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Month: July 2021

Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall to leave Doctor Who in a trio of Specials in 2022

Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall to leave Doctor Who in a trio of Specials in 2022

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Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall to leave Doctor Who in a trio of Specials, culminating in an epic blockbuster Special to air in autumn 2022 as part of the BBC’s Centenary celebrations.

Having been in charge of the TARDIS since filming for the Thirteenth Doctor began in 2017, Showrunner Chris Chibnall and the Thirteenth Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, have confirmed they will be moving on from the most famous police box on Earth – and the universe.

https://twitter.com/lizo_mzimba/status/1420745936909651972

With a six-part Event Serial announced for the autumn, and two Specials already planned for 2022, BBC One has now asked for an additional final feature length adventure for the Thirteenth Doctor, to form a trio of Specials for 2022, before the Doctor regenerates once more.

After taking the helm of the show, Chris Chibnall made the groundbreaking decision to cast Jodie Whittaker as the first female Doctor. He also brought in ‘the fam’ of Tosin Cole (Ryan), Mandip Gill (Yaz) and Bradley Walsh (Graham), and cast the acclaimed Sacha Dhawan as the latest incarnation of The Master, plus Jo Martin as the mysterious Fugitive Doctor, adding new characters, layers and twists to the mythology of the show.

Episodes such as Rosa, Demons of the Punjab and Spyfall have thrilled audiences across the globe garnering critical acclaim and award recognition, including two BAFTA Must See Moment nominations, along with multiple National Television Award, BAFTA Cymru, TV Choice, Screen Nation, Hugo, Saturn. and Critics Choice nominations. Under Chris’ tenure, the series has been awarded the Visionary Awards TV Show of the Year, the Canadian Rockie Award from the BANFF Television Festival for best sci-fi and genre series, while Mandip Gill and Vinay Patel were recognised with wins from the Eastern Eye Awards. The 2020 series won Best Science Fiction Show voted for by readers at Radio Times.com, beating out competition from The Mandalorian, Lucifer and The Boys, as well as winning both Best Moment and Most Incredible Twist from the Digital Spy Reader Awards 2020, for Fugitive Of The Judoon and Ascension Of The Cybermen. In 2019, the entire current cast and crew were awarded Honorary Doctorates by Sheffield Hallam University for their work on the show.

As the Thirteenth Doctor, Jodie Whittaker stepped aboard the TARDIS to begin filming in 2017. As the first woman to play the iconic role, Jodie has thrilled audiences with her portrayal of the Time Lord, winning the hearts of Doctor Who fans across the globe. Jodie’s multi-layered, warm, funny and inspiring depiction of the Doctor not only created a first in Doctor Who history, but in 2020, Jodie was voted 2nd Most Popular Doctor of all time, coming within a whisker of her friend David Tennant, in a poll of more than 50,000 fans for Radio Times.

Chris Chibnall says

“Jodie and I made a “three series and out” pact with each other at the start of this once-in-a-lifetime blast. So now our shift is done, and we’re handing back the TARDIS keys.

“Jodie’s magnificent, iconic Doctor has exceeded all our high expectations. She’s been the gold standard leading actor, shouldering the responsibility of being the first female Doctor with style, strength, warmth, generosity and humour. She captured the public imagination and continues to inspire adoration around the world, as well as from everyone on the production. I can’t imagine working with a more inspiring Doctor – so I’m not going to!

“For me, leading this exceptional team has been unrivalled creative fun, and one of the great joys of my career. I’m so proud of the people we’ve worked with and the stories we’ve told. To finish our time on the show with an additional Special, after the pandemic changed and challenged our production plans, is a lovely bonus. It’s great that the climax of the Thirteenth Doctor’s story will be at the heart(s) of the BBC’s centenary celebrations.

“I wish our successors – whoever the BBC and BBC Studios choose – as much fun as we’ve had. They’re in for a treat!”

Jodie Whittaker adds

“In 2017 I opened my glorious gift box of size 13 shoes. I could not have guessed the brilliant adventures, worlds and wonders I was to see in them. My heart is so full of love for this show, for the team who make it, for the fans who watch it and for what it has brought to my life. And I cannot thank Chris enough for entrusting me with his incredible stories. We knew that we wanted to ride this wave side by side, and pass on the baton together. So here we are, weeks away from wrapping on the best job I have ever had. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to express what this role has given me. I will carry the Doctor and the lessons I’ve learnt forever.

