‘Doctor Who’ thing of the day: series six filming started today

Your screencap doesn't really capture their chatshow experience, they had a pretty good time. You can watch it here:

http://blogtorwho.blogspot.com/2010/08/one-show-with-matt-smith-karen-gillan.html

I've been disappointed for a long time because they haven't brought back Jenny, the Doctor's daughter from the 4th series. I heard they tried to do a spin-off show with her, but it fell through - rightly, I'd say; her character isn't strong enough to sustain an entire series. But if they brought her back for, say, a two-parter, and then killed her off, I'd be happy. It bothers me that they created this quasi-Time Lord character, and then they just dropped her. Never throw good ideas away without seeing them through.

Having said that, River Song is the most interesting part of the show by far. I'm not so much concerned about who caused the TARDIS to explode so much as I'm interested in River's history with the Doctor, which, cleverly, is actually the future for us. I'm dying to see the adventures that they've had/will have.

have to totally disagree, Anthony. The Doctor's Daughter was -- while not a terrible episode in all other ways -- that character of jenny was just a dreadful, awful idea. and that she didn't die at the end... bleh! the rest of the episode had some good bits, if a la Star Trek III, but if we could erase the whole idea of the Doctor's Daughter from the canon, i'd be content. well, maybe only *mildly* content...

It bothers me that they created this quasi-Time Lord character, and then they just dropped her. Never throw good ideas away without seeing them through.

*coughcoughDoctor-Donnacoughcough*

Personally, I want River to set up shop in the TARDIS all the time. Sadly, that will never happen.

River Song is evil...EVIL!! :p

Dr. Rocketscience - I know! How amazing would it be if Alex Kingston were to agree to be River as companion for a full series?

I'm quite happy in general to let this series unfold infront of me and see what happens, but I am ridiculously excited about seeing what Neil Gaiman has dreamed up.

Probably not a new suggestion but they might have brought Jenny back all along, except she now calls herself River Song. I seem to remember Jenny was supposed to die at the end of Doctor's Daughter, but Moffat specifically requested that she survived as he had plans for her in future episodes. Then the first thing Jenny does after regenerating is steal a spaceship, so that's in character. Also River Song was an invention of Moffat, so all those suggestions River was/is/is going to be the Doctor's wife could just be all red herring.

I could do with a rest from Daleks, I think. I know they’re iconically Who, but still...

I'm pretty sure that licensing agreements mean that the Daleks (and possibly the Cybermen too) have to appear in each season, or the BBC lose the rights or something.

As for what I want to see, they've dropped some pretty big hints that River is going to do something to really upset the Doctor at some point in the future/past.
If they've got things planned out that well in advance, I'd like to see the Doctor work with her more, really grow to trust her, and then she betrays him (possibly by killing him as they're hinting, if Matt Smith gets tired of the role in a year or three. I don't want him gone, so I'm okay with her killing someone else).

If they really had the guts, they'd then move on to reverse the roles with a younger River as a full companion for a year, who the Doctor doesn't fully trust because he knows what she's going to do, even though she doesn't.

that character of jenny was just a dreadful, awful idea. and that she didn't die at the end...

Well, depends. With good writing, the character could be rescued from the scrappy heap. The idea per se was not that bad, imho. The implementation was the problem.

Right now my enthusiasm for the show has dropped dramatically. Since series 5, I watch the show once and have no desire to rewatch the episodes. The only highlites were River's appearances. They just don't grab me as they did with either CE or DT. They need more standalone episodes as in the Classic show instead of focusing on a particular theme each season.

As for Jenny, she was okay but the way the character was introduced and so rushed, I really didn't become attached to her in any way (should have been a two-parter and her character introduced much later in the first episode rather than in the first couple of minutes).

I can't wait to watch the new season, especially Gaiman's episode. I think I should try not to get my hopes up for it so that my soul isn't crushed if the episode is anything less than brilliant, but Neil has never dissapointed me and I think a Doctor Who episode is perfect for him.

I wouldn't want to watch River as a full-time companion, I love her character but I think it's better if she just comes and goes.

As long as Rory is still around, I'll watch. I mean of course if he dies during the Christmas Special, I'll probably still watch, but would be VERY VERY VERY angry and frankly disappointed if that happened.

Regarding Jenny:

I heard they tried to do a spin-off show with her, but it fell through

that never happened. Some fans hoped for a spin off, but there were never any plans (unlike the Rose Tyler spinoff which was planned and then abandoned).

I seem to remember Jenny was supposed to die at the end of Doctor's Daughter, but Moffat specifically requested that she survived as he had plans for her in future episodes.

This is a myth that has grown out of an offhand remark that Russell T Davies made on a commentary. This is what Moffat said about it at Comic Con:

Questioner: At the end of The Doctors Daughter, Jenny was supposed to die. What was behind the decision to change that, to bring her back?

Steven Moffat: Apparently me, but I didn't know that. In fact, it was... I didn't issue a command or anything... It's just that when Russell was talking to me about the ideas he had for the new series, he mentioned The Doctor's Daughter and said, "We'll have a genetically engineered daughter and she'll die." And I just said, "Oh, that's what Star Trek would do, let her live." I'd forgotten that I'd said that, so I was as surprised as anybody when she came back to life. And I was most surprised when I heard that it was my idea. But I think it says something about my vision for Doctor Who that, basically, babes don't die.

It's at 4:23 here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_THYK5nADgQ

In The Doctor's Daughter it isn't massively clear but I'm pretty sure it establishes that she can't regenerate but that the terraforming device is what brings her back to life. For her to be River that would have to be contradicted as would the idea that Time Lords always recognize each other, regardless of their incarnation. That's all adding a lot of complication for not much pay off as far as I can see.

Personally, I'm happy if Jenny never comes back - I like the tendency for loose bits of story to be floating around out there. If they have a good idea for a story they should do it, but they shouldn't feel obliged to bring her back.

With series six I think the ongoing story arcs from series five (River Song and 'the silence') plus two companions in the TARDIS will keep things busy without adding another recurring character. So, no Jenny and no Jack this series would be my guess.

I'd actually like to see the Daleks in a crazy scheme on a alien planet (possibly involving slaves in a mine) as I think that's what the redesign is crying out for - and it might win some people around. Sticking with the Daleks is important since Victory is a transitional story that re-establishes them as a force in the universe that doesn't have to be wiped from existence every series. They need another story to solidify that idea - after that they can be rested if need be.

Plus, if River Song were Jenny then she would have recognised Donna. It's only when the Doctor says Donna's name that she realises who she is.

I was quite disappointed when I realised that ;-)

(How to maintain a marriage on the TARDIS, perhaps?)

River's or Amy's?

how icky would it be for river song to be Jenny and call the Doctor "sweetie" and "pretty boy" and sign things with a "kiss". very icky. icky to the Nth degree. why does a certain segment of the audience prefer the Doctor to have a daughter he didn't chose to have, rather than a lover that he did? weird, i calls it.