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[infiniteloop]

Nice, excited about Jamie Mathieson, like his stuff.

So that gives us:

1. Moffat
2. Phil Ford
3. Gatiss
4. Moffat
5. Stephen Thompson
6. Gareth Roberts
7. Harness
8. Mathieson
9. ?
10. ?
11. ?
12 Moffat
[13. ?]

i don't think it's between confirmed either way that we're getting 13 + Christmas or including it. Would think Moffat is writing at least one more (finale), maybe 2.
So there could be another 3 or 4 writers to be announced from one of the following: Neil Gaiman or Chris Chibnall (commitments to other projects might rule them out), Tom MacRae, Neil Cross or Frank Cottrell Boyce.

 

[Bluth54]

Nice, excited about Jamie Mathieson, like his stuff.

So that gives us:

1. Moffat
2. Phil Ford
3. Gatiss
4. Moffat
5. Stephen Thompson
6. Gareth Roberts
7. Harness
8. Mathieson
9. ?
10. ?
11. ?
12 Moffat
[13. ?]

i don't think it's between confirmed either way that we're getting 13 + Christmas or including it. Would think Moffat is writing at least one more (finale), maybe 2.
So there could be another 3 or 4 writers to be announced from one of the following: Neil Gaiman or Chris Chibnall (commitments to other projects might rule them out), Tom MacRae, Neil Cross or Frank Cottrell Boyce.

Gaiman has been working on his first videogame Wayward Manor so I don't think he'll be writting for Doctor Who this season.

 

[APZonerunner]

Gaiman has been working on his first videogame Wayward Manor so I don't think he'll be writting for Doctor Who this season.

Gaiman has said he won't be doing this year outright on his tumblr or something like that, yeah.

It's almost certainly 12+ Christmas, as Moffat has been outright asked about that rumour and only replied "We're making 13 episodes, but I can't say when they'll be broadcast except in 2014", which is a way of dodging saying "we're making one less as that 13 now includes Christmas".

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Moffatt on why we didn't get a full Hurt-Eccleston regen. Pretty much "Captain Obvious" stuff, but I do like how incredibly polite Moffatt is whenever he talks of Eccleston.

 

[Quick]

Moffatt on why we didn't get a full Hurt-Eccleston regen. Pretty much "Captain Obvious" stuff, but I do like how incredibly polite Moffatt is whenever he talks of Eccleston.

Better to take the high road, really. Not that he'd come back anytime soon for any episodes, but pissing off Eccleston probably wouldn't be a smart idea anyway.

And on top of "respecting" his decision, I'm sure putting his head on John Hurt didn't look too good when it was done in post-production. As much of a tease as it was to see his facial features pop up, I'm okay with what they've done.

That fan-made video was great, but Eccleston still looked dead and still. The CG guys probably did something similar that's a bit better.

 

[funkystudent]

Stupid Idea.

The Master is still on Gallifrey right?

What if the magic extra regenerations they sent the doctor are not actual regenerations but The Master who turned himself into whatever the gold stuff you shoot out when you regenerate and he swapped bodies with the Doctor when he was in a weak state..... they can timey whimey out a reason this works.

But Capaldi is actually playing The Master pretending to be the doctor the entire series and the real new doctor is revealed when they get on Gallifrey in the season finale.

This would also explain why they hint the Doctor will be a return to a slightly more aggressive attitude like 9 this go around.

Also would be a get out of jail free card if Peter doesnt do more then 1 full series.

 

[Quick]

Stupid Idea.

The Master is still on Gallifrey right?

What if the magic extra regenerations they sent the doctor are not actual regenerations but The Master who turned himself into whatever the gold stuff you shoot out when you regenerate and he swapped bodies with the Doctor when he was in a weak state..... they can timey whimey out a reason this works.

But Capaldi is actually playing The Master pretending to be the doctor the entire series and the real new doctor is revealed when they get on Gallifrey in the season finale.

This would also explain why they hint the Doctor will be a return to a slightly more aggressive like 9 this go around.

