Friday 30 April 2010

The New Look Silurians


The new look Silurians can be seen in episodes 8 & 9 - The Hungry Earth & Cold Blood.

Synopsis:

Writer: Chris Chibnall
Guest Stars: Meera Syal, Stephen Morre and Neve McIntosh

In 2015, the most ambitious drilling project in history is under way. Dr Nasreen Chaudhry and her team have reached 21 kilometres into the Earth’s crust – but something is stirring far below. Amy Pond discovers there’s nowhere to run when you can’t even trust the ground at your feet.

“While you’ve been drilling down… something else has been drilling up.”


Wednesday 28 April 2010

Matt Smith cast as lead in new BBC Two drama

Christopher And His Kind

This 90-minute film chronicles the formative years of one of the 20th century's most celebrated writers, Christopher Isherwood, based on his 1976 memoir of the same name.

Isherwood is played by Matt Smith (Doctor Who), who escapes repressive English society and his suffocating relationship with his mother (Lindsay Duncan) for the decadent – and politically unstable – world of Thirties Berlin.

Click to view full size image

The drama is written by acclaimed playwright Kevin Elyot (My Night With Reg), directed by Geoffrey Sax (Tipping The Velvet) and produced by Celia Duval (Margot) for Mammoth Screen, with Michele Buck, Kevin Elyot and Damien Timmer as executive producers. With Eleanor Moran, BBC executive producer, through Piers Wenger, Head of Drama, BBC Wales.

Monday 26 April 2010

DWM 421


On sale Thursday, 29th April 2010 Price: £4.20

Friday 23 April 2010

William Hartnell (1908-1975)

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35 years ago today, the late great William Henry Hartnell passed away aged 67 years. He died from heart failure.
wiki/William_Hartnell

Thursday 22 April 2010

Doctor Who: The Adventure Games revealed!

'City of the Daleks' will be the first time the Doctor ventures to Kaalann, the Dalek capital city; available to download on 5th June 2010.

City of the Daleks will be the first of four free downloadable adventures games available for PC and Mac users from June 5th 2010 on the Doctor Who website.

The TARDIS materializes in 1963 - and London is in ruins. The Daleks have seized control of time and the only chance of saving Earth lies in a desperate quest to Skaro, the Daleks' home planet - before time catches up with Amy, the last survivor of the human race!

Players will help the Doctor and Amy on an epic new adventure in an original story which forms part of the current series, traversing time and space in a dazzling episode. Nicholas Briggs provides the voice of the Daleks, alongside Matt Smith and Karen Gillan who recreate their roles as the Doctor and Amy.

Written by Phil Ford who (Doctor Who: Dreamland and the Sarah Jane Adventures) and executive produced by Steven Moffat, episode one City of the Daleks is full of the TV show's celebrated mix of action, peril and humour.


"This is quite a series opener," says Phil Ford, writer, Doctor Who. "We destroy London even before the credits role - so you can only begin to imagine where we travel to from there. City of the Daleks is as big-budget as you can imagine: from London we head to Kaalann, the capital city of the Daleks, one constructed from pure anger and hate. And these new Daleks don't like to be messed with, so players are about to enjoy a new interactive episode which is as heart-pulsing as anything you've seen before."

The interactive episodes are executive produced by Steven Moffat, Piers Wenger, Beth Willis and Anwen Aspden (BBC Wales Interactive), alongside Charles Cecil, one of videogaming's most revered creators. The games are being developed by Sumo Digital, one of the UK's best game designers. Stories and scripts are from Phil Ford and James Moran (Severance, Torchwood Children of Earth). The project has been commissioned for BBC Online by the Vision Multiplatform team, headed up by Simon Nelson, and is being driven by BBC Wales Interactive.

Doctor Who: The Adventure Games 'City of the Daleks' will be available to download for free from the Doctor Who website from June 5th 2010, for both PC and Mac users.

Doctor Who Prom


  • Date Sunday 25 July 2010
  • Time 11.00am–c1.00pm
  • Venue Royal Albert Hall
  • Tickets £6-£12,
bbc.co.uk/proms/2010

Monday 19 April 2010

New DALEKS Poster


Out later in the year!

BBC Press Release: Doctor & Ex Companion In SJA

Sarah Jane Smith is reunited with another of The Doctor's former companions, Jo Grant (Katy Manning), in a new series of The Sarah Jane Adventures, set to air on CBBC this autumn. They'll be joined by The Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith), in a special edition of the show penned by executive producer Russell T Davies.

