Doctor Who- The Ultimate Monster Guide Review

Having missed out on two years worth of monsters and enemies, instead opting to follow the story of the spaceships and companions in the Whoniverse, BBC Books have released The Ultimate Monster Guide, a compliation of the first three villian reference books with added content from Last of the Time Lords onwards. Of course, the first and foremost questions fans will undoubtedly be asking is: if I already have the other three, is there any point in buying this book?

The answer is quite straightforward: Monster Guide is currently selling for an RRP of £15, double the price of a usual release of this type, meaning that if you're expecting a bargain, book shops aren't the place to look. There are well over 300 pages to the guide, offering oodles of Who goodness, the trouble is we've seen most of it before, and, bar the updates to the Dalek, Cybermen & Master sections, there isn't much room for new monsters to shine, with the classic villians proving to be in the limelight here. This isn't to say Monster Guide is a bad release, quite the contrary. The colourful and detailed pages really are stunning, and this is worth at least a borrow for every avid fan, it's just that many won't be so easily tempted to read through much of the same again. 3/5

Sarah Jane Adventures Series 3 Airs

The Sarah Jane Adventures began with a New Year's Day special in 2007, and then spawned two popular series in 2007 & 2008 respectively, featuring old Doctor Who villians such as Slitheen and Sontarans. Now, it's back for a third handful of adventures, featuring Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, Anji Mohandra as Rani Chandra, Daniel Anthony as Clyde Langer and Tommy Knight as Luke Smith. The first story, Prisoner of the Judoon, featuring the return of the infamous police rhinos from Smith & Jones and The Stolen Earth has already aired on CBBC One, but you can catch it again on BBC iPlayer or on Saturday 17th October when it is repeated on the CBBC Channel. I managed to catch both parts (shown on Thursday and Friday at 4.35pm) on CBBC, and thought they kicked off the new season relatively well. How about you guys? Do you watch SJA, and if so, did you enjoy Prisoner?

TARDIS HQ Version 1.1 Uploaded- More To Come

From now on, I'm planning to add updates to the site, like new videos and polls, and each time I do so, I'm announcing the update as a new version of the blog. For example, this week I've left behind The Waters of Mars (though check out Youtube for a new clip of the episode) in favour of Time Crash itself, a brilliant episode that, rumour has it via the papers, could foreshadow this year's Doctor Who Children In Need outing, as the episode could somehow feature all 10 Doctors (don't ask!), and replaced the POTD poll (which in the end was a mixed bag, but its safe to say no one got the most out of the first special) with one asking which David Tennant outing you lot are looking forward most to. Expect more updates over the next few days, and a minor update when I return from vacation, by which time I will dub the blog TARDIS HQ Version 1.1.1. Keep watching for new posts!

TARDIS HQ Version 1.1 Coming

If anyone is following this blog, they'll probably think there hasn't been much in the way of updates recently. And they're certainly right. My daily updates of TARDIS HQ have been scarce, which I apologize for, but sadly proper series-defining Who news has been hard to find recently. I'm going to give TARDIS HQ a somewhat revamp over the next couple of days, so you should see a lot of changes and new posts to take a look. Also, expect a brand new poll, along with the winner of the POTD poll. Any suggestions for TARDIS HQ 1.1?

Torchwood Three Return For Children Of Earth Tommorow

As every Doctor Who fan will know, tommorow- 6th of July- helms the return of its debatably best spin off, Torchwood, in the form of a five part series (Children In Earth) taking place from the 6th to 10th July. I don't need to tell you what's happening, just give you this one piece of advice: go and watch the episodes from Monday-Friday, each day at 9-10pm.

The Doctor Calls...In SJA

Yes, you heard right. Alright, other blogs have probably posted this a thousand times already, but I've been a busy of late, and haven't been able to update the blog much. Anyway, as you may not know, the Tenth Doctor will be starring in a soon-to-be-named episode of Series Three of The Sarah Jane Adventures.

