Tin Dog Podcast
- Description:
- tin-dog@hotmail.co.uk The Tin Dog welcomes you to sit back and listen to his rants and ramblings about all that is best in modern SF and Television. Via the gift of the new fangled Podcast over the tinterweb. As you can probably guess Tin Dog mostly talks about Doctor Who, Torchwood and Sarah Jane Smith but that wont stop him talking about any other subject you suggest. Hailing from a non specific part of the northeast of England, Tin Dog is male and in his mid 30s. A life long fan of almost all TV SF. His semi-autistic tendencies combined with his total lack of social skills have helped him find a place in the heart of British SF Fandom. Even as a child the Tin Dogs mother told him that she can trace his love of SF TV back to his rhythmic kicking, while still in the womb, along to the beat of the Avengers theme music. From Gabriel Chase to Totters Lane, from the Bad Wolf Satellite to the back streets of the Cardiff, Tin Dog will give you his thoughts on the wonderful Whoniverse. Daleks and Cybermen and TARDIS ES Oh My If you enjoy these Tin Dog Podcasts please remember to tell your friends and leave an email tin-dog@hotmail.co.uk
Homepage: http://tin-dog.co.uk
RSS Feed: http://www.tin-dog.co.uk/rss
- Episodes:
- 2884
- Average Episode Duration:
- 0:0:10:07
- Longest Episode Duration:
- 0:2:09:15
- Total Duration of all Episodes:
- 20 days, 6 hours, 10 minutes and 44 seconds
- Earliest Episode:
- 1 May 2007 (6:54pm GMT)
- Latest Episode:
- 10 March 2025 (7:22pm GMT)
- Average Time Between Episodes:
- 2 days, 6 hours, 16 minutes and 59 seconds
Tin Dog Podcast Episodes
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TDP 281: Whooverville 4 Report - with Podcasters Pannel
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 44 minutes and 46 secondsSaturday 1st September 2012 - Whooverville 4 Whooverville 4 was held at Quad in Derby. Our fourth Whooverville convention was definately the best yet. Guests included: Peter Purves - space pilot Steven Taylor Louise Jameson - Leela, the leather-clad barbarian warrior companion of Tom Bakers Doctor Richard Franklin - Captain Mike Yates, a member of UNIT from 1971 to 1974 Terry Molloy - Daleks' creator Davros in three Doctor Who stories during the 1980s Donald Gee - In 'The Space Pirates (1969), he was an American spaceship pilot whilst in 'The Monster of Peladon' (1974) he was the traitor Eckersley who was in league with Ice Warriors Lawry Lewin - in David Tennant's final adventure 'The End of Time' as the cactus-faced Rossiter Will Barton - Midge in the final ever adventure of the original Doctor Who ' Survival' in 1989 All these as well as your favourites podcasters! Derek and our friends from Tenth Planet were also be in attendance bringing some sponsored guests.
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TDP : PDF Fish Finger and Custard
Episode Duration: 0 minutes and 0 secondsSaturday, 17 November 2012 Issue 12 - OUT NOW!!! After such a short run of Doctor Who this year, you'd think we won't have much to badger on about? Well, sadly, you'll be wrong, as here we present the biggest issue of the fanzine yet, weighing in at an unprecedented 56 pages! It's so big, we've had offers from Celebrity Fit Club (lets face it - we're probably more famous than half of those people in the jungle with Colin Baker at the moment. And fatter) If you're a fan of reading actual words, then this is the issue for you! Due to the cost of producing these novels, we've only got a very limited run, so any support we get (i.e. if you buy one) will be greatly appreciated . Here is a list of the following stuff you will find in the latest issue: Reviews of Series 7.1 (or whatever you call it) Mary Tamm - The Key To The Key To Time The Doctor and The Ripper - what links The Doctor with Whitechapel's mysterious murderer? Cyberman No3 - A brand new comic from the pen of the marvelous Mike Pearse To Those We Never Had - A (somewhat vindictive) look at companions who should have been Interview with Whostrology authour Michael M. Gilroy-Sinclair Plus much, much more! If you would like to order one of our finely-prouduced propaganda you can do so by sending one of the following payments to us via PayPal (please send payment as 'a gift' and enclose your name and address) to fishcustardfanzine@googlemail.com UK: £2.20 Rest of The World: £4.20 If you don't have a PayPal account, then you can pay by other means via our brand-new shop! We also have 2013 subscriptions on sale, so please feel free to browse those! Cheers and see you in 2013!
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TDP 280: A Staggering(ly good) Interview
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 13 minutes and 28 secondsThose lovely people at Staggering Stories talked to me about my book... heres the interview. enjoy
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TDP 279: Doctor Who Series 7a DVD release
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 13 minutes and 12 secondsDue for release on 12 November 2012. Join the Doctor, the Ponds and numerous friends on their latest escapades through space and time where they puzzle over an unexpected invasion of Earth, save a spaceship full of dinosaurs, don Stetsons in a Wild Wild West adventure, and are even kidnapped by the Doctor’s oldest foe. The explosive series concludes with Amy and Rory’s heart-breaking farewell – a race against time through the streets of Manhattan. Will the Doctor really lose the Ponds forever? There’s only one way to find out… Bonus Features include: Pond Life En route to see the Ponds the TARDIS’ Helmic Regulator malfunctions, leaving the Doctor popping up everywhere in time and space. Will he ever make it back to them? Asylum of the Daleks Prequel The Doctor receives a message from a mysterious hooded stranger – a woman called Darla Von Karlsen wants to meet him… The Making of The Gunslinger Civil war has ravaged the Kahler race, but a team of scientists has found an advantage. The Gunslinger is born.
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TDP 278: Big Finish Main Range 164 - Gods and Monsters
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 9 minutes and 4 secondsSynopsis The TARDIS travellers arrive in a bizarre landscape seemingly immune to the physical laws governing the rest of the universe. Ace, Hex, Sally and Lysandra battle to rescue the Doctor from the trap he's walked into… soon realising that the odds are stacked against them. Because the Doctor is playing an old adversary again: Fenric, shatterer of worlds. But the gods and monsters who inhabit this strange realm loaded the dice against them long ago, in the dim and distant past – and defeat's their only option. Written By: Mike Maddox and Alan Barnes Directed By: Ken Bentley Cast Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Sophie Aldred (Ace), Philip Olivier (Hex), Maggie O'Neill (Captain Lysandra Aristedes), Amy Pemberton (Private Sally Morgan), John Standing (Fenric), Blake Ritson (Hurmzid), Gus Brown (Weyland), Tim Treloar (The Ancient One)
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TDP 277: Red Dwarf X Ep1 and Ep2
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 13 minutes and 5 secondsRed Dwarf (series 10) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Red Dwarf series 10 Logo for the tenth series of Red Dwarf. Country of origin United Kingdom No. of episodes 6 Broadcast Original channel Dave Original run 4 October 2012[1] – Home video release DVD release Region 2 19 November 2012 Blu-ray Disc release Region B 19 November 2012 Season chronology ← Previous Red Dwarf: Back to Earth Next → — List of Red Dwarf episodes The tenth series of the British science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, commenced broadcast on UK television channel Dave from 4 October 2012.[1] It will have six episodes and is the first full series of Red Dwarf since 1999. Contents 1 Production 1.1 Crew 1.2 Returning characters and actors 1.3 Promotion 2 Episodes 3 Home Media Release 4 References 5 External links Production Dave announced it had ordered a tenth series of Red Dwarf on 10 April 2011, following the success of Back to Earth and three years of speculation.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Dates for filming series X were announced on 11 November 2011, along with confirmation that the series would again be shot at Shepperton Studios in front of an audience.[11] Principal filming began on 16 December 2011 and ended on 27 January 2012, and the cast and crew subsequently returned for six days filming pick ups.[12] On 4 May 2012 Howard Goodall, who had composed music for Red Dwarf from its beginning until series VII, was announced as composer of the score for Red Dwarf X.[13] On 19 June 2012, the post-production process was completed and all 6 episodes were signed off ready for their broadcast in the following Autumn.[14] Crew The main crew for the series was announced by Broadcast Magazine on 23 August 2012.[1] Commissioning editors: Jane Rogerson and Steve North Writer/director: Doug Naylor Producer: Charles Armitage Co-producer: Richard Naylor Production Executive: Roopesh Parekh Line producer: David Mason Executive producers: Doug Naylor and Charles Armitage Director of photography: Andy Martin Production designer: Michael Ralph Make-up designer: Magi Virgina Costume designer: Howard Burden Post-production supervisor: Jackie Vance Miniature DoPs: Peter Talbot and Deane Thrussell Returning characters and actors Main article: List of Red Dwarf characters The only announced returning characters and their actors are:[1] Dave Lister, played by Craig Charles; Arnold Rimmer, played by Chris Barrie; The Cat, played by Danny John-Jules; Kryten, played by Robert Llewellyn. Promotion The first trailer for Red Dwarf X was released on 20 July 2012 on Dave's official Facebook page, and is followed by a new teaser released every following Friday until the series premiere.[15] Red Dwarf X began airing on 4 October 2012.[16] Episodes Episode NoBroadcast dateEpisode titleDescriptionRatings 1 4 October 2012 Trojan Rimmer receives an SOS distress from a doomed ship commanded by his all-conquering brother, Howard. But Rimmer can't bring himself to save Howard until he's on an equal footing career-wise. He has 15 hours to pass his Astro-Nav exam and become an Officer. The same exam he's already failed 9 times. The episode is dedicated to the memory of Jo Howard (Production Manager - Series VII, Line Producer - Series VIII, and Producer - Back to Earth). [17] 1.98m (6.6%)[18] 2 11 October 2012 Fathers and Suns Every year Lister sends himself a Father's day card to celebrate the fact that he is his own father but when Rimmer points out he's been a lousy father to himself Lister decides to do something about it. Meantime Rimmer and Kryten install a new computer, the beautiful, but lethally logical, Pree (played by Rebecca Blackstone)
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TDP 276: Vengance on Varos - Special Edition DVD
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 8 minutes and 28 secondsPlot On Varos, a planet in the constellation of Cetes, the public torture of the rebel Jondar is taking place and being broadcast throughout the planet. Varosians Arak and Etta watch the proceedings from their room. Arak complains that they never show anything new to watch. In addition to the lack of new programming, the two must also deal with food rationing. And that night will be a punch-in vote ordered by the Governor, and voting is mandatory. Meanwhile, the Doctor is repairing the TARDIS console. Peri complains that the Doctor has caused three electrical fires, a power failure, nearly collided with a storm of asteroids, got lost in the TARDIS corridors twice, wiped the memory banks of the flight computer, jettisoned three quarters of the storage hold, and burned her "cold dinner", all since the time-travellers left Telos (Attack of the Cybermen). Minutes later, the TARDIS unexpectedly stops, stalled in the middle of deep space. And the Doctor can do nothing to fix it. Sil, the Mentor representative of the Galatron Mining Corporation, is negotiating with the Governor over the price of Varos’ Zeiton-7 ore. Their discussion, like many others, ends in stalemate. For many years, the Galatron Mining Corporation has swindled Varos by paying far less for the ore than its market value. And to make matters worse, the Chief Officer is in league with Sil. The Governor moves on to conduct the night’s vote. He addresses the people asking for their vote on if they should hold out longer for a fair price on the ore. The Governor loses and is forced to endure Human Cell Disintegration Bombardment. The process slowly kills the target and this is the third time his recommendations have failed to pass. The guard Bax recommends that the Governor execute Jondar to please the citizens so he can recuperate before the next vote. Peri locates the TARDIS manual and presents it to the Doctor who quickly dismisses it. He knows perfectly well what has caused their dilemma. The transitional elements within the TARDIS have stopped producing orbital energy and they need Zeiton-7 ore to realign the power systems. And as the Doctor explains, Zeiton-7 is exceptionally rare and only comes from one planet: Varos. The Doctor manages to repair the TARDIS enough to travel to Varos and arrives right before the execution of Jondar is to take place. The guard on station to watch over the execution believes the TARDIS is merely a hallucination caused by the Punishment Dome. The Doctor and Peri exit the TARDIS and think they are hallucinations as well. And with some help from the chained Jondar, the guard is incapacitated. The two free Jondar and make their escape, after being cut off from the TARDIS by more guards. They are then rescued by Rondel, who has defected after speaking with Areta, and decided to help them. But he is killed shortly thereafter by pursuing guards. The Doctor, Peri, Jondar, and Areta continue on through the Punishment Dome, attempting to make their way back to the TARDIS. But during a run-in with another group of guards, the Doctor is separated from the others who are arrested. He enters a corridor that appears psychologically as a desert. And with all of Varos watching, the Doctor succumbs to the heat and collapses with his end as a close-up. During the ordeal, Peri has been brought to the control center in the company of the Governor, Sil and the other officers. They question her as she watches them bring the Doctor’s body to an acid bath for disposal. It is also revealed that he is not dead, but his mind was influenced to make him believe he was dying of thirst in a desert. The Doctor suddenly stands up and walks over to the two attendants while their backs were turned. The surprise causes the first attendant to jump, pushing the second into the bath. A struggle ensues and the attendant is then pulled into the acid bath by the second who reaches up and grabs him. The Doctor strolls out with a morbid quip. After making his way from the acid baths, the Doctor is cornered by Quillam, Varos’ chief scientist, and is taken away. Back in the control centre, it is decided that the Doctor and Jondar will be executed in a good "old-fashioned" way while Peri and Areta are to be reshaped with a cell mutator. The Doctor and Jondar are placed in the nooses while the Governor and Sil watch. At the last moment the Doctor questions the Governor about Sil and his extortion. Sil’s bodyguards rush the platform where the nooses are and pull the lever. But the two simply fall through the holes, the rope coming right off the support. As it turns out, there was to be no execution — it was all a way to get information out of the Doctor. The Doctor suspected this as he noticed that they were not being filmed. The group then attempts to stop the cell mutator on Peri and Areta, but they are told it’s at too advanced a stage to stop. The Doctor and Jondar grab the weapons of nearby guards in an attempt to intimidate Quillam to deactivate the mutator. But it fails, and the Doctor resorts to shooting the entire control panel. The process has been stopped in the nick of time and Peri and Areta return to their original form. The four then escape back into the depths of the Punishment Dome towards a possible escape route. But Peri, still in a stupor after the effects of the mutator, is recaptured and taken to the control centre. The Chief and Sil make their final move on the Governor in hopes that during the next vote he will be killed by the Human Cell Disintegration Bombardment, securing the way for them to control Varos and the Zeiton-7 ore. Meanwhile, the Doctor, Jondar, and Areta make their way into the End Zone of the Dome, where the exit is supposed to be. The vote starts and the bombardment begins, but the guard Meldak has a change of heart and stops the device, saving the Governor and Peri. The three then make their way to meet up with the Doctor through the ventilation ducts. The Doctor’s group is then chased by two cannibals and loses them in some poisonous tendrils. The Chief and Quillam arrive on the scene but are entangled in the tendrils, killing them. They then meet up with Peri, the Governor, and Meldak. They all make their way back to the control centre and put an end to Sil’s plans of controlling Varos. The Galatron Mining Corporation also began to side with Varos; a second source of Zeiton-7 ore has been found, and Sil is ordered to obtain the Varosian ore at any price. The Doctor and Peri then bid the Governor farewell, taking the replacement ore with them. The Governor issues a message to the citizens saying that there will be no more injustice, torture, and executions. Arak and Etta watch in disbelief, wondering what they’ll do with their new-found freedom. Continuity This section does not cite any references or sources. (June 2012) This story begins very soon after Attack of the Cybermen. Peri lists a number of problems the Doctor has caused since they left Telos. Sil was originally to have returned in a Philip Martin serial for the 23rd season entitled Mission to Magnus, but when the season was postponed and all planned stories scrapped, Sil's return instead occurred in Mindwarp. Martin later novelised Mission to Magnus, which was published in 1990. In 2009, Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant and Nabil Shaban returned for an audio adaptation of Mission to Magnus. The scenes including the Varosians Arak and Etta are completely detached from the story and the two are never encountered by the main characters. A long-standing myth holds that the Doctor pushes one or two guards into an acid bath. During the serial's original broadcast, the series drew criticism for being too violent. However, the Doctor does not actually push the guards into the acid. One falls in by accident and then pulls the other in. Production Serial details by episode EpisodeBroadcast dateRun timeViewership (in millions) "Part One" 19 January 1985 44:42 7.2 "Part Two" 26 January 1985 44:43 7.0 [2][3][4] This story was written as a replacement for a serial called Song of the Space Whale by comics writer Pat Mills.[5] Working titles for this story included Domain and Planet of Fear (the latter being vetoed for being too similar to the previous season's Planet of Fire).[5] The story was first written for the 1982 season, but was repeatedly pushed back and re-written. In its final draft, the story had a number of comedic sequences, most of which wound up being cut, and one of which, the acid bath sequence, was played seriously. The result was that the final story was much darker than originally intended. The more grim acid bath sequence was much criticised for its tone and for the Doctor's flippant remark at the end of the scene. During the first recording of the noose execution scene, part of the set collapsed under the weight of the actors. Fortunately, this did not happen when Baker and Connery actually had their necks in the nooses (although in that case, for safety reasons the nooses were not actually tied up).[6] Cast notes Features Jason Connery (Jondar), son of actor Sean Connery. Sheila Reid (Etta) is now better known as foul mouthed Madge in the comedy series Benidorm Martin Jarvis makes a guest appearance as the beleaguered Governor of Varos; he had previously appeared in the series in a story in each of the previous two decades: The Web Planet and Invasion of the Dinosaurs. And Nabil Shaban features as Sil, returning in the next season's Mindwarp, which is set on his home planet of Thoros Beta. Stephen Yardley (Arak) previously played Sevrin in Genesis of the Daleks. Owen Teale (Maldak) later appeared as Evan Sherman in the Torchwood episode "Countrycide" (2006). He also played Hayton in the audio play The Mind's Eye. In print Doctor Who book Vengeance on Varos Series Target novelisations Release number 106 Writer Philip Martin Publisher Target Books Cover artist David McAllister ISBN 0-426-20291-0 Release date 21 January 1988 (Hardback) 16 June 1988 (Paperback) A novelisation of this serial, written by Philip Martin, was published by Target Books in January 1988. It was originally planned to be released 2 years earlier, but was pushed back after delays in the delivery of the manuscript by Philip Martin. However, it kept its original number of 106. In addition, although Target had launched a new cover design format for the books with the previous volume, Time and the Rani, reflecting the new series logo of the Sylvester McCoy era, Vengeance on Varos was published with the earlier book cover format using the neon-tube logo of the Baker-Davison era. In 1997 the novel was also issued by BBC Audio as an audio book, read by Colin Baker. VHS and DVD releases This story was released on VHS in the UK in 1993 as part of the Doctor Who 30th Anniversary celebrations. It was released on DVD in the UK on 15 October 2001. The DVD commentary is provided by actors Colin Baker (The Doctor), Nicola Bryant (Peri), and Nabil Shaban (Sil). A Special Edition DVD was released on 10 September 2012.[7] References ^ From the Doctor Who Magazine series overview, in issue 407 (pp26-29). The Discontinuity Guide, which counts the unbroadcast serial Shada, lists this as story number 139. Region 1 DVD releases follow The Discontinuity Guide numbering system. ^ Shaun Lyon et al. (2007-03-31). "Vengeance on Varos". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 2008-05-04. Retrieved 2008-08-30. ^ "Vengeance on Varos". Doctor Who Reference Guide. Retrieved 2008-08-30. ^ Sullivan, Shannon (2007-08-07). "Vengeance on Varos". A Brief History of Time Travel. Retrieved 2008-08-30. ^ a b Vengeance on Varos at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel) ^ The Colin Baker Years, BBC Video 1994, at 34 minutes from beginning of video ^ "Doctor Who Vengeance On Varos (DVD)". Retrieved 18 July 2012. External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Sixth Doctor Vengeance on Varos at BBC Online Vengeance on Varos on TARDIS Index File, an external wiki Vengeance on Varos at the Doctor Who Reference Guide Script to Screen: Vengeance on Varos, by Jon Preddle (Time Space Visualiser issue 41, October 1994) Reviews Vengeance on Varos reviews at Outpost Gallifrey Vengeance on Varos reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide Target novelisation On Target — Vengeance on Varos
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TDP: Dimensions 2012! 9 10 11 November!
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 1 minutes and 16 secondsTHE NEW HOLIDAY INN GREAT NORTH ROAD SEATON BURN NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE NE13 6BP Book rooms for the show on 0191 201 9955 During office hours Welcome to the new Dimensions website Dimensions is a great weekend your chance to meet stars from Doctor Who. The show includes Live Evening Entertainment, Autograph opportunities, Photo studio, Merchandise room, on stage interviews, Meet and Greet encounters, Wine Tasting,Celebrity meals, evenig entertainment and much more... Tickets Photo Shoots Autographs Venue Workshops Meet & Greet Evening entertainment Map and Directions Sponsored Guests Wine Tasting Celebrity meal Pre-orders Guests All guests appear subject to work commitments SYLVESTER MCCOY PETER DAVISON FRAZER HINES LOUISE JAMESON TERRY MOLLOY BERNARD HOLLEY NABIL SHABAN ROY HOLDEN JOHN LEVENE Signing & preforming his new Album (Sponsored) JOHN LEESON SPENCER WILDING (Sponsored) IAN CULLEN Beth Chalmers (Sponsored) VIRGINIA HEY (Sponsored) DAVID BANKS MARTIN COCHRANE ADRIENNE BURGESS TERRENCE DICKS BRIAN CROUCHER RALPH WATSON David Richardson (Sponsored) Matt Fitton (writer) (Sponsored) Mark Wright (writer) (Sponsored) MICHAEL TROUGHTON (Sponsored) DAVID HOWE Ken Bentley (Sponsored) WAYNE DOUGLAS (Friday night entertainment) SAM STONE Home > Conventions - Dimensions 2012 > « Back Dimensions 2012 Gold Ticket DIMENSIONS 2012 SILVER TICKET DIMENSIONS 2012 WEEKEND PASS DIMENSIONS 2012 One Day PASS DIMENSIONS 2012 CHILDRENS TICKET Dimensions 2012 Photo shoot tickets available now Dimensions 2012 Personal items Meet and Greet DIMENSIONS 2012 CELEBRITY GALA DINNER WINE TASTING with JOHN LEESON ADRIENNE BURGESS Doctor Who, Blake's 7, etc Bernard Holley Doctor Who, Z Cars, etc BRIAN CROUCHER Blake's 7, Doctor Who & EastEnders DAVID BANKS Doctor Who,Doctor on Stage, Cyberleader etc DAVID GOODERSON Davros Frazer Hines "Jamie" in Doctor Who Ian Cullen Doctor Who, Z Cars etc John Leeson Doctor Who, K9, Blake's 7, Space 1999, John Levene Doctor Who, Space 1999, etc Louise Jameson Peter Davison the 5th Doctor MARTIN COCHRANE Doctor Who, etc Michael Keating Doctor Who & Blake's 7 Nabil Shaban Ralph Watson SPENCER WILDING Doctor Who, etc Terrence Dicks Doctor Who, etc TERRY MOLLOY Davros & Mike Tucker in the Archers Celebrity Meal Dimensions 2012 Autograph tickets available now Photo shoot Tickets Venue Information Wine Tasting Evening entertainment Workshops M
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TDP 275: The History of the Universe in 100 Objects
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 5 minutes and 53 secondsEvery object tells a story. From ancient urns and medieval flasks to sonic screwdrivers and glass Daleks, these 100 objects tell the story of the entire universe, and the most important man in it: the Doctor. Each item has a unique tale of its own, whether it's a fob watch at the onset of the Great War or a carrot growing on the first human colony on Mars. Taken together, they tell of empires rising and falling, wars won and lost, and planets destroyed and reborn. Within these pages lie hidden histories of Time Lords and Daleks, the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, the plot to steal the Mona Lisa and the story of Shakespeare's lost play. You'll find illustrated guides to invisible creatures, the secret origins of the internet, and how to speak Mechonoid. A History of the Universe in 100 Objects is an indispensible guide to the most important items that have ever existed, or that are yet to exist. http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71uOGicueIS._SX320_SY240_CR0,0,0,0_.png
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TDP 274: Claws of Axos - Special Edition
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 7 minutes and 44 secondsPlot The Axons land on Earth, desperately in need of fuel. They propose to exchange the miracle substance they call Axonite for some much needed energy. Axonite is a "thinking" molecule that can replicate any substance... or so they claim. As it turns out, the ship is a single organism called Axos whose purpose is to feed itself by draining all energy through the Axonite (which is just a part of itself), including the energy of every life form on Earth. The deception about the Axonite's beneficial properties was to facilitate the distribution of Axonite across the globe. Meanwhile, the Master, who was captured by Axos and used his knowledge of Earth as a bargaining chip for his life and freedom, escapes Axos and makes his way to the Doctor's TARDIS — his own having been seized by Axos. He plans to repair it to escape from Earth. Axos itself becomes interested in the Doctor's knowledge of time travel. It now plans to broaden its feeding base by travelling through time as well as space. The Doctor, realising this, plans to trick Axos into linking up its drive unit to his TARDIS so that he can send Axos into a perpetual time loop. After tricking the Master into completing the repairs on his TARDIS, the Doctor does just that. This results in every part of Axos dematerialising from Earth, including the Axon automatons and the Axonite. At the end, with the Master having escaped in his own TARDIS during the confusion aboard Axos, the Doctor returns to Earth, but not of his own volition. The Time Lords have programmed the TARDIS to always return to Earth, the Doctor states that he is a "galactic yo-yo!". Continuity Both the Doctor and the Master refer to the events of this serial in "Last of the Time Lords". "The Feast of Axos", a Big Finish audio play with the Sixth Doctor, tells the subsequent story of astronauts visiting Axos, still imprisoned in the time loop. The Axons reappear in the Eleventh Doctor Doctor Who Magazine comic strip "The Golden Ones", beginning in issue #425. In this story they are behind a brain-enhancing drink and associated anime show in Tokyo. The drink transforms children into Axons by "increasing the links between neurons in the brain" - in other words, the axons.[1]
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TDP 273: The Angels Kiss - Ebook
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 6 minutes and 51 secondsThe Angel's Kiss: A Melody Malone Mystery is a 2012 mystery novel fictionally written by the character of River Song under the detective pen-name Melody Malone.[1] The book is based on a story partially told in British science fiction television series Doctor Who episode "The Angels Take Manhattan". The Angel's Kiss is a prequel to the story shown in the episode, as well as the book The Doctor reads within the show, as The Angel's Kiss does not contain the chapter revealing Amy Pond's departure. The book was released in e-book format on October 4, 2012.[2] Summary The story follows titular character Melody Malone, a detective that has been hired by film star Rock Railton. Railton believes that he is to be killed and makes mention to the "kiss of the Angel", which piques Malone's curiosity enough to take the case. Melody is further drawn into the mystery when studio owner Max Kliener notices her at a press party and insists on making her into a star. Soon Melody discovers that Kliener's intents are not entirely honest and that she must find a way to escape what he has in store for her before it is too late.[3] References ^ Connelly, Brendon. "BBC To Actually Publish The Book That Plays Key Role In This Week’s Doctor Who". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2 October 2012. ^ Davis, Lauren. "The detective novel from last week’s Doctor Who is now available as an ebook". io9. Retrieved 7 October 2012. ^ Golder, Dave. "Doctor Who’s First E-Book Exclusive, Inspired By “The Angels Take Manhattan”". SFX. Retrieved 2
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TDP 272: 50th Anniversary Thoughts
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 6 minutes and 20 secondsjust a couple of ideas...
