From the Doctors... to all doctors

Thursday, 23 April 2020 - Reported by Marcus

From the Doctors... to all doctors. A thank you to the NHS and all frontline workers.

As seen on the BBC One programme The Big Night In

The Doctors Say Thank You | #TheBigNightIn

FILTER: - Eighth Doctor - Eleventh Doctor - Fifth Doctor - Fourth Doctor - Seventh Doctor - Sixth Doctor - Tenth Doctor - Thirteenth Doctor - Twelfth Doctor

The Lost Stories: Return of the Cybermen

Friday, 17 April 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Return Of The Cybermen, with Sadie-Miller, Tom_Baker and Christopher Naylor (Credit: Big Finish)

Big Finish have announced details about their forthcoming Lost Stories release, Return of the Cybermen, due to be released in January 2021.

The unmade story was written by Gerry Davis for the Fourth Doctor's first season, but after heavy rewriting by script editor Robert Holmes it eventually transformed into the broadcast story Revenge of the Cybermen. Now realised in its original form, the story will star Tom Baker reprise his role as the Fourth Doctor, with his faithful companions Sarah and Harry.

With both actors sadly no longer with us, the characters needed to be recast. The role of Sarah will be played by Elisabeth Sladen's own daughter Sadie Miller, who observed:

When Big Finish asked me to play Sarah Jane for this story, I was very nervous. I didn’t want to create a performance from someone else’s.

So I tried to approach it as I would with any other role. I’ve tried to find my own piece of Sarah - the part of my mum that’s in me. But I have had a quick look on YouTube for Sarah Jane Smith screams, because I wasn’t quite sure how she would want me to do those. Other than that I just tried to keep it as separate in my mind as possible from the original.

The fans of Doctor Who have always been so kind and generous to me and to my family. It was always a part of my life growing up, I was never not aware of it. People have always been very kind in letting us come along for the ride really, through conventions and now things like Big Finish and, after mum passed away, the outpouring of love for her has been lovely.

Senior Producer, David Richardson added:

How do you recast Sarah Jane Smith? Would you even want to? Those were the questions that bothered us - we love the character. We loved Lis Sladen. We worried it might be too soon and too difficult to go there. But then we realised that part of Lis lives on in Sadie, and Sadie has beautifully brought that to the role of Sarah - we all approached this carefully, and respectfully, and with love and I couldn’t be happier with Sadie’s performance. She’s done her mum proud.

The third of the trio, Harry, is played by Christopher Naylor; David continued:

Tom has actually worked many times before with Christopher Naylor, who’s played guest roles throughout different series of the Fourth Doctor Adventures. Chris is a very versatile actor, so we can cast him in so many things. But, we realised, he’s also the perfect Harry. Again, it’s very hard to follow Ian Marter, but Chris has managed to do that and Tom was full of praise for what both Sadie and Chris have done. I wonder where they could pop up next?”

Return of the Cybermen (Credit: Big Finish)

Speaking on how the production came about David said:

I’d known of Return of the Cybermen for many years, but it was only relatively recently that I was able to source Gerry Davis’s script thanks to some great detective work by archivist Richard Bignell! John Dorney’s adaptation stays true to the original script and the era, though there have been some very minor changes to bring it in line with the kind of amends we believe Robert Holmes would have asked for. Little things that make it sit comfortably in season 12.

It’s rather different in tone to Revenge of the Cybermen - darker, scarier and more reminiscent of claustrophobic 1960s Cybermen tales like The Moonbase and The Invasion.

Director Nicholas Briggs added:

It was interesting working with Tom on this, because he noticed the difference in style immediately. This is Doctor Who as Gerry Davis imagined it in 1974, and it’s very much like he wrote Doctor Who in the mid-1960s. So the script didn’t quite have the same levels of emotional sophistication and wit that was present either in what Robert Holmes eventually crafted into Revenge of the Cybermen, or certainly the more recent Fourth Doctor Adventures we’ve made on audio.

