Double dose of Sil for NovemberBookmark and Share

Sunday, 20 October 2019 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Koch Media have announced two new releases for 4th November, both of which feature the unscrupulous reptilian businessman Sil, as played by Nabil Shaban.

Sil and The Devil Seeds of Arobor (Credit: Koch Media)Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor
Produced and directed by Keith Barnfather
Format; DVD/Blu-ray; Runtime: 100 mins plus 50 mins special features (order from Amazon UK)

An original drama from the world of BBC TV’s Doctor Who, featuring Sil, the ruthless alien entrepreneur from planet Thoros Beta, who first appeared in classic Colin Baker-era Doctor Who episodes Vengeance of Varos and The Trial of a Timelord, and is once again played by actor Nabil Shaban.


Sil is worried. Very worried… which doesn’t keep his reptilian skin in the best condition! Confined in a cold detention cell on the moon, awaiting a deportation hearing while on trial for drugs offences committed on Earth, he faces a death sentence if the application is successful and he is found guilty. His powerful employers at the Universal Monetary Fund aren’t too pleased about that. Not at all…

As time runs out and friends desert him, Sil must use all of his devious, vile, underhanded, ruthless, and amoral business acumen to survive. Can he possibly slime his way out of this one?



Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor is produced and directed by Keith Barnfather (Mindgame), written by Sil’s creator and original episode writer Philip Martin, and stars Nabil Shaban, reprising his role as Sil, and Christopher Ryan, reprising the role of Kiv (The Trial of a Timelord) along with Doctor Who stars Sophie Aldred (‘Ace’ 1987-1989), Janet Henfrey (The Curse of Fenric, Mummy on the Orient Express), and Sakuntala Ramanee (Survival).

The Doctors: More Monsters! (Credit: Koch Media)The Doctors: More Monsters!
Produced by Keith Barnfather
Format: DVD; Runtime: 330 mins (order from Amazon UK)

This is the definitive set of interviews with the team of unsung heroes who sent you "behind the sofa" by bringing the monsters in Doctor Who to life!

These six documentaries are the best in-depth interviews with:
  • Nabil Shaban (Sil - The Trial of a Timelord, Vengeance of Varos)
  • Christopher Ryan (Kiv - The Trial of a Timelord)
  • Stephen Thorne (Omega - The Three Doctors, Azal - The Daemons, Eldrad - The Hand of Fear)
  • Terry Molloy (Davros - Remembrance of the Daleks / Resurrection of the Daleks)
  • Stuart Fell and Jon Davey (who have both played monsters too numerous to list, including Sontarans, Daleks and Cybermen!)
For all Doctor Who fans, this 2-disc special collector’s edition is 5-hours of pure nostalgia, which will give you a whole new insight into the making of your favourite science fiction series.

Presented by Robert Dick and “voice of the Daleks” Nicholas Briggs. Includes special introduction by Nicholas Briggs & ‘The Doctors’ Producer Keith Barnfather.




FILTER: - Auto/Biography - Blu-ray/DVD

Daddy's Girl: 50th Anniversary edition of Deborah Watling's autobiographyBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 30 May 2017 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Fantom Publishing have announced the re-release of actress Deborah Watling's autobiography, Daddy's Girl, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of her appearance in Doctor Who as Victoria.

Daddy's Girl (50th Anniversary edition) (Credit: Fantom Publishing)Daddy's Girl (50th Anniversary edition)
Written by Deborah Watling, with Paul W.T. Ballard
Published by Fantom Publishing



Daughter of renowned star of stage and screen Jack Watling, Deborah has entertained millions in a career which spans over fifty years.

From her early successes in series such as The Invisible Man, The Power Game and Out of the Unknown, through to her iconic role as the scream queen Victoria Waterfield in Doctor Who, film roles opposite Cliff Richard and David Essex, and as the notorious ‘Naughty’ Norma in Danger UXB, Deborah has endeared herself to a broad spectrum of fans.

