Kopic's Doctor Who & Torchwood News |
- Doctor Who: The Impossible Astronaut Now Available via iTunes in the US
- Movie News After Dark: Avengers are Go, Elvis is Fired, Wonder Woman is ... - Film School Rejects
- Ask 411 Movies for 04.25.11: Happy Discount Easter Candy Day - 411mania.com
- Review of Doctor Who 'The Impossible Astronaut' - The Independent (blog)
- DOCTOR WHO 6.01 'The Impossible Astronaut' - Crave Online
- Doctor Who – Time flies when we're having fun - CliqueClack TV
- Watch Now: 'If I Had A Time Machine' Promotion Launched For 'Doctor Who' - Geeks of Doom
- Who wore it best? Alexa Chung vs Karen Gillan in Orla Kiely - My Fashion Life
- Doctor Who nominations in 2011 Hugo Awards
- BGT WINS VIEWERS AS DOCTOR WHO SLIPS - Express.co.uk
- Arthur says Rory will “man up” in the new series
- Doctor Who series 6 blog: The Impossible Astronaut - Belfast Telegraph
- The Weekend's TV: United, Sun, BBC2Perspectives: Looking for Lowry, Sun ... - The Independent
- Karen discusses the Doctor and Amy's relationship
- My Sarah Jane: A Tribute to Elisabeth Sladen
- Doctor Who: Recap/review: Episode 6.1 'The Impossible Astronaut' - Examiner.com
- Vincent and the HUGO?
- VIDEO: Sandman's Neil Gaiman Talks Dr Who "Doctor's Wife!" - Comic Book Movie
- On set with the cast, crew in latest Insider video!
- United Review: It's Not About The Game - OntheBox
- The End of Doctor Who?
- Day of the Moon Clips
- TV review: Doctor Who; United - The Guardian
- Doctor Who sees ratings FALL by 1.5m and Britain's Got Talent is also on the slide - Daily Mail
- Smith: USA Enthusiasm Wonderful
- Cartmel Talks Thatcher
- Ten Thoughts About Doctor Who: The Impossible Astronaut - Bleeding Cool News
- Millions tune in for Doctor Who season premiere - Metro
- Doctor Who: Sneak peek, clip 2 for episode 6.2 'Day of the Moon' - Examiner.com
- I Give Up On Doctor Who - ChicagoNow (blog)
- God Complex: “Spooky Hotel”
- New Doctor Who episode billed as scariest yet sees ratings FALL by 1.5m (And ... - Daily Mail
- Review: 'Doctor Who' Returns With 'The Impossible Astronaut', Remains Cool and ... - Film School Rejects
- Busby son 'disgusted' at TV film - BBC News
- Water Cooler – Resurrection! No, Not Him, The Doctor! - Firedoglake
- Must See BBC2 Drama of 1958 Manchester United Munich Air Crash Tragedy - Wakey Wakey News
- Doctor Who opener watched by 6.4m - BBC News
- Check Out This Bizarre Dr. Who Chess Set - Geeky gadgets
- Oi Spaceman!
- The Series 6 premiere reviews come pouring in…
- Series 6 Finale Filming
- 6.1: The Impossible Astronaut - Overnight Viewing Figures
- Overnight ratings for The Impossible Astronaut
- Impossible Astronaut - Overnight Ratings
- The Impossible Astronaut: Press Reaction
- Impossible Astronaut Reaction
- My Sarah Jane: A Tribute…
- Doctor Who: Weird and Wonderful
- PASSINGS: Richard J. Dorso, Elisabeth Sladen, Roy Edward Burris - Los Angeles Times
- Monsters are real
| Doctor Who: The Impossible Astronaut Now Available via iTunes in the US Posted: 24 Apr 2011 04:49 PM PDT A quick heads up for those looking to get the latest episode of Doctor Who via iTunes. The new 2011 series premiere, The Impossible Astronaut is now available for purchase ($2.99) or rent (99¢) via the US Apple iTunes store:
You can also purchase a season pass for $19.99
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| Movie News After Dark: Avengers are Go, Elvis is Fired, Wonder Woman is ... - Film School Rejects Posted: 24 Apr 2011 02:58 PM PDT
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| Ask 411 Movies for 04.25.11: Happy Discount Easter Candy Day - 411mania.com Posted: 24 Apr 2011 02:04 PM PDT
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| Review of Doctor Who 'The Impossible Astronaut' - The Independent (blog) Posted: 24 Apr 2011 01:41 PM PDT
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| DOCTOR WHO 6.01 'The Impossible Astronaut' - Crave Online Posted: 24 Apr 2011 12:48 PM PDT
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| Doctor Who – Time flies when we're having fun - CliqueClack TV Posted: 24 Apr 2011 12:40 PM PDT
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| Posted: 24 Apr 2011 12:08 PM PDT
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| Who wore it best? Alexa Chung vs Karen Gillan in Orla Kiely - My Fashion Life Posted: 24 Apr 2011 11:06 AM PDT
