January 2019

BBC iPlayer reveals top programmes of 2018

31 January 2019 admin Comments 0 Comment

The most popular show of the year was Bodyguard, with the first episode becoming BBC iPlayer’s biggest ever programme, with 10.8 million requests across the year. All six episodes of the thrilling drama appear in iPlayer’s top ten programmes of the year. Smash hit Killing Eve came a close second with 9.2m requests for episode one, followed by global thriller McMafia, with 4.7m requests.

Overall in 2018 3.6 billion programmes were requested on iPlayer throughout the year.

BBC iPlayer’s top ten programmes (per series) in 2018 were:

	Programme	Episode	Requests
1	Bodyguard	Episode 1	10,842,000
2	Killing Eve	Nice Face	9,235,000
3	McMafia	Episode 1	4,741,000
4	Doctor Who	The Woman Who Fell to Earth	3,965,000
5	Keeping Faith	Episode 1	3,927,000
6	The Cry	Episode 1	3,496,000
7	Dynasties	Chimpanzee	3,447,000
8	Our Girl	Nigeria, Belize & Bangladesh Tours Episode 1	3,422,000
9	Bing	Show	3,177,000
10	MOTD Live	Sweden v England	3,153,000

BFI DVD Preview: Doctor Who – The Macra Terror (Animated)

28 January 2019 admin Comments 0 Comment

Image from DVD Preview: Doctor Who â The Macra Terror (Animated) + Q&A with actor Anneke Wills

UK 1967
Dir John Davies
With the voices of Patrick Troughton, Anneke Wills, Frazer Hines, Michael Craze
4x25min
Courtesy of BBC Studios

The Doctor (Troughton) and his companions arrive on a human colony in the far-flung future. The colony appears to be a giant recreational complex – a holiday camp for rest and relaxation. Everyone looks happy and carefree, but all is not as it seems. The colony has been infiltrated and its members brainwashed by a race of giant parasitic crab creatures called the Macra. Although the majority of this story was believed to have been lost, by using a complete audio recording and a new animation, we invite you to sit back and enjoy The Macra Terror over 50 years since it was first broadcast.

All tickets are £27, restricted to two per booker (Members pay £2 less, no concs). The price includes a copy of the DVD, which will be available to collect after the screening on the day. Please note that the Blu-ray version is not available with this offer.

Family-run sci-fi museum faces closure after council orders it to exterminate shed housing Dalek display

27 January 2019 admin Comments 0 Comment

Doctor Who fan Lisa Cole and her husband Neil did not get planning permission for the shed that houses their replica Dalek (Photo: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)

A family-run museum dedicated to Doctor Who and the world of sci-fi may be forced to close because a newly installed Dalek display does not comply with planning regulations.

The Museum of Classic Sci-Fi is home to an entire gallery devoted to Doctor Who and has attracted hundreds of visitors, but the owners of the tourist draw, in the village of Allendale, Northumberland, have been ordered to exterminate a shed that houses a large replica Dalek.

‘Gutted’

Art teacher Neil Cole built the model from scratch with his students at an after-school club and put it on display when the museum opened last October.

He and his wife and co-owner, Lisa are “gutted” after been instruced to remove the shed from their house by 5 February.

The structure, which is not blessed with Tardis-like properties, requires planning permission, which would probably not be granted as it does not fit with the character of the couple’s listed Georgian home.

Dalek will not fit inside home

Ms Cole, 44, said the Dalek would not fit inside their home.

“I didn’t realise we needed planning permission for a shed,” she said.

“If we have to get rid of it [the shed], the fate of the Dalek and the museum is unknown,” Ms Cole added.

Making people smile

The museum welcomes guests three days a week to view costumes from Doctor Who, as well as various Marvel and Thunderbirds memorabilia.

“It’s brought more than 900 people into the village, so many people have said the Dalek makes them smile as they drive up the road,” Ms Cole said.

A spokesman for Northumberland County Council said: “We wish to work with the property owner to resolve this, and we have written to him to advise that this would require planning permission and, due to the listed status of the property, an application is unlikely to be supported.”

