"The Gunpowder Plot" - now available to download

The newest "Doctor Who" Adventure Game - "The Gunpowder Plot" is now available to download free from the BBC. (UK only I believe).

You can download from:

Doctor Who - The Gunpowder Plot

Alex Kingston to guest on Craig Ferguson Show

According to the "Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson" ticketing website, Alex Kingston is to guest on the show on 16 November 2011. The show is filmed in Los Angeles.

Tickets can be obtained from:

Craig Ferguson Show Ticket site

Season 6 Soundtrack Cover Art Released

Here it is. The final details regarding this release are still to be confirmed and there's still no word on track listing yet.

The CD is now available for pre-order from amazon.co.ukfor £10.72.

Previous soundtrack releases are still available from amazon:

Series 5 via amazon.co.uk - £9.69

A Christmas Carol via amazon.co.uk at £9.67

It's "Save Doctor Who Confidential Day"!

Time to get involved. No more sitting on the sidelines and watching - this is YOUR chance to make yourself heard.

Simply watch the trailer below - and then link to it on facebook, twitter, tumblr and anywhere else you can think of. Make sure you've signed the petition - and please put #SaveDWCday on each and every tweet today.



The petition has over 51,000 signatures so far and will be submitted to the BBC today - it will remain open beyond today for latecomers.

Save DWC Petition

Save DWC on Twitter

Happy Birthday, Matt Smith

Happy 29th birthday to Matt Smith today (29...makes me feel old). I thought it would be good to post a few videos in celebration - not just "Doctor Who" though. Everyone talks about "Womb", "Christopher and His Kind" and "Together" so I thought I'd pick a couple of shows that are not mentioned a lot. Let's start with "Moses Jones" ...

First - an interview with the cast about the show and the characters (courtesy of whatsontv.co.uk:

Matt Smith talks about The Silence ... and the future...

A press release from the UK Press Association today to promote the Season 6 DVD and Blu-Ray boxsets contains Matt's comments about The Silence as well as noting that he has no plans to give up "the wonderful role". Here's the full press release:

Matt Smith has revealed he gets frightened by The Silence on Doctor Who.

The Doctor Who star reckons the alien species are the "scariest" monsters on the TV series because they get into people's minds.

"They are the best monsters since the Weeping Angels - they are certainly some of the scariest," he said.

"What is wonderful is that they toy with your psyche. They mess with what you know and don't know and what you can and can't remember - they can influence your mind. They look horrendous and are really mean. So if you're under the age of ten, a good sofa to hide behind is essential.

"That's what Doctor Who should be about: 'I don't want to watch this, but also I do!'"

Matt - who has portrayed the 11th incarnation of the Doctor in the fifth and sixth series - has no plans to give up the "wonderful" role.

"We work very long hours every day for nine months. The schedule is pretty brutal, but I'd never complain about it. I love playing this role, and I don't want to give it up any time soon," he continued.

"I feel very lucky. In the current climate for actors, I'd never say, 'This is too much' - quite the opposite, in fact. I'd say, 'Bring it on'."

Maybe the "Matt is quitting" talk will die down a bit now but somehow I doubt it!

To order your dvd/blu-ray then please follow the links below:

Doctor Who Season 6 Limited Edition DVD Boxset on amazon.co.uk

Doctor Who Season 6 Limited Edition Blu-Ray Boxset on amazon.co.uk

Doctor Who Season 6 Standard DVD Boxset on amazon.co.uk

Doctor Who Season 6 Standard Blu-Ray Boxset on amazon.co.uk

Christmas Special - "Sneak Peak" part of Children in Need

The BBC Press Office have confirmed that there will be an "exclusive sneak peak" of the Doctor Who Christmas Special during Children in Need on 18 November 2011.

No word yet as to any Doctor Who guests on the night but we will update should any news come to light.

Season 6 Soundtrack Available for Pre-Order

The Murray Gold "Doctor Who" Season 6 soundtrack is now available for pre-order from amazon.co.ukfor £10.72. The release date is 5 December 2011 and this is a 2 CD set but no artwork or track details have been released as yet.

