The God Complex: Chart PositionBookmark and Share

Friday, 30 September 2011 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who RatingsFinal figures show Doctor Who: The God Complex was the 18th most watched programme of the week.

Final Figures include those who record the programme and watch it within seven days, but do not include those watching on iPlayer. ITV1 claimed all the top spots of the week with The X Factor, Downton Abbey and Doc Martin taking the top four spots. The main three soaps also did well pushing Doctor Who down to 18th place for the week.

The final episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day finished the week just outside the top 30 at number 32.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 6/32

The Wedding of River Song: one day to go!Bookmark and Share

Friday, 30 September 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
It's now just twenty-four hours before the premiere of the current series finale, The Wedding of River Song, broadcast at 7:05pm tomorrow on BBC1 and BBC1HD in the United Kingdom.

The BBC have released a couple of brief interviews to introduce the episode, with the first featuring Arthur Darvill discussing the script, and the second featuring producer Marcus Wilson and one of the story's guest stars:


The Wedding of River Song: Interview 1, BBC, via the BBC Doctor Who site - may not play outside of the United Kingdom




The Wedding of River Song: Interview 2, BBC, via the BBC Doctor Who site - may not play outside of the United Kingdom

Two new preview clips have also been published, featuring brief scenes from the episodes (warning, both previews feature encounters with guest stars that can be considered spoilers!):

The Wedding of River Song: Preview 1, BBC, via the BBC Doctor Who site - may not play outside of the United Kingdom



The Wedding of River Song: Preview 2, BBC, via the BBC Doctor Who site - may not play outside of the United Kingdom

Some new preview images have also been released for desktop wallpaper:


**** PUBLICITY WALLPAPER PHOTOS FOR THE WEDDING OF RIVER SONG
**** MIGHT BE CONSIDERED SPOILERS









The Wedding of River Song will be on the BBC iPlayer after broadcast until the 8th October, and is repeated on BBC3 on Sunday at 7:00pm; internationally, SPACE in Canada shows the episode at 8:00pm ET, BBC America in the United States at 9:00pm ET, and on ABC1 in Australia at 7:30pm on the 8th October. New Zealand will air the show on Prime TV on the 20th October.



Meanwhile, the final episode of Doctor Who Confidential is also broadcast on Saturday, on BBC3 at 8:35pm, and includes the mini-episode Death is the Only Answer, written by pupils from Oakley CE Junior School in Basingstoke. Last Thursday saw the school enjoy a special preview of the episode, only to find themselves joined by the surprise appearance of the Doctor himself, Matt Smith, alongside series lead writer Steven Moffat:


Doctor Who Confidential: Matt Smith visits Oakley Junior School, BBC, via the BBC Doctor Who site - may not play outside of the United Kingdom

Introducing the Pond Family, BBC Three, via the BBC Three Doctor Who Confidential site - may not play outside of the United Kingdom
Alternatively there is a YouTube version.

Karen on a trampoline, BBC Three, via the BBC Three Doctor Who Confidential site - may not play outside of the United Kingdom
Alternatively there is a YouTube version.

The final Doctor Who Confidential is on Saturday on BBC Three, but please remember that this week's episode starts at 8.35pm - that's 45 minutes after The Wedding of River Song finishes.

It's a fitting final episode and premiers a brand new mini-adventure starring Matt Smith as the Doctor. The story, Death is the Only Answer, was the winning entry in the Script to Screen competition and throughout the past several weeks viewers have been there, every step of the way as the adventure evolved from the page to a fully-fledged episode. If you missed any of the journey, you can catch recent Doctor Who Confidentials here.

When Time Froze also features a unique timeline of River Song, featuring Alex Kingston, as well as exclusive interviews with Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill.

The episode will be available after broadcast via the BBC iPlayer until 8th October, and gets its high definition broadcast on Monday morning at 2:20am; a Cut Down version is broadcast on Sunday on BBC3 at 7:45pm.





FILTER: - Series 6/32 - Online

Strike at BBC Wales affects Doctor WhoBookmark and Share

Friday, 30 September 2011 - Reported by Marcus
Fiming on the Christmas Special of Doctor Who had been disrupted by a 24-hour strike called today to protest at compulsory redundancies at BBC Wales.

