THE NETHERSPHERE
Hello to all our readers. With this issue we see the conclusion of InDOCtriNation , we hope you found it fun to read. We also see the introduction of Land of Fiction a spot for short fiction in the magazine. We'd like to see more stories for next issue so please put your pen to paper or start pounding that keyboard. In the next issue there will be an article on Doctor Who Miniature Gaming. A special thanks to Tom Denham for his two magnificent pieces of artwork to illustrate the two short stories in this issue. This issue’s winning contributor is Matthew Chi Yan See and he gets a choice of one of four signed trading cards. Matthew can chose from; David Troughton as Professor Hobbes from ‘Midnight’, Stuart Milligan as Richard Nixon from ‘The Impossible Astronaut’, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa or Derek Riddell as Sir Robert from ‘Tooth and Claw’. Thanks, once again, to everyone who has contributed to this issue of The Nethersphere , keep it coming! We love to hear from you; your comments, ideas. This publication is your Speakers Corner Soapbox – so stand on it. Let us hear you pitch your piece. Send in all your comments, ideas, articles, drawings, etc. to: nethersphere@doctorwhoaustralia.org. We’d love to put them in the e-zine.
What ho, all – from Roger
I have been engaged in an interesting little project over the last two months or so, i.e. to become, at least proficient, in managing the DWCA Website; more specifically, the technical aspects rather than the content. It’s a challenge. I’m sure there are many ways in which to improve our Website, if you have any thoughts or ideas on this, please let me know at webmaster@doctorwhoaustralia.org Series 9 has run its course and I, for one, think it was probably one of the best seasons I’ve seen for a long while; not that others haven’t been really good, but this time the entire set of episodes was outstanding – with some brilliantly imaginative content. We’d love to hear from you about this; what do you think? It does not have to be very long, in fact I would like to start up a letters column to capture your thoughts and maybe start a debate. Personally, I’d be really interested in your interpretations of 'Heaven Sent' – what’s it really all about? And, Clara, having died so spectacularly and tragically – was it really necessary to bring her back in the last episode? Send your thoughts on this, and anything else Who related, to nethersphere@doctorwhoaustralia.org. •
Australian Doctor Who fans awoken on Saturday January 23rd to some very unexpected news – Steven Moffat will be stepping down as Executive Producer and Head Writer at the end of Series 10, to be replaced by Chris Chibnall. Confirming the news today, Moffat announced that his “timeywimey is up”. “It took a lot of gin and tonic to talk [Chris] into this, but I am beyond delighted that one of the true stars of British television drama will be taking the Time Lord even further into the future,” he said. “At the start of Season 11, Chris Chibnall will become the new showrunner of Doctor Who. And I will be thrown in a skip.” Chibnall is no stranger to the Whoniverse, having been a fan of the show since he was four years old. In 1986, as a member of the Merseyside Local Group of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society, he appeared on the BBC program Open Air, where he and other fans criticised Season 23. He has previously penned Doctor Who stories '42', 'The Hungry Earth' / 'Cold Blood', 'Dinosaurs on a Spaceship' and 'The Power of Three', He also wrote the 5 short webisodes that make up 'Pond Life' and the animated mini-episode webscast 'P.S.'. He was credited as a co-producer and was the effective head writer for the first two series of Torchwood in which he wrote eight episodes. They being 'Day One', 'Cyberwoman', 'Countrycide', 'End of Days'. 'Kiss Kiss', 'Bang Bang', 'Adrift', 'Fragments' and 'Exit Wounds'. Outside of Doctor Who, his writing credits include episodes of Life on Mars, the short-lived series Camelot and the telemovie United which featured David Tennant. His first script for television was Stormin Norman made in 2000. He is best known as the creator of murder mystery Broadchurch , starring various Doctor Who alumni including David Tennant, Olivia Colman and Eve Myles. The third series of that program will begin filming in May. “It's a privilege and a joy to be the next curator of this funny, scary and emotional family drama,” Chibnall said of his appointment. “I’m relishing the thought of working with the exceptional team at BBC Wales to create new characters, creatures and worlds for the Doctor to explore.” Chibnall has paid tribute to Moffat, saying, “Steven’s achieved the impossible by continually expanding Doctor Who ’s creative ambition, while growing its global popularity. He’s been a dazzling and daring showrunner, and hearing his plans and stories for 2017, it’s clear he’ll be going out with a bang.” CLASS REPLACES DOCTOR WHO FOR 2016 As was the case during the handover from Russell T Davies to Steven Moffat, Doctor Who will take something of a gap year during this eventful time. 2016 will see the airing of a Christmas special, with the tenth series of the programme to follow in the UK Spring of 2017. Series 11, Chibnall’s first as showrunner, will launch in 2018. “I have decided to schedule Steven’s big finale series in Spring 2017 to bring the nation together for what will be a huge event on the channel,” said BBC1 controller Charlotte Moore. “2016 is spoilt with national moments including the Euros [football championship] and Olympics and I want to hold something big back for 2017 – I promise it will be worth the wait!” 2016, will, however, see the première of new spin-off series Class, helmed by YoungAdult writer Patrick Ness and set at Coal Hill School. The series will be broadcast in the Autumn of 2016 in the UK on BBC3 with a repeat on BBC1. BBC America have confirmed they will be co-producing the series and will be screening it in 2016. An Australian broadcaster is yet to be announced. Patrick Ness tweeted on January 9 " Class aims for all that I love about YA: fearlessness of genre, fearlessness towards darkness, complex heroes & heroines and plots that move". MISSY, GWEN, IANTO & TOSHIKO IN MELBOURNE AND GOLD COAST Supanova have announced the guests for their next two events in Melbourne and The Gold Coast and four actors who have appeared in Doctor Who will be attending. Top of the list is Michelle Gomez who has been seen very recently on Doctor Who playing Missy. The other three guests are Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd and Naoko Mori and, as well as appearing in Doctor Who, all are lead actors in Torchwood. Others guests stars announced for the two events are: Allison Mack ( Smallville ), Christopher Judge ( Stargate ) and Jack Gleeson ( Game of Thrones) The Gold Coast event is on April 8-10 at Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre and the Melbourne event is on April 15-17 at Melbourne Showgrounds. Go here to the events website for full details.
Died on January 14 2016, aged 84. Robert Banks Stewart is best known to Doctor Who fans as the creator of the Zygons, but his body of work encompassed far more than the shape shifting body snatchers. He was a Scottish writer and producer who made a huge impact on British television, writing for a number of well-known series and creating a pair of seminal crime dramas – Shoestring and Bergerac. Due to the triumph of the Zygon script he was asked to write the six part conclusion to the series, coming up with 'The Seeds of Doom', introducing the Krynoid and the deranged horticulturist Harrison Chase. More information about Robert Banks Stewart can be found here. Died on October 29 2015 at the age of 84. He played the World Ecology Bureau official, Richard Dunbar, in the Tom Baker classic 'The Seeds Of Doom'. Prematurely grey and with distinguished granite features, he often played authority figures, although the one he portrayed in Doctor Who found himself on the wrong side of the fence. Dissatisfied with seeing “non-entities” promoted in his place he sells the location of the Krynoid seed pod to eccentric millionaire Harrison Chase and so initiates a chain of events which nearly results in mankind’s consumption by lethal alien vegetation. For more information on Kenneth Gilbert click here. Died on November 21 2015, aged 80. He was a writer and television producer ( The Troubleshootsers aka Mogul and The Lotus Eaters) who, in 1977 chose to be, in effect, demoted, in order to spend a year working as script editor during Tom Baker’s years in Doctor Who. When he joined the BBC in November 1963 Read had noticed the show’s very first instalments being recorded in
Our February day event will serve as a belated celebration of Valentine’s Day, recognising some of our favourite relationships from around the Whoniverse. With dating, dancing, engagements and weddings on the agenda, love will certainly be in the air! Day events are family-friendly gatherings allowing Doctor Who fans to discuss episodes, play games, make purchases from the DWCA Shop and more.
ADMISS ION
Adult: $10 Concession: $7 Family: $20 Children under 13: FREE DWCA members receive a $2 discount on the above prices. DWCA Family members receive $4 off their entry. For more information please go to the club website.
2016 is an important milestone for the DWCA – it’s the 40 anniversary of the inception of the club, so we’re planning something special to commemorate the occasion. You will hear more of this in the next few months. Look Who’s Talking Parts I & II were well frequented and enjoyed by everyone who came along. The interviews at LWT Part I, by Alexandra Tynan and Gary Russell, provided very interesting insights to their work with Doctor Who. Robert Smith, at LWT Part II, gave an engaging account of the trials and tribulations of collating the assortment of articles for his book Inside Out Part 2 . We would like to thank the above guests for their participation in this event and also, of course, Meri Amber for her musical contributions in LWT Part I. Transcripts of the guest interviews in LWT Part I will appear in the next issue of Data Extract. Our next Day Event is on February 21 at Burwood Club. In keeping with St Valentine’s Day, the Event's’s Theme is 'Love and the Doctor' and it’s entitled Doctor Strange Love . The DWCA will also be in attendance at Popcon , a Pop Culture convention, held at the Parramatta PCYC on March 6. It features toys, collectables, comics, cosplay, games, anime, retro gaming competitions, Karaoke Comps and Cosplay competitions will be running throughout the day as well as live performances. Just a reminder that the club now has an on-line shop where you can purchase all sorts of Doctor Who goodies. You are just a click away from entering it. Although there will be no new Doctor Who during the year, the club will endeavour to provide as much in the way of entertainment to keep any fan happy! From Friday February 12 you can go to the following link to fill out the
DWCA's latest survey. The survey covers Series Nine plus we want to find out a little bit of what you think of the Twelfth Doctor. To encourage people to enter the survey prizes will be offered. Everyone who enters into the survey will go into a draw, the winner of which will get the opportunity to select 2 Target books from a list of a dozen books. There is a 2nd prize draw, only for paid up members of the DWCA, and for those there is the chance to win a signed trading card from a selection of 8 different cards.
In Australia it averaged 493,000 viewers and was the highest rating ABC drama of the day and 13th highest rating program of the day. Including time-shifted viewers it averaged 647,000 consolidated viewers.It was the 3rd highest time-shifted program of the day and the 9th highest rating program of the day. Overnight UK viewing figures were 3.87 million and a consolidated 7 day rating of 5.76 million. The rating makes it the 24th most watched programme on British TV for the week and the 11th most watched BBC programme for the week. It had an Audience Appreciation score of 82. In Australia it averaged 430,000 viewers and was the highest rating ABC drama of the day and 13th highest rating program of the day. Including time-shifted viewers it averaged 593,000 consolidated viewers. It was the highest timeshifted program of the day and the 10th highest rating program of the day. Overnight UK viewing figures were 4.13 million and a consolidated 7 day rating of 6.03 million. The rating makes it the 24th most watched programme on British TV for the week and the 9th most watched BBC programme for the week. It had an Audience Appreciation score of 84. In Australia it averaged 466,000 viewers and was the highest rating ABC drama of the day and 16th highest rating program of the day. Including time-shifted viewers it averaged 596,000 consolidated viewers. It was the 3rd highest time-shifted program of the day and the 13th highest rating program of the day. Overnight UK viewing figures were 4.00 million and a consolidated 7 day rating of 5.61 million. The rating makes it the 28th most watched programme on British TV for the week and the 14th most watched BBC programme for the week. It had an Audience Appreciation score of 78. In Australia it averaged 506,000 viewers and was the highest rating ABC drama of the day and 13th highest rating program of the day. Including time-shifted viewers it averaged 564,000 consolidated viewers. It was the 2nd highest time-shifted program of the day and the 12th highest rating program of the day. Overnight UK viewing figures were 4.42 million and a consolidated 7 day rating of 6.05 million. The rating makes it the 30th most watched programme on British TV for the week and the 11th most watched BBC programme for the week. It had an Audience Appreciation score of 84. In Australia it averaged 481,000 viewers and was the highest rating ABC drama of the day and 11th highest rating program of the day. Including time-shifted viewers it averaged 657,000 consolidated viewers. It was the highest timeshifted program of the day and the 10th highest rating program of the day. Overnight UK viewing figures were 4.51 million and a consolidated 7 day rating of 6.19 million viewers. The rating makes it the 27th most watched programme on British Television for the week and the 7th most watched BBC programme for the week. It had an Audience Appreciation score of 80. In Australia it averaged 455,000 viewers and was the 2nd highest rating ABC drama of the day and 12th highest rating program of the day. Overnight UK viewing figures were 4.8 million and a consolidated 7 day rating of 6.17 million viewers. The rating makes it the 29th most watched programme on British Television for the week and the 10th most watched BBC programme for the week. It had an Audience Appreciation score of 82. In Australia it averaged 534,000 viewers and was the highest rating ABC drama of the day and 10th highest rating program of the day. Overnight UK viewing figures were 5.77 million and a consolidated 7 day rating of 7.69 million viewers. The rating makes it the 7th most watched programme on British Television for the week and the 6th most watched BBC programme for the week. It had an Audience Appreciation score of 82. In Australia it averaged 575,000 viewers and was the highest rating ABC drama of the day and 10th highest rating program of the day. Including time-shifted viewers it averaged 761,000 consolidated viewers. With 186,000 extra viewers, it was the highest time-shifted program of the day and the 7th highest rating program of the day. In the US the Christmass Special achieved a 1.242m Live+ SD Rating on BBC America. In Canada it remains the most watched program on Space with an average of 696,500 viewers for Season 9. The average viewership has gone down over the final few episodes as in November Space reported that an average of 731,000 people watched per episode.
one of the studios. By the 1970s, he was a seasoned writer and producer of drama, and was reluctant to accept a post offered to him as script editor – until told which series he was being asked to join. Read’s vast experience, calm demeanour and forensic aptitude for structuring scripts provided essential ballast for the Doctor Who producer Graham Williams. When one script fell through at the last minute, together they hurriedly wrote the season climax, conceiving 'The Invasion of Time' set on the Doctor’s home planet, Gallifrey. For more information on Anthony Read click here. Terence Denville passed away on October 26 2015. He received his only onscreen credit on Doctor Who as a Cyberman in 'The Invasion' but was also an Ice Warrior in 'The Monster Of Peladon' amongst as well as many other non-speaking parts in Doctor Who. He also appeared in the James Bond movie Golden-Eye as a Russian Security Council Member. For more information regarding his career please go here. Passed away on August 28 2015, aged 79. His 58 year career as a stunt-man saw him work on Doctor Who’s 'Terror Of The Autons', 'The Curse Of Peladon' and 'The Masque Of Mandragora'. He was an excellent rider and could steer two horses at once – standing with one foot on the saddle of each one and taking both pairs of reins. For more information on Roy Street click here. Nicholas Smith died on December 6 2015, aged 81. He played Wells, a slave in the Bedfordshire mine in the Doctor Who story 'The Dalek Invasion of Earth'. It was his first television role, and he decided to play Wells as a farmer with a West Country accent. He is best known for playing Mr Rumbold on the long-running British sitcom, Are You Being Served?
For more information on Nicholas Smith click here.
