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Month: June 2021

Blind teen working with Living Paintings to create Dr Who book

Blind teen working with Living Paintings to create Dr Who book

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Louis Moorhouse - CultBox

A BLIND teenager who is a Doctor Who fanatic has launched a mission to bring the Time Lord’s adventures to others who cannot see.

Louis Moorhouse has been blind since he was 18-months-old because of Neuroblastoma – a type of children’s cancer.

However, his parents were keen for him to have the same opportunities as his sighted peers and they discovered Kingsclere based charity Living Paintings, which creates Touch to See books for blind and partially sighted people.

Louis has been using Living Paintings’ books since he was two-years-old.

Now, aged 19 and about to finish his first year at university, the student was inspired to create his own version and has teamed up with the charity to bring the iconic imagery of Doctor Who to life for people living with sight loss.

“I’m a big fan of the show Doctor Who, but I have yet to really meet the weird and wonderful characters, aliens, monsters and devices from the show because I can’t see them,” explained Louis, adding: “I asked Living Paintings to help and they said ‘yes’. Together we aim to produce a series of tactile and audio books that will let me see in my own way, images of the different doctors, Daleks, the Tardis and so much more.”

He said the books will help blind people “really meet the amazing characters and bring them to life. The books will help us open our eyes”. He added: “Doctor Who has such a long history of being a family show and Living Paintings is all about family which is why I thought the two would go well together.”

Times are tough and the charity, which offers a free postal library of Touch to See books benefitting 2,000 blind people across the UK, doesn’t have the funds to implement this project.

Inspirational Louis, from Bradford, has decided to launch a fundraising campaign to make his dream a reality and fund the project, with the aim of raising £15,000.

His efforts are supported by previous Doctor Who Master, Sir Derek Jacobi, who said: “Louis’ idea is excellent. Having portrayed The Master, in the wonderful TV series Doctor Who, I love the idea of blind and partially sighted children and young people being able to enjoy the visual spectacle of the show just as sighted people do.”

Liz Davies, publishing manager at Living Paintings, said:

“To have the possibility of creating the world’s only tactile and audio book series about Doctor Who for blind people is incredibly exciting and so we are delighted that the people at Doctor Who have given us permission to create three Touch to See books.

“The universe of Doctor Who is an immensely visual extravaganza that we will capture and share with blind people. Through evocative tactile pictures coupled with atmospheric and descriptive audio guides, plus music and sound effects – we’ll bring the spectacle of Doctor Who to life, hopefully with a little help from some of the Doctors, their companions and adversaries too.”

Living Paintings’ chief executive, Camilla Oldland added:

“I’ve had the honour of watching Louis grow up with our special Touch to See books and it touches my heart to know what a difference our work has made in helping him to become the inspirational young man he is today.

“This will be the most amazing project but what is so special about it is that Louis has taken on this incredible challenge to raise the money to make it possible. Even more incredible is that this isn’t just for him – he wants other blind people to benefit too and we can make that happen through our free postal library.

“We are proud to have Louis as our friend and here’s to him raising the money we need.”

Louis asked sighted people to put themselves in his shoes by closing their eyes and imagining never being able to open them again.

“This is how it is and now you want to read a book or watch Doctor Who. How are you going to do that? How important is reading a book to you? As a sighted person how would you feel if that was taken away from you and you couldn’t read anymore?” he asked, adding: “Then you discover Living Paintings and the books are full of characters you’ve heard about and imagined all the time, they’ve been on TV, you’ve listened to the audio books, you may have had the books read to you and you never quite understood what they looked like and now, because of Living Paintings you do.”

Living Paintings sprung into action after hearing of Louis’ idea and has gained permission from the BBC to proceed with the project, with plans to create three books each featuring tactile images of The Doctor in various incarnations along with many other characters including Daleks.

The books will be accompanied by an audio soundtrack, with the hope of enlisting the help of one or more of the Dr Who actors.

To support Louis’ crowd funding campaign click here. 

DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE 566

DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE 566

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JODIE WHITTAKER & MANDIP GILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS

Highlights of this issue also include:

  • A CGI reconstruction of the sets from Episode 4 of The Tenth Planet.
  • A tribute to the late Roy Scammell, who performed some of Doctor Who’s most spectacular stunts.
  • The performance that recreated sections of Richard Rodney Bennett’s score for 1964 story The Aztecs.
  • The story of Donald Wilson, and the part he played in the creation of Doctor Who.
  • An interview with the museum owner who restores and exhibits Doctor Who monster costumes.
  • Collectivity meets the fans who love Doctor Who audio cassettes.
  • Apocrypha looks back at the 1978 Target book Doctor Who Discovers Strange and Mysterious Creatures.
  • The Fact of Fiction analyses the 2014 episode Kill the Moon.
  • Sufficient Data crunches Doctor Who’s numbers
  • Previews, reviews, news, prize-winning competitions, Time and Space Visualiser and more.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 566 is on sale from panini.co.uk and WH Smith from Thursday 24th June priced £5.99 (UK). Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £4.99.

Jackie Lane: 1941 – 2021

Jackie Lane: 1941 – 2021

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Jackie Lane

Tributes are coming in for the actresses Jackie Lane, who has passed away at the age of 79.  Jackie played companion Dodo Chaplet to the first Doctor in 1966.

Dodo is introduced at the end of the serial The Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Eve. In that story, the Doctor and Steven travel to 1572 Paris, where they witness the persecution of the city’s Huguenot population. Despite befriending a young woman named Anne Chaplet, the Doctor knows he cannot prevent the coming massacre of 10,000 Huguenots, including Anne, by the Catholic French authorities. He therefore leaves in the TARDIS, taking Steven with him. When Steven finds out, he is furious and considers leaving the Doctor while the TARDIS is in 1960s London.

Steven returns at the same time that a young woman wanders into the TARDIS thinking it was a real police box. The Doctor and Steven are taken aback when she introduces herself as Dodo Chaplet and reveals that her grandfather was French. The Doctor speculates that Dodo might be Anne’s descendant.

At the end of The Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Eve she reveals she has no parents, explaining that she lives with her great-aunt “and she won’t care if she never sees me again”. She witnesses images of herself on the Celestial Toymaker’s memory window from the day her mother died.

In her travels with the Doctor, Dodo travels to the far future, unfortunately bringing the common cold with her to infect humanity’s descendants; faces the mad games of the Celestial Toymaker; witnesses the gunfight at the O.K. Corral; says goodbye to Steven in The Savages; and is hypnotised by the rogue artificial intelligence WOTAN in The War Machines.

Halfway through that last adventure, she abruptly departs for a rest in the country after being hypnotised, and never reappears. At the story’s conclusion, Polly (who, with Ben Jackson, took Dodo’s place as a companion) explains to the departing Doctor that Dodo has decided to remain in the 20th century.

https://twitter.com/twilightstreets/status/1407757312765448194

Prior to joining Doctor Who, Lane had made occasional appearances in BBC television and radio productions, including Anna Neagle’s radio production of Wonderful Things in 1958, with Charlie Drake in the TV production Grandad was a Wrestler in 1959, as a panellist on Juke Box Jury in 1961 and for the role of Rosemary Gray in the early BBC soap opera Compact in 1963.

After leaving Doctor Who, Lane became a theatrical agent, representing Tom Baker, who would play the Fourth Doctor, and Janet Fielding, who would play companion Tegan Jovanka and managed Nicholas Courtney. The agency which she managed was Jackie Lane Ad Voice.

In 2013, the BBC made a ‘docudrama’ called An Adventure in Space and Time, telling the story of the creation and early days of Doctor Who, as part of the programme’s fiftieth anniversary celebrations. Lane appears as a character in the drama, played by actress Sophie Holt.

Lane made a rare TV appearance in 2013, passing along anniversary greetings in the Doctor Who: The Afterparty, celebrating 50 years of Doctor Who.

Shadows in the Glen

Shadows in the Glen

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GNR are delighted to be able to present Richard’s short story Shadows in the Glen for readers as a PDF; click on the cover image below to read it! With thanks to Candy Jar Books.

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THE EVER-RUNNING

THE EVER-RUNNING

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Ever-running Cover

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce the latest Lethbridge-Stewart book, The Ever-Running written by Richard Brewer.

This book is very different to the ongoing Lethbridge-Stewart series and the anthology books, The HAVOC Files. Instead, The Ever-Running is a collection of short stories with an arc, taking the Brig into situations and locations that he has never encountered before.

If you are a fan of dystopian melodrama or futuristic space operas, then this collection is just for you. However, this book offers something for everyone, especially if you are fond of the classic Doctor Who stories, The Daemons or The Android Invasion.

