BBC Books have announced details of a novelisation of the 1978 story, The Pirate Planet, originally written by Douglas Adams and now adapted by James Goss.
Featuring Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor, The Pirate Planet is a novel based on a long-forgotten draft of the script found in the Douglas Adams archive in Cambridge.
Unseen for 40 years and vastly different from the classic TV show, this is a work by The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy author that no-one has ever read…
The hugely powerful Key to Time has been split into six segments, all of which have been disguised and hidden throughout time and space. Now the even more powerful White Guardian wants the Doctor to find the pieces.
With the first segment successfully retrieved, the Doctor, Romana and K-9 trace the second segment of the Key to the planet Calufrax. But when they arrive at exactly the right point in space, they find themselves on exactly the wrong planet – Zanak.
Ruled by the mysterious ‘Captain’, Zanak is a happy and prosperous planet. Mostly. If the mines run out of valuable minerals and gems then the Captain merely announces a New Golden Age and they fill up again. It’s an economic miracle – so obviously something’s very wrong…
The makers of Doctor Who Magazine continue their lavish series of bookazines with a 116-page issue celebrating some of the most memorable episodes in the series history.
Invasions of Earth includes interviews with:
Anna Barry (Day of the Daleks)
Ray Brooks (Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.)
Johnny Byrne (Warriors of the Deep)
Michael Ferguson (The Seeds of Death, The Claws of Axos)
Peter Harness (The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion)
Douglas Mackinnon (The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky, The Power of Three, Flatline)
Victor Pemberton (Fury from the Deep, The Pescatons)
Toby Whithouse (The Vampires of Venice)
Other highlights include a tribute to Nicholas Courtney, a look at Terry Nation’s original storyline for The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Jon Pertwee’s unmade story The Spare-Part People and much more.
Editor Marcus Hearn says: “Invasions of Earth have been central to Doctor Who since 1964. It was a big subject for us to tackle, but we’ve managed to cover almost every major era of the series with some fascinating articles and plenty of rare images. This is the story of our planet’s most epic battles!”
The Essential Doctor Who: Invasions of Earth is on sale now at WH Smith and all good newsagents, price £9.99.
The Doctor Is An Adorable Grump In The First Look Inside the Doctor Who/Mr. Men Mashup
The thought of an official mashup between Doctor Who and the classic works of Roger Hargreaves was already too cute to bear when it was first announced. But we’ve got an exclusive look at the first book in the series, Dr. First, and it’s everything we could’ve wanted from this crossover.
Dr. First is the first, appropriately, in a series of Mr. Men-style children’s books being written and illustrated by Hargreaves’ son Adam for a new collaboration between the BBC and Penguin Random House. The line of books will launch early next year with stories featuring the First, Fourth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Doctors, with other incarnations of the Time Lord following after.
Power Of The Daleks: First-Look Review Of The Doctor Who Story Lost Since The 60s
I’ve waited decades to watch this … Power of the Daleks. Photograph: BBC
First, a spoiler warning. This article will contain spoilers for something first transmitted on British television over 50 years ago. Why mention it? Because I would normally be desperate to avoid them.
I’ve been a fan of Doctor Who since Tom Baker was in the TARDIS. I remember being stunned the first time I found out that 100 or so episodes were missing, junked by the BBC in the 70s. I’ve spent decades fervently hoping they will turn up. But I also decided to avoid knowing anything about them beyond their names: I don’t look at telesnaps, or watch reconstructions, or listen to the audio versions. I even steer clear of the most basic synopsis.
This means that, very occasionally, I get to watch brand new Doctor Who. It happened when The Reign of Terror and The Underwater Menace came out on DVD, and most jaw-droppingly when The Enemy of the World was rediscovered in 2013. Now, it has happened again: BBC Worldwide has brought Power of the Daleks back to life as an animation. All I knew in advance was that the Daleks most likely got defeated. But essentially, I had six new episodes ahead of me.
It was much more tense than I anticipated. There’s huge interest in the story’s first episode in particular: it was Patrick Troughton’s debut as the Doctor, and it followed on directly from the first time Doctor Who ever changed face. I assumed he would pick himself up then head off on a rip-roaring adventure with the Daleks (an enemy chosen to assure the audience that this was still the same show).
