Doctor Who Adventures - Issue 6

Panini have issued the cover and details of the next edition of Doctor Who Adventures magazine:

This is the best September ever! Not only does Doctor Who return to our TV screens on the nineteenth, but on 10th September you can feast your eyes upon Doctor Who Adventures issue 6… the greatest magazine this side of the Seventh Quadrant!

HYPERBALLAD
Journey into the 53rd Century for a cruise on board the luxury warp cruiser SS Berry Gordy, and help the Doctor and Clara save the most popular singer in the galaxy from a gang of space pirates known as the Skinks, in this awesome tale from James Peaty, Russ Leach and John Burns.

COMPETITION TIME
This issue gives you the chance to win tickets to the Doctor Who festival in November and a copy of the brand new Doctor Who Annual!

ARE YOU A DALEK MASTERMIND?
Check your Dalek knowledge in this issue’s quiz time and then take a look at some of the strangest Daleks ever!

CYBERMAT SURPRISE
Let Clara show you how to make your very own Cybermat as we enter the TARDIS Craft Studio!

UNIT ALIEN ARCHIVE
The universe is a dangerous place, but we’re giving you access to the UNIT Alien Archives on one of the most dangerous villains in the entire cosmos. This is your chance to find out all there is to know about the renegade Time Lady known as Missy!

STRAX’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
This month Strax will show you the delights of Mondas, Telos and Hedgewick’s World of Wonders as we look at some of the favourite hang-outs of those cybernetic warriors known to us all as the Cybermen!

THE TUDOR ENGAGEMENT
The Paternoster Gang are on the hunt for a time travelling thief and end up in the court of King Henry VIII. Will they manage to keep their heads or will one of the gang end up becoming the seventh wife of King Henry?

Summer’s over, but who cares when you can beat the cosmic blues with the greatest magazine in the history of the universe? Issue 6 comes with a Free Cyberman key ring, badges, sticker and stamper set! Don’t miss it!

Issue 6 of Doctor Who Adventures magazine is on sale from 10th September until 7th October priced £3.99 per copy.

The Magician's Apprentice - Trailer

A TV trailer advertising the first episode of the new series of Doctor Who, The Magician's Apprentice, is currently airing on various BBC channels in between programmes, you can watch it above. The episode will broadcast on Saturday 19th September at 7:40pm on BBC One and BBC One HD. 

The Magician's Apprentice - Synopsis

The BBC Media Centre have issued the synopsis for the first episode of the upcoming ninth series of Doctor Who:

THE MAGICIAN'S APPRENTICE - by Steven Moffat
When the skies of Earth are frozen by a mysterious alien force, Clara needs her friend. But where is the Doctor, and what is he hiding from? As past deeds come back to haunt him, old enemies will come face-to-face, and for the Doctor and Clara survival seems impossible.

The Magician's Apprentice will broadcast on Saturday 19th September at 7:40pm on BBC One and BBC One HD.

Festival - More Events Added

BBC Worldwide has issued further details concerning the Doctor Who Festival due to take place in London this November:

BBC Worldwide is thrilled to confirm additional activities for the official Doctor Who Festival, including a special guest appearance by Mark Gatiss on Friday 13th November.

Doctor Who festival is the only official event this year to include appearances from Peter Capaldi, Michelle Gomez and Ingrid Oliver as well as executive producer Steven Moffat. An event for fans of all ages, the festival offers a fantastic opportunity to get the inside track from the cast and crew of Doctor Who in this extravaganza of immersive and interactive opportunities.

Along with theatre panels with the show’s stars, further panels have now been scheduled to take place across the weekend with all seven Series 9 writers, as well as shows and demonstrations by special effects companies Real SFX and Millennium FX, and exclusive looks at three sets from Series 9.

Ticket holders also get the chance to take part in Drama School sessions run by one of the show’s directors, in addition to trying their hand out at some of the many jobs on set in the Production Village.

The minds behind Doctor Who will be quizzed in the writer’s panel where all Series 9 writers; Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, Sarah Dollard, Toby Whithouse, Catherine Tregenna, Peter Harness and Jamie Mathieson will talk through the development and design of some of the show’s favourite characters and compelling storylines.

Special effects supervisor Danny Hargreaves and his team at Real SFX reveal what happens on a typical day’s filming and wow fans with their impressive live show.

Multi-award winning artists Millennium FX will be bringing a monster to life in a live demonstration. Big Finish will give ticket holders the opportunity to have a go at voice acting, learning from the voice of the Daleks himself, Nick Briggs.

Photo opportunities with Mark Gatiss, Danny Hargreaves and Nick Briggs are also now available for purchase via the website. Visitors will experience what it’s really like to be on the Doctor Who set in front of and behind the camera in the Drama School and Production Village. 

Two of the iconic sets from Series 9 will be on open display to all ticket holders, and the set of Clara’s living room will be available to ticket holders for photo opportunities. Fans of the show will also be put to the test in the Doctor Who Festival Cosplay Showcase and The Fan Challenge.