Also would be a get out of jail free card if Peter doesnt do more then 1 full series.

That's some serious Spidey/Doc Ock stuff.

It would be an insane twist that I wouldn't be against.

Building on your idea, the Master could be trapped inside the Doctor, and the Doctor becomes more and more unstable as the Master tries to take over his body as the season goes on. This could lead up to the Doctor finding a way to get rid of the Master or the Master finding a new host. Shades of the Doctor Who movie.

 

[ClivePwned]

Moffatt on why we didn't get a full Hurt-Eccleston regen. Pretty much "Captain Obvious" stuff, but I do like how incredibly polite Moffatt is whenever he talks of Eccleston.

Well, when you only have of the regenerating party available, it tends to look shitty. You're better off having it happen off-screen.

 

[Axiom]

While Capaldi is secretly the Master is cool on paper, I'm not really sure I'm down with it. I don't see a way to do it that wouldn't diminish Matt's final scene.

And I really liked Matt's final scene.

 

[Blader]

Moffatt on why we didn't get a full Hurt-Eccleston regen. Pretty much "Captain Obvious" stuff, but I do like how incredibly polite Moffatt is whenever he talks of Eccleston.

He's probably trying not to burn the one or two planks of wood left in that bridge, for the 0.1% possibility of Ninth Doctor return someday.

I will say that my heart has rarely beat faster and harder than it did when I was watching that almost-regeneration for the first time :lol

 

[Blues1990]

As much as I wished he had stayed on for another season, I do admire Mr. Eccleston for not only sticking to his principles (especially when it had concerned the treatment for the crew), but he had given his very best when he was the role of the 9th Doctor. One of my favourite scenes from his tenure as the Doctor, was when he was dealing with an alien (that was disguised as a 50-something human female) and "she" was doing everything to kill him discretely over dinner, while he was being completely calm about it.

There was also this scene, which had left quite an impression on me when it first aired.

 

[APZonerunner]

I get the feeling - mostly off Tennant (I mean, how much can change in a year?) - that Chris perhaps blew some of that crew stuff out of proportion. He just didn't get on with certain people. Fair enough. I also think as soon as the show blew up huge, he knew he didn't want to be the BBC's poster boy. Like, Matt & David both desperately wanted to be on the channel idents and were chuffed when it happened... but that's the kind of thing I think would've made old Eccles go 'ugh, no, fuck this' and the like.

Also, yeah - that scene is wonderful. The End of the World is a great episode for positioning who the Doctor is morally in general, I think. Perhaps better than almost anything since. And Rose's theme is just still magnificent. Can't believe that was nine years ago. I think that may well have been the scene where the character - and Rose, actually - truly clicked for me.

 

[Platy]

Loved FAQ About Time travel ... perfect writer !


Would love to se a more comedy episode =3

 

[wintermute0]

Nah, you're not the only one. Lots of people agree with you. I disagree completely, so long as we're sticking to onscreen performances. Because the worst Doctor that's ever been onscreen is Colin Baker. I know it's not his fault, everyone does at this point - but that doesn't change that his Doctor has maybe 1.5 total episodes that were okay, and he's still not a great Doctor in those episodes.

McCoy at least got multiple arcs where the story was good and he was good in it.

I disagree in theory. Colin Baker's Doctor was awesome on paper. I love how dark he is portrayed, especially in the first few episodes he's in. Its just that the writing sucked during that time and apparently no one liked Colin Baker, even old Doctors were ragging on him.

I think he's the Doctor with the most wasted potential... And the Doctor on trial arc was brilliant, don't deny it.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Eccleston just played PTSD soooo damn well. That scene with the Dalek when he first sees it is great too.

 

[Faith]

I'm rewatching all seasons. Right now I'm @ S03E10 (Blink). Can't wait to see the final 4 episodes of this season, they were great

 

[mrklaw]

don't know if it has been posted, but Arthur Darvill was on Radio 1 last weekend, and they got him to sing a tweaked cover of 'let it go'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNDyBBAjRHg

 

[Htown]

Eccleston just played PTSD soooo damn well. That scene with the Dalek when he first sees it is great too.

