[Just Jeans]

[Part 01]
[Part 02]
[Part 03]
[Part 04]

With big news comes a big new thread!

Doctor Who 2011 opens with spectacular 2-part series premiere; filmed in the United States

American Doctor Who fans, get your telescopes in position: the TARDIS is landing Stateside. And there's a new 2011 teaser that has been released. Geronimooooo!

Rumors have abounded for months now, but today the BBC has officially announced that Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and the whole Doctor Who crew will leave Wales to film the first two episodes of the upcoming season in Utah. This is the very first time that the long-running sci-fi series has filmed here. (While the 1996 Eighth Doctor movie was set in San Francisco, it was actually filmed in Canada.)

Here's the full press release for today's announcement:

Filming is taking place in Cardiff until March 2011.

Terribly excited about this! It's cool to know Matt, Amy and Arthur will be filming in this country soon.

[TheShowstoppa]

They're starting to overuse River Song. It's starting to depress me. Why? She's starting to make Doctor Who feel like Lost with all of her questions she brings about, her lack of (good) character development, and finally - There are never any fucking answers. Every time there's a two parter, she's been a part of it. I say nay. We can do a two-parter without the addition of River and it can be proven.... If Moffat would just do it.

[Just Jeans]

I don't really think River's been over-used. She's only been in three stories. Wilfred Mott and Jackie Tyler have both had more screen time than her. She's no more overused than anyone else who has guest spots in genre television shows.

But for better or worse, River is a part of the series mythology now. and she will be heavily involved in Series 6. Having said that, Moffat does intend to answer everything that he's left hanging, and a lot of it will come to light this year.

Originally Posted by Steven Moffat

On the story threads left hanging from last year:

“Nothing will be left hanging forever. Some things will be addressed relatively quickly. We’re going into the silence and what they are… There’s been a sort of tradition, which I semi-followed through with the crack, of there just being a sort of meme through the series, and I think, actually, a bigger mystery and a bigger story is possible now. I’m going to handle it slightly differently next year.”

On River Song’s true identity:

“That’s absolutely coming. You’re going to find out very soon, and that means we have to do it next series, really… The critical thing here is I want to explain who she is, not explain away who she is. If you don’t deliver on most people’s expectations, and you just say, ‘Ooh, she’s a specially programmed android who believes she’s the Doctor’s wife,’ people will go, ‘That‘s a cheat.’ You can’t do that… It’s a really good story, and it’s sort of the story of next year.”

Also, Moffat refers to the Silence as "they" as opposed to "it" or "he" or "she". I get the impression that the Silence will be a race of beings.

[Just Jeans]

Like the Specials soundtrack, the series 5 soundtrack is going to be epic:

DISC ONE

1. Doctor Who XI

THE ELEVENTH HOUR
2. Down To Earth
3. Little Amy
4. Fish Custard
5. Can I Come With You?
6. Little Amy: The Apple
7. The Sun's Gone Wibbly
8. Zero
9. I Am The Doctor
10. The Mad Man With A Box
11. Amy In The TARDIS


THE BEAST BELOW
12. The Beast Below
13. Amy's Theme
14. A Lonely Decision


VICTORY OF THE DALEKS
15. A Tyrannical Menace
16. Victory Of The Daleks
17. Battle In The Sky

THE TIME OF ANGELS / FLESH AND STONE
18. River's Path
19. The Time Of Angels


THE VAMPIRES OF VENICE
20. I Offer You My Daughter
21. Chicken Casanova
22. Signora Rosanna Calvierri
23. Cab For Amy Pond
24. The Vampires Of Venice

AMY'S CHOICE
25. Wedded Bliss
26. The Dream

THE HUNGRY EARTH / COLD BLOOD
27. Rio de Cwmtaff
28. The Silurians


DISC TWO

VINCENT AND THE DOCTOR
1. Paint
2. Vincent
3. Hidden Treasures
4. A Troubled Man
5. With Love, Vincent

