At New York Comic Con 2016 on Friday, Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie and Matt Lucas joined showrunners Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin to discuss the upcoming tenth season of Doctor Who, though sadly did not confirm a premiere date for new episodes more specific than spring 2017.
Without revealing a great deal about storyline or plot twists, Minchin made it clear the tenth season of the show will depart from its predecessors. “The tone is very different. In the last series with Clara [Oswald, the Doctor’s companion in Seasons 7-9], that relationship had got tortured and dark and went to odd places. It’s one of my favorite seasons ever to work on of Doctor Who, I was delighted with it, but it had become darker. Because that’s where we were in that relationship.”
In contrast, Minchin repeatedly described Season 10 as “brand new.” He explained, “You’re getting to see the Doctor through a very different pair of eyes. We went to particular pains to make sure the first episode is really an ‘Episode 1,’ it can be the first episode you’ve ever seen. It explains the entire mythos of Doctor Who -- in the two minutes it takes -- and you can start there.”
Fans can safely assume they won’t be seeing all the past Doctors in another reunion episode in Season 10, as Moffat firmly ruled out the idea. “You can only do that kind of thing very rarely, or it stops being special,” he said. “It’s just some blokes turning up in an old costume. You’ve got to keep it rare, so that when all the Doctors meet, the universe shakes and the world changes… and we get a fabulous rating. But you can’t do it all the time. Not in my time on the show would that happen again.” However, Moffat plans to leave Doctor Who after this coming season, and it’s certainly possible his successor might feel differently.
The Doctor Who Season 10 cast is loving the experience of being part of a cultural phenomenon with a rich history and a steadily growing fanbase. “It’s an extraordinary privilege to be in this role that is just like... playing,” said Capaldi, who was a longtime fan of the series before taking on the role of the Doctor. “We all feel very lucky to be there, but no one ever takes it easy,” he added.
Only having filmed a few episodes as the Doctor’s new companion, Mackie still finds herself in a state of disbelief about landing a role on the show. “It still doesn’t feel real to me, this whole experience,” she said. “I keep having to be like, ‘I’m actually here, I’m actually doing this, this is insane.’”
When asked about diversity in science fiction, Mackie responded, “I think in 2016 it’s frustrating that we still have to have this conversation… Especially in the science fiction world, I think it’s kind of lacking. Something I noticed at the BBC America party last night is that we’ve got a lot of strong women of color in the three series [Dirk Gently, Class, Doctor Who], which I think is great, and something that doesn’t need to be forefronted, in terms of ‘look at what we’re doing! Wow, look at us.’ [Instead] it’s like, ‘about time, c’mon let’s do this.’”
Moffat added, “people watching television, particularly children, should see people like them. That’s just a fact,” which was met with a chorus of appreciative whoops and applause from the audience.
Capaldi had nothing but praise for the actress portraying his new companion. Mackie told a touching story about a personal note and gift that Capaldi gave to her her first day on set, and Capaldi described her as an “extraordinary talent” who “brings a great energy and vigor to the set.”
But Mackie isn’t the only new cast regular coming to Doctor Who Season 10. Matt Lucas will reprise his role as Nardole, having made his first appearance in the 2015 Christmas Special, “The Husbands of River Song.” Judging from the praise of his fellow panelists, it seems Lucas’ presence has brought a new energy to the set. “Matt has been extraordinary,” Capaldi said, “he’s brought a strange and rather delicate alienness to the show.”
Moffat was particularly pleased by Lucas’ desire to continue playing Nardole. “Matt said he wanted to come back on the show, which we were astonished by… so I phoned up Matt in L.A. to discuss how many episodes he could be in, and he just kept volunteering to do more.” Still, the showrunner was quick to point out this isn’t the same old Nardole fans saw in the 2015 Christmas Special. “There’s a lot of layers to [Nardole],” Moffat said, “he’s even a little bit sinister at times, it’s really fascinating.”
Seems like a pretty jovial atmosphere amongst the Doctor Who cast, right? Maybe not. When asked by a fan if there had been any humourous incidents had occurred on-set, a pronounced silence swept the otherwise chatty panel, after which Capaldi deadpanned, “Nothing funny has happened yet, but we’ll keep you posted.” But at one point, Lucas mentioned, “The good thing about the TARDIS is, when you press buttons and things, Peter gets a bit annoyed and, like, pushes you away. It’s just a great way to wind him up.” Perhaps much of the fun on the set comes at the good Doctor’s expense, then?
Are you excited about Season 10 of Doctor Who? What do you expect from Nardole and Bill in upcoming episodes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
The tenth season of Doctor Who premieres on BBC in the U.K. beginning in spring 2017, with episodes to air shortly thereafter on BBC America.
In the meantime, be sure to check out more of iDigitalTimes’ Doctor Who coverage, including more cast panels and exclusives from New York Comic Con 2016!
