Next series of Doctor Who to be split transmission

BBC Press Office has had a press release revealing that series 6 of Doctor Who will be shown in 2 blocks, in spring and autumn. See here, and here.

The split transmission is the result of a request from Steven Moffat to write a new Doctor Who story arc which involves a big plot twist in the middle of the series. By splitting the series Moffat plans to give viewers one of the most exciting Doctor Who cliffhangers and plot twists ever, leaving them waiting, on the edge of their seats, until the autumn to find out what happens.

Steven Moffat said: "The split series is hugely exciting because viewers will be treated to two premieres, two finales and more event episodes. For the kids it will never be more than a few months to the next Doctor Who! Easter, Autumn, Christmas!!"

"Looking at the next series I thought what this show needs is a big event in the middle," Moffat told the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival.

"I kept referring to a mid-season finale. So we are going to make it two series – seven episodes at Easter building to an earth-shattering climax, a cliffhanger we could never normally do because it would be too long before it came back. An enormous game-changing cliffhanger that will change everything.

"The wrong expression would be to say we are splitting it in two. We are making it two separate series."

please comment

Series 6 Directors

Richard Clark and Adam Smith are listed in an online CV of Production Designer Michael Pickwoad, to return to Doctor Who to direct in series 6, alongside Toby Haynes, who is also directing this Christmas Special.

Source - The Doctor Who News Page

please comment

TARDIS Available Now!

The third of the four free downloadable Doctor Who: The Adventure Games, TARDIS is available to download now in the UK. Click >>here<<.

With the TARDIS caught in a time riptide, it's up to Amy to save the day or leave the Doctor trapped in the void forever. Meanwhile, a dangerous entity is roaming the TARDIS corridors and it hasn't been fed for a very long time...

This is your chance to be the Doctor.
Are you ready for the challenge?

please comment

Wish You Were Here - TARDIS Prologue

James Moran, writer of the third Adventure Game, 'TARDIS' has written a prologue to the game called Wish You Were Here and you can read it here.

TARDIS is a dramatic, non-stop story in which you get to take control of the Doctor's time machine and battle a new monster known as the Entity... But if you want to know what the Doctor and Amy are up to immediately before that adventure begins, you can find out now in Wish You Were Here. It's written by James Moran (The Fires of Pompeii, Torchwood) who also wrote the latest Adventure Game. It sets the scene for TARDIS, introduces a new threat faced by the Doctor and leads directly into the action of the game.

There are also other features on the Doctor Who site, for the release of TARDIS.

• Jigsaw
• Screenshots
• Wallpapers
• Introduction by Karen Gillan
• Matt and Karen's Dream TARDIS

It will be released tomorrow to download from the official site.

please comment

Nintendo Wii and DS Doctor Who Games

There will be 2 Nintendo games available, 'Return To Earth', made for the Wii and 'Evacuation Earth', made for the DS, from Asylum Entertainment. They are due to release on either 29th October, according to Amazon or 19th November, according to Play. The covers and synopses for both are below:

Evacuation Earth (Nintendo DS)

The Doctor and Amy arrive at the Lake District to watch the humans leave the planet. Suddenly the TARDIS gets lifted from them and bolted onto the evacuation ship. They have to make their way onto the ship before it leaves As the ship launches it has technical problems and they realise the Silurians have built a ship underneath. The Doctor finds a solution to make the ship work

Suddenly the Dalek ship smashes into the human one and splits the Silurian half off. It’s the Dalek ship that chased the Time Axis into the sun – they weren’t destroyed, they actually made a random jump several hundred years into the past

The Daleks are pleased that they can exact revenge on the Doctor but first they make him fix their ship. The Doctor goes along with their plan but tricks them into bolting the TARDIS onto their ship, which he promptly jumps into and uses to fling them into the nearest black hole.

Return To Earth (Nintendo Wii)


The Doctor and Amy help the SS Lucy Gray to return home to Earth, unravelling a Cyber Plot and preventing the Daleks from retrieving a lost Time Axis along the way. The Doctor and Amy arrive on a human colony ship returning to Earth after it was rendered uninhabitable by solar flares. Without provocation they are attacked by the ship’s maintenance robots and become separated in the struggle.

The Doctor is eventually led to the ship’s Head Quarters, where he discovers a Cyber Leader has connected himself to the ships AI and is blackmailing it into doing his bidding, or else he’ll kill the crew. Meanwhile the Cybermen that were hiding in the ship ambush Amy and chase her out into space.

