BBC Studios Compels CultBox to Take Down Story about Doctor Who Launch

September 4, 2018

Earlier today, an observant fan in Germany discovered that iTunes had released the launch date of Doctor Who Series 11 in a post which offered the series for presale. This offer was extended over all of  iTunes' regional websites, reporting the same launch date.

Cultbox reported on the story, including the launch date, and was sent a legal notice from BBC Studios to desist.

iTunes released the launch date for Doctor Who series 11, a series we can't wait to see.

We reported this.

Sadly, we've been sent a legal letter for doing so. Apologies, everybody. We're only a small, independent fan site. Story has been taken down.

— CultBox (@CultBoxTV) September 4, 2018

CultBox wisely capitulated in the face of potential legal problems from the large corporation and edited the story, explaining the reason.

Though I know which date was reported, I will not reveal for fear of receiving a legal notice myself.

Several media people on Twitter have complained about the way CultBox was treated.

Stuart Manning has created some stunning Doctor Who artwork for the Radio Times and other media outlets.

BBC Studios needs to have a word with themselves. Threatening fans with legal action for repeating information released through one of their media partners really isn't a good look. https://t.co/2pbSpR8IyM

— Stuart Manning (@stuart_manning) September 4, 2018

Former Doctor Who Magazine editor and TARDIS aficionado Clayton Hickman:

That is appalling behaviour. They should be ashamed of themselves. They won’t be, of course. They never are. Sorry you had to go through that 😘

— Clayton Hickman (@claytonhickman) September 4, 2018

Doctor Who Companion founder Philip Bates:

Hi CultBox; co-founder of @TheDWCom here - just wanted to say you have our support. This is disgusting behaviour from the BBC.

— Philip Bates (@prbates36) September 4, 2018

The official word from the BBC is that Doctor Who will return "Autumn 2018".

Update, September 5, 2018:

The BBC has announced the air date of the first Series 11 episode, titled The Woman Who Fell to Earth, as October 7, the same air date given on itunes which CultBox reported.

BBC entertainment news correspondent Lizo Mzimba included this statement with his announcement of the air date:

“Meanwhile, BBC Studios, which makes the time travel drama, has been criticised by many fans after entertainment website Cultbox was threatened with legal action for reporting the launch date a day before the BBC's announcement.

The site had referenced an official page for the BBC series on the iTunes store, which had published the launch date.

 A cease and desist letter sent on behalf of the BBC said that they considered the now removed story on Cultbox contained "classified information", and that it constituted "a breach of a trade secret".”

From Series 11 Writers and Directors in Doctor Who Magazine

Five writers were announced in addition to Chris Chibnall. They are given primary credit for one episode each, though that does not necessarily discount a writers' room type collaboration over all ten episodes. They were each asked to describe their episodes in three words:

Malorie Blackman: heartfelt, thought-provoking, timely

Ed Hime: really rather spooky

Peter McTighe: creepy, fun, rollercoaster

Vinay Patel: educational, epic, emotional

Joy Wilkinson: dark, funny, squelchy



This is what was learned from the directors:

There was an outdoor scene filmed in Wales intentionally involving inclement weather in Episode 1, 7, 9 or 10.

A filming block involved scenes that went from "Baroque to the future".

The location filming of Episodes 4 and 6 occurred during quite a bit of rain, snow and mud. This might have something to do with writer Joy Wilkinson describing her episode as "squelchy".

Episode 5 or 8 contains a zany action sequence in an entirely digitally-created world.


The director's statements:

Jamie Childs, Episodes 1, 6, 7 & 10

"I love real locations, and I think they bring a lot of realism to any film, especially in sci fi when you want to ground the surreal in the real world. As we shoot mostly in and around Cardiff, one of the main concerns with any exterior location was always: will it rain? I have to say Wales never let me down. I don’t think I got bad weather once, apart from the one time I wanted a specific type of ‘bad’ weather and I got it. So I was very lucky overall.” 

Mark Tonderai, Episodes 2 & 3

“It’s a movie a week in essence without regular standing sets. But I always think – as under pressure that I am – what about design or costume? Man, they are really under the gun. Sometimes they go from Baroque to the future in one block. But what’s great is that on Who I operated camera B, which meant the episodes I shot really are mine, you know? I shot it how I saw it. And our crew were wonderful human beings whose craft elevated everything I did.”

Sallie Aprahamian, Episodes 4 & 9

“The weather was not kind to us on one of the episodes – howling rain storms, snow, lots of mud and bright sunshine, sometimes within minutes of each other. The cast and crew were amazing, working on through with good humour and craft. That’s how Doctor Whomagic sometimes has to happen."

