Now more than ever, we need your support! Become a Supporting Subscriber today.

Feed aggregator

BBC News - Steven Moffat to receive special Bafta

TARDIS Newsroom - 3 hours 45 min ago

From BBC News

Doctor Who producer and Sherlock co-creator Steven Moffat is to receive a special prize at this year's Bafta TV awards, organisers have announced.
Recognising his "outstanding creative writing contribution to television", the award will be presented on 27 May at London's Royal Festival Hall.

Previous recipients include Russell T Davies, who preceded the 50-year-old Scot as Doctor Who's head writer.
"Blimey! A special award!" said Moffat, "I didn't even know I was ill."

Read more here...

Categories: Doctor Who

In Print Comic - In Print Episode 26

TARDIS Newsroom - 4 hours 53 sec ago

From In Print Comic

For anyone who has ever wondered if our heroes ever watch anything else on their telly here's the answer.

Of course they watch Sherlock, 7 has been a fan of Steven Moffat ever since Continuity Errors. He has Press Gang, Joking Apart and Coupling sitting in his DVD collection.

One day he hopes to regenerate into Jack Davenport.

To tell you the truth that would make me happy as well, if we have to replace Matt Smith may it be by the only man who could handle a Cyberman Spank Inferno!

Categories: Doctor Who

Today in the 'Whoniverse' Saturday, May 19, 2012

TARDIS Newsroom - 4 hours 30 min ago

Today in the 'Whoniverse'

Behind the scenes

1947 - Michael Cochrane, who played several roles in Doctor Who, was born.

1973 - DW: The Green Death, Episode 1, was first broadcast.

1982 - Elwyn Jones died.

2006 - Peter Bryant, Doctor Who producer and script editor, died.

2007 - DW: 42 was first broadcast.

Today in History

1499 Catherine of Aragon (aged 12) was married by proxy to Arthur Tudor, the Prince of Wales (aged 12).

1536 Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII's second wife, was beheaded in London. She was 29 years old. Although the evidence against her was unconvincing, the charges brought included incest with her brother and no less than four counts of adultery.

1568 Queen Elizabeth I ordered the arrest of Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary had previously claimed Elizabeth's throne as her own and was considered the legitimate sovereign of England by many English Catholics. After 18 years and 9 months in custody, Mary was tried and executed for her involvement in plots to assassinate Elizabeth.

1585 English shipping in Spanish ports was confiscated. This served as a declaration of war.

1662 The Act of Uniformity gave consent to the revised English Prayer Book and denied the right to take up arms against the king. Presbyterianism in the Church was destroyed and many ministers who did not confirm were ejected. A Licensing Act forbade imports of literature contrary to Christian faith.

1845 Captain Sir John Franklin and his ill-fated Arctic expedition departed from Greenhithe in Kent. The entire crew of 129 perished from starvation, hypothermia, tuberculosis, lead poisoning and scurvy whilst attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic.

1879 The birth of American Nancy Witcher Astor, the first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons. She was the wife of William Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount, English politician and former proprietor of the Observer newspaper.

1898 William Gladstone, British statesman and Prime Minister, died.

1935 T E Lawrence, English soldier and writer (known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia) died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash.

1940 Churchill made his first broadcast as Prime Minister and called Nazism "the foulest and most soul-destroying tyranny that has ever darkened and stained the pages of history."

1984 John Betjeman, English poet died.

1997 The newly elected Sinn Fein MPs, Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, visited and enjoyed the facilities at the British House of Commons for 24 hours, before the Speaker's ruling denying them the privileges of MPs in the Palace of Westminster came into effect.

1997 Health Secretary Frank Dobson announced that the sponsorship of sports events by tobacco firms was to be outlawed. It gave a temporary exemption for Formula One motor-racing, whose owner, Bernie Ecclestone, had earlier donated £1m to the Labour Party.

2004 Security at the House of Commons came under scrutiny after Fathers For Justice protesters attacked Tony Blair, the prime minister.

2009 Commons Speaker Michael Martin told MPs he intended to stand down, so becoming the first Commons Speaker to be effectively forced out of office for 300 years. He had faced criticism over his handling of the MP expenses issue.

