Steven Moffat is due to bow out of Doctor Who at Christmas (Picture: Getty Images)
As he prepares to step down from the post of Doctor Who showrunner, Steven Moffat has revealed the words of wisdom he had for his successor.
Moffat will bow out of the show with the 2017 Christmas special – at the same time as Peter Capaldi also makes his exit – and is handing over the reins to Broadchurch’s Chris Chibnall for the next series.
And speaking to the Radio Times, he explained just what he’d told Chris about the role – saying it wasn’t so much about how to run Doctor Who but how to keep control of everything else.
‘First of all, he’s a very, very experience showrunner himself, so he doesn’t need advice,’ Moffat pointed out.
Chris Chibnall will take the lead from the next series after Peter Capaldi has left (Picture: WireImage)
‘The advice I gave him, which I won’t share, was not about how to run Doctor Who but how to have a life while you’re running Doctor Who. The things you must make sure of.
He added: ‘He’s a family man, like myself. You’ve got to make sure that you survive it!
‘And the support you’re going to need and what it’s going to be like at 4 in the morning when you’re rewriting some other b*****d’s script and not even putting your name on it. What that’s going to feel like. That is what I talked to him about.’
Moffat – who described the job as a ‘monstrous workload’ – also shed light on why he’d decided to step down, saying that after years of running both Doctor Who and Sherlock he missed the job of simply being a writer.
Peter Capaldi will come face to face with the Mondasian Cybermen in the new series (Picture: BBC)
‘I sort of miss my own job of making up television shows and doing the new things, which is the real job of a writer,’ he admitted.
‘I miss being, as it were, a proper writer. I’d like to go and find a new thing to fail at!’
Moffat’s – not to mention Peter Capaldi’s – final series of Doctor Who kicks off on BBC One on Saturday April 15.
Peter Capaldi of Doctor Who to attend Ottawa Comiccon
Time Lords, rejoice! Peter Capaldi of Doctor Who fame is the latest guest to be announced for this year’s Ottawa Comic-con
Calpadi — known for playing the 12th incarnation of the doctor in the long-running sci-fi series — will appear at the comic and pop culture convention on May 13 for autographs and photos.
Capaldi, 58, will be appearing for his final time in the next season of Doctor Who. An Oscar-winning director, Capaldi has also previously starred as doctor Malcolm Tucker in the comedy series The Thick of It, and the testy neighbour Mr. Curry in Paddington.
He will be among 19 other guests including Adam West of the live-action Batman TV series and four former cast members from the teen drama show Degrassi High.
Doctor Who: The Pilot, sees Peter Capaldi embark on his thrilling final chapter as the Twelfth Doctor as well as the introduction of brand new companion Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts and the return of Matt Lucas as Nardole. Cinema-goers will also get an exclusive chance to travel with Pearl from the London stage throughthe doors of the TARDIS to a once-in-a-lifetime role, or as Pearl says “the most insane thing that’s ever happened to me.” Featuring exclusive interviews with Peter Capaldi and Steven Moffat and narrated by Ingrid Oliver.
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DOCTOR WHO SERIES 10 TRAILER BREAKDOWN – WHAT WE NOTICED
The new trailer for Doctor Who Series 10 is out now — watch it here — and reveals a tantalising glimpse of what’s to come next month from the Twelfth Doctor, Nardole and new companion Bill.
The new series, starring Peter Capaldi, Matt Lucas and newcomer Pearl Mackie, starts around the world from April 15 and, as we can see from the new footage, there’s lots to get excited about.
Have a look at what we noticed below in the new Series 10 trailer.
OLD SONIC!
Fans of ‘classic’ Who might recognise an old friend – the Fourth Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver. In the trailer we see Nardole receive one flying through the TARDIS. Wonder what he gets up to with it?
RALF LITTLE
The actor, known for his roles in the BBC comedies The Royle Family and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, makes his Doctor Who debut in Episode 2 of Series 10. Starring alongside Little is Mina Anwar, who played Gita Chandra (mother of Rani) in the Doctor Who spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures. The ep also features…
EMOJIBOTS
This ep is written by the brilliant Frank Cottrell-Boyce (In The Forest Of The Night) and is set in the future. We do love the look of these robots which, we assume, aren’t always smiley or heart eyes… Location filming took place in Valencia, Spain.
PYRAMID
These structures have popped up in Doctor Who many times over the years, from the First Doctor epic, The Daleks’ Master Plan, to the Eleventh Doctor adventure, The Rings of Akhaten. Crucially, whenever they appear, it can’t be good for the Doctor.
