The latest episode of Doctor Who: The Fan Show has an exclusive interview with man behind one of the Doctor’s closest friends, John Barrowman.
Barrowman has played the time-traveling Captain Jack Harkness since meeting the Ninth Doctor and Rose in the 2005 episode, The Empty Child. The character would go on to return to Doctor Who on a number of occasions and also feature in the spin-off series, Torchwood
Barrowman is returning to the role once more in the Big Finish audio drama box set, The Lives of Captain Jack — which is released in June. The four story set also stars: Russell Tovey, who starred in Doctor Who as Midshipman Alonso Frame and reprises the role here; Camille Coduri as Rose’s mum Jackie Tyler; Katy Manning, known to Who fans as companion Jo Grant; and the Fan Show’s very own Christel Dee amongst many more. Read more about the release here.
Speaking to The Fan Show, John talked about what it would be like for Jack to meet the current regeneration, the Twelfth Doctor. The actor said:
“I would like to see Peter Capaldi’s Doctor meet Jack.
The Doctor’s a little bit older, perfect – Jack’s matured a little bit. Would that spark still be there? Would Jack still feel the same about him?
Would he think, ‘I’m not sure about your cape there, sir. What happened to the coat? Why a cape? Why have you gone all Dracula on me!?’”
Watch the latest episode of Doctor Who: The Fan Show featuring John Barrowman in the player below.
EXCLUSIVE ART CARDS WITH DOCTOR WHO SERIES 10 FROM BBC STORE
New Doctor Who is just weeks away and the BBC Store has a very special offer for fans to celebrate the final series starring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor.
Whovians can register their interest in owning Doctor Who Series 10 digitally and receive a pack of 10 EXCLUSIVE Art Cards.
REGISTER HERE
The digital download will be available to purchase on the BBC Store from April 16, 2017 and the first 500 customers to purchase Doctor Who Series 10 (SD or HD) get Ten FREE Doctor Who art cards, exclusive to BBC Store.
Series 10 looks to be a very special one for Whovians with the return of the Ice Warriors, the Cybermen and Missy – not to mention new companion Bill Potts.
Take a look at some of the exclusive art cards below:
This spring see the return of Doctor Who to our screens and to celebrate a new series of exciting adventures and monsters – old and new – the Doctor Who Experience is holding a special Easter Monster Day – our biggest yet!
Kicking off the monster activities will be the award-winning prosthetic company Millennium FX, who bring to life many of the Doctor Who monsters you see on your screens.
Hosting workshops throughout the day, Millennium FX will show you the design process behind the how they create monsters, including their work with prosthetics. You’ll also get a chance to design your own monster yourself!
The specially- skilled Millennium FX make up-artists will also be on hand to partially convert YOU into a monster. Choose between becoming a Cyberman or a Zygon and share your conversion on social media with your friends! Last but not least, a monster day is incomplete without live monsters roaming about…so be prepared as the Doctor will need all the help from his official companions!
PLUS more monster activities and experiences to be announced…so watch this space for updates in the coming weeks. Tickets on sale now.
Classic Doctor Who audio ‘Spare Parts’ on Limited Edition Vinyl
Audio producers Big Finish have announced details on a special limited edition vinyl edition of one of their most popular stories, Spare Parts.
Originally released in 2002, Spare Parts is a Cybermen “origin story” and was credited by the BBC for the 2006 television episode, Rise of the Cybermen. It was written by Marc Platt, who scripted the Seventh Doctor adventure Ghost Light for television in 1989.
This 4 LP set also includes a new behind-the-scenes feature on the production of this epic genesis-of-the-Cyberman tale.
Check out the details and artwork below.
SPARE PARTS
By Marc Platt
On a dark frozen planet where no planet should be, in a doomed city with a sky of stone, the last denizens of Earth’s long-lost twin will pay any price to survive, even if the laser scalpels cost them their love and hate and humanity.
And in the mat-infested streets, around tea-time, the Doctor and Nyssa unearth a black market in second-hand body parts and run the gauntlet of augmented police and their augmented horses.
And just between the tramstop and the picturehouse, their worst suspicions are confirmed: the Cybermen have only just begun, and the Doctor will be, just as he always has been, their saviour…
Spare Parts stars: Peter Davison as The Fifth Doctor, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, Nicholas Briggs as the Cybermen, and many more.
In the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine — issue 510 out this week, read all about it here — showrunner Steven Moffat talks about meeting the actors who played the Doctor throughout the years.
In the regular DWM feature Ask Steven, the writer unveils his “Classic Doctor Meet Sheet” which reveals that he has met all but two of the actors to play the Time Lord; those being the First Doctor, William Hartnell, and the Second Doctor, Patrick Troughton.
