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Last night, Doctor Who returned with the first of the 60th Anniversary Special – The Star Beast.  The Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant) was reunited with his former companion, Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), in an exciting new story that will delight both old and new fans.

Russell T Davies, known for his storytelling prowess, once again demonstrates his ability to anchor narratives in themes of family and love, irrespective of the diverse forms these connections may take. With The Star Beast, Russell T Davies addresses gender identity and weaves it into the plot with respect, love and support, adding another layer to Doctor Who’s accepting narrative.  The Star Beast’s plot lies in the intricate interplay of emotions and characters woven into the fabric of the story, elevating the viewing experience to a level that resonates with the essence of Doctor Who’s enduring appeal.

The narrative of “The Star Beast” draws inspiration from the 1980 Doctor Who comic of the same name.  Much of the storyline faithfully adheres to the original work penned by Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons, to the extent that both are duly credited as writers for this television adaptation of The Star Beast. Russell T Davies pays homage to their creative legacy by incorporating their designs for the TARDIS and the extra-terrestrial Meep while also preserving critical characters like Fudge (Dava Lall), the Wrath Warriors, Sergeant Zogroth, and Constable Zreeg.

Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials,25-11-2023,The Star Beast, Episode 1, The Wrath, BBC Studios / Bad Wolf / Disney Plus 2023, Photo: Alistair Heap

This episode, like Davies’s previous pilot, Rose in 2005, is a re-boot.  Perfect for anyone without any knowledge of Doctor Who to join the fandom.   It starts with the Doctor and Donna breaking the 4th wall to set the stage for the audience.  The Doctor and Donna’s past relationship and the importance that she does not recover her memories of the Doctor and her adventures with him are clarified for the views.

The doctor lands in Camden Market, London, at the start of Christmas celebrations and immediately runs into his former companion, Donna Noble, and her transgender daughter (Yasmin Finney).   A spaceship crashes to Earth before the Doctor can recover from the meeting.  As the Doctor seeks to investigate, he meets the reconstituted UNIT team and its latest Scientific Advisor, Shirley Anne Bingham (Ruth Madeley).

Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials,25-11-2023,The Star Beast,Episode 1 – Shirley (Ruth Madeley) and The Doctor (David Tennant), BBC Studios / Bad Wolf / Disney Pluse – 2023 Photo by Alistair Heap

Director Rachel Talalay keeps the story moving rapidly and dynamically yet still supplies the needed time for the relationships that are key to the plot.  While the story is simple, it provides a canvas for Davies to re-establish the winning dynamic between the Doctor and Donna.  Tennant and Tate seamlessly slip back into the comic banter that worked so well 13 years ago. Davies also enriches Donna’s character through interactions with her family, highlighting her loving and supportive relationships, especially with her daughter Rose. This mother-and-daughter relationship becomes pivotal in saving Earth from destruction.

The Doctor’s Old Face

David Tennant’s return as the Doctor is a nostalgic embrace of the familiar.  From the voice to the accent, energy, quirks, and expressions, all scream a comforting return to the well-loved Tenth Doctor. Even his signature “Allons-y” makes an appearance.  Yet small nuances reveal a subtle departure from the Tenth Doctor. While retaining Ten’s essence, the Fourteenth Doctor exudes a softer, more fragile demeanour and an openness to his best friend and her family. Gone is the tendency to decide for his companions; instead, he respects Donna’s autonomy, acknowledging and respecting her decisions. A poignant illustration of this newfound dynamic is evident when he accepts Donna’s decision to sacrifice herself for her daughter, family, and planet.  His feelings and love are expressed in words, reflecting a Doctor who has evolved beyond his previous iterations.

Doctor Who – The Power of the Doctor & Star Beast Episode 1 – The Doctor (David Tennant) , BBC Studios / Bad Wolf / Disney Plus – 2022 – Screen Shot Donna Noble Descending

Donna Noble has something missing, as she states throughout the episodes.  Her memory loss has been attributed to a breakdown, but she retains the growth and confidence that she developed during the time with the Doctor.  She can cope and ignore her mother, Sylvia’s (Jacquline King) negative comments and is fiercely protective of her daughter, Rose.  Rose receives the support and love that enables her to be herself.  Donna still identifies as nobody to the Doctor, but this is a stronger, more confident Donna thanks to the glimmer of memories that remain.

ASIDE: I loved the Temple-Noble family dynamic.  As a woman who retained her last name after marriage and a mother of a non-binary daughter with my last name, not her father’s, I was thrilled that my daughter could watch a programme with me that acknowledged some of their experiences.

Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials,25-11-2023,The Star Beast,Episode 1 – Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) and Sylvia Noble (Jacqueline King), BBC Studios / Bad Wolf / Disney Plus – 2023 Photo by Alistair Heap The Importance of Being Rose

Rose Noble is not the first transgender character on Doctor Who but the first to hold such a prominent continuing role in the series.  Davies has already acknowledged that Rose will return and interact with Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor.  She is played brilliantly by Yasmin Finney, a highly talented performer.

The Star Beast pivots around Rose throughout.  It is Rose who finds Meep and cares for him.  Rose saves her mother through her inheritance of the meta crisis.  She remembers the TARDIS and the creatures, and she’s non-binary like the Doctor, who is male and female—neither and something more.

Doctor Who. Redefined for a new era.

Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials,25-11-2023,The Star Beast,Episode 1 – Picture Shows: Rose (Yasmin Finney), BBC Studios / Bad Wolf / Disney Pluse – 2023 Photo by Alistair Heap The Meep, Sonic Screwdriver and the TARDIS.

Doctor Who has had a massive infusion of money due to its partnership with Disney+. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the effect department.  The Meep is a marvel of animatronics and puppeteering.  Watch the Doctor Who: Unleashed episode to view the technical complexity and talent of people needed to operate the Meep.  The Meep has a myriad of expressions and movements, permitting it to interact with the cast and the surrounding environment.  Combined with the voice acting of the incomparable Miriam Margolyes, the Meep comes alive.  The Sonic Screwdriver has not only been reconfigured but has also been redefined.  It has a force field generator, a teleporter, and an iPad. Love it.  The TARDIS is just beautiful.  Huge, clean and beautiful.  It harkens back to the 1980s and even the first Doctor’s console.   Our question is, is this for three episodes, or does it transform again for Ncuti Gatwa?

Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials,25-11-2023,The Star Beast, Episode 1, The Meep (Voiced by Miriam Margolyes), BBC Studios / Bad Wolf / Disney Plus 2023, Photo: Alistair Heap Moving into the Wild Blue Yonder

This episode is a precursor to the remaining two specials – Wild Blue Yonder and The Giggle – and probably the new series.  It re-introduces two beloved actors/characters who are both older and wiser.   But more importantly, it is another reboot.   Davies sets the audience up for another twist with David Tennant’s Doctor that will impact Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor and all to follow.

The Star Beast marks the return of Doctor Who to our screens. It is a skilful blending of nostalgic homage to the show’s rich history alongside a forward-looking celebration of its future. Combining the creative genius of showrunner Russell T Davies with the return of David Tennant and Catherine Tate seamlessly rekindles the enchantment of the Doctor and Donna. It provides a refreshing start to the series.

Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials,02-12-2023,Wild Blue Yonder, Special 2,The Doctor (DAVID TENNANT), Donna Noble (CATHERINE TATE) ,BBC STUDIOS 2023 ,Zoe McConnell and Alistair Heap

Doctor Who Returns next Saturday, 2nd December.  The second 60th Anniversary special, Wild Blue Yonder airs on BBC One and Disney+ at 6:30 pm GMT.  Don’t miss Doctor Who: Unleashed on BBC Three  and The Official Doctor Who Podcast on BBC Sounds that are available immediate after the programme concludes on

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The new Doctor’s adventures are coming to Titan Comics this May!

 

Free Comic Book Day is a by now traditional and well loved event in the comic book calendar. Every year people are encouraged to drop into their comic book shops in person, with the promise of comics that are both exclusive to the event and completely free. Titan Comics has been a mainstay of the event for years. In fact, their Doctor Who FCBD issue has become a tradition all its own. And this year’s Titan slate for the event again includes a new issue of Doctor Who Comic, free from your local comic book shop! It also marks the debut of the Fifteenth Doctor and will lead into a new title featuring Ncuti Gatwa’s incarnation of the Time Lord.

“Doctor Who Free Comic Book Day marks the first appearance of the Fifteenth Doctor in Titan Comics and I’m so excited,” says series editor, Jake Devine. “It feels like we’ve been waiting for this new era forever!

“We’ve got an incredible story to tell from a fresh creative team with a spectacular vision. I can’t wait for fans to get stuck in!”

Exactly who that “fresh creative team” are remains unknown for now. But it does suggest a parting of the ways with Titan’s regular Doctor Who writer Jody Houser. We also don’t know exactly how long after this free issue the new series will follow. But with there being every sign Gatwa’s first season will appear on BBC One and Disney+ in the spring, it likely won’t be long.

The event takes place at comic book shops every year on the first Saturday of May. With over two thousand stores and several comic book publishers participating, the event gives readers a chance to grab a free comic and meet fellow comic readers. Readers can find their local participating store here.

 

The Fifteenth Doctor era at Titan Comics begins this Free Comic Book Day (c) Titan Comics Doctor Who: Free Comic Book Day 2024

Available exclusively in-store in participating comic book shops on the 4th of May 2024

 

 

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A beloved Doctor returns, fighting his very best enemies in the Daleks’ answer to The Five Doctors

From the moment Doctor Who Magazine announced it, it was clear that Liberation of the Daleks was going to be quite the feather in their fez. Russell T Davies’ long standing musings about letting DWM handle a regeneration story finally came to pass. Almost 20 years after the original suggestion that they cover McGann’s regeneration into Eccleston prior to his TV appearance, the Fourteenth Doctor’s very first adventure belongs to the pages of DWM. But, of course, not just those pages now. The 14 part epic has been collected together in their trade paperback just in time to bridge the gap to The Star Beast (though you may need to be quick down to the shops before this evening.)

The first thing that strikes you about Liberation is how confident it is in its place in Who history. There’s no hint of this being an alternate and parallel view of this new Doctor. Indeed, it fits into the wider narrative as snugly as a jigsaw piece. From the opening moments, the new Doctor standing atop Durdle Door, still bewildered by the return of this old face, to its closing scene explaining how the TARDIS happened to crash land on ancient Skaro, it provides the perfect explanation of what the Doctor was up to since those ’60 minutes ago’ when he ‘was a brilliant woman.’

 

Liberation of the Daleks picks up moments after the end of The Power of the Doctor. Art by Lee Sullivan (c) Panini Liberation is filled with creative energy in a fun celebration of six decades of Who, Daleks, and comics

What a wild explanation it is, too. Liberation of the Daleks manages to simultaneously be too huge, too packed, and too plain weird to be on TV, and perfectly in tune with that RTD aesthetic. The new Doctor’s very first landing sees him visiting the 1966 World Cup final. But he’s just in time to see the teams exterminated by the Daleks, followed shortly by the entire Earth exploding. It’s the ultimate “What? What? WHAT?“ cold open and only the beginning of the adventure.

Soon, the Doctor has escaped into a theme park based on the Daleks, each themed land populated by murderous pepperpots who don’t know they’re not real. It’s an audacious way to embrace six decades of Doctor Who and their greatest enemy. More than that, it does it while bringing the comics into the group hug too.

The very thought of David Tennant’s Doctor going head to globe with the Golden Emperor from the TV Comic era is pure bliss. But it’s enhanced greatly by writer Alan Barnes making sure the Emperor retains all its tetchy brittleness. Its personality is more like a grumpy office manager than the typical Dalek. The Doctor’s sparring with it, roguish jester versus uptight neurotic, is a joy. Almost every weird, outlandish variant on the Daleks ever created for any medium are represented here too, in one form or another. It adds to the celebratory feel of a story that’s essentially the Daleks’ answer to The Five Doctors.

 

Realities collide as the Doctor finally meets the Golden Emperor! Art by Lee Sullivan (c) Panini Collecting the fourteen chapters together exposes a few logical lapses, but they hardly matter when it’s all such fun

There are other parallels to The Five Doctors too, notably that there’s nothing too profound or complicated going on here. Despite its epic length by DWM strip standards, it dashes from one action set piece to the next, cliffhangers tumbling one into the other. Taken as a single graphic novel, it makes for some undeniably staccato storytelling. The Doctor does a lot of running about in Liberation, yet it takes him an awful long time to get anywhere in terms of progressing the plot.

