The Waters of Mars - Coming Soon

Thursday, 29 October 2009 - Reported by Marcus
The BBC press office has released details of the forthcoming special The Waters of Mars. The episode is currently unplaced in the schedule, but is expected to be shown in mid November.


Mars, 2059. Bowie Base One.

Last recorded message: "Don't drink the water. Don't even touch it. Not one drop."

Starring David Tennant as The Doctor and guest starring acclaimed British stage and screen actress Lindsay Duncan, The Waters Of Mars is the second Doctor Who special to be screened this year.

Lindsay plays Adelaide – the Doctor's cleverest and most strong-minded companion. She and the Doctor face terror on the Red Planet in one of the scariest adventures yet.

Neighbours, Flying Doctors and Casualty star Peter O'Brien also guest stars as Ed, Adelaide's second-in-command at the base.

The Waters Of Mars is written by Russell T Davies and Phil Ford and is directed by Graeme Harper.




FILTER: - Specials - David Tennant - Series 4/30 Specials - Press

The Space Museum/The Chase en route to DVD

Thursday, 29 October 2009 - Reported by Marcus
The BBFC have passed a trailer for two stories, The Space Museum and The Chase, indicating that both are being lined up for a DVD release in the next few months. The stories were part of Doctor Who's second season and were first shown between April and June 1965.

They feature William Hartnell as the first Doctor along with Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright, William Russell as Ian Chesterton and Maureen O'Brien as Vicki, and introduce Peter Purves as new companion Steven Taylor.

The Space Museum was written by Glyn Jones and directed by Mervyn Pinfield, who as Doctor Who's first Associate Producer was responsible for many technical innovations used on the programme.

The Chase was the final story for Ian and Barbara. It sees the Daleks return in their third story for the series, which was again written by Terry Nation. Directed by Richard Martin, it also starred Hywel Bennett. The original transmission included a clip of the Beatles performing "Ticket to Ride".




FILTER: - William Hartnell - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

SJA nominated for BAFTA

Tuesday, 27 October 2009 - Reported by Anthony Weight
BBC News reports that The Sarah Jane Adventures has been nominated for a Children's BAFTA award by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. The Children's BAFTAs celebrate and reward the best in children's film and television, and the CBBC Doctor Who spin-off starring Elisabeth Sladen has been nominated in the drama category. It is the second year running that the programme has been nominated in this category at the awards. The ceremony will be held at the Park Lane Hilton in London on November 29th.




FILTER: - Awards/Nominations - Sarah Jane

K9 to launch this weekend

Tuesday, 27 October 2009 - Reported by Marcus

K9 comes to the UK this weekend when the new Park Entertainment series launches on the Disney XD channel at 6pm this Saturday.

The series was made in Australia and features the return of John Leeson as the voice of a new CGI version of the robot dog. The series was developed by one of K9's original creators, Bob Baker, along with the show's associate producer Paul Tams.

The Saturday showing is described as a sneak preview of the series, which will start properly in the new year.

Disney XD can be seen in the UK on Sky Channel 607 and Virgin 707.




FILTER: - UK - K9

Sarah Jane Adventures – Appreciation index

Monday, 26 October 2009 - Reported by Marcus

Both episodes of The Mad Woman in the Attic achieved an Appreciation Index of 86. The score was the highest on BBC One for both Thursday and Friday, and is the joint highest score the series has received.

The Appreciation Index is a measure of how much the audience enjoyed the programme.

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FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Sarah Jane

Sarah Jane Ratings - Friday

Saturday, 24 October 2009 - Reported by Marcus

Unofficial overnight figures show that the fourth episode of series 3, part two of The Mad Woman in the Attic, was watched by 0.8 million viewers, with an audience share of 7%.

The rating is the highest the series has received so far, with the first half getting 0.6 million viewers and the second half 0.8 million.

Final figures will include those who record the programme and watch it within seven days, and will be released by BARB in two weeks time.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Sarah Jane

Christmas preview on Children in Need

Friday, 23 October 2009 - Reported by Anthony Weight
The BBC Press Office has published details of the line-up for this year's BBC Children in Need charity appeal, with which Doctor Who has long had an association. This year the programme is once again featured, with what the release describes as "An exclusive preview of the Doctor Who Christmas special." Last year there was a similar preview for the 2008 Christmas special, "The Next Doctor", with the pre-titles sequence for this episode being shown, a month in advance of its broadcast.

This year's Children in Need night takes place on Friday 20th November, broadcasting from 7pm on BBC One.





FILTER: - Specials - Special Events - Series 4/30 Specials - Broadcasting

New funding for children's television

Friday, 23 October 2009 - Reported by Marcus
The BBC Trust has approved an additional £25.5million investment in BBC Children's programming over three years, in order to secure high quality productions such as The Sarah Jane Adventures, which may have been at risk as a result of pressures on budgets.

Jana Bennett, Director BBC Vision, has welcomed the BBC Trust's endorsement of the package of initiatives designed to strengthen the role of the BBC as the cornerstone of home-produced children's output in the UK. The package is in response to the Trust's recommendations laid out in February 2009, and aims to reinforce the creative strength of BBC Children's and help the CBBC Channel maintain its position. Bennett said: "I am incredibly proud of the creative strength of CBeebies and CBBC and the unique value to children they bring. They empower, entertain and reflect the lives of children in this country through consistently high-quality, home-grown programmes."

The package includes continued monitoring of the CBBC block of programmes on BBC One together with a development of a daytime show that could play for half an hour at 5.30pm weekdays. If one is found and is successful, over the next two years the BBC will consider reinstating programmes such as The Sarah Jane Adventures, Blue Peter and Newsround to their original times around 5pm. Series One of The Sarah Jane Adventures was shown in this later slot and achieved 50% higher ratings than the shows shown at the current time of 4.35pm.

Bennett added: "We are seeking to balance the interests of viewers in supporting a strong 6 O'Clock News and protecting children's programmes."




FILTER: - Sarah Jane - Press

Sarah Jane Ratings - Thursday

Friday, 23 October 2009 - Reported by Marcus

Unofficial overnight figures show that the third episode of the series, part one of The Mad Woman in the Attic, was watched by 0.6 million viewers, with an audience share of 5.7%.

The rating is almost identical to that the series received last week, with the first half getting 0.5 million viewers and the second half 0.7 million.

Final figures will include those who record the programme and watch it within seven days, and will be released by BARB in two weeks time.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Sarah Jane

Doctor Who Adventures 138

Friday, 23 October 2009 - Reported by Marcus

This week's Doctor Who Adventures magazine is a bumper Halloween edition taking a look at scary scenes to come in the next Doctor Who special, to be shown on BBC One soon, and comes with a Weeping Angel monster mask and claws.

Other features in this week’s issue:
• Top 10 moments that make you jump
• Weeping Angels fact file
• A look at the next Sarah Jane Adventures episode
• Quiz - How well do you know the scariest Doctor Who monsters?




FILTER: - Magazines - DWA