Jennifer Perrott, Episodes 5 and 8

“It was my turn to film just after the apocalyptic snow storms earlier this year, so I wasn’t hindered by arduous weather. The previous team lost filming time due to red-alert snow storms. I did have a zany action sequence in studio where we just had the actors, green screen and fans blowing their hair – the entire world around them will be created with VFX. I can’t wait to see what those geniuses at [effects house] DNEG create for that.”

Series 11 Writers Finally Announced!

Malorie Blackman, Chris Chibnall, Ed Hime, Vinay Patel, Pete McTighe and Joy Wilkinson are the Doctor Who, Series 11 writers.

I suspect this announcement was written and ready to go for the day it was discovered that mail/post subscribers had received their issues of Doctor Who Magazine, which again missed an opportunity to announce an exclusive.

The Series 11 directors were also officially announced today but they were already discovered.

BBC Studios Targets Two Twitter Accounts

BBC Studios filed a subpoena against Twitter regarding leaked Doctor Who Series 11 materials on August 3. The PDF of the court docket can be found here.

The two accounts are @VortexiaTweets and @MrWhelan101

The World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR) covered the story on August 10.

"The BBC filed its subpoena against Twitter at the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Friday, August 3" 

*Source* 

(It seems the the article is now archived and only available to subscribers.

The article mentions the two Twitter accounts targeted as "Vortexia" and  "Mr Whelan 101".

"The BBC asked for any personal information held by Twitter on two of its users, including address, internet protocol location, and date of birth. The users are identified as Vortexia and Mr Whelan 101."

Both Twitter accounts have responded with statements after I tweeted them:

This is 100% bullshit but whatever, my ISP is masked anyway and i have just about every firewall you can think of protecting my privacy. Come after me all you want. You won’t get far. https://t.co/FT1yTAPuzJ

— Matt🌈 (@MrWhelan101) August 10, 2018

I'm being victimised 😂😂 https://t.co/7aBO0nKQc0

— Vortexia (@VortexiaTweets) August 10, 2018

If this is true, and they are indeed going after our Twitter accounts - then I have just have this to say:

I'd rather actually talk to someone and tell them what I know than them dox me. https://t.co/7aBO0nKQc0

— Vortexia (@VortexiaTweets) August 10, 2018

Yeah you can edit the article it's definitely me, @vortexia hasn't been active for 10 years ;)

— Vortexia (@VortexiaTweets) August 10, 2018

@VortexiaTweets Statement on this nonsense:

So you're all probably aware that @MrWhelan101 and myself are currently being investigated by the BBC because of lack of control on their leak culture.

Everything in @DoctorWhoPN 's article is correct, I'm grateful it was posted.

— Vortexia (@VortexiaTweets) August 10, 2018

Twitter has so far been very cooperative with the DMCA to the point of permanently suspending Twitter accounts for infractions as small as posting companion character portrait images from merchandisers who posted images from Doctor Who 2019 calendars too soon.

Another Leaked Photo of the TARDIS Interior

Earlier today, I saw  a photo on Facebook. The claim about the photo was it was of the TARDIS interior. I was skeptical because it was such a bad photo that I thought someone had photoshopped a fake TARDIS interior based on earlier leaked photos. It turns out the photo is genuine.

Just found out that there's a leaked photo of the Tardis interior, that alone makes me livid! The fact that it's a dreadful photo, taken by someone with no hint of artistry & unlit makes me absolutely effing incandescent with rage!

— Arwel Wyn Jones (@arwelwjones) August 9, 2018

The photo lacked interior illumination of several of the set elements. The red glow of the "ribs" and central column was missing as was the lighting under the floor which allows some of the geometry and the Gallifreyan writing to show.

This marks the forth time there has been a significant leak of Series 11 content, whether by deliberate theft, mistaken early release or a poorly ordered website.

This reminds me or a quote from Princess Leia to Governor Tarkin Star Wars: A New Hope.

"The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers."

I'm not trying to compare BBC Studios or anyone who directs them to enforce extreme secrecy to the evil of the Empire nor depict anyone behind the leaks as virtuous. The deliberate leakers have patently broken the law and violated the trust of their employers.

I do think that the current atmosphere of extreme secrecy breeds this type of behavior, however. I've been frequently perplexed by the amount and kind of information which has not yet been released.

We do not even know the premiere date of the first episode two months before it delivers in October, according to a leak from an exclusive panel at the BBC Worldwide Showcase.

Doctor Who Magazine used to be a source of exclusive information about the series and now they are reduced to one photo exclusive in their last issue. The magazine used to be the source of knowledge of what writers and directors were hired for the upcoming series. None of the Series 11 writers (with the exception of Chris Chibnall) and only one of the directors were officially announced. The only reason we know the names of all four Series 11 directors is through diligent fan research.

