News

Doctor Who producer Phil Collinson addresses how editing decisions in the colorization of Patrick Troughton's final Second Doctor story "The Wars Games" may have established a new incarnation of rival Time Lord The Master. Created by Terrence Dicks and Barry Letts for Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor's era, the rogue villain Time Lord was first portrayed by Anthony Delgado in 1971's "Terror of The Autons". Concluding Troughton's Doctor Who tenure, 1969's "The War Games" saw the Tardis materialize on a mysterious world, where alien masterminds have abducted human soldiers from throughout human history to create a perfect army.

Following the release of "The War Games" colorization, Doctor Who producer Phil Collinson tells Doctor Who Magazine (via RadioTimes) how the use of The Master's musical motif from the revived series implies that the War Chief (Edward Brayshaw) is an earlier incarnation of the Master. For Collinson personally, he reveals that...

In its continuing mission to help older Doctor Who fans relive their childhoods, and make even older Doctor Who fans say “Wait a second, that was your childhood? But you’re 30!” it has been announced that the next Doctor Who we see will not only be written by Russell T Davies, the showrunner of this version of Who’s first four seasons (plus specials), it will not only star classic, fan favourite Doctor David Tennant, and classic, fan favourite companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), it will also be scored by classic, fan favourite composer Murray Gold.

If you don’t recognise the name, you will still know his work if you’ve watched any of the increasingly-inaccurately-named “new” series Who prior to Jodie Whittaker’s incarnation. He is, in many ways, as responsible for the feel and identity of the show as Russell T Davies or his successor, Steven Moffat.

By Darren Allison

100 Greatest Science Fiction Themes

Performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic and London Music Works, this comprehensive 6 CD collection features music from the latest Sci-Fi blockbusters; from Ready Player One, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and Blade Runner 2049, all the way back to 1950s classics The Day The Earth Stood Still and Forbidden Planet.

This release brings together the best selection of science fiction music spanning almost a century, through a thorough overview of musical styles, themes and techniques. It spotlights music from Hollywood heavyweights and classically trained legends, electronic experimenters (Bebe & Louis Barron, Vangelis) and jazz-influenced composers to the new generation, who combine orchestral sounds with electronics

100 Greatest Science Fiction Themes is released in both physical and digital format on 31st August 2018.

The Invasion

Don Harper’s soundtrack to the 8-part Doctor Who story The Invasion was made and transmitted in 1968 starring Patrick Troughton as the second Doctor.

A sell-out smash on its world premiere in Australia, the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular is now heading to the UK, with a limited run of thirteen performances - hosted by Peter Davison - being held in London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle and Glasgow.

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales and conductor Ben Foster will be on hand for this celebration of the anthemic music written by Murray Gold, the sci-fi show's composer since its revival in 2005.

Gold spoke to Digital Spy about what to expect from the Symphonic Spectacular and his decade with Doctor Who.

The best way of describing it is like a massive rock concert...

The Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular has been a big success in other parts of the world - what should fans in the UK expect?

"150 people on the stage, gigantic video projections, full orchestra, full symphonic choir, and loads of monsters - the best...

BBC

Despite the many fan attempts to fuse them together, Blake’s 7 and Doctor Who are set in two entirely different fictional universes. Behind the scenes, though, the two shows hold much in common.

As one might expect, they share writers such as Terry Nation, Robert Holmes and Chris Boucher, incidental music from Dudley Simpson and special effects genius Matt Irvine. Starting his career as a production assistant on Doctor Who, David Maloney went on to produce Blake’s 7 and direct episodes of both programmes.

At times even the props and scenery came in useful between shows. The eagle-eyed will spot Federation helmets in the Peter Davison story Frontios.

Famously Colin Baker, the Sixth Doctor, played the evil Bayban The Butcher in City at the Edge of the World but with Doctor Who running for so many years longer, and with such a massive range of spin off plays in its trail,...

Alex Skerratt is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

This is music to our ears – Silva Screen have been nominated for an award from the International Film Music Critics Association! The recognition comes after its hugely successful release of Doctor Who: The 50th Anniversary Celebration, which features 129 tracks cherry-picked from the series’ rich history, including contributions from Brian Hodgson, Dudley Simpson and

The post Silva Screen in 50th Anniversary Soundtrack Award Nomination! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

BBC

There has been no shortage of releases in various mediums to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of our favourite Doctor. But a relative latecomer to the party has been the 50th Anniversary Soundtrack. This is a 4 CD collection of music and some sounds that have spanned the last 50 years, going right back to the very beginning right up to the present day. There are nearly 130 tracks across these CDs ranging from around 20 seconds to nearly 8 minutes.

