Temporal Logbook II: Open Submission Day

Tuesday, 26 July 2016 - Reported by Marcus

Pencil Tip Publishing will be holding an Open Submission Day on July 31st for their new short-story collection, The Temporal Logbook II.

The Temporal Logbook II, is a Doctor Who themed short-story collection and the follow-up companion to 2015s highly successful collection The Temporal Logbook.

As with the original short-story collection, this new volume will feature twelve original stories by new and up-in-coming writers. All twelve television incarnations of the Doctor will be featured with a story dedicated to that particular incarnation.

The editors are seeking story proposals for the latest collection. To contribute a story proposal all you have to do is:

Submit a 1-2 page outline detailing the basic plot of your story and the characters featured
Provide your full name and email,
Include a brief bio telling us a bit about yourself

** The full Submission Guidelines can be found at: thetemporallogbook.wordpress.com

The editors will be accepting proposals on Sunday, July 31, 2016 from 12:00pm Pacific Time to 12:00am Pacific Time only. (1900-0700 GMT)

The Temporal Logbook II will be published by Canadian publisher Pencil Tip Publishing, with proceeds from the publication being donated to a charity of their choice. Last year's publication benefited the Positive Living Society of British Columbia.

Publication has been set for 2017.

FILTER: - Fan Productions - Merchandise

Doctor Who Story Cubes available at SDCC

Monday, 25 July 2016 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who fans attending this year’s San Diego Comic Con will have an opportunity to purchase exclusive limited releases of the BBC licensed Doctor Who Story Cubes from the Underground Toys booth.

Rory’s Story Cubes is an award winning game that allows users to generate storytelling with friends and family. The team behind the product will be attending SDCC2016 to showcase their new range of licensed products. Over the course of the event, Rory O’Connor, creator of the range will be demonstrating each of the licensed products from the Rory Story Cubes StoryWorlds range

We make games and playthings that foster imagination, empathy and self esteem, because we want to see a world where these three things are fostered in every individual. We are a creative, dynamic team, passionate about storytelling and creative exploration; we are excited to be attending SDCC2016

FILTER: - Merchandise

Doctor Who earns LIMA award for Hot Topic

Sunday, 26 June 2016 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Hot Topic: TARDIS Dress (Credit: Hot Topic)

The latest International Licensing Awards have been held by the International Licensing Industry Merchandiser's Association, and American clothing/accessories store Hot Topic have won the Licensed Program: Retailer Award for their licensing programme for Doctor Who products, an award they previously won in 2014.

The company has produced a number of products within their license based on Doctor Who, including related coats and dresses, jogger bottoms, tee-shirts, and other apparel such as rings and necklaces. In late December they launched a new limited edition fashion collection of nine items which featured icons from the show, including the TARDIS, sonic screwdriver and Weeping Angels.

Hot Topic introduces Doctor Who Fashion Collection

FILTER: - Awards/Nominations - Clothing - Merchandise - USA

Lethbridge-Stewart: The Showstoppers

Saturday, 11 June 2016 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Candy Jar Books have released released further information about the second Lethbridge-Stewart release of 2016, The Showstoppers by Jonathan Cooper:

Lethbridge-Stewart: The Showstoppers (Credit: Candy-Jar Books)

LETHBRIDGE-STEWART’S LIFE WILL CHANGE FOREVER!

As well as introducing a new writer to the range, The Showstoppers plays out a major turning point in Lethbridge-Stewart’s life, as he is rewarded for all his hard work since the Doctor Who serial, The Web of Fear.

Range editor, Andy Frankham-Allen, says:

It’s something we’ve been working towards – a pivotal Lethbridge-Stewart moment.

Author, Jonathan Cooper, agrees:

It’s genuinely a massive honour to be given this responsibility; to dramatise the events leading up to something that most fans would certainly like to see. I wish I could say what it is, but that would ruin what’s going to be a big surprise.

The Showstoppers taps into the booming television industry of the 1960s, in particular the popular super-spy thrillers such as The Saint, Danger Man and The Avengers, blending it with more than a hint of the b-movies of the 1950s, all revolving around a secret Nazi plan left over from World War II.

Jonathan Cooper continues:

It was initially inspired by the film Dr Strangelove. At the pitching stage we even had Strangelove as the primary villain, along with a neat little twist to tie the Kubrick film into the world of Lethbridge-Stewart. But we soon moved beyond that, which gave the book a wider scope and allowed me to have a lot more fun with it. There’s still a couple of sly references in there though – including one bit towards the end that I hope readers are going to find
particularly chilling.

