Giant Freakin Robot

So if you’re a fan of Doctor Who, you might have heard by now that the show is returning with new episodes on March 30th. And if you’re a fan of Doctor Who, you’re almost certainly aware that 2013 marks the show’s 50th anniversary, and that an anniversary special is in the works. Now the two chaps most associated with Doctor Who at the moment — actor Matt Smith and showrunner Steven Moffat — have provided a few hint as to what the rest of 2013 has in store for the Doctor, and for us.

First up, Smith provided a teeny, tiny hint about the super-secret 50th anniversary special. How teeny? One word without context, that’s how teeny. That word is “paintings.”

Appearing on the Jonathan Ross show, Smith said he has read the script and of course said nice things about it. The host kept badgering him to drop some hints about what we’ll see in the anniversary special, and Smith eventually said, “You might see London. The thing is with Who, you will understand it more when you have seen it, but ‘paintings’ – that is all I am saying. Steven is gonna whup me tomorrow.”

Smith was more open about the contents of the upcoming seventh season episodes. Most of this we’ve heard in one form or another already, but Smith’s comments do provide a few new angles on the new eps:

We’re just a week and a half away from the return of Doctor Who. The first half of season seven was weak, but the intriguing mystery of the Doctor’s new companion, Clara Oswin Oswald, looks to provide a strong througline for the rest of the season’s run. Or at least I hope so. Showrunner Steven Moffat is going to have to earn back some of my good graces after thoroughly wasting the considerable talents of Farscape actor Ben Browder. At any rate: new Doctor Who!

We shared four very snazzy posters for the first four new episodes yesterday, but today we’re focusing on the first new episode, premiering March 30th. Here’s a synopsis of “The Bells of St. John,” followed by a short clip featuring the Doctor and Clara parking the TARDIS in a very memorable place. Still not enough to sate your Who lust? Well then scroll on down and check out a gallery of pictures from the episode as well, including the return of the Doctor’s fez.

Episode 706: The Bells of St. John

Described by Moffat as an ‘urban thriller.’ The 2013 opener is set on present day Earth with the main plot centred around ‘something living in the wifi’ which is feeding on humans. This ‘sentient Twitter’ as the Doctor puts it, harvests human minds and also has the power to project an image from your subconscious.

BBC’s iconic science fiction adventure Doctor Who picks up the remainder of series seven later this month, on March 30th. This short new trailer teases the return, and from the look of this video, there’s plenty of action and drama in store for fans. We also have a peek at a quartet of movie-style posters for the upcoming episodes.

Man, what the hell is going on behind the scenes at Doctor Who?

Executive Producer Caroline Skinner worked on Doctor Who since 2011, but she has now left the show amid rumors that she and showrunner Steven Moffat got in a behind-the-scenes argument of some sort. Skinner, however, had released a public statement that seems to downplay that scuttlebutt:

I will miss them all enormously, but I’m leaving Doctor Who in fine form, with the new series starting at Easter and the fantastic plans for the 50th Anniversary already underway. I am delighted to be now returning to BBC Drama Production in London as an executive producer, and the new opportunities and projects that will bring.

And maybe that’s the whole truth of it, that she just decided to move on. However…

This isn’t the first time a Who producer has bailed out under Moffat’s tenure. Beth Willis and Peter Wenger both left the series during season six, and were also rumored to have butted heads with Moffat. When you factor in that the show has been pretty uneven since Moffat took over, I find myself wondering if Moffat is a far better writer than he is a showrunner.