Broadcasting:

According to a BBC Press Office Programme Information release (link - note, PDF document), "The Chatterley Affair" will be broadcast on BBC Four on Monday 20 March, from 9pm to 10.30pm. David Tennant appears as journalist Richard Hoggart, and the dramatisation of the Lady Chatterley trial is directed by James Hawes ('The Empty Child', 'The Christmas Invasion').

Iowa Public Television, one of only two stations in America who still syndicate the classic series, is now accepting pledges to keep the show on the air for the next calendar year. "With the Christopher Eccleston series about to broadcast on The Sci-Fi Channel, Mad Norwegian Press is asking WHO fans -- even those who don't live in Iowa -- to make a small pledge and aid the cause by keeping one of the last remaining bastions of classic WHO on the American airwaves," says Lars Pearson of Mad Norwegian Press. "Simply put, IPTV is a non-profit organization, and the show cannot remain on the air without freely-given funding. The IPTV broadcasts benefit those inside Iowa and some surrounding areas... With the Eccleston series' debut, we're hoping there'll be a lot more people curious about the old run. Anyone wishing to donate to IPTV to keep WHO on the air can do so through the IPTV website by going here. Those who make a pledge should scroll down and vote for their favorite Doctor -- IPTV will begin running the winner's stories on April 8." There will also be a live pledge drive on Saturday, March 11 at 11 pm... the special edition of "The Five Doctors" will be shown at this time.

People:

According to the What's On Stage website, Sylvester McCoy will star in the world premiere of "The Pocket Orchestra - The Unlikely Lives of the Great Composers" at the West End’s Trafalgar Studio 2 next month. "The new play by Graeme Garden and Callum McLeod runs from 26 April 2006 (preview 25 April) for a limited four-week season to 20 May 2006. The comedy takes an “irreverent, satirical and shamelessly anecdotal” look at the history of classical music and the often bizarre and anarchic lives of the great composers."

Former companion Caroline John will be appearing as one of the leads on Radio Four in the afternoon play on Wednesday March 15th at 14.30 (British time). The play is a ghost story called 'The Midnight House' and centres around an episode in world war two whereby pictures from the London Art Galleries were evacuated to a remote slate mine in North Wales. The play will be available to listen to for up to a week online at the Radio Four website.

This week's Radio Times has a two-page article (in their behind-the-scenes section) on Adam Garcia (Alex in "The Christmas Invasion"), who plays the Russian ballet star in "the BBC's lavish Riot at the Rite, the story of Nijinsky's infamous version of Stravinsky's 'The Right of Spring' ballet. 'Very few people can do justice of Nijinsky, so what chance do I have?' laughs Adam. 'Aussie-born Garcia had a little help from ballet double Ivan Putrov'. BBC2 Saturday 11 March at 9pm."

Christopher Eccleston made a surprise appearance on the final of Junior Mastermind on BBC One on 26 February, his first public appearance in connection with Doctor Who since the new series publicity in March last year. Eccleston appeared in a pre-filmed insert, chatting to Sam, the young contestant who had chosen "Doctor Who 2005" as his specialist subject. Describing himself as an "unemployed Time Lord", Eccleston said that the best thing about being in Doctor Who was "the response from children". When asked what he had brought to the role, he indicated his ears; he also suggested that he would do "terribly" in a Mastermind round on Doctor Who, and declared that the Doctor "absolutely" fancied Rose. He seemed relaxed, and pleased and impressed with Sam's enthusiasm for the show. Not helped by a convoluted question about 'Father's Day', Sam went on to achieve a good score of 16, though this was not enough to win the contest.

Eccleston will also participate in a special called "The Best Ever Muppet Moments!" on Saturday, March 11 at 7pm on ITV. Says the Mirror, "Hosted by Kermit The Frog - as all shows should be - the programme will celebrate our favourite bits from The Muppet Show, complete with tributes from fans including Robson Green, Christopher Eccleston, Davina McCall, Angus Deayton and Michael Parkinson."

Jo Joyner, who played perky Lynda Moss in the final two episodes of last season's Doctor Who series, told this past weekend's Sunday Mercury, "If I do nothing else in my life, I can always say I was exterminated! ... It was so cool to be part of Doctor Who. Filming my death was a real buzz. I had a large plate of sugar glass in front of me which shattered, and three huge sub-woofers behind me, blowing air out like giant hairdryers to whip my hair back in the blast. I'm a huge fan of Big Brother but I'd hate to go on it. As I say, I like people-watching, not having people watch me!"

Camille Coduri will be featured in a segment on My Spirit Radio after March 21, hosted by Esoteric Entertainments, a paranormal site. "In this exclusive interview [Coduri] talks about Doctor Who, her outlook and life and as an Aries woman what she looks for in a lover! The interview will be available as an mp3 download as well."

