London Doctor Who Festival Opens

Friday, 13 November 2015 - Reported by Marcus

The London Doctor Who Festival has opened at London's ExCel Centre.

The three day celebration of Doctor Who, saw fans queuing from the early hours of Friday morning for a chance to meet stars Peter Capaldi, Michelle Gomez, Ingrid Oliver, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss.

The festival follows on from the 2013 Doctor Who 50th anniversary celebration, also held at ExCel and features floor shows and presentations as well as panels with the writers and stars of the series.

Peter Capaldi told the assembled press of some of the hazards of playing the Doctor, revealing that he has had an operation on his knee to repair damage caused by the constant running down corridors. It was an injury previously suffered by Matt Smith.

I had keyhole surgery on the meniscus membrane. It got torn and it doesn't grow back so they had to snip it away to make it all fine. I was worried that it would get worse, because they couldn't do the surgery while we were filming. But I’ve become rather drawn to the cane that I had. Obviously I wanted one with a silver fox or a skull on the handle.

Capaldi denied he had agreed to direct two episodes of the HBO series Veep.

I’m not. A journalist asked what I was doing and I said I’d been asked to direct a couple of episodes of Veep but I couldn’t because of Doctor Who. But that is not what was chosen to be printed

Steven Moffat revealed that the casting for the new companion had not yet taken place.

We went to the BBC yesterday to talk about the type of person we might be looking at. To my unending terror, we have not yet finished episode 11 and episode 12 is nowhere near finished so we haven’t actually delivered the show yet.

The festival continues over the weekend where the team will be joined by Jenna Coleman.

A small number of tickets are available for Sunday. The Festival then moves to Sydney next weekend.

FILTER: - Festival

Forthcoming broadcast details

Friday, 13 November 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC have released details for the rest of the series following this weekend's broadcast, Sleep No More, which confirm that episode ten, Face The Raven, is scheduled for 8:10pm on 21st November (50 mins) and episode eleven, Heaven Sent, is scheduled for 8:05pm on 28th November (55 mins); the time/length of the series finale, Hell Bent, has yet to be confirmed.

Please note that BBC synopses contain details that some might consider spoilers.

Face the Raven: Clara, as played by Jenna Coleman (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)

Face The Raven
Saturday 21st November 2015, 8:10-9:00pm

The Doctor and Clara, with their old friend Rigsy, find themselves in a magical alien world, hidden on a street in the heart of London.

Sheltered within are some of the most fearsome creatures of the universe… and Ashildr (Maisie Williams)! With a death sentence hanging over their heads, not all of the intruders will get out alive.

Writer: Sarah Dollard
Director: Justin Molotnikov
Producer: Nikki Wilson
Cast: Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman
Guest cast: Maisie Williams, Joivan Wade, Naomi Ackie, Simon Manyonda, Simon Paisley Day, Letitia Wright, Robin Soans, Angela Clerkin, Caroline Boulton, Jenny Lee.

Heaven Sent: The Doctor, as played by Peter Capaldi (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)

Heaven Sent
Saturday 28th November, 8:05-9:00pm

Trapped in a world unlike any other he has seen, the Doctor faces the greatest challenge of his many lives. One final test. And he must face it alone.

Pursued by the fearsome creature known only as the Veil, he must attempt the impossible. If he makes it through, Gallifrey is waiting…

Writer / Steven Moffat
Director / Rachel Talalay
Producer / Peter Bennett

Hell Bent
Saturday 5th December, time tbc

If you took everything from him, betrayed him, trapped him, and broke both his hearts...how far might the Doctor go?

Returning to Gallifrey, the Doctor faces the Time Lords in a struggle that will take him to the end of time itself. Who is the Hybrid? And what is the Doctor’s confession?

Writer / Steven Moffat
Director / Rachel Talalay
Producer / Peter Bennett

FILTER: - Publicity - Series 9/35

Christmas Special to be shown in US Cinemas

Wednesday, 11 November 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC Worldwide have announced that the - as yet unnamed - Doctor Who Christmas Special is to be shown in cinemas across the United States in late December.

CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS WITH THE DOCTOR ON THE BIG SCREEN
2015 DOCTOR WHO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL IN THEATERS
DECEMBER 28 & 29 NATIONWIDE FOR THE FIRST TIME

BBC Worldwide North America and Fathom Events announce the return of the longest running sci-fi television series, Doctor Who, to the big screen with a special theatrical event of the 2015 Doctor Who Christmas Special starring Peter Capaldi and featuring the return of Alex Kingston as River Song. The event will be in theaters on December 28 & 29, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. local time and feature an exclusive interview with Alex Kingston, as well as a 15-minute behind-the-scenes “making of” featurette starring Peter Capaldi, Steven Moffat and more.

