Series 4 (Doctor Who 2005): Difference between revisions

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The '''2009 Specials''' will be broadcast between the end of Series 4 and the beginning of Series 5.  Five specials will be broadcast at various points in 2008-2009. Of the five specials, one has been scheduled for Christmas 2008, one for Easter 2009, and one for Christmas 2009, leaving the other two unscheduled. These five specials will be overseen by [[Russell T Davies]] and [[Julie Gardner]], but traditional line producer, [[Phil Collinson]], will not be returning for them. All will reportedly star [[David Tennant]].<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2007/09/03/48471.shtml Official website's 2007 bulletin about Series 5]</ref>


==Christmas 2008==
The 2008 Christmas Special is entitled, ''[[The Next Doctor]]''.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/09_september/23/who.shtml BBC Press Office. 23 September 2009]</ref>  The [[Cyberman (Pete's World)|Cybus Cybermen]] are known to be returning.  Also, actors [[Dervla Kirwan]] and [[David Morrissey]] are involved, as is a probable setting of Victorian England.<ref name=Gardner/>


Series 4 of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' started on the [[5th April]] [[2008]].
Attendees of the 2008 San Diego Comic Convention were amongst the first members of the public to have this setting confirmed.  In a trailer shown at the convention,  Christmas Eve 1851 was established at the narrative date.  Anecdotal accounts claim the trailer also showed what appeared to be a [[Dalek]] at one point.{{fact}}


[[David Tennant]] stayed on as the Tenth Doctor, and Catherine Tate reprised her role as Donna Noble, following her one off in the [[The Runaway Bride]].  
Actor [[Velile Tshabalala]] has also been cast in ''The Next Doctor'', playing the role of an East Londoner named Rosita.  Rosita begins the special as a companion to the other Doctor (David Morrissey), before she starts helping the Doctor (David Tennant) instead.<ref name=Velile>[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a132229/tshabalala-reveals-the-next-doctor-details.html Rawson-Jones, Ben. ''Tshabalala reveals 'The Next Doctor' details''] 9 October 2008.</ref>


This series featured several (former) companions returning; [[Freema Agyeman]], returned as [[Martha Jones]] for five episodes of the series, which began with ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem]]'' following her three episode spell with [[Torchwood]]. [[Jack Harkness]] crossed over from ''[[Torchwood]]'' for a second time later in the series. [[Billie Piper]] returned as [[Rose Tyler]] for a three episode stint starting with ''[[Turn Left]]'', all three returned in ''[[The Stolen Earth]]'' along with [[Elisabeth Sladen]] as [[Sarah Jane Smith]]. These were further joined by [[Noel Clarke]] and [[Camille Coduri]] in ''[[Journey's End]]''.
==2009 specials==


Series 4 featured several milestones.  It is the 30th ever broadcast season of Doctor Who, and features the 750th broadcast episode, which was ''[[The Stolen Earth]]'', the 50th new series episode, ''[[The Unicorn and the Wasp]]'', and the 200th broadcast story of Doctor Who, ''[[Midnight (TV story)|Midnight]]''. The finale episodes ''The Stolen Earth'' and ''Journey's End'' also took the revived series to new heights of popularity, scoring the highest viewership ratings since the [[Tom Baker]] era and according to the media both episodes scored Appreciation Index ratings unprecedented for an ongoing scripted drama series.
===Series numbering===
Although it was initially thought that the "interval" season of specials might come to be known as Series 5, or Series 4.5, however at present it appears that the BBC will not be assigning a series "number" to the specials, much as the previous Christmas specials and mini-episodes do not technically belong to any particular season. This, however, is contradicted by Russell T Davies himself in his book ''[[The Writer's Tale]]'', where he calls ''The Next Doctor'' the fourteenth episode of the fourth series (likely due to the fact it was produced during the production of Series 4).


As with the preceding three seasons, Series 4 incorporated several ongoing story arcs or background threads which were resolved in the finale episodes. In Series 4 these threads included: Donna Noble's evolution, Rose Tyler's attempts to return to her original world and the Doctor, the disappearance of bees from planet Earth, recurring references to planets and moons disappearing, and the coming of "The Darkness".
===Writers===
 
