Series 4 (Doctor Who)

Overview
The 2009 Specials were broadcast between the end of Series 4 and the beginning of Series 5. Four specials have been broadcast at various points in 2009. Of the four specials, one has so far aired at Easter 2009, followed by a second that aired in November. The two remaining specials aired to air on Christmas 2009 and then in New Year 2010. 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 star David Tennant. For the 2009 Specials, the Doctor was traveling alone, each episode stared a one-off companion. There had 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.

Television Stories

 * Planet of the Dead (11th April 2009)
 * The Waters of Mars (15th November 2009)
 * The End of Time, Part One (Christmas 2009)
 * The End of Time, Part Two (New Year's Day 2010)

Others

 * DW: Dreamland
 * SJA: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith
 * Tonight's the Night
 * 2009 BBC Christmas idents

The Next Doctor
The status of the 2008 Christmas special The Next Doctor is a matter of debate. Officially, it has been called the 14th episode of Series 4, however as noted below, the 4th series numbering also applies to the specials. Conversely, The Next Doctor was produced during the same production block as Series 4, and also was produced differently than the specials, which were shot in high definition. It remains to be seen if over time The Next Doctor becomes accepted as a 4th season episode, as one of the 2009 specials, or as a complete standalone.BBC Video has also announced that it will be included in the forthcoming Specials box set on DVD and Blu-Ray, placing it with the 2009 Specials; in the past, BBC Video's titling and programming has come to be considered definitive.

Primary Cast

 * Tenth Doctor- David Tennant

Secondary Cast

 * Lady Christina De Souza - Michelle Ryan
 * Adelaide Brooke - Lindsay Duncan
 * Wilfred Mott - Bernard Cribbins

Guest Cast

 * Professor Malcolm Taylor - Lee Evans
 * Carmen - Ellen Thomas
 * Captain Erisa Magambo - Norma Dumezweni
 * Barclay - Daniel Kaluuya
 * Nathan - David Ames
 * Ed Gold - Peter O'Brien
 * Mia Bennett - Gemma Chan
 * Yuri Kerenski - Aleksander Mikic
 * Andy Stone - Alan Ruscoe
 * Tarak Ital - Chook Sibtain
 * The Master - John Simm
 * The Narrator - Timothy Dalton
 * Donna Noble - Catherine Tate
 * Sylvia Noble - Jacqueline King

Introducing

 * Eleventh Doctor - Matt Smith

Aliens and Enemies

 * The Swarm
 * Tritivores
 * Macmillan
 * The Flood
 * The Master
 * Rassilon
 * Ood
 * Ood Sigma
 * Ood Elder
 * Judoon
 * Vinvocci
 * Time Lords
 * Trefusis
 * The Governor
 * Joshua Naismith
 * Sontaran
 * Hath
 * Sycorax
 * Adipose
 * Slitheen
 * Graske

Novels

 * The Eyeless
 * Judgement of the Judoon
 * The Slitheen Excursion
 * Prisoner of the Daleks
 * The Taking of Chelsea 426
 * The Krillitane Storm
 * Autonomy

Filming
Filming of Planet of the Dead commenced in mid-January 2009 and concluded in February. Production of The Waters of Mars began late January 2009, and finished in mid February. Production of the final specials was completed by late spring 2009.

Writers
Russell T Davies is solely writing only the Christmas 2008 special, and also The final special. 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.

UK Releases

 * Planet of the Dead was released in the UK BBC DVD and Blu-ray on the 29th June 2009 -- it is the first Doctor Who story to be released in Blu-Ray.
 * All the specials, plus The Next Doctor and Doctor Who at the Proms (including Music of the Spheres) is scheduled for release in a box set in both Blu-Ray and DVD format on 11th January 2010; The Next Doctor is being upconverted to high-definition for the release.
 * The Waters of Mars and The End of Time will also be available separately on DVD/Blu-Ray on 11th January.

International Releases

 * Planet of the Dead was released in North America on 28th July 2009 in both DVD and Blu-Ray formats -- the first Doctor Who story to be released in high definition.
 * It has been announced that the four specials plus The Next Doctor and Doctor Who at the Proms/Music of the Spheres will be released in North America on both DVD and Blu-Ray in a box set on 2nd February 2010.
 * The Waters of Mars and The End of Time will also be available separately on DVD/Blu-Ray on 2nd February.

Dreamland
As it is not considered one of the 2009 Specials, the 45-minute animated story Dreamland is currently scheduled for separate DVD/Blu-Ray release in the UK in early 2010; no North American release of Dreamland has yet been announced.