Filming for the second of four 2009 specials of Doctor Who, this time featuring David Tennant and Lindsay Duncan, has now completed, and filming on the final specials (forming a two parter around Christmas) has now commenced. In a recent interview on Planet of the Dead on BBC News, current head writer for the new series Russell.T.Davies revealed that the companion for the last two specials, the send-off episodes for David Tennant's Doctor, will be Wilfred Mott, played once again by Bernard Cribbins. This news had already appeared in fan sites via filming photos of Tennant and Cribbins, but RTD's confirmation was the first official announcement by the BBC. Other cast members for the specials have now been revealed by filming photos, and will likely be touched on in the next issue of Doctor Who Magazine, out on the 30th of April. One of these is, predictably, Catherine Tate, returning to the series to play Donna Noble, a character who first appeared in the second ever Christmas special, The Runaway Bride, and was suppposedly killed off in Journey's End, the finale to Series Four, when her memory of all her adventures with the Doctor was wiped due to her brain containing all the knowledge of a Time Lord, which would have eventually killed her. As far as we've seen from set photos, Donna has not yet found out about who the Doctor really is, or has and for some reason is not affected by the knowledge. If the answer turns out to be the second reason, we're in for a very strange and exciting finale.
To add to the list of returning companions, Elisabeth Sladen and Thomas Knight will return as Sarah-Jane Smith and Luke Smith respectively. Filming shots see Luke almost run over by a car, the Doctor saving him, Luke fetching Sarah-Jane from her house, and the pair watching the Doctor depart in the TARDIS. Despite this, it is likely they will appear again later in the Christmas special. Also set to appear is Jacqueline King, who will return to her role of Sylvia Noble in the specials, presumably making sure the Doctor doesn't ruin Donna's wedding (oh yes, did I forget to mention? One shot shows Tate in a wedding dress, ready to walk down the isle)
Also rumoured to return are Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) and Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), however no one has yet spotted either of the actors on set recently. One man who has been spotted, though, is John Simm. Simm, who played the Master (a renegade Time Lord) in the Season Three finale: Utopia, The Sound of Drums and Last of the Time Lords. However, this time he was seen sporting a blonde hair do, and as RTD has recently said, in these specials, nothing is at it seems, and there will be some fantasy and nightmare sequences, so perhaps the Master will not properly appear (but by darn it would be interesting to find out what happened to that ring at his cremation!). Another confirmed returnee is Jessica Hynes, who played Joan Redfern in Human Nature and The Family of Blood, but far from playing a senior version of her character, she is playing an author named Verity Newman (Verity taking from late producer Verity Lambert, and Newman taken from Sydney Newman, a well regarded Who director), who has salvaged John Smith's Journal Of Impossible Things, and written a book on it.
While filming the scene in a bookstore, Hynes' character sees the Doctor walk into the store, speaks to him, and the Time Lord gave Newman a dark and sad look, and then walks away. All of these announcements seem very exciting, in my opinion, and seem to prove that we're in for one heck of a special (excuse the pun) finale. What do you think of these announcements?
No comments:
Post a Comment