The two episodes will see The Doctor and his two former time-travelling partners caught up in an alien-busting adventure that will entertain Doctor Who fans of all ages.

Elisabeth Sladen, who plays Sarah Jane comments: "It's a fantastic script and I can't wait to work with another Doctor and hope Matt has fun with us. I've known Katy for ages and I am delighted to be working with her. I last met her in LA but this time we will be in Cardiff. LA was good but Cardiff is better."

Katy Manning, who recently returned to live in the UK again, adds: "Playing Jo Grant again is something I never really considered. I was gob-smacked when they told me and I am over the moon. What an incredible little treat. I come home and this is one of the first things that happens."

Executive producer Nikki Wilson says: "We are absolutely thrilled to be introducing Sarah Jane and the gang to both The Eleventh Doctor and Jo Grant, and to have a script penned by Russell T Davies is the icing on the cake!

"Viewers are in for a real treat, with an action-packed story full of Russell's usual wit and warmth, which takes the gang inside a secret base beneath Snowdon and introduces brand-new vulture aliens, the mysterious Shansheeth. All this, plus a trip to an alien planet – a first for The Sarah Jane Adventures."

http://uktv.co.uk/images/standarditem/EX1/2760.jpg
Jo Grant & Third Doctor in the lab at U.N.I.T HQ

Featuring the usual mixture of thrills, laughs and scares, the fourth series promises fun with enemies old and new, including the terrors of the Nightmare Man and a dangerous journey back into history.

A galaxy of guest stars are lined up to appear in the series and include Laila Rouass (Primeval, Footballers Wives) and Cheryl Campbell (Pennies From Heaven), whilst David Bradley (Argus Filch in Harry Potter) will provide the voice of the Shansheeth.

The Sarah Jane Adventures is executive produced by Nikki Wilson and Russell T Davies and produced by Brian Minchin.

Writers on the fourth series include Phil Ford (also co-producer), Joseph Lidster, Rupert Laight, Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman. The Sarah Jane Adventures is a BBC Cymru Wales/Children's BBC production.

Sunday 18 April 2010

New Merchandise

Bubble Bath

New Dalek Clocks



Series 31 (Series 5) Volume 1 cover available from 7th June £15.99 though amazon.co.uk are selling it at £9.91! Blue ray at £12.91!

Be The Doctor

Preview of one of Four Doctor Who games coming from the BBC and free to download from June 5th 2010.

Saturday 17 April 2010

Birthday Greetings!

http://animoscrypt.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/casanova.jpg

Happy 39th Birthday,
David John (Tennant) MacDonald!


BBC News - Doctor's old enemy returns again

Mark Gatiss talks 'Who'

By Neil Wilkes, Editor and Nick Levine, Music Editor Digitalspy.co.uk

Having previously penned 'The Unquiet Dead' (the 19th century) and 'The Idiot's Lantern' (the 1950s) for new Who, Mark Gatiss is remaining true to historical form for the third episode of Matt Smith's reign with a WWII story that reunites The Doctor with his old friend Winston Churchill and... The Daleks. We called up Mark to chat about 'Victory of the Daleks' and get the latest on Sherlock, his new adaptation of the classic tales with Steven Moffat.

What can you tell us about Victory of the Daleks?
"What can I tell you that isn't already all over the internet? Well, in a scene we've lost [in the final cut], he sort of explains that he's known Churchill throughout Churchill's life - when he was a young man fighting in the Sudan, and he went to his memorial service - so it's that idea of rather than one single meeting with a famous figure they actually have a kind of relationship. It goes right back to Jon Pertwee saying, 'I said to Napoleon: Boney, I said...' I like the idea that it isn't just a one-off thing, you have an ongoing friendship with people like Churchill."

Why has Churchill summoned The Doctor this time?
"Churchill calls him in because he has concerns about this new secret weapon Bill Paterson's character has invented called The Ironside. When he gets there the secret weapon is The Dalek. According to all the evidence they're exactly as they say - man-made weapons - and the Doctor is the only voice saying 'No!'"