Collecting the storyline together in this format also exposes some of its logical lapses. These include a resolution to all the theme park’s problems which depends on a piece of equipment working completely differently than we were told just pages (but originally months) before. Meanwhile, there’s a quick bit of dialogue to patch over the oddity of the same thing happening twice in quick succession.

Not that such nitpicking ultimately matters. It’s a beloved Doctor back once more, fighting his very best enemies in an adventure like no other. And all delivered through the vibrating energy of Lee Sullivan’s art and his visible love of these psychopathic old blobs.

It’s wonderfully appropriate that the Doctor Who’s TV and comic book universes crash together in Liberation of the Daleks. After all, what is tonight’s Star Beast episode but the same in the opposite direction? What a wonderful time to be a Doctor Who fan. But moreover, what an incredible to time to be a Doctor Who comics fan.

 

Doctor Who: Liberation of the Daleks. Cover by Lee Sullivan (c) Panini Doctor Who: Liberation of the Daleks

You can order Doctor Who: Liberation of the Daleks now at the official Panini store, priced £12.99

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Today’s the day!

Doctor Who is Back!! It is Back on Saturday!!

Russell T Davies is Back!! David Tennant and Catherine Tate are Back!! Jane Tranter, Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson are back!! Murray Gold’s Brilliant Soundtracks are Back!! Cardiff is Back!! The In-vision Commentaries are Back!! Doctor Who Confidential has Regenerated into Doctor Who Unleashed!! Even Beep is Making a Return!!

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Most Definitely Something Blue!!

Everything Everywhere, All At Once!!

We got everything going today, all at once. It is going to be a great ride, so hold on.

First Up:

Doctor Who: The Star Beast – BBC One and Disney+ at 6:30 pm GMT

Catherine Tate and David Tennant return to the TARDIS as Donna Noble and the Fourteenth Doctor to set off the first episode of 60th Anniversary Specials.   The Doctor hasn’t seen his best friend for thousands, if not billions, of years.   Donna was made to forget the Doctor, and if she remembers, she will die.   But fate and destiny are drawing them together, not the least by Donna’s daughter, Rose (Yasmin Fenney).

Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials,25-11-2023, The Star Beast, Episode 1 – The Doctor (David Tennant), Shaun Temple (Karl Collins), Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) and Meep (voiced by Miriam Margolyes), BBC Studios / Bad Wolf / Disney Plus – 2023 Photo by Alistair Heap

Another spaceship crashes in London with an adorable-looking furry character, the Meep (voiced by Miriam Margolyes). The Meep has found Rose Noble.

Doctor Who: Unleashed – BBC Three & BBC iPlayer at 7:30 pm GMT (immediately after Star Beast)

Doctor Who Confidential has regenerated and become Unleashed. Doctor Who: Unleashed, the new behind-the-scenes, all-access show, provides fans an unmissable glimpse into the making of Doctor Who.  Hosted by BBC Gaming Correspondent Steffan Powell hosts the show that will air after every new episode of Doctor Who on BBC Three or iPlayer.

Doctor Who Unleashed host Steffan Powell with David Tennant during filming of The Star Beast (c) BBC Studios Doctor Who: In-vision Commentary – BBC iPlayer at 7:30 pm GMT (immediately after Star Beast)

The In-vision Commentaries air immediately after The Star Beast concludes. No more waiting for the DVDs. The Fourteenth Doctor himself, David Tennant, is accompanied by producers Phil Collinson and Vicki Delow, who provide a running commentary on the episode. Fans will hear all about Meep, Rose, and, of course, the reunion between Donna and the Doctor from the people who made the show happen.

Doctor Who – In-Vision Commentary – Star Beast – Phil Collinson (Producer), David Tennant, Vicki Delow (Producer) – BBC Studios / Bright Branch Media Doctor Who: In-vision Commentary – BBC Sounds, Youtube and other Podcast Sites at 7:30 pm GMT (immediately after Star Beast)

Last but not least, the BBC has announced that Doctor Who will have its own official podcast that will air immediately after each episode on BBC Sounds. Hosted by Christel Dee, Juno Dawson, and Tyrell Charles, The Official Doctor Who Podcast team discusses the latest episode and catches exclusive insights from showrunner Russell T Davies.

It is going to be a long evening.   Enjoy!!

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Star Cutouts have added new standees for their Doctor Who range to mark David Tennant and Catherine Tate’s 60th Anniversary return

 

In the run up to the 60th Anniversary, David Tennant has lately been telling the anecdote of receiving his complimentary copy of his updated Doctor Who standee, complete with five-children-later’s worth of wear and tear (the subject, not the cardboard, obviously). It reignited the old hijinks of it being left in surprising places. The downstairs toilet, inside the front door, looming over you in bed… There’s nowhere the residents of Chez Tennant were safe from the Doctor’s quizzical eyebrow. And now, thanks to Star Cutouts, you can get follow in his footsteps and terrify your own household. Or just put in the corner like most people. Whichever you like. There’s even an updated Donna Noble to go with him!

There are actually four different versions of the Fourteenth Doctor to choose from. You can have him in his full costume, including blue overcoat and new brainy specs, or one without the glasses. There’s also a standee without the coat, as he stands in his brown and blue tartan waistcoat and trousers, sonic screwdriver at the ready. Plus, the version originally released to celebrate the regeneration in The Power of the Doctor is still on sale. That variant features this new/old Doctor with hand in pocket.

Meanwhile Catherine Tate’s Donna is presented in the costume that’s now become familiar though a hundred trailers and publicity photos – a striped jumped in contrasting shades of pink and green overcoat.

 

You can get full size of half size versions of the standees, and each one comes with a mini desktop sized copy

All of the standees come in three different sizes. There’s the traditional life size recreation of the characters, ideal for those midnight pranks or being set on guard at the window to watch out for Santa. But there’s also a half-size standing at about 93cm (3’6″), perfect for those with less space. But whichever scale you choose, your standee comes with a miniature desktop replica of itself, just right for making sure everyone in the office knows who the resident Doctor Who fan is.

Needless to say, Star Cutouts also already have an extensive range of standees from across 60 years of Doctor Who. Including the 2018 TARDIS Police Box, which David Tennant and Ncuti Gatwa will still be using this winter.

Star Cutouts products are available from various vendors, both online and in store. But to browse the entire collection, it’s probably most convenient to go directly to their website.