Additional reporting by PA

A Doctor Who themed escape room is coming to Manchester

27 January 2019 admin Comments 0 Comment

Are you a fan of popular BBC sci-fi drama Doctor Who and also like paying to be locked in a room?

Then you’re in luck as the Worlds Collide game which originally opened in Bristol is coming to Manchester.

The escape room is a partnership between BBC Studios and Escape Hunt and it will be in Manchester from February 22nd.

Here’s how it works: the The players are given 60 minutes to work out how to close the tear before the Cybermen break through, using only what remains of Montague, his prototype time engine and the extensive collection of time-related artefacts acquired over the course of his experiments. The fate of the universe rests in their hands – if they take too long the human race will be ‘upgraded’.

If that all sounds like nonsense to you – basically you have an hour to work out how to close ‘the tear’ and if you don’t beat the time limit you lose.

It will be based near the Corn Exchange and you can book tickets for the Manchester dates here.

The other locations for the experience are as follows:

Leeds – 25/01/2019

Oxford – 08/02/2019

Manchester – 22/02/2019

Reading – 08/03/2019

Birmingham – 22/03/2019

Doctor Who, Scratchman: Tom Baker in video interview

25 January 2019 admin Comments 0 Comment

Tom Baker granted a video interview with Doctor Who Magazine writer Emily Cook to promote his new fourth Doctor book, Scratchman.

The official plot of Scratchman:

The fourth Doctor, Harry Sullivan and Sarah Jane Smith arrive at a remote Scottish island, when their holiday is cut short by the appearance of strange creatures – hideous scarecrows, who are preying on the local population. The islanders are living in fear, and the Doctor vows to save them all. But it doesn’t go to plan – the time travellers have fallen into a trap, and Scratchman is coming for them.
With the fate of the universe hanging in the balance, the Doctor must battle an ancient force from another dimension, one who claims to be the Devil. Scratchman wants to know what the Doctor is most afraid of. And the Doctor’s worst nightmares are coming out to play…

In the interview, Tom Baker described the impetus for writing Scratchman, a book based on his original plans to make a movie based on the concept:

“This is a more elaborate version [than the movie would be] and with many strands, because it seems to me that Doctor Who moves backwards and forwards in time and has dreams. You don’t know where he is all the time because he’s in different places. And so I thought I could throw anything in it that I liked ‒ and I did!”

In the video, Baker tells many amusing anecdotes, including ones about tripping over his famous fourth Doctor scarf ‒ deliberately! He even gave some insight into an upcoming episode of Big Finish he recently recorded.

I won’t repeat all the amusing things Tom Baker said in the video because it’s much better to watch it yourself. It’s classic Tom Baker!

Doctor Who: Scratchman became available today on Amazon.

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Doctor Who kicks off series 12 filming with first-look at Jodie Whittaker and cast

24 January 2019 admin Comments 0 Comment

#DoctorWho is back in production! pic.twitter.com/vouZZfMuTV

— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) January 23, 2019

That faint sound you’re hearing might just be the TARDIS re-materialising because Doctor Who has officially started filming series 12!

Fresh off her encounter with one very ticked off Dalek on New Year’s Day, Jodie Whittaker is all smiles in a first-look photo of the cast that confirms they’re officially back in production on new episodes:

The background location might not be giving off any strong hints, but we actually do know where Jodie, Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill are filming thanks to the cast of Walsh’s other show, The Chase.

His chasers revealed while accepting a National Television Award on Tuesday (January 22) that Bradley couldn’t be with them because he was busy working on Doctor Who in South Africa!

Doctor Who previously used South Africa to double for the American Deep South in the Thirteenth Doctor adventure ‘Rosa’, which saw the TARDIS family trying to preserve a historic moment in the American civil rights movement from a time meddler.

