Target Trawl

Saturday, 6 July 2019 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The latest book to be released by Pencil Tip Publishing is Target Trawl, by Nick Mellish:

Target Trawl (Credit: Pencil Tip Publishing)

For Doctor Who fans of a certain age, the Target novelizations of the series are one of its crowning triumphs. Back in 2006, when no-one knew what 'Brexit' meant and the show was off-air between seasons, writer and fan Nick Mellish started to review these books in publication order for the fanzine Whotopia. Now in 2019, when no-one knows what 'Brexit' means and the show is off-air between seasons, his journey is complete. Target Trawl contains every installment of his article, redrafted and up-to-date, and carries on reviewing every novelization, as well as reviews of the Sarah Jane Adventures novelizations, Douglas Adams adaptations and more besides.

For many, the words Doctor Who and Target novelization go together like jelly and baby, or Yartek and Voord. In a time where recording TV was often impossible, these novelizations offered fans a chance to relive the very best the show had to offer, and Timelash.

Sometimes they were slavishly accurate to what had been transmitted. Sometimes they were anything but. Often they had rather nice covers.

Join writer and fan Nick Mellish as he reads and reviews them all, and writes the words 'Terrance' and 'Dicks' more than any man rightly should.

From David Whitaker to Jodie Whittaker, Target Trawl is a celebration of Doctor Who in its literary form, from the sublime to the ridiculously sublime.

Target Trawl is available to purchase print on demand from Lulu.com.

FILTER: - Books

Glyn Houston 1925-2019

Thursday, 4 July 2019 - Reported by Marcus

The actor Glyn Houston has died at the age of 93.

Glyn Houston appeared in two Doctor Who stories. In 1976 he played Professor Watson, the director of the Nunton Experimental Complex, in the Fourth Doctor story The Hand of Fear.

In he came up against the fifth Doctor playing Colonel Wolsey in the 1984 story The Awakening.

Glyn Houston had over 200 television credits dating back to the 1950s, appearing in some of the most loved programmes in British TV history.

Houston was born in Rhondda, in the Welsh Valleys, and brought up by his Widowed Grandmother, after his Mother died young and his Father disappeared.

He served in the Royal Signal Regiment during World War II and was briefly a stand-up comedian performing to soldiers. He made his first film appearance playing a barrow boy in The Blue Lamp in 1950. In the 1970s he played Lord Peter Wimsey's valet Bunter opposite Ian Carmichael in the teleplays of several of Dorothy Sayers tales. He played Ronald Judge in The Sherman Plays and Bernard Ingham in Thatcher: The Final Days.

Other appearances include Better Days, Inspector Morse, Keep It in the Family, Minder, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, The Sea Wolves, Breakaway, Shoestring, A Horseman Riding By, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Target, The XYY Man, Robin's Nest, Are You Being Served? , Beasts, Five Red Herrings, The Nine Tailors, Dixon of Dock Green, Sporting Scenes, Reg Varney, Jackanory, Clouds of Witness, Z Cars, Softly, Softly: Task Force.

Glyn Houston was the younger brother of film star Donald Houston and was a close friend of fellow Welsh actors Richard Burton and Stanley Baker. In 2009 he was presented with the BAFTA Lifetime Achievement Award.

His friend and biographer Dean Powell announced his death with deep regret.

He was kind, generous and an incredibly funny man who was a pleasure to know for over twenty years.

He enjoyed his career and was proud of his achievements and although I think he genuinely wanted to be a comic more than an actor, his vast quantity of work will remain a great legacy to the man and his natural talent.

Glyn enjoyed life, his family and his hobbies and didn’t let work get in the way of that. He always had time to speak to you, showed a genuine interest in other people’s lives.

Although he left the South Wales valleys seven decades ago, he had all of the great qualities of a working-class Welshman at heart.

FILTER: - Classic Series - Obituary

David Tennant Specials Blu-ray Steelbook

Wednesday, 3 July 2019 - Reported by Marcus

David Tennant Specials (Credit: BBC Studios)

BBC Studios is to release the Doctor Who: David Tennant Specials on limited edition Blu-ray Steelbook

Fans can re-live the action of David Tennant’s five Doctor Who specials on limited edition Blu-ray Steelbook featuring new and exclusive artwork. It will be released on Monday 2nd September and is available now for pre-orders from Amazon.

Broadcast between 2008 and 2010, the ‘specials’ bridged the gap between the fourth and fifth series of Doctor Who, marking the end of the era of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Russell T Davis as the lead writer and showrunner. They included the appearances of a number of one-off companions played by David Morrissey, Velile Tshabalala, Michelle Ryan, Lindsay Duncan and Bernard Cribbins along with returning cast members Catherine Tate, Billie Piper, Freema Agyeman, Noel Clarke, John Barrowman, Elisabeth Sladen and John Simm.

