Doctor Who series 11 composer has been revealed

It's official: the next series of Doctor Who – Jodie Whittaker's first – will be scored by composer Segun Akinola.

Akinola, a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit and graduate of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, will write the music for all 10 episodes of series 11, as well as provide a fresh take on the legendary theme tune.

He replaces Murray Gold, who served as composer for all 10 previous series and various specials since Doctor Who returned to screens in 2005.

"Welcome to the Doctor Who family, Segun Akinola!" said showrunner Chris Chibnall. We're over the moon Segun's agreed to join us, to provide the score for the next phase of the Doctor Who adventure.

"From our very first conversations, it was obvious Segun was a passionate, collaborative and delightful human being as well as a fantastic and bold composer.We'reking forward to introducing the world to his exciting and emotional soundtracks for the Thirteenth Doctor."

Akinola himself said: "Doctor Who is woven into the fabric of British culture and recognised globally. I am absolutely thrilled to be given the privilege of working on such a beloved series and to bring my musical voice to it."

Akinola's previous work includes scoring BBC Two's four-part documentary series Black and British: A Forgotten History, written and presented by historian David Olusoga.

He also scored Shola Amoo's 2016 debut feature film A Moving Image and the same year's short film Dear Mr Shakespeare, for which he received an Honourable Mention for the 2017 BSO Jerry Goldsmith Award for 'Best Original Score for a Short Film'.

Recently, he completed the scores for the major three-part series The Human Body: Secrets of Your Life Revealed and two-part series Expedition Volcano, both for BBC Two and PBS.

Doctor Who will return to BBC One in the autumn, with a trio of companions – Yasmin (Mandip Gill), Ryan (Tosin Cole), and Graham (Bradley Walsh) – joining Whittaker's new Doctor.

Source: Digital Spy

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Torchwood returning for official series 6 at Big Finish – with twists in store

Torchwood is returning for an official sixth 'series' courtesy of Big Finish – and there are some serious surprises on the way.

John Barrowman will reprise his role as Captain Jack Harkness in Torchwood – God Among Us, a new set of audio plays which pick up where the previous Aliens Among Us left off.

Released in August 2017, Aliens Among Us was presented as an official fifth series of Torchwood, with approval from creator Russell T Davies and following the events of the last TV outing, Miracle Day.

God Among Us will pit the Torchwood team against an alien god and kicks off a few days after the Aliens Among Us finale, but not everyone has made it out alive...

Joining Barrowman as Captain Jack will be Tracy-Ann Oberman as the resurrected Yvonne Hartman, Paul Clayton as Mr Colchester, Alexandria Riley as Ng, Samantha Béart as Oor, Jonny Green as Tyler Steele, Rachel Atkins as Ro-Jedda and Tom Price as Sergeant Andy Davison.

Notice any significant omissions from that list? *starts trembling with fear and anticipation*

"They are really great stories in series 6, they really move the narrative forward," said Barrowman. "I find all over the world, from Puerto Rico to Paris, from London to Pensacola Florida to South America, there are huge Torchwood fans and the audience is always growing."

The new set will comprise four stories: 'Future Pain' by James Goss, 'The Man Who Destroyed Torchwood' by Guy Adams, 'See No Evil' by John Dorney and 'Night Watch' by Tim Foley.

"We had such a great reaction to series 5, it's been a delight getting the cast back together to do more," producer James Goss said. "Now things are established the stories are more standalone, seeing Torchwood face some tough challenges – a plague of sleep, a city that goes blind, organising a funeral, and then there's an alien god to deal with!"

Torchwood: Series 6, Part 1 launches this next set of adventures in October 2018. Part 2 will follow in February 2019, and part 3 will complete the season in June 2019.

All three parts can be pre-ordered today from bigfinish.com – either individually for £25 on download or £28 on CD, or you can save money in a specially-priced Torchwood series 6 bundle with all three parts at £60 on download or £75 on CD.

Source: Digital Spy

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Leaked Doctor Who footage shows Jodie Whittaker's first scenes as the Doctor

Leaked footage from the new series of Doctor Who shows Jodie Whittaker's first scenes as the Doctor.

The hit BBC sci-fi show made history by casting Broadchurch star Jodie as the first ever female to play the role.

In the scene, viewed by Mirror Online, Jodie is seen in her first episode after taking over from Peter Capaldi's 12th Doctor.

The footage appears to have been leaked by a fan, before being shared online.