This isn't the first time since 2005 the pair of time travellers regrouped, as they also met up in School Reunion, The Stolen Earth/Journey's End. K-9 will also appear in the SJA episode. Looking forward to it yet? Send comments.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 410 Cover Uploaded

The official Doctor Who magazine has been running for 30 years now, and has reached its 410th issue, which takes a look at Karen Gillan, who will play the new companion to the Time Lord next year in Series Five, alongside new actor Matt Smith, who will portray the Eleventh Doctor. Karen previously appeared in Series Four episode The Fires of Pompeii as a sneaky soothsayer. As with the previous "Who is Matt Smith?" article that was published in DWM a couple of issues ago, the "Who is Karen Gillan" feature will look at Karen's acting roles, and also have the first exclusive written interview with Karen about recieving the role. Also, DWM 410 will investigate the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) aka his travels, his enemies and, obviously, his regeneration. This look is part of the Watcher's Guide to the Doctor, which will take a look at all ten of his incarnations. Best of all, there's a preview of Torchwood: Children Of Earth, not to mention news of the Christmas finale for the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who. Above you'll see the cover for DWM 410; you can expect the issue to come out this Thursday, at the awesome prices of £3.99.

Tonight's The Night...for Doctor Who

John Barrowman has been hosting a six-part talent series called Tonight's The Night, a show allowing talented people to fulfill their wish of performing in some way on stage, and for the last three weeks, has run a talent contest within the show, attempting to find a brand new unique Doctor Who monster. Now, the search is over, and tonight (23rd May) is truly the night for the winner (who will be revealed in the show) to shine. The winner will star in a 5-10 minute mini-episode of Doctor Who, set in the TARDIS and starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness. Since Jack isn't currently travelling with the Doctor, it's reasonable to assume the "monster" will find a way of getting them together on the time ship.

Captain Jack last appeared in the Whoniverse in Who episode Journey's End, where he teamed up with several of the Doctor's Series 1-4 companions to defeat Davros and his armada of Daleks. He was last seen walking away from the Doctor, with Mickey Smith and Martha Jones, who he suggested "having something else to do than UNIT". Jack will appear in this scene sometime after 7.20pm, when the show is set to start, and then next month in his own spin-off with the last remaining members of Torchwood Three, Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones, in Torchwood: Children Of Earth. Will you be watching the episode?

Doctor Who: 200 Golden Moments- Out Now

The latest special edition of Doctor Who Magazine, dubbed 200 Golden Moments, is now available at all good newsagents and retailers. It has an RRP of £6.99, and is 148 pages long. I've now recieved my copy via DWM subscription, and can safely say that if you are either a new or classic Who fan, this special should really be on your shelf by now. For viewers who fall into the former category, it offers an intriguing look into the 150 or so classics that you've not been around to witness, along with a nice recap of Series One-Four, and for viewers who fall into the latter and are still watching the sci-fi, it offers a wonderful nostalgia tour. So, unless you've randomly stumbled upon this blog and hate Doctor Who (in that case, watch Torchwood.), every reader of this blog pretty much has an obligation to buy this magazine. So, just wondering, will you be buying this special?

Rose is coming back...no matter how bad things are, can't that be good?

Billie Piper, known for her role as Rose Tyler in Doctor Who, was recently spotted filming alongside David Tennant and Camille Coduri [playing her on-screen mother Jackie] for David Tennant's two final episodes, combining to make a (at least) 2 hour special to be shown over Christmas time 2009, culminating with the Doctor's regeneration into his eleventh incarnation, played by Matt Smith, who will star as the Time Lord in Series Five in Spring 2010.

Rose Tyler was the Doctor's companion for all 27 episodes of Series One and Series Two, including the first ever Christmas special, The Christmas Invasion. At the end of Series Two's Doomsday, Rose was trapped on a parallel Earth, where she made frequent attempts to contact the Doctor as the Daleks threatened all universes with their reality bomb. She then used a Dimension Cannon, thus gaining entry to our Earth in Partners In Crime and Donna Noble's "Turn Left" Earth in Turn Left. It wasn't until the final two episodes of Series Four that she rejoined forces with the Doctor and the rest of his companions. In Journey's End, Rose found her soulmate in a human clone of the Doctor, and remained with Jackie Tyler and him on the parallel Earth.

