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MOFFAT COMMENTARY TAKEN FROM A PANEL

The Royal Television Society held a special event celebrating the world's longest-running science-fiction series - Doctor Who: Anatomy of a Hit saw showrunner Steven Moffat form part of a panel to discuss the show's ongoing global success.

Casting Missy
Series eight of Doctor Who climaxed with the return of classic foe The Master, but after deciding to have the character reappear in female form, Moffat admitted that he was at a loss as to how to write 'Missy' - until he hit upon the idea of casting Michelle Gomez.

"I wanted a go at The Master and I thought, 'It'll be a woman!' and I then got lost for several months, thinking... and what does that mean? So what?

"It's exactly the kind of gimmick I'm always saying you shouldn't do - I've always said that you cast a person, you cast an individual, you don't cast a gender.

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© BBC


"But then fortunately I was grumping round the office one day and I found a list [of actors] for another part and Michelle Gomez was on the list, and I thought, 'My God - that'd be brilliant. Michelle is the person. I can write it now, I know what she's going to be like!'

"That made sense of it, because what really mattered is we got an arch-enemy performance that I think matches the amazing Roger Delgado and John Simm - those are stellar performances and [Michelle's is] another one, it's every bit as good.

"She's alarming, she's scary, she's extremely funny - and you still vaguely side with her even when she kills harmless, likeable, defenceless people!"

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© BBC America


The late, lamented Osgood...
And why did Steven deem it necessary to kill off lovely, adorable, innocent Osgood (Ingrid Oliver) in Saturday's finale? "I was aware that The Master as a character gets cuddly very fast," he explained.

"I thought if we were going to bring that character back, she's got to kill somebody you really like in the most merciless, horrific way. You've got to lay it on the line that she's a truly awful, evil person - otherwise she's just a comedy alternative Doctor who's a little bit naughty!"

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© BBC


Skullduggery!
Of course, shooting the big Missy reveal on location meant that Gomez had revealed her character's true identity out in public, so Moffat attempted some "skullduggery" meant to confuse eavesdroppers - only to be disappointed that no-one picked up on his fake spoilers.

"We had her say she was a Random Access Neural Interface - 'I'm the Rani!' - we thought everyone was bound to overhear that. Ya deaf bunch!

"When we did 'The Day of the Doctor', we went to the trouble of having John Hurt's character referred to as Omega throughout, but nobody's stealing scripts these days!"

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© BBC


Perhaps not, but leaks were a big problem for Doctor Who this year - with a number of unfinished episodes being leaked online. Moffat admited to being hugely disappointed by the leaks, but said he doesn't blame those fans who took a sneak peak.

"The first half of our series was leaked online - and you didn't even have to hack it, you could just Google it!" he lamented. "But to be honest, I don't blame the guys who went and looked, 'cos I would've - I would've as a fan.

"It would've ruined it for myself, but... a new Doctor... I would've had to go and look!"

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© BBC


That crossover with Sherlock is never, ever happening
"Sherlock Holmes exists as a fictional character in the Doctor's universe - he's even dressed up as him!" Moffat said, neatly skipping over the fact that Peter Capaldi's Doctor will soon have met both Robin Hood and Father Christmas.

"I've always been moderately more in favour [of doing a crossover] than anyone else, but I think Mark Gatiss is right when he says it would just never be as good as you think it's going to be. You don't need both of those guys in the same show!"

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© BBC America


Savage Limitations and Extraordinary Effects
Moffat was keen to impress upon the audience how hard the Doctor Who team work, given constrictions on both budget and time.

"I think it's phenomenal what our effects people do - we're ahead of any other TV series in that respect, " he said. "[But] what is extraordinarily expert about all branches of our effects department is how creative they are within quite savage limitations.

"There's money - we don't have enough - and there's time - there's just no time, [because] every two weeks, we're making a new one! I don't think anyone feels that this is a limitless world, but it's [about] trying to conceal those limits, trying to work intelligently within them."

