Torchwood Books for May

Friday, 13 February 2009 - Reported by Chuck Foster
BBC Books have provided details for the three new Torchwood novels due to be published in May.
Bay of the Dead – Mark Morris

When the city sleeps, the dead start to walk…

Something has sealed off Cardiff, and living corpses are stalking the streets, leaving a trail of half-eaten bodies. Animals are butchered. A young couple in their car never reach their home. A stolen yacht is brought back to shore, carrying only human remains. And a couple of girls heading back from the pub watch the mysterious drivers of a big black SUV take over a crime scene.

Torchwood have to deal with the intangible barrier surrounding Cardiff, and some unidentified space debris that seems to be regenerating itself. Plus, of course, the all-night zombie horror show.

Not that they really believe in zombies.

Mark Morris is the author of fourteen novels, including two Doctor Who books, and numerous novellas, short stories, articles and reviews, which have appeared in a wide variety of anthologies and magazines. This is his first Torchwood novel. His website can be found here.


The House That Jack Built – Guy Adams

Jackson Leaves - an Edwardian house in Penylan. Built 1906, semi-detached, three storeys, spacious, beautifully presented. Left in good condition to Rob and Julia by Rob’s late aunt.

It’s an ordinary sort of a house. Except for the way the rooms don’t stay in the same places. And the strange man that turns up in the airing cupboard. And the apparitions. And the temporal surges that attract the attentions of Torchwood.

And the fact that the first owner of Jackson Leaves in 1906 was a Captain Jack Harkness…

Guy Adams has written books about Life on Mars including the bestselling Rules of Modern Policing, written as DCI Gene Hunt. He's the author of the British Fantasy Society Award nominated Deadbeat series and a handful of children's books, and is currently working on a thirteen-volume horror series for young adults and a replica scrapbook of John Watson MD's time with Sherlock Holmes. This is his first Torchwood novel.


Into the Silence – Sarah Pinborough

The body in the church hall is very definitely dead. It has been sliced open with surgical precision, its organs exposed, and its vocal cords are gone. It is as if they were never there or they’ve been dissolved…

With the Welsh Amateur Operatic Contest getting under way, music is filling the churches and concert halls of Cardiff. The competition has attracted the finest Welsh talent to the city, but it has also drawn something else – there are stories of a metallic creature hiding in the shadows. Torchwood are on its tail, but it’s moving too fast for them to track it down.

This new threat requires a new tactic – so Ianto Jones is joining a male voice choir…

Sarah Pinborough is the author of five horror novels, two of which have been short-listed for the British Fantasy Society Award for Best Novel in 2007 and 2008. She currently lives and works in Milton Keynes. You can find out more about her here.




FILTER: - Merchandise

New Comics: The Time Machination and Doctor Who Ongoing

Friday, 13 February 2009 - Reported by Chuck Foster
A number of new Doctor Who-related comics were announced during the recent New York ComicCon during a panel held by IDW Publishing.

May will see The Time Machination by Tony Lee with art by Paul Grist; this is a 22 page issue that the author revealed will involve Victorian London, and will be the first Doctor Who comic to mention Torchwood.

From July, a new monthly anthology, also by Lee, will commence; entitledDoctor Who Ongoing, it aims to be a 'season' to portray new tenth Doctor adventures, with all-new companions, through to the arrival of his eleventh incarnation in issue 18 (December 2010). Lee commented: "It’s the best fun I’ve ever had." The first two issues will be set in Hollywood in 1927.

(reported by Comic Book Resources, with thanks to Matt Marshall and Craig Andrews)




FILTER: - Merchandise

Doctor Who Books for September

Friday, 13 February 2009 - Reported by Chuck Foster
BBC Books have announced details for the two new Doctor Who books due to be published in September
The Dalek Project

1917: The Great War is at its fiercest and most terrible. But things are about to get even worse… When the Doctor arrives at Hellcombe Hall in England he discovers a house full of mystery. There are locked doors and forbidden rooms, dustsheets cover guilty secrets, the maid Mary Carter is scared of the ghosts… And that’s before Corporal Anderson finds that his muddy corpse-filled trench ends in the drawing room. Armaments manufacturer Lord Hellcombe has a new secret weapon he believes will win the war. But when the Doctor witnesses the final demonstration he begins to realise how much danger everyone is in. Because Lord Hellcome claims to have invented the Dalek. Except, of course, that nothing is quite what it seems. The Doctor and his new friends must draw on every type of early 20th century technology and every element of human ingenuity and bravery if they are to discover the truth and to survive. If they are to prevent the entire Western Front of World War One from becoming part of The Dalek Project.

The book will be written by Justin Richards, Creative Consultant for the BBC’s Doctor Who Books and illustrated by Doctor Who Magazine veteran Mike Collins, with an introduction by Russell T Davies. Justin Richards commented, "At BBC Books, we're all very excited about publishing our first graphic novel. We're been keen to move into this area for a long time, and it's taken a lot of planning and preparation. Mike Collins' artwork, as readers of his DWM comic strips already know, is so stunning that it's been a real challenge to come up with a script that will do his work - and the Doctor himself - justice. The graphic novel format lends itself to storytelling on an epic scale - so expect to see the Daleks at their most cunning and awesome, and the Doctor at his most brilliant and heroic."

