Season 20 Blu-ray - Release Date Confirmed

Thursday, 17 August 2023 - Reported by Marcus

Season 20 - Bluray (Credit: BBC Studios)

The limited edition box set of Season 20 is to be released on the 18th of September 2023.

The latest release in the Doctor Who Collection series was announced in July but the release date has only just been confirmed. It features the six stories from the Fifth Doctor's second season as well as the twentieth Anniversary story The Five Doctors.

The box set is available for pre-order on Amazon

FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Season 20 - Fifth Doctor

Season 20 Gets Blu-ray Release

Thursday, 13 July 2023 - Reported by Marcus

The BBC has confirmed that Season 20 of Doctor Who will be the next season released as a box set on Blu-ray.

The season, starring Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, was originally broadcast in 1983. It will be released as a limited edition 9-disc box set, containing each story from season 20 as well as the 20th Anniversary story The Five Doctors.

Doctor Who – The Collection: Season 20

ARC OF INFINITY
SNAKEDANCE
MAWDRYN UNDEAD
TERMINUS
ENLIGHTENMENT
THE KING’S DEMONS
THE FIVE DOCTORS

Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the programme, these stories feature the return of old friends, enemies, and even past Doctors! Over seven stories, the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa (Sarah Sutton), Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Turlough (Mark Strickson) face off against the Black Guardian, Omega, the Mara, the Master, Cybermen and the Time Lords themselves!

All episodes have been newly remastered from the best available sources including original film elements for The Five Doctors – these classic adventures have never looked or sounded so good on home media.

The Collection: Season 20 Blu-ray box set also includes extensive Special Features including:

THE FIVE DOCTORS – 40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
A brand new version of the 90-minute anniversary special, with updated special effects, Dolby Atmos & surround sound, plus an exclusive new commentary with Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson.

UPDATED 2023 SPECIAL EFFECTS
Exclusive to Blu-ray, on Snakedance and Enlightenment.

BEHIND THE SOFA
Seven new episodes with Peter Davison, Colin Baker (The Doctor), Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson, Katy Maning (Jo) and Sophie Aldred (Ace).

BLU-RAY TRAILER
A brand new episode of classic Doctor Who.

IN CONVERSATION
Interviewer Matthew Sweet chats to Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton.

LET’S GO DUTCH!
The TARDIS crew travel to Amsterdam to revisit locations and reminisce about Season 20 and their time on the programme.

LOOK WHO’S DRIVING
Join Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton on an hilarious European Road Trip.

WHEN JANET MET MARTIN
Janet Fielding chats to Martin Clunes, 40 years on from his appearance in Snakedance.

MAKING THE KING’S DEMONS
The regular cast return to the castle location and reminisce.

MAKING THE SEASON 20 TRAILER
A look behind the scenes

LONGLEAT CELEBRATION FOOTAGE
A previously-unreleased look at the iconic 1983 convention, plus panels featuring Peter Davison, Tom Baker, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and many more.

STUDIO FOOTAGE
Hours of material going behind-the-scenes on production of Arc Of Infinity, Snakedance and The Five Doctors.

LOCATION FILM RUSHES
From The Five Doctors.

RARE CONVENTION FOOTAGE
Including Australian interviews with Peter Davison and Janet Fielding shot during production of this season.

ONCE UPON A TIME LORD
A rare US documentary from the 1980s.

NEW 5.1 SURROUND SOUND MIXES
On Snakedance and The Five Doctors. Plus Dolby Atmos mixes on The Five Doctors.

ARCHIVE TREATS
Hours of rare and previously unreleased material from the BBC Archives.

HD PHOTO GALLERIES
Including many previously unseen images.

INFO TEXT
Behind-the-scenes information and trivia on every episode.

PDF ARCHIVE
including scripts, exclusive unseen BBC production files, the Radio Times 20th Anniversary Special and other rarities.

This nine-disc box set also includes hours of special features previously released on DVD including Documentaries, Featurettes, Audio Commentaries, The Five Doctors Special Edition and more.

