TERRANCE DICKS - DOCTOR WHO ROYALTY?

It's that time of the year again. Yesterday, May 10th, the internet was awash with well-wishing fans celebrating Terrance Dicks' birthday! Only... it wasn't his birthday.

The source of this confusion is still uncertain, but it's a yearly event, as Paul Cornell (Doctor Who author and script writer) said on his Twitter feed, 'This all happened last year, didn't it?' It seems so. A quick search of the internet shows that Terrance Dicks, former script editor of Doctor Who, and author of over seventy novels and novelisations for the series, is wished a birthday every year on May 10th. Katy Manning, the actress who played Jo Grant, a companion co-created by Terrance in 1971, also joined in the discussion on Twitter, blaming Wikipedia for starting the spread of misinformation.

Terrance and the Lethbridge-Stewart team in Feb' 2015

Andy Frankham-Allen, deputy editor at Candy Jar Books and author of forthcoming novel Beast of Fang Rock which is based on a story by Terrance, fell for this misinformation, too, and sent birthday wishes direct to Terrance. He received a rather amused email back in which Terrance pointed out that his birthday is, in fact, April 14th and always has been! He also explained that his son, Oliver, is trying to fix things on Wikipedia... Andy, quick to help, spread the word on social media himself: 'Just to confirm, despite internet rumour, TODAY is not Terrance's birthday.' Did it work? A quick look at the net shows that most sites who wrongly reported it have added a note to apologise for the confusion and confirm Terrance's real birthday.

But is that the end of it? Judging by social media today, it would seem not. Still many are confused. It has even been suggested that Terrance should just have two birthdays, his real one (April 14th) and an official one (May 10th). We, at Type 40, rather like that idea. Terrance Dicks is, after all, one of the elder statesmen of Doctor Who, with probably more input on the development of the series than any other. He is considered a legend among Doctor Who fandom, so why shouldn't he be treated as royalty... and in that regard, two birthdays is perfectly acceptable.

Lethbridge-Stewart: Beast of Fang Rock by Andy Frankham-Allen, based on a story by Terrance Dicks, and the official prequel/sequel to the 1977 television adventure Horror of Fang Rock, is due September 2015.

NICHOLAS COURTNEY - IN MEMORIAL

Hard to believe that it's been four years since Doctor Who lost one its greatest stars - the Brigadier himself, Nicholas Courtney.

December 16th 1929, William Nicholas Stone Courtney was born in Cairo, Egypt, the son of a British diplomat. Courtney went into acting in the late '50s after eighteen months of National Service as a private. His first television role was in 1957. He first brush with Doctor Who came in 1965 was he played Brett Vyon in the twelve-part serial, The Daleks' Masterplan (although prior to that he was considered for the role of Richard the Lionheart in The Crusade). He returned to Doctor Who in 1968 in the six-part serial The Web of Fear as the intended one-off role of Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart of the Scots Guards. He was cast by Douglas 'Dougie' Camfield, the same director who had earlier considered him for the role of Richard the Lionheart. The happenstance that brought him to the role of Lethbridge-Stewart is something that cannot be forgotten, since it led him to him returning the following year as the now-promoted Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, commander of the British devision of UNIT in The Invasion. 

It was a role that would see him returning as a semi-regular cast member for the following six years, right up until 1975s Terror of the Zygons. Neither Courtney nor the Brigadier were ever forgotten, and both returned in 1983 for two appearances alongside Peter Davison's Doctor and reuniting him with both Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee in The Five Doctors. He returned once more to television Doctor Who in 1989 to star alongside Sylvester McCoy in Battelfield. Although the character never returned to Doctor Who, he was never forgotten and made appearances in many short stories, comics and novels over the following years. Courtney even returned to the role in several audio dramas produced by Big Finish. The character has been mentioned several times since Doctor Who returned in 2005, and Courtney even returned as Brigadier Sir Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart in the spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures in 2008. Ill health prevented any further appearances, and shortly after his death in 2011, the passing of the Brigadier was noted on screen in the episode The Wedding of River Song.

The legacy of the character continues, of course, in the shape of Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, now head of UNIT in the current series. She has appeared three times since 2012, and will return later this year in the opening episodes of series nine and later heading her own audio series of adventures for Big Finish.

Although the Brigadier himself is no longer with us, Candy Jar Books are all set to chronicle the history of this legendary character in the Lethbridge-Stewart series of novels, the first of which can be ordered directly from Candy Jar now (any orders now taken will be dispatched almost immediately) and is officially launched on Thursday 26th February (only four days away!) with an event at The Who Shop in London on Saturday 28th (in attendance will be author and range editor Andy Frankham-Allen, licensor Hannah Haisman, Terrance Dicks [the script editor who oversaw most of Nicholas Courtney's appearances during the late '60s and 1970s] and Ralph Watson who played Captain Knight alongside Courtney in The Web of Fear. Also popping by will be other Lethbridge-Stewart authors David A McIntee, Nick Walters and Jonathan Cooper).

Please do enjoy the following video put together by BabelColour, and remember that legend that was, and always will be, Nicholas Courtney.

We salute you, Nick!

THE MAESTRO - ARTIST SIMON WILLIAMS INTERVIEWED

For the second instalment in the Lethbridge-Stewart interview range we are pleased to visit with Welsh comic-artist Simon Williams, who provides the art for the cover of the first Lethbridge-Stewart novel, The Forgotten Son.

Welcome, Simon. Before we get to your involvement with The Forgotten Son let’s take a quick look at your background with art and comics. What was the first comic you ever read?

Thanks, Chris. The first comic I can remember reading was Might World of Marvel issue #231, waaaaayyyyyy back in 1977! It was a UK Marvel weekly, reprinting various US titles. This issue featured among others, a reprint of the US Incredible Hulk #198… written by Len Wein, with artwork by Sal Buscema and Joe Staton. With that issue, I became a life-long fan of the Incredible Hulk, and it was Sal's artwork that inspired me to want to draw comics. Two fun facts about this issue… The back-up strip was a reprint of Marvel US's Planet of the Apes magazine, and the UK editor at the time was Neil Tennant (of Pet Shop Boys fame)!

How much influence did reading comics and seeing their artwork have on your development as an artist?

I can't put into words the influence those comics had on me. Not only as an artist, but my life as a whole. I learned to read with comics, especially Marvel. All I've ever wanted to do was draw comics.

You count artists such as Sal and John Buscema, John Romita Sr and John Byrne as being some of your major inspirations. What is it about their art that you found appealing and how has their style inspired yours?

Well, Sal's artwork was the first to stand out for me. With the Hulk being my favourite character, and Sal being the artist on the book for over one hundred issues, I read more of his work than anyone else’s. At the time I started reading comics, you had Sal on Hulk, Marvel UK were reprinting John Romita Spider-Man stories, John Buscema on Conan and The Fantastic Four… and John Byrne's run on Uncanny X-Men. To me, the Buscemas, Romita and, of course, Jack Kirby were the masters and innovators of the classic Marvel style. Brilliant draftsmen who could not only draw, but were master storytellers as well. John Byrne was one of the first of the new wave of ‘hot’ artists (along with the likes of Frank Miller) to follow in their footsteps, who carried on that tradition of classic storytelling and art, while maintaining modern sensibilities.

And in a few words how do you describe your personal artistic style?

Classic, Retro, Marvel!

You have said that you broke into comics thanks to Panini editor Alan O’Keefe, who contacted you in 2003 after noticing your art portfolio online. First, tell us a little bit about that portfolio. What were some of the art subjects and do you have any particular favourite pieces from that collection?

I can remember that there were several Hulk pieces on there… as well as several pages from my original Discotronic Funk Commandos strip, which I created back in 1996. I do tend to cringe when looking at my old work (especially stuff that I drew nearly 15 years ago!), but those early DFC pages feature some work that I still feel holds up to this day.

Now, once Alan O’Keefe noticed your work he offered you a chance to draw for the then-new Transformers: Armada title. You later contributed art to titles such as Action Man, Spectacular Spider-Man and Marvel Heroes. Looking back on your entry and first years as a comic artist, what do you feel are the most valuable experiences or lessons you learned as an artist?

Well, the first thing I have to say is how grateful I am to Alan and the Panini guys for giving me my start as a professional in comics. Working with editors Ed Hammond, Brady Webb, Tom O'Malley and Rob Jones was an absolute joy. In my first year, I got to achieve two of my life-long ambitions: to draw the Incredible Hulk… and to draw a Hulk vs Thing battle (with Spider-Man thrown into the mix)! As for what I've learnt from back then; I'd say as an artist that you never stop learning. I still learn something new to this day.

In 2009 you generated a lot of fan and professional excitement by drawing and posting online a comic series that featured a showdown between the Hulk and Death’s Head,  a robotic bounty hunter – or as he calls himself, ‘a freelance peace-keeping agent’ – first created in Marvel UK’s Transformers comic in 1987. Tell us a little about that artistic experience and also your thoughts on why the project attracted so much positive attention.

That project started out just for fun. I have always loved the character of Death's Head, and always hoped to see him fight the Hulk back in the old Marvel UK days (after all, he met and fought the Transformers, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man and even the Doctor!). So I decided to draw up some pages to post on my deviantArt page, again just for fun! However, people really started to take an interest in this strip, so I decided to finish it as part of my convention exclusive Soulman Inc Sketch Book. I never dreamt that it would actually lead to the real thing, where Marvel Heroes editor Ed Hammond told me that they were going to do a Hulk/Death's Head strip, with me on artwork and Death's Head creator Simon Furman writing! It was genuinely a dream come true.

In recent years you created the comic title Retro Tales – Discotronic Funk Commandos for the Retro Comics Group. Tell us a little about the vision of Retro Comics and this superhero team’s place in your own comic book world.

Retro Tales is my love-letter to ‘70s Marvel Comics. I created the Discotronic Funk Commandos back in 1996 (although back then they were called the Funktastic Four). I always had this crazy idea about superheroes and villains based of ‘70s disco musicians/bands. It's a comedy strip, but played straight (much akin to the classic Batman TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward). My style of artwork has always been compared to the ‘70s/’80s style Marvel comics, so I decided to use the Funk Commandos as the main characters of Retro Tales, written and drawn in a retro comic-book style.

Last year Retro Comics debuted two new characters, The Hoff and Thor, the Rock Warrior. Both creations are based on two real-life pop culture icons: American actor David Hasselhoff and Canadian heavy metal frontman Jon Mikl Thor, respectively. How did their involvement into your comic title come about, and how has it been for you as a comic creator and artist working with these two men in translating their real-life personalities into the comic book world?  

Working with both Jon and David has been an absolute dream come true! I'm a huge fan of the band Thor (and often draw listening to their music!), and have been a long-time fan of the Hoff. My collaborations with both started by correspondence online, and since have met David several times. I'm hoping to meet Jon sometime this year, as I believe he will be in the UK promoting his new bio-pic I Am Thor.

Let’s return briefly to Death’s Head. It is little-known in Marvel Comics lore that Death’s Head has a comic connection with a certain Time Lord known as the Doctor, a fact which you have mentioned in previous interviews. Growing up, were you ever a fan of Doctor Who, and if so, did you ever watch the 1970s stories featuring UNIT and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart?

I certainly did! Doctor Who is a definite favourite of mine. Tom Baker being the Doctor I grew up with. Now, thanks to the DVDs and television repeats, I have seen most of the UNIT episodes featuring Jon Pertwee, and of course the wonderful Nicholas Courtney, whose character of the Brigadier is one of my absolute favourites!

You are the cover artist for The Forgotten Son, which is the first instalment in the upcoming Lethbridge-Stewart novel series published by Candy Jar Books. How did you first become involved in this project? Is it your first time drawing cover art for stories as opposed to comic book story art?

I was approached for the project by range editor and Forgotten Son author Andy Frankham-Allen, who is a very good friend of mine. I have always wanted to draw something related to Doctor Who professionally, and when I heard it was the Brigadier I was over the moon! This is my first time drawing covers for a novel, but I couldn't think of anything better to start with!

Although The Forgotten Son won’t be available until 22 February your art for the book is already viewable online. In the image we see the profile of Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart, a young boy in somber clothes, an ominous house and a Yeti hovering over a glowing pyramid. Without giving away any details of the actual story, what can you tell us about your design for this cover and what helped to inspire you in its drawing?

The design of the cover was something I discussed with Andy Frankham-Allen, and Candy Jar publisher Shaun Russell. I told them to give me the specific elements that they wanted me to incorporate onto the cover, and of course what style they would like. I was pretty adamant though about the Brig being prominent on the cover; something both Andy and Shaun were in full agreement with!

Finally, and again without giving too much away, will this be your only cover for this book range or can we except more of your art covering the world of Lethbridge-Stewart?

As it stands right now, I'll be doing more covers for this series! I'm awaiting more news from Mr Frankham-Allen on this, but I should be starting on the next one very soon!

Simon Williams, thank you.

Artwork © Simon Williams, All Rights Reserved

ME AND WHO - 1988

The first in a new series of articles in which Andy Frankham-Allen, range editor of Candy Jar's Lethbridge-Stewart novels, takes a look back at some of his most important Doctor Who memories.

“You Haven’t Been Born Yet”

Remembrance of the Daleks

You know, I could talk about Remembrance of the Daleks forever. It has its flaws, especially now, twenty-six years on (yikes! Yes, over a quarter of a century already), like the wobbly Daleks or the incorrect edition of The French Revolution book, but it has so much going for it. It was the perfect opening adventure for the twenty-fifth anniversary season (indeed, I still think it should have been the twenty-fifth anniversary story); it was set in the same fictional location as the very first Doctor Who episode, it had the Daleks (a staple of 1960s Doctor Who), and it had more continuity than you could shake a stick at. Never too obtrusive, but enough to please the long-time fans. There is so much more I can say. I could even tell you the story of how my VHS cassette onto which I taped the story had a problem – the first episode would speed up and slow down at odd moments, rendering some of the most interesting dialogue in twenty-five years of Who – such classics lines, like the Doctor, after hearing Gilmore’s bewilderment at the idea of a death ray, saying ‘not as predictable as spots’. And Allison, upon learning that a soldier had been shot by a Dalek questions it with, ‘daddy, are you sure?’ For years I was puzzled by such dialogue, until the video got released some years later. ‘What a predictable response’ and ‘dead, are you sure?’ make a whole lot more sense, I’m sure you’ll agree. But you know what? I’m not going to tell you that story. I have two others I want to share with you.

The first is from 1988, before the story was even transmitted. Back then (twenty-six bloody years ago!), I lived in a place called White City in London. I had only been back into Doctor Who for a year (don’t ask me why, but Time and the Rani episode two brought me back to the fold), and so was rather looking forward to this new season. I had started getting Doctor Who Magazine again and knew all the rumours. The Daleks were coming back! Woo! Good time to get back into Doctor Who, right? One of the places I visited the most was Hammersmith, King’s Street, the hubbub of shopping for those living in West London. I knew the area pretty well, spent a whole load of time there. Except for one particular week. And that week just so happened to be the one the Doctor Who team were filming Remembrance of the Daleks in Macbeth Street, Hammersmith. I only found out the next day in the local paper. I couldn’t believe it! I’d have loved to gone and watched Daleks trundling along the streets, the Doctor differing over whether to enter the TARDIS or not. But no, I had missed it totally. Years later, in 2005, I had moved back to Wales and guess who followed me there? Yes, the Doctor Who production team! I’m pretty sure they knew. So, believe me, I made sure I was on hand for at least one day of location filming. Should have been uber exciting, but it turned out to be a rather tedious and long night of exploding market stalls, falling Christmas trees and Santas with flamethrower trombones. Oh, and Billie Piper and Noel Clarke. I often wonder if watching Remembrance of the Daleks would have been more fun. Would rather have seen them land a shuttle in a playground than a large Christmas falling down. 1988, I was fifteen, so yeah, most likely would have been. Daleks! Hmm, come on, who wouldn’t want to meet the Daleks in real life? No? Just me, then? Okay.

They turned a corner into Macbeth Street, and once they had neared the school that stood there, Jake noticed the police box in an alley alongside a block of flats. Jake smiled. At last they were getting somewhere.

This little excerpt is from a short story I wrote for Big Finish back in 2004, and fans of Remembrance of the Daleks may just well recognise the above place as the location used for Coal Hill School in that story. When I wrote that story I intentionally set it in and around Hammersmith because it’s a place I know so well from my own youth, and it’s always good to write about what you know. Having set it in such a location, I couldn’t resist having the TARDIS land in the same place the police box prop had once stood in 1988. I may have missed the location filming, but in my fictional universe of Doctor Who I could at least visit it through the eyes of Jake Morgan. Plus, it made a nice little Easter egg for fans of the show. To my knowledge, other than my sister, no one picked up on it. But, you know, that’s fine. Every time I think of that scene, I find myself wondering why the Third Doctor never spotted Coal Hill School opposite. Maybe he did. Maybe he even went inside and replaced the incorrect French Revolution book with the one Susan actually borrowed in 1963. Maybe.

LETHBRIDGE-STEWART RETURNS IN NEW SERIES!

LETHBRIDGE-STEWART RETURNS

Every legend has a beginning, and for Colonel Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart it was in the London Underground. 

Candy Jar Books is very proud to present Lethbridge-Stewart, a new series of novels revealing the untold story of Colonel Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart set shortly after the 1968 serial, The Web of Fear, fully licensed by the Executor of the Haisman Literary Estate, Mervyn Haisman’s granddaughter Hannah Haisman, and endorsed by Henry Lincoln.

The first series consists of:

• The Forgotten Son by Andy Frankham-Allen 
• Horror of Det-Sen by Lance Parkin 
• The Schizoid Earth by David A McIntee
• Mutually Assured Domination by Nick Walters.

Brigadier Sir Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart has been an essential element of Doctor Who since 1968. He was created by authors Mervyn Haisman & Henry Lincoln for the six-part Doctor Who serial, The Web of Fear. A one-off character. Until over a year later when he was brought back to Doctor Who, promoted to Brigadier and the head of UNIT. Forty-six years on and the Brigadier has become one of the most iconic characters in Doctor Who, having appeared with ten different Doctors in countless TV episodes, books, audio dramas and comic strips! The character’s death was acknowledged in the 2012 Doctor Who series starring Matt Smith, and was resurrected briefly in the 2014 series finale starring Peter Capaldi. On TV the character’s story is over, but there is so much more to tell.

Andy Frankham-Allen has been a Doctor Who fan since his childhood and serves as line editor for the series, as well as penning the opening novel. Andy is the former line editor of Untreed Reads Publishing’s series Space: 1889 & Beyond, and has penned several Doctor Who Short Trip stories for Big Finish and Candy Jar’s very own celebration of Doctor Who, Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants. He said: “It's an insane privilege and responsibility to put this series together, to reveal the real story behind such a legend of Doctor Who.”

Lance Parkin has written over twenty books and audio dramas for Doctor Who since 1996, including the 35th Anniversary novel, The Infinity Doctors, and the 2008 Tenth Doctor novel, The Eyeless. He also worked on British soap Emmerdale and wrote Magic Words, the definitive biography of Alan Moore. Lance said: “Lethbridge-Stewart was always a steady presence in the Doctor's life. Even in The Web of Fear, he instinctively trusted the Doctor from almost the moment he met him. I wrote for the character in The Dying Days, and that was the version of the Brigadier we all think of now, I think, an old soldier, semi-retired, seen it all. It's been interesting writing for a younger, hungrier Lethbridge-Stewart – not even a Brigadier at this point in his life. It's also been nice writing a story that's set in the aftermath of The Web of Fear, with Lethbridge-Stewart only just starting to realise that the Earth's facing a whole new type of enemy."

David A McIntee has written novels for Star Trek, Final Destination and Space: 1999 and over fifteen books and audio dramas for Doctor Who since 1993, including the Brigadier-centric novel, The Face of the Enemy. David said: “To be honest it (the series) is something I'm amazed hasn't been done before – it’s just such a natural and obvious thing. The form it's taking is also cool because it has the flexibility to move between styles and genres – thriller, SF, horror, etc – while maintaining a definite identity. As for the Brig himself, he's one of those characters where the casting was so perfect that it just made the character so memorable, and who (usually) feels so right.”

Nick Walters has written five novels for Doctor Who since 1998. Nick said: “After the Doctor himself the Brigadier is the best-loved character in Doctor Who. I met Nick Courtney a number of times and he really is a splendid fellow. He brought a real humanity and vulnerability to the role without compromising the essential toughness of the character. Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart is the chap you'd want on your side in a fight – any fight – and it is a real privilege to be exploring what made him into the character we came to know and love.”

Simon Williams, the man behind the cover art, is a former artist for Marvel UK having drawn for The Transformers, The Hulk, Spider-Man and Death’s Head. Simon said: “I’ve always been a big fan of Doctor Who and the Brigadier and having the opportunity to draw this iconic character is a huge privilege.”

Hannah Haisman said: “This project has been a long-time coming. I had to be certain that I was entrusting my grandfather’s legacy to a publisher and authors who would respect what he created. Candy Jar and Andy have assembled a team that are sympathetic to the Brigadier, and these are very exciting times that we can all be proud of.”

Lethbridge-Stewart will be launched on 22nd February 2015, the fourth anniversary of Nicholas Courtney’s death, the actor behind the Brigadier. The first series of novels will be released one book per quarter throughout 2015.

The Forgotten Son is available for pre-order from the Candy Jar Book store, where you can pre-order all four titles in the Four-Book-Bundle for a special discounted price. By pre-ordering directly from Candy Jar you ensure you'll get your copy of each title a couple of weeks before official publication.

COWBRIDGE GOES WHO

 

Fans of Doctor Who can meet two leading authorities on the BBC TV show at an event hosted by the Cowbridge Book Festival on 25th September. Alastair Reynolds, author of the BBC’s Doctor Who: Harvest of Time and Andy Frankham-Allen, author of Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants and will both be there to discuss writing, the long running popular sci-fi series and sign copies of their books.

 
Alastair Reynolds is one of the world’s most renowned science fiction writers. Having won the British Science Fiction Award for his book Chasm City in 2001, the Doctor Who legacy was in more than capable hands when he turned his pen to Doctor Who. Harvest of Time transports readers back to the Jon Pertwee era, with UNIT, Jo, the Brigadier and the Master in full attendance. The story centres on the Sild as they escape confinement and threaten to rewrite history.

 

Andy Frankham-Allen has been a Doctor Who fan since his childhood and has relished the opportunity to write Companions in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the series. The book follows the narrative of the series as seen through the eyes of the Doctor’s ever-faithful companions and features a foreword by Gary Russell.

 

Both authors will be discussing the show with the Comic Guru’s Kristian Barry. There will also be a charity raffle, where attendees will be able to win merchandise covering each Doctor (supplied by Candy Jar Books & The Comic Guru). These include signed Katy Manning and Deborah Watling photos, a copy of the Paul McGann TV Movie, Big Finish audios and comics, as well as signed copies of Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants. Tickets are available from www.cowbridgebookfestival.co.uk

 

The Cowbridge Book Festival hosts a number of literary events across the year raising money for Noah’s Arc and Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.

YOUR CHANCE TO MEET ANDY!

Copyright Candy Jar

 

Fans of Doctor Who can meet Andy Frankham-Allen, author of Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants on August 10th at The Comic Guru, Cardiff.

The book, which is currently number 11 in guides and reviews on Amazon, has received some great reviews. These include:

“Companions ... really motivates us to catch up on some of the non-television adventures we have missed!" (Cult Box)

“A firmly engaging and enjoyable read for fans of the show.” (Starburst)

The Comic Guru's address is: 13 Wood Street Cardiff CF10 1ER

 

For more information contact hayley@candyjarbooks.co.uk or theguru@thecomicguru.co.uk

TEGAN IS BEST COMPANION EVER!

Not Just a Mouth On Legs

 

Candy Jar Books, the publisher of Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants, has announced the results of its most popular TV companion poll. The fans were asked ‘Who is the best Doctor Who companion?’ and the result is actually quite unexpected, as the overall winner is not Rose Tyler, Donna Noble or even Sarah Jane Smith, but the 1980s companion, Tegan Jovanka.

 

Andy Frankham-Allen, writer of Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants, is shocked and pleased by the result. He said: “I would have expected either Sarah or Rose to win, but it's pleasing to see a companion who's only been obliquely referenced twice since 2005 win. Seems there's still a lot of love for the '80s and Janet Fielding's mouthy Tegan!”

Janet Fielding, who played Tegan Jovanka, will be appearing at Project Motor Mouth 2 in Windsor on 3^rd August in aid of Project Motor House. She will be joined by many former companions including Carole Ann Ford, Katy Manning and Sophie Aldred. On learning the news of her win, she said: “Are you sure you mean me? Tegan? The Mouth on Legs? That's fantastic. And rather unexpected.”

 

Donna Noble is the most popular modern day companion, closely followed by Rose Tyler and River Song.

 

The results are as follows:

 

1. Tegan Jovanka
2. Sarah Jane Smith
3. Donna Noble
4. Rose Tyler
5. Ace     
6. Romana / Jamie McCrimmon
7. Nyssa     
8. River Song
9. Amy Pond
10. Leela     

 

Available from the People’s Book Prize winning publisher, Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants is an essential guide and sometimes tongue-in-cheek look at all Doctor Who companions. It is covers the characters to have featured in the comics, books, audio adventures and spin-offs.

 

Gary Russell, former Doctor Who Magazine editor, Big Finish producer, BBC script editor and Doctor Who novelist, has provided the book’s foreword. Gary said: “Of course there have been books about companions before – but few of them go into this amount of detail, display this amount of in-depth knowledge and above all, this amount of love. As a celebration of everything that makes the Doctor’s (and therefore our) best friends unique and special, this book is essential.”

COMPANIONS BOOK SIGNING ANNOUNCED!

To celebrate the release of the much anticipated Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants by Andy Frankham-Allen, London’s The Who Shop has organised a book-signing event this coming Saturday in collaboration with award-winning publishers, Candy Jar.

Companions is an extensive and comprehensive examination of those the Doctor has deemed ‘the best’, and includes Expanded Universe appearances. No collection would be complete without a copy so why not get along to 39-41 Barking Road, Upton Park, E6 1PY this Saturday and get a signed copy. You can even challenge Andy with a Who-related question, make it a good one though; he’s a walking Doctor Who encyclopeadia! You have been warned.

Buy from Amazon now! 

THE NAME OF THE DOCTOR REVIEW

Our review of The Name of the Doctor, series seven's finale episode, is now live. But beware - there be spoilers ahead! If you've not watched the episode, do so first. You have been warned!

http://type40reviews.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-name-of-doctor-review-spoilers-ahead.html

FREE SHORT STORY

Teaming up with our friends from Candy Jar Books, we've been given permission to post the following short story by Andy Frankham-Allen. Originally published by Big Finish in their 2004 anthology Short Trips: Repercussions and reprinted later in their best-of collection, Re: Collections, this is Andy's first piece of professionally published fiction, and is now out of copyright (which enables us to post it). Andy is, of course, the author of Candy Jar's forthcoming unofficial guide to Doctor Who companions called Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants, and he has written three short stories for Big Finish anthology series, as well being the series editor of Untreed Reads Publishing's Space: 1889 & Beyond, for which he wrote (among others) Conspiracy of Silence with New York Times best-seller Frank Chadwick.

Click below to read:

http://type40ukfeatures.blogspot.co.uk/

COMPANIONS COMPETITION

Our friends at Candy Jar Books are making a special offer to anyone who pre-orders a copy of their 'Companions' book between now and 17:00 tomorrow (Thursday 8th May).

All you need to do is pre-order a copy from the Candy Jar website, and your name goes into a raffle; the winner will get their copy of 'Companions' a month before general release (27th June), AND the original annotated and signed manuscript!

PRE-ORDER HERE

COMPANIONS AUTHOR INTERVIEWED

Candy Jar Books is taking its first step into the world of Doctor Who publishing at the end of June, with the ultimate guide to the companions of Doctor Who, aptly called Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants.  We managed to track down the author, Andy Frankham-Allen, to answer a few questions about his view on Who and the importance of his book. Read the interview HERE!

Cover by Terry Cooper, Copyright Candy Jar Books 2013

*CYBERMEN SPOILER ALERT!!!!*

Latest bit of news direct from New Zealand, where DW voice supremo NICK BRIGGS did a Q&A.

He has said.....


DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SPOILERS!

He has said that the Cybermen soon to be seen in the upcoming episode 'Nightmare In Silver' will NOT be the Cybus/ alternative universe ones, but the 'original' Cybermen from Mondas. He also said that they 'Don't speak very much', and that he's recorded a whole range of different sounding voices, from the 'Tenth Planet' style, to a 'Vocoder' style... But he doesn't know which ones will ultimately be used in the episode!

ECCLESTON IN 50TH? QUITE POSSIBLY! *EXCLUSIVE*

An undisclosed source close to the Doctor Who production team indicated to us this morning that Ninth Doctor, Christopher Eccleston may well be seen in the 50th Anniversary special, despite his recent comments to the contrary, and that he could have already filmed his part...!

Eccleston has recently said that he did have a meeting with showrunner Steven Moffat about a possible involvement in the end-of-year spectacular, but came away saying he wouldn't be involved.

However, my tight-lipped source refused to confirm or deny this in a very 'I know something you don't know' manner, which is a very strong pointer towards seeing the Ninth Doctor on our screens, joining Matt Smith and David Tennant.

Tennant, if you remember, recently denied all knowledge and involvement in the same way that Eccleston has.

Remember - you read it here FIRST on Type40 News!

Wouldn't it be FANTASTIC to see him?

RATINGS & REVIEW

Doctor Who was the third most popular progamme on telly last night with 6.18 million viewers. It was beaten by Ant & Dec (7.19 million viewers) and The Voice (6.24 million viewers).

This figure will certainly increase when timeshift figures are included. To read a review by Andy Frankham-Allen click below.

http://type40reviews.blogspot.co.uk/