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Doctor Who has paid tribute to classic series cast member Jean Marsh following her death at age 90. Marsh played The First Doctor's companion Sara Kingdom in the 1960s.

BBC News reported that Marsh's friend, the director Sir Michael Lindsay-Hogg, confirmed that Marsh died "peacefully in bed looked after by one of her very loving carers" on Sunday (April 13). Doctor Who later published its own tribute to Marsh on X, saying it was "sad to report" news of the former companion's death.

We're sad to report the passing of Jean Marsh, who played multiple roles in Doctor Who over the years including companion Sara Kingdom, Joan of England and the sorceress Morgaine â¤ï¸â¤ï¸Read more here âž¡ï¸ https://t.co/31gID2TOCqpic.twitter.com/LEhWIpgCln— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) April 14, 2025 Jean Marsh Dies at Age 90

The actress first appeared in Doctor Who in a minor role in 1965's First Doctor serial "The Crusade,...

A new teaser trailer has been released for Season 2 of the new Doctor Who with Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor. In his next season, Gatwa's Doctor will be joined by a new companion, as has previously been reported.

The first teaser, shared by Disney+ on Christmas, introduces Varada Sethu as the new companion for the Doctor. A brief scene in the teaser sees her shouting to the Doctor, "You need to get me home!" Notably, while a new companion is coming into the fray, Millie Gibson's Ruby Sunday is sticking around, as she also makes an appearance in the video. This debunks the rumors that Gibson was being completely replaced by Sethu. The new season will drop in 2025, but for now, fans can check out the new trailer below.

Related The 20 Best Doctor Who Quotes From The Tenth Doctor

The Tenth Doctor, played by David Tennant, is widely...

It's not uncommon for TV shows to take huge risks to keep up with the demands and requirements of the ever-changing landscape of television. When a series throws in a character change, plot twist, or unexpected shift in the formula, it can sometimes throw the entire project off balance. However, when executed correctly, these big swings can pay off enormously and serve to cement the show as a classic. While plenty of formulaic shows are popular and high quality, the pieces of TV that will be remembered for years to come are those that weren't afraid to stand out.

While some of these TV shows shocked viewers with great plot twists many times over, there are other ways for series to branch out other than story choices. A common risk that producers and studios are often hesitant to green-light is budget increases or any type of plot point that would alienate or upset audiences.

Christmas specials are normally a time for TV shows to spread some holiday cheer, although some festive episodes have leaned into the darkest sides of the season. While beloved classics like A Charlie Brown Christmas have become annual viewing for families around the world, other viewers would much rather watch a Christmas special that doesn’t shy away from the challenges of the holidays. While it can sometimes be jarring to watch a particularly dark Christmas special, it’s also important that TV shows don’t lose their individuality just because Christmas is considered a time of joy and togetherness.

Many of the greatest Christmas specials of all time address dark subject matters and aren’t afraid to tackle terrifying themes or produce stories of sad sentimentality. While hopeful holiday specials have their merit, there’s something enjoyable about a Christmas special that pushes back against the conventions of the...

Time travel, a Bridgerton star, and two Ncuti Gatwas. These are just a few of the fun elements featured in the all-new trailer for the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas special.

Titled "Joy to the World," the special is set to debut on Dec. 25 — Christmas Day — at 9:10 a.m. Pst (12:10 p.m. Est) on Disney+. The special is set in what's called the Time Hotel, a place where customers are able to visit particular points in history. With her role as the titular Joy, Nicola Coughlan of Bridgerton fame is also playing a big part in the story, as seen in the trailer. Fans can watch the video below.

Related Doctor Who's Best Season Finale Is Not the One Fans Celebrate the Most

Doctor Who has been back on TV for almost 20 years, but one early finale still stands out as the modern series' crowning achievement.

The synopsis...

Warning: contains spoilers for Doctor Who episode “Empire of Death”

Let’s hope that Unit’s Hr department has been duly notified and the correct forms have been filed, because if this Doctor Who romance turns sour, the resulting paperwork could get in the way of saving the world…

What with all the people-turning-to-dust and moped action going on in Doctor Who series 14 finale “Empire of Death”, it was easy to miss tiny details. (And slightly bigger details that even showrunner Russell T Davies admits don’t stand up to narrative scrutiny.) One such small moment took place at Unit Tower just after the Doctor had dragged Sutekh backwards through the Time Vortex to revive the universe, and it revealed a romance that has until now, been kept secret.

Roughly 36 minutes into the episode, the staff of Unit is waking up from their reversed oblivion and Colonel Ibrahim (Alexander Devrient...

When it comes to sci-fi universes, Doctor Who can claim to have one of the biggest. Beyond its 60 years and counting of TV adventures, the show has three spin-off series (so far), two animated stories, one failed pilot, and a collection of licensed Doctor-less adventures, countless audios, comics, books, board games, tabletop RPGs, and that’s not including the stuff we missed which people are going to remind us about in the comments.

