+++++ Season 8 News +++++
From BBC's website:
Samuel Anderson joins Doctor Who for Peter Capaldi’s first series
Rising star Samuel Anderson (The History Boys, Gavin & Stacey, Emmerdale) is set to join the cast of Doctor Who as a recurring character in Series 8, which will also introduce Peter Capaldi as the Doctor.
Anderson will play Danny Pink, a teacher at Coal Hill School where companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) also teaches. On joining the show Samuel Anderson said: "I was so excited to join Doctor Who I wanted to jump and click my heels, but I was scared I might not come down before filming started!"
He continued: “It's a quintessential part of British culture and I can't believe I'm part of it. It's an honour to be able to work alongside Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman and I can't wait to show people how my character becomes involved with such a fantastic duo!".
Steven Moffat, lead writer and executive producer, added: "For the fourth time in Doctor Who history, Coal Hill School is coming to the aid of the TARDIS. In 1963 teachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright accompanied the First Doctor. These days it's the turn of Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald. And very soon now, Sam Anderson as Danny Pink will be entering the world of the Doctor. But how and why? Answers are coming later this year in Peter Capaldi's first series of Doctor Who!".
Filming recently began on episode 4 of the new series, which will co-star Robert Goodman (Gangs of New York, Game of Thrones) and episode 5, co-starring Jonathan Bailey (Broadchurch, Groove High), and Pippa Bennett-Warner (The Smoke, Death in Paradise).
10 years ago
Fri Mar 14 2014, 09:23pm
++++++ Season 8 News ++++++
Keeley Hawes (known for her roles in Ashes to Ashes, Spooks and Upstairs Downstairs) will guest star in series 8. Her episode will be somewhere in the middle of the season.
She will play villainous banker Ms Delphox, described as ’a powerful, out-of-this-world character with a dark secret’, and has allegedly begun filming with Peter Capaldi.
10 years ago
Sat Mar 15 2014, 11:37am
Lol. Delphox is a Pokemon.
I'm glad that she's going to be in DW, but I wish that it was for a bigger (as in more than one episode) role. Keeley Hawes is just brilliant.
I've heard rumours (albeit tumblr ones) that she's going to be revealed to be Romana, so if that happens, perhaps we will be seeing more of her. But then, every time they announce a brilliant woman appearing on Doctor Who the rumours start flying around that she's Romana, so she's probably not.
++++++ Season 8 News ++++++
The biggest Doctor Who news of the week was the announcement that MI-5 star Hermione Norris will be joining Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman for a story in Season Eight.
While making the announcement Steven Moffat said something that is sure to set tongues wagging among fans of the classic series: “For the first time since 1984, the Doctor Who production team is heading to Lanzarote. The Doctor is returning to the scene of an old adventure – but there have been sinister changes since his last visit.â€
Which is quite a tough statement to unpick for clues. If the suggestion is that Hermione will be taking part in a sequel to the last Doctor Who adventure that was filmed on Lanzarote, that’s the Fifth Doctor’s penultimate adventure “Planet of Fire.â€
++++++ Season 8 News ++++++
From Metro UK's website:
We’ve still got a while to wait until the start of Doctor Who series eight - but Steven Moffat has already hinted that viewers can expect things to be very different.
Speaking at the Hay Festival earlier this week, the show runner revealed that the arrival of Peter Capaldi would also bring about some of the biggest changes since Christopher Eccleston joined as the Doctor in 2005.
And he admitted that the programme ‘needs to be a bit different now’.
‘We haven’t made much of change to Doctor Who since it came back in 2005,’ Moffat explained.
‘It’s been the same show. It’s maybe amped some things up and lowered some other things, but it’s basically the same. I just feel it needs to be different and it needs to be surprising again.’
He added that casting Peter Capaldi as Matt Smith’s replacement would also help to keep things ‘fresh’.
‘Can you imagine if we’d cast another handsome yet quirky young man with entertaining hair? It would have just exposed the formula,’ Moffat pointed out. ‘The show would have just become that little bit more ordinary.’
Doctor Who – with Capaldi now in complete charge of the Tardis – will return to screens in August.
+++++++++ Season 8 News +++++++++++
Some details of the episodes for Season 8 have been revealed:
Episode 801: We will experience Clara trying to cope with the loss of her friend as well as the introduction of a “truly terrifying monster.â€
Episode 802: Expect to see the Daleks causing the Doctor no end of hardship with the hero venturing into “the most dangerous place in the universeâ€.
Episode 803: “The Doctor meets Robin Hood†in an episode which is touted as one of the series’ funniest.
Episode 804: Supposedly an unconventional episode which was “a complete departure†for Moffat as a Doctor Who writer. We’ll see the Doctor having a nervous breakdown ahead of a date.
