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Another Doctor Who DVD release
BBC Video and Warner Home Video have jointly announced that they are releasing The Infinite Quest on DVD in North America this Fall. It will be available on November 18th, the same day as Series 4.
Steven Moffat talks Doctor Who
"Russell is writing all of the specials and I begin at the start of series 5, which is the moment that the handover occurs," he said. When asked if he thought taking the reigns of a cultural icon was a burden, he answered quickly. "No. It is part of British life. That's not an exaggeration, Doctor Who is part of British life. But it's just exciting. I went around for a week saying, 'Oh I'm very frightened' - but I'm not. I'm not. It's exciting. What's the point of wasting time being worried about it? It's exciting and I can't wait to get started.
"I've unplugged myself from all of that. All of the forums and all of those things. I literally can't read stuff online anymore. It's a very, very bad sample of the audience. By bad I mean it's not representative of the audience at all. Not because they're stupid, I don't think they're stupid - I think their reactions are valid and interesting and I've enjoyed reading them - but, if I let that voice into my head - I'll start making the show for the wrong audience. Because the show is for first the children, then everybody else and then last - right in the back of the queue, is the fans. I'm sorry, but it's true. I'm a fan myself and I have to stand at the back of the queue sometimes, but that's all right."
But even if that is the set of priorities, it's not like the fans are unhappy. "No," Moffat agreed. "I think if you took a poll of the fans on whether or not I should go online and read what the fans say about Doctor Who, they would emphatically say 'Do not!' They like the fact that their show, which used to be a treasured little secret, is now a massive hit and they want it to stay that way.
"We sat down over a pizza in Soho and had a chat. Which you can read all about in Russell's fantastic book coming out, about his time on Doctor Who. You can read his account of what we said. But we talk all the time and the handover was efficient in that way. And I've been on the show for years, and I've had a privileged position, I'm the one who never gets rewritten and the one who's allowed to do what he likes. So it'll be a shock, but not quite as big a shock if I was just arriving."
There was a rumor that Moffat was the voice in the production who suggested that "Jenny" survive in the episode "The Doctor's Daughter." Moffat clarifies, "It's not just rumor, it's an absolute fact. But it doesn't work that way. All what happened was, I watched the episode and she came back to life and I was surprised. It was when Russell was first talking about the storyline…and he said she died at the end of the episode. And I said, 'Oh, no, don't kill her. That's something that Star Trek would do. That's sort of boring. You should keep her alive.' I didn't even remember I had said it. So when she did come back I was told that Russell took me very seriously. It wasn't with an eye to the future. But I think it's good that she's out there. But you know, it could be twenty years before we see her again. We'll see."
Moffat is quickly becoming famous for being tight lipped on the future of Doctor Who. This is, of course, a gift to the fans who don't want to be spoiled - and a bane to the journalists desperate for tidbits that will get them thousands of clicks on their news stories. When asked if he'd been assured that David Tennant will be "his Doctor," Moffat just smiled and said, "You're going to have to wait and see. If you want to know what happens with The Doctor you're going to have to watch Doctor Who. It's my job to keep surprises. I could tell you…but I'm never going to."
This got Moffat talking about the nature of spoilers and their destructive effect. This was a theme in his last Doctor Who episode, where Donna and the Doctor rejected the idea of looking into a journal that may contain hints - or "spoilers" - about their future. "It's a terrible thing that's happened to television, and especially some genre television, is that everyone knows what's going to happen in advance. Rubbish to that. Bollocks to that. Wait and see! Find out. Don't take our surprises away from you, because you will enjoy it more if you don't know what's coming."
When asked if he was planning on bringing back some favorite creations - of his and others - or if they'd be focusing on new villains and characters, Moffat said "Doctor Who is almost always forward looking. It has to be. It's a new show for someone every year. The kids, eight year olds will be watching the show for the very first time and they must feel that it's a brand new show and it's for specifically them. These are the episodes that they will remember in 40 years' time when they look back and say that Doctor Who isn't as good as it used to be. If you bring in too many things from the past, new people feel as though they're coming late to the party. So Doctor Who will always be mostly new. With, hopefully, lovely big surprise exciting returns; but outweighed by brand new monsters, new worlds, new friends and new enemies. That's what it's about."
Billie Piper pops to the pub
CHEEKY Billie Piper pokes out her tongue as she leaves a boozer with new hubby Laurence Fox.
Pregnant Billie, Dr Who’s former sidekick Rose Tyler, was in the mood for fun as the loved-up couple left The Duke of Cumberland in Midhurst, West Sussex.
Billie, 25, looked relaxed in a pink hoodie and black skirt as she and Laurence, 29, smiled and joked.
An onlooker said: “They must be looking forward to becoming parents.”