 

 

The Doctor (DAVID TENNANT), Donna Noble (CATHERINE TATE), Rose (Yasmin Finney), the Meep and the Wrarth in The Star Beast. BBC STUDIOS 2023 ,Zoe McConnell and Alistair Heap Doctor Who returns on tonight with The Star Beast at 6.30pm GMT on BBC One in the UK and Ireland, and at simultaneously on Disney+ worldwide

 

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The Doctor Who DVDs have become famous for including an in-vision viewing of the episodes.  Key members of the cast and creative team provided their thoughts, opinions and critiques while watching the episode they created.

Fans no longer need to wait until the DVDs have been released. As of the first 60th anniversary special, The Star Beast, viewers experience this on-screen commentary for selected episodes of upcoming Doctor Who programmes.

Russell T Davies, Showrunner, says: “For years, Doctor Who has been providing top-level in-vision commentaries for selected episodes on DVD. But we’re now bringing this to the iPlayer – as soon as you’ve watched The Star Beast, you can see exactly what David Tennant thinks of it, scene by scene! I think Doctor Who has the greatest behind-the-scenes coverage of any show in the world, and we’re determined to keep expanding it!”

On BBC iPlayer, immediately after The Star Beast airs, the Fourteenth Doctor himself, David Tennant, accompanied by producers Phil Collinson and Vicki Delow, will provide a running commentary on the episode. Fans will hear all about Meep, Rose, and, of course, the reunion between Donna and the Doctor from the people who made the show happen.

David, Phil and Showrunner Russell T Davies will return for the third special, The Giggle, where they will provide another stellar conversation about the last 60th Anniversary special and the introduction of the Fifteenth Doctor.   These commentaries will continue as the Doctor moves into the next regeneration with Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson in the TARDIS.

Doctor Who returns on Saturday, 25 November, on BBC One for UK and Ireland and Disney+ for the rest of the world, with The Star Beast, the first of three special episodes with David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor to coincide with the 60th anniversary.

Ncuti Gatwa’s first episode as the Fifteenth Doctor will air on Christmas Day.

 

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The Daleks arrive in colour! The original seven part serial is reborn as a cunningly edited 75 minute film which never lets up the pace for a moment

 

When it was first announced as this year’s anniversary treat, The Daleks in Colour may not have been the biggest gem in Doctor Who’s diamond anniversary crown. That position goes to the new specials starting tonight, after all. But it still had an exciting placement of its own. For it had the day. The 23rd of November. The date used in a million fans’ lotto numbers. (If they ever come up, prepare for a surprisingly small share.) The date etched on our hearts as to where it all began. A big deal, to say the least.

But immediately the scale of the challenge was clear. Colourising a six decade year old black and white television serial is a massive enough task. But more than that, taking seven 25 minute episodes and cutting them down to a mere 75 minutes? Despite the high quality and passion of everyone involved, would it risk leaving the viewers not with a story more accessible to younger viewers than ever, but an unintelligible mess?

Fortunately, nobody need have worried. It’s not perfect, by any means, for reasons we’ll come to. But like the Ninth Doctor in The End of the World, it’s a miracle that it exists at all, let alone plays out with such style. Purists of course, won’t be happy regardless. They’ll ignoring their DVD still sits on its shelf, and the original still being on iPlayer. Even the upcoming Blu-ray release will make sure to include both. But this isn’t for them anyway.

The stated purpose here is to capture those younger people (and by ‘younger’ we’re talking mainly under-40s) who won’t even pass pressing ‘play’ on the black and white version. So it’s against that, which we must measure its successes.

 

William Hartnell as The Doctor, Jaqueline Hill as Barbara Wright, William Russell as Ian Chesterton and Carole Ann Ford as Susan in the new colour version of The Daleks ,BBC,Archive It will fool few that The Daleks was always in colour, but this remains possibly the most impressive colourisation project for any film or series ever

The first important thing to consider is that new colour. At a technical level it’s a marvel. Admittedly, this new version won’t fool many that The Daleks was originally in colour. As with most colourisations the palette is a little more restricted than real life. People seem to have a much narrower range of complexions (insert your own joke about 1960s British TV here.) You might also think someone in November 1963 got a discount on an awful lot of blue paint. But despite those little giveaways, the delicacy of the shading on every cheekbone, the sheen on every Dalek casing, even the accurately distorted and faded reflections in every metal surface, make clear that this is one of the most ambitious impressive colourisation projects ever attempted ever, let alone in the Whoniverse.

It’s doubly impressive when you consider just how manual a process it is even today. After all, Blogtor Who wasn’t joking about the individually shaded cheekbones. The ears of anyone taking about AI and just pressing a few buttons are surely ringing with the hollow laughter of actual colourists. So hats off to Rich Tipple, Kieran Highman, Scott Burditt, and Timothy K Brown for performing pure magic. Sing their names like an Ood singing the names of the DoctorDonna.

 

Susan (Carole Ann Ford) and Alydon (John Lee) in The Daleks ,BBC,Archive Far from a classic omnibus, the new edit surgically removes every ounce of fat from Terry Nation’s original script

That mission impossible task of making a tight, feature length film out of sprawling serial is similarly successful, if occasionally frustrating. If anything, Benjamin Cook’s edit reveals just how deliberately slow paced the original was. Even in comparison to his peers, Terry Nation’s scripts heavily used the pattern of characters explaining what they were about to do, doing it (often while explaining what they were doing), and then reminding people what had just happened. For Cook, one, or at the very most two, of those is quite enough. His edit saves an astonishing amount of time purely by cutting repeated exposition without actually losing the explanation at all.

These differences are clear straight from the off, as we begin with a brand new establishing shot of the Skaro and the Dalek city before the TARDIS materializes. Gone is any reminder of last week’s caveman adventure. And with it, conveniently, any potential controversy over where exactly An Unearthly Child ends and The Daleks begins. (Even an insert shot of the radiation detector appears to be from the Adventure in Space and Time recreation.) That establishing shot is just the first of many in a new version determined not just to be more colourful and shorter, but thoroughly modern. It’s full of smart moves informed by the modern visual language of people born and raised in front of screens. It trusts its audience to keep up much more than those new to having an idiot’s lantern in the corner.

