Graham Strong, the man responsible for the survival of many high-quality audio recordings, from missing Doctor Who episodes, has donated his collection to Mark Ayres of the Doctor Who Restoration Team, in order to be properly archived.

Strong started recording the audio from the series when he was just 14, using a domestic reel to reel, quarter-inch, tape recorder, the only way of preserving audio recordings at the time. The first recordings were made via a basic crystal microphone, hanging over the television speaker with a plant pot placed on the top of the T.V. to keep the microphone in place.

Following The Daleks' Master Plan, episode 7, Strong, a keen electronics student, managed to wire the audio input into the Tape recorder, directly to the audio output of the Television set. A highly dangerous procedure that breaks every rule of electrical safety but one that resulted in recordings that were crystal clear.

In fact, the surviving recordings are so clear that they often exceed the quality available on the surviving film prints of the episodes, and as a result, a number of DVD's of early episodes contain audio taken from Strong's recordings rather than the film print.

Strong was one of a small number of early fans who recorded audio from the now missing stories. However, he is believed to be the only one to record directly from the Television, resulting in the superior quality of his recordings.

A group of Doctor Who fans have got together to raise money for organizations committed to ending gun violence, using the hashtag #WhoAgainstGuns

The campaign follows the murder of 17 high school students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. the latest in a number of mass shooting incidents in the United States.

To raise money representatives of over 40 Doctor Who podcasters, writers and fans will be taking part in a special podcast commentary of the 1969 Patrick Troughton story The War Games.

Supporters of the project, which has already raised neary $4,000, include writers Paul Cornell (Human Nature, Father’s Day), Jamie Mathieson (Oxygen, Flatline) Andrew Smith (Full Circle) and Peter Harness (The Zygon Invasion, Kill The Moon). They will be joining comic artists Rachael Stott (Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor) and Simon Fraser (Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor) along with representatives of the popular Doctor Who podcasts Radio Free Skaro, Verity!, Reality Bomb, Coal Hill AV Club, Mutter’s Spiral, Gallifrey Public Radio, TARBIS, Web of Queer, Who and Company, bloggers and fans.

Former showrunner Steven Moffat has also offered his support, and will record an additional commentary if the amount raised exceeds $7,000 by 12th March.

The podcast will be released to listeners who provide a donation of at least $10 to an organization committed to ending gun violence.

Recomended organisations include

• US: March For Our Lives
• US: Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
• US: Moms Demand Action
• Canada: Campaign for Gun Control
• UK: Gun Control Network

Once you’ve made your donation, send a copy of your receipt to gallifreystands@realitybombpodcast.com and you’ll get information on how to download your special commentary podcast later in March.

The writer David Fisher has died at the age of 88.

David Fisher wrote four Doctor Who stories, all starring the Fourth Doctor Tom Baker. 

His first contribution to the series came in 1978 when he wrote two stories in the Key to Time season. The first, The Stones of Blood, was a Hammeresque story featuring blood eating rocks. It won praise for its depiction of strong female characters including Professor Rumford played by Beatrix Lehmann.

He wrote the following story The Androids of Tara, a story inspired by the Anthony Hope novel The Prisoner of Zenda.

In 1979 he returned to the series with the story The Creature from the Pit. He was also working on a story for this series called A Gamble with Time, but for personal reasons had to relinquish the story and hand it on to Script editor Douglas Adams to finish what became the widely acclaimed story City of Death.

His final contribution was for the season eighteen opener The Leisure Hive.

David Fisher's other work for television has included writing for Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense, Hammer House of Horror, The Mackinnons, General Hospital, Crown Court, Sutherland's Law, The Lotus Eaters, Crime of Passion, The Troubleshooters, Dixon of Dock Green, This Man Craig and Orlando.

David Fisher was born 13th April 1929. He died on the 10th January 2018.

A new fan produced publication, wrtten in tribute to the Doctor Who Annuals of the 1970's, is looking for contributers.

The unofficial 1972 annual will be released in 2018

Broadcast Magazine reports that the upcoming series of Doctor Who is being shot with different cameras to give the series a new filmic look.

Tha magazine reports that the production house Films at 59 has supplied BBC Studios in Cardiff with Cooke anamorphic Prime lenses and Angenieux Optimo anamorphic zooms that will be used with Arri Alexa XT and Alex Mini cameras. The intention is to bring an increased cinematic look to the show which went into production at the end of October.

Films at 59 hire client manager Dave Wride told Broadcast The lens change is one of a number of changes being made by the new production team led by Executive Producers Chris Chibnall and Matt Strevens, in what is expected to be a major reboot for the series. Earlier this month The Mirror reported that Composer Murray Gold is also to leave after this year's Christmas Special, but this has not been confirmed by the BBC.

One person definitly departing is Edward Russell, who has been Brand Manager on Doctor Who since it returned in 2005. Russell announced his departure on twitter The last episode produced by the incumbent Production team is this year Christmas Special Twice Upon a Time which will see Peter Capaldi regenerate into thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker.

Jamie Childs is the first Director confirmed to be working on Series 11 of Doctor Who.

Childs was responsible for directing the 13th Doctor reveal, which introduced Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor.

The news was released on the webside of Jamie Childs' agent, Independent Talent, which confirms the director will be working on the first production block of the next series. It has not yet been confired which episodes will be shot during this production block.

