Doctor Who Maxi Bust 8” Third Doctor and Weeping Angel

The official Forbidden Planet website has revealed information about two new highly-detailed maxi busts of the Third Doctor and a Weeping Angel, the latest editions to the exclusive maxi bust range.

“This beautifully-sculpted 8" maxi-bust of Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor captures the most flamboyant incarnation of the Time Lord in all his velvet-jacketed, bouffant-haired glory.”

“This maxi-bust of the Weeping Angel captures every detail of The Tenth Doctor's stone nemesis from the classic ‘Blink’ episode. Don't close your eyes!”

These new figures are available to pre-order at the discount price of £49.99 each from Forbidden Planet, and are expected to arrive at their warehouse on 28th August this year.

A Matter of Time: The Mind of Evil

(06/02/1971)

DESCRIPTION: ‘The Mind of Evil’ was the second story of Season 8 of Doctor Who, and starred Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor.

FACT: During a fight sequence in which water is spilled, the Master as played by Roger Delgado slips in a puddle twice.

A Matter of Time: The Curse of Peladon

(05/02/1972)

DESCRIPTION: ‘The Curse of Peladon’ was the second story of Season 9 of Doctor Who, and starred Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor.

FACT: Jon Pertwee sings the Venusian Lullaby to the tune of ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ when controlling Aggedor.

A Matter of Time: Doctor Who and the Silurians

(31/01/1970)

DESCRIPTION: ‘Doctor Who and the Silurians’ was the second story of Season 7 of Doctor Who, and starred Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor.

FACT: The unusual and often comical music in this story was conducted by Carey Blyton, and features clarinets, recorders, cellos and horns.

A Matter of Time: Carnival of Monsters

(27/01/1973)

DESCRIPTION: ‘Carnival of Monsters’ was the second story of Season 10 of Doctor Who, and starred Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor.

FACT: This story features a guest appearance of Ian Marter, who would go on to play the Fourth Doctor’s companion Harry Sullivan.

Doctor Who The Ambassadors of Death Delayed

The DVD company 2|Entertain has announced that the release of the classic Third Doctor story ‘The Ambassadors of Death’ has been delayed due to issues with restoration. It was originally planned for the story to be released along with the Fourth Doctor story ‘The Sun Makers’, however it will now not be released until 2012.

The story only survives in the BBC Archives with the first, fifth and sixth episodes in colour, and the other four parts in black and white. The colourisation technique used to restore Episode Three of ‘Planet of the Daleks’ in 2009 is being used to colourise the remainder of the story. Unfortunately this process is taking longer than predicted, which has caused the release date to be put back until next year.

A Matter of Time: Spearhead from Space

(17/01/1970)

DESCRIPTION: ‘Spearhead from Space’ was the first story of Season 7 of Doctor Who, and starred Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor.

FACT: This story is the first to establish that the Doctor has two hearts, whereas before this it was suggested that he had only one.

Doctor Who The Mutants DVD Extra Clip

A Matter of Time: Day of the Daleks

(15/01/1972)

DESCRIPTION: ‘Day of the Daleks’ was the first story of Season 9 of Doctor Who, and starred Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor.

FACT: A section of the closing title sequence appears in the background on the screen of the Daleks’ mind analysis machine in Episode Three.

A Matter of Time: Invasion of the Dinosaurs

(12/01/1974)

DESCRIPTION: ‘Invasion of the Dinosaurs’ was the second story of Season 11 of Doctor Who, and starred Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor.

FACT: There are several inaccuracies concerning the dinosaurs, including the T Rex only having two fingers rather than three.

A Matter of Time: Terror of the Autons

(02/01/1971)

DESCRIPTION: ‘Terror of the Autons’ was the first story of Season 8 of Doctor Who, and starred Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor.

FACT: Although Bill McGuirk is credited as a Policeman, he does not actually appear in the story as his scenes were cut before broadcast.

A Matter of Time: The Three Doctors

(30/12/1972)

DESCRIPTION: ‘The Three Doctors’ was the first story of Season 10 of Doctor Who, and starred Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor.

FACT: William Hartnell was too ill to play a more active role in the story, so his scenes were filmed in Ealing Television Film Studios with cue cards.

A Matter of Time: The Time Warrior

(15/12/1973)

DESCRIPTION: ‘The Time Warrior’ was the first story of Season 11 of Doctor Who, and starred Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor.

