The Day of the Doctor: 50th Anniversary Update

(pr)—With special programmes planned across the BBC the celebrations will peak on 23 November with the anniversary episode, revealed as ‘The Day of the Doctor’. Starring Matt Smith, David Tennant, Jenna Coleman with Billie Piper and John Hurt, the special for BBC One has been confirmed as feature length with 75 minutes of adventure.



Matt Smith, who plays the Doctor, said:



“The Day of the Doctor is nearly here! Hope you all enjoy. There’s lots more coming your way, as the countdown to the 50th begins now.”



Each channel will be home to unique content, celebrating the wealth of history and talent from the last 50 years.



BBC Two will broadcast a number of new commissions, focusing on telling the story behind the show. For one night only, Professor Brian Cox will take an audience of celebrity guests and members of the public on a journey into the wonderful universe of the Doctor, from the lecture hall of the Royal Institution of Great Britain (1x60mins). Drawing on the latest theories as well as 200 years of scientific discoveries and the genius of Einstein, Brian tries to answer the classic questions raised by the Doctor – can you really travel in time? Does extra-terrestrial life exist in our galaxy? And how do you build something as fantastical as the TARDIS?



In an hour-long special, BBC Two’s flagship arts programme The Culture Showpresents ‘Me, You and Doctor Who’ (1x60mins), with lifelong fan Matthew Sweet exploring the cultural significance of the BBC’s longest running TV drama, arguing that it’s one of the most important cultural artefacts of modern Britain. Put simply, Doctor Who matters. He’ll examine how the show has become a cultural force in its own right and tell the stories of some of the unsung cultural heroes, who pioneered its innovative music, design and storytelling.



BBC Two wraps up its coverage with the previously announced ‘An Adventure in Space and Time’ (1x90mins), which will tell the story of the genesis of Doctor Who and the many personalities involved. Written by Mark Gatiss the drama stars; David Bradley (the Harry Potter films); Brian Cox (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Identity), Jessica Raine (Call the Midwife) and Sacha Dhawan (History Boys, Last Tango in Halifax).



Steven Moffat, lead writer and executive producer, Doctor Who said:



"50 years has turned Doctor Who from a television show into a cultural landmark. Personally I can't wait to see what it becomes after a hundred."

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America Loves Doctor Who, Too!

Step aside, Trekkies — the Whovians are taking over the world of sci-fi fandom. The BBC's surprise unveiling of Peter Capaldi as Doctor Who's 12th Time Lords mashed social media records in the United States on Sunday, proving the British series' popularity stretches across the pond.



In the U.S., the Doctor Who live special was the No. 1 telecast in social media for Sunday (excluding sports), according to data from Trendrr.TV, Tumblr Analytics and Union Metrics.

Doctor Who's current star, Matt Smith, announced in June that this year's Christmas special will be his last episode as the 11th Time Lord. Showrunner Steven Moffat told Entertainment Weekly last month that he would reveal Smith's successor "within days of finalizing the new Doctor." The BBC announced the live special just three days before it aired, and Moffat's crew kept a tight lid on the big secret.



The announcement ran during primetime in the UK, but it was the middle of a weekend afternoon on the East Coast, making these rankings even more surprising. According to BBC America, Doctor Who Live raked in 895,000 total viewers — one of the network's most-watched telecasts outside of primetime, second only to the Royal Wedding. Read more>>

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The Next 'Doctor Who' Star To Be Revealed Sunday

Doctor Who next? That's the question that's been on the lips of every fan of the long-running UK sci-fi series ever since Matt Smith announced last month he would be stepping down from the title role.



Smith played the Time Lord's 11th incarnation. Now BBC has revealed it has found his replacement — and will be unveiling the 12th Doctor live on a surprise TV special Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. The show will be simulcast live on BBC America.



"The decision is made and the time has come to reveal who’s taking over the TARDIS," showrunner Steven Moffat said in a press release Thursday. "For the last of the Time Lords, the clock is striking twelve."



The announcement show — which prompted the hashtag #DoctorWho to become a worldwide trend Thursday — is a last minute insertion into the BBC TV schedule. That means Moffat very likely made the decision on casting the new actor this week, perhaps even within the last 24 hours.



"We’ll announce a new Doctor within days of finalizing the new Doctor," Moffat told Entertainment Weekly last month. "Because it’s very, very hard to keep any kind of a secret."



UK bookmakers William Hill have Peter Capaldi as the odds-on favorite, an actor best known internationally for his role in the movies Local Hero and In The Loop. Capaldi, 55, would be the oldest actor to inhabit the role since the show was rebooted in 2005.



Interestingly enough, Capaldi also appeared in World War Z this year — as a WHO doctor.

David Tennant on Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special: “It is lovely to have returned”

David Tennant has spoken about how happy he was to return for the 50th anniversary special.



In an interview with SFX, he said wasn’t surprised to be asked back: “There is a precedent to this, isn’t there? It has happened a few times down the years so it was never out of the realms of possibility that it would happen for the 50th anniversary.”



