DW Helps TV Exports Success

Friday, 13 April 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive

Doctor Who has been namechecked by the UK government as helping with the success story of overseas TV sales.

Income from the export of TV shows rose by 20 per cent last year to 593 million pounds.

Creative industries minister Shaun Woodward said: "The inventiveness and quality of British TV makers continues to shine through and is recognised across the world.

"Production teams still deliver on core programmes such as period drama or Doctor Who, but also move television formats forward with shows such asDancing on Ice, which effortlessly cross continents."

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said a quarter of the increase was down to an 87 per cent rise in income from licensing TV formats.

According to the figures, Europe's share was 33 per cent of TV sales, which generated 125 million pounds, compared with 77 million pounds from the USA.

The largest rises in sales were to eastern Europe and Scandinavia, which had increases of 54 per cent and 42 per cent respectively, because of new TV channels and the popularity of UK programmes there.

John McVay, the chief executive of Pact, which commissioned the research, said: "The quality and range of UK programming, from factual entertainment to sports, to drama and animation, means UK companies always have a broad range of compelling content to offer international buyers."

FILTER: - Production

Short Story Competition Update

Friday, 13 April 2007 - Reported by Jarrod Cooper

Big Finish Productions has announed the status of their Short Tripsshort story writing contest. They are now halfway through reading the 1,073 entries, and hope to announce a winner in May.

FILTER: - Audio

Battles In Time - Special Edition

Friday, 13 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus

Next Month sees a special issue of Battles In Time. This issue is set to be released on May 16th and includes many special features.

Following the phenomenal success of the Doctor Who Battles In Time TCG comes a brand new Collector’s Special featuring the two deadliest adversaries of the Doctor: Daleks vs Cybermen!

Complete with new, spectacular imagery from the TV series, Daleks vs Cybermen features 2 booster packs, each with 9 cards. Each pack contains 8 non-randomised foil common cards, plus a randomised 9th holo card from 4 design variants.

In the accompanying magazine, enjoy new gaming possibilities with the stunning gatefold game board, pitting Daleks against Cybermen for the ultimate Battle in Time. The special also comes with a FREE TARDIS Deck Tin, Gaming Dice and Card Bases – making Daleks vs Cybermen an essential collector’s item.

FREE with every Daleks vs Cybermen special:

2 packs of 9 cards. Each pack contains 8 non-randomised foil common cards (identical designs across all issues), plus a randomised 9th holo from 4 Dalek Sec variants and 4 Cyber Leader variants.
Stunning Collector’s TARDIS Deck Tin.
Exclusive gaming accessories – 8 bespoke Dalek and Cybermen Gaming Bases and 2 Gaming Dice.

In the magazine:

32 pages on Cybermen and Daleks – read the magazine one way for Daleks; flip and read the other way for Cybermen.
In the middle gaming board, choose to be Daleks or Cybermen and battle it out with your base-mounted cards for control of the Universe.
Learn about the history of the Doctor’s two main enemies and their past battles with the Time Lord.
Stunning battle scenes between the Daleks and Cybermen.

FILTER: - Merchandise

The Judas Gift

Friday, 13 April 2007 - Reported by Jarrod Cooper

Big Finish Productions have now released the April installment of their Bernice Summerfield range,The Judas Gift by Nick Wallace. The Judas Gift introduces the Draconian character Kothar, being played by Michael Fenner, who will be recurring for this season.

The Braxiatel Collection. Once it was a home, a haven, one of the 800 Wonders of the Universe. Not any more.

Draconia and the Mim are at war and the Collection is caught in the crossfire. Its future hangs in the balance as Bernice tries to fathom the motives of a new Draconian ambassador.

Director Bev Tarrant must use every trick she knows if the Collection is to survive. She's been a smuggler, a killer and a thief, but all that's behind her now. Isn't it?

Beware your sins will find you out. Especially when you accept the Judas Gift.

FILTER: - Audio

Classic Series Downloads

Friday, 13 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus

Following a deal between BBC Worldwide and the P2P company Azureus, fans in the USA can now download several episodes of the classic series.

