The Doctor to the rescue!

Thursday, 19 August 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
One ShowMatt Smith and Karen Gillan are to appear on The One Show, it has been reported today. The two will be joining new presenter Chris Evans on his first show tomorrow (Friday).

The Sun reports that the pair came to the rescue of the show, which was having difficulty in booking a guest for the DJ's first outing on the revamped BBC1 magazine programme.

Update: The One Show's official site information on the Friday programme:
Chris Evans makes his debut on The One Show sofa with Alex Jones.

The stars of Doctor Who, Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, join them to chat about fish and chips, action heroes and bird-watching. In homage to the great British fish and chip supper, they'll be seeing if they can run across 1000 litres of batter at the end of the show!




FILTER: - Karen Gillan - Matt Smith

Friday People News

Friday, 6 August 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Matt Smith's mother has talked about the pressures of dealing with the Eleventh Doctor's fan mail. Talking to the Northampton Chronicle. Lynne Smith tells how important it is that every letter sent to the actor is read and dealt with. Fan mail comes from all generations and in all shapes and sizes. "Some think of him as a heart-throb" says Smith. "That makes me smile because to me he's just Matthew."

Meanwhile Doctor Who Executive Producer Steven Moffat had been in LA, along with co-creator Mark Gatiss, promoting Sherlock which has been signed up by PBS Masterpiece for broadcast starting on October 24. The UK will see the final episode of Sherlock this Sunday. The first two episodes have achieved critical acclaim, scored high ratings and outstanding Appreciation Index figures.

John Barrowman has added the Royal Albert Hall to the list of venues in his 2010 concert tour. The tour begins on 1st October in Oxford and runs through to 2nd November in Edinburgh taking in many cities, including Brighton, Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham and Manchester, on the way.




FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Matt Smith - Press

2010 Series DVD Boxset

Wednesday, 28 July 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who: Series Five BoxsetDetails have been released of the 2010 series boxset which will be released in the UK on 8th November 2010 and in North America on November 9, 2010.

Branded The Complete Fifth Series the boxset is available in DVD and Blu-ray formats. In the UK, as well as the general release, a number of sets will be available in the form of a specially limited edition.

Special features include additional scenes written by Steven Moffat and exclusive to DVD.
  • Additional scenes: Meanwhile in the TARDIS, written by Steven Moffat and featuring Matt Smith & Karen Gillan, telling the story of what happens between episodes. Why was Amy floating in Space above Starship UK, and what happened after 'that' kiss between the Doctor and Amy?
  • Monster Files - The Monster Files will get under the skin and inside the minds of the latest Doctor's most challenging opponents. With previously unseen footage and exclusive comments from cast and crew, the Monster Files take fans old and new even further behind enemy lines.
  • Outtakes
  • In-vision commentaries
  • Video Diary
  • Confidential Cut Downs
  • BBC Trails and Promos to New Series 5



See our full Release Schedule




FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Canada - USA - UK - Karen Gillan - Matt Smith - Blu-ray/DVD - Series 5/31

Radio Times Interviews

Wednesday, 21 July 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Radio TimesBoth Matt Smith and Steven Moffat are interviewed in the new edition of Radio Times.

In a "School Holidays" special issue of the magazine, Smith is interviewed by Jack, 13:
What makes you different from previous Doctors?
- I’m younger, so my skin is a bit smoother. What would you say makes me different? Bigger ears?
You’re crazier.
- There you go, I’m crazier.
How many marks out of ten would you give yourself so far?
- That’s a tough one. Let’s say eight. I’ve two episodes left, so I can still get to ten. I don’t want to undersell myself.
We don’t often see the Doctor eating anything. My favourite food is sausage and mash. What’s yours?
- Spaghetti bolognese, banana sandwiches. I love biscuits with tea and am partial to a chocolate muffin or two.
And also in the magazine, Doctor Who Executive Producer and Lead writer Steven Moffat writes about his new project Sherlock:
When I was a little Beano-reading Doctor Who fan – about nine or ten – I was desperate to know more about Sherlock Holmes. It was a name I’d heard. I knew he was some kind of policeman, I knew he had a funny hat, and I knew he was in a film called The Hound of the Baskervilles, which once came on the telly and got me sent to bed because it was too frightening. I remember lying upstairs that night, too excited to sleep – because I could hear the baying of a terrible hound, and the rapid-fire voice of a policeman who fought monsters. I needed to find out more, because I knew already this was my kind of hero: if Doctor Who had been a detective, clearly he’d have been Sherlock Holmes.




FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Matt Smith - Magazines

Constellation Awards 2010

Tuesday, 20 July 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Canada's annual science fiction awards, the Constellations, have now taken place. Doctor Who and its related shows had been nominated in a number of categories:

The Best Male Performance in a 2009 Science Fiction Television Episode category was won by former Doctor David Tennant, gaining 23% of the vote for his performance in The Waters of Mars; he narrowly beat Robin Dunne from Sanctuary at 22%. Torchwood star Gareth David Lloyd had also been nominated in this category, coming in at fifth place (8%) for Torchwood: Children of Earth.

However, Doctor Who itself did not fare so well in the Best Science Fiction Television Series of 2009 category; having won the award three years running, this time it only managed third place at 17%, behind Defying Gravity(22%) and Supernatural(23%).

In other categories, actress Michelle Ryan came fourth with 13% of the vote in Best Female Performance in a 2009 Science Fiction Television Episode for her role as Christina in Planet of the Dead; Torchwood: Children of Earth came third for Best Overall 2009 Science Fiction Film or Television Script (20%); and finally actress Aurora Buchanan came fifth(10%) in Best Female Performance in a 2009 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie, or Mini-Series for fan-made film Doctor Who: Victimsight.




