The Eighth Doctor Revisited On BBC America

Thursday, 1 August 2013 - Reported by John Bowman

BBC America is to show the Eighth Doctor's sole TV outing to date on Saturday 31st August.

The adventure, starring Paul McGann as the Doctor, is being aired as part of the network's ongoing series Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited marking the show's 50th anniversary, and will be broadcast following a documentary at 8pm ET/PT in which current showrunner Steven Moffat and Daphne Ashbrook, who played Dr Grace Holloway, and Yee Jee Tso, who was Chang Lee, are among those examining what made the Eighth Doctor unique. They also discuss a new take on the Doctor's old enemy the Master, played in this story by Eric Roberts.

Co-produced by the BBC, Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox, and the American network Fox, the story, written by Matthew Jacobs and directed by Geoffrey Sax, was filmed in Canada and received its world premiere in the country on 12th May 1996, subsequently being shown in the USA two days later and in the UK on 27th May, where a dedication to Jon Pertwee was added at the end, following his death exactly a week earlier.

Intended as a pilot to revive the show after it ended in 1989, it saw the Seventh Doctor, as played by Sylvester McCoy, regenerate into the Eighth. In the story, the Master attempts to take the Doctor's remaining regenerations, plunging the Earth into chaos.

Despite impressive ratings in the UK though, the American networks didn't warm to it and options weren't taken up, with the show plunged back into the wilderness - as far as the TV version was concerned - until the BBC announced in September 2003 that it would be returning.

The Doctors Revisited: The Eighth Doctor (via YouTube)

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - USA - BBC America - Eighth Doctor - Seventh Doctor - Sylvester McCoy -

Odds On Who: Peter Capaldi emerges as favourite

Wednesday, 31 July 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

As this year's Christmas Special moves into production, speculation continues as to who will replace Matt Smith as the Doctor by the end of the festive adventure. This week saw a surge of interest in Peter Capaldi, with odds on the actor rapidly dropping to now make him the favourite to continue in the TARDIS.

Joe Crilly, a spokesman for betting company William Hill, said:

Peter Capaldi was not even in our list a few days ago but he has been the subject of a lot of betting interest recently and this gamble would suggest that if he does not have the part already, he is almost certainly on the shortlist.

Capaldi is best known as the acerbic Malcolm Tucker from The Thick Of It, though he has appeared in Doctor Who before as Roman merchant Lucius Caecilius in The Fires of Pompeii, and more prominently as the Home Office Permanent Secretary John Frobisher in Torchwood: Children of Earth.

The actor revealed he was a fan of the show back in 2008 when he spoke to SFX about his forthcoming appearance in Pompeii:

When I was a kid, being a huge fan, I wrote numerous letters to the Doctor Who office largely inquiring about how the show was made. I was thrilled to have delivered to me a large package from the BBC containing two full studio scripts for the Jon Pertwee serial The Mutants, which they were making at the time. The package also contained set designs and studio floor plans for these episodes and a delightful letter from Barry Letts giving me an idea what all this stuff was. It was a fantastic exciting insight into both Doctor Who and television production generally. I had never seen a script in any form whatsoever before then and was immediately fascinated by the documents. And of course Barry’s kindness was a trigger to my ambition to work somehow (I didn’t know how) in TV. The scripts are still sitting on my bookshelf downstairs.

In light of his sudden association with the role, the Radio Times has also found an archive letter from a 15-year old Peter Capaldi congratulating them on the 10th Anniversary Special!

Odds had been temporarily suspended on 9th June, with betting company Coral informing Doctor Who News that "We've suspended betting on the next Doctor Who, following a rush of bets on Rory Kinnear in the last 24 hours.". This came about after Sunday newspapers such as the Telegraph had reported that the actor had been offered the role. Kinnear strongly denied this, saying:

I don’t know where it came from and how these things evolve - I haven’t been, and I am totally certain that I will not, be asked to be the next Doctor Who. If I was an actor who was really longing to play Doctor Who, then this would be torturous, but it’s a programme I’ve never watched, so I don’t even really know what it is.

Any likelihood of his casting seems to have been quashed this morning after the announcement of his lead role in ITV's Lucan, which films next month.

