The Official 2021 Doctor Who AnnualBookmark and Share

Friday, 31 July 2020 - Reported by Marcus

The Official 2021 Doctor Who Annual (Credit: BBC Studios / Penguin Random House)Penguin Random House Children’s and BBC Studios have announced the publication of Doctor Who: The Official Annual 2021 which includes an exclusive tie-in to the Time Lord Victorious story.

 

Time Lord Victorious is a brand-new multi-platform Doctor Who story told across audio, novels, comics, vinyl, digital, immersive theatre, escape rooms and games. Time Lord Victorious will launch in September 2020, with products and experiences releasing until early 2021.

 

The 2021 annual is packed with activities, puzzles, stories, facts and illustrations, including apeek into the world of the TARDIS with a TARDIS Tour and TARDIS Trip Reviewer.

Plus more in depth fact files on episodes like Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror and multiple opportunities to get to know your enemies better with breakdowns of monsters like the Skithra, the Dregs, the CyberMasters and much more.

The 2021 annual will publish on 3rd September 2020 in hardback priced £7.99 and is the perfect collectable gift for Doctor Who fans of all ages. Fans can pre-order the annual on Amazon.





FILTER: - Books

Big Finish Offers Free Doctor WhoBookmark and Share

Monday, 27 July 2020 - Reported by Marcus
The Worlds of Doctor Who (Credit: Big Finish)Following the wildly successful series of free downloadable audio dramas made available during lockdown, Big Finish today begins a new series of weekly freebies and discounts.

Since the coronavirus pandemic shut down a huge part of the British entertainment industry, Big Finish has continued to produce and release brand new full-cast audio dramas on a weekly basis.

Using remote recording techniques and employing actors with (often self-made) home studios, plus a dedicated team of engineers, sound designers and musicians, the company’s output during the crisis is unparalleled.

In addition, Big Finish has given away over 100,000 free downloads of stories from its various ranges, including Doctor Who, Blake’s 7, Sherlock Holmes, and Dorian Gray.

Now, a new selection of giveaways, entitled Weekly Freebies, will be made available to download exclusively from the Big Finish web site’s Weekly Deals page.

These stories can be unlocked by anyone who has registered for a Big Finish account (which is free to create) and played on the Big Finish listening app (which is free to install).

Each download will be available for one week only and comes accompanied by a special discount offer on related titles, available as either downloads or collector’s edition CDs or box sets.

This week’s Weekly Freebie is:

Jago & Litefoot: Mind Games, written by Justin Richards.

This complete, full-cast audio adventure is the first story in The Worlds of Doctor Who audio anthology, originally released in 2014. It stars Christopher Benjamin and the late Trevor Baxter recreating the “infernal investigators” double act they first established in the TV Doctor Who story, The Talons of Weng-Chiang. In this exciting tale, they are joined by Lisa Bowerman as the popular character of Ellie Higson, a London barmaid with a dark secret...
In Victorian England, Henry Gordon Jago and Professor Litefoot investigate worrying events on the streets of London – which seem to be linked to the New Regency Theatre's resident act, the mesmerist Mr Rees.
Big Finish listeners can also get up to 55% OFF Doctor Who: The Worlds of Doctor Who (Limited Edition), available as a 5-disc CD deluxe slipcover book, or as a digital download, while stocks last, at the Weekly Deals page.

All offers end at 23:59 (UK time) on 02 August 2020.

Please note that Big Finish has now re-opened its warehouse and commenced the shipping of backorders. The mailout of collector’s edition CDs will still be delayed, but all purchases of these CD titles unlock a digital copy that can be downloaded or played on the Big Finish app immediately.




FILTER: - Special Offers

New Independent Comics set in the Doctor Who UniverseBookmark and Share

Sunday, 26 July 2020 - Reported by Marcus
Cutaway ComicsCutaway Comics, an independent comic imprint based in Manchester is launching a new comic series featuring worlds and characters from Doctor Who.

Mixing writers new to comics with experienced artists, Cutaway Comics will bring a new perspective to characters using fresh British creatives.

