The Waters of Mars (TV story)

The Waters of Mars is the second of the 2009 Specials leading up to the end of the David Tennant era. Tennant himself has announced that the special will air on 15th November 2009 on BBC One.

Synopsis
Mars. 2059. Bowie Base One. Last recorded message: "Don't drink the water. Don't even touch it. Not one drop."

Plot
to be added

Cast

 * Tenth Doctor - David Tennant
 * Adelaide Brooke - Lindsay Duncan
 * Mia Bennett - Gemma Chan
 * Ed - Peter O'Brien
 * Maggie Cain - Sharon Duncan-Brewster
 * Tarak Ital - Chook Sibtain
 * TBA - Aleksander Mikic
 * Steffie Ehrlich - Cosima Shaw
 * TBA - Michael Goldsmith
 * Andy Stone - Alan Ruscoe
 * Time Lord - Timothy Dalton
 * Ood Sigma - Paul Kasey

Crew
to be added

Story Notes

 * "The Waters of Mars" is an upcoming special which is due to air "around November-ish". Russel T Davies confirmed it on BBC Breakfast on 7 April 2009, when he came to talk about Planet of the Dead. As of mid-April 2009 a broadcast date has not yet been announced, however Davies said on BBC Breakfast that a "November-ish" date was being considered (previously it had been indicated the special wouldn't air until closer to Christmas 2009). The BBC did not confirm the broadcast date of Planet of the Dead until a week prior to its broadcast; therefore it is assumed a confirmed date for the broadcast of The Waters of Mars won't be made available until late in 2009. David Tennant confirmed on 30th October that the episode will be broadcast on Sunday 15th November.
 * As Lindsay Duncan has been cast as a companion, she is the oldest actor to play a companion since the beginning of the series, although this title will be taken away from her in the next episode when Bernard Cribbins becomes the Doctor's companion.
 * Russell T Davies has said in Doctor Who Magazine that this will be a very scary episode of Doctor Who, as he described it "nightmarish".
 * Julie Gardner said on the Easter Doctor Who Confidential that another Your Song is Ending style reference will be made in this episode as well as playing a massive part last 2 specials.
 * Filming for the special began on 23rd February 2009. In late February, David Tennant, Duncan and other actors were seen filming in Victoria Place, Newport.[10] The filming took place on a city street, which the production team covered with artificial snow.[10] Also present during filming were a small robot inscribed with the word "GADGET" and Ood Sigma, from the 2008 episode Planet of the Ood.
 * On 28th July 2009, a new trailer was shown at the 2009 San Diego Comic Con, soon after it was posted on the BBC website.
 * The trailer showed the Doctor talking about how "certain points in time are fixed... Everything else is in flux, anything can happen, but those certain points, they have to stand... This base on Mars... what happens here must always happen." Adelaide warns "Don't drink the water... don't even touch it, not one drop". Finally, the Doctor says to Adelaide: "They said I was going to die, they said he will knock four times, and I think I know what that means, and it doesn't mean right here, right now 'cause I don't hear anyone knocking, do you?" Four knocks then ring out as the tagline appears: "The Waters of Mars: Coming Soon".
 * The BBC has confirmed that the special will be dedicated to 1970s-era producer Barry Letts, who died a month before its broadcast.
 * Chook Sibtain previously played Mark Grantham in SJA: Warriors of Kudlak.
 * A new trailer released by the BBC on the 4th November depicts, among other things, the Doctor walking towards the base in his space suit previously seen in DW: The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit. The Doctor also says, when Adelaide asks why won't he help them, that "You die. On Mars. You die today".
 * An Australian airdate has been confirmed, 6th Decemeber, three weeks after the UK premiere

Ratings
to be added

Filming Locations

 * Victoria Place, Newport
 * National Botanic Gardens of Wales, Carmarthenshire

Rumours

 * Will feature a water based entity.
 * Will be set in some kind of Bio-dome filled with vegetation.
 * Will be set on the planet Mars.
 * The Doctor will start having premonitions toward the end of the episode, seeing Ood Sigma and The Master.
 * Please discuss unconfirmed rumours in The Howling section of the Forums.

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
to be added

Continuity
to be added

International broadcasts

 * BBC America: 19th December 2009
 * Space (Canada): 19th December 2009

DVD release

 * It has been announced that the four specials plus The Next Doctor will be released in North America on both DVD and Blu-Ray in a box set on 2nd February 2010.