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[Exterminieren]

Holy shit. http://scifibulletin.com/2012/10/17/audiogo-and-big-finish-team-up-for-50th-anniversary-who-stories/

If this means a full cast Ninth Doctor audio, I will die of joy.

 

[Pop-O-Matic]

Holy shit. http://scifibulletin.com/2012/10/17/audiogo-and-big-finish-team-up-for-50th-anniversary-who-stories/

If this means a full cast Ninth Doctor audio, I will die of joy.

Considering that they are doing audios for the first three Doctors without their actors, it is possible that they might do a Ninth audio without Eccleston, though I doubt they would pull something like that.

 

[Hot Coldman]

Looking back at those new set pics, I'm not sure if I like the Doctor's new coat.

It's a bit... glittery.

 

[TrueBlue]

Considering that they are doing audios for the first three Doctors without their actors, it is possible that they might do a Ninth audio without Eccleston, though I doubt they would pull something like that.

Their actors are dead though, the situation is slightly different with Eccleston.

 

[APZonerunner]

"Fall of Eleventh"

Yupp. Everything he's said in interviews is to the contrary, but it's a red herring I think.



Rule No. 1: Moffatt lies. What would totally take the suspense out of Smith's exit? By telling us he's going to exit.

I don't know what Matt's said, but BBC rules prevent them from actually outright lying. A great example is when, during Series One, the press got a hold of Eccleston leaving. They couldn't deny it - the BBC just had to hold their hands up. Any other TV series would've just said no comment or lied. The BBC weren't allowed. They had to just admit it, and the surprise regeneration was ruined six weeks into the show's run. Sneaking Tennant into the TARDIS set with a coat over his head was for nought.

If Matt has said he's in until 2014 as a date, he'll be in until 2014. They're not allowed to lie. If he's vaguely said "Oh, I'll be in the role for a good time yet," or "a few years yet" or something similar, get suspicious. That's what Tennant said after he decided he was going.

That said, there is a way that could be true and the next could be his last series... with the rest of Series 7 broadcasting in the new year, it means, presumably, that Series 8 (or a string of Tennant departure-like specials - they refuse to confirm what we're getting) won't start until late 2013. The anniversary is in November. What if the new series started on or a few weeks before the anniversary day (it's a Saturday) through Christmas and right to the end of the year? He could have a New Year's Day regeneration as Tennant did - that was massively successful, and New Year's day is the largest TV day of the year figures wise.

Wild, mad speculation, but, yeah. The BBC aren't allowed to lie.

 

[Jintor]

Neil Gaiman has the 7th episode or something i don't know i saw something wil wheaton tumblr'd

 

[ag-my001]

Seems they can misdirect, as we were told JLC would be joining as companion in the Christmas special. They just left out the bit about showing up in episode 1 as well.

 

[APZonerunner]

Seems they can misdirect, as we were told JLC would be joining as companion in the Christmas special. They just left out the bit about showing up in episode 1 as well.

Yeah, that's what I mean. If that had leaked and the press had asked for a statement on if she'd be in episode 1, they'd have had to just said yes she is. Being vague is allowed, but if Matt has said he's in the show in 2014, it means he will be in the show in 2014 - in what capacity is up for interpretation. This was also helped from leaking by the fact the press saw Episode 1 early and presumably were NDAed on the matter too, mind.

 

[User 100115]

Luther is better than Who and Sherlock. There, I said it. Happy Universe!?!?!?!

 

[Worthintendo]

I don't know what Matt's said, but BBC rules prevent them from actually outright lying. A great example is when, during Series One, the press got a hold of Eccleston leaving. They couldn't deny it - the BBC just had to hold their hands up. Any other TV series would've just said no comment or lied. The BBC weren't allowed. They had to just admit it, and the surprise regeneration was ruined six weeks into the show's run. Sneaking Tennant into the TARDIS set with a coat over his head was for nought.

I really really wish that hadn't of leaked out, it would have been amazingly epic to have it gone down with no one knowing about it. I really hope they can keep Matt Smith leaving and whoever number 12 is a secret. I'd love to be surprised by it.