Richard says:

“Back in 2018 my story Shadows in the Glen was featured in the first Lethbridge-Stewart Short Story Collection, and since then I have kept in contact with Candy Jar.”

Candy Jar’s Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell, says:

“I was very impressed with the quality of Richard’s work, and after he submitted A Message from the Brigadier – a companion piece that featured alongside the free Lucy Wilson story Copy/Paste during lockdown in 2020 – we began to talk about him writing a full book.”

The Ever-Running sees the Brig facing a new enemy, one who has the ability to manipulate his timeline and beyond!

“I wanted to take the Brigadier to places that he has never been before,” Richard says.

“It was tremendous fun to drop him into unknown territory!”

But then Richard received some terrible news. He continues:

“I started writing The Ever-Running during a particularly difficult time. My wife was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the beginning of last year. At first, she and I shared a deep sense of powerlessness and frustration at the news. But after the initial shock, and following some investigation into the current state of research into brain tumour treatment, we both knew that we desperately wanted to raise some money. I approached Shaun about writing a selection of short stories to raise funds for this urgent cause and he readily agreed.”

Every year some 16,000 people are diagnosed with a brain tumour; a disease which is responsible for more deaths of children and adults under the age of forty than any other cancer. Sadly, despite this startling fact, the funding into research is very low, as is evidenced by the fact that the prognoses for brain tumours have not changed in forty years. However, helping lead the fight against this devastating and indiscriminate disease is the Brain Tumour Charity.

Coincidentally Shaun found himself working on The Ever-Running under similar circumstances. Sadly his daughter was knocked down by a car, fracturing her lower back and pelvis on both sides leaving her unable to walk. Shaun says: “COVID restrictions meant that I had to stay with her as she recuperated in hospital, so as she was sleeping (or playing on her Nintendo Switch) I edited Richard’s book, and I am so grateful that I was able to do this during the obvious worrying times I was facing. As a cancer survivor, I wholeheartedly support this book and encourage all readers to support Richard, either by buying this book, or donating to the Brain Tumour Charity (www.thebraintumourcharity.org).”

Blurb:

Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, the stoic and ever dependable defender of Earth, is about to discover that reality is under attack from an enemy that strikes from beyond the boundaries of space and time. The Ever-Running have vowed that they must never be caught, and to prevent capture they are willing to destroy all that Alistair has sworn to protect.

Explore six new adventures throughout Alistair’s life and beyond, including a desperate battle for survival on a distant ice planet, General Lethbridge-Stewart facing the outbreak of World War 3 in the 1980s, a young girl escaping a remote Hampshire village where the sick never return from an idyllic island, and three further adventures that take the Brigadier to the far future, and a realm beyond the universe itself.

The Ever-Running is written by Richard Brewer, the author of the short story File# 161229 and Shadows in the Glen. Profits from this book will be donated to the Brain Tumour Charity.

The Ever-Running is available to pre-order via this link http://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/theeverrunning.html and will be released in early July 2021.

THE EVER-RUNNING IS NOT COVERED BY ANY SUBSCRIPTION OFFER.

The Ninth Doctor’s next audio adventures – revealed!

The Ninth Doctor’s next audio adventures – revealed!

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New artwork, and further cast and story details are revealed for the seond volume of audio adventures for the Ninth Doctor starring Christopher Eccleston.

The Ninth Doctor answers cries for help from around the galaxies in a trio of full-cast audio adventures due for release in August 2021.

Doctor Who - the Ninth Doctor Adventures: Respond to all calls

Alongside the previously-announced Camilla Beeput as Nova and Jayne McKenna as Audrey, this full-cast audio drama box set also teams Christopher Eccleston up with Jamie Parker (Callan, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child) as Captain Halloran, Dan Starkey (The Paternoster Gang, Jago & Litefoot & Strax) as Marcus Aurelius Gallius, Ben Lee (Holmes & Watson) as Lieutenant Farraday, and Clare Corbett (Jenny – The Doctor’s Daughter) as the terrifying Ravagers.

The three suspenseful stories are as follows:

Doctor Who - the Ninth Doctor Adventures: Respond to all calls

Girl, Deconstructed

Marnie is missing. But she hasn’t run away, as her dad fears – Marnie is still very much at home. But not quite as she was.

The Doctor joins forces with Missing Persons detective Jana Lee to help solve the mystery of a girl who’s gone to pieces.