Instead there’s a lengthy adversarial TARDIS scene, where Troughton does nothing to reassure us he is the same man that the first Doctor Who, William Hartnell, was. He keeps referring to The Doctor in the third person and past tense, leaving the viewer (and companions Ben and Polly) guessing. And the long pauses, with just the hum of the TARDIS audible, are excruciating.
Keeps us guessing … the second Doctor briefly sees the first Doctor’s reflection in a mirror. Photograph: BBC
Despite being the big draw, the Daleks only feature for a fleeting moment in the first episode. Instead, it is all about setting up the environment in which the adventure will take place: a colony on Vulcan, your classic futuristic-base-under-siege.
A scientist named Lesterson is investigating a mysterious alien capsule found abandoned on the planet. Inside it are three inert Daleks. You don’t need to have avoided spoilers to realise that scientists attaching electrodes to dormant Daleks is a bad idea, but the slow awakening of the Dalek being experimented on in episode two is as chilling as it is inevitable.
As chilling as it is inevitable … Lesterson experiments on a Dalek in his lab. Photograph: BBC
In some stories, Daleks can be reduced to little more than shouty stormtroopers, but they were excellently written by David Whitaker here. They are cunning, manipulative and duplicitous – and the sequence where it becomes clear they have been secretly manufacturing a Dalek army is brilliantly realised in the new animation (the original used cardboard cut-out Daleks to boost the ranks.)
Power of the Daleks has always been well regarded by fans. Despite being entirely missing, it was voted the 19th best story of all time in Doctor Who Magazine’s 50th anniversary poll. In part, this is because of the slow inexorable march over six episodes towards the grim conclusion. The leaders of the colony believe the Daleks will bring them wealth, fame or power. Only the Doctor (and of course the audience) have seen them in action and know what to expect.
Only a few fragments of original footage survive. Photograph: BBC
Lesterson’s descent into hysterical remorse as he realises the full horror of his Dalek revival was unexpected to me. All that remains of Robert James’s original performance is the audio, but the scientist sounds utterly broken by the time he faces death.
Power of the Daleks’ ending is very bleak indeed. There’s a panning shot of corpses littering the colony floor, exterminated. It’s amazing to remember that in 1966, when it aired, the show was unambiguously marketed at children, yet could still contain such an explicit on-screen massacre.
Side-by-side comparison of a shot from the animated Power of the Daleks with the original scene. Photograph: BBC
The animation has its limitations. While the sets and backgrounds look gorgeous and the faces are expressive, the technique doesn’t cope well when characters move around; at times it is rather more Oliver Postgate than Pixar. It’s also been made in 16:9, in a move that has shocked some fans. Animator Charles Norton argued that most people will watch it on widescreen TVs, so why not do it in that format? But if there’s one fandom adept at wrangling a 4:3 picture out of their DVD players it’s Whovians. Side-by-side comparisons of the programme with surviving telesnaps show the extent to which some shots have had to be reimagined.
Twelve televised Doctor Who stories from the 1960s remain that I know nothing about beyond the titles. Only time will tell whether this release will be enough of a hit for the BBC to animate another – or if there are any more missing episodes still lurking on a dusty shelf somewhere.
• Power of the Daleks is available to stream or download from the BBC Store, and will be released on DVD on 21 November.
Sophie Raworth On Why She Turned Down Strictly Come Dancing But Starred In Doctor Who
What does a night in front of the telly involve in your house?
I don’t sit down to watch any old thing, it’s always something in particular. I watched The Fall addictively and I was hooked on the first series of The Missing. The Durrells was the first drama series we’ve ever watched as a family – the children used to really look forward to Sunday evenings.
Who has the remote control?
I’d love to say it was me, but it’s the children. It’s the same with the radio. I’ve woken up to the Today programme for as long as I remember, but as soon as we get in the car they put on Capital or Heart for the school run. They do let me listen to the news bulletin at 8am, but it’s a constant battle.
How much news do you watch?
