Russell T Davies - the man who brought Doctor Who back from the dead and brought us two spin-offs has spoken with Doctor Who Magazine and here is what he said:
"Perfect casting, just perfect! I'd kept Peter's phone number after we worked together on The Fires of Pompeii and Torchwood. I loved him as an actor, and a writer, and a director, I was actually in awe of him, and so clung to his number, in a slightly stalkerish way. Quite apart from his five million wonderful appearances on screen, I think that scene in episode 3 of Torchwood: Children of Earth, where Peter's character faces the 456 for the first time, is one of the finest performances in anything ever. Seriously. Anything. Ever."
"I was as surprised as anyone! I'd heard rumours about Peter in the weeks beforehand, but I'd convinced myself it couldn't be true, because he's in The Musketeers. In fact, I was quite sad, cos I thought about him a lot, and realised how good he'd be, and now we'd never get to see him. Damn. So the moment Zoe Ball said his name was actually quite mind-blowing. I still find it difficult, even now to find adjectives big and bold enough to describe how brilliant this is!"
"So I texted him on Sunday, saying 'Oh my God.' And imagine, just imagine how many texts he got that night. But then today, the phone went ping, and there he was. Doctor Who. On my mobile. And a new golden age begins! That's four golden ages in a row now!"
The next issue of Doctor Who Magazine will feature interviews with showrunner Steven Moffat and Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor presenter Zoë Ball. It will also feature an exclusive letter from Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi.
Here is some of what Moffat has to say:
"The Doctor's always said he’s thousands of years old, and suddenly he’s going to look closer to what we know he secretly is." "He’s going to look like an older man. A fiercer man. He won’t be the
dashing young man he was a minute ago, and I think that’ll be rather
exciting…"
"He’s always looked like Doctor Who, how has this taken us so long?!
Because the moment you say his name, you go ‘Of course!’ Because he’s
got the hair, and he’s got the look, he’s brilliant, he’s known to be a
fan, of course it’s bloody him!"
Doctor Who Magazine issue 464 goes on sale Thursday 22nd August. Will you be buying it?
The cover of Doctor Who Magazine issue 464 has been revealed and here it is! This issue will be available starting 22nd August. What do you think of it?
Doctor Who Series 4 Episode 2: The Fires of Pompeii is currently available for free on iTunes, most likely due to the fact that Peter Capaldi - the soon to be Twelfth Doctor made his first appearance in Doctor Who in this episode. It won't be free forever so you better get it quickly!
The show that revealed the Twelfth Doctor (Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor) is now available to watch here since it has been taken off the official site now. I did not upload this and I would like to thank TheTARDISMobi for making it available.
Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor just aired and it revealed that the Twelfth Doctor is to be played by Peter Capaldi, like many of us expected! Capaldi has already appeared in the Series 4 episode The Fires of Pompeii and he was excellent there and I'm sure he will be excellent again! :)
Last night, the Radio Times reported that Tom Baker and Peter Davison would be giving advice to the Twelfth Doctor. Well, I've got some disappointing news for Fourth Doctor fans and some exciting news for Sixth Doctor fans...
I'm not 100% sure why the Radio Times originally reported that Tom would make an appearance on Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor but they've changed it to Colin now and I assume someone working there just got confused!
It may be a little disappointing if you were looking forward to seeing Tom but I'm certainly looking forward to Colin's appearance... And let's just hope they don't change it again!
P.S: Just remember that Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor airs tonight on BBC1 at 7PM GMT! :)
According to the Radio Times, the Fourth and Fifth Doctors (Tom Baker and Peter Davison) will make an appearance on tomorrow's Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor. Tom Baker will be sending his advice via video message and Peter Davison will be in the studio when it's live. Other people in the studio include Matt Smith and Bernard Cribbins. There will also be some kind of input from Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Anneke Wills (Polly Wright), Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka) and Bonnie Langford (Mel Bush.)
Wow, I'm really excited!
UPDATE #1: The BBC have confirmed that Colin Baker has also recorded a special video.
Since the Twelfth Doctor is to be announced tomorrow, I thought I'd look back at all of The Doctor's regenerations and share my thoughts on them... So, let's get started!
William Hartnell to Patrick Troughton (1966)
So, admittedly the first regeneration from the lost episode four of The Tenth Planet wasn't the most amazing regeneration (although considering it's from almost 50 years ago, I think it's really good!) but it was the first and for that reason, it's probably the most important.
It looks pretty damn good and I can't wait to watch the animated version on the upcoming DVD release of Hartnell's final story which from what I've seen, looks excellent!
