Steven Moffat Casts Doubt On Peter Capaldi Being The 12th Doctor With Regeneration Comments

Originally published on PopWrapped.  13 October 2013.

Peter Capaldi might not be the 12th Doctor after all. Whovians have been issued a challenge byshowrunner Steven Moffat who is claiming we have all miscounted the Doctor’s regenerations.

“I think you should go back to your DVDs and count correctly this time,” Moffat said. “There’s something you’ve all missed.”

But in typical Moffat fashion he was mum on any details. It sounds like he’s referring to one of two things: either the Doctor has used more regenerations than we all thought or the Time Lord was granted a new regeneration cycle similar to the Master (read about that here). Either would be important news because Moffat also confirmed that the Doctor “can only regenerate 12 times.”

Really the problem comes with defining the process of “regeneration.” Usually this means the Doctor changes his whole being and we get a new actor stepping into the TARDIS. But if we defined the term more technically, perhaps David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor used up a regeneration in The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End after being shot by a Dalek. That again, would make Capaldi coming in as the Thirteenth Doctor.

This all gets very complicated when we throw in John Hurt’s dark Doctor. Could he be counted as a regeneration? If so, that would make Peter Capaldi’s upcoming Doctor the last at number 13 instead of number 12. Or if John Hurt does indeed fall between the Eighth Doctor and the Ninth Doctor, maybe this was when a new regeneration cycle was granted somehow.

Whatever the case, Fifth Doctor Peter Davidson stated earlier this month that he believes Moffat has a plan in place to avoid the 12-regeneration limit.

“I know people are worried about it, but I think there will be a way around that rule,” Davison said. “I know that Steven has put in the groundwork already in an episode so that there can be more.”

This really results in more questions than answers but it does give us Whovians hope that our favorite mad man in a box will be sticking around for many regenerations to come.

Peter Capaldi Is Searching For His Doctor Look According To Steve Moffat

Originally published on PopWrapped.  13 October 2013.

We have had the bow tie and fez. We have had the Converse and pinstripe suit and before that, the leather jacket. To say the Doctor’s clothes are important is an understatement; they’re iconic. So what will Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor wardrobe look like?

Showrunner Steven Moffat doesn’t know but he trusts the Scottish actor to decide for himself. “He was texting me ‘I’m out with [the wardrobe stylist] at the moment, it’s going quite well’ and some descriptions of clothes I did not understand,” Moffat said. “I’ll just let them get on with it and it’ll be ‘yes’ or ‘no’ at the end.”

Back in August Moffat spoke more about the Doctor’s wardrobe, saying again that he thinks it’s important for the actor to ultimately choose. “We’ve discussed costume in the lightest terms, but with Matt Smith I discovered myself to be inept at costume discussions, so I tend to step away from that. I think it’s really important that the actor chooses what makes him feel like the Doctor, which is what Matt did in the end.”

He’s referring here to Smith deciding on the Doctor’s bow tie, an accessory Moffat had initially nixed.

As the oldest actor to take on the Time Lord role since the series rebooted in 2005, Capaldi may have a few additional clothing options available to him. What Culture put together a list of 10 suggested styles, including a knitted sweater and scarf, a simple suit or period costume. I love them all.

Whatever Capaldi chooses, it will set him apart from his predecessors and give Whovian cosplayers one more option.

‘Doctor Who’ 50th Anniversary Episode Will Air Simultaneously Worldwide

Originally published on The Flickcast.  2 October 2013.

Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary will truly be celebrated worldwide. BBC America has announced that the special episode, “The Day of the Doctor,” will air simultaneously across the globe in at least 75 countries and spanning six continents.

“Few TV shows can still lay claim to being appointment viewing but Doctor Who takes this to another level,” Tim Davie, CEO of BBC Worldwide, said. “In its 50th Anniversary year we wanted to create a truly international event for Doctor Who fans in as many countries as possible and the simultaneous broadcast and cinema screening of the special across so many countries will make for a fitting birthday tribute to our Time Lord.”

The list of countries airing the special at the same time as the UK include the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Colombia and many more. Additional countries are expected to be added over the next month. BBC America is also set to announce soon select 3D screenings of the special episode in U.S. theaters.

“The Doctor has always been a time traveller – now he’s travelling time zones,” Steven Moffat, Showrunner for Doctor Who and Executive Producer of the 50th Anniversary episode, adds. “On the 23rd of November, it won’t be the bad guys conquering the Earth – everywhere it will be ‘The Day of the Doctor!’”

“The Day of the Doctor” stars the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith), companion Clara (Jenna Coleman), the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant), his companion Rose (Billie Piper) and John Hurt. The special will air on November 23^rd.

