Fans have noticed a slight issue on the new DVD release of The Three Doctors that crept into the pressing of the DVD after the masters were delivered by the Doctor Who Restoration Team. Says Steve Roberts, it's "at the end of episode two, at the last chapter point in the episode. The sound continues across the chapter point OK, but the video jumps back three seconds and then continues to play out. The result is a shot gets repeated (a brief repeat of the grounds of the UNIT HQ minus the house, followed by the zoom into the soldier) and from that point on the picures are three seconds out of sync with the sound. I have checked the masters and they are fine, so I'm afraid that it's an error that has crept in downstream of us. ie it's not our fault!" Although a three second mismatch between audio and picture sounds a lot, there is no dialogue involved - the fault occurs just as the end title music is about to begin. According to Steve, the US/Canada release version, coming soon, doesn't have the problem; however, the Australia/New Zealand version has been for several weeks, demonstrating that it's not that noticeable if you're not aware of it. BBCi also comments on a different issue, that the DVD isn't as widely available as speculated: "It should be noted that only a few thousand copies of The Three Doctors come complete with a Corgi model Bessie car, making it a more limited edition than was previously thought." (Thanks to the Restoration Team and BBCi)

UK Gold presents its Doctor Who @40 Weekend to celebrate the anniversary in just a few short days. The This Week in Doctor Who column -- which we host a mirror of at Outpost Galilfrey -- today has the complete, detailed breakdown of the schedule, which indlues all of the documentaries and inserts that are part of the weekend. Click hereto take a look at the detailed schedule. Meanwhile, Outpost Gallifrey has received word about the content of the original shorts; each will feature interviews with the Doctors where possible along with members of the cast and crew and fans, including Colin Baker, Peter Davison, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Katy Manning, Louise Jameson, Sophie Aldred, Verity Lambert, Nicola Bryant, Nicholas Courtney and Peter Purves, plus the following specials, all presented by K-9 himself!

• 1963 The year of Dr Who: Martin Luther. Aldermaston. Kennedy and the birth of the teatime classic. At about teatime on Saturday 23rd November 1963, a mysterious time traveller known only as Dr Who appeared on the nation's screens ... little did we know that a legend was in the making. This short film looks at the origins of the series in the pursuit of scientific education and awareness. Same timelord time, same timelord channel.
• The Timelady: Arabella Weir is the first female doctor in the latest audio adventure and the subject of the female doctor has been a raging controversy for years ... so why is regeneration among the last bastions of sexual segregation.
• Monstermania: For many of us our first Dr Who was seen through closed hands or from the safe confines from behind the sofa rather than in front of the fire. We take a journey through some of the most popular adversaries from 40 years of time travel.
• Don't Mention Mel: Comedian Andre Vincent recalls his adolescent awakenings alongside various doctor's assistants - Jo (Katy Manning), Louise Jamieson (Leela) and, not forgetting Ace (Sophie Aldred) but strangely steering clear of Bonnie Langford's (Mel).
• The Theme Music: The Chalkenwell Ladies Drum & Bass League on the classic theme music and the contribution of Ron Grainer and Delia Derbyshire of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to electronica.
• The Cancellation Crisis: Paul McGann was the eighth Doctor but does he count and now that the series is coming back what can we expect from the modern day timelord.
• The Timelord's Coming Home: The Doctor stopped in 1987 but why? We look back at the cancellation crisis and the hiatus of the 1985 season and the factors that contributed to the killing of Dr Who and the parallel lives of the Doctor since.

BBCi today confirmed our story from the weekend that The Wheel in Space will be out on CD in 2004. Meanwhile, according to the folks at the Galaxy 4 shop, the new Tales From the TARDIS CD and the previously released Death Comes to Time will be released as MP3-CD's in April; "Tales" is currently an unknown commodity but we believe it might include the previously released "Short Trips," "Earth and Beyond" and "Out of the Unknown" only available on cassette. (No word on a release of "Tales" as a normal CD.) Galaxy 4 also says that the BBC "intend to issue ALL the incomplete stories on CD including the ones previously released with BBC Video titles such as The Ice Warriors, The Invasion and The Tenth Planet. This is so that fans can hear the stories complete without having to swap between formats." (Thanks to BBCi, Galaxy 4)