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| Doctor Who nominations in 2011 Hugo Awards Posted: 24 Apr 2011 10:43 AM PDT Following a long tradition, Doctor Who is once again been nominated for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form in the annual Hugo Awards. This year sees A Christmas Carol (written by Stephen Moffat), The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang (also by Moffat), and Vincent and the Doctor (Richard Curtis) vying for the award, up against The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan and Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury by Rachel Bloom. Since its return in 2005, Doctor Who has only been beaten once in this category: Steven Moffat was successful for the first three years with The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances (2006), The Girl in the Fireplace (2007) and Blink (2008); 2009 was the 'gap' year with Moffat's Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead and Russell T Davies's Turn Left losing out to Joss Whedon's Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog; last year saw Davies and Phil Ford win the award with The Waters of Mars. This year's award winners will be revealed on Saturday 20th August at Renovation, the 69th World Science Fiction convention taking place at Reno, Nevada over that weekend. | ||
| BGT WINS VIEWERS AS DOCTOR WHO SLIPS - Express.co.uk Posted: 24 Apr 2011 10:12 AM PDT
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| Arthur says Rory will “man up” in the new series Posted: 24 Apr 2011 10:08 AM PDT AOL have released a new interview with Arthur Darvill, in which he reveals that viewers will see Rory's confidence grow and grow over the course of the new series. "He's still him. He's been through a lot, and you have to be affected by that," he explained. "The fact that he sacrificed so much for [...] | ||
| Doctor Who series 6 blog: The Impossible Astronaut - Belfast Telegraph Posted: 24 Apr 2011 10:06 AM PDT
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| The Weekend's TV: United, Sun, BBC2Perspectives: Looking for Lowry, Sun ... - The Independent Posted: 24 Apr 2011 10:01 AM PDT
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| Karen discusses the Doctor and Amy's relationship Posted: 24 Apr 2011 09:21 AM PDT MTV News has a new interview with Karen Gillan, in which she discusses how the Doctor and Amy's relationship will develop over the course of the new series. "It's going to have a few ups and downs and changes," she explains. "Because Rory's on board, it adds a whole new dimension to it. I think that [...] | ||
| My Sarah Jane: A Tribute to Elisabeth Sladen Posted: 24 Apr 2011 09:05 AM PDT Although yesterday was a day full of excitement for Doctor Who fans, there was also a level of sadness, as the CBBC Channel paid tribute to Elisabeth Sladen, who passed away on Tuesday, aged 63, after a battle with cancer. The 15-minute special – entitled 'My Sarah Jane' – featured interviews with just some of those [...] | ||
| Doctor Who: Recap/review: Episode 6.1 'The Impossible Astronaut' - Examiner.com Posted: 24 Apr 2011 08:57 AM PDT
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| Posted: 24 Apr 2011 08:48 AM PDT Just so Matthew Milam can finally understand that while opinions count, it doesn't make them facts, Doctor Who has clocked up a nice handful of HUGO award nominations! As revealed by Paul Cornell's tweeting, Vincent and the Doctor (by Richard Curtis), The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang and A Christmas Carol (by Steven Moffat) are nominated in the shortform drama presentation category. A win for any of the episodes would be impressive as the HUGO awards are probably the science fiction industy's most prestigious title. Steven Moffat has previously had success at the awards, but we have a good feeling about Vincent and the Doctor… These shortlist nominations have only been revealed this evening, so we'll update you with further news as we get it! | ||
| VIDEO: Sandman's Neil Gaiman Talks Dr Who "Doctor's Wife!" - Comic Book Movie Posted: 24 Apr 2011 08:48 AM PDT
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| On set with the cast, crew in latest Insider video! Posted: 24 Apr 2011 08:47 AM PDT BBC America have treated us to another instalment of their brilliant Doctor Who Insider videos! This time we're taken behind the scenes on the set at the Cardiff studios where the cast and crew take a break from filming Toby Whithouse's episode, The God Complex, to share some secrets about the new series, which premiered [...] | ||
| United Review: It's Not About The Game - OntheBox Posted: 24 Apr 2011 08:41 AM PDT
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| Posted: 24 Apr 2011 08:40 AM PDT Doctor Who is set to end this week, ladies and gentlemen, as requested by Chicago Now's Matthew Milam in his memo to the BBC. Now rewritten as I Give Up on Doctor Who, the critic – whose positive and considered reviews we have previously featured on Kasterborous – has several issues with the current series, and is of course entitled to his opinion. The fact remains, however, that calling for the show to be rested just because he doesn't enjoy it as much as he did when Tom Baker was starring doesn't mean that Mr Milam's opinion is right. It's just his. Obviously the BBC aren't about to jump to the tune of some hack they haven't heard of, but you might be interested to know that this week's UK season opener, The Impossible Astronaut, took a lowly 6.5 million viewers according to overnight figures.
