DWM remembers the Seventh Doctor's eraBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 30 April 2014 - Reported by John Bowman
The new issue of Doctor Who Magazine harks back to the Seventh Doctor's era as former script editor Andrew Cartmel examines how the series was reinvented for a new generation.

In issue 473, published tomorrow, Cartmel catches up with the writers that he employed, with Stephen Wyatt, Malcolm Kohll and Ian Briggs revealing what it was like to write for the show and discussing how they feel their stories paved the way for the modern reinvention of the programme. Briggs says:
I think it's fantastic. Russell T Davies' approach was a vivid reimagining, taking the basic principles and doing them in a way TV is now made instead of just continuing from the 1980s... That's the great achievement of Russell T Davies – and Steven Moffat, since he took over. Stylistically in both senses, technical style and storytelling style, the show is bang up to date.
Also in the new edition:
  • Producer Marcus Wilson looks back at his work on Doctor Who, including The Time of the Doctor and The Day of the Doctor
  • Showrunner Steven Moffat answers readers' questions
  • DWM pays tribute to the life and times of the late Christopher Barry, one of Doctor Who's most prolific directors
  • Clive Doig talks to Toby Hadoke about working on the earliest episodes of Doctor Who
  • The Fact of Fiction takes a detailed look at the 1969 Ice Warriors adventure The Seeds of Death
  • The Doctor and Clara's latest comic-strip adventure - The Blood of Azrael - continues
  • The Time Team watch the Tenth Doctor meet an old friend - and some even older enemies - in The Sontaran Stratagem and The Poison Sky
  • Jacqueline Rayner sees Doctor Who's special effects in a whole new light in Relative Dimensions
  • The Watcher exposes the remarkable relationship between Doctor Who and the Eurovision Song Contest in Wotcha!
  • Reviews of the latest DVDs, CDs and books
  • Competitions, puzzles and more




FILTER: - Seventh Doctor - Magazines - DWM

Doctor Who scoops two gongs at BAFTA Television Craft AwardsBookmark and Share

Monday, 28 April 2014 - Reported by John Bowman
Doctor Who picked up two BAFTA Television Craft Awards at last night's ceremony, held at The Brewery in London.

The annual event celebrates the very best behind-the-scenes talent in British television of the past year, and the 50th-anniversary special The Day of the Doctor won the Special, Visual & Graphic Effects title, with Milk VFX, Real SFX and The Model Unit being named in the citation, while An Adventure In Space And Time - the BBC Two drama centring on the genesis of Doctor Who - won for Make Up and Hair Design, with Vickie Lang named in the citation.

The triumph by The Day of the Doctor ended a seven-year run of being nominated in that category but losing.

Doctor Who At The Proms 2013, which had been nominated for Entertainment Craft Team, lost out to Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. An Adventure In Space And Time had also been nominated for Costume Design and Editing - Fiction but was pipped to those titles by Downton Abbey and The Fall respectively.

More success for The Day of the Doctor and An Adventure In Space And Time could be on its way, however, at the TV BAFTAs, as An Adventure In Space and Time has been nominated for Single Drama and The Day of the Doctor is up for the Radio Times Audience Award, with the winner of the latter to be decided by a public vote. The TV BAFTAs will be held at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, on Sunday 18th May.

Votes for the Radio Times Audience Award can be cast via the voting page and must be in by midday BST on Thursday 15th May. A valid e-mail address must be given for the vote to count, and only one vote per person is allowed. Duplicate votes from the same person will not be counted.




FILTER: - WHO50 - Awards/Nominations

Telos Publishing revamps website and offers discountBookmark and Share

Saturday, 26 April 2014 - Reported by John Bowman
Telos Publishing has revamped its website and to mark the change it is offering 10 per cent off all purchases for a limited period.

The publisher of genre books is a UK-based independent press that was set up by David J Howe and Stephen James Walker in 2000. Its wide-ranging portfolio includes Doctor Who plus other cult TV shows, film, crime, mystery, thrillers, horror and dark fantasy.

Howe, who is the publishing director, said:
It was time for a change. The original site had served us well for many years, but the world of online sales has moved on and we needed to catch up! One of the issues with the original site was that we couldn't easily offer discounts without extensive coding work. But the new site allows us to be flexible and to present sales and offers across our range, whenever we want.
Telos's catalogue has grown since the company's inception and now features more than 140 titles. It specialises in guides to a variety of cult television and film series but also has a growing fiction catalogue, including works from authors such as Simon Clark, Graham Masterton, Mike Ripley, Hank Janson, Andrew Hook and Sam Stone. New titles for 2014 will include an extensive guide to the TV series The Avengers.

