The latest publication in the Black Archive series looks at the Twelfth Doctor story Under the Lake / Before the Flood.

A base under siege, a time travel paradox, and ghosts! With these elements in place, Toby Whitehouse’s Under the Lake and Before the Flood (2015) tread familiar ground for fans of Doctor Who while also moving in bold new directions, both in terms of story-telling and character representation.

This two-part story sees Peter Capaldi’s 12th doctor break the fourth wall, speaking directly to the audience. His lecture on “the bootstrap paradox” serves to set up the central puzzle of these episodes while insisting that it remain unsolved. Meanwhile, actress Sophie Stone’s portrayal of Cass challenges traditional representational tropes surrounding disabled people. Simultaneously, this character asks us to think further about how we understand disability in, and through, science fiction.

The book is written by Ryan C. Parrey, PhD is Senior Lecturer in Disability Studies and director of the Disability Studies program at Eastern Washington University near Spokane, Washington, USA. and Kevin S. Decker, PhD is Professor of Philosophy at Eastern Washington University.

Under the Lake / Before the Flood is available now in paperback and electronic formats, direct from Obverse Books and from selected online retailers.

BBC Books are to publish new Doctor Who Target books in July 2023

BBC Books has announced that it will be expanding the Doctor Who Target range with five new titles in Summer 2023, all publishing on 13th July, each with newly commissioned cover artwork by Anthony Dry.

The new titles celebrate Target publishing Doctor Who books for half a century. The 2023 collection celebrates the dramatic return of David Tennant and showrunner Russell T Davies to the programme.

Both The Waters of Mars by Phil Ford and The Planet of Ood by KeithTemple are  Doctor Who episodes from the Tenth Doctor era.

Fans will also be able to add a Twelfth Doctor adventure, as played by Peter Capaldi, to their collection with The Zygon Invasion by Peter Harness and a Thirteenth Doctor novelisation with Kerblam! by Peter McTighe.

Stephen Gallagher’s Warriors’ Gate and Other Stories will feature the Fourth Doctor.

Launched in 1973, Target Books published novelisations of almost every Doctor Who serial aired between 1963 and 1989, with only a few notable exceptions.

BBC Books began reissuing these classic paperbacks in 2012, and in 2018 expanded the Target range to include all-new novelisations of modern-era Doctor Who episodes.

This year, the expansion continues with:

Pete McTighe is a British screenwriter, producer, and lifetime Doctor Who fan. As well as writing episodes of Doctor Who, he has written two series of hit BBC drama The Pact, alongside writer and showrunner duties on A Discovery Of Witches, The Rising, and Wentworth for which he received five Australian Writers Guild nominations. He also writes and directs acclaimed short films to promote Doctor Who - The Collection Blu-ray releases.

Keith Temple is a British screenwriter whose credits include Doctor Who, Doc Martin and the original BBC comedy drama, Angel Cake starring Sarah Lancashire. He has also written extensively for Continuing Drama including EastEnders, Emmerdale, River City and Casualty. Most recently, he wrote the screenplay for the horror feature film, Wyvern Hill. He has also written for the stage and lectures widely on screenwriting and filmmaking.

Phil Ford has written scripts for Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures for BBCTelevision. He also wrote animated Doctor Who adventure Dreamland, and four Doctor Who Adventure Games. His extensive screenwriting credits include episodes of Taggart, Bad Girls, New Captain Scarlet and Coronation Street. He co-created Wizards vs Aliens with Russell T Davies.

Peter Harness is an English playwright, screenwriter and actor. He has contributed to programs such as McMafia, City of Vice, and Case Histories and wrote a new miniseries adaptation of The War of the Worlds for BBC One

Stephen Gallagher is an English screenwriter and novelist from Manchester. He wrote two serials for Doctor Who, as well as writing for Rosemary & Thyme and Bugs. He also created and wrote Eleventh Hour, a science-based series for ITV.

Each of the authors for the 2023 Target books are the original screenwriters of the TV episodes.

The next release in the Black Archive series will be the Twelfth Doctor story Kill the Moon. 

A contentious episode provoking passionate responses, Peter Harness's 2014 story straddles the divides between science fiction and fantasy, optimism and pessimism, masculinity and femininity. All these tensions extend into its ambiguously metaphorical conclusion. 

In addressing complex issues of personal and political choice, Kill the Moon asks fundamental questions about structures of power and responsibility in Doctor Who, and about the evolving relationship between the companion and the Doctor.

With access to seven different drafts of the script, plus 3 early pre-script outlines, Darren Mooney dissects a story that has been described at various times as ‘something truly special’ and ‘nonsensical pseudo-science’ and wonders why its reputation has become worse over recent years.

