NTA Nominations 2008

The National Television Awards have now opened to start voting on different categories. Two different categories regarding Doctor Who have been nominated this year, and they are for Outstanding Drama Performance and Most Popular Drama. For Outstanding Drama Performance, Catherine Tate and David Tennant (The Doctor and Donna Noble) have been nominated, with others including Philip Glenister and Alex Walkinshaw. The nomination for Most Popular Drama doesn't really need saying, does it! Obviously it is Doctor Who, along with Shameless, Desperate Housewives and The Bill. You can vote here! The National TV Awards 2008 will air on ITV1 on 29th October 2008, with the time to be announced. Have you voted yet?

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The Scene That Buzzed Away...

Not so long ago, I posted information from Den of Geek about the special features in the Series 4 DVD Box-Set. Now, we have an exclusive picture from one of the deleted scenes featured. The scene was originally cut from the seventh episode of Series 4, The Unicorn and the Wasp, when the Doctor and Donna go back and see Agatha Christie near the end of the episode as an old women, and judging by the picture, looks like she recognises them. It was sad that they did not keep it in, as it looks a great scene, but they took it out, as they didn't need it, but was just an extra that they could have taken out from the finished episode if they wanted. You can see this picture below, and also view the article from Den of Geek here! Also included is a deleted scene from The Doctor's Daughter, but does not show much of what it is.

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A Good Labour For David

Following the success of David Tennant's leading role in Hamlet this Summer, at the same time, he has been taking part in a different Shakespeare production. The play is Love's Labour's Lost (Not to be confused with Love's Labour's Won), and David Tennant plays one of four lords who live to regret taking a vow of sexual abstinence. Not a major role perhaps, but at least the play has become critical hit. Possibly one of the reasons David does not have a larger role in this could be because of the role of Hamlet. In this play, he keeps his original Scottish accent, in which he has hidden in Doctor Who and Hamlet. A quote from the article says;

"According to BBC arts correspondent Razia Iqbal, Tennant began rehearsals for Love's Labour's Lost 'almost immediately' after Hamlet opened in August. 'The RSC may have another hit on their hands, which is surprising given the play is Shakespeare's most forgettable early comedy,' she said." 

The RSC last had the play staged in 1993 and was made into a movie with director Kenneth Branagh in 2000, plus after that there was a performance of it in the Globe Theatre in LondonJust like Hamlet, the performances will last until the 15th of November this year, and Hamlet will then be moving across to London. Have you or will you be seeing the play?

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Torchwood Series 3 - New Casting News

New cast for the third series of Torchwood, Children of Earth, have been revealed, thanks to the BBC and the new issue of Torchwood Magazine, that was out yesterday. It reveals many new names of actors and actresses and the parts they are going to play. Children of Earth will be a 5 hour long story shown in five parts broadcasting on consecutive nights of one week in spring. It is currently being filmed, and lately it has looked like the Hub has been blown up. More news on that here, but below is the news on casting;

• The multi-talented Peter Capaldi will play John Frobisher, "a civil servant who is hiding a terrible secret," in the actor's second trip to the Doctor Who universe. Familiar to fans as Caecilius in The Fires Of Pompeii (written by Children Of Earth writer James Moran), Capaldi has also appeared in Peep Show, Skins, Prime Suspect and The Vicar Of Dibley, and even won an Oscar for Best Short Film in 1995. But he is probably best known for another political role: spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in sitcom The Thick Of It.
  
• Paul Copley is a familiar face from series as diverse as This Life, Hornblower and Coronation Street, while his warm Northern tones can be heard on Channel 4's How Clean Is Your House, and the Big Finish Doctor Who audio Spare Parts. In Torchwood: Children Of Earth, Copely will play Clem, "the survivor still haunted by his past." Copely has also appeared in The Lakes, Shameless, Life On Mars and Gruey, while his big screen credits include The Remains Of The Day and 1975 Alfie sequel, Alfie Darling. 
  
• Liz May Brice is best known for playing convicted murderer Pat Kerrigan in ITV's cult drama Bad Girls, but is no stranger to sci-fi, with big screen roles in Resident Evil and AVP: Alien Versus Predator to her name. As a child actor, she appeared alongside Helen Mirren, Tim Curry, Kenneth Branagh and Diana Rigg, and more recently has been seen in Holby City, Hustle, Casualty and Peep Show. In Children Of Earth, she plays Johnson, a "cynical covert government agent determined to expose Torchwood."

So, what do you think of the new castings?

