Following our recent news items that Netflix & Hulu will no longer have the rights to stream Doctor Who (as of 1st February 2016), Amazon Prime in the USA have just announced they have secured the rights to stream Series 1-8 of Doctor Who.

The confirmation, which came in the form of a tweet and included a video (link below), has since been removed, but upon further investigation, DWO can confirm the news is correct and that episodes will be available at some point in March 2016.

The original tweet, which was posted on 22nd February, read: 

"Want to know the future? Now you can! Here’s what’s coming to #PrimeVideo in March. #Bosch #DrWhohttps://t.co/r3rVSiZLC7

— Amazon Video (@AmazonVideo) February 22, 2016"

You can watch the trailer on the following link: https://t.co/r3rVSiZLC7

Unfortunately news isn't good for UK fans, as a number of our visitors have reported receiving an email from Amazon Prime, confirming they will no longer have Doctor Who episodes as of 16th March.

This now means that unless Netflix UK renew their rights to stream Doctor Who (which expires on 1st May 2016), there will be no streaming partners outside of iTunes and BBC Store in the UK.

DWO have made several attempts to contact Netflix UK via Twitter, but unlike their American partners, who responded to us quite quickly, our questions about renewing have all gone unanswered.

+  Follow @DrWhoOnline on Twitter!

[Sources: DWO; Amazon Prime]

Publisher: BBC Books

Written By: Mark Clapham

RRP: £4.99

Release Date: 4th February 2002

Reviewed by: Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 23rd February 2016

Hope is a novel on BBC books, and it features the Eighth Doctor, Paul McGann, and the characters Fitz, and Anji, and is a story about The Doctor unravelling a local political intrigue.

The novel, which is the bases of a Dr Who episode, was first published in 2002, written by Mark Clapham. The story begins with The Doctor trying to push the TARDIS to its limit, when the crew finding themselves on an inhospitable planet, due to the TARDIS breaking up, and it lands on a frozen sea of acid on the planet Endpoint, in the distant future. As the ice begins to break they flee to the nearest city of hope, only to see the TARDIS sink to the bottom of the sea. In Hope a policemen, who’s investigating a decapitation, explains that the planet is toxic, so the inhabitants have had to evolve to survive, but recently a serial killer has been decapitating people.

The policeman tells them to go to the casino for help, and when they arrive The Doctor buys entry with an apple core, which is long extinct. Inside the casino a group of cyborgs calling themselves the Brotherhood of the Silver Fist, burst in and demand that the casino’s owner, Silver, speaks to them. Silver, a cyborg himself, drive the brotherhood, out, but as he finds out from The Doctor that he’s a time traveller he offers to recover the TARDIS if The Doctor catches the murderer. (There are lots of uk casino games online to play, including roulette, slots, and blackjack, to get the experience of being in a real casino. Betway are offering a welcome bonus, on the first three deposits for new players, with big win jackpots to be won).

The Doctor finds a used tranquilliser dart at a crime scene, and deduces that the murders are part of a plan committed by a visitor to Endpoint, and he also learns that the inhabitants produce a hormone, which is similar to the effects of adrenaline. The Doctor is overpowered and is then held in a bunker on the sea bed, and Silver attacks the bunker and kills the humans. Whilst in the bunker The Doctor and Silver find technology capable of reversing the pollution, and when activated the sea turns into water, and the air becomes breathable again. There’s a hypertunnel in the bunker, which can be used to quickly travel throughout space, and Silver flees through the hypertunnel, which then gets reprogrammed to leave Silver and his army stranded on a dead planet.

+  Hope is Out Now, priced £4.99.
+  Buy this book on Amazon.co.uk

Funko have announced a historic partnership with Playmobil, which will pair the classic articulated, 6-inch ABS figures with exciting pop culture and entertainment licenses for a collector-focused line, and Doctor Who will feature as one of its brands.

As Playmobil’s first official licensee, Funko will have the opportunity to bring new and beloved characters to Playmobil’s nostalgic frame.

Funko CEO, Brian Mariotti said:

“We’re honoured and thrilled to create the first ever cross-license with Playmobil and bring their unique style to the hip and trendy pop culture licenses Funko is known for. It’s an amazing opportunity, and we know fans of both styles are going to love these figures.”

Funko’s first wave of Playmobil 6 inch, 200% figures will include characters from Doctor Who, Sherlock, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Ghostbusters and Back to the Future, with many more forthcoming. Figures will retail for $14.99 and be available in stores from Summer 2016.

The 11th Doctor and The 4th Doctor are the first to be revealed, and you can view the image in the panel to the right. 

[Source: Funko]

 

A Doctor Who fan has given Series One, featuring The 9th Doctor, a Star Wars: The Force Awakens style Trailer treatment.