For the first time, in her own words, Deborah recalls the highs and lows of working on stage and in front of the camera along with the behind-the-scenes personal struggles, and reminisces about working with a whole variety of famous acting names including the late and much-missed Patrick Troughton.



This edition, published to celebrate Deborah's fiftieth anniversary in Doctor Who has a special cover taken from the private collection of Alexandra Tynan (Sandra Reid) on location for The Evil of the Daleks.

Daddy's Girl (50th Anniversary edition) alretnative cover (Credit: Fantom Publishing)Daddy's Girl: In Pictures (Credit: Fantom Publishing)
The fiftieth anniversary edition is also available to purchase with an alternative cover in a bundle alongside sister book Daddy's Girl: In Pictures, and a set of five The Abominable Snowmen Location postcards - full details on the Fantom website.




FILTER: - Auto/Biography - Books - Fantom

Anthony Ainley: The Man behind The MasterBookmark and Share

Monday, 25 May 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The biography of the Master to the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh Doctor, Anthony Ainley, is due to be on general release later in the year; however, it is now available to order directly from Fantom Publishing, signed by the author, Karen Louise Hollis.

The Man Behind The Master (Credit: Fantom Publishing)Anthony Ainley: The Man behind The Master
Researched by Karen Louise Hollis

Although known to an audience of millions the world over for his portrayal of The Doctor's arch nemesis The Master in Doctor Who during the 1980's, Anthony Ainley had a prolific career which encompassed starring roles in Spyders Web and It's Dark Outside, as well as appearances in renowned dramas such as The Pallisers, Elizabeth R, Nicholas Nickleby, Upstairs, Downstairs, and cult films including Blood On Satan's Claw and The Land That Time Forgot.

But the dramas in Anthony's real life were far more fascinating than any of the many parts he played on screen. Born the illegitimate son of actor Henry Ainley, and taken into care at the Actors' Orphanage at the age of four, Fantom presents the hidden story behind one of Doctor Who's most enigmatic characters.

Karen said:
This is the first time all aspects of his life have been drawn together. I have had the pleasure of interviewing a number of friends and colleagues from every aspect of Anthony's life, and examined the archives to bring together the most complete and fascinating story.

Competition


Readers in the United Kingdom have the chance to win a copy of the book courtesy of Fantom Publishing; to enter simply answer the following question:
In The Keeper of Traken Geoffrey Beevers and Anthony Ainley both play the Master; name another television series in which both actors are credited together.
Please send your answers along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-fantom@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "These Thunderbolts Are Everywhere". The competition is open to UK residents only, closing date: 7th June 2015. Only one entry per household will be accepted.





FILTER: - Auto/Biography - Books - Competitions - Fantom

Derrick Sherwin autobiography to be published in AprilBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 9 April 2014 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Fantom Publishing are to release the autobiography of Doctor Who producer Derrick Sherwin later this month.

Derrick Sherwin: Who's Next - A Memoir (book) (Credit: Fantom Publishing)Derrick Sherwin: Who's Next - A Memoir

In a long and varied career, Derrick Sherwin has been an actor, writer, script editor, TV producer... and also a house builder and renovator, bar owner, restaurateur and bungee-jump proprietor!

In 1968 he joined the production team of Doctor Who as assistant story editor during the Patrick Troughton era, and went on to become the programme’s script editor and eventually its producer. During this time Sherwin commissioned Robert Holmes’ first script for the series; oversaw the transition from black-and-white to colour and the introduction of the Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee; was instrumental in conceiving the Earth-bound aspect of Pertwee’s era; and is credited with creating two of Doctor Who’s most enduring ingredients: the intelligence taskforce UNIT, and the Doctor’s own race – the Time Lords. He is now the earliest producer of Doctor Who still living.

In this candid and unflinching memoir, Sherwin discusses the pressures of writing and producing a cult science-fiction TV show for a family audience, his subsequent experience as an independent producer and creator of TV formats, and his ‘new life’ in one of the world’s most exotic countries: Thailand.