Speaking about his encounter with Third Doctor actor Jon Pertwee, the Doctor Who boss said:
“He was incredibly nice, and signed a picture for me, and told how he’d loved doing Doctor Who, and would always miss it. I said, with the tact that has never left me, ‘Oh well, Tom Baker next!’”
Speaking of the Fourth Doctor, Steven queued up to meet Tom Baker in Glasgow in the 1970s (fans may be delighted to know that a very young David Tennant was also present). He recalls:
“‘He handed me a Target Books badge, which I treasured for most of that week, and signed my copy of Planet of the Spiders, which I have to this day.”
Moffat also fondly discusses meeting Doctors Five through Eight in his monthly column for Doctor Who Magazine. Issue 510 also includes tributes to the late actor, Sir John Hurt, known to Who fans as the War Doctor.
Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce the latest titles in its Lethbridge-Stewart range of novels are now available for pre-order!
Series four features Night of the Intelligence by Andy Frankham-Allen, released in May; The Daughters of Earth by Sarah Groenewegen, released in June; and The Dreamer’s Lament by Benjamin Buford-Jones released in July.
Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell, says: “We’re very excited about our latest series of novels, which not only begins our 50th Anniversary celebrations of the Great Intelligence, but also brings two new authors to the novel range.”
Night of the Intelligence is released the same month as the novella, Day of the Intelligence, both delving into different aspects of the Intelligence’s origin story.
Range Editor/Author Andy Frankham-Allen says: “Day began as a series of interludes set within the framework of Night, but when we considered the eventual word count of Night (which is deliberately set out to be the longest novel in the range thus far) we decided to make Day a novella in its own right. Although both books are connected, in so much as they both explore the origins of the Intelligence, they are still written in such a way that you don’t necessarily need to read one to understand the other. Although, of course, if you have both, then you will get a fuller and more enriching experience.”
The cover art is another masterpiece by Colin Howard. Colin says: “I was thrilled to find out my next cover was to feature Professor Travers, in a tribute to Chris Achilleos’ original Three Doctors Target novelisation. I decided to put Jack Watling as the professor on the cover in his ‘possessed by the Intelligence’ state from The Web of Fear. I screen-grabbed a reference from the platform scene with Victoria, and painted his portrait on my WACOM Intuos Pro at around 2-300 x magnification, colouring as I went, with the shading from the screen-shot as reference. The visualisation of the Intelligence was a greater challenge, with the brief stating an ‘ethereal old man-like figure’ in the Omega pose. So, to give the impression of the burning Intelligence within, I opted for a glow from the eyes and mouth, stopping short at having the energy crack the parchment-like figure’s skin.
With Owen, there was a modern reference picture of Ryan Jaymes (a friend of Andy’s, who ‘modelled’ for us) from which to base the character on. It was just a matter of late-’60s/early-’70s hair needing to be applied, as well as clothing based on Adrian Salmon’s character guide art. I thought it would also be nice to add some sympathetic lighting, picked from colours in the background and reflected on the face/hair (including a Shaggy from Scooby Doo style Beard!).
Thonmi was slightly more challenging, as it had to be the same actor who portrayed him in The Abominable Snowmen, David Spenser, but aged somewhat. So the relevant robes and head-dress were required. Luckily with the assistance of Andy, I managed to find a reference online of the actor in later days so was able to incorporate this into the visualisation of Thonmi you see now on the cover.”
With Owain taking a more prominent role in Night of the Intelligence, the second novel, The Daughters of Earth, sees Lethbridge-Stewart’s fiancee, Sally, take a more central role in the story, in what will prove to be something of a game-changer for the series as a whole.
Andy Frankham-Allen says: “The relationship between Lethbridge-Stewart and Sally has been simmering away in the background of the series so far, ten novels in total. The Daughters of Earth has been set up very deliberately to put Sally in a position that makes her look at her engagement in a very different way.”
The third book, The Dreamer’s Lament, sees the welcome return of Chorely, who was last seen in the novel, The Grandfather Infestation.
Shaun Russell says: “Readers adored the team-up of Lethbridge-Stewart and Chorley in 2015’s Mutually Assured Domination, so it was only a matter of time before we paired them together once again, removing them from all familiar surroundings, leaving them with no choice but to work together. With, no doubt, hilarious results.”
Night of the Intelligence is available for pre-order now, for £8.99 (+ p&p). You can pre-order it individually or as part of the discounted UK bundle for only £26.25 (including postage), saving £9.72, or an international bundle for only £37.00 (including postage), saving £13.97. Or, you can buy it as part of our yearly subscription offer. Order early to avoid disappointment.