Tickets for the 2015 Doctor Who Christmas Special can be purchased online beginning Friday, November 13 by visiting www.FathomEvents.com or participating theater box offices. The event is expected to show in nearly 300 movie theaters through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network. For a complete list of theater locations visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).

It’s Christmas Day in the future and the TARDIS is parked on a snowy village street, covered in icicles, awaiting its next adventure. Time traveler River Song meets her husband’s new incarnation, in the form of Peter Capaldi, for the first time this Christmas. River Song made her first Doctor Who appearances in 2008 in Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead and has appeared in 15 episodes to date.

Soumya Sriraman, EVP Film, Home Entertainment and Licensing for BBC Worldwide North America, said:

The return of River Song will be an incredible treat for Whovians heading to the theaters this December to celebrate the holiday season with their Doctor Who community.

Fathom Events CEO John Rubey said:

The Doctor Who fans always come out to movie theaters in full force and we expect nothing less for the first-ever big screen showing of the Christmas special. Experiencing this anniversary event as part of a community is the best kind of viewing party!

The Doctor Who Christmas Special premieres on Friday, December 25, 2015 on BBC AMERICA.

FILTER: - Cinema - Special Events - Specials - USA

Doctor Who Magazine 493

Wednesday, 11 November 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Doctor Who Magazine 492 (Credit: Doctor Who Magazine)

Doctor Who Magazine 492 (Festival edition) (Credit: Doctor Who Magazine)

The latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine is published on Thursday, and looks ahead to the final four episodes of the current series of Doctor Who, Sleep No More, Face the Raven, Heaven Sent and Hell Bent, including interviews with the writers Mark Gatiss, Sarah Dolland and Steven Moffat, series finale director Rachel Talalay and the Doctor himself, Peter Capaldi.

On the twelfth and final episode of the series, Peter observed:

The whole episode’s quite big. It’s huge, actually – but also there’s a sadness, a romance, and a tragedy to Episode 12. It’s just so romantic. It’s very effective. And I loved all the stuff on one particular set. I was very excited. It looks so modern – a Kubrick-y kind of vibe. It was very nice. We’re in a very interesting place, because we’re competing with bigger shows, frankly. Most American shows have four times the budget per episode that we have, but that’s what we’re up against. We’re competing with Game of Thrones… This is traditional for Doctor Who, but it goes to show what this amazing production team can achieve.

Also inside this issue:

INSIDE NUMBER 9: DWM reunites League of Gentlemen stars Mark Gatiss and Reece Shearsmith – writer and star respectively of Sleep No More – for an exclusive interview! Plus a chat with guest star Bethany Black.
BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL: Showrunner Steven Moffat answers readers’ questions, and reveals just who the Doctor is talking to when he’s looking directly at the camera...
IMMORTAL WORDS: Poll-winning writer Jamie Mathieson discusses his varied career, including his life as a stand-up comedian, and how his latest episode, The Girl Who Died, came to be.
HIGHWAY TO HELL: Writer Catherine Tregenna talks in-depth to DWM about how she came to write her recent Doctor Who episode, The Woman Who Lived.
BACK TO LIFE: Jacqueline Rayner explains why The Girl Who Died reminded her of the Moxx of Balhoon, her childhood and Dodo in Relative Dimensions.
TALES OF DARKNESS: The Doctor and Clara face terror in the cemetery in their latest terrifying comic strip adventure, The Highgate Horror, by Mark Wright, illustrated by David A Roach.
THE DWM REVIEW: DWM reviews The Girl Who Died, The Woman Who Lived, The Zygon Invasion and The Zygon Inversion. Plus, the latest DVDs, books and audios are put under the spotlight.
COMING SOON:All the latest and forthcoming Doctor Who CDs are previewed – including UNIT: Extinction and Jago & Litefoot & Strax!

PLUS! All the latest official news, competitions, ratings round-up, Wotcha! and The DWM Crossword.

An exclusive limited edition variant cover will be on sale at the Doctor Who Festival between Friday 13 and Sunday 15 November.

FILTER: - DWM

Publicity: Sleep No More

Tuesday, 10 November 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster

A roundup of publicity for the next episode in the current series of Doctor Who, Sleep No More.

This terrifying story is assembled from footage discovered in the wreckage of Le Verrier Space Station.