Publisher Gareth Kavanagh, one half of the publishing duo behind Vworp Vworp, the acclaimed fanzine chronicling the history of Doctor Who comics, explains
I was always fascinated by strips in the back of ​Doctor Who Weekly that didn’t feature the Doctor. Instead, the monsters took centre stage - and the stories were terrifying. Those strips launched the careers of Alan (​Watchmen) Moore and David (​V For Vendetta) Lloyd amongst others, and this is our homage to those unpredictable and wild stories with the next generation of talent.
Cutaway Comics has been working with writers, artists and rights holders to deliver an ambitious chapter of storytelling with villains, aliens, and planets from the worlds of Doctor Who and beyond. The first chapter of Cutaway Comics includes a visit to the giant tower block of Paradise Towers, the rogue god Omega attempting to free himself of his black hole prison and a dimension-hopping trip to 1970’s Soho in Lytton.

Lytton features the intergalactic soldier seen in Doctor Who’s Resurrection of the Daleks. It is a brand new story written by his creator Eric Saward and featuring art from Barry Renshaw.
Intergalactic soldier Lytton has swapped the battlefields for a jazz club in 1970's Soho. If only it wasn’t for the strange noises in the sewers, rumours of vicious aliens in the dark alleyways, and a terrible sense of murder in the air, then everything might be perfect.
Eric Saward is a name familiar to Doctor Who fans for being the script editor for Peter Davison and Colin Baker’s Doctors, as well as writing many fan favourite stories. Saward says:
It has been an adventure pushing one of my own characters into this visual medium. I’ve very much enjoyed seeing my characters take on a life of their own after all this time!
Further stories to come from Cutaway Comics include Omega: Vengeance, which sees rogue god Omega pulling the strings to escape his black hole prison. Omega also features art by the legendary John Ridgway.

Following Omega: Vengeance will be a return to the world of Paradise Towers, a giant tower block with teenage gangs, murderous old ‘rezzies’, and underground whispers that might topple the tower block once and for all. Written by Sean Mason, who has previously adapted Halo Jones and V for Vendetta for the stage, the artist will be announced shortly.

Cutaway Comics has launched a Kickstarter to raise awareness of the project, offering exclusive perks such as digital copies and the chance for you to appear in a future ​Lytton comic.

Beyond the comics, each issue ordered directly from the Cutaway Comics website will include an exclusive bonus DVD with the following content planned
  • Video commentaries on the comic featuring artist Barry Renshaw and writer Eric Saward
  • An introduction to the series from Eric Saward
  • New interviews with Eric Saward and Barry Renshaw
  • Newly recorded audio commentaries for ‘Gangsters’, the series that shot Lytton actor Maurice Colbourne to fame featuring series creator Philip Martin and BFI Historian Dick Fiddy
  • A newly recorded audio commentary for ‘The Caves of Androzani’ featuring Salateen actor Robert Glenister
  • Deleted pages, and concept art
You can order Lytton #1 directly from Cutaway Comics​.




FILTER: - Comics

Doctor Who Time Lord Victorious Panel at Comic ConBookmark and Share

Friday, 24 July 2020 - Reported by Marcus
Comic-con 2020It has been announced that there will be a Doctor Who Time Lord Victorious panel at San Diego Comic Con, taking place online.

Hosted by Titan Comic’s Andrew Sumner, the panel will go behind the scenes with BBC producer James Goss, writer Jody Houser, artist Roberta Ingranata, colourist Enrica Eren Angiolini, editor Jake Devine and senior creative editor David Leach to discuss the new Time Lord Victorious comic series.

The panel will go live on Saturday, July 25 from 2:00pm - 3:00pm BST.

You can sign up here 

Or watch it on YouTube 




FILTER: - Time Lord Victorious

Hero Collector Joins Time Lord VictoriousBookmark and Share

Friday, 24 July 2020 - Reported by Marcus
Time Lord Victorious (Credit: Hero Collector)Hero Collector – designers, manufacturers, and publishers of high-quality collectibles from across the worlds of pop culture – has announced its part in Time Lord Victorious, a multi-platform Doctor Who adventure launching in September.

