Happy New Year!!

Happy new year to all our readers!

 2011 has been a very eventful year for Whovians. A (very) brief recap of this year follows.

After one of the most highly rated Christmas special yet, the sixth series was cut into two segments, with an arc-heavy storyline. The identity of River Song was discovered, and the Doctor is now believed to be dead by the majority of the universe.

Sadly, The Sarah Jane Adventures came to a close when Elizabeth Sladen passed away. Nicholas Courtney also passed away, and there was a special tribute moment for him in the series finale.

Amy and Rory will be leaving the TARDIS in the upcoming series, which will be airing in autumn. Filming for the series 7 will begin next month.

Geronimo!

Boxset Extras: Mini Episodes

As with Series 5's Meanwhile in the TARDIS, a collection of mini-episodes will be included with the Series 6 boxset. A short summary of each of the five episodes follows (beware minor spoilers):

• “Night And The Doctor” kicks things off in madcap fashion, as Amy answers a phone call from a British royal, and the Doctor dashes in from a party, dressed in top hat and tails, carrying a goldfish in a bowl – a very important goldfish. Well, so he thinks, anyway… It’s inconsequential fare, but good fun. Arthur Darvill also pops up briefly in this segment, after the Doctor wakes him with a cry of “Rory, she’s having an emotion!”

• “Good Night” is this reviewer’s favourite of the bunch (and, at nearly five minutes, the longest). A rather touching two-hander between Smith and Gillan, it sees Amy trying to talk to the Doctor about the fact that “her life makes no sense” (about time too!), and the Doctor taking her to “the saddest moment in her life” to meet… well, that would be telling. One neat idea expressed here is that our misremembered memories and feelings of déjà vu are actually side-effects of time being rewritten.

• In “First Night” the Doctor lands in River’s cell during her first night in jail, to take her out for an adventure. Ending on a cliffhanger, it’s really the first part of a two-parter, which concludes in “Last Night”.

• This tale sees Moffat making characteristic use of the possibilities of time travel, and putting them to the services of a timey-wimey miniature farce: at one point, there are three River Songs in the TARDIS… One interesting point we learn is that it was the Doctor who suggested that River keep a diary of their adventures together, and who introduced her to the term “spoilers”. As for the meaning of that title? Well, we won’t spoil it for you, but let’s just say it has a very poignant significance…

• Finally, “Up All Night” is stuck on a separate disc from the other mini-episodes, which is initially rather mystifying. All becomes clear when you watch it, as it has absolutely no connection to them. Only a minute long, it was clearly written with the intention of using it as one of the “episode prequels” used to promote the series online. Featuring Craig, Sophie and, er, Stormageddon, it’s set shortly before the events of “Closing Time” and basically establishes the set-up for the episode. Viewed after you’ve seen Gareth Roberts’s episode it is, to be honest, pretty pointless.

Thanks to Time Dragon In The Vortex and The Whoniverse Blog for the heads-up

Moffat Explains Delay

In the 2012 edition of The Brilliant Book, Steven Moffat explains why we're waiting until Autumn for Series 7.

“The truth behind the delay next year is: why are we killing ourselves and risking compromising the show, in order to go out in the middle of summer? I’m sick of it. I’m sick of standing in the blazing sunshine, with a barbecue fork in my hand, knowing that Doctor Who is coming on any minute,” he said. “Six o’clock on a sunny Saturday is the middle of the afternoon, whereas six o’clock on a winter or autumn Saturday is dark and exciting”

Moffat also mentioned that Amy and Rory will be back in Series 7, but will not be in the 2011 Christmas special. More appearance from River Song is “Dependent on Alex Kingston”.

He also teased for the 50th anniversary. “Epic, huge, massive, indulgent… all your treats at once…I guarantee you it’s going to be the best year ever to be a Doctor Who fan. We’re going to be in production for longer than ever, just to do everything that we intend to do”.

Two New(ish) Blogs

As you may know, the Seventh Series of Doctor Who will not be airing until Autumn 2012. A blog has been created, The Whovian Withdrawal Symptoms Club, as a way to share Who theories, ideas, and conversations with other Whovians. Keep in mind it is still a very recent blog, so the design and format have not yet been perfected.

