Cinema Screening of Dark Water/Death in Heaven in 3D plus Series 9 Prequel for US fans.

Now, this is interesting.  Screenings of Dark Water/Death in Heaven in 3D in approximately 700 US cinemas together with an "exclusive" series 9 prequel plus "exclusive" interview with Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman which is hosted by Wil Wheaton.  When questioned as to why this event is not taking place in the UK too, BBC Worldwide came up with a quite surprising excuse:

“Due to the number of events taking place for Doctor Who this year including the Symphonic Spectacular and the Doctor Who Festival, we decided against showing the episodes in UK cinema.”

Quite frankly, that excuse is simply laughable.  It's obviously a moot point that the Symphonic Spectacular is happening in the US as well.  The cynic in me thinks that this cinema event wouldn't do quite so well over here.  A 3D screening of episodes we already have on dvd or blu-ray?  It would be nice to have the option but the real question concerns the prequel.  

Will the prequel be online for everyone to see afterwards?  Will it be a boxset exclusive so the rest of us have to wait until the season is over?  It SHOULD go online within a day or two of this event but what the BBC should do and what they actually do are completely separate things.  They've done so well this year - making sure anything at SDCC was released worldwide, for example - it'll be a shame if they revert to type and start with these stupid "exclusives" again.  I hope it doesn't end up like the prequel to "Asylum of the Daleks" - that was free to watch in the US via amazon.com but in the UK you had to BUY a season pass via Itunes (until it quite rightly got ripped and put on youtube).  Pretty poor state of affairs - and that's without mentioning the Licence Fee...ooops....I just did.  

Anyhow - guess we'll just have to wait and see.  Again.  In the meantime, for the US fans, here's the press release regarding the cinema showings:

BBC Worldwide North America and Fathom Events announce the return of the longest running sci-fi television series, Doctor Who, to the big screen for a two-night special theatrical event, Doctor Who: Dark Water/Death in Heaven in spectacular 3D, starring Peter Capaldi.

Doctor Who: Dark Water/Death in Heaven, the show’s two-part eighth season finale, will be presented in RealD™ 3D and Dolby Atmos sound (where available) on September 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m. (local time). The event will feature The Doctor’s Meditation- a special prequel scene to the first episode of season nine - and an exclusive interview with Doctor Who stars Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman, hosted by Wil Wheaton (Big Bang Theory, Star Trek: Nemesis), in addition to the two-part season eight finale. 

Tickets for Doctor Who: Dark Water/Death in Heaven in 3D can be purchased online beginning Friday, July 31 by visitingwww.FathomEvents.com, or participating theater box offices. Fans throughout the U.S. will be able to enjoy the event in approximately 700 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).

BBC Announce Fan Event in Germany with Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman

BBC Worldwide have announced that Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman will visit Germany for a "one-time-only Fan Event live in Berlin on Friday 17th July 2015".

The trip will offer German fans the opportunity to see the stars of the world’s longest running television sci-fi series, for the first time in Germany. 

This visit follows on from last year’s successful fan events across the globe during the Doctor Who: The World Tour where Capaldi and Coleman visited seven cities, in 12 days including Seoul, New York and Rio de Janeiro.

Details of the forthcoming event will be available on www.facebook.com/doctorwho in due course. 

Commenting on the forthcoming trip Peter Capaldi said: “So many German fans have already reached out to me about the show and I'm delighted to be travelling to their country to find out first hand why they love Doctor Who.” 

Isabelle Helle, Director, German Speaking Europe, BBC Worldwide says: “Doctor Who is continuing to rise in popularity in Germany so we were especially keen to bring the stars of the series, Peter and Jenna over. We’re thrilled to offer this unique opportunity for fans to see, for the first time, the leading cast members of the series and have a truly memorable experience.” 

Doctor Who Series 9 will premiere on Fox Channel Germany later this year. Previous series are available on Netflix, Maxdome and Amazon as well as on DVD through Polyband.

