Planet of the Dead (TV story)

Planet of the Dead is the confirmed title of the first of the 2009 specials, due to air on 11 April 2009. It will star David Tennant and feature two new characters, Christina and Malcolm, along with UNIT. Production of the special began on 19th January 2009.

The Easter special will involve the Lady Christina de Souza stealing jewellery and escaping on a red London bus, which takes a "detour into danger" with the Doctor.

It will be broadcast on Easter Day at 6.45PM. The BBC did not officially announce the broadcast date for the special until the beginning of April 2009.

Synopsis
Lady Christina is a bored aristocrat who takes to burglary for the excitement it provides. Pursued by the police after stealing a priceless medieval drinking cup from the International Gallery in London, Lady Christina boards a bus moments before it unexpectedly enters a wormhole and is transported to the alien planet San Helios. She teams up with fellow passenger the Doctor to fend off alien predators and find a way back to Earth and to uncover the mysteries beneath the sand; as time moves on while the fatal Swarm gets closer

Plot
When the Doctor arrives in London, he observes a jewel thief robbing a woman, the thief escapes on a nearby bus, but the Doctor follows and meets his new friend Christina. The bus goes to an unknown planet and the Doctor with everybody onboard the bus is trapped! With half fly, half man creatures and giant flying stingray-like things, can The Doctor save everybody?

Cast

 * The Doctor - David Tennant
 * Lady Christina de Souza - Michelle Ryan
 * Professor Malcolm Taylor - Lee Evans
 * Captain Erisa Magambo - Norma Dumezweni
 * D.I Macmillan - Adam James
 * Lou - Reginald Tsiboe
 * Carmen - Ellen Thomas
 * Angela - Victoria Alcock
 * Barclay - Daniel Kaluuya
 * Nathan - David Ames
 * Bus Driver - Keith Perry
 * Sgt Dennison - Glenn Doherty
 * Sgt Ian Jenner - James Layton
 * Sorvin - Paul Kasey
 * Praygat - Ruari Mears

Production crew
to be added

Story notes

 * The title of the episode was unveiled during the closing credits of The Next Doctor broadcast on 25 December 2008, several weeks before production of the episode was due to begin.
 * This is the first Doctor Who episode in which series producer Russell T. Davies shares co-writing credit, and the first episode since the show's return in 2005 to credit two writers. The last televised story to credit two writers was the 1993 mini-episode Dimensions in Time.
 * Davies stated in the commentary for The Next Doctor that it will feature UNIT, as well as two new characters named Christina (Michelle Ryan) and Malcolm (Lee Evans).
 * In his column for Doctor Who Magazine, Davies wrote that the special will feature two new races never before seen. Davies also characterises Planet of the Dead as an "antidote" to the continuity-heavy Journey's End and The Next Doctor, which means old monsters appearing is unlikely.
 * The casting of Michelle Ryan has been reported both by media and via on-set confirmation. Ryan, best known for her work on the UK soap opera EastEnders and the American science fiction series Bionic Woman, had previously co-starred in the Steven Moffat-written miniseries Jekyll and was also reportedly a candidate for new companion after the departure of Billie Piper in 2006.
 * Evan's stated the character he would be playing, Malcolm, was a professor.
 * After initial rumours, it was confirmed that part of the episode will be filmed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates through BBC News coverage that a bus that was to be used for filming there was heavily damaged upon arrival there.
 * According to the BBC report, the damage to the bus -- a twin to one being used for filming in Cardiff -- prompted a rewrite of part of the script, the recently released trailer for the episode depicts damage to the bus identical to the damage seen in many on-set photos, suggesting that the bus getting damaged has become part of the story.
 * On 16 January 2009 The Guardian newspaper published an online column condemning the then-rumoured plan to film in Dubai, citing the UAE's human rights record. Similar criticism was posted by the fan site Kasterborous on 28 January.
 * As seen in David Tennant's video diary for this episode's readthrough, Tennant feared that, having spent six months portraying Hamlet for the RSC, that he would be unable to accurately replicate the voice he uses when portraying The Doctor. In an informal discussion with Julie Gardner, he describes his voice for Hamlet as being the same as The Doctor's (being an English accent) except "more posh" and mentioned he may have to watch his previous performances as The Doctor and practice the voice. This strongly echoes Billie Piper's dilemma when she returned to film Turn Left; in interviews with Doctor Who Confidential, Piper confessed to having forgotten how to speak in Rose's accent; it was later noted that she spoke with a noticeable lisp in several scenes of that episode.
 * It has been confirmed by the BBC that Planet of the Dead will be the first Doctor Who story to be produced in high-definition; this changeover can be likened to the move from black and white to colour production in 1970.
 * An interesting note would be that, eccentric time lady Iris Wildthyme had a TARDIS that resembled a London bus.
 * According to Tennant's video diary, he and co-star Adam James have been friends for 10 years, having also worked together in the past, James is also Jon Pertwee's godson.
 * In an interview for BBC Breakfast on 7th April 2009, Russell T. Davies revealed that the episode had only been completed at 11:30pm the previous night, only 5 days before the episode airs.
 * DWM 407 confirmed that Planet of the Dead was Doctor Who's 200th story.

Ratings
to be added

Rumours

 * Lady Christina's appearance in this story will lead to a "shocking event" in the Doctor's life, this could mean that someone important from his past may be returning.
 * It is rumoured that at least one of the "two new species" will be found in a desert.
 * "Tennant Tapes 4" on the Doctor Who website showed The Doctor and Christina being escorted along a corridor by a creature that resembles a humanoid fly wearing a suit. It is not known yet if this is the one of the main aliens in the story.
 * Photos that have been published on a website indicating that Professor Malcom is a member of UNIT.
 * Due to the unexplained delay by the BBC in announcing the official broadcast date for the special, except for saying "Easter 2009", several websites erroneously stated that the broadcast would occur on 12 April, Easter itself.
 * The trailer showed one of the monsters is a swarm of mantaray-like creatures.
 * The story is set on a barren, desert-like hive of a planet. As shown in recent trailer.
 * Doctor Who Magazine 407 confirmed the other monsters of this episode are humanoid flies called Trivitvores.
 * In the BBC book Companions and Allies it says the planet is called San Helios.
 * DWM 407 confirmed that Professor Malcolm's second name is Taylor and he is UNIT's current Scientific Advisor. (The job the Doctor had when he worked for UNIT.)

Filming Locations

 * Cardiff (UNIT)
 * Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
to be added

Continuity
''to be added

DVD and Other releases
According to Amazon.co.uk, a Region 2 (UK) DVD release is scheduled for 11 May 2009, although as of the end of March no official announcement has been made by BBC Video or 2 Entertain. A release one month after broadcast is in keeping with the precedent set by the release of The Next Doctor to DVD. It is not yet known if the release will have any extra features.

As with The Next Doctor no North American DVD release has been hinted at; it is assumed it will at least be included in a box set collecting the 2009 Specials and The Next Doctor; such a release will not occur until the first quarter of 2010, at the earliest, pending broadcast of the remaining specials in the UK.