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]]
The '''2009 Specials''' were broadcast between the end of [[Series 4 (Doctor Who)|Series 4]] and the beginning of [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|Series 5]]. The four specials were broadcast at various points in 2009 (though the final special was broadcast in 2010). Of the four specials, one aired at Easter 2009, followed by a second that aired in November, and a third one aired on Christmas 2009 with the final one airing on New Year's Day 2010. These four specials were overseen by [[Russell T Davies]] and [[Julie Gardner]], but traditional line producer, [[Phil Collinson]], did not return for them. All starred [[David Tennant]]. For the 2009 Specials, the Doctor was traveling alone, with each story featuring 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.{{fact}} However, these reports were 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.
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. However, the official website episode guide considers both specials as standing on their own, and therefore are not part of any series. ''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 (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.
 
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==


==Television Stories==
===Episodes===
===Episodes===
*[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]
*[[Time Crash]]
*[[The Waters of Mars]]
*[[Voyage of the Damned]]
*[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]] ''(Two Parts)''
*[[Partners in Crime]]
 
*[[The Fires of Pompeii]]
===Others===
*[[Planet of the Ood]]
*[[DW]]: ''[[Dreamland (TV story)|Dreamland]]''
*[[The Sontaran Stratagem]] / [[The Poison Sky]]
*[[SJA]]: ''[[The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]''
*[[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]]


''Dreamland'' was a serialized animated story initially made available on the BBC's Red Button service before being televised in December 2009. Its writer has stated it takes place after the events of ''The Waters of Mars'' but it is not officially considered one of the Specials. Similarly, David Tennant's guest appearance on ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' is considered separate from the Specials, although it too takes place in the same general timeframe.
===Mini-episode===
===[[The Next Doctor]]===
*[[Music of the Spheres]]
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.


==Cast==
==Cast==
===Primary Cast===
===Primary Cast===
*[[Tenth Doctor]] - [[David Tennant]]
*[[The Doctor]] - [[David Tennant]]
*[[Donna Noble]] - [[Catherine Tate]]
 
===Secondary Cast===
*[[Martha Jones]] - [[Freema Agyeman]]
*[[Rose Tyler]] - [[Billie Piper]]
*[[Wilfred Mott]] - [[Bernard Cribbins]]
*[[Sylvia Noble]] - [[Jacqueline King]]
 


===[[Companions of Doctor Who |Secondary Cast]]===
Many former regular cast members appeared in [[The Stolen Earth]] and [[Journey's End]]:
*[[Christina de Souza|Lady Christina De Souza]] - [[Michelle Ryan]]  
*[[Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]
*[[Adelaide Brooke]] - [[Lindsay Duncan]]  
*[[Sarah Jane Smith]] - [[Elisabeth Sladen]]
*[[Wilfred Mott]] - [[Bernard Cribbins]]  
*[[Francine Jones]] - [[Adjoa Andoh]]
*[[Mickey Smith]] - [[Noel Clarke]]
*[[Jackie Tyler]] - [[Camille Coduri]]
 
 
As did regular characters from the spinoffs [[Torchwood]] and [[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]:
*[[Ianto Jones]] - [[Gareth David-Lloyd]]
*[[Luke Smith]] - [[Tommy Knight]]
*[[Gwen Cooper]] - [[Eve Myles]]
 
 
These cast members received top billing for one respective episode:
*[[Fifth Doctor]] - [[Peter Davison]]
*[[Astrid Peth]] - [[Kylie Minogue]]
*[[Jackson Lake]] - [[David Morrissey]]


===Guest Cast===
===Guest Cast===
*[[Jenny]]- [[Georgia Moffett]]
*[[River Song]] - [[Alex Kingston]]
*[[Davros]] - [[Julian Bleach]]
*[[Harriet Jones]] - [[Penelope Wilton]]
*[[Miss Foster]] - [[Sarah Lancashire]]
*[[Agatha Christie]] - [[Fenella Woolgar]]
*[[General Staal]] - [[Christopher Ryan]]
*[[Klineman Halpen|Mr Halpen]] - [[Tim McInnerny]]
*[[Sky Silvestry]] - [[Lesley Sharp]]
*[[K-9]] - [[John Leeson]] (Voice)
==Novels==


