Neil Wilkes from Digital Spy gives his report on Doctor Who at Comic-Con:
9.49am: After getting up super early this morning and waiting in a queue for 90 minutes (90 minutes, would you believe it, don't you know who I am, etc), I'm now seated inside Ballroom 20 at the San Diego Convention Center practically wetting myself in anticipation of the Doctor Who panel.
9.57am: There appears to be eight mics up on stage today. As well as some preview clips of the final specials, we're also expected to get confirmation of a Doctor Who movie today.9.58am: At this point I am probably allowed to share the insider info I got on this movie a couple weeks back. Apparently, the film will feature Rose and The Other Doctor, set in the parallel world.
10.00am: Laptop is fully charged today so there'll be no need to bribe stagehands. By the way, feel free to add comments as we go along using the little comment slip below.10.04am: Panel not started yet as people are still streaming in from the back.10.06am: "Good morning class, and welcome to Doctor Who 101," says the panel's moderator. Big tease.10.07am: Bit of context on how the revival came about. He says it's a show that can make you cry. Damn right. I might be sobbing today.
10.08am: First up, a clip from Planet of the Dead, which we've all seen already. (It premieres tonight on BBC America). A movie-style deep voiceover accompanies quick flashes from the episode.
10.10am: The moderator introduces the panellists for today's session: ex-ep Julie Gardner, long-time director Euros Lyn (lots of applause here - nice to see such a warm reaction to the production team), Russell T Davies and ... big applause for David Tennant.
10.13am: The moderator brings up the possibility of a movie. Julie Gardner says that there is not going to be any announcement about a Who movie. "But what it's made us think is that it might be a good idea to do it at some point. Is this something you want?" Huge cheers.
10.16am: Cut to brief preview reel of clips from David's final episodes as the Doctor. A voiceover mentions "bad dreams". Shots of Wilfred and Donna, and a man wearing a black hood. "His name is the master," says the voiceover and John Simm is revealed (with blond hair). "He returns". Final caption says: "The end of time. Christmas 2009."
10.17am: David Tennant says that the clip was too fast and demands that we watch it again.
10.19am: RTD on reviving Who: "I've loved Doctor Who all my life and thought about it so much. Now I've taken it from my subconscience and it's made it into the world. It's been the most beautiful and brilliant time of my life."
10.20am: "Little did I imagine that we'd be turning Swansea and Cardiff into the rest of the Universe," jokes Euros. Julie Gardner cites Tom Baker's 'City of Death' as her fave classic story.
10.21am: Yes yes, I realise no movie. But if it does happen, it'll be Rose and Other Doctor. Eh? Eh?
10.22am: DT jokes that he's playing the same man as William Hartnell, "just with a different wig".
10.25am: JG is asked how she produces the show on such a tiny budget and replies: "We go over budget." She adds that they make "hard choices" about how much SFX to use. She says that each series there is a smaller episode "that allows us to pay for the Christmas special".
10.28am: RTD on early thoughts of revival's success: "I thought it would go big one year and then we'd collapse and be taken off the screens. We worked hard but we never ever dreamt it would be this successful. It gobsmacked me and amazed me."
10.30am: A "special presentation" now from the editor-in-chief of Guinness World Records. "It's the longest-running sci-fi show on TV," says the chap. "But that's quite enough, it's too good a show to have a longest-running record. Based on things like CD sales, downloads, illegal downloads, we've realised that Doctor Who is the most successful sci-fi show on TV full stop." He presents RTD with a plaque.
10.32am: RTD jokes he can "feel a Comic-Con war coming on" over that comment. He then pays tribute to the late Who creator Verity Lambert.
10.33am: Q&A time. Woman asks if the reason DT wears a brown coat is because he's a fan of Firefly. "There's a new rumour every day at Comic-Con," he replies. "Apparently, I'm playing the hobbit! I love Firefly and Serenity but that wasn't the inspiration for the coat."
10.34am: Next q - if he could be any other Doctor which one? "Splendid chaps, all of them. I think that's the traditional answer to that question."
10.35am: RTD says he can remember Hartnell regenerating into Patrick Troughton - a scene which was deleted from the archives. "As for the trauma coming up for you, that's quite fearful," he adds of DT's upcoming regeneration. He then points out Who composer Murray Gold, who's sitting in the audience.
10.36am: Euros recalls scoring the final episode with Murray, who apparently started "sobbing uncontrollably" when they got to the final 20 minutes. JG adds: "There was a lot of crying when we shot the final episodes. The crew were really moved by it. There were so many goodbyes."