Todays Events

Todays UK TV and Radio

Doctor Who
On: BBC 3
Date: Saturday 19th May 2012
Time: 19:00 to 19:45
The Time of Angels. Series 31, episode 4.
The Doctor, River Song and Amy hunt the last of the Weeping Angels through the terrifying Maze of the Dead.
(Stereo, Repeat, Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 5 Star)
Starring: Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Alex Kingston, Simon Dutton, Mike Skinner, Iain Glen

Doctor Who Confidential
On: BBC 3
Date: Saturday 19th May 2012
Time: 19:45 to 20:00
Eyes Wide Open. Series 5, episode 4.
Alex Kingston, who plays River Song, talks about the highs and lows of being suspended on wires, and there's a look back with cast and crew at the Doctor and River Song's relationship so far. The Weeping Angels get a makeover for their long-awaited comeback and Matt Smith is photographed, scanned and 'rotoscoped' for the new online Doctor Who Adventure Games. Narrated by Alex Price and featuring interviews with Matt Smith and Karen Gillan.
(Stereo, Repeat, Widescreen, Subtitles, 2 Star)
Starring: Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Alex Kingston

Torchwood
On: Watch
Date: Sunday 20th May 2012
Time: 01:15 to 02:10
Greeks Bearing Gifts. Series 1, episode 7.
Toshiko is given a pendant which enables her to hear other people's thoughts.
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Dolby Digital 5.1, 2006, 4 Star)
Director: Colin Teague
Starring: John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Gareth David-Lloyd, Naoko Mori

Torchwood
On: Watch
Date: Sunday 20th May 2012
Time: 02:10 to 03:00
They Keep Killing Suzie. Series 1, episode 8.
At the Torchwood Institute, a murder investigation leads back to a familiar face.
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Dolby Digital 5.1, 2006, 4 Star)
Director: James Strong
Starring: John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Gareth David-Lloyd, Naoko Mori

Doctor Who
On: Watch
Date: Sunday 20th May 2012
Time: 09:00 to 10:00
Gridlock. Series 29, episode 3.
The Doctor and Martha travel to the New Earth of the far future, where a trap awaits them.
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 5 Star)
Starring: David Tennant, Freema Agyeman

Categories: Doctor Who

Special DVD feature - Explosions - Doctor Who - Dragonfire

TARDIS Newsroom - Fri, 05/18/2012 - 4:38pm

Danny Hargreaves, Special Effects Technician on the new Doctor Who series analyses the classic Doctor Who explosions. Fascinating insight into how times have changed. Great clip from the Ace Adventures Boxset, out now on DVD.

Categories: Doctor Who

BBC Doctor Who - Trilogy of Terror!

TARDIS Newsroom - Fri, 05/18/2012 - 12:35pm

From BBC Doctor Who

BBC Three is showing Amy’s first three trips with the Doctor this weekend, beginning with The Beast Below by Steven Moffat. It’s a dark, scary story about sinister Smilers, the mysterious Liz Ten and the most remarkable Save the Whale campaign ever. Step back aboard the Starship UK on BBC Three, tonight at 7pm to relive the adventure!

Straight afterwards it’s Winston, World War II and the Daleks! Mark Gatiss’ action-packed episode has everything from Spitfires in space to a jammy dodger ruse that really takes the biscuit. Victory of the Daleks: Unmissable!

And finally, on Saturday at 7pm, BBC Three takes us into the terrifying Maze of the Dead where the Doctor hunts the Weeping Angels… Or are they hunting him? River Song makes a brilliant return and the Lonely Assassins have Amy in sight during The Time of Angels.

You can find out more about The Beast Below, Victory of the Daleks and The Time of Angels and right after they’re repeated you can watch them online by visiting our homepage.

Categories: Doctor Who

Whovian Roundup for Friday, May 18, 2012

TARDIS Newsroom - Fri, 05/18/2012 - 11:17am

Editor's bit...
(Dave Lewis 'The Mad Man with a Blue Blog')

Todays picture comes from Ancient and Forever and is by Francesco Francavilla (via Dan McDaid’s Twitter).

Previous posts...

Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock Introduction to the Game
In the first developer diary, hear from the team behind Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock about making the game.
Today in the 'Whoniverse' Friday, May 18, 2012
1928 - John Abineri, who played Ranquin in DW: The Power of Kroll, Richard Railton in DW: Death to the Daleks, General Carrington in DW: The Ambassadors of Death, and Van Lutyens in DW: Fury from the Deep, was born in London....
Big Finish - Bonus Episode Podcast - The Butcher of Brisbane
As a special thank you for our listeners' patience and understanding recently, this week's podcast contains the first episode of The Butcher of Brisbane: yours to download for free...
Big Finish - Chase Masterson Joins the Doctor!
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine star in Doctor Who Audio. Chase Masterson, who played Leeta in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, has teamed up with Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor in the forthcoming main range audio The Shadow Heart..
Karen Gillan talks tears at end of Dr Who and her excitement at making new Scots film
Scots star Karen Gillan will be able to keep an eye on Doctor Who after her last scene as his assistant … because she stole binoculars from the Tardis....
Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock - The Monsters
Featuring interviews with Simon Harris (Executive Producer) and Nick Dixon (Design Director) of the upcoming Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock video game...
‘Doctor Who’ stars bid farewell to BBC Television Centre in documentary
The Television Centre has been the home of the BBC for over 50 years, and was the building where Doctor Who was brought to life for the first time. With the broadcaster now relocating, stars of classic Who bid farewell to the first home of the TARDIS.