Unfortunately, fans are facing another long wait for series 12 because the BBC has confirmed that it won’t be premiering this year. On the bright side, BBC Director General Tony Hall has promised that those episodes will at least premiere in “very early in 2020”

River takes on the Master (all of them!) and more: Big Finish Doctor Who audio releases for January

23 January 2019 admin Comments 0 Comment

Big Finish are kicking of 2019 with a host of exciting new audio adventures for fans to enjoy. Here’s a roundup of what’s coming this month.

The Counter-Measures return for another case…

Counter-Measures are looking into Open Band – the disciples of the so-called Swami of Swammcombe, Lord Cavall. How true are Cavall’s teachings? What happens during the elite ‘Visualisation’ sessions? And what does this all have to do with the King under the hill? This case for the New Counter-Measures is out now.

Order Counter-Measures: The Hollow King from Big Finish here

It’s River versus the Master… all of them!

Alex Kingston takes on Michelle Gomez, Eric Roberts, Derek Jacobi and Geoffrey Beevers in the fifth series of The Diary of River Song. This boxset sees the audio debut of not only Missy, but of the television movie Master, not seen since the Doctor Who movie from 1996!

Order The Diary of River Song Series 5 from Big Finish here

A mystery threatens the future of the First Doctor and the original TARDIS team…

The original but slightly different TARDIS team are back in a historical adventure in The Phoenicians. Then, the TARDIS gets trapped in between space and time, and the travellers must face their greatest fears, and the mysterious woman, played by Carole Ann Ford.

Order Doctor Who: The First Doctor Adventures Volume 3 from Big Finish here

Kamelion returns to Doctor Who

The Doctor Who Main Range in 2019 sees the return of the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough, and the revival of Kamelion, the shape changing android from the 1980’s, voiced by Jon Culshaw. In this first adventure, they must find an escaped convict hiding in gas form on a planet of mists…

Order Doctor Who Main Range: Devil in the Mist from Big Finish here

The Brigadier meets the Savage in a new Short Trip

Leela meets the Brigadier in a Doctor Who first during the first Doctor Who Short Trip of 2019! These short stories in the TARDIS are available at just £2.99 each. The Brigadier was only in Geneva to finalise his retirement, but how could he resist? Investigating, the Brigadier quickly finds something unusual. A warrior in leathers. A warrior called Leela…

Order Doctor Who Short Trips: The Revisionists from Big Finish here

The Fourth Doctor gets a new companion

The Fourth Doctor picks up a new companion in the beginning of series 8 of the Fourth Doctor Adventures. Welcome Ann Kelso, and she’s set to make a huge impact on the Fourth Doctor’s life… Together the Fourth Doctor, Ann Kelso and K9 will battle Drashigs, meet Ada Lovelace and uncover a conspiracy….

Order Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor Adventures Series 8 – Volume 1 from Big Finish here

All titles are initially available exclusively from the Big Finish website in January.

Jodie Whittaker and companion actors headed abroad

22 January 2019 admin Comments 0 Comment

Jodie Whittaker, Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole were photographed at Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport Saturday evening, January 19.

Doctor Who is on my flight!!! pic.twitter.com/3W0wzkKnrr

— Craig Bender (@thinguy) January 19, 2019

According to the Daily Star, BBC Director General Tony Hall said of Doctor Who production:

“They are starting work again in cold January… well, it won’t be so cold where they are!”

Although the Daily Star didn’t say where the quote from Director General Hall came from, it is assumed he stated this from the panel after the screening of the Doctor Who New Year’s special Resolution in December.

According to the flights scheduled to leave from Heathrow Terminal 3 Saturday evening, it is very likely the trio are headed back to South Africa for more Doctor Who filming. Doctor Who Series 11 episodes The Ghost Monument and Rosa were filmed in South Africa in January of last year.

Novelisations of ‘Resurrection of the Daleks’ and ‘Revelation of the Daleks’ announced

22 January 2019 admin Comments 0 Comment

Resurrection of the Daleks and Revelation of the Daleks, two iconic Doctor Who adventures by Eric Saward, one of the show’s longest serving script editors, will be published by BBC Books in 2019. Written by Saward himself, these novels are the only two classic-era Doctor Who adventures yet to be novelised, and their publication more than three decades after their first TV transmission will fill a long-held gap in fans’ collections the world over.