So, if Rose did this, then why has Billie Piper been spotted filming Who? The explanation for this comes from an email recieved by Who fans. In it, it's stated that the Doctor will somehow travel into his own past (2005, to be precise) without knowing, and see Rose in early 2005 before she meets his ninth incarnation. She doesn't recognize him, so he asks what year it is, and she says "2oo5, mate.". The Time Lord then states that it will be a good year for her, the best of her life, and then leaves Rose and Jackie to wander off in the snow.

Personally, I think this last sight of Rose for the Doctor will be lovely, giving him some happiness before his regeneration. What do you think of this possible finale scene?

Also, an image by the Daily Mail website shows that not only will Ood Sigma return for The Waters Of Mars, but also for the finale two-parter. In the image, we see the Tenth Doctor kneeling in pain, with a possessed (red-eye) Sigma standing over him.

These two revelations are brilliant, but leave me with some major questions:

• If Rose sees the Tenth Doctor, at the time not recognizing him, then why does she not recognize him when the Ninth Doctor regenerates?
• How on Earth can Ood Sigma be possessed after the events of Planet of the Ood?
• Presuming both this and The Waters of Mars take place after the above mentioned story then how can Ood Sigma visit all these times in the past before the Ood events?

Hopefully, we'll find out all this and more this Christmas time!

The Sarah Jane Adventures News

The third series of The Sarah Jane Adventures will air this autumn, featuring Elisabeth Sladen as former Who companion Sarah-Jane Smith, Thomas Knight as Luke Smith, Anji Mohandra as Rani Chandra and Daniel Anthony as Clyde Langer. After an announcement at a recent "Vortex" event in Belfast, this blog can now confirm Sarah Jane favourite the Trickster will return in Series Three. The Trickster is a time meddler, who has tempered with the Whoniverse three times: in SJA episodes Whatever Happened To Sarah-Jane Smith? and The Temptation Of Sarah-Jane Smith, plus in the first part of the Doctor Who Series Four finale (in my opinion, all three episodes are connected), Turn Left, via one of his brigade, in the form of a time-changing beetle. In all three stories, a small change in someone's life changes the whole Earth, for example when Sarah-Jane stops her parents from dying at first in Temptation, present day Earth lay in ruins when Luke returned to see what effects the change had. The last time we properly saw the Trickster (Temptation), he vanished, screaming, into thin air as Sarah-Jane thwarted his plan, but we did NOT see him die. Could this mean he will wreak havoc in SJA Series 3 for Sarah-Jane and K-9? For more info on the latter's return, see the earlier post.

Doctor Who: 200 Golden Moments- Delayed

Planet of the Dead was (probably) the 200th ever episode of Doctor Who, and to commemerate this milestone, Doctor Who Magazine are releasing a special edition magazine, also filling the gap left by the now traditional New Series Guide, named 200 Golden Moments. The special takes a look at each and every episode of Doctor Who so far, along with minor thoughts from some writers as to the best episodes, and what is to come in upcoming stories. The magazine was due to be released on Thursday 14th May, but due to some problems with the gold foil packaging the magazine has been delayed and will be available in stores next Wednesday (20th) at the latest. When it does release, though, it's sure to be a brilliant read, and I thoroughly reccomend you buy it at the great price of £6.99.

Doctor Who Magazine- Issue 408 Released

The 408th issue of Doctor Who Magazine has now been released, at a price of £3.99. The synopsis has not yet been released, but the cover can be seen to the left. Also, a special edition of the magazine, dubbed 200 Golden Moments, will be released on the 14th of May, and go through all 200 episodes of Doctor Who so far, with a page or so of information on every single episode, right up to Planet of the Dead, and possibly a small preview of upcoming specials. The special edition will cost £6.99, and both magazines will retail at stores like WHSmith and HMV.