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© BBC


Making Doctor Who never gets any easier
"The terrifying thing about Doctor Who is that you discover at the start of every new show that you have learned absolutely nothing at all," Moffat laughed, joking that he feels "as inadequate and amateurish today as I did on my first day".

"There isn't a paradigm episode that you keep remaking - they're all very different. Everything is different every time - that's what makes it a great show - but you haven't got a brilliant one-off that you keep duplicating."

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© BBC America


Doctor Who without the Daleks? Unthinkable!
Yes, Terry Nation's "insane tanks" do crop up on Doctor Who a lot, but Moffat insists he continues to feature the Daleks because he loves them, not because of any "contractual obligation".

"I think Doctor Who is great when there are Daleks in it [and] I don't think you should go too long without Daleks. For a child, a year between Dalek stories is an eternity - I remember as a kid saying 'Why haven't they done the Daleks for ages? It's been four or five weeks!'"

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© BBC / Adrian Rogers


Will we see a companion who's not a contemporary young woman?
"Wait and see," says Moffat, adding that while there's no "hard and fast rule" dictating that the Doctor's companions must be young women from the present-day, it's a format "that works well."

"I wouldn't quite know why that particular format has been so successful," he said. "But there's no reason you couldn't turn away from it - there's not a special diktat, or a rulebook left by Verity Lambert.

"We absolutely could vary it [but] the times they've varied it, it's made them work hard - Leela [the fourth Doctor's savage alien companion] was a great character but they had to civilise her fast, 'cos it was getting hard to fit her into stories."

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© Rex Features / Ray Tang


Doctor Who should never become part of the furniture
Lastly, Moffat is happy for there to be a wide range of opinions on his era of Doctor Who - so long as people are talking about it. "Shows don't die when people say, 'I don't like it now!' - shows die when people say, 'Oh, it's quite good, I quite like it'," he posited.

"That's when a show dies - when people think it's fine, that it's okay, and it's reliable like a pair of slippers. People might say, 'I'm appalled by the new Doctor!' - yeah, but you're watching it every week!"


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http://www.digitalspy.com.au/britis...s-and-more.html#~oW92HZBNQOeweK#ixzz3JbHfQ0se
 
That was a pretty good interview tbh. I've more or less loathed Moffat ever since he took over, and whenever I would read anything he'd said, or watch an interview with him, I would absolutely seethe; but reading that just now, I felt really good about it, which is obviously a direct reflection of the brilliance of the recently concluded series. I can't get over how good it was.
 
It appears we will get repeats of series 7 leading up to Christmas, I wanted 8, maybe if they do every day....???

Asylum Of The Daleks
Series 7 | Episode 1

Kidnapped by his oldest foe, the Doctor is forced on an impossible mission to a place even the Daleks are too terrified to enter. The Asylum is a planetary prison confining the most terrifying and insane. CAST: Matt Smith


ABCSunday 30 Nov 2014, 5:10pm (Repeat)
ABCMonday 1 Dec 2014, 1:40am (Repeat)

But that is all the info I can find.
 
It appears we will get repeats of series 7 leading up to Christmas, I wanted 8, maybe if they do every day....???

Asylum Of The Daleks
Series 7 | Episode 1

Kidnapped by his oldest foe, the Doctor is forced on an impossible mission to a place even the Daleks are too terrified to enter. The Asylum is a planetary prison confining the most terrifying and insane. CAST: Matt Smith


ABCSunday 30 Nov 2014, 5:10pm (Repeat)
ABCMonday 1 Dec 2014, 1:40am (Repeat)

But that is all the info I can find.

It seems silly to repeat season 7 and not 8!
 
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Yeah, I really need another serve, straight up:)

And i can't find anything on the website - just that one episode repeat, so no info on what/when is next.
They may run through 7 then 8, but they would have to run it every night, or a lot, not likely.
They did run some late night Matt & David episodes for a bit.

