A Colin Baker ExperienceBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 30 September 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Sixth Doctor's Costume (Credit: Chuck Foster)Colin Baker is to visit the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff on Saturday 10th October, and will also take part in a Q&A session:

Colin played the Sixth Doctor from 1984 – 1986 and was an explosion of colours, words and emotions. Passionate, sometimes quick to anger, this was a Doctor you did not want to make enemies with. Baker recently returned to the role and has featured in the Big Finish Productions Audio Drama, The Last Adventure. Colin returns to the Doctor Who Experience after he filmed the Five (ish) Doctors Reboot in 2013 with Peter Davison and Sylvester McCoy for the 50th Anniversary, and will be available for photos and signings during the day. And, if you are keen to cosplay as the Sixth Doctor there couldn’t be a better day to visit! There is no charge for this event and is included in the price of a standard ticket.

DALEK WEEK


The Experience will also be holding a Dalek Day later in the month:

Following the explosive two part opener of Doctor Who Series 9, and the return of the terrifying Daleks along with their creator Davros, The Doctor Who Experience is celebrating one of the Doctor’s greatest foes with a Dalek Day event on Saturday 24th October followed by a week of Dalek half term activities for fans and families. Visitors to the Doctor Who Experience will be able to
  • Go on an interactive adventure and visit Skaro - the home of the Daleks
  • Get up close to the fearsome Daleks who will be roaming throughout the Experience
  • See the Daleks that featured in the opening two-parter of Doctor Who Series Nine
  • Learn how to operate a Dalek and take part in a Q&A session with a Dalek operator
  • See the revealing of the restored original Davros by Mike Tucker, part of Doctor Who Experience refurbishment programme
More details about the Dalek Day/Week will be available shortly.




FILTER: - Colin Baker - Doctor Who Experience - Special Events

Michelle meets Missy ... times two!Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, 30 September 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Details have been released about a very special photo-shoot ...

It’s Double Trouble for Michelle Gomez!

Michelle Gomez with Missy x 2! (Credit: Evolution PR)Following the launch of Character Options’ double helping of Exclusive Doctor Who Missy Figures last week, the actress who plays Missy, Michelle Gomez, has been photographed with her miniature alter egos.

The figures have whipped up storm with Doctor Who fans since they were revealed on Thursday 24th September by way of a virtual press conference hosted by Character’s product development director Alasdair Dewar. Missy is otherwise known as The Master; an arch enemy of the Doctor, but favourite with the fans who have been calling for a collector’s piece of her for some time.

When coming face to face with the figures whilst in New York last week Michelle said:
I absolutely adore my new figure! I can just imagine thousands of Missy’s taking over the world one very small step at a time

Al Dewar added:
Working with Michele Gomez has been so much fun; she was one of the best subjects we’ve ever scanned, patiently holding the perfect pose in both positions for a long period of time. We know that many collectors have been waiting to see if Missy would be included within our collection, it’s great for her finally come to fruition.

(with thanks to Evolution PR)





FILTER: - Character - Miscellaneous

More details about the discovery and loss of Web of Fear 3Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, 30 September 2015 - Reported by Pascal Salzmann
During last weekend's Pandorica Convention in Bristol, Philip Morris described for the first time in detail his discovery of the 12 film cans in a TV station in Jos, which included all episodes of The Web of Fear and The Enemy of the World. He also reveals that the third episode of Web of Fear was among the cans but went missing again, presumably stolen:

Philip Morris (Credit: Tony Chamberlain)This is a little bit of a revelation here now. There were twelve cans there, The Web of Fear was complete, the Enemy of the World was complete. I photographed them, the items were recorded, I knew exactly what was there. I said to one of the guys that was there with me, who works for me “make sure you put these films somewhere safe”. Because normally when you find something, you know it might disappear. I certainly didn’t want that to happen. So he put the films somewhere but as he was doing so the station manager came up and said “I’ll take that” and took one can, which was Episode 3, to his office. I didn’t know about this until later on. [...] When they were sent back episode 3 was missing. I highlighted it to the head of the NTAs and he said "are you sure? It was there". I said "there’s the photograph, it was complete". He then went back to the head of the station who said "Oh I put it back on the shelf. He said it must have gotten sent back up again and I didn’t believe that. Because it would have been there, it really would. It broke my heart that this piece was missing and I wanted to know why. Now I had let somebody know that I had found it, it was a big mistake, I realise that. And obviously that information leaked out. So, episode 3 was missing.

