| The following article is written from an Out of Universe perspective. |
Season 48 of Doctor Who ran between 20 August 2011 and 22 October 2011. It starred David Suchet as the Thirteenth Doctor, Juliet Landau as Zenla, Dougray Scott as Chris Parsons and it introduced Emer Kenny as Gemma Legato. The series opened with Checkmate, the continuation of the finale of Season 47, and concluded with Evil of the Gaians. The series was followed by the movie, Doctor Who: Endgame. The season the end of Chapter Three on television.
Overview
By 2011, Producer, Gary Russell, had brought Doctor Who right back up to the popularity the show had once enjoyed in the late-1970s. Receiving viewing figures in the range of 9-11m each week, Season 48 and the David Suchet era was a true success.
It had already been announced that the Thirteenth Doctor, David Suchet, would be relinquishing the role, soon after the broadcast of the previous season, and with his final showdown with the Valeyard, in Doctor Who: Endgame, in sights, the production team prepared to tell his final chapter on television.
Mixing things up from the previous year, another element was added to the core dynamic of the season, a new companion, Gemma Legato (Emer Kenny), who added a certain spice to many of the stories. She was added late in development, but Gary Russell realised that such a character was needed to suitably hold the audience, as otherwise they’d just be delivering the same old thing they delivered the previous season.
The season kicked off with the third part of the epic ‘Toymaker Trilogy’, Checkmate. Notable for being the second episode to hold that name, after the fourth episode of the Time Meddler, making it the only time that a single episode title has been used twice.
Broken Shackles is unique for multiple reasons, not only does it introduced brand-new ‘kick-ass’ companion, Gemma Legato, but it also dubiously features the return of former companion, Vicki, in the form of the woman. The actual identity of such character is under heavy debate, but Maureen O’Brien delivers a truly heartfelt and emotional performance, which for sure puts Broken Shackles down in the Who History books.
The season continues with the return of the original 1966 Cybermen, albeit in a battered and gory form, in the Silver Turk.
The Phantom Doctor sees Charlie Brooker deliver his horrific edge to a film-noir style adventure, complete with black and white presentation of original 1960s opening credits.
Now Those Days Are Gone, dubbed by fans ‘the Gary Russell episode’, sees ultimate indulgence and fun take place, with the Doctor and his companions having a holodeck like adventure through the many years of the show’s history, complete with authentic costumes and sets.
Bigger on the Inside takes us into the mind of award-winning novelist, Neil Gaiman, as we discover a lot more about the Doctor’s beloved TARDIS, most notably the fact that it looks like Joanna Lumley.
The Doctor with No Name is only the second story to take us back to the Wild West, and is in fact a love letter to the Gunfighters, featuring the Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon and Lynda Baron!
The Man at the End of the Street, explores the deep backstory of Chris and his family, adding such a depth and flavour not before seen, before the season concludes with the two-part epic, Evil of the Gaians, featuring the Nerva Beacon, tortuous prisons, and Glenn Close!
And then finally, Doctor Who: Endgame would hit the cinemas several months later and shock the world!
Cast
Regular
- The Doctor - David Suchet
- Zenla - Juliet Landau
- Chris Parsons - Dougray Scott
- Gemma Legato - Emer Kenny
Recurring
- The Valeyard - Charles Dance
- The Rogue - Timothy Dalton
- The Monk - Toby Jones
- The Toymaker - David Bailie
- The Nightmare Man - Julian Bleach
- Leela - Louise Jameson
- Francis - Christopher Biggins
- Marco Polo - Peter Facinelli
- Tegana - Baljinnyamyn Amarsaikhan
- Ping-Cho - Fan Bingbing
- Kublai Khan - Baotian Li
- Chenchu - Wen Jiang
- Robson - Eric Braeden
- Harris - Jeremy Davies
- Lynx - Kevin Lindsay
- Irongron - David Daker
- Bloodaxe - John J. Carney
- Noah - Kenton Moore
- Corporal Blake - Richardson Morgan
- Lycett - John Gregg
- Librie - Christopher Master
- Ambril - John Carson
- Tanha - Colette O’Neil
- Dojjen - Preston Lockwood
- Dugdale - Brian Miller
- Fortune Teller - Hilary Sesta
- Chela - Johnathon Morris
- Governer - Martin Jarvis
- Quillim - Nicholas Chagrin
- Jondar - Jason Connery
- Chief Officer - Forbes Collins
- Servin - Stephen Yardley
- The Captain - T.P. McKenna
- Ringmaster - Rico Ross
- Chief Clown - Ian Reddington
- Nord - Daniel Peacock
- Major Dickens - Bernard Kay
- The Bursar - Joanna McCallum
- Dr O' Neil - Andrew Forbes
- Cmdr. Harry Maddison - Hugh Laurie
- Lt. Cmdr. Davitch Steinberg - Peter Czajkowski
- Ensign Annabell Thomas - Sarah Michelle Gellar
- Saddek - Danny John-Jules
- Farmida - Julie Anderson
- The Keeper - Don Warrington
- Francs - John Paton
- The Prophet - Michael Gambon
- Fen Do'nell - Tucker Smallwood
