Hartnell On UK Stamp - Image

Friday, 6 June 2008 - Reported by DWNP Archive
Posted By John Bowman


Royal Mail has released an image of a forthcoming first-class stamp that prominently features William Hartnell.

A set of six stamps are being brought out in the UK on Tuesday, June 10 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Carry On series and the first Dracula movie by Hammer. They depict the posters for Carry On Sergeant (which starred Hartnell and was the first of the Carry On films), Carry On Cleo, Carry On Screaming, The Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Mummy.

Peter Cushing, who played the Doctor in the two Dalek films of the 1960s, was in the Hammer films that are featured, while Jon Pertwee was in Carry On Cleo and Carry On Screaming, although he is not mentioned on the relevant stamps.

Royal Mail is producing stamp cards, a presentation pack and a first-day cover to accompany the Classic Carry On and Hammer film stamp issue.

The presentation pack contains all six stamps and comment from cult-film critic and author Kim Newman, who wrote the Doctor Who novella Time and Relative.

See the Royal Mail website for more details.




FILTER: - People - William Hartnell

December Novels - Updated

Thursday, 5 June 2008 - Reported by Jarrod Cooper
Information has been released on the trio of New Series hardback novels slated for release on Boxing Day.

Author Lance Parkin has started a blog about the writing of his novel.
Beautiful Chaos by Gary Russell

Donna Noble is back home in London, catching up with her family and generally giving them all the gossip about her journeys. Her grandfather is especially overjoyed - he's discovered a new star and had it named after him. He takes the Doctor, as his special guest, to the naming ceremony.

But the Doctor is suspicious about some of the other changes he can see in Earth's heavens. Particularly that bright star, right there. No, not that one, that one, there, on the left . . .

The world's population is slowly being converted to a new path, a new way of thinking. Something is coming to Earth, an ancient force from the Dark Times. Something powerful, angry, and all-consuming . . .


The Eyeless by Lance Parkin

At the heart of the ruined city of Arcopolis is the Fortress. It's a brutal structure placed here by one of the sides in a devastating intergalactic war that's long ended. Fifteen years ago, the entire population of the planet was killed in an instant by the weapon housed deep in the heart of the Fortress. Now only the ghosts remain.

The Doctor arrives, and determines to fight his way past the Fortress's automatic defences and put the weapon beyond use. But he soon discovers he's not the only person in Arcopolis. What is the true nature of the weapon? Is the planet really haunted? Who are the Eyeless? And what will happen if they get to the weapon before the Doctor?

The Doctor has a fight on his hands. And this time he's all on his own.


The Story Of Martha by Dan Abnett, with David Roden, Steve Lockley and Paul Lewis, Robert Shearman, and Simon Jowett

For a year, while the Master ruled over Earth, Martha Jones travelled the world telling people stories about the Doctor. She told people of how the Doctor has saved them before, and how he will save them again.

This is that story. It tells of Martha's travels from her arrival on Earth as the Toclafane attacked and decimated the population through to her return to Britain to face the Master. It tells how she spread the word and told people about the Doctor. The story of how she survived that terrible year.

But it's more than that. This is also a collection of the stories she tells - the stories of adventures she had with the Doctor that we haven't heard about before. The stories that inspired and saved the world . . .

Featuring the Doctor and Donna.




FILTER: - Books

Doctor Who Adventures - 67

Wednesday, 4 June 2008 - Reported by Marcus
Run from the shadows.

Stay out of the dark and look out for this week's issue of Doctor Who Adventures. You can't miss it. It's bright green and there's a skeleton on the cover!

There is everything you need to prepare you for this Saturday's scary episode, Forest of the Dead.
Crammed with creature features, you can also find out about the natural Ood in the monster fact file.
There is a cool new game for you to play, too. Can you get to the other side of the board before the Vespiform catches up with you!

This issue comes with a free Bannakaffalatta notebook, pen and stickers of the cheeky cyborg.

PLUS
  • Four posters: The Fires of Pompeii, Forest of the Dead and Judoon and the Doctor and Martha.
  • Tales from the TARDIS:Watch out for a big explosion at the end of The Poison Sky!
  • Quiz: Test your knowledge on Silence in the Library.
  • Secrets: How the Doctor’s daughter cartwheeled to safety!
  • Doctor's Data: All about bad boy Luke Rattigan.
  • Comic strip: Part two of Continuity Cap– the world’s gone mad for the Doctor and Donna!
  • Time Teasers:Spooky Shadows, Parallel Picture and more!
  • Who knows!:How many hearts does the Master have and how did the Family control the Scarecrows?

Doctor Who Adventures issue 67, is out across the United Kingdom on Thursday 5 June.




FILTER: - Magazines - DWA

Burn Gorman in Oliver!

Wednesday, 4 June 2008 - Reported by Marcus
Torchwood star Burn Gorman has been confirmed in the role of Bill Sikes in the upcoming West End production of Lionel Bart's Oliver!. Torchwood guest star Julian Bleach will also be appearing, as Mr Sowerberry.

Fagin is being played by Rowan Atkinson, who portrayed the Doctor in the 1999 Comic Relief spoof The Curse of Fatal Death, which was written bySteven Moffat.

