Manufacturer: BBC Worldwide Consumer Products

Written By: Robert Holmes

RRP: £20.42

Release Date: 25th February 2013

Reviewed By: Dale Who for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 13th February 2013

The TARDIS arrives on an apparently deserted and deactivated space station Nerva, otherwise known as the Ark, orbiting Earth in the far future.

There the Doctor, Sarah and Harry discover the last survivors of the human race held in suspended animation, Earth having been evacuated thousands of years earlier when solar flares threatened to destroy all life.

* * *

It's another re-release; this time on the tale of the Wirrn and Nerva Beacon. The picture and sound quality have been remastered again, and are as sharp as you're going to get.

Disc One is the original release, complete with two Easter Eggs, and optional CGI effects, and goes as follows.

Disc One:

Commentary - A feature commentary, with Tom Baker (The Doctor), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), and Philip Hinchcliffe, discussing the story with many memories and anecdotes.

A New Frontier - From ideas, via many rewrites, to screen; the making of The Ark In Space. Philip Hinchcliffe, Rodney Bennett, and various cast members come together to discuss the serial. Wendy Williams (Vira in the story) is especially entertaining looking back at her role.

It's fairly obvious that the cast and crew loved the story, from the warm and glowing way they relate their experiences. From popping bubblewrap to a lack of slime, it's all covered in this entertaining little featurette.

Roger Murray-Leach Interview - The set designed sits on a white sofa and discusses how to make an Ark for Who out of "two and sixpence". Construction of ingenious corridors, multi-level sets, and how to take The Doctor to hospital. Roger's tenure on Doctor Who consists of The Ark In Space, The Sontaran Experiment, The Deadly Assassin, Planet of Evil and The Talons of Weng-Chiang. There's also Blake's Seven, but he doesn't want to talk abut that...

Model Effects Roll - A model of Nerva Beacon, and a particularly troublesome scout ship that simply will NOT take off properly! A short-ish extra, featuring the many tries and takes recorded for the blast off. Seems oddly reminiscent of Button Moon in some parts...

CGI Effects Roll - An altogether more impressive view of the Beacon, courtesy of some computer wizardry from the first release of this story. Beautiful graphics and a very different rocket ship departure from the Model version. It's glorious to look at, but slightly jarring when viewed in the story, which is an option available on this disc.

3D Technical Schematics - More CGI gloriousness, this time showing the layout and specs of Nerva Beacon. Again, beautiful graphics, and a few in-jokes in the names of the devices. Short, but very pretty.

Trail - A proper old school BBC1 trailer for Doctor Who, with Ark's first episode. A short clip, a *huge* lime green logo and a remind that the episode will be on at "5.35, tomorrow, on BBC1."  Wonderful nostalgia trip.  So very different from how it's done these days...

Alternate titles - A few different slide and tunnel effects, and a dreadful version of the TARDIS  leading into a slight variant of the first Tom Baker era title sequence.  

Alternate CGI sequences - Choose between the original model sequences, or the updated, beautiful CGI created for the release.  As previously noted, it might jar a little seeing it in the story but it's only a momentary thing, it never detracts from the story or makes you lose where you were.

TARDIS Cam No.1 - From the "BBC Fictionlab" back in 2002 comes the TARDIS Cam, odd little snippets of footage of the trusty old Police Box in various locations. A lovely model TARDIS, very similar to the ones later sold by ARC models in a limited run.

Photo Gallery - It's time for the usual mix of behind the scenes and publicity stills from the show, set to a variety of weird background FX noises. Particularly enjoyable are the stills with the look of disgust on Sarah's face and she's holding bits of Wirrn innards.

...and that's disc one wrapped up. No "Coming Soon Trailer" on this disc, which is slightly unusual. However that's only half of the story, as there's a helping of new extras on Disc Two!

Disc Two:

TV Movie version - A revised repeat from 1975, cut down to seventy minutes. The BBC used to screen these when live sporting fixtures went awry, due to bad weather or industrial action; or as "Christmas treats" - where this particular edit comes in. Those were the days, when there'd be an unscheduled Doctor Who story on a Saturday afternoon!!

Doctor Forever: Love & War - The story of Doctor Who books from Virgin's New Adventures onwards. When Doctor Who went off-screen in 1989 the books continued to take the TARDIS into new territory, with a new adult take on the Time Lord and his adventures. Talking heads contributing to this history of the New Adventures include Gary Russell, Paul Cornell, and Russell T. Davies. Mark Gatiss reads an excerpt from his book "Nightshade", and reminds us of just why he's SO good at writing Doctor Who and Sherlock; and RTD gives us a glimpse of "Damaged Goods", and then examines how it's inter-related to post 2005 Doctor Who.

The series didn't end terribly happily, and that too is looked at in this featurette. It's an honest look and a worthy new extra. Brilliant.

Scene Around Six - Footage from what happens when a Time Lord is let loose in Ireland. Tom Baker on both sides of the then divide, lighting Christmas trees, bewitching primary schools, and being treated like an absolute hero by hordes of kids. The power of Doctor Who. Tom Baker obviously adores it all, and it's all very light, fun, and heartwarming. Awesome footage of an awesome Time Lord.

Robot 8mm Location Footage - Silent film of behind the scenes filming for Tom Baker's first story. There's Bessie, and UNIT, and rather brilliantly there's the Brigadier in sunglasses. Short, but raises a smile.

Coming soon Trailer - It's another special edition - this time with the original TARDIS crew. When the time travellers arrive in the temple of Yetaxa, Barbara is mistaken for a reincarnation of the Aztec deity; and that's where there troubles really begin. William Hartnell stars in The Aztecs: Special Edition is out soon!

There are, as always, the usual Info Text and PDF Radio Times options, and Subtitles and Audio Navigation are included as standard.

There's a lot to love about The Ark In Space: Special Edition, however most of it was covered on the original release. This special edition re-release doesn't have masses from the era in which it was made added to it, so they've bulked it out with various miscellania (such as the featurette on the New Adventures). The footage of Tom Baker in Ireland is excellent though, and almost justifies the revamp by itself. It's not a stellar DVD release, but a good one all the same.

+  Compare Prices for this product on CompareTheDalek.com!

A new license has been given by the BBC to Rubbertoe Replicas to make 100% authentic Doctor Who props.

The company, which is headed by New Series Doctor Who Prop Maker, Nicholas Robatto, offers a range of Doctor Who prop replicas, hand-made using the same materials and techniques as used on the show.

Speaking to DWO, Rubbertoe Replicas Founder, Nicholas Robatto said:

"After making props for Doctor Who for many years, we are incredibly excited to be launching our range of replicas and memorabilia. All our replicas are made in exactly the same way as they have been made for the show, so hopefully people will enjoy being able to own something that is a real, authentic piece of Doctor Who."

The current Rubbertoe Replicas Doctor Who product catalogue includes:

-  Gallifreyan Coasters - £46.99
-  Coaster Display Stands - £11.95
-  Sonic Coaster Display Stands - £11.95
-  Brass Gallifreyan Wibbly Wobbly Paperweight - £46.95
-  Silver Gallifreyan Wibbly Wobbly Paperweight - £46.95
-  TARDIS Type 40 Plaque - £37.99
-  'The Power Of Three' Cube - £37.99
-  Gallifreyan Sonic Screwdriver Display Holder - £39.99
-  River Song Squareness Blaster - £369.99
-  Captain Jack Sonic Blaster - £369.99
-  Dalek Death Ray Projector - £565.50 

+  Check Out the Rubber Replicas website.

