Terrance Dicks - A Tribute (Candy Jar Books)

Sunday, 15 September 2019 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Candy Jar Books have released a special tribute to Terrance Dicks as a free-to-download PDF.

Terrance Dicks - A Tribute (Credit: candy Jar Books)Last week the world of Doctor Who lost Terrance Dicks. To celebrate the life and career of ‘Uncle Terrance’ Candy Jar has released a free PDF, Terrance Dicks – A Tribute.

Terrance Dicks wrote thirty-five episodes of Doctor Who, including classics such as Horror of Fang Rock and The Five Doctors; he was script editor of the show for six years, overseeing the transition from Patrick Troughton and the entirety of the Jon Pertwee era; he wrote over sixty novelisations of Doctor Who stories; and all this is before even touching on his multiple stage, audio, and non-fiction productions, or his innumerable scripts and children’s books outside of the Who universe.

Wherever stories of the Doctor were being told, Terrance Dicks’ name was sure to be found, whether in the Target Books of the ’70s and ’80s, or the Virgin New Adventures and Big Finish productions throughout the ’90s and 2000s. Through the fallow years before Doctor Who’s return to screens, the fandom was kept alive in no small part to Terrance Dicks’ prodigious output.

He was an ever-present at conventions and on documentaries, a warm, witty and humble custodian of the show he had been so pivotal in developing. In the words of James Middleditch in Candy Jar’s free PDF: “The wisdom and twinkling joy with which he spoke about Doctor Who would… become fundamental to the experience of the series in the 1990s.”

Terrance Dicks – A Tribute is a collection of memories from the authors and artists who were inspired by Terrance’s work. This range of writers and artists – with Nick Walters, Chris Achilleos, Gary Russell, John Levene, John Peel and many more – is a testament to the depth of Terrance’s influence.

In Nick Walters’ own words:
I know for absolute certain that I am not the only writer who will say that Terrance Dicks was a major, if not the major, inspiration for their career. His books, with their clarity of prose, vivid descriptions, and economic yet evocative renditions of televised Doctor Who stories, were our bread and butter.

And it’s not just writers who hold him dear. Shaun Russell, Candy Jar’s head of publishing, was motivated to compile this collection by his own debt to Terrance’s work:
Like a lot of our readers, I grew up on Target’s Doctor Who books. And when we first acquired the rights to Lethbridge-Stewart, it was their example that we aspired to. With those titles – and none more so than in Terrance’s books – you could tell that the storytelling came from a place of deep understanding and genuine love for Doctor Who and its universe.

There’s a great piece in the collection, by George Ivanoff, which talks about Terrance’s wonderful way with opening lines – how he could suck you into a story with just a few words. That’s the standard for us always: that deep knowledge, that genuine affection, but most of all that flair that came pouring off of every page of Terrance’s work. I very much doubt I’d be doing what I am today if it wasn’t for his influence. It was only right that we add Terrance Dicks – A Tribute to the many accolades he will no doubt be receiving over the coming weeks.

The free PDF also includes artwork by Adrian Salmon, Terry Cooper and Paul Cowan.

Terrance Dicks – A Tribute is available free from the Candy Jar website.





FILTER: - Books - Candy Jar Books - Online

NYCC Doctor Who Exclusives From Titan Merchandise

Sunday, 15 September 2019 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Those attending this year's New York Comic Con in October will be able to purchase two exclusive vinyl figures from Titan, based on the Doctor from her first series appeaances in Rosa and Kerblam!.

Doctor Who Vinyl Figure - Rosa (Titan, NYCC 2019 exclusive) (Credit: Titan) Doctor Who Vinyl Figure - Kerblam!(Titan, NYCC 2019 exclusive) (Credit: Titan)

The limited edition items will be available from Titan Booth #2142.




FILTER: - Merchandise - Special Events - USA

Step into the Doctor's TARDIS with the new VIVE Cosmos

Friday, 13 September 2019 - Reported by Marcus
VIVE CosmosHTC has teamed up with BBC Studios to offer the chance to embark on a virtual reality adventure through time and space, with Doctor Who.

On Friday 26th and Saturday 27th September, visitors at Hackney’s Protein Studios in London, will have the chance to step into the TARDIS and take up the role of the Doctor’s assistant in Doctor Who: The Edge of Time.