Doctor Who: The Ultimate Monster Guide

The ultimate guide to the monsters the Doctor has encountered in centuries of travelling space and time

For The Ultimate Monster Guide, Doctor Who historian Justin Richards has completely revised and updated entries from his first three bestselling reference books – and included a wealth of new material from both the current and the classic series – to create the most comprehensive guide to the Doctor’s enemies ever published. From Adipose and Autons to Zarbi and Zygons, this guide tells you everything you need to know about the many dastardly creatures the Doctor has fought over the 46 years since he first appeared on television.

The Guide also includes behind the scenes secrets of how the monsters were created, as well as design drawings and images. Find out how the Cybermen were redesigned over the years, and how Davros was resurrected to lead his Daleks once again. Discover the computer magic that made the Beast possible, and the make-up wizardry that created the Weeping Angels. Learn how many incarnations of the Master the Doctor has encountered, and which other misguided Time Lords he has defeated...

Lavishly illustrated with photos and artwork throughout, The Ultimate Monster Guide is essential reading for all travellers in time and space!




FILTER: - Merchandise

TARDIS at the Hayward Gallery

Thursday, 12 February 2009 - Reported by Chuck Foster
London's Hayward Gallery on the South Bank will be opening a new exhibition from 18th February, entitled Mark Wallinger Curates: The Russian Linesman - a name inspired by a ruling made during the 1966 England v West Germany World Cup final and which reputedly changed the course of football history.

The exhibition will explore "notions of the liminal: thresholds between physical, political or metaphysical realms". Says Wallinger: "I have always been interested in how we define and are defined by thresholds and boundaries, the events of history. The works in the exhibition use illusion, artifice and dislocating devices to look at our accidental time and place in the world afresh."

For Doctor Who fans, the exhibition also includes Wallinger's own "Time and Relative Dimensions in Space", a reflective 'TARDIS' originally featured in 2001's Venice Biennale.

For more details on the exhibition visit the Hayward Gallery exhibition page, plus coverage in the Evening Standard and on the London SE1 website.




FILTER: - Special Events

Five Years for Matt Smith?

Wednesday, 11 February 2009 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The media are reporting today that new Doctor Matt Smith has been signed up for three years, with an option for an additional two. The Sun announced that "NEW Doctor Who Matt Smith will get £1million to play the Time Lord for five years. The little-known actor, 26, has signed a £200,000-a-year deal with the BBC1 sci-fi hit. His contract ties him into the show for three years, with the option of two more after that." The ubiquitous insider said: "Bosses don't want Matt doing a David and leaving when things are going great."

Also reported by the Telegraph and Daily Mail.




FILTER: - Production - Matt Smith

Noel Clarke wins BAFTA

Sunday, 8 February 2009 - Reported by Marcus
Noel Clarke has won the BAFTA Orange Rising Star Award.

The award, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at a ceremony at the Royal Opera House in London, is the only award voted on by the public. It honours a young actor/actress of any nationality who has demonstrated exceptional talent and begun to capture the imagination of the British public as a film star in the making.

Clarke, who played Mickey Smith in Doctor Whoand wrote the Torchwood Series One episodeCombat, won the award for his work as writer and star of the feature length Kidulthood as well as follow up film Adulthood, the latter of which he also directed.

Ian Smith, Head of Partnerships at Orange, said: "We are delighted that Noel Clarke has been chosen as this year's Orange Rising Star. Noel is truly a fantastic role model for the next generation of aspiring film talent in Britain."

Finola Dwyer, Chairman of the BAFTA Film Committee, said: "I'm sure the British public will join me in congratulating a very deserving winner."

Also at the awards, former Doctor Who writer and co-creator of K-9, Bob Baker, won the BAFTA for Short Animation for his work on Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death. Baker shared the award with Steve Pegram and Nick Park.




FILTER: - People

Doctor Who Adventures 101

Thursday, 5 February 2009 - Reported by Marcus
This week's issue of Doctor Who Adventures is a Sontaran special, and it's full of Sontaran secrets!

There's an interview with actor Anthony O'Donnell who played Kaagh in The Sarah Jane Adventures plus the second part of a guide to the baked potato-headed creatures.

You can get ready for Red Nose Day with Freema Agyeman, who tells the magazine how you can get involved in events to raise money for charity.

Also in the magazine:
  • Posters: Captain Jack, Davros, and a Pyrovile
  • Fact file: A look at the brave people who’ve helped the Doctor save worlds.
  • Blast from the Past: Back in time to a dangerous adventure for the Fifth Doctor – Black Orchid.
  • Quiz: How well do you know Donna?
  • Doctor’s data: All about the Brigadier!
  • Comic strip: The Doctor and Heather help plug a temporal hiccup.

Doctor Who Adventures, issue 101 is out now.