Probably my favorite Eccleston scene in his entire run.

Second place is "everybody lives!"

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Probably my favorite Eccleston scene in his entire run.

Second place is "everybody lives!"

Two extremes. And I agree, that scene's fantastic too. The grouping of him, Rose, and Jack was great too. Boom Town was a mediocre episode, and yet it's one of my favourites to rewatch because of that, along with the scene somebody above mentioned with the dinner.

 

[Exterminieren]

Exciting news- they're releasing a War Doctor novel in July, set in and around the Time War.

"A new companion! Calculating Time Lords! New Dalek pardigms! It's a war story, at its heart, set against the backdrop of great turmoil and chaos. But it's also about the Doctor's personal journey, how he ends up where he is at the beginning of "The Day of the Doctor". He's been through the wringer, and in "Engines of War", he's not given any reprieve."

 

[aHebrewMenagerie]

Exciting news- they're releasing a War Doctor novel in July, set in and around the Time War.

HNNNGGGG. I need more War Doctor.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Hooray! I loved The War Doctor for his short tenure. I think anybody else I just would have been angry they replaced Eccleston, but Hurt nailed it. Will definitely pick it up.

 

[Platy]

Not so good man goes to war

 

[DiipuSurotu]

I wish we'd see (read) a young War Doctor, but I guess it makes sense that he'd be old if this is a direct prequel to Day of the Doctor.

 

[paradox121]

That sounds awesome.

It's gonna be weird reading a new series-based book that has the Time Lords as an active presence. Definitely a good way to ease them back in if anyone decides to properly bring them back.

Also interesting that they've giving him a companion. I kinda always assumed War Doctor was a total loner that hated everyone. Maybe we'll finally get that Dalek companion everyone's been yearning for.

 

[RetroMG]

I wish we'd see (read) a young War Doctor, but I guess it makes sense that he'd be old if this is a direct prequel to Day of the Doctor.

You might get your wish. The fact that it says that it's "The Doctor's personal journey" reads to me like we're getting his journey from Karn to The Moment. I could be wrong though.

Although Eleven makes a point that The War Doctor had more blood on his hands than any other Time Lord, and he makes it sound like that was BEFORE he got the Moment. There was a lot of buildup as The War Doctor as this unstoppable badass, but he wound up being a grandfatherly version (if somewhat stern) of the same old Doctor. Don't get me wrong, I love every bit of the episode, and how Hurt played the War Doctor, but it always seemed a little incongruous. So I kind of hope we see some of the reasons that he was so feared in this book.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Yeah they did overplay the "dark" aspect of his nature I feel. I mean this shot;

was fucking scary. I was imagining really quite cruel, calculating Doctor after that.

 

[BocoDragon]

I thought he would be a full blown antagonist to the current Doctor.

It's ultimately better for the Doctor's character and for the "feels" that War Doc was a still a guy who tried to do the right thing as any Doctor would... but still.. the story possibilities....

 

[Blader]

I actually like that incongruity because it gives us the same outsider perspective to the Doctor that everyone else in the show shares.

Plus, the Doctor's perception of the War Doctor being some evil monster is based on a lie anyway.

 

[odiin]

I know it can't happen but I would kill

Spoiler

the Timelords

for a Big Finish Time War mini-series starring John Hurt.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

...maybe get a young John Hurt soundalike?

 

[Trike]

Yeah they did overplay the "dark" aspect of his nature I feel. I mean this shot;



was fucking scary. I was imagining really quite cruel, calculating Doctor after that.

He was, in the mind of the Doctor.

 

[APZonerunner]

I know it can't happen but I would kill

Spoiler

the Timelords

for a Big Finish Time War mini-series starring John Hurt.

Eventually, maybe once Moffat goes, they need to draw a line somewhere - possibly under the Tenth Doctor - and say "open to Big Finish". Hurt probably would do the audio work, and Briggs would certainly delight in directing it. Tennant, Piper & Tate have all expressed interest in wanting to do it, too.

 

[Matesamo]

This is the first Doctor Who regeneration for my 8-year old son and 6-year daughter who started watching with Matt Smiths debut. They are not taking it well, should be interesting to see how they accept the new doctor when his adventures start airing.

 

[Blader]

Eventually, maybe once Moffat goes, they need to draw a line somewhere - possibly under the Tenth Doctor - and say "open to Big Finish". Hurt probably would do the audio work, and Briggs would certainly delight in directing it. Tennant, Piper & Tate have all expressed interest in wanting to do it, too.

Is there an actual statute of limitations that determines when Who actors can start doing Big Finish audios? Or have Tennant, Smith, et al. just been waiting themselves for enough time to pass before jumping into it again?

 

[APZonerunner]

Is there an actual statute of limitations that determines when Who actors can start doing Big Finish audios? Or have Tennant, Smith, et al. just been waiting themselves for enough time to pass before jumping into it again?

The Big Finish license only includes 'classic Who', up to and including the McGann movie. So nothing post-2005 is allowed to appear or even be alluded to. The seventh Doctor can't run into an early 20th century branch of Torchwood and merely not learn their name, for instance, even though it'd be there.They're not even allowed to talk about or mention the Time War, though Big Finish has deliberately sort of set some stories up so that when the time comes they can retroactively say "that was part of the early start of the war". But they currently can't even say something was part of the last great time war, or whatever. They can't do a story with Weeping Angels, or Slitheen, or Ood - as they're New-Who things. They can't even use developments - so any Cybermen encountered in Big Finish have to sound and in theory 'look' (in box art etc) like the old-Who kind, Mondas Cybermen, not the alternate-universe Cybusmen.

I sort of expected after a year or two of Matt for Moffat to get the BBC to renegotiate the license to include up to the end of RTD's era, but no. I do wonder when it'll happen. It's down to the BBC and Moffat, ultimately. Moffat did say in a joint interview with Matt around his leaving "I told him, you never truly leave - Big Finish is waiting for you!", but the irony of that statement is... they can't do a story with him. Not yet, anyway. Tennant would definitely do one - he's even gone so far as to play other roles than the Doctor in Big Finish for the hell of it - and Tate, for instance, has gone to Big Finish to record the audiobooks (which are on a different license).

It's weird, especially with Moffat essentially canonizing all the 8th Doctor's Big Finish adventures in that mini-episode... but I guess the BBC are wary. The way the Big Finish contract goes, Moffat et al don't oversee the content of the stories, so they don't want to give anything remotely current away in case BF does something they don't like with it, I guess. But c'mon. Eccleston was almost a decade ago now. Open up 9, at least. If not 10.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

It's weird, especially with Moffat essentially canonizing all the 8th Doctor's Big Finish adventures in that mini-episode... but I guess the BBC are wary.

So, wait, Big Finish can't use new Who but new Who can use Big Finish? :s

 

[V_Arnold]

So, wait, Big Finish can't use new Who but new Who can use Big Finish? :s

Of course. This is the nature of licensing out your own material from a position of power, I would assume.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Open up 9, at least. If not 10.

Is Eccleston more or less likely to return for Big Finish, do you think? I mean they could do it through the eyes of the companions, but I'd prefer audio play style.

 

[Jacobi]

Stupid Idea.

The Master is still on Gallifrey right?

What if the magic extra regenerations they sent the doctor are not actual regenerations but The Master who turned himself into whatever the gold stuff you shoot out when you regenerate and he swapped bodies with the Doctor when he was in a weak state..... they can timey whimey out a reason this works.

But Capaldi is actually playing The Master pretending to be the doctor the entire series and the real new doctor is revealed when they get on Gallifrey in the season finale.

This would also explain why they hint the Doctor will be a return to a slightly more aggressive attitude like 9 this go around.