"Deep Breath" to be screened globally in cinemas

Try as they might, it seems nigh on impossible for BBC Worldwide to keep anything a secret.  Confirming the widespread rumours, BBC Worldwide today confirmed that the first episode of series 8, "Deep Breath", will be screened globally in cinemas:

BBC Worldwide is delighted to announce that the first episode of Doctor Who Series 8 - Peter Capaldi’s debut season in the iconic role - will be screened in cinemas around the world from 23 August 2014. 

This year’s screenings follow the success of the global cinema release ofDoctor Who’s 50th anniversary episode The Day of the Doctor which was screened in over 1500 cinemas around the world, allowing fans to come together to watch the show like never before. 

Doctor Who makes a spectacular return to the big screen in the feature-length premiere episode of Series 8; Deep Breath. Directed by acclaimed Director Ben Wheatley (Sightseers, A Field in England) and written by Lead Writer and Executive Producer Steven Moffat, the beginning of the Twelfth Doctor’s era stars Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, Jenna Colemanas his companion Clara Oswald and sees the return of fan favourites The Paternoster Gang - Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), Jenny Flint (Catrin Stewart) and Strax (Dan Starkey) – in a pulse-racing adventure through Victorian London. 

Steven Moffat comments, "Last November the Doctor didn't just conquer the world on television, he did it in the cinemas too. And like the show-off he is, he can't resist another go - one taste of the silver screen is never enough. On August 23rd the new Doctor will begin his new adventures on BBC One and in cinemas all over the world. Movie-land beware - Capaldi is coming to get you!" 

Doctor Who: Deep Breath will be screened in participating cinemas around the world from 23 August, 2014. More information will be released by BBC Worldwide and participating cinema chains over the coming weeks. For all of the latest information please visit http://doctorwho.tv/watch/cinema. For information on all Doctor Who events and products visit doctorwho.tv and sign up for the newsletter.

I'm sure one day BBC Worldwide will manage to surprise us all...

New BBC Worldwide Statement on the Series 8 Leaks

BBC Worldwide have released a new statement regarding the recent script/unfinished episode "leaks":

We would like to thank Doctor Who fans everywhere for their amazing efforts in helping us contain the recent leaks. 

The mistake was damaging and resulted in the exposure of five scripts and the first six unfinished episodes from Series 8 on a publicly accessible FTP site.  While there is still a risk that this leak will result in more of this content emerging, so far the impact has been contained to a limited amount of this material through a combination of fans efforts and the plan that we put in place using new technology and internal manpower to limit any illegal activity. 

We would particularly like to thank the fansite moderators and Doctor Who devotees who have actively protected the programme. 

BBC Worldwide has taken this issue extremely seriously and disciplinary action has been implemented as a result of the incident. 

Our sincere apologies again to Steven Moffat, the cast and production team who toil long hours to make the show in Cardiff, the BBC, and of course the fans who expect so much better. 

So, an apology, a thank you and disciplinary action.  You'd like to think they'd learn from this - but seriously, don't hold your breath.

Global Tour - Sydney and Seoul Details Confirmed

BBC Worldwide - yes..them - have announced the details for the Seoul and Sydney stops on the Global Tour.  The team will visit Seoul on 9 August 2014 and the event will take place at the IFC Mall:

Seoul is the first city for the world tour with main actor and actress from Doctor Who on 9th of August. 

BBC Worldwide today announced that the very first Doctor Who Global Publicity Tour will land in Seoul on Saturday, August the 9th. Korea is the first stop in the major global publicity tour to launch the new series of Doctor Who and introduce Peter Capaldi as the new Doctor.The twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi and the Doctor’s on-screen companion, played by Jenna Coleman will land in Korea on 9 August and will spend the day with Korean fans and media. 

The fan event will take place at IFC mall on the 9th and will start with a special fan screening of the new season's first episode. After the screening, Peter and Jenna will meet with Korean Doctor Who fans. The fan meeting will take place at 5.00pm at the atrium of the mall and is open to all. 