Chris Addison as the Doctor, Mock The Week, June 2013 (Credit: BBC)

June also saw another favourite emerge with Capaldi's co-star in The Thick of It, Chris Addison, causing William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams to observe:

We have seen a good old fashioned gamble on Chris Addison today, with a number of three figure bets placed. Gambles such as these normally have some substance and I would think he is on the shortlist.

It is believed that the flurry of interest in the actor came about after singer Paloma Faith tweeted "A friend who works on Doctor Who says that Chris Addison is replacing Matt Smith - WOW". Acknowledging the interest in his potential as the Doctor, the comic actor appeared during the recording of the comedy news panel show Mock The Week in suitable attire (however this was not shown on its transmission on 13th June).

Another suggestion via the media has been Green Wing actor Julian Rhind-Tutt, which The Sun reported was on the shortlist after missing out on the role last time around to Matt Smith. The same article also suggests that Torchwood actor Burn Gorman (Owen Harper) is another contender for the role.

Luther star Idris Elba ruled himself out of the running, with the Radio Times reporting that when asked at the preview (20 June) he joked: "I’d look silly in a bow tie!". Meanwhile, on television David Harewood told Loose Women (ITV, 18 June): "It would be really difficult to turn down, it would be very exciting if the phone rang - but I doubt it!"

Former companion Bonnie Langford was asked on The Wright Stuff (C5, 28 June), if she thought the show would work with a female lead:

The thing about Doctor Who, the reason it's been successful is that it has no limits, and basically it's a story about good overcoming evil - and to be honest you could probably do anything with it. As long as it's written well - they've proved in this new series it is the writing and the production and the casting that makes it good - so to be honest as long as you write it with a certain sense of integrity and fun, I think it could survive anything.

John Barrowman commented at the recent San Diego Comic Con:

I think it's about time that we have a female Doctor, because the majority of the fans are girls, let's have a girl and see what happens - because if it doesn't work, the beauty of Doctor Who is that (they can use) regeneration and out you go!

However, Helen Mirren flatly denied that she would be the first female Doctor when asked on Daybreak (ITV, 3 July):

I'm not going to be the first female Doctor, absolutely not. I wouldn't contemplate that. But, I do think it's time to have a female Doctor - I think a gay, black, female Doctor Who would be the best of all!

Current Odds:

The Independent give odds on Capaldi as the Doctor at 2/1, followed by Ben Daniels (4/1), Rory Kinnear (6/1), Ben Whishaw (10/1), and David Harewood (10/1). Meanwhile, at the time of writing online betting site Unibet give odds for Capaldi at 3/1, Daniels (also 3/1), Kinnear (7/2), Harewood and Chiwetel Ejiofor (both 9/1), and Wishaw and Colin Salmon (both 11/1); Betfair offer Capaldi at 19/10, Colin Morgan (47/11), Daniels and Julian Rhind-Tutt (both 19/4), Kinnear (57/10), Chris Addison (113/17), and Wishaw, Russell Tovey, Tom Ellis, Bill Bailey, Anthony Head and Idris Elba (all at 94/11).

FILTER: - Twelfth Doctor - Betting/Odds

Anniversary Episode on New Zealand's Prime TV

Wednesday, 31 July 2013 - Reported by Paul Scoones

New Zealand's Prime television channel has posted a statement on Facebook regarding the 50th Anniversary Special.

Doctor Who fans! Fear not, we will be playing the 50th Anniversary Special. Phew. However, we are still awaiting details from the BBC which will determine when we can transmit. As soon as we have any more information, we'll be sure to pass it along.

BBC Worldwide issued a statement last week in which they announced an intention to simultaneously broadcast the Anniversary Special internationally.

What this means for New Zealand viewers is that if - hypothetically - the Special screens in the UK on Saturday 23rd November at 7pm, the episode would be seen on Prime on Sunday 24th November at 8am.

It remains unclear at this stage whether the episode will in fact screen at the same time in New Zealand. Prime has addressed this in a follow-up statement:

We haven't had any confirmation that simulcast is the BBC's plan - they have not confirmed that with us. If that is an option, we need to know the time and the content because if it comes in early morning, it needs to have a G rating, when usually Doctor Who has a stronger rating. As we said, we'll pass any new info on as it's confirmed.

