FOX Germany announces Series 8 "simulcast" with BBC One

Tuesday, 3 June 2014 - Reported by Chuck Foster and Pascal Salzmann

FOX Germany have announced their intention to broadcast the next series of Doctor Who at the same time as or as near as possible to its transmission in the United Kingdom - making it the first station in the world to present a series alongside its traditional "home"!

The episodes, which will be available to watch in both a German-dubbed version or the original English soundtrack, will be aired as close to the actual transmission on BBC One as is practical - the UK schedules can vary from week to week depending upon other programming and events, whereas German schedules are less 'fluid' - as the press release cites, should the series air at 8:00pm in the UK then it would air at 9:00pm in Germany.

Marco de Ruiter, Managing Director for FOX, said:

Wir sind stolz darauf, gemeinsam mit der BBC Fernsehgeschichte schreiben zu dürfen und die Kultserie DOCTOR WHO erstmals als Globale Premiere in Deutschland, Österreich und in der Schweiz zeigen zu können - und zwar auf Deutsch und Englisch. DOCTOR WHO -Fans sind ähnlich leidenschaftlich wie THE WALKING DEAD-Fans, die jeder Tag schmerzt, den sie auf neue Episoden warten müssen. Wir freuen uns, ab sofort die Wartezeit gleich null setzen zu können.

We, together with the BBC, are proud to write TV history and broadcast the cult tv show DOCTOR WHO for the first time as a global premiere in Germany, Austria and Switzerland – in German and English. DOCTOR WHO-fans are as passionate as THE WALKING DEAD-fans, who are in pain every day they have to wait for the new episodes. We are very happy to reduce the waiting time to zero.

The actual premiere date and time in August has yet to be confirmed.

Back in November, the channel narrowly missed being part of the global simulcast of The Day of the Doctor, broadcasting the episode some ten minutes later at 9:00pm local time. Similarly, The Time of the Doctor was broadcast about an hour later in Germany, though FOX were the first to show the festive episode after the UK.

Doctor Who is a daily fixture on FOX, with this week seeing the run reach Series 4.

FILTER: - Series 8/34 - International Broadcasting - Germany

Barbara Murray 1929-2014

Thursday, 29 May 2014 - Reported by Marcus

The actress Barbara Murray has died at the age of 84.

Barbara Murray appeared in Doctor Who in 1982, playing Lady Cranleigh in the story Black Orchid, alongside fifth Doctor Peter Davison.

Born in London in 1929, Murray made her stage debut in 1949 working in regional rep at the Newcastle Playhouse. Later that year she appeared in her first film, Badger’s Green before appearing as Shirley Pemberton in the classic Ealing comedy Passport to Pimlico.

Her success in the movies led to a string of roles on the small screen, where she became a familiar face, with a career spanning five decades. Some of her more memorable TV roles include parts in The Pallisers, His and Hers, Never a Cross Word, The Power Game and The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling.

West End appearances included the thriller Wait Until Dark , the comedy Flip Side and the play An Ideal Husband. She also appeared with Peter O’Toole in Pygmalion and opposite John Mills in Little White Lies. On Broadway she appeared briefly at the Biltmore Theatre in Leslie Weiner’s comedy about a family-run lingerie business, In the Counting House.

Barbara Murray retired to Spain where, earlier this year, she fell and broke her hip. She died in hospital May 20, aged 84.

She was twice married and divorced, and is survived by three daughters from her first marriage to the actor John Justin.

FILTER: - Obituary - Classic Series

Singer-Songwriter Foxes to appear in Doctor Who

Thursday, 29 May 2014 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC have reported that the Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Louisa Rose Allen, better known as Foxes, will feature in the new series of Doctor Who:

Speaking about her casting, she said:

I can't believe I'm actually going to be in an episode of Doctor Who! Especially as it all came about from a chance meeting. I was playing a gig and got chatting to the show's production team who'd been watching my performance. I was telling them how much I loved Doctor Who and next thing they invited me to be on it. I couldn't think of a better place to make my acting debut than on one of the UK's most iconic shows!

