FIND THE LOCUS! ON DVD 16TH NOVEMBER (pre-order from Amazon)


Downtime is a unique British 1995 sci-fi movie from the Doctor Who universe (but unofficial) featuring treasured characters and talent from the franchise and only now released on DVD - it's a must see for fans of the Time Lord.

We follow The Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney - Doctor Who) and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen - Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures) of UNIT who investigate New World University; a sinister school run by Victoria Waterfield and Professor Travers. The technology obsessed University holds a gateway to Earth made by classic foe the 'Great Intelligence'. Fighting alone this time - without their famous time-travelling scientific advisor - The Brigadier and Sarah Jane are hard pressed to decide who is friend or foe as they search for a missing Locus, which binds the Intelligence's power. The battle is broadened when the Brigadier's own family is threatened and UNIT faces a powerful new breed of Yeti!

Downtime is an unofficial sequel to the Second Doctor serials The Abominable Snowmen and The Web of Fear written by celebrated Doctor Who author Marc Platt.


Starring Nicholas Courtney, Deborah Watling, Jack Watling and Elisabeth Sladen reprising their roles as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Victoria Waterfield, Professor Edward Travers and Sarah Jane Smith, respectively. Written by Mark Platt and Directed by Christopher Barry and Keith Barnfather.

It has been brought to my attention that Reeltime Pictures and One Media are releasing Downtime, the Doctor Who spin-off film made in 1995, on DVD. This is being done so without my consent or permission. As Executor of the Haisman Literary Estate, and thus copyright holder of Lethbridge-Stewart, Professor Travers, the Great Intelligence and the Yeti I should have been approached over this.

Attempts to negotiate have fallen on deaf ears, and my rightful claim has been refuted the producers. I have now been forced to take legal action to protect the copyright of my grandfather, Mervyn Haisman, after their refusal to renegotiate an agreement made twenty years ago for a film made for straight-to-video release only.

Reeltime Pictures has been approached by Hannah Hatt regarding the agreement we signed with her grandfather, Mervyn, in 1995. As we explained to her, the agreement is still in force and covers any exploitation that we might choose to undertake. Certainly no other party involved in the project has raised an issue with their agreements and we have assured her that no renegotiation is necessary.

There is little else we can do at this time other than to wait upon any legal representation she might make.

Commentaries have long been a favourite part of my viewing of any of the classic Who DVDs, and we thought it was a huge shame to let these two brilliant stories pass under the radar, and set about gathering quite a stellar line-up to commentate on them.

The only way we can make these and future releases viable is by fans supporting the project and buying copies, rather than bootlegging them. Were there to be any future returns - and I'm sure we're all hopeful of that - then we would want to be able to look at repeating the exercise because it's a hugely culturally important one.

The Underwater Menace
Release date: 26 Oct 2015 UK (available for pre-order)


Special Features:

• Commentary - For episode 1, Interview with actor Michael Troughton Part 2 (from The Ice Warriors). For episodes 2 and 3, a commentary with actors Anneke Wills, Frazer Hines and Catherine Howe, special sounds supervisor Brian Hodgson and floor assistant Quentin Mann. For episode 4, archive material featuring Patrick Troughton, directors Julia Smith and Hugh David, and producer Innes Lloyd. Moderated and linked by Toby Hadoke.
• A Fishy Tale (Feature, dur. 28’ 30”) – cast and crew look back on the making of the story. With actors Anneke Wills, Frazer Hines and Catherine Howe, AFM Gareth Gwenlan, production assistant Berry Butler and new series writer Robert Shearman. Narrated by Peter Davison.
• The Television Centre of the Universe – Part Two (dur. 32’ 10” ) – Yvette Fielding continues her tour of BBC Television Centre in the company of actors Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson, with contributions from former colleagues along the way. With senior camera supervisor Alec Wheal, AFM Sue Hedden, former BBC producer and writer Richard Marson, exhibitions assistant Bob Richardson, production assistant Jane Ashford and videotape engineer Simon Anthony.