In New Zealand, new series episodes of Doctor Who invariably receive a PGR (Parental Guidance Recommended) rating, which makes them unsuitable for an early morning timeslot on Prime.

FILTER: - Day of the Doctor - International Broadcasting - New Zealand - Broadcasting

An Unearthly Series - The Origins of a TV Legend

Wednesday, 31 July 2013 - Reported by Marcus

The sixteenth in our series of features telling the story of the creation of Doctor Who, and the people who made it happen.

Production is now well underway on the new science-fiction series, and with the first filming just a couple of months away it was time to announce the cast.

It was on Wednesday 31st July 1963, exactly fifty years ago today, that the four main cast members were issued with their contracts.

William Hartnell will play The Doctor

William Hartnell is a film and Television actor well known for his 'tough guy' performances in several British films of the 1950's.

He was born William Henry Hartnell in the St Pancras district of London on 8th January 1908. England, His mother was unmarried and he was brought up partly by a foster mother. Through his membership of a boys' boxing club he met the art collector Hugh Blaker, who took an interest in the lad and became his unofficial guardian. As a keen follower of the theatre, Blaker helped the young Hartnell enter the Italia Conti Academy.

Hartnell entered the theatre in 1925 as a general stagehand. He appeared in a number of Shakespeare plays, including The Merchant of Venice (1926), Julius Caesar, As You Like It, Hamlet, The Tempest, Macbeth. He also appeared in She Stoops to Conquer, School for Scandal and Good Morning, Bill, before performing in Miss Elizabeth's Prisoner in 1928. It was in this play he worked with the actress Heather McIntyre whom Hartnell married the following year.

Hartnell made appearances in more than sixty British films, taking his first role in the 1932 film Say It With Music. Other roles included Freddy Fordum in Swinging the Lead , Pat Spencer in Nothing Like Publicity and Stubbs in Midnight at Madame Tussaud's. The outbreak of war in 1939 saw Hartnell join the Tank Corps where he served for eighteen months before being invalided out as the result of suffering a nervous breakdown.

Hartnell returned to acting playing a number of bit parts in several war time moves. In 1944 his career reached a turning point when he was cast as Sergeant Ned Fletcher in Carol Reed's film The Way Ahead. His success in playing the tough Army sergeant led to a career playing mainly policemen, soldiers, and thugs. He played the eponymous Sergeant in the first ever Carry on film, Carry on Sergeant. Other roles included a town councillor in the Boulting brothers' film Heavens Above! and Will Buckley in the film The Mouse That Roared alongside Peter Sellers.

In the early 1960's he was best known to British TV audiences for another army role, as Sergeant Major Percy Bullimore in The Army Game. In 1963 he won the role of 'Dad' Johnson in the film This Sporting Life. In the film he played an aging rugby league talent scout, a performance which caught the attention of Doctor Who producer Verity Lambert and Director Waris Hussein who asked Hartnell to play The Doctor.

Carole Ann Ford will play Susan

Carole Ann Ford is a film and Television actress who has appeared in several British TV dramas.

Carole Ann Ford was born in June 1940 and first appeared in a film at the age of eight. After appearing in a number of commercials and walk-on work, her first proper role was in the play Women of the Streets.

She appeared in the TV Movie Expresso Bongo and had roles in Horrors of the Black Museum, Probation Officer, The Ghost Train Murder, Emergency-Ward 10, Dixon of Dock Green, No Hiding Place, Crying Down the Lane, The Day of the Triffids, Mix Me a Person, Harpers West One, The Punch and Judy Man and Z-Cars.

It was her performance in Z-Cars that let her to being tested for the role of Susan in Doctor Who.

Jacqueline Hill will play Barbara

Jacqueline Hill is a British actress known for a number of character roles on television.

She was born Grace Jacqueline Hill on 17th December 1929 in Birmingham. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made her stage debut in London's West End in The Shrike.

Hill first appeared on TV in 1953 playing Maureen in The Blue Parrot. Other roles included Grace Carney in Blood Money, Carrie Dean in Joyous Errand and Ellen Ferguson in The Flying Doctor.

In 1958 she married top director Alvin Rakoff, who cast her opposite Sean Connery in one of ABC TV's Armchair Theatre plays. In 1962 she played Sally Walker in The Six Proud Walkers . She also appeared in Out of This World and in an episode of Maigret.

