Doctor Who - The Ice Warriors Review

Doctor Who:
The Ice Warriors
By Brian Hayles

“Don't you understand? They're ruthless killers and they'll stop at nothing. Now please, listen to me. There's no time to lose.”

The TARDIS lands, more likes crashes, near Brittanicus Base.  Brittanicus Base is on an island near Great Britain and its job is to keep the glacier at bay by using the ioniser.  In the future Earth is facing a second ice age and bases using ionisers are what they have to try and keep the ice away to survive.  The Doctor Jamie and Victoria have stumbled upon the base in time to help them out with a problem with the ionizer.  By doing this The Doctor has gained the trust of Clent who is in charge of the base. 

Details for Doctor Who - The Morton Legacy

Out now from Big Finish is another adventure in The Early Adventures featuring the 2nd Doctor and his first Tardis crew Polly, Ben and Jamie.  This adventure takes place in London but not the London that Ben and Polly were expecting.  You can order this release from the Big Finish website.
https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/the-morton-legacy-1321

When the TARDIS lands in London, Ben and Polly are initially delighted to be back home… until they realise that they’re a hundred years too early. But this is nothing next to how the Doctor and Jamie feel when the TARDIS itself vanishes!

Their attempts to locate their ship lead them to an antiquarian, Josiah Morton, possessed of a most unusual collection that is currently subjected to a legal dispute. But they’re not the only people interested in him. Dangerous criminals watch from the shadows, waiting for a moment to strike. And the police are calling too - accusing him of murder.

An unusual series of deaths have been occurring across the capital, and all signs point to Morton as the culprit. But is he really a killer? Or is there something else at large in the city? Something… alien?

Written By: Justin Richards
Directed By: Lisa Bowerman

Cast
Anneke Wills (Polly Wright/Narrator), Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon/The Doctor), Elliot Chapman (Ben Jackson), David Sibley (Josiah Morton), Kerry Gooderson (Jemma Morton), Ewan Bailey (Blazzard / Copeland), Alan Blyton (Dexter).

Other parts played by members of the cast.

Producer David Richardson
Script Editor John Dorney
Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs

Details for Doctor Who - The Outliers

Out this month by Big Finish for The Early Adventures Range is a 2nd Doctor adventure with Ben, Polly and Jamie.  You can order this audio adventure from the Big Finish website.
https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/the-outliers-1320

The TARDIS takes the Doctor, Ben, Polly and Jamie to a flooded underground town on an alien world. The streets are empty. The houses are bare. Not a trace of life.

The miners working here are vanishing. And it isn’t long before the time-travellers are suspected of being responsible for the disappearances. But even the authorities haven’t fully realised the scale of the problem.

There’s something else on this world. Something dragging people away. And it won’t stop until it’s taken them all.

Written By: Simon Guerrier
Directed By: Lisa Bowerman

Cast
Anneke Wills (Polly Wright/Narrator), Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon/The Doctor), Elliot Chapman (Ben Jackson), Alistair Petrie (Richard Tipple), Debbie Chazen (Dr Goro), Matilda Ziegler (Chatura Sharma)

Producer David Richardson
Script Editor John Dorney
Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs

Details for Doctor Who - The Night Witches

Out this month is the start of a new series of The Early Adventures with the Second Doctor era taking center stage.  This story focuses on the early part of his era with his original companions.  you can order this adventure from the Big Finish website.
https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/the-night-witches-1319

When the TARDIS materialises north of Stalingrad in 1942, the Doctor, Jamie, Ben and Polly are captured by the Night Witches, an all-female unit of flyers tasked with disrupting the German forces nearing Moscow.

They suspect that the travellers are spies - part of the Germans’ Operation Barbarossa. Despite their pleas they are locked up while it is decided what to do with them.

Polly, however, is receiving strange looks from the pilots and clearly unnerving them. When the TARDIS crew discover why this is, it becomes clear that they’re about to get far more involved in the war than they could possibly have imagined.

Written By: Roland Moore
Directed By: Helen Goldwyn

Cast
Anneke Wills (Polly Wright/Narrator), Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon/The Doctor), Elliot Chapman (Ben Jackson), Anjella Mackintosh(Tatiana Kregki), Wanda Opalinska (Nadia Vasney), Kristina Buikaite (Lilya Grankin).