Rob Schrab, the director of the Lego Movie sequel planned for a 2018 release, in a recent podcast, teased that Warner Bros. and the team behind the movie, are currently in talks with the BBC to negotiate an appearance by the Doctor. Five scripts of Series Nine have been made available online, courtesy of the BBC Writer's Room. They are: 'The Magician's Apprentice'', 'The Witch's Familiar', 'Face the Raven', 'Heaven Sent' and 'Hell Bent'. Though there were no specific Doctor Who related presentation in the 2015 Children in Need appeal, a Dalek did appear as part of a sketch by Harry Hill representing the show in television history. Speaking to Good Morning Britain , a bearded Peter Capaldi revealed that he asked Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks if he fancied a trip in the TARDIS. Peter said “I was working with Tom Hanks last night and the producer was on to me saying, ‘Try and persuade Tom to come and be in the show’. I did have a word with him but he is very busy at the moment.” At a press conference with Mark Gattis about Sleep No More Mark revealed a sequel is planned. He said “The Doctor knows something’s wrong, so he’s not fooled …and I do have a sequel planned." Asked will it involve the Doctor tracking down the infectious footage ala The Ring, in Space to which Gattis replied “'The Ring in Space' is a good name! Like 'The Ark in Space'. I’ve got a good idea. Pleasing my inner fan, the idea of doing a pairing, like the Yeti stories, is rather lovely. It pleases my Doctor Who self.” Mark also revealed he has a desire to write an episode about fracking. Michelle Gomez said at the Doctor Who Festival in London “There should be a Missy spin-off, that’s correct – I’m available for that, and why not? Missy Who,” though adding the cautionary note that “not many spin-offs tend to work.“ Steven Moffat has admitted the ‘new paradigm’ Daleks were a “mistake”. “Well I suppose if I’m completely honest – and it’s all my fault, no one else’s fault – I don’t think that was a great idea,” he said at London’s Doctor Who Festival. “When I looked at them in person I thought ‘my god, the new Daleks are awesome. They’re so huge and powerful, they’re brilliant'. But I learned a grave lesson: which is that when you put them on screen, of course, they don’t look bigger, they just make all the other Daleks look smaller. So I revised my plans and I now consider them an officer class of Dalek,” he explained. “You do see them about from time-to-time. It just became a little bit mad in 'The Magician’s Apprentice' because there were so many different Daleks in there that I didn’t want to confuse the eye. They haven’t gone away. We still have them." As part of the Doctor Who Experience from December 9 2015 through to January 3 2016, visitors were able to visit the actual TARDIS set! Situated in the adjacent BBC Roath Lock Studios, a visit to this unique 360 degree set meant stepping into the TARDIS just as it appears on our television screens. BBC America is replaying Series 9 in its entirety from January 30… with a twist. Titled Doctor’s Notes it sees the episodes peppered with fan commentary from Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and Facebook. In 'Face the Raven' Rigsy was enticed down a hidden street and drugged, losing his entire memory of the incident. The drug that was used was Retcon a favourite of the Torchwood Three. Jay McGuinness and Aliona Vilani who won the recent series of Strictly Come Dancing , danced a Doctor Who -inspired Charleston in in the semi-final. Jay initially donned a Fourth Doctor scarf before taking Aliona into the TARDIS and coming back onto the dance floor in a look inspired by the Eleventh Doctor.
Ofcom has decided not to launch an investigation into 'The Zygon Inversion' after it was branded ‘insensitive’ for showing a plane brought down soon after the crash of the Metrojet airliner in Egypt. The regulator received 31 complaints about the episode. A spokesman for Ofcom said “In our view, the science fiction nature of Doctor Who and the storyline created a sufficient distinction from recent events. We therefore will not be taking the matter forward for investigation.” Classic Rock magazine published an interview with Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor in which he talked about his work on Doctor Who. He recorded 40 minutes of his trademark screaming vocals for the Fisher King seen in 'Before the Flood'. He said “The cool thing is that I didn’t see or hear anything more until the day that the episode aired. Me and the whole family were sitting in my house in Iowa watching it and waiting for the growl to come out. It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever got to do. It was even cooler to see my name in the credits”. He also revealed he was a big fan and in the article he talks about all the Doctors including Peter Cushing. Steven Moffat at the press screening of 'The Husbands of River Song', said “We’re already moving [on the next series] – we’ve had meetings today with two writers who’ve never written Doctor Who before,” he confirmed. “If I told you their names, your brain would explode,” he added – though Moffat did at least confirm that they were “brilliant, prominent and amazing writers”. He added that they are currently planning an episode that is “very much ancient world” and that we can very much expect more from Missy in the future. The BBC has offered sceptical independent production companies the chance to make programmes such as Doctor Who, with its plan to spin-off BBC Studios. It will allow independent studios the opportunity to pitch to make 40% of in-house shows by 2018. In terms of its popular shows, BBC commissioners will have discretion to pitch out a show if it needs “freshening up”. The rights to shows that are made by outside production companies will remain with the BBC. Bonhams on December 10 held their traditional Entertainment Memorabilia auction. Doctor Who was well represented with 22 items going under the hammer. Including a range of costumes worn by John Barrowman as Capt Jack Harkness in Torchwood and a large collection of costume pieces from The Sarah Jane Adventures, many worn by Elisabeth Sladen. Also on offer was a Yeti homing device from 'The Web of Fear' put up by an actor who appeared in the story. Other auction lots available include scripts, posters, designs and other paperwork from Doctor Who, Torchwood and SJA . Netflix US dropped all Doctor Who from February 1, the show will stay on Netflix in the UK and other countries. Hulu have also confirmed that they no longer have the rights to stream the show. The BBC advised “We hope to announce a new digital partner for Doctor Who shortly.” It could be the service BBC’s director general, Tony Hall mentioned last September “We’re launching a new video service in America offering programs they wouldn’t otherwise get, showcasing British actors, our program-makers and celebrating our culture.” Mark Gatiss speaking at the Dad’s Army première said that it will probably be a ‘relief’ when Moffat hands over the reins to Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall in 2018. “We’ve been here many times before, it’s like changing the Doctor. It’s going to be very exciting because Chris will have a whole new agenda and whole new style. I think he’s a wonderful choice. He’s got an entire series still to do so for someone who’s leaving, he’s got a long time, a long swansong.” Matt Smith has given his thoughts on the news that Steven Moffat will depart speaking to Guide Live he said “I’m sad to see Steven Moffat leave. He was a wonderful, wonderful asset to the show and I had the most amazing time with him. He’s a great friend, one of the greatest writers on the planet, and I think he’s just done wonders for Doctor Who. I’m forever indebted to him.”
Allora – Fraser Clark
allora@drwhoaustralia.org Bathurst – Heather Snitch & Kieron Dorian centralwest@drwhoaustralia.org Brisbane – Steve Glasby brisbane@drwhoaustralia.org Canberra – Ian McAlpine canberra@drwhoaustralia.org Gosford – Chris Collins centralcoast@drwhoaustralia.org Newcastle – Luke Steele Sandford newcastle@drwhoaustralia.org Sydney – Tai Wong sydney@drwhoaustralia.org Toowoomba – David Riley toowoomba@drwhoaustralia.org Note: All Local Groups apart from Canberra have a group on Facebook to facilitate discussion and publicise meet-ups.
Go to the DWCA Local Groups webpage to get full details of each of the group's activities.
South Bathurst Public School way back in 2012… A Doctor Who Fan mum noticed that a lot of kids were loving Doctor Who at the school so an event was organised and was a great success. Our group was born! The past 3 years has been a blast with: several 'start of season' get togethers; a 50th anniversary viewing party; scooping the best male & female cosplay at the Sydney Doctor Who Festival ; we've even worn costumes and hit the cinema when there were Doctor Who screenings! Most recently we had a picnic/BBQ by the river, everyone brought food and had a great time catching up. There were even a few Daleks around that day! Doctor Who Fandom in the central west continues to grow and we aim to bring those fans, separated by distance, together through our Facebook group, events and meetups. The group is open to all ideas for events and get togethers. It's all about families! We love kids attending! 2016 sees the start of our regular meet-up called, 'Look, Whovians Talking!'. A Tavern event to be held on the last Friday of every 2nd month. Stay tuned for the first date!
BBC Worldwide have announced that the ninth series of Doctor Who will première on SyFy in Latin America. The series had, until recently, been shown on the BBC HD and BBC Entertainment channels. The BBC Entertainment channel closed on January 1 for the following countries Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. Doctor Who had been shown on the channel across Europe almost without a break since its rebranding. The launch of BBC First in those regions has yet to be announced and it is unclear whether it will broadcast older series of Doctor Who in the same way as BBC Entertainment, or whether it will just broadcast current series, such as Series Nine, which is the situation in the Benelux and South African regions in 2015. Cinemaxx in Denmark showed the 'Husbands Of River Song' on December 26, with two showings at 4:45pm and 7:00pm in their Copenhagen, Odense and Aarhus cinemas. As well as the hour long special the performances included an additional thirty minutes of bonus material, the same that was shown at the US screenings of the Special on December 28 / 29. France 4 began showing Series 9 from December 26 at 8:50pm. French viewers got to hear the episodes in their native French earlier than in previous years. German free-to-air digital channel Einsfestival will start broadcasting Doctor Who on February 29. The channel will begin with Series 5, airing two episodes each day from Monday to Wednesday, with one additional episode on Thursday. The broadcast time will be 8.15 pm. Series 6 and 7 will then air on Wednesdays in March. The show is already on the pay-for-channel FOX Germany, which currently airs Series 9. A second unofficial German Doctor Who convention, Timelash, will be held on October 15-16, in Kassel. Guests announced so far are; Sophie Aldred, Frazer Hines, Toby Hadoke, Phil Collinson, Robert Shearman, Gareth Roberts and Peter Harness. The German DVD distributor Polyband released a trailer for the upcoming Series 9 DVD and Blu-Ray boxed set which will be in German stores from March 18. Peter Capaldi in attendance at the Radio Times cover party gave his opinion on Chris Chibnall. He said “I think Chris is a wonderful writer, so that’s the exciting thing about Doctor Who – I don’t really know what he’s going to do with it. It’s going to be different and he’ll take it in a direction that is his… and that’ll be very exciting. That’s the lovely thing about Doctor Who, it keeps changing. Steven’s been fabulous but it will be very exciting to see what Chris does.” On series 10 Peter said “You have to be fit to do Doctor Who and so I’ve just been getting myself ready and I’ll be getting into training to start the show. When we start, it’ll run for nine months and the most important thing is to be there and to be fit and be on top of everything. I’m looking forward to starting. There wasn’t really anything else around that I particularly wanted to do [until Doctor Who filming begins]. I’m really looking forward to it. We’ve got great writers. And some fabulous exciting stories.” On the new companion he said “We’ve just had some brief talks about it, we haven’t actually chosen someone yet – that I know of. Perhaps someone has been chosen but I would expect that I would meet them before we finalised all that. So we’re looking for someone different.” The 2016 National Television Awards announced on January 20 saw Doctor Who lose out to Downton Abbey for Best Drama. For Best Drama performance David Tennant ( Broadchurch ) lost out to Suranne Jones ( Doctor Foster). At the Annual Golden Tomato Awards, awarded to series with the highest ratings, based on reviews submitted to the Rotten Tomatoes site, saw Series Nine voted Best Reviewed TV Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Series of 2015. It scored an average rating of 4.5/5 and received a 100% positive rating from approved critics. The series beat Game of Thrones. Series 9 was also voted as fourth in the Best Returning TV Shows Category, with Fargo Season 2 taking top spot. The finalists for this year’s BBC Audio Drama Awards saw nominated for Best Actress Eve Myles, for her performance in Frank and the Bear and nominated in the Best Online Only Audio Drama category was 'The Old Gods' an episode of The Omega Factor a production from Big Finish. Unfortunately neither won when the winners were announced on January 31 in London.
Peter Davison, was a guest speaker at a protest in support of the BBC on November 23 outside BBC Broadcasting House, London. Other Who stars who attended included Sophie Aldred, Katy Manning and Chris Jury. Peter has also been nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical in the 2015 West End revival of Gypsy at the 16th Annual WhatsOnStage awards. Colin Baker and Louise Jameson featured in the Pointless Celebrities 'Pantomime' special on December 24 on BBC One. Sylvester McCoy is starring, alongside seven other famous senior citizens, in a new BBC Two travel documentary series, The Real Marigold Hotel. The series documents the authentic experience of the group in India on an experimental adventure. When asked what his role in the group was Sylvester said “To raise a smile, and play the spoons!” Christopher Eccleston appeared in Ten Pieces II on December 26 on BBC Two where he introduced younger audiences to Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries. He also appeared in the second episode of the mockumentary series Brian Pern: 45 Years of Prog and Roll which aired which on January 21 on BBC Four. He portrayed Luke Dunmore, a producer of Pern’s 1990’s album. David Tennant was a guest on ITV’s The Jonathan Ross Show in November where he spoke about his time on the show. He said: "The first line of the obituary, I suspect, has been written. But that’s fine, I’m very proud of it.” He lead the tributes for Billy Connolly when Billy was honoured with the Special Achievement prize at the National Television Awards on January 20. As part of his tribute he said "When you start laughing at one of Billy's routines it can get near fatal. It's like you're never gonna get out the other end of it..." David Tennant will host a live TV celebration, in Stratford-Upon-Avon, on BBC Two on April 23, called Shakespeare Live! It starts the BBC’s celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Bards death. He will be joined by Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Judi Dench. Matt Smith is a busy boy: he plays a young Prince Philip in the series The Crown , which débuts this year on Netflix; he appears in the film Pride and Prejudice and Zombies due for release on February 25; he has been cast as Robert Mapplethorpe in a film about the controversial photographer and his long-time muse, singer Patti Smith and he stars in Patient Zero where he plays a human survivor of a mutated rabies pandemic. He will however not be seen in the sequel to Terminator Genysis as the movie has been pulled from its release schedule. Peter Capaldi narrated a BBC animated trailer previewing their Christmas output. He can be seen in a satiric video on Peter Jackson's Facebook page where it appears Jackson might be directing an episode of Doctor Who. Peter has made his first journey to Jordan to meet some of the people displaced by the conflict in Syria and to see some of the work done by the UN Refugee Agency. A short film of the actor's experience in the region has been released, along with pictures from the visit on the Peter Capaldi UNHCR page. On what would have been William Hartnell’s 108 birthday Peter Capaldi shared his memories of those early days in the TARDIS in a video. He recalled the “magical spirit” Hartnell brought to the role. Peter Capaldi has recorded two video 'thank you' messages for fans who wished him a happy birthday this past year. In the second message he speaks in various languages including German, Russian, Dutch, Portuguese plus using sign language. Catherine Tate appeared in Billionaire Boy, based on the book by David Walliams, screened on January 1 on BBC One . The next day she was in Bruce’s Hall of Fame on BBC One. Her most famous character, Nan, appeared in two specials on BBC One on December 27 and 30. BBC Radio 4’s adaptation of The Bed Sitting Room was broadcast on December 26 with Catherine Tate, Bernard Cribbins and Sir Derek Jacobi. She is returning to the stage from March 14 to April 9 at the St James Theatre London in the world première of a musical comedy Miss Atomic Bomb . Jenna Coleman who stars in Victoria , the 8-part ITV drama, has amongst the cast Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper) and Tommy Knight (Luke Smith). Michelle Gomez appeared in Gotham , on November 16 where she played a mysterious character called The Lady. She has suggested that it may be more than a one-shot appearance. Steven Moffat comes in at number 76 in this year's Media Guardian's Top 1 00 Most Powerful People in UK Media , a rise of eight places from the 2014 list. Mark Gatiss in an interview, with Entertainment Weekly, told of his distaste for the idea of Doctor Who / Sherlock crossover, suggesting that it would only happen “over my dead body”.
Sunday 14 – Newcastle Local
Group Meeting Charlestown Library Ridley St, Charlestown 1pm to 3pm. Small admission charge. Saturday 20 – Central Coast Local Group Meeting Dark Dimension Comics and Collectables, Shop 6 168 Pacific Highway Tuggerah. From 4pm. Admission FREE. Sunday 21 – Sydney Day Event "Doctor Strange Love" Club Burwood, 97 Burwood Rd Burwood. 10 am to 4 pm. Adults: $10, Concession: $7, Family: $20, Children under 13 FREE. Friday 26 – Bathurst Local Group Pub Meeting The Kelso Hotel, Sydney Rd Kelso NSW. 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm Saturday 27 – Toowoomba Local Group Meeting East Creek Community Centre, 43 Kitchener Street, Toowoomba. 10 am to 3 pm. Small admission charge.
Sunday 6 – Canberra Local
Group Meeting Dickson Library, Dickson Shops (off Antill St) Dickson 12 to 4 pm. Sunday 13 – Newcastle Local Group Meeting Details as above. Saturday 19 – Allora Local Group Meeting Allora QCWA Rooms 51 Warwick St Allora 10 am to 3 pm. Admission FREE. Saturday 19 – Central Coast Local Group Meeting Details as above. Sunday 20 – Brisbane Local Group Meeting Brisbane Square Library Cnr George and Adelaide Streets Brisbane. 10 am to 3pm. Admission FREE. Please note: All dates and venues are liable to change, with little notice, through no fault of the . All attempts are made to flag any changes as soon as they occur. Please check the website and social media channels closer to the date or email the relevant organising group if unsure.
