Sophie Aldred - The Doctor's Companion Ace, takes a candid look back at her time in Doctor Who, in Issue 445 of Doctor Who Magazine.

"We never thought, at the time, how far-reaching our episodes would be – especially now, with this rebirth of the series, people discovering our episodes for the first time. It would be interesting to see what Amy Pond thought of Ace..."

ALSO THIS ISSUE:

DOCTOR DOWN UNDER

Executive producer CAROLINE SKINNER tells DWM about her recent trip Down Under for the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular and her reaction on reading the script for Episode 1 of the new series in her first ever PRODUCTION NOTES!

KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY

DWM catches up with the scourge of the Silents, CIA agent Canton Everett Delaware III – aka actors MARK SHEPPARD and his father, MORGAN SHEPPARD –and finds out about making it as an actor, and whether Canton could return...

IT'S THE KEY THING!

DWM celebrates 1978/9's KEY TO TIME Season – six linked adventures which introduced the Time Lady Romana and featured Douglas Adams' first script for Doctor Who – as COUNTDOWN TO 50 continues.

THE FALL OF THE GODS?

With the Doctor at the mercy of the mighty Zeus, and with Rory and Amy facing a titanic foe in Ancient Athens, what can humble philosopher Socrates do to save the day? Find out in the final world-changing episode of the latest comic strip, THE CHAINS OF OLYMPUS, written by SCOTT GRAY with art by MIKE COLLINS.

THE LAST VOORD!

Get ready for adventures within adventures, as the First Doctor and his companions brave screaming jungles, snows of terror and seas of acid! Discover a wealth of fascinating new info as THE FACT OF FICTION scrutinises the 1964 story, THE KEYS OF MARINUS!

CHANGING HISTORY FOR THE BETTER...?

Doctor Who fans are spoilt with the care and attention that is lavished on the DVD releases. But as well as being lovingly restored, should the stories be improved, correcting technical 'errors' of the past? Sparring partners TONY HADOKE and JOHNNY CANDON argue whether rewriting history is ever justified in A BATTLE OF WITS!

CHAOS IN THE CLASSROOM!

THE TIME TEAM go back to school with the Tenth Doctor and Rose, and are reacquainted with two dear, old friends – Sarah Jane Smith and K9. Join Chris, Emma, Will and Michael on the sofa, and see what they make of 2006's SCHOOL REUNION...

OFF THE RECORD!

The Watcher challenges readers with The Six Faces of Delusion, celebrates another Supporting Artist of the Month and continues A History of Doctor Who in 100 objects with a look at the extraordinary 1980s single Doctor in Distress, in WOTCHA!

PLUS! All the latest official news, TV and merchandise reviews, previews, competitions, a prize-winning crossword and much, much more!

+  Doctor Who Magazine Issue #445 is out on Thursday 8th March 2012, priced £4.50.

+  SUBSCRIBE and get 12 x Issues, 1 x Special and Worldwide Shipping for £85 via CompareTheDalek.com!

[Source: Doctor Who Magazine]

The 3rd Doctor adventure, Death to the Daleks, is to be released on DVD this June.

The Tardis loses all power and crash lands on the planet Exxilon. The Doctor sets off for assistance but is captured by two natives. Sarah also leaves the Tardis and is taken by the hostile natives to their temple. The Doctor is rescued by an expedition from Earth who also crashed after losing power. They are on Exxion to mine the chemical parrinium needed to fight a deadly space plague.

Another craft crash lands nearby the expeditions makeshift HQ. It contains daleks whose weapons are also powerless. A truce is reached between the group when the hostile Exxilons take them all hostage. The Doctor saves Sarah from sacrifice but then both are sentenced to execution by a creature called a rute. The daleks are use machine guns as replacement weapons to take over.

The daleks get the humans to act as supervisors to the slave force of Exxilons to mine the parrinium and horde it so the humans have no cure for the plague. Bellal, the Doctor and Sarah's new Exxilon ally leads them to the sentient city, the reason for the massive power drain. 

The Doctor and Bellal must make it through the maze of traps within the city and stop it draining power so the Tardis can and the humans can leave. However the daleks are in pursuit so they can leave and the humans must stop them taking all the parrinium. 

Further details to be released soon...

