Been meaning to start a thread on this for years and never have for some reason. Big fan of both the original (what I've seen/remember of it...) and the rebooted series.
Doctor Who: Matt Smith was tempted to stay another 2 to 3 years
News Louisa Mellor 12 Jul 2013 - 09:45
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Matt Smith
Steven Moffat reveals that Matt Smith had come very close to doing another series of Doctor Who...
One lunch with Steven Moffat (sushi, we like to think, with one of those exciting conveyor belts) and the fate of the Eleventh Doctor could have gone very differently. In the interview showrunner Moffat gave to EW this week, he revealed that Matt Smith came very close to sticking around for at least another series, and possibly more.
"We discussed ages ago that [Matt] would do three series and then he would do the 50th and then he’d do Christmas. That was Plan A for a very, very long while. That may sound cold that it was so far in advance but you’ve got to plan a career. [Laughs] The question was, ‘Will I be able to talk him out of it?’ We went out for lunch and he said that he’d come very close to doing another series but it was the same argument: ‘If I do another series, I think I might do two more series, or three more series. I think I might never leave.’
I knew how long, when he first came in, he was broadly speaking intending to do. And obviously, being the man I am, I always tried to persuade him to do longer and to do more and he [stayed] a little bit longer than he intended to. I knew that he would do what most of them do and do his three years. It’s a difficult thing for any departing Doctor [...].
Curiously enough, it was really to me that David Tennant resigned. Because he was considering whether to continue now that I was taking over. And both of them went through the same experience. It’s not like leaving any other part, it really isn’t. It’s sort of like abdicating and it’s genuinely emotional, it’s upsetting. It’s an upheaval in your life. It’s something you really have to contemplate. And I remember what both of them said during their period of anguish — when they were contemplating letting somebody else into the TARDIS — they both said, 'There’s part of me, I would just stay doing it forever. So, if I don’t leave now, maybe I’ll just carry on forever. And that wouldn’t be right for me or the show.'"
Who knows? In a parallel universe, perhaps Moffat's persuasive powers (and the heat of the wasabi) worked their magic so that somewhere out there, Smith is staying on for series eight and beyond. [Reply]
Doctor Who: Murray Gold teases 50th prom song
News Cameron K McEwan 12 Jul 2013 - 07:25
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Murray Gold tells Den of Geek what the story is behind new Doctor Who anniversary composition, Song For Fifty...
Doctor Who composer Murray Gold has been talking exclusively to Den of Geek about the special "birthday song" for the 50th Anniversary of the show, due to premiere at the Proms this weekend.
The eleven-minute composition, described by Gold as an "opera," is a celebration of fifty years of the BBC science-fiction show and promises to be an emotional ride for fans. Murray told us how he approached Song For Fifty:
"I thought, 'If I were to write a song for the fiftieth anniversary, what would it be?' And I thought about something more modernist, more complicated, more knotty, more serious but no, in the end, seriousness isn't about how complicated something is, or how difficult something is to do. Seriousness is about the quality of your perception and your feeling."
Elaborating on the song, to be sung by a full choir at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday and Sunday, Murray spoke about the lyrics:
"I wanted to write about The Doctor and everything that I've talked about in interviews, since I started on the job, about this character that I love. I took a line from The Girl in the Fireplace about the 'slow road'. It's a song that constantly juxtaposes all of us in the Royal Albert Hall as being on the slow road, taking life one day, one month at a time - with no escape from that. During that time, some of us have had kids, some of us have lost people, some of us have grown extra family members but everybody in that hall will have one way or another to relate to that idea.
By the third verse, where the tenor says, 'So, my dear friend. You're getting kind of old now,' we're actually talking about this person who's been in our lives as a reference point. People, in all kinds of the moments in their lives, have said, 'I wish I could be The Doctor and just go back and fix it.'"
We asked Murray if Song for Fifty, which will have some pleasing nods to the show's history and some surprises, will have have fans crying, the writer explained:
"If it touches them. They're not a million miles from me, I don't think - 'Anthems for the Defeated' [Laughs]. I hope they get it, I think they'll get it - they'll understand it."
