Doctor Who News, Articles, Cast and Crew Interviews

[Alan]

Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 559
Wednesday, 9 December 2020 - Reported by Marcus

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2020/1...issue_559.html

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 559 talks to Jodie Whittaker, John Barrowman and Chris Chibnal as the preview the New Year episode of Doctor Who, Revolution of the Daleks.

Highlights of the new issue include:

• An exclusive preview of the New Year’s Day Special, featuring contributions from Jodie Whittaker, John Barrowman, Chris Noth, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Chris Chibnall, director Lee Haven Jones and costume designer Ray Holman.
• The latest from showrunner Chris Chibnall in his Production Notes.
• A behind-the-scenes look at the trailer for the Season 8 Blu-ray box set, with writer and director Pete McTighe, Katy Manning and Stewart Bevan.
• Christmas with the Doctor – a fresh look at stories that were broadcast during the festive period between 1963 and 1989.
• What did missing 1965 episode The Feast of Steven actually look like? DWM’s CGI recreation offers some clues.
• The strange story of the 1964 record I’m Gonna Spend My Christmas with a Dalek.
• Interviews with the team behind theimmersive theatre experience Time Fracture.
• The final instalment of a two-part article exploring David Whitaker’s influence on the Daleks.
• The Fact of Fiction analyses the 2014 Festive Special Last Christmas.
• Apocrypha rediscovers the bizarre 1965 comic strip A Christmas Story.
• The DWM Christmas Quiz!
• The first part of The White Dragon, a new comic-strip adventure for the Thirteenth Doctor.
• Previews and reviews, news, prize-winning competitions, Time and Space Visualiser, The Blogs of Doom and more.
• PLUS a giant, double-sided poster!

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 559 is on sale from Thursday 10 December
£6.99 (UK)

[Alan]

Revolution of the Daleks | TV Spot | Doctor Who
16 Dec 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfeFP-upPrI

Doctor Who

Even with Captain Jack’s help, the gang are set to face one of their biggest and most frightening challenges yet…

Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks. New Year’s Day 2021.

[Alan]

In Memoriam - 2020
Friday, 1 January 2021 - Reported by Marcus

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2021/0...riam_2020.html

As 2020 draws to a close, Toby Hadoke has released his annual look back at those from the Doctor Who universe who we lost over the past twelve months.

In Memoriam - 2020

[Alan]

New Year Special to be offered in 4K HDR
Friday, 1 January 2021 - Reported by Marcus

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2021/0...in_4k_hdr.html

With this year's New Year special making its debut later today, viewers in the UK will be able to watch the programme in 4K resolution and high dynamic range (HDR) colour via iPlayer.


When Revolution of the Daleks is broadcast, viewers will be prompted to switch to the higher quality streamed version by pressing the red button.

To take advantage of the facility, households will need a compatible TV and a relatively fast internet connection. The BBC recommends a minimum of 24 megabits per second (Mbps) connection.

By contrast, regular 1080p high definition (HD) programmes require a 6.3Mbps connection and standard definition (SD) content 1.1Mbps.

Ultra-High Definition (UHD) - the other name given to 4K on TVs - delivers four times as many pixels as HD video. The benefits are that images can appear sharper and more detailed, although this is not always apparent if the screen is not large enough or viewers are sitting too far away.

HDR produces pictures that typically appear to be more vivid and colourful. It takes advantage of the fact screens can go brighter and/or darker than they used to be able to, providing a greater dynamic range.

As a result, the shadows of an image can be made less murky while the highlights - including sparks from special effects - can have more impact.

The BBC first publicly tested 4K HDR on iPlayer in 2016 when it offered four minutes from its Planet Earth II series. It has subsequently offered a limited range of full-length programmes including Dynasties; His Dark Materials; and Dracula, as well as sport including Wimbledon and Fifa World Cup 2018 matches.

Doctor Who has been broadcast in many different formats during its 57-year history. The first episode being broadcast in the 405-line monochrome analogue format. The definition improved in 1967 when the 625 line format was used to record The Enemy of the World. Colour arrived in 1970 with Spearhead from Space.