+  Death to the Daleks is released on 18th June 2012, priced £20.42.

+  Compare Prices for this product on CompareTheDalek.com.

[Source: BBC Worldwide Consumer Products]

The Collectable Art Company has been officially licensed by BBC Worldwide to publish a series of Limited Edition Fine Art prints of Original Doctor Who Costume Designs.

Pat Godfrey’s final design drawing for The Sixth Doctor's distinctive, multi-coloured outfit will launch the series. In 1984 Doctor Who Producer John Nathan-Turner took the bold decision to make The Doctor’s Sixth incarnation’s dress sense ‘Totally tasteless’. The resulting costume was loved and hated by the fans of the series in equal measure!

Limited to 1500 high quality prints, each A2 size reproduction is individually numbered and will be autographed by costume designer Pat Godfrey and The Sixth Doctor himself, Colin Baker.

It is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a special 28-page 'Script to Screen' booklet, which describes the making of The Sixth Doctor's iconic costume and includes an introduction by Colin Baker and an interview with Pat Godfrey.

Grahame Flynn, Managing Director of The Collectable Art Company said:

“We are delighted to have secured the rights to reproduce costume designs from this flagship BBC series. We are committed to bringing world-class, museum quality reproductions of the production designs to collectors. The range will expand to include the images from the classic and new series.”

+  The Sixth Doctor print is available for Preorder now from www.thecollectableartcompany.com, and will be formally on sale from 1st March.

[Source: The Collectable Art Company Ltd]

The very first episode of The Eighth Doctor Adventures, starring Paul McGann as the Doctor and Sheridan Smith as Lucie Miller, will be available to download for free from Friday 17th February-Sunday 19th February only at www.bigfinish.com.

Blood of the Daleks – Part 1 pits The Eighth Doctor against his oldest enemies and also stars Hayley Atwell (Captain America), Anita Dobson (EastEnders) and Kenneth Cranham (Rome, Hot Fuzz).

The giveaway leads into a massive sale of The Eighth Doctor Adventures on CD and download, as follows:

20th February – all eight releases of Season One are available for just £35 (US $60), or £5 each (US $9).

21st February – all eight releases of Season Two are available for just £35 (US $60), or £5 each (US $9).

22nd February – all eight releases of Season Three are available for just £35 (US $60), or £5 each (US $9).

24th February – all ten releases of Season Four are available for just £40 (US $75), or £5 each (US $9).

+  Each season is available on sale for just one day only, and only at www.bigfinish.com.

[Source: Big Finish]

It had to happen eventually...Doctor Who and Star Trek are to be (unofficially) officially crossed over in a special Comic series from IDW.

Assimilation2 will feature the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation and The 11th Doctor, Amy and Rory. Further info reveals it will be an eight-part series featuring the Borg and The Cybermen as some of the main villains.

Scott and David Tipton, in collaboration with Tony Lee, have writtern the comic, the artwork is provided by JK Woodward and the cover is by both Woodward and David Messina.

Our friends over at Bleeding Cool have run the following story regarding the news:

Bleeding Cool has squirrelled out news of an upcoming crossover that might send certain minds reeling. That in May, IDW are to publish a Doctor Who/Star Trek: The Next Generation crossover series. Featuring The Doctor, Rory, Amy, Captain Picard, Worf, Data, Geordie LaForge, Deanna Troy, Will Riker and the rest. And that this art, featuring the Doctor, Rory and Amy on the bridge of the Enterprise is a cover that will be used in the series.

Doctor Who has never engaged in any such officially sanctioned crossover outside of the Doctor Who universe before. The closest was Dimensions In Time, a much derided charity telethon show which featured characters from the BBC soap opera Eastenders. Then there was Death’s Head who kinda popped in and out. Star Trek has also seen comic book crossovers with X-Men and the Legion Of Superheroes. But this is the first time that two such major competing TV sci-fi franchises have been allowed to merge in any way before.

[Source: Bleeding Cool]

Doctor Who DVD Producer, 2|entertain have been in touch to let us know they have now integrated with BBC Worldwide - and changed their name.

