Series 4 (Doctor Who)



The 2009 Specials will be broadcast between the end of Series 4 and the beginning of Series 5. Four specials will be broadcast at various points in 2009. Of the four specials, one has been scheduled for Easter 2009, and one for Christmas 2009, leaving the other two unscheduled. These four specials will be overseen by Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner, but traditional line producer, Phil Collinson, will not be returning for them. All will reportedly star David Tennant.

David Tennant announced that after the 2009 specials he would leave Doctor Who. Rumoured actors to replace Tennant were James Nesbitt, Robert Carlyle , David Walliams (who was the leading choice) , Harry Lloyd , David Morrissey (who previously played Jackson Lake in the 2008 Christmas special) and Paterson Joseph. Bill Nighy has stated he would love to take over from Tennant once he leaves if the producers approach him. On the 3rd January 2009, it was announced that 26 year old actor Matt Smith would be portraying the Eleventh Doctor for the duration of Series 5 (Doctor Who). It is currently unknown whether the regeneration from the Tenth to Eleventh Doctor will occur in the last special, or at the beginning of the 5th series. In an interview with "Wired", Euros Lyn revealed that the story in which the Doctor regenerates will be a two-part story with the Doctor presumably regenerating in the second part.

For the 2009 Specials, the Doctor will be traveling alone, each episode starring a one-off companion.

There have been conflicting reports given as to why the decision was made to take a year off. Initial media reports suggested that this was in order to allow David Tennant to perform a season of Shakespeare during the time a regular season would have normally entered production. However, these reports are directly contradicted in Russell T. Davies' book Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale, which contains correspondence from the spring of 2007 -- months before the gap year plan was announced -- in which Davies indicated that the intent was to take the series off for a year, except for a few specials, in order to allow a new production team to make its transition, as Davies had already informed the BBC that he would not executive-produce a fifth season.

Although it was originally announced that the four specials following The Next Doctor would air during 2009, with a possible summer-fall broadcast for at least one of them, this now appears to not be the case, as Russell T. Davies has indicated to SFX Magazine that, following the broadcast of Planet of the Dead in April 2009, the remaining three specials will air "around Christmas/end of the year". An earlier indication that at least one special would not air until 2010 was given by David Tennant himself during interviews following the announcement of his departure from the series.

The Next Doctor
There are conflicting reports from the BBC and other sources as to whether The Next Doctor, the 2008 Christmas special, is part of the 2009 Specials "series" or not. Arguments in favour of it being included are that it was not aired with the rest of Series 4, and Series 4 already was linked to a Christmas special, Voyage of the Damned, and also that it was not included on the so-titled "Complete Fourth Series" DVD box set issued in the autumn of 2008. Arguments in favour of it being considered part of the Fourth Series include it being produced during the same production block as Series 4, and that Russell T Davies referred to it as the 14th episode of Series 4 in his book Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale. The fact the episode uses a Series 4 production code cannot be used as support as the same is holding true with all of the 2009 Specials which raises the question as to whether the "gap year" might eventually come to be known as Series 4.5 (or season 30.5). According to Davies' interview with SFX Magazine the four specials being produced in 2009 form an arc, suggesting that The Next Doctor is likely to be accorded standalone status, as was the case with the previous Christmas specials, none of which were considered part of the seasons that followed (although they were nonetheless included in the DVD box sets).

Television stories

 * Planet of the Dead (11th April 2009)
 * The Waters of Mars(November 2009)
 * Special 3 (date and title TBA, Christmas 2009)
 * Special 4 (date and title TBA, New Year's 2010)

Euros Lyn has confirmed that he will be directing the final two specials. In an interview with the website Zap2It.com in February 2009, Lyn indicated that the final two specials will constitute a two-part story.

The title of the first special, Planet of the Dead was not made public until the closing credits of The Next Doctor. It is therefore assumed that the title of the second special will likely be revealed in the closing credits of Planet of the Dead.

Casting
Planet of the Dead
 * Lady Christina de Souza - Michelle Ryan
 * Malcolm - Lee Evans
 * Captain Arisa Magambo - Norma Dumezweni

Production
Filming of Planet of the Dead commenced in mid-January 2009 and concluded in February. Production of the as-yet-untitled Special 2 is scheduled to begin on 30 March 2009.

Series numbering
Although it was initially thought that the "interval" season of specials might come to be known as Series 5, or Series 4.5, however at present it appears that the BBC will not be assigning a series "number" to the specials, much as the previous Christmas specials and mini-episodes do not technically belong to any particular season. This, however, is contradicted by Russell T Davies himself in his book The Writer's Tale, where he calls The Next Doctor the fourteenth episode of the fourth series (likely due to the fact it was produced during the production of Series 4).DWM confirmed the specials would be coded 4.14, 4.15, 4.16 etc. Also, the BBC iPlayer page for The Next Doctor on its Christmas Day release stated the episode was part of 'Series Four'.

Writers
Russell T Davies is solely writing only the Christmas 2008 special and two others. One of the specials will be co-written by Gareth Roberts, and one will be co-written by Phil Ford. These particular specials will be historic in that they will be the first two episodes of the BBC Wales production of Doctor Who to formally credit a co-writer. With the inclusion of Ford, 2009 will mark the fifth straight year that Doctor Who has included at least one new writer for the show, and make Ford the only writer other than RTD himself to write for Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures and Doctor Who.