Also would be a get out of jail free card if Peter doesnt do more then 1 full series.

Not really stupid, that's what might happen... Sounds very possible

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Of course. This is the nature of licensing out your own material from a position of power, I would assume.

Oh! You're right.

 

[APZonerunner]

So, wait, Big Finish can't use new Who but new Who can use Big Finish? :s

The core show can do whatever the hell it wants, I guess, pulling from any other sources. Some stories in the show are actually other stories. 'Dalek' was a 6th Doctor BF story called Jubilee, but without the Time War backdrop. 'Human Nature' was a 7th Doc novel.

Is Eccleston more or less likely to return for Big Finish, do you think? I mean they could do it through the eyes of the companions, but I'd prefer audio play style.

As cynical as it is to say, I think he would. There's no costume, there's no learning lines. You turn up, stand in a booth for six to eight hours, read off a page you only saw for the first time that morning, then leave. It's easy money. That's why Tom does it as well, I'd imagine, even though for years he couldn't be arsed to do anything associated with Doctor Who.

 

[Blader]

Not really stupid, that's what might happen... Sounds very possible

I think there's something very dangerous about pulling a bait-and-switch like that. Regenerations are already shaky situations because you're trying to wean millions of people off a beloved Doctor and onto someone completely new. Getting viewers to let go of the actor and put their trust in the new one, only to pull the rug out with "He wasn't the Doctor at all!" could rub people the wrong way and set a bad precedent, imo.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

The Master Doctor is a cool enough concept, and with all his attempts to steal The Doctor's lives/body it's not out of character. I think it'd be a massive waste of Capaldi though, and unless you could replace him with an actor of a similar calibre it'd inevitably be a let-down. It's possible for the Doctor to be angry and threatening too; in Capaldi I expect a Hartnell redux in every sense.

As cynical as it is to say, I think he would. There's no costume, there's no learning lines. You turn up, stand in a booth for six to eight hours, read off a page you only saw for the first time that morning, then leave. It's easy money. That's why Tom does it as well, I'd imagine, even though for years he couldn't be arsed to do anything associated with Doctor Who.

Well it's certainly a nice enough nest-egg for retiring Doctors!

 

[infiniteloop]

Matt Smith cast in the upcoming new Terminator trilogy:

HOLLYWOOD, CA (May 2, 2014) – Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions announced today that “Doctor Who” star Matt Smith will join the cast of the upcoming “TERMINATOR” reboot.

Smith will play a new character with a strong connection to John Connor, alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, J.K. Simmons, Dayo Okeniyi and Byung Hun Lee.

Alan Taylor is directing the film from a screenplay by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier. David Ellison and Dana Goldberg of Skydance Productions are producing. Skydance’s Paul Schwake, Annapurna Pictures’ Megan Ellison, Kalogridis and Lussier are executive producing.

Smith is best known for playing The Doctor on the popular “Doctor Who” television series during the 2011-2103 seasons. His other television credits include “Christopher and His Kind,” “Moses Jones,” and “The Street.” He can be seen next on the big screen in “LOST RIVER,” directed by Ryan Gosling, alongside Christina Hendricks, Saoirse Ronan and Eva Mendes.

He is represented by United Talent Agency and Michael Duff at Troika.

http://www.deadline.com/2014/05/matt-smith-terminator-major-role-doctor-who/

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Wouldn't it be kinda hard to do Ninth Doctor audios considering he basically spends almost all of his life with Rose, and there's really no breaks to fit in any other companion?

You'd have to squeeze in a companion immediately after his regeneration from War Doctor - but that'd be weird because the longer that goes, the stranger it becomes that Nine has never noticed what he looks like.

 

[Ser Goje]

Matt Smith cast in the upcoming new Terminator trilogy:

http://www.deadline.com/2014/05/matt-smith-terminator-major-role-doctor-who/

So happy to see his Movie Career kick off so fast.

