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.

Mad Norwegian Press' forthcoming six-part About Time series, detailed guidebooks to the original Doctor Who series by Lawrence Miles and Tat Wood, have undergone a slight change. The books have been "reformatted to divide the TV show by Seasons rather than Doctors," says editor Lars Pearson. "This leaves the great bulk of the text unchanged, but the books will now be divided as follows: Volume 1 (Seasons 1 to 3); Volume 2 (Seasons 4 to 6); Volume 3 (Seasons 7 to 11); Volume 4 (Seasons 12 to 17); Volume 5 (Seasons 18 to 21); Volume 6 (Seasons 22 to 26, the TV Movie). Note that this alters most of the books only slightly, and some such as Volume 3 --- which details the Pertwee era --- aren't affected at all. The main change is that Season 18, Tom Baker's last season, is now paired with the Davison volume." The first volume in release, the Pertwee book (#3), is due in October; the cover illustration for that and the subsequent release (#4) are below - click on each for a larger version. (Thanks to Lars Pearson)

Issue #123 of SFX Magazine, due out on September 29, features a conversation with new series producer Russell T Davies. "It was when I saw the TARDIS interior," Davies tells SFX about his most exciting moment. "I was lucky, cause I'd been trapped at home, writing episode seven, and only saw it in studio half-built. So my first sight of it was fully lit, on a glorious wide shot, on the rushes. The second best day of my whole working life." Davies also discusses the Dalek situation: "We had the script written and ready to go, and then the bad news came, that we couldn't forge a deal... So a rewrite was commissioned - same story, new monster. There was no need to think of a completely new story, cause the original idea's so good, Dalek or no Dalek. The script was rewritten - and it was great, we were all really happy with it. It was only a first draft, and still smacked slightly of 'this creature used to be a Dalek'. It would make a good book one day, I suppose, that little bit of Who history. Certainly a good article - there's even some artwork to back it up! But then again, I might still use the New Enemy one day, so that embargoes the material for a few years." Pick up the magazine for full details. (Thanks to Ian Berriman/SFX)

As expected, the release of Horror of Fang Rock on DVD in the UK in January is even more confirmed than when Outpost Gallifrey announced it last week -- there's a new article in the DVD section of the Doctor Who Restoration Teamwebsite.

According to the Doctor Who Appreciation Society, there are some names we can add to our list of cast and crew for the new series production. Cast members in at least one story, likely one of the stories already completed, are actors Basil Chung and Fiesta Mei Ling as "an old Chinese couple", and Corey Doabe as a "spray-painting kid". On the production side, the following names have been linked to the first block of stories (directed by Keith Boak): Lowri Thomas, Unit Manager; James DaHaviland and Steff Morris, Assistant Directors; Patrick Begley, Props; andIan Richardson, Sound. The action vehicles -- likely the ones seen in the Cardiff shoot from late July/early August outside the Albion Hospital set (see the photo gallery) -- were provided by Millers Action. (Thanks to DWAS / Chuck Foster)

Telos Publishing announces the first nonfiction book covering the launch of next year's new Doctor Who television series, to be released during the summer of 2005, shortly after the first season is transmitted. Back To The Vortex: The Unofficial and Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who 2005 is written by J. Shaun Lyon, the editor of Outpost Gallifrey, with an introduction penned by Philip David Segal, the last television producer of Doctor Who (the 1996 TV movie starring Paul McGann), and cover montage illustration by noted Polish artist Dariusz Jasiczak (who did the frontispiece illustration for Telos' Doctor Who novella "Ghost Ship".)

Back to the Vortex is a two-part deconstruction of the new Doctor Who series. The first section is a primer on the time period between the announcement of the new series and the start of transmission, from the perspective of the outside looking in -- the media coverage, the press and magazines, the location shoots and the hype, as well as biographies of the cast and crew, and how the entire event changed the way the world looks at the series. The second part is a detailed and exhaustively researched guide to the first season of the show, complete with episode breakdowns, casting, historical outlook, logic issues, continuity and technology, as well as a collection of critical review and analysis of each story from a variety of perspectives by professional and fan writers from five countries, including Keith Topping, Scott Alan Woodard, Graeme Burk, Sarah Hadley, Robert Franks, Paul Hayes, Simon Catlow, Cameron J. Mason and Jon Preddle.

The book will be released in the UK very shortly after transmission of the series in both softcover and signed, limited edition numbered hardcover signed by the author and Segal, and will be distributed overseas shortly thereafter. The press release is below; meanwhile, the cover illustration is at right -- click the thumbnail for a larger version. Further details will be available shortly on the Telos Publishing website, and there is a Back to the Vortex page with some background information and other details here at Outpost Gallifrey.

Standing Wave is a new stage play about the life and music of Delia Derbyshire, the ground-breaking electronic composer among whose most notable contributions is her arrangement of the Doctor Who theme. The press launch of the play featured a life-sized Dalek. Details about the play, which runs at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland from October 7, can be found at the Tron Theatre website. (Thanks to Ben Morris)

Could it be that Doctor Who is returning with the Daleks... but without the famous catchphrase, "Exterminate!" In anarticle in today's "The Sun," it is noted that "BBC chiefs have deemed the aliensÆ catchphrase too cheesy for modern audiences. A Beeb insider confirmed last night: 'Doctor Who fans may be upset. But although the word may have scared kiddies in 1963, today it would be laughed off screen.' The source said: 'The Daleks have said æexterminateÆ for more than 40 years but it never did them any good. The Doctor always won in the end.'" Of course, the Sun also claims that the Daleks returned only after their 'campaign' to bring the monsters back to the show; meanwhile, quoted elsewhere, Tim Hancock, agent for the estate of Daleks creator Terry Nation, says, "There are three scripts in the new series of Doctor Who that will feature the Daleks.ö However, the BBC won't confirm the number of episodes they appear in. The article is also on Sky News, Ananova and other web sources. (Thanks to Paul Engelberg & Steve Tribe)

Big Finish has released the cover for the fifth Dalek Empire III serial, The Warriors, due out in October. Click on the thumbnail for a larger version. Meanwhile, part four of Dalek Empire III as well as the current Eighth Doctor serial "Faith Stealer" have been released according to Big Finish.