News on Doctor Who series 7 and the 50th anniversary special

[The Romulan Republic]

http://www.tvovermind.com/doctor-who/do ... 0th/106854

We're still about five weeks away from seeing Doctor Who in the 2011 Christmas special, "The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe." But what about beyond that? Well, it's been confirmed today that Matt Smith will be returning for next year's thirteen-episode seventh series. Smith has also confirmed a return for the 2012 Christmas special and, most importantly, the 50th Anniversary Doctor Who special.

The much-anticipated special, which will air in 2013, will mark a half-century since the show first premiered back in 1963. Not many details are known about the special yet, but rumored are returns from previous Doctor Who cast members, including previous Doctors David Tennant, Paul McGann, and others.

Read TVOvermind's review of Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series here.

News of Smith's return was broken by the official twitter of Doctor Who Magazine. Filming for the thirteen-episode seventh series will reportedly begin in February.

Smith's tenure on the show began in 2010 with "The End of Time, Part 2," and continued on through the fifth and sixth series. The 2012 Christmas special will be Smith's third, following 2010's "A Christmas Carol" and this year's "The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe."

With Doctor Who's seventh series slated to premiere in fall 2012 (as opposed to the spring, when it has typically premiered), the 2012 Christmas special might actually fall in the middle of series 7, if the show takes a midseason break as it did this year.

Series 6 left off with the Doctor going into hiding after faking his own death at the shores of Lake Silencio. With the rest of the universe believing him to have been killed by River Song, the Doctor intends to continue his adventures much more conspicuously.

Doctor Who will return on Christmas day with "The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe." Series 7 will premiere in fall 2012.

Mostly good news. I'm glad to have confirmation that Matt Smith is sticking around. I hope the rumours of Tennant and McGann returning prove true.

[Broomstick]

How many of the former Doctors are still alive? Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccelston, David Tennant, right? Granted, some of them are pretty old now, but they could show up as a voice over a communication device, thereby mainlining the tradition that when there are multi-doctor shows at least one of them gets caught in some bizarro warp/time scoop/whatever.

Eccleston seems to have zero interest in ever coming back, but T. Baker's voice is highly distinctive, so "showing" up as a voice over a radio or phone might work well.

[Drooling Iguana]

Sylvester McCoy could probably show up again without too much explanation (his hair is a little greyer and his wrinkles a little deeper, but he still looks basically the same as he did during his original run.) Tom Baker and Peter Davison woud be a bit more difficult, as their ageing is far more obvious, and Colin Baker is almost unrecognizable from his '80s appearance.

Ageing wouldn't be much of an issue for Paul McGann, since we don't know how much time passed between the '96 movie and his regeneration (and Time Lords do age within a given regeneration, albeit more slowly than humans do.) Eccleston and Tennant's runs, of course, are recent enough that they could jump back in fairly easily.

[Hillary]

Sylvester McCoy could probably show up again without too much explanation (his hair is a little greyer and his wrinkles a little deeper, but he still looks basically the same as he did during his original run.) Tom Baker and Peter Davison woud be a bit more difficult, as their ageing is far more obvious, and Colin Baker is almost unrecognizable from his '80s appearance.

Indeed.

Colin Baker


Tom Baker


Peter Davison

[Eternal_Freedom]

What is this "mid-season break" crap that's been cropping up of late? They never bothered with it in the past. I'm presuming it's some Americanism that's snuck in somehow.

Also, that article has an amusing typo:

With the rest of the universe believing him to have been killed by River Song, the Doctor intends to continue his adventures much more conspicuously.

Kinda defeats the point of it really.

[evilsoup]

That's got to be a typo, no way is Moffat that stupid.

[Eternal_Freedom]

The idea of him having to avoid being conspicuous seems strange as well. He's a time traveller for goodness sake, it's not like he's been erased from Time of something. He could just claim that his current wackiness is from his life before Silencio.

I'm not complaining about it though. "Let's save the universe!!" has got sooo boring.

[Broomstick]

What is this "mid-season break" crap that's been cropping up of late? They never bothered with it in the past. I'm presuming it's some Americanism that's snuck in somehow.

Hey, don't blame us! It never happened over here until the past few years, either!

[Eternal_Freedom]

What is this "mid-season break" crap that's been cropping up of late? They never bothered with it in the past. I'm presuming it's some Americanism that's snuck in somehow.

Hey, don't blame us! It never happened over here until the past few years, either!

Meh, I'll attribute it to you yanks anywhere, because it uses the americanism of "season" not "series."

Humbug. Now I'm feeling old.

[Broomstick]

What is this "mid-season break" crap that's been cropping up of late? They never bothered with it in the past. I'm presuming it's some Americanism that's snuck in somehow.

Hey, don't blame us! It never happened over here until the past few years, either!

Meh, I'll attribute it to you yanks anywhere, because it uses the americanism of "season" not "series."

