Having taken the long way round since series 9 aired in 2015, with only a pair of Christmas specials to tide us over... welcome, at last, to the NeoGAF Doctor Who series 10 discussion thread!
What is Doctor Who?
Doctor Who is a long-running (54 years!) family-oriented science-fiction series from the BBC, in which the main character, the Doctor, travels through time and space (he's the old bloke in the middle there). There have been many incarnations of the Doctor, but the current one is played by Peter Capaldi, who has formerly appeared on the show in series 4 before his casting. The Doctor, along with at least one (typically female) companion, frequently finds himself mixed up in fantastical escapades.
Who's in this thing?
Starring Peter Capaldi as Doctor Who The Doctor. An ancient alien who travels the universe in his time machine looking for someone to share its wonders with / occasionally un-break the things he does to it
We have a new companion this year, Bill Potts, played by Pearl Mackie. She's on the left in more ways than one, as she's notable for being the first official openly gay companion on Doctor Who. Companions who are now on Arrow or *shudder* ITV don't count, apparently.
They'll further be joined by:
Matt Lucas' Nardole, an alien who first appeared in the 2015 Christmas special and reprised his role in 2016. Will now be a full-time companion for this season after Steven Moffat fell in love with the character.
Yeah, we're not sure either, but he was good in the most recent Christmas Special, I guess?
Fifty years sounds like a lot. Do I need to catch up?
Don't worry. There have been numerous continuity reboots over the years, and in fact the opening episode of this season is called "The Pilot", which writer and showrunner and Steven Moffat has confirmed is essentially a reboot of sorts so new faces can join. Where references to past events are necessary, such as the return of the Master from series 4, the show is typically very efficient at bringing new viewers up to speed.
If you are interested in catching up, the new series is available on Amazon Prime in the US and up to series 8 is on Netflix in the UK. All series of the new show are also available in various On Demand formats (Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, etc) but those get expensive quickly.
What do we know about this new season?
We know that this will be Steven Moffat's final season as showrunner, which is important mainly because nobody knows what Doctor Who fans will whine about incessantly in the future.
It will also be Peter Capaldi's last season as the Doctor, although he is expected to take part in the Christmas Special. Bill is also not expected to return in future series, leaving open the question of what will be done with her character.
In terms of specific stories, we know that guest stars include David Suchet as a mysterious character called the Landlord, while returning villains include the Ice Warriors and the original Mondasian Cybermen, and that John Simm, the Master from series 3 and 4, is returning to the role alongside Michelle Gomez, the most recent incarnation.
John Simm's Master was last seen seven years ago before regenerating into Gomez off-screen. You get used to this sort of thing
A group of Doctor Who fans attempts to kill Steven Moffat, who has called on Peter Capaldi to defend him
(actually a group of Mondasian Cybermen)
Also notably, we have the first writer to return from the original series, Rona Munro (who wrote "Survival", the last ever serial of the original Doctor Who). All involved will be hoping she has better luck this time around.
Synopses for all the episodes, courtesy of the Radio Times:
1 - The Pilot (Written by Steven Moffat and Directed by Lawrence Gough)
"What's the one thing you never see when you look at your reflection?"
Meet Bill Potts. She works at St Luke's University, serving chips to students, and nothing ever, ever happens. Then, one day, she finds there's another world beneath the one she knows. A familiar face in a pool of water, and a love that is over before it can begin, will change her life for ever - because this is the day Bill meets the Doctor.
2 - Smile (Written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Directed by Lawrence Gough; Guest Star: Ralph Little)
"Between here and my office, before the kettle boils, is everything that ever happened, or ever will. Make your choice."
In the far future, at the edge of the galaxy, there is a gleaming, perfect city. This brand-new human settlement is said to hold the secret of human happiness - but the only smiles the Doctor and Bill can find are on a pile of grinning skulls. Something is alive in the walls, and the Emojibots are watching from the shadows, as the Doctor and Bill try to unravel a terrifying mystery...
3 - Thin Ice (Written by Sarah Dollard and Directed by Bill Anderson)
"So the Tardis has dresses and likes a bit of trouble? I think I'm low-key in love with her."