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Post A Question To The Man Himself

Russell T. Davies, the head-writer and executive producer of Doctor Who has signed up with John Barrowman for an unmissable event. This Sunday, at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, joined alongside with Caitlin Moran, Russell T. Davies and John Barrowman will be speaking and answering questions all about the show. But, beforehand, will be an interview with the BBC News Channel. They will be interviewing just Russell, but they also want your question put into the mix as well. He will be interviewed live at the festival and you will be able to hear it at 4:20pm on the BBC News Channel. You are able to fill out a form, and send it off with the question to see if it is asked, and you can do that here! 

The main event will be held in the Centaur in Cheltenham betwenn 6:15pm and 7:30pm on Sunday. Please note that tickets are now sold out for it so please don't try on the website. Below you can see the main summarization for the event;

In a unique Festival event, we’re delighted to unite Russell T Davies, the reinventor of Doctor Who, and John Barrowman, known to millions of viewers as Captain Jack Harkness. From Daleks and the Doctor, to the Tardis and Torchwood, they join The Times’ Caitlin Moran for this unmissable event.

I will be going to the event and try to get their book signed on Sunday. If I can, I will take some pictures to post on the site. Is there anybody else going to this event?

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Doctor Who Magazine 401 - Cover

Below you can see the cover of the 401st issue of Doctor Who Magazine. The cover features Davros and some Daleks, which naturally suggests that the main feature inside this issue will be taking a look at Davros, and how he was brought back to life for last series. The main colour scheme for the cover is a spooky silver, and has a fantastic background image. Full details will be released soon, but, from the cover, we do know that you can read a preview of the 8th Doctor in the new radio series, win a copy of Russell T. Davies' new book, The Writer's Tale, Behind the Scenes of The Sarah Jane Adventures, latest from Who news and comic strip action! The four hundred and first issue of Doctor Who Magazine will be released next Thursday, the 16th October, and be avaliable in all good news agents at the price of £3.99. 

What do you think of the cover?

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Doctor Who Adventures 85

This week's issue of Doctor Who Adventures, issue 85, was released today around the UK. The magazine costs £2.10, and comes free with a Time Agent Planner and Pencil. Posters inside include the The Doctor with Toclafane, CAL and Donna with the Time Beetle. Inside is a feature on the Toclafane, The Day of the Clown Part 1 preview and aninterview with Eve Newton, who plays CAL. There is also the second and final part of the competition you can go in for, with the chance to win a life-size K9! You can see the cover above, and below is the official press release from the BBC;

New adventures for an old Doctor

In this week’s Doctor Who Adventures – out today – you can read about the return of the Eighth Doctor to digital radio later this month for a set of new adventures.

If you’ve not seen him before, we’ve got need-to-know information about this energetic Doctor.

And don’t miss part two of our win a life-size K-9 competition, for the chance to win your very own robot dog. If you missed part one, don’t worry, as there’s a bonus token in next week’s issue.

PLUS:

• Three posters! Charlotte Abigail Lux, the Doctor and the Toclafane, and Donna and the Time Beetle.
  
• Fact file: Terrifying Toclafane.
  
• Tales from the TARDIS: Scares and shocks in the Library.
  
• Who knows: What are the Sea Devils and what happened in the first-ever episode?
  
• CAL interviewed: We talk to actress Eve Newton, who played Charlotte in Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead.
  
• Sarah Jane Adventures: Find out about Commander Kaagh and get a preview of the next story, Day of the Clown.
  
• How to draw: Create your own Davros.
  
• Who’s Where? A trip to Pompeii for a fun search.
  
• Ultimate Tenth Doctor: The start of our new guide to the current Doctor.
  
• Comic strip: Washed Away part two.
  
• Woven word whirl: Work out the word whirl and win a book!
  
• Win: Cool goodies up for grabs!
  
• Subscription offer: Subscribe and you’ll get FREE Doctor Who Dalek and Cybermen figures.
  
• ALL THIS AND LOTS MORE!
  

Remember to get this issue before next Thursday, when the eighty sixth issue will be out. Have you got this issue of Doctor Who Adventures yet?
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The Writer's Tale - Updated Signings

On the official Writer's Tale website, there is an updated version of the signing days, places and times. So, here they are;

