Posted in: BBC, Disney+, Doctor Who, TV | Tagged: bbc, bbc iplayer, bonnie langford, disney, doctor who, Millie Gibson, Ncuti Gatwa, Tales of the TARDIS

Doctor Who: Do New "Tales of the Tardis" Details Temper Expectations?

A new episode of UK-exclusive Doctor Who spinoff Tales of the Tardis features Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson - but should we get our hopes up?

A few days ago, the Doctor Who part of the BBC iPlayer listed a new episode of Tales of the Tardis that will premiere only on the streamer and broadcast on BBC Four in the UK on June 20th, a day before "Empire of Death," the finale of this season premieres worldwide at 7pm Eastern in the US on Friday and midnight in the UK. Now we know that Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson will be starring in this new episode of Tales of the Tardis for the first time.

The official logline on BBC iPlayer states, "Far away in time, on board an old Remembered TARDIS, the Doctor and Ruby pause in battle to reflect on their recent adventures."

Tales of the Tardis is a spinoff from Doctor Who that is only available to viewers in the UK via the BBC iPlayer. It is entirely funded and produced without Disney+, which is why viewers outside the UK don't get to watch it by legitimate means if they know the spinoff exists. Each episode of Tales of the Tardis is comprised of a framing sequence that's newly filmed involving past companions or even a past Doctor meeting in the Memory TARDIS in the present, looking back at an old adventure. This is comprised of an introductory scene with the characters, then we are treated to a slightly re-edited version of the classic Doctor Who story they're featured in with the original opening and closing titles removed for a seamless single feature length story, followed by an ending scene of the characters in the Memory Tardis.

It looks like the Memory Tardis will be introduced in the two-part finale of this season's Doctor Who, "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" and "Empire of Death." We've already caught a blink-and-you-miss-it glimpse of it in the trailer, where The Doctor and past companion Mel (Bonnie Langford) are seen peeking out of it. If you want to freeze-frame the trailer, is that Ruby behind the Doctor with Mel?

Don't Get Your Hopes Up for a Whole New Episode

The episode of Tales of the Tardis is listed at 1 hour, 16 minutes. That means there will likely be a framing beginning and ending scene with Gatwa and Gibson, and the bulk of the runtime might be a recap show of the last six episodes and the first Christmas Special they appeared in together. You shouldn't get your hopes up that it's going to be a whole hour-long new episode since the main series streams on Disney+ by viewers all over the world, and only UK viewers get to legitimately watch Tales of the Tardis. Who doesn't want a whole hour of new Doctor Who with the new Doctor and companion, but the way the business and contracts work is that Tales of the Tardis is more of an easter egg than a whole new thing due to its UK exclusivity (and much lower budget and production schedule).

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