I imagined what it would have been like, back in the day, if Tom had been presented with this script to rehearse and record. If you look at the script book of the first Tom Baker season, you can see masses of line changes that were added by the cast or director during rehearsals and shooting in all those stories. Some of them are the best, most memorable moments, so I reasoned that it would be a faithful process to take on board Tom’s suggestions for this production of Return of the Cybermen.

We had loads of fun, as usual, with Tom finding it particularly amusing when I was directing him with a Cyberman voice effect. At one point, he asked, 'Is he talking to me?' which made us all laugh out loud!

Return of the Cybermen: Teaser Trailer

Doctor Who: Return of the Cybermen is now available for pre-order as a collector’s edition 2-disc box set or download from the Big Finish website. Big Finish listeners can also save money by pre-ordering a bundle of forthcoming adventures from The Lost Stories range, including both Return of the Cybermen and The Doomsday Contract.

FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish - Fourth Doctor - Tom Baker

Soundtrack releases for The Sun Makers and The Visitation

Saturday, 14 March 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Silva Screen Records have now released details on the forthcoming CD releases of the soundtracks for the fourth Doctor adventure The Sun Makers by Dudley Simpson, and fifth Doctor tale The Visitation by Paddy Kingsland.

The Sun Makers - soundtrack (Credit: Silva Screen)

The Sun Makers
Music by Dudley Simpson

1. Doctor Who Opening Title Theme
2. Death and Taxes
3. Mahogany
4. One Thousand Metres
5. Six Suns
6. The Others
7. Subway 13
8. Subway 13 (Continued)
9. A Heart as Big as your Mouth
10. A Little Hop
11. Jelly Babies
12. Something in the Air
13. K9, Bite!

14. Humbug
15. The P45 Return Route
16. The P45 Return Route (Reprise)
17. Morton's Fork
18. I’ve Heard That One, Too
19. The Rebellion Begins
20. Static Loop
21. The Steaming
22. The Steaming Continued
23. Gentlemen, Good Luck
24. Nobody Works Today
25. The Gatherer Excised
26. Doctor Who Closing Title Theme (53" Version)

The Visitation - soundtrack (Credit: Silva Screen)

The Visitation
Music by Paddy Kingsland

1. Doctor Who 1980 (Opening Titles)
2. Have you Seen the Sky?
3. Heathrow, 1666
4. Richard Mace & The Miller
5. A Fascinating Wall
6. An Incredible Illusion
7. Death in the Cellar
8. Activation
9. Grim
10. The Poacher and his Friends
11. Looking for the Miller / Not Again!
12. Trouble at the Mill
13. Laying a Trap

14. More Trouble at the Mill
15. Oh for a Proper Key
16. The End for us All
17. A Final Visitation
18. Almost Your Old Self
19. Eureka!
20. The Sonic Booster
21. Almost as if we were Expected
22. The Great Fire
23. Doctor Who Closing Title Theme
24. Activation (Unused Version 1)
25. Not Again! (Unused Version 1)

Paddy Kingsland reminisces about the process for the score:

We decided early on that the music should have a period flavour together with the usual high tech (at the time!) synthesiser sounds. Peter was my favourite Doctor Who director and was always enormously encouraging and positive... he generously gave me the freedom to do my own thing, but always knew if something needed to be adjusted. I had about a week to put together the music for an episode before going to the dub… the score is quite sombre although there are elements of “yea verily” type music to set some scenes, which have a lighter texture. I played all the parts, using the synthesisers of the day, Oberheim, Roland and ARP, adding bass guitar plus drums and cymbals… not to mention my trusty Fender Mustang guitar.

Both CDs are due to be released on 1st May 2020.

FILTER: - Fifth Doctor - Fourth Doctor - Music

The Unofficial Dr Who Annual 1987

Sunday, 13 October 2019 - Reported by Marcus

This November sees the release of the Fan project The Unofficial Dr Who Annual 1987.