 

[EleventhDoctor]

I really really wish that hadn't of leaked out, it would have been amazingly epic to have it gone down with no one knowing about it. I really hope they can keep Matt Smith leaving and whoever number 12 is a secret. I'd love to be surprised by it.

No thanks. I want to know about it long before it happens.

 

[mclem]

Holy shit. http://scifibulletin.com/2012/10/17/audiogo-and-big-finish-team-up-for-50th-anniversary-who-stories/

If this means a full cast Ninth Doctor audio, I will die of joy.

It seems to be talking about *stories*, not *plays*. Audiobooks being read, not performances in character.

Seems they can misdirect, as we were told JLC would be joining as companion in the Christmas special. They just left out the bit about showing up in episode 1 as well.

It has struck me that this is a *very* dangerous acronym to use! I thought I'd just heard a spoiler about a beardy West Country bloke.

I really really wish that hadn't of leaked out, it would have been amazingly epic to have it gone down with no one knowing about it. I really hope they can keep Matt Smith leaving and whoever number 12 is a secret. I'd love to be surprised by it.

I don't recall hearing anything *specific* about David Tennant appearing in The Parting of the Ways until it happened; I was actually expecting it to end mid-regeneration.

 

[Worthintendo]

No thanks. I want to know about it long before it happens.

Heck no, a good surprise and not know whats going to happen next is what keeps me watching.

I don't recall hearing anything *specific* about David Tennant appearing in The Parting of the Ways until it happened; I was actually expecting it to end mid-regeneration.

It was announced fairly shortly after it got leaked that Eccelston was leaving. I was at a conference/talk/session thingo which had Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy talking about their times as the Doctor. It was about halfway through the first season since it came back and one of the questions they got asked was how do they think Tennant would do.

 

[Team Filler]

I've been rewatching some Tennant-Who, and I still cannot get over Donna's "end". It's great storytelling/acting in the sense that her bitter finale stings me so much, but I just don't think it's fair to lavish all this wretched turmoil over the loss Amy, who is at times a very uneven companion, when the real gut-punch is when Donna basically dies and reverts to her former ugly personality. In my mind, the reason Amy and Rory being cut off from the Doctor is such a big deal is because Rory is fucking awesome.

I think we might find out that he's been falling since Demon's Run, heh.

This has been my thinking as well. Even with the luxury of "being dead" the Doctor still ends up facing repeatedly terrible outcomes as a consequence of the way his life has always been and continues to be, and I think that combined with general wear-and-tear and losing his first post-regeneration companion is what's making him so angry and vengeful lately.

Also: welcome back (belatedly).

 

[phisheep]

a beardy West Country bloke.

Oops. (hands up)

 

[8bit]

It has struck me that this is a *very* dangerous acronym to use! I thought I'd just heard a spoiler about a beardy West Country bloke.

To be fair, that guy is never going to work again so you can assume the acronym now belongs to a pretty young lady.

 

[Goldrush]

Just thinking about the last episode. Was there anything in the episode that states that the episode occurs soon after the previous one. Just thinking about it and the eyes event in the beginning might be an indication that they traveled with the doctor for years afterwards.

 

[GameplayWhore]

No thanks. I want to know about it long before it happens.

I think they should introduce the new regeneration before he regenerates, have him be Eleven's new companion for a while, then Eleven regenerates into him for the penultimate episode, he bids himself farewell and goes back to become Eleven's companion during a montage-style series of differently-angled reshots from that series of episodes, revealing something none of us (or at least the mainstream) noticed the first time around, much like what was done when the Doctor was going backwards through the whole season after the Pandorica mumbo-jumbo.

 

[isny]

I think they should introduce the new regeneration before he regenerates, have him be Eleven's new companion for a while, then Eleven regenerates into him for the penultimate episode, he bids himself farewell and goes back to become Eleven's companion during a montage-style series of differently-angled reshots from that series of episodes, revealing something none of us (or at least the mainstream) noticed the first time around, much like what was done when the Doctor was going backwards through the whole season after the Pandorica mumbo-jumbo.