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TDP 271: Smith Yr 3 Ep 5 - The Angels Take Manhattan
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 20 minutes and 8 secondsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search 229 – "The Angels Take Manhattan" Doctor Who episode Cast Doctor Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor) Companions Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams) Others Alex Kingston – River Song[1] Mike McShane – Grayle[2] Rob David – Sam Garner[2] Ozzie Yue – Foreman[2] Bentley Kalu – Hood 1[2] Burnell Tucker – Garner 2[2] Production Writer Steven Moffat Director Nick Hurran Producer Marcus Wilson Executive producer(s) Steven Moffat Caroline Skinner Series Series 7 Length 45 minutes Originally broadcast 29 September 2012 Chronology ← Preceded by Followed by → "The Power of Three" 2012 Christmas special "The Angels Take Manhattan"[3] is the fifth episode of the seventh series of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on BBC One on 29 September 2012.[2] It is the last in the first block of episodes in the seventh series, to be followed by a Christmas special. The episode was written by head writer Steven Moffat and directed by Nick Hurran. The story takes place in New York[4] and features recurring monsters the Weeping Angels.[5] This is the final episode that features Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill).[4] Alex Kingston reprises her role as River Song,[1] the Doctor's wife and occasional companion, the daughter of Amy and Rory. Contents 1 Plot 1.1 Continuity 2 Production 2.1 The Angel's Kiss: A Melody Malone Story 3 Broadcast and reception 3.1 Critical reception 4 References 5 External links Plot In the prologue, private detective Sam Garner in 1938 New York is hired by the shady Mr. Grayle to investigate "moving statues" at the Winter Quay, a set of apartment blocks. There, Sam finds an elderly version of himself dying in a bed. Chased by Weeping Angels to the rooftop, the man is confronted by a grimacing Statue of Liberty. In present-day New York City, the Doctor, Amy, and Rory enjoy a picnic in Central Park. The Doctor is reading to Amy from a 1930s detective pulp novel, "The Angel's Kiss: A Melody Malone Story", while Rory leaves them to go for coffee. As he reads, the Doctor tears out the last page, noting he does this to avoid endings. Continuing, the Doctor and Amy are surprised to find Rory turn up in the plot of the novel. The Doctor and Amy continue to read in concurrence with events in the past, as Rory is joined by the book's lead character, Melody Malone, who turns out to be River Song. They are both abducted by Grayle's henchmen. River tells Rory that New York is subjected to unusual time distortions which would prevent the TARDIS from landing in this time period. As the Doctor and Amy return to the TARDIS, he scolds her to not read ahead in the novel for fear of creating a fixed point in time that they must follow, as she has already read about the Doctor breaking River's wrist. Grayle has Rory locked up in his basement with cherub-shaped Weeping Angels with only a box of matches to protect himself, while River is taken to his secured office. Information she provides via the book allows the Doctor to signal her via the writing on an old Chinese vase, and she activates a homing beacon, allowing the Doctor to guide the TARDIS to Grayle. In the meantime Grayle has shown River a damaged Weeping Angel, part of his collection, and allowed it to grab River's wrist to gain information about the Angels from her. Amy deduces that River will write the book and correctly guesses that she would have left hints. They identify Rory's location from the chapter titles in the novel, and the Doctor sends Amy to rescue him. However, the Doctor finds the last chapter is about Amy's farewell and frets. Upset, he tells River to free herself from the Angel without breaking her wrist. The Doctor joins Amy and finds that Rory has run out of matches and with no means to look at the Angels was snatched by them. River appears, having freed herself apparently without harm from the Angel, and soon locates Rory nearby at Winter Quay: he has unusually been moved in space and not time. However, as they race to leave, the Doctor grabs River's hand and discovers that her wrist is broken. Realising the events of the book are still coming true, the Doctor uses his regeneration energy to heal River. At the Quay, Rory is drawn to an apartment labelled with his name, just as the others catch up to him. In the apartment, they find an elderly Rory on his death bed, calling to Amy before dying. The Doctor realises that Rory's fate is now assured; the Doctor recognises that the Quay has been used by the Angels many times within the populous New York City as a battery farm, leaving their victims to live out their lives in solitude, whilst the Angels feast on their energy. Rory and Amy refuse to accept their fate, insisting they can run from the Angels forever. The Doctor and River agree, and help to distract the Angels converging on them. Amy and Rory make it to the roof of the building, where the Statue of Liberty, a giant Angel itself, awaits to take Rory to the past. Rory determines there is another exit — were he to die by jumping from the roof before the Angels take him, a paradox would be created, ending their preying methods and wiping them from existence. Rather than pushing him as he requests, Amy opts to join him, and just as the Doctor and River reach the roof, the two jump, creating the paradox and killing the Angels. The four find themselves in a New York graveyard in the present era again, though the Doctor notes with the paradox, he can no longer travel to that point in time for fear of destroying New York. As the others enter the TARDIS, Rory spots a tombstone with his name on it — moments before he is touched by one surviving Angel and disappears into the past. A distraught Amy convinces herself that if she were touched by the same Angel, it would send her to the same time it sent Rory. While she is still staring at the Angel she tearfully says goodbye to River. The Doctor tries to talk her out of it, knowing he can't return to the past to see her again, but River insists she goes. Amy finally says goodbye to the "Raggedy Man" - her early nickname for the Doctor - as she turns to face him and lets the Angel take her. The tombstone then changes to reflect Amy's presence in the past with Rory, both having died at an old age. In the TARDIS, the distraught Doctor asks River to travel with him, which she agrees to do, but "not always". He considers this, and suddenly realises that while River may be the author of "The Angel's Kiss", Amy would be the one to publish the book, and may have left a final message in the afterword. He races back to their picnic spot to find the page he tore out earlier containing the afterword. In it, Amy tells him that she and Rory love him and assures him that they lived a good and happy life together. She also requests that he pay another visit to her younger self to reassure her that he will come back for her and take her on amazing journeys. As the episode ends, young Amelia Pond waits for the Doctor in her garden, looking to the skies as she hears the sound of the TARDIS engines. Continuity When River asks the Doctor whether the bulb on top of the TARDIS needs changing, he says that he has just changed it; flickering light bulbs have been a common motif throughout the current series, as well as a tactic used by the Angels in their previous appearances.[6] In Amy's voice over, references are made to "The Eleventh Hour", "The Curse of the Black Spot", "The Big Bang", "Vincent and the Doctor", and "The Beast Below". The closing view of young Amelia waiting in her garden reprises a scene from "The Eleventh Hour". Production Matt Smith during filming of the episode in Central Park, New York In December 2011, Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat announced that Amy and Rory would leave in the seventh series in "heartbreaking" circumstances.[7] Amy's exit was a mutual decision between Moffat and Gillan.[8] Gillan wanted her character to have a final ending, and ruled out returning to the show in the future as she felt it would take away from the impact of her final scene.[9][10] Moffat stated he felt "tremendous pressure" writing Amy and Rory's ending.[11] He later revealed that he "completely changed" the ending as he was writing it, feeling the emphasis was wrong.[12] Gillan refused to read the script for a few weeks after she received it because she "didn't want to make it real".[13] She said in an interview, "I literally couldn't read it without crying. It was the most highly-charged read-through I've ever experienced. But I couldn't have asked for a better exit. I don't think it'll be what people expect."[14] However, the final episode Gillan and Darvill shot as Amy and Rory was actually the previous episode, "The Power of Three".[13] Moffat was also interested in coming up with a new form for the Angels, and so he introduced the putti.[15] Much of the episode was filmed in Central Park in New York City in April 2012.[16] The cast and crew were met with thousands of American fans, which surprised Smith, Gillan, and Darvill.[17] Other scenes were shot at night in the city, involving old-fashioned cars.[18] Moffat was in New York City when he came up with the story, and thought it was appropriate for the Weeping Angels.[19] He described the city as "a different backdrop" to shoot a Doctor Who story in, and made use of its architecture.[20] Fellow executive producer Caroline Skinner felt that the location "has such scale and romance" which "[gave] the episode a real atmosphere and a very different tone for Doctor Who".[19] This marks the second time Doctor Who has filmed principal photography in the United States, the first being the opening sixth series episodes "The Impossible Astronaut"/"Day of the Moon".[21] The week spent filming in the city was done by a "small unit by American standards" according to producer Marcus Wilson. They did not take any props of Angels or the TARDIS, which were instead added in post-production.[15] Other filming locations included University of Bristol,[22] Cardiff University [23] and a cemetery in Llanelli.[24] The New York skyline was added into the cemetery in post-production.[15] The Doctor Who logo in the title sequence featured a texture showing the Statue of Liberty's crown,[25] in keeping with the varied "blockbuster" themes for each of the opening five episodes of the series.[26] The Angel's Kiss: A Melody Malone Story Main article: The Angel's Kiss: A Melody Malone Story The story that the Doctor reads in this episode is titled The Angel's Kiss: A Melody Malone Story. BBC Books is due to publish this as an ebook on 4 October 2012.[27] Broadcast and reception "The Angels Take Manhattan" was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 29 September 2012.[28] Overnight ratings showed that it was watched by 5.9 million viewers live, an increase of 400,000 from the previous week.[29] It also received an Appreciation Index of 88, the second highest of the series behind "Asylum of the Daleks" (89).[30] Critical reception The episode received positive reviews. Dan Martin of The Guardian gave a positive review, writing, "This was a fitting end to a golden era, and bravo to Steven Moffat for telling such an involving, emotional story with such style". He also praised the concept of the cherubs and the Angels in New York. However, he noted that he was "flummoxed" as to where in River's timeline the episode took place.[31] The Daily Telegraph reviewer Gavin Fuller gave it five out of five stars, concluding "'The Angels Take Manhattan' brought this mini-run of the series to a close with easily the best episode of the five: a powerful, taut, compelling, filmic, emotionally punchy affair which re-established the Angels as one of the standout monsters of the series and gave Amy Pond a fine send off". While he praised the four actors he felt Gillan was the star, and noted that Rory did not "get any sort of send-off".[32] Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club gave "The Angels Take Manhattan" a grade of A, attributing its success to "the way it does double duty as a twist adventure and a highly emotional story of farewells".[33] Sam Wollaston, also writing for The Guardian, wrote positively of the scare factor in the episode, as well as the sadness.[34] Neela Debnath of The Independent described it as a "wonderful swansong to the duo" and particularly praised the "stylish" cinematography and sense of danger. However, she considered the "only flaw" to be "the rule that time cannot be changed if one knows what is going to happen ... though it is probably best not to question the timey wimey side of things and just accept it and enjoy the adventure".[35] IGN's Matt Risley rated the episode 9 out of 10, writing that it "stood strong as a heartfelt, emotional end for the TARDIS' longest serving companions (since the show's noughties' return at least), and the best episode of the season thus far". Risley also praised the three leads, though he did admit the episode "left a few nitpicky questions".[36] Digital Spy reviewer Morgan Jeffery gave "The Angels Take Manhattan" five out of five stars, despite noting "plotholes ... and slightly-too-convenient plot contrivances" and that Rory did not get a heroic exit. Jeffery particularly praised the build-up to Amy and Rory's departure as well as the "superb production design".[37] Dave Golder of SFX awarded the episode four out of five stars, believing that the "bittersweet exit" of the Ponds distracted the viewer from various narrative problems, such as the Statue of Liberty. He felt that Gillan and Darvill "were on top form" as well as Smith's "brilliant performance" and a "less over-the-top River", and also wrote positively about the noir theme and the Angels using the Winter Quay as a battery farm.[25] The Huffington Post writer Maureen Ryan was more critical of the episode, worrying that the BBC's international promotion of the show was to the detriment of the quality of the writing. She felt that Amy deserved a better exit and "was crowded out by the distracting presence of River Song and by the fact that Rory was the one to make the essential choices first". She also personally disliked the "timey-whimey" devices, and commented that the "big and operatic tone the director was clearly going for clashed with the mood of film noir" and that the Angels "felt less menacing" and the "pace was a little too frantic".[38] References ^ a b "BBC One - Doctor Who, Series 7, The Angels Take Manhattan, The Return of River and the Weeping Angels". Bbc.co.uk. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2012-09-28. ^ a b c d e f Mulkern, Patrick (2012). "Doctor Who | Series 7 - 5. The Angels Take Manhattan |". Radio Times. Retrieved 30 September 2012. ^ "The Power of Three and The Angels Take Manhattan". BBC. 15 August 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012. ^ a b Eames, Tom (24 March 2012). "'Doctor Who' Amy, Rory final episode to be filmed in New York". Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 June 2012. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (21 March 2012). "'Doctor Who': Weeping Angels return for Amy and Rory exit". Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 June 2012. ^ Brew, Simon (2012-09-15). "Is this the recurring theme of Doctor Who series 7?". Den of Geek. Retrieved 2012-09-29. ^ Masters, Tim (15 December 2011). "Doctor Who's Amy and Rory to leave during next series". BBC News. Retrieved 18 August 2012. ^ Goldman, Eric (16 February 2012). "Karen Gillan: Why She's Leaving Doctor Who". IGN. Retrieved 18 August 2012. ^ Millar, Paul (2 November 2011). "'Doctor Who' Karen Gillan: 'I won't make return cameos'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 28 September 2012. ^ Falls, Amanda Harris (27 September 2012). "'Doctor Who' Bids Farewell to the Ponds". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 28 September 2012. ^ Ryan, Maureen (3 May 2012). "'Doctor Who' Details: Steven Moffat On Amy Pond And Rory Pond's Exit And What's Coming Next". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 18 August 2012. ^ Jeffery, Morgan; Mansell, Tom (17 August 2012). "Exclusive: 'Doctor Who' Steven Moffat: 'I completely changed Amy and Rory's exit'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 18 August 2012. ^ a b Hogan, Michael (14 August 2012). "Karen Gillan 'in denial' about leaving Doctor Who". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 August 2012. ^ Hilton, Beth (19 May 2012). "'Doctor Who' Karen Gillan: 'My exit won't be what people expect'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 18 August 2012. ^ a b c Mulkern, Patrick (23 September 2012). "Doctor Who: The Angels Take Manhattan preview". Radio Times. Retrieved 23 September 2012. ^ Woener, Meredith (11 April 2012). "Exclusive Photos from Doctor Who's New York Set". io9. Retrieved 24 June 2012. ^ Steven Moffat, Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill (29 September 2012). "Doctor Who in the U.S.". BBC. BBC America. ^ Golder, Dave (14 April 2012). "Doctor Who Series 7: Manhattan Night Filming Pics". SFX. Retrieved 18 August 2012. ^ a b Radish, Christina (20 July 2012). "Comic-Con: Showrunner Steven Moffat and Producer Caroline Skinner Talk Doctor Who, What to Expect on Upcoming Episodes, the New Companion and More". Collider. Retrieved 19 August 2012. ^ McAlpine, Fraser (4 April 2012). "Watch: Steven Moffat on Filming 'Doctor Who' in New York". BBC America. Retrieved 18 August 2012. ^ Wicks, Kevin (10 October 2011). "It's official: Doctor Who to film in the US for the first time". BBC America. Retrieved 28 September 2012. ^ "Bristol's Doctor Who connections: The TARDIS, K-9 and buses". [1]. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2012. ^ "Matt Smith and Karen Gillan freeze while filming Doctor Who in Cardiff". WalesOnline. 5 April 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2012. ^ Griffith-Delgado, Jennifer (29 April 2012). "Doctor Who Cemetery Filming Photos". io9. Retrieved 24 June 2012. ^ a b Golder, Dave (29 September 2012). "Doctor Who 7.05 "The Angels Take Manhattan" Review". SFX. Retrieved 1 October 2012. ^ Mulkern, Patrick (15 August 2012). "Doctor Who premiere - new title sequence, Matt Smith on Twitter and a Big Surprise". Radio Times. Retrieved 3 October 2012. ^ Golder, Dave (27 September 2012). "Doctor Who’s First E-Book Exclusive, Inspired By "The Angels Take Manhattan"". SFX. Retrieved 1 October 2012. ^ "Doctor Who: The Angels Take Manhattan". BBC. Retrieved 30 September 2012. ^ Golder, Dave (30 September 2012). "Doctor Who "The Angels Take Manhattan" Overnight Ratings". SFX. Retrieved 30 September 2012. ^ Golder, Dave (1 October 2012). "Doctor Who "The Power of Three" Final Ratings". SFX. Retrieved 1 October 2012. ^ Martin, Dan (29 September 2012). "Doctor Who: The Angels Take Manhattan – series 33, episode five". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 September 2012. ^ Fuller, Gavin (29 September 2012). "Doctor Who, episode 5: The Angels Take Manhattan, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 September 2012. ^ Phipps, Keith (29 September 2012). "The Angels Take Manhattan". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 30 September 2012. ^ Wollaston, Sam (30 September 2012). "TV review: Doctor Who; The Thick of It". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 September 2012. ^ Debnath, Neela (29 September 2012). "Review of Doctor Who 'The Angels Take Manhattan'". The Independent. Retrieved 30 September 2012. ^ "Doctor Who "The Angels Take Manhattan" Review". IGN. 30 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (29 September 2012). "'Doctor Who' - 'The Angels Take Manhattan' review". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 October 2012. ^ Ryan, Maureen (28 September 2012). "'Doctor Who': Amy and Rory's Last Episode (And Has The Show Gotten Too Big?)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 1 October 2012. External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Eleventh Doctor "The Angels Take Manhattan" at the BBC Doctor Who homepage The Angels Take Manhattan on TARDIS Index File, an external wiki "The Angels Take Manhattan" at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel)
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TDP 270: Planet of the Giants DVD REVIEW
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 6 minutes and 41 secondsFollowing a malfunction on the TARDIS console and the bleating of a klaxon indicating something is amiss, the Doctor insists the fault locator shows nothing is wrong and it is safe to venture outside. He leads his companions Ian, Barbara and Susan to the world beyond and within minutes they find a dead giant earthworm followed by a large deceased ant. They seem to have died immediately. After some deduction the travellers realise they have arrived on Earth but have shrunk in size to about an inch. Ian is investigating a discarded matchbox when someone picks it up and he is hurled around inside. That someone is a government scientist called Farrow. He is met by a callous industrialist named Forester to tell him that his application for DN6, a new insecticide, has been rejected. In reality DN6 should not be licensed: it is far too deadly to all insect life. When they fall out over this news, Forester shoots Farrow and leaves him for dead on the lawn. The Doctor, Barbara and Susan hear the gunshot as an enormous explosion, and head for the house. They find Ian unhurt near the dead body and surmise a murder has taken place but can do little about it. They are determined, however, to ensure the murderer is brought to justice despite their microscopic size. While avoiding a cat, the travellers get split up again with Ian and Barbara hiding in a briefcase. The giant Forester returns to the lawn and collects the briefcase, taking it inside to the laboratory. His aide, Smithers, arrives and suspects him of murder, but does not report him for fear of undermining the DN6 project to which he has given his life. The Doctor and Susan scale a drainpipe to gain access to the house and locate their friends, braving the height as they go. Meanwhile Ian and Barbara examine the laboratory and encounter a giant fly, which is killed instantly when it contacts sample seeds that had been sprayed with DN6. Barbara foolishly touched one seed earlier and soon starts to feel unwell. Nevertheless, attracted by Susan’s voice in the reverberating plughole, the four friends are reunited. Forester has meanwhile doctored Farrow’s report so as to give DN6 the licence he wants and, disguising his voice as Farrow’s, makes a supportive phonecall to the ministry to the same effect. This is overheard by the local telephone operator, Hilda Rowse, and her policeman husband, Bert, who start to suspect something is wrong. The Doctor has meanwhile realised the deadly and everlasting nature of DN6 and the probable contamination of Barbara. They try to alert someone by hoisting up the phone receiver with corks, but cannot make themselves heard. Hilda notes the engaged signal, however, and she and Bert become even more concerned. Forester and Smithers return to the lab and correct the engaged handset and then Hilda rings to check things are okay. She rings again moments later and asks for Farrow and, when Forester impersonates him, immediately spots the faked voice and so knows there is something badly wrong. Bert heads off to the house to investigate. The Doctor and his companions decide to start a fire to attract attention to the house and succeed in setting up an aerosol can of insecticide and a lab bench gas jet as a bomb. This coincides with Smithers discovering the true virulence of DN6 - it's lethal to everything - and demanding Forester stop seeking a licence. Forester spots the makeshift bomb, which goes off in his face. Smithers retrieves the gun as PC Rowse arrives and then places both under arrest. Their work done, the travellers return to the TARDIS and the Doctor reconfigures the machine to return them to normal size. Barbara, who was on the verge of death, recovers on being returned to full size; the insecticide and seed responsible aboard the TARDIS shrinking to their real microscopic and minuscule sizes. Production Serial details by episode EpisodeBroadcast dateRun timeViewership (in millions)Archive "Planet of Giants" 31 October 1964 23:15 8.4 16mm t/r "Dangerous Journey" 7 November 1964 23:40 8.4 16mm t/r "Crisis" 14 November 1964 26:35 8.9 16mm t/r "Crisis (Original Recorded Version)" Unaired N/A N/A Only stills and/or fragments exist "The Urge to Live (Original Recorded Version)" Unaired N/A N/A Only stills and/or fragments exist [2][3][4] An early draft of this story – by C.E. Webber and entitled The Giants – was originally meant to be the first story of the first season.[5] Episode 4 This story was originally four episodes in length. Upon viewing Episodes 3 and 4, which focused more heavily on Hilda and Bert, Head of Drama Sydney Newman ordered them spliced together in order to form a faster-paced climax (Episode 3) focusing on the core characters of the series. Episode 4 was called "The Urge to Live" and directed by Douglas Camfield (instead of Mervyn Pinfield, who directed Episodes 1-3). When Episodes 3 and 4 were edited together to make the new Episode 3, only Camfield was credited. The decision to splice the last two episodes into one would have ramifications for the second production block of the series, when the producers were left with a one-episode space following Galaxy 4. Rather than producing a single-episode stand-alone story or extend any of the planned serials, Mission to the Unknown was commissioned to serve as a prelude to The Daleks' Master Plan without the participation of any of the regular cast. This was produced in the same block as Galaxy 4, and both were held over to be the first two serials of Season 3.[6] The 2012 DVD includes recreations of the original Episodes 3 and 4, based on the original scripts and featuring newly recorded dialogue and animation.[7] In print A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in January 1990. It was the final serial of the William Hartnell era to be novelised. The novel also reinstated much of the material cut to make the televised serial into three episodes. Doctor Who book Planet of Giants Series Target novelisations Release number 145 Writer Terrance Dicks Publisher Target Books Cover artist Alister Pearson ISBN 0-426-20345-3 Release date 18 January 1990 VHS and DVD releases This serial was released on VHS in 2002; it was the first commercially-released story to receive the VidFIRE process.[8] It was released on DVD in Region 2 on 20 August 2012.[9] References ^ The episode is undated, though its general appearance is consistent with the year of transmission. ^ Shaun Lyon et al. (31 March 2007). "Planet of Giants". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 31 August 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008. ^ "Planet of Giants". Doctor Who Reference Guide. Retrieved 30 August 2008. ^ Sullivan, Shannon (4 April 2005). "Planet of Giants". A Brief History of Time Travel. Retrieved 30 August 2008. ^ Howe, David J.; Stammers, Mark; Walker, Stephen James (1994). Doctor Who The Handbook - The First Doctor. London: Doctor Who Books. pp. 178–9. ISBN 0-426-20430-1. ^ Sullivan, Shannon. "Mission to the Unknown (aka. Dalek Cutaway)". A Brief History of Time (Travel). Retrieved 24 April 2007. ^ http://news.drwho-online.co.uk/Planet-of-Giants-DVD-Cover-and-Details.aspx ^ Roberts, Steve. "VidFIRE". The Doctor Who Restoration Team Website. Retrieved 24 April 2007. ^ http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2012/05/dwn030512103008-dvd-update-summer.html External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: First Doctor Planet of Giants at BBC Online Planet of Giants at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel) Planet of Giants at the Doctor Who Reference Guide Planet of Giants on TARDIS Index File, an external wiki Reviews Planet of Giants reviews at Outpost Gallifrey Planet of Giants reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide Target novelisation Planet of Giants novelisation reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide On Target — Planet of Giants
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TDP 269: Janet Fielding has Cancer
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 4 minutes and 52 secondsFormer companion actress Janet Fielding is fighting cancer, it has been revealed. No more details about her condition are known at the moment but Peter Davison, whose Doctor she appeared opposite as Tegan Jovanka, has won the support of other ex-Doctor actors to launch a charity fund-raising convention - Project MotorMouth - that aims to "not only raise money for a good cause but also keep Janet's spirits up." Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, and David Tennant are the first guests announced for the event, which will take place on Saturday 19th January 2013 at the Copthorne Hotel Slough-Windsor. All guests will be appearing subject to work commitments. The profits from the convention will go to Project MotorHouse, which is seeking to convert a derelict building in Thanet into a mixed-use venue promoting sustainable technology and a place where youngsters can get help with starting their own businesses. Fielding is the project co-ordinator for the organisation as well as its community champion. She first appeared in Doctor Who in 1981 in Tom Baker's final story, Logopolis, and left the TV series in the 1984 story Resurrection of the Daleks, but made a cameo reappearance two stories later in a regeneration dream sequence for Davison's swansong The Caves of Androzani. She has also worked as a theatrical agent - a job that saw her representing McGann when he won the role of the Eighth Doctor - and has played the role of Tegan in a number of audio productions for Big Finish. reprinted from gally base
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TDP: VOTE TIN DOG PODCAST!
