Doctor Who

[Tellyn]

I am pretty sure a film would feature Tennent, although guest stars like Depp would be an ideal addition. Either way, if the BBC are working on a film, they'll want it cannon - a new Doctor would just confuse everyone.

 

Not to mention that if it was canon and they had Depp playing the Doctor, they'd have to kill Matt Smith first, and surely Depp wouldn't want to continue his portrayal in the series, so they'd have to waste another regeneration by killing him off again.

[jayseven]

Stumbled on this and thought you Doctor Whovians would like it;

 

A partial map of the TARDIS. if you've not seen it/if it's not been posted in here already. I really just popped in to post this. Cheerio!

[Dante]

Interesting viewers stats:

 

[Tellyn]

I'm quite looking forward to what Moffat makes of this year's Christmas special, they're usually pretty lacklustre. The idea that it's almost a retelling of A Christmas Carol sounds brilliant, why hasn't this been done before?! The TARDIS/Doctor could be the Ghosts of Past, Present and Future!

 

 

Opera singer Katherine Jenkins is following in the footsteps of Kyle Minogue by starring in a Doctor Who Christmas special.

 

The Welsh vocalist will feature alongside veteran actor Michael Gambon in this year's special episode.

 

Producers are promising a special twist on the much-loved A Christmas Carol theme.

 

Executive producer Steven Moffat described it as "all your favourite Christmas movies at once".

 

The precedent was set in the 2007 Doctor Who Christmas special when pop star Minogue had a starring role.

 

It is a first acting role for Jenkins, 30, from Neath, who will be able to benefit from the vast experience of Gambon - best known for his role as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies.

 

Speaking about the role, Jenkins said: "I'm over the moon to be involved in the Doctor Who Christmas special.

 

"I can't quite believe it as it's a part of the family tradition at the Jenkins household.

 

"I heard the news that I got the role on my 30th birthday and it was the best birthday present ever."

 

Mr Moffat said the team were fired up for the episode.

 

He said: "We're going for broke with this one. It's all your favourite Christmas movies at once, in an hour, with monsters. And the Doctor. And a honeymoon.

 

"I've honestly never been so excited about writing anything. I was laughing madly as I typed along to Christmas songs in April."

 

The hour-long show will join Doctor's assistant Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and new husband Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) as they venture off on their honeymoon.

 

But being Doctor Who, the holiday is unlikely to proceed as planned.

 

Ben Stephenson, controller of BBC drama commissioning, said the collaboration between the team, Jenkins and Gambon would be an "unforgettable present".

 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid_wales/10601111.stm

[Cube]

He said: "We're going for broke with this one. It's all your favourite Christmas movies at once, in an hour, with monsters. And the Doctor. And a honeymoon.

 

So it's going to be across three different time periods.

[Hamishmash]

Interesting viewers stats:

 

 

It's interesting but it hardly means anything. Comparing the ratings of a time when there were only 2 or 3 channels and no internet or videos to a time when there are infinite channels, internet and all manner of forms of on demand ways of watching Doctor Who can't show which Doctor really was the most watched.

[Serebii]

Series 6 split in two

 

The next series of Doctor Who will air in two parts, it has been announced.

 

Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival this morning, showrunner Steven Moffat confirmed that the sixth run will start in Spring 2011 and return in the Autumn.

 

A statement from the BBC explained: "The split transmission is the result of a request from Steven Moffat to write a new Doctor Who story arc which involves a big plot twist in the middle of the series. By splitting the series Moffat plans to give viewers one of the most exciting Doctor Who cliffhangers and plot twists ever, leaving them waiting, on the edge of their seats, until the autumn to find out what happens."

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s7/doctor-who/news/a269381/new-doctor-who-series-split-in-two.html

 

I can see this ending very badly

[david.dakota]

I think there are two things at work here. The production team are said to be behind on the next series - remember, that with the move to HD series 5 had pretty much two years to prepare but this has been massively scaled back to 9 months for series 6. I suspect filming will not finish until well into the Summer of 2011, pretty much confirming my view on this.

 

It may also be a means to get the show airing full time in the autumn from 2012. Doctor Who is often batted around the schedules for Eurovision, etc and later episodes are shown in daylight - when its audience are probably out with a ball. Moving it to Autumn, September to December, the nights are drawing in and people are more likely to be inside than out.

 

I suspect 2012 series may have to be cut in length too to 10 episodes.

 

I guess it'll help with BBC One's saturday night audience too. In the Autumn, BBC One is up against X-Factor (assuming its still around by then), so anything to help with the lead in to the evening on BBC One is a good thing.

 

However, BBC Worldwide (who sell the DVDs) are probably not going to be too happy at this. It will give them no pre-christmas box set to flog and that box set sells like hot cakes.

