UKTV 50th Anniversary broadcasts continue

Sunday, 13 January 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
UKTVUKTV continues its season of classic Doctor Who stories today (13th) with the broadcast of The Aztecs at 4:30pm (Australia) and 4:20pm (New Zealand).The four-part adventure forms part of the channel's celebration of the First Doctor this month, which kicked off last weekend with An Unearthly Child and continues with The Dalek Invasion of Earth next week (AU:3:30pm, NZ:3:15pm), rounding off with The War Machines on the 27th (AU:4:30pm, NZ:4:20pm).

The channel is showing stories every Sunday throughout the year in the lead-up to Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary in November, focussing on a Doctor a month. February is, as one might then expect, dedicated to the Second Doctor, featuring The Tomb of the Cybermen (3rd), The Dominators (10th), The Mind Robber (17th), and The Seeds of Death (24th).

All up-and-coming broadcasts from both 20th and 21st Century series of Doctor Who can be found via UKTV's Doctor Who sections for Australia and New Zealand.

(with thanks to Paul Scoones, Martin Schultz)




FILTER: - Classic Series - WHO50 - New Zealand - Australia

Regional Roundup

Friday, 11 January 2013 - Reported by John Bowman

United Kingdom

Wimbledon Studios in Deer Park Road, London, is being used for the forthcoming docudrama An Adventure In Space And Time, it has been revealed. Written by Mark Gatiss for BBC Two, the 90-minute special will detail the genesis of Doctor Who as part of the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the series. The casting for the programme, which will be shown in November, is still to be announced. [Wimbledon Guardian, 10 Jan 2013]

Still in the capital, a wooden police box is to be built at Kensington Palace to bolster the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's security. The box, measuring 1.6 metres square, will be dark blue and will have a glazed door. It will stand on the lawn on the south side, between the Grade I-listed building's high perimeter brick wall and iron railings. [Evening Standard, 3 Jan 2013]

Australia

Ex-patriate fan Michael Lauder, originally from north Kent and now living in Melbourne, Victoria, has been talking about the thrill of building two Daleks for his personal collection, using his carpentry knowledge and learning new skills along the way, having discovered the Project Dalek forum. He said: "You never get over the thrill of having a Dalek of your own in your house." His Daleks form part of the Invasion exhibition, which is at the Warrnambool Art Gallery until Monday 28th January. [ABC South West Victoria, 7 Jan 2013]

A cleric is looking to sell his prized collection of Doctor Who videos and magazines. Father Paul Kelly, of Maryborough, Queensland, said: "I've collected them since 1983 and they're in boxes in my carport and I have made a New Year's resolution to clear my clutter." [The Gympie Times, 5 Jan 2013]

USA

A Doctor Who club is being set up at River East Public Library in Illinois. The first meeting will be held on Tuesday 29th January at 7pm. [NorthWest Herald, 6 Jan 2013]

California-based technology expert Greg Kumparak has built a miniature TARDIS that enables an augmented reality app on his smartphone to create the illusion that the model of the police box really is bigger on the inside than on the outside. Buoyed by the positive reaction to it on Twitter and YouTube, he said: "The feedback has been resoundingly positive so far, almost shockingly so, really. Doctor Who fans might be some of the nicest people on the internet." [BBC News, 24 Dec 2012]
Acknowledgements: With Thanks To Tony Clark




FILTER: - USA - UK - WHO50 - Australia

Delia Derbyshire Day

Friday, 11 January 2013 - Reported by John Bowman
The work of electronica pioneer Delia Derbyshire is being celebrated in Manchester tomorrow.

As part of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop team, Derbyshire realised the Doctor Who theme music, composed by Ron Grainer, and her work creating sounds strongly influenced the world of pop and electronic music.

After her death in 2001, her collection of 267 tapes was entrusted to Mark Ayres and then loaned permanently by Ayres and the Delia Derbyshire estate to the University of Manchester, where they were digitised.

Tomorrow, Band On The Wall, a non-profit venue in Swan Street, Manchester, will be hosting the first Delia Derbyshire Day with performances, screenings, and talks in honour of the composer and arranger.

Among the events, the daytime "mini-symposium" - from 3pm to 6pm - will include a screening of the documentary The Delian Mode as well as a listening session of rare Derbyshire tracks, while the evening session - from 8pm to 10.30pm - will include the première of new commissions by Ailís Ní Ríain, Caro C, and Naomi Kashiwagi, who together comprise the event organisers Delia Darlings, inspired by their time spent with the Delia Derbyshire archives.


Delia Derbyshire was featured on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Saturday 12th January. It can be listened to via the Today website.
Acknowledgements: With Thanks To Jamie Austin




FILTER: - People - Special Events - UK

Doctor Who Adventures 302

Thursday, 10 January 2013 - Reported by John Bowman
Doctor Who Adventures returns to its usual Thursday publication schedule today with issue 302 as it takes a look at all the Cybermen from their first appearance in 1966 onwards.