The book also features an introduction by David George, son of Dr Strangelove writer Peter George, focusing on the conspiracy theories that tie Dr Strangelove to the Kennedy assassination.

A fourth lead character of the range is also introduced in this novel. Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell, says:

From day one it has always been our intent to build up something of an ensemble cast of characters, with four main characters leading the way. That started with our licensed characters, Lethbridge-Stewart and Anne Travers, complimented by our very own Corporal William Bishop, who first appeared in our initial release, The Forgotten Son. Now we’re very pleased to introduce Samson Ware to our readers. A very different character to any seen in the range before, and someone quite unique for a series set in the late-‘60s, early-‘70s, a man of Bajan origin.

Jonathan Cooper is no stranger to Doctor Who, having once served as Doctor Who correspondent for The Mirror and The Independent online papers. He has previously written two novels for Space: 1889 series, co-writing one with Lethbridge-Stewart range editor, Andy Frankham-Allen.

Andy Frankham-Allen says:

Jon first came to my attention back in 2007 when I was running the eZine, Pantechnicon. He submitted one of the best short stories I have ever read, and ever since then I have tried to give him as much work as possible. The world can never have too much of Jon’s writing. His sense of humour, and great instinct for twisting a tale on its head, has always been a hallmark of his writing, and it’s this skill that he brings to Lethbridge-Stewart.

The Showstoppers is now available to pre-order from Candy Jar Books, and those who do so will also receive the free digital-only short story, The Band of Evil, by Roger J Hammond and Shaun Russell.

FILTER: - Books - Candy Jar Books - Lethbridge-Stewart - Merchandise

DWM Essentials 8 - Adventures in History

Thursday, 9 June 2016 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Panini have announced the latest in their ongoing Doctor Who Essentials series of special magazines:

The Essential Doctor Who #8 - Adventures in History (Credit: Doctor Who Magazine)

The Essential Doctor Who Issue 8: Adventures in History

Panini’s acclaimed bookazine series The Essential Doctor Who continues, with a lavish 116-page issue about the Doctor’s journeys into Earth’s past.

Adventures in History includes interviews with:

Artist Jeff Cummins (Doctor Who Discovers)
Story editor Gerry Davis (The Highlanders)
Actor Bernard Kay (The Crusade)
Costume designer Odile Dicks-Mireaux (The Visitation)
Writer John Lucarotti (The Aztecs)
Writer Jamie Mathieson (The Girl Who Died)
Actor Ian McNeice (Victory of the Daleks)
Director Saul Metzstein (Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)
Writer Marc Platt (Ghost Light)
Story editor Donald Tosh (The Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Eve)
Artist George Underwood (The Doctor Who Dinosaur Book)
Actress Anneke Wills, who played Polly in The Smugglers and numerous other stories.

Elsewhere in this packed issue, Andrew Pixley reveals Donald Cotton’s notes for the 1965 story The Myth Makers, timelines chart the Doctor’s adventures from the creation of the Earth through to 1963, and 15 trips into history are revisited, from the era of the First Doctor right through to that of the Twelfth.

Editor Marcus Hearn says:

History in Doctor Who is about much more than the purely historical stories that were made in the 1960s. We decided to follow the Doctor’s entire journey through Earth history, with some of our best writers and designer Peri Godbold as our guides. We’ve never done anything quite like this before, and some of the rare pictures we’ve uncovered are amazing.

The Essential Doctor Who: Adventures in History is on sale now at WHSmith and all good newsagents.

FILTER: - DWM - Magazines - Merchandise

The Tenth Doctor's Adventures: Volume One - now available from Big Finish

Monday, 16 May 2016 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Today sees Big Finish release the first trilogy of their all-new adventures featuring the tenth Doctor and Donna, as played by David Tennant and Catherine Tate. The three stories will be available exclusively from the Big Finish website for the next few months, before going on general release at the end of August.

Technophobia
Written by Matt Fitton [order from Big Finish]

When the Doctor and Donna visit London’s Technology Museum for a glimpse into the future, things don’t go to plan.

The most brilliant IT brain in the country can’t use her computer. More worrying, the exhibits are attacking the visitors, while outside, people seem to be losing control of the technology that runs their lives.

Is it all down to simple human stupidity, or is something more sinister going on?

Beneath the streets, the Koggnossenti are waiting. For all of London to fall prey to technophobia...