I’m always digesting it through TV, radio, online or Twitter. It’s on all day at work, but once I’ve done one news bulletin I try to switch off a bit – I watch the BBC News at Ten to check I haven’t missed anything, then go to bed.
You recently completed the Berlin marathon. Congratulations!
Thank you! The day after, I started three 12-hour days of filming. I do wonder why I do it to myself sometimes… It’s like childbirth. Absolute agony, then once you’ve got the baby or the medal, you think: let’s do it again! Now I’m thinking of doing ultra marathons…
What will you do when your legs say enough’s enough?
Don’t say that! I ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon with a 62-year-old who’s faster than me. Another friend is 63 – she’s run 130 marathons in five years and she’s still going. I’m banking on going for a few years yet.
Would you go on Strictly if you had the chance?
I had the only spray tan of my life when I did Children in Need Strictly. I’ve been asked to do the series a few times, but I want to concentrate on my running.
Watchdog is why I work in television. It was the first show I worked on, aged 16 and doing work experience. I’d never had any ambitions to present TV before, I’d always wanted to work in production.
I helped on a couple of stories, one on the safety of playgrounds and the other on the cost of ice cream in Hyde Park.
Have you ever been duped?
No, but I’m really wary. It’s really alarming, all the phone calls you get saying you’ve got a problem with your computer or the phishing emails trying to get your personal details. I can spot them, but I know a lot of people don’t.
You’ve played yourself in everything from the Ab Fab movie to Doctor Who. How come?
I can’t act, so the only way I’ll ever be in a film is as myself. Doctor Who, I did for my son. I didn’t tell him, but his face when he saw his mother in the show he adored… It was instant hero status.
Sophie Raworth presents The People Remember, Mon-Fri 9:15am BBC1, and Watchdog, Wed 8pm BBC1
The Doctor Who experience exhibition space with costumes and monsters from the show, Cardiff bay.
A petition to save the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff Bay has been signed more than 2,000 times in just a few hours.
BBC Worldwide confirmed on November 7 that their five-year sub-lease from Cardiff Council of the much-loved space will end in summer 2017.
Doctor Who fans have expressed their disappointment at the news across social media since the news broke earlier today.
(Photo: Andrew James)
The petition, created by Bex Ferriday, states: “Ok, I admit: this sounds daft and there are many, many more important things out there we should be petitioning for or against.
“But not only is ‘Doctor Who’ a global institution, Cardiff’s ‘Doctor Who Experience’ brings much in the way of tourism to an otherwise socioeconomically deprived area, gives local people jobs, does much to improve the economy…and let’s face it: in these dark post-Brexit days, we all need some escapism.”
The petition has now received 2,154 signatures as of 20.36 GMT.
A Twitter account called Save the DWE has been created to promote the campaign, and an accompanying hashtag, #savetheDWE, has been used hundreds of times.
One person commented on the petition, “we need to keep this open! It’s a great puller of people to the Bay area.”
Xenia also commented: “DWE is a great tourist attraction and belongs where Doctor Who is filmed. Please stay!”
The new interactive exhibit at the Doctor Who Experience at Cardiff Bay
The centre opened in July 2012, and quickly became the place to go for Doctor Who fans from all over the world due to its mixture of props, sets and monsters from the series on display.
BBC Worldwide said that “the Doctor Who Experience has enjoyed a fantastic five-year run in Cardiff Bay but, sadly, our five-year sub-lease from the City of Cardiff Council will come to an end in the summer of 2017″. “As to opening somewhere else, we are not sure yet.”
A spokesman for Cardiff council said: ” The land currently occupied by the Dr Who Experience is owned by the Welsh government and their development partner, Igloo Regeneration.
“It was leased to the city council for five years to enable its relocation from Olympia to Cardiff on a temporary basis.
“It has always been the intention for the site to be developed as part of the ongoing Porth Teigr regeneration project.
“The agreement was always intended to be for five years only, reflecting the nature of the attraction.
“The decision to close the Experience at the end of the lease next summer has been mutually agreed by all parties involved, including the operators BBC Worldwide.”
