| The following article is written from an Out of Universe perspective. |
Season 49 of Doctor Who premiered in Autumn of 2014. The season was the first of Chapter Four, and was considered within the production as Season 1 of a brand new show.
Ronald D. Moore and Jane Espenson took over as joint-showrunners, whilst Samantha Bond joined as the Fourteenth Doctor after making her full debut in Doctor Who: Genesis. Montserrat Lombard also joined the show as, new companion, Erin Stevenson.
The season was the first to be split into two parts, with the first half airing from the Autumn of 2014 and the second airing from the Spring of 2015.
Overview
A Female Doctor
The Fourteenth Doctor was the first, in the show's history, to be played by a woman. Before Samantha Bond, however, the idea of a female Doctor had been explored.
The idea that a female actor could take the role of the Doctor was first publicly introduced by John Nathan-Turner and Tom Baker in 1980. By Baker's suggestion, he told the press, "I certainly wish my successor luck, whoever he—or she—might be." Peter Davison was cast as the Fifth Doctor, but the idea remained alive.
The Ninth Doctor stated that he could end up as anyone "man, woman, child or even a decrepit old codger..." (DW: The Nightmare of Time).
Setting the Scene
In 2011, Christopher Biggins' character on Panopticon, Francis, regenerated into a female incarnation, refereed to as Frances (PAN: The Rules of the Game). This was a controversial move at the time, but the fact that it was successful, certainly opened the gates for the Doctor Who production team to make the Doctor a woman.
As part of the Doctor's resurrection, Phaedra is revealed to be an alternate universe version of the Doctor's consciousness after ascension, who herself is in female form (PAN: Put Your Dreams Away). This can be seen to provide somewhat of an in-universe explanation for a female Doctor.
The New Companion
The Doctor's latest companion was to be Erin Stevenson, played by Montserrat Lombard. She was devised by Moore and Espenson to be a departure from many previous companions, not only being from not just the past, but the recent past but also being an 'out and out' rebel, initially a punk rocker.
With Erin, Moore and Espenson decided would come a family life too. Susannah Harker and Trevor Cooper were cast as her parents, and William Moseley was cast as her boyfriend, Kyle Stevenson.
Changes in Production
New Executive Producers and Showrunners, Ronald D. Moore and Jane Espenson, took over for this season, after running Panopticon since its fourth season. In addition, Ken MacQuarrie, came on as an Executive Producer, replacing Faith Penhale. Ira Steven Behr, stayed on for his last season as Executive Producer and Franchise Executive, smoothing over the production from Chapter Three to Chapter Four.
Production for this season moved from Wales to Scotland, being produced by BBC Scotland. Moore’s reasoning was that for the stories he wanted to tell, he wanted the plethora of locations that Scotland could offer, and while Wales did offer locations of a similar degree, most had been exhausted by 2014, due to Doctor Who using them before. However, despite mainly being production in Scotland, other locations for this season would include, London, Germany, and the US (filming with the CBS crew).
Other Notable Changes
Title Sequence
As is standard practice at the beginning of a new era of the show, this season featured a brand-new title sequence. It included a vast array of clips from across the season, with credits running over the top, for the first time in a Doctor Who title sequence, the wider ‘above the line’ production crew would be credited, and due to standard BBC rules everyone, but cast, who are credited in the opening titles should not be also credited in the closing titles. In addition, the top 3 billed Guest Stars from each episode would be given a short credit in the opening titles after the principal cast.
Theme Music
To go along with the new titles, a new theme tune arrangement was commissioned. It was arranged by new in-house composer, Bear McCreary, which takes a bold new take on the iconic theme giving us a fresh interpretation, including the removal of the iconic sting and replacing it with a new drum roll.
Logo
As the season was the first of Chapter Four, Moore, Espenson and Behr decided to discard with the previous logo used between 2003 and 2013, opting to commission a new specially designed logo for the season and Chapter Four as a whole. The new logo was designed by Red Bee Media, and was a lot thinner and streamlined than the previous logo.
Broadcast
To be added.
Cast
Regular
Recurring
- Danielle Stevenson - Susannah Harker
- Roger Stevenson - Trevor Cooper
- Kyle Harrison - William Moseley
- Caitrin Ryan - Gillian Anderson
- Amanda Theodore - T'Nia Miller
- The Governor - David Warner
- Gemma Legato - Emer Kenny
Guest
- Mary, Queen of Scots - Nell Hudson
- Bastian Pagez - Stanley Weber
- Earl of Bothwell - James Marsters
- Dr Edward Carter - Simon Callow
- Penelope Carter - Alexandra Moen
- Uncle Reg - David Ryall
- Sergeant Wilson - Bradley Gardner
- Colonel Lafayette - Julian Dutton
- Private Maynard - Ian Hallard
- Arunzell - Samuel Oatley
- Captain Maion - Chris Stanton
- Kazie Boiell - Maureen Lipman
- Suzie Q - Lucie Jones
- Commentator - Graham Norton
- Fenton - Christopher Fairbank
- PC Forrest - Jessica Hayles
- Obergruppenführer Sennheiser - Ben Miller
- Sofia Lukas - Rosie Day
- Karl Lukas - Rory Kinnear
- Tasker - Justin Sallinger
- Dahh-Ren - Peter Caulfield
- Gouildeir - Shane Gately
- Enrico Amid - Ameet Chana
- Florence Nightingale - Emily Speed
- Anderson - Ifan Meredith
- Adelaide Brook - Lindsay Duncan
- Ed Gold - Peter O'Brien
- Yuri Kerenski - Aleksandar Mikic
- Mia Bennett - Gemma Chan
Television Stories
Main Season
Mini-Episode
| Title | Writer | Director | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| I Don't Want Tomorrow | Simon Guerrier | Kurt Pongratz | 23 May 2015 |
Production
Crew
To be added.
Filming
To be added.
Aliens and Enemies
- Raston Assassin Robot
- Earl of Bothwell
- Dr Edward Carter
- J’taria
- Sky Heads
- Mind Leaches
- Lava Spiders
- Arunzell
- The Carrionites
- The Boneless
- The Nazis
- Obergruppenführer Sennheiser
- The Gaians
- The Governor
- The Yarra
- The Drahvins
- The Flood
Home Media
Physical Media
|
Title and Episodes included |
Cover | Format | Number and duration of episodes | Release Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | ||||
| Doctor Who - Season 49: Part One | TBA | DVD/Blu-Ray | 8x60 minutes | 9 December 2014 | 24 November 2014 |
| Doctor Who - Season 49: Part Two
TBA |
TBA | DVD/Blu-Ray | 8x60 minutes | 20 April 2014 | 6 April 2015 |
| Doctor Who: The Complete Season 49
TBA |
DVD/Blu-Ray | 16x60 minutes | 13 July 2015 | 22 June 2015 | |
| Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 49
TBA |
TBA | Blu-Ray | 16x60 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.