BBC One has announced that the second of four Doctor Who specials slated to air this year, featuring the swan song of series re-creator Russell T. Davies as well as David Tennant’s Doctor, will are on BBC One in under two weeks, on November 15. A subsequent airing on BBC America is sure to follow, though the air date in the US has yet to be announced.
Titles Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars, the episode will feature Lindsay Duncan as Adelaide, the Doctor’s companion for the episode. Two more specials remain featuring Davies and Tennant at the helm of the TARDIS; both are expected to air as part of BBC One’s tradition “Christmas special” of Doctor Who; at the end of the fourth special, Tennant’s Doctor is expected to regenerate and reveal Matt Smith’s Doctor for the first time on screen.
After Tennant and Davies depart, Smith’s Doctor will see his fate rest in the hands of Steven Moffatt, who has worked under Davies for several years. Smith’s Doctor is set to be the youngest yet cast in the role of the Doctor, as he is still in his 20s. While there has been much talk of bringing back Tennant-era companions like Freema Agyeman’s Martha Jones, Catherine’s Tate’s Donna Noble or even – however unlikely – Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler, instead, it has been announced that Moffatt and Smith will reset the table for the Doctor, granting him an all-new companion for the fifth series in the form of young Scottish actress Karen Gillan, who’s so young she may still require the best acne treatment, and will portray new companion Amy Pond.
Although Davies has made it clear he will make a clean break with Doctor Who after Moffatt takes control, what is less clear are the futures of the successful Doctor Who spin-offs, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. Torchwood has survived largely without Davies’ input, but has credited him as creator and executive producer; The Sarah Jane Adventures has seen little direct involvement from Davies under similar circumstances. Time will tell.
