This month's issue of SFX features the Doctor and Amy Pond on the front cover, plus a world exclusive preview of the new series of Doctor Who and results of the Craziest Ever Doctor Who Poll.
Doctor Who content in this issue:
World first TARDIS sound effect cover! If there’s a problem with magazines, it’s the not-insignificant lack of sound effects to accompany your literary journey. The good news? This is a problem of the past (for one issue at least…) thanks to the world first TARDIS soundcard tucked inside issue 208.
Look Who’s Back! To celebrate The Doctor’s imminent return to telly boxes across the globe we popped down to the big smoke to snap time-travelling trio Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill for our exclusive cover feature. There’s some words with that Steven Moffat bloke in there somewhere too.
See a full list of non-Doctor Who related content from this issue here.
Issue 208 of SFX is on sale from Thursday 7 April. A few weeks ago SFX.co.uk asked fans to vote in a number of categories for their Craziest Ever Doctor Who Poll. The results have been announced today on their website. Fans thought Helena Bonham Carter would make the best first female Doctor. She received 14.79% of the nearly 2,000 fans who voted. In second place with 9.5% is Tamsin Greig, who played a nurse in The Long Game.
Dave Golder, online editor of SFX.co.uk said:
Some might argue that Helena Bonham Carter’s whole career has been one long dress rehearsal for the part. The Doctor has always been an eccentric and actresses don’t come much more eccentric than Helena. Of all the Doctors so far she is probably most like a female Tom Baker, though we can see little bits of Troughton, Tennant and Smith in there too. What should she wear? A black wedding dress probably.
Wednesday, 6 April 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
2|Entertain have issued a statement via their Twitter account regarding the availability of the Revisitations 2 boxed set in the United Kingdom, which was released last week:
2|Entertain is sorry to hear that fans have encountered problems purchasing the latest classic Doctor Who release Revisitations 2. Although available through online retailers and HMV the release was not stocked by any supermarkets.
2|Entertain continues to seek the broadest distribution possible for releases and will be ensuring that sufficient stock is available instore and online to meet demand in the future.
The title for story three of the new series of Doctor Who has been revealed as The Curse of the Black Spot. The title is revealed in the new edition of Doctor Who Magazine. The story by Steve Thompson and directed by Jeremy Webb, stars Hugh Bonneville as a Pirate Captain.
The title joins the six previously revealed for the first half of the series due to launch on BBC One on 23rd April.
With the Managers in Partnership Television Media Market (MIPTV) continuing in Cannes this week, both John Barrowman and Bill Pullman have been in demand for their thoughts on the development and filming of Torchwood: Miracle Day.
In an interview with the two stars, Barrowman described the effect of 'globalisation' of Torchwood has had upon him:
This is a huge thing for us, this is huge thing for me, and it's huge for the BBC, huge for Starz, so it's - if I use the word on a global sense - it's just incredible. I arrived here in Cannes and at Nice airport people were waiting for my autograph, that's not happened to me before. To do all the paparazzi, photographs, to do all that kind of stuff, it's a big change for us. I'm used to being a - I use the word 'celebrity' - in the UK and some parts of the US, but this is becoming global now - and I'm loving every minute of it!
Talking of his co-star, Pullman, he said:
I get to do some wonderful scenes with Bill; we're bit of a pair of jokers off camera and we're having a really great time, spending time with each other. But on camera, the characters of Jack and Oswald, they don't like each other, but they really do - because they see something in each other that is recognisable. Our scenes are all very heavy, with a little bit of twist in them each time. It should be exciting to watch, but I'm working with the President of the United States, for goodness sake - come on, how more exciting could that be!
Pullman himself commented on the quality of science fiction presented by Torchwood:
This is the kind of story that I think is why I enjoy science fiction the most, when I like it the best is when it's an allegory for what it is to be human and not just learn more about how much the aliens look like insects!