Justin Richards, Creative Director of the Doctor Who books, is interviewed at CBBC: "I suppose my absolute favourite though was Doctor Who In An Exciting Adventure With The Daleks - which is quite a title! It came out again later as just plain: Doctor Who and the Daleks. The book was written by David Whitaker from the original scripts of the very first Dalek story on Doctor Who, which was by Terry Nation. Both hugely talented writers who knew all about adventure and thrills!"

Robert Hands, who played Algy in "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances", is to star with Tim Curry in the forthcoming West End version of "Spamalot."

Additional Press Items:

The New York Times discusses the launch of the series in America along with Russell T Davies and the controversy surrounding the series being produced by an openly gay producer. "'There's very classically and traditionally a strong gay fan base for 'Doctor Who,' said Mr. Davies, 42, in a telephone interview from his home in Manchester, England. 'He is a loner and a wanderer. He doesn't represent the authority -- he is a man, unlike any other, doing his own thing. I think you can see the emotional connection.' ... So when the BBC approached Mr. Davies in late 2003 to update 'Doctor Who' for the 21st century, he was already teeming with ideas. 'It's a genuine love of mine,' he said, 'and loving a program means you're not blind to its faults.' ... 'It was very important to Russell that the Doctor not be posh,' said Mark Gatiss, a co-star and co-creator of the quirky ensemble television comedy 'The League of Gentlemen,' who was recruited onto Mr. Davies's writing staff. 'It's all about the Doctor being a kind of burning, firework personality that is incredibly attractive, but also slightly dangerous to be around.' ... In the days leading up to the premiere of the new 'Doctor Who' in March 2005, the British tabloid press did its best to insinuate that Mr. Davies -- who is openly gay, and proud that his 'Queer as Folk' series included, in his words, 'more sex than any other program ever' -- might somehow be an unfit candidate to re-establish a beloved cultural icon. The faithful, however, declined to take the bait. 'The vast amount of fans out there were just elated that the show was coming back,' said Shaun Lyon, editor of the 'Doctor Who' fan Web site Outpost Gallifrey (www.gallifreyone.com). 'Pointing out that Russell's gay, let's be honest, you can no longer get a story out of that. Gay is officially boring now.' ... But controversy eventually caught up with the series: four days after the premiere, the BBC published a news release in which Mr. Eccleston revealed that he would not be returning for a second season — an awkward situation made more so when he protested that the BBC had falsely attributed quotes to him and had broken an agreement to withhold the announcement until after the show's first season had ended. 'I'm sure it could have been handled better,' Mr. Davies said. (Mr. Eccleston declined to comment for this story.)" Read the full article at the website.

More coverage of Noel Clarke's film "Kidulthood" which arrived over the weekend can be found in the Independent, the Daily Record, Future Movies, Bloomberg News, the Sunday Times,http://www.itn.co.uk/news/entertainment_206280.html">ITN, the Guardian. There have also been a ton of in-print articles written but not available online. Meanwhile, Clarke was on BBC Radio 5 Live's weekly film review on 4 March with Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode; Doctor Who interest is sparse, other than, at the end of the interview, a bit of badgering him about how long Billie will be in it for (and of course, he doesn't give them anything.)

Other items: Television Without Pity, a large television website, has opened up a new Doctor Who section to cover the show's broadcast on Sci-Fi. CBBC News mentions the debut of "Totally Doctor Who" and has the same information as on the official site, which we reported over the weekend. Also, there's more news about the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards at C21 Media.

A second, 30-second trailer for the first season of the new Doctor Who series is now airing on the Sci-Fi Channel in advance of the show's debut on March 17. Noting that the Doctor is "over 900 years old" and is "a legendary adventurer through space and time," the trailer notes that the Doctor's "limitless power fuels an endless quest for ... the perfect vacation." "The British smash hit comes to Sci-Fi," says the advert, noting the premiere date. The trailer also uses a different logo altogether, reminiscent of the previous logo used throughout the late 1990's and early 2000's; a thumbnail is at right.

The Sun today reports that K9 and Sarah Jane Smith will appear in their own spin-off series, following their appearance in Series Two next month. The only additional information in the Sun story is a comment from a BBC spokeswoman refusing to comment ('We are not confirming any developments at this moment'), although Russell T Davies has commented in interviews that there are ideas for a second spin-off series after Torchwood.

