Series 9 (Doctor Who)

Series 9 of Doctor Who ran from 25 December 2014 to 25 December 2015. It starred Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor, Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald and Alex Kingston as River Song. The regular series was preceded by Last Christmas, opened with The Magician's Apprentice, concluded with Hell Bent and followed by The Husbands of River Song.

In April 2015, Steven Moffat confirmed that Doctor Who would run for at least another five years, extending the show until 2020.

Overview
The season consisted of ten stories and fourteen episodes. The series began filming on 5 January 2015, for an airdate on 19 September 2015. The regular series consisted of 12 episodes. This was Peter Capaldi's second series as the Twelfth Doctor and Jenna Coleman's third as Clara Oswald, whose inclusion in series 9 marked her as the longest running companion of the BBC Wales series.

Series 9 was Coleman's last. She said about the matter: "I have left the TARDIS and I've filmed my last scenes. It has been in the works for a very long time, Steven and I sat down a year ago, a year and a half ago and tried to work out the best place to do it and the best place in which to tell a really good story. So hopefully that's what we've done. I think it's really, really cool. Obviously we're not going to give away any details but it will happen at some point this season." Capaldi then revealed that the character of Clara would be leaving during episode 10 Face the Raven, adding that "It's a sad one, gripping and very strange." also saying that "[And] it's the end of the line for Clara Oswald played by Jenna Coleman who's been my companion for the last two years. It's the end of her story. I don't want to go into the details of it, but it's sad.", also telling that she wouldn't return, "Sometimes people can't come back. Sometimes things happen that they can't come back from." However, Clara went on to appear as a hallucination in episode 11 and then return alive in episode 12, but her ultimate fate remained unaltered.

Series 8 episodes Dark Water and Death in Heaven were shown in cinemas in 3D as a two-night event on the 15th and 16th September as a run-up to prepare for series 9. A prequel scene to this series was shown at the end of this event. This screening was only shown in Russia, Canada, the United States of America and Denmark. The special prequel was entitled The Doctor's Meditation. A Prologue was also released online.

The series saw Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor maintain the new outfit seen in Last Christmas, wearing a dark blue hoodie over a black jumper, along with his jacket, trousers and shoes from the previous series. The series also featured the Doctor wearing t-shirts in place of his shirt, often with a pair of plaid trousers. Episode 10 onwards saw the Doctor wearing a red velvet jacket with a white shirt and black trousers, resuming a closer look to that of series 8. The series also featured the Doctor replacing his sonic screwdriver with a pair of sonic sunglasses. The last time the Doctor ceased to use the screwdriver was in his fifth incarnation, something which continued up until the final episode of the original series' run. However, in the final moments of the series finale, a brand new, redesigned sonic screwdriver was created by the TARDIS for the Twelfth Doctor.

In DWM 480, Michelle Gomez confirmed that she would return in series 9 as, the latest incarnation of the Master who served as the central villain in series 8. Moffat had previously teased details in DWM 475, stating "I've figured out the cliffhanger to the penultimate episode of [series 9]. And it's a whopper. Ohh, I don't think you'll see this coming!" On 19 February 2015, it was announced that Gomez would return for the opening episode.

On 17 December 2014, at a press conference for the Christmas special Last Christmas, Steven Moffat revealed the title of the first episode of the regular series to be The Magician's Apprentice. The title was additionally revealed on-screen, at the end of Last Christmas. The second episode was revealed to be titled The Witch's Familiar. The Magician's Apprentice premiered at the Filmhouse Cinema in Edinburgh on 27 August, as a part of the Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival.

Prior to the airing of Last Christmas, speculation about whether Jenna Coleman would stay on the show prompted her to announce that she would be continuing to appear in the series at the episode's press launch, stating the following: "It's wonderful – I've got another series of stories with the Doctor. I couldn't walk away with the story being unresolved and there's so much more to do – I think they've finally just reached a point where they really understand each other!" Steven Moffat later confirmed this, saying: "Jenna is obviously in all of the next series."

On Monday the 30th of March BBC revealed the title of two episodes; Jamie Mathieson and Steven Moffat's The Girl Who Died and Catherine Tregenna's The Woman Who Lived. The two episodes were revealed to be two linked episodes rather than a conventional two-parter, being set in two time periods, the Viking era and 17th century, respectively.

A question that had been brought up in series 8 opener Deep Breath was the reason behind the Doctor's newest face and where he had seen it before. In DWM 486 Steven Moffat confirmed that the truth would be discovered, an event which occurred in Episode 5.

Peter Harness revealed that his two-part story, Episodes 7 & 8, featuring UNIT and the Zygons, would have the key theme "consequences" and would be a sequel to the 50th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor.