He adds: “I was more surprised about how long it took to come through. It actually took quite a long time. There had been a sketchy little conversation about it – and there was a long gap before I got the call. For a long time I was starting to think it was never going to happen – so there was an element of surprise there. But the general concept was something I always expected.”



Asked how it felt to be back in the pinstripe, he said: “Well it is all done – I’ve filmed everything. Now I just have to wait for everyone to see it. But, yes, it is lovely to have returned to something that meant so much to me and that was such a happy time. I am grateful that it was a happy time again. There is always that danger of going back to something and it does not turn out quite how you remember it, but that was not the case with this…” Read More at Doctor Who TV

Doctor Who Script Starring David Tennant Goes Up For Sale At Charity Auction

The script 'Midnight' will be auctioned on August 3, and will benefit the charity Project Motor Mouth run by Janet Fielding - who starred as Tom Baker's companion Tegan in 1981.



The script for 'Midnight' is the tenth episode of the fourth series which aired on June 14, 2008, and the manuscript is full of annotations and drawings by Rusell Davies.



Fans of the sci-fi series will also be able to snap up scripts for 'Impossible Planet' and 'The Satan Pit' autographed by David, in addition to a Perspex panel resembling the Tardis signed by six Doctors and former cast members.



The series' 50th anniversary will see a special appearance from Tennant alongside current Doctor Who star Matt Smith, one month before his departure.



It was revealed last week that the episode will be shown as a "simulcast" in over 200 countries as global broadcasters don't want the one off special to be ruined for fans across the world.



The BBC1 show will be shown in the UK on November 23 at 8pm therefore will be shown at midday in Los Angeles and at 7am in Sydney.



An insider told the Daily Express: "The 50th anniversary special is a massive deal for fans around the world who were petrified the secrets would leak online the moment it aired in Britain."



The one-off episode, will also see the return of previous Doctor Who sidekick Billie Piper, and is expected to be watched by more than 100 million viewers.

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Matt Smith Hosts Doctor Who Concert in London

Doctor Who star Matt Smith celebrated the TV show's 50th anniversary in style by hosting a special BBC Proms concert in London on Saturday (13Jul13).



Smith, the most recent Time Lord, was joined by his co-star Jenna Coleman, who plays his sidekick Clara, at the Royal Albert Hall to mark five decades of the hit sci-fi drama.



He told the audience, "One of the great joys of playing this extraordinary, legendary Time Lord is the support and knowledge and love and brilliance of the fans - you really make the show what it is."



The duo introduced conductor Ben Foster, who led the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the London Philharmonic Choir through a series of Doctor Who classic tracks as legendary villains - including Daleks, Whispermen and a Weeping Angel - terrified the audience.



Actor Peter Davison, the fifth Doctor, and Carole Ann Ford, who played the first companion Susan in 1963, also appeared at the event to introduce some of the musical segments.



The concert was the first of two special Doctor Who Proms - the second took place on Sunday (14Jul13) - which will be broadcast as part of the show's 50th anniversary celebrations in November (13).



Smith announced his decision to bow out as the 11th Doctor Who in June (13) and will leave the programme at the end of the year (13).

Doctor Who Stars To Unite at 50th Anniversary Celebration

Current Doctor Who star Matt Smith is to unite with past Time Lords including Tom Baker and Sylvester McCoy at an event in London to mark the cult TV show's 50th anniversary.



The actors will all appear at the 50th anniversary celebration event in the British capital in November, along with another former Doctor Who Colin Baker.



The convention will run over three days and feature question-and-answer sessions with cast members, a special effects display from the show's resident expert Danny Hargreaves, and masterclasses with Doctor Who's 'monster choreographer' Ailsa Burke.



The event will run from November 22-24 at London's ExCeL exhibition center, coinciding with the screening of the show's anniversary episode on November 23.



The special installment will reportedly feature new cast member John Hurt as well as a reappearance by former Time Lord David Tennant and his onscreen assistant Billie Piper.





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Prince Charles visits British Set of Doctor Who

Britain's Prince Charles has been offered a role on cult sci-fi series Doctor Who after showing off his impression of a Dalek's voice during a royal set visit in Wales.

The heir to the throne and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, traveled to the BBC's Roath Lock studios on Wednesday as part of their summer tour and met with members of the cast and crew, including writer Steven Moffat and current Time Lord, Matt Smith, in celebration of the show's 50th anniversary.

During the visit, the Prince even tried using a voice modulator to mimick the sound of the Daleks, uttering the TV cyborgs' famous "exterminate" phrase and jokingly telling the crowd, "You are now our prisoners."

His playful efforts impressed Moffat and he has invited the Prince back to the set to be a part of the show for real.

He tells the BBC, "I haven't thought about how I could weave a meeting between the Doctor and the royal family, but Prince Charles's attempt at being a Dalek was great. There would be a part in the show for him if he wanted it."

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