Says the Sun article, "Doctor Who's robot dog K9 and ex-sidekick Sarah Jane Smith are to get their own spin-off show, TV Biz can reveal. We told how BBC bosses are bringing back K9 for an episode in the Timelord's new series. Now it has emerged that the pooch and Sarah Jane, played by Elizabeth Sladen, will also star together in their own children's series. An insider said: 'It would have been a shame to put K9 back in his kennel, so we've come up with an idea for another drama. It's early days but K9 and Elizabeth Sladen are inseparable characters. There are loads of things we can do with Doctor Who. It's one of the most popular shows on TV and viewers can't seem to get enough of it.' It will be the second spin-off from the sci-fi hit. BBC bosses are also making Torchwood, a racy drama for BBC3. That show stars former Doctor Who actor John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness. ... A BBC spokeswoman said last night: 'We are not confirming any developments at this moment.'" Of course, this would be the second K9/Sarah Jane spinoff for the series, the first having been the short-lived (one episode) "K9 and Company" from 1980.

A BBC Press Office press release notes that Worldwide "has concluded a two-year agreement with SKAI, the new Greek terrestrial television channel launching on 1 April 2006, to televise over 500 hours of drama, factual and news and current affairs programming. The titles range from dramas such as Spooks and Doctor Who to documentaries, including Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, Space Odyssey - Voyage to the Planets and three history titles looking at the Ancient Wonders of Jerusalem, Greece and the Holy Land. In addition, the deal, which guarantees at least 250 hours of BBC programming a year for the next two years, includes some of the best titles from the BBC's wildlife and news and current affairs archives, with the most popular programmes from such titles as Panorama, Correspondent, Wildlife on One and Natural World. For SKAI it is important to be able to rely on a constant supply of programming of consistently high quality: 'SKAI aims to reach a large proportion of discerning viewers with a brand of highly successful and informative programming," said Dora Pakas, Managing Director of SKAI. 'We firmly believe that this partnership with BBC Worldwide will secure for our viewers a broad range of documentaries, dramas and factual programming that will educate, fascinate and entertain. We look forward to continuing this strong relationship with BBC Worldwide in the future,' she concluded. Ben Donald, BBC Worldwide Head of Northern Mediterranean, said: 'This deal includes an extraordinary range of quality television and shows the BBC at its very best - gripping family drama, epic historical documentaries, glorious wildlife programmes and insightful current affairs titles. It is fantastic to start our relationship with SKAI with such high-profile programming.'"

David Tennant has done an exclusive interview with the fans at the unofficial website david-tennant.com in which he reveals, "Billie and I are on set together all the time so she's my constant pal. We get on really well, she's very funny and we have a real laugh. It obviously helps to be working with someone that you get along with so well. ... It's not overwhelming. It's a bit weird, but it's not that bad, I can still travel on the tube. Obviously it is a bit strange that the press like to take an interest in things that I do. Billie has been great though because obviously she has been dealing with it since she was about 13 or something."

More reviews of Noel Clarke's film "Kidulthood" which opens Friday.EntertainmentWise says, "'Kidulthood' probably won't gain the international acclaim that 'Four Weddings' got but its imminent release in the UK has got the press excited and is a positive sign that there is a new era dawning for British filmmaking About as far away from 'Notting Hill' as you can get in terms of subject matter; geographically 'Kidulthood' couldn't be closer. Set just one change and a couple of stops on the tube away on the council estates of Ladbroke Grove, the film presents us with a day in the lives of a class of troubled teenage school children.... Written by Noel Clarke (winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for most promising new comer in 2003), who also plays Sam, and based on his real life experiences, this film feels like an honest portrayal of the lives of 'disadvantaged' teenagers in London. The film bursts with energy, driven on by the music of Dizzie Rascal and The Streets amongst others, and it ends perfectly with a scene equally infused with hope and despair. Check it out." Also, Times Online says "While the UK's film industry complains about the difficulty of financing local feature films, spare a thought for film-makers whose vision doesn't reflect that of London's film-funding establishment. After a near four-year struggle from first draft to screen, the director Menhaj Huda and actor-screenwriter Noel Clarke see their West London teenage grime drama Kidulthood released this week. .. Now that Kidulthood is finally released, Clarke is in demand as a screenwriter, with a major TV project in progress, while Huds is thinking big. 'My motivation comes from Luc Besson more than anyone else. He managed to change French cinema from being arty and sexy to cool, and he's still doing it with The Transporter and Unleashed. Look at Unleashed: filmed in Glasgow, virtually a British cast. Why can't we do films like that?'" TheFinancial Times says, the film "is pacy, racy and full of promise: 90 minutes in the company of multi-ethnic schoolkids doing what kids do in cruel Britannia. There are drugs, sex, bullying – girl-on-girl is even worse than boy-on-boy – and gang warfare. You believe every minute, just as you do when someone corners you in a dark alley and indicates an interest in banging your head into the ground. Menhaj Huda directed. Noel Clarke wrote the script and plays the main role. They should be given a sackful of money to make more films." However, The Evening Standard says, "We know that they will all suffer something like damnation. But the film is never put into an effective social or political context. What we get instead is a portrait of disaffected youth but with no clue about its cause or what we should do about it. Which isn't quite enough."

