This week sees some information on the Inferno Special Edition DVD and some non news on the upcoming anniversary sepcial. But fear not true believers, there is big news related to the Hartnell era.
LOST SCRIPTS FOUND
For Doctor Who fans celebrating the Time Lord’s fiftieth birthday an early present has arrived in the form of some unfilmed Hartnell era scripts.
The scripts were found in Herne Bay by prop maker Jason Onion who was digging through former writer Anthony Coburn’s papers. Onion was looking through them as research for a piece he was writing about Kent’s connection to Doctor Who. Anthony Coburn, who died in 1977, wrote An Unearthly Child and created the TARDIS, lived for a time in Herne Bay.
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Onion talked about is discovery with This Is Kent.
With the consent of Anthony’s wife, Joan Coburn-Moon, and other family members, the family lent me a box of his work and I saw the scripts, but put them to one side, when I scanned the cover later I realised it didn’t have the right title for the first episode. I had a look and as soon as I saw the first few pages I knew it was not the episode that had been televised. I just sat there, and stared and stared. I wanted to cover them with glass. They are unbelievably precious, and I had them in my hand.
Amongst the papers discovered are two different scripts for An Unearthly Child, and the infamous Coburn script for Masters of Luxor, which was never commissioned and eventually replaced by The Daleks in Seasaon One. Onion elaborated on the significance of the find.
You can see that the template for the Daleks came from Anthony. You can see in these episodes a device to unlock TARDIS, which became the sonic screwdriver, and the science and regeneration and renewal of the body, which were all created in Anthony’s mind.
This find completes the genesis of Doctor Who from Anthony Coburn’s imagination. The drafts explain the mystery of Doctor Who, his origins, his people and all the background.
It is safe to assume that these stories will see the light of day at some point either in print form or as an audio series. But for know the Coburn Scripts are locked away in a safe place while Onion works to gain legal consent from the Coburn estate to share the scripts with the general public.
This is huge find which sheds a new light on the origins of the program and the Hartnell era.
Link: http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/Doctor-scripts-attic/story-18411426-detail/story.html#axzz2NVlipkU8
VOTE FOR DOCTOR WHO IN NICK AWARDS
Doctor Who will be representing at the 26th Annual Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards with three nominations. Doctor Who is up for Favorite UK Show while Jenna-Louise Coleman has been nominated for Favorite UK Actress.It’s going to be a dog fight when good friends Matt Smith and Andrew Garfield go toe to toe in the Favourite UK Actor category.
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Winners will be announced on March 24th.
There is still plenty of time to vote: http://kca.nick.co.uk
THE RETURN OF RIVER SONG
Alex Kingston was interviewed in The Radio Times this week where she spoke about returning to Doctor Who as River Song.
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I’m so attached to that character. I never expected her to grow and develop in the way she has. You never know whether she’s going to be hard-ass or good. As long as Steven Moffat has storylines that include her, I will always say yes.
River is rumored to appear in the Season finale and the actress has intimated that she could also return in Season Eight.
JENNA LOUISE COLEMAN CONFIRMS SHE’LL BE BACK IN SEASON EIGHT
Jenna-Louise Coleman was a guest on Richard Bacon’s Radio Five program this week. In a fifteen minute interview she talked about Doctor Who and stated that she would be back for Series Eight.
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There was some previous speculation that her time as a companion would be shorter. Obviously this news clears up some of that business.
Hear it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tnK-_iMdCg&feature=player_embedded
CAROLINE SKINNER LEAVING PRODUCTION TEAM
Caroline Skinner, the executive producer of Doctor Who, has announced that she is leaving the program after Season Seven to head up BBC Drama Production in London.
Skinner commented on her exit and her new opportunity.
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It has been an honour to have been a part of Doctor Who, and a privilege to have worked with Steven Moffat and Matt Smith on this extraordinary show. I have hugely enjoyed my time in BBC Wales and would like to thank Faith Penhale, and our wonderful production team for their unending commitment and brilliance. I will miss them all enormously, but I’m leaving Doctor Who in fine form, with the new series starting at Easter and the fantastic plans for the 50th Anniversary already underway. I am delighted to be now returning to BBC Drama Production in London as an executive producer, and the new opportunities and projects that will bring.
Faith Penhale, the head of drama for BBC Wales will take over Skinner’s previous duties for the fiftieth Anniversary show. Despite the change Skinner will still be involved in An Adventure In Space And Time.
From the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2013/caroline-skinner.html
NEIL CROSS ON WRITING DOCTOR WHO
Luther creator Neil Cross has written two episodes for Season Seven with a possibility of more work coming his way in the future. He recemtly spoke with the new Zealand edition of Stuff Magazine about working on the show.
When he (Steven Moffat) asked me, I went ‘absolutely’, then put down the phone and said, ‘Holy shit’. The challenge was to do something that has never been done before in 50 years of the show. Doctor Who is a show made by people who love Doctor Who. To be asked back to write more is as much a recognition of my love of Doctor Who as my ability.
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Cross has written Episode Seven, The Rings of Akhaten, and episode nine , Phantoms of the Hex. The Emmy nominated writer descibed the latter episodes as the kind of Doctor Who episode that would have terrified me when I was 9 years old.
Read it here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv/8348406/Kiwi-writes-Doctor-Who-episodes
SPEAR OF DESTINY
It’s the Third Doctor’s turn in the latest eshorts Doctor Who adventures form Puffin Books. The series, designed especially for the fiftieth anniversary, features a monthly title penned by a notable children’s author. Michael Scott and Eoin Colfer have already written titles featuring the First and Second Doctors respectively. The newest in title in the series of eleven will be released on the 23rd of each month through November.
