Forthcoming UK DVD Schedule - UPDATED

Monday, 7 July 2008 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

On Saturday, Doctor Who News featured a forthcoming schedule for Doctor Who DVD titles for North America. After receiving several queries from UK readers, following is the current forthcoming DVD schedule for the United Kingdom (Updated on July 7th with further information):

The Brain of Morbius (Tom Baker), 21 July
The Trial of a Time Lord Boxed Set (Colin Baker), 18 August
Four to Doomsday (Peter Davison), 15 September
The War Machines (William Hartnell), Late September
The Complete Fourth Series (David Tennant), Mid-November
Battlefield (Sylvester McCoy), Date to be confirmed

Details on the next two of these releases are as follows:

The Brain of Morbius: Commentary by Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Philip Madoc (Solon), Christopher Barry (director), Philip Hinchcliffe (producer); "Getting a Head," a documentary on the making of the story; "Designs on Karn," with interviews with designer Barry Newbery; "Set Tour," a 3D CGI tour of the studio; "Sketch Gallery" with original design sketches and concept art; photo gallery, trailerse, Radio Times PDF, subtitles, production notes.

The Trial of a Time Lord Boxed Set: Commentary by Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Tony Selby (Glitz), Adam Blackwood (Balazar), Eric Saward (script editor), Philip Martin (writer), Michael Craig (Commodore), Pip and Jane Baker (writers), Chris Clough (director); "The Making of The Mysterious Planet," "The Making of Mindwarp," "The Making of Terror of the Vervoids" and "The Making of The Ultimate Foe" featurettes; documentaries including "Now and Then: On the Trail of a Time Lord" (locations of "Mindwarp"), "A Fate Worse than Death?" (Peri's fate with Yrcanos), "The Lost Season" (about the aborted season 23), "Now Get Out of That!" (cliffhangers) and "Trials and Tribulations" (Colin Baker's tenure); clips from "Lenny Henry," "Wogan," "Saturday Picture Show," "TV Talkback," "Blue Peter," "Points of View," "Open Air" and "Saturday Superstore"; the 1985 "Doctor in Distress" music video along with media footage on the 1985 hiatus and the 1985 Children in Need special; the full 35mm film sequence of the opening visual effects of episode 1; deleted and extended scenes, DVD/PDF material, trailers and continuity segments, music videos, photo galleries, production notes.

Recent UK releases (in case you haven't picked them up) included the "Beneath the Surface" Boxed Set (which included "Doctor Who and the Silurians," "The Sea Devils" and "Warriors of the Deep") on 14 January, "The Time Meddler" on 4 February, "The Five Doctors: 25th Anniversary Edition" on 3 March, "Black Orchid" on 14 April, "The Invasion of Time" on 5 May and "K9 Tales" (featuring "The Invisible Enemy" and "K9 and Company") on 16 June.

FILTER: - UK - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Journey's End - AI and Digital Ratings - Updated

Monday, 7 July 2008 - Reported by Marcus

The final episode of Series Four, Journey's End, was the most-watched programme of the past week, according to unofficial overnights.

Although the men's final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships peaked with an audience of 12.7 million, the average for the whole programme was only 7.4 million.

If this is confirmed when final figures are published byBARB in nine days' time then Journey's End will have achieved the highest chart position in Doctor Who's history.

The Appreciation Index for the programme was once more an incredible 91. For a minority programme on a digital channel, a score of over 90 is very unusual. For the most watched programme of the week to score this high is is virtually unprecedented and a massive achievement for the programme.

Sunday's BBC3 repeat got an overnight audience of 0.99 million viewers. It was a 4.4% share of the multichannel audience and the most-watched programme on all multichannel TV for Sunday, with nearly twice the audience of the second-placed Family Guy. Another 400,000 viewed or downloaded the episode using the BBC iPlayer over the past two days.

Saturday's edition of Doctor Who Confidential was watched by a record 1.32 million viewers, the highest ever achieved for this programme. It had a share of 7.6 % and was the most-watched on multichannel television on Saturday. The Sunday repeat had 0.42 million watching.

Doctor Who was also number one on Friday's multichannel list, with the repeat of The Stolen Earth getting 0.59 million watching. The earlier repeat ofTurn Left got 0.35 million viewers and was 12th for the day.

Both The Stolen Earth and Journey's End will be repeated next Sunday afternoon on BBC1.

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30

Davies vows clean break from Doctor Who

Monday, 7 July 2008 - Reported by R Alan Siler

As Series Four draws to a close, Executive Producer and Head Writer Russell T Davies talks about his involvement with Doctor Who, the show he was part of reviving after a 16-year hiatus in 2005. Answering fans' questions on the BBC News website, he says that once he leaves he will no longer be involved with the show even for an occasional writing stint. He hands the reins over to Steven Moffat in 2010.

