The full-scaled individual sleeves for the forthcoming DOCTOR WHO - MARA TALES boxset have been received. The boxset is released on 7 March 2011, RRP £30.63.
See below (29 January 2011) for screengrabs from the DVDs.
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31 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | SILVA SCREEN OST
SILVA SCREEN has released the final cover for the original soundtrack to last year's DOCTOR WHO - A CHRISTMAS CAROL, composed by Murray Gold and conducted by Ben Foster.
1. Come Along Pond
2. Halfway out of the Dark
3. Pray for a Miracle
4. Geoff
5. You Didn't Hit the Boy
6. Fish
7. Kazran Sardick 12 1/2
8. Ghost of Christmas Past
9. Babysitter
10. Talk About Girls
11. Sonic Fishing
12. Just a Little One
13. Big Colour
14. I Can't Save Her
15. The Other Half's Inside the Shark
16. Abigail
17. He comes every Christmas
18. Shark Ride
19. New Memories
20. Holding Hands
21. Christmas Dinner
22. Goodlucknight
23. Goodnight Abigail
24. This Planet Is Ours
25. Ghost of Christmas Present
26. The Course of my Life
27. Ghost of Christmas Future
28. Abigail's Song (Silence is all you Know)
29. Everything Has to End Some Time
Track 28 performed by Katherine Jenkins
This single disc release is set for 21 March 2011 according to AMAZON.
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29 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | PRESS RELEASE PREVIEW DISCS
With thanks to BBC DVD.
The preview discs for DOCTOR WHO - MARA TALES DVD boxset (featuring KINDA and SNAKEDANCE - complete with all new CGI effects) have been received and will be reviewed shortly.
In the meantime, the new CGI effects are EXCELLENT. Read that again; EXCELLENT.
Here's a few "screengrabs" from the discs. The boxset is released on 7 March 2011, RRP £30.63.
Oh, and we have previews of AUDIOGO's releases, DOCTOR WHO - GENESIS OF THE DALEKS (Vintage), DOCTOR WHO AND THE WAR GAMES and THE LOST EPISODES COLLECTION 2 to review. I feel a "sickie" on Monday.
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29 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | LIMITED EDITION T-SHIRTS
FORBIDDEN PLANET (the original UK sci-fi retailer) has revealed two limited edition (exclusive to FORBIDDEN PLANET) t-shirts featuring the CLASSIC SERIES.
The garments feature the Fourth Doctor burgundy jacket and scarf, and the Fifth Doctor's cricket whites. The items are available from 6 February 2011 for £15.99.
Order direct from FORBIDDEN PLANET
Link to our FORBIDDEN PLANET page for more products
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26 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | REGION 1 DVD PERTWEE
Whilst the Region 2/4 covers for the forthcoming CLASSIC SERIES DVD releases, DOCTOR WHO - PLANET OF THE SPIDERS and DOCTOR WHO - TERROR OF THE AUTONS are tucked away in a desk drawer the covers for REGION 1 have been revealed.
The content for the DVDs are as follows:
DOCTOR WHO - TERROR OF THE AUTONS
"I have come to destroy you Doctor, once and for all!" The Earth is in terrible danger: the Master is back with an evil scheme to destroy humanity and silence the Doctor forever. His plan: to awaken the awesome power of the Nestene, a ruthlessly aggressive alien life form. Once mixed with plastic, they will form into faceless automatons, a willing army of destruction easily controlled by the evil Time Lord himself. This is the terrible threat now facing the Earth: the terror of the Autons!
Aided by the Brigadier and his enthusiastic new assistant, Jo Grant, only the Doctor can combat their evil power...but first he must defeat the Master!
Audio Commentary
Life on Earth (33' 40")
The Doctor's Moriarty (18' 53")
Plastic Fantastic (11' 01")
Photo Gallery (6' 30")
PDF materials: Radio Times Listings, promotional material from Sugar Smacks, Nestle
Production Notes Subtitle Option
DOCTOR WHO - PLANET OF THE SPIDERS
In the Third Doctor's last and most dangerous adventure, a misguided group of transcendental chanters forge an unnatural link with the evil spider rulers of Metebelis 3. Sarah Jane is invited by Mike Yates to visit him at a Buddhist meditation centre where he has been staying. A group of people there, led by a man named Lupton, are misusing the meditation rituals in order to make contact with powerful alien forces, which manifest themselves as a giant spider. The spider is an emissary from the ruling council on the planet Metebelis 3, sent to recover the blue crystal that the Doctor previously found there, and that has now been returned to him by Jo Grant!