HTC is celebrating the launch of the VIVE Cosmos, its latest premium PC-based Virtual Reality (VR) system. Attendees will be amongst the first to try ‘Doctor Who: The Edge of Time’, produced by Maze Theory for BBC Studios. After stepping into the TARDIS, players will interact with the Doctor themselves and will try to pilot the spacecraft – which is temperamental at the best of times – before embarking on an epic adventure to solve the mystery behind the ‘Reality Virus’.

During the event, visitors will use HTC’s newly released VR headset, the VIVE Cosmos, which is built to be the highest performance and most versatile headset on the market.

Fans can sign up for a free 15-minute slot here or simply turn up on the day to secure a walk-in slot (subject to availability).

Please note, players must be aged 12+.




FILTER: - Games - Special Events

Freema Agyeman returns to Big Finish

Monday, 9 September 2019 - Reported by Marcus
Torchwood: Dissected  (Credit: Big Finish)Freema Agyeman reprises her role as Martha Jones in a brand new audio adventure from Big Finish Productions.

Torchwood: Dissected sees Agyeman paired up with Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper in Torchwood: Dissected.

Martha Jones who was the companion of the Tenth Doctor in his second series returns to the world of Torchwood in February next year. Freema Agyeman starred in series 3 of New Doctor Who and its spin-off show, Torchwood, before going on to a huge career.

Big Finish Productions has announced it is delighted that Freema is reprising her role in this new Torchwood story, which explores what Martha did after her adventures with the Doctor.

Employed by UNIT, Martha is reunited with former Torchwood colleague Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) – over a dead body...

Gwen Cooper turns up on Martha Jones’s doorstep with a dead body in tow. She needs to ask one final favour of her. And to find out why they stopped being friends.

A lot’s happened to Torchwood since Martha left. A lot’s happened to Martha since she left Torchwood. And there’s something very odd about the dead body Gwen’s brought with her. Tonight she's going to be getting more answers than she bargained for.
Freema Agyeman talked about returning to the character of Martha Jones.
Aw mate, the nostalgia has been quite overwhelming. It really is like stepping into comfortable old shoes. It feels like about five minutes ago and yet so much time has passed. That’s the wonderful thing about the Whoniverse – you never feel on the outside of it. It’s great to be back.
Director Scott Handcock added
I first met Freema back in 2006 working on Doctor Who Confidential. I watched Martha Jones arrive and grow, and it’s a pleasure to welcome her back to the world of Torchwood. It’s something we’ve been chatting about for years, and to finally make it happen with the amazing Eve Myles (who adores her and vice versa) is a real treat!
Writer Tim Foley told us more about uniting two of science fiction’s most courageous female leads
Martha Jones is back! And I’ve locked her in a room with Gwen! It’s such a delight to pit these two against each other. This is quite an experimental story – you’ll be listening to an autopsy in real time, which was such a fun challenge. Luckily for me Eve and Freema spar off each other marvellously, stuck in a lab with nothing but a corpse for company...
Torchwood: Dissected starring Freema Agyeman and Eve Myles, will be released in February 2020 priced at £7.99 on download or £9.99 on CD.




FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish - Torchwood

Lethbridge-Stewart: On His Majesty's National Service update

Sunday, 8 September 2019 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Lethbridge-Stewart: On His Majesty's National Service (John Peel) (Credit: Candy Jar Books)Candy Jar Books have announced a change of author for the coda of their The Laughing Gnome series of books.

On His Majesty’s National Service was originally scheduled to be written by David A McIntee and Lynette Nusbacher for a June release. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, David McIntee was unable to continue.

Head of Publishing Shaun Russell said:
I have always been a big fan of David’s outstanding Doctor Who work, and I truly regret having to engage a new author. It is unfortunate that, in David’s own words, he was ‘over committed’, but we’re lucky to have found such a wonderful replacement in John Peel.

The new version of On His Majesty’s National Service will be set during the same period of Lethbridge-Stewart’s life, but will be telling a different story.