+  Follow Rubber Replicas on Twitter: @DoctorWhoProps.

[Source: Rubbertoe Replicas]

 Day Forty-Three: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Farewell Great Macedon, Episode One)

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...

Day Forty-Three: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Farewell Great Macedon, Episode One) 

Dear diary,

I hope you'll forgive me this little side-step into slightly different territory. I started this marathon with the express intention to watch all of televised Doctor Who, one episode a day, from the start. It's been going well! I've just finished the first season! The thing is… this was too tempting to miss.

Farewell Great Macedon was a story written by Moris Farhi in 1964, to be included as a part of Doctor Who's first run. For one reason or another, it didn't end up getting made, and sat there as one of those things talked about in whispers of Doctor Who fandom for many years.

But then, in 2010, Big Finish produced it as a part of their 'Lost Stories' range of audios - it's the main feature of their First Doctor box set. Now, I love Big Finish. I even wrote a book all about the Eighth Doctor's adventures with my friend Nick Mellish. Knowing that this story was out there, a script written at the time of the first season, with that mindset… I had to include it as a part of the marathon.

Originally, the plan was that I'd just give it a listen between the first and second seasons. Maybe split it over a couple of nights to enjoy, while this blog just kept chugging along toward the Planet of Giants. Thing is, I've really been enjoying the pace of the marathon so far. Watching at the rate of one installment per day, the stories really get a chance to breathe.

So here we are! Slightly off the beaten track of Doctor Who, but still very much following in spirit. I won't be taking these side-steps between every season, but there are one-or-two others to take as I go along (and we'll come to them when the time is right). Mainly, I'm interested to see how well this story fits in with what's around it. I want to see how much it feels 'of the era' that it has come from.

Now, obviously, the script has been adapted for its audio release. The sad loss of William Hartnell and Jacqueline Hill means that we'll never have it quite as we would have done in 1964. Add to that the fact that things need to be slightly more 'described' on an audio play, and we're going to encounter differences.

Know what though? This first episode is pure, 1964 Doctor Who. I'm so pleased! I worried, plugging the headphones in this evening, that I'd find it a bit of a shock. I thought there was a risk that things would feel incredibly out of place compared to all the stuff I've been watching, but this just fits right in.

The story is mainly carried by William Russell and Carole Ann Ford, who play Ian and Susan as normal, but also provide much of the linking narration, and one-or-two other voices. I've never noticed before, listening to any of the Big Finish Companion Chronicles, but having just come from forty-two days of seeing these characters, their voices really do sound 50 years older!

That's not a complaint, though. It's still very recognisably them, and they slip back into their respective roles with a great deal of ease. Susan is still very much in the over-the-top mode she spent most of The Reign of Terror portraying. Early on, when the power drains from the TARDIS and strange music filters in, she shrieks that they might be dead. That's a cheery teenager for you.

Elsewhere, the script contains plenty of humour, and it's very much in keeping with the stuff we've seen in the show recently. Upon Susan's suggestion that they could be in heaven, the Doctor protests that they can't be, as he doesn't know the way. It's a great moment, as is a scene later on in which our regulars encounter a lamb being sacrificed, and the Doctor steps in to give some tips on cooking it!

Perhaps most noticeable, though, is how much the story feels like one of those from the first era of Doctor Who. We've got a historical setting, a character famous from history (in this case Alexander the Great - a presence which awes Barbara. It's good to see her back in history-teacher mode again), and a plot from a few stock 'evil' characters.

When the priest makes portents of a 'Four-headed tragedy' falling across babylon, I made a note to say that they'd link it to the TARDIS team before the third episode was out - it doesn't waste time, though, they make the connection for the cliffhanger to this one!

In all, it's a sting start to the story, and reminds me of Lucarotti's work from earlier in the season. That can only be a good thing!

Next Episode: O, Son! My Son!

Radio Times starts its celebrations of 50 Years of Doctor Who with four free postcards of classic Doctor Who Radio Times covers with each issue – there are two sets of postcards to collect.

Also in this week’s Radio Times - What’s coming up to celebrate Doctor Who's 50th birthday:

November 2013 marks 50 years of Doctor Who on TV, and RT will bring you all the news as it unfolds – starting with some of the treats coming up. The most hugely anticipated event is surely the Anniversary special on BBC1.

All details are firmly under wraps – and it doesn’t even start filming until spring, but fans worldwide are praying for a multi-Doctor escapade, perhaps with a few former best friends and best enemies thrown in. Could it actually happen? And would all the surviving actors be available – and willing – to appear in such a celebration?

Tom Baker famously declined to participate in The Five Doctors in 1983, and the first three actors to play The Doctor are now long dead. But if William Hartnell can be recast (in The Five Doctors and now in An Adventure in Space and Time) is it conceivable that other actors might convince in Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee’s shadows? This might all be pure fantasy, but what is known is that showrunner Steven Moffat has been toiling with the script.

He tells Radio Times:

“I’m mostly excited, a little bit nervous, and aware of trying not to let people down.”

An Adventure In Space And Time:

Radio Times is chuffed that Mark Gatiss is calling his drama about Doctor Who’s birth An Adventure in Space And Time. This was the tagline RT printed on the billing for episode one in 1963 (below) and indeed on all 253 editions in the 60s. For Gatiss, the 90-minute special (filming now and due to air in November on BBC2) is “quite simply a dream come true”. He describes it as “the story of how an unlikely set of brilliant people created a true television original”.

David Bradley (Argus Filch in the Harry Potter films) is playing William Hartnell, the actor who was initially reluctant to take on the role of the mysterious time traveller. He soon fell in love with the character and was sad to leave in 1966. He died in 1975. Bradley says when Gatiss offered him the part, “I almost bit his hand off.” Our first picture of Bradley in character shows him on the second day of shooting last week, with Lesley Manville as Hartnell’s devoted wife, Heather.

Call the Midwife star Jessica Raine has been cast as producer Verity Lambert (then just 27), while Brian Cox (the international film star, not the prof) is playing the “father” of Doctor Who, Sydney Newman, a flamboyant Canadian who was BBC head of drama.

The only surviving member of the quartet who created the series is Indian-born director Waris Hussein. He’s helped Gatiss with his “meticulous research” and is delighted to be a key character in the drama. “I am to be portrayed by my doppelganger, Sacha Dhawan, a handsome actor. Vanity prevails!” he jokes. Recently seen in Last Tango in Halifax, Dhawan was one of the original History Boys (in the play and movie).

Filming began on 3rd February at BBC Television Centre, on what is likely to be the last drama made on the site before it’s redeveloped.

Executive producer Caroline Skinner tells Radio Times:

“As the BBC moves out of TV Centre, we are moving the cast and crew for An Adventure in Space and Time in! It’s a fantastic opportunity to film this momentous story in the actual location – a little bit of television history .”

Plus an exclusive shot of David Bradley as William Hartnell on his second day of shooting, we also look ahead to plans for the 50th anniversary and to the new series at Easter.

+  Radio Times is released Today, priced £1.60.

+  Order both issues with all 8 x Postcards from just £5.99 from CompareTheDalek.com.

[Source: Radio Times]

The BBC Press Office has confirmed that the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special will be shown in 3D.

Below is the release that BBC Controller, Ben Stephenson issued today:

“As part of the BBC's blockbuster celebrations to mark the Doctor turning 50, fans will be able to see the Time Lord and his adventures like never before - in 3D!  To be broadcast using some of the BBC’s HD capacity.