Writer: Mark Gatiss
Director: Justin Molotnikov
Producer: Nikki Wilson

Images feature Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, Jenna Coleman as Clara, Reece Shearsmith as Rassmussen, Elaine Tan as Nagata, and Neet Mohan as Chopra

Sleep No More: Known Broadcast Details
United Kingdom	BBC One	Sat 14 Nov 2015	8:15pm
United States of America	BBC America	Sat 14 Nov 2015	9:00pm EDT	(2:00am GMT)
Canada	SPACE	Sat 14 Nov 2015	9:00pm EDT	(2:00am GMT)
Asia Pacific	BBC Entertainment	Sun 15 Nov 2015	10:00am SGT	(2:00am GMT)
New Zealand	PRIME	Sun 15 Nov 2015	7:30pm NZDT	(6:30am GMT)
Australia	ABC	Sun 15 Nov 2015	7:40pm AEDT	(8:40am GMT)
Europe (Benelux)	BBC First	Tue 17 Nov 2015	9:00pm CEST
United Kingdom	BBC Two	Fri 20 Nov 2015	1:45am	(British Signed Language)
South Africa	BBC First	Sat 21 Nov 2015	6:00pm SAST
India	FX	Sun 29 Nov 2015	11:00pm IST
Finland	YLE2	Mon 30 Nov 2015	6:05pm EET
Denmark	DR3	Fri 18 Dec 2015	~8:00pm CET
Germany	FOX	Jan 2016	9:00pm CET	(dubbed into German)

BBC Trailer on YouTube
Introduction on BBC iPlayer

FILTER: - Publicity - Series 9/35

Titan announce New Fourth Doctor Series

Tuesday, 10 November 2015 - Reported by Marcus

Titan Comics and BBC Worldwide have announced a brand-new mini series starring the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith, as played by Tom Baker and the late Elisabeth Sladen.

This series expands Titan Comics’ popular and critically acclaimed Doctor Who comics line, which already includes adventures from the Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors.

Entitled ‘Gaze Of The Medusa’, the five-part series will hit stores in March 2016 and will be penned by Gordon Rennie (Missionary Man, Judge Dredd) and Emma Beeby (Witch Hunter, Judge Dredd) with art by Brian Williamson (The Twelfth Doctor, Spider-Man, X-Men).

The all-new adventure is set in Victorian England, where a mysterious woman commands a hidden army in a house of the blind. Scryclops stalk the streets...and something alien and terrible screams from prehistory – with a hunger that cannot be satisfied!

Issue #1 will come with six covers to collect: a painted cover by fan-favorite artist Alice X. Zhang; a photo variant; art covers by artists Brian Williamson, Jay Gunn and Matt Baxter; and a blank sketch variant.

Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor #1 debuts in comic stores and on digital devices from March 2016.

Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor #1 (Credit: Titan)

FILTER: - Comics - Fourth Doctor

The Zygon Invasion: Official Rating

Monday, 9 November 2015 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who: The Zygon Invasion had an official consolidated rating of 5.76 million viewers.

The rating issued by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board, or BARB, includes all those who watched the programme within one week of transmission. It does not include those watching online via iPlayer

Doctor Who was the 11th most watched programme on BBC Television, and third overall on Saturday. The episode finished at 24th in the chart.

Top of the week was Strictly Come Dancing with 10.85 million watching.

FILTER: - Ratings - Series 9/35

The Zygon Inversion - AI:84

Monday, 9 November 2015 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who: The Zygon Inversion had an Audience Appreciation or AI score of 84.

The Appreciation Index or AI is a measure of how much the audience enjoyed the programme. The score, out of a hundred, is compiled by a specially selected panel of around 5,000 people who go online and rate and comment on programmes.

The highest score for the weekend was for the The Royal British Legion Festival Of Remembrance which scored 90

With Sunday's overnight viewing figures now available, Doctor Who finished as the 47th most watched programme of the week. Consolidated figures will be published next week.

FILTER: - Ratings - Series 9/35 - UK

Australian overnight ratings for The Zygon Inversion & final ratings for The Wom

Monday, 9 November 2015 - Reported by Adam Kirk

The Zygon Inversion has debuted in Australia, averaging 466,000 viewers in the five major capital cities. It was the highest rating ABC drama of the day and the sixteenth highest rating program of the day overall. These ratings do not include iview, regional or time-shifted viewers.

Meanwhile, including time-shifted viewers, The Woman Who Lived averaged 647,000 consolidated viewers in the five major capital cities. With 151,000 extra viewers it was the third highest time-shifted program of the day (the highest time-shifted program had an extra 168,000 viewers) and the ninth highest rating program of the day overall. These ratings do not include iview or regional viewers.

Media Links: TV Tonight (The Zygon Inversion ratings); TV Tonight (The Woman Who Lived ratings)

FILTER: - Australia - Broadcasting - Ratings - Series 9/35

The Zygon Inversion - Press Reaction

Sunday, 8 November 2015 - Reported by Marcus

This item Contains Plot Spoilers

Press reaction for the The Zygon Inversion is mostly positive with many reviewers picking up on the performance of the lead actor. Peter Capaldi's finest hour is how The Express describes the episode. "Peter gives a powerful performance as a Doctor trying to maintain a fragile ceasefire, opting for diplomacy over militancy. Throughout his speech, he never loses his flow or passion. At times it feels as if the television screen falls away and we're watching a stage production, such is the strength of his acting."

