Big Finish has released the titles of its forthcoming UNIT audio series. Part One is Time Heals by Iain McLaughlin and Claire Bartlett; part two is Snake Head by Jonathan Clements; part three is The Longest Night by Joseph Lidster; and part four is McLaughlin and BartlettÆs The Wasting. Also noted today is that a special 'prelude' adventure, The Coup by Simon Guerrier, with the new UNIT cast will be released with a forthcoming issue of Doctor Who Magazine prior to the start of the series (so likely, the November or December issue). More casting and other UNIT details were previously announced here on the OG news page.

Also updated today, the full list of stories for Short Trips: A Christmas Treasury edited by Paul Cornell. The stories include "Last Christmas" by Simon Guerrier, "UNIT Christmas Parties: First Christmas" by Nick Wallace, "In the TARDIS: Christmas Day" by Val Douglas, "Water's Edge" by Peter Adamson, "Who the Dickens?" by Juliet E. McKenna, "Spookasem" by Peter Anghelides, "Christmas Special" by Marc Platt, "Never Seen Cairo" by Darren Sellars, "The Man Who (Nearly) Killed Christmas" by Mark Michalowski, "Last Minute Shopping" by Neil Perryman, "Every Day" by Stephen Fewell, "The Eight Doctors of Christmas" by Matthew Griffiths, "The Little Things" by Paul Beardsley, "UNIT Christmas Parties: Christmas Truce" by Terrance Dicks, "The Clanging Chimes of Doom" by Jonathan Morris, "Perfect Present" by Andy Campbell, "Present Tense" by Ian Potter, "Good Will Toward Men" by J. Shaun Lyon, "It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow" by Martin Day, "All Our Christmasses" by Steve Lyons, "Lily" by Jackie Marshall, "A Yuletide Tail" by Dave Stone, "Be Forgot" by Cavan Scott & Mark Wright, "The Feast of Seven. Eight (and Nine)" by Vanessa Bishop, "UNIT Christmas Parties: Ships That Pass" by Karen Dunn, and "Evergreen" by Stephen Cole, with linking material by Paul Cornell.

There has also been a clarification regarding Her Final Flight, the subscriber-only CD release that was numbered #65 as part of the regular relases. After repeated queries about this, "we've opted thus to take Her Final Flight out of the sequential system and list it instead alongside The Maltese Penguin (our previous subscriber-only free disc), Real Time and Shada as a 'special'. Thus January's regular release, The Game becomes 65, The Juggernauts, 66 and so on." We do know from several correspondents who have checked that the story will be released at some point later for general availability, but likely not for the first year. They also mention a another subscriber-only free disc towards the end of next year.

The Big Finish site also mentions that part five of the "Dalek Empire III" series, The Warriors, and the ninth Short Trips volume, Short Trips: Monsters are now in release; and that they have re-released the four-CD set The John Nathan-Turner Memoirs as part of their "Talk Back" series with a new cover illustration. Finally, Big Finish does clarify that the reissues of older stories on the play.com website do not have new covers; the different illustration was simply for benefit of that site.

A recent story on the MediaGuardian site (registration required) lists the top 30 "hottest people, places and things this autumn," and one of the mentions is Doctor Who producer Russell T Davies. "The Queer as Folk creator has a national institution in his hands - Dr Who. Starring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, it's back on BBC1 next year. 'I can do what I want,' said Davies. 'The purists may be up in arms but there are more things to worry about in life.' Expect surprises. And Daleks." The third radio series of "The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy," currently airing on Radio 4 and via the internet, also made the list. (Thanks to Mark Williams)

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, the standard authoritative biographical reference work for the British past, published by Oxford University Press on September 23 in 60 print volumes and online at www.oxforddnb.com, includes several articles of interest to Doctor Who fans. Included for the first time are first Doctor William Hartnell(written by UK film historian Robert Sharp), third Doctor Jon Pertwee (written by David J. Howe), and producerSydney Newman and Daleks creator Terry Nation (written by Matthew Kilburn). While the dictionary itself is extraordinarily expensive, there are subscriptions available to the online edition for a far less obtrusive price; check the website for details. (Thanks to Matthew Kilburn)

Aviation pioneer Burt Rutan will be engaging the skies Wednesday with SpaceShipOne in hopes of winning the coveted Ansari X Prize for the first human commercial space flight, according to BBC News and CNN... and no, this isn't a Rutan invasion! (Our readers have very strange senses of humor, don't they?!)

An interview with John Barrowman, who plays the mysterious character of "Captain Jack" in the forthcoming first series of Doctor Who next year, appeared in last week's October edition of Gay Times in the UK. The interview mentions his forthcoming appearance in the same way a few other clues have happened, as more than a simple guest role. "Next year will see him appearing in the BBC's new series of Doctor Who, as the Doctor's male assistant opposite Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper. 'It's a dream come true for me because I watched Doctor Who as a kid in Scotland, and used to catch all the marathons on public TV in the States. When I got the news from my agent, I just stood in the street screaming. I mean... I'll be inside the Tardis!'" (Thanks to Chris Winwood)

Colin Baker appaered last weekend on "The Weakest Link," playing the game for charity. The theme of the episode was "TV Doctors" and of course our beloved Sixth Doc was in usual fine form, likening host Anne Robinson to the Rani because, although she was an evil villain, "you know she's wicked but at the same time you are drawn to her"... Good fun! (Thanks to John Pettigrew, Andrew Hinton)

According to a news report on BBC News -- widely reported elsewhere on the internet as well -- Mal Young is set to leave the BBC at the end of the year, joining 19 TV, creators of "Pop Idol" and US counterpart "American Idol," as director of drama. "I've had the happiest and most fulfilling seven years at the BBC, but when Simon approached me about he and I working together, it was a no-brainer," Young told BBC News. "I wasn't actively looking to leave the BBC, but this felt like the perfect fit." Mal Young is, of course, one of the developers of the new Doctor Who series, listed as an executive producer alongside Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner; however, this is not expected to impact the series in any way. Of course, Outpost Gallifrey would like to offer our best wishes to Mr. Young in his future endeavors, as well as our thanks for his involvement in the rebirth of the Doctor Who series on television. (Thanks to Paul Hayes, James Whittington and everyone else who wrote in!)

There is a vast amount of news coverage today (which we won't otherwise comment on) regarding personal developments in the private life of new series companion Billie Piper and her marriage to Chris Evans, covered here at the Daily Record, or here in The Sun, and elsewhere on the 'net.

Tom Baker has some things to say about the new show -- yet again! -- in an interview with today's The Guardian. "It's perhaps unsurprising, then, that Baker is wary of the forthcoming series of Doctor Who, in which Christopher Eccleston - the ninth TV incarnation - will allegedly tackle 'social issues' and 'romantic encounters'," says the article. "'Romance? Well, I shouldn't be surprised, really,' snaps Baker, who once tried to murder his former mother-in-law with a hoe. 'They'll do anything to make people watch. But the Doctor was always a mystery. We know he had two hearts, but what of the rest? Four lungs, four balls and a sonic screwdriver? AH-HAH-HAH! It's best to leave people guessing. ... I read an interview with the guy who's playing Dr Who,' he continues, audibly miffed. 'He was talking about Earth as if it was important! I was deeply, deeply disappointed. I mean, Christ, the next thing they'll be doing is talking about global warming. Oh, it's so sad, isn't it? I find a fantasy programme's preoccupation with this world so parochial.'" Indeed. You can read the full article, in which he talks about his new series of "Monarch of the Glen" at the link.