Doctor Who News, Articles, Cast and Crew Interviews

[Alan]

The Lie Of The Land - Introductions
Friday, 02 June, 2017 - Reported by Marcus

_{http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2017/06...oductions.html}

Peter Capaldi & Pearl Mackie Introduce The Lie Of The Land (via YouTube)
Steven Moffat Introduces The Lie Of The Land (via YouTube)

This week BBC One will show Doctor Who at 7.35pm.

Main Broadcast Details
United Kingdom	BBC One	Sat 3 Jun 2017	7:35pm BST
Middle East	BBC First	Sat 3 Jun 2017	10.20pm AST	(Sat 7:45pm BST)
United States of America	BBC America	Sat 3 Jun 2017	9:00pm EDT	(Sun 2:00am BST)
Canada	SPACE	Sat 3 Jun 2017	9:00pm EDT	(Sun 2:00am BST)
New Zealand	PRIME	Sun 4 Jun 2017	7:30pm NZST	(Sun 8:30am BST)
Finland	YLE2	Sun 4 Jun 2017	12:25am EEST	(Sun 10:25am BST)
Australia	ABC	Sun 4 Jun 2017	7:40pm AEST	(Sun 10:40am BST, also on ABC ME)
Brazil	SyFy	Sun 4 Jun 2017	8:00pm BRT	(Mon 12:00qm BST)
Latin America	SyFy	Sun 4 Jun 2017	10:00pm CDT	(Mon 4:00am BST)

Full listings here

[Alan]

Patrick Ness Calls Time on Class
Sunday, 04 June, 2017 - Reported by Marcus
http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2017/06...-on-class.html

Patrick Ness writer and creator of the Doctor Who Spin-off Class, has confirmed he will not be writing any more episodes of the series.

The BBC has not officially commented on the future of the series, which was released on the BBC Three online channel last Autumn and shown on BBC America in the last couple of months. However, with the series creator now withdrawing from the drama it looks increasingly unlikely that a second series will be made.

Ness confirmed his withdrawal from any new series on Twitter saying

I decided a while back that, with unbelievable regret, I won't be writing anymore Class, even if a season 2 moves ahead. It has been the MOST amazing experience. I loved it, and I am so proud of the show and what we made. My heart just bursts with happy.

But we should be filming right now. With the new cycles of Who, we'd pretty much need to be to be on the air before even 2019. But we're not. And that's just TV and how it goes! Not even the littlest bit bitter.

What an amazing experience. Huge thank yous to BBC Three and BBC America for their love and enthusiasm for Class. BBC America in particular absolutely loves the show.

Class was created to appeal to the young adult market and initially released in the UK on an online platform. The project was part of the BBC's initiative to serve young adult consumers by focusing on online content, a decision that led to the closure of the BBC Three Broadcast channel.

It was hoped that high-quality original content would drive young viewers to the online station, which has struggled to make an impact in the market. However, the decision meant that Class was initially only seen by a fraction of the audience it would have received on a broadcast channel.

The series was later screened on BBC One, but as a late night double bill, where it struggled to find an audience, getting viewing figures around a third of the timeslot average.

Ness, on his Twitter feed, said he was baffled by the scheduling decisions of BBC1, given the show had been a critically-acclaimed show, but reiterated he was grateful for the chance to make it. He talked about some of his plans for Series Two, which will not now be realised.

If I had got a 2nd season, Weeping Angel civil war & Planet, Quill has a dangerous son, Charlie & Matteusz shirtless wood chopping. So, yeah, I'm really sad, saddest in my whole career, but it's the right choice.

Ness also paid tribute to the fans of the series and the cast

What a lucky man I've been to have been able to make a show I'm so proud of and work with wonderful people. Never even dreamed it. So thank you to everyone who watched and loved it and argued about it and watched it again. You made my heart swell. And I think, truly, that my cast are going to be smashing it for years to come. Pxxxx

[Alan]

Peter Sallis 1921-2017
Monday, 05 June, 2017 - Reported by Marcus

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2017/06...1921-2017.html

The actor Peter Sallis has died at the age of 96.

Peter Sallis was best known for playing Norman Clegg in the long-running BBC Sitcom Last of the Summer Wine, a part he played from the series debut in 1973 until the final story in 2010, appearing in every one of the 295 episodes. In later life, he was famous as the voice of Wallace, the eccentric inventor in the Aardman Animations series of films.

Sallis appeared in the 1967 Doctor Who story The Ice Warriors, playing Penley, the rebel scientist who helped the Second Doctor defeat the Martian menace. He was due to return to the series in 1983 to play Striker in the fifth Doctor story Enlightenment but when industrial action delayed filming he was no longer available and Keith Barron took the role.