Jacqueline Hill was friends with Doctor Who producer Verity Lambert, who suggested she should go forward for the role of Barbara.

William Russell will play Ian

William Russell is best known for playing the title role in The Adventures of Sir Lancelot the 1956 ITV series.

William Russell was born William Russell Enoch on 19 November 1924 in Sunderland. He was involved in organising entertainments during his national service in the Royal Air Force and then, after university, went into repertory theatre. He appeared in Hamlet in London's West End.

His first TV appearance came in 1940 in God Gave Him a Dog. Several other roles followed including playing Leslie Gowland in The Gay Dog, St. Ives in St. Ives and Count Rene D'Albert in Sword of Freedom.

His big break came in 1956 when he was cast as Sir Lancelot du Lac in The Adventures of Sir Lancelot. The series was made in colour and screened on ITV in the UK and on the NBC network in the United States nine days later. It is one of the very few British television series ever to have been screened on one of the major broadcast networks in the US and gave Russell recognition on both sides of the Atlantic.

Further success followed with the title roles in Nicholas Nickleby and David Copperfield as well as playing Hamlet in 1961. In 1963 he played St. John Rivers in Jane Eyre and also had a role in the feature film The Great Escape.

SOURCES: Hartnell, William Henry (1908–1975) by Robert Sharp, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press; The Handbook: The First Doctor – The William Hartnell Years: 1963-1966, David J Howe, Mark Stammers, Stephen James Walker (Doctor Who Books, 1994)

FILTER: - The Story of Doctor Who

BBC issues statement on Comic-Con trailer availability

Saturday, 27 July 2013 - Reported by Harry Ward

50th Anniversary Special: First Official Dalek photo (Credit: BBC Doctor Who)

The BBC has issued a statement regarding the 50th Anniversary Episode trailer that was shown at San Diego Comic-Con on Sunday. Fans have been expressing their disappointment at not being able to watch the trailer online.

This was an exclusive Comic Con trailer made especially for the Doctor Who 50th panel, it has not been released in the US.

This world famous international event is an established platform used by all of the major producers. UK fans can look forward to exclusive content over the next few months.

While Matt Smith was being interviewed on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Wednesday, Craig asked if fans who were not at Comic Con would be "mad" for not seeing the trailer. Matt apologised to fans saying, "Sorry to all of those who haven't seen the trailer".

FILTER: - Day of the Doctor - BBC

Anniversary Episode To Have Simultaneous Global Broadcast

Friday, 26 July 2013 - Reported by John Bowman

The 50th-anniversary episode of Doctor Who is to be broadcast around the world at the same time, it has been revealed.

It is believed the deal has been struck with global networks to prevent any spoilers and plot leaks, and is set to make it the world's biggest drama simulcast when it goes out on Saturday 23rd November.

In a statement, BBC Worldwide said:

It's always been our ambition to work with our broadcast partners so that international Doctor Who fans can enjoy the 50th-anniversary special at the same time as the UK. We'll have more details soon about our very exciting global plans for November.

The episode, whose title is yet to be publicly announced, will be shown in both 2D and 3D.

The time differences around the world mean that an evening transmission in the UK on the Saturday would see it being shown earlier the same day in North America and early on Sunday 24th November in Australia and New Zealand.

FILTER: - Day of the Doctor - Leading News - Broadcasting

Complete Series Seven Boxed Set announced

Friday, 26 July 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC Worldwide have announced the release of the Complete Series Seven Boxed Set on DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom for the 28th October 2013.

Complete Series 7 - Cover (Credit: BBC Worldwide)

Doctor Who: The Complete Seventh Series

Say farewell to the Ponds all over again. Meet the enigmatic Clara for the first time - and the second, and the third. Face enemies new and old, follow the Doctor (Matt Smith) to the one place he should never go, and learn the secret to a really great soufflé. With a cliffhanger ending that will leave fans breathless, this set arrives just in time to catch up before the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special on November 23, and the Doctor’s regeneration in this year’s Christmas Special.

