The cover art and special features of the animated version of the missing Doctor Who adventure The Macra Terror, releasing on DVD, Blu-ray, special edition Steelbook and digital download on 25th March 2019, have been revealed.

Originally broadcast in four weekly parts from 11th March to 1st April 1967, and starring Patrick Troughton, Anneke Wills, Michael Craze and Frazer Hines, no full episodes of this serial are known to have survived on film. Fortunately for fans, a complete audio recording of all four parts still exists. Now, 52 years later, the four episodes will be brought back to life through the power of animation, available on disc and digital download, in both colour and black and white, from 25th March 2019.

Anneke Wills says, The Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and his companions arrive on a human colony in the far flung future. The colony appears to be a giant recreational complex - a holiday camp for rest and relaxation. Everyone looks happy and carefree but all is not as it seems. The colony has been infiltrated and brainwashed by a race of giant parasitic crab creatures called the Macra.

The Macra have only returned once since, 40 years later, coming face to face with the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) and Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) in the 2007 episode Gridlock.

Paul Hembury, Executive Producer, BBC Studios says, Special features for the DVD and Blu-ray release include:

• Audio Commentary: Toby Hadoke presents an audio commentary track on all four episodes of ‘The Macra Terror’, featuring cast and crew from the original 1967 production - Frazer Hines (Jamie), Terence Lodge (Medok), Anthony Gardner (Alvis), Maureen Lane (Majorette) and director, John Davies. Commentary produced by John Kelly and recorded in London on 4th January 2019.
• Episode Reconstructions: Surviving film frames, fragments of existing footage and set photographs are brought together with the original unedited audio to reconstruct a presentation of the original now lost live-action production of ‘The Macra Terror’, as seen by viewers of BBC 1 in 1967. Produced by Derek Handley. Available to watch with or without an optional narration track read by Anneke Wills.
• Bonus Mini-Episode: A ten-minute animated short, built around an otherwise lost Doctor Who episode from 1968 starring Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines. Directed by AnneMarie Walsh.
• Animation Test: Prior to the project being formally commissioned, this short animation test (of a scene from episode 3 of ‘The Macra Terror’) was produced in March 2018, to investigate the feasibility of mounting the production in full.
• Animatics: A selection of scenes showing how the new animated production of ‘The Macra Terror’ went from initial storyboards to final animation. Storyboard art by Adrian Salmon.
• Animation Gallery: A gallery of artwork from the development, pre-production and animation of the new animated version of ‘The Macra Terror’, including character art from Martin Geraghty and background paintings from Graham Bleathman, Colin Howard and Lydia Butz.
• Teaser Trailer: A short teaser trailer animated by Rob Ritchie, produced to promote the announcement of a new production of ‘The Macra Terror’ in December 2018.
• Alternative Black and White presentation: The full four-part animation is also available to view in an alternative black and white format on disc 2.
• 1992 Audio Presentation: In 1992, the BBC Audio Collection released ‘The Macra Terror’ on audio cassette, in a special release narrated by Colin Baker. It was the first time that the story had been made commercially available by the BBC and that audio-only release is included here in full. Surviving Footage: Less than two minutes of original footage still exist from the 1967 production of ‘The Macra Terror’. These film fragments have been painstakingly restored and digitally remastered for this release, with considerable improvements made to the overall picture quality and resolution of this unique footage. Film restoration by Peter Crocker.
• Behind the scenes film: In 1967, during pre-production of ‘The Macra Terror’, film cameras visited the visual effects workshop in Uxbridge where work was underway on construction of the Macra props. Special effects props and models from other Doctor Who stories can also be seen in the workshop, including parts of a Cyberman from ‘The Tenth Planet’ (1966) and an aeroplane from ‘The Faceless Ones’ (1967). This footage is accompanied by a new audio commentary track from Doctor Who visual effects designer and BBC visual effects historian, Mike Tucker, explaining some of the effects techniques and props featured in the film.
• Censored Scene: A reconstruction of a scene from episode 2 of ‘The Macra Terror’ that was heavily re-edited by censors for the episode’s Australian television transmission in November 1967.
• Title sequences: ‘The Macra Terror’ saw the debut of a new title sequence for Doctor Who - the first time the programme had made such a change. The title sequence is presented here in full, remastered in HD and in a number of alternative versions.
• Photo gallery: A collection of 36 photographs taken during the production of ‘The Macra Terror’ in 1967, featuring original design department set photographs and Radio Times publicity images. All presented in HD.
• Production Paperwork: A full set of original camera scripts, studio schedules, floor plans and other materials are available to view by accessing disc 2 via your computer’s DVD or Blu Ray ROM drive.