Fully remastered Episodes 2 and 3.
Commentary on Episodes 2 and 3: a traditional commentary with actors Anneke Wills, Frazer Hines, Brian Hodgson, Catherine Howe, and Quentin Mann moderated by Toby Hadoke.
“Fishy Tales” – making of documentary
Tales of TV Centre – part 2
Programme subtitles.
Subtitle Production Notes.

*Extras TBC

Doctor Who - The Complete First Series
Region B Blu-ray
Release date: 31 August 2015 (available for pre-order)

All 13 episodes from the first series of the relaunched sci-fi adventure drama, written by Russell T. Davies and starring Christopher Eccleston as the legendary Time Lord.

In this series, the Doctor meets new companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) while saving her from the living-plastic Nestene Consciousness, before taking her on adventures through time and space, where she meets Charles Dickens (Simon Callow), tries to save her father from dying when she was a child, and helps the Doctor and Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) battle the evil Daleks and save the world.

The episodes are: 'Rose', 'The End of the World', 'The Unquiet Dead', 'Aliens of London', 'World War Three', 'Dalek', 'The Long Game', 'Father's Day', 'The Empty Child', 'The Doctor Dances', 'Boom Town', 'Bad Wolf' and 'The Parting of the Ways'.

Doctor Who - The Complete Second Series
Region B Blu-ray
Release date: 31 August 2015 (available for pre-order)

All 14 episodes from the second series of the relaunched sci-fi adventure drama, starring David Tennant as the latest incarnation of the legendary Time Lord.

In this series, the tenth Doctor takes companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) to New Earth and struggles to overcome the effects of regeneration. In the opening Christmas episode London is deluged by Santa Claus impersonators and Christmas trees intent on malice. Mankind is threatened by a planetary invasion and there's only the Prime Minister to battle it out.

The episodes are: 'The Christmas Invasion', 'New Earth', 'Tooth and Claw', 'School Reunion', 'The Girl in the Fireplace', 'Rise of the Cybermen', 'The Age of Steel', 'The Idiot's Lantern', 'The Impossible Planet', 'The Satan Pit', 'Love and Monsters', 'Fear Her', 'Army of Ghosts' and 'Doomsday'.

Doctor Who - The Complete Third Series
Region B Blu-ray
Release date: 31 August 2015 (available for pre-order)

All 14 episodes from the third series of the relaunched sci-fi adventure drama, starring David Tennant as the latest incarnation of the legendary Time Lord.

In this series, the Doctor is joined by new companion Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) as he encounters old enemies including the Daleks and the Master (Derek Jacobi).

The episodes are: 'The Runaway Bride', 'Smith and Jones', 'The Shakespeare Code', 'Gridlock', 'Daleks in Manhattan', 'Evolution of the Daleks', 'The Lazarus Experiment', '42', 'Human Nature', 'The Family of Blood', 'Blink', 'Utopia', 'The Sound of Drums' and 'Last of the Timelords'.

Doctor Who - The Complete Fourth Series
Region B Blu-ray
Release date: 31 August 2015 (available for pre-order)

All 14 episodes from the fourth series of the relaunched sci-fi adventure drama, starring David Tennant as the latest incarnation of the legendary Time Lord.

In this series, the Doctor is joined by new companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) as the pair venture through time and space, visiting ancient Pompeii and the planet of the Ood while also meeting the mysterious River Song (Alex Kingston).

The episodes are: 'Voyage of the Damned', 'Partners in Crime', 'The Fires of Pompeii', 'Planet of the Ood', 'The Sontaran Stratagem', 'The Poison Sky', 'The Doctor's Daughter', 'The Unicorn and the Wasp', 'Silence in the Library', 'Forest of the Dead', 'Midnight', 'Turn Left', 'The Stolen Earth' and 'Journey's End'.