Philip Morris then continues that he is still searching for episode 3 and believes that it is in the hands of a private collector in Australia or the UK:

I went back to Nigeria this year to chase this one down. I spoke to the guy who was the station manager. He said "I put it back on the shelf". I said "I’ve got a photograph here, it was there". I said if it was there it would have been sent back. And then he just said “Well I don’t know anything about missing episodes". And I thought what a strange thing to say. And two days later after that Jos Station was on fire. [...] When I produced the photograph he was "oh dear, he's got proof that this was here." So the strangest thing was when he said to me "I don't know anything about the missing episodes" and I said "well I never mentioned missing episodes" and that was the big cat out of the bag, really so someone's obviously said "that's a missing episode" and offered him money.
It was completely the wrong thing to do, it should have come out with the rest of the story. That's why, you know, we have a sort of long recovery, getting it back to the UK, restoration, waiting on part 3, for that, because it should have been there and I thought it would come back.

And looking at it, this is what I personally think: Somebody rang up, they offered him money, he has taken that, it's been sent by courier, which you would have thought would be within Jos' area, it would be one of the courier companies. I have somebody actually looking at that now for any records... I'm not saying I'm going to print somebody's name online or anything like that, but if I get some kind of contact details I will be writing to the guy and asking them to do the right thing, but we'll see where that leads. Hopefully he'll do it on his own. So that's basically what happened. When you go to a station, you're not allowed to remove programmes, you've got to catalogue what you see, photograph what you see, and then, obviously you go back to the head of the station and you say "this is there, that's over there", and he'll just say "ok" then it goes back to Central, in Nigeria it goes back to Abuja, everything is catalogued so we know what's gonna leave the country, and then it's sent back to the UK.

(Question from an attendee) Do you think it's still in Nigeria, or did it actually make it to the UK? Do you think it's in the UK somewhere?

Phillip Morris: Hmmmmm, no, maybe not in the UK. It might be in Australia, somewhere like that. I don't know, it might be in the UK, but it was somebody - I trusted somebody. And within the space of a week the information was out there, as in someone had mentioned the station, this station had purchased Doctor Who, which it hadn't, and I thought "well hang on a minute, every single state in Nigeria has a newspaper to give you the programme listings, why has this one been pinpointed?" When the whole system worked, everything moved around someone obviously is not aware of that you can only find those details if you're actually aware of them. So it wasn't helpful, and with the project going forward people think "well, he's really secretive" but I have to be. I have to protect those things that come forward until we can tell the story.

(Question from attendee) Do you think that one has been taken because it was the Brigadier's first story?

Phillip Morris: No, it was coincidence. You've got to say, when that guy intervened, and went "I'll take those", it was random. I wish it had been episode one, or Enemy of the World episode three! It really must have been the luck of the draw.

You can listen to the complete audio panel and a followup conversation here:



Thanks to Philip Morris and Fantom Films for allowing us to distribute these files, which were recorded without permission and originally posted without their consent. There are still tickets available to attend their forthcoming signing event on 31st October for The Underwater Menace, which will finally be released on DVD on 26th October.






FILTER: -

The Stone TapesBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 30 September 2015 - Reported by Marcus
The Podcast version of Vol 5 of THE STONE TAPES has a distinctly Doctor Who flavour and is now live to listen to and download

The show is hosted by horror writer Sam Stone, and features special studio guest Frazer Hines chatting about his time on Doctor Who, plus BBC Effects designer and writer Mike Tucker discussing his and Stephen Nicholas' new book Doctor Who: Impossible Worlds

Patricia H Ash reviews The Map of Time by Felix J Palma, Robin Pierce looks at the TV Century 21 Comic Strips, and David J Howe leads the discussion about the film Doctor who and the Daleks

The music comes from Risa Hall, Linzi Gold, The Timelords and Muse ... The show producer is Alex Lewczuk.