None of the things I've mentioned contribute to spoilers for the episodes themselves so it's very perplexing that the fans aren't even allowed this information when they were in the past. All this secrecy is supposed to create a communal fan experience when Doctor Who premieres in the fall, but I've seen it cause fear and furtiveness among the fans.

It used to be fun to discover new things. Now the discovery of new material can be dangerous because the material itself is not alway what it seems. Fans do not always know when something that looks like an official publicity photo or images from a calendar offered for sale have been posted too soon or by accident. The increased vigilance of DMCA takedowns and the resulting consequences have led to the permanent loss of Twitter accounts. This creates much fear, bad will and resentment rather than a happy communal fan experience.

Doctor Who Children in Need Sketch Filmed at Roath Lock Studios

I can confirm that a Doctor Who Children in Need sketch was filmed at Roath Lock Studios on August 7. A photo exists of a safety bulletin posted outside of the studios used for Doctor Who.

An official #DoctorWho #ChildrenInNeed sketch is happening!

Recently discovered by visitors to Roath Lock, the doors to the Doctor Who studio state that filming for a children in need sketch was taking place! Which includes “water, slips, trips and falls”

Who’s excited?? pic.twitter.com/ue7Jw5CQNt

— Tardis Tales💥🌎 (@TardisNew) August 7, 2018

I've privately seen this photo myself, though not from the person who tweeted about it. I can confirm the safety bulletin says "Doctor Who/Children In Need" and contains handwritten warnings for

Slips, trips and falls
Water
Overhead washing

I would venture to guess that "Overhead washing" refers to some sort of water-releasing apparatus used in filming to simulate rain.

I would also guess that the photo was possibly taken by someone who was partaking in a tour of the Pobol y Cwm set which was offered that day in the same studio complex.

"Crazy" New Design for the TARDIS Interior

If you've been paying attention, you have seen the video of the twelfth Doctor's TARDIS being dismantled.



You've also watched the interior if the TARDIS blow up after ejecting the newly-regenerated thirteenth Doctor in Twice Upon a Time.


Despite this evidence, here is what Chris Chibnall had to say about a new TARDIS interior design at press conference at San Diego Comic Con:

"No, I didn't say that!," he said, laughing as one of his questioners stated that he mentioned that the TARDIS exploded so we will see a new one. "I said it exploded. You said we'd see a new one." Chris Chibnall then refused any more questions on the subject.

Last week, after a photo credit was published in Doctor Who Magazine, two photos depicting portions of the TARDIS interior were discovered on character and publicity stills photographer Ben Blackall's online portfolio. Those photos, along with some other character portraits and publicity stills can be found on the Facebook page for Doctor Freedom.

Just today, Doctor Who concept artist Darren Fereday tweeted this (You are only seeing the reply because the tweet was deleted. Screenshot below):

You are most welcome & thanks for all the things & things we can't talk about yet😉

— Arwel Wyn Jones (@arwelwjones) August 6, 2018

So production designer Arwel Wyn Jones had a "crazy" vision for the new TARDIS interior which I assume he designed with input from Jodie Whittaker.

As for Chris Chibnall, I think a very discerning ear is required whenever he makes statements about Doctor Who.

Update:

It seems Darren Fereday was asked to delete some tweets.

Had to pull the plug on the artwork! Want to thank everyone who took the time to comment and who hit that like button, over a thousand hits! Love how psyched you guys are for the show and what we've done, and hope you're loving the toy. Much love x

— Darren Fereday (@DarrenFereday) August 8, 2018

Fereday not only deleted his tweets which featured his own renditions of the sonic screwdriver but also deleted his tweet about Arwel Wyn Jones' "crazy vision" for new TARDIS interior design.

Perhaps one of the secrets is that, like one of the toy versions, the tip rotates.

Of course! Been sonic-ing things ever since I got it!#DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/ruBzJZajMn

— Neil (@BryterMoon) August 7, 2018

Chris Chibnall said to Digital Spy:

"Secrecy is not an end in itself." 

"…it's not out of a desire for secrecy, it's a desire for that moment when it goes out of people experiencing it together."

I fail to see how being secretive about the mere existence of a new TARDIS interior fits with keeping the broadcasts a communal experience when an explosion already destroyed the twelfth Doctor's console room in Twice Upon a Time so it can be presumed a new one is required.

I also fail to see how drawings of a device which has already been released as a toy version and is already in the hands of fans would also be subject to the same secrecy.

It's really a shame how restricted the creative people on the production team are in sharing their enthusiasm. Even comic and concept artist Patrick Goddard was forced to delete a tweet of a drawing he created of the thirteenth Doctor's costume the day it was revealed to the public.