 

Jaqueline Hill as Barbara Wright as she encounters the Daleks for the very first time! ,BBC,Archive The visual language of the entire story is modernised, with Barbara’s first encounter with a Dalek now a pulse pounding scene of tension and terror

Long scenes of walking to establish the characters are going somewhere are replaced by establishing shots of the city, the forest, or the TARDIS sitting in its clearing. Things everyone today instinctively know mean either ‘meanwhile…’ or ‘some time later…’

Dialogue from one scene plays out over the opening of the next. There are flashbacks, and concurrent scenes cut back and forth with a speed beyond the dreams of sixties vision mixers. Reaction shots and cutaways are manufactured seemingly out of thin air too, such as fading to Ganatus gazing heroically into the middle distance as his leader extols the virtues of the Thal way of life.

Perhaps no scene better illustrates this new modern style than Barbara’s first encounter with a Dalek. We cross fade from Ian expressing concern for her, his words following her as she makes her way gingering along corridors of metal and concrete. There’s a new pulse like rhythm to the soundtrack, a tension steadily rising alongside Barbara’s own panic. The cuts from shot to shot, dead end to dead end, are just a fraction faster as the claustrophobia builds. And then… the Dalek. Barbara’s scream echoes over and into the next shot of Ian’s search for her. A flourish that would have confused many in 1963 (“why doesn’t Ian hear her if we can?”) But in 2023? Magnificent.

 

The Daleks now fire familiar green energy rather than clouds of gas, in one of The Daleks in Colour’s most skillful innovations (c) BBC Cloister bells, Kaled forefathers, and energy weapons are just some of the innovations in this regenerated Dalek adventure

There are other touches of modernity too, beyond this new visual sensibility. There are tweaks to the dialogue and soundscape too. The cloister bell ringing out during the TARDIS’ aborted take-off will perk up the ears of many fans. Meanwhile a Dalek referring to their “Kaled forefathers” is wonderfully audacious. The Daleks have also settled on their favourite catchphrase, “Exterminate!” a couple of years earlier than in the show’s earlier run, screeching it as they fire blast after blast of green laser fire.

Oh yes, no plumes of fire extinguisher like gas for these Daleks. Instead, they exterminate their victims with the familiar blasts of pure energy we see in modern Doctor Who, in some of the most audacious editing jobs in the whole thing. Quite how every trace of the original effect has vanished is, frankly, baffling. Similarly, the TARDIS now dematerializes with the alternating fade out/fade in familiar since 2005 rather than the steady fade out of the classic years.

 

Two Daleks plot the extermination of thir enemies, the Thals in the new colour version of The Daleks ,BBC,Archive The once leisurely storytelling is replaced by a breakneck pace that may actually be too relentless at times

The result of all these changes is a breakneck pace that never lets you stops for a moment to breath. In the end, that becomes a problem of its own. Every plot point, and story beat remains perfectly clear. Everything hangs together as well as ever it did. But this new version of The Daleks keeps its foot slammed hard on the accelerator for 75 minutes and never lets up. There are none of the natural lulls necessary in drama to let the audience catch their breath. Frankly, it’s exhausting.

Ironically, this is due to a reluctance to cut too much. Almost every scene from the original is presented here, nipped and tucked to hit a faster pace and remove unnecessary flab. But it might have actually worked better to cut entire sequences or subplots in order to give others more space to breath. The ordeal in the caves is one of the slowest part of the original, and cut down substantially here. But it could have been removed almost entirely, the expedition simply setting off before later joining the fight in the city. That way, other scenes could have kept more of their original length. The moral debates at the Thal camp, perhaps, could have acted as a breathing space for the audience as well as our heroes, as surely intended by Nation and story editor David Whitaker.

 

The Doctor assure the Thals their sole samples look surprisingly healthy despite their vivid hue (c) BBC The new edit walks a cliff edge mostly with elan and style, but does occasionally fall over the edge

Similarly, the cutting between parallel scenes and flashbacks teeters on the edge, and occasionally falls over, into being overdone. But that’s maybe understandable. They perform a double function, after all. They’re (usually successful) additions in their own right, true. But they’re also a cunning way to conceal cuts midway through an existing shot without there being a sudden, obvious jump.

Mark Ayers’ new score, adapting and adding to Tristram Carey’s original, walks the same tightrope with similar success. It fills the soundscape in a much more 21st century Doctor Who way. In doing so it creates an underpinning of drama or emotion to scenes like Susan’s return quest to the TARDIS or the final battle. For the most part this works wonderfully and the story has never sounded pacier or more dramatic. But there are missteps on occasion. A handful of scenes would have best been left without music, and there’s an oddly jazzy selection from the ‘Fun Romp’ shelf for the incredibly tense and chilling escape from the Dalek city.

 

The new version of the classic story ends with a tantalising hint of things to come. (c) BBC Though as imperfect as any Doctor Who story, The Daleks in Colour is a triumph of skill and hard work over the odds and a promise of more greatness to come

Ultimately, however, if we craved perfection, or more precisely universal agreement on how we would have done it, we wouldn’t be Doctor Who fans. Especially as the first of its kind The Daleks in Colour is a technical mavel and absolutely bristles with creative energy and imagination. As for the younger generation Russell T Davies’ team is most directly aiming to get watching? Well, who can say for sure. But Blogtor Who suspects that once they come down from it hitting them like a six pack of energy drinks, they’ll love it. Certainly the closing moments of The Daleks holds a promise of many more colourful adventures to come.

There may be a handful of lessons to be learned, but overall it’s an astonishing success. Moreover, it promises even greater things to come.

 

 

Doctor Who: The Daleks in Colour Blu-ray Doctor Who: The Daleks in Colour arrives on Blu-ray, DVD, and Steelbook on the 12th of February

 

 

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Doctor Who’s Diamond Anniversary specials once more sees new faces join the teams in front of and behind the camera. Blogtor Who takes a closer look at them (and some of the old favourites.)

One of the curiosities of Doctor Who’s six decades on TV is how the Doctor never seems to make friends with two people with the same first name. It’s in stark contrast to real life where. For instance, Blogtor’s own son has no fewer than four completely unrelated friends who share the same first and last names. But at times it’s almost felt like the Doctor consults a list when meeting someone new. “Ah, well I’d love to have you aboard,” they might say pointing at their list, “but as you can see, I’ve already had a ‘Jo.'” So no wonder fandom got itself terribly confused when it was announced the specials would feature Yasmin Finney as Rose.

But of course, this is Rose Noble, daughter of Donna, not Rose Tyler, daughter of Jackie. However, the two are not without their similarities. Yes, they both have strong, loyal, mothers able to shatter a window at 20 paces with a well placed “Oi!” More than that, though, powerful and talented young women have played them both. In the case of Rose Mk II, that’s Heartstopper star Yasmin Finney.