Copies of the book, which will include the author's signature, are available for pre-order via the Fantom website.





FILTER: - Auto/Biography - Books

Mary Tamm - Second GenerationBookmark and Share

Thursday, 27 March 2014 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Fantom Publishing have released the final cover for their forthcoming second part of actress Mary Tamm's autobiography, due out in April.

Mary Tamm - Second Generation (Credit: Fantom Films)Mary Tamm - Second Generation

Bradford-born Mary Tamm was already a successful actress on stage, TV and the big screen when, in 1978, she joined the cast of Doctor Who as the Time Lady, Romana, in the company of Tom Baker’s incarnation of the Doctor.

In 2009, her book First Generation recounted the story of her life before Who and her journey of self-discovery to her parents’ homeland of Estonia. Tantalisingly for Who fans, the book came to an end half way through Mary’s year on board the TARDIS. This new volume (written before her tragic death from cancer in 2012) picks up where First Generation ends, with the inside story of the filming of her final three Doctor Who adventures; and continues with tales of her subsequent TV work, her return to the stage, her ventures into the world of Who fandom, and the personal joy and fulfilment brought to her by the birth of her own ‘second generation’ – her daughter, Lauren.

Packed with incidents and anecdotes recounted with Mary’s trademark no-nonsense Northern wit, Second Generation is rounded out with tributes and reflections from some of her closest friends and colleagues, including Miriam Margolyes, Carol Royle and Steven Berkoff.

The book will be available in paperback and limited edition hardback; full details are available from the Fantom Films website, as are for the her first autobiography, First Generation.





FILTER: - Merchandise - Auto/Biography - Books

The Man Who Invented The Daleks (audio)Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, 9 October 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Fantom Films have announced that Terry Nation: The Man Who Invented The Daleks, the biography of the writer by Alwyn W. Turner, is being released this month on audio, narrated by David Troughton:

Terry Nation - The Man Who Invented The Daleks (Credit: Fantom Films)Terry Nation - The Man Who Invented The Daleks
The Biography
Written by Alwyn W. Turner
Narrated by David Troughton

The Daleks are one of the most iconic and fearsome creations in television history. Since their first appearance in 1963, they have simultaneously fascinated and terrified generations of children, their instant success ensuring, and sometimes eclipsing, that of Doctor Who.

They sprang from the imagination of Terry Nation, a failed stand-up comic who became one of the most prolific writers for television that Britain has ever produced. Survivors, his vision of a post-apocalyptic England, so haunted audiences in the Seventies that the BBC revived it over thirty years on, and Blake’s 7, constantly rumoured for return, endures as a cult sci-fi classic. But it is for his genocidal pepperpots that Nation is most often remembered, and on the 50th anniversary of their creation they continue to top the Saturday-night ratings.

Yet while the Daleks brought him notoriety and riches, Nation played a much wider role in British broadcasting’s golden age. He wrote for Spike Milligan, Frankie Howerd and an increasingly troubled Tony Hancock, and as one of the key figures behind the adventure series of the Sixties – including The Avengers, The Saint and The Persuaders! – he turned the pulp classics of his boyhood into a major British export.

In The Man Who Invented the Daleks, acclaimed cultural historian Alwyn W. Turner, explores the curious and contested origins of Doctor Who's greatest villains, and sheds light on a strange world of ambitious young writers, producers and performers without whom British culture today would look very different.

Competition

Doctor Who News is able to offer three UK readers a copy of the audio, courtesy of Fantom. In order to be in with a chance to win answer the following question:
Reader David Troughton is attending which forthcoming Fantom Films event in 2014?
Send your answer to comp-terrynation@doctorwhonews.net with the subject line "DAL-LEK", along with your name, address, and where you saw the competition (the news website, twitter, facebook, etc.). Only one entry per postal address will be accepted. This competition is only open to residents of the United Kingdom, and the closing date is 31st October 2013.




FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Auto/Biography - Competitions

K9 Stole My TrousersBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 29 May 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Fantom Publishing have announced the forthcoming publication of Bob Baker's autobiography.

