Black Archive #73 Under the Lake / Before the Flood

Thursday, 31 October 2024 - Reported by Marcus
Black Archive #73 (Credit: Obverse Books)

The latest publication in the Black Archive series looks at the Twelfth Doctor story Under the Lake / Before the Flood.

‘You can’t cheat time. I just tried. You can’t just go back and cut off tragedy at the root. Because you find yourself talking to someone you just saw dead on a slab. Because then you really do see ghosts.’

A base under siege, a time travel paradox, and ghosts! With these elements in place, Toby Whitehouse’s Under the Lake and Before the Flood (2015) tread familiar ground for fans of Doctor Who while also moving in bold new directions, both in terms of story-telling and character representation.

This two-part story sees Peter Capaldi’s 12th doctor break the fourth wall, speaking directly to the audience. His lecture on “the bootstrap paradox” serves to set up the central puzzle of these episodes while insisting that it remain unsolved. Meanwhile, actress Sophie Stone’s portrayal of Cass challenges traditional representational tropes surrounding disabled people. Simultaneously, this character asks us to think further about how we understand disability in, and through, science fiction.

The book is written by Ryan C. Parrey, PhD is Senior Lecturer in Disability Studies and director of the Disability Studies program at Eastern Washington University near Spokane, Washington, USA. and Kevin S. Decker, PhD is Professor of Philosophy at Eastern Washington University.

Under the Lake / Before the Flood is available now in paperback and electronic formats, direct from Obverse Books and from selected online retailers.





FILTER: - Books - Twelfth Doctor

Ernie Vincze 1942-2024

Thursday, 17 October 2024 - Reported by Marcus

TARDIS Tales - Ernie Vincze (Credit: BBC)The cinematographer Ernie Vincze has died at the age of 81.

Ernie Vincze was the Director of Photography on 38 episodes of Doctor Who between 2005 and 2009, responsible for the Camera work and the lighting on each episode.

He was in charge for the entire first series of the revived show in 2005 looking after each episode of the Ninth Doctor's era before completing the Christmas special introducing the Tenth Doctor.   

He shared the load over the next three years, with his final episode, The Waters of Mars, in 2009.

His Doctor Who episodes were  

Rose; The End Of The World; The Unquiet Dead; Aliens of London / World War Three; Dalek; The Long Game; Father's Day; The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances; Boom Town; Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways; The Christmas Invasion; New Earth; School Reunion; Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel; The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit; Army of Ghosts / Doomsday; Smith and Jones; The Shakespeare Code; Daleks in Manhattan / Evolution of the Daleks; 42; Blink; Utopia; The Lost Boy[SJA]; Voyage of the Damned; Partners in Crime; The Fires of Pompeii; The Doctor's Daughter; Midnight; The Stolen Earth / Journey's End; The Next Doctor; The Waters of Mars

Ernie Vincze was born in Hungary in 1942. He spent most of his working life in Britain with over 80 credits. Some of his best-known work includes Jeeves and Wooster, Holby City, Robin Hood, Macbeth, Screen Two and The South Bank Show. 

He was elected to the British Society of Cinematographers in 1978, and is a fellow of the BKSTS. He served on the BAFTA council for 20 years, and was Head of Cinematography at the NFTS from 2000 - 2002

He won the 2008 Cymru BAFTA for his work on Doctor Who: Voyage Of The Damned

Showrunner Russell T Davies paid tribute to Vincze on Instagram

He was our DOP on Series 1 & 2 of Doctor Who, back in 2005, lighting the whole of S1 himself! And what a lovely man. He was always smiling, always happy to see you. Freezing nights on The Empty Child, mad ambition on The Parting of the Ways… and there was Ernie, smiling! Hungarian-born, he had hell of a career, working on Escape from Sobibor, and with Madonna on Shanghai Surprise. And we must’ve looked like squawking chickens to him in those first weeks, but he smiled, and helped us, and we loved him. Night, Ernie, thanks darling

 





FILTER: - Obit

Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 609

Thursday, 10 October 2024 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 609 (Credit: Panini)Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 609 (Credit: Panini)

Issue 609 of Doctor Who Magazine is released today. 

