Doctor Who News, Articles, Cast and Crew Interviews

[DigiFluid]

Right, I just found it odd because as far as I know Sophie has had no involvement in the novels (till now), but she has been a regular player at Big Finish for 20 years at this point. I would have expected that her Whoniverse knowledge would be more in line with her experience, than novels she's not been involved with.

[Alan]

Right, I just found it odd because as far as I know Sophie has had no involvement in the novels (till now), but she has been a regular player at Big Finish for 20 years at this point. I would have expected that her Whoniverse knowledge would be more in line with her experience, than novels she's not been involved with.

Yeah, I agree. I think she may have read some of the NA's when they first came out but her experiences of 20 years with BF must be far fresher in her memory and far more rewarding for her as an actress and for Ace's character development. I mean if I were her I'd be writing Ace's journey post-Gallifrey. Hopefully that will be the case and we'll get brief references to the friends and fellow companions that accompanied the Doctor and Ace on their travels together.

[planet_tv]

52 Superlatives for Our Favorite TV Moments of the Decade

Best one-man show: Doctor Who

Peter Capaldi never got the appreciation he deserved for his work as the Twelfth Doctor, but he did get this stunning showcase. "Heaven Sent," the penultimate episode of Doctor Who's ninth season, locked the Doctor in a custom-made prison designed to extract his secrets, forcing him to confront not only his fear of vulnerability but his grief over Clara (Jenna Coleman). Capaldi, alone for almost the entire hour, owned his spotlight. He cut to the heart of a man who would rather spend billions of years punching through a wall than let anyone else get the upper hand. — Kelly Connolly

[cosmichobo]

Seriously one of my favourite episodes of Doctor Who. Ever.

[BruTak]

Children in Need charity album excluded from main chart.

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50337631

[gnoel809]

Did anyone else see the "Make Space" announcement across the various Doctor Who social media accounts? Whatever it is, it's supposed to be announced/shown on 11-23-19.

Speculation on the interwebs is that a trailer for the next season is going to be shown.

[DigiFluid]

Yeah, I agree. I think she may have read some of the NA's when they first came out but her experiences of 20 years with BF must be far fresher in her memory and far more rewarding for her as an actress and for Ace's character development. I mean if I were her I'd be writing Ace's journey post-Gallifrey. Hopefully that will be the case and we'll get brief references to the friends and fellow companions that accompanied the Doctor and Ace on their travels together.

A few details about the January 2020 Monthly Range release have just been released at Red Rocket Rising and it looks like it's telling a story that references some of the same things as Sophie's book...

[Alan]

A few details about the January 2020 Monthly Range release have just been released at Red Rocket Rising and it looks like it's telling a story that references some of the same things as Sophie's book...

I've seen that (there's a pretty cool looking cover for this story over on the BF site here: https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v...-universe-1290) and if you take that cover by what it shows, it look like this will be the Doctor near the end of their 7th life and an older Ace. How that fits in with the Time War chapter of the Gallifrey series I'm not sure but I look forward to finding out...

...But I agree with you that it does seem to tie-in with Sophie's book which is cool. I wonder if the trailer for the Season 26 blu-ray set with Ace at her company and the Doctor arriving at her office door ties-in in any way shape or form...or if that's just something done for fun?

[Alan]

Big Finish Takes the First Doctor Back to Skaro
Thursday, 07 November, 2019 - Reported by Marcus

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2019/11...r-back-to.html

David Bradley, Jemma Powell, Jamie Glover and Claudia Grant return as the original, yet slightly different, TARDIS team in the fourth volume of audio drama series, The First Doctor Adventures, due for release in March 2020.

And this time they’ll be facing the Doctor’s greatest foe – the Daleks.

Doctor Who – The First Doctor Adventures Volume Four is available for pre-order now at £24.99 on collector’s edition CD or £19.99 on download.

Actor David Bradley expressed his delight at battling the Daleks

To record audio scenes with Daleks you have to have met them in real life – which I did in An Adventure in Space and Time and in Twice Upon a Time. The first time I encountered one on set it brought back that prickle on the back of the neck as I remembered them from when I was a child. The fact that they couldn’t go upstairs didn’t matter, they were still terrifying! To meet the man inside was funny and touching – it took me back to being young and terrified!

Script Editor John Dorney adds

I’ve always been a big fan of the first few years of the series – it’s still figuring out what it is and is willing to go anywhere and do anything. And this new batch of stories does pretty much that. From a perfectly pitched Terry Nation tribute to a morally complex historical, I think this box set covers the full gamut of what the first Doctor’s era can do.

The First Doctor Adventures Volume Four contains two stories – one historical and one set in the future:

• Return to Skaro by Andrew Smith A new plan to return to Earth actually returns the TARDIS to another place its crew have recently visited - Skaro, home world of the Daleks. But it is some time after their previous visit. The Thals have moved on with developing their species... Yet the shadow of the Dalek city always looms large over them. Venturing into the abandoned metropolis, the Doctor and his friends discover the Daleks aren’t as dead as they might have thought... and it isn’t only their enemies who have secrets.

