Series 7 (Doctor Who 2005)

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File:DWlogo-2012.jpg
The title card of the first episode of Series 7, Asylum of the Daleks.

Series 7 of Doctor Who, sometimes known as Season 33 to avoid confusion with the original Season 7, will air on BBC One between 2012 and 2013. Like Series 6, it will be split into two parts.[1] The BBC first announced the new series, which will contain fourteen episodes, on the official Doctor Who site on 8 June 2011.[2]

Series 7 began its run on 1 September 2012 [3] with five regular, stand-alone episodes and a Christmas Special. These will be followed by the remaining eight episodes in 2013. [1]

Overview

Series 7 has been described at being a series of "movies" squeezed into forty five minutes, although The Snowmen is sixty minutes. The first half is about the Doctor deleting himself from the Universe to hide himself from the deadly Silence, who attempted to assassinate him in Series 6 to stop him from answering the Question. During this time, the Doctor regularly visits Amy Pond and Rory Williams and also meets his grandfather-in-law Brian Williams. The Doctor meets his wife, River Song, in the final episode of the first half of the series, which involved the Weeping Angels who separated him from Amy and Rory forever, although River has implied that she and the Doctor will meet again in the future. The Doctor still has not told River his true name, which River was revealed to know in Forest of the Dead.

Also, a mysterious woman named Clara Oswin Oswald has appeared to the Doctor twice in two different lives, first in Asylum of the Daleks and later in the Christmas special. She died in both episodes but the Doctor realised that both incarnations of her were the same woman and believed there was another version of her somewhere in the Universe. He went searching for her third incarnation, intending to take her as his companion. The reason behind these multiple Claras will be the Story Arc of this series.

Cast

The Eleventh Doctor, played by Matt Smith, will not be leaving; he will stay all Series 7.[4]

Karen Gillan, who played Amy Pond, and Arthur Darvill, who played Amy's husband Rory Williams,[5] returned for the first five episodes, departing in The Angels Take Manhattan[1], which also featured River Song, played by Alex Kingston.[6]

The 2012 Christmas Special saw the introduction of Clara Oswald, played by Jenna-Louise Coleman. Coleman had previously played Oswin Oswald in Asylum of the Daleks earlier that year. She will return once more, playing a third version of Clara, who will be the Doctor's newest companion.

Primary cast

Secondary cast

Guest cast

Casting notes

  • John Simm has denied rumours that he is returning for the series. [11]

Production

Crew

Producers

Before the airing of Series 7, it was announced that both Beth Willis and Piers Wenger would step down as executive producers.[12][13] Willis' last credit was on The Wedding of River Song; however, Piers Wenger stayed for one episode longer, and produced The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe.[14]

A new executive producer named Caroline Skinner joined Steven Moffat to produce The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe onwards.[14]

Writers

Head writer Steven Moffat will write seven episodes. He has written the 2011 Christmas special and also episodes one and five. He also wrote the Children in Need mini-episode. He will also write the 2012 Christmas special along with episodes six and thirteen.[15]

Chris Chibnall and Toby Whithouse, who had both written episodes for multiple previous series of Doctor Who, returned to contribute scripts for the Autumn run. Chibnall wrote episodes two and four, while Whithouse wrote episode three.

Mark Gatiss is also returning. He is writing two episodes, which are episodes eight and eleven.[15]

Another returning writer is Steve Thompson, who will write episode ten.[15]

Fantasy author Neil Gaiman (who previously wrote The Doctor's Wife), will write episode twelve, which will feature the Cybermen. [15][10]

Luther creator Neil Cross is set to write two episodes for the second half of the series, making his Doctor Who debut. He will write episodes seven and nine.[16]

Directors

Returning director Nick Hurran directed episodes one and five. Douglas Mackinnon, another returning director directed episode four and will also direct episode eight.[15]

New director Farren Blackburn directed the 2011 Christmas special. She will also direct episode seven.[15]

Saul Metzstein, another director new to Doctor Who, directed episodes two and three. He directed 2012 The Snowmen|Christmas special and will direct episode eleven.[15]

A handful of new directors will direct one episode each in the spring half of the series. These are: Colm McCarthy, Jamie Payne, Mat King and Stephen Wolfenden, who will direct episodes six, nine, ten and twelve representatively. [15]

Filming

Filming for series 7 began on 20 February 2012.[17]

Episode three was filmed in Spain. [18]

Filming for episode five saw the crew return to America. This time, they were filming in New York.[19]

Television stories

Christmas special

Episode
Number
Title Writer Director Notes
N/A The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe Steven Moffat Farren Blackburn

Mini-episodes

Episode
Number
Title Writer Director Notes
N/A Good as Gold The Children of Ashdene School Reappearance of a Weeping Angel.

