Sunday, December 25, 2011

2011 Christmas Interview Special [Pt. 2]

Finally, Doctor Who Day is upon us one more, and in celebration here's a few more interviews courtasy of Fuchia's microphone and the Prof's dogged editing talents. Our resident pixie cuddles up on a sofa with Frazer Hines (literally), shoots the breeze with Professor Bernice (Benny) Summerfield (actress/director Lisa Bowerman) and wags chins with that Hadoke bloke (oh he of the brillient and heartwarming 'Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf' fame).

Have a splendind day folks, and remember, no matter what you believe in we can all believe in good quality TV, The Moff, Smith, and Auntie Beeb (and all who sail in here).

Charge your glasses and get off your asses - a festive toast, to The Doctor and the TARDIS. Cheers!

Let's hope todays episode's not shit.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

2011 Christmas Interview Special [Pt. 1]

Ding dong merrily we're high, la la la la la la laaaaa...

In the fine WHOers tradition of cobbling the last of the years interviews together by way of a festive gift to our (poor misguided) audience, here's some stuff for your ear. The irrepressible Nick Briggs and writer John Dorney talk (mostly) about Tom Baker and the upcoming Big Finish for 2012.

Stick this in your stocking. Part 2 to follow the next time we're sober.

Happy Doctor Who Day y'all! :)

Sunday, December 11, 2011

It's a WHOvian Christmas: Two Classic Doctor Who Episodes Recovered!

Great news for Doctor Who fans!
Two missing episodes of our favorite classic sci-fi series have been recovered, just in time for the holiday season - Joy to the whovian world.
The two recovered episodes are #3 of the William Hartnell story, Galaxy 4 and #2 of Patrick Troughton's Doctor in The Underwater Menace.

From the official BBC DW site:
[They were] "purchased by film collector Terry Burnett at a village fete near Southampton in the early 80s. He had been unaware that the canisters contained material missing from the BBC."
Thanks to the kind loan by Mr Burnett, the classic footage has been shown today at the British Film Institute's annual "Missing Believed Wiped" event at the National Film Theatre in London. Host at the event was Doctor Who writer and actor Mark Gatiss who said: "Christmas has come early for Doctor Who fans everywhere. It's always wonderful when a missing episode turns up but it's been years since the last one so to have two is just brilliant. Add to that a proper bit of action from the legendary Chumblies (and the horrifying Rills!) plus the utterly mesmeric Patrick Troughton on great form. Well, what more could we all ask for?"
It's really fantastic news, since there are over one hundred episodes that are still missing. Missing because, back in the 60's and 70's the episodes were wiped by the BBC and recorded over with other shows to save money and space. (This seems unbelievable to us whovians now, but I suppose it made sense to some heretical non-whovian BBC efficiency expert at the time.) There are 27 incomplete Doctor Who stories (composed of multiple episodes). 106 of those 256 episodes are still missing. Occasionally, over the years a few would be recovered, usually from overseas broadcasters. Luckily for Doctor Who, it has legions of dedicated fans who recorded the show. Many missing episode stills and short video clips have been found, enabling reconstructions of the episodes and giving fans a peek into those missing stories.

The article continues:
Research has shown that the returned episodes originated from the ABC channel in Australia. In fact, the copy of The Underwater Menace is still missing a few short sections which were removed by the Australian censors upon its original transmission Down Under. Fresh scans of the missing material have been made by the National Archives of Australia and will be incorporated into the restored episodes ahead of a DVD release.
Details of a commercial release will be announced by 2 entertain in 2012. 
Preview clips from the two recovered episodes:

Galaxy 4 Clip

The Underwater Menace Clip

/both clips via Doctor Who TV

Troughton is so cool! (this opinion belongs to Terry Lightfoot and is in no way representative of any other Dirty WHOer.) Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 9, 2011

Dirty WHOers Podcast - Episode 37

This week we step back to 1974. A time of innocence, Watergate, the Godfather Pt. 2, a time when you could get 2 MoJo's for 1/2 a penny and large nostrilled hallucinations terrorized the streets of Old London Town.

Bickering and arguing our way through the Pertwee classic 'Invasion of the Dinosaurs', we investigate 'Operation Golden Age' and speak to Graham Harper about old special effects and his roll on the new series.

Watch out for a shameless plug for our new project with Brian Blessed.

Once again, bless The Prof for slaving away over Audacity (and all who sail in him). Enjoy. [KLAK]

WebMaster: Terry Lightfoot
WebDoctor: Oolon Sputnik
Blog by Terry Lightfoot
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