It's a nationwide celebration of both Doctor Who and the BBC because I think they are so synonymous. We will be doing a big Doctor Who special in 3D which is very exciting and feels very innovative.

We will be doing it on cinema screens as well. We are working out the logistics of that at the moment because we need to make sure the main BBC1 experience remains absolute value for money for the audience.

There will be lots of aliens and daleks and things like that – or maybe there won't. There are many different things to take into account and we will also have a Christmas special after that and it all connects. Or maybe it doesn't. There's lots to work out."

Steven Moffat, lead writer and executive producer, said:

“It's about time. Technology has finally caught up with Doctor Who and your television is now bigger on the inside. A whole new dimension of adventure for the Doctor to explore."

Steven Moffat is still working on the script for the show which will be filmed, like most of the series, in south Wales, and will follow an eight-part run of Doctor Who.

The BBC have also uploaded a showreel for their upcoming drama, which features a couple of new clips from Doctor Who:

+  Are you looking forward to seeing Doctor Who in 3D? Vote Now in the DWO Forums!

[Sources: BBC Press Office; The Guardian]

 Day Forty-Two: Prisoners of the Conceiergerie (The Reign of Terror, Episode Six)

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...

Day Forty-Two: Prisoners of the Conceiergerie (The Reign of Terror, Episode Six)

Dear diary,

I thought it was going to be a bit of a culture shock to go from two day's worth on animated episodes back to the regular live-action footage, but I'm glad to say that it doesn't jar at all. It feels perfectly natural, and the story still just carries on through.

Unfortunately for me… I'm still just not taken by the story itself. There's still a few nice moments (which I'll get to in a moment), but as a whole it's really just dragging for me.

Reign of Terror has very much been the most overtly 'educational' story from this first season, but whereas others have relied on giving history in odd drips, here it feels almost as though you need to have a working knowledge of the French Revolution in order to follow what's going on.

There's several moments where they reference other events and other people, seemingly assuming that we're going to pick up on them and know the context, but it's just not there for me, I'm afraid. I know enough to get by, but not enough to follow the plot as well as I'd like. Frankly, I've lost track.

What I have enjoyed, though, is the way that this episode examines the extent to which you can't change time. It's lovely when Barbara laughs with the Doctor that they're having to try and stop events that they know are going to happen, but that they have to go through the motions anyway, in order to get Susan back and return to the TARDIS.

Equally nice is the discussion once they have reached the ship, where Ian speculates on what would happen if they tried to alter things. I love all the little suggestions that if they'd written Napoleon a letter then he would have lost it, or forgotten it, or thought it fantasy. Even Barbara's suggestion that if they'd tried to shoot him, then the bullet would have missed… It's stuff that's not really new coming to sci-fi from a 2013 perspective, but it's nice to see it cropping up in the early days of Doctor Who.

It's also good to see that the show is sticking to its own internal logic on the subject for now. In The Aztecs, much of the story hinges around the inability to change history, no matter how much you try, and it's good to see that referenced here. 50 years on, and history has become far more malleable (perhaps as the Doctor has learnt more about the hows and whys of the Web of TIme?), but it's good to see it being held firm at the beginning.

 ----------

It's another situation where I won't spend much time summing up - I've discussed my thoughts on the story as a whole over the last couple of days, so I'll leave you with the final score;

Next Episode: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

SFX Magazine have exclusively revealed that Classic Series villains, The Ice Warriors, will return in Series 7 of Doctor Who.

Speaking to SFX in an exclusive interview, Executive Producer, Caro Skinner, had the following to say regarding their eturn:

“We’ve got the most fantastic episode by Mark Gatiss, where we are bringing back the Ice Warrior… on a submarine! It’s a really wonderful kind of ‘bunker’ episode, and a classic monster which Mark has brought his own inimitable twist to.

We wanted to bring them back because they’re wonderful! In the mix of stories that we were planning for this year it felt as if doing something very bold with a monster that hadn’t been seen for a while would be really cool. Mark is an enormous fan of the Ice Warrior stories and came up with the idea. The sense of a monster of that scale and that size trapped in a really small, contained environment such as a submarine was a really brilliant story to be able to tell. And obviously we’ve had a huge amount of fun going back to the traditional designs and recreating them, bringing the Ice Warriors back to life again.

They were such a beautiful original design, and are genuinely really scary in terms of what they look like as they’re coming towards you in that armour. Letting a huge Ice Warrior loose at the heart of a classic Hunt For Red October style submarine movie was exactly the kind of story that the Doctor should get mixed up in.

They’ve got really scary voices as well. I spent quite a lot of time on set trying to hiss like an Ice Warrior...”

Armed with lethal sonic technology, the reptillian warmongers first tangled with Patrick Troughton’s Doctor in 1967′s “The Ice Warriors”, returning two years later in “The Seeds Of Death”. Jon Pertwee’s incarnation encountered them in 1972′s “The Curse Of Peladon” and 1974′s “The Monster Of Peladon”. Traditionally seen as one of the show’s 'Big Four' pantheon of monsters – along with The Daleks, The Cybermen and The Sontarans – the militaristic Martians won a throwaway mention in 2009′s “The Waters Of Mars” but have remained unseen in the 21st Century series.

Watch a clip from The Ice Warriors, below:

[youtube:HMGJCssAXL0]

[Source: SFX Magazine]

Manufacturer: AudioGO

Written By: Terry Nation

RRP: £13.25 (CD) / £6.79 (Download)

Release Date: 1st November 2012

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 11th February 2013

On Skaro, the home world of the Daleks, the Doctor encounters the militaristic Movellans - who have come to Skaro on a secret mission - whilst his companion Romana falls into the hands of the Daleks themselves.

It soon becomes apparent that the Daleks have returned to their abandoned home city with a crucial objective, one which they hope will give them the advantage in a strategic war. When the Doctor realises what the Daleks are up to, he is compelled to intervene.

But he has not bargained for the Movellans having a few secrets of their own, and soon he, Romana and the human refugee Tyssan are wondering who exactly they can trust.

Moreover, will they be able to avert the Daleks from their self-proclaimed destiny?

* * *

AudioGO continues its Doctor Who range by issuing this audio soundtrack for Lalla Ward’s debut story as Romana. The first story to take place after the epic Key to Time season and the one that sees the return to the series of the creator of The Daleks, Davros.

It is difficult for me to review this release as I must admit Destiny Of The Daleks is not one of my favourite Tom Baker stories. It is certainly not the weakest of Terry Nation’s Dalek stories but this is where The Daleks began to be over shadowed by the continuing presence of Davros, such is the shadow cast by him in the excellent Genesis Of The Daleks.

It doesn’t help that Davros has been recast and whilst giving it his all, David Gooderson cannot quite match the tour de force that was Michael Wisher. 

Previous audio soundtrack releases have been fantastic, due to the fact that they provided a way for fans to experience Doctor Who stories that have been lost in the visual format. Destiny Of The Daleks did not suffer the same fate so I find this release to be somewhat unusual. 

If there are any benefits to listening to the soundtrack it is that a lot of the humour that Douglas Adams peppered the script with becomes more obvious, and, (lets be honest), the rather ridiculous looking Movellans gain a bit more weight as characters when we cannot see them.

Destiny Of The Daleks is not a bad story and it is rather fun in places with some intriguing ideas, and the narration by Lalla Ward is lovely and very well placed throughout. 

What makes this release more interesting are the inclusion of the original TV camera scripts which can be viewed as Colour PDF files and a nice interview with Lalla Ward where she speaks rather movingly about Mary Tamm and Douglas Adams.

