Sci-Fi Storm

It’s getting closer! We still don’t know exactly when BBC America will start airing the 7th series of Doctor Who, but we have a 90 second trailer to whet our appetite! And to also keep up our interest, starting Saturday night, BBC America will air a series of Doctor Who specials starting with “The Science of Doctor Who” at 9/8c [Ed- time corrected, I had apparently old info]. Then for the next three Saturdays, there will be another special:

“The Women of Doctor Who”, August 11th
“The Timey-Wimey Stuff of Doctor Who”, August 18th
“The Destinations of Doctor Who”, August 25th

Could this be leading up to a debut on September 1st? It begins in the UK on August 25th…anyways, check out the trailer!
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With the opening ceremony of the Olympics being an examination of British culture, especially pop culture, which included appearances by a giant Lord Voldemort and a bunch of Mary Poppins (and I joked during the scene where they forge the giant ring, “It’s the One Ring…it’s the Precious!”, although I didn’t notice any true Tolkien references), there was some expectation that Doctor Who would at least make an appearance in some form, given that it is a global phenomenon – but it appeared that fans were denied. Or were they?

It happened at a rather odd point – at the end of segment of the Queen song “Bohemian Rhapsody”, but during the final notes of the song, the unmistakable sound of the TARDIS could be heard! You might not have noticed at first, but check your DVRs – I double checked it myself, and it is definitely there.

It also turns out that there could have been more. Edward Russell, who works as the Brand Manager for Doctor Who, said on Twitter that there was a video montage submitted that featured all 11 Doctors…but it apparently didn’t make the cut.

I am saddened to learn just now that British actress Mary Tamm, best known as the original Romana (“Romana I”) during the “Key to Time” mega-episode of Doctor Who alongside Tom Baker in 1978-1979, passed away today from cancer. She was 62 years old.

It seems that Steven Moffat wants to reveal one of the biggest secrets in all of science fiction television – what the Doctor’s real name is.

He’s teased us before – in the Series 6 finale, The Doctor whispered something to River Song, and said it was his real name. And we know that Moffat has been thinking about the Doctor’s name for a long time – taking part in a UseNet discussion in 1995 where he proposed that the meaning of “Doctor” could have been influenced by the Doctor’s use of that name while visiting various cultures throughout the ages (which became part of the plot in “A Good Man Goes To War”). But is he finally ready for the big reveal? It appears so.

At Comic-Con he said of the Doctor, “He never gives his name. Other Time Lords do, but he doesn’t. Clearly the question is tremendously important… And only I know why! We actually find out the truth.” When pressed on whether he really knew the Doctor’s name, he said, “Yes… You’ll see.”

The question is – did someone actually have a name for the Doctor but kept it secret all this time? Or is this the creation of Moffat? He’s in charge of the franchise, so he could introduce it into the canon – but is it a good idea?

Our friend and favorite fangirl Ashley Eckstein and her Her Universe brand has added two new properties to her apparel line – Doctor Who and Star Trek! (Apparently these were announced while I was on vacation, but they went on sale this week!)

In her Star Trek shop, there are Enterprise-D and Uhura uniform T-shirts, an “I’ve got a crush on Crusher” T (I wonder if she wears that around Comic-Con and happens upon Wil Wheaton what would happen…), an “I Grok Spock” T, and a “LLAP” (Live Long and Prosper) purple women’s polo.

Out of the Whoniverse comes three T-shirt styles: A “Hell in High Heels” V-neck featuring some high heels, referring to what the Doctor called River Song; a “Something Blue” V-neck with a drawing of the TARDIS and the “Something borrowed…” saying; and a scoop-neck T featuring the Van Gogh painting of the exploding TARDIS!

So jealous…heck, I’d wear a Princess Leia hoodie if I could go to Comic-Con this year…

Stock up on your Jelly Babies! The Express is reporting that Tom Baker has been approached to participate in whatever form the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who takes.

Tom Baker famously owned the role for a record 7 years, becoming the most well known and loved of all the actors that have played the role. However, after leaving the role in 1981, ceding it to Peter Davison, he famously shunned the 20th anniversary episode, “The Five Doctors”. There have been a variety of stories as to why, but it generally seemed at the time that he just wanted to distance himself from the role. He did agree to do a publicity photoshoot, but didn’t show up, and was replaced by a waxwork model borrowed from Madame Tussaud’s in London, which they had on standby – reportedly producer John Nathan-Turner had suspected he might not show. Baker did appear in the episode, however, but from unused footage from the incomplete episode “Shada” (along with Lalla Ward’s Romana). He later said he regretted not appearing in person in the episode.

More recently he has more readily embraced the role, lending his voice to Big Finish audio stories starting in 2009 and a new series of audio stories that started release this year.

We already know Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston wants no part of a Doctor Who reunion special, should that be the plan for the expected 50th Anniversary special. But if that IS the plan, it seems that the producers may not be talking to several of the surviving previous Doctors – if any of them.

The Eighth Doctor, Paul McGann, in an interview with The Independent about his time on Doctor Who where he appeared in the 1996 TV movie, and it appears that he’s never been asked to have any part in Doctor Who since finishing the movie.

When asked if he had been talked to about the 2005 reboot, he said, “No, I didn’t and in fact since we’d filmed the pilot, since ending the film, no one’s ever called me. I’ve never been invited aside from the audios which I do with Big Finish.” And when asked specifically about the 50th, “No, I mean, I know it’s imminent but no, there’s been no invites to or sounding out taking place but maybe it will happen, we don’t know.”

Sixth Doctor Colin Baker doesn’t think it will happen.
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British actress Caroline John, who portrayed Liz Shaw in the first for serials of third Doctor Jon Pertwee in Doctor Who (as well as an appearance in the 20th anniversary episode “The Five Doctors”), passed away this week at the age of 71.

For a long time there has been rumors of a possible female Doctor on Doctor Who, although mostly followed by a backlash of hardcore fans. That’s why actress Lara Pulver, who played Irene Adler in Sherlock, when asked about rumors she’s been linked to the role after working with Steven Moffat, isn’t keen on the idea.

She was asked if it would be amazing to take on the role, but her answer was “Yes and no. Not if it meant the end of the Doctor Who franchise because the fans aren’t keen on it.”

Personally, I think I could handle it, if the right actress was used…not sure who I’d consider the right one for the job, though.

We made a long-awaited update to the Sci-Fi TV Store today…quite a few upcoming releases in July.

On July 10th, [sfs=1231]Season 3[/sfs] of Warehouse 13 is released on DVD only. Also on that day, the next two classic Doctor Who releases come out: [sfs=1218]”The Krotons”[/sfs] featuring Patrick Troughton, and [sfs=1217]”Death to the Daleks”[/sfs], featuring Jon Pertwee.

On July 17th, Syfy’s [sfs=1221]Eureka: Season 5 (DVD only)[/sfs] and [sfs=1226]Sanctuary: Season 4 Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1227]DVD[/sfs] (both their final seasons) will be released.

On July 24th, the first full season of Star Trek: The Next Generation is [sfs=1228]released on Blu-ray[/sfs].

And then on August 14th, two more classic Doctor Who episodes are released: The [sfs=1220]special edition of “Spearhead From Space”[/sfs] featuring the debut of Jon Pertwee, and [sfs=1219]”The Greatest Show in the Galaxy”[/sfs] featuring Sylvester McCoy.

Remember – pre-order any of these or anything else you want from [aml] via these links, and support our site!