I just remembered - Christmas, they sell heaps of Doctor for Christmas of course!
So probably not allowed to repeat right now.
I just might go buy 8.
 
Watched the DW repeat yesterday. I love Matt Smith. But one episode and he’s gone ... now I have to miss him all over again. *sob*

This episode has one of my favourite DW lines: LOVE FROM GALLIFREY, BOYS.

One thing I don’t get is how the Doctor physically ages … the War Doctor did it too. Why does the Doctor stay the same for centuries and then suddenly start aging?
 
One thing I don’t get is how the Doctor physically ages … the War Doctor did it too. Why does the Doctor stay the same for centuries and then suddenly start aging?

Yeah, I have an issue with it too. I'm pretty sure it was given some sort of explanation, but from memory it didn't satisfy me.
 
Oooo look, Jenna is in another show on tonight -

Death Comes To Pemberley

'Part 1'

ABC, 8:30pm, Fri, 28 Nov 2014, 60 minutes

NEW SHOW

Elizabeth and Darcy, now six years married, are preparing for their annual ball at Pemberley. The peace is broken when an unexpected guest brings news of a murder.

Anna Maxwell Martin, Matthew Rhys, Jenna Coleman, Matthew Goode, Trevor Eve, Penelope Keith, Tom Ward, Eleanor Tomlinson

Series, United Kingdom, English, Drama, Myster


Here, is a bit more info, new show, 3 parts, sounds good:)

Death Comes to Pemberley is a three-part British television drama based on the best-selling P.D. James novel of the same name, a murder mystery continuation of the events of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice incorporating the same characters. Wikipedia
 
The above show is really good - Jenna plays the awful self centred Lydia who ran off and eloped with Mr Shithead (wastrel Wickham).


And ooo Jenna is good, she is a stupid spoiled brat, bit Skye like:)
Murder involved, mystery and Jane Austen it is bliss:)

And I wanted to post this here, because it is gorgeous and so Doctor Whoish -

tvstatic.jpg


MAGIC
did you know you have seen the remains of stars & the big bang????


Remember this?
The old TV static from analogue broadcasting interruptions etc????

Well you didn't realise at the time you were looking at bits of stars!

A certain amount of the ‘white noise’ you see when TV channels are mistuned can be attributed to cosmic background radiation
(CBR) – taken as some of the best proof we have of the Big Bang , some aspect of the origins of the universe nearly 13.7 billion years ago, catch it while you can, too late here - what places still have analogue TV???!
 
Repeats start in one minute on ABC, ie sunday 5.15pm

Asylum of the Daleks
 
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CLASSIC WHO MARATHON
@nutmeg
It's been awhile, but I've finally finished Planet Of Giants.
Originally intended as part of Doctor Who's first season, the story was postponed until it finally turned up as the opener of season two. It's also one that I hadn't seen before, though I was familiar with the book. It's not a story anyone gets particularly excited about, so I'm pleased to report that I enjoyed it immensely. The TARDIS crew find themselves in contemporary England for the first time since all this began, and it's great. The fact that they have been dimensionally reduced in size is a nice twist, as the title would lead us to expect a planet of actual giants. Instead we get something far better - ordinary household objects outsizing them, along with full sized human protaganists, an adorable cat, a fly, an ant, a giant matchbox with matches - and a very impressive sink complete with plughole, soap and chain. We are drawn into the story through Barbara's plight as she accidentally handles some giant seeds contaminated with insecticide. This picks up on the serious theme of the story, as money and power-hungry businessmen strive to develop and implement a new pesticide - one that has the unfortunate side effect of killing everything that comes into contact with it. Sadly that includes the cat, who dies offscreen. There were originally to be four episodes, but the production team were unhappy with the pace and so condensed episodes 3 & 4 into one. The DVD offers a reconstruction of the missing scenes, including the death of the cat. What we do have is reasonably fast-paced and gripping. Barbara's gradual illness as the pesticide takes hold is brilliant, culminating in my favourite scene as she coughs up blood into her hanky, then tries to hide it from her companions. It's quite startling to see in "kids television", but here we have drama which doesn't dumb itself down for its audience. The regulars really sell the drama, playing it as real with genuine conviction. The design work is excellent, with the scale of the oversize sets spot-on. Just look at this gorgeous ant.
Planet_of_Giants_picture.jpg

