Paul McGann Speaks

Eight Doctor Paul McGann has given an interview to BBC News Online.

In it he was asked:

You played the eighth Doctor Who in 1996. What do you think of the recent BBC series of the show and the current doctor who is played by David Tennant?
I watched one episode and I liked it. I liked him actually, very much because he's so into it. He's such a fan as well as being a brilliant actor, so I think it's in safe hands. I'm just glad to see it back. The fans are thrilled to bits.
Is Doctor Who something you would have wanted to continue with?
At the time I would have liked to have continued it when we did the telly pilot, but you know when enough's enough, when it's over, it's over.
You broke rather a long standing tradition when Doctor Who kissed his companion. Were you surprised at the fans reaction?
I never saw the kiss and I wasn't really into the history of it. I wasn't really aware when I read the script that for him to kiss anybody was such a big thing, but I still get letters about it.
Why did you turn the part down originally?
I didn't want to do it as I didn't think I was suitable at all. I thought they were having me on.
At the time it was comic actors and comedians being touted for the job so I was just curious why they were asking me, I'm no comic actor. I managed to resist it for about a year and then took the job.

Read it all here.

More 8th Doctor Adventres

Big Finish has released details about the next 8th Doctor Adventures.

Absolution:

Writer: Scott Alan WoodardDirector: Barnaby EdwardsStarring: Paul McGann as the DoctorRelease Date: October 2006Recorded: TBCSound Design and Music: TBCProduction Code: 8YDISBN: 978-1-84435-183-1
Confession. Penance. Absolution.
The Tardis breaks down in a forbidden sector of space. Ghostly voices cry out for salvation and only C'rizz, the Doctor's Eutermesan companion, can answer their call - for only he knows the secret of the Absolver. But will he use it to rescue his friends or save the universe?
The Doctor's sins are catching up with him and the infernal beast Borarus is hungry. Time is running out and Judgement Day is at hand.
Welcome to Hell.

The Girl Who Never Was:

Writer: Alan BarnesDirector: Barnaby EdwardsStarring: Paul McGann as the DoctorRelease Date: December 2006Recorded: TBCSound Design and Music: TBCProduction Code: 8Y/EISBN: 978-1-84435-287-6
'Dot dot dot, dash dash dash, dot dot dot. Someone's listening. Somewhere.'A ghost ship. A girl with no memory, adrift in time. An old enemy. This could be Charlotte Pollard's finest hour - or her last.Set course for Singapore, 1931. Journey's end.

Also released is the cover for Human Resources Part 2, the final release in the McGann BBC7 series.

Writer: Eddie RobsonDirector: Nicholas BriggsStarring: Paul McGann as the Doctor with Sheridan Smith as Lucie MillerRelease Date: July 2007Recorded: 26 & 30 August 2006Sound Design & Music: ERSProduction Code: TBCISBN: 1844352625
Lucie Miller's been headhunted to join the staff of Hulbert Logistics, a respectable blue-chip firm in Telford. Great prospects, competitive salary - you don't have to be mad to work here! But wasn't she made for better things, like travelling by TARDIS through time and space? The Doctor, meanwhile, has been fired - into a confrontation with the most terrifying of enemies...

8th Doctor Season

Big Finish Productions has announced more information on their upcoming releases in the BBC7 Eighth Doctor range. The final story of the season, two parter Human Resources, will be released in July and August.

The 8th Doctor on BBC 7

New season of radio adventures.
BBC7 have begun their season of new Eighth Doctor audio adventures starring Paul McGann.
Produced by Big Finish, the eight fifty-minute episodes see McGann joined by Two Pints of Lager actress Sheridan Smith, who plays unwilling companion Lucie Miller.
Lucie's been dumped onboard the TARDIS as part of a Time Lord witness protection programme. Neither she or the Doctor are happy with the situation and sparks fly immediately.
The Doctor and Lucie have already faced the dreaded Daleks in episodes one and two, and have these adventures to look forward to in the coming weeks:
Horror Of Glam Rock by Paul Magrs
Immortal Beloved by Jonathan Clements
Phobos by Eddie Robson
No More Lies by Paul Sutton
Human Resources by Eddie Robson (two-parter)
Future guest stars include Timothy West, Nerys Hughes, Ian McNeice, Elspet Gray, Ben Silverstone, Stephen Gately, Bernard Cribbins, Julia McKenzie, Nigel Havers, Roy Marsden and Nickolas Grace.
You can listen to these new Doctor Who episodes at 6pm each Sunday on BBC 7. Each episode is followed by a short 'making of' and can be heard for a further seven days online thanks to the BBC's Player's Listen Again option.
CD versions of the stories are also being released to tie in with the broadcasts.