Audio Commentary
The Final Curtain
John Kane Remembers...
Directing Who with Barry Letts
Now & Then - location revisiting
WOGAN - TV interview
PLANET OF THE SPIDERS Omnibus Edition (disc 2)
Omnibus Trailer
Photo Gallery
PDF materials: Radio Times Listings
Production Notes Subtitle Option
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26 January 2011 | EVENT | NATIONAL TV AWARDS SKETCH
Defecting to ITV for one night only, DOCTOR WHO materialises on the NATIONAL TELEVISION AWARDS (from 19:30 on ITV1) as the Doctor takes the event's host, Dermot O'Leary, on a trip around "soapland".
Though with no chance of winning, Matt Smith is nominated from BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA and DOCTOR WHO is nominated as BEST DRAMA.
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26 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | MARKS AND EGGTERMINATE
For the third year in a row, MARKS AND SPENCER (UK retailer) has launched the DOCTOR WHO SERIES 5 tie-in chocolate Easter egg.
The £4.99 confection is available in two pack designs (click ENLARGE IMAGE for a larger image).
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26 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | MAXI-BUST POYRESINS MASTER
The TITAN manufacturer has another "max-bust" figure for fans to collect; John Simm's SERIES 3 Master.
More details to follow.
Link to our FORBIDDEN PLANET page for more products
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22 January 2011 | SERIES 6 | CASTING option
In today's THE MIRROR, BAFTA & GOLDEN GLOBE winner, Colin Firth (THE KING'S SPEECH) says that he'd love to be a villain in DOCTOR WHO.
Simply, yes.
THE MIRROR
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22 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | MAXI-BUST POYRESINS
FORBIDDEN PLANET has released more details of their "exclusive" range of Polyresin maxi-bust collectibles from the NEW SERIES and CLASSIC SERIES.
Cyberman (EARTHSHOCK version) - released 11 February 2011
The figures are RRP £59.99 and are about 21cm (8") tall. The items are sold via Forbidden Planet (P+P will be about £4.00) but are available UK postage free from PLAY.COM (currently discounted to £49.99 - direct links above in list).
FORBIDDEN PLANET
Link to our FORBIDDEN PLANET page for more products
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21 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | BBC DVD - MARA TALES
BBC DVD has published the cover for the forthcoming CLASSIC SERIES boxset, DOCTOR WHO - MARA TALES (KINDA and SNAKEDANCE), the three-disc set to be released on 7 March 2011.
eyeofhorus.org.uk has ten copies of this boxset to giveaway; more details below.
DOCTOR WHO - MARA TALES
Details for KINDA DVD:
4 x 25 mins approx colour episodes with mono audio.
Commentary - stereo. With actors Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Matthew Waterhouse and Nerys Hughes.
Dream Time (dur. 34' 05") - cast and crew look back at the making of the story. With actors Janet Fielding, Nerys Hughes, Simon Rouse and Adrian Mills, director Peter Grimwade, writer Christopher Bailey, script editors Christopher H. Bidmead, Eric Saward and Antony Root, designer Malcolm Thornton, new series writer Robert Shearman.
Peter Grimwade - Directing with Attitude (dur. 22' 57") - a look at the Doctor Who career of writer and director Peter Grimwade. With Peter Grimwade, actors Janet Fielding and Nerys Hughes, writer Christopher Bailey, script editor Eric Saward, production assistant Margot Hayhoe, designer Malcolm Thornton, production secretary Jane Judge, script consultant Ian Levine, and Target Books editor Nigel Robinson. Presented by Mark Strickson.
Deleted and Extended Scenes (dur. 14' 36") - a fascinating collection of deleted sequences taken from timecoded domestic videotape copies of the story's early edits.
Optional CGI Effects Sequence - option to view episode four with the original giant puppet snake replaced by a CGI snake. The disc should default to playing out the original effects. The CGI effects option should be turned on via a menu screen which should say:-
CGI Effects Comparison (dur. 1' 34") - a side by side comparison of the original puppet and new CGI snake shots.
