I haven't written anything about Series 12, apart from mentioning the return of the Judoon - as that was publicised by the BBC themselves. Now that we are getting closer to a possible broadcast date, it's time to start looking at what we might expect. This includes possible spoilers, and a bit of speculation / reading between the lines - so proceed with caution...
Apart from the Judoon, we know of two other returning monsters thanks to photographs which have appeared widely on-line. Last month the Clifton Suspension Bridge was closed to traffic for maintenance, but the public were still permitted to cross on foot. What some of them got to see was Daleks - lots of them, plus a new design of Black Dalek which had more than a hint of the Resolution Dalek about its top half. Looks like the BBC took the opportunity of the road closure to do some filming. What it was for, we can't say for certain. Everyone's assuming it is for a Series 12 story. A month or so earlier, some actors were spotted on location wearing what appear to be Cyberman costumes, slightly redesigned to have a Medieval look.
Other things we know about, thanks to actors, directors and technicians putting their CVs on-line, is that there is going to be a story set in World War II Paris, based on a historical figure. This is Noor Inayat-Khan, who was with the Special Operations Executive. She was the first female radio operator sent into Nazi occupied France. Sadly, she was captured and died in Dachau concentration camp in 1944.
There's supposed to be another espionage-tinged story featuring Stephen Fry - possibly 1980's set. A prop door sign seen on location mentioned "Cyber-Security".
Earlier in the year an interview with a BBC exec mentioned that the new series would tackle some contemporary concerns, such as plastics in the world's oceans. This has prompted many to think a Sea Devil story might be on its way - or an Auton one.
Another rumour doing the rounds is that Frankenstein writer Mary Shelley will feature in one of the stories.
A week or so ago we had a very nondescript teaser - claiming that we'd hear (or see) something significant on 23rd November. Most people are assuming that this will be the first trailer. At the same time, the BBC started to say that the series will return in "early" 2020. Not Spring 2020 - which would imply a March / Easter launch - but "early" - which to me pretty much means January.
Potentially more concrete news came out today, in the form of a tabloid story (in The Mirror). Tabloid obviously translates as "take with a big pinch of salt", but apparently this particular journo has often got things right.
The Mirror story claims that there won't be a Christmas Special, but there will be a New Year's Day one again. This will be a two-parter, with the second half following on January 4th - so a move back to a Saturday. Maybe just for this episode - maybe for good. The story goes on to state that those Daleks won't be seen in Series 12 at all - they've actually filmed next year's festive special already, so don't expect Daleks until either Christmas 2020 or New Year's day 2021.
This last point might well be true, as filming a story well in advance allows the ultra-busy Bradley Walsh to get on with his many other projects in 2020.
Finally, a rather wild-sounding rumour I came across yesterday. You might recall those weird rag things in The Ghost Monument, which spoke of the "timeless child" - something which was left, like the rags, hanging in mid-air. The rags claimed to know secrets from the Doctor's past that even she wasn't aware of. Well, the rumour is that the Doctor had a whole regeneration cycle before William Hartnell came along, of which she has no memory. Speculation goes that the Doctor was born a girl in this cycle...
Interesting times ahead, I suspect. Last series I wasn't impressed with at all - purely because of the writing. I wasn't alone in that, seeing as how the series lost half a million viewers week on week as it progressed towards its damp squib of a "finale". Despite the talk of Daleks, Cybermen and Judoon, I do have reservations about this next batch of stories - seeing as how there are a number of new writers who have no genre experience on their CVs. A background in soaps, or dramas about social media, does not inspire confidence. The returning Vinay Patel wrote a lovely story about the Partition of India as experienced by one small rural family. Rubbish Doctor Who (the TARDIS crew needn't have bothered being in it) but a lovely story.
Read any interview with the great Script Editors of Doctor Who's past, and they'll all say something about the programme being the hardest one in the world to write for - with some highly accomplished authors having scripts rejected over the years.
Bottom line, I just want the programme to excite and entertain - something it did little of last time.
Let's see what Saturday 23rd November brings...
No comments:
Post a Comment