Peter Sallis was born on 1 February 1921 in Twickenham, Middlesex, England. After attending Minchenden Grammar School in North London, Sallis went to work in a bank. After the outbreak of World War II he joined the RAF. He failed to get into aircrew because he had a serum albumin disorder and he was told he might black out at high altitudes. He became a wireless mechanic instead and went on to teach radio procedures at RAF Cranwell.

Sallis started as an amateur actor during his four years with the RAF when one of his students offered him the lead in an amateur production. His success in the role caused him to resolve to become an actor after the war, and so he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, making his first professional appearance on the London stage in 1946.

He appeared in many British films in the 1950's and 60's such as Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Doctor in Love, The Curse of the Werewolf, The V.I.P.s, Charlie Bubbles, Scream and Scream Again, Taste the Blood of Dracula, Wuthering Heights, The Incredible Sarah and The Day of the Triffids.

His first notable television role was as Samuel Pepys in the 14 part BBC serial of the same name in 1958. Other roles followed including an episode of The Persuaders and the BBC comedy series The Culture Vultures

In 1973 Sallis was cast in a one-off pilot for Comedy Playhouse entitled The Last of the Summer Wine, as the unobtrusive lover of a quiet life, Norman Clegg. The pilot was successful and the BBC commissioned a series, and it became the world's longest running comedy series, and the role he was best known for.

In the 1980's he started to get a reputation for voice work and in 1989 he first voiced the character of Wallace in the short film A Grand Day Out. The film won a BAFTA award and was followed by the Oscar-winning films The Wrong Trousers in 1993 and A Close Shave in 1995.

Sallis was awarded the OBE in the 2007 Birthday Honours for services to Drama

Sallis died peacefully, with his family by his side, at the Denville Hall nursing home in Northwood, London, on 2 June 2017. He is survived by his son Crispian and two grandchildren.

[BruTak]

I've always been a big fan of "Last of the Summer Wine", ever since I was a kid. It was one of the few TV programmes I liked that my mum didn't object to - she didn't like me watching "Doctor Who" because she thought it was to scary for me (which it was, a little bit.
Occasionally).

But the misadventures of Compo, Foggy, and Clegg? The three old lads pratting about, getting into scrapes, and generally behaving like overgrown kids? That, ladies an' germs, is yer actual Comedy Gold.

So then, a very respectful RIP to Peter Sallis and to his alter ego - Norman Clegg.
Cheerio, Norm, and when you see Compo, and Foggy, and all the rest of the gang, you be sure and tell them, we still love them, and we still miss them.

[Alan]

The Empress Of Mars - Publicity Pictures
Tuesday, 06 June, 2017 - Reported by Marcus

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2017/06...-pictures.html

The BBC have released a number of new publicity images to promote this week's episode of Doctor Who, The Empress Of Mars

The Empress Of Mars

Writer: Mark Gatiss
Director: Wayne Che Yip

The Doctor, Bill and Nardole arrive on Mars, and find themselves in an impossible conflict between Ice Warriors… and Victorian soldiers. As the Martian hive awakens around them, the Doctor faces a unique dilemma - this time the humans, not the Ice Warriors are the invaders. When Earth is invading Mars, whose side is he on?

Empress Of Mars - Next Time Trailer

This week BBC One will show Doctor Who at 7.15pm.

Main Broadcast Details
United Kingdom	BBC One	Sat 10 Jun 2017	7:15pm BST
Middle East	BBC First	Sat 10 Jun 2017	10.20pm AST	(Sat 7:45pm BST)
United States of America	BBC America	Sat 10 Jun 2017	9:00pm EDT	(Sun 2:00am BST)
Canada	SPACE	Sat 10 Jun 2017	9:00pm EDT	(Sun 2:00am BST)
New Zealand	PRIME	Sun 11 Jun 2017	7:30pm NZST	(Sun 8:30am BST)
Finland	YLE2	Sun 11 Jun 2017	12:05pm EEST	(Sun 10:05am BST)
Australia	ABC	Sun 11 Jun 2017	7:40pm AEST	(Sun 10:40am BST, also on ABC ME)
Brazil	SyFy	Sun 11 Jun 2017	8:00pm BRT	(Mon 12:00qm BST)
Latin America	SyFy	Sun 11 Jun 2017	10:00pm CDT	(Mon 4:00am BST)

Full listings here

[Alan]

The Empress Of Mars - Introduction
Saturday, 10 June, 2017 - Reported by Marcus

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2017/06...roduction.html

Mark Gatiss Introduces Empress of Mars - Doctor Who: Series 10 (via YouTube)
The Ice Warriors On Mars! (via YouTube)
The Tomb Of An Ice Queen - Empress Of Mars (via YouTube)

This week BBC One will show Doctor Who at 7.15pm.

