Here’s the covers and synopses for the upcoming Hartnell DVD double-pack release “The Rescue / The Romans”.

The Rescue

Arriving on the planet Dido in the late 25th Century, the time travellers come upon a crashed spaceship from Earth. Its two occupants – a paralysed man named Bennett and a young girl, Vicki – are living in fear of a creature called Koquillion, a native whose people have apparently killed the other members of the human expedition.

However, the Doctor quickly deduces that Koquillion is in fact Bennett in disguise; it was he who killed the others in order to conceal an earlier murder he had committed on the ship.

Special Features

• Commentary with actor William Russell, director Christopher Barry and designer Raymond Cusick
• Mounting The Rescue – cast and crew look back on the making of the story. With actors William Russell, Maureen O’Brien and Ray Barrett, director Christopher Barry, designer Raymon Cusick and 1960’s viewer Ian McLachlan.
• Photo Gallery
• Coming Soon Trailer
• Also Available
• Programme Subtitles

The Romans

The four time travellers are enjoying a rare holiday, staying at a villa not far from Rome in the year 64 AD. The Doctor soon becomes restless and sets off to visit the city, taking Vicki with him. In their absence, Ian and Barbara are kidnapped by slave traders.

Having been mistaken for the famous lyre player Maximus Pettulian and asked to perform at the Emperor Nero’s Court, the Doctor has to devise ever more elaborate schemes to avoid revealing that he cannot actually play the instrument.

Ian meanwhile becomes a galley slave, while Barbara is sold to Nero’s slave buyer Tavius at an auction in Rome. Ian and a fellow slave named Delos escape from the galley when it is wrecked in a storm and make their way to Rome to try to find and rescue Barbara.

Special Features

• Commentary with actors William Russell, Nick Evans and Barry Jackson, and director Christopher Barry.
• What Has ‘The Romans’ Ever Done For Us? – actors, crew and historians look at both the reality and fantasy behind the story of ‘The Romans’. With actors William Russell, Kay Patrick, Barry Jackson, Anthony Andrews and Christopher Biggins, director Christopher Barry, designer Raymond Cusick, historian Dr. Mark Bradley, writer James Moran, Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spilsbury and 1960’s viewer Ian McLachlan. Narrated by John Bowe.
• Roma Parva – director Christopher Barry demonstrates the use of a model of the studio set in the planning of camera positions and moves during recording.
• Dennis Spooner, Wanna Write a Television Series? – a look at writer Dennis Spooner’s work on Doctor Who. With actors William Russell and Peter Purves, script editor Donald Tosh, writers Brian Clemens and Rob Shearman, and Spooner’s friend Jane Clemens. Narrated by Anna Hope.
• Blue Peter – The Blue Peter team hold a Roman banquet in the studio.
• Girls! Girls! Girls! The 1960’s – an affectionate look back at the sixties Who-Girls. With actors Carole Ann Ford, William Russell, Peter Purves, Anneke Wills, Deborah Watling, Frazer Hines, Jean Marsh and Honor Blackman, script editor Donald Tosh and director Christopher Barry. Narrated by Dona Croll.
• Photo Gallery
• Coming Soon Trailer
• PDF Material
• Programme Subtitles

The synopses and covers for the four episodes of “Iris Wildthyme” series 2 have been revealed by Big Finish. The first of these is due for release on 28th February.

The Sound of Fear

With her red London bus on course for the future, Iris runs slap-bang into the past!

Materialising aboard Radio Yesterday, a space station broadcasting golden oldies to Earth’s colonies, Panda finds something sinister in the air-conditioning and Iris comes face to face with her long-lost husband… (no, really!)

As Iris, Panda and the crew of Radio Yesterday experience the true power of music, the evil Naxian hoardes are poised to transmit a groovy message of death… to the entire galaxy!