UKGold will be broadcasting their "Doctor Who @40 Weekend" from 7am to 7pm on both Nvoember 22 and 23, according to Radio Times. There don't seem to be any specific time slots for the programming, but Sky's customer magazine apparently states the weekend starts at 9.00am, so it's safe to presume the ongoing omnibus repeats will be running Saturday and Sunday mornings. Meanwhile, the BBC 4 channel will be rebroadcasting the "Alchemists of Sound" TV documentary on November 23 at 7pm. The issue of Radio Times published this week has a small (text only) plug for their forthcoming 16-page anniversary supplement due out next week, mentioning exclusive interviews and photos. Finally, the TV guide section of The Observer, OTV, yesterday included "The Scream of the Shalka" in its pick of the day selection for Thursday's TV, complete with the postcard image of the animated Doctor (played by Richard E. Grant) and the slightly odd implication that BBCi can be watched on satellite. (Thanks to Phillip Madeley, Steve Tribe)

According to the Galaxy 4 shop website, the BBC Radio Collection release of The Wheel in Space starring Patrick Troughton has been set for May 2004. This would be their second release of 2004; nothing, however has yet been confirmed. (Thanks to Galaxy 4, Richard Mawson)

As Outpost Gallifrey announced only a week ago, the first two DVDs in release in North America in 2004 are The Seeds of Death starring Patrick Troughton and The Three Doctors starring Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton and William Hartnell; the only change to our announcement is the date: they're due on March 2, not in early February. The following are the official press blurbs from BBC Worldwide Americas, plus the cover illustrations for each (click for a larger version).

BBC Worldwide have announced the first of 2004's DVD releases in the UK: The Visitation. The Season 19 serial's release is scheduled for January 24 from BBC Video, and features commentary by its four stars -- Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding and Matthew Waterhouse -- as well as director Peter Moffatt; "Directing Who: Peter Moffatt," a 26-minute featurette about the director from an interview conducted earlier this year; "Writing a Final Visitation," an 12-minute interview with author and script editor Eric Saward conducted in Black Park (site of the story's filming) in September; "Scoring the Visitation," a short interview with composer Paddy Kingsland excerpted from a longer one conducted by Mark Ayres (presumably to be released on later DVDs); Film Trims, including extended and deleted scenes; a music-only option; photo gallery, easter eggs and production notes. There are rumors that "Black Orchid" would also be attached to this on other sites, but the Restoration Team has confirmed that this is completely untrue. The RT has posted an article about the restoration process for this episode, as well. "The Visitation" was previously rumored on a list of 2004 releases that remained unconfirmed by the BBC, but now joins the pack as the first confirmation for the year.

Meanwhile, several bits of information were revealed this weekend to Panopticon attendees. Actor Michael Sheard announced that he, Elisabeth Sladen and producer Philip Hinchcliffe had recorded the commentary for the forthcomingPyramids of Mars DVD, due out later in the year (possibly March); the DVD would also feature both a location visit to Stargroves Estate that Sheard hosts, and (subject to licensing) a comedy sketch screened at the convention featuring Sutekh. Director Christopher Barry said he recorded a commentary for The Daemons, while Nick Courtney mentioned that he, Katy Manning and Barry Letts would provide commentaries for The Claws of Axos -- of course, neither of these discs have been announced by the BBC; other commentaries have been recorded in the past for future story releases, which still haven't happened! (Thanks to Colin John Francis, BBCi, the Restoration Team)

At last, we're getting details about North America's 2004 list of Doctor Who selections. Having now exhausted the VHS range, the current plans call for the distribution of two DVDs per quarter, released at the same time, likely in February, May, August and November. According to email from BBCAmericaShop, the first two DVDs for 2004 will be The Seeds of Death starring Patrick Troughton and, in a surprise move, The Three Doctors starring Jon Pertwee, Troughton and William Hartnell. ("Three Doctors" is only seeing release next month in the UK!) This is, of course, subject to change. We do know that at this time there are no plans for an additional North America-only boxed set (like "The Key to Time") and that only stories released first in the UK will be on this schedule. More details as we get them.

Tomb of the Cybermen production designer Martin Johnson died on October 9. A small obituary and picture can be found by clicking here.

BBC Worldwide has released The Curse of Fenric on DVD in the UK. Among the highlights on this new disc are a new extended 'movie format' version of the story in addition to the original four-part episodic version, as well as commentaries by Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred and Nicholas Parsons, an isolated music soundtrack, a cast & crew discussion at the 1990 Nebula convention, "Take Two" (a BBC1 children's programme), "Modeling the Dead" from BSB's Doctor Who weekend in 1990, "Claws and Effect" (a behind-the-scenes featurette), "Shattering the Chains" (an interview with author Ian Briggs), "Costume Design" (interview iwth costume designer Ken Trew), "Recutting the Runes" (interview with musician Mark Ayres), plus easter eggs and photo gallery. The disc is in wide release today all over Britain, though some stores have been selling it since last week.