Each CD is conveniently attributed to an era or eras of the show. Disc One covers Doctors 1 – 3. Disc Two covers Doctors 4 and 5. Disc Three gives us the remainder of the classic Doctors including the TV Movie. Disc Four is a selection of Murray Gold’s contributions to the modern era of the programme.

BBC

Disc One is certainly a cracker with the most tracks included, and includes some sound effects including the Tardis wheezing...

Music Composed by: Various Artists

Formats: Digital Download

Number of Discs: 2 (45 tracks, approx. 2 hour 37 minutes)

Label: Silva Screen Records

Overview:

Fifty years, 11 Doctors and 45 tracks, this is the release that Doctor Who fans have been waiting for.

Assembled after years of research and trawls through dusty archives and libraries it’s a compilation of the very special music that has accompanied the Doctor over his travels through time and space from William Hartnell in 1963 to present day Matt Smith.

From Ron Grainer’s iconic theme realized by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s Delia Derbyshire to Murray Gold’s orchestral tapestries, this is a sci-fi musical saga.

The esteemed collection of composers featured include Tristram Cary, Brian Hodgson, Dudley Simpson, Geoffrey Burgon, Paddy Kingsland, Roger Limb, Malcolm Clarke, Keff McCulloch, Dominic Glynn, John Debney and more.

The set includes liner notes from Doctor Who composer Mark Ayres on the history of...

News Louisa Mellor 8 Nov 2013 - 10:11

Two shiny new box sets of retrospective Doctor Who music are coming your way to mark the 50th anniversary...

Family, friends, and Secret Santas will not lack for things to fill the stockings of Doctor Who fans this Christmas; the tricky thing will be choosing which commemorative box set or pack of collectible Tardis hankies to purchase.

Stuff the hankies, we say, and go for this neat-looking Silva Screen retrospective collection of Doctor Who music. It's an eleven CD set featuring music from each Doctor's era on the show, in presentation packaging that's shaped like a Tardis. We love it when they shape things like a Tardis.

In addition to that tidy package comes a four-cd set comprising music from across all Eleven Doctors' reigns, including previously unreleased material from the likes of Ron Grainier, Delia Derbyshire, Dudley Simpson, Paddy Kingsland, Mark Ayres and Murray Gold.

Interview Louisa Mellor 3 Sep 2013 - 07:00

Philip Hinchcliffe, Doctor Who producer 1974 - 1977, chats about Tom Baker, villains, visual FX, companions, the 2005 revival, & more…

A week or so ago in a Brighton basement, Den of Geek attended a fun evening organised by the - aptly named, in this instance - arts and entertainment group, Space.

A regular Brighton-based event, Space regularly welcomes luminaries from the creative world to talk to its intimate group. Past guests have been from the world of film and television (Mark Gatiss, Toby Whithouse, Nicholas Roeg, David Morrissey, The Dark Knight trilogy and Inception visual effects artist Paul Franklin, Star Wars, Superman and Raiders of the Lost Ark production designer Norman Reynolds), literature (Ian Rankin), and music (William Orbit, Skunk Anansie’s Skin, Goldie).

There are two Q&As per event, and opportunities to ask questions in an informal, friendly and geeky atmosphere, making the nights well worth the £8 advance ticket price.

Review Andrew Blair 15 Jul 2013 - 06:09

An oft-released Doctor Who adventure gets a high-definition reissue. Spearhead From Space is well worth picking up, Andrew writes...

Spearhead From Space has been released several times (twice on VHS, four times on DVD, and it's on iTunes). Due to it being entirely on film as opposed to video (industrial action meaning it had to be filmed largely on location, where film would be used instead), it is the only story from the original run of Doctor Who that can be released on Blu-ray without upconversion, and so here we are.

I was unable to get a copy of the omnibus edition I rented from a video shop in Hereford in 1994 for comparison, but certainly the picture quality here is as crisp as Quentin or Quavers. Blemish free, it's never looked better, and it's always looked good. Derek Martinus and his camera and editing crew throw in flourishes throughout,...

Review Andrew Blair 12 Apr 2013 - 06:16

Some fine Doctor Who work from Brian Hodgson gets a CD release in May. Here's Andrew's review of the soundtrack to The Krotons...