Bernard Cribbins, Catherine Tate and Jacqueline King Confirmed In DWM 408

As mentioned in the last post, the 408th issue of Doctor Who Magazine has been released in all good newsagents now, complete with a set report on the Easter special, Planet of the Dead, and a detailed look at the 30 second teaser for The Waters of Mars. In the Gallifrey Guardian news section, DWM officially gets the pleasure of confirming that Catherine Tate and Jacqueline King are both definitely returning into their respective roles of Donna and Sylvia Noble. Most interesting, though, is still the absolute confirmation of Bernard Cribbins returning, this time with his character, Wilfred Mott, being added to the TARDIS crew as the companion for the Christmas specials (and in case you've been living under a rock, yes, there are two specials at Christmas, the former with a major cliffhanger to keep viewers desperate for the answers to all their questions, and the latter featuring the Tenth Doctor's final scene). For more info on the specials, you'll have to buy DWM 408! Will you be buying the new issue?

Torchwood: Children Of Earth- 12th June?

As if fans didn't know already, Doctor Who is not the only one of our favourite shows to be on short supply this year. Torchwood will be airing over just one week, with a five-part story in June/July time. We know the name of the story will be Children Of Earth, and that it will take place after the apocalyptic events of both Exit Wounds (which saw the losses of Torchwood members Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato) and Journey's End (the finale of Series Four of Who, which saw Torchwood Three team up with Sarah-Jane Smith, Martha Jones, Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith and Jackie Tyler in an attempt to find the Doctor and Donna Noble, culminating with the supposed end for Catherine Tate's character), and at first see the team still trying to cope with the deaths of their friends, while all the more hardened by their experiences. There are rumours circulating around forum sites that the third series will air not long after the 12th of June, as the British Film Institute has announced that they will be airing a preview screening of the first episode on the 12th, at BFI Southbank, along with a Q & A session with the cast & crew. Will you be attending the screening, and if not, are you looking forward to the third series of Torchwood?

Doctor Who DVD Files Issue 8 Released

The Doctor Who DVD Files magazine series has been running for sixteen weeks now, compiling together all four of the new series through double-episode DVDs, packaged with a companion magazine detailing both classic and new adventures. Despite being a complete and utter rip-off in some fans' opinions (mine included), apparently the magazines have been selling mildly well (although that was originally said about Battles In Time, and now by Issue 69 that magazine is selling very few copies), hence why it hasn't been stopped early, presumably allowing collectors to get the full set (despite it now being cheaper to purchase the box sets). Issue 8 has now been released, coming with a DVD featuring New Earth and Tooth And Claw, the Tenth Doctor's first proper Series Two adventures, and a magazine focusing on the two stories, the Ice Warriors, Billie Piper's role in the second series, the robot spiders in The End of the World, and even the infamous Editor from The Long Game. Issue 8, as per usual, costs £6.99, and is available until the 6th of May. Issue 9 will look at the Second Doctor's adventures, and come with School Reunion and The Girl In The Fireplace.

Trial of a Time Lord- £20 on Amazon.co.uk Now

The post title speaks for itself, really. Amazon.co.uk has recently been brilliant for cheap Who, both new and classic. Currently you can find Series One for £15, Series Two and Three for £17, Series Four for £35 and the Beneath the Surface box set (containing Jon Pertwee stories Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Sea Devils, Peter Davison story Warriors of the Deep, and a documentary on the Silurians and Sea Devils. Voted "Best DVD Release of 2008" in the DWM merchandise poll), but in my opinion the best deal right now on the online shopping site is getting Season 23 (taking place in the Colin Baker-Sixth Doctor era), commonly known as 14-part story (the longest ever for the series!) Trial of a Time Lord, for just £17.98. I recently purchased the box set, complete with a packaged documentary on the whole Colin Baker era, and have to say it's an absolutely brilliant story, contrary to some fans' opinions when they first saw it when it aired. It also does showcase how delightful a quality of episode the show can produce even when on a low budget, and the documentary really helps justify all the flaws to be easily found. £20 for this big ol' box set? Absolute bargain. Have you or will you be buying this set?

