Lee Evans to star in Doctor Who

 

Guest role in Easter special

Lee Evans is to guest star in the Doctor Who Easter special.

He will play a character called Malcolm, ‘whose life becomes connected to the Doctor's under extraordinary circumstances’ in the episode, titled Planet of the Dead.

Bionic Woman star Michelle Ryan will also appear, as mysterious Lady Christina de Souza, who joins the Doctor on a bus trip which takes a ‘detour into danger’, the BBC said.

Planet Of The Dead is the first of four Doctor Who Specials which will air in 2009, before Tennant leaves the role to make way for Matt Smith.

Planet of the Dead Monster Revealed

From http://whovian-world.blogspot.com/2009/01/planet-of-dead-monster-revealed.html

Yesterday the BBC comfirmed that the Monster in this years Easter Special, Planet of the Dead is .... (highlight to Reveal) The TRITOVORE. If youb would like to know what it looks like then read the stuff below.
New Tritovore baddies set to be scariest ever. He's dealt with some tough baddies, but Doctor Who will face his scariest yet - a halfman half-fly creature.Called the Tritovore, it will be unleashed in the Easter special to do battle with the Timelord and sidekick Lady Christina de Souza - played by former EastEnders star Michelle Ryan.Bosses want the monster to become as iconic as the Daleks and Cybermen.A set source said: "Scriptwriters are confident they'll make a huge impact... Everyone remembers the Daleks and the Cyberman, but not a lot else if they're honest. The Tritovore will change that. They are disgusting and will last long in the memory."Series boss Russell T Davies is hoping to use the creatures in three other special shows.David Tennant quits as the doctor this year. The source added: "Russell is telling everybody to expect some real surprises. He wants him to go out with a bang."

Doctor Who filming disrupted as double decker bus wrecked

 

 

 

 

Executives o n the TV show hired two £20,000 double deckers which were apparently central to the plot of the Easter special. One was used to shoot scenes with star David Tennant in Cardiff while the other was shipped to Dubai for filming there.

But a crane operator managed to wreck the second 1980 Bristol VR model while unloading it in Dubai docks.

Russell T Davies, the series producer, is reported to have "exploded" when he heard there was no way of getting a replacement in time.

It is believed that he was forced to rip up the script and write a new plotline.

Only last week he revealed the show revolved around the Doctor taking a "bus trip which takes an unexpected detour into danger".

To ship the bus to Dubai would have cost the BBC around £7,000. And production in the Middle East state is costing an estimated £30,000 a week.

The storyline for Planet Of The Dead sees Lady Christina de Souza - played by ex-EastEnder Michelle Ryan - pull off a jewellery heist and escape on the bus where she meets the Timelord.

The bus has already caused problems with fans disrupting filming in Wales. They kept pressing the buttons at pedestrian crossings, causing the bus to stop.

DOCTOR WHO - PLANET OF THE DEAD FILMING UPDATE 3

S P O I L E R S
A H E A D
More filming took place on the 26th January in St. Mary's Street (the site of Henrik's where Rose used to work) complete with bus, David Tennant and Michelle Ryan. Ace DWF reporter Scooty was on site: "Filming had been going on since about 8pm...part of the road, just down from Howells had been closed and the red double decker was parked up. The one scene, that was endlessly being shot from various angles was DT and MR getting onto the bus. MR gets on first, looking rather panicked, talks to the bus driver, then takes her seat. DT follows, flashes his psychic paper at the driver then takes his seat next to MR."

27th - 28th January also saw the crew return to the Butetown tunnel and filming of more UNIT sequences, complete with rocket launcher! Man on the spot alun.vega had this to report: "There's a barricade facing the tunnel entrance. UNIT soldiers pointing guns into the tunnel. Stage directions say: "The bus flies over your heads. Monsters fly out of the tunnel." The soldiers raise their guns as if tracking something flying over them." Lots and lots of shooting (as in UNIT troops firing), Magambo shouting orders and rocket launchers firing.

