Doctor Who in FranceBookmark and Share

Monday, 31 January 2011 - Reported by Marcus
Matt Smith's first full series as The Doctor comes to France 4 next month when the channel begins showing the 31st series of the show, starting with Le Prisonnier Zéro (The Eleventh Hour) on February 12, at 8:35 PM.

Viewers in France got to see the end of the Tenth Doctor last Christmas day when France 4 showed La Prophétie de Noël.

The series will continue with Épisode 2 — La Bête des bas-fonds and Épisode 3 — La Victoire des Daleks.


In addition French-speaking Doctor Who fansite Beans On Toast has revealed that series 4 of Doctor Who will be released on DVD in French.

The news has been confirmed by France Television Distristribution, the DVD editor in charge of the DVD releases of the first three series in France. French-speaking fans have been campaigning for a DVD release of the series with Beans on Toast launching an online petition in August 2010.

Series 1, 2 and 3 are also to be re-released on DVD, and this time, the series 3 boxset will include the original English version with French subtitles. The current DVD edition only offers the French dub.

For discussion on this news see the Beans On Toast Forum.




FILTER: - France - David Tennant - Series 4/30 - International Broadcasting - Europe - Series 5/31

Doctor in StubbleBookmark and Share

Monday, 31 January 2011 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor WhoThe BBC has released some details about the upcoming series of Doctor Who, featuring Matt Smith - seen here from the new series trailer as the Doctor chained and sporting a considerable beard.

The actor commented:
It was a glued-on beard. I wouldn't be able to grow a full-on beard like that in time. They had to remove it with a substance smelling like white turps.

It's also been confirmed that Smith has filmed special scenes, scripted by show runner Steven Moffat for the new interactive exhibition opening at London's Olympia next month, the Doctor Who Experience.
It gives a sense of the TV show. I've filmed some scenes for the experience. It places you, the fan, at the heart of the action and become the companion, in a sense. There's a Tardis, which you can go on. The museum has all things Doctor Who. It should feature costumes from all the Doctors over the ages, and I'm sure I've got a few bits in there.




FILTER: - Doctor Who - Series 6/32

Torchwood: Week Three FilmingBookmark and Share

Sunday, 30 January 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster



This week saw Torchwood: Miracle Day return to its 'ancestral' home of South Wales!

The lead-up to the week saw the cast and crew out in Los Angeles make their way to the United Kingdom; of the principle cast, this meant a return home for John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Kai Owen and Tom Price, and joined (so far) by Mekhi Phifer and Dichen Lachman. Crew-wise, Director of Photography Nathaniel Goodman and Directors Bharat Nalluri (episode one) and Bill Gierhart (episode two) also travelled over.

Last and certainly not least the two series masterminds Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner were also back amongst the familiar faces from the UK, including Producer for the UK segments Brian Minchin, whose name forms the basis of the "BM" production signs for the shoot.

Filming this week saw the crew ranging between Cardiff International Airport, a village farm, Rhossili Bay and the streets of Swansea!

Unlike in the US, production in the UK has not been shrouded in heavy security, and with a (mostly) UK production team in attendance, the traditional approach to filming that fans here are used to have continued. This has, of course, meant that the public have been able to witness more of the proceedings than in the previous fortnight, so this week's roundup includes many of their observations as well as the cast and crew's usual tweets!

Times cited within the report are in GMT.
 

Monday

A new week and an early start for production, and after California it was a bit of a weather reality check as Dichen Lachman observed:
05:33 It was Cardiff. So inspiring... Up at 3:30am ready for first day.
11:19 Have not been this cold in years!
12:00 So hard to speak when you can't feel your face!!!!
18:47 Only just got my lines out my face was so numb.
The cold place in question turned out to at Cardiff International Airport, with the airport itself confirming the location being used:
19:30 BBC's Torchwood has been on site filming today near
the British Airways Maintenance hangar.
The airport was doubling up for London's Heathrow, and scenes there featured John Barrowman, Mekhi Phifer and Tom Price - the latter playing a newly promoted Sergeant Andy Davidson! Price also provided us with the latest "TW-Spy" images of his car and fresh uniform! Being a private location fan photos of filming weren't very likely today, though a passer-by did manage to spot the crew at work.