The box-set is available for pre-order on Amazon

Tegan's Surprise Reunion! | The Collection: Season 20 Announcement Trailer
Tegan Jovanka's adventures continue... but not in the way she expected!

FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Season 20 - Fifth Doctor

Doctor Who: Chronicles – 1983

Monday, 4 October 2021 - Reported by Marcus

A new 116-page bookazine from the makers of Doctor Who Magazine.

Doctor Who’s 20th anniversary was a milestone in an era when few series had achieved such longevity. Huge transatlantic conventions, a variety of books and a National Film Theatre retrospective celebrated the programme’s status as a cultural institution.

But in many other respects, 1983 was about looking forward – British television now boasted four networks, microcomputers were becoming commonplace and a home video revolution was looming. Could the show maintain its prominence in this new landscape? All-new features, illustrated with rare and previously unseen images, reveal the story behind a momentous year.

Doctor Who: Chronicles – 1983 is on sale now, RRP just £9.99 from panini.co.uk and selected branches of WH Smith while stocks last. It’s also available digitally from pocketmags.com priced £8.99.

FILTER: - DWM - Fifth Doctor

Peter Davison Spending Time Apart

Sunday, 2 August 2020 - Reported by Marcus

Big Finish have released the audio adventure Doctor Who: Time Apart starring Fifth Doctor Peter Davison

The Doctor puts some social distance between himself and his companions in this brand-new four-part full-cast audio drama from Big Finish. But can he survive without them?

Although the Fifth Doctor is going it alone, without his regular TARDIS team, there’s no shortage of guest stars to join in the excitement. Peter Davison is joined by Kate Harbour (Bob the Builder, Shaun the Sheep), Laura Aikman (Gavin & Stacey, Casualty) and Wayne Forester (Captain Scarlet, Space Precinct) and Tim Blore in four separate adventures.

Doctor Who: Time Apart is now available to own as a collector's edition boxset (on CD at £14.99) and as a digital download (at £12.99) exclusively from www.bigfinish.com.

Separated from his companions, the Doctor attempts to find solace in the history of his favourite planet – Earth – but instead discovers new threats lying in wait.

Travelling from twentieth-century East Berlin to sixteenth-century Strasbourg, the Doctor encounters creatures from other realities: monsters beneath the waves, and human beings determined to exploit their fellow man.

But how long can he survive without a friend?

Actor Peter Davison said

These are four different takes on the Doctor in the four different stories of this collection. In one I'm quite jaunty and jolly and in another one I'm slightly more baffled.

But I've enjoyed all the four stories. They're very different. I've always been rather fond of the stories in which the Doctor fiddles in history. But of course it's also nice to meet the odd alien.

This anthology contains four half-hour adventures, as follows:

Ghost Station by Steve Lyons
Deep beneath the streets of East Berlin, Peter Meier patrols the border in an old underground station. But when the TARDIS materialises nearby, Peter realises he is far from alone.
The Bridge Master by Jacqueline Rayner
When the Doctor’s shadow is sacrificed by villagers, he brushes it off as medieval superstition —until he begins to grow weak. Can he uncover the truth behind the bridge master’s curse before it’s too late?
What Lurks Down Under by Tommy Donbavand
On the waves of the Indian Ocean, all the prisoners aboard the Lady Juliana have fallen into a trance... except a single girl. Mary Wade desperately needs a doctor –and only one will help her.
The Dancing Plague by Kate Thorman
Arriving in Strasbourg at the height of the Dancing Plague, the Doctor finds himself thrust into a world of paranoia. Can he bring peace to a city at odds with its own people?

Doctor Who: Time Apart is now available to own as a collector's edition boxset (on CD at £14.99) and as a digital download (at £12.99) exclusively from www.bigfinish.com.

FILTER: - Big Finish - Audio - Fifth Doctor

From the Doctors... to all doctors

Thursday, 23 April 2020 - Reported by Marcus

From the Doctors... to all doctors. A thank you to the NHS and all frontline workers.

