Once again the Twitterverse and blogosphere have been all a-buzz in recent days – of course, when is it not? – with rumors about (fill in the blank). This time, though, it’s serious – it’s Doctor Who! Word had been spread from Over There that the most recent Doctor may be out hitting the pavement.
In an interview with Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith, the Mirror reported:
‘I’m going over to Los Angeles this week to dip my head in the pond,’ Matt reveals. ‘I am going to be having loads of meetings with film people and that sort of stuff. I have a lot of ambitions. I would like one day to direct and I just want to keep doing quality work. LA is kinda groovy – I really like it out there.’
The interview was posted in conjunction with the UK broadcast of the mid-season finale of Doctor Who in the UK last Saturday. Here in the U.S. it’s been nearly impossible to avoid spoilers about that episode, which will be broadcast here this coming Saturday.
Based on that interview, speculation ran wild that Mr. Smith was not returning to the show after this 6th (if you’re counting from the Russell T. Davies reboot) season, since the BBC had not yet confirmed a seventh season. It was in fact hitting a fever pitch when a representative of the BBC tweeted about it.
Sam Hodges, Head of Communications for BBC-1 and Fiction, posted:
#DoctorWho is returning. Fourteen new episodes have been commissioned with Matt Smith as The Doctor #bbc1
which was retweeted by current Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat who then tweeted:
14 eps + Matt DEFINITELY. I’ve got a plan and I’m NOT TELLING YOU WHAT IT IS. Now hush or River shoots you with her Spoiler Gun.#formaqueue
@Arch6000 13 plus Xmas is what I mean. Keeping it brief, that’s all.
So many QUESTIONS!! You’ve all had too many spoilers as it is. Now settle down and PLEASE let me get some work done.
and
And now I’m writing COMPLETE RUBBISH. I blame everyone. Twice.
And finally this update, to quell the continued concerns, again from Sam Hodges:
@IanOTimelord @RadioTimes Definitely starting next year – full scheduling still TBC.
So there we have it. Great news for all Doctor Who fans. No word yet from BBC America whether or not they will continue to broadcast new Doctor Who episodes on the same day (plus 5 hours for Eastern) as they are broadcast in the UK, but here’s hoping. And while we’re at it, we here at SciFi Mafia respectfully request that BBC America no longer take a break from Doctor Who new episode broadcasts just because of holidays. Surely they realize that we would ALL prefer to celebrate our holidays the way our friends in the UK do – by staying inside and watching the new Doctor Who. How about it, BBC America?