Producer David Richardson
Script Editor John Dorney
Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs

Details for Doctor Who - The British Invasion

This months download only audio adventure takes place during the 2nd Doctor era and is narrated by Wendy Padbury who played Zoe during season 6.  You can purchase this audio adventure from the Big Finish website.

https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/the-british-invasion-1363

A huge metal dome sits by the side of the river Thames, within it is a device that might change the entire future of humanity. The Doctor, Zoe and Jamie embark on a small act of kindness but the TARDIS seems oddly unwilling to help. It’s as if it knows the truth. There is something waiting here, something adaptable and cunning, gathering its strength to conquer the stars.

Producer Ian Atkins
Script Editor Ian Atkins
Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs

Written By: Ian Potter
Directed By: Lisa Bowerman

Cast
Wendy Padbury (Narrator)

Doctor Who Companion Deborah Watling has died.

Deborah Watling who played Victoria Waterfield during the Patrick Troughton era during season 5 has passed away after a short battle with lung cancer at the age of 69.  Sadly there are only two of her stories that are complete (The Tomb of the Cybermen and The Enemy of the World) while two others are missing a few epiosdes and have been released with animation and telesnap reconstructions (The Web of Fear and The Ice Warriors).  She also returned to the role of Victoria in 1995's Downtime which is out now on DVD.  She has been a staple of the Doctor Who convention scene and her panels were wonderful to attend as she regaled us all in her stories of her time on the show with Patrick Troughton  and Frazer Hines.

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-40684318?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_source=twitter

 http://ew.com/tv/2017/07/21/deborah-watling-dies-doctor-who-companion-dead/

Doctor Who - The Power of the Daleks Review

Doctor Who:
The Power of the Daleks
By David Whitaker

"I am your servant."

The TARDIS materializes on the planet Vulcan which is home to an Earth colony.  Inside the newly renewed Doctor is getting to grips with his regeneration into a younger and healthier man.  Ben is skeptical that this new person standing in front of him is indeed The Doctor but Polly is more trusting and believes that the stranger is in fact The Doctor.   The three travelers eventually exit the TARDIS and explore the planet when The Doctor stumbles upon a dead body of what was the examiner from Earth.  The Doctor takes the button that says examiner before he is knocked out from behind.  Ben and Polly are found by a group of the colonist who save them from Mercury poisoning.

While impersonating the examiner from Earth The Doctor is introduced to Lesterson who is really excited about a spaceship that has been discovered but more importantly what is inside the spaceship.  The Doctor doesn’t want Lesterson to open the door of the spaceship but he has an inkling that Lesterson already has.  The Doctor, Ben and Polly return to Lesterson’s lab and break into the spaceship.  Inside The Doctor sees a familiar sight that fills him with dread.  There are two dormant Daleks on the ship and what has The Doctor alarmed is that a third Dalek is missing.

Details For Doctor Who Magazine Issue 506

The new issue of Doctor Who Magazine is out today and it takes a look at Patrick Troughtons time as the Doctor as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Patrick Troughton's first story as The Doctor.

WE WILL GET OUR POWER!
DWM meets the team that brought the Second Doctor’s début adventure The Power of the Daleks back to life as a brand-new animation!

ASK STEVEN
Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat answers readers’ questions.

THE MAN WHO BUILT THE TARDIS
DWM reveals the story of the man who designed the original TARDIS set back in 1963 – Peter Brachacki.

THE ART OF THE DIRECTOR
We continue the interrogation of Doctor Who directors Daniel O’Hara, Ed Bazalgette, Daniel Nettheim, and Douglas Mackinnon.

BLOODSPORT
The second and concluding part of the latest comic strip adventure featuring the Twelfth Doctor and Jess, written by Mark Wright and illustrated by Staz Johnson.

THE PANDORICA OPENS
The Time Team watch the nail-biting finale of the Eleventh Doctor’s first series with this month’s two-parter, The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang.

THE END OF THE WORLD
Writer Russell T Davies reveals fascinating new facts about his 2005 classic in this issue’s Fact of Fiction feature.

COMING SOON
Previews of all the latest Doctor Who CD and book releases.

WOTCHA
The Watcher ponders on what Nyssa of Traken really got up to…

PLUS! All the latest official news, reviews, competitions, and The DWM Crossword!

Doctor Who Magazine 506 is on sale from Thursday 17 November 2016, price £5.99.

Doctor Who - The Invasion Review

Continuing Our Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Cybermen

Doctor Who:
The Invasion
By Derrick Sherwin

“Oh I'm not joking, Jamie. Underneath all that charm there was something odd. Sinister. Almost inhuman.”