Regular series

Webcast

Episode
Number
Title Writer Director Notes
N/A Pond Life Chris Chibnall Saul Metzstein Reappearance of the Sontarans and an Ood.

Autumn half

Episode
Number
Title Writer Director Notes
1 Asylum of the Daleks Steven Moffat Nick Hurran Reappearance of the Daleks.
2 Dinosaurs on a Spaceship Chris Chibnall Saul Metzstein Reappearance of the Silurians. First appearance of Brian Williams.
3 A Town Called Mercy Toby Whithouse Saul Metzstein
4 The Power of Three Chris Chibnall Douglas Mackinnon Reappearance of UNIT, Kate Stewart and Brian Williams.
5 The Angels Take Manhattan Steven Moffat Nick Hurran Reappearance of the Weeping Angels and River Song. Final appearances of Amy Pond and Rory Williams.

Mini-episodes

Episode
Number
Title Writer Director Notes
N/A The Great Detective Steven Moffat[20] Prequel to The Snowmen. Reappearance of Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, and Strax.

Webcasts

Episode
Number
Title Writer Director Notes
N/A Vastra Investigates Steven Moffat Prequel to The Snowmen.

Christmas special

Episode
Number
Title Writer Director Notes
N/A The Snowmen Steven Moffat Saul Metzstein Reintroduction of the Great Intelligence.

Spring half

The remaining eight episodes of Series 7 will begin airing on 30 March, 2013.[21]

Episode
Number
Title Writer Director Notes
6 The Bells of Saint John Steven Moffat[15] Colm McCarthy[15]
7 The Rings of Akhaten Neil Cross[15] Farren Blackburn[15]
8 TBA Mark Gatiss[15] Douglas Mackinnon[15]
9 TBA Neil Cross[15] Jamie Payne[15]
10 Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS [22] Steve Thompson[15] Mat King[15]
11 TBA Mark Gatiss[15] Saul Metzstein[15]
12 TBA Neil Gaiman[15] Stephen Wolfenden[15] Return of the Cybermen.[10]
13 TBA Steven Moffat[15] TBA

Episode notes

  • There will be no two-parters in this series. [23]
  • In an interview with SFX, Steven Moffat gave teasers on the episodes leading up to the 50th anniversary, including the second half of series 7. Episodes will include: a Doctor Who take on a modern urban thriller, a base-under-siege story, a brand new, alien planet which he said they have gone 'all out' on and a ghost story. [24]
  • The series finale will be seriously 'fan-boy pleasing'.[24]

Aliens and enemies

Notes

  • Steven Moffat has teased that he has created a new 'monster' which he claims 'will' scare viewers.[25]
  • Neil Gaiman has claimed that he has made the Cybermen scary again.[26][24]

Adaptations and merchandising

Home media

DVD

Episode name Number and duration
of episodes
R2 release date R4 release date R1 release date
Doctor Who: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe
The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe
1 × 60 min. 16 January 2012 1 March 2012 14 February 2012
Doctor Who: Series 7, Part 1
Asylum of the Daleks
Dinosaurs on a Spaceship
A Town Called Mercy
The Power of Three
The Angels Take Manhattan
1 x 50 min.
4 × 45 min.
29 October 2012 14 November 2012 13 November 2012

