Video - Season 7 VFX - Behind the Scenes with "The Mill"

The Mill - responsible for VFX on "Doctor Who" since 2005 - have uploaded a couple of videos explaining some of the visual effects sequences from Season 7.  So far, they've uploaded one for "Asylum of the Daleks" and one for "Dinosaurs on a  Spaceship".  Even if you're not that bothered about VFX, these are definitely worth a watch:







Thanks to Ruther for the heads up.

Series 7 Part 1 available for pre-order

Series 7, Part 1 is released on DVD and Blu-Ray in the UK on 29 October 2012.  As usual, you can get the usual release - pictured above - plus a "Weeping Angels Limited Edition" release.  The product description for the normal release is:

Join the Doctor, the Ponds and numerous friends on their latest escapades through space and time where they puzzle over an unexpected invasion of Earth, save a spaceship full of dinosaurs, don Stetsons in a Wild Wild West adventure, and are even kidnapped by the Doctor’s oldest foe. The explosive series concludes with Amy and Rory’s heart-breaking farewell – a race against time through the streets of Manhattan. Will the Doctor really lose the Ponds forever?
There’s only one way to find out… 

Includes the bonus features: 

Pond Life
En route to see the Ponds the TARDIS’ Helmic Regulator malfunctions, leaving the Doctor popping up everywhere in time and space. Will he ever make it back to them? 

Asylum of the Daleks Prequel
The Doctor receives a message from a mysterious hooded stranger – a woman called Darla Von Karlsen wants to meet him… 

The Making of The Gunslinger
Civil war has ravaged the Kahler race, but a team of scientists has found an advantage. The Gunslinger is born.

The Weeping Angels Limited Edition - pictured above - has the same features plus it's individually numbered, comes complete with an A3 "Augmented Reality" poster and an additional "Science of Doctor Who" feature.

Price wise - the two DVD editions are the same price from Amazon whereas the Limited Edition Blu-Ray is about £6 more expensive.  

You can pre-order the DVD/Blu-Ray editions below from Amazon:

Doctor Who - Series 7 Part 1 [DVD] - Normal Release - £17.99

Doctor Who - Series 7 Part 1 [Blu-ray] - Normal Release - £20.99

Doctor Who - Series 7 Part 1 Weeping Angels Limited Edition [DVD] - £17.99

Doctor Who - Series 7 Part 1 Weeping Angels Limited Edition [Blu-ray] - £26- 20

"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" - Consolidated Viewing Figures

The Broadcasters Audience Research Board (BARB) have released the consolidated viewing figures for week ending 9 September 2012.

"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship", which aired on 8 September 2012, achieved an overnight figure of 5.5million and this increased to 7.57million when the consolidated figures were released earlier today. This is certainly an impressive increase and it'll be very interesting to see how high Season 7 will peak when the iplayer figures are released. "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" also achieved an Appreciation Index figure of 87.

You can view the Season 7 Viewing Figures in full on our Season 7 Viewing Figures Page

Dino Delights - More Promo Pics Emerge from the Spaceship

Another - late - batch of promos have been released following transmission of "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship". Once again, right click and open in new tab/window for the large versions:

Review - "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship"

This is, most definitely, a "does what it says on the tin" episode. The title alone tells you what kind of episode we're getting: a fun, entertaining romp - and it was needed after last week's rather dark season opener. That's not to say that this episode was pure comedy - it wasn't. There were some rather dark and serious undertones here that weren't out of place in the episode but they certainly made you think.

The plot was fairly simple: the Doctor is called in by the India Space Agency to investigate a spaceship that will enter Earth's atmosphere in 6 hours time ... and get blown to bits by the aforementioned Space Agency unless the Doctor can divert its course. Our hero gathers together a "gang" and discovers that the ship is Silurian and contains the last of the dinosaurs. The ship has been hijacked by an unsavoury character called Solomon who has killed the Silurians and plans to sell the dinosaurs. Can the Doctor and his gang stop him and prevent the ship being blown to smithereens?

See? Simple. But this episode wasn't about plot. This was all about entertainment - it was about moments and characters. It was about Dinosaurs. ON A SPACESHIP! This wasn't "Jurassic Park in Space" though - the Dinosaurs weren't the villains of the piece - they were just another lifeform in danger for the Doctor to try and save. And what a lifeform. The BBC effects department were on top form - they actually made Dinosaurs look real, which is more difficult than you might imagine - just take a look at Doctor Who in 1974 with "Invasion of the Dinosaurs" if you don't believe me. More importantly, the Dinosaurs had character. The Triceratops, for instance, chasing golf balls like some overgrown dog whilst being ridden by the Doctor, Rory and Brian. You have to have been made of stone if you didn't shed a tear when the Triceratops died.



Another big plus for this episode was the strength of the characters - especially the gang the Doctor gathered together. Rory - got to show off his nursing skills; Amy - showed how intelligent she can be; Queen Nefertiti - who managed to be cool and take everything in her stride whilst lusting after the Doctor; Riddell the game hunter - a typically ego-centric, alpha male type and, the coolest character in the episode (with the obvious exception of the Doctor), Rory's dad, Brian. Brian Williams - played superbly by Mark Williams - practically stole the episode. He highlighted really just how used to all this both Rory and Amy are now - as are we, the audience. The show needs characters like this once in a while to give us a bit of a reality jolt. Brian was bewildered by it all - but not overwhelmed. He came up with ideas, he carries a trowel around in his pocket and is quite surprised when Rory doesn't. The scene at the end with Brian sitting on the threshold of the Tardis, munching a sandwich, thermos by his side as he gazed down at Earth was quite beautiful. How can anyone not love Brian? We know the producers do because Brian Williams is back again in the fourth episode of the current run, "The Power of Three".

"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" - Overnight Viewing Figures

"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" was watched live by 5.5million viewers on BBC1 last night. This is the same number as last season's "Night Terrors" - which was also the second episode of the Autumn series. The share of the audience was 26.2% and it was the highest rated BBC1 programme for the day.

Obviously, the BARB figures will be higher - and the BARB consolidated figures for "Asylum of the Daleks" will be released this week.

Video - "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" - behind the scenes

The BBC have released another little behind the scenes video - this time regarding the making of "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship". Meet "Tracy the Triceratops":

"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" - Clip 3

The BBC have released another clip from "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship":

Video - "Meet Riddell!" - "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" - Clip 2

The BBC have released another clip from Saturday's episode, "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" - this time featuring Rupert Graves.



"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" airs on BBC1 on Saturday at 7.35pm.

Video - "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" - New Clip

The BBC have released a new clip from "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship":

New Promos - "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship"

Lots of lovely new promos from the BBC for the upcoming "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" episode. As usual, right click and open in new tab/window for the large versions:

Video - "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship - New BBC Trailer

Yet another new trailer has emerged for "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship":



Looks like another cracker.

Videos - "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship"

The BBC have uploaded a couple of videos ahead of next week's "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship".

In the first, Arthur Darvill and Karen Gillan introduce the episode:



And in the second, here's the trailer: