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Month: November 2022

William Russell is a Record Breaker!

William Russell is a Record Breaker!

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BBC One - Doctor Who, Season 1 - Ian Chesterton
BBC One – Doctor Who, Season 1 – William Russell as Ian Chesterton

Whether you are a long-time fan of the sci-fi BBC series Dr Who or if you joined with more recent Doctors, you might remember Ian Chesterton.

Science teacher and companion of the First Doctor (then portrayed by William Hartnell), Chesterton was part of the original cast and appeared for a total of 77 episodes.

It’s with this role that the British actor William Russell not only made sci-fi TV history, but also broke a Guinness World Records title with his reappearance in the latest series.

The time between the first and last appearances of Chesterton marks the longest gap between TV appearances: an incredible 57 years 120 days.

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The science fiction television show has been broadcast by the BBC since 1963.

It was then that Russell first appeared in the drama show: he participated in the very first pilot shot for the franchise, which went unaired.

The episode was, however, eventually re-shot and broadcast with the title “An Unearthly Child”, birthing one of the most iconic and beloved titles in TV history.

After that first appearance as Ian Chesterton, Russell remained a regular character in the show for the next two years – until the character’s departure in 1965.

Russell’s most recent – and record-breaking – appearance on the Doctor Who screen happened with “The Power of the Doctor“, which aired on 23 October 2022.

“The Power of the Doctor” is the third and final special aired for the centenary celebrations for the BBC.

However, through the years, Russell has maintained his association with Doctor Who across platforms and media: when he wasn’t playing Chesterton in front of a camera, the actor took part in several DVD audio commentaries and also narrated several audiobooks from the series.

He also made a cameo (as another character, a BBC Commissionaire) in the 2013 Doctor Who documentary, “An Adventure in Space and Time“. The programme recounted the making of the iconic sci-fi series and was broadcast as part of the celebrations for its 50th anniversary.

It’s been a long-running love, the one between Russell and the Doctor Who series – a love that is now crowned with a record after the actor returned on the set of the show at the age of 97 for his “The Power of the Doctor” cameo.

The episode aired 57 years after the character’s last television appearance.

This incredible accomplishment might not surprise shows aficionados and TV culture connoisseurs, as the science fiction television show has been broadcast by the BBC since 1963.

However, talking about “the beginning of the adventures of the Doctors and their companions” might (incorrectly) feel close to us since the long-going BBC sci-fi series is still airing and racking up accolades year after year.

Like other iconic franchises, Doctor Who places itself as equally a “historical” TV show and a product that is still making headlines and going strong.

To put things into perspective, the pilot aired in the same year Kennedy’s assassination – the day before, in fact.

The Cold War was still ongoing, as was the Vietnam War.

All these events that might seem remote at a first glance, but help convey the longevity of Doctor Who as a series and a pillar of pop culture.

Iconic elements of the series like the angels, the various incarnations of the Doctor and the TARDIS became part of global pop culture, spreading far and wide and well out of the franchise’s fanbase.

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Because of its long-lasting run the BBC drama also holds the record for the most consecutive sci-fi TV episodes ever, with 871 episodes and counting.

Over the years, also thanks to its longevity and enthusiastic fans, the sci-fi drama has conquered (or has held at some point) several records.

Some of them are:

  • Doctor Who holds the record for most spin-off fiction books inspired by a TV show, with over 720 spin-offs as of 2016
  • The largest collection of Doctor Who memorabilia consists of 6,641 items and was achieved by Lily Connors (UK), of Pontypridd, UK, as verified on 20 June 2016.
  • In case you were wondering, the episode “The Caves of Androzani” (1984) officially holds the record as the most popular Doctor Who story. It received an average of 9.3/10 on imdb.com, and was voted by readers of Doctor Who Magazine as the best story.
  • As of 2017, Doctor Who also placed itself as the most prolific science-fiction TV series (by episode).
A Diamond Doctor Who Audio Special!