Speaking about his own character, Oswald Danes:
There is something kind of wonderful about this role in that I climb from a relatively dark little nasty corner into a global spotlight and look to morph myself to accomodate that stage. So it is as much about someone who is recognising a need for a leader and becoming the person he has to become, more out of opportunity and then waiting to see what happens internally. It's not just a villain who is just stamping everything with black.
Finally, he also had nice some things to say about his British co-stars:
I've been impressed by the casting, you Brits have a very nice pool of actors with a consistency all the way down the bench, shall we say, so the smallest parts provide a certain kind - to me - of good quality. I've been glad to see the actors that they've been casting have been from a great range of things and they have a lot of texture and soul.
You can watch the full interview with the two stars below:
John Barrowman and Bill Pullman talk at Cannes. Video: MIP Marketing (via YouTube)
Executive producer Julie Gardner also commented on the programme maintaining its Welsh roots:
We're taking the Welsh global - retaining the best of British drama while learning all about US production values. Previously, America was represented in our stories by two people in US military uniform. Now we can tell a truly global story with actors of the calibre of Bill Pullman.
In the media, Deadline talked to John Barrowman, who said:
There is so much more we can do with Torchwood now having made the leap to America. It’s going to be even bigger and better. And, for me on a personal level, the move to America has been amazing.
... the audience is going to need a forklift truck to pick their jaws off the ground. The stunt work is unbelievable. I used to do quite a lot of stunts except if it was jumping off of buildings but now I’m not allowed to because of the insurance policy. I’m much more valuable in America!
The article also mentioned the new coat that Jack wears:
Among the tweaks on the show, Captain Jack’s iconic RAF coat has been “re-booted” with a lighter weight material and a “slimmer cut.” According to Barrowman, the former was to account for LA’s hotter weather, while the latter was the decision of the designer (Shawna Trpcic), not him.
Worldscreen spoke to Julie Gardner about how working with Starz has improved the scope of the series:
It helps us reach some scale. We've had for the first time the opportunity to shoot both in the U.K. and also in America. We are doing bigger stunts. We are able to create more action. We have more background artists. So there is an onscreen value. The single most important thing to say is, at heart, the show remains the same. We haven't been asked to change it. We haven't been asked to be 'American', whatever that means. Both Starz and BBC One have asked us to make the best quality, most bold offering of Miracle Day that we possibly could.
BBC America will host a premiere screening event in New York City on Monday 11 April 2011. The event will be hosted by Chris Hardwick, who previously hosted the Doctor Who panel at WonderCon on Monday 4 April.
Event details:
Time - 11 April · 19:00 - 22:00 Location - Village East Cinema, 189 2nd Ave, New York, NY
BBC AMERICA’s Doctor Who Premiere Screening with Cast - Hosted by Chris Hardwick – New York City
Doctor Who’s Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, Alex Kingston and Steven Moffat join Chris Hardwick (Nerdist, Web Soup) for a BBC AMERICA premiere screening and Q&A on Monday, April 11, 7:00 PM EST at the Village East Cinema in New York City.
BBC AMERICA has made this a FREE event for fans to come celebrate the first Doctor Who episodes ever filmed in America. Executive producers Piers Wenger and Beth Willis will also be in the house for the event.
*** PLEASE NOTE, AN RSVP DOES NOT GUARANTEE ADMISSION. SEATING IS ON A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS. DUE TO THE GREAT REACTION TO LAST YEAR’S EVENT, ADDITIONAL SEATING HAS BEEN ADDED. ***
Following a screening of the two-part season premiere - The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon - Chris will lead a discussion and Q&A, which will be recorded live for a special Nerdist Podcast. The downloadable podcast will give those unable to attend, a front row seat to the event.
Yesterday it was reported that Smith, Gillan and Darvill will be appearing at Barnes & Noble in Fifth Avenue, NY on April 8 to sign copies of the Series 5 boxed set.
Last night saw the BBC Press screening of the first two episodes of Series Six, The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon, which took place at the current home to the Doctor Who Experience, Kensington Olympia. As one might expect has generated press interest in the forthcoming series, premiering on 23rd April.