The Destiny Of The Daleks soundtrack is not an unwelcome release but if you like this story and wish to experience it in another format then this is certainly for you.

Manufacturer: AudioGO

Written By: Terrance Dicks

RRP: £13.25 (CD) / £12.29 (Download)

Release Date: 1st January 2013

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 11th February 2013

Stepping out of the TARDIS into Victorian London, Leela and the Doctor are confronted by menacing, diabolical horrors shrouded within the swirling London fog - a man's death cry, an attack by Chinese Tong hatchet men, giant rats roaming the sewers, young women mysteriously disappearing...

The hideously deformed Magnus Greel, conducting a desperate search for the lost Time Cabinet, is the instigator of all this evil. Posing as the Chinese god, Weng-Chiang, Greel uses the crafty Chang, and the midget manikin, Mr Sin, to achieve his terrifying objectives.

The Doctor must use all his skill, energy and intelligence to escape the talons of Weng-Chiang.

* * *

The Talons of Weng-Chiang is considered and in my opinion rightly so, to be one of the great classics of Doctor Who. A perfect mash of Sherlock Holmes, Fu-Manchu and classic pulp adventure, it remains a master stroke in the show’s history and one of the crowning achievements of writer Robert Holmes.

AudioGO have released an audio book version of Terrance Dicks' novelisation of the story and like its television counterpart it is rather wonderful.

Terrance Dicks’ novelisation is excellent as he retains enough of Holmes’ original dialogue whilst crafting the narrative into an exciting and tantalising adventure. If Dicks had been writing in the 1930s, he would’ve made an excellent pulp writer as this story moves along at a cracking pace and never gets dull. It helps that the original story was so strong to begin with but that doesn’t diminish the great skill it takes to translate a great story from the screen to the page.

Christopher Benjamin is the perfect narrator for this adventure, as he tackles each role with gusto especially when returning to the part of Henry Gordon Jago which he originated. Benjamin’s work on the Big Finish spin off series Jago and Litefoot has prepared him well for the task, as at times it almost seems like Jago himself is relating his own adventure to a captive audience. He captures Tom Baker’s Doctor’s snappish nature rather well and his interpretation of Magnus Greel is a brilliant evocation of Michael Spicer’s original performance. He is also able to play Li H’sen Chang in a way that is reflective of John Bennett’s performance but not as an obvious racial stereotype.

The sound design and music is sublime as it is rather evocative of Dudley Simpson and the sound of a screeching giant rat makes the whole sequence in the sewer far more unnerving than the rather laughable rat puppet on television ever could.

This audio book version of Doctor Who And The Talons Of Weng-Chiang is an excellent production and one that this reviewer will quite happily listen to again in the future.

Manufacturer: AudioGO

Written By: Nigel Robinson

RRP: £10.20 (CD) / £6.79 (Download)

Release Date: 1st January 2013

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 11th February 2013

Shoreditch, London, 1963. The Beatles have beaten John Smith and the Common Men to No. 1 and satellites are being launched in outer space. Back down on Earth, strange goings-on are occurring: The normally placid teenagers of Coal Hill are running riot and a master thief is stealing highly specialised equipment. Schoolgirl Susan Foreman just wants an easy life for herself and her grandfather, the mysterious Doctor.

She wants to be liked and accepted by Cedric and all the other pupils at Coal Hill School. But there’s trouble in in the streets and bombsites around Totter’s Lane. The teenagers are becoming dangerous… Their mission: to hunt down anyone different, or alien…

Susan’s quiet life is about to spiral out of control. Having inadvertently started drawing attention to herself she finds herself drawn into a desperate situation. Suddenly, the chase is on and she and her grandfather are now the hunted…

* * *

This year marks the 50th anniversary year of Doctor Who and already the BBC are beginning to get the celebratory merchandise underway. AudioGO have recruited Big Finish to produce Destiny of the Doctor, an eleven part inter-connected series of dramatised readings.

Kicking off things we have a First Doctor adventure, set before he and Susan encountered Ian or Barbara in An Unearthly Child. You think this would be a chance to really explore some of the First Doctor’s distant past before he landed on Earth in 1963, but Hunters of Earth seems to be retreading very familiar ground. We have Susan at Coal Hill School as the mysterious new pupil who knows far too much about science. We even have a teacher who takes an interest in Susan’s odd behaviour, even going so far to follow her home to Totter’s Lane.

For anyone who has seen An Unearthly Child, this will seem too familiar, and considering the conclusion of the story doesn’t really feel logical. Why would The Doctor stay there if he has aroused suspicion only for someone else to follow the exact same path a short time later?  

Despite some nice little nods to current Who such as Magpie Electricals, the story seems to tread too much familiar ground and if you know your Quatermass even more so. If there are any linking plot threads with further releases, they are difficult to see here unless you count Susan’s ominous premonition at the conclusion.

You can tell that Big Finish have had a hand in producing this release as it could easily have been a part of their Companion Chronicles range - such is the similarity of the format. There is some excellent music and sound design, including a good narrative performance by Carole Ann Ford and supporting cast member Tam Williams, but it is ultimately the story that lets the whole thing down.

Hunters of Earth is not a bad release, just not a strong one and a slightly disappointing start to the series.

 Day Forty-One: A Bargain of Necessity (The Reign of Terror, Episode Five)

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...

Day Forty-One: A Bargain of Necessity (The Reign of Terror, Episode Five)

Dear diary,

Perhaps the greatest praise I can give the animation on the DVD release of The Reign of Terror is that by five or six minutes into this episode, I'd sort-of forgotten about it. It still looks as lovely as it did in the last episode, and there's still plenty to marvel at, but it just becomes a very good way of telling the story.

Once you're used to the style of it, and the way that the direction has been handled, it soon becomes apparent that this is much easier to follow than a tele-snap recon. Despite there being some fantastic examples of those out there, I'm a little sorry that I won't get any more animated episodes for months and months (right the way through until The Invasion, unless rumours of others on the way shortly hold true…)

The one gripe that I did have with the animation in this episode; it didn't hold still for the title! It's become something I enjoy about the series through to this point that while the episode title (and usually for the writer's credit, too) is on screen, everyone pauses and hold their position for a bit. Yesterday's episode held true to this convention, with the Doctor and co standing still for a few seconds while the captions played out, but today's title is placed over quite a bit of movement. It's only a little thing, but it's still a bit of a shame.

As for the story… well… I'm sorry to say that I'm still not quite as into it as I'd like to be. There's been more to entertain me in today's episode; the Doctor trying to outwit the jailer is a particular highpoint, and it's a partnership that I've been enjoying right the way through the story. It's nice to see it still in motion here.

I'm also rather liking that character's keep asking the Doctor how he managed to escape from the burning farmhouse - first Barbara in yesterday's episode, then today Ian asks for the information from her, and Susan makes it her first question to her grandfather. It seems like quite a little thing, but it's a nice touch. The cliffhanger with the burning house was several days ago, and on original transmission, it would have been more than a month before this point, so it's good to see it being brought in.

It's also a lovely moment when Barbara confides in Ian that she's so 'sick and tired of death', but that she 'never seems to be able to get away from it'. I mused the other day how these two had taken to traveling and the adventures, but they've been through quite a lot. The recap at the start of The Sensorites made it all sound like something of a jolly romp, but they've seen a fair few harrowing things over the last few stories.

Another beautiful thing between the two schoolteachers is the debate over sides in the Revolution. I have to confess that I've rather struggled to keep up with who's on what side during all of this - especially in regards to Jules (it's nice that he explains his position here; he's on neither side, really, just acting for 'the middle' to ensure the best for France.)