12:27 Tom Price (photo via Yfrog)

CHECK OUT MY NEW WHEELS. Bargain Hunt in the front seat. Bling.

14:52 Tom Price (photo via Yfrog)

Annoyingly playing a police officer means everyone on set thinks you're an extra. Facial expression doesn't help.

12:31 Ben (photo via Yfrog)

They're filming Torchwood about 100 ft away from me


However, this wasn't the only filming for the day, with a second unit in operation a few miles away at a farm near Llantrithyd:



These scenes are believed to have involved Eve Myles, as reported by Nate Goodman:
16:39 Day 1 in Wales finished! UK crew awesome. Eve Miles rocked today..
Now if I only could overcome jetlag

The Torchwood Production Office summarised a successful, if cold first day in a new country!
19:10 Everyone made it safely. Despite jet lag, the cast and crew have hit 
the ground running in Cardiff!
19:18 Mekhi is definitely feeling the UK cold, tomorrow's temperature doesn't
look any better. Don't fret we're sending 2tons of heat packs stat.
19:21 Julie and Russell are so happy to meet old friends from the crew of
the original Torchwood, Doctor Who and Sarah Jane.
19:25 Lets give a warm welcome to director Billy Gierhart who has completed
the first scene from Ep.2 and say hello to Bharat Nalluri for us!
19:29 We're having some serious RTD withdrawals over here, the office is just
too quiet and the time change, gross. Very jealous of the UK crew.




Tuesday

The first of a three day shoot saw the cast and crew assemble at the National Trust's Old Rectory Cottage at Rhossili Bay. Kai Owen and Eve Myles were filming, braving the cold, wet and windy Welsh weather as helicopters swept over them.

The filming was watched by Chris Williams, who was able to survive the weather conditions without the aid of catering!














I heard a few rumours from normally reliable sources that Torchwood were heading off to Gower... and, coincidentally, to Rhossili Bay, popular with tourists, surfers and one of my favourite places in Wales. Getting close to the Bay, I was beginning to wonder if my 60 mile journey would be in vain.. but the reassuring 'BM' sign at the Scurlage turn off put my mind at rest.

Today was a grey day, and umbrellas and winter coats were evident. Clearly, the cast, crew and security guys were freezing, and the Gower Peninsula was not showing itself at its best. The Base, Rhossili's car park, was packed full of the usual trucks, including make up, FATTS, lighting & special effects, though the catering trucks almost caused me to trespass!

Two helicopters caught my eye - one brown and military looking, the other sleeker, and I think, there to film the other in action. They were constantly circling Rhossili Bay, and Rectory Cottage, a farmhouse on a very steep hill. I wasn't clear what was happening at first, but one of the air crew told me the 'action' was actually in the cottage, but the track to it was closed!

Still, I found myself an alternative path down, the one I normally curse when struggling down in the summer with my surfboard. There were loads of trucks, and red & white mini-buses ferrying crew and cast up and down from the hill to the base.

I was quite pleased to see external lighting rigs and shields, as this clearly meant we'd see some action outside. Soon after I spotted Kai Owen, wearing a ridiculous cardigan and a pair of 'farmer's' corduroy trousers. Kai was relaxing between takes.

A few minutes later, the helicopter was back, circling the cottage - and security staff telling me to get out of the way of the shot. The shot comprised Kai, as Rhys tending a fire in his yard, puahing twigs around with a shovel. He noticed the helicopter - and appeared worried when it appeared to 'buzz' the cottage. Was someone unwanted looking out for Gwen and Rhys?

I heard from a crew member who had read some of the scripts that the helicopters contained the 'bad guys', possibly from some government agency, and they were actively seeking Gwen. We'll see in July if that turns out to be the case!

Eve appeared to be lurking by a wall, either keeping out of shot, or just quietly freezing. I was disappointed not to be able to get a decent picture of her! Maybe the next couple of days will bring us better luck!

At this point, I spotted Russell T. Davies and Julie Gardner, now both based in Los Angeles. They called a set meeting, and after a huddle and a few words, Rhys again did his 'fire' scene, and the helicopter dutifully came back for a further spin. It also started to rain - heavily! It felt real good to see Russell and Julie back in Wales.. wish they were back here permanently!

I hear they're filming at Rhossili for two more days, and at some point, pyrotechnics are promised. I may return to see!
 