“I know change can be scary and none of us know what’s out there. That’s why we keep looking. Travel Hopefully. The Universe will surprise you. Constantly.”

Piers Wenger, Director of BBC Drama says

“Over the last four years Chris and Jodie have made Doctor Who history and their time on the show is indelibly marked on our memories. From Rosa Parks to Ascension of the Cybermen, Chris and Jodie have given Doctor Who some of its most life-affirming and tear-jerking moments to date and we are beyond excited to see what they have in store for us in the new series this Autumn. Jodie’s final adventure to mark the BBC’s Centenary in 2022 is set to be a Doctor Who Special to remember. I’d like to thank them both for their incredible work on the show”

With over a year of adventures to come, the Thirteenth Doctor still has plenty in store for fans.

Jacob Anderson joins Series 13 of Doctor Who

Jacob Anderson joins Series 13 of Doctor Who

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Jacob Anderson joins Series 13 of Doctor Who | Doctor Who
Jacob Anderson joins Series 13 of Doctor Who

Game of Thrones star Jacob Anderson is set to make his debut on Doctor Who later this year, playing Vinder.

As a recurring character throughout the series, Jacob’s new role will see him join forces with the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Dan Lewis (John Bishop) as the Doctor faces her biggest ever adventure battling evil across time and space.

Known to millions as Grey Worm in Game of Thrones, Jacob is a star of stage and screen and has appeared in many television series including Episodes, Broadchurch and Skins as well as roles in King Lear at the Young Vic and War Horse at the National Theatre. Jacob is also a successful music artist who goes under the name Raleigh Ritchie.

Speaking about joining Doctor Who, Jacob said

“The Doctor has been a part of my life forever, from watching and rewatching the serials on VHS as a kid and being terrified, to unexpectedly finding my eyes watering when the Tenth Doctor said ‘I don’t want to go’, I always wanted to live in the Whoniverse.

“Not only has a lifelong dream of mine now been fulfilled, but to be playing a character as fun, adventurous and dynamic as Vinder is the cherry on top. This is very cool.”

Jacob’s role was announced at today’s Doctor Who San Diego Comic Con panel where Chris Chibnall, Jodie Whittaker, Mandip Gill and John Bishop teased what is in store for the Doctor as well as showing an exclusive trailer.

Doctor Who will return later this year.

Martha Jones gets her own series of audio adventures

Martha Jones gets her own series of audio adventures

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She’s Doctor Martha Jones, who the hell are you? Freema Agyeman returns in her own triumphant trio of audio adventures, to be released in December 2021.

After more than a decade away from the TARDIS, the Tenth Doctor’s companion, Martha Jones, is returning to the world of Doctor Who, in a brand-new box set of full-cast audio drama from Big Finish Productions.

Freema Agyeman as Dr Martha Jones

Set between the 2007 TV episodes The Sound of Drums and The Last of the Time Lords, these new stories explore the year that Martha (Freema Agyeman) spent travelling the Earth, warning humanity about the Master and spreading hope with tales of her friend, the Doctor.

Also featuring in these adventures is Martha’s mum, Francine Jones, with legendary British actress Adjoa Andoh reprising the role she played on screen.

The three stories are:

The Last Diner by James Goss

Silver Medal by Tim Foley

Deceived by Matt Fitton

Producer David Richardson said:

“I love Martha Jones and I love tales of an apocalyptic Earth, so when we secured Freema for this box set I was immediately drawn to the idea of Martha’s year on an Earth subjugated by the Master. The Doctor has lost! The Jones family in peril! Toclafane sweeping the skies, and a mission to travel the world, sharing tales of a Time Lord who defeats the monsters. There was so much dramatic potential in this story world and our writers have had a lot of fun with that.”

Freema Agyeman in studio as Martha

Freema Agyeman added:

“We really didn’t know what Martha was going through during that year on Earth – we see her embark on it, and we see the conclusion of it, but it’s so interesting to really see her as an ordinary person, trying to do extraordinary things. She has incredible independence and strength so I think she can rely on that, but it’s been great to see how she does ebb and flow throughout that journey.”

You can pre-order The Year of Martha Jones ahead of its release in December 2021 from Big Finish now

Join the Thirteenth and Tenth Doctors in the video game ‘The Edge of Reality’

Join the Thirteenth and Tenth Doctors in the video game ‘The Edge of Reality’

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The Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) need your help to save reality in the new console and PC game, The Edge of Reality, releasing on the 30th September 2021.

