Doctor Who Live: Global Audience

Thursday, 8 August 2013 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Live: The Next DoctorGlobal ratings are now available for last weekend’s broadcast of Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor, with the BBC estimating over 1.5 million fans around the world joined the 6.2 million who watched the show in the United Kingdom.

In the United States, BBC America reported 895,000 total viewers for the show which was broadcast at 2pm Eastern Time. This made it the best telecast ever outside of primetime among the 25-54 demographic, and it was only beaten by The Royal Wedding as the best non-prime telecast ever on the channel.

According to Trendrr.TV the 30-minute TV event was the most talked about TV show, apart from sport, on social media in the US, beating the likes of Justin Bieber: Never Say Never on MTV and Keeping Up With The Kardashians on E. On Tumblr, there were 11.84 million views of the Official US Doctor Who Tumblr since the show’s announcement, and fans created 3 million Doctor Who-related reblogs on the day of the show. Twitter activity around the special was double the sci-fi series’ season average for BBC America and at the peak of the activity, six out of the ten trending topics in the US were related to the announcement. Doctor Who continues to be the highest rating programme on the network.

In Canada the show was broadcast on SPACE, which reported 412,000 viewers at its peak for the special, making it the number one network for the key 18-54 demographic during that time.

While in Australia, 40,000 sacrificed sleep to tune into the live broadcast at 4am ET with a total of 200,000 watching the show or its repeat on ABC2. An additional 41,000 have so far watched the programme on iview, ABC’s catch up service.




FILTER: - Canada - USA - Ratings - Peter Capaldi - Australia

Doctor Who: Canada Ratings

Wednesday, 22 May 2013 - Reported by Marcus
The Name of the Doctor was watched by 584,000 viewers on Canadian station SPACE last Saturday, becoming the most watched season finale in the series history in the country.

The episode made SPACE the number 1 network for the 9pm timeslot for total viewers, as well as for the key demographics of 25-54 and 18-49.

Total reach for the finale was nearly 1 million total viewers. The programme was also the most-watched entertainment specialty program of the day on Saturday, capping off a strong Season 7 for the Doctor and Clara with a season average audience of 608,000.




FILTER: - Canada - Ratings - Series 7/33

DVD Update (R1): The Doctors Revisited / The Moonbase

Friday, 5 April 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Doctors Revisited - 3D Cover (R1)BBC Worldwide/Warner Home Entertainment have released details on a forthcoming DVD release, The Doctors Revisited (1-4), a four-disc boxed set being released as part of BBC America's 50th Anniversary celebration of Doctor Who.

This set features the first four special documentaries broadcast by the channel for William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, each accompanied by the story that illustrated them (The Aztecs, The Tomb of the Cybermen, Spearhead from Space and Pyramids of Mars). As a bonus, each story will also feature an introduction by the show's current lead writer and executive producer, Steven Moffat.

Amazon have made the story available for pre-order, with a release date of 11th June 2013.

The Revisited trailers can be viewed online for the First, Second and Third Doctors.

 

The Moonbase

As well as the release above, Amazon have also listed The Moonbase for pre-order! The site describes the release thus:
New to DVD! Digitally remastered Doctor Who classic The Moonbase! (NOT FINAL) The TARDIS arrives in 2070 AD on the Moon, where a weather control station under the command of a man named Hobson is in the grip of a plague epidemic - in reality the result of an alien poison planted by the Cybermen. Polly realizes that as the Cybermen's chest units are made of plastic they must be vulnerable to attack by solvents. She and her friends manage to destroy all the Cybermen on the base with a 'cocktail' of such chemicals shot at them through fire extinguishers.
No other information is known about this item or its features at present, though last year special sound composer Brian Hodgson indicated that he had recorded a commentary for the story.

With thanks to TVShowsOnDVD




FILTER: - Canada - USA - BBC America - Third Doctor - Second Doctor - First Doctor - Classic Series

Demon's Run - Two Days Later

Monday, 25 March 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Strax, as played by Dan Starkey (Credit: BBC Worldwide)A special three minute minisode has been made available online as part of the Series Seven Part Two listings via Amazon and iTunes. The video is currently free, but only available to watch in North America.

Demon's Run: Two Days Later

In the aftermath of the battle of Demons Run, a battle-scarred Strax lies dying on the floor - or has he just fainted...

Featuring Dan Starkey as Strax, Neve McIntosh as Vastra, and Catrin Stewart as Jenny.