The specials are:

The Next Doctor
Planet of the Dead
The Waters of Mars
The End of Time, Part One
The End of Time, Part Two

The Blu-rays also the following special features: commentary with cast & crew, deleted scenes, exclusive David Tennant video diary, Doctor Who Confidential, Doctor Who at the Proms, Doctor Who at Comic-Con and more.

This limited edition Steelbook contains a bonus disc including two animated episodes: Dreamland and The Infinite Quest.

The Steelbook features bespoke artwork created by illustrator Tom Webster.

Release date: Monday 2nd September 2019

Pre-order link: Amazon.

FILTER: -

Black Archive Wins Award

Tuesday, 2 July 2019 - Reported by Marcus

The Black Archive book on the Fourth Doctor story Full Circle has won the prestigious Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Professional Publication.

The Book series, published by Obverse Books, looks in detail at the making of individual Doctor Who stories. The 16th in the series, investigating Full Circle, was written by John Toon and published last year.

Editor Philip Purser-Hallard said

Both of John's books for the Black Archive have been a joy to edit -- really sharp and clear-headed, approaching the Doctor Who stories they analyse from fascinating angles. This recognition of his work is well deserved.

This is Toon’s third SJV Award, having previously won for the award for best fan writer in 2013 and 2016, but this is his first award in a professional category. Asked about this victory, he said

This thrilling win - against strong competition! - wouldn't have been possible without Phil's editorial input, Blair and Cody's stylish cover design and Stuart's professional touch. They all deserve credit for this award, although I'm sure they'll understand that I'm totally keeping the trophy!

FILTER: - Awards/Nominations - Books

Jon Pertwee centenary celebration on BBC Radio 4 Extra

Saturday, 29 June 2019 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC Radio 4 Extra will broadcast a special programme celebrating the centenary of Jon Pertwee's birth, presented by his son Sean Pertwee:

The Jon Pertwee Files, presented by Sean Pertwee (Credit: BBC)

A BBC Radio documentary has uncovered previously unbroadcast recordings of the legendary Doctor Who and Worzel Gummidge actor Jon Pertwee. The programme is presented by Sean Pertwee (Gotham, Elementary, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa) and marks the centenary of the birth of his father Jon Devon Roland Pertwee, who was born on the 7th of July in 1919.

In the programme Sean traces his father’s career in broadcasting, which started after being expelled from several schools and then even being asked to leave Rada. In rediscovered interviews we hear his dad reminisce about the time he worked at the circus riding the wall of death with a pet lion, before eventually securing his first contract with the BBC at the age of 18.

Pertwee devised some very memorable characters through his ability to show great vocal range. Many successful years in radio comedy included a lengthy stint in The Navy Lark, which secured his status as a household name. Then with the advent of television he became a recognisable face as the star of Doctor Who in the early 1970s.

Through rare fan recordings made behind-the-scenes at television studios and at the first ever Doctor Who Appreciation Society Convention, we hear previously unbroadcast stories and a very personal insight into the world’s longest running science-fiction show.

The documentary also features the last time Pertwee performed as Worzel Gummidge alongside Una Stubbs as Aunt Sally. This recording was left untouched for over 25 years and was located during the making of the celebration. There are also rediscovered recordings of Pertwee undergoing the complicated make-up process during the making of the series, and visiting a local radio station to take phone calls from enthusiastic children wanting to speak to Worzel.

Presenter, Sean Pertwee said:

I think my father would like to be remembered not just for his cult TV programmes, but for his whole body of work. And most of all, he’d like to be remembered as an extraordinary man, which he was.

The Jon Pertwee Files will be broadcase on BBC Radio 4 Extra on Saturday 6th July at 8:00am, with repeats at 3:00pm and then late evening at 3:00am. It will also be broadcast at 4:00pm on BBC Radio Solent on Sunday (Jon Pertwee was a pupil at Sherborne School in Dorset, and later based at Portsmouth Naval Barracks during WW2)

The show will also be available on BBC Sounds for 30 days after transmission.

Listen to the Trailer:

Listen to a clip:

Media presented courtesy of the BBC

FILTER: - BBC - Jon Pertwee - Radio

Doctor Who Magazine - Issue 540

Thursday, 27 June 2019 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who Magazine celebrates Jon Pertwee’s centenary with 30 pages devoted to the Third Doctor.