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes and 46 secondshttp://forums.drwho-online.co.uk/dwo_postst31209_Best-Doctor-Who-Podcast-of-2011.aspx?g=posts&t=31209&# click the link on the tin dog home page to vote today THE tdp has been nominated in the DWO pole to find the best podcast you can vote for me... or anyone else... by following the link VOTE TIN DOG PODCAST! as you can see every vote counts Poll Question : Vote Now for the Best Doctor Who Podcast of 2011 Choice Votes Statistics The DWO WhoCast 8 14 % The Blogtor Who Commentaries 2 3 % Doctor Who: Podshock 1 1 % The Doctor Who Podcast 6 10 % The Big Finish Podcast 0 0 % The Omega Podcast 4 7 % The 20mb Doctor Who Podcast 0 0 % Two-Minute Time Lord Podcast 1 1 % The OodCast 21 37 % The Happiness Patrol Podcast 1 1 % The Tin Dog Podcast 1 1 % Radio Free Skaro 2 3 % Kasterborous PodKast 5 8 % The 20mb Doctor Who Podcast 1 1 % The Bad Wilf Podcast 3 5 % Total
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TDP 268: Ambasadors of Death
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 7 minutes and 59 secondsThe Ambassadors of Death is the third serial of the seventh season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts from 21 March to 2 May 1970. Contents 1 Plot 1.1 Continuity 2 Production 2.1 Cast notes 3 Reception 4 In print 5 VHS, DVD and CD releases and restoration 6 References 7 External links Plot With the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce providing security, the British space programme under Professor Ralph Cornish oversees the launch of the Recovery Seven probe. This has been sent into Earth orbit to make contact with the missing Mars Probe Seven and its two astronauts, who lost contact with Earth eight months earlier. The pilot of Recovery Seven, Van Lyden, makes contact with the Probe but is then silenced by a piercing unearthly sound. The noise troubles the Doctor who travels with his assistant Liz Shaw to the Space Centre to investigate the situation, offering insights into the origin and meaning of the sound, which he interprets as coded messages. He also identifies a reply message sent from Earth and this is pinpointed to be coming from a warehouse seven miles away. Led by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, UNIT troops attack the warehouse and engage in a gun battle with troops organised by General Charles Carrington. Meanwhile Recovery Seven has returned to Earth and while UNIT is transporting it more of Carrington’s troops stage an ambush and steal the vessel. The Doctor relocates it, by which time it is empty. Carrington has ensured the contents – three space suited astronauts – are detained elsewhere, feeding them radiation to keep them alive. Carrington is now introduced to the Doctor by Sir James Quinlan, the Minister for Technology, who explains that he is head of the newly formed Space Security Department, and that his actions were to protect the astronauts as they had been infected with contagious radiation. Quinlan states that they did not want the public to become panic-stricken and so Carrington had been acting with authority in his actions. By the time Carrington takes the Doctor and his friends to meet the astronauts the situation has changed again. A criminal named Reegan has organised their abduction, killing the soldiers and scientists protecting them. When the Doctor and Liz examine the situation they work out that human tissue could not have withstood the degree of radiation emitted to the astronauts, who are still in orbit, meaning the three space suits contain alien beings instead. Reegan now engineers the kidnapping of Liz Shaw to aid his own scientist, Lennox, a disgraced Cambridge professor, in maintaining the alien beings while they are incarcerated. Together they build a device to communicate with and control the aliens, who are sent on a killer rampage at the Space Centre, killing Quinlan and others. Liz later helps Lennox escape, but his bid for freedom is cut short by Reegan’s merciless revenge. Despite the obstruction of the authorities, Ralph Cornish is determined to organise another space flight to Mars to investigate the situation. With Quinlan dead, the Doctor now decides to pilot the Recovery Seven probe ship himself. As he prepares to blast off Reegan tries to sabotage the probe by increasing the feed of M3 variant, but the Doctor survives the attempt on his life and succeeds in piloting the probe so that it connects with an enormous spacecraft orbiting Mars. Aboard the spaceship the Doctor discovers the three original astronauts are unharmed but mentally deluded into believing they are in quarantine. An alien being now reveals itself to the Doctor and explains the humans are being held aboard the craft pending the safe return of the Alien Ambassadors. They had been sent to Earth following a Treaty between the race and mankind, but the terms of this agreement have now been broken because of the detention of the Ambassadors. The Doctor offers his personal guarantee to help return the Ambassadors to their mother ship and resolve the conflict before a state of war is declared, and is permitted to leave the alien craft and return to Earth. When the Doctor touches down he is gassed and kidnapped by Reegan, who takes him to Liz. Reegan’s real paymaster and the real organiser of the situation is revealed to them: General Carrington. The General reveals his actions have been prompted by xenophobia driven by his own encounter with the alien beings when he piloted Mars Probe Six some years earlier. His co-pilot, Jim Daniels, was killed on contact with the aliens and the General signed the treaty with the aliens to lure three of their number to Earth, where he hoped he could unveil their real agenda of alien invasion. The use of the ambassadors to kill people was similarly done to arouse public opinion against them. The next phase of his plan is to force the Ambassadors to confess their plot on public television. Leaving the Doctor and Liz working on a new and improved communication device to translate the aliens, Carrington departs for the Space Centre, where he aims to unmask the alien Ambassador before the eyes of the world – and then call on the powers of the Earth to blast the spaceship from the skies. UNIT soldiers raid the secret base and rescue the Doctor and Liz, apprehending Reegan and his thugs. The Doctor races to the Space Centre and he and the Brigadier apprehend Carrington before he can make his broadcast. Sadly, he is taken away, protesting he was only following his moral duty. The Doctor arranges for Cornish and Liz to send the Ambassadors back to their own people, after which the three human astronauts will be returned. Continuity In the first episode, the Doctor makes a reference to the Brigadier's destruction of the Silurians. Sergeant Benton has been promoted from Corporal since his appearance in The Invasion (1968).[1] The Mars Probe space programme appeared in two of Virgin's Doctor Who novels. Who Killed Kennedy revealed that the shuttles were developed from technology taken from International Electromatics. In The Dying Days, the programme was abandoned when Mars Probe 13 accidentally encountered the Ice Warriors and it was agreed that Earth would stay away from their territory; however, a 1997 Mars Probe mission precipitates a Martian invasion and takeover. Production Serial details by episode EpisodeBroadcast dateRun timeViewership (in millions)Archive "Episode 1" 21 March 1970 24:33 7.1 PAL 2" colour videotape "Episode 2" 28 March 1970 24:39 7.6 16mm B&W t/r & Partial restoration "Episode 3" 4 April 1970 24:38 8.0 16mm B&W t/r & Partial restoration "Episode 4" 11 April 1970 24:37 9.3 16mm B&W t/r "Episode 5" 18 April 1970 24:17 7.1 PAL D3 colour restoration "Episode 6" 25 April 1970 24:31 6.9 16mm B&W t/r & Partial restoration "Episode 7" 2 May 1970 24:32 6.4 16mm B&W t/r & Partial restoration [2][3][4] This story was initially developed to feature the Second Doctor and his last companions, Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot. As such, it was set well into the future, and did not include UNIT. When all three actors left the programme at the end of the sixth series, it was rewritten to fit the consequential revamp. Original script editor David Whitaker proved incapable of writing for the incoming new format and cast, hence the contributions of Trevor Ray, Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke. All concerned parties agreed to leave sole credit to Whitaker and this was the last Doctor Who serial with his name on it. In an interview years later, Terrance Dicks recounted the experience of rewriting Whitaker's story: “ One of the situations I inherited [as Doctor Who script editor] was Ambassadors of Death and the ongoing tangle with that. David Whitaker...had gone through four or five drafts and you come to a stage where you write so much it just gets worse. What was happening was that the need for the script was very urgent and I stormed into [producers] Peter [Bryant] and Derrick [Sherwin] and said, "Look, we've got five drafts of this. David's fed up with it, he doesn't know what to do. What we need to do is pay David in full and Mac [Hulke] and I will finish." And that's basically what we did. I made sure that David got a full script fee for all his episodes because he had been buggered about by the establishment and Mac and I took the bare bones of his story and almost did a "War Games" - wrote new scripts very quickly - and it shows. It had its moments though. ” Working titles for this story included The Invaders from Mars (later the title of a Big Finish Productions audio drama), and The Carriers of Death. The opening titles of this story start with the normal music and graphics, yet immediately fade after the Doctor Who title caption. There is a short "teaser" for episode one, and episodes 2-7 feature a reprise of the previous episode's cliffhanger. Starting with the "scream", followed by a zoom-in on the words "The Ambassadors", concluding with "of Death", and a "zap" effect. The experiment was not repeated after this story. This was the first story to feature the sting or "scream" into the end title theme. It was added by Brian Hodgson of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to improve and shape the closing credits.[1] Cast notes Features a guest appearance by Ronald Allen. See also Celebrity appearances in Doctor Who. Cyril Shaps, who plays Lennox in this serial, previously played Viner in The Tomb of the Cybermen. Reception Cultural historian James Chapman has written about connections between this Doctor Who serial and earlier science-fiction TV programmes.[5] The Quatermass Experiment (1953), for example, has a similar storyline concerning astronauts endangering humanity after coming into contact with extraterrestrials.[5] Chapman also refers to the 1960s Gerry Anderson series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, whose eponymous aliens are another race of malevolent Martians.[5] Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times noted that the script revisions caused an "uneven plot" and anticlimax, and wrote that the "narrative feels extemporised, a bumpy, sometimes thrilling ride, but one with no clear end in sight".[1] However, he praised the cliffhangers and direction as well as the acting of Pertwee and John.[1] In print Doctor Who book The Ambassadors of Death Series Target novelisations Release number 121 Writer Terrance Dicks Publisher Target Books Cover artist Tony Masero ISBN 0-491-03712-0 Release date 21 May 1987 (Hardback) 1 October 1987 (Paperback) A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in May 1987 and was the final Third Doctor serial to be adapted. VHS, DVD and CD releases and restoration Although the entire story was made on colour videotape, only the first episode was retained in this format. In fact, it is the earliest episode that survives in the series' original videotaped format, either in colour or black and white. The remaining six episodes were retained only as black-and-white film recordings and poor-quality domestic colour recordings made from a US transmission in the 1970s. This recording was severely affected by rainbow-coloured patterns of interference that at times overtake the entire picture.[6] In May 2002, a restoration project for the story's VHS release combined the usable colour information from the domestic recordings with the black and white picture from the film prints, creating a high-quality colour picture. All told, over half of the serial's running time is presented in colour, including all of Episodes 1 and 5, and sections from 2, 3, 6 and 7. The remaining footage, including all of Episode 4, was deemed unsuitable for restoration, and so remained in black-and-white. In 2009, a commentary for the future DVD release was recorded, including Caroline John, Nicholas Courtney, Michael Ferguson, Peter Halliday, Derek Ware and Terrance Dicks. The January 2011 edition of WIRED UK magazine, published in December 2010 carried a full-page article on the recolourisation of the story. It was stated in the article that the Restoration Team expect to deliver a fully restored colour version of the story to the BBC "within weeks".[7] In issue 430 of Doctor Who Magazine the DVD was announced but later set back due to restoration difficulties.[8] This was delayed until 2012 when Doctor Who Magazine issue 449 confirmed that the full colour version would soon be out on DVD.[9] It was later announced that the story would be released on DVD on 1 October 2012[10] The original soundtrack for this serial was released on CD in the UK in August 2009.[11] The linking narration was provided by Caroline John. References ^ a b c d Mulkern, Patrick (28 September 2009). "Doctor Who: The Ambassadors of Death". Radio Times. Retrieved 23 September 2012. ^ Shaun Lyon et al. (2007-03-31). "The Ambassadors of Death". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 2008-05-18. Retrieved 2008-08-31. ^ "The Ambassadors of Death". Doctor Who Reference Guide. Retrieved 2008-08-31. ^ Sullivan, Shannon (2005-05-14). "The Ambassadors of Death". A Brief History of Time Travel. Retrieved 2008-08-31. ^ a b c Chapman, James (2006). "Earthbound: 1970-1974". Inside the TARDIS: the Worlds of Doctor Who: a Cultural History. London: I.B.Tauris. p. 84. ISBN 1-84511-163-X. ^ "Can You Help Us?". Purpleville.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-12-14. ^ Burton, Charlie (2010). 'Time Travel TV' WIRED UK, January 2011, p74. ^ "Doctor Who News: Ambassadors Delayed". Gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com. 2011-01-26. Retrieved 2011-12-14. ^ Doctor Who Magazine, Panini UK Limited issue 449 published 28 June 2012, p9 ^ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-The-Ambassadors-Death/dp/B008H2JK5Y/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1Y3ZOVPITMSAU&coliid=I59OMH86DJYT7 ^ "The Ambassadors of Death @ The TARDIS Library (Doctor Who books, DVDs, videos & audios)". Timelash.com. Retrieved 2011-12-14. External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Third Doctor The Ambassadors of Death at BBC Online The Ambassadors of Death at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel) The Ambassadors of Death at the Doctor Who Reference Guide Doctor Who Locations - The Ambassadors of Death Fan reviews The Ambassadors of Death reviews at Outpost Gallifrey The Ambassadors of Death reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide Target novelisation
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VOTE TIN DOG PODCAST! VOTE TIN DOG PODCAST! VOTE TIN DOG PODCAST!
Episode Duration: 0 minutes and 0 secondsTHE tdp has been nominated in the DWO pole to find the best podcast you can vote for me... or anyone else... by following the link http://forums.drwho-online.co.uk/dwo_postst31209_Best-Doctor-Who-Podcast-of-2011.aspx?g=posts&t=31209&# VOTE TIN DOG PODCAST! as you can see every vote counts Poll Question : Vote Now for the Best Doctor Who Podcast of 2011 Choice Votes Statistics The DWO WhoCast 8 14 % The Blogtor Who Commentaries 2 3 % Doctor Who: Podshock 1 1 % The Doctor Who Podcast 6 10 % The Big Finish Podcast 0 0 % The Omega Podcast 4 7 % The 20mb Doctor Who Podcast 0 0 % Two-Minute Time Lord Podcast 1 1 % The OodCast 21 37 % The Happiness Patrol Podcast 1 1 % The Tin Dog Podcast 1 1 % Radio Free Skaro 2 3 % Kasterborous PodKast 5 8 % The 20mb Doctor Who Podcast 1 1 % The Bad Wilf Podcast 3 5 % Total
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TDP 267: Smith Yr3 Ep 4 - The Power Of Three
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 12 minutes and 52 secondsThe Cube is a BAFTA Award–winning British game show which first aired on ITV on 22 August 2009. Presented by Phillip Schofield, it offers contestants the chance to win a top prize of £250,000[1] by completing challenges from within a 4m × 4m × 4m Perspex cube. The show is based on the idea that even straightforward tasks become extremely challenging when confined and put under pressure in front of a large live studio audience. Once inside contestants can feel both claustrophobic and disorientated. Using "state-of-the-art filming techniques"[2] the show aims to demonstrate the intense anxiety which contestants undergo as they progress through each task. Colin McFarlane provides the disembodied voice of The Cube, who explains the rules of the games. "The Power of Three"[3] is the fourth episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that will air on BBC One and BBC One HD on 22 September 2012. It was written by Chris Chibnall and directed by Douglas Mackinnon. The story will feature Matt Smith as alien time traveller the Doctor and his companions, Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and her husband Rory (Arthur Darvill). It will be Amy and Rory's penultimate episode. It will also feature UNIT[1] and will celebrate Amy and Rory's time with the Doctor by telling it from their point of view and examining his influence on their lives. Production The episode's title was originally reported as "Cubed",[4] but was later announced as "The Power of Three".[3] Chris Chibnall had previously written the Doctor Who episodes "42" (2007), "The Hungry Earth"/"Cold Blood" (2010), and the second episode of the series, "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship". He was also a major contributor to the spinoff series Torchwood.[5][6] "The Power of Three" is his second contribution to Doctor Who's seventh series, after "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship".[7] Chibnall described "The Power of Three" as "a lovely big Earth invasion story" but different than the ones done before, as it focused on Amy and Rory's time with the Doctor and the impact of him on their lives.[7] He stated it is told more from Amy and Rory's point of view than ever before, and is about celebrating them before they leave in the following episode.[7] Chibnall's brief from showrunner Steven Moffat was to "live with the Doctor — The Man Who Came to Dinner, Doctor Who style.[7] Chibnall was also inspired by the story of the MSC Napoli.[7] Smith put disgust into the Doctor's remark concerning Twitter in the episode, reflecting his real-life decision to stay off the social network.[8] "The Power of Three" was filmed by itself in the series' third production block.[9] Because of this schedule, it was the final episode Gillan and Darvill filmed as Amy and Rory.[10] Their last scene filmed together was getting into the TARDIS with the Doctor; when the doors closed Gillan, Darvill, and Smith hugged and started crying.[11][12] Some exterior scenes at Amy and Rory's house were re-shot in June and July 2012, with Darvill briefly returning for the June re-shoot.[4][13] References ^ a b c d e "Doctor Who Series 7 News Accumulator". SFX. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012. ^ http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/r8yg7/doctor-who--the-power-of-three ^ a b "The Power of Three and The Angels Take Manhattan". BBC. 15 August 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2012. ^ a b "Doctor Who Series 7: New Episode 4 Reshoot Pics". SFX. 2 July 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012. ^ Golder, Dave (8 February 2012). "Two Writers Confirmed For Doctor Who Series 7". SFX. Retrieved 18 August 2012. ^ "The Hungry Earth: The Fourth Dimension". BBC. Retrieved 18 August 2012. ^ a b c d e Cook, Benjamin (26 July 2012). "Life with the Doctor". Doctor Who Magazine (Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent: Panini Comics) (450): 36-39. ^ Mulkern, Patrick (15 August 2012). "Doctor Who premiere — new title sequences, Matt Smith on Twitter and a Big Surprise". Radio Times. Retrieved 18 August 2012. ^ Doctor Who Magazine (Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent: Panini Comics) (446). 5 April 2012. ^ Hogan, Michael (14 August 2012). "Karen Gillan 'in denial' about leaving Doctor Who". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 August 2012. ^ Eames, Tom (19 July 2012). "'Doctor Who' stars: There were tears after final scenes together'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 18 August 2012. ^ Fulton, Rick (18 May 2012). "Karen Gillan talks tears at end of Dr Who and her excitement at making new Scots film". Daily Record. Retrieved 18 August 2012. ^ "Doctor Who Series 7: New Official Pic & New Filming Pics". SFX. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012. Contents 1 Format 2 Filming 3 Celebrity specials 4 Records 4.1 Defeated contestants 5 Top prize winner (£250,000 - Beat The Cube) 6 Games 7 Transmissions 8 Ratings 8.1 Series 1 8.2 Series 2 8.3 Series 3 8.4 Series 4 8.5 Series 5 9 International versions 10 Merchandise 11 References 12 External links Format All of the games take place from inside The Cube. Contestants are set a task to complete which can range from testing their agility to more simple procedures such as stopping a stopwatch after 10 seconds or building a tower of blocks. If they successfully complete the task, they will move up the money ladder and closer to the top prize. Each contestant is given nine lives. Each time a contestant fails a game, one life is lost, and the contestant must repeat the game. Any contestant who runs out of lives while trying to win a game loses all of the money he or she accumulated. Contestants may stop after any game and take the money they have won, but once a contestant decides to play, he or she cannot back out until after completing that game. Before each game, there is a short demonstration by "The Body", a faceless female character described as an expert in all the games. Her demonstrations allow the contestant to see how the game is played and formulate a strategy to succeed. Her face has not been seen; her outfit is a metal plate over her face, revealing just shoulder-length hair, and at one time, she lifted part of the mask, revealing her mouth and chin, to demonstrate Drift. GameValue 1 £1,000 2 £2,000 3 £10,000 4 £20,000 5 £50,000 6 £100,000 7 £250,000 The Cube offers each contestant two aids, each of which may be used only once. They may use a Simplify, which will make a certain game easier to complete. It remains in effect for all future attempts of the game until the contestant completes it. They also have the aid of a Trial Run, which is only available from the second game onwards. It gives the contestant a chance to attempt the game without any consequences. Even if the contestant completes the game, to advance to the next game, they must complete it again under the usual circumstances. However, if the contestant fails to complete the game, they will not be penalised for it. To assist contestants in making a decision on whether to play a game, the host can provide the player with statistics about the game they are facing, such as the average number of lives it takes for players to win the game, the percentage of people that completed the game on their first try, or whether one group of people was better at the game than another. With the exception of four episodes (two of which are Celebrity Specials), each episode generally features two contestants. Filming Objective Productions first approached Channel 4 in 2008 with the format. It was made into a non-televised pilot by the channel,[3] and was hosted by Justin Lee Collins. Channel 4 eventually decided not to commission the show because it would have been too expensive.[4] In February 2009, ITV purchased the rights to the show and filming began during April 2009 at Wembley's Fountain Studios. The Cube is one of the first shows to use the game freeze filming technique on a frequent basis, such as when a contestant jumps. Using specially designed cameras, it allows the viewer to see one side of the Cube before the action is frozen, spun to another face of the Cube and then resumed. Slow-motion shots are again common to show action replays of the task a contestant just completed, or the critical moment of a game, to heighten the excitement of whether the contestant will succeed or fail. The show makes extensive use of CGI to project images onto the walls and ceiling of the Cube, while a screen on the floor is also capable of showing images. These film techniques make the seemingly simple tasks that are put before the contestants seem much more exciting than they would normally be. The 5th and 6th series of The Cube were filmed from 26 January 2012. On 30 January, long-distance runner, Mo Farah took part in filming an Olympian special - which aired on Saturday 14 July. He became the first £250,000 jackpot winner with six lives remaining.[5] Filming is known to be taking place as Schofield has annnouced it on Twitter. Additionally, filming of series 5 was announced on This Morning on 6 February 2012. Celebrity specials Celebrity specials of The Cube so far feature two contestants in each episode, except for two specials. Celebrity contestants that are defeated by The Cube are given £1,000 for their charities. Dame Kelly Holmes played The Cube but only took £1,000 for DKH Legacy Trust. Jenni Falconer won £20,000 for Breast Cancer BC2000. Joe Swash played for the Ben Kinsella Trust, he lost a game but took £1,000 away for them. Kelly Osbourne took £10,000 from the Cube for The Prince's Trust. Coronation Street star Jennie McAlpine lost against The Cube but took £1,000 for Mood Swing. Boxer Ricky Hatton played and won £20,000 for Genesis Breast Cancer. McFly star Tom Fletcher (the first celebrity that took a whole episode) won £100,000, splitting it between 2 charities, Comic Relief and BIRT . In a Coronation Street special of The Cube on Christmas Eve of 2011, Julie Hesmondhalgh took £20,000 for Maundy Relief and Ryan Thomas played for Christie's and won £10k for them. In an Olympians special Denise Lewis took away £10,000 from The Cube for her charity Breast Cancer Care and Sally Gunnell won £20,000 for Chestnut Tree Children's Hospital In the third edition of the Olympians Specials Fatima Whitbread took away £20,000 for 21st Century Youth and Dai Greene won £50,000 for his charity. Other celebrities who took in The Cube in January were Ashley Banjo and David Haye. These episodes will also air later this year on ITV1. Records In the first series, Jonny Lowery became the first person to reach the final game, having only three lives left. For his final game, he was given a more difficult version of Direction, the first game he faced in The Cube, losing three lives and using his Simplify. In the more difficult version, the path had been narrowed to just 20 centimetres. He decided to leave with £100,000. In the second series, Paul McDonald became the second person to reach the final game, having five lives left. For his final game, he was given a more difficult version of Structure, in which he had to build a construction of blocks within a time limit of twelve seconds, three seconds less than his original attempt. He also decided to leave with £100,000. In the third series, Tom Fletcher of boyband McFly managed to reach the final game, having four lives left. For his final game, he was given a more difficult version of Barrier, in which he had to cross three barriers instead of the original two. He also decided to leave with £100,000. The Fourth person to get to the final game was Luke who was given a more difficult version of Rebound. At the jackpot setting the target zone the ball had to land in was reduced by a significant amount but he also left with £100,000. Teresa was the first person to retire from the game due to injuring her foot in celebration after completing Dual Reflex. In the fifth series, Mo Farah, Olympic 5000 and 10000 metre runner, managed to not only reach the final game but also played the game, starting the final game with seven lives left (He had lost two lives in his first game Response.). For his final game, he guessed that Response would be his final game but was given a more difficult version of Barrier instead, in which he had to cross three barriers instead of the original two, which he had previously beaten on his first attempt. He won £250,000 only losing one more life in the final game. Defeated contestants So far, eighteen contestants have lost all their lives: Rhian lost £2,000 on the first episode of Series 1 playing Drop Zone. Martin lost £20,000 on the third episode of Series 2 playing Side-Track. Alex lost £2,000 on the fifth episode of Series 2 playing Descent. Christian lost £20,000 on the eighth episode of Series 2 playing Pinpoint. Zoe lost £1,000 on the ninth episode of Series 2 playing Stabilise. Dame Kelly Holmes lost £1,000 on the tenth episode of Series 2 playing Gradient. Joe Swash lost £20,000 on the eleventh episode of Series 2 playing Pinpoint. Jennie McAlpine lost £1,000 on the twelfth episode of Series 2 playing Blind-Shot. Paul lost £2,000 on the first episode of Series 3 playing new game Vault. Aaron lost £2,000 on the fourth episode of Series 3 playing Cylinder. Yolanda lost £10,000 on the fifth episode of Series 3 playing Spike. Debbie lost £10,000 on the second episode of Series 4 playing Tilt. Sarah lost £1,000 on the third episode of Series 4 playing Revolving Shot. Jim lost £10,000 on the fourth episode of Series 4 playing Shatter. Isaac lost £2,000 on the fifth episode of Series 4 playing Placement. Karen lost £20,000 on the fifth episode of Series 4 playing Construction. Neil lost £1,000 on the seventh episode of Series 4 playing Pendulum. Graham lost £2,000 on the fourth episode of Series 5 playing Succession. Top prize winner (£250,000 - Beat The Cube) Mo Farah: Celebrity special - Mo Farah Foundation; 6 lives remaining - 14 July 2012 [6] Games The games are placed in the categories by when they were first introduced. If the game has been played at any other levels, the levels they have been played at have been placed in brackets. When The Cube was first made, 50 games were designed. However, they have added new games every new season. Currently, there are a total of 124 different games that have been played so far. Games featured in the show so far include: Game 1 — £1,000[show] Game 2 — £2,000[show] Game 3 — £10,000[show] Game 4 — £20,000[show] Game 5 — £50,000[show] Game 6 — £100,000[show] Game 7 — £250,000[show] On The Cube board games, there are games that aren't played on shows such as Bullseye Throw - they had to launch a ball of a catapult thrower so it goes through a small ring without making contact. Transmissions SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodes 1 22 August 2009 3 October 2009 7 2 19 September 2010 2 January 2011 12 3 3 April 2011 11 June 2011 9 4 30 October 2011 31 December 2011 9 5 14 April 2012 Ratings Episode ratings from BARB.