Each book will be published as a £12.99 hardback in 2019, with paperback editions, as part of the Target range, to follow in 2020.

Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks

The universe is at war. Action takes courage… The TARDIS is ensnared in a time corridor, catapulting it into derelict docklands on 20th century Earth. The Doctor and his companions, Tegan and Turlough, stumble on a warehouse harbouring fugitives from the future at the far end of the corridor – and are soon under attack from a Dalek assault force.

The Doctor’s oldest enemies have set in motion an intricate and sinister plot to resurrect their race from the ashes of an interstellar war. For the Daleks’ plans to succeed, they must set free their creator, Davros, from a galactic prison – and force the Doctor to help them achieve total control over time and space. But the embittered Davros has ideas of his own…

Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks will publish on 18 July 2019 in hardback priced £12.99 and can be pre-ordered here.

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Doctor Who: Revelation of the Daleks

Beware the hands that heal… The Doctor and Peri land on the planet Necros to visit the funerary home Tranquil Repose – where the dead are interred and the near-dead placed in suspended animation until such time as their conditions can be cured.

But the Great Healer of Tranquil Repose is far from benign. Under his command, Daleks guard the catacombs where sickening experiments are conducted on human bodies. The new life he offers the dying comes at a terrible cost – and the Doctor and Peri are being lured into a trap that will change them forever.

Eric Saward has written for both radio and television, script edited Doctor Who for five years and also written four original stories for the show. During this time, he also novelised four scripts and wrote the first ever Doctor Who radio serial.

Doctor Who: Revelation of the Daleks will publish on 14 November 2019 in hardback priced £12.99 and can be pre-ordered here.

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Inside the world’s first Doctor Who escape room now open in Bristol

17 January 2019 admin Comments 0 Comment

“Use the sonic screwdriver,” somebody shouted enthusiastically in the office of an eccentric billionaire, whose efforts to develop commercial time travel have done some serious damage to the fabric of space and time.

Worlds collide in Cabot Circus through a small door between Costa and Pizza Express, where Planet Earth’s first Doctor Who escape room is now open.

‘Worlds Collide’ is the name of the game at Escape Hunt, which has been developed alongside the BBC and gives players 60 minutes to save the human race. After Bristol, the game will also be opening at Escape Hunt locations in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Oxford and Reading.

It’s suitable for both Doctor Who super fans, and those who don’t know the difference between a Dalek and a dandelion, and couldn’t tell you that 1966 was the year not just when England won the World Cup but also when the Second Doctor first played a recorder.

This being an escape room where a variety of clues need to be solved in order to prevent Cybermen from attacking Earth, we’re not able to reveal much of what is contained inside. Suffice to say, there are objects from the distant past as well as the distant future, games of both wit and skill, and even a time machine.

One definite Doctor Who fan who was one of the first people to play Worlds Collide was Bedwyr Gullidge, who had travelled to Cabot Circus from his home in Cardiff where he is assistant editor of the Doctor Who blog, Blogtor Who.

“I really enjoyed the way in which it was all to do with the Cybermen, quite an iconic monster,” 32-year-old Bedwyr told Bristol24/7.

“This was my first ever escape room and I’m here because it’s Doctor Who-related. If that’s your passion, you will want to be able to have this experience.

“There are a lot of references and features that a Doctor Who fan will pick up and which will make it really enjoyable for them, but it’s certainly not compulsory to be aware of 50-plus years of Doctor Who history to really enjoy the game.”

Do you need to use the sonic screwdriver to save our planet? We couldn’t possibly say. Like the stage version of The Mousetrap, the fun is in keeping the secret, unless you want the Cybermen to rule the world.

A game of Worlds Collide costs £30 per person. For more information and to book, visit www.escapehunt.com/doctorwho