Posted in: BBC, Doctor Who, Preview, TV | Tagged: bbc, disney plus, doctor who, Millie Gibson, Ncuti Gatwa, preview, russell t davies

Doctor Who: RTD Penning "Big and Extremely Ambitious" Series Scripts

Bad Wolf EP Julie Gardner says Doctor Who Showrunner Russell T. Davies is "writing amongst his best-ever work" for the upcoming series.

Between confirmed news, sourced rumors & random speculation, BBC & Disney+'s Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies has done an amazing job of keeping the long-running series on everyone's minds ahead of this November's 60th-anniversary event and December's Christmas Special. Just recently, Davies teased that an upcoming series episode ranks high on his list of best things he's ever created. Now, for us? That's all we need to hear. We're sold. But just in case you're too cynical to appreciate the tease and you're writing it off as just a prideful boast, Bad Wolf EP Julie Gardner had some truly nice things to say on Davies's behalf, and his "big and extremely ambitious" scripts, during a recent conversation with Doctor Who Magazine (which you can purchase here) for "Special 63," focusing on showrunners.

"There's only one worry on 'Doctor Who': that production delivers on the extraordinary quality of Russell's writing. He's writing amongst his best-ever work. The scripts are big and extremely ambitious. The only worry I ever have is that we get it right for him. We run to keep up," Gardner shared when asked about any worries she has heading into a new series with greater expectations. As Gardner sees it, it comes down to Davies being "the beating heart" of the show as well as being its showrunner. "Russell [T. Davies] is the showrunner. He's the beating heart of the creative offering that is 'Doctor Who.' It's his vision on screen, which starts in his ideas for episodes. He writes the majority of scripts and talks with the script team about who and when additional writers come in. His creative decisions impact the budget, and vice versa, so he's across the headlines of budgets and the dynamics of what happens on any day in the shoot. He's on every single casting email, and his voice is always the most important in the mix," Gardner revealed. "But I'm happiest when he's in front of his computer screen, writing. That's the bit no one else in our [executive producer] group can do."

So About That UNIT Spinoff & Christmas Special Talk

According to a report posted by Deadline Hollywood on Wednesday, BBC sources confirmed that the first stage in Davies's "WHO-niverse" will bring a spinoff series based on the show's main military research organization, UNIT, with Jemma Redgrave returning to lead as Kate Stewart. Now, we know that we will be seeing Redgrave's Stewart before then, but the DH report offers two interesting updates about the Christmas Special. First, Stewart will be appearing in it. But from there, the report states that the special "will be the first to feature new doctor Ncuti Gatwa along with returns for David Tennant and Catherine Tate." Hmmm… wait for a second. So does that mean that Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor won't be in the 60th-anniversary specials? And that last part seems to imply David Tennant & Catherine Tate will be around past the anniversary celebration. Of course, it's very possible that DH's reporting is confusing the three-episode 60th-anniversary event and the Christmas Special. If not, those are some very interesting updates…

Doctor Who: Looking Ahead to 60th-Anniversary Event & Series 14

Thanks to Doctor Who Magazine #588 (which you should definitely purchase here to get all of the things we may have missed), Davies & others covered a wide range of topics, from new filming tech (including drones), the mention of the word "Meep," new block directors named, and a tease about a two-episode block set to take "the whole show into genuinely new territory."

VFX Coordinator Siân Reynish Talks Up New Marvel Studios-Like Filming Tech: "We're using top-of-the-range technology, the kind that Marvel films use, to make 'Doctor Who' in Wales, which I think is pretty spectacular. It means 'Doctor Who' is at the forefront of pushing the boundaries," shared VFX Coordinator Siân Reynish.

Wait… Drones in the TARDIS?! "And in the Christmas Special, we're shooting with drones on the set, which no one's done before. Because of the way the Doctor races erratically around the TARDIS, it's amazing to have those sorts of shots," Reynish added.

Reynish Is Hearing Good Things About Ncuti Gatwa: "I think he'll bring such a new dynamic. He's young and fun. The crew say he's up for anything, and I think he'll really make it his own and not try to copy the mannerisms of anyone else. He's really individual, and that's what we want – a new new Doctor!"

Oh, and the creature above? Reynish confirmed all of the comic book-based speculations that it was Meep, saying, "When you're watching at home, think of the amount of conversations we've had over how much the Meep blinks!"

Blocks 3 & 4 Directors Revealed: Director Julie Anne Robertson's Block Three includes "two wildly different episodes, by wildly different writers," according to Davies' column. "Julie Anne is a dream piece of crewing for me because I've wanted to work with her ever since sitting in awe of the BBC's Blackpool," Davies shared. "Julie Anne comes with the best reference ever – an actor called David Tennant, who starred in Blackpool and loves her!"

Director Ben Chessell is Aboard for 2-Episode "New Territory" Block Four: "Our search for directors reached all the way to Australia to find Ben," revealed EP Phil Collinson. "One of the greatest shows I've ever seen on television is Joe Barton's Giri/Haji for the BBC, with the spectacular finale directed by Ben. It broke all the rules of what television can achieve, so we knew he was a perfect fit for this two-episode block, which takes the whole show into genuinely new territory. We were all wondering how to achieve what's on the page, but Ben has marched in to show us how!"

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