[7] Series 1 Episode No.AirdateTotal ViewersITV1 Weekly Ranking 1 22 August 2009 5,850,000 11 2 29 August 2009 5,120,000 11 3 5 September 2009 5,260,000 15 4 12 September 2009 5,060,000 15 5 19 September 2009 4,830,000 17 6 26 September 2009 4,810,000 20 7 3 October 2009 4,710,000 19 Series 2 Episode No.AirdateTotal ViewersITV1 Weekly Ranking 1 19 September 2010 4,980,000 15 2 26 September 2010 5,090,000 16 3 3 October 2010 5,780,000 16 4 10 October 2010 5,190,000 18 5 17 October 2010 5,210,000 20 6 24 October 2010 5,510,000 17 7 31 October 2010 5,210,000 18 8 7 November 2010 5,510,000 17 9 14 November 2010 5,530,000 19 10 21 November 2010 5,420,000 22 11 18 December 2010 3,920,000 22 12 2 January 2011 4,180,000 20 Series 3 Episode No.AirdateTotal ViewersITV1 Weekly Ranking 1 3 April 2011 3,640,000 22 2 10 April 2011 3,310,000 24 3 17 April 2011 3,320,000 23 4 24 April 2011 2,770,000 27 5 1 May 2011 3,500,000 24 6 8 May 2011 3,940,000 18 7 15 May 2011 4,020,000 17 8 22 May 2011 3,960,000 18 9 11 June 2011 3,350,000 22 Series 4 Episode No.AirdateTotal ViewersITV1 Weekly Ranking 1 30 October 2011 3,960,000 20 2 6 November 2011 4,000,000 20 3 13 November 2011 4,080,000 26 4 20 November 2011 4,060,000 23 5 27 November 2011 4,080,000 20 6 4 December 2011 4,090,000 21 7 11 December 2011 3,190,000 25 8 24 December 2011 4,960,000 16 9 31 December 2011 2,870,000 29 Series 5 Episode No.AirdateTotal ViewersITV1 Weekly Ranking 1 14 April 2012 3,990,000 14 2 21 April 2012 2,780,000 28 3 28 April 2012 2,820,000 25 4 5 May 2012 3,140,000 24 5 12 May 2012 3,000,000 30 6 2 June 2012 3,450,850 7 14 July 2012 5,415,240 24 8 21 July 2012 4,587,120 International versions CountryNameHostChannelTop prizePremiere/air dates China Meng Li Fang Dream Cube Cheng Lei Dragon TV To achieve the contestant's dream[8] 13 May 2012 Germany The Cube–Besiege den Würfel! Nazan Eckes RTL €250,000 29 April 2011[9] Italy The Cube - La Sfida Teo Mammucari Italia 1 €100,000 7 September 2011[10] Portugal O Cubo Jorge Gabriel RTP €30,000 16 May–11 July 2010 Saudi Arabia lmk`b Al Moukaab Faisal Al Issa Saudi TV 1 SR250,000 24 March–8 July 2010 Spain El Cubo Raquel Sánchez Silva Cuatro €150,000 8 February 2012[11] Ukraine Kub Kub Maksim Chmerkovskiy STB [?]250,000 21 November 2011[12] United States The Cube Neil Patrick Harris CBS $500,000 2010 Pilot The UK version of The Cube is also currently being broadcast in Ireland by TV3, in New Zealand on TV1, and in Australia on the Nine Network. Most versions of The Cube, even those that air outside the UK, are filmed at The Fountain Studios in London. Merchandise An electronic board game based on the series was made available in stores from November 2010.[13] As of June 2011, the game has been discontinued by most main retailers.[14] The game comes with an electronic handheld system featuring games such as Time Freeze and Stop Zone, as well as 9 balls- six 18mm blow moulded balls, 1 30mm EVA foam ball, 1 25mm hard ball and one 50mm hard ball. The balls are used for different reasons and the foam ball is used for most games with a ball. For Multisphere, all balls are used unless it is being played in a room with hard floors, in that case eight balls are used. Tubes are used for almost evry physical game for starting positions, voids, tubes, towers and columns. Other equipment in the board game are track pieces, discs, clips, z shaped platform pieces, cannons, blocks, a ball flipper, a beam and card pieces,and a 7x7x7 plastic cube for playing a series of sixty physical games. The cube is used for a conatiner and to connect onto the cube platform for the electronic games. A reducer also comes with the cube allowing it to reduce the size of it. The Simplify for games with the reducer generally remove it. Many well known and classic games are here as well as new games, everyday life games and interesting and complex games. Around the time of the release of the board game, a computerised version of the series was made available via the iTunes store for use on the iPod and iPhone. This version features eighteen games from the series: Angular, Balance, Cylinder, Descent, Drop Zone, Focus, Multisphere, Perimeter, Precision, Pulse, Quantity, Reaction, Revolution, Shatter, Stabilise, Stop Zone, Time Freeze and Velocity. An update for the game was made available in January 2011, adding a further free game, Succession, and making four further games available at a cost: Exact, Pathfinder, Totalise and Tower.[15] A second update was made available in March 2011, adding a further free game, Axis, and making four further games available at a cost: Invert, Composure, Calculate and Classify. A free online game has also been created, allowing viewers to attempt three games for free. The games that are available are Stop Zone, Cylinder and Multisphere. The player starts with three lives and has three attempts to beat The Cube. Players also have the opportunity to save their high scores in the games and also use Facebook to challenge friends.[16] On October 5 a Cube game will be released on consoles for the first time. Nintendo 3DS has games such as Vault, Calculate, Pendulum and Pathfinder and many more. If you beat the Cube, then you unlock Extreme Mode, Where you play games never seen on TV. Features: The Body and The Voice on the Hit Show. Demonstrations of each Game. Features 33 games. Extreme Mode includes not seen challenges. Profiles letting multiple people track their wins and losses. Stats for each game. Multiplayer and Head to Head modes. The features are the same for Wii. The PS3 version is different to the 3DS and Wii because you have more ways to play. The PS3 version has games like Memory Flash, Dead Stop, Accelerate, Perimeter, Reflex, Drop Shot and many more. Here are features of the PS3 version of the Cube! Includes the Voice and the Body featured in the hit show. Cut scene demonstration for each game. Features 30 games. Extra DLC available for 10 more challenges. Extreme Mode which includes never seen challenges. Profiles making multiple players track their wins and losses. Stats for each game showing average lives used. Multiplayer Challenge and Head to Head modes. PlayStation Move compatible. References ^ The Cube–Official Description ITV ^ New ITV gameshow 'The Cube'| Digital Spy ^ Channel 4 piloting gameshow in a cube Digital Spy ^ ITV1 snaps up C4-piloted gameshow Broadcast ^ http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/4100635/Mo-Farah-news-Team-GBs-star-runner-is-first-to-finish-The-Cube.html ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT-PaBCYOMo&feature=plcp ^ http://www.barb.co.uk/report/weekly-top-programmes? ^ For example, the prize of the first 5 games for the very first contestant were football boots, complete set of freestyle football equipments, freestyle football party, replacement of old home appliances and a freestyle football studio respectively. ^ Eckes moderiert: RTL angelt sich Show-Highlight "The Cube"–TVmatrix ^ The Cube–Italian TV ^ El Cubo–Cuatro ^ Telekanal STB nachinaet kastingi novogo igrovogo shou (STB Channel starts casting for a new game show) ^ http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3905212/Trail/searchtext%3ETHE+CUBE.htm ^ http://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10001_10001_106100348099_-1?breadcrumb=Home~txtthe+cube ^ http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/the-cube/id387725955?mt=8 ^ The Cube–ITV Online Game
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TDP 266: Big Finish Main Range - Black and White
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 7 minutes and 24 secondsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Big Finish Productions audio play Black and White Series Doctor Who Release number 163 Featuring Seventh Doctor Ace Hex Writer Matt Fitton Director Ken Bentley Set between Project: Nirvana and Gods and Monsters Release date August 2012 Black and White is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. As with all Doctor Who spin-off media, its relationship to the televised serials is open to interpretation. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Continuity 4 Notes 5 External links 6 References Plot The search for the Doctor continues. The Black TARDIS brings Ace and Aristedes to the setting of the classic, epic, Anglo-Saxon poem, Beowulf. The White TARDIS brings Hex and Sally to the same location, but sixteen years later. Cast Seventh Doctor - Sylvester McCoy Ace - Sophie Aldred Hex - Philip Olivier Captain Aristedes - Maggie O'Neill Private Sally Morgan- Amy Pemberton Garundel - Stuart Milligan Young Beowulf - Michael Rouse Old Beowulf - Richard Bremmer Weohstan - John Banks Wiglaf - James Hayward Continuity This is the sixth and final story in the Black TARDIS story arc. Aristedes was first heard in the 2010 story, Project Destiny, where she was working for The Forge, just before its destruction. Sally met the Doctor in the 2011 story House of Blue Fire. She also features in Project: Nirvana, alongside Captain Aristedes. The exterior of the TARDIS was rendered white during the events of the 2009 story, The Angel of Scutari. It remained as such in the stories, Project: Destiny, A Death in the Family, Lurkers at Sunlight's Edge and Protect and Survive. Ace and Hex discovered that the Doctor was missing at the start of the previous story, Protect and Survive. The TARDIS with the black exterior was inexplicably seen in a trilogy of solo Seventh Doctor stories, Robophobia, The Doomsday Quatrain and House of Blue Fire, which, for the Doctor, take place between Lurkers at Sunlight's Edge and Protect and Survive. It is also in Project: Nirvana, which takes place just before Black and White. Aristedes recalls unheard adventures with the Doctor and Sally, fighting Elder Gods such as The Animus (encountered by the First Doctor in the television story The Web Planet) and The Great Intelligence (encountered by the Second Doctor in the television stories The Abominable Snowmen and The Web of Fear). She also mentions The Mi’en Kalarash, which Sally fought in House of Blue Fire. Ace recalls her encounter with The Celestial Toymaker in the audio The Magic Mousetrap. The Fast Return Switch was used in the 1964 First Doctor television story, The Edge of Destruction. It has also featured in Big Finish audios such as Seasons of Fear and Neverland. The Doctor is heard in several scenes that take place at other points in time. He is heard obtaining the Black TARDIS, just after the events in Alaska in Lurkers at Sunlight's Edge. He is then heard taking it on its first three trips, (Robophobia, The Doomsday Quatrain and House of Blue Fire). He is also heard recruiting Sally, in a scene taken from the end of House of Blue Fire. And he is heard recruiting Captain Aristedes, just after House of Blue Fire. Notes Stuart Milligan played President Richard Nixon in the 2011 Eleventh Doctor television episodes, The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon. A alternative cover was first released, to conceal the inclusion of the characters Sally and Aristedes. The actual cover was not revealed until just before the audio's release.[1] External links Big Finish Productions - Black and White
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TDP 265: Smith Yr3.3 A Town Called Mercy
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 10 minutes and 2 secondsinfo to follow
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TDP 264: The Blue Tooth (CC 01.03)
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 5 minutes and 58 secondsSynopsis "I suppose that was one of the Doctor's most endearing qualities: the ability to make the bizarre and the terrifying seem utterly normal." When Liz Shaw's friend Jean goes missing, the Doctor and U.N.I.T. are drawn to the scene to investigate. Soon Liz discovers a potential alien invasion that will have far-reaching affects on her life… and the Doctor is unexpectedly re-united with an old enemy… Written By: Nigel Fairs Directed By: Mark J Thompson Cast Caroline John (Liz Shaw), Nicholas Briggs (The Cybermen) Synopsis On a rare day off from her duties at UNIT, Liz Shaw decides to visit her friend Jean Basemore at Oakington, near Cambridge. However, Jean stands her up for their lunch, and is not to be found at her cottage: all that is there is Jean's cat and a television set — both extensively chewed. Liz telephones the Doctor, who is already on his way to Cambridge — UNIT is investigating several missing scientists. The investigation leads to the home of a cleaner, and the Doctor notices that both the cleaner and Jean had recently received reminder notices from their dentist. While the Doctor and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart investigate a suicide at the train station, Liz visits the dentist, Mr. Arnold. Her plans to investigate are thwarted by hypnotic music which sends her to sleep, and when she awakens, dazed and confused, she's had a new filling put in. The Doctor tells her that the dead man at the train station was the cleaner whose home they had visited earlier, and an examination of his body reveals that much of his flesh had been turned into a strange blue metal. As Liz examines the body, she notices that the flesh and bone are still transforming into the alien metal — and then she discovers that the body is full of small robots, like silverfish, which are excreting a blue liquid. One of the creatures attacks a UNIT soldier, and burrows into its flesh. Sergeant Benton attempts to shoot the creatures, but to no avail. In a last-ditch effort, Liz sprays the creatures with a fire extinguisher, which freezes them. The Doctor identifies the creatures as Cybermats, and explains that the blue liquid is a living metal which converts human flesh into cybernetic parts — it is Cyberman technology, but the Doctor has not seen it's like before. Liz's new filling is made of the same blue metal. The Doctor synthesizes an agent, based on the phosphates in the fire extinguisher, which will halt the growth of the metal. It kills the Cybermat which had burrowed into the UNIT soldier's leg, but his leg is destroyed as well. The Doctor gives Mike Yates instructions on how to create a more precise version of the agent, which will be able to be used as an antidote to revert the conversion process. Under a mental compulsion, Liz returns to Oakington. She awakens in a buried spaceship, standing in a Cyber-conversion chamber. There, she sees her friend Jean, half-converted into a Cyberman. Jean apologizes for missing their lunch date, and begs Liz to kill her. Horrified, Liz can only watch as Jean is transformed into a Cyberman. The Doctor converses with the lead Cyberman, and realizes that the Cyberman ship had crashed on Earth years earlier, as a scout ship intended to prepare for a Cyberman invasion. Escaping with the aid of the sonic screwdriver, the Doctor and Liz discover the bridge of the Cyber-ship, where a dead, legless Cyberman is found at the helm. The Doctor realizes that the lead Cyberman was a human who had discovered the Cyber-ship and experimented with what he found there — including the blue metal. The Doctor attempts to reach the humanity in the lead Cyberman, who was once a man named Gareth Arnold. Arnold was converted by the blue metal, an experimental Cyberman technology. As the Cybermen threaten the Doctor and the blue metal in Liz's tooth begins to spread into her jaw, the Doctor uses the crude version of his antidote on the Arnold Cyberman, killing him. The other Cybermen return to their cubicles, awaiting instructions. Liz loses consciousness. She awakens in Jean's cottage, where the Doctor completes the treatment with the advanced version of the conversion antidote. Aside from a missing tooth and some pain in her jaw, she is fine — although somewhat upset to discover that there had been a tiny Cybermat contained in the filling. But, to the Doctor's dismay, the Brigadier has converted the early, crude version of the antidote into a weapon, and uses it to destroy the remaining Cybermen. Cast Liz Shaw — Caroline John The Cybermen — Nicholas Briggs
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TDP 263: Dinosaus on a Spaceship
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 10 minutes and 47 secondsInfo to follow
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TDP 262: ian levine on DWO Whocast
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 5 minutes and 45 secondsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Ian Levine (born 22 June 1953,[1] in Blackpool, Lancashire) is an English songwriter, producer, and DJ. He is also a well-known fan of the long-running television show Doctor Who. Levine attended Arnold (House) School in Blackpool from 1963 to 1970. In 1996 Levine traced over 660 members of his own family on his mother's side and organised the enormous Cooklin family reunion, on 21 July in London. This has been called the biggest family reunion of all time[citation needed], and was covered on the BBC Evening News, and, extensively, in The Jewish Chronicle. Between 1997 and 1999 Ian Levine produced and directed the documentary film The Strange World of Northern Soul, an anthology of the underground music cult. This was a video box set, containing over 12 hours of footage with booklet and CD, and incorporating 131 performances by the legendary American soul acts who had, in most cases, never been filmed before. The event premiered at the King George's Hall in Blackburn to an audience of 1300 in July 1999. The Strange World of Northern Soul was released on DVD as a six-disc box set, replete with extras, in 2003. In May 2000, Levine organised the reunion of his entire school class from the 1960s at Arnold School in Blackpool. All 30 members of class 3A were found and brought together to experience lessons, P.E. in the gym, a rugby match, and an assembly with their original teachers, all in original style school uniform. The reunion was filmed and shown by the BBC.[1] Contents 1 Music career 2 Doctor Who 2.1 "Doctor in Distress" 2.2 Later history 2.3 DVDs 2.4 K-9 and Company 3 American comic books 4 References 5 External links Music career Levine is most noted for his work in the music genres of pop, soul, disco, and Hi-NRG. Earlier in his career he was a disc jockey at the Blackpool Mecca, and became an avid collector of soul, R&B, and Northern Soul records. In the mid-1970s he also produced for disco, leading into the genre's evolution into Hi-NRG. Levine was also a resident DJ at the legendary gay disco Heaven, an important venue in 1980s gay London. He and songwriting partner Fiachra Trench were among the main figures in the development of the Hi-NRG style and its moderate success in North America, writing and producing "So Many Men, So Little Time" by Miquel Brown (two million sales), and "High Energy" by Evelyn Thomas (seven million sales). During the 1980s and 1990s he mixed a number of dance-pop hits for a variety of artists, including Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, Kim Wilde, Bronski Beat, Amanda Lear, Bananarama, Tiffany, Dollar and Hazell Dean. He also founded his own groups: Seventh Avenue, which featured two members of Big Fun; Optimystic; and Bad Boys Inc. He also wrote and produced for the successful UK boy band Take That, and for The Pasadenas. He has written and produced several TV themes including "Discomania", "Gypsy Girl", "ITV Celebrity Awards Show", "Christmasmania" and "Abbamania". In 1987, Levine began recording some former artists from Motown. By 1989 the project had grown in size and a reunion of 60 Motown stars in Detroit, Michigan, outside the original Hitsville USA building, attracted attention from several media outlets. Motorcity Records was launched as a record label, initially distributed by PRT and later Pacific, then Charly and finally Total/BMG. By the time the project ended in the mid 1990s, over 850 songs had been recorded by 108 artists who had all been formerly signed to Motown. As an album range, the project continues to be released to this day, but the most successful single was by an artist who hadn't recorded for twenty three years, Frances Nero, with "Footsteps Following Me", co-written with Levine and Ivy Jo Hunter, the man who wrote "Dancing in the Street". In 2007, Levine formed the label Centre City Records, on which he has released four albums: Northern Soul 2007, Disco 2008, Yesterday and Tomorrow (a collection of his 30 greatest hits, re-interpreted by his current roster of artists) and Northern Soul 2008. In 2010 Ian Levine formed a new boy band called "Inju5tice". The band launched their career with the song "A Long Long Way From Home" which was a commercial failure. Ian backed away from the project shortly after. Inju5tice later went on to become ELi'Prime. Doctor Who Levine is well known as a fan of the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. Levine was, in part, responsible for the return of a number of missing episodes of the show to the BBC's archives, and was involved in stopping the destruction of further serials after he learnt that they were being discarded. He also retained many off-air recordings. An unofficial continuity consultant during the early 1980s,[2] some observers have speculated that the Abzorbaloff monster played by Peter Kay in the Doctor Who episode "Love & Monsters" was based on Levine and reflects his role in fandom.[3][4] The Abzorbaloff design was created by Blue Peter "Design a Doctor Who Monster"-winner William Grantham. "Doctor in Distress" In 1985, when the BBC announced that the series would be placed on an eighteen-month hiatus, and the show's cancellation was widely rumoured, Levine gathered a group of actors from the series, together with a number of minor celebrities, to record a protest single called Doctor in Distress. The participants included the series' two lead actors, Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant, as well as other actors associated with the series such as Nicholas Courtney and Anthony Ainley. Also involved were members of the bands Bucks Fizz, The Moody Blues and Ultravox. Hans Zimmer was one of the musicians involved in the record's production. Levine has since claimed that the song was originally the brain child of Gary Downie, a production manager at the BBC and partner of John Nathan-Turner, the producer of the show at the time. The single was released under the name “Who Cares?”, and was universally panned. Levine himself said later, "It was an absolute balls-up fiasco. It was pathetic and bad and stupid. It tried to tell the Doctor Who history in an awful high-energy song. It almost ruined me.”[5] Later history In recent years he has claimed that he co-wrote the Season 22 story Attack of the Cybermen with series script editor Eric Saward, although the writer's credit is officially given to “Paula Moore”, a pseudonym for Saward's then girlfriend, Paula Woolsey. Levine's claim is that he wrote the story outline and that Saward wrote the script, with Woolsey contributing nothing.[1][6] This version of events was flatly denied by Eric Saward in a Doctor Who Magazine interview, as well as by Woolsey herself when she was interviewed by David J. Howe, Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker for their series of Doctor Who reference books. Levine at one time worked in close collaboration with the Doctor Who Restoration Team on various DVD releases of classic Doctor Who serials, though he no longer produces documentaries for them. Levine's efforts to locate missing episodes of Who continue. On 20 April 2006, it was announced on the BBC children's show Blue Peter that Levine would purchase a life-sized Dalek for anyone who would return one of the 108 missing episodes; details were provided on Blue Peter's website.[7] DVDs Ian Levine has also been responsible for producing a number of extras on the Doctor Who DVD releases: the documentaries "Over the Edge" and "Inside the Spaceship" were included on the 3-disc set "The Beginning", while "Genesis of a Classic" appeared on the release for Genesis of the Daleks. Levine has also contributed to many other classic series DVDs, appearing as an in-vision interviewee on occasions, and by allowing the Restoration Team access to his private collection of rare studio footage and off-air recordings. K-9 and Company He also composed the theme music for K-9 and Company, an unsuccessful pilot for a proposed Doctor Who spin-off series featuring the robotic dog and Sarah Jane Smith. American comic books Levine also possesses one of the world's great collections of American comic books. He claims to have the only complete set of DC Comics in the world, with at least one copy of each DC comic book sold at retail (i.e., not including promotional or giveaway comics) from the 1930s to present.[1][8] The last vintage comic book he obtained for his collection was a copy of New Adventure Comics #26, which he acquired at the San Diego Comic-Con in July 2005. Although Levine's complete DC comic book collection does not include all of the hundreds of different promotional (non-retail) and giveaway comic books that DC released over the decades (the particular identifying information for many of them has been lost due to DC not retaining decades-old licensing information), his DC promotional and giveaway collection contains the vast majority of all of the DC promotional and giveaway comic books currently known to have existed, and is perhaps the most complete DC promotional and giveaway collection currently in existence.[9] The writer and comic book expert Paul Sassienie began cataloging, grading and certificating 'The Ian Levine' collection in May 2011. References ^ a b c d Levine, Ian (7 February 2007). "Ian Levine CV". Ian Levine's MySpace blog. Retrieved 11 October 2010. ^ Bailey, David (1 April 2009 (cover date)). "The Fact of Fiction: Logopolis". Doctor Who Magazine (Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent: Panini Comics) (406): 57. ^ Phipps, Tim (8 August 2006). "Happy Times and Places: "Love and Monsters"". Strange Horizons. Retrieved 25 November 2006. "I've no idea if [Russell T. Davies] was explicitly thinking of Ian Levine when he wrote the Abzorbaloff, but I can't help but suspect that Levine was bouncing somewhere around the back of his head." ^ Petridis, Alexis (24 November 2006). "Take That, Beautiful World" (free registration required). The Guardian. Retrieved 25 November 2006. ^ McGurk, Stuart (22 October 2005). "Shows of support" (free registration required). The Guardian. Retrieved 25 November 2006. ^ Levine, Ian (26 November 2006). "Re: TV Cream rumour" (free registration required). Outpost Gallifrey forum. Retrieved 26 November 2006.[dead link] ^ "Missing Doctor Who films". Blue Peter website. bbc.co.uk. 19 April 2006. Archived from the original on 31 August 2006. Retrieved 25 November 2006. ^ Zurzolo, Vincent (9 August 2005). "DC Completist Ian Levine Interview all the way from the UK!". Comic Zone. World Talk Radio. Retrieved 25 November 2006. ^ Levine, Ian (15 July 2005). "The DC Collection Is COMPLETE.". Collectors Society Message Board. Retrieved 25 November 2006. External links Ian Levine at the Internet Movie Database Official site (Centre City Records) interview by Bill Brewster
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TDP 261: Smith 3.1 Asylum of the Daleks
