Announcements

Hello. Another YouTube video for you all with two announcements: one about the videos I'll create in the future and the other about interviews... enjoy!

Feature: Will Doctor Who Become American?

Hello. On many Doctor Who websites, people have been debating whether or not Doctor Who is becoming too American. The debate has been going on since we first heard about filming in America last year and it has grown over the past few months. To clear things up, this article is to present to you why it is NOT becoming too American and in some cases, why it is.

To start off, a recent interview with Russell T Davies shows his side of the debate:

"No one at BBC Worldwide is looking at an American version of Doctor Who. I know everyone thinks we have secret plans. But we do have plans for new dramas, and non-science fiction. It's about time I got back to that material, 'cause I have a lot to say in that world. So our ambitions are endless - but not for that particular one!"

On the other hand, Torchwood was not expected to become an American TV show but look at it now. It's a co-production with the BBC and many of its stars are American. Also, the majority of the series will be set and filmed in America too. The difference is quite dramatic compared to the other series, but if you think about it, does it have to be a bad thing?
Doctor Who is a British show and in my opinion it always will be, even if it moves to the States, but what would happen if it did move over to the USA? Would it be a bad thing? If anything, the action scenes would be more exciting, the settings would be more effective and the special effects could be even greater than anything we have seen before. Think about the first episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day, The New World. It had a completely different feel to it but this did not take away the fact that the show is outstanding and a brilliant drama. If anything, it added to it.

The first two episodes of Doctor Who Series Six was, of course, The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon. If you remember, in the first ever Who Review, I commented on the amazing settings and the beautiful scenery. These features were one of the main factors of the episodes and made the episode what it was. Would it be bad if every episode was full of these landscape shots?

Also, the viewing figures for Series Six so far have been as good as any other (these final viewing figures are compared to the final viewing figures of Series Five):

THE IMPOSSIBLE ASTRONAUT - 8.9 million viewers

DAY OF THE MOON - 7.3 million viewers
THE CURSE OF THE BLACK SPOT - 7.85 million viewers
THE DOCTOR'S WIFE - 7.97 million viewers
THE REBEL FLESH - 7.35 million viewers
THE ALMOST PEOPLE - 6.72 million viewers
A GOOD MAN GOES TO WAR - 7.57 million viewers

These figures are very similar to the viewing figures of previous series and this proves that Doctor Who is not in danger of having to move to America due to lack of views.
We know that, at least until the 50th Anniversary, Doctor Who will still be in th UK, with Matt Smith and Steven Moffat. The Ponds are not confirmed to appear in the seventh series, let alone the 50th Anniversary in 2013.
In conclusion, there is no certain proof that Doctor Who will become American in the near future, but it depends on your side of the debate.

Doctor Who Series Seven Update

Hello. Doctor Who Series Seven is supposed to broadcast in 2011... but will it? Danny Cohen, the BBC1 Controller, announced the news to the audience at the 2011 Church and Media Conference. One of the attendees at the conference tweeted:

"Danny Cohen says there won't be a full series of Doctor Who in 2012, but a special run for the anniversary in 2013."

Then, later that day, Lizo Mzimba, a news reporter, tweeted:

"Bit of confusion, to summarise: no FULL 13 episode series of Dr Who in 2012. So some episodes will still go out in 2012. Remainder in 2013."

But before you make any assumptions, this does not clear up everything. Some questions still need to be answered: with some of the episodes in 2012 and some in 2013, will the Christmas Special be shown in the middle of the series? And will Episode Specials (like the ones in 2009) be broadcast up until Series Seven starts?

Also, Steven Moffat tweeted this about the subject of Series Seven:

"Misquotes and misunderstandings. But I'm not being bounced into announcing the cool stuff until we're ready. Hush, and patience."

Following on from this, Doctor Who Magazine said this about the matter:

"Doctor Who's future is safe and secure. And there is 'cool stuff' on the way, according to Steven Moffat. We can definitely vouch for that."

Finally, Sam Hodges from the BBC tweeted:

"Situation stays the same - 14 episodes commisioned, starting in 2012. How they will play out will be revealed at a later date."

John Fay for Series Seven

Hello. In the last post, Series Seven was confirmed by the showrunner Steven Moffat. Today, John Fay is confirmed to write for Series Seven. Fay has written for Torchwood: Children of Earth and he is writing a few episodes of Miracle Day. In Children of Earth, Fay killed off one of the main characters Ianto Jones. Will he do something similar in Series Seven? We'll just have to wait a year to find out.

