The Edge Of Destruction On Zoetrope Picture Disc

Friday, 16 February 2024 - Reported by Marcus
 Doctor Who: The Edge Of Destruction (Credit: Demon Music Group)

To mark Record Store Day 2024, Demon Records are releasing the complete narrated TV soundtrack of the Doctor Who story ‘The Edge Of Destruction’.

This brand new audio presentation, making its debut in any format with this vinyl release, features unique linking narration by Carole Ann Ford.

There’s also a bonus interview with Ford herself, in which she recalls playing Susan, the Doctor’s granddaughter, in the original TV episodes.

The vinyl boasts a picture disc Side A, showing the Ship’s melting ormolu clock from a pivotal scene in the story, and an exclusive Zoetrope Side B, depicting the TARDIS swirling across space and time (best experienced using a smartphone running a third-party stroboscope app).

The 12” disc is presented in a stunning die-cut artwork outer sleeve.

Escaping from their previous adventure, the Doctor, Susan, Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and BarbaraWright (Jacqueline Hill) are inside the TARDIS when it appears to be taken over by an outside force.

2024 is the 60th anniversary of this two-episode story starring William Hartnell as the Doctor. First broadcast on the 8th & 15th February 1964

The disc will be released on 20 April 2024 on Record Store Day, the day when over 260 independent record shops all across the UK come together to celebrate their unique culture.





FILTER: - season 1 - First Doctor - Vinyl

The Celestial Toymaker Animation

Thursday, 7 December 2023 - Reported by Marcus
The Celestial Toymaker (Credit: BBC Studios)

The BBC has confirmed that the part-missing first Doctor story The Celestial Toymaker will be the next animation to be released on Blu-ray. 

The story, first shown in 1966 stars William Hartnell as the Doctor with Jackie Lane as Dodo and Peter Purves as Steven. Michael Gough plays the mysterious Toymaker, a character returning to the series this Saturday. 

Only Episode Four of the four-part story exists in the BBC archives. 

The Celestial Toymaker sees the Doctor and companions separated when they come up against The Toymaker. While the Doctor plays the Trilogic Game, Steven and Dodo are forced to play seemingly childish but ultimately dangerous games with the aim of being reunited and getting back to the TARDIS.

The two-disc set features all four episodes animated in colour using off-air audio recordings of the missing three episodes.

Special features include: 

Disc One

  • Episodes 1-4 – Animation – Black and White
  • Episodes 1-3 – Reconstruction
  • Episode 4 – Original 1966 Episode newly restored
  • New Audio Commentaries

Disc Two

  • Episodes 1-4 – Animation – Colour
  • Making The Animation
  • Doctor Who Escape Room – Team First Doctor
  • Sylvester McCoy Introduction for episode 4 as per the original VHS release
  • Photo Gallery
  • PDF Material including camera scripts

 

The Celestial Toymaker (Credit: BBC Studios)The Celestial Toymaker (Credit: BBC Studios)

 

The disc is available to preorder on DVD, Blu-ray and as a Steelbook. 

 

The Celestial Toymaker: Animated Teaser The first game between the Doctor and the Toymaker - now fully animated! 🎲





FILTER: - First Doctor - Blu-ray/DVD

The Daleks in Colour - First Look

Tuesday, 14 November 2023 - Reported by Marcus

The Doctor (William Hartnell) , Susan (Carole Ann Ford) and Ian Chesterton meet The Daleks for the first time (Credit: BBC)The BBC has released images from the colourised version of the second Doctor Who story, The Daleks, due to be screened on BBC Four on the 23rd of November 2023.

The story follows the very first crew of the TARDIS as they land in a petrified forest on an alien planet. Determined to explore, the Doctor (William Hartnell) leads his companions into the metal city, where they discover danger at every corner and what will become his deadliest enemy, the mutant Daleks.

Originally broadcast as seven 25-minute episodes, the Terry Nation story has now been edited down to 75 minutes by Benjamin Cook and the result colourised. 