The Daleks get some quite funny lines, don't they?
"My direct inspiration was a lost story, Patrick Troughton's first story, called 'Power of the Daleks'. The idea of them being subservient and cunning was so exciting it needed to be done again. I much prefer the idea of them having this kind of watchful intelligence rather than always exterminating things. It's the only situation where you can get away with The Daleks asking people if they want tea. The Doctor loses his temper and starts beating it up and it still says, 'You do not care for tea?' I love the idea of them carrying box files and things. Everybody knows what they're like but in this context, the people that they're duping have no idea - they just think they're subservient."

Was it your idea to write a Dalek-centric episode?
"No, Steve asked me to. The simple thing was Churchill versus The Daleks, although I think I may have added the 'versus' in my mind - it might have just been Churchill and The Daleks! Steve took his kids to the cabinet war rooms and was amazed by how spellbound they were by [them], so that was the logical place to set it. I was initially intimidated after all these years of growing up with The Daleks to write [a Dalek story], but that was such an exciting idea. I'm quite atypically homosexual in that I like war movies and Bond movies and all the things you're not supposed to like, and I love the idea of it being a perfect distillation of all that we like about watching The Great Escape at Christmas and proper Blitz spirit. I wanted to be very careful to acknowledge that the war was a real war and still in many people's living memory. That's why at the end Lilian's Spitfire pilot boyfriend, who we never see, has just been killed. It was very important that it's not all neatly tied up and Churchill makes a point of saying, 'I still have a war to run'."

Did dealing with The Doctor, the Daleks and Churchill all at once put you under pressure as a writer?
"Steven very sweetly said, 'I want this to do what the Dickens one did in the first series with Christopher Eccleston.' It's a very similar pattern - introductory episode, far future, the past - it works well and he wanted that hit of instant Doctor Who-ness and I was very happy to oblige. We're all aware of the tremendous pressure of following Russell and David and Julie, but clearly people have gone for it in a big way which is a huge thrill."

As a fan of the show, how does this series compare with previous ones?
"It's inevitable when you get a new head writer that the whole tone of the series shifts and it's interesting to see the differences in William Hartnell's stories way back in the early sixties. Different people bring different ideas. I know that Steven and Piers and Beth's watchword is 'fairytale'. I think the palette of the show looks different - it has a slightly more magical feel. As a result it becomes skewed slightly more towards a rural feel. The first episode in Ledworth is an English village - not a Trumpton-like one, but an English village - and obviously Russell was very keen to ground it in a much more urban environment. Then I think, clearly just every Doctor is totally different. Matt has a very different energy. Like David he's a quick-talking ball of energy but he has a slightly more off-centre feel."

How much of the series have you seen?
"Only as much as I have to! I want to watch it as it goes out - it's a shame, but I don't like spoilers! I recently was sent a few of the upcoming episodes because I'm hopefully writing one for next year so I needed to get up to speed with where it's going. I'd still much prefer them to watch them as they go out. Having said that, this Saturday we're doing another night shoot so I've got to somehow contrive to be in front of the TV at 6.30pm to watch 'Victory of the Daleks', go out and then probably go to a morgue!"

Friday 16 April 2010

Torchwood Season Four Begins Filming in the US

Filming for what production staff are calling "Torchwood: Season Four" has just wrapped up in the United States, according to an insider close to the project. John Barrowman, who stated in December that he would be involved in such a project, was present for filming. Since he just finished his last musical tour in March and his next doesn't begin until this October, it looks like has some free time in the upcoming months -- pretty suspicious for a notorious busybody.

In November, creator Russell T. Davies told TV guide, that "fingers crossed, it will be a go. We expect things to start to move in January."

Best guess is that this was a pilot episode, as the filming time was limited to the first two weeks of April.

Since we already know via The Hollywood Reporter that FOX has picked up the show, it's safe to say that the rumoured, revered and feared version of the series, Torchwood USA on FOX, is headed our way sooner rather than later.

History suggests that moving the series to the US means revamping it severely, as has been done with other UK shows to go overseas. However, that staff are calling it a "fourth season," and that Barrowman is involved, implies otherwise -- especially since BBC veterans Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter are working alongside Davies as executive producers.

If it is a continuation of the UK series, sad news for those wishing for Gareth David-Lloyd's return as the ghost of Torchwood past: his April schedule hyas been packed with extraneous events.

Eve Myles' involvement in the new series remains unknown, but we can hope.

Firefox News

Wednesday 14 April 2010

BBC release archive of Classic Series documents

The first Doctor (William Hartnell) shows his time travel machine - the TARDIS - to Ben and Polly.

