Since it’s been months since we last saw DOCTOR WHO on BBC America, they provided this collection of clips to catch viewers up on what happened leading up to the mid-season cliffhanger.
Before the premiere of new episodes starting Saturday August 27 at 9/8c on BBC America — catch-up on the first-half of the season and relive all of the Doctor, Amy & Rory’s amazing adventures across all of time and space.
The mysterious child trapped in the spacesuit. The pregnancy of Amy Pond. The revelation of River Song’s true identity.
From Canton Delaware III & The Silence to The Black Spot’s Siren, Idris, Cleaves and Madame Kovarian, re-acquaint yourself with all the incredible characters he’s met so far, before the August 27 premiere of “Let’s Kill Hitler.”
Doctor Who News reports that the BBC science fiction series probably will NOT have a full 13-episode run in 2012, as previously announced.
Apparently, BBC1 Controller Danny Cohen announced that DOCTOR WHO will return in “a curtailed form”.
At present, it appears that the 13 episodes and a Christmas special will be produced, but that the premeire will delayed until Fall, rather than Spring 2012, and only six or seven episodes will air.
Other shows of the 14-episode commitment will be shown in 2013, as part of the show’s 50th Aniversary.
DOCTOR WHO Writer/Producer Steven Moffat is reported to have said via Twitter: “Dr Who: misquotes and misunderstandings. But I’m not being bounced into announcing the cool stuff before we’re ready. Hush, and patience.”
The BBC has renewed DOCTOR WHO for the 2012 seson, promising 14 new episodes (presumably 13 regular 7th season programs and a Christmas Special).
Matt Smith WILL return as The Doctor.
In the meantime, the mid-season cliffhanger airs this weekend here in the USA. A Good Man Goes To War aired in the UK last weekend, so look out for spoilers online.
DOCTOR WHO airs Saturday at 9:00 PM (ET/PT) on BBC America.
The next episode of DOCTOR WHO, The Almost People, won’t air in the U.S. until June 4th. But here’s a look at the episode now, which promises to be interesting.
Here’s a clip from Saturday’s episode of DOCTOR WHO, The Doctor’s Wife.
The Doctor’s Wife was written by fantasy/comics scribe Neil Gaiman (SANDMAN) .
The Doctor receives a distress signal from an old friend. Could there really be another living Time Lord out there? Hopes raised, he follows the signal to a junkyard planet sitting upon a mysterious asteroid in a Bubble universe, populated by a very strange family, as the time-travelling drama continues.
The Doctor, Amy and Rory are given the warmest of welcomes by Auntie, Uncle and Nephew. But the beautiful and insane Idris greets them in a more unusual fashion—what is she trying to tell the Doctor? As the Doctor investigates, he unwittingly puts his friends in the gravest danger. The Doctor's Wife
Also starring Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill and Suranne Jones as Idris. Directed by Richard Clark
DOCTOR WHO airs Saturday at 9:00 PM ET/PT on BBC America.
TODAY Show anchor Meredith Vieira visted the BBC Wales studio for DOCTOR WHO, speaking with Alex Kingston (River Song) and Matt Smith (The Doctor).
She also recorded a cameo appearance for an upcoming episode, which contains some interesting minor spoilers involving Winston Churchill, and showcased the return of some Cybermen.
Elisabeth Sladen in THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES
From the BBC DOCTOR WHO site:
“It is with much sadness that we can announce Elisabeth Sladen, the much-loved actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who and CBBC’s The Sarah Jane Adventures, passed away this morning. She was 63.
Lis first appeared as Sarah Jane in Doctor Who in 1973 alongside the Third Doctor Jon Pertwee and stayed for three and half seasons working alongside Jon and the Fourth Doctor Tom Baker. She returned to the role on numerous occasions over the years and, in 2007, was given her own spin-off series on CBBC – The Sarah Jane Adventures – where she would appear alongside new Doctors David Tennant and Matt Smith.
The Sarah Jane Adventures brought Lis a whole new generation of fans who grew up to love her alien-busting adventures. The series was hugely popular with fans young and old and won this year’s RTS Award for best children’s drama.
Controller of CBBC Damian Kavanagh said tonight: “I’m deeply saddened and shocked by the news of Lis’ untimely death. Lis brought joy, excitement and a sense of wonder to her many fans in her role as Sarah Jane Smith. She was adored by our young audience and I know all of them will miss her as much as I will.”
The creator of The Sarah Jane Adventures Russell T Davies said: “I absolutely loved Lis. She was funny and cheeky and clever and just simply wonderful. The universe was lucky to have Sarah Jane Smith; the world was lucky to have Lis.”
Steven Moffat, Doctor Who’s Lead Writer and Executive Producer said: “‘Never meet your heroes’ wise people say. They weren’t thinking of Lis Sladen.
“Sarah Jane Smith was everybody’s hero when I was younger, and as brave and funny and brilliant as people only ever are in stories. But many years later, when I met the real Sarah Jane – Lis Sladen herself – she was exactly as any child ever have wanted her to be. Kind and gentle and clever; and a ferociously talented actress, of course, but in that perfectly English unassuming way. “There are a blessed few who can carry a whole television show on their talent and charisma – but I can’t think of one other who’s done it quite so politely. I once showed my son Joshua an old episode of Doctor Who, in which Lis appeared. “But that’s Sarah Jane,” he said, confused “In old Doctor Who. From years ago. How come she always look exactly the same?” It’s not a comfort today, of course, but children will still be saying that fifty years from now.”
