Series 6 (Doctor Who)


 * For the 6th season of the original series, see Season 6.



Series 6 of Doctor Who, sometimes known as Season 32 for clarity over Season 6, is expected to air on BBC One around Spring 2011. DWM Issue 419 has confirmed that it has been commissioned by the BBC, and producer Piers Wenger also announced the same at the BBC Press Launch for Series 5 in March 2010. Filming started in July 2010. This series will be preceded by a 2010 Christmas Special, written by Steven Moffat. The series will be split into two pieces, the series will air sometime around easter, then will stop halfway after episode seven is aired, then will start again from episode 8 in autumn.

Cast
It has been confirmed that Matt Smith will return as the Eleventh Doctor and will not leave. Producers also confirmed that Karen Gillan will return as Amy Pond and Arthur Darvill will stay for the full series (the first male companion to do so since 1975.). This will make this the first season since 1989 when both the Doctor and the primary companion from the previous season will carry over into the new season.

Primary cast

 * Eleventh Doctor - Matt Smith
 * Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
 * Rory Williams - Arthur Darvill
 * River Song - Alex Kingston (confirmed by Steven Moffat in Doctor Who Confidential)

Secondary cast
to be added

Casting notes

 * Steven Moffat confirmed in Doctor Who Confidential that River Song's identity and background story will be revealed in Series 6, and that the unanswered questions of Series 5 concerning the Time Field cracks, the silence, and the mysterious external force that took control of the TARDIS and tried to make it explode, will play a role.
 * There are currently no plan to bring back Paul McGann or any other Doctors back at the moment

Aliens and enemies

 * The Silence

Writers
Neil Gaiman has confirmed that he is writing an episode for the first half of this series. Gaiman told BBC News that his episode was originally titled The House of Nothing It was revealed on Neil Gaiman's twitter page that his episode will be the third episode of Series 6 Steven Moffat will return as Executive Producer and Head Writer and will write six episodes, including the 2010 Christmas special. It has been rumoured that Tom MacRae and Paul Cornell are writing for Series 6, though Cornell denied the rumour.
 * Steven Moffat (6 episodes - Including the Christmas Special)
 * Neil Gaiman (1 episode)
 * Mark Gatiss (1 episode)
 * Matthew Graham (2 episodes)
 * Toby Whithouse (1 episode)

Crew
DWM 424 confirmed on page 5 the following:
 * Sanne Wohlenberg will take over as Producer for Blocks One and Two
 * Michael Pickwood will be the new Production designer
 * Barbara Kidd will be the new Costume designer
 * Di Barton will be the new Line producer
 * Piers Wenger and Beth Willis will be staying as Executive producers

Directors

 * Toby Haynes
 * Richard Clark
 * Adam Smith
 * Peter Hoar

Production notes

 * Richard Clark will direct two episodes; the third episode, written by Neil Gaiman, and the fourth episode, written by Mark Gatiss.
 * Matt Smith mentioned in his appears on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson that they filmed an episode in Utah, which was why he was in LA for the interview.

Regular season
The series has been commissioned for 13 episodes, with 7 episodes being broadcast in Spring 2011 and the remaining 6 episodes in Autumn 2011.

