BBC official synopsis for DOCTOR WHO’s Christmas Special, A Christmas Carol:
Amy and Rory are trapped on a crashing space liner, and the only way The Doctor can rescue them is to save the soul of a lonely old miser, in a festive edition of the time-travelling adventure, written by Steven Moffat.
But is Kazran Sardick, the richest man in Sardicktown, beyond redemption? And what is lurking in the fogs of Christmas Eve?
Amy Pond is played by Karen Gillan, Rory Williams by Arthur Darvill, The Doctor by Matt Smith and Kazran Sardick by Michael Gambon. (Opera singer Katherine Jenkins makes her first acting appearance).
A slight touch of deja vue here, the 2007 Christmas special, Voyage of the Damned, featured the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) dealing with a space liner version of The Titanic and the acting debut of singer Kylie Minogue.
From the DOCTOR WHO: The Complete Fifth Series Limited Edition Box Set (available from the CFQ Store, ) come two “Meanwhile in The TARDIS” mini-episodes.
Shot especially for the DVD, and written by writer/producer Steven Moffat, they fill in some humorous gaps of the Doctor (Matt Smith), and companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) getting to know each other. Click to Purchase
The first vignette is set between “The Eleventh Hour” and “The Beast Below”.
Amy Pond freaks about a bit about the nature of the TARDIS and the Doctor — who’s heard it all before, but perhaps not as manically.
We’ll post the second one tomorrow. Via DoctorWhoTV
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. Writer/Producer Steven Moffat
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 at Christmas. 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.
As noted above, earlier DOCTOR WHO episodes from the original and revived series (The Gunfighters, Dalek, Daleks in Manhattan) took place in the United States, and might have even shot second unit footage here. However, it’s the first time the principle actors have been in front of the cameras in America. Dalek was also set in Utah, albeit in an underground complex.
The 1996 FOX Network DOCTOR WHO movie with eighth Doctor Paul McGann was set in San Fransisco, but filmed in Canada (Vancouver, BC).
DOCTOR WHO spin-off THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES, though not currently being shown in the U.S., offered several more tidits about the Doctor’s future.
Sarah Jane Smith (Liz Sladen) was the companion to Doctors 4 & 5. The new season of her own show will feature a guest appearance from the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith). It’s in a two-part episode called Death of the Doctor, and also features former companion Jo Grant (Katy Manning) who last appeared on DOCTOR WHO with John Pertwee in 1973.
In Death of the Doctor viewers will see, according to UK site DigitalSpy:
1. Doctors 1, 2, 3, 4, 10 and 11 all make an appearance.
2. There’s mentions of Axons, Azal and Aggedor.
3. “Smells like roast chicken!”
4. The Brigadier is still stranded in Peru, while Liz Shaw is on the Moon.
5. That’s Groske, not Graske.
6. The Doctor doesn’t have to be white. And he can regenerate more than 12 times – a lot more!
7. “You look like someone’s baked you!”
8. Jo Jones (née Grant) has 7 children and (almost) 13 grandchildren.
9. The Doctor might never look back, but Sarah Jane has discovered some interesting things using Google.
10. “Accelerate the weave!”
THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES airs on the BBC’s CBBC, their childrens’ channel. Though the first season of the fairly charming half-hour shows was broadcast in the US by the fromer Sci-Fi Channel, SARAH JANE is not currently being carried by any nationwide US station.
Amy, The Doctor, and Rory will all be back
From DoctorWhoTv we get this list of DOCTOR WHO Teaser phrases and clues for Season 6 of the revived BBC series.
The Doctor will be on trial – twice!
Who controls the light sculptors?
You won’t believe what’s buried under Wembley Stadium.
Scared of the Eye in Space? You should be.
Take up thy sins and walk – slowly.
There won’t be a pub quiz on Tuesday because there won’t be a pub.
Beau Geste is cool.
Bow Street runners are cool.
Bromley-by-Bow is cool.
