Series 4 (Doctor Who)



Series 4 of Doctor Who, occasionally known as season 30 for clarity between it and season 4, started on the 5th April 2008.

David Tennant is staying on as the Tenth Doctor, and Catherine Tate reprised her role as Donna Noble. They will be joined again by Freema Agyeman, returning as companion Martha Jones for five episodes of the series after a brief spell with Torchwood. Jack Harkness will also return to the show later in the series.

Billie Piper has been confirmed to return as Rose Tyler in episode 11 (although she ultimately also made appearances in episodes 1, 5 and 10). How she escapes the parallel universe has not been stated. She will appear for three episodes, but it has not been clarified if she will stay on for 2009. Sarah Jane Smith and Mickey Smith has also been confirmed for the final story, making this series the first in the new series to feature at least six companions. K9 may also make a brief appearance in the finale

Series 4 will feature several milestones. It is the Thirtieth broadcast season of Doctor Who, and will feature the 750th broadcast episode (episode 12), the 50th new series episode (episode 7), and the 200th broadcast story of Doctor Who (The eighth story of the season).

On the 1st of February, BBC and Carlton Screen Advertising released a brand new trailer for Series 4. It went on TV and Online on Saturday the 22nd of March. The brand new theme tune, premiered in Voyage of the Damned was featured from the start of Series 4.

Acording to Russell T. Davies 6 planets will be mentioned in Series 4 these are: Midnight, Ood Sphere, Messaline, Shan Shen, Pyrovillia and the Lost Moon of Poosh.

There is no specific arc word or phrase but there are small hints to the finale in each episode and they could be anything from words and phrases to individuals, planets or species.

Specials

 * Time Crash - Children in Need Special
 * Voyage of the Damned - Christmas Special

Episodes

 * Partners in Crime
 * The Fires of Pompeii
 * Planet of the Ood
 * The Sontaran Stratagem/ The Poison Sky
 * The Doctor's Daughter
 * The Unicorn and the Wasp
 * Silence In The Library/ Forest of the Dead
 * Midnight
 * Turn Left
 * The Stolen Earth/Journey's End

Confirmation

 * A report in the Sun on 15/03/08 and pictures of the set of the finale that were leaked onto Youtube confirmed that the Daleks will appear in the final few episodes. These pictures also showed Rose on the streets of London carrying what looked like Jake's gun from Doomsday. This is unlikely as in close up shots of Rose from the 'rest of series trailer' the gun is chunkier with more of a point at the end.
 * It has been confirmed that Daleks will feature in the finale enslaving the humans.
 * A newscast report on Billie Piper's return as Rose Tyler for the finale of Series 4.
 * Series 5 will not be seen until 2010.
 * In an interview Russell T. Davies said the Medusa Cascade would return and play a major part in Series 4.
 * In a press trailer, it was confirmed that the Tenth Doctor, Donna Noble, Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Jack Harkness, Sarah Jane Smith, Jackie Tyler, Mickey Smith, Sylvia Noble, Wilfred Mott and K-9 would be in the series.
 * Main features and frequent occurances of this series are the use of planets that have been lost, the disappearance of the bees, the Medusa Cascade, Rose Tyler (Who appears briefly throughout the series) and apperance of children (Such as the Adipose, the child at Pompeii, the Vespiform, the little girl in Silence in the Library and the Doctor's own daughter, Jenny.)
 * After this series, Julie Gardner will no longer be an executive producer.
 * Catherine Tate will be leaving in Journey's End. She has also confirmed she will not appear in the 3 specials in 2009.
 * After this series and the 3 specials in 2009 Russell T. Davis will be succeeded by Steven Moffat as head writer

Main Cast

 * The Doctor - David Tennant (All episodes)
 * Donna Noble - Catherine Tate (All episodes)
 * Rose Tyler - Billie Piper (Partners in Crime (Cameo), The Poison Sky (Cameo), Midnight (cameo), Turn Left - Journey's End)
 * Martha Jones - Freema Agyeman (The Sontaran Stratagem - The Doctor's Daughter/The Stolen Earth - Journey's End )
 * Captain Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
 * Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
 * Mickey Smith - Noel Clarke
 * Jackie Tyler - Camille Coduri

Novels

 * Ghosts of India
 * Shining Darkness
 * The Doctor Trap
 * Beautiful Chaos
 * The Eyeless