The publication is the latest project from Terraqueous Distributors, who earlier this year released The Unofficial Dr Who Annual 1972

It proved to be far more popular than we anticipated. Even before its release, people started to ask "what's next?

Well, we love the sixth Doctor, so the decision to do another classic-style annual was very easy. This time continuing from where World Distributors finished their run of Doctor Who annuals.

As children growing up in the eighties, collecting those wonderful books. A lot of fans were disappointed when after 21 years, the annuals stopped being produced. Those original 28 books (including two omnibus', a spin-off, four Dalek Annuals, and a k9 annual). hold such fond memories for us, that we felt the need to celebrate them.

Like our previous release, we have been blessed by the kindness of such well-known names from the worlds of Doctor Who, Frazer Hines, Alister Pearson, and David J Howe have all contributed to the publication, joining a large number of Doctor Who fan writers and artists.

We are so grateful to everyone who has supported this project.

The Unofficial Dr Who Annual 1987 is a not-for-profit publication and is released through LULU.com's print-on-demand service at a price to be determined.

Please visit the Terraqueous Distributors facebook page for further details and updates.

FILTER: - Fan Productions - Fourth Doctor

Fourth Doctor on vinyl

Wednesday, 26 June 2019 - Reported by Marcus

Wave of Destruction (Credit: Big Finish)

Following the sell-out success of Big Finish Productions limited edition Doctor Who stories on vinyl, the audio company is delighted to announce another exclusive release in conjunction with Sainsbury's.

Doctor Who: Wave of Destruction starring Tom Baker, Lalla Ward and John Leeson on Friday 19th July 2019. It will be released as a Limited Edition run of 1500 copies on ocean swirl vinyl – only available in the UK, in Sainsbury’s stores.

In this full-cast audio drama from 2016, the Vardans return to take on Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor. The Doctor had previously encountered the Vardans on Gallifrey, the Doctor’s home planet, in the 1978 television story, The Invasion of Time.

A modulated frequency wave cancellation signal isn’t something that the Doctor and Romana expect to detect in 1960s London. But then they don’t expect to find Professor Lanchester, the man who invented it, lying unconscious. Or MI5 investigating. With the help of MI5 Agent Miller; Lanchester’s daughter Jill; and his nephew – a pirate radio DJ called Mark; the Doctor, Romana and K-9 investigate. They soon discover that there is more at risk than they imagined, and an alien invasion is about to begin. Can the Doctor identify and defeat the aliens in time? Will Romana manage to find a recombinant transducer before it’s too late? And how will K-9 cope with his new job?

Tom Baker portrayed the Doctor on screen from 1974 until 1981 returning to star alongside Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt as the curator in the 50th anniversary TV special, The Day of the Doctor, in 2013.

John Leeson was first brought in as the voice of K-9 – the Fourth Doctor’s robot dog – for the 1977 TV story, The Invisible Enemy. After a short break John returned for season 18 of Doctor Who in 1980. He also reprised his role as K-9 in the pilot TV episode for K-9 and Company (1981 – a spin-off from Doctor Who) and voiced K-9 for the 20th anniversary TV episode of Doctor Who, The Five Doctors and the 2006 Doctor Who TV episode, School Reunion.

Lalla Ward made her debut as Romana in December 1979, and after almost three series she made her last appearance alongside John Leeson in January 1981.

Of this special vinyl release, Lalla Ward said:

Recording Wave of Destruction was an absolute delight and I’m very pleased that we’ve made it onto a record. Romana is used to running circles around the Doctor so she’ll be right at home on the turntable.

Wave of Destruction, written by Justin Richards, is the first story of the fifth series of The Fourth Doctor Adventures, produced by Big Finish Productions.

FILTER: - Big Finish - Fourth Doctor - Vinyl

Black Archive

Tuesday, 23 April 2019 - Reported by Marcus

The latest editions from Obverse Books Black Archive looks at two very different stories from the First and Fourth Doctor

Black Archive: Warrior's Gate (Credit: Obverse Books)

Black Archive #30: The Dalek Invasion of Earth

Released 2 April 2019

Survivors of London, the Daleks are the masters of Earth. Surrender now and you will live.