10.37am: DT recalling Tom Baker's regeneration: "I never forgot him and I never loved him any less, but then Peter Davison came along and within three weeks, I thought he was the best. Hopefully you'll watch the final epoisodes and cry along with us, but then three weeks later you'll think Matt Smith is the best thing there's ever been. Change is part of the show and 'm very pleased to be part of that history. But I'm also pleased that we're handing it over in rude health and it carries on!"
10.39am: Question about if, like John Barrowman, they have stolen anything from set. JG replies: "I think the only reason John Barrowman stole things from set is so he could be strip-searched on the way out."
10.40am: DT reveals: "There's a sequence in the final episode where one of the jackets gets slightly compromised."
10.41am: DT asked if he would consider coming back for charity specials or similar. "Who knows? The dust has to settle. But it's the fiftieth anniversary in 2013, isn't it?"
10.42am: Question from a delightful English lady asking if they have a favourite assistant character (not actress). "Pick Rose!" chant audience members. "One of the things I haven't done before leaving the show is I didn't get to snog Bernard Cribbins."
10.43am: DT asked if he would ever return as The Other Doctor: "There are no plans, but anything can happen."
10.44am: DT asked his favourite Who moment, from a fan's perspective. "When I started, the very first read-through, we read Xmas Invasion, School Reunion and New Earth all at once. Terrifying." He jokes that he thought he might be fired at any moment. "I caught Jimmy Nesbitt out of the corner of my eye at the coffee machine," he quips. "But still, being called The Doctor by Sarah Jane was quite special."
10.46am: RTD reveals that the episode of SJA guest starring the Doctor will be called 'The Wedding Of Sarah Jane Smith'. (It's a two-parter)
10.47am: DT talking about being behind Billie Piper on the Top Gear leaderboard. He says the only reason is due to her see-through top which earnt her a bonus from Jeremy Clarkson. He notes: "If Billie Piper didn't have such good breasts I would be higher up the leaderboard."
10.49am: DT asked what sort of roles he'll take on next. "Well apparently I'm playing the Hobbit. I haven't had a phonecall yet. I'm doing a film at the moment, playing a villain in St Trinian's 2. Hamlet's coming out. Beyond that, who knows? Sorry!"
10.50am: Q about the popularity of the show in the US. "I think we're still struggling to work out how big it is," answers JG. DT says they went on Good Morning San Diego this morning and were met by a man in a T-shirt with a Tardis on it. "It seems like the people who know it here, really know it." Audience cheer. RTD: "You do get told it's unknown here, but then you open up Entertainment Weekly and [it's there]."
10.52am: RTD asked if he will continue with Torchwood. "I hope so. We were astonished by the success of that last series. I really, really hope so. I can't give you a promise because I haven't had the meetings with the right people yet. Also there's a recession going on. It will be back, but maybe the ones you want back won't be back. It will be back in some shape or form."
10.54am: RTD asked why Captain Jack cast as an American. "There was no reason actually. We really singled John out for that part when we met him because we loved him. He did it in a Scottish accent and his normal American accent, even an English accent. In the end I decided it made it bigger if it was an American accent. It just felt right at that time, little knowing then that he would go on to have his own show!"
10.56am: DT asks EL who was better, him or Christopher Eccleston. "It's you David," he replies.
10.57am: Question if River Song is coming back. DT: "It's not on our watch any more." JG: "We are now just happy viewers to season five now" RTD adds: "I think if you go online and do a little search for River Song you might be very happy. Apparently." He means Digital Spy, of course.
10.58am: RTD says the voiceover man from the clip we saw was Timothy Dalton. DT adds: "John Simm's coming back though, eh?"
10.59am: DT asked for words of wisdom for Matt Smith. Reply: "I've chatted to Matt a couple times and he's very enthused and quite clearly going to be brilliant. Which is annoying. He's such a talent, there is nobody in Britain who has worked with Matt who doesn't rave about him. They have nothing but praise to lavish on him, so I don't think he needs any advice from me really."
11.00am: DT realises that JG is filming him. RTD says it's for a future episode of Doctor Who Confidential that they've been filming all weekend.
11.01am: An 11-year-old girl gets to ask the final question. Bitch. I'm joking! She asks if DT were a real teacher, what would he teach and why? "I have absolutely no idea," he replies. Lots of suggestions from the audience. "The only subject I was really good at at school was English. My set texts would be anything by Russell T Davies."
11.02am: With that, the panel comes to a close. Hopefully back later, live from the Torchwood panel!
11.03am: Scratch that, a bonus preview clip from The Waters Of Mars. Fast paced. The Doctor: "Certain moments in time are fixed. This place on Mars, what happens here, must always happen." Lindsay Duncan: "Don't even touch it, not one drop."11.04am: That is it now. More later!