Time Reaver (Credit: Big Finish / Tom Webster)

Time Reaver
Written by Jenny T Colgan [order from Big Finish]

Calibris. The spaceport planet where anything goes. Where anyone who doesn't want to be found can be lost, and where everything has its price. Where betentacled gangster Gully holds sway at the smugglers’ tavern, Vagabond’s Reach.

The alien Vacintians are trying to impose some order on the chaos. Soon the Doctor and Donna discover why. An illegal weapon is loose on the streets. A weapon that destroys lives… Slowly and agonisingly.

The Time Reaver.

Death and the Queen (Credit: Big Finish / Tom Webster)

Death and the Queen [order from Big Finish]
Written by James Goss

Donna Noble has never been lucky in love.

So when, one day, her Prince does come, she is thrilled to have the wedding of all weddings to look forward to. Though the Doctor isn’t holding his breath for an invitation. And her future mother-in-law is certainly not amused.

But on the big day itself, Donna finds her castle under siege from the darkest of forces, marching at the head of a skeleton army.

When it looks like even the Doctor can’t save the day, what will Queen Donna do to save her people from Death itself?

Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble (Credit: Big Finish)

The three adventures are also available as an exclusive boxed set, The Tenth Doctor Adventures: Volume One from Big Finish, which will be released as a limited 4-disc edition of 5000.

As well as the stories themselves, the box includes exclusive artwork, photography, articles, a one-hour documentary featuring interviews with the stars and production team, plus a bonus documentary examining the worlds of Doctor Who at Big Finish.

You can read our review of the release here.

FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish - David Tennant - Merchandise - Tenth Doctor

Big Finish: Eighth Doctor 20th Anniversary Special Offer

Saturday, 14 May 2016 - Reported by Mark Pattison

Storm Warning (Credit: Big Finish / Clayton Hickman)

As Paul McGann's Eighth incarnation marks 20 years since waking up on a mortuary slab in San Franciso, Big Finish is running a series of special offers this weekend in celebration.

In the Doctor Who Main Range, starting with Doctor Who: Storm Warning, the first eleven titles are permanently reduced at £2.99 each to download, including the 40th Anniversary spectacular Doctor Who: Zagreus. You can even get the behind-the-scenes CD release on how these early stories were made with Big Finish Talks Back: The Eighth Doctor Authors, for only £5 this weekend.

The Eighth Doctor's further Main Range adventures continue with the Doctor and Charlotte teaming up with alien C'rizz (Conrad Westmaas) in the Divergent Universe. These are just £5 each on both CD and download this weekend, with selected bundles of stories also reduced.

The Eighth Doctor Adventures are hour-long audio dramas that see the Doctor travel with the feisty Lucie 'bleedin' Miller (Sheridan Smith) across four series. All 34 adventures are £5 each on CD and to download, with discounted series bundles also available.

The critically acclaimed Doctor Who: Dark Eyes series, sees the Doctor meet volunteer nurse Molly O'Sullivan (Ruth Bradley) in the trenches of the First World War. All four boxsets in the Dark Eyes saga can be enjoyed for just £20 each this weekend, or together in a bundle with free UK postage.

The Eighth Doctor's latest release is Doctor Who: Doom Coalition. The first two box-sets have been reduced back to their pre-order price of £20 each. All four box-sets can be purchased in one Doomwood Coalition bundle, which as with the majority of Big Finish releases, contains complimentary digital copies with all CD orders.

Paul McGann returns to the Main Range in Doctor Who: The Company of Friends, a special anthology teaming him with New Adventures companion Bernice Summerfield (Lisa Bowerman), BBC Books' Fitz Kreiner (Matt di Angelo), Doctor Who Magazine's Izzy Sinclair (Jemima Rooper) and Frankenstein author Mary Shelley (Julie Cox), who then joins the Doctor for a Main Range trilogy. These are all £5 on CD and download.

The Doctor unites with old friends Romana (Lalla Ward) and K9 (John Leeson) in Doctor Who: Shada, discovers new family members in Doctor Who: An Earthly Child, almost meets his future love in The Diary of River Song: Series 1 and unites with his former incarnations in Doctor Who: The Light at the End (available in both standard and Limited Edition).

The Eighth Doctor's Companion Chronicle adventure Doctor Who: Solitaire and his Destiny of the Doctors instalment Doctor Who: Enemy Aliens are at special offer prices. Two new Doctor Who Short Trip adventures Doctor Who: Foreshadowing and Doctor Who: The Curse of the Fugue, are also permanently at £2.99 each.

