End of Time Cleared for DVD Release

Friday, 27 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus
The British Board of Film Classification has cleared not only The Waters of Mars for DVD release, but also the two parts of The End of Time.

The Waters of Mars has been given a 12 certificate meaning, in the opinion of the Board, the story is not suitable for anyone under that age. No one under 12 can rent or buy the DVD in the UK.

Both parts of The End of Time get a PG certificate meaning the programme is generally suitable for family viewing, but parents should consider the content before showing it to younger or sensitive children. Details submitted include the running time, which for Part One is 59 minutes 42 seconds with the final Tennant episode clocking in at 72 minutes 47 seconds.

Two new Confidential titles are revealed which are listed in the spoiler box below.

Also cleared is a 21 minute feature Doctor Who at Comic-Con International 2009. This may be a feature to be included in the Specials Box Set. The Comic Con was attended by David Tennant and Russell T Davies and saw the first screening of a promo for The End of Time.

The two Doctor Who Confidential titles revealed are
Lords and Masters
Allons-y
The BBFC has also cleared four items believed to be connected to the mysterious Special Project 3 mentioned by Davies in his production notes in DWM.

The special project is believed to be Christmas Idents for BBC One featuring Doctor Who.
00:00:30:11 BBC ONE (BBC CHRISTMAS IDENT - DR WHO CHRISTMAS)
00:00:05:02 BBC ONE (BBC CHRISTMAS BLIP - DR WHO DIGGING IN SNOW)
00:00:05:02 BBC ONE (BBC CHRISTMAS BLIP - REINDEER SNIFFING BY TARDIS)
00:00:05:02 BBC ONE (BBC CHRISTMAS BLIP - REINDEER SNORT)




FILTER: - Specials - Series 4/30 Specials - Blu-ray/DVD

Over Ten Million Watched Waters of Mars

Wednesday, 25 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus
Final figures issued by BARB show the UK premiere of The Waters of Mars was watched by 10.32 million people.

On BBC1 the programme got 9.94 million watching, making it the second most watched programme of the week on the channel, just behind Strictly Come Dancing. However an additional 376,000 watched the simulcast on BBC HD. If these figures are combined then the rating is pushed above ten million and makes the programme the 5th most watched on British Television for the week. It got higher ratings than all the Soaps and was only beaten by the ratings juggernauts The X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing and I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.

If the HD figures are included in the total then the rating makes The Waters of Mars one of only 9 out of 754 episodes of Doctor Who to have made the top five programmes for the week. In terms of raw ratings, it is the episode with the 95th highest rating on first showing. Since the series returned in 2005 only four episodes have beaten this rating.

On Multichannel Television the HD showing is the biggest audience ever achieved by BBC HD, nearly 100,000 higher than the second placed programme. On BBC Three, Doctor Who Confidential was watched by 0.63 million with an additional 100,000 watching on BBC HD. This gave the episode a total rating of 0.73 million and made it the 19th most watched programme on Multi Channel TV for the week.





FILTER: - Specials - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30 Specials

The End of Time - press release

Monday, 23 November 2009 - Reported by Anthony Weight

The BBC Press Office has published its official preview of Christmas programming on the BBC, including a heavy emphasis on the forthcoming two-part Doctor Who special, "The End of Time", which will see the departure of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. The release states:

Highlights of this year's offering include David Tennant's final farewell in a two-part special of Doctor Who called The End Of Time. The Doctor's oldest enemy – the Master (John Simm) – returns alongside former companion Donna (Catherine Tate) and old favourite Wilf (Bernard Cribbins), as the entire human race faces its last ever Christmas – unless the Doctor can save the day.


A fuller preview of both episodes appears in the Network TV Programme Information release for weeks 51 and 52. This is available here, and contains some minor spoilers. It is also reproduced in the spoiler box below.


Doctor Who – The End Of Time: Part One

It's the Tenth Doctor's final journey – but his psychotic nemesis the Master has been reborn, on Christmas Eve. With both determined to cheat death, the battle ranges from the wastelands of London to the mysterious Immortality Gate, while the alien Ood warn of an even greater danger approaching, as a terrible shadow falls across the entire Universe.

David Tennant stars as the Tenth Doctor and guest stars include John Simm, Bernard Cribbins, Catherine Tate, Timothy Dalton, David Harewood and June Whitfield.

The End Of Time – Part One is written by Russell T Davies and directed by Euros Lyn. The producer is Tracie Simpson.

Doctor Who – The End Of Time: Part One is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC's High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.