If that's the case they could use that as an excuse and say the Doc is going backwards and ends up regenerating backwards. That would explain how we get a bunch of the Doc's in the anniversary special. (And why 11 is getting angry, past Docs are bubbling up trying to get out)

 

[Incendiary]

The point is that these kinds of prophecies rarely amount to anything at all. River didn't actually kill the best man she knew, no one actually died in Journey's End, and Trenzalore won't actually see the Fall of the Eleventh in the way we all think it will.

Everybody's assuming the Fall of the Eleventh is the Eleventh Doctor dying/regenerating, but it could be something else that's just as shocking. I'm guessing it has to do with the "anger" and the whole A Town Called Mercy deal. The Fall of the Eleventh may be the Doctor doing something completely out of character, his lowest point, aka maybe outright murdering someone/something. Since it ties into "Doctor Who?" it might have to do with the Daleks, but since he's already committed genocide on them once for the Time War, my guess is the "Fall" of the Eleventh is him doing something so horrific (or so amazing) that he reveals himself to the universe again, ruining the fact everyone thinks he's dead.

 

[celebi23]

So, there's an interview with Mark Sheppard that was just uploaded and apparently a very dark scene was shot for Day of The Moon but never finished:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=j53PAyBF5Sk#t=1685s

 

[mclem]

It was announced fairly shortly after it got leaked that Eccelston was leaving. I was at a conference/talk/session thingo which had Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy talking about their times as the Doctor. It was about halfway through the first season since it came back and one of the questions they got asked was how do they think Tennant would do.

I'm talking specifically about the appearance; I know Tennant was signed at that point.

To be fair, that guy is never going to work again so you can assume the acronym now belongs to a pretty young lady.

Well, that's one down, but I do also have a habit of reading it as JLS.

Everybody's assuming the Fall of the Eleventh is the Eleventh Doctor dying/regenerating, but it could be something else that's just as shocking. I'm guessing it has to do with the "anger" and the whole A Town Called Mercy deal. The Fall of the Eleventh may be the Doctor doing something completely out of character, his lowest point, aka maybe outright murdering someone/something. Since it ties into "Doctor Who?" it might have to do with the Daleks, but since he's already committed genocide on them once for the Time War, my guess is the "Fall" of the Eleventh is him doing something so horrific (or so amazing) that he reveals himself to the universe again, ruining the fact everyone thinks he's dead.

The only thing I'd flag up is that that hits similar character beats to The Waters Of Mars - and, well, that's been done.

 

[Yagharek]

I think we might find out that he's been falling since Demon's Run, heh.

Good catch, since he didnt really fall that far then.

 

[ScreenSplitter]

So, there's an interview with Mark Sheppard that was just uploaded and apparently a very dark scene was shot for Day of The Moon but never finished:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=j53PAyBF5Sk#t=1685s

I'm guessing Melody torture. We still don't know what they did to her to make her so intent on killing The Doctor.

 

[APZonerunner]

Continuing my marathon of New Who... watched the back end of Series 3 and most of Series 4, as I had two nine hour flights last week...! More thoughts:

• Human Nature as wonderful as I remembered. Tennant's amazing in it. One of the finest episodes. I always wonder how differently that story would play out with other Doctors.
• So, the series 3 finale... wow. I think the thing that struck me most of all was that my memory of it was that it was a horrible story, one of the worst of New Who and the worst finale... but... it's not. The first part is amazing. The first part is, I think, actually on track to be the best finale.
  
  The Master in control of everything is some wonderful imagery; utterly insane, cruel, a complete bastard. The plot of them on the run - it's cool and satisfying, and Martha and Jack make a great TARDIS crew. The scene where they have to speed away from Martha's house as her family is arrested is great. Even chunks of the next episode show flashes of brilliance in some scenes - the idea of what Martha is doing is great, but the execution on how the threat is solved is botched so completely it's sad.
  
