November 2008 | NEWS

News stories are listed below in chronological order (oldest stories at the top, newest stories at the bottom). Updates are posted regularly, so check this page frequently for the most recent information. We use a variety of sources for our reports, and are not responsible for any inaccurate information posted.

10 NOVEMBER

DOCTOR WHO | Darksmith Legacy launched

Doctor Who: The Darksmith Legacy, a ten-book series for younger readers due for release throughout 2009, was officially launched on Thursday evening.

Writers Justin Richards, Stephen Cole, Colin Brake, Trevor Baxendale, Mike Tucker and Richard Dungworth were present at the Press Launch, which took place at Earls Court in London, along with representatives from the company behind the series' interactive website.

Unreality SF was present at the launch, and a full report previewing the series in a little more depth will be posted within the next few days.

TORCHWOOD | Zombie and horror books promised

The authors of the three Torchwood new novels due for release next year have spoken out about the books online.

"I think with the May releases you should be granted a good dose of horror," teased Sarah Pinborough, speaking on an internet forum [→], "given that the genre is each of our 'specialist' field if you like - although I think they'll be very different kinds of horror in each!"

Her book is Into the Silence, and it will be released alongside Bay of the Dead by Mark Morris and The House That Jack Built by Guy Adams.

"For the May novels, we were told to bear in mind that Torchwood will be moving to BBC1," Morris added. [→] "However, what this means in very basic terms is that any swearing/sexual references in the books will perhaps be under closer scrutiny than they might previously have been - but in my opinion that's no bad thing."

"There were some guidelines given for the sexual and language content," Pinborough continued, "but to be honest I think that can make it far more interesting to write - and hopefully read."

"The May books will not be watered-down versions of the edgy Torchwood we all know and love," said Morris reassuringly. "I mean, mine's a zombie novel, for goodness sake, and you simply can't write a zombie novel without including a certain amount of blood, gore and violence. In fact, you should see the cover! There's more blood on my TW cover than there has been on any of the covers of my previous books - and I've been writing horror fiction for 20 years!"

Source/Link: Post in "BBC Books Novels", DoctorWhoForum.com; Post in "BBC Books Novels", DoctorWhoForum.com

13 NOVEMBER

DOCTOR WHO | Big Finish updates

Big Finish have announced that they will be at the forthcoming Dimensions convention [→], and have added a trailer and cover for The Raincloud Man to their website. [→]

There's also a trailer for the anniversary release, Forty Five [→], and all four series of the spin-off Dalek Empire are currently available at special reduced prices for this month. [→]

Source: BigFinish.com; What's New, BigFinish.com

Link: "Dimensions", BigFinish.com; The Raincloud Man, BigFinish.com; Forty Five, BigFinish.com; Dalek Empire, BigFinish.com

DOCTOR WHO | Darksmith Legacy launched

In addition to Unreality-SF.net's report from the launch of Doctor Who: The Darksmith Legacy, which was posted yesterday [→], Simon R. Mills of Kasterborous.com has also previewed the series. [→]

Source: Kasterborous.com

Link: "The Darksmith Legacy Press Launch", Kasterborous.com; "Preview: The Darksmith Legacy", Unreality-SF.net

DOCTOR WHO | Parkin on Father Time

On his official blog for The Eyeless - a forthcoming Tenth Doctor novel, due for release at Christmas - author Lance Parkin has posted the original synopsis for one of his previous books, Father Time. [→]

Source: "The Eyeless blog", DoctorWhoForum.com

Link: "Father Time Synopsis", theeyeless.blogspot.com

STAR TREK | Shards and Shadows news

The Pocket Books website has been updated with the back cover text for Shards and Shadows, the upcoming anthology of stories set in the Mirror Universe, along with a revised version of the book's cover, featuring T'Pol in place of Shran. [→]

Source: "MU: Shards and Shadows BC Text and new cover", TrekBBS.com

Link: Shards and Shadows, SimonSays.com

DOCTOR WHO | Eight and Lucie go weekly

The Big Finish website has revealed the plans for the third series of adventures starring the Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller. Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith will reprise the lead roles, but instead of eight fifty-minute episodes, the season will be comprised of sixteen half-hour episodes, forming eight two-part stories.

Starting from Saturday 7th March 2009, one episode will be released for download each week. Each two-parter will then be released on CD monthly, starting in March.