Following the events that happened in The Mind Robber and the quick escape of a missile shot at them while in space near the dark side of the moon the TARDIS seems to have landed in a field filled with quite a bit of cows.  With the TARDIS visual stabilizer not working the 3 travelers head off to present day London to find Professor Travers and see if he can help them fix it.   With no luck there The Doctor ends up meeting Brigadier Lethbridge - Stewart who is investigating Tobias Vaughn and his company International Electomatics.  What The Doctor and Brigadier will find out is that Tobias Vaughn and his company is in fact in league with an invasion force.  An invasion force made up of Cybermen who are based on Earth and also hidden on the dark side of the moon.

Doctor Who - "The Power of the Daleks" DVD Extras and Cover Art Revealed

The BBC have reveled the DVD extras and cover art for the upcoming release The Power of the Daleks.  There are extras also for when it is released first on the BBC Store which will not be available on the DVD release.  The Power of the Daleks episode one will be released on Saturday November 5th at 5:50PM UK time and each episode will be released on consecutive days after.  The DVD will be released on Monday November 21st in the UK.  No word on a North America release yet but it will air on BBC America on November 19th.

EXTRAS

Doctor Who - The Wheel in Space Review

Continuing Our Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Cybermen

Doctor Who:
The Wheel in Space
By David Whitaker 
and Kit Pedler

“You know our ways. You must be destroyed.”

After saying their farewells to Victoria The Doctor makes an emergency landing, due to the mercury fluid link exploding, on what appears to be an abandon spaceship. The pair end up exploring the ship in hopes of finding some Mercury when The Doctor suspects they are not alone after all.  The ship is being controlled by the Servo Robot and he is doing what his masters have programmed to do.  Pilot the ship to the Wheel and release debris towards the Wheel.  The Servo Robot notice there are others on the ship and proceeds to handle the situation as it pilots the ship hard off course causing The Doctor to lose his balance and hit his head taking him out of commission.

Jamie is on his own to deal with the Servo Robot but not before it accomplishes its orders and starts the activation of two strange spherical objects in the ship.  Jamie and The Doctor are soon saved by the crew of the Wheel and Jamie gets himself in trouble by sabatoging the lazer as he was trying to save the TARDIS from being destroyed inside the spaceship.  Unfortunately that act by Jamie was poorly timed as the two figures in the sphere are Cybermen and they plan on taking over the Wheel as a launching point to invade Earth.  As usual it’s up to The Doctor to save the day and stop the Cybermen from taking over the Wheel.

BBC America Trailer For Doctor Who - The Power of the Daleks

Doctor Who - The Tomb of the Cybermen Review

Continuing Our Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Cybermen

Doctor Who:
The Tomb of the Cybermen
By Kit Pedler and
Gerry Davis

“Oh yes, I can when I want to. And that's the point, really. I have to really want to, to bring them back in front of my eyes. The rest of the time they sleep in my mind, and I forget. And so will you. Oh yes, you will. You'll find there's so much else to think about. So remember, our lives are different to anybody else's. That's the exciting thing. There's nobody in the universe can do what we're doing. You must get some sleep and let this poor old man stay awake.”

The Tomb of the Cybermen is the earliest complete story to survive featuring Patrick Troughton.  It was found in Hong Kong back in 1991 and was until The Enemy of the World was found with The Web of Fear (minus ep 3) the only complete story from Season 5 of Doctor Who.  The Tomb of the Cybermen opens up Season 5 and also brings back The Cybermen yet again last seen in The Moonbase (which is out on DVD with animated missing episodes 1 &3).  What is a pretty cool side bar for Season 5 is that it is known as The Season of Monsters.  The Cybermen start off the Season of Monsters in The Tomb of the Cybermen and also finishes it with the Cybermen returning in The Wheel in Space.   So in essence Season 5 is bookend with Cybermen stories.

I remember when this story was found back in 1991 and was really excited to see this story as I had read the Target novelization way back in the 80’s and enjoyed it.  So when the VHS copy of the story was finally released in the US in 1992 I headed for the video store right after my college course was over for the day to purchase it and watch it that day and well the studies took a  back seat to my parents dismay.  Well there wasn’t a test to study for so the homework could wait an hour or two.

Doctor Who - The Moonbase Review

Continuing Our Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Cybermen

DoctorWho:
The Moonbase
By Kit Peddler

“Funny. Funny. Go to all that trouble to make the men do the work. Why? Do it themselves, easy. They're using the men as tools. Why? Don't know. Yes, I do though. There must be something in here they don't like. Pressure? Electricity? Radiation? Maybe. Gravity! Now there's a thought. Gravity. Oh, yes. Gravity.”

After the events of The Underwater Menace The Doctor makes the attempt to get Ben, Polly and Jamie to Mars.  Where they ended up was not Mars but in fact the moon.  The travelers have fun experiencing the low gravity of the moon until Jamie gets hurt.  Luckily there is a base on the moon that is there to help control the weather on Earth.  But there is a problem in the base.  A mysterious plague has swept over the base only infecting a certain few.  The Doctor has no idea what is causing the crew of the moonbase to get infected but once The Cybermen have been seen sneaking around it becomes all the more obvious what is going on.

New Animated Trailer For Doctor Who - The Power of the Daleks

BBC AMERICA and Fathom Events Present Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks Animated Series in Cinemas Nationwide For One Night

BBC America will be presenting Power of the Daleks in the movie theaters for one night only before it airs on BBC America.  Get your tickets now.  Info in the press release below.

BBC AMERICA AND FATHOM EVENTS PRESENT DOCTOR WHO: THE POWER OF THE DALEKS ANIMATED SERIES IN CINEMAS NATIONWIDE FOR ONE NIGHT

FEATURING PATRICK TROUGHTON’S DEBUT AS

THE DOCTOR

A Special Cinema Event on November 14 Only, in Advance of BBC AMERICA’s Premiere on November 19

New York - October 12, 2016 - BBC AMERICA and Fathom Events announced today a one-night special theatrical screening event of Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks animated series on Monday, November 14, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. local time – 50 years after the original BBC broadcast – in advance of the premiere on BBC AMERICA on Saturday, November 19, 2016 at 8:25pm ET. The cinema event will also feature exclusive bonus content including interviews with members of the original cast.

Tickets for Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks in cinemas can be purchased online beginning Friday, October 14, 2016 at 10am ET by visiting www.FathomEvents.com, or at participating theater box offices. Fans throughout the U.S. will be able to enjoy the event in select movie theaters through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network. For a complete list of theater locations visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).

The Power of the Daleks is one of the most celebrated Doctor Who adventures, and yet no complete film recordings are known to have survived. The master negatives were destroyed in an archive purge in 1974. This brand new animation, being released 50 years after its only UK broadcast, is based on the program’s original audio recordings, surviving photographs, and film clips.  The six-part adventure features the regeneration - or as it was then called “renewal” - of First Doctor, William Hartnell, into Second Doctor, Patrick Troughton, and follows the Time Lord and his companions Polly (Anneke Wills) and Ben (Michael Craze) as they do battle with the Daleks on the planet Vulcan.

“Ahead of the premiere on BBC AMERICA, it is a rare treat to be able to bring the lost episode, Power of the Daleks, to life using modern animation techniques. Doctor Who cinema events have been incredibly successful, and this is extraordinary opportunity to allow a new generation of fans the opportunity to experience this classic adventure for the first time,” said Soumya Sriraman, EVP, Franchise and Digital Enterprises, BBC Worldwide North America.

“We’re pleased to continue our long-standing and successful partnership with BBC AMERICA to bring more fantastic Doctor Who content to the big screen,” said Fathom Events Vice President of Programming Kymberli Frueh. “The Whovians are always one of our biggest and most passionate groups of fans at the cinemas.”
Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks is produced and directed by Charles Norton, with character designs from acclaimed comic book artists Martin Geraghty and Adrian Salmon.

Since its launch in 1963, Doctor Who has become one of the world’s best loved dramas and is certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful sci-fi series ever.  Doctor Who is BBC AMERICA’s highest-rated series and has received numerous awards across its 53 years. The series set new records in 2013 with a global simulcast event of the 50th anniversary special on television and in theaters, in partnership with Fathom Events in the U.S. Doctor Who returns with a Christmas Special in December and new season in Spring 2017 on BBC AMERICA

Long Lost Doctor Who Story Power of the Daleks To Be Released As An Animation

Power of the Daleks the long lost Patrick Troughton debut story will finally get a DVD release but not in the way most fans have expected.  All six episodes will be released as an animation release exclusively on the BBC Store on Saturday the 5th of November which is the 50th anniversary of Power of the Daleks and Patrick Troughton's first episode.


Power of the Daleks does not have any surviving episodes in the BBC Archives as it was junked back in the 70's during the time most of the classic BBC shows were destroyed.  But the soundtrack and lots of telesnaps do survive and that is what helped the animators create this special release.  With this special animated release it is probably a certain that Power of the Daleks will not be found but at least the BBC did give us this special release.  The special release will be availble exclusively from the BBC store from November 5th to November 14th and then will see a DVD release on the 21st of November. Below is the official press release from the BBC and BBC Worldwide.

It's one of the Doctor’s most celebrated adventures and yet no complete film recordings of The Power of the Daleks are known to have survived. The master negatives were destroyed in an archive purge in 1974. 

BBC Worldwide has announced that a brand new black and white animation based on audio recordings of the programme using the original cast, surviving photographs and film clips will be released 50 years to the minute after its only UK broadcast on BBC One.

The six half hour episodes feature the regeneration, or as it was then called ‘renewal’, of First Doctor William Hartnell into Second Doctor Patrick Troughton, as the Time Lord and his companions Polly (Anneke Wills) and Ben (Michael Craze) do battle with the Daleks on the planet Vulcan.

Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks is being produced by the team behind the highly successful animation of lost Dad’s Army episode A Stripe For Frazer, first released on BBC Store in February this year. The producer and director is Charles Norton, with character designs from acclaimed comic book artists Martin Geraghty and Adrian Salmon.

Charles Norton says:
The Power of the Daleks animation is the most ambitious Doctor Who archive restoration ever attempted and we’re all very honoured to be a part of such a an exciting project. Intelligent, suspenseful and magnificently staged, Power of the Daleks is one of the great lost classics of 1960s television and a superb example of the black and white era at its finest.

Paul Hembury, Executive Producer, BBC Worldwide says:
Charles and his team are remarkably talented and passionate about Doctor Who and we are thrilled that fans will soon be able to enjoy this rather sinister but wonderful, classic story.

Doctor Who - The Dominators Review

We look back at the Patrick Troughton Story The Dominators which came out 48 years ago this week.

Doctor Who:
The Dominators
By Norman Ashby

“An unintelligent enemy is far less dangerous than an intelligent one, Jamie. Just act stupid. Do you think you can manage that?”

The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe fresh from their little break after taking on the Cybermen in the Wheel decided to take an even longer break.  They land on an island on the planet Dulkis.  Dulkis is a peaceful planet that has sworn off violence and has no use for weapons anymore.   Also on the island another ship also landed and inside that ship is The Dominators.  The Dominators need a slave force to help get radioactive material to fuel their spaceship.   Also on this ship are the robots that serve the Dominators which are the murderous Quarks.  So it’s up to The Doctor to save the pacifist Dulkians to rise up and resist The Dominators and save the planet.

Doctor Who - Details on the Second Doctor Box Set

Out this month is the Second Doctor Volume One.  It is a box set of four stories taking place during the Patrick Troughton era.  This is similar to the First Doctor box set that cam out last year.  You can order it from the Big Finish website.
https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/the-second-doctor-volume-01-1329

A new four-disc release featuring four tales from figures associated with the Second Doctor era, and a second actor.

10.1 The Mouthless Dead by John Pritchard
The TARDIS arrives in 1920s England, the Doctor, Jamie, Ben and Polly finding themselves in a wintry dusk beside a railway line. The station nearby appears deserted, but there are figures watching from the shadows, all of them waiting for a dead man’s train...

10.2 The Story of Extinction by Ian Atkins
Civilisations rise and fall – and few planets have seen this happen more often than Amyrndaa. The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria join a survey team to find out why on the planet where everything is suited to creating life, nothing lives for long...

10.3 The Integral by David Bartlett
When tempers fray in the TARDIS, the Doctor struggles to help Jamie and Zoe resolve their differences. Arriving at Aspen Base proves a welcome distraction; but the isolated facility is under siege. Can Jamie’s belief in right and wrong withstand the perspective changing power of the Integral?

10.4 The Edge by Rob Nisbet
The Edge is the galaxy’s scientific hub of experimentation, theoretical breakthroughs and invention – just the sort of place to interest the Doctor and Zoe. However, a secret lies hidden in The Edge laboratories. Jamie instinctively knows that something is wrong, and it doesn’t take long for him to be proved right....

Written By: John Pritchard, Ian Atkins, David Bartlett, Rob Nisbet
Directed By: Lisa Bowerman

Cast
Frazer Hines (Jamie), Anneke Wills (Polly), Deborah Watling (Victoria), Wendy Padbury (Zoe), Elliot Chapman (Ben), Robert Whitelock (Curtis)

Producer Ian Atkins
Script Editor Jacqueline Rayner
Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs

Doctor Who - Anneke Wills Added To LI Who 4 Guest List

LI Who has added another Classic Who companion and one of the first for the Second Doctor. Anneke Wills will be joining the guest list this year in what is a rare New York City appearance. Anneke Wills played Polly who was a companion to the 1st and 2nd Doctor and was present for the first regeneration.  You can order tickets to this years show at the LI Who website.
http://longislanddoctorwho.com/index.html