New Doctor Who Books - Paradox Lost

Hello. Three new Doctor Who books are coming out soon, one of which you have heard of in the Doctor Who Items to Buy May Edition. The reviews have been taken from Doctor Who Magazine and you can read them below:

PARADOX LOST

Price: £6.99

Release Date: 23rd June

Written by: George Mann

Featuring: The Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Pond

This may be George Mann's first Doctor Who novel, but he's by no means a newcomer to the Doctor's world. He's written audio adventures for Big Finish, and boasts "a complete set of DVDs and shelves bulging with novels and audios." He and the book range's series consultant, Justin Richards, had been circling each other for a while, Mann reveals. "I'd been keen to pitch a Doctor Who novel, and he was aware of my work and wasn't sure how to reach me. It was a mutual friend who finally put us together when she bumped into Justin at a party. One thing led to another and soon enough I was talking to Justin about ideas for a Doctor Who book. "I really wanted to write a story that felt like it was part of the show; that felt like it was an adventure that could have happened on screen, with the same sort of tone, style and humour."

Doctor Who, says Mann, is freeing. "A large part of that is to do with time travel and the way in which it allows you to play with the structure of your narrative. Steven Moffat's Doctor Who makes great use of time travel as part of the structure of the show. It underpins everything, all the major story arcs of the series. Not only is the TARDIS a great tool for the storyteller to get the characters to any time or place in the universe, it also allows you to tell your stories backwards, sideways, or from different perspectives than you can with a traditional, linear novel. I wanted a story that made use of the extra dimension, while still delivering in the monster stakes, too!"

In Paradox Lost, Mann plays with the consequences of the Doctor's travelling through time. "I like the notion that the Doctor and his companions don't always just land in the thick of things and roll up their sleeves - sometimes that approach has consequences and they end up having to put it right...

 

What's it about?

London 2789: the remains of an ancient android are dredged from the River Thames. When reactivated it has a warning that can only be delivered to a man named 'the Doctor'. The Doctor and his friends must solve a mystery that has spanned over a thousand years...

 

With credit to DAN TOSTEVIN for the review!

Who Review 001 - The Impossible Astronaut

Hello! Before I start, I would like to thank everybody for reading Time Lord Eleven, as it has reached over 1000 views! This is the Who Review 001: The Impossible Astronaut. Who Reviews are exclusive to Time Lord Eleven and will be coming up in the future: episode reviews, book reviews and game reviews will all be covered.

The first episode of Doctor Who Series Six was, of course, the Impossible Astronaut. At the time we didn't know how it was impossible, but then ten minutes in, we saw something that shocked all of the viewers - the death of the Doctor. The episode gave us shocks from the Silence, President Nixon getting some strange phone calls, River showing the Doctor that she can fly the TARDIS better than him (again) and a mysterious little girl needing some help. To start off, here's the official synopsis:

Four envelopes, numbered two, three and four – each containing a date, time and map reference, unsigned, but TARDIS blue – begin the latest series of the time-travelling adventures. Who sent them? And who received the missing number one?

This strange summons reunites The Doctor, Amy, Rory and River Song in the middle of the Utah desert and unveils a terrible secret that The Doctor's friends must never reveal to him.

Placing his life entirely in their hands, The Doctor agrees to search for the recipient of the fourth envelope. Just who is Canton Everett Delaware the Third? And what is the relevance of their only other clue: "Space 1969"? Their quest lands them in the Oval Office, where they are enlisted by President Nixon himself to assist enigmatic former FBI agent Canton in saving a terrified little girl from a mysterious spaceman.

In my opinion, the episode certainly lived up to its expectations. The plot was well thought out and delivered well, the actors and actresses played their parts brilliantly and the Silence - well what can I say? Definitely the scariest and best Doctor Who monster to date. I will go on to say what I thought entirely of the episode later on but for now I'll talk about the plot.

The episode starts with a funny scene involving the Doctor and some Edwardian men involving the Doctor being completely naked. Amy and Rory discover this and they talk about it. It seems to them that the Doctor is trying to get himself noticed in history, especially when he waves at them from a Laurel and Hardy video. Amy finds a mysterious blue envelope with a time, date and map reference inside (as mentioned in the synopsis) and then they travel to America where they meet the Stetson-wearing Doctor and River Song, who also got a TARDIS blue invitation. They all go for a picnik where the Doctor says they are going to 'Space 1969', of course. It's about time the Doctor went to the Moon!

