Friday, July 1, 2011

[New post] Rumors of a Twelfth Doctor Who and The Crash of the Elysium

Rumors of a Twelfth Doctor Who and The Crash of the Elysium

Strange times are upon Whovians who watched the Doctor die at the beginning of the 6th series and have been told by show-runner Steven Moffat that the death is indeed real. After dodging an army of baddies, jump-starting the universe and defeating a Cyber armada with a flashlight, I think that a ropy bit of writing will allow the fan favorite tweed enthusiast to once again escape death's clammy paws, but most recently Alex Kingston raised an interesting point involving when her character River Song first met the Doctor and in what incarnation.

With the 50th anniversary just around the corner, maybe fans are in for another regeneration in 2013. If so, who should play the part?

More via TV Overmind:

Here's an interesting bit of news for you Doctor Who fans out there. Actress Alex Kingston, who plays the mysterious River Song on the hit BBC sci-fi series, appeared on BBC Breakfast earlier this week and shared a few interesting bits about her character's relationship with the Doctor, hinting that her relationship with the time traveller might not be restricted to just his tenth and eleventh incarnations.

"[River] met a Doctor in the future - which is my past - and that Doctor is a person [she] had a very strong relationship with. But it may not necessarily be this Doctor."

Granted, Kingston was speaking with uncertainty ("I don't know," she admitted) due to the high secrecy that showrunner Steven Moffat shrouds the series in. But if Kingston has reason to believe that her time on the show might extend past Matt Smith's tenure on the series, maybe we should consider that as well.

It was recently revealed on the show that the character of River Song is the daughter of the Doctor's current companions, Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill).

Doctor Who's sixth series will return in September with "Let's Kill Hitler," the conclusion to the two-part story begun with the show's midseason finale, "A Good Man Goes to War."

This is not the first time that Doctor Who has sought to stretch its boundaries and encourage viewers to accept that the program is capable of breaking its own rules. For example Philip Hinchcliff had tried back in 1976's Brain of Morbius when viewers were presented with eight additional faces of the Doctor preceding the William Hartnell incarnation. Sure, this was made moot by 1973's Three Doctors when the Time Lords refer to the Hartnell Doctor as the character's earliest incarnation, however they had interfered with his timeline by bringing them all together, perhaps that changed everything we knew?

It was certainly Hinchcliff's intention: "We tried to get famous actors for the faces of the Doctor. But because no one would volunteer, we had to use backroom boys. And it is true to say that I attempted to imply that William Hartnell was not the first Doctor." (lots more info on this here)

We know that the Doctor will somehow escape the death that he experiences in The Impossible Astronaut, but how? What if the resolution is held over for the introduction of a Twelfth Doctor? Would that be a better or worse resolution than the Doctor once again traipsing pasty the Grim Reaper?

In other news the live Doctor Who show, The Crash of the Elysium is gaining lots of praise as reported via the Guardian.UK:

There are startled looks, anxious screams and by the end of the new, nerve-jangling Doctor Who theatre experience there will doubtless be a few sweating wrecks.

The kids, however, appear to be fine. Exhilarated, smiling and fine.

The theatre company Punchdrunk has opened an event that fits perfectly within the cliched bracket of "highly anticipated" and "hot ticket"; indeed demand for The Crash of the Elysium has been so high extra performances for over-13s have already been scheduled during its run at the Manchester International Festival.

But this is an experience primarily aimed at the Doctor's younger fans. Grown-ups are allowed into this performance only if accompanied by a six to 12-year-old. And thanks to an excitable party from Bridgewater primary in Little Hulton, Salford, the Guardian managed to smuggle itself into one of the previews.

Punchdrunk has already established a reputation for immersive theatre with shows such as The Masque of the Red death and this Doctor Who production, a collaboration with the BBC, continues in a similar vein.

Groups of 25 start their journey in a museum gallery where a kindly, beige-jacketed man called Mr Willard, the sort who always has boiled sweets in his pocket, tells us the history of the Elysium, a ship that sank mysteriously in 1888. Within minutes soldiers storm in. There's a crisis – only we can help.

Everyone is made to run outside as fast as they can, which is the moment you discover just how breathtakingly fast year six children can move.

From there it's a quick change into biohazard suits and full pelt to an exhilarating adventure that sends us back in time to save the Doctor.

As in previous Punchdrunk productions, the attention to detail is impressive. The kids here are really living the experience. They are empowered: solving puzzles, guarding doors and taking decisions. One of the scariest scenes sees us trapped in a darkened corridor as a weeping angel appears to be getting ever closer.

Afterwards 11-year-olds Jack, Naomi and Zoe and Luke, 10, gave their unanimous verdict – they loved it. "It was a little bit scary but cool, a good adventure," said Jack. "I would definitely go back," said Luke. "It was fantastic."

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