The Telos site can be found at www.telos.co.uk and there are sale offers across the entire range, with some titles at 99p.

Howe said:
We decided to reduce the prices across all the ranges, where the books had been available for some time, or where we had fairly high stock levels remaining. Hopefully this means that buyers can pick up some bargains, whether from our well-received Time Hunter series, which spun off from our Doctor Who fiction range, or across our horror novels and novellas, where titles by authors such as Stephen Gallagher, Steve Savile, George Mann and T M Wright can be snapped up.
Telos is also currently offering 10 per cent off everything bought via its website. The discount can be obtained by entering the code newwebsite14 at the checkout, and the offer is available until Saturday 31st May.




FILTER: - Books

Fifty years of Doctor Who in comics to be celebratedBookmark and Share

Saturday, 26 April 2014 - Reported by John Bowman
The Lakes International Comic Art Festival is to mark 50 years of Doctor Who in comic-strip form this year as part of its line-up of events.

The festival is taking place at various venues in Kendal, Cumbria, from Friday 17th to Sunday 19th October, and with Doctor Who believed to be the longest-running licensed science fiction comic strip globally, it will be paying tribute to this format.

The first Doctor Who comic strip appeared in issue 674 of TV Comic, cover dated 14th November 1964, with the adventure The Klepton Parasites that unfolded over ten weeks (although a spoof, called Doctor What And His Time Clock and featuring a William Hartnell lookalike, appeared in Boys' World between 30th May and 3rd October 1964).

Doctor Who would go on to appear in - take a deep breath, folks! - Countdown, Countdown for TV Action!, TV Action in Countdown, TV Action + Countdown, TV Action, TV Comic Plus TV Action, TV Comic Plus Tom and Jerry Weekly, Mighty Midget Doctor Who Comic, Mighty TV Comic, and TV Comic With Target before its move to Doctor Who Weekly in 1979, with DWW eventually becoming Doctor Who Magazine. It is also in comic-strip form now in the UK in Doctor Who Adventures, which began in 2006, and has been published as a comic strip in the USA by IDW, with Titan recently picking up the licence.

Dez Skinn - the first editor of Doctor Who Weekly - will be giving an insight into the publication's evolution, including meeting with the BBC and touring the country with Tom Baker, in The First Doctor of Doctor Who at the town library on Friday 17th October at 7pm - the exact 35th anniversary of the cover date of the first edition of DWW.

Also on the festival programme is Doctor Who: 50 Years in 50 Minutes on Saturday 18th October, which is being held at the library as well. Starting at 5.30pm, this will have a panel, hosted by former DWM editor John Freeman, that will comprise artists Mike Collins and Martin Geraghty plus writers Scott Gray, Nick Abadzis and Robbie Morrison.

Others appearing at the festival who have a Doctor Who connection will be the artists Dave Gibbons, Mark Buckingham and Gary Erskine plus cartoonist Kev F Sutherland.
With Thanks To Tony Clark




FILTER: - Doctor Who - Special Events - Comics

DWA offers free digital taster of magazineBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 23 April 2014 - Reported by John Bowman
A free taster of the fortnightly magazine Doctor Who Adventures has been made available online.

The sample comprises 11 pages including highlights from the latest edition - issue 344, which is out today - followed by an invitation to try the current and next editions of the magazine free. The taster - which can be accessed by clicking on this link - also has an exclusive competition to win a PS4 plus the Series 7 DVD box set.

Inside the print edition of issue 344, readers will find:
  • Free Weeping Angel grabbers
  • A game to play with the grabbers
  • Fun with the Alien Babies
  • Pictures from filming the new series
  • Strax's guide to The Silence
  • How to make a Cybermat
  • Prizes to be won
  • A look behind the scenes on The Rings of Akhaten
  • A comic strip featuring an unseen adventure with the Eleventh Doctor and Clara
  • Three posters plus puzzles
Issue 344 of DWA is available until Tuesday 6th May.




FILTER: - Online - Magazines - DWA

DWM publishes official guide to 2013 seriesBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 22 April 2014 - Reported by John Bowman
The Official Guide To The 2013 Series of Doctor Who has been published by Doctor Who Magazine. Researched and compiled by Andrew Pixley, it spans 132 pages and is the 37th special edition from the Panini-owned title.