Source: Barb consolidated figures This will probably have an extra 1.5 million viewers added to it to account for delayed viewings over the next few days, while the iPlayer users will no doubt add a final extra 2 million, giving us probably somewhere in the region of 10 million. However as iPlayer views somehow don't count (despite them being the only real views, Barb…) the episode will likely finish somewhere in the 8 million area. As you can see from the table above, this places The Impossible Astronaut much lower than the previous low of New Earth in 2006; you will, however, notice a correlation with the dates. It seems that episodes broadcast in mid-to-late April receive a lower figure than those in March and early April. Many will be surprised to find that two David Tennant series openers, New Earth and Smith and Jones are the worst-performing in terms of audience numbers. Keep the faith, though, Doctor Who fans - The Impossible Astronaut had an average audience share of 36.7%, a sizable chunk, and audience figures peaked at 7 million. Can any of the blame be laid at the BBC's door? Prior to the episode, the horrific Don't Scare the Hare managed a paltry 1.93m, while talent show So You Think You Can Dance managed 3.56 million. A stronger schedule would no doubt benefit Doctor Who which is clearly propping up the BBC One schedules on Saturday nights.
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| Posted: 24 Apr 2011 08:30 AM PDT The Official Doctor Who website has released two clips from the next episode Day of the Moon, which concludes the adventure that began with The Impossible Astronaut… Written by Steven Moffat, Day of the Moon sees the TARDIS travellers fighting to overcome the Silence occupation of Earth – and if you were disturbed by anything you saw in The Impossible Astronaut or prefer to remain spoiler-free, look away now! OK so that bit wasn't so scary. Perhaps this clip will be…
Doctor Who is scheduled for the 6pm-7pm timeslot on Saturday, April 30th 2011 on BBC One. | ||
| TV review: Doctor Who; United - The Guardian Posted: 24 Apr 2011 08:30 AM PDT
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| Doctor Who sees ratings FALL by 1.5m and Britain's Got Talent is also on the slide - Daily Mail Posted: 24 Apr 2011 08:12 AM PDT
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| Smith: USA Enthusiasm Wonderful Posted: 24 Apr 2011 07:59 AM PDT Ah people of the US, the Doctor himself has leaned over your fair country and beamed with paternal pride. He's fathered a nation of Who geeks. Congratulations! Speaking to Entertainment Weekly Matt Smith has been overwhelmed by the response to this former rickety show with planet sized imagination.