With brand new sound and a new score - created by Mark Ayres - The Daleks has been gloriously updated, whilst ensuring the original classic story remains as thrilling as it was when it was first seen back in 1963.

The colorised version will be released on DVD, Blu-ray, and as a Steelbook next February. 

This DVD release also includes the original seven episodes in black & white, as they were first broadcast plus a 15-minute exclusive featurette and all special features from the previous release.

The set can be pre-ordered from Amazon

 

 

William Hartnell as The Doctor, Jaqueline Hill as Barbara Wright, William Russell as Ian Chesterton and Carole Ann Ford as Susan (Credit: BBC)Susan (Carole Ann Ford) and Alydon (John Lee) (Credit: BBC)Two Daleks plotting the destruction of their enemies the Thals (Credit: BBC)Jaqueline Hill as Barbara Wright (Credit: BBC)




FILTER: - First Doctor - Season 1

Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 2

Tuesday, 16 August 2022 - Reported by Marcus
Season 2 (Credit: BBC Studios)

BBC Studios have revealed that the next Blu-ray Doctor Who: The Collection will feature Season 2, the second season starring William Hartnell as the First Doctor.

Debuting later this year this collection is the biggest release yet and features a limited edition nine-disc box. 

Doctor Who – The Collection: Season 2​

PLANET OF GIANTS
THE DALEK INVASION OF EARTH
​THE RESCUE
THE ROMANS
THE WEB PLANET
THE CRUSADE
THE SPACE MUSEUM
THE CHASE
THE TIME MEDDLER

 

Across a season of 37 episodes originally shown in 1964 and 1965,, the Doctor is joined by companions Susan (Carole Ann Ford), Ian (William Russell), Barbara (Jacqueline Hill), Vicki (Maureen O’Brien) and Steven (Peter Purves).

Together they face off against the dreaded Daleks, the marauding Mechonoids, the ant-like Zarbi and the meddling Monk, while visiting fantastic alien worlds and turbulent times in the Earth’s history.

The missing two episodes of The Crusade have been reconstructed using off-air photographs and the original broadcast soundtrack, while the remaining episodes have been newly remastered from the best available sources.
 

This nine-disc box set also includes hours of special features previously released on DVD including Documentaries, Featurettes, Audio Commentaries, Overseas Soundtracks and more.

THREE BRAND NEW DOCUMENTARIES
Including an overview of Season 2, Flight Through Eternity
a look at 1960s collectibles in Doctor Who and The Collectors,
and a deep dive into the life and career of story editor David Whitaker in Looking For David.

IN CONVERSATION
Two exclusive insightful feature-length interviews, with William Russell and Maureen O’Brien.

BEHIND THE SOFA
Six new episodes with companions Maureen O’Brien, Peter Purves, Carole Ann Ford,Janet Fielding (Tegan), Wendy Padbury (Zoe), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa),Bonnie Langford (Melanie) and Sophie Aldred (Ace).

EXCLUSIVE AUDIO COMMENTARY
Learn about the recovery of The Lion, a missing episode that was returned in 1999, with three of the heroes responsible for its return.

CONVENTION FOOTAGE
A rare chance to hear from actors Jacqueline Hill and Adrienne Hill (Katarina) alongside Michael Craze (Ben) and Carole Ann Ford.

EXCLUSIVE ENHANCED SOUNDTRACK
Watch The Dalek Invasion of Earth with an optional enhanced soundtrack.

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 and other rarities

 

The Boxset is available for pre-order on Amazon

 

The Storyteller | The Collection: Season 2 Announcement Trailer | Doctor Who





FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Season 2 - First Doctor

The Sensorites On Vinyl

Thursday, 19 May 2022 - Reported by Marcus
The Sensorites (Credit: BBC Studios)

A  narrated version of the First Doctor story, The Sensorites, is to be released by Demon Records.