Todays Jigsaw...

80 THE SMUGGLERS by DV8R71

Whovian News....

Portsmouth News has Call the Doctor! Royal Marines Museum gets a visit from evil Daleks.

The alien mutants have invaded the Royal Marines Museum in Eastney and more are on the way for a mass takeover this weekend.

At the risk of being exterminated, museum staff say they have given in to their invaders’ demands to hold a Doctor Who convention on Sunday.

There will be nowhere to hide – except, perhaps, upstairs – as the Daleks show off their skills in an obstacle race and X-terminate Factor talent competition in the museum’s grand Mountbatten Room.

The extraterrestrial creatures will also, bizarrely, be holding a question and answer session....

BBC Doctor Who has Fantastic Feedback!

The Doctor Who Interactive Team is used to great responses when we ask for your memories, input or ideas. But in the past couple of weeks we’ve been blown away by your suggestions about which historical figure the Doctor should meet, and your ideas about what caused Dark Day.

We received thousands of messages for both of these, but what made them so fantastic was the level of creativity, humour and drama that ran through your replies.

We’ve now stopped taking suggestions but we’ll be updating you on the historical figure story soon and before that, we’ll start sharing some of your Dark Day suggestions.

So stay tuned and once again – huge thanks for such a big, brilliant response!

Scanner selected posts...

Radio Times has Doctor Who Is Axed! The inside story on the cancellation of Doctor Who. "The first I heard of it was when David Saunders phoned me in a lather on 26 February 1985. He’d just learnt that the programme had been cancelled, as of the end of the current season. As co-ordinator (ie big chief) of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society (Dwas), Saunders was the man to know, and the next day the calamitous news was all over the media, sending Who fans into multidimensional meltdown...."

PluggedIn has Dr Who lands on Sony PS Vita and PS3 – but is it any good? Unsurprisingly, the primary focus of the game will be on the passing of time, with time-centric game play a main feature. A lot of thought has been invested in this, with players’ actions in one time zone having a direct impact on actions in others. This offers an additional dimension to traditional game playing, with multiple opportunities and challenges presented to enthusiastic gamers. In terms of visuals, graphics are being described as “photo real”, while official voice-overs from some of the cast of the TV series, including current the Doctor, Matt Smith, improve the game’s authenticity....

Digital Spy has 'Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock' trophy list revealed. The list of nearly 50 trophies includes collecting diary pages and hats, beating sections quickly, and defeating enemies such as Vekkis, the Emperor of the Daleks and The Silence. It also hints at some of the game's locations, including the Bank Of England, Old London Bridge and underground refugee camps....

BBC America - Anglophenia has ‘Doctor Who’ Rogues Gallery: The Haemovores. So, here’s the tale. In the far future (around 500, ooo AD), Earth has been thoroughly spoiled by industrial waste, and humankind has undergone something of an evolutionary shift. The plus points are telepathy, strength, claws, being bulletproof, the ability to climb shiny things, and the ability to weld metal just by holding it. On the down side, everyone needs to drink blood (or sea water, at a pinch), and a stake through the heart is fatal....

Miscellanious News...

The ESO Network - Doctor Who to Release Mini-Episode Next Week
Doctor Who will be returning to television next week. A mini-episode, based upon the winning entry for this year’s Script to Screen competition, will air Thursday in the UK during the CBBC channel series Blue Peter at 5:45pm...
Mail Online - Doctor Who? Karen Gillan puts TV behind her.
She may have been all over the universe as Doctor Who's companion. But this may be Karen Gillan's most glamorous location yet. The 24-year-old made a surprise appearance at the Cannes Film Festival earlier today.
Fantom Films - New Guest Announcement
Wanda Ventham (Jean Rock in The Faceless Ones, Thea Ransome in Image of the Fendahl and Faroon in Time and the Rani) wil be joining us for Pandorica 2012 in Birmingham! Tickets now available....
Telegraph.co.uk - Doctor Who star David Tennant's wife bares all about her West End ordeal
Georgia Moffett, the wife of David Tennant, says she was nervous about stripping down to her underwear on stage in her new West End play....
Neil Gaiman's Journal - Trust me, I'm a Doctor (Honorary, of Fine Arts)
"Here's the Commencement Address I gave yesterday to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia"...