Sources: 1, 2 & 3
BBC Video and Warner Home Video have jointly announced that they are releasing The Infinite Quest on DVD in North America this Fall. It will be available on November 18th, the same day as Series 4.
Steven Moffat talks Doctor Who
"Russell is writing all of the specials and I begin at the start of series 5, which is the moment that the handover occurs," he said. When asked if he thought taking the reigns of a cultural icon was a burden, he answered quickly. "No. It is part of British life. That's not an exaggeration, Doctor Who is part of British life. But it's just exciting. I went around for a week saying, 'Oh I'm very frightened' - but I'm not. I'm not. It's exciting. What's the point of wasting time being worried about it? It's exciting and I can't wait to get started.
"I've unplugged myself from all of that. All of the forums and all of those things. I literally can't read stuff online anymore. It's a very, very bad sample of the audience. By bad I mean it's not representative of the audience at all. Not because they're stupid, I don't think they're stupid - I think their reactions are valid and interesting and I've enjoyed reading them - but, if I let that voice into my head - I'll start making the show for the wrong audience. Because the show is for first the children, then everybody else and then last - right in the back of the queue, is the fans. I'm sorry, but it's true. I'm a fan myself and I have to stand at the back of the queue sometimes, but that's all right."
But even if that is the set of priorities, it's not like the fans are unhappy. "No," Moffat agreed. "I think if you took a poll of the fans on whether or not I should go online and read what the fans say about Doctor Who, they would emphatically say 'Do not!' They like the fact that their show, which used to be a treasured little secret, is now a massive hit and they want it to stay that way.
"We sat down over a pizza in Soho and had a chat. Which you can read all about in Russell's fantastic book coming out, about his time on Doctor Who. You can read his account of what we said. But we talk all the time and the handover was efficient in that way. And I've been on the show for years, and I've had a privileged position, I'm the one who never gets rewritten and the one who's allowed to do what he likes. So it'll be a shock, but not quite as big a shock if I was just arriving."
There was a rumor that Moffat was the voice in the production who suggested that "Jenny" survive in the episode "The Doctor's Daughter." Moffat clarifies, "It's not just rumor, it's an absolute fact. But it doesn't work that way. All what happened was, I watched the episode and she came back to life and I was surprised. It was when Russell was first talking about the storyline…and he said she died at the end of the episode. And I said, 'Oh, no, don't kill her. That's something that Star Trek would do. That's sort of boring. You should keep her alive.' I didn't even remember I had said it. So when she did come back I was told that Russell took me very seriously. It wasn't with an eye to the future. But I think it's good that she's out there. But you know, it could be twenty years before we see her again. We'll see."
Moffat is quickly becoming famous for being tight lipped on the future of Doctor Who. This is, of course, a gift to the fans who don't want to be spoiled - and a bane to the journalists desperate for tidbits that will get them thousands of clicks on their news stories. When asked if he'd been assured that David Tennant will be "his Doctor," Moffat just smiled and said, "You're going to have to wait and see. If you want to know what happens with The Doctor you're going to have to watch Doctor Who. It's my job to keep surprises. I could tell you…but I'm never going to."
This got Moffat talking about the nature of spoilers and their destructive effect. This was a theme in his last Doctor Who episode, where Donna and the Doctor rejected the idea of looking into a journal that may contain hints - or "spoilers" - about their future. "It's a terrible thing that's happened to television, and especially some genre television, is that everyone knows what's going to happen in advance. Rubbish to that. Bollocks to that. Wait and see! Find out. Don't take our surprises away from you, because you will enjoy it more if you don't know what's coming."
When asked if he was planning on bringing back some favorite creations - of his and others - or if they'd be focusing on new villains and characters, Moffat said "Doctor Who is almost always forward looking. It has to be. It's a new show for someone every year. The kids, eight year olds will be watching the show for the very first time and they must feel that it's a brand new show and it's for specifically them. These are the episodes that they will remember in 40 years' time when they look back and say that Doctor Who isn't as good as it used to be. If you bring in too many things from the past, new people feel as though they're coming late to the party. So Doctor Who will always be mostly new. With, hopefully, lovely big surprise exciting returns; but outweighed by brand new monsters, new worlds, new friends and new enemies. That's what it's about."
Billie Piper pops to the pub
CHEEKY Billie Piper pokes out her tongue as she leaves a boozer with new hubby Laurence Fox.
Pregnant Billie, Dr Who’s former sidekick Rose Tyler, was in the mood for fun as the loved-up couple left The Duke of Cumberland in Midhurst, West Sussex.
Billie, 25, looked relaxed in a pink hoodie and black skirt as she and Laurence, 29, smiled and joked.
An onlooker said: “They must be looking forward to becoming parents.”
Sources: 1, 2 & 3