As Outpost Gallifrey previously reported, the BBC Books release of Synthespians™ by Craig Hinton was delayed for several weeks as the publishers printed a new cover; the original cover photo was licensed by cover designers Black Sheep, but unfortunately the license agreement specifically stated that it could not be altered (which it was, for the Auton look on the faces). Therefore a new design had to be commissioned. Writer Hinton has provided us with the full wraparound cover illustration, which you can view by clicking on the thumbnail graphic at right; please note that the caption about it being an "Eighth Doctor" adventure has been corrected for the final release. (Thanks to Craig Hinton)

McFarland Publishing is releasing The Doctor Who Error Finder by R.H. Langley this fall, a new book about the bloopers and blunders in the series. "In Episode Four of Doctor WhoÆs 'Stones of Blood,' 14 minutes and 22 seconds into the show, a crow lands on a large 'rock,' causing it to shake. In Episode One of 'State of Decay,' at 9:37, the hole in AldricÆs pants mysteriously grows a patch. 32 minutes and 26 seconds into the first episode of 'Attack of the Cybermen,' one notices that the Cyberman in the left rear seems to be intoxicated. This work is the largest existing collection of errors appearing in Doctor Who, from every episode of the original television series, the movies, and the spin-offs. Presenting over 4000 errors, plus about 1500 other items of interest to fans, it includes transmitted bloopers such as microphones or equipment visible in a shot, obvious strings, anachronisms, unsteady sets, and actors having trouble walking. This book not only presents bloopers not previously recorded, but also corrects errors in other lists. The work is divided by Doctor (from the first to the eighth); each story begins with the title, official BBC codes, alternate titles, writer and directors, media in which the episode is available, running times, highlights including characters and actors, and questions to keep in mind. The individual episodes in each story each include date of first transmission and a list of errors and trivia, each with an approximate time in the episode. The work also includes errors from the untransmitted parts of the pilot episode and Shada; it concludes with 'the forgotten doctor,' and related programs such as K-9 and Company, Dimensions in Time, and The Curse of the Fatal Death."

Meanwhile, Hodder & Stoughton Childrens Publishing is releasing So You Think You Know Dr. Who by Clive Gifford in January 2005, a trivia paperback. "The great timelord has had many incarnations and many adventures, but can you remember them? Do you know who was the first Dr Who? Can you say what the word 'tardis' stands for? Well here's your chance to shine - with over 1,000 questions this quiz book will not only test, but also tease and torment the most ardent fan. But don't worry the answers are not to be found in the far reaches of the universe, they're in the back of the book!"

Finally, independent publisher MonkeyBrain is re-releasing (through National Book Network Distributors) The Discontinuity Guide by Paul Cornell, Keith Topping and Martin Day. The re-release is simply a reprint of the earlier version published by Virgin, with no additional material, although it bears a new cover, and is due out in October. Click on the thumbnails below for larger versions of the cover. (Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Dan O'Malley, Keith Topping)

Elisabeth Sladen recorded links for the forthcoming Doctor Who at the BBC Volume 2 on May 31 in Bath. Included will be the following items: Kit Pedler on Talkback; Matthew Waterhouse on Radio 1 in 1980; Tom Baker and Louise Jameson on Pebble Mill at One and Nationwide; John Nathan-Turner 'baiting Mary Whitehouse' in 1983; Elisabeth Sladen has supplied a recording of her appearance on Wogan's World; interviews with six of the first eight Doctors; spoofs from Dead Ringers, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue and The Mary Whitehouse Experience.

The Scotsman website recently ran an article about the state of BBC television and whether or not it was too late to fix what had been their stellar Saturday night lineup for years. "The running order of BBCÆs Saturday evening schedule remains chiselled in my memory. After Basil Brush was the exhilarating love/terror of Doctor Who - love, for whichever of his female assistants was then custodian of my heart; terror, lest the Cybermen, or the Daleks when we were younger, made an appearance and sent us scuttling behind the sofa." You can read the full article at the Scotsman site. (Thanks to Steve Tribe)

New series writer Rob Shearman appeared at Time 2, a convention organised by the DWAS. He revealed on stage that his script for episode 6 contained the words dog and food, but admitted this may be edited out! He could now visualise the new Doctor's costume and said it was not as "dressy" as those from the previous Docs. Shearman noted he'd read the first script and said to himself, "Wow, this is fantastic." Asked about his own notions of fantasy guest casting, Shearman commented that he wanted Hellen Mirren to play a character in his story... a character who was subsequently written out! (Thanks to Antony Wainer)