About this collection

In 1966, William Hartnell stepped down from the lead role in the beloved science fiction series, 'Doctor Who'. Rather than simply recast the part, the production team came up with a solution that would ensure the series would run for years to come.

Discover what happens when one Time Lord hands over his TARDIS to the next. See early plans for the first 'new Doctor', Patrick Troughton, and discover how viewers reacted to the change. Photos also show the moments when new Doctors and their companions were unveiled and reveal those actors who narrowly missed out on becoming TV's favourite time traveller.

Archive

Doctor Who fans hostile to change

THE new Doctor is “something of a pantomime character”, “a looney” and a “half-witted clown”, viewers of Doctor Who have complained to the BBC.

But actor Matt Smith need not worry – the comments come from newly-published BBC Archive documents showing viewers’ hostility to each new face of the Time Lord. The papers, spanning 40-plus years and published online for the first time today, reveal the difficulties of bedding in the new Doctor.

And internal memos show how his first transformation was originally envisaged as a bad LSD trip.

The Doctor first changed physically in 1966 when William Hartnell handed over to Patrick Troughton.

“Once a brilliant but eccentric scientist, he now comes over as a half-witted clown,” said one viewer of Troughton’s new role.

Another told the BBC’s Audience Research Department: “I’m not sure that I really like his portrayal – I feel the part is exaggerated – whimsical even – I keep expecting him to take a great watch out of his pocket and mutter about being late like Alice’s White Rabbit.”

Full Article: walesonline.co.uk

Monday 12 April 2010

The Daleks Are Back But Different

A new look DALEK for Series 31 episode 3 'Victory of the Daleks'. I like the new look eye stalk and collar and a larger bumber too!

Thursday 8 April 2010

The Eleventh Doctor BBC Books

Three new Eleventh Doctor Who books featuring new companion Amy Pond will be released on the 22nd of April 2010 priced £6.99 each. The titles are; The Forgotten Army by Brian Minchin, Apollo 23 by Justin Richards, and Night of the Humans by David Llewellyn.
books-forgottenarmyxt

The Forgotten Army

‘Let me tell you a story. Long ago, in the frozen Arctic wastes, an alien army landed. Only now, 10,000 years later, it isn’t a story. And the army is ready to attack.’

New York – one of the greatest cities on 21st century Earth… But what’s going on in the Museum? And is that really a Woolly Mammoth rampaging down Broadway?

An ordinary day becomes a time of terror, as Ice Age creatures come back to life, and the Doctor and Amy meet a new and deadly enemy.

The vicious Army of the Vykoid are armed to the teeth and determined to enslave the human race.

Even though they’re only three inches high. With the Doctor kidnapped, and the Vykoid army swarming across Manhattan and sealing it from the world with a powerful alien forcefield, Amy has just 24 hours to find the Doctor and save the city.

If she doesn’t, the people of Manhattan will be taken to work in the doomed asteroid mines of the Vykoid home planet.

But as time starts to run out, who can she trust? And how far will she have to go to free New York from the Forgotten Army?

books- apollo23xt

Apollo 23

‘Houston – we have a problem.’

An astronaut in full spacesuit appears out of thin air in a busy shopping centre. Maybe it’s a publicity stunt.


A photo shows an immaculately-dressed woman in her best shoes lying dead at the edge of a crater on the dark side of the moon – beside her beloved dog ‘Poochie’. Maybe it’s a hoax.

But as the Doctor and Amy find out, these are just minor events in a sinister plan to take over every human being on earth. The plot centres on a secret military base on the moon – that’s where Amy and the TARDIS are.

The Doctor is back on Earth, and without the TARDIS there’s no way he can get to the moon to save Amy and defeat the aliens.

Or is there? The Doctor discovers one last great secret that could save humanity: Apollo 23.

books-nighthumansxt

Night of the Humans

‘This is the Gyre, the most hostile environment in the galaxy.’ 250,000 years’ worth of junk floating in deep space, home to the shipwrecked Sittuun, the carnivorous Sollogs, and worst of all, the Humans.

The Doctor and Amy arrive on this terrifying world in the middle of an all-out frontier war between Sittuun and Humans, and the clock is already ticking.

There’s a comet in the sky, and it’s on a collision course with the Gyre

When the Doctor is kidnapped, it’s up to Amy and galaxy-famous swashbucklero Dirk Slipstream to save the day. But who is Slipstream, exactly? And what is he really doing here?

Available from Amazon.co.uk & other reputable book outlets.