It's nice to see that the character's are able to express their own voices, and that the programme isn't taking one specific side over another. I don't know if it's going to remain so flexible into the final part - will one side be seen to win? Or will we just leave with the Doctor and his companions slipping away to leave the revolution in full swing?

Next Episode: Prisoners of the Conciergerie

 Day Forty - The Tyrant of France (The Reign of Terror, Episode Four)

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...

Day Forty - The Tyrant of France (The Reign of Terror, Episode Four)

Dear diary,

Right then, let's get this bit out of the way first, shall we? I'm going to have to mention the animation. Of course I am, it's only been available on DVD for a couple of weeks, so it'll look a bit remiss if I just ignore it! Do bear in mind, though, that my episode score is based on the episode itself - not the animation.

It has to be said - I loved the look of it. The details on the faces (especially that of the Doctor) is gorgeous, and the movement is extremely fluid. It perhaps doesn't look so good when it cuts out to a wider shot - Barbara closing the door, for example, or another character putting on his coat. Without the emphasis on the faces, the detail gets rather lost in those moments.

The one thing that I've seen listed as the biggest complaint about the episodes is the style of the cutting back-and-forth between shots. I've seen it heavily argued that it's so out of keeping with the surrounding episodes as to be completely jarring to the experience. I can see where the argument comes from (though, really, the only time I found it noticeable was during the first wine-pouring scene), but I can't say it bothered me that much. Having just come from five weeks of 1963/64 vintage Doctor Who, this didn't feel too out of place.

In all, it's a great way of plugging the missing episode gaps, and at this stage, I'm really hoping that we'll see some more of the animations. I've enjoyed this one, so if they get even better with time, then that's only a bonus.

Anyway! The episode itself! Well, I've had plenty of opportunity to examine the animation because things plot-wise are all a bit boring, aren't they? It's a tricky one, because I'm liking the setting of the story, and it's great to have a number of well-sketched charters, but… well… the story itself just feels too bloated.

You've got the Doctor having an in-depth discussion with Robespierre about the state of Paris, Susan's illness getting progressively worse, and the situation between her, Barbara and the Physician (though it's nice to see, as I'd hoped yesterday, that Susan feeling unwell does have a bearing on the story), Ian being recovered and then led into a trap…

There's plenty going on, I just don't care about any of it. I'm hoping that it's merely a result of fourth-episode-sagging, which we had with The Sensorites, too. After that point, the story got better again.

I wonder if part of the problem here is that it feels too well researched. In Marco Polo, or The Aztecs, the history felt vivid and real - it was more than clear that Lucarotti knew his stuff about the two periods - but it was just sort of there in the background. Here, it feels like the hard work that has gone into researching the period is just being stuffed into the character's mouths.

Still, I'm crossing my fingers that things improve for me with Episode Five. Taking the beautiful visuals out of the equation, I'm going to have to give this one;

Next Episode: A Bargain of Necessity

Jemma Powell has been confirmed as playing Jacqueline Hill in Mark Gatiss' Doctor Who biodrama 'An Adventure In Space And Time'.

The confirmation, which comes from Powell's PR agency website, now completes the principal cast which comprises the original TARDIS team.

Powell has a list of credits including; Foyle's War, Hex and Alice In Wonderland.

[Sources: Flash Forward Publicity]

Jamie Glover has been confirmed as playing William Russell in Mark Gatiss' Doctor Who biodrama 'An Adventure In Space And Time'.

The confirmation, which DWO hinted at in our news report from 30th January, comes from Glover's agency website, leaving the casting of Jacqueline Hill as the only remaining name from the original TARDIS team yet to be cast.

Jamie Glover, son of Julian Glover (The Crusade, City Of Death), has a list of credits including; Casualty, New Tricks, Holby City and Waterloo Road.

[Sources: Curtis Brown]

 Day Thirty-Nine: A Change of Identity (The Reign of Terror, Episode Three)

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...

Day Thirty-Nine: A Change of Identity (The Reign of Terror, Episode Three)

Dear diary,

There's something of a conception of the First Doctor as being a bit of a fuddy-duddy. He's often thought of as a bit of a bumbling, kindly grandfather figure, who's not quite the Doctor, but fills the same role. It's not helped by the regular occurrence of 'Billy Fluffs', either.

Here, though, the First Doctor is absolutely fantastic. The way he handles himself in the clothes shop, and the way he them presents himself to the jailer, it's an image of a man who's in full control. It's easy enough, when looking at these scenes, to imagine the 'old man' stuff is little more than an act - a way to disguise a devilishly intelligent man, who knows how to manipulate the situation to get what he wants.

Of course, it all seems to have backfired come the final scene, in which the ring that the Doctor has bartered away comes back to haunt him.

It's also nice to see the series starting to make use of its new ability to shoot in TV Centre itself. Though a few episodes I've already been through were made there, this is the first time, really, that the full implications of this can be seen on the screen. An early scene of a busy French street, into which the Doctor enters is fantastic - it's grander than I'm used to seeing on the show, and really does help to make this story feel bigger than usual.

The shots of William Russell's scenes, still shot on film (he was, presumably, still in Spain!) continue to look like something from a production other than Doctor Who. In this episode, he makes an escape from his prison cell, and the more I watch it, the more I lament that fact that more of the show doesn't look like this. The film really does give these scenes a rich texture that's sadly lacking in other places. Mind you, they still remind me of early Eastern European cinema!

I'd not considered it when writing yesterday's entry, but a lot of that feel may come from the director himself. I'd forgotten that Henric Hirsch had directed the story, and was from Hungary. There could well be intention behind the style, rather than it simply being a side-effect of shooting these scenes early on. It's almost a shame that we'll be loosing this style.

Oh, and all right. I didn't want to mention it too much yesterday, but let's be honest; Susan is rubbish in this story, isn't she? I'm wondering, now, if this may be where my entire dislike for Susan had come from. All the way through this marathon, I've been pleasantly surprised by how much I've taken to her - but here…!

All she's done so far is whine and moan… here, she nearly ruins their only chance of escape by complaining instead about her headache and her bad back and how tired she is… I'm hoping this is all leading somewhere, or there's no reason to be kicking up such a fuss! If she'd not been on holiday back during The Aztecs, I'd think they were getting ready to pack her off on one now!

Tomorrow is going to be interesting; I'll finally reach one of the new animated episodes! I've been excited to see them for quite some time, so I'm sure it's going to be a sleepless night, tonight. It's like Christmas Eve - I'm waiting for Santa to come!

Next Episode: The Tyrant of France

Big Finish Productions will be launching a brand new audio range in 2014. Doctor Who: The Early Adventures will comprise four-part stories starring the surviving lead cast members from Doctor Who’s black and white era.

Producer, David Richardson said:

“While working on The Lost Stories, we fell in love with releases like Farewell, Great Macedon and The Masters of Luxor, which combine narration with dialogue. I suggested to executive producers Nicholas Briggs and Jason Haigh-Ellery we could use that format to tell new stories for the First and Second Doctors, pushing the full cast elements in order to create big, impressive productions.

“The scripts for the first four Early Adventures are now in, and it’s so exciting to bring the early days of the series back to life in this way. The aim is for these to feel like lost television soundtracks. The first series will comprise First Doctor tales, and will feature an historical, a trip into outer space, a beautifully reflective character piece… and the return of a classic villain from the early years!”

Big Finish has also revealed that three of its Doctor Who audio ranges will be reaching their grand finales.

