Doctor Who
2015 Christmas Special “The Husbands Of River Song”
Directed by Douglas McKinnon
Written by Steven Moffat
Starring Peter Capaldi, Alex Kingston, Matt Lucas, Greg Davies
BBC America
Air date: December 25, 2015

When it comes to modern Doctor Who, I have to admit a soft spot for River Song. That’s especially true of her first appearance in “Silence In The Library/Forest Of The Dead.” Written by Steven Moffat, it was one of the brighter spots of the Russell Davies era. It has some entertaining plot twists, an energetic performance by Alex Kingston, and a sudden opening of new possibilities for what the Doctor could be and for what show could look like.

It’s been seven years and River Song is back. That future happened. Russell Davies and David Tennant turned into Steven Moffat, Matt Smith, and now Peter Capaldi. We know River Song’s origins and the meaning of her name. We’ve learned much about her history and something of the Doctor’s as well. Does this latest encounter polish or tarnish the legacy of their time together? Let’s find out.

After completing his weighty, serious, and sobering journey separating from his companion, the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) finds himself crossing paths with his wife, River Song (Alex Kingston), taking him on a ridiculous rollicking adventure. But there’s just one problem – she doesn’t recognize that he’s the Doctor…

During TARDISblend 98, we round out 2015 with a look at the Doctor Who Christmas Special, comparing it to previous efforts from Steven Moffat, and take a very short, quick glance at what’s coming next year.

All this and more on the latest TARDISblend podcast!

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Whovian heads exploded left and right over the weekend with the announcement from the BBC and Matt Smith that the current Time Lord will be departing from the popular and long-lived series. Doctor Who, it seems, will be getting another new Doctor, this time during the year of the show’s 50th Anniversary.

The announcement was made a few weeks following the season finale of Series 7, The Name Of The Doctor, which concluded with the earth-shattering revelation that…

The long-awaited season finale of Doctor Who series 7 is here, a climax that showrunner Steven Moffat and the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) have been racing towards (or running from?) for quite some time: “The Name Of The Doctor.” From the prophecy uttered, we witness the fall of the Eleventh, as the Doctor is forced to go to the place he must never go: Trenzalore – to a confrontation that will change everything forever for both the Doctor and for his companion Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) in which his greatest secret is finally revealed…

During TARDISblend 66, we discuss the major gamechanging spoilers that came out in force during the season finale, but also look at what it means for the upcoming 50th Anniversary Special. We touch on the role of River Song (Alex Kingston) in this episode, and the inferential implications within Moffat’s writing of the character.

We also look towards what’s next for Doctor Who, from the 50th to Christmas to Series 8, and lay out the possibilities for a wager laid down for the future of this very podcast. And finally, we review YOUR comments from our episodes this season. All this and more on the latest TARDISblend!

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It’s another wait for Doctor Who fans, as the first half of Series 7 concludes and the countdown to the Christmas Special 2012 begins. To close off the first half, we’re joined by James McLean from BackToFrankBlack.com and Kasterborous.com, and also fellow Geek Of Doom, Eric Mitchell aka Jedi Of Doom, as we reflect on the new episodes seen thus far, and speculate on what is to come.

During TARDISblend 57, we discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of Series 7a, and also look forward to our hopes, predictions, and speculations of Series 7b and the Christmas Special. Additionally we talk about our expectations of new companion Clara Oswin played by Jenna-Louise Coleman. John Barrowman‘s Captain Jack Harkness also gets a mention as we discuss whether his character should return to Doctor Who or not.

All this and more on the latest TARDISblend!

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The first half of Doctor Who Series 7 concludes, and it begins with The Doctor (Matt Smith) with companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) having a picnic in Central Park, New York in 2012. While there, Rory is zapped back to 1938 by one of the Weeping Angels.

The Doctor and Amy discover that their impending adventure is documented in a book, and they travel back to try and find and rescue Rory, only to discover that the Weeping Angels have established a feeding ground in New York City. Meeting up with River Song (Alex Kingston), the heroes find themselves in a fixed time loop problem, which may have tragic consequences for them all…

…or for some of them…

During TARDISblend 56, we discuss Steven Moffat‘s final farewell to the Ponds in The Angels Take Manhattan, and examine some of the more wibbly-wobbly aspects of the episode. We also make mention of some of the cooler Angel scenes in the mid-series finale, and look forward to the next episode being the Christmas special.

BBC America has released a brand new trailer for Series 7 of Doctor Who, that contains some awesome new footage not yet shown in the UK trailers. You can see the trailer in all its brilliance at the bottom of this post.

Some of the footage not seen before includes a short shot of River Song (Alex Kingston) and some film of the Weeping Angels from the final episode featuring Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) and Amy Pond (Karen Gillan).

Doctor Who Series 7 showcases the return of the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, and is produced by showrunner Steven Moffat. The seventh series will be split in two for broadcast: part one playing during the Fall, the Christmas Special introducing new companion Clara played by Jenna-Louise Coleman, and then part two concluding the seventh series during Spring 2013.

The Doctor is back, and with the new Seventh Series only a few weeks away, it’s about time that BBC and BBC America have unleashed a brand new Doctor Who trailer. You can check it out at the bottom of this post.

Doctor Who Series 7 is believed to premiere on August 25 this year, with the first half being televised before the Christmas Special, the Christmas Special introducing new companion Clara played by Jenna Louise-Coleman, and then the second half of the season rounding everything up during the first half of 2013.

This was too brilliant not to share! The folks over at College Humor have prepared an extremely cool video simulation of Series 5 and 6 of Doctor Who if it had been made as a 16-bit video game. You can check out the clip at the bottom of this post.

The CH video contains a lot of allusions and aspects of the major story arcs from the previous two seasons that follow the Doctor’s Eleventh Incarnation (Matt Smith), as he encounters adventures with Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill), and River Song (Alex Kingston). Even David Tennant‘s Doctor gains a cameo at the start for a fun regeneration sequence.

Whether you like or inexplicably loathe Russell T. Davies, you have to admit that the man expanded the world of Doctor Who, working to fill it with a roster of unforgettable side characters like Rose, Jackie Tyler, River Song, The Doctor Donna, Wilfred Mott, Mickey, Martha Jones, and Captain Jack. Davies didn’t just let these characters roam though, he serviced them and made us care and even long for their return appearances.

Doctor Who, in the time of Steven Moffat, has not similarly excelled in this area. Oh sure, the love story of Rory and Amy will be written in the stars and spoken about for the whole of time (or something), and Moffat has more fully realized (for better or worse) River Song, his creation, but they don’t seem right for a spin-off and for the most part we only get snippets of other, smaller characters who we would love to get to know more.