Another blog is similar to The Rory Pond Appreciation Society, but focusing on his daughter, River Song. This blog is called The River Song Appreciation Blog.

Doctor Who on Radio Times

The Doctor Who finale has made the cover of the Radio Times, featuring the Doctor, River, Amy, and Rory, all wearing the mysterious eyepatches.

About the issue:  

As we bid farewell to another cracking series of Doctor Who, we thought we’d gear up for its sand-blown finale by quizzing the show’s mastermind, Steven Moffat, and stars Matt Smith and Karen Gillan on their hidden Who heroes – and also look back at the Doctor’s five greatest escapes…

Slightly Spoilery Pictures from The Wedding of River Song

As PreTitlesSequence mentioned in an earlier post, there are some leaked pictures from The Wedding of River Song. Spoilers follow, but very minor ones. This is the first half of the pictures, and PreTitlesSequence will be posting the other half soon.

Summary for The Wedding of River Song

The BBC have released the summary for the Series 6 finale, The Wedding of River Song:

As the Doctor makes his final journey to the shores of Lake Silencio in Utah, he knows only one thing can keep the universe safe – his own death – in the concluding episode of this series of the time-travelling drama. But has he reckoned without the love of a good woman?

Doctor Who fans can also enjoy an extra helping of the Time Lord’s adventures in a special, one-off mini episode written by schoolchildren in Doctor Who Confidential on BBC Three tonight.

The Doctor is played by Matt Smith, Amy by Karen Gillan and Rory by Arthur Darvill.

Title for Episode 13 is not The Wedding

A few days ago, the Daily Star speculated that the title for episode 13 would be The Wedding. It has been confirmed that this is not the case:

From their Twitter account: “The six stories are called Let’s Kill Hitler; Night Terrors; The Girl Who Waited; The God Complex; Closing Time; and something so secret we’re not allowed to say what it is yet. Sorry. It’s 5 words….”

It has been rumoured that the title will be announced tomorrow as The Wedding of River Song, will. This fits the five-word mark, although it is still unconfirmed.

New Promo Pictures for Part 2

More promotional pictures have been released.

 

 

Monthly Monster: The Vashta Nerada

Monster File for the Vashta Nerada:

"Almost every species in the universe has an irrational fear of the dark, but they're wrong; because it's not irrational. It's the Vashta Nerada."
--The Tenth Doctor, Silence of the Library

The Vashta Nerada are microscopic beings that exist on practically every planet in the universe. Their name means 'Shadows that melt the flesh', and that is, when there are enough of them, exactly what they do.

A swarm of Vashta Nerada

The Vashta Nerada are born in trees as microscopic spores, living their lives in forests. The spores are very resilient, enough so that they can survive the processing of trees to books and paper. They would latch themselves to their prey as a second shadow, then take over, reducing their victim to bones.

For Shadows of the Vashta Nerada and Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead

The Vashta Nerada in Poseidon 8

 A temporal rift in the 23rd Century resulted in a swarm of Vashta Nerada being transplanted to the underwater city Poseidon 8 on Earth. The Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond were able to defeat the Vashta Nerada and returned the Vashta Nerada to their original planet. (Shadows of the Vashta Nerada)

The Vashta Nerada in The Library

In the 50th century, The Library was invaded by over a million million Vashta Nerada, transported to The Library as spores in the books. The planet was empty for one hundered years the Tenth Doctor, Donna Noble, and an archaeological expedition landed on the planet, the expedition to investigate the disappearance of the 4,022 people who were in The Library at the time of the attack. River Song sacrificed herself in order to return all the people, who had been 'saved' (Literally. Like an e-mail.). After the safe return of the 4,022 people, River Song was saved to the computer along with the others of the expedition. (Silence of the Library/Forest of the Dead)

Remember: Count the shadows. If you have two shadows, either there are two light fixtures behind you, or you're about to become the next victim of the Vashta Nerada.

Promo Pictures for Let's Kill Hitler

The BBC has released some promotional pictures for Let's Kill Hitler.