By the time the series returned in 2005 the series was recorded digitally rather than on analogue tape. The programme was first made available on iPlayer in 2007 with the Christmas special Voyage of the Damned. The first episode available in HD was Planet of the Dead, the 2009 Easter special.

Previous episodes have been made available in 4K on Blu--ray but Revolution of the Daleks is the first to be made available in this format on the iPlayer on the day of transmission.

[Teddybrown]

John Bishop joining Doctor Who, guessing he'll be the new comedy companion...

EDIT: Just Googled, turns out he's in an episode next season but my guess is he'll become a companion

[Alan]

Spoiler:

John Bishop joining Doctor Who, guessing he'll be the new comedy companion...

EDIT: Just Googled, turns out he's in an episode next season but my guess is he'll become a companion

Just fixed that for you. People outside of UK haven't seen Revolution of the Daleks yet.

[Alan]

I think enough time has passed by now since Revolution of the Daleks went out...

New companion for Series 13
Friday, 1 January 2021 - Reported by Chuck Foster

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2021/0...series_13.html

A post-credit teaser for a new companion to join the Doctor for Series 13 was broadcast straight after this year's New Year's Day special, Revolution of the Daleks ended.

Welcome to the TARDIS...

The BBC have issued a press release to introduce the actor playing the new character, Dan.

The Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz are set to welcome a new face to the TARDIS later this year as actor and comedian John Bishop joins the cast as ‘Dan’.

If I could tell my younger self that one day I would be asked to step on board the TARDIS, I would never have believed it.
— John Bishop

As he becomes embroiled in the Doctor’s adventures, Dan will quickly learn there’s more to the Universe(s) than he could ever believe. Travelling through Space and Time alongside the Doctor and Yaz, he’ll face evil alien races beyond his wildest nightmares.

Speaking about joining the show, John says:

If I could tell my younger self that one day I would be asked to step on board the TARDIS, I would never have believed it. It’s an absolute dream come true to be joining Doctor Who and I couldn’t wish for better company than Jodie and Mandip.

Chris Chibnall, Showrunner, adds:

It’s time for the next chapter of Doctor Who, and it starts with a man called Dan. Oh, we’ve had to keep this one secret for a long, long time. Our conversations started with John even before the pandemic hit. The character of Dan was built for him, and it’s a joy to have him aboard the TARDIS.

Piers Wenger, Controller, BBC Drama, says:

We are beyond thrilled to have John Bishop joining Doctor Who. Alongside Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill, John is a wonderful addition to the show and we have no doubt that series 13 is going to be another thrilling set of adventures for the Doctor.

The 13th series of Doctor Who began filming in November 2020. John has already begun filming and will make his first appearance when the 13th series starts on BBC One later in 2021.

[Alan]

Fifty Years of The Master
Saturday, 2 January 2021 - Reported by Marcus

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2021/0...he_master.html

Fifty years ago today a new character entered the world of Doctor Who when, in Terror of the Autons, we met the Doctor's nemesis, The Master.

Created by producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks, the character was devised as a foil to the Third Doctor as played by Jon Pertwee. Given an academic name. The Master, to counterpoint the name of The Doctor, the character was to be the Moriarty to Pertwee’s Holmes, a character very much the equal to the Doctor in terms of intelligence and background.

The character outline was sketched out in an internal BBC document sent to the writers of Season 8 of the series, a document which also introduced the characters of Jo Grant and Captain Mike Yates, played by Richard Franklin and Katy Manning.

Only one actor was considered for the role of the Master, Roger Delgado, an actor known for playing sinister villains and a personal friend of Jon Pertwee.

The Master would appear in every story of season 8, becoming just as much a fixture of the series as The Doctor and Jo, somewhat to the chagrin of Jon Pertwee.

He was used less in season nine but still appeared in two of the five stories. In season ten he was used just once and it was decided to write the character out at the end of season 11 in a big final story.