The story, starring William Hartnell as the Doctor, was first broadcast during the summer of 1964 as part of Doctor Who's first season. 

The TARDIS lands onboard a spaceship, in orbit around a planet known as the Sense-Sphere. TheDoctor and his companions learn that the human crew have been imprisoned on their craft by the Sensorites, who blame them for the introduction of a fatal disease. When the Sensorites steal the TARDIS lock, the travellers are forced to go with the aliens to their planet and attempt to broker peace between the races. But many dangers lie ahead…

Presented across 3 x 140g Sense-Sphere marble vinyl discs, this 1964 TV adventure is narrated by William Russell, who also plays Ian Chesterton. The supporting cast includes Jacqueline Hill as Barbara and Carole Ann Ford as Susan, with Stephen Dartnell, Ilona Rodgers and Lorne Cossette.

Incidental music is composed by Norman Kay, and the familiar strains of the Doctor Who theme are courtesy of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop

.An embossed, frameable art print accompanies the coloured vinyl LPs, presented in individual pockets which, when placed in order, reveal a double-sided composite illustration.

An accompanying booklet supplies cast and credits, and inner bags featuring complete episode billings. 

The discs will be released on 22 July 2022 and are available for pre-order from Amazon





FILTER: - Vinyl - First Doctor

Galaxy 4 Animation

Wednesday, 15 September 2021 - Reported by Marcus
Galaxy 4 Animation (Credit: BBC Studios)

BBC Studios have announced that the first Doctor story Galaxy 4 will be released as an animated reconstruction later this year. 

Galaxy 4 was the first story of Season 3 of Doctor Who and was originally shown on BBC 1 in September 1965. It starred William Hartnell as The Doctor, with Maureen O'Brien playing Vicki and Peter Purves playing Steven. The story was wiped after transmission and most of the story is missing from the archives. 

DOCTOR WHO: GALAXY 4

Written by William Emms
Directed by Chloe Grech (2021 Production)
Directed by Derek Martinus (1965 Production)

Executive Producers for Big Finish Creative – Gary Russell, Mark B.Oliver and Jason Haigh-Ellery (2021 Production)

Executive Producer for BBC Studios – Russell Minton (2021 Production)

Produced by Verity Lambert (1965 Production)

Starring William Hartnell, Maureen O’Brien, Peter Purves, Stephanie Bidmead, Marina Martin, Susanna Caroll, Lyn Ashley.

Galaxy 4 Animation (Credit: BBC Studios)The animated version of the story will be released in the UK on the 15th November 2021 and BBC Studios have today released a sneak peek of what’s included in the release.

The release follows the success of the existing animations, which are filling a gap in the missing Doctor Who archive. Thanks to fans who recorded the audio on domestic machines at the time of broadcast, audio-only recordings of all four episodes have survived and have been used here to create a brand new fully animated presentation of the entirety of this lost classic.

This will be presented alongside the original Episode 3, which was recovered from a collector in 2011 and over five minutes of original footage from the otherwise lost Episode 1.

The story sees the TARDIS landing on a planet on the verge of total annihilation as it drifts too close to the three suns which it orbits. Trapped on the planet with them are the Drahvins, a race of warrior women, and the reptilian Rills. The Drahvins want to steal the Rill spaceship to escape the planet's death throes and enlist the Doctor's help, which he is forced to give when Maaga, the cunning Drahvin leader, keeps first Vicki and then later Steven as her hostage.  Even though the Doctor is determined to broker a peace deal between the two sides in this conflict and help everyone escape safely, Maaga doesn't trust him, or the Rills...

