Design a TARDIS

A brand new competition from Blue Peter!

According to the BBC
"Children aged between six and 12 are invited to create the new control panel which operates the time machine. The winning design, to be chosen by new Doctor Matt Smith, will appear in one episode of the sci-fi show next year."



Entries must be sent in by 2 November and more details can be found on the Blue Peter website."

Read the full article here

So then its not a permanent replacement for the TARDIS, just a one off for an episode. I wonder what happens to the TARDIS then? Maybe the Doctor just wants to change the desktop theme again...

Doctor Who filming, 08.10.09

WARNING! Todays filming is spoilerish!

The scene filmed apparently takes place before the scenes filmed yesterday (with the blowing of the Sonic Screwdriver)

They were filming at Rhymney outside the Vicarage. The house wasn't easily seen so there probably wont be many photos, it was behind a large wall and a lot of trees!

Apparently, the house is being used as the young Amy's house back in the 1990's

And Woah Nelly, is that the Series 4 TARDIS!? 

Why yes, it is!

The scene wittnessed was of smoke pouring out of the TARDIS and Amy dragging the Doctor away from it, crying "Come on!". He keeps trying to get back to his beloved box, shouting in response, "I must save her!"

Amy was once again in her policewoman outfit, and the Doctor was in Ten's outfit suggesting that episode 1 really does follow straight on from Tennant's last episode.

Set reporters have told us that before this scene, the TARDIS apparently crash lands in to the garden and hits a garden shed, destroying it before skidding to where it is. There were marks on the lawn where this supposedly happens.


And there we go! MADNESS!
A HUGE thank you to Haffertee, Ahremsee and all other set reporters!

New New New Doctor

This is just a small look at Smithy's Doctor, and the world of Who under the rule of Moffat. New things are afoot.

The Doctor

Obviously we have no idea of personality other than what we know of Matt Smith, and what we can guess he might put into his Doctor. But we at least know what he'll look like!

And now, thanks to the amazing Alun.vega, we have some idea of how he talks. Here are the first recorded lines we've got of the new Doctor!

Amy Pond

Yup, a new companion. Young and feisty to go with Smithy's Doctor. Again, not much idea about her personality other than she's Scottish, but we have a look for her too!

New Sonic Screndriver

Not really looking much like the old one, or River Song's revamped one. But its still about and its still very sonic.

New New TARDIS?

Well certainly the outside of the TARDIS has changed. With a new shiny paint job and slightly different windows, methinks it looks good.

But its the inside of the TARDIS that really has us all guessing. Rumors are that its getting a revamp, but of course at the moment theres nothing official to back any of it up.

Here's something that was posted on the Digital Spy forums:

The set is on 2 levels, joined by a spiral staircase, but is not as big as I'd thought. We saw the console room, a lab area, a sort of sitting room area, a fairly long section of corridor leading nowhere and numerous other little nooks and crannies. The console room reminds me of a new and shiny version of the old one, except the roundels are very simple and basic looking, simply spherical dents in the walls. 

Back to the console room - mainly golds and silvers and the coral theme has been replaced with a smooth marble like finish. Also the room is not circular, it's a kind of hexagon-joined-to-a-square shape, the hexagon bit containing the console, which to me looked like the same console they've used throughout the series except with new buttons and blinky lights, though apparently it's entirely new. Your beloved hatstand was still there but no sign of the interior doors, also there was no ceiling to the set - could be that these bits are meant to be there but were missing from the set for some reason I suppose. 

Apparently the whole set has been designed in a modular way, so things can be moved and double as other parts of the ship. The roundels are different colours in each area, gold for the console room, silver/grey/blue in the lab, brown in the sitting room. The roundels can be removed/swapped out or even turned around completely to be convex rather than concave, in order to become a different area.

However, theres no proof of any of this. Though it could be true, it could also just be made up... I guess only time will tell!

Goodbye to the TARDIS

Earlier today BBC Wales had an interview with RTD, talking about his time on Doctor Who...

"The man who rejuvenated Doctor Who, Russell T Davies, takes one last look inside the Tardis before filming wraps up on the new series."

You can watch the interview on the BBC site here and from the looks of it, it works for people overseas fine

If not, you can always watch it on youtube here

Tennant in SJA?

I was sent an email recently that made me very excited indeed!

As we know DW is still filming and SJA has started filming as well - but they're being very secretive. Apparently Tennant was at the read through for SJA which obviously indicates he's going to be in one of the episodes, but thats about as far as we know.

