January 2020 – Page 2

The Runaway comes to YouTube and launches internationally

16 January 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

More Doctor Who fans than ever can now step inside a VR version of the TARDIS as the BBC’s hit virtual reality experience Doctor Who: The Runaway comes to the Doctor Who YouTube channel and launches internationally.

The VR experience stars Jodie Whittaker voicing an animated version of the Thirteenth Doctor, a role she’s just reprised in the new series on TV. The viewer crash lands in the TARDIS and is quickly recruited by the Doctor to help return a strange and potentially dangerous creature called Volta to its home planet.

Where previously the experience has only been available to view on VR headsets like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Samsung Gear VR, the YouTube 360 version enables anyone with an entry level VR headset like a Google Cardboard to step into the TARDIS and try out the adventure for themselves.

The international launch will also enable the show’s fans around the world to team up with the Doctor in virtual reality. Until now, The Runaway has only been available in the UK, but is now available globally for free on the Steam store for the first time, is launching on the Oculus and Viveport stores internationally, and globally on the BBC VR app for the Oculus Go and Samsung Gear VR.

Doctor Who: The Runaway features new original music from series composer Segun Akinola, and is directed by Mathias Chelebourg, whose previous work in virtual reality includes Alice, the Virtual Reality Play and The Real Thing VR. The script was an original story written by Victoria Asare-Archer, and is being published today on the BBC Writersroom blog.

Doctor Who: The Runaway has been produced by the BBC’s digital drama team, BBC VR Hub and Passion Animation Studios. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year and has since been shown at the Sandbox Immersive Festival in China and the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, among many others.

The BBC VR Hub has also taken it on an extensive tour of UK libraries, enabling people without VR headsets to try it in their local library.

Get all the details on Nikola Telsa’s Night of Terror

14 January 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

Doctor Who - Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror

Get all the details ahead of the next episode in Series 12, Nikola Telsa’s Night of Terror.

’Nikola Tesla dreamed up the twentieth century before it happened!’ 1903. On the edge of Niagara Falls, something is wrong at Nikola Tesla’s generator plant. Who or what is sabotaging the maverick inventor’s work? Has he really received a message from Mars? And where does his great rival Thomas Edison fit into these events? The Doctor, Yaz, Ryan and Graham must join forces with one of history’s great minds, to save both him and planet Earth.

Doctor Who - Nikola Telsa’s Night of Terror

This episode also features new writing and directing talent to Doctor Who, with the episode written by Nina Metivier and directed by Nida Manzoor.

Chris Chibnall (Showrunner) says:

“We’re thrilled that Doctor Who continues to attract some of the most exciting and dynamic talent working in television. Along with our returning faces, we’re excited to welcome new members to the Doctor Who family. The Doctor Who team is crammed with British television’s brightest writers and directors: we’ve adored working with them and can’t wait to show you the explosive stuff they’ve created!”

Also starring in this episode are Goran Višnjić, Robert Glenister and Anjli Mohindra.

Robert Glenister said:

“I first appeared in Doctor Who in The Caves of Androzani at the tender age of 24 in 1984. Thirty-five years later I got to be in it again at the not so tender age of nearly 60. How time flies!”

On appearing in Doctor Who, Anjli Mohindra says:

“As a huge fan of the last series, it’s a bit of a dream come true getting to work opposite Jodie, Mandip, Tosin and of course after all these years, to work with Bradley again! There’s something undeniably special about Jodie’s Doctor, and to be bringing some terror to the joint was rather fun indeed.”

Speaking ahead of his debut Doctor Who appearance, Goran Višnjić said:

“I’ve always been a huge fan of Doctor Who, so when the offer to play one of my favourite people in history came, it made me so happy to be part of the show and it turned into this awesome, dream job!”

Doctor Who – Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror is coming this Sunday 19th January at 7:10pm on BBC One, or on BBC America at 8pm ET, 7pm CT.

CELEBRATING CHRIS ACHILLEOS: CANDY JAR CALLS FOR YOUR MEMORIES

14 January 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

Candy Jar Books would like Doctor Who readers to share their thoughts and memories of Chris Achilléos’ Doctor Who artwork (as well as the Target books that featured his art).

