First Director Set For Series 8

Discussion in 'Doctor Who' started by StCoop, Oct 14, 2013.

  1. StCoop

    StCoop Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    http://www.screendaily.com/news/ben-wheatley-to-direct-doctor-who/5062452.article#

    To be honest I never saw what the big fuss with "Kill List" was all about but he's still a coup.

    I'm surprised that after all these years back there haven't been more film directors working on the show. There have to be plenty who are fans out there who'd be willing to do give up their normal payday to do it. Then again, I remember Nicolas Winding Refn saying that he'd actually asked if he could direct an episode an got turned down!
     
  2. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    Wow that is quite a coup, although he is a fan and worked with Reece Shearsmith on a Field in England, and Reece is obviously mates with Gattis who's obviously mates with Moffat...

    I agree with you on Kill List. I'd heard it was this really scary horror film but it was a bit meh really. I quite liked A Field in England, or at least I liked it a lot better than Kill List. I haven't seen sightseers though. Looks like 12's first two episodes may be a bit creepy. I wonder if they'll be two seperate episodes or a two parter?
     
  3. StCoop

    StCoop Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    It's not clear if they mean the first two episodes to shoot or the first two that will air, since it's not unusual for one not to match the other. (Especially for a new Doctor.)

    There was also another report that said filming will start in November, so if that's correct then it will be the latter.
     
  4. Captaindemotion

    Captaindemotion Admiral Admiral

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    Haven't seen Kill List but I thought that A Field... was seriously creepy and different (though I would never watch it again). He will certainly bring something new to the table, that's for sure.
     
  5. Green Lantern

    Green Lantern Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Excellent, Capaldi's first story will be a two parter! :) Lets hope it's a dark creepy one. I want Capaldi to be a darker doctor.
     
  6. Emperor-Tiberius

    Emperor-Tiberius Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I hope he won't be sleeping in it. :D
     
  7. Green Lantern

    Green Lantern Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    lol

    One thing I will say for Moffat though is he seems to be good when introducing a new doctor and good with opening a series, I sincerely hope he isn't going to copy Xmas Invasion and the likes. I'd rather he took inspiration from Eleventh Hour and his Silence two parter. That's how you open a series! ;)
     
  8. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Kill List was terrific, great news.
     
  9. Candlelight

    Candlelight Admiral Admiral

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    ...and Peter Jackson...
     
  10. Samurai8472

    Samurai8472 Admiral Admiral

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    *The Doctor is recuperating*

    Clara- DOCTOR!


    WEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


    That's how I see part 1 ending
     
  11. Mark_Nguyen

    Mark_Nguyen Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Do we know for sure if it's the first two episodes that will be aired, or merely the first two to be filmed? We know that they frequently film stuff out of sequence to actual airdate. In the case of Matt Smith, they first filmed "The Time of Angels" and "Flesh and Stone" before doing "The Eleventh Hour"; Peter Davison and company did "Four to Doomsday" to get the ball rolling before filming "Castrovalva"; and for what it's worth "The Christmas Invasion" was in the can before David and Billie did that post-regeneration scene for Children in Need, though that was more of an afterthought I believe. Point being, while I'm sure this guy knows his stuff, he seems more of a movie guy than a TV director and so for a premiere story I'd think the Moff would want an experienced director to handle it - unless they're looking for a different look and feel again, which is something the show has been doing of late.

    Still, I hope that it *is* a two-parter and not a case of this director filming two separate episodes, which again is something they do in filming blocks. We ALL miss Doctor Who two-parters, and if it is the premiere, establishing a new guy across more than one episode will be a switch, since the previous three guys all had one-shots to get going. Lots of options here!

    Mark
     
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2013
  12. sttngfan1701d

    sttngfan1701d Commodore Commodore

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    How different can filming TV be from movies? All it is is a faster pace, right? I'm sure any director can adapt to that. Though not a name in the "greatest directors lexicon", McG directed the pilot episode of "Chuck," and it was bloody fantastic. And Scorcese did the first episode of Boardwalk Empire, didn't he?
     
  13. Smoked Salmon

    Smoked Salmon Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Excited about this news. I was bummed the other day that the first news about Capadli's era was the return of the awful Paternoster Gang (particularly the loathesome comedy Sontaran). This makes up for it.
     
  14. Green Lantern

    Green Lantern Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Oh god, is the detective trio; the Silurian, the lesbian and the sontaran returning? I feared as much. For fucks sake. Why, just why.
     
  15. Sindatur

    Sindatur The Gray Owl Wizard Admiral

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    That in fact will be the title of the Christmas Special (It will be a bookend to The Doctor, The Widow and The TARDIS) ;)
     
  16. Mark_Nguyen

    Mark_Nguyen Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    The Sontarans are the Ferengi of Doctor Who. Created to be a menacing villain, taken seriously for a while, currently a laughingstock. No disrespect to Dan Starkey, though - he does his job well. :)

    TV and film directing are wholly different. Budgets, creativity and very importantly time are all extremely constrained in TV for a director, where the reins are held more by the producers and writers than in film. Most everyone I know in the biz would rather direct films rather than TV, as creative people go. For every McG, there's a Kubrick out there, and you'd never want the latter near a TV set. I expect that they know this guy CAN do it, but for a Doctor-opening (two-parter?) story I personally would rather get someone who knows the TV production process backwards and forwards as a director.

    Mark
     
  17. Emperor-Tiberius

    Emperor-Tiberius Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I don't think the Ferengi were ever taken seriously. At least I never did - they just weren't ever gonna be a credible threat. They became a joke quite fast, in fact.
     
  18. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I like them. Presumably other people like them too. What is it about the Paternoster Gang that you don't like?
     
  19. sttngfan1701d

    sttngfan1701d Commodore Commodore

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    I thought they were lame in the Christmas Special last year but I like them now. Plus, when the Doctor changes or the companions change, at least they provide a sort of continuity.
     
  20. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    I dunno, I thought Dan Starkey managed to be quite menacing near the end of the Name of the Doctor when Strax had been reset, so I see no reason why Sontaran's can't still be menacing.

    Just because Strax is a comedy character it doesn't mean the whole race is doomed. That's a bit like judging every human against Rory or Mickey or Adam.

    I love em!