In Regency England, beneath the Frozen Tames, something is stirring. The Doctor and Bill arrive at the last of the great frost fairs and find themselves investigating a string of impossible disappearances - people have been vanishing on the ice! Bill is about to discover that the past is more like her world than she expected, and that not all monsters come from outer space.
4 - Knock Knock (Written by Mike Bartlett and DIrected by Bill Anderson; Guest Star: David Suchet)
"Did you hear the trees creaking outside when we arrived?" "Yeah. It was the wind." "There wasn't any wind."
Bill is moving in with some friends and they've found the perfect house! So what if it's strangely cheap to rent, and the landlord is a little creepy? The wind blows, the floorboards creak and the Doctor thinks something is very wrong. What lurks in the strange tower at the heart of the building - and why can't they find any way to enter it...?
5 - Oxygen (Written by Jamie Mathieson and Directed by Charles Palmer)
"You only see the true face of the universe when it's asking you for help."
The Doctor, Bill and Nardole answer a distress call in deep space, and find themselves trapped on board space station Chasm Forge. All but four of the crew have been murdered - and the dead are still walking! In a future where oxygen is sold by the breath, and space suits are valued more highly than their occupants, the Tardis crew battle for survival against the darkest evil of all.
6 - Extremis (Written by Steven Moffat and Directed by Daniel Nettheim; Guest Star: Michelle Gomez)
"They read The Veritas - and chose hell."
In the Haereticum (the Vatican's secret library of blasphemy) there is an ancient book known only as The Veritas. Throughout history, anyone who has ever read it has immediately taken their own life. Now a new translation is online, and the danger is spreading. The Vatican appeals to the Doctor. Will he read The Veritas? But can even the Doctor survive the ultimate truth?
7 - The Pyramid at the End of the World (Written by Peter Harness and Steven Moffat and Directed by Daniel Nettheim)
"Fear is inefficient. We must be loved."
A 5,000-year-old pyramid stands at the centre of a war zone, where the Chinese, Russian and American armies are about to clash. There are many problems with that, but the one that intrigues the Doctor is this: there wasn't a pyramid there yesterday. The Doctor, Bill and Nardole face and alien invasion unlike any other - before conquest can begin, these alines need the consent of the human race.
8 - The Lie of the Land (Written by Toby Whithouse and Directed by Wayne Yip)
"I'm sorry, Bill, I really wanted to make you see!" "Oh my God, this is real. You're really doing this!"
The world is gripped by a mass delusion and only Bill Potts can see the truth. When even the Doctor is fighting on the wrong side, it's up to Bill to convince the Time Lord that humanity is in deadly danger. And if she can't do that, she may just have to kill her best friend.
9 - The Empress of Mars (Written by Mark Gatiss and Directed by Wayne Yip)
"It's a simple choice, Iraxxa. The oldest one in the book. We must live together. Or die together."
The Doctor, Bill and Nardole arrive on Mars and find themselves in an impossible conflict between Ice Warriors... and Victorian soldiers. As the Martian hive awakes around them, the Doctor faces a unique dilemma - this time the humans, not the Ice Warriors are the invaders. When Earth is invading Mars, whose side is he on?
10 - The Eaters of Light (Written by Rona Munro and Directed by Charles Palmer)
"Now you have a choice. You can all keep on slaughtering each other till there's no one left standing, or you can grow the hell up!"
A long time ago, the Roman legion of the ninth vanished into the mists of Scotland. Bill has a theory about what happened, and the Doctor has a time machine. But when they arrive in ancient Aberdeenshire, what they find is a far greater threat than any army. In a cairn, on a hillside, is a doorway leading to the end of the world.
11 -
World Enough and Time (Written by Steven Moffat and Directed by Rachel Talalay; Guest Star: Michelle Gomez)
"My name's Doctor Who."
Friendship drives the Doctor into the rashest decision of his life. Trapped on a giant spaceship, caught in the event horizon of a black hole, he witnesses the death of someone he is pledged to protect. Is there any way he can redeem his mistake? Are events already out of control? For once, time is the Time Lord's enemy...
