David Tennant returns to our screens in one of his final appearances as the immortal Timelord on Christmas day, at 6pm on BBC Wales.
Also appearing as the Doctor, well, possibly not 'the' doctor, but certainly 'a' doctor is David Morrissey, who plays the part of a future regeneration of the Timelord. The BBC have stated that Morrissey is not going to take over from Tennant, when his reign as the 10th Doctor comes to an end next Christmas, in the last of four specials to be shown throughout 2009. Apparently, this will become obvious during the show.
Both Doctors (each equipped with a TARDIS and sonic Screwdriver) battle their arch enemies the Cybermen, who are as evil and as menacing as ever. In reality, there are only 6 cybermen - they're very expensive to make, as are the animatronic kits which control some of their 'parts'. Clever technology is used to multiply the cybermen, to give the illusion of their appearance en masse. This was the same technique used in Torchwood: where there were only two fully functioning Weevils, and 4 'simple mask' version. On set - there were often dozens!
The plot to this year's show is fairly typical of some earlier Xmas specials, with a few laughs & a lot of 'tongue in cheek' stuff. The show also has its dark moments, though. One minor criticism - unless this has been changed post-production, the arrival of the Tardis in London (or really, Cowbridge, S. Wales) looks pretty naff... and is obviously a fairly clumsy overlay. Let's hope this is sorted prior to transmission!
The picture shows Doctor Who cast & crew, who I saw when they were filming this year's Xmas special some months ago.Also appearing as the Doctor, well, possibly not 'the' doctor, but certainly 'a' doctor is David Morrissey, who plays the part of a future regeneration of the Timelord. The BBC have stated that Morrissey is not going to take over from Tennant, when his reign as the 10th Doctor comes to an end next Christmas, in the last of four specials to be shown throughout 2009. Apparently, this will become obvious during the show.
Both Doctors (each equipped with a TARDIS and sonic Screwdriver) battle their arch enemies the Cybermen, who are as evil and as menacing as ever. In reality, there are only 6 cybermen - they're very expensive to make, as are the animatronic kits which control some of their 'parts'. Clever technology is used to multiply the cybermen, to give the illusion of their appearance en masse. This was the same technique used in Torchwood: where there were only two fully functioning Weevils, and 4 'simple mask' version. On set - there were often dozens!
The plot to this year's show is fairly typical of some earlier Xmas specials, with a few laughs & a lot of 'tongue in cheek' stuff. The show also has its dark moments, though. One minor criticism - unless this has been changed post-production, the arrival of the Tardis in London (or really, Cowbridge, S. Wales) looks pretty naff... and is obviously a fairly clumsy overlay. Let's hope this is sorted prior to transmission!
This was actually filmed on a warmish day in July, and no, this is not 1850's London, it's really 2008 Cowbridge - a smart village in the Vale of Glamorgan, about 15 miles from Cardiff.
The snow looks real enough, but in reality, it was a kind of foamy stuff which actually stuck to, and marked your clothes. It constantly had to be re-sprayed throughout the take.
So, remember... Doctor Who, Christmas Day, 6pm on BBC Wales, and on BBC 1 in the rest of the UK. It'll be worth a watch!!
Visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/ for more info, games, downloads & video.
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