It has been a very difficult week for Doctor Who fans with the literal and metaphorical end two eras.
But beyond that, there is news about Season 10, a batch of convention news and some Big Finish happenings as well.
With under 70 days left, we also are edging closer to seeing The Doctor return to our universe!
CAPALDI LEAVING
What has been rumored and suspected for quite awhile has finally been formally confirmed, Peter Capaldi is leaving Doctor Who at the end of the 2017 Christmas Special.
Capaldi, who is exiting the show after three seasons, made the announcement on the Jo Whiley Show on BBC Radio 2 last Monday.
One of the greatest privileges of being Doctor Who is to see the world at its best. From our brilliant crew and creative team working for the best broadcaster on the planet, to the viewers and fans whose endless creativity, generosity and inclusiveness points to a brighter future ahead. I can’t thank everyone enough. It’s been cosmic.
Listen: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04rcps0
Stephen Moffat commented on his departure in a BBC America press release.
For years before I ever imagined being involved in Doctor Who, or had ever met the man, I wanted to work with Peter Capaldi. I could not have imagined that one day we’d be standing on the TARDIS together. Like Peter, I’m facing up to leaving the best job I’ll ever have, but knowing I do so in the company of the best, and kindest and cleverest of men, makes the saddest of endings a little sweeter. But hey, it’s a long way from over. Peters’ amazing, fiery, turbulent Doctor is still fighting the good fight, and his greatest adventures are yet to come. Monsters of the universe, be on your guard – Capaldi’s not done with you yet!
Although no new actor has been announced it is believed that incoming producer Chris Chibnall will cast a younger actor in the role.
REMEMBERING JOHN HURT
John Hurt CBE, a legend of stage, screen and television passed away on January 25th at the age of 77.
A prolific talent Hurt set a very high bar for his craft, being nominated for two Academy Awards for his work in Midnight Express and The Elephant Man respectively. In 2012 he received a BAFTA for his career body of work. He also was nominated for Academy Awards in 1979 and 1981 for his work in Midnight Express and The Elephant Man respectively. Hurt won a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting in 1979 for his role in Midnight Express.
A beloved film icon John Hurt appeared in over one foundered films including Alien, 1984, Snowpiercer, V For Vendetta and 44 Inch Chest as well as three Harry Potter and the films. On television he appeared in several series including Merlin, Watership Down and I Claudius where he starred magnificently as Caligula. In addition to these mercurial roles he was also known for playing The War Doctor in Doctor Who on-screen and for Big Finish audio. A gaunt looking Hurt was most recently seen onscreen as a priest in Jackie.
For me, Hurt was one of the reasons why I enjoy the film so much. He’s appeared in so many films that I love that I can’t keep track of them all. His performance in The Elephant Man is essential viewing.
On TV or the big screen Hurt was inescapable. One of the best actors of his generation, you simply could not stop watching him in anything.
As for his time on Doctor Who, he practically stole the 50th anniversary special Day of the Doctor all by himself.
Matt Smith paid tribute to Hurt at the SAG Awards.
Matt Smith remembers the late John Hurt, who he worked with on "Doctor Who." #SAGAwards pic.twitter.com/Jzzr56mcNZ
— Variety (@Variety) January 30, 2017
Hurt was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2015.
The Radio Times has also published a final interview with Hurt.
Link: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-01-28/john-hurts-last-interview-with-radio-times
CHICAGO TARDIS UPDATE
Sophie Aldred, Nicholas Briggs, Peter Davison and Colin Baker have been announced as guests for Chicago TARDIS 2017, the Midwest’s largest Doctor Who confab.
For more info on the convention visit: www.chicagotardis.com
WHOLANTA UPDATE
Because of professional obligation, Louise Jameson has had to cancel her appearance at WHOlanta 2017. However this has net set their intrepid staff from getting another guest.
The con has just announced that Camille Coduri has joined Colin Baker and script writer Jamie Mathieson as guests for 2017.
Camille Coduri is best known for her role as Jackie Tyler opposite Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant during the first three seasons of the rebooted Doctor Who.
her cinema work includes A Prayer for the Dying, Haws, Nuns on the Run, King Ralph, The Business, Adulthood (a film written and directed by her Doctor Who co-star Noel Clarke) and The Firm.
She has also been a mainstay on British television, including appearances on The Last Detective (opposite Peter Davison), Rumple of the Bailey, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Nelson’s Column, A Touch of Frost and Sinchronicity. She has also had appearances on Ashes to Ashes, Edge of Heaven, Family and Him & Her.
