Doctor Who Appears Online

 From yesterday's BBCi Article.

Dalek busters: The seventh Doctor and Ace are back Doctor Who has returned to the BBC for a new adventure on the net. BBC Online's Doctor Who site has started broadcasting a special audio drama, with the hero battling aliens in an episode exclusively for the internet on bbc.co.uk. The more hits it gets the better chance there is of the Doctor returning to television James Goss, BBC Online Death Comes to Time sees Sylvester McCoy reprising his role as the seventh Doctor. As well as the new audio story, specially commissioned drawings accompany the high quality version, giving a visual taste of the action. Fans have waited many years for the return of the Timelord and the BBC Doctor Who website was inundated with messages from wellwishers from across the world. Further adventures James Goss, lead producer of Cult Online said: "Since the announcement of the broadcast our hit rate has gone up by 400,000. "We are expecting around 50,000 people to listen to the live broadcast, which for a half hour programme on the net is very high. "The more hits it gets the better chance there is of the Doctor returning to television because people will have to take notice of how popular it still is." The audio programme was produced by Fictionlab and its head Richard Fell sees it as a possible first step to a proper return of the sci-fi series. He said: "His return will be online because that's where the Doctor Who community is at the moment. "If it takes off, though, I wouldn't rule out further adventures on the internet, radio and television." Continuation McCoy is partnered by Sophie Aldred as his companion, Ace, in a continuation of the roles last played on TV in 1989. They are joined by famous names including Stephen Fry, John Sessions and Jacqueline Pearce, who played Blake's 7 baddie Servalan. McCoy told BBC News Online: "These are good original drama stories which is rare these days. The Doctor travels time and space in a police box "I think the fans will be delighted with this project but they will never be fully satisfied until the Doctor is back on TV." The Doctor's best-remembered monsters include the Daleks and Cybermen. But fans have had to wait more than five years for a new Doctor Who tale to be broadcast, since a TV movie in 1996. Death Comes to Time is broadcast as six real audio files at the BBC's official Doctor Who website and will be available on the site following the first play. The files form a 30-minute audio play which sees the Doctor enlist the help of a mysterious Timelord (Fry) to battle an alien warlord (Sessions) who is fighting for control of time itself. Special effects Sylvester McCoy picks up his seventh Doctor role Goss, himself a big fan, hopes the broadcast will pave the way for a return but understands the problems in bringing it back. He said: "Television has moved on an awful lot since the Doctor's time. "There were no computer generated effects, just cardboard. "Any Doctor Who now would have to compete with the likes of Star Trek and Buffy in terms of special effects and it would cost an awful lot of money. "But in my opinion it could successfully be brought back." Doctor Who is the longest running science-fiction series in the world. The Doctor's ability to regenerate himself has led to several actors playing the role over the decades, including William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee.

WATCH/LISTEN  ON THIS STORY Doctor Who actor Sylvester McCoy "If it gets a lot of hits they may make more" Who and when Online Doctor Time travelling Doctor Who's future In pictures Timeless appeal REVIEWS Death Comes to Time Your reviews TALKING POINT Quiz Sylvester McCoy Online or TV? See also: 17 Apr 01 | Film No Doctor Who for Hugh 28 May 98 | UK Who's Who?: What you think 15 Feb 01 | Entertainment Dalek for sale in car showroom 24 Nov 98 | Entertainment Dr Who back on the BBC 05 Oct 98 | Sci/Tech Time machine for sale - one careless owner 14 Jan 99 | Entertainment Missing Dr Who found Internet links: Doctor Who news Doctor Who's new audio adventures Doctor Who Appreciation Society BBC - Doctor Who site The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top New Media stories now: BBC News Online big European winners BBC to offer 24 digital channels Record industry 'spoofs' net pirates Pirates target Spider-Man Broadband channel to boost net take-up BBC News Online up for awards Digital TV take-up rises Listen.com signs fifth big label Links to more New Media stories are at the foot of the page.