Inside this issue

  • Eighth Doctor PAUL McGANN and companion INDIA FISHER talk about their roles and their wider Doctor Who career in a break from rehearsing for the live performances of audio play The Stuff of Legend.

  • RUSSELL T DAVIES brings us an update on Ncuti Gatwa’s second series…

  • THE WAR BETWEEN THE LAND AND THE SEA – an exclusive preview of this Doctor Who spin-off including a message from producer Edo Ferretti, and executive producer Phil Collinson on the cast.

  • Monster magic! The performers behind the creatures stalking the latest Doctor Who Prom share their experiences with DWM.

  • Script to Screen on the episode Boom – discover the design process behind the deadly Villengard ambulance.

  • The Fact of Fiction – It’s been an endless source of fascination for DWM over the years – Alan Barnes scrutinises the Fifth Doctor two-parter Black Orchid.

  • This Month In… 1977. Find out the newspapers’ initial reaction to K9!

  • Stand-up comedian Alison Zrada considers the pitfalls of leaving home to travel with the Doctor… 

  • Comic strip action with the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby.

SEASON 25 BLU-RAY – SPECIAL FEATURES!

  • A story-by-story guide to the reimagined versions of Remembrance of the Daleks, The Happiness Patrol, Silver Nemesis and The Greatest Show in the Galaxy included in the forthcoming Season 25 Blu-ray release.

  • A look back at daytime TV’s celebration of the 25th Anniversary.

  • We talk to producer Eric Luskin about the documentary – that he made for the New Jersey Network in the eighties – covering the making of Silver Nemesis…

  • Rounding up our coverage of Season 25, we speak to Dick Fiddy and Justin Johnson about the BFI screening of The Happiness Patrol.

Regular features

  • Gallifrey Guardian – the latest news from the Whoniverse.

  • Shelf Life – including reviews of the latest books and audio releases.

  • Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe.

  • Prizes to be won including the new Season 25 Blu-ray box set, The Gold Archive hardback and a new audio adventure for the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 609 is on sale Thursday 10 October  from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £10.99 (UK). The print issue also includes he latest addition to the Target Books range – The Evil of the Daleks by Frazer Hines

Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £6.99.

 




FILTER: - DWM

Doctor Who: Into The Vortex

Monday, 30 September 2024 - Reported by Marcus
Vortex 1 (Credit: Panini)

The makers of Doctor Who Magazine present a lavish, 224-page bookazine in an exclusive slipcase.

Into the Vortex covers the entire history of the world’s longest-running science-fiction series, with details and highlights of all 311 television stories, plus sections dedicated to the series’ best-known monsters, villains and other characters. 

Newcomers to the show will find this the perfect way to navigate the huge archive of episodes on the BBC’s iPlayer, while longtime fans will find new and surprising insights into the television adventures of all 15 Doctors.

Editor Marcus Hearn says

It’s been many years since DWM published a guide to every television story. Into the Vortex brings us right up to date and approaches this vast subject from a new angle. I’ve reserved a place for it on the shelf where I keep my DVDs and Blu-rays!”

Doctor Who: Into the Vortex is available now  from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £19.99 (UK). 

Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £18.99.

 
 
 
 
Vortex 2 (Credit: Panini)Vortex 3 (Credit: Panini)Vortex 4 (Credit: Panini)Vortex 5 (Credit: Panini)




FILTER: - DWM

David Graham 1925-2024

Friday, 20 September 2024 - Reported by Marcus
David Graham (Credit: David Graham)

The actor David Graham, one of the original voices of the Daleks, has died at the age of 99. Graham was also the voice of Parker in Thunderbirds and Grandpa Pig in the TV series Peppa Pig.