Whether they set you on a path that ultimately led to a career, or simply gave you a few lazy Sundays’ entertainment, we’d love to hear your stories. Do you have images of you with Chris, or photos of yourself reading these iconic Target books as a child? We’d love to see them. We want to pay tribute to why these books really matter – how they have touched lives all over the world.

Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell, says: “Last year, we put out a free release celebrating the career of Terrance Dicks, after his passing. A lot of our contributors said that Terrance, and the Target range which he and Chris defined, got them into reading, got them into science fiction, got them into writing as a discipline and ultimately a career. These books changed lives! They changed my life! We want Klaak! to celebrate this.”

These contributions will be compiled into a chapter in the upcoming book, Kklak!: The Doctor Who Artwork of Chris Achilléos.

Send your memories, photos or artwork to shaun@candyjarbooks.co.uk with the subject heading KKLAK!

Each contributor will receive a personally signed paperback copy of the book.

Additional info:

For the first time ever, an upcoming book, Kklak: the Doctor Who Art of Chris Achilléos, will compile into one volume the entirety of Chris’ artwork for Target. The artwork will be presented chronologically, with accompanying commentary from the artist himself. The book will begin with an exclusive foreword from Achilléos’ long-time friend and collaborator – and the most prolific and popular of all Target’s writers – the late Terrance Dicks.

In many ways, Kklak… is a love letter to the Target range, which was itself a love letter to the Doctor Who fandom. It was Target’s genuine, tangible affection for the universe of Doctor Who that first inspired Candy Jar’s head of publishing, Shaun Russell, to get into the book world. As Shaun explains:

“The Target novels were a huge part of our childhoods. And when it came to our own range of Doctor Who books, the Lethbridge-Stewart series, they were an inspiration. You could always tell that they were produced by fellow fans. There was an attention to detail, and a level of quality, which spoke of the affection their creators held for the show. From the first moment you picked up a Target title, with one of Chris Achilléos’ brilliant designs on the cover, you knew that you were in for something special.”

Featuring every one of Achilléos’ Doctor Who designs, as well as never before seen material giving insight into his creative process, Kklak: the Doctor Who Art of Chris Achilléos is released in late spring 2020 by Candy Jar Books www.candyjarbooks.co.uk

Also, Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants is back in print and available on Amazon. It can be found here.

Season 14 announced as the next instalment in The Collection Blu-ray range

14 January 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

Doctor Who - Season 14 the Collection

Tom Baker’s third season as the Fourth Doctor is the next release to come to Blu-Ray, in The Collection – Season 14, on Monday 20th April.

In 1976, Doctor Who took a dramatic new turn, electrifying audiences with changes in format, companion and appearance of the TARDIS. Season 14 saw the departure of the Doctor’s long-term companion Sarah Jane Smith, and the introduction of Leela. The season contains some of Tom Baker’s most iconic serials, with intrepid investigations in Victorian London, deadly robots in a murderous whodunit, a return to the Doctor’s homeworld, and one of the saddest goodbyes in Doctor Who history.

Producer Phillip Hinchliffe led Doctor Who through a creative high, joined by Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, Louise Jameson as the Doctor’s captivating new companion Leela and guests stars Tim Pigott-Smith, Stephen Thorne, Peter Pratt, Pamela Salem, David Collings, Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter.

Doctor Who - Season 14 the Collection

With all episodes newly remastered from the best available sources, this Blu-ray box set also contains extensive and exclusive special features which include:

Immersive 5.1 surround sound – The Deadly Assassin
Brand new audio commentaries – Tom Baker and Matthew Sweet on selected episodes of The Face of Evil and The Talons of Weng-Chiang.
Behind the Sofa – New episodes with Tom Baker, Louise Jameson, Philip Hinchcliffe, plus companions Sophie Aldred and Peter Purves.
Our Sarah Jane – Elisabeth Sladen Tribute – A feature-length look at the life and career of Sarah Jane Smith, played by Elisabeth Sladen.
Whose Doctor Who Revisited – Toby Hadoke meets the producers and grown-up stars of the very first Who Documentary.
In Conversation – Matthew Sweet chats to producer Philip Hinchcliffe.
Blu-Ray trailer – Louise Jameson has trouble with her new home assistant.
Brand new interviews
Rare archive material
Convention footage
HD photo galleries
Scripts, costume designs, rare BBC production files and other gems from our PDF archive