- Dr Amadeus Zirkov - Alan Rickman
- Harrold McMillan - Hugh Grant
- Alice Pemperton - Billie Piper
- Davids - Thomas Frederson
Guest
- Jarvo - Michael Dixon
- Falenqua - Nicola Sian
- Black King - Tom Ward
- Black Queen - Riann Steele
- White Rook #1 - Daniel Brocklebank
- White Rook #2 - Sunetra Sarker
- Black Rook #1 - Bronagh Waugh
- Black Rook #2 - Matthew Wolfenden
- White Bishop #1 - Danny Sapani
- White Bishop #2 - Liam Cunningham
- Black Bishop #1 - Rupert Graves
- Black Bishop #2 - Adele Silva
- White Knight #1 - Jessica Raine
- White Knight #2 - Ashley Walters
- Black Knight #1 - Andrew Brooke
- Black Knight #2 - Tobias Menzies
- White Pawn #1 - Mark Oliver
- White Pawn # 2 - Joe Tracini
- Turner - John Pickard
- Lance - Sacha Dhawan
- Prime Designate Samuels - Trevor Laird
- The Woman - Maureen O’Brien
- Voice of the Aarchnaughts - John De Lancie
- Dr Johan Drossel - Gareth Armstrong
- Alfred Stahlbaum - Christian Brassington
- Ernst Bratfisch - David Schneider
- Count Rolf Wittenmeier - Gwilym Lee
- Countess Mitzi Wittenmeier - Suranne Jones
- Policeman - Mark Heal
- Hannalore - Catrin Stewart
- Empress Sisi - Jodie Whittaker
- Heinz - Jason Watkins
- Krauss - Marcello Magni
- Waitress - Sarah Counsell
- Voice of the Cybermen - Nicholas Briggs
- James Smythe - Robert Jezek
- Antonio Bortoletto - Danny Wells
- Mitch - Tim Heidecker
- Stan - Eric Wareheim
- Michelle - Chase Masterson
- Drunken Sam - Adam West
- Barman - Connor Trinneer
- Card Dealer - Anson Mount
- Vivien Smythe - Helen Slater
- Kobayashi - John Cho
- Reggie - Daniel Kaluuya
- Hepburn - Julie Cox
- Schmitt - Gary Russell
- Idris - Joanna Lumley
- Voice of House - Michael Sheen
- Nephew - Paul Kasey
- Uncle - Adrian Schiller
- Auntie - Elizabeth Berrington
- Jesse James - Ben Browder
- Dolly - Lynda Baron
- Delia - Joanne McQuinn
- Ryder - Sean Benedict
- Mike - Rob Cavazos
- Yolotl - Adam Beach
- Galilahi - Q’orianka Kilcher
- Chief Wahunsenacawh - Zahn McClarnon
- Doug Parsons - Daniel Hill
- Clare Parsons - Victoria Burgoyne
- Rodney - Steven Houghton
- Trish - Jennifer Metcalfe
- Ashton - David Proud
- Veronica Latimer - Glenn Close
- Dr. Armstrong - Anthony Rapp
- Marlen - Philip Olivier
- Omar - Shane Zaza
- Ana - Ruth Bradley
- Sonia - Alexandra Moen
- Irene - Gugu Mbatha-Raw
- Ivan - Travis Oliver
- Lotte - Daisy Haggard
- Rodriquez - Daniele Favilli
- Lucas - Owen Donovan
- Waterman - Anatole Taubman
- Stirling - Tony Curran
- Reilly - Dervla Kirwan
- Dr. Cabrera - Christopher Good
- Dr. Maki - Elize du Toit
- Dr. Van Laar - Kelly Hunter
- D'amore - Sarah Lancashire
- Quaranta - Lucian Msamati
- Hetisha - Terrance Hardiman
Television Stories
|
Episode No. |
Title | Writer | Director | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Checkmate | Robert Shearman | Chris Carter | 20 August 2011 |
| 2 | Broken Shackles | Nicholas Briggs | 27 August 2011 | |
| 3 | The Silver Turk | Marc Platt | Jonny Campbell | 3 September 2011 |
| 4 | The Phantom Doctor | Charlie Brooker | Euros Lyn | 10 September 2011 |
| 5 | Now Those Days Are Gone | Gary Russell | 17 September 2011 | |
| 6 | Bigger on the Inside | Neil Gaiman | Richard Clark | 24 September 2011 |
| 7 | The Doctor With No Name | Simon Guerrier | Saul Metzstein | 1 October 2011 |
| 8 | The Man at the End of the Street | Mark Wright & Cavan Scott | Lisa Bowerman | 8 October 2011 |
| 9 | Evil of the Gaians, Part I | Robert Shearman & Ronald D. Moore | Rachel Talalay | 15 October 2011 |
| 10 | Evil of the Gaians, Part II | 22 October 2011 | ||
Production
The first read-through began on 3 November 2010, with filming beginning on the 15 November.
Producers
To be added.
Writers
To be added.
Directors
To be added.
Filming
To be added.
Aliens and Enemies
- The Valeyard
- The Toymaker
- The Monk
- The Nightmare Man
- The Aarchnaughts
- The Cybermen
- House
- The Ood
- Doug Parsons
- The Gaians
- Veronica Latimer
Home Media
Physical Media
|
Title and Episodes included |
Cover | Format | Number and duration of episodes | Release Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | ||||
| Doctor Who: The Complete Season 48 | DVD/Blu-Ray | 10x90 minutes | 7 December 2011 | ||
| Doctor Who: The Complete David Suchet Era | DVD/Blu-Ray | 10x90 minutes
1x150 minutes |
14 October
2013 |
5 October 2013 | |
| Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 48 | Blu-Ray | 10x90 minutes
1x150 minutes |
TBD | ||
Download/Streaming
|
Country |
Netflix | Amazon Video | Google Play | iTunes | Britbox |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - |
| United States | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Canada | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ireland | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | - |
| Australia | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | - |
Britbox is only avilable in US and Canada. iTunes only carry Doctor Who in the US, Canada, Ireland and Australia. Amazon Video can stream Doctor Who through BritBox in the US, and holds it as a paid series in all other countries, but Australia where it's included with Prime.