Doctor Who News, Articles, Cast and Crew Interviews

[Alan]

Any chance of the extract?

Still in arse end of nowhere despite being able to get BBC occasionally

Ta

Helps friend with help:

Moffat on Introducing A New Doctor
Published August 7, 2013

Steven Moffat has spoken about the challenges of introducing a new incarnation of the Doctor. Although he believes that the Peter Capaldi’s opening episode will prove to be an easier transition than Matt Smith’s in “The Eleventh Hour”.

Speaking to Collider, he said: “The biggest pressure will always be introducing a new Doctor. And I can’t imagine it will ever be tougher than with “The Eleventh Hour” because everything changed. It’s not an ideal way to run television. It really isn’t. That was mad. All the execs left, the producer left, and all the stars left. You think, “Christ, how do you get away with that?!”

“We’re not in that situation this time, and it’s good that we’re not. People say, “It must have been great and exciting and marvelous that you had all that new stuff,” but not really. But, we got away with it. I just remember thinking, “Are people going to buy that this is the same show, when it clearly is not?”

Moffat also admitted it would be impossible to have kept Matt Smith’s regeneration into Capaldi a secret: “I’d love to, but that’s physically impossible. It was Russell’s plan not to tell anyone that Chris [Eccleston] was going to change in the last episode, but it leaked after one week. I wish it were possible. The fact is that those actors’ agents have to say that they’re available. They have to take jobs. It’s going to leak, so you have to take command of that story.

“It’s annoying. I’d far rather not tell anybody anything, seriously. If you’re telling a joke, you don’t want anybody telling the punchline before you get to the end. Sadly, I don’t think it’s possible now. Everybody wanders around with cameras now. A few years ago, no one had a camera on them. Now, every little human being goes around with a camera on their phone. How am I going to keep secrets with that?! It’s tough. It can be irritating, but what can you do?”

Link to original article here: http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/moffat-on-i...ctor-52316.htm

[Teddybrown]

Any chance of the extract?

Still in arse end of nowhere despite being able to get BBC occasionally

Ta

Oops, sorry, completely forgot about that, was at work so was just a post and close...

[Flyboy]

Helps friend with help:

Moffat on Introducing A New Doctor
Published August 7, 2013

Steven Moffat has spoken about the challenges of introducing a new incarnation of the Doctor. Although he believes that the Peter Capaldi’s opening episode will prove to be an easier transition than Matt Smith’s in “The Eleventh Hour”.
(etc)[/URL]

Thanks!

Oops, sorry, completely forgot about that, was at work so was just a post and close...

Not a problem! I don't know quite why Doctor Who TV makes my netbook crash out here, I suspect it's a combination of script running on the site, netbooks not being too brilliant, and the ****ty internet connection we're provided with....

[Blencathra]

How I paid 20p to join Peter Capaldi's very own Doctorr Who fan club in Bishopbriggs in 1974

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/h...-club.21798791

Photographer Simon Clegg has revealed he was the sole member of Peter Capaldi's Dr Who fan club, which the actor launched while still a teenager in Bishopbriggs.

As the Glasgow-born star prepares to take over one of the most popular roles on TV, Mr Clegg said he paid 20p back in 1974 to join Capaldi's club after meeting him at the local theatre.

Mr Clegg, who now lives in Australia, said: "I met Peter at the Fort Theatre in Bishopbriggs when we were both in The Antonine Players, a local amateur dramatic society.

"He was massively keen on Dr Who and had started up the fan club and asked me if I wanted to join. So I gave him my 20p and that was it."

Although today's generation of "Whovians" number in the hundreds of thousands thanks to the show's international success, Mr Clegg said attempts to build up the Glasgow club's membership never really got off the ground.

He added: "We did put up an advert in the local record shop, but it didn't get any interest and there were no other members."

While the club's roster remained short, the pair did distinguish themselves by sporting long woollen scarves in a style similar to that worn by the Doctor at the time.

Prevailing upon an accommodating knitter among the theatre's staff, Capaldi and Mr Clegg were at least able to look the part, although they had to provide their own wool.

Mr Clegg added: "Peter got the theatre director, a woman named Philippa Stephenson, to knit him a Dr Who scarf, and I got one as well. They were very long and I can remember giving her balls and balls of wool to get it done.

"He went around saying 'splendid, Sarah', which was the Doctor's catchphrase at the time, but we didn't really do much else. After that, Peter went to Glasgow Art School, and that was it."

Capaldi, 55, who was announced as the next Dr Who star on Sunday, is among the oldest actors to get the part of the time-travelling adventurer.

He had been the bookmakers' favourite to take on the role, replacing Matt Smith, and betting on him was suspended last Friday.

Already a household name thanks to his performance as the spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in political satire The Thick of It, the Scot has had a long career both as an actor and writer and won an Oscar for his short film Franz Kafka's It's A Wonderful Life.

Mr Clegg went on to carve out a career as a music photographer, working for the NME among other publications, and took pictures of many bands that achieved success in the 1980s and 1990s.

He said Capaldi was part of a melting pot of talent that emerged from Glasgow during the 1980s and he was not surprised to see his former clubmate become a star.

He said: "Peter was an incredibly creative person and has real drive and commitment, which you need to succeed. You could always see he was going to make it.

"I think he will make a great Doctor, and he'll bring humour and gravitas to the role. He's perfect for it."

[Blencathra]

Amazon have put together samples of the tracks from the Series 7 soundtrack.

Available here at Amazon - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B.../ref=dm_sp_alb

Or here at DoctorWhoTV - http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/sample-the-...ctor+Who+TV%29

I'm looking forward to getting this.

I'm also looking forward to finding out what Murray Gold comes up with for the new Doctor. Though I have to say I will miss "I am the Doctor".

[Flyboy]

I'm also looking forward to finding out what Murray Gold comes up with for the new Doctor. Though I have to say I will miss "I am the Doctor".

Me too - on both counts. "I am the Doctor" is simply marvelous, but anything he comes up with has to be better than the old Nine/Ten theme...

[BruTak]

I don't know why, but I'd kind of like Capaldi's Doctor to refer to his predecessor as "The other fella."

[Alan]

How I paid 20p to join Peter Capaldi's very own Doctorr Who fan club in Bishopbriggs in 1974

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/h...-club.21798791

20p. Lot of money back in '74.

Agree with all the kinds words said about Mr. Capaldi and the kind of Doctor he'll be btw.

Amazon have put together samples of the tracks from the Series 7 soundtrack.

Available here at Amazon - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B.../ref=dm_sp_alb

Or here at DoctorWhoTV - http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/sample-the-...ctor+Who+TV%29

I'm looking forward to getting this.

I'm also looking forward to finding out what Murray Gold comes up with for the new Doctor. Though I have to say I will miss "I am the Doctor".

I'm looking forward too. Wee bit disappointed that the version of the theme introduced at the beginning of The Snowmen isn't included but I hope it will be introduced in another soundtrack release - maybe the first soundtrack featuring music from the 12th Doctor's first series.

[Teddybrown]

http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/nighy-capal...ense-52346.htm
Nighy on Capaldi's casting

Spoiler:

Actor Bill Nighy has given Peter Capaldi’s casting as the Twelfth Doctor the thumbs up.

Nighy played Dr. Black in fan favourite episode Vincent and the Doctor, but he was also offered the role of the Doctor himself before Eccleston took on the part.

He told Huffingtonpost: “I think it’s one of those things you read and you think, ‘Well, of course Peter Capaldi is going to be Doctor Who, it makes perfect sense.’

“He’s a wonderful actor, and I would think he’ll be a terrific Doctor.

“He’ll be very funny, dry, elegant and sharp, and I think it makes perfect sense.”

[Alan]

How much longer do we need to keep using SPOILER tags on

Spoiler:

Peter Capaldi's

name? It seems a trifle silly to me to keep this up until Christmas Day. Surely everybody knows by now who it is that will be playing the Doctor's 12th incarnation.

The Making of Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor
Friday 9 August 2013, 16:38

Guy Freeman was the executive producer for Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor and in this piece he gives a fascinating account of how the programme was made. Many thanks to Guy for allowing us to share the following article:

Phil Dolling, Head of Events, called me whilst we were on location, “We’ve been asked to make a live show to reveal who’ll be taking over from Matt Smith, in Doctor Who”

“Great – let’s talk it through after this shoot?”

