.

Presented by entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba, the four-minute piece included interviews with Matt Smith, David Tennant, John Hurt, and Jenna Coleman.

Watch the report below. (NB: May not play outside the UK.)





FILTER: - Day of the Doctor - Matt Smith - Jenna Coleman - David Tennant - John Hurt - BBC

The Day of the Doctor: next wave of publicity images

Monday, 18 November 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC and BBC America have released a number of new publicity images to promote the forthcoming The Day of The Doctor; this batch includes images of Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt as the Doctor, with Jenna Coleman as Clara, Billie Piper as Rose, and Ingrid Oliver as Osgood.





FILTER: - Day of the Doctor - Matt Smith - Jenna Coleman - Billie Piper - David Tennant - WHO50

Week of Specials on Radio Four Extra

Saturday, 16 November 2013 - Reported by Marcus
Today BBC Radio Four Extra begins a week of celebrations for the fiftieth anniversary of Doctor Who with a reading of the very first Doctor Who novelisation.

Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks was first published in 1964, adapted by the series' script editor David Whitaker from the first Dalek story written by Terry Nation. The story was republished by Target Books in 1973, kicking off the range which would introduce a generation of fans born in the sixties and seventies to the eras of the first and second Doctors.

The story, intended to work as a standalone, is told from the viewpoint of Ian Chesterton and has a very different meeting between the Doctor and his future companions than that of the television series.

The Audiogo recording is read by William Russell, who played Ian in the TV series. The broadcast begins at 1800 GMT on Saturday with the first two episodes. The full adaptation is broadcast between 0000 GMT and 0430 GMT on Sunday.

The broadcast kicks off a week of Doctor Who programming on the station. Radio Four Extra can be heard worldwide via the BBC Website.
  • Sunday - Protect and Survive - 1800 GMT & 0000 GMT
  • In this drama the Seventh Doctor (played by Sylvester McCoy) and his young companions Hex and Ace are plunged into the late '80s, where history has gone terrifyingly wrong, with the world trembling on the brink of a final terrible war.
  • Monday - Fanfare for the Common Men - 1800 GMT & 0000 GMT
  • A four-part drama featuring the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison). The Doctor's young companion Nyssa is unfamiliar with the Earth's musical heritage, but in a trip back to the '60s the Beatles are nowhere to be seen and their role has been taken by the Common Men.
  • Tuesday - A Thousand Tiny Wings - 1800 GMT & 0000 GMT
  • A full-cast audio drama in which the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) arrives in a remote homestead during the period of Kenyan independence in December 1963 and is reunited with an old acquaintance – an ex-Nazi called Klein.
  • Wednesday - Farewell Great Macedon - 1800 GMT & 0000 GMT
  • Based on an unproduced television script and brought to life through a combination of performance and narration. The original team of the First Doctor and companions Ian, Barbara and Susan step out from the TARDIS into the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and meet Alexander the Great.
  • Thursday - Human Resources - 1800 GMT & 0000 GMT
  • A full-cast drama featuring the Eighth Doctor (played by Paul McGann). The two-part story explains the on-going mystery of Lucie Miller (Sheridan Smith), paired off with the Doctor in a witness protection programme.
  • Friday - The Dalek Invasion of Earth - 1800 GMT & 0000 GMT
  • A reading by William Russell (Ian Chesterton in the original TV serial on which the story is based). This is one of the classic Doctor Who stories featuring the First Doctor and set in an occupied Britain.
  • Saturday - Doctor Who special – Who Made Who - 0900 GMT & 1600 GMT
  • Tracy-Ann Oberman is the guide on a journey back to a time before Time Lords. Interviewees include Doctor Who writers Charlie Higson and Al Hennen and William Hartnell's grand-daughter Jessica Carney. Featured programmes include The Reunion, which gathers the original 1963 cast, and Whatever Happened to . . . Susan Foreman? which tries to solve the mystery of the Doctor's original travelling companion, his grand-daughter.
  • Sunday - Lucie Miller - 0000 GMT
  • An Eighth Doctor adventure starring Paul McGann, Sheridan Smith and Graeme Garden.
  • Monday - To the Death - 0000 GMT
  • The Time Lord calls on friends, family and the Monk to help overthrow the Dalek occupation of Earth. This Eighth Doctor adventure stars Paul McGann, Sheridan Smith and Graeme Garden.




FILTER: - Doctor Who - Eighth Doctor - Seventh Doctor - First Doctor - Radio - Fifth Doctor

Overnight Viewing Figures

Saturday, 16 November 2013 - Reported by Marcus
BBC Three launched its Doctor Who: Greatest Monsters & Villains Weekend on Friday evening, a ten part series looking back at some of the greatest monsters of the series, hosted by stand up comic & impractical joker, Joel Dommett.

The format features a three minute potted history of the featured villain, followed by the screening of an appropriate episode of Doctor Who. Episode 1 featured the Judoon and was followed by a screening of Smith and Jones. It achieved an overnight viewing figure of 0.37 million viewers, a 1.7% share of the total TV audience. Episode 2 was dedicated to The Silurians and featured A Good Man Goes To War. It achieved an overnight viewing figure of 0.42 million viewers, a 1.7% share of the total TV audience.

At number 8, episode 3 revolved around the the Ood and was followed by the 2008 story Planet of the Ood. It had 0.40 million viewers with 1.6% share. Finally for the evening, episode 4 looked at the Clockwork Droids and featured a screening of The Girl in the Fireplace. The episode had 0.55 million viewers with a 2.5% share.

BBC Three outrated the other digital channels for most of the evening, just edging ahead of ITV2 and ITV3.

Thursday's showing of The Science of Doctor Who had an Appreciation Index of 85. Buzzcocks: The Doctor Who Special had an AI of 82.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Matt Smith - David Tennant