Big Finish Announces Set Focusing on the Women of Doctor Who

Big Finish has announced a new set of audio stories focusing on the female characters of Doctor Who. Titled The Eighth of March, it will include "The Big Blue Book" by Lizzie Hopley, "Inside Every Warrior" by Gemma Langford, "Emancipation" by Lisa McMullin, and "Narcissus" by Sarah Grochala. Starring are Sophie Aldred as Ace, Lisa Bowerman and Bernice Summerfield, Alex Kingston as River Song, Louise Jameson as Leela, Jemma Redgrave as Kate Stewart, Ingrid Oliver as Osgood, Neve McIntosh as Madame Vastra and Catrin Stewart as Jenny Flint.

The set will be released on March 8, 2019 (International Women's Day) for £25 as a CD or £20 as a download and can be pre-ordered now.

The Husbands of River Song Clip 2

The BBC has released a second clip from tomorrow's Doctor Who holiday special. The Husbands of River Song airs at 5:15pm on BBC One and 9/8c on BBC America and Space.

2 New Husbands of River Song Promo Pics

The BBC has released two more images from this year's Doctor Who Christmas special.

The Husbands of River Song Promo Pics

The BBC has released 22 promotional images from the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas special.

UPDATE: Make that 29

UPDATE 2: 30. That last one is slightly different from one that was released the other day.

The Husbands of River Song Character Pics

The BBC has released some images of the cast of this year's Doctor Who Christmas special. There will likely be more images later featuring scenes from the episode.

DW 2015 Christmas Special Pic

The BBC has released a new picture from this year's Doctor Who Christmas special.

River Song Returns for Christmas Special

The BBC has revealed that River Song will appear in the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas special. They also revealed that filming on the episode starts sometime this week and that the episode is directed by Douglas Mackinnon. Alex Kingston commented,

To be honest, I did not know whether River would ever return to the show, but here she is, back with the Doctor for the Christmas special. Steven Moffat is on glittering form, giving us an episode filled with humour and surprise guest castings. I met Peter for the first time at Monday’s read through, we had a laugh, and I am now excited and ready to start filming with him and the Doctor Who team. Christmas in September? Why not!

Steven Moffat said,

Another Christmas, another special for Doctor Who - and what could be more special than the return of Alex Kingston as Professor River Song? The last time the Doctor saw her she was a ghost. The first time he met her, she died. So how can he be seeing her again? As ever, with the most complicated relationship in the universe, it’s a matter of time...

Diary of River Song Details

Big Finish has released more information on the upcoming River Song box set, Diary of River Song. The set is currently on pre-order for US$31.26 for CD and $20 for digital download.

Launching in January 2016, Doctor Who: The Diary of River Song continues the adventures of the Doctor's wife and Time Lady adventuress; once again portrayed by Alex Kingston. Already announced is Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor; but today we're pleased to reveal other key names.

Opening the adventures will be Alexander Vlahos (Merlin, The Confessions of Dorian Gray) as Bertie, who will join River at an archeological dig in opening story The Boundless Sea, written by popular novelist Jenny T Colgan.

'Jenny has been on my writing wish-list for a while,' says script editor Matt Fitton, 'and she's created a funny, thrilling and scary adventure to kick start River's journey'.

From there, River heads to the most exclusive gathering in the middle of Hyperspace in Justin Richards' I Went to a Marvellous Party. There she meets Gifford (Alexander Siddig – Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Game of Thrones) and Isabella (Imogen Stubbs – Twelfth Night, Sense and Sensibility), a pair of socialites with connections to the mysterious Rulers of the Universe.

Next James Goss puts River on the trail of mysterious, planet-killing Spore Ships in Signs, where we are also introduced to a handsome time-travelling stranger  – her future husband Mr Song, played by Samuel West (Howard's End, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell, Doctor Who – Dimensions in Time).

The series concludes with the Eighth Doctor's arrival in The Rulers of the Universe by Matt Fitton. River must contend with a secret society, and a face off with an ancient alien force; with her future husband caught in the middle!

Doctor Who: The Diary of River Song is due for release in January 2016. Pre-order your copy today!

River Song will return in March 2016 in Doctor Who: Doom Coalition 2.

Big Finish Producing New Series Stories

Big Finish has announced that they will be producing several stories featuring new series characters and monsters. There will be ranges featuring River Song and Winston Churchill as well as stories where classic Doctors face off against new series monsters. Read the press release below,

Big Finish is proud to announce a new range of boxsets, featuring heroes and monsters from the New Series of Doctor Who.

Leading this new wave of adventures is Alex Kingston as River Song, the beloved Time Lord archaeologist who first appeared in 2008's Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead.

River will be stepping into the era of the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) for Doctor Who: Doom Coalition 2, alongside Liv Chenka (Nicola Walker) and Helen Sinclair (Hattie Morahan). But how can River help her husband if, in this incarnation, she must never actually meet him?

“The idea of River meeting previous Doctors was actually proposed by Steven Moffat,” says producer David Richardson, “and it's just irresistible, isn't it? Alex embraced the idea of returning to the role, and so she will be starring in no less than two box sets next year. And yes, we are still pinching ourselves!”

River will then return later in 2016 in Doctor Who: The Diary of River Song, an epic four-hour adventure that takes River across space and time, seeking out the secret rulers of the universe. Paul McGann will reprise the role of the Eighth Doctor in the final instalment.