The dispute is over plans to cut four editors' posts and the failure of the BBC to offer redeployment to the four individuals involved.

In addition to the effect on Doctor Who, shooting on Casualty and Pobol y Cwm has also been suspended and the BBC Radio Wales breakfast show, Good Morning Wales, was replaced by arts programming.




FILTER: - Production - BBC

BBC Competition: Win the Doctor's Jacket!Bookmark and Share

Friday, 30 September 2011 - Reported by Marcus
The BBC Doctor Who page on Facebook have launched a competition for one lucky winner to win replicas of both the Eleventh Doctor's jacket and Captain Jack's coat!


The competition is open to residents of the United Kingdom who are eighteen years of age or over; in order to enter simply ensure you "Like" the Doctor Who page, and then provide your name, address and other contact details via the competition entry form by 23rd October 2011.


The winner will be announced the week after closing date.




You can find the full terms and conditions for the competition here.

Please note that in order to enter this competition you must be a registered user of Facebook, and allow access to the Softwind Competitions! application.




FILTER: - Competitions - BBC

Arts For Hearts Auction: Final WeekBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 28 September 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
This week sees the final items of Doctor Who artwork up for auction by Arts For Hearts, the proceeds of which are donated to the Great Ormond Street Hospital to held fund research into organ transplants.

Concept artist Peter McKinstry has donated two A2 prints of K9, both of which have been signed by the artist and the voice of K9, John Leeson. Also up for auction is a page of original comic artwork from Doctor Who Adventures by John Ross



You can bid on the two K9 prints (one, two) and the John Ross artwork via Ebay.

(with thanks to Ian Stacey)





FILTER: - Special Events - Auctions

Doctor Who Confidential to be cancelledBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 28 September 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The producer of the behind-the-scenes documentary series Doctor Who Confidential, Zoe Rushton, has confirmed on Twitter that the show will no longer be produced by the BBC. The final edition of the show will be broadcast this coming Saturday at 8:35pm on BBC3 (with Rushton clarifying that previously reported production for a Christmas edition is no longer occuring).

Reasons for the show's cancellation have been cited by the Guardian newspaper as being financial in nature, with the BBC having to engage in several cost-cutting exercises to meet its tighter budget. Part of this initiative has been a 're-alignment' of programming on BBC3, with controller Zai Bennett commenting at last month's Edinburgh International Television Festival that "it's about focusing my budget on 9pm and 10pm; those are the time slots that count. Budgets are tight, so we have to be sensible with the money we have." Further details about BBC3 changes are expected to be outlined by the Director General, Mark Thompson on 6th October.

The BBC Press Office confirmed to us that:
The Doctor Who spin-off series, Doctor Who Confidential, has been a great show for BBC Three over the years, but our priority now is to build on original British commissions, unique to the channel.





FILTER: - Doctor Who - Documentary - Series 7/33

Dinosaurs invade Riverside!Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, 28 September 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
This January sees the release of Invasion of the Dinosaurs on DVD, a story which has the dubious fame of including the final casualty of the old BBC process of destroying prints, with episode one only existing as a black and white print in the BBC Archive.

The episode, like other 'monochrome' Pertwee episodes, has been a focus as to whether a colour version could be recreated; speaking in the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine, DVD executive producer Dan Hall said:
This colour recovery has been a miracle, pulling out colour information from black and white film prints. Unfortunately, in the case of Invasion (of the Dinosaurs) Part One, the process has not produced a perfect colour print, but enough information has been salvaged to offer a tantalising glimpse of what the original broadcast may have been like.

As a result, the episode will be presented in the story in its 'clean' black and white version, with the partial colour restoration available as an alternative.


The colour episode will be shown in the form of a special preview for attendees at the forthcoming DWAS convention, Time 5, taking place at Riverside Studios on Saturday 29th October 2011:
To publicise the forthcoming DVD release we are pleased that the colour version of episode 1 will be previewed on the big screen in the cinema.

