The new season of British sci-fi show Doctor Who promises many twists and turns, from its first stint filmed on U.S. soil to a special episode penned by fantasy mastermind Neil Gaiman.
What’s that you say? You’re not a Doctor Who fan yet? You’re in luck — the nerd whizzes known as The Fine Brothers have summed up the show’s entire run, from 1963 to present, in less than six minutes.
Take their crash course in the video above, then read on for a guide to some of the cool stuff in the upcoming season, which premieres Saturday night on BBC America.
Now that you’re all caught up, and undoubtedly hooked, here are a few things to look out for in the coming 13-episode season of Doctor Who.
1. The Doctor Comes to America
For the first time, episodes were filmed in the United States. The season starts out in the 1960s with a plot involving President Richard Nixon, so the cast and crew brought the Doctor Who traveling circus (and, presumably, the Tardis) to the middle of a Utah desert for three days last November.
This is the detail everyone has been talking about — mostly because the location change causes the Doctor to don a Stetson hat. Also, people seem to get worked up about British invasions and stuff.
2. Neil Gaiman Wrote an Episode
Fantasy mastermind (and Tori Amos muse) Neil Gaiman (Coraline, The Sandman) penned the season’s fourth episode, “The Doctor’s Wife.” Details about the episode, which airs May 14, are few and far between, but Gaiman recently told io9 that his script was essentially a “love letter to Doctor Who” and hinted that the episode could be a game-changer.
3. More Matt Smith — And That’s a Good Thing
Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith (and his bow tie) were new to the Doctor Who scene last year, but this season you can look for Smith to be fully ensconced in the role of the Time Lord. “Losing a leading man like [10th Doctor] David Tennant is seismic — unless you gain a leading man like Matt Smith,” executive producer Steven Moffat has said. “But now he’s really here, and the part is his.”
The Silence will bedevil The Doctor in this season of Doctor Who.
Images courtesy BBC America
4. Beware The Silence
Mentioned in previous episodes but never seen, a group of creatures known as The Silence has been working to unhinge the Doctor for quite some time.
The beings, whose menacingly alien faces were supposedly inspired by Edvard Munch painting The Scream, look much nastier than some of the show’s previous monsters.
“If I’d seen them when I watched TV as a boy, I’d have had to peep through my fingers,” Smith told The Daily Mail. “They are going to become as iconic as the Doctor’s most enduring foes, the Daleks, and even more dangerous and harder to exterminate.”
Look for The Silence’s Smoking Man–esque antics in the season’s first two episodes. Moffat also promises other new monsters with names like the Siren, Gangers and Idris. (If you’re having trouble keeping track of Doctor Who‘s more than 300 villains and monsters, explore the history with the helpful interactive chart from The Guardian, embedded above.)
5. Doctor Who Gets Darker
Doctor Who adventures have skewed to the shadowy side in recent seasons, particularly under Moffat’s leadership, and this season could be one of the darkest yet. In addition to the aforementioned new monsters and villains, the Doctor himself will be thrown into black times (see the trailer below). However, Moffat says that’s just how the season starts — how it will end is anyone’s guess.
Doctor Who airs Saturdays at 9 p.m./8 p.m. Central on BBC America.
See Also:
