The day after President Kennedy was assassinated and The Chronicles of Narnia author C.S. Lewis died, at 17:15 GMT on 23 November 1963, 50 years ago today, a teleplay called “An Unearthly Child” aired in the United Kingdom for a new TV series called Doctor Who. An older man called simply The Doctor and his companions walked into a blue British phone booth and transported through time to the Stone Age where they encountered a tribe that had lost the secret of fire. With only a few years off the air in those 50 years, Doctor Who continues as a tradition in the UK that has in recent years expanded to become a fan phenomenon across the globe.
Today at 1:50 p.m. Central, the BBC is broadcasting its 50th anniversary special simulcast throughout the world, bringing together actors and actresses who have performed on the series over the decades, including the current Doctor, played by Matt Smith, the last Doctor played by David Tennant, and guest star John Hurt as the previously unknown War Doctor. Set your DVRs now if you haven’t already, since the show will air far earlier than in its normal local primetime spot on BBC America in the States.
In 2013, something terrible is awakening in London’s National Gallery; in 1562, a murderous plot is afoot in Elizabethan England; and somewhere in space an ancient battle reaches its devastating conclusion. Celebrating the series’ 50th anniversary, a new BBC episode of Doctor Who will be released for two one-night screenings as part of the Fathom Events series November 23 and 25, 2013. Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor will bring together former Doctor and companion and fan favorites David Tennant and Billie Piper for the first time along with Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman in their penultimate episode as Doctor and companion. Also featuring guest star John Hurt, the episode will be shown in REALD 3D, and includes a ten-minute behind the scenes featurette. And who knows what other surprises may show up in this 50th anniversary event–other past Doctors? A visit from the Cybermen and Daleks?
With a devoted audience of 80 million fans in over 200 countries, the series has twice been honored by Guinness World Records as the longest running and the most successful science-fiction series in the world.
Nerd HQ continued its panel series today at San Diego’s Petco Park, opposite San Diego Comic-Con International. borg.com’s own Jason McClain attended the enlightening and fun Doctor Who panel featuring Matt Smith, Jenna-Louise Coleman, and Steven Moffat (and some great questions from fans). Again today all Nerd HQ panels were available to the rest of the world via live streaming video, which was watched live by more than 2,000 viewers. Whereas Alan Tudyk hosted the panels yesterday, Nathan Fillion was the emcee for today’s panels, often asking his own excellent questions of the panelists. (Note that you may want to skip ahead a few minutes on each video to get to the beginning of the panel).
Editor’s Note: We updated yesterday’s Nerd HQ update today with the panel featuring the hilarious cast of Haven, which had not yet been uploaded when we posted last night. So if you missed that one, check it out!
First up, don’t miss this great interview with Wil Wheaton, where he explains very well why Comic-Con and its genre fan attendees come together to make such a great event each year. And he mentions this certain Sharknado cosplayer that Jason McClain caught a photo of today.
Sharknado, Syfy Channel’s latest monster mash-up TV movie is still trending on Twitter and we all agree this lady had her act together to get this costume ready in time for this weekend. Here is today’s interview with Wil:
BBC announced yesterday that Matt Smith’s last episode as the 11th Doctor on Doctor Who, the oldest series on television, will be this year’s Christmas episode to air on Christmas Eve. He’ll also appear in the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who episode this fall. For those of us who never would have given Doctor Who a try but for Matt Smith, he will be sorely missed. Without Matt Smith’s energetic and brilliant performances, we wouldn’t have seen how awesome David Tennant was as the 10th Doctor, met Christopher Eccleston’s 9th Doctor and his long-running companion Rose, or checked out the numerous audio books, or even peeked at those earlier “other” Doctors.
But just as we quickly have embraced his new companion with Jenna-Louise Coleman’s Clara (Amy Pond who?) after we thought we’d met the best companion ever, life goes on and so will the Doctor’s next incarnation as he takes the form of another actor… or actress?
So who should be the next Doctor? Matt Smith has given us some brilliant performances. If you aren’t a Doctor Who fan and wanted to sample some of the best of Matt Smith’s Doctor, try these:
The Eleventh Hour. We meet Matt Smith’s Doctor for the first time as he must save the world in 20 minutes with a wrecked TARDIS and broken sonic screwdriver and with the help of Amy Pond–the girl who waited.
The Beast Below. The Doctor and Amy travel to a future where residents live on a spaceship called Starship UK. We meet a future Queen and learn the terrible truth about what keeps the ship–and all its inhabitants–alive.
Premiering tomorrow night on BBC America is the annual Christmas Special and this year’s show is also the first episode of the new season of Doctor Who with new Jenna-Louise Coleman playing Clara Oswin, the new companion to Matt Smith’s eleventh Doctor. (Actress Jenna-Louise Coleman played the character earlier this year in the episode “Asylum of the Daleks,” but was not yet his companion). As has been a tradition in Britain for years, BBC America is presenting the Doctor Who Christmas Special to U.S. fans again this year, airing Tuesday at 8 p.m. Central/9 p.m. Eastern, subtitled “The Snowmen.”