WhoTube....

TwineLightMedia has Official " Secrets of Earth " Sneek Peak Number 2. " The attack on the USS Twine in deep space unlocks questions about the Earth and what secrets she holds from the rest of the universe "

Podcasts...
Beware most podcasts are of an adult nature and are not suitable for children.

A Mad Man with a Box has Neil Perryman/Ghost Light. Ghost Light is a packed episode that barely takes a breather, so Neil and I took the opposite approach in this episode of the podcast by keeping it light. Really though how much could we say about what is essentially an all-around solid episode of Doctor Who?

The Oncoming Storm has Episode 9: The Nth Doctor Part 1 - The Varnax Menace. It's time to play what if in the 9th episode of the Oncoming Storm! Josh and Ashley are covering their first non fiction book, The Nth Doctor by Jean Marc Lofficier. Though, it's not really a non fiction book as much as collection of a bunch of almost fictions, as it looks at the attempts to make a Doctor Who movie in the years leading up the the Paul McGann TV Movie...

The Whostorian has Episode 36 - Galifrey Eternal. This week we talk about Jamie, Producer Philip Hinchcliffe, The KLF’s Doctorin’ The TARDIS and we take a look at Timelash. In the Death Zone we find The Raston Warrior Robot Vs. A Weeping Angel..

The Memory Cheats has Episode 10 - The Dominators. For the first time on The Memory Cheats, Josh and Steven randomly draw a Patrick Troughton story to review. Problem is, it's the Season 6 opener, "The Dominators", not one of the more celebrated stories in Doctor Who history. Would your intrepid hosts offer a different opinion…?

Review's Roundup...

Radio Times has Doctor Who: The Two Doctors. The second Doctor and Jamie are sent by the Time Lords to Space Station Camera to prevent dangerous time experiments. Head of projects, Dastari, is a genetic engineer who’s been augmenting his Androgum servant, Chessene, into a higher life-form and “mega-genius”. Colluding with the Sontarans, they take the Doctor to 1980s Spain where they intend to extract a gene from him that makes time travel possible...

TARDIS Eruditorum has Outside the Government 3 (A Fix With Sontarans). Doctor Who fandom is spectacularly bitchy. Sometimes - even often - this is a virtue. Mind you, it's an often misunderstood virtue. For one thing, the bitchiness is often mistaken as actual dislike, sometimes to puzzling effect....

Siskoid's Blog of Geekery has Doctor Who 178: The Abominable Snowmen Part 3. The Doctor figures out spheres are Yeti brains. The monks babysit Victoria. And Padma explains his plan to make the Great Intelligence flesh...

Bigger On The Inside has Set Piece. This is a real milestone for the Virgin New Adventures, as it features Ace’s departure from the TARDIS (although she briefly returns for one more book). Ace was a character that had grown and changed during the series....

Spoiler and Speculation Alert...

Our Spoilers section has been updated

Categories: Doctor Who

‘Doctor Who’ stars bid farewell to BBC Television Centre in documentary

TARDIS Newsroom - Fri, 05/18/2012 - 10:16am

From Hypable

The Television Centre has been the home of the BBC for over 50 years, and was the building where Doctor Who was brought to life for the first time. With the broadcaster now relocating, stars of classic Who bid farewell to the first home of the TARDIS.

The documentary aired on BBC Four in the United Kingdom last night, and several of the show’s alumni appeared to reminisce about their experiences. Peter Davison, Kay Manning, Louise Jameson, and Janet Fielding, were among the stars appearing – with archive footage of Tom Baker also featuring. Readers in Britain can watch the full documentary on iPlayer, but Blogtor Who has helpfully collated all of the Who-related material for those of you in other parts of time and space.

Categories: Doctor Who

Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock - The Monsters

TARDIS Newsroom - Fri, 05/18/2012 - 7:54am

As we edge closer to the release date we'd like to give you another exclusive look behind Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock, as we introduce you to some new monsters as well monsters you already love to hate.

(Ed: thanks to thedoctorwhosite)

Categories: Doctor Who

Karen Gillan talks tears at end of Dr Who and her excitement at making new Scots film

TARDIS Newsroom - Fri, 05/18/2012 - 4:38am

Karen at the Cannes Film Festival

From The Daily Record by Rick Fulton

Scots star Karen Gillan will be able to keep an eye on Doctor Who after her last scene as his assistant … because she stole binoculars from the Tardis.

The 24-year-old admitted taking the memento from the set of the BBC’s most famous series when I spoke to her yesterday at the Cannes Film Festival.