 

Yasmin Finney as Rose in The Star Beast ,BBC Studios 2023, Alistair Heap Finney’s breakout role was as Elle Argent in the sweet natured Netflix hit Heartstopper

Now still just 20 years old, things have evolved quickly for Finney, with everything coming together almost at once. The extended nature of TV production conceals that at a little, but consider that she was cast as Rose after being cast as Elle Argent in Heartstopper but before a single episode of the Netflix show had dropped. She’d been responding to a casting call for “Lily.”

It described Lily as a biracial transgender teenage girl in a “major BBC drama” filming for several weeks in May and June 2022. Except ‘Lily’ was really a code name for Rose and the major BBC drama was Doctor Who. It was, as both Finney and showrunner Russell T Davies would later say, a perfect fit. It was also a worthy compensation for having pulled out of the lead role in Billy Porter’s Anything’s Possible when Covid travel restrictions prevented her from travelling to America for filming.

So overlapping are the timelines that it could lead to awkward moments. While promoting Heartstopper she had to simply laugh off an interviewer’s comment that she’d make a perfect Doctor Who companion. “That would be a moment… that would be insane.”

 

Finney as Rose alongside David Tennant as the Doctor in The Star Beast (c) Bad Wolf/BBC Studios This year has also seen Finney achieve her lifelong dream of being a Vogue cover star

Yasmin Finney’s effortlessly forward thinking fashion style and image has also led to her gracing a seemingly endless procession of magazine covers. British Vogue, Teen Vogue, Elle, GQ, Cosmopolitan, Attitude, Doctor Who Magazine…

One of those things is not like the others, admittedly. Chances are, too, that none of the others saw Finney only learning of their very existence during the interview. Because like her onscreen mum, Catherine Tate, Finney is very much not one of us. But yet, like Tate, she looks at the world of Doctor Who with a kind of baffled joy.

No, rather than playing with faceless action figures of Grandma Connolly or pretending every wallet had psychic paper in it, Finney was watching other things as a child and escaping to other fantasy worlds. “I always used to watch Paris is Burning, The House of LaBeija,” she told Teen Vogue earlier this year, “and the fantasy world of living a high-luxury life… It was always this thing: ‘I want to be a model, I want to be divine femininity, and I want to be everything everywhere all at once, and I want to be on the cover of Vogue.’ I remember the exact speech.”

 

Rose and the rest of the Noble family introduce the Doctor to the Meep,BBC Studios 2023,Alistair Heap Finney is set to continue as part of the Doctor Who family into Ncuti Gatwa’s first series

It’s no wonder then that Finney has become a regular fixture over the past few years at events like London Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week. She’s often in the company of the similarly fashion forward new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa. The two seem to have formed a firm friendship, with Finney describing their Doctor Who partnership to the Evening Standard. “Two Black, queer, magic actors on screen together? It was bound to happen, the universe was bound to connect the lines. We’re intertwined, and I think we complement each other so well.”

Yes, the two will be appearing together, with Rose set to continue beyond the specials into Gatwa’s first series. How many episodes will co-star Finney alongside Gatwa and Millie Gibson is unknown. But Doctor Who Magazine have previously reported that Finney was one of the last to wrap at the end of the series. So for both Rose Noble, and Yasmin Finney, the future seems bright.

 

The Doctor (David Tennant), Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), Rose (Yasmin Finney), the Meep and the Wrarth in The Star Beast. BBC STUDIOS 2023 ,Zoe McConnell and Alistair Heap Doctor Who returns on the 25th of November with The Star Beast at 6.30pm GMT on BBC One in the UK and Ireland, and Disney+ worldwide

 

 

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Doctor Who’s Diamond Anniversary specials once more sees new faces join the teams in front of and behind the camera. Blogtor Who takes a closer look at them (and some of the old favourites.)

The 60th Anniversary specials introduce a new friend for the Doctor in the form of Shirley Anne Bingham. We actually know very little about Shirley Anne so far. Not even whether she goes by ‘Shirley’ or ‘Shirley Anne.’ But we do know that she’s on good enough terms with the Doctor that in the trailer the two have a heart to hearts about Donna’s fate. Though, as Harriet Jones can tell you, a friendship with the Doctor turn on its head in a narrative sixpence. We also know that Shirley Anne is played by the remarkable Ruth Madeley.

Ruth Madeley’s place in the national television landscape is itself almost worthy of a Doctor Who plot. She’s glided almost imperceptibly to centre stage, becoming a familiar and welcome figure on British television over the past few years even it feels like she’s been there forever.

 

Ruth Madeley as Anna, with Adam Long as Tom, in Don’t Take My Baby (c) BBC Studios Madeley has been an advocate for disabled people since childhood, through her work with Whizz-Kids

The actor was born in Westhoughton in Greater Manchester, six weeks after a spina bifida diagnosis. After receiving a wheelchair from Whizz-Kids at the age of five, she became a childhood ambassador for the charity. It was a role that would see her make a visit to 10 Downing Street to advocate for teenage wheelchair users and multiple awards for her charity work. As an adult she continued to work with Whizz-Kids as a fundraiser. At the end of a six month sabbatical to film her breakout role in Russell T Davies’ Years and Years, however, the charity assured her that they could see she was going to have a successful, full time, acting career. Instead, Madeley has moved into a role as a patron, her celebrity status helping spotlight Whizz-Kids work.

But that status was the result of years of work in parallel to her day job. Ruth Madeley originally studied Creative Writing, with a specialty in script writing, at Edge Hill University. As with many other aspiring actors, it was a gateway to writing the roles for herself that nobody else would, and in 2012 she wrote and starred in the TV movie Scrims. In 2015 she starred in Don’t Take My Baby. As Anna, she fought to stop social services taking her child into care simply because she and her partner are disabled. That role earned the actor her first BAFTA nomination. It was followed the next year with her being named one of BAFTA’s Breakthrough Brits alongside Florence Pugh and future Doctor Who writer Vinay Patel.

 

Years and Years – Rosie (RUTH MADELEY) – (C) Red Productions – Photographer: Guy Farrow It was Russell T Davies’ ‘between the Whos’ project Years and Years that brought the actor to wider fame

But it would be three years before that breakthrough status would be solidified with that electrifying role in Russell T Davies’ near future dystopia drama Years and Years. As Rosie Lyons, youngest of the four Lyons children, she was funny, warm, and courageous. It was a role that was impressively both dealt with the issues of spina bifida like Rosie’s unease with a new ‘cure’ to ensure nobody like her would be born in the future, and treated her wheelchair as a non-issue in defining her or her complex love life.

Writing and performance also combined to create a skillful portrait of a woman falling into radicalization almost by accident. Goodhearted and decent as she was, Rosie was still attracted to the ballsy, unvarnished, rhetoric of populist politician Viv Rook, voting for her **** Party. Yet it’s ultimately Rosie who take action to end Rook’s regime in a surprisingly optimistic ending.

 

Ruth Madeley meets the real Barbara Lisicki during filming of Then Barbara Met Alan Madeley’s been in constant demand, from sitcom appearances to starring roles in docudramas

Other genre roles for the actor have followed. She was member of a supernatural secret service in fantasy thriller series The Rook. Meanwhile the reimagining of Terry Pratchett’s Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, like most things in TV series of The Watch, was controversial. But few could deny Madeley was fantastic in the role as written for the show.

But it may be her steady stream of guest roles in popular shows that helps create that feel of Ruth Madeley being a consistent presence on our screens. These roles have often expanded on her gift for wry dialogue in comedies like Outnumbered, The Cleaner, and Brassic. In many of these roles she plays characters who just happen to be in a wheelchair. It’s been an important normalisation where historically disabled characters have had to be justified with a ‘message.’

Not that Madeley hasn’t also continued to tackle the issues of disability head on. Last year’s Then Barbara Met Alan was another role that utilised that talent within a dramatic context. A docudrama about the early days of DAN, the Disabled People’s Direct Action Network, it starred Madeley as Barbara Lisicki, comedian and co-founder of the activist group. Meanwhile, Criptales highlighted the stories and experiences of disabled people’s everyday lives. This time with Madeley appearing in two of the series Talking Heads style monologues.

 

Doctor Who: Purity Unbound. Cover by Claudia Gironi (c) Big Finish Productions Ruth Madeley’s also starred in four boxsets of adventures from Big Finish as the Sixth Doctor’s companion, Hebe

With the specials, Ruth Madeley will also be making the almost unprecedented transfer from Big Finish audio companion to an onscreen role. Across four boxsets of the Sixth Doctor Adventures, she’s joined Colin Baker’s Doctor and Bonnie Langford’s Mel in the TARDIS. Her marine biologist Hebe Harrison is another of creator Jac Rayner’s masterful studies in taking a spiky, difficult character and developing them until they’re soon beloved by audiences. While the ground breaking Purity Trilogy did what Doctor Who often does best – confront real issues through an SF lens. When an apparently harmlessly small-minded academic gets her hands on raw power, she sets on a path out to wipe all disabled and LGBT people from human history. A powerful skewering of ‘civil’ bigotry, it’s been a highlight of Big Finish’s output over recent years.

Soon Ruth Madeley will be in Doctor Who again. Only this time on television, and as Shirley Anne, not Hebe. But with hints that she might be sticking around next year, and a possible connection to UNIT, she might even have a reunion with Big Finish co-star Bonnie Langford.

After Doctor Who, next up for Madeley is BBC One thriller Nightsleeper. The exact nature of the plot is still under wraps, but we do know it will feature a nightmare voyage on the London-Glasgow night train where the travellers, including Madeley, are fighting for the lives against some unknown threat.

 

Doctor Who Specials 2023,The Doctor (DAVID TENNANT), Donna Noble (CATHERINE TATE),BBC Studios 2023,Zoe McConnell Doctor Who returns on November 25th with The Star Beast on BBC One in the UK and Ireland, and Disney+ worldwide

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Happy 60th Anniversary Doctor Who!

As of 5.15pm this evening, Doctor Who turned 60 years old! Yes, it’s six decades since two school teachers decided to solve the mystery of their most unearthly pupil and instead of the safeguarding check they expected, got whipped away on the adventure of a lifetime.

Since then companions have come and gone. So, too, have Doctors (though it’s increasingly difficult to put a number on them). The TARDIS has updated her desktop theme umpteen times, and the Doctor’s rogues gallery has grown from a belligerent caveman with a pointy rock to a whole universe of terrors.

 

 

You’ve gotta keep moving, so long as you remember all the people (and shows) that you used to be…

The format of the show has changed and evolved too. Those early Doctor Who pioneers recorded practically ‘as live’ with each 25 minute black and white episode recorded in a single day following a week of rehearsals, with series on all almost all year round. But then came location filming the following year. An explosion into colour followed in 1970, and the reduction in episodes as making the show became more complex. By 1979 was spreading its wings, far from Lime Green studio, and had its first foreign filming in Paris. When the show returning in 2005, it featured 45 minute episodes and mostly standalone stories. In 2009 it made the jump to HD, almost as huge a shakeup behind the scenes as the move to colour.

Doctor Who began a blink and you’ll miss it event were an episode, if left unseen, was lost to you forever. But decades later came VHS releases, followed by DVD. Until now, a massive operation to release it in HD on Blu-ray is underway, and it can streamed around the globe thanks to the wonders of Wotan’s real life progeny.

But through it all, has been the same spirit of adventure. The same fear that makes companions of us all. And it all started out as a mild curiosity in a junkyard.

Here’s to you Doctor Who. Nobody can wait to see where you take us next.

 

The Doctor (DAVID TENNANT), Donna Noble (CATHERINE TATE), Rose (Yasmin Finney), the Meep and the Wrarth in The Star Beast. BBC STUDIOS 2023 ,Zoe McConnell and Alistair Heap Doctor Who returns on the 25th of November with The Star Beast at 6.30pm GMT on BBC One in the UK and Ireland, and simultaneously on Disney+ worldwide

 

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The Fourteenth Doctor and his iconic TARDIS make a surprise landing on the planet, CBeebies Bedtime Stories, on the evening of Friday, 24th November at 6:50 pm GMT.

CBeebies have convince to the Doctor to read Oliver Jeffers’ heartwarming tale, The Way Back Home about  friendship, daring adventures, and the importance of caring and helping others.

When a boy discovers an airplane in his closet, he does what any young adventurer would do: He flies it into space! Fortunately there’s friendship to be found, and what better way of finding your way back home, than by making a friend?

The Doctor joins an illustrious group who have read for CBeebies Bedtime Story platform. These incllude David Tennant, Jodie Whittaker, Tom Hardy, Harry Styles, Guz Khan, Kate Winslet, and Rose Ayling-Ellis.