[Serebii]

I think there are two things at work here. The production team are said to be behind on the next series - remember, that with the move to HD series 5 had pretty much two years to prepare but this has been massively scaled back to 9 months for series 6. I suspect filming will not finish until well into the Summer of 2011, pretty much confirming my view on this.

 

It may also be a means to get the show airing full time in the autumn from 2012. Doctor Who is often batted around the schedules for Eurovision, etc and later episodes are shown in daylight - when its audience are probably out with a ball. Moving it to Autumn, September to December, the nights are drawing in and people are more likely to be inside than out.

 

I suspect 2012 series may have to be cut in length too to 10 episodes.

 

I guess it'll help with BBC One's saturday night audience too. In the Autumn, BBC One is up against X-Factor (assuming its still around by then), so anything to help with the lead in to the evening on BBC One is a good thing.

 

However, BBC Worldwide (who sell the DVDs) are probably not going to be too happy at this. It will give them no pre-christmas box set to flog and that box set sells like hot cakes.

The box set could still be out in November...the specials boxset for example was out 10 days after End of Time Part 2 aired.

 

However, I think part of the reasoning for this is that X Factor is apparently moving back to November to allow for Cowell to do X Factor USA

[Cube]

Surely it has to be for budget reasons? A big cliffhanger is never a great reason for a long gap. It worked wonders in BSG (Season 4 mid-season), but that was because of the writer's strike.

[Serebii]

Surely it has to be for budget reasons? A big cliffhanger is never a great reason for a long gap. It worked wonders in BSG (Season 4 mid-season), but that was because of the writer's strike.

I think it's more the fact that the last 6 episodes didnt do so well with the good weather and world cup this year so they're shifting it

[Grazza]

Sounds to me like Matt Smith might leave halfway through the next series. That's the only type of cliffhanger I can think of that would be big enough to justify a gap.

[Ashley]

This still makes me raise my arms and shout "WHAT THE HELL TAKES THEM SO LONG TO MAKE IT!?!?"

 

Seriously

[Serebii]

I just read that apparently the BBC will be marketing these as Series 6 and Series 7 rather than just two different halves of Series 6

[Retro_Link]

Sounds to me like Matt Smith might leave halfway through the next series. That's the only type of cliffhanger I can think of that would be big enough to justify a gap.

I don't think either would be the case, but surely it's more likely Karen Gillan would?... and on to a new assistant?

 

Also... Katherine Jenkins

[Grazza]

I don't think either would be the case, but surely it's more likely Karen Gillan would?... and on to a new assistant?

 

I don't know, someone told me Matt Smith has revised how many series he wants to do - two, apparently. Another factor might be if Steven Moffat has been really nice to Benedict Cumberbatch and persuaded him to do it (even though he said he wouldn't). I should think they'd want him in ASAP, as he's a real hot property - the next David Tennant, really. This news has come after Sherlock was a MEGA hit - everyone went crazy in particular for the lead actor.

 

Ah, it's probably just wishful thinking.

[Retro_Link]

I didn't warm to the Sherlock guy AT ALL.

[Serebii]

I don't know, someone told me Matt Smith has revised how many series he wants to do - two, apparently. Another factor might be if Steven Moffat has been really nice to Benedict Cumberbatch and persuaded him to do it (even though he said he wouldn't). I should think they'd want him in ASAP, as he's a real hot property - the next David Tennant, really. This news has come after Sherlock was a MEGA hit - everyone went crazy in particular for the lead actor.

 

Ah, it's probably just wishful thinking.

Would be a shame though, if the lower than average ratings due to scorching summer and conflicting schedules with the World Cup mean that Matt Smith's tenure is cut short.

[Dante]

More Info:

 

The new series of Doctor Who will be split into two for the first time, with its showrunner, Steven Moffat, promising the show's biggest ever cliffhanger – "an earth-shattering climax".

 

Next year's 13-part series, the sixth since Doctor Who returned in 2005, will run for seven episodes and then return in the autumn for another six.

 

Moffat said the Easter "mid-season finale" would be a "game-changing cliffhanger".

 

He added that next year's Doctor Who would run as two separate series, allowing him to double the number of "event episodes" in the new run, and meant fans would never be more than a few months away from the next instalment of the hit BBC1 show.

 

"Looking at the next series I thought what this show needs is a big event in the middle," Moffat told the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival.

 

"I kept referring to a mid-season finale. So we are going to make it two series – seven episodes at Easter building to an earth-shattering climax, a cliffhanger we could never normally do because it would be too long before it came back. An enormous game-changing cliffhanger that will change everything.

 

"The wrong expression would be to say we are splitting it in two. We are making it two separate series.