Time travelling with Doctor Who

 Taken from 12th June Article on bbc.co.uk/news. All text belongs to BBC.

Time travelling with Doctor Who Colin Baker confronts the Cybermen As Doctor Who returns to the BBC in an online special BBC News Online travels through time to chart the history of the famous Time Lord. There may be cobwebs on the Tardis these days but the time machine can still transport us back to the origins of Doctor Who in the furthest reaches of the BBC. In 1962, Time Lords, assistants, K-9, Daleks, Cybermen, the Master, sonic screwdrivers and Davros were all meaningless words to television viewers who were yet to be introduced to Doctor Who. William Hartnell's Doctor - Professorial and cantankerous The first series was born out of the space soap operas of the 1950s and the need for a new Saturday teatime drama to sit between Grandstand and JukeBox Jury. 1960s William Hartnell's professorial, cantankerous Doctor first appeared on our screens on 23 November, 1963 and six more actors have played the Time Lord on TV since. When ill-health influenced Hartnell's decision to retire the producers hit upon the idea of continually re-casting the lead role, and the famous regeneration powers of the Doctor emerged. Patrick Troughton brought new lightness Patrick Troughton took possession of the Tardis in 1966 and brought a new lightness to the role. He also helped establish the idiosyncrasies of the Doctor - which each new lead actor would create, adapt and add to over the years - and many of the themes of the character were introduced. The concept of the time lord and of his ancestry were introduced in plot lines during Troughton's era. 1970s But after three years in the role he stepped aside and made way for Jon Pertwee who brought a more dynamic and colourful edge to the series. Jon Pertwee's Doctor was exiled to Earth After years of travelling through space and time Pertwee's doctor found himself exiled to earth and many of the episodes had a distinct James Bond feel. Ten years after the screen debut of Doctor Who, the three Doctors met up in an anniversary special but Pertwee bowed out in a story line which saw him bitten by a radioactive giant spider. Tom Baker took over in late 1974 and spent seven years as the time-traveller, bringing a lighter and wittier touch to proceedings, helped in part by the writing of Douglas Adams, the author of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Part of the charm and attraction of Doctor Who was the inventive use of monsters and villains and the Time Lord's companions in the series. Tom Baker spent seven years in the role The Daleks, Cybermen, Davros, and the Master are among the most villainous of the Doctor's adversaries while along the way he has been aided by assistants such as Susan, Zoe, Brigadier, Adric, Tegan, Peri, Mel and Ace. A highlight of Tom Baker's tenure was the introduction of K-9, his robot dog assistant with a killer laser in his snout. 1980s Tom Baker brought a more authoritative edge to the Doctor and played him as a genius, often distracted or irritated by the failings of others. Peter Davison was the youngest Doctor In 1982 Peter Davison, known to millions as a vet from All Creatures Great and Small, became the fifth doctor and spent three years in the role. For the 20th anniversary the five doctors were reunited in a one-off BBC special and the BBC held a massive convention in Longleat House, Wiltshire. Colin Baker took over in 1984 and is described by the BBC Doctor Who website as the "most eloquent and poetic" of all the Doctors. But ratings for the show began to drop and after a hiatus in 1986 the programme was reduced to 14 episodes a year and a new Doctor was sought. Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy took over in 1987 but his reign was just two years. Colin Baker has been called the most eloquent Doctor In 1989 Doctor Who was cancelled to the disappointment of fans around the world. 1990s Many attempts to revive the series failed but hopes were raised in 1996 when Paul McGann took over the role for an Anglo-American TV movie. Despite criticisms that the Time Lord had been Americanised it was received well in the UK with more than nine million viewers but it went down poorly in the US and plans for a spin off series were shelved. Sylvester McCoy returns as the Doctor in an online special Since then fans have had to rely on videos of past episodes, audio cassettes and new adventures in print - until now. Death Comes to Time is the first original and authentic Doctor Who story for five years with Sylvester McCoy back at the helm of the Tardis. Time, it would seem, never stands still for Doctor Who.