Titan’s 3” vinyl figures latest release focuses on the Eleventh Doctor. There are 12 figures in total, two different figures of the11th Doctor and figures of Rory, Amy, River Song, Clara, Canton Everett Delaware III, Idris, Vastra, Jenny Flint, Dorium and The Curator. They come blind-boxed and several have accessories. There are four hidden chase figures to discover! The Doctor Who Complete Ninth Series box-set will be available on DVD and Blu-ray from March 7 and includes all 12 episodes, the last two Christmas specials plus four hours of extras. The extras include: DVD Commentaries; Doctor Who Extras (short ‘making of pieces’ released at the time of each episode’s screening; specially made documentaries; The Doctor’s Meditation; Series 9 Prologue; deleted Scenes; Series 8 recap; all Series 9 trailers; 2015 San Diego Comic Con Panel and an interview with Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman hosted by Wil Wheaton. DVD Commentaries are for: 'Under the Lake' / 'Before the Flood' by Sophie Stone, Toby Whithouse and Derek Ritchie; 'The Woman Who Lived' by Maisie Williams and Derek Ritchie and 'Sleep No More' by Reece Shearsmith and Mark Gatiss. The documentaries are: Writing Who which follows Sarah Dollard on her intricate journey to create her episode, 'Face The Raven'; Dalek Devotion where Peter Capaldi and Steven Moffat reveal the inspiration for the return of the Daleks; The Adventures of River Song narrated by Nina Toussaint where you find out how River’s character came to be created, why Alex just had to play the role and what happened when the cast discovered who River really is; Sublime Online is a selection of the funniest, most insightful and engaging online treats from behind the scenes of Series 9; Clara’s Journey narrated by Colin McFarlane which looks back at just what made the Impossible Girl, well, possible and The Fan Show’s Finest which is a selection from the online series that celebrates Doctor Who and the amazing creativity of the show’s fans. FarSight Studios are looking to add the famous 1992 Doctor Who Pinball Table to their successful Pinball Arcade game for Consoles and Mobile devices and have launched a kickstarter project which will allow the developers to secure the licences for the Doctor Who game, a cost of $US 72,000. The development costs will then be met by FarSight Studios. Coming out in May is Time and Spaces: A Photo Journal of Doctor Who Filming by Yee Jee Tso which is to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the TV Movie. Yee Jee took photographs during filming and has collected these images into this book. But it’s more than that, because as well as photographs from 1996 he has taken a number of ‘thenand-now’ images of the filming locations as they look in 2015. Alongside these photographs, he has provided a running text commentary regarding the filming and locations, including some of the local history surrounding them. The brand new Twelfth Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver has been added to the official Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver app. Useless Creations have worked closely with the BBC to make the virtual sonic screwdriver as close as possible to the real prop. It's available now on both the App Store and Google Play. The third Doctor Who activity book Dot to Doc has just been announced and is due for release on 7 July. It is a collection of dot to dot activities which includes 45 intricate portraits to complete and over 500 dots in every drawing. The first of the Activity Books Doctor Who: The Colouring Book is currently available and the follow up Doctor Who: Travels in Time Colouring Book is due out on April 7. Topps Doctor Who trading cards new release features: 200 base cards; 30 TARDIS patch cards; signed cards from 31 people including David Tennant, Tom Baker, Colin Baker, Paul McGann, Peter Davison, Billie Piper, Alex Kingston, Freema Agyeman, Noel Clarke, John Barrowman and, Carole Ann Ford; four Costume pieces including The Doctor’s Suit Trousers, Ood Alien Costume, Sally Sparrow’s Coat and Rory’s Green Shirt and 15 Signed TARDIS Patch Cards from Doctors and Companions. An additional set, Doctor Who Timeless, will be released in May. The release date for 'The Underwater Menace' DVD in North America has been pushed back from January 19 to March 1. Doctor Who: The Legends of River Song , a hardback anthology book from the BBC, is to
be released on June 2. It features stories by Jenny T Colgan, Jacqueline Rayner, Steve Lyons, Guy Adams and Andrew Lane as if they are taken from River’s own diary.
A Master trilogy that has the two Big Finish Masters, Geoffrey Beevers and Alex Macqueen, joining forces to take on The Doctor is to be released in April, May and June. It will feature Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. The trilogy begins with Alan's Barnes’s …And You Will Obey Me featuring Geoffrey Beevers, followed by Justin Richards's Vampire of the Mind featuring Colin Baker and Alex Macqueen and concludes with The Two Masters by John Dorney featuring Sylvester McCoy and both Beevers and Macqueen. They are all directed by Jamie Anderson, the son of the late Gerry Anderson creator of Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, etc. Following The Master’s brief appearance at the very end of the 10th series of Jago and Litefoot he returns in April for the whole of their eleventh series, played by Beevers. The first story, Jago and Son by Nigel Fairs, sees that Jago discovers he has a son; in Maurice , written by Matthew Sweet, our heroes meet the famed composer Maurice Ravel; Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, joins the action for Paul Morris and Simon Barnard’s The Woman in White ; and events come to a head in Justin Richards’ Masterpiece , which also sees the Sixth Doctor return to the smoky streets of Victorian London. Doom Coalition 2 to be released in May, will see Paul McGann once again team up with River Song in four new stories, they are; Beachhead by Nicholas Briggs, Scenes from Her Life by John Dorney, The Gift by Marc Platt and The Sonomancer by Matt Fitton. Doom Coalition 3 is due out in October and Doom Coalition 4 in May 2017. The trailer can be listened to via Big Finish’s official Soundcloud. Counter-Measures is to be relaunched as The New Counter-Measures. After four series, the range is to cover a transitional period in the group’s history, bridging the 1988 'Remembrance of the Daleks' and the formation of UNIT. A double-disc special will be out in July, comprised of two episodes. The first, entitled Who Killed Toby Kinsella? by John Dorney, and the second is by Ken Bentley and is called The Dead Don’t Rise. For this, and the series following it, out in December, all of the original cast will return, despite seemingly meeting their maker at the end of the 2015 series. The first release of series two of Torchwood is out in March, called The Victorian Age written by AK Benedict and stars John Barrowman. Captain Jack Harkness is on the loose, and Queen Victoria is along for the ride of her life. The next story is Zone 1 0 written by David Llewellyn and sees the return of Naoko Mori as Toshiko Sato. Toshiko needs to get into Zone 10 – a frozen wasteland which officially doesn't exist. Four more stories are to follow. UNIT: Shutdown the second series of The New UNIT is a five disc box-set that comes out in May. It consist of four stories: Power Cell by Matt Fitton; Death in Geneva by Andrew Smith; The Battle of the Tower by Andrew Smith and Ice Station Alpha by Matt Fitton. It stars Jemma Redgrave as Kate Stewart and Ingrid Oliver as Osgood and this time they are going up against a new alien race, The Tengobushi, set on invading Earth. Louise Jameson will appear as Leela, alongside John Hurt’s War Doctor, in February 2017. In Casualties of War, which is the fourth trio of the War Doctor adventures. You can hear a teaser clip here. Series 3 of Doctor Who: The Early Adventures begins in September with Doctor Who: The Age of Endurance by Nick Wallace featuring Carole Ann Ford (Susan / Narrator), William Russell (Ian / The Doctor) and Jemma Powell (Barbara). October sees the release of Doctor Who: The Fifth Traveller by Philip Lawrence, it sees the same cast as before, but introduces Jospa, an all-new companion, played by James Joyce. Robert Khan and Tom Salinksy script Doctor Who: The Ravelli Conspiracy is the November release. It is set in Florence in the year 1514, in which the First Doctor encounters Niccolo Machiavelli (Mark Frost). The cast includes Maureen O'Brien (Vicki) and Peter Purves (Steven / The Doctor). Finally the First Doctor faces a first encounter with a race that will one day become an old enemy, in December’s Doctor Who: The Sontarans by Simon Guerrier – with Dan Starkey appearing as the iconic invaders alongside Peter Purves (Steven / The Doctor) and Jean Marsh (Sara Kingdom). Smile on Your Face – Patrick Troughton: A Photographic Journey Through Time by Mi-
chael Troughton, is a compendium of photographs, sourced from recently discovered personal albums, to commemorate fifty years since his father took on the role that came to define his career. It tells the story of Patrick’s forty-two-year career on stage, screen and film through pictures. None of the images have been made available publicly or online so this album is brimming with forgotten gems of the lovable actor from his babyfaced early work to his prolific television appearances in his later years, with plenty of Doctor Who for good measure. Rubbertoe Replicas have announced they are to produce a replica of the new Sonic Screwdriver, first glimpsed in 'Hell Bent'. Go to their website if you want to pre-order. Funko is releasing a second series of Doctor Who POP! vinyl figures on February 28. It features six new figures which stand about 9cm tall. They are Sarah Jane, River Song, Jack Harkness, Rose Tyler, The Silence and in a nice surprise the Ninth Doctor.
Monday to Friday at 7.30 pm
From Wednesday February 10 ABC2 will be screening New Who from 'Rose' onwards. Each episode will be followed by its Confidental. The current screenings of three New Who episodes on Sundays has just concluded with the showing of 'The Crimson Horror', 'Nightmare in Silver' and 'The Name of the Doctor' on Sunday January31. The Monday to Friday 6 am screenings of Tom Baker's stories are coming to an end with the last episode to be screened being 'Lesiure Hive' 1 on Tuesday February 23. Please note that these episodes are not being currently screened on every day and the order of the stories is not consistent. (eg 'Destiny of the Daleks' is followed by 'Nightmare of Eden') The Monday to Friday 7.30 pm timeslot is currently screening the conclusion of Matt Smith's Doctor and follows with Peter Capaldi's Doctor, with 'Deep Breath' screening on Friday 26 February. These episodes are rescreened the following morning at 1.30 am and 7 am. Screening once a week on Tuesday at 8.30 pm are Matt Smith episodes, currently (February 2) they are up to 'The Girl Who Waited'. Saturday mornings from 6am sees screening of five episodes in order, they are currently screening the conclusion of Matt Smith's Doctor, followed by Peter Capaldi's first series as the Doctor and from March 5 they will start showing Christopher Eccleston's Doctor. The episodes are repeated early Sunday from 12.30am. Screening once a week on Sunday at 6.30 pm are Matt Smith episodes, currently (January 31) they are up to 'Night Terrors'. The episodes are repeated the following morning at 3.30 am. None currently
None currently None currently
May: Time and Spaces (NF) May: Pirate Planet (F) Dec 23: Smile on your Face (Michael May: In the Blood (F) Troughton) (NF) May: The Black Archive: #5: Image of Jan 21: Doctor Who and the Hero's the Fendahl (NF) Journey (NF) May 3: The Then and Now (Graphic) Feb: The Pompous Tory: The Wife in May 3: A Matter of Life and Death Space (NF) (Graphic) Feb: Seasons of War (Short story colMay 17: Villains & Monsters Mad Libs lection) Feb 1: Mac: The Life and Work of Mal- (Activity) Jun: The Legends of River Song (Short colm Hulke (NF) story collection) Feb 9: Four Doctors (Graphic) Jun: Choose the Future: Night of the Feb 16: Prisoners of Time (Graphic) Kraken (Activity) Feb 16: Terrible Lizards (F) Jun: Dining with the Doctor (Activity) Feb 25: Rain of Terror (F) Jun: All of Time and Space: Volume 1 Feb 25: The Web in Space (F) (Activity) Mar: A Timelord For Change (Short Jun: The Eleventh Doctor Sourcebook story collection) (Activity) Mar: The Tenth Doctor Sourcebook Jun: Faction Paradox: Opus Majus (F) (Activity) Jun: Red, White and Who (NF) Mar: Erimem: A Pharaoh of Mars (F) The 500 Year Diary: Volume Two Mar: Hating to Love: Re-Evaluating the Jun: (1973-1983) (NF) 52 Worst Doctor Who Stories of a All Jun: Space Helmet for a Cow - Volume Time (NF) 2: 1990 onwards (NF) Mar: Chasing Shadows (NF) 9: The Essential Guide: Twelfth Mar: The Black Archive #1: Rose (NF) Jun Doctor (NF) Mar: The Black Archive #2: The Mas- Jun 30: Edition Who Travels with the Doctor? sacre (NF) (NF) Mar: The Black Archive #3: The Ambassadors of Death (NF) Mar: The Black Archive #4: Dark Water and Death in Heaven (NF) Jan 5: Myth Makers: Philip Hinchcliffe Mar 8: 365 Days of Memorable Moments and Impossible Things (NF) Jan 13: Series 9: Part 2 (Australia – Mar 31: Time of the Doctor: The Unof- standard & limited edition & Blu-ray) ficial and Unauthorised Guide to Doc- Jan 27: Husbands of River Song (Austor Who 2012 & 2013 (NF) tralia – DVD & Blu-ray) Apr: Lethbridge Stewart: Moon Blink Feb 26: Return to Devil’s End (UK – (F) DVD/Blu-ray) Apr 2: Downtime: The Lost Years of Feb 26: White Witch of Devil’s End (UK Doctor Who (NF) – DVD/Blu-ray) Apr 5: The Endless Song (Graphic) Feb 26: Devil’s End Box Set (UK – DVD/Blu-ray) Apr 5: Hyperion (Graphic) Mar 7: The Complete Ninth Series (UK Apr 7: Peter Davison: The Fifth(ish) – DVD/Blu-ray) Doctor (NF) Apr 7: Travels in Time Colouring Book Apr: The Complete Ninth Series (Australia – DVD/Blu-ray) (Activity) Apr 19: Doctor Who Archives: The Tenth Doctor Volume 1 (Graphic) Apr 26: Invasion of The Dinosaurs (US Feb 4: The Space Museum (BBC ClasPb) (F) sic series) Apr 26: The Visitation (US Pb) (F) Feb 10: Torchwood: More Than This (Big Finish) Apr 26: The Web of Fear (US Pb) (F) Feb 15: Aquitaine (Big Finish) Apr 26: The Zarbi (The Web Planet) (US Pb) (F) Feb 15: The Labyrinth of Buda Castle (Big Finish) Apr 26: Vengeance on Varos (UK Pb) (F) Feb 15: The War Doctor: Infernal Devices (Big Finish) Apr 26: Battlefield (US Pb) (F)
Mar 3: Death to the Daleks (BBC Classic series) Mar 3: Shadow in the Glass (BBC Classic Series) Mar 15: The Peterloo Massacre (Big Finish) Mar 15 The Paradox Planet (Big Finish) Apr 7: Cybermen - The Invasion (BBC Classic series) Apr 7: Amorality Tale (BBC Classic series) Apr 7: The Memory of Winter (BBC New series) Apr 7: Time Lord Fairy Tales (Penguin) Apr 15: The Legacy of Death (Big Finish) Apr 15: Jago & Lightfoot: Series Eleven (Big Finish) Apr 20: Nightshade (Big Finish) May 2: The King’s Demons (BBC Classic series) May 5: Shakedown (BBC Classic series) May 15: The Gallery of Ghouls (Big Finish) May 15: UNIT: Shutdown (Big Finish) May 15: The Tenth Doctor Adventures: Technophobia (Big Finish) May 15: The Tenth Doctor Adventures: Time Reaver (Big Finish) May 15: The Tenth Doctor Adventures: Death and the Queen (Big Finish) May 15: The Tenth Doctor Adventures (box set) (Big Finish) May 20: Doom Coalition 2 (Big Finish) Jun: Classic Doctors, New Monsters (Big Finish) Jun 4: The Claws of Axos (BBC Classic series) Jun 4: Scream of the Shalka (BBC Classic series) Jun 15: The Trouble with Drax (Big Finish) Jul: The Sontaran Experiment (BBC Classic series) Jul 7: Illegal Alien (BBC Classic series) Jul 15: The Pursuit of History (Big Finish) Aug: The War Doctor: Volume 4 (Big Finish) Aug 4: The Macra Terror (BBC Classic series) Aug 4: The Tenth Doctor Adventures: 10th Doctor Audio Originals (Big Finish) Aug 15: Casualties of Time (Big Finish) Sep 15: Graceless IV (Big Finish)
Dec 2: The Twelfth Doctor #14 Dec 2: The Tenth Doctor #2.3 Dec 2: The Ninth Doctor Miniseries #5 Dec 9: The Eleventh Doctor #2.3 Dec 23: The Eleventh Doctor #2.4 Jan 6: The Twelfth Doctor #2.1 Jan 6: The Tenth Doctor #2.4 Jan 13: The Eighth Doctor Miniseries #3 Jan 27: The Tenth Doctor #2.5 Jan 27: The Eleventh Doctor #2.5
Dec 18 – Special Edition: 2016 Yearbook; Feb 4 – Issue 496; Mar 3 – Issue 497; Mar 31 – issue 498. Jan 7– Issue 10; Feb 4 - Issue 11 Feb 4 – Issue 65 (Sixth Doctor); Feb 18 – Issue 66 (Fisher King); Mar 3 – Issue 67 (Scaroth); Mar 17 – Issue 68 (Colony Sarff)
Pop Con. Popcon is a Pop Culture
convention held at the Parramatta PCYC, 12 Hassall Street, Parramatta, the 1st Sunday of every month! Featuring toys, collectables, comics, cosplay, games, anime & more. The next two are on February 7 and March 6th, both from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm. The DWCA Shop will be attending the March 6 event. Go here for more info.