Tenth Planet have sent us the cover illustration for the forthcoming The Complete Fourth Doctor: Volume One. Published by Doctor Who Magazine, the special is "Everything you could ever need to know about Tom Baker's record-breaking seven-year tenure as the time-travelling Doctor in the first of two bumper volumes! This edition covers Seasons Twelve to Fifteen, with brand new facts, figures and addenda for all Fourth Doctor 'Archive' features from "Robot" to "The Invasion of Time" and a full analysis of each story from some of the finest writers in Doctor Who fandom. There's also a fascinating character analysis from Philip MacDonald, heaps of rare and previously unseen photographs, and an afterword from producer Philip Hinchcliffe." It will be out the second week of July, with the second volume due in October. (Thanks to Tenth Planet)

An article in the June 29 Daily Star says that the new Doctor Who series "will feature historic figures including Shakespeare, Henry VIII and Einstein - who are locked up together inside a Big Brother-style house. Famous housemates will face eviction and death from aliens when the classic sci-fi show comes back to our screens next year. The new series, which stars Christopher Eccleston as Dr Who, is aiming to win over a whole new generation of young followers of the Tardis timelord. Christopher said: 'We can parallel things with science fiction and address what's going on around us to a certain extent for young people without being pompous.' In one of the planned episodes of the hotly-awaited series, some of the world's most famous figures from the past are kidnapped from their time zones by aliens. They are put in a Big Bruvstyle house for extraterrestrial television entertainment." (Thanks to Paul Engelberg)

Big Finish has released the second chapter of Dalek Empire III and posted a cover illustration (below, left) as well as the cover for the third chapter (below, center), and the Bernice Summerfield audio The Grel Escape (below, right); click on each thumbnail for a larger version. Also included in a recent update of the site are cover blurbs for the two upcoming Short Trips audios Repercussions and Monsters (the writer lists have been noted here in the past) as the blurb forThe Grel Escape; all of those are reproduced below. BF's forthcoming UNIT Miniseries now has a writer contingent, according to the new DWM: parts 1 and 4 are by Iain McLauglin and Claire Bartlett; part 2 is by Jonathan Clements; and part 3 is by Joseph Lidster. Farrington tells DWM that "it's a modern-day setting, and we're keen on having original characters, but there may well be room for some old favourites." Finally, the fifth edition of Big Finish Magazine, the recurring audio CD release, comes with the second chapter of "Dalek Empire III"; presented by Caroline Morris, this includes an interview with Philip 'Hex' Olivier, as well as some chat about Sapphire & Steel and the Gallifrey mini-series, an interview with Garrick Hagon and a documentary on Dalek Empire III.

According to the most recent issue of Doctor Who Magazine, the director of the first "block" of the new series is Keith Boak, who has directed for Out of the Blue, Wokenwell, City Central, Sunburn, Harbour Lights, The Knock, Mersey Beat, The Royal and Holby City. (There's no explanation of what this "Block One" comprises.) Russell Davies says that Boak "directed one of my first ever paid scripts, a 5-minute piece for the BBC's Def 2 slot". Also named in Davies' new production notes column in DWM 344 is Lucinda Wright, the new costume designer. Davies notes that work has started progressing on the first blcok as of May 17 (pre-production only), with script meetings on May 18 (discussing "Paul Cornell's script... dark and brave and every bit as brilliant as I expected") and a "tone meeting" on May 19... "All of us - producers, director, script editors, the entire design department, costume, casting, special FX, make-up and monster men - packed into one room to talk tone. MEaning what should this show look like, feel like, aspire to? Colour, sound, pitch, key?" Noted in a May 19 casting meeting session discussion in the Davies article, a new character name is mentioned; besides the aforementioned Jackie and the "Moxx of Balhoon," there is a character named Mickey, either a regular or a guest star. Also in the issue, an interview with script editors Helen Raynor and Elwen Rowlands confirms that Rowlands is working with Davies and Cornell, and Raynor with Shearman, Gatiss and Moffat (and "a bit of Russell"), but that they are working together across all episodes "to make sure that continuity works." They comment that 'Rob Shearman is chucking the "ooh" moments around like confetti [and] Paul Cornell's episode is so moving it brought a tear to the eye. Mark Gatiss' script has some hilarious moments and the sheer naughtiness of Russell's Alien's of London had us chuckling away all day. We wait delivery of Steven Moffat's script with bated breath.' Finally, Davies' Production Notes reveals that one episode features a clipboard that "creates a meeting of its own. Is it metal? Plastic? Illuminated? Sentient?... And it's only a clipboard!" This, you see, is Russell's proof that "This programme is barmy." Read all of this, plus a lot more, in the new DWM, issue 344 now on sale. (Thanks to Steve Tribe)

