Dalek I Loved You

Monday, 7 May 2007 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

Recently published is Dalek I Loved You, a memoir by journalist, critic and Doctor Who fanNick GriffithsDavid Tennant describes Dalek I Loved You as "A very funny book for anyone who grew up wearing Tom Baker underpants - I know I did."

The publisher's blurb is below, and you can see the author interviewed by a Cyberman onYouTube.
Nick Griffiths watched his first Doctor Who aged four and a bit. He would have hidden behind the sofa but it was back against the wall and his parents didn't let him move furniture so he hid behind a cushion instead. He's since been told by his mum and dad that they didn't have a sofa only armchairs. So this book should really be called Behind the Armchair, but that didn't sound right.

And so began a life long obsession. When Doctor Who started getting rubbish (after Tom Baker basically) he nearly escaped into the world of music and girls until he discovered someone selling tapes of old episodes in the small ads and that was that again.

Dalek I Loved You is an irresistible memoir of a childhood lived through the 1970s and 1980s. Writing with wit and humour, Griffiths takes us on a poignant and often hilarious journey through his childhood, where he first encountered Dr Who, into his teens where he is packed off to boarding school and discovers girls and David Bowie, onto his first formative years of employment at some hip but now defunct music magazines and into life as a father and husband who is now writing about his childhood passion for a living.

For anyone who hid behind the sofa, dreamed of far away planets, or remembers those long lazy carefree summers of your childhood, Dalek I Loved You will be a wonderful journey. He may not have a TARDIS to whisk you off to far flung galaxies, but in Dalek I Loved You Nick Griffiths reminds us that growing up is the greatest adventure of them all.




FILTER: - Books

Sunday Ratings Update

Monday, 7 May 2007 - Reported by Marcus
Overnight figures for Sunday show that the BBC3 repeat of The Lazarus Experiment was watched by 0.94 millionviewers, a 5.2% share of the multi-channel audience. The programme was the second most watched of the day afterFord Super Sunday on Sky Sports.

The repeat of Doctor Who Confidential got an audience of 0.47 millionviewers.

Final overnight figures for the week show that Saturday's Doctor Who was 14th in the chart for the week.

Final figures will be released by BARB in nine days time.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 3/29

Lazarus Experiment Overnights

Sunday, 6 May 2007 - Reported by Marcus
Unofficial overnight figures show that episode six of Series Three,The Lazarus Experiment, was watched by 6.7 millionviewers, a 37.1 % share of the UK television audience.

The programme returned to its position at the top of the UK ratings chart for the night, beating Casualty, which got 6.3 million. On ITV1, Vernon Kay's Gameshow Marathon got 4 million viewers.

With one day to go, Doctor Who is currently the 12th most watched programme for the week.

The programme was again top of the Children's chart with 1.5 millionviewers, which was a 60.7% share.

On BBC3, Doctor Who Confidential had an audience of 0.77 million, making it the 2nd most watched programme on multi-channel TV for the night, being beaten by Ford Football Special on Sky Sports.






FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 3/29

Working Lunch

Saturday, 5 May 2007 - Reported by Marcus
The BBC2, finance programme Working Lunch has featured a report on the business aspects of making monsters for Doctor Who.

The programme interviewed Neill Gorton of Millennium FX, who explained how such monsters as Cybermen are created, as well as talking about his work on other series such as Catherine Tate.

The feature can be viewed via the BBC Watch again feature.




FILTER: - Press

Friday Ratings

Saturday, 5 May 2007 - Reported by Marcus
The Friday night repeat of Evolution of the Daleks was watched by340,000 viewers, a 1.9% share of the audience.

On BBC1, ratings for Totally Doctor Who were up on last week, with an audience of 0.8 million, which was a 7.9% share.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 3/29

New Series Three trailer

Saturday, 5 May 2007 - Reported by Anthony Weight

The official BBC website has put online the second half of Series Three trailer that was broadcast this evening at the conclusion of episode six, The Lazarus Experiment. The trailer shows a selection of scenes from episodes seven to thirteen, and was created as a consolation for viewers for Doctor Who's two-week absence due to next week'sEurovision Song Contest.

The trailer is also available on the BBC's official YouTube channel, here.




FILTER: - Online - Series 3/29

Something Special Coming

Friday, 4 May 2007 - Reported by Jarrod Cooper

In light of the week long delay in the airing of 42, the Doctor Who Homepagehas announced that there is something in store for this week following the broadcast of The Lazarus Experiment.
We're all as disappointed as you are that you'll have to wait an extra week between episodes six and seven of Doctor Who because of the Eurovision Song Contest.

However... even though there's no episode on 12 May 2007, the Doctor Who team have been working away feverishly to prepare a special treat for you at the end of this week's episode, The Lazarus Experiment.

Hopefully it'll make the wait for 42 seem a little shorter.