Doctor Who – The End Of Time: Part Two

The Doctor faces the end of his life as the Master's plans hurtle out of control. With the sound of drums growing louder, and an ancient trap closing around the Earth, the Doctor and Wilf must fight alone. But sacrifices must be made, and the deadly prophecy warns: "He will knock four times."

David Tennant stars as the Tenth Doctor and guest stars include John Simm, Bernard Cribbins, Catherine Tate, Timothy Dalton, David Harewood and June Whitfield.

The End Of Time – Part Two is written by Russell T Davies and directed by Euros Lyn. The producer is Tracie Simpson.

Doctor Who – The End Of Time: Part Two is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC's High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.




FILTER: - Specials - Russell T Davies - Series 4/30 Specials - Broadcasting

Preview on YouTube

Friday, 20 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus
The special preview clip of The End of Time, shown as part of the BBC Children In Need appeal is now available on the BBC YouTube channel.

BBC America have also posted their clip on their website and revealed that the full episode will be shown in the USA at 9pm EST on the 26th December 2009 a day after the expected UK showing and 1 week after the US showing of The Waters of Mars.


The charity Telethon also featured an appearance from fifth Doctor Peter Davison with a dog and John Barrowman dancing in his boxers.




FILTER: - Specials - Series 4/30 Specials

The End of Time Part One – New Picture

Thursday, 19 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus

The BBC official site has confirmed the title of David Tennant's penultimate episode will be The End of Time, Part One. It is the first time since the series returned that a story title has been split into two parts. Previous two-part stories have always had their own title.

BBC Children in Need will feature an exclusive 2-minute scene from the episode on Friday night, at some point between 8.00 and 8.30. The official site has a short audio clip from this scene here.

A photo of David Tennant taken from the Children in Need scene has now been issued.Follow the Doctor Who News Page on Follow Doctor Who News on Twitter




FILTER: - Specials - Online - Series 4/30 Specials

Waters of Mars Repeat Ratings

Thursday, 19 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus
The Wednesday BBC Three repeat of the Waters of Mars was watched by 470,000 viewers according to unofficial overnight figures.




FILTER: - Specials - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30 Specials

Waters of Mars Appreciation Index

Tuesday, 17 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus

The Waters of Mars scored an AI of 88.

The score was the second highest of the weekend, only beaten by Foyle's War on ITV1.

The AI - Appreciation Index - score is a measure of how much an audience enjoyed a programme. The average score for drama is 77. For any programme, a score in excess of 85 is excellent. Any score in excess of 90 is exceptional. Any programme that falls below 60 has received a poor AI.

Meanwhile, Sunday has been dubbed "Super Sunday" by the media, as the total TV audience for peak hours was the highest since January 2000.




FILTER: - Specials - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30 Specials

Waters of Mars Ratings

Monday, 16 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus

9.1 million watched last night's BBC One showing of The Waters of Mars, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The programme had an audience share of 33.9% and was the third most-watched programme of the day, behind The X Factor and I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, both on ITV1.

The audience built throughout the programme, with 9.6 million watching the final quarter-hour. On ITV1, All Star Family Fortunes had 6.1 million watching at the same time as Doctor Who was on.

An additional 310,000 watched the programme on BBC HD. If confirmed on the final figures this will be the highest ever rating for BBC HD

On BBC Three 590,000 watched Doctor Who Confidential with an additional 100,000 watching on BBC HD. It was the 8th most watched programme on digital TV for the day.

The overnight figures put Doctor Who as the 6th most watched programme of the week. This is likely to rise when the final figures, including those who timeshift the programme, are published in 9 days time.





FILTER: - Specials - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30 Specials

Waters of Mars – Press Reviews

Monday, 16 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus
Reviews of the UK première of The Waters of Mars are now available online.

NB The reviews have been published after the showing of the episode in the UK. Please do not click on the links if you want the plot to remain unspoiled. Reviews are available from The Guardian, The Mirror, TV Overmind, Den of Geek, Digital Spy, Coventry Telegraph, Express and Star, Metro, Monsters and Critics, Unreality TV

The podcast to accompany the episode, featuring Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and David Tennant, is now on the BBC iPlayer.




FILTER: - Specials - Russell T Davies - Series 4/30 Specials - Press - Julie Gardner

Waters of Mars in New Zealand

Friday, 13 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus
New Zealand has become the latest country to schedule The Waters of Mars, with Prime announcing that the special will be shown on Sunday 29th November at 7.30pm.

The broadcast will be less than two weeks after the première in the UK and makes New Zealand the second country to show the special, a week ahead of Australia and three weeks ahead of North America.




FILTER: - Specials - Series 4/30 Specials - New Zealand - Broadcasting