[[Russell T Davies]] is solely writing only the Christmas 2008 special and two others.<ref name=Gardner>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/07/11/nosplit/bvtvwho11.xml ''Daily Telegraph'' interview with Julie Gardner] 11 July 2008.</ref> One of the specials will be co-written by [[Gareth Roberts]], and one will be co-written by [[Phil Ford]].<ref>[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a115043/doctor-who-specials-writers-announced.html? Rawson-Jones, Ben.  "'Doctor Who' specials writers announced".] digitalspy.co.uk.  25 July 2008.  ''reporting on news originally broken in [[DWM Issue 398|''Doctor Who Magazine'' #398]].</ref>  These particular specials will be historic in that they will be the first two episodes of the [[BBC Wales]] production of ''Doctor Who'' to formally credit a co-writer.  With the inclusion of Ford, 2009 will mark the fifth straight year that ''Doctor Who'' has included at least one new writer for the show, and make Ford the only writer other than RTD himself to write for ''Torchwood'', ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' and ''Doctor Who''.
Series 4 marked the last full season to be produced by [[Russell T. Davies]], [[Phil Collinson]] and [[Julie Gardner]]. Collinson left following ''Journey's End'', and Davies and Gardner have announced they will depart following production of a series of specials planned for 2008-2009 in lieu of a regular season. When the show resumes weekly broadcast in [[2010]], [[Steven Moffat]] will be its head writer and show-runner.
 
==Television stories==
 
===Specials===
*[[Time Crash]]
*[[Voyage of the Damned]]
 
===Episodes===
*[[Partners in Crime]]
*[[The Fires of Pompeii]]
*[[Planet of the Ood]]
*[[The Sontaran Stratagem]] / [[The Poison Sky]]
*[[The Doctor's Daughter]]
*[[The Unicorn and the Wasp]]
*[[Silence in the Library]] / [[Forest of the Dead]]
*[[Midnight (TV story)|Midnight]]
*[[Turn Left]]
*[[The Stolen Earth]] / [[Journey's End]]
 
===Mini-episode===
*[[Music of the Spheres]]
 
==The Cast==
===Primary Cast===
*[[The Doctor]] - [[David Tennant]]
*[[Donna Noble]] - [[Catherine Tate]]
 
===Secondary Cast===
*[[Wilfred Mott]] - [[Bernard Cribbins]]
*[[Sylvia Noble]] - [[Jacqueline King]]
*[[Martha Jones]] - [[Freema Agyeman]]
*[[Rose Tyler]] - [[Billie Piper]]
*[[Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]
*[[Sarah Jane Smith]] - [[Elisabeth Sladen]]
*[[River Song]]- [[Alex Kingston]]
 
===Guest Cast===
*[[Fifth Doctor]] - [[Peter Davison]]
*[[Astrid Peth]] - [[Kylie Minogue]]
*[[Jenny]] - [[Georgia Moffett]]
*[[Gwen Cooper]] - [[Eve Myles]]
*[[Ianto Jones]] - [[Gareth David-Lloyd]]
*[[Luke Smith]] - [[Tommy Knight]]
*[[Francine Jones]] - [[Adjoa Andoh]]
*[[Mickey Smith]] - [[Noel Clarke]]
*[[Jackie Tyler]] - [[Camille Coduri]]
*[[Harriet Jones]] - [[Penelope Wilton]]
 
==Novels==
[[Image:2_books.JPG|thumb|left|Two of the Series 4 Books]]
*[[Ghosts of India]]
*[[Shining Darkness]]
*[[The Doctor Trap]]
*[[Beautiful Chaos]]
*[[The Eyeless]] (however this book and the three listed below may end up occurring during the timeframe of the [[2009 Specials (Doctor Who)|2009 Specials]])
*[[Judgement of the Judoon]]
*[[The Slitheen Excursion]]
*[[Prisoner of the Daleks]]
 
== Aliens and Enimies ==
*[[Max Capricorn]]
*[[Heavenly Host|Hosts]]
*[[Hardaker|Captain Hardaker]]
*[[Matron Cofelia]]
*[[Adipose]]
*[[Lucius Petrus Dextrus]]
*[[Pyrovile]]
*[[Ood]]
*[[Klineman Halpen]]
*[[Staal]]
*[[Luke Rattigan]]
*[[Sontaran|Sontaran's]]
*[[Cobb|General Cobb]]
*[[Hath]]
*[[Vespiform]]
*[[Vashta Nerada]]
*[[Node]]
*[[Midnight Entity]]
*[[Sky Silvestry]]
*[[Time Beetle]]
*[[Fortune Teller]]
*[[Davros]]
*[[Dalek|Daleks]]
*[[Dalek Caan]]
 
==External Links==
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/ BBC website page for series 4]
 
