Coming Up This Week: November 18th-24th

This is November's grand epicentre of entertainment- the next seven days house pure, thrilling gold!
If ever we needed to trace a single week as the highlight of this month's entertainment roster, then the coming one would fit the bill without question. From Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary Special to the Xbox One's launch, from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire to Need for Speed: Rivals, from An Adventure in Space and Time to The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, the level and quantity of major releases in the next seven days is simply astonishing!

Let's neither dilly nor dally any longer, then, and in the words of Rizzle Kicks, 'skip to the good bit'. Here's our definitive round-up of everything you need to watch out for this week!:

• DOCTOR WHO: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE- BBC Three kick off a Doctor Who-intensive week (well, it is the 50th Anniversary, after all!) with a glorious retrospective on the show's dense history. Monsters, companions and Doctors are here in full force to get fans ready and exhilarated for The Day of the Doctor, in what promises to be the ultimate warm-up treat...(Monday 18th, BBC3)
• THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE- Katniss Everdeen is back in action, as the much-anticipated follow-up to 2012's The Hunger Games (4.5/5) arrives in cinemas worldwide. Catching Fire's action commences as Katniss and Peeta cross the twelve Districts of Panem for their Victory Tour, only to find that the Capital has other devastating plans in order to quell the rebellions which have emerged ever since the 74th Hunger Games. A blockbuster adaptation of Suzanne Collins' greatest novel, this is an unmissable motion picture experience! (Thursday 21st)
• AN ADVENTURE IN SPACE AND TIME- Shortly before the Eleventh Doctor, the Tenth Doctor and the War Doctor enter a new adventure across the fourth dimension and beyond, Mark Gatiss is offering fans a touching glimpse into Doctor Who's inception. Starring David Bradley, Jessica Raine and Brian Cox, Adventure depicts the world of 1960s England, and the trials and tribulations the show's original production team underwent in order to bring an icon to BBC One. (Thursday 21st, BBC2)
• XBOX ONE- Amidst all of the Doctor Who presents to be unwrapped this week, a different yet similarly juicy gift awaits gamers too. Microsoft's Xbox One is launching worldwide on Friday, with initial titles for the next-generation console including Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising 3, Killer Instinct, Ryse: Son of Rome and Need for Speed: Rivals. With the PlayStation 4 set to release next week, prepare for the commencement fo the ultimate hardware war once more...(Friday 22nd)
• THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: A LINK BETWEEN WORLDS- It's been a fair while since Nintendo fans received the brilliant The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword- two full years, in fact! Thankfully, the team's latest effort starring Link, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, looks to be a spectacular return to form for the franchise. Featuring intriguing connections to the series' original 2D chapters, Link Between Worlds retails exclusively on Nintendo 3DS and 2DS. (Friday 22nd)
• THE CULTURE SHOW: YOU, ME AND DOCTOR WHO- You'd think that viewers already had enough Doctor Who content to deal this week, but BBC Two are taking the quantity of releases ever further. This special edition of The Culture Show investigates Doctor Who's impact on British and worldwide culture in the last half-century, presented by lifelong science-fiction fan Matthew Sweet and housing one or two satisfying cameos from none other than Matt Smith! (Fri 22nd, BBC2)
• DOCTOR WHO: THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR- What could the Doctor's darkest day possibly entail? And what does his most precious secret mean for the entire universe? These game-changing questions will be answered in spectacular fashion as Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary Special finally broadcasts fifty years on from Saturday November 23rd, 1963. Matt Smith, David Tennant, Jenna Coleman, Billie Piper and John Hurt all headline this incredible feature-length blockbuster adventure, which fans can experience on BBC One, on international networks across the world simultaneously or on the big-screen in 3D at cinemas everywhere. Suffice to say that you will not want to miss the live showing of one of Doctor Who's most anticipated and most significant narratives ever! (Saturday 23rd, BBC1 & Cinemas)
• DOCTOR WHO LIVE: THE AFTERPARTY- And to round off an amazing night of Doctor Who celebrations, BBC Three have one final programme in store. The Afterparty is a grand successor to The Day of the Doctor- hosted by Zoe Ball (grit your teeth, those who remember her contribution to Doctor Who Live's Twelfth Doctor reveal!), the one-off special will incorporate live reactions from fans to the 50th Special, video congratulations from One Direction (yes, really!) and many other celebrities and plenty more besides. Don't expect the world of this one, but if the adrenaline rush that The Day of the Doctor needs to continue in a celebratory form, then this is the perfect solution...(Saturday 23rd, BBC3)