Editor Andy Frankham-Allen explained:
John promptly came up with some ideas and a basic outline that fit the shopping list of elements I gave to him – certain story beats needed to be hit, to fit continuity from other books. I did give David the option of allowing John to use elements from his story, should they fit, which David was quite happy to do. However, beyond a few background details, John has opted to go his own way. It’s going to be an exciting adventure story set during the Korean War, in which we see the events that turned Lethbridge-Stewart into the hero we all know and love.

The book is currently available to pre-order from the Candy Jar website.
There was always one question that bugged Bill Bishop, what turned Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart from a man interested in teaching to a career military hero? Using the power of the Laughing Gnome, Bill travels back to the 1950s to find out...

As a young man Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart never wanted to follow in his illustrious family military history, he just wanted to be a maths teacher. But then the Korean War broke out and he was called up for National Service. He soon met Spencer Pemberton – and his life was changed forever!




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

Season 26 Blu-ray Release

Tuesday, 3 September 2019 - Reported by Marcus
Season 26 (Credit: BBC Studios)BBC Studios have announced that Season 26 will be the next instalment in the DOCTOR WHO: THE COLLECTION Blu-ray range

Released on Monday 23rd December is the acclaimed final season from the series’ original run, starring Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred:

Doctor Who – The Collection: Season 26
  • BATTLEFIELD
  • GHOST LIGHT
  • THE CURSE OF FENRIC
  • SURVIVAL
In 1989, Doctor Who was on a creative high, with the Seventh Doctor and his companion Ace revitalising the programme for a new generation. Season 26 featured four epic adventures traversing a future Britain invaded by inter-dimensional knights, a strange Victorian house haunted by ghosts from Ace’s past, an alien world populated by Cheetah People and a 1940s army camp under siege from monstrous vampires.

With guest stars including Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart), Anthony Ainley (The Master), Jean Marsh, Nicholas Parsons, Anne Reid, Ian Hogg, Sylvia Syms and comedy duo Hale & Pace, this fondly-remembered set of stories saw the end of an era for Doctor Who, and set the stage for its hugely successful revival.

With all episodes newly remastered from the best available sources, this Blu-ray box set also contains extensive and exclusive special features including:

Rare Restored Extended Cuts
  • The Curse of Fenric VHS Extended Version
  • The Curse of Fenric DVD Special Edition
  • Battlefield VHS Extended Version
  • Battlefield DVD Special Edition
5.1 surround sound & isolated scores
  • On all 14 broadcast episodes, plus 5.1 sound on all extended versions of The Curse Of Fenric and Battlefield.
Behind the Sofa
  • New episodes with Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, plus companions Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, Anneke Wills and Jodie-Whittaker-era writers Pete McTighe & Joy Wilkinson.
Showman - the Life of John Nathan-Turner
  • A feature-length look at the life and career of Doctor Who’s longest-serving producer, who fought to keep the programme on-air during the 1980s. Contributors include Peter Davison and Colin Baker.
Making ‘The Curse of Fenric’
  • A brand new documentary featuring Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Tomek Bork, Nicholas Parsons, Cory Pulman, Marek Anton, Ian Briggs, Andrew Cartmel, Mark Ayres and Ian Collins featuring unseen behind-the-scenes footage and photographs.
In Conversation
  • Matthew Sweet chats to companion Sophie Aldred.
The Writers’ Room
  • Ben Aaronovitch, Marc Platt, Ian Briggs, Rona Munro and Andrew Cartmel discuss their work on Season 26.
Becoming The Destroyer
  • Actor Marek Anton and prosthetics designer Stephen Mansfield recall the creation of one of Doctor Who’s best ever monsters.
The seven-disc box set also includes hours of special features previously released on DVD.

Pre-order on Amazon.

On Saturday 23rd November, the BFI Southbank will be screening Doctor Who: The Curse of Fenric (from the Special Edition Blu-ray) and holding a Q&A with actor Sophie Aldred and script editor Andrew Cartmel. Tickets are available from the BFI on the following dates:
  • Monday 16th September – BFI Patrons and Champions
  • Tuesday 17th September – BFI Members
  • Tuesday 24th September – public booking




FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - season 26 - Seventh Doctor

Terrance Dicks 1935-2019

Monday, 2 September 2019 - Reported by Marcus
Terrance DicksOne of Doctor Who's most influential writers Terrance Dicks has died at the age of 84.