 

"What I love about this idea is that when kids see Doctor Who go off the air, they will be noticeably taller when it comes back. It's an age for children. With an Easter series, an autumn series and a Christmas special, you are never going to be more than few months from the new series of Doctor Who.

 

"Tart that I am, we will now have two first nights and two finales, twice as many event episodes as we had before."

 

Moffat, who was also responsible for BBC1's acclaimed updating of Sherlock Holmes, took over stewardship of Doctor Who from Russell T Davies last year. His first series in charge was acclaimed by viewers and critics alike.

 

Moffat gave festival delegates a first glimpse of this year's Christmas special, guest-starring Michael Gambon and Katherine Jenkins.

 

Moffat said he chose Matt Smith as his Doctor on the very first day of casting.

 

"He has that air about him, he's like a young man built by old men from memory," he added.

 

He first saw Karen Gillan, who plays the doctor's assistant Amy Pond, on video and was worried that she was "wee and dumpy". When he met her, he said, he was "expecting a beachball and met this giant flame-haired goddess who is slightly too tall for my comfort. Standing next to her when she has heels on, you feel like the sidecar of a motorbike".

 

Moffat dismissed some press criticism, early in this year's series, that Amy Pond was "too sexy".

 

"That's like being too funny, too nice, too enjoyable," said Moffat. "I was roaring with laughter at the article in the Daily Mail, which said when did Doctor Who assistants have to be sexy. Since the beginning! There was one in a leather bikini — we're in the nursery compared to that."

 

Moffat said the show's budget had remained broadly similar despite BBC cuts. But he admitted: "I don't understand numbers. It's a decent budget. I beg for money and more rubber green people and eventually they say OK, you can have a third rubber green person."

 

He added that he had not considered a female Doctor, which he said would not have been appropriate at this time in the show's history.

 

"No we didn't. I think about it sometimes and maybe it will happen someday. It wouldn't have been right this time," he said. "A woman can play the part. You have to remember the single most important thing about regeneration is you must convince the audience and the children that's it's not a new man, it's not a different man, it's the same one. It's a bigger ask if you turn him into a woman."

 

Discussing his future, Moffat said he would not be leaving the show "for a while yet".

 

Gillan, in the same TV festival sessions, said she was committed to the show for the new series.

 

She added that filming on the show, which lasts 11 days a fortnight for nine months, meant she was unable to work on any other projects. As for her future, she said she was committed to the new series but was taking it one season at a time.

 

"I have no idea. You just have to take it series by series, you can't really look beyond that so who knows? I'm having fun right now," she added.

Edited August 29, 2010 by Dante

[Ashley]

Seriously. Working 198 days (around 1584 hours if a day = 8 hours) for 540 minutes? What the hell are they doing!? :p

[david.dakota]

Sounds to me like Matt Smith might leave halfway through the next series. That's the only type of cliffhanger I can think of that would be big enough to justify a gap.

 

I think theres plenty that could be a 'game changer' for The Doctor; I'm really not expecting a regeneration - and certainly not into Benedict Cumberbatch (he'll be far too busy on Sherlock). I guess this 'game changer' is River Song related; we all suspect - and I think The Doctor does too - that River is his future wife, but Moffatt has teased something else.

 

Regardless, Matt Smith has been so positive about the role, that I don't see him hanging up the bow tie just yet. He will have signed a three year contract (admittedly with a get-out-clause on the side of the BBC - but Smith has been a revelation in the role so I doubt the BBC will have evoked that clause). You've also got to wonder if Smith will be looking over at Tenants career since Who (Who is guaranteed income for the next two years at least).

 

Since Ecclestone's departure, there's this bizzare need to speculate on how long an actor is staying in the role - both Tenent and Smith seem to have been asked this before shooting a single scene for the show. Quite odd, but any talk of Matt Smith leaving is entirely down to this strange phenomenon (thanks, Chris!).

[Dante]

DOCTOR WHO TO FILM IN THE U.S. FOR THE FIRST TIME

Upcoming season’s first two episodes to be set in the U.S.

 

The BBC announced today that season six of Doctor Who, which delivered record ratings for BBC AMERICA earlier this year, will open with a spectacular two-parter set in the U.S. and penned by ‘Who supremo’ Steven Moffat.

 

In the special two-parter co-produced with BBC AMERICA, key scenes will be filmed in Utah for a story set in the late ‘60s in which the Doctor, Amy and Rory find themselves on a secret summons that takes them on an adventure from the desert in Utah - right to the Oval Office itself.

 

Production on episodes one and two of the new season starts in Cardiff this month and Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill will then travel to America in mid November to shoot pivotal scenes. They will also be joined by Alex Kingston who reprises her role as River Song.