9.49am: After getting up super early this morning and waiting in a queue for 90 minutes (90 minutes, would you believe it, don't you know who I am, etc), I'm now seated inside Ballroom 20 at the San Diego Convention Center practically wetting myself in anticipation of the Doctor Who panel.
9.57am: There appears to be eight mics up on stage today. As well as some preview clips of the final specials, we're also expected to get confirmation of a Doctor Who movie today.9.58am: At this point I am probably allowed to share the insider info I got on this movie a couple weeks back. Apparently, the film will feature Rose and The Other Doctor, set in the parallel world.
10.00am: Laptop is fully charged today so there'll be no need to bribe stagehands. By the way, feel free to add comments as we go along using the little comment slip below.10.04am: Panel not started yet as people are still streaming in from the back.10.06am: "Good morning class, and welcome to Doctor Who 101," says the panel's moderator. Big tease.10.07am: Bit of context on how the revival came about. He says it's a show that can make you cry. Damn right. I might be sobbing today.
10.08am: First up, a clip from Planet of the Dead, which we've all seen already. (It premieres tonight on BBC America). A movie-style deep voiceover accompanies quick flashes from the episode.
10.10am: The moderator introduces the panellists for today's session: ex-ep Julie Gardner, long-time director Euros Lyn (lots of applause here - nice to see such a warm reaction to the production team), Russell T Davies and ... big applause for David Tennant.
10.13am: The moderator brings up the possibility of a movie. Julie Gardner says that there is not going to be any announcement about a Who movie. "But what it's made us think is that it might be a good idea to do it at some point. Is this something you want?" Huge cheers.
10.16am: Cut to brief preview reel of clips from David's final episodes as the Doctor. A voiceover mentions "bad dreams". Shots of Wilfred and Donna, and a man wearing a black hood. "His name is the master," says the voiceover and John Simm is revealed (with blond hair). "He returns". Final caption says: "The end of time. Christmas 2009."
10.17am: David Tennant says that the clip was too fast and demands that we watch it again.
10.19am: RTD on reviving Who: "I've loved Doctor Who all my life and thought about it so much. Now I've taken it from my subconscience and it's made it into the world. It's been the most beautiful and brilliant time of my life."
10.20am: "Little did I imagine that we'd be turning Swansea and Cardiff into the rest of the Universe," jokes Euros. Julie Gardner cites Tom Baker's 'City of Death' as her fave classic story.
10.21am: Yes yes, I realise no movie. But if it does happen, it'll be Rose and Other Doctor. Eh? Eh?
10.22am: DT jokes that he's playing the same man as William Hartnell, "just with a different wig".
10.25am: JG is asked how she produces the show on such a tiny budget and replies: "We go over budget." She adds that they make "hard choices" about how much SFX to use. She says that each series there is a smaller episode "that allows us to pay for the Christmas special".
10.28am: RTD on early thoughts of revival's success: "I thought it would go big one year and then we'd collapse and be taken off the screens. We worked hard but we never ever dreamt it would be this successful. It gobsmacked me and amazed me."
10.30am: A "special presentation" now from the editor-in-chief of Guinness World Records. "It's the longest-running sci-fi show on TV," says the chap. "But that's quite enough, it's too good a show to have a longest-running record. Based on things like CD sales, downloads, illegal downloads, we've realised that Doctor Who is the most successful sci-fi show on TV full stop." He presents RTD with a plaque.
10.32am: RTD jokes he can "feel a Comic-Con war coming on" over that comment. He then pays tribute to the late Who creator Verity Lambert.
10.33am: Q&A time. Woman asks if the reason DT wears a brown coat is because he's a fan of Firefly. "There's a new rumour every day at Comic-Con," he replies. "Apparently, I'm playing the hobbit! I love Firefly and Serenity but that wasn't the inspiration for the coat."
10.34am: Next q - if he could be any other Doctor which one? "Splendid chaps, all of them. I think that's the traditional answer to that question."
10.35am: RTD says he can remember Hartnell regenerating into Patrick Troughton - a scene which was deleted from the archives. "As for the trauma coming up for you, that's quite fearful," he adds of DT's upcoming regeneration. He then points out Who composer Murray Gold, who's sitting in the audience.
10.36am: Euros recalls scoring the final episode with Murray, who apparently started "sobbing uncontrollably" when they got to the final 20 minutes. JG adds: "There was a lot of crying when we shot the final episodes. The crew were really moved by it. There were so many goodbyes."