A specially shot announcement trailer has debuted on the Doctor Who YouTube channel, written by new series contributor Pete McTighe (Kerblam!) and featuring Louise Jameson and her troublesome home assistant.

Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 14 includes the following stories from 1976-1977:

- - The Masque of Mandragora
  - The Hand of Fear
  - The Deadly Assassin
  - The Face of Evil
  - The Robots of Death
  - The Talons of Weng-Chiang

Please help The Gallifreyan Newsroom by pre-ordering this set from the link below.

Doctor Who – The Collection – Season 14 [Blu-ray] [2020]

Orphan 55: Overnight Ratings

13 January 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

Image result for orphan 55

According to Lizo Mzimba at the BBC Doctor Who again had its lowest overnight for the current team with 4.19m. But so far the series has performed more strongly on catch up viewing.

https://twitter.com/lizo_mzimba/status/1216659649694445568

Warren Brown and Matthew McNulty to star in Doctor Who

9 January 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

Following Doctor Who’s explosive return to screens on New Year’s Day, stars of television Warren Brown and Matthew McNulty are set to guest star in an upcoming episode as team TARDIS work to solve a mystery which threatens the entire planet…

Best known for his roles in Versailles, The Bay and more recently Deadwater Fell, Matthew McNulty says:

“I had such a blast filming the episode and couldn’t ask for anything more for my Doctor Who debut.”

Ahead of his debut role in Doctor Who, Warren Brown who has starred in a variety of television roles including Luther, Liar and Strike Back says:

“I was on such a high when I got the call from my agent, then such a low when I had to keep it top secret and couldn’t tell anyone! I can honestly say though it was and has been one of the most fun jobs I’ve ever had to date!”

Matt Strevens, Executive Producer, says:

“We are totally thrilled to be welcoming Matthew and Warren to the cast. Their talent and versatility sets this action adventure alight.”

Doctor Who continues on BBC One on Sunday 12 January at 7.10pm.

Jodie Whittaker reprises her role as the Thirteenth Doctor alongside Tosin Cole (Ryan) Mandip Gill (Yaz) and Bradley Walsh (Graham) who are all returning for their second series.

Chris Chibnall returns as Showrunner with Matt Strevens as Executive Producer.

Confirmed titles and synopsis’ for episodes 4, 5 & 6 of Series 12.

9 January 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

Image result for doctor who series 12

Confirmed titles and synopsis’ for episodes 4, 5 & 6 of Series 12.

12.4: Nikola Tesla’s Night Of Terror
Written by: Nina Metivier. Directed by: Nida Manzoor.

Synopsis:
The time: the earliest years of the 20th century. The place: New York City. Inventor Nikola Tesla is at war with his rival Thomas Edison. However, there’s an even greater threat in their midst…

12.5: Fugitive Of The Judoon
Written by: Vinay Patel. Directed by: Nida Manzoor.

Synopsis:
Stomping their way into present-day Gloucester, the Judoon are on the hunt for someone on the run. Who is this fugitive? And why are these alien mercenaries after them?

12.6: Praxeus
Written by: Pete McTighe. Directed by: Jamie Magnus Stone.

Synopsis:
The Doctor and her friends split up to investigate multiple mysteries across planet Earth. What they find will threaten all of humanity…

Further episode titles and synopsis’ will be confirmed in due course.

Spyfall Episode 1: Consolidated Ratings

9 January 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

Image result for spyfall episode 1 consolidated rating

According to Lizo Mzimba of the BBC, Doctor Who’s Ep 1 catch-up figures are mostly in. It’s now been watched by TV audience of 6.70 million, narrowly beating Dracula’s 6.63 million. Is this a good figure or not? Well, it depends on your point on view, and particularly what kind of show you think Doctor Who should be.