Until now!

On the 20th April there was some filming in Penarth which included Tennant and the TARDIS. It might have included other things but the security was very very tight.

Credit to these wonderful photos goes to Mali :)

Now this could have just been for Doctor Who (they were filming there the previous week) but Tennant isn't wearing the same clothes as he is for the last special, which can only suggest that this is him in an episode of SJA!

A HUGE thanks to Guy and Mali :)

Doctor Who News

Theres not been any filming for a while, and I'm very behind in news updates. So here's a new one!
As usual, all the info has been gathered together by all the fantastic people on the DWF, and special thanks to Jenny and Cameron.

Smithy
DailyStar - Billie's panic call from new Doc
The Sun - Who banks at Coutts
Guardian - Who will be Doctor Who's new sidekick?

Tennant/2009 Specials
Telegraph - Hamlet will rise from the grave (DVD release)
DenofGeek - Special no 2 at Christmas

Lindsay Duncan
The Sun - Doc teams up with Maggie
Contact Music - Lindsay Duncan to play assistant
Digital Spy - Lindsay Duncan to star in 'Who'
Wales Online - Fans gather to see new assistant

Missing Doctor Tapes
The Sun - Evil Mugabe hoards lost Doctor Who tapes
Press Association - Mugabe has lost Doctor Who tapes?
Sindh Today - Mugabe hoarding lost Doctor Who tapes
Digital Spy - Zimbabwe "hoarding" lost who episodes

TARDIS redesign
Mirror - TARDIS to be redesigned for Matt Smith
Telegraph - TARDIS to get interior makeover
Metro - Dr Who has TARDIS makeover
Digital Spy - TARDIS to get a full redesign

Dalek found in Pond
The Sun - Extract me, mate!
Metro - Dalek pulled from murky pond

Other

DenofGeek - Season 23 commissioned 25 years late
DenofGeek - 10 Who monsters that should return
DenofGeek - 20 pop songs in Doctor Who

Misc
drwhoogle - Dr Who themed google

Uncyclopedia - A spoof of Doctor Who wikipedia
TheStage - How is Who?
ScotlandOnSunday - Freema Agyeman : A law unto herself
Flick Filosopher - Should Doctor Who be shooting in Dubai?
TV Squad - Seven of TV's best replacements (Tennant)
The Shields Gazette - Daleks invade a Shields school

Sorry again its been a while - life is very busy at the moment!

Enjoy :)

More Doctor Who filming, 28.01.09

Sorry! Bit slow on the uptake today, was a busy day yesterday.

Right! Here are some more videos of filming from 2 nights ago

First off, the entire scene as captured by Ahremsee


And Mugim0e uploaded some cut down versions of the same scene

While the above is going on, the other members of the bus are being decontaminated

And also these because they are possibly the greatest things ever

Above from Mugim0e, and this from alun.vega

There are LOADS more amazing photos and videos of the filming here:
Mugim0e's photobucket account
Ahremsee's photobucket account
Alun.vega's Flickr account

Hooray!

More Doctor Who filming, 28.01.09

Woop! We've got reports, pictures and videos!

Its probably safe to say that this is definitely the end of the episode. And the entire event is beautifully captured in this: 

The best video ever by ahremsee!

So we've got: 

• Bus returning to present day, 
• UNIT applauding
• People emerging from bus, 
• Doctor emerging from bus, 
• Malcom running over and hugging him, 
• Mogambo arriving, 
• Malcom leaving, 
• the Doctor doing some sonic action,
• Mogambo saluting, 
• the Doctor reuniting with the TARDIS,
• Christina running over for a chat

And now, pictures!

There are loads more pictures & videos of all the filming so far, here:

Mugim0e's photobucket account
Ahremsee's photobucket account

Alun.vega's Flickr account

Brian_Damage's photobucket account

Scooty's photobucket account

A huge huge thanks to Scooty, alun.vega, Brian_Damage, ahremsee and mugim0e, you're all gods. You know that right?

Doctor Who News

Another news roundup for you.

As always, a huge thanks to everyone on the DWF who took the time to find all these links, especially baraduim!