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 12 minutes and 45 secondsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search 225 – "Asylum of the Daleks" Doctor Who episode The unique logo from the title sequence, mimicing the Daleks' distinct bodywork. Cast Doctor Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor) Companions Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams) Others Jenna-Louise Coleman – Oswin Anamaria Marinca – Darla von Karlsen David Gyasi – Harvey Naomi Ryan – Cassandra Nicholas Briggs – Voice of the Daleks Barnaby Edwards – Dalek 1 Nicholas Pegg – Dalek 2 Zac Fox – Photoshoot PA (uncredited) Production Writer Steven Moffat Director Nick Hurran Producer Marcus Wilson Executive producer(s) Steven Moffat Caroline Skinner Series Series 7 Length 48 minutes Originally broadcast 1 September 2012[1][2] Chronology ← Preceded by Followed by → "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe" (episode) Pond Life (mini-serial) "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" "Asylum of the Daleks" is the first episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This episode marks the return of the Daleks. It was broadcast on BBC One, BBC America and Space on 1 September 2012, and will be on ABC1 in Australia on 8 September 2012. The episode features the alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) being captured by the Daleks, along with his companions Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill), who are about to divorce. They are sent by the Daleks to the Asylum, a planet where insane Daleks are exiled, to enable the Asylum to be destroyed before the insane Daleks can escape. The Doctor is helped along the way by Oswin (Jenna-Louise Coleman), a woman who lives on a spaceship that crashed on the planet a year ago and has been trapped there since then. Coleman makes her first appearance in Doctor Who in this episode, before returning as the Doctor's new companion in series 7's Christmas episode; her appearance was successfully kept a secret from the general public prior to the episode's broadcast.[3] Contents 1 Plot 1.1 Prequel 1.2 Synopsis 1.3 Continuity 2 Production 3 Broadcast and reception 3.1 Critical reception 4 References 5 External links Plot Prequel A prequel was released to iTunes, Zune, and Amazon Instant Video on 2 September, 2012 for US subscribers for the series.[4][5] As the Doctor has tea, a hooded messenger informs him that a woman, Darla von Karlsen, requests his help in freeing her daughter. The messenger provides space-time coordinates to the planet Skaro. Pond Life is a different five-part mini serial prequel to this episode, which was released serially in the week leading up to the premiere.[6][7] The fifth part hints at Amy and Rory's divorce.[8] Synopsis The Doctor is lured to the ruins of Skaro, original homeworld of the Daleks, by a humanoid Dalek "puppet", Darla, who teleports him to the Parliament of the Daleks. There he is reunited with Amy and Rory, who have been similarly kidnapped from present-day Earth, just after Rory has delivered Amy their divorce papers. Within the Parliament, the Prime Minister of the Daleks explains to them that the Daleks have a planet known as the Asylum, where they keep Daleks which have gone insane; the Daleks are unwilling to engage with the inmates themselves, as destroying such pure hatred face-to-face would contravene their sense of "beauty", much to the Doctor's revulsion. The Parliament has received a transmission of the "Habanera" from Carmen from a woman, Oswin Oswald. She is on board the Alaska, a ship which has crashed into the Asylum, and claims to have been fending off Dalek attacks for a year. The crash of the Alaska has ruptured the planet's force-field, thus risking the escape of the planet's inmates. The Parliament now wishes to destroy the planet remotely to prevent this, but the force-field is not ruptured sufficiently to allow that. The force-field can only be deactivated from the planet itself but, afraid to face such a mission themselves, the Daleks of the Parliament task the Doctor, Amy and Rory with doing so. The three are given bracelets to protect them from the planet's nanogene cloud, which would convert them into Dalek puppets to serve the facility's security systems, before being dropped through the force-field breach via a gravity tunnel onto the surface of the planet. The Doctor and Amy land close to each other and are discovered by Harvey, another survivor from the Alaska. Rory, however, is dropped to the bottom of a long shaft into the Asylum—there he accidentally awakens some of its inhabitants, but is saved and guided to a safe room by Oswin, who has accessed the computers. Meanwhile Harvey is revealed to be a Dalek puppet, converted by the nanogene cloud. A similar fate has befallen the corpses of other Alaska survivors, who re-animate and attack the Doctor and Amy, stealing her nano-field bracelet just before the pair are saved by Oswin and guided to Rory. Now unprotected from the nanogenes, Amy begins to be converted into a Dalek puppet and begins experiencing memory loss and hallucinations. The Doctor guesses that the Daleks will destroy the planet as soon as he deactivates the force-field, before he and his companions can escape. However, he realises that Rory's hideout is a telepad via which they can teleport onto the Dalek Parliament ship. Oswin agrees to deactivate the force-field in return for the Doctor coming to save her. While the Doctor is gone, Rory tries to give Amy his bracelet. The Doctor explained that love slows the Dalek puppet conversion, and Rory justifies that by "coldly and logically" asserting that he has always loved her more than she loves him, thus he would be converted more slowly, invoking his 2000-year vigil "The Pandorica Opens". Amy angrily replies that she loves him equally, but gave him up since she is infertile as a result of the events of "A Good Man Goes to War" and thus unable to bear the children she knows that he has always desired. They then realise that the Doctor has already given Amy his own nano-field bracelet but didn't tell them, in order to allow the two to converse and reconcile. The Doctor makes his way to Oswin, venturing through the 'intensive care section', containing Daleks who survived encounters with him. They begin to re-activate, but he is saved from them by Oswin, who deletes the Doctor from the Daleks' collective, telepathically shared knowledge, leaving them with no memory of him. The Doctor enters Oswin's chamber only to discover to his horror that she has been fully converted into a Dalek. Unprotected from the nanogenes for nearly a year, she could not prevent herself from being converted in order to preserve her genius-level intellect for Dalek use. Unable to cope with her conversion, her mind retreated into a fantasy of survival as a human, which was picked up as the Carmen transmission. Oswin is nearly overcome by a Dalek personality at this revelation, though she still possesses human emotions and is unable to kill the Doctor. Oswin fulfils her promise of deactivating the force-field, on the condition that the Doctor remember her as the human she once was. The Doctor returns to Amy and Rory and teleports them back to his TARDIS, which is on board the Parliament ship, as the planet is destroyed. The Daleks fail to recognise him due to his removal from their hive intelligence. He leaves the ship and drops the reunited Amy and Rory back home. He then departs alone, delighting in the Dalek Parliament's closing question to him: "Doctor who?". Continuity In her opening speech, Darla refers to the Doctor fighting in the Time War and then dying. The Doctor appears to die in the episodes "The Impossible Astronaut" and "The Wedding of River Song". The nanogenes are mentioned in the two-parter "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances", also written by Moffat.[9] In the closing exchange in the Parliament, the Doctor refers to one of his nicknames as "The Oncoming Storm", first mentioned in the episode "The Parting of the Ways".[10] The final question of "Doctor who?", besides being an obvious callback to the programme's title, is the "question that must not be answered" that Dorium asks at the end of "The Wedding of River Song".[11] Some of the Daleks are survivors of previous encounters with the Doctor on Spiridon (Planet of the Daleks), Kembel ("Mission to the Unknown" and The Daleks' Master Plan), Exxilon (Death to the Daleks),[12] Aridius (The Chase), and Vulcan (Power of the Daleks).[citation needed] Production "Asylum of the Daleks" contained many variations of Daleks from the programme's 50-year history, and was intended to make them appear scary again. "Asylum of the Daleks" contains every kind of Dalek that has ever faced the Doctor, including the Special Weapons Dalek from the 1988 story, Remembrance of the Daleks.[13] Executive producer Steven Moffat announced in 2011 that he intended to give a "rest" to the Daleks.[14] The reason for the rest was that Moffat felt their frequent appearances made them the "most reliably defeatable enemies in the universe".[14] Moffat recalled that the Daleks were remembered for being scary, but due to their legacy as British icons they had become "cuddly" over the years and their true menace forgotten;[15] with "Asylum" he intended to make them scary again, reminding the audience of their intentions.[15][16] He thought the best way to do this would be to show Daleks that were considered even madder than usual.[15] Gillan admitted that she had not been scared of the Daleks before working on the episode.[17] It is also the first Dalek story Moffat has written for the show; he stated that he "couldn't resist" the opportunity.[18] In March 2012, it was announced that Jenna-Louise Coleman would replace Gillan and Darvill as the next companion, first appearing in the 2012 Christmas Special.[19] It was Moffat's idea to have her appear in "Asylum of the Daleks" as the character of Oswin.[20] He intended to keep it a secret, and thanked the press and fans that it was not leaked.[3] Whether Coleman's later character is the same as Oswin has yet to be confirmed.[9][21][22] According to The Daily Telegraph, the production team located the remaining models of the various versions of the Daleks and shipped them to the studios in Cardiff Bay. This included a Dalek owned by Russell T Davies, Moffat's predecessor.[23] Executive producer Caroline Skinner knew Davies well and asked to borrow his replica. She stated that he was "thrilled" that it was canonised.[24] The total number of different Daleks was around 25, with models from 1963 to 2010; Skinner said that "there was just a real magic and sense of history about having them".[25] Many of the props were built from scratch.[26] The snow scenes on the asylum planet were filmed during the production of "A Town Called Mercy" when the production team realised they were near the snow resort in Sierra Nevada.[9] Broadcast and reception "Asylum of the Daleks" was preview screened at BFI Southbank on 14 August,[27] and at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival during 23–25 August.[28] On 25 August it was also screened in New York City[29] and Toronto.[30] "Asylum of the Daleks" was broadcast on 1 September 2012 on BBC One in the United Kingdom,[2] BBC America in the United States,[31] and on Space in Canada,[32] and on 2 September on the ABC iView service.[33] It will premiere on 8 September 2012 on ABC1 in Australia,[34] and on 13 September on Prime TV in New Zealand.[35][36] Overnight viewing figures for the UK showed that it was watched by 6.4 million viewers, the lowest overnight figure for a premiere episode of the revived series; however, viewing patterns indicate that fewer people watch Doctor Who live, and it won its timeslot.[37] It was also the most-viewed episode on BBC's online iPlayer the day that it aired.[37] It achieved an Appreciation Index of 89, the highest for a series opener of Doctor Who.[38] Critical reception "Asylum of the Daleks" received positive reviews from critics. Dan Martin of The Guardian praised Moffat's "script packed with ace curveballs and zappy dialogue" and Nick Hurran's direction. He also was pleased that the asylum setting could explore the Daleks while making it reminicent of the classic series.[9] The Daily Telegraph reviewer Gavin Fuller gave it four out of five stars, describing it as a "confident opener" and highlighting the concept and set design of the asylum. He particularly praised Coleman, who he called "the star of the episode".[39] Michael Hogan, also writing for The Telegraph, gave "Asylum of the Daleks" a slightly higher rating of four and a half stars out of five, also commending Coleman as well as many details of the script.[40] Neela Debnath of The Independent commented positively on the show's continuing exploration of the Daleks and the more "adult tone", praising the peformance of the three leads.[21] Radio Times writer Patrick Mulkern stated that it "ticks all [his] boxes as a Doctor Who fan of more than 40 years standing", describing it as "clever, fast, funny, eerie, surprising and tearjerking".[41] Nick Setchfield of SFX gave the episode five out of five stars, calling it a "strong, cinematically-minded series opener" which succeeded in making the Daleks scary. He also praised Coleman's debut, Smith's performance, the special effects, and Amy and Rory's emotional subplot.[12] io9 reviewer Charlie Jane Anders noted that the plot "is mostly just an excuse to explore the Doctor's ongoing relationship with the Daleks, and to show how sad it's gotten".[42] Digital Spy's Morgan Jeffery also awarded it five stars, though he felt Amy and Rory's breakup was "a little difficult to buy" as it was resolved quickly, even if the situation was "sensitively handled" and "deftly performed".[43] Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club graded "Asylum of the Daleks" as a "B+", also writing that he had a "quibble" with the Ponds' marriage issue as it had not been foreshadowed.[44] IGN's Matt Risley rated the episode as 8.5 out of 10, finding that the "only downside" was that "it felt less a tale about the Daleks than an adventure that just happened to have them in it".[45] Maureen Ryan, writing for The Huffington Post, felt it was a "ripping start to the season" that redeemed the Daleks from "Victory of the Daleks". While she commended Gillan and Darvill's acting during Amy and Rory's emotional confrontation, she noted that they were not a couple that would break up because of infertility.[11] References ^ "Steven Moffat spills the beans on seventh Dr Who series". BBC. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012. ^ a b "Doctor Who | Series 7 - 1. Asylum of the Daleks". Radio Times. 22 August 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2012. ^ a b Martinovic, Paul (1 September 2012). "Steven Moffat thanks press and fans for saving 'Doctor Who' surprise". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ "Doctor Who, Season 7 'Asylum of the Daleks Prequel'". Amazon. Retrieved 3 September, 2012. ^ "Doctor Who, Season 7, Pt. 1". iTunes. Retrieved 3 September 2012. ^ "Asylum of the Daleks Premieres 1st September But They're Back on Monday!". BBC. 22 August 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2012. ^ "Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill Introduce Pond Life" (Video). BBC. 22 August 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2012. ^ "Pond Life: Part 5" (Video). BBC. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ a b c d Martin, Dan (1 September 2012). "Doctor Who: Asylum of the Daleks - series 33, episode one". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ "The Fourth Dimension: The Parting of the Ways". BBC. Retrieved 3 September 2012. ^ a b Ryan, Maureen (31 August 2012). "'Doctor Who' Season 7 Premiere Introduces New Companion (Or Does It?)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 3 September 2012. ^ a b Setfield, Nick (1 September 2012). "Doctor Who 7.01 "Asylum of the Daleks" Review". SFX. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ "Asylum of the Daleks". BBC. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2012. ^ a b "Doctor Who writer to 'rest' Daleks". BBC News. 31 May 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2012. ^ a b c "Steven Moffat: The Return of the Daleks" (Video). BBC. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012. ^ "Enter the Asylum". BBC. 15 August 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012. ^ "Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill Introduce Asylum of the Daleks" (Video). BBC. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012. ^ Moffat, Steven (28 August 2012). "Steven Moffat's Doctor Who Episode Guide: Asylum of the Daleks". Radio Times. Retrieved 31 August 2012. ^ "Doctor Who's latest companion is unveiled". BBC News. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012. ^ "Matt Smith and Karen Gillan: Doctor Who Q&A w/Chris Hardwick" (Video). The Nerdist. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ a b Debnath, Neela (1 September 2012). "Review of Doctor Who 'Asylum of the Daleks'". The Independent. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ Gee, Catherine (1 September 2012). "Doctor Who: How will the writers solve the problem of the new assistant?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ Hogan, Michael (14 August 2012). "Doctor Who, Asylum of the Daleks, spoiler-free first review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 August 2012. ^ Brown, David (24 August 2012). "Doctor Who's Caro Skinner on Confidential's axe, the 50th anniversary and the return of the Daleks". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 August 2012. ^ Setchfield, Nick (22 August 2012). "Doctor Who producer Caro Skinner talks series 7 and the 50th anniversary". SFX. Retrieved 26 August 2012. ^ "Life Cycle of a Dalek" (Video). BBC. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ Sperling, Daniel (25 June 2012). "'Doctor Who' season seven premiere title, first screening revealed". Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 June 2012. ^ Golder, Dave (9 May 2012). "Doctor Who Series 7 To Premiere At Edinburgh TV Festival in August". SFX. Retrieved 10 May 2012. ^ Wicks, Kevin (25 August 2012). "Photos: 'Doctor Who' Premiere Screening in New York". BBC America. Retrieved 25 August 2012. ^ "SPACE Takes Over Fan Expo Canada This Weekend, With Panels, Autograph Sessions, and INNERSPACE". Bell Media. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012. ^ "BBC America's 'Doctor Who' Returns Saturday, September 1 With Five Blockbuster Episodes". BBC America. Retrieved 25 August 2012. ^ "Doctor Who Season 7 Premiere Date Announced!". Space. 22 August 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012. ^ "The Doctor To Premiere on iView". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2012. ^ "@ABCTV Twitter status". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 22 August 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012. ^ "Facebook Prime TV status". Prime TV. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ "@Primetv_NZ Twitter status". Prime TV. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ a b Golder, Dave (2 September 2012). "Doctor Who "Asylum of the Daleks" Overnight Ratings". SFX. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ "Asylum of the Daleks — AI:89". Doctor Who News Page. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2012. ^ Fuller, Gavin (1 September 2012). "Doctor Who, episode 1: Asylum of the Daleks, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ Hogan, Michael (2 September 2012). "A bold debut for the new Doctor Who assistant, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ Mulkern, Patrick (1 September 2012). "Doctor Who — Asylum of the Daleks review with Katy Manning". Radio Times. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ Anders, Charlie Jane (1 September 2012). "Doctor Who and the Codependency of the Daleks". io9. Retrieved 3 September 2012. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (1 September 2012). "'Doctor Who' - 'Asylum of the Daleks' review". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ Phipps, Keith (1 September 2012). "Asylum of the Daleks". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ Risley, Matt (1 September 2012). "Doctor Who "Asylum of the Daleks" Review". IGN. Retrieved 2 September 2012. External links
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TDP: Whostrology Window Sticker to print at home
Episode Duration: 0 minutes and 0 secondsinfo to follow
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TDP 260: Counter Measures 1.1
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 7 minutes and 36 secondsAfter the mysterious events at Coal Hill School, the British government has created the Counter-Measures group, a specialist team that investigates strange phenomena and dangerous technology. Their first missions will involve a haunted warehouse, a ground-breaking artificial intelligence, a mysterious new town and a threat to the future of the country... Four full cast audio dramas plus behind the scenes documentary: Threshold by Paul Finch A missing scientist and ghostly phenomena bring Gilmore and Allison to a factory in Bermondsey, and the discovery of a science that should not exist. As Rachel Jensen returns to help them, a new future for Counter-Measures is set in motion...
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TDP 259: Batman and Spiderman
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 8 minutes and 45 secondsI went out!
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TDP 258: Protect and Survive Doctor Who from Big Finish
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 11 minutes and 23 secondsIf an attack with nuclear weapons is expected, you will hear the air attack warning. If you are not at home, but can get there within two minutes, do so. If you are in the open, take cover in the nearest building. If you cannot reach a building, lie flat on the ground and cover your head and your hands. Arriving in the North of England in the late 1980s, Ace and Hex seek refuge at the home of Albert and Peggy Marsden... in the last few hours before the outbreak of World War Three. Meanwhile, the Doctor is missing. Will there be anyone left for him to rescue, when the bombs begin to fall? Written By: Jonathan Morris Directed By: Ken Bentley Cast Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Sophie Aldred (Ace), Philip Olivier (Hex), Ian Hogg (Albert), Elizabeth Bennett (Peggy), Peter Egan (Moloch/Announcer)
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TDP 257: Big Finish Fourth Doctor Audio review 1.5 and 1.6
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 10 minutes and 15 seconds979. A legendary giant white worm is sought after by the Doctor, Leela and the Master.Cast The Doctor - Tom Baker Leela - Louise Jameson The Master - Geoffrey Beevers Colonel Spindleton - Michael Cochrane Demesne Furze - Rachael StirlingContinuity Geoffrey Beevers played the Master, alongside Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, in the 1981 television story The Keeper of Traken. The Fourth Doctor also encountered the Master in The Deadly Assassin and Tom Baker's last television story, Logopolis. The version of the Master that Beevers plays has an emaciated, corpse-like appearance. This was first seen in The Deadly Assassin, although in that story, the Master was played by Peter Pratt. For the Doctor and the Master, Trail of the White Worm takes place between The Deadly Assassin and The Keeper of Traken. The Doctor notices that the Master looks different, less emaciated, reflecting the differences in appearance in The Deadly Assassin and The Keeper of Traken. This may have been a result of the aborted rejuvenation at the end of The Deadly Assassin. Beevers previously reprised the role of the Master in two Big Finish audios, Dust Breeding and Master, both with the Seventh Doctor. In those dramas, the Master had reverted to his former deteriorated state, after losing the form he gained at the end of The Keeper of Traken.The Kraal attempt to invade the Earth, while the Doctor is trapped on their irradiated home world, Oseidon.Cast The Doctor - Tom Baker Leela - Louise Jameson The Master - Geoffrey Beevers Colonel Spindleton - Michael Cochrane Marshal Grimnal / Captain Clarke - Dan Starkey Tyngworg / Warner / UNIT R/T Operator - John BanksContinuity The Kraals were in the 1975 Fourth Doctor television story, The Android Invasion. That story also featured UNIT. This is the first use of Kraals by Big Finish Productions. The Doctor and Leela encounter the Master again in the third season of Fourth Doctor adventures, due to be released in 2014.[2]External links
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TDP 256: Why Do We love Doctor Who So much?
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 10 minutes and 23 secondsJust me having a ramble
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TDP 255: The Greatest Show In The Galaxy
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 6 minutes and 52 secondsThe Seventh Doctor and Ace respond to an invitation to visit the mysterious Psychic Circus on the planet Segonax, despite Ace’s fear of clowns and reluctance to go. Other travellers have arrived on the wasteland world too – the fannish Whizz Kid; the motorcycling maniac Nord; tiresome bore and intergalactic explorer Captain Cook and his young female companion Mags, whom the Captain curiously refers to as a "unique specimen". But all is not pleasant at the Circus. The Chief Clown travels around the planet's surface in a hearse with his team of mechanical clowns, using some unusual kites to search for and recapture an errant robot repairman named Bellboy, and his companion, Flower Child, who are trying to escape the circus. While hiding onboard a disused hippie bus, Flower Child is killed by something mysterious. It turns out to be a creepy robot conductor, which also attacks the Doctor, Captain, Ace and Mags when they discover the bus. The Doctor disables the killer robot, while Ace finds one of Flower Child’s earrings, and pins it to her jacket as a keepsake. They venture on to the circus tent itself, but Ace hesitates when she hears Mags screaming inside, as she witnesses Bellboy being punished. The Doctor, however, doesn't hear a thing, and persuades her to go in. Inside, they meet Morgana, the Circus ticket seller and fortune teller, who offers to read the Doctor's fortune, and reveals the Hanged Man Tarot card. The Doctor and Ace both join the audience, noticing that the only other audience members are a small family of three – father, mother, daughter – who observe the central stage with stoic disdain. The Ringmaster soon appears and invites the Doctor to join the entertainment. He agrees and is taken backstage where Nord, the Captain and Mags are also being kept. It appears that audience members are expected to become part of the show. Nord is duped into performing first, and when his act fails to amuse, he is obliterated. The Chief Clown meanwhile notices the earring pinned to Ace's jacket, and demands to know where she got it. Ace flees deeper into the Circus, and finds Bellboy strapped to a workbench. She hides as the Chief Clown comes in and lets him up to work, then questions him about what is really going on at the Circus. Bellboy sees Flower Child's earring pinned to Ace's jacket, and trusts her, but his memory seems to have been affected by his punishment, and he can only tell her that there used to be more people at the Circus, and then they all disappeared. Ace ventures back to the main entrance, where she sees Morgana and the Ringmaster arguing about the Circus. The Ringmaster does not seem to share Morgana's ethical qualms about the means used to fill the Circus. Their argument is interrupted by the arrival of Whizz Kid, who is ushered into the ring. He too is obliterated when he fails to please the family in the audience. The Doctor and Mags venture deeper into the Circus, and suddenly find a strange stone archway, which wasn't there before. Mags acts strangely when she sees the moon sign carved on the archway, but the Doctor manages to calm her down. At the end of a tunnel, they find a vast well shaft, with a pulse of energy at its core. A curious eye symbol looks up from the bottom of the well, which is also depicted on the kites that the Chief Clown uses to spy on the circus workers. Morgana also sees the eye at the heart of her crystal ball, which inspires her to pledge her loyalty to the forces that control the Circus and the planet. The Captain then corners the Doctor and Mags with a group of the robotic clowns, and tells the Doctor that he is next in the ring. Ace has meanwhile encouraged Bellboy to remember more about what went wrong at the Circus. One of the workers, Dead Beat, was once called Kingpin, and had brought them to Segonax in search of a great power, which then drove Dead Beat mad, and enslaved the rest of the Circus. The death of Flower Child was at the hands of a robot Bellboy built himself, and he feels wracked with guilt. When the Chief Clown arrives to recapture him and Ace, Bellboy sets a reprogrammed clown on himself, and it kills him. The Doctor has meanwhile escaped the Captain, and encountered Dead Beat, and has realised that he is key to the situation. The two of them find Ace, and together they visit the strange well again. Dead Beat has a medallion embossed with the image of the eye, which is missing a piece from its centre, and he and Ace head off to the old bus to try and find it. The Doctor gives them time by giving himself up, and finds himself in the ring with Mags; but Captain Cook is one step ahead. In an effort to ensure a good show and thus save his own skin a little longer, the Captain asks for some simulated moonlight to be beamed into the ring, and Mags begins to transform into a werewolf. He then tries to set Mags on the Doctor, but, unfortunately for the Captain, her chosen victim is him – but the whole macabre spectacle has delighted the trio in the crowd. The Doctor and a shaken Mags slip away, with the Family demanding more entertainment. The Ringmaster and Morgana are now tested in the ring and killed when they fail to entertain. Ace and Dead Beat meanwhile destroy the Bus Conductor, and retrieve the missing jewel for the medallion. With the jewel back in place, Dead Beat’s mind is restored, and he becomes Kingpin once more. They return to the Circus – disposing of the Chief Clown and his minions en route – to find the Doctor has become the next person in the ring, having responded to a challenge from the Family. When he enters the ring this time, he realizes that it is a dimensional portal, and that the Family are in fact the Gods of Ragnarok, who feed on entertainment and kill those who do not satisfy them. After an array of tricks and japes he holds off the Gods long enough for Ace and Kingpin to throw the medallion into the well. It reaches the Doctor through the dimensional portal and he uses it to repulse the power of the Gods. Thus it is they themselves who are the next victims of their own power. The Doctor returns to the Psychic Circus as it disintegrates and explodes, and flees with his friends. He and Ace depart while Kingpin and Mags elect to set up a new circus on another planet. As the Doctor and Ace leave, the Doctor quietly comments that he's now not so sure he likes clowns any more than Ace does. Continuity Near the beginning of the first episode, Ace briefly appears wearing the Fourth Doctor's trademark scarf, and Mel's top seen in Paradise Towers. The New Adventures novel Conundrum states that the Gods of Ragnarok created the Land of Fiction, seen in the Second Doctor story The Mind Robber. Another New Adventure, All-Consuming Fire by Andy Lane, identifies the Gods of Ragnarok with the Great Old Ones from H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. The canonicity of the novels is unclear. Production
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TDP 254: Whostrology: A Time Traveller's Almanac
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 5 minutes and 4 secondsWhostrology: A Time Traveller’s Almanac by Michael M Gilroy-Sinclair Illustrated by Deborah Taylor Whostrology: an astrological system based upon the travels of a certain Time Lord. The mythic qualities of his tales of adventure form the basis for this book of daily readings that can help you shape your life and live in a truly Whovian way. It has been said that the Doctor was born under the sign of the crossed computers. This could mean one of two things. It could be nothing more than a flippant remark to a passing local; or it could be a reference to the stars as seen from the Doctor’s home world. As any visible constellations are an arbitrary set of images fully dependant on the observer’s location in time and space as well as their cultural heritage, it can also be argued that some people have nothing better to do than make things up. Whostrology is a book of daily readings, zodiac signs and explanations, and other Who-based astrological elements, designed to allow every Who fan to lead a life of peace and ordered calm. Available from www.telos.co.uk Released 31st October 2012.