Trails & Continuity (dur. 4' 13") - BBC trails and continuity announcements from the story's original transmission.
Photo Gallery (dur. 4' 42") - production, design and publicity photos from the story.
Isolated Music - option to watch the story with the isolated music score.
Coming Soon (dur. 1 min approx.) - a trailer for a forthcoming DVD release.
Details for SNAKEDANCE DVD:
4 x 25 mins approx colour episodes with mono audio.
Commentary - stereo. With actors Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton.
Snake Charmer (dur. 24' 37") - cast and crew look back at the making of the story. With actors Peter Davison and Janet Fielding, director Fiona Cumming, writer Christopher Bailey, script editor Eric Saward, designer Jan Spoczynski, and new series writer Robert Shearman.
Deleted Scenes (dur. 3' 05") - scenes from the original ending of episode four, courtesy of a timecoded recording kept by producer John Nathan-Turner.
In Studio (dur. 6' 12") - a rare glimpse inside the studio during recording of effects sequences for the story, including the infamous 'farting Mara'!
Saturday Superstore (dur. 14' 16") - Peter Davison guests on the Saturday morning children's show, where he plays cricket with Mike Read and John Craven and takes questions from callers.
Photo Gallery (dur. 5' 21") - production, design and publicity photos from the story.
Isolated Music - option to watch the story with the isolated music score.
Coming Soon (dur. 1 min approx.) - a trailer for a forthcoming DVD release.
Radio Times Listings in Adobe PDF format.
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21 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | AUDIOGO - THE GEMINI CONTAGION
AUDIOGO (the home of BBC AUDIO product) has published the cover for a SERIES 5 tie-in exclusive audiobook.
It begins on the ice-planet Vinsk, in the year 2112. The all-new anti-viral handwash, Gemini, has been laced with Meme-Spawn: a sentient micro-organism which makes the user fluent in every language in the universe. However, manufacturer Zalnex made one crucial mistake. They didn't test Gemini on humans, who are seized by the violent urge to communicate but speak every language all at once with a manic, garbled shriek and pass on the virus by touch.
The Doctor and Amy arrive on an Earth-bound cargo-ship loaded with Gemini, where a human crew are succumbing to the virus which has nasty second and third phases in store. When the Doctor and Amy are separated, they both know that it's only a matter of time before Amy is infected.
With the ship locked on course, and no way of curing the sufferers, the Doctor is faced with a terrible decision: does he save Amy, or Earth?
Justin Arnopp's DOCTOR WHO - THE GEMINI CONTAGION ready by Meera Syal and will be released on 3 March 2011.
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21 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | CHARACTER OPTIONS designs
CHARACTER OPTIONS may have denied their existence but they have eventually revealed the worst kept secret relating to the plastic manufacturing industry.
The CLASSIC SERIES set from DOCTOR WHO - THE SONTARAN EXPERIMENT is another limited edition sold in the USA and UK. The UK price is £34.99 (plus P+P), and will be ready for despatch on 20 February 2011.
FORBIDDEN PLANET
We are re-printing a list of forthcoming (TBC) action figures that we were emailed.
Two items on the list was "a classic sonic" (which eyeofhorus.org.uk has now seen) and a set (RESSURECTION OF THE DALEKS) that has been announced today by FORBIDDEN PLANET (link to product information). The latter set features a new "paint-finish" for the FIfth Doctor, a new Davros sculpt and two new dalek "paint-finish". Released on 17 January 2011 pre-order price £34.99.
Would anyone be surprised that all the items on the list are either (1) in development or (2) in manufacture? Thank you cyber-who for the email/photo.
19 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | AUDIOGO - GHOST LIGHT
AUDIOGO (the home of BBC AUDIO product) will be releasing DOCTOR WHO - GHOST LIGHT as an unabridged novel on 2 June 2011.
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19 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | AUDIOGO - THE RIBOS OPERATION
AUDIOGO (the home of BBC AUDIO product) has released the cover of John Leeson's unabridged reading of DOCTOR WHO AND THE RIBOS OPERATION.
