A Doctor and his hair. The look of a Doctor can be defined by his hair. Patrick Troughton’s Beatle mop, Jon Pertwee’s perfectly coiffed do, Tom Baker’s crazy curls; their hairdos are almost as memorable as the men who wore them! When Christopher Ecceslton took on the role in 2005 his almost bald look was shocking. Then there was David Tennant’s unruly top which basically turn The Doctor’s hair into an art form of expression. The current Doctor, Matt Smith‘s wild head of hair is as precariously coiffed as Pertwee’s but also as malleable as Tennant’s, and has cemented the iconic look of the Eleventh Doctor along with his bow tie and suspenders.
But, dear god!, what’s happened!?
AHH! What happened to his hair!? It’s…it’s…it’s gone!
Captured on set with director Ryan Gosling – yes, swoon away – for his new flick, How to Catch a Monster, is Smith with a very, very different look. My immediate thought, well, I’m guessing this means filming has wrapped on Doctor Who‘s 50th anniversary special. My second thought, how will his hair grow back in time for Who to begin filming again in the fall!?
Two possibilities. The first, far more likely, is The Doctor’s hair will just be a little shorter for this year’s Christmas Special. Maybe there’ll even be a clever reason why. Here’s the second, unlikely, and oh-god-I-hope-is-false theory: the 50th anniversary special really is Smith’s last hurrah as The Doctor.
Hmm, and now I’m wondering about those John Hurt rumors and how they may play a role in all of this. What are you bastards thinking? A lot of freakin’ out over some hair that could very well grow back in time to film the 2013 Christmas special? Or has Smith really moved on?
It’s sad to realize there are only two more episodes of Doctor Who left this season. I mean, where did the time go!? I feel like we just met Clara, again, and now we’re already to the finale! Ugh, even with a time machine time passes too quickly. Well, prepare yourselves, because we’ve got plenty of news in this edition of Who News! in hopes of alleviating some post-Season 7B depression.
First, what do you think of the new TARDIS? I love the design because I’m a sucker for anything retro and the new console room pays homage to the TARDIS console of old in many ways. In the latest Doctor Who Magazine they shared these wonderful shots of the new console, up close and in detail, revealing each individual panel,
I particularly like how bleak it looks, this is a dark time for The Doctor, and I dig all the Gallifreyan symbols.
Lots more below the cut, including Billie Piper talking – as little as she can – about the 50th anniversary, Neil Gaiman on Clara and her relationship with the TARDIS, and more rumors about John Hurt’s mysterious role in the anniversary special.
Once we all realized Doctor Who was to reach its 50th Anniversary the rumors of past Doctors returning and promises of multi-Doctor adventures were rampant. Since then we’ve learned only one previous Doctor, the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant), will be returning to save the world? universe? himself? – that part we don’t really know – alongside the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith). Until now some fans, myself included, held out hope they’d realize some way to incorporate the surviving Classic Doctors (4th Tom Baker, 5th Peter Davison, 6th Colin Baker, 7th Sylvestor McCoy, and 8th Paul McGann), but alas, it just ain’t happening. An especial bummer for Eighth Doctor fans. The guy only got one mediocre, TV movie!
The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine – which also contains those “The Name of The Doctor” spoilers you’ll find below the cut – has confirmed no other Doctors are appearing in the anniversary special, stating, “Although David Tennant has returned to his role of the Tenth Doctor, the other old Doctors will not be taking part.” Wah-wah. There’s still a chance they’ll be included in some fashion, maybe in recycled audio, but expect no new appearances.
Those looking for new material from Classic Doctors shouldn’t worry too much, there’s still Big Finish’s excellent audio adventures. They’ll even have their own 50th Anniversary special which will feature Doctors Fourth through Eighth! Plus audio clips from Doctors First through Third, so really, it’s the more comprehensive 50th anniversary special.
Wow, was this one hell of an episode! With a name like “Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS” expectations were, expectantly, high. And I’ll say not only did it deliver, but my expectations were exceeded! This is Doctor Who at its very best. Engaging, exciting, frightening, and occasionally frustrating with the tantalizing clues it’ll wave in your face only to stuff them back in its pockets. The TARDIS is given center stage as not only the episode’s entire setting but as an equally valuable character. “Journey” is gripping and horrific where “The Doctor’s Wife” was sad and sweet. And honestly, I’m not at all surprise I found this to be one of the best episodes since “The Doctor’s Wife” because if Doctor Who has another, often forgotten star alongside The Doctor, it is the TARDIS.
She has appeared in every episode and serial of the series since it began in 1963, and for as little as we know about The Doctor, we know even less of her. In this year of Doctor Who‘s golden anniversary it seems only right we get know the TARDIS, and The Doctor, a little better. She is a mass of corridors, which I find only too fitting, what with Doctor Who‘s penchant for a good corridor. She is quite literally infinite, able to create and destroy on whim. She is filled to the brim with memories and you hear several of them bleeding out when the console is being dismantled. She is powered by a dying star, held within The Eye of Harmony in a constant state of decay; Time Lord engineering (“Smart bunch, Time Lords, no dress sense, dreadful hats, but smart.“) Inside her library – and hey did you catch the swimming pool? – is the complete Encyclopedia Gallifreya as well as a large, ominous looking book containing the entire history of the Time War. It was at this point I realized, “Journey” was going to raise a lot more questions than it could answer.