After the footage was leaked, fans reacted on Twitter.

One excited fan said: "The # DoctorWho leaked clip has obsessed me with Jodie already."

Another wrote: "Yeah, I watched the leaked # DoctorWho clip. Jodie Whitaker is going to be great, I can tell from just one minute"

While one commented: "I've seen it. I liked it. But still saving judgment for Whittaker's first full episode"

However, others said they didn't want to see the leaked footage.

One wrote: "keep all the 13th doctor leaks the longest way away from me. if you're sharing and spreading whatever leaked , you're not better than the person who decided to record it and ruin everyone's patient waiting"

Another said: "so apparently there was a Doctor Who leak I have no idea what got leaked but let me just say that sharing a leak is not big or clever"

And one said: "It appears some # DoctorWho clips from Series 11 have unfortunately leaked . Steer clear and avoid spoilers if you want to keep the official release special."

It comes after some backlash from fans who were furious to find out that people in the US would see clips from the 11th series of the show before anyone in the UK would.

BBC America has revealed a special Doctor Who panel will be featured at San Diego Comic Con next month, which will feature 13th Doctor Jodie.

The news left UK fans angry.

They've been upset in the past when a trailer for the 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor, was shown in the US first.

British fans now feel that producers of the show are showing favouritism towards US fans by giving them a first glimpse of the 11th series at Comic Con.

However, it's understood that anything shown at Comic Con in the US is usually broadcast online at the same time, meaning fans in the UK wouldn't be left out.

The casting of Jodie in the iconic role initially divided fans when it was announced with a special clip during the Wimbledon men's final.

One disgruntled fan said: "Imagine one of your favourite shows but with someone of the opposite gender playing your favourite character(s). Hell."

While one commented: "there’s really no f***ing need. The Dr is male. Hate how it’s fashionable to make male characters female. It’s utter s**t."

However, many were pleased with the casting.

One said: "Jodie Whittaker was AMAZING in Broadchurch, she's a fab actor and I can't wait to see what she does with this iconic role! #DoctorWho13"

Another wrote: "this is hugely important for little girls *and* little boys who watch the show. and i couldn't be more excited for them. #DoctorWho13"

The BBC declined to comment on the leaked footage.

Source: Daily Mirror

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British Doctor Who fans fear Americans will get first look at new series

British Doctor Who fans are furious viewers in the US will be shown clips from the new series before they are.

BBC America has revealed a special Doctor Who panel at next month’s San Diego Comic Con featuring many of the new cast, including 13th Doctor Jodie Whittaker.

She will be joined by two of her co-stars, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill, as well as showrunner Chris Chibnall and executive producer Matt Strevens.

But angry UK fans still haven’t got over US fans seeing a trailer for the 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor, first.

And they now feel producers will favour US devotees yet again by giving them the first glimpse of series 11 at Comic Con.

A fan called Scrotnig said: “Most production is funded by UK taxpayers, in the form of the licence fee.

“What grates on people is their money funds it and the BBC show bits of it to the US first.”

American WhoFanSaif agreed: “I hope the Brits have a similar event. It’s their show, their money goes into making it.”

But a BBC source says that Who fans were getting worked up over nothing.

He says: “They’re making assumptions. They are certain that clips will be shown at Comic Con and be the first chance to see the new series but not all of that is necessarily true.”

Source: Daily Mirror

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Doctor Who to unveil new Jodie Whittaker secrets at San Diego comic-con

Fans waiting to learn more about Jodie Whittaker’s first Doctor Who series should mark their calendars, because it looks like there could be some revelations about the Thirteenth Doctor next month.

Whittaker will be the star of a panel at San Diego Comic-con this July, where her new incarnation of the Doctor will be introduced to the world alongside other characters and behind-the-scenes figures.

Described as “marking a new era for the legendary Time Lord” and “the cast’s first-ever panel appearance,” the session will also feature new series stars Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole alongside showrunner Chris Chibnall, with executive producer Matt Strevens completing the set.

Notably, Tardis team member Bradley Walsh is not present, which may be due to his filming commitments for ITV gameshow The Chase.

The panel will be hosted by Chris Hardwick, and while there’s no word on when exactly it’ll take place it’s sure to fall within SDCC’s 19th-22nd July runtime.

As for what to expect from the event, well it’s hard to say – we’re crossing our fingers for some Doctor Who preview footage, though it could just be some chat from the cast and crew – but whatever happens, it’s another exciting step on the road to the series’ debut later this year.