Each of the four Time Lord Victorious box sets will contain two hand-painted polyresin figurines at 1:21 scale (approximately 3.5 inches tall), along with an in-depth companion magazine, highlighting the huge range of creative talent involved across the entire Time Lord Victorious adventure and packed with behind the scenes details about this untold story.

The first three Hero Collector box sets will feature brand new Dalek designs created specifically for the series, such as the Dalek Time Commander and the new Dalek Emperor. The fourth and final box, however, will include the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant), clad in ornate and war-torn Gallifreyan robes.

The first of these box sets, featuring the Dalek Emperor and Dalek Drone, will be available in late October at £19.99/$34.95 RRP. You can find them for sale at all good specialist retailers, Hot Topic and comic shops, or online from the Eaglemoss shop. Fans in the US can pre-order the first set now from Entertainment Earth or in the UK from Forbidden Planet.

Hero Collector joins partners including Penguin Random House, Doctor Who Magazine, Titan Comics, Escape Hunt, Big Finish Productions, Immersive Everywhere, Maze Theory, Demon Records, BBC Books and BBC Audio in an epic story told across several platforms.




FILTER: - Time Lord Victorious

Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 554Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, 22 July 2020 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 554 (Credit: Panini)The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine mounts an in-depth investigation into the areas of the Doctor Who universe where our fragments of knowledge don’t quite add up, with sections devoted to the Doctor, the TARDIS, Gallifrey, the Daleks and the Cybermen.

Also in the magazine
  • Arthur Darvill, who played Rory, answers questions from the TARDIS Tin.
  • Hair and make-up designer Claire Pritchard discusses her work on Series 12.
  • The writers and artists behind Cutaway Comics explain how the imprint is expanding the worlds of Doctor Who.
  • An at-a-glance guide to the ‘Lockdown Season’ of Doctor Who, with contributions from Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat.
  • The Fact of Fiction explores the1968-69 serial The Krotons.
  • A look at the animated version of Shada released in 2003.
  • A review of Character Options’ latest range of action figures.
  • Big Finish previews and reviews, news, prize-winning competitions, Time and Space Visualiser, The Blogs of Doom and much more.


 Doctor Who Magazine Issue 554 is on sale from Thursday 23 July




FILTER: - DWM

Maurice Roëves 1937 - 2020Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, 15 July 2020 - Reported by Marcus
The actor Maurice Roëves has died at the age of 83

Maurice Roëves appeared in the acclaimed 1984 Doctor Who story The Caves of Androzani, playing Stotz the mercenary hired by Morgus to smuggle arms.

Roëves was born in Sunderland in the North of England and brought up in Glasgow. In his twenties, while working in a flour mill, he became interested in amateur dramatics, leading to a course at Glasgow College of Dramatic Art.

Three months after getting a job as an assistant stage manager at Glasgow's Citizen Theatre he was playing lead roles such as Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice. In 1966 he was cast as Martin in the film The Fighting Prince of Donegal which led to the television play Cock, Hen and Courting Pit

Many television roles followed including in Danger UXB, The Nightmare Man, Days of our Lives, Tutti Frutti, Rab C. Nesbitt, The New Statesman, Spender, Star Trek: The Next Generation where he played a Romulan captain, Vanity Fair and EastEnders.

He played Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield in the 1996 television film Hillsborough, in which his character patrolled the FA Cup semi-final in the Liverpool F.C. game where a crush led to the deaths of 96 fans.

In 2006 he starred in the BBC docudrama Surviving Disasters, portraying Sir Matt Busby in the story of the Munich air disaster.

He starred as Robert Henderson in BBC Scotland's drama River City.

His film roles include Oh! What a Lovely War, Ulysses, Hidden Agenda, the 1992 version of The Last of the Mohicans, the Judge Dredd movie and Beautiful Creatures .

Maurice Roëves death was confirmed by his agents Lovett Logan earlier today. He is survived by his wife Vanessa.





FILTER: - Classic Series

Davison vs DaleksBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 15 July 2020 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who: Shadow of the Daleks (Credit: Big Finish)Doctor Who: Shadow of the Daleks (Credit: Big Finish)Big Finish have announced that Fifth Doctor Peter Davison will battle the Daleks in Shadow of the Daleks, a new set of audio adventures for Big Finish.

