DOCTOR WHO Will Go On For At Least Another Five Years

Good news Whovians! Series showrunner Steven Moffat revealed that there’ll be at “minimum” another five years of Doctor Who.

Speaking to Doctor Who magazine and quoted by the Radio Times, Moffat laid out the long-term plans for the show: “I thought it would last ten years. I didn’t think it would last ten years with BBC Worldwide trying to get me in a room to talk about their plan for the next five years!”

He added: “It’s going to do a minimum of 15. I mean, it could do 26!”

Moffat, who is also behind BBC monster hit Sherlock, was careful though to think too far ahead with all the itinerant problems associated with a show like Doctor Who. “That’s not to say its easy,” he said regarding the next five years and beyond, “[i]t’s not easy to find new people. It’s not easy to find new Doctors. That could be the danger – that you start to think that it’s easy. There’s nothing easy about doing Doctor Who.”

Despite first screening in 1963, the rebooted Doctor Who celebrated its tenth anniversary this year and the show continues to pull in strong ratings in the U.K. and growing figures internationally, prompting the BBC’s continued enthusiasm for more episodes. “Ten years on, our ratings are pretty much the same. Actually, internationally, bigger. No show does that! You’re meant to go down! Doctor Who just stays. It’s extraordinary!” said Moffat.

Source: RadioTimes

GAME OF THRONES’ Maisie Williams Joins DOCTOR WHO Series 9

Today Maisie Williams sets foot on the Doctor Who TARDIS to take up a guest role in the hit BBC One show, that returns to our screens this Autumn.

Maisie has already found global fame and is renowned for her role as Arya Stark in the international fantasy drama series Game of Thrones. She also starred in the one-off docu-drama Cyberbully and was cast as one of the leads of Carol Morley’s drama The Falling. As well as being a three-time Screen Actors Guild Awards nominee, in February of this year she was awarded with a Shooting Star Award at the Berlin Film Festival.

On her first day on set, Maisie Williams commented: “I’m so excited to be working on Doctor Who as it’s such a big and important part of British Culture. I can’t wait to meet the cast and crew and start filming, especially as we’ll be shooting not too far from my home town.”

Showrunner Steven Moffat added: “We’re thrilled to have Maisie Williams joining us on Doctor Who. It’s not possible to say too much about who or what she’s playing, but she is going to challenge the Doctor in very unexpected ways. This time he might just be out of his depth, and we know Maisie is going to give him exactly the right sort of hell.”

Bursting with drama, wit and heart, the show continues filming with two period adventures – ‘The Girl Who Died’ written by Jamie Mathieson and Steven Moffat, and ‘The Woman Who Lived’ by Catherine Tregenna. Starring Peter Capaldi (The Doctor) and Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald), the duo continue to time travel through epic adventures Directed by Ed Bazalgette (BBC One’s 18th Century drama Poldark).

Comedian and actor Rufus Hound, who recently appeared in the series Cucumber, also joins the guest cast alongside BBC Three’s Siblings and CBBC’s Horrible Histories star Tom Stourton, Ariyon Bakare, Simon Lipkin, Ian Conningham, Murray McArthur, Barnaby Kay, John Voce, and Struan Rodger.

Source: BBC

Michelle Gomez Will Return For DOCTOR WHO Series 9

Michelle Gomez (Bad Education,) is re-joining the cast of BBC sci-fi hit series Doctor Who in Cardiff, Wales this week to reprise her role as The Doctor’s nemesis Missy for season 9.

The actress joins lead Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman  who plays sidekick Clara Oswald. Gomez will appear in the opening episode of the new season, the BBC said without disclosing further details.

Read more ‘Doctor Who’ Showrunner Steven Moffat Talks Ratings, Season 9

Gomez said: “Things have been a little beige since I left Missy behind, so I’m delighted to be putting my lippie back on. I’m positively dying to see the Doctor again!”

“Everybody hide – Michelle Gomez as Missy was an instant hit last year, so she’s straight back to plague the Doctor and Clara in the series opener,” said showrunner Steven Moffat. “But what brings her back into their lives is the last thing they’d expect.”

