Miscellaneous

Doctor Who Magazine 298: Now in release, DWM 298 features a free exclusive trading card. Also in this month's issue: a feature interview with actress Kate O'Mara (the Rani); part two of the new comic strip, "The Autonomy Bug"; a feature on the taping of the new Doctor Who radio drama "Death Comes to Time"; reviews and news articles; "The Time Team" discuss "The Power of the Daleks 3" to "The Highlanders 4"; and "Black Orchid" is the latest feature in the Archives. (Thanks to Gallifrey 5 for the cover & details)

Dark Dimension Screenplay Auction: A script for the abandoned Doctor Who project "The Dark Dimension" was found stuffed in the drawers of a piece of furniture formerly belonging to a BBC executive, is up for sale at an auction in Swindon, noted as "part of an archive of papers relating to unquestionably the most famous science fiction (TV) programme of all time," and estimated to fetch between 1500-2000 pounds at the sale. "The Dark Dimension" was the aborted 1993 special that would have featured Jon Pertwee, Colin Baker, Tom Baker, Peter Davison and Sylvester McCoy, written by Adrian Rigelsford; it was abandoned due to contractual difficulties and behind-the-scenes concerns. The collection of papers also includes an intriguing memo noted "Dr Who - Long Term Strategy" and includes the item "Under no circumstances should this document be left lying around. Whovians are everywhere and this is a very senstive document. I would not like to see it reproduced in any Dr Who magazines!"

Dead Ringers Update: The popular radio comedy series returns this week in the UK, and, as before, features a wickedly accurate impression of Tom Baker making strange phone calls to unsuspecting members of the public and celebrities. The series airs on Fridays at 6.30pm on Radio 4, and is repeated on Saturdays at 12.30pm. Radio 4 has been promoting the series with a series of trailers featuring "Tom" prompting people to listen to the series. (Thanks to the official BBC website)

Record Collector Article: The new November issue of the magazine (issue 255) features an article on Mark Ayres' work on archiving and restoring the Radiophonic Workshop recordings, and the series of BBC Music CDs. (Thanks to the official BBC website)

An Englishman Abroad: Producer Innes Lloyd's critically-acclaimed, 1983 BAFTA award winning dramatisation of the relationship between Royal Shakespeare Company actress Coral Browne and the exiled spy Guy Burgess gets a well-deserved repeat on BBC TWO on Saturday, November 4th at 9.10pm. Cast members with Doctor Who connections include Vernon Dobtcheff (The War Games), Harold Innocent (The Happiness Patrol and Paradise of Death) and Denys Hawthorne (Terror of the Vervoids). (Thanks to the official BBC website)

Strictly Ink Trading Cards: A new series of trading cards have just been released from Strictly Ink. "Strictly Ink's First Release, The Doctor Who Limited Edition Nine Card Series One Preview Set. This numbered set is limited to only 4,000 sets worldwide and contains 9 super premium cards and a special tenth Montage card. Within the set are all of the actors who played the Doctor and a mystery inclusion! Also all sets come in a solid display box with a Strictly Ink Seal of Authenticity." A number of the cards have been autographed from a number of Doctor Who stars: Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, June Hudson (designer), Elisabeth Sladen, Sophie Aldred, Anneke Wills, Katy Manning. For more information, visit http://www.strictlyink.com/. (Thanks to Paul Gordon at Doctor Who Shop for the news!) A look at the cards:

First Day Covers: Two new stamps were released recently by The Stamp Centre. Both are limited to 1500 copies; the first is signed by Tom Baker and artist Chris Achilleos (and features his first new montage design since 1983), the second (called "The Assistants United") features signatures from seven former companions. More information is available at http://stamp-centre.co.uk. The following is the artwork for the two new stamps, followed by three previous issues below that; click anywhere to enlarge them. (Special thanks to Nigel Potter at Gallifrey 5)