For more information visit www.wholanta.com
SEASON 10 NEWS
There’s a lot of stuff going around about the new season, but here’s a bit of what we know so far.
Filming and pre/post production is being done on Blocks 5 and 6.
BBC America has announced that it will air Series 10 of Doctor Who in the USA beginning on April 15th at 9 pm ET.
Location filming last week took place at Cardiff University.
The forthcoming season features a mysterious shadow organization called The Truth. It is believed that they will be a recurring theme for the season.
Matt Lucas is a full-on companion, having been signed on for the run of the season.
Pearl Mackie will appear in Episode 1 of the new season as Bill Potts, the new assistant. Not much is known about her background other than she is a university student.
Episode 2 features will see the introduction of deadly robots with emoji faces.
Episode 3 is set in Victorian England and features a strange monster living underneath the Thames. It was written by Sarah Dollard.
Mike Bartlett’s The Haunted Hub is slotted in as the 4th story of the season. It features David Suchet as The Landlord.
Episodes 5 and 9 will be directed by Charles Palmer.
Wayne Yip will helm Episode 6, tentatively titled Extremis. The episode sees Michele Gomez back again as Missy.
The Daleks are back, and The Doctor is in the middle of a war. Could we see the Movellans return?
Toby Whithouse has written Episode 8 which contains some seriously creepy horror elements.
Rona Munro. who previously wrote Survival for the Classic Series, is returning to the show to write Episode 9, The Eaters of Light, which features guest stars Rebecca Benson, Daniel Kerr, Juwon Adedokun, Brian Vernel, Ben Hunter, Aaron Phagura, Sam Adewunmi and Billy Matthews.
Mark Gatiss’ Episode 10 will feature a new version of The Ice Warriors.
It is rumored that we may not have seen the last of those folks from Harmony Shoals.
The season finale and Capaldi’s final story have yet to be filmed.
SEASON 11 NEWS
As of now it appears as though Series 11 will air in the fall of 2018. The delay is partly due to the schedule of incoming showrunner Chris Chibnall who is finishing up work on the final season of Broadchurch before turning his focus to his new gig.
It has been confirmed that Chibnall will be involved with casting the new Doctor, but his decision will need to jive with those of the BBC’s director of content Charlotte Moore and head of drama Piers Wenger.
Filming with his new team is scheduled to begin early next year with Pearl Mackie believed to be staying on.
CLASS ON BBC AMERICA
BBC America has announced that Class will premiere on the network on April 15th at 10 pm ET, following the season 10 premiere of Doctor Who.
The new eight-part series features a cameo from Peter Capaldi and a visit from some familiar baddies.
BBC America Synopsis
Class will follow four Coal Hill School students who have hidden secrets and desires, navigate a life of friends, parents, school work, sex, sorrow and possibly the end of existence. Coal Hill School has been a part of the Doctor Who universe since the very beginning, but that has come at a price. Time travelling over the years has caused the very walls of space and time to become thin. There’s something pressing in on the other side, something waiting for its chance to kill everyone and everything, to bring us all into Shadow.
Class stars Greg Austin as Charlie; Fady Elsayed as Ram, Sophie Hopkins as April, Vivian Oparah as Tanya and Katherine Kelly as Miss Quill.
TIME IN THE OFFICE
Big Finish has announced the September release of Time In the Office, a new production starring Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Louise Jameson.
Further details about the plot and supporting cast are to be announced. However, it is set on Gallifrey with The Doctor desperately trying to eschew his duties a President.
Time In the Office is written by Eddie Robson and directed by Helen Goldwyn.
THE CONTINGENCY CLUB
Those wanting their Fifth Doctor fix now should check out The Contingency Club, available now from Big Finish.
Written by Phil Mulryne and directed by Barnaby Edwards it features the classic Fifth Doctor team of Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton and Matthew Waterhouse.
Synopsis
London, 1864, where any gentleman befitting the title ‘gentleman’ belongs to a gentlemen’s club: The Reform, The Athenaeum, The Carlton, The Garrick… and, of course, The Contingency. Newly established in St James’, The Contingency has quickly become the most exclusive enclave in town. A refuge for men of politics, men of science, men of letters. A place to escape. A place to think. A place to be free.
The first rule of the Contingency is to behave like a gentleman. The second is to pay no heed to it’s oddly identical servants. Or to the horror in its cellars. Or to the existence of the secret gallery on its upper floor… Rules that the Doctor, Adric, Nyssa and Tegan are all about to break.
Guest stars include Clive Merrison, Philip Jackson, Lorelei King, Tim Bentinck, Alison Thea-Skot and Olly McCauley.