Additional extras exclusive to Steelbook:

• Gridlock: The Macra returned to Doctor Who in 2007, in this episode starring David Tennant and written by Russell T. Davies
• Audio commentary: Julie Gardner, Travis Oliver and Marie Jones discuss the making of 'Gridlock' in this audio commentary track from 2007.
• Doctor Who Confidential – Are we there yet?: A documentary looking at the making of the 2007 story, 'Gridlock'.

The BBC has revealed that an animated version of the 1967 story The Macra Terror will be released in March 2019

The four part Patrick Troughton story has been missing from the BBC Archives for many years, although a copy of the soundtrack exists.

Rumours of an animated version of the story were confirmed by the BBC today releasing a trailer for the story on their YouTube channel.

As well as the Second Doctor, the story features Ben, played by Michael Craze, Polly played by Anneke Wills and Jamie played by Frazer Hines

Coming Soon: The Macra Terror | Doctor Who

BBC Worldwide have delayed the release of the DVD The Enemy of the World - Special Edition by one week.

The title will now be released on the 26th March.

Full details of release here.

The BBC has announced that they are releasing a recovered and restored classic Doctor Who adventure as a Special Edition DVD, Doctor Who: The Enemy of the World.

The Enemy of the World was first transmitted between Saturday 23rd December 1967 and Saturday 27th January 1968. Five episodes were lost from the BBC Archives for 45 years before being discovered at a TV relay station in the city of Jos in Nigeria by Philip Morris and returned to the BBC.

A standard DVD of the story was released in early 2014. The Special Edition version has been remastered and has a number of extra features.

BONUS CONTENT

• Remastered episodes.
Even though all episodes were restored in 2013 for the previous DVD release, Peter Crocker from the Restoration Team is using advances in technology since then to go over each one with a fine tooth comb to ensure they are now presented in the best possible quality for this special edition.
• Treasures Lost and Found - produced by Ed Stradling.
With so much information now available about every Doctor Who serial, it's not easy to learn anything new, so Toby Hadoke embarks on an exciting treasure hunt to find out all he can about the production. Along the way he'll interview some of the cast and crew including Frazer Hines, Mary Peach and David Troughton - who made his first TV appearance in this serial as an extra.
• Recovering the Past – The Search for The Enemy of the World” - produced by Paul Vanezis.
A brand new interview with the episode hunter Philip Morris, we hear how he tracked down the last surviving film copy of the serial to a dusty room in the African desert.
• Remembering Deborah Watling - produced by Cameron McEwan.
Family, friends and colleagues pay tribute to Debbie Watling who played Victoria Waterfield, companion to Patrick Troughton’s doctor.
• Audio commentaries on all six episodes produced by John Kelly.
Contributors include Frazer Hines, Mary Peach, Gordon Faith, Milton Johns and Sylvia James. Moderator is Simon Harries.
• Production subtitles on all six episodes written by Martin Wiggins.
• Photo gallery produced by Derek Handley.
• Scripts of all six episodes as PDFs.

The DVD will be released on 19th March and is available to pre-order on Amazon

Fantom Publishing have released details on the next two releases in their Who Talk range of alternative audio commmentaries.