THE LODGER
6. Adrift In The TARDIS
7. Friends And Neighbours
8. Doctor Gastronomy
9. You Must Like It Here
10. A Useful Striker
11. A Painful Exchange
12. Kiss The Girl
13. Thank You Craig

THE PANDORICA OPENS / THE BIG BANG
14. River Runs Through It
15. Away On Horseback
16. Beneath Stonehenge
17. Who Else Is Coming
18. Amy And Rory
19. The Pandorica
20. Words Win Wars
21. The Life And Death Of Amy Pond
22. Amy's Starless Life
23. Into The Museum
24. This Is Where It Gets Complicated
25. Roman Paradox
26. The Patient Centurion
27. The Same Sonic
28. Honey I'm Home
29. The Perfect Prison
30. A River Of Tears
31. The Sad Man With A Box
32. You And Me, Amy
33. The Big Day
34. I remember You
35. Onwards!

Absolutely cannot wait.

[undrtkr]

http://blastr.com/2010/10/its-official-doctor-who-i.php

What was only a teaser last week has suddenly become fact. Doctor Who's regeneration limit of 12, long a part of the Time Lord's canon, is going away. And, strangely, it won't be treated as a big deal, either, as the whole matter will be resolved in a simple passing comment.

Not only that, but the BBC will deal with the situation NOT in a Doctor Who episode, but rather in its spinoff series The Sarah Jane Adventures, starring Elisabeth Sladen as former Doctor companion Sarah Jane Smith, in the two-part episode titled Death of the Doctor, which will air in the U.K. Oct. 25 and 26.
According to the Guardian:

While the Doctor and Clyde Langer, played by Daniel Anthony, are in the process of outwitting spooky vulture undertakers the Shansheeth, Clyde asks how many times he can regenerate. The Doctor indicates that there is no limit. The action continues.

While perhaps the manner in which the event will happen is a tad underwhelming (OK, maybe a lot underwhelming), it's also a strange move on the part of the BBC to have decided to deal with this very important event in Doctor Who lore in a spinoff for children, on the CBBC no less, rather than on the main show itself—or at the very least on the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas Special.

And because SJA no longer airs in North America (though we hope this may change), it also means that many Doctor Who fans will not be able to see the famous episode and the moment in question until the DVD comes out.

As well, some won't be happy that changing something so fundamental as Time Lords having a limit of 12 regenerations will only be mentioned in passing instead of getting a more significant scene.

But with a show as successful as Doctor Who, they needed to address the issue sooner rather than later, and we all knew that it would lead to some sort of explanation or event that would definitely have the Doctor regenerating more than 12 times—we are, after all, up to Matt Smith's 11th Doctor already, with only two more regenerations left for the Time Lord!

That likelihood must have seemed far away back in 1976, when the powers that be came up with this storyline in The Deadly Assassin, with Tom Baker's fourth Doctor, but now it's no longer viable, since the Doctor is heading toward the end of his "life" and the show is giving every indication that it plans to go on long after the 13th Doctor.
So what do you think about this new rule? And are you happy or disappointed by the way in which it will happen?

Doesn't surprise me. What does is that they blow it off in a comment on a spin off series.

[Alex DeLarge]

It's a joke, it's not a big deal.

From what I've heard, it's like this: The article's comment that "there is no limit" is inaccurate. What actually happens is that the Doctor and Clyde are escaping the baddies, going down a ventilation shaft, and when Clyde asks how many times he can regenerate, the Doctor, half-annoyed and crawling for his life, shouts back, "507!"

You can take that as a retcon of the 13 lives thing... or you can take it as only a joke.

Have you ever seen the Tom Baker serial. the Creature from a Pit? There's a line where the Doctor says Time Lords, similar to cats, have 90 lives. Someone asks how many he's used, and the Doctor says, "Oh, about 130."

This is in the exact same spirit as that.

[Just Jeans]

Yeah, it's the Doctor assing around in a moment of peril. He does it all the time.

Having said that, I doubt they'll address the limit on the show when it comes time for the 14th Doctor. And if they do, it'll be the arc for the series: the Doctor trying to find a way to stay alive, or coming to terms with the fact that he's on his last leg... only to keep on going anyway.