In the first part of series seven, the Ponds (Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill) make their final voyages with the Doctor. They save a spaceship full of dinosaurs, don Stetsons in the Wild West and are even kidnapped by the Doctor's oldest foe. But when they arrive in Manhattan the Weeping Angels are waiting for them - and the Doctor has to say goodbye to his companions forever.

The 2012 Christmas special, The Snowmen, brings the Doctor a new friend (Jenna Coleman) in Victorian London - but has he already met her before? And will she be able to pull him from his mourning in time to save London from the chilling menace that threatens it? The final eight episodes of series seven see the Doctor and his new companion battle monsters on distant alien planets, become trapped in a Russian submarine with a deadly passenger, chase terrifying ghosts, and come face-to-face with an army of upgraded Cybermen. When his friends are kidnapped, the Doctor and Clara are forced to visit the fields of Trenzalore, where the question that must never be answered is finally asked… and the Doctor uncovers the secret of the Impossible Girl.

The incredible list of guest stars includes John Hurt (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy), Warwick Davis (Willow, the Harry Potter films), Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones), David Warner (Titanic, TRON), Dougray Scott (Hemlock Grove, Ever After: A Cinderella Story), Ben Browder (Farscape), David Bradley (Game of Thrones), Jessica Raine (Call The Midwife, The Woman in Black), the mother-daughter duo of Dame Diana Rigg (Game of Thrones) and Rachael Stirling (Women in Love, Snow White and the Huntsman), and the voice of Sir Ian McKellen (The Lord of The Rings films). The episodes are written by lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, as well as Neil Gaiman, Mark Gatiss, Neil Cross, Chris Chibnall, Toby Whithouse and Stephen Thompson.

Complete Series 7 - Cover (3D) (Credit: BBC Worldwide)

Special Features:

Audio commentaries for: The Snowmen, Cold War, Hide and The Crimson Horror
"Prequels" for: The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe, Asylum of the Daleks, The Snowmen (x3), The Bells of Saint John and The Name of the Doctor (x2)
Pond Life
The Making of the Gunslinger
Creating Clara
Behind the scenes featurettes for every episode
Additional featurettes: Doctor Who in the US, Last Days of the Ponds, The Science of Doctor Who, The Companions and Doctor Who at Comic Con

Note: this set does not include the 2011 Christmas Special, The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Eleventh Doctor - Blu-ray/DVD - Series 7/33

Sophie's World - An Ace Exhibition

Thursday, 25 July 2013 - Reported by John Bowman

An exhibition of rare photos of Sophie Aldred taken during the time she played Ace opposite the Seventh Doctor on TV is to be held in London later this year.

Sophie's World, featuring hitherto-unseen images by Steven Cook, is to be hosted by Orbital Comics and Gallery, in Great Newport Street, from Thursday 5th to Monday 30th September and will be free to view.

The negatives have been missing for 22 years but high-resolution prints are currently being made from them.

A free-to-attend exhibition launch party, with Cook as the guest of honour, will be held on Thursday 5th September from 7.30pm. Meanwhile, Aldred will be signing prints at the venue on Saturday 7th September from midday to 3pm.

FILTER: - Special Events - UK - Seventh Doctor - Exhibitions

Details announced of Splendid Chaps: "Eight/Science"

Thursday, 25 July 2013 - Reported by Adam Kirk

As previously reported, Splendid Chaps is a year-long performance/podcast project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who hosted by comedian Ben McKenzie (Dungeon Crawl, Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour) and writer John Richards (ABC1 sitcom Outland, Boxcutters podcast)

Described by its creators as part intellectual panel discussion, part nerdy Tonight Show, Splendid Chaps is a combination of analysis, enthusiasm and irreverence. The first episode went to number 1 on the iTunes TV & Film Podcast chart in Australia, and to number 4 in the UK. The podcasts to previous episodes are now available at www.splendidchaps.com or at iTunes.

Tickets are now on sale for their Eighth Doctor show! Their eighth major episode brings them to the Doctor of the show’s “middle period” between classic and new Who - Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor. A cult figure thanks to his starring role in Withnail and I (alongside alternate Ninth Doctor Richard E Grant), McGann was a popular choice and garnered much kudos for his performance – but almost nothing else about the American co-produced telemovie seemed to please audiences on either of the Atlantic, and no new series was produced. It’s a weird moment in the so-called “wilderness years” between old and new Who.