The original Mondasian Cybermen return to Doctor Who as filming begins on the final block of the forthcoming series…
Filming has begun on the final two episodes of Doctor Who series 10, with this first look image revealing the return of a much-feared classic foe.
The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) is pictured with the Mondasian Cybermen – the original version of the Doctor’s deadly enemies who hail from the planet Mondas and have not been seen in Doctor Who for over fifty years.
The Mondasian Cybermen – Peter Capaldi’s long-time favourite foe – will return in episodes 11 and 12 of the series, alongside Capaldi as the Doctor, Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts, Matt Lucas as Nardole and Michelle Gomez as Missy. The episodes, written by Steven Moffat and directed by Rachel Talalay, are now filming in Cardiff.
The new series of Doctor Who begins on BBC One on Saturday 15 April 2017.
Next month not only sees the return of Doctor Who to television, it also sees the publication of three original novels featuring The Twelfth Doctor, as played by Peter Capaldi.
The three books, which feature new companion Bill (Pearl Mackie) and the return of Nardole (Matt Lucas), hit shelves on April 20 and are avilable for pre-order now (see links below).
We have all the details and stunning artwork below.
DIAMOND DOGS
By Mike Tucker
“Here on Saturn, it literally rains diamonds.”
For over fifteen years the crew of Kollo-Zarnista Mining Facility 27 has been extracting diamonds from deep within the atmosphere of Saturn, diamonds that help to fund the ever-expanding Human Empire. But when a mining operation goes wrong, a rescue mission must be launched to save a worker lost overboard, a worker who claims that he has seen something amongst the swirling clouds.
Something that can’t possibly exist.
When the Doctor and Bill arrive, they immediately find themselves caught between hostile miners, suspicious security guards and corrupt company officials as they face accusations of sabotage and diamond theft.
And below them, in the crushing atmosphere of the gas giant, something is starting to rise.
PLAGUE CITY
By Jonathan Morris
“We should leave. We definitely should leave. But… chatty ghosts!”
The year is 1645, and Edinburgh is in the grip of the worst plague in its history. Nobody knows who will be the next to succumb – nobody except the Night Doctor, a masked figure that stalks the streets, seeking out those who will not live to see another day.
But death is not the end. The Doctor, Bill and Nardole discover that the living are being haunted by the recently departed – by ghosts that do not know they are dead. And there are other creatures lurking in the shadows, slithering, creeping creatures filled with an insatiable hunger.
The Doctor and his friends must face the terrifying secret of the Street of Sorrows – that something which has lain dormant for two hundred million years is due to destroy the entire city…
THE SHINING MAN
By Cavan Scott
“Being scared is the least of your worries.”
The Shining Men are everywhere. You spot them out of the corner of your eye. Abnormally tall, with long lank hair, blank faces and blazing eyes. If they catch you, they’ll drag you away to who knows where. No one is safe. They’re on every street corner. Waiting. Watching. Shining bright.
Of course it’s a hoax. It has to be, right? It started as a joke, a prank for Halloween. Then it went viral. Idiots dressing up as monsters. Giving folk a scare. Silly masks and fright wigs. No one gets hurt. Because bogeymen aren’t real.
Until people start going missing and lights burn in the darkness. Burning like eyes. But help is on its way, in the form of a strange man called the Doctor and his friend, Bill.
The Doctor will keep us safe. The Doctor will stop the monsters. Unless the monsters stop the Doctor first…
Amazon UK have now listed the first half of the forthcoming series (10) of Doctor Who. It may be pe-ordered now with a publication date of May 29, 2017
The latest issue of Doctor Who Adventures, the magazine for younger Whovians, is available in the UK now and comes with usual features and a FREE Time Lord Travel Kit!
Check out the cover art and a look inside Doctor Who Adventures #22 below.
WINGS OF THE PREDATOR
Andrew Cartmel brings you the further adventures of the Doctor and Jata the horse as they visit the Zannger Institute for the Genetically Privileged.
SKARO RESEARCH CENTRE
Gain access to the Skaro Research Centre and make your own Dalek Trooper helmet!
UNIT ALIEN ARCHIVE
And before you wear your helmet, read up on the Dalek Troopers themselves!
CUT OUT AND CONQUER
Cut out some awesome figures and use them to decorate your desktop.
THE PATERNOSTER GANG INVESTIGATES
The Paternoster Gang investigate the Assassin on the Railroads, in a thrilling tale from Kieron Moore!