Monster Metamorphosis Online

The official BBC website for the new series of Doctor Who will be well known by fans as a brilliant place to play Who based games such as Dalek and Preacher Attack. A new game, Monster Metamorphosis, has just been posted online for play. The rough story of the minigame based romp is that the Sontarans have captured the Doctor's TARDIS as punishment for their two recent defeats (the first being in the Series Four two-parter, and the second in Jacqueline Rayner's March Quick Read The Sontaran Games), and the Doctor creates a character called Bob the Blob (not too much like Monsters Vs Aliens, then) who can turn into a number of his old enemies. Using Bob, the Doctor must hack into the Sontaran database and free the TARDIS before his potato headed adversaries can use the technology to travel and conquer time itself! Monster Metamorphosis features new 3D graphics for fans to marvel at. So, will you be playing the BBC's new and exclusive Who game?

Doctor Who Image Of The Fehndal Released- £19.99

The latest in the classic range of DVDs, Image of the Fendahl, has now been released in all good stores for the RRP of £19.99. This episode takes place in the Tom Baker era, with the Fourth Doctor and Leela travelling to 20th Century Earth, and stumbling upon an ancient monster named the Fendahl, a nightmarish creature feared by even the Time Lords. Special Features for this release include a documentary on the making of the story, named After Image, deleted and extended scenes, and, as per usual for the classic DVDs, an easter egg hidden on the disc. In my opinion, the Doctor's time with Leela on the show seemed awkward and too unpredictable, and this was showcased when her character left strangely in the third ever Sontaran story, The Invasion In Time, where she fell in love with a Time Lord character only through the one story, and demanded she would stay on Gallifrey with K-9 Mark II. Image Of The Fendahl costs just £13 on Amazon.co.uk, and £15 in HMV, both of which are basically saving you £5 of your hard earned money, so if you're looking for this cheap, don't say I didn't help you! Will you be buying Image of the Fendahl?

K-9 Set For Autumn Premiere

Doctor Who will recieve its third spin-off this autumn, and it will once again feature one of the Doctor's favourite companions, K-9. The Sarah Jane Adventures will also feature K-9 for half of the series this autumn, but the new Who spin-off, dubbed K-9, will air with the character in all 26 episodes. That's right, 26. Not unlike recent Sky Movies animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the spin-off will consist of 26 30 minute episodes, with no overriding story arc other than the main characters and possible villians. The logo is shown above left, although this is a pre-production image.

So, when in our fave sci fi show's continuity will K-9 take place? We've been told that the K-9 we meet in the spin-off will be "the K-9 from The Invisible Enemy, the original you might say!", so in other words Mark 1, but how his life will fit into Who remains to be seen after he is damaged during the first episode, and "regenerates" (no, not literally) into a new and sleeker form. After the first episode, there will be several time travelling adventures for the robot dog and his new gang, including them meeting none other than Robin Hood, the British legend from the time of King Richard the Lionheart. There will also be a reference to Who for diehards in every episode.

The new show will air on Jetix (a paid channel found on Sky) this autumn. The synopsis goes like so: K-9 follows a reptilious warrior named Jixen through a space time portal, while a human named Professor Gryfin works on a space time manipulator. Jixen and K-9 both fall through, and K-9 narrowly stops Jixen, but at the cost of his robot body. At the end of the two part opener, Feast of the Merons, K-9 becomes disoperational, and must give Starkey instructions to rebuild and regenerate his metal self into a new form (above right). Are you going to watch K-9 when it airs in autumn?

The Sarah Jane Adventures News

Popular children's Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures will return in the autumn for a third series, consisting once again of 6 one hour stories (two-part, 30 minute weekly episodes). The main characters will return, including Sarah-Jane Smith (played by Elisabeth Sladen), Rani Chandra (Anjli Mohindra), Clyde Langer (Daniel Anthony) and Luke Smith (Tommy Knight). Another returning character is K-9, finally let out of his cabinet from saving the universe from a black hole, who will appear in six of the twelve segments. Presumably, K-9 will be back for the final six segments, in order for a massive finale, or only appear temporarily in the first six segements, but we can sadly confirm he will not star in the whole series, only half of the segments will include the robot dog. Apparently, more new enemies will be created, but some old enemies from Who will be back. The first ten scripts have already been written, and the finale is the only story left for the unnamed author to write, but apparently talks have already been done about the last two episodes, and the finale has already got a head of the series "excited before a word has been written". SJA will air over 12 weeks in the autumn. Do you watch The Sarah Jane Adventures and will you watch the third series this autumn?

