Although we still have no premiere date, we have some casting news, as well as some additional information about a couple of episodes coming up in the first half of the upcoming Season 7 of Doctor Who. Actually, the “first half” of the season is actually less than half; according to the press release, there will be 5 episodes plus the Christmas episode in 2012, followed by 8 episodes in 2013.
First up, though, we have some casting news, via a tweet by the official Twitter account for the show:
We’re delighted to confirm the brilliant Richard E Grant is appearing in the new series of
#DoctorWho. More news later@ bbc.in/G19iB— Doctor Who Official (@bbcdoctorwho) August 5, 2012
Richard E. Grant is a familiar face to many fans of British TV and movies (Gosford Park), and in fact has portrayed The Doctor himself; in the animated miniseries Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka, and in the 2011 Comic Relief mini Doctor Who – The Curse of Fatal Death.
As for the upcoming episode news, it reportedly comes from Comic-Con but this press release puts it much more clearly than they did on the panel.
Doctor Who is set to take on one of his biggest monsters to date, as the BBC announces at ComicCon that episode two of the new series will be called “Dinosaurs On A Spaceship,” with episode three confirmed as “A Town Called Mercy.”
Requiring one of the largest sets to date to house the prehistoric creatures, “Dinosaurs On A Spaceship” will follow the equally epic “Asylum Of The Daleks,” which kicks-off the show’s highly anticipated return to BBC One in the autumn.
Starring Matt Smith as the Doctor, Karen Gillan as Amy and Arthur Darvill as Rory, the episode will also co-star Mark Williams from the Fast Show as Rory’s dad, Brian, and Rupert Graves from Sherlock. “Dinosaurs On A Spaceship” was written by Chris Chibnall and directed by Saul Metzstein.
The BBC also confirmed today that episode three, filmed on location in Spain, will be a western entitled “A Town Called Mercy.” Written by Toby Whithouse and again directed by Saul Metzstein, the episode co-stars Adrian Scarborough and Ben Browder.
Steven Moffat, Head Writer and Executive Producer, said: “’Dinosaurs On A Spaceship’ – what more do you need! The Doctor will come face to face with some of the most monstrous creatures evolution has ever produced, on some of the most monstrous sets we’ve ever built. We took one look at Chris Chibnall‘s brilliant script and said to ourselves ‘We’re going to need a bigger corridor’.
“And Toby Whithouse‘s “A Town Called Mercy” takes us into a genre Doctor Who hasn’t attempted since the Sixties – it’s a full blooded western. We knew from the start we need some serious location shooting for this one, and given the most iconic American setting imaginable, there was only one place to go – Spain.”
Both episodes were shot earlier this year, with “Dinosaurs On A Spaceship” filmed in Cardiff.
The show returns with a run of five followed by the Christmas special and a further eight episodes in 2013.
As a reminder, writer Toby Whithouse is the showrunner on the BBC‘s Being Human, and “A Town Called Mercy”‘s Ben Browder is the Ben Browder of Farscape, and yes we did tell you about that back in March.
Still waiting for that Season 7 premiere date…
Doctor Who Season 7, starring Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, and Jenna-Louise Coleman, MIGHT BE premiering on Saturday, August 25 at 9/8c on BBC America.