She’s in the French resort to publicise her first movie, Not Another Happy Ending, which will begin shooting in Glasgow in July.

In her first interview since shooting her final Doctor Who scene as Amy Pond last Saturday, Karen admitted there were buckets of tears at the end.

Emotions were running high as Karen, Matt Smith, who plays the Doctor, and Arthur Darvill (Amy’s husband Rory) did their last scene.

Karen, who is staying tight-lipped about what happens to Amy, admitted: “It was a weird, serene day where everyone was feeling it.

“We don’t film in chronological order so the last shot we filmed was me, Matt and Arthur going into the Tardis.

“Then Matt closed the door for the last time and we were in darkness.

“We hugged and started crying. It was kind of tears of happiness.

“It was a feeling of ‘Look at what we’ve done’. It was lovely.”

Karen made her Doctor Who debut as Amy in 2010, wearing a controversial policewoman’s outfit.
But she revealed she wasn’t allowed to hang on to the costume.

She said: “I didn’t get to keep any Pond stuff because everything related to Doctor Who goes into exhibitions.
“But I might have taken a little special something from the Tardis.”

Arthur Darvill in Doctor WhoSpeaking in her rented villa overlooking Cannes, where she’ll be until tomorrow, she giggled when I pressed her about what it was.

Eventually, she admitted: “A pair of binoculars. They look really weird in my house, just sitting there.”
Another reminder of her time travelling through time and space in the Tardis is a compilation of funny bits compiled by Matt on his mobile phone.

While it was obviously a huge wrench to leave such a big show, Karen is already showing she is much more than just Amy Pond.

In January, she was praised for her role as supermodel Jean Shrimpton in the BBC4 film, We’ll Take Manhattan.

Now she will be heading to Glasgow to film Not Another Happy Ending, her first leading role. She said: “I’m one step closer to my parents in Inverness which makes me so happy. I miss being up north so much.
“Because I’ll be based in Glasgow, I’ll be able to see them at weekends, which will be nice.”

The film’s director is John McKay, who also directed her in We’ll Take Manhattan.

Karen plays Jane Lockhart, a headstrong and passionate author of miserable fiction who suffers writer’s block on her second novel.

Read the full interview here...

Categories: Doctor Who

Big Finish - Chase Masterson Joins the Doctor!

TARDIS Newsroom - Fri, 05/18/2012 - 4:29am

From Big Finish

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine star in Doctor Who Audio. Chase Masterson, who played Leeta in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, has teamed up with Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor in the forthcoming main range audio The Shadow Heart. Chase plays Vienna Salavatori, who is described on the script front as 'an impossibly glamorous mercenary'. Those who meet her don't tend to stay alive...

Chase's many credits in film and television include Sliders, ER and Manticore, and she has lent her voice to a number of project including Starzinger and Lun Lun The Flower Girl.

"We were delighted to get Chase on board," says producer David Richardson. "It was actually Frazer Hines who suggested her - they're friends. So I dropped Chase a line, and it turned out she was heading to the UK for a convention - and we had the perfect feisty role for her in The Shadow Heart."

The Shadow Heart is the climax of a trilogy that spans three Doctors. It begins in September with The Burning Prince (Fifth Doctor) and continues in October with The Acheron Pulse (Sixth Doctor).

Categories: Doctor Who

Big Finish - Bonus Episode Podcast - The Butcher of Brisbane

TARDIS Newsroom - Fri, 05/18/2012 - 2:30am

From Big Finish

As a special thank you for our listeners' patience and understanding recently, this week's podcast contains the first episode of The Butcher of Brisbane: yours to download for free.

It's been a tricky time at Big Finish Towers recently, and we'd like to thank everyone for their support, enthusiasm and understanding while we've been dealing with our website issues.

Taking time out from doing ten things at once, Nick Briggs and Paul Spragg present a new trailer for Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Perfidious Mariner tease the increasingly imminent Stargate SG-1: Series Three - Part One box set and introduce a special thank you to our loyal listeners: the entire first episode of next month's Peter Davison Doctor Who main range release The Butcher of Brisbane for free.

You can download or stream the podcast now, and if you have any comments,

Listen Now or Download Podcast

Categories: Doctor Who

Today in the 'Whoniverse' Friday, May 18, 2012

TARDIS Newsroom - Fri, 05/18/2012 - 2:00am

Today in the 'Whoniverse'

Behind the scenes

1896 - Walter Fitzgerald, who played Senex in DW: The Dominators, was born at Keyhan, Derby, England.

1928 - John Abineri, who played Ranquin in DW: The Power of Kroll, Richard Railton in DW: Death to the Daleks, General Carrington in DW: The Ambassadors of Death, and Van Lutyens in DW: Fury from the Deep, was born in London.