Our full interview with Murray Gold, where he talks about the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary, composing for a new Doctor, Series 8, and much, much more, will be posted next week.
The Doctor Who Proms takes place this weekend at the Royal Albert Hall, both events are currently sold out.
Hey did they ever announce who the new Doctor was going to be? Someone told me they were going to a few weeks ago and I never heard anything about it. i was expecting social media pages to blow up about it, but nothing, so I guess that's a no. I don't follow the show too closely, I'm just curious. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Jarni:
Hey did they ever announce who the new Doctor was going to be? Someone told me they were going to a few weeks ago and I never heard anything about it. i was expecting social media pages to blow up about it, but nothing, so I guess that's a no. I don't follow the show too closely, I'm just curious.
Showrunner on new Doctor Who: We haven't chosen him
The question of the next Doctor Who remains a mystery, for now.
But fans of Matt Smith and his predecessor will be ecstatic once official footage of the 50th anniversary special airs because both doctors are in it, sharing many scenes, lines and scenery.
Steve Moffat, Doctor Who's showrunner, touted the footage - so far shown only Sunday at Comic-Con International - but asked the crowd to not share it on social media or else "there will be no more Comic-Con exclusives from Doctor Who or Sherlock."
He said that recordings of the Sherlock preview were posted onto Tumblr with minutes of airing.
"Can you promise, as 6000 of my Comic-Con friends, to do this?" he asked before the lights dimmed ahead of the preview. The special is due in November.
The crowd was not disappointed in what it saw from the BBC America show.
It boasted lots of scenes between Smith, whose tenure as the Doctor ends in the special, and his predecessor David Tennant.
Also featured was Billie Piper, who played Rose Tyler, the companion to Tennant's 10th doctor and, before that, Chris Ecclestone's ninth doctor.
There were scant plot details, but the crowd was rapturous.
"There are lots of things that we have been setting for the 50th in Matt's final episode," Moffat said. Asked by a fan if Captain Jack Harkness, who was played by John Barrowman, would return, Moffat demurred.
"Well, you can't put everybody in the 50th!" he said, drawing laughs.
When asked by moderator Craig Ferguson whether Smith's replacement had been selected, Moffat said: "We haven't done that yet."
Moffat noted that finding the right actor would be hard, paying respect to Smith's work in the role and the odd nature of the character.
"He's the same man. Each actor that plays it comes with a different emotional background," Moffat said of the regenerating Time Lord whose incarnations since the show began in 1963 have counted 11 actors.
"There is only one doctor. He has lots of different faces."
For Smith, the panel was a chance to reminisce and bask in adulation from a crowd that has made his doctor their own.
"It changed everything: My life, my family's life," he recalled of the role. "I'm proud and grateful to be part of it. ... Also, because I am on the way out, I just wanted to say thank you for all your support."
Don't miss the seventh Doctor revisited this Saturday at 7 pm central. Remembrance of the Daleks is the highlighted episode. I always thought after Troughton, McCoy might be the 2nd funniest doctor. I loved how he would always mangle popular sayings, "Time and tide melts the snowman." [Reply]
Originally Posted by whoman69:
Don't miss the seventh Doctor revisited this Saturday at 7 pm central. Remembrance of the Daleks is the highlighted episode. I always thought after Troughton, McCoy might be the 2nd funniest doctor. I loved how he would always mangle popular sayings, "Time and tide melts the snowman."
Is the 50th anniversary special going to be simulcast around the world? Is the Doctor returning to Trenzalore? Who's returning for series 8?
Today's plucked-out-of-nowhere Doctor Who story from The Sun is that the fiftieth anniversary special will be simulcast around the globe "to 200 countries", a particular geographic feat seeing as most are in agreement that the world's country tally tops out at 196. The reason for the simultaneous broadcast (there, that's gentler on the ears than that ugly portmanteau isn't it?) according to the tabloid, is to avoid spoilers leaking online. Salt. Pinch. Etc.
