Katy Like Matt

Katy Manning, who starred in the science fiction series with Jon Pertwee in the 1970s, said it had been forgotten that second doctor Patrick Troughton was not well known when he was cast in the show. She described the casting of relatively-unknown Northampton actor Matt Smith as the Doctor as a "fabulous idea".

Planet of the Dead Described - But No Confirmed Airdate

From the BBC: When a London bus takes a detour to an alien world, the Doctor must join forces with the extraordinary Lady Christina, in this one-off seasonal special. But the mysterious planet holds terrifying secrets, hidden in the sand. And time is running out, as the deadly Swarm gets closer.

Planet Of The Dead features David Tennant as the Doctor, Michelle Ryan as Lady Christina and Lee Evans as Malcolm.

It is written by Russell T Davies and Gareth Roberts.

Planet Of The Dead is also being simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC's High Definition channel available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.

Donna's Dad

From Den of Geeks: Filming on David Tennant's final Doctor Who story has begun today with the return of the actor Bernard Cribbins.
Cribbins, who plays Donna Noble's grandfather Wilf, was last seen in the Series 4 finale, Journey's End and first appeared in Doctor Who in the 1966 film, Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150AD.
The legendary actor was spotted on set in Tredegar House where Who has filmed a number of times, including most recently in The Next Doctor. Next week, the production team are heading to another familiar location - the house used for Donna Noble's home.

Airdate For Spring Doctor Who Special -

Via Outpost Gallifrey: The BBC Press Office has confirmed that the Doctor Who special Planet of the Dead will air during the week beginning 11th April. Although the series is listed as "unplaced" in the main press release, it also briefly appeared on the page for Saturday's programmes. Final airdate and time slot will be confirmed when the listings are sent to magazines at the end of next week.

Tom Baker To Return?

The Daily Express is reporting: Programme insiders say discussions have taken place about bringing back the flamboyant Baker, 75, for a cameo appearance next year with new Time Lord Matt Smith and perhaps his sidekick Sarah Jane Smith.

Some regard Tom Baker as the best of all the Time-Lords. I will be keeping a close eye on this and let you know the moment I find out if this is true or not.

Billie's Back On Who...So Says the "Sun"

Grain of salt time again faithful readers...From the Sun: BILLIE Piper will return to Doctor Who with ALL the Time Lord’s former companions as part of David Tennant’s final episode.
Billie, 26, will again play Rose Tyler and teams up with other sidekicks Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) and Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman).
The trio will join forces to take on the Doctor’s revived arch-enemy The Master, played again by John Simm. The episode sees the Timelord regenerate into the new Doctor (Matt Smith).

2009 DVD Update

Found this on Gallifreyone.com: Various DVD sites are listing the 1976 Tom Baker story The Deadly Assassin for DVD release in early May.The story, written by Robert Holmes and directed by David Maloney, was the third of Doctor Who's fourteenth season. It features Peter Pratt as the Master, as well as Angus MacKay playing Borusa and Bernard Horsfall as Chancellor Goth.It is only serial of the original Doctor Who series in which the Doctor does not have a companion. Some sites also have the 1987 Sylvester McCoy story Delta and the Bannermen listed for release in the later part of June. This story was written by Malcolm Kohll and directed by Chris Clough. Other stories scheduled for release in 2009 are The Keys of Marinus; The War Games and the Dalek War box set (Frontier in Space / Planet of the Daleks).An additional box set of three stories, and a stand alone release, are also due in 2009.

The Target Book Line: Doctor Who & The Day of the Daleks

Release number 18
Writer Terrance Dicks
Publisher Target Books
Cover artist Chris Achilleos
ISBN ISBN 0 426 10380 7
Release date April 1974

The novelisation of this serial, by Dicks, was published by Target Books in April 1974. It renames the manor as Austerly House. There have been Dutch, Turkish, Japanese, Polish and Portuguese language editions. A Brazilian edition, separate from the Portuguese version, was published with the title Doutor Who e a Mudança da História (Doctor Who and the Change in History).

The Target Book Line: Doctor Who & The Doomsday Weapon

Release number 23
Writer Malcolm Hulke
Publisher Target Books
Cover artist Chris Achilleos
ISBN ISBN 0 426 10372 6
Release date April 1974

A novelisation of this serial, written by Malcolm Hulke, was published by Target Books in April 1974 as Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon. This was the first serial of the 1971 series to be so adapted; as a result, Hulke breaks continuity by having Jo Grant introduced to the Doctor for the first time, even though on television her introduction was in Terror of the Autons (and this would be reflected in the later novelisation of that serial). There is another extensive Malcolm Hulke prologue as an elderly Time Lord describes the Doctor-Master rivalry to his assistant and learns of the theft of the Doomsday Weapon files. The various races of Primitives are also described very differently to the televised version - complete with four-thumbed naked telepaths. There have been Dutch, Turkish, Japanese and Portuguese language editions. An unabridged reading of the novelisation by actor Geoffrey Beevers was released on CD in September 2007 by BBC Audiobooks.