We’re about half way through the second half of Doctor Who‘s seventh season, and this weekend we get one of the series’ most anticipated episodes, “Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS.” There was one clip earlier this week of Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) doing her best impression of an all too curious cat, and today there’s another clip, this one of The Doctor (Matt Smith), plus an episode introduction. Give ‘em a watch,
Below the cut we’ve got a new poster and synopsis for Neil Gaiman‘s Cybermen story, “Nightmare in Silver“, a look at a new Doctor Who box set celebrating each Doctor’s regeneration, and some speculation about who John Hurt is playing in the 50th Anniversary special.
Come on, Clara. You must have heard “curiosity killed the cat” in at least one of your many lives!? When there’s a big, flashing red light, whatever you do, don’t press the button! Or in this case, open the door. Watch the very first clip from this week’s all new Doctor Who, “Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS,”
Jenna-Louise Coleman is going to have to be smarter than that if she expects to survive in the TARDIS long enough for The Doctor (Matt Smith) to save her. But a bigger questions is, who will save The Doctor? I know, you’re thinking, “What’s happening to The Doctor?” Well, it won’t be in this episode, but in the Season 7B finale, titled “The Name of The Doctor,” we may finally see the “Fall of the Eleventh.” Y’know, the ominous warning given to The Doctor by Dorium Maldovar in “The Wedding of River Song”? All that cryptic talk of “Silence will fall when the Question is asked.”
Speaking with Doctor Who Magazine, Grand Poobah Steven Moffat teased those answers may appear in the finale,
The TARDIS. We all know what it is, what it looks like, and could roughly explain it if needed to, but how much do we really know? Judging from the premise of this week’s Doctor Who episode, “Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS“, not much. When Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) is trapped within the TARDIS and The Doctor (Matt Smith) only has 30 minutes to save her before everything blows, we’ll learn just what goes on inside the vast and infinite time machine. And it doesn’t look like anything good. Check out these newly released stills and see more of the TARDIS than ever before!
And here, we all thought the finale was going to be called “The Funeral of River Song.” I mean, that sounds epic, right? Nice call back to the “The Wedding of…” and Alex Kingston will guest star, I was sure we had it. Nope, the last episode capping off Season 7B is “The Name of The Doctor.” Which I’ll admit, is exceedingly more epic sounding. Also extremely final. Guess that makes it all the better of a lead in to the 50th anniversary.
In addition to the new posters for the finale there’s also this short synopsis,
Someone is kidnapping The Doctor’s friends, leading him towards the one place in all of time and space that he should never go.
Ooh, ominous. Hit the jump for another, larger look at the new artwork.
Doctor Who “The Name of The Doctor” will air May 18th on BBC America at 8pm.
Two scary stories in a row from Doctor Who. They must really be trying to harken back to those days when children would watch from between their fingers or from hiding behind the sofa. And “Hide” manages to be scary in all those ways we love stories to be scary. Set in an old, eerie looking manor where wailing and knocking can be heard and every once in a while there’s an apparition of a screaming woman. Staying at the house hoping to discover the ghost – or ghaaast – is Professor Alec Palmer (Dougray Scott), a former WWII spy now living with guilt and working as a paranormal investigator, and Emma Grayling (Jessica Raines), an empathic psychic and associate, or rather companion, to the professor. The whole premise is like something out of a 70s horror film – think The Legend of Hell House – and The Doctor and Clara simply stumble in, looking to do some ghostbusting.
If “The Rings of Akhaten” and “Cold War”, while good, were on the weaker end of the Who spectrum, “Hide” is definitely a swing back to the strong end. The setup relies heavily on the ghost hunters premise and it allows us to dive right into the investigation. Which is quite creepy. Much of the photographic evidence gathered by the Professor and Emma look like scenes out of The Ring video, with a ghostly white figure and its stretched, screaming face. Doctor Who has really excelled at creating unique atmosphere’s for each of its episodes this season. Whether it’s the thrilling, fast-paced city of London in “The Bells of Saint John”, or the beautiful, vibrant “Akhaten”, to the claustrophobic, damp, and bleak “Cold War.” Out of all, “Hide” is probably the best. That manor house is ideal with its creaky hallways and shrouded rooms, and the “surrounding” woods of the pocket universe are equally as spooky.
Images like this give me chills. It’s visual evidence this is actually happening. At some point, later this year, we’ll be watching the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special in where both the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, and the Tenth Doctor, David Tennant will appear together. Excuse me while I fangirl excessively,
(Note, gifs aren’t mine, or ours, but they may be yours. Let us know and we’ll credit!)
Okay, now that’s over with, if you have no fear of SPOILERS, continue on to the very first image of the Eleventh and Tenth together again,
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