11th Doctor Figure Reveiled

Doctor Who: The Adventure Games




The Doctor, Amy and some of the show's most iconic monsters will be making the journey from TV to your home computers, as we unveil Doctor Who: The Adventure Games.

These four new adventures will take the form of free downloadable computer games available for PC and Mac, in which players assume control of the Doctor and Amy as they embark on new adventures which complement the new TV series.

The games are being developed by Sumo Digital, one of the UK's best game designers. Stories and scripts are from Phil Ford (co-writer Doctor Who 'Waters of Mars') and James Moran (Severance, Torchwood Children of Earth). The project has been commissioned for BBC Online by the Vision Multiplatform team, headed up by Simon Nelson, and is being driven by BBC Wales Interactive.

Matt Smith and Karen Gillan have been digitally recreated in-game, and have provided full voice-overs. Music has been provided by TV series' composer Murray Gold. An additional cast will portray original characters and classic enemies.


The Doctor & Amy In Future London

"Children don't just watch Doctor Who - they join in. They make up games, invent their monsters, create their own stories," says Steven Moffat, Head Writer and Executive Producer, Doctor Who. "Now, there's something else - now they can be the Doctor in brand new episodes. Doctor Who: The Adventure Games will offer fans of the Doctor a unique opportunity to enter his world, face his challenges and grapple with his deadliest foes.

"By developing these games alongside the new TV series, we've been able to weave exciting narrative strands with the very finest game design to create a new kind of Doctor Who, which can be enjoyed by the whole family."

The exact titles of the four free episodes are being kept secret for the time being, but the four original stories will take players on a journey throughout time and space, including one location from the Doctor Who series which has never been seen before on screen. Players will encounter new and original monsters, in stories which form part of the overall Doctor Who canon.

The first episode of Doctor Who: The Adventure Games will be available to download for PC and Mac from this very website in June 2010. Its title will be revealed at a special press event on April 21st 2010.

Images from the games:


London


Cybermen are coming! If you are clever, you will have spotted that the chest insignia is not of Cybus Industries design. Instead, it is of a Cyber head. Mondas Cybermen return - though the design is the same. Hmmm....

DWN: Guide To The Specials


On sale 25th April 2010 Price: %5.99

Sunday 4 April 2010

TARDIS Tour & New Titles



The Eleventh Hour and new Doctor Who Confidential Titles

New Sonic Screwdriver

Doctor Who: 11th Doctor: New Sonic Screwdriver (Product Image) A new Sonic Screwdriver for a new Doctor. This sonic device came from within the new TARDIS console in the first episode of the new series -The Eleventh Hour. This sonic screwdriver is bigger with a luminous green light.

Price: £13.49

New Standees available from 12th April 2010

Doctor Who: Standee: 11th Doctor Matt Smith (Product Image) Doctor Who: Standee: Amy Pond (Product Image) Doctor Who: Standee: 11th Doctor Matt Smith & Companion (Product Image) Doctor Who: Standee: TARDIS (Product Image)
All priced at £22.49

Friday 2 April 2010

New Theme Music


When Doctor Who returns on Saturday at 18.20 we'll be treated to a new version of the theme music. When the episode ends there may be an announcer talking over the music, but don't worry! Head straight to the Doctor Who site and hear it clear and complete!

There will be lots more content around The Eleventh Hour on Saturday night so don't forget to check out the site after the new Doctor's debut adventure.

There won't, however, be wallpapers. These will be back very soon along with screensavers. In the meantime we hope you enjoy the imminent videos, galleries and other content relating to The Eleventh Hour.

Karen Gillan / Matt Smith Interviews

Matt Smith - The One Show 1st April 2010


Karen Gillan - GMTV 2nd April 2010

Thursday 1 April 2010

More IMages

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4th Doctor & Classic Electronic TARDIS: Planet Of Evil

Doctor Who: Action Figures: 4th Doctor & Classic Electronic TARDIS: Planet Of Evil (Product Image)In this exclusive Fourth Doctor Set from Underground Toys we present the Fourth Doctor action figure, with his classic Electronic TARDIS, as they appeared in the ‘Planet of Evil’. The Doctor comes in a red jacket, with alternate head and sonic screwdriver accessory. The TARDIS features opening doors, a spring activated right hand door, takeoff and landing light plus sound effects!

Available 11th May 2010 £34.99. Pre-order now from Forbidden Planet