The magazine's free gift is a pack of Cyber playing cards, while also in issue 302 are:
  • An interview with the Gunslinger from A Town Called Mercy
  • A guide to the Doctor's Christmas styles
  • The game Snowflakes And Ladders
  • Posters
  • More comic adventures for the Doctor and Decky Flamboon
  • Brainteasers
As well as being available in print form, the publication can now also be downloaded as an app for the iPhone and iPad from the App Stores in the UK and USA.




FILTER: - Magazines - DWA

Doctor Who Magazine 456

Thursday, 10 January 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Doctor Who Magazine Issue 456The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine - in the shops from today - takes readers on an exclusive tour of the new TARDIS interior, and speaks to production designer Michael Pickwoad about his inspiration for the Doctor's home's makeover ...
There was a lot of going forward, and a lot of harking back. You want to take the best of everything that’s ever happened...
Also in this issue:
  • Questions that must never be answered...? Doctor Who's showrunner and head writer Steven Moffat provides cool answers to burning questions from DWM readers in his new regular column.
  • Direct Action: he's directed dinosaurs on a spaceship, cyborgs in the Wild West and snowmen in Victorian London! DWM interviews Saul Metzstein about his work, and discovers behind-the-scenes secrets from Doctor Who...
  • The Year of The Doctor: 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who – and there will be plenty of ways to celebrate! DWM reveals what's planned in the worlds of Doctor Who books, audios, screenings and much, much more...
  • Revolutionary Animation: the First Doctor adventure The Reign of Terror is released on DVD this month, with brand new animation to bridge the gap left by its two missing episodes. DWM investigates how this remarkable reconstruction was achieved, with exclusive notes and images from the team that created it.
  • The Holiday from Hell: DWM turns the clock back to 1980, and looks at a Fourth Doctor story which featured reptilian criminals, cutting-edge science and a brand new look for Doctor Who. Prepare to be amazed as The Fact of Fiction enters The Leisure Hive
  • An Ace Year: it was the year that saw Haemovores and Husks, the Brigadier and the Master and the Doctor become Merlin... and it would be the last regular series of Doctor Who for nearly 16 years! DWM takes a nostalgic look at the Seventh Doctor's final TV adventures as Countdown to 50 continues with a look at 1989.
  • Sarah Jane Investigates: The Time Team takes a sideways step to look at The Sarah Jane Adventures, the popular CBBC spin-off from Doctor Who starring Elisabeth Sladen as the investigative journalist on the look out for extra-terrestrials.
  • Comic Strip: The Doctor is on the trail of stolen goods – and gets the shock of his life! – in Hunters of the Burning Stone, the brand new comic strip by Scott Gray, and illustrated by Martin Geraghty.
  • Relative Dimensions: Doctor Who is now being enjoyed by a whole new generation. But how will their experience as fans differ from their parents? Doctor Who author and dedicated mother of two Jacqueline Rayner finds out...
  • Wotcha! The enigmatic Watcher recalls the golden years of Radio Times listings, challenges readers with The Six Faces of Delusion and champions another Supporting Artist of the Month in Wotcha!
PLUS! All the latest official news, the latest DVDs, books and CDs reviewed, a prize-winning crossword and competitions and much, much more!




FILTER: - Magazines - DWM

BFI Celebration Proving To Be Sell-Out Success

Thursday, 10 January 2013 - Reported by John Bowman
Special screenings at the BFI this year to celebrate Doctor Who's 50th anniversary are proving to be a massive success, with the first two events selling out before the first one has even taken place.

To mark the show's golden milestone, BFI Southbank is showing a story per Doctor as well as digitally-restored prints of the two Dalek films starring Peter Cushing, with question-and-answer panels featuring special guests at each session.

This coming Saturday sees a big-screen showing of An Unearthly Child to start the season, with the second event on the programme - a screening of The Tomb of the Cybermen - taking place on Saturday 9th February. However, in both instances BFI members, who are entitled to priority booking, have snapped up all the tickets for both shows ahead of them going on sale to the general public. Tickets for Tomb were due to go on public release on Tuesday 15th January.