Tom Phillips of the Metro went with jaw-dropping moments and a mind-bending plot:
Make no mistake, this isn’t easy, switch-your-faculties-off entertainment - it’s big, dark, impressively ambitious, dazzlingly executed entertainment that demands and repays your full attention. (It also makes very few concessions to those who didn't see the last series, and absolutely none to the fact that it's supposed to be a kid's show - a few children at the screening did seem a little left behind by some of the script's wilder curve-balls, although it didn't dampen their enthusiasm in the slightest.)
And if you thought last season’s finale was stuffed full of mind-bending wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey shenanigans... just wait. This makes Inception seem about as straightforward as The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
We sat pinned to our seats for 90 minutes or so of electrifying, bamboozling television, which might just be also the most unsettling since the series came back in 2005. I certainly don't think my nearly-four-year-old niece, who's obsessed with Amy Pond but still creeped out by last year's relatively tame Prisoner Zero, will last long into episode one before quailing behind a cushion.
... The chills are leavened with laughs (the Doctor flits through history, upstages a timeless comedy duo, and dubs his chums "the Legs, the Nose and Mrs Robinson"). River makes two spectacular entrances. There's a new use for dwarf star alloy (conceived 30 years ago in Warriors' Gate, it enchained one of The Family of Blood in 2007). And the number 1,103 may be significant.
Moffat ladles mystery upon mystery, so that by the end we're gagging for answers. The second instalment concludes with a mouthwatering cliffhanger.
What I can tell you is this. In 90 minutes, Steven Moffat has not only laid down a fascinating, intriguing path for the show to follow over the coming months (dying to tell you more there, but can’t), he’s also put together an opening adventure that’s quite brilliantly funny, narratively intricate, contains genuine jumps (it's exceptionally creepy at times), and sets a very, very high bar for what’s to follow.
I do appreciate that few come out of an early preview of Doctor Who saying it's rubbish. But this is the real deal: if you want proof that Britain can produce world-class science-fiction television, it’s right here. And it goes out to a family audience at Saturday teatime.
... For let’s make no bones about this: this is a dense, tremendously ambitious and elegantly constructed way to open a series. It pushes those four core characters in very different ways, and establishes moments that I wouldn’t be surprised if we were flashing back to come the winter, when this run of Who comes to an end. In fact, I'd pretty much guarantee it.
What we got was a dizzying mix of the very funny, the very scary, the surprisingly violent, the very mystifying and the ominous looming shadow of something that’s likely to be very upsetting indeed. And there’s one moment in the second part that will have you cheering out loud at the brilliant ridiculousness of it.
In truth the opening episode of the two-parter took a while to warm up, but a fiendishly complicated plot – it is probably not a spoiler to suggest it involves time-travelling – required no end of exposition. But by the end of the first episode it had drawn gasps and applause in almost equal measure from a preview audience at London's Olympia on Monday.
Preaching to the converted in most part, no doubt, but this was scary stuff – almost as unnerving as those kids who kept asking for their mummy and the darkest series opener showrunner Steven Moffat could remember. And not a big-name celebrity guest star in sight.
The Guardian also quoted BBC1 Controller Danny Cohen:
BBC1 controller Danny Cohen, speaking at the series launch, described Doctor Who as "unique and brilliant … world class science fiction and a testament to the stars and the people who make it".
SFX provided 30 points of note from the first two episodes (some spoilerish).
The screening was accompanied by a Q&A with Steven Moffat, Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill and Alex Kingston, faithfully captured by journalist Ian Wylie. On making the series darker, Steven Moffat said:
Well, first of all you make Doctor Who frightening to appeal to children – and children absolutely rank Doctor Who stories in order of frightening-ness. That’s what it’s about. The jokes and the silly bits, they’re for the adults. But the scares are in for the kids. So no. I’ve got two kids of my own and I never do anything that I didn’t think was acceptable for them. Having said that, one of them does tend to sleep on our bedroom floor.