This issue includes:

The World Cup of the Third Doctor. How did your favourite story fare in our epic Twitter tournament?
Lost for more than 40 years – a candid interview with Jon Pertwee from the very first Doctor Who convention in 1977.
An exclusive interview with Jon’s son, actor Sean Pertwee.
A previously unpublished interview with Barry Letts, who produced most of the Third Doctor’s stories and co-wrote classics like The Dæmons and The Green Death.
An exclusive update on the production of Series 12 from showrunner Chris Chibnall.
Katy Manning, who played the Third Doctor’s companion Jo Grant, visits the Time Team.
The second part of an interview with costume designer Howard Burden, who created outfits for the Twelfth Doctor, Clara and Missy.
The Fact of Fiction explores the Twelfth Doctor story Time Heist.
DWM’s review of the Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 10 Blu-ray box set.
The Legacy of Time – DWM talks exclusively to the cast and crew behind one of the most ambitious Doctor Who adventures ever, which features no fewer than six Doctors.
Part One of Power of the Mobox, a new comic strip adventure featuring the Thirteenth Doctor and her friends.
The Blogs of Doom, audio reviews, news, prize-winning competitions and much, much more!

DWM 540 is on sale from Thursday 27 June, priced £5.99.

FILTER: - DWM

Big Finish plans 20 hour livestream

Wednesday, 26 June 2019 - Reported by Marcus

To celebrate 20 years of Doctor Who on audio, BBC Studios and Big Finish Productions present a 20-hour weekend live stream marathon of Doctor Who audio dramas on YouTube.

Over two days on the 20th and 21st July, the official home of Doctor Who on YouTube will broadcast more than 20 episodes of Big Finish audio adventures, featuring David Tennant, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann and David Bradley, among many others. Plus, there will be video appearances from plenty of the Doctor’s friends, past and present, to join in the festivities. As the stories are live streamed on YouTube, fans will be able to join in the conversation via the live chat.

Big Finish Productions was first granted a licence to create Doctor Who adventures in audio format back in 1999. Its first production was Doctor Who: The Sirens of Time, starring Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. The company has since expanded its ranges, producing and distributing over 300 hours of audio drama each year. To date, over 850 titles from Doctor Who and its various spin-offs have been released - and that number grows by the day, with more Doctor Who stories confirmed from Big Finish until at least 2023.

In honour of this achievement, over 20 hours of Doctor Who audio drama will be live-streamed on the BBC’s Doctor Who YouTube channel over the 20th and 21st July. Doctor Who fans will hear stories from their heroes, as well as never before heard snippets, interviews and guest cameos from some of their favourite stars, and much much more!

Anyone joining in the live stream will be able to comment and chat along with other fans about the adventures in the TARDIS, while hearing audio productions starring the likes of David Tennant, Billie Piper, Alex Kingston, John Barrowman, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, David Bradley, Sophie Aldred, Katy Manning, Nicola Walker, Sir Derek Jacobi and many more.

Also premiering during the event is the first episode of Doctor Who: The Legacy of Time - a special anniversary box set release celebrating 20 years of Doctor Who at Big Finish. This first episode stars Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor, Alex Kingston as Professor River Song and Lisa Bowerman as Professor Bernice Summerfield. Does the Doctor have room for two time-travelling archaeologists in his life?

Nicholas Briggs, Creative Director and executive producer at Big Finish, said:

Has it been 20 years already? But we've only just got started! Honestly, it has been an absolute delight to have worked alongside the Doctor these past two decades. I started my life as a fan, in the days before on demand and downloads, recording the soundtracks of Doctor Who episodes on audio tape. And now it's my job to place every incarnation of the Time Lord (give or take) in peril in so many exciting audio adventures. I have to pinch myself. I'd like to thank everyone, from the cast in front of the mic, to the writers, directors, sound designers and more behind it, for making it such an amazing journey. Here's to the future! (Or is it the past?)

Jason Haigh-Ellery, Chairman and executive producer at Big Finish, added:

In July 1999 we released The Sirens of Time. In July 2019 we're releasing The Legacy of Time. Those two decades have been so fulfilling for us at Big Finish - a chance to work with so many great and talented actors, writers, production crews and all of our friends at the BBC. This is a celebration of it all, with lots of surprise returns and references. Think of it as one massive Doctor Who party - and everyone is invited…

Doctor Who: The Legacy of Time will be available from www.bigfinish.com on download and also released in an eight-disc CD deluxe package set with a limited edition of just 4,000.

FILTER: - Big Finish

Fourth Doctor on vinyl

Wednesday, 26 June 2019 - Reported by Marcus

Wave of Destruction (Credit: Big Finish)

Following the sell-out success of Big Finish Productions limited edition Doctor Who stories on vinyl, the audio company is delighted to announce another exclusive release in conjunction with Sainsbury's.

Doctor Who: Wave of Destruction starring Tom Baker, Lalla Ward and John Leeson on Friday 19th July 2019. It will be released as a Limited Edition run of 1500 copies on ocean swirl vinyl – only available in the UK, in Sainsbury’s stores.