Previous soundtrack releases are still available from amazon:

Series 5 via amazon.co.uk - £9.69

A Christmas Carol via amazon.co.uk at £9.67

New "Gunpowder Plot" Gallery added

The BBC have added another gallery to their upcoming Adventure Games release, "The Gunpower Plot", page. The Rutan Gallery shows you what the Sontarans deadliest enemies will look like in the game - based on their previous appearance in the Tom Baker story, "The Horror of Fang Rock".

Here are a couple more images but please visit the Rutan Gallery on the BBC Website for more:




"The Gunpowder Plot" will be available as a free download from the BBC on 31 October 2011.

Save "Doctor Who Confidential" Day

Friday 28 October 2011 (co-incidentally Matt's birthday) has been designated "Save Doctor Who Confidential Day". The excellent trailer below will tell you all you need to know:



So, remember - add #SaveDWCday to all your tweets and let everyone know about it. And if you haven't signed the petition yet...then it's high time you did:

Save DWC Petition

Save DWC on Twitter

Seasons 5 and 6 "Montage" Episode Promo Pics

I had a request from "Jamie" who emailed and asked if I could track down the "montage type episode promo images (specific episodes not the season ones) - the photoshop ones that have cast and 'monsters' merged together" for Seasons 5 and 6. Strangely, they don't seem to produce these for every episode - just odd ones for some reason - with the latter half of Season 6 having the most montage images. Here are the ones I've managed to find - and as usual, right click and open in a new tab to view and download the large sizes.

5.2 - The Beast Below:



5.4 & 5.5 - The Time of Angels/Flesh & Stone:

It's "Doctor Who" Party Time!

To celebrate the release of the Complete Season 6 on DVD and Blu-Ray on 21 November 2011, 2 Entertain and Come Around are offering fans and viewers the chance to host a "Doctor Who" themed party in their houses.

The "house parties" will take place over the weekend of 19 and 20 November 2011 and the first 400 to subscribe will receive exclusive party packs with merchandise, game suggestions etc. These lucky ones will also get free exclusive access to screen the DVD extras during the party.

To sign up, go to Come Around Doctor Who Parties

Doctor Who Magazine - Issue 440

The long-awaited Elisabeth Sladen tribute issue of "Doctor Who Magazine" hit the shops last week. 50 pages of the magazine are devoted to remembering and appreciating Elisabeth Sladen - interviews, articles and some superb pictures will definitely bring a tear to the eye.

Some highlights of the Elisabeth Sladen section include a terrific interview with Tom Baker where he talks of how quickly he and Lis bonded on "Doctor Who", how much fun she was and how supportive she was of him. You can feel the emotion in the interview and if, like me, the fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane were your definitive duo growing up, then you'll have a lump in your throat reading this interview.

However, it's not just Tom Baker who has his say about Lis. David Tennant, Matt Smith, Philip Hinchcliffe, John Levene, Terrance Dicks, Katy Manning, John Barrowman and a host of others from both Classic and New Who all have good and moving words to say about the woman who so obviously meant so much to all of us. The most moving interview however, is with Elisabeth's husband, Brian Miller, and their daughter, Sadie. Brian remarks that he put "The Sarah Jane Adventures" on last weekend: "I didn't watch it all the way through, but it's just her voice in the house. You go out of the room and still hear her voice. It's like looking through a window but you can't open it and you can't say anything to her..."

I would also urge you to read the feature about Elisabeth Sladen entitled "The Doctor's Best Friend" by Marcus Hearn. Detailing Elisabeth's life and career with a heavy focus on "Doctor Who" it really is an excellent article. I would also recommend reading her final interview - previously partially published in the "Radio Times" it is presented in full in DWM. I loved how she compared Matt's Doctor to "a young deer. He's like Bambi. I watch him move and I love it."