[Just Jeans]

Genre actor Mark Sheppard joins the cast.

The US convention ValleyCon 36 have reported that the actor Mark Sheppard has had to pull out of their event this weekend due to new work commitments on Doctor Who. Their press release states:

As the release states his start last week, this suggests that he will feature in the series opening two-parter, which began shooting this week under the helm of director Toby Haynes.

Sheppard has appeared in a number of high profile science-fiction shows of late, including Supernatural as Crowley, Battlestar Galactica as Romo Lampkin, and Warehouse 13 as Benedict Valda.

[SoulOnFire]

Mark Sheppard? In Doctor Who? Fucking bring it! That's awesome, huge fan of his genre work.

[Just Jeans]

Badger in Firefly is the only character I can think of off the top of my head that I've seen him as.

This makes him, what, the second Joss Whedon alum to appear in Doctor Who? Anthony Head is the only other I can think of off the top of my head.

According to his online CV, he's playing a character named Canton.

[Alex DeLarge]

From the rumblings I've heard on GB, besides Firefly, most people know him from Battlestar Galactica and Supernatural.

[sickboy]

He's also the creepy doctor in Medium. Absolutely love his work, really looking forward to seeing him in DW

[Alex DeLarge]

He's actually in Dollhouse too, but to be honest, he doesn't have the biggest (or most interesting) role.

[Just Jeans]

Gallifrey Base has got a short dialog exchange between Mark Sheppard and Alex Kingston on location:

They'd been setting up all day on the corner of West Bute Street in what looked like the shell of a new block of flats. Greeenscreen in front.

The scene they filmed was reminiscent of the pre-titles to "The Time of Angels"; River Song being cornered by blokes in suits, with guns pointed at her, before managing to escape.

Mark Sheppard: "Stop! Don't move!"
River: "There are loads of them, They're everywhere"
Mark Sheppard: "America is being invaded!"
River: "America was invaded a long time ago, America is occupied"
[River moves back a little more]
Mark Sheppard: "Don't move! There's no way out!"
River: [something that sounded like] "Oh really?"

She then falls of the edge! The stunt woman took over at this point, and surprisingly they only did it once, after which the cast, crew and Alex gave a big applause to the stunt lady.

[Just Jeans]

Silva Screen is recalling the Series 5 Doctor Who soundtrack due to a mastering error on the track I Am the Doctor (the main theme of the album) and they're repressing it without the error. Gonna have to figure out how to get my copy replaced when it arrives.

[Just Jeans]

December is almost upon us, and I'm quite happy that A Christmas Carol will be airing on BBC America within hours of the UK premiere. That's epic news. The trailer looks good -- loving the concept of a killer space shark.

I'm going to spend December watching classic Who on Netflix streaming to gear myself up. There's a ton of it. I'm starting with The Ark in Space tonight. Haven't seen it in full before, and only saw bits on Sci-Fi when I was a kid. I've seen the surrounding stories -- Robot and The Sontaran Experiment -- but never it.

I'll probably watch the Key to Time season on Netflix as well, and some of the Hartnell stories that I've never seen.

Incidentally, the Play Station Network is about to start carrying Doctor Who -- both new and classic -- on the PSN video store. Episodes will range between $1.99 and $2.99 a piece (SD and HD prices). They haven't made it clear yet whether or not an "episode" of the classic series will constitute omnibus presentation of stories (like on Netflix streaming) or if each part will cost $1.99 to download.

[Cody]

I recently finally made it through season 5, the "bases under siege" season. Every serial but one having the same basic set-up and all of them being six episodes long made it a rather tiring slog for me, a few of the middle stories I couldn't really get into. Then I was pulled back in by the last few, though the advancing web-fungus of Web of Fear and the parasite seaweed of Fury from the Deep felt kind of similar for back-to-back stories.

Troughton is great as the Doctor. Am I the only one who thinks he resembles Steve Carell?