Doctor Who returns to BBC1 this autumn.

Source: Radio Times

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All 10 series of Doctor Who since 2005 revival arrive on BBC iPlayer

Doctor Who fans will be able to take a trip back in time through the BBC sci-fi drama's recent history, as every single episode since its 2005 relaunch has been made available on iPlayer.

Jodie Whittaker will play the 13th incarnation of the Time Lord in the new series later this year. She will be the first woman to take on the role.

In preparation, viewers can watch all 10 series and special episodes that have aired since the programme's return to the BBC.

Controller of programming for the BBC Dan McGolpin said: "We're reinventing the BBC for a new generation and BBC iPlayer is key to that.

"Bringing back these series of Doctor Who is just part of our offer this summer, giving viewers the chance to uncover or rediscover the Doctor's previous adventures."

Christopher Eccleston was the first actor to play the show's revived titular character, with his sidekick Rose being portrayed by Billie Piper.

Following Eccleston's departure after one series, David Tennant, Matt Smith, and Peter Capaldi have all gone on to star as the Doctor.

The revamped show has also attracted high-profile stars to make appearances, including Simon Pegg, Sir Derek Jacobi, Kylie Minogue, Andrew Garfield, Felicity Jones and Bill Nighy.

Doctor Who has been one of the BBC's biggest successes in recent years. Ratings for every series from 2005 to 2014 averaged between seven and eight million viewers.

However, figures were down to 5.5 million for Capaldi's last full series in 2017.

Whittaker made her first appearance as the new Doctor in last year's special transformation episode on Christmas Day.

Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall will preside as the new series' showrunner, taking on the mantle from Steven Moffat who was in the role for eight years.

The new series of Doctor Who will air on the BBC in the autumn.

Source: Radio Times

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New site

So I have created a spin-off site for all news sci-fi and fantasy related which has no connection to Doctor Who.

It is called Absolutely TV. 

Here is the link - http://absolutelytv.blogspot.com/

Please feel free to check it out or if you would like to help please leave a comment here and i'll get back to you.

Emma x

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Doctor Who: On This Day - 5th June 2018

On This Day 8 Years ago saw the airing of the 10th episode of Series 5.

This episode was called Vincent and The Doctor.

This epiosde starred Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor and Karen Gillan as Amy Pond. It also guest starred Tony Curran and Vincent Van Gogh.

The episode was 45 minutes long.

It was written by Richard Curtis (Vicar of Dibley, Notting Hill, Love Actually, Blackadder & Mr. Bean)

Synopsis:

When the Doctor and Amy travel to France to meet Vincent van Gogh, they learn that an invisible alien is menacing the artist.

The Episode was watch by 6.76 million viewers.

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Georgia Tennant revisits Doctor Who's Jenny – and explains why she wasn't satisfied with her TV episode

Whatever happened to the Doctor's daughter? It's a question that Doctor Who fans will have to ponder no longer, as the character of Jenny (Georgia Tennant) returns in a new series of audio plays from Big Finish.

Jenny – a genetic anomaly artificially created from the Doctor's DNA – debuted in the 2008 TV episode 'The Doctor's Daughter'. But while her Time Lord genetics allowed Jenny to escape a brush with death, the character hasn't been seen since she hijacked a rocket and jetted off into outer space at the episode's climax.

Looking back on her TV debut as the character, Georgia told Digital Spy that she wasn't totally satisfied with her performance, explaining that – as the daughter of fifth Doctor actor Peter Davison – she felt overwhelmed by the pressure of appearing in the iconic BBC sci-fi series.

"It's been such a massive part of my life, and then to get to the point where I'm in it, I just thought, 'If I can just get through this, it'll be fine. If I can just say the words in the right order and put one foot in front of the other...'

"Now of course I look back and go, 'Oh, I could've done so much more with that!' I think it would've been really great if I'd done that character now. I felt such pressure back then to just sort of get through it."

A decade later and Georgia is reprising the role, having recorded four stories for a new boxset release in December of last year. "I've enjoyed it much more than I thought I was going to enjoy it," she admits. "The pressure that I felt back then has lifted, and I've just had a bit of a laugh!"

Jenny – The Doctor's Daughter has the character as a universe-trotting "Time Lord in training", with Harry Potter's Sean Biggerstaff cast as Noah, "Jenny's mysterious, unknown, but knowing companion".

