New Dalek News

Monday, 20 September 2004 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Saturday's Daily Mirror had a feature on some spoilers about the new series' Dalek stories... or, rather, rumored appearances of the metal nasties that could be serious - or could be purloined from online sources. (They sound suspiciously like speculation in our Forum, in fact...) Check out the details in the spoiler tag to read the details from the paper.
The BBC may have shelled out a whopping ú250,000 for the right to use The Daleks in the new series of Dr Who - but the metal monsters only pop up in one episode.

And when the big moment comes, in the eighth instalment, there's only one of them. It turns out he's a bit of an antique who has survived on a space station where he is killing off the crew one by one.

And gasp, that's the only time we'll clap eyes on the old-style daleks.

When they next appear, in the 13th and final episode, their shuttlecock shapes have been redesigned for the 21st century. Our sci-fi snoop revealed 'They have evolved into terrifying things that look a bit like spiders'. Eek.




FILTER: - Production - Series 1/27 - Press

Tom Baker: Make Me The Master

Saturday, 11 September 2004 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
In an interview with today's Daily Record, Tom Baker goes on record of wanting to go "over to the dark side on Dr Who. Says the Record, the 71-year-old actor says he'd love to get one over on the character, which made him a household name in the Seventies and Eighties, by returning to the show as the Doctor's arch-enemy The Master. "If the BBC were brave enough, which they're not, then what they really should do would be to make me The Master," Baker says. "That would be really witty. Heroes always need villains. Superman can't exist without evil and vice versa. So it would be very clever to have this person who was once the hero become the villain, because within life, as well as fiction, we are nowhere without villains. Without them there'd be no newspapers, no film industry, no literature. You absolutely need the dark side." Baker goes on to note that "Doctor Who was the best job I ever had, so there's no way I'd be satisfied with anything like a bit part in the new series. That would bore me to death because then it would be all about this walk-on appearance from the old Doctor Who." Tom also mentions that he's relieved the Daleks have been cleared to return to the show. "They'd have been mad not to bring them back, bloody crazy. 'They can do without his robotic dog K-9, I think. But the Daleks were so important to the story. How many millions of children have been influenced by the Daleks? They couldn't even begin to think about bringing it back without them." You can read the full interview here. (Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Graham Brown)




FILTER: - Tom Baker - Press

Winter Wonderland?

Saturday, 11 September 2004 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Today's "This is South Wales" features an article about a rather interesting transformation of part of the city of Swansea for one of the new Doctor Who series episodes. Meanwhile, the "Sun" newspaper also had some plot details, although these are mostly recycled from earlier info (and some of the Sun's 'report' appears to be speculative stuff right off of Outpost Gallifrey's own Forum!) Click on the spoiler tag below for some interesting information.
According to the South Wales report, the city of Swansea's maritime area will be "taken back in time and transformed into a scene from 1869 for the star-studded production." Says the report, fake snow is set to cover the road between Adelaide Street and Pier Street, and along the whole of Cambrian Place, Burrows Place and Gloucester Place. Period costume along with horses and carriages will help bring the scene to life. The article mentions Simon Callow's casting as Charles Dickens earlier in the week. An "insider" told the reporter, "We are currently working on the new series of Dr Who for BBC Wales. We have recognised the timeless charm of the Maritime area of Swansea and we would like to shoot some of our scenes there. The shots are snow scenes and are at night so for one night people will be treated to a Christmas scene outside their windows. We will also introduce horses and carriages, background artists in period costume and the use of braziers to take us back to Christmas 1869. We will be providing alternative parking for residents in a nearby secure car park and although road closures have been agreed and will be implemented, emergency vehicles will have access as normal." Swansea Councillor Gerald Clement, cabinet member for culture, recreation and tourism commented, "We are delighted that part of the new Dr Who series will be filmed in Swansea and extremely pleased to be associated with such a high-profile project. Our tourism marketing team works with the SWW office of the Wales Screen Commission to promote Swansea as a film and TV location and collectively, we have been successful in attracting a number of high-profile projects over the past couple of years."

The Sun, meanwhile, states (with a rather rude title) that "the new Doctor Who is to take on deadly aliens hell-bent on wiping out mankind ù by passing wind," regurgitating the Geith storyline that Outpost Gallifrey reported last week. (Indeed, we believe some of the Sun details are taken from the same source as we had.) It also mentions the Doctor faces an attack by "a race of dastardly 8ft villains called the Slitheens" which we previously reported. "The Doctor and sidekick Rose Tyler, played by Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, must stop the Slitheens taking over the bodies of key politicians who run the country. They are part of a fiendish plot in which an alien crash-landing diverts attention from the plan to overthrow the Government." It mentions the March date again and notes that "other storylines include Rose witnessing the end of the world far in the future."




FILTER: - Press

Series Publicity Document: New Details

Thursday, 9 September 2004 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
A one-sheet advertisement page from BBC Worldwide Television which will be featured in several forthcoming sales presentations in the UK, obtained by Outpost Gallifrey, shares some very interesting -- and exciting -- information concerning the new Doctor Who series. The BBC document states that the airtime for the first season of the new series is "Spring 2005," synching with the March 2005 transmission date Outpost Gallifrey has previously reported as being the likely target date. It also notes five cast members under the "Starring" block: Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler, Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith and Mark Benton as Clive; this is interesting because it's the first time a surname has been published for the Mickey character on a public document, and the first time Mark Benton, only previously rumored to be in the series, has been confirmed anywhere.