This month's DWM still has the usual features. There's news of the Christmas Special (see Christmas Special Details for more information) together with the usual competitions and reviews (although I do disagree a bit with Graham Kibble-White's review of "The Wedding of River Song" but will concede he makes a good point or two!). Steven Moffat's "Production Notes" though is another highlight. It's the 100th edition of "Production Notes" and the Moff grabs the opportunity with both hands and makes his feelings known about the cancellation of "Doctor Who Confidential":

"When I was a kid, "Doctor Who" made me want to see behind the scenes. Seeing behind the scenes made me never want to leave and, one day, incredibly, got me the job of a lifetime."

"I'm not supposed to say it, but I'm going to anyway: bad day, bad decision. I know these are straitened times. I know we're all at sea and the night is colder - but you don't start burning the lifeboats to keep warm. Or to put it another way, you might want to think about the future if you're planning to live there."

Doctor Who Magazine issue 440 is in the shops now priced at £4.99 - there are a few copies available through amazon.co.uk for those of you unable to find it:

DWM 440 at amazon.co.uk

Matt to leave "Doctor Who"?

The internet has practically exploded today after a VH1 interview during which Matt Smith appeared to have confirmed that he will be leaving "Doctor Who" ... or did he? Here's the interview in question:



Now, we know that Season 7 should start filming Jan/Feb 2012 but it won't be screened until Autumn/Winter 2012 with the likelihood being that a number of episodes will be held over until 2013. If filming for Season 7 finishes around June or July then that will leave Matt with 9 months to a year or so before filming would start on the 50th Anniversary Special - assuming that it will be a "special" as opposed to a full season. He's not going to sit around doing nothing.

There's an interview with Matt in the new "Brilliant Book of Doctor Who 2012". He's asked how he feels about fewer episodes of "Doctor Who" in 2012 and he has this to say:

"Well, I mean, in some respects, for me, it's quite nice. It gives me a sort of mental break from it, and the ability to go and do other things. We're still going to shoot 14 episodes, so there is still a whole series of "Doctor Who" coming, just maybe not all in 2012. And, of course, I get to go into the 50th Anniversary in 2013, which is really cool. That's incredibly exciting. I hope the break next year is a good thing, because it seems that the anticipation is still around for the next series. It's a risk, I guess. But a good one."

No talk of leaving - just talk of a break so that he can go and do other things. I'm not going to read too much into the VH1 interview - and until we get any official confirmation I shall still happily believe that Matt will be the "current" Doctor in the 50th Anniversary Special. At the moment, I have no real reason to believe otherwise.

New "Gunpowder Plot" Image Galleries

The BBC have uploaded two new image galleries from their forthcoming free Adventure Game release, "The Gunpowder Plot". Together with the existing wallpaper gallery, there is now a "Concept Art" gallery and a "Game Image" gallery. A few selected images are below together with the gallery links:






The game will be available for download from 31 October 2011.

Game Image Gallery

Concept Art Gallery

More Christmas Special Details released

The latest issue of DWM - issue 440 (the Elisabeth Sladen tribute issue) - reveals more details about the forthcoming Christmas Special.

The cast list is as follows:

Claire Skinner - Madge Arwell
Alexander Armstrong - Reg Arwell
Holly Earl - Lily Arwell
Maurice Cole - Cyril Arwell
Arabella Weir - Billis
Bill Bailey - Dorxil
Paul Bazely - Ven-Garr
Paul Kasey - TBA
Spencer Wilding - TBA

The synopsis is:

The special, set during the Second World War, sees Madge Arwell and her two children, Lily and Cyril, evacuated to a draughty old house in Dorset, where the caretaker is a mysterious young man in a bow tie, and a big blue parcel is waiting for them under the tree. They are about to enter a magical new world and learn that a Time Lord never forgets his debts.

There will be a full review of the latest DWM on the site in the next day or so.

