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?