12 -
The Doctor Falls (Written by Steven Moffat and Directed by Rachel Talalay; Guest Star: Michelle Gomez)
"Without hope, without witness, without reward."
The Mondasian Cybermen are on the rise. It's time for the Doctor's final battle...
Episodes 6, 7, and 8 are expected to form a three-part story, the first in nearly eight years, while episodes 11 and 12 a two-parter, as is traditional for series finales.
Sounds good! When does this show air so I can watch it?
The next episode is "The Doctor Falls", written by Steven Moffat. It will air at 6.30pm on the 27th of May on BBC One in the UK and at 8.30pm/7.30c on BBC America.
Episodes will air each Saturday evening. The BBC are sometimes flexible with the timeslot in the UK
but if all else fails, iPlayer is your friend.
What are you doing about spoilers?
Once an episode has aired in the UK, it is fair game for discussion and there will be open spoilers in the thread.
For future episodes, anything that is released officially (e.g. trailers or official BBC press releases) can be discussed without black spoiler bars. In the event of anything leaking unofficially it should be tagged with specific reference to the episodes concerned, e.g. DOCTOR WHO EPISODE 1 LEAK:
Going all in on this. Chances are the next showrunner isn't for me, based on his past work, so I'm going to enjoy this one last round for Moffat & Capaldi.
The first episode, "The Pilot", airs at 7.20pm, Saturday 15th April, on BBC One in the UK; it will air at 9pm/8pm central on BBC America in the US. The BBC are sometimes flexible with the time slot in the UK though
It's going to have been 495 days, 22 hours, 15 minutes and 0 seconds since Hell Bent finished on the 5th December 2015 at 21:05 to the 19:20 start time of The Pilot tomorrow. Far too damn long. (Not including the Christmas special in 2016.)
Really looking forward to this, the marketing feels a step up since series 9.
It's going to have been 495 days, 22 hours, 15 minutes and 0 seconds since Hell Bent finished on the 5th December 2015 to the 19:20 start time of The Pilot tomorrow. Far too damn long. (Not including the Christmas special in 2016.)
So hyped. Capaldi quickly became my all-time favourite Doctor, and series 9 was the best, most consistent run of episodes we've had since Matt Smith's first series. Here's hoping Moffat keeps up his strong streak to finish his run.
It's going to have been 495 days, 22 hours, 15 minutes and 0 seconds since Hell Bent finished on the 5th December 2015 at 21:05 to the 19:20 start time of The Pilot tomorrow. Far too damn long. (Not including the Christmas special in 2016.)
Man I'm bummed that Capaldi only gets a few seasons. He's been pretty great overall. I personally felt last season's writing took a dip in quality, but he still made it fun to watch.
Anyways, the GF and I are excited for this season.
Disappointed that this is Capaldi's final season, but I'm glad that Moffat is finally going(although I enjoyed the Christmas special, so hopefully he saved his best season for the end).
Man I'm bummed that Capaldi only gets a few seasons. He's been pretty great overall. I personally felt last season's writing took a dip in quality, but he still made it fun to watch.
Anyways, the GF and I are excited for this season.
The issues are that:
* The episodes were spread out over a long period of time, making it feel like there were less total.
* The focus on Clara made it feel like 12 didn't get nearly the amount of focus that the previous modern Doctors did.
The issues are that:
* The episodes were spread out over a long period of time, making it feel like there were less total.
* The focus on Clara made it feel like 12 didn't get nearly the amount of focus that the previous modern Doctors did.
I would perhaps add that series 9 consisted (almost) entirely of two-parters. Which meant that, even though it was a full season, in terms of story variety it might have felt shorter.
I really really liked what they did with Clara under Capaldi (in terms of story perhaps the best written modern companion, honestly - which definitely wasn't the case under Smith, although it was always going to be hard to beat the Smith/Amy/Rory team). But it would have probably worked even better if Clara started at the same time as Capaldi, just to shake off the feeling that Capaldi inherited something from the previous Doctor for most of his run.
Capaldi just said on Graham Norton that he already filmed his death sequence.
They didn't film the christmas special yet did they?
Also, from the way he worded it (they were explaining the concept of regeneration to the other guests), the new Doctor will be an actor, not an actress. Sort of. You had to be there. But that doesn't mean anything necessarily, I doubt they've casted anyone already.
