Gallifrey 2008 Begins

Wednesday, 13 February 2008 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Gallifrey 2008, aka Gallifrey One's Nineteenth Symphony, the nineteenth edition of the North American Doctor Who convention and our annual event, begins this Friday in Los Angeles.

The guest list for the convention includes Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred, the seventh Doctor and Ace, together in L.A. for the first time since 1996; seventh Doctor era script editor Andrew Cartmel and composer Mark Ayres; actressDaphne Ashbrook (Grace in the 1996 TV movie); new series writers Steven Moffat ("Blink"), Paul Cornell ("Human Nature"), Robert Shearman ("Dalek") and James Moran (series four's upcoming "The Fires of Pompeii"); Lisa Bowerman, best known as Bernice Summerfield in Big Finish's audio series, along with Big Finish producer Jason Haigh-Ellery; writer Gary Russell; new series guest actors Moya Brady ("Love and Monsters"), Sean Gallagher ("New Earth") and Derek Riddell ("Tooth and Claw"); science fiction television actors Marta Kristen and Bob May ("Lost in Space"), Jennifer Rhodes("Charmed"), Richard Chaves ("War of the Worlds: The Series") and Kathryn Leigh Scott ("Dark Shadows"); Doctor Who writers Andy Lane, Simon Guerrier, Scott Alan Woodard, Caroline Symcox, Keith Topping, Thomas Powers and David J. Howe; Steve Roberts of the Doctor Who Restoration Team; visual effects coordinatorMojofrom "Battlestar Galactica"; and many more!

The convention is this weekend, Friday February 15 through Sunday February 17, at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel; more information is available atour website.

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Conventions

Agyeman to Host Hospital Series

Wednesday, 13 February 2008 - Reported by R Alan Siler

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital will be the subject of a new 8-part documentary series to air on BBC3 beginning Thursday, 14 February. The series is narrated by Freema Agyeman, who plays medical student Martha Jones on Doctor Who and Torchwood. Producers spent five months at the hospital in a bid to provide an access-all-areas insight to life at a typically busy British emergency department. The cameras focused on particularly unusual cases and followed the progress of casualties from admission to hospital, through treatment, right up until after they were discharged.

FILTER: - People

Torchwood 2.4 AI and ratings update

Friday, 8 February 2008 - Reported by Marcus

Episode four of Torchwood, Meat, scored an Appreciation Index figure of 85, once again putting it in the excellent category. It was the BBC's second highest figure for the day.

The edited repeat was watched by 1.0 million viewers, according to overnight figures, a 4.9% share of the total audience. Torchwood Declassifiedgot 1.2 million viewers a 5.5% share These figures are slightly higher than the actual overnights as they include Scotland and Northern Ireland where Torchwood was not shown.

FILTER: - Torchwood - Ratings - UK

Torchwood 2.4 Overnight ratings

Thursday, 7 February 2008 - Reported by Marcus

Unofficial overnight figures give Episode Four, Meat, an audience of 2.9 million viewers, which was a 11.2% share of the total television audience.

The programme was again the highest rated on BBC2 for the day, ahead of The Weakest Link which got 2.6 million viewers.

The programme is repeated in an edited version on BBC2 in England and Wales on Thursday evening. It is available to UK viewers for the next seven days via the BBC iPlayer.

Fans are treated to a Torchwood double bill next Wednesday with Episode Five, Adam being shown on BBC2 at 9pm, and Episode 6, Reset making its debut on BBC3 at 9.50pm.

FILTER: - Torchwood - Ratings - UK

Invisible Enemy and K9 on DVD

Thursday, 7 February 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight

Further information about the DVD extras of the forthcoming release of The Brain of Morbius has today been revealed on the BBFC website. Along with a documentary, "Getting a Head", and features such as "Designs on Karn", "A Letter to Robert Holmes" and "Set Tour", the disc contains a trailer for the forthcoming releases of 1977's The Invisible Enemy - which saw the first appearance of the robot dog K9 in Doctor Who - and the 1981 spin-off K9 and Company, which stars Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith.

It is not yet clear whether or not this joint trailer indicates that the two stories will be released together in a double pack.

FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Invasion Of Time DVD Extras Passed

Thursday, 7 February 2008 - Reported by DWNP Archive

Posted By John Bowman

The British Board of Film Classification today passed more than 32 minutes of extra features for the release of the six-part Fourth Doctor story The Invasion of Time, giving them a U rating.

Among them are five deleted scenes: one from episode five and four from episode six.

There will also be two mini-documentaries: The Elusive David Agnew and The Rise and Fall of Gallifrey.

'David Agnew' was a pseudonym for producer Graham Williams and script editor Anthony Read, who wrote the story together.

This site reported last month that a release of The Invasion of Time was in the pipeline. A date for it has yet to be announced.

FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Doctor Who Magazine 392

Wednesday, 6 February 2008 - Reported by Marcus

The latest Doctor Who Magazine is available across the United Kingdom from Thursday 7 February 2008.

The magazine confirms a couple of previously unreleased episode titles for Series Four.
Episode Two, which was partly filmed in Rome last year, will be The Fires of Pompeii. The previously unplacedMidnight will be Episode Ten. Episode 6, which is still unnamed will be written by Stephen Greenhorn.