Next up is Spear of Destiny by Marcus Sedgwick, the award winning author of Floodland and My Swordhand.
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Synopsis
The Third Doctor and Jo Grant are trying to track down the magical spear of Odin when they find themselves caught up in a vicious battle between two Viking tribes. But one of the Vikings is even more dangerous than he appears to be. Can the Doctor stop the spear getting into the wrong hands before it’s too late?
Sedgwick commented on his contribution to the ebook series.
To me, Jon Pertwee is the quintessential Doctor, a hero of both thought and action. When I was young he seemed like a schoolmaster you were a bit afraid of, and yet really liked at the same time. Bringing him back to life and pitting him against his old nemesis, The Master, was a huge thrill for me and I hope fans will recognise Jon in the pages of my story.
FREEMA AGYEMAN NOT IN ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
These days you can catch Freema Agyeman on the telly in The Carrie Diaries instead of in the TARDIS> But that ha snot stopped the former Tennant c0mpanion from commenting on the upcoming anniversary. In a March 3rd tweet the actress mentioned she was not involved in any special but would be contributing something for BBC America for the occasion.
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I’m contributing 2a program for BBC AMERICA but not involved in the drama. Excited 2watch tho.
In another tweet she addressed returing to the show more directly.
Would I play Martha Jones again? : Yes, under the right circumstances ie character development opportunity.
Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FreemaOfficial
SYLVESTER MCCOY ON 5OTH ANNIVERSARY
You can add Sylvester McCoy to the list of former Doctors denying involvement in the upcoming fiftieth anniversary special. The Seventh Doctor spoke to IGN about his non involvement. When asked if he knew anything he commented on the situation.
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The other day I was with Tom Baker, Peter, and Colin – the 20th century Who-ers, and Tom asked ‘Well, little man, have you heard anything?’ and I told him ‘No, I haven’t heard anything.’ So none of us have heard anything.
ROBOTS OF DEATH AT BFI
The screening of The Mind Of Evil at London’s BFI Southbank was hugely successful. The greatly restored Third Doctor story has garnered raves from critics and fans who were thrilled to see it.
Building on that success, the British Film Institute (BFI) announced the full program for its screening of Tom Baker’s The Robots of Death on Saturday, April 20th at 2pm. The screening is part of the BFI’s Doctor Who At 50 celebration. Each of the screenings has been a sold out success. On hand for a Q&A will be Tom Baker, Louise Jameson and former producer Philip Hinchcliffe.
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BFI Link: http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/bfi-news/doctor-who-50
THE CAVES OF ANDROZANI AT BFI
The BFI also announced that Peter Davison’s farewell story, The Caves of Androzani will follow The Robots Of Death screen as a part of their Doctor Who At 50 series. Since debuting in 1984 this epic, penned by the great Robert Holmes, is considered to be a masterpiece of the classic era.
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The Caves Of Ancrozani will screen at BFI Southbank on May 4th at 2pm. Guests for the screening have yet to be announced.
GALLIFREY 2014
Colin Baker heads the list of confirmed guests for Gallifrey 2014 which is being held in Los Angeles from February 14-16, 2014. Next year will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the largest Doctor Who convention in North America.
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The convention will also feature a UNIT reunion with Katy Manning, Richard Franklin and John Levine. Tickets for this epic event are on sale now.
Link: http://www.gallifreyone.com/
INFERNO ON DVD
The 1970 alternative universe epic, Inferno is getting rereleased in May as a special edition DVD. Inferno has gained a cult following in part to its allowing the series regulars to develop alternative universe versions of their regular characters. Inferno was one of Nicholas Courtney’s favorite episodes and John Levene has also mentioned it as a favorite of his.
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Synopsis
Still chafing at his exile to the planet Earth, the Doctor is called in to observe the Inferno drilling experiment of Professor Stahlman. Stahlman’s search for a new form of energy goes horribly wrong when a green slime emitted from the drill site transforms any who come into contact with it into primeval monsters. Meanwhile, after experimenting with the TARDIS console, the Doctor finds himself transported sideways in time to a parallel version of the Earth, where the Brigadier is an eyepatch-wearing fascist and Stahlman’s experiments threaten to destroy the world.
In addition to restored sound and image, the DVD will include the previously released audio commentary from Nicholas Courtney, John Levine, Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks as well as new production notes, a deleted scene, production subtitles. a visual effects promo film, Inferno photo gallery, Radio Times listings and Easter Eggs. There also are some new features created specially for this edition.
Can You Hear The Earth Scream?: A making of feature with the production team recalling their experiences working on the story.
Hadoke Versus HAVOC: Toby Hadoke returns with this new interview with the HAVOC stunt team. Derek Ware, Ray Scammell, Derek Martin and Stuart Fell look back at the world of Doctor Who stunts.
The Pertwee Years: An introduction from the third Doctor himself. This is taken from The Pertwee Years VHS release.
Doctor Forever-Lost In The Dark Dimension: Presenting another edition in this five part series about how interest in Doctor Who during the dormant years between Survival and the relaunch in 2005. This edition explores the many attempts to bring the program back during this period. Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spilsbury is interviewed along with former Executive Producer Russeell T. Davies and Gary Russell.
The UNIT Family: Part One: A documentary about the close knit world of UNIT.
Next Time…The Mind Of Evil, Pointless Celebrities and more!
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