Doctor Who Club of Victoria.
Next meeting is on February 13. It is a Games Day @ Northcote Town Hall from 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm. Games include : Doctor Who Risk, Doctor Who Monopoly, Doctor Who Trivial Pursuit, Time Wars Board Game , Doctor Who Electronic Board Game , Doctor Who Uno and Doctor Who Cluedo. Plus a PlayStation 3 set up with ‘The Eternity Clock’ and a computer with the Doctor Who Adventure Games . Tea and coffee provided as well as some snacks (no additional cost), soft drinks and bottled water can be bought for $1. Admission prices: Members: $6 , Nonmembers: $8 , First-time attending a meeting: gold coin donation, Kids under 14: $2 / Kids under 2: Free Family (2 adults and their kids): $14
The West Lodge: Inside the Blue Box Inc. Next meetings are: Sat-
Hell Bent Trailer – here Doctor Who Festival London – here Karen Gillan & Alex Kingston interview two parts – here and here Peter Capaldi & Steven Moffat asked about new companion – here Jenna Coleman on her leaving – here Peter Capaldi & Steven Moffat on Class – here Ingrid Oliver & Michelle Gomez – here 'One Last Time' Clara's journey – here For The Last Time. Goodbye Clara Oswald. You will be missed – here Top 10: TARDIS Scenes – here Killing Clara & The Doctor – here Portal Potty – here True Colours – here Memories of the 1st Doctor– here Dr Who Festival Sydney Cosplay Showcase – here Doctor Who In Memoriam 2015 – here Doctor Puppet - Twelfth Night – here Strangeness in Space – here
urday February 6 and Saturday March 5 from 12.30 pm at the Collins St Centre, South Perth. For more info go here.
South Australian Doctor Who Fan Club Inc. Next meetings are: Febru-
ary 6 – Buckingham Arms (Tavern), 5pm; February 20 – Adelaide High Meeting, 3 to 10pm; March 5 – TBA (Tavern), 5pm; March 19 – Adelaide High Meeting, 3 to 10pm and on April 2 - Buckingham Arms (Tavern), 5pm. For more info go here. Sporadic Productions present an adaptation of the Doctor Who episode 'Midnight' at this year's Adelaide Fringe Festival. Various dates from Feb 12 to Feb 27 at Holden Street Theatres - The Arch. Tickets : Adult: $23.00, Child: $15.00, Companion Card, Concession: $18.00
Brisbane Doctor Who Fan Club.
First meetup for the group this year is on Sunday February 28. It is a picnic at Roma Street Parklands at the top of the stairs opposite the Amphitheatre from 12pm – 4pm, and it'd be BYO. Cosplay is encourage for the day – a prize for best dressed, and photos will be taken for the inaugural club fanzine.
ASTRAL MAP Beware, spoilers, but only minor ones, will follow. I love the novel with a passion. It’s brilliant, full of fun with well written scenes and dialogue, written by someone who knows their Holmes. So it was with some trepidation that I listened to this adaptation of the novel written by Andy Lane. Barring a few very minor niggles (which I’ll go into shortly), it exceeds expectations and is a thing of joy to behold. The dialogue sparkles, the actors are on fine form (I know that some people dislike the omnipresence of Nick Briggs, so fair warning, his ‘Holmes’ is in this story more than the Doctor’s, and his Holmes is excellent, so that’s okay IMO), and, importantly, instead of an arch-manipulator, devious and dangerous Doctor, we get McCoy in full trickster mode, full of wry humour (case in point, his first meeting with Holmes consists of him solely winding Holmes up for his own amusement). To use a 21st century Who motif, if he’s a god, its Loki. Story-wise, it rattles along, with a pair of narrators (Watson and Benny) who add colourful details and some humour to proceedings (Watson's joy and amazement on being on an alien world is brilliant). The implication from Watson that he and Benny got to know each other quite well after dinner raised an eyebrow as well as a smile. The minor niggles come from what was trimmed for the sake of fitting a story into two hours. The most egregious loss to me is the Doctor telling Benny that Watson adapts better to circumstances because he takes things at face value and acts, while Holmes, without his touchstones like his files and his encyclopaedic knowledge of London, flounders. But I’ve always been more of a Watson fan than a Holmes fan. Other things, like a random
Moriarty cameo, or the implication from Ace that Glitz raped her, would be better off removed (although given one of the subplots, i.e. Moriarty getting involved, it makes sense). Highlight: Watson's narration on Ry’leh; he manages to convey, both how dismal the place is AND how amazed he is at being on another world (also, honourable mention goes to the Doctor in full Lokimode for messing with Holmes for the sake of it). Lowlight: the pathetic fate of the villains of the story. This is a historic release. It marks the final release of all known existing classic era Doctor Who on DVD. No it doesn’t have the missing episodes animated. No it doesn’t contain the interview Dallas and I did with Joseph Furst for Loose Cannon , but what it does contain is priceless! This adventure has long been regarded as one of the worst stories in the series’ history. But is that a deserving label? It’s fascinating to me that other missing stories regarded as classics have struggled to keep my attention. 'The Web Of Fear' was a case in point. It bored me almost to tears. Yet others like this one and 'The Gunfighters' for instance, labelled as duds, were much more enjoyable to me. 'The Underwater Menace' is a strange mix of modern and ancient, and yes, the protagonist is completely barking mad, but it’s meant to be that way. I for one have always enjoyed the Fish People sequence in episode 3 despite what many claim to be poor costumes and dodgy wirework. And while Furst’s portrayal of Zaroff may be interpreted as OTT, in the context of the story, it stands out as one of the best performances of the Troughton era. Patrick Troughton delivers a stunning performance while still in the early stages of developing his Doctor. Episode 2 in particular is a testament to the fact that if it wasn’t for his incredible skills as a character actor, the concept of changing the lead actor and the series itself may have fizzled out before the end of the 60’s. The commentary features cast and crew only on episodes 2 & 3. Episode 1 features an interview with Michael Troughton discussing his father from his unique perspective. Episode 4 contains a wonderful selection of archival interviews with production crew and none other than Patrick Troughton himself! The making of the documentary is also very well done as usual with particularly interesting observations from Robert Shearman. All in all, despite the disappointment of the lack of animated episodes, this is a most enjoyable release and an entertaining instalment of Classic Who!
Game of Thrones.
'Heaven Sent' is a superb single hander delivered by Peter Capaldi as the Doctor; coming just as the Doctor is reeling from the death of Clara in the previous episode ‘Face The Raven’. The episode mostly featured Capaldi, with Jami Reid-Quarrell as the Veil, the latter of whom performing a non-speaking character. This evokes memories of another canonical Doctor Who , that of Big Finish's ‘Scherzo’, which featured two cast members, the then incumbent Doctor and companion crew of Eighth Doctor, Paul McGann and India Fisher as Charley. Spooky with the turning of the castle and notwithstanding seeing it beforehand in the trailer, it was sure spooky when the portrait of Clara appeared. As the Doctor was alone in the castle with the Veil it was surprising to see him in the TARDIS, but that was him imagining what it would be like to be in the TARDIS at that moment, dealing with the problem at hand. In retrospect, it probably wasn't surprising seeing the figure of Clara, with her back to us in the TARDIS’ viewer. However, I didn't expect such an imposing cameo by Jenna Coleman. It looks like ‘Face The Raven’ did not exactly mark her final work on the series. The music was very haunting and suited, very well, the episode's dark and foreboding atmosphere. In the end the Doctor found himself on Gallifrey, which did not really surprise me. The first clue of Gallifrey came to me when the Doctor saw the word ‘Home’. Just before finding himself back on Gallifrey, it is revealed that the Doctor had been in the confession dial for four and a half billion years. What a gruelling experience for the Doctor to be in the dial all this time especially as it was stated in 'Hell Bent' he could have gotten out of there anytime he wanted; not to mention he constantly dies and comes back to life again. It was intriguing that for the Doctor’s final line in 'Heaven Sent' that the Hybrid is Me, which I eventually concluded 'Me' being Ashildr and certainly, in hindsight, it foreshadowed the conversation the Doctor would have with Me in 'Hell Bent.' 'Heaven Sent' has been an enthralling episode, thanks, mainly to the sole dialogue of Capaldi. It would not surprise me if this episode gets nominated for a Hugo. 'Hell Bent' was broadcast on December 5 2015, just one day shy of the 26th anniversary of the end of 26 years of "classic" Doctor Who on December 6 1989. While the timing of this season finale maybe coincidental to this anniversary, it is fitting that ‘Hell Bent’ did feature someone who had appeared in the original Classic Doctor Who; that is Donald Sumpter. He appeared in ‘The Wheel In Space’ and ‘The Sea Devils’, in each appearing as different characters. In ‘Hell Bent’, he becomes the fourth actor to play Rassilon in canonical Doctor Who. ‘Hell Bent’ also marked the fourth appearance by Maisie Williams as Ashildr; both she and Sumpter have been in
Interestingly, the episode begins with the Doctor entering a diner where he meets a waitress whom I thought looked like Clara as I thought she was one of millions versions of her scattered throughout time. I was surprised to hear the Don't Stop Me Now song; it was earlier heard in ‘Mummy on the Orient Express’. In the Doctor's recount of his recent time on Gallifrey, he goes back to the Barn where he meets an old woman. Wonder if this woman is meant to be the same character who briefly appeared in the barn in ‘Listen’? After deposing Rassilon as President, I was quite surprised to see the Doctor saving Clara, just before her demise, from the raven. The moment when the Doctor told Clara that he can save her, felt akin to when the Tenth Doctor in ‘The Fires of Pompeii’, popping out of the TARDIS, tells Caecilus and his family that he can save them – and Caecilius was played by none other than the current Doctor, Peter Capaldi. I thought it was funny when the Doctor told the General and his soldiers not to take a selfie and was surprised again, that the General regenerated into a woman. This regeneration had already been announced in the trailer of this episode but that was to give the tease to the audience that it was the Doctor being regenerated. I, for one, never thought it was going to be a regeneration from the Doctor. After a conversation with Me, the Doctor knows that he can't run away with Clara forever and the solution he came up with was rather sad. As it turns out, the waitress who looks like Clara, actually is Clara herself, with the Doctor not remembering her face. It was at this point that I realised the diner is the same one that was in ‘The Impossible Astronaut’ with the Doctor mentioning Amy and Rory who were with him in that diner in that episode. River, incidentally, was also in that diner in that earlier episode – and she just happens to be in the next episode after ‘Hell Bent’, ‘The Husbands of River Song’. With the reference of Amy, it is too bad that this episode did not air a week earlier on November 28 as that was Karen Gillan's (Amy) birthday. I eventually realised that it could not have been same diner as the one in ‘The Impossible Astronaut’, because that diner was in Utah and this one is in Nevada. Instead, it turned out to be the TARDIS of Clara and Me. Upon first seeing them together in ‘The Girl Who Died’, I thought that Jenna Coleman and Maisie Williams looked like sisters in appearance, despite the eleven year age gap. So it was somewhat fitting, at least for me, to see Clara and Me as travelling companions in their diner TARDIS. It was a nice touch that the Doctor's TARDIS and the diner TARDIS passed his other by. 'Hell Bent' has been unsettlingly viewing especially the emotional impact of the Doctor saving Clara only to lose each other again so soon. In ending his second season as the Doctor, it was Peter Capaldi who carried this episode superbly with what he has been given to do and this coming straight after his superb solo act in 'Heaven Sent'.
Think your relationship is complicated? Think again! When I first read the news that Alex Kingston’s River Song was to appear along side Peter Calpaldi's twelfth Doctor in the 2015 Christmas special I must confess I was a little worried. I needn’t have worried though because I was in safe hands as Stephen Moffat delivered a cracking story that is easily one of the best Christmas specials in recent years. My main cause for concern was that this was an incarnation of the Doctor that had seemingly never met River so I was curious how the Doctor would slot into her adventures. Demonstrating what a clever writer he is the seeds for this story were actually sewn during the 2008 stories 'Silence in the Library' / 'Forest of the Dead', which is ironically when we were first introduced to the character of River Song. There is a monologue in that story where River details the last time she saw the Doctor at the singing towers on Darillium, and while we were teased about this event during 'The Night of the Doctor', its here where we see that event play out. Yes, there is other stuff going on here (which is a lot of fun by the way), but the heart of the story is bearing witness to the final chapter in River and the Doctor’s love story. What we have here is a love story in the tradition of the Audrey Niffengger novel The Time Travelers Wife , which for a show that is based around time travel is entirely appropriate. We have two characters that meet each other at different times in their time streams, are clearly in love with each and therefore somehow make the relationship work. It’s something extremely satisfying to watch. As I mentioned before there is more to this story than what’s going on between the Doctor and River, and it would be remiss of me not to discuss it. The story begins as a servant Nardole (played by Little Britain star Matt Lucas, thus joining his comedy partner David Walliams as a guest actor on Doctor Who ) mistakes the Doctor for an actual surgeon hired by River to attend to her dying husband, King Hydroflax, played by Greg Davies. The whole operation, including the marriage to King Hydroflux, is simply a ruse to obtain the Halassi diamond which has become lodged in the King's brain. Greg Davies is so over the top it’s a wonder he doesn’t topple over, but the fun he’s having is contagious so he gets away with it. Matt Lucas does his best with is what is, essentially, a thankless role. This may sound ridiculous but it’s worth it when you witness the chemistry between Peter Calpaldi and Kingston, which is simply wonderful. Matt Smith once said in an interview that he didn’t want River to return with another Doctor, well all I can say is I’m really glad The Moff chose to ignore him.
One of the joys of being involved in any club is the interraction you get. Not just with other likeminded fans, or the people who actually organise events, but with people who actually worked on the show. DWCA's "Look Who's Talking – Part One" is the perfect example of how good these events can be. The location for this event was Burwood Library, which was easily accessible to all. Parking in the vicinity was ample, and being only a short walk from Burwood station makes it a prime location.The facilities were brilliant, with plenty of space for attendees. The reason for the day was to listen to people talk. We were very lucky on this day to have guests who were so giving of their time. Sharing memories can be a very personal thing, but considering the love we fans have for our favourite show, it makes it very special that they are so willing to share those memories with us. Alexandra Tynan was the first guest. Known as Sandra Reid when she worked on the show, she was involved at a pivotal moment in the programme's history. A costume designer, she was responsible for the look of the original Cybermen. She was then involved in designing the look of the Second Doctor. Retelling her tale of how she came to work on Doctor Who , and her reluctance at the time to do so, was certainly an interesting story. She nevertheless did a sterling job, for which we should all be very grateful. Discussing what she wanted to do with the Cybermen, coupled with the limitations of the materials she could work with, particularly on such a small budget, makes her story a fascinating one. She brought along a picture of what she would design these days with modern materials, and the look is quite fascinating. Alexandra is a vibrant, approachable person who clearly enjoys sharing with people. She is delightful, open and happy to answer questions. The second guest was the redoubtable Gary Russell. Also a person who is very free with his memories of his time on the show, Gary also has the distinction of having written novels. His latest, The Glamour Chase is set in Sydney. His stories of why he set it here, and why he felt the need to destroy a large chunk of the CBD are interesting, and show him to be as human as the rest of us. Living on the Central Coast while working here, it's a delight to have him appear at events such as these. We were treated to something a little bit different with the third guest. Meri Amber is a musician who performs Doctor Who themed songs. Clearly she is someone who knows the programme. Performing three of her tracks, she provided a welcome change of pace. Of course there were the usual happenings of Day Events. Games, quizzes, and of course 'Morton's Fork', which gives people a chance to express their opinions. It's good to see how many people get involved in this, and the difference of opinions. Even if you agree with someone, it may be for a different
reason, so the range of thoughts is wide. It is our love for the programme that brings us together at events like this. Attendees enjoyed the day, with the mix of both Classic Who and New Series represented. As fans of the show, and members of a club, we should be grateful to the people who organise these events. They do a wonderful job, giving us variety and ensuring there is something for everyone.