But there is one area where the Tardis just can’t quite seem to properly land – the world of video games.

If we look at Doctor Who’s compatriots in the Holy Triumvirate of Science Fiction Mega Franchises, Stars both Trek and Wars, this has never been as much of an issue. Star Wars was one of the first licenses to really fully embrace video games as a medium, and even if we only count the pure...

Doctor Who's bi-generation twist allows for multiple past Doctors to exist, explaining how the Second Doctor had foreknowledge about his companions' fates in "The Five Doctors." Showrunner Russell T Davies revealed that every incarnation of the Doctor splits in two, creating the opportunity for old friends to reunite and for spinoff projects like Tales of the Tardis to exist. The bi-generated Second Doctor theory suggests that he was captured by Borusa and sent to the Death Zone, providing an explanation for his knowledge of Jamie and Zoe and his appearance at the Brigadier's retirement party.

Doctor Who's historic bi-generation could help solve several plotholes, including one from over 40 years ago. David Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor bi-generated into Ncuti Gatwa during Doctor Wh​​​​​​​​o's 60th anniversary specials. It was a fresh spin on regeneration in Doctor Who that touchingly enabled David Tennant's Doctor to process millennia of trauma. Doctor Who's bi-generation...

The worst thing that could possibly happen to a Doctor Who fan is for the show to be cancelled again. Or for it to be broadcast again. Depends who you ask, really.

Despite the advent of the 15th Doctor and the anticipation that brings, there are nagging doubts abroad concerning the show’s future. And that’s fair enough, really. Some fans are just naturally pessimistic, some remember previous crushed hopes around Doctor Who’s wilderness years, and some just look at the state of TV streaming and feel that pessimism is a fairly realistic outlook. It’s also not unreasonable to be concerned that David Tennant is kicking around somewhere, especially given that it was raised by the host during Gatwa’s recent appearance on The Graham Norton Show.

Then there are the folk who simply don’t like Russell T Davies’ writing on Doctor Who. A previous line...

Warning: Contains Spoilers for Doctor Who: "The Giggle."

Doctor Who introduces a modern and public-facing Unit, betraying the original vision of a top-secret organization. The flashy new headquarters and public presence mark a fresh vision for Unit, evolving from its secretive past. Going public reflects the show's intent to acknowledge the existence of aliens and the need for protection, setting up future storylines.

Doctor Who has introduced the modern "loud and proud" Unit and freely admits it betrays the original vision of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney). In the final Doctor Who 60th anniversary special, Unit request the aid of the Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant) to defeat the machinations of the Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris) and his nightmarish giggle. However, where in the past the Doctor had been ferried in under the cover of darkness, this time he and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) were publicly picked up by helicopter...

Warning: Contains Spoilers for Doctor Who - "The Giggle."

Doctor Who's final 60th anniversary special sets up a potential spinoff show featuring Unit on Disney+. The new Unit team in "The Giggle" showcases a strong camaraderie and dynamic, laying the groundwork for future appearances and a possible spinoff. The introduction of the Vlinx, a new robot working for Unit, hints at potential backstory and teases a potential Unit show on Disney+.

Doctor Who's final 60th anniversary special, "The Giggle" has set up the rumored Unit spinoff show on Disney+ in multiple ways. Now installed in a flashy new skyscraper in central London, Unit recall the Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant) to help them stop the world from going mad. Although the main draw of "The Giggle" is the battle between the Doctor and the Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris), there's a sense that it's setting up a future Unit spinoff.

Bernard Cribbins sadly left us last year – but Doctor Who has found space to respectful acknowledge him.

If you’ve not seen The Star Beast and Wild Blue Yonder, there are spoilers here. But very light ones.

This article was originally published at the end of November, and was updated once we’d seen Wild Blue Yonder.

There are inevitable ties to Russell T Davies’ fourth series of Doctor Who in his return to the show, The Star Beast. The new episode – and the new era of Doctor Who – debuted on BBC One at the end of November, and you can read our review of it here.

The fourth series of revived Doctor Who saw David Tennant’s Doctor partnered with Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble, just as we saw again this weekend. But for many, the standout character of that series was Bernard Cribbins’ Wilf. A wonderful character, played by a wonderful actor,...

This article contains spoilers for the Doctor Who Anniversary Special, "The Star Beast"

Unit is a long-standing organization in Doctor Who that protects Earth from extraterrestrial threats. Unit operates in the open but their true mission is secret, recruiting military personnel to deal with dangerous alien races. Kate Lethbridge-Stewart is the current leader of Unit and has a close relationship with the Doctor and their former companions.

