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Reposted by Paul Scoones

Paul MC Smith @wonderfulbooks.co.uk · 04/09/2026

Out now: SCREEN PRINTED, the definitive guide to the exciting adventures based on the popular BBC television serial. 199 titles, 1,100 editions, 800 cover images. Fully revised listings and details of the Doctor Who novelisations from Target and beyond. More at www.wonderfulbook.co.uk/screenprinted

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Morgan Davie @fromthemorgue.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

The article name "Time Space Voyager" was an homage to legendary Doctor Who fanzine from Aotearoa, TSV (Time/Space Visualiser) - Where my first ever roleplaying writing was published by @paulscoones.bsky.social ! And every issue of TSV is online to enjoy at doctorwho.org.nz/archive/

Cover of TSV 27, featuring a superb illustration by Warwick Gray of the Seventh Doctor Who and his friend Ace surrounded by clowns and other figures from the story "Greatest Show in the Galaxy"

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Because this has come up today... There are (or were) two versions of Terrance Dicks' The Vampire Mutation in existence: an incomplete set of scripts abandoned after Part Two, from March 1977, and a set of four scripts commissioned under the same title, delivered in January 1980.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I'm intrigued and thrilled to see that there will be novelisations of The Vampire Mutation and The Six Doctors. There was very little that I could find about these early drafts when I wrote the blu-ray info text for Horror of Fang Rock and The Five Doctors. Really looking forward to these!

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

The Fang Rock article (pictured) in this superb publication is by yours truly.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

I'm about to start a five-month contract job based a short walk from Hard to Find Bookshop (a treasure trove of secondhand books). My TBR pile is way too high already and I've long since run out of bookshelves. Must resist temptation!

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

New Doctor Who fact! Did you know that after The Time Meddler, Peter Butterworth' the Monk joined the Tardis crew, appearing in Galaxy 4, The Myth Makers, The Massacre and The Ark? Vicki also stayed on for the latter two stories. Information courtesy of 1960s issues of the New Zealand Listener.

5.43 DR WHO
Starring William Hartnell, Peter Purves, Maureen O’Brien and Peter Butterworth
Four Hundred Dawns

5.44 DR WHO
Starring William Hartnell, Peter Purves, Maureen O’Brien and Peter Butterworth
Temple of Secrets

5.44 DR WHO
Starring William Hartnell, Peter Purves, Maureen O’Brien and Peter Butterworth
War Of God
Steven makes some new acquaintances but loses the Doctor

5.41 DR WHO
An adventure in space and time
Starring William Hartnell, Peter Purves, Maureen O’Brien and Peter Butterworth
The Steel Sky

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Richard Bignell @nothinglane.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

As Sir David Attenborough turns 100 today, here's his memo from December 1966 as Controller of BBC2 to Dennis Scuse at Television Enterprises, turning down the idea that Terry Nation's planned colour Dalek series could find a home on his channel.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

View from high up of Takapuna and Devonport, in Auckland, New Zealand.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Auckland by night, seen from the 19th floor of the Spencer on Byron hotel in Takapuna.

Auckland, New Zealand, seen from Takapuna at night

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Reecy Pontiff @reecypontiff.com · 20/04/2026

Let's unbox the copies of my Eighth Doctor history book, Leap of Eighth - with a foreword by Paul McGann! UK pre-order: telos.co.uk/shop/doctor-... (I'm based in the UK so the information within regards this side of the Pond unless otherwise specified) #DoctorWho #8thDoctor

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John Freeman @johnfreeman.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Released late last year by BBC Audio, Doctor Who: The Vampire Plants & Other Stories offers a quartet of fabulous stories based on vintage… downthetubes.net/revisiting-the-com…

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

My wedding anniversary is the same date as the broadcast of The Lion. I swear it's a coincidence!

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

I'm thrilled to have just uncovered a Doctor Who New Fact! I now have the name of someone who appears on screen in an old story but has never been identified in any cast lists. Can't say anymore as the story I'm currently researching hasn't been announced for release yet.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

I wrote the production information text subtitles for most of the stories on the Doctor Who Season 21 blu-ray set. You can listen to me talking about my work on these stories here.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Watching regular Star Trek usually does it for me.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Today's the anniversary of the day that Rochelle and I officially opened our shop, Retrospace Sci-Fi Collectibles, on Hurstmere Road, Takapuna, on Saturday 7 January 2012. Prior to that we'd been selling online and had stands at events for a few years. Still going strong all these years later!

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

Doctor Who: The Lion film can now, still with the markings it had at the time of its discovery. The "Sedang Cinema" label was stuck over the top of the 1960s NZBC sticker by film collector Bruce Grenville in 1998. Photos courtesy of the film can's current owner.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

27 years ago today, my friend Neil and I visited a film collector to follow up a rumour that he possibly had a lost episode of Doctor Who. The rest is history.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

Our two cats caught in an astonishing moment where they're happily snoozing in the same spot. Usually they're play fighting and chasing each other.

A ginger and a tuxedo cat on the same chair.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

20th anniversary Christmas Day performance of The End of the Golden Weather on Takapuna Beach.