Terrance Dicks's contribution to Doctor Who was immense. He wrote forty-five episodes of the series between 1969 and 1983 and was script editor from 1969 until 1975, steering the programme through one of its most successful periods, helping to cast both the third and fourth Doctors.

For a whole generation of fans, he was the man who brought the series to life through his Target novelisations. In the days before DVD's and Videos, the only way of reliving old episodes was through the Target books. Over 60 were written by Dicks and they enabled fans to experience stories shown years before many were born.

Terrance Dicks was born in East London shortly before the second world war. He studied English at the University of Cambridge before serving for two years in the British Army. On his discharge, he won his first writing job working as an advertising copywriter before writing radio play scripts for the BBC.

It was his friend and mentor Malcolm Hulke who got him his first job in television, helping with the scripting on the first series if the ITV adventure series The Avengers. He would later return the favour by commissioning scripts from Hulke for Doctor Who.

His work on Doctor Who began in 1968 as assistant script editor, rewriting much of the Brian Hayes story The Seeds of Death. Promotion followed and he was charged with writing out the second Doctor with the epic 10 part series The War Games.

In 1970 a new producer Barry Letts was appointed and thus began one of the highest regarded partnerships in the whole series run. Together they guided the series for five years, one of its most successful periods. Both men left the series at the same time as Jon Pertwee but not before casting the unknown Tom Baker as Doctor number 4.

His commitment to the series didn't end with the third Doctor. He wrote several more stories including The Brain of Morbius, Horror of Fang Rock and State of Decay. In 1983 he penned the 20th-anniversary story The Five Doctor's, the last script he completed for the television series.

He wrote two Doctor Who plays, Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday in 1974 and Doctor Who - The Ultimate Adventure in 1989.

Away from Doctor Who he co-created the short-lived BBC science-fiction TV series Moonbase 3 and wrote for the ATV science-fiction series Space: 1999. He served once more as script editor to producer Barry Letts on the BBC's Sunday Classics strand, before succeeding Letts as the producer overseeing productions such as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and Vanity Fair.

Tributes to Dicks have been paid from many associated with Doctor Who including current showrunner Chris Chibnall
The lights of Doctor Who are dimmer tonight, with the passing of Terrance Dicks. He was one of the greatest contributors to Doctor Who’s history, on screen and off. As writer and script editor, he was responsible for some of the show’s greatest moments and iconic creations. As the most prolific and brilliant adaptor of Doctor Who stories into Target novels, he was responsible for a range of books that taught a generation of children, myself included, how pleasurable and accessible and thrilling reading could be. Doctor Who was lucky to have his talents. He will always be a legend of the show. Everyone working on Doctor Who sends his family and friends our love and condolences at this difficult time.




FILTER: - Classic Series - Obituary

DWAS Auction

Tuesday, 27 August 2019 - Reported by Marcus
The Doctor Who Appreciation Society has a number of items available for auction on their eBay site.

Items include signed DVD's, books and artwork

The auction is to raise funds for two charities this year. Tappy Twins, supporting children's mental health issues, and C.A.L.M - the Campaign Against Living Miserably which similarly supports adults, and particularly men in their 30s and 40s who are a high-risk group.

As well as the auction items there are also Doctors postcards available - these were launched at the event The Capitol IV earlier this year.

Please visit the eBay site to see more. The auction closes on Thursday.




FILTER: - DWAS

Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 542

Wednesday, 21 August 2019 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Magazine issue 542 (Credit: Panini)This month's Doctor Who Magazine sees today's Doctor Who writers paying tribute to the series pioneers.

Featuring exclusive contributions from: Paul Cornell, Sarah Dollard, Matthew Graham, Peter Harness, Pete McTighe, Steven Moffat, James Moran, Rona Munro, Robert Shearman and Toby Whithouse.

This issue also includes:

  • Exclusive interviews with Billie Piper and Camille Coduri ahead of Big Finish’s new audio series Rose Tyler: The Dimension Cannon.
  • The Robots of Ravolox – investigating Robert Holmes’ final mystery.
  • Bonnie Langford answers questions from the TARDIS tin.
  • 1980s script editor Eric Saward reflects on the troubled production of The Trial of a Time Lord.
  • The Trial of a Time Lord on trial: could it be Doctor Who’s most underrated story?
  • The Fact of Fiction explores the 2008 Tenth Doctor story Planet of the Ood.
  • An exclusive preview of Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 23.
  • Part Three of Power of the Mobox, a new comic-strip adventure featuring the Thirteenth Doctor and her friends.
  • The Blogs of Doom, audio reviews, previews, news, prize-winning competitions and much, much more! 