Despite the overwhelming popularity of the events, there are no plans to slot in extra screenings. BFI programmer Justin Johnson told Doctor Who News:
We're delighted and a little overwhelmed at the scale of demand for the BFI's Doctor Who 50th anniversary events. They were designed to be 12 one-off events so we won't be replicating them. However, BFI Live will be filming the introductions and appearances by special guests, which means that they will be available on our website for anyone to enjoy long after the event.
The guests at this Saturday's screening will be the Unearthly Child herself, aka Carole Ann Ford, director Waris Hussein, actors William Russell and Jeremy Young, Donald Tosh (the only surviving script editor from the William Hartnell era), Brian Hodgson of the Radiophonic Workshop, vision mixer Clive Doig, Jessica Carney (William Hartnell's granddaughter and biographer), and Mark Gatiss, who is writing a BBC Two docudrama about the show's genesis, called An Adventure In Space And Time, which will debut at the BFI in November.

The guest line-up for the screening of The Tomb of the Cybermen has yet to be announced. March will see the première of the colour-restored story The Mind of Evil ahead of its release on DVD. The remaining stories are still to be announced.

In addition to priority booking, BFI members receive discounts on ticket prices as well as exemption from booking fees. The BFI currently has a special offer with annual membership at £30 (down from £40). The offer expires at the end of February - click here for more details.





FILTER: - Special Events - UK - BFI - WHO50

Mad Norwegian Press: Queers Dig Time Lords

Thursday, 10 January 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Mad Norwegian Press have announced a new book in their range of essays about Doctor Who by its fans and focusses, as the title suggests, on how Queers Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the LGBTQ Fans Who Love It.

Queers Dig Time Lords. Mad Norwegian PressQueers Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the LGBTQ Fans Who Love It
Edited by Sigrid Ellis and Michael Damian Thomas
Released 4 Jun 2013 (pre-order)

In Queers Dig Time Lords, editors Sigrid Ellis (Chicks Dig Comics) and Michael Damian Thomas (Apex Magazine) bring together essays by award-winning writers to celebrate the phenomenon that is Doctor Who, in the tradition of the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords.

Tanya Huff (Blood Ties) wears bi-focals as she analyzes the Doctor’s fluid sexuality, former Doctor Who script editor Gary Russell explores the show’s effect on his teenage years, Paul Magrs (Hornets' Nest) defends and celebrates the series' camp qualities, and Melissa Scott (Trouble and Her Friends) describes Who’s impact on her greatest love and loss.

Other contributors include David Llewellyn (Night of the Humans), Rachel Swirsky (Through the Drowsy Dark), Hal Duncan (Ink: The Book of All Hours), Mary Anne Mohanraj (Bodies in Motion), and Jed Hartman (Strange Horizons).

Introduction by Doctor Who and Torchwood star John Barrowman, and Carole E Barrowman (Exodus Code). Cover art by Colleen Coover (Small Favors).

Their previous book in this vein, Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It, received a Hugo Award back in 2011, winning the Best Related Work category.





FILTER: - Merchandise - Books

Big Finish: The Light At The End

Wednesday, 9 January 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Big Finish have announced a special 100-minute story starring all five surviving classic series Doctors to be released for the 50th Anniversary. The Light At The End will see their paths suddenly intersect when they face imminent destruction . . .

The story is written and directed by Nicholas Briggs, who said:
We wanted to do a proper, fully-fledged multi-Doctor story for this very special occasion, and it's wonderful that all the surviving Doctors threw themselves behind the project so enthusiastically. That's not to say the first three Doctors don't appear – we wanted to pay homage to the whole history of the classic series.
As well as the Doctors, popular companions will also be involved from each era: for Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor it's Leela as played by Louise Jameson; then for Peter Davison there's Nyssa (Sarah Sutton); for Colin Baker's era there's Peri (Nicola Bryant); Sylvester McCoy's sees Ace (Sophie Aldred); and from the Paul McGann Big Finish adventures there's Charley, as played by India Fisher.

And if that wasn't enough, producer David Richardson added:
Geoffrey Beevers is back to create mayhem as the Master, and there will be a number of appearances from some much-cherished old friends from the TV series . . .
Released in November 2013, two versions of the story will be available: a standard two-disc release comprising just the episodes, and a limited edition five-disc release that will have two additional documentaries, plus Companion Chronicles tale The Revenants (performed by William Russell, previously available as a Doctor Who Magazine download).




FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Tom Baker - Peter Davison - Sylvester McCoy - Paul McGann - Colin Baker

People Roundup

Wednesday, 9 January 2013 - (compiled by Chuck Foster and John Bowman)
David Tennant and wife Georgia Moffett are expecting their second child together, it was revealed on The Jonathan Ross Show last Saturday (5th).

During the show, the actor also talked about how he is still recognised as the Doctor in spite of four years away from the role: "It does carry on, yeah, because people are enthusiastic about it, it's one of those shows that people love. It becomes part of what you do, it's not a difficult thing to deal with.".