Read more Steven Moffat Recounts ‘Doctor Who’s’ Regeneration Theory

The BBC on Thursday announced that Jemma Redgrave also returns to the guest cast for season 9 alongside Kelly Hunter. And British stage and TV actress Clare Higgins and TV actress Jaye Griffiths will also be guests in the season opener.

Source: THR 

NETFLIX: Renews Deal For ‘Doctor Who,’ ‘Luther,’ More BBC Series

Fans of British television can rest easy. Following numerous reports that Netflix and the BBC were parting ways, the streaming service has clarified that many of its most popular Brit series are staying put.

In response to headlines that beloved series “Doctor Who,” “Luther,” the original “The Office” and more were going to be dropped from the service at the end of the month, a Netflix spokeswoman tells Variety that such reports were false.

Among the shows that will still be available on Netflix are classic and current “Doctor Who” series, “Luther,” “Top Gear” seasons 17 through 20, “Torchwood,” “Wallander,” “Keeping Up Appearances,” and the original “Office” and “House of Cards” series.

The deal in question did not involve series including “Sherlock,” “Happy Valley,” “The Honorable Woman,” “Call the Midwife” or other series not up for renewal. These series will remain on Netflix.

Here’s a list of BBC series staying on Netflix’s service:

Classic “Doctor Who”

“Doctor Who” seasons 1 through 7

“Copper” seasons 1 and 2

“House of Cards” trilogy

“Keeping Up Appearances” season 1

“Luther” seasons 1 through 3

“Monarch of the Glen” seasons 1 through 6

“North & South”

“Robin Hood” seasons 1 through 3

“The Buccaneers”

“The Office” U.K. seasons 1 and 2

“Top Gear” seasons 17 though 20

“Torchwood” seasons 1 through 4

“Wallander” seasons 1 through 3

Fans should plan to enjoy “Fawlty Towers,” “Blackadder,” “MI-5″ and “Red Dwarf” before Feb. 1 when they will no longer be available.

DOCTOR WHO: Autumn 2015 Return Confirmed For Season 9

Doctor Who‘s next season will begin this autumn.

The BBC announced yesterday: “The new series will be back on BBC One in autumn 2015.”

‘Deep Breath’ launched 2014’s 12-part run at the end of August.

Showrunner Steven Moffat confirmed last year: “We’re not going to do splits [in Season 8], and the same format will repeat exactly [for Season 9] the following year [2015] like that. So it will be the traditional form.”

Season 9 began filming in Cardiff last week with Being Human creator Toby Whithouse confirmed as the writer of a two-part story.

Peter Capaldi commented: “The adventures begin again for myself and Jenna and I’m delighted to be back filming my second series of Doctor Who.”

DOCTOR WHO: Series 9 Filming Commences

The BBC announced the start of filming in Cardiff for series 9 of “Doctor Who,” which will return on BBC One this fall. They’ve also announced guest stars for the two-part episode that’s being filmed now, including comedian and actor Paul Kaye, who played Thoros of Myr on the third season of “Game of Thrones.”

“As a kid of the 1970s, the two shows you always watched were ‘Top of the Pops’ and ‘Doctor Who,’ they were unmissable,” Paul Kaye said. “I actually wrote a song called ‘Looking for Davros’’in my first punk band and I sang it like a demented Dalek. I got to present TOTP back in the mid ‘90’s and landing this role in Doctor Who completes the dream double. Peter is a perfect Doctor and I’m loving every minute of the experience, even the five hours in make-up. What a treat, best 50th birthday present ever!”

Also starring in the episodes will be Morven Christie, who recently played the role of Amanda in the crime drama “Grantchester,” Arsher Ali, who played the part of Malik Suri in the critically-acclaimed “The Missing,” and Colin McFarlane, who appeared in “EastEnders” as part of the “Who Killed Lucy Beale?” storyline. Recognised for her theatre and TV performances, actress Sophie Stone appears in the show for the first time. Sophie was the lead actress in the play “Woman of Flowers” and has appeared in “Midsummer Murders” and “Casualty.”

Also joining Peter Capaldi (the Doctor) and Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald) and confirmed for roles in the double episode are Zaqi Ismail, Steven Robertson and Neil Fingleton.