BBC America released two previews for the Special, the first a longer preview “prequel/minisode” introduced by Smith and Coleman, and a second more standard teaser revealing guest star Richard E. Grant (The Scarlet Pimpernel, Bob Cratchitt in Patrick Stewart’s A Christmas Carol, and voiced the Doctor in Scream of the Shalka), and the familiar voice of The Hobbit’s Gandalf and X-Men’s Professor X, Ian McKellen. Liz White, who played Annie in one of our all-time favorite series, Life on Mars, will also be in this year’s Christmas Special.
Here is the longer prequel you won’t see with the episode on BBC America:
Diehard Doctor Who fans will already know this, so this is more for you almost-diehard fans–If you watched this weekend’s explosive (or “explodey-wodey”) Doctor Who season premiere episode “Asylum of the Daleks,” you might have missed that the character Oswin was played by actress Jenna-Louise Coleman, and if you haven’t been paying attention you further might have missed that she will be replacing the Ponds as the new companion to Matt Smith’s 11th Doctor by year end.
If you had known this your watching experience may have gone something like this–Wait! Isn’t she the new companion? She looks familiar. Did we know she was going to be in the first episode? Which then went to: Hmm… I’m not sure I like her. Then, hmm… she’s really quick and witty. Smart. Sassy. And by the end of the episode you feel guilty to so quickly give up your loyalty to the best companion ever (yes, Amelia Pond) for someone with the name.. Oswin Oswald? But wasn’t the new companion’s name supposed to be Clara? They wouldn’t do something so low and wrong as having the same actress play two parts in such a short timeframe, right? Questions, questions.
Several stories have been reported across blogs and UK journals over the past few weeks about Matt Smith and Karen Gillan soon wrapping up their roles as the Doctor and his companion, Amy Pond. So let’s wade through what appears to be fact and what appears to be rumor.
First of all, it will be a sad day when Matt Smith and Karen Gillan are replaced. I tried watching Doctor Who when Christopher Eccleston became a Doctor and then when David Tennant became the next Doctor. And neither hooked me into how fun this series could be, after years of giving the show a try through several changes in Doctors. But Matt Smith’s youthful energy and Karen Gillan’s beautiful Scot look and comic timing made the series the most enjoyable around, and caused me to go back and finally dig into the series with the two prior Doctors. And made me a fan.
But the beauty of Doctor Who is the fact that the Doctor regenerates into new people–so the show can go on for generations, as long as new writers can continue to write exciting stories. I overheard a kid in a local comic store who must have been no older than 13 say “you always remember your first Doctor” and it made me laugh. He’s probably right.
So what news is true? The producers of Doctor Who have reported on the official Doctor Who website that the next actress to play the companion to replace Karen Gillan is 25-year-old actress Jenna-Louise Coleman from Blackpool.
Jenna-Louise Coleman–the next Doctor Who companion.
Writer and executive producer Steven Moffat had reported this past Christmas that the Ponds (Amy and hubby Rory) would be leaving. The website makes clear that Coleman will replace Gillan after one more season with Amy and Rory in the story. Coleman has had roles on British TV and a small role last year in Captain America: The First Avenger.
Coleman in Captain America: The First Avenger.
The website suggests that the new companion will accompany Matt Smith’s eleventh doctor for 14 episodes in 2013, the 50th anniversary of the series on British TV. Here is the sneak preview at the new season coming soon to BBC One and BBC America, and HEY!–note that it features a cool cyborg, right out of the movie Westworld:
So that’s the next companion story. But what about the next Doctor?
The British tabloid the Daily Express, known for sharing rumors, this week claims an insider has disclosed that Matt Smith’s replacement will be the first woman Doctor of the series. And one of the front runners (again, per the reported rumor) may be a very cool choice, the new Irene Adler in the third season of the Sherlock series, also produced by Doctor Who’s Steven Moffat. Adler is portrayed by British actress Lara Pulver. Pulver was a regular on BBC’s Robin Hood series as Isabella, Erin Watts on MI-5, and is currently Claudine Crane on True Blood. Although this has aleady aired in the UK, here is a preview for U.S. viewers of Pulver as Adler in the new Sherlock (and ignore the reference to Pulver as “naked”–it’s all innuendo with a lot of clever filming):
What is clear from the above clip is that if Pulver can hold her own opposite both Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes (soon to star in the next Star Trek and The Hobbit films) and Martin Freeman’s Dr. John Watson (starring this year in The Hobbit), there is no doubt she would make a great, sassy and smart 12th Doctor in the Doctor Who franchise. If we’re going to lose Matt Smith–my vote for the best Doctor of all–why not try something really new?
So… new companion? True. New Doctor? Nothing confirmed to report yet.