The story of the Daleks’ return to Doctor Who in The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964) has been told in multiple media, but for this Black Archive, Jonathan Morris has had unparalleled access to the many variants of the scripts.

After 55 years, learn the identity of ‘The Waking Ally’, discover Milton Subotsky’s working draft of the second feature film, and find out why the iconic shot of the Daleks crossing Westminster Bridge doesn’t appear in the televised story… Author Jonathan Morris is one of the most prolific and long-standing contributors to Doctor Who Magazine, as well as writing five novels for BBC Books and over fifty stories for Big Finish.

RRP: £7.99 (£5.99 direct from Obverse)

Black Archive: The Dalek Invasion of Earth (Credit: Obverse Books)

Black Archive #31: Warriors Gate

Released 2 May 2019

The shadow of my past and of your future.

Representative of Doctor Who at its most experimental, narratively and visually, Warriors’ Gate (1981) was the rich by-product of a producer seeking to modernise the series for the 1980s, a radio writer and novelist who had never written for television, and a film director with one television drama to his credit.

Examining television authorship in the 1980s, and using archive research and new interviews, this Black Archive traces the development of writer Stephen Gallagher’s scripts and their onscreen realisation by producer John Nathan-Turner, script editor Christopher Bidmead, and director Paul Joyce.

Similarly, it explores the story’s complex blend of absurd tragicomedy, quantum theory, randomness and entropy, within the context of British New Wave SF, the philosophy of science, modernist theatre, film and television, German Romantic painting, pop video, and the development of electronic video effects. Many ‘authors’ contributed to the transmitted version of Warriors’ Gate and the book also considers whether it can be claimed as the work of a single author given the collaborative nature of its troubled production.

RRP: £7.99 (£5.99 direct from Obverse)

FILTER: - Books - First Doctor - Fourth Doctor

Season 18 Burgundy Scarf

Thursday, 18 October 2018 - Reported by Marcus

Following the sell-out success of Lovarzi's Fourth Doctor Season 18 Burgundy Scarf, the company has reproduced this iconic look in a shorter, more manageable size.

In 2013, Lovarzi released a 12ft Season 18 Scarf – and it quickly became a fan favourite. But due to popular demand, LOVARZI has made a second version, using the same screen-accurate design, but at a more concise 195 cm. That's around half the length of the previous one, meaning you can wrap up warm without dragging the tassels on the floor/ swamps of Alzarius.

The Fourth Doctor returned to television screens in 1980 with a new look which was fresh and bold, but still paid homage to the past. Designed by June Hudson, this darker outfit was made at the behest of incoming producer, John Nathan-Turner, and debuted in The Leisure Hive.

Baker wore this throughout his swansong season, as the Doctor faced a spiky duplicate in Meglos; explored E-Space in Full Circle, State of Decay, and Warrior's Gate; met The Keeper of Traken; and took a final fall in Logopolis.

The Fourth Doctor Season 18 Burgundy (Shorter) Scarf is made from high-quality lightweight Acrylic Chenille, staying true to the original. It also comes in a specially-designed carry-case, ideal for storage, so it's great for cosplayers and collectors.

Maninder Singh Sahota, Director of Lovarzi, says

When we released a shorter version of our original Tom Baker Scarf, we were overwhelmed by the response, especially at the Doctor Who Festival. Our full-sized scarves are great for conventions, but we know they can be unwieldy in everyday life. That's why we've made this shorter version of the Burgundy Scarf, perfect for fans to show off their credentials wherever they are.

Lovarzi's officially-licensed Doctor Who line launched in 2012 with the best-selling multi-coloured Fourth Doctor Scarf. Since then, the company has catered for fans of all eras with items including the Fourth Doctor Knitted Tie, TARDIS Folding Umbrella, and 18ft Season 16- 17 Scarf. The Fourth Doctor Season 18 Burgundy (Shorter) Scarf will be available to buy from 19th October 2018, priced £24.99, from Lovarzi.co.uk and Amazon.