Anyway, during the picnik, Amy sees a mysterious figure in the desert but when she looks away she can't remember it. Creepy. Then, the impossible Astronaut appears out of the water. Someone else waves at the Doctor and he goes to the astronaut. After talking with it, the astronaut shoots the Doctor! He begins to regenerate but is shot again before he can. The trio run forward to the body of the Doctor but they realise he is dead. An old man confirms this, tells them he is called Canton Everett Delaware the Third and gives them some gasoline - never a good sign. They cremate the Doctor and send him out to sea. They then go to a diner and find that the Doctor invited the Doctor to the Doctor's death (confusing, I know)! Amy, Rory and River then realise that the Stetson-wearing  So they talk and they go to find Canton Everett Delaware the Third. He was fired from the FBI because he wanted to marry someone. They land in the Oval Office in the White House whilst Canton and President Nixon are talking. The Doctor cloaks the TARDIS, goes and gets caught. River shows she can control the TARDIS better and takes off the cloak quickly. The three come out and the Doctor is allowed five minutes to show where a little girl is calling the President from.

As the Doctor looks at the maps, Amy sees an alien in the corridor - a Silent. After looking away, Amy feels a bit sick and so goes to the toilet. Inside she finds a Silent, standing there. Another woman comes out of one of the cubicles and looks at the Silent. A comical scene follows as the woman remembers and forgets the Silent. The Silent then takes advantage of the electricity in the bathroom and harnesses it to electrocute the woman! Amy is horrified and takes a picture of it for future reference. The Silent then tells her:

"Tell the Doctor what he must know and what he must never know!"

A bit cryptic the first time you hear but I guess that what he must never know is that he is killed and what he must know... there's a lot of things he must know to be honest. Anyway, she runs out of the toilet and forgets the whole thing. So she goes back to the Oval Office feeling even better than before.

When she gets back, the Doctor knows where the girl is and President Nixon gets another phone call. The little girl says that the 'spaceman' is here and that its going to eat her. The Doctor, Amy, Rory, River and Canton run into the TARDIS to help the little girl. They arrive quickly and come out. The Doctor explains that Jefferson Adams Hamilton (what Nixon had thought the girl's name was) was actually the names of roads. They arrive and walk through the building and we discover that they are being watched by the mysterious astronaut...

The five of them discover a room with alien technology in it. There is a table resembling a surgeon's bed with alien gunk attached to tubes. Not very nice. They then discover boxes of space helmets, space suits and things like that. Amy and River inspect the surgeon's-table-bed and discuss the astronaut. Amy tries to convince River that if they were to kill the astronaut in 1969 then it couldn't kill the Doctor in 2011. River explains that if they killed it then, they wouldn't be able to travel to 1969 where they killed the astronaut, creating a paradox. River then discovers a tunnel. When she goes down, she discovers it is full of the Silence and escapes quickly. Of course, she forgets she saw them all so she tells the Doctor it's clear to go down. River and Rory then go down again to explore. They find a door and River tries to open it. River and Rory then talk about how the Doctor's life is backwards compared to River's and how she must reveal her secret to the Doctor. After a while, they unlock the door and go inside. In the room is a TARDIS similar to the one in the Lodger above Craig Owen's flat. She investigates the TARDIS and tells Rory to keep a look out. Light flashes and River calls out to Rory as he is about to get electrocuted.

Meanwhile, on the surface, while Canton, Amy and the Doctor are inspecting the alien equipment, the little girl shouts out for help. The trio run to the voice as Amy tries to tell the Doctor something important. Canton runs ahead as the Doctor tells Amy there's no time. When the two time travellers reach Canton, he's unconscious. Amy and the Doctor try to help him. Then, without warning, Amy reveals that she is pregnant. Suddenly, footsteps are heard. The astronaut walks into view. In a moment of protection and weakness, Amy grabs Canton's gun and shoots the astronaut as it lifts its visor. The Doctor shouts at her to stop but it is too late. The astronaut is shot and the little girl inside is scared...

Overall, I loved the episode. It was a great way to start off the series and it was very funny at times. The plot was imaginative and well thought out, even if it did drag itself out for a long time. The death at the beginning was shocking - hardly any of the viewers were expecting it! I know I wasn't. I thought that Rory had more of an important role in the episode, too. In the last series he was almost a third wheel for the Doctor and Amy but he has become a full companion. River is as mysterious as always and I liked how Rory and River had their first one-to-one conversation. Canton Everett Delaware the Third is an excellent character and fits in with the rest of the TARDIS Crew very well. In fact, all of the characters were displayed well - the Doctor is as mad as ever and Amy is funny and ready for action.

