So the dust has settled and that magical night is over. The Day of the Doctor has ended and that brings a close to the 50th Anniversary celebrations. But if you Whovians are not quite ready to let that buzz fade (or maybe you have been one of the unlucky ones and did not actually get chance to see the episode and want some boosting up before you watch it) then do not worry as Grizzly Bomb is right here with you and we have compiled a selection of some of the craziest Doctor Who songs ever to emerge out of the T.A.R.D.I.S. These quirky musical hits (or misses depending on your view) are the perfect way to keep The Doctor fresh in your mind. So get your sand shoes (little in joke there) on and start to boogie on down with The Doctor!
As we reported, the current Doctor Who; Matt Smith (who has played the Doctor for 4 years) is leaving the show at Christmas, speculation has been rife over who will replace him. With the season finale having John Hurt pop up as an unknown Doctor could he stay on after Smith’s departure? He will probably have prior commitments and would be unable to stay long term on the show so I think that’s a no, but if not him then who? Well the bookies are currently taking bets on it, and have a full list of their suggestions you may want to look at, either at The Guardian or The Mirror, but here are some of my ideas for possible contenders.
If I had to pick one thing to clearly illustrate the difference between American television and British television it would be the length of time shows stay on the air and/or the length of time actors stay on shows. If something lasts less than three years in America it’s seen as a bit of a failure and yet three years in Britain is somewhat more of a norm. Then if a show does last for many years, it’s cast very often doesn’t stay the same. Of course there are exceptions to these rules. One show that clearly illustrates the “show stays, cast changes” rule is Doctor Who.
In it’s original run of 26 seasons, there were 8 Doctors. Since it’s return in 2005, there have been three. Now the search is on for the fourth, the 12th Doctor.
“Doctor Who has been the most brilliant experience for me as an actor and a bloke, and that largely is down to the cast, crew and fans of the show. I’m incredibly grateful to all the cast and crew who work tirelessly every day, to realise all the elements of the show and deliver Doctor Who to the audience. Many of them have become good friends and I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved over the last four years.
Having Steven Moffat as show runner write such varied, funny, mind bending and brilliant scripts has been one of the greatest and most rewarding challenges of my career. It’s been a privilege and a treat to work with Steven, he’s a good friend and will continue to shape a brilliant world for the Doctor.
The fans of Doctor Who around the world are unlike any other; they dress up, shout louder, know more about the history of the show (and speculate more about the future of the show) in a way that I’ve never seen before, your dedication is truly remarkable. Thank you so very much for supporting my incarnation of the Time Lord, number Eleven, who I might add is not done yet, I’m back for the 50th anniversary and the Christmas special!
It’s been an honour to play this part, to follow the legacy of brilliant actors, and helm the TARDIS for a spell with ‘the ginger, the nose and the impossible one’. But when ya gotta go, ya gotta go and Trenzalore calls. Thank you guys. Matt.”
That’s right, Matt Smith, #11 is leaving Doctor Who after the Christmas special as reported by the BBC. While it’s sad for fans of the show and fans of the 11th Doctor, Steven Moffat does such a great job at giving these actors (not only the Doctor but also his companions – go watch the Ponds’ departure and tell me you didn’t cry) a proper send-off that’s it’s difficult to not look forward to seeing how they’ll go about it. Not only that but there’s a built in excitement when it comes to the regeneration of a new Time Lord. What will he wear? What type of personality will he have? How will he interact with his companions? What will his catch phrase be? There’s so many questions! We’ll find out soon enough, for now let’s enjoy #11 while we can.
Here is a treat for all you Doctor Who fans who have struggled through the mid-season break. Uproxx have put up the trailer for the Christmas special called TheSnowmen. So without further a due here it is!
Now I have to be brutally honest here. Most of the Doctor Who Christmas specials I felt suffered because they were a bit rubbish. Some people may hate me for saying it, but I just felt they all lack a decent story and feel like padding for the new series. But this trailer has some interesting elements in it which I hope proves me wrong. For a start it is great to see Richard E. Grant playing a sinister character. The killer snowmen look great, even though they do remind me of the horror movie Jack Frost . Obviously the big talking point of this is the fact that Jenna-Louise Coleman is back.