Title of Lindsay Duncan Special Revealed

Doctor Who will return later this year...

As Russell.T.Davies revealed in a BBC Breakfast interview and in DWM, we won't have to wait until Christmas for the second 2009 special, but instead until sometime in November. The reason, though, that it will still be shown so close to the two-part finale specials, is that like Turn Left, the episode will be very closely linked to the finale. At the end of the first 2009 special, Planet of the Dead, the title for the second special was revealed to the audience via a short 20 second trailer for the episode, which will feature Lindsay Duncan, water murderings and the Ood

Doctor Who will return later this year in The Waters of Mars...

Top Trumps Wii Released- £19.99

The third version of the Doctor Who Top Trumps video game has now been released for the Nintendo Wii. Previously brought out simultaneously on the Playstation 2 and Nintendo DS, the game sees players taking on the role of the Doctor, Martha, Jack or a number of various new series monsters and trying to win games of the Top Trumps card game against computer and human opponents. This recently announced and released Wii version won't offer much in the way of new content, but some new cards from the Series Four collection have been added, along with some new mini games and an exclusive to Wii motion-based user interface.

Should you buy this? Well, it's a tough call. If you are both a Who and Top Trumps diehard, then feel free, but otherwise be wary of this purchase unless you get it from Amazon.co.uk, who are selling the game on Wii and DS for the brilliant price of £10! Will you be buying this video game?

Doctor Who The Deadly Assassin- Released 1st May

A classic story of Who featuring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor will be released on the 1st of May. The story, named The Deadly Assassin, sees the Doctor travel back to his home planet Gallifrey in the middle of his fourth incarnation, and watch in horror as the Lord President is assassinated by an unknown assialant. If you're looking for no spoilers, then look away now. On second thought, just don't highlight the text below...

The story is also a good chance for new fans to see the Master in action as he struggles to escape death in his thirteenth and final incarnation.

The DVD will cost around £15, and feature documentaries on the Master, and how Who tried to frighten people to keep the series fresh during the long Tom Baker era. I will be buying this DVD, but will any of you? Feel free to leave answers and comments on the actual story!

Doctor Who Adventures- Issue 111 Released

The 111th issue of the Who spin-off magazine, Doctor Who Adventures has been released, packaged with an exclusive set of Dalek stationary. A press release has now been issued by BBC Magazines:

Would you be allowed in the TARDIS?In the latest issue of Doctor Who Adventures magazine, find out if you’ve got what it takes to travel with the Doctor in the TARDIS. DWA looks at some of the people the Doctor hasn’t allowed to be full-time travellers in his amazing time machine…There’s also a guide to Planet of the Dead that’s full of essential information about this action-packed story.The issue comes with a set of exclusive Dalek stationery, which includes a pencil case, notepad, pencil and rubber.Get yours today! What else?

• Posters: The Supreme Dalek, a Tritovore and a vicious Cybershade.• Who’s where?: Loads of aliens have joined the Doctor and Christina on the bus!• Monster quiz: Find out how well you know your monsters.• Tales from the TARDIS: The Slitheen attack!• Terror through time: The Daleks.• Puzzles and competitions: Loads of things to do and win, including the new Cybermen DVD box set.• Comic strip: The TARDIS arrives on a boat in 1918…• Subscription offer: Subscribe today and get an amazing Doctor Who book!

The magazine is out at stores such as WHSmith and newsagents, priced £2.10.

