As hard as it is to belive we are just a little over three weeks away from the 50th anniversary. It’s a pretty big deal as fan excitement builds to a crescendo. However the sold out screenings of Day Of The Doctor in North America and Europe are just a small part of a giant wave of anticipation which is rippling across time and space.
For me it seems so surreal. I thought the 25th Anniversary was special with the older Doctors and companions coming back to the show. While there was excitement and celebration for that event it now pales in comparison to the global happening that Day Of The Doctor has become.
Long time fans never imagined all of this global fanfare and adoration was possible. That is why the explosion of popularity for the show is wonderful to experience. Each and every day the show gets new fans who want something intelligent, wonderous and mysterious.
So as the program continues to span generations and sprawl out over five decades, take pause to celebrate how incredible of an achievement this moment is. Very few television shows make it past ten seasons in this day and age, much less fifty.
It also shows how great the character of The Doctor is and how that one character, dark, whimsical, curious, intense and powerful has touched so many people. Wonderful chaps, all of them.
SEASON EIGHT NEWS
Steven Moffat has confirmed that Season Eight will have at least thirteen stories in it. He did go into specifics of whether he was including a Christmas Special in that episode count.
Speaking to Broadcast he also took some time to compliment his new Doctor, Peter Capaldi.
Link: http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/
Peter’s already a bit of a national treasure, As most people have realized, the moment you think of him in the part, you find it hard to think of anyone else.
Every time I was at a TV do and Peter was there, he’d come over to talk about Doctor Who and he was the first to congratulate Matt. I started thinking…what if that genius actor might actually say ‘yes’?”
Steven Moffat is writing the first and last episodes of the season. Newcomer Jack Lothian is writing Episode Two and Neil Cross is writing Episode Three. There has been no confirmation that Neil Gaiman’s next Doctor Who story will be for this season.
The series is said to have a more serious tone with a somewhat tenuous beginning for The Doctor and Clara. There also are rumors that a new companion could join the show somewhere in the season.
DAY OF THE DOCTOR NEWS
In an interview with Broadcast Steven Moffat talked about his approach to creating the 50th Anniversary story with regards to telling an epic story. The show runner continues to hint that the episode will change the direction of the show.
A big episode can be anything that moves the plot along, My main thing was that as much as we celebrate the past, we can change the narrative. You can’t tell a story by being frightened about it.
The Moff also talked about John Hurt’s performance in a chat with The Radio Times. In it he discussed how Hurt played off of his counterparts and even took some of their thunder.
It was great fun, You’d have David and Matt, they’d be leaping around the set and doing every form of physical comedy with each other and, you know, slightly competing about who could be slightly more insane than the other, and then John Hurt would come along and do this tiny movement with his eyes and you go ‘That’s it! He’s got the scene now hasn’t he?
it has long been rumored that Omega shows up in the special, possibly in flashbacks from Gallifrey. We do know that The Daleks and Zygons turn up and the Cybermen may be in the mix as well, possibly setting up the Fall of The Eleventh in the Christmas Special.
The events of the special deeply affect The Doctor and will change the character and he interacts with his companions, foes and even the universe.
Audience at the American screenings of Day Of The Doctor can look forward to seeing a behind-the-scenes featurette that runs a tad over ten minutes. Those in the UK will also be able to watch it online at www.bbc.co.uk/Doctorwho. This could be the much rumored ‘project’ that features the classic Doctors.
Fans wanting to share the experience of seeing Day Of Te Doctor in a movie house filled with other fans can attend screenings in select cities on November 23rd and November 25th. Lots of really cool things are being planned and it is a great opportunity for fans to share their enthusiasm with one another.
For info on the screenings in the USA visit the Fathom website. http://www.fathomevents.com/#!doctor-who-the-day-of-the-doctor/more-info/theater-locations
Day Of The Doctor is being released on DVD as a Blu Ray combo on December 10th.
There has not been an official press release from BBC America about the DVD but there are rumors of what extras are included.
Some extras have been announced including Doctor Who Explained, a special bonus which attempts the daunting task of explaining the entire show in fifty minutes.
The Last Day is just under four minutes in length and there is speculation that it could serve as a mini episode that sets up the events in the special.
Behind The Lens will feature both Matt Smith and David Tennant in a behind the scenes documentary.
DAVID TENNANT INTERVIEWED
David Tennant, who is now sporting a ponytail, spent some time on BBC Breakfast this Tuesday talking about his stage production of Richard II , his new series The Escape Artist and of course Doctor Who.
In the interview Tennant explained that the role is one that never ends.
It doesn’t really stop, Doctor Who doesn’t really go away. People always want to know about it. It’s just one of those things. It’s one of those things that even people who don’t watch the show are interested in.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5phtqH340A
Tennant is currently appearing on the UK telly in The Escape Artist, as a well off lawyer named Will Burton whose life in upturned by a serial killer. Sophie Okenedo (Liz Ten) co-stars. The three-part series airs on BBC One.
Here’s a review of The Escape Artist from The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10412315/The-Escape-Artist-episode-1-review.html
The fist episode drew over five million viewers.
AN ADVENTURE IN SPACE AND TIME
The floodgates of promotional coolness about the upcoming An Adventure In Space And Time are open.
For starters we know it will air between November 16th and November 23rd in the UK and on November 24th in Australia. A BFI premiere screening has been set for November 12th.
The BBC has released two old school posters for the special.
