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| The Twelfth Doctor |
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 This season’s broadcast on television began on the 23rd August 2014 with "Deep Breath" and ended with "Death in Heaven" on the 8th November 2014. It was officially commissioned on the 20th May 2013.
This is the eighth season to be broadcast following the show’s revival in 2005, and is the thirty-fourth season overall. It is also the first full season to star Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor.
Peter Capaldi’s casting was announced, after several weeks of speculation, during a special live broadcast called Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor on the 4th August 2013. This change in the lead role was triggered in June 2013 when it was announced that Matt Smith (who had played the part of the Eleventh Doctor since 2010) would be leaving the show following the 2013 Christmas special "The Time of The Doctor".
Peter Capaldi was best known for portraying spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in the BBC comedy series The Thick of It. Peter Capaldi had previously appeared in Doctor Who as Caecilius in the 2008 Tenth Doctor story "The Fires of Pompeii". He also played the part of John Frobisher in the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood: Children of Earth.
Jenna Coleman, as companion Clara Oswald, continued her adventures in the TARDIS throughout the entire run. Also playing a major recurring role during this season is Samuel Anderson as Danny Pink, Clara's boyfriend and fellow teacher at Coal Hill School. Gavin & Stacey actor Samuel Anderson’s casting was announced on the 24th February 2014. Although initially reported by media as being a new companion for The Doctor, in fact this character never actually took on an official companion role during the course of this season.
The main story arc for this season revolved around a mysterious woman called Missy (portrayed by Michelle Gomez), who was often seen welcoming people to the ‘Promised Land’, a place that served as an apparent afterlife to the deceased. Michelle Gomez’s casting was originally described as being ‘The Gatekeeper of the Nethersphere’ who would feature in the final story. However, Michelle Gomez also appeared in "Deep Breath", "Into the Dalek", "The Caretaker", "Flatline" and "In the Forest of the Night" as part of a recurring story arc. It was not though until the final story, "Dark Water/Death in Heaven", that it was revealed that Missy is in fact a female incarnation of The Master with Michelle Gomez taking over this role from John Simm. Missy’s appearance throughout the whole season is analogous to the early appearances of Madame Kovarian in Season Thirty Two (New Series 6).
In October 2013 actress Neve McIntosh stated in an interview that recurring characters Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint and Strax (known to fans as The Paternoster Gang) were due to return in the season’s premiere "Deep Breath". Each member of The Paternoster Gang had a sonic device designed in a Blue Peter competition.
The first major guest star for the season was announced in March 2014 when it was revealed that Keeley Hawes had been cast in "Time Heist" as a character named Ms. Delphox. Subsequently, Tom Riley, Ben Miller, Hermione Norris, Frank Skinner, Foxes, Christopher Fairbank, Sanjeev Bhaskar, and Chris Addison were cast in guest roles.
In addition Jemma Redgrave and Ingrid Oliver reprised their roles of Kate Stewart and Osgood, respectively in the two-part final "Dark Water/Death in Heaven" which also featured the return of the Cybermen. Both had last been seen in the Fiftieth Anniversary Special "The Day of The Doctor".
This season was led by Head Writer and Executive Producer Steven Moffat along with Executive Producer Brian Minchin. Brian Minchin replaced Caroline Skinner who officially stepped down from this role on the 13th March 2013. He was announced as her replacement on the 30th April 2013.
Steven Moffat was directly involved with the writing of six stories, with sole credit going to him for three stories, and the other three where he was credited as a co-writer. Three new writers for this season are: Peter Harness ("Kill the Moon"), Jamie Mathieson ("Mummy on the Orient Express" and "Flatline") and novelist Frank Cottrell Boyce ("In the Forest of the Night"). Previous writers who worked on the stories for this season were: Phil Ford, Mark Gatiss, Steve Thompson and Gareth Roberts.
Individual stories were produced by Nikki Wilson (5 stories), Peter Bennett (5 stories) and Paul Frift (1 story) after former producer Marcus Wilson stepped down following the production of "The Time of The Doctor".
Out of the six Directors for this season five were new to the show. These were Ben Wheatley, Paul Murphy, Paul Wilmshurst, Sheree Folkson and Rachel Talalay. Douglas Mackinnon had previously directed "The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky", "The Power of Three" and "Cold War".
For this season Ben Wheatley directed "Deep Breath" and "Into the Dalek". Paul Murphy directed "Robot of Sherwood" and "The Caretaker". Douglas Mackinnon directed "Listen", "Time Heist" and "Flatline". Paul Wilmshurst directed "Kill the Moon" and "Mummy on the Orient Express". Sheree Folkson directed "In the Forest of the Night" and Rachel Talalay directed the two-part finale "Dark Water/Death in Heaven".