The single episode adventure Doctor Who: Klein's Story can be downloaded for free, starring Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor, Tracey Childs as Elizabeth Klein and Paul McGann as the mysterious Johann Schmidt. The footbal-themed Doctor Who: Living Legend is also available for free.

The Eighth Doctor's journeys will continue in Doctor Who: Doom Coalition 3 and Doom Coalition 4, Doctor Who: Classic Doctors, New Monsters Volume 1 and Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor – The Time War. Pre-orders on each box-set are £20 each on both CD and to download.

For the true collectors out there, you can pre-order the acclaimed Doctor Who: The Chimes of Midnight Limited Vinyl Edition, strictly limited to 500 copies and available for £79.99.

And for this weekend only, the ultimate Eighth Doctor 20th Anniversary Bundle, contains over 90 Eighth Doctor adventures, including those available to pre-order! The CD Bundle is £640 with free UK postage and includes downloads for those stories not available on CD. The Download bundle is £555.

Please note that both bundles contain the Limited Edition version of Doctor Who: The Light at the End instead of the standard version. Doctor Who: Shada, Big Finish Talks Back: The Eighth Doctor Authors and Doctor Who: The Chimes of Midnight Limited Vinyl Edition are not included in the download bundle.

These special offers end noon on Monday May 16th. You can explore the entire range on the Eighth Doctor Collected page.

FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish - Merchandise

Big Finish: The War Doctor 3: Agents of Chaos

Saturday, 14 May 2016 - Reported by Mark Pattison

Agents of Chaos Big Finish has announced further details for the third release in its War Doctor series, starring John Hurt and Jacqueline Pearce.

This Autumn, the Time War rages on with the War Doctor set to face Sontarans, an invasion of Earth and the Dalek Time Strategist.

The War Doctor: Agents of Chaos (Credit: Big Finish)

John Hurt returns as the War Doctor in September 2016, in three full cast audio plays from Big Finish productions. Doctor Who - The War Doctor 3: Agents of Chaos is the third volume in the ongoing saga, in which the War Doctor and Cardinal Ollistra (Jacqueline Pearce) are thrown deeper into the Time War.

The set opens with The Shadow Vortex by David Llewellyn, in which the Time Lords have detected that their quantum shield protecting Earth has been breached by the Daleks, and the War Doctor is sent to Berlin 1961, at the height of the Cold War, to investigate. There he finds that the Daleks have their own agent on the scene… That agent is played by Neve McIntosh, best known to Doctor Who fans as Madame Vastra of the Paternoster Gang, while the cast also includes Honeysuckle Weeks as Heleyna.

‘I was given a very open brief: Send the War Doctor to Earth,’ says David. ‘So then I started thinking, "Where on Earth (literally) can I picture the War Doctor?" and the first image that came to mind was Berlin's Brandenburg Gate in the early '60s - checkpoints in place, the boundary between East and West. Time War meets Cold War. Then I pictured a Dalek saucer landing right in front of it. Then I pictured the skies above Berlin swarming with Daleks. Then I got really, really excited and I started to write.’

In The Eternity Cage by Andrew Smith, the Sontarans continue their campaign to join the Time War - while the Time Lords and the Daleks refuse to allow them to join in. This may change, however, when the Sontarans score a victory over both sides…

The story will be Andrew's second set in Time War after the upcoming release of The Sontaran Ordeal in Doctor Who: Classic Doctors, New Monsters Volume 1.

Dan Starkey (also known for playing the Paternoster Gang’s butler Strax) is the Sontarans, while Josh Bolt (Last Tango in Halifax, Benidorm) plays Kalan.

‘I was asked to write a story taking for its inspiration Alistair MacLean’s Where Eagles Dare,’ says Andrew. ‘So we have an apparently impenetrable fortress on a mountaintop, and the Doctor leading an elite group on a rescue mission. But instead of the German army trying to stop them, it’s Sontarans! With the Daleks not far away either.’

The fate of Gallifrey hangs in the balance in Eye of Harmony by Ken Bentley, in which the Daleks gain the upper hand, while the Doctor and his allies fight to stay alive against all odds.

‘I grew up watching war films,’ says Ken. ‘They were a staple of weekend viewing when I was a boy, so it was great to have the opportunity to explore the genre in Doctor Who, where we generally avoid anything too dark. But even more exciting is that fact that I've written a play for John Hurt. JOHN HURT!! If you'd told me that might happen when I first started working for Big Finish I wouldn't have believed you.’