Next week, Oliver and Moira face a potentially catastrophic trial in Arrow: State V. Queen, Nintendo's iconic plumber returns in Super Mario 3D World, Doctor Who fans get the chance to reclaim lost episodes on DVD with Doctor Who: The Enemy of the World and Marvel's Agents of SHIELD continues with its ninth instalment!

Busted & McFly Announce Collaboration Tour

Ready for a blast from the past? Two revived teen pop groups are hoping you'll answer in the affirmative...
The original band members of the pop music groups Busted and McFly have this week announced a joint tour of the UK to commence next year. Rallying together under the band name 'McBusted', the ensemble of artists will début new collaborative songs and old classics from both bands' history in their latest round of concerts.

Year 3000, Air Hostess and Shine A Light all featured in McBusted's first performances during McFly's 10th Anniversary celebratory concerts this September, and thus are all expected to be given reprisals in the upcoming gigs. Here's the full list of concert dates for McBusted's 2014 tour:

• GLASGOW: APRIL 17TH-18TH, MAY 16TH
• LIVERPOOL: APRIL 19TH
• BOURNEMOUTH: APRIL 21ST-22ND
• LONDON: APRIL 24TH-26TH
• NEWCASTLE: APRIL 28TH
• NOTTINGHAM: APRIL 29TH
• LEEDS: APRIL 30TH
• BIRMINGHAM: MAY 2ND-3RD
• SHEFFIELD: MAY 4TH, MAY 19TH
• CARDIFF: MAY 6TH-7TH
• MANCHESTER: MAY 9TH-11TH

For all the latest music news and reviews, keep it On-Screen in the months ahead!

Mission Impossible 5 Release Date Announced

Surely it's time for this mission to be terminated? Not while there's still cash for Paramount to plunder!
Paramount Pictures have today announced the worldwide release date for their upcoming action thriller film Mission Impossible 5. The fifth motion picture instalment in the franchise of (oh-so-loose) adaptations of the hit TV show of the same name, this semi-anticipated sequel will again star Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt.

Beyond Cruise, though, the cast of the film have yet to be announced. Simon Pegg's return is virtually assured, as is Jeremy Renner's provided that Avengers: Age of Ultron doesn't fill up his schedule in its entirety, and given that those two thespians were Ghost Protocol's best-known supporting stars, the effect of the returns or absences of the remainder of the ensemble will likely be neglible. All the same, what with the definite sense of cumbersome deja vu that plagued the upcoming follow-up's predecessor, director Christopher McQuarrie has to inject fresh life into the project if it is to succeed in one of the industry's toughest periods...

Mission Impossible 5 crawls into cinemas worldwide on Christmas Day, 2015.

An Adventure In Space And Time Trailer Released

"It all started out as a mild curiosity in a junkyard..." Discover the Doctor's first televised voyage next week!
BBC Two have today released the full trailer for their upcoming documentary-drama biopic An Adventure in Space and Time. Set to broadcast as part of Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary celebrations in the week commencing November 18th, the 90-minute programme is already tipped as a poignant retrospective on the show's inception and its early tribulations.