Tune in to CBeebies Bedtime Story every weekday at 6:50 pm on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer, and mark your calendars for the unique Doctor Who storytelling experience on the evening of Friday, November 24.

 

The Doctor proudly joins an illustrious lineup of renowned personalities who have previously graced the CBeebies Bedtime Story platform, such as David Tennant, Matt Smith, Tom Hardy, Harry Styles, Guz Khan, Jodie Whittaker, Kate Winslet, and Rose Ayling-Ellis.

Tune in to CBeebies Bedtime Story every weekday at 6:50 pm on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer, and mark your calendars for the unique Doctor Who storytelling experience on the evening of Friday, November 24.

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The BBC has just announced that Doctor Who will have its own official podcast that will air immediately after each episode on BBC Sounds.

The Hosts

Fans of a certain age will recall that Christel Dee used to host the Doctor Who: The Fan Show. Christel also was one of The Five Doctor Who Fans. The Doctor Who: Fan Show aired on Doctor Who’s official YouTube channel shortly after each new episode aired. Christel is now back in familiar territory, hosting The Official Doctor Who Podcast.

You can also read the exclusive interview Blogtor did with Christel in 2005.

Exclusive: Doctor Who The Fan Show’s Christel Dee Talks Candidly to BlogtorWho

Joining Christel on The Official Doctor Who Podcast is author and columnist Juno Dawson. Juno will also be familiar to Doctor Who fans as this well-known author has written books on Doctor Who and Torchwood as well as Doctor Who: Redacted, a BBC Sounds series set in the Doctor Who Universe.

Our reviews of Redacted can be found on Blogtor’s site.

The third host of The Official Doctor Who Podcast is Tyrell Charles. Tyrell is a well-known influencer on TikTok and Instagram, where Tyrell creates podcasts on movies as well as other digital content.

Check Tyrell’s Instagram, @Theoriesbyt.

The Podcast

The Official Doctor Who Podcast will be based on a panel discussion between the three hosts along with exclusive insights from showrunner Russell T Davies. Each week, the team will react to the latest episode, discuss their thoughts, and dive into upcoming theories!

“We were thrilled and honoured when Russell T Davies approached us to produce The Official Doctor Who Podcast,” says BBC Studios’ digital content development director, Chris Allen and Executive Producer of the podcast. “And we were even more excited when Juno, Tyrell and Christel all said yes to hosting. Publishing the podcast both in audio via all major podcast platforms and in video on YouTube means we can reach Doctor Who viewers everywhere, and we hope you join in our conversation.”

 

 

Doctor Who writer and showrunner Russell T Davies said: “No show is complete without its own podcast, and this is a chance for viewers to have their say! I’m proud to have this alongside our vast and unrivalled behind-the-scenes coverage.”

A Challenge for Doctor Who Fans.

The 30-minute podcast will drop weekly after each Doctor Who episode airs on the BBC starting on Saturday, 25th November at 7:30 pm. BTW, this is the time slot that Doctor Who: Unleashed, hosted by Steffan Powell, airs on BBC Three.

So what to do? What to watch/listen to?

The Podcast or the Unleashed?

Details You Need.

The Official Doctor Who Podcast is produced by James Goss (Big Finish)  for BBC Studios Digital. The executive producers were Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Madi Woodstock and Chris Allen.

Doctor Who returns on November 25th with three-anniversary specials on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK and Disney Plus in the rest of the world.

The Official Doctor Who Podcast can be found on all major podcast platforms globally and BBC Sounds (UK only).

The video version can be found on www.youtube.com/doctorwho.

 

 

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Every year, Blogtor runs profiles of the key individuals who work on the new episodes of Doctor Who.  Today’s profile is on Director Rachel Talalay.

Rachel Tala

Rachel Talalay returns to Doctor Who as the director of the first episode of three 60th Anniversary specials – Star Beast.   This is her 8th episode in the director’s chair for the most famous Time Lord, and the Doctor is sure to be in good hands for this latest episode.

Talalay is one of the best directors of the new Doctor Who era. She has been in the chair for some of the most beloved episodes of the Peter Capaldi era – including  Dark Water/Death in Heaven, Heaven Sent/Hell Bent, World Enough & Time/The Doctor Falls and Capaldi’s finale Twice Upon a Time. The one-handed episode Heaven Sent was voted the best episode of Doctor Who in Doctor Who Magazine, and it is undoubtedly my favourite of the new Doctor Who era.

She has also worked closely with Steven Moffat on Sherlock and directed Lori Perry in the cult favourite Tank Girl. She excels in the fantasy/sci-fi genre and has also directed Supernatural, the Quantum Leap reboot, The Doom Patrol, The Flash and Supergirl.

Talalay was born in America to immigrant parents and spent her childhood across England, Chicago and Baltimore. With the encouragement of her scientific parents, she completed a degree in Applied Mathematics at Yale University. However, film and TV are her passions. Through her association with John Waters, she joined his team as a productions assistant and steadily moved through the ranks until she was in the director’s chair for Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare.    She was also a Professor in the Department of Theatre and Film Studies in Vancouver, BC, at the University of British Columbia.

Meeting Rachel Talalay

Below is a short video. It is probably the best way to get to know Talalay and her work.

What do Freddy Krueger, John Waters, Tank Girl, Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Riverdale all have in common?

Director @rtalalay.

You know her work, now get to know her. pic.twitter.com/cEv8HzJ0uk

— Netflix Tudum (@NetflixTudum) October 31, 2020

I must admit Talalay fascinates me not only because of Doctor Who but also because her background resonates with mine. She is at Chicago TARDIS this year. If you can, attend her panel, which will occur after Star Beast. So it will have more details about Doctor Who, Russell T Davies, David Tennant, Catherine Tate and this 60th Anniversary special. If you are attending the convention this weekend, don’t miss her talk. You are sure to be in for a treat.

Doctor Who Returns

David Tennant and Catherine Tate reprise their roles as the Doctor (14th) and Donna Noble this Saturday when Doctor Who returns to our television sets on 25th November with The Star Beast. Doctor Who. The first of the 60th Anniversary specials airs at 6.30pm GMT on BBC One in the UK and Ireland and on Disney+ in the rest of the world.

Doctor Who: Unleashed, Star Beast Episode 1 – Clapper Board, BBC Studios – Photo Alistair Heap

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