SPACESUITS
We all love a spacesuit, right? Since the Tenth Doctor era, we’ve enjoyed the reappearance of an orange one but it seems the Twelfth Doctor and Bill are sporting a new design. We likey.
MISSY!
We knew she was back already — and destined to appear in the finale — but we were surprised to see her in a new outfit. And she appears to be in some kind of containment unit. Wonder why?
MARS
Bill seems quite excited to be on the red planet. We’re sure the Doctor hasn’t forgotten the events of 2009’s The Water Of Mars and, sadly for our heroes, it looks like they’re going to meet…
FEMALE ICE WARRIOR
Some time ago, writer Mark Gatiss teased his episode would feature a “new” kind of Ice Warrior – is this it? This inhabitant of Mars does have a feminine look going on.
PUNCHY DOCTOR
We don’t approve of violence but we’re sure the Doctor has a good reason for lashing out here. Love the costumes though!
GALLIFREY?
When you take a closer look at the door that the Doctor approaches, there appears to be Gallifreyan writing on it. What could be behind it?
MONDASIAN CYBERMEN
As revealed last week, the Cybermen from Mondas make an appearance over 50 years after their debut. Like Missy, they pop up in the series finale.
SPOTTHESKELETON
Eagle-eyed fans will notice that this environment where the TARDIS lands — we’re guessing an alien planet — features a rather large dinosaur-like skeleton. The same episode also includes…
Face in a waterspout, again, not a friendly feature for our friends.
EXTERMINATING WATER WOMAN
Yup, she is creepy. Is she involved with Daleks? They do also make an appearance in the trailer in a similar corridor.
WHO ARE THESE GUYS?
We don’t know, but they certainly have the fear factor ramping up to eleven. And they look quite grabby too, with the Doctor being chased by them in another part of the trailer.
FROSTY
The Doctor and Bill seem to be having an icy time in the past. In the teaser released earlier his month we did note the use of “Frost Fair” — could this be a historical ep, visiting London when the river Thames froze over?
THATS’S A BIG EYE
Looks like the Doctor is taking a look underwater, given the suit he’s seen wearing in the trailer. Is it a whale? Wouldn’t be the first time the Time Lord has met one.
RETURN OF SONIC SHADES?
Even if they are not sonic, Peter Capaldi looks cool in his shades – no question.
Candy Jar Books is pleased to release the cover art for the upcoming Lethbridge-Stewart spin-off novella, The Life of Evans, with artwork by Richard Young.
Shaun Russell, head of publishing, says: “We had great feedback from Richard’s Blood of Atlantis cover. His style harks back to the classic era of Doctor Who, and we wanted to showcase this talent across a number of books. As a result we have commissioned him for all three novellas.”
Richard says: “One of my favourite artists is Drew Struzan, the man responsible for some the most iconic poster designs of the 20th century, including Back to the Future, Indiana Jones and Star Wars. I would never compare myself to him, but I do try to follow his traditional design philosophy. Shaun, who is also a fan of his work, wanted the novellas to embrace this hand-drawn style.”
Shaun, and Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen, decided that they wanted the novellas to have their own distinct look. Andy says: “The main range evolved into a circular motif, so for the novellas we thought we could do something slightly different. Diamond shapes are a standard element of classic Doctor Who, notably the logo used from 1974 to 1979, and it seemed an obvious thing to echo here. Shaun worked with Richard to develop the overall concept, while I continued my focus on the stories.”
Richard adds: “Once we’d fixed on the idea, I started work on the individual elements for the composition. Candy Jar prefers the artwork for the covers to be submitted as separate elements, rather than a single completed piece of artwork. I’m sure Drew Struzan has never done this, but it does allow for a greater flexibility when I am creating elements individually, or as a whole. So this cover is actually made up of several illustrations; Evans, the train and explosion, the standing stones, the sunset, the old man, and finally his hand.”
New blurb: Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart never could work out what to do with Private Gwynfor Evans. He never got on with the troops, was always shirking responsibility. So a reassignment to Imber was in order, and a whole new training programme under the watchful eye of Captain Younghusband.
Things seemed to be working out, Evans even made a new friend in the shape of Private Tommy Godber, but things soon take a sinister turn when Evans finds himself the prisoner of a strange alien intelligence. The spearhead of a new invasion. But before it continues in its plan, the alien seems oddly curious about the life of Evans…
These novellas will be released throughout 2017, strictly limited to 400 copies each (Candy Jar has already sold 200 of the 400). The Life of Evans will be followed by Day of the Intelligence by Andy Frankham-Allen, and The Flaming Soldier by Christopher Bryant. Each can be pre-ordered separately, or as part of a discounted bundle.