The first read through for this season was held on the 17th December 2013. This was an unusually long lead time, as actual filming for the first story did not commence until the 6th January 2014, with Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman shooting their first scenes the next day. Filming lasted exactly seven months, ending on the 6th August 2014.
In a break from what was done with Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith and several early Doctors, the first story, filmed by Peter Capaldi, was also the first to be broadcast.
Containing eleven stories and twelve episodes this is the first season since the show was revived in 2005, that does not consist of thirteen episodes (excluding specials). It is also the first since Season Thirty One (New Series 5) to be broadcast straight with no split and also the first to end with a two-part story, and the first since Season Thirty Two (New Series 6) to have an officially-designated two-parter. It is also the first since Season Thirty (New Series 4 Specials) not to feature River Song.
On the 11th May 2014 it was announced that a story ("Kill the Moon") would be filmed in Lanzarote, the second time Doctor Who has filmed there after the 1984 Fifth Doctor story "Planet of Fire". Filming took place in Volcán del Cuervo, also known as the Raven’s Volcano.
On the 2th July 2014 filming for the finale took place at the Box Cemetery in Llanelli, previously the location for the final scenes of the 2012 story "The Angels Take Manhattan". Filming on the 19th July 2014 with the Cybermen took place outside St Paul's Cathedral in London. This location had previously been the setting of the 1968 Second Doctor story "The Invasion".
Leading up to the launch of this season, four teaser trailers were released on the 23rd May, 27th June, 4th July and the 27th July 2014. On the 13th July 2014, the first full length trailer was aired on BBC One during the half-time of the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. On the 7th August 2014 an interview with Peter Capaldi was shown on BBC News, featuring clips from the "Into the Dalek". Then, starting on the 18th August 2014, the BBC released a series of six short teasers counting down to the season's premiere.
This season was initially slated to be broadcast starting in the late summer of 2014, with Steven Moffat acknowledging this likelihood in July 2013, prior to the announcement of Peter Capaldi's casting. In September 2013 however, it was suggested that the broadcast date would likely be pushed back to the third quarter of 2014, which would tie in with the production starting in January 2014 and typically lasting up to 9 months before the transmission of the first story. During the final Fiftieth Anniversary event, that was held at the BFI in December 2013, Steven Moffat confirmed that this season would be broadcast in the second half of 2014 and that, unlike Season Thirty Three (New Series 7), it would not be split into two parts, instead being transmitted continuously.
The first story, "Deep Breath", had its world premiere on the 7th August 2014, at the Cardiff visit on the World Tour. Following additional preview screenings, at other World Tour visits, this story also received a worldwide cinema release at participating cinemas on the 23rd August 2014, the same day as its television broadcast.
Both episodes of the season’s finale "Dark Water/Death in Heaven" received a 3D cinematic release on the 15th and 16th September 2015.
Audiences in the USA, Canada and Australia were able to watch each episode on the same day it was broadcast in the UK.
The opening story was watched by 9.2 million viewers. Ratings remained consistent throughout the course of the season, seeing a low of 6.7 million viewers with the story "Flatline" and ended with 7.6 million people watching the final episode. This season received high acclaim from critics, with praise going to the writing and directing, as well as the acting of Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Michelle Gomez, and Samuel Anderson.
The introduction of a new lead actor brought about another change to the title sequence. This was inspired by a fan-made sequence produced by Billy Hanshaw, an illustrator and 3D animator from Leeds, who posted it on YouTube. This eventually came to the attention of Steven Moffat, who subsequently based the official sequence on Billy Hanshaw's work.
Of particular interest is the title sequence of "Death in Heaven" which has Jenna Coleman credited before Peter Capaldi and Clara's eyes appearing in the title sequence, instead of The Doctor's, thus marking the first time for a companion both being credited before The Doctor and replacing The Doctor's face in the opening credits.
On the 10th June 2014 the BBC announced that a ‘World Tour’, to promote this season, would take place between the 7th and 19th August 2014. It featured Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman and Steven Moffat. They visited seven cities across five continents in 12 days, where they attend fan events and media interviews. The destinations were Cardiff, London, Seoul, Sydney, New York City, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro.