Compatible with current and next-gen consoles as well as PC, The Edge of Reality reimagines and expands on previous VR-only game The Edge of Time, with a completely new and compelling adventure.

Doctor Who gaming comiccon

With new worlds to explore and all-new modes of gameplay, players will be guided by the Thirteenth Doctor (voiced by Jodie Whittaker), and for the first time will also encounter the Tenth Doctor (voiced by David Tennant) in a new story written by Gavin Collinson (The Edge of Time, The Lonely Assassins).

The Edge of Reality will be jam-packed with easter eggs, terrifying new foes, and iconic monsters such as the Cybermen, the Daleks and the Weeping Angels. Players will also find themselves immersed in the ‘Chaosverse’: a corrupted alternate universe where worlds and timelines collide to create new adventures, encounters, and threats…

What’s new about The Edge of Reality? Well…

  • In this thrilling first-person adventure, a ‘reality virus’ is wreaking havoc across the universe, causing time glitches that distort the past, present and future.
  • Players will face an entirely new antagonist – The CyberReaper, an ominous foe with a terrifying purpose. More to be revealed…
  • The new story opens up multiple new environments for the player to explore, from a Cybership to the Chaosverse.
  • New and expanded levels include new gameplay modes, such as puzzles, shooting, collecting and stealth.

Ian Hambleton, CEO of Maze Theory said:

“With our partners at BBC Studios, we are giving Doctor Who fans and gamers an incredible new experience through space and time. The appearance of both the Thirteenth and Tenth Doctors is set to be an epic event. The ‘Chaosverse’ is a mind-blowing new concept, which brings a whole new dimension to the Doctor Who experience. This much anticipated console and PC launch follows the incredible success of the mobile game Doctor Who: The Lonely Assassins and re-affirms our commitment to take players on the most unexpected and immersive narrative journeys.”

The Edge of Reality will launch on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch and PC on 30th September 2021.

Find out more about The Edge of Reality here

DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE 567

DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE 567

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HERE COMES SUMMER!

Going on holiday might not be so easy this year, but we can remember some of the highlights of summers past in the new issue of DWM:

  • A celebration of the BBC’s Doctor Who exhibitions in the 1970s, from the Science Museum in London to Middlesbrough Town Hall, plus Blackpool and Longleat. 16 pages packed full of previously unseen photos, and memories from fans who were there.
  • A guide to Doctor Who filming locations.
  • Apocrypha takes a trip to Blackpool with The Nightmare Fair, the Doctor’s rematch with the Celestial Toymaker.
  • The Fact of Fiction visits a sinister amusement park in the 2013 episode Nightmare in Silver.
  • An exclusive first-look at the forthcoming Blu-ray Special Edition of The Web of Fear.
  • Tributes to Jackie Lane (who played the First Doctor’s companion Dodo in 1966) and Damaris Hayman (who played Olive Hawthorne in 1971’s The Dæmons).
  • A review of The Collection: Season 24 Blu-ray box set.
  • Results of the 2021 DWM Poll.
  • Sufficient Data explores Doctor Who’s big ideas.
  • Previews, reviews, news, prize-winning competitions, Time and Space Visualiser and more.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 567 is on sale from panini.co.uk and WH Smith from Thursday 22 July priced £5.99 (UK). Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £4.99.

Coming soon, the Second Doctor and TARDIS action figures!

Coming soon, the Second Doctor and TARDIS action figures!

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Character Options have announced a brand new Doctor Who set, available exclusively to pre-order online on their website.

Oh my giddy Aunt!

Doctor Who - the second doctor Character Otpions

This set celebrates one of the most iconic, and now sadly lost, adventures of Patrick Troughton’s tenure as the Second Doctor – The Abominable Snowmen. The set includes an electronic classic TARDIS and a Second Doctor figure.

The electronic classic TARDIS, featured by Character Options for the first time in over a decade, comes with different take-off and landing sounds. The TARDIS also features the more heavily weathered exterior and new colour plus the unique reversed front doors.

The new Second Doctor figure is a truly unique release, featuring the usual highly decorated look combined with full articulation on the arms.

The Abominable Snowman, first aired on 30th September 1967, sees fans join the newly regenerated Second Doctor in his eighth story. Set in 1935, the TARDIS has materialised high in in the Himalayas where The Doctor is trying to return a relic, a holy bell, borrowed several hundred years earlier, to the High Lama of the local Monastery. Unbeknownst to the Doctor and his companions, things have taken a dark turn and the monastery has been infiltrated by an ancient and evil alien entity known only as The Great Intelligence. The alien is using robot versions of the Yetis, better known as ‘the Abominable Snowmen’ a usually passive creature, to attack anyone coming near the monastery. As the Doctor becomes involved, and the full horror of what’s going on becomes clear, he vows to thwart its plans.