With that combination of imagination, budget and scope to make it even better, Smith believes that the show's unique DNA makes it so enduring to American audience:
And with that amazing debut episode still fresh in the minds of fans on either side of the Atlantic, Smith wants nothing more than to see his baby settle into the life of a jet set sci-fi phenomenon:
(via Digital Spy) | ||
| Posted: 24 Apr 2011 07:44 AM PDT Enemy of the Thatcher and Former Doctor Who Script Editor Andrew Cartmel is reminiscing about his time controlling the very legacy of the Doctor for podcast series SFP.now. Cartmel is perhaps best know for adding a bit of class to the downright shoddy cancellation imposed on the show by the big wigs at the Beeb in 1989 His last-minute change to the end of the then final episode Survival - which saw the Seventh Doctor and Ace metaphorically riding off into the sunset with a brilliantly touching final speech by Sylvester McCoy. The writer also chats about his recent notoriety when his run on the show was declared 'Anti Government' based on a quote from his interview for the job on the show where he told Producer John-Nathan Turner that he wanted the show to 'overthrow the Government'. Shocking. In fact so shocking he ended up on Newsnight defending the show and indeed the universe from learning the shocking truth… erh …shocking. Also included in this fifteenth episode of SFP.Now host Ian Cullen will also be looking into this week in comics and television with a chinwag about the HBO series Game of Thrones. (via Monsters & Critics) | ||
| Ten Thoughts About Doctor Who: The Impossible Astronaut - Bleeding Cool News Posted: 24 Apr 2011 07:42 AM PDT
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| Millions tune in for Doctor Who season premiere - Metro Posted: 24 Apr 2011 07:41 AM PDT
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| Doctor Who: Sneak peek, clip 2 for episode 6.2 'Day of the Moon' - Examiner.com Posted: 24 Apr 2011 07:08 AM PDT
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| I Give Up On Doctor Who - ChicagoNow (blog) Posted: 24 Apr 2011 06:38 AM PDT
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| God Complex: “Spooky Hotel” Posted: 24 Apr 2011 06:20 AM PDT Digital Spy has recently posted an interview with Doctor Who writer and Being Human creator Toby Whithouse. Toby's Doctor Who episodes have certainly had some excellent moments in them: the return of Sarah Jane Smith in School Reunion, the Doctor bursting out of Rory's cake in The Vampires of Venice. But this year we look forward to a darker episode from the writer with his new story The God Complex. Whithouse revealed some of the details of the episode:
Walliams is no stranger to the audio world of Doctor Who; he starred in the Big Finish adventures Phantasmagoria and The Mutant Phase. However this is his (frankly overdue) debut to "on screen" who. Unless you count the comedy sketch he did with Mark Gatiss for BBC Two's Doctor Who night. Which we won't. The new series of Doctor Who is to be much darker in tone we've been told. This is something that was clear from Saturday's first episode The Impossible Astronaut. But what about Toby's episode? The writer revealed:
And the title itself, The God Complex, is a bit of an oddity as well, throwing out connotations of big ideas and an epic storyline, all that Whitehouse has to say about that is:
For the full interview, head to Digital Spy! Doctor Who is now broadcasting its sixth series every Saturday. The God Complex will air later this year. | ||
| New Doctor Who episode billed as scariest yet sees ratings FALL by 1.5m (And ... - Daily Mail Posted: 24 Apr 2011 05:06 AM PDT
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| Posted: 24 Apr 2011 04:10 AM PDT
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| Busby son 'disgusted' at TV film - BBC News Posted: 24 Apr 2011 02:32 AM PDT
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| Water Cooler – Resurrection! No, Not Him, The Doctor! - Firedoglake Posted: 24 Apr 2011 01:46 AM PDT
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| Must See BBC2 Drama of 1958 Manchester United Munich Air Crash Tragedy - Wakey Wakey News Posted: 24 Apr 2011 01:00 AM PDT
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| Doctor Who opener watched by 6.4m - BBC News Posted: 24 Apr 2011 12:08 AM PDT
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| Check Out This Bizarre Dr. Who Chess Set - Geeky gadgets Posted: 23 Apr 2011 10:53 PM PDT
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| Posted: 23 Apr 2011 09:01 PM PDT  Whenever I come to write my thoughts on Nu Who, I'm always aware that I might be in the minority. Brief statii posted on Facebook bring a cavalcade of comments as to how I am wrong, how I didn't 'get' it and so on, but generally when I post my thoughts here, I get nice comments and people saying that they're glad I said what I did as they thought the same and felt somewhat bludgeoned by the rest of fandom for not thinking as per the collective ...So I'll do as usual here, and pass on my thoughts and feelings about the opener for Season 6 (or Season 32, or Season 11.2 depending on how you're counting). This year I managed to stay pretty much completely spoiler free - so I had (and have) little clue as to what to expect. So 'The Impossible Astronaut' kicked off with no expectations at all. First of all, the title. It's rubbish. From what we saw, 'Silence Falls' would have been better, or maybe 'Space 1969' ... 'The Impossible Astronaut' sounds more like a novel or comic story ... but then that's what we were presented with, a story which seemed to be more at home in any media other than television. We kick off with the Doctor at various points in the past: being painted naked; in some wartime tunnels; and dancing on film with Laurel and Hardy. All very nice, but what was the point? To attract Amy and Rory's attention? Why not just call on them ... it's not very Doctory. And another thing, for all this episode's bleating on about not being able to change the past, that's all the Doctor seems to do - inserting himself in people's past and changing how the future will pan out. Anyway, he sends Amy and Rory and River Song (who seems to be in a jail or something but is allowed to leave by her captors?) invitations to America to meet with him by a lake ... and the first clue is that he says he is 1103 years old, but last time Amy saw him he was 908 ... so some 200 years have passed for the Doctor. But then a car arrives bringing an old man bearing a can of petrol .. and the Doctor talks with an Apollo astronaut down by the lake who