DWO interviews Ex-Doctor Who DVD Commissioning Editor, Dan Hall, regarding his time on the range, his current projects, and what the future could hold for the Classic Series range.

What have been some of your fondest memories in your time working on the Doctor Who DVD range?

Having the opportunity to work with some great people. Two of my bosses - Sue Kerr and Stuart Snaith - are people who I respect highly in the Home Entertainment publishing world. I learnt a huge amount from them over the years, and they were always highly supportive of the content.

Do you have any regrets, any tears any anxieties from your time on the range?

Ah! I would have liked to have taken more risks. It is impossible to please everybody, and I should have spent less time trying to do this.

What have you been up to since the last release and do you have any non-Doctor Who future projects we can look out for?

It’s been a real mixture of things since Doctor Who. Probably the biggest was working with PWL and Cherry Red records on the recent four Kylie Minogue Special Editions. Pup worked with the record company restoring the content, designing and authoring the DVDs. It was a great project and my teenage self would have been very proud!

We gave over control of the next question to the @DrWhoOnline Twitter followers and Francis (@lifetrainee) asks: “I'm a producer with an unlimited budget ready to go*. What would be your dream extra for any of the classic stories? *[I'm not]”

An unlimited budget is never a good thing! Limitations feed creativity, and certainly some of the best content we made for the range was by no means the most expensive. Where money can help is by providing consistency of content; a regular schedule of commissions and releases.

But if I had had a wee bit more money on some of the releases, I would have liked an Ed Stradling season overview for every single season. The few we had were always insightful and fascinating.

What do you feel the future is for the Classic Series Doctor Who range? Physical / Digital? Season Box-sets? Or has it had its day?

Classic DW has a terrible habit of not going away! It was broadcast and people wanted more. It was broadcast again and they wanted more. Then it came on VHS and they wanted more. Then DVD… So I would be a pretty bad gambler if I said it had had its day.

I am working in other parts of the industry these days and don’t have much to do with Classic DW. But I have genuine confidence that the BBC and BBC Worldwide will take the brand somewhere exciting. Why wouldn’t they?! As for what that is, that is a much wider Home Entertainment question. And if you find the answer, there are a lot of studios in Hollywood that I’m sure would like to speak with you!

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[Source: DWO]

Lost episodes of Second Doctor adventure The Ice Warriors are being animated for DVD release, doctorwho.tv has confirmed.

Animation studio Qurios have been commissioned to recreate the missing episodes two and three, which see Ice Warrior leader Varga revive, kidnap Victoria and defrost his glacier-bound army.

“We’ve been discussing the various ways Qurios could reconstruct these episodes for over three years” said Dan Hall, Managing Director of Pup Ltd Media Consultancy, producer of the DVD. “So it’s really, really satisfying to finally see them animated. Qurios have a great track record in excellent and innovative animations”.

When asked about using a different animation studio to previous releases, Hall replied:

“Doctor Who has had many different visual styles thanks to changing directors, designers and production methods. We wanted to mirror this in our choice of animation partners”.

Qurios Entertainment’s previous work includes visual effects for sci-fi sitcom Hyperdrive, puppet comedy Mongrels and titles for Doctor Who DVD extra series Who Peter. Veteran producer of the classic Who range, Chris Chapman has overseen the animation, Niel Bushnell is the producer for Qurios and the animation director is Chris Chatterton.

See an exclusive “work in progress” clip, below, where the Doctor tries to convince Leader Clent that temperamental humans - even the recently fired scientist Penley - are still far better than machines:

+  The Ice Warriors will be released on DVD on 26th August 2013, priced £20.42.

[Source: doctorwho.tv]

The First Doctor’s final adventure The Tenth Planet is to have its lost fourth episode animated for DVD release, the BBC's official doctorwho.tv site has confirmed.

Teased yesterday at the Gallifrey One convention by Dan Hall, commissioning editor of the classic Doctor Who DVD range, The Tenth Planet sees both the introduction of the menacing, dead-eyed Cybermen, and the departure of The First Doctor, William Hartnell. The final episode has been missing from the BBC Archives since the mid-1970s, and will be reconstructed using the same Thetamation process used to recreate The Reign of Terror episodes 4 and 5.

Dan Hall said:

"It’s a real thrill to be bringing such an iconic Doctor Who episode back to life. Without the events established in The Tenth Planet episode 4, there would be no Doctor Who as we know it!"

The release date is currently scheduled for Late 2013.

View a clip of Episode One, below:

[Source: doctorwho.tv]

2|Entertain have confirmed via their @classicdw Twitter feed, that the missing episodes for the upcoming The Reign of Terror DVD release will be animated.

The news will be hugely welcomed from fans who have petitioned and indeed championed for further animated, missing episodes, since the popular release of The Invasion DVD in 2006. Big Finish's Thetamation have been confirmed as the animation parters.

2|Entertain's Commissioning Editor, Dan Hall, also uploaded an early test graphic [pictured right], representing how the animation will look.

It is yet to be confirmed whether any more missing episodes will be animated for other forthcoming releases.

+  Post 2|Entertain's Commissioning Editor, Dan Hall, a question in the DWO Forums.

+ Find all your favourite Doctor Who titles today at LOVEFiLM. LOVEFiLM is the home of home dvd rental and streaming movies. Sign up today and recieve a 2 week free trial.

[Source: 2|Entertain]

DWO can exclusively reveal that The 6th Doctor adventure; Vengeance on Varos will be released on DVD in 2012.

2|Entertain Classic Doctor Who Commissioning Editor, Dan Hall spoke to DWO regarding the release and had the following to say:

"We have been surprised and delighted by the fan campaigns that have championed for a Special Edition release of Vengeance on Varos, and due to the good old fashioned display of fan power that Doctor Who is famous for, 2|Entertain have listened and can confirm a fast commission for the release in 2012."

The Vengeance on Varos Special Edition DVD was originally slated to be part of the Revisitations 2 box-set, but was later replaced in favour of The Seeds of Death. 2|Entertain have kindly supplied us with a draft copy of the original proposed box-art that would have included the story (pictured).

Earlier today, 2|Entertain also confirmed the Late 2012 release of The 1st Doctor adventure; The Reign of Terror via their Twitter feed.

[Source: 2|Entertain]

BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, have launched a Classic Doctor Who Channel on YouTube.

The new channel, featuring a mixture of classic clips and exclusive previews from forthcoming Doctor Who DVD releases, will appeal to existing fans and give new viewers an opportunity to sample some classic Doctor Who.  The channel will complement the Classic Doctor Who Twitter account @classicdw run by 2|Entertain. 

Jo Warren, Head of UK & Ireland Sales says ‘We’re really looking forward to giving Classic Doctor Who its own home on YouTube.  It will be a great space for fans to discuss Classic Who - we’re launching with some fantastic clips and we’ll be regularly adding to the collection!’

Classic Doctor Who Brand Manager Dan Hall comments, “I’m delighted to join forces with our digital team and YouTube.  This is an exciting, new way to deliver content for our net-hungry market.”

Classic Doctor Who will launch on YouTube with over 45 clips dating from the first episode, along with new Meglos clips and an exclusive clip previewing the new Doctor Who Meglos DVD boxset which will be released by 2Entertain on 10th January.  Meglos stars Tom Baker and was originally broadcast in 1980.

Compare Prices for the Meglos DVD on CompareTheDalek.com.

[Source: BBC Worldwide]