Episode 805: An episode reminiscent of a heist movie with a “crackling monster.â€
Episode 806: An episode focusing on the Doctor’s companions with some hilarious moments – an “absolute hoot†in Moffat’s words.
Episode 807: Intense “proper drama†filled with “all the Doctor Who stuff you could want†(including lots of monsters).
Episode 808: Will feature the band Foxes and a reference to a Matt Smith episode from his first series.
Episode 809: A horrifying episode that is sure to have audiences terrified.
Episode 810: A take on traditional “fairytale†norms with a few notable changes.
Episodes 11 & 12: A two-part finale which will feature Cybermen. Focuses on the relationship between Clara and the Doctor and how their interactions “might not be healthy for everyone around them.â€
++++++ Season 8 News ++++++
Ok, so the broadcast times for a lot of the countries have now been released for the first episode:
UK: Saturday 23rd at 7:50pm - BBC1
USA: Saturday 23rd at 8:15pm - BBC America
Canada: Saturday 23rd at 8:00pm - Space
Germany: Saturday 23rd at 9:00pm - FOX
Turkey: Saturday 23rd at 9:50pm - CNBC-E
Brazil: Saturday 23rd at 10:00pm - BBC HD
Argentina: Saturday 23rd at 10:00pm - BBC HD
Australia: Sunday 24th (simulcast with the UK) - ABC1
Finland: Sunday 24th at 7:10pm - Yle & TV 2
S8 Ep1: Deep Breath
Not a bad start, though it may take some time to get used to the new Doctor.
The visuals of the T-Rex in front of Big Ben and then spitting up the TARDIS were good, and sight of the burning T-Rex was a great spectacle.
I think Capaldi will do well. His stories seem to be heading in the direction of the darker gothic tales of the Fourth Doctor.
The introduction of the 11th Doctor was a nice unexpected touch, and it finally shows us who left the TARDIS phone off the hook on Trenzalore.
There were a few nods to past episodes, such as The Girl in the Fireplace, or the 'You've redecorated. I don't like it' line (though hopefully that wont be used too much)
Note: The tramp that the Doctor got his coat from was played by Brian Miller, the widower of Elizabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith)
Regarding Missy: There is some stuff on the internet about her, but don't look too closely as she will turn up in episode 12, and reading about it will throw up a lot of spoilers
10 years ago
Tue Sep 02 2014, 09:42pmDark One
S8 Ep2: Into the Dalek
Ok, I'm liking Peter Capaldi's Doctor, but am I the only one thinking the stories are a little weak so far? Sure, the first stories of a new Doctor aren't always great, as the writers and actors find their feet, but still I expected more.
Not that the episode wasn't entertaining, and Clara seems to be a bit more interesting now that she has a life outside of the TARDIS.
Perhaps the main fault that could be levelled at “Into The Dalek†is that it does feel a little too familiar; they could have called it “Journey To The Centre Of The Dalek†but that would have further flagged up the similarities to Steve Thompson’s season seven contribution. Then we get the probing of the Dalek’s mind, the notion that a “good†Dalek might be a thing, and our minds go back to a youthful Billie Piper eyeball to eyestalk with a pepper pot in Rob Shearman’s great season one story. Do we really want a good Dalek, though? Do we really care about what goes on in their heads? Don’t we prefer them cackling “exterminate!†and then doing exactly that? We do get that too, though, and the action scenes are as vibrant and slickly shot as you’d expect from a director used to operating on the silver screen.
Am I the only one to think that Davros’s creations getting a bit boring? Remember the shivers they sent down your spine in “Dalekâ€, “Bad Wolfâ€, “Army Of Ghosts†and more? Did you get that this evening? They’ve been done to death in recent times and the novelty has worn off. It’s almost becoming a cliché, but surely it’s time to give them a rest for a good few years, which is a shame, because I enjoy a good Dalek story.
However, this episode show us that The Twelfth Doctor is ultra practical, ultra rational and he lacks social etiquette, to put it mildly. A refreshing change? Could be. I hope that we get some stronger stories that he can really get stuck in to.
Speculation: Danny Pink is introduced as a “lady killerâ€. He doesn’t really seem like one in the implied sense, given his clumsiness with Clara. Could he literally be a lady killer? Is that why there’s that tear? And we may be going into speculation overdrive here, but could his victim have been Missy…?
S8 Ep3: Robots of Sherwood
I actually enjoyed this episode. Ok, so the Doctor acted a little silly, and sometimes like a petulant child, but then that's just another facet of his character.