Talking about filming Spies of Warsaw - which is on tonight at 9:00pm on BBC4 - he commented on how wide-reaching his recognition is: "I didn't realise Doctor Who plays in Poland – but it obviously does. I've had a few fans coming up, wanting to say hello, or get a photograph or a signature. It doesn't happen quite on the scale that it happens at home – but then I don't think I've been to a country yet where I haven’t met someone who's a Doctor Who fan ... except maybe Uganda!" [Mail, 6 Jan 2013]

Burn Gorman - who appears with Tennant in Spies of Warsaw - has joined the cast of Revenge. He will play a recurring character named Trask, a member of the American Initiative. [Hollywood Reporter, 7 Jan 2013]

Tamsin Greig and Catrin Stewart will be on stage in Longing at the Hampstead Theatre in London. Adapted by William Boyd from two Anton Chekhov short stories, the play will run from Thursday 28th February to Saturday 6th April. The venue is currently staging Old Money, with Maureen Lipman and Tracy-Ann Oberman, ending on 12th January, which will be followed by Di And Viv And Rose, with Anna Maxwell-Martin and Tamzin Outhwaite (17th January to 23rd February).

An adaptation of Tom Baker's novel The Boy Who Kicked Pigs will be performed at Jacksons Lane in north London by theatre company Kill The Beast between 5th and 16th March. The actor said: "I wondered how a small theatre company could stage my story - which has a cast of hundreds, and includes a motorway pile-up with coachloads of people. I also wondered how they would manage to make my tale of evil horror funny, as I intended it to be." [EntertainmentWise, 8 Jan 2013]

Fenella Woolgar and David Troughton are up for honours in this year's BBC Audio Drama Awards. Woolgar is nominated for Best Actress for her portrayal of Rosemary Kennedy in BBC Radio 4's An American Rose, while Troughton is in the running for Best Supporting Actor as the Earl of Leicester in BBC Radio 3's Singles and Doublets. In addition, The Minister of Chance, by Dan Freeman, which stars Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Paul Darrow, and Tamsin Greig, is nominated for the title of Best Online-Only Audio Drama, while Kafka The Musical, which aired on BBC Radio 3 and is by Murray Gold, has been shortlisted for the Tinniswood Radio Drama Award 2012 for Best Radio Drama Script. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on Sunday 27th January at BBC Broadcasting House in central London. [BBC Media Centre, 8 Jan 2012]

In Memoriam

The latest edition of BBC publication Prospero (page 15) has revealed that former Doctor Who crew member Marion McDougall died last March. Her first involvement with the series was as an assistant floor manager on The War Games, and she went on to be a production assistant on a number of stories between 1971 and 1977. Other BBC productions that she worked on included The Mayor of Casterbridge, Prince Regent, Mackenzie, Smiley's People, Mansfield Park, Blott On The Landscape, and Fortunes of War.
(With thanks to Garret Jackson)
(compiled by Chuck Foster and John Bowman)




FILTER: - People - Theatre - Tom Baker - David Tennant - Radio - Sylvester McCoy - BBC - Paul McGann

National Television Awards 2013 Shortlist Revealed

Tuesday, 8 January 2013 - Reported by John Bowman
Doctor Who and its stars have been shortlisted in three categories in this year's National Television Awards.

In the Drama section, the show itself is up against Sherlock (co-created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss), Merlin (starring Colin Morgan), and Downton Abbey (starring Hugh Bonneville).

Matt Smith is nominated for Drama Performance: Male, for which he is competing against Benedict Cumberbatch (the title role in Sherlock), Colin Morgan (the title role in Merlin), and Daniel Mays (Ronnie Biggs in Mrs Biggs).

Meanwhile, Karen Gillan faces Sheridan Smith (Charmian Biggs in Mrs Biggs), Suranne Jones (Det Con Rachel Bailey in Scott & Bailey), and Miranda Hart (Chummy Browne in Call The Midwife) for the Drama Performance: Female gong.

In other categories, Would I Lie To You?, featuring David Mitchell, is among the nominees for Comedy Panel Show, The Apprentice (with Lord Alan Sugar) and Paul O'Grady: For The Love Of Dogs are included in Factual Entertainment, Absolutely Fabulous (with June Whitfield) and Benidorm (co-written by and co-starring Steve Pemberton) are up for Situation Comedy, Coronation Street (produced by Phil Collinson) is nominated for Serial Drama, and The Chase, hosted by Bradley Walsh, is nominated in the Daytime category.

Both Smith and Gillan won in their respective categories in last year's NTAs, but the show lost out to Downton Abbey as Most Popular Drama.

Votes can be cast via this link and must be confirmed by midday on Wednesday 23rd January, when voting closes. The ceremony - the 18th NTAs - takes place at the O2 Arena in London and will be broadcast live on ITV1 from 7.30pm the same day.





FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Doctor Who - Special Events - Karen Gillan - Matt Smith - Awards/Nominations