You can find more of Chris's photos from the day in his Torchwood! Facebook photo album.




Wednesday

Second day at Rhossili Bay, and today saw John Barrowman join the team for filming. As Chris mentioned, pyrotechnics were indeed present, too, both on the beach (for testing) and around the back of the cottage. Ryan Farrell was on hand to see some of goings-on:
16:12 Just been stopped on my beach walk... Because they're setting dynamite off!
17:07 Lots of machine gun shots. Helicopter is back.
Seems to be hovering behind the house
17:15 Looks like they're getting rid of the Real SFX van, trucks etc
so they can get some shots of the house from the helicopter
18:42 The cast and crew have broken for tea. Looks like a night shoot.






The day was summed up by John Barrowman's agent, Gavin Barker:
20:55 fun day freezing on a south wales beach with
Torchwood and lots of exciting helicopter action...



Thursday

The last day on location at Rhossii Bay saw a move away from the house today onto the beach, where various scenes were shot involving vehicles ranging across the sand, and the establishment of a large tent structure by the cliffs. Eve Myles, Kai Owen and John Barrowman were all on location today, and the helicopters were pressed into service once again!





Summary of the day from the Production Office:
22:17 "Today's car chase on Rhossili beach is the most complicated
and thrilling action sequence we've ever attempted" - Russell, Julie



Friday

After three days on the Gower Peninsula, it's back into town ... Swansea beckoned, with the crew descending upon the Bishop Gore School in Sketty. This caused quite some excitement with its occupants, with Nia enthusing: "WOW. John Barrowman is filming 'Torchwood' in our school right now!".

However, the school was actually serving as the base for production and photo-call, with filming to take place a few streets away at Cambridge Street - with residents there being informed of activity on their street back in December! The public notice informed that two days filming were expected, though it could carry on for up to five days in total!

The shoot involved life at the Cooper household, involving Owen, Gwen and her parents Geraint and Mary (William Thomas and Sharon Morgan). John Barrowman and Mekhi Phifer also had scenes, plus as the evening progressed Tom Price arrived to brave the cold evening, alongside a swathe of ambulances, police cars and SWAT.

Russell T Davies was also spotted, watching his creation take fruit (scenes are believed to be for episode one, as Bharat Nalluri was overseeing the activity).

 








The Base seemed smaller than usual - I'd not be surprised if we later hear of a second unit, working somewhere else in the area. It was fantastic meeting up with the main man, Russell T. Davies at the Base. We've met a few times before, previously in & around Cardiff, and we always manage a chat. I'd not caught up with him since his move to LA, so this was a welcome re-acquaintance.

I asked Russell how he was finding life in LA. He said that it was beautiful and he loved it, but it was clear he was more than pleased being back in Swansea, his beloved home town. When I asked if LA was a permanent home for him, he quickly replied that he was out there for 'a few years', but his firm intention was to return to Wales.

The topic of Ianto Jones and the campaign to resurrect him briefly came up. It was pretty clear that Russell hadn't really picked up that there was a campaign, or that it had somehow not really registered on him. He was very excited about 'Miracle Day', and secretive too. The vague few details he did allude to, I'm not going to print.

Russell confirmed that filming in Wales was scheduled for two weeks, but didn't seem to feel that this was fixed in stone. I'd not be surprised to see it extended. Did Russell expect to see future series of Torchwood? Yes he did, he certainly hoped so, and 'couldn't see why not'.

When I said that I was a little worried that Wales would possibly become less & less a part of any ongoing future Torchwood series - Russell said that he felt Wales would always feature in the show. He said that in a warm & sincere way.

As for today's filming, Russell suggested it might not be that exciting... perhaps a couple of people rushing into, and out of a house.

Russell then finished his coffee, posed for a couple of pix, and disappeared to record an episode of 'Confidential'. Whether he meant 'Confidential' - or 'De-Classified', I'm not sure.

Off to the location. A lovely & very typical row of Swansea terraced houses in the Town Hill part of the town. This clearly was going to be a lengthy shoot. I'm told the shoot was at 'Geraint's house' - he's Gwen's dad, played by Will Thomas. Perhaps some 'family time' was about to occur! The road was closed to all traffic from 0800 thru midnight, and heavy duty lighting rigs were all over the place.