Due in late 2020 as part of Big Finish’s Monthly Adventures range, these eight Doctor Who stories, split across two releases, star Davison chasing the Daleks through time and space on a journey of ultimate terror.

Each of the stories was recorded remotely during lockdown with a small “rep company” of brilliant actors including Nicholas Briggs, Dervla Kirwan, Anjli Mohindra and Olivier Award winner Jamie Parker.

Doctor Who: Shadow of the Daleks Parts 1 and 2 are now available to pre-order as collector's edition box sets (on CD at £14.99 each) and as digital downloads (at £12.99 each) exclusively from www.bigfinish.com.

Part 1, due for release in October 2020, contains four one-episode adventures:
  • Aimed at the Body by James Kettle
  • An encounter with a notorious cricketing legend should be right up the Doctor’s street. But the unexpected appearance of an old enemy is about to send the Doctor on a quest.
  • Lightspeed by Jonathan Morris
  • The trail has led the Doctor to a spaceship in the far future - where he finds himself trapped in the middle of a terrifying revenge plot.
  • The Bookshop at the End of the World by Simon Guerrier
  • It’s very easy to forget yourself and get lost in a bookshop. But in some bookshops more than most...
  • Interlude by Dan Starkey
  • The play’s the thing! Or is it? The Doctor is roped into a theatrical spectacular - but who is he really performing to?
Part 2, due for release in November 2020, contains four more exciting episodes:
  • The Echo Chamber by Jonathan Barnes
  • It’s the radio talk show where everyone’s free to call in with their opinions. Time to welcome its host - the Doctor!
  • Towards Zero by Roland Moore
  • The Doctor finds himself in an old country house where he has to solve a very unusual murder - his own!
  • Castle Hydra by Lizzie Hopley
  • Nearing the end of his journey, the Doctor enters a jail filled with familiar faces. But who are the prisoners and who are the wardens?
  • Effect and Cause by John Dorney
  • A crash in the vortex leads the Doctor to the source of his all his troubles, and to the Daleks. The answers are here. If he can live long enough to find them.
Producer David Richardson said:
Necessity really is the mother of invention. In the very early days of lockdown, we knew we would have to adapt some of our plans for the Monthly Adventures range. What we needed were two releases that could be achieved with one Doctor and four guest cast members, recording remotely in a block. When you have a brief like that, it’s not at all restricting - it forces you to do something different, something bold, something fun.

So what we have in Shadow of the Daleks Parts 1 and 2 are eight half-hour stories, in which the Doctor lands in different times, different places... and keeps meeting the same faces, but as different people. The mystery is heightened by the oblique appearances of Daleks. And not only that - these are Time War-era Daleks!

And so we had a lot of fun with these stories - weaving them together, pushing in different directions, and getting to play with the audacious concept. And Peter Davison really enjoyed it - we had a fantastic and esteemed guest cast, and by the end of recording it was almost like we were at the studio together, sipping coffee in the green room and chatting like old friends.
Doctor Who: Shadow of the Daleks Parts 1 and 2 are now available to pre-order as collector's edition box sets (on CD at £14.99 each) and as digital downloads (at £12.99 each) exclusively from the Big Finish website.




FILTER: - Peter Davison

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: 8.46Bookmark and Share

Monday, 13 July 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Lucy Wilson Mysteries: 8.46 (Credit: Candy Jar Books)Candy Jar Books has announces its latest free-for-download short story in The Lucy Wilson Mysteries:

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: 8.46
Written by Julia Press Simmons

It's 2020 and Lucy Wilson has just witnessed the death of George Floyd, followed by the toppling of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol.

Over eight minutes and forty-six seconds, Lucy and Hobo travel through time to discover why the past still has lessons to teach us all.

Written by critically acclaimed African American author, Julia Press Simmons, 8.46 has been created in response to the death of George Floyd and protests that followed. She says:
When Shaun at Candy Jar asked me to work on this story I was so pleased. Lucy Wilson is an amazing character and I am honoured and humbled to play a small part in her universe.
Head of publishing, Shaun Russell, felt that it was very important to tackle this subject:
Lucy Wilson is a not only a lead female character (which there are very few), but also a person of colour. I felt it would be a dereliction of duty to not cover this topic. I also wanted the story to feel authentic so, through a mutual friend, I contacted the wonderful Julia Press Simmons.