The programmes are available for rent from the Vuze website for a small fee; the first episodes of The Three Doctorsand The Talons of Weng-Chiang are available for "free rental". As well as classic Doctor Who episodes, other BBC material such as Red Dwarf and Steven Moffat'sCoupling is available.

NB: For copyright reasons, these downloads are currently only available in the United States, and because of the digital rights management software with which the files have been encoded, they can be played only on Windows computers running Windows XP or Vista (i.e. not on computers running Macintosh or Linux).

FILTER: - USA - Online - Classic Series

Possible Episode Delay Latest

Thursday, 12 April 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive

The BBC said today that this coming Saturday's episode of Doctor Whowould be put back a week if the preceding football match overruns because "it could not be broadcast after extra time as it would be 'too late' for younger fans."

It details the alternative schedule for BBC Three, should the episode be bumped, adding that the decision whether or not to pull the episode will be made on the day.

BBC One is broadcasting the FA Cup semi-final clash between Manchester United and Watford.

FILTER: - UK - Series 3/29 - Broadcasting

Doctor Who Adventures - Issue 27

Thursday, 12 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus

The new edition of Doctor Who Adventures promises to take readers to the future with previews of the next two episodes, Gridlock and Daleks in Manhattan.

The magazine also contains a Judoon fact file and a pull-out guide to the abzorbing Abzorbaloff. In the comic strip, you can find out if the Doctor can defeat the deadly Klytode?

There is a guide on how to make a mask of the Face of Boe and a quiz to see if you can crack the Shakespeare Code? Plus posters of the Doctor and Martha and the Daleks and Judoon

This issue comes with a choice of two free monster stationery sets.

Doctor Who Adventures Issue 27 is out on Thursday 12 April.

FILTER: - Magazines - DWA

Gridlock to Break TV Record

Thursday, 12 April 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive

The official website has pointed out the fact that Gridlock will be the 727th episode of Doctor Who, which breaks the record previously held byStar Trek for the total number of episodes.

The website says, "Gridlock is the 727th episode of Doctor Who. This will break the record held by the various series in the Star Trek franchise. They amassed a combined total of 726 episodes between them."

FILTER: - Production

Dave Martin

Wednesday, 11 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus

Outpost Gallifrey has learned the sad news of the death of Dave Martin, long-time Doctor Who writer and co-creator of K9.

Martin had a long and distinguished writing career, working mainly with his long-term writing partner Bob Baker.

Together they wrote several stage plays before moving into television in the early sixties, working on popular series such as Z Cars. In 1971, they were asked to write their first story for Doctor Who. The Claws of Axos was the first of eight stories over nine seasons creating some of the series most iconic characters and most loved stories.

Their best-known character was created in 1977 for the Tom Baker storyThe Invisible Enemy. K9 was originally intended for this story only, but the production team made a late decision to have him join The Doctor in the TARDIS where he stayed for the next four years.

K9 later returned in the 1981 story K9 and Company and the twentieth-anniversary story The Five Doctors, and made a memorable appearance in the 2006 story School Reunion.

Martin was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year. He is survived by his wife and three children. He was 72.

(Thanks to David Goodman.)

The Claws of Axos » Writer GGG - TV - Season 8
The Mutants » Writer NNN - TV - Season 9
The Three Doctors » Writer RRR - TV - Season 10
The Sontaran Experiment » Writer 4B -TV - Season 12
The Hand of Fear » Writer 4N - TV - Season 14
The Invisible Enemy » Writer 4T - TV - Season 15
Underworld » Writer 4Y - TV - Season 15
The Armageddon Factor » Writer 5F - TV - Season 16
School Reunion » K9 Originally Created By 2006-03 TV - Series 2/2006

FILTER: - Obituary - Classic Series

Smith and Jones - Final Figures

Wednesday, 11 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus

Figures released by BARB make episode one of the new series the ninth most watched programme of the week with an official rating of8.71 Millionviewers. This makes it the fourth episode in a row to achive a top ten place, a new record for the series.

