For 5 of the last 6 weeks, this space has been given over to my most recent fan-fiction script, Cybermania. Such is my desperation for new Doctor Who adventures in the void of no new episodes we've lived in for a year that I'm forced to create my own. (And between you and me, Cybermania was not one of my favorite stories. There were some good bits that I liked but the it never really came together as a solid whole for me.)
But we are getting closer to NEW Doctor Who with a mere SIX weeks between us and the new 2016 Christmas special, "The Return of Doctor Mysterio" wherein the Doctor meets a costumed super hero. By the way, Doctor Who in Mexico is called "Doctor Misterio". Cool, huh?
After that comes 2017 and the debut of Series 10. The new season marks a beginning with the debut of Pearl Mackie as new companion Bill. Not much is known about Bill other than she's "funny and geeky". Peter Capaldi describes her as being "a refreshing addition to the TARDIS... with a wonderful zest and charm".
There will be returns as well. For example, Matt Lucas reprising his role as Nardole, a character we first met last year in the 2015 Christmas special, "The Husbands of River Song". Like Bill, Nardole's actual role on the TARDIS is unclear although one site says, "Imagine if the Doctor had his own butler".
Also returning is Michelle Gomez as Missy... possibly. There has been no official word from the show itself but Michelle has gone on record as saying she'll be back as Missy in 2017. What, you didn't think a little thing like being surrounded by a mass of angry Daleks was going to keep our erstwhile Master down, did you?
Behind the camera, look for the return of writers Mark Gatiss, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Jamie Mathieson and Sarah Dollard plus a writer from the original classic series. This will mark the first time since the show's re-launch in 2005 that a writer from classic Doctor Who has penned a script for the revived series. But the identity of the writer is so far a secret. A few names mentioned include Ben Aaronovitch and Eric Saward. Most intriguing is the possibility that the writer in question might be Terrance Dicks; second only to the late, great Robert Holmes, Terrance is my favorite writer of classic Who. His involvement with classic Who can be tracked all the way back to The War Games, the epic serial that concluded the run of 2nd Doctor Patrick Troughton. Terrance Dicks has had some involvement in new series universe, having written original Doctor Who novels including 2008's Revenge of the Judoon featuring the 10th Doctor and Martha and a novelization of the Sarah Jane Adventures' episode Invasion of the Bane.
But in addition to new and returning things, we are facing a departure as Series 10 will be the last for showrunner and head writer Steven Moffat.
The Moff has said he has no plans for his final turn as the executive producer of Doctor Who to be some kind of epic finale for his time there. Moffat said, "I don't have any interest in making it some sort of grand goodbye, because the vast majority of our huge audience don't know I exist. If I wave from the balcony, they will look at me blankly!"
Oh, Moffat. We do know who you are and what you have given to Doctor Who. You will be missed.
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Meanwhile, across the pond, new episodes of the Doctor Who spin off series Class have begun airing. I am making a concerted effort to not know much about this since I'm in the United States and BBC America has seen fit to make us wait until next year before airing this series here. What I have heard is this: while Class features school kids fighting the good fight against alien menaces, the series itself is less Sarah Jane Adventures and more Torchwood in its handling of violence and (yes) sex. So to those Whovians who have children, you may want to control or limit them watching this on television. And if Class confuses you in anyway, your kids will be glad to explain it to you because they have already watched all the episodes online somehow.
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Recently, the BBC released a full length animated Doctor Who feature, The Power of the Daleks. Yes, that was the title of the very first Doctor Who story to feature Patrick Troughton in the role as the Doctor. Sadly, the actual episodes have been lost to time but audio tracks were preserved so the story has been brought to life through animation.
The Power of the Daleks is airing next Saturday, November 19th on BBC America and I will have my write up about that either for next Sunday's Doctor Who post or the week after that.
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And that's that for today. Tomorrow, I'll post some ponderings on another of my favorite TV shows, a modern classic, 30 Rock. And I take a look at recent developments on Supergirl for Tuesday's post.
Until next time, remember to be good to one another.
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