Capaldi just said on Graham Norton that he already filmed his death sequence.
They didn't film the christmas special yet did they?
Also, from the way he worded it (they were explaining the concept of regeneration to the other guests), the new Doctor will be an actor, not an actress. Sort of. You had to be there. But that doesn't mean anything necessarily, I doubt they've casted anyone already.
It could just be that Capaldi would rather not know who the next Doctor was going to be, and shot his half of the scene now so he could enjoy the new Doctor reveal as a fan.
Capaldi just said on Graham Norton that he already filmed his death sequence.
They didn't film the christmas special yet did they?
Also, from the way he worded it (they were explaining the concept of regeneration to the other guests), the new Doctor will be an actor, not an actress. Sort of. You had to be there. But that doesn't mean anything necessarily, I doubt they've casted anyone already.
Capaldi's been a top tier Doctor, but at the same time I'm really curious about where the franchise will go after this. Anyway, this season ought to be good.
They just showed Bill's first 'entering the Tardis' scene.
The camera work was very nice. Looked real good. Bill also looks like she's going to be fun.
I don't envy the writers who have to keep thinking of ways to make that same scene interesting after dozens and dozens of times though. But, like I said, the camerawork really made it work for me.
Capaldi just said on Graham Norton that he already filmed his death sequence.
They didn't film the christmas special yet did they?
Also, from the way he worded it (they were explaining the concept of regeneration to the other guests), the new Doctor will be an actor, not an actress. Sort of. You had to be there. But that doesn't mean anything necessarily, I doubt they've casted anyone already.
Methinks Peter may have revealed a bit more than he was supposed to.
Does anyone remember when Smith and Capaldi's "so this is the new Doctor" programmes aired on the BBC and hence how far in advance of filming they were cast? Wiki is unhelpful.
Methinks Peter may have revealed a bit more than he was supposed to.
Does anyone remember when Smith and Capaldi's "so this is the new Doctor" programmes aired on the BBC and hence how far in advance of filming they were cast? Wiki is unhelpful.
I don't know. They have been teasing his regeneration starting or something regeneration related happening in the trailers. I don't think he revealed anything more than what is in trailers.
Methinks Peter may have revealed a bit more than he was supposed to.
Does anyone remember when Smith and Capaldi's "so this is the new Doctor" programmes aired on the BBC and hence how far in advance of filming they were cast? Wiki is unhelpful.
Smith's was broadcast on New Year's Day 2009, six months before he started filming. Capaldi's was shown in August 2013, about five months before he started filming.
Yeah Capaldi has the best modern interior by far. Didn't like it as much when Smith had it, but the new lighting, the small additions, and especially all the extra bookcases/random books scattered around/cupboards etc are just great.
Methinks Peter may have revealed a bit more than he was supposed to.
Does anyone remember when Smith and Capaldi's "so this is the new Doctor" programmes aired on the BBC and hence how far in advance of filming they were cast? Wiki is unhelpful.
Yeah I agree with Proteus here (and in that other quote). The fact that he already filmed his death scene and that they hint at it in the trailer can mean a couple of things: just weird production schedule reasons where they filmed a couple of christmas special scenes in advance (possibly due to having certain actors/locations available for example), or the Doctor really having his death scene at the end of this season but that continuing into the Christmas special, with him constantly being on the edge of full regeneration. Or something else, there are a lot of possibilities.
But I believe him when he says he's in the Christmas Special. It's Moffat's last episode as well, it makes sense that he closes it all off, instead of also starting the new Doctor's story.
As for casting: I don't think he's done it yet. A couple of weeks ago Chibnall mentioned that he hadn't really started working on Who yet, and that they weren't even close to casting yet - he was still working on Broadchurch and was due for a vacation after that, and they would start working on Who when he got back.
Knowing the BBC, they'll announce the new actor pretty much immediately when all the contracts are signed and everything is official. They generally want to stay ahead of rumors with that stuff. I can't seem them going for a surprise actor when Capaldi regenerates - it would be fun, but logistically nearly impossible for how the BBC operates.