On Friday 11th December, the Doctor Who Club of Australia celebrated the silly season with the second part of its own mini Doctor Who Festival – Look Who’s Talking 2 . The event was held at the Sydney of City RSL, which is a short walk from Town Hall Station. The overall atmosphere was friendly and relaxed and allowed club members to chat and catch up over a few drinks and an enjoyable meal. The guest speaker for the night was acclaimed mathematician and author, Robert Smith? Robert, known for his work on modelling the outbreak and spread of infectious diseases using a zombie apocalypse as an example as well as his collaborations with Canadian author and Podcaster Graeme Burk, was here to discuss Outside In 2: 1 25 Unique Perspectives on 1 25 Modern Doctor Who Stories by 1 25 Writers.
Robert gave a brief talk on the book, a follow up to the successful Outside In , in which he talked about how he sought out new and different viewpoints on every Modern Who episode from 'Rose' to 'Last Christmas', including webisodes and the animated adventures. The book not only contains articles examining all aspects of Modern Doctor Who but also diaries, haikus, recipes, memoirs, poems, a roleplaying game, wedding vows and even a musical number! Outside In 2 not only contains pieces by well-known authors and podcasters but more importantly, features several DWCA members including Lauren Davis, Henry Yau, Dallas Jones and Tony Cooke. All of whom were given the opportunity to discuss the inspirations behind their unique contributions. The evening wrapped up with a few more drinks and a discussion on the pros and cons (mainly cons) of bringing back the Myrka. But apart from that it was still a great night.
W H O A R E W E
The survey sets out to answer the question "Who are We?" by investigating what fans of Doctor Who think about the show, its spin-offs, its merchandise and the activities that fans indulge in. This final part contains a selection of the comments made by the people who filled in the survey. I have included their name (note: some
people only provided their first name) and the state they are from. • Dallas Jones
1 60 people sent in usable comments for the first section of the survey. Love my Who – new and old. Waiting on The
Doctor Who & I have been having a
love affair. I have vague memories of Doctor Patrick & clear concise mem the 3rd Doctor Jon & every Doctor sin
An
Doctor Who is amazingly awesome an
a lot of people through rough times. N old, there's always something new to learn in Doctor Who. Aman
I am only 9 so I couldn't watch before
Samant
I didn't own a TV, but rushed out to when I hear of the return of The Docto
Stephen Edwar
Doctor and the TARDIS to turn up in my yard any day now lol! :)
Doctor Who has taken over my life!
I refused to watch Doctor Who for a few years before accidentally watching an episode and falling in love. It is now my favourite show and I'm working my way through the classics to watch them all – can't wait to watch the spin-offs too.
DT and MS are almost equal as in fave Too early to tell with PC who seemed in more as the season went on.
Wendy SA
Renae Georg SA
I have watched from the first episode till current with a gap missing some of the Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy years. Working and kids caused that. But now enjoying them even more. Doctor Who that is. So do I win a prize?
Daryl NSW
I have found the Doctor Who reboot to be a great source of enjoyment. It has also become one of my daughter-in-law's favourites and we have bonding sessions watching the show and the cinema specials together. :) All good :)
Ross Campbell NSW I started watching Doctor Who in 1978 with
my brothers on a little black and white TV. It scared me to death 'cause I was only 4 years old. My first doctor was Tom Baker. Kylie Sinclair QLD Am I not a proper Doctor Who fan, or did I
cheat because I had to consult the net to prompt my memory? (Or maybe that just means I'm old? :-))
Edwina Harvey NSW As a relatively new follower of Doctor Who my
family and I are loving it. Our son's favourite is Matt Smith.
Meropi Papadopoulos NSW
grets <3
Joa
Stephen Corn
Ginger next time please… All of the f nerisms and overt physical movemen previous Doctors, i.e. Smith and seem to be missing from Capaldi.
Matthew All Hard to say favourites with Classic W
cause I haven't watched much yet. choose one Favourite Doctor as well s celston ties with Hurt for me.
Misty Sma
I hate choosing favourites!!!!!!!!!! Christopher Eccleston lower as he after only one season – idiot. We w saw the Anniversary Special at the ci 3D – which involved a 6 hour round tr car. We recorded the early edition of 8, and watched it as soon as we got was just too early in WA. :D Would h up early if it was at Eastern States tim we watched it again in the evening : watched all of Torchwood except the l
Heather Ma
I like doing surveys like this! :D Also, the War Doctor because I honestly lo them equally (and since the War Doc only properly in one episode, he seem the best one to choose since I couldn ally decide). Rh
"Before I go, I would like to say, you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And you know what? So was I!" Favourite Nu Who quote.
I watch with my children now and tha itely colours my opinions – they ado Smith and he's certainly grown on m in their love of him, mine of Tom Bake
from the very start – music first got my attention but I was hooked from the start.
It is difficult for me because I have w Doctor Who since early 1976 when and a half years old and I first saw Tom as the Fourth Doctor and I saw Jon Per
Robert Johnston NSW Being in my 60s I have watched Doctor Who Andrew NSW
Rebecca Eastga
life-long the 2nd mories of nce.
nn NSW
nd helps New and see and
da NSW
2005!
tha QLD
buy one or.
rds QLD
! No re-
anne WA
e Doctor. to settle
nish VIC
fun mannts. The Tennant
len NSW Who be-
Hard to since Ec-
artt ACT
I rate e bailed went and inema in rip in the f Season t up â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it have got me. Then :D Have last lot.
agee WA
, I chose ve all of ctor was med like n't actuain QLD
at definore Matt me. I see er.
ate QLD
watched I was 2 m Baker rtwee as
the Third Doctor on the ABC for the first time between 1985 to 1987 in colour and in black and white. I then watched every Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy story on the ABC including the TV Movie in 1996. I have been watching the new series since 2005 and I have enjoyed the show very much and David Tennant and Peter Capaldi are my favourite Doctors from the New Series. I love the first Five Doctors from the Classic series including my favourite Doctor from the Classic Era Jon Pertwee. Patrick Vielle VIC
My favourite Nu Who Doctor is hard. David Tennant won but only because Capaldi is still new. I love how he is so Classic Who. And I'm looking forward to seeing him grow.
Dyan Henry NSW
Peter Capaldi is brilliant but has been let down by the writing. The characters under Russell T Davies reign were real but under Moffat have seemed too childish, which I don't understand because Moffat was one of the best writers under Davies. I will always love Classic Who because that has always been with me. Shane Ludgrove QLD
I know Ian and Barbara are technically two companions, but I do think as a team they are probably the best companions, it is hard to isolate just one. Virtually impossible to choose just one for any of these questions :-) And I always think of Ian and Barbara as one unit, though technically they are two characters, I guessâ&#x20AC;Ś
Matthew Cardier QLD
Could not decide between Mary Tamm or Lalla Ward. Both damn fine companions. Brian Nolan WA
Steven Moffat was the best writer before becoming the show runner. Since becoming the show runner his writing while ok is not as sharp as it was. Having written for the show in nine of ten years since returning maybe a little holiday would do wonders. Would like to see Russell T write an episode without the pressure of being the boss.
Peter Stephen NSW
Not really for any particular section, but I have comments overall. I feel that for New Who Russell Davies was a better show runner and wrote seasons that were more interesting and captivating as a whole, while Steven Moffat is better at writing single episodes or stories, especially with plot twists; he just doesn't seem to be able to manage entire seasons as well, and I feel that I have lost a significant amount of interest since he took over. That aside, I would love it if Doctor Who could come to Australia.
Lauren Walker NSW
I have a love / hate relationship with Steven Mofatt, some of his stories are brilliant but there are many which I do not like. Similarly, I like some of what he's done since becoming showrunner, like the increase in arcs and complex narratives. But there is a lot which I do not like, such as turning The Master into Missy and focusing too much on Clara. I have watched the first three series of Torchwood but only a few episodes of the Sarah-Jane Adventures. It is a close call for my favourite New Who Doctor, but Matt Smith wins out by a smidgen.
Ashley Tuchin NSW
I moved to England because of my passion for Doctor Who and met Steven Moffat while working on the set of the new episode of Sherlock . He is a brilliant writer and one of my heroes but I feel the show has slipped somewhat in the last few years. Kendall UK (previously VIC)
Due to limited time (and perhaps other reasons) I'm only interested in the Doctor Who TV series, not the spin off series and not the spin off products.
Mark Nelson NSW
Please bring back all the spin offs and I miss Sarah Jane :'(
Laura McLean NSW
Torchwood "Children of the Earth" was high point (shades of Quatermass! ) -- last series
was overly padded and best forgotten.
Roman SA
Torchwood is incredible, what a spinoff!! I
really hope that it continues. The last season was especially good and finished on a great note that it can easily continue on from.
Zoe Mure NT
SJA was excellent. K9 didn't grab me. 'Chil-
dren of Earth' was amazing TV.
Brendan Jones NSW
Would have watched more Sarah Jane and K9 but free-to-air television is very unpredictable.
Karen NSW
The K9 adventures are terrible, even for a kids show! Sarah Jane Adventures was pretty good for a kids show. Torchwood was too sexually explicit for my liking, so I stopped after 2 episodes. K9 adventures was horrendous. Bad acting, American accents. It was so totally removed. K9 was completely out of character, turned into a super hero dog rather than a quirky funny little robot dog. I couldn't watch more than 1 episode.
Pamela Staben NT
Didn't know there was a K-9 spin off. (I must have been living under a rock). Now I have to find them and watch them. Great survey.
Carolyn NSW
85 people sent in usable comments for the second section of the survey. My flatmate buys all things Dr. Who so I tend to
watch her DVDs and read her books rather than doubling up and buying my own. :-) Sarah TAS
Some of the products listed here are only available online & I prefer to buy locally & support local businesses & they are not for sale here.
which I haven't listened to yet. I stopped buying most merch – I collected books and figures like a mad thing for about two years but I had to go cold turkey because I have run out of room.
Steve Hyde ACT
A friend was cleaning out his mum's house and found 73 books he had when he was a kid. He couldn't take them back to England with him, so I scored big time.
Michael T evor QLD
Who merch is usually nothing but TARDIS cent-
Can we get Character Options to bring back the 5" action figures? The 3.75" sculpts are terrible.
Krids NSW
Doctor Who Mini figures are more addictive
Rai Akers QLD
ric. Ye gods get me to design some alternatives!
I own a comic book shop, so I buy as much Doctor Who merchandise as I can get.
Chris Collins NSW
I have bought and own quite a hefty amount of Doctor Who merchandise, but not a great deal in the last 12 months as I have not found the merchandise that has been released in the last few years particularly appealing. Eloise Newman QLD
DVDs in last 12 months... it’s been a year since the series came to a halt so the last 12 months from now was the 'Web of Fear' and Season 8. Otherwise if this was an earlier time it would be 12 or more for each month one came out :-) Lost interest in the books for Nu Who fairly early on. Were too basic and not as interesting as Virgin or the 8th Doctor books.
Michael Oliver NSW
I buy the DVD's for my one and only collection to pass onto my kids, I have received figurines and clothing as Christmas gifts which was nice, I don't like the CD's because I prefer Doctor Who as a visual thing, I used to buy books as a teenager but have not done so for some time. I limit my merchandise purchasing because of the costs.
Paul Harris NSW
I have not yet watched them but am looking forward to watch all the Sarah Jane Adventures as I have only seen some of the first 2 seasons. I have also bought several classic episodes but would not be able to pick a favourite.
Holly Courtney WA Prefer the special edition issues of Doctor Who Magazine . Bron NSW I bought every issue of DWM, but do not sub-
scribe for some reason.
Will Benson NSW
Big Finish need more publicity! They produce excellent stories, treating the characters with respect, especially Colin Baker's Doctor (they gave done an amazing job developing that character); and Paul McGann's stories are very much like a movie on radio – grand sweeping music, big stories, risky story telling. Anthony Woolley VIC
I buy Big Finish downloads but have not really bought any new releases other than Dark Eyes
Manuel Bouw VIC
than crack!!
Gavin Hayne NSW
I am a huge K-9 fan, so I buy pretty much anything with K-9 on it, or about K-9. It goes with the full-sized RC K-9 that I have built! :D Isabella von Lichtan TAS
When is there going to be an Ian Chesterton stand up?
Did a Londo
Have event well a Austr have ing a time
I atte
Pop u fore I get to days trip a
Alanna Maclean ACT
Didn' cause in a r that g
Brett Ellis NSW
Helpe Hoba
Krista VIC
I did husba
1 06 people sent in usable comments for the third section of the survey.
I saw and h McGa
Eleanor Chandler-Temple QLD
In Tasmania not much other than ABC events and a fan run event is available.
I wou very, struc (whic tend
Would love to see more Doctor Who events in Adelaide. There is quite a large following here.
I wou but it
Love my massive collection of genuine and custom sonics. I had a full size TARDIS door built in my house. Does that count? ;)
I live in a bogan-y regional centre. We don't even have a DWCA branch that I know of. It's really hard in the middle of WA as a miner :(
William Fowler WA
Danielle Tewson TAS
Margaret Scott SA Would love to attend other Doctor Who events,
but find tickets to expensive.
Tracey Hodge NSW
Commercially run events are ridiculously expensive, especially if you want to have any real interaction with the guests.
Whov
Lords
It wa cance
Kerrie Dougherty NSW
Does origin Then.
Lilian M QLD
Saw P
Ema Nymton QLD
We di at the
I'm only a kid and my Dad says I would find conventions boring, but we'll never know til we try will we? Can I please go to one? PLEASE!?! I never hear about the ones near where I live till after the event.
Visited the Doctor Who exhibit in Cardiff (awesome) & privileged to meet Tom Baker at a Big Finish event in Slough last year.
Vicki QLD
Went
Docto
attend the 50th anniversary convention in on in November 2013 (which was cool!).
Craig Barker NSW e met several actors from Doctor Who via ts such as Supanova / Lords of Time etc. as
as seeing them perform on stage either in ralia or while holidaying in the UK. Also attended Doctor Who filming tours includvisit to the Doctor Who Exhibition (at the in London).
Benjamin Herrmann QLD
ended Supanova with my Dalek.
Haydn Bold QLD
up store in Melbourne closed the day beI got there! As much as I tried I couldn't o be in Adelaide or Perth on the Symphonic even though I was on a round Australian at that time! Iain Morrison QLD
't go to the Symphonic Spectacular bee I am not fond of the idea of being locked room with Murray Gold's music – a little of goes a long way.
Nikki White ACT ed start up the Doctor Who nights at the
art ABC shops.
Phil TAS
n't attend the Ultimo exhibition, but my and did. :) Kristen Nicholls VIC
w Peter Davison at an ABC meet and greet have been to a Lords of Time featuring Paul ann.
Jarrod NSW
uld LOVE to attend various events but am very shy and get embarrassingly star k so I send my daughter to Supanova ch she loves as she is an Animé fan)I do atDWCA meetings at Burwood.
76 people sent in usable comments for the fourth section of the survey.
I have written 30,000+ words of River fanfiction, for my own enjoyment. I've cosplayed Donna once & River twice. Judie Strachan QLD
I used to write and draw comics for the DWCV magazine, and now do so for DWCA.