I briefly chatted to producer, Brian Minchin, he of the 'BM' fame. He confirmed things were going well, and that the shoot was expected to take two weeks. Again, Brian hoped that Torchwood would continue beyond Miracle Day.

A larger number of security staff perhaps reflected the urban environment, and for the first time ever - photography was 'strictly banned'. I was told, oddly, that the director (a long haired, bearded, hippy-like character who's name I couldn't pronounce) was 'jumpy' when it came to cameras!

At this point, with powerful lights were trained on the target property, and runners were running, majorly, it was time to head home. A quick spin around the area, a trip to Mumbles and one of Joe's famous ice-creams - the best Wales has to offer!
 
You can find more of Chris's photos from the day in his Torchwood! Facebook photo album.

Eve Myles, John Barrowman and Tom Price were present, as was RTD. There was an ambulance, and a Police car. As well as Andy there was also a SWAT team of officers with large guns.

Cambridge Road itself is only short, and you can see from one end to the other, so getting photos wasn't too hard.





(additional photography from Dave Edwards)

Also worth noting, the Police/ambulance had Welsh on them, so this is specfically Wales rather than the UK (sort of a given really).

Filming is to continue tomorrow according to locals.

Some final updates from the Production Office:

18:16 We've just got word that today's unit base is located
at the school where Russell's mother used to teach. Quite nostalgic.
19:23 Mekhi's just finished his photo shoot dressed in a blood soaked shirt.
All we can say is YES!
03:32 Temperatures are falling to -2 on tonight's shoot.
The wet down of the location is cancelled in case of freezing.



Saturday

The second day of filming on Cambridge Street. Eve Myles was again present, as were Danny Szam ("surveillance") and Ian Hughes (Ralph Finch). Activity during the day seemed to involve more various comings and goings at the Cooper household, both furtively and in a more official capacity.

It was the first time I'd visited a Torchwood location since they filmed the "Newport riots" for Children of Earth in October 2008. Security was much tighter yesterday. I doubt they'd've blocked the road off with barriers in the past. That said, the security guards didn't seem bothered by my taking a few pics. Perhaps that was because filming was too far away to get more than a few pixels even with my 24x zoom!

Still, it was worth the trip to see Torchwood back on a typical South Walian street. The highlight of that last day in 2008 was Eve Myles turning up in a pair of green wellies, so it was nice that yesterday's scene was also all about Eve. It was hard to tell what was going on, but it seemed to involve some official-looking chaps paying a visit to Gwen at Number 27.




(additional photography from Leanne Haywood)

You can read more filming reports from Alun at his blog Posterous, and further photos from Saturday on Flickr

Finally, a view more shots courtesy of the locals of Cambridge Street who have lived with the cast and crew taking over their street for the last couple of days!








Filming is expected to continue in Sketty for another couple of days, with reports of activity at a recently closed butcher's shop.
Around the corner. They are going to drive a car into the front of my butcher's shop. Luckily he stopped trading last month. I do hope they put it back nice. Beautiful curved corner of old-fashioned shop fronts.

Another possible location is in the Magor area for Monday 31st January, though currently unconfirmed - as there are two episodes with two directors currently active it is possible that two units are operational in different parts of South Wales!

Tuesday 1st February sees the team filming at the Coal Exchange in Cardiff Bay - just a mere stone's throw away from the original home of Torchwood at Roald Dahl Plass!





FILTER: - Torchwood - Filming Reports - Miracle Day (Series 4)

Editorial: welcome to doctorwhonews.net!Bookmark and Share

Saturday, 29 January 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
We have successfully completed our migration to our new home for the Doctor Who News Page, doctorwhonews.net!


The site can now be bookmarked under it's new identity, www.doctorwhonews.net, though any references to the old domain should redirect automatically to the new one (including those that still refer to doctorwhonews.com).


As noted in our original announcement, the news feed address has now changed, too. You can pick the new feed up directly from here, or by using the "Subscribe" button on the sidebar. The feed is populated with our most recent articles.


The only known issue at present is the news search facility which may not pick up new articles for a few days. We believe that all other facilities are functioning okay - however, if you do find anything else that isn't working on the site then please let us know through our feedback address.

(please note previous article recommendation links have reset due to the change of domain - feel free to re-recommend your favourite articles!)