then seems to kill him ... and then while he is regenerating kills him completely. But we're used to all this by now ... regenerations that are not, events which are not what they seem ... even in the Pandorica episode the Doctor was apparently killed ... but wasn't. I wonder if the production team know the story of the Boy who Cried Wolf (or should that be Bad Wolf?). So all this outpouring of emotion from Amy left me cold ... seen this before. Got the t-shirt. And as usual the music was awful. Murray Gold seems to have a sledgehammer approach at times, and the choral stuff here really annoyed me. And the plot now starts to twist and turn. The Doctor's body is burned (so he does seem to be really really dead), and the old man - Canton Everett Delaware III - has another of the invitations, numbered 1 to 4 ... so who had number 1? Surprise! It is the Doctor ... this time aged 909 - so just a year after last meeting Amy and Rory ... but he doesn't seem to know who River Song is yet ... Spoilers! So they head to 1969 to where the TARDIS seems to want to go - to the 8th April to be precise, and the Oval Office, where President Nixon is troubled by a strange child who keeps phoning him for help. He has called in ex-FBI man Canton Delaware (which number we're not sure of) to assist him and before long the Doctor, Amy, Rory and River are all embroiled in the mystery.  Amy meanwhile is seeing alien creatures which she then forgets about, and, feeling sick, heads for the toilets where she encounters it again. She works out that once you can't see it any more you forget about it and so takes a photo on her phone. The creature tells her that she must tell the Doctor what he must know ... but what that is, is somewhat obtuse ... that he died? The creature is quite spooky but is overused - scary is half seen in the shadows and background, not in plain view in a toilet. And is it only me who thinks it looks a bit like the Headmaster from the Pink Floyd video for 'Another Brick in the Wall'? It kills a woman in the toilet for no apparent reason other than to establish that it is a threat, and then Amy rushes out - immediately forgetting it. So how did the creature expect her to tell the Doctor anything? Come to that, why doesn't it tell him itself? All this creeping around ... what's the point? No-one could ever reveal its presence as everyone forgets it the moment they can't see it ...The Doctor figures out that the calls from the child are coming from a warehouse about 5 miles from Cape Kennedy ... because the kid mentioned three names when asked where they were and who they were ... this borders on the mcguffin for me. A convenient hook to bring the Doctor to a place where there are all manner of alien gadgets and tech just lying around. River investigates some underground tunnels, and, apart from lots of the forgettable monsters, she finds a locked room with some sort of control console in it. This looked to me like the alien craft from last year's 'The Lodger' to me, but it's function is unknown as the alien creatures move in on Rory and River. Meanwhile upstairs, Amy admits to the Doctor that she is pregnant. What a time to pick ... and immediately one is asking, so is the Astronaut her child? Is River Song her child? Is the Doctor her child? But then River is complaining of feeling sick as well, so is she pregnant too? Is her child the Doctor? Or even Amy? It's all timey wimey wibbly wobbly stuff. So the Astronaut appears again and the suit is revealed to have a child in it (and it would be impossible for a kid to fill and operate such a suit, but never mind) and Amy shoots it with Canton's gun ... And we crash into the closing credits.  There's some lovely dialogue in the episode. I liked all of River Song's musings on her life with the Doctor, running in different directions (in case you had forgotten this) but it just served to confuse things more really. You have to keep remembering that River cannot remember any of her past (as far as we are concerned) adventures, and the things she goes on about haven't happened yet as far as we are concerned. It's all a little cerebral for a kid's teatime show really.And that's another of the problems I have. Personally I *like* Doctor Who to be thought provoking and exciting and horrifying. 'The children's own show which adults adore'. And yet ... and yet we have a magazine aimed at 5 year olds (Doctor Who Adventures), lego sets, activity books and novels aimed at the 8-10 age group (or younger) ... there's no merchandise except perhaps Doctor Who Magazine which is aimed at the older age group. So the show is actively courting and cultivating fans who are young kids, and then presenting material on the show itself which they could never follow or understand! Heck the merchandise is aimed at people who were not even born when Christopher Eccleston saved Rose from the Autons! It's food for thought. And so while I'm looking forward to see how this story pans out - and kudos to Steven Moffat, I have no idea at all what might be going on - I am strangely ambivalent about it all. I like my Doctor Who to have a plot, to excite and engage on a level more than just wondering how the characters would react and so on. There are too many shows out there which are unwatchable for a single episode because they are all about the backstory and not about the viewers and presenting an entertaining hour of plot and excitement. Many shows start life as a series of great stand alone stories but then, as they beome popular, alienate all but those who have watched every episode, by making the mistake of thinking that the characters and backstory is more interesting than the plots - The X-Files, Buffy, Supernatural all made this mistake, and recently I've tried to watch episodes of Warehouse 13 and Witchblade and come out the other end having no idea whatsoever about what the show was about - it was all about backstory I didn't know and characters I didn't care about. I really, really don't want Doctor Who to go down that route.  | ||
| The Series 6 premiere reviews come pouring in… Posted: 23 Apr 2011 08:50 PM PDT Everybody seems to be talking about last night's Series 6 premiere, and reviews are now pouring in. You'll want to avoid the majority of them if you haven't seen the episode yourself yet! Firstly, The Impossible Astronaut "was a cracking start" to the spring series according to the Telegraph, who award particular praise to Alex Kingston. [...] | ||
| Posted: 23 Apr 2011 08:31 PM PDT
Filming is continuing on Doctor Who and some interesting details have emerged from the Series 6 finale (episode 13). Here's som Read more ...