Doctor Who: The Lost Stories, the adaptations of scripts originally devised for television but never made, will end in December after a short final run of stories for the first three Doctors. Gallifrey, the much-loved spin-off centred on Romana and Leela on the Time Lord homeworld, concludes in spectacular style in October with series six. And The Companion Chronicles, adventures narrated by The Doctor’s friends, will end their monthly run in June 2014.

Nicholas Briggs, said:

“It’s always sad to say goodbye to something, especially if they are popular, but at Big Finish we feel we must always be moving forward, and finding new ways to tell exciting Doctor Who stories on audio.”

For those whose current subscription will leave them fewer than six releases from the end of The Companion Chronicles, we've added a four-release Final Season sub so it won't be necessary to buy up to five titles at full price.

[Source: Big Finish]

Dr Who and the Daleks and Daleks Invasion Earth 2150AD, originally released in 1965 and 1966 have been completely restored by the current owner, Studio Canal, to create new High Definition versions.

As well as being scheduled for release on Blu-ray, cinematic versions have also been made, and Riverside Studios in association with the Doctor Who Appreciation Society will be amongst the very first to premiere the new versions.

On Sunday 26th May 2013 both films will be shown in HD on the big screen at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. The afternoon, co-organised by DWAS will be a fun packed afternoon Dalek-themed fun.

Tickets are just £10-50 for the double bill with discounts for children and other concessions.

Full details can be found at the DWAS website by visiting www.dwasonline.co.uk and clicking the ‘Dr Who at the Movies’ link.

[Source: DWAS]

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who, Cubicle 7 are releasing a series of Doctor Who Sourcebooks for the Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space roleplaying game.

Each book will take an in-depth look at an incarnation of The Doctor, featuring his companions, enemies, allies, gadgets and more. Each of his adventures will be presented, giving an overview of the action and themes, exploring how you can use them in your games. There will also be suggestions for further adventures based on the events depicted.

As well as being packed with information for use in your games, the books will be full of images from that Doctor’s incarnation, and will be a wonderful fan resource for the show’s history. Cubicle 7 are even keeping the first two in black and white to stay true to the feel of the show!

The books will be US letter-size (standard RPG size, 8.5”x11”) and 160 pages long with a hard cover. The First and Second Doctor Sourcebooks will feature full colour covers and period-appropriate black and white interior; all the others will be in full colour throughout. The team have commissioned a montage of the eleven Doctors, which will run across the spines of the Sourcebooks when they are on the shelf.

Subscription deal

Cubicle 7 are offering a time-limited subscription deal to give fans of the game a way to get themselves a great deal on these books, have them sent as soon as they are available, and to support them in the creation of this series. The first six books are at various degrees of readiness.

There are two deals available:

Deal 1 – the full set

This includes:

All 11 titles: The First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Doctor Sourcebooks, plus the Eleventh Doctor Sourcebook One.

Both physical copies and PDFs

All Doctor Who short PDF-only products released in 2013 (at least three)

The MSRP for these books will be $385/£264 plus shipping – the subscription deal is $315/£216 plus shipping, a saving of $70/£48 – two free books!

Deal 2 – the early years

This includes:

Six titles: The First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Doctor Sourcebooks

Both physical copies and PDFs

The MSRP for these books will be $210/£144 plus shipping – the subscription deal is $175/£120 plus shipping, a saving of $35/£24 – one free book!

Shipping

The shipping rate depends on where the books are delivered to – 10% of the total order for UK/USA, 20% for Canada/Europe and 35% for everywhere else.

Timescale

The First Doctor Book is due to be delivered in April, with the PDF being available in February. The Second Doctor Book is almost complete; the majority of the writing is finished on the Third and Fourth Doctor books and the Fifth and Sixth are underway. 

Cubicle 7 aim to release a book every other month as a minimum, and hope to bring them out quicker than that. Of course, unanticipated delays can crop up, and in this case they will communicate with you on progress. In any case, subscribers will receive both the books and the PDFs as soon as they are available.

Cancellation and refunds

If, for whatever reason, you need to cancel your subscription, Cubicle 7 will refund your subscription fee in proportion to the number of books you have already received – for example, if you need to cancel after the 3rd book of deal one, you will receive a refund of 8/11 of the total paid.

+  Visit the Cubicle 7 website.

[Source: Cubicle 7]

The title of Neil Gaiman's Series 7 Doctor Who episode has now been confirmed.

Speaking in an interview to TheMusic.com.au, Gaiman himself revealed the title of his Cyberman epsiode:

“I’ve written [one] that broadcasts in May. It guest stars Warwick Davis, Tamzin Outhwaite and Jason Watkins. The episode is called The Last Cyberman. It’s about identity, it’s about responsibility and it’s about porridge.”

[Source: TheMusic.com.au]

BBC Consumer Products have confirmed the majority of the 2013 Classic Series Doctor Who DVD releases.

February 25th - The Ark in Space: Special Edition

March 11th - The Aztecs: Special Edition (plus Galaxy 4 reconstruction)

May 6th - The Visitation: Special Edition

May 27th - Inferno: Special Edition

June 3rd - The Mind of Evil

June 24th - Terror of the Zygons

July 15th - Spearhead from Space (Blu-Ray)

August 5th - The Green Death: Special Edition

August 26th - The Ice Warriors

September 16th - Scream of the Shalka

+  Discuss all the Doctor Who DVD releases in the DWO Forums.

[Source: BBC Consumer Products]

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...

Day Thirty-Eight: Guests of Madame Guillotine (The Reign of Terror, Episode Two)

Dear diary,

All the regulars have managed a bit of a break for a trip to Spain, now, then! I'm surprised that I've never noticed it before, but the last four stories have each seen time taken off by one of our regulars. I think watching in order like this makes things more apparent, as does the shift between videotape and film. There was a time that I'd never really noticed the shift, but now I spend more time watching archive telly than modern stuff (I don't even own a television!), I've become more accustomed to it.

The absence of William Russell from the story is done in a slightly odd way; it's a mixture of the 'cutting right out of the story' that we had in The Keys of Marinus and The Sensorites with a bit of the 'only there for pre-filmed inserts' seen in The Aztecs. I say this because Ian still appears in his cell, and during a brief shot early on, but there's some bizarre attempts to hide him in other scenes.

One particularly noticeable one starts with Ian having just been chucked in the cell, and not responding to Susan's calls. I'm a bit surprised they didn't at least play in a recording of William Russell reassuring her or something!

I think it's also quite noticeable simply because of how different the Ian bits of the story look. The fact that they're shot on film, combined with what seems to be an unusually high exposure rate make them look like Russian cinema of the 1920s (my specialist subject at degree level. That came in useful…). It's never more noticeable than when we cut to a reaction of Ian while they're trying to appeal - you almost expect it to cut away to a caption!

All of this sounds like I'm complaining, which I'm not, really. This has been another episode I've enjoyed, although I'm not overly sure that a lot has happened. In many ways, this feels like the second half of an Episode One - everyone is being moved into the right position, and the strands of the story are being introduced. On the one hand, we have Ian being given a mission to seek out James Stirling. Susan and Barbara are being carted off to meet the Guillotine (setting up, I'm sure, a daring escape for tomorrow's episode!), and the Doctor is making his way to Paris.

With the Doctor's part in the story, we're given the series' very first location footage - and it's really quite good! The shots linger on a bit, perhaps; there's one show of the Doctor crossing a cornfield that seems to hold on just to say 'look! It's not a painted backdrop! He can keep walking!', but they're all really effective. The locations chosen are great, and it's pretty easy to picture them as being in France. It helps that the weather seems to have stayed nice for the day!