Reluctantly cancelling his well-earned holiday, the Doctor sets off in the Tardis to trace and re-assemble the six segments of the Key to Time on which the stability of the entire Universe depends. Assisted by the argumentative Romanadvoratrelundar and K9, he lands on the planet Ribos in search of the first segment and finds himself entangled in the machinations of two sinister strangers, Garron and the Graff Vynda Ka. Who are they? Is Garron simply a shady confidence-trickster dealing in interplanetary real estate? Is the Graff Vynda Ka just a power-crazed exile bent on revenge? Or are they both really agents of the Black Guardian, intent upon seizing the precious Key in order to throw the Universe into eternal chaos? Risking his life within the monster-infested catacombs of Ribos, the Doctor has to use all his wit and ingenuity to find out...
Released on 3 March 2011. RRP £13.25.
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19 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | THE ARK DVD review
With thanks to BBC DVD.
The 14 February release, DOCTOR WHO - THE ARK has been reviewed, and fans may be surprised that it a very good release.
DOCTOR WHO - THE ARK DVD review
The disc (RRP £19.99) contains a commentary with Peter Purves and its director, Michael Imison along with three documentaries.
ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELLS (13' 14" minutes)
ONE HIT WONDER (4' 33" minutes)
RIVERSIDE STORY (20' 17" minutes)
Additional content: COMING SOON trailer (MARA TALES), PHOTO GALLERY and INFORMATION TEXT
EXTRA
19 January 2011 | SERIES 6 | CASTING unconfirmed
An unconfirmed email received asserts that CLASSIC SERIES guest actor, David Haig will be appearing in SERIES 6.
Haig appeared in the 1980 story, THE LEISURE HIVE as Pangol ("child of the generator").
EXTRA
18 January 2011 | eyeofhorus.org.uk | NEW COMPETITIONS
Today, we launch a competition to giveaway copies (ten available) of the 7 March 2011 release of BBC DVD's DOCTOR WHO - MARA TALES boxset featuring the Peter Davison stories KINDS and SNAKEDANCE. The closing date is 7 March 2011.
DOCTOR WHO - MARA TALES
The winners for the ten copies of DOCTOR WHO MEGLOS have been randomly picked-out and the list is now online.
DOCTOR WHO - MEGLOS
EXTRA
13 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | CLASSIC SERIES DVD for 2011
BBC DVD has published details of their DOCTOR WHO CLASSIC SERIES releases for 2011.
REVISITATIONS 2 boxset (THE SEEDS OF DEATH, CARNIVAL OF MONSTERS and RESURRECTION OF THE DALKES)
PLANET OF THE SPIDERS
FRONTIOS
EARTHSTORY boxset (THE AWAKENING and THE GUNFIGHTERS)
PARADISE TOWERS
REVISITATIONS 3 boxset (THE TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN, ROBOTS OF DEATH and THE THREE DOCTORS)
MANNEQUIN MANIA boxset (SPEARHEAD FROM SPACE ND terror of the autons) - the working title for the boxset was "PLASTIC FANTASTIC"
DAY OF THE DALEKS (with new CGI and new dalek voice track)
THE SOLAR SYSTEM boxset (THE AMBASSADORS OF DEATH and THE SUN MAKERS)
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11 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | New BBC magazine
From May 2011, BBC MAGAZINES is launching a new tie-in publication, DOCTOR WHO MONSTER INVASION.
Start collecting the awesome NEW Doctor Who Monster Invasion and build up a mega-monster magazine and cool trading card collection. Every issue comes with a pack of nine trading cards and is bursting with gross alien facts, monster slamdowns and puzzles! Learn how to play brilliant games with your cards and how to use them on the Doctor Who Monster Invasion website, to bring your 3-D cards to life and unlock brilliant game bonuses!
This new partwork will be launched on May 5th 2011, so pre-order now and be one of the first to receive it! PLUS receive a FREE TARDIS box with issues 2&3.
FREE with your first delivery: 4 packs of 9 trading cards
FREE with your second delivery: Magazine box file and swaps box
FREE with your third delivery: Monster Invasion Army
FREE with your fourth delivery: Squirty sonic screwdriver
FREE with your fifth delivery: Doctor Who Monster Invasion rucksack
More details shortly.
You can try the magazine for £5 for five issues (saving 25%) via a trial service (details below).
£5 for five issues
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7 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | THE WAR GAMES and GENESIS
Covers for the first releases from AUDIOGO have been published.