The New Doctor / Companion:
Daily Star - Doctor Who "race" Battle
Western Mail - Matt's mop has to go
Wired - New Child-Friendly Doctor Who Toys Shrink Daleks, The Doctor
Celebuzz - Is Kelly Brook Set To Star In British Sci-Fi 'Doctor Who'?
Den of Geek - Kelly Brook in line for new Doctor Who assistant?
Easier - Matt Smith is the new Doctor

Digital Spy - Davies promises fresher 'Dr Who' special
"After the events of 'Journey's End' and 'The Next Doctor' I think it's time to get away from the past and have an adventure with lots of new elements. And lots of fun too! The next Special should be a nice antidote to Christmas, with a bit of sunshine if we're lucky. And with not one but two alien races that you've never seen before."

Torchwood:
Digital Spy - Barrowman to write 'Torchwood' comic
Comic Book Resources - Barrowman, Edwards collaborate on Torchwood comic strip
AfterElton - Carole and John Barrowman Write Torchwood Comic
Plus Newsarama, NewsWales, This is Gloucester - All look at Barrowman writing a Torchwood comic
Den of Geek - Torchwood delayed until Summer?
io9 - notes on DWM and Torchwood adversaries

Misc:
Beatles News - Tardis to ride
Daily Record - Virgin on the Ridiculous (Internet auctions)
Telegraph - Green-fingered Doctor Who fans convert Tardis into allotment shed
24dash - Tardis lands in Doctor Who fans' allotment

And finally:
Digital Spy - Tennant stuns kids at Davison's party

Smithy, Doctor Who & Torchwood

Another news roundup. I'm getting bored of news... tis okay, things will pick up soon.

As usual, a huge thanks to everyone on the DWF (especially baraduim) who are the ones that actually gather all this info.

Stuff on Smithy
Wales on Sunday - Who’s got eyes for doctor’s role (Edward Bennett)
ITN,
PA - Noel Clarke's verdict on new Doctor Who Matt Smith
Digital Spy, Mirror - Matt Smith 'was a talented footballer'
Harrow Observer - New Dr Who hails from Harrow

In local news:
Devizes Gazette and Herald - TARDIS materialises at Devizes allotments
Northern Echo - Who's a lucky boy?

Other news:
Independent - The Mill: Visual effects for Doctor Who
AfterElton - "Torchwood: Children of Earth" to air this summer over consecutive nights?
io9 - The greatest Doctor Who toys ever
IGN - The History of Doctor Who

Hooray!

Advent 23

Ah, remember the good old jigsaws? Well heres another one! Its a close up of this picture and you can solve it on the BBC site!

Theres also a promise of a new clip once you solve the jigsaw but its just the same one from the Children in Need preview. So nothing new there...

Ah well, here something else instead!



Hooray!

Advent 5

Today the BBC have a fun game for you to play, its called Black Hole and you take control of the TARDIS!

Unfortunately there's no way (that I know of) that I can put the game up here... but that doesn't apparently matter as anyone can play games on the BBC site! Hooray!

Before the TARDIS

The BBC uncovered lots of stuff from its Doctor Who archives about the original concepts behind Doctor Who.

You can see all the new archived stuff right here

And below is an article covering this new addition!

Dusted Off

The Doctor without his time-travelling police box is difficult to imagine, but its creators initially proposed he journey through space in an invisible machine covered in light-resistant paint... viewers should see no machine at all, only "a shape of nothingness".

The BBC's head of drama insisted an invisible machine would not work and the doctor's vehicle should be a strong visual symbol. Wisely, writers also said a transparent, plastic bubble would be "lowgrade". But a seed of the Tardis idea is sown when they suggest using "some common object in the street"

Sydney Newman

These discussions are revealed in six previously unpublished documents, now digitised on the BBC Archive website. These include handwritten notes by Mr Newman, regarded by fans as the genius behind the original concept.

At the start, the writer Cecil Webber describes the Doctor as follows:

"A frail old man lost in space and time. They give him this name because they don't know who he is. He seems not to remember where he has come from: he is suspicious and capable of sudden malignance; he seems to have some undefined enemy; he is searching for something as well as fleeing from something. He has a 'machine' which enables them to travel together through time, through space and through matter."

It's hardly heroic but that description, apart from being frail, fits David Tennant perfectly. He's quite unforgiving and it's up to humans to remind him of his moral duty. That first description of the Doctor, played initially by an old-looking William Hartnell, still holds true today and his mystique is one of the show's guiding principles.

"The suspiciousness is something that's passed on through the years and the undefined enemy is things going wrong with the universe. And the mystery as well. It's not just a question mark, but the character itself - who is he? If that's ever resolved in the series, then that's the day it fails."