Some will say it’s good that when catch-up is included Doctor Who hasn’t continued dropping below 2018 figures…

Others will say 2018 was a chance to bring in new viewers with a new female Doctor, something that in publicity terms is one of the biggest boosts the show’s ever had. And that is disappointing that it appears it hasn’t managed to retain at least some of those additional viewers.

We won’t get the final 7 day figures till Monday, but it looks like Spyfall Part 1 will rank 10th out of the 12 Jodie Whittaker episodes (that have catch up figures available) so far. So towards the bottom end, but not right at the bottom as it was on overnights.

With the show now possibly back at the levels of Peter Capaldi’s 2nd/3rd series. His season opener in 2015 The Magician’s Apprentice had an equivalent figure of 6.54m, 2017’s The Pilot had 6.68m.

Whether you think this is good/bad depends. The recent Gavin & Stacey and the first half of Jodie Whittaker’s 2018 series showed that even against background of changing viewing habits we’ll still tune in for appointment to view shows and that that’s still possible for Doctor Who.

Many will think Doctor Who should still be one those shows. Others will be happy that it’s a solidly performing show with a core, loyal audience.

It’s still early days this series, viewing figures could climb dramatically, or the opposite, or stay around the same. If they rise, everyone will be happy. If they stay the same, reaction will be mixed for the reasons above.

If they fall over the series, there could be concern in some quarters, especially from those who believe Doctor Who should be more than just another BBC show The picture will become clearer when we get the full 7-day figures, as and as this series plays out.

Doctor Who's Ep 1 catch-up figures are mostly in. It's now been watched by TV audience of 6.70 million, narrowly beating Dracula's 6.63 million. Is this a good figure or not? Well, it depends on your point on view, and particularly what kind of show you think Doctor Who should be https://t.co/jJX3u2GCZv

— lizo mzimba (@lizo_mzimba) January 9, 2020

Doctor Who Helps BBCiPlayer To It’s Best Festive Fortnight Ever!

9 January 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

A bumper crop of Christmas specials and new programmes helped BBC iPlayer to its best festive fortnight ever. The holiday period (20 December – 2 January) was BBC iPlayer’s biggest on record, with 203m requests*to stream or download programmes, up well over a third on the same period last year.

New Year’s Day was BBC iPlayer’s best-ever day with 17.9 million requests, also up by well over a third on the previous year, as viewers sank their teeth into new series Dracula and stepped back into the Tardis with the new series of Doctor Who.

Over the whole holiday period, the long-awaited return to Barry and Billericay in the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special was the top episode, with 4.6 million requests. The three original series have also been performing well over Christmas, as iPlayer viewers revisited their favourite moments from the show, with 6.8m for the classic series.

Dramatic events in Albert Square as Keanu was kidnapped and apparently murdered by Martin Fowler helped EastEnders dominate the iPlayer top 20 over the holidays – making up 9 of the top 20 episodes on iPlayer. There were 15.6 million requests for EastEnders over the fortnight, with the Christmas Day episode topping the pile with 2.2 million requests.

Other strong performers include the Call the Midwife Christmas special with 1.8 million requests, and the new drama A Christmas Carol with 1.6 million requests.

The top 20 BBC iPlayer programmes (by episode) over the festive fortnight are:

Rank	Programme	Episode	Requests
1	Gavin & Stacey	Christmas Special	4,553,000
2	EastEnders	25/12/2019	2,207,000
3	Call the Midwife	Christmas Special 2019	1,785,000
4	A Christmas Carol	Episode 1	1,608,000
5	EastEnders	26/12/2019	1,506,000
6	EastEnders	24/12/2019	1,404,000
7	EastEnders	31/12/2019	1,352,000
8	EastEnders	27/12/2019	1,346,000
9	EastEnders	01/01/2020	1,324,000
10	EastEnders	20/12/2019	1,252,000
11	EastEnders	23/12/2019	1,184,000
12	EastEnders	30/12/2019	1,159,000
13	His Dark Materials	Betrayal	1,133,000
14	The Trial of Christine Keeler	Episode 1	1,108,000
15	A Christmas Carol	Episode 2	1,034,000
16	Mrs Brown’s Boys Special	A Wonderful Mammy	960,000
17	Match of the Day – 2019/20	26/12/2019	959,000
18	Dracula	Episode 1	925,000
19	A Christmas Carol	Episode 3	900,000
20	Paddington 2		878,000

