| The following article is written from an Out of Universe perspective. |
Season 50 of Doctor Who premiered in Autumn of 2015. The season was the sixteenth of Chapter Three.
The season, like the previous one, was split into two parts, with the first half airing from the Autumn of 2015 and the second airing from the Spring of 2016.
Overview
The Production Team
Unlike Season 49, Jane Espenson would not be a co-showrunner with Moore, as she had decided to work full-time show running the new spinoff series, The Elysium. Therefore, Ronald D. Moore had become the sole showrunner on the season, but Espenson stayed on as an Executive Producer. Ira Steven Behr, an Executive Producer of the show from 2004, decided to move on after Season 49, leaving the franchise and moving onto other things, mainly focusing his time on producing a documentary about Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. In Behr’s absence, Ronald D. Moore was granted the position of Franchise Executive by the BBC and CBS, looking after Doctor Who, The Elysium as well as any future spinoff projects or movies in the works. Ken MacQuarrie stayed on as an Executive Producer for BBC Scotland, where the show had been since the beginning of Season 49.
Transmission
Like Season 49, the season was split into two parts of 8 episodes each, with the first airing from 19th September until 7th November 2015 and the second half airing from 23rd January until 12th March 2016. Although the Elysium had been airing on Sunday nights and had been a large success, BBC One chose to keep Doctor Who on Saturday nights, in its traditional slot. The same decision was made with the show’s aspect ratio, which remained in 16:9 despite the Elysium being produced and transmitted in 2.35:1.
Title Sequence
The title sequence for Season 50 remained the same as Season 49, with just many of the shots being swapped out for shots from Season 50. The most striking difference was the fact that Ronald D. Moore’s name stood alone at the end, instead of sharing the screen with Jane Espenson, due to the fact that Moore was now the sole showrunner.
Erin, Kyle, Raleigh & Pete
In addition to Erin Stevenson as the companion, Kyle Harrison, who had been introduced in the first episode of Season 49, as Erin’s boyfriend, would join the TARDIS at the end of the first episode of Season 50, as another companion for the Doctor. Hogan Cox, who had been a companion to the Doctor in the latter half of Season 49, would not be making a return as a companion in the series, due to the fact that Hogan was only ever supposed to be in just 9 episodes, besides this, Hogan did appear in the last three episodes of the season as a guest character. Two new companions Raleigh Baker-Mitchell (played by Sarah Winter) and Pete Fletcher (played by Daniel Adegboyega) would make their first appearances later in the season.
Cast
Regular
- The Doctor - Samantha Bond
- Erin Stevenson - Montserrat Lombard
- Kyle Harrison - William Moseley
- Raleigh Baker-Mitchell - Sarah Winter
- Pete Fletcher - Daniel Adegboyega
and
Recurring
- Danielle Stevenson - Susannah Harker
- Roger Stevenson - Trevor Cooper
- Caitrin Ryan - Gillian Anderson
- The Master - Jason Isaacs
- Oliver Griffiths - David Thewlis
- Gemma Legato - Emer Kenny
- Zenla - Juliet Landau
- Hogan Cox - Bernard Cribbins
- Amanda Theodore - T'Nia Miller
Guest
- Vicar – Billy Boyle
- Queen Elizabeth II – Michelle Gomez
- Rita - Amara Karan
- Howie Spragg - Dimitri Leonidas
- Gibbis - David Walliams
- Sergeant Wilson – Bradley Gardner
- Private Maynard – Ian Hillard
- Private Phillips – Tristan Beint
- Joey – Jay Pennington
- Maj. General Sheridan – Andrew Scott
- Lt. General Early – Mark Harmon
- Sheriff Johnson – Gareth Marks
- Judge Markland – David Dayan Fisher
- Father Fitzpatrick – Tim McInnerny
- Al Hoggarety – Cris D’Annunzio
- Rona – Kim Allen
- John Booth – Kelly Blatz
- Robert Todd Lincoln – Neal Bledsoe
- Lewis Powell – Tom Hopper
- Lynda Baker - Gillian Taylforth
- José Mitchell – Sasha Roiz
- Captain Mohindra - Dominique Moore
- Moran - Colin McFarlane
- Cass - Sophie Stone
- Lunn - Zaqi Ismail
- Val Fletcher – Jenna Russell
- Hazel Watts – Laura Main
- Michelle Griffiths – Sherry Bains
- Voice of Mr Clawdius – Warren Brown
- Voice of Mr Hopperdink – Alexander Vlahos
- Voice of Mr Warty – Damian Lynch
- Sauter – Shane Zaza
- Thomas - Seán Gleeson
- Yvonne – Julia Deakin
- Frank – Ian Midlane
Television Stories
Main Season
Mini-Episode
| Title | Writer | Director | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erin's Story | Ronald D. Moore | John Dahl | 10 July 2015 |
Production
Crew
To be added.