Matt Smith Leaving 'Doctor Who' In Christmas Special 2013

Originally published on TheFlickcast.com.  2 June 2013.

The end of Eleven is coming this year. In an official release, the BBC has announced that Matt Smith will be leaving Doctor Who in this year’s Christmas special.

In a statement released by the BBC, Smith says:

"Doctor Who has been the most brilliant experience for me as an actor and a bloke, and that largely is down to the cast, crew and fans of the show.  I'm incredibly grateful to all the cast and crew who work tirelessly every day, to realize all the elements of the show and deliver Doctor Who to the audience.  Many of them have become good friends and I'm incredibly proud of what we have achieved over the last four years.

Having Steven Moffat as showrunner write such varied, funny, mind-bending and brilliant scripts has been one of the greatest and most rewarding challenges of my career.  It's been a privilege and a treat to work with Steven, he's a good friend and will continue to shape a brilliant world for the Doctor.

The fans of Doctor Who around the world are unlike any other; they dress up, shout louder, know more about the history of the show (and speculate more about the future of the show) in a way that I've never seen before, your dedication is truly remarkable.  Thank you so very much for supporting my incarnation of  the Time Lord, number Eleven, who I might add is not done yet, I'm back for the 50th anniversary and the Christmas special!

It's been an honor to play this part, to follow the legacy of brilliant actors, and helm the TARDIS for a spell with 'the ginger, the nose and the impossible one'. But when ya gotta go, ya gotta go and Trenzalore calls. Thank you guys.  Matt."

Neil Gaiman Promises Scarier Cybermen in his Second 'Doctor Who' Episode

Originally published on TheFlickcast.com.  11 May 2013.

Neil Gaiman is a geek god. He’s the author of several award winning books and comics including the series The Sandman and novel American Gods. He’s a Doctor Who fan and if he could’ve traveled with any incarnation of the Doctor, it would’ve been Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor.

“Doctor Who was the first mythology that I ever knew,” he said.

Tonight Gaiman returns with Nightmare in Silver, the second episode he’s penned for the BBC America show about all of time and space. In Nightmare, the Doctor, Clara (Jenna Louise-Coleman), Artie and Angie arrive at Hedgewick’s World of Worlds, once the greatest theme park in the galaxy but now home to strange creatures and a terrifying new breed of Cybermen.

The Cybermen are not only one of the Doctor’s greatest enemies but one of Gaiman’s greatest passions. His first Doctor Who experience was seeing the fourth season episode, Moonbase, as a child. Swift and silent Cybermen were at the center of the episode and those villains stuck with Gaiman.

'Doctor Who's' Steven Moffat on the Creepy Spoonheads and Mysterious Clara

Originally published on TheFlickcast.com.  27 March 2013.

“Doctor Who is the most exhaustingly planned show on earth.” So says the show’s lead writer and executive producer, Steven Moffat, in an interview today. Moffat admits that he encounters few surprises when putting together the show that encompasses all of time and space but there are plenty of surprises for the audience.

The second part of season 7 begins with The Bells of Saint John, which will kick off Jenna-Louise Coleman’s run as the Eleventh Doctor’s (Matt Smith) newest companion. Speaking about Coleman, Moffat said Clara brings a wit and unimpressed quality to the TARDIS and the Time Lord that makes the Doctor work harder to be impressive.

“They have enough in common and yet enough sharp contrast,” said Moffat, referring both to the Doctor and Clara as well as Smith and Coleman.

The Doctor is Back! Check out Images From Season 7.2 of 'Doctor Who'

Originally published on TheFlickcast.com.  6 March 2013.

Geronimo! BBC America has released images from the first four episodes of the second half of season seven for the show that takes viewers through all of time and space. The pictures show not only Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor but also Jenna-Louise Coleman's companion Clara and guest stars Dougray Scott and Jessica Raine. Warning! Spoilers may follow!

Doctor Who returns with the thriller episode, The Bells of St. John, which introduces a new enemy known as the Spoonheads. Seven more episodes are set to finish out the 7th season of the timey whimey show. Since this is Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary we can expect some surprises.

In a press release from BBC America, lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat said: “It's the 50th year of Doctor Who and look what's going on! We're up in the sky and under the sea! We're running round the rings of an alien world and then a haunted house. There's new Cybermen, new Ice Warriors and a never before attempted journey to the centre of the TARDIS. And in the finale, the Doctor's greatest secret will at last be revealed!  If this wasn't already our most exciting year it would be anyway!”

Catch Doctor Who when it returns on March 30 8 p.m. ET on BBC America.