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| 6.1: The Impossible Astronaut - Overnight Viewing Figures Posted: 23 Apr 2011 08:28 PM PDT The overnight viewing figures are in for 6.1: The Impossible Astronaut. The episode achieved a figure of 6.5m viewers, with an audience share of 36.7%. Doctor Who was the second most-watched programme of Easter Saturday, with Britain's Got Talent taking the top slot with 9.5m viewers. Final BARB ratings will be available within the next 10 days. + What did you think of the episode? Rate / Discuss in the DWO Forums! [Source: Andy Parish]
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| Overnight ratings for The Impossible Astronaut Posted: 23 Apr 2011 08:15 PM PDT Last night's series premiere of Doctor Who was watched by an audience of 6.5million viewers, according to overnight ratings. The unofficial figures show that 37% of the total television audience tuned in for the Doctor's return, making Doctor Who the most watched programme on BBC One of the day. It's currently the 13th most programme of the [...] | ||
| Impossible Astronaut - Overnight Ratings Posted: 23 Apr 2011 07:56 PM PDT  Doctor Who: The Impossible Astronaut was watched by 6.5 million viewers, according to unofficial overnight figures.The programme which has a share of 37% of the total audience, was the highest rated show on BBC One for the day, a remarkable achievement given the early timeslot and the excellent bank holiday weather across the UK. It was more than two million viewers ahead of the next programme on BBC One, Casualty. Overall it was the second highest rated programme on all TV with Britain's Got Talent on ITV1 taking the top slot with 9.5 million watching. Against Doctor Who, March of the Dinosaurs had an average audience of just 1.3 million watching. To show what a draw Doctor Who is, the programme preceding it had just 1.9 million watching. The BBC One audience jumped from 2.2 to 6.0 million as Doctor Who began, with the audience growing throughout the programme and an average of 7 million watching the final fifteen minutes. At the end of the show, over half of the viewers left BBC One, with the channel seeing its audience plunge from 7.0 million to 3.2 million. Doctor Who is currently the 13th highest rated show for the week. Final figures, including those who recorded the show and watched it later, will be released next week. | ||
| The Impossible Astronaut: Press Reaction Posted: 23 Apr 2011 07:46 PM PDT A roundup of some of the comments in the press for the premiere of The Impossible Astronaut. Please note that as these are reviews, spoilers may be present. United Kingdom Gavin Fuller writes in the Telegraph: Moffat clearly loves the way Doctor who can play around with concepts of time, and this episode was one which dealt in a mature manner with this, aided by some fizzing dialogue as the episode progressed; this was quite a wordy episode which concentrated more on atmosphere than pace and visual thrills. However, Robert Colvile, was less impressed:Matt Smith still arguably needs to find the right balance between serious and humour. The latter occasionally jarred in such a deeply layered episode as this. I don't quite see why Amy had an urgent need in the middle of a warehouse to tell him about her pregnancy, unless the Silence's instructions to her previously in the episode were responsible in some way (tricky though as she'd surely forgotten them after leaving the rest room?). This minor quibble aside, this was a cracking start to the first part of the 2011 series, with the shocking ending of Amy seemingly shooting a girl making one keen wait for the conclusion next week to see how it all resolves itself. The central problem, however, is that while the Nixon references were wonderful (who knew the Doctor was to blame for Watergate?) and the jokes sparkling, many of the elements felt not just frenzied, but familiar. It's one thing to refer to previous episodes, but Moffat recycled a host of tropes and tricks from his own work on the series ... It could be, given Moffat's stellar record on both Doctor Who and Sherlock, that this was entirely deliberate, and will pay off later. But stir in the brain-melting time-travel paradoxes and multitude of dangling plot threads, and this felt like a writer stirring everything into the pot, and damn the need for exposition. The result was an episode that rewarded the dedicated fan but could leave the younger or casual viewer baffled. Similarly Dan Martin of the Guardian enthuses: Hello sweeties! And welcome back. There's really nowhere else to begin than with that death scene. Sudden and brutal and unexpected even though, on thinking about it for even a minute, it was really quite obvious who was going to die. But the cremation on the boat and Amy's numb horror ramps things up to a series-finale level of intensity from the off – and it doesn't let up for the duration of this staggeringly confident series opener. There's little time to even breathe