1931 - John Fraser, who played the Monitor in DW: Logopolis, was born in Glasgow, Scotland.

1940 - Ray Lonnen, who played Gardiner in DW: Frontier in Space, was born in Bournemouth, England.

1968 - Episode 4 of DW: The Wheel in Space was first broadcast.

1974 - Episode 3 of DW: Planet of the Spiders was first broadcast.

Today in History

1152 Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, married Henry Plantagenet (later Henry II of England). She had been divorced two months earlier from King Louis VII of France.

1593 Playwright Thomas Kyd's accusations of heresy lead to an arrest warrant for fellow playwright Christopher Marlowe. No reason for the arrest was given, though a manuscript believed to have been written by Marlowe was said to contain 'vile heretical conceipts'. Twelve days later, Marlowe was stabbed to death by Ingram Frizer.

1756 The Seven Years' War began when Britain declared war on France.

1803 Bored with nobody to fight for almost a year, Britain abandoned the Treaty of Amiens and declared war on France, again!

1830 Briton Edwin Budding signed an agreement for his invention, the lawn mower, to go into mass production. His first customer was Regent's Park Zoo in London.

1812 John Bellingham was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging for the assassination of British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval seven days earlier. To date, Perceval is the only British Prime Minister to have been assassinated.

1843 The 'Disruption' in Edinburgh in which 450 ministers of the Church of Scotland broke away, over the issue of the Church's relationship with the State, to form the Free Church of Scotland.

1872 Bertrand Russell, English philosopher, mathematician and Nobel Prize recipient, was born. He was imprisoned during the First World War for his outspoken pacifism and was one of the founders of the Committee of 100, advocating nuclear disarmament.

1882 The official opening of the Eddystone Lighthouse, the fourth lighthouse to be built on the site.

1919 Margot Fonteyn, English ballet dancer was born.

1944 Monte Cassino, Italy, was taken by Allied forces during World War II. The ancient Italian monastery had been a symbol of German resistance since the beginning of the year.

1951 Britain’s first four-engined jet bomber, the Vickers Valiant, made its maiden flight.

1954 The European Convention on Human Rights came into force.

1964 Scores of youths were given prison sentences following violent clashes between gangs of Mods and Rockers at a number of resorts on the south coast of England.

1969 Britain’s champion motor racing driver, Graham Hill, won his fifth and record-breaking Monaco Grand Prix.

1991 Chemist Helen Sharman from Sheffield was the first Briton to go into space, as a participant in a Soviet space mission.

1998 High Society burglar Peter Scott was jailed for 3 years after being involved in a plot to sell a stolen Picasso painting worth £750,000.

Todays UK TV and Radio

Doctor Who
On: BBC 3
Date: Friday 18th May 2012
Time: 19:00 to 19:45
The Beast Below. Series 31, episode 2.
The Doctor takes Amy to the distant future, where she finds the mysterious Liz Ten, a Star Whale and all of Britain in a spaceship!
(Stereo, Repeat, Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 5 Star)
Starring: Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Sophie Okonedo, Ian McNeice, Terrence Hardiman, Hannah Sharp

Doctor Who
On: BBC 3
Date: Friday 18th May 2012
Time: 19:45 to 20:30
Victory of the Daleks. Series 31, episode 3.
Winston Churchill summons the Doctor to Blitz-torn London, but the Daleks are waiting.
(Stereo, Repeat, Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 5 Star)
Starring: Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Bill Paterson, Ian McNeice, Nina de Cosimo, Tim Wallers

Categories: Doctor Who

Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock Introduction to the Game

TARDIS Newsroom - Thu, 05/17/2012 - 10:29am

In the first developer diary, hear from the team behind Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock about making the game.

Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock will launch globally, on PS3 on the 23rd May and PS Vita on 13th June via the PlayStation Network, with a PC version following soon after. It will also have a limited retail release in the UK from the 25th May for PS3.

Categories: Doctor Who

Whovian Roundup for Thursday, May 17, 2012

TARDIS Newsroom - Thu, 05/17/2012 - 10:24am

Editor's bit...
(Dave Lewis 'The Mad Man with a Blue Blog')

Todays picture is Silence will fall by Belegilgalad.

Previous posts...

Dalek jumps off diving board
Dalek tries to win gold in olympics. But fails...
Today in the 'Whoniverse' Thursday, May 17, 2012
1900, the First Doctor was present at the Relief of Mafeking...
Doctor Who: Fade Away by Paul Hanley and Shawn Van Briesen
This particular story takes place a few weeks after the adventure The Scream of the Shalka...