The episodes are:

#1 & #2 - Orbis - by Alan Barnes and Nicholas Briggs
- Resolves the cliffhangers from The Vengeance of Morbius
- Guest stars: Andrew Sachs, Laura Solon
Available for download: Saturday 7th March & Saturday 14th March
Available on CD: March 2009

#3 & #4 - Hothouse - by Jonathan Morris
- Featuring the return of the Krynoids
- Guest stars: Nigel Planer, Lysette Anthony
Available for download: Saturday 21st March & Saturday 28th March
Available on CD: April 2009

#5 & #6 - The Beast of Orlok - by Barnaby Edwards
- Set in Germany, in 1827
- Guest stars: Miriam Margolyes, Samuel Bennett
Available for download: Saturday 4th April & Saturday 11th April
Available on CD: May 2009

#7 & #8 - Wirrn Dawn - by Nicholas Briggs
- Featuring the return of the Wirrn
- Guest stars: Daniel Anthony, Colin Salmon
Available for download: Saturday 18th April & Saturday 25th April
Available on CD: June 2009

#9 & #10 - The Scapegoat - by Pat Mills
- Set during World War II, in Nazi-occupied France
- Guest stars: Samantha Bond, Clifford Rose, Paul Rhys
Available for download: Saturday 2nd May & Saturday 9th May
Available on CD: July 2009

#11 & #12 - The Cannibalists - by Jonathan Morris
- Set on a space station in the future
- Guest stars: Phill Jupitus, Phil Davies, Nigel Lambert
Available for download: Saturday 16th May & Saturday 23rd May
Available on CD: August 2009

#13 & #14 - The Eight Truths - by Eddie Robson
#15 & #16 - Worldwide Web - by Eddie Robson
- Featuring the return of the Metebelis Spiders
- Guest stars: Sanjeev Bhaskar, Sophie Winkleman, Stephen Moore
Available for download: Saturday 30th May, Saturday 6th June, Saturday 13th June, Saturday 20th June
Available on CD: September & October 2009

There will also be a Christmas Special episode, for December 2009.

More information about plots and casting for the season is available on the Big Finish website. [→]

Source: News, BigFinish.com

Link: "New Weekly Who Episodes for 2009", News, BigFinish.com

15 NOVEMBER

DOCTOR WHO | Eight and Charley: reunited?

Nicholas Briggs, the executive producer of the Doctor Who audio range from Big Finish Productions, has revealed that Paul McGann will be making a brief return to the monthly series of audio plays.

In recent years, McGann has starred as the Eighth Doctor in a parallel range, alongside Sheridan Smith as Lucie Miller. Meanwhile, his former companion from the monthly series - Charley Pollard, played by India Fisher - has transferred to the Sixth Doctor's adventures.

"He's... appearing in a special release as part of the main range next year," Briggs teased on Big Finish's official forum, "but more on that later!" [→]

Coupled with the news that Charley Pollard and the Sixth Doctor will be parting company in 2009, this information has sparked speculation that McGann's return will be for Charley's final story, in a multi-Doctor adventure. However, no definite details have been revealed at this stage.

Source/Link: "New McGann Series", Forum, BigFinish.com

SARAH JANE ADVENTURES | Cast sign latest tie-ins

Some of the cast of The Sarah Jane Adventures - Daniel Anthony (Clyde), Tommy Knight (Luke) and Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane) - appeared at a book-signing event in London today.

At the Borders store on Oxford Street, they autographed copies of The Ghost House and The Time Capsule (the two new audio-exclusive adventures) and the four latest novelisations. Sladen also gave a reading from Day of the Clown to a special audience of competition winners.

A number of photos from the event have been posted online by attendees. [→]

Source/Link: "Possible SJA signing at Borders Nov 15!", DoctorWhoForum.com

STAR TREK | Troublesome Minds cover

The cover image for Troublesome Minds, an upcoming Star Trek: The Original Series novel by Dave Galanter, has been posted on TrekWeb.com. [→] The book will be released in 2009.

Source/Link: "Cover for Upcoming Star Trek Troublesome Minds Novel", TrekWeb.com

16 NOVEMBER

DOCTOR WHO | The Writer's Tale in the news

The Writer's Tale, by Russell T Davies and Benjamin Cook, continues to be the subject of news stories in the UK, almost two months after its release.

In Doctor Who Magazine's regular "Production Notes" column, Davies has discussed the national tour which he and Cook undertook to promote the book, with some amusing anecdotes from signings. The article is currently available on the book's official website. [→]

Additionally, the book has been selected by the influential television couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan as part of their Christmas Presents book strand. Every week, a celebrity reviewer will discuss a number of shortlisted books with the pair on their UKTV Watch show, Richard and Judy's New Position. The Writer's Tale is part of the Serious Non-Fiction category, and will be reviewed by Stephen Fry on November 26th. [→]

Source: News, TheWritersTale.com

Links: "Russell 'blogs' about UK tour!", News, TheWritersTale.com; "Richard and Judy pick The Writer's Tale", News, TheWritersTale.com

DOCTOR WHO | Ace and Hex return

More details have been revealed about the previously-announced season of Seventh Doctor audio plays from Big Finish, due out in 2009. All three releases will star Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, alongside Sophie Aldred as Ace and Philip Olivier as Hex. [→]

The first release will be The Magic Mousetrap by Matthew Sweet, which is set in 1926 and is due for release in April. [→]

May's story is Enemy of the Daleks, a Dalek story by David Bishop, described as an "all-action space adventure". [→]

The season ends with June's release, which is currently untitled, featuring the TARDIS's visit to the Crimean War. This story will be written by Paul Sutton. [→]

The first two stories are available to preorder now.