New Synopsis for Part 2

BBC America has released a new synopsis for Part 2 of Series 6:

The wait is almost over. The second part of the thrilling new series of Doctor Who will soon return. The truth about River Song is out and the time has come for the Doctor to face his greatest demons. Venturing across centuries and galaxies, the Doctor, Amy and Rory will encounter the greatest war criminal in all of history - and Hitler. Together, they'll discover there's no scarier place in the universe than a child's bedroom and a visit to an alien quarantine facility will reveal to Rory a very different side to his wife. In a hotel where walls move, corridors twist and rooms vanish, death lies waiting. But the Doctor's time has yet to come. He has one last stop to make on his final journey - an old friend needs his help and an old foe must be defeated. But time catches up with us all and the Doctor can delay no more.
By the shores of Lake Silencio, in Utah, all of time and space hang in the balance. And a NASA astronaut is waiting.

The 'old foe' could refer to the Silence, as it was shown they are returning for the second half of Series 6. Along this line, no air date has been given for UK viewers, although it is more than likely the date will be the same as BBC America, 27 August.

New Poster for Part 2

BBC America has released a new poster for the second half of Series 6 to Entertainment Weekly:
Update: Combom has edited out the watermark:
Thanks to JOV97 for the update about the watermark.

Let's Kill Hitler airs August 27 at 9pm (ET) on BBC America. The UK airdate is rumoured to be the same, but will probably be confirmed this Thursday.

Part 2 Trailer Breakdown

Here's a breakdown of the new trailer:

(Episode 8-Let's Kill Hitler

Episode 9-Night Terrors

Episode 10-The Girl Who Waited

Episode 11-The God Complex)

 

The Doctor running in the halls of the nightmare hotel in The God Complex

 Amy and Rory ride a motorbike in Let's Kill Hitler

 The Doctor dances in white tie in front of his TARDIS and a swastika, indicating this is in Let's Kill Hitler.

 The Doctor: "My time is running out..."

 He stands in front of a door, presumably in The God Complex...

 Which is numbered eleven, in the eleventh episode, and he's the eleventh Doctor.

 Churchill points a gun at someone.

 Craig is back!

 David Walliams as Gibbis in The God Complex

Daniel Mays in Night Terrors, episode nine.

Madame Kovarian: "And this is where it begins...."

The Doctor: "I'm going to die!"

 An eye (maybe the Minotaur's)

 "Something has happened to time" A voiceover says while someone else (the Doctor, maybe?) looks through something (a keyhole?)

An aged Amy, probably from The Girl Who Waited, episode 10

 

 Hitler: “Thank you. I think you have just saved my life.”

 Craig: "Doctor, are you going to kiss me?"
The Doctor:"Yes Craig. Yes I am."

Amy in a very strange garden, maybe from episode 10.

 The interior of a spaceship. The man on the far left may be in later clip from the trailer.

 A Nazi building...

 And the TARDIS crashes through the window into an office.

River Song in an Egyptian tomb(?)...with an eyepatch?!

 Skulls,

 A Silence in some sort of specimen tank,

 A Cyberman,

Weeping Angels!

One of those creepy dolls from Night Terrors,

A puppet doll from The God Complex

 A handbot from episode 10 opens, looking a lot like a Toclafane,

 A Viking-esque man playing chess...wearing an eyepatch like Kovarian's and River's.

 Minotaur from episode 11

The Silence breaking through a door

The Minotaur traps Rory

The Doctor jumps through a window...

People in what look like spacesuit teleport/beam down.

Rory punches Hitler...

 

Amy fights a handbot from episode 10

  

 Gibbis again

 

Rory dodges a handbot, probably in the same scene as Amy above

Remember the spaceship clip? This might be the man on the far left.

The Doctor tries to hold back Daniel in The God Complex

The Doctor sees his death date on the TARDIS screen, and he's wearing his Stetson (you can tell in the reflection)

Scenes extremely similar to the opening of Series 6, while Madame Kovarian intones, "An impossible astronaut will rise from the deep and strike the Time Lord dead."

The Doctor at Lake Silencio (which translates to Silence)

The Doctor: "Haven't you figured it out yet?"

No, Doctor. We haven't.