Perfect for all Doctor Who fans and collectors, the set comes beautifully presented in special presentation pack with diorama insert and Doctor Who heritage packaging.

Al Dewar, Character Options’ Creative Director, said.

“The Abominable Snowmen is, much like the ‘Jungles of Mechanus’ collectors’ set before it, quite unusual and features a lot of quite unique features in terms of its production. For instance the TARDIS itself is unusual in its weathered appearance, with the exterior paint covering the top signs and the colour appearing slightly more indigo than usual. Its look is generally more beaten up and scruffy than fans would usually see and features fully reversed front doors with the phone cubby box sign on right hand door with no handles. The Doctor’s look in this story echoes that of the TARDIS, with the addition of a huge shaggy fur coat held together with twine.

This Second Doctor set is available to pre-order online on the Character Options website.

The Daleks are ready to invade your shelves soon…

The Daleks are ready to invade your shelves soon…

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Could you keep two of the Doctor’s mortal enemies on your shelves?

Every month Hero Collector release a whole array of Doctor Who figurines, collectibles, pins, t-shirts and more… enough to fill an entire TARDIS! Here’s a round-up of what’s coming this month.

Doctor Who - Hero collector figurines July 2021

These two Daleks are separated by almost four decades, but united in their hatred of the Doctor – and their loyalty to the Dalek Emperor, whose mad quest to increase the power of the Daleks led it to incorporate human qualities into their “perfect” forms.

The Ninth Doctor’s deadliest foes!

Doctor Who - Hero collector figurines July 2021

The Parting of the Ways was the final on-screen appearance of Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor, and the grand return of the Daleks. In Earth’s distant future, Dalek survivors of the Time War were forced to replenish their numbers using the biomatter of dead humans.

As creatures engineered to despise all non-Daleks, these half-humans Daleks were soon driven insane with self-hatred – becoming religious fanatics dedicated to their mad Dalek Emperor!

The Dalek from The Parting of the Ways can be found here

A black at heart Dalek…

Doctor Who - Hero collector figurines July 2021

The Evil of the Daleks was the first appearance of a Dalek Emperor, and was initially meant to be the Doctor’s final battle with his most iconic enemies! Captured by the Daleks, the Second Doctor seemingly agreed to help his old foes isolate the “human factor” that had foiled their previous plots.

The Black Daleks were the Dalek Emperor’s elite guards, with distinctive jet-black domes and the authority to command other Daleks. Once their fellow Daleks began to be “humanized”, however, cracks began appearing in their control…

The Black Dalek from The Evil of The Daleks can be found here

You can get all of these figurines, and much more from Hero Collector’s Doctor Who shop here.

Lethbridge-Stewart Series Nine!

Lethbridge-Stewart Series Nine!

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series 9
Lethbridge-Stewart – Series 9

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce the first book in it’s ninth series of Lethbridge-Stewart novels.

Warriors of Montu is the second novel from popular author Gareth Madgwick, returning after 2019’s Home Fires Burn.

Candy_Jar_Warriors of Montu

Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen says:

“As we fast approach the end of the Lethbridge-Stewart line of books, and prepare for something else, it became clear we would need to start making small time jumps so we could still cover the four-year gap between The Web of Fear and The Invasion. As such, Warriors of Montu sees the first time jump, taking place almost three months after the last novel, The Haunting of Gabriel Chase. Things have moved on for our heroes; Bishop has healed, Anne Travers has settled into her private research, and Lethbridge-Stewart… Well, his relationship with Fiona has moved on. They’re now engaged, and off on a holiday to Egypt to celebrate. Where, of course, nothing could possibly go wrong.”

Previously Gareth Madgwick has written short stories focusing on Evans and Samson, the Brig’s uncle Matthew, and a novel centred on Professor Travers and Eileen Younghusband. The common denominator; no Brigadier!

Gareth says:

“I had a bit of a running joke (at least, I thought it was funny) that after two short stories and a novel, I had written the most words for the Lethbridge-Stewart series without actually writing a single line of dialogue for the man himself! Really, that’s a testament to the wonderful variety of the series, but I was still absolutely thrilled when Andy contacted me to ask me to write a novel that focused on the Brigadier and Fiona on holiday. Of course, it couldn’t stay as a holiday for long. A great writer once said that a policeman on holiday should barely have time to open his suitcase before he finds his first corpse, and so an expert on aliens and the supernatural like the Brig really should have known what to expect when travelling to Egypt of all the places in the universe.”