Tardis Into New Era.

From the Daily Mirror: The Tardis is being completely redesigned in time for the arrival of the new Doctor Who.
BBC bosses have given the green light to completely refit the interior for a radical new look.
They will also improve the quality of the police box exterior for the opening episode featuring new Time Lord Matt Smith.

Production sources say the decision is being taken by new Doctor Who writer and executive producer Stephen Moffat, who wants to distance himself from previous show chief Russell T Davies.

New Companion

Over at DenOfGeek, news that 19-year-old Hannah Murray is tipped to be the companion in next year's fifth season of DOCTOR WHO. Murray, who plays OCD-suffering Cassie Ainsworth on the raunchy British teenage drama series SKINS, will join Matt Smith's eleventh 'The Doctor' in the TARDIS when it returns in 2010. The news comes not long after word that the number of planned specials for this year, starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, looks to have been shrunk. Instead of three or four there will only be two - the Easter episode "Planet of the Dead" and the Christmas Episode. A third special has been pushed back into early 2010 (though could be a New Year's Day special).'Planet', co-starring Michelle Ryan ("Bionic Woman," "Jekyll"), involves a mysterious thief who ends up tagging along with the Doctor and leads to a 'shocking event' in his life. It was partially shot in Dubai and will air next month."Rome" actress Lindsay Duncan stars as the companion in the Christmas episode which sees the return of the Ood and will borrow elements from the novel 'Who' tie-in novel "The Highest Science". Model Gemma Chan will also star in the production which is currently filming.The third special kicks off shooting at the end of the month. Set on Mars, it will include Aussie actor Peter O'Brien as the villain, and will serve as David Tennant's final story.In an interesting coincidence, Matt Smith and Hannah Murray played brother and sister while Lindsay Duncan played their mother in the West End tour of the acclaimed play "That Face" last year.

The Target Book Line: Doctor Who & The Cave Monsters

Release number 9
Writer Malcolm Hulke
Publisher Target Books
Cover artist Chris Achilleos
ISBN ISBN 0 426 10292 4
Release date 17 January 1974

A novelisation of this serial, written by Malcolm Hulke, was published by Target Books in January 1974 under the title Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters. In this adaptation, the Silurians were given names like Morka, Okdel and K'to. The novelisation gives extensive background to the reptile culture, including a prologue featuring their hibernation beginning. Large parts of the novelisation are told from the reptiles' point of view and there is an extensive back story given to several characters including Quinn and Major Baker. The novelisation avoids referring to the reptiles as Silurians ( the word turns up as a UNIT password ) but identifies the dinosaur in the caves as a tyrannosaurus rex. The novelisation was also translated into Dutch, Finnish, Japanese and Portuguese. An unabridged reading of the novelisation by actress Caroline John was released on CD in September 2007 by BBC Audiobooks.

The Finnish translation, Tohtori KUKA ja luolahirviöt, was published by the Weilin & Göös

source: wikipedia

The Target Book Line: Doctor Who & The Auton Invasion

Release number 6
Writer Terrance Dicks
Publisher Target Books
Cover artist Chris Achilleos
ISBN ISBN 0 426 10313 0
Release date 17 January 1974

A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in January 1974, entitled Doctor Who and The Auton Invasion. This was the first novelisation commissioned by Target following the successful republishing of three books originally published in the mid-1960s; the Target Books novelisation series would run for the next twenty years and see all but a half-dozen Doctor Who serials adapted. The Third Doctor era would become the first to be completely novelised with the release of the adaptation of The Ambassadors of Death in 1987. This book was translated into Finnish, in the seventies, as Tohtori KUKA ja autonien hyökkäys, although Doctor Who never appeared on Finnish television until the 2005 revival series was sold to the country. There were also Dutch, Turkish, Japanese and Portuguese editions.

source: wikipedia

The Target Book Line: Doctor Who & The Crusaders

Release number 12
Writer David Whitaker
Publisher Target Books
Cover artist Chris Achilleos
ISBN ISBN 0 426 10137 5
Release date 2 May 1973

This serial was the third and final story to be novelised by Frederick Muller publishers. Written by David Whitaker as Doctor Who and the Crusaders, it was first published in 1965 and was the last novelisation published until 1973 when Target Books launched its long-running line of episode adaptations, beginning with reprints of this and the preceding two novels (The Crusaders was reissued by Target in May 1973). There have been French, Dutch and Portuguese editions.