Brian Hodgson: inventor of the Tardis dematerialisation noise (included on this disc), techbod for the original Dalek voices, and ambient soundscape purveyor to the stars. His legacy lives on in the current iteration of the Radiophonic Workshop, and restoration work by Mark Ayres. YouTube footage of a 'reunion gig' from 2009 can and should be searched for.

For those who aren't curious about the legacy of an old BBC department, old Doctor Who soundtracks are more useful than you might think. Trust me, you haven't Laserquested until you've laserquested to the soundtrack of Caves Of Androzani, and also acknowledged that 'Laserquested' is definitely a word.

What you could do to the soundtrack of The Krotons (the debut Doctor Who story for pipe-smoking extraordinaire,...

Feature Andrew Blair 11 Apr 2013 - 07:00

Andrew talks us through ten things he hopes to see in Syfy's in-development reboot of Terry Nation's Blake's 7...

The immediate problem any remake of Terry Nation’s dystopian space opera faces is that of the Battlestar Galactica in the room, disguised as an elephant (but does it know it’s an elephant?).

Blake’s 7 managed to broadcast its lead character being framed as a paedophile, the execution of a large gang of political dissenters by the police, and the swift despatch of an investigating legal official (and his partner) by state-endorsed assassination. All this in its first episode, broadcast on a Monday evening on BBC One at 7.45pm. Bang Goes the Theory is on at that time now.

Then we have, arguably, its best characters: lip-purser and anti-hero legend Ker Avon. Bring him back now and you’ve got to convince at...

Chopped my finger off while preparing dinner – strange, I didn't hear a big, dramatic chord in the background. Whispered sweet words in my wife's ear – strange again, I couldn't hear the beautiful sound of harps trilling in the background. And stranger still, when I tripped over in the street, I didn't once hear silly whaa-whaa-whaaaaa comedy music. Just deafening laughter from passers by.

Yet whenever I see most TV programmes and films these days, there's musical cues ahoy to be found in the background. TV, in particular, can't seem to get through a programme without striking up the band. Even In EastEnders – although music is strictly limited to a pointedly chosen classic hit from years gone by. Say that furious hard nut Derek Branning is threatening hapless cheeky chappie Alfie Moon in the Queen Vic over a packet of pork scratchings, the cunning producers will heavily signpost the scenario with...

When it was announced that Doctor Who was returning after a lengthy hiatus, the fans were wondering whether they would be getting the real deal. Would The Doctor still be a Time Lord with two hearts? Would he still be travelling in his Tardis? Would it still have the Ooo-wee-ooo theme tune? And just as crucially, would any old monsters be returning?

As it happened, there was no cause for alarm. The season opener Rose brought back the Autons and the Nestene Consciousness for a rematch, and to cement the fact that this was still the same show from the good old days, along came a Dalek in a story called, well, what do you know – Dalek.

Dalek wheels out the tinpot meanies for the first in a long line of rematches against The Doctor. In a way it had a lot to prove for both old and new audiences alike.

Ah, Lanzarote. Beautiful scenery. Bright sunshine. Hot temperatures - something that's urgently needed in Britain at the moment, given the freezing temperatures. Oh, and of course, the age-old stereotype of one or two pasty-faced British tattooed blobbos or high-heeled bimbos waving beer bottles in the air and bellowing Oasis songs at top whack - although any package holiday deal in a hot, sunny country will inevitably attract these sorts.

One keen visitor is the good Doctor, who arrives in the scorching heat of Lanzarote, on the trail of a distress signal that's being beamed from a rather dodgy-looking artefact. And before you know it, he's off to the planet of Sarn (which uncannily looks like the beautiful vistas of Lanzarote), where he runs - yet again - into his arch-nemesis, The Master.

That may sound simple to you, but imagine the look on Peter Grimwade's face when the Who...

Roll up! Roll up! Welcome to The Big Dipper that is season 19 of Doctor Who. Marvel at the swanky production values! Shield your eyes and protect your ears from the horror that is the terrible trio of companions! Gasp in wonder at how the season lurches giddily from one extreme to the other!

Season 19 has so many ups and downs, so many polar opposites that I feel queasy just typing this. Although it could have been the chicken curry that I had for tea. So far we've had the introspective, intelligent Castrovalva followed by Four To Doomsday - a story about overgrown, talking frogs. Then we have the multi-layered, surreal tour-de-force that is Kinda. And what do you know, we then head for The Visitation, which is generally about as sophisticated as an episode of Neighbours.