Andy says:

“It was a fun time, working out the story with Gareth. How far to take it, how much we could play around with the Egyptian gods as they stand within the larger context of Doctor Who without infringing on copyright. Fortunately, the idea of aliens and Egypt is a common one is science-fiction, which gave us a lot of freedom. But it couldn’t all be about Egypt and gods. The Lethbridge-Stewart range is, at its heart, about character. And Gareth understood that.’

Gareth says:

“Andy and I batted the pitch back and forth a bit to get the plot right. It needed to be as much about the pair of them as it did about the external threat. I really enjoyed focusing on the relationship between Alistair and Fiona in this book. The whole book is told from the perspective of one or the other of them, which needed a bit of discipline as a writer. I also wanted to capture their differing experiences. The Brig gets the Egypt of exciting adventure serials, but poor Fiona gets a far more realistic north Africa with crumbling hotels and dusty roads.”

Blurb:

It was supposed to be a holiday. Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart and his fiancée, Fiona, certainly deserved one. A steamer down the Nile and a guided tour of the ruins and artifacts of Ancient Egypt should have been perfect. 

Then things went wrong: attacks on the passengers, secrecy, bizarre behaviour and a voice in Lethbridge-Stewart’s head.

Something on the boat is so valuable that people will kill to get it. And, out in the desert, something is waking from a long slumber.

What do all of these things have to do with the Egyptian God Montu? One thing is for sure, Fiona is about to find out just how dangerous Lethbridge-Stewart’s life can be.

Series nine will be released through the latter half of 2021, on a bi-monthly basis. Warriors of Montu will be followed by Children of the Megaliths and Hiraeth’s Embrace.

THESE BOOKS ARE BOOKS FOUR, FIVE AND SIX IN THE LETHBRIDGE-STEWART SERIES 8 SIX BOOK BUNDLE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUERIES REGARDING THIS PLEASE CONTACT:

CUSTOMERSERVICES@CANDYJARBOOKS.CO.UK

THESE BOOKS ARE CURRENTLY ONLY AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER. IF YOU HAVE A SUBSCRIPTION WITH CANDY JAR BOOKS, THESE BOOKS ARE COVERED BY THIS.

If you have subscription with Candy Jar Books, Warriors of Montu is covered by this.

To order, please visit here.

The Evil of the Daleks is latest classic to be recreated in animation

The Evil of the Daleks is latest classic to be recreated in animation

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Doctor Who: The Evil of the Daleks animation

An all-time Doctor Who classic is next in line to be resurrected as an animation, with The Evil of the Daleks now confirmed to be given the treatment.

Like many Doctor Who stories first aired in the 1960s, this 1967 adventure starring Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor was junked by the BBC in an age before regular repeat showings and home media.

Only one episode of the seven-parter – episode two – is thought to survive in its original form, but the surviving soundtracks to all seven parts will now be set to new animated visuals for a DVD and Blu-ray release. The announcement comes on the 53rd anniversary of the original airing of the last episode on BBC One.

evil-daleks-steelbook

Written by David Whitaker, the fan-favourite story sees the Doctor and companion Jamie (Frazer Hines) hunt the missing TARDIS and stumble across the Daleks’ most devious plan yet, a plot to to ‘humanise’ themselves into deadlier living weapons. The serial also marks the first appearance of Deborah Watling as new companion Victoria Waterfield.

The new three-disc release will feature the animated episodes in both colour and black-and-white versions, plus the original surviving episode two and all six episodes as telesnap constructions, plus audio commentaries, a behind-the-scenes featurette, photo gallery and an audiobook version of the story with narration by Tom Baker.

AnneMarie Walsh, director of the 2021 production, said:

“It’s been a privilege to work on this fantastic story with such a brilliant team – thanks to the fans for supporting our work, I hope you all enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it!”

The Evil of the Daleks animation follows similar reconstructions for lost Doctor Who stories including 1966’s The Power of the Daleks and 1968’s Fury from the Deep.

The new animated release will be available on DVD, Blu-ray and as a Limited Edition Blu-ray Steelbook from 27th September 2021 and is available to pre-order now from Amazon.

Evil of the daleks