Saturday 17 December 2011

Christmas with the Doctor (updated 23 Dec)

This is a summary of programming across British television and radio over the 2011 festive period that has a connection with Doctor Who. Catch-up links are provided on the show's date where available. Changes since the 23rd December are highlighted with a NEW icon.

The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe

The highlight of Christmas, of course! The Christmas Special will be broadcast on Sunday 25th December on BBC1 at 7:00pm; it is then repeated on BBC1 on Tuesday 27th at 2:50pm, and then on BBC3 on Wednesday 28th at 7:00pm.

Promotions for the show include Matt Smith appearing on The Graham Norton Show on Friday 23rd December (BBC1/10:35pm), and discussion of Christmas television on BBC Breakfast on Saturday 24th (BBC1/6-9:00am) NEW.

It was also promoted by Steven Moffat on BBC Breakfast (20 Dec/BBC1/8:35am, until 27 Dec), who discussed his two 'blockbuster' hits Doctor Who and Sherlock. Other preview coverage included Front Row (Mon 19/BBCR4/7:15pm, ~25:30), Daybreak (Fri 23/ITV1/6:50am) NEW, and Lorraine (Fri 23/ITV1/8:45am) NEW.


Doctor Who repeats

In the run-up to Christmas, a number of previous Christmas specials see another airing on BBC3 in the 7:00pm slot: Voyage of the Damned (Sat 17th, until 24 Dec); The Next Doctor (Mon); The End of Time Part 1 (Tue); Part 2 (Wed); and A Christmas Carol (Thu).

Meanwhile, digital channel Watch continue their run through the Doctor's adventures leading up to the New Year:
This New Year Eve and New Years Day there's a whole series worth of Doctor Who to see 2012 in with, and a whole host of spectacular time-travelling adventures to get lost in. Catherine Tate, Kylie Minogue, Cybermen, Daleks, the Titanic... these Christmas Doctor Who specials are full of old enemies and emotional, seasonal-themed action.
The channel bounces its way through the various series over the course of the fortnight, with the first weekend seeing the end of Series One (Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways), plus The Satan Pit early Sunday morning. Then the following weekdays sees the first five episodes from Series Three, The Idiot's Lantern on Boxing Day, and back to Series Three on Tuesday 27th (with 42).

Related Programming to come

  • David Tennant narrates Shrek: Once Upon A Time (Fri 23/BBC3/7:35pm, Thu 29/BBC3/7:00pm)
  • A repeat of last year's Greatest Christmas TV Moments, which includes The End of Time at #8 (24 Dec/C5/9:00pm)
  • Colin Baker is one of the diners on Celebrity Come Dine With Me (26 Dec/C4/6:35pm) NEW
  • Based on previous years, watch out for a possible mention of Doctor Who on Charlie Brooker's 2011 Wipe (Fri 30/BBC4/10:30pm, Sat 31/BBC4/11:00pm, Tue 3/BBC2/11:20pm)

Catchup

  • Catherine Tate presents Laughing at the Noughties (Sat 17/C4/10:00pm, until 16 Jan), with celebrities including David Tennant looking at what made them laugh the most last decade.
  • Trent Sound in Nottingham will be presenting a special edition of Not On Your Telly focusing on Doctor Who; the programme is on Sunday 18th at 7:00pm, with guest Steve Hatcher from the Derby Doctor Who local group.
  • John Barrowman guest hosts Never Mind The Buzzcocks (Mon 19/BBC2/10:00pm, Sun 25/BBC2/12:55am, until 26 Dec)
  • Mark Gatiss was a guest on the Richard Bacon Show, chatting about Sherlock, the Doctor Who press preview, and both the classic and new series (21 Dec/BBCR5/from 2:09pm, until 4pm 28 Dec)
  • John Barrowman pops up on Chris Moyles' Quiz Night (22 Dec/C4/11:10pm)
  • This Morning had children reviewing the top toys for Christmas, including the ride-in Dalek (20 Dec/ITV1/11:00am). NEW

UK Broadcasting: clip roundup w/e 16 Dec 2011

The following are links to programmes still available online that referenced Doctor Who over the course of the last week:


Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live, Monday 12th December, ~7:00am
Report on the recovery of two episodes of Doctor Who revealed at the weekend.
This programme is available to listen to worldwide via the BBC iPlayer (1:03:48) until 19th December (9:00am).

Richard Bacon, BBC Radio 5 Live, Thursday 15th December, from 3:00pm
Doctor Who star Matt Smith and writer and executive producer Steven Moffat join Richard for a sneak preview of this year's Christmas Day special.
This programme is available to listen to worldwide via the BBC iPlayer (first hour) until 22nd December (4:00pm).

The Wright Stuff, Channel 5, Friday 16th December, ~10:45am
Matthew Wright and Kevin O'Sullivan discuss the Christmas Special.
This programme should be available soon to watch in the UK via Demand 5