Season 6 Now Available for Pre-Order

Season 6 is due for release in the UK on 21 November 2011 and there are 2 different boxsets you can choose from. You can go for the standard release or the Limited Edition release. The difference between the two is simply that the Limited Edition comes with a "raised Silence Head Slip Case" and 5 3-D art cards. The difference in price between the two on Amazon is a mere £3. The episodes and special features are:

Episodes
• A Christmas Carol
• The Impossible Astronaut
• Day Of The Moon
• The Curse Of The Black Spot
• The Doctor’s Wife
• The Rebel Flesh
• The Almost People
• A Good Man Goes To War
• Let’s Kill Hitler
• Night Terrors
• The Girl Who Waited
• The God Complex
• Closing Time
• The Wedding Of River Song

Matt Smith's Scream Awards Acceptance Speech

You can see Matt Smith winning the Scream Award for Best Science Fiction actor below together with his brief acceptance speech:



Thanks to DoctorShannon for uploading the video to youtube. Still can't believe they took that spikey award away from him the moment he walked offstage...

Viewing Figures Update

The BBC have been a bit more forthcoming as regards the Iplayer figures. As you know, in my previous article - The Great Viewing Figures Debate - the iplayer figures for the final 6 episodes were unavailable. The article has now been updated with the iplayer figures below:

"Let's Kill Hitler" - 1.54m
"Night Terrors" - 1.12m
"The Girl Who Waited" - 1.16m
"The God Complex" - 1.01m
"Closing Time" - 0.97m

We are still awaiting the final iplayer figure for "The Wedding of River Song" and please note that these figures are only for the first 7 days following transmission. This makes an average of 1.17m per episode that can be added to the final BARB ratings.

Please see our previous article - The Great Viewing Figures Debate - for a more extensive breakdown.

Matt Smith on the Craig Ferguson Show

Matt Smith was a guest on Craig Ferguson's Late Show last night - you can watch the whole interview below:



Thanks to "indigenous4logic for uploading this to youtube. I love that bowler hat...

Matt Smith at the Scream Awards

Congratulations to Matt Smith on winning the Best SciFi Actor Award at the Scream Awards.

WalesOnline have posted a short video of Matt being interviewed on the red carpet - where he talks briefly about the upcoming Christmas Special:

Review - "The Doctor Who Experience"

There's a certain similarity between the "Doctor Who Experience" and a McDonalds meal: you have one...and you immediately want another. I don't think one viewing of the Experience is enough - even though there's no time limit and you can wander back and forth to your heart's content. We arrived a bit late - and the staff were very laid back - "don't worry...you can just join the next group." To begin with, there's the "walkthrough" experience which you enter in a group. Whilst waiting for your turn, there are a number of exhibits that you can photograph and examine - such as the Dalek Ironside. The first thing we did was have our photos taken in the "torture" machine from "The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood" - apparently it's the one that Amy was in.



Regarding the walkthrough, I'm not going to say much. It's terrific - it really is. The specially filmed scenes with Matt Smith are very funny, you get to fly the Tardis, there are Daleks, Weeping Angels and a quite fantastic 3D "experience" at the end. Obviously there are warnings about moving floors, strobe lighting effects and smoke. It takes about 15 minutes and this sequence is worth the entrance fee alone.

Matt Smith on "The Gunpowder Plot"

The BBC have released a short clip of Matt Smith talking about the upcoming game "The Gunpowder Plot":



The game will be available for download from 31 October 2011.

Thanks to StetsonsAreCool for uploading the video to youtube.

Behind the Scenes - "The Wedding of River Song"

The BBC have uploaded a couple of extra clips from "Doctor Who Confidential" that didn't make it to the final cut.

Clip One - Mark Gatiss prepares for the stunt that sees him falling into a pit of skulls:



Clip Two - An insight into how Mark Gatiss was transformed into Gantok through prosthetics:



A couple of these per week should keep us going until Christmas.