To celebrate the Korea stop of Doctor Who: The World Tour, there will be competitions where fans can win tickets to the screenings that will take place in multiple cinemas. More information about these competitions will be released later this week. Fans can follow doctorwho_kor on twitter for details.

The Sydney "fan event" takes place on 12 August 2014 at the Stage Theatre:

Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi and his onscreen companion Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald) will be live on stage at the State Theatre, Sydney for a one-time-only fan event on Tuesday 12 August.  

Following on from last year's smash-hit 50th anniversary celebrations for Doctor Who, BBC Worldwide is thrilled to be bringing the stars of the show to Australia as part of a major global tour to launch the latest series and introduce fans to the new Doctor.  

Join the stars for an exclusive Q&A hosted by long-time Doctor Who fan, Adam Spencer, and be the first in Australia to see Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor with a special screening of the feature-length premiere episode of the new series.   Fans will also be given the opportunity to put some of their own questions to the stars.

Details of the rest of the itinerary are expected to be announced very soon.

"Deep Breath" rough cut appears online...

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of weeks, you'll know that recently, due to a BBC Worldwide "open" server, the scripts for the first five episodes of Series 8 appeared online.  On the same server were mp4s of the first five episodes - these didn't appear online so we all thought they hadn't been downloaded.  "Deep Breath" has now hit the internet.  It's a rough cut, black and white version with no cgi and "BBC Worldwide" watermarked all over it.

Originally, I wasn't going to comment on this.  As with the scripts, I have no intention of finding this or downloading it.  Quite rightly, the blame is being laid solidly at the feet of BBC Worldwide - their history of cock-ups is quite extensive.  A technical point - BBC Worldwide and the BBC are not the same thing.  BBC Worldwide is the commercial arm but it is wholly owned by the BBC.   I've no doubt the BBC themselves are angry and fit to burst about this - it harms their product after all.

Now, Steven Moffat said something interesting at London Film and Comic Con yesterday - he said that the script leaks had been "horrible, miserable and upsetting" for the Doctor Who team and then commented that "they were stolen, it's theft".  He also used a "you wouldn't steal from a car with an open window" analogy.  That's quite true - just because a door or window has been left open doesn't mean you go inside and nick stuff.  BBC Worldwide were incompetent idiots for leaving this window open...but what about the person/people who saw this and immediately stole the material by downloading it?  Why not simply inform the BBC and BBC Worldwide about the server?  Is it because the download culture online is so extensive that it's taken as being normal behaviour?

We've all done it - we've all downloaded things online.  The difference in this case being that this is stolen material that was not going to be broadcast.  Have no doubt - this IS illegal.  Some sites are saying that the Police are involved - I hope they are.  This needs to stop.  Heads should roll at BBC Worldwide but the person or people who blatantly stole this material from their server and spread it around need to be heavily punished too.

Here's the latest statement from BBC Worldwide - they also point out the illegality but their investigation is going to be watched very closely and I think it's only right that their conclusions are made public:

"This is part of BBC Worldwide's ongoing security investigation into leaked unfinished Doctor Who materials. This content is currently being removed and originates from the same Miami server we disabled last week, it is not a new issue. We'd like to thank the amazing Doctor Who fans who are continuing to keep fansites and social media spoiler-free but would remind anyone downloading and sharing this material that it is illegal to do so."

I can't tell you what to do.  You guys will have to make up your own minds on this but, be honest, do you REALLY want to see a rough, cgi-less black and white version?  You want to illegally download something because you can't wait a few weeks to see the proper, finished version?  Peter Capaldi, Steven Moffat and the production team deserve a bit more respect - they've worked their socks off and the very least we can do is wait until the finished version is transmitted.  

I'll get off my soapbox now....