Humbug. Now I'm feeling old.

A pox on you! At least we have proper seasons of around two dozen episodes. Not the UK idea of "oh, let's make six episodes and call it a series".

[Eternal_Freedom]

A pox? Ha, that's old. We killed smallpox and I already had chickenpox. So pfffft to you.

On a more serious note, series have shrunk. Just look at oldWho. Ok, might only have been six stories per sereis, but that meant 24 or 30 episodes.

Ah, the lost days of yore.

[Broomstick]

I can't help but think that part of the reason for fewer episodes per series/season is the cost per episode. Let's face it, Old Who had a teeny budget compared to New Who, and it was especially apparent in the props/effects.

I dunno, would you prefer 40 episodes where the sets were cardboard and appeared to be constructed by 12 year olds as a school project or 12 episodes with whiz-bang special effects and great looking sets?

Or maybe we could just spend more money on competent writers?

[Drooling Iguana]

OldWho episodes were also half as long as NuWho ones (with the exception of Colin Baker's first year, but it only had 13 episodes.) When Christmas specials are factored in, NuWho has more actual screen-time per year than any season of OldWho from the '70s onward.

[Eternal_Freedom]

True on the budget thing. I'd rather have a good story than effects. Poor effects are tolerable if the story is good. The reverse is not true (just look at 2012..or don't).

This is why some of the really classic stories I watch again and again. I must have seen "The Daleks," "The Dalek Invasion of Earth," "The Tomb of the Cybermen," "The Invasion," "The War Games" and "Inferno" dozens of times each. In every case the story is enough to keep me gripped and overlook the effects.

EDIT: Incidentally, today being the 23rd it's 48 years since DW first aired. Wow. And my dad remembers seeing the very first episode.

[Captain Seafort]

OldWho episodes were also half as long as NuWho ones (with the exception of Colin Baker's first year, but it only had 13 episodes.) When Christmas specials are factored in, NuWho has more actual screen-time per year than any season of OldWho from the '70s onward.

But the individual stories were much longer. Sure, this meant the bad ones were repetitive dross, but it meant that the good ones had far more time to develop the plot, whereas the renewed series can frequently feel very rushed by comparison. I also think the greater number of episodes in a serial led to better pacing than the new two-parters.

[Johonebesus]

I really think the only old actor they ought to even consider is McGann. The others are just too old.

I wonder if an animated special could work. Then they could have the old sets as well as actors.

[The Romulan Republic]

I really think the only old actor they ought to even consider is McGann. The others are just too old.

I wonder if an animated special could work. Then they could have the old sets as well as actors.

Yeah, but I doubt they'll do that.

I'd be fine with McGann, Tennant, and Smith, and perhaps one of the others in a voice only appearance as Broomstick suggested.

[mr friendly guy]

I was going to comment on Colin Baker's aging, as he autographed an item for me a few years ago when him, McCoy and Katy Manning visited Perth for a show. Hillary however beat me to it with pics. The only thing the same about Colin was that he still had that distinctive voice.

[Seele]

One idea I have is that instead of playing the Doctor, perhaps the older actors could play bit roles. That way, while they aren't the Doctor per say, but still involved in the show as an Easter egg for the fans.

[Hillary]

I was going to comment on Colin Baker's aging, as he autographed an item for me a few years ago when him, McCoy and Katy Manning visited Perth for a show. Hillary however beat me to it with pics. The only thing the same about Colin was that he still had that distinctive voice.

I remember seeing a documentary on DW a while back and wondering who the fat bloke they kept interviewing was. It never even occurred to me that he was Colin Baker until they captioned him. Wow!

[Broomstick]

That's why I say they should come up with a way for the older guys to appear just in voice - we saw a little of that in "The Almost People" when the Doctorganger was struggling with his past regenerations, with Tom Baker and David Tennant's voices. Not the same technique again, but something like that, to get a sense of the prior regenerations being there even if not actually present.

For that matter, if they brought the Doctorganger back he could be some not-quite formed humanoid shape with a prior Doctor's voice - perhaps one of the old farts under latex or something, allowing him to appear vastly altered in appearance yet still there in some sense. It would also avoid having to split-screen Matt Smith yet again. Really, the creepy uncanny valley faces of the gangers could cover up a lot of age, just add a wig of appropriate hair style and color.

Really, there are ways to pull this off. You could have Tennant show up as himself, as he hasn't aged that much, Paul McGann (since his regeneration could have lasted quite awhile, enough to visibly age), maybe McCoy, with either one of the Bakers or Davison (or even all three, trading turns at the part) as the Blobby Doctorganger. (Eccleston seems pretty firm he's not coming back).

Top it all off by having him regenerate at the end of the 50th anniversary into Doctor Twelve. You might get seven or eight Doctors into one blow-out story. The only hitch is, after spending all that money on effects and guest stars, they probably won't be able to afford a decent writer. Oh, well....