Actually, maybe that's not a bad thing. Brilliant though Kinda is, can you imagine...

Seven months is not a long time. At the time of writing, October 2010 is still pretty much the same for me as it was in March. In Doctor Who-land though, time is all relative, and seven months can make a hell of a difference. The most glaring example is in 1980, when The Leisure Hive burst onto the screens.

It's a case of new brooms everywhere, as new producer John Nathan-Turner makes his debut. As a result, everything's changed in a drastic new makeover. After all it's the hip 'n' trendy 1980s, so why not get with the times? The Leisure Hive boasts all of these new changes, so much so that it's nigh-on difficult to absorb them all.

Hmmm, I feel a list coming on...

Change 1: The Theme Music

I'lll be honest with you. I used to be terrified of the original title music - to the point...

Seven months is not a long time. At the time of writing, October 2010 is still pretty much the same for me as it was in March. In Doctor Who-land though, time is all relative, and seven months can make a hell of a difference. The most glaring example is in 1980, when The Leisure Hive burst onto the screens.

It's a case of new brooms everywhere, as new producer John Nathan-Turner makes his debut. As a result, everything's changed in a drastic new makeover. After all it's the hip 'n' trendy 1980s, so why not get with the times? The Leisure Hive boasts all of these new changes, so much so that it's nigh-on difficult to absorb them all.

Hmmm, I feel a list coming on...

Change 1: The Theme Music

I'lll be honest with you. I used to be terrified of the original title music - to the point...

Seven months is not a long time. At the time of writing, October 2010 is still pretty much the same for me as it was in March. In Doctor Who-land though, time is all relative, and seven months can make a hell of a difference. The most glaring example is in 1980, when The Leisure Hive burst onto the screens.

It's a case of new brooms everywhere, as new producer John Nathan-Turner makes his debut. As a result, everything's changed in a drastic new makeover. After all it's the hip 'n' trendy 1980s, so why not get with the times? The Leisure Hive boasts all of these new changes, so much so that it's nigh-on difficult to absorb them all.

Hmmm, I feel a list coming on...

Change 1: The Theme Music

I'lll be honest with you. I used to be terrified of the original title music - to the point...

Seven months is not a long time. At the time of writing, October 2010 is still pretty much the same for me as it was in March. In Doctor Who-land though, time is all relative, and seven months can make a hell of a difference. The most glaring example is in 1980, when The Leisure Hive burst onto the screens.

It's a case of new brooms everywhere, as new producer John Nathan-Turner makes his debut. As a result, everything's changed in a drastic new makeover. After all it's the hip 'n' trendy 1980s, so why not get with the times? The Leisure Hive boasts all of these new changes, so much so that it's nigh-on difficult to absorb them all.

Hmmm, I feel a list coming on...

Change 1: The Theme Music

I'lll be honest with you. I used to be terrified of the original title music - to the point...

"Shada. Shaaadaaahhh. Shaaaaaahhhhdaaaaahhhh....."

So remembers Big Tom about a story called, um Shada. But what's this I hear you cry? A Doctor Who review that never made it to screen?

Well, it was planned and part made to go to screen, to be transmitted between January and February 1980. An ambitious script by Douglas "Friend Of Lalla Ward" Adams started to go before the cameras in October 1979. The cast and crew went down to Cambridge for hi-jinks at the university, punting on the Cam, riding bicycles and tripping over red carpets. The story even got a studio session in early November 1979, during which a number of significant scenes got recorded.

And then the axe fell. Doctor Who had been lucky with the BBC strikes in the last two years. The Invasion Of Time had been affected by studio strikes, but remedied the problem by filming on location. The Armageddon Factor got affected too,...

Pantomimes: I hate 'em. Let me count the ways: The forced jollity. The cheesy music. The gaudy sets and costumes which could melt the eyeballs from a million miles away. And don't even get me started on the strained attempts at audience participation.

Plus there's the fact that panto season means Christmas, a time of year that depresses the hell out of me because of the empty bank account, the turkey, the freezing weather, the fact that summer seems like a dot on the horizon, the X Factor winner getting to number one, Cliff - or the fact that I am a great big Scrooge who makes the Grinch seem like Ronald McDonald.

So it's with trepidation that I approach The Horns Of Nimon, a Doctor Who story that can only be described as pantomime. Appropriately, it originally went out during the Christmas period of 1979, and as a result, it...

