Philip Bates is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.
Neil Gaiman doesn’t like spoilers, it seems. And quite right too.
His teasing title for the Series 6 episode, The Doctor’s Wife, created a stir amongst fandom, and, of course, the actual story is a fan-favourite. The previews were also highly enticing, with the Doctor promising that “somewhere close by, there are lots and lots of Time Lords.”
And Neil’s not giving anything away about his upcoming Series 7 episode:
In case you are wondering: I’m really a bit nervous: the table read of my episode of Doctor Who is next week. Think good thoughts at us. I’ll try and post some photographs afterwards. Oh, and for the curious, the episode will be called ███ ████ ████████ . Only with letters instead of Ascii Blocks. Unless we change the title again before it’s broadcast. Which might well happen, actually. I mean, it was originally called █ █████████ ██ ██████.
Gaiman and new companion, Jenna-Louise Coleman, posed for a photo at the readthrough, and everyone’s favourite Time Lord, Matt Smith teased at the London MCM Expo:
It’s very different, but again I think it will be a fan’s favourite because, well, without giving anything away, it just will be, because there’s something in it. Neil’s brilliant ideas will always add a level to Doctor Who, which will be interesting.
A couple of days ago, Neil tweeted:
Goodnight. Amazing hectic couple of days & stressed Doctor Who post-table-read rewrite in progress. On BBC legal advice Lampwick is no more.
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) November 2, 2012
And it sounds like the episode is all ready to be filmed:
I believe that we’ve just locked my Dr Who script. I probably won’t have to write it again until we need new ADR dialogue once it’s edited.
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) November 3, 2012
Well… perhaps. As executive producer, Caroline Skinner, commented on Twitter:
@neilhimself Ha ha!!A locked script is an alien concept on Doctor Who….
![:-)]()
— Caro Skinner (@CaroSkinner) November 3, 2012
The Doctor’s Wife had quite an impressive collection of kooky names – The Corsair, Nephew, House – and it seems that this theme will carry on into Gaiman’s new script, with a few details leaking out.
Calvin Dean, who previously played Chris in The Sarah Jane Adventures serial, The Gift, mentioned on his CV that he’d play a character called Ha-Ha – before quickly removing it. He says:
wow. things get out so quickly on here. So much for being secretive!
— Calvin Dean (@calvinadean) November 1, 2012
Tamzin Outhwaite (Hotel Babylon; EastEnders) – who’s married to Tom Ellis, best-known to Whovians as Tom Milligan in Last of the Time Lords (2007) – has seemingly been cast in the episode, with the actress saying:
I’d like to play a baddie, but I haven’t done a goodie for a while, so it’ll be nice to play a goodie.
Her online CV lists her as playing ‘Capt Alice’ – presumably the captain of a spaceship.
Neil’s episode is expected to be filmed imminently, directed by Stephen Woolfenden (who previously worked on Gaiman’s Neverwhere), and will be the penultimate episode of the upcoming run of stories. Expect a few details to creep out when filming commences.
And that’s pretty much all we know. Except…
After hints that a ‘Classic’ monster will be returning, it’s rumoured that the story will reintroduce the Cybermen, last seen in last year’s Closing Time. But only time will tell…
The post Gaiman’s Series 7 Ep: What We Know appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.