Julia has written more than twenty books including The Strawberry Mansion, and the award-winning play Down There (selected by the Black Festival Emerging Playwright’s series in Nashville). 8.46 is a departure from the standard Lucy Wilson tale. Julia has written a story which is based on her real-life experiences growing up. She continued:
I must admit that initially I struggled with the tone of this project. Lucy is such a marvellous role model for children and I wanted her story to capture my personal experiences while keeping it age-appropriate. Although BAME life in the UK is different from the African American experience I felt that there was enough commonality for me to tell this tale.

Tim Gambrell, who has written Lucy Wilson & the Bledoe Cadets, as well as several short stories including the upcoming The Midwife & the Alien, was involved in the editing process of this story. He said:
8.46 is a brief and powerful story that needs to be told, in my view. It doesn’t labour the fact. It doesn’t accuse the reader of anything. It just tells a simple story and packs quite an emotional punch with it.”

To download The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: 8.46 please visit the The Candy Jar website.




FILTER: - Books - Candy Jar Books

100 Objects of Dr WhoBookmark and Share

Sunday, 12 July 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Candy Jar Books has announced a new non-ficton book collecting together facts and opinions from all fifty-seven years of the rich history of Doctor Who:

100 Objects of Dr Who (Credit: Candy Jar Books)100 Objects of Dr Who
Written by Philip Bates
Cover by Martin Baines


So, all of time and space, everything that ever happened or ever will: where do you want to start…?"

100 Objects of Doctor Who is a celebration of everyone’s favourite sci-fi show. Perfect for fans, no matter your mileage – whether you’ve just started your journey through all of time and space, or have lived through the highs, the lows, the Wildernesses, the Androzanis, and the Twin Dilemmas.

Inside, you’ll find: A terrifying army of three Daleks! Death’s Head's head! A really quite astonishingly heavy door! Dinosaur fossils! A framed piece of wall!

And much, much more!

This is a book about Doctor Who. But probably not the one you’re expecting.

Candy Jar Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell, said:
When Philip Bates submitted his piece for The Brigadier: Declassified I was blown away by the quality of writing. His take on the series was unlike anything I’ve read before. His writing reminds me of Doctor Who: The Completely Useless Encyclodpedia from 1996 by Chris Howarth and Steve Lyons. I am truly excited that we have been able expand beyond ten objects.
Philip said:
My book does feature the behind-the-scenes trivia you would expect, but I wanted to go one further. So, I’ve included sections on the live events not everyone’s been lucky enough to experience, asked the question how Christ the Redeemer relates to Doctor Who, as well as looking at the bizarre world of fake merchandise. I basically wanted to go off the beaten track, jumping backwards and forwards in Who history.
Objects of interest include the Space-Time Visualiser, the sonic screwdriver, a talking cabbage, the Revenge of the Cybermen VHS, River Song’s diary, the BBC Sound Effects No. 19: Doctor Who Sound Effects vinyl, the 1996 Series Bible, a Bubble Shock bottle, the Seal of the High Council of Gallifrey, and a mouldy old Slitheen.

The cover has been produced by Martin Baines, who recently completed the art for Candy Jar’s hardback edition of the Downtime sequel, Child of the New World:
I really enjoyed working on this book. I wanted to emulate the look of 1970s comics such as Scorcher, Valiant or TV Comic. Added to this, I’ve always loved Doctor Who Weekly and it was great to pay homage to this as well.
Philip observed:
When Shaun sent me Martin’s cover I thought, wow! You don’t need me to tell you how brilliant it is: feast your eyes! Spotting the small details is a joy, but the most impressive thing is how evocative the piece is. There's a warmth and playfulness about it. The yellowing page surrounding instantly brings to mind that wonderful smell that encompasses you when you enter a second-hand book store – a reminder that all these stories have been experienced by previous generations. Suffice to say, I love it.

100 Objects of Dr Who is available to order from the Candy Jar website.




FILTER: - Books - Candy Jar Books