• Last of the Romanovs by Jonathan Barnes The TARDIS lands on Earth near to an eerie and familiar house... with the only witness a regal man watching from inside through a broken window. Leaving the ship the crew immediately find themselves in trouble - because they have landed in Ekaterinburg early in the twentieth century. The man inside the house is Nicholas, the last Tsar of Russia, imprisoned with his family... and one of the most notorious crimes in history is just about to happen.

Doctor Who – The First Doctor Adventures Volume Four is available for pre-order now at £24.99 on collector’s edition CD or £19.99 on download.

[Alan]

The Edge of Time - Released
Monday, 11 November, 2019 - Reported by Marcus

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2019/11...-released.html

Doctor Who: The Edge Of Time, the feature-length Doctor Who VR videogame, launches worldwide on November 12th

Publisher PlayStack and Developer Maze Theory are have released the Launch Trailer for the game, which Is available for PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and HTC Vive Cosmos, with Oculus Quest coming later this year.

Players will visit Victorian London, escape from a space-stranded cruiser and explore an Egyptian temple as they operate the TARDIS across the Doctor Who universe, under guidance from The Doctor herself, played by Jodie Whittaker.

Crafted with countless references to the show and its 55-year history, Doctor Who: The Edge Of Time combines action, horror and sci-fi, equipping players with the Sonic Screwdriver to solve mind-bending puzzles, escape treacherous environments and come face-to-face with classic Doctor Who monsters, all within virtual reality for the first time ever. Escape from Weeping Angels, face off against brand-new monsters and pilot a Dalek shell to harness its’ fearsome weaponry in a thrilling and immersive single-player adventure!

Features

• Become Part Of Doctor Who - a thrilling single-player adventure developed by Sony London alumni (VR Worlds, The London Heist, Blood and Truth), Doctor Who: The Edge Of Time will immerse players in Doctor Who like never before as they travel across space and time to save reality.
• Wield The Sonic Screwdriver - With exhilarating moment-to-moment gameplay, wield the Sonic Screwdriver to solve fiendish puzzles and traverse a dangerous universe full of challenges, enemies and wonder.
• Stunning Cinematic Visuals - From the Dalekanium of a Dalek’s shell, to the stone-cold terror of a Weeping Angel, experience stunning visuals that bring the show to life!
• Doctor Who Talent - Featuring Jodie Whittaker as the voice of The Doctor and Nicholas Briggs as the voice of the Daleks, in a story written by Gavin Collinson - Digital Producer for Doctor Who and author
• Oculus Quest Support - experience the next level of immersion with Oculus Quest, as you explore the Doctor Who universe without boundaries in untethered virtual reality

The Edge of Time - Trailer

[Alan]

The World Cup of Terrance Dicks
Wednesday, 13 November, 2019 - Reported by Marcus

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2019/11...nce-dicks.html

BBC Books to launch The World Cup of Terrance Dicks social Media tournament on Monday 18 November 2019


BBC Books is to publish a hardback collection of Target novelisations by the late Terrance Dicks next year – and they want Doctor Who fans to help with the selection.

The commemorative single-volume Collected Works of the late Terrance Dicks will be published in 2020. The lavish hardback will include some of the Doctor Who writer's most popular titles from the Target range, a list to which he contributed over 60 books.

So how do you choose the best? How does The Abominable Snowmen rate against Genesis of the Daleks? How do you leave out The Planet of the Spiders to make room for The Auton Invasion? What about The Three Doctors? With so many to choose from, BBC Books is seeking some expert advice from the fans.

On Monday 18 November BBC Books will be offering Doctor Who fans the chance to vote on socialmedia for their favourite works by Terrance Dicks, to be included in the collection.

The World Cup of Terrance Dicks will take place over five days on the Doctor Who BBC Books Twitter account(@DWBBCBooks), where 64 of Terrance’s Doctor Who novelisations will be sorted into 16 groups of 4, and each day fan votes will get us closer to a final winner.

The book will then be based around the10 novels that make to the top of the tournament. Fans can keep track of the tournament throughthe hashtag #TerranceDicksWorldCup

[Alan]

Doctor Who Magazine - Issue 545
Thursday, 14 November, 2019 - Reported by Marcus

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2019/11...issue-545.html

In this month’s Doctor Who Magazine, thirty-two Dalek stories battle for supremacy in the epic Twitter contest. Which is the fans’ favourite?