David Graham was one of two actors who provided the distinctive staccato tones of the Daleks in their first story screened in 1963. Along with Peter Hawkins, the sound of the metal monsters was a great part of their success, easily imitated by children in playgrounds across the nation. He told the Daily Mirror 

We adopted this staccato style then they fed it through a synthesiser to make it more sinister

Graham later provided the Dalek voices in The Dalek Invasion of Earth in 1964 and The Chase and The Daleks' Master Plan in 1965.  In 2023 he recorded new Dalek voices for the 60th Anniversary special project The Daleks in Colour. 

Producer Benjamin Cook said

At 98, his performance was as sharp and commanding as it was in those '60s stories. 

As well as providing his vocal talents to Doctor Who David Graham also appeared on screen in several roles. His most noteworthy appearance was as Kerensky the mad scientist working for  Count Scarlioni in 1979's City of Death.  Other roles included the bartender Charlie in The Gunfighters in 1966

 

David Graham was born in London on 11 July 1925. After service in the Royal Air Force as a radar mechanic he trained as an actor in New York City. 

His break into TV came in 1958 when he met writer and producer Gerry Anderson, who was planning his first puppet productions. His first voiceover role was as Grandpa Twink in Four Feather Falls. Many roles followed and in 1965, Graham became the voice of Gordon Tracy, Brains, Aloysius Parker and Kyrano in Thunderbirds. He reprised the role of Parker for an ITV remake of the show in 2015, called Thunderbirds Are Go! and was the only original cast member to return.

 Gerry Anderson wrote:

We’re incredibly sad to confirm the passing of the legendary David Graham. The voice Parker, Gordon Tracy, Brains and so many more. David was always a wonderful friend to us here at Anderson Entertainment. We will miss you dearly, David. Our thoughts are with David’s friends and family.

Graham appeared in Callan, Timeslip, So Haunt Me, Danger Man, The Saint, Howards' Way, Softly, Softly, Armchair Thriller, Ace of Wands, Justice, The Regiment, The Bill, The Fixer, The Sentimental Agent,Timeslip and The Avengers, in the 1963 episode Man in the Mirror. In the 1984 commercial introducing the Apple Macintosh, he played the role of Big Brother. 

In 2004, Graham became the voice of Grandpa Pig in Peppa Pig, introducing his voice talents to a new generation. 





FILTER: -

Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 608

Thursday, 12 September 2024 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 608 (Credit: Panini)Issue 608 of Doctor Who Magazine is released today

Inside this issue

  • Join DWM at rehearsals for the Doctor Who Prom! We talk to host Catherine Tate, composers Murray Gold and Segun Akinola and exec producer Julie Gardner.

  • Voice of the Daleks, and Big Finish boss, Nicholas Briggs talks about the challenges presented by the live performance of audio drama The Stuff of Legend, and his experiences on the TV show itself.

  • Script to Screen! Discover how Dot and Bubble’s monstrous Mantraps were brought to life!

  • Ahead of the release of Season 25 on Blu-ray, we interview Kandy Man actor David John Pope.

  • The concluding part of our in-depth chat with 80s designer John Asbridge, covering his work on Silver Nemesis and The Happiness Patrol…

  • Cyber Leader David Bank face the Memory Worm – will he remember the highlights of his Doctor Who career?

  • DWM presents an indispensable guide to Doctor Who-related activities around the UK…

  • …and checks in with the Worlds of Wonder exhibition as it reaches New Zealand.

  • Doctor Who fan Danny Howroyd shares his experiences of working on 73 Yards as a supporting artist.

  • Back to 1964 – viewers left bereft as Doctor Who goes off air for the first time!

  • The Fact of Fiction – we examine the Twelfth Doctor’s encounter with Davros in The Witch’s Familiar…

  • A brand-new comic strip adventure with the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby.

PLUS!