The Life of Evans tells the untold story of Private Evans, everybody’s favourite Welsh slacker. John Peel, the author, says: “Part of the fun of writing this kind of story is inventing new menaces. This time I got to create two – only one of which was alien. Another part of the fun is doing terrible things to our favourite characters, and I certainly put poor old Evans through the wringer. I think he’ll survive it.”
Also included in this book is a bonus short story by Robert Mammone, called Time and Again. The story serves as a sequel to the 1985 Doctor Who television serial Timelash, and is a prequel to the forthcoming spin-off series, Travers & Wells, revealing more of the mystery that was first seen at the end of the novel, Times Squared. Travers & Wells will be a new novella series, echoing the novellas of HG Wells, such as The War of the Worlds.
The Life of Evans is available for pre-order now, for £12.99 (+ p&p), and will be which published in hardback, with a strict print-run of only 400 copies. You can pre-order individually or as part of the discounted novella UK bundle for only £38.40, saving £9.57, or an international bundle for only £55.59, saving £7.40. Order early to avoid disappointment. Only available directly from Candy Jar Books at: http://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/thelifeofevans.html
A new image for Doctor Who series 10 is released, ahead of a 60-second trailer for the series premiering on BBC One tonight (Monday, 13th March) during half-time of the FA Cup quarter final match between Chelsea and Manchester United.
The image features Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, with Pearl Mackie as his new companion Bill Potts, and Matt Lucas as Nardole. Doctor Who returns to BBC One on Saturday 15 April with episode 1, The Pilot.
ANU scientists could see Doctor Who’s sonic screwdriver become a reality
Doctor Who’s famous sonic screwdriver may be an invention of science fiction, but a team of scientists at the Australian National University could help to make it a reality.
Physicists Marcus Doherty and Michael Barson have created a prototype for a handheld device that will be able to analyse an object’s chemical properties, similar to the device used on the TV show.
Dr Doherty, who had been working with quantum microscopes for the past 10 years, said the idea for the device came about after realising it would be possible to combine the technology with diamond nanobeads.
“It’s very close to the idea of an MRI image of a single molecule that will give us the ability to identify what is in that molecule,” he said.
“Quantum microscopes is an amazing technology where we can use an individual atom to detect what’s in its environment.”
The physicist and lead researcher said the technology would be able to be used across a wide range of scientific fields, from biology to medicine.
He said it would allow scientists to have a greater understanding of what they are working with.
“Imagine a doctor has a medical sample and they want to know what proteins are in it. They can put the sample into the device and be able to identify the different proteins and the relative concentrations of it,” Dr Doherty said.
“A biologist can use it for similar reasons or environment scientists can use it for a chemical analysis of a field sample.”
The technology used in the prototype device is based on the same technology used in atomic clocks, as well as gravitational wave detectors.
Doctor Who’s famous sonic screwdriver may be an invention of science fiction, but a team of scientists at the Australian National University could help to make it a reality.
Physicists Marcus Doherty and Michael Barson have created a prototype for a handheld device that will be able to analyse an object’s chemical properties, similar to the device used on the TV show.
ANU physicists Marcus Doherty (left) and Michael Barson have come up with a design for a device that can analyse an object’s chemical properties. Photo: ANU
Dr Doherty, who had been working with quantum microscopes for the past 10 years, said the idea for the device came about after realising it would be possible to combine the technology with diamond nanobeads.
“It’s very close to the idea of an MRI image of a single molecule that will give us the ability to identify what is in that molecule,” he said.
“Quantum microscopes is an amazing technology where we can use an individual atom to detect what’s in its environment.”
The physicist and lead researcher said the technology would be able to be used across a wide range of scientific fields, from biology to medicine.
He said it would allow scientists to have a greater understanding of what they are working with.
“Imagine a doctor has a medical sample and they want to know what proteins are in it. They can put the sample into the device and be able to identify the different proteins and the relative concentrations of it,” Dr Doherty said.
“A biologist can use it for similar reasons or environment scientists can use it for a chemical analysis of a field sample.”
The technology used in the prototype device is based on the same technology used in atomic clocks, as well as gravitational wave defectors.
Co-researcher Mr Barson said the handheld device would use tiny defects in a diamond to measure the chemical make-up of a molecule.
“When a molecule attaches to the diamond device, its mass changes, which changes the frequency,” he said.
“We measure the change in frequency using the defects in the diamond.”
While Dr Doherty said the pair’s research has been a “small leap forward”, it will be several years until the device will become a workable reality.
However, he said once that happened, it would make scientific work a lot easier.