YouTube user 'VG934' a.k.a Dom said:

"Being the huge Doctor Who and Star Wars fan that I am, how could I resist the chance to bring these two massive franchises together? Well sort of bring them together, let's call it Who Wars. 

Some may call me late to the party but I must remind you that a Wizard is never late, nor is he early - he arrives precisely when he means to. Alas, I'm no Wizard but the same principle applies.

Anyway, I hope 2016's treating you all well and that you enjoy this little mashup as much as I did making it!"

Watch the trailer in the video player, below:
[youtube:go26xwM8Nwg]

+ SUBSCRIBE to VG934 on YouTube.
+ SUBSCRIBE to DWO on YouTube.

Doctor Who Showrunner, Steven Moffat has collected his OBE at yesterday's investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

Moffat received his award for 'services to drama', from the Prince Of Wales and said about the honour:

"It was very thrilling and formal and slightly, slightly, just very slightly, like being back at school. But nicer because everyone got a prize. Talking to other people before I came in, I kind of feel everyone's here for a better reason than me. I've got not one, but two dream jobs so to get this lovely thing for already indulging myself in public, seems like an excess of good fortune."

Watch Steven Moffat discussing the honour outside Buckingham Palace, in the player below:

[Source: Press Association]

 

Doctor Who Magazine have sent DWO the cover and details for Issue 496 of DWM.

Doctor Who Magazine exclusively interviews Sir John Hurt, who played the mysterious incarnation of the Doctor in 2013's 50th Anniversary Special The Day of the Doctor – and asks him about his return in his brand new Doctor Who audio series!

What was John’s first reaction when he was offered the part of the Doctor’s secret incarnation?

“Well, I said, ‘Doctor Who? I don’t think that’s really my sort of stuff.’ But my wife was listening, and when she heard that it was the 50th anniversary, she said, ‘You’ve got to be f***ing joking! You’re doing it! So I’ve really for her to thank. I’m really pleased I did it, because it opened up a whole new era for me. A whole new era.”

On returning to the role for Big Finish's audio adventures, John explains:

“I was often asked, ‘Are you going to do anymore? And I said, ‘Well, I don’t think so. I’m not ruling it out, but unless somebody comes up with a real stonker of an idea that would involve him again… But the thing is that you can’t plan careers. You think, ‘That’s the way to play it’, but it’s not necessarily the case at all. If you follow your nose, that’s often the way to play it. And that’s exactly how I feel about this. I mean, I really have enjoyed every second of it. I mean it.”

ALSO INSIDE ISSUE 496...

ASK STEVEN MOFFAT
Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat answers readers questions about some of the show's most recent episodes...

THE WAR DOCTOR ON AUDIO
The writers of the exciting new audio series chat about writing for the Doctor's most dangerous incarnation.

A TRIBUTE TO ANTHONY READ
Doctor Who Magazine pays tribute to the late Doctor Who writer and script editor, who died in 2015, with contributions from his colleagues and previously unpublished quotes from interviews conducted in 1990 and 2008.

PIXEL POWER
Following the recent success of LEGO Dimensions and Doctor Who Legacy, we uncover three decades’ worth of Doctor Who videogame projects.

NEVER FORGET?
The Time Team continue their quest to watch every episode of Doctor Who in order with Matt Smith’s second story, The Beast Below.

WELCOME MY DEMONS
This issue’s Fact of Fiction delves into the world of King John and Magna Carta in the 1983 Fifth Doctor story The King’s Demons.

A TRIP TO THE THEATRE
The Doctor meets his old friend Harry Houdini and encounters some trouble at the theatre in a brand-new comic strip adventure, Theatre of Mind, written and illustrated by Roger Langridge.

STAR WARS vs DOCTOR WHO
Jacqueline Rayner wonders if it’s possible to enjoy Star Wars: The Force Awakens without feeling like you’re cheating on Doctor Who, in her regular column, Relative Dimensions.

COMING SOON
DWM previews all the latest Doctor Who CD and book releases.

PLUS! All the latest official news, reviews, competitions and The DWM Crossword.

+  Doctor Who Magazine Issue #496 is out on Today, priced £4.99.
+  Subscribe Worldwide to DWM from just £19.49 via Unique Magazines!
+  Check Out The DWO Guide to Doctor Who Magazine!

[Source: Doctor Who Magazine]

BBC Worldwide have informed us that Amazon.co.uk will be releasing an exclusive steenbok Blu-ray for Series 9 of Doctor Who.

The 6-disc release will have exactly the same content as the standard DVD & Blu-ray but will feature exclusive artwork design by Alice X Zhang, who was personally selected by Peter Capaldi to create the designs.

+  The Complete Series 9 Steelbook is released on 7th March, priced £39.99.
+  PREORDER this Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk!
+  Discuss all the Doctor Who DVD & Blu-ray releases in the DWO Forums.

[Sources: BBC Worldwide]