FILTER: - Awards/Nominations - Children of Earth (Series 3)

Press "expectations" for The Big Bang

Saturday, 26 June 2010 - Reported by Dean Braithwaite

Ahead of tonight's UK screening of The Big Bang, the finale to Matt Smith's first season of Doctor Who, a number of articles have appeared in the press.

Digital Journal picks up on Matt's interview with the current issue of Radio Times, in which he touches on how long he'll stay in the role.

They have also again covered the issue of nudity in Doctor Who.

The Metro reports that expectations are high for what's considered "could be one of the finest episodes since the show made its comeback in 2005".

The Sun reports that Matt Smith finds the episode "emotional", while the Coventry Telegraph takes an "exclusive look" at the finale.




FILTER: - Steven Moffat - UK - Matt Smith - Press - Series 5/31 - Broadcasting

Saturn Award for Torchwood

Saturday, 26 June 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Saturn AwardTorchwood: Children of Earth has won a Saturn Award for Best Presentation on Television for BBC America.

The 2010 Saturn Awards were presented by The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, recognizing excellence in the genre fields of movie and television.

Torchwood: Children of Earth was transmitted on BBC America in July 2009, shortly after its UK Premier. The series was stripped Monday to Friday in a 75 minute slot.

Other nominees in the category included Doctor Who: The End of Time.




FILTER: - Torchwood - Awards/Nominations - Children of Earth (Series 3)

Doctor Who: The Big Bang - Clip

Wednesday, 23 June 2010 - Reported by Marcus
A new clip from the final episode of the current series of Doctor Who, The Big Bang, has been made available via the official website.

Please don't click on the link unless you have seen The Pandorica Opens as it contains a major spoiler from that episode. The link is here.

An introduction to the episode from Matt Smith is also available.




FILTER: - Matt Smith - Series 5/31 - Broadcasting

Matt Smith to play Christopher Isherwood

Wednesday, 28 April 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Matt Smith is to play the novelist Christopher Isherwood in a new drama for BBC Two.

Titled Christopher and his Kind, the drama is based on the memoir of the same name, written by Isherwood in 1976. It covers the ten years in the writer's life-from 1929 to 1939, when he left England for Berlin, the capital of the young Weimar Republic, drawn by its reputation for sexual freedom. It talks about the gay Berlin of the 1930s and Isherwood's struggles to save his companion, a German man named Heinz, from the Nazis. Isherwood's experiences in the city later inspired him to write his 1939 novella Goodbye to Berlin on which the Broadway musical Cabaret was based.

The drama will also star Lindsay Duncan, who played Adelaide Brooke in The Waters of Mars, as Isherwood's mother. It will be directed by Geoffrey Sax, who directed the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie.

The drama is written by acclaimed playwright Kevin Elyot (My Night With Reg) and produced by Celia Duval for Mammoth Screen.

Filming on Christopher and his Kind starts in May. The 90-minute drama is likely to screen on BBC Two in the autumn.




FILTER: - Matt Smith

Doctor Who Returns to the Proms

Thursday, 22 April 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Two Doctor Who Proms have been announced by the BBC and will take place over the weekend of 24th/25th July 2010.

This will be the second time music from Doctor Who has been featured at the Proms. Founded in 1895, the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts are an eight-week summer season of orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington. Since 1927 they have been run by the BBC. In 2008 a Doctor Who Prom showcased the work of Murray Gold, who has composed the incidental music for Doctor Who since its return in 2005 along with other space related pieces of classical music.

The 2010 season will follow the same format comprising a mix of traditional and modern music. The two proms will have the same running order and both will be hosted by Matt Smith and Karen Gillan and feature the London Philharmonic Choir and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

A number of Who related events have been organised over the weekend.

Tickets will go on sale, online, by telephone and in person on Tuesday 4 May at 8.00am.


SATURDAY 24 JULY 2010
2.00pm Proms Plus: Proms Family Orchestra and Chorus
You know how the theme tune to Doctor Who goes, now come and play it! At the Royal College of Music. Sign up for this event.
5.45pm Proms Intro
Join members of the Doctor Who sound design team to discover how they create the stunning sound scapes for the BBC TV series. Presented by Matthew Sweet. At the Royal College of Music.
Prom 10: 7.30pm–9.30pm
Venue Royal Albert Hall
Tickets £7–£35, price band A or Prom for £5
Broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. Recorded for future broadcast on BBC Three. Available worldwide on iPlayer for 7 days.

Programme to include:
  • Murray Gold Music from the Doctor Who series(c40 mins)
  • John Adams Short Ride in a Fast Machine (5 mins)
  • Holst The Planets – Mars (6 mins)
  • Orff Carmina burana – 'O Fortuna' (5 mins)
  • Wagner Die Walküre – The Ride of the Valkyries (5 mins)


SUNDAY 25 JULY 2010

Prom 11: 11.00am–1.00pm
Venue Royal Albert Hall
Tickets £6–£12, price band G or Prom for £5

Programme to include:
  • Murray Gold Music from the Doctor Who series(c40 mins)
  • John Adams Short Ride in a Fast Machine (5 mins)
  • Holst The Planets – Mars (6 mins)
  • Orff Carmina burana – 'O Fortuna' (5 mins)
  • Wagner Die Walküre – The Ride of the Valkyries (5 mins)
1.45pm Proms Plus: Proms Family Orchestra and Chorus
You know how the theme tune to Doctor Who goes, now come and play it! At the Royal College of Music. Sign up for this event.





FILTER: - Music - Murray Gold - Special Events - Karen Gillan - Matt Smith