And the top 20 programme titles on BBC iPlayer over the festive fortnight are:

Rank	Programme	Requests
1	EastEnders	15,587,000
2	Gavin & Stacey	11,366,000
3	Hey Duggee	6,155,000
4	Bing	4,915,000
5	Waterloo Road	4,533,000
6	A Christmas Carol	3,542,000
7	Call the Midwife	3,366,000
8	Mrs Brown’s Boys	3,330,000
9	His Dark Materials	3,292,000
10	Match of the Day	2,648,000
11	Numberblocks	2,007,000
12	BBC News	1,877,000
13	The Trial of Christine Keeler	1,808,000
14	Doctor Who	1,727,000
15	MasterChef	1,685,000
16	Peter Rabbit	1,609,000
17	The Apprentice	1,589,000
18	Dracula	1,555,000
19	Michael McIntyre’s Big Show	1,542,000
20	Breakfast	1,496,000

Christmas week also saw a record 10.7 million BBC account holders sign in to watch programmes on iPlayer, with a record 3.6m of them aged under 35.

Dan McGolpin, Controller of iPlayer and Programming at the BBC, said: “It was a cracking Christmas for BBC iPlayer with more people than ever enjoying a huge range of great shows. The Gavin & Stacey Christmas Special was the icing on the cake, generating a ground-breaking number of requests, plus fan favourites like EastEnders and Call The Midwife and new series His Dark Materials and A Christmas Carol also top performers

“2019 was iPlayer’s best ever year and 2020 got off to the perfect start with the New Year’s Day Doctor Who and Dracula both helping to deliver the highest number of requests in a single day. Millions of people are enjoying iPlayer’s expanded box-set offer and new series being made available for longer.”

This includes BBC iPlayer request data between 20 December 2019 – 2 January 2020, so programmes will have differing availability within this period. Many programmes, such as Dracula, Doctor Who and The Trial or Christine Keeler were only available at the end of this period, and are still available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

*Some BBC iPlayer data from Sky isn’t available at the moment, but will be added to these figures and published at a later date.

DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE 547

9 January 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

OUT OF THE TARDIS WITH BRADLEY WALSH!

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine also includes:

The second part of an exclusive, in-depth interview with showrunner Chris Chibnall.
Interviews with the new writers of Series 12.
Exclusive previews of the next four episodes.
The untold story of Denis Alan Print, the Doctor Who merchandise company co-owned by Tom Baker.
Doctor Who’s top ten Master reveals.
Behind the scenes at the OFFSTAGE Theatre Group, whose Doctor Who plays and comedy sketches were popular at conventions from 2003 to 2013.
The Fact of Fiction begins an epic exploration of The Daleks’ Master Plan.
Part Five of Mistress of Chaos, a new comic-strip adventure featuring the Thirteenth Doctor and her friends.
The answers to DWM’s Christmas Quiz.
Reviews of the Season 26 Blu-ray box set and the new vinyl edition of The Web Planet.
Big Finish previews and reviews, news, prize-winning competitions, The Blogs of Doom and much more!

On sale from Thursday 9 January 2020

£5.99 (UK)

DWM 547 is also available as a strictly limited Deluxe Edition, exclusive to WH Smith and store.panini.co.uk priced £9.99.

In addition to the latest issue of DWM, the Deluxe Edition includes:

An exclusive 76-minute music CD, featuring 22 classic and rare tracks from 1963 to 1989.
A 32-page supplement, comprising classic comic-strip stories featuring the Master.
A giant double-sided poster.
A Series 12 art card.
Three Big Finish audio dramas to download.
Big Finish stickers.