The Guardian felt the episode finally cemented Capaldi as The Doctor. "As he delivered his passionate, eloquent takedown of Zygon rebel Bonnie, this version of the Doctor was comprehensively nailed, skewering perfectly who this man is.....This Doctor has never been written better, Capaldi has never channelled Tom Baker more, that sequence is cemented instantly as the “Capaldi moment” in clip shows for the rest of time."

Digital Spy agreed. "Peter Capaldi is absolutely spectacular.His emotional, grandiose confrontation with both Kate and 'Zygella' is spellbinding. A breathless, breathtaking lecture on the futility of war, this sequence is easily Capaldi's finest moment as the Doctor since he took up the reins last year."

Radio Times thought the bunker scenes between The Doctor and the two protagonists were spectacular. "An incredible piece of writing and acting. The scene lasts a full ten minutes as the Doctor runs the gamut of emotions in his effort to make Clara/Bonnie/Zygella stand down and “break the cycle” of cruelty and war. The Time Lord and the writers (Peter Harness and Steven Moffat) are wearing their hearts and political colours on their sleeves. It’s wonderful to watch and absorb."

The Metro also loved the Doctor's speech. "The use of the Osgood boxes – mere McGuffins to force both sides to think and talk for long enough to defuse the conflict – is a typically elegant Doctor-style resolution. They are no more than empty vessels that allow him to channel his preferred weapon: the power of words." The paper felt the episode so nearly a classic. "The story lacked the visible large-scale threat – it was all implied and never seen – and an iconic moment that, say, an army of Zygons marching across London would have provided."

The Telegraph thought the episode over complicated "Putting paid to the threat involved negotiating over an "Osgood Box" which would either do away with all the humans on Earth or all the Zygons. But the box turned out to be two boxes… and each box contained two buttons. In other hands this might have been a deft sequence of plot switcheroos, but here it felt like stage business to pad out a slightly threadbare symposium on terrorist ideology"

Online Den Of Geek joined in the praise for the show's lead actor and the themes pursued in the story. "Doctor Who has just blasted a 45 minute lesson in tolerance, the state of the world, war and the futility of conflict straight into people's living rooms while The X-Factor was on the other side."

The themes of conflict were picked up by AV Club. "The climax of The Zygon Inversion makes explicit something that the best anti-war Doctor Who stories have always understood. Depicting the madness of war doesn’t require an epic scale. If anything, narrowing the focus to a single conflict or moral dilemma clarifies the essential futility of violent conflict."

IGN concurred "It takes the Doctor’s painful recollection of the war he fought in -- the ultimate war -- to convince Evil Clara, to get her to start to see things his way. “When I close my eyes, I hear more screams than anyone could ever be able to count,” he says. And suddenly Evil Clara isn’t so evil anymore, as she realizes her and the Doctor are more alike than they are different."

TV.com enjoyed the darker tone of the episode. "The magic of Doctor Who is that it's constantly able to reinvent itself, and so it has. I wish that I could sit back and just enjoy the innate silliness of some of the show's lighter episodes, but given the darkness that permeates much of the Capaldi era, I find myself drawn to the episodes that have deeper meanings, that touch on the more serious subject matter at hand."

gamesRadar felt the highlight of the story, and even the series, was the interaction between Clara and Bonnie. "Jenna Coleman manages to make them feel like subtly distinct characters, and has a blast playing against herself in one (or should that be two?) of her best performances of the series" Mashable also praised the performance of both of the lead actors. "Jenna Coleman manages to thoroughly convince as both sides in the Clara-Bonnie battle of wits. A showdown conducted over a television could have easily looked laughable, and Coleman deserves the credit for making it work."

TVFanatic preferred the first episode of this double parter. "Bonnie forcing that Zygon out of his human form was freaky, but the morphing was not smooth at all. It would have been preferable for the man to stay in that inbetween state, which was fairly disturbing. True, the point was for the alien footage to go viral. Still, I'm just not a fan of the Zygons" The Register also felt the episode to slow "The Zygon Inversion feels a little too laboured, overly-wordy and lacking in action, and that's despite a tremendous performance from Peter Capaldi. A pity, too, to see such a brisk demise of the excellent Bonnie."

Finally Radio Times loved the past references in the story. "A punch-the-air moment for the Doctor Who fan. In case you don’t know, Kate’s dad, the Brigadier, issued the command “Chap with the wings there. Five rounds rapid!” in the 1971 classic The Dæmons"

You can read the Doctor Who News review in our reviews section.

FILTER: - Press - Series 9/35

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