The video was originally revealed by Dan Starkey in an interview in Doctor Who Magazine Issue 455, who said about his resurrection:
There will be a little Easter Egg thing about that. We recorded a scene between Jenny, Vastra and Strax, set two days after the Battle of Demon's Run, before they're taken back to their time zones. I don't know if it's going to be a preview online, or a DVD extra or what, but it's a lovely little scene. Inevitably, when it came out that Strax waas returning in the Christmas Special, I was getting a lot of people tweeting me 'But you're dead! Why are you alive?' I'd tweet back: 'As much as I'd like to answer that, I really can't.


There is no indication as to when the video will be available outside of North America, though it is expected that it will be included in the DVD/Blu-ray release when that is released (currently scheduled for 20th May 2013 in the UK).




FILTER: - Canada - USA - Online - Series 7/33

Doctor Who returns 30th March

Wednesday, 23 January 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC have announced that the first of the eight episodes that comprise the second part of Series Seven will premiere on BBC One from Saturday 30th March - back in its 'traditional' Easter weekend slot! Though Doctor Who Magazine had already reported that the series would be on during April, this is the first time the BBC themselves have confirmed the date of a regular series of episodes so far ahead of its intended schedule - normally it is only announced a few weeks beforehand.

The time of broadcast has yet to be confirmed.

Both BBC America and SPACE (Canada) have confirmed that they, too, will launch the second part from the 30th March; no announcements have been made for the series to premiere in the other main countries as yet, though based on recent years they are likely to be close to transmission of the series in the United Kingdom.





FILTER: - Canada - USA - BBC America - UK - Leading News - Broadcasting - Series 7/33

SPACE confirms The Snowmen for Christmas Day

Tuesday, 20 November 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Canadian channel SPACE have confirmed that, like BBC America in the United States, they will be broadcasting the Christmas Special The Snowmen on Christmas Day at 9:00pm ET.

Tuesday, Dec.25 – Wednesday, Dec. 26 : DOCTOR WHO MARATHON

Holy sonic screwdrivers! On Christmas Day, viewers get to relive Season 7 of DOCTOR WHO, followed by SPACE’s favourite time-traveling tradition – the premiere of the 2012 DOCTOR WHO Christmas special, The Snowmen. This year’s holiday escapade introduces a new companion, a new look for the Doctor, and a new monster.

Starring Matt Smith as the Doctor, and introducing Jenna-Louise Coleman as his new companion Clara, The Snowmen follows their adventures as they embark on a mission to save Christmas from the villainous Doctor Simeon (Richard E Grant, The Iron Lady, Dracula) and his army of icy snowmen. Then, the marathon to end all marathons continues with a TARDIS full of Time Lord-themed holiday specials.

4 p.m. ET – DOCTOR WHO Season 7 Marathon
9 p.m. ET – THE SNOWMEN *SPACE Premiere*
10:30 p.m. ET – BEST OF CHRISTMAS SPECIALS
11:30 p.m. ET – THE CHRISTMAS INVASION

Australian broadcaster ABC announced at the weekend that they would be showing it locally on Boxing Day at 7:30pm; the BBC have yet to confirm time of broadcast in the UK, though in previous years it has been scheduled between 6:00-7:00pm.





FILTER: - Canada - Series Specials - Series 7/33

The Doctor Who Project

Tuesday, 16 October 2012 - Reported by Marcus
The Doctor Who Project, the multiple award-winning Canadian Doctor Who fan fiction series, has just released the latest series of stories.

Season 38 is the latest in the continuing adventures of an alternate Doctor and his companions. Stories are published as part of an overall season that concentrates on delivering a collection of short stories that sees the Doctor facing new and original situations in time and space.

In the series the Tenth Doctor, and his companions Val Rossi and Tom Brooker, travel to pre-World War II Venice and discover an ancient mask that holds the key to a global holocaust; find adventure while investigating Cold War secrets in a lost vault hidden deep in the bowels of Mother Russia; are pitched into an encounter with an old foe from that vile cult, Section 13; visit the world of Proteus in a special two-part story from fan favourite John Gordon; and get a taste of the bizarre world of the paranormal when they visit Quarr Manor in a sleepy little backwater British village; and then everything comes to an end when they have to advert a catastrophe of global proportion.

Released over the next seven weeks, TDWP is available to readers from the TDWP Website in a PDF format with each featuring an original cover by some of Doctor Who fandom's most acclaimed artists.