Moffat talks about Season 7

Den of Geek have an article regarding Season 7. Taking quotes from The Moff gleaned from the upcoming "Brilliant Book of Doctor Who - 2012" we get an insight into why the show will be delayed next year together with a hint or two about what to expect for the anniversary in 2013:

“The truth behind the delay next year is: why are we killing ourselves and risking compromising the show, in order to go out in the middle of summer? I’m sick of it. I’m sick of standing in the blazing sunshine, with a barebecue fork in my hand, knowing that Doctor Who is coming on any minute. Six o’clock on a sunny Saturday is the middle of the afternoon, whereas six o’clock on a winter or autumn Saturday is dark and exciting”

Regarding the 50th Anniversary:

“Epic, huge, massive, indulgent... all your treats at once. I guarantee you it’s going to be the best year ever to be a Doctor Who fan. We’re going to be in production for longer than ever, just to do everything that we intend to do”.

Interesting. It totally makes sense regarding Season 7. "Doctor Who" is always best on winter evenings - it always has been. It defintely felt odd watching it in "daylight" so to speak. As for an "indulgent" anniversary? Excellent. If Matt is still the Doctor then I'll be a happy bunny anyway.

The "Brilliant Book of Doctor Who - 2012" is released on 13 October 2011 and is available from Forbidden Planet

Thanks to Den of Geek

Viewing Figures Updated

The final BARB ratings for "The Wedding of River Song" have been released. The episode garnered a final rating of 7.67m - obviously this figure doesn't include iplayer viewings.

This gives Season 6 an overall viewing average (based on BARB ratings) of 7.52m with an average Audience Appreciation Index of 86.2.

For a detailed breakdown of these figures episode by episode, together with an analysis of what they really mean then please see the article we published on 5 October:

The Great Viewing Figures Debate

The Best of "Doctor Who Confidential" - Part One - The New Doctor

With the supposed "axing" of "Doctor Who Confidential" - and there is still time to save the show so please see the links at the bottom of this article - I thought it would be good to look back at some of the interesting, funny and key moments from the show. Obviously this will concentrate on the last couple of years (well, this is a blog with an Eleventh Doctor focus after all!).

One of the most important parts of "Doctor Who" is the announcement and subsequent first episode of a new Doctor and this is where "Doctor Who Confidential" gives us some fascinating insight about and interviews with the "new boy". We needed it. We were all nervous about the change and whereas some welcomed it, others protested that Matt Smith was too young or that Steven Moffat couldn't handle taking on the show full-time. "Doctor Who Confidential" stepped in and showed us what was going on - warts and all.

The extended interview below was fascinating at the time - and probably even more so now when you see how much Matt talked with his hands...not to mention those facial expressions that have now become such a part of his Doctor:



"Doctor Who Confidential" also gave us Matt's first day on "Doctor Who" when filming the scene at the "End of Time" where he takes over from David Tennant. It wasn't just a new Doctor - it was also a new team with Steven Moffat taking over from Russell T Davies. It must have been a nerve-wracking day for Matt yet just look at that smile:



Another first was seeing the new Doctor's reaction to his new Tardis - and this is one of the areas where "Doctor Who Confidential" comes into it's own by helping us to connect with Matt and his Doctor. Matt's sheer enthusiasm and childlike delight helped win a lot of people over and, it's thanks to "Doctor Who Confidential":



So, "Doctor Who Confidential" was essential for welcoming and reassuring us about the new Doctor but it does so much more. In part two (next week) we'll look at some of the funny moments but, in the meantime, please support the campaign to save the show:

Save DWC on Twitter
Save DWC Blog
Save DWC Petition

Thanks to the BBC, dgw934drwho and WhovianFanBase for uploading the youtube videos.

Extended Interview from "Doctor Who Confidential"

The BBC have released a previously unseen extended interview from "Doctor Who Confidential" featuring Matt Smith and Mark Gatiss on the set of "The Wedding of River Song":



Let's hope for more of these to tide us over until Christmas...

11th Doctor Collector Figure

Now this is something special - and something every serious figure collector will want to have. Big Chief Studios have been authorised by BBC Worldwide to produce this absolutely stunningly detailed figure.