*[[Malcolm Taylor (Planet of the Dead)|Professor Malcolm Taylor]] - [[Lee Evans]]
*[[Carmen (Planet of the Dead)|Carmen]] - [[Ellen Thomas]]
*[[Erisa Magambo |Captain Erisa Magambo]] - [[Norma Dumezweni]]
*[[Barclay (Planet of the Dead) |Barclay]] - [[Daniel Kaluuya]]
*[[Nathan (Planet of the Dead) |Nathan]] - [[David Ames]]
*[[Ed Gold]] - [[Peter O'Brien]]
*[[Mia Bennett]] - [[Gemma Chan]]
*[[Yuri Kerenski]] - [[Aleksander Mikic]]
*[[Andy Stone (The Waters of Mars) |Andy Stone]] - [[Alan Ruscoe]]
*[[Tarak Ital]] - [[Chook Sibtain]]
*[[The Master]] - [[John Simm]]
*[[The Narrator]] - [[Timothy Dalton]]
*[[Donna Noble]] - [[Catherine Tate]]
*[[Sylvia Noble]] - [[Jacqueline King]]
====Introducing====
*[[Eleventh Doctor]] - [[Matt Smith]]


==Novels==
[[Image:2_books.JPG|thumb|right|Two of the Series 4 Books]]
*[[The Eyeless]]
*[[Ghosts of India]]
*[[Judgement of the Judoon]]
*[[Shining Darkness]]
*[[The Slitheen Excursion]]
*[[The Doctor Trap]]
*[[Prisoner of the Daleks]]
*[[Beautiful Chaos]]
*[[The Taking of Chelsea 426]]
*[[The Krillitane Storm]]
*[[Autonomy]]
*[[Code of the Krillitanes]]


==Audiobooks==
==Audiobooks==
*[[The Rising Night]]
*[[Pest Control]]
*[[The Day of the Troll]]
*[[The Forever Trap]]
*[[The Last Voyage]]
*[[The Nemonite Invasion]]


==Aliens and Enemies==
== Aliens and Enemies ==
*[[The Swarm (Planet of the Dead)|The Swarm]]  
*[[Cofelia|Matron Cofelia]]
*[[Tritivores]]
*[[Adipose]]
*[[Macmillan]]
*[[Lucius Petrus Dextrus]]
*[[The Flood]]
*[[Pyrovile]]
*[[The Master]]
*[[Rassilon]]
*[[Ood]]
*[[Ood]]
*[[Ood Sigma]]
*[[Klineman Halpen]]
*[[Ood Elder]]
*[[Staal]]
*[[Judoon]]
*[[Luke Rattigan]]
*[[Vinvocci]]
*[[Sontaran]]s
*[[Time Lord]]s
*[[Cobb|General Cobb]]
*[[Trefusis]]
*[[Governor (The End of Time)|The Governor]]
*[[Joshua Naismith]]
*[[Sontaran]]
*[[Hath]]
*[[Hath]]
*[[Sycorax]]
*[[Vespiform]]
*[[Adipose]]
*[[Vashta Nerada]]
*[[Slitheen]]
*[[Node]]
*[[Graske]]
*[[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.
 
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==
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/ BBC website page for series 4]
{{seasons}}
 
 
 
 
 
{{Series 4}}
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


==DVD Releases==
=====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]]'') was released in a box set in both Blu-Ray and DVD format on 11th January 2010; ''The Next Doctor'' was upconverted to high-definition for the release, the first ''Doctor Who'' episode to undergo this process.
* ''The Waters of Mars'' and ''The End of Time'' were also released separately on DVD/Blu-Ray on 11th January.
* ''Doctor Who: The Complete Specials ''was released on UK DVD and Blu-ray on the 11th January 2009 - the Box Set consisted of 5 discs, which was ''The Next Doctor, ''Planet of the Dead, The Waters of Mars, The End of Time Part 1 and ''The End of Time Part 2, ''each on a separate disc. They each contained the special features that were released on the single DVD's.
* ''Dreamland ''will be released on UK DVD and Blu-ray on the 1st February 2010. The official cover and special features are TBA.


=====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. As with the UK release, ''The Next Doctor'' is being upconverted to high-definition for the release.<ref>[http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2009/10/waters-of-mars-american-airdates.html The Doctor Who News Page: Waters of Mars American Airdates] <small>accessed 9th January 2010</small></ref>
* ''The Waters of Mars'' and ''The End of Time'' will also be available separately on DVD/Blu-Ray on 2nd February.


==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}


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

Revision as of 00:54, 17 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. However, the official website episode guide considers both specials as standing on their own, and therefore are not part of any series. 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


Many former regular cast members appeared in The Stolen Earth and Journey's End:


As did regular characters from the spinoffs Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures:


These cast members received top billing for one respective episode:

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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