Episode notes
''It’s the deepest part of winter, the exact midpoint, Christmas Eve – half way out of the dark. Amy and Rory are trapped on a stricken space liner that’s plummeting through banks of thick icy fog to the surface of the planet below. Only one man has the power to save them; only one man is in possession of a machine that can clear the fog and let them land safely. That man is Kazran Sardick, a rich but lonely old miser who rules Sardicktown with a sky-mast of iron. The Doctor’s only chance of rescuing the ship’s 4,000 passengers is to save Kazran’s soul and show him that life is worth living. For this he needs to go back, way back, to when Kazran was a boy with a life full of promise. But can the Doctor put a song in Kazran’s heart and love in his life, in time for Christmas? Can he bring him out of the dark?''
 * During an interview with Neil Gaiman on BBC breakfast he revealed that his episode is "Very spooky" and that fans "Are likely to be biting their nails off by the end".
 * Steven Moffat has said that the Christmas Special will be the most " Christmassy Christmas special ever." and " We're going for broke with this one. It's all your favourite Christmas movies at once, in an hour, with monsters and the Doctor and a honeymoon and – oh, you'll see. I've honestly never been so excited about writing anything. I was laughing madly as I typed along to Christmas songs in April. My neighbours loved it so much they all moved away and set up a website demanding my execution. But I'm fairly sure they did it ironically."
 * Controller of drama commissioning Ben Stephenson revealed that the episode, which guest stars Michael Gambon and Katherine Jenkins, will be based on Charles Dickens' 1843 novel A Christmas Carol.
 * On August 20th 2010, The One Show on BBC1 showed a behind the scenes picture from the Christmas special for five seconds, confirming that there would be snow.
 * Karen Gillan confirmed that viewers would get to see a glimpse of Amy and Rory's honeymoon in the Christmas Special.
 * On his blog, writer Neil Gaiman released a short conversation between Amy and the Doctor that did not meet the final cut in the episode wrote, also confirming that he had finished it.
 * On set photos for episode four showed some new doll-like monsters which may be featuring in episode three as that was due to be set in a doll's house.
 * For the first time in the revived series, it will open with a two-parter in which The Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive in Utah in the 1960′s and get caught up in an adventure that marks the return of River Song.
 * The Christmas special will again be a 60 minute episode
 * There will be a preview of the Christmas Special shown at Children in Need but preceding this, there will be a 'mini clip' in which the Doctor and Amy are having a tea party in the TARDIS and the Doctor will introduce the clip. (Link to clip)
 * A synopsis of A Christmas Carol has been realeased: Amy and Rory are trapped on a crashing space liner, and the only way The Doctor can rescue them is to save the soul of a lonely old miser, in a festive edition of the time-travelling adventure, written by Steven Moffat. But is Kazran Sardick, the richest man in Sardicktown, beyond redemption? And what is lurking in the fogs of Christmas Eve? 
 * A second synopsis has been realeased:
 * A Christmas Carol will air at 6pm on Christmas Day
 * There will be a three month wait between the series spilt

Rumours

 * In The Brilliant Book, several "hints" about Series 6 were revealed.
 * The Sun published a rumour that Matt Smith would leave after the 2011 series, a rumour which was picked up by several other media sources . This has been denied by Matt Smith and Karen Gillan Another BBC insider said that Smith will stay until the 50th anniversary of the show, in 2013. 
 * It has been rumoured that Karen Gillan is leaving the series and Amy Pond will be killed off at the climax to the spring half of the series. Matt Smith has denied the rumours that Amy will die, or that Karen is leaving.
 * The Daily Star has reported that the villain for the christmas special has been confirmed by the BBC to be a CGI "Flying Shark". This looks more positive now filming pictures have emerged from filming showing a door with a bite mark in and a model sculpture of what appears to be a CGI Shark's head . This was proven true with their appearance in the official trailer.
 * The Sun published a statement by Matt Smith that he was being measured for a new outfit. He was later seen on set donning a new tweed jacket, and there were no major changes to the outfit, though the elbow patches were gone.
 * It has been rumoured that Series 6 will be broadcast in the Autumn of 2011 rather than the spring. This is false as it was later proved that one half of the series will be shown in spring and the other in autumn.
 * The Doctor will pose as A Ghost of Christmas Past. In a trailer for the BBC's Christmas season, the Doctor is heard saying "I'm a ghost of Christmas Past".
 * River Song will die.
 * The Celestial Toymaker will return.
 * The Daleks may return in their "old" form. Steven Moffat has stated that the Daleks are not likely to return for Series 6, but, when they do return, the "old" Daleks will feature.
 * The Christmas Special could be a musical
 * Viewers will see more of the TARDIS
 * The Doctor will meet Richard Nixon.
 * The Christmas special will be set on a planet that looks Victorian and will have flying sharks
 * We will see River Song as a child.
 * Dutch actor Marnix Van Den Broek is rumoured to play a character known as "The Silent". Given the similarity in name to the Silence, it is rumoured that they are the same character.
 * We will learn of the identity of River Song. This is rumoured to be the cliffhanger to the Spring season.
 * The Doctor will meet a President of the USA. This is rumoured to be Richard Nixon or John F Kennedy
 * The Doctor will wear a Fez again.
 * Skaro may be revisited
 * One of the episodes will feature a "future Doctor".
 * There are numerous rumours about Neil Gaiman's story being set in a giant doll's house this also seems more likely due to the working title of his story being "The House of Nothing". There will also be another 2 stories, one with an Egypt theme  and another possibly set in an Ice Base. This looks more positive now that a rumour has surfaced about the redesigned classic Cybermen returning, mummified in a egyptian tomb, which will be written by Steven Thompson (Who previously wrote for Sherlock).
 * The Mara will return.
 * Episodes 5 & 6 will feature incomplete clones and robot droids from the future, who also accuse the Doctor of being a clone!
 * The Weeping Angels will return