“It will be portable and it will also be much cheaper and robust,” he said.
“The point of that will be it will make the technology more distributable and more people will have access to the analysis and advanced science.”
series 10 finale could be a fitting early departure for Peter Capaldi
The concluding double bill of Doctor Who series ten will bring the Time Lord face to face once more with the Cybermen, but not just any Cybermen – the original Mondasian Cybermen who made their first and last appearance in 1966 story The Tenth Planet.
Of course, until New Who introduced an alternative timeline in which the Cybermen were created on Earth – rather than coming from their own planet, of Mondas – all Cybermen were in a sense Mondasian. But The Tenth Planet is the only time they actually lugged their entire home world with them when they visited, and (spoilers!) it was destroyed at the end of the episode, so in that sense they really are the first and last Mondasians.
They’re also the only ones to have looked quite this spooky, with their ghostly fabric masks and humanoid hands reminding us that there are still something akin to people inside those silver suits.
The original Cybermen from “The Tenth Planet” (1966)
Peter Capaldi hasn’t even begun his final series of adventures as the Twelfth Doctor, yet we already know that one of his last encounters will be with a very old enemy…
The Mondasian’s return will mark half a century (give or take six months) since we last saw them on screen – but it also seems fitting in a number of other ways. Firstly, the Mondasian Cybermen are the answer Peter Capaldi always gives when asked which classic Doctor Who monster he’d like to bring back. As he prepares to bow out, he’s finally getting his wish and whether it’s due to a nudge from him or is just a thoughtful present form showrunner Steven Moffat, it’s a nice touch.
It’s also worth noting that Capaldi’s first season finale was itself a double bill featuring the Cybermen – 2014’s Dark Water/Death in Heaven. And adding to that pleasing sense of symmetry is the fact that those episodes were directed by Rachel Talalay and written by Moffat, the same pair behind the as yet untitled double-bill which will supposedly be the penultimate episodes for both Capaldi and the departing showrunner.
They’re not the only personnel those two series finales have in common, though. Tucked away at the bottom of the latest Doctor Who press release is another name, Michelle Gomez.
Yes, the Doctor’s maniacal Time Lady nemesis Missy will also be involved, just as she was in Dark Water/Death in Heaven, when she was the mastermind (pardon the pun) behind the return of the Cybermen and an attempt to raise an enormous mechanical army by literally digging up the dead.
Could Missy be the answer to the question of how a strain of Cybermen who were supposedly destroyed along with their planet 50 years ago, have now reappeared? Perhaps she has been dabbling in some time-wimey business of her own to help ease the Doctor towards his next incarnation?
Could there even be another parallel between the series ten finale and The Tenth Planet? Remember, that was the episode that first introduced the concept of regeneration (or “renewal” as it was referred to then) as First Doctor William Hartnell stunned viewers by transforming into Second Doctor Patrick Troughton.
Could the BBC’s insistence that Capaldi’s swansong is the Christmas special be a little white lie? Might he actually regenerate at the end of series ten, perhaps meeting his fate at the hands of his favourite Doctor Who villains? It certainly sounds like something the actor would get a kick out of.
But is it feasible? Steven Moffat says he’s writing the Christmas special, which is unlikely to be the case if it’s the first full outing for incoming showrunner Chris Chibnall and his new Doctor. Of course, history tells us that Moffat’s first rule of the Doctor – “the Doctor lies” – could just as easily be applied to the writer himself when it comes to feeding us red herrings…
Chibnall, meanwhile, says he’s sidelining the casting of the new Doctor while his other show, Broadchurch, runs its course. And, of course, the series ten finale is being filmed now. So it doesn’t add up, does it? Except, what’s to stop Capaldi and co filming everything but the regeneration and tacking that on later? Not only would it give them more time to cast his replacement, it would also be a lot less likely to leak in the run up to the big reveal.
Chibnall, meanwhile, says he’s sidelining the casting of the new Doctor while his other show, Broadchurch, runs its course. And, of course, the series ten finale is being filmed now. So it doesn’t add up, does it? Except, what’s to stop Capaldi and co filming everything but the regeneration and tacking that on later? Not only would it give them more time to cast his replacement, it would also be a lot less likely to leak in the run up to the big reveal.
At this point, we’re straying into the territory of wild speculation, but whatever the answer, as we head towards the Doctor’s regeneration and Moffat’s departure after nine years in charge, the weight of time, the sense of things coming full circle, of death and rebirth, are strong.
As always with Doctor Who, it will be the end of an era. And the beginning of a new one…
Doctor Who series 10 begins on BBC1 on Saturday 15th April.