“Well, they might want to do it in 3 weeks’ time, so we need to start finding a team now”

“OK – when do we find out who the next Doctor is?”

“We don’t – it has to be kept secret and the show isn’t even going to be billed until the very last minute, in order to keep people off the scent”

And so back in the office, on Monday 15th July, we didn’t have a confirmed transmission date, a host, a studio, a set or any guests. What we did have though was the now famous codename “Houdini”, used by Doctor Who’s Executive Producer, Brian Minchin to describe the mysterious star of our show.

However much I thought I knew about Doctor Who, it’s nothing compared to what the show’s global army of fans - the “Whovians” - know. Although we were making a show for a very mainstream audience, some of whom might only be casual Doctor Who viewers, we also knew that there’d be trouble if we didn’t get the fine detail right for the hardcore fans too!

Luckily, we had a core team in place with a frighteningly good knowledge of the world’s most famous Time Lord and they set about the task of ordering up tapes of episodes from across the show’s 50 year history, ready for the start of editing. BBC Worldwide have restored many of the classic episodes for DVD release and they very kindly supplied us with their master tapes.

By the end of the first week, our commissioner Pinki Chambers helped us lock the tx date [note – the date of transmission] to 4th August, so that we could book a studio and staff it – although we still weren’t able to tell anyone exactly what the show was about.

The biggest challenge was how to recruit a studio audience of Doctor Who fans, without giving the game away. In the end, we asked Audience Services to place an ad on their website for a new “entertainment pilot, celebrating long-running TV shows. This episode looks back at 50 years of Doctor Who”. Within two days, 5,000 people had applied for tickets.

Zoe Ball is such a fan of Doctor Who that she was prepared to re-arrange holiday plans to host the show. Only when we met up with her a week beforehand could we tell her that she’d be revealing and interviewing ‘Houdini’. Never have I seen a more excited presenter – a real joy to work with.

What first appeared to be a problem, ultimately worked in our favour, I think. Matt Smith was in LA and so couldn’t appear live on the show. However, the interview we filmed with him out there was incredibly revealing. He was in a highly reflective mood and expressed his feelings about being in the show and leaving it, in a way that wouldn’t have been possible in front of a live audience. Our PD [note – the Producer Director] intercut his remarks with some fantastic clips to create a very powerful package for the show.

As other interviewees were either being booked for the studio or filmed and edited, plans for the studio took shape – with a set based on the ‘space time vortex’ in Doctor Who’s opening titles. All we needed was an authentic model Tardis to hang from the studio grid. Doctor Who’s very own prop man rose to the challenge of building one within a week, complete with motor to revolve it and internal lighting. Very fine it looked too when it arrived in studio – a perfect, 3-foot high replica.

At midnight, on Thursday 1st August, the press release went out to let everyone know that what had been billed up to then as “Celebrity Mastermind” was now going to be our show. At last, we could speak openly about it and do vital things like talk to Red Bee about on air times and tell our studio guests what the show was really about!

On Saturday 3rd, as the press ramped up their speculation about Houdini, one of our co-ordinators drove around Borehamwood, looking for an anonymous car park. Having given that location to Brian, this is where Houdini was brought to, at lunchtime on Sunday.

Spoiler:

Peter Capaldi

– as we could then call him - was bundled into a people carrier, where he lay on the back seat with a blanket over him, as our co-ordinator drove him down Borehamwood high street and into the studios.

Despite the less than glamorous arrival,

Spoiler:

Peter

was in very good spirits, as we continued to keep him well hidden. As we went on air, the excitement in the studio was fantastic. Despite

Spoiler:

Peter’s

name featuring in the press amongst several other runners and riders, no-one knew for certain it was him until he walked out onto that set. As well as great viewing figures on BBC One, the moment generated half a million tweets and record daytime figures for BBC America’s live simulcast too.

It was a great thrill for us to be part of it and we wish

Spoiler:

Peter

every success in the iconic role. Huge thanks to the Doctor Who team for trusting us with their national treasure and to everyone who came together at such short notice, to do such a great job.

You can see the moment of the big reveal here!