BBC Worldwide apologises after Series 8 scripts appear online

BBC Worldwide always seem to be apologising for something.  Either they're sending dvd/blu-rays out before they're supposed to - leading to some fans receiving them before the episode aired - or they mistakenly send an email to everyone instead of one particular department - leading to Matt's departure being announced earlier than it should have been - or, this time, they put the scripts for episodes 1-5 of Series 8 onto servers left open for public indexing, allowing the content to be found on google for instance.

It didn't take long for these scripts to explode onto the internet and, whilst some desperately want to remain spoiler-free, others are happy to read and spread the contents.  Personally, I won't be reading them.  I want to SEE the episodes as opposed to merely reading the scripts.  If, like me, you want to remain spoiler-free then I would say to avoid Tumblr.  Why?  Because whilst a good number have read the scripts and put any spoilers under a cut, a lot have just posted what they want.  Some have tagged their posts "DW Spoilers" so try and use Tumblr Savior - and set it to ignore "DW Spoilers" - it might help.

How did this happen?  Well, the Radio Times have done a bit of digging and have posted a very good article explaining why and how these scripts were discovered and downloaded.  It seems that video files were on the server too - but thankfully these don't appear to have been downloaded.

Oh, BBC Worldwide.  You really are just Cock-up Central.  But for giggles, here's their apology in full:

“BBC Worldwide is currently investigating a security issue around Doctor Who Series 8 where unfinished material has inadvertently been made public. We deeply regret this and apologise to all the show's fans, the BBC and the cast and crew who have worked tirelessly making the series." 

“We would like to make a plea to anyone who might have any of this material and spoilers associated with it not to share it with a wider audience so that everyone can enjoy the show as it should be seen when it launches. We know only too well that Doctor Who fans are the best in the world and we thank them for their help with this and their continued loyalty."

The words "horse", "bolted" and "stable door" come to mind...

"World Tour" to promote Series 8

BBC Worldwide have announced a "global publicity tour" to promote Series 8.  Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman and Steven Moffat will visit 7 cities in 5 continents in 12 days:

Following on from last year's global smash-hit 50th anniversary, BBC Worldwide announce a major global publicity tour to launch the new series of Doctor Who and introduce Peter Capaldi as the new Doctor. Doctor Who: The World Tour will begin in the UK on August 7 and finish in Brazil on August 19. 

The trip will see Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi, on-screen companion Jenna Coleman, and the show’s lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat*, visit seven cities across five continents in 12 days, where they will attend fan events and media interviews, publicising Series 8 to a global audience.

The tour marks the largest ever promotional undertaking in Doctor Who’s 50-year history and will kick off in Welsh capital and home of the series' production,  Cardiff,  before taking in London (UK),  Seoul (South Korea),  Sydney (Australia),  New York (US),  Mexico City (Mexico) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). More details of the itinerary will be available from doctorwho.tv soon, as well as reports from the tour as it happens, which fans everywhere will be able to enjoy across social and digital platforms. 

Peter Capaldi has commented on his excitement ahead of the tour: “It’s fantastic that so many people across the world love Doctor Who. After 8 months solid filming deep in the world of monsters, Jenna and I are thrilled to be heading for the Planet of Fans”. 

Executive producer and lead writer Steven Moffat adds: “I've always thought we'd all be a lot safer if the Doctor conquered the world, instead of the Daleks. Now with Jenna and Peter leading the charge, it looks like it's going to happen. I'll be bringing up the rear to handle the exposition scenes, and maybe carry some bags.” 

Doctor Who Series 8 is due to premiere in the UK in August. US broadcaster BBC America will transmit on the same day. Doctor Who is distributed by BBC Worldwide to over 200 territories. 

*Due to production commitments, Steven Moffat will be unable to attend to the entire tour. The cities he will join the tour for will be announced soon.

Peter Capaldi at BBC Worldwide Showcase Event

BBC Worldwide are currently holding a showcase event in Liverpool for International TV buyers - and Peter Capaldi was a surprise guest.