 

Showrunner and lead writer, Steven Moffat, said: “The Doctor has visited every weird and wonderful planet you can imagine, so he was bound get round to America eventually! And of course every Doctor Who fan will be jumping up and down and saying he’s been in America before. But not for real, not on location - and not with a story like this one! Oh, you wait!”

 

Piers Wenger, Head of Drama BBC Wales and Executive Producer, added: "Steven's scripts generally inspire us to go that extra mile - this time we're going that extra four thousand. Thanks to our friends at BBC AMERICA and to the continuing ambition of our lead writer and production team, the first two episodes of Matt Smith's second season as the Doctor are going global and look set to become Doctor Who's most action-packed and ambitious season opener yet".

 

The new season follows on from the Doctor Who Christmas special guest starring Katherine Jenkins and Michael Gambon which is due to premiere during the holiday season. Season six will start airing on BBC AMERICA in spring 2011 and has been split into two blocks, with the second block airing in autumn 2011. By splitting the series Moffat plans to give viewers one of the most exciting Doctor Who cliffhangers and plot twists ever, leaving them waiting, on the edge of their seats, until the autumn to find out what happens.

 

2010 has been a breakthrough year for the Doctor Who franchise across all platforms since BBC AMERICA became the official home of the series. The series reached the number one spot on the “Top TV Seasons” chart on iTunes and now Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Season hits stores on Blu-ray and DVD on November 9.

 

Doctor Who was co-commissioned by Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning for BBC One and Jay Hunt, Controller of BBC One and will be produced by Marcus Wilson (Life on Mars) and Sanne Wohlenberg (Margaret). Steven Moffat is Lead Writer and Executive Producer (Sherlock Holmes) with Piers Wenger, Head of Drama, BBC Wales and Beth Willis (Ashes to Ashes), also Executive Producing.

 

Filming is taking place in Cardiff until March 2011.

[Cube]

I was incredibly worried for a second there as the words "Doctor Who", "film" and "US" popped out at me.

[flameboy]

He travels through time and space, saves the Earth, and has millions of fans all over the world. But as every "Whovian" knows, the Doctor cannot last for ever: Time Lords are able to regenerate only 12 times before they die.

 

Fans have always thought that the 13th doctor would be the last, thanks to a 1976 Doctor Who episode, The Deadly Assassin, featuring Tom Baker as the Doctor in his fourth incarnation, and revealing for the first time the regeneration limit. But a passing comment in a children's television programme later this month is set to rewrite history and cast the Doctor, iconic hero of the world's most successful and longest-running science fiction series, as immortal.

 

The moment comes in the CBBC spin-off show, The Sarah Jane Adventures, which stars former companion Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith. Matt Smith, who plays the current Doctor Who, guest stars in a two-part episode called The Death of the Doctor, to be screened on October 25 and 26. While the Doctor and Clyde Langer, played by Daniel Anthony, are in the process of outwitting spooky vulture undertakers the Shansheeth, Clyde asks how many times he can regenerate. The Doctor indicates that there is no limit. The action continues.

 

Fans of the show have been expecting an official moving of the goalposts for some time, but it was anticipated as part of the Christmas special, rather than in an after-school slot on the CBBC channel.

 

Back in 1976, 12 regenerations must have felt like a safely distant number to pluck from the ether. Now, however, with Smith playing the character in his 11th incarnation, circumventing the rule has begun to feel rather urgent. As JK Rowling hinted last week, once a hero has conquered the world, it is hard to put him away for good: we may also see an extension to the seven-book Harry Potter franchise, despite its very final ending and Nineteen Years Later epilogue.

 

And with the Doctor Who brand constantly expanding (including spin-offs that range from lunchboxes to the Doctor Who Live show currently on a 25-date, nine-city tour) it was hardly likely that the BBC was going to call time on the series.

 

It was a stroke of PR genius to slip the hotly anticipated fudging of the Doctor's longevity into a children's series: the episodes are now sure to draw in the viewers. However, Whovians (famously likened by Sarah Jane creator Russell T Davies to a swarm of mosquitoes) will be disappointed that there is no technical reason given for the change: it is simply stated in passing.

 

Whovian Simon says: "Many of us old-timers have looked forward to the story that addresses the end of the Doctor's life span. I'm gutted that it appears that something so integral to the show's long-term storyline has been passed over in this way."

 

The BBC would not say whether there would be any further explanation. "We never comment on future storylines for Doctor Who," said a spokeswoman.

 

not sure what I think about this...the thought did cross my mind the other night I'm rewatching old doctor who started with tomb of the cybermen and I did think they will likely try and write it out somehow.

[Supergrunch]

I think someone like RTD previously suggested that it was a limit imposed by the Time Lords, who now no longer exist so the doctor can do what he wants. So an ad hoc explanation, but at least it's actually an explanation.