Members of Lovarzi’s exclusive Doctor Who Fan Club can take advantage of a 15% discount on the Burgundy (Shorter) Scarf - and further discounts whenever new Doctor Who items are added to the range! Become a member by clicking here.

FILTER: - Clothing - Fourth Doctor

Big Finish Celebrates Twenty Years of Audio Adventures

Monday, 13 August 2018 - Reported by Marcus

The Seventh Doctor - The New Adventures (Credit: Big Finish)

Big Finish Productions has announced its first wave of special releases to celebrate 20 years of Doctor Who audio adventures

As part of the anniversary celebrations, Big Finish is releasing a number of special titles in 2019 and 2020, each focused on an incarnation of the Time Lord. And today they unveil the first two titles.

Coming out this November, Sylvester McCoy’s calculating and comic Doctor returns with two companions from the Virgin Books’ New Adventures of Doctor Who: Yasmin Bannerman plays Roz Forrester and Travis Oliver plays Chris Cwej in Doctor Who – The New New Adventures.

The Virgin Books’ New Adventures of Doctor Who took the reigns of Doctor Who after the television series finished after its 26th season back in 1989. The novels took a darker, deeper approach to Doctor Who, using longer storylines and ideas that wouldn’t have made it to the television screen.

This new box set includes four stories:

The Trial of a Time Machine by Andy Lane
Vanguard by Steve Jordan
The Jabari Countdown by Alan Flanagan
The Dread of Night by Tim Foley

Producer and director Scott Handcock explains

Yasmin Bannerman, Sylvester McCoy, Travis Oliver (Credit: Big Finish)

As a fan who grew up in the era of the New Adventures novels, I was thrilled when David Richardson offered me the opportunity to tackle a new box set featuring the Seventh Doctor, Roz Forrester and Chris Cwej. The feedback to the novel adaptations was fantastic, and getting the chance to tell completely new stories with this TARDIS team has been a joy!

We’ve tried to make the most of the box set format, so we have four original hour-long stories reuniting the Doctor, Roz and Chris – and, of course, Sylvester, Yasmin and Travis, who struck up such a brilliant rapport on the adaptations. The four new tales tackle very different genres, in very different settings and times, with Chris and Roz creator Andy Lane kicking off the box set with his story, The Trial of a Time Machine. There really is something for everyone!

The New New Adventures will be released in November 2018, available as a CD box set for £23 or on download at £20 from www.bigfinish.com

Tom Baker, Nicholas Briggs (Credit: Big Finish)

Two new adventures are also being released for the bohemian Fourth Doctor adapted from the comic strip by Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons that featured in Doctor Who Magazine (when it was Doctor Who Weekly).

Doctor Who: The Comic Strip Adaptations will be released in March 2019 comprising of:

Doctor Who and the Iron Legion adapted by Alan Barnes
Doctor Who and the Star Beast adapted by Alan Barnes

In these two adventures, we find the Fourth Doctor travelling with his famed elongated technicolour scarf for company. He’ll encounter the Iron Legion, an army of robotic Roman legionnaires, and in Doctor Who and the Star Beast, the Fourth Doctor encounters one of the deadliest and most adorable villains ever – Beep the Meep!

Nicholas Briggs, director of the Fourth Doctor audio adventures, explains

These Fourth Doctor comic strip adaptations have a whole different feel to them. It’s like they’re from a parallel universe vision of Doctor Who. Tom Baker spotted it straight away, emailing me the moment he’d read The Iron Legion, commenting that this was ‘a bit DIFFERENT’ – actually typing ‘different’ in capitals! But he rose manfully to the challenge and entered into the spirit of it all wonderfully. And that spirit is that they are, essentially, wackier.

There’s a feeling of ‘we could do anything because there are no budget restrictions’ in the original comic strips, and our adaptor, Alan Barnes, has captured this perfectly. Crazy characters, extravagant action sequences. And Alistair Lock has done a superb job with his sound design and music.