Big Finish explores various realms of the Whoniverse on audio, from Torchwood to Class to the further adventures of Lady Christina de Souza (Michelle Ryan) and had been trying to secure Georgia to appear in a Jenny spin-off for "quite a long time".

"Enough time needed to have had passed after the TV episode, so that I felt like I could put my own mark on her," she explains. "Because obviously she was effectively born at the beginning of the TV episode, so by the end of it, she's not formed a massive personality.

"I wanted to make sure that I could create a well-rounded, interesting, fun version of her that I would be happy to commit to. It's a slightly weird thing in that you're reprising a role, but actually you're sort of creating it fresh, because she wasn't particularly fully-formed [on television]."

As part of that process, Georgia was also involved in Jenny's new adventures as an associate producer – advising on story ideas, scripts and casting. "It's a power thing!" she jokes. "They didn't at any point say, 'Step back, madam!' so that was good."

In fact, Georgia is now regularly working as a producer alongside her acting gigs, having most recently put out the romantic comedy You, Me and Him, co-starring her on-screen father and off-screen husband David Tennant.

She's not sure if future Jenny boxsets will reunite the character with the tenth Doctor or even see her cross paths with the fifth, with the focus right now being on cementing the series as a standalone. "[The Doctor] gets referred to every now and again," she says. "But Jenny is very much a separate character in her own right."

One thing's for certain, though: having experienced a wealth of enthusiastic reactions from fans when her spin-off was officially announced back in November, she's keen to keep carving out adventures for Jenny for the foreseeable future.

"I only saw positive things, which is good – I didn't delve into the depths of the internet to find the negatives! But the fans are really excited to see what she's been up to. And that's really nice. There's no fans quite like the Doctor Who fans!"

Jenny – The Doctor's Daughter is available to buy now on CD and as a digital download from Big Finish.

Credit: Digital Spy

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Doctor Who - On This Day - 2nd June

On this day 11 years ago saw the first airing of Series 3 Episode 9

It was called " The Family Of Blood."

The episode starred David Tennant as the 10th Doctor and Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones.

The episode was 45 minutes long.

The episode was written by Paul Cornell.

It was the second episode of a 2 part story that began with Human Nature.

It was adapted from Paul Cornell's 1995 doctor Who Novel titled Human Nature.

Synopsis: 

It's 1913, and war comes to England a year early as the terrifying Family hunt for the Tenth Doctor.

 In 2008, both "Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood" were nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.

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Doctor Who spin-off Class returning at Big Finish

Doctor Who spin-off Class may have been axed after one series, though fans can now breathe a sigh of relief that it will continue in one form.

The show will be back as six audio adventures for Big Finish in August 2018, telling the further adventures of the students at Coal Hill Academy, with all of the original cast members returning to reprise their roles.

Doctor Who Magazine originally confirmed the news and further information was released on May 31. The six new adventures will see the student cross paths with characters from the Doctor Who universe, including Seventh Doctor companion Ace (Sophie Aldred).

The six adventures and their writers are as follows:

1.1 Gifted by Roy Gill

1.2 Life Experience by Jenny T Colgan

1.3 Tell Me You Love Me by Scott Handcock

2.1 Everyone Loves Reagan by Tim Foley

2.2 Now You Know… by Tim Leng

2.3 In Remembrance by Guy Adams

"It's a real thrill having brought Torchwood back on audio, to do the same all over again with another slice of the Doctor Who universe, and to play in a world created by Patrick Ness," enthused director and producer Scott Handcock.

"The characters and their relationships are key to the success of a series like Class, and the intimacy of the audio medium allows us to bring that to the fore. We've had a great deal of fun reuniting the original cast for the audio series, telling brand-new stories set within the TV run, whilst tackling a host of alien menaces.

"Of course I couldn't resist linking up to the Doctor Who universe, and bringing Ace and the Daleks into the world of Class has been an absolute treat. And for full authenticity, we're lucky to have series composer Blair Mowat return to the world of Class as well."

Class: The Audio Adventures is available to pre-order now at £23 on CD or £18 on download from the Big Finish site, with prices rising to £25 and £20 when they are released. The two volumes can be purchased as a bundle at £44 on CD and £34 on download, with all CD purchases unlocking a download exclusive from the Big Finish website and app.

Last year, it was confirmed that Class would not be returning as a BBC Three series. 

Source: Digital Spy

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