K9 Stole My Trousers (Credit: Fantom Publishing)K9 Stole My Trousers
An Autobiography

Bob Baker, co-writer of three Oscar and BAFTA winning Wallace & Gromit films, creator of K9, and writer of numerous Doctor Who episodes, releases his autobiography this June.

A stalwart of HTV, Bob has worked with Sir Laurence Olivier, Leonard Rossiter, Ron Moody, Toyah Willcox and Trevor Eve. Among his many TV credits, Bob wrote a number of episodes of Doctor Who with co-writer Dave Martin, several episodes of Bergerac starring John Nettles and the smash hit children's show, Into the Labyrinth; Bob also script edited the popular crime series Shoestring.

Bob is perhaps best known for his work with Nick Park on Aardman Animations' Oscar and BAFTA-winning shorts, The Wrong Trousers, A Close Shave and A Matter of Loaf and Death, and the feature film The Curse of the Wererabbit.

Among his recent work, Bob has just finished the first 26-part series of the regenerated K9, currently showing on the Disney Channel and Channel 5 and is gearing up for a second series in the coming year.

Bob’s life has been rich and varied; his adventures outside of his illustrious career range from a wine-tasting tour of France and mad sea voyages with the legendary Keith Floyd to playing jazz with John Fortune of Bremner, Bird and Fortune. K9 Stole My Trousers is a tribute to some of the finest talents in TV in the last fifty years, both people Bob worked with and people he considered himself lucky to know in his personal life.

The book is due to be published on the 10th June 2013, and will also be available for Kindle.




FILTER: - Merchandise - Auto/Biography - Books

Mary Tamm: Second GenerationBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 17 October 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Mary Tamm: Second Generation (temporary cover)Fantom Publishing have announced the publication of the second part of the actress Mary Tamm's autobiography. Second Generation continues on from the first volume, with the late actress imparting her personal recollections of playing Romana during her final three Doctor Who stories from Season 16.

Publisher Dexter O'Neill said:
We want to make this book the ultimate celebration of a wonderful person who we so sorely miss. We are presenting the entirety of her writings together with tributes and anecdotes from Mary's closest friends and colleagues.

The book is due to be published early next year, and will be available in both paperback and a limited edition hardback with additional photographs. Pre-order details can be found via the Fantom website.




FILTER: - People - Merchandise - Auto/Biography - Books

A Tale of Two DoctorsBookmark and Share

Thursday, 27 September 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Moon Boots and Dinner Suits

Fantom Publishing are to reprint Jon Pertwee's first autobiography, Moon Boots and Dinner Suits. Originally published in 1984, publisher Dexter O'Neill said:
We are thrilled to bring this autobiography to a new generation. The book has been out of print for over twenty-six years. We will retain all the original content, whilst adding new material including photographs and an introduction from Ingeborg Pertwee.
The autobiography is due to be published on 4th February 2013 in both paperback and hardback, with an audiobook to be announced shortly.

Jon Pertwee’s acting career began with a public performance at the age of four. He seems to have been expelled from most of the schools his actorwriter father Roland Pertwee sent him to and finally joined RADA in 1936.

From there too, he was asked to leave. Jon went into Rep and had a checkered career. In Brighton panic set in when he dressed as an old gardener in Love from a Stranger instead of as a young cleric in Candida.

In 1938 came Jon’s first radio role in the BBC’s Lillibulero, in which year he also appeared in his father’s play, To Kill a Cat, directed by Henry Kendall at the Aldwych Theatre. When war came he joined the Navy, ramming Douglas Pier with an Isle of Man Stream Packet boat. He was blown up twice, once being put on a marble slab presumed dead, and spent many months stationed in the Scapa Flow. He was the founder of the Service Players in the Isle of Man. He was commissioned in the RNVR and transferred to Naval Intelligence where he worked and became good friends with the future Prime Minister James Callaghan. Then Jon joined Naval Broadcasting. His radio series, The Navy Lark, ran for eighteen years and produced some truly vintage memories of radio.