"I think Steven's more than his own man. He doesn't need me at all. I won't write for it in the future. I'm done with it. It's time to move on and I'd hate to be just a ghost haunting the corridors that I used to walk.

"And who needs me? Because Steve's brilliant and they've got a thousand million plans. I'll just be old news and it's about time."

He said he would most miss the people he had worked with. "They are genuinely brilliant people, our designers and producers and the crew at BBC Wales. They are fantastic and they're part of the reason I've stayed for so long."

Despite his intial fears of low budget and a non-peaktime slot, he was pleased with the way the BBC treated the show. "I thought there'd be a lot of compromise, I thought we'd be compromised on budget. We could have ended up with no ratings and a Sunday afternoon slot, so absolutely nothing [was compromised] and that really is the honest answer. We got to make everything that I wanted to make.

"I knew what we'd made was good. So I knew I could sleep at night. I knew even if no one watched it, I could sit there and say I had done a great piece of work."

He added: "None of us ever saw this much success coming. I didn't even envisage a spin-off would be possible."

When asked about his favourite line of dialogue, he replied: "I did love Donna, played by Catherine Tate, in a show we did two weeks ago called Turn Left. She said: 'You liar, you told me I was special' to Rose, when she feels her life has been betrayed and lied. I think she delivers that line with such venom - I love that moment."

Asked which villains or creatures he might have brought back if he'd continued with Doctor Who, he said: "I've used a lot of the classics but the Silurians were always very good. They were a race of lizard people who were the original owners of the Earth. I always thought it was a very clever idea that there was a civilisation before us. I'm not bringing them back but they're ripe to be returned one day."

FILTER: - People - Russell T Davies - Production

Journey's End - Overnight Ratings

Sunday, 6 July 2008 - Reported by Marcus

Unofficial figures show that the final episode of Series Four, Journey's End, was watched by 9.4 millionviewers, giving it a 45.9% share of the total television audience.

Not only was the programme the highest rated on Saturday, beating the second placed Casualty by nearly 4 million viewers, it is currently the highest rated programme of the week. If no Sunday programme manages to beat it then this will be the first time in the series' long history that it has ever been the top rated programme of the week.

Fifteen minute breakdowns show that Doctor Who peaked with 9.8 million viewers while the highest rating ITV1 got against the programme was 2.4 million viewers. After it finished BBC1 lost 5 million viewers. ITV1's highest rated programme on Saturday was New You've Been Framed! with 4.2 million.

Final figures will be released by BARB in ten days time.

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30

Classic-Era Studios May Get Special Status

Sunday, 6 July 2008 - Reported by DWNP Archive

Posted By John Bowman

The BBC TV studios where Doctor Who was recorded during most of its classic era may be given special status.

English Heritage, the UK government's statutory adviser on the historic environment, is urging the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to recognise the architectural and cultural significance of Television Centre - which is at White City in London - and list parts of it at grade II.

This would classify them as of special interest and would ensure their historic and architectural interest was considered carefully before any alterations - internally or externally - were agreed.

Doctor Who was produced at TV Centre for the majority of its stories made between 1966 and 1989. Last October, this site reported that the centre, in Wood Lane, was being put up for sale.

Peter Beacham, heritage protection director for English Heritage, said: "As one of the first purpose-built TV studios in the world, it represents the moment when Britain led Europe into the television age. The BBC itself is an important part of our British identity and Television Centre has acquired an iconic presence.

"The nation has an immense fondness for this building and what it represents for our culture. We all feel we know areas such as the Blue Peter garden and the studios where people have watched significant moments in broadcasting over the last 50 years: from early Doctor Who to Top of the Pops."

He said the aim was to ensure the site remained flexible to adapt to changing technology or new uses, "despite being of undeniable national interest and one of very few monuments to television history".

English Heritage has assigned special interest to the scenery workshops, with their barrel-vaulted ceiling and rows of circular rooflights, the 1950s canteen that overlooks the Blue Peter garden, and the distinctive circular drum that houses offices and the main studios.

A BBC spokesman said: "The BBC is happy to discuss with English Heritage any proposal it has and we will comment to the Secretary of State on the historic and architectural merit of TVC in due course.

"The BBC has announced that it does not intend to occupy the whole of TVC after 2012 but any reference to detailed development plans for the building and site is premature.

"We recognise the historical importance of the building and will be looking for a solution that best preserves the interests of the BBC and licence-fee payer, but there are no firm plans currently on the table."