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TDP 253: The Phonecall
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 2 minutes and 7 secondsThe Phonecall between Moff and the head of BBC Drama
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TDP 252: A Word from a Good Hypnotist
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 2 minutes and 0 secondsA public service anouncement from a Good Hypnotist with thanks to sioban G from the Whocast
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TDP 251: The Pitch
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 3 minutes and 37 secondsWild Geeks: The Movie with thanks to TOM from the "The Doctor Who Podcast". 1 of 3
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TDP: WHOSTROLOGY! OUT OCTOBER31st
Episode Duration: 0 minutes and 0 secondsThe book can finally be pre ordered!! click the link http://www.telos.me.uk/category.php?id=6 out on 31st october Doctor Who Whostrology: A Time Traveller's Almanac by Michael M Gilroy-Sinclair Illustrated by Deborah Taylor Whostrology: an astrological system based upon the travels of a certain Time Lord. The mythic qualities of his tales of adventure form the basis for this book of daily readings that can help you shape your life and live in a truly Whovian way. It has been said that the Doctor was born under the sign of the crossed computers. This could mean one of two things. It could be nothing more than a flippant remark to a passing local; or it could be a reference to the stars as seen from the Doctor’s home world. As any visible constellations are an arbitrary set of images fully dependant on the observer’s location in time and space as well as their cultural heritage, it can also be argued that some people have nothing better to do than make things up. Whostrology is a book of daily readings, zodiac signs and explanations, and other Who-based astrological elements, designed to allow every Who fan to lead a life of peace and ordered calm. Note: Please do not query non-receipt of orders until 28 working days after the publication date (see bar on right hand side) or the date the order was placed, whichever is the later. 384pp approx. 'B' format paperback book. ISBN 978-1-84583-062-5 (pb) Paperback @ £10.99 + p&p (Group B - click for details): View Cart
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TDP 250: The Krotons
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 14 minutes and 6 secondsOn an unnamed planet, a race called the Gonds are subject to the mysterious Krotons, unseen beings to whom they provide their brightest intelligences as “companions”. Thara, son of the Gond leader Selris, is the only one of his race to object to this practice. The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe arrive in time to witness the death of one of the chosen companions and intervene to save Vana, the other selected for this fate, using her survival as a means to convince Selris and the Gonds of the malign influence of the Krotons on their society. The Doctor calls it "self-perpetuating slavery” by which the brightest in Gond society have been removed. Similarly, there are large gaps in their knowledge, especially relating to chemistry. This situation has been in existence for many years since the Krotons arrived in their spaceship, polluting the lands beyond the Gond city and killing much of the Gond population. Thara uses the disquiet of the situation to lead a rebellion and attack the Teaching Machines of the Krotons in the Hall of Learning. This prompts a crystalline probe to appear and defend the Machines, and warn the Gonds to cease their rebellion. Zoe now tries the Teaching Machines and is selected to be a “companion” of the Krotons. The Doctor elects the same fate and both are summoned into the Dynotrope where they are subjected to a mental attack. Zoe deduces that the Krotons have found a way to transfer mental power into pure energy, while the Doctor busies himself with taking chemical samples of the Kroton environment. Circumstances now trigger the creation of two Krotons from chemical vats within the Dynatrope (the Kroton spaceship). The newly created Krotons capture Jamie but are really seeking the Doctor and Zoe, the “High Brains”, who have now left the Dynatrope. It takes Jamie quite some time before he is able to make an effective escape. Eelek and Axus, two councillors previously loyal to the Krotons, who begin to rally for all-out war with the Krotons, have now seized the initiative in Gond society. The more level headed Selris is deposed, but warns that an all-out attack will not benefit his people. Instead he has decided to attack the machine from underneath by destabilising its very foundation in the underhall. Eelek has Selris arrested and also reasserts control by negotiating with the Krotons that they will leave the planet if provided with the two “High Brains” who can help them power and pilot their ship. Zoe and the Doctor are forced into the Dynatrope and Selris dies providing them with a phial of acid which the Doctor adds to the Kroton vats. Outside, Jamie and the scientist Beta launch an attack on the structure of the ship using sulphuric acid. This two pronged assault destroys the tellurium-based Krotons and their craft. The Dynatrope dissolves away and the Gonds are free at last - choosing Thara rather than the cowardly and ambitious Eelek to lead them. Continuity The Krotons also feature in the Eighth Doctor Adventures spin-off novel Alien Bodies by Lawrence Miles. They also appeared in the Big Finish audio drama Return of the Krotons with the Sixth Doctor. Production Serial details by episode EpisodeBroadcast dateRun timeViewership (in millions)Archive "Episode One" 28 December 1968 23:00 9.0 16/35mm t/r "Episode Two" 4 January 1969 23:03 8.4 16mm t/r "Episode Three" 11 January 1969 21:47 7.5 16mm t/r "Episode Four" 18 January 1969 22:39 7.1 16mm t/r [1][2][3] Working titles for this story included The Trap and The Space Trap. Holmes had originally submitted The Trap to the BBC as a stand-alone science-fiction serial in 1965. Head of Serials Shaun Sutton rejected the serial as being not the kind of thing the BBC was interested in making at the time, but suggested the writer pitch it to the Doctor Who production office as an idea for that series. Holmes did so, and although story editor Donald Tosh was interested, the scripts went no further at the time. Some years later, assistant script editor Terrance Dicks found the story in the production office files when clearing a backlog, and decided to develop it with Holmes as a personal project, in case other scripts fell through. When the latter event occurred, Dick Sharples script Prison in Space a comedic dystopian tale where females rule with dollybird guards proved unworkable, Dicks was able to present the serial to his superiors as a ready production. Director David Maloney agreed the serial was viable, and it went before the cameras very quickly as an emergency replacement. Several scenes were filmed at the Tank Quarry and West of England Quarry on the Malvern Hills.[4][5] Cast notes Features a guest appearance by Philip Madoc, who would appear in a completely different role further on in the season in The War Games. See also Celebrity appearances in Doctor Who. Broadcast and reception The serial was repeated on BBC2 in November 1981, daily (Monday–Thursday, 9–12 November 1981) at 5:40 pm as part of "The Five Faces of Doctor Who", a series of repeats to bridge the long gap between seasons 18 and 19. At the time it was the only four part Patrick Troughton serial in the BBC archive. In print Doctor Who book The Krotons Series Target novelisations Release number 99 Writer Terrance Dicks Publisher Target Books Cover artist Andrew Skilleter ISBN 0-426-20189-2 Release date 14 November 1985 Preceded by ' Followed by ' A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in June 1985. VHS, CD and DVD releases Episode One of The Krotons exists as both a 16 mm film print and a 35 mm telerecording negative. Clips taken from a VidFIREd transfer of the high quality 35 mm negative can be seen in the restoration documentary on the DVD release of The Aztecs and as part of the 40th Anniversary music video on Doctor Who DVDs released in 2003. This story was released on VHS in February 1991 The soundtrack was released on CD in November 2008. The serial will be released on DVD in the UK on 2 July 2012.[6] The Region 1 release is scheduled for 10 July 2012.[7] References ^ Shaun Lyon et al. (31 March 2007). "The Krotons". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 18 June 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2008. ^ "The Krotons". Doctor Who Reference Guide. Retrieved 31 August 2008. ^ Sullivan, Shannon (23 June 2008). "The Krotons". A Brief History of Time Travel. Retrieved 31 August 2008. ^ "Tank Quarry". Dr Who – The Locations Guide. Retrieved 27 January 2011. ^ "West of England Quarry". Dr Who – The Locations Guide. Retrieved 27 January 2011. ^ http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2012/05/dwn030512103008-dvd-update-summer.html ^ http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Doctor-The-Krotons-and-Death-to-the-Daleks/16830 External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Second Doctor The Krotons at BBC Online The Krotons at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel) The Krotons at the Doctor Who Reference Guide Doctor Who Locations - The Krotons Reviews The Krotons reviews at Outpost Gallifrey The Krotons reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide The Krotons at Mania.com Target novelisation On Target — The Krotons
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TDP 249: The Happiness Patrol
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 11 minutes and 22 secondsThe Seventh Doctor and Ace visit a human colony on the planet Terra Alpha, and are unsettled by the planet's unnaturally happy society. Cheerful music plays everywhere; the planet's secret police force, the Happiness Patrol (governed by the vicious and egotistical Helen A, who is obsessed with eliminating unhappiness), roam the streets wearing bright pink and purple uniforms, while they hunt down and kill so-called 'Killjoys', and the TARDIS gets repainted pink so as not to look depressing. While exploring the planet, the Doctor and Ace encounter Trevor Sigma, the official galactic censor, who is visiting Terra Alpha to discover why so many of the population have disappeared. The Doctor and Ace have a brief period of incarceration in the Waiting Zone (Terra Alpha's version of prisons,) to find out more about the planet's laws against unhappiness, and meet unhappy guard Susan Q, who becomes a firm ally, and allows Ace to escape when she is taken away from the Doctor to be enrolled in the Happiness Patrol. The Doctor, meanwhile, encounters another visitor to the planet, Earl Sigma, a wandering harmonica player who stirs unrest by playing the Blues. Earl and the Doctor venture to the Kandy Kitchen, where most of the missing population of Terra Alpha vanished to, and discover Helen A's twisted executionist, the Kandy Man; a grotesque, sweet-based robot, created by Gilbert M, one of Helen A’s senior advisers. The Doctor manages to outwit the Kandy Man by gluing him to the floor with lemonade, and he and Earl escape in to the candy pipes below the colony, where dwell the native inhabitants of Terra Alpha, now known as Pipe People. They want to help overthrow the tyranny of Helen A. The Doctor returns to the surface, and begins stirring up trouble, supporting public demonstrations of unhappiness, encouraging the people to revolt, and attempting to expose Helen A's 'population control programme' to Trevor Sigma. Ace and Susan Q have meanwhile both been recaptured, and have been scheduled to appear in the late show at the Forum, where the penalty for non-entertainment is death. The Doctor and Earl rescue them both, and the four head off to Helen A’s palace for a final showdown, while a revolution takes full effect outside the palace walls. The first to be disposed of is Helen A’s pet Stigorax, Fifi, a rat-dog creature used to hunt down the Pipe People, which is crushed in the pipes below the city when Earl causes an avalanche of crystallised sugar with his harmonica. Then the Pipe People destroy the Kandy Man in a flow of his own fondant surprise (previously used to drown Killjoys). Realising that she is beaten, Helen A attempts to escape the planet in a rocket, only to discover that the rocket has already been commandeered by Gilbert M and Joseph C, her husband. She tries to flee, but the Doctor stops her, and tries to teach her about the true nature of happiness, which can only be understood if counter-balanced by sadness. Helen A at first sneers at the Doctor; but when she discovers the remains of her beloved pet Fifi, she collapses in tears, and finally feels some sadness of her own. The revolution complete, the Doctor and Ace slip away, leaving Earl, Susan Q and the Pipe People to rebuild the planet – but only once the TARDIS has been repainted blue. Continuity The Doctor tells Ace about the events of Invasion of the Dinosaurs and mentions the Brigadier at the start of this story. The Seventh Doctor and Ace later meet the Brigadier in Battlefield. The Doctor mentions his nickname in his academy days on Gallifrey was "Theta Sigma". The Doctor's classmate Drax referred to him by this nickname in The Armageddon Factor, as did River Song (in writing) in The Pandorica Opens. In the serial Battlefield, Mordred tells the Doctor, who is threatening him with a sword, to "Look me in the eye. End my life!", which is the same line the Doctor says to a sniper threatening his life in this story. Production Serial details by episode EpisodeBroadcast dateRun timeViewership (in millions) "Part One" 2 November 1988 24:51 5.3 "Part Two" 9 November 1988 24:48 4.6 "Part Three" 16 November 1988 24:25 5.3 [2][3][4] Working titles for this story included The Crooked Smile.[5] In the story, the Doctor sings "As Time Goes By", the song famously sung by Dooley Wilson in the 1942 film Casablanca. Helen A was intended to be a caricature of then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. In 2010, Sylvester McCoy told the Sunday Times: "Our feeling was that Margaret Thatcher was far more terrifying than any monster the Doctor had encountered." The Doctor's calls on the drones to down their tools and revolt was intended as a reference to the 1984-1985 miners' strike.[6] Most of this element was eventually toned down.[5] John Normington played Morgus in The Caves of Androzani, and later appeared in "Ghost Machine", an episode of the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood. Patricia Routledge was originally going to play Helen A,[citation needed] but Sheila Hancock was later cast. The production team considered transmitting this story in black and white to fit with its intended film noir atmosphere.[5] A fan myth holds that the third episode was supposed to be animated, but this was never the case.[7] Broadcast and reception Bassett's complained over the similarity between the Kandy Man in this story and their trademark character.[8] The BBC agreed not to use the Kandy Man again.[5] In The Discontinuity Guide, Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping identify a gay subtext to the story: "there's entrapment over cottaging, the TARDIS is painted pink, and the victim of the fondant surprise is every inch the proud gay man, wearing, as he does, a pink triangle."[9] The story ends with Helen A's husband abandoning her and leaving with another man. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, referred to this story in his 2011 Easter sermon, on the subject of happiness and joy.[10] In print A novelisation of this serial, written by script-writer Graeme Curry, was published by Target Books in February 1990. Adapting his scripts rather than the televised version, Curry's book includes scenes cut during editing and his original envisioning of the Kandy Man with a human appearance, albeit with powdery white skin and edible candy-cane glasses. An unabridged reading of the novelisation by Rula Lenska was released by BBC Audiobooks in July 2009. Doctor Who book The Happiness Patrol Series Target novelisations Release number 146 Writer Graeme Curry Publisher Target Books Cover artist Alister Pearson ISBN 0-426-20339-9 Release date 15 February 1990 Preceded by ' Followed by ' VHS and DVD releases This serial was released on VHS on 4 August 1997. This story was released on DVD on 7 May 2012 alongside Dragonfire as part of the "Ace Adventures" box set. [11][12] References ^ From the Doctor Who Magazine series overview, in issue 407 (pp26-29). The Discontinuity Guide, which counts the four segments of The Trial of a Time Lord as four separate stories and also counts the unbroadcast serial Shada, lists this story as number 153. Region 1 DVD releases follow The Discontinuity Guide numbering system. ^ Shaun Lyon et al. (2007-03-31). "The Happiness Patrol". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-08-30. ^ "The Happiness Patrol". Doctor Who Reference Guide. Retrieved 2008-08-30. ^ Sullivan, Shannon (2007-08-07). "The Happiness Patrol". A Brief History of Time Travel. Retrieved 2008-08-30. ^ a b c d The Happiness Patrol at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel) ^ "Doctor Who 'had anti-Thatcher agenda'", Daily Telegraph, 14 February 2010 ^ BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - The Happiness Patrol - Details ^ Cadbury Global :: Our Brands :: Bassett's Brand Information ^ Cornell, Paul; Day, Martin; Topping, Keith (1995). "The Happiness Patrol" (reprinted on BBC Doctor Who website). The Discontinuity Guide. London: Virgin Books. p. 343. ISBN 0-426-20442-5. Retrieved 21 April 2009. ^ Williams, Rowan (24 April 2011). "Archbishop of Canterbury's 2011 Easter Sermon". archbishopofcanterbury.org. Retrieved 6 May 2012. ^ DWM 433 ^ http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2011/05/dwn030511125312-dvd-schedule-update.html External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Seventh Doctor The Happiness Patrol at BBC Online The Happiness Patrol at the Doctor Who Reference Guide Script to Screen: The Happiness Patrol, by Jon Preddle (Time Space Visualiser issue 42, January 1995) Reviews The Happiness Patrol reviews at Outpost Gallifrey The Happiness Patrol reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide Target novelisation On Target — The Happiness Patrol
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TDP 248: Dragonfire
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 8 minutes and 17 secondsIceworld is a space-trading colony on the dark side of the planet Svartos. It is a mysterious place of terror and rumour ruled by the callous and vindictive Kane, who buys supporters and employees and makes them wear his mark iced in to their flesh. Kane’s body temperature is so cold that one touch from him can kill. In Kane’s lair is a vast cryogenic section where mercenaries and others are being frozen and stored, with their memories wiped for future unquestioning use as part of an army; including a freezer cabinet into which Kane deposits himself when he needs to cool down. There is also, most peculiarly, an aged sculptor who is carving a statue from the ice. The TARDIS materialises in a refrigeration sales section on Iceworld and the Seventh Doctor and Mel Bush venture outside. They soon meet up with their roguish old acquaintance, Sabalom Glitz, who owes Kane a substantial amount of money. Glitz has come to Svartos to search for a supposed treasure guarded by a dragon. It is located in the icy caverns beyond Iceworld and by chance Glitz has a map, which he won from Kane in a gamble – in fact, Kane wanted him to have the map because he wishes to use Glitz as a pawn in his own search for the treasure. Thus the map contains a tracking device in its seal. Kane in return has Glitz’s ship, the Nosferatu, which he orders destroyed. Without realising he is being used, Glitz heads off on the search with the Doctor in tow – though women are not allowed on the expedition so Mel stays with a young, rebellious waitress they have met called Ace. It is only a matter of time before Ace behaves appallingly to customers and is fired. Mel is stunned to hear that Ace is a human from late twentieth century Earth who only arrived on Iceworld after a bizarre chemistry experiment caused a time-storm in her bedroom. Kane’s staff are not happy. Once they have taken his coin they are his for life – as Ace wisely realises when she rejects such an offer. Officer Belazs was not so clever, and is keen to escape Kane’s service. She thus arranges for the Nosferatu not to be destroyed, hoping to use the craft to escape Iceworld. When this fails she tries to persuade Officer Kracauer to help her overthrow Kane, but he is one step ahead. Their attempt to alter the temperature in his chambers and kill him fails, so Kane exacts his revenge and kills them both. The same fate awaits the ice sculptor who has now finished his statue, which is of a woman called Xana. In the ice caverns it has taken time but the Doctor and Glitz have encountered the dragon, which turns out to be a biped which did not so much breathe fire as fire lasers from its eyes, but not the treasure. Mel and Ace have now ventured into the caverns too and they meet their allies and are actually defended by the dragon, which guns down some of Kane’s cryogenically altered soldiers who have been sent into the ice caverns to kill them. The dragon takes them to a room in the ice, which is some sort of control area and contains a pre-recorded hologram message. The hologram explains that Kane is one half of the Kane-Xana criminal gang from the planet Proamnon. When the security forces caught up with them Xana killed herself to avoid arrest, but Kane was captured and exiled to the cold, dark side of Svartos. It turns out that Iceworld is a huge spacecraft and the treasure is a crystal inside the dragon’s head, which acts as the key that Kane needs in order to activate the ship and free himself from exile. The dragon is thus both Kane’s jailer and his chance of freedom. Kane has overheard the location of the key through the bugging device on the map and now sends his security forces to the ice caverns to bring him the head of the dragon, offering vast rewards for such bravery. He also uses his cryogenic army to cause chaos in the Iceworld shops, driving the customers out and towards the docked Nosferatu. This is brutally accomplished. When the Nosferatu takes off Kane blows it up. The only survivors are a young girl called Stellar and her mother, who have become separated but both survive the massacre. Shortly afterward two of Kane’s troopers succeed in killing the dragon and removing its head, but are killed in the process. The Doctor has meanwhile realised that Kane has been a prisoner on Svartos for millennia. He retrieves the head of the dragon and is then told by intercom that Kane has captured Ace but is willing to trade her for the “dragonfire”. The Doctor, Glitz and Mel travel to Kane’s private chambers for the exchange. Kane rises to the Doctor’s taunts but still powers up Iceworld as a spacecraft, which now detaches itself from the surface of Svartos. However, when Kane tries to set course for Proamnon to exact his revenge he realises he has been a prisoner so long that the planet no longer exists, having been destroyed through late-stage stellar evolution of its sun. In desperation, he opens a screen in the surface of his ship and lets in hot light rays, which melts him. The Doctor now loses a companion but also gains one. Glitz has claimed Iceworld as his own spacecraft, renamed Nosferatu II, and Mel decides to stay with him to keep him out of trouble. The Doctor acquires Ace instead, promising to take her home to Perivale via the “scenic route”. Continuity This story marks the final appearance of Bonnie Langford as a regular cast member. Langford would only reprise her role as Mel once on television, in Dimensions in Time (1993). Langford departed the series of her own volition after being dissatisfied in the role. In recent years, she has reprised the character in several audio plays by Big Finish Productions, including playing an alternate universe version of Mel in the Doctor Who Unbound audio He Jests at Scars.... The character of Sabalom Glitz, with whom Mel departs to explore the galaxy, first appeared in The Mysterious Planet. This story also marks the first appearance of Sophie Aldred as Ace. Aldred actually auditioned for the part of the tomboy Ray from Delta and the Bannermen (1987), but lost the part to Sara Griffiths. Briggs, who had created the character of Ace, had stated in Ace's character outline for Dragonfire that she had slept with Glitz on Iceworld.[2] The Paul Cornell-written New Adventures novel Love and War implies (and his later novel Happy Endings confirms) that Ace lost her virginity to Glitz. The Doctor's acceptance of Ace as a companion is part of a larger game that would see its culmination in The Curse of Fenric. In the Virgin New Adventures novel Head Games by Steve Lyons it is revealed that the Seventh Doctor mentally influenced the brighter and more idealistic Mel to leave so that he could become the darker and more manipulative Time's Champion. This story marks the only farewell scene between the Seventh Doctor and one of his companions. Mel's departure scene was adapted from Sylvester McCoy's screen test, where Janet Fielding was hired to act as a departing companion and a villain.[3] McCoy stated that he always liked that particular screen test script and he lobbied for its inclusion in Dragonfire. One of the alien customers in the cafe is an Argolin from The Leisure Hive. Ace's first appearance begins her habit of calling the Doctor "Professor". The Doctor corrects her here, but rarely objects to her continuous use of the name over the next two seasons. Production Serial details by episode EpisodeBroadcast dateRun timeViewership (in millions) "Part One" 23 November 1987 24:01 5.5 "Part Two" 30 November 1987 24:40 5.0 "Part Three" 7 December 1987 24:26 4.7 [4][5][6] Working titles for this story included Absolute Zero, The Pyramid's Treasure and Pyramid in Space[7]. In one scene, the Doctor distracts a guard by engaging him in a philosophical conversation. One of the guard's lines, about the "semiotic thickness of a performed text", is a quotation from Doctor Who: The Unfolding Text, a 1983 media studies volume by John Tulloch and Manuel Alvarado. Story editor Andrew Cartmel had suggested that writers read The Unfolding Text to familiarise themselves with Doctor Who and its history, which inspired Ian Briggs to quote the academic text in his script, in a playful self-reference. Features a guest appearance by Patricia Quinn. See also Celebrity appearances in Doctor Who. The literal cliffhanger at the end of episode 1 in which the Doctor lowers himself over a guard rail to dangle over an abyss from his umbrella for no apparent reason comes under frequent criticism for its seeming absurdity. As scripted, the Doctor did have a logical motivation for his actions. According to Cartmel in a later interview, the passage leading to the cliff was meant to be a dead end, leaving the Doctor no option but to scale the cliff face. As shot, however, this reasoning became unclear.[7] For the effects shot of the death of Kane, a wax bust of the actor's screaming face was made and filmed being melted down to a skull within, this footage being sped up to achieve the effect. Though this is very similar to the death of Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark, for the family audience of Doctor Who the colour red was carefully avoided in the bust. Ronald Lacey, who had portrayed Toht in the film, was director Chris Clough's first choice to play Kane, but was unavailable [8] John Alderton and David Jason were also considered for the part of Kane, but both were also not available for the role.[9] Reception On UK Gold (now known as G.O.L.D.) in 2003 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Doctor Who, over a weekend DrWho@40weekend was shown which consisted of the best serials of each Doctor voted by the viewing public. Dragonfire was the serial chosen as the best seventh Doctor serial.[citation needed] DrWho@40weekend also included interviews with the cast and crew of the series overall. The Doctor Who Appreciation Society voted the serial to be the best one of its season. In print Doctor Who book Dragonfire Series Target novelisations Release number 137 Writer Ian Briggs Publisher Target Books Cover artist Alister Pearson ISBN 0-426-20322-4 Release date 16 March 1989 Preceded by ' Followed by ' A novelisation of this serial, written by Ian Briggs, was published by Target Books in March 1989. VHS and DVD release The story was released on VHS in late December 1993. The story was released on DVD on 7 May 2012, coupled with The Happiness Patrol as part of the "Ace Adventures" box set. [10][11] References ^ From the Doctor Who Magazine series overview, in issue 407 (pp26-29). The Discontinuity Guide, which counts the four segments of The Trial of a Time Lord as four separate stories and also counts the unbroadcast serial Shada, lists this story as number 151. Region 1 DVD releases follow The Discontinuity Guide numbering system. ^ ""A Brief History of Time (Travel)" - The Curse of Fenric". ^ Cartmel, Andrew (2005). Script Doctor: The Inside Story of Doctor Who 1986-89. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. ISBN 1-903111-89-7. ^ Shaun Lyon et al. (2007-03-31). "Dragonfire". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-08-30. ^ "Dragonfire". Doctor Who Reference Guide. Retrieved 2008-08-30. ^ Sullivan, Shannon (2007-08-07). "Dragonfire". A Brief History of Time Travel. Retrieved 2008-08-30. ^ a b Dragonfire at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel) ^ Fact of Fiction, Doctor Who Magazine Issue 444 ^ Fact of Fiction, Doctor Who Magazine Issue 444 ^ DWM 433 ^ http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2011/05/dwn030511125312-dvd-schedule-update.html External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Seventh Doctor Dragonfire at BBC Online Dragonfire at the Doctor Who Reference Guide Script to Screen: Dragonfire, by Jon Preddle (Time Space Visualiser issue 38, March 1994) Reviews Dragonfire reviews at Outpost Gallifrey Dragonfire reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide Target novelisation On Target — Dragonfire
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TDP 247: Fourth Doctor Update
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 13 minutes and 24 seconds1.02. The Renaissance Man Released February Prices CD £10.99 Download £8.99 Synopsis To continue Leela’s education, the Doctor promises to take her to the famous Morovanian Museum. But the TARDIS lands instead in a quiet English village, where they meet the enigmatic collector Harcourt and his family. When people start to die, reality doesn’t appear quite what it was. There’s something sinister going on within the walls of Harcourt’s manor, and the stakes are higher than they can imagine. The Doctor is about to discover that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Written By: Justin Richards Directed By: Ken Bentley Cast Tom Baker (The Doctor), Louise Jameson (Leela), Ian McNeice (Harcourt), Gareth Armstrong (Jephson), Anthony Howell (Edward), Daisy Ashford (Lizzie), Laura Molyneux (Beryl/Professor Hilda Lutterthwaite), John Dorney (Dr Henry Carnforth) Logged in as gabriel Chase Go to My Account Sign out £0.00 view Home Ranges News What's New Podcasts Vortex About Us Forums Home » Doctor Who » Doctor Who - Fourth Doctor Adventures » 1.03. The Wrath of the Iceni Main Details Technical Details Behind The Scenes 1.03. The Wrath of the Iceni Released March Prices CD £10.99 Download £8.99 Synopsis Britain. The height of the Roman occupation. The Doctor has brought Leela to ancient Norfolk to learn about her ancestors… but has no idea how much of an education she is going to get. Because this is the time of Boudica’s rebellion. When the tribe of the Iceni rises up and attempts to overthrow the Roman masters. As Leela begins to be swayed by the warrior queen’s words, the Doctor has to make a decision: save his friend… or save history itself? Written By: John Dorney Directed By: Ken Bentley Cast Tom Baker (The Doctor), Louise Jameson (Leela), Ella Kenion (Boudica), Nia Roberts (Bragnar), Michael Rouse (Caedmon/Festucas), Daniel Hawksford (Pacquolas/Man) 1.04. Energy of the Daleks Released April Prices CD £10.99 Download £8.99 Synopsis The Doctor and Leela find themselves in the middle of London at the time of a new energy crisis. The GlobeSphere Corporation seems to have all the answers – but several thousand protestors beg to differ. What is the connection between the National Gallery and a base on the Moon? Has radical thinker Damien Stephens simply sold out, or does he have a more sinister agenda? The Doctor has detected a mysterious energy reading. Could it be that the most evil creatures in the universe have returned to claim ultimate victory once and for all? Written By: Nicholas Briggs Directed By: Nicholas Briggs Cast Tom Baker (The Doctor), Louise Jameson (Leela), Alex Lowe (Damien Stephens/Robomen), Mark Benton (Jack Coulson), Caroline Keiff (Lydia Harding), Dan Starkey (Kevin Winston/Robomen), John Dorney (Robomen), Nicholas Briggs (The Daleks)
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TDP 246: Death to the Daleks
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 11 minutes and 26 secondsTravelling through space, the TARDIS suffers an energy drain and crash-lands on the planet Exxilon. The Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith venture outside to investigate the cause of the interference, and become separated. The Doctor is captured by the planet's inhabitants - the savage Exxilons - but escapes. Sarah is attacked by one of the creatures in the TARDIS, and flees into the night, finding a huge white City with a flashing beacon. When daylight arrives, the Doctor is found by a party of the Marine Space Corps; they take him to their ship, which has been stranded by a power drain. They are on an expedition to mine "Parrinium" - a mineral abundant only on Exxilon - which can cure and give immunity to a deadly space plague. The lives of at least 10 million people depend on the expedition's obtaining the Parrinium and leaving the planet within a month. They show the Doctor some photos they have taken of the nearby City - which the Exxilons worship, sacrificing anyone who ventures too close to it. Sarah does so, and is captured and taken to the Exxilons' caves to be sacrificed by their High Priest. A ship containing four Daleks now arrives; both the Daleks' ship and their weapons have been rendered useless by the energy drain. The Daleks claim that several of their planetary colonies are suffering from plague; thus they need Parrinium for the same reason as the humans. The Daleks, the Doctor, and the humans form an uneasy alliance to obtain Parrinium and escape Exxilon. While the allies are making their way to the humans' mining dome, the Exxilons ambush them, killing a human and a Dalek and capturing the others. The prisoners are taken to the Exxilon caves where the Doctor interrupts Sarah Jane's sacrifice; therefore, he is also condemned to death. When the dual sacrifice commences, a second party of Daleks, who have replaced their energy weapons with firearms, attack in force, killing a number of Exxilons. They then force the Exxilons and humans to mine Parrinium. The Doctor and Sarah flee into underground tunnels. The Doctor and Sarah meet a group of subterranean, fugitive Exxilons. Their leader, Bellal, explains that the City was built by the Exxilons' ancestors, who were once capable of space travel. The ancient Exxilons built the City to be capable of maintaining, repairing, and protecting itself. However, fitting the structure with a brain meant that the City no longer needed its creators. On realising this, the Exxilons had tried to destroy the City, but, instead, the City destroyed most of them; the savage surface dwellers and Bellal's group are the only survivors. Bellal's people seek to complete their ancestors' last, failed act - to destroy the City and ensure their race's survival. Bellal sketches some of the markings on the City wall, which the Doctor recognises from a temple in Peru. Bellal also explains that the City supports itself through underground 'roots' and the aerial beacon. The Doctor realises that the beacon must be the cause of the energy drain, and decides to go to the City and resolve the problem. The Daleks separately come to the same conclusion and create two timed explosives to destroy the beacon. One Dalek supervises two humans placing the explosives, but one of the humans, Galloway, secretly keeps one bomb. Two other Daleks enter the City to investigate the superstructure, but the Doctor and Bellal enter the City just before them. The two parties then proceed through the City, passing a series of progressive intelligence tests. The Doctor reasons that the City has arranged the tests so that only lifeforms with knowledge comparable to that of the City's creators would reach the brain, allowing the City to add the knowledge of the survivors to its databanks. On reaching the central chamber, the Doctor begins to sabotage the City's computer brain; the machine responds by creating two Exxilon-like 'antibodies' to 'neutralise' the Doctor and Bellal. The pair are saved when the Daleks enter and fight the antibodies, and the Doctor and Bellal escape as the City's sabotaged controls begin to malfunction. When the bomb on the beacon explodes, all power is restored. The Daleks order the humans to load the Parrinium onto their ship. On leaving Exxilon, the Daleks intend to fire a plague missile onto the planet, destroying all life and making future landings impossible, so that they will have the only source of Parrinium. Their true intention for hoarding Parrinium is to blackmail the galactic powers to accept their demands; refusal would mean the deaths of millions. As their ship takes off, Sarah reveals that the Daleks have only bags of sand while the real Parrinium is on the Earth ship, which is now ready to take off. Galloway has smuggled himself and his bomb aboard the Dalek ship; he detonates the bomb, destroying the Dalek ship before it fires the plague missile. Back on Exxilon, the City disintegrates and collapses, the Doctor sadly commenting that the Universe is now down to 699 Wonders. Continuity Death to the Daleks is also the name of a spin off audio drama by Big Finish Productions in the Dalek Empire series. The Doctor attempts to destroy the Exxilon supercomputer by feeding it illogical paradoxes. This is the same tactic he used against the mad BOSS computer in The Green Death the previous season. This is the only other story where the Daleks do not fire their energy weapons, due to the Exxilon power drain (although they technically do "fire" them, albeit without any success). This marks the last appearance of the TARDIS Console Room until Planet of Evil. Sarah later references this story in Pyramids of Mars. Production Serial details by episode EpisodeBroadcast dateRun timeViewership (in millions)Archive "Part One" 23 February 1974 24:32 8.1 PAL 2" colour videotape "Part Two" 2 March 1974 24:25 9.5 PAL 2" colour videotape "Part Three" 9 March 1974 24:24 10.5 PAL 2" colour videotape "Part Four" 16 March 1974 24:35 9.5 PAL 2" colour videotape [1][2][3] Working titles for this story were The Exilons and The Exxilons.[4] This is one of two Third Doctor serials (the other being The Claws of Axos) to still have a 90-minute PAL studio recording tape. The incidental music for this serial was composed by Carey Blyton and performed by the London Saxophone Quartet. Missing episodes Episode one of this story was missing from the BBC archives, when they were first fully audited in 1978; eventually, a 525-line NTSC recording was recovered from an overseas television station. A low-quality PAL recording was subsequently recovered, albeit with the opening scene missing. In 1992, this was followed by the recovery of a better-quality 625-line PAL recording from a shipment of episodes returned from Dubai. In Print Doctor Who book Death to the Daleks Series Target novelisations Release number 20 Writer Terrance Dicks Publisher Target Books Cover artist Roy Knipe ISBN 0-426-20042-X Release date 20 July 1978 Preceded by ' Followed by ' A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in July 1978. A German translation was published in 1990 by Goldmann. VHS and DVD releases The serial was released on video in an omnibus format in July 1987, the first Doctor Who video to be released on just VHS, instead of both VHS and Betamax. As the PAL version of episode one was not yet known to exist, this used the NTSC version of the episode. An episodic release (with the PAL version of episode one) was released on 13 February 1995, although episode two was slightly edited due to BBC Video mistakenly using a cut version of episode 2 returned from ABC TV in Australia (episodes 3 & 4 were also from ABC TV), instead of the UK master tapes of episodes 2-4. The serial will be released on DVD in the UK on 18 June 2012. The region 1 release date is 10 July 2012.[5][6] References ^ Shaun Lyon et al. (31 March 2007). "Death to the Daleks". Outpost Gallifrey. Retrieved 30 August 2008.[dead link] ^ "Death to the Daleks". Doctor Who Reference Guide. Retrieved 30 August 2008. ^ Sullivan, Shannon (7 August 2007). "Death to the Daleks". A Brief History of Time Travel. Retrieved 30 August 2008. ^ "Serial XXX: Death To The Daleks: Production". A Brief History of Time (Travel). Retrieved 31 December 2006. ^ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Death-Daleks-DVD/dp/B007EAFV58/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333383533&sr=8-1 ^ http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Doctor-The-Krotons-and-Death-to-the-Daleks/16830 External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Third Doctor Death to the Daleks at BBC Online Death to the Daleks at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel) Death to the Daleks at the Doctor Who Reference Guide Fan reviews Death to the Daleks reviews at Outpost Gallifrey Death to the Daleks reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide Target novelisation Death to the Daleks (novelisation) reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide On Target — Death to the Daleks [hide] v t e Doctor Who serials Classic seasons (1963–89): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Revived series (2005–present): 1 2 3 4 2008–10 specials 5 6 7 Season 11 The Time Warrior Invasion of the Dinosaurs Death to the Daleks The Monster of Peladon Planet of the Spiders [show] Links to related articles View page ratings Rate this page What's this? Trustworthy Objective Complete Well-written I am highly knowledgeable about this topic (optional) Categories: Third Doctor serials Dalek television stories Doctor Who serials novelised by Terrance Dicks 1974 television episodes
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TDP 245: Wirrn Isle Big Finish Main Range 158
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 10 minutes and 31 secondsThe year is 16127. Four decades have passed since the colonists of Nerva Beacon returned to repopulate the once-devastated planet Earth – and the chosen few are finding the business of survival tough. Far beyond the sterile safety of sanitised Nerva City, transmat scientist Roger Buchman has brought his family to an island surrounded by what they once called Loch Lomond, hoping to re-establish the colony he was forced to abandon many years before. But something else resides in the Loch. A pestilent alien infestation that the Doctor, beaming in from Nerva City, remembers only too well from his time aboard the Beacon… The Wirrn are back. And they’re hungry.