The magazine also reveals that the March DVD release of Voyage of the Damned will include both the Children in Need Special Time Crash and the Christmas edition of Doctor Who Confidential.

Press Release

Actress Freema Agyman talks exclusively in DWM 392 about her visit to Torchwood and meeting the Sontarans in the forthcoming series of Doctor Who…

Freema laughs as she recalls her first encounter with the squat race of aliens: "When I first saw the guys in prosthetics I couldn’t stop giggling – I found them really cute and quite funny! Er, that’s probably not the desired reaction, is it? Russell (T Davies, Executive Producer) sent me a text saying, 'It’ll be the first time you’ve towered over a baddie' Ha ha! And I did. I felt quite tall."

Also in this month’s feature-packed issue: writer Stephen Greenhorn talks about his forthcoming Series Four episode; director Graham Harper braves questions from Out of the TARDIS Tin; the the Team Team view the voyeurs in Vengeance on Varos; The Fact of Fiction examines the murky truth behind Warriors of the Deep; there’s werewolves and weirdness in the full colour comic strip, Part 2 of Universal Monsters; Russell T Davies pays tribute to a very special lady in Production Notes; Neil Harris stresses the importance of location, location, location in You Are Not Alone; discover if Duncan James minds being interviewed on tape in Who on Earth is…; Sapphire and Steel answer your questions on Voyage of the Damned in the last ever edition of the Matrix Data Bank; plus all the latest Series Four news, previews, reviews, exclusive photos, competitions – and find out if the Doctor can bring some Valentine’s Day joy to Bradley and Stacey from EastEnders!

FILTER: - Magazines - DWM

Sarah Jane - Series Two Confirmed

Wednesday, 6 February 2008 - Reported by Marcus

The BBC has issued a Press release confirming that The Sarah Jane Adventures will return for a second series.

The first series, shown on BBC1 and CBBC achieved high ratings and audience appreciation figures. The programme is the highest rated show ever shown on CBBC.

The Guardian reports the recommissioning of the series in the context of the announcement coming on the same day as the cancellation of CBBC's 30-year-old children's drama Grange Hill. The paper suggests that The Sarah Jane Adventures is one of several dramas being used by CBBC to replace the long-running programme.

Thanks to GracieLizzy and Lizo

FILTER: - Sarah Jane

Torchwood 2.2 Final Ratings

Wednesday, 6 February 2008 - Reported by Marcus

BARB has released final ratings for the week ending 27th January, giving Episode Two of Torchwood, Sleeper an official rating of 3.78 millionviewers.

The programme was once more the highest rated on BBC2 for the week. Episode One still stands as the second highest rated programme on the channel for the year, with episode two currently at 5th place.

BBC2 Top Programmes (we 27 Jan 2008)

1 TORCHWOOD (WED 2103) - 3.78
2 AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 GARDENS (SUN 2101) - 3.37
3 UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE (MON 2000) - 3.33
4 MASTERCHEF (MON 2030) - 3.25
5 MASTERCHEF (THU 2001) - 3.23
6 THE WEAKEST LINK (TUE 1714) - 2.75
7 MASTERCHEF (WED 2033) - 2.72
8 NEVER MIND THE BUZZCOCKS (THU 2102) - 2.71
9 THE WEAKEST LINK (THU 1714) - 2.65
10 THE WEAKEST LINK (WED 1714) - 2.62
11 MASTERCHEF (TUE 2031) - 2.61
12 THE WEAKEST LINK (FRI 1715) - 2.57
13 THE WEAKEST LINK (MON 1714) - 2.54
14 AN ISLAND PARISH (TUE 2001) - 2.52
15 THE BEST OF TOP GEAR (SUN 2000) - 2.41
16 HAVE I GOT OLD NEWS FOR YOU (SAT 2103) - 2.37
17 THE NATURAL WORLD (FRI 2001) - 2.33
18 TIMEWATCH: THE PHAROAH'S LOST CITY (SAT 2012) - 2.26
19 EGGHEADS (FRI 1800) - 2.26
20 EGGHEADS (MON 1759) - 2.18

source BARB

FILTER: - Torchwood - Ratings - UK

Brain Of Morbius DVD On Its Way (Updated)

Wednesday, 6 February 2008 - Reported by DWNP Archive

Posted By John Bowman

The Fourth Doctor story The Brain of Morbius is to be released on DVD in the UK.The British Board of Film Classification today passed three episodes of the 1976 four-part story, giving them a PG rating.

They were passed without any cuts ordered. Consumer advice given for episodes one and two was that each had "scary scenes".

The fourth episode will, undoubtedly, be passed shortly.

A release date for the DVD has yet to be announced.

UPDATE (February 7): Episode four of The Brain of Morbius was today passed uncut with a PG rating by the BBFC, with the consumer advice that it contained "mild fantasy violence and horror".

(With thanks to Tony Clark)

FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Previous 10 Stories

Gallifrey 2008 Begins

Agyeman to Host Hospital Series

Torchwood 2.4 AI and ratings update

Torchwood 2.4 Overnight ratings

Invisible Enemy and K9 on DVD

Invasion Of Time DVD Extras Passed

Doctor Who Magazine 392

Sarah Jane - Series Two Confirmed

Torchwood 2.2 Final Ratings

Brain Of Morbius DVD On Its Way (Updated)

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