Who and when Online Doctor Time travelling Doctor Who's future In pictures Timeless appeal REVIEWS Death Comes to Time Your reviews TALKING POINT Quiz Sylvester McCoy Online or TV? See also: 17 Apr 01 | Film No Doctor Who for Hugh 15 Feb 01 | Entertainment Dalek for sale in car showroom 24 Nov 98 | Entertainment Dr Who back on the BBC 14 Jan 99 | Entertainment Missing Dr Who found 12 Jul 01 | TV and Radio Doctor Who appears online Internet links: Doctor Who Appreciation Society BBC Online's Dr Who site The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top New Media stories now: BBC News Online big European winners BBC to offer 24 digital channels Record industry 'spoofs' net pirates Pirates target Spider-Man Broadband channel to boost net take-up BBC News Online up for awards Digital TV take-up rises Listen.com signs fifth big label Links to more New Media stories are at the foot of the page.

Sylvester McCoy on Death Comes to Time

 What's up Doc?

Sylvester McCoy is the first online audio Doctor

By the BBC's William Gallagher

"There are bigger things at stake than the fate of this planet," announces the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) in this typically over the top adventure - but he's right.

For Doctor Who: Death Comes to Time is both the BBC's first broadcast Doctor Who since the failed 1996 TV movie and, more importantly, it is BBC Online's first drama production.

Drama is as much part of the BBC's core as news and sport, so its absence from the web has been noticeable and this Doctor Who is a big, important and very welcome step.

It is just not a very good one - perhaps because it is not really an online drama at all.

BBC Online is dipping a toe into the water by taking an old if previously untransmitted adventure and putting it online in downloadable chunks.

The TARDIS is still an essential part of the new drama

Originally, this half hour episode was produced as a pilot try-out for BBC Radio 4 and while there have been radio Doctor Who stories before, this one failed.

Experiment

So BBC Online was able to buy an off the shelf show that would let them experiment with an unheard production, guaranteed to grab fans who know all about it and are mad keen to listen.

What they get is a story about a war with the Doctor on the side of the good rebellion against the evil and, it must be said, a rather camp big bad villain.

It is not complete: the downloads add up to one half-hour first episode of a story and the rest of it has not been made yet.

Given that, it takes a surprisingly long time for the story to get going - the Doctor Who theme does not start until seven minutes into the half hour.

McCoy recreates his TV Doctor extremely well

This Doctor Who is strictly for the fans but it nicely ignores a standard Who cliché and does not have the Doctor getting slowly sucked into a situation.

Instead, the moment the Doctor arrives - and despite the story's failings it is hard not to cheer when you hear the TARDIS materialise - he is already in action, already knowing the problem and starting to manipulate people to get to the solution.

McCoy is very good as the Doctor and both he and Sophie Aldred as the companion Ace recreate their television characters extremely well.

They have the advantage of having done this job before where the rest of the cast are new to it and in almost every case have trouble making their characters believable.

But then they would because the underlying story and the script are like fan fiction rather than a BBC Online drama.

It frantically wants to make Doctor Who modern so it tries for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer route of comedy alongside the drama.

Pantomime

Buffy can burst a laugh out of you with superb wit in its most heightened moments but in the next second it will startle and even scare you.

It shouldn't be in a hurry to do part 2 of this Doctor Who tale

Death Comes to Time just hasn't got the balance right, its gags come across as almost pantomime and they invariably undermine any sense of menace that the episode builds.

Equally, the old TV Doctor Who could be a bit slow so this aims for the verve of modern storytelling, the kind of pace that makes ER and The West Wing so breathlessly exciting.

You can do this: Dirk Maggs' radio productions of Superman were remarkably atmospheric and exciting but Death Comes to Time confuses pace with noise.

Fingers crossed that BBC Online will do much, much more drama - but it shouldn't be in a hurry to do part 2 of this Doctor Who tale.

From Yesterday's article on BBCi.