Doctor Who - the Ninth Doctor Adventures: Respond to all calls

Fright Motif

In post-War Paris, musician Artie Berger has lost his mojo, but gained a predator – something that seeps through the cracks of dissonance to devour the unwary.

Luckily for Artie, the Doctor is here. Unluckily for everyone, he needs bait to trap a monster…

Doctor Who - the Ninth Doctor Adventures: Respond to all calls

Planet of the End

The Doctor arrives on a mausoleum world for sightseeing and light pedantry, correcting its planetary records. The resident AI has other ideas.

Deep within a tomb, something stirs. Occasus is the last resting place of a species far too dangerous to exist. And the Doctor is its way back.

Writer of opening episode Girl, Deconstructed Lisa McMullin said:

“It was so exciting to get to write for the Ninth Doctor, but also quite daunting! But it’s such a privilege and I just feel really lucky to have been asked to do this.

“There’s something about the energy and sheer joy that Christopher brings to the role – you get the sense from watching and listening to him that he’s just having an absolute ball, and it’s infectious!”

Fright Motif writer Tim Foley said:

“I’ve been a Doctor Who fan from a young age – as soon as the television show came back with Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, it just became this huge juggernaut that shook everything up.

“Before this, I don’t think I’d ever properly understood what other Big Finish writers meant when they talked of writing for their Doctor Who childhood heroes – but when I came to sit down and write a Ninth Doctor story, it felt like I was immortalising this childhood glee, and it felt addictive. I could do this forever, especially with Christopher Eccleston!”

Writer of Planet of the End Timothy X Atack added:

“Back in 2005, I remember being taken by how fun Chris’ Doctor was, full of life but with this alternating steely and chirpy energy to him that felt so new. The Ninth Doctor was so much more irreverent that I expected, and the whole effect was just delightful – so that’s what I had in my head when the call came from Big Finish to write for the Ninth Doctor.

“And this is such a great box set to be part of – I feel in such excellent company. Lisa’s script has this captivating and bittersweet feel right from the start and, with Mr Foley, his story had me seething with jealousy about the way he uses sound. It’s just too much, I love it!”

You can pre-order The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Respond To All Calls now from Big Finish

‘The Myth Makers’ comes to vinyl

‘The Myth Makers’ comes to vinyl

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Demon Records presents the narrated TV soundtrack of a ‘lost’ four-part adventure set in ancient Greece, starring William Hartnell as the Doctor.

Doctor Who - The Myth Makers on vinyl

When the TARDIS lands on the plains of Asia Minor, not far from the walled city of Troy, the Doctor is hailed as the great god Zeus. He’s enlisted by the Greek army – led by Odysseus and Agamemnon – to come up with a strategy for defeating the Trojans. With his companions already prisoners of the opposing side, the Doctor draws his inspiration from the legend of a certain wooden horse…

Presented across two 140g vinyl Trojan Sunset splatter discs, this 1965 TV soundtrack – no episodes of which survive as film recordings – is narrated by Peter Purves, who co-stars as the Doctor’s companion Steven, with Maureen O’Brien making her final appearance as Vicki.

The guest cast includes Max Adrian as King Priam, Barrie Ingham as Paris, Frances White as Cassandra and Ivor Salter as Odysseus. Incidental music is by Humphrey Searle, and the familiar strains of the Doctor Who theme are courtesy of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Doctor Who - The Myth Makers on vinyl

Doctor Who - The Myth Makers on vinyl

Doctor Who - The Myth Makers on vinyl

The coloured LPs are presented in a gatefold sleeve with fully illustrated inner sleeves. Original episode billings, and full cast and credits, are included.

You can pre-order The Myth Makers on vinyl now ahead of its release on the 27th August.

myth makers

‘The Web of Fear’ cover art and special features revealed

‘The Web of Fear’ cover art and special features revealed

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The cover art and special features of the partially animated version of The Web of Fear, releasing on DVD, Blu-Ray and Steelbook on 16th August 2021, have been revealed.

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In order to escape an attack in space, the TARDIS makes an unscheduled landing and ends up deep inside the London Underground. Here the travellers soon find themselves engulfed in a thrilling battle with the Great Intelligence and the Yeti, a deadly enemy set to invade the Earth. But as events take a turn for the worse, it becomes clear that the golden prize is not just the Earth, but the Doctor’s mind too…

This release includes all 5 surviving episodes, plus a brand new fully animated reconstruction of the missing third episode created from the surviving audio-only recordings.