As stated on Forbidden Planet - where the figure is available for pre-order at £149.99 - it comes with a long list of accessories:

The Great Viewing Figures Debate

It seems you can't pick up a newspaper - or indeed visit certain websites - without being confronted by seemingly "gloating" articles which maintain that the viewing figures for Season 6 of "Doctor Who" were bad. Without mentioning any particular newspaper, some have said that the figures are significantly down from the 7-8 million "expected". Is this true? No. Newspapers report the "overnight" figures, not the final consolidated BARB ratings that are released usually about a week after transmission.

Having done a bit of research, below you will find the overnight figures and the consolidated BARB figures, together with the Audience Appreciation Index per episode. Iplayer figures are now available for most episodes (as at 18 October 2011 the only current exception being "The Wedding of River Song") - however, these figures show viewings only in the first week of availability on the service. The BBC don't seem to like releasing these figures and you have to jump through a hoop or two to find them. (NB - As at 9 October 2011, the figures below have now been updated with the final BARB ratings for "The Wedding of River Song").

Alex Kingston Guesting at SFX Weekender 3

Alex Kingston has been confirmed as a guest at SFX Weekender 3. The event itself is to be held at Prestatyn, North Wales over the weekend of Friday 3 February 2012 and Saturday 4 February 2012 and Alex Kingston will be there on Saturday 4 February 2012.

The SFX Website has full details: SFX Weekender - Alex Kingston Confirmation

Further details of the event including guest lineups and ticket booking options can be found at SFX Weekender

And for those who missed the quite superb "Story of River Song" from "Doctor Who Confidential" this weekend then here it is. Narrated by Alex Kingston, it shows you River's story from HER own point of view:



Thanks to 0s1ride for uploading this.

Of course, "Doctor Who Confidential" has been cancelled by the BBC - but to log your protest or get involved in the "Save Doctor Who Confidential" campaign then please see the links below:

Save DWC on Twitter
Save DWC blog
Save DWC Petition

Review - "The Wedding of River Song"

This episode has to have been one of the most hotly anticipated finales of recent times. The build up throughout the season had been such a success that theories and speculation were everywhere. Theories ranged from ganger Doctors to converging timelines but there was one thing we lost sight of: Steven Moffat is not just one step ahead of us...he's usually in a completely different ballpark. And that is what happened with "The Wedding of River Song". It wasn't the complicated resolution we expected - in reality, it was quite simple - but the sheer detail, scope and beauty of this episode was absolutely breathtaking.



So, the basic story itself was quite simple. River can't kill the Doctor on the beach at Utah - she just cannot kill the man she loves so she discharges the weapons on the sand. Time, therefore, splinters and starts disintegrating. We see a timeline whereby all of history is happening at the same time - and it's 5.02pm. It's ALWAYS 5.02pm. To break this timeline, to get time back on its proper course, the Doctor and River have to be brought together - to "touch" - and then River must fulfill her destiny and kill the Doctor on the beach.

The Adventure Games - "The Gunpowder Plot"

Following that rather breathtaking finale (review to come tomorrow), the BBC have released details and a video of the next free downloadable Adventure Game.

Here's the full release:

The TARDIS returns to BBC ONE at Christmas, but you don't have to wait that long for more action with the Doctor, Amy and Rory...

Hear ye! Hear ye! The new Adventure Game is released on October 31st, 2011! It's by far the biggest and most epic Adventure Game to date. The incredible cast includes Ralf Little (The Royle Family), Phil Daniels (Quadrophenia, EastEnders), Dan Starkey (A Good Man Goes to War) and CBBC's Chris Johnson... as well as one of the UK's best-known actresses, whose identity we'll reveal shortly!

Doctor Who: The Gunpowder Plot is set in 1605. Guy Fawkes and his gang are hell bent on blowing up the Houses of Parliament and the Doctor becomes embroiled in their scheme when it emerges he's not the only alien in town... Old monsters return and new threats must be faced... By you, playing as one of the TARDIS time travellers!

Having enjoyed the previous ones, I'm really looking forward to it. And to whet your appetite even more, here's a preview which includes Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and others talking about the game together with glimpses of what you can expect: