An original audio book adventure featuring the Doctor, Amy and Rory is due to be released next month!
In Darkstar Academy, written exclusively for CD release by Mark Morris, the TARDIS team are captured by ‘prefects’ and taken to the Headmaster’s study upon arriving at what looks like an early 20th century public school. The students are heirs of millionaires, captains of industry, politicians and world leaders, but this is the far future, the school’s in deep space, and there is something strange in the cargo bay…
The adventure is read by Alexander Armstrong, the voice of Mr Smith, and Reg Arwell in last year’s Christmas Special, The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe. It will be released on 8th March 2012, priced £10.20, and you can pre-order it on Amazon now.
Fans across the pond will be able to relive the festive tale, in which Madge and her children, Lily and Cyril, are evacuated to a draughty old house in Dorset during World War II, from 14th February 2012. The DVD has a $14.98 SRP, while the Blu-ray will cost $19.89. It is available in the UK from 16th January. See the Region 1 DVD/Blu-ray covers below.
Special features, for both the US and UK releases, include the Prequel, as well as three Best Of specials, produced by BBC America, for the Doctor, Monsters and Companions.
The figure – which excludes iPlayer – pushes Doctor Who up to the third most watched programme of Christmas Day. In first place is ITV1’s Downton Abbey with 11.60million, while EastEnders was watched by 11.33million.
We can now also see that the festive episode is the 5th most watched Doctor Who Christmas Special since 2005.
The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe is out on DVD and Blu-ray on 16th January.
Warning! This article and its comments may contain spoilers...
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a festive helping of the Doctor, but how has this year’s festive adventure been recieved by the press? Let’s find out!
Firstly, the episode was seen by an audience of 8.9 million, making Doctor Who the fourth most watched programme of Christmas Day, behind EastEnders, Coronation Street and Downton Abbey. According to the Guardian, “it felt perfect” for the time of year, and it was “full of festive magic”, says the Telegraph.
Elsewhere, the Metro has described the “star-studded adventure” as “perfection”, while SFX praises Steven Moffat for “delivering a sweet tale” aiming “squarely for the heart”.
Do you agree or disagree with the reviews above? As always, you can have your say!
An average audience of 749,000 tuned in for the episode’s debut on ABC1 in Australia.
Warning! This article and its comments may contain spoilers...
When Madge and her children, Lily and Cyril, are evacuated to a draughty old house in Dorset during World War II, they enter a magical wintry new world with the Doctor.
It’s that time of year again, which means helpings of turkey, presents and… the Doctor!
In this day and age, celebrating Christmas without our beloved Time Lord would be like celebrating Christmas without carols and crackers, so it’s only right that he should come along to brighten up our screens and help make the festive season even more special.
Even though he has only been away for a couple of months, his return – as it always is – was long overdue, as he journeyed to a magical wintry world with a family of evacuees…
As the title suggests, this year’s Christmas Special drew inspiration from the well loved Narnia story, with an added timey-wimey twist that only Doctor Who could employ. But was the story a Christmas classic, or is it one you wish Santa had never even delivered?
The Doctor gave the Arwell family a Christmas to remember, but should it be forgotten? Did it make for the best Christmas ever, as Madge Arwell would say? And how does it rate against the Doctor’s previous Christmas adventures? Rate below! Merry Christmas!
Warning! This article and its comments may contain spoilers...
Arabella Weir’s admitted that she felt “genuinely surprised and completely thrilled” when she was offered her role in this year’s Christmas Special.
Speaking to the Telegraph, she said: “It is such a fantastic show – brilliantly written and produced, and here they were, wanting me to be in it! I instantly said yes, without reading the script. When I did read it, I got even more excited since it turned out I was an alien from the future and would get to wear a metal-with-flashing-lights alien outfit!”
She explained: “It’s very Christmassy, as you might expect – lots of snow, humour, quite sad in places, and yet it’s also full of surprises, suspense and some scary bits.”
Warning! This article and its comments may contain spoilers...
The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe will be available to buy on DVD and Blu-ray from 16th January 2012!
The Christmas Special, which airs on Christmas Day on BBC One on 7pm, stars Claire Skinner as Madge Arwell, who is evacuted to a draughty house in Dorset during World War II with her 2 children. There, they enter a magical and wintry new world with the Doctor.
The DVD/Blu-ray will contain 2 hours of special features.
The Prequel to the episode will be included alongside three new ‘The Best of…’ features.
Warning! This article and its comments may contain spoilers...
A new TV trailer for this year’s Christmas Special has been released as its premiere fast approaches!
The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe airs on BBC One at 7pm Christmas Day, and the latest preview contains some previously unseen clips to whet our appetites!
See it here or below. What do you think? Does it look like it could be the Doctor’s best festive adventure yet? As always, let us know your opinions in the comments!
When Madge and her two children, Lily and Cyril, are evacuated to a draughty old house in Dorset during World War Two, they enter a magical wintry new world with the Doctor.
Warning! This article and its comments may contain spoilers...
The BBC’s released the official press pack for The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe, in which there are new cast interviews as well as an introduction from Steven Moffat:
“The Doctor at Christmas – it always just feels so right. When I was a kid, Santa and the Doctor somehow lived in the same place in my head – two generous madmen that I loved so much. So now that the Doctor is a regular feature of Christmas the world is just that bit more right.”
Meanwhile, Matt Smith describes this year’s Christmas adventure as “…a brilliant and touching story”, and its guest star Claire Skinner, who plays Madge Arwell, says her time filming was “…a really nice experience”. In the role of Reg Arwel is Alexander Armstrong, who said: “Matt’s a tremendously fine fellow and excellent to hang out with”.
Elsewhere, clips from the episode are included in BBC One’s Christmas Drama trailer…
The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe airs on BBC One on Christmas Day at 7pm.
Warning! This article and its comments may contain spoilers...
To help us prepare for this year’s Christmas special (just 17 days, everybody!), the official site has unveiled its exclusive prequel as part of its Advent Calendar!
In the short video (which you can see HERE or below!), the Doctor finds himself in yet another sticky situation, making a desperate call to a very dear friend, but it won’t end well…
When Madge and her two children, Lily and Cyril, are evacuated to a draughty old house in Dorset during World War Two, they enter a magical wintry new world with the Doctor.
Above – The jaw-dropper of a Prequel to the Christmas Special, written by Steven Moffat and starring Matt Smith.
WhovianNet is an unofficial Doctor Who fansite. We are not endorsed by or affiliated with the BBC or any other companies connected with Doctor Who and its spin-offs. The official site can be found at bbc.co.uk/doctorwho.