THE MASK OF ANHUR by Robert Mammone
The discovery of a mask in an ancient burial tomb in western Asia unleashes an alien force that could engulf pre-WW2 Europe and the world in a genocidal holocaust. When the Doctor, Val and Tom arrive in Venice in 1938, they stumble across the surviving members of the archaeological team that unearthed the mask. Soon, they are caught up in a wild chase as darkness spreads across the city. Can they survive a night that promises to spread its terrible darkness across the world?

THE VAULT by Miles Reid-Lobotto
The Vault - a secret Russian installation, dating back to the Second World War. A research facility built deep into a mountain, dedicated to the collection and study of extra-terrestrial technology that crashes behind the Iron Curtain. Even to the Russian Government, it doesn't exist. Its existence covered up since all contact was lost back in the 1970s. On behalf of an old friend, the Doctor, Tom and Val accompany a U.N.I.T research team to find the Vault and explore it. What they find, deep underground are the remnants of some of the darkest days of the Cold War. Secrets are revealed, crimes are uncovered. Deep in the Vault, there is no way out and they are not alone and not all of their team are to be trusted. Deep in the Vault, something is waking up.

SECOND LIFE by Kyle Bastian
The Doctor thought he had everything under control. The cell was constructed to his design: quartz-sapphire laser bars, stasis field, time loop – all set up within in a reconstructed sector of the Time Lord's notorious prison planet of Shada. He thought that would hold her. But he was wrong – Bramahl has escaped and is out for blood. Along with Tom and Val, the Doctor must track down Bramahl, and their only clue is her successor from Section 13 – Tamara Scott. But her life as a companion was erased... wasn't it? An old friend's timely return may hold the key.

RED SHIFT by John Swogger
On the jungle world of Proteus, at the far edge of the galaxy, an archaeological expedition from the Hamilton Institute investigates an ancient tomb complex and its strange crystalline monument. But the Doctor, Tom and Val discover that there are more secrets on Proteus than those buried in the ground. What are the strange creatures that stalk the jungle after dark? Why have seven members of the expedition gone missing? And why can no one can remember them? As a devastating energy field begins to change the very world around them, Val and Tom become strangers to each other, and the Doctor uncovers a plot to steal the greatest prize of all.

BLUE SHIFT by John Swogger
On the ocean world of Proteus, at the far edge of the galaxy, an archaeological expedition from the Hamilton Institute investigates an ancient tomb complex and its strange crystalline monument. But the Doctor, Tom and Val discover that there are more secrets on Proteus than those buried in the ground. What are the creatures that stalk the shoreline after dark? Why have seven members of the expedition gone missing? And why can't the Doctor shake off the strange feeling that he's done all this before? It seems that on this ancient world, the past has not been properly buried - and when his own starts to catch up with him, the Doctor begins to suspect that it's all a question of memory...

SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION by Jez Strickley
Travelling back to a quiet English backwater at the turn of the twentieth century, the Doctor decides to give Val and Tom a taste of the paranormal when they visit Quarr Manor, the location of a mysterious fire which saw the Georgian mansion burnt to the ground with not a trace of a survivor to be found. With just hours before the infamous fire is due to take place, the time travellers discover a sinister case of spontaneous human combustion in Quarr’s rooftop observatory, sparking fears that a supernatural force is at work. Soon a terrible dilemma faces the trio, as the Doctor begins to realise that Quarr’s fiery visitant is just one of the dreadful effects of a terrible space accident, which threatens to unleash a firestorm across the whole of the British Isles. Battling an anonymous threat which strikes without warning, the Doctor soon discovers that sometimes there is no good decision, as he faces the awful choice of sacrificing the few to save the many.

After a short 4 week break, TDWP will round the year off with the 2012 Christmas Special.

THE SNOW MAIDEN by Matthew James
"There is something in the atmosphere above Earth. You can’t see it or feel it, but it is waiting, counting the days, the hours… waiting for Christmas…" Professor Ruby Tranter was a senior scientist working for the government finding new ways for mankind to survive in the 29th century. Now they’ve retired her. She feels cheated and bitter. Her big regret is never having a child to love and which would inherit her work. Snow is falling inside the TARDIS. The Doctor realises someone is tampering with nature and sets off to stop them. Using illegal government research Ruby sets about making the perfect child in her laboratory and uses the snow to gather her data. Next day the snowmen built by the local children come to life and envelop them. The Doctor, Tom and Val must make Ruby stop her experiment so the real children can be freed. But there is a further consequence to Ruby's experiment even the Doctor did not expect.




FILTER: - Canada - Fan Productions

Whotopia: Issue 24

Tuesday, 2 October 2012 - Reported by John Bowman
The free Canadian fan magazine Whotopia pays tribute to Caroline John and Mary Tamm among the many features in its latest issue.

