Per oltre quindici anni l'equipaggio del complesso minerario 27 Kollo-Zarnista ha estratto diamanti dalle profondità dell'atmosfera di Saturno, diamanti che contribuiscono ad alimentare la continua espansione dell'Impero Umano. Ma quando un'operazione mineraria va storta, si rende necessaria una missione d'emergenza per salvare un minatore alla deriva, un minatore che sostiene di aver visto qualcosa in mezzo ai vortici di gas. Qualcosa che non può esistere. Non appena arrivati, Bill e il Dottore si ritrovano circondati da minatori ostili, addetti alla sicurezza sospettosi e dirigenti della compagnia corrotti, mentre sono costretti a difendersi dalle accuse di sabotaggio e furto di diamanti. Intanto, sotto di loro, nell'atmosfera schiacciante del gigante di gas, qualcosa comincia a muoversi.

An intimate, behind-the-curtains tour of the sets, costumes, spacecraft, alien planets, creatures, weapons, and gadgets used to create the stunning world ofDoctor Who.

From distant galaxies in the far-flung future, to ancient history on the planet Earth,Doctor Who is unique for the breadth of imaginative possibilities it offers the artists charged with bringing each episode to life. Mining the depths of the BBC archives, Stephen Nicholas and Mike Tucker have compiled this breathtaking collection of rare and never-before-published images that are interwoven with fascinating insights from the show’s writers. Showcasing the work ofDoctor Who’s remarkable designers, Doctor Who: Impossible Worlds pays tribute to the care and attention to detail essential to creating the look of the show, from the characters themselves—including recurring villains like the Daleks or the Cybermen—to the smallest hand prop featured in the briefest of scenes, to the TARDIS console room and other regularly used sets.

Doctor Who: Impossible Worlds explores how the art department works together with costumers and make-up and special effects artists to produce a coherent look for a diverse range of alien worlds; reveals how the artists’ relationship with the computer graphics department allows them to create locations far grander than possible in the real world; and shows how today’s creative artists have built upon the designs produced by their predecessors—the pioneers of the program’s “classic” era whose legacy has delighted audiences since 1963.

Divided thematically, Doctor Who: Impossible Worlds examines the history of the program and its art and set design, and highlights how various re-occurring designs have evolved over time. Chock full of surprising, illuminating, and fascinating information, photographs, and trivia, Doctor Who: Impossible Worlds is essential for every Whovian, whether you're an established fan or are new to the show.

L'attacco ad un ragazzino da parte di una mosca gigantesca, il ritrovamento di un cadavere avvolto in un bozzolo di ragno... Che cosa sta succedendo? Una nuova sfida per il Dottore...

'Well, I doubt you'll ever see a bigger insect.'

Gabby Nichols is putting her son to bed when she hears her daughter cry out. 'Mummy there's a daddy longlegs in my room!' Then the screaming starts... Alan Travers is heading home from the pub when something rushes his face - a spider's web. Then something huge and deadly lumbers from the shadows... Kevin Alperton is on his way to school when he is attacked by a mosquito. A big one. Then things get dangerous.

But it isn't the dead man cocooned inside a huge mass of web that worries the Doctor. It isn't the swarming, mutated insects that make him nervous. It isn't an old man's garbled memories of past dangers that intrigue him.

With the village cut off from the outside world, and the insects becoming more and more dangerous, the Doctor knows that no one is safe. Not unless he can decode the strange symbols engraved on an ancient stone circle, and unravel a mystery dating back to the Second World War.

The BBC Visual Effects (VFX) Department closed its doors in 2003. For almost fifty years it had been responsible for some of television's most iconic images---from a kitten hanging precariously onto a miniature Post Office Tower in The Goodies to the Queen Vic being engulfed in flames in EastEnders; from the majestic Liberator sailing through space in Blake's 7 to Captain Mainwaring and his ragged band making their way across a battlefield in Dad's Army; from severed heads dripping blood in The Borgias to the all-time classic baddies of Doctor Who, the Daleks.

Written by two long-serving members of the Department, and featuring a wealth of fabulous images, this unique book tells the story of a group of craftsmen and women who lived by the mantra, `If it can be imagined, it can be made.'

The BBC's FX Designers were responsible for producing every kind of visual effect, from rain and explosions, to miniatures and models, to sculpture and animatronics. Almost all were produced without the use of computer-generated imagery, often to very tight schedules, and in the early years many were made for live broadcast.

Following a historical overview and a chapter explaining FX techniques, the book features in-depth accounts of fifty key shows, representing every genre from costume drama to comedy, from science fiction to documentary. Using interviews with many of the Designers involved, the authors describe the technical and creative challenges the FX teams faced and how they overcame them through a combination of specialist techniques, dedication and boundless inventiveness. In the process they reveal hundreds of secrets about some of television's most famous scenes. Find out what lay behind the terrifying `thing in the tank' from Quatermass II, how a mushroom cloud was sent up over Sheffield for the nuclear drama Threads, and how Mrs Slocombe's infamous `pussy' was brought to life in Are You Being Served?

Filled with fascinating insights and wonderful stories, and lavishly illustrated with production photos and concept drawings, many of which have never been published, this is an essential book for all FX fans and anyone who loves television.