Guide the Doctor and Amy as they face their biggest adventure yet!

please comment

Neil Gaiman's Deleted Scene

Neil Gaiman, who has written an episode of Doctor Who for series 6, has posted a scene on his website from his story that has been taken out of the script. Too bad, sound's like it would have been a fun scene. Click here.

AMY

Is it something people can eat?

(to Doctor)

Shouldn’t you scan it with your screwdriver or something?

THE DOCTOR

Why would I scan food with my screwdriver?

AMY

See if it’s safe?

The Doctor leans over, dips his finger into his bowl, tastes it.

THE DOCTOR

Some unusual trace elements, smidge too much background radiation, but, yeah, very yummy.

Amy is about to try some of his food... he stops her.

THE DOCTOR (cont’d)

No. Don’t put it in your mouth.

AMY

Not for humans?

THE DOCTOR

Not for you. Tastes like Marmite on socks.

please comment

Christmas Special Picture

Matt Smith and Karen Gillan appeared on The One Show yesterday to talk about Doctor Who, and a new exclusive image was shown. Click here to watch the interview on iPlayer. Thanks to Blogtor Who for the high-res version of the image.

please comment

The Adventure Games - TARDIS

The BBC have revealed information about episode three of The Adventure Games. It is called 'TARDIS' and will be available to download in the UK on the 27th August. The game will give the players a chance to control the TARDIS, and you can click here to read more.


It will feature monsters, terrifying new dangers for the Doctor and Amy and offers an amazing insight into the world's most famous blue box. It's also been announced that the game will give players the opportunity to pilot the Doctor's iconic time machine.

Lead Writer and Executive Producer, Steven Moffat, confirmed, 'Since 1963, kids have wondered what it would be like to control the TARDIS. Now we're handing complete control of the most powerful ship in all of space and time to a generation of children. Everybody duck!' He also told us, 'TARDIS is a brilliant, brilliant adventure. It's funny, touching, terrifying, amazing - everything a Doctor Who episode should be.'

The official press release promised, 'the game allows players to explore the Doctor's wondrous drawing room, featuring treasures and artefacts from his many adventures - a location specially created for the game, which will go on to form part of the Doctor Who canon'.

Matt Smith and Karen Gillan return as the Doctor and Amy and once again the game is executive produced by Steven Moffat, Piers Wenger, Beth Willis and Anwen Aspden (BBC Wales Interactive), alongside Charles Cecil. Music is by Murray Gold and TARDIS is written by James Moran whose previous credits include Torchwood, Spooks and the Tenth Doctor story, The Fires of Pompeii.

It's the third Adventure Game and will be available at no extra cost to UK households, simultaneously on PC and Mac from this site. Users outside the UK will be able to purchase and download it on its UK release date, 27 August.

We'll be bringing you updates and interviews as we get closer to TARDIS materialising!

please comment

Doctor Who Christmas Special Casting

Doctor Who Magazine was released today and revealed some more casting information for the Doctor Who Christmas Special. Thanks ATV Network for the news. They have revealed that Micah Balfour, Pooky Quesnel, Leo Bill and Laurence Belcher have roles in the episode, click here to read more.

please comment

Torchwood: The New World Story and Character Synopses

A new synopsis has been released by Starz for Torchwood: The New World, see here for source on Starz. They have also released a character synopsis for Jack, Gwen and the new character Rex Matheson. See here. The series is due to start in Summer next year.

Series Synopsis

When C.I.A. agent Rex Matheson investigates a global conspiracy, he finds himself unearthing a threat which challenges the entire human race. The answers seem to lie within an old, secret British institute, known only as Torchwood. But Torchwood was destroyed, years ago, and the keys to the institute are held by its only two survivors - former Police Officer Gwen Cooper, who has long since disappeared along with her husband and child, and the mysterious Captain Jack Harkness, a man whose history seems to stretch back centuries.

With Rex under attack from all sides, in both the US and the UK, he soon discovers there are forces at work within every level of society, determined to stop Torchwood's return. As a chain of events across the world links together the most disparate and unlikely individuals - including a surgeon, a killer, senators and CEOs - a new Torchwood team takes shape. But this time, the threat is much closer to home, as they realize that their greatest enemy is mankind itself...

Captain Jack Harkness

He's American, handsome, with a killer smile and a classic coat. But you don't expect heroes to be this much fun. He's witty, fast, subversive and there's a reason for that glint in his eye - he'll sleep with women, he'll sleep with men; if aliens invade, he'll sleep with them too. Got a problem with that? Tough!

His dashing style hides a secret. There are mysteries about Jack - a man going under his name seems to have a history stretching back to World War 2, or even earlier, to the Nineteenth century, the Eighteenth...