In this brief yet touching trail (below), there's adequate chance for viewers to glimpse a few of the episode's central stars. Game of Thrones' David Bradley plays Doctor Who's titular lead William Hartnell, Call The Midwife's Jessica Raine is producer Verity Lambert and Brian Cox is Head of Drama Sydney Newman. Alongside the cast's heads, fans can expect cameos from a wealth of Who stars old and new. This week's Radio Times has teased that for the more nostalgic among us, this could very well be seen as "the 50th Anniversary Special", which is quite a claim indeed!

An Adventure in Space and Time materialises on BBC Two this Thursday November 21st at 9pm.

Doctor Who: The Night of the Doctor Released

The Day draws near- but before that, check out Steven Moffat's incredible 50th Anniversary prequel episode...
BBC Worldwide have today released The Night of the Doctor (below), a Doctor Who mini-episode which acts as a prologue to the show's upcoming 50th Anniversary Special. Starring John Hurt, the video reveals the initial strands of the shady history behind his 'lost' Doctor, and just what identity the Time Lord may have adopted during his darkest hour.

As if it didn't go without saying, Night is an essential viewing for any self-respecting Whovian. Writer Steven Moffat has packed the short's 7 minutes with plenty of surprises, callbacks and hints as to what viewers can expect from the 50th Anniversary Special, The Day of the Doctor, in nine days' time. The only problem? Nine days has never seemed like such a long period to wait in anticipation. Check back here tomorrow night for a fresh new clip from Children In Need's 2013 live show.

Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor broadcasts on BBC One, international networks and in cinemas worldwide this Saturday November 23rd at 7.50pm.

Downton Abbey Fifth Season Commissioned

The period drama that refuses to die will return for a new season of conflicts next Autumn.
iTV have this week announced the recommissioning of Downton Abbey for a fifth season. Set to broadcast next year, the new run will again star Hugh Bonneville, Penelope Wilton and its beloved ensemble, with Paul Giamatti joining the cast as Harold Grantham in this year's Christmas Special and reprising his role for the latest season.

This move by iTV may have appeared a given on the basis of another strong set of ratings for Season Four, yet it may moreover have come as a surprise to fans who were expecting closure from the recently broadcast finale. Maggie Smith was not expected to return beyond a fourth season of the programme, which seemed to leave the future of Downton Abbey in doubt, yet either way the studio are pushing on with another run of eight episodes. Smith's absence would to this writer be a crushing blow for the admirable period drama, and if her days on the series are numbered, then perhaps next year will finally mark a resolution for this monolithic, seemingly unstoppable production.

Downton Abbey returns for its 2013 Christmas Special on Christmas Day, with Season Five set to commence broadcasting in Autumn 2014.

Who News: DWM 50th Anniversary Issue Cover Revealed

Anyone who calls themselves a fan of Doctor Who can't afford to miss this incredible celebratory edition of its official magazine...
Doctor Who Magazine have this week unveiled their spectacular special edition 50th Anniversary edition. Issue 467 will release with just nine days to go until The Day of the Doctor's broadcast, a proximity which finally allows the editorial team to reveal a few secrets on what the episode's narrative entails and where Doctor Who will go in the near future beyond its 50th year!

Perhaps the most impressive element of this month's magazine is its additional supplements. Alongside the bumper-sized 116-page issue itself, consumers will receive 12 commemorative art cards depicting each of the Twelve Doctors, a commemorative mini-magazine themed as if Doctor Who Magazine were released in 1964 on the eve of the sci-fi drama's second initial season, and a whopping 9 free downloads of fully-fledged audio dramas to boot. All of that comes before you even open the magazine, which in itself houses a full preview of The Day of the Doctor, a retrospective on The Five Doctors, a collaboration between Steven Moffat and a special guest, interviews with Matt Smith and David Tennant and so much more besides. In short, this is every Doctor Who fan's dream self-given gift for the big day...

Doctor Who Magazine 467 retails for £7.99 in all good newsagents tomorrow, Thursday November 14th.