Edited by Jez Strickley, issue 24 also has a number of interviews plus a competition to win a copy of the Death To The Daleks Region 1 DVD (closing date 10th October 2012).

  • Out Of Time: Doctor Who without time travel? Ian Wheeler explores the consequences
  • From Doom To Death - Doctor Who and the End of The World: Gary Phillips considers locales at the edge of time and space
  • Travel, Time, Dangerous Job, Writer, for a: Michael S Collins plays with non-linear writing with literal results
  • The Janet Fielding Interview: Bob Furnell asks the questions in this exclusive interview
  • An Old Wives' Tale: Matthew Kresal spotlights the TARDIS and its human aspirations
  • The RTD Debate: Good, bad, or undecided? Michael S Collins and Jon Arnold battle it out
  • A Tribute to Caroline John: Ian Wheeler pays tribute
  • The Incomparable Liz Shaw: Gary Phillips takes an in-depth look back at this popular companion
  • The Noel Clarke Interview: Paula Hammond talks to the actor, director, and screenwriter about life after Doctor Who
  • A Tribute to Mary Tamm: Gary Phillips and Michael S Collins pay tribute
  • Great Actors No One Talks About: Unsung actors are given their due by Michael S Collins
  • Target Trawl: Nick Mellish gets a double helping of Leela in his on-going review of Target books
  • Dalek's Advocate - In Defence of Timelash: Season 22's least favourite story is given a fresh look by Jez Strickley
  • The Memoirs of Two Whovian Gentlemen: Bob Furnell chats to Nick Mellish and Will Brooks, the authors of Memoirs of an Edwardian Adventurer
  • Screwdrivers, Scaries, and Scarves - Cliff-hangers: Jez Strickley examines the concept of the cliff-hanger
  • The Fanzine Corner: Bob Furnell goes back in time to the world of Doctor Who Bulletin
 

The 56-page magazine can be downloaded here, as can issues 1 to 23 plus the 2008 Spring Special.




FILTER: - Canada - Fan Productions

Dinosaur ratings on a SPACE ship

Tuesday, 11 September 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Canadian broadcaster SPACE has reported another ratings success with its broadcast of Dinosaurs on a Spaceship last Saturday.

Dinosaurs, Queen Nefertiti and a “spaceship the size of Canada” were no match for the Time Lord as Saturday night’s episode of DOCTOR WHO drew an astronomical 575,000 viewers on SPACE, making it the #1 program on television overall Saturday with the key A18-49 demo. For the second week in a row, SPACE was the #1 network – conventional or specialty – in the DOCTOR WHO timeslot (Saturday night at 9 p.m. ET) with total viewers and in the key A25-54 and A18-49 demos.

The episode peaked at 693,000 viewers and attracted 817,000 unique viewers. Based on the average audience of the first two episodes of DOCTOR WHO Season 7 (599,000 P2+), the iconic series remains the most-watched program in SPACE history.
 

Canadian viewers can catch up on Doctor Who at SPACEcast.com.





FILTER: - Canada - Ratings - Series 7/33

SPACE reports high ratings for Asylum

Tuesday, 4 September 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Canadian broadcaster SPACE have announced that as well as being the highest rated programme for its timeslot on Canadian television last Saturday, season opener Asylum of the Daleks also become the second-highest rated episode in the show's history on the channel!

The channel's press release said:
He did it again! The Season 7 premiere of DOCTOR WHO drew an earth-shattering 620,000 viewers, making it the second-highest rated episode in series history on SPACE and the most-watched program on Canadian television in its timeslot Saturday night. Featuring zombies, break-ups, make-ups, and more Daleks than you can shake a sonic screwdriver at, Asylum of the Daleks made SPACE the #1 network – conventional or specialty – Saturday night at 9 p.m. ET with total viewers and in the key demos A25-54 and A18-49. Peaking with 746,000 viewers, in all 1.1 million Canadians watched some or all of the episode.

The Season 7 premiere of DOCTOR WHO exterminated minds with an unexpected appearance by Jenna-Louise Coleman as Oswin Oswald, who is set to star as the Time Lord’s next companion later this season. Viewers can relive the time-travelling trickery online at SPACEcast.com.
 

The highest rated episode (so far) is last year's Let's Kill Hitler, which managed 834,000 viewers, with a peak of 977,000 and some 1.2m unique viewers in all.




FILTER: - Canada - Ratings - Series 7/33