BBC Officially Announces The Revelation of "A Number" Of Missing Doctor Who Episodes

It was announced today, after much speculation and rumour that, "a number" of missing episodes of Doctor Who have been returned to the BBC. Exactly how many and which episodes have been in found is yet to be confirmed. Expect this to announced at some point in the next two days.

It will be interesting to see exactly what is meant by: " How fans will be able to watch the recovered episodes are also expected to be revealed later this week." Possibly a DVD release scheduled for November, the 50th anniversary month itself?

The BBC News article stated:

A number of early episodes of Doctor Who, which were believed to have been permanently lost, have been returned to the BBC.

BBC Worldwide is expected to confirm the find at a press screening in London later this week.

It follows weeks of speculation that some lost episodes had been located.

A total of 106 episodes featuring the first two actors to play the Doctor, William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton, are currently missing.

The BBC destroyed many of the sci-fi drama's original transmission tapes in the 1960s and 1970s.

However, the majority of the episodes had been transferred on to film for foreign broadcasters. It is often these prints found in other countries that are the source of retrieved episodes.

In 1991, all four instalments of the Patrick Troughton adventure The Tomb of the Cybermen were discovered in Hong Kong.

The latest find comes as Doctor Who celebrates its 50th birthday. A special episode featuring the current Doctor Matt Smith and his predecessor David Tennant will be shown on the programme's anniversary on 23 November.

A raft of other programming to celebrate the long-running drama was also recently announced by the BBC.

Details of how fans will be able to watch the recovered episodes are also expected to be revealed later this week.

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50th Anniversary Title and Poster Revealed

50 YEARS OF DOCTOR WHO CULMINATING IN ‘THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR’

The countdown starts here as the BBC reveals its plans to take over TV and radio to mark the Doctor’s 50th anniversary

With special programmes planned across the BBC the celebrations will peak on 23 November with the anniversary episode, revealed as ‘The Day of the Doctor’. Starring Matt Smith, David Tennant, Jenna Coleman with Billie Piper and John Hurt, the special for BBC One has been confirmed as feature length with 75 minutes of adventure. 

Matt Smith, who plays the Doctor, said:

“The Day of the Doctor is nearly here! Hope you all enjoy. There’s lots more coming your way, as the countdown to the 50th begins now.” 

Each channel will be home to unique content, celebrating the wealth of history and talent from the last 50 years.

BBC Two will broadcast a number of new commissions, focusing on telling the story behind the show. For one night only, Professor Brian Cox will take an audience of celebrity guests and members of the public on a journey into the wonderful universe of the Doctor, from the lecture hall of the Royal Institution of Great Britain (1x60mins). Drawing on the latest theories as well as 200 years of scientific discoveries and the genius of Einstein, Brian tries to answer the classic questions raised by the Doctor – can you really travel in time? Does extra-terrestrial life exist in our galaxy? And how do you build something as fantastical as the TARDIS?

In an hour-long special, BBC Two’s flagship arts programme The Culture Show presents ‘Me, You and Doctor Who’ (1x60mins), with lifelong fan Matthew Sweet exploring the cultural significance of the BBC’s longest running TV drama, arguing that it’s one of the most important cultural artefacts of modern Britain. Put simply, Doctor Who matters. He’ll examine how the show has become a cultural force in its own right and tell the stories of some of the unsung cultural heroes, who pioneered its innovative music, design and storytelling. 

BBC Two wraps up its coverage with the previously announced ‘An Adventure in Space and Time’(1x90mins), which will tell the story of the genesis of Doctor Who and the many personalities involved. Written by Mark Gatiss the drama stars; David Bradley (the Harry Potter films); Brian Cox (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Identity), Jessica Raine (Call the Midwife) and Sacha Dhawan (History Boys, Last Tango in Halifax).

Steven Moffat, lead writer and executive producer, Doctor Who said:

"50 years has turned Doctor Who from a television show into a cultural landmark. Personally I can't wait to see what it becomes after a hundred." 

BBC Four will introduce audiences to the first Doctor, William Hartnell, with a special re-run of the first ever story, which marked the start of 50 years of history. The four episodes are being shown in a restored format, not previously broadcast in the UK.

There will also be programmes across CBBC with 12 Again (1x30mins) bringing together CBBC’s super fan Chris Johnson, impressionist Jon Culshaw, Tommy Knight (Luke Smith), Warwick Davis (Porridge), Neve McIntosh (Madame Vastra), Dan Starkey (Strax) Louise Jameson (Leela) and the Seventh Doctor; Sylvester McCoy, to share their memories of watching TV’s top Time Lord when they were young. 

While Blue Peter will launch an exciting new competition giving viewers aged between six and fourteen the opportunity to design a new gadget that will become part of the iconic science fiction series. Two live Blue Peter specials will see presenters Barney, Lindsey and Radzi joined by aliens and monsters, with viewers challenging Matt Smith to answer their Doctor Who questions.