FILTER: - Editorial

Sun Makers goes SoloBookmark and Share

Friday, 28 January 2011 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor WhoFollowing the announcement of the delay to the DVD release of Ambassadors of Death, 2|Entertain have confirmed that the original idea of a Solar System Box Set has been abandoned.

The release of the 1977 Fourth Doctor story, The Sun Makers will go ahead as planned with the story being released in the same slot, but as a stand-alone story.

For full details of the global DVD release schedule see our product page.




FILTER: - Tom Baker - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Doctor Who: casting and filming roundupBookmark and Share

Friday, 28 January 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Casting directory Spotlight have listed Annabel Cleare as appearing in episode seven of the currently filming series of Doctor Who. Primarily in theatre, she has also appeared on television, mainly in documentary style programmes such as JFK Revealed for Channel 4 and The Real Atlantis for BBC2, and also a Home Fries Chips commercial!

The actress confirmed the role on Twitter, which also indicated that her young son Henry would also be appearing in the episode, though she described their roles as 'small'! Henry himself has appeared in a number of commercials and short films.


Another tweet from Tuesday this week revealed a further piece of casting news: "My friend says her twins did their filming for Doctor Who today and were held by Matt. Bless. She said they'll feature strongly"
 
The Sun reported this morning that actor Hugh Bonneville would be appearing in the series, appearing as a "Pirate Captain". The Downton Abbey actor subsequently confirmed this himself later when he tweeted:
09:02 No idea what the weather's like on earth this day in 2011
because I am elsewhere, IN THE ACTUAL TARDIS ACTUALLY
Though he joked about with Downton Abbey co-star Dan Stevens, he also confirmed the usual policy that guest stars follow when working on Doctor Who!
12:05 *pokes head out of Tardis* What's going on here? 
Dan you HAVE to do this one not that one. *shuts door*
13:09 *serious face* won't be posting pics from set or revealing
story so pls don't ask. Am guesting as pirate Cpt
14:38 Secrecy is so tight on this show that the crew wear
black balaclavas and only answer to the name Colin.

The BBC's Doctor Who site included a bit more on the casting, including comments from the actor himself:
When I was a boy THAT music and Jon Pertwee's Doctor had me peeking out from behind the sofa every Saturday night. All these years later I am thrilled to be appearing in the new series. Although the Pirate's fears and demons are different to those of the young lad who watched through his fingers, they are no less vivid and terrifying; this new adventure is not for the faint-hearted.

Update: Hugh Bonneville's character has been named as 'Avery' on his Gordon and French CV, and this also reports the director for this episode (three) as Jeremy Webb (a regular director on Merlin).

The Spotlight entry for Dan Starkey has been updated to reflect him playing a character named Strax in the Peter Hoar-directed episode (seven); as reported previously a Sontaran was spotted during filming a fortnight ago, so it seems likely that Starkey has once again donned the blue armour!

Meanwhile, a familiar face was spotted at the Millennium Stadium last week, with actor Simon Fisher-Becker - who previously appeared as Dorium in The Pandorica Opens - seen once again in blue, and believed to be reprising his role.


 


 

 
Meanwhile filming for the series has continued for episodes seven and three, with the cast and crew being spotted at the Millennium Stadium and Laguna Health and Spa in Cardiff centre on Wednesday 20th January, and during the course of this week at the Fillcare Ltd plant (formerly L'Oreal) at Talbot Green, Mid Glamorgan.

Filming has continued on episode seven of the series; though the production team have kept a low profile in recent weeks, a couple of photos have surfaced from filming at Uskmouth Power Station (previously seen representing Battersea Power Station in Age of Steel) on the 13th January, showing some of the signs seen on location. One design of note is the 'octagonal' one that was previously seen in The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone last year, symbol of the Clerics that held River Song prisoner.



Another location related to River also popped up on the 20th January, when production re-surfaced in Cardiff with the base located at the Millennium Stadium; having been used for her prison during The Pandorica Opens, and knowing that Alex Kingston features in the currently filming episode, it seemed possible that the site was being utilised as the Stormcage Containment Facility once again.



The day also saw filming take place at the nearby Laguna Health and Spa on Greyfriars Road:
At Laguna last night, the blue chap was there, along with some soldiers, but they were dressed all in black (including hat), so not UNIT.


Filming at the former L'Oreal plant this week was low-key, until Wednesday saw a note to staff informing them "to expect up to 70 cast and crew tomorrow for DW filming." Subsequent tweets on Thursday indicated that old enemy the Cybermen were on the move!
15:47 Hayley: A cyberman with dreadlocks! Ahhhh... :D Papa... Thank'you! :D
18:33 Anthony: Great day today. They've been filming for Dr Who at work
so lots of cybermen around and also got to meet Karen Gillan who plays
the Dr's assistant Amy Pond. What a lovely person, signed autographs and
chatted. Didn't get to meet Arthur Darvill who plays her on screen partner
Rory Williams as he was busy with the cybermen.
18:38 Hayley: My dad came home and said 'God. A group of cybermen are
so intimidating!' ;) haha!!

Filming continued today:
Cybermen in Pontyclun! Went for a nose and got there just as they were packing up. The only Cybery thing I saw was the suits being packed away. Sadly (?) they looked like the regular Cybus ones. But, Toby Haynes did say on the Confidential for The Pandorica Opens that they were originally going to have new Cybermen in the episode, but only new heads. Makes sense, really. There's only so much you can do the redesign a suit, and with a new head, spray of silver, and covering up of the Cybus logo, they'd look new.

Also saw Paul Kasey. No sign of main cast. And lots of the greenscreen. No photos unfort.


Next week, it has been reported that the cast and crew travel out of Wales to Cornwall, descending on the coastal town of St. Austell and filming in the Charlestown area of the town.

The Cornwall Guide describes it as:
Charlestown is an amazingly pristine, unspoilt example of a late Georgian working port. It was constructed between 1791 and 1801 by Charles Rashleigh, a member of the local landowning family, in reponse to the growth of the growth of the local mining industry. Originally built to export copper and import coal, it was soon being used for the export of China Clay
Bearing in mind the character played by Hugh Bonneville has been called both the Pirate Captain and Avery, a Georgian port might indicate a historical setting for episode three involving real-life pirate Henry Every (aka John Avery)!







FILTER: - Series 6/32 - Production - Filming Reports

Editorial: "Change, my dear ..."Bookmark and Share

Friday, 28 January 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Doctor Who News Page is to undergo a "regeneration" this coming weekend, moving from our existing blogspot identity to our new doctorwhonews.net domain.

This has been in progress for a few weeks now, with our other sub-sites Doctor Who in the Media and This Week in Doctor Who having already moved under the new naming scheme. Being that the update to the main news site may have a wider effect on readership, we've decided to announce what will happen with the change beforehand.

We do not expect anybody visiting the site to be impacted in any way, as the old address will automatically redirect to the new one. This will include news articles themselves, so any bookmarks should continue to function as before - we would recommend that these links to us are updated in the future, but this is not a high priority.

However, some news applications that utilise our feed may have to be reconfigured to point to the new feed address after the change; whilst Blogger will handle redirection for the feed, some applications may not recognise this and will no longer see articles. The easiest way will be to simply re-subscribe to the new address via our "Subscribe" option on the sidebar after the change has taken place in order to continue receiving the news feed.

We also expect the search facility may suffer some problems until Google catches up with our new indexing, but this should be resolved within a few days after the change.

The switchover to doctorwhonews.net is expected to be made during this coming Saturday morning. As noted above, this should be seamless to those visiting the News Page, but please note that there may be some unforeseen issues that requires us to take the site offline for a little while.


 
As part of the new launch, we've introduced two new sections to the news site.

The Competitions section will cater for prizes that can be won, including those offered by the Doctor Who News Page - our latest competition to win a copy of K9 Series One Volume One is now online to enter!

We have also created a Reviews page, which we aim to populate with reviews of new and recently releases merchandise, kicking off with a review of the Doctor Who DVD Meglos.


In addition, we have updated our Events section to give a full guide to Doctor Who events around the world, and welcome submissions to the page at the new address events@doctorwhonews.net.

News items may now be sent to us via submissions@doctorwhonews.net, and links to media coverage can be reported via media@doctorwhonews.net.




FILTER: - Editorial

Ride-in Daleks to be unleashed!Bookmark and Share

Thursday, 27 January 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Back in the seventies, kids in the UK could often find the chance to be a "Dalek" when visiting the seaside! Though these old Edwin Hall rides have long-since been exterminated from holiday venues, 2011 looks set to give our own children the chance to unleash their own mastery of the universe ...