Land of Wonder

Exiled to Earth by her mysterious superiors, Iris has been amusing herself and Panda by working for MIAOW, the Ministry for Incursions and Other Wonders. When a certain Professor Ramsbottom and his lovely assistant Audrey unearth a weird vehicle under a London railway station, Ms Wildthyme and her art critic chum are on the scene pretty sharpish.

Among anachronistic skulls and crockery they discover the still-living forms of utterly perplexing, alien creatures. And, before you can say ‘Jabberwocky’ Iris and her friends are on a mind-boggling voyage into a groovy Wonderland deep, deep beneath the Earth’s crust…

The Two Irises

Iris is dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. She sacrificed herself to save her best friend, Panda, then exploded inside her time-travelling bus.

On Earth in the year 2108, the North Bloc and the South Bloc teeter on the edge of terrible nuclear war. The fate of the whole world rests on a not-very-good disco in Spain. One run by the dastardly alien Naxians…

Iris Wildthyme is as dead as a doornail. But her new incarnation is going to have to get stuck in. Poor bloke doesn’t stand a chance.

The Panda Invasion

San Francisco, New Year’s Eve, 1999

She’s back, and it’s about… gin!

When an unconscious Iris Wildthyme is rushed into a San Francisco hospital on New Year’s Eve 1999, hunky doctor George Strangeways’ life is turned upside down.

As the world prepares to party its way into the next millennium, a space time rift opens above the Golden Gate Bridge – where an old fashioned London bus has appeared… As the rift spills untold horrors from other dimensions into our world, Iris has just one question: where the ‘eck is Panda?!

Just a quick note to say that the DVD of “Battlefield” is out now.

The Doctor and Ace receive a mysterious distress signal and land in the Earth village of Carbury, where a nuclear convoy has halted. The Doctor’s concern is heightened when knights from another dimension begin to land in the area. Nearby is Lake Voortigen, the mythical resting-place of Excalibur, King Arthur’s mystical sword…

But the lake holds a more sinister secret. A spaceship from the same alien dimension lurks under the lake – but does it really contain Arthur’s corpse? And what is it that the Witch Queen, Morgaine, is really after?

The Doctor’s old friend the Brigadier is sent in to investigate, but the Doctor’s happiness is short-lived. It seems his friend must take on the might of the deadly Destroyer, a horned demon intent on bringing about the end of the world…

The DVD cover for the 19th January release of this year’s Christmas special, “The Next Doctor” has been released by 2 Entertain. The DVD also contains the 2008 Doctor Who Prom and is available for pre-order now!

BBC Audio have released the cover for their New Who release, “The Nemonite Invasion”, due for release on 12th February.

2 Entertain have released the cover and information about their upcoming box set release, “The E-Space Trilogy“, set for release on 26th January.

Full Circle: The Doctor discovers the TARDIS has fallen into E-Space and landed on the planet Alzarius. Its only inhabitants live on a vast, dilapidated spaceship which they have been attempting to repair for generations in order to return to their home planet. But Mistfall, a legendary time of terror, is coming again to Alzarius, and an eerie menace is rising out of the misty marshes. The Doctor and Romana must solve the riddle of the strange Marshmen if they are to have any chance of returning to their own universe.

State of Decay: Searching for a way out of E-Space, the Doctor and Romana, joined by a young stowaway, land on an Earth-like planet. Here the people live in fear of ‘the Three who Rule’; cruel lords who live in a high tower overlooking their village. Suppressing all learning to keep their subjects ignorant and helpless, what chilling secret are these ruthless monarchs concealing? An ancient evil is rising once again and only the Doctor and Romana can destroy it.

Warriors’ Gate: A strange creature forces its way into the TARDIS steering them to a white void occupied only by the ruins of an old building and a spaceship. This empty space is a gateway to the past and future and the creature responsible for taking them there is Biroc, a Tharil, an enslaved race. The gateway offers the only exit out of E-Sapce, but the void is contracting. Are the Doctor and his friends fated to spend eternity in E-Space? And what final shock revelation awaits the Doctor?

To read the list of extras, click to read more.
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