THE WAR DOCTOR VOLUME 04: CASUALTIES OF WAR
Tinged with melancholy, this month sees the return of John Hurt in the as the War Doctor in a new audio collection entitled Casualties of War.
This new set of four stories is a great way to further celebrate the brilliance of John Hurt.
Collection Synopsis
The War Doctor and Cardinal Ollistra are stranded far from their Time Lord forces, with Daleks closing in, destroying all that stands between them. They must call on the help of new friends and old to fight their way back to the front lines. From the outer reaches of the galaxy, to the heart of Gallifrey itself, the Doctor finds casualties in every place the Time War has touched. Among them, a fighter, a travelling companion of the distant past, who remembers him quite differently. A warrior woman named Leela…
PRETTY LIES
Written by Guy Adams and directed Nicholas Briggs.
Synopsis
Trapped and desperate, light years from their armies at the heart of the Time War, the War Doctor and Cardinal Ollistra discover that wherever they go, destruction follows. A war reporter named Schandel may provide the key to their escape, but it is often said that the first casualty of war is the truth. When the choice between grim reality and a hero’s story means life or death, will the Doctor allow Schandel to print the legend?
The Lady of Obsidian
Written by Andrew Smith and directed by Nicholas Briggs.
Synopsis
As a Dalek Strike Fleet heads to destroy another defenceless world, the Doctor seeks help from a shadowy guerrilla force. The Time War leaves many casualties in its wake, and inside the Obsidian Nebula the monstrous Unlived are held at bay only by the ‘Lady’ and her dwindling band of fighters. The War Doctor soon finds himself at the Lady’s mercy, and two old friends face new revelations…
The Enigma Dimension
Written and directed by Nicholas Briggs.
Synopsis
The Dalek Time Strategist has a new plan to ensure final victory in the Time War. As its forces gather for a huge assault on the enemy, ahead of the fleet something hovers above the planet of the Time Lords. And on Gallifrey itself, shadows move among the Cloisters. The Time Lords face a threat alien to their entire universe. To save their world, the War Doctor and his allies must enter the Enigma Dimension…
Casting for the series includes John Hurt, Louise Jameson, Jacqueline Pearce. Joseph Kloska, Julia Hills, Mark Elstob, (Lizzie Roper, Chris Porter, Alan David, Jane Slavin, and Nicholas Briggs.
THE ETERNAL BATTLE
The Fourth Doctor Adventures line continues with The Eternal Battle starring Tom Baker, Lalla Ward and John Leeson in a fix with the Sonatarans written by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright with direction by Nicholas Briggs.
Synopsis
The TARDIS has landed in a war zone. The Doctor, Romana, and K9 find themselves traipsing through an inhospitable battlefield. Strange lights flicker in the sky, and stranger creatures lurk in the darkness.
When rescued from an attack by a Sontaran tank, the time-travellers discover they’re facing a far more dangerous foe than the battle-hungry clones. This terrifying fight has been going on longer than anyone can remember… and shows no signs of stopping.
With the TARDIS missing and their luck running thin, the Doctor and his friends’ only hope of survival is to uncover the truth about what is happening on this planet. If they can discover the secret of the eternal battle, they might just survive… but it might just mean the end of them all.
Guest stars include Dan Starkey, Jane Slavin an John Banks.
THE RETURN OF DOCTOR MYSTERIO ON DVD
The 2016 Christmas Special is coming to North American DVD and Blu-Ray on Feb 21, 2017.
Synopsis
With brain-swapping aliens poised to attack, the Doctor and Nardole link up with an investigative reporter and a mysterious figure known only as The Ghost. Can the Doctor save Manhattan? And what will be revealed when we see behind the mask?
DVD extras include The Doctor: A New Kind of Hero which examines how the Doctor’s differs from that of contemporary superheroes and Doctor Who Extra: The Return of Doctor Mysterio, a making of featurette about the story.
BAD SAMARITAN
David Tennant has wrapped filming for his upcoming film, Bad Samaritan. Filmed in Portland, the film tells the story of two car park valets who spend their free time burgling the homes of their well to do customers. It’s a pretty simple racket for them until they accidentally break into the wrong house.
Tennant stars as a character named Cale Erendreich.
The film is directed by Dean Devlin and directed by Brandon Boyce.
Next time...Power of The Daleks on DVD, Tennant Returns to Broadchurch, more Big Finish and news on Series 10.
The post Doctor Whooligan: Peter Capaldi Leaves Doctor Who, Convention Updates, Remembering John Hurt, Season 10 News appeared first on Anglotopia.net.