But what about the ideas that didn't make it?

Mr Newman scribbled "Nuts!" next to the suggestion that the Doctor's secret mission was to meddle with time and destroy the future. But six years later, an element of that was worked into the plot when the Time Lords arrived.

Mr Newman insisted that the show educate and inform, as well as entertain. Hence scenes where science teacher Ian discussed the property of acid on a planet, or history teacher Barbara enlightened viewers about the Aztecs.

But even Mr Newman's foresight failed him on occasion. One of the cardinal rules for the new show, spelled out in one of the newly-released documents, is "No Bug-Eyed Monsters" - which Newman abbreviated to "No BEMs" - and no tin robots. He was therefore angry to find that rule had been broken to accommodate tin-can baddies armed with plungers, called Daleks.

Even geniuses can get some things wrong.

Read the full article right here

I advise you go have a snoop about the archives, they're fantastic!

The TARDIS

TARDIS

Time And Relative Dimension In Space

Type: An unreliable Type 40 TT capsule.
Functioning: Unreliable - The Doctor is constantly attempting to fix the TARDIS, it often appears in the wrong time and place, and it always takes the form of a blue police box.
Age: Uncertain. It used to belong to another Time Lord called Marnal before the Doctor. The TARDIS has been shown as having to wait around for the Doctor sometimes for decades, and even centuries, while he is off on his adventures. The Doctor himself has claimed that he has had 900 years of travel in time and space.
Acquired: Stolen from the shipyards of Gallifrey, by The Doctor, where it had been stripped for spare parts.

Characteristics

• 'It's bigger on the inside!'
• The TARDIS has in fact been noted as having several bedrooms, a wardrobe, a bathroom, a large attic, a kitchen, the console room, a second control room, the zero room, a library, and a swimming pool, as well as endless amounts of corridors.
• It is alive.
• TARDIS' are grown, not made.
• The TARDIS shows a psychic ability. It can translate languages into a chosen persons head, has a telepathic ability, and has been noted as acting funny when it is in danger.
• Their power is known as the 'Heart of the TARDIS' and it is drawn from a combination of the Eye of Harmony (now destroyed an Gallifrey), the universe itself, and can be charged by the Doctor's own life force if necessary.
• Before a TARDIS is fully functional, a Time Lord must operate it for the first time so it can be primed with their biological imprint.
• It travels by 'disappearing here and reappearing there'. It doesn't tend to cope well with actual flight (shown in The Runaway Bride)
• A key is required to open the TARDIS doors. Both the key and the lock have been changed several times.
• Once the doors are shut, nothing can get in.
• Messages and visual images of The Doctor can be shown on a screen or projected from different points inside.
• The TARDIS has shown itself to be practically indestructible. It can withstand gunshots, lazes, explosions, black holes, falling from great heights, and temperatures up to 3000 degrees.

Parts of the TARDIS

• The heart of the TARDIS/Time Vortex - the power source behind it.
• The Zero Room - A chamber that was shielded from the rest of the universe and provided a restful environment.
• Chameleon Circuit - used so the TARDIS blends into what ever surroundings it appears in. The Doctor's chameleon circuit is broken, hence the TARDIS' form of the police box no matter where it ends up.
• Chameleon Arch - used to rewrite a Time Lords biology to change him into something else (most noticeably a human)
• Briode nebuliser - where the Time Lords imprint is stored so that he, and others, can safely travel through time and space.
• A Cloister Bell - Used to warn of on-coming danger.
• A perception Filter - so people will not notice it.
• Gravitic Anomaliser.
• Helmic Regulator.
• The Vector Tracker.
• The Vortex Loop Control.
• Dimensional stabilizer.
• The Time Rotor/column - the column in the centre of the controls.
• The Hand-brake - 'otherwise it might drift off into the middle ages'
• The Tribophysical Waveform Macro Kinetic Extrapolator - originally an intergalactic 'surf board' taken from the Slitheen, and installed and used to rig up a force field against the Daleks.
  
  

Trivia

• The Doctor always refers to his TARDIS as a she.
• Because of the TARDIS' poor performance, The Doctor is often seen as hitting the console with a nearby hammer whilst telling it to 'behave!'
• In the episode Sound of the Drums, the TARDIS was transformed by The Master into a Paradox Machine in order to bring about the end of Earth.
• According to Time Lord law, unauthorised use of a TARDIS carries 'only one penalty', implied to be death.