The two-disc release gives fans the opportunity to enjoy the four new animated episodes of Galaxy 4, in either colour or black and white. The release will also include:

  • Remastered Surviving Original Episode 3
  • ​Remastered Surviving Clip from Episode 1
  • Telesnap Reconstructions of Episodes 1,2 and 4.
  • Audio Commentaries 
  • Making Of Documentary
  • Finding Galaxy 4 Documentary
  • Photo Gallery
  • Production Subtitles 

Gary Russell, Executive Producer from Big Finish  said

After a gap of many years, it is very exciting to bring the era of the First Doctor back into the animation world. Galaxy 4 is one of the most traditional adventures of 1960s Doctor Who and it’s been a real honour to work on this alternative version which hopefully reflects those technicolour thrills that sci-fi movies of the '60s had but which Doctor Who’s monochrome TV limitations couldn’t yet achieve.

BFI Southbank will host a special screening of all 4 episodes of the newly animated story Galaxy 4 on 7th November 2021; tickets go on sale on 16th September at 11:30 to BFI Champions and Patrons, at 12:30 to BFI Members and at 16:00 to the general public.

The new animated release will be available online and in-store as is available to pre-order on DVD, Blu-ray, and as a Limited Edition Blu-ray Steelbook   

 

  




FILTER: - First Doctor - Season 3 - Blu-ray/DVD

Doctor Who: Chronicles – 1965

Wednesday, 24 February 2021 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who: Chronicles – 1965 (Credit: Panini)

Doctor Who: Chronicles is a new series of bookazines from the makers of Doctor Who Magazine.

Examining the landmark years of the show’s history in unprecedented detail, the first issue looks at 1965, when the most popular episodes of Doctor Who attracted more than 13 million viewers and Dalekmania reached its peak with the release of the first feature film based on the series.

This 116-page bookazine features newly discovered images and all-new features, including a summary of the year’s most significant events in the Doctor Who universe (both on and off-screen); the rarest items of Dalek memorabilia; designs for Galaxy 4 toys that never went on sale; the untold story behind a Dalek-voiced TV commercial; how Doctor Who was reported in the popular press; insights into the BBC’s Audience Research Reports; a look at the first Doctor Who annual, a tribute to The Daleks comic-strip artist Richard Jennings; The Curse of the Daleks, the first theatre production based on the series; special effects and production techniques; overviews of The Rescue, The Romans, The Web Planet, The Crusade, The Space Museum, The Chase, The Time Meddler, Galaxy 4, Mission to the Unknown, The Myth Makers and The Daleks’ Master Plan – and much more.

Doctor Who: Chronicles – 1965 is on sale from 24 February, RRP just £9.99 from store.panini.co.uk and selected branches of WH Smith. It’s also available digitally from pocketmags.com priced £8.99.

 




FILTER: - DWM - First Doctor

Big Finish Takes the First Doctor Back to Skaro

Thursday, 7 November 2019 - Reported by Marcus
First Doctor Adventures volume four (Credit: Big Finish)David Bradley, Jemma Powell, Jamie Glover and Claudia Grant return as the original, yet slightly different, TARDIS team in the fourth volume of audio drama series, The First Doctor Adventures, due for release in March 2020.

And this time they’ll be facing the Doctor’s greatest foe – the Daleks.

Doctor Who – The First Doctor Adventures Volume Four is available for pre-order now at £24.99 on collector’s edition CD or £19.99 on download.