What is it with 1979 and drugs in telly sci-fi? Early on in the year, Blake's 7 came up with 'Shadow', a stark warning about the dangers of drug-taking. And to get in on the act, Doctor Who came up with Nightmare Of Eden, which pushed the 'Just Say No' message even further.

But while 'Shadow' has generally been praised for its complex script and flashy visuals, Nightmare Of Eden has had more of a turbulent press. The problem with the story is that while it boasts a well written, witty and entertaining script from Bob Baker, the production's throwing obstacles in the way with nonchalant glee. As a result, like some other season 17 stories, more is being asked of the viewer to tolerate these deficiencies in order to see the bigger picture.

But what huge deficiencies there are in Nightmare. In time-honoured fashion, let's look at the bad apples:

A great idea on paper,...

Throw away your buckets and spades people, it’s Key To Time time!

In the days when an arc would probably refer to a floating cryogenic repository, Doctor Who committed itself to a lengthy 26-episode run of intertwined stories. The Key To Time ties Season 16 together very simply with the concept of a quest. Basically, the Doctor has to hunt through time and space for six separate parts of a key (not an actual key you understand, it’s a floating plastic cube) that when linked, will put the universe in balance and end the threat of eternal chaos.

As tasks go, this is something pretty daunting – this isn’t your archetypal Apprentice task in which SirLordWhateverHisBleedinTitleIsAlanSugar sends a horde of sweaty wannabes to hawk for business at a local art gallery. No, this is huge. For such an important mission, the Doctor gets an oddly low-key briefing by the awesome White Guardian.

The Invasion Of Time is brilliant.

There, I’ve said it. Admitting to this is not something that is for the faint-hearted, as The Invasion Of Time has had something of a turbulent press since its original broadcast in March 1978. You can level a million and one criticisms at Invasion, all of which are true, but somehow the successful aspects of the story transcend these to produce a big, bold epic drama.

But let’s look at the problems with The Invasion Of Time, and how much they impact upon the final result.

The Vardans

Men in green suits. Yeah, that’s right - boring old extras who look like they’ve just wandered in from the pub across the road. Admittedly, they try to make the head honcho stand out by making him about three feet shorter than the other two.

It doesn’t help that the Vardans have...

Mention Underworld to any Doctor Who expert, and they’ll most likely respond with a barely disguised sneer of contempt. For years, the story has been derided for ridiculous looking Cso caves to the point where it looks less like a Doctor Who story, more an episode of kids’ virtual reality TV show, Knightmare.

Ironically though, the Cso isn’t the worst thing about Underworld. The recent DVD sheds a bit more light on this troubled production. Back in 1977, funds weren’t quite so high as they had been on previous stories, and so it was decided that a good way of saving money was to build model caves and film these via Cso. Sadly though, the Cso doesn’t totally convince, and according to the DVD featurette, this wasn’t a particularly easy production to work on. The grainy black and white footage shows Big Tom alternating between a...

The Tom Baker experience continues with this Celtic classic...

Who said the Scottish agenda only happened in the last series of Doctor Who? Steven Moffat may have taken over the reins of the show while Karen Gillan impressed as Amy, but Scotland was always part of the Doctor’s life. Jamie McCrimmon travelled alongside the second Doctor. The seventh incarnation had a Paisley accent. And then there’s the time that the fourth Doctor went on the hunt for none other than the Loch Ness Monster.

The first part of Terror Of The Zygons certainly embraces all things Scottish and has more of the native clichés than you can shake a haggis at. Surprise, surprise it’s the first thing that we hear, about 30 seconds in, when laconic rig worker Munro requests a supply of haggis, since the local chef’s evidently not up to Masterchef standard. Before you know it,...

Enter Sarah Jane Smith, and the kind of Sontaran that made the race firm favourites in Doctor Who...

The first thing that hits you in The Time Warrior is the brand spanking new titles. The familiar time tunnel effect and the diamond logo make their debuts here, and it’s a joy to behold. The great thing is that hardly any other contemporary TV programmes could boast such an innovative set of titles. In 1973, most shows started with just a title card superimposed over the action (Steptoe And Son or Are You Being Served, for example) or a collection of montage clips (Bruce Forsyth’s Generation Game or The Goodies). About the closest you could get to the greatness of the Doctor Who titles is Monty Python’s Flying Circus or The Tomorrow People (although in this case the titles were the only good thing, apart from Dudley Simpson’s...