03.02.2011 - DOCTOR WHO AND THE WAR GAMES (Unabridged reading) - David Troughton
03.02.2011 - Vintage release - DOCTOR WHO - GENESIS OF THE DALEKS
Reviews will be online following release.
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7 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | AUDIOGO 2011 releases
The Press Review copies for the first 2011 DOCTOR WHO audiobooks from AUDIOGO have arrived.
These are Martin Day's DOCTOR WHO - THE JADE PYRAMID (06.01.2011) read by Matt Smith, and Nigel Robinson's CLASSIC SERIES unabridged novelisation of DOCTOR WHO - THE EDGE OF DESTRUCTION (01.01.2011)read by William Russell.
Reviews will be online shortly.
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7 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | A CHRISTMAS CAROL DVD press preview
With thanks to BBC DVD.
With 12.11 million UK viewers gorging themselves on Matt Smith's DOCTOR WHO - A CHRISTMAS CAROL fans may like to re-live the adventure courtesy of BBC DVD.
It is released on 24 January (both on DVD £13.27 and BLU-RAY £16.33) as a single-disc issue that includes the accompanying DOCTOR WHO CONFIDENTIAL and DOCTOR WHO AT THE PROMS 2010.
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE: It's the deepest part of winter, the exact midpoint, Christmas Eve - half way out of the dark. Amy and Rory are trapped on a stricken space liner that's plummeting through banks of thick icy fog to the surface of the planet below. Only one man has the power to save them; only one man is in possession of a machine that can clear the fog and let them land safely. That man is Kazran Sardick, a rich but lonely old miser who rules Sardicktown with a sky-mast of iron.
The Doctor's only chance of rescuing the ship's four thousand passengers is to save Kazran's soul and show him that life is worth living. For this he needs to go back, way back, to when Kazran was a boy with a life full of promise. But can the Doctor put a song in Kazran's heart and love in his life, in time for Christmas? Can he bring him out of the dark?
Starring alongside Matt Smith as the Doctor, Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, and Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams, A Christmas Carol also stars singing sensation Katherine Jenkins in her first acting role and British acting stalwart Michael Gambon.
EXTRA
7 January 2011 | MERCHANDISE | THE ARK DVD press preview
With thanks to BBC DVD.
BBC DVD will be publishing William Hartnell's four-parter, DOCTOR WHO - THE ARK on 14 February 2011 as a single-disc issue.
The preview disc (called a "testmold") has been received and will be reviewed shortly. The final sleeve is shown (left, bottom).
Materialising in what appears to be a jungle on Earth, the Doctor, Steven and Dodo soon realise that things are not what they seem: the sky is made of steel, and the jungle merely a colossal life chamber in a craft that has embarked on the most important expedition in the history of mankind.
It is ten million years in the future, and the Earth is soon to be engulfed by the Sun in a catastrophic explosion. A gigantic space ark has been launched, taking the last humans to a new life on the distant planet of Refusis, serving the Guardians of Earth are the Monoids, mute reptilian aliens.
But the Ark's mission of deliverance is threatened by the arrival of the time travellers; Dodo inadvertently passes her cold to the Guardians - to them, it is a long-forgotten virus against which they have no defence. It is not long before people start to die and the TARDIS crew are on trial for their own lives.
DOCTOR WHO - THE ARK DVD review
The disc (RRP £19.99) contains a commentary with Peter Purves and its director, Michael Imison along with three documentaries.
ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELLS (13' 14" minutes)
ONE HIT WONDER (4' 33" minutes)
RIVERSIDE STORY (20' 17" minutes)
Additional content: COMING SOON trailer (MARA TALES), PHOTO GALLERY and INFORMATION TEXT
They may not (or may...) appearing in the forthcoming SERIES 6 and they may never again following the backlash from DOCTOR WHO fandom so here's an opportunity to own (cheapest we've been able to find) a fully remote controlled 13" RED DRONE DALEK from BOOTS.COM.
This fully functional radio controlled 13" Dr Who Dalek Drone includes a handset with 'Dual Stick' movement control, 10 Dalek phrases and exterminator gun sound effect, activated using the five button sound selector.
Reduced from £49.99 to £20.00 (limited stock) and with free UK pick-up from your local BOOTS store.
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3 January 2011 | eyeofhorus.org.uk | Service update
And a happy new year to you all.
We're back from the holiday period and site updates will commence shortly.