Steven Moffat, lead writer and Executive Producer, said, “An amazing guest cast for a brilliantly creepy two-parter by Toby Whithouse. Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman are back in Cardiff, back in the box, and back in action – for one of our scariest adventures yet!”

On set filming for the new series, Peter Capaldi added, “The adventures begin again for myself and Jenna and I’m delighted to be back filming my second series of Doctor Who.”

The episodes are written by Toby Whithouse (“The Game,” “Being Human”), produced by Derek Ritchie and directed by Daniel O’Hara (“Silent Witness 2015,” “The Game,” “Being Human”).

DOCTOR WHO: Game Of Thrones’ Paul Kaye To Appear On Doctor Who Series 9

Paul Kaye, the British actor and comedian who plays Thoros of Myr on HBO’s Game of Thrones, has been cast as a guest star in the ninth series of Doctor Who, according to The Independent.

Kaye will play a character named Prentis, opposite Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor and Jenna Coleman’s Clara Oswald. While they don’t confirm, the independent suggests that Kaye may appear in the Series 9 premiere, “The Magician’s Apprentice.” The phonetic similarity between the name “Prentis” and the word “apprentice” would seem to hint at as much.

Kaye has allowed appear on the British television series Being Human and Ripper Street, and will play Viniculus in the upcoming television adaptation of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.

Kaye is hardly the first Game of Thrones actor to appear on Doctor Who. For example, Iain Glen, who plays Jorah Mormont in Game of Thrones, appeared in the Series 5 two-parter “Flesh and Stone/The Time of the Angels” as Octavian, and David Bradley, who plays Walder Frey, played Solomon in the Series 7 episode “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship.”

Filming on the ninth series of Doctor Who has already begun, and the premiere will air later in 2015.

New Doctor Who Christmas Special Trailer Released Online

As part of the BBC’s ongoing Doctor Who Adventure Calendar countdown, the network has released a new trailer for the 2014 Doctor Who Christmas Special.

The trailer shows the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) encountering what seems to be some hostile aliens at the North Pole. Naturally, he calls in Santa Claus (Nick Frost) for help.

Even creepier is the message that Clara (Jenna Coleman) seems to be receiving from a black board that she keeps trying to erase.

See for yourself in the trailer below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02f1wbg/player The 2014 Doctor Who Christmas Special, “Last Christmas,” airs Christmas Day on BBC One and BBC America.

Missy Will Return!

Michelle Gomez has revealed that her character Missy – the new female version of the Master – will return. In an interview in this week’s issue, Doctor Who Magazine asked the actress whether the villainess will reappear next year.
“Yes. Yes is my answer. I’ll be back,” she replied.

Pretty unequivocal, although Gomez then got slightly cold feet. “Can I say that? Am I allowed? If not… well, I guess we’ll have to see how she’s received…”

Considering the outstanding response to Gomez’s performance, it seems safe to say the Mary Poppins-esque megalomaniac will once again butt heads with Peter Capaldi’s Doctor.

Teased throughout series eight, Missy’s true identity (Missy – Mistress – Master) was revealed in the two-part finale Dark Water and Death in Heaven.

She was last seen seemingly being vaporised by one of her own Cybermen, controlled by the skeleton of the Doctor’s old ally Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. As part of her plan, the Mistress recruited planet earth’s corpses into an undead Cyberman army, then presented the army to the Doctor as a sick gift.

Originated by the bearded Roger Delgado in 1971’s Terror of the Autons, the Master returned in the show’s new era played by John Simm. The character’s transformation into a woman marks the first on-screen time a Time Lord has changed gender during a regeneration.

Gomez told Doctor Who Magazine that the move only makes the villain more lethal. “Everything about making the Master [into] the Mistress kind of ups the ante,” she says “It makes everything that little bit more dangerous. It blows open this Pandora’s box.”

Doctor Who Season 8 Finale To Be An Hour Long

The BBC have confirmed that the second part of the finale, Death in Heaven, will be an hour long. It premieres Saturday 8 November from 8pm-9pm on BBC1.

Synopsis:

With Cybermen on the streets of London, old friends unite against old enemies and the Doctor takes to the air in a startling new role.

Can the mighty UNIT contain Missy? As the Doctor faces his greatest challenge, sacrifices must be made before the day is won.