A Diamond Doctor Who Audio Special!

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Big Finish marks 60 years of Doctor Who with a mammoth eight-part full-cast audio drama series beginning in May 2023.

A Diamond Doctor Who Audio Special!
A Diamond Doctor Who Audio Special!

“There will never come a time when we don’t need a hero like the Doctor” – Steven Moffat

Since landing in 1963, Doctor Who has made history as the world’s longest-running action-adventure TV show! As we head into the anniversary year, it’s time to revisit the past and commemorate the legacy of those who came before…

The Time War. The Doctor has been injured and brought to a Time Lord field hospital. His body glows with energy, but this is no regeneration into a future form – instead, the Doctor’s past faces begin to appear as he flits haphazardly between incarnations…

Staggering to his TARDIS, the Doctor sets out to solve the mystery of his ‘degeneration’. Who has done this to him? How? And why? From the Earth to the stars, across an array of familiar times and places, he follows clues to retrace his steps, encountering old friends and enemies along the way. Tumbling through his lives, the Doctor must stop his degeneration before he loses himself completely…

Doctor Who – Once and Future stars Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant, with dozens more guest cast still to be revealed.

Producer David Richardson said: “An astonishing array of talent has come aboard to be a part of this epic eight-hour anniversary story. It’s a huge Doctor Who party and a massive celebration that has been years in the making.”

The series will be released monthly, with the first seven parts materialising between May and October 2023, and a final coda in November 2024.

Doctor Who fans worldwide can now pre-order the bundle of all eight audio adventures on special edition CD (+ download) for just £75, or digital (download only) for just £62, exclusively here. The CD bundle is strictly limited to just 3,000 pressings and includes numbered CDs, special bonus artworks and additional audio content, including music suites and extended behind-the-scenes interviews.

All eight stories can also be pre-ordered as separate single releases on standard collector’s edition CD (+ download, for £10.99 each) or digital (download only, for £8.99 each). A standard bundle pre-order is available for £72 (on CD + download) or £60 (download only). The standard edition does not include the extras contained in the special edition, but does include behind-the-scenes features.

All the above prices include the special pre-order discount and are subject to change after general release.

Please note that Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mailout of collector’s edition CDs will be delayed, but all purchases of this release unlock a digital copy that can be immediately downloaded or played on the Big Finish app from the release date.

SERIES 13 ‘THE SPECIALS’ CD ANNOUNCEMENT

SERIES 13 ‘THE SPECIALS’ CD ANNOUNCEMENT

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This triple CD set features music from the three Doctor Who Series 13 episode specials, and will be released on 13th January 2023 (available to pre-order now)

These will also be available digitally as separate volumes on the following dates:
Eve of the Daleks – 2nd December 2022
Legend of the Sea Devils – 9th December 2022
The Power of the Doctor -16th December 2022

VOLUME ONE  EVE OF THE DALEKS

  1. Here We Are Again
  2. Out Of Service
  3. I Am Not Nick
  4. Deja Vu
  5. The Correction
  6. Sorry Sorry Sorry
  7. Not A Great Plan
  8. Took You Long Enough
  9. We Will Not Stop
  10. We Go Again and We Win
  11. The Doctor Cannot Save You
  12. A Brilliant Plan
  13. Important Stuff to Do
  14. Fireworks

VOLUME TWO  LEGEND OF THE SEA DEVILS

  1. You Have No Idea What You’re Doing
  2. Catching a Whopper
  3. Pirate Queen
  4. Who Wants to Be Next?
  5. Celestial Navigation
  6. Going Up
  7. Say Hello to My Crew
  8. This Is Gonna Be Tricky
  9. A Good Legend

VOLUME THREE  THE POWER OF THE DOCTOR

  1. You Shall Not Disrupt Our Mission
  2. We Should Go In
  3. Why Would I Ever Trust You?
  4. Dealing with Multiple Somethings
  5. Magnificent Attention to Detail
  6. A Calculated Risk
  7. Say Hello to My Friends
  8. I Am The Doctor
  9. We Are Not Finished
  10. What’s The Plan?
  11. Reunite
  12. All Hands On Deck
  13. Activate Everything
  14. She’s The Doctor

PRE ORDER HERE.