All episodes are available to download and listen to online with more information about The Stone Tapes and future episode details available on the Facebook Group




FILTER: - Fan Productions

Under The Lake: PublicityBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 29 September 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC have released publicity imagery for the forthcoming episode, Under The Lake.

Under The Lake: synopsis

When an Underwater Base comes under attack, the Doctor and Clara must save the frightened crew and defeat an impossible threat. But what is behind these terrifying events? And can they really be haunted by ghosts?

Writer: Toby Whithouse
Director: Daniel O’Hara
Producer: Derek Ritchie

Under The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon Ridgway


Images feature Paul Kaye as Prentis, Colin McFarlane as Moran, Zaqi Ismail as Lunn, Arsher Ali as Bennett, Sophie Stone as Cass, and Morven Christie as O'Donnell.

Under The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon RidgwayUnder The Lake. Images: BBC/Simon Ridgway


Under The Lake: Known Broadcast Details
United KingdomBBC OneSat 3 Oct 20158:25pm
United States of AmericaBBC AmericaSat 3 Oct 20159:00pm EDT(2:00am BST)
CanadaSPACESat 3 Oct 20159:00pm EDT(2:00am BST)
Asia PacificBBC EntertainmentSun 4 Oct 201510:00am SGT(3:00am BST)
New ZealandPRIMESun 4 Oct 20157:30pm NZDT(7:30am BST)
AustraliaABCSun 4 Oct 20157:40pm AEDT(9:40am BST)
Europe (Benelux)BBC FirstTue 6 Oct 20159:00pm CEST
United KingdomBBC TwoFri 9 Oct 20151:15am(British Signed Language)
FinlandYLE2Mon 12 Oct 20156:05pm EEST
South AfricaBBC FirstSat 24 Oct 20157:30pm SAST
GermanyFOXThu 10 Dec 20159:00pm CET(dubbed into German)




FILTER: - Publicity - Series 9/35

The Magician's Apprentice - Official RatingBookmark and Share

Monday, 28 September 2015 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who The Magician's Apprentice has an official consolidated 7 day rating of 6.54 million viewers.

The rating issued by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board, or BARB, includes all those who watched the programme within one week of transmission.

The final rating is slightly down on last year, where the majority of the season rated around 6.9 million viewers.

The rating puts Doctor Who at the 13th most watched programme of the week on all UK Television, and the 4th most watched programme on BBC One. The Great British Bake Off topped the charts with a consolidated audience of 12.35 million viewers, over 2 million higher than its nearest rival, ITV's Downton Abbey, which had 9.9 million viewers.

The figures do not include those who watched on the BBC iPlayer, where The Magician's Apprentice had over 1.3 million download requests in the week following transmission.




FILTER: - Ratings - Series 9/35 - UK

The Witch's Familiar - AI:83Bookmark and Share

Monday, 28 September 2015 - Reported by Marcus
The Witch's Familar: Peter Capaldi as The Doctor (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)Doctor Who: The Witch's Familiar had an Audience Appreciation or AI score of 83.

The Appreciation Index or AI is a measure of how much the audience enjoyed the programme. The score, out of a hundred, is compiled by a specially selected panel of around 5,000 people who go online and rate and comment on programmes.

The feature length version of The Magician's Apprentice / The Witch's Familiar had an audience of 0.64 million viewers on BBC One on Sunday afternoon, a 6.4% share of the audience. The programme was once more up against Rugby on ITV, this time Scotland v USA which had an average of 2.1 million viewers.

The Saturday night showing finished as 53rd for the week. Consolidated figures should be available next Monday.




FILTER: - Ratings - Series 9/35 - UK

Australian overnight ratings for The Witch's FamiliarBookmark and Share

Monday, 28 September 2015 - Reported by Adam Kirk
The Witch's Familiar has debuted in Australia, averaging 541,000 viewers in the five major capital cities. It was the second-highest rating ABC drama of the day and the eighth highest rating program of the day overallThese ratings do not include regional or time-shifted viewers.
Media Links: TV Tonight




FILTER: - Australia - Broadcasting - Ratings - Series 9/35

The Witch's Familiar - Press ReactionBookmark and Share

Sunday, 27 September 2015 - Reported by Marcus
The Witch's Familar: Michelle Gomez as Missy with the Daleks (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)Press reaction to the second episode of Series Nine is once more overwhelmingly positive.