Todays Jigsaw...

70 Whoniverse by Alex-Plalex

Whovian News....

Radio Times has Doctor Who beats Dexter, True Blood and Glee to top 2011 US iTunes chart
Doctor Who was the most downloaded TV programme on iTunes in the United States during 2011.

The ever-popular BBC sci-fi show's sixth series saw off competition from the likes of Dexter and Modern Family to become the download service’s biggest seller of last year.

Series six’s opening episode The Impossible Astronaut was shot in the States, and the decision of programme makers to feature American locations like Utah and the White House’s Oval Office during the season may have gone some way towards persuading American viewers to embrace the show so wholeheartedly.

Steven Moffat, Doctor Who’s executive producer, said: "This is incredibly exciting news. It's an honour to be on the same list as all those shows, let alone at the very top. And for a British show to have achieved this in the US is absolutely remarkable. Next, the universe!"

Scanner selected posts...

Doctor Who Fansite has ‘A Voyage To Nowhere’ Part 2: Domino Effect . The Doctor and Maddy Ramos have been separated and while he investigates the copper ship Tin-Vagabond, Maddy finds herself discovering far more than she would like. A young girl called Molly knows more than she's telling, yet becomes the one person who can recover Maddy once a plan has gone horribly wrong....

io9 has You Can’t Handle Doctor Who’s In-Your-Face Politics! Seriously, you won't be able to deal with the sheer intensity of Doctor Who at its most political and confrontational. You may have thought you'd already experienced the most insane Wholitics after you watched "The Green Death," after which you resolved to start eating tofu and bicycling to work, or the evil maggot computer would win. But two new Doctor Who DVDs will Occupy your Brain. There are some serious Messages from the Time Lord in "The Nightmare of Eden" and "The Happiness Patrol".....

BBC America - Anglophenia has Happy 50th Birthday Craig Ferguson: His Top 5 ‘Doctor Who’ Moments. There’s two things we need to know about Craig Ferguson in order for this feature to work. Luckily, they’re not complicated: Thing 1: It’s Craig’s 50th birthday today. Thing 2: He quite likes a bit of Doctor Who....

BBC Things to do has A Doctor Who Adventure family sleepover. Watch two fantastic Doctor Who episodes - Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead. Make your own Journal of Impossible Things, take a torch-lit tour of the Library, solve the mystery of the missing TARDIS and then sleep in the Historic Reading Room - if you can! Come dressed up as your favourite Doctor Who character- the best costume will win a very special prize. Who will you be?!...

Miscellanious News...

David Tennant News - David Tennant Virgin Media Magazine Interview
A few things you may not know about David Tennant: he's named after a Pet Shop Boy. He claims to have auditioned for Taggart 26 times. He's been voted Sexiest Man In The Universe (beating Brad Pitt and David Beckham). And he's The Proclaimers' self-declared greatest ever fan....
Blogtor Who - Doctor Who on Criminal Minds
Last night's season finale of US show Criminal Minds included some of its cast dressed as Doctor Who characters...

Podcasts...
Beware most podcasts are of an adult nature and are not suitable for children.

The Doctor Who Podcast has Episode 143 – review of Big Finish audios The Silver Turk, The Witch from the Well and Army of Death. The Doctor Who Podcast turns its steely gaze towards the Big Finish Towers this week as we look at the latest trilogy of Big Finish audios featuring the 8th Doctor, Paul McGann.

Tid-Bits...

The Doctor Who Site has Department Six Doctor Who Concept Artwork. Department Six are a collaboration of concept artists who created the visuals and concepts for the long running TV series Doctor Who. The images are working drawings and have been converted to beautiful pieces of art delivered to you in a presentation box signed by Ed Thomas (Head of Production) and each of the concept artists....

RedBubble.com has Imagine what that does to a girl! by pigofhappiness.

Who Fix has Rub Down. Also available: Frank Bough V Sue Lawley.

Review's Roundup...

Siskoid's Blog of Geekery has Doctor Who 177: The Abominable Snowmen Part 2. The monks try to lure the Yeti with the Doctor as bait, but the Abbot releases him. They capture a Yeti anyway...

The Edwardian Adventurer has Spearhead from Space Part 2. Perhaps the most surprising part of this episode—for me, anyway—was when The Doctor met Liz Shaw. The two immediately teamed up to study the plastic meteor fragment, and to goad The Brigadier. And, if I’m not mistaken, the Third Doctor was flirting with Liz!...

The Daily P.O.P. has Doctor Who – The Wanderer. The Doctor and his companions arrive in Siberia at the close of the 19th Century. The TARDIS picked up some interference from an alien device and the Doctor is determined to find it. Ian, Barbara and Susan brave the biting winds of the Siberian landscape in search of an alien artifact and in the course of their travels they encounter one of the most unique personalities in history....