The evening of the 28th also saw David Tennant, Lee Evans and Michelle Ryan on set at the tunnel with the double decker bus and the TARDIS. Pictures from the brilliant alun.vega!

Doctor Who 2009 Specials

 

There are five specials between the end of series 4 and the start of Steven Moffat's series 5. There will be no full tv series in 2009, but between the episode 'Journey's End' and the start of series five in 2010, there will be four one hour Doctor Who Specials in 2009. All will star David Tennant as the 10th Doctor.

Doctor Who 2009 Specials

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1. The Next Doctor (4:14 - Christmas Special)
     Writer: Russell T. Davies
     Director: Andy Goddard
This episode will be screened on 25 December 2008.

It features David Tennant as The Doctor, David Morrissey as a possible future Doctor, Cybermen and more.

2. Planet of the Dead (4:15 - 1st 2009 Special - Easter)
     Writers: Russell T. Davies & Gareth Roberts
     Director: James Strong

The 2009 Easter special is scripted by Davies along with Gareth Roberts who also wrote 'Attack of the Graske', 'The Shakespeare Code' and 'The Unicorn and the Wasp' as well as various new era Doctor Who novels. The script marks the first time that a Doctor Who episode has had more than one writing credit since it returned.

This story might be a two-parter. It may feature a new monster?

3. No Title Yet! (4:16 - 2nd 2009 Special)
     Writers: Russell T. Davies???
     Director: ?

This maybe part 2 of the Easter Special???
4. No Title Yet! (4:17 - 3rd 2009 Special - Halloween)
     Writers: Russell T. Davies???
     Director: ?

5. No Title Yet! (4:18 - 4th 2009 Special aka Christmas Special) 
     Writers: Russell T. Davies???
     Director: ?

The final special will broadcast on Christmas 2009.

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On the Internet there is a lot of speculation of what the 2009 Specials will be about. Some of the speculative ideas include:

1. The Return of Sutekh

Sutekh last appeared in the fourth Doctor story 'Pyramids of Mars'. This story setting could be in in Egypt.

2. The 8th Doctor to Appear

Paul McGann may return as the Eighth Doctor appearing in flashbacks about The Time War.

Paul McGann played the Doctor in the 1996 TV movie, his eighth Doctor has appeared in a lengthy series of original BBC novels and as well as the Big Finish original audio dramas.

3. The Return of the Doctor's Daughter

Jenny (Georgina Moffett), the Doctor's Daughter may return in one of the 2009 Doctor Who specials. At the end of her first story 'Doctor's Daughter', the Doctor believed she was dead but she returned to life in its closing minutes of the episode.

4. Return of Donna Noble, Wilf, the Master

The characters Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), Wilf (Bernard Cribbins) and John Simm (The Master) may appear in one of the 2009 Doctor Who specials.

Donna Noble maybe the Time Lady Romana or the Rani in human disguise. The Chameleon Arch was used by the Tenth Doctor in the episode 'Human Nature' to rewrite every cell in his body, enabling him to hide from the Family of Blood in 1913. The chameleon arch stored the Doctor's Time Lord self in a fob watch. In episode 'Utopia', Martha discovered that the Master used the same process, creating 'Professor Yana' as his persona.

5. Return of Astrid

Astrid (Kylie Minogue) may return as a human Tardis.

6. Return of River Song

River Song (Alex Kingston) may return.

7. Other Monsters / Enemies

There are so many great monsters / enemies from the classic series, new series and novels that have the potential to return. These include: the Silurians, Sea Devils, Slithereen, Omega, Zygons, Rutans, Terileptils, Meddling Monk and Ice Warriors.

8. Time War Story

The Time War was a conflict between the Time Lords and the Daleks, resulting in their mutual destruction. The event has been referred to on several occasions in the new Doctor Who tv series since it began in 2005.

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Did you know?

* David Tennant has officially revealed in 2008 that the five new specials of Doctor Who will be his swansong as the tenth Doctor. Thus we will see the eleventh Doctor come into existence by the end of the 2009 Christmas special.