It is also National Science Week, so Splendid Chaps are also looking at science in Doctor Who. Ostensibly science fiction, and starting out life with an educational remit, Doctor Who originally alternated between trips to historical events and sci-fi tales that were meant to teach us about science. But amongst the mad scientists, wobbly grasp of concepts like “black hole”, “neutron” and “constellation”, and the rather more fantastical bent of the post-2005 show, does Doctor Who actually depict real science in any meaningful way? Does it champion the idea of being “sciencey”? What does it get wrong, what does it get right, and what can we learn from it about science in either case?

Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott will be joined by a panel of actual scientists including biologist and geneticist Jack Scanlan. Plus a musical performance, and all the usual prizes and surprises!

Space: upstairs, Bar Open, 317 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Time: Sunday, August 11; recording starts 5 PM
Accessibility: Splendid Chaps regret that this venue is not wheelchair accessible
Tickets: $15 (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via trybooking.com or at the door (subject to availability)
Podcast: not yet available; released 23 August 2013.

With thanks to John Richards

FILTER: - Special Events - Fan Productions - Eighth Doctor - Paul McGann - Australia

Doctor Who Magazine 463

Wednesday, 24 July 2013 - Reported by Marcus

The latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine, released Thursday, looks back ten years to the time when it had just been announced that Doctor Who was to return, and asks was the series nearly stopped before it could begin?

In the first part of a look back at how and why Doctor Who was recommissioned back in 2003, the magazine talks to the people who ensured its successful comeback, including the then BBC Controller of Drama Commissioning Jane Tranter, writer Russell T Davies and BBC Wales' Head of Drama Julie Gardner who tells the magazine:

When Michael Grade arrived back at the BBC as Chairman, Mark Thompson was back as Director General. Michael Grade didn't like Doctor Who at all. Mark Thompson actually asked me if we could stop. I said, no, we couldn't!

Also in this issue.

Doctor Who’s showrunner and head writer Steven Moffat presents the three pieces that he wrote for the actors that have auditioned for the role of the Twelfth Doctor.
Doctor Who author Bob Baker looks back on his career in an interview and speaks of his most famous contribution to the Doctor Who universe: K9, the Doctor’s robotic dog.
As we await the announcement of the new star of Doctor Who, journalist Claire Budd and novelist Una McCormack go head-to-head to debate the burning question: Is it time for the Doctor to become a woman?
Arriving in the far future, the Fourth Doctor, Harry and Sarah discover that the last survivors of mankind are about to face the deadly, parasitic Wirrn! The Fact of Fiction looks back to one of Doctor Who's all-time great adventures – The Ark In Space – and reveals some surprising new facts
It’s 2010, and the dawn of a new era as Matt Smith makes his début as the Eleventh Doctor. The show may have a new leading man and a new style, but it’s still Doctor Who in the latest instalment of the ongoing cruise through Doctor Who history in Countdown to 50.
The Time Team take a trip to pre-war England as Chris, Emma, Michael and Will settle down to watch the two-part Tenth Doctor story Human Nature/ The Family of Blood and find that the formidable Family of Blood and their sinister Scarecrow servants are following the Doctor’s trail.
Clara’s lunch date with the legendary pilot Amy Johnson has been rudely interrupted by two identical copies of themselves… made from sand! Meanwhile, the Doctor is having trouble with his own doppelganger, and the real enemy is about to make its entrance. The latest comic strip adventure A Wing and a Prayer – written by Scott Gray with art by Mike Collins – continues.
Change is an essential part of Doctor Who and has allowed the series to constantly reinvent and reinvigorate itself for 50 years. And, as Jacqueline Rayner tells in this issue’s Relative Dimensions, this means that the series can be a useful tool when teaching children that nothing lasts forever
Jon Pertwee is the Doctor, as former Doctor Who Script Editor Andrew Cartmel reviews the new Blu-ray release of the Third Doctor's classic 1970 début adventure Spearhead From Space
The Watcher takes a look at Doctor Who episode titles in A History of Doctor Who in 100 Objects, and discovers that the names of colours have become a recent trend

Plus all the latest official news, TV and merchandise reviews, previews, competitions and a prize-winning crossword.