Source: "Horrors Old and New for the Doctor, Ace and Hex", News, BigFinish.com

Links: "Horrors Old and New for the Doctor, Ace and Hex", News, BigFinish.com; The Magic Mousetrap, BigFinish.com; Enemy of the Daleks, BigFinish.com

26 NOVEMBER

THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES | Anghelides interviewed

Peter Anghelides, the author of numerous Doctor Who and Torchwood books, whose latest work is a Sarah Jane Adventures audiobook, has been interviewed at the TARDIS Base blog. [→]

Source/Link: "Peter Anghelides Interview", tardis-base.blogspot.com

DOCTOR WHO | Companion casting revealed

More details have been announced about the forthcoming audio story The Three Companions, a twelve-part Companion Chronicles serial which will consist of ten-minute episodes on various other Doctor Who CDs in 2009. [→]

Anneke Wills stars as Polly (companion of the First and Second Doctors), who meets fellow time traveller Jo Grant (companion of the Third Doctor) played by Katy Manning. Audio-only companion Thomas Brewster (John Pickard) also features.

Source: News, BigFinish.com

Link: "The Three Companions", News, BigFinish.com

27 NOVEMBER

DOCTOR WHO | Next guidebook announced

The next in BBC Books' series of non-fiction Doctor Who paperback guides will be Companions and Allies, it has been announced. [→]

The series, which has comprised of one book per year since 2005, has previously focused on the Doctor's foes - in Monsters and Villains, Aliens and Enemies and Creatures and Demons - and the show's futuristic vessels, in Starships and Spacestations.

This time, the focus will shift to some of the Doctor's friends and fellow travellers. Amazon lists Steve Tribe as the author, rather than Justin Richards, who was behind the previous four volumes.

The book is due for release in April next year.

Source: "From Monsters and Enemies to Starships and Spacestations to...!", DoctorWhoForum.com

Link: Companions and Allies, Amazon.co.uk

STAR TREK | Full Circle: plot revealed

The blurb for the next post-finale Star Trek: Voyager book has emerged online, revealing more information about the novel's plot. Set after the first four books in the series, Full Circle is written by Kirsten Beyer, and will bring the adventures of the Voyager crew into the post-Destiny era. [→]

The blurb is as follows:

When the U.S.S. Voyager is dispatchd [sic] on an urgent mission to the planet Kerovi, Captain Chakotay and his first officer, Commander Thomas Paris, must choose between following their orders and saving the lives of two of those dearest to them. B'Elanna Torres and her daughter, Miral, are both missing in the wake of a brutal attack on the Klingon world of Boreth. With the aid of their former captain, Admiral Kathryn Janeway - as well as many old friends and new allies - Voyager's crew must unravel an ancient mystery, placing themselves between two warrior sects battling for the soul of the Klingon people... while the life of Mirl [sic] hangs in the balance. But these events and their repurcussions [sic] are merely the prelude to even darker days to come. As Voyager is drawn into a desperate struggle to prevent the annihilation of the Federation, lives are shattered, and the bonds that were forged in the Delta Quadrant are challenged in ways that none could have imagined. For though destiny has dealth [sic] them crushing blows, Voyager's crew must rise to face their future... and begin a perilous journey in which the wheel of fate comes full circle.

"Apart from the typos," confirmed Beyer on an internet forum [→], wondering aloud whether someone gets paid to write such descriptions, "this is the back cover blurb for Full Circle.

"It has been called 'epic' by some who have already read it," she continued. "It picks up right where Spirit Walk left off, and covers the next two and a half years, through the events of Destiny and a little after. So, Janeway is featured, obviously, during the sections set while she was still alive, but the crew's subsequent response to her death is also dealt with.

"As the fate of the Changeling, like the issues surrounding Miral (or Mirl, I guess), was one of the bigger dangling threads left in Spirit Walk, it's safe to assume that the issue will be addressed. But no, I'm not telling you how."

Source: "Amazon description of Full Circle (possible spoilers)", TrekBBS.com

Link: Full Circle, Amazon.com; "Amazon description of Full Circle (possible spoilers)", TrekBBS.com