Lead writer Steven Moffat said:

We are completely thrilled that the amazingly talented Foxes is joining us on board ... well, you'll see. Let's just say, the Doctor is finally catching up on his phone calls.

The singer took time off from her UK tour for her album Glorious to undertake filming yesterday; she will also be performing a track for the series.

FILTER: - Production - Series 8/34

Classic Doctor Who comes to Retro TV

Wednesday, 28 May 2014 - Reported by Marcus

Retro TV, the American network that airs classic television shows, has signed a deal with BBC Worldwide to show classic episodes of Doctor Who across the United States.

The deal will see episodes from the first thirty years of the series screened on the channel, which currently airs such classics as The Lucy Show, Petticoat Junction, The Beverly Hillbillies, Highway to Heaven, Naked City and I Spy.

The channel has a licence to show all the classic episodes that are currently available from BBC Worldwide, just under 500 in all, covering the adventures of the first seven Doctors. 695 episodes were originally made, with 97 still missing from the BBC archives after being destroyed in the 1970's.

The deal was welcomed by Matthew Golden Vice President of Production at Luken Communications.

We couldn't be more excited to make legendary classic episodes of Doctor Who available nationwide. The series is an institution, and we're proud to give fans new and old the opportunity to experience this groundbreaking series from the very beginning.

Classic Doctor Who episodes have been seen in the states on Public Television since the 1970's, and selected stories were shown on BBC America to celebrate the series 50th Anniversary.

Doctor Who will makes its debut on Retro TV this summer.

FILTER: - USA - Classic Series

Doctor Who return confirmed for August 2014

Friday, 23 May 2014 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC have confirmed that the next series of Doctor Who will have its premiere in the United Kingdom during August 2014.

BREAKING NEWS! The new series of #DoctorWho starts August, 2014! pic.twitter.com/OZN1NxGp4w
— Doctor Who Official (@bbcdoctorwho) May 23, 2014

No day has been specified as yet, though previous series have been known to air from Bank Holiday weekends.

BBC Teaser Trailer

FILTER: - UK - Leading News - Series 8/34

Frank Skinner confirmed for Doctor Who role

Friday, 16 May 2014 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC today announced that comedian Frank Skinner will be playing a role in the new series of Doctor Who. The Room 101 presenter, who previously cameoed in Peter Davison's 50th Anniversary's tribute The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, is to feature in the episode written by Jamie Mathieson, whose story is in the current filming block directed by Paul Wilmshurst.

Skinner, a long-term fan, said:

I love this show. I subscribe to Dr Who magazine, I've got a TARDIS ringtone, a five-foot cardboard Dalek in my bedroom and when I got the call saying they wanted me to read for the part, I was in the back of my tour bus watching episode three of The Sensorites. I am beyond excited.

Lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat commented:

It's no secret that Frank's been pitching vigorously to get into Doctor Who for a while. He's been volunteering to be 'third monster on the left' as long as I've been in this job. But now, in Jamie Mathieson's sparkling script, we finally have a part that can showcase all of Frank's famous wit and charm. Hopefully he'll get out of my garden now.

Mathieson commented on the casting on his blog:

I was a stand up for a living for quite a few years. When I was trying to figure out how to do it in 1996, his first two stand up videos were part of my boot camp, so there is a nice synchronicity for me to be writing lines for him to deliver nearly twenty years later.

The episode will also feature the return of two more 'classic' series guest stars: Janet Henfrey appeared as Mrs Hardaker in the seventh Doctor adventure The Curse of Fenric in 1989; and Christopher Villiers hails back to the fifth Doctor era, appearing as Hugh in 1983's The King's Demons. Other guest stars announced include David Bamber (Rome, What Remains) and Daisy Beaumont (The Armstrong and Miller Show, A Touch of Cloth, You, Me, and Them).

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Guest Stars - Production - Series 8/34

Germany DVD/Blu-ray update

Tuesday, 13 May 2014 - Written by Pascal Salzmann

Written by Pascal Salzmann

Pandastorm Pictures, a German media distributor, is planning to release "classic" Doctor Who on DVD. The distributor posted an appeal to fans on several German online forums, asking if there are people out there who had recorded the original German-dubbed broadcasts of Seasons 22-26, which aired on RTL Plus (1989/1993) and VOX (1995).