Actor David Bradley expressed his delight at battling the Daleks
To record audio scenes with Daleks you have to have met them in real life – which I did in An Adventure in Space and Time and in Twice Upon a Time. The first time I encountered one on set it brought back that prickle on the back of the neck as I remembered them from when I was a child. The fact that they couldn’t go upstairs didn’t matter, they were still terrifying! To meet the man inside was funny and touching – it took me back to being young and terrified!
Script Editor John Dorney adds
I’ve always been a big fan of the first few years of the series – it’s still figuring out what it is and is willing to go anywhere and do anything. And this new batch of stories does pretty much that. From a perfectly pitched Terry Nation tribute to a morally complex historical, I think this box set covers the full gamut of what the first Doctor’s era can do.
First Doctor Adventures volume four (Credit: Big Finish)The First Doctor Adventures Volume Four contains two stories – one historical and one set in the future:
  • Return to Skaro by Andrew Smith
  • A new plan to return to Earth actually returns the TARDIS to another place its crew have recently visited - Skaro, home world of the Daleks. But it is some time after their previous visit. The Thals have moved on with developing their species... Yet the shadow of the Dalek city always looms large over them. Venturing into the abandoned metropolis, the Doctor and his friends discover the Daleks aren’t as dead as they might have thought... and it isn’t only their enemies who have secrets.
  • Last of the Romanovs by Jonathan Barnes
  • The TARDIS lands on Earth near to an eerie and familiar house... with the only witness a regal man watching from inside through a broken window. Leaving the ship the crew immediately find themselves in trouble - because they have landed in Ekaterinburg early in the twentieth century. The man inside the house is Nicholas, the last Tsar of Russia, imprisoned with his family... and one of the most notorious crimes in history is just about to happen.
Doctor Who – The First Doctor Adventures Volume Four is available for pre-order now at £24.99 on collector’s edition CD or £19.99 on download.




FILTER: - Big Finish - First Doctor

Mission to the Unknown - Reconstruction - Available Now

Wednesday, 9 October 2019 - Reported by Marcus
The reconstruction of the lost Dalek episode of Doctor Who, Mission to the Unknown is now available on Youtube.





FILTER: - First Doctor

Mission to the Unknown Reconstruction

Wednesday, 2 October 2019 - Reported by Marcus
A recreation of a long lost Doctor Who episode is to be released on the official Doctor Who YouTube channel, exactly 54 years after it was first screened in the UK.

Mission to the Unknown was first screened on BBC One on Saturday 9th October 1965. Sometimes known as The Dalek Cutaway it was a prequel to the upcoming 12 part story The Dalek Masterplan and is the only Doctor Who episode in history in which neither The Doctor or any of his companions are featured.

The original episode was destroyed by the BBC many years ago, but the story has been faithfully recreated by a team of students, graduates and staff of the University of Central Lancashire.

The new production will be premiered on the Doctor Who YouTube channel at exactly 5.50pm BST on the 9th October to mark the anniversary of the original broadcast of the episode.

The project was masterminded by Andrew Ireland, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Digital and Creative Industries at the university, and brought together a dedicated group of students from a wide range of disciplines including film and television, acting, fashion, music, design and dance to recreate the episode from the original script as authentically as possible, carefully researching and reproducing as faithfully as possible the original 1960s production techniques to re-create the classic look of the series.

The recreation caught the imagination of several Doctor Who luminaries including Nicholas Briggs, who has provided the Dalek voices for the recreated episode, and stars including Peter Purves, who played 1960s companion Steven Taylor, and Edward de Souza, who played Marc Cory in the original episode, visiting the new set to lend their support.

The episode will be followed by a making-of documentary short created by YouTuber Josh Snares.

Luke Spillane, Digital Publishing Manager for Doctor Who at BBC Studios, said:
I’m delighted that we will be bringing the story of Space Security agent Marc Cory to our 1.3 million subscribers on the Doctor Who YouTube channel as it is such a fantastic recreation, made lovingly with real craft and expertise by everyone at the University of Central Lancashire. I hope audiences around the world can imagine that it’s tea time on the 9th October 1965 as they rather excitingly watch a black and white episode of Doctor Who premiere on their television sets, mobile phones and tablets.
Andrew Ireland, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Digital and Creative Industries at the University of Central Lancashire, said:
It is such a loss to our cultural heritage that so many episodes of 1960s Doctor Who are missing from the BBC archives. This project presented us with an exciting opportunity to address that, to explore a new way of bringing these missing slices of TV history to life, and in the process, help students learn their craft by comparing contemporary production methods with historical approaches. The project gave so many people great experiences, and it is wonderful to see the Daleks menacing a black and white jungle once more.




FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - First Doctor - season 3