 

[davidcotton]

The Big Finish license only includes 'classic Who', up to and including the McGann movie. So nothing post-2005 is allowed to appear or even be alluded to. The seventh Doctor can't run into an early 20th century branch of Torchwood and merely not learn their name, for instance, even though it'd be there.They're not even allowed to talk about or mention the Time War, though Big Finish has deliberately sort of set some stories up so that when the time comes they can retroactively say "that was part of the early start of the war". But they currently can't even say something was part of the last great time war, or whatever. They can't do a story with Weeping Angels, or Slitheen, or Ood - as they're New-Who things. They can't even use developments - so any Cybermen encountered in Big Finish have to sound and in theory 'look' (in box art etc) like the old-Who kind, Mondas Cybermen, not the alternate-universe Cybusmen.

I sort of expected after a year or two of Matt for Moffat to get the BBC to renegotiate the license to include up to the end of RTD's era, but no. I do wonder when it'll happen. It's down to the BBC and Moffat, ultimately. Moffat did say in a joint interview with Matt around his leaving "I told him, you never truly leave - Big Finish is waiting for you!", but the irony of that statement is... they can't do a story with him. Not yet, anyway. Tennant would definitely do one - he's even gone so far as to play other roles than the Doctor in Big Finish for the hell of it - and Tate, for instance, has gone to Big Finish to record the audiobooks (which are on a different license).

It's weird, especially with Moffat essentially canonizing all the 8th Doctor's Big Finish adventures in that mini-episode... but I guess the BBC are wary. The way the Big Finish contract goes, Moffat et al don't oversee the content of the stories, so they don't want to give anything remotely current away in case BF does something they don't like with it, I guess. But c'mon. Eccleston was almost a decade ago now. Open up 9, at least. If not 10.

There's also the small fact that BF would have to bid or pay for the license as well. That wouldn't be cheap, even if it were available. There's also the problem of how they would schedule it with so much output atm, and that's not even including all the who stuff!

 

[APZonerunner]

There's also the small fact that BF would have to bid or pay for the license as well. That wouldn't be cheap, even if it were available. There's also the problem of how they would schedule it with so much output atm, and that's not even including all the who stuff!

Oh, yeah, true.

The nice thing about the BBC is they're not beholden to shareholders who demand giving it to the highest bidder. For instance, because the BBC, Moffat & the current Who production team value Big Finish immensely, they renegotiated the deal just last year without hiking the cost of the license in spite of the fact that the Moffat era's expansion overseas means that they have a bigger audience than ever for them. They also renegotiated without even consulting any other potentially interested parties.

It won't ever go to somebody else, I don't think. Doctor Who's quite incestuous like that, and BF is run and written by a lot of people who have been directly tapped for modern talent in the show, or are very good friends with them. So they all look after and back-pat each other a lot.

Wouldn't it be kinda hard to do Ninth Doctor audios considering he basically spends almost all of his life with Rose, and there's really no breaks to fit in any other companion?

You'd have to squeeze in a companion immediately after his regeneration from War Doctor - but that'd be weird because the longer that goes, the stranger it becomes that Nine has never noticed what he looks like.

Well, Piper has said in interviews she'd love the challenge of audio work if it came up to play Rose there. There's no way Barrowman would say no. So they can insert stories anywhere into Series 1. Rose>TEOTW>TUD run in one block, as do the two parters and Dalek>TLG, but other than that, there's unspecified gaps between every single one of the adventures they take. It's deliberately set up in Boom Town, for instance, that it's been quite a while since The Doctor Dances, and that the three of them have become a team. Apart from the 8 stuff, most of the audio stuff slots into the series. The ones Tom's been doing are 4 and Leela during that period, for instance.

 

[V_Arnold]

Would Eccleston do Big Finish stuff if he were asked? Or is he that against the concept?* I would imagine that just a few big stories told in the style of Dark Eyes would be enough to make him beloved by all the fans that currently is mad at him for skipping 50th....

*Assuming they get the greenlight on 9th+ stories, ofc.