The organization called Unit has been a mainstay in Doctor Who since 1968, and is now bigger than ever in Russell T. Davies' latest relaunch. Alien invasions are a frequent occurrence in Doctor Who. Unsurprisingly, that means the world has responded, with the United Nations coordinating efforts to deal with extraterrestrial threats. The organization known as Unit has, of course, crossed paths with the Doctor many times.

Unit was officially disbanded during the Thirteenth Doctor's era, although it reformed by "The Power of the Doctor.

Bonnie Langford discusses how her character, Mel Bush, has changed since her last appearance on Doctor Who in 1987. Langford hints that Mel has gone through a difficult time, with something dreadful happening to her and her family. However, she still values her time with the Doctor and maintains a strong connection with him. Classic Doctor Who companions have made appearances in the revived era, and Mel's return is eagerly anticipated as viewers wonder how her tech expertise and tragic past will impact her journey in the Tardis.

Doctor Who season 14's returning classic companion actor Bonnie Langford explains how Mel Bush has changed following her departure from the Tardis since her last major appearance in 1987. First introduced during Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor era in "Terror of the Vervoids", computer programmer Melanie Bush traveled alongside Baker's Doctor briefly, but was more prevalent in the earlier seasons of Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy's tenure.

Former Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss reveals that his unmade episode, "The Suicide Exhibition," set during David Tennant's tenure, may be adapted into an expanded media production by Big Finish. Big Finish has a history of bringing unproduced Doctor Who stories to life, including scrapped scripts from classic-era Doctors, giving them the chance to further explore their respective eras. While it remains to be seen what foes would have featured in "The Suicide Exhibition," Big Finish's interest in the story could potentially lead to the adventure being realized, and David Tennant's previous work with them raises the possibility of him reprising his role.

Former Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss teases that an unmade episode he penned from David Tennant's Tenth Doctor era may find new life as an expanded media production in the Whoniverse. The Sherlock co-creator and actor has penned nine episodes throughout the show's revival, writing for Tennant,...

Doctor Who's 60th-anniversary specials will feature the return of the beloved organization Unit, with a brand-new headquarters, continuing the show's longest-running joke. Unit's impressive new skyscraper reinforces the recurring joke that despite being an organization with extraterrestrial and paranormal work, they are not very good at keeping their top-secret status a secret. The introduction of Unit's new headquarters in the 60th-anniversary specials raises speculation about a possible Doctor Who spinoff series centered around the organization, similar to Marvel's Avengers Tower in the Disney+ era.

Judging by the brand-new trailer, the upcoming Doctor Who 60th-anniversary specials will continue the show's longest-running joke. The trailer unveiled exciting teases for what the Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) can expect in their upcoming battle with Neil Patrick Harris' Toymaker. Alongside footage of the Toymaker's dazzling array of costumes, the trailer also confirmed the return of Doctor Who stalwarts, the military organization Unit.

Jemma Redgrave is excited to return as Unit leader Kate Stewart for one episode in Doctor Who season 14, but she will not work alongside Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor. Kate Stewart has played a major role in defending humanity from threats like Cybermen, Zygon extremists, and Sontarans in the revived series. Redgrave's return confirms the importance of Kate Stewart in the modern Doctor Who show, even though she won't be working with the new Doctor this season.

Doctor Who star Jemma Redgrave celebrates her season 14 return as Unit leader Kate Stewart, though her character will not be working alongside Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor in the new story. Redgrave made her debut in the season 7 story "The Power of Three", before playing a major role in the 50th-anniversary story "The Day of the Doctor". The daughter of Nicholas Courtney's classic show companion Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Kate has defended humanity from the wraths of Cybermen,...

Jon Pertwee's return to Doctor Who in the 1990s saved the franchise by paving the way for future stories and expanding the show's legacy. The Paradise of Death, a radio drama featuring the Third Doctor, allowed Doctor Who to explore previous eras and add new depths to classic Doctors. The success of Pertwee's radio plays proved that audio was a viable medium to keep Doctor Who alive and continue the story when other avenues failed.

Jon Pertwee's return to Doctor Who in the 1990s ultimately saved the entire franchise by laying the groundwork for its future. 1993 saw Doctor Who celebrate its 30th anniversary in reduced circumstances, following the show's cancelation in 1989. A planned straight-to-video anniversary movie had been abandoned for multiple reasons, leaving fans disappointed. The 1993 charity sketch Dimensions in Time was little consolation for Doctor Who fans who wanted a more substantial celebration than a comedy crossover with...

Rumors have emerged of plans for a Doctor Who spinoff based on the Unified Intelligence Taskforce, a.k.a. Unit, which could be the perfect set-up for a franchise based on the long-running sci-fi show. Unit have become a recurring feature of Doctor Who since they were first established in the 1968 serial "The Invasion". When the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) was exiled to Earth in 1970, he worked as Unit's scientific advisor, and the military institution led by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) became a beloved part of the show's mythology.

Because of the fans' fondness for Unit, multiple spinoffs have been attempted on audio over the years, including the continuing adventures of the 21st Century version of Unit led by the Brigadier's daughter, Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave). Kate last appeared in Jodie Whittaker's finale, "The Power of the Doctor", in which it was revealed that she was hiring former companions...

Jemma Redgrave is officially returning in Doctor Who season 14 as Kate Stewart, the leader of Unit. Excitement is building for Doctor Who season 14, which will star Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson as mysterious new companion Ruby Sunday. Production recently began on the series, which is expected to air in 2024, and returning showrunner Russell T Davies is being pretty open in discussing forthcoming episodes. A lot of season 14 appears to involve location work, which means set photos are being shared online, and so secrecy would backfire.

Recent set photos (via @set_dw) indicated Redgrave would be reprising the popular role of Kate Stewart, leader of an organization called Unit - the Unified Intelligence Taskforce, a group dedicated to protecting the world from alien threats. The BBC has now officially confirmed Redgrave's return in a simple press statement. The statement is light on details, revealing only what could...

It's a great (and somewhat confusing) time to be a Whovian. Although Ncuti Gatwa has been announced as the next Doctor, and Millie Gibson's been announced as the next companion, these are not the main characters we'll be following as we head into the 60th Anniversary Specials. Instead, those three special episodes will be focused on the return of the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant), who is now technically the Fourteenth Doctor too. There's also the return of Donna Noble to look out for, as well as the return of the old showrunner Russell T. Davies, who ran the revival show from seasons 1 through 4. 

The one thing we know for sure is that, when those specials are over, we will get a regular season with Gatwa and Gibson. With Davies sticking around as showrunner, you'd think it'd be safe to say that most of the returning characters would be from those early seasons.

While Torchwood was created as a shady entity in Doctor Who, Unit was an equally dark organization in the classic series. Unit was introduced during Second Doctor story "The Invasion," where Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, who had previously appeared as a colonel, led the British chapter of a United Nations taskforce devoted to investigating alien attacks on Earth. The Second Doctor was eager to help, leading to the Third Doctor taking an official position as Unit's scientific advisor during his exile on Earth. The working relationship between the Third Doctor and Brigadier proved uneasy, however, as the Doctor's inherently peaceful nature often clashed with the Brigadier's military mindset.

Nostalgia has muddied this point significantly, with later appearances of Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier in Doctor Who obscuring the often antagonistic relationship he held with the Third Doctor. As a consequence, Unit steadily lost its darker edge. This may explain why...

This article contains spoilers for the Doctor Who Centenary Special, The Power of the Doctor.David Tennant's return to Doctor Who hints at a link to Tom Baker's abandoned movie-length anniversary special from 1993. "The Power of the Doctor" ended with Jodie Whittaker regenerating into David Tennant, which sets the actor up as both the Tenth and Fourteenth Doctors. However, the way that David Tennant plays the realization suggests that the Doctor is horrified to be back in the body of the Tenth Doctor again, hinting at a larger mystery in 2023's 60th anniversary specials.

It's already known that Ncuti Gatwa will be taking over from David Tennant at some point in Doctor Who's 60th anniversary specials. A brief trailer released after "The Power of the Doctor" aired revealed the first look at Ncuti's Doctor, dressed in Tennant's shirt and tie, frustratedly asking: "Can someone tell me what the hell is going on here?...

It’s not unusual, in the world of Doctor Who, for the same actor to play more than one role on screen. From classic to modern Doctor Who, Nicholas Courtney, Ian Marter, Lalla Ward, Jaqueline Hill, Jean Marsh, Adjoa Andoh, Eve Myles, Naoko Mori, Vinette Robinson and more have all played multiple parts in the whoniverse. Before she debuted as companion Martha Jones, Freema Agyeman was a Torchwood employee who fell foul of the Cybermen in series two’s ‘Army of Ghosts’. Karen Gillan was a seer in series four episode ‘The Fires of Pompeii’ before she recurred as Eleven’s companion Amy Pond. Even the Doctor has had test runs. Colin Baker played a Gallifreyan commander in season twenty before taking over from Peter Davison. Peter Capaldi appeared in ‘The Fires of Pompeii’ as well as playing John Frobisher on Torchwood before taking up residence in the Tardis.

In...

To be abundantly clear: the first Doctor Who Christmas Special was ‘The Christmas Invasion‘ in 2005. However, the first time the show was broadcast on Christmas Day was in 1965, the seventh episode of ‘The Dalek Master Plan’. The previous two years also had also seen Dalek stories at Christmas, with the first ever Dalek story starting broadcast in December 1963 and the final episode of ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ arriving on Boxing Day 1964, because Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a volcanic eruption by the Home Counties.

‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ capitalised on the initial success of the first Dalek story, and boosted the show’s ratings. The plan for the following series was to capitalise on that and so another six-parter was scheduled for the same time of year. As Season 2’s ‘Planet of the Giants‘ had been edited down to three episodes from four the BBC gave the...

Doctor Who fans got a surprise pick-me-up today in the form of a virtual union of not one, not two but three Doctors. To mark all of the modern series of the sci-fi institution being up on HBO Max, the streaming service’s YouTube channel shared a 20-minute interview with current Tardis-owner Jodie Whittaker and two of her most beloved predecessors, David Tennant and Matt Smith. If you’ve got the time (Lord), you can watch the full thing in the player above.

If not, catch a brief minute-long teaser in the tweet below, as shared by the official Doctor Who Twitter account. In this clip, host Terri Schwartz asks the three Doctors a tough question – which companion who traveled with another Doctor would they have liked to have traveled with? Find out their answers in the video below:

Three Doctors unite! For the first time Ever Jodie Whittaker, Matt...

‘The truth is it never goes away’ says David Tennant. ‘It’s 15 years since I did it and I’m here today!’ He’s talking, of course, about Doctor Who. To mark the show’s arrival in the Us on streaming service HBO Max, Tennant united for an online panel with fellow Doctors Matt Smith and Jodie Whittaker to reminisce about their respective tenures in the Tardis.

Speaking from their UK homes to IGN’s Terri Schwarz, Tennant and Smith spoke about their experiences handing over the role, while Whittaker gave her advice to whoever would take up the mantle next. She told the eventual next-in-line (whoever they may be) that the pressure of the show’s history needs to be forgotten and the newcomer isn’t expected to repeat what’s been done before, only to continue to make it different and new.

Asked to pick their favourite episodes...

When it comes to Doctor Who, the character often wins over the audiences because they are kind-hearted and in many ways, are the saviour (or Doctor) we need. While a lot of focus does get given to the ‘new’ breed of Doctors, for fans of the old school we are spoilt for choice with who is the best. One that is high on my list has to be Jon Pertwee, which is why The Doctors: The Jon Pertwee Years was such a joy to watch.

A collection of interviews, The Doctors: The Jon Pertwee Years features Jon Pertwee himself, Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Caroline John (Liz Shaw), Nicholas Courtney (The Brigadier), Richard Franklin (Captain Yates), and John Levene (Sergeant Benton). Interviewed by the voice of the Daleks, Nicholas Briggs. Each interview with the stars of Doctor Who is around one hour in length, so you can imagine how interesting the Jon Pertwee one is.

Rob Leane Aug 15, 2016

The Doctor Who TV movie is heading to Blu-ray, with extensive extras, on Monday the 19th of September...

The Doctor Who TV movie is heading to Blu-ray. An 'upscaled' version of Paul McGann's debut as the eighth Doctor (and Sylvester McCoy's last on-screen appearance as the seventh one, to date) will be available on Blu-ray disc from Monday the 19th of September, with this extensive list of extras...

Disc 1 Extras

• Commentary #1

From director Geoffrey Sax (recorded 2001)

• Commentary #2

By Paul McGann and Sylvester McCoy, moderated by Nicolas Briggs (recorded 2009)

• The Seven Year Hitch

Documenting the return Doctor Who to the screen. Narrated by Amanda Drew.

• The Doctor’s Strange Love

Writers Joe Lidster and Simon Guerrier discuss The TV Movie with comedian Josie Long.

• The Night of the Doctor

The Night of the Doctor was a mini-episode released in 2013 in the run-up to the show’s 50th anniversary special.

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The Yeti attack at Covent Garden in recently recovered Doctor Who episode, The Web Of Fear, is a masterwork. Here's why...

The Web Of Fear was commissioned after a positive response to The Abominable Snowmen by then Story Editor (soon-to-be Producer) Peter Bryant, with the intention that it would close out Doctor Who’s fifth season. Rewrites for Fury From The Deep resulted in it becoming the penultimate story (one of many variables that resulted in Nicholas Courtney playing the role of Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart). Previously available as an audio soundtrack narrated by Fraser Hines, the film of The Web Of Fear was returned to the BBC archives in 2013.

I first experienced The Web Of Fear as a Target Novelisation at some point in the Nineties (I can’t remember if it was in Uddingston Library – so many Targets, so many Asterix books – or my primary school’s...

Strictly for serious Doctor Who fans who won’t mind the ultra-low-budget ethos, and who’ll love the fan-fiction-y tidbits that are catnip to Whovians. I’m “biast” (pro): big Doctor Who fan

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

It’s hard to remember now, what with so-called NuWho nearly a decade old, but there was long Doctor Who drought throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s, between the cancellation of the classic show and the reboot in 2005. But there were a few attempts to quench the thirst of parched Whovians with unofficial, quasi-authorized semipro films. One of them, 1995’s Downtime, has just been released on DVD for the first time. The Doctor doesn’t appear here — the producers couldn’t get a license to even mention him — but we do get the return of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney...

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Our viewing notes and geeky spots for Doctor Who series 9: The Zygon Inversion...

We’re now eight episodes into this series of Doctor Who, and after tonight you can’t complain that they’re not giving Peter Capaldi enough to do. In an episode unlike any we’ve had before, there didn’t seem to be much room for references, allusions and other such things; the ones we did spot are listed below. Did we get them all, or were we too caught up in Mr Capaldi’s eyebrows to notice some? Let us know in the comments!

Five References Rapid

This isn’t the first time aliens have posed as policemen; in 1971’s Terror Of The Autons, a memorable sequence saw the third Doctor pull off a policeman’s face to reveal a blank plastic dummy underneath. The sequence drew a number of complaints -...

Koch Media

From celebrated Doctor Who director Chris Barry Downtime is a unique British 1995 sci-fi movie from the Doctor Who universe featuring treasured characters and talent from the franchise. It follows The Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney – Doctor Who) and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen – Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures) of Unit who investigate New World University; a sinister school run by old enemies Victoria Waterfield and Professor Travers.

Fighting alone this time – without their famous time-travelling scientific advisor – The Brigadier and Sarah Jane are hard pressed to decide who is friend or foe as they search for a missing Locus, which binds the Great Intelligence’s power. The battle is broadened when the Brigadier’s own family is threatened and Unit faces a powerful new breed of Yeti!

Starring Nicholas Courtney, Deborah Watling, Jack Watling and Elisabeth Sladen reprising their roles as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Downtime is an unofficial sequel to...

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The 1990s Doctor Who spin-off movie Downtime – starring Nicholas Courtney and Elisabeth Sladen - is finally getting a disc release…

Good news, everyone! The 1996 Doctor Who spin-off film Downtime is finally getting a DVD release. It’ll arrive on disc next month, on Monday the 16th of November, to be precise.

If you’re unfamiliar, this is a 70-minute story that brought back classic era Doctor Who characters including Nicholas Courtney’s Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Elisabeth Sladen’s Sarah Jane Smith, Deborah Watling’s Victoria Waterfield and Jack Watling’s Professor Edward Travers.

There’s just one catch, though – Downtime was made by Reeltime Pictures, not the BBC. Although regular Doctor Who director Christopher Barry called the shots, the BBC didn’t grant Downtime a licence to include the Doctor, or even reference him directly. Still, it has a soft spot in many fan’s hearts, not least for introducing Kate Lethbridge-Stewart,...

Koch Media have announced the UK release of Downtime, a unique British 1995 sci-fi movie from the Doctor Who universe (but unofficial) featuring treasured characters and talent from the franchise – which will be available for the first ever time on DVD from 16th November.

Downtime follows The Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney – Doctor Who) and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen – Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures) of Unit who investigate New World University; a sinister school run by old enemies Victoria Waterfield and Professor Travers. The technology obsessed University holds a gateway to Earth made by classic foe the ‘Great Intelligence’. Fighting alone this time – without their famous time-travelling scientific advisor – The Brigadier and Sarah Jane are hard pressed to decide who is friend or foe as they search for a missing Locus, which binds the Intelligence’s power. The battle is broadened when the Brigadier’s own family is threatened and Unit...

Winston Churchill, Harriet Jones, Harold Saxon... As we all head to the voting booths, how have UK prime ministers fared in Doctor Who?

Incarnations of the Doctor are a bit like British prime ministers. They usually last four to five years in real time and, despite having different faces, a cynic could say that they're all pretty much the same beneath the surface. But that's the stuff of Media Studies dissertations, in fact, Doctor Who has a far dimmer view of the UK executive in the show itself.

Over the course of fifty-odd years, the office of prime minister has been both the target and agent of satire and parody in a show that deals with an onslaught of alien activity on British soil in the past, present and future.

As we're all going to the polls today to pick who we want in Downing Street, here's our look back...

Andrew Reynolds is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

This is the news! And today’s news features 10th anniversary screenings, iPlayer ads, convention tales, Mulligan’s meteoric rise, Murray’s Golden days, anniversary memories from the cast and crew, and a little bit of magic from Nicholas Courtney. He Would Make A Good Dalek Robert Shearman will appear at a special Doctor Who 10th anniversary screening...

The post Thursday News: Golden Days, Time Warps, and 10 Years of New Who appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

The Initiative arguably marks a new phase of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Oz has left the building, casting off yet another of the early years remnants. Only Buffy, Xander, Willow and Giles remain – although James Marsters finally graduates to full-time member and reluctant hanger-on of the Scooby Gang. It's also the story where squeaky-clean curtain head Riley starts to fit into the puzzle. Which can only mean that the series reveals what all these mysterious Commandos are all about.

With the dawning of a new era, both in this season and of the whole show, it's mysterious that The Initiative episode is a bit flat. I guess that any episode which revolves around a bunch of dull army goons wouldn't ever score highly on my list of quintessential ways to spend 45 minutes with the telly. Army and sci-fi rarely go together well, resulting in lots of tedious gun battles and laughable machismo.

A new series of Doctor Who spinoff novels featuring the character of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart have been announced.

Candy Jar Books will launch the officially licensed book series early next year.

A major recurring character on Doctor Who, Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart was played by actor Nicholas Courtney from 1968 to 2008.

The books will pick up with the character after his first appearance in 1968's 'The Web of Fear', when he is still a Colonel.

The first novel - The Forgotten Son by Andy Frankham-Allen - will be released on February 22, the fourth anniversary of Courtney's death.

Three more - Horror of Det-Sen by Lance Parkin, The Schizoid Earth by David A McIntee and Mutually Assured Domination by Nick Walters - will be released quarterly.

Courtney made his final screen appearance as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - often referred to as simply 'The Brigadier' - in two episodes of Doctor Who spinoff The Sarah Jane Adventures in 2008.

However,...

When there’s no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth. As Cybermen. See what he did there? The Master is back, and has been working on this plot for Quite a long time. Some old friends return for the fight, we say goodbye (for now, anyway) to some others, and oh goodness, were there still surprises. I don’t know why you’d be reading this recap before you saw the episode, but if you are, don’t. Because it makes much more sense to know about the…

Death In Heaven

By Steven Moffat

Directed by Rachel Talalay

As things rather ended in the moment last week, this week’s adventure starts just the same. Clara, when discovered by the newly minted Cyberman, takes the lessons she’s learned throughout the year and put them to use – she lies through her teeth. She claims to be The Doctor,...

Spoilers: Doctor Who series 8's finale didn't let the side down after the excellent Dark Water. Here's our review...

This review contains spoilers. Our spoiler-free review is here.

8.12 Death In Heaven

"Nethersphere's just a cool name we came up with during a spitball"

Well, for a start, you have to feel sorry for Sanjeev Bhaskar. His joy when he landed a role in the Doctor Who finale proved to come with a sting. Turns out he was barely in Death In Heaven for more than a minute or two of screen time, before he was sucked out of an aeroplane window. Them's the breaks, a phrase we've no intention of ever using again.

Mind you, he was in good company. How many times have we got to the end of a series of Doctor Who, and bemoaned the fact that the show was too protective of its characters? That not...

Alex pays a fond return revisit to 1960s classic TV series, The Avengers...

Stylish crime fighting, despicable evil masterminds, a bowler-hatted old Etonian gentleman spy and a series of beautiful leather cat-suited, kinky-booted, no-nonsense heroines. The Avengers had all this and more. What began as a monochrome tape series in January 1961 ran the whole of the Sixties, becoming a colourful slice of period hokum, full of flair, wit and sophistication, yet with its tongue firmly in its cheek.

Always the perfect gentleman, John Steed was played by Patrick Macnee. Originally billed second to the late Ian Hendry, Macnee was still playing Steed over 15 years later when he was teamed with the youthful duo of Joanna Lumley and Gareth Hunt for The New Avengers in 1976. In the 1998 film, the role of Steed was given to Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman played Emma Peel. I will say no more about the film.

Digital Spy presents Doctor Who Week - seven days of special features celebrating the return of the world's favourite sci-fi series, and the arrival of a brand new Doctor - on August 23.

We've known he was coming since August 2013 - and he's officially been our Doctor since Christmas - but in a mere three days, Doctor Who fans will finally get the chance to size up Peter Capaldi's debut as a new, "more mysterious" Time Lord.

Between 1963 and 2014, the show's had 11 stabs at introducing a new Doctor - so before Steven Moffat's 'Deep Breath' is unveiled to the general public, let's take a look back at those other attempts - from the awesome to the audacious to the seriously misjudged.

The musical world of Doctor Who: From Ron Grainer to The Klf

An Unearthly Child

Aired November 23-December 14, 1963

Doctor Who fans accustomed to David Tennant...

Peter Capaldi is far from the only Doctor Who actor to appear in multiple roles. Mark talks us through the many others to have done so...

It's been just over a year since the BBC announced that Peter Capaldi would play the Twelfth Doctor. There were rumblings of his casting in the week before the announcement was made, to the point where bookies stopped taking bets on it.