First up is the original television adventure, An Unearthly Child. Producer Paul W T Ballard explains:

The commentary features William Russell (Ian Chesterton), Jeremy Young (Kal), Waris Hussein (Director), Brian Hodgson (Special Sound) and Clive Doig (Vision Mixer), and is moderated by the omnipresent Toby Hadoke.

The second release celebrates the Cyber 60s, with Paul saying:

The set contains commentaries for the Patrick Troughton serials The Tomb of the Cybermen, The Wheel in Space and The Invasion. Moderated by both Paul and Toby, this release features Wendy Padbury (Zoe), Michael Kilgarriff (Cyber Controller), Sally Faulkner (Isobel), Sylvia James (Make-Up), Roger Bunce (Cameraman) and Marcia Wheeler (Assistant Floor Manager).


The company are also offering a special edition bundle featuring both commentaries: each set will be signed by an actor from each release as well as a both disc featuring additional commentaries on The Tenth Planet and The Moonbase. These CDs are very limited, and exclusively available via the Who Talk website.

Who Talk will return in 2017 with a full of schedule of alternative DVD Commentaries.

It was fifty years ago today, on Saturday 17th December 1966, that the Second Doctor met a young highland piper, James Robert McCrimmon, someone who would stay with him through the rest of his incarnation, becoming the longest serving companion in the history of the series.

Frazer Hines has, so far, appeared in 116 episodes of Doctor Who. Only four actors, the first four Doctors, have appeared in more episodes. However, when Frazer Hines joined the company in November 1966, he had been contracted for one story only and was only expecting to feature in four episodes.

He would play the young piper Jamie in The Highlanders, set in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden. During the production, the producers spotted something in the young actor and the chemistry he had with rest of the TARDIS crew, so after three weeks he was offered the chance to join the series as a regular character.

Scripts were hastily rewritten and a guide to the character of Jamie produced for potential writers.

Frazer Hines was just 22 when he joined Doctor Who. However, even at that age, he was a veteran of film and television acting.

He had studied at the Corona Theatre School and before he became a teenager he had already appeared in a number of films. At 13 he appeared in Charlie Chaplin's A King in New York. He made his TV debut in 1957 playing Mickey Day in an episode of London Playhouse. He joined the series Huntingtower playing Napoleon alongside Roger Delgado a future Doctor Who director Graeme Harper.. Appearances followed in the war drama The Silver Sword, Queen's Champion and Run to Earth as well as a number of small roles in classics such as Z-Cars, Dr Finleys Casebook, Compact, Emergency-Ward 10, Coronation Street and King of the River.

He first worked with Patrick Troughton when he was cast in Smuggler’s Bay based on the J. Meade Falkner novel, Moonfleet. The two instantly hit it off and when Hines joined Doctor Who three years later it was apparent how well they worked together. Talking in 2009 Hines explained how he was told he would be continuing in the series after being offered a lift home by Producer Innes Lloyd.
Frazer Hines would stay with Doctor Who for three series, leaving, along with Troughton in the summer of 1969.

ABC Australia has announced that both the Doctor Who Christmas special The Return of Doctor Mysterio and the animated series Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks will be fast-tracked to ABC iview early on Boxing Day morning, immediately after the BBC’s broadcast of the Christmas special.

The Return of Doctor Mysterio will then screen on ABC and ABC ME at 7.30pm on Boxing Day evening.

Written by Steven Moffat, The Return of Doctor Mysterio sees the Doctor team up with an investigative journalist, played by Charity Wakefield (Wolf Hall, The Player) and a superhero to save New York from a deadly alien threat.

The one-hour special also features Matt Lucas as Nardole, Justin Chatwin as Grant (the superhero), Adetomiwa Edun (Lucifer), Aleksandar Jovanovic and Logan Hoffman.

Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks animated series is one of the most celebrated Doctor Who adventures, and yet no complete film recordings are known to have survived. The master negatives were destroyed in an archive purge in 1974. This brand new animation, being released 50 years after its only UK broadcast, is based on the program’s original audio recordings, surviving photographs, and film clips. The six-part adventure features the regeneration – or as it was then called “renewal” – of First Doctor, William Hartnell, into Second Doctor, Patrick Troughton, and follows the Time Lord and his companions Polly (Anneke Wills) and Ben (Michael Craze) as they do battle with the Daleks on the planet Vulcan.

Power of the Daleks was brought to life using modern animation techniques and was produced and directed by Charles Norton, with character designs from acclaimed comic book artists Martin Geraghty and Adrian Salmon.

We are delighted to be able to offer readers in the United States a chance to win tickets to see the new animation of The Power of The Daleks at a participating theatre on Monday 14th November, courtesy of Fathom Events.

The competition is free to enter; all you need to do is send us the following details to comp-fathom@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "Power Giveaway":

• Your full name
• Your preferred email address (to receive the ticket from Fathom Events)
• Your preferred theatre location (enter your zip code here to find your nearest participating theatre)
• How many tickets you require (one or two)

Please note this competition is open to readers in the United States only, and ends at
MIDDAY Pacific Time/3PM Eastern Time tomorrow (11th November).




Full details of the event can be found on via the Fathom website.

BBC Audio have released details of the audio adaptions taking them up to the end of the year, with two further Target novelisations and a collection of previously released readings:
December also sees the release of an adaptation of Gary Russell's Scales of Injustice, originally published by Virgin Books as part of their Missing Adventures series in 1996:


It is still possible to enter competitions to win September and October's audiobooks here, closing date 13th November.

Episode One of the animated Power of the Daleks has been released on the BBC Store, exactly 50 years after it was first seen in the UK.

Viewers in the UK can download the episode for £1.89SD or £2.49HD or buy a season pass which gives access to all six episodes for £9.99SD and 12.99HD. Episodes are being released on a daily basis, although some BBC Store users have reported they already have access to all six.

The first three minutes of the episode were live streamed on the Periscope service earlier today. Viewers who missed it can unlock the video by going to the BBC Store twitter account



The first three episodes of the story were premiered at the National Film Theatre in London on Saturday afternoon, although disappointingly in mono rather than the remixed 5.1 sound so lovingly created by Mark Ayres. A packed audience included many who worked on the animation as well as members of the original production team from 1966, including designer Derek Dodd, actress Anneke Wills and runner and future Doctor Who director Graeme Harper, who at the time he worked on Power of the Daleks was just three weeks into his BBC Career.

Actor Frazer Hines, superfan and comedian Frank Skinner and current showrunner Steven Moffat all shared their memories of working with and watching Patrick Troughton.

Also in the audience was Grahame Strong, the man who made the recreation possible, by recording the sound from his TV on his domestic tape recorder as the story was being broadcast, thereby preserving the soundtrack when the rest of the episode was destroyed.

Some of the process of the animation was explained by project Director Charles Norton. The team had roughly 6 months to complete all six episodes, an incredibly tight framework, with the final episodes only completed last Wednesday. He decided to make the story in 16:9 rather than the original 4:3 as most people now watch on widescreen TV's and if it had been made in 4:3 most would be watching the animation stretched to fit the screen.

Norton said he had fought hard for the animation to be made in Black and White as he felt it enhanced the story and gave a far more accurate rendition of the original product, something accepted by BBC Worldwide. The idea to colour the episodes came later from BBC America and is being done in Canada by a completely separate team. As far as BBC Worldwide is concerned the definitive edition for the UK market is the Black and White edition.

Those who do wish to see the Colour version can download it from the BBC Store at the end of the year, or buy the Blu-Ray in February, which will contain both versions.

In the USA the story will be screened weekly on BBC America starting on November 19. This is in addition to a number of movie theatre screenings on November 14. BBC America will make the colour version available exclusively on their digital platforms towards the end of November. and from January 24, 2017 both versions of the story will be available on DVD.

The story will also be screened at selected theatres in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.