As seen on the BBC One programme The Big Night In

The Doctors Say Thank You | #TheBigNightIn

FILTER: - Eighth Doctor - Eleventh Doctor - Fifth Doctor - Fourth Doctor - Seventh Doctor - Sixth Doctor - Tenth Doctor - Thirteenth Doctor - Twelfth Doctor

Big Finish: The Fifth Doctor Adventures – Wicked Sisters

Tuesday, 7 April 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The Fifth Doctor Adventures - Wicked Sisters, with Peter Davison, Louise Jameson, Ciara Janson and Laura Doddington (Credit: Big Finish)

Big Finish have released details on a new boxed set to be released in November 2020: The Fifth Doctor Adventures – Wicked Sisters sees the fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) reunited with an earlier companion Leela (Louise Jameson) as he reencounters Grace sisters Abby (Ciara Janson) and Zara (Laura Doddington).

The Doctor is recruited by Leela for a vital mission on behalf of the Time Lords. Together, they must track down and destroy two god-like beings whose extraordinary powers now threaten all of space and time. Their names are Abby and Zara...

The characters Abby and Zara were created by pan-dimensional beings the Grace to assist – and sometimes hinder – the Doctor in the Key2Time Trilogy, and then went on to their own time-spanning adventures in the spin-off series, Graceless. After centuries of their own wanderings through time and space, Abby and Zara are about to meet the Time Lord again...

The new full-cast Doctor Who audio drama box set will feature three linked adventures: The Garden of Storms, The Moonrakers, The People Made of Smoke. The stories are all written by Graceless’ creator and writer, Simon Guerrier, who wrote the very first appearance of Abby and Zara in Doctor Who: The Judgment of Iskaar.

Producer Mark Wright said:

It’s been ten years since we first took Abby and Zara off on their own adventures, and it’s fun to get the team that’s worked on every episode of Graceless together every couple of years.

Simon Guerrier’s scripts always take us into unexpected territory, and Ciara Janson and Laura Doddington bring something new to their performances each time Abby and Zara are back together. As it’s been a decade since the first series of Graceless, we thought it was time to bring things full circle and take the sisters back to where it all began – with the Fifth Doctor.

Simon added:

It’s been a thrill to write for the Fifth Doctor and Leela, and put them up against Abby and Zara. You don’t need to know anything about Graceless - that was part of the brief from my masters - but they’re sisters with extraordinary powers that threaten all of time and space.”

They’re very different from the women the Doctor first met all those years ago when we did the Key2Time series. Back then, he wasn't required to kill them...

The three days we had in studio just before Christmas were the highlight of my working year. A dream cast, a lot of laughter, and Lisa Bowerman ably marshalling everyone as we faced the collapse of the universe.

Doctor Who: The Fifth Doctor Adventures – Wicked Sisters is available for pre-order exclusively from the Big Finish website.

Please note that Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mailout of collector’s edition CDs will be delayed, but all purchases of this release unlock a digital copy that can be immediately downloaded or played on the Big Finish app from the release date.

FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish - Fifth Doctor

Soundtrack releases for The Sun Makers and The Visitation

Saturday, 14 March 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Silva Screen Records have now released details on the forthcoming CD releases of the soundtracks for the fourth Doctor adventure The Sun Makers by Dudley Simpson, and fifth Doctor tale The Visitation by Paddy Kingsland.

The Sun Makers - soundtrack (Credit: Silva Screen)

The Sun Makers
Music by Dudley Simpson

1. Doctor Who Opening Title Theme
2. Death and Taxes
3. Mahogany
4. One Thousand Metres
5. Six Suns
6. The Others
7. Subway 13
8. Subway 13 (Continued)
9. A Heart as Big as your Mouth
10. A Little Hop
11. Jelly Babies
12. Something in the Air
13. K9, Bite!