Thursday 9th October

BOOK SIGNING – RUSSELL & BENJAMIN

12pm: Waterstone’s Birmingham

24 High Street

Birmingham, B4 7SL

Tel for enquiries: 0121 6334353

BOOK SIGNING – RUSSELL & BENJAMIN

6pm: Waterstone’s Manchester Trafford Centre

42 Regent Crescent

Manchester, M17 8AP

Tel for enquiries: 0161 7498623

Friday 10th October

BOOK SIGNING – RUSSELL & BENJAMIN

12.30pm: Borders Bristol

Clifton Promenade

48-56 Queens Road

Clifton

Bristol, 
BS8 1RE 

Tel for enquiries: 01179 226959

BOOK SIGNING – RUSSELL & BENJAMIN

5.30pm: Borders Cardiff

14 The Hayes

Cardiff, CF10 1AH

Tel for enquiries: 02920 387909

Sunday 12th October

6.15 - 7.30pm: Cheltenham Literature Festival

Russell T Davies and John Barrowman in conversation with Caitlin Moran 

Tickets: £12 (£8)

http://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com

Friday 7th November

6pm: National Theatre Platform

Lytellton Theatre 

National Theatre 

South Bank 

London SE1 9PX

Please note: This event is sold out

I will be going to the event at the Cheltenham Literature Festival to see Russell T. Davies and John Barrowman and try to get their book signed on Sunday. If I can, I will take some pictures to post on the site. Is there anybody else going to this event?

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The Writer's Tale - Website Features

The new website for Russell T. Davies' new book has lots of information about the book and great features! It is all very colourful and sparkling new, so take a look at it! The new book was released a couple of weeks ago, and contains an in-depth look at the new series of Doctor Who. It has such features like script pages, personal notes, never-before-seen photos and artwork with behind-the-scenes information. This book is a tribute to Russell's leaving from the show. Helping him to write it, and interviews with him, is Benjamin Cook, quite well known in the Doctor Who world for reviews, previews and general Who writing, with many sources, including Doctor Who Magazine and the Radio Times. You can visit the official website here. 

So, what is there on the site you ask? 

• About - Well, it gives you information about the book, Russell T. Davies and Benjamin Cook. 
  
• News and Reviews - There is a part with news about the book, which includes signing dates, places and times, plus reviews of the book. Here is an extract from one of the reviews; "What a wizard enterprise this is, 500 pages of emails and text messages between Russell T Davies, resuscitator, executive producer and head writer of Doctor Who, and his confidant Benjamin Cook. A few details have been deleted, such as the name of the actor scheduled to play the Doctor's companion had not Catherine Tate extended her guest role into 13 episodes, but otherwise, it's unabridged and, moreover, footnoted." There is an updated version of the signing dates and times in a newer post.
• Scripts - There is a fantastic bit that gives you access to six different scripts from the fourth series of Doctor Who! These scripts include the episodes Voyage of the Damned, Partners In Crime, Midnight, Turn Left, The Stolen Earth and Journey's End. These can be downloaded as PDFs and contain the whole scripts from these episodes.
• Buy - There is a part where you can buy it, with various different links to online stores including Amazon and Play.com. Waterstones seem to have a slightly different version, as there is a special hard cover, showing the original artwork and then the normal book inside, without the artwork on it.
• Extract - This feature gives you access to 56 pages from inside the book. With a clever application, you can view these pages easily, but unfortunately not close up enough to read the text.

You can view a screen shot of the website below;

What do you think of the website and it's features?

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John Barrowman - New Music Video

Below is the new music video of a song from John Barrowman's new album 'Music, Music,  Music'. The song is called 'What About Us?' and is the first song on the album. This song will be released as a single on 17th November and you can also download it, but the full album will be released on Monday 24th November. You can see the cover for the album to the left. What do you think of the new song, and will you buy the album?

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Two New Audiobooks Are Released...

Tomorrow, two CDs will be released from BBC Audio. They are the Forever Trap and the New Adventures set. You can read about them below;

The Forever Trap

The this exclusive new audiobook features the Doctor and Donna, and will be read by Catherine Tate, who plays Donna Noble in the new series. You can view the cover of it to the left. This is being released after the first, which was Pest Control, which was out earlier this year. The story is written by Dan Abnett. The CD will be sold at the RRP price of £9.99! Will you by this exclusive audio adventure?

New Adventures

This set contains three stories from the new series novels, previously released as books and separate audiobooks. You can see the cover of it to the left. The stories it contains are Martha in the Mirror (Justin Richards), Snowglobe 7 (Mike Tucker) and The Many Hands (Dale Smith), and all the stories star the tenth Doctor and Martha. All three are read by familiar people to Doctor Who. Freema Agyeman, who plays Martha Jones, is reading Martha in the Mirror. Georgia Moffett, who plays Jenny, the Doctor's Daughter, reads Snowglobe 7, and David Troughton, aka Professor Hobbes in Midnight, is reading The Many Hands. It will be sold at the RRP price of £25.00, and will contain over seven hours of listening! Will you be buying the new audiobook set?

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