The company will now be known as BBC Worldwide Consumer Products (a bit of a mouthful, we know), but we are informed the changes shouldn't affect the Doctor Who DVD range too much. Below are the full details we have received:

We wanted to let you know that we've recently changed the name of our DVD business and we're no longer going to be calling ourselves 2|entertain. This is all part of the full integration with BBC Worldwide and we're now part of a division called Consumer Products which brings together all our DVDs, our download business and also all the licensed product that you see on brands like Doctor Who.

You will start to see different labelling on product and from the Spring, the 2|entertain label will disappear from Doctor Who DVDs. The reverse sleeve will remain as it is now with the old 'BBC' logo so you can match each release with your collection. You will also see our press information come labelled 'BBC Worldwide' instead of '2|entertain'.

Doctor Who remains, as ever, an incredibly important property to us and we'll be continuing to bring you a extensive range of great quality Classic Doctor Who DVDs. The name change will not affect the quality of the restoration or the extras which we're excited to be able to bring to fans on DVD throughout the year. 

[Source: BBC Worldwide Consumer Products]

106 episodes from the black-and-white years of Doctor Who are missing from the BBC's Archives; the original tapes long since wiped. However, film copies were made and sold all over the world in the 1960s and 70s. Where did these episodes go – and, more importantly, could they still exist somewhere today? DWM 444 presents the ultimate guide to which episodes were sold, where and when – and the chances of their survival. The answers might surprise you...

ALSO THIS ISSUE:

OLD FRIENDS, NEW FACES

As work begins on the new series of Doctor Who, showrunner STEVEN MOFFAT takes DWM readers into his confidence, and looks ahead to the final fate of Amy and Rory – and just what might happen next...

SHA-DAAAA!

At last, more than 30 years since the TV production was abandoned, SHADA has been completed – thanks to BBC Books! DWM talks to author GARETH ROBERTS about the challenges of writing a novel based on Douglas Adams' lost 'Fourth Doctor' story.

RUTANS, SONTARANS AND GIANT PRAWNS

DWM goes back to the 1977 and celebrates the season which introduced K9 and attempted some of the most ambitious stories in Doctor Who's history, as COUNTDOWN TO 50! continues.

AN OLYMPIAN TASK!

The Doctor and his new Greek philosopher chum Socrates meet the Gods of Olympus, while Amy and Rory face danger in ancient Athens! Don't miss the latest thrilling instalment of the brand new comic strip, THE CHAINS OF OLYMPUS by SCOTT GRAY, with art by MIKE COLLINS.

FIRE AND ICE

Go on an ANT hunt, explore the Ice Caves and feel the Dragon's fire! With fascinating new facts and photos, THE FACT OF FICTION guides you through the 1987 Seventh Doctor story that introduced Ace – DRAGONFIRE!

IT MUST BE LOVE

If the love of your life is a Doctor Who fan, should you share their enthusiasm or leave them to it? KATHERINE HADOKE (wife of Toby) and GIGI CANDON (wife of Johnny) discuss the pros and cons as the regular DWM debaters defer to their better halves in A BATTLE OF WIVES!

AN ALIEN WEREWOLF IN SCOTLAND

The Tenth Doctor and Rose team up with Queen Victoria to battle a savage werewolf in Scotland, 1879! With their mistletoe at the ready, what will THE TIME TEAM of Emma, Chris, Will and Michael make of TOOTH AND CLAW?

ESSENTIAL READING

The mysterious Watcher remembers a landmark in Doctor Who publishing, champions another Supporting Artist of the Month and challenges readers with his Six Faces of Delusion. Don't miss the latest WOTCHA!

PLUS!

All the latest official news, reviews of TV and merchandise reviews, previews, competitions, a prize-winning crossword – and much, much more!

+  Doctor Who Magazine Issue #444 is out Today, priced £4.50.

+  SUBSCRIBE and get 12 x Issues, 1 x Special and Worldwide Shipping for £85 via CompareTheDalek.com!

[Source: Doctor Who Magazine]

Arcalian Attire have another Doctor Who-inspired Tee for sale via CafePress.

'Chesterton...Release the Nerds!!!' is a Doctor Who / Simpsons crossover that features The First Doctor and Ian Chesterton, in a classic 'Mr Burns and Smithers' pose inspired by The Simpsons.

The T-Shirt, which is available through Arcalian Attire, was designed by Dean T. Frazer, from an idea by DWO WhoCast competition winner, Alexander Edwards.

+  Order this Tee from Arcalian Attire, for just £18.50 / $24.99, here.

[Source: Arcalian Attire]

2|Entertain have sent DWO the cover and details for the Doctor Who DVD Box-set release of Ace Adventures.

Dragonfire

Featuring: The 7th Doctor

On the planet Svartos, the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and Mel unexpectedly encounter an old friend – Sabalom Glitz. Joined by Ace, a teenage waitress with a love for explosives, the group ventures off to find the fabled Dragonfire treasure. 

Special Features:

•  Commentary

•  Deleted / extended scenes

•  Trivia subtitles

•  Video & audio restoration

•  Coming Soon Trailer

•  Radio Times Billings (PDF)

•  Making-of documentary

•  Photo gallery

•  Danny Bang - documentary

•  The Doctor's Strange Love - documentary

The Happiness Patrol

Featuring: The 7th Doctor

On the planet Terra Alpha, the population constantly displays happy smiles. Anyone feeling remotely glum disappears. Quickly. Having heard disturbing rumours, the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and Ace arrive to topple the entire regime.

Special Features:

•  Commentary

•  "Ace" wishes Blue Peter Happy Birthday (archive clip)

•  Isolated score

•  Deleted / extended scenes

•  Trivia subtitles

•  Video & audio restoration

•  Coming Soon Trailer

•  Radio Times Billings (PDF)

•  Making-of documentary

•  Photo gallery

•  Politics In Doctor Who - documentary

+  Ace Adventures is released on 7th May 2012, priced £30.63.

+  Compare Prices for this product on CompareTheDalek.com.

[Source: 2|Entertain]

2|Entertain have sent DWO the cover and details for the Doctor Who DVD release of Nightmare of Eden.

Nightmare of Eden

Featuring: The 4th Doctor

Two spacecraft fuse in a hyperspace collision, and with the dimensional instabilities threatening everyone aboard, it’s fortunate the Doctor (Tom Baker), Romana (Lalla Ward) and K-9 arrive to help.

But when a crewmember is found clawed by a ferocious creature, it seems there’s something even more frightening stalking the corridors. But what can this have to do with a zoologist, Professor Tryst, his CET projection machine, and a planet called Eden?

Special Features:

•  Commentary with actors Lalla Ward (Romana) and Peter Craze (Costa), writer Bob Baker, effects designer Colin Mapson and make-up designer Joan Stribling. Moderated by Toby Hadoke 

•  The Nightmare of Television Centre - A look back at a somewhat troubled production with three of the behind-the-scenes crew who worked on it 

•  Going Solo - Writer Bob Baker talks about The Nightmare of Eden 

•  The Doctor’s Strange Love with comedian Josie Long and writers Joe Lidster and Simon Guerrier 

•  Ask Aspel - LallaWard’s appearance on the popular BBC children’s show 

•  Radio Times Listings (DVD-ROM) 

•  Programme Subtitles 

•  Production Information Subtitles 

•  Photo Gallery

•  Coming Soon Trailer 

•  Digitally Remastered Picture And Sound Quality

+  Nightmare of Eden is released on 2nd April 2012, priced £20.42.

+  Compare Prices for this product on CompareTheDalek.com.

[Source: 2|Entertain]

Forbidden Planet have teamed up with Character Options for another Exclusive Doctor Who Toy.

The Seeds of Doom Set features The 4th Doctor and a Krynoid (as seen in the Classic Series adventure The Seeds of Doom).

Two alien seed pods are found buried in the Antarctic permafrost. The Fourth Doctor, accompanied by Sarah-Jane Smith, realises that they are from a Krynoid, a form of voracious plant life that infects and transforms all animal life on planets upon which it becomes established.

One of the pods opens and infects a scientist at an Antarctic base but the developing Krynoid is destroyed by a bomb set to cover the tracks of two men, Scorby and Keeler, who have made off with the other pod for their boss, eccentric plant collector Harrison Chase.

The second pod infects Keeler and he also becomes a Krynoid, rapidly growing to giant proportions. UNIT are called in, and they arrange for the Krynoid to be bombed before it can spread its pods across the Earth.