14. Humbug
15. The P45 Return Route
16. The P45 Return Route (Reprise)
17. Morton's Fork
18. I’ve Heard That One, Too
19. The Rebellion Begins
20. Static Loop
21. The Steaming
22. The Steaming Continued
23. Gentlemen, Good Luck
24. Nobody Works Today
25. The Gatherer Excised
26. Doctor Who Closing Title Theme (53" Version)

The Visitation - soundtrack (Credit: Silva Screen)

The Visitation
Music by Paddy Kingsland

1. Doctor Who 1980 (Opening Titles)
2. Have you Seen the Sky?
3. Heathrow, 1666
4. Richard Mace & The Miller
5. A Fascinating Wall
6. An Incredible Illusion
7. Death in the Cellar
8. Activation
9. Grim
10. The Poacher and his Friends
11. Looking for the Miller / Not Again!
12. Trouble at the Mill
13. Laying a Trap

14. More Trouble at the Mill
15. Oh for a Proper Key
16. The End for us All
17. A Final Visitation
18. Almost Your Old Self
19. Eureka!
20. The Sonic Booster
21. Almost as if we were Expected
22. The Great Fire
23. Doctor Who Closing Title Theme
24. Activation (Unused Version 1)
25. Not Again! (Unused Version 1)

Paddy Kingsland reminisces about the process for the score:

We decided early on that the music should have a period flavour together with the usual high tech (at the time!) synthesiser sounds. Peter was my favourite Doctor Who director and was always enormously encouraging and positive... he generously gave me the freedom to do my own thing, but always knew if something needed to be adjusted. I had about a week to put together the music for an episode before going to the dub… the score is quite sombre although there are elements of “yea verily” type music to set some scenes, which have a lighter texture. I played all the parts, using the synthesisers of the day, Oberheim, Roland and ARP, adding bass guitar plus drums and cymbals… not to mention my trusty Fender Mustang guitar.

Both CDs are due to be released on 1st May 2020.

FILTER: - Fifth Doctor - Fourth Doctor - Music

Big Finish - Fifth Doctor meets Cicero

Friday, 5 April 2019 - Reported by Marcus

Samuel Barnett, Peter Davison (Credit: Big Finish)

Peter Davison’s Fifth Doctor meets Samuel Barnett’s Cicero this September in a Doctor Who audio drama from Big Finish Productions as the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa travel back to ancient Naples and the town of Cumae by the base of Mount Vesuvius.

The Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) resumes his travels in space and time this September with companions Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Nyssa (Sarah Sutton). But instead of exploring the far reaches of space he’s taking a little trip back in time to meet an icon of classical philosophy.

Cicero was a Roman politician, lawyer and orator living in a time when the Roman Empire was in a turbulent position due to the rise of Caeser. Cicero’s impact on Latin languages is immeasurable, which makes him a worthy candidate to meet the hero of space and time, the Doctor!

Samuel Barnett, the star of Cicero – a Big Finish Originals range – reprises his role to join the world of Doctor Who in Tartarus by David Llewellyn.

Peter Davison, who first played the Doctor on television in 1981, told us more about recording this new audio story

I love an adventure where we interfere with history, especially when we completely destroy the reputation of a historical character! My Doctor travelled to The Great Fire of London, then the destruction of the dinosaurs… everything in history is handed down to us.

I think all our heroes of history would be disappointments if we actually met them! Plus, I was ‘fanboying’ over Dirk Gently which Samuel starred in.

Samuel Barnett also told us more about bringing his portrayal of the classic orator to the world of science fiction

There is a precedent in Doctor Who of the Doctor visiting real life occasions, locations and people that are familiar to us in history. The Doctor meeting Cicero lets us see Cicero’s skills as an orator that will hopefully help to save the day… Peter Davison’s portrayal of the Doctor was my Doctor on television when I was growing up, so I’m absolutely thrilled.

October’s release of The Monthly Adventures is Interstitital / Feast of Fear by Carl Rowens / Martyn Waites and in November, Warzone / Conversion by Chris Chapman / Guy Adams.