You'll also be able to to see it here on the website as soon as it's been on TV, and possibly behind the red button too if we can sort things out in time...

Stay tuned!




FILTER: - Online - Series 3/29

McGann Release Information

Friday, 4 May 2007 - Reported by Jarrod Cooper

Big Finish Productions has announced more information on their upcoming releases in the BBC7 Eighth Doctorrange. The final story of the season, two parter Human Resources, will be released in July and August.
Lucie Miller's been headhunted to join the staff of Hulbert Logistics, a respectable blue-chip firm in Telford. Great prospects, competitive salary - you don't have to be mad to work here! But wasn't she made for better things, like travelling by TARDIS through time and space? The Doctor, meanwhile, has been fired - into a confrontation with the most terrifying of enemies...


Seventh Doctor visits Valhalla
May 3, 2007 • Posted By Jarrod Cooper
Big Finish Productions has released more information on its June release,Valhalla, starring Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor. This release is written by Marc Platt.
Welcome to Valhalla, Capital of Callisto, Jupiter's premier moon, where anything and everything is up for sale. But Valhalla isn't quite what it says in the brochures – not since Earth granted independence and cut off the supplies.

The former Doctor (FOR SALE. EXCELLENT CONDITION) visits the Job Centre and finds power cuts, barcoded citizens and monthly riots (ALL BOOKABLE.)

And then there's the problem with the termites …


Big Finish Reaches 100
May 3, 2007 • Posted By Jarrod Cooper
Big Finish Productions has announced more information about its upcoming audio adventure, 100, which is the 100th release since theDoctor Who range began in 1999. This CD will feature four, self-contained, 25-minute episodes, featuring the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and Evelyn (Maggie Stables). Writers include Robert ShearmanJoseph Lidster,Jacqueline Rayner, and Paul Cornell. This story replaces the previously announced September release, Earthstorm by Stephen Baxter, which has been moved to a later slot in the schedule.
1. Mozart's 100th
by Robert Shearman

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Born in 1756, a veritable wunderkind - playing music for the crowned heads of Europe as an infant, composing by the time he was five years old. But it's tempting to wonder whether his amazing longevity has overshadowed his creative genius - would Mozart's music be better respected, maybe, if he'd died as a young man? Would he be a legend of music, rather than of scientific curiosity, if he'd never lived to compose the film score for the remake of The Italian Job?

2. [title: TBC]
by Joseph Lidster

Once upon a time...

Jacob Williams is going to tell the tale of Sleeping Beauty but he realises he has told that one too many times so, instead, tells of how he once met this man called the Doctor...

It's a tale of love and death and a family with a terrifying secret…

3. 100 BC
by Jacqueline Rayner

The Doctor and Evelyn arrive in Rome, 101 BC, approximately, October. They meet a young lady of 19, Aurelia. She mentions her husband - Julius Caesar. Evelyn is excited, but her excitement soon turns to confusion. Surely you can't heal a wound in time with just a bit of sticking plaster?

4. The 100 Days of the Doctor
By Paul Cornell

Someone has assassinated the Doctor.

And he only has 100 days to find out who did it.




FILTER: - Audio

DVD Update

Friday, 4 May 2007 - Reported by Jarrod Cooper

The Doctor Who Restoration Team have released updated information on the extras for their upcoming releases. The schedule for the DVD releases from late July has been altered, with Series 3, Volume 2on June 25th, Timelash now out on July 9th, and Series 3, Volume 3released on July 23rd. A box set of Time-Flight and Arc of Infinity is currently slated for release on August 6th, with the special features listed below.
Time Flight:

Commentary featuring Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton and Eric Saward
Mouth on Legs - Interview with Janet Fielding
Deleted and Extended Scenes
Jurassic Larks - Behind the scenes action
Outtakes
Peter Grimwade interview from 1987
Photo Gallery
Coming Soon trailer
1983 Doctor Who Annual / Radio Times listings in PDF format
Subtitles / Production Information

Arc of Infinity:
Commentary featuring Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton
Anti-Matter from Amsterdam - Making-of Documentary
The Omega Factor - A look at the various Omega stories
Deleted Scenes
Under Arc Lights - Behind the Scenes studio footage
CGI effects option
BBC 1 Trailer
Continuity announcements
Photo Gallery
Coming Soon trailer
Subtitles / Production Information.




FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD - Radio Times

Nightmare Fair - Available Online

Friday, 4 May 2007 - Reported by Jarrod Cooper

Originally available as a limited-edition double CD in 2003, a full-cast audio drama of The Nightmare Fair, written byGraham Williams for the original, abandoned version of Season 23 in 1985, features the Sixth Doctor, Peri and the Celestial Toymaker. It stars Mark J Thompson as the Toymaker and Nigel Peever as the narrator, and is now made available by producer Rob Dunlop as a free download here.




FILTER: - Audio