TV Zone magazine (issue 200) has an interview with Julie Gardner, executive producer of the new series. Some of it is online at their websitewhich notes, "The common thread linking these three programmes is the involvement of BBC Wales's Head of Drama, Julie Gardner. In taking on the Doctor Who commission, she has had a large part to play in the current vogue for TV drama – 'British' being the key word, as one of the distinctive features of the current wave of drama commissions is the move towards production in the regions… 'There's a determination to do more out-of-London production,' says Gardner. 'There is an absolute determination to represent as many areas of the UK as possible, which is absolutely right for a public service broadcaster. From where I sit, I think the most important thing is the stories that writers want to tell, and the confidence that I hope they now feel in coming to me with ideas that sound quite mad, or quite bold. Some of those stories are set in Cardiff, like Torchwood; at the same time, they can come to me with ideas like Casanova, that filmed out of Manchester and filmed in Venice and Dubrovnik. I think it's confidence, really; it just opens things up and gives people the flexibility to work wherever they want to, with the people they want to.'" The magazine also lists their TV Top 200 of the Best ('from iconic moments, to stand-out episodes, to classic series') and their number 1 is Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child: ""A police box in a junk yard - somewhere it has no business to be. And it definitely shouldn't be vibrating... Doctor Who really had to have the top slot - and not just because it defined the childhood of every member of the TV Zone team. Not just because it was the little series that lasted far longer than even its most fervent champions could have dreamed, and then refused to accept its death sentence and then came back in the process shook up every television industry expectation. It's more than that. It's one of the three great popular cultural myths of the last 200 years, along with James Bond and Sherlock Holmes. Star Trek fans will rail at its exclusion from that list... To the general public, Trek means Kirk and Spock and maybe Picard, and no-one has been foolish enough to suggest recasting them (yet). But you can recast Holmes, and Bond, and the Doctor, and they remain as as successful as ever, as new actors bring new aspects to the character that's grabbed the public's attention. And it all starts here. Two ordinary Humans, realising too late where their curiosity has led them. A frightened, paranoid old man, who's yet to experience the friendships that will turn him into a hero. A voyage into Time and Space that beat anything Hollywood had to offer, according to a reviewer at the time... and an episode that still enthralled when a Guardian reviewer finally saw it 18 years later, courtesy of a BBC2 repeat. The best moment in television's history? Well, possibly not. But the one that should definitely be cherished above all? Definitely."

(Thanks to Steve Tribe, Peter Weaver, and Paul Engelberg)

The next issue of Enlightenment, the magazine of the Doctor Who Information Network, has been released. Issue #132 contains "Who Conquered North America": What does the sale of the new series to Sci Fi mean for Doctor Who in the USA?; A Two-Four and the Cybermen: Our intrepid viewers enjoy their alcoholic beverages while watching 14 episodes worth of the silver giants; Why can't the classic series merchandise be better integrated with new series merchandise?; Lance Parkin on the writing of AHistory; And: reviews of all the latest books, audios and DVDs. For more details visit the website.

The previously reported "Doctor Who Friday," the children's BBC series accompanying the next series of Doctor Who, is now going under the nameTotally Doctor Who, Outpost Gallifrey has learned. The producer is Simon Hall (a CBBC staffing producer/director who recently did Beckham's Hotshots) and the show is produced by the Children's Department.

BBC Audiobooks have issued a press release for The Dalek Conquests, a new CD release that we first reported on in December. The release is attached below and the cover illustration for the release is at right; click on the thumbnail image for a larger version.

The nominations for this year's Broadcasting Press Guild Programme Awards 2006 were published this morning, and Doctor Who is nominated five times in four categories. The shortlist for Best drama series contains just two shows, Doctor Who and Bleak House, while Russell T Davies is shortlisted for the Writer's award for Doctor Who and Casanova, against the writing team for The Thick of It Andrew Davies for Bleak House. Billie Piper is one of five nominees for the Best actress award, alongside Anna Maxwell Martin, who guest-starred in 'The Long Game' and is listed for her lead role in Bleak House. The shortlist for Best actor includes both of 2005's Doctors, with Christopher Eccleston nominated for Doctor Who and David Tennant for Doctor Who, Casanova and Secret Smile. The Awards will be presented on Friday 31 March; more details will be available at the Guild's website. This morning's (Thursday 2 March) Media Guardian carries registration-only reports on the nominations in "Timelords tussle for TV award" (story) and "Broadcasting Press Guild Programme Awards 2006" (story), and the announcement has also been picked up by the UK comedy guide, Chortle (link). (Thanks to Steve Tribe, Cliff Chapman)