Shooting Blocks
| Block | Episodes | Director | Producer | DOP | Editor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2.01, 2.03, 2.04, 2.12 | John Dahl | Brian Minchin | David Higgs | Michael O'Halloran |
| 2 | 2.05, 2.06, 2.07, 2.08 | Metin Hüseyin | Nikki Wilson | Edward J. Pei | Christopher Cooke |
| 3 | 2.14, 2.15, 2.16 | Terry McDonough / Rachel Talalay | John Pardue / Stuart Biddlecombe | Philip Kloss / Will Oswald | |
| 4 | 2.02, 2.09 | Nick Hurran | Derek Ritchie | Owen McPolin | Christopher Cooke |
| 5 | 2.10, 2.11, 2.13 | Daniel O'Hara | Richard Stoddard | Will Oswald |
Filming
To be added.
Aliens and Enemies
- The Daleks
- The Nimon
- Lava Spiders
- The Master
- The Autons
- The Confederates
- The Unionists
- Father Fitzpatrick
- Sherrif Johnson
- The Blaziel
- The Voritsaurs
- The Ghosts
- The Fisher King
- Oliver Griffiths
- The Krynoids
- The Kroakets
- The Cybermen
Viewing Figures
| No. | Title | Official BARB Figures (7-day) | Official BARB Figures (28-day) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consolidated (m) | Weekly Rank | Consolidated (m) | Weekly Rank | ||
| 1 | Queen of the Daleks | 8.92 | 2 | 9.31 | 2 |
| 2 | The God Complex | 8.21 | 4 | 8.47 | 5 |
| 3 | The Poisoned Sea, Part I | 7.95 | 5 | 8.26 | 5 |
| 4 | The Poisoned Sea, Part II | 8.25 | 5 | 8.59 | 5 |
| 5 | The Battle of Fisher's Hill | 8.35 | 3 | 8.72 | 3 |
| 6 | The Trial of the Damned | 8.11 | 3 | 8.43 | 3 |
| 7 | The Echo From Tomorrow | 7.84 | 3 | 8.28 | 3 |
| 8 | The Slave Master | 8.02 | 4 | 8.60 | 4 |
| 9 | The Dimensions of Space and Time | 8.56 | 2 | 9.05 | 3 |
| 10 | Under the Lake, Part I | 8.35 | 2 | 8.71 | 3 |
| 11 | Under the Lake, Part II | 7.87 | 7 | 8.32 | 6 |
| 12 | The Greenhouse Effect | 7.56 | 5 | 7.97 | 5 |
| 13 | Reservoir Frogs | 7.47 | 7 | 7.84 | 6 |
| 14 | Remembrance of the Gaians | 7.90 | 6 | 8.50 | 5 |
| 15 | The Third Planet, Part I | 8.25 | 3 | 8.81 | 4 |
| 16 | The Third Planet, Part II | 10.21 | 1 | 10.87 | 1 |
| Series Average | 8.239 | 8.671 | |||
Physical Media
To be added.