Moffat’s Doctor Who Series 7b Insights

By Christian Cawley, March 18, 2013 - Doctor Who - no comments

The main man Steven “The Grand Moff” Moffat has given fans an insight in to the monsters and adventures that we can expect from Doctor Who Series 7b, which kicks off on BBC One and BBC America on March 30th.

Doctor Who chief Steven Moffat with new companion Jenna Coleman

There are many places to start, but what is interesting is the contemporary setting of The Bells of Saint John – a rarity in the Moffat era.

It was Marcus Wilson’s idea. We were discussing how the first ep of the second run would probably be a contemporary Earth adventure, so the Doctor could meet the modern day Clara – and anyway, I wanted to do Wi-Fi monsters – and Marcus suggested we do a proper urban thriller. The Doctor can never be Bond or Bourne – but if he tried it might look a bit like this.

As you can see, the movie theme is being continued throughout this half of the run. Moffat is keen to point out what other big delights are in store. After all, it is the 50th anniversary year!

A haunted house, a submarine, a planet with cool rings, Victorian Yorkshire, a journey into the TARDIS, Dame Diana Rigg and her daughter Rachael Stirling together on screen for the first time, new Cybermen, and the Doctor’s greatest secret revealed.

We try to make every year the biggest possible, but when you see that big, glittering 50 hanging above you, you start trying even harder. I’ve been a fan all by my life and I know we have to deliver!

All the talk has of course been about the returning Ice Warriors and the Cybermen – but there are plenty of other threats for the Doctor to be wary of.

Plenty of new monsters! Watch out for the Spoonheads, the Whispermen, and – my favorite – the Vigil. Oh and Neil Gaiman has done something horrible with the Cybermen!

Introducing Clara for the third time, The Bells of Saint John finally lets the viewer discover her once again with the Doctor – but The Grant Moff isn’t giving anything away here. He is keen to point out, however, that Jenna-Louise Coleman’s casting sort of worked itself out.

Casting is a funny process – the right people sort of choose themselves. It happened with Matt a long time ago, and when we saw him bantering with Jenna it happened again. Auditions start with you telling the actor about the character – sometimes they end with the actor telling you. That’s what happened with Jenna!

[Concerning Clara]You’ve sort of met her, but you sort of haven’t. The same shed load of attitude you saw before, the same rapid-fire banter with the Doctor, but this time she’s living in modern London with no memory of the Time Lord!

It’s all new for the Doctor – this time the greatest mystery in the universe is standing right next to him!

UK air times are yet to be confirmed. BBC America will be screening Doctor Who weekly at 8pm ET.

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A long-term Doctor Who fan, Christian grew up watching the show and has early memories of the Graham Williams era. His favourite stories are Inferno, The Seeds of Doom and Human Nature (although The Empty Child, Blink and Utopia all come close). When he’s not bossing around the news team, Christian is a freelance writer specialising in mobile technology and domestic computing, and enjoys classic rock, cooking and spending time in the countryside with his wife and young children. You can find him on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.