Truth is, Jack Harkness is immortal. A fixed point in time and space. The only one of his kind. For thousands of years, he has never been able to die. When killed, he comes back to life - seconds later. Though his tragedy is, he feels every death. It hurts - and so does the passage of time. He can never love anyone for too long, because he will always lose them. As a result, he's lived many lives. He's been a conman, a thief, an adventurer - though more a rogue than a villain, because his perspective on human life makes him appreciate this world all the more.

Jack once ran the Torchwood Institute, a British organization dedicated to fighting the strange and bizarre. He was king of his own little world for a while, the happiest he'd ever been. But Torchwood fell. His friends were killed. The Institute closed down, and Jack disappeared, to start yet another of his many new lives. And yet...

The only thing that could call Jack Harkness back is his unstated love for Gwen Cooper. And when a new, epic danger affects the whole planet, Jack finds himself back at the center of events, fighting not just for his own life, but for everyone on Earth. But this time, are the stakes too high?

Gwen Cooper

All Gwen wants is a quiet life. Honest.

She's Welsh, lives in seclusion, far away from the city, on a cliff top in the wilds of South Wales with her devoted husband, and baby Anwen - it's a rural idyll.
And it's a lie. Gwen is in hiding, because she once lived the most extraordinary life. She was the heart and soul of an organization called Torchwood, a freelance band of fighters who fought the strange and unexplained. She was a defender of the human race.

But no more. Torchwood was destroyed. Her colleagues died, or fled. And Gwen hid herself away, for the rest of her life, to protect her loved ones. But knowing, just knowing, that one day trouble would come calling again.

She lives the ultimate double life: the funny, salty, earthy woman who loves home and family, combined with the tough, ruthless warrior, who loves the thrill of the fight. She's both selfish and selfless. And never doubt it - when Gwen's in a crisis, she is magnificent. Gun in both hands, baby strapped to her chest, she'll run and fight and never give up.

It's passion, in the end: Gwen's all about passion. She loves her man, she loves her child, she loves this mad old world, and maybe she loves Captain Jack Harkness just a little too much. But when the events of this story push Gwen to the limit, she'll need to call on resources she never knew she had, to take action and make the most terrible decisions, on behalf of all mankind.


Rex Matheson

He’s 28, the golden boy. Has been, all his life. Harvard education, fast-tracker in the C.I.A., destined for success. Though he’s never taken it easy – Rex hustles, seduces and campaigns to get where he is today. He can talk his way into anything, then charm his way out, fast. He’s made a lot of enemies, but his friends and lovers would defend him to death.

His choice of career is significant. Someone like Rex could make a fortune in Wall Street, or Hollywood. But choosing the C.I.A. says a lot about him: that for all his swagger, he does believe in justice. And will fight for it.

Slowly but surely, we see him make friends. He’s thrown together a bunch of people known as Torchwood, the only people who might have the answer to a global mystery. To Rex, at first, they’re a bunch of freaks. Welsh women and World War 2 Captains, what’s that about?! But as they race from one crisis to another, dodging assassins, blackmail, corruption and conspiracy, from Washington to Wales and the slums of Shanghai, Rex forges friendships in the heat of fire. He learns to trust his new colleagues. And they realize that this dangerous, dazzling, reckless man is the best friend they could ever have, in a world going to hell.

They frighten us, men like Rex. We wish we were him; we never will be.

please comment

Torchwood Magazine 23

The cover for Torchwood Magazine Issue 22 has been released by Titan on their Torchwood Magazine Facebook page. You can see the Torchwood Magazine's official site, within the Titan site, here. Click here to see some content of this issue. It is out this Thursday for £3.99.

please comment

Doctor Who Magazine 425

The cover for Doctor Who Magazine, issue 425 has been released on Facebook. It costs £4.20 and will be out on Thursday 19th August.

It features an exclusive interview with Sylvester McCoy, a look at how Time Travel works, part 2 of the interview with Toby Haynes, director of The Big Bang, a new comic strip, The Golden Ones, by Jonathan Morris and Martin Geraghty, a look at The Shakespeare Code in The Fact of Fiction, Production Notes, Gallifrey Guardian, Public Image, Galaxy Forum, Reviews, and The Wheel of Fortune, and more.

please comment

Torchwood Writers

The Chicago Tribune has revealed 4 writers, other than Russell T Davies, who will be penning at least 1 episode of the 10 part series 4 of Torchwood: The New World. Click here to read more.