Manuel Bouw VIC
Thanks for including fan-fiction & fan-art in Data Extract. I'd enjoy articles giving an insight into podcasts and fanmade audio dramas. This fan stuff is exciting & DWCA can be great at showing what creative things fans get up to. Zachary Rayne WA
When I was working on the Blake's 7 revival in 2003, a guy from the BBC "Fiction Tank" asked to see my 120pp treatment for a revival of Doctor Who, which at that stage was "almost definitely never going to happen"…
Alex James SA Contributed content to the Doctor Who Downunder DVD. Andrew Corson NSW
I wrote a bunch of scripts and stories for the Brisbane based fan group BTR Productions. They produced a number of audio plays from my scripts.
Darran Jordan NSW
I co-host a podcast called Women Talk Sci Fi. We have had the pleasure of interviewing a number of Who actors. Eugenia Stopyra SA
I threw a Who themed 30th Birthday party which featured a 4-tier Who cake that I designed (Dalek layer on the bottom with "Allon-sy to Thirty" written around the base, space layer above, then a Matt Smith layer, with a TARDIS layer on top. The cake was blue inside, I had lights going around the TARDIS and stars shooting off the cake). There were all sorts of cool decorations. Everyone had to dress up – even my dog dressed up as K-9. Renae Georg SA
Dressed as the 4th Doctor for our fancy dress themed wedding vow renewal.
Rocket NSW
Angela Gillespie NSW uld’ve gone to the World Tour in Sydney
I've never had more fun seeing people's reactions walking through the city dressed as a Weeping Angel.
Tiffany Forbes NSW
vention was always more personal than
My 3 children went to a book fair as the 9th, 10th & 11th Drs AND they had a 80% life sized TARDIS with them!
Todd Beilby NSW as very sad that the last Whovention was
I'm building a full size Dalek which can be operated from the inside.
Darran Jordan NSW
Undertaken 5 Doctor Who theme SA Variety Bashes with inter change costumes for Drs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11.
t was the same day as my birthday.
s of Time.
elled.
this count conventions and signings of nal Doctor Who in the 80 s and 90s? ... yes - even more so.
Casey NSW
Angela Cassels-Rantall VIC Fraser Clark QLD
Karen Carlisle SA
Geoff Reynolds SA Assisted in development of online version of Doctor Who
Mark Reynolds SA
I'm an 11th Doctor impersonator.
Peter Davison on tour in 1981 (?).
id go and see the 50th anniversary special e cinema. It was awesome!
Dene QLD t to in Melb – Sun 15/6 – The Science of or Who – at the Malthouse Theatre. Grant Hill VIC
Solitaire Story Game.
Greg Maynard VIC
I run a Doctor Who / ABC discussion site. I run a Doctor Who forum – Moonbase One.
Liam QLD Ed NSW
Anthony Tobin NSW
DOCTOR WHO CRYPTIC CROSSWORD All you have to do is send in your completed version of the crossword. If you can't complete it all but can do most of it, you can also send it in, just in case no one else can complete it. If more than one complete answer is received then the names of the people who have completed it will go into a hat. If no one completes it the person who answers the most clues correctly will be the winner. Deadline is Friday April 8th. Winner will be announced in the next issue of The Nethersphere. Please send your answer sheet to:
Doctor Who Cryptic Crossword c/GPO Box 2870 Sydney NSW 2001 .
Or you can email your answers to: nethersphere@doctorwhoaustralia.org The winner can choose from one of 5 signed trading cards. They are:Debbie Chazen as Foon Van Hoff, Sinead Keenan as Addams, Yasmin Bannerman as Jabe, Felicity Kendal as Lady Clemency Eddison and Richard Wilson as Dr. Constantine.
DOWN
1 To be afraid of Chloe 2 Slow thinking green miner 3 Election time on this planet 4 It is a double for their first appearance 5 Suckling on a wolf was a quandary 6 A question will be ___ed 7 First a solicitor then a top-hatted messenger 8 Ambassador who the Doctor talked for 9 First name of actor who played McMillan from the 42nd century 10 Initially part of the police box 11 Firstly it’s not the big bang 14 A joke department in Rose Hope Hospital 17 It did not hurt the TARDIS 18 The parenthetically part of a story title 22 She was adjudicated to be at last worth it 23 As well as not blinking you also don’t look 24 Ronson was one 25 Jakanapes 26 Initials for Ancelyn’s last name 27 Cloven hoofed landlord 30 Metebelis III crystal is seen 32 Unit Pealer 33 “__ we learn about each other, so we learn about ourselves” 36 The Kandyman is a liquorish one of these 37 Pam designed costumes for Sarah Jane 38 Roman slave trader 39 This lady was originally known by a different name 41 First name of a mixed up villain 43 John Andrews would have gone passed this 21 times on his 21 times around the deck 44 Singular queen the Doctor married 50 Computer leader
51 She put Sarah Jane Smith to work in her kitchen 52 The Doctor did not have to pay this on Golf Alpha Charlie 54 He saved Ian’s life 57 The second part was appropriate for the conclusion of series 4 59 Initially the meaning of this changed 60 Kev and Bob made them go 62 ___ I am... I'm the Doctor 63 "___ you, tiger!" 67 Triple beginning 69 Bubble Shock was a type of orange one 71 Part of Tishs’ hyphen 72 Scream and scream again 74 Chief of Police became The Pilot 76 14 Down needs a phone 78 He was the last as letters 79 Letters of the Matrix
ACROSS
1 A not so easy commute to a commitment ground 5 Not a nightmarish coloured Christmas 12 Martian Gold 13 AMNN does this 15 A Kinda 16 First Hath Gable 19 Night Terrors clocking off 20 Could have been an Osirian 21 Beginning of Greyhound Forty 22 Graske vs Cybermen 25 At last she appeared three times 28 Poorest but not universal 29 Initially a royal navy officer, he was cursed
31 Last word said by 10th Doctor to 5th Doctor 32 Doctor sleeps here whilst Romana plays 34 Start of Palace Theatre magic 35 In 2059 you will find this is a habitat problem 38 Part of a comedy actor the 11th Doctor referred to 40 Initially from Gallifrey 42 The Fendahl hated this 44 A couple of institutions 45 Universal music 46 Dalek Double 47 Not a very nice mentor 48 Romana’s other name 49 K1 51 Travelling but not the 11th Doctor 53 Caught between Ettis and Gebek 55 Part of an aunt out of time 56 Abbreviated backward corporation 58 The end of River Song’s birthplace 61 Android maker 64 Part of Suki’s real name 65 Derek was ransomed for some plastic 66 His middle was missed twice by the 4th Doctor 68 The end of a holiday in Wales 70 King’s champion was really mixed up 73 Could be gold or green 75 Drug induced Nightmare 77 She started to mutate into a reptile 79 The centre of Miss Dexter 80 SRS member 81 Did he appear in both Curse of Fenric and Attack of the Cybermen
This time we’ll take a look at getting your workmates, Boss, The CEO interested in the Doctor Who universe. Liven up your workplace, get your workmates hooked on Doctor Who. Instead of talking about boring old work over a glass or three – investigate the mysterious and wondrous world of Doctor Who… Here are a few things to look out for in the behavior of your workmates – indicating ‘a propensity for eccentricity’; a vital ingredient for a true Whovian.
h t i w e u g a e l l o c An office n o i s e s s b o t h A slig m u c i d o m a h t i Tinged w of insanity = PotentiaFlan o h W r o t c o D
This multi-part article attempts to list alphabetically all the people who are 'Australians' and who have worked in Doctor Who. What I mean by Australian is; people who were born or who have lived in Australia, for a long period of time. The information has been gleaned from many areas, including my own personal knowledge of some of these people, and is as correct as far as I can determine. If you know of any errors, or people I have missed, please contact me so I can add that information in the last part of this article. â&#x20AC;˘ Composed the incidental music for 'The Invasion'. Don Harper was born in Melbourne in 1921. He showed an interest in music from an early age, learning to play the violin as a child. His formal study began at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music where he studied under Raymond Hanson. A jazz violinist and conductor, he became the leader of one of Australia's most successful big bands, and a successful composer of music for film and television. In 1955 he emigrated to England, and during his time there appeared frequently on British radio and television, and performed at clubs and hotels such as the London Palladium, the Savoy Hotel, Talk of the Town and the Windmill. Returning to Australia in 1962 he would regularly be seen performing on Australian television and on radio as well as in many jazz clubs across the country. He also toured with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, before settling in Sydney. He spent the next four years in the recording studio, and performing on television, radio, and in hotels and jazz clubs around the country. Returning again to England, Harper turned to composition. He achieved great success in this field, writing theme and background music for many British TV shows. He provided music and themes for World of Sport, The Big Match , Champion House , Out of the Unknown , Sexton Blake , Devil in the Fog and The Inside Man amongst other popular series. He held the position of Music Director for London Weekend Television's popular World of Sport and wrote all the music for this series for fifteen years. The Don Harper Sextet also broadcast regularly on the BBC's Music While You Work . He also recorded for Pye and Nixa. He returned to Australia in 1983, taking up the position of Head of Jazz Studies at the Wollongong University's School of Creative Arts, a position he held until 1990. Harper has also conducted master
classes at Trinity College, London, and at the Conservatorium in Brisbane. Harper frequently performed as a solo artist on luxury liners such as the QE2, and his cabaret performances took him to many parts of the world. He performed with many famous artists, including Dave Brubeck, Michel Le Grand, the Two Ronnies, John Denver, Vera Lynne, and Liberace. Apart from jazz and film music, Harper composed a large amount of educational and religious music for the London publisher A. & C. Black. These publications included a book and LP record of Harper's musical settings of all the poems from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. He passed away on May 30 1999 in Woonona Sydney, aged 78. His most popular recording was "The Hot Canary" which he performed on The Graham Kennedy Show in 1973. In 2005, MF DOOM and Danger Mouse, in their collaborative project DangerDoom, sampled Don Harper's "Chamber Pop" and "Thoughtful Popper". Elements of "Dark Earth" from the Dawn of the Dead soundtrack were sampled on "Intro" by Gorillaz from the album Demon Days, which was also produced by Danger Mouse. Complete details of all his music can be found here. Played the Pilot in 'The Horns of Nimon'. Robert James Hornery was born on May 28 1931 in Randwick, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. He was an actor who found fame in Neighbours but was also a veteran of the Melbourne stage and of British TV and theatre. He was born to Edward Hornery, a sales rep, and his wife, Veronica (nee Gallen). They were a musical family and his mother used to play piano for local dance classes and as a child Bob was dragged along out of domestic necessity. Bob enjoyed learning to tap-dance and regular visits to the theatre. On leaving the local Catholic secondary school, Marcellin College, where he appeared in plays, he worked as a booking clerk for Butler Airways and performed in revues with amateur companies. His first appearance on stage was in 1949 at Manresa Hall in North Sydney in The Marriage of Saint Francis. He did another three plays at that theatre before joining Equity in January 1953. Shortly after, he made his professional dĂŠbut as Eustace Smell, the town crier and comic sidekick, in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney. He did two plays for the Genesian Theatre in Sydney in 1954 before going on tour with Salad Days throughout Victoria, Tasmania and at His Majesty's Theatre, Brisbane on July 10 1958. He was asked to join the Union Theatre Repertory Company (later renamed the Melbourne Theatre Company) by founding Artistic Director John Sum-
ner in 1960 and his first appearance for them was in She Stoops to Conquer. A string of roles followed at its Melbourne University and Russell Street venues in plays such as Man and Superman , The Lady’s Not for Burning and The Fantasticks. Hornery’s stage career flourished as he played Mr Sowerberry in the Australian production of Oliver! at Her Majesty’s theatre, Melbourne in 1961 and Lycus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum on tour through 1964 / 5. He first appeared on television in 1961 in the TV movie Burst of Summer on the ABC, alongside his future fellow Neighbours actor Anne Charleston. The two other television shows he appeared in at this time were Consider Your Verdict and The Magic Boomerang . Like other Australian contemporaries, he sought success in Britain. After performing in a musical version of Dracula at the 1965 Dublin theatre festival and as Starveling in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre, he appeared with one of his fellow expats, Leo McKern, when he played Voltore in Volpone at the Oxford Playhouse, and then in the West End at the Garrick Theatre. He starred opposite Hermione Gingold and Alastair Sim in Highly Confidential; he also appeared with Irene Handl in a Chichester season and was offered the understudy to Danny Kaye in The Servant Of Two Masters. Later, in the 70s, he played Polonius to Steven Berkoff's Hamlet in Jerusalem and was the narrator in the first Royal Court production of The Rocky Horror Sho w. He acted in Michael Bogdanov's adaptation of The Bootleg Gentleman at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford, directed by Bogdanov. He also had guest roles on television in The Troubleshooters, George and the Dragon , Dad’s Army, Sapphire & Steel , Whodunnit? and Shelley amongst others. He appeared in the film Britannia Hospital , directed by Lindsay Anderson, who cast him as Polonius in a Theatre Royal Stratford East production of Hamlet. In 1982, he returned to his homeland and became a stalwart of the Australian stage. Highlights included the parts of Dr Rance, the mad psychiatrist, in What the Butler Saw, the Reverend Chasuble in The Importance of Being Earnest, which was televised by the ABC, Uncle Willy in High Society and The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin . On screen, he had roles in the films Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome , Ground Zero , Crackerjack and Road to Nhill . On television he played Hec O’Farrell in Blue Heelers, Monsoon in the children’s series Thunderstone and Cedric in Something in the Air. He also appeared in State Coroner, Snowy River: The McGregor Saga , Dogwoman , The Genie from Down Under, Embassy, Five Mile Creek , The Micallef Pro-
gram , The Glynn Nicholas Show and Murder Call . In Neighbours, he played Karl Kennedy’s father,
Tom, a farmer and staunch socialist, on and off between 1996 and 2007. He received the Actors Equity Australia lifetime achievement award in 2010. Hornery also had many dramatic roles in the theatre, but he was particularly revered for his comedy skills including his ability to ad lib. These were showcased to perfection in his last stage appearance, as the doddering Erronius in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum , alongside Geoffrey Rush at Her Majesty’s theatre, Melbourne, in 2012. Hornery, who was such a gagster, also struck Stephen Sondheim, the creator of Forum , with his pathos. Sondheim said he made him feel more for the character than he ever had before. Stephen Sondheim claimed this interpretation of Erronius as his favourite ever because Bob, while nailing every laugh, also made the composer / lyricist care for the character in a way he never had before. Rush always called him “Sir Bob” because he regarded him as a knight of the theatre. Bob Hornery took his final bow with Melbourne Theatre Company in the 2011 production of The Importance of Being Earnest alongside Geoffrey Rush and directed by Simon Phillips. For his performance as both butlers, Lane and Merriman, in this play he won the 2012 Helpmann award as best supporting actor. He died on 26 May 2015 after a long cancer illness, two days before his 84th birthday in Melbourne, Australia with daughter Jane Goodman and friend Richard Piper at his side. A celebration of his life was held at the Sumner Theatre, Southbank on Sunday May 31st 2015. Geoffrey Rush said when he heard of his death "Bob's career was 60 years long. He was such a humble and astonishing spirit, such an embodiment of company spirit. He could fluently ad lib in iambic pentameter. He was unstoppable." In 1973, Hornery married Patricia (Trixie) Allen, who survives him, along with their daughter, Jane, and his stepson, Max Allen. An extensive list of his stage credits can be found here.
