A Doctor Who press phone call with writer/producer Steven Moffat happened this morning to promote this Saturday’s new episode of the series, “The Bells of St. John.”
Doctor Who has just been awarded with an Institutional Peabody Award for “evolving with technology and times like nothing else in the known television universe.”
Here are some highlights from the call. We’ll post some actual interview material here at KSiteTV soon.
– “The companion changes more than the Doctor ever does,” Moffat says about Clara. “She has an unimpressed quality. She’s a little bit harder to impress.”
– Moffat calls “Cold War” a “terrific, traditional episode.”
– “You can start watching Doctor Who at any time in its history,” Moffat says.
– Dame Diana Rigg will be appearing in Mark Gatiss’ episode. Gatiss was the one who got her and her daughter for the show.
– Moffat claims no knowledge of a similarity between Clara and Charley Pollard from the Big Finish audios.
– Moffat is focused on talking about “The Bells Of St. John,” this week’s episode, so there doesn’t seem to be a lot of 50th anniversary talk.
– “All will be made clear” on the connections between Clara, Oswin, and anyone else who happens to look like them.
– “The Doctor himself has to happen to somebody,” he says. In that way, the companion is “the person whose story it is.” We’re more likely to see the beginnings and endings of a companion’s story, whereas with the Doctor that probably will not happen.
– Moffat has a Weeping Angel in his back garden.
– Moffat was never “keen” on the Ice Warriors. Mark Gatiss was the one who kept nagging and came up with a good idea to bring them back. He says they have a classic design buffed up for HD TV.
– “It’s about the next 50 years. It’s not about the last 50 years,” Moffat says about the show, saying the Doctor is always thinking of his future.
– Moffat says the Doctor/Clara dynamic is a reversal of what we usually get. This time, the companion is the enigma and the Doctor is the one chasing after her.
Here’s how BBC America describes the new episodes, which begin Saturday, March 30:
Following a record-breaking year, fan favorite Doctor Who returns to BBC AMERICA this Saturday with a modern day urban thriller, The Bells of Saint John, written by Steven Moffat. Set in London against the backdrop of new and old iconic landmarks – The Shard and Westminster Bridge – The Bells of Saint John introduces a new nemesis, the Spoonheads, who battle the Doctor as he discovers something sinister is lurking in the Wi-Fi. The Bells of Saint John is one of eight epic episodes written by Steven Moffat, acclaimed writer Neil Gaiman (Coraline, Beowulf), Mark Gatiss (Sherlock), Neil Cross (Luther) and Stephen Thompson (Sherlock).
The Doctor (Matt Smith) is joined by his new companion Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) for the latest set of incredible adventures through space and time. The duo finds new adversaries and familiar friends around every corner as they journey from the bottom of the ocean in a submarine to the center of the TARDIS and beyond. The Cybermen make a thunderous return and the Ice Warrior arrives in an unexpected place. Doctor Who returns Saturday, March 30, 8:00pm ET/PT as part of a new Supernatural Saturday line up including premieres of Orphan Black and The Nerdist.