He emerged from the Tardis and talked briefly with Graham Norton.  Doctorwho.tv have the full article but Peter Capaldi commented: “As a lifetime follower of the show, I'm delighted to see its global success. And I'm looking forward to sharing with the world the very exciting journey the new series is taking us on”.  Photos from the event - courtesy of doctorwho.tv are below:

Source: doctorwho.tv

Peter Davison and A Host of Classic Guests to Attend 50th Anniversary Convention

With the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who now less than a month away, BBC Worldwide is delighted to announce that over 40 additional guests from the classic era of Doctor Who have been added to the bill for the Doctor Who 50th Celebration which takes place at ExCeL London over the anniversary weekend.

Peter Davison, who played the role of the Fifth Doctor from 1981-1984, will be attending all three days. Joining Peter on Saturday 23 November will be William Russell and Carole Ann Ford, who starred as companions Ian and Susan alongside First Doctor William Hartnell, plus the Director of An Unearthly Child, Waris Hussein.

Dick Mills of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, and visual effects gurus Mike Tucker and Mat Irvine will also be on hand to facilitate some of the special features at the Celebration, which will be announced in more detail soon.

They will join current Doctor Matt Smith and former Doctors Tom Baker*, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy at the ultimate anniversary event, which will welcome over 20,000 fans of the world’s favourite Time Lord to the venue in east London.

The Doctor Who 50th Celebration’s opening hours will also be extended on Saturday evening so visitors can enjoy a free 2D simulcast screening of The Day Of The Doctor together. Saturday attendees will be emailed shortly with details about how they can reserve a seat. Visitors should note that the screening will have limited availability and tickets will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Additional line-up by day:

Friday 22nd November

• Anneke Wills (Polly)
• Richard Franklin (Captain Yates)
• Matthew Waterhouse (Adric)
• Sarah Sutton (Nyssa)
• Terry Molloy (Davros)
• Kate O’Mara (The Rani)
• Gabriel Woolf (Sutekh)
• Barry Newbery (designer)
• Waris Hussein (director)
• Michael Ferguson (director)
• Fiona Walker (Kala - Keys of Marinus  and Lady Peinforte in Silver Nemesis)
• Fiona Cumming (director)
• Ian Fraser (production manager)
  Saturday 23rd November
• Carole Ann Ford (Susan)
• William Russell (Ian)
• Frazer Hines (Jamie)
• Deborah Watling (Victoria)
• Katy Manning (Jo)
• Louise Jameson (Leela)
• Janet Fielding (Tegan)
• Nicola Bryant (Peri)
• Sophie Aldred (Ace)
• Daphne Ashbrook (Grace)
• Yee Jee Tso (Chang Lee)
• Geoffrey Beevers (The Master)
• David Collings (Poul / Vorus / Mawdryn)
• Terrance Dicks (script editor / writer)
• June Hudson (costume designer)

Sunday 24th November

• Maureen O’Brien (Vicki)
• Peter Purves (Steven)
• Wendy Padbury (zoe)
• John Leeson (K-9)
• Lalla Ward (Romana II)
• Mark Strickson (Turlough)
• Bonnie Langford (Mel)
• Michael Kilgarriff (Cyber Controller)
• Julian Glover (Richard I / Scaroth)
• Stephen Thorne (Omega / Azal)
• David Graham (Dalek voices / Kerensky)
• Donald Tosh (script editor / writer)
• Anthony Read (script editor / writer)
• Andrew Cartmel (script editor / writer)
• Andrew Morgan (director)

*Tom Baker is only able to attend the Doctor Who Celebration on Saturday 23rd November

BBC Worldwide Announce Global 50th Anniversary Special Simulcast and Cinema Showings

Well, I thought they'd already announced this but obviously I was wrong!  BBC Worldwide announced today that fans in at least 75 countries spanning 6 continents will be able to watch the Anniversary episode at the same time as the UK broadcast.