I know some reviewers hated this episode, but I thought it was a good period romp and the robot Knights looked pretty awesome. The ending worked well with the final scene as Robin and the Doctor have a poignant natter about the things they have in common, the nature of a hero and the importance of creating a legend.
No Missy this week, but like the Half-Face Man, the robots are searching for the Promised Land. Surely it can’t be a coincidence – presumably that’s where we’re heading for the season finale.
Note: You may recognise the actor that plays Robin. He is played by Tom Riley who played Leonardo da Vinci in Da Vinci‘s Demons.
S8 Ep4: Listen
I didn't hate this episode as much as Min. It is gradually getting better. Capaldi's Doctor is definitely good, and the stories do need to get better, but this one was a step in the right direction.
It had some elements of the creepiness from 'Blink', and another mystery creature. Having a mysterious creature is good, and it worked well in the Tenth Doctor story 'Midnight'. This time we actually get to see the creature under the red blanket, albeit in blurred form, but it appeared to be flesh coloured with a wide head and eyes set quite far apart. Its possible we'll get to see this again.
I liked the Danny Pink story arc, and we can now guess what causes Clara to stop travelling with the Doctor. She hasn't been the greatest companion, but this series seems to be better where she's not always on the TARDIS and seems to have a life of her own.
Note: Robert Goodman who played Reg - the man in charge of the children's home - has appeared in Doctor Who several times before, but only as an un-credited extra – a Time Lord in “Arc Of Infinity†(5th Doctor), a Hyperion III officer in “The Trial Of A Time Lord†(6th Doctor) and a Mandrel in “Nightmare Of Eden†(4th Doctor).
Spoilers for Time Heist:
I really liked this episode (so relieved)! Maybe Moffat really needs to write as part of a team instead of in isolation? That way episode ideas can be workshopped (thus somewhat edited!).
Anyway it had such a clever energy about it, and was such an interesting plot (not to mention it reminded of a cross between Stainless Steel Rat and Hustle. The slow-mo walk into the bank was definitely a shout out to Hustle, right?). And I looooooove Keeley Hawes!
I don't see why Clara was needed in particular for this one (she could have stayed behind/gone on date and it wouldn't have really changed the outcome) but I was so invested in the story that I didn't care that she may as well have been part of the scenery.
More episodes like this, please! Favourite episode of the year so far!
On 'Missing Something'
Orson Pink mentioned that time travel ran in the family. And he also mentioned that the soldier toy was a family heirloom before giving it to Clara. You can see the he recognised her in some form. I think this tends to lean towards Clara leaving the Doctor for Danny
S8 Ep5: Time Heist
A much better episode! This felt like classic Who, with a mystery all wrapped up for you to discover in one story, without having to drag it out over the season.
The Twelfth incarnation remains compellingly spiky. He’s still an elusive figure, a little slippery in the morals department and prone to moments of snarly unpleasantness that would make anyone think twice about sharing a police box with him. But there are moments of charm, too, like fleeting sunlight through a gloomy Glasgow sky: witness Capaldi’s deeply Doctor-ish delight as he discovers the dimensional shift bomb, or his marvellously awkward reaction to Saibra’s hug, as if he’s just received an inoculation jab.
The Teller was a great new Who alien as well. Done very well, and something different from the usual fare.
Keeley Hawes was great! Shame she wont be used in future episodes. Or will she?
Note: Another reference to “The woman in the shopâ€, first flagged up in “The Bells Of Saint Johnâ€. Anyone else starting to think that this could be 'Missy'?
This is a list of the parade of felons we glimpse on the screen: There’s a Sensorite, a Slitheen, a Terileptil, an Ice Warrior and the cyborg Gunslinger from “A Town Called Mercy†plus Androvax and The Trickster from The Sarah Jane Adventures and Captain John from Torchwood (hello, James Marsters). More intriguingly we also see Abslom Daak, the chainsaw-bothering Dalek slayer first introduced in the pages of Doctor Who Weekly. We assume that’s an artist’s impression as he’s just too darn brutal and kill-crazed to be photographed. How cool that he’s now officially in Who continuity.
Re missing something thread:
See - that's what I'm missing. I got that connection, but why does Clara have to choose? Amy didn't choose. I made the assumption that Danny Pink would become a companion (to mirror Ian / Barbara, considering the school and all)...and the time travel running in the family related to both of them time travelling for a while.
Or, perhaps this is where they'll break away from the Amy/Rory formula. Perhaps (because of Amy/Rory loss) the Doctor will say no - no boyfriends on the TARDIS - and then it would make sense that Clara would choose her life over her travels.
Re Time Heist:
I think it's been confirmed that Missy is the woman in the shop. Or have I just been reading too many tumblr discussions...?