To be honest, it’s darker than any other opener of a season. But we’ve been pretty dark before in Doctor Who. Blink was dark…The Satan Pit was dark. We’re coming in from the dark side just because we haven’t done it that way before.
On the mid-series break:
Steven: Oh yes, you’ll get a cliffhanger. In fact, you’re going to get several cliffhangers. You had two just there. And you’re going to get a couple of real belters. Not just episode seven. Episode six is an absolute cracker, isn’t it? If you run for 13 weeks you can start to feel as though you can miss one ep and it’ll be OK. We don’t want that – we stop for a few weeks and let you all worry about what’s happening and then come back. Of course we get then two finales and two first nights.
Arthur: It really makes it hard to talk about it though, because there’s so many secrets and so many cliffhangers. It’s all linked.
Matt: At the end of six…we read it and went, "Oh my God!"
And of course the inevitable question to Matt on his length of stay as the Doctor:
I take it year by year, month by month. So I’ll finish this particular season – and sit down with Mr Moffat and see where I go from there. It’s certainly not a part I want to give up anytime soon. I love playing him.
The full transcript and plot summary may be read on Ian's Life of Wylie blog.
The BBC's entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba also gave Twitter followers a summary of events as they unfurled (note: some comments edited for spoilers):
18:39 Settling down in seat for screening. Haven't even started, but rounds of applause for Matt S, Karen G, Arthur D and Alex K who are all here. 18:40 Huge round of applause for @steven_moffat 18:41 Lights dimming, here we go. 20:11 Great two parter. Scary and exciting in equal measure. New trailer too. 20:13 BTW so many things happen in two episodes. Try and stay spoiler free. So much stuff can be given away that will lessen enjoyment of ep. 20:17 Very strong eps, american stuff looks great. New monster(s) very terrifying. Story poses lots of questions, some of which not yet answered. 20:26 Episode 6 has biggest cliff hanger says @steven_moffat bigger than 7! 20:28 Matt says they read Ep 6 and all said OMG when they reached end! 20:30 The Silence Will Fall storyline will cover all 13 eps says Steven. 20:31 Alex Kingston says weirdest theory she's heard about who River is is that River's the Doctor. 20:36 Matt says The Doctor isn't a part he's planning on giving up anytime soon. 20:37 And @steven_moffat has asked press and audience not to give away major spoilers, and one in particular. Gets round of applause! 20:42 Re 50th anniversary @steven_moffat says 'yes, there are thoughts'. But says nothing more than that. 23:19 One thing before I sign off. Sadly, no plans to show the extended trailer screened tonite again. Was put together just for press launch.
Lizo also interviewed Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, which is available to watch from the BBC News site. On radio, Colin Paterson chatted to Matt Smith for Radio 5 Live about Doctor Who, football, and thoughts of the 50th Anniversary! This is available to listen to on the BBC iplayer until 11th April (interview from 2:26:08).
Jo Whiley also chatted to him on her radio show, where they also discussed Tom Hanks as a future Doctor! This is available to listen to on the BBC iplayer until 11th April (interview from 1:09:40).
On television, ITV1's Daybreak featured a brief visit to the event, with entertainment correspondent Steve Hargraves chatting to Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill.
BBC Radio One's Newsbeat also interviewed Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, who answered questions provided by the show's Facebook followers; the video is available on the BBC website. The BBC Press Office have now released interviews with Steven Moffat, Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill.
Steven on the series evolution:
Well we've moved through the funfair a bit – we've done the rollercoaster, now we're on the ghost train. Last year, in a way, was all about saying, don't worry, it's still him, it's still the same show, nothing's really been lost. Losing a leading man like David Tennant is seismic – unless you gain a leading man like Matt Smith. It's been the biggest joy to see him stride in and just claim that TARDIS for his own. But now he's really here, and the part is his, and the bow tie is cool, he's ready to lead us places we didn't know existed. Last year we reassured you – this year, to hell with that, we're going to worry the hell out of you. How well do we really know that man, or what he's capable of? We're putting the "who?" back in the Doctor.