Contents:

1 x Fourth Doctor action figure

1 x Krynoid action figure

1 x Cutlass accessory

1 x Open Seed Pod accessory

1 x Closed Seed Pod accessory

+  The Seeds of Doom is released on 25th March 2012, priced £24.99.

+  Preorder this product from Forbidden Planet!

[Source: Forbidden Planet]

BBC Worldwide have sent DWO a brand new trailer and accompanying promo text for the forthcoming Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock computer game.

BBC Worldwide are  pleased to announce that our console game Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock will launch globally, initially on PS3 and PS Vita via the PlayStation Network in March 2012 with a PC version due shortly after.

This is our first game-play trailer that showcases the monsters in the game. Players will be up against the most feared monsters from the Doctor Who Universe – the Cybermen, Daleks, Silurians and The Silence. Also attached here is the key art for the game.

In the game players will be able to take control of both the Doctor and River Song to unravel the mystery of The Eternity Clock in March 2012. The clock is ticking...

[Source: BBC Worldwide]

BBC Books have sent DWO the cover & details for the July release of Dark Horizons by Jenny Colgan.

Dark Horizons

Written by: J.T. Colgan

On a windswept Northern shore, at the very tip of what will one day become Scotland, the islanders believe the worst they have to fear is a Viking attack. Then the burning comes. They cannot run from it. Water will not stop it. It consumes everything in its path - yet the burned still speak. 

The Doctor is just looking for a game on the famous Lewis chess set. Instead he encounters a people under attack from a power they cannot possibly understand. They have no weapons, no strategy and no protection against a fire sent to engulf them all.

Add in some marauding Vikings with very bad timing, a kidnapped princess with a secret of her own and a TARDIS that seems to have developed an inexplicable fear of water, and they all have a battle on their hands. The islanders must take on a ruthless alien force in a world without technology; without communications; without tea that isn't made out of bark. Still at least they have the Doctor on their side... Don't they? 

A thrilling new adventure starring the Doctor, as played by Matt Smith.

+  Dark Horizons is released on 7th July 2012, priced £12.99 (HB).

+  Compare Prices for this product on CompareTheDalek.com!

[Source: BBC Books]

Playstation Official News UK has included Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock in their '12 for 2012: PS3 Games to watch out for' feature:

As the longest-running science fiction TV show in the world, Doctor Who will materialise this year on PlayStation 3 in a thrilling adventure game. Featuring a mysterious being known as the Doctor, hostile aliens, Earth-shattering plots and time travel, who wouldn't want to play a Doctor Who game?

Take control of the Timelord and his feisty companion River Song on a journey through space and time where your actions in one era can influence events in another...

The Eternity Clock's Official Twitter account also released 3 new promo images today, which you can view below:

[Sources: BBC Worldwide; Playstation Official News]

Forbidden Planet have teamed up with Character Options for another Exclusive Doctor Who Toy.

The Remembrance of the Daleks Set features Davros (as Dalek Emperor) and a Destroyed Imperial Dalek (as seen in the Classic Series adventure Remembrance of the Daleks).

The TARDIS arrives in London in November 1963, where the Seventh Doctor and Ace discover that two rival factions of Daleks - one loyal to the Dalek Emperor and one to the Dalek Supreme - are seeking the Hand of Omega, a powerful Time Lord device that the first Doctor hid there during an earlier sojourn on Earth.

The Daleks are focusing their search around Coal Hill School - the school that the Doctor's grand-daughter Susan attended - while a human military unit led by Group Captain Gilmore is attempting to resist their incursions. The Imperial Daleks eventually capture the device.

The Dalek Emperor is revealed to be Davros, now with only the last vestiges of his humanoid form remaining. The Doctor begs him not to use the Hand but is ignored. However, this is just the final ruse in a complex trap laid by the Doctor.

The Hand of Omega utterly destroys the Dalek home planet, Skaro, and then returns to destroy their forces orbiting Earth.

Contents:

1 x Dalek Emperor Davros action figure.

1 x Destroyed Imperial Dalek action figure.

+  The Remembrance of the Daleks Set is released on 9th March 2012, priced £29.99.

+  Preorder this product from Forbidden Planet!

[Source: Forbidden Planet]