cyril shaps

Sunday, 19 January 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Cyril Shaps, a frequent guest star on many BBC programs with a lengthy film career, died January 1 in the UK. Among his roles were Rasputin The Mad Monk (1966), To Sir, With Love (1966), The Odessa File (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), The Spaceman And King Arthur (1979), Erik The Viking (1989), The Madness Of King George (1994), The End Of The Affair (1999), The Importance Of Being Earnest (2002) and the new film The Pianist (2003). He was in over 50 TV series including Quatermass II, The Persuaders!, QB VII, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, The Young Ones and Lovejoy, and portrayed the voice Professor Popkiss and Masterspy in Gerry Anderson's Supercar. He also made four appearances in Doctor Who: as John Viner inTomb of the Cybermen, Lennox in The Ambassadors of Death, Professor Clegg inPlanet of the Spiders, and the Archimandrite in The Androids of Tara (pictured, above right). Shaps was best-known in the UK for his long-running regular role as Rabbi Levi in the ITV sitcom Never Mind The Quality, Feel The Width (from 1967 to 1971). Shaps was an actor for more than 50 years. He was 79. (Thanks to Daniel Hirsch, Lee Horton, plus Kenneth Parker for the detailed bio info)

FILTER: - Obituary - Classic Series

daphne oram

Sunday, 19 January 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Daphne Oram, the co-founder of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, passed away on January 6 aged 77. Although Oram didn't work on Doctor Who directly, her work influenced it greatly; she "created an experimental early intelligent musical instrument called Oramics inspiring the modern electronic music industry of today," according to the BBC's internal magazine Ariel. "This charming, eccentric individual, who appeared at the college gate with her shopper trolley filled with oscilators, bits of electronic circuitry and a quarter inch tape machine, leaves behind a legacy of imaginative, alternative thinking as an inspiration to all composers from all musical genres. She very much wanted to remain until her dying day a 'useful' member of society. A true artist in the fullest sense of the word." Certainly her work inspired those who came after, including Doctor Who composers Ron Grainer and Delia Derbyshire. (Thanks to Jim Sangster)

FILTER: - Obituary

planet of giants & underworld

Sunday, 19 January 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

BBC Worldwide Americas has issued press releases for the forthcoming Planet of Giantsand Underworld VHS releases on May 6 in North America, including cover illustrations (click on the thumbnail for a larger version). Outpost Gallifrey previously confirmed these May releases last month. The details are as follows:

PLANET OF GIANTS
Warner Home Video #E1740

In an attempt to return Ian and Barbara to the twentieth century, the Doctor tries an unorthodox new technique. It causes the TARDIS doors to open in mid-flight, which sets alarms ringing inside the craft. The time travelers arrive on Earth only to discover that they have been drastically reduced in size. They are now tiny people in a world of giant objects. The TARDIS has materialized between the cracks in a garden patio. The garden is teeming with giant worms, ants and cats - all deadly hazards for the miniature time travelers. Worse still, the TARDIS crew learns that this garden is the testing site for a deadly insecticide, DN6. Developed to eliminate all insect life, the chemical may be equally effective against miniscule time travelers. Starring Jacqueline Hill, William Hartnell, William Russell, Carole Ann Ford. Street date: May 6.

UNDERWORLD
Warner Home Video #E1741

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, the Time Lords of Gallifrey began exploring space and time with their new TARDIS technology. The first alien race they encountered were the Minyans, who treated the Time Lords as gods. In return, the Time Lords gave medical and scientific aid. As the Minyans became more advanced, they renounced their former gods. The war that followed destroyed the planet Minyos and set the Time Lords on the path of non-interference with the affairs of the universe. Before Minyos was totally destroyed, a single ship - the P7E - escaped. It carried the future of the Minyan species, locked into its onboard race banks. But the P7E disappeared into deep space centuries ago. Now the last of the Minyans have embarked on a quest to recover their lost race banks. Their quest is destined to bring the Minyans once again into contact with the Time Lords - one Time Lord in particular. Starring Tom Baker, Louise Jameson. Street date: May 6.

FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

bbc books - bad news in us

Sunday, 19 January 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

At least one major US book chain will soon cease carrying the Doctor Who novels in the US. Due to the inability of BBC Books to license a new North American distributor,Borders Books (one of the two largest US bookstore chains) has now categorized the Doctor Who novels as "non-returnable markdowns"; this means that all the BBC Doctor Who books up to and including The Adventuress of Henrietta Street are now marked at 50% off and when they're gone, they're gone. (Thanks to Jonathan Dennis, Ian Rogers)

FILTER: - Books

big finish update

Saturday, 18 January 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Issue 326 of Doctor Who Magazine reveals that Big Finish is planning a new subscriber-only CD for release sometime during this year, featuring some "old enemies" (yet to be revealed). This would be the second release given exclusively to subscribers (following last year's "The Maltese Penguin," although that eventually made its way to sale.) Additionally, the issue reveals that the forthcoming Music from the Seventh Doctor Audio Adventures features the scores of the Big Finish stories "Dust Breeding," "The Rapture" and "Bang-Bang-A-Boom!" (Thanks to Damon Querry and DWM)

FILTER: - Big Finish

further video & audio update?