Highlights of this issue include:

• A 16-page celebration of the Daleks, including the results of DWM’s online tournament.
• An exclusive Series 12 update.
• Writer and director Pete McTighe goes behind the scenes on The Promise, his new trailer for the Season 26 Blu-ray box set.
• Sophie Aldred discusses her on-screen return as Ace.
• Production designer Arwel Jones gives DWM a tour of the Thirteenth Doctor’s TARDIS.
• The first part of an exclusive interview with former script editor Andrew Cartmel.
• A preview of Tiny Rebel’s final Doctor Who: Infinity games.
• The Fact of Fiction explores the 1973 story Carnival of Monsters.
• The answers to last issue’s fiendishly difficult quiz about the first 40 years of DWM.
• Part Three of Mistress of Chaos, a new comic-strip adventure featuring the Thirteenth Doctor and her friends.
• The Blogs of Doom, audio and book reviews, previews, news, prize-winning competitions and much more.

On sale from Thursday 14 November 2019 £5.99 (UK)

[Alan]

Children in Need 2019
Saturday, 16 November, 2019 - Reported by Chuck Foster

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2019/11...need-2019.html

The BBC's annual fundraising evening for Children in Need took place yesterday, and by the end of the evening raised £47,886,382 for the charity.

The evening featured a special surprise for Anastasia who, having presented a video about the work done by drame group Hackney Shed to boost confidence for herself and others, was then thrilled as her very own heroine the Doctor arrived on stage to meet her!




Jodie Whittaker, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill were all on hand to make it a very special evening for Anastasia, with Jodie also presenting her with her very own sonic screwdriver.


You can still donate to Children in Need via their website.

[Alan]

Ian Cullen 1939-2019
Saturday, 16 November, 2019 - Reported by Marcus

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2019/11...1939-2019.html

The actor Ian Cullen has died at the age of 80.

Ian Cullen appeared in the first series of Doctor Who, playing Ixta, who took on Ian in mortal combat, in the story The Aztecs.

He later played Nadeyan in the Big Finish production of Dark Eyes. This appearance came 48 years after The Aztecs, the longest gap for any actor in the Doctor Who franchise.

Ian Cullen first trod the boards in a village pantomime at the age of four and has been an actor ever since. He became a household name when he played PC Joe Skinner in "Z Cars" (1962), first appearing in 1969, the character was later promoted to Detective and stayed with the show for 6 years, until he was gunned down in the line of duty in one of TV's biggest shocks in the mid 70s.

Other recurring roles include the classic 60s hospital drama "Emergency-Ward 10" (1957), where he played Warren Kent (1966-67), "When the Boat Comes In" (1976), as Geordie Watson (1977-81) and as Angus Hart, the original lead of the Channel 5 soap opera "Family Affairs" (1997). Ian's character, Angus Hart, was also killed in a shock storyline when the entire Hart family were killed in a boat explosion. He has also guest-starred in many British television series, including "The Bill" (1984), "Blakes 7" (1978) and "Sorry!" (1981).

In 2008 he won a Gold Award for his narration of the feature-length documentary The Destiny of Britain (2007). He is survived by his wife, actress Yvonne Quenet and their three daughters.

[Alan]

Series Twelve (a.k.a. Series Thirty-Eight) - Creative Staff
Saturday, 16 November, 2019 - Reported by Marcus

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2019/11...ive-staff.html

The BBC has revealed the list of Writers and Directors responsible for the upcoming series of Doctor Who.

With the Thirteenth Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker, returning in the New year, the BBC is starting to ramp up publicity for what will be the 38th series of the programme, the twelfth since it returned in 2005.

This year sees three new writers joining the show.

• Nina Metivier Co-creator of the Netflix series The A-List and a writer on the series Dixi. Previously served as a script editor on Doctor Who.
• Maxine Alderton Writer for Emmerdale and CBBC's The Worst Witch
• Charlene James Worked on Sky Atlantic's The Discovery Of Witches. Awarded the Alfred Fagon Award, for best new play at the National Theatre for Cuttin' It,

Also making their debut in 2020 and joining the series are four new directors.

• Nida Manzoor Worked on Enterprise
• Emma Sullivan A graduate of the National Film and Television School. Her short film AFTER TOMORROW, was nominated for a Palme d’Or at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival
• Jamie Magnus Stone Studied at the National Film and Television School. Nominated for a BAFTA for his short film Orbit Ever After.
• Lee Haven Jones Studied at RADA. Lead director on the ITV series The Bay.

In addition, three writers return from Series 11:

• Vinay Patel (Demons of The Punjab)
• Ed Hime (It Takes You Away)
• Pete McTighe (Kerblam!)

Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall said

We’re thrilled that Doctor Who continues to attract some of the most exciting and dynamic talent working in television. Along with our returning faces, we’re excited to welcome new members to the Doctor Who family. The Doctor Who team is crammed with British television’s brightest writers and directors: we’ve adored working with them, and can’t wait to show you the explosive stuff they’ve created!

Jodie Whittaker, Mandip Gill, Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole will all be reprising their roles as the Thirteenth Doctor and her friends, alongside an exciting host of soon to be announced guest artists.

The series will be back on TV screens in early 2020.