5 Things I’m Anticipating in Series 7 Part 2
John Hussey counts down what he is most anticipating in the new run.
A lot of news and rumours are going around lately and they’re certainly doing their job in getting us Whovians excited about the second half of Series 7 which is due to air early 2013. I thought I would take this opportunity in sharing my thoughts on what I’m most anticipating in the second half from what we’ve heard so far.
I’ll start off with my top 5 countdown of most anticipated rumours and facts (note: this may contain a few mild filming spoilers).
5. More Blockbuster Stories
Steven Moffat has stated that the “blockbuster-of-the-week” format will continue
So we have nine more blockbuster plots to look forward. First we have the Christmas Special which is set in Victorian England with killer Snowmen. Quite a simple idea but definitely sinister, especially at Christmas when the snowy season is suppose to be joyful and fun. What would kids think if the creature they have just created suddenly comes alive and attacks them? Pretty scary stuff to young children I say, but I guess that’s what the shows all about.
Then we have the 2013 opener (unconfirmed title, The Bells of St. John) which appears to be set in present-day London and contains a deadly creature living in the Wi-Fi. Moffat has already teased that he has created a new monster which he deems to be scary. Could this cyber-space creature be what the Head Writer was talking about or is this new creature destined for the finale? Time will tell on that one.
We have two scripts scheduled from Mr. Gatiss himself. A lot of people find his stories to be average, but for me – his work is great to watch. This helps by the fact I’ve been a fan of his work for many years now, dating back to when he use to do the popular dark-comedy show ‘The League of Gentlemen’. I really can’t wait to see what he does with his two stories. One we know is set in Victorian England (just like the Christmas Special) but as for his second story – little is known. It is rumoured to be a base-under-siege scenario set on a submarine. Along with Gatiss’ two stories, we also have the newcomer Neil Cross writing two stories as well. Like Gatiss, we have an idea of what one of his stories is about, but the other one is still in the dark. The one rumoured to called ‘The Hider in the House ’ or ‘The Phantom of Hex’, would appear to be some sort of ghost story set around an old house.
Here comes one of the most exciting rumours: ‘Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS’. That is the title of Steve Thompson’s second outing on the show. I have to say it sounds very ambitious and I’m really looking forward to it (placing the story in my top three most anticipated). Since Classic Who, we have seen very little of the inner worlds of the Doctor’s space/time vessel, so to have an entire story dedicated to seeing inside it just makes me happy. A nice little treat for the build up of the 50th Anniversary.
Then there’s the much anticipated Neil Gaiman story, but i’ll get to that in a bit…
4. The Return of Classic Monsters
It has been rumoured for a long time now that one of the Classic villains returning to Series 7 is the legendary Ice Warriors. It’s fair to say they’ve been off-screen for a long time now. Their last TV appearance on the show was back in 1974 in Jon Pertwee’s penultimate story ‘The Monster of Peladon’. Since then, the Martians have stayed silent, with their appearance count remaining at 4 stories. There were plans to bring them back for the original Season 23, in an alliance with Sil, before the show was placed on an 18 month hiatus. So it would be nice to see them come back for Clara’s first set of adventures with the Doctor. They are a great warrior race filled with honour and an old fashioned-style conduct of fighting. Hopefully if they do come back their design isn’t tampered with too much. They just need a simple update and not a full on redesign. Supposedly, Gatiss’ afforementioned under-siege story is meant to be the Ice Warriors reintroduction to the show.
The other rumoured Classic villain was the Zygons. The strange thing is about this race is the fact they have only appeared once in the shows history and yet they are a big hit and one of the prime examples of Classic Who monsters. I have yet to see ‘Terror of the Zygons’, but that shall change next year when it finally comes out on DVD. Still, I would be very grateful to have them come back and do battle with the Doctor once more. Perhaps it could be another UNIT story; that would be good. I’m just hoping Caroline Skinner’s hints weren’t for their cameo mention in Chibnall’ ‘The Power of Three’ as that would be disappointing.