So the big question is how is she back in this? First off, *SPOILERS AHEAD* for those who haven’t fully caught up on Doctor Who because there are still quite a few of you not yet on the bandwagon. I can think of three ways she could return. She could have come back in time (obviously thanks to the Doctors help) like River Song in the previous series, she could have survived her death (highly doubtful as she seems human here and the planet she was on exploded, a tough thing to come back from) or she is a new character and we are meant to forget she was in an episode. This seems silly I know but it has happened before, most famously with Colin Baker who was a villain in one episode and then later on became the Doctor him. Actress Freema Agyeman played companion Martha Jones but also played a character called Adeola in Army ofGhosts. The writers made out that Adeola was Martha’s cousin. So there are quite a few options the writers could have used to bring her back. The fun part will be seeing which one they use. She has such a great chemistry with Matt Smith and this is all from the one episode they were in, I think she will make a great companion. One final note, at the very start of the episode did anyone else notice the snowman voice over? It is Gandalf himself, Sir Ian Mckellen, who is voicing the evil snowman.
Finally, as a special Christmas gift for all you Who fans out there, here is the short Doctor Who special that was filmed for Children in Need reintroducing us to a now very bah humbug Doctor.
Rory and Amy find themselves in a bit of an impasse. They don’t know whether they should carry on traveling with The Doctor or just knock it on the head and get on with their average lives on Earth. Suddenly the world is covered with small black boxes, which have appeared out of nowhere and appear to be safe. Months pass with the boxes just becoming a part of everyday life until after a year has passed since they arrived, they start to become active. The Doctor, who has been keeping tabs on them since they landed, is being helped by the newly reformed UNIT lead by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewarts daughter Kate Stewart, which is now more a scientific group with military power behind it.
The Doctor returns and straight away he is in a spot of bother. Following a distress call from Skaro he is set up and kidnapped by the Daleks as well as Rory and Amy who are now having severe relationship woes. In fact they were just about to get divorced! They are summoned to the parliament of the Daleks which they expect to be the end of their lives. Instead the Daleks say two words. Save us.
The Daleks have a problem. They have a planet; a planet that’s a prison full of insane and imperfect Daleks. The Daleks find it offensive to actually kill any form of hatred (which these Daleks have in spades) so they leave them on this planet. The planet however also has a problem (it’s not a good day to be a Dalek hey?); a ship has crashed landed there and there is now a small hole in the force field which means Daleks can now get out. The force field can only be turned off from the inside!
Another problem is that the Daleks are to bloody scared to send anyone to sort it! They have no trouble sending the doctor and co down there mind which they do by shooting them at the planet! So, their mission is two fold. They need to survive long enough to turn off the force field letting the Daleks blow up the planet and they need to rescue the trapped and quite brilliant Oswin who is stuck on the planet too (hers being one of the ships that crashed landed there). To make matters worse there is a nano bots in the air that turns anyone who encounters it into a Dalek hybrid, which sucks for Amy as she loses the wristband she was given to keep the nanobots out. Will Amy turn Dalek, will they rescue Oswin and will they manage to escape the planet of Daleks before the Daleks blow it up?!
Right from the start this episode grabs you and does not let go. The Doctor is made to look a dark and brooding character mostly seen in shadow on the walls. This Doctor is all business but bitter, a man who does not want to be the adventurer he once was. This adds an amazing amount of tension to this first opening scene. This follows through most of the episode with the Doctor near the end becoming more like the Doctor we know from series past. So a lot of this episode involves the Doctor finding the joy of actually been the Doctor again. It’s also about rekindling relationships with Rory and Amy needing a disaster like this to get them to open up about their feelings and actually tell one another they love each other. This first episode is also a historic one been the first episode shown in the UK, Canada and the U.S. at the same time!
The last series lost some of its magic near the end. The Doctor got very moody and the fun seemed to go from it. The series lost its way with a mix of topsy-turvy time travel stories, romantic sub plots and a general lack of fun! Writer Stephen Moffet is still finding his feet with the doctor I think. Some episodes were spot on, some not so much. For this episode he has streamlined it down to the basics. Daleks the old favorite are the bad guys, Doctor and co run about trying to stop a disaster. And it works. Basic approach really gets you gripped into the story again.
An episode called the Asylum of the Daleks is always going to conjure up scenes of grandeur. This is a more low key affair. Aside from the numerous Daleks at the start from all different time frames there are only a handful of Daleks at a time. In fact this episode plays a little like a zombie flick, enclosed spaces, Daleks popping out around corridors, etc. Again this thinned back approach works so much better than the special effects heavy last series.
There are some incredible scenes here to (SPOLIER ALERT). Rory getting trapped in a hall full of insane sleeping Daleks who wake up very slowly (very much like a scene from The Birds), the doctor and may finding a crew member who does not know he is a Dalek, zombie Daleks, an amazing scene in intensive care with Daleks surrounding the Doctor and a great end scene which is very much like Jacobsladder. The shock to this episode is the reveal of Oswind been an actual Dalek with a human mind who still thinks she’s human and one of her final acts being to wipe the Daleks memories of any knowledge of the Doctor.
This reveal caught me off guard but the signs are all there if you look for them! It’s actually a touching scene which tugs at your heart strings quite a lot. Jenna-Louise Coleman is a very engaging character in this episode, very witty and funny as well as been very smart. This is her first appearance but she will return in the Christmas special. Her sacrifice leads to the final scene with the Daleks completely confused about who is on their ship shouting “Doctor Who” while they make there get away! It’s a great little ending to a nicely laid out episode.
Sure there are some ropy bits especially Rory and Amy talking about the nanobots sucking out love (don’t ask!); the big hole in the plot of why build a planet you can only get access to from the inside and then dump Daleks on it if you are going to blow it up in the end anyway! But overall these are minor problems. The main thing is it’s a lot of fun which the last series lacked. Overall a great start to the new series and I cannot wait for episode two. Here’s a sneak peek of it.
New episodes of Doctor Who are not due until Autumn (boo!), but from BBC America (via Geek Exchange) comes news of four original documentaries due to air soon. Each covers a different subject important to the Doctor Who universe.
The Science of Doctor Who premiers on Saturday the 4th of August at 11:00pm (ET/PT). It explores the real life science behind the biggest concepts and most iconic ideas in the series.
The Women of Doctor Who premiers on Saturday the 11th of August at 9:00pm (ET/PT). It looks at the women who have passed through The Doctors life.
The Timey Wimey Stuff of Doctor Who premiers on Saturday the 18th of August at 11:00pm (ET/PT). It looks at the topsy-turvy confusing nature of time and time travel in the series.
The Destinations of Doctor Who premiers on Saturday the 25th of August at 9:00pm (ET/PT). It explores the myriad of places The Doctor has travelled to across time and space.
They all sound very interesting, and I am slightly narked that they are on BBC America. Hopefully they will show them over here in Blighty at some stage.
Elsewhere the BBC has announced the titles of the first three stories of the new series.
The series opening episode will be Asylum of The Daleks. It will, apparently, include every Dalek ever! Even including the Special Weapons Dalek. It will also feature the biggest set ever used on the show.
The second episode will be entitled Dinosaurs on a Spaceship. It will co-star Mark Williams (The Fast Show and the Harry Potter films) as Rory’s Dad, Brian, and Rupert Graves (Sherlock) as a big game hunter. It will also feature the second biggest set ever used on the show.
The third episode will be called A Town Called Mercy. This Western story – which was filmed in Spain earlier in the year – will co-star Ben Browder (Farscape and Stargate) and Adrian Scarborough (Psychoville and Gavin & Stacey).
Filming on the new series of Doctor Who got under way on the 20th of February, and they recently finished filming on location in Spain. This will be Matt Smith’s third year as ‘the Doctor’, but also Karen Gillian & Arthur Darvill‘s last as companions Amy and Rory. They will be leaving in episode 5. It, of course, means that a new companion will be joining the Doctor in the TARDIS. The actress to play this – so far unnamed – role has been recently announced: Jenna-Louise Coleman!
Jenna is 25 and comes from Blackpool. She has previously played ‘Jasmine Thomas’ in the ITV soap Emmerdale, and ‘Lindsay James’ in the BBC drama Waterloo Road. She also appeared, last Sunday, on new ITV drama Titanic, as ‘Annie Desmond’. All of which probably means nothing to anyone not from the UK. She was also the voice of Melia in Xenoblade on the Wii and had a small (very small – two lines small) part in the Captain America film.
