Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special 2013: Fans Raise Funds to Send TARDIS Replica Into Space, Jenna-Louise Coleman Lands Role in BBC Crime Drama

In celebration of 2013's 50^th anniversary of the BBC's hit time-travelling series Doctor Who, some fans have raised money in order to send a replica of the TARDIS into space. Other fans that were not aware of this venture can surely appreciate the symbolism of getting the famous time machine into space just as it does in mostly every episode of the popular show. It apparently only took a few days to raise the appropriate amount to fund the galactic voyage of the TARDIS replica. Will they place some Doctor Who memorabilia into the replica as well? Perhaps some action figures of the 11 Doctors?

The Whovians responsible for this idea are the father and daughter team of Robert and Alex Doyle from Florida. Their campaign to send a replica of the TARDIS into orbit started online and reached the £20K (about $31K) goal within days thanks to other fans of the show.

Robert said, "I was always a Doctor Who fan in school. I wore a Doctor Who scarf. Tom Baker was my favorite. He was always The Doctor to me. The bug caught on in an infectious way so we wanted to do something to celebrate the show we both enjoy so much. I just can't wait to see pictures of the TARDIS up in space. It's so exciting."

So perhaps you'll be able to see a glimpse of the TARDIS from a telescope one day and get to experience that magical feeling in real life!

As far as the actual 50^th Anniversary Special airing in November goes, the episodes actors have been quite busy outside of the Doctor Who realm.

First off, John Hurt - who is portraying a mysterious version of The Doctor in the special this year - just signed on for a new series on FX. The legendary actor has just been cast in Guillermo Del Toro's anticipated series, "The Strain."

The show's creator, Del Toro, had this to say about working with Hurt:

"I am incredibly happy to be reunited with John, who is one of the greatest actors in the world and one of my favorite people ever ... [Fellow writer] Chuck [Hogan] and I always visualized him while writing The Strain novels and he is absolutely perfect for the part!"

 Also, Jenna-Louise Coleman - who plays the current companion Clara Oswald - was just cast in a new BBC crime drama with "The Americans" star Matthew Rhys. The miniseries is called Death Comes to Pemberley, which is based on P.D. James' novel that explores the characters of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in a different manner.

Here is a synopsis of Death Comes to Pemberley thanks to The Hollywood Reporter:

"Death Comes to Pemberley is set up as a three-part drama that starts six years into the Bennett-Darcy marriage. It revolves around a murder investigation that starts at the couple's annual ball."