Rumours

Footnotes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Chuck Foster (21 March 2012). Jenna-Louise Coleman joins Doctor Who. Doctor Who News. Retrieved on 23 August 2012.
  2. Fourteen New Episodes!. BBC - Doctor Who. Retrieved on 2 April 2012.
  3. The Doctor Who Team (22 August 2012). Asylum of the Daleks Premieres 1st September But They’re Back on Monday!. BBC - Blogs - Doctor Who. Retrieved on 23 August 2012.
  4. Matt Smith to return for new Doctor Who series. BBC News (8 June 2011). Retrieved on 23 August 2012.
  5. Mikey O'Connell (24 July 2011). 'Doctor Who' star Karen Gillan set for Season 7: 'I am going to come back!'. Zap2it. Retrieved on 23 August 2012.
  6. Janice Kay (11 April 2012). Guess Who’s Coming Back To ‘Doctor Who’… Spoilers Sweetie!. ScienceFiction.com. Retrieved on 23 August 2012.
  7. Brendon Connelly (6 July 2012). Doctor Who Set Pics Take Us Inside Sweetville, Reveal Returning Aliens And Fan Favourite Co-Stars. Bleeding Cool. Retrieved on 23 August 2012.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Morgan Jeffery (28 June 2012). Liam Cunningham, David Warner to appear on 'Doctor Who'. Digital Spy. Retrieved on 23 August 2012.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Daniel Sperling (2 July 2012). 'Doctor Who' casts Dame Diana Rigg, Rachael Stirling. Digital Spy. Retrieved on 23 August 2012.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 The Doctor Who Team (7 November 2012). Confirmed for 2013: Cybermen and Stellar Cast. BBC - Blogs - Doctor Who. Retrieved on 7 November 2012.
  11. Justin Harp (24 October 2012). John Simm downplays 'Doctor Who' return possibility. Digital Spy. Retrieved on 7 November 2012.
  12. Beth Willis On Leaving Doctor Who. BBC - Doctor Who. Retrieved on 2 April 2012.
  13. End of the Piers Show. BBC - Doctor Who. Retrieved on 2 April 2012.
  14. 14.0 14.1 Steven Moffat on the New Executive Producer. BBC - Doctor Who. Retrieved on 2 April 2012.
  15. 15.00 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08 15.09 15.10 15.11 15.12 15.13 15.14 15.15 15.16 15.17 15.18 15.19 15.20 15.21 15.22 Chuck Foster (18 October 2012). Christmas Special for... Christmas Day!. Retrieved on 24 October 2012.
  16. Morgan Jeffery (30 May 2012). 'Doctor Who': 'Luther' creator Neil Cross to write new episode. Digital Spy. Retrieved on 23 August 2012.
  17. Morgan Jeffery (9 February 2012). 'Doctor Who' to resume filming this month, Saul Metzstein to direct. Digital Spy. Retrieved on 23 August 2012.
  18. The Doctor Who Team (16 July 2012). New Series: Dinosaurs and Mercy!. BBC - Blogs - Doctor Who. Retrieved on 7 November 2012.
  19. "Marcus" (24 March 2012). Production: Convention News. Doctor Who News. Retrieved on 23 August 2012.
  20. The Doctor Who Team (14 November 2012). The Doctor Returns for Children in Need. BBC - Blogs - Doctor Who. Retrieved on 18 November 2012.
  21. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/Date-Confirmed-for-the-Doctors-Return
  22. ‘Doctor Who’ writer reveals new episode title, plot hints. Hypable. Retrieved on 2012-11-16.
  23. Tom Eames (21 March 2012). 'Doctor Who' new series avoids two-part episodes, says Steven Moffat. Digital Spy. Retrieved on 23 August 2012.
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 Nick Setchfield (12 December 2012). Steven Moffat Teases Next Year’s Doctor Who. SFX. Retrieved on 12 December 2012.
  25. Daniel Sperling (14 June 2012). Doctor Who Steven Moffat teases 'scary' new monster: 'It's a good one'. Digital Spy. Retrieved on 23 August 2012.
  26. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s7/doctor-who/news/a436955/doctor-who-writer-neil-gaiman-i-want-to-make-cybermen-scary-again.html
  27. Simon Dennis Resume. Retrieved on 8 October 2012.
  28. Peter Dyke; Katie Begley (12 June 2012). DOCTOR WHO: SNOW BIZ. Daily Star. Retrieved on 23 August 2012.
  29. Jordan Farley (23 February 2012). Doctor Who Worlds In Time: Caroline Skinner Interview. SFX. Retrieved on 23 August 2012.

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