For the first time in the show's history, the series included an episode which featured only one non-cameo speaking part for its entirety. Referring to the episode, Minchin said: "Doctor Who has always been about taking risks. It's never sat down and done a normal episode. It's always done something extraordinary. Our audience likes to be challenged."

The TARDIS console room set was modified, with circle-lit roundels becoming a prominent feature.

Series 9 had the most overseas filming in the show's history, with five episodes (The Magician's Apprentice, The Witch's Familiar, The Zygon Invasion, Heaven Sent and Hell Bent) featuring scenes shot on location in the Canary Islands.

Peter Capaldi stated that he thought "the Doctor has realised that, even at two and a half thousand years of age, life is short. And he's in a great position and he should enjoy it. But, at the same time, there's something stalking him that will make life less pleasant for him." He also claimed that there would be a monster that would "make you think carefully about regeneration", and that the series would feature "a couple" of monsters from the original series' run.

Moffat stated in issue 490 of Doctor Who Magazine that the opening story of series 9 would be a "movie-sized" story and a "blockbuster".

Prior to the commencement of the series, Capaldi revealed that the run would not end happily, stating: "The Doctor and Clara are excited about the idea of having adventures this series, but that's a dangerous thing to do. They can't have a good time for too long. They have to pay for it. The Doctor has a profound knowledge of the past and future and he knows how things will come off in the end. He is aware darkness will fall." BBC later confirmed that the series finale would see the Doctor return to his home planet Gallifrey, and face his own race, the Time Lords, having been pushed "to the brink of madness" in Episode 11.

On 21 December 2015, Cult Box revealed both Last Christmas and The Husbands of River Song Christmas specials would be included on Doctor Who: The Complete Ninth Series boxset. The Husbands of River Song is written by Steven Moffat and directed by Douglas Mackinnon and guest stars Alex Kingston, Greg Davies, and Matt Lucas.

In a rare occurrence, the first teaser (entitled This Fall) was broadcast on BBC America.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Peter Capaldi
 * Clara Oswald - Jenna Coleman
 * River Song - Alex Kingston

Recurring

 * Santa Claus - Nick Frost
 * Danny Pink - Samuel Anderson
 * Ohila - Clare Higgins
 * Bors - Daniel Hoffmann-Gill
 * - Michelle Gomez
 * Kate Stewart - Jemma Redgrave
 * Jac - Jaye Griffiths
 * Daleks - operated by Barnaby Edwards, Nicholas Pegg and voiced by Nicholas Briggs
 * Ashildr/Me - Maisie Williams
 * Osgood - Ingrid Oliver
 * Zygons - Aidan Cook, Tom Wilton, Jack Parker
 * Rigsy - Joivan Wade
 * The General - Ken Bones, T'Nia Miller
 * Nardole - Matt Lucas

Guest

 * Ian - Dan Starkey
 * Wolf - Nathan McMullen
 * Shona McCullough - Faye Marsay
 * Ashley Carter - Natalie Gumede
 * Rona Bellows - Maureen Beattie
 * Professor Albert Smithe - Michael Troughton
 * Colony Sarff - Jami Reid-Quarrell
 * Davros - Julian Bleach, Joey Price
 * Mike - Harki Bhambra
 * Kanzo - Benjamin Cawley
 * A. Dunlop - Aaron Neil
 * Shadow Architect - Kelly Hunter
 * Jonathan Moran - Colin McFarlane
 * Cass - Sophie Stone
 * Tim Lunn - Zaqi Ismail
 * Alice O'Donnell - Morven Christie
 * Mason Bennett - Arsher Ali
 * Richard Pritchard - Steven Robertson
 * Albar Prentis - Paul Kaye
 * Fisher King - Neil Fingleton, Peter Serafinowicz, Corey Taylor
 * Odin - David Schofield
 * Nollarr - Simon Lipkin
 * Einarr - Ian Conningham
 * Lofty - Tom Stourton
 * Limpy - Alastair Parker
 * Hasten - Murray McArthur
 * Heidi - Barnaby Kay
 * Sam Swift - Rufus Hound
 * Coachman - Gareth Berliner
 * Lucie Fanshawe - Elisabeth Hopper
 * Mr Fanshawe - John Voce
 * Clayton - Struan Rodger
 * Pikeman Lloyd Llewelyn - Gruffudd Glyn
 * Pikeman William Stout - Reuben Johnson
 * Leandro - Ariyon Bakare
 * Colonel Walsh - Rebecca Front
 * C. Norlander - Gretchen Egolf
 * Johnny Hitchley - Todd Kramer
 * Johnny Hitchley's mum - Karen Mann
 * Etoine - Nicholas Asbury
 * Gagan Rassmussen - Reece Shearsmith
 * Jagganth Daiki-Nagata - Elaine Tan
 * Osamu Aimi-Chopra - Neet Mohan
 * 474 - Bethany Black
 * Haruka Deep-Ando - Paul Courtenay Hyu
 * King Sandman - Paul Davis
 * Sandmen - Tom Wilton, Matthew Doman
 * Morpheus presenter - Zina Badran
 * Hologram singers - Natasha Patel, Elizabeth Chong, Nikkita Chadha, Gracie Lai
 * Kabel - Simon Manyonda
 * Rump - Simon Paisley Day
 * Anahson - Letitia Wright
 * Chronolock guy - Robin Soans
 * The Veil - Jami Reid-Quarrell
 * Rassilon - Donald Sumpter
 * Gastron - Malachi Kirby
 * The Woman - Linda Broughton
 * Man - Martin T. Sherman
 * Cloister Wraiths - Jami Reid-Quarrell, Nick Ash, Ross Mullen
 * King Hydroflax - Greg Davies, Liam Cook, Nonso Anozie
 * Ramone - Phillip Rhys
 * Flemming - Rowan Polonski
 * Scratch - Robert Curtis