10.37am: DT recalling Tom Baker's regeneration: "I never forgot him and I never loved him any less, but then Peter Davison came along and within three weeks, I thought he was the best. Hopefully you'll watch the final epoisodes and cry along with us, but then three weeks later you'll think Matt Smith is the best thing there's ever been. Change is part of the show and 'm very pleased to be part of that history. But I'm also pleased that we're handing it over in rude health and it carries on!"
10.39am: Question about if, like John Barrowman, they have stolen anything from set. JG replies: "I think the only reason John Barrowman stole things from set is so he could be strip-searched on the way out."
10.40am: DT reveals: "There's a sequence in the final episode where one of the jackets gets slightly compromised."
10.41am: DT asked if he would consider coming back for charity specials or similar. "Who knows? The dust has to settle. But it's the fiftieth anniversary in 2013, isn't it?"
10.42am: Question from a delightful English lady asking if they have a favourite assistant character (not actress). "Pick Rose!" chant audience members. "One of the things I haven't done before leaving the show is I didn't get to snog Bernard Cribbins."
10.43am: DT asked if he would ever return as The Other Doctor: "There are no plans, but anything can happen."
10.44am: DT asked his favourite Who moment, from a fan's perspective. "When I started, the very first read-through, we read Xmas Invasion, School Reunion and New Earth all at once. Terrifying." He jokes that he thought he might be fired at any moment. "I caught Jimmy Nesbitt out of the corner of my eye at the coffee machine," he quips. "But still, being called The Doctor by Sarah Jane was quite special."
10.46am: RTD reveals that the episode of SJA guest starring the Doctor will be called 'The Wedding Of Sarah Jane Smith'. (It's a two-parter)
10.47am: DT talking about being behind Billie Piper on the Top Gear leaderboard. He says the only reason is due to her see-through top which earnt her a bonus from Jeremy Clarkson. He notes: "If Billie Piper didn't have such good breasts I would be higher up the leaderboard."
10.49am: DT asked what sort of roles he'll take on next. "Well apparently I'm playing the Hobbit. I haven't had a phonecall yet. I'm doing a film at the moment, playing a villain in St Trinian's 2. Hamlet's coming out. Beyond that, who knows? Sorry!"
10.50am: Q about the popularity of the show in the US. "I think we're still struggling to work out how big it is," answers JG. DT says they went on Good Morning San Diego this morning and were met by a man in a T-shirt with a Tardis on it. "It seems like the people who know it here, really know it." Audience cheer. RTD: "You do get told it's unknown here, but then you open up Entertainment Weekly and [it's there]."
10.52am: RTD asked if he will continue with Torchwood. "I hope so. We were astonished by the success of that last series. I really, really hope so. I can't give you a promise because I haven't had the meetings with the right people yet. Also there's a recession going on. It will be back, but maybe the ones you want back won't be back. It will be back in some shape or form."
10.54am: RTD asked why Captain Jack cast as an American. "There was no reason actually. We really singled John out for that part when we met him because we loved him. He did it in a Scottish accent and his normal American accent, even an English accent. In the end I decided it made it bigger if it was an American accent. It just felt right at that time, little knowing then that he would go on to have his own show!"
10.56am: DT asks EL who was better, him or Christopher Eccleston. "It's you David," he replies.
10.57am: Question if River Song is coming back. DT: "It's not on our watch any more." JG: "We are now just happy viewers to season five now" RTD adds: "I think if you go online and do a little search for River Song you might be very happy. Apparently." He means Digital Spy, of course.
10.58am: RTD says the voiceover man from the clip we saw was Timothy Dalton. DT adds: "John Simm's coming back though, eh?"
10.59am: DT asked for words of wisdom for Matt Smith. Reply: "I've chatted to Matt a couple times and he's very enthused and quite clearly going to be brilliant. Which is annoying. He's such a talent, there is nobody in Britain who has worked with Matt who doesn't rave about him. They have nothing but praise to lavish on him, so I don't think he needs any advice from me really."
11.00am: DT realises that JG is filming him. RTD says it's for a future episode of Doctor Who Confidential that they've been filming all weekend.
11.01am: An 11-year-old girl gets to ask the final question. Bitch. I'm joking! She asks if DT were a real teacher, what would he teach and why? "I have absolutely no idea," he replies. Lots of suggestions from the audience. "The only subject I was really good at at school was English. My set texts would be anything by Russell T Davies."
11.02am: With that, the panel comes to a close. Hopefully back later, live from the Torchwood panel!
11.03am: Scratch that, a bonus preview clip from The Waters Of Mars. Fast paced. The Doctor: "Certain moments in time are fixed. This place on Mars, what happens here, must always happen." Lindsay Duncan: "Don't even touch it, not one drop."11.04am: That is it now. More later!