Also, hundreds of cinemas in the UK and across the world will broadcast the Special in 3D - ticket details will be released in due course.  The full press release reads:

BBC Worldwide today announces that the special 50^th Anniversary episode of Doctor Who, the world’s longest running and most successful sci-fi series will, for the first time ever, be broadcast simultaneously to millions of viewers worldwide in a global simulcast on 23^rd November 2013. 

From Canada to Colombia, Brazil to Botswana and Myanmar to Mexico, fans in at least 75 countries spanning six continents will be able to enjoy the episode in 2D and 3D* at the same time as the UK broadcast, with more countries expected to be confirmed within the next month. The US, Australia and Canada have also signed up for the simulcast which will be shown in numerous countries across Europe, Latin America and Africa. In addition to Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman, the one-off special, entitled The Day of the Doctor stars former Time Lord David Tennant as well as Billie Piper, and John Hurt.  

On top of the worldwide TV broadcast, hundreds of cinemas in the UK and across the world also plan to screen the hotly anticipated special episode simultaneously in full 3D, giving fans the opportunity to make an event of the occasion and be part of a truly global celebration for the iconic British drama series.  Details about tickets for the anniversary screening will be announced in due course.     

Tim Davie, CEO of BBC Worldwide comments: “Few TV shows can still lay claim to being appointment viewing but Doctor Who takes this to another level. In its 50^th Anniversary year we wanted to create a truly international event for Doctor Who fans in as many countries as possible and the simultaneous broadcast and cinema screening of the special across so many countries will make for a fitting birthday tribute to our Time Lord.” 

Steven Moffat, Showrunner for Doctor Who and Executive Producer of the 50^th Anniversary episode adds: “The Doctor has always been a time traveller - now he's travelling time zones. On the 23rd of November, it won't be the bad guys conquering the Earth - everywhere it will be The Day of the Doctor!” 

The free-to-air 3D coverage will be available to those with access to a 3D TV set and to the BBC’s HD Red Button service.  This is part of the BBC’s two-year trial experimenting with 3D production and distribution, which has also included selected coverage from Wimbledon 2012 and the London 2012 Olympic Games.The 50^th Anniversary weekend for Doctor Who in November will also see over 20,000 fans gather at London’s ExCel for the official celebration event which will feature appearances from cast old and new including Matt Smith and former Doctors Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker and Tom Baker. Further information on the event can be found at www.doctorwho.tv 

Since 1963 Doctor Who has been one of the best loved dramas and certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful sci-fi series ever.  The show has received numerous awards across its 50 years and has seen huge commercial success with over 10 million DVDs and 8 million action figures sold globally.  It is also the number one BBC show on iTunes in the UK. BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the UK broadcaster distributes Doctor Who to over 200 territories across the world.  

* 3D television broadcast is subject to availability within global region.

Complete 7th Series Boxset - BBC Worldwide Updated Press Release

Another day, another press release from BBC Worldwide.  This time they've updated their original release regarding the contents of the UK boxset.  The only difference in content between the US and UK boxsets is that the US will get interviews with Matt and Jenna from "The Nerdist" whilst the UK will get the "Good as Gold" Olympic short. You can pre-order the UK DVD boxset from the BBC Shop priced £34.99. The Blu-Ray is also available from the BBC Shop priced £38.99.

Obviously, the release dates haven't changed and I did receive a response from BBC Worldwide as follows:

Complete series releases have traditionally been released towards the end of October in the UK. BBC Worldwide is also publishing a number of other releases in September 2013 in the UK which the US will not be releasing.

BBC Worldwide UK and BBC Home Entertainment in the US work to separate release schedules and there is no obligation to release product lines at the same time

I'm intrigued as to these "other" releases - I'm assuming they will be Doctor Who related and I'm hoping there will be a bit more than just the "Monster" sets which are due out at the end of September.

