DOCTORWHO.COM

Doctorwho.com launched today. Now I'm really not wanting you to forget The Gallifreyian Gazette, but doctorwho.com is a long time coming and I hope you will all support it.

Dreamland

The BBC released the first image of the animated Doctor as he will appear in the new animation, Dreamland, which is due for broadcast later this year.

The six-part series will be premièred via the BBC Red Button on BBC One and the Doctor Who website (bbc.co.uk/doctorwho).

The 45-minute long animation will be broadcast in its entirety on CBBC on BBC Two this autumn and also on the BBC HD channel.

Written by Phil Ford (Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures) Dreamland will see the Doctor – played by David Tennant – arrive at the infamous alien hot spot, Roswell.

During a visit to a local diner he stumbles upon a mysterious alien artefact that leads him on a mission to rescue Rivesh Mantilax from the threat of the Viperox and the clutches of the American military.

Joining David Tennant will be Georgia Moffett (Doctor Who, Spooks) in the role of Cassie Rice – the Doctor's new animated companion.

David Warner (Wallander, Hogfather) also stars as the leader of the ruthless Viperox.

In the run-up to the animation, fans will be able to visit the Doctor Who website (bbc.co.uk/doctorwho) to follow a behind-the-scenes production blog on the making of Dreamland, giving the opportunity to follow the progress of the animation as it develops.

Dreamland was commissioned by BBC Drama Multiplatform and will be produced for the BBC by Brighton-based animation company Littleloud.

It is being executive produced by Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Piers Wenger, with Gary Russell as director.

Russell T Davies said: "Dreamland is a remarkable project and I'm thrilled with it. Phil Ford is a wonderful writer and promises to send the Doctor into a whole new visual dimension."

Rosie Allimonos, BBC Drama Multiplatform Commissioner, said: "I‘m extremely excited about Dreamland. It presents an amazing opportunity to expand the multiplatform storytelling potential of Doctor Who.

Classic Who on Blinkbox

BBC Worldwide has signed a deal with Blinkbox, a UK online video service, to offer 300 hours of BBC archived content.

Classic episodes of Doctor Who will be available to watch along with shows such as Hustle and Hotel Babylon. The programmes will be free but with adverts. Other programmes, including Top Gear, Gavin and Stacey, and Planet Earth, will be available to buy.

Big Finish To Continue Through 2011

From Big Finish: Big Finish is delighted to announce that its license to make The Audio Adventures of Doctor Who has been extended by BBC Audiobooks, for a period up to 31st December 2011.

“We’re thrilled that the license has been renewed,” says executive producer Jason Haigh-Ellery. “and we’ve got some fantastic stories lined up for the rest of 2009, and through 2010 and beyond. Not only from the Doctor Who main range, but also the New Eighth Doctor Adventures and the Companion Chronicles, plus additional ranges like The Lost Stories."

“All of us at Big Finish love making Doctor Who on audio, and we feel privileged that the BBC has entrusted us to continue.”

Harry Towb

Sadly I missed this when it happened but I want to pass it along anyway: Harry Towb has died at the age of 83.

Towb had a long and distinguished career in British film and television appearing in many classic programmes during a career lasting nearly sixty years.

Towb had two roles in Doctor Who. He first appeared as Osgood alongside Patrick Troughton in the 1969 story The Seeds of Death. He later appeared alongside Jon Pertwee in the 1971 story Terror of the Autons where, in one of the most memorable scenes of the classic series, he was eaten by a plastic chair.

Tom Baker Audios

From the BBC: For the first time in 28 years, Tom Baker is returning to his role as the Fourth Doctor in a series of five thrilling audio adventures from BBC Audiobooks. Doctor Who: Hornets' Nest is written by the acclaimed Paul Magrs and stars Tom alongside a cast including Richard Franklin as Mike Yates, Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey and Rula Lenska as the Hornet Queen.

The brand new series sees the Doctor on fighting form as he comes up against an enemy of unimaginable power and horrific intent. The first story, The Stuff of Nightmares, will be available to buy from 3rd September 2009 priced at £9.78, with the remaining four stories due for release on:

2. The Dead Shoes – 8th October
3. The Circus of Doom – 5th November
4. A Sting in the Tale – 3rd December
5. Hive of Horror – 3rd December

The series will also be available as a download from www.audible.co.uk.

Baker is often voted as the most popular Doctor by fans. Commenting on his performance, writer Paul Magrs said, "This is the first adventure with the Tom Baker Doctor since Logopolis. And it feels fantastic to write for him. I would say he's a brilliant mixture of everything the Fourth Doctor ever was. He's dark and sombre at times; other times he's gleefully macabre and mischievous."

Fans eager to engage with the series before the release date should check out www.bbcshop.com/hornetsnest, where a dedicated page for the series will launch on 10th August. The page will contain exclusive content and material such as a Q&A with Tom Baker, photographs from the recordings, audio clips and a poll on Tom’s best moments as the Doctor.

Doctor Who: Hornet's Nest - The Stuff of Nightmares
1 hour on 1 CD
Price: £9.78
Release date: 3rd September 2009

Responding to an advert apparently worded for him alone, Captain Mike Yates (retired) is reunited with a ghost from the past. But why has the Doctor, that mysterious traveller in Time and Space, sent for his former UNIT acquaintance? Trapped by a horde of vicious creatures in an apparently innocuous English country cottage, the two old friends are on the brink of an enormous adventure. As the Doctor relates his recent escapades, it becomes clear to Mike that they – and the Earth at large – are facing an enemy of unimaginable power and horrific intent. The nightmare is only just beginning…

NOTES TO EDITORS

• Photographs from the recordings are available upon request
• Full cast – Tom Baker, Richard Franklin, Susan Jameson, Daniel Hill, Michael Maloney, Rula Lenska, Clare Corbett, Christian Rodska, Susie Riddell, Jilly Bond and Stephen Thorne.
• Other credits – Producer and Director: Kate Thomas; Script Editor and Executive Producer: Michael Stevens.
• Paul Magrs is the acclaimed writer of the Brenda and Effie novels (Never the Bride; Conjugal Rites) numerous Doctor Who books (Sick Building; Verdigris etc) and several books for younger readers (Strange Boy; Exchange).

The covers of the series are spectacularly illustrated by Ben Willsher, with design concepts and the Hornets' Nest logo by Anthony Dry

Tennat's Hamlet on PBS

America's Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) has announced that the Royal Shakespeare Company's recent production of Hamlet starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart will air in the US as part of the network's "Great Performances" series in 2010. The RSC says that the television adaptation "will retain the quality and tone of the critically acclaimed stage production but filming will take place on location"

Tennant will also be seen on PBS as host of the "Masterpiece Contemporary" series, which returns on October 25.

Dalek War Box Set

The Dalek War Box set, featuring the third Doctor stories Frontier in Space and Planet of the Daleks, will be released in the UK on the 5th October.
Extras include: Items include

* The Space War – remembering Frontier in Space
* The Rumble in the Jungle – remembering Planet of the Daleks
* Stripped for Action – The story of the Daleks in Doctor Who Comic
* Stripped for Action – The story of the Third Doctor in Doctor Who Comic
* The Perfect Scenario – The End of Dreams
* The Perfect Scenario – Lost Frontiers
* Roger Delgado – The Master
* Blue Peter
* Multi Colourisation
* Photo Gallery
* Easter Egg

Rumors for the next set of Classic Doctor Who releases are: the Fifth Doctor stories The King's Demons and Planet of Fire, A trail has recently been classified for their release indicating a Kamelion box set could be on the way.