August 1982 – Happy Birthday, Ma’am.
Some lies are too much for the psychic paper.
“I won’t take calls from THAT Prime Minister.”
“Marc, where are you?”
The only water in the forest is the river.
What awaits the TARDIS at the zero point?
“72 years on and Rory’s still terrified of Granny Grainger?”
“I was lost in France.”
“How could a fellow Gallifreyan stoop so low?”
Horror of Bangkok.
“Give it up, sweet Korn.”
Argonite? Here?
An ordinary block of flats.
“If I saw them walking down the high street what would I think?” I don’t think you’d think anything at all, Amy.”
Find the lady – before she finds you!
“Margaret! Come back!”
The Doctor defeats the Sahara Desert.
Susannah’s still alive.
Mill Green on fire.
As will River Song
The Doctor will get married – Twice!
What are the dangers of Port Olveron?
502, but never 503.
Beware of the kites.
“A pillar of salt, yes – but not because she looked back. Looking back is good!”
They’ll have to get a new name for Thanksgiving.
Pay attention – It’s not really her.
Treading through the sand – on the one night they come back.
The Shuddering Brethren, they’ll stick in your mind.
“I’m my own Doctor.”
Octavian wasn’t lying.
Mysterious semblance at the the strand of nightmares.
The bones of the TARDIS.
They’re from the Doctor Who: Brilliant Book 2011, now available in the UK from Amazon UK
Karen Gillan and Matt Smith It seems the latest incarnation of DOCTOR WHO, played by Matt Smith, is engendering some controversy across the Atlantic, due to the short skirts worn by current travelling companionAmy Pond (Karen Gillan), which are considered “too sexy” by certain Brit viewers. Ms. Gillan is not the only one accused of exposing too much skin: There was also a seen in which Smith appeared clad only in a towel, prompting some fans to complain that they could see the Full Monty – a claim refuted by the BBC. (Smith was wearing “an item to protect his modesty.”)
Defending her character’s wardrobe, actress Karen Gillan points out that Amy Pond’s skirts are standard length for young women of her age:
“I just don’t get it with the skirts. It’s what any girl on the street is wearing. I mean, Amy’s not a schoolgirl, she’s 21, pretty much the same age as me, and we all wear stuff like this.”
Fair enough. However, Gillan goes on to say that Amy Pond is the Doctor’s equal:
“It’s just never occurred to me that a woman wouldn’t be equal, in any sphere, to a man,” she said. “It’s nothing that has ever come up in my life and nothing I’ve thought about in terms of Amy. She’s just a strong girl, woman, whatever. Oh, let’s just say she’s a strong female.”
I’m all for gender equality, so if Amy Pond is going to wear short skirts, I suppose it’s only fair for the Doctor to show up in a towel. However, the issue here is not equality between a man and a women. It’s between a 21-year-old Earthling and a Time Lord who has lived thousands of years. It’s just a wee bit absurd to imagine that anyone from Earth, male or female, could be the Doctor’s equal. The only way we’re going to get gender equality on DOCTOR WHO is if the BBC decides to bring back Romana from the E-Space parallel dimension, where she remained at the end of WARRIOR’S GATE during the Tom Baker era.
During Saturday April 25th’s airing of DOCTOR WHO the BBC ran a cartoon “coming next” promo for their OVER THE RAINBOW reality series, featuring an animated version of UK TV personality Graham Norton.
Unfortunately, it appeared as The Doctor (Matt Smith) was making an impassioned speech during The Time of Angels’ dramatic cliffhanger ending.
Thousands of viewers complained to the BBC, which issued an official apology as to the timing of the incident.
In this video from his BBC One talk show, Graham Norton does his humorous best to make amends to WHO fans. The Time of Angels’ airs this coming Saturday (May 8th) at 9PM Eastern, followed by SO GRAHAM NORTON. Now if only viewers in the U.S. could gain some respite from these animated nuisances during our own programs.