On sale from Thursday 22 August 2019 £5.99 (UK)




FILTER: - DWM

Sixth Doctor and Peri return in new audio adventures for 2020

Tuesday, 20 August 2019 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Sixth Doctor and Peri - Vol 1: Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant (Credit: Big Finish)Big Finish have announced four new adventures for the Sixth Doctor and Peri for August 2020, set after The Trial of a Time Lord and their audio adventure The Rani Elite.

Producer/Director Scott Handcock said:
Ever since the Sixth Doctor and Peri were reunited in The Widow’s Assassin back in 2014, listeners have wanted a continuation of their post-Trial of a Time Lord adventures together. And so now, to commemorate twenty years of Doctor Who at Big Finish, they’re getting a new collection of stories spanning the cosmos. We travel to nineteenth-century Africa, futuristic Earth colonies and a 1970s film studios plus we meet the ultimate Doctor/companion relationship counsellor in Sigmund Freud!

Nicola Bryant said about her character's return:
Because of the journey that BF have given them, both together and individually, we’ve been lucky enough to expand them into these amazing new people. If everything had stayed in some kind of stasis where we were stuck with exactly what we did on television, then I think the audience might have disappeared. But it just seems that we’ve been given such great journeys, and I love coming back to this Doctor/companion.

This new set of stories will also feature Colin Baker's daughter Rosie in the third adventure.

The Sixth Doctor and Peri - Vol 1 (Credit: Big Finish)1. The Headless Ones by James Parsons & Andrew Stirling-Brown
When a distress call from an unknown source threatens to rip the TARDIS from the vortex, the Doctor and Peri arrive in nineteenth-century Africa hoping to find the cause of the disturbance. Instead, they meet a British expedition searching for a long lost tribe: the B’lemyae… better known to the locals as ‘the Headless Ones’.

2. Like by Jacqueline Rayner
On the Earth colony world Rusina, the populace strive to be popular. Likes lead to promotion, dislikes lead to demotion – and more recently, something worse. So when the Doctor investigates the truth behind their subscriber-led society, he finds himself about to become very unpopular indeed.

3. The Vanity Trap by Stuart Manning
Myrna Kendal used to be a Hollywood film star. Now she spends her life reminiscing on chat shows but there is always one unfinished film she refuses to talk about… at least until the TARDIS interrupts a TV interview, and the Doctor and Peri’s appearance stirs up long-forgotten memories.

4. Conflict Theory by Nev Fountain
Concerned by the Doctor’s increasing over-protectiveness, Peri presents him with an ultimatum: either they seek counselling or she leaves the TARDIS permanently. Reluctant to lose one of his closest friends, the Doctor seeks out one of the finest psychoanalysts in the universe: Dr Sigmund Freud.

Cast
Colin Baker (The Doctor), Nicola Bryant (Peri Brown), Deirdre Mullins (Amanda Latimer), Hugh Skinner (Lord Oliver Erpingham), Vivienne Acheampong (Siyanda), Javone Prince (Kaylin), Lucy Robinson (Christie), Eilidh Loan (Marconi), Amelia Donkor (Hoffmann), Rachel Atkins (Governor Crompton), Timothy Blore (Sandis-Fernis), Sarah Douglas (Myrna Kendal), Rosie Baker (Carolyn Sue), Stephen Critchlow (Jimmy Garfield), Ryan Forde Iosco (Dr. Karp), David Sibley (Dr. Freud), Raj Ghatak (The Complex), George Naylor (Dodo).

The Sixth Doctor and Peri - Vol 1: Cast from The Headless Ones (Credit: Big Finish) The Sixth Doctor and Peri - Vol 1: Cast from Like (Credit: Big Finish) The Sixth Doctor and Peri - Vol 1: Cast from The Vanity Trap (Credit: Big Finish) The Sixth Doctor and Peri - Vol 1: Cast from Conflict Theory (Credit: Big Finish)




FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish - Sixth Doctor