Out Of Print Classic Doctor Who Novels Re-published
BBC Books have released new facsimile editions of three long-out-of-print Doctor Who novelisations.
These titles, originally published in the 1960s, all feature The First Doctor (as played by William Hartnell) and include classic encounters with Richard the Lionheart, the Zarbi and his very first meeting with the Daleks.
The stories novelised include The Crusade, The Daleks and The Web Planet – check out the remarkable artwork and synopses below. All titles are available now.
From unknown Space the TARDIS returns to Earth, but not to the world Ian and Barbara know. The little blue telephone box has wheeled sharply in the cosmos and cut back through the pattern of history to the struggle between Richard the Lionheart and Saladin, Crusader v. Saracen.
When Barbara is captured by the Saracens and later kidnapped by the monstrous El Akir, Ian appeals to Richard for help, but despite having achieved a splendid victory over Saladin at Arsuf the English King has his own troubles and cannot assist him. So Ian sets out to rescue Barbara alone while the Doctor becomes involved in court intrigues.
In a dramatic climax, Ian finds himself fighting for his life in the harsh, cruel world of the twelfth century, where only the cleverest and strongest survive.
A thick fog and a girl in distress are just the things that Ian Chesterton needs to escape from a life of dull routine. He has no idea that this is merely a prelude to an adventure quite beyond any normal conception of the word. Or that Barnes Common on a foggy autumn night is the last view of Earth he may ever have.
Both he and the girl he tries to help, Barbara Wright, are transported to a distant planet named Skaro by a mysterious old man known to them as the Doctor. With his grand-daughter Susan, the Doctor sets them down in a world all but destroyed by atomic warfare, the only survivors being a peace-loving and cultured people called the Thals and their bitter enemies the Daleks, horribly mutated both in body and mind.
Thrust into constant danger, his courage and determination tested almost beyond endurance, Ian is forced to struggle against alien creatures and superior enemies with no other weapons than surprise and ingenuity.
The rewards of victory are life for Ian and his new friends…but life where? Can the Doctor return him and Barbara to Earth again?
The Zarbi, huge ant-like creatures with metallic bodies and pincer claws, are waiting for the TARDS when it’s police-box shape materialises on the cold and craggy planet Vortis. They capture Doctor Who, Ian and Vicki and take them to their weird headquarters, a city of web-like organic matter.
But the Zarbi are not the only being in Vortis. Barbara has fallen into the hands of the butterfly-creatures with soft voices and iridescent wings, whose civilisation has been destroyed by the Zarbi. She learns that her captors are only the advance party of Menoptera in exile who plan to win back their planet by and invasion form outerspace. For the Zarbi “have brought the dark age to Vortis”.
In the final thrilling chapters, Doctor Who and the crew of TARDIS encounter the power which controls both the Zarbi and the living Web City. How can they defeat this strange bladder of dazzling light which draws in and absorbs all who come into its presence?
All titles availble now from BBC Books in hardback.
Cardiff’s Doctor Who Experience will close next year!
The Doctor Who Experience is to close next summer.
Yes, you read that right. BBC Worldwide have confirmed that “the Doctor Who Experience has enjoyed a fantastic five-year run in Cardiff Bay but, sadly, our five-year sub-lease from the City of Cardiff Council will come to an end in Summer 2017.”
The Experience opened in Cardiff in July 2012, and quickly become the place to go for Doctor Who fans from all over the world.
The building is thought to be one of the first of its kind to be used for an exhibition centre, the frame is constructed using steel beams, with a cover stretched over the entire building giving it the appearance of a giant tent.
The award-winning attraction was refurbished in 2014 to include a newly scripted storyline starring the 12th Doctor, Peter Capaldi.
Peter Capaldi at the Doctor Who ExperienceThe TARDIS exhibit
The exhibition space was also given a refresh, with new props from Capaldi’s debut series, as well as sets and monsters from the history of the world’s longest-running sci-fi series.
BBC Worldwide said:”As to opening somewhere else, we are not sure yet”
Lost for 50 yrs, and now regenerated with stunning hand-drawn animation, synchronised with a digitally remastered recording of the original 1966 audio, a true classic can be yours at last.