{{Series 4}}


===Rumours===
*''The Sun'' newspaper in the UK reported [[Paul McGann]] is to make an appearance as the [[Eighth Doctor]] in one of the specials.<ref>[http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article1673189.ece ''Sun'' reports McGann return]</ref>  However, on 12 September 2008, the BBC refuted this allegation, saying, "There is no truth to the story at all."<ref name=Mcgann>[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a130094/bbc-refutes-mcgann-dr-who-return-story.html Rawson-Jones, Ben. ''BBC refutes McGann 'Dr Who' story''] 12 September 2008.</ref>
*Actor Patrick Stewart may also appear in the 2009 specials, playing the renegade [[Time Lord]], [[The Monk]].<ref>[http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article1770729.ece Blackburn, Jen. "Star Trek hero to play Time Lord". ''The Sun''. 6 October 2008.]</ref>  At least one source believes that "the BBC has offered him the role and are willing to wait for Stewart's schedule to clear".  Stewart could therefore appear in ''either'' the specials or the 2010 series.<ref>[http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/53502/Patrick-Trek-to-Tardis/ "Patrick Trek to TARDIS". ''Daily Star'' 5 October 2008]</ref>
{| class="browser"
{| class="browser"
|-
|-
| class="prev"|'''Previous Season''':<br />[[Series 3 (Doctor Who)|Series 3]]
| class="prev"|'''Previous season''':<br />[[Series 4 (Doctor Who)|Series 4]]
| class="next"|'''Next Season''':<br />[[2009 Specials (Doctor Who)|2009 Specials]]
| class="next"|'''Next season''':<br /> [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|Series 5]]
|}
|}


[[Category:Seasons]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category: Seasons]]

Revision as of 08:25, 24 October 2008

The 2009 Specials will be broadcast between the end of Series 4 and the beginning of Series 5. Five specials will be broadcast at various points in 2008-2009. Of the five specials, one has been scheduled for Christmas 2008, one for Easter 2009, and one for Christmas 2009, leaving the other two unscheduled. These five specials will be overseen by Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner, but traditional line producer, Phil Collinson, will not be returning for them. All will reportedly star David Tennant.[1]

Christmas 2008

The 2008 Christmas Special is entitled, The Next Doctor.[2] The Cybus Cybermen are known to be returning. Also, actors Dervla Kirwan and David Morrissey are involved, as is a probable setting of Victorian England.[3]

Attendees of the 2008 San Diego Comic Convention were amongst the first members of the public to have this setting confirmed. In a trailer shown at the convention, Christmas Eve 1851 was established at the narrative date. Anecdotal accounts claim the trailer also showed what appeared to be a Dalek at one point.[source needed]

Actor Velile Tshabalala has also been cast in The Next Doctor, playing the role of an East Londoner named Rosita. Rosita begins the special as a companion to the other Doctor (David Morrissey), before she starts helping the Doctor (David Tennant) instead.[4]

2009 specials

Series numbering

Although it was initially thought that the "interval" season of specials might come to be known as Series 5, or Series 4.5, however at present it appears that the BBC will not be assigning a series "number" to the specials, much as the previous Christmas specials and mini-episodes do not technically belong to any particular season. This, however, is contradicted by Russell T Davies himself in his book The Writer's Tale, where he calls The Next Doctor the fourteenth episode of the fourth series (likely due to the fact it was produced during the production of Series 4).

Writers

Russell T Davies is solely writing only the Christmas 2008 special and two others.[3] One of the specials will be co-written by Gareth Roberts, and one will be co-written by Phil Ford.[5] These particular specials will be historic in that they will be the first two episodes of the BBC Wales production of Doctor Who to formally credit a co-writer. With the inclusion of Ford, 2009 will mark the fifth straight year that Doctor Who has included at least one new writer for the show, and make Ford the only writer other than RTD himself to write for Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures and Doctor Who.

Rumours

  • The Sun newspaper in the UK reported Paul McGann is to make an appearance as the Eighth Doctor in one of the specials.[6] However, on 12 September 2008, the BBC refuted this allegation, saying, "There is no truth to the story at all."[7]
  • Actor Patrick Stewart may also appear in the 2009 specials, playing the renegade Time Lord, The Monk.[8] At least one source believes that "the BBC has offered him the role and are willing to wait for Stewart's schedule to clear". Stewart could therefore appear in either the specials or the 2010 series.[9]
Previous season:
Series 4 		Next season:
Series 5

References

  1. ↑ Official website's 2007 bulletin about Series 5
  2. ↑ BBC Press Office. 23 September 2009
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Daily Telegraph interview with Julie Gardner 11 July 2008.
  4. ↑ Rawson-Jones, Ben. Tshabalala reveals 'The Next Doctor' details 9 October 2008.
  5. ↑ Rawson-Jones, Ben. "'Doctor Who' specials writers announced". digitalspy.co.uk. 25 July 2008. reporting on news originally broken in Doctor Who Magazine #398.
  6. ↑ Sun reports McGann return
  7. ↑ Rawson-Jones, Ben. BBC refutes McGann 'Dr Who' story 12 September 2008.
  8. ↑ Blackburn, Jen. "Star Trek hero to play Time Lord". The Sun. 6 October 2008.
  9. ↑ "Patrick Trek to TARDIS". Daily Star 5 October 2008
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