Billed as "the essential guide to Matt Smith's final season as the Doctor", the guide has in-depth articles covering the episodes The Snowmen, The Bells of Saint John, The Rings of Akhaten, Cold War, Hide, Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, The Crimson Horror, Nightmare in Silver and The Name of the Doctor and, says DWM, is "packed with previously unpublished photos, day-to-day details of Doctor Who's production and hundreds of fascinating new facts."

It is available from the usual outlets.

The Night of the Doctor, The Day of the Doctor and The Time of the Doctor will be covered in the next special, DWM told Doctor Who News.




FILTER: - Magazines - DWM - Series 7/33

Two tickets to the BAFTA TV Awards to be wonBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 22 April 2014 - Reported by John Bowman
BAFTA has launched a competition in which somebody can win two tickets to this year's TV Awards by submitting a caption for a photo that includes a Dalek.

As reported earlier this month, An Adventure In Space and Time - the BBC Two drama by Mark Gatiss centring on the genesis of Doctor Who - is in the running for the title of Best Single Drama at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards, while the 50th-anniversary special The Day of the Doctor is up for the Radio Times Audience Award, with the winner of the latter to be decided by a public vote. The victors will be revealed on the BAFTA website, its Facebook page and Twitter feed as they are announced, while exclusive footage will be available on BAFTA's YouTube channel, with the ceremony also being shown on BBC One.

The awards are being held at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, on Sunday 18th May, and for your chance to win two tickets to the star-studded event, simply submit to BAFTA a witty and inventive caption for the picture below, which shows a Dalek behind food writer and broadcaster Mary Berry at last year's TV awards ceremony, held at the Royal Festival Hall.

Picture: BAFTA/Jonny Birch. Reproduced with the permission of BAFTA.

Entries can be tweeted to BAFTA using the hashtag #BAFTAComp or sent in via its Facebook page or via the comments section on the competition announcement page.

The deadline is midday BST on Tuesday 29th April, and all entrants must be aged 18 or above. The full terms and conditions are available here.

Meanwhile, votes for the Radio Times Audience Award can be cast via the voting page. The deadline is midday BST on Thursday 15th May. A valid e-mail address must be given for the vote to count, and only one vote per person is allowed. Duplicate votes from the same person will not be counted.




FILTER: - Special Events - WHO50 - Competitions - Awards/Nominations

Doctor Who newsreels among thousands of films released by British PathéBookmark and Share

Monday, 21 April 2014 - Reported by John Bowman
Archival footage relating to Doctor Who is among thousands of films now available to view on the British Pathé YouTube channel, after the organisation decided to upload its entire catalogue in high resolution to the video-sharing website.

British Pathé newsreels were once a staple part of going to the cinema, providing people with visual reports and features in the days before television news and, indeed, before many people had TVs. Now its collection of 85,000 films, spanning the years 1896 to 1976, has been released as part of a bid to enable the archive to be seen globally.

Alastair White, the general manager of British Pathé, said of the unprecedented release:
Our hope is that everyone, everywhere who has a computer will see these films and enjoy them. This archive is a treasure trove unrivalled in historical and cultural significance that should never be forgotten. Uploading the films to YouTube seemed like the best way to make sure of that.
German online TV channel Mediakraft has managed the project and is to create new content with British Pathé material. It said:
While the British Pathé archive is available online via their own website, www.britishpathe.com, going public on YouTube will create a new user experience. Viewers can comment, share and embed the historic videos and thereby add another dimension of context to the British Pathé archive.

In addition, it is very likely that the community will find hidden gems in the enormous video library that have not been discovered by the archivists yet. British Pathé, Mediakraft and YouTube are very excited to see the interaction of the online video community with the fantastic archive of history.
Of particular interest to Doctor Who fans will be the film clip of the 1967/68 Schoolboys' and Girls' Exhibition at Olympia, which at the start briefly shows a Cyberman and Yeti with onlookers, as well as the 1959 film Park Rangers, in which a police box on Wimbledon Common is put to use (1:51). Also in the archive is the 1955 newsreel Waistcoat Club Aka Waistcoats For Women, which includes footage of Jon Pertwee and Jean Marsh, who were married from 1955 to 1960 (0:49 and with Pertwee's brother Michael and Michael's wife Valerie at 1:24), as well as Peter Cushing (1:36). The film states that the Pertwees were founder members of the club in 1953.

More offbeat Doctor Who-related newsreels show a radio-controlled Dalek named Dodger selling university rag mags in Coventry in 1964, and another home-made Dalek plus robot and rocket in the back garden of the Sherlock family home in Horsham, which was filmed in 1967.