The BBC Media Centre has released an official synopsis of the telefilm.
This special one-off drama travels back in time to 1963 to see how the beloved Doctor Who was first brought to the screen.
Actor William Hartnell felt trapped by a succession of hard-man roles. Wannabe producer Verity Lambert was frustrated by the TV industry’s glass ceiling. Both of them were to find unlikely hope and unexpected challenges in the form of a Saturday tea-time drama, time travel and monsters!
Allied with a team of brilliant people, they went on to create the longest-running science fiction series ever, now celebrating its 50th anniversary.
An Adventure In Space And Time stars David Bradley (William Hartnell); Jessica Raine (Verity Lambert); Sacha Dhawan (Waris Hussein) and Brian Cox (Sydney Newman). It is written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Terry McDonough.
Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2013/47/an-adventure-in-space-and-time-pi.html
Gatiss told Broadcast that he was willing to face the criticism that is inevitable with his production.
I’m totally prepared for howls of protest. In a funny way, it’s similar to when I made my horror documentaries for BBC Four.
Every day on Twitter, someone would say, ‘How can you not have this? Where is Nosferatu?’ I would tiresomely reply, ‘If I included everything, it would be just me sitting in a chair going… and then The Abominable Dr Phibes happened.
Doctor Who fans exist for the minutiae. They’ll complain about everything. They’ll probably complain about Verity Lambert’s shoes. But I made it for everybody and I hope it’s very touching.
If that was not enough, the BBC has released a series of interviews with the cast and crew.
Gatiss has described the special as his ‘love letter’ to Doctor Who.
Principally, it’s the story of how Doctor Who was created, so we concentrate on the very beginnings and the first few episodes. There are lots of treats for the fans but it’s also the story of William Hartnell, the First Doctor, and how the part transformed his life.
Gatiss also discussed his casting process.
I’d had David Bradley in mind for some years but it wasn’t simply a question of a good likeness! David is such a fine and delicate actor, I knew he’d find something wonderful in the part. With everyone else, I stressed that we must first and foremost get the right people for the job. But it turned out the right people also bear the most amazing resemblances to the originals! Costume and make-up, of course, played a huge part in that.
He also admitted he had to boil down the movie in order to tell the story he wanted. This meant leaving out script editor David Whitaker and producer Donald Wilson, both of whom left a profound mark on the series.
I had to focus it down. Simple as that. This is a drama, not a documentary, and though it’s extremely painful to have to leave out some people who played a huge part, it makes dramatic sense. You simply can’t do everyone justice in 90 minutes. For instance, the story of how Terry Nation and Ray Cusick created the Daleks is almost a film all on its own! Jeff Rawle plays Mervyn Pinfield, who was the associate producer, and his character sort of absorbs several others including Donald Wilson and the brilliant David Whitaker, the first script editor whose contribution was immeasurable.
David Bradley was also interviewed by the BBC. Bradley spoke about William Hartnell’s decision to take on the role of The Doctor.
It has to be said, after some initial reluctance to do something for children’s TV I think he was quickly convinced that it was the right thing for him to do, He felt quite insecure about it as it was new territory for him, but once he started he embraced the whole idea of the part.
Bradley also went into detail about what he learned of the actor while preparing for the role.
I know he had a reputation at times for being cantankerous and rather difficult and one has to play that. It was clear from research and hearing his colleagues talk about him that he was a perfectionist. He demanded a lot of himself and he expected everyone around him to show the same level of commitment.
The BBC also spoke with Jessica Raine about taking on the role of Verity Lambert, the first producer of Doctor Who.
She was very strong-willed, very compassionate and very warm.
As the first female drama producer at the BBC she had to be very determined. She had a real fire in her belly about projects she believed in.
PETER DAVISON IN CANADA
Peter Davison has been crossing the Atlantic a lot in recent months. The Fifth Doctor’s next stop is Toronto where he will appear at this weekend’s Reversed Polarity Convention.
The future of the program was one of the topics broached when Davison talked with The Canadian Press.
I think it’ll change the sort of tone of it slightly, you know he’s obviously a mature doctor,” Davison says in a recent phone interview from outside London.
Matt to me always reminds me of a sort of irrepressible puppy. I think probably Peter will slow it down somewhat and I think that’ll be good for the show.
Link: http://www.cp24.com/entertainment-news/doctor-who-star-to-attend-toronto-convention-1.1515439
THE ELEVENTH DOCTOR REVISITED
On November 24th at 8pm ET/PT The Doctors Revisited concludes on BBC America with a tribute to the Matt Smith era. The Impossible Astronaut and Day of The Moon will be shown.
From the BBC America press release
BBC America celebrates the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, in a new special of Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited. Smith first stepped into the TARDIS in 2010 and will leave the series after starring in the 50th Anniversary Special on November 23 and regenerating in the Christmas special. The Doctors Revisited begins with Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman (companion Clara Oswald), lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat among others, examining the human side of this Doctor and taking a look at how all the years he has lived have affected him. The special is followed by the Eleventh Doctor story The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon.
This two-part story opened Season Six with a literal bang. Here is a plot synopsis from BBC America.
A strange summons reunites the Doctor, Amy, Rory, and River, and they are soon plunged into an adventure where the team must fight an alien invasion dating back to the beginnings of human civilisation.
The progression of the show has been so frenetic that these episodes seem like they happened ages ago.
Next time..More anniversary programming, a Big Finish update and the Whoniverse fights cancer!
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