Saturday, 18 January 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

The Galaxy 4 shop in the UK is reporting that the schedule for 2003 of Doctor Who audio soundtrack releases from the BBC Radio Collection is as follows: "The Power of the Daleks" in May, "The Evil of the Daleks" in August and "Marco Polo" in November. Outpost Gallifrey received a report this week that artist Max Ellis has been commissioned for these three covers. None of this has been officially confirmed by BBC sources, though we believe the report is factual. Meanwhile, the newest issue of TV Zone magazine is reporting a mid-year (May 2003) release of the story Invasion of the Dinosaurs on VHS; obviously this is also not yet confirmed, but likely considering that there are so few stories yet to be released. (Thanks to Lissa Levesque, Div, Keith Randall)

FILTER: - Audio - Blu-ray/DVD

two seeds are better than one

Friday, 10 January 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Steve Roberts of the BBC's Doctor Who Restoration Team confirmed today that the forthcoming release of The Seeds of Death - the first six-part story released on DVD in the UK - will be a two-disc set. We'd heard this before but were waiting for official confirmation. (Thanks to Steve Roberts

FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

benny summerfield update

Thursday, 9 January 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Big Finish has revealed further plans for its 2003 range of products based on Bernice Summerfield, the former Doctor Who books companion that was spun off several years ago. In addition to three previously confirmed stories this year, all audio -- February's "The Mirror Effect" by Stewart Sheargold, "The Bellotron Incident" by Mike Tucker in April, and June's "The Grel Escape" by Jacqueline Rayner -- Big Finish has announced that August will see the release of The Poison Seas by David Bailey. "Bernice will receive a curiously worded summons to head back to The Braxiatel Collection. Is something wrong? Has something happened to her baby, Peter? Has Brax discovered some new amazing artefact? Have Adrian Wall and Jason Kane come to blows over the nappy-changing rota? Or have Ms Jones, the fearsome administrator and Mister Crofton the equally fearsome gardener arranged nuptials? Or is it something far more sinister, far further reaching than that? Has something that Benny thought was over and done with come back to haunt her? Or, as seems likely, has war finally come to her doorstep?" That's followed in September by the second Bernice hardcover short story anthology, Life During Wartime edited by Benny creator Paul Cornell, "which apart from changing the direction of Big Finish's audio and book range, will also act as an excellent jumping-on point for newcomers or old-hands who have fallen away." Cornell will also pen the December 2003 audio release The Axis of Evil, for which some of the plot threads from "Life During Wartime" will be examined. (Thanks to Big Finish)

FILTER: - Big Finish

the space pirates

Thursday, 9 January 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Update 9 Jan 2200 GMT: The Tenth Planet store has sent us the final cover illustration for The Space Pirates, the February 2003 release from the BBC Radio Collection. "The Space Pirates" was the penultimate Patrick Troughton serial and is the last almost-entirely-missing story in the BBC's archives (only episode 2 exists out of 6.) The story is narrated by Frazer Hines (Jamie). Click on the thumbnail for a larger version of the cover by Max Ellis. Meanwhile, the Galaxy 4 store site sent us what appeared to be a 2003 release schedule for the rest of the year including "The Underwater Menace," "The Wheel in Space" and "Marco Polo"; however, we've since been informed that this an older release schedule and has been superseded, and is likely not the final version anymore. (Thanks to Tenth Planet and Galaxy 4)

FILTER: - Audio - Classic Series

levine collection for sale

Monday, 6 January 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Doctor Who fan & collector Ian Levine is currently making available several unique Doctor Who props and items, including: a Cyber Controller head (one of two made for the serial - fixed mouth); a Cyberman from "Tomb of the Cybermen" (Head only); a Cyberman from "Earthshock" (Head only); a TARDIS from "Curse of Peladon" (fell down mountainside); an original Sea-Devil head; two pieces of the Key to Time; the book from "Shada" (The Worshipful And Ancient Law Of Gallifrey); an original Ice Warrior claw (from "The Ice Warriors"); a Servo Robot (from "The Wheel in Space"); one of the fake Mona Lisa’s from "City of Death"; a black & white photographic background used for "Warriors' Gate" episode 4; a shrunken Xeraphin from "Time-Flight"; a wall panel from "Full Circle"; and Bellal's head from "Death to the Daleks" (latex has decayed). Interested parties can send enquiries to Paul Vanezis of the Doctor Who restoration team atpaulvanezis@blueyonder.co.uk. (Thanks to Paul for letting us know!)

FILTER: - Special Events

Previous 10 Stories

cyril shaps

daphne oram

planet of giants & underworld

bbc books - bad news in us

big finish update

further video & audio update?

two seeds are better than one

benny summerfield update

the space pirates

levine collection for sale

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