Categories: Doctor Who

Doctor Who: Fade Away by Paul Hanley and Shawn Van Briesen

TARDIS Newsroom - Thu, 05/17/2012 - 10:08am

Categories: Doctor Who

Podshock: RT @DrWhoNews: #DoctorWho Through the Filter of a Victorian Aesthetic: Doctor Who Expo ... http://t.co/Eq6xnlxw

Doctor Who: Podshock Tweets - Thu, 05/17/2012 - 4:24am

Podshock: RT @DrWhoNews: #DoctorWho Through the Filter of a Victorian Aesthetic: Doctor Who Expo ... http://t.co/Eq6xnlxw

Categories: Doctor Who

Today in the 'Whoniverse' Thursday, May 17, 2012

TARDIS Newsroom - Thu, 05/17/2012 - 2:00am

Today in the 'Whoniverse'

On the 17th May 1900, the First Doctor was present at the Relief of Mafeking. (DW: The Daleks' Master Plan)

Behind the scenes

1926 - Tenniel Evans, who played Major Daly in DW: Carnival of Monsters, was born in Nairobi, Kenya.

1950 - Catherine Howe was born.

1961 - Corey Johnson, who played Henry van Statten in DW: Dalek, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

1969 - Episode 5 of DW: The War Games was first broadcast.

1985 - Hugh Burden died.

2008 - DW: The Unicorn and the Wasp was first broadcast.

Today in History

1215 The country was in a state of Civil War and English barons, in revolt against King John, took possession of London.

1527 Archbishop Warham began a secret inquiry into Henry VIII's marriage with Catherine of Aragon, the first step in divorce proceedings.

1536 George Boleyn (an English courtier and nobleman, and the brother of queen consort Anne Boleyn) along with Viscount Rochford and four other men were executed for treason.

1590 Anne of Denmark was crowned Queen of Scotland.

1749 Edward Jenner, English pioneer of vaccination was born.

1836 Joseph Norman Lockyer, English astronomer and co-discoverer of helium, was born.

1861 A group of holidaymakers set off from London on the first foreign 'package trip' arranged by Thomas Cook. It was a six day holiday in Paris.

1890 The first weekly comic paper, Comic Cuts, was published by Alfred Harmsworth, in London.

1899 Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

1900 The siege of the British garrison at Mafeking by Boer forces was broken. The commander of the garrison, Colonel Robert Baden-Powell and his forces had held firm for 217 days.

1915 The fall of the last all Liberal Party government. The poor British performance in the early months of the war forced Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith to invite the Conservatives into a coalition.

1916 The Daylight-Saving Act (‘Summer Time’) was passed in Britain.

1969 Tom McClean from Dublin left Newfoundland aboard Super Silver and completed the first transatlantic solo crossing in a rowing boat on 27th July when he arrived at Blacksod Bay, Co. Mayo.

1978 The coffin containing the body of Charlie Chaplin, missing since his grave was pillaged nearly two months previously, was found.

1984 Prince Charles called a proposed addition to the National Gallery, London, a 'monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend,' sparking controversies on the proper role of the Royal Family and the course of modern architecture.

1993 Nurse Beverley Allitt was convicted of murdering four babies under her 'care' at the Grantham and Kesteven hospital.

2000 Two Royal Marine commandos (Corporal Alan Chambers, 31, and Marine Charlie Paton, 29 became the first Britons to reach the geographical North Pole.

2010 Four weeks after a volcanic ash cloud disrupted flights over much of Europe, restrictions were lifted at all UK airports after the volcanic ash cloud moved away from UK airspace.

Todays UK TV and Radio

Torchwood
On: Watch
Date: Friday 18th May 2012
Time: 00:55 to 01:55
Countrycide. Series 1, episode 6.
The team investigate some gruesome deaths in the Brecon Beacons, and confront a startling enemy.
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Dolby Digital 5.1, 2006, 5 Star)
Starring: John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori

Categories: Doctor Who

RSS Feeds: The Way Forward

BBC - Doctor Who - Wed, 05/16/2012 - 7:00pm

We've made some changes to the Doctor Who site and if you're a subscriber to the Doctor Who News RSS Feed, these will affect you... but don't worry! You can re-subscribe to receive on-going RSS updates - this will only take a moment (literally!) and will ensure you're kept in the loop as soon as the latest news and features appear on the site. In addition, you can follow us on Twitter where again, you'll be bang up-to-date with all the news as it breaks online.

Categories: Doctor Who