A lot gets made of the scene in An Unearthly Child, where the Doctor considers using a rock to smash a caveman's skull. It's often cited as an example of the Doctor's callousness at the very start of the series. I even talked about it for this very blog about a month ago (and concluded that, actually, it's not as bad as people make it out to be).

Why, then, does no one mention this episode? The Doctor - in an attempt to escape from a captor and get back on with his mission - tricks him into bending down… then whacks him with a shovel! You could argue that he just knocks him flat on the back, but that doesn't seem to be the implication from the way its been directed. Crikey! This is by far the most violent we've seen the Doctor so far. I'm baffled that it doesn't get brought up more often!

Oh, and I don't want to dwell on it, but blimey, Susan must be driving Barbara mental.

Next Episode: A Change of Identity

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Reg Pritchard.

Reg was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for his roles in the following Classic Series adventures:

Ben Daheer in the 1st Doctor adventure; The Crusade.
Man In Mackintosh in the 1st Doctor adventure; The Dalek's Masterplan.

Reg, who was born in Wrexham; Wales, had a long career spanning as far back as 1961, and featured in such shows as Dixon Of Dock Green, The Avengers, The Saint and Z Cars.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Reg's family and friends.

* * *

On a personal note, there was a bit of story behind getting Reg's birth date. DWO deal with a number of Doctor Who related obituaries, and it is normally easy to find birth dates, but for some reason, there was no record online, or in any printed media of Reg's. We had this news item ready two days ago but kept drawing a blank when it came to finding Reg's year of birth. We contacted Equity, to no avail, and then contacted The Stage (on advice from Toby Hadoke), who informed us they would be in touch.

This afternoon we received a telephone call from a lovely lady named Audrey Leybourne - an actress, who has also had a long career. Audrey was friends with Reg, and did some detective work of her own and managed to find Reg's year of birth for us!

I guess the reason we are recounting this story is because we find it baffling and sad that a man who had such a long career, and who clearly had a lot of friends, should have so little said about him online - despite all the technology and resources we have available to us these days. And thank heavens for people like Audrey, who single-handedly trumped even the best that Google could offer!

[Sources: Neil Marsh; Audrey Leybourne; The Stage; Toby Hadoke]

Read a previously unpublished interview with The Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee - Exclusive in Doctor Who Magazine #457!

Jon Pertwee, the actor who took Doctor Who to new levels of success in the 1970s, gave an extensive interview about his life and times to two young reporters back in 1994. The vast majority of the interview has remained unpublished - until now...

"I had no preconceptions about the programme when I joined it," says Jon. "I only knew I did not want to be like the Doctors who had gone before. However, the old producers wanted me to play it for laughs, you can see that in the first episode. The hat business. The shower. I had already decided I want to play it straight. Luckily those producers left after the first story and were replaced by Barry Letts who let me play it my way..."  

Also this issue:

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS
Doctor Who's showrunner and head writer, STEVEN MOFFAT, replies to DWM readers' questions on Vastra's lips, River's name and his favourite story from each and every Doctor. Some of his answers will surprise you...!

IT MUST BE LOVE
Amy and Rory. The Doctor and Rose. Captain Jack and everyone. Yes, just in time for Valentine's Day, JONATHAN MORRIS turns down the lights, gets out the choccies and takes a romantic look at DOCTOR WHO'S GREATEST LOVE STORIES!

OLD SCHOOL
The Eleventh Doctor has the surprise of his lives, as he's reunited with Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright in Coal Hill School! And the shocks don't stop there, as the latest comic strip, HUNTERS OF THE BURNING STONE by SCOTT GRAY, with art by MARTIN GERAGHTY, continues…

OH, WHAT A NIGHT!
DWM uses its beryllium atomic clock to turn back time to 1996, and the momentous evening that Doctor Who returned to TV, starring Paul McGann, as COUNTDOWN TO 50 continues.

WALKING ON THE MOON
There's a plasma-sucking pensioner and Judoon on the Moon, as THE TIME TEAM settle down to watch the Tenth Doctor meet Martha in SMITH AND JONES. What will Chris, Emma, Will and Michael make of it all...?

CREEPY CRAWLIES
The Third Doctor faces certain death, while giant arachnids plot to invade the Earth! THE FACT OF FICTION brushes off the cobwebs from 1974's PLANET OF THE SPIDERS, Jon Pertwee's final adventure as the Time Lord, and uncovers a wealth of new information and rare photos.

GIFTS FOR ALL!
Remember last Christmas? It can be fun time if you're a fan, with Doctor Who goodies galore – but what if you're a parent? Will your kids share your passion? JACQUELINE RAYNER reveals what happened to her and her family over the festive season  in RELATIVE DIMENSIONS.

KNOW ME! AM I... THE DOCTOR?
The all-seeing Watcher discusses the delights of Jon Pertwee's seminal single, Who is the Doctor?, challenges readers with a poptastic Six Faces of Delusion and celebrates another Supporting Artist of the Month, in WOTCHA!

+  Doctor Who Magazine Issue #457 is out on Today (Thursday 7th February 2013), priced £4.75.

+  Subscribe Worldwide to DWM from just £17.99 via Unique Magazines!

+  Check Out The DWO Guide to Doctor Who Magazine!

[Source: Doctor Who Magazine]

Doctor Who star Matt Smith will be taking the male lead Ryan Gosling's directional debut picture 'How to Catch a Monster'.

The story is set against the surreal dreamscape of a vanishing city and centered on a single mother of two being swept into a macabre and dark fantasy underworld while her teenage son discovers a secret road leading to an underwater town. Production is set to start this spring.

Christina Hendricks and Eva Mendes will co-star in the movie which is produced by Marc Platt (not the Doctor Who Author), Adam Siegel, Michel Litvak, David Lancaster and Ryan Gosling.

Since the news broke, fans are already wondering where this leaves Series 8 of Doctor Who, questioning his involvement and sparking regeneration rumours.

DWO would like to point out that Smith was recently quoted in an interview with The Sun newspaper as saying:

"His first episode sounds great. It hasn't been written yet but the idea is as brilliant and as mental as you'd expect from Steven. So there's a lot to look forward to.

When Steven was going to pitch the next season to me not long ago, he said, 'Are you ready to cry?".

It is likely that the filming schedule for Series 8 will be a tighter one than normal, and could very well be transmitted in the Autumn of 2014. This is yet to be confirmed by the BBC.

[Source: Variety]

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...

Day Thirty-Seven: A Land of Fear (The Reign of Terror, Episode One)

Dear diary,

I love it when this marathon throws up odd little coincidences. The first recon I watched - for Marco Polo - came on the same day that I saw The Hobbit in its 48fps version. Coming home from that to a tele snap recon that was less than 48 frames per minute? Bit of a culture shock.

Today, I've embarked on The Reign of Terror having spent my afternoon in a cinema watching Les Miserables . It's a full on French Revolution Day for me! Thankfully, having spent two-and-a-half hours trying to stay awake in the cinema (the misses loved it, though, so that's something…), I've really rather enjoyed this.

I should say, before I discuss the episode itself, that I've been purposely avoiding the Reign of Terror DVD for quite some time, now. I started thinking about this marathon several months ago, before we had any preview clips, and so I've avoided them ever since. It's been a tricky ten days or so since the DVD turned up, because I can hear the newly animated episodes calling to me… Still, it's only another few days, and I'm sure I'll appreciate them more by watching them in context like this.