Patrick Troughton to Jon Pertwee (1969)
In my personal opinion, Troughton's regeneration in the ten-part The War Games was the most interesting (well, except for McGann's maybe...)
Rather than regenerating because he's dying, the Time Lords force him to regenerate and exile him to Earth simply for being himself! It's a fantastic regeneration and Patrick Troughton's Doctor is pretty funny even during his last moments!
I originally saw the scene in a video that showed all of the classic regenerations and was very confused so I just had to find the story on DVD... My only issue with this one is that we didn't get to see Jon Pertwee at the end.
Jon Pertwee to Tom Baker (1974)
I think that Pertwee's final scene in Planet of the Spiders is the most emotional regeneration (aswell as my favourite) with the fantastic "Tear, Sarah Jane? Now don't cry... While there's life, there's..." line.
It really does bring a tear to my eye and while the effect used for this one wasn't the best ever, the rest of it was basically perfect! The Brigadier's "Not again..." line is great and the five actors in this four minute scene are all absolutely amazing!
Tom Baker to Peter Davison (1981)
I don't think Tom Baker's regeneration was anything too special... It's not bad but it's not very good either although it has some good parts such as the "It's the end... But the moment has been prepared for!" line which has unfortunately been cut from this video.
I also think the Fourth Doctor should have had a better fate than a big fall and a better final story than Logopolis but oh well, what's done is done. It's okay overall but it could have and should have been better but atleast we've got the Fourth Doctor Time Capsule now which kind of makes up for it.
Peter Davison to Colin Baker (1984)
Peter Davison's final moments were fantastic with The Doctor imagining loads of his companions telling him he musn't die and The Master telling him he must die... Then we get this weird but cool regeneration effect and get Colin Baker's brilliant "Change, my dear... And it seems not a moment to soon!" line.
It also helps that The Caves of Androzani, being rated the #1 story in Doctor Who Magazine's Mighty 200 back in 2009. Absolutely fantastic end for the Fifth Doctor era!
Colin Baker to Sylvester McCoy (1987)
Hang on, that's not Colin Baker! It's Sylvester McCoy in a blonde wig!
I think most fans can agree that this is the worst regeneration ever! Colin refused to film the regeneration scene after hearing he'd been fired so we got this mess and I don't know if I should laugh or cry at it. It just doesn't look good and while McCoy turned out to be a fantastic Doctor with some fantastic stories in Seasons 25 and 26, I really wish they hadn't fired Colin Baker like that.
A terrible first appearance for a great Doctor.
Sylvester McCoy to Paul McGann (1996)
I don't think McCoy's regeneration was bad but maybe that's just because of the awful regeneration in Time and the Rani? This is actually pretty creepy and the way McGann scares the guy watching Frankenstein just after regenerating is brilliant.
I just wish McCoy could have had a better death than being shot by a human (or killed by the medical doctors, whichever you think caused it.)
Overall, it's pretty good but not amazingly good.
Paul McGann to Christopher Eccleston
Well, we never got to see this happen but here's an excellent fan-made regeneration sequence!
Christopher Eccleston to David Tennant (2005)
While Christopher Eccleston left the show after just one series, his regeneration was the best in a while. It marked the first time the fire effect was used and it was brilliant at the time although I think it's getting a bit old now.
This was my first regeneration and it really confused me at first but I've rewatched it about 100 times now and it really is a special scene. It was fantastic. Absolutely fantastic!
David Tennant to Matt Smith (2010)
Another brilliant one! I think it's tied for most emotional, along with Pertwee's. While I do like the fire effect, I was hoping this would be the last use of it because variety is good but after Series 6 I think they're going to keep it for a while yet. David Tennant is my favourite Doctor and at first I wasn't really sure if Matt Smith would be any good but it turns out that he is fantastic and I can't wait to see how good his regeneration is.
Even if not all of the regenerations are great, I think all eleven of the Doctors we've had so far have been amazing and let's hope that the Twelfth Doctor is just as good!
According to various sources, the 12th Doctor will be announced this Sunday (4th August) at 7pm on BBC 1 on a special programme called Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor. It is not currently on the timetable, but the current 7pm slot isa repeat of Celebrity Mastermind and repeats are very easy to drop from the timetable.
The BBC will supposedly confirm this at midnight and it seems like it might just be real!
UPDATE: According to @DrWhoOnline, the codename 'Houdini' has been used for the actor who will play the 12th Doctor.