Millie Gibson joins cast of Doctor Who as companion to the Fifteenth Doctor

Millie Gibson joins cast of Doctor Who as companion to the Fifteenth Doctor

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Ncuti Gatwa (Fifteenth Doctor) and Millie Gibson (Ruby Sunday)

Millie Gibson has landed the role of Ruby Sunday, the Doctor’s new companion. Starring alongside Ncuti Gatwa, Millie will make her debut over the festive season in 2023 when the Fifteenth Doctor takes control of the TARDIS. Recently, it was announced that the BBC and Disney Branded Television have joined forces to make Disney+ the new global home, outside of the UK and Ireland, for future seasons of Doctor Who.

Best known for her role as Coronation Street’s Kellie Neelan, 18 year old Millie was the recipient of the Best Young Performer Award at The British Soap Awards earlier this year. Millie has also appeared in dramas Butterfly (ITV) and Love, Lies and Records (BBC).

Speaking of her new role, Millie Gibson says:

“Whilst still being in total disbelief, I am beyond honoured to be cast as the Doctor’s companion. It is a gift of a role, and a dream come true, and I will do everything to try and fill the boots the fellow companions have travelled in before me. And what better way to do that than being by the fabulous Ncuti Gatwa’s side, I just can’t wait to get started.”

Ncuti Gatwa adds:

“Millie just is the companion. She is full of talent, strength, she has a cheeky sparkle in her eye and is sharp as a razor. From the moment she walked into the room she captured all of our attention with her effervescence and then solidified that attention with the sheer torque of her talent. This adventure is going to be so wild and so fun, I cannot WAIT to sail the universe with Millie!”

Russell T Davies, Showrunner, says:

“It’s the great honour of my job to find the next generation of talent, and Millie shines like a star already. She’s brilliant, dynamic, clever and a wonderful actor. As a Coronation Street fan, I’ve seen Millie survive chases, guns and sieges, but that’s nothing compared to what lies ahead for Ruby Sunday.”

Season 24 will be re-issued in The Collection Blu-ray standard packaging

Season 24 will be re-issued in The Collection Blu-ray standard packaging

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Season 24 of Doctor Who: The Collection is the next Blu-ray title to be re-issued in standard packaging.

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The Doctor is faced with enemies including the Rani (Kate O’Mara) and the terrifying Tetraps in TIME AND THE RANI, Kroagnon and his cleaning robots in PARADISE TOWERS, the ruthless Bannermen in DELTA AND THE BANNERMEN and Kane (Edward Peel), the murderous ruler of Iceworld in DRAGONFIRE.

With all episodes newly remastered, this Blu-ray box set also contains extensive and exclusive special features including:

  • Extended versions of all four stories, featuring previously un-transmitted material.
  • Immersive 5.1 surround sound & isolated scores
  • Brand new documentaries – Including a feature-length overview of Season 24 – HERE’S TO THE FUTURE, plus THE MAKING OF DELTA AND THE BANNERMEN.
  • Rare studio and location footage – Over 25 hours of raw material never seen before, including behind-the-scenes footage from the regeneration scene.
  • IN CONVERSATION – Matthew Sweet interviews Sylvester McCoy about his life, career, and time as the Seventh Doctor.
  • BEHIND THE SOFA – Four new episodes with Sylvester McCoy, Bonnie Langford, Sophie Aldred, Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, Colin Baker & Michael Jayston.
  • THE DOCTOR’S TABLE – Sylvester McCoy, Bonnie Langford, Sophie Aldred and Clive Merrison reminisce about the making of the season.
  • Rare Gems from the Archives – Hours of footage covering the promotion of this season including lots of previously unreleased material.
  • AN AUDIENCE WITH LADY STEVENS – A brand new interview with Season 24 actor and Rocky Horror cult figure Patricia Quinn.
  • Convention Footage
  • HD Photo Galleries – Including many previously unseen images.
  • Info Text – Behind-the-scenes information and trivia on every episode.
  • Scripts, costume designs, rare BBC production files and other rarities from the archive
  • and much more!

Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 24 includes the following stories from 1987:

  • TIME AND THE RANI
  • PARADISE TOWERS
  • DELTA AND THE BANNERMEN
  • DRAGONFIRE

You can pre-order the standard packaging edition of Season 24 from our GNR store NOW.

Children in Need: Doctor Who companion to be revealed live on BBC fundraiser

Children in Need: Doctor Who companion to be revealed live on BBC fundraiser

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Doctor Who: Ncuti Gatwa Is the New Doctor | Den of Geek

A companion for Ncuti Gatwa’s new Time Lord on Doctor Who is to be announced live on this year’s Children in Need show later.

Gatwa is due to become the 15th Doctor over the festive period in 2023, and will have just one companion for his adventures on the BBC One show.

The BBC Children in Need Appeal Night Show will be on BBC One and iPlayer from 19:00 to 22:00 GMT.

Doctor Who Makes The Top 10 on BBC iPlayer!

Doctor Who Makes The Top 10 on BBC iPlayer!

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How to stop BBC iPlayer crashing on Android | Expert Reviews

The most-watched boxsets and live events on iPlayer between July and September* are:

Rank

Programme

Streams

1

Commonwealth Games

52.5m

2

Wimbledon

28.2m

3

The Capture

24.0m

4

Celebrity MasterChef

18.5m

5

Women’s Euro 2022

15.7m

6

The Secrets She Keeps

15.2m

7

Top Gear

14.2m

8

Shetland

12.4m

9

Doctor Who

11.1m

10

Match of the Day

10.9m

*Excluding continuing series like EastEnders, news and children’s content

DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE 584

DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE 584

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THE FOURTEENTH DOCTOR’S ADVENTURES BEGIN – EXCLUSIVELY IN DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE!

David Tennant is the Fourteenth Doctor… and although it will be a year until we see his TV adventures, the story continues in Doctor Who Magazine issue 584.

An epic new comic-strip adventure, written by Alan Barnes and illustrated by Lee Sullivan, picks up directly where The Power of the Doctor left off.

Editor Marcus Hearn says, “Russell T Davies, our new showrunner, has long admired the DWM strip. And that’s why he’s granted us the honour of telling the Fourteenth Doctor’s first story in an adventure that dovetails with the most recent episode. For the first time in our 43-year history, the strip is now in lockstep with the television series’ continuity.”

Russell T Davies says, “From day one, I wanted to increase ties between the show and the magazine. I love it when we’re in sync! A lot of people will be thinking, David’s not the real Doctor, he’s a trick, an illusion, a flashback. But no. He’s real. And DWM can help us underline that.”

Other highlights of the new issue include:

  • Meet the New Team – the producers, directors and other crew members of Doctor Who tell us what they’re looking forward to in the 2023 Specials and beyond.
  • Letter from the Showrunner – in the first of his new regular columns, Russell T Davies reveals what brought him back to Doctor Who.
  • Production Diary – script editor Scott Handcock provides exclusive updates about forthcoming episodes, direct from Doctor Who’s HQ.
  • Reach up for the Sunrise – David Tennant, Russell T Davies, former showrunner Chris Chibnall, directors Rachel Talalay and Jamie Magnus Stone, and CG artist Ben Pickles describe shooting The Power of the Doctor’s regeneration sequence.
  • The Strip of a Lifetime – Russell T Davies, Scott Handcock, Alan Barnes and Lee Sullivan on creating the Fourteenth Doctor’s first adventure.
  • The Watchers ­– fans who were lucky enough to be granted studio visits in the 1960s and early 70s recall the thrill of watching Doctor Who being made.
  • Hack to the Future – an interview with artist Robert Hack about the new illustrated version of David Whitaker’s seminal novel Doctor Who and the Daleks.
  • Collectivity: The TARDIS – meet the fans for whom collecting police-box merchandise has been a lifelong passion.
  • Factory Records – the sets of 1966’s The Power of the Daleks are recreated, providing new insights into this mostly missing story.
  • The Fact of Fiction encounters Cybermen and Daleks as it looks back at 2006’s Army of Ghosts.
  • Other Worlds – an essential guide to forthcoming stories in the expanded Doctor Who universe.
  • Previews, reviews, news, prize-winning competitions, Time and Space Visualiser, Sufficient Data and more.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 584 is on sale Thursday 10 November from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £6.99 (UK).
Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £5.99.