FILTER: - Magazines - DWA

Torchwood Trailer

Thursday, 5 February 2009 - Reported by Marcus
As revealed below, the BBC has now released the trailer for the forthcoming Torchwood series.

Children Of Earth will air over five consecutive nights on BBC One later this year. Captain Jack (John Barrowman), Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) and Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd) are still coming to terms with the death of two of their closest friends. Despite their pain, they have a job to do. This time they are faced with their fiercest threat to date, one which throws the future of Torchwood and the entire human race spiralling into danger. They battle against the odds but do they stand a chance of saving mankind?

The series will also be shown on BBC America. Trailer content may be unavailable outside the United Kingdom.




FILTER: - Torchwood - Children of Earth (Series 3)

Specials in HD - DWM 405 News

Wednesday, 4 February 2009 - Reported by Marcus
This month's Doctor Who Magazine reveals that the upcoming Doctor Who specials will be shot in High Definition, a first for the series. Previously the production team has resisted the move to HD, because of the higher costs involved particularly with effects shots. Executive Producer Julie Gardner said the team has been planning the move to HD for many months. James Strong, who is directing Planet of the Dead, has considerable experience working in HD on programmes such as Hustle. The change means the programme will be shown on the BBC High Definition channel as well as on BBC One. BBC HD is available subscription free in Europe on Freesat. The channel is also part of the Sky HDservice and the Virgin Media HD service.

In other news the magazine also reveals that K-9 is due to play a large part in Series Three of The Sarah Jane Adventures. He is likely to appear in around 6 episodes of the 12 part series.

The magazine, out on Thursday, contains the first magazine interview with Matt Smith, recently revealed as the Eleventh Doctor. It asks how he plans to go about playing a 950-year-old Time Lord?

"The script is where it starts, it's always about the words, and luckily we're in the hands of Steven Moffat, who has this show ingrained in his soul and searing through his blood. It’s really born into his whole fabric, and that's the job for me over the next few months, to make this show part of my fibre. I think Steven is going to be the main creative source for me, and we're going to discover it together, who the Doctor is in Steven's mind and words, coupled with pockets of my personality, my history, my life, and the man and the human being that I am. I've got a meeting with Piers (Wenger, executive producer) next week to discuss that, but I think we'll start rehearsing and, you know, just sit around Piers' or Steven's kitchen table, read the scripts together, talk about the part. We’ll talk about my intentions, their intentions, how we feel it can fly, and sing, and be as brilliant and as Doctor-y and as excellent as it can be."

When asked what he might wear as the Doctor? "I’m a big fan of long coats and rather dashing scarves in everyday life, so who knows? For the audition, I rocked up in whatever, so I think they’re having to tone down what I wear in real life for the Doctor! I am a rather elaborate dresser. That's what's lovely, there are all these exciting things – what’s he going to wear, what’s he going to do in his first scene with his companion, which monsters will he meet, will he meet the Daleks? This show is so alive, it really is. I can't ever quite forget that I'm the Doctor – which is weird, because it’s still so far away. But it’s always there in my subconscious, because it's the Doctor! It’s like, there’s Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, and Doctor Who. It has resonance in our cultural fabric."

Also in the magazine:
  • Showrunner-in-waiting Steven Moffat shares with DWM readers just what it's like to cast a new Doctor Who in Production Notes.
  • Remember the Zygon gambit? The Yeti in the Underground? Or that, frankly, unmissable invasion by thousands of Daleks after Earth was transported billions of miles across space? DWM investigates why so many people in the Doctor Who universe, apparently, don't!
  • Susie Liggat talks to DWM about her experiences as the producer of the UK's best-loved drama series.
  • The Fact of Fiction revals some surprising secrets about 1975's Planet of Evil.
  • Can the Doctor and Majenta prevent the Day of the Lokhus? And what will become of Maxwell Edison? Find out in the final part of DWM's latest comic strip, The Stockbridge Child by Dan McDaid, with art by Martin Geraghty.
  • Neil Harris writes an open letter to Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith, full of helpful advice, in You Are Not Alone.
  • DWM turns the tables on the BBC's "Doctor Who correspondent" and asks Who on Earth Is Lizo Mzimba?




FILTER: - Specials - Production - Matt Smith - Magazines - DWM - Series 4/30 Specials

New Classic Series Figures Unveiled - UPDATED

Tuesday, 3 February 2009 - Reported by R Alan Siler
Forbidden Planet International has released details about a new wave of Classic Series figures.

This series includes two versions of the First and Second Doctors (one in colour and one in black and white), and a version of the Sixth Doctor in his all-blue costume from BBCi's webcast Real Time.

These figures are available now for pre-order and will be released in late July.

Get more product information here

UPDATED The figures mentioned are actually exclusive figures from Underground Toys at this year's San Diego Comic-Con.

The First and Second Doctor 2-packs and the Sixth Doctor figures are Underground Toys exclusives and Forbidden Toys is the exclusive retailer for them in the UK.

Toy collectors in the US will be able to get these figures at San Diego and shortly afterward at select retailers that carry the Doctor Who toy line. Customers should be able to preorder these figures from their regular retailer and online stores shortly.




FILTER: - Merchandise