We've spent the last twelve months in anticipation of what seems like dream casting for the Time Lord, but some of us were a little sceptical that an actor of his profile and standing would take the role until it was actually announced, but “he's been in it before” was not atop the list of reasons why we thought it was too good to be true.

Over the course of 50 years, Doctor Who has inevitably reused actors as different characters- there are...

Ever since Former Doctor Who Star Sylvester McCoy revealed that he had some inside information on the upcoming season 8 episodes of the popular BBC series--which will feature Peter Capaldi stepping into the iconic role of the heroic Time Lord—there has been speculation that the Doctor’s greatest rival, the Master, will be back. If he does return, who should play him?

Back in March, Sylvester Mc Coy--who portrayed the enigmatic seventh Doctor in the classic Doctor Who series—gave an interview with Zap2it at the Newcastle Film and Comic Convention, where he reported that he had inside information on the return of the Doctor’s arch rival, the Master. According to McCoy, the newest incarnation of the Master will be “very, very scary”. Furthermore, there is a picture from this season of a shrunken Tardis (see below) and we all know that in the classic series, the Master loved to shrink things.

Ever since Former Doctor Who Star Sylvester McCoy revealed that he had some inside information on the upcoming season 8 episodes of the popular BBC series--which will feature Peter Capaldi stepping into the iconic role of the heroic Time Lord—there has been speculation that the Doctor’s greatest rival, the Master, will be back. If he does return, who should play him?

Back in March, Sylvester Mc Coy--who portrayed the enigmatic seventh Doctor in the classic Doctor Who series—gave an interview with Zap2it at the Newcastle Film and Comic Convention, where he reported that he had inside information on the return of the Doctor’s arch rival, the Master. According to McCoy, the newest incarnation of the Master will be “very, very scary”. Furthermore, there is a picture from this season of a shrunken Tardis (see below) and we all know that in the classic series, the Master loved to shrink things.

Regular followers are probably aware that we here are at Sound on Sight are more than a little fond of an obscure British science fiction program that celebrated an anniversary of some kind last weekend. Anniversaries are always an excellent time to reflect upon and celebrate a show’s history and the lead up to last Saturday’s “The Day of the Doctor” saw the entire Whoniverse coming together to share their thoughts on everything from their favourite episodes, most beloved eras, and of course, “their” Doctor. I just love that a top ten list can be the beginning of a good conversation or a great fight, and I find that the most heat, and some of the best light, is generated when Whovians start talking about their favourite Companions. A Companion is more than just our surrogate, they’re a gateway and guide to the series who helps us...

It’s not often you get to describe an event as being fifty years in the making. even less so do you get to mean it. Three Doctors in three timelines converge to give them all a chance to change a terrible moment in their collective past.

The Day of the Doctor

by Steven Moffat

Directed by Nick Hurran

The Doctor is in the present, in his most recent incarnation, picking up Clara, when he gets picked up himself, by Unit, to investigate a mystery at the National Museum. Meanwhile (well, I say meanwhile…) in his previous incarnation, he’s investigating a mystery in Elizabethan Britain, an attack by the Zygons that could lead all the way to the Queen herself. And in another part of the Universe entirely, The War Doctor is making a decision that will put the lives of countless innocents in his hands, a choice that...

When I first plotted out this article, my first thoughts were of the classics. Genesis of the Daleks, City of Death, Talons of Weng-Chiang, Pyramids of Mars, Earthshock and Tomb of the Cybermen all came to my mind, among the midst of other elite stories to compete for a spot in the Top 5. But then I thought again – they’re considered the best classic stories for a reason. I remember feeling very angry when I read that, had the 1995 movie been a success, they would have commissioned the show on Fox and they would remake Talons of Weng-Chiang set in New York and Tomb of the Cybs (renaming the Cybermen just should never happen). In my opinion, no matter how much money the BBC would throw at it, they would never be able to replicate the ‘Do I have the right?’ scene from Genesis of the Daleks or the friendship...

Sara Kingdom

Portrayed by: Jean Marsh

Doctor: First Doctor

Story: 1 story (9 episodes), The Daleks’ Master Plan (Nov, 1965 – Jan, 1966)

Background: Sara Kingdom is the dedicated, powerful, top agent for the Space Security Service, working under the traitorous Gaurdian of the Solar System Mavic Chen, when she meets the Doctor. Initially an antagonist, Sara discovers Chen’s treachery and switches allegiances, working with the Doctor to bring down him and his allies, the Daleks.

Family/Friends: Sara has a brother, Bret Vyon (played by Nicholas Courtney of Brigadier fame), who discovers Chen’s plot before she does and goes rogue. Tasked with hunting him down, Sara stays firm to her orders and kills him, and this decision eats away at her, causing her to more easily see Chen for what he is and team up with the Doctor.

Personality: Sara is disciplined, driven, and unshakingly loyal. She’s a soldier and apt to follow orders,...