When she found out she had got the part she was, apparently, in Marks & Spencers holding an avocado. Steven Moffat has said of her ” I think she’s possibly the only person I’ve ever heard [talk] faster than Matt.” He also said that when Jenna’s character meets the doctor it will be “one of the biggest mysteries the Time Lord ever encounters” and that “even by the Doctor’s standard this isn’t your usual boy meets girl.” She will be introduced in the Christmas special.
And so on to the new series (number 7 if you must, or number 33 as I – and lots of other fans – like to think of it). The BBC press release says:
Prepare yourselves for thrills, adventure and dramatic surprises as the show builds towards its enormous, climactic 50th anniversary year.” It also promises “Fourteen big blockbuster-movie episodes – each a brand new epic adventure featuring new monsters and some familiar foes as you’ve never seen them before.
A lot to live up to!
Guest stars so far confirmed are: David Bradley (Argus Filch in the Harry Potter films), Rupert Graves (most recently seen as D.I. Lestrade in Sherlock), Mark Williams (Arthur Weasley in the Harry Potter films) and Ben Browder (Farscape and Stargate).
And here is the first preview trailer. Yay! Cowboys, cyborgs, and running – lots of running.
“Anachronistic electricity; keep-out signs; aggressive stares – has someone been peeking at my Christmas list?!” Brilliant!
The new series will premiere this autumn – dates to be confirmed – on BBC One (UK), BBC America (USA) and SPACE (Canada). There will be six episodes this year (including the Christmas Special) and then 8 next year – hopefully just after New Year.
Series 32 of Doctor Who starts on Saturday the 23rd of April, and will be shown on BBC One, BBC One HD and BBC America. And I, for one, am so excited I could wet myself! No, really, I could.
This is all the information I know up to now (no, not just the date, what I am about to impart to you.) There will be a few light spoilers, but not too many as I don’t want to know too much either.
First up is the fact that this years series will be split in two. The first seven episodes will end on what has been promised to be a ‘memorable and shocking cliffhanger’. Then a summer break in July and August before the final six episodes are shown in autumn (or fall, for all you Americans). It is also going to be more dark and spooky. Time to hide behind the sofa?
The first two part story is by Steven Moffat. Episode one is entitled ‘The Impossible Astronaut’ and episode two is ‘Day of The Moon’. It’s set in America in 1969 (there has been filming in Utah and Arizona) and sees the return of River Song (Alex Kingston).
The general plot, as reported by Doctor Who Magazine, goes as follows.
July 1969. Man takes his first, tentative steps on the Moon. That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for… okay, you’ve heard that one before. But a lot more happened on Earth that year than mankind remembers.
Four small TARDIS-blue envelopes. A date, time and map reference. “We’ve been recruited,” ponders River Song. All roads lead to Lake Silencio, in Utah, on one balmy day in April. And an astronaut. An Apollo astronaut in the lake. Impossible? Not today. For the heavens have become a part of man’s world, and this is the day that some one is going to die.
Someone is going to die, and it’s going to be either The Doctor, Amy, Rory or River
Yes, you read that right, one of them will die! Apparently.
Really? Didn’t Rory die last series? You can’t kill The Doctor, surely? River Song seems the most likely candidate, but… really? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
All this and, what are being called, the scariest monsters yet! Even more terrifying than the Weeping Angles. And this is just for starters.
Episode three will be ‘The Curse of The Black Spot’. Hugh Bonneville will feature as a pirate captain and Lilly Cole as a mysterious creature that haunts his ship.
Episode four is ‘The Doctor’s Wife’, written by comic legend Neil Gaiman. This is the story they ran out of money for before filming last year. It sees the return of the Ood(the only returning monsters this year).
Episode five – ‘The Rebel Flesh‘ – and episode six – ‘The Almost People‘ – are a two parter, and episode seven (written by Moffat) will be ‘A Good Man Goes to War’.
The only two episode titles, for the second part of the series, so far announced are episode nine (by Mark Gatiss), which will be called ‘What Are Little Boys Made of?‘ and episode eleven, titled ‘The God Complex’, which will see David Walliams (of Little Britain fame) as an alien character called Gibbs.
The other news of the second part of the series is that James Corden and Daisy Haggard will be reprising their roles as Craig Owens and Sophie from last years episode ‘The Lodger’.
Grizzly Bomb 