And last but not least, Producer Marcus Wilson stated that monsters from both the 60s and 70s are returning to Series 7. The first Classic monster rumoured to return was in fact the Yeti. I’m unsure whether this will be happening now as we haven’t seen any footage or recent rumours to back that statement up during the production of the second half. I’m still hoping they’re returning. It would be nice if these fine specimens returned for another appearance. Plus it would be ideal since Matt’s Doctor is very much like Patrick’s Doctor and it would be great to see Matt pitted against some of Patrick’s main antagonists. As to which episode they shall make an appearance in though is anyone’s guess (The Snowmen?) Like the Ice Warriors, I hope the production team don’t tamper with their design.
3. Reconstruction of the Cybermen
Ever since the first appearance of the Cybus-Cybermen in 2006, I have prayed for a reconstruction of the great Cybermen and a return to their style and design within the Classic Series. To me, they are the real Cybermen and the ones we had in Russell’ era are a joke. I don’t like their stomping robotic look and I certainly don’t like their robotic voice and their dodgy catchphrase (“Delete!”) Their ideas are too simple; just like a robot.
With the rumours of the Cybermen’ return in Neil Gaiman’ penultimate episode now confirmed (The Last Cyberman), I’m very confident that they will return to their old ways. No more robots and stomping feet. Let’s finally go back to making them cybernetic beings with conscious and ideas. Also with Gaiman’s script, I’m hoping for perhaps a return to Telos and a story plot resembling that of ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’.
2. The Story behind Clara
Jenna Louise-Coleman’s character Clara has intrigued me for some time now and this is why she is second on my list. Clara is the new companion, so of course I’m going to be totally fascinated. I want to know who she is, how she acts and behaves, and most importantly, how she reacts to the Doctor? I want to know what their friendship will be like. All these questions circle my mind, and hopefully at Christmas I’ll get a better understanding of that. Another thing that makes Clara my second most anticipated is because she’s a new character which will bring about a new era. Like each Doctor, a companion creates their own era because the stories change to revolve around what kind of character they are. So from Christmas onwards, we can aspect the show and story types to be different. This is exciting to me. I like how the show constantly changes. It never remains still. It doesn’t get boring. That is why Doctor Who has survived so long.
The other interesting thing about Clara is that she seems to have a twin. I speak naturally about Oswin Oswald who appeared in the series opener ‘Asylum of the Daleks’. But here’s the tricky part, it can’t surely be the same character, as Oswin is from the future while Clara is from the past. But then again, Moffat does like a good Timey-Wimey story-plot. Others have come up with the interesting theory that there are different versions of Clara existing as splinters in time, scattered across the different timelines of space. Perhaps this might be the case and she is some sort of new tool for the Silence in order to kill the Doctor once and for all; preventing the First Question being answered. It could just be a coincidence as well. It isn’t the first time in Doctor Who that a companion has looked like another person on another planet and time. Perhaps having Jenna in ‘Asylum of the Daleks’ was just a unique way of introducing the actress’ acting skills to the audience in an attempt to make the transition of characters at Christmas easier. Time will tell….
1. Here Come Back the Drums….
My biggest anticipation for Series 7: Part 2 is the return of my favourite villain: The Master. He hasn’t been confirmed but with all the talk recently from both John Simm wishing to reprise his role, along with hints as to how he would act out his incarnation in another appearance, and Matt Smith wishing to face his great nemesis; it all just spells out that the Master could be up for a return. After all, it is the 50th Anniversary next year and it would be most appropriate to have the Doctor’s greatest nemesis come back for that special occasion.
Perhaps the Master will return in the Series 7 finale, ending with a massive cliffhanger which leads into the 50th Anniversary storyline? This would make me extremely happy as I think his character is brilliant. He’s complicated and totally unbalanced, making him unpredictable – even for the Doctor to understand. The Master fascinates me and I think it’s about time he returned. It would be a great spectacle seeing Matt’s Doctor facing off against John’s Master.