Link to original article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho...he-Next-Doctor

[Sealurk]

I think Sky said until Tuesday (last Tuesday), so we should be okay to let everybody know Peter Capaldi is the Twelfth Doctor!

*awaits the fury of the mods*

[McBecklover]

You really don't know much about Doctor Who pre-2005 do you?

• The actor that played the 2nd incarnation of the Time Lady Romana from the start of Series 17, Lalla Ward, previously appeared in the Series 16 finale story The Armageddon Factor playing a princess with a very significant role. In the opening story of Series 17, when Romana regenerates, she simply made her 2nd body look like the princess because she liked the look of it.
  
  
• In Series 20, Colin Baker appeared in the opening story as a Gallifreyan Chancellery Guard named Maxil. Colin Baker went on to play the Doctor's 6th incarnation one series later.

Bottom line? Time Lords can borrow the looks of people they've met.

Sorry Alan, don't mind me. Nothing against Peter & after doing a bit of reading on this matter, whether here or Facebook or elsewhere, I have come to senses & can see its not really a big deal as I made it out to be. I was a little disappointed to have someone we have already had on the show & wanted someone totally new, but then again I loved Karen Gillon even knowing she had already appeared on the show as a different character, same to for Freema Agyeman being both Mather Jones & Adeola Oshodi. I have not yet watched all the classic's but have watch some of them & am looking forward to watching all the rest as I get a hold of them. I really liked the first ever ep, An Unearthly Child & so far my favorite classic companion is Sara-Jane Smith. Please forgive my childish rant. I really look forward to the next series & sure Peter will do great

[Alan]

Sorry Alan, don't mind me. Nothing against Peter & after doing a bit of reading on this matter, whether here or Facebook or elsewhere, I have come to senses & can see its not really a big deal as I made it out to be. I was a little disappointed to have someone we have already had on the show & wanted someone totally new, but then again I loved Karen Gillon even knowing she had already appeared on the show as a different character, same to for Freema Agyeman being both Mather Jones & Adeola Oshodi. I have not yet watched all the classic's but have watch some of them & am looking forward to watching all the rest as I get a hold of them. I really liked the first ever ep, An Unearthly Child & so far my favorite classic companion is Sara-Jane Smith. Please forgive my childish rant. I really look forward to the next series & sure Peter will do great

Good man! Everyone just needs to keep an open mind and accept that change is the key to it all. Nothing is eternal in Doctor Who. You'll meet Doctors and companions and love them and lose them but you'll love again. Trust me, I've been watching since 1987 and with Peter Capaldi coming in I'll be watching the sixth Doctor in my life. I've loved and lost and loved again many, many times with this show but I'm used to it. Even watching the Doctor and his companions pre-1987 on VHS I still loved them and lost them all but kept loving because I knew the future was going to be okay...and it was...and is...and continues to be and will continue to be.

[Blencathra]

Itunes have The Fires of Pompeii free to download

UK store - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/tv-seaso...-4/id294364742

US store - https://itunes.apple.com/us/tv-seaso...-4/id294364742

Canadian store - https://itunes.apple.com/ca/tv-seaso...-4/id294364742

Australian store - https://itunes.apple.com/au/tv-seaso...-4/id294364742

[Alan]

Coleman Confirms Series 8 Filming to Begin in January
By spikeombre, August 11, 2013

Jenna Coleman has confirmed that the eighth season of Doctor Who will start filming in January of next year. Speaking to Zap 2 It, Coleman explained:

It still feels very much like I’m at the beginning, but what’s quite nice is I’m working on [Death Comes to Pemberley] at the moment. I sort of have a break and then I have another break, after Matt [Smith] goes, later in the year because I know I’m not shooting [Doctor Who] until January [2014]. It means I get to explore other projects and come back, and that keeps me very happy.

This revelation may not come as a surprise to Doctor Who fans. After all, the leaked BBC memo that confirmed Matt’s departure also suggested an air date of Autumn 2014 for the next series, so a January shoot would certainly make sense.

But until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just keep watching Doctor Who Live with all your beliefs, and prove to yourself that Peter Capaldi is going to rock the TARDIS!

Roll on Autumn ’14…

(Via Cultbox)

Link to original article here: http://www.kasterborous.com/2013/08/...in-in-january/