Here is the full press release from BBC Worldwide as regards contents of the boxset:

BBC Worldwide releases all thirteen blockbuster episodes from Doctor Who Series Seven and the 2011 and 2012 Christmas Specials on Blu-ray and DVD on 28 October 2013. In addition, the set contains exciting bonus features including behind-the-scenes featurettes, Doctor Who at Comic Con, specials The Companions and Doctor Who in the US, and more. These latest adventures test the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) and prove that even a madman with a box needs help sometimes.

Say farewell to the Ponds all over again. Meet the enigmatic Clara for the first time – and the second, and the third. Face enemies new and old, follow the Doctor to the one place he should never go, and learn the secret to a really great soufflé. With a cliffhanger ending that will leave fans breathless, this set arrives just in time to catch up before the Doctor Who50th Anniversary Special on 23 November, and the Doctor’s regeneration in this year’s Christmas Special.

In The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, the 2011 Christmas Special, the Doctor proves that sometimes wishes really do come true when his mysterious gift leads Madge Arwell and her two children to a magical wintry wonderland. Then, in the first part of Series Seven, the Ponds (Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill) make their final voyages with the Doctor. They save a spaceship full of dinosaurs, don Stetsons in the Wild West and are even kidnapped by the Doctor's oldest foe. But when they arrive in Manhattan the Weeping Angels are waiting for them – and the Doctor has to say goodbye to his companions forever.

The 2012 Christmas Special, The Snowmen, brings the Doctor a new friend (Jenna Coleman) in Victorian London – but has he already met her before? And will she be able to pull him from his mourning in time to save London from the chilling menace that threatens it? The final eight episodes of Series Seven see the Doctor and his new companion battle monsters on distant alien planets, become trapped in a Russian submarine with a deadly passenger, chase terrifying ghosts, and come face-to-face with an army of upgraded Cybermen. When his friends are kidnapped, the Doctor and Clara are forced to visit the fields of Trenzalore, where the question that must never be answered is finally asked… and the Doctor uncovers the secret of the Impossible Girl. 

The incredible list of guest stars includes John Hurt (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy), Warwick Davis (Willow, the Harry Potter films), Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones), David Warner (Titanic, TRON), Dougray Scott (Hemlock Grove,Ever After: A Cinderella Story), Ben Browder (Farscape), David Bradley (Game of Thrones), Jessica Raine (Call the Midwife, The Woman in Black), the mother-daughter duo of Dame Diana Rigg (Game of Thrones) and Rachael Stirling (Women in Love, Snow White and the Huntsman), and the voice of Sir Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings films). The episodes are written by lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, as well as Neil Gaiman, Mark Gatiss, Neil Cross, Chris Chibnall, Toby Whithouse and Stephen Thompson.

Additional content includes:

Behind the scenes featurettes for every episode (except The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe)
Additional featurettes include: The Making of the Gunslinger, Creating Clara, Rain Gods, Clara and the TARDIS,Inforarium and Clara’s White Christmas

Other featurettes including: Olympics: Good as Gold (UK only), Last Days of the Ponds, Pond Life, The Science of Doctor Who, The Companions and Doctor Who at Comic Con

Prequels to episodes: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, Asylum of the Daleks, The Snowmen (The Great Detective, Vastra Investigates and Demons Run: Two Days Later), The Bells of Saint John and The Name of the Doctor (She Said, He Said and Clarence and the Whispermen)

Audio commentaries for episodes: The Snowmen, Cold War, Hide and The Crimson Horror

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Website Launched

BBC Worldwide have launched a new Doctor Who 50th Anniversary website at http://www.doctorwho.tv/. It's described as the "home of official Doctor Who Collectables, Games and Events from across the Universe".  There is a brief section describing each Doctor, monster and companion and the site has image and video galleries but the main focus appears to be the games, events and merchandise.

It's currently in "beta" mode and they're "still tweaking the engines" so if anything won't load or you have issues then let them know via their contact page.

This site does not replace the Official BBC Doctor Who site which carries much more information etc and should still be your place to go for information regarding forthcoming series.