News from the horse's mouth comes via Digital Spy's Comic-Con interview with Steven Moffat, in which the Doctor Who showrunner confirmed a number of series eight tidbits, including the return of Vastra, Jenny and Strax, and that scripts are already coming in from writers for the new series, for which he already knows the ending.
In the four-and-a-half minute chat, Steven Moffat admitted that introducing a new Doctor with an existing companion and established group both in front and behind the camera was much, much easier than the blank slate of The Eleventh Hour. He also said, as he continues to say, that the search for the Twelfth Doctor has barely begun, and that older Doctors are never ruled out as an option. Finally, Moffat spoke very warmly of the fan-made fiftieth anniversary trailer, calling it a superb piece of work, and nominating its creators as future Doctor Who makers. Kind and well-deserved words indeed.
Matt Smith, in a lively, fun interview with Vulture that involved biscuit theft and neon socks, has dropped a hint about a possible return to Trenzalore for his Doctor's last bow. Asked whether or not he was ever confused by Doctor Who's storylines, Smith replied,
"No, because it’s my job to make sense of it and to make sense of it for you. Hey, look, I guess some people find the writing and the storytelling complicated sometimes, but I say to that, “Isn’t that better than it being really easy?” Isn’t it better if you’re like, “Okay, I just saw that — what did I just see?” Eventually Steve peppers it back — you think now we’re going toward the Doctor’s final hour, which is toward Trenzalore. Steven mentioned that in season five. Season five! The Silence was mentioned! He peppers this brilliant storytelling all the way through, and for my money that’s a much more interesting way to write. Aren’t all the layers what we fans of sci-fi want? I’m like, Cool, throw it at me. Is it complicated? Yes. Are we going back in time? Yes. Are we going forward in time? Yes. Are we meeting a character we’ve met in the future? Yes. Is she my wife? Yes."
Lastly but not least, er, -ly, the Radio Times have it from a source that not only will the new Doctor announcement be coming our way in August, but that the fiftieth anniversary special will feature "one of the five former Doctors who wielded the Sonic Screwdriver before the Eccleston reboot". Bleeding Cool, whose sources are usually a very safe bet, reported this week that Paul McGann had been filming something, though they know not what, Doctor Who-related. Could those two things be related? Fingers on chins, people, and commence stroking... now! [Reply]
Want to know what potential 12th Doctors have been auditioning with? Doctor Who Magazine has shared one of the scripts...
No Doctor Who scoops, no rumours, and certainly no spoilers lay ahead. Instead, what we have here is a little piece of behind-the-scenes info inching open the tiny aperture into the 12th Doctor casting process.
In the new edition of Doctor Who Magazine, showrunner Steven Moffat has shared one of the not-to-be-filmed audition scenes written for potential 12th Doctors. Why not grab a friend during this morning's coffee break, make haste to the stationery cupboard, argue over who's going to be Clara, and act your TARDIS socks off. It's what we'll be doing.
Here's Moffat's introduction to the scene, courtesy of the Radio Times:
"I had to make up some scenes for the auditions, cos I haven’t written the real script yet. So here, in an exclusive, as a big old tease, is one of the imaginary scenes I wrote. Couple of things. Nothing to glean about what’s coming in the stories – this scene will never appear in the show itself. Also, you’ll learn very little about Number 12 – naturally, this was written before the casting began. And anyway, the scenes we use for the auditions are designed more as obstacle courses than 'proper' scenes. Fairly generic Doctor stuff, for someone to spin into a new version of the Time Lord. So, with the proviso that there’s nothing to learn here (won’t stop you trying, I know) here is – sort of, kind of, not really – the first scene for Number 12…"
INT. TARDIS
The new Doctor is checking out the new body. Clara, watching. It’s been a few minutes, they’re both still adjusting.
THE DOCTOR: Right then, eyesight. Not bad, bit blue. Ears – not pointy, right way up, more or less level. Face – well I’ve got one. Oh, no – French!
CLARA: French.
THE DOCTOR: I’ve deleted French! Plus all cookery skills, and the breast stroke. And hopping. Never mind hopping, who needs to hop. Ohh, the kidneys are interesting. Never had that before – interesting kidneys.