Davies, who created the "Doctor Who" spinoff, will of course write several episodes of the 10-part series, but other writers for Season 4 include John Shiban ("Breaking Bad," "Supernatural," "The X-Files"), Doris Egan ("House," "Tru Calling," "Dark Angel'), Jane Espenson ("Game of Thrones," "Battlestar Galactica," "Buffy") and John Fay (a U.K. "Torchwood" writer).

please comment

SFX Sci-Fi and Fantasy Character Polls

SFX are hosting a series of polls for their 200 Greatest Sci-Fi and fantasy characters ever poll in celebration of SFX’s 200th edition, coming up in August. So far 9 of the 10 polls are available to vote in, with the final poll out on Wednesday. Many Doctor Who and Torchwood characters are runners up in the polls, as well as Futurama :D. I'll update this post when the last poll, Vampires is out.

• Favourite Hero
• Favourite Heroine
• Favourite Superhero
• Favourite Monster
• Favourite Robots, Andriods and AI's
• Favourite Alien
• Favourite Sage Boffin or Mentor
• Favourite Anti-Hero
• Favourite Villain

please comment

Torchwood: The New World

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that the next series of Torchwood will have the banner title of 'The New World'. It's due to return to our screens with a much more global story at Summer 2011, with a 10 part story as the series.

The new story will follow a CIA agent (Rex) and analyst (Ester) who tackle an alien-related global issue. Torchwood, having been destroyed and disbanded, is "like a legend now ... it's like something that's ceased to exist and is now spoken of only in whispers." Soon, Rex and Ester are on the run and are seeking out the help of Captain Jack and Gwen.

"The two teams coming together is a big part of the story -- are they friends or enemies? There's a lot of sparks and excitement."

"We definitely have a really big story to tell," added executive producer Julie Gardner. "It's absolutely rebooted to welcome in a new audience."

Click here to read the full article.

please comment

Doctor Who Episodes on SeeSaw

The online TV Service SeeSaw has many Doctor Who and Torchwood episodes, available to rent legally, and many classic series stories for free. Click here to visit. It has series 1, 2 and 3's episodes for £1.19 each, and series 4, and all the Christmas specials 99p each. Renting a whole series is £9.99. Renting individual episodes will be available to watch for 30 days, and renting a series will be available for 90 days. Every Torchwood episode from series 1-3 are available for £1.19 each, with the whole series of 1 or 2 for $9.99 each and series 3 for £4.99. The Space Museum, Tomb of the Cybermen, Planet of the Spiders, The Talons of Weng-Chiang, The Caves of Androzani, The Mark of the Rani and Survival are all free to watch.

please comment

The History Hunt Begins!

A new interactive game called The History Hunt starts today. It has a series of exclusive videos with Karen Gillan, and the challenge is to help unlock the Doctor's safe. Read more about it here, and you can play it now, here!

please comment

Airlock Alpha Portal Award Results

This years Airlock Alpha - Portal Award Results are now available, and there are a number of Doctor Who related winners! Click here and here to read more about the winners and nominees.

• David Tennant won 'Best Actor/Television'
  with a massive 68% of votes, beating John Barrowman from 'Torchwood', Matthew Fox from 'Lost', Zachary Levi from 'Chuck' and Eddie McClintock from 'Warehouse 13'.

• Bernard Cribbins won 'Best Supporting Actor/Television'
  with 59% of the votes, beating Robert Carlyle from 'Stargate: Universe', Enver Gjokaj from 'Dollhouse', John Noble from 'Fringe' and Terry O'Quinn from 'Lost'.

• Doctor Who won 'Best Series/Television'
  with 65% of the votes, beating Torchwood, at second with 11%, and Fringe, Lost and Stargate: Universe.

• Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper, Torchwood) won 'Best Actress/Television'
  with 38% of the votes, beating Karen Gillan (Amy Pond, Doctor Who) with 26% of the votes.

• Doctor Who: The End of Time won 'Best Episode/Television'
  beating 'Smallville: Absolute Justice', 'Torchwood: Children of Earth' and Fringe: 'Over There'

• Alex Kingston won 'Best Guest/Television'
  for her role as River Song in the 'Time of Angels', beating James Callis from 'Course Correction' episode of FlashForward, Felicia Day from 'Epitaph, Part 2' of Dollhouse, Leonard Nimoy from 'Over There' of Fringe and Michael Shanks from 'Absolute Justice' of Smallville.

• Russell T Davies won 'Gene Roddenberry Award'
  for his work on Doctor Who, beating J.J. Abrams, Gene Coon, Ronald D. Moore and Peter Jackson.

please comment