Rumours

 * The Sun newspaper in the UK reported Paul McGann is to make an appearance as the Eighth Doctor in one of the specials. However, on 12 September 2008, the BBC refuted this allegation, saying, "There is no truth to the story at all." However, a brief clip of McGann as the Doctor did appear in The Next Doctor as part of a recap of all of the Doctor's incarnations.
 * Actor Patrick Stewart may also appear in the 2009 specials, playing the renegade Time Lord, The Monk. At least one (possibly made-up) source believes that "the BBC has offered him the role and are willing to wait for Stewart's schedule to clear".  Stewart could therefore appear in either the specials or the 2010 series. Unlikely as when it comes to Doctor Who the newspapers tend to make up their own rumours which are completely untrue. For example, the rumour that Jennifer Saunders would play the Doctor.
 * The Nimon may return in one of the specials as hinted by Russell T. Davies in an excerpt from The Next Doctor Podcast.
 * It is rumoured that News Reporter Trinity Wells, played by Lachele Carl, who has appeared in every series, since series 1, will appear. Davies said in an interview that The Doctor may meet her and she may sacrifice herself for the Earth.
 * Although initial media coverage of the "gap year" indicated that all the specials would air in 2009, with Tennant's announcement of his pending departure in October 2008 came media references (yet to be officially confirmed) that the final special, and the final episode to feature Tennant, may not air until early 2010. Julie Gardner has confirmed that the first special will be broadcast during the Easter Holidays.
 * Two mini-episodes (Children in Need Special and Time Crash) and two interactive mini-episodes (the online game Attack of the Graske and the audience-participation Music of the Spheres) have been produced since Tennant joined the series; the possibility exists that another mini-episode may be produced during the Specials season, although as of January 2009 there has been no indication of this.
 * Recurring rumors include speculation that either Georgia Moffett will return as Jenny, the Doctor's daughter, or that River Song, introduced as a future companion of the Doctor's in Series 4, will return (though spin-off speculates relates as to whether Alex Kingston would return of if a younger actress would be cast). Both have also been cited as potential companions in Series 5, too.
 * Initial rumours that one of the specials would be filmed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates were confirmed in late January 2009 when BBC News reported that a bus intended for use in location filming for Planet of the Dead in Dubai was damaged. A related rumour, referenced in the Dubai-based newspaper 7DAYS, citing an unnamed BBC source, indicated that filming for one of the specials would occur in the United States.
 * In late January several media outlets reported that Freema Agyeman would reprise the role of Martha Jones in one of the specials; this is highly unlikely as Russell T Davies intends, with Donna losing her memory, Rose having found a half-human Doctor in a parallel universe, Martha having forged a life of her own outside the TARDIS, and Sarah Jane and Captain Jack still in The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood, the 2009 specials will see the Doctor travelling alone, with no references to former companions.
 * Supposedly, Donna Noble, Wilfred Mott and the Master are all meant to return for at least one of the 2009 specials. This is rumoured because in the Series 4 Box-Set, a clip of Donna hearing the TARDIS disappear could be heard and a ring on her finger was shown quite visibly for a number of seconds. This clip was cut from the final cut. Throughout Journey's End and The Stolen Earth, clips of a ring on Donna's finger are seen. This refers back to the ring that was seen in Last of the Time Lords and could have some connection between the Master and Donna.
 * According to an interview by Russell T. Davies in SFX Magazine, at least one of the specials will feature the Ood and possibly tie in with the closing scene of Planet of the Ood, and that the four specials that make up the gap year will form a loose arc, with the final two being a two-parter closely linked to the second special.
 * The Daily Mirror reported that an Episode will be set on Mars. With the Doctor having to battle aliens from Mars. This could possibly mean the Ice Warriors will be in one of the specials, or possibly the Sycorax as they were involved in an incident regarding a British expedition to Mars in The Christmas Invasion.
 * In mid-March the tabloid The Sun reported rumours that Billie Piper, Freema Agyeman and Catherine Tate are going to appear in the final special. This rumour has not been confirmed by any official source, and production of the finale isn't expected to begin for some months yet.
 * Similarly, rumours abound that Bernard Cribbins is reprising the role of Wilfred Mott, with guest star Jessica Hynes in one of the later specials, although claims that they have been seen "on set" on 21 March would appear to be unfounded given that production of Special 2 did not even begin until March 30. On 3rd April John Simm was seen on set, leading many to speculate that The Master will return.

Broadcast dates

 * The BBC did not announce a broadcast date for Planet of the Dead until 1 April, leading to some erroneous reports that it would air on 12 April; it ended up being scheduled for 11 April.
 * Russell T. Davies has indicated that the remaining three specials will not air until near the end of 2009 and possibly into 2010.

Trailers
According to BBC journalist Lizo Mzimba on Twitter, the first television trailer for the Planet of the Dead would air on BBC One on Wednesday 1st April at 9 pm, just prior to "The Apprentice".

DVD releases

 * The Next Doctor was released to DVD in the UK in January 2009 in a special edition that included the corresponding (Cutdown) episode of Doctor Who Confidential, a specially edited version of the 2008 Proms concert special, and the mini-episode Music of the Spheres.
 * Amazon.co.uk is showing a DVD release of Planet of the Dead scheduled for 11 May 2009, although no official release announcement has been made by BBC Video/2 Entertain.
 * As the remaining three specials are not expected to air until the end of 2009-early 2010, further DVD releases are not expected in Region 2 (UK) until early 2010.
 * No DVD releases have as yet been announced for Region 1 (North America). It remains to be seen if the individual UK releases of The Next Doctor and Planet of the Dead will also be issued in Region 1 during 2009 or if BBC Video/2 Entertain will wait to release all the specials in one box set in 2010.