Whether telling stories of a misspent youth, of his posterior’s first painful introduction to a fives bat or his exploits with the McKenzie sisters in the north of Scotland, Jon Pertwee's humour and natural wit never fail him. Moon Boots and Dinner Suits is a wry, funny and endearing portrait of the early years of a most innovative and well-loved actor.
 

Patrick Troughton - The Biography of the Second Doctor Who

Fantom are also to release an audio version of Patrick Troughton's Biography, to be read by the book's author, Michael Troughton. The unabridged reading is to be released on six discs in March 2013, with signed copies available on pre-order from the Fantom website.

Respected and loved, Patrick Troughton is probably best remembered as the second Doctor Who - a role in which he made television history. A prolific actor, he was also a complex and troubled man, constantly wrestling with two lives, one of which he was determined to keep secret.

Michael Troughton presents here an entertaining and personal account of his father’s professional and private life. Meticulously researched, he explores Patrick’s childhood, his experiences at sea during World War II and the successful acting career which led to his historic casting as Doctor Who in 1966. Patrick’s Doctor Who years are recalled in vivid detail, from his initial uncertainty about taking on the part through the legendary ‘monster years’, to his troubled final season and three subsequent returns to the role.

In this fascinating biography, Patrick’s extraordinary career and his multi-layered personal life are enhanced by the memories of family members, actors, friends and colleagues. Michael peppers the biography with revealing extracts from Patrick’s own diaries, and presents an honest, affectionate and complete account of Patrick Troughton the actor, and Patrick Troughton the man.





FILTER: - Merchandise - Jon Pertwee - Auto/Biography - Books - Patrick Troughton

Sladen Autobiography To Get Paperback EditionBookmark and Share

Friday, 1 June 2012 - Reported by John Bowman
SladenpaperbackElisabeth Sladen's autobiography is to be published in paperback next month, it was announced today.

Aurum Press, which brought the book out in hardback last November, said that it would be available from 26th July, but it is likely that it may be out on 1st July. It is available to pre-order here.

With a foreword by David Tennant and published with the support and participation of Sladen's family, Aurum calls the book "a warm and witty celebration of an actress who delighted generations of children and is fondly remembered by fans young and old alike".

When Elisabeth Sladen first appeared as plucky journalist Sarah Jane Smith in the 1973 Doctor Who story The Time Warrior, little did she know the character would become one of the most enduring and fondly remembered of the series' long history.

The years that followed saw Elisabeth traverse time and space alongside classic Doctors Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, while a generation of children crouched behind the sofa, terrified but transfixed as their tea-time heroine found herself menaced by Daleks, dinosaurs, Cybermen, Egyptian mummies, actors in green bubble-wrap and even the Loch Ness Monster. By the time she quit the TARDIS in 1976, making front-page news, Elisabeth had become one of the most familiar faces of a TV golden age.

But you don't just walk away from Doctor Who. Elisabeth was asked to reprise her role many times, appearing in anniversary specials, an ill-fated 1981 spin-off with robotic sidekick K-9, radio plays, and for the BBC's Children in Need. She toured the weird, wide and wonderful world of Doctor Who fandom and became one of the series' all-time favourite companions. So when TV wunderkind Russell T Davies approached her to come back again, this time to a show backed by multi-million-pound budgets and garlanded with critical plaudits, how could she refuse?

This warm and witty autobiography, completed only months before Elisabeth died in April 2011, tells her remarkable story, from humble beginnings in post-war Liverpool, through an acclaimed theatrical career working alongside stage luminaries such as Alan Ayckbourn, to Coronation Street, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and the furthest reaches of the universe.

A unique insider's view of the world's longest-running science fiction series, and of British television yesterday and today, Elisabeth's memoir is funny, ridiculous, insightful and entertaining, and a fitting tribute to a woman who will be sadly missed by millions.




FILTER: - Merchandise - Auto/Biography - Books - Elisabeth Sladen