  • Gallifrey Guardian – the latest news from the Whoniverse – including details about new books and audio releases!

  • Shelf Life – including reviews of the latest action figure exclusives.

  • Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe.

  • Prizes to be won including the new comic collection Black Sun Rising.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 608 is on sale Thursday 12 September from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £7.99 (UK). 

Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £6.99.

 




FILTER: -

Richard Morris

Thursday, 5 September 2024 - Reported by Marcus
Richard Morris (Credit: Richard Morris)

The designer and producer Richard Morris has died. 

Richard Morris designed the 1974 Third Doctor story Invasion of the Dinosaurs.  

His work on the six-part story included offices and meeting rooms in a deserted London and a mocked-up spaceship under the city. He spoke about his experiences with Doctor Who on the DVD Extra People, Power and Puppetry released with the story. 

After training at the Hammersmith School of Art and Building, Morris had a long career with the BBC, joining as an Assistant Designer in 1964, recruited to help service the new channel BBC Two. 

Over the next 40 years, his drama credits included, Dr. Finlay’s Casebook, Middlemarch, The Onedin Line, Secret Army, Angels, The Survivors, Wings, The Venturers, Artists and Models, The Women in White and Noel Coward’s Bon voyage,  He was BAFTA nominated for the designs for When the Boat Comes In.

He worked on many light entertainment shows such as The Royal Variety Performance(1988) at the London Palladium, five series of Bruce Forsyth’s Generation Game, shows for The Two Ronnies (The worm that Turned & By The Sea, Kenny Everett, Terry Wogan, Michael Parkinson, Ken Dodd, Dave Allen, Paul Daniels,

One of his best-loved creations was the set for Acorn Antiques for Victoria Wood, As Seen on TV

Moris also designed Call Up the Stars, Going for Gold, Take Your Pick, Raise the Roof, Beyond Belief with David Frost and Some Mothers Do Have ‘Em 

In 2003 he set up Richard Douglas Productions a joint venture with his friend, Marketing Executive, Doug Pinchin. Together they produced several shows for London's West End including Hey, Old Friends, an 85th Birthday tribute to Stephen Sondheim, performed at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. 





FILTER: - Obituary - Classic Series

Production Begins on The War Between The Land And The Sea

Friday, 23 August 2024 - Reported by Marcus

The War Between the Land and the Sea (Credit: BBC Studios)

The BBC has released an image showing the cast of the new Doctor Who spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, which entered production today. 

In the series, Ruth Madeley and Colin McFarlane reprise their roles as UNIT’s Shirley Anne Bingham and Torchwood’s General Pierce, alongside the previously announced Russell Tovey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jemma Redgrave, and Alexander Devrient.

The first Doctor Who spin-off series between the BBC and Disney+, is created by Doctor Who Showrunner and Executive Producer Russell T Davies, who has written the series with Executive Producer Pete McTighe (A Discovery of Witches, The Pact, Doctor Who).

When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered. With the entire population at risk, UNIT step into action as the land and sea wage war.

The five-part series will be directed by Dylan Holmes Williams, director of two Doctor Who Season One episodes – ‘73 Yards’ and ‘Dot and Bubble’.

 





FILTER: - War

Catherine Tate to host the Doctor Who Prom

Wednesday, 21 August 2024 - Reported by Marcus
Catherine Tait (Credit: BBC)

Tenth Doctor Companion Catherine Tate will host the Doctor Who Proms next Monday. 

The two concerts take place on Monday 26 August at 2.30 pm and 7 pm at the Royal Albert Hall and will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 at 7 pm, and will be shown on BBC TV later in the year

Tate is known for playing the role of Donna Noble in the 2006 Doctor Who Christmas special, 2008’s fourth series, the subsequent 2009-2010 Christmas and New Year's specials, and the 60th-anniversary specials in 2023, and previously appeared as a surprise guest at the 2008 Doctor Who Prom.

