The SFX site, the website of the science fiction magazine from Future Publishing, has a small handful of new photos from some recent filming done in Cardiff. "The Doctor Who production team are out and about filming on the streets of Cardiff again," says the report. "Our spies contacted us today to tell us that they had blocked off a street in Bute, near Cardiff Bay train station. We don't know which episode they're shooting, but because of the presence of soldiers in red caps, our guess is that they're filming pick-up shots for the two-parter 'Aliens Of London.'" You can see the photos on their site.

The latest issue of Dreamwatch magazine, #124, contains a couple of spoilers including two possible episode names; click on the spoiler tag below for more details. Dreamwatch 124 also features an interview with Insect Design about the development of the new Doctor Who logo... and, revealingly, how it reflects the interior design of the new TARDIS. Insect Design also confirms that the logo will be animated for the opening sequence. The issue is on the newsstands on November 25.

Today's edition of The Newcastle Chronicle & Journal interviews Mark Gatiss, new series writer and author of the new novel "The Vesuvius Club." In the article he discusses his new book, the movie version of his series "The League of Gentlemen," and his ambition to star as the Doctor... "although he says Christopher Eccleston, the latest doctor, brings a new dimension to the role." "I've spoken to Chris and we're going to have a kind of Brown/Blair thing," Gatiss tells the Journal. "He's going to retire gracefully after a few years and give it to me. No, I wish that were true. But if I waited as long as Gordon Brown has, it'll never happen!" (Thanks to Paul Engelberg)

An interview with Russell T Davies in today's Times discusses Davies' new series "Mine all Mine" as well as the new Doctor Who series. "A lot of the time the actual writing process is as miserable as f***," Davies tells the Times. "Absolutely, this thing will follow me for the rest of my life. But the marvellous thing about writing Dr Who is that I know when I die there are magazines that will report my death." As the article states, for the series to "look nostalgic or self-referential, he decided, would be fatal," and notes that the new Doctor, Christopher eccleston, "will not, he discloses (and probably shouldnÆt) be regenerated from his predecessor Paul McCann [sic] ... That would puzzle the children and hold back the story's momentum." "I keep telling everyone it's early Saturday," Davies confides. "We're going to be up against Ant and Dec. You can't be boring. You can't sit still with it. It's got to be emotional and it's got to be fun at the same time..." He believes the series will be "telling good stories" and that it's "very funny in places. In episode two they go to space for the first time and meet loads of aliens and it's so funny. There is a plot underneath it all and their lives end up in danger, but, my God, it's funny." Davies waxes on his favorite Doctor (Tom Baker) and discounts media rumors that there's anything between the new series' co-stars. There's also a spoiler in the mix regarding the Dalek episode, which is shrouded in the spoiler tag below. (Thanks to Steve Tribe, Paul Hayes)

Today's Media Guardian -- which features an article about producer Russell T Davies' new comedy, "Mine All Mine" (which starts on Thursday at 9pm on ITV1) -- also features a small snippet in the Media Monkey diary: "Sofa so good for new Who! The new Dr Who has passed the fear-factor test. Outgoing drama series boss Mal Young took an episode home to see how the drama, scheduled for a family audience in its old Saturday teatime slot, went down with his seven-year-old step-daughter. Monkey is glad to report that she ended up watching it from behind the sofa." (You can read ithere but registration's required!)

New series producer Russell T Davies appeared today on BBC Radio Five Live (which you can listen to by clicking here). As well as all the usual 'exciting' comments, Davies says 'New year, probably March and it's going marvellously' for the launch date, which is likely the most 'official' confirmation we've had (or sort of!) 'Good for them' is his comment on the Nation Estate and the 'small print' of the Dalek negotiations ('I hope my agent will be representing my rights when I'm gone'). Definitely no K9 in the new series. He hasn't finished writing - 'I'm still hurtling towards the first episode... about to catch up with the filming so we might have to do the last episode live!' (Thanks to Steve Tribe)

November 20's Liverpool Echo ran a story about how timeless Doctor Who really is... and how it's proof that television isn't as good as it used to be - just in time for the anniversary. "Most people will have vivid memories of the Doctor," it says, noting that "its reputation for being so scary that kids hid behind the sofa to watch it seems slightly absurd in this day and age of horror flicks and video games, but at the time, it was terrifying. Despite its shaky sets, dodgy costumes and on occasion frankly laughable scripts, it blazed a trail -- and took whole generations of TV viewers with it on its adventures." It also notes many of the assistants including Frazer Hines, Elisabeth Sladen, Bonnie Langford, Louise Jameson and Janet Fielding... and of course, "The baddies were just as important. The ultimate, of course, were The Daleks. Viewed with an adult, post-Star Wars eye, the Daleks look about as threatening as a can of tuna fish. But at the time, their monotone cyber-voices, their relentless pursuit of their enemies, and their motto: "Exterminate!", were extremely frightening." The article concludes with a very positive note: "It is easy to mock Doctor Who. It wasn't exactly big budget, and yet it is one of the most affectionately remembered shows in British TV history. It has spawned a legion of fans who still hold conventions. Its theme music is still recognised. There have been Doctor Who exhibitions and a variety of spin-off merchandise. The Doctor might have been gone for a while, but he has never been forgotten."

SFX's Christmas issue is out this week, and producer Phil Collinson is interviewed. "I can confirm that the Daleks WILL say exterminate - it would be madness to stop that happening," he tells SFX, confirming what was reported in the press some time ago. "But other than that, we do see this episode as very, very important, for both old and new viewers... It would be a shame to give away too much. But I can tell you that the Daleks will be doing things they've never done on screen before... If ever you've laughed at them, prepare to have the smile frozen on your face..." Collinson also talks about the possibility of the new series having pre-title "teaser" sequences. "All the early episodes have got the potential to do this, in the edit, and we're starting to like it so much that we're actually writing them in to later episodes." But, he adds, "If we sit in the edit and don't like them, we can change our minds at the last minute." (Thanks to SFX Magazine and BBCi)

Peter Davison stars in the first of six episodes of the radio sitcom "Rigor Mortis," which aired last night at 11pm on BBC Radio 4 and airs every subsequent Thursday, with rebroacast over the web on the BBC Radio4 Online website. "Davison is Dr Anthony Webster, chief pathologist and a man who loves his job so much he can't understand why people get upset when he takes his work to lunch with him. His colleague Dr Ruth Hamilton (Matilda Ziegler) was lured into the job by watching TV murder mysteries and is constantly disappointed by the banality of the work. Their boss tries to make the mortuary a brighter place - 'after all, a corpse is a person' - and the team also includes a sometimes inebriated lab assistant, a down-to-earth receptionist and a policeman who is prone to fainting." (Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Brian Jacob)

The Production Base website (an industry production site) recently requested additional accredited editors for theDoctor Who Confidential series, the BBC3 documentary series that will run after the broadcast of the new show's first season. According to the information Outpost Gallifrey was sent, there will indeed be "archive footage" used in the series (possibly clips from the 'classic' series), behind the scenes footage and music montage sequences. Each half-hour episode will have a three week production period with a fourth for grading and dubbing, and will be in production from 22 November through to 30 April 2005. Production Base notes that the BBC is "looking for editors who have experience working with archive footage, cutting behind the scenes actuality and who are skilled at composing music montage sequences" and that the job is based in Cardiff. (Thanks to Kevin West)