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TDP 244: Nightmare of Eden
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 9 minutes and 6 secondshe TARDIS arrives close to an unstable area on the interstellar cruise ship “Empress”, which has emerged from hyperspace at the same co-ordinates as the trade ship “Hecate”, causing a dimensional crossover that the Doctor and Romana realise must be repaired and he offers his services to detach the two craft. Rigg, captain of the “Empress”, is suspicious of the Doctor’s alias as a representative of Galactic Salvage but nevertheless agrees to let him try and separate the two craft by reversing the smaller craft at full thrust. The Doctor is accompanied on this task by Riggs co-pilot, Secker, who, it becomes apparent, is a drug addict. He is hooked on the organic substance Vraxoin, whose origins are unknown, but whose properties are lethal and dangerous. Secker heads off alone into the unstable area and while there is attacked by a clawed monster and left for dead. K-9 arrives from the TARDIS and is tasked with cutting through the locked ships. Also aboard the “Empress” are a zoologist named Tryst and his assistant Della, with their CET (Continual Event Transmuter) Machine, which stores portions of planets on electro-magnetic crystals. Their collection is large and ethically dubious. Their most recent stop was on the planet Eden where one of their expedition was killed, but both Tryst and Della are reluctant to provide too many details. Romana, however, examines the Eden projection when she is on her own and is sure she has seen eyes staring out at her from the dark and forbidding jungle. When she later looks at the projection again an insect appears from within it and stings her. The Doctor and Rigg find the wounded Secker and send him to the sickbay where he dies. When the Doctor finds Seckers drugs stash he is prevented from acting when someone stuns him and steals the evidence. Once he has recovered, he returns with Rigg and K-9 to cut through the power source. Once a hole is made a roaring creature appears, flexing its vicious claws. K-9 repels the creature with blaster fire while the Doctor and Rigg refit the segment of the craft. The Doctor continues to try to separate the two ships while also trying to source the Vraxoin on the craft. Rigg is positive there are no drugs on his craft, but events soon take a sinister turn, which proves him wrong. When Romana wakes up an unseen hand spikes her refresher drink with the drug, but it is Rigg who ends up drinking it. He soon starts to show signs of addiction and altered perception and heads off alone as his cravings grow. After the Doctor and K-9 fail once more to separate the two ships, he spots a silver-suited stranger and pursues him through the passenger deck and into the blurred area between ships. The Doctor loses his quarry, but manages to relieve him of a radiation band which he dropped and proves that he was on Tryst’s expeditionary team in the past. The clawed monsters are loose near there. When the Doctor flees back to the “Empress” he discovers Rigg has become addicted and it becomes apparent that Tryst thinks Della is the smuggler, in league with her late partner Stott, who was killed on Eden. Two Azurian Customs and Excise officers now board the craft, Fisk and Costa, and start to suspect the Doctor of smuggling because of the traces of Vraxoin in his pocket. The Doctor and Romana make a break for it and head to the CET Machine room where they evade capture by leaping directly into the projection. Inside the projection, the Doctor and Romana are menaced by the jungle plants and must hide to avoid the clawed monsters, which obviously originate from Eden and roam freely in this section of the planet. They soon meet up with the fugitive previously sighted by them both, Stott, who takes them to his sheltered cubicle. It seems that he is a Major in the Intelligence Section of the Space Corp and has been hiding in the projection for the past 183 days while he tries to establish the source of the Vraxoin, which he knows is from Eden but not from which organic source. He also names the vicious creatures as Mandrels. The trio exit the projection and return to find the “Empress” under siege from the marauding beasts, which have now started killing the passengers (as shown in the picture above). Rigg too is killed, shot down by Fisk during a mad search for Vrax. The Doctor, Romana and K-9 evade the creatures while trying once more to separate the two spacecraft. In the process, the Doctor incinerates one of the Mandrels, which disintegrates into raw Vraxoin. The beasts are evidently the source of the drug. He reapplies himself to the technical task and, with the help of his companions, the ships are finally parted – but the Doctor disappears from the “Empress” in the process. The separation has been a success, with the elusive Dymond having returned to his own craft at the right time. Fisk warns him not to leave too quickly, but Dymond is keen to get away. The Doctor is also on the “Hecate”, having been caught up in the separation of the two ships, and, without being noticed, soon finds evidence of Dymond's complicity in the drug running project. Dymond returns to the “Empress” by shuttle, and the Doctor smuggles himself on board. Back on the “Empress”, Romana finds Della and confides in her that Stott is still alive, but Della is soon arrested by the Customs men and they are separated. The Doctor rejoins Romana on the “Empress” and says he has seen evidence that the smugglers are planning to use an intuca laser to transport the Eden projection between the two crafts. He is now certain that Dymond’s ally is Tryst and, when Stott arrives, he also confirms the source of the Vraxoin. Fisk and Costa turn up to arrest the Doctor, but Stott pulls rank and warns them to back off. In another part of the craft, Tryst is reunited with Della and confesses all about his part in the smuggling racket. She flees when a Mandrel arrives and distracts Tryst, who is rapidly trying to escape with Dymond. They head back to the “Hecate”. The Doctor has meanwhile rounded up the Mandrels using K-9’s dog whistle, having worked out they are pacified by ultrasonics. He leads them all back into the projection and then slips out, leaving the creatures trapped. His next task is to reverse the CET transfer process to stop the smugglers getting away with the Vraxoin supply. After allowing Tryst and Dymond to transport the Eden projection to the "Hecate", he activates the CET and traps them within a new projection – they are ready for the Customs Officers to walk in and arrest them. With the ships separated and the drug runners caught, the Doctor and friends slip away back to the TARDIS with the Eden project. The creatures will be projected back to their native planets. One can only hope that nobody else discovers the Mandrels' secret. Production Serial details by episode EpisodeBroadcast dateRun timeViewership (in millions) "Part One" 24 November 1979 24:17 8.7 "Part Two" 1 December 1979 22:44 9.6 "Part Three" 8 December 1979 24:06 9.6 "Part Four" 15 December 1979 24:31 9.4 [1][2][3] Working titles for this story included Nightmare of Evil. This story would be the final Doctor Who serial written by Bob Baker, who worked on it alone. Alan Bromly is credited with directing this story, but he quit part-way through filming as a result of a vehement dispute with Tom Baker. As a result, Producer Graham Williams wound up having to complete the director's duties uncredited. The unpleasantness of this whole incident led Williams to decide that he had wished to leave the series. Bromly never directed another story for the series and in fact went into full retirement soon afterwards. Outside references This is one of the few Fourth Doctor stories to have a strong moral message, in this case against drug abuse and the illegal drug trade. The drug in question was originally going to be called "xylophilin", or "zip". However, Lalla Ward was worried that the name would sound appealing to children, so it was changed to "vraxoin" instead. However, K-9 still mentions vraxoin as having the scientific code "XYP". The British tabloid newspaper The Sun wrote that the Mandrels were terrifying monsters, as no publicity shots had been taken for them (which, as later reported, was untrue). However, the majority of critics were more scathing and many of them saw the Mandrels as being thoroughly unconvincing (particularly the Doctor Who Appreciation Society, which described them as "cute rejects from The Muppet Show"). In print Doctor Who book Doctor Who and the Nightmare of Eden Series Target novelisations Release number 45 Writer Terrance Dicks Publisher Target Books Cover artist Andrew Skilleter ISBN 0-426-20130-2 Release date 21 August 1980 Preceded by ' Followed by ' A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in August 1980. VHS and DVD release This story was released on VHS in January 1999. The story was released on DVD on 2 April 2012. References ^ Shaun Lyon et al. (2007-03-31). "Nightmare of Eden". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2008-08-30. ^ Dominique Boies. "Nightmare of Eden". Doctor Who Reference Guide. Retrieved 2008-08-30. ^ Sullivan, Shannon (2007-08-07). "Nightmare of Eden". A Brief History of Time Travel. Retrieved 2008-08-30. External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Fourth Doctor Nightmare of Eden at BBC Online Nightmare of Eden at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel) Nightmare of Eden at the Doctor Who Reference Guide Reviews Nightmare of Eden reviews at Outpost Gallifrey Nightmare of Eden reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide Target novelisation On Target — Doctor Who and the Nightmare of Eden [hide] v t e Doctor Who serials
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TDP 243: The Fourth Wall Big Finish 157
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 9 minutes and 16 secondsSynopsis Business is bad for intergalactic media mogul Augustus Scullop, whose Trans-Gal empire is on the rocks. But, having retreated to his own private planet, Transmission, Scullop is about to gamble his fortune on a new show, made with an entirely new technology. And the name of that show… is Laser. Back in the real world, far from the realms of small screen sci-fi fantasies about monsters and aliens, the Doctor is interested only in watching Test Match cricket… but finds himself drawn into Scullop’s world when his new travelling companion, Flip, is snatched from inside the TARDIS. So, while the Doctor uncovers the terrible secret of Trans-Gal’s new tech, Flip battles to survive in a barren wilderness ruled over by the indestructible Lord Krarn and his pig-like servants, the Warmongers. And the name of that wilderness… is ‘Stevenage’. Written By: John Dorney Directed By: Nicholas Briggs Cast Colin Baker (The Doctor), Lisa Greenwood (Flip Jackson), Julian Wadham (Augustus Scullop), Yasmin Bannerman (Dr Helen Shepherd), Hywel Morgan (Nick Kenton/Jack Laser), Martin Hutson (Matthew Howland/Lord Krarn), Tilly Gaunt (Olivia Sayle/Jancey), Kim Wall (Chimbly/Head Warmonger), Henry Devas (Junior/Warmonger)
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TDP 242: The Daemons
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 22 minutes and 1 secondDuring a storm that whips through the village of Devil's End in Wiltshire, a dog gets away from its owner. He pursues it into a graveyard, only to encounter something unseen and die. The local doctor says that it was a heart attack, but Olive Hawthorne, the local witch, insists that the man died of fright. She has cast the runes, and there is evil afoot. Near the village, an archaeological dig is excavating the infamous Devil's Hump, a Bronze Age burial mound. The dig is being covered by BBC Three. The interviewer, Alistair Fergus, speaks to the cantankerous Professor Horner, who claims that the Hump holds the treasure and tomb of a warrior chieftain, and that he plans to open the tomb at the stroke of midnight on April 30, the pagan festival of Beltane. The television coverage is being watched by the Third Doctor and Jo at UNIT. While the Doctor scoffs at Jo's notions of the coming of the Age of Aquarius and the supernatural, he feels that something is wrong with the dig. On the television, they see Olive go to the dig to protest, warning of great evil and the coming of the horned one, but she is dismissed as a crank. The Doctor tells Jo that Olive Hawthorne is right — the dig must be stopped, and they start off to Devil's End. Olive returns to the village, and a strong wind whips up out of nowhere. She raises her hands to dismiss it, not knowing that the local constable, PC Groom, has gone into a trance behind her and is about to strike her with a stone. The wind dies down as she chants, and PC Groom regains his senses before he lands the blow. Olive then goes to see the vicar, but he has been mysteriously replaced with a new one, Rev. Magister. Magister — actually the Master — tries to assure her that her fears are unfounded, but his hypnosis fails to overcome Olive's will, and she says she will find someone who will believe her. The Doctor and Jo, driving to Devil's End, get lost when a wind spins a signpost and points them in the wrong direction. Over at the Hump, tempers start to flare for no reason. When the Doctor and Jo stop by the village pub to get directions, one of the villagers goes and informs the Master of the Doctor's presence. The Master tells him to get dressed for the ceremony. On the way to the Hump, the Doctor's car, Bessie, is blocked by a fallen tree. Unable to budge it, the Doctor and Jo rush to the mound on foot. The Master, dressed in ceremonial robes and with a coven of thirteen acolytes, starts a summoning ritual in the church catacombs. As his chanting grows more frenzied, the Doctor and Jo reach the mound and the Doctor rushes inside to stop Horner, but it is too late. The tomb door opens and icy gusts of wind rush out and the ground begins to shake, toppling the camera crew and even the coven in the catacombs. The Master laughs triumphantly and calls the entity's name — Azal, and the eyes of a gargoyle, Bok, flare with a reddish glow. Jo enters the mound to find Horner and the Doctor motionless, covered with frost. Horner is dead, and the Doctor seems dead as well. The Master uses a knife to indicate a stone covered in ritual markings as the "appointed place", dismissing the coven. Back at UNIT, Captain Mike Yates and Sergeant Benton were watching the end of the broadcast as it went dead. They try to find out what's going on while attempting to contact the Brigadier, who had earlier gone for a night at the opera. Meanwhile, the village doctor discovers that the Doctor may not be entirely dead after all, but is puzzled when he hears the beating of two hearts. Jo telephones Yates, who tells her he will be there by helicopter in the morning, just as the line is cut off from the outside. The Master prays in the church as Jo watches over the still unconscious Doctor in the pub. At the dig, the ground shakes and the constable on duty sees something gigantic with heavy footsteps, and falls. In the morning, Yates and Benton fly by helicopter to Devil's End, and see burn marks on the fields before the village that resemble enormous footprints. Once in Devil's End, Benton decides to look around the village while Yates finally manages to contact the Brigadier, who is not pleased that Yates has commandeered his helicopter, and calls for a car. Benton, looking around in the church, finds Olive trapped in a cupboard, where the Master's verger, Garvin, had locked her. Down in the cellar to hide from Garvin, she tells Benton about Magister. Garvin comes down with a rifle, and Benton tries to disarm him. In the ensuing fight, Benton falls on the marked stone and seizes up. Garvin holds both of them at gunpoint and moves them outside, just as the ground starts to shake. Garvin fires up at something gigantic, but is engulfed in a fireball. The heat wave extends even into the village, knocking Jo and Yates down, just as the Doctor awakens with a start. Olive and Benton make their way back to the pub, and the Doctor discusses the incident with Olive, who says that she saw the devil, 30 feet high and with horns. The Doctor is told of the new vicar, and realises who is behind this, as "Magister" is Latin for "Master". The Brigadier finds himself unable to enter the village, as there is a barrier surrounding it that causes anything trying to enter to heat up and burst into flame. He contacts Yates and is briefed on the situation while the Doctor and Jo return to the dig, an act the Master seems to be able to sense. They find the constable dead and a small spaceship in the mound the same shape as the Hump. Jo tries to lift it but cannot, as the Doctor explains that it weighs 750 tons. Suddenly, Bok leaps into the tent covering the entrance to the tomb, about to attack. The Doctor wards him off with some words in a strange language and an iron trowel. The Doctor explains to Jo that it was actually the words of a Venusian lullaby — it was the gargoyle's own superstition that drove it back. The Master, in the meantime, hypnotises the squire, Winstanley, as Olive and the Doctor debate about whether it is magic or science that is at work here. The Brigadier discovers that the heat shield is dome shaped, centred on the church, with a radius of ten miles out and one mile high. The Doctor shows the others pictures of various horned gods and demons from Olive's occult and history book collection, and explains that the creature Olive saw was an extraterrestrial, one of the Dæmons from the planet Dæmos, 60,000 light years away, who came to Earth one hundred thousand years before. The small spaceship's actual size is 200 feet long and 30 feet across, and the heat and cold waves they have been experiencing are the result of the energy displaced when the ship shrinks or grows. The Doctor further explains that the Dæmons have influenced Earth throughout its history, becoming part of human myth, and see the planet as a giant experiment. The Master has called the Dæmon up once, and right now, it is so small as to be invisible. The third summoning, however, could signal the end of the experiment, and the world. The Brigadier contacts Yates and says he is about to try attacking the heat shield from the air. The Doctor warns him not to, saying that it would only strengthen it, and suggests they use a diathermic energy exchanger. When UNIT technician Osgood fails to understand what the Doctor is getting at, he says he will come out and explain. When he does so, Tom Girton, one the villagers working with Master, hijacks the UNIT helicopter and uses it to attack the Doctor. The Doctor manages to swerve Bessie out of the way and the helicopter explodes against the heat shield. As the Doctor relates his instructions to Osgood, who protests that it goes against the laws of physics, the Master summons Azal again. A heat wave and an earth tremor once again sweeps through the village as Azal curses the Master for daring to summon him again. The Master tries to dismiss Azal with an iron candlestick holder, but it does not seem to work. He demands that Azal give him the power that is his right, but Azal warns him that he is not the Master's servant. Azal also senses the presence of another like the Master, and wants to speak to the Doctor to see if he is worthy to take over the world. Azal says on his third appearance, he will decide if Earth deserves to continue existing. If so, he will give it to the Master. Azal then vanishes in another heat wave. After explaining the process of creating the exchanger to Osgood, the Doctor returns to the village. However, the Master's agents are at work, and he is soon captured by a mob of villagers and tied up to a maypole, about to be burned alive. Olive goes to the mob and tells them that the Doctor is a mighty wizard, and with some help from Benton's silenced Pistol and a remote controlled Bessie, convinces the mob that the Doctor does indeed have magical powers. Jo and Mike, meanwhile, have returned to the church cellar and watch, hidden, as the Master gathers his coven to summon Azal one last time. Jo tries to interrupt the ritual, but it is too late. With another rush of heat, Azal manifests himself and Jo and Yates are taken prisoner. Outside, the Doctor explains that to the now calmer villagers that his "magic" was due to science, and so is the Master's trickery. The rituals are merely used to focus the psychokinetic energy of humans that the Master needs to summon the Dæmons. As Jo is prepared as a sacrifice to Azal, the exchanger finally works and UNIT forces go through the gap created in the heat shield, but the gap only lasts a few minutes and the exchanger soon overloads. Mike manages to escape and tell the Doctor about Jo, but Bok is guarding the entrance to the catacombs. The use of the exchanger momentarily weakens Bok and Azal, and the Doctor manages to rush by the gargoyle. He makes it down to the cellar, where the Master is expecting him. Outside, UNIT troops start firing at Bok, who can disintegrate objects and people with a wave of his hand, but he is also bulletproof. Even a bazooka does not work, as the pieces of the gargoyle reform almost instantly. Inside the church, the Master makes his case to the Dæmon that he will rule the Earth experiment's people for their own good. The Doctor argues that Man should be given a chance to grow up. Azal finally decides to give his power to the Master, and fires electricity at the Doctor to kill him. However, Jo, steps in front of the Doctor, asking Azal to kill her instead. This act of self-sacrifice does not make sense to Azal, and the confusion sends him into an agony. He shouts for all of them to leave as he is dying. Bok reverts to his stone form, and as everyone runs out of the church, it blows up. The Master tries to escape in Bessie, but the Doctor's remote control brings the car back, and the Master is taken into custody, to be put in maximum security. Olive Hawthorne hears the sound of bird songs and the smell of flowers once again, as the Earth is reborn each May Day. Olive takes Benton to dance around the maypole with the rest of the townsfolk, while Yates and the Brigadier go off to the pub for a drink. The Doctor and Jo join the dance, as the May Day celebrations continue and the Doctor remarks to Jo that perhaps there is magic in the world after all. Continuity The television news programme filmed at Devil's End was depicted as broadcast on a fictional channel called BBC Three. Since 2003, BBC Three has been an actual digital BBC channel. The Doctor uses the words of a Venusian lullaby to ward off Bok. He uses the lullaby again in The Curse of Peladon & The Monster of Peladon, singing the words to a tune which is actually the Christmas carol "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". Venusian Lullaby is the title of a 1994 Virgin Missing Adventures novel by Paul Leonard featuring the First Doctor. In the 2007 episode "Utopia", two sound clips from this story ("Destroy him!" & "Then you will give your power to me!") were used when professor Yana prepares to open his fob watch. Fan myths associated with this story include the rumour that there was a sixth episode where the Master escaped from UNIT, recalled Azal, and killed everyone in Devil's End including the Doctor. This was actually an April Fool's Day joke in the fan magazine DWB. Guy Leopold, who is credited with writing the story, is a pseudonym for Robert Sloman and Barry Letts.[1] Production Serial details by episode EpisodeBroadcast dateRun timeViewership (in millions)Archive "Episode One" 22 May 1971 25:05 9.2 PAL D3 colour restoration "Episode Two" 29 May 1971 24:20 8.0 PAL D3 colour restoration "Episode Three" 5 June 1971 24:27 8.1 PAL D3 colour restoration "Episode Four" 12 June 1971 24:25 8.1 PAL 2" colour videotape "Episode Five" 19 June 1971 24:04 8.3 PAL D3 colour restoration [2][3][4] Working titles for this story included The Demons. Much of the serial was filmed on location in Aldbourne, Wiltshire.[5] The last episode of the story contains footage of a model church being blown up, the scene was realistic enough to lead many viewers to believe that the BBC had actually blown up a church as part of the filming. The BBC received a number of letters complaining about this.[5] Cast notes Features an appearance by television presenter and Sooty puppeteer, Matthew Corbett. See also Celebrity appearances in Doctor Who. Outside references The clip of the Brigadier's helicopter blowing up as it crashes into the heat shield is borrowed from the James Bond film From Russia with Love.[6] Many have noted the similarities between this story's plot and that of the 1958 BBC serial and 1967 Hammer film Quatermass and the Pit. Both involve the unearthing of an extraterrestrial spaceship, an alien race that has interfered with human evolution and is the basis for legends of devils, demons and witchcraft, and places with "devilish" names - Devil's End in this case, and Hob's Lane in Pit. The Master actually (and possibly deliberately) misquotes the occultist Aleister Crowley at one point saying "To do my will shall be the whole of the law". Crowley is famous for the similar "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law." The incantation that the Master uses in summoning Azal is actually the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb" said backwards. The Doctor is briefly given the alias of "the Great Wizard Qui Quae Quod." This is actually the masculine, feminine, and neuter nominative forms of the relative pronoun "who", in Latin. At one point the Doctor refers to the laws of aerodynamics proving that bumble bees should be incapable of flight, which is an urban legend.[7][8] Broadcast and reception The story was repeated on BBC One as a condensed omnibus edition over Christmas 1971 (28/12/71 at 4.20pm). The omnibus's opening credits gave the title as Doctor Who and the Dæmons. The closing credits used were for those of episode 5, necessitating the BBC1 continuity announcer naming the cast and crew from earlier episodes.[9] Of the original 625-line PAL colour videotapes as an example of 1970s Doctor Who, all except Episode Four were wiped for reuse. However, a converted 525-line colour NTSC version recorded off-air from an American broadcast was made available to the BBC. This version was abridged and unsuitable for transmission as it was not of broadcast standard (the original US recordings were made on a domestic Betamax VCR). In 1992 the colour signal from the NTSC tapes was used as the basis for restoring the colour to the 16mm monochrome telerecordings of episodes one, two, three and five. These versions were subsequently repeated on BBC2 on consecutive Fridays in November/December 1992 (20/11/92 to 18/12/92 at 7.15pm). Jon Pertwee stated numerous times over the years that this was his favourite Doctor Who serial. In 1993, Pertwee, along with several members of the cast and crew including Nicholas Courtney, John Levene, Richard Franklin and director Christopher Barry returned to Aldbourne for the Reeltime Pictures reunion documentary Return to Devil's End. Nicholas Courtney titled his 1998 volume of autobiography Five Rounds Rapid after a line from this story: “ Jenkins. Chap with the wings there. Five rounds rapid. ” Reviewing its DVD release, Ian Berriman of SFX was more critical of the serial, giving it three and a half out of five stars. He derided it for being an "awful mess" with a plot that "doesn't make a shred of sense". Despite praising the "magnificent" characters of Hawthorne, Horner, and Fergus, he thought that other characters including the Doctor and the Master were "continually acting in a completely absurd way".[10] In print Doctor Who book Doctor Who and the Dæmons Series Target novelisations Release number 15 Writer Barry Letts Publisher Target Books Cover artist Chris Achilleos ISBN 0-426-10444-7 Release date 17 October 1974 Preceded by ' Followed by ' A novelisation of this serial, written by Barry Letts, was published by Target Books in October 1974. There have been Dutch and Portuguese language editions. An unabridged reading of the novelisation by author Barry Letts was released on CD in August 2008 by BBC Audiobooks. VHS and DVD releases The final episode of this story was also issued as a b/w film recording on the VHS release The Pertwee Years, along with the final episodes of Inferno and Frontier in Space In 1993, the episodes with restored colour (see "Broadcast and reception", above) were released on VHS. A DVD of the serial was released on the 19th March 2012. References ^ Howe, David J.; Walker, Stephen James (1998). "The Dæmons". Doctor Who: The Television Companion. London: BBC Worldwide. p. 211. ISBN 0-563-40588-0. ^ "The Daemons". Outpost Gallifrey. 2007-03-31. Archived from the original on 2008-05-18. Retrieved 2008-08-31. ^ "The Daemons". Doctor Who Reference Guide. Retrieved 2008-08-31. ^ Sullivan, Shannon (2008-08-31). "The Daemons". A Brief History of Time Travel. Retrieved 2008-08-31. ^ a b p196, Peter Haining, Doctor Who - A Celebration, W.H. Allen, 1983 ^ "The Daemons". Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide. BBC. Retrieved 22 October 2009. ^ John H. McMasters (March/April 1989). "The flight of the bumblebee and related myths of entomological engineering". American Scientist 77: 146–169. cited in Jay Ingram (2001). The Barmaid's Brain. Aurum Press. pp. 91–92. ISBN 1-85410-633-3. ^ See also Bumble bee#Myths. ^ Doctor Who: The Daemons (2012). BBC Warner DVD. ASIN: B0072BNJGC ^ Berriman, Ian (17 March 2012). "Doctor Who: The Daemons Review". SFX. Retrieved 6 April 2012. External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Third Doctor The Dæmons at BBC Online The Daemons at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel) The Dæmons at the Doctor Who Reference Guide Article about the village used in the serial Reviews The Daemons reviews at Outpost Gallifrey The Dæmons reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide
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TDP 241: Curse of Davros - Big Finish main Range 156
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 16 minutes and 47 seconds156. The Curse of DavrosSynopsisIt's been a year since Philippa 'Flip' Jackson found herself transported by Tube train to battle robot mosquitoes on a bizarre alien planet in the company of a Time Lord known only as 'the Doctor'.Lightning never strikes twice, they say. Only now there's a flying saucer whooshing over the top of the night bus taking her home. Inside: the Doctor, with another extraterrestrial menace on his tail – the Daleks, and their twisted creator Davros!But while Flip and the fugitive Doctor struggle to beat back the Daleks' incursion into 21st century London, Davros's real plan is taking shape nearly 200 years in the past, on the other side of the English Channel. At the battle of Waterloo... Written By: Jonathan MorrisDirected By: Nicholas BriggsCastColin Baker (The Doctor), Lisa Greenwood (Flip Jackson), Terry Molloy (Davros), Ashley Kumar (Jared), Jonathan Owen (Napoleon Bonaparte), Rhys Jennings (Captain Pascal), Granville Saxton (Duke of Wellington), Robert Portal (Marshal Ney), Christian Patterson (Captain Dickson), Nicholas Briggs (The Daleks)
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TDP 240: Dirk Gently - BBC 4
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 8 minutes and 40 secondsDirk Gently (TV series) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Dirk Gently Titlescreen of series 1, based on Gently's painted whiteboard. Genre Comic science fiction/Detective fiction Created by Howard Overman Douglas Adams (novel) Written by Howard Overman Matt Jones Jamie Mathieson Directed by Damon Thomas Tom Shankland Starring Stephen Mangan Darren Boyd Composer(s) Daniel Pemberton Country of origin United Kingdom Language(s) English No. of series 1 No. of episodes 3 (+ pilot) (List of episodes) Production Executive producer(s) Howard Overman Saurabh Kakkar (ITV Studios) Brian Minchin (BBC) Eleanor Moran (BBC - Pilot) Jamie Laurenson (BBC - Pilot) Producer(s) Chris Carey Editor(s) Matthew Tabern Cinematography Ole Bratt Birkeland Camera setup Single-camera Running time 60 minutes Production company(s) ITV Studios The Welded Tandem Picture Company Distributor BBC Cymru Wales Broadcast Original channel BBC Four BBC HD (repeats) Picture format HDTV 1080i Audio format Stereo Original run 16 December 2010 – 19 March 2012 Chronology Related shows The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy External links Website Dirk Gently is a British comedy detective drama TV series based on characters from the Dirk Gently novels by Douglas Adams. The series was created by Howard Overman and stars Stephen Mangan as holistic detective Dirk Gently and Darren Boyd as his sidekick Richard MacDuff. Recurring actors include Helen Baxendale as MacDuff's girlfriend Susan Harmison, Jason Watkins as Dirk's nemesis DI Gilks and Lisa Jackson as Dirk's receptionist Janice Pearce. Unlike most detective series Dirk Gently features broadly comic touches and even some science fiction themes such as time travel and artificial intelligence. Dirk Gently operates his Holistic Detective Agency based on the "fundamental interconnectedness of all things", which relies on random chance methods to uncover connections between seemingly-unrelated cases. He claims that he follows the principles of quantum mechanics, and although the majority of his clients suspect he may be a conman he often produces surprising results. With the help of his assistant, Richard MacDuff, Dirk investigates a number of seemingly unrelated but interconnected cases. An hour-long pilot episode loosely based on plot elements from Adams' 1987 novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency was broadcast on BBC Four on 16 December 2010 and was watched by 1.1 million viewers. Critical reception was generally positive.[1] A full series of three one-hour episodes was subsequently commissioned in March 2011 and was broadcast on BBC Four in March 2012.[2] The series is the first continuing drama series produced for the digital channel.[3][4] The series is produced by ITV Studios and The Welded Tandem Picture Company for BBC Cymru Wales and shot in Bristol. The pilot was written by Howard Overman and directed by Damon Thomas. The full series was written by Overman, Matt Jones and Jamie Mathieson and directed by Tom Shankland. The series along with the pilot episode was released on DVD on 26 March 2012 by ITV Studios Home Entertainment.[5] An original television soundtrack album featuring music from the series composed by Daniel Pemberton was released by 1812 Recordings on 5 March 2012.[4] Contents 1 Production 1.1 Background 1.2 Announcement 1.3 Adaptation 1.4 Cast 1.5 Filming 1.6 Music 2 Plot 2.1 Episodes 3 Reception 3.1 Pilot 3.2 Series One 4 References 5 External links Production Background The novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency has its origins in the incomplete 1979 Doctor Who television serial Shada, featuring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. Location filming in Cambridge had been completed, but a studio technicians' dispute at the BBC meant that studio segments were not completed, and the serial was never transmitted.[6] As a result of the serial's cancellation, Adams reused a number of ideas from this script and his other Doctor Who scripts as the basis for a new novel, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, published in 1987. Adams published another, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul in 1988 and at the time of his death in 2001 was working on a third installment to be titled The Salmon of Doubt, fragments of which were published posthumously. Each novel features new characters and scenarios, although Dirk (real name Svlad Cjelli), his "ex-secretary" Janice Pearce and Sergeant, later Inspector, Gilks recur in each.[7] The first Gently novel had previously been adapted into a stage play, Dirk and a BBC Radio 4 series by Above the Title Productions which was first broadcast in October 2007 and featured comedian Harry Enfield in the title role.[8][9][10] According to James Donaghy, Douglas Adams was frustrated that his Dirk Gently novels were never adapted for the screen.[1] Announcement During Hitchcon - a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy convention - Ed Victor, a literary agent who represents Adams's estate announced that a television adaptation of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency was in production. Stephen Mangan was announced to be playing Gently, with Darren Boyd as MacDuff and Helen Baxendale as Susan. It is the first television adaptation of Adams' Dirk Gently series, although characters from the books had appeared in a 1992 episode of The South Bank Show.[11][12] Shooting on the pilot commenced early in October 2010 in Bristol.[7] The director was Damon Thomas and the producer was Chris Carey. Although it was commissioned by the BBC, it was produced by ITV Studios with The Welded Tandem Picture Company. The pilot was first broadcast on BBC Four on 16 December 2010 and was repeated a number of times during the next month.[13][14] The pilot gained a commission on 31 March 2011 for a three-part series of one hour-long episodes broadcast on BBC Four in March 2012.[3][4] The series is the first continuing drama series commissioned by BBC Four.[3] Adaptation The screenplay of the pilot by Howard Overman is not a direct adaptation of the novel, but uses certain characters and situations from the novel to form the basis of a new drama centred around Dirk.[15] Speaking about his interpretation, Howard Overman stated in an interview with Benji Wilson "I'm not even going to try to adapt the book: you can't adapt this story. Especially not on a BBC Four budget. We made the deliberate decision not to do a straight translation of the books. If we'd done that the fans would have felt badly let down, because you can never portray that world on the screen as well as it's been done in people's own imaginations...If you just do a straight adaptation like The Hitchhiker's Guide film, people are always going to be quite brutal about it because it's never going to live up to their expectations."[16] Dirk drives an old brown Austin Princess in the production. Stephen Mangan, writing a BBC blog on the programme stated "In my opinion, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time Of The Soul are unfilmable as written...too much happens, there are too many ideas".[17] The pilot concentrates on two relatively minor plot strands in Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency: the disappearance of a cat, and the simultaneous disappearance of millionaire Gordon Way. Although time travel is involved in the solution, the novel's entire St Cedd's College / Electric Monk / Coleridge strand is omitted, although key words relating to these elements do appear on Dirk's whiteboard when it is first seen, though they are never subsequently referred to.[1][16][18] Other elements from the book, such as the trapped sofa, are also absent and the setting is updated to 2010, with email and voicemail replacing the answering machine messages in the book. There are changes to the characters too, one notable one being that Susan is Gordon's ex-girlfriend rather than his sister.[18] Several additional elements from Adams's novels, in particular St Cedd's College, were later to appear in the full series. Interviewed about the series, Stephen Mangan noted that "All three episodes are very different in tone and you get a different Dirk with each one...He's on the run from the police in one of them and in another there's a bit of romance in the air, which for Dirk is a surprise because he's probably the most asexual character on TV... There seems to be a vogue for dark, realistic, gritty detective series, apart from perhaps Sherlock. Dirk has so much humour in it. How many other detectives mix detection with quantum mechanics or drive a 30-year-old brown Austin Leyland Princess?"[19] Each episode of series one was written by different writers, who are mostly known for their contributions to science fiction and fantasy programmes; series creator Howard Overman also created Misfits and has written for Merlin, Matt Jones has previously written the Doctor Who stories "The Impossible Planet"/"The Satan Pit" and Jamie Matheson wrote the film Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel and has written scripts for Being Human.[20] Cast Stephen Mangan, best known for his role in the television series Green Wing, and subsequently Episodes, was cast in the main role as holistic detective Dirk Gently. Mangan already knew the novel and the author's works, stating in a press release "I've been a fan of Douglas Adams ever since the Hitchhiker's radio series which I used to record as a child and listen to over and over again in my bedroom. It's such a thrill to now be playing one of his brilliant characters. Dirk is a chaotic, anarchic force of nature with a totally unique take on the world. He is described as 'lazy, untidy, dismissive and unreliable'. I've absolutely no idea why they thought I'd be right for the role."[15] Cast alongside him were Darren Boyd and Helen Baxendale, both of whom had previously worked with Mangan in Green Wing and Adrian Mole: the Cappuccino Years respectively.[7] Darren Boyd and Helen Baxendale returned for the full series, with the character of Richard MacDuff becoming Dirk's "partner/assistant" for each of the episodes.[19] Other regular cast members are Jason Watkins as Detective Inspector Gilks and Lisa Jackson as Dirk's secretary Janice Pearce.[21] The programme pilot featured appearances from Doreen Mantle, Anthony Howell, Miles Richardson, Billy Boyle. Episode one saw guest appearances by Paul Ritter, Cosima Shaw, Ken Collard, Colin McFarlane and Miranda Raison. Episode two featured roles for Bill Paterson, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Lydia Wilson, Andrew Leung, Will Sharpe and Bethan Hanks. Episode three features Lisa Dillon and Tony Pitts.[21] Filming Wills Hall at the University of Bristol was used as the fictional St. Cedd's College, Cambridge. Although the series is set in the London boroughs of Camden Town and Islington, the series was shot entirely in Bristol. Areas and buildings featured in the programme included the Guildhall, the Bottle Yard, St Thomas Street and the Greenbank area.[22][23] The second series episode also featured extensive filming around the University of Bristol, with Wills Hall doubling as the fictional Cambridge College St. Cedd's. The production's location manager, Rob Champion, noted that each location had to be chosen carefully to avoid featured giveaway clues to Bristol, in particular any building made of the local building material, limestone.[24] He noted that "Episode 2 was the greatest challenge as it included two days material in a Robotic Laboratory. Bristol has such a thing...a joint venture between the two universities, with a very helpful professor, but its landlord was an American corporation with the most unimaginably anal restrictions on access. They basically didn't want us there and took the best part of two weeks to say so...We eventually settled upon a brand new building at the Bristol-Bath Science Park where they could not have been more helpful. All this on a BBC4 budget."[24] Music The series's soundtrack was composed by Daniel Pemberton. In creating the distinctive sound for the main titles and incidental music, Pemberton made use of a Marxophone, a zither which is a cross between a hammered dulcimer and a piano. These instruments were produced in America between 1927 to 1972.[25] The soundtrack also mixes in a harpsichord, synth, bass guitar and drums.[26][27] A soundtrack album featuring music from the series was released by 1812 Recordings on 5 March 2012.[4] Plot Dirk Gently (real name Svlad Cjelli) operates a Holistic Detective Agency based on the "fundamental interconnectedness of all things". To solve cases, Dirk relies on random chance methods for example "Zen navigation" (following people or vehicles who look like they know where they are going, in the hope that they will lead somewhere you want to be) or throwing a dart at a board of words to select the direction of his detection. By following up on apparently random occurences and whims, Dirk discovers connections between seemingly unrelated cases and often produces surprising results. He claims that he follows the principles of quantum mechanics (although it is implied when he speaks to an expert in these fields that he doesn't really understand them); most people suspect he is just a conman and he rarely gets paid by clients and is therefore in almost permanent financial difficulty.[16][28] In the pilot episode, Dirk bumps into a former university friend, Richard MacDuff, who has been made redundant from a job at an electricity board, and takes on a case for him. During the course of his investigation, Dirk hypnotises MacDuff and persuades him into investing his £20,000 redundancy money in his failing detective agency. MacDuff therefore becomes Dirk's partner in the business and "assistant" on investigations.[28] Richard MacDuff's girlfriend, Dr Susan Harmison, was also at university with the pair and is deeply sceptical about Dirk's abilities. Also present at the Agency is Dirk's receptionist Janice Pearce, whom Dirk has not paid for years and who therefore refuses to do any work.[28] Episodes No.TitleDirectorWriterViewing figures[29]Original air date 0 "Pilot" Damon Thomas Howard Overman 943 000 16 December 2010 When Dirk Gently sets out to solve an apparently simple and harmless disappearance of a cat from an old lady's house, he unwittingly uncovers a double murder which, in turn, leads to a host of even more extraordinary events. 1 "Episode 1" Tom Shankland Howard Overman 844 000 5 March 2012 Dirk discovers the connection between two unrelated cases - a client who believes the Pentagon are trying to kill him and another whose horoscopes appear to be coming true.[2] 2 "Episode 2" Tom Shankland Matt Jones 561 000 12 March 2012 Dirk is called back to his old university to protect a valuable robot but within 24 hours it has been stolen and a dead body discovered, with Dirk and MacDuff the prime suspects.[2] 3 "Episode 3" Tom Shankland Jamie Mathieson 592 000 19 March 2012 Dirk’s old clients are being randomly murdered with Dirk as the only link. Rather than talk to the police, Dirk elects to leave the country but is waylaid by a series of seemingly unconnected events.[2] Reception Pilot Stephen Mangan plays the titular holistic detective in the series. The pilot episode gained 1.1m viewers (3.9% share) on BBC Four, which was over three times the channel's slot average.[3] Critical reception for the pilot was largely positive. Several mentioned that it was only a loose adaptation of the novel, although the general consensus was that the essence of the original was maintained. Sam Wollaston in The Guardian stated "Coming to it fresh, it's a neat story about aforementioned missing cat and time travel, with a smattering of quantum physics and the fundamental connectedness of things. With a lovely performance from Doreen Mantle as the old lady/murderer. Stephen Mangan's good in the title role, too – a teeny bit irritating perhaps, but then Mangan is a teeny bit irritating. So is Dirk Gently, though – it's perfect. Funny too. Quite funny."[30] James Donaghy, also writing in The Guardian stated "Personally I hope Dirk Gently gets made into a full series. The programme shows promising glimpses, has a strong cast and Misfits already proves Overman can write. And a BBC4 adaptation feels like a good fit – Gently being exactly the kind of playground-of-the-imagination curio the BBC made its name indulging."[1] The Independent published two reviews. Alice-Azania Jarvis was extremely positive, writing "...there wasn't very much you could fault about the production at all. Right down to the quirky camerawork and youthful, poppy soundtrack (who would have thought the Hoosiers could be so right in any situation?), the director, Damon Thomas, got it pretty spot-on. The result was a pleasingly festive-feeling adventure; part Wallace & Gromit, part Doctor Who, part The Secret Seven. And the best thing? There wasn't a Christmas tree in sight. Douglas Adams once claimed that Gently would make a better film character than his more famous hero, Arthur Dent. Based on last night's experience, he may well have been right."[31] John Walsh's review for The Independent was cooler about the adaptation, although he praised Mangan's performance: "Given the talent and style on display, it should have been a scream. In fact it all seemed a little moth-eaten. Though set in the modern day, it was staggeringly old-fashioned...You could overlook these faults, however, for the joy of Stephen Mangan's performance as the titular gumshoe. With his alarmed-spaniel eyes and jutting-jawed stroppiness, his geography teacher elbow-patches and Medusan hair, he radiates mess...His ineptness as a sleuth provided some fine comic moments.[32] Paul Whitelaw in Metro was also positive, although he noted "At times it felt forced, with a sense of trying slightly too hard when a touch more subtlety would have brought out the essential Adamsian eccentricity."[33] Dan Owen of Obsessed with Film noted that the adaptation played with the idea of inexplicable situations: "Purists may grumble this isn't the Dirk Gently they wanted to see, but it's more accessible and practicable. And while Dirk Gently is certainly another gimmicky detective series (yawn), its details are unique and engrossing enough to shrug off the genre's clichés. In some ways it's a pastiche of whodunits, taking the genre's often tenuous explanations to an outrageous extreme."[34] Paul Whitelaw in The Scotsman noted that "Although Adams's more ambitious concepts are sidelined in favour of a more prosaic - if nonetheless enjoyable - sci-fi mystery, Overman captures at least some of the wit and whimsy of his distinctive comic voice" going on to suggest "This modestly-budgeted pilot suggests potential for a series, so the deviation from Adams's originals makes sense. It also adds yet another very British oddball to the pantheon currently occupied by Doctor Who and Sherlock.[35] Series One Critical opinion to the full series was mildly positive. The adaptation from the Adams' novels was the focus of several reviews. Jane Simon, writing in The Mirror stated "It's just a shame creator Douglas Adams isn't around to see how Howard Overman has transferred Dirk to the screen. He'd definitely approve.[36] Mark Braxton in the Radio Times likewise agreed that "Overman has plucked the comic essence of Adams from his novel...and worked it into a digestible, enjoyably eccentric format."[37] AA Gill writing in the Sunday Times March 11, 2012 wrote 'Who'd have guessed that this would ever get recommissioned?...It has to get a nomination as the greatest waste of the most talent for the least visible purpose or reward." Others complained that the series was not an exact adaptation of the novels. Nigel Farndale in The Telegraph stated "I struggled with Dirk Gently...It had nothing to do with Stephen Mangan's considerable comedic talents, still less with Darren Boyd who plays MacDuff, the Dr Watson to Dirk's Holmes. It is more to do with my devotion to Douglas Adams, upon whose comic novel this series is based...in Douglas Adams, 90 per cent of the pleasure is in the prose, the narration, the felicities of language."[38] Tom Sutcliffe in The Independent felt that the programme's qualities were "spread a little too thinly over a nonsensical thriller plot' and that "laughs... were far too widely spaced in a script that could have done with a lot more editing."[39] Several critics compared the production with the big-budget BBC One detective series Sherlock, the second series of which was broadcast in January 2012. Writing in Metro, Keith Watson said "There's no doubt Sherlock has raised the detecting duo bar on TV...it's more than a match for Sherlock on the dialogue front, neatly catching the surreal humour that was the Adams trademark...but there was no disguising the fact that Dirk Gently was a five-star script being filmed on a one-star budget, making it look like a designer label knockoff when set against the production values lavished on Sherlock.[40] Stuart Jeffries in The Guardian, meanwhile, found a comparison between the tone of the series and 1960s spy/detective capers; "Never since The Avengers has there been anything so unremittingly silly on British television as Dirk Gently...Dainty harpsichord music tells us we're back in an era of TV misrule, in whose glory days John Steed, Mrs Peel and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) played fast and loose with viewers' intelligences."[26] The first episode had 737,000 viewers and a 3% audience share[41] but this fell to 415,000 and 2% share for the second episode.[citation needed] Series one, including the pilot episode, was released on DVD on 26 March 2012 by ITV Studios Home Entertainment.[5] References ^ a b c d James Donaghy "Douglas Adams's holistic detective Dirk Gently arrives on BBC4", The Guardian, 16 December 2010 ^ a b c d Helena Cole, Dirk Gently returns for three-part series, SFX, 17 February 2012 ^ a b c d "Dirk Gently to return to BBC Four", BBC Press Release, 31 March 2011 ^ a b c d Jason Deans, "Dirk Gently to return to BBC4", The Guardian, 31 March 2011 ^ a b http://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/tv/dirk_gently/buy/2802/dirk_gently_dvd/ ^ "Shada", BBC Cult, accessed 19 March 2012 ^ a b c Chris Harvey, "Dirk Gently: Douglas Adams's detective finally cracks TV", Daily Telegraph, 16 December 2010 ^ "BBC - Press Office - Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency opens for business". Retrieved 14 August 2007. ^ Dirk Maggs News and New Projects page ^ July 2007 BBC announcement of radio version ^ Rob Hastings, "BBC set to film Douglas Adams's Dirk Gently novel", The Independent, 6 October 2010 ^ The South Bank Show: Douglas Adams at the Internet Movie Database ^ Radio Times listing ^ "BBC News - Stephen Mangan to star as detective Dirk Gently". 6 October 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2010. ^ a b "BBC - Press Office - Stephen Mangan to play Dirk Gently in drama based on Douglas Adams' novel". Retrieved 10 October 2010. ^ a b c Benji Wilson, Dirk Gently: The case of the missing electric monk, The Telegraph, 5 March 2012 ^ Mangan, Stephen (16 December 2010). "Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently: How slavishly should a screen adaptation follow the book?". BBC. Retrieved 20 December 2010. ^ a b Tom Chivers, "Dirk Gently on BBC4: would Douglas Adams have recognised his creation?", Daily Telegraph, 17 December 2010 ^ a b "Stephen Mangan speaks about the return to our screens of Dirk Gently", Northampton Chronicle & Echo, 8 March 2012 ^ Helena Cole, "Dirk Gently returns for three-part series", SFX, 17 February 2012 ^ a b Cast lists, British Comedy Guide ^ Productions 2011-12, Bristol Film Office, accessed 18 March 2012 ^ News, Bristol Film Office, accessed 18 March 2012 ^ a b Dirk Gently, thecallsheet.co.uk, accessed 19 March 2012 ^ Photograph of recording session, Daniel Pemberton's Twitterfeed, accessed 22 March 2012 ^ a b Stuart Jeffries, "TV review: Dirk Gently; Empire", The Guardian, 5 March 2012 ^ Daniel Pemberton's Twitterfeed, accessed 22 March 2012 ^ a b c Dirk Gently homepage, BBC Four, accessed 19 March 2012 ^ "BARB". BARB. Retrieved 4 April 2012. ^ Sam Wollaston "TV review: The House That Made Me; Dirk Gently", The Guardian, 16 December 2010 ^ Alice-Azania Jarvis "Last Night's TV: Dirk Gently/BBC4", The Independent, 17 December 2010 ^ John Walsh, "Dirk Gently, BBC4, Thursday", The Independent, Sunday, 19 December 2010 ^ Keith Watson, "Stephen Mangan perfect for Douglas Adams's Dirk Gently", Metro, 16 December 2010 ^ Dan Owen, "TV Review: Dirk Gently", Obsessed with Film, 17 December 2010 ^ Paul Whitelaw, "TV preview: Dirk Gently", The Scotsman, 13 December 2010 ^ Jane Simon, "Douglas Adams would approve of Dirk Gently double act", The Mirror 12 March 2012 ^ Mark Braxton, Radio Times, 5 March 2012 ^ Nigel Farndale, White Heat, BBC Two, and Dirk Gently, BBC Four, review, Daily Telegraph, 9 March 2012 ^ Tom Sutcliffe, " Last Night's Viewing: Dirk Gently", The Independent 6 March 2012 ^ Keith Watson, Dirk Gently has a five-star script filmed on a one-star budget, Metro' 6 March 2012 ^ Ratings roundup, Digital Spy, 7 March 2012 External links Dirk Gently, BBC Online Dirk Gently at the Internet Movie Database Dirk Gently at the British Comedy Guide Official production team Twitterfeed