  It's weird, really - something vital like the way the archangel network is psychic and the fact the TARDIS has been turned into a Paradox Machine (which combined is the solution to the whole episode!) is introduced and dispatched with as if it's nothing - but then the story literally spends minutes on this sub-plot of a UNIT-developed time lord killing gun which is all misdirection. In the end, two of the biggest bets of the story - the Jesus Doctor and the stupid dumb ass CGI gremlin Doctor - are what ruin it. In the case of the Jesus, I can sort of believe that if a telepathic network can force an entire planet or country to subtly hear that rhythm of four and submit to The Master, I can believe that it could give The Doctor that power - but it's badly executed. It's really poorly handled, and that makes it utterly unbelievable. The gremlin Doctor is 100% unnecessary, though, as we get the point with the aged Doctor with the amazing aged Tennant prosthetic (he has really old looking eyes, doesn't he? Much like Matt. Those eyes suit that old man prosthetic eerily well.)
  
  A shame. John Simm is fantastic and the characterisation of the Master is really great, I think. Some people got mad at the whole cheesy pop music thing and him pushing the aged Doctor around in the wheelchair, dancing around manically - but I think it's great. I absolutely adore this idea of him as a really twisted version of The Doctor. That dancing around is his version of skipping around the TARDIS console and shouting Fantastic, Allons-y or Geronimo.
  
  And then there's Lucy - like the Doctor he has a companion! He takes Lucy, and though the TARDIS is locked to one period of time, he takes her to the most terrible, terrifying place he can, and that twists her, warps her. The actress behind her is great, too. In the first episode there's something amazing about how she's biting her lip, hyperventilating, fidgeting... quite obviously turned on by watching her man execute his plans and butcher the population - but months later, by the second episode, she's terrified of him, because he's turned on her now he's bored of her. Like so many violent relationships. There's plenty of parallels to Rose - she even says the same thing she does in Doomsday - "I made my choice, I'm never going to leave him" sort of thing. Little moments like where they kill their first victim and they run out together... the dialogue mirrors a dark version of the Doctor and his companions, especially Rose. Lucy is the opposite of Rose; it's fascinating.
  
  Such a shame about the ending.
• On the subject of that finale and in general - poor Martha. I think something most of the companions have in common is they're selfish. Rose and Amy, for instance, are both pretty selfish bitches through and through - it makes them wonderfully human, but they are. Donna has her moments, too - she's a best mate, but she's very self-centred. Martha, however, is utterly selfless. She sacrifices and sacrifices, and all she does is suffer for it. She's an underrated companion, I think, and I'm glad she's (and Jack) the one in the best position to return, UNIT connections and whatnot. Underrated as she may be...
• Donna is the best. She's an amazing companion, and I'm gutted she didn't get more episodes. The thing about her over most is... she actually does more stuff. In The Doctor's Daughter, she literally solves the entire plot, and spends most of the episode walking around with a pen and paper working things out! When do the others ever do that? And she spends the episode gently emotionally pushing The Doctor, too.
  
  The Unicorn and the Wasp - same thing. The Doctor misses vital clues, she finds them. In Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead, she's placed into that world with a husband and kids - and that's a plot that just couldn't have worked with a younger companion. Moffat did this a little with Amy, but I don't think it's as successful as it was with Donna. And she's funny! The rapport they have is amazing.
• The Doctor's Daughter is a pretty bumpy episode, but Georgia Moffet is great and I'm so, so glad Moffat persuaded RTD to change the ending so she lives. I hope he'll use her one day.
• Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead is so, so much more interesting now with all the knowledge we have of River. Who knows how much Moffat had planned in advance, but everything he's done has been very respectful to this amazing story which feels like a very fitting end for her. I also really like the pairing of her and the Tenth Doctor. Moffat says they meet again, off-camera, thus her recognizing him - so I hope we get that as an audio or something one day.

In general I think series 4 is a real contender for the strongest. I'm going to watch Midnight and probably push through to the very end of Series 4 tomorrow, as I'm sick at the moment and can't do much else but watch TV and play XCOM/Borderlands.