Planet of the Dead- Released 29th June (SPOILERS)

The Easter 2009 special, Planet of the Dead, has now aired, and the DVD, featuring the full 60 minute episode, will be released on the 29th of June 2009. The episode follows the Tenth Doctor as he meets a small but resourceful group of people on the No. 200 bus to Brixton, and travels with them to the desert planet of San Helios, where they face a pack of hungry and devouring alien consumers, ready and waiting to consume the inhabitants of Earth. The cover for the DVD has now been released, but other than the date of release and number of discs (1), barely any information has been released on the new DVD. There are two possibilites for the certification, either PG (Parental Guidance) due to its comedic nature, or 12 (Must be bought by people of ages 12+) due to the violent nature of an early death. The release will probably be light on special features, but there is the possibility that a box set containing all the specials along with new features will be released in early 2010. I do own The Next Doctor vanilla release, but if a box set is announced, I will buy this instead. How about you? Will you be buying POTD?

Companions Return To The Doctor's Crib

Filming for the second of four 2009 specials of Doctor Who, this time featuring David Tennant and Lindsay Duncan, has now completed, and filming on the final specials (forming a two parter around Christmas) has now commenced. In a recent interview on Planet of the Dead on BBC News, current head writer for the new series Russell.T.Davies revealed that the companion for the last two specials, the send-off episodes for David Tennant's Doctor, will be Wilfred Mott, played once again by Bernard Cribbins. This news had already appeared in fan sites via filming photos of Tennant and Cribbins, but RTD's confirmation was the first official announcement by the BBC. Other cast members for the specials have now been revealed by filming photos, and will likely be touched on in the next issue of Doctor Who Magazine, out on the 30th of April. One of these is, predictably, Catherine Tate, returning to the series to play Donna Noble, a character who first appeared in the second ever Christmas special, The Runaway Bride, and was suppposedly killed off in Journey's End, the finale to Series Four, when her memory of all her adventures with the Doctor was wiped due to her brain containing all the knowledge of a Time Lord, which would have eventually killed her. As far as we've seen from set photos, Donna has not yet found out about who the Doctor really is, or has and for some reason is not affected by the knowledge. If the answer turns out to be the second reason, we're in for a very strange and exciting finale.

To add to the list of returning companions, Elisabeth Sladen and Thomas Knight will return as Sarah-Jane Smith and Luke Smith respectively. Filming shots see Luke almost run over by a car, the Doctor saving him, Luke fetching Sarah-Jane from her house, and the pair watching the Doctor depart in the TARDIS. Despite this, it is likely they will appear again later in the Christmas special. Also set to appear is Jacqueline King, who will return to her role of Sylvia Noble in the specials, presumably making sure the Doctor doesn't ruin Donna's wedding (oh yes, did I forget to mention? One shot shows Tate in a wedding dress, ready to walk down the isle)

Also rumoured to return are Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) and Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), however no one has yet spotted either of the actors on set recently. One man who has been spotted, though, is John Simm. Simm, who played the Master (a renegade Time Lord) in the Season Three finale: Utopia, The Sound of Drums and Last of the Time Lords. However, this time he was seen sporting a blonde hair do, and as RTD has recently said, in these specials, nothing is at it seems, and there will be some fantasy and nightmare sequences, so perhaps the Master will not properly appear (but by darn it would be interesting to find out what happened to that ring at his cremation!). Another confirmed returnee is Jessica Hynes, who played Joan Redfern in Human Nature and The Family of Blood, but far from playing a senior version of her character, she is playing an author named Verity Newman (Verity taking from late producer Verity Lambert, and Newman taken from Sydney Newman, a well regarded Who director), who has salvaged John Smith's Journal Of Impossible Things, and written a book on it.

While filming the scene in a bookstore, Hynes' character sees the Doctor walk into the store, speaks to him, and the Time Lord gave Newman a dark and sad look, and then walks away. All of these announcements seem very exciting, in my opinion, and seem to prove that we're in for one heck of a special (excuse the pun) finale. What do you think of these announcements?

Spooky Science Fiction Prophecy- He Will Knock Four Times...