Played one of the Guardians in ‘The Ark’, in the episodes ‘The Steel Sky’ and ‘The Plague’, albeit uncredited. William John Bourke Hunter was born on February 27 1940 in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. He was an Australian actor of film, stage and television, who was also prominent as a voice-over artist. He appeared in more than 60 films and won two AFI Awards. He is also a recipient of the Centenary Medal. The hard-drinking actor was a son of William and Francie Hunter, struggling Ballarat publicans who eventually went broke. He had a brother, John, and a sister, Marie Ann. His father came from a family of seven, all of them dead by the age of 55 through their drinking. An unhappy student he left school at 13 to work as a drover, guiding cattle herds across Victoria, he then worked in mechanics, next as a junior reporter on an Adelaide newspaper, followed by a period in the post room at the Sydney offices of the broadcaster ABC. During his teens, Hunter was a champion swimmer, who won state championships in Victoria and briefly held a world record for the 100 yards freestyle until his record was broken by John Devitt in the very next heat ten minutes later. Hunter had qualified for the Australian swimming team in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia but a bout of meningitis ended his Olympic hopes. Hunter made his film début as an extra in the 1957 film The Shiralee an Ealing Studios drama made in Australia. An introduction to Ava Gardner saw him gain a job as an extra and swimming double for John Meillon in the Hollywood film On the Beach , which was filming in Melbourne. He also doubled for the nuclear fall-out drama's stars, Gregory Peck and Anthony Perkins, and said that he was inspired to take up acting after watching one of the leads (variously claimed to be either Gregory Peck or Fred Astaire) do 27 takes of a scene, and thinking he could do better. He took an intensive drama course in Melbourne, and then won a two-year scholarship to the prestigious Northampton Repertory Company in England. He moved on to the new Nottingham Playhouse, where, under the classical actor John Neville as artistic director, he gained valuable experience. In 1966, he made his television début in an uncredited role in two episodes of the Doctor Who serial ‘The Ark’. Returning to Australia in 1966, because his father was dying, Hunter was soon landing television roles there, in popular series such as the spy drama Hunter and the worldwide success Skippy the Bush Kangaroo. As a character actor, he sometimes took multiple parts in the same series – 13 in Homicide from 1967 to 1971, six in Division 4 (1969-75) and 11 in Matlock Police (1971-76). He also had regular roles as Captain Pollock in Spyforce (alongside in one episode a 6 year old Russell Crowe) and as George Lucas – who dated the warder Vera Bennett
(Fiona Spence) and was involved in supplying drugs to inmates – in Prisoner. He also appeared such TV series as Riptide , Dynasty, Phoenix, Police Rescue , Stark , Sea Change , All Saints, Water Rats, White Collar Blue , he portrayed United Nations Secretary General Spencer Chartwell in the American science fiction series Space: Above and Beyond and his final appearance on TV was playing himself in the comedy series Die on Your Feet for the Ten Network which was eventually screened in 2014. He also did a number of TV mini-series and TV movies including Golden Soak , 1 91 5 , The Dismissal as Rex Connor, Scales of Justice , Eureka Stockade , Police State , The Leaving of Liverpool , Blue Murder, Moby Dick , and the TV movie remake of On the Beach where he played the Australian Prime Minister. But it is his appearances in Australian movies that his most famous for, some of his most notable movie roles include Newsfront (where his initial voice work was declared hopeless and he had to re-voice his whole performance), Gallipoli , Strictly Ballroom , Muriel's Wedding , The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (he filmed Muriel's Wedding and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at the same time, each requiring him to have different length hair, beard and to be in different parts of Australia) and Australia . In 2007, he reprised the role of Bob in the Australian touring stage production of Priscilla , 14 years after the movie premièred. He also provided the voice of the dentist in Finding Nemo, (Mark Morrissey, his agent, fondly recalled printing out the script in 26 point font, so Hunter could read it without his glasses) and the voice of Bubo in Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole . He had two films released posthumously, the feel-good outback tale Red Dog and his last film role was in The Cup, in which he played legendary trainer Bart Cummings. Hunter travelled to the set of The Cup from his north-west Victorian property. He was married three times, the first marriage was to Robbie Anderson from 1963 till they were divorced in 1973, with whom he had a son, named James Hunter. His second wife was Pat Bishop and they met in the play Down Under, directed by Bob Ellis. They married in 1976 but it was short lived and according to
Ellis “17 days after the marriage Bill ran off with the marriage celebrant, whom he judged ‘a good sort’ during the ceremony”. Ellis also said that “Pat Bishop broke a full bottle of Resch’s over his brow in The Gladstone once, but he didn’t blink”. His third marriage was to artist and television presenter Rhoda Roberts, from 1993 until their divorce in 1999. He had some illegitimate sons, both good swimmers, he claimed, but no regular official family. He was always generous with his money, once hiring a jet to fly friends to the Melbourne Cup and he was declared bankrupt in 1996. Hunter even dabbled in politics, lending himself to the Australian Labor Party to star in the Keating government's controversial "Working Nation" advertisements. A painting of Hunter by artist Jason Benjamin won the Packing Room Prize in conjunction with the 2005 Archibald Prize. On 15 May 2011, Hunter was admitted to Caritas Christi hospice in Kew, Melbourne, after refusing to go to hospital. Surrounded by family and friends, he died of liver cancer at 8pm on Saturday 21 May 2011, aged 71. He kept his cancer secret from all his mates, not wanting to endure their un-eloquent sympathy, and stayed with long-term friend and fellow actor Rod Mullinar through his last months on Rod’s farm in St Andrews, Victoria. Mullinar said “He lived those last three months of his life talking, drinking and laughing.” A memorial service for Hunter was held at Melbourne's Princess Theatre on 26 May. The Australian Prime Minister at the time, Julia Gillard paid tribute to his enormous contribution to the nation. "Mr Hunter played a key role as an acclaimed actor in helping to define Australian culture over five decades on screen and on stage. He told us Australian stories in an Australian voice at a time when we were debating and developing our sense of national identity." Close friend and co-star Mick Molloy paid tribute to Bill Hunter on stage at the 54th Logie Awards in April 2012. Hunter won the 1978 AFI Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his part as Len Maguire Newsfront, the 1981 AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor for Gallipoli and the 1989 AFI Award for Best Lead Actor in a Telefeature for Police State . He was also nominated on a number of other occasions for AFI Awards, in 1977 as Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Mad Dog Morgan , in 1992 as Best Actor in a Supporting Role for The Last Days of Chez Nous and in 1994 as Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Muriel's Wedding. He was nominated in 2004 for a Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Supporting Actor – Male for Tom White . In 1994 he was named Australian Movie Star of the Year, in 1995 he received a Variety Club Award for Services to the Film Industry, in 1996 he was awarded Honorary Membership of the Australian Cinematographer's Society and in 2001, he was awarded the Centenary Medal for service to acting.
Of acting, Hunter said, "As long as the director told me where to stand and what to say, I was happy. Anyone who says there's any more to it than that, is full of bullshit... It's a job. It is a craft, but there's no art involved. What you need is common sense and a reasonably rough head. You put on the makeup and the wardrobe, and that is half the performance. That upsets the purists, but never mind, they don't work as much as I do." He was credited as Dalek, Dalek Operator or Dalek Machine Operator in the first eight Dalek stories (‘The Daleks’, ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’, ‘The Chase’, ‘Mission to the Unknown’, ‘The Daleks' Master Plan’, ‘The Power of the Daleks’ and ‘The Evil of the Daleks’) he also appeared as a Dalek, uncredited, in ‘War Games’. Other credits in the Doctor Who TV series were as a Zarbi or Zarbi Operator in ‘The Web Planet’, a Clown (who was in the story revealed to be Bing Crosby) in ‘The Daleks' Master Plan’ and a Macra Operator in ‘The Macra Terror’. A total of 53 episodes. He also appeared in the two 1960s Dalek movies, credited as a Dalek Operator in Dr. Who and the Daleks and as Leader Dalek Operator in Daleks Invasion Earth: 21 50 A.D.
Robert George Jewell was born on January 20 1920 in Australia. Robert Jewell was a character actor who left his first family in Australia to find fame and fortune in the UK. He began his career in Melbourne by appearing in many stage shows including Moomba . He went on to appear in comedy skits on the Channel 9 variety TV show In Melbourne Tonight. He was friends with Toni Lamond, Australian singer and sister of Helen Reddy, and knew Bert Newton and Graham Kennedy. He was also Stage Manager at 'His Majestys Theatre' in Melbourne where Bert Newton and Toni Lamond performed. He appeared in two separate episodes of Consider Your Verdict in 1962 and 1963 on Channel 7 before moving to the UK. He was almost immediately cast as a Dalek due to his short statue, but Doctor Who was the only TV series he did whilst in the UK. He appeared in the SciFi film The Terrornauts where again he was inside a ‘robot’ costume. He notably took some still photographs of the transmission of 'The Feast of Steven' to capture his appearance as the Clown. The was his first, and only, role on British television where his face is
seen. He did this because at the time John Cura was not then employed to take telesnaps of Doctor Who. They therefore are the only surviving images of that episode. Technically, however, they weren't telesnaps, as they didn't use Cura's professional process. They were simply his amateur efforts of pointing a camera at his television screen and clicking, resulting in mostly very low quality, blurry images. He later returned to Australia in the 70s and played small recurring roles in Prisoner during the 1980s. His last television appearance was in 1987 in Flying Doctors. He was actively involved in community theatre in Melbourne and in his later years, he formed a small group who travelled to Aged people's homes and put on performances. The name that was used, in the credits of the shows he was in, varied and included Bob Jewel, Robert Jewel, Bob Jewell and Robert G. Jewell. He died on May 10 1998 aged 78 in Melbourne, Victoria. He was twice married to Esthera Jewell and Irene Jewell and had four children; Sandra Papavasiliou, Helen Jewell, Alison Jewell and Alan Jewell. Played Nemini an Optera in ‘The Web Planet’. Born Barbara Josefovics in 1937 in London. Barbara Joss is an actress, known for A Girl Called Jo , Homicide and Skippy. Her father was Frederick Josefovics born in 1908 in Austria and was a well-known cartoonist for the London newspaper The Star from 1934 to 1955. He changed his last name to Joss in 1940. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and also awarded the French Croix d'Honneur. Her mother, Clara, was also Austrian and was a niece of Hedy Lamar. At nine she decided to be a dancer and soon was enrolled in the Phyliss Bedells Ballet School. Her first professional stage appearance was in Hiawatha at the Royal Albert Hall followed by appearing as a page in Sleeping Beauty at Covent Garden. She transferred to the Arts Educational School and broadened her work to include acting. At 14 she appeared, uncredited, in the comedy film The Galloping Major. She then did a stint in variety theatre as part of a dancing act Barbara, Betty and Bobby, managed by Joe Collins, father of Jackie and Joan. They opened and closed shows for such people as Dusty Springfield, Shirley Bassey, Anthony Newley and Stubby Kaye. Her first London West End production was A Girl called Jo in 1955, it was filmed and shown on the BBC in 1956. Other West End productions she appeared in included Double Image , The Stupid Prince , The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe and Fanny. In 1957 she appeared, uncredited, in the movie The Prince and the Showgirl alongside Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Munroe. On TV she
appeared in the Arthur Askey Show in 1961 playing Askey’s daughter, next she appeared in the TV series Harpers West One , both for ATV. She met and married her cousin Peter, who was visiting from Australia and gave up her career for a few years. Her husband left for Australia to attend a cousin’s wedding and subsequently sent her a letter asking for divorce. She returned to the theatre appearing in A Christmas Carol as both Tiny Tim and Little Fan. Her final work in the UK was in Doctor Who and she then left for Australia to try and patch up her marriage. She found work on arriving in Sydney as a dancer in the J C Williamson musical They Boys from Syracuse , but her marriage could not be saved and they were divorced shortly after. Her first Australian TV role was in Adventures of the Seaspray and she shortly found work in such TV series as Homicide , Contrabandits, Skippy and Riptide . She appeared on the Don Lane and Barry Crocker shows and was a panellist on a number of television talk shows. She was also a reporter on 1 1 AM for Channel 7 and also for ABC Radio National, for which she made two one-hour programs, one of them on the subject of male-menopause! During this time she shared a house for a period of time with Liza Goddard. She left the entertainment industry in the early 70s and after topping her year in the TAFE three-year Diploma in PR, she became a multi-award-winning media consultant specializing in national media campaigns on medical issues. In 1998 she found she had breast cancer and had a mastectomy. She was the women in the controversial TV advertisement showing the results of mastectomy, screened during Breast Cancer Awareness. She wrote a book about her life and how breast cancer had transformed it called My Left Breast published in 2005. She was twice married, to Peter and John. Played the UNIT Radio Operator in two episodes of the 'Day of the Daleks'. Gypsy Kemp was born in 1937 in Australia. She was an Australian actress best known for starring in the Australian soap opera Sons and Daughters, playing the highly popular character of socialite Charlie Bartlett, from 1982 to 1987. Her real name is Gypsy Kemp and her parents were born in Australia. She left her three young children and husband and moved to England in the late 60s to pursue acting. During her time in the UK she was credited as Gypsie Kemp. Her first role was as a nurse, uncredited, in Z Cars, She then did the film A Touch of the Other followed by appearances in The Benny Hill Show, Happily Ever After and Shoestring . When she returned to Australia in 1981 she used the name Sarah Kemp. Her first appearance on Australian TV was in the series Sporting Chance . She then starred in Sons and Daughters followed by the TV movie Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 and then an episode of GP. Her final work was in The Gift a US Short movie made in 2008. She quit acting in the mid 90s and worked as an English teacher at the Sydney TAFE English Centre
and she then ran for the NSW Legislative Council in 1999 on the Unity Party ticket. She died at Bellingen Hospital, NSW, following a long battle with lung cancer, on January 9 2015, aged 77. She had three children – Tracey, Rohan and Warrick and three grandchildren – Hayley, Storm and Kyle. Played Giles Kent in 'The Enemy of the World'. William Henry Kerr was born on 10 June 10 1922 in Cape Town, South Africa. He was best known as Tony Hancock's sidekick in the radio version of Hancock's Half Hour. Kerr was born in Cape Town while his Australian parents were on tour, and was on stage when he was just a few weeks old. Wilton, his son, recalled: "His mum used him instead of using a prop, a baby prop, she actually used her son, her newborn son, so he was literally kind of born to do it." His mother, Anne Roberts, was well-known for her songs at the piano, Sophie Tucker style. His grandfather was Professor Roberts who ran a Dancing Academy in Phillip St. Sydney, and in Collins St. Melbourne. The family returned to Australia and settled in Wagga Wagga, where he was “elocuted to death” by his mother and grew up performing in local musical theatre, revues and eisteddfods. By the age of eight he became a child star, billed as 'Wee Willie Kerr, the Jackie Coogan of Australian Vaudeville', playing child parts such as Little Willie in a production of East Lynne . He began to work in radio for ABC in 1932 and the following year he appeared in his first film, a short called Harmony Row where he gives a feisty performance as a juvenile delinquent alongside the great Australian vaudeville comedian George Wallace. He then featured in Ken G Hall's The Silence of Dead Maitland where he displayed striking presence as a blind child. From the age of 16 he was taking part in children’s broadcasts from the Australian National and commercial radio networks and from 1939-41 worked at 2WG in Wagga Wagga as a radio announcer. He saw service in the Australian army during WWII and performed in theatrical shows at home and abroad. He toured with his friend, the actor Peter Finch. At the end of the war he relocated to England to pursue his show business career and made the bold decision to retain his Australian accent. Finch helped him gain roles, firstly in the stage production of Pommy, then a uncredited part in the film The Wooden Horse and finally in the film Appointment in London . Kerr also found work on the variety bill at the Camberwell Palace, where he did a four-minute deadpan monologue filled with doom and gloom, delivered with a broad Australian drawl. His opening line “I've only got four minutes” became so well-known that audiences went into raptures of laughter even before he delivered it. He was regularly featured in the BBC radio series Variety Bandbox and was
billed as "the boy from Wagga Wagga." From 1954 to 1959, he had a lead role as an Australian lodger in the BBC radio comedy series Hancock's Half Hour. He did not feature in the television version of the Hancock series. Kerr's other television appearances in Britain include; Compact, Sykes and A , Benny Hill, Adam Adamant Lives! , Citizen James, Dixon of Dock Green and The Melting Pot. Kerr had much theatrical success in Britain including: playing the Devil disguised as Mr Applegate in the first West End production of Damn Yankees, directed by Bob Fosse and first performed in 1957; appearing in a touring production of The Teahouse of the August Moon ; appearing in Spike Milligan and John Antrobus's stage play The Bed-Sitting Room ; the 1969 production of Play It Again, Sam playing Humphrey Bogart; co-starring with Anthony Newley in the Newley / Bricusse musical, The Good Old Bad Old Days; a role in the musical play Cole , dedicated to the work of Cole Porter and in Julian Slade's musical Salad Days. His first British credited film was Penny Points to Paradise , which also featured Peter Sellers, Alfred Marks, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe. Other films followed including; The Dam Busters, The Wrong Arm of the Law, The Captain's Table , Doctor in Distress, Doctor in Clover, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and The Night My Number Came Up. In 1978, he returned to Australia and settled in Perth. He concentrated on character roles in movies and appeared in Gallipoli , The Year of Living Dangerously, The Pirate Movie , The Lighthorsemen , The Coca-Cola Kid, Let's Get Skase , Razorback and Peter Pan . He also worked on the stage during the 1980s, in musicals such as My Fair Lady, where he received excellent reviews as Alfred Doolittle. On Australian TV he appeared in Glenview High , Minty, The Young Doctors, Anzacs, Return To Eden , Clowning Around and Ship to Shore . He provided narration for the documentaries No Survivor – The Mysterious Loss of HMAS Sydney, Malice or Mutiny, and Animal X Natural Mystery Unit. On January 26 2011, he received the 2011 Walk of Honour in Wagga Wagga. He died in his family home in Perth, Western Australia, on August 28 2014 whilst watching Seinfield. His final onscreen TV credit was a role in Southern Cross. His last appearance was a reading of the classic poem A Highwayman Comes Riding uploaded to YouTube in August 2013. He was nominated for AFI awards for his performances in Gallipoli and Dusty. He was married 3 times: firstly to Margaret, whom he met whilst on leave on leave in WA during WWII, they married in St George's Cathedral Perth; then to Virginia in 1955 and finally to Sarah in 1983. His wife, Sandra, and their two children survived him, as have two children from a previous marriage.
