Series 4 (Doctor Who 2005): Difference between revisions

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: ''Series 4 redirects here. For the 1966-1967 season of the original series, see [[Season 4]].''
[[Image:2007_S3_title_Logo.jpg|center|250px]]
[[Image:2007_S3_title_Logo.jpg|center|250px]]
==2009 Specials==
=====Overview=====
The '''2009 Specials''' were broadcast between the end of [[Series 4]] and the beginning of [[Series 5]].  Four specials have been broadcast at various points in 2009. Of the four specials, one has so far aired at Easter 2009, followed by a second that aired in November. The two remaining specials aired to air on Christmas 2009 and then in New Year 2010. These four 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 star [[David Tennant]]. For the 2009 Specials, the Doctor was traveling alone, each episode stared a one-off companion. There had been conflicting reports given as to why the decision was made to take a year off. Initial media reports suggested that this was in order to allow David Tennant to perform a season of Shakespeare during the time a regular season would have normally entered production. However, these reports are directly contradicted in Russell T Davies' book ''[[Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale]]'', which contains correspondence from the spring of [[2007]] -- months before the gap year plan was announced -- in which Davies indicated that the intent was to take the series off for a year, except for a few specials, in order to allow a new production team to make its transition, as Davies had already informed the BBC that he would not executive-produce a fifth season.


==Episodes==
Series 4 of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' started on the [[5th April]] [[2008]]. It was preceded by two specials: ''[[Time Crash]]'' and ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]''. There is some dispute over whether these two productions are officially part of Series 4; [[Russell T. Davies]]' memoir, ''[[The Writer's Tale]]'', describes both as being part of the production of Series 4, however, and both have been included in the subsequent DVD box set. ''Time Crash'' is canonical according to showrunner [[Steven Moffat]] in ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' #389.
===Television Stories===
*'''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]''' ''(11th April 2009)''
*'''[[The Waters of Mars]]''' ''(15th November 2009)''
*'''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time, Part One]]''' ''(Christmas 2009)''
*'''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time, Part Two]]''' ''(New Year's Day 2010)''


===Others===
[[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]].
*[[DW]]: ''[[Dreamland (TV story)|Dreamland]]''
 
*[[SJA]]: ''[[The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]''
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]] as Mickey Smith and [[Camille Coduri]] as Jackie Tyler in ''[[Journey's End]]''.  
*[[Tonight's the Night]]
 
*[[2009 BBC Christmas idents]]
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.
====[[The Next Doctor]]====
 
The status of the 2008 Christmas special ''[[The Next Doctor]]'' is a matter of debate. Officially, it has been called the 14th episode of Series 4, however as noted below, the 4th series numbering also applies to the specials. Conversely, ''The Next Doctor'' was produced during the same production block as Series 4, and also was produced differently than the specials, which were shot in high definition. It remains to be seen if over time ''The Next Doctor'' becomes accepted as a 4th season episode, as one of the 2009 specials, or as a complete standalone.BBC Video has also announced that it will be included in the forthcoming Specials box set on DVD and Blu-Ray, placing it with the 2009 Specials; in the past, BBC Video's titling and programming has come to be considered definitive.
In terms of production, the season marked the first production of a "Companion-lite" episode, ''[[Midnight]]'' (as opposed to the usual "Doctor-lite" episodes, ie. ''Love and Monsters ''and ''Blink''), although a Doctor-lite episode, ''[[Turn Left]]'' was also produced. This was necessitated by the need to film several episodes at the same time, including an unprecedented 15th episode, ''[[The Next Doctor]]'', which would air as the 2008 Christmas special.
 
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", mainly represented by the attempts of the Daleks and Davros to wipe out all reality. Additionally, most episodes include a running gag: namely, that people keep mistaking the Doctor and Donna for a couple.  
 
The status of the 2008 Christmas special ''[[The Next Doctor]]'' is also disputed. Although broadcast months after the conclusion of Series 4, it was produced at the same time, and like ''Voyage of the Damned'', Davies discusses it in context of being part of Series 4 in ''The Writer's Tale''. This would make Series 4 unique in having ''two'' Christmas specials. Another school of though holds that it is part of the [[2009 Specials]] gap season, due to the fact it isn't included in the Series 4 box set and there are significant production differences between it and the specials, namely it was not filmed in high definition.
 