Matt on filming in America - and finding fans!
It was very strange, we were in the middle of the desert and suddenly there was a lady with a campervan and deck chair, holding an iPad up with a moving screen which read 'autograph please!'. I mean how on earth she knew we were in the middle of the desert I have no idea, but it certainly proved her dedication to the show!
The landscape was incredible, and I think being in America, filming in that terrain, has definitely added a sense of scale and a filmic quality to this series of Doctor Who. It was an amazing experience and a brilliant laugh. I have to confess that I think the Stetson has been my favourite hat for the Doctor so far, 100 per cent. Viewers may well see more of the Stetson later in the series but I couldn't possibly reveal when...
Karen on her character development:
There were clues planted in the last series that are going to become major storylines in this one. There's a really interesting arc in this series that involves all of the major characters and it's evident from the first episode that everyone on the TARDIS is withholding secrets from one another," continues Karen. "It makes for a fascinating dynamic between the characters and it's incredibly important to the overall series.
And Arthur on his co-stars:
They're brilliant, it's lucky we all get on so well. The most fun I have is when all three of us are together; it's a really good working relationship. It helps that we all came on board together because we're growing as a unit and keeping each other on our toes.
The BBC Doctor Who website have released "striking" new images for the new series plus a synopsis for The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon. There is also an interview with Steven Moffat about the new series.
You can download the image as a wallpaper in 16x9 or 4x3
Four envelopes, numbered 2, 3 and 4, each containing a date, time and map reference, unsigned, but TARDIS blue. 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 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 - quite literally - 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.
The Doctor is locked in the perfect prison. Amy, Rory and River Song are being hunted down across America by the FBI. With the help of new friend and FBI-insider, Canton Everett Delaware the Third, our heroes are reunited to share their discoveries, if not their memories. For the world is occupied by an alien force who control humanity through post-hypnotic suggestion and no one can be trusted. Aided by President Nixon and Neil Armstrong's foot, the Doctor must mount a revolution to drive out the enemy and rescue the missing little girl. No-one knows why they took her. Or why they have kidnapped Amy Pond...
From the Q&A, Moffat is asked, "Is there a major story arc to look out for?"
Oh, there's a big story being told this year, and major mysteries from the very off. As ever, in this show, the stories all stand alone, and every episode is a perfect jumping-on point for a new viewer. But at the same time the over-arching plot will be a bigger player this year. More than hints and whispers - we're barely ten minutes into episode one before our heroes face a dilemma that they'll be staring at months from now. And there will be no easy answers.
Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill will be making an in-store appearance this Friday (8th) at the Barnes & Noble store in Fifth Avenue, New York, to sign copies of The Complete Series 5 boxed set.
Friday April 08, 2011 12:00 PM
Fifth Ave 555 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10017, 212-697-3048
Special Instructions You will need a wristband to join the signing line for this event. Wristbands will be distributed starting at 9AM on Friday, April 8 with the purchase of the Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series boxed Set. Please call store for additional details.
Last year, Matt, Karen and Steven Moffat went to New York for a publicity tour to promote Series 5. They attended a 'Meet the Cast' event at the Apple store in SoHo. It is not yet known if there will be a similar tour while the team is in New York this time around.
As part of Record Store Day on April the 16th 2011, Silva Screen have made available an exclusive limited 7" vinyl release of the soundtracks from the 1960's Dalek films, Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.. The CD version, featuring the restored soundtracks was released in October 2009.
7" ltd to 500 copies blue vinyl worldwide. A glorious 7" 33rpm EP taken from the Soundtracks of the two 1960's Dr Who films : Dr. Who And The Daleks and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150!! Featuring two tracks from the Malcolm Lockyear score to Dr. Who And The Daleks, Main Theme and Mountain - two slabs of groovy 60's beat music, lush strings and twangy guitars all round! - PLUS an EXCLUSIVE mini adventure story version of the Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 movie that has been especially created just for this EP- it stars the voice of Peter Cushing and of course The Daleks can be heard exterminating everything in their path!!