Already listed is Alexandra Palace in Wood Green, London, from where the world's first regular public television service came and where an establishing shot was filmed for The Idiot's Lantern in January 2006.

FILTER: - Production

Big Finish Release Schedule

Sunday, 6 July 2008 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Big Finish Productions have announced their offerings for the remainder of 2008, with seven installments of their main Doctor Who series forthcoming in the next six months, as well as the two concluding episodes of the Eighth Doctor second series. Also in the pipeline are the first half of a year of offerings in their Companion Chronicles short story readings, with the series now becoming monthly and a full year's worth of details (until next summer) revealed.

Additionally, two new miniseries will begin in the next half-year: Big Finish is adapting the threeDoctor Who stage plays into audio recordings ("Curse of the Daleks," "The Ultimate Adventure" and "Seven Keys to Doomsday"); and next January features the beginning of their three-story Key 2 Time series with Peter Davison, which will be included as episodes 117-119 of the regular monthly series.

The release schedules are below, while full details (as much as has been released) about the stories can be found in thespoiler note section (click on 'spoiler' to reveal).

Monthly Releases

The Boy that Time Forgot (#110; Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton) - July
The Doomwood Curse (#111; Colin Baker) - August
Kingdom of Silver and Keepsake (#112; Sylvester McCoy) - September
Time Reef (#113; Peter Davison) - September
Brotherhood of the Daleks (#114; Colin Baker) - October
Forty Five (#115; Sylvester McCoy) - November
The Raincloud Man (#116; Colin Baker) plus special Return of the Krotons - December
Key 2 Time Parts 1-3 (#117-119; Peter Davison) - January to March 2009

Eighth Doctor Series

Sisters of the Flame (#2.7) - July
Vengeance of Morbius (#2.8) - August

Companion Chronicles

Here There Be Monsters (#3.1; Carole Ann Ford) - July
The Great Space Elevator (#3.2; Deborah Watling) - August
The Doll of Death (#3.3; Katy Manning) - September
Empathy Games (#3.4; Louise Jameson) - October
Home Truths (#3.5; Jean Marsh) - November
The Darkening Eye (#3.6; Sarah Sutton) - December
The Prisoner's Dilemma (#3.7; Sophie Aldred) - January 2009
Resistance (#3.9; Anneke Wills) - March 2009
The Magician's Oath (#3.10; Richard Franklin) - April 2009
Ferril's Folly (#3.11) - May 2009
Releases to be announced (#3.8 and 3.12) - February and June 2009

Other Releases

The Ultimate Adventure (Colin Baker) - September
The Seven Keys to Doomsday - October
Curse of the Daleks - November

MONTHLY SERIES

The Boy That Time Forgot by Paul Magrs: In a weird jungle valley, the Victorian explorer Rupert Von Thal saves Bloomsbury novelist Beatrice Mapp from a ghastly death in the grip of a monstrous mantis. But this is no Lost World of the dinosaurs. According to their travelling companions, the Doctor and Nyssa, all four have been transported back to a primitive Earth that should never have existed! Further down the valley is the vast city where the scorpions live. Walking, talking, intelligent scorpions, ruled over by their cruel and sinister master. The Doctor and Nyssa are being drawn ever tighter into the clutches of... the boy that time forgot. With Peter Davison (The Doctor), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), Andrew Sachs (The Scorpion King), Harriet Walter (Mrs Beatrice Mapp), Adrian Scarborough (Rupert Von Thal), Oliver Senton (Kranlee), Claire Wyatt (Madam Teegarna)

The Doomwood Curse by Jacqueline Rayner: England, 1738. On the trail of a lost book, the Doctor and Charley arrive at the beautiful country estate of Sir Ralph and Lady Sybil. But all is far from idyllic. There’s a murderer on the loose, and the nearby woods are the haunt of the notorious highwayman Dick Turpin. And that’s not all. Something else has journeyed here. Something that could destroy the very fabric of reality. The Doctor and Charley have just forty-eight hours to solve the mystery before the whole world succumbs to The Doomwood Curse. With Colin Baker (The Doctor), India Fisher (Charlotte Pollard), Nicky Henson (Dick Turpin), Jonathan Firth (John), Hayley Atwell (Eleanor), Trevor Cooper (Sir Ralph), Geraldine Newman (Lady Sybil), Daisy Douglas (Susan), Suzie Chard (Molly)

Kingdom of Silver by James Swallow: The Doctor arrives on Tasak in search of refreshment, armed with nothing more than a kettle. But this is a time of crisis for a civilisation about to enter an industrial age. Mindful that a devastating war is only recently over, the wise and revered Magus Riga will do almost anything to save his people from the follies of the past. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And the planet Tasak is host to ancient powers buried deep and long forgotten. Can visitors from another world avert disaster or will their intervention drag this innocent world into the Orion War? With Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Neil Roberts (Temeter), Kate Terence (Sara), Terry Molloy (Magus Riga), James George (Merel), Bunny Reed (Ardith), Holly King (Etin), Nicholas Briggs (Cybermen)

Keepsake by James Swallow: Sifting through the technological junk of Reclaim Platform Juliet-November-Kilo, the Doctor discovers evidence of a personal tragedy involving some friends of his. Where will the story of their fate lead? With Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Neil Roberts (Temeter), Kate Terence (Sara), Terry Molloy (Examiner 2), James George (Corvus), Nicholas Briggs (Examiner 1)

Other monthly installments: Time Reef by Marc Platt, with Peter Davison (the Doctor) and Sarah Sutton (Nyssa);Brotherhood of the Daleks by Alan Barnes, with Colin Baker (the Doctor) and India Fisher (Charley); Forty Five with Sylvester McCoy (the Doctor); The Raincloud Man with Colin Baker (the Doctor) and India Fisher (Charley), which also includes the special disc Return of the Krotons.

EIGHTH DOCTOR SERIES

Sisters of the Flame and Vengeance of Morbius by Nicholas Briggs: The richest man in the galaxy has just bought a backwards planet with no obvious mineral wealth in the outer reaches of the universe. An obscure mystical sect has been revived after centuries of neglect. A new race of aliens are hunting for prey. Why? As the Doctor and Lucie attempt to discover the answer, it becomes clear that someone is attempting to resurrect the past - and they need a Time Lord to help them achieve it. With Paul McGann (the Doctor), Sheridan Smith (Lucie Miller), Kenneth Colley (Zarodnix), Samuel West (Revenant), Alexander Siddig (Rosto), Nickolas Grace (Straxus), Barry McCarthy (Bulek and Eurelz Captain), Nicola Weeks (Haspira and Trell), Katarina Olsson (Orthena and Trell), Barnaby Edwards (Galactinet)

COMPANION CHRONICLES

Here There Be Monsters by Andy Lane: The distant future. The TARDIS, with the Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara aboard, is drawn out of the Vortex and lands aboard the Earth Benchmarking Vessel Nevermore, where Captain Rostrum is navigating by punching holes in the very fabric of space. The Doctor is appalled by this act of vandalism, and fearful that it could unleash monsters from the dark dimensions. As the benchmarking holes begin to fray, the fate of the universe is at stake. And while the Doctor contemplates a terrible sacrifice, Susan befriends the Nevermore’s First Mate - someone she will remember for the rest of her life… With Carole Ann Ford (Susan), Stephen Hancock (The First Mate)

The Great Space Elevator by Jonathan Morris: The Great Space Elevator is a marvel of human engineering; a transit tube stretching from the equator up to a space station held in geosynchronous orbit. When the TARDIS lands in Sumatra in the future, the Second Doctor, Jamie and Victoria are captured by guards just as the station loses power. Together with Security Officer Tara Kerley, the three travellers take a one-way trip on the elevator to fix the problem, and find themselves confronted by a powerful alien force that threatens to wreak chaos on Earth… With Deborah Deborah Watling (Victoria Waterfield), Helen Goldwyn (Tara Kerley)

The Doll of Death by Marc Platt: While investigating a temporal anomaly in Central London, the Doctor and Jo Grant meet Professor Harold Saunders, a man who possesses an unstable alien artefact, and who is seemingly haunted by the ghosts of dolls. Who is the mysterious Mrs Killebrew? Why is a pack of hounds hunting them in reverse? And can Jo pick up any bargains while backwards shopping on Oxford Street? With Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Jane Goddard (Mrs. Killebrew)

Empathy Games by Nigel Fairs: After a disaster aboard the TARDIS, the Doctor and Leela arrive at the capital city of Synchronis, a world renowned for peace and civility. But an attack by a vicious creature leaves the Doctor in a coma, and Leela is persuaded to fight in the forthcoming Empathy Games, where she discovers that nothing on this world is as it seems. With Louise Jameson (Leela)

Other Companions Chronicles installments: Home Truths by Simon Guerrier, with Jean Marsh (Sara Kingdom);The Darkening Eye by Stewart Sheargold, with Sarah Sutton (Nyssa) and Derek Carlyle (The Dar Traders); The Prisoner's Dilemma by Simon Guerrier, with Sophie Aldred (Ace) and Laura Doddington (Zara); Resistance by Steve Lyons, with Anneke Wills (Polly) and John Sackville (the Pilot); The Magician's Oath by Scott Handcock, with Richard Franklin (Mike Yates) and Michael Chance (Diamond Jack); Ferril's Folly by Peter Anghelides.

OTHER RELEASES

The Ultimate Adventure by Terrance Dicks, with Colin Baker (the Doctor); The Seven Keys to Doomsdayby Terrance Dicks; Curse of the Daleks by David Whitaker and Terry Nation; all three with Nicholas Briggs (voice of the Daleks).

FILTER: - Audio

Coming This Christmas...

Saturday, 5 July 2008 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

In contrast to the past several years' episodes, the closing credits of the season finale "Journey's End" today in the UK did NOT feature a title for the forthcoming Christmas episode of Doctor Who... only the cryptic phrase "Return of the Cybermen". That's likely not the title for the next story; when it's announced we'll bring it to you. It's been known for at least two months that the Cybermen would play a part in the next transmitted episode.

Meanwhile, to avoid spoiling any surprises for our readers, we will refrain from mentioning anything on the News Page about the state of affairs at the end of the story. "Journey's End" airs in America in less than a month, and the fourth series is also now currently airing in Australia.

FILTER: - Specials - Production - Series 4/30 Specials

Telos Update

Saturday, 5 July 2008 - Reported by Jarrod Cooper

Telos Publishing has announced several new titles for 2008, and among them are the latest in their range of unofficial and unauthorised non-fiction guides toDOCTOR WHO and TORCHWOOD.

MONSTERS WITHIN is by Stephen James Walker and continues the story of DOCTOR WHO from the 2007 Christmas Special through the end of Series Four. The book is a detailed viewer's guide to the build-up and background to the show, as well as factual analysis and review of all the episodes. MONSTERS WITHIN will be published in December 2008.

SOMETHING IN THE DARKNESS is Stephen James Walker's follow up to the bestselling INSIDE THE HUB and looks at the second series of the DOCTOR WHO spin off TORCHWOOD. Like the DOCTOR WHO guide it delves into the background and production of the show and subjects all the episodes to critical review and analysis. SOMETHING IN THE DARKNESS will be published in August 2008.

FILTER: - Production - Books

More Companion Chronicles

Saturday, 5 July 2008 - Reported by Jarrod Cooper

Big Finish Productions has recently announced that their Companion Chronicles line will go from being a mini-series to an ongoing monthly range starting in July. The series will continue to be released in "seasons" with each season comprising of twelve releases. Each release is a new Doctor Who story as told by one of the Doctor's companions played by the actor who portrayed the role in the Classic Doctor Who TV series.

July's release is a First Doctor adventure narrated by Carole Ann Ford as the Doctor’s granddaughter, Susan. The story, entitled Here There be Monsters, has been written by Andy Lane. In the adventure, the Doctor, Barbara, Susan and Ian face creatures from another dimension.

August sees The Great Space Elevator, written by Jonathan Morris, featuring Deborah Watling as Victoria Waterfield in an adventure with the Second Doctor where a one-way trip leads to a confrontation with an alien force that threatens the Earth.

September's release is The Doll of Death by Marc Platt, an adventure for the Third Doctor told by Katy Manning as Jo Grant. This is the first time that Katy has reprised her role since she starred in the TV series in the 1970s.

The fourth adventure, Empathy Games by Nigel Fairs features the Fourth Doctor’s companion, Leela played by Louise Jameson.

November's release for the First Doctor features Sara Kingdom who originally joined the TARDIS crew for the epic length TV story, The Daleks' Master Plan. As in the original TV series, Sara Kingdom will once again be played by Jean Marsh. The story, entitled Home Truths, has been written by Simon Guerrier.

With the expansion of the releases, the series will now include tales from Companions to Doctors 5 through 8, as well as tales from characters who are not strictly companions. Already confirmed to be appearing later on in the range are Mary Tamm (Romana I), Richard Franklin (Mike Yates), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), and Sophie Aldred (Ace).

FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish

Elizabeth Spriggs

Saturday, 5 July 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight

The actress Elizabeth Spriggs, who guest starred as Tabby in the 1987 Seventh Doctor serial Paradise Towers, has died at the age of 78. She appeared in many roles on stage and television for over fifty years, including performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Spriggs was particularly well-known for her role as Nan in "Shine On Harvey Moon", and was well-loved by children for her starring role in the 1980s Children's BBC series "Simon and the Witch".

The Daily Telegraph has published an obituary.

Thanks to Chris Winwood and Matthew Kilburn

FILTER: - People - Obituary

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