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 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. It also marks the last full season featuring [[David Tennant]] as [[Tenth Doctor|The Doctor]] as in October 2008 he announced his intention to leave the role following the production of the 2009 specials; in January 2009 [[Matt Smith]] was announced as his successor, with Karen Gilian appearing as his companion Amy Pond.
 
==Television stories==
 
===Episodes===
*[[Time Crash]]
*[[Voyage of the Damned]]
*[[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]]
*[[The Next Doctor]]
 
===Mini-episode===
*[[Music of the Spheres]]


==Cast==
==Cast==
===Primary Cast===
===Primary Cast===
*[[Tenth Doctor]]- [[David Tennant]]  
*[[The Doctor]] - [[David Tennant]]
*[[Donna Noble]] - [[Catherine Tate]]


===[[Companions of Doctor Who | Secondary Cast]]===
===Secondary Cast===
*[[Christina de Souza|Lady Christina De Souza]] - [[Michelle Ryan]]
*[[Martha Jones]] - [[Freema Agyeman]]
*[[Adelaide Brooke]] - [[Lindsay Duncan]]  
*[[Rose Tyler]] - [[Billie Piper]]  
*[[Wilfred Mott]] - [[Bernard Cribbins]]  
*[[Wilfred Mott]] - [[Bernard Cribbins]]  
*[[Sylvia Noble]] - [[Jacqueline King]]


===Guest Cast===
===Guest Cast===
*[[Fifth Doctor]] - [[Peter Davison]]
*[[Astrid Peth]] - [[Kylie Minogue]]
*[[Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]
*[[Sarah Jane Smith]] - [[Elisabeth Sladen]]
*[[Jenny]]- [[Georgia Moffett]]
*[[River Song]] - [[Alex Kingston]]
*[[Francine Jones]] - [[Adjoa Andoh]]
*[[Ianto Jones]] - [[Gareth David-Lloyd]]
*[[Luke Smith]] - [[Tommy Knight]]
*[[Gwen Cooper]] - [[Eve Myles]]
*[[Mickey Smith]] - [[Noel Clarke]]
*[[Jackie Tyler]] - [[Camille Coduri]]
*[[Harriet Jones]] - [[Penelope Wilton]]
*[[Jackson Lake]] - [[David Morrissey]]


*[[Malcolm Taylor (Planet of the Dead)|Professor Malcolm Taylor]] - [[Lee Evans]]
==Novels==
*[[Carmen (Planet of the Dead)|Carmen]] - [[Ellen Thomas]]
*[[Erisa Magambo | Captain Erisa Magambo]] - [[Norma Dumezweni]]
[[Image:2_books.JPG|thumb|right|Two of the Series 4 Books]]
*[[Barclay (Planet of the Dead) | Barclay]] - [[Daniel Kaluuya]]
*[[Ghosts of India]]
*[[Nathan (Planet of the Dead) | Nathan]] - [[David Ames]]  
*[[Shining Darkness]]
*[[Ed Gold]] - [[Peter O'Brien]]
*[[The Doctor Trap]]
*[[Mia Bennett]] - [[Gemma Chan]]
*[[Beautiful Chaos]]
*[[Yuri Kerenski]] - [[Aleksander Mikic]]
 
*[[Andy Stone (The Waters of Mars) | Andy Stone]] - [[Alan Ruscoe]]
==Audiobooks==
*[[Tarak Ital]] - [[Chook Sibtain]]
*[[Pest Control]]
*[[The Master]] - [[John Simm]]
*[[The Forever Trap]]
*[[The Narrator]] - [[Timothy Dalton]]
*[[The Nemonite Invasion]]
*[[Donna Noble]] - [[Catherine Tate]]
 