BBC Three will be home to several exciting entertainment commissions. Audiences will be encouraged to get involved and vote in ‘Doctor Who: Monsters and Villains Weekend’, as we countdown to the top Doctor Who monster. For those less familiar with the show, ‘Doctor Who: The Ultimate Guide’ will introduce fans and viewers to a wealth of archive material and act as a guide to all things Who. A further exciting commission to be announced later this year will see the celebrations finish with a bang.

Danny Cohen, Director BBC Television said:

“Doctor Who is a titan of British television and I’m incredibly proud to have it on the BBC. It's an astonishing achievement for a drama to reach its 50th Anniversary. I'd like to thank every person - on both sides of the camera - who has been involved with its creative journey over so many years.”

It’s not just TV where audiences will be able join in the celebrations, programming across Radio 2, Radio 1 and Radio 4 Extra will each mark the 50th. 

BBC Radio 2 will ask ‘Who Is The Doctor?’ in a 90 minute documentary featuring newly recorded interviews and exclusive archive material. The programme will look at the lasting appeal of Doctor Who and ask how much of its continued success can be attributed to its basic formula. 

In ‘The Blagger’s Guide to Doctor Who’, David Quantick will give the iconic Doctor the Blagger’s treatment. He’ll be finding out the answers to questions such as why do Americans think Tom Baker is still Doctor Who? How many Doctors have there really been? Were the Daleks really named after an encyclopaedia?

Finally, Graham Norton will be broadcasting his weekly Radio 2 show live (Saturday 23 November, 10am) from the Doctor Who Celebration in London. In a special three-hour show, Graham will take a ride in the TARDIS and will also be chatting with some of the series’ stars and fans. 

Music is a key part of Doctor Who, from the famous theme tune to soaring melodies, but the show has also inspired a whole new phenomenon – Time Lord Rock (TROCK). Radio 1 will look at this genre of music inspired by the Doctor and his journeys through space and time with a 60 minute documentary.

Meanwhile Radio 4 Extra travels back to 1963 with a three hour special programme, ‘Who Made Who?’, to look at the world that inspired the television series. Doctor Who may have come from other times, but his roots were very much in the present of 1960s Britain. This distinctive programme combines audio from the archive, new interviews and extracts from audio versions of Doctor Who. Additionally, the station will broadcast readings and dramas featuring the great Doctor.

There will also be special content across the official website www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho and on the iPlayer.

Matt Smith To Leave Doctor Who!

The BBC has just announced that Matt Smith will be leaving Doctor Who later this year.

His last story will be this year's Christmas Special. The series will continue with Season 8 and with a new actor playing the Doctor. Jenna-Louise Coleman has said that she will be involved in Season 8.

Here's the official announcement.

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary To Be Shown In 3D & In Cinemas!

It was recently announced as part of a press release from the BBC that as part of the BBC's blockbuster celebrations to mark the Doctor turning 50, fans will be able to see the Time Lord and his adventures like never before - in 3D! 

Steven Moffat, lead writer and executive producer, said: 

“It's about time. Technology has finally caught up with Doctor Who and your television is now bigger on the inside. A whole new dimension of adventure for the Doctor to explore."

The last time Doctor Who used 3-D was in the best-forgotten Children In Need and 30th Anniversary special "Dimensions In Time." Let's hope that Moffat has something a little better than that to hit us with for the 50th.

[Source]

There are also some rumours circulating in the Guardian that the 3D Special will be shown in special screenings at selected Cinemas. Perhaps the closest we'll get to a Doctor Who Film. Who has been advertised in cinemas before but hasn't seen an on screen release since the Two Dalek films. 

Ben Stephenson, the BBC's Controller of Drama said that the anniversary of the time-travelling show would be a national event and compared it to the Queen's diamond jubilee and the Olympics. He also commented:

"We will be doing it on cinema screens as well. We are working out the logistics of that at the moment because we need to make sure the main BBC1 experience remains absolute value for money for the audience."

Details are still a little hazy. But more will surely follow shortly.

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Doctor Who Season 7 "P.S" The Scene That Was Never Shot Concerning What Happened to The Ponds and Brian.

For those who were left a tad cold from the Ponds departure, watch this wonderful video of a scene that was never shot, which reveals what happened to the Ponds and to Rory's dad, Brian.

The Angel’s Kiss: A Melody Malone Mystery E-Book

BBC books have announced that the book The Angel's Kiss: A Melody Malone Mystery recently featured in the 5th episode of Season 7, The Angels Take Manhattan, has actually been fully written and will soon be released as an e-book.

The e-book novella will be released on October 4th via digital stores (priced £1.99).