As with Whitaker's first novelisation, the story is converted into a stand alone novel with a lengthy prologue in the TARDIS where the travellers discuss the paradoxes of their journeys and time travel. The pointlessness of a religious war is also emphasised more. Once again, Whitaker plays up the romantic potential of Ian and Barbara and includes a graphic passage of Barbara being scourged. For some reason the name of Susan's husband has changed from David Campbell to David Cameron.

In 2005 the novel was also issued by BBC Audio as part of the Doctor Who: Travels in Time and Space audio book collectors tin, read by William Russell.

source: wikipedia

The Target Book Line: Doctor Who & The Zarbi

Release number 73
Writer Bill Strutton
Publisher Target Books
Cover artist Chris Achilleos
ISBN ISBN 0 426 10129 4
Release date 2 May 1973

The serial was the second to be novelised by the publisher Frederick Muller. It was written by Bill Strutton under the title Doctor Who and the Zarbi in 1965. This novel introduced the concept of the "Zarbi Supremo", a vast Zarbi with a role similar to that of a queen bee. Much of the Vortis terms are removed and the Doctor is referred to throughout as Dr Who. In 1973 Target Books acquired the rights to the novelisation and reprinted it as one of the first in their long running series of Doctor Who novelisations, although when the imprint began numbering the books in the series, The Zarbi was listed as Number 73 in the series. A Dutch translation was published in the Netherlands in 1974, and a Portuguese one in 1983.

In 2005 the novel was also issued by BBC Audio as part of the Doctor Who: Travels in Time and Space audio book collectors tin, read by William Russell.

The Target Book Line: Doctor Who & The Daleks

Release number 16
Writer David Whitaker
Publisher Target Books
Cover artist Chris Achilleos
ISBN ISBN 0 426 10110 3
Release date 2 May 1973

This was the first Doctor Who serial to be adapted as a novel. Written by David Whitaker, the book was first published in November 1964 by Frederick Muller as Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks. A paperback release by Armada Books followed in 1965.

In 1973 Target Books published it under the cover title Doctor Who and the Daleks, although the full title was still given on the inside frontpage. From 1977 onwards reprints dropped the full title. In 1992 the novelisation was retitled Doctor Who - The Daleks. It was the very first novelisation published under the Target imprint (the books would continue for the next 20 years).

From 1983 onwards the Target novelisations bore numbers, with the first 73 releases retroactively numbered in alphabetical order. However it would not be until 1992 that an actual reprint stated it was "No. 16" in the Target Books Doctor Who Library.

Whittaker's book differs from most later novelisations in that it is written in the first person and from the point of view of a companion (Ian Chesterton). It also ignores the events of the preceding serial An Unearthly Child, except for a modified retelling of the first episode (to explain how Ian and Barbara joined the Doctor). Here, Ian meets the Doctor, Barbara ( who is Susan's tutor) and Susan on Barnes Common after a car crash. The novel also plays up the romantic tension between the two human companions and features a glass Dalek leader on Skaro.

For some reason, Susan Foreman is renamed Susan English for the novelisation, which has led to some reference books erroneously listing the character by this name. Indeed, in the PC game Destiny of the Doctors, the player has to ask the First Doctor the surname of Susan for one of the tasks. Both English and Foreman are available options (although only the latter is considered correct in the game).

The novelisation was translated into Dutch, Turkish, Japanese, Portuguese, French and German.

In 2005 the novel was issued by BBC Audio as part of the Doctor Who: Travels in Time and Space audio book collectors tin, read by William Russell.

The Target Book Line: History

Between 1973 and 1991, Target Books published almost every Doctor Who television serial as a novelisation, starting with new editions of the Frederick Muller Ltd. books. When Target was taken over by Virgin in 1991, three further serials The Power of the Daleks and The Evil of the Daleks by John Peel and the radio serial The Paradise of Death by Barry Letts were added to the range.

The only serials never to have been officially novelised are The Pirate Planet, City of Death, Shada, Resurrection of the Daleks and Revelation of the Daleks, due to licensing issues with the original scriptwriters. (Unofficial fan novelisations were published by the New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club between 1989 and 2000) The Children in Need special Dimensions in Time and the Comic Relief spoof Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death have also not been novelised.

In addition to the television serials, three scripts from the cancelled Season 23 were novelised, The Nightmare Fair, The Ultimate Evil and Mission to Magnus (details below). Also a short series entitled The Companions of Doctor Who was published — this comprised the novelisation of the pilot of K-9 and Company, and the original works Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma and Harry Sullivan's War.

Besides Paradise of Death, Target also novelised two additional non-televised stories: the radio play Slipback and the audio story The Pescatons.

source: wikipedia