CLARA: Are you all right?
THE DOCTOR: I don’t know, do I look all right?
CLARA: I don’t know.
THE DOCTOR: How’s the face? Seems all right from the inside. Nice action, responsive. Bit less heft on the chin. How is it?
CLARA: It’s... okay.
THE DOCTOR: Okay?
CLARA: It’s a bit... you know.
THE DOCTOR: No I don’t, I haven’t seen it yet.
CLARA: Maybe it’s just new.
THE DOCTOR: Have you changed height?
CLARA: No.
THE DOCTOR: You sure?
CLARA: It’s you, your height, you’re the one who’s changed.
THE DOCTOR: And look at your nose.
CLARA: What about my nose?
THE DOCTOR: It was really cute, I loved your nose, you should’ve kept it.
CLARA: I did, it’s the same nose, it’s the same all of me. You’re the one who’s... regenerated, whatever you call it.
THE DOCTOR: Are you wearing a smell?
CLARA: Do you mean perfume?
THE DOCTOR: Yes, I suppose it could be perfume.
CLARA: You’ve always liked that perfume, you said so.
THE DOCTOR: No I didn’t, that was the Doctor.
CLARA: You’re the Doctor.
THE DOCTOR: Yes, I suppose I am. That’s going to take a bit of getting used to.
CLARA: Yeah, it really is.
Thanks for that Steven Moffat, now if you could just see your way to releasing a fiftieth anniversary special trailer too, that'd be grand. [Reply]
'Doctor Who' Betting Has New Favourite With 'The Thick Of It' Star Peter Capaldi At 2/1 To Play Time Lord
'Doctor Who' fans are agog to discover the identity of the actor to play the next Time Lord, replacing Matt Smith at the end of the year.
Now, there's a new name in the midst, with 'The Thick of It's star Peter Capaldi the new favourite, with bookies William Hill giving him current odds of 2/1.
"Peter Capaldi was not even in our list a few days ago but he has been the subject of a lot of betting interest recently and this gamble would suggest that if he does not have the part already, he is almost certainly on the shortlist," said William Hill spokesman Joe Crilly.
Capaldi would certainly bring a different charisma to the role from what we've seen previously. In a similar mould to Tennant, his Scottish clipped tones would have fun with the Doctor's strange sentences, even if it means a more family-friendly version than Capaldi's extraordinary turn as 'The Thick of It's Malcolm Tucker, with his legendary stream-of-consciousness invective.
Since the end of 'The Thick of It', Capaldi has enjoyed success on screens big and small, with a BAFTA-nominated turn in 'The Hour', and a surprising appearance in Brad Pitt's apocalyptic epic 'World War Z'.
Who do YOU think should be the next Doctor Who? Let us know below...
In second place currently is Ben Daniels ('Cutting It', 'Law and Order', etc) (odds of 4/1), with former favourite Rory Kinnear falling down the list at 6/1.
Other names in the mix are Ben Whishaw, David Harewood and Idris Elba, all at 10/1, Chiwetel Eliofor and Damien Molony at 12/1.
And several stars have thrown their own hat in the ring, the latest being soap star Katherine Kelly, who explains here why she'd like to step into the Tardis.
12th Doctor Revealed on Sunday
Published August 1, 2013
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Peter-Capaldi-doctor-who
Peter Capaldi is current bookies favourite.
Normally Doctor Who TV is wary of writing up”big announcements”, especially when there has been a string of rumours lately that have amounted to nothing. However, it’s finally happening!
Press sources have leaked that the BBC will finally announce the 12th Doctor this weekend.
A special programme on will air this Sunday 4 August at 7pm on BBC1 entitled Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor. A deliberate disposable repeat of Celebrity Mastermind is currently listed in the timeslot.
The show is going to be filmed in front of a live studio audience with Zoe Ball unveiling the next Doctor. The show will also feature interviews with past Doctors and companions.
Interestingly, this week saw Peter Capaldi inexplicably leap to the top of the bookies lists. Is this because he’s won the role? We’ll find out soon enough.
The BBC are expected to officially confirm the programme at midnight.