 

[The Technomancer]

After re-watching both of them recently I think I have to replace Pandorica/Big Bang with Army of Ghosts/Doomsday as my favorite finale. Pandorica/Big Bang is probably better written, but I think Army/Doomsday was more entertaining. Its bigger in scope, its a bit campier, it has some of my favorite moments like "what, isn't anyone going to ask me about the glasses?" and "Time Lord technology? What Time Lord technology!?", and the Doctor setting up his ghost trap is so Doctor Who

I dunno, I just really like it

 

[EleventhDoctor]

After re-watching both of them recently I think I have to replace Pandorica/Big Bang with Army of Ghosts/Doomsday as my favorite finale. Pandorica/Big Bang is probably better written, but I think Army/Doomsday was more entertaining. Its bigger in scope, its a bit campier, it has some of my favorite moments like "what, isn't anyone going to ask me about the glasses?" and "Time Lord technology? What Time Lord technology!?", and the Doctor setting up his ghost trap is so Doctor Who

I dunno, I just really like it

I understand what you mean-Doomsday is the more epic VILLIAN VS VILLIAN with the departure of Rose-it's just written to be epic....

The Big Bang is just the 4 main characters running around a museum trying to make sense of things...it's smaller in scale in a way-even though it's about every being erased from existence. I too prefer it-however I do wish all the loose ends had eventually been resolved/explained.

 

[The Technomancer]

I understand what you mean-Doomsday is the more epic VILLIAN VS VILLIAN with the departure of Rose-it's just written to be epic....

The Big Bang is just the 4 main characters running around a museum trying to make sense of things...it's smaller in scale in a way-even though it's about every being erased from existence. I too prefer it-however I do wish all the loose ends had eventually been resolved/explained.

This is my biggest problem with BB: it would have been much better IMO if it was just about the plot to lock the Doctor inside the Pandorica. When they made it about the exploding TARDIS destroying reality it felt out of tone with what they'd done up until that point

 

[SquiddyCracker]

This is my biggest problem with BB: it would have been much better IMO if it was just about the plot to lock the Doctor inside the Pandorica. When they made it about the exploding TARDIS destroying reality it felt out of tone with what they'd done up until that point

I dunno, I thought it tied it very interestingly to the cracks in that series.
What it did do wrong on though was to not tie all the loose endings.

Who the hell said "silence shall fall"?
That should have been the big bad of season 6.

 

[Fuu]

This just arrived.

It's probably easy for anyone in the northern hemisphere to get one of these but the actual order was kind of funny to me. I'm in Brazil and you can only find a Sonic Screwdriver locally through unofficial means and at outrageous prices (almost 80 dollars for this model, lol...).

None of the BBC online stores ship here, so I tried to order it from ThinkGeek. The Sonic was $25.99 while shipping would cost $61.64 (Jesus!). Then I checked Amazon.com and the Sonic was also around $25 there, but they didn't ship it here at all. I was about to leave the idea aside when I tried Amazon UK just for the sake of it. Turns out the UK version of the site would ship it here, so using the same NA account I ordered it for £9.05, with shipping at £7.91, meaning that total I spent even less than the screwdriver alone would cost me in NA sites. Sweet! Came out way cheaper than I expected and felt right to buy Who merch through a "proper" UK store, haha.

Long story short: yay. Going to use it for giggles when I have to provide computer assistance to my parents (both fans of the show).

 

[Exterminieren]

Spoiler

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

confirmed.

 

[King of the Potato People]

Spoiler

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

confirmed.

Do we know who wrote this episode? Sounds fascinating.

 

[Quick]

This just arrived.

It's probably easy for anyone in the northern hemisphere to get one of these but the actual order was kind of funny to me. I'm in Brazil and you can only find a Sonic Screwdriver locally through unofficial means and at outrageous prices (almost 80 dollars for this model, lol...).

None of the BBC online stores ship here, so I tried to order it from ThinkGeek. The Sonic was $25.99 while shipping would cost $61.64 (Jesus!). Then I checked Amazon.com and the Sonic was also around $25 there, but they didn't ship it here at all. I was about to leave the idea aside when I tried Amazon UK just for the sake of it. Turns out the UK version of the site would ship it here, so using the same NA account I ordered it for £9.05, with shipping at £7.91, meaning that total I spent even less than the screwdriver alone would cost me in NA sites. Sweet! Came out way cheaper than I expected and felt right to buy Who merch through a "proper" UK store, haha.