Producers
This series saw three different people produce for the show. Peter Bennett produced The Magician's Apprentice, The Witch's Familiar, The Zygon Invasion, The Zygon Inversion, Heaven Sent and Hell Bent.

Derek Ritchie produced Under the Lake, Before the Flood, The Girl Who Died, The Woman Who Lived.

Nikki Wilson produced Sleep No More, Face the Raven and the Christmas special The Husbands of River Song.

Writers
Toby Whithouse returned to the series, writing Episodes 3 and 4, described by executive producer and showrunner Steven Moffat as "a brilliantly creepy two-parter".

New to Doctor Who, but not the DWU, was Catherine Tregenna; the Torchwood writer penned the sixth episode of the series. Tregenna contributed the first Who story written by a female writer since Helen Raynor's two-parter in Series 4.

Sarah Dollard was the third female writer since 2005 and second under Steven Moffat, penning the tenth episode of the series. It marked the first time more than one woman wrote for the show in the same season or series.

Regular writer Mark Gatiss also contributed an episode, stating in an interview with the Telegraph that he was "in the midst of that right now – I broke off to come here today, in fact, but I'm hoping to finish the script tonight," and added, “It has been a tough nut to crack, but I'm delighted with how scary it is. I can't say any more than that." The story was told in an unusual format, featuring only point of view and base camera footage showing the Doctor and Clara join a rescue team in an attempt to defeat a group of monsters. Executive producer Brian Minchin stated "We're considering not even having opening titles and just running the footage", something that did ultimately occur. Instead, the episode was given a title sequence in the form of a code.

Directors
Hettie MacDonald directed the two-part series opener, making her the only woman to direct a series opener following Doctor Who's return to television in 2005 and one of only four women to direct Doctor Who television openers in the show's history, the last being Fiona Cumming in 1982. She also directed the prequel minisode, The Doctor's Meditation. MacDonald had not directed an episode since Blink.

Joining her was Daniel O'Hara, who directed the third and fourth episodes of the series.

Music
Murray Gold returned as the series' score composer. In the finale episode, TV: Hell Bent, Gold had the rare experience of seeing his leitmotif for Clara Oswald, "Clara", graduate from soundtrack-only to a part of the diegetic narrative.

Filming
Filming for the series began 5 January 2015.

Aliens/Enemies

 * Santa Claus
 * Elves
 * Dream crabs
 * Handmines
 * Gallifreyans
 * Sisterhood of Karn
 * Ohila
 * Colony Sarff
 * Ood
 * Blowfish
 * Sycorax
 * Skullions
 * Kahler
 * Hath
 * Judoon
 * Shadow Architect
 * Dalek puppets
 * Davros
 * Daleks
 * Vampire monkeys
 * Android Assassins
 * Ghosts
 * Tivolians
 * The Fisher King
 * Odin
 * Mire
 * Leonians
 * Zygons
 * Professor Gagan Rassmussen
 * Sandmen
 * Cybermen
 * Sontarans
 * Silurians
 * Ice Warriors
 * Quantum Shade
 * The Veil
 * Time Lord s
 * The Woman
 * Rassilon
 * The General
 * Soldiers
 * Gastron
 * Weeping Angels
 * Cloister Wraiths
 * King Hydroflax
 * Flemming and his race
 * Shoal of the Winter Harmony
 * Shoal of the Winter Harmony

Novels

 * Royal Blood
 * Big Bang Generation
 * Deep Time

Audiobooks

 * The Gods of Winter
 * The House of Winter
 * The Sins of Winter
 * The Memory of Winter

Comic books

 * Clara Oswald and the School of Death (after The Zygon Inversion)
 * The Fourth Wall