Welsh toy company Kids@Play have announced the launch of a new Ride-in Dalek toy for children! The toy is aimed for three to six year olds (maximum weight of 30kg).

Using a unique and patented concept of an inflatable body attached to a high density plastic base, the Kids@Play innovative design team have come up with a safe, strong and exciting toy which meets all the new essential safety standards.

The Dalek body is made from a mixture of ballistic nylon/laminated rubberised polyvinyl which is soft and tactile to the touch. This makes the Ride-in very durable, structurally safe, tear resistant and easy to inflate and assemble. The Dalek has a 6v battery powered motor which gives 360 degree steering and a maximum speed of 3km per hour. The battery is re-chargeable and comes complete with country specific charger. The steering wheel has 10 authentic Dalek phrases that are button activated. The ride-in comes with flashing lights for an atmospheric glow, giving the child the maximum realistic feeling of being in the Dalek and moving around like a Dalek.

The Ride-in is surrounded by a soft bumper to protect furniture and is suitable for both indoors and outdoors activity (providing there is a flat surface), and comes in two parts – a motorised base and inflatable body section.

BBC Worldwide says "we have always dreamed of developing a Ride-in toy Dalek, but no-one had previously been able to achieve this for us. We are so excited by the Kids@Play project; this will be an industry first for us".
A video has been released to promote the toys, which also feature at the Nuremberg Toy Fair (3rd February 2011).


(video via Kids@Play on YouTube)


The Ride-in Daleks will be exclusively distributed in the UK through Zappies, and are due to be on sale in shops like Forbidden Planet during the summer (RRP £199).



You can see one of the old Edwin Hall Dalek rides in operation in this You-Tube video!




FILTER: - Merchandise

Win K9 Series One Volume One on DVDBookmark and Share

Thursday, 27 January 2011 - Reported by Marcus
The Doctor Who News Page is offering winners the chance to win a copy of the first volume of K9, covering episodes one to thirteen of the first series.

K9 BLAST BLASTS INTO HIS OWN LIVE ACTION SCI-FI ADVENTURE SERIES COMBINING COMEDY, ACTION AND SUSPENSE!

Originally created for the classic British sci-fi show Doctor Who in 1977, K9 has long been an iconic television character. He was created by Bob Baker & Dave Martin, who had been long standing contributors to the show from the Jon Pertwee days through to the Tom Baker era. The robotic dog worked his way into the nation’s hearts and he made on screen come back in 2006 showing up in the David Tennant story School Reunion.

K9 now blasts into his own sci-fi/adventure series combining comedy, action and suspense, which is being shown on shown on Five in the UK. The series combines live action and stunning visual effects and comes from his original creator Bob Baker.


K9: Series One Volume One is due for release in the shops from 31st January 2011.

We have three copies up for grabs of the DVD courtesy of Organic Marketing. To be in for a chance of winning the competition, simply answer this question:

In which David Tennant episode did K9 make his first appearance for over 20 years?
  • Blink
  • School Reunion
  • The Christmas Invasion

Send your answer with your name, address and email to us at k9-competition@doctorwhonews.net, with the subject line K9 Competition.

Closing Date: Friday 11th February 2011



News links:
K9: UK DVD release update (22nd Dec 2010)




FILTER: - Competitions - Doctor Who News

Character Sets - More DetailsBookmark and Share

Thursday, 27 January 2011 - Reported by Marcus
NTAMore details have emerged on the new set of Doctor Who Characters available this spring from Character Building.

Chris Elmer from the website Active Dad got a chance to play with the Characters at the 2011 London Toy Fair held at the Olympia Exhibition Centre in London.

Fans of the classic series will be delighted that each of the eleven incarnations of the Doctor is represented in toy form along with vast armies of Daleks, Cybermen and Weeping Angels.

Building sets featuring scenes from the series include the TARDIS Console Room Playset, the TARDIS Mini Set, the Cybermen Conversion Chamber Set, the Dalek Factory Set and the Time of Angles Mini Set .

The sets are not connected to LEGO, although the bricks and characters do fit together.

For more infomation check out ActiveDad.co.uk which also has a review of other Doctor Who Merchandise available at the Fair.




FILTER: - Merchandise - Doctor Who - Character