Main Broadcast Details
United Kingdom	BBC One	Sat 10 Jun 2017	7:15pm BST
Middle East	BBC First	Sat 10 Jun 2017	09.20pm AST	(Sat 7:15pm BST)
United States of America	BBC America	Sat 10 Jun 2017	9:00pm EDT	(Sun 2:00am BST)
Canada	SPACE	Sat 10 Jun 2017	9:00pm EDT	(Sun 2:00am BST)
New Zealand	PRIME	Sun 11 Jun 2017	7:30pm NZST	(Sun 8:30am BST)
Finland	YLE2	Sun 11 Jun 2017	12:05pm EEST	(Sun 10:05am BST)
Australia	ABC	Sun 11 Jun 2017	7:40pm AEST	(Sun 10:40am BST, also on ABC ME)
Brazil	SyFy	Sun 11 Jun 2017	8:00pm BRT	(Mon 12:00qm BST)
Latin America	SyFy	Sun 11 Jun 2017	10:00pm CDT	(Mon 4:00am BST)

Full listings here

[BruTak]

is it wrong that I find the Martian Empress to be strangely attractive?

[Flyboy]

is it wrong that I find the Martian Empress to be strangely attractive?

I would say yes... but then I always had a crush on the Borg Queen, so I can hardly talk.

[BruTak]

I would say yes... but then I always had a crush on the Borg Queen, so I can hardly talk.

Alice Krige, lovely woman. Met her at a Star Trek convention back in 2000.

[rushy]

Alice Krige, lovely woman. Met her at a Star Trek convention back in 2000.

I was a 2-year old baby back then.

[BruTak]

I was a 2-year old baby back then.

I was thirty at the time.

Which means I'm old enough to be your dad.

[rushy]

I was thirty at the time.

Which means I'm old enough to be your dad.

I can imagine you look like Bra'tac.

[BruTak]

I can imagine you look like Bra'tac.

I may live in a country with a rough climate (Scotland), but I'm not that grizzled and weatherbeaten looking. Not yet anyway.

[planet_tv]

David Tennant will apparently be voicing Scrooge McDuck in a reboot of DuckTales. In the original, Alan Young was the voice of Scrooge McDuck.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5531466/...r/rm1010905344

http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/duck...ch-1202001079/

http://www.tvguide.com/news/ducktale...ening-credits/

[DigiFluid]

Big Finish: Derek Jacobi returns as the War Master!

Peoples of the universe, please attend carefully… Sir Derek Jacobi is reprising his iconic role as the War Master for Big Finish Productions!

Today Big Finish can announce the return of Sir Derek Jacobi as the Master, ten years to the day after his first appearance in the Doctor Who episode, Utopia.

“His incarnation is very much the ‘Hannibal Lecter’ of Time Lords - intelligent, charming, but thoroughly ruthless - we had a lot of fun in studio bringing the War Master back to life,” explains producer and director Scott Handcock, “It’s been a gift of a project, and we can’t wait for listeners to hear it!”

“I didn’t expect to come back to it all these years later,” says Sir Derek, “but I was thrilled to be remembered. The plots in all these episodes have been very good indeed, very interesting, very dramatic, and beautifully written. The whole process has been a delight!”

Doctor Who: The War Master follows the exploits of the Doctor’s arch-enemy during the course of the devastating Time War, featuring four stories from acclaimed Doctor Who writers Nicholas Briggs (also script editor of the series), James Goss and Guy Adams, as well as new writing talent from Janine H Jones.

Story synopses:

Spoiler:

1. Beneath the Viscoid by Nicholas Briggs

On the ocean planet Gardezza, deep beneath the Viscoid, a mysterious capsule is recovered from the Time War, and an equally mysterious stranger found within. The Doctor’s reputation precedes him, even here… but can he be trusted?

2. The Good Master by Janine H Jones

The Time War rages around Arcking - a planet serving as a sanctuary for the sick and injured. But Arcking is protected by a mysterious, powerful force: a force the Master will stop at nothing to harness… even if time itself is against him.

3. The Sky Man by James Goss

When his new companion decides to save a planet, the Master indulges this most futile of requests. Materialising on a primitive, agrarian world, both the strangers quickly find their place in it… until fallout from the War invades their happy paradise.

4. The Heavenly Paradigm by Guy Adams

With his plans approaching fruition, the Master travels to Stamford Bridge in the 1970s: a location he believes might hold the key to his success. But what terrible secret lurks under the stairs of No. 24 Marigold Lane? And what sacrifices will the Master make in the name of ultimate victory?