The Independent felt much of the success of the episode was down to Julian Bleach's performance as Davros. "Steven Moffat’s dialogue was on top form this week, but it shone thanks to Bleach’s superb performance. It’s incredible how much physicality he brought to the role considering how limiting the costume is, utilising body language and facial expressions to maximum effect and pairing them with a powerful vocal performance"

The Guardian also liked the Davros/Doctor dynamic. "Peter Capaldi and Julian Bleach crackled with such warped chemistry", with Radio Times agreeing "Capaldi and Julian Bleach are superb in these moments. There’s a coup de théâtre when, for the first time, the wizened Davros opens his eyes. We’d always assumed he had none. No one but Steven Moffat would have thought to do this."

The Express said you can't help but love the villains."Missy is like a deliciously dangerous cocktail of dry wit laced with a sneaky shot of psychosis. She pulls you in with hers charms and makes you feel comfortable, then the moment you let your guard down or even consider trusting her, she'll have you strung upside down from a tree". The Registrar also loved Michelle Gomez. "Missy once again delivers some of the best lines, such as: "The friend inside the enemy, the enemy inside the friend. Everyone's a bit of both. Everyone's a hybrid.".

TV Fanatic loved the pairing of Clara and Missy "I lost it when Clara mentioned throwing a stone down into the sewers and Missy pushing her in saying. I'm sure we haven't seen the last of The Mistress, but I already can't wait for another team up like this one. " Mashable also loved the duo. "A fantastic comedy double act of psycho and straight person, fighting their way through Skaro towards the Doctor with nothing but a sharpened stick", a sentiment agreed with by 411Mainia. "I know not everyone is in love with Missy, but Michelle Gomez is a highlight of the first two episodes. She is able to have some more wicked fun, which is an important balance since the Doctor is busy being deadly serious"

The Metro loved the pace of the story. This was a thoughtful character piece in which the Doctor saves the day with an act of mercy rather than a simple wave of his sonic. I found that pleasingly old-school, while The Daily Mail loved the fact that Doctor Who can still come up with something fresh. "Seeing the Doctor’s assistant Clara Oswald strapped, trapped, inside a Dalek and only able to communicate like them was ingeniously vivid – palpably claustrophobic and perilous: the fairground ride from hell.".

Not all was positive with TV.com disliking the conclusion to the episode "this climax was dumb. Daleks turning on one another is fine enough, but the sludgey poo of not-quite-dead Daleks attacking their comrades was just... dumb.", while IGN thought the episode a bit of a letdown. "It just can’t satisfactorily resolve some of the bits and pieces showrunner Steven Moffat left dangling last week in the grand first episode."

Digital Spy however thought the episode bleak but rewarding. "Scenes between our effusive hero and a creepily still Davros are dark and uncompromising, they're also utterly scintillating."

You can read Doctor Who News's review of the episode on our reviews site.




FILTER: - Press - Series 9/35

The Witch's Familiar - Overnight Viewing FiguresBookmark and Share

Sunday, 27 September 2015 - Reported by Marcus

3.7 million, a 16.6% share of the audience, watched Doctor Who, The Witch's Familiar in the UK, according to unofficial overnight viewing figures.

Doctor Who suffered by being placed directly opposite live coverage of the Rugby World Cup on ITV, where England playing Wales attracted an average of 8.3 million viewers, pushing the overnight audience for Doctor Who down to below 4 million for the first time since the series returned in 2005.

The Rugby coverage topped the day peaking at 10.8 million viewers, a 47.6% share. It pushed Strictly Come Dancing into second place for the day with 7.7 million viewers. Casualty had 3.8 million watching just ahead of the Doctor which was also beaten by the late news resulting in Doctor Who being fifth for the day.

On overnight figures Doctor Who is currently 47th for the week. Final consolidated figures, which should see Doctor Who's audience rise dramatically, will be released next week.

A feature length version of the first two episodes of the series, is being broadcast on BBC One later today.




FILTER: - Ratings - Series 9/35 - UK