The Silence, as I have mentioned previously, are my new favourite monster. The idea of when you look away from one, you forget it was there is ingenious and it is definitely up there with other Steven Moffat creations such as the Vashta Nerada and the Weeping Angels. Their electricity usage is also creative and scary, not to mention a bit cliche. The interaction between the characters was engaging and sometimes very funny! The scenes in the Utah desert were expertly filmed and the scenes at the junction of Jefferson, Adams and Hamilton were scary and chilling. On the subject of the junction, it was a very clever way to find it. Steven Moffat clearly has a great mind!

Although there were many advantages to the episode, there were some disadvantages. I would have liked to have seen more action. The episode was mostly character-driven and although I do like this, I prefer the Classic Who of running down cramped corridors being chased by a monster, alien or mutation. And, I would have liked to have seen more from the Silence. They only made three, quite brief, appearances and only one of those appearances involved any electrocution. Also, the scene involving the electrocution was quite comical. I would have prefered to have more of a serious tone to it.

So, there you have it. The Impossible Astronaut sent us all into great confusion. And the next episode only gets you more confused...

The Almost People Hints

Hello. SFX recently released 23 teasers and hints for the upcoming episode the Almost People, penned by Matthew Graham. Some of them can be related to in the trailer and one in particular was pointed out months ago by Steven Moffat himself. So let's take a look (WARNING: may contain spoilers):

1. It’s a compelling, solid action/adventure episode, with a few irritating moments that don’t quite gel and some lapses in logic. If anything, it feels a little small scale and never really steps up a gear to a level you’d expect from a two-parter, but at least that means it can deal with its themes a little more thoroughly and concentrate on the characters.

2. The denoument is character based rather than technobabble based.

3. The last couple of  minutes are riveting.

4. The Doctor has a great John Culshaw moment.

5. There’s some new footage – not just “story so far” clips – before the opening credits.

6. Random words from the script: “Breathe” “Yowzer” “Mirage” “Bad boy” “Bisucuits” “Burnt onions” “Pop”.

7. There’s a very Dali moment.

8. The Doctor appeals to someone’s better nature.

9. Rory makes a mistake.

10. There’s a lovely reference back to “The Doctor’s Wife”.

11. The Doctor is very scary at a couple of points.

12. Amy voices something that may have been on the viewers’ minds if they’ve been following the series.

13. The theme of prejudice and the nature of the Gangers are explored in a number of effective dialogue exchanges.

14. The Doctor once won a bet in a very unusual fashion.

15. The Doctor asks Amy to do something he also asked her to do in the last series.

16. Some waste product has a profound affect on Rory.

17. There are some very icky FX.

18. Somebody has a big mouth.

19. The music at one point is very Blade Runner.

20. The TARDIS makes a very unusual landing.

21. By the end of the episode you be left trying to work out when something that clearly happened actually happened.

22. There’s a very random balloon.

23. The TARDIS is better medically equipped than in “Curse Of The Black Spot”..

What do you think of these teasers? Post your theories, suggestions and ideas in the comment box below.

Matthew Graham: Fear Her, the Rebel Flesh/the Almost People and Future Writing

Hello again. Matthew Graham, the writer of the Rebel Flesh and the Almost People, was interviewed recently by Den of Geek about his next few episodes, Fear Her and some other subjects. The link to read the whole interview is at the bottom of the page.

When asked about how he came to write for Doctor Who Series Six:

Well, I was hoping to do the last series, the first Matt Smith series. I had a very nice lunch with Piers [Wenger, executive producer] and Steven [Moffat] and we talked about ideas and had this storyline for a single. And we were quite excited about it, but I was whizzing backwards and forward to America a lot at that time, and I was also gearing up on the last series of Ashes To Ashes, which I knew needed all hands to the pumps.

So, I just panicked and thought I wouldn't have enough time. So, I contacted Steven and said I've got to bow out, regretfully. And then after the series went out, I got an e-mail from Steven, a typical Steven e-mail in capital letters, that read "thanks for abandoning me to do the series on my own. So what about series 2?" I couldn't say no, really!

When asked about the connection between Fear Her and The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People:

It's brand new. It's totally brand new. I've just watched them, actually, and I think they are absolutely fab. I think they're some of the best writing that I've ever done. And it's brilliantly directed, and brilliantly made. And I just hope everyone likes it.