The New Series adventures will continue in Doctor Who: The Churchill Years, in which Ian McNeice returns as the indomitable Winston Churchill. In the four-hour saga, Winston relates a number of encounters with the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors in his memoirs, battling alien incursions, metamorphosing creatures... and a Dalek! The stories are told by Ian McNeice, supported by a full cast of guest actors, including Danny Horn as Kazran Sardick, in a story taking place within the 2010 special A Christmas Carol.

“Ian has played Churchill in just four episode on TV, and yet it feels like it was many more,” says executive producer Nicholas Briggs. “It was such a brilliant, definitive performance, and how wonderful that we will be continuing Churchill's adventures with the Doctor on audio.”

Finally, the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctors will face a new generation of monsters in Doctor Who: Classic Doctors, New Monsters, a brand new, four-story run featuring creatures from the New Series. Peter Davison takes on the Weeping Angels, Colin Baker encounters the Judoon, Sylvester McCoy will meet the Sycorax... and Paul McGann will face a new clone batch of Sontarans on the edge of the Time War....

“It's the ultimate mash-up,” says executive producer Jason Haigh-Ellery, “and we have some great scripts lined up for these landmark stories. There is no doubt that 2016 is going to be a brilliant year for Big Finish!”

All four boxsets will be released across 2016, and are available to pre-order today from the Big Finish website. Doctor Who: Doom Coalition 2 will be released in February, and is available as part of a special bundle of all four Doom Coalition boxsets.

Doctor Who: The Diary of River Song, Doctor Who: The Churchill Years and Doctor Who: Classic Doctors, New Monsters can be pre-ordered for just £20 each on CD or Download, and are also available as part of our Doctor Who New Series bundle.

Rain Gods - UPDATED

One of the three minisodes from the complete series 7 boxset has leaked online. Rain Gods is adapted from a comic originally written for the 2012 Brilliant Book. It is written by Neil Gaiman, although it is credited to Moffat.



UPDATE: two more videos have been added, albeit in shitty quality. They're called Clara and the TARDIS and The Inforarium

Matt Smith Interview with Vulture

Matt Smith recently did an interview with vulture.com. He confirmed that he'd known when he'd be leaving for a while.

To be honest with you, it was something I was considering for a while. I talked to Steven [Moffat, series boss] about it, I talked to my family about it. I don’t know really. It was a very hard decision to come to because it’s such a wonderful show and I love making it so much.

He also confirmed that the Christmas Special would involve Trenzalore - and River Song.

Eventually Steve peppers it back — you think now we’re going toward the Doctor’s final hour, which is toward Trenzalore. Steven mentioned that in season five. Season five! The Silence was mentioned! He peppers this brilliant storytelling all the way through, and for my money that’s a much more interesting way to write. Aren’t all the layers what we fans of sci-fi want? I’m like, Cool, throw it at me. Is it complicated? Yes. Are we going back in time? Yes. Are we going forward in time? Yes. Are we meeting a character we’ve met in the future? Yes. Is she my wife? Yes.

The Case For a Female Doctor

Here is an argument for why I think there should be a female Doctor.

A female Doctor would make for new possibilities in Doctor-companion relationships. So far, almost every Doctor-companion relationship has been between some centuries-old guy and a young woman or man. With a male Doctor and a younger female companion, it's been this kind old man showing a woman the stars. With a female Doctor, it's sort of two young women going off to see the stars together. You don't have the same type of thing where the young woman is in love with the Doctor and wishing he would notice. It's just two girls cavorting across the universe. Also if the young woman is in love with the male Doctor, then watches him die and turn into a woman, she'd have all sorts of mixed feelings that would make for an interesting relationship at first. Also, if there were a male companion, then he'd probably be attracted to the Doctor, and there would probably be a lot of him trying to impress her, and her not being very impressed/him injuring himself.

It would also be interesting to see a female Doctor, who at first doesn't know how to be female. She would probably being doing things like accidentally going into the men's room, leaning over the table while wearing a low-cut shirt, not knowing how to deal with long hair, wanting to play on a men's sports team and not realizing the problem, kissing River in public and not understanding why people were staring, etc.

A female Doctor would have to face a few new challenges that would make interesting additions to plotlines. Say she's in the Middle Ages or the Enlightenment period, when all the men were rather sexist. None of them would take her seriously or want to follow her directions. Or say, someone hears all about the great and powerful Doctor, then meets her and discovers she's female, and is rather let down. I don't want sexism to become a recurring plot point in almost every episode, but rather something that comes up once or twice a season.

For everyone who says that this isn't in keeping with the character of the Doctor, the show is all about change. They change the actors and actresses, they change the TARDIS, they even change the sonic screwdriver. Everything changes. There's no reason the Doctor's gender can't. It's been stated in both The End of Time, Part 2 and The Doctor's Wife that Time Lords can change gender.

A lot of people have been saying they don't want a female Doctor because Moffat can't write strong women. I beg to differ. Sally Sparrow was pretty kick-ass exploring abandoned buildings for fun and fighting the Weeping Angels. River Song is also very strong and independent. Also, just because Amy & Clara have never had the opportunity to save the world (Moffat hasn't written very many the-entire-Earth-is-in-danger stories) doesn't mean they're not brave and steely-hearted.

Clara Meets River

I'm not sure what the source of this is, but there's a third clip out from The Name of the Doctor.

The Name of the Doctor Promo Pics - Second Set

BBC Pictures has released a second set of 39 promotional images for this week's episode.