I didn't mention it yesterday, but the cliffhanger comes rather out of nowhere, doesn't it? I've just spent a while praising how far the Doctor has come as a character over the course of this first series, and how much he's bonded with Ian and Barbara, and then one slightly mis-stepped sentence, and the Doctor's throwing them off the ship!

It still feels a bit odd here, when he sets them down and tells them to be off. I'm not sure if it's all going to come round by the end of the story, with him announcing that he doesn't really want them to go (Ian muses early on that he's not really that disappointed that they're off on another adventure together), but for now it feels more than a little jarring. It seems like the Doctor has gone right back to his old self again. Still, i I like the idea that the faults we've witnessed with the TARDIS are quite recent, as is the Police Box look, and that the Doctor isn't used to not having control over his ship yet.

And then we're off! The first time I saw Reign of Terror (many years ago, on a poor quality VHS) I knew that it was the first time the series had done any location work - and I thought it was these opening scenes in the woodland! Looking at it now, on a freshly spruced-up DVD, and having spent just over a month looking at the show's sets, it's quite clear that this bit is only a studio, but it's still looking pretty good.

I was also a bit surprised to work out that this is the first child we've seen in the series since the kids at Coal Hill right back in the first episode. Coming at it from the Matt Smith era, where lots of stories revolve around children, it seems quite bizarre! I'm guessing from his panicked look towards the end of the episode that he'll be back to help the Doctor out during Episode Two.

The cliffhanger here is pretty good, and certainly better than the last episode's. Ian, Barbara, and Susan getting carted off to Paris while the Doctor remains stuck in a burning farmhouse is very typical of Season One - splitting the team up ready to get the adventure going - but it works well enough. I'm also quite keen on the model of the burning farmhouse; The effect of the roof caving in is particularly well done.

All in all, it's a good start to the story, as I've come to expect from historical stories. I'm looking forward to following it on…

Next Episode: Guests of Madame Guillotine

Claudia Grant has been confirmed as playing Carole Ann Ford in Mark Gatiss' Doctor Who biodrama 'An Adventure In Space And Time'.

The confirmation comes on Grant's agency website, which happens to be run by Jessica Carney (William Hartnell's granddaughter):

"Congratulations to CLAUDIA GRANT (see actresses) who is shooting An Adventure in Space and Time, her first TV job since graduating in the summer.  The 90 minuter written by Mark Gatiss for the BBC tells the story of the genesis of Doctor Who. Claudia is filming the role of actress Carol Ann Ford who played the first Doctor’s granddaughter."

DWO are expecting more casting confirmations shortly, including Jamie Glover as William Russell.

[Sources: Jessica Carney Associates]

The second instalment in a sensational series of stories celebrating the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who is written by Michael Scott, best-selling author of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel.

Speaking to DWO on the @DrWhoOnline Twitter account, Scott (@FlamelAuthor), had the following to say on his upcoming title:

"I was thrilled to be asked. Dr's one of the reasons I ultimately became a writer! And I started with Patrick Troughton too."

Synopsis:

When Jamie McCrimmon brings the Second Doctor a mysterious book, little does he realise the danger contained within its pages. 

The book transports the TARDIS to a terrifying glass city on a distant world, where the Archons are intent on getting revenge on the Time Lord for an ancient grudge.

Eleven Doctors, eleven months, eleven stories: a year-long celebration of Doctor Who! The most exciting names in children's fiction each create their own unique adventure about the time-travelling Time Lord.

+  The Nameless City is released on 23rd February 2013, Priced £1.99.

+  Preorder this eBook from iTunes for £1.99.

+  Preorder this eBook on Amazon for £1.99.

[Source: Puffin Books]

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...

Day Thirty-Six: A Desperate Venture (The Sensorites, Episode Six)

Dear diary;

It's nice to have Barbara back, but this is the first time that one of the regular cast's absences hasn't really worked. In The Keys of Marinus, it didn't feel strange that the Doctor was missing, because the rest of the characters were busy moving from place-to-place anyway. In The Aztecs, Susan gets a few brief scenes in every episode anyway, even if she is separated from the rest of the group.

Here, we see Babs returned as a part of the plot - she's reading the letter Carol was forced to write - and it just feels wrong. The rest of the cast have been down on the Sense Sphere for two-and-a-half episodes, so Barbara feels out of place here. It's even more jarring to have her taking part in the story, which has shifted considerably since we last saw her.

As for the rest of the story; it's been rather good. The story changes route again, as much of the action is set down in the aqueduct, moving us away from the Sensorite city, where things have started getting desperate. When the (former) City Administrator starts making people write letters to explain their absences, it all starts to get a bit too much.

It's a shame, having seen him plotting and scheming for so long, that the entire subplot about his character is swatted away so simply at the end with a very basic 'The map proves his treachery. We'll sort him out'. I was hoping for a grander denouement.

It's something which has become something of a theme with these longer stories - both The Daleks and Marco Polo stretched on for a long time, but the final episode had me wanting more. It always feels as though five episodes are sent setting things up, and then 25 minutes at the end isn't enough to pay it all off. A shame.

Meanwhile, with the Doctor and Ian, I really enjoyed the stuff about the survivors of the previous visit to the Sphere. I'd (sort of) pieced together what was happening in the Aqueduct, so it's nice to see that coming to fruition. What did surprise me, considering my complaints earlier in the story about how obvious the script was (the whole water instance, for example…) is how well it all ties together.

We're told early on that the previous spaceship had blown up when it tried to take off and that they suspected the other humans had stowed away on board. Here, we find that they'd been hiding down in the Aqueduct, and the destruction of the ship was their doing.

The warfare angle is an interesting one, and again, it all ties in to the way we've seen the Sensorite's mind-reading powers affecting John early on in the story. The captain of the little group is particularly fun, and it's a bit of a shame that we only get him for the one episode.

On the whole… The Sensorites is nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be.

There are times - Episode Four, to be precise! - where I thought the reputation this story has gathered over the years was going to turn out to be entirely accurate, but then it manages to swing itself round quite well during the second half.

There's enough variation in the story to keep things interesting. The first two episodes are heavily focussed on the spaceship, before shifting to the city for episodes three, four, and five, and then to the Aqueduct for the final part. The dialogue is possibly the story's biggest failing, but even that improves as time goes on.

One thing, though… What was the 'monster'? Was it just the rebel group of humans trying to keep the Sensorites out of the Aqueduct? Why did they batter up the Doctor's coat if they'd been waiting for a 'human' as a sign that the war was over? That was a bit of a letdown…

Next Episode: A Land of Fear

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Peter Gilmore.

Peter was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for appearing in the Classic Series adventure Frontios as Brazen.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Peter's family and friends.

UPDATE: Wednesday 6th February 2013

There are some reports online that Peter's death was a hoax, but DWO have contacted Equity and Peter's agent (Roger Carey Associates), who both sadly re-confirmed the news that he passed away on Sunday 3rd February.

[Sources: Alan Pulverton; Equity; Roger Carey Associates]

Matt Smith and Benedict Cumberbatch are up against each other to win Best Actor in this year’s Virgin Media Awards!

At the moment Benedict Cumberbatch has edged ahead with 36% of the votes, and we're calling on all fellow Doctor Who fans to cast your vote to help Matt win!

To cast your vote, simply visit the following link: http://www.virginmedia.com/tvradio/awards/best-actor.php

Voting closes on Sunday the 10th February so there’s still time for fans to get their votes in and even tweet their support (to @VMDotCom)! The winners will be announced on 13th February on virginmedia.com.

[Source: GolinHarris]