as the episode then switches into an Oval Office comedy of manners, morphs into gothic horror and finally flings you to the ground with its cinematic cliffhanger. However, Andrew Anthony of the Observer observed:The key to great fantasy is that it conforms to its own reality. It doesn't matter if there are three-headed dogs, pink seas and everyone worships Dermot O'Leary, as long as it's all logical in that particular universe. The problem with Doctor Who is that logic long ago collapsed like a neutron star and there is no reality, but instead an ever-more frenzied effort to cover up the absence of what, back in this universe, we still refer to as a coherent plot. ... Most of the script was taken up with characters repeatedly saying things such as "Who's he?", "What's he doing?" and "Who are you?" It was like watching TV with one of those people – some of whom I share a house with – who keep asking you what's going on, except that on this occasion they were on the TV itself. Kevin O'Sullivan of the Mirror was similarly disappointed: SATURDAY night, BBC1... and Doctor Who storms back with the first of a two-part adventure called The Impossible Astronaut. As in impossible to understand. ... this ball of all-round confusion was no way to start a series. But I'm guessing the second instalment will end with the sonic screwdriver guy saving the world with seconds to spare. Again. Dan Golder of SFX said: So what we have here is a clever, ingenious plot, packed with standout set-pieces and boasting a feast of quotably funny lines. It feels darker, it feels slightly more adult, and it feels like a show willing to take risks. The direction and lighting are outstanding – especially in the underground scenes, which are edgy as hell. But there are some niggles. At times it's undeniably a little talky. There is an awful lot of information – a lot of it important, series-spanning information – and meaningfully salient character points shovelled into the mix, and this leads to a bit of story-telling drag occasionally. ... In fact, a lot of vital info suffers slightly by being delivered like a stand-up comedian going for a gags-per-hour record. Okay, we don't want a return to the days when every piece of information was spoon-fed to us, but conversely, if something's important then it shouldn't be treated like a throwaway line. There's a difference between watching something with your brain in gear, and having to hang on every single word, making notes. But none of this cancels out the fact that "The Impossible Astronaut" is unique, exquisitely acted, beautifully shot and quite unlike anything else you'll see on TV. Doctor Who's back but you can't help thinking – with delicious anticipation – that this year, things are going to be very different. Simon Brew of Den of Geek: ... One final element I want to praise, and that's the setting, and how director, Toby Haynes, made the most of it. The last time Doctor Who tackled America, it was the troubled Daleks In Manhattan, notorious for British actors attempting to do American accents. By shifting the location shoot to the US, Haynes has some glorious scenery to stage his shots in, and he really doesn't disappoint. This is, at times, wonderfully cinematic Who (backed by a terrific Murray Gold score), and hopefully, such ambitious location shoots will be back on the agenda again in due course. The Impossible Astronaut was, in all, a triumphant return for Doctor Who, bubbling with confidence and throwing down story strands that hint at an engrossing series. I could quibble about the fact that I struggled to always hear what The Silence had to say, if I was being really picky. But I don't want to be. This was glorious television, all the more remarkable for being a 48-year-old show that's still, time after time, finding interesting stories to tell. United States Rick Marshall of MTV: Steven Moffat and the "Doctor Who" crew offer up yet another great episode with Toby Haynes behind the camera — though the episode's big cliffhanger will likely cause more than a few fans' heads to explode. Much like they did in "A Christmas Carol," the cast and creative team show a knack for playing with the wibbly-wobbily nature of time and keeping things moving at a pace that prevents you from pondering the criss-crossed timelines The Doctor leaves in his wake. Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times: One year in, Matt Smith is screwed into this role good and tight. Like many a mythological figure, his Doctor is an ancient child, an unstable mix of authority and impulsiveness. "I'm being extremely clever up here, and there's no one to stand around looking impressed," he says irritably, his three friends having gone off to discuss something he can't be allowed to know. "What's the point of having you all?" What "Doctor Who" gives us, that so much science fiction does not nowadays with its pathological analysis of heroism, are romantic mad adventurers, not without their moments of doubt and pain but having a good time in between: The series conducts its serious business with a good deal of comedy. (These opening episodes are very funny, even by local standards.) That's not to say the darkness doesn't get in, within and without them; indeed, stories have gone repeatedly to the brink of nothingness — the extermination of the Earth, the unweaving of reality. Matthew Milam of Chicago Now wasn't so impressed: A few minutes into it, under the pen of current executive producer Steven Moffat, I came to realize one thing. The people behind the scenes of Doctor Who are beginning to run out of energy. As a result, they have run out of ideas. .... Doctor Who used to be a show that was fun. A show that never took itself seriously and a show that had the sense to cast good actors in the role who could take the most typical of science fiction plots and give them a new life. ... I cry because no one, including the actors, seem to be fighting for the show anymore. I cry because I believe I have officially come to the close conclusion that Doctor Who needs to retire again. Perhaps, I dare say it, forever. ... The reason I say cancel Doctor Who is not because I am a spiteful arse. I have written some good reviews for Doctor Who on Blogcritics. The problem is that good episodes of Doctor Who are far and few between. Even in the classic series that was an issue, but at least it felt like there was some attempt at making the characters connect with you. Maybe, just maybe, the BBC in now seeing this as a cash cow don't feel the need to develop strong stories, or even cast good actors for the show. | ||
| Posted: 23 Apr 2011 07:04 PM PDT Wow – what a cracking return to the airwaves that was! The Impossible Astronaut aired in three major territories on Saturday, with British, America and Canadian fans tuning in and able to enjoy the same episode of show on the same day without resorting to file sharing networks! One side effect of this is that there are a hell of a lot of reviews out there, largely positive but with a few exceptions. As ever, we're going to bring you snippets from the best of these reviews for this series of Doctor Who, beginning with low-brow leftist tabloid The Mirror, who described The Impossible Astronaut as "impossible to understand", with its star:
Note to Mirror review Kevin O'Sullivan: there are jobs out there where you don't have to watch TV shows that you don't like. Also, if you're still not getting it, see ScreenRant, who obvserved:
And, Mr O'Sullivan, if you're still not getting it… well, there's a reason why online and independant journalism is killing print, you know? Much more enthusiastic was, naturally, FlickFilosopher, where the discovery of the Doctor's appearance in vintage movies and flirtations with women from history is highly rated. Let's face it, The Impossible Astronaut features a good pre-credits sequence.
With Mark Sheppard and real-life father William Morgan Sheppard playing two versions of the same character, 40+ years apart, Doctor Who was afforded some cult casting kudos in its first US location shoot, something that seems to have struck a chord with some fans and reviewers. MTV Splash was particularly impressed with Sheppard, not to mention the Silence.
One aspect of the 2010 series of Doctor Who that came in for criticism was the performance of Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, something that in this particular wing of Kasterborous Towers we had no complaints with. However it was interesting to see a new take on the character in The Impossible Astronaut, something focused on by Obsessed with Film's review (outside their remit though, surely?)
Finally, we steer over to uber fansite Digital Spy, the home of fans of everything that is made up of 1s and 0s. While they were slow to come to the Doctor Who party back in 2005 they've been making up for it ever since, and their review of the Doctor Who Series 6 premiere closes with a 5 star rating and this to ponder…
We'll have more coverage of press and online reaction later on! | ||
| Posted: 23 Apr 2011 07:01 PM PDT | ||
| Doctor Who: Weird and Wonderful Posted: 23 Apr 2011 06:06 PM PDT Weird and Wonderful is our look at the some of the other Doctor Who bits and bobs around the web that caught our attention over the last week or so. This week: Who's on the road; 47 Years in 6 Minutes; Dalek cakes; Who's gone Gaga; and T-shirts are cool. Who's on the roadThe London Olympia has some interesting road signs…
via SFX
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| PASSINGS: Richard J. Dorso, Elisabeth Sladen, Roy Edward Burris - Los Angeles Times Posted: 23 Apr 2011 06:02 PM PDT
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| Posted: 23 Apr 2011 05:03 PM PDT This video that was released the other day has apparently been updated. But we're probably forgetting something…
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Doctor Who: The Impossible Planet
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