ME & HIM & WHO

ME & HIM & WHO

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John Nathan-Turner presided over three distinct eras of classic Doctor Who, as the producer incarnate.

But his ability to juggle budgets, actors, and egos brought about his perceived downfall as he struggled to channel his talents after the BBC cancelled the show in 1989.

With his partner, Gary, unwell with cancer, and his own health sliding downhill due to drink, this is the story of the final three acts of John Nathan-Turner’s life as he attempts to write a ‘tell-all’ autobiography of his time on the show that came to define him.

Written by Stephen Wyatt, who knew them both, and performed with relish by Christopher Guard and Peter Noble, this is a waspish and witty tragedy of two men who loved and alienated so many others, including each other.

Duration: 1 hour 8 minutes

ME & HIM & WHO

He was the youngest Producer of Doctor Who. Or was he?

As he, himself, said, ‘Never let the facts get in the way of a good story’.

His name was John Nathan-Turner and, having worked bis way up the Doctor Who career ladder via since 1969, he took over as producer ten years later and set about putting his highly stylised mark on it.

Not only did he cast three Doctors – Peter Davison’s Fifth, Colin Baker’s Sixth, and Sylvester McCoy’s Seventh – but he also cast a whole host of memorable companions to go with them.

In fact, the BBC’s finale of Jodie Whittaker’s time as the Thirteenth Doctor, became somewhat of a celebration of those eras that John Nathan-Turner produced. Not only featuring the return of the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Doctor, but also sizeable roles for Ace (Sophie Aldred) and Tegan (Janet Fielding) with a cameo from Mel (Bonnie Langford).

However, John Nathan-Turner became so synonymous with the television show, because of his ability to court the press and placate the fans, that he delayed moving on until it was too late.

When the show was cancelled in 1989, he was left out in the wilderness, struggling to channel his flamboyance into anything else, and with the nasty side of the fan base turning against him and his decade-long tenure on the series.

Towards the end of his life, he tried to write his autobiography but always fell at the final hurdle, whether it was because of his partner, Gary Downie’s cancer, or his own drink-related illness, or just a reluctance to bite the BBC hand that once fed him.

In his final few years, before passing away at the young age of 54, his relationship with friends became toxic because of his partner’s wicked turn of phrase and no holds barred approach to saying what he thought. We find them, both supporting each other and belittling each other in what appeared to be a love/hate relationship but was in fact an enduring and endearing romance.

In a sometimes bleakly comic tale, we see this two-man support network crumble and be rebuilt, with the desire always to be back in the limelight and put on a show. Any show. But the show we hear is the backstage gossip of a fading producer who’s still looking for his final Norma Desmond-esque close-up.

Written by Stephen Wyatt
Sound Design by Joseph Fox
Music by Darrell Maclaine
Artwork by Rob Hammond
Produced, directed, and script edited by Barnaby Eaton-Jones
Executive Producer: Paul Andrews (for AUK Studios)     

With thanks to Richard Marson 

For a limited time only – The collector’s edition of Me & Him & WHO. CD release Early December 2022. This production will not be released digitally until 2023.            

© AUK Studios 2022

(All CD’s sent signed for delivery, non UK regions priced appropriately)