You can watch a clip of the newly constructed animation below:

The Web of Fear is the partly missing fifth serial of the fifth season of Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from February to March 1968. Starring Patrick Troughton as the Doctor, the story concerns an abandoned London and the return of the fearsome Yeti, patrolling the London Underground. It also marks the first appearance of the popular character Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart (before his promotion to Brigadier).

The six episodes (available in black and white and the newly constructed animation in colour and black and white) will include the following exclusive special features:

  • Audio commentaries on all episodes (with two on episode 1)
  • An episode 3 Telesnap Reconstruction
  • Photo Gallery
  • A ‘Making Of’ documentary
  • A ‘Making the Animation’ documenatary
  • The Web of Fear Trailer
  • The Missing Years documentary
  • The Many Voices of Jack Woolgar documetary

Doctor Who: The Web of Fear is available to pre-order ahead of its release on 16th August 2021 from Amazon, HMV and Zavvi in the UK, and on Amazon in the US and Canada.

More Doctor Who characters join the Funko Pop! Blitz mobile game

More Doctor Who characters join the Funko Pop! Blitz mobile game

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Doctor Who returns to Funko Pop! Blitz, and this time they’re bringing along some friends and enemies! Collect some friends of the Doctor and expand your collection in the digital game from Thursday, June 17th 2021.

Doctor Who Funko Pop! Blitz

Funko Pop! Blitz is a match-3 puzzle game featuring the Funko Pop! versions of lovable characters across multiple iconic franchises. Each week, Funko Pop! Blitz celebrates pop culture with a new collection of digital Funko Pops! These characters all come with their own unique Super move to blast the board and power up, earning rewards. Super moves typically celebrate an iconic moment from the media the character hails from.

Collect the Funko Pop! version of Doctor Who characters by dropping TARDIS pieces to the bottom of the puzzle board, adding them to their collection and helping The Doctor travel through space.

Players have a chance to collect iconic characters, including:

  • Sarah Jane Smith

Doctor Who Funko Pop! Blitz

  • River Song

Doctor Who Funko Pop! Blitz

  • A Cyberman

Doctor Who Funko Pop! Blitz

  • The Eleventh Doctor with Cyberhead

Doctor Who Funko Pop! Blitz

  • The Twelfth Doctor with his spoon

Doctor Who Funko Pop! Blitz

The event starts next Thursday, June 17, 2021 at midnight and will finish on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 at midnight.

For more information on the game, visit funkopopblitz.com

Funko Pop! Blitz is available now on the App Store for iPhone and iPad and on Google Play for Android devices.

The Tenth Doctor and Fifth Doctor team up, the War Doctor returns, plus more…

The Tenth Doctor and Fifth Doctor team up, the War Doctor returns, plus more…

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June sees the release of a range of brand-new audio adventures from Big Finish. Here’s a roundup of what’s available to buy on CD and download this month.

Five and Ten vs the Cybermen!

Doctor Who Big Finish releases June 2021

A collision of two Doctors’ timelines triggers a temporal catastrophe, granting the Cybermen dominion over the Earth. The Doctors must travel back in time to find the source of the Cyber-invasion and close the Gates of Hell…

Order Out of Time 2 – The Gates of Hell here

The Doctor goes to war…

Doctor Who Big Finish releases June 2021

The Doctor is no more. In his place, a warrior, finally joining the Time War between the Daleks and the Time Lords. But how far will he go to end this conflict? The War Doctor is only just beginning to find out who he is…

Order The War Doctor Begins 1 – Forged in Fire here

The Robots are going up a gear

Doctor Who Big Finish releases June 2021

Kaldor is going through a period of tumultuous change. The robots are evolving, and with these changes so politics is altering too. Dangerously. Can Liv and Tula make a difference during the most turbulent time in the world’s history?

Order The Robots 4 here

Lite-footing it round London!

Doctor Who Big Finish releases June 2021

It’s back through the streets of London with the devilishly daring duo of Jago and Litefoot! This release is an audiobook adaptation of scripts originally planned before lead actor Trevor Baxter’s sad passing in 2017.

Order Jago & Litefoot Series 14 (audiobook) here

All stories are initially available exclusively from the Big Finish website in June. Check back here next month for a roundup of next month’s releases!