People seated on Takapuna beach reserve, watching a one-man performance of The End of the Golden Weather

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Reposted by Paul Scoones

Richard Bignell @nothinglane.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

The PDF Archive for the Doctor Who Season 21 Blu-ray Collection has finally been locked, so here's what's going to be included this time round - a total of 7706 pages of material, the second largest so far. It brings the running total across the 19 releases to 78,493 pages!

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

This artwork terrified me so much as a young child of about 7 or 8 (already an avid reader and Doctor Who fan), that when I borrowed it from the library I assiduously always placed the book face down so that I didn't have to look at the monster on the cover.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

A 1966 publicity photo of Dodo outside the TARDIS from The Bell of Doom was surely used as a reference by the artist who drew The Vampire Plants strip for The Dr Who Annual 1970.

Jackie Lane (Dodo) poses in front of the TARDIS on Wimbledon Common from Doctor Who: The Bell of Doom (1966).

Illustration of the TARDIS from the comic strip story The Vampire Plants, published in The Dr Who Annual 1970 (1969).

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Currently listening to this, and it says that The Vampire Plants story is "from the Doctor Who Annual 1969". No, that should be 1970. The annual was published in 1969 for the following year. The other three stories in this collection have the correct years.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

I wrote the info text subtitles for all but two of the Season 21 stories when they were previously released on DVD about 15 years ago. I spent considerable time earlier thus year, in collaboration with my editor Martin Wiggins, meticulously rewriting and updating the info text for this BR set.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

University life. Decades ago, I was a student at the University of Auckland. Now I'm back - this time on staff as an exam supervisor. Currently three weeks into a month-long stint.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Farewell Pauline Collins, the Troughton era companion who wasn't.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

Toby asked me (along with many others) to give my picks for this fun missing episode find scenario. The two remains parts of The Crusade were first on my list, as you might expect!

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Arrived at last! I worked on The Brain of Morbius as an infotext subtitle researcher, and received this set as a thank you for my contribution.

Doctor Who The Collection Season 13 blu-ray box set

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

I was in the audience for a Q&A with Billie Piper earlier this week. Astonishingly, no one asked about her appearance in the most recent episode. No vetting of questions or restrictions on what could or couldn't be asked. It just simply never came up.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

These deep dives into Terrance Dicks' Target novelisations are absolutely fascinating. Highly recommended (and not just because I get a glowing name check in this one)!

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

I wrote a guide to the Fifth Doctor's DWM comic strips for this superb-looking publication, due out next month.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

First time, to the best of my knowledge, that I've received an acknowledgement in a university thesis.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

So this happened on today's episode of Strange New Worlds. So Pelia once met the Doctor? Crossover! #startrek #doctorwho

On Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (season 3 episode 10), Pelia says "Remind me to tell you about the time"

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Simon Guerrier @0tralala.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

Another extended wanging-on about old Doctor Who books, this time Doctor Who and the Terror of the Autons by Terrance Dicks, featuring flowing honey, chameleons and repair shops. 0tralala.blogspot.com/2025/09/doct...

0tralala.blogspot.com

Doctor Who and the Terror of the Autons by Terrance Dicks

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Simon Guerrier @0tralala.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

People seemed to like the first one, so here is a big, nerdy post by me on Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks by Terrance Dicks: 0tralala.blogspot.com/2025/08/doct... #DoctorWho #Booksky

0tralala.blogspot.com

Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks by Terrance Dicks

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Ian Greaves @greavesian.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

A number of very kind people have asked to directly share the document. It is however locked, solely in order that we can keep track of additional names and add you to the mailing list. If you would like to be added to the letter, please follow the email instructions at the top of the page. Thanks!

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

My first info text subtitling work for the BBC was released on DVD 15 years ago. Planet of Fire was out in June, but this was when I received my copy. Appropriately I've spent today working on info text for a future release (not saying which one as it won't be announced for sometime yet).

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Good to see the superb Aldo series by @dvbishop.com well represented in New Zealand bookshops!

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Reposted by Paul Scoones

Richard Bignell @nothinglane.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

With the announcement of the Season 13 Blu-ray Collection box set, here's what's going to be included in the PDF Archive this time round - a total of 4027 pages of scripts, production documents, studio floor plans, Radio Times cuttings, ephemera etc.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

James May, and The Guardian for that matter, really ought to know better. This is a myth.

Why does the water flow anticlockwise down the plug hole in Australia but clockwise in the UK?

Because of the rotation of the Earth. If you go to the equator – and I’ve done this – you can do an experiment with a bucket of water with a hole in the bottom. If you stand exactly on the equator and drop in a matchstick, it will stay stationary. If you walk north of the equator 100 paces, it starts going around one way. If you walk south, it starts going the other way. It’s quite a boring experiment and you have to have absolutely nothing else left to do in your life.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

My contribution to this magnificent set was as researcher for the info text on The Brain of Morbius. Which meant I finally got to see the much sought-after scripts.

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

An absolutely fascinating exploration of acclaimed SF author Christopher Priest's association with Doctor Who. I have some insight into why 'The Enemy Within' ran into problems, having read BBC correspondence while researching the blu-ray info text for 'Earthshock' (the story it replaced).

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Paul Scoones @paulscoones.bsky.social · 15/06/2025

Sad to learn that Maurice Gee, author of acclaimed New Zealand science fiction novel Under the Mountain (among many other works for both adults and children) has died, aged 93. We both grew up in the same part of Auckland (albeit decades apart).

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