FACT: This was the first story to reveal the name of the Doctor’s home planet as Gallifrey, and it was originally called ‘Galfrey’ in the script.

Doctor Who The Mutants DVD Cover Revealed

The cover artwork for the DVD release of ‘The Mutants’ has now been revealed, and shows the Third Doctor swarmed by mutants as seen in the story whilst holding a flaming torch. This story will be the second to be released on DVD in 2011, after the Fourth Doctor story ‘Meglos’.

‘The Mutants’ is released on 31st January 2011 in the United Kingdom, and is now available to pre-order from Amazon at the discount price of £14.99.

Doctor Who Step Back in Time: The Five Doctors

Doctor Who - The Mutants DVD Cover and Extras

A rough draft for the DVD release of ‘The Mutants’ in 2011 has been revealed via the Classic Doctor Who Twitter page, and shows a black-and-white version of the image which will appear on the cover.

The extras which will accompany the release have also been revealed in the latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine. The magazine also confirmed that 'The Mutants' will be a two-disc DVD release.

DVD Extras:

• Commentary – With Katy Manning, Garrick Hagon, Christopher Barry, Terrance Dicks, Bob Baker, Jeremy Bear and Broan Hodgson
• Mutt Mad – The Making of the Mutants
• Dressing Doctor Who – A discussion with James Acheson
• Race Against Time – Examining the representation of black actors on British television with Noel Clarke
• Photo Gallery – Production Photos from Filming
• Blue Peter – Clip from 1970s Blue Peter with Peter Purves

Doctor Who Website – The Story of Sarah Jane

The official Doctor Who website has been updated with a three-part guide to Sarah Jane Smith’s adventures with the Third and Fourth Doctors. There is also a clip from Elisabeth Sladen’s first story as the popular companion Sarah Jane, ‘The Time Warrior’, which sees her infiltrate a top secret base.

The Story of Sarah Jane – Part 1
The Story of Sarah Jane – Part 2
The Story of Sarah Jane - Part 3
The Time Warrior – Clip

Doctor Who – Day of the Daleks DVD Release

The DVD Company 2|Entertain have revealed that the Jon Pertwee story ‘Day of the Daleks’ will be released in 2011.

The announcement was made at the ‘Time and Space’ convention in London, where the DVD commissioning editor Dan Hall confirmed that the story would be released with new SFX and Dalek voices.

The story was originally transmitted in 1972, and features Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor with Katy Manning as his companion Jo Grant.

Doctor Who - A Dedication to Barry Letts

(26th March 1925 – 9th October 2009)

Today is one year on from the death of Barry Letts, a British actor, director, writer and producer of the twentieth century, who is best known for his work on Doctor Who. He served as an executive producer for Jon Pertwee’s long era on the show, and became a father figure in the family atmosphere that had developed during this time.

Letts’ first involvement with Doctor Who was in 1967 when he directed the Patrick Troughton story ‘The Enemy of the World’, which saw Troughton play both the Second Doctor and the Mexican dictator Salamander. This proved a tough challenge for the entire team, and one which Barry Letts achieved brilliantly.

He became the show’s producer in 1969 when Derrick Sherwin left the role, and formed a strong friendship with the script editor Terrance Dicks. Together they produced many classic stories for the show, which are still highly regarded today. Letts also directed numerous stories during this time, including the popular ‘Terror of the Autons’ and ‘Carnival of Monsters’.

His love for the show continued throughout his lifetime, and he recorded many commentaries and interviews for DVD releases of his Doctor Who episodes up until his death in 2009. The 2009 Doctor Who episode ‘The Waters of Mars’ was dedicated to his memory, and his huge part in making the show what it is today.

Doctor Who - The Mutants Commentary Team

Nicholas Pegg has revealed information about the commentary team for the Third Doctor story ‘The Mutants’, which is scheduled for release in early 2011.

It will consist of seven people discussing the story, and will be moderated by Pegg himself. The commentary team confirmed for the DVD release include:

Katy Manning – Played Jo Grant
Terrance Dicks – Script Editor
Bob Baker – Co-writer
Christopher Barry – Director
Garrick Hagon – Played Ky
Jeremy Bear – Designed the story
Brian Hodgson – Designed the special sounds