I really hope that those who maybe thought that Fear Her was too childish and too silly, I'm hoping that that will silence them. This is my response!

When asked about Fear Her:

I'm actually thrilled with it. It's not what I'd have chosen if I'd come to Doctor Who, obviously. When you come to Doctor Who, you want to tell a story with monsters. You want spaceships. You want the Tardis in mortal peril. You want big, epic science fiction adventure. Of course, you do. That's why you write it.

But I was just so thrilled to be asked to write it, even when Russell [T Davies] said, "Look, it's going to be a more inexpensive episode, and it has to take place on a housing estate," I still said, "Fine."

I wanted to write for David Tennant, for Billie Piper, and be part of TV history. So, I said, "Absolutely." I was thrilled with it.

What we had set out to do right from the start with Fear Her was tell a story that was aimed very much at children. For children, not really for adults, not really for the older Doctor Who fans.

It was aimed at the kids, because Army Of Ghosts and Doomsday were coming up, and they were going to be very big, very dark and very traumatic. And Russell wanted a playground adventure. He said, "How old is your son?" At the time he was seven. So, he said, "Write this one for your son." That's what I did. I did something that was in primary colours, that had a scary voice in the cupboard. I always say that other people got cybermen, I got two blokes with a red lamp rattling a wardrobe!

But, to be honest with you, I didn't go online particularly and read the responses. From my side of it, the response was brilliant. I had loads of kids write to me and say how much they enjoyed it. And it was only later I realised that the older fans had reacted badly to it. So, I went, "Well, it's a shame that they have, but it wasn't meant for them."

The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People are different. As far as I'm concerned, this is proper, across the board Who. Adults, kids- if they can watch it, because it is scary. I showed it to my wife the other night, and there were a couple of images in it where she went, "Actually, that's quite scary. That's not very pleasant." And I notice that it's going out a bit later. I wouldn't be surprised if they put a warning out beforehand.

I was happy with Fear Her, but when I came back I did say, rather selfishly, "I want epic, I want monsters! And science fiction, and gadgets, and lots of stuff happening." And they gave it to me!

When asked about the Flesh:

The Flesh? Well, all the stories in Doctor Who start with a basic idea from Steven. And I went and spent a day with him in his kitchen, and he said, "I want to do something about avatars." And I said, "Oh, Steven, are you sure?" I mean, the film was still playing at the time in cinemas. And he said, "No, no, no, this will be good. This will be like The Thing."

So, it's workers that create copies of themselves to do jobs that are too dangerous, too unpleasant. And he said, "I don't know how, but somehow, these things take on a life of their own." And I thought, "Okay, that's better," and then we started talking.

He planned to set it in a factory and I had it in my head that I wanted to do something in a monastery with a The Name Of The Rose feel to it.

When asked about any ongoing narrative bits:

Yes, yes I have. But I've got two cliffhangers, which is not bad for a two-parter. I've got my part one cliffhanger, and I've got a part two cliffhanger that leads into Steven's A Good Man Goes To War.

I can say this because the premise of this final scene was given to me. I wrote [the cliffhanger scene] and I put my own dialogue in. [Steven] said, "This is what's got to happen," and it was just great. Just whoa! People are not going to be able to wait until next Saturday!

When asked about the episode cliffhangers:

I wrote the script, I said, "I'm finished," and then Steven said, "Now I know exactly what I'm doing with episode seven. I need you to do something like this." And he explained what he wanted it to include and I loved it.

I've said it before, I think, that it's like being the writer and the viewer at the same time. And you're also going, "Wow, what's going to happen next?"

What I find about cliffhangers is that there's the easy cliffhanger, which is to put the Doctor in jeopardy. And everyone knows that the next week he's not going to be dead. They used to do that in the old days as well. I tried to make my cliffhanger something that is just a ratcheting up of the story. So, at the end of The Rebel Flesh, you're not thinking, "Is the Doctor going to die?" You're thinking, "Oh, my God. What's going to happen now?"

Finally, when asked about writing future episodes:

I haven't, no. I said to Beth at the read through that if I can do any more I'd love to, and she said, "Oh, yeah. That'd be great."

But I didn't push it then, because I know they've still got their heads still full of this series. But I floated it out there, that I'd happily come back.

They seem very, very pleased with the episode, so I hope that they'd consider asking me back.

To read the whole interview, follow the link below:
http://www.denofgeek.com/television/891987/matthew_graham_interview_on_writing_doctor_who.html