Long story short: yay. Going to use it for giggles when I have to provide computer assistance to my parents (both fans of the show).

Nice. Feels good to score on a deal, man.

When I got mine (both 10 and 11), I just fucked around "using" it on everything.

I kind of want a proper non-plastic/toy replica, but that'll probably cost a shit ton of money if it even existed.

Spoiler

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

confirmed.

Excite!

 

[Hot Coldman]

Spoiler

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

confirmed.

Spoiler

I love how we seem to be getting a TARDIS-based episode every series with Moffat.

 

[Future Foundation]

Do we know who wrote this episode? Sounds fascinating.

Stephen Thompson.

 

[User 100115]

Spoiler

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

confirmed.

This is going to be amazing.

 

[King of the Potato People]

Stephen Thompson.

Well I don't see how it can be worse than the pirate one.

 

[Exterminieren]

Curse of the Black Spot never struck me as a terribly-written episode.

It was plainly, mercilessly butchered in the edit, though.

 

[Quick]

Curse of the Black Spot never struck me as a terribly-written episode.

It was plainly, mercilessly butchered in the edit, though.

I don't think it's terrible, just forgettable.

 

[APZonerunner]

Long story short: yay. Going to use it for giggles when I have to provide computer assistance to my parents (both fans of the show).

When you say this, I'm curious - is this the toy or the full metal actual screwdriver thing? I keep the actual screwdriver one near my PC and use it for swapping out parts just to feel that bit cooler when I do it, haha.

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

Well I don't see how it can be worse than the pirate one.

That guy also wrote the Sherlock season 2 finale, which was more than solid. And the pirate episode wasn't that bad.

 

[Fuu]

Nice. Feels good to score on a deal, man.

When I got mine (both 10 and 11), I just fucked around "using" it on everything.

I kind of want a proper non-plastic/toy replica, but that'll probably cost a shit ton of money if it even existed.

Yeah I'd love a mass-produced premium replica, it would be hard to resist. There's that universal remote control one that has metallic parts, but it's expensive and even though it looks good it doesn't open the emitter claws which makes it less cool.

When you say this, I'm curious - is this the toy or the full metal actual screwdriver thing? I keep the actual screwdriver one near my PC and use it for swapping out parts just to feel that bit cooler when I do it, haha.

It's the toy one, I'll just make sure to flash it no matter what they need from me haha. Now I'm thinking of getting the actual screwdriver model too, I'll probably order one sometime later since this one arrived swiftly.

 

[beril]

• Donna is the best. She's an amazing companion, and I'm gutted she didn't get more episodes. The thing about her over most is... she actually does more stuff. In The Doctor's Daughter, she literally solves the entire plot, and spends most of the episode walking around with a pen and paper working things out! When do the others ever do that? And she spends the episode gently emotionally pushing The Doctor, too.
  
  The Unicorn and the Wasp - same thing. The Doctor misses vital clues, she finds them. In Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead, she's placed into that world with a husband and kids - and that's a plot that just couldn't have worked with a younger companion. Moffat did this a little with Amy, but I don't think it's as successful as it was with Donna. And she's funny! The rapport they have is amazing.

I really liked Donna but it never felt as she really got the attention she deserved during her season, almost as if the writers weren't confindent in her as a companion. As soon as she starts settling in in the Tardis, Martha drags the Doctor back and tags along for a while. Then Donna gets sent to a virtual reality while River takes the spotlight. Then she's off sunbathing for an entire episode. Then there's the doctor less episode which at first seem to be all about Donna, until Rose comes barging in from another dimension. And for the final, every single person the doctor has met since the renewal comes back.

 

[mrklaw]

When you say this, I'm curious - is this the toy or the full metal actual screwdriver thing? I keep the actual screwdriver one near my PC and use it for swapping out parts just to feel that bit cooler when I do it, haha.

looks like the toy. Got one for my daughter's birthday and she loves it. Really authentic sonic sound, and the extending claw thingies are well done too

 

[APZonerunner]

I really liked Donna but it never felt as she really got the attention she deserved during her season, almost as if the writers weren't confindent in her as a companion. As soon as she starts settling in in the Tardis, Martha drags the Doctor back and tags along for a while. Then Donna gets sent to a virtual reality while River takes the spotlight. Then she's off sunbathing for an entire episode. Then there's the doctor less episode which at first seem to be all about Donna, until Rose comes barging in from another dimension. And for the final, every single person the doctor has met since the renewal comes back.