As the German-dubbed language tracks of some of the episodes are missing in the archives, Pandastorm is especially searching for the following episodes:

Angriff der Kybermänner, Teil 1-4 (Attack Of The Cybermen, Part 1-4)
Revolte auf Varos, Teil 1-4 (Vengeance On Varos, Part 1-4)
Die Rache des Meisters, Teil 1, 3 (The Mark Of The Rani, Part 1, 3)
Androiden in Sevilla, Teil 1, 3-6 (The Two Doctors, Part 1, 3-6)
Das Amulett, Teil 1-4 (Timelash, Part 1-4)
Planet der Toten, Teil 1-4 (Revelation Of The Daleks, Part 1-4)
Das Urteil, Teil 1, 5, 10 (The Trial Of A Timelord, Part 1, 5, 10)
Excaliburs Vermächtnis, Teil 2, 3 (Battlefield, Part 2, 3)
Das Haus der tausend Schrecken, Teil 2 (Ghost Light, Part 2)
Der Tod auf leisen Sohlen, Teil 2 (Survival, Part 2)

Since its appeal, Pandastorm sent out an email to anyone who has contacted it so far:

Liebe Doctor Who Fans,
für das überwältigende Feedback möchten wir uns sehr herzlich bedanken, damit haben wir nicht gerechnet. Wir haben als erstes den Luxemburg-Hinweis aus dem Forum aufgenommen und lassen gerade prüfen, ob sich die fehlenden Folgen dort im alten RTLplus-Archiv befinden. Einige von euch haben uns auch den Kontakt zum damaligen Verantwortlichen der Synchronisation geschickt, den wir danach angehen werden. Je nachdem was sich aus dieser Suche ergibt, werden wir uns dann bei einigen von euch melden, was die noch fehlenden Tonspuren angeht.

Dear Doctor Who fans,
Thank you very much for your overwhelming feedback, we did not expect this at all. We will first follow your advice on the forums to have a look at the RTLplus Archives in Luxemburg. Some of you sent us the contact details of the dubbing director back then. Whatever comes out of these options, we will then contact some of you for the still missing language tracks.

Pandastorm also posted on its Facebook page that it is still at the beginning stages and will have further news on the releases in 3 to 4 months. It cannot say yet if it is going to release season boxed sets or single story releases but it is trying to get the rights to every bonus feature available.

Meanwhile, the previously reported German (and right now the only European) Blu-ray release of An Adventure in Space and Time is now up for pre-order on Amazon DE. It contains all the bonus features of the British DVD release and the original English language track. A DVD version is also available.

An Adventure In Space and Time (German cover)

Ein Abenteuer in Raum und Zeit (available for pre-order)

„Ein Abenteuer in Raum und Zeit“ reist zurück in das Jahr 1963, zurück zur Geburtsstunde eines Phänomens, zur Entstehung der bis heute laut dem Guinessbuch der Rekorde erfolgreichsten und am längsten laufenden Science-Fiction-Serie der Welt: DOCTOR WHO. Der BBC-Klassiker feierte am 23.11.2013 sein 50. Jubiläum. Großbritannien, 1963: Der neu berufene BBC-Drama-Chef Sydney Newman (Brian Cox) ist auf der Suche nach einem halbstündigen Samstag-Abend-Format, das sich an Kinder richtet, aber auch Erwachsene unterhält. Es wurde die Idee für eine Science-Fiction-Serie rund um einen mysteriösen Außerirdischen namens Doctor Who geboren. Kurzerhand befördert er seine ehemalige Assistentin Verity (Jessica Raine) zur Produzentin und betraut die junge, noch unerfahrene Frau mit dem ebenfalls noch jungen Regisseur Waris Hussein (Sacha Dhawan) mit der Produktion. Innerhalb der BBC glaubt anfangs niemand an die Idee des neuen Drama-Chefs. Die Einschaltquoten sind enttäuschend, aber Verity hat noch ein As im Ärmel ...