The box-set also introduces a new player into the Time War - the Dalek Time Strategist, who is voiced, as with the Daleks, by Nicholas Briggs

‘At the end of Dark Eyes, and the defeat of the Dalek Time Controller, it was hinted that a new 'Time Strategist' would be created in its wake…’ explains script editor Matt Fitton.

‘Daleks never go to war without a plan, and a Time War needs a special kind of planner, capable of viewing the field of conflict through four dimensions and beyond. This is the Dalek Time Strategist: a time-sensitive war-leader, utterly dedicated to achieving Dalek victory over the Time Lords by any means it can.’

You can pre-order Doctor Who - The War Doctor 3: Agents of Chaos from the Big Finish website.

FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish - Merchandise

BBC Books: The Legends of River Song

Friday, 13 May 2016 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC Books will be releasing their latest fiction book set in the worlds of Doctor Who, The Legends Of River Song on 2nd June 2016:

The Legends Of River Song (Credit: BBC Books)

The Legends of River Song
Written by Jenny T Colgan, Jacqueline Rayner, Steve Lyons, Guy Adams and Andrew Lane
Published by BBC Books in hardback on 2nd June 2016 [preorder from Amazon in United Kingdom or North America]

'Hello sweetie!'

With those words, the indominitable River Song crashed into the Doctor's life, and has stayed there ever since. Archaeologist, time-traveller, thief, and murderer, River Song has had more adventures (and got into much more trouble) than most other people in the universe. And she's written a lot of it down. Well, when you're (possibly) married to a Time Lord, it's important to keep track of what you've done and when. Especially as it may not have happened to both of you yet. Sometimes she's with the Doctor, and sometimes she's on her own. But wherever and whenever she may be, she's never far from danger ... and excitement!

From an eventful Picnic at Asgard with the Eleventh Doctor, to a solo escapade Death in New Venice, these are just a few tales from River Song's impossible life, recounted by bestselling Doctor Who writers including Jenny T Colgan and Guy Adams.

Competition

To be in with a chance to win a copy of The Legends of River Song courtesy of BBC Books, answer the following question:

What is the first thing that River (as played by Alex Kingston) says to the Doctor, from the perspective of her time line?

Please send your answer along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-river@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "Blue Box Journal". The competition is to residents of the United Kingdom only, closing date: 1st June 2016. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

FILTER: - BBC Books - Books - Merchandise

Series 9 Sonic Screwdriver to be released this summer

Thursday, 12 May 2016 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Character have announced that they plan to release a toy version sonic screwdriver that made its debut during last year's series finale, Hell Bent:

Character: Series 9 Hell Bent Sonic Screwdriver: pack (Credit: Character)

After months of speculation it is now official, the Twelfth Doctor’s Second Sonic Screwdriver is to be part of the Character Options’ toy collection. The first images have been released with confirmation that the eagerly awaited Sonic will be on sale within weeks!

This new toy version is a faithful recreation of the current Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver which debuted in the Series 9 Episode ‘Hell Bent’. This is the first Sonic to have 4 light modes and four sound FX. The model has been designed as a replica from the Series 9 Prop.

Series 9 Hell Bent Sonic Screwdriver: Green glow (Credit: Character)

As all fans would know, the Doctor has carried many Sonic Screwdrivers of various designs throughout his lifetimes, ranging from a simple silver coloured tube to more complex illuminated and articulated versions.

This second Sonic for the Twelfth Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi, was ‘gifted' to him by the TARDIS itself after his previous version was lost. Although we are yet to discover all of the new Sonic’s abilities, like the Doctor himself, it has become ever more complex and mysterious. This multipurpose tool features numerous settings and can open most locks, detect all manner of deadly rays, read bio-signs and generate Sonic waves of great power.

Alasdair Dewar, Head of Product Development at Character Options commented: “Since this Twelfth Doctor’s Second Sonic Screwdriver appeared at the end of series 9, we have been inundated by fan requests to produce a toy replica as part of our toy range. We are therefore very proud to finally be able to reveal it. The Sonic Screwdriver has historically been one of the most sought after toys for fans and collectors alike and we hope they will be as delighted with it as we are.”

The Character Options’ Twelfth Doctor’s Second Sonic Screwdriver is available from for pre-sale orders from Doctor Who merchandise retailers from today.

FILTER: - Character Options - Merchandise - Twelfth Doctor

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