As has been widely reported the past several days, the fan favorite the Daleks will not be appearing in the new Doctor Who series, as talks between the BBC and the estate of creator Terry Nation have broken down over issues of editorial control. A BBC spokeswoman told BBC News, "After lengthy negotiations, the BBC and Terry Nation have been unable to reach an agreement on the terms of the use of the Daleks. The BBC offered the very best deal possible but ultimately we were not able to give the level of editorial influence that the Terry Nation estate wished to have." The Nation estate is said to be "bitterly disappointed" while Nation agent Tim Hancock stated that the BBC was trying to "ruin the brand of the Daleks. We wanted the same level of control over the Daleks that we have enjoyed for the last 40 years. If the BBC wanted to re-make any of George Lucas' films, you can bet George Lucas would have something to say about it." Hancock accused the BBC of lying about the reasons a deal had not been made, stating that the BBC had recentrly tried to commission a cartoon series about gay Daleks for BBC Three and that they had allowed Warner Bros. to use the Daleks in the recent big-budget film "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" without consulting the Nation estate. "We want to protect the integrity of the brand," Hancock said, and added that the estate would be willing to make a new deal if the BBC accepted the arrangement that had been in place for the last 40 years. Russell Davies told BBC news that he was disappointed by the decision, but that it would not affect the success of the series. "We are reinventing Doctor Who for a 21st Century audience with a fantastic writing team and exciting new challenges," Davies said. "We are disappointed that the Daleks will not be included but we have a number of new and exciting monsters. And I can confirm we have created a new enemy for the Doctor which will keep viewers on the edge of their seats." Elsewhere, an additional comment from agent Tim Hancock noted the following: "IÆm very sorry for Dr Who fans. We accept the Daleks need modernising, and are all for it. All we ask is that they consult us on the designs. But the BBC are not prepared to."

Afterwards, the newspaper The Sun said it was launching a "campaign" to save the Daleks after being exterminated from the new show. The Sun article intimated that the BBC were "desperate hi-tech versions of the Time LordÆs arch-enemies" to appear in the show, but that talks had broken down only last Wednesday when Nation's estate demanded control of Dalek storylines and that they feared producers planned to make the Daleks "too evil". A BBC "insider" told the Sun, "ItÆs hard to imagine Dr Who without Daleks but it seems we have no choice. The Nation estateÆs demands were completely unacceptable. They care a lot about the Daleks. We fear they have been lost forever." The Express ran an article on July 3 that stated that fans in Southampton had staged a protest march, with one fan being quoted as saying, "Daleks were infamous for sending children diving behind sofas in the 1960s and 70s. If an amicable deal isn't reached, the new Doctor won't ever see the Daleks again, which will be a great shame. While most fans are obviously delighted the series has finally come back, there are fears that it may bear very little resemblance to the original. And the Doctor not facing the Daleks is almost unthinkable." Shadow Education Secretary (and Doctor Who fan) Tim Collins said to the Sun, "Dr Who without the Daleks is like fish without chips. It's important the BBC does a deal." And the Manchester Evening News quoted agent Hancock as saying, "Without us the BBC would have screwed up the integrity of the Daleks image years ago."

Commentator John Walsh noted in July 3's The Independent, "It's outrageous that the new series of Doctor Who should feature no appearance by the Daleks. I was one of the original short-trousered Doctor fans who watched through latticed fingers the first gliding steps of the metal myrmidons, and I'm sorry not to see them return. But the way the story appeared in some news pages - the robotic tyrants would not appear because of 'a disagreement over appearance fees' - made it sound as if the Daleks themselves were sulkily refusing to go on TV. The usual reasons, I suppose. They had other commitments; the timing wasn't right for this stage of their career; they weren't in a good place right now; they were scheduled to appear on Broadway, in a musical called Hello Dalek. I pictured them on the phone to their agent, shouting 'Neg-o-ti-ate! Neg-o-ti-ate!'."

Many of the press clippings can now be found at the Cuttings Archive.

Media links and coverage (with thanks to Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg, Paul Hayes):

BBC News The Sun Sky News The Register The Alien Online DigitalSpy ICnetwork

Manchester Online Big News Network MediaDrome The Mirror Waveguide Guardian Online DeHavilland