Here's the full story synopsis:

On some days, New York is one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

This was one of the other days…

Melody Malone, owner and sole employee of the Angel Detective Agency, has an unexpected caller. It’s movie star Rock Railton, and he thinks someone is out to kill him. When he mentions the ‘kiss of the Angel’, she takes the case. Angels are Melody’s business…

At the press party for Railton’s latest movie, studio owner Max Kliener invites Melody to the film set of their next blockbuster. He’s obviously spotted her potential, and Melody is flattered when Kliener asks her to become a star. But the cost of fame, she’ll soon discover, is greater than anyone could possibly imagine.

Will Melody be able to escape Kliener’s dastardly plan – before the Angels take Manhattan?

The book is the first Doctor Who title from BBC Books to be published only in epub format, and the first to be written exclusively from the perspective of a character within the show – Melody Malone, who not only runs her own agency, she also happens to be the author of a successful series of novels, featuring one Melody Malone.

Doctor Who Planet Of Giants DVD Review

Go on over to The Gallifrey Times and check out my review on the Planet Of Giants DVD which is released in the UK on 20th August, in Australia on 9th September and in the US on 11th September.

Click here and check out my review

BBC Confirm Genesis of "Doctor Who" Drama

The main players: Carole Ann Ford (Susan), Jacqueline Hill (Barbara), Verity Lambert (Prodcuer), William Russell (Ian), and William Hartnell (The Doctor).

There have been rumblings for sometime that Who writer Mark Gatiss has been writing a drama about the conception of Doctor Who to mark the show's 50th anniversary. This has now been officially confirmed by the BBC. The 90 minute drama will air on BBC 2 and is titled An Adventure in Space and Time and will tell the story of the genesis of the BBC sci-fi show in the early 1960s. The drama will cover the programme's first broadcast on 23 November 1963 with the four-part adventure An Unearthly Child and also William Hartnell's rise to fame.

Gatiss said:

"This is the story of how an unlikely set of brilliant people created a true Television original. And how an actor - William Hartnell - stereotyped in hard-man roles became a hero to millions of children. I've wanted to tell this story this for more years than I can remember! To make it happen for 'Doctor Who's 50th birthday is quite simply a dream come true".

Steven Moffat, Executive Producer, said:

“The story of Doctor Who is the story of television - so it's fitting in the anniversary year that we make our most important journey back in time to see how the TARDIS was launched.”

Also sure to feature: Warris Hussein (Director).

And Sidney Newman (Creator)

Further details about the production, including the casting, will be confirmed next year but I'm sure speculation will be rife.

The original cast in An Unearthly Child.

Doctor Who Segment Cut From Olympic Opening Ceremony

According to this leaked playlist for the Olympic Opening Ceremony, reported in the Telegraph, Ron Grainer's original Doctor Who Theme was meant to be part of the opening ceremony. Along with segments based on Coronation Street and Monty Python, the Doctor Who section was cut due to time constraints. The vworp vworp sound of the TARDIS was included in the middle of a Queen song, but the rest of the Doctor Who section was unfortunately lost in the annals of time. It's shame this was cut, but that aside the Ceremony was incredible.

Hidden Clues in the BBC Doctor Who Website 2!

Hello faithful bloggers.

Here's the latest Fourth Dimension Clue for last night's episode.

The Rebel Flesh: 

Message interrupted.

This might have a connection to the hidden video we found from last week's clue. That appeared to be a "message" left by the Doctor which certainly was "interrupted." It's a short one this week, maybe because it's a two parter. Hopefully we'll get a better grasp on what's going on the more messages we decipher.

Stay tuned fellow code crackers! Any ideas of theories please leave a comment!

Hidden Clues in the BBC Doctor Who Website!!!

Here's something wonderful for fans of new Who! I just discovered this and it is amazing and exciting!!

For each new episode of Doctor Who the BBC website has a section called "The Fourth Dimension" (good name) which contains little bits of trivia for each episode. Within the text there are some words that are in italics. The use of italics seemed somewhat random and out of place. I noted each word, and discovered that they formed a legible sentence. I checked over each episode and sure enough, there were the italic words again. I've noted each of these sentences for your reading pleasure.

The Impossible Astronaut:

All the secrets you seek can be found here on the webb.

The Day Of The Moon:

We found your message! You're alive! But what secrets d'you mean my friend?

The Curse Of The Black Spot:

Mean I glimpsed him and may the gods help him or perhaps you can.

The Doctor's Wife:

To see what I saw click on the spot beyond the Doctor's home Planet.

The Doctor's Wife sentence was a clue. The spot beyond the Doctor's home planet is the full stop/period after the last word in the text: Gallifrey.

When you click on this you are taken to a hidden page and this video titled: Analysis Lessons. Which happens to be an anagram of Lonely Assassins... I'm not sure if this has any reference but it is so crazy cool exciting!! My inner fan is going wild right now.

I hope you enjoy this and I shall certainly be on the lookout for future episode clues which I'll post here...