Adding to the Torchwood element of the musical, John Barrowman was on the panel of judges for the BBC One showI'd Do Anything, which led to the selection of Jodie Prenger as Sikes's lover, Nancy.

Previews of Oliver!, which is being staged at London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane, begin on December 12. The opening night is January 14, 2009.

Thanks to Silent Hunter. Additional reporting by John Bowman.




FILTER: - People

Fans flock to Shakespeare

Tuesday, 3 June 2008 - Reported by Marcus
Tickets are selling fast for the Royal Shakespeare Company's production ofHamlet staring David Tennant in the title role and Patrick Stewart as Claudius.

The season, which runs from 24 July until 15 November 2008, at the Courtyard Theatre, is almost sold out before rehearsals have even begun. The websiteseatchoice.comreports that the show is the fourth hottest ticket in the United Kingdom, beating West End blockbusters such as Hairspray.

Hamlet is penciled in for a London run following the season in Stratford.

David Tennant discussed his role in the production with Jonathan Ross on BBC Radio 2 last Saturday. The interview can be heard on a Podcast and on the Radio iPlayer. The interview contains spoilers for the 2008 Christmas episode.

Tennant will also be a guest on The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday 8th June.

Thanks to Daniel Smith




FILTER: - People - David Tennant

Silence in the Library - AI and Digital Ratings

Monday, 2 June 2008 - Reported by Marcus
Episode eight of series four, Silence in the Library, was the most appreciated programme on any of the four main channels on Saturday with an Appreciation Index of 89. It was the highest score for series four and equal to the highest score for the programme for all time.

Sunday's highest rating was 5.4 million, so Doctor Who is still the 28th most watched programme of the week. This position is likely to rise when corrected figures, including numbers for those recording the programme, are released by BARB in 9 days time. A top twenty place is just possible but unlikely.

Some of the viewers who went missing on Saturday turned up to watch Sunday's BBC3 repeat which got an overnight audience of 1.14 million, nearly double the audience for the repeat of Episode 7. It was a 5.6% share of the audience and the most watched programme on all multi-channel TV for Sunday, comfortably ahead of the repeat of Britain's got Talent.

Saturday's edition of Doctor Who Confidential was watched by 0.52 million viewers. The programme, which had a share of 2.7 %, was the 3rd most watched on multi-channel television on Saturday. The Sunday repeat got 0.60 million viewers and was 10th in the chart.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30

Torchwood Series Three - Just Five Episodes?

Monday, 2 June 2008 - Reported by Marcus
TV Guide is reporting that John Barrowman has been signed up for Torchwood Series Three - which may only be five episodes long.

The site quotes co-executive producer Julie Gardner as saying: "We've decided to do a five-part mini-series, one big story that will run during one week."

However, more episodes may be given the go-ahead, says the report, which adds that the series will begin filming in August for transmission on BBC1 next spring.

Thanks to Darren Bevan and TardisKid.




FILTER: - Torchwood

Shearman nominated for Awards

Sunday, 1 June 2008 - Reported by Jarrod Cooper
After winning a Sony award for The Chain Gang, his serial for BBC7, Robert Shearman (DALEK, The Chimes of Midnight) has been nominated for two major awards for his short story collection Tiny Deaths.

He's on the shortlist for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize, awarded in July, one of the highest honors in the UK for single author collections. Last year's nominees included Neil Gaiman.

Tiny Deaths is also longlisted for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Prize, the highest prize in the world for the form, which will be announced in September. Press releases for both make great mention of Shearman's work on Doctor Who, and his dealings with Daleks!




FILTER: - People - Awards/Nominations

Silence in the Library - Overnight Ratings

Sunday, 1 June 2008 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who suffered at the hands of the ITV1 hit Britain's Got Talent with unofficial figures showing that episode eight of Series Four, Silence in the Library, was watched by 5.4 million viewers, giving it a 25.4% share of the total television audience.

Britain's Got Talent got 11 million viewers for the main show, with the results programme getting a massive 13.1 million. Doctor Who was only the 5th most watched programme for the day and the second highest rated programme on BBC1. For the first time since the series returned in 2005, the programme did not win its timeslot.

The programme is currently the 28th most watched of the week. Final figures will be released by BARB in ten days time.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30

Moffat speaks to Big Issue Scotland

Saturday, 31 May 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight
Steven Moffat has given his first full-length interview since being announced as the next lead writer and executive producer of Doctor Who to the new issue of Big Issue Scotland, the weekly magazine sold by the homeless in Scotland.

In the interview, Moffat admits that he had to think hard about whether to accept the role, comparing his replacing Russell T Davies with fellow Scot Gordon Brown succeeding Tony Blair as Prime Minister.

"You wouldn’t immediately say yes to that job. You imagine that you would say yes immediately, but it’s a huge job and you have to think about it," he tells the magazine. "I was kind of the other contender, which puts me sort of in the position of Gordon Brown. And look how that turned out. The surly Scot comes in and it all goes to ******."

The full interview is available in Big Issue Scotland, on sale now across Scotland.




FILTER: - Steven Moffat - People - Production - Press