Catherine Tate says

I’m delighted to be hosting this spectacular BBC Prom celebrating all things Doctor Who at the iconic Royal Albert Hall. I am so looking forward to immersing myself  in the music of the brilliantly enduring, shape-shifting Whoniverse, and celebrating the Doctors' adventures (and maybe a few monsters) with you all.

The Doctor Who Prom will be conducted by Alastair King and performed by the orchestra that records the Doctor Who soundtrack: the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW), who will be joined by international star soprano Aida Garifullina and singers Shahid Abbas Khan, Hollie Buhagiar, Lucie Jones and Tobias Turley, and the London Philharmonic Choir.

With previous Doctor Who Prom events held in 2008, 2010 and 2013, this year’s Prom will be a brand-new show celebrating the latest adventures of the Doctor and showcasing Murray Gold’s music for the series. The Prom will feature specially arranged pieces from the most recent series starring Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor and Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday and will also include music from the 60th-anniversary specials, as well as favourites from Murray Gold’s long association composing for the series. Alongside Murray Gold, the Prom will also be featuring Segun Akinola’s music which was specially created for Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor.

Complete with specially edited sequences from the series shown on big screens around the Royal Albert Hall, audiences can expect appearances from monsters old and new and at least a surprise or two!  

The Doctor Who Prom will be available on BBC Sounds for 30 days. It will be audio-described by Timna Fibert and British Sign Language-interpreted. 

The BBC Proms 2024, currently in the fifth week of its eight-week season, continues to see a record-breaking number of ticket sales so far, with tickets still available to purchase. Returns are often available via the Royal Albert Hall website and Box Office and up to 1,000 Promming tickets are released each day for every single Prom, priced at £8 inclusive of booking fees.





FILTER: - Music

Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 607

Thursday, 15 August 2024 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Magazine:  Issue 607 (Credit: Panini)

Doctor Who Magazine, Issue 607 is out today.

Inside this issue

  • The concluding part of our access-all-areas coverage of this year’s apocalyptic season finale. We speak to NCUTI GATWA, MILLLIE GIBSON, RUSSELL T DAVIES, director JAMIE DONOUGHUE, plus Mrs Flood herself – ANITA DOBSON.

  • Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill talk to DWM about a new series of audio adventures for the Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz.

  • Behind the scenes at San Diego Comic-Con with executive producer Julie Gardner.

  • Find out all about the making of Madame Tussauds’ stunning Fifteenth Doctor wax figure, with sculptor Stephen Mansfield and set designer Amanda So.

  • Russell T Davies shares his experiences of visiting the Madame Tussauds exhibit.

  • June Hudson on becoming the victim of the devilish Maestro.

  • Bonnie Langford talks to Jacqueline Rayner about Mel’s continuing adventures in print.

  • A previously unpublished interview with eighties producer John Nathan-Turner.

  • The first of a two-part interview with Seventh Doctor set designer John Asbridge.This issue he talks about his work on Delta and the Bannermen and Dragonfire.

  • Find out all about the new mobile game Worlds Apart.

  • Discover the links between Pertwee radio drama Paradise of Death and Dennis Potter!

  • Join us for a night out at the Gallifrey Cabaret.

  • The Fact of Fiction – we examine the Twelfth Doctor’s encounter with Davros in The Magician’s Apprentice…

  • Comic strip adventures with the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby.

PLUS!

  • Gallifrey Guardian – find out all about the new spin-off series: The War Between the Land and the Sea.PLUS – casting for this year’s Christmas Special, a Star Trek crossover, and forthcoming audio releases!

  • Shelf Life: We take a look at the latest audio dramas and the new Fifteenth Doctor Target Books.

  • Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe.

  • Prizes to be won including the Eighth Doctor’s clash with the Daleks in audio drama The Stuff of Legend.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 607 is on sale Thursday 15 August  from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £7.99 (UK). 

Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £6.99.

 




FILTER: - DWM - Fifteenth Doctor