FILTER: - WHO50 - Classic Series - Germany - Blu-ray/DVD

Hermione Norris announced for new series role

Monday, 12 May 2014 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC today announced that Hermione Norris has been cast in the new series of Doctor Who. The actress will appear in the latest episode to be filmed, written by Peter Harness and directed by Paul Wilmshurst, which will also see filming undertaken at a location previously seen in the fifth Doctor adventure, Planet of Fire.

Lead writer/Executive Producer Steven Moffat said:

It's a testament to the quality of Peter Harness's intense and emotional script, that we've been able to attract an actress of the brilliance of Hermione Norris. And for the first time since 1984, the Doctor Who production team is heading to Lanzarote. The Doctor is returning to the scene of an old adventure - but there have been sinister changes since his last visit.

Norris said:

It's exciting to be part of such an iconic show, and one that my kids can watch!!!

The actress has had a number of memorable roles on television, including Ros Myers in Spooks, Beatrice in Kingdom, and DCI Carol Jordan in Wire in the Blood; her sci-fi credentials include playing Stella Isen in Outcasts. She can currently be seen in the BBC drama The Crimson Field.

Also announced for this episode is Tony Osoba, joining the relatively small 'club' of actors to appear in both the 'classic' and new series of Doctor Who. This will be his third appearance (and Doctor!) in the series: the actor previously appeared as the Movellan Lan in fourth Doctor adventure Destiny of the Daleks and as Kracauer in seventh Doctor tale Dragonfire.

FILTER: - Guest Stars - Production - Series 8/34

DWM publishes official guide to 2013 series

Tuesday, 22 April 2014 - Reported by John Bowman

The Official Guide To The 2013 Series of Doctor Who has been published by Doctor Who Magazine. Researched and compiled by Andrew Pixley, it spans 132 pages and is the 37th special edition from the Panini-owned title.

Billed as "the essential guide to Matt Smith's final season as the Doctor", the guide has in-depth articles covering the episodes The Snowmen, The Bells of Saint John, The Rings of Akhaten, Cold War, Hide, Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, The Crimson Horror, Nightmare in Silver and The Name of the Doctor and, says DWM, is "packed with previously unpublished photos, day-to-day details of Doctor Who's production and hundreds of fascinating new facts."

It is available from the usual outlets.

The Night of the Doctor, The Day of the Doctor and The Time of the Doctor will be covered in the next special, DWM told Doctor Who News.

FILTER: - Magazines - DWM - Series 7/33

Classic DVDs compendium to be published

Friday, 18 April 2014 - Reported by John Bowman

A guide to the DVD releases of the original run of Doctor Who is to be published by Wonderful Books.

The Classic Doctor Who DVD Compendium, by Paul Smith, is due out this summer.

The publisher said in a press statement:

The original series of Doctor Who ran on television for 26 years, telling thrilling stories of monsters and marvels that enthralled children and adults alike. It has taken half that time to issue all those adventures on DVD, but finally you can now watch every archived episode* in pristine quality. If the prospect of setting out on such a venture daunts you, however, then fear not because The Classic Doctor Who DVD Compendium will guide you every step of the way.

Every disc, every episode, every extra is collated, chronicled and cross-referenced in this complete guide to classic Doctor Who on DVD, with spoiler-free story outlines so no surprises are ruined for those still discovering the original series, suggestions for similar tales to those you already know you like, information on the extensive restoration work that has made the episodes look better than they ever have, and details of the wealth of special features on every disc that expand your knowledge of the worlds of Doctor Who - all fully indexed for easy reference.

If you're only just learning about the long story of Doctor Who then The Classic Doctor Who DVD Compendium will guide you through the adventure ahead. If you're still building your collection it will help you discover further stories you're sure to enjoy, and if you already have every release, this book will be your ultimate companion to the complete range.

*Okay, there's still one to go.

Previous publications by Wonderful Books have included The Wonderful Book of Doctor Who 1965 and the Doctor Who 8th Anniversary Special, as well as Time & Space Visualiser.

FILTER: - Books - Classic Series

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