The Star Beast has a slightly different feel. The alien monster craziness is contrasted sharply with a dash of kitchen sink drama and a touch of Grange Hill, which predated the TV series exploring more domestic settings. It’s interesting how the brilliant comics writer of these strips, Pat Mills, kind of anticipated this. Alan has a great love for Pat’s work, and he was absolutely the right fit to adapt these beautiful, bonkers adventures of an extra-eccentric Fourth Doctor.

These two epic stories will be released in March 2019 as a 5-disc CD box set for £23 or on download at £20 from www.bigfinish.com. Or you can get both sets together as a pre-order bundle, at £46 on CD or £40 on download.

FILTER: - Big Finish - Fourth Doctor - Seventh Doctor

New Fourth Doctor Audio Adventures

Monday, 6 August 2018 - Reported by Marcus

John Leeson, Lalla Ward, Matthew Waterhouse Tom Baker (Credit: Big Finish)

Big Finish have confirmed that the Fourth Doctor, as played by Tom Baker, will be continuing his audio adventures until at least 2021.

Two new audio series featuring the enigmatic time-traveling bohemian have been confirmed, out for release in 2020 and 2021 with the Fourth Doctor being joined by some old friends.

In series nine of The Fourth Doctor Adventures, Tom Baker’s Doctor is reunited with Time-Lady Romanadvoratrelundar II, played by Lalla Ward. And joining them will be Adric, played by Matthew Waterhouse, in his first adventures back with Tom since his regeneration in 1981. John Leeson also reprises K9, the Doctor’s faithful robo-canine companion.

These stories are set in the beginning of Tom Baker’s last television series as the Doctor, season 18, in between the stories State of Decay and Warrior’s Gate. Trapped in E-Space, a pocket universe next to our own (N-Space), the Doctor acquires a new companion Adric, a 15 year old mathematical genius, who begins to travel with the Doctor and Romana.

Volume 1 of Series 9 of The Fourth Doctor Adventures is out for release in January 2020:

9.1 Purgatory 12 by Marc Platt
9.2 Chase the Night by Jonathan Morris

And Volume 2 of Series 9 follows in February 2020:

9.3 The Planet of Witches by Alan Barnes
9.4 The Quest of the Engineer by Andrew Smith

Matthew Waterhouse talked about travelling with the Fourth Doctor again

I’ve always found that when recording a Doctor Who on audio, it felt like coming home. I absolutely loved it, and this (new series) is another development of that. I love the idea of E-Space with the Fourth Doctor, Romana, Adric and K9 travelling together.

David Richardson, producer of The Fourth Doctor Adventures on audio, explains what mystical escapades this TARDIS team will encounter in a universe very different to our own

We’re returning to another much-loved era in Season 9, as the E-Space trilogy gets a massive extension on audio and we explore strange and wonderful worlds in another universe with the genius team of the Doctor, Romana, Adric and K-9.

It’s been such fun recreating the tone and high-concept style of that era, as the travellers begin the search for a CVE (Charged Vacuum Emboitment) which can take them (or at least most of them) home.

In Series 10 the Fourth Doctor will be reunited with Leela (played by Louise Jameson) in four new double-length adventures. David Richardson explains more:

For Series 10 it’s a joy to welcome back our friends Louise Jameson and John Leeson to reprise Leela and K9. The stories include a prequel to The Sun Makers, a visit to a doomed world, and a group of time-travelling tourists who make a terrible mistake.

Series 10 will be released in January and February 2021.

FILTER: - Big Finish - Fourth Doctor

Season 12 Blu-Ray delayed by One Week

Wednesday, 16 May 2018 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who Season 12 (Credit: BBC Worldwide)

BBC Worldwide has confirmedthat the Blu-Ray release of Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 12, has been delayed by one week.

The collection of stories featuring Tom Baker in his first season as the Doctor, will now be released on Monday 18th June 2018

Full release details

FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Fourth Doctor - Season 12

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