Planet of the Dead aired as expected at 6.45-7.45pm on the 11th of April, and in my opinion was a fun and lightweight episode to watch, although not containing nearly enough in the way of proper Who. At the end of the episode, this lightness seemed to continue, however, as only the dumbest of the viewers will have failed to notice, it briefly faded away in favour of what Russell T Davies soon described on Confidential as a "spooky science-fiction prophecy" from psychic character Carmen. Carmen had been revealed to be able to predict small snippets of the future earlier on in the story, claiming to always be able to get her husband and herself just £10 on the Lottery. As she and her husband began to leave, they approached the Doctor by the TARDIS, and Carmen said that he should take care, generally seen as a leaving compliment when people say goodbye, but when the Doctor replied that they hoped they enjoyed their "lovely" dinner of chops and gravy, Carmen revealed that she truly meant this as a warning. The Doctor was left unnerved as Carmen said to him "It is returning...it is returning through the dark...and then, oh but then...he will knock four times." What do you think this spooky prediction could mean?

Fans have already guessed that "he" could refer to the Master, Bernard Cribbins, the monster on the planet Midnight or the Grim Reaper, but Russell T Davies said when asked about John Simm's reappearance on set (see the next post) that "It's not quite as easy to guess what's happening as you think - there's nightmare sequences, and layers of fantasy, because the Doctor's coming to the end of his time. ".

In the commentary for POTD, when David Tennant was talking to Julie Gardener of the prophecy, Julie said "And as we know, David, he really does knock four times.", to which David replied "Absolutely, and if you think you've figured out what it means, you're wrong!". Julie said after this, though, that "when you do figure it out, it's a sad day."

Also, during the POTD based episode of Doctor Who Confidential, Julie Gardener said that the phrase will "definitely return in the second special, set on Mars, and in the Christmas episodes." and Russell T Davies said that "the Doctor doesn't know how bad things are going to get. And believe me, things are going to get bad. Oh, it'll be bad!" Both David Tennant and Julie have already said that the scripts for the finale specials made them cry, which implies the death of the Tenth Doctor is going to have major reprecussions for the whole series. Are you looking forward to the finale, and what do you think Carmen's prophecy, along with other announcements, could mean for the Doctor? Feel free to leave comments on these, and on the quality of the site!

Attack of the Cybermen Released- £14.99

Two weeks ago, on the 7th of April, a classic story taken from the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) era was released, named Attack of the Cybermen, at an RRP of £15. The DVD has just one disc, featuring the full story, spanning two 45 minute episodes, not unlike the format of a two-parter in new Who, and a new documentary focusing on the history and continuity of the Cybermen, named The Cyber Story. I have not yet bought the DVD, but reviews by Total Sci-Fi and DWM seem to suggest that neither the story or the documentary offer much in the way of excitement or decent quality. However, some fans have said that this is a brilliant sequel to Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) story Tomb of the Cybermen. Will you be buying this DVD?

The Cybermen Collection Released- £14.99

Last Monday (14th April) saw the release of new DVD box set The Cybermen Collection in stores such as HMV and WHSmith, at a RRP of £14.99. The set includes the four episodes featuring the Cybermen in Series Two: Rise of the Cybermen, The Age of Steel, Army Of Ghosts and Doomsday. but not the recent Christmas special The Next Doctor. On Amazon.co.uk, the set can be found for around £10, and in HMV, for around £13. I will not be buying this set as I already own the Series 2 box set, and do not find the "Top 25 Cybermen Moments" documentary is incentive enough to spend an extra £10 for. If you have the episodes already, my reccomendation is you avoid this release, but if you don't, go out and get this as soon as you get the chance! Will you be buying The Cybermen Collection?

Welcome to TARDIS HQ

Hello, Doctor Who fans everywhere! My blog, TARDIS HQ, is based around everything to do with the best science fiction show ever created, plus all of its respective spin-offs. That means you can expect all the latest and greatest news on Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, and every item released that is based on any of these. Whether you're a new fan who only joined in Series Three or Four, wondering what new novels are coming out to bridge the gap between the 2009 specials, or a diehard fan (wow, you must be over 40 by now!) who's seen every single episode of every single story wanting to find out which classic stories are being released each month, I can pretty much guarantee TARDIS HQ will keep all fans satisfied. Right, so on to business, in the next couple of posts, I'll recap Planet of the Dead, recent filming news, and some classic DVD releases recently and soon...