Two stories experienced censorship issues. BBC Entertainment serving South East Asia announced it had been required to delete a brief sequence from the region's broadcasts of "Deep Breath" showing Vastra and Jenny transferring oxygen by way of a kiss due to some jurisdictions prohibiting the depiction of same-sex kissing. On the 4th September 2014, BBC One announced that a brief sequence in "Robot of Sherwood" had to be deleted from its broadcast on the 6th September out of concern it might offend viewers in the wake of the recent execution of two Western journalists by terrorists.
This is the first full Doctor Who season in Australia to be rated M (for mature audiences). This rating had previously been given to the 1970 Third Doctor story "The Ambassadors of Death", the 1985 Sixth Doctor story "Attack of the Cybermen", the 1996 Eighth Doctor film "Doctor Who: The Movie" and the 2009 Tenth Doctor story "The Waters of Mars" (before it was re-rated to the family-friendly PG).
Critical reaction to this season as a whole was highly positive, with many labelling it a return to form and one of Doctor Who's strongest seasons. Critical reception to individual episodes was also predominantly positive. "Listen" and "Dark Water" in particular received critical acclaim. There was, however, a degree of controversy with the new, darker themes being criticised by some parents of young children.
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| The 'Cyberman' Brigadier |
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Key moments during this season include:
"Deep Breath" is the first full story featuring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor. This story also saw the return of The Paternoster Gang, the first appearance of Missy (the female incarnation of The Master) and Courtney Woods. Also look out in this story for the partially updated and remodelled TARDIS control room.
"Into the Dalek" sees the return of the Daleks and is interesting for The Doctor and Clara Oswald’s journey actually inside a Dalek. This story also sees the reappearance of Coal Hill School and the first appearance of Danny Pink – fellow school teacher and love interest for Clara.
"Robot of Sherwood" has The Doctor and Clara joining forces with Robin Hood against the Sheriff of Nottingham and his Robot Knights. Look out for The Doctor's attitude to Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men.
"Listen" features a young Danny Pink and a young First Doctor. The scene where Clara is the barn, and realises who the little boy is, is a joy to watch.
In "Time Heist" The Doctor and Clara become bank robbers when The Doctor is given a task he cannot refuse - steal from the most dangerous bank in the cosmos. But this is no ordinary bank and they must not get caught by the deadly Teller. The scene where The Doctor and his team witness The Teller's deadly attack on another visitor to the bank, who is accused of planning to steal from the bank, is truly chilling.
"The Caretaker" has The Doctor attempting, and failing, to keep a low profile when he takes on the job of school caretaker at Coal Hill School. This story sees Courtney Woods taking her first trip aboard the TARDIS and look out for the dangerous Skovox Blitzer - a terrifying machine that could not only destroy Coal Hill School but also threaten the entire planet.
"Kill the Moon" sees Courtney Woods taking her second trip aboard the TARDIS and becoming the first school girl to land on the Moon. This story also sees Clara becoming very angry with The Doctor having seemingly being deserted by him when she needed him most.
"Mummy on the Orient Express" sees The Doctor aboard a spaceship that resembles the most beautiful train in history, speeding among the stars of the future. The Doctor takes Clara on a trip of a life-time but they soon become involved in a race against time as one-by-one the passengers and crew are being stalked by the terrifying Mummy. This story features a guest appearance by Foxes singing the classic Queen song ‘Don't Stop Me Now’ This song was also used to promote this story and also this season.
"Flatline" is another Doctor-lite episode so allowing Jenna Coleman, as Clara Oswald, taking the lead role. Of particular amusement are the fun scenes where we get to see The Doctor trapped inside a miniature TARDIS and Clara enjoying the opportunity of taking over the role of The Doctor. This story also sees the first appearance of Joivan Wade, as Rigsy, who would reappear in next season’s classic story "Face the Raven" which would result in Clara’s death.
"In the Forest of the Night" is an interesting story as we get to see a very different London when over night plants and trees take over the capital. Look out for some of London’s famous landmarks and especially the aerial shot of Nelson’s Column looking down over a canopy of trees taking over the streets of London with Big Ben and the London Eye in the distance.
"Dark Water/Death in Heaven" is this season’s two-part final and sees the death of Danny Pink and Clara’s dismay. This story though sees Missy being revealed as The Master and the return of The Cybermen, UNIT, Kate Stewart and Osgood. Look out especially for the scenes where Clara discovers what is hidden inside the tanks of Dark Water and the touching moment when she comes face-to-face with Danny Pink as a Cyberman. This story also sees the death of Osgood – although it was not clear if the human Osgood or her Zygon double perished at the hands of Missy. The real surprise though was the posthumous appearance of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (aka The Brigadier) re-animated as a Cyberman.
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