The soundtrack will be available to buy from your local record shop. See list of participating stores.
The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine will preview the forthcoming series of Series Six, expected to premier 23rd April 2011, which includes an interview with head writer Steven Moffat revealing a spoiler to the start of the series!
You see those four different covers for this month’s Doctor Who Magazine? We’re not lying, we’re not cheating. One of those four people is going to die. The Doctor’s darkest hour is coming.
Shows like Doctor Who should have big, colourful, memorable moments that make you go, ‘What the hell -?’ Well this is one of them. If you’re not going ‘What the hell -?’ it’s business as usual, but it’s hard to create a shock in Doctor Who when we’ve already blown up the universe a couple of times! What do you do next? When I came up with this incredible, heart-wrenching twist, I thought, ‘We kill off one of the leads in the season opener! Who’s going to stop watching at that point?’ It lures you in.
The Whole of the Moon! DWM previews the incredible opening story of the new season, The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon, and talks to stars Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill, as well as writer Steven Moffat and director Toby Haynes!
Author, Author!Steven Moffat reveals more about the writers he’s chosen to script the first seven episodes of the new season – and drops several tantalising hints along the way! – in Production Notes.
Shh, You Know Who... Go behind the scenes of Doctor Who Confidential, as series producer, Gillane Seaborne and producer Zoe Rushton give DWM readers a sneak peak of the new season of BBC Three’s making-of show!
Lost and Found Ever wonder what Doctor Who would have been like had it continued into the 1990s? DWM has the answer, as it talks to writer Andrew Cartmel, and actors Sophie Aldred and Beth Chalmers – stars of a brand new season of audio dramas of The Lost Stories, featuring the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Raine!
When The Wind Blows The Time Team’s quest takes them to Number 10 Downing Street, as they watch the Ninth Doctor and Rose encounter flatulent aliens and a space pig in Aliens of London!
American Dream! It was the only TV outing for the Eighth Doctor – but what an outing it was! Grab onto your motorbike and make sure you’re drezzed for the occasion as The Fact Of Fiction takes a detailed look at the 1996 TV Movie!
A Battle of Wits The TV Movie revealed that the Doctor is half-human – on his mother’s side! But is this revelation quite as shocking as seems? Toby Hadoke and Johnny Candon weigh up the pros and cons in A Battle Of Wits!
All Change! It was the most ambitious and important series of Doctor Who to date – 1966/7’s Season Four, the series which introduced the Cybermen, killed off the Daleks and featured the first ever regeneration! DWM remembers this pivotal set of stories as Countdown to 50 continues!
Nightmare Holiday! The Doctor and Amy take a trip to the seaside in the swinging 60s... Or do they? There’s a bad trip just around the corner in Forever Dreaming, a psychedelic new comic strip by Jonathan Morris, illustrated by Adrian Salmon!
EEEEVIL – Inifinite Eveil! DWM catches up with the Master himself, Geoffrey Beevers, and find out not only about his own performance in 1981’s The Keeper of Traken, but also what he thinks about the other Masters...
PLUS! All the latest official news, previews, reviews, competitions, more madness from the Watcher, another prize-winning crossword, and much, much more!
Doctor Who Magazine is available from all good newsagents and supermarkets from Thursday 7 April.
This month's issue of SFX features the Doctor and Amy Pond on the front cover, plus a world exclusive preview of the new series of Doctor Who and results of the Craziest Ever Doctor Who Poll.
Last night saw the BBC Press screening of the first two episodes of Series Six, The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon, which took place at the current home to the Doctor Who Experience, Kensington Olympia. As one might expect has generated press interest in the forthcoming series, premiering on 23rd April.
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