For that matter, I wouldn't mind seeing one or two prior companions again - maybe one or two of the ones from Old Who (a few have shown up in the SJA), and I wouldn't mind seeing Wilford Mott again. And Rory. A kick ass story with Rory and leave Amy at home this time.

[Patrick Degan]

If I were writing a 50th anniversary special, I wouldn't bother with trying to bring in any of the past Doctors. Instead, I'd craft a story about the legacy of the Doctor's life, the legacy of the Time Lords, and a reason why the Doctor ended up a lone renegade.

Suppose, in the mists of the Doctor's own history, a faction of Time Lords —opponents of the megalomaniacal President Morbius— foresaw the end of their entire race, that they would be consumed in a war with the Daleks or another temporal power, and made preparations for it. They set up a space/time safe zone within the Void, into which this Time Lord faction would be enclosed and from which they would be released to reemerge into the universe when the worst had passed. They would have their own Eye of Harmony and their own version of the Matrix with which to reestablish Time Lord civilisation on another planet or even on a space/time station (or series of them) and it would be down to one of their number to remain at large in the universe. This Time Lord would have that part of his memory erased or blocked, so that neither the High Council or any other faction would discover the secret, and it would be on him to leave Gallifrey and wander time and space, against the day when Gallifrey would be destroyed. The Time Lord selected for this would have been the Doctor, and his entire life has pointed toward his discovery of the key and the release of the Legacy of Gallifrey.

[The Romulan Republic]

That's why I say they should come up with a way for the older guys to appear just in voice - we saw a little of that in "The Almost People" when the Doctorganger was struggling with his past regenerations, with Tom Baker and David Tennant's voices. Not the same technique again, but something like that, to get a sense of the prior regenerations being there even if not actually present.

For that matter, if they brought the Doctorganger back he could be some not-quite formed humanoid shape with a prior Doctor's voice - perhaps one of the old farts under latex or something, allowing him to appear vastly altered in appearance yet still there in some sense. It would also avoid having to split-screen Matt Smith yet again. Really, the creepy uncanny valley faces of the gangers could cover up a lot of age, just add a wig of appropriate hair style and color.

Really, there are ways to pull this off. You could have Tennant show up as himself, as he hasn't aged that much, Paul McGann (since his regeneration could have lasted quite awhile, enough to visibly age), maybe McCoy, with either one of the Bakers or Davison (or even all three, trading turns at the part) as the Blobby Doctorganger. (Eccleston seems pretty firm he's not coming back).

Top it all off by having him regenerate at the end of the 50th anniversary into Doctor Twelve. You might get seven or eight Doctors into one blow-out story. The only hitch is, after spending all that money on effects and guest stars, they probably won't be able to afford a decent writer. Oh, well....

For that matter, I wouldn't mind seeing one or two prior companions again - maybe one or two of the ones from Old Who (a few have shown up in the SJA), and I wouldn't mind seeing Wilford Mott again. And Rory. A kick ass story with Rory and leave Amy at home this time.

I wouldn't try to include every living past Doctor unless the 50th. anniversary was multiple episodes: it'd be too hard to fit them all in. And it would be a shame to have a poor writer (though really I expect Moffat will write the 50th. himself if he's still the top writer then). I would very much like to see some old companions come back. No Rory without Amy though unless there's a very good reason. Knowing what we do about Amy and Rory, he wouldn't go anywhere without her voluntarily, and if they were sepperated, he'd spend all his time trying to get back to her (and God help anyone who got in his way).

[The Yosemite Bear]

How many of the former Doctors are still alive? Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccelston, David Tennant, right? Granted, some of them are pretty old now, but they could show up as a voice over a communication device, thereby mainlining the tradition that when there are multi-doctor shows at least one of them gets caught in some bizarro warp/time scoop/whatever.

Eccleston seems to have zero interest in ever coming back, but T. Baker's voice is highly distinctive, so "showing" up as a voice over a radio or phone might work well.

well the curly hair is now white, and theres not as much of it before,, he's got some wrinkles, but those piercing eyes and that voice are still there....

damn no chance of Sarah Jane or The Brigadire shwing up for the 50th.....

[Soontir C'boath]

How many of the former Doctors are still alive? Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccelston, David Tennant, right? Granted, some of them are pretty old now, but they could show up as a voice over a communication device, thereby mainlining the tradition that when there are multi-doctor shows at least one of them gets caught in some bizarro warp/time scoop/whatever.

Eccleston seems to have zero interest in ever coming back, but T. Baker's voice is highly distinctive, so "showing" up as a voice over a radio or phone might work well.

well the curly hair is now white, and theres not as much of it before,, he's got some wrinkles, but those piercing eyes and that voice are still there....

damn no chance of Sarah Jane or The Brigadire shwing up for the 50th.....

I probably still wouldn't bring Tom Baker back if his return in the BBC and Big Finish audios are anything to go by. He sounds like a different character.