That final story never happened as on the 18th June 1973 Roger Delgado was killed in a car accident in Turkey. The death stunned the production team and helped Pertwee to his decision to leave the series at the end of the eleventh series.

The actor may have died but the character he created was so strong it would return to the series in many incarnations. A mutilated Master at the end of his regelation cycle was seen in the 1976 story The Deadly Assassin.

In 1981 new producer John Nathan Turner decided to bring back the character as a regular with a look based on the original Delgado character. Played by Anthony Ainley, The Master would appear regularly until the cancellation of the series in 1989, appearing with the fifth, sixth and seventh Doctors. It was perhaps fitting that the last story of the classic series featured the Doctor and Ace in a battle with The Master. In the story Survival.

The TV movie in 1996 saw the arrival of the eighth Doctor and The Master was there to welcome him, this time in the body of American actor Eric Roberts.

When Doctor Who returned in 2005 there was much talk about reprising characters from the original series and The Master was high upon most fans wish lists. They had to wait until the series 3 before show-runner Russell T Davies obliged, and the story Utopia saw the character reappear in no less a body as that of veteran actor Derek Jacobi. At the end of the episode John Simm took over the role and a mad hyperactive Master took on the mad hyperactive Tenth Doctor. In 2010 the character helped bring about to the demise of the Tenth Doctor.

The next showrunner Steven Moffat put his own spin on the character when he created Missy, played by Michelle Gomez, in 2014 to taunt the Twelfth Doctor as played by Peter Capaldi. Much speculation about the real identity of the character was ended at the end of Series 8 when she was revealed to be a female incarnation of The Master.

Although Gomez was the incumbent Master, John Simm hadn’t quite finished with the role as he returned at the end of series ten to take part in a memorable Master v Master battle with Missy and The Doctor

The strength of the character is such that just last year another incarnation arrived when Sacha Dhawan took on the role of The Master in the 2020 Chris Chibnall story Spyfall.

The character of The Master is the most enduring in Doctor Who apart from that of the Doctor himself. Today, 50 years on, we pay tribute to all the hugely talented actors who have made the character such an essential part of Doctor Who lore. And we pay tribute to the numerous writer and Directors who have helped create such a fascinating and enduring character.

[Teddybrown]

So looks like there's another raft of rumours about Jodie Whittaker leaving Doctor Who...

[Bagpuss]

Yep.We get this constantly.

No detailed confirmation (as ever) by the BBC yet about anything claimed or implied via the tabloids etc...so here we go again,Whovians!

The first editions/online spiels went out late last night UK time,and all one site quoted was a line from whoever'd answered the mails.
Digital Spy BBC responds to report....

When contacted by Digital Spy, the BBC responded: "We won't be commenting on any speculation around Jodie's future on the show."

Most of the Actors who already played The Doctor completed 3 seasons,so speculation is high,regardless of what's been said by the PTB or Whittaker in interviews.

It'd be cool if there's a more straightforward statement soon,but I won't hold my breath.

[BruTak]

Jodie has stated in the past, and quite recently as well, that she's not going anywhere.

[Bagpuss]

Very true!

Maybe the Beeb will put out a statement soon,but they often don't respond and just let the rumour mill hamsterwheel everything to oblivion till the next interviews with the Cast/PTB go out via Doctor Who Magazine or other sites and mags.

(By which time I've often forgotten what the rumours were in the first place!)

[BruTak]

It's said that your memory is the second thing to go when you get old.

Can't remember what the first thing is...

[Bagpuss]

LMAO!! I thought of a perfect reply to that...but it's gone.

(I feel old,really.I can still remember getting very upset and confused when Patrick Troughton seemed to suddenly became Jon Pertwee.My Mum had watched from the first episode,so it wasn't a shock to her,but I was maybe 6 or 7 and highly impressionable,lol!
Three fell out of the tardis and I was then hooked on his next adventures,so soon cheered up.So fickle!)

[BruTak]

I'm not quite that old.

I remember bits and pieces of the later Pertwee era, but my first clear memory of Doctor Who is the finale of "Planet of the Spiders".