As in the overnight figures, the programme was only beaten by the soap giants Coronation Street and EastEnders.

On BBC1, the programme was the 4th most watched, beating an episode of EastEnders.

On Multi channel TV, Doctor Who was the most watched programme on BBC3 for the week, and the second most watched on all Multi Channel TV, with a rating of 1.00 Million. Doctor Who Confidential was 8th in the chart with 0.81 Million viewers.

Final figures are much more accurate than the initial overnights and include figures for those who taped the programme and watched it within seven days.

BARB Top Twenty (w/e 1st April 2007)

1 CORONATION STREET (MON 2029) - 11.59 - ITV1
2 CORONATION STREET (FRI 1934) - 10.89 - ITV1
3 CORONATION STREET (MON 1934) - 10.63 - ITV1
4 CORONATION STREET (WED 1930) - 10.37 - ITV1
5 CORONATION STREET (SUN 1929) - 9.93 - ITV1
6 EASTENDERS (TUE 1931) - 9.77 - BBC1
7 EASTENDERS (MON 2001) - 9.35 - BBC1
8 EASTENDERS (FRI 2000) - 8.94 - BBC1
9 DOCTOR WHO (SAT 1859) - 8.71 - BBC1
10 EASTENDERS (THU 1930) - 8.48 - BBC1
11 THE ROYAL (SUN 2000) - 8.06 - ITV1
12 EMMERDALE (MON 1902) - 7.97 - ITV1
13 EMMERDALE (TUE 1902) - 7.94 - ITV1
14 EMMERDALE (THU 1903) - 7.91 - ITV1
15 EMMERDALE (FRI 1903) - 7.90 - ITV1
16 EMMERDALE (WED 1859) - 7.78 - ITV1
17 ANY DREAM WILL DO (SAT 1945) - 6.85 - BBC1
18 CASUALTY (SAT 2106) - 6.69 - BBC1
19 THE NATIONAL LOTTERY PEOPLE'S QUIZ (SAT 2045) - 6.61 - BBC1
20 LIFE ON MARS (TUE 2100) - 6.56 - BBC1

Multi Channel Top Twenty

1 INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL LIVE (Wed 1900) 1,515,000 - Sky Sports 1
2 DOCTOR WHO (Sun 2001) 1,003,000 - BBC3
3 LIVE FORD FOOTBALL SPECIAL-MATCH (Sat 1200) 988,000 - Sky Sports 1
4 LOST (Sun 2200) 961,000 - Sky 1
5 FORD SUPER SUNDAY (Sun 1549) 955,000 - Sky Sports 1
6 MOST ANNOYING POP SONGS...WE LOVE TO HAT (Sat 2310 834,000 - BBC3
7 SUPERNATURAL (Sun 2101) 822,000 - ITV2
8 DOCTOR WHO CONFIDENTIAL (Sat 1945) 812,000 - BBC3
9 BONES (Thu 2101) 760,000 - Sky 1
10 FILM: SHAUN OF THE DEAD (Mon 2105) 705,000 - ITV2
11 ENTERTAINMENT NEWS UPDATE (Sun 2255) 692,000 - ITV2
12 FILM: SHAUN OF THE DEAD (Mon 2152) 691,000 - ITV2
13 MOST ANNOYING POP SONGS...WE LOVE TO HAT (Sat 2157 672,000 - BBC3
14 EASTENDERS (Thu 2201) 661,000 - BBC3
15 FILM: THE BOURNE IDENTITY (2002) (Sun 2159) 658,000 - ITV2
16 ENTERTAINMENT NEWS UPDATE (Mon 2151) 644,000 - ITV2
17 34 STONE TEENAGER: SIX MONTHS ON (Mon 2102) 636,000 - BBC3
18 F*** OFF, I'M A HAIRY WOMEN (Thu 2101) 629,000 - BBC3
19 AMERICAN IDOL (Fri 2030) 624,000 - ITV2
20 AMERICAN IDOL (Fri 2131) 606,000 - ITV2

source BARB

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 3/29

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