Many Doctor Who fans know of me through my work on the BBC DVD range and trying to track down lost episodes of Doctor Who, but my real job is as a television producer / director. I worked at the BBC from 1989 to 2012, initially as a film editing assistant. I went freelance at the beginning of 2012 when my department at the BBC in Birmingham closed. I was initially going to have a few months off, but almost immediately I had a call from a producer friend of mine, Russell Minton who was working on Strictly Come Dancing . He had been offered a producing job on Doctor Who â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Official Convention in Cardiff due to his live television work, but he wasn't available. He wanted to know if I would be interested as apart from being a fan myself, I had by then produced two series of Stargazing Live for the BBC. As I had no other commitments, and already knew a lot of the people I'd be working with, I said yes. The following week I met with 'Single Market Events', the company the BBC were working with to put the event on and they booked me. It was my first freelance job. As a live producer at this kind of event, the job is to produce the show and that means oversee almost every aspect of the main event. In Cardiff, I looked after the main stage, deciding the content in discussion with the production department (in this case, with Caroline Skinner who I knew from my previous BBC work) suggesting talent to host the
different sessions and even to deciding what style of furniture should be used on the stage. I also have detailed discussions with the technical manager regarding sound and vision. On the day, it's down to me to brief the artists and direct the shows and importantly keep them running to time. To do this, I have talk-back to the hosts on stage. In Cardiff, it was quite a simple set-up and everything went very smoothly and they must have thought I did well because they asked me back to supervise the Doctor Who Celebration for the 50th anniversary. That was a much bigger job, with 70 stage presentations over three days. At that event, there were five stages to organise and no way I could produce them all on the day, so I asked several other producers I had worked with before to manage them with Ed Stradling looking after the main stage, John Kelly in the classic lounge and Andrew Stocker, Anne Sutton and Sue Cowley looking after the rest. I produced the content for all but the main stage, wrote the scripts and treatments and on the day made sure the whole thing ran smoothly. It was such a big event that none of us expected another event to happen for quite some time so I was surprised when I had a phone call out of the blue in the summer of 2015 asking me if I was interested in producing the Doctor Who Festival. As I had no other work in November, I said yes. At that stage, all I knew was that I'd be looking after the London event and providing treatments and scripts for the Australian shows. But a few weeks later I was asked if I'd look after the shows in Sydney as well. As a freelance producer, you are constantly juggling jobs and bookings, trying to make sure they don't clash. At the time I was working on a BBC2 series and about to start on a BBC1 show which would run until the end of November. They knew I was working on Doctor Who in London and those dates were ring fenced. But the Sydney dates would take me out of my contract for a further 8 days so I had a tricky negotiation to free myself up. In the end, I was to fly to Sydney on the Tuesday after the London event, but I had to fly back the Monday after the Sydney shows so I could guarantee to be back in my edit suite in Plymouth on the Wednesday morning. I arrived in Sydney the Thursday before the event and did my best to try and get over the jetlag before rehearsals on Friday. Thankfully I had Damian Shanahan as my wing man and he got me to the venue on time for my first job at 9am. It was a conference call with director Daniel Nettheim to discuss his sessions. That went well and after that I familiarised myself with the venue and then met with the organisers and stage hosts Rob, David and John to discuss the content for the shows. After that, I just had to make sure all the stages had the clips and other media I'd prepared and we were al-
most ready to go. Sylvester McCoy arrived at the hottest part of the day (42â ° C) and I showed him around the halls and briefed him on what we'd got planned. Then it was into rehearsals on the main stage with Adam Spencer and Danny Hargreaves. There was still quite a lot of work to do by the time we all left the venue on the Friday, including installing communication to my stage manager back stage. But when I arrived on the Saturday, most of the technical issues were resolved and we were good to go. 'The Sydney Festival' felt very much like the first event I'd done in Cardiff. It was certainly on a smaller scale to ExCel in London, thus more intimate. Access to the exhibits was about the same with emphasis on getting up close to everything. There was certainly better access to the cast for attendees at the Sydney event because we had 3,000 people attending per day. In London it was more than double that. From my point of view, the main discussion room was better, although it's size did cause sound issues which I'll come to later. The big differences between London and Sydney were the stage presentations. Steven Moffat had his own writers session with two of the writers from the current series in London. That session was in effect replaced by Sylvester on stage with Steven joining Peter and Ingrid. The original plan was to have Billie Piper and Sylvester on stage together
and I had written a detailed treatment for how that was going to work. In the end, Billie didn't make it, but Sylvester did his own thing and the walkabout (his idea) worked well. I knew it would. I'd directed two Sylvester panels at consecutive Panopticon events in the UK in the early 1990's and he did the same thing there. Whereas in London we had a Millennium FX stage presentation with Kate Walshe and Mark Gatiss, in Sydney we had Danny Hargreaves doing his Real SFX show which was a big hit on one of the smaller London stages. 'The Arena' in Sydney was, in my view, better than London. The Mire had been a big hit there when it appeared on stage in the Millennium FX show, but it's such an impressive monster, it was great to get it closer to the audience in Sydney. Sadly we didn't have Barnaby Edwards and Nick Briggs, but Jon Davey and Dan Starkey did a fabulous job. Dan was struggling with jetlag and his luggage had been left in LA, so hats off to him for getting on with the show and making it so memorable. Jon was the poor guy in the Mire costume in all that heat during the Friday photocall. The big presentation that everyone was talking about was the Peter, Ingrid and Steven shows. All three had done the same thing in London the week before and the shows had gone really well. But after some long, repetitive and unfocused questions, I asked the host Toby Hadoke to find a clever
way of steering the audience away from asking certain questions and in Sydney I asked the same thing of Adam Spencer. As a producer, my job is to make the sessions as interesting, informative and entertaining as possible. That can only be successful if the people on stage are challenged with interesting questions. During one of the early sessions in London, we had three people ask what was basically the same question, "What's your favourite story / episode?". I also felt that the often asked question "Will the Doctor ever be a woman" is a bit dumb when the actor playing the incumbent Doctor is sitting there on stage waiting to be asked questions he can actually answer. Why ask that when there are twenty episodes worth of questions to ask of Peter? Thankfully we had great questions although I do think the lady who asked about 'Moffat moments' was out of order. Apart from anything else, a general audience who's there to find out about how Doctor Who is made has no clue what a 'Moffat moment' is and they don't care; leave that to the internet forums. It was during the first session with Peter, Steven and Ingrid that we had problems with one of the microphones and we also had a stage invasionâ&#x20AC;Ś from Sylvester McCoy. Stage invasions by one Doctor to another have been a tradition at various events for many years but on this occasion it caused me a real headache. Apart from the fact that Sylvester was meant to be somewhere else, he didn't have a microphone and the only one we had to give him was one of those we were using to get audience questions. Fortunately he took the hint with good grace, but I was then able to insist on a fresh sound check once the audience had left. By the end of the first day, we had written off a $2000 headset mike! On the second day, things ran a little smoother. Everyone was settled in and knew what they were
doing and we were able to run all the sessions on time. On Saturday, the second Peter, Ingrid and Steven session was delayed by 15 minutes because Peter's photo session overran. We got a slow hand clap from the audience who were quickly getting bored. When this kind of thing happens, we do our best to adjust the event schedule so that nobody misses out on the other timed events. So we also delayed sessions for that stream of attendees in the other halls to compensate, meaning that no-one missed out on anything. There are also side benefits when things go wrong. On the Sunday, the battery in Adam Spencer's talk-back failed which meant he couldn't hear my instructions to him. It meant that session over-ran by about 5 minutes, an unexpected bonus for the audience! Sunday was also a day of frolics during these two multi-cast sessions; firstly, we had a marriage proposal. Peter's prediction for future happiness was very sweet. Dallas Jones had also brought along the original SV7 mask from 'The Robots of Death'. Peter had already seen it when Dallas had taken it along to his photograph session, but Steven hadn't so I just had to have the mask on stage. There was a great follow up question from Dallas and the mask got a great reaction from Steven. I do wonder if those robots might be making a fresh appearance in Doctor Who because of it. You heard it here first! Then we had a disabled girl asking for a hug from Peter, and getting one. I think we trod a fine line with that and got away with it; the danger is that once one person asks for a hug, then everyone wants one. We may as well just get people to line up and have a hugathon. Thankfully we had just one request and the audience loved it. Once the event was over, it was time for a beer and to reflect on the weekend. I hope people loved what we did and felt it was worthwhile. The highlights for me were: photographing Adam Spencer and Ingrid Oliver, then working on my laptop to produce a version with two Ingrids; seeing the reaction to the first Sylvester session followed by the first Peter, Ingrid and Steven show and finally borrowing Peter's phone off him so I could download his behind the scenes video from 'Mummy on the Orient Express'. Great fun, great memories. I had less that five days in Sydney, but I loved every second.
The Man in the Bandolier stalked around the basement. Professor Jansen still unable to shake her gut reaction towards the nameless man in the bandolier. It was that same feeling she got when she met Oppenheimer, as if there was a weight of death about the man. The fact that he had engineered the destruction of the Daleks infesting the school with such callous disregard, and then, without hesitation, he created something new out of the debris, cobbling together both human and alien technology quickly and efficiently, did nothing to lesson that feeling. The equipment beeped once. "Ahhh," the old man said. His body language changing again, his shoulders set, "You know who I am?" he said to the camera. A shape began to coalesce on the screen, a mushroom dome, the colour of the Daleks destroyed only a few hours previously. "Time Lord," the voice, on the edge between Dalek and something more, or perhaps less, than human. "Yes, yes, yes," the man said, his voice coarse. "Doctor…" The voice said. The Man, the Doctor's
eyes widened. The dome began to open to reveal a wizened human form, supported by electronics and bubbling life support equipment. The Doctor's voice dripped with venom "Davros". "So it comes to this, you on that pathetic little planet. And me, with my children above you. You, defenceless. Me…" "With what? All the power? An army. Is that all you've got? One army. If you'd known I was here you'd have brought more." Rachel's blood ran cold, this Doctor was utterly honest, there was no bravado, no bragging in his comment. He genuinely felt that an army of those Daleks was nothing. He was utterly sure of himself, and that was what scared her. "So what are you after then? Ahhh, the Hand of Omega…" The Doctor said. He now looked worried. "Doc-Tor. For all your braggadocio, you now begin to fear." "The Hand of Omega isn't what you think it is. It's not a weapon," he was almost pleading. "Your pathetic cowardly rabble of Time Lords thought they could hide the Hand of Omega from us on this backwards world, thinking its shared history with us would keep it out of our hand." "Hands?" The Doctor said mockingly. It was as clearly intended as an insult as she heard it, but Davros merely cackled wildly. "So you are left with your last weapon Doc-Tor. Words. Truly your weakness is exposed." "Ohh, yes. Utterly weak. After all, you have the Hand of Omega," the Doctor said, his voice even and his gaze steady. "Yes. And now, we have it, and we have the location of Gallifrey. Imagine what happens next…" Davros wheezed another laugh. "The Hand will ignore relative temporal dimensions, and strike Gallifrey's sun right now, at this moment in time. Earth date, 1963." "Before the War…" The Doctor was appalled. "Indeed. Imagine that. No Gallifrey, no war. ULTIMATE VICTORY TO THE DALEKS! WE SHALL HAVE TOTAL…" "Power. Crush the lesser race. Dominate this. Conquer that. Unlimited rice pudding for all!" The Doctor mocked. "ACTIVATE THE HAND OF OMEGA!!" Davros cried. The Doctor was utterly still. In high orbit, the mile long mass of the
Dalek cruiser opened a small hatch. It was almost insignificant. A small light shot out from the ship and accelerated off at super-luminal velocity. Aboard the ship a running commentary began between three Daleks and Davros. They informed him of the speed of the Hand. The fact it was following its programmed course. Alarms began to ring. Daleks, beings who are reputed to feel no fear, began to panic. The Hand of Omega was on course. It was following its program. But not the Dalekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s program. It was an older one. One programmed by a far more cynical hand. The Doctor. "DOC-TOR!" Davros cried. Whatever panic the Daleks were feeling, Davros was feeling it a hundred fold. The Man in the Bandolier looked coldly at Davros "I am not the Doctor," he cut the connection. Rachel eventually worked up the confidence to ask, "What happened?" "The Hand of Omega isn't a weapon. It's a device for manipulating stellar masses. In effect, it can make or repair suns. Or destroy them," he finished darkly. Rachel's eyes widened, both with amazement and fear. Amazement at the scope of the technology and fear that it was on Earth, seemingly left there, by the man in front of her, as a trap. "The Daleks programmed it, or rather thought they programmed it, to attack the sun of their enemies on Gallifrey. I had programmed it first to target Skaro's sun. The Dalek home-world is now ash." The man in the Bandolier sighed, "yet another tool of science turned to lethal ends in this damnable war." "And Davros? Won't he seek reprisals against Earth?" "Davros has ceased to exist because the Hand destroyed Skaro years before they developed space flight." The Man in the Bandolier walked up the stairs and out of the cellar in Coal Hill School. He ignored the ghosts nipping at his heels as readily as he ignored his conscience. He approached his TARDIS, sitting not a few hundred metres away from where it all began, only hours ago for the world, but nearly a thousand years ago for him. He looked up at the sky to where the orbiting Dalek cruiser used to be, but now, never even existed. "Your move," he said to the empty space.
Since Clara has left to go on her own adventures with Ashildr, the Doctor has had some of his own. He has travelled across the universe discovering new planets and visiting some old. Just recently, the Doctor found a boy trapped in his own school and had to bring him home. Long story short, the boy fell into a trap and was locked in a haunted basement by some bullies and somehow was sent one hundred years into the future. They worked out that the ghost is actually an echo of the boy whom had retraced his steps for years. The Doctor has spent the last couple of days in the TARDIS, parked on a snowy village street. He has been fiddling with some spare parts, reading and playing on the guitar. Unexpectedly, there is a knock at the door. "Ugh, who is it? I'm trying to perfect Bohemian Rhaspody here!â&#x20AC;? the Doctor groans as he strolls to the TARDIS doors. As he opens them, a group of carol singers start to chant "We Wish You A Merry Christmas". The Doctor suddenly points his index finger towards the singers and shouts "No, I absolutely detest carol singing! It's like a constant ringing in my ear! Go away!" He slams the doors in their faces and quickly rushes down to the storage downstairs to search for a red marker and a large sticky note. Soon after, he quickly walks to the door, leans out of the TARDIS and sticks a note on the outside with the words written: "CAROL SINGERS WILL BE CRITICISED". The Doctor shuts the door and returns to his guitar. But, as he is about to play, there is another knock. "Oooh! What is it now?!" the Doctor shouts as he tilts his head back towards the ceiling. "Can I have any time to myself for a change?" Exasperated, the Doctor rises up from his chair and quickly makes his way back to the door and opens it. He looks down and sees a short and chubby man staring right back at him. Strangely, the first words that come out of his mouth is the question: "Is there anything on my head?"