*[[Sylvia Noble]] - [[Jacqueline King]]
== Aliens and Enemies ==
====Introducing====
*[[Cofelia|Matron Cofelia]]
*[[Eleventh Doctor]] - [[Matt Smith]]
*[[Adipose]]
*[[Lucius Petrus Dextrus]]
*[[Pyrovile]]
*[[Ood]]
*[[Klineman Halpen]]
*[[Staal]]
*[[Luke Rattigan]]
*[[Sontaran]]s
*[[Cobb|General Cobb]]
*[[Hath]]
*[[Vespiform]]
*[[Vashta Nerada]]
*[[Node]]
*[[Midnight Entity]]  
*[[Sky Silvestry]]
*[[Time Beetle]]
*[[Fortune Teller]]  
*[[Davros]]
*[[Dalek]]s
*[[Dalek Caan]]
*[[Cyber-Leader (Pete's World)|Cyber-Leader]]
*[[Cyberman (Pete's World)|Cybermen]]
*[[Mercy Hartigan]]
*[[Cybershade]]
*[[Cyber-King]]
 
==Promotional trailers==
As with previous seasons, trailers were created to promote the season, though this year they were shown in theatres as well as on television in the UK. Of particular note is the second trailer that was released, which utilized unique, specially shot footage of Donna sitting by a camp- or bonfire talking to either an unseen individual or the audience about the Doctor "coming back to save us" and "I'll be ready" interspersed with images of Sontarans, Ood and Daleks. There is no scene like this in any of the episodes; the meaning of "he'll come back to save us" is unknown as there is no circumstance within Series 4 in which Donna would be in such a position to make such a remark.


==Aliens and Enemies==
The other major trailers included another Donna-centric trailer utilizing a scene between Donna and [[Wilfred Mott]] from ''Partners in Crime'', and a mid-season trailer focusing in part on the return of Rose Tyler in ''Turn Left''.
*[[The Swarm (Planet of the Dead) | The Swarm]]  
*[[Tritivores]]
*[[Macmillan]]
*[[The Flood]]
*[[The Master]]
*[[Rassilon]] 
*[[Ood]] 
*[[Ood Sigma]]
*[[Ood Elder]]
*[[Judoon]] 
*[[Vinvocci]] 
*[[Time Lords]] 
*[[Trefusis]] 
*[[Governor (The End of Time)|The Governor]] 
*[[Joshua Naismith]] 
*[[Sontaran]]
*[[Hath]] 
*[[Sycorax]] 
*[[Adipose]] 
*[[Slitheen]] 
*[[Graske]]


== Novels ==
==External Links==
*[[The Eyeless]]
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/ BBC website page for series 4]
*[[Judgement of the Judoon]]
{{seasons}}
*[[The Slitheen Excursion]]
*[[Prisoner of the Daleks]]
*[[The Taking of Chelsea 426]]
*[[The Krillitane Storm]]
*[[Autonomy]]


==Production==
=====Filming=====
Filming of ''Planet of the Dead'' commenced in mid-January 2009 and concluded in February. Production of [[The Waters of Mars]] began late January 2009, and finished in mid February. Production of the final specials was completed by late spring 2009.


=====Writers=====
[[Russell T Davies]] is solely writing only the Christmas 2008 special, and also [[The End of Time (TV story) | The final special]]. One of the specials will be co-written by [[Gareth Roberts]], and one will be co-written by [[Phil Ford]]. 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''.


==DVD Releases==
{{Series 4}}
=====UK Releases=====
*''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]'' was released in the UK BBC DVD and Blu-ray on the 29th June 2009 -- it is the first ''Doctor Who'' story to be released in Blu-Ray.
* All the specials, plus ''The Next Doctor'' and ''Doctor Who at the Proms'' (including ''[[Music of the Spheres]]'') is scheduled for release in a box set in both Blu-Ray and DVD format on 11th January 2010; ''The Next Doctor'' is being upconverted to high-definition for the release.
* ''The Waters of Mars'' and ''The End of Time'' will also be available separately on DVD/Blu-Ray on 11th January.


=====International Releases=====
*''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]'' was released in North America on 28th July 2009 in both DVD and Blu-Ray formats -- the first ''Doctor Who'' story to be released in high definition.
* It has been announced that the four specials plus ''The Next Doctor'' and ''Doctor Who at the Proms''/''Music of the Spheres'' will be released in North America on both DVD and Blu-Ray in a box set on 2nd February 2010.[http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2009/10/waters-of-mars-american-airdates.html]
* ''The Waters of Mars'' and ''The End of Time'' will also be available separately on DVD/Blu-Ray on 2nd February.


