Doctor Who (2010 Series)

The fifth series of the British science-fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'' was originally broadcast on BBC One in 2010. The series began on 3 April 2010 with " The Eleventh Hour", and ended with "The Big Bang" on 26 June 2010. It was produced by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, who took over when Russell T Davies ended his involvement in the show after " The End of Time". The series has 13 episodes, six of which were written by Moffat. Piers Wenger and Beth Willis were co-executive producers, and Tracie Simpson and Peter Bennett were producers. Although it is the fifth series since the show's revival in 2005 (and the thirty-first since it began in 1963), the series' production code numbers were reset.

It was the first series to feature Matt Smith as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in his TARDIS (a spacecraft whose exterior resembles a British police box). Karen Gillan is introduced as the Doctor's new companion, Amy Pond. Her fiancé, Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill), appears in seven episodes, travels with the Doctor and Amy, and is a regular character in the next series. Alex Kingston returns as River Song, a mysterious woman from the Doctor's future who summons him twice in this series. The main story arc, covering several episodes, concerns a pattern of cracks in the universe which are sometimes unnoticed by the characters. It is discovered that the cracks can erase things from existence; this happens to Rory, and Amy forgets him. It is revealed in the series finale that the cracks were caused by the TARDIS exploding, and the Doctor is forced to reboot the universe to its state before the cracks appeared.

In addition to the six episodes written by Moffat, Mark Gatiss, Toby Whithouse, Simon Nye, Richard Curtis, and Gareth Roberts wrote one episode each; Chris Chibnall wrote a two-episode story. The series was meant to be fantastical to stand out from other science-fiction and fantasy shows, and the production team strove for a fairy-tale quality because Moffat believed that media aimed at children were some of the most popular among adults. The episodes were directed by directors who were new to ''Doctor Who''. Filming began in late July 2009, lasting about nine months. The series was filmed primarily in Wales, except for "The Vampires of Venice" and " Vincent and the Doctor" (which had scenes filmed in Trogir, Croatia). Design changes from the previous series included a new logo, title sequence, variant of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, interior and exterior of the TARDIS, and a change in the theme music.

The series premiere was watched by 10.085 million viewers (the most-watched premiere since "Rose" of the first series), and set records on BBC America in the United States and the BBC's online iPlayer. Although overnight ratings declined compared to other series, one writer calculated that viewership had not changed significantly when time-shifted ratings were taken into account. The series received positive reviews, with praise for Moffat's story arc and the performances of Smith, Gillan, and Darvill. However, reviewers noted Amy's lack of character development and the series' diminished emotional appeal. It received a number of awards and nominations; "Vincent and the Doctor" and the two-part finale were nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form), with the award going to the finale. Smith was the first actor playing the Doctor to be nominated for a BAFTA award. The series was accompanied by a soundtrack and tie-in books and video games; four of the latter were released on the BBC website and advertised as additional episodes of the series.

Episodes

Supplemental scenes

Two scenes were filmed for the ''Complete Fifth Series'' box set, revealing what happened between pairs of regular episodes. The first scene is set between "The Eleventh Hour" and "The Beast Below", and the second is set between "Flesh and Stone" and "The Vampires of Venice".

Casting

The series introduced the Eleventh Doctor, played by Matt Smith. This followed the departure of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, who left the show to help ease the transition from Davies to Moffat. Smith's agent called him, suggesting that he audition for the role. Moffat wanted to cast a middle-aged actor, "young enough to run but old enough to look wise". When Smith was the third person to audition the production team knew "heyhad their man", although he was 26 years old. The producers were cautious about casting Smith because they felt that a 26-year-old actor could not play the Doctor; although BBC Head of Drama and executive producer Piers Wenger agreed, he said that Smith was capable enough to play the part. According to Moffat, Smith did not appear youthful. Smith's casting was announced during an episode of the ''Doctor Who'' companion show ''Doctor Who Confidential'', when he described the role as "a wonderful privilege and challenge that I hope I will thrive on".

Karen Gillan was cast as Amy Pond, the Doctor's companion. Casting director Andy Pryor suggested Gillan to Moffat after her performance in the fourth series episode "The Fires of Pompeii" (when she played a soothsayer), but Moffat originally considered her "short and dumpy". He later called her "exactly right for the role", although she played the character differently from the way it was originally written. Gillan auditioned for the role in her (natural) Scottish accent and an English one, and after she was cast it was decided that Amy would be Scottish. Gillan felt that the Scottish accent better suited her character. A young version of Amy (Amelia) was played by Gillan's 10-year-old cousin, Caitlin Blackwood, in the first and last episodes. The actresses had not met until the show but, although Blackwood had to audition, Gillan recommended her for the role. Blackwood and Gillan appeared together in "The Big Bang", which Gillan initially found "weird" (although the actresses quickly got used to it).

Alex Kingston, who played River Song in the Series 4 episodes "Silence in the Library" and " Forest of the Dead", reprised her role in the two-part stories "The Time of Angels" and " Flesh and Stone" and " The Pandorica Opens" and "The Big Bang". Although Kingston did not expect to return, Moffat always intended for River to return to the series. Arthur Darvill appeared in seven episodes as Rory Williams, Amy's fiancé, and was a companion in six of the episodes. Darvill had worked with Smith on a play, '' Swimming with Sharks''. He received two scenes from the first episode and one from the sixth for his audition, but (except for Rory being Amy's boyfriend) he was not informed of the character's details. Moffat noted "just how funny" Darvill was during his audition. The actor felt "privileged" to be part of the show, and was pleased with Rory's storyline. Guest stars in the series included Olivia Colman, James Corden, Annette Crosbie, Tony Curran, Iain Glen, Daisy Haggard, Terrence Hardiman

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