DAY TICKET PRICES

• Standard ticket: £65
• Standard child ticket: £30
• Standard family ticket: £165
• TARDIS ticket: £110 SOLD OUT
• TARDIS child ticket: £50 SOLD OUT
• TARDIS family ticket: £285 SOLD OUT

The ticket price includes day entry to the festival, access to three theatre shows, lanyard, show planner and access to all the activity in the Festival Hall. TARDIS tickets also include the brochure, lounge access, front block theatre show seats and a limited edition Doctor Who festival 2015 T-shirt. Tickets, further information and monthly newsletters are available from www.doctorwhofestival.com

The Doctor Who festival will also be coming to Australia a week after on 21st-22nd November 2015. Peter Capaldi and Steven Moffat will also be attending the Australian event.

The Doctor Who Festival will take place between 13th-15th November at the London ExCel Exhibition Centre.

2015 Christmas Special - River Song to Return!

The BBC have confirmed that Alex Kingston is to reprise her role as River Song in the 2015 Doctor Who Christmas special, read on for further details:

Alex Kingston returns to Cardiff to reclaim her role as Professor River Song for the highly anticipated 2015 Doctor Who Christmas special, part of BBC One’s essential seasonal viewing.

It’s Christmas Day in the future and the TARDIS is parked on a snowy village street, covered in icicles, awaiting its next adventure. Time traveller River Song meets her husband’s new incarnation, in the form of Peter Capaldi, for the first time this Christmas.

Day one of filming the eleventh Doctor Who Christmas special starts this week and is written by lead writer and executive producer, Steven Moffat, produced by Nikki Wilson and directed by Douglas Mackinnon (Doctor Who, Sherlock).

River Song made her first Doctor Who appearance in 2008 in Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead and has appeared in 15 episodes to date.

Award winning Alex Kingston comments on her reappearance, "To be honest, I did not know whether River would ever return to the show, but here she is, back with the Doctor for the Christmas special. Steven Moffat is on glittering form, giving us an episode filled with humour and surprise guest castings. I met Peter for the first time at Monday’s read through, we had a laugh, and I am now excited and ready to start filming with him and the Doctor Who team. Christmas in September? Why not!"

Steven Moffat, lead writer and executive producer, adds, "Another Christmas, another special for Doctor Who - and what could be more special than the return of Alex Kingston as Professor River Song? The last time the Doctor saw her she was a ghost. The first time he met her, she died. So how can he be seeing her again? As ever, with the most complicated relationship in the universe, it’s a matter of time..."

The witty line-up of guest cast joining Alex for a magical adventure on the TARDIS will be announced over the coming months.

The 2015 Doctor Who Christmas special will broadcast this December, while Series 9 commences on Saturday 19th September on BBC One and BBC One HD, a time to be confirmed.

9.S03: The Husbands of River Song

DOCTOR WHO

2015 Christmas Special

THE HUSBANDS OF RIVER SONG

Writer: Steven Moffat
Director: Douglas Mackinnon
Producer: Nikki Wilson

Synopsis: It’s Christmas Day on a remote human colony and the Doctor is hiding from Christmas Carols and Comedy Antlers. But when a crashed spaceship calls upon the Doctor for help, he finds himself recruited into River Song’s squad and hurled into a fast and frantic chase across the galaxy. King Hydroflax is furious, and his giant Robot bodyguard is out-of-control and coming for them all! Will Nardole survive? And when will River Song work out who the Doctor is?

Original Broadcast: 25th December 2015
Duration: 56:12
Ratings: 7.69 Million
Cast: Twelfth Doctor - Peter Capaldi
Professor River Song - Alex Kingston
King Hydroflax - Greg Davies
Nardole - Matt Lucas
Ramone - Phillip Rhys
Flemming - Rowan Polonski
Scratch - Robert Curtis
Concierge - Anthony Cozens
Alphonse - Chris Lew Kum Hoi
Receptionist - Nicolle Smartt
Starline Galactic Villain - Clem So
King Hydroflax's Body - Liam Cook
Voice of King Hydroflax's Body - Nonso Anozie

9.S02: The Doctor's Meditation

DOCTOR WHO

Prequel to The Magician's Apprentice

THE DOCTOR'S MEDITATION

Writer: Steven Moffat
Director: Ed Bazalgette
Producer: Derek Ritchie

Synopsis: In a Medieval time, the Doctor starts his meditation. But the water isn't fresh enough, Bors and his men can't find a well, and it seems as if the Doctor is only putting off the inevitable. Even after twelve days when Bors finds a well with the freshest water in the land, the Doctor finds another excuse to avoid his meditation. Confronting the Time Lord, Bors asks why is he compelled to leave. The Doctor has seen many battlefields, but the next one might well be his last...

Original Broadcast: 15th September 2015
Duration: 06:36
Ratings: None
Cast: Twelfth Doctor - Peter Capaldi
Bors - Daniel Hoffmann-Gill