FILTER: - Online - Jon Pertwee - Peter Cushing - Miscellaneous

2014 Hugo NominationsBookmark and Share

Sunday, 20 April 2014 - Reported by Marcus
Hugo AwardsDoctor Who dominates the nominations for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form Programme in the 2014 Hugo Awards.

Not only are the two episodes The Day of the Doctor and The Name of the Doctor nominated, but so is the docu-drama based on the origins of the show, An Adventure in Space and Time, and the spoof anniversary drama featuring Doctors 5, 6, 7 and 8, The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot.

Doctor Who's head writer and executive producer, Steven Moffat, said:
For Doctor Who to receive three Hugo nominations in its anniversary year is completely thrilling. We are all over the moon. I'm particularly pleased about The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot as that was my acting debut. I remain available for any parts requiring a black jumper and slightly unrealistic hair.
Nominations Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
  • An Adventure in Space and Time, written by Mark Gatiss, directed by Terry McDonough (BBC Television)
  • Doctor Who: "The Day of the Doctor", written by Steven Moffat, directed by Nick Hurran (BBC Television)
  • Doctor Who: "The Name of the Doctor", written by Steven Moffat, directed by Saul Metzstein (BBC Televison)
  • The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, written & directed by Peter Davison (BBC Television)
  • Game of Thrones: "The Rains of Castamere", written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, directed by David Nutter (HBO Entertainment in association with Bighead, Littlehead; Television 360; Startling Television and Generator Productions)
  • Orphan Black: "Variations under Domestication" written by Will Pascoe, directed by John Fawcett (Temple Street Productions; Space/BBC America)
Doctor Who has been nominated for a Hugo most years since the series returned in 2005. Previous winners include Neil Gaiman for The Doctor's Wife, Steven Moffat for The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, The Girl in the Fireplace, Blink, and The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang and Russell T Davies and Phil Ford for The Waters of Mars. Last year, despite being nominated for three episodes, the show lost out to Game of Thrones when the awards were announced.

Also nominated this year is Queers Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the LGBTQ Fans Who Love It, edited by Sigrid Ellis & Michael Damian Thomas and published by Mad Norwegian Press, in the Best Related Work category, while The Girl Who Loved Doctor Who, written by Paul Cornell and illustrated by Jimmy Broxton, has been nominated for Best Graphic Novel.

Also nominated, in the Best Fancast category, is the podcast Verity!, named after Doctor Who's first producer and billed as Six Smart Women Discussing Doctor Who. The podcast is the first Doctor Who podcast to be nominated for the award. The producers told Doctor Who News: "We are thrilled to be nominated for our work during the anniversary year."

The 2014 awards will be presented at Loncon 3 - the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention - to be held at ExCeL in London between Thursday 14th and Monday 18th August, with the awards themselves being presented on Sunday 17th August.




FILTER: - WHO50 - Eleventh Doctor - Awards/Nominations

Classic DVDs compendium to be publishedBookmark and Share

Friday, 18 April 2014 - Reported by John Bowman
A guide to the DVD releases of the original run of Doctor Who is to be published by Wonderful Books.

The Classic Doctor Who DVD Compendium, by Paul Smith, is due out this summer.

The publisher said in a press statement:
The original series of Doctor Who ran on television for 26 years, telling thrilling stories of monsters and marvels that enthralled children and adults alike. It has taken half that time to issue all those adventures on DVD, but finally you can now watch every archived episode* in pristine quality. If the prospect of setting out on such a venture daunts you, however, then fear not because The Classic Doctor Who DVD Compendium will guide you every step of the way.

Every disc, every episode, every extra is collated, chronicled and cross-referenced in this complete guide to classic Doctor Who on DVD, with spoiler-free story outlines so no surprises are ruined for those still discovering the original series, suggestions for similar tales to those you already know you like, information on the extensive restoration work that has made the episodes look better than they ever have, and details of the wealth of special features on every disc that expand your knowledge of the worlds of Doctor Who - all fully indexed for easy reference.

If you're only just learning about the long story of Doctor Who then The Classic Doctor Who DVD Compendium will guide you through the adventure ahead. If you're still building your collection it will help you discover further stories you're sure to enjoy, and if you already have every release, this book will be your ultimate companion to the complete range.

*Okay, there's still one to go.
Previous publications by Wonderful Books have included The Wonderful Book of Doctor Who 1965 and the Doctor Who 8th Anniversary Special, as well as Time & Space Visualiser.




FILTER: - Books - Classic Series