In this full-cast audio drama from 2016, the Vardans return to take on Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor. The Doctor had previously encountered the Vardans on Gallifrey, the Doctor’s home planet, in the 1978 television story, The Invasion of Time.

A modulated frequency wave cancellation signal isn’t something that the Doctor and Romana expect to detect in 1960s London. But then they don’t expect to find Professor Lanchester, the man who invented it, lying unconscious. Or MI5 investigating. With the help of MI5 Agent Miller; Lanchester’s daughter Jill; and his nephew – a pirate radio DJ called Mark; the Doctor, Romana and K-9 investigate. They soon discover that there is more at risk than they imagined, and an alien invasion is about to begin. Can the Doctor identify and defeat the aliens in time? Will Romana manage to find a recombinant transducer before it’s too late? And how will K-9 cope with his new job?

Tom Baker portrayed the Doctor on screen from 1974 until 1981 returning to star alongside Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt as the curator in the 50th anniversary TV special, The Day of the Doctor, in 2013.

John Leeson was first brought in as the voice of K-9 – the Fourth Doctor’s robot dog – for the 1977 TV story, The Invisible Enemy. After a short break John returned for season 18 of Doctor Who in 1980. He also reprised his role as K-9 in the pilot TV episode for K-9 and Company (1981 – a spin-off from Doctor Who) and voiced K-9 for the 20th anniversary TV episode of Doctor Who, The Five Doctors and the 2006 Doctor Who TV episode, School Reunion.

Lalla Ward made her debut as Romana in December 1979, and after almost three series she made her last appearance alongside John Leeson in January 1981.

Of this special vinyl release, Lalla Ward said:

Recording Wave of Destruction was an absolute delight and I’m very pleased that we’ve made it onto a record. Romana is used to running circles around the Doctor so she’ll be right at home on the turntable.

Wave of Destruction, written by Justin Richards, is the first story of the fifth series of The Fourth Doctor Adventures, produced by Big Finish Productions.

FILTER: - Big Finish - Fourth Doctor - Vinyl

Doctor Who - Star Tales

Friday, 21 June 2019 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC Books have announced a new hardback fiction book to tie in with the return of Doctor Who in 2020.

Doctor Who - Star Tales (Credit: BBC Books)

To celebrate the return of Doctor Who in early 2020, BBC Books will publish a unique collection of
name-dropping historical adventures inspired by Jodie Whittaker’s first series as the Doctor.

The Doctor is many things – curious, funny, brave, protective of her friends... and a shameless namedropper. While she and her companions battled aliens and travelled across the universe, the Doctor hinted at a host of previous, untold adventures with the great and the good: we discovered she got her sunglasses from Pythagoras (or was it Audrey Hepburn?); lent a mobile phone to Elvis; had an encounter with Amelia Earhart where she discovered that a pencil-thin spider web can stop a plane; had a 'wet weekend' with Harry Houdini, learning how to escape from chains underwater; and more.

In this collection of new stories, Star Tales takes you on a rip-roaring ride through history, from 500BC to the swinging 60s, going deeper into the Doctor's notorious name-dropping and revealing the truth behind these anecdotes.

The book will feature 6 brand new stories, detailing the Doctor's untold adventures with famous figures in history - Audrey Hepburn, Elvis Presley, Harry Houdini, Amelia Earhart, Albert Einstein and Pythagoras, written by Steve Cole, Jenny T Colgan, Jo Cotterill, Paul Magrs, Trevor Baxendale and Mike Tucker.

Doctor Who: Star Tales will be released on 5th December 2019, and is available to pre-order via our Amazon Shop.

Two chapters will also be made available for download as eshorts during November.

FILTER: - BBC Books

The End Of Time: 10th Anniversary screening for US cinemas

Thursday, 20 June 2019 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Fathom Events: The End Of Time (7 Aug 2019) (Credit: Fathom Events)

Fathom Events have announced a special theatrical outing for the Tenth Doctor's finale, The End Of Time, which itself celebrates its tenth anniversary this Christmas.

The screening will take place in a number of movie theatres around the United States on 7th August 2019 (locations can be found via their website).

It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly ten years since David Tennant left Doctor Who in his heart-breaking finale The End of Time. To commemorate the occasion, BBC Studios and Fathom Events invite you to relive the agony and ecstasy of this absolutely thrilling story on the big screen. You’ll see the full two-part adventure including appearances by fan favourites Billie Piper, Catherine Tate, John Simm, Elisabeth Sladen, John Barrowman, and many more!

As well as the episodes themselves, the screening will also include a brand new interview with David Tennant, in which he reflects on his time in Doctor Who and all that has happened since.

Watch the trailer on YouTube

FILTER: - Cinema - Special Events - USA

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