Fury from the Deep finally introduced me to this sonic screwdriver that I'm always hearing about.

Strange that Paul W.S. Anderson decided to remake Tomb of the Cybermen as Alien vs Predator.

[Just Jeans]

Two interesting things reported today:

A lorry carrying 11 TARDISes was spotted in Cardiff. No word what they're for, but they look like proper production-quality Police Boxes.

Director Peter Hoar's CV had him listed as working on a 60 minute special to be broadcast over the Easter holiday. After the news hit the Internet, it was quickly changed to something more generic.

[Cody]

Craig Ferguson recently did a show with lots of Who talk and guest Matt Smith. Due to rights issues, this musical sequence didn't make it to the air -

Who Dance

[Cody]

"Now go away and don't fuss me. No, come back, what's this? It's all right, I know."

Season 6 was watched much faster than 5 and enjoyed more. I liked most of the serials in this one. Dominators was decent. The Mind Robber was reminiscent of The Celestial Toymaker. I was worried when I found out that The Invasion involved Cybermen, fearing that these villains are going to get as overused as the Daleks were, but thankfully the Cybermen didn't come into the picture until halfway through the serial and most of it focused on Vaughn. Krotons, Seeds of Death, good. The only story I couldn't really get into was The Space Pirates, but I did like the Milo Clancey character.

The War Games was great, particularly the second half of it. It being Patrick Troughton's last, I was wondering what would lead to his regeneration. Hartnell's made sense, he was old and running down. Troughton was still lively and in his prime.

Very interesting things came up, more about the Doctor's past and people revealed.

Troughton had a good run, and I would've welcomed more from him. I didn't connect with him as much as I did Hartnell (the loss of so much of his footage might be a part of that), but he was a very entertaining Doctor, made the first regeneration work and kept the character/series alive through it. So kudos to him.

Watching The Omen will never be the same.

Now... hello, Jon Pertwee.

[The Dark Vampire]

I'm looking to get one of these for the Wii



and these for the DS

[Just Jeans]

A Christmas Carol is getting a stand-alone soundtrack release in February.

Silva Screen is proud to announce the February album release of the soundtrack to Doctor Who - A Christmas Carol, this year’s Doctor Who Christmas Day Special.

The soundtrack features classical music superstar Katherine Jenkins. Katherine is both part of the cast and singer on “Abigail’s Song”.

The music is composed by now Doctor Who composer of choice Murray Gold and performed by the excellent BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Crouch End Festival Chorus.

The album will be released both physically (SILCD1360) and digitally (SILED1360).

The TV episode will be broadcast on Christmas Day at 6pm and will feature Matt Smith as The Doctor, Karen Gillan as Amy Pond and Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams. They will be joined by Michael Gambon as Kazran Sardick and Katherine Jenkins as Abigail.

Short synopsis:

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?

[Just Jeans]

According to this CNN article, BBC America is planning to try and air Series 6 on the same day as the UK transmission.

That's brilliant news. It'll be the first time the show has ever aired in-sync on both sides of the ocean.

[TheShowstoppa]

When exuberantly asked if she knew what was today, Erika replied "DOCTOR WHO?!?!?! HIGH FIVE!!!!" Jeans... You've helped to create a monster. Either way - can't wait to see this!

[Just Jeans]

Initial reaction: best of the Christmas specials so far. I don't think there was anything I disliked about it. The preview for next series looks great -- green-eyed Ood, the makeshift TARDIS from The Lodger, Area 51 Grey-style aliens, River, the Doctor in a stetson -- and I'm looking forward to seeing it again.

The Doctor and Marilyn Monroe! Get you, tiger!

I like the way they've tweaked the opening title actor credits. They're easier to read now, and appear to have a new texture to them. It was also nice to see Arthur Darvill's name up there (even if he was barely in the episode). And loved the shark.

I'm tempted to avoid Gallifrey Base for this one. During the commercial breaks we discussed certain plot points that are liable to have some sections of fandom screaming bloody murder, but none of that stuff matters to me. It was still a really lovely story.