Keith Jones, Director, BBC Cymru Wales, said: “The Sarah Jane Adventures has been one of the most successful children’s programmes on television in recent years – and without Elisabeth Sladen it would not have happened. A brilliant presence on screen and on set, she brought the excitement and energy of the Doctor Who family of programmes, of which we are very proud at BBC Wales, to a whole new generation. She will be missed by all at BBC Wales who worked with her.”
Roger Carey, who represented Lis for many years, said. “She was not just a client, but a dear friend. She was so positive about life and her natural energy was intoxicating. She couldn’t believe her luck when her career was resurrected in her own series.”
Lis had been suffering from cancer. She leaves behind a husband, actor Brian Miller, and her daughter, Sadie.”
This news came as a bit of shock to me, I wasn’t aware of any news or rumors of her ill health. I was in high school when I first saw imports of DOCTOR WHO here in the States, beginning with Tom Baker’s first episode, Robot.
Elisabeth Sladen made an immediate impression on me; making her character plucky, capable, and determined—as well as wholesomely pretty. She wasn’t my first fanboy crush, but she was likely my last.
Soon real world women would crowd out any pining for the fantasy ones I saw onscreen. Nevertheless, Sarah Jane Smith always remained my favorite DOCTOR WHO companion, and I guess I kept a soft spot in my heart for the talented actress who brought her to life.
I’ll miss them both.
Marty McFly only had to be sure his mom ‘n’ dad fell in love. Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) has to keep a bomb from killing a trainful of Chicago commuters, identify the bomber, foil his plan for detonating a dirty bomb in the heart of the city, connect with a pretty passenger (Michelle Monaghan), and do it all within the same eight minutes that a secret military time travel program called SOURCE CODE permits him. In his sophomore effort, director Duncan Jones explores the same theme of a man alone and at the mercy of shadowy machinations that was explored in his rightly-praised debut effort, MOON. Has the director expanded his palette, or is SOURCE CODE just an action film with a lot of flatscreens and flashing lights in the background? Come join Steve Biodrowski, Lawrence French, and Dan Persons as they discuss the outcome.
The Official BBC Doctor Who site is featuring an interview with series producer Steven Moffat.
Asked how season six of the revived DOCTOR WHO will differ from last year, they recieved an intriguing reply.
“Well, we’ve moved through the funfair a bit— we’ve done the rollercoaster, now we’re on the ghost train. Last year, in a way, was all about saying, don’t worry, it’s still him, it’s still the same show, nothing’s really been lost. Losing a leading man like David Tennant is seismic —unless you gain a leading man like Matt Smith.
It’s been the biggest joy to see him stride in and just claim that TARDIS for his own. But now he’s really here, and the part is his, and the bow tie is cool, he’s ready to lead us places we didn’t know existed. Last year we reassured you – this year, to hell with that, we’re going to worry the hell out of you. How well do we really know that man, or what he’s capable of? We’re putting the Who? back in the Doctor.
Oh, there’s a big story being told this year, and major mysteries from the very off. As ever, in this show, the stories all stand alone, and every episode is a perfect jumping-on point for a new viewer. But at the same time the over-arching plot will be a bigger player this year. More than hints and whispers— we’re barely ten minutes into episode one before our heroes face a dilemma that they’ll be staring at months from now. And there will be no easy answers.”
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Questioned whether there will be new monsters, the writer/producer responded that there will be, indeed.
“They’re … scary. Very scary. And, ohh, I don’t want to say more —there’s the Silence in 1 & 2, the Siren, in episode 3, the Gangers in 5 & 6, all these are more than just freaky costumes and masks; there are SCARY ideas here. And just wait till you meet Idris in episode 4.
… But it’s not JUST scary – it’s funny and moving and revelling in its own insanity too. “
Asked how the characters have evolved, Steven Moffat replied:
“The big difference, I suppose, is how long the Doctor is hanging around in the lives of his Companions. His normal MO is get them while they’re young, and leave them while they’re young too. He’s careful to put them back where he found them, before he screws up their lives. But here he is, married couple on board—and much as he loves them both, he does wonder if it isn’t time he got out of the way. Before something really BAD happens.
Regarding the mid-season break, which will end in a cliff-hanger, the producer emphasized a difference.
“Normally our cliff-hangers are lives being threatened. With this one, three lives are changed FOREVER.”
BleedingCool reports that on the cover of this week’s Doctor Who Monthly, it’s revealed that one of this season’s four main characters will die in this year’s opening adventure.
Accoring to the the magazine’s Twitter feed, producer Steven Moffat said:
“We’re not lying, we’re not cheating: one of those four people is going to die! When I came up with this heart-wrenching twist, I thought ‘We’ll kill off one of the leads in the season opener.’ It lures you in.”
My guess, based on the series promo trailer, is that it’s the Doctor himself, killed by one of his companions — but there’s a twist, of course.
DOCTOR WHO premeires April 23rd at 9;00 PM/8:00 Central on BBC AMERICA with part one of a two part adventure, The Impossible Astronaut.
Note the magazine lists companion Rory Williams as Rory Pond, likely a joke refering to gag about the balance of power in the married Amy Pond and Rory’s relationship.