All three Fifth Doctor adventures can be pre-ordered ahead of their release in September, October and November 2019 at £14.99 on CD or £12.99 on download. All CD purchases unlock a download option via the Big Finish app and the Big Finish website.

FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish - Fifth Doctor - Peter Davison

Final Dalek Novelisations Out This Year

Monday, 21 January 2019 - Reported by Marcus

BBC Books is to publish novelisations of the only two classic Doctor Who stories never to have been released.

The fifth Doctor story Resurrection of the Daleks and the sixth Doctor story Revelation of the Daleks will both be released later this year priced £12.99.

The release comes after the success of the new-era Target novelisations in 2018, which included books by Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat.

The two Doctor Who adventure will be novelised by the original scriptwriter Eric Saward, one of the series longest-serving script editors. These novels are the only two classic-era Doctor Who adventures yet to be novelised, and their publication more than three decades after their first TV transmission will fill a long-held gap in fans’ collections the world over.

Albert DePetrillo, Publishing Director at BBC Books, acquired world rights in both titles from the author directly. Each book will be published as a £12.99 hardback in 2019, with paperback editions, as part of the Target range, to follow in 2020.

Resurrection of the Daleks (Credit: BBC Books)

Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks

The universe is at war.
Action takes courage…

The TARDIS is ensnared in a time corridor, catapulting it into derelict docklands on 20th century Earth.

The Doctor and his companions, Tegan and Turlough, stumble on a warehouse harbouring fugitives from the future at the far end of the corridor – and are soon under attack from a Dalek assault force.

The Doctor’s oldest enemies have set in motion an intricate and sinister plot to resurrect their race from the ashes of an interstellar war.

For the Daleks’ plans to succeed, they must set free their creator, Davros, from a galactic prison – and force the Doctor to help them achieve total control over time and space.

But the embittered Davros has ideas of his own.

Revelation of the Daleks (Credit: BBC Books)

Doctor Who: Revelation of the Daleks

Beware the hands that heal…

The Doctor and Peri land on the planet Necros to visit the funerary home Tranquil Repose – where the dead are interred and the near-dead placed in suspended animation until such time as their conditions can be cured.

But the Great Healer of Tranquil Repose is far from benign.

Under his command, Daleks guard the catacombs where sickening experiments are conducted on human bodies.

The new life he offers the dying comes at a terrible cost – and the Doctor and Peri are being lured into a trap that will change them forever.

Of the two novelisations, Eric Saward says “’Resurrecting’ these tales may turn out to be a greater ‘Revelation’ than you’d expect!”

Eric Saward has written for both radio and television, script edited Doctor Who for five years and also written four original stories for the show. During this time he also novelised four scripts and wrote the first ever Doctor Who radio serial. Recently he has completed a graphic novel based around the adventures of Lytton.

Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks will publish on 18 July 2019 in hardback priced £12.99
Doctor Who: Revelation of the Daleks will publish on 14 November 2019 in hardback priced £12.99

FILTER: - BBC Books - Fifth Doctor - Sixth Doctor

The Lost Dimension #3 - Tenth Doctor Special

Friday, 15 September 2017 - Reported by Marcus

This week sees Titan release the latest in The Lost Dimension series, with the Tenth Doctor special - featuring a meeting between Ten and Three, and also a previous Doctor who makes his Titan Comics debut.

The Lost Dimension #3 - Tenth Doctor Special

Writer: Nick Abadzis
Artist: Mariano Laclaustra, Carlos Cabrera
Cover A: Tazio Bettin Cover B: Photo

The Tenth Doctor, Gabby, and Cindy investigate a mysterious black hole - out of which white light is spilling - and which has drawn the attention of an ancient foe of The Doctor!

The Lost Dimension #3 - Tenth Doctor Special Cover A (Credit: Titan)

The Lost Dimension #3 - Tenth Doctor Special Cover B (Credit: Titan)

The Lost Dimension #3 - Tenth Doctor Special (Credit: Titan)

FILTER: - Comics - Fifth Doctor - Tenth Doctor - Third Doctor

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