At the same time, though, that's the beauty of her. Rose and Martha both balked when they weren't the centre of attention, but Donna doesn't really care. She naturally lets herself fade back.

As for the other notes - Midnight and Turn Left were double banked, which is why it's only The Doctor or Donna in each - they were filmed concurrently. It's part of the design of how the series is filmed. She still has sizable storylines in those other episodes - all her stuff in Silence in the Library is amazing, imo, and a key part of the story, and she's alone on the Sontaran ship and such in The Sontaran Stratagem.

The shame is that she didn't get long enough, I think, not that she was shared out and used more sparingly. Indeed... the fact she was may well be one of her greatest positives.

 

[Exterminieren]

Hmm. John Simm wants to return as the Master, while seemingly dissenting against RTD's version of the character.

 

[Hot Coldman]

Hmm. John Simm wants to return as the Master, while seemingly dissenting against RTD's version of the character.

John Simm is a fine actor, his portrayal deserves some redemption.

 

[APZonerunner]

My liking of the madness of Simm's Master is documented on this very page from my impressions of rewatching Last of the Time Lords, and I think that is the defining characteristic of his Master. He's the manic one, almost like Tom Baker's wildly grinning Doctor or whatever. Bring on someone new. We don't need to see him regenerate on screen.

EDIT: Also, good lord, what have they done to the TARDIS prop for the back half of this season?! Where has the wood effect gone?

Another pic, not posted direct as actors are in it, spoilers and that: http://i2.cdnds.net/12/42/618x512/cult_doctor_who_london_filming_9.jpg

I was so happy they made it such a bright blue in series 5 but this... looks weird. It looks plastic! Hopefully looks very different on screen.

EDIT 2: Just noticed they confirmed the writers for the rest of Series 7-- the big disappointment for me is nobody has two episodes on the trot, presumably meaning there's no two-parters this series at all. Here they are:

Spoiler

706. Written by Steven Moffat. Directed by Colm McCarthy.
707. Written by Neil Cross. Directed by Farren Blackburn.
708. Written by Mark Gatiss. Directed by Douglas Mackinnon.
709. Written by Neil Cross. Directed by Jamie Payne.
710. Written by Stephen Thompson. Directed by Mat King.
711. Written by Mark Gatiss. Directed by Saul Metzstein.
712. Written by Neil Gaiman. Directed by Stephen Wolfenden.
713. Written by Steven Moffat. Directed by TBA.

 

[beril]

At the same time, though, that's the beauty of her. Rose and Martha both balked when they weren't the centre of attention, but Donna doesn't really care. She naturally lets herself fade back.

As for the other notes - Midnight and Turn Left were double banked, which is why it's only The Doctor or Donna in each - they were filmed concurrently. It's part of the design of how the series is filmed. She still has sizable storylines in those other episodes - all her stuff in Silence in the Library is amazing, imo, and a key part of the story, and she's alone on the Sontaran ship and such in The Sontaran Stratagem.

The shame is that she didn't get long enough, I think, not that she was shared out and used more sparingly. Indeed... the fact she was may well be one of her greatest positives.

It's not that I really disliked any of those episodes, but with only 13 episodes in total there's just not enough of screentime of the doctor and Donna together without some more established character stealing the focus. Obviously it's not fair to include River in this category but it does feel like it when rewatching the series.

I'd have preffered another episode or two to get used to Donna before bringing back Martha. Midnight & Turn Left were both great episodes, but having two episodes without one of the main characters, compared to one from a completely different perspective like Blink and Love&Monster, meant less time with both of them together.

 

[CorrisD]

Hmm. John Simm wants to return as the Master, while seemingly dissenting against RTD's version of the character.

The only way I would personally ever want him back for the Master was so they could kill him off early and give us a new actor, all on screen so it isn't just something that happens behind the scenes.