The trailer for the forthcoming The Reign of Terror - recently seen in Australia - will also be screened during the convention.
(with thanks to Paul Winter)





FILTER: - Conventions - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Voting now open for the 2012 National TV AwardsBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 27 September 2011 - Reported by Harry Ward
NTA Voting is now open in longlist for the 2012 National TV Awards. Doctor Who and Torchwood: Miracle Day have been nominated in the 'Most Popular Drama' category.

Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, John Barrowman and Eve Myles have all been nominated in 'Outstanding Drama Performance' for their roles in Doctor Who and Torchwood: Miracle Day respectively.

John Barrowman has also been nominated in 'Most Popular Entertainment Presenter' while his show, Tonight's The Night, is up for 'Most Popular Entertainment Programme'.

Competition in the longlist will come from ITV's Downton Abbey. The period drama, featuring Hugh Bonneville (Henry Avery, The Curse of the Black Spot) recently won 6 Primetime Emmy Awards.

Voting in the longlist closes on 17 October 2011. The shortlist will be announced in January 2012.





FILTER: - People - UK - Awards/Nominations

Doctor Who: The Complete Series Six Boxed Set confirmed for 21st NovemberBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 27 September 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
2|Entertain have now confirmed that the Complete Series Six boxed set will be released in the United Kingdom on the 21st November 2011 on Blu-ray and DVD:

The Doctor, Amy and Rory return to face monsters, mysteries and adventures all across time and space in the the action-packed sixth series.

Together they find themselves in Sixties America, battling the invasion the world forgot, then journey on the high seas of 1696 aboard a pirate ship, to solve the mystery of the Siren. In a bubble universe at the very edge of reality, the Doctor meets an old friend with a new face, and in a monastery on a remote island in the near future, an industrial accident takes on a terrible human shape. They also venture across centuries and galaxies, where they encounter the greatest war criminal in all of history - and Hitler. They'll also discover there's no scarier place in the universe than a child's bedroom and a visit to an alien quarantine facility will reveal to Rory a very different side to his wife. In a hotel where walls move, corridors twist and rooms vanish, death lies waiting. But the Doctor's time has yet to come. He has one last stop to make on his final journey - an old friend needs his help and an old foe must be defeated. But time catches up with us all and the Doctor can delay no more.
As previously revealed by the BBFC earlier in the month, only four episodes will be accompanied by a commentary this year, covering The Impossible Astronaut, The Doctor's Wife, A Good Man Goes To War, and The Wedding of River Song. However, as usual all thirteen episodes of the series have their accompanying episode of Doctor Who Confidential Cut Down.

Also included with the release are last year's festive treat, A Christmas Carol, the Comic Relief mini-episode Space & Time, and the five series preludes released online through the BBC's Doctor Who site; though not listed in the press release, the Script to Screen mini-episode Death is the Only Answer is also expected to be included. The set also sees the addition of five new mini-episodes, themed "Night and the Doctor", which have been written exclusively for the release by Steven Moffat, plus a special Confidential to accompany them, The Night's Tale.

The boxed set will also contain the four Monster Files released with the previous, individual Part 1 and Part 2 series sets.


The DVD boxed set will also be released as a limited edition "Silence" version, which will also include four lenticular prints.







FILTER: - Merchandise - Series 6/32 - Blu-ray/DVD

The Wedding of River Song: Radio Times/BBC Publicity PhotosBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 27 September 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The new edition of the Radio Times (1st-7th October) is out today, and bids farewell to the current series of Doctor Who; it features interviews with series showrunner Steven Moffat, Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, and also includes who their hidden Who heroes might be - plus a look back at what it considers to be the Doctor's five greatest escapes ...

You can also read a preview for the episode on the Radio Times website.


Next week also sees the return of The Sarah Jane Adventures, and in the magazine Elisabeth Sladen’s daughter Sadie talks movingly of her mother’s legacy.
 

Meanwhile, the BBC have now released a host of photos featuring a number of new and familiar faces that will appear in the 45 minute finale this coming Saturday:



**** PUBLICITY PHOTOS FOR THE WEDDING OF RIVER SONG
**** MIGHT BE CONSIDERED SPOILERS























FILTER: - Series 6/32 - Online - Radio Times