=====Dreamland=====
As it is not considered one of the 2009 Specials, the 45-minute animated story ''Dreamland'' is currently scheduled for separate DVD/Blu-Ray release in the UK in early 2010; no North American release of ''Dreamland'' has yet been announced.




==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}


{{seasons}}


{{2009 Specials}}


{{2009 Specials aliens}}
{{series 4 aliens}}
[[Category:Doctor Who seasons]]
[[Category:Doctor Who seasons]]

Revision as of 07:56, 7 January 2010

Series 4 redirects here. For the 1966-1967 season of the original series, see Season 4.
File:2007 S3 title Logo.jpg

Series 4 of Doctor Who started on the 5th April 2008. It was preceded by two specials: Time Crash and Voyage of the Damned. There is some dispute over whether these two productions are officially part of Series 4; Russell T. Davies' memoir, The Writer's Tale, describes both as being part of the production of Series 4, however, and both have been included in the subsequent DVD box set. Time Crash is canonical according to showrunner Steven Moffat in Doctor Who Magazine #389.

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.

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 as Mickey Smith and Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler in Journey's End.  

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. 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.

In terms of production, the season marked the first production of a "Companion-lite" episode, Midnight (as opposed to the usual "Doctor-lite" episodes, ie. Love and Monsters and Blink), although a Doctor-lite episode, Turn Left was also produced. This was necessitated by the need to film several episodes at the same time, including an unprecedented 15th episode, The Next Doctor, which would air as the 2008 Christmas special.

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", mainly represented by the attempts of the Daleks and Davros to wipe out all reality. Additionally, most episodes include a running gag: namely, that people keep mistaking the Doctor and Donna for a couple.  

The status of the 2008 Christmas special The Next Doctor is also disputed. Although broadcast months after the conclusion of Series 4, it was produced at the same time, and like Voyage of the Damned, Davies discusses it in context of being part of Series 4 in The Writer's Tale. This would make Series 4 unique in having two Christmas specials. Another school of though holds that it is part of the 2009 Specials gap season, due to the fact it isn't included in the Series 4 box set and there are significant production differences between it and the specials, namely it was not filmed in high definition.

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 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. It also marks the last full season featuring David Tennant as The Doctor as in October 2008 he announced his intention to leave the role following the production of the 2009 specials; in January 2009 Matt Smith was announced as his successor, with Karen Gilian appearing as his companion Amy Pond.

Television stories

Episodes

Mini-episode

Cast

Primary Cast

Secondary Cast

Guest Cast

Novels

Two of the Series 4 Books

Audiobooks

Aliens and Enemies

Promotional trailers

As with previous seasons, trailers were created to promote the season, though this year they were shown in theatres as well as on television in the UK. Of particular note is the second trailer that was released, which utilized unique, specially shot footage of Donna sitting by a camp- or bonfire talking to either an unseen individual or the audience about the Doctor "coming back to save us" and "I'll be ready" interspersed with images of Sontarans, Ood and Daleks. There is no scene like this in any of the episodes; the meaning of "he'll come back to save us" is unknown as there is no circumstance within Series 4 in which Donna would be in such a position to make such a remark.

The other major trailers included another Donna-centric trailer utilizing a scene between Donna and Wilfred Mott from Partners in Crime, and a mid-season trailer focusing in part on the return of Rose Tyler in Turn Left.

External Links

BBC website page for series 4 Template:Seasons


Template:Series 4




v • e
Aliens and Enemies of Series 4
Voyage of the Damned
Partners in Crime
The Fires of Pompeii
Planet of the Ood
The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky
The Doctor's Daughter
Hath (Hath Gable  • Hath Peck)  • Cobb
The Unicorn and the Wasp
Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead
Midnight
Turn Left
The Stolen Earth / Journey's End
Music of the Spheres
The Next Doctor
Planet of the Dead
The Waters of Mars
The End of Time
Dreamland
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