Childs won aclaim for his work shooting comercials wining a number of awards, including a Promax for his piece for Tuborg Brewery.

He has recently directed two episodes of Vera, the HTV crime drama series based on novels of by crime writer Ann Cleeves, and two episodes of Stan Lee's Lucky Man for Sky 1. He worked as Second Unit Director for Series 1 of Poldark

Pre-production work on series 11 began last week for transmission in Autumn 2018.

The latest season of adventures from the long-running fan-written fiction series, The Doctor Who Project (TDWP), is currently in production.

The unofficial series features the Tenth Doctor and companion Hannah Redfoot as they travel through all of time and space in seven new adventures.

Season 41 begins with The Throne of Peladon by James P. Quick, the first part of a two-part adventure which sees the Doctor and Hannah return to Peladon in the year 4,100, where political machinations could once again rip the planet apart. Then, they encounter a boy soprano with a voice of gold who never grows old, land on a planet where the ghost of the Great One returns, confront an alien scientist bent on changing time, and the Doctor falls ill to a mysterious disease.

Writers for the rest of the season include Hamish Crawford, Ian Manning, J.E. Remy, Matthew James (Ghost Ship, The Snow Maiden), Richard Hoover (Where There’s Thunder), and Nick Krohn. Season 41 continues with The Secret of Peladon (Sep 30), Palimpsest (Oct 7), Web of Insanity (Oct 14), Dolce Music Della Morte (Oct 21), Rights and Responsibilities (Oct 28) and Moondust (Nov 4).

Stories are available free to readers in PDF format.

For more information visit The Doctor Who Project website.

Two unofficial books about the visual effects work of twentieth century Doctor Who, previously only available to a mainly UK fanbase and via various offline avenues, have now been made available to purchase worldwide online.

The books were written by Steve Cambden, who worked on the show as one of K9's operators. The first, The Doctor's Affect (1999), chronicles how he achieved his dream as a teenager to work on the series, with in-depth accounts of the recording of Destiny of the Daleks, Nightmare of Eden, The Horns of Nimon, Shada, Meglos, Full Circle and State of Decay, plus exclusive behind-the-scenes photographs and a comprehensive account of K9’s creation.

The second, The Doctor’s Effects, features interviews with many of the visual effects and design legends who worked on Doctor Who throughout the 'classic era', covering over a hundred productions including stories such as The Daleks, The Tomb of the Cybermen, The Sea Devils, Genesis of the Daleks, Terror of the Zygons, The Awakening and The Trial of a Timelord. The book includes many previously unseen photographs and includes interviews with Bernard Wilkie, Jack Kine, John Friedlander, Ian Scoones, Mat Irvine and Ray Cusick.


The online initiative has been organised by Steve's long-term friend Simon Meade, of The Ark in Space Facebook group and Twitter feed:

Full details about the books - which will be personally signed - and how to purchase them can be found via the sevenzero.net website.

The Doctor Who Club of Australia (DWCA) have announced the first 100 issues of the club fanzine, Data Extract, will be released as a collected volume:


The Doctor Who Fanzine Collection: Data Extract Issues 1 to 100 is available to purchase through Lulu.

The latest issue of the fan magazine Whotopia has been released and looks at the legacy of writer and Script Editor Robert Holmes

The Magazine is available in both a free-to-download PDF and can be purchased in hardcopy.

• POINT / COUNTERPOINT: THE CASE FOR ROBERT HOLMES    Join Michael S. Collins & Jon Arnold as they ponder the works of the late great Robert Holmes
• ROBERT HOLMES: THE EARLY YEARS  Bob Furnell picks up his biographer's lens and takes a look at Robert Holmes early career
• COLUMN: WHOLIFE HOLMESLIFE Grant Bull takes a unique look at Holmes' life and works
• HOLMES WHO REVIEWED Our panel review every story written by Robert Holmes
• NOVELIZING THE SCRIPT: THE TWO DOCTORS Matthew Kresal focuses on Holmes novelization of his sixth Doctor script
• COLUMN: TARGET TRAWL Nick Mellish continues his journey reading every single Target novel
• SICK SOCIETY: HOW THE DYSTOPIAN NARRATIVE INFLUENCED DOCTOR WHO Steve Traves opens the lid on one of the series' most enduring themes
• COLUMN: THE DOCTOR WHO SCHOLAR: FILE UNDER POLITICS This issue Jeremy discusses how the Doctor's travels have touched upon the cultural events of their time
• BERNICE SUMMERFIELD UNBOUND Matthew Kresal examines the Big Finish audio boxset
• WHO YOU BUILD Steve Traves explores more full-scale Doctor Who model making
• THE BLACK ARCHIVES REVIEWED This issue Andrew Screen takes a look at Dark Water/Death In Heaven and Ghost Light
• THE TENTH DOCTOR ADVENTURES Jessica Chaleff takles this new series of audio adventures from Big Finish
• MASTER WHO PART 4: ERIC ROBERTS Dan Tessier details Eric Roberts version of ‘The Master’
• COLUMN: THE FANZINE CORNER Bob Furnell returns with a special one-off edition of this popular column
• THE AUDIO ARCHIVES: RETURN OF THE KROTONS Andrew Screen considers this audio sequel to Holmes' first ever 'Who' script
• COLUMN: THE CURATE’S EGG Richard Michaels defends three of Holmes' bug-eyed monster creations