Tagged: Steven Moffat

Smith, Gillan both in for at least another season

Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, who star in the BBC’s DOCTOR WHO, an international sci-fi smash, have both confirmed that after the second half of the current season of their signature program airs this fall, both intend to return for at least next season, the seventh since the show was resurrected by Russell T. Davies in 2005.

Current showrunner Steven Moffat will enjoy the longest tenure without major cast changes in the modern history of the show. THe Davies era was beset by constant change; his five seasons saw two different actors in the role of the Doctor, and four major shifts in companions, timed to ensure that there was no status quo on the show season-to-season.

By comparison, Davies’ run will enjoy the services of Smith and Gillan for three straight seasons, since he took the show over, and while a further extension of that three-year run hasn’t been assured yet, none have ruled it out, either. So a possible fourth season without major cast shifts is still entirely possible.

While one wouldn’t want to bet digital camcorders on the matter, right not it appears DOCTOR WHO is in the midst of what could become a creative golden age of its modern run. Could Moffat-Smith-Gillan become as highly regarded as the Tom Baker years?

I wouldn’t rule it out.

Moffat will split Series 6 of Who

BBC Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has announced that the forthcoming 13-episode Series 6 of Doctor Who will air in two separate storylines. The first will air in Spring 2011 and consist of a seven-episode story arc that will lead to a “game-changing cliff-hanger.”

Then, in Fall 2011, the remaining six episode, featuring the resolution to that cliffhanger and a new storyline, will air. A Christmas episode will put a bow on Series 6 in late 2011.

That’s a long time to wait for Who fans wowed by Moffat’s debut season at the creative helm, as well as the debut seasons for new Doctor Matt Smith and new companion Karen Gillan. With such ambitious plans for the sixth series since its relaunch, one wonders whether Moffat might already be expending so much energy that he’ll soon burn out.

Not to worry. Moffat doesn’t plan to leave the show any time soon. “I’m in it for the long haul,” the lifelong Who fan said. “I won’t be leaving the show for a while yet.”

Even better, it sounds like he’s still brimming with story ideas so that the Doctor and Amy Pond won’t be spending an entire season picking out new discount laminate flooring for the TARDIS… at least, not any time soon!

Doctor Who finale to be emotional?

Doctor Who has undergone an unexpected creative renaissance this season, despite the exit of show runner Russell T. Davies and longtime Doctor actor David Tennant. Under the direction of new showrunner Steven Moffat, new Doctor Matt Smith and new companion Karen Gillan, the show is feeling fresher than it has since perhaps David Tennant’s first season as Doctor.

Now comes word from Amy Pond actress Karen Gillan that the forthcoming two-part season finale will be “very emotional.” According to various Web reports, Gillan has said viewers will need “tissues” to endure the final scenes of her first season on the show.

“I’m going to say the word ‘horses’ and that’s it,” Gillan is quoted as saying. “The second part of the finale was the most difficult because it’s a big climax for Amy and her story that’s been building through the series. And it just required a lot of kind of concentration and emotion.”

No word on whether Gillan is on board for a second season, though hopes are high she will be. If not, the promise of an “emotional” finale is sure to bring to mind the final episode between David Tennant’s Doctor and Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler, the most memorable episode ever for incurable Doctor Who romantics.

One thing’s sure about Moffat’s first season as showrunner is that absolutely no weight loss products have been needed; it’s tight, emotional storytelling at its best.