Most especially, the text of the press document has an interesting summation of the new series, including some heretofore unknown details; they're in the text box below. Meanwhile, the press document also contains at least one overseas broadcast note: it confirms the involvement of Canadian broadcaster CBC, who is says has purchased the series ahead of delivery and will be transmitting it as soon after the UK transmission as they can.

We'll keep you posted when any other documents such as this come out of BBC Worldwide.
Christopher Eccleston's Doctor is wise and funny, cheeky and brave. An alien and a loner (it's difficult keeping up with friends when your day job involves roaming through time and space), his detached logic gives him a vital edge when the world's in danger. But when it comes to relationships, he can be found wanting. That's why he needs Rose.

Rose is a shop girl from the present day. From the moment they meet, the Doctor and Rose are soulmates. They understand and complement each other. As they travel together through history and across the universe, the Doctor shows Rose things beyond her imagination. She starts out as an innocent, fettered by earthly concerns. But she ends up an adventurer who, by the end of the series, can never go home again...

As the two forge a friendship across time and space, brace yourself for some exhilarating experiences and deadly confrontations. Far, far in the future, Rose witnesses the natural end of the world, as the sun expands and the solar system dies. Journey back to Victorian times for an encounter with Charles Dickens and the mysterious Geith -- gaseous monsters with deadly plans for humanity. While back in 2005, an alien crash-landing diverts attention from a conspiracy that leads to the very heart of the government.

Wherever they go, whoever they meet, every story will come back to Earth. For all the danger and tension, this is a fundamentally optimistic series. The human race will survive - but only with the Doctor's help. Prepare for brand-new, spellbinding adventures in the human race...




FILTER: - Production - Press

The Muppets Beat The Doctor

Tuesday, 7 September 2004 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Muppets Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant Beaker defeated Dr. Strangelove, Dana Scully of "X Files" fame, Star Trek's Mr. Spock and the Doctor himself to be voted Britain's favorite screen scientists, according to a poll published Monday and reported on CNN.com and other online sources. They beat their closest rival by a margin of 2 to 1 and won 33 percent of the 43,000 votes cast; Spock came in a distance second with 15 percent followed by The Doctor, from Dr Who, who garnered 13 percent. Scully, the only woman in the poll, came in sixth. The poll, sponsored by the BA and the BBC cult television website, gave the public five weeks to choose their favorite scientist from a shortlist of 10 that included Dr. Evil from the film "Austin Powers," Dr. Frankenstein, Frank N. Furter, of the "Rocky Horror Show Picture Show," Dr. Emmett Brown, of the film "Back to the Future" and Q of James Bond fame.




FILTER: - Press

Grade to DWAS: No Way!

Wednesday, 25 August 2004 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
BBC Chairman Michael Grade - long a foe of the good Doctor - has turned down the opportunity to become a member of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society. DWAS Co-ordinator Ian Wheeler said: 'There was a jokey comment in SFX about Mr Grade possibly becoming a member of the Society when the show comes back. I thought 'why not?'. With Mr Grade back at the BBC, I thought it would be nice to bury the hatchet and work together for the good of the programme. Sadly, I heard back from his secretary that he wasn't up for it. Still, nothing venture, nothing gained'. (Thanks to Ian Wheeler)




FILTER: - Press

Hitchhikers CD!

Wednesday, 18 August 2004 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
The BBC Press Office has announced here that the forthcoming third Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy radio series, based on the work of Douglas Adams, will be out on CD and cassette on October 28. (Thanks to Steve Tribe)




FILTER: - Press

Charity Appeal

Wednesday, 18 August 2004 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Author Mags Halliday ("History 101") is working with a charity event this coming weekend at the Discworld convention to raise money for the Sudan Emergency Appeal... involving a Buffy musical! Click here for details!




FILTER: - Press

Morgan on the Daleks

Wednesday, 18 August 2004 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Andrew Morgan, director of "Remembrance of the Daleks" and "Time and the Rani," had some choice words for the Times on August 14. "As the director most recently embroiled with the Daleks... I have some inside knowledge of their anatomy -in particular their means of propulsion. While castors are quite efficient on studio floors, I felt we were courting disaster when one of the 1988 locations for a major battle was to be a cobbled street near Waterloo. However, the designer produced some all-terrain Daleks equipped with wheelbarrow wheels. I was delighted with this solution until filming began and the Dalek "operators" experienced great difficulty in climbing inside. There was no room for their feet and the enlarged wheels. The Daleks were completely and very effectively immobilised. Thankfully I was much more successful in a later scene, when I managed to film them going upstairs." That should take care of any doubts that the Daleks are incapable of stair travel... although it certainly might present an out for the Doctor at a later date!




FILTER: - Press

The Now Show

Friday, 6 August 2004 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
According to a report on BBCi, The Now Show on Thursday evening featured a special Dalek song written by comedian/musician Mitch Benn (who, coincidentally, is a regular participant in the Outpost Gallifrey Forum!) The Now Show is broadcast on Radio 4 on Friday at 18:30 with a repeat on Saturday at 12:30. After its repeat it will then be available for one week via the Radio 4 website; people can listen in live, or again after the fact, via the Radio 4website. (Thanks to BBCi, Martin Montague)




FILTER: - Press