Special features on the DVD include commentaries, production subtitles, and a couple of lovely documentaries on Verity Lambert and Susan. Sadly there are only two of the major people involved in this story who are still alive - Carole Ann Ford and William Russell. All of the guest cast have passed away, and all of the production staff too. On a lighter note, Carole Ann Ford reveals that her hairstyle was created for her personally by Vidal Sassoon, and shares her recollections of Bill Hartnell treating her as though she were actually 15 (she was 23), down to chastising her for spending her money.
In summary, Doctor Who's second season is off to a great start, and is continuing to provide vastly different styles of story, something it continues to do to this day. It's quite delightful actually.
 
It was nice to see souffle girl and Matt again on repeat tonight. catch it

Meant to add @Meglos although i have no access to view the episodes you review, I still really enjoy reading your reviews and discussions when others view too.

This one was really engaging for me as the photo is part of the focus, and what a great photo.
 
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CLASSIC WHO MARATHON

Well Meglos, your last review might be your best one yet. Well done, so well rounded and full of interesting info. Like that Susan’s hair was created by Vidal Sassoon … she does look lovely, even dressed in those horrible overalls this adventure (although I did like the Doctor’s cape, not many people can pull off a cape, he's like an ageing superhero ... Superman's grandfather).
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Planet of the Giants really is a fun little adventure. Who doesn’t love giants and miniatures?! I mean, Barbara’s knee was injured ON A PAPERCLIP. Too delightful. The props were really terrific, production would have had a ball. Ok, that was one dodgy worm that looked like industrial ventilation ...
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but everything else was so well done. The satchel and the notebook were my favourites, but Ian’s head popping out of the matchbox was just adorable.
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And the giant dead face was just spooky.
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Of course the size challenges led to some laughs, my favourite being when Ian exclaimed that he 'can see a huge leg coming', lol. Like they were being approached by Long John Silver, with just one leg.

The physiology of the gang being shrunk to one inch was interesting. I hadn’t thought of their voices becoming too squeaky to be understood by the ‘giants’, I suppose it would be true as they only have tiny vocal chords, but then wouldn't they sound squeaky to each other? Or perhaps not because they have equally tiny eardrums. And then there was hearing noises louder … that’s fair enough, but would the noises last longer than usual, à la the gunshot sounding like a long clap of thunder? It could well be right, but it was intriguing food for thought.

With episodes 3 and 4 being combined, you could really tell it was rushed, especially how quickly one scene would end and the other would begin. It was as bad as when the commercial networks cut shows to fit in more ads. It lost its natural flow. But without seeing the DVD extra scenes, I didn’t feel it missed anything. Although disappointingly, I completely missed that the cat died, although I was cuddling one of my dogs for the last episode and a half, so I was a little distracted.

I thought it was silly that Barbara didn't tell anyone about poisoning herself. Just peculiar, and somewhat out of character. But despite that, you can't go past a story about evil corporate giants. Great viewing.
Next, The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Can't wait. Links available at http://watchseries.lt/serie/Doctor_Who_(1963) for anyone who's interested.
 
It was nice to see souffle girl and Matt again on repeat tonight. catch it
Oh, poor Souffle Girl. Such a tragic storyline, it makes me sad.

On the up side, I get to watch more of Matt, although goodness knows why they played his last episode before launching into series 7. I'm wondering if the ABC has timed it to finish series 7 & 8 just in time to roll into 9. Don't they usually time repeats leading up to a new series like that?
 
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