Mooney is a pop culture critic and author living on the east coast of Ireland. He is a member of the Online Film Critics Society and the Dublin Film Critics’ Circle. He features regularly on Irish radio, publishes a twice-weekly column at The Escapist, runs his own blog and shares a podcast. He has also written other books on The X-Files and the films of Christopher Nolan.

Kill the Moon is available now in paperback and electronic formats, direct from Obverse Books and from selected online retailers.

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

 

Titan Comics and BBC Studios have announced The Road To The Thirteenth Doctor – a three-part comic event beginning this July and leading into Titan’s all-new Thirteenth Doctor ongoing comic series launching in the autumn.

The Road To The Thirteenth Doctor features new adventures of the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Doctors written by James Peaty (Supergirl) and illustrated by a host of amazing creators, with a Robert Hack (Sabrina, Archie) cover on each.

In Titan’s The Road to The Thirteenth Doctor comics, the Tenth Doctor encounters lost, ghostly spaceships, the Eleventh Doctor and Alice visit a robot-infested 19th Century San Francisco, and the Twelfth Doctor finds London’s Piccadilly Circus transformed into a wasteland of emptiness and Pterodactyls.

Each issue contains a serialized short story from the creative team behind the new Thirteenth Doctor on-going comic series - written by Jody Houser, with art by Rachael Stott and Enrica Angiolini.

The Road To The Thirteenth Doctor heralds a new era for Titan Comics’ Doctor Who line, culminating in 2018’s Doctor Who Comics Day – a global event inspired by Titan Comics’ Doctor Who comic books - on Saturday, November 24. This marks the fifth annual Doctor Who Comics Day, which is set to be bigger than ever with new comics and collections, merchandise, variant covers, signings, and events across the world at comic shops, bookstores, retail chains, libraries, and on digital platforms.

For further news and developments on The Road To The Thirteenth Doctor follow Titan Comics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Tumblr.

Out Today, the Twelfth Doctor's final Year Three adventure in Doctor Who The Twelfth Doctor Year Three #13

D​octor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Year Three #13

Writer: Richard Dinnick
Artist: Pasquale Qualano
Cover A: ​Blair Shedd ​Cover B: ​Photo - Will Brooks ​Cover C: Simon Myers

This week sees the release of the twelfth part of year three of Titan's Twelfth Doctor series, as well as the fourth episode of the latest Torchwood saga.

Doctor Who: Twelfth Doctor - Year Three #12

Writer: Richard Dinnick
Artist: Pasquale Qualano
Cover A: Mariano Laclaustra

Torchwood The Culling #4

Writer: John Barrowman, Carole Barrowman
Artist: Neil Edwards
Cover A: Neil Edwards

The latest Special Edition of Doctor Who Magazine is a unique celebration of the Twelfth Doctor’s final adventures, from The Return of Doctor Mysterio through to Twice Upon a Time. Packed full of all-new features and previously unseen images, this is the essential guide to the year in Doctor Who.

At the end of 2017 a remarkable chapter in the history of Doctor Who draw to a close. Two incarnations of the Time Lord overcame an existential threat... before the arrival of the Thirteenth Doctor heralded a bold new era for the programme.

Highlights include exclusive new interviews with:

• Joe Browning, Jimmy Mann, Gary Pollard and Kate Walshe (Millennium FX)
• Ysanne Churchman (the voice of Alpha Centauri in Empress of Mars)
• Matthew Clark (graphic designer, 2017 series)
• Rachel Denning (Erica in The Pyramid at the End of the World)
• Mark Gatiss (Captain Lethbridge-Stewart in Twice Upon a Time)
• Stephanie Hyam (Heather in The Pilot and The Doctor Falls)
• Adele Lynch (Iraxxa in Empress of Mars)
• Rove McManus (host of Australian show Whovians)
• Rachel Talalay (director of three episodes in the 2017 series)
• Alexandra Tynan (designer of the original Cybermen)

Editor Marcus Hearn says: The Doctor Who Magazine Yearbook 2018 is on sale now price £5.99.

Doctor Who - Twice Upon A Time had an audience of 5.66 million viewers, according to unofficial overnight viewing figures, a share of 29.1% of the total television audience.



The figure is almost identical to that received by last year's Doctor Who Christmas Special, which had 5.68 million watching.

Top for the day was Mrs Brown's Boys Christmas Special with 6.80 million viewers. The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special had 6.46 million watching compared to 7.2 million last year.

BBC One outrated ITV 1 from midday to midnight with Coronation Street the only programme on the channel to break 5 million viewers with 5.07 million watching. Victoria the drama starring Jenna Coleman had 2.74 million watching.

HM The Queen's Christmas Message had 5.26 million watching on BBC One and 1.87 million on ITV 1.

Official ratings, including those who recorded te show and watched it later, will be published in two weeks time.