Tranter on Who film and future

Wednesday, 3 October 2007 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

Media Guardian reports that Jane Tranter, BBC Head of Fiction, is keeping the possibility of a Doctor Who film open. Tranter is quoted as saying, "I would not rule out a film version of Doctor Who, no." The article also discusses the future of the television series for the next several years, as previously revealed; however, Tranter suggests that David Tennantmay remain in the role for Series Five in 2010.
Ms Tranter also hinted that actor David Tennant, who plays the current Doctor, was likely to return to the role for a fifth series, even though he has agreed to play Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company next year.

His decision means that the fifth series will not be shown until 2010, two years after the fourth series airs next year, effectively creating a "gap year" filled by three Doctor Who specials starring Tennant and overseen by head writer and executive producer Russell T Davies.

Ms Tranter also refused to be drawn on speculation that Steven Moffat was being lined up as a replacement for Davies - who is believed to be on the verge of leaving the show - or that actor James Nesbitt was being lined up take over from Tennant.

"All we can say is that David is a fantastic Doctor and that he is doing Hamlet," she said.




FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Production - Movies - Press

Sarah Jane Ratings

Wednesday, 3 October 2007 - Reported by Marcus
Episode Two of The Sarah Jane Adventures was watched by 1.1 million viewers, a 10% share of the total television audience.

This was slightly down on the BBC1 showing last week, but this episode had previously been shown on the digital channel CBBC.

The number of 4-15-year-olds watching was 0.4 million, making the programme the fifth most watched of the day by children and the top rated children's programme.

Episode Three on CBBC achieved an audience of 0.2 million viewers, a12.3% share.

The Audience Index figure for Episode One was 79 and for Episode Two 77.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Sarah Jane

Return of the Sontarans

Tuesday, 2 October 2007 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

The official Doctor Who site has confirmed that the Sontarans, potato-headed monsters from the classic series, will return to Doctor Who in Series Four.

The Sontarans, a militaristic clone race, first appeared opposite the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith in 1973, in The Time Warrior, which has recently been released on DVD in the UK. Sontarans also appeared in The Sontaran Experiment (1975), The Invasion of Time (1978) and The Two Doctors (1985). More recently, the potato-headed monsters were mentioned in "The Eye of the Gorgon, Part 1", an episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures which aired on CBBC on Monday.

In Series Four, the Sontaran leader will be played by Christopher Ryan, best known as Mike in the 1980s comedy series The Young Ones. Ryan appeared as another alien, the Mentor Lord Kiv, in the 1986 story The Trial of a Time Lord: Mindwarp, opposite Sixth Doctor Colin Baker. That story also featured Trevor Laird, who played Martha Jones' father Clive in Series Three.





FILTER: - Production - Series 4/30

Big Finish Update

Tuesday, 2 October 2007 - Reported by Jarrod Cooper

Big Finish has released covers and announced scheduling changes for releases over the next few months.

The first installment of Dalek Empire: The Fearless has been delayed due to problems with sound design. Originally set for a September release, October 7th is the new target release date.

Also pushed back is Short Trips: Defining Patterns, which will now see release in March 2008.

Now released are the covers for three of the upcoming Companion Chronicles, as well as the December release The Girl Who Never Was. Trailers for all four Companion Chronicles are also availabl




FILTER: - Audio

Sarah Jane Audios

Monday, 1 October 2007 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

The official Doctor Who site has announced that BBC Audiobookswill be releasing two original audiobooks based on The Sarah Jane Adventures, read by Elisabeth Sladen.

In The Glittering Storm by Stephen Cole, Sarah Jane investigates the strange behavior of patients at a London clinic and discovers a plot to harvest all the gold from Earth. Says Cole, "My first memories of Doctor Who are of poor Sarah stuck in a ventilator shaft back in 1975, so I jumped at the chance to write a story for Lis Sladen. She is a fantastic actor with a wonderful voice, and Sarah Jane is a marvellous character. With The Glittering Storm I aimed to provide a story with creepy scares - as well as humour and thrills - in the vein of the new TV series. The idea is that we on Earth are not the only people who prize gold highly... Others in space have a fascination for the stuff too, and are rather more menacing in the way that they use it..."

In The Thirteenth Stone by Justin Richards, Sarah Jane finds an secret associated with an ancient stone circle. Richards says, "I had enormous fun writing The Thirteenth Stone. It's always slightly daunting writing a story that is going to be read aloud - you really have to be at your best. But knowing that Elisabeth Sladen - Sarah Jane Smith herself - was going to be reading it was a tremendous boost to the confidence as well as a huge privilege. I can't wait to hear the finished result!"

Both audiobooks will be available for purchase as CDs or downloads from November 5. Teaser clips from both stories are available through the official site.




FILTER: - Audio - Sarah Jane